#and i'd like to run a mile to a mile and a half outside - just an easy slow run since i did run yesterday too

[whentherewerebicycles]

somehow it’s noon already!! but it’s been a productive morning. in my earlier research i’d been so focused on their first-gen numbers i somehow missed or didn’t fully register the fact that fully 40% of this school’s incoming students each year are transfer students from two-year colleges, which is obviously !!! a specific student population with unique needs that i should be prepared to address in whatever presentation i put together! so i did some initial research and reading in the secondary literature + then also reached out to two former advisees who transferred from community colleges and always had a lot to say about the types of support structures they wished they’d had. they were v happy to help so i set up calls with them tomorrow and on wednesday so i can pick their brains on how to effectively engage & support transfer students in undergraduate research. i made a promise to myself earlier in the week that i would only do rabbithole-style research if it felt like the topics would’ve been fascinating to me even if i didn’t have this interview, but i actually DO find this question super interesting and it’s also a fun excuse to reconnect with former students i haven’t caught up with in a while.

also man i just feel really happy and so much more like myself when i’m in this mode. my brain is WORKING again! i’m overflowing again with thoughts and ideas! i do think that trying a job outside of academia was a valuable life experience for me... and i do realize that this particular job is not representative of ALL non-academic jobs (if i didn’t have such a difficult manager i might’ve been able to stick it out here a lot longer). but also: i feel like you gotta pay attention to what energizes you vs. drains you in this life! and i am so energized by teaching, mentoring, program design, and doing any kind of research on those topics. i also feel my heart LEAPING at the thought of being immersed in a university community again. it’s funny because i get all the petty academic politics stories from macky and i knoooow how difficult & prickly & impossible academics can be but idk! as far as lightly dysfunctional work environments go, i find this form of dysfunction familiar and comforting! and i feel like the joy of working with students is sufficient recompense for the at-times harrowing experience of working with other academics lol. i’m just ready to be back in a place that i love and i’m really excited about this school in particular.

i was rereading the job posting earlier this week and thinking about how much more work it’s going to be than my current barely-anything job, which i know will probably cut into my loooong leisurely walks and my hours-long cooking sessions and my ability to lie around in bed for hours every day. it’s been nice in some ways to have so much time to do non-work things and to really get myself into good routines with cooking/exercising/etc, but i just DO NOT THRIVE when i have too much unstructured time and i am really, really starved for the casual friendly daily social contact i got from my old job. i feel like too much unstructured time = more time wasted because the time doesn’t feel valuable to me.

and idk i need people time! i need relationships with others! i need it both in a social energy and in an intellectual way... like, my conversations with students and the interpersonal conflicts you have to navigate and the unexpected things that come up in a teaching/mentoring relationship provide so much grist for the ol’ reflective mill. i feel like part of the reason i’ve felt sooooo bored and so annoyingly self-absorbed the past six or seven months is that i just don’t have enough INPUT you know?? i need all those interactions to spark new ways of thinking about something or new ideas or new interests to research. otherwise i’m just stuck in my own head, endlessly turning over my small cares and petty little resentments, without anything to challenge me or push me out of myself or force me to recalibrate the way i’m viewing a situation. anyway idk it’s all good data! as i am always telling students even bad or meh experiences can teach you something useful about who you are & what you need to thrive!!

#personal #i think i will mostly hibernate today as i am going to do TWO social things tomorrow #i'm gonna put aside campus visit research for a bit because i'm trying to put parameters around how much time i spend on it #i'd like to finish this novel today (it's so good!) #and i want to leave comments on two fics (i keep saying that and then not doing it but today i really want to do it!) #and i'd like to run a mile to a mile and a half outside - just an easy slow run since i did run yesterday too #and then if it's not raining i think i want to take the dogs on that 90+ min loop to the new trail system we found #i might do that first and then do the mile after i haven't decided

[nocturnalrat]

can you do tired stressed miles (earth42! Or regular 1610! Miles)

Miles had a stressful time at work(fighting or sumn) and reader is just being a hugeee brat so he puts her in her place 🥹💕

Hi! Thanks for the prompt!

I chose Prowler!Miles for this, as I think he’d be more assertive & possessive than our ball of sunshine aka Earth-1610 Miles. :p Enjoy!

---

Dating someone with a double life had certain advantages, without question. But the list of drawbacks was just as long.

Moments like these made you realize how frustrating and difficult dating him could be sometimes.

You had planned on meeting tonight. But while you were waiting outside the movie theater, the following messages appeared on your phone:

won't make it tnight

sry

will make it up 2 u

You stared at the three texts and were irritated to no end. It had been weeks since you had last spent time together, just the two of you, and now you were being stood up by him. Again.  

When you finally arrived home, you ordered some food, worked on an essay for one of your college classes, and kept looking at the clock hanging on the wall.

Hours passed. You finished the essay, prepared a presentation for your biochem class, and tried to keep yourself awake with the help of coffee and an energy drink.

It was half past two in the morning when the front door opened quietly. He probably thought you were asleep. Well, he was wrong.

"Do you know what the word priority means?" you asked, annoyance clearly evident in your voice.

He didn't flinch when he saw you, nor did he look particularly surprised. Of course he didn't. There wasn't much that could startle Miles Morales; he was far too composed, too stoic, too stern for that.

Wretched fatigue showed on his face; he had dark circles under his eyes. Others would have found his moody demeanor threatening, but you knew that he was not half as evil as he looked. 

His reply came quick. "And do you know what the word responsibility means?"

You knew that this particular part of his life, and the responsibilities that came with it, took up a lot of his time. But that didn't mean you were happy or okay with it.

 "You stood me up three times in a row," you said, arms crossed in front of your chest. You tried not to pout too much and sound like a petulant child. "You know, Morales, not many people would put up with the shit you pull sometimes."

He raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Yeah, but you’re still here. Do you know why?" He took a few steps toward you.

"Easy one,” you replied. “Because I’m too nice and too good for you.”

“Don’t be bratty.”

“It’s the truth, though.” You shrugged, seemingly unfazed. “You know how many options I have? You’re not the only good-looking guy in New York, Miles.”

You knew immediately that you had said something wrong. His gaze darkened and he clenched his jaw.

You felt a chill run down your spine.

"What I meant by that is -" you started, but he cut you off.

"Shut up. Do you know why you’re still with me, despite the circumstances?”  

He leaned his forehead against yours and took your face in his hands.

"I asked you a question." His grip tightened.

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat and attempted to shake your head, but you couldn't move; his grip was too strong. "No," you said quietly.

"Because you’re mine," he replied, and his voice was velvety and soft. "Mine alone. You belong to no one else. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good.” He smiled as he stroked your hair. "I never want to hear you say something like that again.”

"Then stop being so tired and stressed all the time," you muttered, unable to keep the hurt and sadness from your voice.

"You wanna know what would make me feel less stressed and tired?" A smug grin appeared on his face.

You rolled your eyes. "Pretty presumptuous, don't you think?"

"I'd rather call it determined and self-assured."

"The answer’s no. You don't deserve it."

"Really?" He kissed the corner of your mouth. "Didn't you say you missed me?"

"Just because I missed you doesn't mean I'm going to throw my self-respect overboard -" But the firmness of your sentence faltered as his large hands began to caress your body.

"Mine," he whispered against your lips. "And what's mine, obeys."

You loved it when he called you his own, when he put you in your place. A tingling, warm feeling blossomed inside you.

The following day you woke up next to a handwritten note and a box of your favorite chocolate.

8 p.m. tonight, Lincoln Square 13.

It's a promise.

#miles morales x reader #prowler miles x y/n #earth 42 miles x reader #prowler miles x reader #miles x y/n

[rowdyhughesy]

I’m not great at surfing - T.Zegras

“Said shit I'd never do. Wonder if you think it's what I meant. You know I'm into you. Strawberry blonde hair runs for miles. Two summer sources last awhile”

- strawberry blonde, raspy

Idk shit about lifeguards because we don’t really have them in Sweden but I tried

Every summer since you could remember you had worked as a lifeguard at Hermosa Beach. The smell of sea water, family’s playing in the sand, teenagers playing volleyball or surfing. You loved it all. Mostly it was an easy job, there never really were any emergencies or someone getting hurt.

Most days you just chilled in the lifeguard tower playing cards with one of your coworkers, listening to the radio and walkie-talkie in case anything happened. “Hey Y/N I’m taking my break so can you keep watch outside for a couple of minutes?” Your coworker pops her head inside the tower, her nose a faint red from the sun and sun bleached hair in a bun atop her head. “Sure I’ll be out in two seconds.” Grabbing your sunglasses and whistle you wander outside.

The sun is beating down and you can’t help but feel impressed that you haven’t gotten any heatstroke calls yet today. Climbing up the lifeguard chair you just sit there watching everyone in the water or laying around in the sand.

A group of boys around your age catches your attention, one of them flailing his arms around sitting on a surfboard. Cheering one of the others on as he catches a wave. They don’t look like the usual surfer guys. Someone tapping the legs of your chair makes you tear your gaze away. A little girl stares up at you. Her black hair in two pigtails and a cute ruffled bathing suit. “I want to be a lifeguard when I grow up, you’re like a superhero.” Cooing at the small girl you tell her thank you and remind her to drink water before she skips back to her parents.

The walkie talkie sparks to life by your arm catching your attention. “We have a potential ongoing drowning, do you copy guard tower two.” Scrambling down from the chair you let out a quick command in the walkie that you’re on your way.

Locating the group of guys you had seen earlier you see that the one who had been sitting on one of the boards is missing. You have no time to think as you swim deeper into the water. It stings your eyes as waves crash against you but all you can focus on is trying to find the person who’s drowning. You find him rather easily, he’s floating with his face down. There’s blood trickling down his forehead and you know he must’ve been hit in the head by the board hard.

Swimming to the shore with the dark blonde in one of your arms, his friends frantically paddling after you on their surfboards. “What’s his name and what happened?” As soon as you lay him down on the sand you start CPR. “Trevor, I uh didn’t see everything but I think he wiped out and the board flew in the air and hit him.”

You can hear your own heartbeat in your ears as you continue CPR, one of his friends are pressing a towel on the gash on his forehead to stop the bleeding. Who you now know as Trevor starts sputtering, turning him on his side you try to soothe him as much as you can while he gets all the water out of his lungs. Running a hand through his wet hair and the other rubbing circles on his back you ask one of his friends to get one of your colleges that can fetch a first aid bag. “Hey Trevor can you hear me? My names Y/N.” Trevor blinks at you, squinting his eyes against the bright sunlight. “Hey.” His answers earns a chuckle from his friends, all happy that he’s alive.

“How are you feeling?” He ponders for a moment before mumbling out a like I died and came back, a half smile on his lips. Taping the wound on his forehead and getting him some water you advise the group that they should get him to a hospital. Just to make sure that he doesn’t have a concussion or anything else you can’t see on the outside.

Trevor stops just as they’re about to walk away, turning to you. A look in his eyes you can’t place but it gives you butterflies. “I think we’ve established that I’m not great at surfing. But you basically saved my life so what do you say about me taking you out for brunch someday? As a thank you, if you want to of course.”

Blushing you ask for his phone so that you can put your number in. “I’d like that Trevor, just stay away from surfing yeah?”

#trevor zegras imagine #trevor zegras #nhl imagine #hockey blurb #trevor zegras x reader

[captainsophiestark]

Go Bearcats

Luke Castellan x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my Year of Olympians and part of a bigger challenge being run by @yearofcreation2023​! It features a ton of other awesome creators and runs all year, so go check it out!

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Prompt: Hermes; Travel, boarders, games

Summary: The summer before Percy Jackson came to Camp Half Blood, Luke Castellan's SO convinced him to leave camp with them for a new life.

Word Count: 1,175

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"I cannot believe you did that to me," I said, shaking my head in disgust with my boyfriend, Luke Castellan. He didn't even have the decency to look ashamed.

"I'm sorry. But it was the best way for me to win."

"Cheating isn't winning."

"Technically, choosing an object outside of the car that we left in the dust ten miles ago isn't cheating."

"You sound like Malcom," I huffed, crossing my arms and leaning back in my seat. Luke just chuckled, shooting me a grin from the driver's seat as we cruised along the highway. Luke and I had been in the car for almost three hours now, on the sixth day of our cross-country road trip from camp. For the first time in a very long time, we were leaving the place we'd called home and had never really been allowed to leave.

I'd gotten to Camp Half-Blood the year after Luke, although we were the same age, and with one exception that hadn't gone well, neither of us had left the camp's boarders since. Until now.

This past year, Luke and I had decided it was time for us to leave, to go do something with our lives now that we were both technically adults. Sitting day after day, month after month, within the boarders of Camp Half Blood wasn't sustainable for the rest of our lives, and I'd noticed it having a bad effect on Luke especially. So, we'd spent the last year preparing for and submitting applications to college, and by some miracle we'd both gotten into the same place. Annabeth, although she would only be starting sixth grade in the coming weeks, had helped us a lot, and about six days ago Luke and I had officially left camp with the end goal of Salem, Oregon in mind.

It hadn't been an easy road trip, especially since we couldn't use phones to help with navigation. But we'd managed alright. We were together, after all, and I swear with every mile we put between us and Camp Half-Blood Luke's spirits had lifted. Enough for him to tease me while cheating at I Spy.

"Alright, new game," I declared, sitting forward in my seat and looking at the scenery around us. "How about... twenty questions?"

"Sure," Luke said, still with a little laugh in his voice. As annoying as his cheating was, I couldn't ignore how happy I was to see him smiling so freely again.

"Alright... I've got something, go ahead."

Luke and I passed another hour that way, laughing as we thought up more and more ridiculous things to try to get the other to guess. After four years of knowing each other and dating for a year and a half of that, we knew each other well enough that truly stumping each other was basically impossible. After Luke successfully guessed that I was thinking of a bearcat, our new school's mascot (whatever the hell a bearcat was), he pointed up ahead of us instead of continuing the game.

"Look, we're officially crossing the boarder from Idaho to Oregon. Last one before we get to school."

"Home stretch," I said, smiling and reaching over the console in the middle of the car to take Luke's hand. "I'm glad we decided to do this."

"Me too."

A little glimpse of the storm clouds passed over his face, but unlike at camp, this time they cleared quickly. He shot me another smile as we drove over the state line and into Oregon. With more than two thousand miles in our rearview mirror, only about two hundred were left between us and the newest chapter in our lives.

"I hope Annabeth's going to be alright without us there," Luke said after moment's hesitation. We'd both been hesitant to completely leave her behind, but she'd assured us all summer that she wanted us to go.

"I'm sure she will be," I said. "Besides, we can Iris Message her all the time to keep in touch. It'll be like we never left."

"It's times like this that the no technology thing gets... frustrating."

"What?" I asked, feigning surprise and putting a hand to my heart to really sell the drama. "You're telling me you're not looking forward to taking only paper notes for college, and to figuring out how to turn in assignments without using a computer?"

"Believe it or not, no," said Luke with a little laugh. There was no question that the year ahead of us would be incredibly strange and full of challenges, but I knew we'd figure out a way through them, together. That's what all our training at camp had been for, after all. Although, the problem solving they'd been preparing us for had been a little more combat-based.

"Maybe Annabeth can come visit us for a break or something," I mused, kicking back in my seat and watching the trees fly past us on either side. I'd never been this far West before, and it looked incredibly different than anything I saw back home.

"Do you still want to visit camp over the winter break?" he asked. His voice was casual, but I thought I heard something else underneath his words, something a little more tense and brittle. "Go back for the Winter Solstice on Olympus?"

I paused, thinking my words over carefully and trying to gauge how Luke felt. Finally, tentatively, I responded.

"I don't know... If we're settled in here, and neither of us really wants to fly... I don't know if I'll want to leave our new lives after only four months being here."

Luke nodded, and I thought I saw his shoulders relax, just slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so too. We can decide later, of course, but... I think I want to stay here too."

I squeezed his hand lightly, and gave him a warm smile when he turned to look at me. He returned with a grin of his own, and after a moment of just enjoying the moment here, together, the two of us against the world, I leaned forward and cranked up the volume on the radio.

A little bit of luck must've followed us so far, because one of my absolute favorite songs was on, and I didn't hesitate to scream-sing the words at the top of my lungs. By the end of the day, Luke and I would be moving into a tiny apartment we'd found just on the edge of campus. In the morning, we'd gather materials and get ready to start our classes, and then the day after our new lives would begin. I had a feeling we probably wouldn't go back to our old lives, ever, even though Luke didn't seem to want to talk about permanently closing that door yet. But I didn't mind. The Olympians were overrated anyway, and I'd be happy to live like a normal college kid with the guy I loved, free from their influence and the problems they brought with them.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

Percy Jackson Taglist: @valkyriepirate

#year of themed creation 2023 #percy jackson #luke castellan #percy jackson fanfiction #luke castellan x reader #percy jackson imagine #percy jackson oneshot #luke castellan fanfiction #luke castellan oneshot #luke castellan imagine #percy jackson and the olympians #annabeth chase #camp half blood #hermes #pjo #college au #son of hermes #percy jackson au #kronos #rick riordan

[princessisfinethx]

Recom Miles Quaritch x FemReader Pt. 3

Part 3! Yay!

AND HERE'S THE WARNINGS: Mentions of fucking, sexual daydreaming, newly found size kink MINORS DNI

I'd also like to thank a lot of you guys, ya'll are so kind and I am still unsure of how to reply on comments but just know I see ya <3 I'm also super tired so I will post this to my A03 in the morning.

Hope ya'll like it! I read over it once, thats it.

-1 week later-

It was lovely up here.

Sitting on the cold metal floor, you peer into the vacant lonely wonders that was space. Millions of stars dotted the black. If you had a map, you could plot out which system or planet you were near. The ship intercom came on, “We’ll be entering a jump soon, please return to your pods for hypersleep.” You frowned, standing up and slipping your slippers back on. This journey couldn’t hurry and end already. You hated hypersleep, only because when you woke up you were prone to sickness. 

Shuffling to the pod, you looked at the others. Only two or three others had woken up, while the rest had gone back to hypersleep. You watched as the other awake passengers went back to sleep, and you followed. Once you closed the pod however, the lights above went dim. A scream was heard and you gasped. “Hello?” You hit the glass, unable to break out. The pod was trying to put you to sleep. “Wait what happened?”

The pod ripped open, you screamed as you were thrown out of it. You scrambled backwards and looked up. 

A xenomorph was hissing, stalking towards you. You screamed and tried to run, only getting nowhere as it grabbed you and shrieked in your ear. It did it again, and again, and again, and again-

Your eyes snap open, sitting up to find you were on the floor. You look up at your television and see the main menu for the movie Aliens. An annoyed groan leaves your chest and you stand up. Your body jumps when an alarm blares overhead. “Oh fuck!” You throw on some pants and a shirt you tossed on the floor from last night. You slip your shoes on and run out of your room. In the hallway, a few other residents were rushing to leave as well. You finally get outside, squinting at the sunlight. Everyone was outside, standing in groups and discussing the alarm. You rub your face and walk to a few familiar faces. “Well? Is everyone out?”

Alex turned around, also seeming like they awoke with a start. “Um, I think so.” They had on a robe and joggers. “This is the last drill alarm this month right?” They looked you up and down and made a face of concern. “Hey um, you wanna borrow my robe?”

You went to ask why but the alarms blared three times, then a few officers walked up to the large group of residents. “Good morning everyone. Thank you again for participating accordingly, we all know how important it is to practice these drills every month…” He began to go on, waving a clipboard which he should be checking off instead of preaching. Half the bodies here couldn’t hear from this far back. 

There was a soft chuckle directly behind you but you didn’t turn around. “Mornin’ sleeping beauty. Is that how you usually wake up?” Your eyes glance to the side, seeing Alex biting their lip to hide a smile, maybe. When you turn your head, you only see the crotch area of some pants. Your eyes slowly lift up and you roll them away once you make eye contact with Quaritch. Behind him, a few other recom soldiers stood, mostly paying attention to the officers in the front. 

“No, I usually sleep in furs and handmade quilts and wake up with perfect hair and a dolled up face of makeup and lies. You just caught me on a bad morning.” You cross your arms, a cold breeze hits your back and you sigh. At the corner of your eye, Miles bends down. 

“Do you sleep naked or do you usually wear your shirts inside out?” His breath hits your neck and you feel a blush color your cheeks. He whispers so no one else hears him. “Unlucky for you, it's a bit uh, nippy ain’t it?” 

At this, you groan and tighten your arms around your body. “Be a gentleman and offer a lady a coat or something next time.” You shoot back and he smiles, standing up straight. You hear Alex scoff and you look at them. “Not you, but thank you for offering.”

Miles hums while glancing between you and Alex before peering down at your form, seeing more of your exposed skin. You usually wore long sleeves or a coat to the office and seeing you in a tank top and pajama pants was kinda cute. As much as you tried to hide your chest, the man could see over you. Of course he was a gentleman enough not to stare, but he did see. He leaned down to whisper to you, “I’ll try to remember to bring one next drill, if you happen to still be working here with your sanity intact.”

“That sounds like a threat, Quaritch-”

Behind him, Lyle was watching the whole thing. He watched his commander bicker with you, and then he saw the Colonel's tail flicking left to right. Lyle smirked and backed up, elbowing Z-Dog to his right. She looks at him and elbows him back, “Fuck off it’s too early-”  Lyle motions his head forward and she looks. She takes in the scene before her, seeing you turn your head towards Miles and hiss something low at him, causing him to chuckle and shrug. Z-Dog raises her eyebrows and smiles at Lyle. They both chuckle at each other, seeming to get the same idea. 

Finally they were letting everyone leave, calling the groups out by hallway numbers and their residents. You didn’t waste a second as you hastened to get to your room. Miles watched, smiling the whole time while he turned and walked back towards his squad. 

You get back in your room and flip the shower on. Grumbling the whole time you undressed and got in. You felt your face heating up again at his words from earlier. Of course something like this had to happen to you. With him. Maybe this was a good thing, his mind was in other places and that gave you time to plan. You were thinking if you really had to seduce him it wouldn’t be very hard. Would you have to climb him though? He was very much taller, obviously. Maybe if he were sitting down across from you, you could easily climb aboard that way. Obviously if he were into it he’d be grabbing you and pulling you onto him.

That made your legs shift together. You don’t know if he would be smiling or not. Sometimes you’ll catch his face when he’s thinking or focusing and you wonder if that's what he'd do. He'd be focusing on you, no smiles, all serious. You wonder if he’ll sit back and let you explore first, or if he’ll flip the tables and pin you to your desk or-

You hadn’t realized you were holding your bar of soap too hard until it popped out of your hand and fell to the ground. You curse lightly and pick it up, rinsing it off and just focusing on washing and getting out of the shower. Getting out, you dry off and towel dry your hair instead of blow drying. You get dressed properly this time and finally leave your room and head to the complex where your office and hidden cereal boxes would be waiting. 

You push past the doors, round the corner to get to your office and see two Na’vi soldiers waiting. Your expression softens and you smile up at them. “Morning you two,” You get your keys out and unlock the door to your office, walking in and having the two follow you. “What brings you guys in today?”

Lyle smiles. “Morning Doctor. Just stopping by to say hello.” He shifted and his eyes glanced at the floor. “Yeah.”

“Oh please,” Z-Dog cuts in. “Sorry to be so straight-forward but are you and Quaritch fucking or something?” Lyle snorts and covers his mouth. You turned red. 

“Jesus Christ Z, no! What would make you think that?” You were looking between them. 

“I dunno, you two just seemed to be flirting this morning. And well, you didn’t hear it from me but it certainly looks like one of you wants to.” She shrugs. “But you didn’t hear it from me.” She looks at Lyle who shrugged as well. 

“You two seem to be getting along nicely though, right?” He commented.

“Nicely?” You raised an eyebrow and your hands were on your hips. “Besides maybe two interactions between us that seemed fine, everything else this week has been a shit show…”

Outside of the office, Miles was leaning against the doorframe, his face was in a neutral expression. 

“He insults my position, he’s accused me of ‘hiding secrets’, in the lunchroom a few days ago his tail tripped me and my bowl of soup was all over me.” One of the soldiers made a comment about remembering that. “He didn’t offer to clean it, he said whoops. That’s it. And now, just yesterday, I get a fucking paper-” there was walking and a drawer opening, and then papers being grabbed. “About an operation I have to attend, asked by Quaritch himself. ‘Dr. Linear, you are being asked to attend the 1st Recom Unit under Project Phoenix as medical personnel. Further instructions to be given.’ Who does that? Who takes a doctor out of their office to walk the jungle in case someone gets a booboo. Don’t you guys have people for that?” He hears the paper being put down harshly, then another drawer opening and something being pulled out. “It’s like he’s trying his damndest to piss me off.”

He heard crunching and he smiled just a little. He heard Lyle ask for whatever it was you were eating and you handed him the box. 

“So no,” You continued, after eating whatever it was you had. “We’re not fucking. I don’t know what sources you’ve been listening to but neither one of us wants to fuck the other. Maybe he wants to drive me fucking mad. It’s possible. Hell, maybe he wants to hate fuck me, you never know, I could have pissed him off first day we met, god knows.” You sigh and he hears you slump against the desk. “I stayed up too late last night, had a stupid alien nightmare and I have a headache from it.”

Lyle hums. “You’re the doctor, you got pain meds.” His mouth was still full. “Tylenol?”

Z snorts. “I took a tylenol the other day, and that shit does nothing for me anymore.”

“Yeah your bodies don’t have the same digestive and blood system that humans do. Z if you needed pain meds you should have come to me. I don’t mind, really. It’s kind of my job.” You sounded concerned as you spoke, getting up and going to Z-Dog. “Was it the migraines again?”

“Ah don’t worry Doc, I’m fine now. Look we’ll be on our way, Lyle give her back the cereal, damn.” They were standing up and Miles waited outside the door. “We’ll see you later Doc. Don’t stress too much, you’ll have us on the mission too.”

“Yeah, trust in us.” Lyle cleared his throat. “We won’t let the big bad Quaritch ruin your week anymore okay?” At that, you had chuckled a little. 

“You guys get going. And I’m serious about those pain meds, Z!” You called after them. Z was the first to walk out and her body froze when she saw Miles. Lyle was laughing a little and ran into Z-Dog on the way out. He was about to ask her what but saw him as well. 

Miles motioned his head away from the office and they silently followed, walking away from the office door. Z spoke first. “How much did you hear?”

“Plenty.” He stopped at the end of the hallway, facing the two. “I have a few questions about that little meeting.”

~=~=~

You eye the paper on your desk, wanting to throw it in the shredder and give the colonel the middle finger. Nothing was that simple however. So you flipped the paper over and set it to the side. That brought you to a new problem. You wouldn’t be able to program your supply bot out into the jungle without someone noticing. You’d usually do this at night but you would be gone. For how long, you weren’t sure. Not long you suppose. You suspected this was a scheme of his, him trying to keep you distracted so you don’t realize he’s onto you. 

You sat back in your chair and munched bitterly at your dry cereal, not wanting to travel to the cafeteria to get milk or a full breakfast today. Lazily, you look over at your coffee maker, wishing it would automatically make one for you.  A knock at your door made you put the box away and wipe your mouth. "Door's open."

A tall blue form walks in and that knowing smile appears. Your small bit of happiness disappears. "Hello sunshine. Glad to see you're awake behind that desk." He closes the door behind him, standing at his full height and crossing his arms. The minute he called you sunshine you were out of your desk and making a pot of coffee, knowing you'll need it. "Well, almost awake." He walks up to the small counter you had your coffee station set up at. "May I have a cup?"

Your lips made a sort of pout. As much as you loathed the man beside you, you couldn't deny someone a cup of coffee. Especially when he asked so politely. "Yeah, do you take any sugar or creamer? I've got regular and almond."

"No thank you, I take mine black." He leans against the counter and watches as you fix two cups. Yours was in a decorative plant mug while his was in a much larger mug. There were a few of these specially made for the recombinant soldiers and you took two or three for instances like these. You had emptied most of the pot to fill the cup but it didn’t bother you since you had your cup already. You held it up and he took it from you carefully. "Thank you." He gives it a sip and hums. "Pretty good stuff right there."

"Yeah, I practically wrestled with the other facilities for that brand of coffee. Only comes in every few weeks." You smile softly at the image of you spotting Alex hiding coffee in their coat as you did the same. You remember both nodding at each other and you chuckled softly. Miles looks down at you and you clear your throat. “Funny memory is all. When I met Alex, we were both hiding coffee in our pockets and I spotted them while they spotted me, and we mutually agreed not to tell. They’re funny.”

“Ah, yes, the uh lab coat with huge glasses.” He watched as you smiled warmly at the memory. “You two good friends now or what?”

You gave a little shrug, thinking about the slow but progressive friendship you two had. “No, not really. Just coworkers.” You gave it some more thought, never looking up at him. “I think I would have lunch with them if they offered, Alex is a good conversationalist and we share similar views on a few topics.” 

Miles had rolled his eyes slightly. “Glad to know you can make friends princess.”  

“I don’t see you doing any better.” You got defensive and he had to hold back his smile. 

“Oh I don’t make friends, I make soldiers.” He turned his body towards you and sipped his coffee again. 

“Oh yeah and you plan to do just that by throwing me in the jungle?” You had forgotten your coffee now, setting it down to point up at him. “I don’t work under you Colonel, and I’m sure if I spoke to some higher ups and got the okay, I could refuse to go.”

“Ah, but you can’t.” He smirked. “I already asked our higher ups and they gave me ‘the okay’ to take you along.” He too set his giant coffee mug down. “And speaking of; you know how to use a gun, correct?”

You groaned and turned to face away from him. “That isn’t my job, I’m supposed to stay here, in my office!” You turned to him. “You really want me to quit so badly don’t you? You want my life to be hell, and for what? So you can get your shits and giggles?” He was walking towards you and you unconsciously walked backwards. “I have things to do here, I have other people to attend to, I am not only the recom’s doctor but I’m the human’s doctor too. Someone has to be here to do the paperwork and, and the check ups every day-” Your back hit the wall and you looked up to watch Miles squat down so he’s level with you. He reaches up and leans one arm against the wall behind you. You realized suddenly how trapped you were, how much you rambled without thinking and how much warmth his body gave off. 

“What are you so scared of, doctor?” His eyes were so big, and the speckles of white that littered his nose were almost glowing. You felt your face burning up. 

Your voice was a low whisper now. “I’m not a soldier. I’m going to die out there.” He stares you in the eye, and he could see some of the waterworks about to kick in. He smiles at you. 

“You think I’ll let anything happen to you princess? I thought you had some smarts in that pretty noggin of yours.” He taps your forehead and you wipe your eyes while smacking his hand away. 

“Enough smarts to know that’s bullshit. I’ll be drowning in some alien-like quicksand and you’ll just poke me with a stick.” You leaned back against the wall, staring at the desk behind him. “Just admit that you hate me already and leave. You’ve disliked me from day 1 and you hide it with witty smiles and jokes.” 

“You’re overthinking it. There’s no quicksand here.” He smirked and you rolled your eyes. You went to walk away from him but he trapped you with his other arm. “I still have some matters to discuss with you.” You sent him a glare, he didn’t budge. 

“I need to get my stuff together just in case I’m eaten alive in the next couple of days. Like a will and final wishes.” You watched him shift, so now he was kneeling in front of you. Your expression changed, he could spot it. From annoyed to surprised, to an angry confused look. 

“While on the subject, what’s this rumor you’re spreading about me hate-fucking you?”

Your face dropped and turned pink in one go. “Excuse me? Believe me when I say I am not spreading any rumors, especially nothing as filthy as that.”

“Hm, my soldiers seem to think otherwise.” He glanced at the doorway, “I heard something being yelled earlier too. Something about ‘fuckin’ and ‘we’ being used a lot in most of those sentences-” He froze up when you grabbed his ear and yanked him down. It caught him so much off guard that his hands slipped off the wall and onto the floor on either side of you.

“I want you to listen to me clearly.” Your lips brushed his ear as you spoke unnervingly gentle. “I will restructure you an old and frail human body and put your subconscious inside just so I can kick your ass unfairly. I know you heard everything I had to say this morning clearly and if I have to repeat myself I will.” He flinched and leaned forward, causing your lips to press only slightly against his earlobe. You had let go and he sat up, looking at you with wide eyes. 

Miles was strangely, but very turned on. His breathing was a little quicker and he hadn’t gotten off his knees. He was staring at you, flicking between your eyes and your lips and all mighty he wanted to feel you when you were pissed off like this. He wanted to run his hands through your hair from the back of your head then pull down so you looked up at him. He wanted to feel your nails scratching at his back, his shoulders, his chest and his scalp. He wants you on top of him, wants to see you use him while you’re infuriated. Just like this. 

He wants you to hate fuck him.

You walked to your desk and sat in the chair. “You can leave if that’s all you have today.”

He slowly got up, leaning against the wall as his mind still carried waves of thoughts and ideas. “Yes.” He clears his throat. “I’ll be sendin’ more information later today. Thank you for your time Dr. Linear.” When he turned, he did it facing away from you. You didn’t miss how his pants were tighter in the front. When the door closed, you slumped forward again and covered your face with your arms. 

You felt as if you had this strange power, this authority over him at that moment. You knew their ears were sensitive, but it couldn’t have been that sensitive that he was turned on from it. Maybe it was your words? Or maybe he was just sick in the head enough that he enjoyed this game you were playing. What was worse, was you were also quite bothered by the whole thing. His large form having been kneeling in front of you, then his heavy breathing…You swore he may have groaned at some point or maybe it was wishful thinking. 

No.

Not wishful. Just lustful, clouded thoughts. Clouded thoughts that occupied your mind all day. His expressions, his eyes, his hands. Luckily, you didn’t see him for the rest of the day. You did however receive an email with a list of items you would need for the mission. A gun or weapon was listed as Optional, everything else such as a medical bag, military grade footwear and breathing equipment was necessary. 

After checking the list off and deciding you’d need to stop by a few offices and departments, you took out your telegraph and sent a new message. 

“MISSION-OUTING-AT-(COORDINATES)-TMRW-MORNING-SUPPLIES-ON-FOOT.”

You put the machine away and lock it, letting out a sigh as you think about the endless possibilities of your death. Animal attack, Na’vi attack, rock slide, and even maybe treachery.

#recom miles quaritch x reader #recom miles quaritch #miles quaritch x reader #avatar the way of water #avatar x reader #a03 writer #a03 fanfic #x reader #fanfic #spicy content

[shockyeahmiguelohara]

I wonder if Tempest might appear in the last Spider-verse movie? In that scene with Miles and the canon events (talking about how letting a person fated to die just die is messed up), there's a wash over the characters where each character's face (particularly Miles) is half green/turquoise and half pink (Honeybee's color scheme).

Honestly, I'm leaning on the side of "no".

Like most things that deal with Miguel's particular Spider-Man universe, almost nothing that isn't him (lately), a reference to (or literally) Lyla, and some variation of his classic costume is ever carried over into other media.

Nothing I've seen, even in the newer comics, deigns to even bring his brother, ex-girlfriend(s), or his parents into most of his current and then-current stories. And when they do, they kill them off real quick.

And I'd argue it's because comic books have become less about the day-to-day life of a superhero and more about structuring issues like blockbuster events.

I say this as someone who enjoyed Miguel's 2010s series with PAD, but it truly sucks that most of his universe is almost always left behind in favor being stuck in the past or another universe with whatever iteration of Peter Parker is running around. The explicit messaging is that he's the only thing worthwhile to reimagine and engage with for modern audiences. It's the same problem I have with Miles Morales' general lack of world outside of Peter Parker.

So, I feel like Tempest has less of a chance of appearing in the Spiderverse media than Xina and Gabri do. Again, I say this as someone who would love to see all of Miguel's world and relationships brought into his modern narratives.

Would it be cool? I dunno, maybe. I have an issue with how ATSV handled Miguel, so the idea of any his sweethearts appearing in future SV media just makes me concerned.

#anon asks #meta: asks #miguel o'hara #tempest monroe #spider man 2099 #ship: spider tempest

[the-trans-dragon]

One time I mentioned I have super horrible seasonal allergies (which I haven't experienced since 2019 because apparently a mask totally protects me from them????? Wish I had been doing that earlier instead of getting steroid shots and still having symptoms so bad it kept me awake at night but that's another story)

And someone was like "oh it's cos kids don't get exposed to nature enough. Back in my day we were outside all the time and never had allergies and" etc etc

I told her that, uh, I grew up in the country and spent a huge portion of my childhood outdoors getting muddy and running through fields and rivers and climbing trees and I'd only moved into a town/city as an adult. So she was like "Oh. Huh. Idk then."

And I was ruminating on that interaction, despite it being years ago, and thinking to myself "I sure did grow up exposed to nature! Exposed to all sorts of stuff. The walls of our house was only A Single Cinderblock thick so the Nature came in all the time through the cracks. (The bricks were filled with mics as "insulation" and it blew in, too).

About half the time, the wind was strong enough to blow air down from the attic, which no one has been in for decades and smells like its been a bathroom/cemetery for mice and rays for decades, and I'd hang a sheet from my bedroom doorway (didnt have a door) to keep the smell out.

And the river I played in was so polluted. Slightly upriver was a little side stream where some farmer dumped all of his trash--old lumbar and old car parts and tires and old appliances and God knows what else--and it all flowed downstream to where i'd play, where it also smelled heavily of cow manure because it used to be a "this is where the cows get rounded up and kept in a small area before getting loaded onto a truck and sent off" area.

And we had well water so that was our water for showering and brushing our teeth and washing dishes. We didn't drink it, but we drank someone else's well water (once a week we drove about 30 minutes to my grandparent's house and filled up big water jugs to take home because their water was nicer). Our water often had black flakes, and often smelled of sulfur. We got it tested once and they sent back a letter that was like DO NOT FUCKING DRINK YOUR WATER. BOILING IT WONT HELP. DO NOT DRINK IT.

And that was BEFORE the oil fields came and put a rig on every mile section and did waste-water injection and made the air smell like melting plastic and one time lightning struck one and it fucking EXPLODED about a mile away. Which is perhaps irrelevant, but still worth complaining about because, y'know, no one was out in the country except us so we were the ones who reported things like that, and then someone would drive an hour or so from a city and so it just sat there HISSING violently like some eldritch beast and thankfully didnt explode again but god knows what got thrown into environment from it. Also it was a mile away but the hiss was Loud and it was a fucking Experience to stand outside in a big thunderstorm and hear a HISSSSSSSSSSSSS coming from the entire sky, louder than the thunder, trying to see if anything was on fire while the entire storming sky was filled with a terrifying angry steady hiss like some angry storm dragon.

And then I was thinking...Huh. Maybe I'm lucky I don't have *more* health issues, considering all of...that. Considering the mica, and the rotting smell blowing down from the attic. I can't imagine what type of mold spores came from the attic. I can't imagine what types of metals and fertilizers and pesticides were in the river. God knows what got into the well water from the fracking, or if it was okay to live in air that smelled like smoldering plastic for years.

#sorenhoots

[taliah-tezel]

Location: Taliah's Home. Mentions/Tags: Kaan (her father), Ayda ( her mom), Lousie (her father's girlfriend), Serkan (her Uncle), @colemonroe, @emiri-tezel, the club in general. Triggers: talks about death, grief, trauma. Summary: Taliah's father finally returns 'home' from business after months. He hasn't been home in almost an entire year and so, they have a lot to catch up on. Fatherly concern, decade-old confessions, emotional speeches and hope for the future.

"Well, better late than never." Taliah shrugs from her seat on the couch, staring at the presents now placed on the coffee table. They were supposed to be exchanged at Christmas, but at the last minute, her father had cancelled his trip and had only just gotten around to visiting. Still, it was a happy occasion, she loved to catch up whenever he came back and this time, she felt as though she had so much that was positive to tell him.

At least half an hour had gone by, she'd told him all about how her new role at the fire station was going, everything about July 4th, right down to running in and saving her friend's child. That earned a solid look of concern that was completely warranted, but she wouldn't let it take away from the fact she got lucky and actually saved a child's life. Taliah spared her father the details of her breakdown and chose to only tell him that she had been attending therapy sessions for a while now. She wasn't ashamed by it, why should she be? It takes strength to admit when you need help. That much she knew was true.

"That's all wonderful, kızım," [my daughter,] "I can see the difference in you. You look happier." Kaan nods, smiling warmly over at her. "I am happier." Taliah agrees, able to feel the difference in how she was just a few months ago. She hadn't got around to talking to him about Cole yet, saving that for last only because she knew she'd talk the most about that topic. "How long are you staying? I have the day off on Thursday. I can cook dinner, you me and Cole? It'll be nice." At least, it sounded nice in her imagination. "And Louise?" He says, causing Taliah to shuffle her shoulders in mild discomfort. "I didn't know you brought her with you." An honest comment and one that actually tracked because when he did come back here, she usually stayed in whatever luxurious all inclusive resort they'd been residing in. "She's my partner, Tali, I'd really like you two to share more than a couple of words. So, sure, I think dinner together sounds like a wonderful idea, give us all a chance to chat. You'd like her if you just give her a real chance." He speaks convincingly, and all Taliah can do is respond with a tight smile and enough grace to say "okay." Even if she didn't believe it for a second.

"It's long overdue, and I would like to catch up, especially since I haven't had the chance since you and Cole became an item." Nodding, he tried his best to smile but Taliah knew him well enough to see that something was off. "... Yeah," she mumbled. Before she could ask, he was already making an additional comment that had her mouth popping open. "I lost the bet," sighing, he leans forward to place his cup down. "Serkan and I, outside of the clubs bet, we had a foolish one between the two of us that we shook on maybe 5 or so years ago now. He bet $100 that you and Cole would get together in the next ten years. I bet that you wouldn't, I thought the two of you would just remain friends." Chuckling slightly, Taliah couldn't help but crinkle her nose a little, though she wasn't surprised there was yet another bet that happened in regards to them.

"Um, well yeah, we were friends. You know he's always been my closest friend, that hasn't changed." Even now they were in a relationship, it hadn't changed the fact that Cole was still her best friend, he always would be. "I'm a little surprised, actually, you're the first person to say they didn't see it coming a mile away." She comments, watching curiously as he shakes his head as if to suggest she's wrong. "I could see what everyone else did, I just never thought you'd act on it. The years had gone by and I guess I just assumed you were looking for someone... you know, different." Still with a polite smile, he hadn't meant any offence, but Taliah couldn't help but feel like he wasn't as happy for her as everyone else was.

"Different?" Scratching a little at her head, she shrugs her shoulders. "To be factual, I wasn't looking for anyone, period. If I was, maybe I'd have noticed what everyone else did a lot sooner, but, different?" Frowning, she shakes her head firmly. "No. He's always been everything I needed, you know how he treats me, you have seen how he cares." The way Taliah had always turned to Cole first, above everyone, her father knew the pair of them were bonded from the first time they met. "Oh, I know that, Taliah. I don't mean it the wrong way, Cole is a great man." Kaan nods, knowing it to be true, at least regarding his daughter. How could he ever forget how he sacrificed his freedom to protect her?

"He is a great man. So why is your face doing that thing it does when you're not being honest." Taliah folded her arms, finding herself just a little defensive and confused. "If you have something to say, dad, just say it." Adapting a firmer tone, she couldn't stand people who beat around the bush - whatever he was thinking? She wanted him to spit it out. Kaan sighed, knowing that tone all too well, remembering how his wife, her mother, had the exact same one whenever she got irate. "My sweet girl, I'm not saying I'm not happy for you, I am. But... As a father, I think there's a part of me that hoped that if you found someone to share your life with, it would be someone... Normal." His eyes partially squeezed shut as soon as the words came out, knowing that he hadn't really explained that the way he intended.

"Normal?" Taliah was taken aback by everything he said, but nothing stuck out to her more than that word. "Normal..." she repeated, leaning back in the chair. She knew what he meant by it, he was inadvertently saying that he wasn't thrilled that she'd chosen to share her life with someone belonging to the club. "Normal doesn't equal safe." Tilting her head to the side, a look of distant thought there in her eyes. "I thought Callum was normal. Look where that got me." Brown eyes watch as her father practically grimaces at the spoken name. "I understand why you would have your reservations as a father, but I think you're out of line. Cole, the club as a whole... They took us in like family, you know them. You know what they'd do to protect those they care about."

"I know, I know... It's just a worry, the things they do, the dangers, I can't handle the thought of you getting wrapped up in something because of how they live their lives. That's not me judging any of them, sweetheart, it's just my instinct to be concerned for you." Grappling with his own thoughts, he was trying his best to articulate exactly what he wanted to say, but he could see from the look on her face she was far from impressed. "Bullshit." Taliah scoffs. "I'm a grown woman now, I don't need your concern. Where were these instincts when I was 16? You moved us here to be with Serkan, you knew that meant the club too. You can't...." Pausing, she can't help but blow out a half breath, half laugh of pure disbelief. "You can't decide to be worried now, when that worry wasn't enough then to keep us at home and a world away from them all." Home being Turkey, that was. "What absolute bullshit, honestly." Pressing a thumb and finger over her eyes, she needed to take a minute, a breath. How could her father rain on her parade this way? Why couldn't he just be as happy for her as everyone else who loved her was?

"That's not fair, Taliah." Grumbling at her sees to her hand moving away from her face, eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, it's not fair, well fuck me, guess I didn't realise it wasn't fair. Must run in the family." Biting at him before she could even keep up with what was coming out her mouth, she would be lying if she didn't regret it. Not that it showed on her stubborn features and folded arms. "Meaning?" He asks, and she knew to expect that he would. "Meaning," a pause, a deep breath as she makes some attempt to form the words and do so carefully. Her intention was not to hurt him, but she felt so defensive right now that it was difficult to really articulate. "Was it fair for me when you uprooted us from home and brought us here? You needed your brother, don't think I don't understand that. It was just hard for me, I don't think you ever really thought about that." A slow shrug, she can see the wheels of confusion turning inside his head. "I wanted a new start for us, I..." He stops, not even knowing how to proceed, but luckily, she did. "You wanted to run away from your pain. Like I said, I understand. I never protested, but that doesn't mean I wanted the same. I just kept quiet because I knew it was what you needed, and I thought if it helped you, then it was worth it." Taliah admits. "But I was so... Isolated. We left behind everything. Everyone. All my friends, all the things that I was using to help me, it was gone, and we were here. Strange town, full of people who talked so fast I couldn't keep up. Because maybe you forgot, but I didn't have the world experience you did, nor the ability to be as fluent in this language as you were. Emiri tried her best, Serkan too, and so did Cole, but it didn't change the fact that for a long time, I didn't want to be here, I wanted to go home, and you didn't see me enough to notice."

"You never said..." His voice was quiet and his face, a vision of guilt he had never registered before. "You never asked." Taliah says, pulling in another deep breath. "Me, Serkan, the club, we made sure you kept your head above water because that's what you needed. It was Cole who did that for me, he didn't talk at me, he talked to me, with patience and kindness that helped me feel like I wasn't so alone. That's what helped me see that the entire club was doing their best to invite us into their world, into their family." Sitting forward, Taliah holds his gaze just so she can be sure he's listening. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty... And I don't blame you, not for any of it. I just don't think you've ever let yourself think about how your decisions impacted me. The club saved your life and they certainly saved mine. So you can take your normal, and shove it. I don't need normal. I need them. I need Cole. They're my family."

"I know they are. Taliah! You've misunderstood what I was trying to say." Frustrated, he drags a hand over his face and lowers his head. Everything she'd just let spill out needed time to process. The fact she was right about it all only made him feel more ashamed than he already did. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did that to you. I... had no idea you felt so unhappy about the move. I thought it was what we both wanted. I didn't want to be there without..." He stops, even now, finding difficulty in talking about her mom. "And I just assumed you felt the same." His eyes are stung with tears, and Taliah can't help but feel bad about the way this all came tumbling out. "Dad, I don't need you to be sorry, I never did. I'm just trying to explain, because I think you need the reminder that the people you're worried about me being around are the same people you propelled me into as a teenager. The same people who helped us when they didn't have to. The dangers now were the same then, the only difference is I'm an adult now. I can decide for myself whether they're risks I want to take, and much like you, I've chosen to take them, with the knowledge that they're completely worth it. They're built differently, you know they are. Every one of those men would shield you from harm, every one of them, I could leave my drink with and know I'm not going to get spiked. They are good men at their core and I know now that being here, with them, with Cole, it's where I belong. So you can give your blessing or refuse it, your opinion really doesn't influence how I feel." Nodding her head firmly, she has to swallow the lump in her throat that threatens to show how shaken she is by her confessions. She doesn't want to crumble, she needs to be strong because this was the truth; it was her truth.

Her dad was silent for what felt like minutes, in reality, it was probably just a few seconds. "Serkan was the best man I ever knew, and back then, I didn't know what it meant for him to be a Son's founder. I knew a little, and suspected a lot, but what I knew in my heart was that he was a good man. It didn't take me long to see that the people he was surrounded by were just as good. So yes, Taliah, you have my blessing, of course you do. Maybe you forget that I too, have watched Cole grow up. And what he did for you back then, with no thought for his own consequences, it gets my highest respect. Anyone who would give up their freedom to protect my daughter is worthy of my daughter. I don't need you to tell me he's good at his heart, I can see it." Kaan breathes out slowly, keeping his eyes on his intertwined hands. "I've let you down more than I realised... And Cole never has. That's what you're telling me, isn't it?" He glances his eyes up at her with a gentle, sad yet knowing smile. "Not in such a black and white way, but yeah, I guess that's what I'm saying." Taliah whispers, not feeling great about knowing she's basically pushed her father down and gave him a kick for good measure. "You weren't the same after mom, but you did your best. You did what you had to, to survive. That's why I don't need you to be sorry. No regrets now, it worked out. I love this town now and I couldn't see myself anywhere else. The decision you made back then gave me everything I have now." Offering a smile, she feels a lot calmer now, but also incredibly sad.

"I'm still your father, I'll worry about your safety even if you were in an empty room. I really wish I could have been better for you, Tali. I'll be eternally sorry that I wasn't. More sorry for all the misery I caused you without noticing. I'm... glad you had people to help you when I couldn't." He nods, shifting in his seat. "I guess I've never shown it the way you needed me to, but you are my entire world, my child, and I'm so proud of you. I love you, Taliah, and I'm very pleased to hear that you're happier than you've been in a long time. That's all I've ever wanted for you, is for you to be happy." He stands up, gesturing for her to do the same, and she does. "I'm in town for another couple of weeks. I'd like to spend most of it with you, if that's okay? Cole too." Opening his arms out, Taliah nods silently and walks in for a hug, finally choking on the breath she was trying to steady. "I'd like that." She mumbles, for all the raw truth that had been voiced, she also felt like this was something that needed to happen, perhaps now, they could understand each other better. "I'll see when Cole is free for dinner here one night. You... can bring Louise. I don't like her, dad, but I'll be civil, only because you clearly do." Even though Taliah thought Louise only wanted him for his money, she could try to be nice. "Well, don't strain yourself too hard," he jokes, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I do appreciate the effort to be civil. Now, can I just clarify that you mean you'll be civil in the universal sense, or civil in Taliah sense?" He teases, already to Taliah's huffy annoyance as she gives him a shove. "Be grateful I'm even using the word civil!" Frowning, they held eye contact for a couple of seconds before bursting into a laugh that felt a lot like healing. Maybe, just maybe, they were going to be just fine now.

#taliah x dad #;; self para #;; kaan tezel #;; taliah x kaan #v long babble nobody has to read i just needed to post it outta my drafts #bc it has been sat half complete for an age

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 20

An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note.

Quickest update ever, but also the shortest. Hope you enjoy some much needed down-time :)

The farm. We're back.

We drive up the long path in silence, watching the small figures of everybody in camp jump from their seats at the sound of engines. They come rushing up to the gate to greet us. I thought I'd be more eager to reunite with everybody, but as we draw closer, I realize I'm just exhausted. I'm exhausted and I feel nothing. Dad brings the truck to a stop just outside camp as Carl runs ahead of the group, shouting my name excitedly and waving us down. He hops out first and carefully helps me down after.

The second my feet hit the ground, I'm tackled into a hug.

"You're back!" Carl exclaims into my neck, too caught-up to realize that I don't move to hug him back. I barely flinch as Lori rushes up to me and grabs my shoulder, or when Jacqui and Dale move in close to get a look at me. "Oh, you're back! We were so worried!"

As he pulls away, Jacqui adds, "Sweetie, it's so good to see you again."

"Give her some space." Dad warns, shoving some of them back. "Been through Hell this morning."

"Oh, God." Lori stresses, looking to Rick as he exits the truck and joins us, followed by T, Andrea, and Glenn. "What happened to—?"

"He's dead." Rick announces without much feeling, earning a few light gasps. As Carl stares worriedly at the bloody shirt, Rick explains to everyone, "We caught up with him this morning nearly eighty miles from here. Saw him from the road, standing in an old gas station with Harley. He wasn't happy to see us, as you can imagine. Guns were pulled. We, uh... We did what we had to do to get Harley."

Shaking her head at the brutality of it all, Lori asks, "Was it quick?"

No, it wasn't. It was a mean death. I saw.

The grim silence answers for us.

"It was a long time coming." Dale says what most are thinking. "Far as I'm concerned, we're better off without him. That man was unhinged."

"Daryl, w-we knew him for fifteen years. He was always good to us, to Carl. I never would've imagined he'd—"

"Well, he did." He cuts her off. I think he's like Rick, and like me, and just about ready to put all this behind us. "He did and he died for it."

Without anything else to add, her gaze slowly falls to the blood on his fingers.

I wince again at another wave of pain.

"Man, enough talking." T-Dog tsks. "Girl's hurt."

"We gotta get her up to Herschel." Dad agrees, guiding me through the crowd. Rick gives a quick kiss to both Lori and Carl's cheeks before stepping in with us, ignoring the chatter that resumes as we leave. I can only imagine what they're saying. I hate it. I hate being talked about.

As we hurry along, Rick sighs, "You think everyone's gonna be alright goin' back to business as usual, after this?"

"Don't got much choice." Dad scoffs. "People die, people mourn. Life moves on."

We make our way up the porch steps. The front door's been left open but Rick still gives a little knock, anyway, prompting Herschel to call out from somewhere inside that we're allowed to come in. They both guide me forward into the house, keeping the shirt cupped to my ear.

Herschel pads down the stairs with a tired frown on his even tired-er face, asking us, "You're back. What's happened?"

"You got a re-visiting patient, here." Rick answers as we head into the dining room. "Her ear's been shot off."

They set me down in a chair. Rick steps back as Dad takes the seat next to me, never letting go of my hand.

"My. Well, I haven't heard that one before." Herschel drags a chair in front of me and sits down. "Which one?"

"Her left. Top-half's completely gone."

"Let's take a look."

Dad squeezes my hand and pulls the shirt away. Herschel reaches out to push my hair back, and I turn my head to the side not 'cause I wanna make it any easier for him to examine me, but because I just can't look at nobody. My cheeks go red with shame as he reveals my butchered ear to the room. Rick tries not to let his pity show but I feel it anyway, like a hot, stuffy blanket. Feels like I wanna disappear into the floor.

"Yes, I see. You're right." Herschel hums non-judgementally, as all doctors do. "There's nothing here I can save. How's it feeling?"

Not caring how rude I sound, I snarl, "Like it got shot the Hell off."

My ear's gone for good. All I got's an ugly little stump ain't nobody gonna like lookin' at.

"Well." He takes my anger in stride. "I'll disinfect it, but what we're looking at here is what it's going to be like for the rest of her life."

"How about her hearin'?" Dad glances at me. "Baby, you were sayin' on the way back that it was ringin', weren't ya?"

Yeah, I was. It hurt so bad I thought my head would split in two. "I guess so."

Herschel asks, "How bad is the ringing?"

"It was worse before."

"Might be tinnitus." He guesses. "Very expected. Let me go get my supplies, see if I can't get some meds for it, and I'll clean it up a bit."

As he leaves, an awkward silence takes over. None of us have anything to say until he comes back, first aid kit in hand.

"Okay. You didn't hit your head or anything when it happened, did you?" He sits, grabbing a tiny light and taking my face in his hand, turning me this way and that so he can best blind me with that thing. I shake my head no. The light clicks off. "No dizziness, vomiting, double-vision?"

"No, no, and no." I huff impatiently. "If you ain't got a magic potion in that box that'll make my ear grow back, just clean it already."

"Harley, baby, it's okay." Dad murmurs. "Ain't nobody judgin' ya. Won't be nobody judgin' ya, either."

I'm not so sure. I got my ear shot off over somethin' I was too stupid to understand, too stupid to see coming. I bet it looks disgusting, too. If that's not somethin' to be ashamed of, I'on know what is. Worst part is I have to live with it on the outside, now, as well as just on the inside.

"And if there ever is anyone," Rick adds soothingly, "Either me or Daryl will have a very strong word with 'em. I promise you that."

Words are useless, even strong ones. Don't he know that by now?

"S'like I said," I brush them both off, "Just hurry up an' clean it."

"I'll have another look at your stitches after I'm done, if that's alright."

"Sure. Do what you gotta do."

"Seems like you had a rough go of it out there." He says, dabbing some disinfectant onto a cotton ball. "A shot to the ear is nothing easy."

"Ain't none of it easy." Sophia's dead. So's Shane. So's a lotta other people. I hiss when he swipes it over my bloody half-ear. It hurts like a son of a bitch, almost as much as it did when I first saw Sophia walk outta the barn, that bullet pierce Shane's guts. "Two dead in two days."

A look of pain passes over his features. "Five, for us."

Rick asks him, "What happened here after we left?"

"We buried the bodies." He simply says, leaning back to re-saturate the cotton before continuing to wipe away the blood. His wife and step-son were in that barn. Others, too. They've lost people just like we have. "Beth hasn't taken it very well. And I'm afraid I haven't, either."

"I'm very sorry for everything that's happened these past couple days. Shane had no right to break your trust in us like that."

"Well, I imagine we won't be seeing much of him, anymore." Now for the gauze. "In a way, I'm grateful it happened."

Rick frowns. "How's that?"

"It takes a lot to survive what our world has become. I think I see that, now. I see it when I look at your group, and even when I look at Harley." He sends me a soft smile. "The girls used to shed tears whenever they got a prickle caught in their foot, and yet you're missing half an ear and you're still staying strong. I have a feeling that's not just by chance. It's grit. Seems until now, I haven't had the chance to learn to use mine."

"You said you buried them." Rick hesitates to say the next word. "Sophia?"

"Yes." He nods. "It was a peaceful ceremony. Your boy, though, he didn't attend. He said he wanted to wait until Harley got back."

Sophia in a grave. Somehow that still don't quite feel real.

Herschel finishes patching me up, making quick work of checking my stitches afterward. Apparently they're healing well. He gives me a glass of water and two small pills to take for the tinnitus, and hands the bottle to my Dad, instructing him on how often I should take them.

"Beyond that and keeping it dry, I don't have anything else for you. I should get back to Beth, now. Rick, we can talk later."

"Sure thing. Thank you."

About our arrangements here, probably, now that Sophia's dead-gone and not just gone-gone. About the horde, too.

"And Harley," He says as we turn to leave, "You're a strong girl. Don't ever lose that."

Oh. I don't have the guts to tell him I already have.

With that, he smiles politely and snaps the kit shut. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

As we pass the bathroom on our way out, Dad suggests, "You wanna go wash yer hair off?"

I give a nod. My ear's clean, but my hair sure ain't.

"I'll be down at camp." Rick says. "Take your time."

Dad takes up a chair in the corridor as I slip into the bathroom alone, shutting the door behind me. Thank God all that poking and prodding is over with. I couldn't stand it. As I step onto the small ladder in front of the sink and look in the mirror, I'm faced with another thing I can't stand. My reflection. It's a sorry mess, like I expected. Blood crusted to my hair. A tight jaw. Two empty, green eyes. I don't think I know who that is.

Well, it's me. I know that. It's Harley Dixon, but it's not all of her. Not the strong parts.

I pick at my hair, lift it, move it, pull it apart, raking the dried blood out and flicking it in the sink, but it just don't wanna come out. I duck my head under the faucet and try soaking it, squeezing it out like a dirty rag, but it don't wanna come out that way, either. I snatch up the brush from the counter and attack the knots with it, ouch, ouch, ouch, until it snags painfully and I just throw the damn thing across the room.

I hate this. All of it. I hide my face in my hands, peering out through my fingers at the stranger in the mirror with half an ear.

I remember the look on his face before the gunshot came. I remember him stumbling, the wet smack of Dad's fist on his cheek.

I remember her vacant eyes and her slow shuffles. I remember the gunshot for that one, too. I always do.

My gaze wonders off to the side then, landing on the pair of scissors Maggie lent me the other day.

Without any shred of hesitation, I grab them, put them to my roots, and start sawing. Krrch, Krrch, Krrch. It chews through my hair like an angry dog. Long strands fall to the floor, taking the knots of crusty blood with them. Krrch, Krrch, Krrch. Stubby locks of hair spring out above my ear as I cut, cut, cut. Krrch, Krrch, Krrch. I hack off the sides. I hack off the back. I hack off all the memories, and all the pain, and all the blood.

By the time I'm done, I'm panting like I've ran a race. I stare boldly at my new reflection.

Two green eyes, sharp and ready. A wild haircut. A frown.

I scoop all the hair off the floor and stuff it into the little waste bin in the corner before stepping back into the hallway.

When Dad notices what I've done to myself, he flinches as if he's just walked into a spiderweb. "Wh—?"

"I got the blood off."

"You—" He reaches up to feel the thick, fluffy locks as I stand between his knees. "Baby, you look like a boy."

"I don't care. Merle used to say I looked like one, anyway."

He chuckles. "Y'know ya could'a asked me for help, right?"

I shrug. "Didn't need none. Not this time."

"Guess not. You look pretty hardcore."

When his hand bumps into what's left of my ear, that awful vacuum-feeling returns to my stomach, the red returns to my cheeks. I lift my hand to hide the jagged nub, but he takes my wrist and pulls it down. I stand there like a broken vase, angry at how embarrassed I feel.

"Hardcore," He repeats with a pointed look, this time softly adding, "And still very beautiful."

I scoff. Ain't nothin' beautiful about me. "You're messin' with me."

"No. I ain't."

He leaves no room for argument. After brushing my bangs to the side and pressing a kiss to my temple, he stands and leads me outside.

Carl's jaw drops when we approach camp. "What happened to your hair? Why's it so short?"

"She asked too many questions," Dad warns him, "So I chopped it all off."

His eyes go wide as saucepans.

"He's just kidding." Lori mutters, sending Dad a look that says uh-huh, very funny, but he don't look very sorry. "Don't listen to him."

"Looks like you got on good, then." Rick smiles from his seat around the fire, amused. I can tell he's already explained the state of my missing ear to everyone by the lack of gawking and questioning, which I'm thankful for. He always thinks about things like that. "Cool new hair."

"Almost as short as Carl's." Glenn snickers, giving it a ruffle. "Didn't know Herschel was a hairdresser, too."

I tsk, batting him away. "Shut up, Glenn."

"Well, I think she looks adorable." Lori says kindly, in the way a mother talks over an annoying older brother. "It really suits her."

"Maggie brought down some soup for us to heat up just now." Rick says. "Carrot and leak. I think it's about ready, you want some?"

"Sure." Dad sits down, wrapping me in his arms as I climb onto his lap. I'm bein' clingy, but he understands why. "One long ass day, alright."

"Right about that. It's good to have you back, little nerd." T-Dog smiles earnestly.

I return it shyly. "Thanks, T."

Bowls and spoons get handed out, then a few big spoonfuls of steaming soup and a couple rice crackers each. Finally, after two days of feeling nothing but bone-crushing anxiety, I let myself enjoy some lunch with all the people still left in the world who care about me.

It's not what it used to be, but it's something.

Author's Note.

Sorry this wasn't very long 🙏 Just the group returning home and dealing with emotions.

#fanfic #angst #the walking dead #twd #daryl dixon #twd fanfiction #daryl dixon daughter #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon twd #rick grimes #daddy issues #reader #ao3 fanfic #found family #fluff

[blue-flamed-phoenix]

Out of the woods - OUAT Peter Pan

Chapter 1 - Escape

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"GET BACK HERE, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRATS!!!"

Run. That's all we could do, just run and keep running as our psychotic insufferable father chased us through the eery enchanted forest in the dead of night. We had nothing but the clothes on our backs. Well, that and our backpacks that were stuffed with the essentials from home. As we sprinted threw the forrest, the dry leaves crunching under our feet, we can hear in the distance our fathers panting and heavy footfalls. "Keep running! I think we can lose him if we keep going for another 3 or 4 miles!" Jack shouted to the rest of us. I did glance over at him or look back behind us, I just kept my eyes locked on the landscape in front of me afraid that if I turned around our father would be right behind me.

"Jack! That may be a bit of a problem!" My younger brother Liam shouted as I saw in my peripheral vision him pointing to something in front of us. I focused my sight on in front of us and caught a glimpse of what was to come in about a mile or 2. It was a cliff. None the less none of us broke away from our sprint towards the cliff in fear of our father gaining on us. We have to think of something and fast. As we make it closer and closer to the cliff I finally glance to Sage who ran beside me with little Bailey in her arms. Bailey is the littlest sister of us all since she's only 2 years old she will most likely never remember our mother or the psychotic monster who is currently chasing us. Hopefully she won't remember any of the events that ensued tonight or recent events from the days before.

~~~~~~~FLASHBACK - 2 weeks ago - FLASHBACK~~~~~~~

As me and my siblings arrived home from the markets that our mother forced me to go too, we could suddenly hear the sound of smashing coming from the house. Then I heard it, a cry of distress. Not just any cry, Bailey's cry. Immediately I dashed up the stairs of the front porch ignoring my siblings that yelled after me. As I ran into the house I looked to my left into the lounge room to see a devastating sight.

The lounge room was trashed with glass everywhere and picture frames or whatever else were on the ground in a huge mess. I turned into the lounge room as my sight locked onto Bailey who was in none other then the devil himself's arms. Rick. My father or well used to be father. Now he's nothing but a psychotic monster. Rick stood in front of the fire place with a crying, distressed Bailey in one of his arms while in his other he had Sky, My mother in his other arm. In his hand was a gun that he held to my mother's temple.  "Mother!" I yelled as I went to lunge for them, knowing that the couch was what separated us and was about the only thing keeping me and Rick apart at that moment. 

"Mary go back outside!" my Mother screamed as Rick threw Bailey to the ground hard and yanked my Mother's hair back before repositioning his hands. one hand held the gun to her temple while he put his arms across her collar bones to keep her in place. "So the little brat came home." Rick said as he looked at me. "Leave her alone!" I screamed as both fear and a new found anger coursed threw my veins. "And what are you going to do, you're not a hero, you're just a weak, pathetic child." Rick said with a malicious smile on his face which was then accompanied with a vicious laugh. By this point I was shaking with anger and I even started growling. I clenched my jaw as I replied to him. "I can hold you off until help gets here." I said to which Rick chuckled. "I'd like to see you try." Rick teased as my mother tried to struggle out of his grip but again it was no use.

"Because as far as anyone else is concerned, you can't even shift yet. 2 years late, who knows maybe you aren't even a true werewolf, maybe your just a stupid half blood, not even a real fucking wolf." Rick sneered and I growled, my eyes glowing as a sort of warning. "Don't you dare insult my children!" My mother shouted as she then elongated her k9's, drew her head back and then brought her k9's down on my father's forearm. She bit into his arm with incredible force drawing blood that invokes a blood curdling scream came from my father.

By doing this Rick automatically let Sky go and in doing so my mother fell to the ground on her hands and knees. "You bitch!" He yelled as he then kicked my mother in the stomach harshly, flipping her onto her other side. She curled up into a fetal position and groaned as she gripped her stomach in pain. "Now, I should've done this along time ago." Rick said through gritted teeth as he raised the gun up to point at my forehead. Without a single fearful bone I looked at the gun that was aimed directly at me without even flinching. 

Because in the end, I was used to this. I was used to guns and violence. The sounds of gunshots and the blood curdling screaming and yells of those who were scared for their lives. "See you in hell, little brat!" Rick yelled and in a split second everything changed.

A gunshot echoed throughout the house and I stood frozen where I was, waiting for the bullet to hit me. But it never did, instead I heard a tumble, like something had fallen to the ground. As if everything suddenly went into slow motion, I turned my head slowly to look down, only to find my mother's body on the floor. What started out as a small dot of red soon seeped through her clothes and became a huge mess of crimson that started to pool around her abdomen. 

'He shot her, he actually shot her' those words echoed in my mind as I myself, fell to my knees next to my mother and grabbed her hand. I just held her hand in mine as I saw she was still conscious. As I saw this I dropped her hand and tried to apply pressure to her abdomen to hopefully stop the bleeding. Why wasn't she healing???? No, no it could be! A wolfsbane laced bullet. No!

As I continuously tried to stop the bleeding my mother began to speak. "It's ok Mary, it's ok." my mother said barely above a whisper. I shook my head profusely. "N-no, no it's not ok." I refused as I could barely keep myself together anymore. 

"Promise me you'll protect them? You'll look out for them?" my mother asked as she looked deep into my eyes. After I didn't respond and practically froze up she repeated herself again. "Promise me!" she yelled as she gripped my bicep and this time I nodded with sorrow. Then out of my peripheral vision I saw my father raise his gun again with gritted teeth, but before he could my mother intervened. She shot her hand out towards my father and suddenly a glow of light came out of her palm. This then sent my father flying into fireplace behind him and left him unconscious from the massive blow. Then out of nowhere she then held both my hands in hers as she chanted something. "What are you doing?" I asked as I saw her hands began to glow a bright white colour of light. This light traveled up her forearms and underneath her skin making veins and bones visible.

"Listen to me, Mary" My mother said. "Once every 500 years, a miracle occurs. One that only occurs amongst us werewolves. One that is said to close the divide between magic and werewolves." my mother started. "You know of the story of the grand alpha, correct?" My mother asked and I nodded. "well, Once every 500 years a new grand alpha is chosen amongst the many werewolf packs in the world to take the place of the old grand alpha." my mother continued 

"It is legend that the grand alpha not only held incredible strength and speed but also the power of pure light magic. Magic so pure that it could never be consumed my dark magic, ever. Any werewolf can be chosen to be the grand alpha as you know but there is a catch." My mother said as she started to seem out of breath and my heart beats only increased by this. "Yeah, I know. If one was destined to become the grand alpha then at 16 years old they would find there mate." I finished for her and she nodded. "Yes, but that's not all. when a new grand alpha finds their mate at 16 years old, they are then faced with a choice." my mother continued seemingly loosing her breath the more she talked.

"A choice that would be life changing." my mother said before coughing and struggling a little more to breath. "When the 25th grand alpha is chosen, it is said that the grand alpha's mate was a being of immense power, one that was filled with dark magic. The legend states that the alpha must either choose to fall into the abyss of dark magic or turn there mate into a werewolf whether it be against their will or not," my mother finished as she coughed violently.  

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked as the glowing in my mother's hands stopped and some how transferred to me. "Because I believe either you or one of your siblings is the future grand alpha that we've all been waiting for." My mother said and my eyes widened. "Run Mary, take your siblings with you and run, run as fast as you can. Your father knows that one of you is destined to be the grand alpha. He wants to take the power all for himself. you must protect your siblings and follow the shadow." my mother said as I looked down for a moment not wanting to leave her but the I shot my head back up to look at her. 'Wait! did she say follow the shadow. Wait does she know about that shadow that had been visiting me for years now.' I thought as confusion set in on the features of my face and it seemed my mother understood too. 

"I've known since the first time the shadow visited you. He is aware of the dangers that surround you and your sibling." she said as I looked into her eyes in complete disbelief. "Now go, take what you need and leave. Hide and wait for the shadow to find you before your father does." She said as she then let go of my hands and pushed me away lightly. 

As I look at her a single tear falls down her face. "Go Mary. Go" She insisted as she pushed me away further. with a heavy head I nodded, swallowed thickly and stood up on weak knees. My breathing was shallow as I looked down at my mother who lay on the floor becoming weaker and weaker by the second then I heard a groan come from the fire place. I quickly ran over to where Bailey was, picked her up and immediately sprinted out of the house and too my other siblings. 

"We have to go! now!" I shouted as my siblings were outside with fearful looks as I quickly handed Bailey over to Sage. "Get the emergency supplies, we have to go now!" I said as I ran over to the shed down the side of the house my older brother Jack following after me and I yanked the door open. I grabbed two of the bags while my brother Jack grabbed the other two. "Where's mother?" Jack asked as we ran back to our siblings. I didn't answer his question and instead handed Sage one of the bags that I was carrying. "Mary! where's Mother?" Jack shouted and I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. 

"She's gone, our mother killed him, shot her because she tried to protect. We need to go before he gets out here to try and hurt us." I explained as I pointed to the truck that my mother owned. "We need to go!" I said as I ran towards the truck and opened the door for Sage to get in. she was not only carrying her backpack but also Bailey as well. Nonetheless she got into the truck and Liam followed right after her with a backpack in hand. I looked to where Jack was to see he stood frozen where we were before. 

"Jack come on! we have to go!" I shouted as I opened the drivers side door. The keys were tapped underneath the drivers seat where mum had placed them for emergencies. "Come back here you little assholes!" my father yelled as he stormed out of the house and down the front porch steps towards us. That seemed to shock Jack out of his little freeze up as he sprinted towards the truck. I got into the drivers seat and started the truck with the keys. Jack quickly got into the passenger seat meanwhile our father was going balistic outside the truck. I quickly stepped on the gas and we went zooming out our drive way and down the road. only then did I realise what I had just witnessed. Our father, he did it again. He turned us for his own selfish needs. I clenched my jaw at this, feeling so angry. First he did it to me and now he's done it to all of us.

~~~~~~~FLASHBACK - The End - FLASHBACK~~~~~~~

As we ran threw the forest, well that is until we reached the cliff. I looked below to see very sharp and pointy rocks with waves crashing into the every two seconds below the cliff. 'There's absolutely no way we can survive that jump.' I thought as I look to Jack our big brother for help. He seems to be out of ideas just like me as Liam starts to Panic. "He's coming! He's coming! What do we do!" Liam says his tone full of fear. We could all hear our father running threw the forest towards us angrily. "Shit, come on, where are you" I whispered as I looked up into the sky searching for the shadow. "come on, come on" I whispered as I searched and searched. 

Then I heard a voice. "Your hand. stick out the palm of your hand directly in front of you" I heard the voice say in a calm voice and so I did what it said. though it didn't seem that my siblings heard this voice but I did nonetheless. I reached my right hand out in front of me following the unknown voice's instructions. Then out of nowhere a ball of light shone through my palm and in front of us a portal opened up. My siblings seemed amazed at what was in front of us but that amazement was short lived as we all heard our father yelling for us, getting closer and closer. 

"Come on!" I yell as I jumped Without thinking twice into the portal, my siblings following right after me. As we went through the portal Sage and Liam were both screaming as we twisted and turned in all different directions before we were then spat out by the portal, landing on solid ground. As we all got through The portal, it immediately closed right behind us as we hit the solid ground with pain filled grunts. I was the first one to shoot up and observe our surroundings. "You ok?" Jack says sitting up. "Yeah" I answered back as I continued to look at our surroundings. What surprised me is how it's day time here but night time back where we were before. "Is everyone ok?" Jack asked as he looked to Sage and Liam. They both nodded simultaneously while Liam immediately started to look around more. "Shit where are we?" Liam asked standing up. "ok everyone stay calm." Jack says as he gets up. "I'm sure we can figure out where we are." Jack reasoned.

#peter pan ouat #ouat fanfiction #ouat peter pan #ouat #once upon a time #emma swan #henry mills #fanfiction #fanfic #ouatfanfic #wattpad

[grismavessel]

Heyyyy Jules, it's been busy so I haven't been on Tumblr a lot so return art! Killer into for Axe killer Gris

You *rattles you like a maraca* I have ideas i have ideas to go with an axe killer gris hehehe

So what goes REALLY WELL with a crazy axe man? A crazy forest/wild man

I thought of, you know, the woodsman and the big bad wolf go hand in hand and are usually enemies, but what if they were lovers instead heheh and I also pictured that one princess Mononoke scene, Gris threatening to off Ingo and all Ingo could do is admire Gris.

So, thought process and au ramble time + art: (sorry I wrote a lot :3)

Gris is a crazy, deranged axe murder in this au (haven't come up with a name), they're in the forest and wilds and will terrorize any outsiders that come near them because they're very bitter about other people and wants their space.

So for Ingo, train man enthusiast, to fall for this villain, he'd also need to be chucked into a wood chipper and look extra ragged and hobo-ish with a dash more angst :3

I'd imagine this version of Ingo, 'Hunter' Ingo I'm calling him, would've had his head hit just a little harder when he gets eeby deebied. So on top of having no memories, the injury basically wipes his memory. Also he isn't found by any pearl clan members but by wild pokemon (I was thinking either Sneaslers or Zoroarks but I can't really decide what fits better), so Ingo creates new memories and thinks he's just a weird looking wild pokemon. He was always that and needs to rehabilitate himself so he can be a contributing member of the pack.

He does get separated from his pack one day and finds an abandoned camp with some various items such as a mirror and a broken festival mask. He sees the mirror and immediately recoils because he hasn't seen his face in months and had no memory of what it looked like. When he does see his reflection, he doesn't like it because he can feel something in the back of his mind wanting to come out and break free, long lost memory just itching to come out but it hurts his head. So he dawns the mask to prevent anymore bad feelings coming back.

He's in rough shape, he's stronger and faster but he's very reclusive and nonverbal.

They way Ingo and Gris would meet in this au would be just somewhere out in the wilds. Gris is hunting for food and spots Ingo, but they can't keep up with him. It isn't until Ingo pounces on Gris that they realize Ingo was the one hunting them. They scuffle and eventually Gris's mask falls off.

Ingo sees and has a tarzan moment where he realizes that he's not a pokemon and the reason why he feels so different than his pack was because he's actually human, and Gris is the first human he's seen since he woke up in the icelands.

The two go their seperate ways and retreat because neither one wants to be dinner.

They run into one another again and again, but hostility lessens each time. One because Gris sees that Ingo's very off, he's not civilized at all, and two Ingo wants to know more about being human and so far Gris is the closest one for miles.

The 'trying to kill each other for food' stops at some point and they forge a friendship. They hang out and exchange food. Gris would teach him manners and how to talk (I'd still think Ingo would be very quiet, but when he does speak it scares Gris half to death because of the seer volume he has).

At some point Ingo decides that he can no longer live with his pack and moves in with Gris. Together they form the local legend of the Axe Man and The Hunter.

Neither one is doing well (cough cough i would draw a proper aze murder gris n ingo but I'm not feeling blood atm (maybe for Halloween >:D)), but they fit comfort in one another still because they are in love and can be cute and deranged together because I said so <3<3<3

#dude I feel ya I've been working almost 30 hour work weeks and it's killing my drawing time #sorry if the ingo I drew isn't that close to your design it's just that my brain saw the little teef and it just went- #Wild animal Ingo would be cute with crazy forest gris #and my brain zoomed #this may or may not have given me a fic idea but saving it for later hehe #pokemon #pokemon fanart #submas #pokemon legends arceus #ingo #pokemon oc #pla #pokémon legends #pokemon legends ingo #warden ingo #pokemon au #oc x canon #digital art #rambles #au rambles #answering asks #woodsman gris would be unhinged #gris #grisingo

[cousinkooksbackup]

Exchanged Love. || a bellyjere au fic

chapter seventeen

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bellys pov

The Jeep was set to pull out in just five minutes, and Jeremiah's voice carried up the stairs, breaking the morning stillness. I'd been awake for hours, yet I couldn't shake the feeling of being unprepared for my first day at Boston College High School. That sense of unreadiness seemed unlikely to fade any time soon.

There was something nerve-wracking about being in such a completely new environment. I had met a few classmates at the party we attended on Friday, but today felt different. There was no alcohol to blur emotions, no liquid courage to boost my confidence. What if they didn't like the real me without the aid of alcohol?

"Oh, my special girl, you look absolutely dreamy," Susannah appeared behind me in the mirror, her smile melting my insides and coaxing a smile onto my own lips.

Susannah and I had spent all of last night selecting my first-day outfit. Jeremiah had teased us, insisting it wasn't a big deal, but his mom hushed him and sent him on an ice cream run for us instead. "Boys don't get it; being excited for your first day is a big deal," she reassured me.

We ultimately chose a simple blue corset top and white high-waisted shorts. Susannah had even added a white cardigan, which I secretly stashed in my bag once I got into the car with Jeremiah. Even with her modest addition, I felt like such a grown-up.

Back home, we wore uniforms to school, so dressing as we pleased was a novel concept—one that was both thrilling and intimidating. But having Susannah to guide me through it all was comforting. I tried to imagine my mom doing the same, but I knew she wouldn't have. She wouldn't have taken me shopping, helped me create outfits, or approved of this outfit—though it wasn't overly mature or revealing. She'd have preferred me in a turtleneck and jeans, cinched with a belt to keep them from slipping down.

"I should probably get going. Thank you for everything, Susannah," I hugged her, despite hearing Jeremiah's car horn honking outside. He could wait a few more seconds; it wouldn't hurt him. She smiled and squeezed me tightly, telling me to give her boy a playful slap for rushing perfection.

"Well, at least it was worth the wait. You look beautiful, Bells," Jeremiah complimented, waiting for me to hop into the passenger seat. His words made my cheeks flush. We had agreed to be just friends, and that the kiss was nothing more than a drunken mistake, but it was hard to convince myself otherwise when he said things like that—things that made me want to squeal and kick my feet.

"Well, we can thank your mom for that. She really helped put me together," I confessed. There was no way I could have pulled off a look like this or styled my hair so nicely without her assistance.

"I'm sure that's untrue. You would have looked good in anything," he assured me, his hand inching toward the back of my seat as he reversed out of the driveway.

My gaze lingered on him, noting how our outfits almost coordinated—his light blue button-up adorned with a white floral print and khaki shorts complemented my own outfit. I was half-surprised Susannah hadn't insisted on one of those cheesy back-to-school photos. His nose crinkled as he focused on avoiding the mailbox, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. God, he was so attractive... and God, I needed to stop having these thoughts.

"Are you nervous?" Jeremiah asked as we stopped at a red light, turning the radio down. I glanced over at him, my fingers halting their fidgeting with the hem of my shorts.

"What gave it away?" I asked, bashful.

"Your face says it all, really," he chuckled, pressing the gas pedal as we continued down the road. With each mile that passed, the pit in my stomach grew larger. It was unlikely that people would hate me when I walked in—how could they? Most of them wouldn't even know me. Yet, that didn't stop my mind from concocting all sorts of fictional scenarios.

"You know, the guys in the football group chat haven't stopped talking about you since the party," he told me softly. To Jeremiah, it might have sounded like an offhand comment, but it was a welcome one. People had liked me at the party, and I needed to remember that. No matter how many imaginary scenarios my brain conjured up, that wouldn't change overnight.

When we finally pulled up at the school, I felt like I could barely breathe. My gaze darted to the curly-haired boy sitting beside me. Of course, he was already waiting for me, a smile on his face. He reached out over the center console and took my hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Now I had two different kinds of butterflies.

"You're going to be fine, Bells," he assured me before turning off the car and hopping out.

Now was as good a time as any to follow his lead. I swung my door open to the lively chatter that was the first-day-of-school student parking lot. Jeremiah waited for me at the front of his Jeep, backpack slung around his shoulders and that signature grin on his face.

"Welcome to BCHS, Bells. I'll walk you to your first class, okay?" He was so sweet. Every time he spoke, it felt like he was melting my heart a little more

 each day. Building up these walls was becoming increasingly difficult.

Just like at the party, we were greeted by all sorts of people. About fifteen minutes remained until the bell would ring, and students perched on their cars, ate breakfast at the picnic tables, and lingered in the parking lot. 

Instead of heading straight for the door like I expected, we headed toward a table, and I followed him like a lost puppy. The closer we got to the picnic table, the more evident it became. I should have heard the football boys from a mile away with the way they were hooting and hollering.

"Oh, look who it is!" someone's voice called out, and heads turned in our direction.

"Belly!" a couple of boys came running right for me, not bothering to acknowledge their teammate beside me. I couldn't help but laugh, blushing from all the attention as they yelled out my name. I was pretty sure this was Ricky and Wade, but I might have mixed them up in my haze. Taylor and EJ sat together atop the picnic table, and EJ offered a small wave while his girlfriend bounded toward us.

"Back up, boys; she's mine this year!" she announced, pushing the two out of the way as they tried to claim their spots.

"Girl, you look so good, holy cow," she said, all while sporting the cutest blazer and skirt combo. I thanked her, leaving out how it reminded me of how the popular girls back home had attempted to style their uniforms—hers, however, was a pastel pink combo and much cuter.

"Let me see your schedule; I really, really hope we have classes together," she said, nearly snatching it from my hand excitedly. Through a series of squeals and big smiles, she seemed to take it as good news. Having a familiar face in my classes would be more than welcome.

"We have first block together with Mr. Saltzman. He's pretty chill, which is a blessing because first thing in the morning, I need time to inhale my coffee. But this means we can walk to class every morning together." One thing I had already learned about Taylor was that this girl could talk. I was pretty sure I wouldn't even have to open my mouth, and she'd somehow manage to carry on a whole conversation with me. But I didn't mind; her energy was contagious.

"I was going to walk Belly to her first class," Jeremiah chimed in, taking his place beside me again.

"No, I was going to walk Belly to class," Ricky teased, squeezing in between Jeremiah and me.

"You guys got it all wrong; I'm the one walking Belly to her class," Wade joined in, coming up from behind me and looping his big arms around my shoulders.

It felt good to belong, to feel wanted at school. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this way. On my last day of school back home, I had done my absolute best to avoid every single one of my peers, just trying to get to class and get home. But here, as I walked down the hallway, it felt like nearly every set of eyes was on me, and I didn't shy away from it.

Taylor was on one side of me, Jeremiah on the other. EJ, Wade, Ricky, and some other football players trailed closely behind us, making sure to introduce me loudly to everyone in the hallway. If it had been anyone else, I might have hated it, but something about their antics felt natural, as though this was a regular occurrence in the hallway, and letting them have their fun was the key to fitting in around here.

The first three classes of the day, I had with Taylor, which was comforting. I could avoid the first-day-of-school stress of getting lost on campus and being late. She introduced me to her other friends—though she'd described them in the secretive text she sent me as strictly school and party friends, whatever that meant. So far, the day had gone well. I hadn't run into Lacie, and all of my teachers seemed nice enough. Lunch was the only part of my day that I was dreading, just a little.

School lunchrooms hadn't been very kind to me, and based on the movies and television shows I'd watched, American high school cafeterias didn't seem promising either. Although everyone breaking out into song and dance would be an experience, Taylor promised me that lunch would be a fun and uneventful forty minutes of our day.

She practically dragged me by my elbow all the way to the cafeteria, chattering about how much she missed EJ and couldn't wait to see him. I wished I could be annoyed, but truthfully, I felt the same way about Jeremiah. Taylor had been a great friendly face to have around, but no one made me feel as at ease and safe as he did.

"I saved you a seat, Bells," Jeremiah grinned, patting the cafeteria chair between him and Wade. Wade chimed in with a wink, "Yeah, I was the brains behind this operation, making sure you got the VIP treatment." Wade was a bit shorter than Jeremiah, but he must have been close to six feet, and his sturdy frame practically enveloped the small seat. His sandy hair and honey-brown eyes gave him a rugged charm, and there was a hint of a Southern drawl in his voice, despite being up North. Charming, for sure, but also a tad clumsy.

"So, how's your day shaping up? Feeling okay?" Jere’s words were hushed, as if no one else in the cafeteria existed. Amidst all the chaos and chatter at the table, Jeremiah's focus remained entirely on me.

"It's been interesting. Classes with Taylor were great, but the next three... well, I'm flying solo. We'll see how that goes," I admitted, not even bothering to mask my nerves. There was something about Jeremiah that made me feel like I didn't have to pretend, and no matter what, he had an uncanny knack for seeing right through me.

"Excuse me," a pointed finger tapped on my shoulder. I didn't even need to turn around to know who the grating voice belonged to. The way Jeremiah's body tensed up next to me didn't go unnoticed either.

She cleared her throat again, saying, "Excuse me, you're in my seat." This time, I didn't have the liquid courage to back me up, but the way everyone stared at me expectantly offered some vote of confidence. I couldn't stand there like a deer in the headlights.

"Lacie, right?" I smiled softly, only to be met with a narrowed glare.

"Well," I shrugged, smile still intact, "if Jeremiah and Wade want me to move, then the seat's all yours."

"Jerebear," she pleaded, the nickname making my stomach twist.

"I think I speak for the whole table when I say that we want Belly to sit with us. There's a space at the end, though," Wade said cheekily, beating Jeremiah to the punch. I could tell he was grateful from the way he relaxed when Lacie stormed away.

"Didn't you break up with her?" EJ questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I did—yeah, but I guess she didn't believe it was for real this time," Jeremiah shrugged, his voice carrying a mixture of emotions, a slight slump in his posture.

"Oreo?" I asked, extending the chocolate cookie toward him, my brows furrowed as I willed him to smile with my mind. And as if on cue, he took the cookie with his teeth, a great big grin spreading across his face.

#belly conklin #bellyjere #jeremiah fisher #tsitp #the summer i turned pretty #el17

[starknature]

I'll update this post daily because I don't want to keep posting over and over 💀

Day 1: Stats

SW: 98lbs? I might have realized I had a problem a bit before that but I genuinely don't remember.

HW: 115lbs, I was 15/16 and Jesus given my proportions it was so bad.

Lw: 82.5

Current weight is 84

BMI: 14.9.

I want to at least get down to 80lbs but I'll take as low as I can get and still be able to maintain my job.

Day 2:

I'm 5'3", and no, I do not. Too short lol, causes intense dysphoria.

Day 3:

They're similar to my build, just thinner. They don't have the extra fat I do. I think these pictures are my favourite thinsp0

Day 4: my greatest fear is that I'll have to quit for my job, or that I'll be forced to recover if my family notices.

Day 5: I first wanted to lose weight because I have very round features, I have a round face, its all very feminine. I can't medically transition right now where I live, and I'm more angular and masculine looking when I'm thinner. Boobs are made of fat, the women in my family carry their weight around the middle and in the hips and I refuse to gain anymore, and I need to lose what I've got. I'm not a woman and it's throwing off my silhouette. It's gotten to the point where I now realize I'm fat regardless, and especially where I carry it is unacceptable and unnecessary.

Day 6: I don't think that my binging technically fits the criteria because at most I eat a couple to a few hundred calories over my limit, but I do feel in the moment like I can't stop, and it's still going over my limit so I count it as binging.

Day 7: I know my mom knows to some extent, but I don't have to worry about her doing anything about it because I don't live with her. Noone else really notices, fortunately, except for my brother that recognized it because of his own eating disorder.

Day 8: I have chronic pain so I don't exercise much outside of work, I'll go on long walks though when my joints let me out of the house💀 at work I'm running back and forth across a store and carrying heavy crap, and it's a mile away from the house so that helps with getting my steps in.

Day 9: my curves, chubby face and where I carry fat around my hips heavily contribute to my misgendering, although not the sole reason. Family members also used to make comments frequently.

Day 10: DR. PEPPER!!! THE DIET/0 SUGAR TASTES LIKE CRAP. Also my Autistic Comfort Food™️ dollar spicy ramen bowl. I'd eat one every day istg, half the time I'd omad it but literally a month before I relapsed hard, the guilt got to be too much LMFAO

Day 11: I don't necessarily have a favourite thinspo blog? But I do keep up with DecomposedMoon on twt.

Day 12: Sometimes 100cal oatmeal with flax seeds, I'll eat rice cakes with a little whipped strawberry cream cheese, those 70cal protein buffalo tuna salad packs, idk. I'm just getting into making shakes and I ordered vanilla protein powder so excited about that.

Day 13: I'm trying to mainly eat healthy foods but am definitely restricting more than is considered healthy, so an unhealthy way.

#ana trigger #ed not sheeren #tw ed diet #tw ana shit #tw restriction #4norexi4 #@nor3xia #eating d1sorder #male ed #@nor3×14 #ftm ana #ftm 4n4 #ftm ed

[c-is-for-circinate]

Okay so maaaaaaaybe I wrote the first chunk of that whole Untamed modern setting playing D&D and also now it's a college AU complete with requisite pining that I was threatening a couple of weeks ago, and maybe I figured I'd post this first chunk because I haven't properly posted fic in about 84 years and also maybe I know way too much about the stat blocks of every single participating character and anyway.

Pre-LWJ/WWX, mild pining, modern AU, D&D. Or something.

We open on a commercial:

A frothing ocean. A tall, rocky cliff. Rushing whitewater rapids. An endless forest.

Then: two men on the coast, hauling gear into a boat. A woman at the base of a cliff snaps a logo'ed carabiner onto a harness, smiles at a similarly-geared man. A collection of people in wetsuits with white lotuses on the shoulder slide into similarly-branded kayaks. A family in backpacks and hiking gear setting out into the forest.

The clips start to roll faster: the mountain climber's hand grabs onto a ledge which fades into a dirt path, and the camera moves out to reveal a cyclist on a mountain bike racing over rocky ground. The spray of gravel under the bike's tires merges with the spray of water around the kayaks, surging down a river between enormous rocks, which then cut to a different mountain, covered in snow, as a skiier plunges downhill at speed. The skiier's pole transitions into a fishing pole, straining as it's held by the two laughing men from the coast, who haul up an enormous fish that cuts to the dad on the camping trip showing his kids a bluegill.

The family sits around their campfire, eating fish, and the camera pans past an enamel camping kettle stamped with the lotus logo. The kayakers paddle leisurely, spread out over a calm river, with the rapids still visible behind them. The rock-climbing woman stands on top of the cliff, sweaty and satisfied, as the camera pans over the logo on her back and out across the landscape.

Jiang Outdoors: Do The Impossible.

Keep reading

.

They grew up outside, of course, because in this family you didn't really have a choice about that, not that Wei Ying ever really wanted one. It was good for the brand, Aunt Yu admitted begrudgingly, and then made sure Jiang Cheng fit every last textbook and piece of homework into his backpack for every weekend camping trip.

(Wei Ying always ended up having to carry half of it in his own backpack, because it turned out that textbooks were heavy and carrying forty pounds of extra weight on a ten-mile hike was rough on a twelve-year-old. Plus Jiang Cheng always insisted, because if Wei Ying was going to leave all his books at home and then borrow Jiang Cheng's then he could at least help carry, and if Wei Ying was going to leave all his books at home and then not borrow any, and do all his homework on Monday morning, scribbled out on notebook paper in the class before it was due when he was supposed to be taking notes, then that was his problem, not Jiang Cheng's.)

The house was an hour north of the city, with lakefront access and a private dock, and Uncle Jiang left for work before seven every morning so he could be home in time, once in a while, to spend time down by the water before it got dark. Sometimes he would pull Wei Ying away from the homework he wasn't doing to take him down to the dock and teach him about boats, while Jiang Cheng resentfully churned his way through math problems and Yanli helped him with his English paper, and that was its own ball of complication that none of them really liked to talk about, but more often than not Uncle Jiang wasn't home until dinnertime anyway.

So mostly it was just the three of them, and during the summer that meant running around and jumping into the lake and tromping around the nearby woods and month-long trips to the cabin in Colorado where Uncle Jiang would work from the home office all day and Aunt Yu wouldn't even come, and Yanli was in charge of keeping her brothers from killing themselves on a hike or a mountain bike or whatever other plan they cooked up for the day. During the school year there was homework, and music lessons, and weekly Chinese classes at the cultural center, and other, less-extreme sports that usually involved teams and balls and trophies Aunt Yu could put on the shelves in the room where she had her friends over for coffee. But there was still the pier at the bottom of the back yard, and the woods you could get to if you took your bikes and either went all the way around or snuck through the middle of the golf course at the end of the cul-de-sac on the other side of the street.

And that was great, for the six months of the year between May and October. 10/10, would do it again, Wei Ying had no complaints. (None. Never.) It wasn't even too terrible in November and December and April, when the snow was still new enough to be fun or probably basically gone and anyway it had been so long they didn't care any more anyway. There was just really, really only so much you could do outside in the middle of January when you lived in a place that regularly got below ten degrees Fahrenheit and the sun set by 4 PM on an average winter weekday. There was only so much cross-country skiing a guy could take.

Aunt Yu hated video games, because of course she did, and it wasn't like Wei Ying could just turn off all the doing-things energy that carried him through every extreme sport Uncle Jiang could find the whole rest of the year and sit still to watch TV or something for four months. For one thing, the only shows playing in December were basically all about Christmas, which he still didn't particularly get the point of in the first place. By January he was usually about ready to vibrate out of his skin. Jiang Cheng didn't like to admit it, but he was usually pretty much there too.

It was Yanli who found the solution, of course, because she was spectacular and beautiful and wise and perfect in every way, and also maybe because Wei Ying had started talking at breakfast about how he was pretty sure he could teach himself computer hacking by the time the really good BMX track out by the state park opened again for the spring. Yanli usually drove them out to the track, and also to school and music lessons and Jiang Cheng's tutoring sessions at the library and all the other places that Uncle Jiang wasn't home for and Madam Yu wasn't about to take them when her daughter had just gotten a perfectly good driver's license to do it herself.

"Look," she said, laying the books down on the coffee table in the sun room, kneeling gracefully just like Aunt Yu was trying to get them all to do properly and Wei Ying could never manage for more than a few seconds. "If you can't have your adventures outside, maybe we could have them in here? Just for a little while?"

There was some kind of giant on the cover, getting stabbed by a lady with a staff. Wei Ying picked it up. The book underneath had a big, tentacle-eyed thing with massive sharp fangs.

"Isn't that for nerds?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"You're a nerd," Wei Ying said reflexively, flipping the book open to a random page. There was a cloaked guy in black and red with a pair of really cool daggers and incredible boots. He flipped to another page. A lady in fancy armor was holding a bow and arrows. Fuck he missed archery.

"Eugh!" Jiang Cheng had picked up the second book, and when Wei Ying looked over his shoulder, he'd found a picture of some kind of horrifying, alien-eyed, centipede-looking bug creature. It had tentacles around its mouth.

"Oh yeah," Wei Ying said, grinning. "We're definitely doing this."

.

Jin Zixuan came into Lan Zhan's dorm room without knocking, which would have horrified Uncle for reasons of manners, and might have concerned Brother for...other reasons. Other reasons that Lan Zhan had no cause to be worried about, no matter what Huan-ge thought he ought to be doing with his college life, or how many freshmen smiled at him in hopes of leniency in his grading of their weekly vocabulary quizzes in the Intro To East Asian History course he TA'ed.

"In high school you always secretly wanted to do the strange nerd things other nerds did with their friends when they didn't have Chinese parents breathing down their necks for more perfect grades and also they had friends, right?" Zixuan asked. It might have been offensive, if Lan Zhan didn't know he was mostly speaking of himself. "Those weird fun white nerd things, ideally without having to deal with all the white nerds?"

Lan Zhan had been asked his opinions on anime many, many times since starting college. At least half of the people asking him seemed to recognize that he was not, in fact, Japanese, but they generally still expected him to have an opinion on anime.

"Mmm," he said. He did not have an opinion about anime. Or video games. Or most "weird fun white nerd things," whatever that consisted of, most of which would presumably have been on Uncle's list of frivolous distractions and Brother's list of "ways you could potentially meet people, didi, if you wanted."

"What I'm saying is, you've never played Dungeons and Dragons, but you could," Zixuan said, continuing as if Lan Zhan had asked him to directly. He hadn't, but he also hadn't not asked, which meant that everything that happened thereafter was at least partially on him. "You should. Play. With me. And some other people."

Lan Zhan looked at him, flushed and flustered in Lan Zhan's doorway. Lan Zhan said, "Oh?"

"So, Mianmian has this friend," Zixuan said, which sounded like the start of a long and intimidatingly convoluted story.

"And this friend has a...a sister, and her mother is friends with my mother, and when we were teenagers they always tried to push us together even though she's three years older than me, and I may have hated it, and I may have been. Rude." Lan Zhan had seen Zixuan be awkward enough to construe as 'rude'. He'd always distantly appreciated it. It was nice not to be the only one. "Except apparently she's in a graduate program here, and it turns out she's actually incredibly wonderful when our mothers aren't being...our mothers, and she invited me to play D and D with her, and Mianmian is too busy this semester to play." Zixuan sounded something between 'overexcited' and 'desperate'. "It's just her and her brothers and one of their friends. I can't play a game I've never played every single week with her and her brothers and one of their friends. Her brothers hate me."

This wasn't Lan Zhan's problem. Uncle would have told him to ignore it and focus on his studies. Brother would have given him that soft, knowing look, the kind he always got when he could tell how much Lan Zhan wanted something that he knew he couldn't have, just from how hard Lan Zhan insisted he didn't.

He was halfway through his third year of his political science degree. At this time next year, he would be applying either to law schools or to graduate programs in public policy. He had one friend, because he and Zixuan had bumped into each other so many times standing awkwardly in out-of-the-way corners at obligatory Chinese-American Student Society events that Zixuan's other friend Mianmian had declared it counted. Lan Zhan didn't know enough about friendship to dispute it.

"Would not be good at it," Lan Zhan said, which was true. It wasn't a no, but it was a good reason for a no. His brain was screaming at him to say no. His heart gave a little throb in the other direction.

"It doesn't matter," Zixuan said instantly. "I'm going to be terrible. Please come and be bad at it with me. If we're both terrible it won't matter as much."

Lan Zhan was not at all convinced of the logic of that, but Zixuan did seem desperate.

And. Brother would want him to do it.

"There's math," Zixuan said. "You know I can't do math. You'll be the only person at the table who's good at the math."

Lan Zhan highly doubted that any friend of Jin Zixuan's mother would allow her children to make it to college without a significant level of skill in math, but he let it go. It was a good excuse.

"How do you play?" he asked, knowing that all his better judgement had already lost.

.

Yanli DMed for them for years of winter campaigns, rolling up brand new characters every October when the weather started getting cold and wet and awful, meeting in a tavern or a forest or an evil overlord's dungeon the week after Jiang Cheng's birthday. Good always defeated evil in the end, usually just in time for outdoor season to get kicking off again in April, and then the books got put away until next year.

It sucked more than a little when she went off to college, but by that time there was more homework and more extracurriculars, school orchestra and more competitions, basketball and rock climbing and resume-padding and Jiang Cheng's eventual SAT and ACT tutors. (Aunt Yu would have paid for an SAT tutor for Wei Ying too, probably, because he might not be her son but that didn't mean he could be allowed to fail, except that he accidentally got a 35 out of 36 on the first practice test he took without even glancing at a prep book beforehand and she sneered him off in disgust. He ended up joining the school newspaper to fill in the afternoons while Jiang Cheng was in tutoring, although that only lasted until the first time an ill-advised Classroom Exposé got him dragged to the principal's office. After that he mostly just hung out and scrolled twitter.)

They didn't pick it back up again until college, and Wei Ying hadn't necessarily been expecting to ever get the chance to play again, until he'd wandered into some other kid's dorm room down the hall during orientation week and spotted the brand new Xanathar's Guide on top of an entire stack of fifth edition rulebooks right there on Nie Huaisang's desk, in between the traditional brush-and-ink calligraphy supplies and the second laptop that Wei Ying was still pretty sure Huaisang only ever used for storing blackmail and porn.

They'd had a good time the past couple of years -- Huaisang was a pretty creative DM even if he pretended not to know what was going on way more often than it was actually true, and it turned out that there was even more new cool source content that had come out in the past few years -- but with jiejie finally back and starting her master's program, this year was already the best. She'd been their cleric last semester, healing up Wei Ying's rogue and Jiang Cheng's fighter and Mianmian's sorcerer between every fight, soothing their arguments before they even started, making everything fit just like the old days.

It was great! It was just that, with four or five years of distance, it had also been really, startlingly, unpleasantly easy to see some of the ways the old days had probably been pretty fucked up.

"Goliath barbarian," Yanli said with a decisive smile. "He's going to be very very strong, and not in the least bit wise. And he doesn't have any idea how to cook."

"Good," Jiang Cheng said fiercely, before Wei Ying could even open his mouth to agree. "Good. You should play what you want."

"It's fun to try something different, isn't it?" she grinned, and Wei Ying kind of wanted to smack his thirteen-year-old self for being an ungrateful little brat. "I used to play all those tough nasty monsters that beat you two up, too, you know."

"Jiejie was the best," Wei Ying confirms. "Sorry, Huaisang."

"No, no, of course you're right," Huaisang waved off quickly. "I know I could never measure up."

The truth was that Huaisang's games were...not better, never in a million years better, but his plots were intricate and his place descriptions were beautiful and his NPCs were grimly, startlingly believable. He was a good DM. But he knew where his players' loyalties lay, and he didn't get threatened or try to fight it, which was part of what Wei Ying liked about his games in the first place.

"So what are you two playing?" Yanli asked, grinning expectantly just like she had when they were twelve.

"I don't know, probably a caster I guess," Jiang Cheng grumbled, which was stupid. Jiang Cheng literally never liked playing full casters who couldn't pick up a weapon and physically hit something. He got annoyed with spell slots and thought picking a spells list was too much trouble. He'd hate it.

"Um, no you're not," Wei Ying said. "You'll bitch the whole time."

"Someone has to," Jiang Cheng pointed out. "Party balance is still a thing, dumbass."

"Yeah, so I'll play cleric or something," Wei Ying rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Huaisang said he had another player lined up to sub in for Mianmian, right?"

They looked at Huaisang, who instantly got the squirrely expression on his face that usually preceded the springing of a trap that was going to take down half their HP while they were already injured.

"I don't know, I really don't, your sister said she had someone -- " he babbled, and as one Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng turned to look at Yanli.

"It will be fine," she said firmly, and just a little defensively, which was all the confirmation Wei Ying needed.

"Jiejie, no," Jiang Cheng groaned. "He's awful."

"He's gotten much better," Yanli insisted, folding her hands over her character sheet primly with the kind of stubbornness that meant she wasn't going to back down from this.

"But he's such a jerk," Wei Ying complained. "He was such a dick to you."

"He's aware that his behavior when we were younger was inappropriate, and he's apologized to me. He wants a chance to make it up to you two," Yanli said, and ugh, fine, clearly she wanted this and jiejie should always get everything she wanted, but the peacock? Really???

"Does he even know how to play?" Jiang Cheng wanted to know, which meant that he'd come to the same conclusion, even if it sucked.

"He will learn," Yanli declared with finality. "Party balance will be fine. We should all play what we want."

She looked at them both with firm, prompting eyes, until Jiang Cheng said, "Ugh," and Wei Ying groaned, and behind them Huaisang sighed with relief.

"Fine!" Jiang Cheng said. "Fine. Beastmaster ranger."

"Seriously?" Wei Ying asked skeptically. One of Jiang Cheng's first characters, back when they were kids, had been a beastmaster ranger. Wei Ying had been playing a moon druid. It was slaughter.

"They're better now, they got updated," Jiang Cheng bit back defensively. "Why, are you gonna play a druid again?"

He'd thought about it briefly, reflexively, as soon as Yanli confirmed she wasn't going to be playing a healer, but the truth was it really wasn't his favorite class and his sister and brother both knew it. Tons of spells and utility, but Wei Ying liked high charisma classes. He liked talking to NPCs. And wisdom was the most fun dump stat in the game.

"Warlock," he said. "If Jiang Cheng's playing a ranger I'll be a warlock."

It would keep them happy about him being happy, plus he could go celestial patron and pick up the slack on healing spells without them realizing right away what he was doing. There was definitely going to be slack. Even if they bullied Jin Zixuan into playing a life domain cleric, which they were absolutely going to do, Wei Ying didn't exactly trust him to keep the rest of the party alive.

"Great!" Huaisang said. "I'm sure party balance will be fine, with five party members you can really all play anything --"

"Five?" Jiang Cheng demanded, and Huaisang winced.

"Did I mention Jin Zixuan is bringing a friend?"

.

There were four people at the table in the common room when Jin Zixuan brought Lan Zhan to meet his new gaming group: two boys he didn't know, a pretty, unfamiliar young woman, and the beautiful, enthusiastic, energetic, terrible, unshakable, impossibly frustrating, impossibly brilliant boy from his Sociology of Diaspora and Colonialism course last spring semester.

Lan Zhan almost turned on his heel and walked straight out, but Jin Zixuan's hand was a vice on his shoulder, and he hissed, "You promised," in Lan Zhan's ear, and by then Wei Ying had seen them already anyway and the only choice left, it seemed, was to give in to the inevitable.

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying lit up when he saw them, waving wildly as though it would even be possible to miss him, and Lan Zhan stomped as hard as he could on any part of his heart that might read into that. "I didn't know you were Jin Zixuan's friend who was playing!" He frowned, face twisting up in something Lan Zhan wished he could read as much as he'd ever wished for the ability to read facial expressions before in his life. "Why are you Jin Zixuan's friend?"

Zixuan had mentioned that his would-be girlfriend's brothers didn't like him. Lan Zhan didn't begin to know how to -- whether he even should -- try to convince said brother not to dislike him too by association.

"We met at a Chinese-American Student Society event," Lan Zhan said stiffly. Much too stiffly. Wei Ying had already sprung up from the table and yanked out the chair next to his, all but maneuvering Lan Zhan into it without ever actually laying a finger on him. Of course.

"Lan Zhaaaan, just call it CASS like everyone else!" Wei Ying scolded. "I'm so glad you're playing! Have you ever played D&D before?"

That was at least a question he could answer. "No," Lan Zhan said, and then, realizing that even that was probably inadequate, "never."

"Ah, well that's fine!" Wei Ying assured him. "I'm basically an expert, so just stick with me and I'll make sure your first time is awesome." He sat back down in his chair, dragging it even closer to Lan Zhan's than it already was. "It'll be great!"

If Lan Zhan had ever been worried about what his life might look like after college, he at least had no reason to feel the least bit concerned about it now. Clearly, he was going to die long before the end of this semester.

#c writes stuff #the untamed #welp I committed fic I guess #yes I know how literally the entire rest of this story goes but WORDS HARD #they're very gay your honor

[bikepackinguk]

Day Twenty-one

Three weeks in and still going!

Getting a little more efficient at packing down and setting off in the mornings so my nice little spot in the forest outside of Kirkcaldy was cleared out and vacated by about half eight this morning, then it's back to the road!

Starting off with a straight run down the A955 past Wemyss and into Leven to take in some of the waterside, I attempted to see if the coastal path itself could be followed by bike rather than slog along on the busy A915, but alas the path quickly becomes very sandy and I was obliged to route back through the golf cours and onto the main road. Which does at least have a separate paved path along it for pedestrians and bicycles.

Past Ludin Links and Largo, there's not much option from here except to hit the A917 and rough it out with the traffic in order to access the rest of the Fife coast around to St Andrews. So time to put the legs to work!

Made it round to Elie to have a nice sit and rest watching the harbour, then some more ploughing onwards. Whilst the road is hilly and busy, it does offer some good views of the coastline as progress is made.

A couple of hours heading round and Crail is reached! I had a nice sit by the harbourside for a spot of lunch and to take in a lovely view of the East Lothian coast across the water, which had been ridden along just a few days back. Sufficiently refuelled, it was time to wave that view goodbye and finally turn northwards once more.

The forecast today had suggested I'd be seeing some rain by now, and some terrific rain could be seen coming down on the far coast, but whilst there had been plenty of big dark clouds floating around it looks like luck struck again and I managed to thread the needle between them and stay dry and sunny.

From Crail there's not much to report, just a full 10 mile push along a busy hilly road, which I was looking forward to getting over with as swiftly as I was able.

Once finally up the coast to St Andrews, ut was time for a well earned pit stop, as well as to take shelter from some ominous clouds which fortunately did not deliver on their threats!

The route into and out of St Andrews passes by many gold courses, but ehilst the run in was heavy with traffic, the ride out starts off nice and separate from the roads with a smooth, flat, paved path surrounded by greenery.

Alas this doesn't last for long and soon enough, whilst still out of the traffic, we are just pushing along the next few miles directly next to the big A91, though still with some good views across the fields.

This changes for the better once we cross the River Eden at Guardbridge, where we head right and follow the very well signposted Route 1 back up past the big military base, and the strike back out towards the sea through the Tentsmuir Forest.

A lovely ride through with the air filled with the smell of pine before hitting the dunes is an excellent preparation for dinner, and given all the hard slogging done today I think having an earlier finish today to stay in this beautiful spot is well earned! With the help of some local advise I have a nice little spot off the beaten paths and can get the tent set up before giving the limbs a bit more of a rest.

Until tomorrow!

#bikepacking #bicycle touring #wild camping #scotland

[hoochieblues]

15 Questions

tagged by @highwayphantoms tysm <3 idk if i have 15 mutuals who wanna do tag games rn, sooo YOU. YES YOU. you're jumped in if you want to be :)

Are you named after anyone?

I picked my own. :) It's inspired by trees and - if you translate it - also works as a stripper name. Just in case!

When was the last time you cried?

A month or so maybe? I did get a lil misty watching foster dog run around like a normal canine last week, especially when he put weight on his wonky leg. He's had a lot of PT and it's paying off!

Do you have kids?

Nope.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Me? Perish the thought. /s

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Probably always kindness, whether it's online or in person.

What's your eye color?

blue/gray I guess?

Scary movies or happy endings?

Why not both? I like both, but I'll rarely turn down a horror movie. I'm still evangelising about Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977) to anyone who'll listen, bc the world's a better place when you can watch weird artsy indie trash with friends.

Any special talents?

ummm… I'm going to say weighing ingredients accurately without measuring, but that may more likely be practise and recklessness rather than talent.

Where were you born?

Within the same 30 miles that half my dreadful fambly have lived for literally 500 years, but we left before I was 18 months old and didn't go back for over a decade and then I escaped again. The next time I move will be #26, so it's fair to say I've bounced around.

What are your hobbies?

In no particular order, reading, writing, movies, knitting/crochet/fiber thingies, growing stuff, fixing stuff, animal rescue/welfare stuff, painting/sketching, music (listening/playing… poorly), photography (mostly analog; I love my shitty Soviet cameras and Polaroids), hiking when I can. Poking around thrift/antique stores/museums in places I haven't been. If I collect anything per se, it's recipes and myths/folklore.

Have you any pets?

No permanent residents rn, but two foster dogs, one short term (hopefully; she just needs to complete leash training and get a little clearer on the difference between Inside and Outside, otherwise she's a sweetheart) and one long term project dog. In his defence, he came to me semi-feral and had been through a particularly brutal kill shelter. He has a lot of scarring both internal and external. Took 6 months+ to touch him, and now he'll walk on a slip lead for me (sometimes) and (gasp!) voluntarily snuggle and ask for pets. If he can get over yelling at and/or trying to defensively herd anyone who isn't me, he's got a shot at a new home, at which point I will ugly cry but be so, so happy for him.

…I like talking about my fosters. Rehab project tax (Chance):

What sports do you play/have played?

I preferred weights n stuff when I was younger bc I detested team sports, but tennis, badminton, swimming etc are fun. I used to ride whenever I could with the fleeting ambition to one day do point to point and dressage, but a) equestrian shit is a time-consuming and expensive hobby (even if you know ppl with horses) and b) I had an argument with a fence post and broke bits of myself, and by the time that all healed up I'd developed unrelated chronic fatigue. Mostly I hang out with horses on the ground now, but I'd get back into it if I could.

How tall are you?

Five eight, billed height. Probably a bit less, idk. I stoop and I don't do all the pilates for my back that I should.

Favorite subject in school?

I was a horrible, horrible theater kid. Not even in the three a.m. Denny's way (I can't sing). The black turtleneck and Brecht way. Yes, I am still ashamed.

Dream job?

I'm very fortunate, so more or less what I do, but with less freelancing to stop up the gaps and more writing things I'm proud of in genres I love. I'm trying to move more towards that at the moment. Oh, and a lot less proofreading. Grammer iz hurd.

#tag game #all about me #dogs