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ladykailitha · 2 months

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The Harrington Pattern Part 7

Hello! It's Tuesday and that means more Steve and Eddie. And it's looking like the story will end in chapter 12. It might take one more than that, but it's definitely almost done.

So what will that mean? Well, I'll start working on working on another story to bring it back up to two, but will still only work on the others on WIP Wednesday because I'm trying to get down the amount of WIPs I have running. I have far too many.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Day two of the Fair. Will sees Steve and Steve reveals a little trick. And Steve has to be stern mom again.

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken

****

Steve picked up his usual set and went to the Renaissance Fair. This time they were the first to arrive and they stood there waiting for the rest of them to show up.

He had left the spirit gum with Mrs Sinclair and she was able to do an even better job then he had yesterday putting the ears back on.

The bow and quiver had been left behind today because sadly the poor bow had been a mangled, tangled mess by the time they left the fair yesterday.

Max and Robin’s cutlasses had fared better because they never left their sides, but even slung over Lucas’s shoulder, the poor aluminum just couldn’t bare the brunt of the crowds. And today was going to be even busier.

Steve looked at his watch and then back at the growing crowd waiting in line.

He tapped his foot nervously when he saw the familiar van pull into the lot. And the merry band of fellows hopped out, wearing the outfits they had yesterday. The ones that made Steve green with envy on how well they were put together.

It was like they had just walked off the set of a Hollywood movie.

He was good with a needle and thread, but whoever made their costumes should be making money off it, they were that talented.

Jeff came around to the other side of the van where Steve could see him and his ears looked great too.

“Looking good, Lawrence,” Steve whistled. “The ears are vastly improved.”

Jeff bowed dramatically. “Why thank you, my liege! I had my sister help me pick out the right color and type I needed and then I did it myself.”

Gareth snorted. “After practicing all night.”

Brian elbowed their youngest member. “It’s just like trying to get a beat right, you have to practice. Don’t give him shit for that.”

Gareth grumbled, but muttered a half-hearted apology to Jeff. The older teen just grinned at his friend.

Which after how crazy yesterday was, Steve wasn’t looking forward to a repeat if Jeff took offense to Gareth’s comment.

Eddie had been unusually quiet during this conversation, so while they milled around waiting for the remaining third of their group, Steve came up to him.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, leaning down and forward to get a better look at the metalhead.

Eddie pursed his lips, but he nodded.

“You know, I have been dying to ask...”

Eddie smiled softly. “Who’s my tailor?”

Steve cackled. “Yeah, that. God, I would gleefully sacrifice one of the teenagers for the material alone, let alone the thread.”

“Which one?” Eddie asked, coming a little bit more out of his shell.

Steve reared back his head. “What?”

“Which one of the teenagers you would sacrifice?” Eddie asked again.

“Dustin,” Steve said without hesitation. “I figure virgin,” he counted on his fingers, “check, most annoying, check, and the one who would be the biggest... ‘value’ as it were, double check.”

Eddie laughed outright. “You don’t have to sacrifice any of them. Brian’s sister works at a big theater, the kind that do plays, as their costumer.”

Steve sighed and rubbed a bit of the black velvet between his thumb and forefinger. “You guys are so lucky.”

Eddie laughed again. “Trust me, even Bri had to pay for the privilege.”

Steve’s eyes lit up. “Oh?”

“Yup!” Eddie said, rocking back on his heels. “We had to pay for all the material and patterns ourselves, plus at least twenty-five percent of labor. These duds may be pretty, but lo they be also pricey.”

“Well, it was certainly worth it,” Steve murmured. “You guys look fantastic.”

Eddie’s cheeks colored a pretty pink. “Thanks. Um...mine is actually based on a character from a short story. Brian’s mom is Polish, but she loves sc-fi and fantasy so she gets this magazine, right?” Steve nodded. “So, anyway she’ll translate into English for Brian to read. It’s about this male witch and he has this minstrel friend named Jeskier...” he pronounced it strange, like yes-keer. “I’m probably pronouncing it wrong. But he’s so cool.”

“So you’re this minstrel guy?” Steve asked, suddenly understanding.

Eddie hummed excitedly. “Brian even went as one of the male witches. Not the main one though. But it’s still fun, you know?”

Steve smiled back. “Yeah. I never would have thought about going as a specific character before. Maybe we can plan something for next year.”

Whatever cloud leftover that was lingering over Eddie vanished in the light of Steve’s bright smile.

Eddie bumped his shoulder into Steve’s. “What’s on the docket today, pretty boy?”

Steve blushed bright red, but before he could answer, Claudia’s station wagon pulled up next to them. The four kids piled out, happily chatting and laughing. Well all but Mike.

Mike had always been a reserved kid, but as he got older, the more withdrawn he seemed to get. Will seemed to do the opposite. The kid was really coming out of his shell and into himself. And maybe that was the reason for Mike’s shrinking back.

Steve just shook his head and turned to Will. “Still no Jonathan?” he teased.

Will rolled his eyes. “He said and I quote ‘I’ll see about maybe Saturday’.”

Steve winced. He couldn’t make Jonathan come, but he could see how much Jonathan coming would mean so much to Will and it made his heart hurt just a little.

“Can’t force someone to have fun,” he said with a shrug. “It really is his loss.”

Will nodded sagely, like the mature person he was forced to become far too soon. “But! He did give me the ten dollars I needed for the staff to make up for it.”

Steve smiled. All right, maybe Steve didn’t have to stop by and give the elder Byers boy a piece of his mind.

He turned to Eddie. “Hey, you want to traverse the fields of commerce with me and Will to go get his staff?”

Eddie grinned. “Hell yeah! I didn’t get to go yesterday.”

Will grinned back. He turned to El and Mike. “You going to come with me. right?”

Mike shook his head. “El wanted to see the weavers this morning, but no one else wanted to go with her and with Steve’s dumb rule...”

“It’s not dumb,” Steve said. “Just because the Upside Down is gone, doesn’t mean there aren’t things that can hurt you.”

“We’re fifteen,” Mike protested. “I think that’s old enough to go by ourselves.”

Steve looked around at the other kids and they were all looking everywhere but at him. “May I remind you that we are literally standing on the ground where human monsters were trying to open a gate? Bad guys come in all shapes and sizes and even if you think you’re safe, is El? Or Will?”

The kids looked down at their feet and mumbled their apologies.

“I just want everyone safe and having a good time,” Steve finished. “You guys can do whatever you want, but do you know who your parents would blame if something happened to you?”

Dustin raised his head sharply. “But there are other adults here, why would they blame you?”

Steve barked out a bitter laugh. “Because I’m the fucking babysitter.” He walked off to get in line and everyone just followed behind quietly, suddenly somber.

Robin fell in step next to Steve and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “Hey, dingus.”

Steve just ducked his head.

“It’s just a tricky age. You remember what it was like at their age,” she murmured.

“I was getting drunk every weekend, smoking, and having sex,” Steve grumbled. “I don’t want that for them.”

Robin kissed his cheek. “You’re sweet. But they’re going to have to figure it out on their own.”

Steve’s shoulders rounded. “I just want to them to have fun and we keep having knock out drag out fights before we go in and I–” he left out a deep sigh.

“You can’t be held responsible for what they do,” she said.

He snorted. “Tell that to Joyce or Claudia. Just because I’m the oldest.”

She hugged him tightly. “You’re not anymore and you know Eddie would do anything for those kids, too. Plus, this is exactly why you told them to find any adult. Let all of us help shoulder the load, too.”

Steve let out a low shuddering breath. “I’ll try. I just keep butting heads with Mike. Always Mike. And I don’t know what to do, he’s just so prickly and even outright hostile.”

“So don’t do anything,” Robin suggested.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Let Eddie handle it,” she said. “He did a fine job yesterday. So let him do it again.”

Steve pressed his lips together and then nodded. “Okay.”

She kissed his cheek again and went back to talk to Eddie. Steve paid again for the tickets. Well, not all of them. Thankfully Eddie and his friends were paying their own way.

He turned to Will. “You ready to go get your staff?” He smiled broadly to hide the hurt of Mike’s rebellion.

Will smiled back. “Hell yeah!”

Eddie came bounding up to them. “I’ll meet you at the shop, there’s something I need to do really quick about tomorrow. They’ve messed up the schedule and me and Jeff have to go see someone about it.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, just ask Jeff where the shop is, he should remember which one.”

Eddie smiled again. “You betcha, big boy.” He flounced back to Jeff and Steve watched him walk away.

When he turned back to Will, the young man was looking at him with curiosity.

“What’s up?”

Will furrowed his brows. “I’m trying to decide if you know about...” he pursed his lips trying to find a way to say what he meant without outing Steve in public. “What you feel about a certain someone?”

Steve looked back at where Eddie had melted into the crowd and then back at this all too perceptive boy. He put his arm around Will and started them walking toward the shop.

“If you’re asking what I think you’re asking,” Steve started slowly, “I’ve known I like both for awhile now. It was just easier to focus on the one. The one that was socially acceptable, you know?”

Will nodded. “I can see that. And then he came barreling into our lives and a good kind of upside down happened?”

Steve smiled fondly. “Yeah. He is so sweet. He’s everything I thought I wanted in Nancy.”

Will grinned. “You do have a type.”

He scuffed Will’s hair a bit. “Yeah, yeah.”

They walked in silence for awhile before Steve spoke up again.

“I feel I should give you a heads up before we get to the shop,” he said with a wince.

Will looked over at him in confusion.

“I may have talked the merchant in to holding it for you by giving them a ten dollar deposit to hold it.”

Will’s jaw dropped. “You can do that?”

Steve laughed. “No, not really. By I can be persuasive and he was willing to do me the favor.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Will murmured. “You’ve done so much for us, I think we take you for granted sometimes.”

Steve half shrugged. “My parents suck and while some of you have actually decent parents and older siblings, I don’t mind being the babysitter the one you guys look up to and come to for advice.”

Will smiled. “Any tips on how to tell your best friend you have a crush on them?”

Steve threw back his head and laughed. “Look, the one time I did that I was drugged up on truth serum and literally couldn’t lie. I don’t think that’s going to help you.”

“Too bad Robin bats for the other team,” he said with a smile.

Steve smiled back. “Nah, I think her telling me that is what made it easier for me to realize that having those feelings can’t make you a bad person. Not when she was so amazing.”

Will cocked his head to the side. “That’s fair.”

“Come on you,” Steve said, “let’s go get you this wizard staff.”

Will stopped in his tracks. “You said it right. You never say the DnD terms right.”

Steve raised a finger up to his lips and winked. “I do it because it drives Dustin up the wall and Eddie just loves explaining it to me, so I kill two birds with one stone.”

Will laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

As they wove their way through the crowd, Will smiled to himself. Steve and Eddie both liked boys, knew they liked boys, and were still unapologetically themselves. And maybe he could be too.

But first, he was going to get that wicked staff he saw yesterday because he had two brothers looking out for him. His biological one and Steve. Someone who cared so deeply that even when he should have walked away, he stayed.

And Will always could use more people that just...stayed.

****

Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

For those that don't know "The Witcher" was an original short story in a Polish sci-fi/magazine in 1985. I couldn't figure out if Jeskier was in the original tale, so shush if he isn't.

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666 @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @thespaceantwhowrites @paintgonewrong @mogami13 @beelze-the-bubkiss @croatoan-like-its-hot @retro-vagabond @sani-86 @pansexuality-activated @y4r3luv @dauntlessdiva @vampire-eddie-brain-rot

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #steve is a history nerd

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igotanidea · 5 months

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Nutcracker: Dick Grayson x reader

christmas bingo day 5: nutcracker

***

“You know when you said nutcracker this is definitely not what I was expecting….” Y/N muttered looking at Dick, who, grinning like a madman was standing in the middle of the Wayne manor kitchen, dressed in an apron and holding – well, the literal nutcracker. As in – a kitchen tool.

“Should have known better.” He smiled even wider, causing Y/N to start worrying about his mental health.

“Yeah, I guess I should have known better.” She muttered rubbing her forehead.

“Cas is the fan of ballet, me – not so much” Dick shrugged “besides, if I wanted to spend a few hours with you in a dark room then-“

“Shut up!” she rushed towards him putting a hand on his mouth to stop his babbling “there are kids in this house!”

“Tim is hardly a kid, and Damian-“

“Damian catches up way too fast for a boy his age. And I’m pretty sure you want to avoid the awkward older brother talk with him?”

“Oh sunshine, believe me I’m more than ready for an awkward older brother conversation.” He grabbed her waist and pecked her cheek and before she realised what was happening, she had another white apron tied around her waist.

“Dare I ask-?” she sighed, bracing herself for any crazy idea that might be forming in her boyfriend’s mind

“walnuts. gingerbread.”

“gingerbread?” she repeated, frowning in confusion before it finally hit her “oh no! no! damn it! No way in hell!” instinctively she moved towards the kitchen door, before Dick grabbed her from behind and prevented from escaping his arms.

“It’s a couple bonding exercise!”

“It’s a couple killing practise! Remember what happened last year?! “

“It’s not like I burnt those cookies on purpose! You were extremely distracting with that pout on your face.”

“Can’t remember signing up for a cooking experience with Dick Grayson!!”

“You know that’s actually a nice idea. Maybe I should start my own TV show…”

““you wouldn’t even be able to run a youtube channel-“

“maybe I could juggle oranges while doing a somersault?”

“Oh my god…”

“come on, I am an acrobat, after all.”

“Not the word I would use in this context-“ she rolled her eyes “I’m not baking with you! When Alfred finds out I let you in the kitchen despite my better judgement I’ll -“

“I’ll protect you from Alfred’s wrath” Dick laughed not letting her go. “you’re safe with me baby.”

“He will ban us from the kitchen forever! It’s the only person left in this household that believes I’m sane despite going out with you!”

“Which you are obviously not.” Dick laughed spinning her in his arms and looking at her with the puppy eyes. The expression he worked to perfection during the years. “come on, please… pleeeeaaaassssseeeeeee…….”

“Stop it Grayson! I’m serious… stop it” please stop it, before I give in to your five-year-old antics.

“Pretty please. Come on, Y/N…. Just say yes.. .It’s gonna be fun I promise…”

“It’s really not too late to buy the ballet tickets Dick…” she muttered, feeling her resistance breaking despite knowing well enough how the baking experience with Dick Grayson will end.

“That’s for another occasion.”

***

Two hours later, as predicted, kitchen looked like batterfield. Nut shells splattered everywhere, including Y/N’s hair, flour on her clothes that happened to not be covered by the apron and a sticky smudge of spice on her forehead made her similar to a gingerbread man (woman). While she was huffing and puffing making the dough, shaping cookies and decorating them, Dick just sit on the counter watching her with a loving eyes, making a mess and not helping at all. He didn’t even bother to open the over for her, at least not until she almost burned herself trying to balance the quite heavy baking tray in one hand. It was a miracle she survived this.

“couple bonding exercise, my ass.” She hissed, brushing her hair away with a wrist, fairly annoyed that she had to do all the work.

“I definitely feel bound to you.” He smiled at her, jumping off the counter.

“you didn’t even move a finger-“ before she could finish he cut off her off with the kiss.

“can’t you be original, once?” she scoffed pulling back “cutting off with a kiss is just so predictable, man-like gesture.”

“Can’t blame me. You taste the sweetest.” Dick only laughed in response, wiping off the streak of honey which she was stained with in the corner of her mouth. “Better than the cookies.”

#dick grayson x reader #nightwing x reader #dick grayson x you #nightwing x you #dick grayson x y/n #nightwing x y/n #dick grayson fluff #nightwing fluff #christmas bingo

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finn-writes-stuff · 1 year

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May I ask for headcanons for Grog, Scanlan, Percy and Vax with gn shy s/o pretty please?

Shrinking Violet

Quiet and shy, you've caught the eyes of the men of Vox Machina.

Grog, Scanlan, Percy & Vax x Reader

Fandom: The Legends of Vox Machina/Critical Role

Format: Headcanons

Warnings: N/A

Gender-Neutral Reader

Masterlist

Whoever sends me a proper Percy request next is going to have my hand in marriage. -Finn

Grog

Grog has never been shy in his life. It often just doesn't occur to him to be nervous about talking to people. He has things he wants to say and do, so why would he not?

It creates an interesting contrast with you. His booming exuberance compared to your quiet restraint. There's a joke in the party that between the two of you, it averages out to the perfect usual amount of speech.

Grog wants you to feel comfortable around him! He understands on some level that people are often quiet around him because they're scared or intimidated, and he really doesn't want you to be.

You're definitely able to notice that Grog is gentler with you, trying to pull you out of your shell without scaring you off.

The extra obvious tell is Pike trying to very nonchalantly tell you about how Grog is totally chill and you can just talk with him! She isn't the most subtle of wingmen.

Scanlan

He has little restraint and even less shame. He will say anything that pops into his head, no matter how awful it is. Speaking to him will inevitably leave your ears burning.

Scanlan thinks it's kind of cute that you're so shy and makes a game out of getting you to laugh at his jokes and talk without seeming so nervous.

Seeing you when you're happy enough to forget how nerve-wracking social interaction is, melts him. The first time that he made you properly laugh, like a full, loud, straight from the chest laugh, he was left a little dazed.

The innuendos actually get worse. You don't brush them off with snark the same way most of the party does, and he absolutely capitalizes on it to double down on flirting with you.

Percy

Percy has a hack for social interaction and it boils down to being rich. He leans into the 'I am important and smart and well-spoken' part of his personality and it gets him what he wants. So even when social interaction is overwhelming, he can just default to that.

So, naturally, he teaches you the finer points of it to help you talk when you need to. He lets you practice with him and only laughs when you start making fun of him.

He is a big fan of leaving crowded situations to go work in his own space, and he will offer you the chance to come with him whenever he does. You just have to hold tools for him while he works.

If you're in a situation where you're stuck talking with strangers, he develops a habit of sweeping in with a convenient reason for you to leave the conversation. It satisfies something deep in his chest when he gets to play your knight in shining armor.

Vax

Vax'ildan, king of charming his way behind closed doors. He is pretty solidly at ease in conversations, and when he isn't, he can certainly fake it.

He'll tease you about how shy you are, he finds it adorable and he likes pushing to see how far it goes.

That doesn't mean that he allows other people to tease you or push is though. He will make them fuck off the moment you look uncomfortable.

As a kid, he was shy and nervous, but it has been a long time since he had to watch everything he said. He doesn't want you to feel that talking is going to get you in trouble. As much as he can be an ass, he genuinely wants you to be comfortable with him and the rest of the party.

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 3 months

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WIBTA for telling the blunt truth to my roommate, that shes immature, irresponsible, and rude?

[-.-] < so I can recognize

so I (20) have three roommates, A(20), B(21 or 22), and C(20). We all attend the same college. I have lived with A for 2 years, but we only started living with B and C in fall 2023. so far there have been some issues, and most of them revolve around interacting with C. C has a cat, and they keep the litterbox in their room of our apartment, so they always have their door open. This itself isnt really a problem, but I feel like its eroding the distinction between common space and their personal space for them. Often when there is another conversation happening at the table or on the couch, C will come out of their room, sit on the couch, and watch loud videos on their phone without headphones. Then, they will hear a small part of our conversation, react in TOTAL shock and awe, demand we recap the last 5-10 minutes of conversation to catch them up, then go right back to their video. On another occasion, I was talking with either A or B as well as C, when C said they were overstimulated and needed some quiet time (no problem with that, it happens) so they were going to put in their headphones and. stay in the living room on the couch. instead of going to their room.

They also will completely derail conversations into complete dead ends and traumadumping. I was driving, C was in the passenger seat, and B and our friend G(18 or 19 iirc) were in the back. we were chatting about our parents being silly and making harmless fun of us at various points, and C multiple times said "we're not talking about times my parents took away phones bc Trauma!" like. If you dont want to talk about it DONT BRING IT UP. C could have chimed in w a time their friend did something like that and it would be fine! but instead they latched onto the parent part. They do this fairly often, and it makes it really hard to have a conversation where we casually mention our childhoods, bc its always a minefield w C, as they will make a point to bring up that they lacked the circumstances for whatever experience we are talking about, either due to bad relationships w parents or due to growing up poor.

On top of all this, they also are not financially in a good place. They routinely dont have money for food and end up eating mostly communal stuff. Sometimes when they are low on money I will end up buying something communal just so they will stop carrying on. IMO if they are in that sort of financial situation they shouldnt have gotten a cat, bc I honestly dont think they can afford it. tbh I feel like they pretty much live on the cheese and tortillas I buy, and i'm starting to feel the financial stress of it.

They are constantly making every interaction about themselves in ways that make it really hard, even when they arent even part of the conversation.

Repeatedly i've wanted to tell them that they dont have to be involved in everything, and that they dont have to always be talking or generating noise. That when other people are talking, they need to either contribute constructively to the conversation, wait their turn, or at the very least stop and apologize when they interrupt someone instead of talking right over them for minutes at a time. And that its not our responsibility to help them when they are low on money, that maybe they shouldnt have gotten a cat if they werent able to financially support it, and also that it shouldnt be our (me, A and B)'s job to walk on egg shells bc they have emotional outbursts over incredibly minor things (they do take mood stabilizers and have a disorder that effects their mood, but that doesnt mean its ok that they will sometimes seem really angry and aggressive out of absolutely nowhere, yelling swears with no provocation).

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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narzissenkreuz-ordo · 9 months

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My thoughts & feeling about the Imbibitor Lunae's recent story leaks, in regards to Renheng / Xingyue & Dan feng himself

i'm pretty sure other folks have made posts trying to piece together the timeline, but even with the actual story sections the events of Dan Feng's sins are still super unclear

Starting with Dan Feng because he's my skrunkly; this dude really thought his power and position made him god-like with little regard to mortals below him while fighting with the HCQ

i know there were past leaks where DF was vaguely described as pretty emotionless and detached. but man he really does not give a shit people with his active detachment BUT the quick gazes & mentioned sharing drinks with the HCQ really makes it seem like DF went from consistent detachment throughout his current & past lives and then became absolutely ride or die for his (new) friends.

I have a feeling that the constant cycle of being reborn & being forced immediately into preparing to be the High Elder, Being the High Elder & caring out those duties, and dying as the High Elder. The cycle keeps going on and on. He probably had no TIME to indulge in normal ass things like friends or any other non-professional social life. But them he meets these 4 weirdos who treat him as just One Of The Guys and immediately comes ride or die for them.

The mask of emotionless & cold detachment comes crumbling down around his new found friends. This honestly probably punches DF in the gut because these sensations are new and wack to him, I love the idea of him being a lil unhinged and drunk on the power of friendship BUT ONLY with the HCQ. the emotional whiplash the people around him problem experience is probably so hilarious because they see him having a blast with his friends and theyre like omg is that the high elder omg i didn't think he was such a party lizard but then IMMEDIATELY goes back into his cold & collected personality the moment someone else interacts with them all. The moment he starts feeling the power of friendship he's like "am i sick? whats happening to me oh my god why does my brain feel like bees" unable to process the emotions trying to reboot his brain constantly like a fucking windows computer. we love an autistic king!

ok this was supposed to a more serious post abt DF & the actual events in the leaked story but my brain automatically thinks of HCQ shenanigans

do i need to say more about "that exceedingly arrogant craftsman" like holy Fucking Shit this is fucking gay. his emotionless detachment in battle & his quick/mostly neutral thoughts about his other friends, but with Yingxing he goes into gay annoyance/admiration mode.

I really wish that Yingxing wasn't a short-lifed species because this whole dynamic SCREAMS slow-burn to me. DF's standoff-ish behavior & genuine annoyance towards YX and his arrogance but it slowly becomes more & more endearing as the rest of the HCQ get him to come outta his "stick up his ass" shell to eventually the realization hits and becomes giddy & drunk on his overwhelmingly intense love for YX and becomes a slightly feral lizard, even in public with the HCQ And giving YX gay gay homosexual gay immortality dragon heart juice would still be a thing with YX dying in battle.

Before I end this, I'll just touch up on the more Depressing events in DH IL's story leaks:

DF's emotional detachment to others & friendly relationship with the HCQ leads him & YX to wanting to carry out some sort of "Plan" which probably involves whatever conversation DF & YX we were able to listen in on at Scalegorge Waterscape (or was DF just sneaking YX into Scalegorge Waterscape so that he could research Vidyadhara craftsman techniques?). But since these are DH's dreams even HE doesn't know whats going on.

my general thought process was: DF & YX are planning something together (making YX immortal?), weird fucking shapeshifting flesh monster is tthere?, YX telling him to commit to a decision, DF having the star & red bloodcell vision (was he glanced at by Yaoshi while trying to use the Dragon heart to make YX immortal?), Then Baiheng comes crashing into to try and stop the monster (why was she THERE?)

it doesn't make sense that Baiheng was the one DF planning to bring new life to. Since her sudden appearance is a surprise to him & YX was only described as wounded but able to protect and use his sword

since these are DH's dreams & fragmented memories. With out the other story beats, could it be possible that the "bury his old friend" and "grant them new life" were two different people? DF coming to grant YX immortality but Baiheng gets disintegrated thus DF buries a friend & give the other new life.

Were missing a lot of context here, did YX later get injured so badly that DF tries to revive him? or was the Yaoshi flesh monster completely unrelated and they HCQ were trying to stop it and beiheng fucking dies? does DF try to bring Baiheng back while having his weird ass blood and flesh vision & things go Very Wrong and YX gets caught in the crossfire, making him into the monster we know today? is that why Blade is always going on about how him & DF have to pay the price for THEIR sins? They tried to bring Baiheng back and committed the greatest taboo and they created something horrible (Baiheng abomination & Blade's immortality?)

I'm gonna try Not dwelling on the details here since we need even MORE context now. This post is getting SO long, i will leave it at that & think more about HQC domestic bliss

#honkai star rail #hsr leaks /#dan feng #imbibitor lunae #blade hsr #renheng #xingyue #yappin

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mochiimadness · 1 year

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Hello hello Bella ! I was wondering if you could write about our favourite ninja turtles with an S/O that stims a lot ???

Examples from my own stims; Stomping, hand flapping, purring, rocking, spinning, chirping, and hair ruffling

Feel free to decline for any reason !!!

Hi, Tyranny! I'm sorry that this took so long. I hope you enjoy!

The Rise!Turtles with a S/O that stims a lot!

The Fam in general:

None of them mind that you stim!

In fact, pretty much everyone in the family stims in some way.

So, to find out that you stim as well?

They're able to relate to you!

And if anyone bothers you about your stimming-

They'll have to answer to the fam.

Neon Leon

Leo also stims often!

He usually stims when he's excited or panicking

His common stims are: Hand flapping, arm flapping, and stomping!

When he realizes you stim a lot,

He'll be sure to make a mental note of whenever you stim

This way he can figure out what you're reacting to, and if it's negative or not

Oh? You're purring because you're happy?

Good to know!

Or alternatively, you're rocking because you're feeling a bit stressed?

Leo will start picking up on this and do his best to help you when you're stressed!

You two often end up stimming happily together

Leo's excitement is extremely contagious!

If he's really excited, he'll grab both of your hands and spin around with you

This may or may not have resulted in the two of you crashing (usually onto the couch or into one of his brothers)

But you both end up having a laugh

In the event of him realizing you're stimming because you're upset;

He'll usually resort to trying to get you to laugh!

He'll tell jokes, make funny little skits up on the fly, or tell you stories

If none of that helps, he'll take you to the couch to watch some movies (usually Jupiter Jim!)

Don Tron

Out of the family, Donnie stims the most!

So, he's probably able to relate to you the most.

His common stims: Spinning, rocking, head bobbing, hand and arm flaps, leg bouncing/stomping, and shoulder shimmying!

Subconsciously, when Donnie see's you stimming, he also starts!

You're excited and spinning??

Donnie's spinning with you!

You're rocking because you're worried and trying to relax?

There's Donnie, rocking beside you

He usually ends up rambling about whatever comes to mind, to help distract you

It really helps!

Since he's usually in his lab

You can catch him spinning in his chair often

Sometimes it's because he's upset, other times, he's happy!

He also spins when he's thinking

Donnie also get's you a swivel chair so you can spin sitting down if you'd like!

Despite not liking to be touched often,

When he's really excited, he'll usually jump a bit and grab the person closest to him

He either hugs them or just holds onto them

Since you're his S/O, you're the person he hugs most often!

His brothers often catch you two in the middle of a conversation,

You're flapping your hands rambling excitedly about one of your favorite things

Donnie's nodding along excitedly and flapping his flapping his hands at his sides

Donnie loves the fact that he's able to relate you greatly!

Mystic Mike

Mikey doesn't stim as often as Leo or Mikey

At least, not as visually

Mikey often chirps and churrs as his way of stimming!

He's very vocal

Some of his common stims are: Chirping, churring, humming, purring, growling, hand flapping, stomping and tapping!

One thing he does often is popping into his shell and humming to relax.

Oh? His amazing s/o stims a lot??

Cool! He doesn't mind one bit

He actually joins in with you whenever you chirp or purr!

Leo walks in on you two going back and forth just chirping happily

If you fidget a lot, Mikey has some fidget toys!

Usually, he gives them to Leo or Donnie, but he has plenty to spare

He's also very observant with your stims

He memorizes what your stims can mean!

Stimming because of something that upset you?

Mikey's already on it and taking care of it physically or by talking it out.

Stimming happily? Mikey knows and is happy with you!

You have the same stim reaction to something good and bad? Mikey figures out little differences to be able to tell if you're happy or upset.

Very observant partner 10/10

He also once related your stomping to the dancing arcade game-

Next thing you know, you're both playing the game just stomping away!

Mikey even grabs your hand and spins you every now and then!

Very fun time

Big Red

Raph stims the least out of his brothers

Usually, he only stims when he's panicking

His common stims are: arm shaking, leg stomping

While he may not stim often,

He ofc doesn't mind when you do it!

Why would he?

He grew up with his brothers

And he wouldn't mind even if his brothers didn't stim.

While he's not as observant as his brothers when it comes to your stims

He still does eventually pick up on when you're stimming happily vs negatively

When he does pick up on it,

He does his best to help with negative stims

Or if you're just stimming positively?

Cool! He'll chill with you, even does a little shimmy at you!

Sometimes though,

He doesn't pick up on it, or he can't tell what exactly is wrong

Despite this,

He'll sit down beside you and try to talk it out

This way he can help!

Talking's not working?

He'll pick you up and take you to a different environment for a change of scenery

Usually, he'll take you onto the roofs of New York city,

The city is gorgeous at nighttime, with the lights looking like a sea of glittering stars.

Plus, the breeze is refreshing!

He'll sit down with you and just relax

You two spend a lot of time chatting or star gazing

He may not always know why you're stimming

But he does his best to understand!

And he does learn!

Sorry, this took so long! I hope you liked it!!

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coldhndss · 3 months

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──★ ˙ ̟ Blue Lock Matchup No.4 @yae-mikko

Hello! Not gonna lie, I was kinda excited to write this since I am comically obsessed with the character I matched you with (I’ve started this straight after I finished the last one despite me being sleepy BUT here I am, and here it is!).

So unless the header hasn’t made it obvious enough, I’ve matched you with Nagi Seishiro!

―୨୧⋆ “...dependence on the situation and people. I am someone shy and reserved, I seem like someone cold (INFJ) but I am the least cold person in the world, so if I notice that the other person is shyer, I take the initiative.”

These of aspects of someones personality can either be the make or break of a friendship. If both people in a conversation are too shy to interact with each other, the convo will fall out and it’ll overall be pretty awkward. Seeing how Reo, someone extroverted and outgoing was able to drag the unwilling Nagi out of his shell, I think you’d be able to do the same!

With your ability to take the initiative if the other party is too shy, or in Nagi’s case, too quiet and unbothered, your friendship would definitely flourish. With him coming off as typically cold due to his demotivated and listless nature, and you being someone able to adapt to this easily, he may even feel at ease knowing someone like you isn’t overbearing and loud, and how you may even share the same demeanor as him at times. Though we don’t see it much in the manga, I feel as though Nagi has some unspoken loneliness to himself that isn't really mentioned. Meeting someone like you would definitely open up his view to the different types of people that are out there that he never really took the time to notice or appreciate.

I don’t really take by MBTI that much, I usually just use it to grasp a general view of someone personality for these types of things. Though in my opinion, the ‘feeling’ aspect of your MBTI would really help you to take in the things that he would leave unsaid and help you to understand how he’s really feeling inside, seeing as he doesn't usually show any sign of his emotions most of the time (I have a lot to say about this later!).

―୨୧⋆ ˚ “Mature, affectionate, empathetic, kind, intelligent, independent and I am the mother of my group of friends (and I love to pamper them)…”

These are some of the main aspects of your personality that drew me to match you to Nagi! Seeing as he isn’t usually the type of person to act for himself (pre-Blue Lock, and partially currently), he’d thrive by the side of someone who can look over him and push him to his potential. You being the mother of your group of friends (so cute!) is another thing that enhances my thoughts that you’d be a good match for Nagi. It’s kind of obvious that he sort of needs someone to take care of him and make sure he doesn’t laze and sleep around all day, and your affectionate nature would definitely enhance this. In a setting where the two of you are close school friends, this is how I imagine you would be:

I doubt Nagi sleeps in a lot seeing as he usually gets up to his alarms as we see in his manga, though you’d ring him each morning just to make sure he hasn’t fallen asleep while getting ready or anything like that. He’d thank you, saying he probably would fall asleep if it wasn’t for your calls, and convinces you to stay on the phone with him until you walk over to his house so the two of you can head to school together, claiming he might even fall asleep while walking. As surprising as it sounds, it's believable since it's Nagi. Seeing as he makes it known how he sees so many things a bother, food is no exclusion. Because of this, he doesn’t make any lunch for himself to eat at school since apparently eating bothers him too. You make sure he doesn’t make this a habit, and make food for him alongside yours the night before. He tries to distract you from the fact that he barely took five bites of it, by thanking you before placing the lid back on top, but you stop him and tell him to finish it, hinting that you won’t call him to keep him awake in the mornings anymore (the only reason this worries him is because he has a time limited game mission to complete during the time he wakes up to get ready for school). So, he ends up finishing the food despite him not being bothered to.

―୨୧⋆ ˚ “ I also defend all my loved ones with cape and swords, and I am brave and strong”.

Although we don’t get to see it much, we know that once Nagi gets heated about something, he actually gets mad. As surprising as it sounds, not everyone is like this with their loved ones. Some people simply brush it off, or don’t respond in fear of them being verbally attacked as well. For him to know that you’re there for him just as he is would definitely add an aspect of light to his dull view on some things. Although he doesn’t show it, he’d never let anyone make fun of you or tarnish your name behind your back. Seeing as he usually acts unbothered and uncaring of most things, no one would really think that he cares about being confronting for another person until they start to talk about you in front of him, needless to say, his tall and intimidating demeanour was enough to scare them off.

―୨୧⋆ ˚ “..I'm a normal girl, 1.60 cm, black/brown hair, brown eyes. I have chubby cheeks and my friends love to squish me (sometimes it hurts).”

With you being significantly shorter than Nagi (not to say that you’re short, it’s just in comparison to him). He’d see you as a cute little person that he should protect. Given that you also have chubby cheeks, as kids, I’d imagine that he’d enjoy squeezing your cheeks, saying that they’re soft and fluffy like marshmallows. Someone like him would definitely lift your confidence and make you feel better, even when you feel like nothing special (which you definitely are not!). He’s the type of person to say something really meaningful without even realising it until he sees you tear up (to which he still doesn’t realise that what he said had that much of an impact on you).

#this is currently unedited #so im sorry for any mistakes!#coldhandsss #writing #blue lock #fluff #anime #bllk #blue lock x reader #nagi seishiro #nagi fluff #nagi seishiro x reader #nagi x reader #blue lock x you #bllk x you #blue lock fluff #bllk fluff

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weaveandwood · 11 days

Text

Weave and Woods Chapter Seven: Copper for Your Thoughts

Gale/Named Tav | Slow Burn | Read on AO3 | Entire Work

Summary:

Auroria and her party go to trade at the Myconid Colony and get roped into a rescue mission that goes horribly wrong. A small illusion leads to an important conversation between the wizard and ranger (finally).

TW: injury/burnsA/N: Inspired by my gameplay. I did not do well in Act 1, and pretty much played on vibes only, making a lot of mistakes and missteps but at least I got some delicious angsty ideas

He should not be leading her on like this, no matter how much he wanted her. She deserved more than he could offer - someone who could be with her fully, not a disgraced and godsforsaken, volatile, shell of a man. Even entertaining the idea of falling for her in his condition was beyond the pale. Bitterness seeped into the back of his throat as he thought about what he had to look forward to - never ending hunger, pain, and an explosion at the end of it all. Cutting all personal ties to be away from everything when his time comes, for there was no one he was willing to sacrifice at the end of his folly. He ran a hand down his face and threw the book onto the other side of his bedroll, suddenly tired of contemplating the future. Even if they cured themselves of the parasites in their brains, there was no plan, no cure mentioned in all his research for the other parasite within his heart. In another life, perhaps, they would be able to act on their feelings - have a proper life together in Waterdeep, grow old together, and remain in each other’s company. Until then, he would revert to the proper gentleman, nothing but cordial as is befitting both her status as party leader and an archmage of his status. Or previous status, as it were. He nodded to himself, steeling his mind now that it was made up. Yes, that was the correct course of action. His mind drifted back to the tadpole, reaching for his book again before he heard all the hells breaking loose outside.

Gale was avoiding her.

Five nights. Five nights since their sparring match, and not a word.

Auroria stabbed at the sausage on her plate, the cook having long since disappeared back into the solitude of his tent without so much as an acknowledgement of her or anyone else’s presence. Just a pile of sausages on the table for their morning meal.

The longer she thought about it, the angrier she got. Did she not deserve at the very least a conversation? He was the one instigating everything that day. He flirted with her at the puzzle, he was the one who initiated holding hands, he was the one who -

“Copper for your thoughts, soldier?”

Auroria looked up and was met with one of her favorite faces. Karlach and her had become fast friends, mainly due to their similar outlooks on most things (positive) and their desire to help people along the journey they made (instead of pickpocketing them or scowling at them). She sighed, stabbing the sausage again.

“I’m fine.”

“Would hate to be the person you’re pretending that sausage is, darling,” crooned Astarion, an eyebrow raised as he looked from Auroria to Gale’s tent, always so perceptive.

“I wouldn’t know what you’re talking about,” Auroria said, trying to put on a disinterested air as she took a bite of the meat.

“Yeah, right! We all have noticed that the camp has gotten particularly chilly between you and a certain potentially explosive wizard. And that’s coming from me , who is so hot I can’t even touch anyone!” Karlach joked, trying to lighten the mood a little, getting a soft chuckle out of Wyll, who sat by her side.

Shadowheart and Lae’zel, putting a pause in their deep conversation, also nodded in agreement from across the warm embers of the previous night’s fire.

“Chk! I told you at the party that you would regret wasting your time with that wizard,” Lae’zel said, earning a nudge from Shadowheart’s elbow.

Okay, so Gale was avoiding her, and everyone in camp knew it.

Desperate to get the situation back under her control, knowing she couldn’t stop the gossip that was sure to happen as soon as she left the campfire area, Auroria hatched a plan.

“I just didn’t sleep well, that’s all. Anyway! I want to go into the colony today to trade some of the things we’ve been carrying around that have proven pretty useless to us so far. I’ve already got the goods separated out, so it should be an easy trip. Karlach, Wyll, Astarion - do you want to join me?”

“Absolutely! Get me out of this camp!” “I’d be delighted to accompany you.” “Ugh, if I must.”

Choosing this group in particular was strategic - Astarion had a keen eye for everything happening at camp, and a keen personality for irritating the hells out of Gale. The situation was already volatile enough, and she enjoyed his complaints about being on the road. As for Karlach and Wyll, the two had started to grow closer as their own journeys intertwined, and Auroria simply wanted to help cultivate a deeper friendship between the two and what better way to do that than a couple of hours spent walking in good company?

“Okay, great. Get ready and let’s meet back here in half an hour,” Auroria said, already in a better mood as she went to her tent to get the four packs she mentioned. Since they were only going to do some trading, Auroria decided to forgo the scale mail armor she had been favoring and instead chose the old thin leather vest and leggings she had been wearing when she was kidnapped - cleaned and mended and no worse for wear.

A flash of gold caught her eye. Oh, right, it’s been since before we got to the Underdark, she thought, eyeing a locket she had found on a corpse the other day. She could sense a small amount of magic within it, so she had put it aside to give to Gale. Even if she was annoyed, frustrated, and maybe a little heartbroken that he was avoiding her, she still promised him that she would help him with his orb situation. That had not changed, and she would not go back on her word. In truth, she knew the orb was exactly why he was pulling away, no matter how much she didn’t want him to - she just wanted him to at least talk to her about it. She scribbled a quick note, attached it to the chain, then hung the locket on his telescope as she walked past, counting on her light footsteps to go unnoticed by the tent’s inhabitant.

“Alright everyone, grab a pack and let’s go,” she smiled, glad to be away from the tension for a few hours.

Auroria loved the Myconid Colony. The inhabitants were so unique and she felt a kindred bond with them - they had such a respect for their environment that when Astarion looked at a rogue’s morsel a little too long, he almost started a fight before Auroria intervened, diffusing the situation. Their first stop was a dwarven trader named Derryth Bonecloak. While she didn’t want to trade for a lot of their goods, she took a few items off their hands in exchange for some useful potions and a camp supply pack. Auroria attempted to make conversation with her while they did their exchange.

“So your husband is missing? Do you need help finding him? Can you describe him?” She asked.

“Oh, not this again,” she heard Astarion mutter under his breath. She ignored him.

“He’s bald, blue tunic, dumb as a stick, name is Baelen. Help yourself if you want to find him, but don’t expect a reward from me if you do - he’s useless, getting himself lost after being sent on a routine errand looking for a noblestalk,” Derryth replied, her voice scornful.

“Well, we will keep an eye out and will let you know if we come across him,” Auroria replied with a soft smile before turning to her companions. “Come on, let’s go look for him.”

“Actively looking for this man who seems more like a louse doesn’t feel like ‘we’ll keep an eye out’ does it?” Astarion leaned in, speaking softly, immune to Karlach’s glares.

“If you were lost in a strange place, wouldn’t you want someone more capable to help you find your way, Fangs?” Karlach asked.

“Karlach is right, so that’s why we’re going to look for him, we’re heading out.” Auroria nodded to the group, turning on her heel, asking the nearest myconid where someone may potentially go looking for a noblestalk, explaining the situation with the Bonecloaks. Interestingly enough, they appeared to have an arrangement with the myconids that allowed them to forage freely. The creature pointed to the north, indicating some sort of field there that may prove fruitful in their search.

Auroria’s stomach dropped when they came to the area.

“Bibberbangs,” she said with a sneer. She had never experienced them firsthand, but remembered from her training in the High Forest Scouts that bibberbangs were dangerous - not only poisonous, but also explosive if you came too close and lingered too long. Of course, she spotted Baelen Bonecloak, cowering in a small clearing smack dab in the very middle of the grotto. How did he even get there? She wondered.

“You know, we can just say we didn’t spot him, no one would ever know,” Astarion said, crossing his arms. “Either way, I’m not going in there.”

Auroria looked at each of her party members, then back to Baelen. “Well that’s obviously not going to happen. You all stay here, I’ll go in and get him. It’s better if only one of us goes in there, these mushrooms are very volatile, and I’m trained for navigating places like this.” She turned and faced the grove of bibberbangs, her heartbeat increasing slightly. “Sure wish we had a scroll of misty step though,” she nervously laughed as she dropped her pack, the first time any of her party had seen a lack of confidence in her abilities show through her capable ranger persona.

Some agonizing minutes later, she found herself surrounded by bright green mushrooms. She didn’t want to breathe too heavily for fear of setting them off, but also couldn’t remain still for too long for the same reason. She crept forward, inch by inch.

“Please! My backpack! I left it over there!” The older dwarf had finally noticed her, yelling out with a feeble voice and a shaking hand, though whether it was from age or fear, she couldn’t tell. She nodded and looked to the right, in a particularly tangled area of bibberbangs and saw a small, faded blue backpack. She saw a thin, small path that could possibly, maybe lead to it, and then connected that to a more defined clear path that led to the dwarf. She exhaled. Ok, slow and careful, Ora. Gods, having someone to cast mage hand would be fantastic. Her mind drifted to Gale and how this would be so much easier if he were here, how they could discuss the bibberbangs afterward from both a practical and academic viewpoint. How he always seemed to help her clear her mind, how it felt when her hand was in his -

“Ora! Careful!” She heard Wyll yell, coming back to the material plane, just in time to see her hand brush up against a bibberbang.

******

“Shadowheart! Lae’zel! A little help? ”

A faint yell disturbed the silence that had settled over the camp. Gale sat in his tent, mildly intrigued but also at an exceptionally interesting part of the meticulous notes he had procured from Blurg the evening before in the Ebonlake Grotto.

“Shadowheart! ” A little louder. Was that Wyll?

“Why would they need Shadowheart and Lae’zel’s help after a simple trading trip into the Myconid Colony?” he muttered to himself, sipping out of his wine glass as he flipped the page, half listening for commotion outside, but not yet ready to face her after the last time he was near her ended so painfully - both literally and figuratively. That was five evenings ago. He was avoiding her, and he would bet everyone else likely had picked up on it. Not that he would know, he’d also avoided most of the others as well. Luckily, there was always some chore to be done, some loot to sort, some pressing notes that must be written down in one of the books he was pouring over that would disguise his cowardice as well-focused diligence toward the success of the camp.

He sighed, rubbing his chest. The orb was still insatiable, each artefact unable to fully quell the gnawing hunger inside. He held up the newest addition to the many offerings Auroria had brought to his tent over the past weeks, almost since their journey began. Today there was a magical locket, similar to the first one she had given him so many weeks ago, hanging from his telescope with a small note. He kept a small box in his tent for the magical items procured by his ever attentive leader, filled near half-full with pendants, lockets, and rings imbued with the Weave to satisfy his orb’s constant cravings. It reminded him so much of Tara tirelessly searching for anything that would bring him even a modicum of relief. He counted himself lucky to have two friends in his life that would always be on the lookout for him, even if he was a doomed man.

Found this on a Duergar and I thought you could use it. Happy dining! - Ora P.S. I am now the proud caster of Ensnaring Strike. Can’t wait to show you.

A little further down the note, in smaller writing was another postscript, written as if it was not supposed to be noticed.

I miss our talks. I miss you.

He had read and reread the note at least twenty times since this morning, after Auroria set off with Wyll, Karlach, and Astarion to go do their trading at the Myconid Colony. The colony was one of the bright spots in the Underdark - not just for the vibrant colors and strange inhabitants, but perhaps most interestingly of all, the colony was home to a Mind Flayer completely free of the Elder Brain’s thrall. The entire party had gone into the colony to explore the previous day and once Gale had met Blurg and Omeluum, he was deep in conversation for almost an hour. Blurg had given him the book he was now currently reading when he had expressed an interest in researching whether his own arcane energy could help them reject their tadpoles prior to transformation, if it came to that. With his academic blinders on, Gale returned to his tent and had scarcely left since, his pursuits a convenient excuse for seclusion.

He glanced at the note again, his internal feelings as split as the message - pride and elation at her spell casting success, pain and frustration at the distance he had put between them. He was a man torn in half. He did not want to avoid her - quite the opposite in fact, but every time he found himself near her, all he could think about was kissing her, and his orb protested. Painfully. Conversely, she figured out the spell on her own, after all the failures and after his own less than elegant retreat the other evening, and he wanted to celebrate that with her. With a kiss, he thought, waiting for the orb to make him offer penance for that thought. The last night they were together, he felt… good. Happy, even. Almost carefree - the evening fading into the night as if no time had passed at all. It had been so long since he had felt the stirrings of happiness in his veins, since before the breakdown of his relations with Mystra. The satisfaction of teaching her, helping her work through her frustrations, the fun they had while sparring fulfilled him so much he felt he might combust on his own without the orb’s influence. His mind turned to the searching look on her face when they were inches apart, the feel of her body pressing against this, the way his name sounded coming from her lips, his hand grasped tightly to hers -

A faint glow, a wince. His ever present curse. His eyes drifted to the note again.

I miss our talks. I miss you.

He nodded to himself, steeling his mind now that it was made up. Yes, that was the correct course of action. His mind drifted back to the tadpole, reaching for his book again before he heard all the hells breaking loose outside.

“No, Ora! What happened?” Yelled Shadowheart as the four adventurers must have crested the hill. Gale perked up at Auroria’s name, listening intently now.

“Please, help her! Bibberbang explosion! We had one healing potion in our packs but it wasn’t enough. She passed out on the way back,” Wyll yelled, his voice shaky.

His body went cold. He knew all about bibberbangs from his studies - they should be treated carefully or destroyed at range at all costs.

Gale jumped to his feet, ignoring his body’s protestations, and ran out of his tent. He was greeted with the image of Karlach holding 4 packs, and Wyll and Astarion carrying Auroria, who was knocked out, her clothes singed, with angry burns down one side of her body. They laid her down on one of the spare bedrolls by the campfire while Shadowheart ran to the chest to pick out a particularly strong healing potion to use in conjunction with her spellwork.

“What happened? I thought you were just going to do some trading at the vendors in the colony? You all aren’t even wearing proper armor!” Gale yelled as he marched toward Wyll. His heart dropped into his stomach, his mind was unprepared to see Auroria like this.

“Hey! Cool it, Magic Man. The plan was to trade and come back, but you know how Ora is,” said Karlach. She stepped in front of him, trying to both deflect Gale’s anger and protect Wyll at the same time.

“And how is Auroria, exactly? Aside from being burned and unconscious?” He said, his tone turning icy.

Astarion stepped in, his arms crossed. “Oh, like you’re an expert? You’ve been ignoring her for the past…what has it been, five days now?” He glared at Gale. “We were supposed to visit the merchants and see how we could unburden our packs of this useless stuff we’ve been hauling around, but one of them gave dear Ora a sob story about her poor missing husband and you know our fearless leader never says no to helping someone she’s known for exactly one minute.” He lowered his gaze at Karlach, “And that one egged her on to help. Honestly, I’m surrounded by do-gooders and I need a drink. I’m clearly the only voice of reason around here.” He rubbed his temples, stalking off to his tent for a large cup of a strong scavenged vintage as Shadowheart set out the potions and kneeled at Auroria’s side.

Gale moved to the head of the bedroll, his own instincts guiding him to sit down and carefully place Auroria’s head in his lap. Shadowheart looked at him. She knew something was going on between them - they all did. It wasn’t hard to notice the stolen smiles, the secret hand holding between the two, but also could sense something had changed the past five days given Gale’s suddenly aloof demeanor towards Auroria. Hopefully this will be the catalyst to move them past whatever is going on between them. She hated seeing Auroria out of sorts.

“Hold her still. This won’t take too long, but it’s easier if she’s not moving. She’s really not in as bad of shape as she could have been, she got lucky,” she said. Gale nodded in agreement.

“What happened, Wyll?” He asked again, gentler, feeling his eyes getting misty. He didn’t like seeing Auroria - no, Ora, his Ora - in pain, unconscious, injured.

“She was distracted,” he leveled at Gale, his good eye bright and shining with unspilled tears. Wyll held Auroria’s unburned hand, his thumb tenderly rubbing over the back of it across her knuckles. Everyone loved her, that much was obvious. “And you know exactly why.”

Gale looked down at Ora’s face, a nasty red burn creeping up from her neck along the path of her scar. He watched as the burns receded with Shadowheart’s healing words. There would be no permanent physical damage from this event, though it wouldn’t matter to him if there was - she was and would always be the most beautiful person he had ever seen, both inside and out. How many times had she risked her life for a complete stranger? Their party was proof alone of her good heart. Looking at her, he realized his feelings were stronger than he had originally thought, but he couldn’t deny them, and would no longer try to deny them. She was everything good about this continent. He tucked the errant stand of hair she always seemed to miss on the right side of her twist behind her ear, his eyes growing watery at the thought of having wasted five days in childish seclusion when any of them could be taken away at any time. Yes, he knew the reason why she was distracted indeed, and he was determined to never be the reason again.

So much for his planned course of action.

******

Auroria blinked, gasping softly as she opened her eyes, clutching her throbbing head. She looked up at the sky, surrounded by bright green trees, felt the ground covered in soft grass, and heard the faint sound of birdsong in her ears. The last thing she remembered was Wyll yelling and a bright flash of light while in the Underdark, so how did she get into a forest? And why was it early morning sunlight? Surely I wasn’t out for that long , she thought. Her brow furrowed as she looked around, sitting up slowly, groaning through sore muscles. Clive, Karlach’s prized stuffed bear, was placed next to her, so she was in camp. But how-?

“Oh! You’re awake,” a voice said softly, a reverent whisper from the other side of the tent.

Gale.

“Did you do this?” she asked, looking around in awe, her tent transformed into the woods she so dearly loved, an illusion replacing the highest point with the canopy.

“Do you like it?” he asked. “Ora I’m -”

“Why are you here? You’ve ignored me all this time, and now you’re here in my tent while I assume I was unconscious?”

“Yes, well, about that…Ora -”

“And you think a pretty illusion can make up for the fact you haven’t looked at or spoken to me in FIVE -”

She felt a hand on hers, silencing her immediately. She looked down at it, then at Gale, who was kneeling beside her bedroll, a soft smile on his face.

“Ora, please. Let me finish a sentence. I’ve been an ass. A colossal ass. I’m sorry. I don’t know how to navigate everything with the orb and whatever is happening between us. I know withdrawing, cloistering myself in my own tent was not the best course of action, but it…it’s what I do, Ora. I isolated myself in my tower for a year when I was cursed with this orb, when Mystra abandoned me. Retreating into myself is what I know how to do.” He handed her a cup of water, which she took, smelling something minty. “I crushed some peppermint in it. I thought it would feel refreshing and cool. I haven’t done extensive studying on herbs, and I know that’s your area of expertise, but last time you had a headache you had mentioned it having a soothing effect”

“Thank you, that’s very kind.” She took a drink and set the cup down beside her. “Listen, I understand why you pulled back, but I hated it. I hated how I felt like I did something wrong, when I didn’t. Every time you feel a little uncomfortable now, if we ever have a disagreement, will you hide yourself away and ignore everyone? How can I not be on edge that something I do will make this situation repeat itself? Will I always spend my time guessing around you? I know you have…limitations because of the orb, but it doesn’t change the fact that you were instigating everything and punishing me for it,” she said. “Punishing everyone.”

“No, you’re right, you’re absolutely right. I was taking out my own shortcomings, my own confusion on you.” He looked down at the floor, the visage of a shamed man. “I can only hope to use this as a learning experience and move forward in a way that is more befitting a wizard of my status, and a man of my age,” he nodded and looked up at her. “I am sorry, again, Ora. I understand if you’d like to keep your distance from me, though I certainly hope you won’t. When I saw you laying unmoving on the bedroll by the campfire earlier, I was so angry with myself. Angry I may have missed my chance, angry about all the time I wasted. Any one of us could be gone at any time. I know that better than most. I will not waste my remaining time again.” His voice trembling, he cleared his throat. “I should leave you to recover.” He started to stand up.

Auroria grabbed onto the sleeve of his camp shirt. “No. Stay with me.”

“I was hoping you would say that,” he smiled, sitting back down, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. He took her hand in his, relishing the feeling of her fingers intertwined with his own. He chuckled, “You know, it feels like the greatest prank in all the heavens that the orb allows me to hold your hand freely, but the minute I think of anything else…”

He looked at her lips, still moist from the water. As if on cue, the orb flashed faintly, sending another warning of pain through his veins.

“That is what happens. Holding your hand feels so natural. There’s never been any excitement involved -” he held up a finger as Auroria raised an eyebrow. “Wait, not that holding your hand isn’t exciting! It is! I just…it feels like I am always meant to hold it. I always am just drawn to the action, instinctually. I can just do it without thinking. Other… pursuits , ones that cause my heart to race and my brain to work in overdrive, seem to trigger the orb. I am working on understanding it, but can you be patient with both the situation and the wizard, Ora?” He asked, the normally confident man suddenly unsure.

Auroria smiled, squeezing his hand with hers, “I can be patient with the situation, the wizard, and the man.”

“You would likely have a more fulfilling time with someone else, like Wyll or Astar-” He felt a finger on his lips, his turn to be silenced.

“Do not dare finish that sentence, Gale of Waterdeep. You are the one I want to spend my time with. The only one I want to let in, to give my feelings. Please know that.” She stifled a yawn. “Now, explain to me what forest this is, I love it, and want to visit it…after everything.” She smiled as she laid back down with her hand still laced in his. Her headache was starting to subside but sleep was quickly creeping up on her

“No forest in particular, I just thought of you while creating it.”

“Hmm, my own personal woods. Well it’s beautiful,” she smiled, closing her eyes.

“It really is,” he responded, looking only at the ranger who was already fast asleep.

#my writing #weave and woods #gale x tav #bg3 fanfiction #gale fanfic #gale x auroria #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #auroria galanodel #my screenshots #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 #weave and woods fic

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iamheretemporarly · 1 year

Text

Ok so, people were interested so here

Ok so

It takes place after the kraang invasion for rottmnt and at the beginning of season 1 for 12 tmnt

Portal shenanigans happens and oop, rise leo is thrown in the 12 universe

He bonds with them (even tho a certain turtle is jelly rn) and the episode where raph and leeo fight about leadership happens, and instead of raph going "i can be a better leader" he actually goes "i bet that leon over there would be a better leader"

They nominate leon as leader, and leo storms off, he meets karai, usual stuff

And the snakeweek incident never happens cause leon actually manages under stress and didn't freeze like raph did in the og episode

So leon is still chosen leader by the team (splinter is very blissfully unaware because the boys kept this between them)

The tension between leo and Leon only gets thicker, leon knows that this is not good, he knows that leo's bros are only trying to get under his skin and they don't mean any true harm, but he can sense thaat there's something wrong

One day he catches leo watching space Heroes by himself

So he scoots over

"what'cha watching?" he asked, obviously trting6to strike a conversation

Any emotions that were visible on leo's face fell, silence, then he proceeded to answer "space heroes..."

"what's it about?"

"... Its about this space captain that saves galaxies with his team"

"ooooo, just like jupiter jim!"

Leo frowns, and Leon doesn't know why so he decides to lighten it up a bit by explaining what JJ is

"it's a sci-fi space show too! It actually has the same premise of space heros where-"

"CAN YOU NOT -" the shout of leo cuts him off

"huh-"

"So what?! You're gonna replace space heros too? That's what you're gonna do?"

"jeez kid, no need to get so defensive, it's just a tv show-"

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SHOW—"

Silence fell heavy on the room after that, leo deciding ro break it

"it's not about the show- it's about- ALL OF THIS! yiu can't just- just waltz in and take the ONE thing i was good at and act like nothing' s going on!"

"leo-"

"Being leader was the onky good thing i had! The only purpose i was able to serve! Raph is the strongest, donnie's the smartest and mikey's the life of the team! But me?! I got NOTHING! sure i can come up with plans, but nothing as precise as donnie's, i can crack jokes but no one laughs at them like they do at mikey's, and i can pull my weigh, but raph can pick all of our weights, the only reason i train hard everyday is so i can keep up with them! And when i finally got something, when i finally have something of my own, you decided to come in and take it! Heck they never listen to me when i talk about space heros, but suddenly they're interested when YOU decide to talk about your stupid jupiter jim, and i kmow for sure that they're not fans of space sci-fi! "

Leo stops as he draws in a deep breath after dropping that shell bomb doing nothing but leaving leon stunned and speechless

"... Who am i kidding, you're the fun Leonardo, everything I'm not and everything they'd want... Of course they'd listen to you..."

Silence is invading the place again before its broken by leo as he gets up, the show he'd been watching long forgotten and abandoned

" j-just leave me alone... You got brothers that would love your company more than mine... Plus I'm pretty boring to hang around with"

And with that he retreated back to his room

Leon just sat there processing everything

These kids need to talk this out, asap

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balkanradfem · 2 years

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Scary story about a river incident

This is going to be a scary and upsetting story, and talk about a male predator, so be warned if you’re not feeling up to these topics!

So the year is 2016, and I’ve just recently moved into the city, and discovered that if you walk very far into the fields outside, you will eventually reach a meeting place of two rivers, and witness gorgeous waterfalls. It took 40 minutes to walk there, so not a lot of people knew about this place or went there. Most of the times I would go, it was a private little field trip, and the water just before the waterfalls was incredibly deep and perfect for swimming.

I was there in the water one day in the late summer. It was getting late, but the sun was still reaching the last rays of light into the water, and I have found a neat little place on the other side of the river with sand, rocks and shells. I was having the time of my life diving under, finding pretty shells and rocks and stashing them for my treasured collection.

At some point, another person arrived to the river, from the same side as I did, but different access point. I wasn’t bothered by it, my things were hidden well, sometimes young people would come and play in the river, they usually never bothered me, so I disregarded this and kept playing with my shells.

I hadn’t realized it was a male person, and I haven’t realized that he took into the water and started swimming directly towards me, until he was already only a few feet away. He was old, but he was strong. He looked 60-ish, but his body was double my size. He was swimming fast. I was at that point, 26, but I looked younger. I had struggled to eat enough and I was underweight. I had nothing on this guy.

Before I could gather myself, he was reaching his arms around me; I was in a neat little corner with rocks behind me, and he was reaching one arm on the rock, and other around me, his goal was to trap me between the rocks and his body. I didn’t have more than a second to realize what’s going on, and guided by instinct, I dove underwater before he was able to trap me, and swam to the direction of my access point, at the other side of the river.

At that point I was practicing swimming, and I was fast, but he could probably outswim me. He hadn’t tried though. I think he was in a bit of a shock that I ran away so immediately, and he couldn’t see where I went because I kept underwater for as long as I could. When i was already halfway to the shore,my head visible, he yelled after me: “I WAS JUST TRYING TO ASK HOW THIS WATERFALL LOOKED BEFORE THE WAR!!!”

I was absolutely outraged he would, after sending me running with intense predatory behaviour, still try to play it off as ‘you’re rude for assuming, I was attempting to engage in polite conversation here’, so I screamed back: “I. WASN’T. ALIVE BACK THEN!”

That should make it clear I’m not falling for his blatant gaslighting and point out how insanely inappropriate he is, I thought. But the truth was, I was traumatized to the point where I didn’t feel safe ignoring someone yelling at me. I swam to my stuff, and at that point, he was still at the same place he attacked me, so I thought, okay, he knows now I don’t want him anywhere close and that he’s being inappropriate, he’s on the other side of the river, he can’t approach me fast, I should be safe. So I sat down. I was wrong. He saw me sit, and started swimming towards me.

I was, once again, appalled. But also scared. I grabbed my stuff and without pausing to dress, started running away. He again yelled after me in another attempt ‘MAYBE YOUR PARENTS KNOW’ and I shouted back running ‘THEN ASK THEM!!!’ as if it was not absolutely insane that I was being talked down to while running away from a predator.

It was then I realized how unsafe it was to be 40 minutes away from civilization, while alone with a predator, next to a river. I needed to get back to the city fast, where this guy wouldn’t be able to openly chase me without anyone seeing it. I ran thru a grassy field, feeling uncomfortable, but sure that this would completely save me, because he was still swimming, and I was sure I could run very fast, and there’s no way he would still try to go after me after I escaped him twice.

Then, the unthinkable happened. He got into his car and chased me with a vehicle.

I didn’t even notice he had a car on his access point. I had only realized it when the car lights appeared on the trail behind me. It was twilight, and the night was falling fast. I was uncomfortably visible on the grass field, and I ran as fast as I could, because, I knew after this field, there was a turn, and I’d be invisible for a bit, and the turn led around a corn field, and corn field was a place I could hide in.

I ran into the corn field absolutely terrified, made sure I was out of sight and hidden, crouched down so I would be completely invisible, and then stayed still. Waiting. His car lit the road, and I could see him going, he passed me, and he reached the middle of the field, and then, he stopped. He must have realized that he should have already ran into me, and since he didn’t, he knew I was behind him. I didn’t see if he got out of the car. I didn’t move. I knew if I made a sound, if he saw some corn move, I’d be located instantly. I crouched and waited.

I couldn’t tell you for how long that car was standing there. Probably 5-10 minutes. You can imagine it felt longer to a woman hiding in a corn field. But, I wasn’t found. And eventually, the car started moving again. It went away. I didn’t move. I stayed where I was, for I don’t remember how long. I needed to be sure. Once I peeked out to the road, I looked for any sign of light. It wasn’t there. I tentatively walked to the edge of the field, where I could see more of the road. Nothing. It was all empty. There was nobody there anymore. I was safe.

You’d imagine I went home that night feeling shaken, scared, anxious and upset, but you’d be wrong. I was beside myself with joy. This was my first time, ever, that I was chased by a violent man attempting to harm me, and got away! I was at that point, victimized by 20+ years of violence behind closed doors, and I would never, never manage to get away from it, regardless of running, because the predator was a family member, and convinced me that he had a claim on abusing me, but this? It was a predator in nature, and the nature was my turf, I knew how to get around there, and my instincts had served me so well, and I listened to them properly, and just because I was so quick to get away, the predator was stumped enough to not be able to catch me! I was then, sure that alone in the wild, I was untouchable, invincible, safe from any harm. Ah, to be young and fearless.

In retrospect, I’m now getting cold chills realizing how close I was form being a corpse in the river. The corn field was the only thing that saved me. if it had been any other time of the year, and the corn wasn’t as tall and as perfect of a hiding place, I’d have been painfully visible on those fields. I would have had to attempt to hide in the grass.

Of course, 26yo me came back to the waterfalls a week later, convinced it was a ‘one-time-predator-thing’ and luckily I never again ran into that guy, I did have another close call with another dude, but it was less scary, with less running involved. I still do visit the waterfalls but less often, as I found swimming places that are closer by. This was, by far, my most dangerous encounter with a predator, tho I had about 5 more happen thru my life, and successfully got away from them all. The danger of violence towards women in public is generally much more rare because m*n usually go for women they feel they have the claim to, and who can’t get away, like daughters, wives, cousins, sisters, mothers. That kind of abuse is almost certain to get them no consequences. If they go after a woman they don’t know, it is possible a male family member would come after them, for attacking what they believe is theirs, so it’s a bit more of a risky bet. Except, of course, if you’re 40 minutes away from a living soul and next to a river, then the rules change a bit.

My perspective was that because this was a stranger, I was free to run, where as in my family, running was sure to be punished with worse violence, and I was conditioned not to even attempt it. So even just running away, scary as it was, felt freeing for me. I didn’t have any pride left so jumping into ‘prey animal’ mode to protect myself from abuse was just, a situation that would come up sometimes. I didn’t yet think of it as a proof that I’m not living in a humane society, and that obviously I wasn’t equal to half of it, for they would always be a predatory threat to me.

It strikes me still how much this predator aimed at my socialization to stop me from running, trying to talk me out of my instincts, implying I was rude for assuming anything, trying to shame me for running, while he also blatantly chased me with his car. I hope this can serve as a sign to never try to be polite or allow innocent assumptions for a male whose actions make you uncomfortable or threatened. I’d have been better not to reply, as it only gave him incentive to try to talk more, but alas, one cannot be perfect.

If you’re all worried about me, just remember I will be okay with my nature adventures and everything else risky I do, once I live in separatist space, away and protected, wielding the nature barriers between me and the males, safe from all predatory harm.

#male violence #male predators #incident #story #storytime #let me know if you want to hear the other predator close call i had #its also about me using nature to protect myself lol #i still believe that nature is my turf #and that i'm so great at running away #because like to believe otherwise would not bring me joy #but i'm also scared shitless of my family so #i mean family is worse #definitely worse

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