#and even then that doesn't guarantee that the posts will be taken down

[bad-and-drawn-that-way]

Omfg I ate that Vox fic up! The one where he hypnotized the reader after a long fight of them nearly being taken from him. Can you do a part 2 please? Like when the reader eventually learns he basically forced them to sign the contract and they find a way to be immune to his hypnosis? He goes absolutely nuts despite literally owning their soul. He's canonically a control freak and seems to even have some yandere traits. I hope I'm not going against your rules! You don't have any posted so I just wanna ask! Thank you for being awesome! :D Don't hesitate to turn down this request. Write what makes you feel comfortable. Just please respond so I and everyone else knows not to make a similar request in the future. Lots of love!

ABSOLUTELY!! I did take this in a slightly different direction, but hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Lowkey thinking of doing a Vox POV of this later and maybe even a part three...

Vox isn't actually in this much, but I feel a loose actual plot coming together and this is what naturally flowed for me.

I hope y'all are ready for more angst... plus a cliff-hanger <3

More Than Anything Part 2 [Vox x Reader]

Part 1

Part 2.5

"You controlling prick!"

Vox ducked as you threw a pillow at him. Even in your righteous anger, you'd never actually truly try to hurt him, but by god were you pissed.

Despite Vox's obvious disdain for the Hazbin Hotel and its association with Alastor, you visited the hotel occasionally to catch up with your friend Angel Dust and give some much-deserved love to his pet pig Fat Nuggets. It was during one of these visits that you ran into Alastor, who immediately looked at you with disgust in his ever-present smile.

"Really now, my dear," he said as he shook his head in disapproval. "It's already enough of a shame that you have such poor taste in a romantic partner, but to give your soul to him as well? I thought you were smarter than that."

The overlord could see the aura of Vox's ever-annoying electric cords locked around your soul like chains. You'd been confused and his eye twitched with annoyance as he realized what Vox had done to you. To say you were livid after he explained that you'd been tricked was an understatement.

"Y/N, I'm sorry," Vox pleaded as you fumed at him in his room. "But you left me no other choice! You weren't listening to me and if I didn't bind your soul, then Satan knows what could have happened to you by now."

"Just because you don't fucking believe in my ability to look out for myself doesn't mean you get to just take my soul!" You screamed with hot, angry tears flowing down your face. You wipe at them, only crying harder at the frustration of the tears you couldn't control in your anger. You felt like they undermined your emotions.

Vox's magic sparked around him as he tried his best not to get angry and start a fight with you. He was terrified and was that much more susceptible to his angry tendencies in moments like these. It took everything in him to try and calm himself, not wanting to push you away further. His heart dropped and his blood ran cold as he saw you pull a large bag out of the closet and start shoving clothes into it.

"W-Where are you going?" Vox panicked as he crossed the room.

"The hotel," you said with quiet fury, as you stepped away from the closet and went to the nightstand with your personal things on it. "I need some space and it's the one fucking place I know you'd rather die again than follow me to."

"Ŷ̸̪͕o̸̢̿̿ū̷̫ ̶̬͂c̶̺̾͂a̴͒͘͜n̴̫̂̔'̶̡̉t̶͙̝̄͒," Vox said, his voice starting to glitch as his panic increased. "You've heard the news, the extermination is in a week and the angels plan on attacking there first. There's no guarantee they'll keep to the date after how much little miss dumbass pissed off heaven. It's not safe there."

You pull your bag over your shoulder and the look you gave him will haunt him for the rest of his afterlife. "It's safer than here."

It breaks him all the more when you shield your eyes from him and storm past him so he can't hypnotize you into staying. Vox is paralyzed with fear like never before. He wanted to scream, to beg, to stop you from leaving him, but he couldn't do anything as his system glitched so hard it forced him into a reboot. When he came to, he was alone. You were gone.

--

Charlie was more than willing to let you stay at the hotel. The two of you hadn't had the chance to really ever speak before, but she was always friendly when you came to visit Angel, even after you explained to her there was no way you'd be able to become a guest.

In exchange, you were happy to help set up the defenses against the extermination. You got to know all of the other members of the hotel and the work helped you push down the burning ache in your chest.

Vox had been trying to contact you nonstop. You eventually turned off your phone, driven insane by the wall of notifications of him begging you to respond in any way. He knew you were okay for the time being. He was literally connected to your soul. But as the extermination day grew closer, his panic only increased. If it wasn't for Valentino and Velvette holding him back, there were several times he genuinely would have set aside his pride and come to the hotel just to get you.

It was after helping Husk and Cherri put up a particularly tricky barrier with the dwindling supplies that Angel found you taking a break. He passed you a water which you took gratefully as he slid down the wall and joined you on the floor.

"So," he started. "Are we going to ever talk about the reason why you're hiding out here?"

"Do we have to?" You groan, running your fingers through your hair. Despite the smiles and laughter you'd been sharing with your newfound friends as you all prepared for the potential end of it all, the dark circles on your eyes gave away what was lurking underneath.

For as angry as you were at Vox, you missed him. You missed feeling him curl against you in bed. You missed being woken up at unholy hours early in the morning because Vox couldn't start his day without giving you a kiss and telling you how much he loved you. You missed his shitty taste in shows and how he'd collapse into your arms after a long day at work.

Angel sighed, looking at the boarded-up lobby. "Look I may not get it, but you love the guy, right? Are you really content with possibly dying in a couple of days for a cause you're not even a part of, just because you're pissed with him?"

"He stole my soul, Angie" You frown at him.

"And that is fucked up as hell," he agrees. "But I know you and I know there ain't no way in hell you're actually satisfied leaving shit like this."

"I just-," you start before groaning. "How the hell are we supposed to come back from this? I doubt he'd ever void the contract. He's too convinced he's right for that."

Angel sighed, setting his own cup aside. "Honestly toots, you're not gonna like it, but... He kinda has a point."

You whip your head up to look at him and he holds up his hands defensively. "Not saying that stealing your soul was the right call. Believe me, if anyone gets how fucked it is having your soul controlled by a sociopath with a big ego, it's me. But you're not exactly in the safest of places, dollface. Not to mention, you're dating an overlord who's in a trio determined to piss off as many big shots as possible. His mind may not be in the right place, but his heart kinda is."

You take Angel's words to heart and sigh as you bury your face in your arms. "I hate it, but you're right... I just... I don't want to hold him back. I don't want to be the person that needs to be protected. I want to be his equal, not his problem."

"Then tell him that," Angel sighs. His gaze drifts to the bar and smiles fondly. "Someone recently has taught me how important being real with yourself is. It's okay to be flawed. No one got stuck in this shithole cause we were perfect, y'know?"

He nudged you with a grin as he added, "Plus, come on. Can you imagine how many bitches in hell would kill to have a sexy fucker that wants nothing more than to love ya and keep ya safe? I love you toots, but for fucks sake, pick a struggle."

You snort, shaking your head as you lightly swat at his arm. "Fuck you for being right about shit all the time."

"It's one of my best assets," Angel smirked. "Y'know, aside from all the fluff."

You laughed as he puffed up his chest and by the end of the evening, you'd decided to head back. As much as you loved Angel and wanted nothing more than to be by his side as the extermination drew near, he had a point. This wasn't your fight and there was a controlling dumbass that had been blowing up your phone ever since you left that was praying for your return.

After exchanging promises to see each other after the extermination, you left the hotel. You had an idiot to see.

#vox x reader #hazbin hotel #angel dust #the tiniest nudge at huskerdust #i know this wasnt super vox focused but the next part def will be

[lazywriters-blog]

Yandere Bakugo and Kirishima, who are brothers not by blood and a two-man army of Pro-heroes, they're best buds one hasn't betrayed the other in forever and they both think they would never, their friendship goes way back and it grows stronger with every battle won and every victory taken with each other's strengths.

Of course, that is until they meet her.

Though Kirishima would never think about throwing his bro under the bus for his dream girl, he would be lying if he said he hasn't thought about it and subconsciously made preparations to make it happen, Bakugo thinks he's doing a good job at hiding his huge crush and he would have been right if his friend hadn't known him long enough to deduce what he's feeling.

They both gradually figure each other out in secret and though it's not talked about, one can assume something happened to throw each other in harm's way when fighting a mega-villain and accidentally pushing one into an incoming assault. It's when things will start to darken up, and anyone can see something is wrong with them if they're tampering and adding something to the other's meal and being so casual about it.

The war only starts when Kirishima posts a picture of her and him smiling in the camera and Bakugo's jealousy starts showing its ugly head, the thing is he comes up empty-handed when compared to a social butterfly like Kirishima who knows how to make someone comfortable and say the right things, darling does not stand a chance against the blonde's strange way of communication and would prefer the red-haired one because he's smiling and being so gentle. Unlike someone.

It truly makes Bakugo's blood boil watching his friend and his darling share a glass of ice cream he's left alone to witness, and how Kirishima is enjoying tasting each bite from her spoon with her saliva on it, he comes home and smashes his mirrors into pieces. He decides it's time to finally take up a book on 'How to Win Someone Over!'

He tries his best but Darling is still wary of him however knows not to make him upset so she plays along and at a very slow pace, they become comfortable around each other but not enough for her to let down her guard and allow him the same affection she gives to Kirishima who gets his daily fill of physical contact, sweet praises and encouraging words.

It gets him so down, that he's out of character.

While Kirishima can laugh and joke with Darling and even brush hands until she permits him to hold her hand and eventually he thinks their friendship will slide down a romantic path and then he wins at life, he can grow old with her and have kids who look just like him and her.

But he'd forgotten about his best friend.

Who goes out of his way to force a ring on his darling's finger and register their names as lifelong partners. He might even go as far as to baby trap Darling so that Kirishima doesn't win and that his victory is guaranteed. Because he doesn't lose to anyone.

They both decide getting rid of each other is the only way they can have Darling all to oneself.

#yandere imagines #yandere #yan yan #yandere drabble #yandere katsuki x reader #yandere kirishima #yandere kiribaku #yandere eijiro kirishima #kirishima eijirou #kirishima x reader #yandere kirishima x reader #yandere bakugo x reader #yandere mha x reader #yandere bnha x reader #yandere bnha #yandere katsuki bakugou #yandere katsuki #katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugo x reader #eijirou x reader #yandere my hero academia #bnha imagines #bnha x reader

[lilhub]

So. What's up with the duplicate statues in Eden?

If you've played Sky: Children of the Light and gone through The Ascent, you may have noticed these statues:

And you'll know that the Vault has the same exact statues:

Now the question we're asking here is why.

Of course, I have a theory in regards to it that ties into a couple of other theories, but it's gonna be long and probably a little complicated, so buckle up.

TL;DR will be at the bottom of the post for a simpler(and less all over the place) explanation!

Now, I'm going to start at the beginning with something that may seem completely unrelated:

Take a look at the top of this broken building in the Battlefield.

Does it look familiar? It should.

It looks like the vault masks.

That's odd though, isn't it? The Vault Elder is, well, the Vault Elder. They belong in the Vault.

To that I say: what if they weren't always there?

What if that building used to be their temple?

Almost every other Elder has their own building that serves as their temple and little else; why would the Vault Elder be any different? They're certainly just as important as every other Elder, so why would they be singled out?

Some more evidence for the broken building being an Elder's temple?

Look here, in The Seed's spirit memory:

The spirit was a medic that treated and aided soldiers on the battlefield, and this displays them in a Medic's tent. Where? In the broken building.

Other than it being the arguably safest structure aside from the Vault, there's...no real reason for it to be here of all places. They could have had it anywhere else; this is in the thick of the fighting, after all, the entire map is called the Battlefield for a reason. But there's a reason it was here.

Why?

Well, the Elder's temples are sacred. They're holy places, not to be trifled with, even in the midst of a war, they're like churches. And what was guaranteed if you took shelter in a church?

Sanctuary.

Unfortunately, this doesn't guarantee its outside will be particularly safe from conflict, especially toward the end of the war. Survival began to matter more than walls, I suspect, and it's clear from the Lookout Scout's memory sequence that even then, this place was broken down; potentially from Dark Dragons, potentially from the Ancestors. Unfortunately, we currently have no way of knowing for sure.

On the topic of placements and symbolism in the Battlefield map, though: there's also all of this imagery of the King leading up to the Wasteland Elder's temple.

Let me suggest to you the following as an answer to why:

Eden was not always the primary residence of the King.

Before you grab your torches and pitchforks, hear me out. The Eden Castle was not always there, and this is explicitly shown in the Aurora concert during Warrior, but also the fourth quest in Season of Passage:

No castle.

Now, what does this mean for the King? Well, logically they should have them residing in the otherwise safest place in the Kingdom—like, perhaps, a Vault.

Now we're getting somewhere.

Let's go back to the statues.

Many theorize that they're graves, due to the fact that there's one in each temple and when you sit, you're taken to the respective cutscenes that feature the Elders in their limbos. I disagree.

I think they were communication lines. Every Elder will need to contact one another at some point, and other than the Windpaths, there's really no shortcuts through the realms; thus, the statues function as telephones in a home network, if you will. If one person picks up the line while others are having a conversation, they can listen in as well.

Who needs to have a way to contact every single Elder?

The King.

A ruler needs to be able to conveniently contact the others that help them run a kingdom, especially at a moment's notice, and phones don't exactly exist in the Kingdom. Thusly following the path of logic here, wherever the King is, there should be each statue for each corresponding Elder.

Once the castle became the primary residence of the King, now that the Vault Elder was no longer close by, there was a statue added to the arrangement; this also explains why it's just sat in the middle of them instead of up with the rest.

There is one other thing, though.

What's up with the Wasteland Elder?

After all, if the Vault was the primary residence of the King, and the statues support that, then why and how does the Wasteland Elder come to inhabit that building?

I have a few thoughts on that too.

Let's take a look at the Wasteland Elder, for starters.

They look like a soldier. Which is no surprise, really, seeing as they were in charge of what is now the Wasteland, and the war that seems to have primarily taken place there.

I have another thought though.

The King needs a guard, or more accurately, the Prince does. Sure, there is plenty of power when you are the King, but before that they was a Prince, and there are always precautions that should be taken with the future ruler of your Kingdom.

From what little we see of their character, the Wasteland Elder is protective. Defensive. Willing to do anything to safeguard what lay beyond that gate. They had to learn from somewhere. That instinct has to come from somewhere, because they clearly have worked themselves to the point of absolute exhaustion in their efforts to safeguard that gate.

To this, I ask you: what better protection is there for a Prince than a Star?

Of course, once the Prince becomes a King, and Eden is more than adequate as a safe spot for them, this Star needs to be put somewhere else.

And the Wasteland still needs a protector. After all, the Dark Dragons at this point must be becoming a problem, and Darkstone production is likely growing larger and larger by the day; the people need someone to keep them safe and reassure them that all will be okay.

Who better than a Star that already knows everything about protection and defense? Who has the necessary experience? Who has likely had to manage other guards that helped protect the Prince?

TL;DR: Before the fall of the kingdom, while the King was still a Prince, before the Castle was built the Prince resided in the Vault. And before the conflict in the Wasteland, the Vault Elder's temple was the broken building we now see in the Battlefield. This explains both the King imagery leading up to (what is now)the Wasteland Temple(which also doubles as the entrance to the Vault) and the symbol atop the broken building that resembles the Vault masks.

During the period of time before the Prince became the King, the Wasteland Elder was assigned as their protector, explaining their intense need to defend the Vault 'til their last breath. Afterward, once the Prince becomes King, they are reassigned as the Guardian of the Wasteland, charged with overseeing its people and the Darkstone production taking place there.

Because of the fact that the King resided in the Vault and the Eden Castle, there are versions of each Elder's statue in both places due to them potentially being communication lines instead of graves. Or, at least, they used to be communication lines and were turned into graves for the Fallen Stars after the Fall of the Kingdom. This also explains why each statue takes us to that specific Elder's limbo space; they still, technically, function for their intended purpose.

Of course, this is all just one huge theory made up of a bunch of smaller theories and doesn't have the greatest evidence but. Alas! I am prone to overthinking details in the Funny Light Game.

#sky children of the light #sky cotl theory #sky theory #skyblr #is this my brain doing the pepe silva meme? SOLID MAYBE #but alas I cannot help it. I see Odd Things and desperately search for Explanations #of course this very well could be the devs reusing assets for. whatever reason. I have no clue why #but for now it wORKS #sky children of the light theory

[sea-owl]

Ohhhh if you’re taking writing prompts how about enemy chefs to lovers Polin?

Before I get into this, let me clarify that I am of the belief that if they don't try to kill each other at least once, then it's not enemies to lovers. Now that that's out of the way, this gives me an idea. Also partly inspired by @thekatebridgerton post of the siblings being embodiments of the 7 (8) deadly sins.

Penelope grew up in a family where every generation, one child would be born to be eaten by the gluttonoust demon whose domain bordered her family's ancestral lands. Well technically they were raised to be the one who cooks for the demon but when it always ends with them being devoured instead it doesn't really matter does it?

Typically, this role should have been taken on by the second born, Penelope's older sister Philippa, but instead, Penelope's mother had convinced her father to make Penelope the sacrifice instead.

"You're smarter than your sisters," Portia had told her the night it was announced. "Clever. If any of you have a chance of killing the demon it is you Penelope."

From that point on, Penelope learned how to make different dishes from things like mince pies, biscuits, and her personal favorite eclairs. She knows how to prep all different kinds of meat from farm raised animals to game to fish. She knows which fruits are ripe and which still need time. Portia made sure Penelope knew how to use a knife and which plants mixed well for flavor and which would end a life if mixed together.

"Remember, Gluttony will always want to consume more," Portia would remind her daughter. "There is no such thing as never enough."

Finally, on the day of her 18th birthday, the day came where Penelope would present her first meal to the demon. She decided to go with a fish covered in a basil and lemon cream sauce. Some roasted potatoes and vegetables. A loaf of dark bread, wine, and mixed berry eclairs for dessert.

All that was left was to bring it to the forest and pray he eats it instead of her. Carefully, she packed everything into a basket. She had to be at there by sunrise after all.

"Pen wait!" Penelope's youngest sister, Felicity, called out. The eleven year old ran down the stairs with a package in her arms.

"Litty!" Penelope exclaimed. "What are you doing awake? The sun has yet to rise."

"I wanted to give you your birthday present," Felicity said, holding up the package.

Penelope set her stuff down and carefully opened the gift. Inside was a beautiful set of kitchen knives. Every single one sharp and ready for use. "Oh Litty."

Felicity hugged her sister. "The blacksmith promised me they are extra sharp. So maybe, maybe you can come home soon."

Penelope hugged her sister tighter. Even if she could get rid of the demon it wasn't guaranteed she live too.

"I'll try," Penelope promised.

That seemed to be good enough for the eleven year old as she gave Penelope one last hug before waving her off.

In the forest, where Penelope was to meet her new master sat a table directly over the border between her family's lands and the demons. It is where her relatives in the past have presented their first and often times last meal to the demon of Gluttony.

It is where Penelope sets up the meal as the first rays of light spill across the land behind her. It is also where Penelope sees her new master for the first time.

Gluttony honestly looks like any other man Penelope has seen, a rather handsome one, but still a man. Penelope would put him at around 6 feet with dark chestnut hair and green eyes. His beauty, though, screamed dangerous to Penelope. Like a poisonous snake whose pretty colors serve as a warning to the venom they carry.

Now that snake sat across from Penelope at the table.

"Ah are you my new mortal?" Gluttony asked.

Penelope bowed her head. "Penelope Featherington, my lord."

The demon picked up the fork Penelope placed and dug in. He let out a moan tasting the food. "Delicious, and thank you for not poisoning it like some of your other relatives."

Well that's one plan Penelope shouldn't rely on.

Gluttony bit into the eclair. "Are you not eating?"

Penelope shook her head. This had to be some sort of test, right? Gluttony doesn't share. "No, my lord, I know sharing food isn't something you do."

Gluttony's eyes lit up. "I don't share huh?"

Penelope found herself on her back, staring up into green eyes. A piece of the eclair was being pressed into her lips. The same piece that Gluttony held in his own lips.

What is he doing? Gluttony always wants more so what is he getting more of out of this?!

Penelope found herself frozen on the grass. She tries to command her hand to reach for anything that can help her. She can't breathe. She opens her mouth to take a deep breath, but that only entices Gluttony to push the eclair further in.

Penelope felt her hand brush against her basket. Somehow, she reaches inside and grabs the handle of one of Felicity's gifts. Her grip firmly secured Penelope plunges the knife into the demon's side.

Gluttony, still on top of Penelope looks down at his side.

Oh shit. Well, she's definitely getting eaten.

"Lord Gluttony I-"

Penelope is cut off by the demon's chuckle.

"Gluttony is my sister," the demon said, looking back down at Penelope. Without even flinching he pulled out the knife. "I'm Wrath."

Penelope's eyes widen. "But the food-"

The demon Wrath only smirked. "I'm a growing boy, and you mortals have such delicious food."

Colin grinned down at the little mortal underneath him. Oh, she had no idea of the courting ritual she just initiated by stabbing him. He's going to have fun playing with her.

#bridgerton #polin #the cook and the demon #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington

[rosesofenvy]

I was very inspired by @sha-biest goldenfuture au so I wrote a drabble for some of her most recent posts that I’m linking below! (they're also linked in the fic)

The arm incident

Leoichi

Kendratello

Check out the goldenfutureau tag if you’re confused!

================================================

I'll Be the Sweetest Thing To Ever Scare You (5350 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi, Donatello/Kendra (TMNT) Characters: Leonardo (TMNT), Donatello (TMNT), Yuichi Usagi, Kendra (TMNT), Michelangelo (TMNT), Raphael (TMNT), April O'Neil (TMNT), Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit, Agent John Bishop (TMNT) Additional Tags: goldenfutureau, shabiest golden future, Post Movie, Violence, Loss of Limbs, bishop is a dick, kidnapped donnie, saving donnie from bishop, both leo and donnie lose an arm, Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Hurt, lots of comfort, Nightmares, Injury Recovery, lowkey donnie whump, but kendra makes him laugh so it's all ok

Summary: Leo doesn't regret his choices to safe Donnie from Bishop, it just means a longer recovery for everyone involved.

Enjoy :)

Leo doesn’t regret his decision. 

Donnie had been missing for a week, a week of no contact, a week of frantic searches, and a week of desperate calls to every friend and enemy they had ever encountered. They spared no expense in their efforts to find him, but it was almost a slap in the face to find that Donnie had been so close to them all along - he hadn’t even been taken out of New York. The sudden burst of Donnie’s mystic energy, coordinates and maps tracing to his exact location had been a source of relief and frustration as they mobilized and moved out. 

Leo doesn’t regret moving when he did. 

Raph and Mikey were holding down the lower levels of the base, guaranteeing their escape route since their abilities were dampened by whatever that mad scientist Bishop had cooked up. Leo was in charge of the extraction of their brother since he was by far the fastest and they were relying on the element of surprise here. Someone who’d been able to take down Donnie without their knowledge wasn’t someone they were taking lightly. Whatever Bishop had installed in the building had disabled most of their mystic powers, he can’t even risk using his portals if he didn’t want to lose a limb. 

That doesn’t matter, he didn’t need mystic powers. He would tear this building apart with his bare hands if that meant he’d get his brother back safe. Faceless scientists run screaming past him, those who attempt to stop his progression are swiftly taken care of. Whether or not those rebuffs are nonlethal doesn’t matter, what does matter is that he’s reached the main lab. Kendra had shown him the blueprints, this entire floor was a blackout but he could assume it followed the general path that the previous labs had. As he bounds up the stairwell - and enters the open floor plan, every sense screams to high alert. 

Even though Kendra was controlling every electrical aspect to the lab, this floor only had emergency lights. Even with the low glow of bulbs placed too far apart Leo’s senses are overwhelmed. There’s too much. Wires sparking from where they’d been torn from the wall blood on the floor static from a radio system now defunct thanks to Kendra’s interference blood on the wall his brother's blood everywhere. It reeks of iron and metal and sickness and despite the nausea curling in his gut Leo doesn’t hesitate to sprint forward because there’s his fucking brother. 

Leo doesn’t regret throwing himself directly into the path of danger despite every time he’s been told to stop being such a self sacrificial idiot. 

Donnie is crumpled near some sort of shadowed metal robot. Leo can’t quite make out the details with the intermittent flicker from the emergency lights, but it doesn’t matter as he darts across the length of the lab. He couldn’t see any humans in this room, something that made his scales itch with paranoia as he searched the dark corners of the lab for movement but he can’t afford to waste his attention on the absence of a being when what he came for is right in front of him. As he’s almost to Donnie, the robot his brother is kneeled in front of activates with a flash of red and a creaking of metal. 

Leo regrets not moving faster. 

There’s a blankness in Donnie’s gaze that makes Leo’s heart clench as the softshell staggers to his feet, clearly exhausted and with blood dripping from a number of wounds. Despite standing, he sways and Leo can see that Donnie doesn’t or maybe can’t register the danger directly to his right. Leo can’t tell if Donnie even recognizes him.

“Donnie! Move! ” Leo screams, finally getting in range of his brother, but it’s still not enough. There’s a red light shining over the both of them, a warning burst of heat just as Leo wraps his left arm around Donnie’s shell and uses his momentum to shove them both out of the way. The blaze that wraps around Leo’s shell and scorches his arm clean off is so sudden that he doesn’t register what had happened until Donnie is on the floor beneath him. Pain radiates from the remains of his arm and he gasps through clenched teeth as he takes in Donnie’s uncomprehending stare and the blood slowly seeping from the partially cauterized remains of the softshell's left arm. Leo slams his panic button as he takes in the physical wounds Donnie had suffered over the past week. 

“You gotta keep your eyes open for me, we gotta wait for Raph, no passin' out yet.” Leo pants desperately, trying to follow his own order as he practically collapses over Donnie, "Is anyone still here?” 

Donnie’s eyes flicker open, and Leo follows the path of his gaze up to where he recognizes an observational balcony. Leo didn't see it before in his desperation to grab Donnie, but there’s an outline of a man holding some sort of control panel. Bishop. Leo’s grip on Donnie’s shoulder tightens, but the human makes no move towards and instead sinks into the shadows where Leo couldn’t follow. The building shakes and Leo tries to lift Donnie, but it’s useless with the weakness that has filled his limbs. Pounding footsteps reach his ears and Leo turns to see Raph emerge from the same stairwell he had run up just moments earlier. 

“Leo, Donnie!” Raph’s voice is frantic as he runs into the room. Leo feels his muscles going limp despite his best efforts to remain conscious as their older brother scoops them both up, then punches the machine to destroy the glass embedded in the robot that had nearly killed them both. The floor splinters beneath their feet and Raph wastes no time making their escape. 

Leo regrets not being able to stay conscious during the destruction of the lab. He would’ve liked to revel in the downfall of one of Bishop’s pride and joys. 

Waking up in the med bay was unfortunately a familiar experience for Leo. The steady beep of a heart monitor - although it was doubled for some reason, the scent of antiseptic, and the herculean effort it took to pry open his eyelids. 

The light was nearly blinding as he tilted his head to the side, registering the flow of drugs from the IV drip making his limbs feel heavy and grimacing at the dryness of his mouth. Mikey was sitting in a chair at his bedside, and at his movement the box turtle leaps up and grips the bars to the bed. 

“Leo! Are you awake?” 

Leo can’t do much more than click in response, already wanting to go back to sleep but the stress in Mikey’s expression keeps him conscious. How long had he been out for Mikey to look so concerned? What had even happened this time? What were they all doing before…

“Here, I’ve got some water for ya,” Mikey says quickly, grabbing a cup and urging Leo to drink, “Do you want-” 

“Donnie?!” Leo interrupts, voice rough as the memory of his brother, bloody and bruised, surfaces. He realizes through the sludge of the painkillers that he’d managed to grab Mikey’s hand before he could help him with the water and his grip was trembling as he searched Mikey’s face for answers. “Is he here? Is he ok?” 

“Donnie’s fine,” Mikey reassures, pointing over Leo’s shoulder, “look he’s right there.” At Mikey’s gesture Leo lets his head fall to the other side and can see Donnie laying flat on his plastron still passed out. That nausea swirls again at the sight of all the bandages and wires that seemed to mirror what was hooked up to Leo so he tilts back towards Mikey with a small sigh of relief. 

“Does Yuichi know?” He asks after he takes a few sips of blessedly cool water and can talk without it feeling like his throat is being carved to pieces. 

“Can you worry about yourself for two seconds Leo?” Mikey murmurs miserably as he fidgets with Leo's blankets, “What do you remember? Raph didn’t see what happened and Kendra couldn’t pull cameras since Bishop had everything disabled on that floor.” 

“I had to get Donnie out of the way,” Leo replies with a frown, “If I didn’t then…” It all hits him at once. The scene in the lab, the blood, the pain of a part of him being rendered from existence. He rolls his gaze down to his right arm, feeling an odd choking feeling overtake him as he realizes that his arm ends at the bicep, wrapped tightly in stark white bandages. 

“Bishop had built something, I couldn’t see all of it since the power had been cut to most of the lab, but Donnie had just been left there. When I was trying to get to him, it lit up and I realized…” He trails off, swallowing hard as he recalls the sharp angles and the alien features of the robot, a shape that had often haunted nightmares, “If I didn’t get him out of the way, then he would’ve-” his words are cut off by his own choked sob. He’d been so close to losing his brother. Donnie was so close to being gone because of some stupid fucking scientist. 

“Ok ok I got it,” Mikey quickly says, trying to calm the rising heart rate of his older brother and prevent those pained noises from escalating.  

“You gotta tell Yuichi, Mikey you gotta call him, it’s been a week he’s probably worried sick, ” Leo gasps, tightening his grip on Mikey’s arm. The guilt of unintentionally keeping Yuichi in the dark was eating at every ounce of air in his chest. 

“I will, I’ll get Raph to do it right now ok?” promises replies, holding onto Leo’s hand with both of his until he can feel Leo’s grip loosening and can see his eyelids fluttering. 

“Okay,” Leo mumbles, the burst of energy leaving him as quickly as it had arrived. “Mikey imma sleep now ‘kay?” 

“That’s fine Leo, rest up,” Mikey whispers, patting Leo’s hand as the slider relaxes and almost instantly falls back asleep. Mikey breathes a sigh of relief once he’s sure Leo’s under then sends a text to Raph. 

-------

Yuichi knew that it wasn’t necessarily uncommon for Leo to go radio silent on missions, it came with the territory of keeping the world safe. However, it’d been a week at this point and with the abruptness of Leo’s departure, he was anxiously pacing the length of his room and overthinking everything that could’ve gone wrong. It had become his habit within the week, spending his downtime in this way but the routine is interrupted when his phone begins buzzing. 

He leaps at where it had been set on his bedside table, dropping it on the floor once before he manages to hold onto it, seeing Leo’s caller ID and nearly crying with relief. 

“Leo! It’s been a week, are you ok? What happened to Donnie?” He rattles off once he answers, clutching his phone up to his ear and holding his breath for the response. 

There’s a beat of silence before Raph replies. 

“Hey Usagi, I don’t want you freaking out ok?” Raph greets gently, “I’m gonna tell you what happened and then Mikey’s gonna bring you over here.” 

“What went wrong? Is Leo hurt?” Usagi questions anxiously, feeling his phone beginning to creak with how tightly he was holding it. All of the worst case scenarios he’d been considering claw their way to the forefront of his mind. 

“Leo and Donnie were both seriously injured in the escape from the lab that Donnie was being held in, but they’re both alive and recovering,” Raph reports, “Leo’s been in and out of consciousness for the past day and he just woke up for longer than just a few minutes. He’s been asking for you. Are you ok to come over?” 

“Yes yes of course,” Usagi replies quickly, darting around to grab his katana and tug on his shoes, “Get me over there.” 

A golden portal opens in front of him as he’s pocketing his phone and Usagi doesn’t hesitate to step through. Once the spots clear from his vision he sees that Mikey had pulled him into the atrium of their lair, both Mikey and Raph waiting for him. He can see the exhaustion in their expressions and it makes the anxiety that had been simmering begin to boil over. 

“Where is he?” Usagi demands, dropping his katana onto the nearest empty surface and flicking his ears to see if he can catch any sound of the slider. He can hear the slightly raised heartbeats of the brothers in front of him before he catches the steady electrical beeps further into the lair.

“I’ll take you to him,” Mikey says, raising his hands in a placating gesture, “He’s still kind of out of it from the painkillers, but he’s been asking about you since he woke up.” 

Usagi knows that’s supposed to reassure him but it just makes his heart beat harder as he follows Mikey to the medical bay. He’s seen Leo hurt before, but it was very rare that he or any of the brothers had to be completely hospitalized. Their healing factors often kicked in before it was needed, so the thought of both of them being injured badly enough to need serious painkillers was nerve wracking. Since Donnie was on the far side of the room, Usagi’s gaze catches on the softshell before he fully enters and turns to see Leo. 

He’s not sure what to look at first, eyes flickering from the bruises under Leo’s eyes to the bandages wrapping around his upper chest and his right arm - his right arm that was gone from the elbow down. He can’t help his gasp, moving quickly to Leo’s bedside. Leo opens his eyes at the vocalization, gaze taking a moment to focus before he smiles gently. 

“Yuichi,” He says, voice soft but clearly rough from disuse as Usagi scans the lines of IV’s and wires before leaning over and cradling Leo’s head. He wraps his arms as gently as he could, tucking Leo’s head against his own as he whispers his name. He waits until he can hear the steadiness of Leo’s heartbeat before he takes a shuddered breath and shifts to hide his face against Leo.  

“‘Chi?” Leo inquires, drawing back a bit as he can feel the heat of Yuichi’s tears against the side of his neck. 

Yuichi moves back just enough to meet Leo’s eyes as he bites back the angry choking thing that wants to scream about unfairness and instead presses his cheek against Leo’s, seeing the tears budding in the slider’s eyes. 

“Don’t you dare do this again,” He whispers fiercely, “Next time you leave, I’m coming with you.” He can feel Leo’s tears mingling with his own, and it takes only a tilt of his head to connect the two of them in a kiss. Usagi would normally worry about the fact that Leo’s brothers were likely still nearby, and would be concerned if Leo was in any pain with the proximity, but all he can think about is how he nearly lost the slider and he would’ve only known when his brothers had been able to contact him. He curls the fingers he has cradling the back of Leo’s neck, feeling the slider sigh into his mouth before he pulls back and searches out Yuichi’s hand with his remaining one. Once their fingers are intertwined, Leo visibly relaxes. 

“I won’t Yuichi, promise.” 

“Damn straight,” Yuichi says firmly, “And if you think I’m leaving anytime in the near future you’d be sorely mistaken.” 

“Well the angle you’re standing at doesn’t look comfortable,” Leo offers quietly, “Care to join me?” 

Yuichi frowns at the number of wires that Leo was connected to before carefully arranging himself on the bed beside Leo. He can feel the tension fade as he carefully tangles their legs and props his head against the side of Leo’s. The slider melts into his side, sighing in comfort and it brings Usagi back to many of their sleepovers. If there wasn’t the scent of antiseptic and the sounds of heart rate monitors, he’d be able to pretend that it was just another night after coming back from a mission. The sleepless nights spent worrying over Leo’s condition catch up to him, and he allows himself to rest with Leo tucked into his arms. 

-------

Kendra had seen a lot in her time. Being a teenage hacker often meant seeing things that she really wasn’t supposed to. Sometimes it was what the neighbors Tuesday afternoon drunken parties entailed, sometimes it was the ledgers of foreign governments and lists of experiments that were far from ethical. 

Helping two of the Hamato’s through their amputations? That was new. She can’t help but thank her instinct to pursue medicine (sure it was veterinary medicine but it had helped them out here hadn’t it?) as she clears away the materials she’d used for stitches.

She wasn’t sure what to think when she was first contacted about Donatello being missing. It seemed that the Hamato’s had just been going through each of Donnie’s contacts to see if they’d heard anything. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised that she was one of the first on his list since she was contacted mere hours after his disappearance, but she was not ashamed to admit that she threw herself back into her computer hacking days to provide her services. 

It was odd, returning to watching cameras and scanning security footage for any signs of the freakishly large turtle instead of attending to her much more morally correct job of a veterinarian. When Donnie’s systems finally pinged his location and the brothers had ran in yelling about his mystic energy, she remained as the “woman in the chair” despite every instinct to strap on one of Donnie’s battleshells and join the fight herself. 

She watched through security cameras while she remotely detonated the lab’s systems - reveling in the panic on the scientists faces as they realized that rooms were locked and sirens were growing louder thanks to her call to every station in the area regarding illegal experimentation and unauthorized lab usage. They wouldn’t be able to access the building until she opened the doors, but it was good to rile them up. The building would be going down regardless thanks to April and Casey’s actions to rig the foundations with Purple Dragon grade explosives. She had already evacuated nearby blocks, the only danger was to those that had chosen to imprison and experiment on Donnie and whatever other poor mutants Bishop had gotten his slimy hands on. Unfortunately the only area she wasn’t able to see, much to her and everyone else’s frustration, was the lab that Donnie was being kept in. 

This means that the only thing she sees when the battle ends is Leo and Donnie being carried out by Raph before she loses access to her systems as the cameras explode into a golden light. Whatever Raph had done to that lab had disabled what was hindering their powers then if Mikey was able to begin the detonation process. She hurries to the med bay, keeping her panic tucked away as the blood that had been trailing the trio flickers through her mind. There’s another flash of golden light just as she’s set up the beds and the brothers appear through Mikey’s portal. 

She still doesn’t allow herself to panic as she helps with the surgery, an odd mix of modern medicine and magic keeping the two brothers alive and stable until she steps back and deems it all they can do for the moment. Through numb lips she explains the aftercare and the Hamato’s set up schedules and watches. She should be surprised that she’s included in these, but she also knows that the only way she’s leaving Donnie’s side is if she’s dragged out. Well, after she scrubs their blood from her clothes anyway. She borrows some of Donnie’s while hers are being treated, drawing comfort in the too large hoodie as she sets up post beside Donnie’s bed. 

Leo wakes up first, unsurprising since he hadn’t been locked away for a week in a psychopath's care. Their healing factor has clearly kicked in as within a day Leo is taken off the heavy painkillers and requests to move back to his room. Kendra tries not to be impatient as she routinely checks on the stitches, monitoring for infection between her shifts with Donnie. The brothers regularly switched off with Kendra - barring Leo since he was bed bound - but Kendra insisted on spending as much time as possible with Donnie. He should be waking up soon after all and if she didn’t get to tell that stupid idiot her true feelings she’s going to lose it. 

It’s late on day two when she hears movement, glancing over to see Donnie’s eyes open wide and staring at her uncomprehending. She freezes, staring back and not even daring to blink as she waits for understanding to wash over Donatello’s expression. 

It doesn’t. 

Instead he snarls, lips drawing back to expose sharp teeth and she scrambles to press the call button (more of a localized panic button for the med bay) before Donatello tries to sit up, becoming off balance and falling to his side as he tries to balance with an arm he doesn’t have. “You’ll hurt yourself,” Kendra barks, hands going to help him sit up when he snaps at her arms, then hissing a warning when she doesn’t immediately draw back. She is so not qualified to deal with a hostile mutant turtle who had probably been through an excess of uncertified medical procedures over the past week if his injuries were anything to go by. Thankfully she doesn’t have to worry about her hand being bitten off as Raph and Mikey come running in. 

She backs off, only so that Donnie doesn’t feel overwhelmed and becomes more violent, but remains in eyesight in case he tries to rip out the IV’s. Mikey does disconnect the heart monitor since its high-pitched scream was doing none of them any favors and she could see how quickly Donnie relaxed at the quiet. It still clearly takes a moment for him to recognize where he was and who was around him with his brothers reassurances the only reason he’s willing to settle back onto the bed with a low whine. Kendra steps in, quickly checking fluids and changing out the painkillers since they were low. She can see the concern on both Mikey and Raph’s expressions, but completes everything clinically before returning to her spot at his bedside. 

“You can leave now, I can handle it,” She says only a bit harshly. It was true, she’s sure she can handle whatever reaction Donnie may have now that he’s aware of where he is. She knew the dangers of an unfamiliar face attempting to administer care, but now Donnie could see her and understood why he was hooked up to the various equipment. She had no concerns about her safety. 

“If you’re sure…” Raph says hesitantly, “You know how to get a hold of us.” 

“Yep, now go back to bed, you two are dead on your feet,” Kendra says, trying to be cold but it’s difficult when all she can do is trace the bandages wrapping Donatello’s shell. She hears the brothers leave and heaves a sigh of relief. From the glaze over Donnie’s eyes, she can tell the painkillers have a hold on him but she can't help but slowly reach out to grasp his left hand. 

“I know you’re probably loopy because those are high grade as shit,” She starts quietly, “But if I don’t get this off my chest before you fall asleep again I think I’ll actually lose my mind.” 

Donnie blinks slowly at her. 

“You’re an idiot,” She whispers harshly, “You scared the hell out of us you know? You scared the hell out of me.” She squeezes his hand, feeling him squeeze back before she can force herself to continue. “You know I didn’t even realize it until your brothers called me, but I care about you. I care about you, the guy who humiliated me every chance he could get, the dumb turtle who put a stop to a whole ass alien invasion, and the absolute dickhead who got kidnapped and hurt by an actually crazy scientist and leaving me behind.” 

She doesn’t know when she started crying. 

“You’re really making me say it, Donatello Hamato, but I like you, and if anything - I mean anything - happens to you again? I’m going to kill whoever did it with my bare hands.” 

She’s not sure if Donnie understands, but she can see the corner of his lips quirk slightly before his eyes slip shut and he stills. His breaths become deep with sleep but his hand still remains firmly grasped in Kendra’s. She doesn’t let go until Mikey comes in to take over. 

-------

A week goes by in silence. Not from all of the Hamato’s, Kendra doesn’t think it’d be possible for them to be quiet for more than ten seconds. No. Donatello has not said a single word, or even made a noise of discomfort since he’d first woken up. He rarely even signs, much to the disappointment and worry of his brothers. He doesn’t ask for food or water, although they’re brought to him anyway, and he remains in his room nestled under his blankets and only moves when absolutely necessary. Despondent is the word that immediately springs to Kendra’s mind and she hates it. 

They retain their rotating shifts, although Kendra takes as many of them as she can. The last thing Donnie needs is an interrogation from his family, since it’s clear that he’s still gathering his thoughts over what had happened to him and shows discomfort any time his brothers try to remain alone with him. She justifies her veterinary knowledge, but she can also see Mikey whispering to Raph whenever the older brother looks like he’s going to protest. Thank whatever pizza thing they worship for the younger brother’s empathy. Kendra sets up a cot that Donnie had in his lab and sleeps across the room when she can. 

This is how she knows Donnie’s having a nightmare almost exactly a week after he’d moved back into his room. 

He didn’t sleep very often, fiddling at all hours with some form of tech since he had to avoid screens with his head injury or pretending to sleep as he laid on top of the mattress. Kendra’s relief at his breaths finally evening out is short lived as a few hours after he slipped under she hears him begin to thrash, then cries out in pain as he aggravates the wounds on his shell. She’s out of the cot and onto his bed in seconds, cupping her hands gently onto his face and tapping gently at his cheeks. His eyes snap open and for a moment she wonders if she’s going to lose a finger or two before clarity comes to his vision. For the first time in a week she feels like he recognizes her. 

She finds herself wrapped in an embrace, a surprising development but not one she’s going to take lightly as she feels Donnie trembling against her. She squeezes, not enough to hurt but enough to ground as Donnie’s forehead falls heavy to her shoulder. The two of them sit there, Kendra gently rubbing Donnie’s shell until she feels his breath hitch. 

“He…made a control panel…like the technodrome…” His voice is raspy from disuse and Kendra almost wants to stop him so he could get a drink or something, but she also understands that this is important both for Donatello to say and for her to hear. Regardless of how sick the thought of hearing what caused these wounds makes her feel. 

“Or…tried to…’t was…nothing like her…” 

Kendra recalls the ship that had hovered over New York. She thinks of its size and the terror it struck into its citizens. She couldn’t imagine anyone willingly recreating that, this Bishop Bastard was even worse than she thought. Mikey had told them a bit about how the ship had been controlled - access directly to the nervous system as far as they could tell. One sleepless night Donnie had even described what it had felt like to control the ship, Kendra never forgot the almost melancholic expression on his face as he recalled connecting to it. 

“There was no synergy…just pain…it tried to control…it tried to take…take… take ….” The anguish in Donnie’s voice has Kendra holding him all the tighter, burying her face in his shoulder in the only way she could try to comfort. The words are spilling out of him now, faster and every word sounds worse as he explains in fractured segments what Bishop had done. 

“...I felt violated …it tried to control me even though it was supposed to be controlled. Bishop was furious…he didn’t understand why it wasn’t working…” Donnie let out a broken laugh, “took it out on me…but it was nothing compared to it…nausea got worse…every time I was hooked up to it…”

She can feel him shudder at the memory and she squeezes him the best she can, hoping that the weight of her against him was helping to keep him grounded as he continued talking. 

“He kept upgrading it…and connecting me to it…” He pauses, exhaling hard and coughing a bit as he does so, “It noticed too late when I took control...That’s how I got the signal out. You already know the rest…”

Kendra can feel that he’s done, the way he slumps against her and the ragged breathing as he attempts to reign in his thoughts. She’s never been great at comforting people in the conventional sense, but she has a feeling she can share what she was feeling about the whole situation. 

“What an absolute shithead.” 

She feels him jolt in surprise before he snorts, finally finally returning her hold and tugging her closer to him as he laughs. It’s the best sound  she’s ever heard. 

“Yeah, he really was an absolute dick! A real piece of work, shit from the sewers!” Donnie manages to choke out between chuckles and Kendra can’t help but lean into his laughter. 

“So just to make sure I wasn’t just high on painkillers…you did say you liked me right?” Donnie murmurs after they’d both calmed down enough to lay comfortably on the bed. Donnie doesn’t let Kendra go, drawing comfort in her warmth as she messes absently with his hand. She pressed her palm against his own, twining and untwining their fingers until he spoke - then she abruptly dropped his hand. 

Kendra groans, rolling over to hide her face against the mattress despite their tangled legs keeping her mostly facing Donnie, “Yes, yes unfortunately I did.” 

“What was that? Could you repeat it?” Donnie asks cheekily, laughing again when Kendra lifts her face from the mattress to scowl at him. 

“Yes! I did! Got a problem with it ?” 

Donnie’s face is priceless, shifting from teasing to blushing in a way that makes Kendra smirk victoriously as she gently rubs his arm. 

“I…suppose…I like you too,” Donnie manages to stutter out. 

“You tell anyone I got mushy like that and I’ll strangle you,” Kendra mutters. 

Donnie barks out a laugh, “Wouldn’t dream of it Kendra.” 

Kendra knows deep down that this isn’t over. Bishop was still out there, a destroyed lab surely wouldn’t keep him down for long. For the moment however, she’s going to enjoy Donnie’s warm embrace and do what she can to help him feel safe even if that means tearing down the bastard herself.

#rottmnt #rottmntfanfic #samurairabbitusagichronicles #samurairabbit #leoichi #kendratello #goldenfutureau #ao3 #fanfic #leonardo hamato #usagi yuichi #rottmnt kendra #donatello hamato #honestly all characters are featured a little bit in here

[thecherrytarot]

𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐞𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 #𝟐.

pile 1 → pile 2 → pile 3

Pick the photo that you feel the most drawn to. The questions that i picked for this reading were taken from this post. As always, this is a general reading so take what resonates.

𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟏:

What residual guilt are you holding?

You may feel guilty every time you make mistakes. The roots go back to your childhood for example, parents or teachers comparing your marks with others or your 'friends' comparing your less scores with theirs on purpose so that they would feel better about themselves, whatever the case was it stills affects your current self. Whenever you start something, you set expectations for yourself that you will become perfect at this instantly or before anyone else. Due to this, you might be emotionally invested in whatever you do and whenever you make a mistake or see someone else doing something easily, you start to question your abilities and think that they aren't good enough and feel like your younger self again. You are stuck in a negative mindset and have many toxic emotions like bitterness, resentment and hatred could be towards others or yourself, some of you may even use these emotions as motivation. You may often feel emotionally drained and find it hard to concentrate and focus on things.

message: "learning is all about trial and error and you will make mistakes but the more mistakes you make the better you will get. You might feel like you look stupid but don't give up. If you keep doing the work, you will achieve your goal. Then the achievement will mean a lot more to you. Be patient with the learning process. Try not to lie, to others and especially to yourself. The help you need will come to you at the right time, even though it seems impossible to you. So lighten up and stop being so negative or having 'toxic positivity' and remember that is okay to ask or receive help."

How can you be more nurturing to yourself?

Get out of your head and then you will realize that you are not alone. Allow yourself to be vulnerable because it is okay to feel your emotions. Let go of your habit of doing everything by yourself especially when help is offered to you. You may ask the universe or a higher power for help (even searching for some type of guidance online) for someone to help you get out of the mess but when the help does come to you, you decline it. You may feel like no one understands you or gets you or you are afraid that people might not care about you. But the universe wants to tell you that it is not true and you can feel connected to someone only if you allow yourself. Try not to shut down these offers out of fear of vulnerability. When someone offers to help you try being grateful and be vocal about it instead of your usual "no I can do it by myself". Nothing wrong with being independent but also there is no harm in asking for help. I got this strong message of 'you are at the right place, at the right time' so for some of you, the event and the people around you are due to a divine arrangement so maybe this could be your chance to heal a part of your inner child because there is a soul connection to those around you.

message: "Have the courage to even face the uncertainties of your life. Know that you will move forward as you did with your past challenges. Victory doesn't only come from achieving your goals, it also comes from winning over your fears. Do not be afraid of failing. When you were a baby learning how to walk, you fell so many times and even got hurt but did you give up on walking? No, but instead you got back up and look at you now. Take the risk to improve your life, even if there is no guarantee."

𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟐:

If you felt drawn to Pile 3, make sure to check it out as well!!

What residual guilt are you holding?

You might feel guilty for not taking control of your life decisions. You feel like you don't have enough 'knowledge' to make decisions, so always give others the authority to make the decisions for you. Maybe when you were young, you were made fun of or looked down on for making "silly" choices or selecting the wrong option. Now you could be like 'oh I just need outside advice about this xyz situation' and end up doing exactly what they said even though you do not like it because you feel like if you followed your own advice you would fail 100%) You may also feel guilty for procrastinating or ignoring the things that need to be done, its there in the back of your mind but some of you could try to shut it by saying "well what can I do about it? Now is not the right time for it!" and continue sitting in your couch potato position. Also for some of you, whenever someone brings up this topic you try to ignore it or get irritated by it, not in a childish way but in more of a "rebellious" teenager way. You may feel like no one loves you or cares about you and people are secretly hating on you and are jealous of you but for the majority of you, it is most likely in your head (imaginary haters). You have longed so much for something better and since you are not getting it (sometimes you may even feel like there is no chance of this future for you), you have unknowingly developed a pessimistic attitude even though you say that you are being "realistic" about life. There is a strong message about having two choices( you got like 5 cards about it). The universe is telling you that every day you have two choices; to feel the passion within you or to numb it. If you can find enjoyment in your life now, even more, will come. It is either to do or to not. If you don't do it, you can enjoy your comfort now while occasionally feeling guilty about it and later on feel overwhelmed because you do not have enough time for it or you could do it and give yourself time to process it.

message: "Stop thinking that you will grow only when your surroundings will change. You grow when you change. Stop thinking that you will only grow when you are forced to do it, that isn't the case here. This time it IS in your hands, it's up to you and if you fail, trust yourself to get back up. Every day you have a choice, you get to decide which inner voice to listen to. It feels like your inner child is trapped by this version of you. It asks you every day to change but you might listen to it."

How can you be more nurturing to yourself?

You are free, stop living in your head so much it is almost as if you made a prison for yourself. Let go of your fear of looking stupid. Everyone makes mistakes (even the person that you constantly go to for advice and consider authority) its normal to make them, we are all humans. Do not let this fear stop you from even starting something that you want. Let go of your 'pride' which is limiting you from growing. You also embody the strengths you admire in the people you look up to. Don't try to "compare" yourself to the talents, and achievements of others. Identify what life lesson you seem to be repeating, it is one of the big lessons you're here to work on. Instead of getting frustrated and wanting this to be over as soon as possible, learn what this repetition is teaching you. When you decide to change from your old patterns for something good and make efforts to improve yourself every day, it is something to feel proud of. Even if you do not see it, you are getting better and wiser every day.

message: "the answers you seek, can always be found within you. always remember that your inner wisdom will always guide you. try to have a positive mind because how you think affects your reality. if you feel like your inner self is telling you something like "oh we are not good enough for this anyway, and we have to accept it because that's how life works" then you are not hearing from your best self. you can do it, everything is at the table for you, and it is up to do something with it. The cycle of the same misfortunes is repeating because the reason could be rooted in something that you need to resolve from the inside. Your instincts will guide you toward the right action every time, but only if you are in tune with yourself."

𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟑:

If you felt drawn to Pile 2 , check it out as well !!

What residual guilt are you holding?

(i kept thinking about the song I know it's over by The Smiths while writing this song so give it a listen if you haven't already)

You might feel guilty whenever you get emotional. You might feel afraid to open up emotionally because you feel like it will backfire on you in the future and you will get hurt. Maybe when you were young you were shamed or made fun of for crying or being excited about things (i saw a little child collecting stones/ shells from the beach and then getting scolded by the parent, so take however that resonates) You may feel uncomfortable around emotions of others and unknowingly be cold towards because when you felt emotionally vulnerable you were told to not be so sensitive and you don't know what to do. Many of you could be men/ raised were raised as the "man of the house" from a young age regardless of your gender and you were told to toughen up because there was a time to have emotions and be "weak", especially from a mother figure (even in the song I recommended he is talking to his mother). Also, some of you think that if show your emotions it will lead to some sort of financial failure, which relates to the previous line where I said that some of you had to be the man of the house and had some sort of financial responsibility since a young age. Now you find yourself in an unbalanced situation, where you think that following your brain and shutting down your emotions is the right thing to do because that is what you were taught as a child but a part of you says 'this isn't how it is supposed to be, I am a human too, I am supposed to live life and feel too like all the others do.' For this, you will have to stop the thoughts that somehow convince you or put the fear in your mind that something bad WILL happen. When you are anxious about something that hasn't even happened yet, then you are harming yourself with your thinking. Tell yourself that your negative thoughts are just thoughts and not your reality.

message: "you have completed so many challenges, that chapter is done and dusted, it is over now. Now it is time for you to evolve. It is time for you to create the world that you always wanted, the one where your younger self would feel safe and not get judged for being childish, the one where your teenage self can shamelessly dance and laugh and the one where your current self can look at both of these versions and smile and help them make that sand castle at the beach (i keep seeing a beach. it could be a metaphorical situation or literal idk, but it is a message for someone.) Get out of the repeating cycle now that you have the knowledge and guidance to do so."

How can you be more nurturing to yourself?

(yeah there is something important about water bc all three cards you got have water-related images, so you could have a lot of water in your chart especially cancer or feel connected to water.)

Take a look around your environment. It has the power to unconsciously affect your mood and self-esteem. Cut out what no longer or never served you. You do not need it. The more you clean out your personal surroundings, you will feel less heavy and stressed on the inside. Your body and mind have been under immense stress, you have every right to live for yourself and be happy. Love yourself and be open to love. Renew your love for yourself and try to feel with your heart and not your ego. Slow down and enjoy the little things in life and learn to appreciate them. Learn how to balance being in the real world and what your inner self wants. You may feel like there is no time for 'self-care', but sometimes it is important to shut down your mind and listen to your body (you could even feel tremors in your body that happen due to a lot of stress) Protect your health and well-being first.

message: "Every day there is a new opportunity to feel grateful for existing, to make good choices, and to celebrate living. Go out in the sun, ride or learn how to ride a bicycle/horse and feel the warmth of a sunny morning. Stop being a night owl, it is affecting your body and you know it as well. Don't let pride stop you from making mistakes and asking for help. You are not a disappointment if you fail or take help from someone else. Everything always works out, it always has and will continue to do so."

Thank you so much for reading!!!

#pac tarot #free tarot reading #pac reading #bts tarot #taehyung tarot #general tarot reading #love tarot reading #tarot reading #pick a card reading #inner child #tarot

[fairuzfan]

I have a question about passports. Are Palestinians in the WB, Gaza and occupied Jerusalem stateless? I know that Gaza has been under blockade, but how can Palestinians outside of Gaza travel? Do they have a special passport?

God be with Gaza and Palestine. The people are with you.

Hi anon, this is a great question! This is going to be long because it's actually one of the core reason why Israel is an Apartheid state, and contributes to the erasure of Palestinians.

First part of your question: yes, Palestinians are stateless. By definition, that means they often face trouble (click) accessing core state-based rights, like having legal jobs, owning property, being able to do build on property you own, and existing as a person with rights.

Now, since 1948, Palestinians have traveled around the world, there is an international diaspora (click on the "maps" section—although the map is not totally up to date and doesn't have totally complete data). For example, I grew up with many United States born Palestinians, meaning that they automatically are granted citizenship. However, according to international law, as my grandparents are refugees, their refugee status is passed down through generations—meaning that I am also a refugee.

I bring this up to analyze the complicated political status of the Palestinians, and why Palestinians, while citizens of different countries, don't have a clear political identity within the world. And when we get to Palestine itself, the Palestinians there face systematic statelessness enforced on them by the Zionist entity.

Palestinians in Palestine, have a passport... but even then, they aren't allowed to move freely. It does not have the same meaning as most countries' passports, because, as I said, Palestinians have no official state. There are different types of ways that Palestinians can travel depending on where they are from—for example, Palestinians in the West Bank are *not* allowed to use Ben Gurion Airport, and must go through the border to Jordan to use Aaliya to go wherever they want. But they do still have to report that they're leaving into Jordan and say where they're going. Occupied Jerusalem residents can use Ben Gurion but it's not very easy for them and they often face harassment. Gazans basically cannot travel, though, except if authorized access to study abroad and given written permission by the host country, which requires stringent verification and can be taken away at a moment's notice.

This is one of the core attributes of Apartheid—restriction of movement based on ethnic or racial or religious identity. This restriction allows for heavy monitoring of Palestinians, under the guise of "security threats."

Second Part of your question:

I actually had to consult a couple of different people I know who regularly travel to the West Bank, because each part of the territories have different rules. I've never been there so I get regularly confused with which places have which rules. I'm still not sure about the colors of the cards I mention so if someone has been there recently and would like to clarify, feel free to add to the post which cards belong to which.

As a whole, the people in the West Bank and Gaza are not citizens. Some people in Jerusalem do have citizenship, specified with a colored "card." Palestinians call their cards "Haweeyah," or identifications. Citizens also have a different colored license plate which tells the Zionist Entity that the people in the car are citizens. But the very existence of these cards, do not guarantee them rights as a citizen if they are Palestinians, especially if they are not Jewish. Palestinians are often detained without warning (called administrative detainees-click), denied to build on their own property, or even expelled and physically kicked out from their homes without notice, which is what happened in 2021 in Sheikh Jarrah, has happened before, and continues to have happened since.

In theory, these identification cards allow them to travel throughout Occupied Palestine, but they must go through militarized checkpoints where Palestinians are humiliated, tortured, and even murdered by the Zionist Entity. Every Palestinian has to go through these checkpoints, no matter what type of card you have. They are hundreds of them throughout Palestine (someone told me there are 630?), and often, people don't know whether or not they'll actually get through that checkpoint until they've gotten through it. There is no guarantee for Palestinians, no matter if you're a citizen or not, whether you'll even make it out of there alive depending on who's manning the checkpoint. I recommend reading this resource from people in Jerusalem about the checkpoint system and the division of Jerusalem (Al-Quds in arabic) for a much more in depth analysis of the checkpoint system (click).

Now there are other types of cards as well. The card if you're from the West Bank, which we call Ad-Dhuffa, are not citizenship cards but they can allow you to move throughout the territories, albeit still through the checkpoints. The car plates are also a different color noncitizens. They specify that they are residents of the West Bank. These people cannot go into the Zionist Entity freely.

I do want to emphasize though—"citizenship" for those from Jerusalem can be taken away at a moment's notice, especially if the Zionist Entity finds out that people have citizenship elsewhere in an effort to force Palestinians out as much as possible. Most Jews (except for Ethiopians ones, wonder why) are encouraged to immigrate and are automatically given citizenship no matter what other passports they may hold, even paying millions of dollars for them to come to Palestine and settle.

Now it's clear that this is apartheid—the control of movement is one part, and separating even citizens as a second class status that may be taken away is how the Zionist entity encourages ethnic cleansing at a slower scale than the Nakba in '48, but still devastating nonetheless. But that heavy surveillance of movement can even be at a much, much, smaller scale.

I want to focus in on one city in particular in the West Bank—AlKhalil (some may call it Hebron or the Old City). This is the city where my dad's family is from, so I've heard stories about it since I was little.

AlKhalil is a segregated city to the max. Palestinians are not freely allowed to walk through the streets, with some designated as "Jews Only" streets. This means that even if their front door faces the "Jews Only" street, Palestinians can't go through it at risk of being shot by a settler or soldier, so they go climb over leave from the backdoor or even climb over rooftops to leave their houses. Settler Jews, however, are allowed to go anywhere they want, all while carrying heavy artillery and terrorizing Khalili residents.

This also illustrates another part of apartheid USAmerican might be most familiar with—calling imagery Jim Crow Era and sundown towns that still go on today. Fully segregated, prohibited from even walking down streets, Palestinians are denied even core human rights, KNOWING that they're second class residents (not citizens!) that are not even afforded the simple luxury of deciding how they can walk to work or school. In fact, shopkeepers on the ground level install metal nets separating the first and second floors, because the settlers on the second floor often throw trash onto the street or into their windows. There is a literal fence between Israelis and Palestinians with the Palestinians on the bottom.

The material reality of apartheid is segregation and it is justified by the notion of "security measures," but is in fact a concentrated effort to make the lives of Palestinians difficult enough to want to leave as soon as possible. One of the forms of colonialism is the effort to crush hope and make their lives absolutely as unlivable as possible, and if they can get Palestinians to just *leave,* then they can say: "Look! We didn't take it from them! They decided to leave on their own. So we can move in now, and they have no right to come back because, well, they left!" Because of that, apartheid is one of the tools of colonialism to rob the indigenous communities of their land, and is why I wanted to use this question to discuss this.

Thank you for this question, sorry it took so long! Here are some resources I found on Palestinians' experiences:

The weaponization of Jewish identity against Palestinians to expel them from their homes by Mohammed ElKurd (highly recommend): https://mondoweiss.net/2023/09/jewish-settlers-stole-my-house-its-not-my-fault-theyre-jewish/

Checkpoints, Part 1: Severing Jerusalem by JerusalemStory.com: https://www.jerusalemstory.com/en/article/checkpoints-part-1-severing-jerusalem

Mapping Hebron Apartheid: https://www.hebronapartheid.org/

#palestine #west bank

[swordsandarms]

This is a reply in regards to this post, which highlights the high likelihood that, whether people are fine with the author's choices or not, RxL is written by him with romantic nuance as far as the text goes. @sahtinekryze

And I think this fandom really needs to have a honest analysis of the idea of "selfishness" in narrative choices such as this, which is that when it comes to how the whole "duty vs love" scenarios Martin writes, he does not actually writes it with some wide spectrum ranging from selfish to sacrificial. There are usually no other choices than the two.

Could one define the alleged choice of breaking a noble marriage contract that would have negative political influence at the least, had it been the best case scenario (which one would logically assume the two might have hoped for instead of very lots of people dying including themselves) as 'selfish', which in its very definition is doing something for one's self, though it may not be advantageous for others? Yes.

But as I said, Martin doesn't write a middle ground. There's that, or Lyanna marries an unwanted man and is hence forced to have a non-consensual relationship with him, and forced to carry children out of a noncon relationship, so that her male relatives can reap benefits of political power, as well as her groom through her womb. And as shows inspired by these books love to show us very graphic such cases (like Daenerys in GOT, or the storyline given to show!Sansa, or the changes for show!Alicent in HOTD), I am sure fans should have learnt better about the accusations usually thrown at Lyanna in fandom spaces in regards to being another woman marrying against her will in a society where a woman cannot say no, marital rape isn't recognised, and a husband is "just taking his rights": that "this is just being whiny". (There are many other examples in the books; the author is also not holding back on what unwanted or unsuitable marriages mean to women.)

Against the fanon idea that she is some wild, demanding, conceited girl, she doesn't rage, she doesn't bite. She has a tentative, soft spoken conversation with her brother about it and her reluctance in the matter, and is (nicely) dismissed.

Had she not (allegedly, while all is unconfirmed) fallen for the Crown Prince and he for her, there is no one else powerful enough to extract her from her situation (her male relatives having made up their own minds in the matter), nor anyone else to go from where she cannot be recovered by a powerful and connected family and fiance. No one else she could marry/sleep with that wouldn't be shut down and covered (as seen with Tyrion or Lysa) to preserve the higher price for which her womb can be bartered. Just no other viable choice that wasn't the other end of the scale: a woman being sacrificed by men, for men's uses.

As I said at the start, this is simply how Martin writes these conflicts of "mind and heart". He corners the characters. There is no light at the end of the tunnel that isn't also sort of "selfish" and "dumb" looking on the surface.

This can be applied to more such situations in the text-

Catelyn undoes the already precarious state of her son's campaign by releasing their most valuable captive. She has not even a guarantee that her 'selfish' act for love will work. But there are no options she's given. No one else cares to make it a priority to get her daughters back. The only other choice is to let it be and let 2 girls be sacrificed in marriages of ill intent to use their wombs and discard them, unsure if she will find anything left of them but Lannister named babies when this is over. It is "selfish". It is "dumb". Yet she's cornered.

Jon makes the decision to go fight Ramsay Bolton because he's run out of options and he's cornered. Arya is allegedly in the hands of the family that have viciously killed a number of Starks and taken Winterfell. She is 11 and allegedly married. He is made sick at the thought of what is being done to her. He's tried the "lesser" tactics of getting her rescued without being seen as trespassing the status quo of the NW publicly, by sending others for her. But it was always going to come to this. Ramsay guesses (or finds out) that his escaped bride would make it to the Wall. Keeping "peace" and "doing his duty" instead of "being selfish and dumb" is handing over "Arya" himself if she even makes it to appease the Lord of Winterfell, sacrificing a girl to an unwanted marriage meant to use her for her womb and discard her.

There are no actual choices when there is no actual scale in between "selfish and dumb" and the sacrifice of a girl (or, you know, 2,3, as many as Westeros would swallow as it did for millennia for this or that Lord or King to amass and keep power), whether they are Lannisters trying to get Winterfell, or Starks extinguishing the line of the Warg King.

#asoiaf #rhaegar targaryen #lyanna stark #arya stark #jon snow #catelyn stark

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week's writer spotlight feature is: @ciriceart! They have sixteen works under the Stranger Things tag and ten under the Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson tag over on Archive of our Own!!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following of their works by CultOfAdoration:

I get this feeling I'm in motion

Rule Me Captive, Drain Me Empty

a good age to meet the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with

to have everything you can see

They care alot about capturing the accurate voice of the characters they write about, and put lots of thought and care into character motivations and worldbuilding :} - anonymous

Below the cut, @ciriceart answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I just like the dynamic, and getting to write dialogue and think about conflicts that might naturally crop up between the two. I don’t think that there was a chance for them to get along well at all if not for the kids dragging them both into the end of the world, so it’s kind of fun to find different ways for them to get past it. Less of a “they would never get together” and more of a “under what circumstances would they get together” situation.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I think I just like anything that falls into character study or backstory development. I used to eat up anything under the hurt/comfort or angst tags as well, and those can all go pretty well together. Anything that even vaguely evokes Orpheus and Eurydice is also pretty much guaranteed to get my attention.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Slow burn. A lot of my writing never sees the light of day (or outside groupchats), but a majority of it is “will they, won’t they” slow burn with the two kind of dancing around the subject until it feels inevitable.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I’m not sure if I have a singular favorite fic. “New York Hardcore” by CaptainHoney is pretty high up there. It’s part of a larger series, but that first entry stuck with me. The tag “Steve deserves to be happy and go ham in the moshpit” is the truest statement I’ve ever read about that man.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’ve been working on a sort-of AU road trip fic about Steve, Jonathan, and later a hitchhiking Eddie, as they go cross-country. It’s very “right person, wrong place, wrong time”. Right now it’s just a big mess of notes and writing sprints, though.

What is your writing process like?

Almost everything starts off as scribbles in a notebook/Notes app, or taken down in notes app using speech-to-text on my phone. I always have to do the worst version first or it just doesn't feel right. Everything I want to be included gets thrown in there with very little regard for eloquence or order. From there, I break everything down into bullet points that I can expand on whenever I have time, and move things around into chronological order.

Do you have any writing quirks?

There are some words that I feel like I overuse. Things like “definitely”, “just”, and “very”, which reflects my real life speech habits.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I try holding off posting until I’m finished if only because it feels SO bad if I don’t manage to complete something. It doesn’t usually work. I get excited, so usually I end up starting to post when things are maybe 60% finished. Schedules remind me too much of school to be fun.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I don’t think I have one I’m most proud of, but I don’t have one that I’m not proud of either. “a good age to meet the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with” is one that I thought a lot about and still think about, even though it’s pretty short. I only posted it very recently, but I wrote it shortly after Vol. 2 when thinking too hard about Robin and what her personal life might be like after everything.

How did you get the idea for Rule Me Captive, Drain Me Empty?

I thought it would be interesting to explore the two of them fumbling through kink and figuring things out in a more organic way. It’s something I always find quite cute, and it feels more natural to me when they’re not exactly well versed in the ins and outs of “proper” kink etiquette and terminology. 

I’m also a Dom-leaning switch Steve truther and I’m out here in the trenches. 

When writing to have everything you can see, what was something you didn’t expect?

The response to it from readers, mostly. I had several people letting me know that the subject matter is more outside of their usual interests but that they ended up enjoying it and seeing the appeal regardless. That’s a pretty big compliment to me because I’m somewhat in the same boat.

What inspired to have everything you can see?

So, when I don’t share an interest with others, I get really heavily invested in why they like that thing, or how the interest came about. It could be about anything - books, music, shows, ships, spirituality, kinks. I just like to Know, I like “getting it”. 

I wrote that fic to understand “under what circumstances would this be A Thing for this character” in a somewhat judgment free zone. Just going right the hell into it like “alright, this is what these characters are into. Make it believable and make it fun”. It works!

What was your favorite part to write from I get this feeling I'm in motion?

I think it’s the implication of how routine hangouts like that are, with Steve and Robin. They go to her house, they get snacks and drinks, and they immediately make themselves comfortable in her room. There’s something really sweet about a best friend making themselves at home in your house, and just existing beside you.

How do/did you feel writing Rule Me Captive, Drain Me Empty?

Nervous! I get really in my head about how I go about things at first. Am I being too needlessly verbose? Too much exposition? Do people even care about all the pointless errands they’re going on, or should we just get right to the bedroom?

But then I calm down and figure, I’m having fun writing about Steve intentionally dragging Eddie around town, and everyone else is just going to have to make peace with that. 

What was the most difficult part of writing I get this feeling I'm in motion?

Does “not immediately oversharing all of my personal hang-ups in the author's notes” count?

Actually, it was probably making the “repercussions” of Steve’s actions still be scary enough for him to internalize as a kid, but not be too disastrous or dangerous for him. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. 

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

It’s very small. In “a good age (…)”, Robin thinks about what it might’ve been like if Steve were her brother and they (affectionately) come to the conclusion that they would have been little shitheads to each other as kids.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I have a handful of steddie illustrations based on fics that I’m waiting for the green light on to post, and quite a number of fics I’m chipping away at. Watch this space!

Thank you to our author, @ciriceart, and our nominator! See more of @ciriceart’s works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

#steddie fic recs #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #writer's spotlight #writer's wednesday

[missmeinyourbones]

YAY LOVER EVENT! can we get “I say I don't want that, but what if I do?” With nanami pls?

13. I SAY I DON’T WANT THAT, BUT WHAT IF I DO? (kento nanami x reader)

for L’s lover event! based on these prompts

“When are you proposing to me?”

Nanami nearly chokes on the hot coffee he sips on. The very first words you speak to him this morning are certainly not your go-to good morning, handsome! or even your usual sweet praises of thank you for my coffee! 

No, instead, he’s greeted with the biggest accusation of his life—and he’s worked with Gojo a long time, having dealt with plenty of his stupid questions and ignorant allegations. 

“Sorry?” he swallows shakily, doing his best to play off his wavering voice as a mere tickle in his throat. 

You repeat the question, enunciating the syllables in an obnoxious manner, making sure it’s loud and clear, that it leaves no room for error or misinterpretation. 

Now, Nanami doesn't know why on earth you’re asking him such a loaded question first thing in the morning. He has no logical way of knowing that you’d spent the early hours of your day scrolling through social media, seeing all of your old peers and friends announcing their achievements. Surprise engagements, terribly colored baby showers, wedding photo-booth pictures that look like they were taken on a Polaroid from the 90s. While your lover had been sleeping soundly next to you, you continued to burn and fester with jealousy at each post you’d scroll by. 

Nanami decides to tread lightly, readjusting his grip on the newspaper in hand as he attempts to nonchalantly clarify, “I thought you said you wanted to wait a little longer, that you didn’t want to be too young when it happens?” 

When it happens, you realize. Not if it happens, but when. 

You sigh as you slump onto the kitchen table, heels of your palms applying pressure to your eyelids as you become more and more frustrated with yourself. 

“I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?” you manage to grumble out. 

Seeing how distressed you are, Nanami throws all aloof and casual fronts out the window. He puts the paper down and reaches for your wrist from across the table. Gently, he pulls your hands from your face, tenderly forcing you to look at him.

“You changed your mind?” he asks softly, eyes glossing over your unreadable  expression. 

“No,” you respond quickly, out of muscle memory, before hesitating and stuttering on your own thoughts, “I—I don’t know.”

Nanami nods, wanting you to know that even though he’s confused beyond belief, he’s trying. Trying to follow along with your words and read in between their lines. Trying to understand your ups and downs, differentiate your facts and your fiction. 

“I guess I’m just—” you trail off with a heavy exhale, looking for the right words, but you aren’t quite sure if there are any. “Antsy?” you settle on, as it sounds the most similar to how you feel—itchy and uncomfortable and waiting for something that isn't guaranteed. 

Nanami empathetically nods along with your confession, letting you continue to express your concerns. 

“Seeing everyone I know getting married and having kids is making me feel a little…restless,” you meekly decide on. 

“That makes sense,” Nanami honestly attempts.

You scoff, “No, it doesn’t.”

You're frustrated with yourself now, because it doesn't make sense. You have the man of your dreams—hopelessly in love with you and devoted to your every beck and call—and yet you're still uneasy about your future. It’s not fair—not to him, not to you, not to your aunt on Facebook who messages you monthly asking to see pictures of your engagement ring that doesn't exist. 

“I guess I’m just tired of hearing about it, you know? All of my relatives and friends with all of the ‘when is he gonna propose, already?’ and ‘you’re gonna have to pop out a baby soon!” you mimic their words in a nasally voice, one that makes Nanami fail to bite back a smile. 

“It’s annoying,” you mutter defeatedly, fingers tapping on the table as a means of distracting yourself from the anxiety and frustration at hand. 

Expecting Nanami to comfort you with his usual coos and soft kisses, you wait for his response. 

However, when it comes, it’s not what you predict.

“It is,” he simply agrees, “Because it’s nobody’s business, except ours.”

You look at him from across your tiny kitchen table, hands interlocked and eyes saying all that your lips can’t. They gleam with soft flutters that plea: thank you for understanding me, even when I don’t understand myself. 

Nanami lets his thumb rub up and down your left hand’s ring finger, “Can I tell you a secret?”

You silently nod, eyes not leaving his hands on yours as you listen intently. 

“I already bought a ring, a long time ago.”

You jump up from your seat, both pleasantly surprised and terrified at his confession. 

“What?!” you shriek. 

Nanami just smiles and shrugs casually, “After our fourth date, actually.”

He beckons you to sit back down with a wave of his hand. You slowly crawl back into the chair, eyes never leaving his shy expression as he grabs your hand again, fingers returning to that unoccupied spot on your left hand.

“I just knew,” he beams.

He brings the barren knuckle up to his lips, placing a tender kiss to the delicate skin. You stare at him in awe, wondering how you got so lucky with someone as benevolent and patient as him.  

“It’s safe to say that I’ve been waiting a long time,” he pines against your knuckle, his lips moving tickles the spot, “So I think our friends and family can wait a little longer, seeing how it doesn’t concern them at all,” he simply concludes. 

With a peck placed to your temple, he stands, grabbing his mug and carrying it to the kitchen sink.

“I’d wait as long as you need me to,” he assures as he rinses out the ceramic cup with a weary sponge and a drop of citrus scented soap, “Whenever you’re ready, whenever that may be, it’s yours.”

As the sound of running water fills your senses, you smile to yourself. Maybe your aunt was onto something, after all.

NOTE: this is my first real nanami piece *sweats nervously* so be kind...i hope i did him justice and gave all of u kento fuckers some good eats <3

#nanami kento #kento nanami #nanami x reader #kento nanami x reader #nanami fic #kento nanami fic #nanami fluff #kento nanami fluff #nanami blurb #nanami drabble #kento nanami blurb #kento nanami drabble #jjk #jjk x reader #jjk writing #L's LOVER event!

[bloobluebloo]

i always interpreted demises curse as condemning hyrule to a fate where the circumstances it creates will always lead to someone like ganondorf appearing. its why theres such a massive gap of time between skyward sword and OoT, when logically demises hatred shouldve been fine to just Create A Guy anytime between those games right? but by this logic, the circumstances surrounding hyrule werent right yet. OoT comes on the tail end of a war, implied to be one between hyrule and the gerudo to fold them into the kingdom. the gerudo are unhappy with the current arrangement and hyrule is less than thrilled with their lack of cooperation. hyrule has a black site where they disappear political dissidents maintained by a shadowy group of guardians who answer solely to the royal family. the circumstances werent *right* for demises curse beforehand. hyrule hadnt dug its own grave, hadnt created a world so easy to hate, beforehand. but demises curse would guarantee that hyrule *would* create those circumstances, trapping the heros spirit and the descendant of hylia. they can leave at any point. they do in spirit tracks. but moat of the time? they *wont*. and the cycle keeps repeating because of it. as long as there is hyrule, hyrule will give rise to hatred, and demises curse ensures someone will rise that just. snaps. and becomes the vehicle of hyrules self created darkness to try and drag it down

its an interpretation that isnt as explicit as other, more literal, readings of demises curse, but isnt without canon support and is what im personally fond of. i wish it was an angle nintendo pushed more often, or even just. discussed skyward sword beyond referencing its locations and names

Actually anon my preferred way of interpreting the curse of Demise is exactly as you mention, that Hyrule would always create circumstances that would allow a harbinger of darkness to rise and spread destruction across Hyrule. In fact, if the official timeline is to be taken into account (which, given the current comments from Nintendo, EHEM), the first instance of this would have been Vaati since the Minish Cap and Four Swords are slotted in between Skyward Sword and OoT. Then you also have other villains like Majora's Mask, Bellum, Malladus, Yuga etc. that would all be instances of this phenomena (and maybe the Fierce Deity too? He is an Oni himself eheheheh). Before Skyward Sword was even a thing, Ganondorf mentions as much in Twilight Princess, that this struggle between light and darkness is divinely ordained and will continue throughout history. My argument in my post is that, given the context of the game (Hylia reincarnating as Zelda, manipulating Link's feelings, Demise being her enemy, GROOSE) I don't think that it's unlikely that they were thinking of Ganondorf being a reincarnation of Demise. In Hyrule Historia they mention in the design notes that they made Demise to resemble Ganondorf, and then you have the Demon King Ganondorf's design which looks very similar to Demise. In other words, both points of view do have canonical evidence to back them up. I prefer the former waaaaaay over the latter, especially after seeing TotK (juuuuuust because Ganondorf may or may not be an incarnation of a demon doesn't mean he has to be written so one dimensionally and evil).

#ganonthots #bloothots

[kunstkombi]

MP100 Fallout AU

I wrote down some headcanons for this AU (& others) in February & well, come April there's suddenly a Fallout TV series? (& there are Magic the Gathering Fallout cards since earlier this year, too??) Well Fallout brainrot is revived, here's long-ass worldbuilding/background ramblings.

Vault Tec & Claw

Claw existed before the Great War as an organization researching psychic abilities; though in this universe powers initially don't nearly reach the levels of MP100 canon

Toichiro & his wife start working with Vault Tec overseas & are assigned Vault 100, that is just being constructed

They are to conduct experiments with FEV-variants on promising psychics to try & enhance their abilities by new means the vaults offer in the future

Mob is born in 2058

Several years later Toichiro starts to "collect" mostly young espers to populate the vault with; of course the plan of direct & experimentation with yet unknown risks is left out

Parents of the kids he's interested in are offered contracts that promise a safe place for them to survive with the downside of being taken away to 'monitor', but the desperation over the worsening state of the world makes it easy to agree

The Kageyamas even beg for them to take both their sons, not only the one with some innate abilities - and succeed

Toichiro's wife leaves him over the increasingly unethical plans for the vault, but to her dismay their own son stays with his father

Vault Occupancy

In 2072 the contracts take effect & Vault 100 is populated and sealed (with mostly kids from JP & USA families)

Toichiro & the Ultimate 5 are in charge and oversee the vault and experiments

For about two years the vault is operated with its young residents living a pretty standard vault life, they have restricted permission to be in contact with their families

As the experiments so far show no effect & the young population is getting harder to control, the decision is made to make them enter cryosleep early & continue with different lines of experimentation while in this state

In 2074 all residents except the six in charge enter cryosleep, including Toichiro's own son

Correspondence with parents of the kids is fabricated from here on

Many of the kids die in the next few years while supplemented with barely tested substances to increase their affinities

In 2077 on the day of the Great War, Toichiro & the Ultimate 5 enter cryosleep themselves, joining their own experiments as subjects now that the fatality rates have reached 0 & brain scans look promising

They set their own systems to awake at a scheduled point in the future

Post-Apocalypse

It goes as planned; the 6 of them wake up & find themselves enhanced with never before seen psychic powers, marking their final experiments a success

Vault 100 is unsealed & Toichiro wakes only Sho from the remaining children, to take him with him

Sho is initially too weak to fight back but doesn't take to it kindly; as soon as he is able he goes back

He wakes Ritsu first, of course

Together they start waking the remaining kids - some of them, including Ritsu, don't seem to see any changes in their abilities, several of them are incredibly disoriented

However, Mob's cryopod malfunctions and won't release him - they could break it, but can't guarantee his survival should they forcibly remove him

They can only try to look for someone to help, so even if Ritsu has a hard time leaving he and Sho start their wasteland journey with that mission, while Teru stays back to watch over the others and Mob

Unfortunately Toichirou comes back in search of Sho and they are forced to flee, leaving Mob unattended

Reigen & Mob

Not too long after everyone's gone, Reigen instead finds the vault - it looks newly opened which could promise a fortune (& he isn't so wrong about that)

Despite, or because, not knowing what he's doing, he ends up accidentally releasing the single kid left

Mob is fine but overwhelmed & immediately starts frantically looking for Ritsu

Reigen's words don't get through to Mob - he gets some reaction when he talks to him in Japanese, but ultimate can just follow while Mob scours the whole vault

Soon he gets a showcase of Mob's new powers & in their strongest form, while Mob reaches 100% despair

In the explosion, most of the vault is destroyed

Reigen is shocked but fascinated and he stays with Mob and calms him

His initial plan to bring the kid somewhere safe asap change with the idea of taking him with him to profit from these powers - Reigen himself is not the strongest & survives mainly on charisma & luck out there

Reigen lies to him about knowing more than he does & possibly being able to help him find his brother

Throughout Mob's traumatic awakening into an entirely unknown world alone Reigen is his only company & guidance, so Mob trusts him quickly - & Reigen gets attached quickly

Reigen continues lying but his own gains aside, he soon genuinely tries to help Mob find Ritsu as well as the truth

Somewhere along on their journey they meet Dimple, an intelligent super mutant & he tags along, initially also out of interest in Mob's powers

#i have not decided yet in which year their awaking is set #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #reigen arataka #arataka reigen #kageyama shigeo #shigeo kageyama #kageyama ritsu #ritsu kageyama #reimob #mobrei #ok this gotta be enough tags #& yes ofc this is reimob there's no universe for me where these two aren't destined for eachother fight me #this is also definitely shorit #probably shoritteru #maybe terumob shared some kisses during the vault years #even more likely shimateru had a thing but I am not yet sure if it might have been a horrible one (sorry Teru I adore you so) #either way I wanna write some vault years hcs down at some point too #how the esper kids relationships evolved & all #and I think it would be interesting for Mob to meet the claw members first before reigen #even with lesser impact because nobody has strong powers yet at that point #and yeah Reigen needs a backstory I couldn't decide on yet. If he was born in the wasteland or in a vault or if he might be from pre-war to #headcanon #mine #my writing

[animehouse-moe]

Chainsaw Man Chapter 141: Normal Life Plus

Phew, been a minute since I posted last. Been really sick which has sucked, but I'm not about to let it stop me from talking about the latest Chainsaw Man chapter, no sir. A chapter that largely reflects on Denji's life, how far he's come, what continues to tie him down, and where he wants to be. There's a lot to chat about in how Denji's daily life is displayed, and more than a few words to be had about the ending of the chapter.

Right away, Fujimoto starts with a mockery of Chainsaw Man. His branded foodstuffs depreciating in value, the posters plastered everywhere of him being replaced with (presumably) Asa. Right from the get go, they continue to break Denji down, to test his will. Even the excitement he gets from seeing a devil in front of him is taken away by devil hunters. Everything that he had as Chainsaw Man has been taking away from him so that Denji can have what he wants.

The following spread shows Denji's daily life, but something about it rings hollow. How he stares off into space, how so many of these moments are combinations of his experiences with Power, Aki, and even Makima. It is what Denji dreamed of, but even with it in his grasp, something doesn't feel right.

Denji even goes as far as to voice this unhappiness, to doubt what lays ahead in his future. Will he always be happy, can he guarantee that? Will his happiness grow as he does? It's something he's unsure of, and rather than Nayuta answering with something profound, she offers Denji exactly what he needs in that moment: the control devil.

No, not Makima, definitely Nayuta. What I mean is he needs someone to speak for him, to make those decisions that he wavers in. His fear of the future, the concern of his happiness, they're things that Denji has yet to come to terms with. Having them provided by Nayuta, having someone say "it'll be fine as long as I'm here" is what he desperately wants.

Anyways, this exchange of the weapon hybrids. Interestingly enough we've got the Spear and Whip hybrids here. Alongside Barem and Miri, this accounts for the original 4 hybrids that were previously under Makima's control. Reze, Quanxi, and even Katana Man are still undiscovered. There's the possibility that post-Makima they were swept up by Kishibe and are elsewhere in the world currently, but whatever the case it's clear that Barem is the de facto leader of these weapon hybrids.

Also, that last panel? They're at Family Burger, it's where Kobeni worked at the end of Part 1. Wouldn't it be crazy if she showed up in the next chapter?

Back on topic though, it's clear that the weapon devils are serving a very specific purpose in trying to get Chainsaw Man out into the open for some unspoken reason. I would assume it all has to do with his perception in society. This arc has been all about breaking Denji down, ripping Chainsaw Man away from him, removing his spotlight and relegating him to being "just a person". If they can force him back into the body of Chainsaw Man, and they can humiliate him in that form, they can essentially crush him underfoot and leave him as a weakling without any concern for his actions.

Regardless of intention though, this chapter really reaps a lot of what was sowed with Denji's character through the end of part 1. His pursuit of happiness, all that he had to discard to attain it, all that he lost with each step he took toward it. He's doing it all over again. He's surrendered part of himself, he's stuck in a life removed from Devils, removed from being the hero. He's living with the control devil, a threat to the world is ongoing, so on and so forth. Does it not at all sound familiar to Part 1? The whole idea is the reiteration of Denji as a character. Sure, he can't be reincarnated like a regular devil, but in spite of that, it still remains the word I would choose to use when explaining Denji's character arc here. He suffers, he struggles, he makes the same mistakes and pitfalls. But in the end, he'll discover himself once more and attain even greater heights. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with the next chapter, and finding out who we might end up meeting up with again finally.

#chainsaw man #csm pt 2 #chainsaw man manga #csm manga #chainsaw man part two #chainsaw man part 2 spoilers #csm part 2 #csm part two #csm spoilers #manga recommendation #manga review #anime and manga #manga #csm denji #miri sugo #kobeni higashiyama #sword man #sword devil #sword hybrid #flamethrower devil #flamethrower hybrid #csm barem #whip hybrid #spear hybrid #nayuta csm #nayuta #spear devil #whip devil

[choco-bloop]

MCYT as quotes from my friends pt2: Empires

Fwhip: Have you guys eaten raw food? Sausage: Who doesn't eat cake dough? Fwhip: I used to make pancakes and I would eat the pancake batter Sausage: We are like, confessing our sins

-

Scott: Lonely and b!tchless but at least I have my llamas <3 Jimmy: DUDE. I am coming back Scott: Daddy <3 Jimmy: NO Jimmy: JUST NO Jimmy: WHY AM I HERE JUST TO SUFFER Scott: Come back sooniee me scaredieee /pleading face emoji/

-

Lizzie: I was arguing with my brother on what his birthday was and I was correct. Jimmy forgot his own bday.

-

Oli: &-5)38're how do you get above I'm going to throw my lute into my campfire Oli: **Katherine Katherine: hOW DO YOU TYPE MY NAME SO BADLY-

-

Joey: Omg I didn't know you wanted to fck them Shubble: Joey. Silence is a free right exercisable by all yet freedom of speech guarantees a possibility of destruction. May I ask that you choose to think wisely through your decisions before acting upon your impulses? Thank you and have a warm evening ahead. (uses tip of thumb to direct you out the door)

-

Pix: So the that crossover post that Oli really liked got taken down. Oli: NOOOO I NEED MY DAILY DOSE OF EYE BLEACH WHILE BOPPING TO A GOOD ASS SONG

-

Jimmy: Why is it typing backwards in uwu language Scott: THIS IS AMAZING Lizzie: NEVEW WECOVIEWIYNG FWOM THIS Pix: This is like someone from the uwu horrors are trying to communicate and dominate the world Scott: <3 Jimmy: Scott... are you its ambassador.... tell us your intent Scott: My friend sent it to my I just I needed to introduce it to y'all Scott: It's beautiful. amazing Scott: Picasso could never Scott: Shakespeare could never Scott: Van Gogh could never Pix: Please stop associating yourself with that friend.

Bonus: Mario Kart quotes

Katherine: Lakitu don't steal my coins... Lakitu still stole my coins

-

Shubble: I like my turtles and my mushrooms like my food

-

Scott: Ah b!tch. There's something about that word that makes it so fun to say Joel: Is it because you aren't getting any?

-

Jimmy: WHO IS SQUIDDING ME

-

Pix, commentating on the race: Shubble drops to ninth after smashing into a crab Pix: She does another cartwheel Later... Pix: Shubble crashes into two whole crabs

-

Gem: I just had an explosion (OP note: I believe that this was a bomb-omb )

-

Joel: Scott, Joey. While you two are not straight, you guys should certainly drive straight Joey: WE ARE GOING WITH THE THEME Scott: In my defence, I thought having auto-steering on was a b!tchless move.

-

Oli: I AM GOING TO FRENCH BRAID YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM (Note: this was directed at a CPU)

-

Shubble: My turtle just dive-bombed off the edge

-

False: Dire situations call for dire measures

-

Katherine: Someone keeps bashing me in! Lizzie: I think it's hitting you with a shell Katherine not bashing you in

#empires smp #empires season 2 #incorrect quotes #esmp season 2 #katherine elizabeth #solidaritygaming #dangthatsalongname #pixlriffs #ldshadowlady #shubble #falsesymmetry #oli theorionsound #smallishbeans #fwhip #geminitay #mythical sausage #joey graceffa

[rieper-for-hire]

Delayed

(I played around with the Hitman Prompt Generator made by @diana-fortyseven and this was born. I'm really proud of this one!)

Pairing: Agent 47 x Reader

Trope: Almost Kiss

Words to use: Coin | station | statement

Dialogue: "Drop the weapon!"

(Also cross posted on AO3!)

Word count: 938

There isn't a day when it isn't raining in the city of fifteen million. Even with the bright neon signs, this part of Chongqing had always been darker than other places. At least, from the last time 47 had been there.

That time, it had been on business. A quick in-and-out mission into the ICA facility. He hadn't much time for exploring, but that was then. When priorities took precedent above anything.

No. This time, it was also for business, but not so much of an extreme as previously been. Sully Bowden had been on the contract list, and with a few placed items here and a bodyguard knocked out there, the late boxer found his untimely demise by pure chance.

All in a day's work. Well, rather a couple minutes. Either way to him, the job was done. Diana had already assured him of the payment transfer and had bid him a good night from wherever in the world she was. He doesn't ask her much about her life after the fall of Providence.

That's a question he could ask tomorrow, now that it was guaranteed.

In the present, his own life took precedence.

He spins the coin in his fingers, having picked one up in the small arcade. If he hadn't technically still been on the job, he probably would've whistled while he walked down to the main plaza.

That's when he spots you. And he smiles. By the stars, he smiles.

Huddled under your umbrella, you lean against a ledge near the section above the plaza, scrolling through your phone to pass the time. You had insisted on joining him on this job, even going the lengths to pay for your own ticket. Though, 47 had reimbursed your bank account right after your purchase. How you bought a ticket for a private flight, he still doesn't know.

Glancing to the side, he spots the trash can where he had stashed the bodyguard's pistol earlier. He flings the coin in the can's direction, the sound attracting another's attention as he walks to you.

You notice the shadow approaching you through the rain. Recognizing the hitman, you shut off your phone.

"I'm assuming everything went alright?" you ask. "Well, for you. Not the other guy."

He nods, stepping under the shelter of the umbrella. "That they did. Sorry to keep you waiting."

You dismiss him. "Don't apologize for that. Things take time. You and I both know that."

He hums in agreement. He could count how many times you've waited for him to come back to you after his contracts. Knowing the toll it took on you each time, he never protested when you asked to tag along, as long as your safety was assured.

"I got dinner," you say, gesturing to the bag of takeout next to you. "I know it isn't your first choice, but our flight's early tomorrow morning."

"It's alright," he responds, dismissing your thought. "It's still a meal we'll be sharing together."

Your face lights up at his statement. He won't ever admit it to you, but he relishes in the simpler things in life. At least, the ones he's been lucky enough to share and experience with you.

It had taken a long time for him to open up to you, but amid the struggles, you were there with him. From the Shadow Client to Grey's militia to the end of Providence. You had been there every step of the way, and he was more than grateful.

"You're such a charmer, you know that?" you say, leaning closer to the blue-eyed assassin with a smile.

"I have many skills," he admits.

"I'm sure you haven't shown me all of them."

He tries to hold back a smirk but fails. "Care to find out?"

"Very much so," you purr.

How poetic this moment was for you both. A kiss in the rain! Your faces were only inches from each other now. Sure, it was rare for both of you to be physically affectionate. Let alone when in public. If you could bottle up this moment, you would. How often do people get this opportunity after all-

"Drop the weapon!"

And of course, the moment's ruined.

You nearly jump out of your skin as a person shouts from down the street. Luckily, 47 wound his arm around you earlier, keeping you grounded.

From what you can make out through the rain, a scared passerby hastily drops a firearm and holds his hands up in surrender to a nearby guard.

Your eyebrow arches at the hitman. "Your doing, I'm guessing?"

"I'm not sure what you mean." You could hear the slight grin in his voice though. A little bit of chaos was good every now and then, as he had picked up from you. When exactly, you're not sure.

You both watch for a moment as the guard's partner walks up and handcuffs the passerby. Guard #1 picks up a coin dropped amid the confusion and glances around the area.

"We should get out of here," 47 suggests.

You laugh. "Don't have to tell me twice."

47 takes the umbrella from you and reaches for your hand. You're about to give him the bag of food when he shakes his head, gesturing to your other hand.

Your heart warms at the motion. 47 was still opening up on physical affection. You never pushed him for any when you both were alone and only let him initiate it when he was comfortable.

Together, you walk hand-in-hand to the train station, hoping to get a dinner date with a terribly made movie in before your departure.

#agent 47 x reader #agent 47 #hitman 3 #hitman woa

[goldeneyedgirl]

Wait I NEED more variable stars!! Can I make that a request for Christmas or? Also, do you have any other bits and pieces of the STL alternate universe where he grabs her and they both leave? They make my heart so happy ❤️

I cannot promise/guarantee canon Variable Stars for Ficmas, but I can absolutely dig out some cut scenes or the Chapter That Was Scrapped at the very least.

I honestly never wrote any more of the 'Jasper takes Mary-Alice with him' verse because the OG one was just depressing and the one I published a few Ficmases ago kind of set them up to be happy together. However, I like a good spontaneous challenge

takes place after mary-alice and jasper had a nice healing, post-escape bath in the forgotten house (which you can read here.) (Later, Emmett will admit that it's his fault they went so far afield. It was his turn to pick the hunting grounds, and they ventured way out of their usual comfort zone. It was a spontaneous choice, not part of the plan, and that's where it all fell down.

The animals aren't as wary, there are no worn paths from previous hunts, and it is completely untouched. There are the odd scents - human hunters, nomads, the usual thing that any piece of land in this part of the country holds. But there was nothing to suggest there was any risk. He would never bring his family somewhere he suspected was dangerous.)

The thing is, he barely even sees anyone before he is slammed into a tree that creaks ominously, bark and branches raining down on them - there's a glimpse of a nomad, downwind, in the lake. Smeared with blood that is rolling down his back in rivulets.

And then he's having the life choked out of him, cracks spiralling up his neck and his panic bursting out as he stares down into dead red eyes.

(She's tiny.)

(No really, he needs to emphasise that it takes him a minute to understand that she's managed to manoeuvre him against the tree - at speed - so that she's standing on a boulder, holding him several inches above the ground by his throat because she's child-sized. It takes him a moment to comprehend what is happening, it's so unexpected.)

Right now, he's expecting to die. She looks unamused, and the male is already redressing to come over; if the Diminutive Devil is this vicious, he doesn't stand a chance against the male. He just hopes Rose gets as far away as possible and doesn't come looking for him.

The male is scarred worse up close, blood seeping out of his shirt like some kind of biblical nightmare, and Emmett's honestly wondering how fast his death is going to be. Between the two of them, he might actually get out of this without experiencing mind-bending pain.

(He's definitely panicking. Is she an Immortal Child? He's never seen one. She's so dirt and blood-covered, he can't tell. If she is, the male is going to be even more protective, with the whole 'illegal upon execution' thing. Shit shit shit.)

He's holding his hands up in peace, trying not to look like more of a threat but as he looks back at the girl, she frowns at him and backs off immediately, releasing him suddenly before folding herself against the male.

"I'm sorry, I didn't..." he begins, his voice hoarse as the cracks heal, trying to back away as fast as possible.

"I didn't know it was you, Emmett," the girl says, her voice flat. "I didn't see you coming." She frowns again and looks down at herself. "This is all wrong."

There's no inflection in her words, but the male - with a dark look in Emmett's direction - acts as if she's gone hysterical and looks down at her.

"It's okay. You can wash off the worst of it." His voice is calmer and gentler than Emmett anticipated.

"It wasn't supposed to go this way," the girl says and this time, he hears the frustration in her voice.

"The best-laid plans, Mary-Alice." The male's eyes are back on Emmett and he really wishes he'd taken the opportunity to leave.

Except...

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

#my fic: shadow to light #stl au #emmett immediately bringing them to the rest of the family #“can i keep them? i promise i'll teach them not to slaughter entire villages.” “it was one campsite." #everyone always thinks that jasper is the dangerous one #when everyone underestimates mary-alice enough that she's fatal #in this au mary-alice just goes from one incorrect future to another #this occurs about two years after the bath #emmett's delighted they are the closest he'll ever get to having pets #two southern vets who are slowly accepting that they are mates combined with trauma and nomadic tendencies... #an absolute recipe for feral nonense #and yes mary-alice is so covered in blood that emmett cannot see her scars