#it’s NOT PLEASANT AT ALL to be left for someone else who’s basically like you but ‘better’

[spookypete-94]

O-

GhostxFem!medic!reader

Reader is a medic that has been assigned to specifically take care of TF141. She learns just how difficult the lieutenant can be.

SFW, CW for- language, more then likely medical inaccuracies

You had worked next to Price shortly a few years after he started. Your impressive skill level always imprinted on him. After he became the Captain, he had sought you out specifically. The risks of the missions he was on he wanted someone he could trust on standby to take care of him and his men if something were to happen. Sure, you knew your way on the battlefield and could do basic operations if needed, but your area of expertise was caring for the injured. It was almost like you were hardwired and made for it, a natural.

Once learning Price had requested you, sought you for so long- it was a no-brainer to join him and his team.

"Ready to meet everyone?" He asked, his voice quiet but still carrying a booming effect.

"Sure am," she you replied, crossing your arms as he led her to his office. Inside stood 3 men. One that wore a blue hat in casual attire, the second one with bright blue eyes and a mohawk, and the other was a large looming man that leaned against the desk face covered with a skull balaclava, dressed all in black.

"Would like you all to meet the team medic, this is Y/N L/N. I sought her specifically for us."

Y/N stuck her hand out to greet everyone, shaking the first two, easily learning their names as Gaz and Soap. The third one, however, did not step forward to shake her hand. One could feel the distrust from his gaze.

Fine, You thought to herself and instead stood next to the Captain again.

Price explained your duties and how you would be attending missions with them on scene, in your own helicopter, and would respond as needed.

"If I could have dog tags, just to have full name and blood type, I'd appreciate it. Makes it easier for me to log and store blood if needed."

Again, the first two she met and Price complied, handing their dog tags over with ease. The large one never left his stance from the desk, arms crossed, hands never reaching into his shirt.

"Lieutenant," Price said just shy of a scolding manner.

"No worries, Captain, I'll manage." you said, waving it off. Honestly, far from offended, dealing with difficult men your entire career, becoming used to it. Price looked at you, shocked, wondering how you would "deal" with it. Scribbling the information down, your own chicken scratch looking difficult to anyone else who might read it before handing the tags back. "Thanks," you said cheerily, handing the tags back. "Lieutenant," nodding in his direction still being courteous to him. "I'll be in the MedBay updating my records and starting carts for all of your needs. Hope you all have a pleasant day." Nodding, and stepped through the group of men.

Once the door was shut, they all turned to Ghost appalled by his behavior to such a kind woman. "Why ya' gotta be like that, mate?" Soap asked him.

"Don't trust new people," he grumbled, leaving them all to shake their heads.

Time had passed, you had her records all updated and built trust with three of the group she cared for. Not quite with "Skullface" though, as you called him. Being on the team with the TF141, means you still had to qualify on all weapons... leaving you at the mercy of the range with the grumpy Lieutenant as he was the instructor.

His tone came across condescending at the very start. The first weapon he picked was a handgun. He showed how to load and reload the mags, how to place it in the bottom of the guns and forcefully shove up to make sure the mags don't fall out. How to use the iron sights and the difference between red dots, the difference between calibers - things already known by you but dared not say anything wanting to make a point. He handed back the pistol, taking aim, and shortly emptied the clip, hitting the metal target in the center. The ping echoed, target shaking with each bullet. Managing tactical reload, dropping the mag, pulling the full one from your belt, reloading it, and doing the same thing.

"You know how to use a gun?" he asked stunned.

"I do."

"You could have led with that."

"Didn't want to interrupt your whole "spiel, "seeming it's the most you've said to me the entire time I've been here."

Behind him, Price stood smiling, arms crossed as he stood at the front of the range. Game, set, match, he thought to himself comically.

"Can we do shotgun next, or are you gonna break the basics down for me on that, too?" Your tone playing coy, making Ghost shake his head, handing her the shotgun.

The day was over faster than Ghost expected it to be, thinking you would be inexperienced.

"I'm sorry I treated you like that," Ghost said humbly as they picked up the empties.

"Used to it."

This answer caused silence among them both. You took it upon yourself that he was waiting for you to answer why.

"Most men in this field just see me as a nurse. They seem to forget that Medic's have to be battle trained, too. Used to being treated like that."

He turned to look at you. "Shouldn't be a medic, you're better than most of the soldiers I've seen in the field."

"All be it surprised, I'm a better medic, then I am on the battlefield."

"Have to be one hell of a medic then."

"I am." you said confidently, throwing the expended bullet casings into a bucket to be repressed.

How grateful you were, that it ended on a positive note between the two this time.

"Here," he said, going to hand her his dog tags.

"Don't need them any more."

Even though his face was covered, you could tell he was confused by your response.

"Got it taken care of." smiling widely to him, throwing your assigned weapons over your shoulder and heading back to the base.

You had left him preplexed and him watching that smile never leave as your legs carried you away. Satisfaction filling you, knowing you made your mark on him.

"Fuckin' hell," he said quietly to himself.

Inevitably, the day came. Ghost had found himself and Soap injured, Ghost was losing blood rapidly, taking the grunt of whatever exploded. They requested evac but had to wait for an extraction team to get to him. His conscious status was in and out, vaguely remembering you and your squad getting to him and Soap. Your facial features make you seem like you were is glowing, the light being so bright. If he had not seen your ability to be deadly, he would have thought an angel was standing before him from the golden glow.

The next thing he knew, he was on the helicopter, finally coming to. He started to sit up quickly, the sudden alertness making him realize what had just happened

"Sit your ass still," you growled to him.

Even as a threat, your voice calmed him, making him indeed sit still.

"Where's Johnny?"

"Next to you, across the bird behind the curtain, my team got him stitched and wrapped up. Hold still," You said, pulling his arm back to her. He realized you were stitching him, hand holding his arm close. Noticing the IV for fluid and another for blood attached into his other arm. There, he saw a rolling cart with "Skullface" wrote on the top where his name should have been, bags of O- blood inside it.

"My blood type isn't O-," he said, head rolling over to look at her.

"Mine is. It's the universal donor."

Finally, he realized what you meant.

"That's your blood?"

"Yup, been pulling mine off for your cart in case something happened since you wouldn't give me your tags that day."

He was silent for a bit. That was her way of managing... using your own blood to save him. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole to you."

"Stop. You already apologized. Just be grateful I did what I did and didn't leave you to bleed out." Some men just needed tough love.

Somehow, you had struck him. He was seeing you in a different light once more. How grateful he was for his mask because if it wasn't there.. you would be able to read his face. Adoration and all. He leaned back into the pillow, letting you finish and look him over. Fingers ghosted across his skin as you moved his body to be able to check for whatever it was you were looking for. No resistance was given by him now. You had earned just more than his respect and trust. Just on the ride back to base, you already had him stitched up.

"Still will have to do scans to make sure there is no internal bleeding, but have to do that back at base. I'm glad you're still alive." you said, patting his thigh in an area that you knew was not injured.

"Fuckin' hell," a phrase he found saying all too much with you. Eyes watching your walk away and prepare for landing.

Soap pulled back his curtain, smiling mischievously at Ghost.

"Not a fuckin' word," he grumbled to him, knowing all to well that Soap knew that Ghost had caught feelings for hyou.

Simon Ghost Riley Masterlist

#cod mw2 #simon ghost riley #ghost mw2 #mw2 #simon riley #call of duty #call of duty mw2 #ghost #ghost x fem reader #ghost X female reader #simon x fem reader #simon X female reader #ghost x reader #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x you #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost x you #simon x reader

[appleblueberry-pie]

nanami please with a darling who was injured by someone else 😼

yay more food. my dinner

You sigh as you open the door, taking off your shoes, placing them neatly in their respective places before ridding of all of the other things you brought outside with you. Keys, purse, you kept the small bag of groceries in hand for cooking tonight's dinner. The sun was going down and the sky was turning dark. Kento should be off of work by now.

You sigh once more, eyebrow twitching as you ignore the pang of pain in your lower stomach. You wash your hands before washing the vegetables and turning on the stove. How were you to hide this from him? I mean, you did a great job at patching the wound, making sure the bandages didn't show. I mean.....it wasn't that bad. Just a small robbery accident. It's not like you lost any of your personal items. Your face scrunches in stress as you continue to quickly chop the vegetables.

An hour passes when the front door unlocks. Kento steps through the front door and his shoulders relax at the smell of dinner wafting up his nose. You always knew how to settle him when the day ends. The thought of you puts a smile to his lips as he takes off his shoes, placing them in their respective places as well. He was going to turn around when he felt the familiar warmth of your hand on his shoulder and he turns, seeing your pleasant and radiating smile. "Hey, honey." He murmurs, pressing a soft peck to your lips, and wrapping his arms around your waist. He melts into the soft hug you both share.

"Hey," You reply, "How was work?" He almost pulls you back into the hug when you let go of him and begin taking off his cream colored blazer. "Not much different," you place the blazer on a hanger in the closet and Kento loosens his tie, willing himself to walk towards the kitchen instead of following you. "Just wish I didn't have to spend my time with that unsufferable freak for any longer than 2 minutes. Or 2 hours, for that fact." Nanami rolls his eyes as he recalls the memory of spending his time attempting to exercise a curse with Gojo.

"You mean Gojo? I haven't seen him in a while. How's he been?" You follow him into the kitchen and check on the chuck roast in the oven. Nanami scoffs. "Doesn't matter. I would rather not entertain the thought of him...at least not when I can talk about you." He waits for you to close the oven before softly smiling at you.

"How's your day been? Gone out somewhere? Did anything fun?"

Nanami allowed you to roam freely within the house without him having to watch you a year after kidnapping you. And it took a second year to get him to trust you to never leave the city, and do almost anything you want outside the house without his supervision. When you first were captured, you never ever asked him if you could leave. Because you knew eventually, if you played the long game, you could go back to living as normal as possible. Nanami wasn't.....a bad captor. He certainly was a horrible man deep down, but he never hurt you. Besides, you didn't have to do anything other than be his "wife". You didn't have a job and he always told you to use his card. So you had all of the time in the world to do whatever you pleased.

When you first left without his supervision, it was basically like he was there with the amount of times he called you and texted you to know where you were. You constantly sent him photos of the things you were getting, selfies of yourself, and calling multiple times to "make sure you were alright". He was at the front door already waiting for you when you came back. He was so relieved and was very proud of your behavior, which eventually led to him rewarding you when bedtime came.

You worked so hard to get to this point. And you would rather jump into a boiling pot of water than have your freedom that you worked so hard for taken away from you. The chains. The hand-feeding. The baths. You hated it all. He didn't even let you look at clocks for some reason. You only knew how long it had been since he kidnapped you when your birthday came around. And since then, the dynamic had finally formed into something you could work with.

A pang of pain once again struck you when he asked you that question. You forgot to take pain meds and internally cursed to yourself. You had to hide it from him.

"I went to that coffee shop that you recommended to me. And you were right, it was really nice. I loved their Chai Tea and chocolate chip muffins. We should go sometime." Kento held your hands and stared at you as you spoke. He could stare at you for hours and never get bored. You continued, "Then I went back home to do some cleaning. And when I finished, I realized that I wanted to make roast for dinner, so I left out again to go to the grocery store."

Kento nodded and lightly squeezed your hands. "So I got the groceries," Got shoved into an alleyway and was straddled by the biggest man you've ever seen. Your purse and groceries were knocked out of your hands onto the ground. The man smelled disgusting and his breath wasn't any better. He had a knife in his back pocket, you could see it. When you struggled to get off of him, he pulled it out, immediately going for your throat. You dodged and managed to sock him in his face, which threw him off. You shoved him off of you and scrambled to stand up. He crawled towards you, attempting to quickly get himself onto his feet, swiping the knife in your general direction. Of course, your luck was horrible. It managed to make some sort of gash on your lower stomach.

You gasp more in fear than in pain, making distance between you and your attacker. Neither of you were great at fighting, which made this whole thing so tough to get through. He growled, attempting to make his way towards you again. Your heel dug into his face as you kicked him and he yelped in pain, scrambling back. You took that time to gather your stuff, running out of the alleyway towards the direction of your house. You forced yourself to hide the wound and bought an entire first aid kit at a convenience store on the way back. You stumbled and took it to another dark alley way to deal with the wound yourself. You'd be damned if you were caught bleeding by Kento if he makes it home early. You downed a few pain killers, knowing it wouldn't be enough and opened the kit, grabbing the alcohol to clean the wound. The entire process was a blur, but you gritted your teeth through the stitches. Thank god for your suture training from that one high school internship.

".......and made it back home just in time to start dinner before you got back." A soft smile reached your face as you fiddled your toes together. Kento smiled back and nodded once more. "That sounds great honey. I can't wait to try it. Your cooking never disappoints me." He lets go of one of your hands and caresses your face, thumb slightly swiping under your eye. "You look tired, did you get enough sleep last night?" You leaned into his touch and nodded even though your stomach lurched in nausea. "Yeah." He muttered an 'okay' and kissed your forehead.

"I'm going to take a shower. And if there's anything else you need help with, come tell me." You nodded once more and watched him walk towards the bathroom. When he was out of your sight, you quickly finished up with dinner, taking the roast and vegetables out of the oven.

---------------------

It was around bedtime that Kento really started to feel the affects of his job wear him down. He almost seemed to be excited to go to sleep, immediately crawling under the covers when you curled up on your side of the bed. You sigh to attempt and calm your heart. You were only wearing your nightgown and underwear as usual. But you prayed to whoever was in the sky that Nanami wouldn't touch your bandages.

You hear him turn off the lamp before wrapping his big and warm protective arm around your stomach. He sighed into your neck, silently pecking the area and closing his eyes. He rubs your stomach, getting as close to you as possible to share your body warmth with his. "Goodnight, Ken." He lives for the nicknames you give him and hums in appreciation. "Goodnight, baby-" His eyes slowly open at the feeling of a lump on your lower stomach. Nothing is heard in the house besides his calm breaths, not even yours reaches the air.

Before he can say anything, you softly grab his hand and place it higher to where it was before, eyes still closed. Kento blinks and thinks to himself. "Baby?" You stay silent for a second to pretend you're going to sleep. "Hm?" You respond. He says nothing. But he does attempt to touch it again, to see if he was wrong. You don't let him bring his hand back down.

"What's that?" You caress his hand. "....what's what?" Kento scrunches his eyebrows at your behavior and uses more force to pull his hand down, you don't let him again. "Y/n." You purse your lips and open your eyes. You fucking hate him for even deciding to even touch you tonight. You weren't ready. You didn't know that man was going to hurt you. Why do you have to suffer for the things others have done to you?? A deep force settles in your stomach. You've never felt as anxious and fearful as you did right now.

Kento brings his hand down with no fight this time. He touches the bandages once more before sitting up and removing the covers. He lifts your night gown and sees the long bandage that crosses over your entire lower stomach. "What....?" He shakes his head and lightly brushes his fingers over the bandage before looking up at your face. You don't dare meet his eyes and attempt to control your breathing before you begin crying.

"Y/n, what the fuck is this??" You sit up and hang your legs over the edge of the bed and Kento immediately crawls over the blankets to sit next to you. "Y/n-" "No. Please." You choke out a sob and wipe a tear that falls down your face. Kento brings you into his arms, caressing your head as you cry into his neck. "Oh my god..." Kento mutters into the air as he considers all of the possibilities for why you're hurt. Did you do this to yourself? Fuck, he knew it wasn't safe to let you deal with knives. It looked like a very recent gash, so it must've happened today. It isn't bleeding through, which is good...

Did someone else do this to you? His muscles immediately tense at the thought and his heart drops as he looks down at you. He pulls you out of his embrace and and gently pulls your hands from your face. Your bloodshot eyes and damp face breaks his heart into a million pieces. But not like how seeing that gash did. He coos and wipes your face of the tears as much as he could. "Darling, you know I love you and would do anything to keep you safe, you know that right?"

You sob again and shake your head. "Please don't...I don't wanna-" He cuts you off and tightly grabs your hands. "No. Don't even. I would never force you do anything. I just want you to answer my questions, okay?" He gently grabs your face and stares into your eyes.

"Did somebody do this to you?"

You stay silent.

"..........yes." You whisper.

Kento's face contorts into one of frustration. "Who did this to you?" Your ears ring and you feel yourself get dizzy with nausea. Everything about this just made you think you would end up back at square one. You gulp down bile that threatens to crawl up your throat. "Some guy....that I....saw when I left the store."

"What did he look like?" You shake your head. "I couldn't see his face....he was really big and tall. Wearing all black. 'nd he had a knife. He hit me with it." Kento nodded and pulled you into his arms once more. "Thank you for telling me. Thank you for trusting me." He kisses your forehead and caresses your head. "Good girl. So good for me. Can I check it?" You slowly nod and he creates some space between the two of you to peel back the bandage. He hesitates, not wanting to see the damage. His heart lurches when he slowly peels it back, seeing the stitches that were done. They looked neat and cleaned. "Who did these?"

You look up at him when he puts the corner of the bandage back on your skin. "I did." He remembers that you took a class for medicine back in high school and nods in remembrance. "Okay. They look great. But I'm going to have to leave soon."

You know what that means and make no moves to stop him from getting up. He once again hugs you before kneeling on the ground to meet your eyes. "Next time this happens...please, please tell me. No more secrets. Remember what I said about secrets?" You nod and mess with the edge of your nightgown. "No more secrets.....I'm sorry." He softly smiles at you and wipes any stray hairs from your face. "It's alright, no need to apologize. I understand."

He presses a sweet and long kiss to your lips. Reveling in the soft plush of your lips on his. A lingering taste from your tears fall onto his tongue, but he doesn't care. He pulls back first, caressing your face. "Come on, let me tuck you in." You lean back into the soft blankets and mattress, Kento brings the blankets up to underneath your chin. He once again kisses your forehead and smiles sadly at you. "Goodnight, my love. Have sweet dreams. I will be back as soon as possible and will be here when you wake up." You nod and stare at his face. He seems to have newfound energy about him as he grabs some clothes from the closet, taking them with him into the bathroom to change.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #reader #yandere character #jjk #jujutsu kaisen x reader #yandere nanami x reader #jjk nanami #yandere nanami kento #nanami kento #nanami x reader #jujutsu nanami #nanami smut #kento nanami #kento

[horce-divorce]

something something about the power imbalance inherent to being an unhoused person, how similar it is to the dependency that abusers intentionally foster in their relationships to keep victims from leaving. but if you're homeless and someone is putting you up, especially if it's for free/some kind of exchange other than rent, you're basically expected to put up with whatever indignity they can imagine for you and still just be grateful. And if you set a boundary or speak up for yourself in any kind of way, that's Taking Advantage of this poor kind person who's doing SO much for you already, how could you?

sorry its 2am and I'm trying to write a better draft about this for later too but its like. being homeless is a huge, huge vulnerability. ppl people will look to exploit that, intentionally or not. and doubly so if you're homeless because you're disabled.

also something the ableism involved... about how I know so many fellow disabled people who have struggled with homelessness, and we all have similar stories about people we trusted, friends or loved ones who seemed all too happy to help and take us in, and how we repeatedly impressed upon them the nature of our health and the situation, and they swore up and down that they understood and that we were on the same page about boundaries and expectations... only to have them blow up and kick us out at the absolute first sign of conflict or miscommunication, or because we didn't get jobs fast enough, or because we didn't contribute financially even after being told that wasn't expected, and so on.

and how, I know so many housed people who have never been through this, who all have very similar stories about how they tried to help a friend in need once, and they were SO lazy and horrible and took SO long to get their shit together that they clearly were just a freeloader taking advantage who should've never been trusted, just like all homeless people, and that's why we give them socks and canned beans instead of money.

I was never allowed to complain about ableist expectations or abled people ignoring my boundaries in my parents' home. Especially not after I became a disabled adult who still needed help with housing. And that's been true of most of the couch-hopping I've done since then, too.

Currently we have a fairly nice situation... we live with a trusted and pleasant friend. It's a whole house, not an apartment. Not even in the city. We have our own entire room. We don't have to pay rent or anything. It's temporary even aside from our discomfort, it's just been a nice place to land for the cold months.

However. Friends parents are not so chill. Their dad is the most disgusting man alive and has repeatedly gotten us sick bc he's always got something, bleeds all over and never cleans it up, never washes his hands, leaves his dentures on countertops and tables with food still stuck on them, coughs all over our stuff and never masks, is actively making the mouse infestation worse with all the food he leaves out, and puts our health at risk in SO many ways.

he used to work in Healthcare btw. His wife still does. They know we're here bc we're homeless; they know we're both disabled and immunocompromised; neither of them will wear a mask. Both of them are constantly coughing everywhere and not even covering their mouths. We've tried to politely bring this to their attention multiple times and nothing changes. They just ignore us.

We could literally die from this. We could get lifelong health complications even worse than what we have now. Bel lost his sense of taste today and now we're terrified that it's gonna be long covid or something else that sucks what little joy is left from our daily lives.

You lose everything, and then you're supposed to just say nothing and accept your lot, no matter how much danger you're in, because beggars can't be choosers. If you're disabled and poor you'd better just be fine with people abusing you and putting your health and safety at risk indefinitely, because you're lucky they're even helping you at all instead of JUST abusing you.

You dont get to have a home. You dont get to collect things, or keep sentimental things, or have a whole, adequate wardrobe. You get what you can carry with you and what won't get stolen or destroyed by others, or by the nature of moving so much. You dont get to have safety and stability and roots and community. You dont get the dignity of boundaries or your own space. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. And be happy and say "thank you" if people are merely ignoring you instead of actively silencing you. And if the people "helping" you actually give you the thing that kills you, at least you didn't die of exposure, I guess? Or something?

Its just. Every single thing you do as both a homeless & disabled person reminds you how utterly worthless you are to the """normal""" people around you. Every day. It's so demoralizing.

#me #prsnl #disability stuff #homelessness

[musicky]

I finished All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows. So good. I loved it.

You know that vibe from A Taste of Gold and Iron that’s just “you two are such fucking idiots about each other”? THEY ARE JUST SUCH FUCKING IDIOTS ABOUT EACH OTHER and I love it.

Spoilers under the cut.

(Although the spoilers are more vibes than specific plot points honestly.)

So. The end of my copy of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance had a snippet of this and it was enough for me to know that the plot line was going to include attempts at seducing one or both of the boys into an affair. (This is barely even a spoiler - that’s the prologue.)

I was NERVOUS. I hate “are they cheating oh no what do i do” plots. I hate when there’s chapters and chapters of angst and drama that could be solved by a simple fucking conversation. I spend the whole time frustrated and annoyed and yelling at the book “JUST FUCKING TALK” and that’s not a pleasant reading experience for me.

Foz did not do this, and I could not be more grateful. From Moment 1, these two idiots trust each other and care about each other more than anything else in the world (okay yes except for Markel, WE KNOW VEL). At no point do either of them actually think the other did anything. They both worry that the other will think they did, but there is never any doubt or suspicion or mistrust.

And I loved it. It makes the story so much more compelling. These two ADORE each other (btw Vel is HILARIOUSLY oblivious to his own feelings like I mean SAME babes, but COME ON) and they trust each other and if you take that away, then WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE STORY.

I cannot even begin to express how glad I am that my yelling about this book (to my dog) was “SEE? Do you see how PERFECT THEY ARE TOGETHER???” and not begging fictional characters to talk to each other. That’s a stupid conflict to have in a story. It’s cheap, you can do better.

Do they have trouble communicating? Yes, absolutely. Does it make perfect sense for their personalities, their histories, their traumas? YES. Was I so fucking glad that Markel looked at Cae and said “you shouldn’t have left him” because Cae is a damn idiot? YES.

This is a LOVE STORY, not because they had to contend with accusations of infidelity, but because, in every single fucking moment, both of them knew with 100% certainty that this man who they love would not do that to them.

The trust, the loyalty, the honor, the respect, the pure honest CARE is important and meaningful. Even Vel, who has only known shitty, toxic relationships, is a good man and a good husband and that is important. He tries, he wants to be, he works hard at it.

Like, that poor man gets bitchy with his husband and realizes UM SHIT I can’t just walk out and see what happens WHAT DO I DO and then he does his best. That’s what you do, Vel. Your best.

(Markel’s “bold of you to assume that Velasin has ever been wrong” was PRICELESS)

The love confession was glorious. GLORIOUS.

(Side note, CAE LIKES SMART MEN and I love him for it.)

As someone who doesn’t do the politics and people shit either, I love EVERY second of Vel figuring shit out and asking questions and staying calm until it’s worth losing his shit, and I adore Cae just sitting there, watching him and being like “I have never wanted anything more in my life than I want you right now”. GOOD FOR YOU CAE GET YOUR MAN.

I’ll need a reread because plot points blur together for me until I get a second time through, but I’m basically ready to flip back to the front and start right now 😂

Also, apparently I love a good “oh no, this stranger I’m stuck with every minute of every day is really hot and I want to jump his bones” (both of these stories and AToGaI, THANKS FOZ AND ALEX) so that was also fun.

They’re adorable and stupid and I love them.

#all the hidden paths #a strange and stubborn endurance #foz meadows #bookblr #and of course I had to mention #a taste of gold and iron #because Alex rewrote my fucking brain chemistry #I’m fine #I promise

[radiance1]

FINNALLY FUCKING FOUND THIS POST!

So I'm here to add on to this with another idea that I had, this time concerning Sam than Danny, Vlad and Pariah.

So it's been about three entire years since the Ghost King's left on their quest to find Pariah.

Three years for Danny's friends and family to question where he went.

Three years for them to panic a bit and look for him.

Luckily for them, Sam received a note from Clockwork that the two left on a quest, somewhere along year 1. Which she then told the other, leading to them at least knowing what he's doing and not freaking out over it.

Do the... sudden, change that each and every resident received from a wish, it took some time to adjust for all residents.

Sam considers herself relatively more lucky than some others, say, being turned into a werewolf for example.

Sam herself was turned into a witch, although physically she didn't receive any changes, internally she could feel a thrum of power under her skin, waiting to be released.

So of course she did want any person in her situation would do.

Ask her parents to help her obtain any and all magical tomes they could get their hands on. Hell, they didn't even have to be tomes, just anything that was known to be magical.

Her parents managed to get her what she wanted, though some people made it very difficult to get some items, most of them being museums owners but it wasn't anything enough money couldn't fix.

And promises to take extremely good care, or return them when Sam was finished.

They also, totally unprompted on her part. Got a castle built for her. Only the size of a small mansion yes, but a castle nonetheless.

She thinks they heard talking about having one to herself, but nevertheless it paid off.

By year two she managed to completely go through most of what her parents got for her, then sent back what she was done with to those who wanted it back, if it were pages that still had lingering or outright heavy, amounts of magic still on them she kinda just, used her magic to duplicate them and sent the duplicate back to the museums.

Not that they would really know, now would they? Besides, they wouldn't be able to use said knowledge anyways.

Plus it would also be pretty dangerous if someone else with magical know how got their hands on them.

Now, she isn't pointing fingers but. You know. Freakshow, for example.

Those pages of magical knowledge are ones that she kept in book, with a durability spell and preservation of each and everyone of them, along with protections on the book itself to keep them safe.

Said book is also enchanted to never run out of space for new pages, and if not for any new page, then paper for spells she would right down.

It was near the end of year 2, when she was exploring an old ruin that she got full rights and ownership of. Funnily enough, said old ruin was right beneath her castle, so no one was really going to bother her about it, especially no one outside of Amity.

Amity Park keeps to itself, and anyone outside who wants to look deeper into it is not welcomed.

It was when she was exploring said ruin that she found something... otherworldly.

No it was nothing tied to the Ghost Zone.

At first, she thought it was. But reading through whatever ancient writing was left behind and comparing both ectoplasm and this mysterious pool of substance.

She could say with full confidence that this, liquid, was truly something otherworldly.

So of course she carefully experimented with said substance. It surprised her greatly when she finds out this thing is basically a revive and health potion in one, not like ectoplasm where it gave life to inanimate objects.

Even then that would need them being infused with a heavy amount of the stuff.

Like the Fenton's coo-

Regardless, it was a surprise, but at least it was a pleasant one.

It was when she was down in the ruin, having fixed it up considerably with magic and moved her magical artifacts, knowledge and research equipment down there that another surprise happened in year three.

A few months into the new year, when Sam was minding her business, studying some more ancient tomes and items her parents acquired, that some boy, who looked at least a year older than her. Crawled himself out of her pit.

Safe to say, she wasn't pleased.

But oh was she ever so curious.

#dc x dp #dp x dc crossover #sam manson #jason peter todd #Sam is a witch who isn't pleased with someone crawling out her property #Jason is just a recently revived dead kid who crawled out a pit #Sam is not pleased by this #but she is curious #Jason is just completely and utterly confused

[terrence-silver]

Hi Bea! Could you write a story about Terry meeting Beloved for the first time during the All Valley and Beloved is there to support Miyagi Do. Beloved’s nephew is Daniel’s student and of course Beloved has already heard a thing or two (or dozen) about Terry from Daniel. What would Terry do to convince them to go on a date with him? I would love to see our Mastermind in action ❤️

---

-"You don't strike me as someone who doesn't have a mind of their own."-

Is what Terry Silver says when he pops up from the corner of the corridor tucked away from the arena and its many crowd-filled pews; you never really figured you'd be having this conversation with anyone, least of all with him of all people during your trip from the toilet in-between matches, but here you were, your decisions returning to bite you in the ass. -"I do, but ---"- You stutter, awkwardly, confused, immediately knowing what this was about. Approximately two weeks ago, he's asked you out on what could only be considered the equivalent of a date and you were certain to politely let him down and while he didn't seem offended then, it was clear now, in retrospective that he wasn't actually tremendously receptive to the answer he received back then. -"But, what?"- He takes a step forward. You deserved this, in a way. Terry Silver was never really unkind to you. Quite the contrary. The stories circulating about him, though? Did they really warrant you shooting his propositions down? It is not that you mistrusted them, but did you have any concrete proof? Wow, come to think of it, you did mistrust them, if only for the reason that it felt like you were supposed to think what others told you to, not what you really did, and the sensation that left you with? It wasn't a pleasant one. -"You're gonna let someone else dictate who you keep as company? Gonna let someone else tailor your life for you? Don't you realize how helpless and stupid they wanna make you seem?"- He hits the nail on the head and you feel the anxiety bubbling in your gut, feeling slightly trapped by the statement. So, he knew then? He knew that Amanda and Daniel have been talking about him to you and that their stories were the prime reason you and Terry never went out? God. You felt awful.

-"Do you think that's fair, huh?"- He asks nonchalantly, lifting a brow.

-"No."- You immediately shake your head, speaking as plainly and as directly as you could, not hesitating for a second, not intending to lie, wanting desperately to apologize to the man and then promptly sink away into the hallway tiles and disappear, fading into the empty foyer. You felt so small minded. So tiny and lost. Under the spotlight. So painfully provincial. Adhering to someone else's gossip, like a child. -"It's just that I...well, there's no nice way to say this, you know? Not without making everything even worse than it already is."- You stutter, feeling scrutinized by his steady gaze, still ironically comforted only by the fact that Terry didn't seem tremendously offended. Quite the contrary. There was a trace of understanding and amusement in his expression you didn't expect to find there. He seemed like he wanted to laugh. You weren't exactly sure if that was a positive thing or a negative thing. -"You heard a lot of things about me. Not all of them good. I know."- He finishes your train of thoughts instead of you and the nervousness both rises and quells inside of you when he does. It was preferable to needing to say so yourself, but also, in a sense, you were as self-conscious as you could be. Yes, Daniel just about warned you that you should stay away from Terry Silver and Cobra Kai as a whole and you were just about ready to listen too. You were caught red handed. -"Yes. I'm so sorry."- You gulp, shrugging your shoulders in defeat, unable to look up at him. You felt so ashamed. Like someone easily influenced under peer pressure. Someone falling into the most basic of cliques. -"Wouldn't you prefer then,"- With his hands tucked into his pockets casually, Terry takes yet another step forward, until he's standing face to face with you. His cologne hits you like a warm wave. -"to discover on your own how true they are? These rumors you were warned with?"-

You blink up at Terry. He smiles broadly.

Funnily enough, that felt reasonable. He felt reasonable.

No matter how guilty you were to admit that to yourself, it was reasonable and logical for you to make decisions and conclusions on people based on your own opinions and perceptions. It was reasonable that even if you made a mistake and miscalculated with someone, they were would be your own mistakes and miscalculations to make. Not someone else's. You would've actually accepted Terry's invitation all those weeks ago, before the stories your desires were trampled with changed your mind. It makes you wonder. Maybe garnering his friendship could've been a good thing. Even now, very much aware that he was being, for the lack of a better word, shittalked, he seemed so relaxed and poised about it that it made you rethink your position. It said a lot about him and a lot about those doing the talking. But you figured --- it was too late now. Why would Terry Silver want to mingle with someone who can be persuaded this way when someone like him undoubtedly had his pick of the litter? Your heart sinks at the thought. You lost your chance. -"Or do you need Larusso, Larusso's wife, Johnny Lawrence, Lawrence's woman, Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang, a bunch of adolescents and the rest of that peanut gallery to greenlight who gets to fuck you? Are they gonna hold a referendum? Vote on it too?"- Terry coos, chuckling with a trace of humor and your eyes shoot up at him, taken aback by the sudden and unabashed bluntness, taking a moment to let those words sink in, finding his face and eyes were so close to you could practically see yourself reflected in them. Who gets to fuck you? And no. No, you were a person with your own agency. You didn't need anyone to decide who your friends and social circle would include. Least of all, whose bedroom you spent your nights in. He was right.

You shake your head, perplexed, in wordless agreeance with him.

Terry Silver bares his teeth, seeming content.

#terry silver manipulates by...being 100% logical #terry silver #cobra kai #kk3 #terry silver x reader #terry silver x beloved #daniel larusso #amanda larusso #johnny lawrence

[gloamvonhrym]

oh I never posted all my silly phoenicis worldbuilding (birdbuilding) that I did while in fanfic writing hell

here’s a huge mostly-boring set of notes expanding and/or playing havoc with canon. I’m putting it here for future reference. maybe to link to it for funsies if I ever post this hell fic

phoenicis is a small insular nation with little social hierarchy, living on inhospitable mountains inaccessible to anyone except other birds. phoenicis has therefore evolved on a somewhat separate cultural track from everybody else in tellius. in this essay I will

economy/practical shit

implicitly in canon hawks are intensely community-oriented. again, they’re a small nation without much hierarchy, and with some preference for chaos. they all “just do what needs to be done”, paraphrasing ulki. they’re not the Strong Guys for the heck of it: they work together to protect & care for their own, and harbor a strong sense of collective duty and trust.

so they’re commies

with serenes out of the picture they’re the biggest commies in tellius

they don’t have currency, that’s some human shit. to each according to their need etc

(exactly how small and close-knit is. phoenicis? small enough that kilvas, a similarly small nation with even fewer resources, could kill everyone on the home front in basically a day when it was left undefended. so. take that for what it is)

infrastructure

minor architecture tangent: we don’t see much of phoenicis & kilvas except for the exteriors of their respective castles, which is kinda boring. obviously not everyone lives in the castles. but phoenicis DOES have some other visible infrastructure, namely the funky detail of these open doorways built into both the castle itself and the surrounding cliffs:

(I don’t know if there’s any kind of proper name for these, because obviously irl we don’t need them and they’re not a thing. I’ve been calling them sky doors, and I might have nabbed that from rebecca roanhorse’s “between earth and sky”, although idk if she in turn nabbed it from anyone else)

anyway there appears to be no actual barrier on these, at least not externally. what did I say. commies. who’s gonna rob and kill you in your own home, in your little nation-commune, where nobody except other birds can get to you, and everyone trusts everyone else to do their duty and provide for each other. (the answer is that other birds will betray you, eventually. sad!)

anyway it’s boring to stick around the castle 100% of the time. I imagine that this architectural idea continues down into the valleys, where maybe artisans can make stuff and services can be provided and bargain economy shit can happen

hawks have seemingly only been pirates for the last 20 years or so, and they do piracy for the sake of vengeance rather than need, and they can’t do that much of it because there aren’t a ton of them; and unlike kilvas, they abstain from trade with the whole rest of the continent, and are isolationist by choice. so they must be self-sufficient in basically every way. someone’s got to be making fabric, making clothes, making shoes, forging metals, creating pottery, creating music and art, administering medicine, providing education, etc, somewhere.

healthcare

tangent about medicine: phoenicis is probably the only nation in the continent that has historically had no contact with healing magic at all. the herons had innate healing magic, and everyone else either has human mages or contact with human mages. but phoenicis is on its own. their medical science is therefore more advanced by irl standards, because it has to be. they know more shit about practical mundane antitoxins, antibiotics, wound dressing, surgeries, anesthetics, and complications. it’s less pleasant than magical means, but it works.

(canonically, healing magic works on wounds and not so much things like regular illnesses, so everyone’s still got some mundane medical care; but when that’s ALL you’ve got, I think it follows that you necessarily come to understand the pure mundane science better than most other people. I bet phoenicis has bred its share of real scientists. if anyone in tellius is going to invent electricity,) (also: they might value physical strength very much, but because they’re commies, I figure they take care of their sick/disabled/injured pretty well, and most of them are at terms with the fact that not everyone can be the Strongest Guys. reyson’s complex about being too weak to live is likely more due to survivor’s guilt, helplessness to protect others/wreak revenge personally, and a post-traumatic focus on violence as a primary determinant of outcomes, rather than any actual pervasive cultural messaging that he’s useless.)

age

hawks live to some, what, 300+ years? janaff says a 24 year old should barely be speaking, but I feel like his ass was just being dramatic, similar to the way we needle real-life 18 year old adult humans about being tiny babies. there’s no reason why any creature should take 20+ years to be at least functional, that would be a huge evolutionary disadvantage. I posit that hawk adolescence is considered to last roughly age 20 to 70 (with heron adolescence lasting somewhat longer, given their longer lifespan; maybe to 80-85, such that reyson has somewhat recently hit true adulthood by the time PoR rolls around).

teenagers are stupid. hawk teenagers are REALLY stupid. chaos predilection + hormones. many of them will gleefully pick a fight over any dumb thing and be horny about it. strong with the vigor of youth, but exceptionally poor sense of their own limitations

by age 100+, their temperament evens out; but any contender for the king’s power is probably going to come from the young crowd at any given time. speaking of which,

government

there isn’t much of one. phoenicis is not big. everyone knows everyone and they’re very efficient commies so everything gets done that needs to get done. tibarn has 2 dumbass advisors. who needs a secretary of state.

the title of king goes to “the strongest” (I assume the intent is that this is determined by combat, against self-selected challengers who get to take over if they win, wakanda style). although canonically, his power is that he gets to call some shots but doesn’t really get any special privileges or reverence beyond that, which is nice because it means that if the king became super unpopular, the rest of phoenicis could probably depose him without much trouble if they wanted to. no divine rights here.

(worth noting: I think tibarn’s characterization is super different between fe9 and fe10, with RD tibarn being a lot sassier and more informal. FEH skewed towards the RD vibe, and I think they were right for that. given the hawks’ uniquely relaxed philosophy towards royalty, their insular culture, and the likelihood that they all knew tibarn by name before he ever had a title, it wouldn’t make sense for them to do a lot of formalized bowing and scraping. RD tibarn would never have unironically addressed caineghis as “o majestic king of lions” or whatever he said)

(by contrast, apparently, in japanese, reyson consistently addresses tibarn formally (and also naesala, up until naesala betrays him). I don’t speak japanese and can’t really count this as an aspect of my experience of these characters, but I wonder if the other birds also address each other in this way, or if it’s a trait peculiar to reyson.)

family

families are not nuclear. hawks raise their kids pretty communally, foremost in unstructured “flocks” (households or clusters of households). actual bio parents may or may not be closely involved

parenting is kind of hands-off overall. the concept of adult supervision falls away pretty fast. “let your kid do the stupid dangerous thing so that he learns what’s stupid and dangerous” ass culture; learning by experience is optimal, and if you’re not adequately responsible then others are less likely to be sympathetic and/or have your back in turn. hawk kids tend to gain squads quickly, and they often hang together for life ride or die

if a young hawk is neglected or entirely rejected by their home flocks - rare, but not impossible - likely someone else will pick up the slack, if not adults then some loyal friends

relevant headcanons: tibarn, ulki, and janaff have been sticking together since an early age. ulki in particular had some problems - his original family did not appreciate that he kept overhearing things he shouldn’t, and he was way too autistic to know what was meant to not be repeated, so after not too long he became a bit of a lone wolf. tibarn and janaff already knew each other - janaff’s exceptional sight didn’t cause him any similar problems; and were initially concerned with ulki’s misfit status, but his ability was a valuable bonus. they all adopted each other.

food

the main thing hawks don’t do is cook. because they mostly eat raw meat, fish, and bugs, which is very sexy of them. I imagine every household has certain members designated to hunt regularly on its behalf. add that one to the chore chart

(maybe someone starts experimenting more with cooking when herons are there, and further when phoenicis is open to international relations. for fun and community!)

gender

ok the shit I made up, let’s go off the rails

hawks are queer-normative. in that they don’t give a shit about the anatomy or superficial presentation of who sleeps with whom. most of them are equal-opportunity in that regard

they are, however, by human standards, masc-centric to a sort of absurd degree. they’re not dumb senseless brutes (see again, commies, intense intra-community trust); they’re also probably not the most emotionally available fellas

(“but wouldn’t this level of intra-community trust result in greater emotional availability, not less?” look I’m not saying they’re scared of it. but why would you cry out your feelings with some other guy when you could be killing animals or committing piracy about it.)

gender presentation: I said equal-opportunity in terms of sexuality. might be because it’s a little difficult to tell. the games appear to have no female hawk characters but in MY headcanons their presentation is just masc-centric across the board, and maybe they skew a little less sexually dimorphic in general, so you wouldn’t know anyway

most hawks are he/hims. that’s just a quirk. like discworld dwarves but with less to say about it. just a nation of butches, for fun

bad gender parity in the tellius games? how do you know janaff isn’t a he/him lesbian

hawk dress is largely unisex, earth-toned, and utilitarian. not necessarily fully unadorned - tibarn has an earring & a few other things, including a necklace (feathers; battle trophies?) - but he’s still pretty rugged. nobody is flashy.

nothing AGAINST conventionally feminine presentation per se. hawks would chafe against overly rigid norms. but the way medieval-fantasy femininity looks, they’d probably think it’s a little odd in a practical sense. but who knows. maybe leanne starts something with those she/her pronouns and flowy dresses yk.

(tangent on clothing: phoenicis isn’t really friendly for something like cotton crops, but they can have wool, because goats & sheep can live on mountains. I’m also happy to make up that there’s some kind of hardy tellius breed of mulberry-adjacent tree, which can grow at least somewhere in phoenicis, resulting in the availability of silk and maybe barkcloth. or something. idk I’m not that kind of historian.)

sexuality

hawks primarily value strength, physical + emotional. we knew this. again, doesn’t make for the greatest emotional intelligence. overt softness is not the thing. tibarn kind of sucks at the direct empathy that reyson claims all living beings share, for instance. 2 hawks in a fight would rather tussle it out than waste time talking.

this carries over. in a partner, again, attraction tends to disregard sexed anatomy, but the most valuable thing is being well-matched physically. being creatures of chaos, they trust their impulses, they like a challenge, they don’t mind a fight, and they probably don’t super want to be with someone they have to worry about hurting

(hence that kind of hot chemistry between tibarn & nailah. also janaff hits on lucia at first glance bc she’s a knight obviously she’s got some beef babeyy)

pursuant: by and large, hawks really don’t find herons very attractive. that delicate graceful peaceful affect is kind of a mystifying ideal to them. it’s like art - nice to look at, ig, but what would you actually do with it. people significantly weaker than you are for you to protect, not sleep with. tibarn is a notable exception because he is down bad for reyson

and reyson is like an alien, and tibarn is maybe a bit of a freak for being into someone so fragile. you are the very strongest guy, tf you want with a boy who breaks if you look at him wrong. what do you get out of that sir. he has complexes about this :) but I’m not going to elaborate on that because that’s what hell fic is for

“herons in phoenicis: conceptualizing the vulnerable body in hawk-normative society”, the title of my tellius gender studies thesis at the university of crimea or whatever

speaking of reyson. what does this mean for him. I need to talk about it because I’m obsessed with him. the commie stuff isn’t that much of a culture shock at least

but have some added fuckery: sole survivor, adapting to another culture, learning another language; lone chaos-sensitive empath in a sea of macho chaos-oriented dudes who aren’t very attuned to that kind of thing; also extremely physically distinctive in a way that is kind of weird at best

how do you even maintain a sense of personal identity when the baseline relevant factor is “you’re incomprehensibly different from everyone around you in every way possible”? I think reyson experiences some Gender about this. the most masculine heron is still a lily reed compared to even a fairly femme hawk

reyson’s gender, per the rest of the continent: male. reyson’s gender among hawks: heron

I imagine leanne is somewhat shielded from this once she comes round - she’s able to lean on reyson and naesala, and I figure she does, pretty heavily, considering she picks up maybe a few words of the modern tongue over the course of 3 years. she’s deliberately feminine, and also has already chosen her own terrible boyfriend [affectionate]. she’s not without her own traumas, but she’s more supported, and maybe is even in a place to kind of enjoy the confusion & attention she garners from being the sole girly-girl. I feel like she would.

and her terrible boyfriend [affectionate] is a raven, not a hawk. and by contrast, ravens are VERY attracted to herons. because herons are pretty. and ravens like shiny pretty things.

misc

I’m not quite committed enough to make constructed-culture art, but in my mind hawk visual & aural culture resembles late antique/early modern celtic styles in a few ways. insular culture yk. some book of kells bullshit.

(kinda weird, upon reflection, that phoenicis isn’t full of ancient tongue speakers, considering serenes was allegedly one of the few nations they were ever friendly with. and yet even tibarn understands very little ancient. at the very least, being the most isolated nation, it would make sense for the hawks to have their own modern dialect. but they don’t, that would have been hard for an FE game to pull off, and I’m not enough of a linguist to try. so it is what it is! maybe, even though they don’t fraternize with other nations, they’ve always kept pretty close tabs on them just in case, the necessity of spying facilitated the shift to modern. whereas serenes never did that. anyway sometimes the hawks sound a little irish in my head.)

they are also superstitious. all those lonely windswept coastal peaks, there’s a lot of howling winds, spooky nooks, weird environmental physics interacting with weather phenomena. you end up with stories about folk monsters. hawks know shit about ghosts, fairies, sirens, and banshees, and how to placate them if you piss them off. also the herons sometimes scare people to death because they wear nothing but white and drift around like specters.

I also have a lot of headcanons about herons. but they’re more feelingsy. so I’ll leave that go. I might add to this as I remember more stuff

#long post #text #ref

[theomnicode]

Love is in the air

I can't believe I didn't notice this before. Thanks twitter for waking me up.

Saitama's not extremely giddy because he sees a big clam. I mean honestly, why would he? It's just a clam, calm down. You don't even have a pot yet.

Or a big dog. Which got all happy and cuddly with him and it still didn't induce this kind of reaction.

No, he's this giddy because he sees Genos. Being cute.

Saitama has a thing for cute stuff. Genos wears a pink apron for crying out loud, he loves little kids and he likes cats and dogs and then he has a little cutesy giraffe keychain too. He even called the big chinned kid not cute at all.

This is what happens when you get struck by dose of dopamine when you see a person you love. It triggers a dopamine release into the brain.

In essence, Saitama is acting like a lovestruck fool and that's why he doesn't notice anything else important that is happening around him. Parts of the brain that regulate critical thinking, self-awareness, and rational behavior, including parts of the prefrontal cortex, get turned off when feeling love. In short, he's being bit of a dummy. He's not very articulate either, he's literally repeating himself too.

Genos is basically the best antidepressant. And the worst possible distraction, can't forget that love turns brain into mush.

More meta below the cut.

Dopamine, produced by the hypothalamus, is a particularly well-publicized player in the brain’s reward pathway – it’s released when we do things that feel good to us. In this case, these things include spending time with loved ones and having sex. High levels of dopamine and a related hormone, norepinephrine, are released during attraction. These chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and euphoric, even leading to decreased appetite and insomnia – which means you actually can be so “in love” that you can’t eat and can’t sleep.

Dopamine is the brain's reward system that Saitama's brain seems to be sorely lacking because he displays a lot of typical adhd symptoms and one of them is the poor connection between the parts of the brain that connect dopamine and reward system with emotions and regulation, prefrontal cortex and the amygdala and other parts of the brain, creating deficiency in dopamine and thus depression and other stuff.

This guy explains the neuroscience better than I do. I don't actually have any kind of clue lmfao this stuff flies above my head, I'm not smart enough to be a neuroscientist. But now that he is apparently getting his actual dopamine fix, it would seem that the connection between his brain parts has become better.

Important because he has cognitive powers yea? Brain stuff is important. We had depiction of the brain during psykos too. There's separate Lobster example from Jordan Peterson bout serotonin, low social status and reference in Orochi's lobster back body being correlated as well. One of the reasons monsters tend to posture so much I suppose.

Petting a dog also releases serotonin and dopamine, two feel-good chemicals that can improve your mood. Serotonin and dopamine levels are often low in people who suffer from depression, so having a dog can help improve symptoms in depression sufferers.

I heavily suspect this change has occured because the areas of the brain, temporal lobe, got neuron activated and stimulated on the moon, where he experienced deja vu that I've made a meta about.

Most specifically, the amygdala, which controls memory, decision making and emotional responses.

In one study, electrical stimulations of the right amygdala induced negative emotions, especially fear and sadness. In contrast, stimulation of the left amygdala was able to induce either pleasant (happiness) or unpleasant (fear, anxiety, sadness) emotions.[10] Other evidence suggests that the left amygdala plays a role in the brain's reward system.

This is why Psykorochi's form is inspired by the neuron and why divine power appears in thunderstorms and there's a lot of electric crackles going on whenever someone uses divine power.

The amygdala is also involved in the modulation of memory consolidation. Following any learning event, the long-term memory for the event is not formed instantaneously. Rather, information regarding the event is slowly assimilated into long-term (potentially lifelong) storage over time, possibly via long-term potentiation. Recent studies suggest that the amygdala regulates memory consolidation in other brain regions. Also, fear conditioning, a type of memory that is impaired following amygdala damage, is mediated in part by long-term potentiation. During the consolidation period, the memory can be modulated. In particular, it appears that emotional arousal following the learning event influences the strength of the subsequent memory for that event. Greater emotional arousal following a learning event enhances a person's retention of that event. Experiments have shown that administration of stress hormones to mice immediately after they learn something enhances their retention when they are tested two days later. In rats, DNA damage was found to increase in the amygdala immediately after exposure to stress.[47] Stress was induced by 30 minutes of restraint or by forced swimming. By seven days after exposure to these stresses, increased DNA damage was no longer detectable in the amygdala, probably because of DNA repair. Buddhist monks who do compassion meditation have been shown to modulate their amygdala, along with their temporoparietal junction and insula, during their practice.[48] In an fMRI study, more intensive insula activity was found in expert meditators than in novices.

UVA light, which is what I suspect Saitama's harmful divine power is depicted as, has the capacity to harm DNA of living organisms and there are multiple references to that it is UVA light, for instance Carnage Kabuto can see it because beetles can detect UV light.

So after a week, his amygdala had repaired itself from the harm done by his own divine power to himself, because he used far too much power at once and his temporal lobe was having a seizure.

(Ergo its not healthy)

Basically, now that it has been a week after they got let out of Metal Knight's care, after his amygdala got highly stimulated and activated by his divine power, he's starting to remember something. More than likely, the fear of Genos death is going to be resurfacing soon, but so are the emotions that he experienced on the moon for Genos.

(if I understood that correctly)

Animal studies have shown that stimulating the amygdala appears to increase both sexual and aggressive behavior. Likewise, studies using brain lesions have shown that harm to the amygdala may produce the opposite effect. Thus, it appears that this part of the brain may play a role in the display and modulation of aggression.

That giddy, euphoric excitement you feel when spending time with the person you love (or seeing them across the room, or hearing their name)? You can trace this entirely normal effect of falling in love back to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Your brain’s reward system relies on this important chemical to reinforce pleasurable behaviors, including: eating listening to music having sex seeing people you love Simply thinking about the object of your affections is enough to trigger dopamine release, making you feel excited and eager to do whatever it takes to see them. Then, when you actually do see them, your brain “rewards” you with more dopamine, which you experience as intense pleasure.

In short, Saitama is now a free real estate for emotions. And he's already responding very well to dopamine triggers.

Such as actually feeling the emotions associated with feeling love for someone when he sees Genos.

Familial love? Or will it evolve into romantic attraction? We're bout to find out, soon tm.

(Feel free to eat well, Saigenos fans)

#opm #one punch man #opm meta #saigenos #genosai #saitama #genos #dopamine #love #attraction #opm manga panels #emotions #amygdala #cute #science #neuroscience

[jkl-fff]

PLANES PILGRIM or DREAMLORD or ASTRALWALKER AU

Well ... not an Alternate Universe, per se, since the idea is post-canon. But you get what I mean. Anyway!

The basic idea is that Wirt and Greg, after the events of the series, possess and slowly develop certain powers related both to dreams and to alternate planes of existence. Those powers are: the ability to fall asleep at will, to awaken from a normal sleep at will, to enter planes of existence connected to our own (like The Unknown or The Desert or The Final Catarct or The Giant's Skull or The IKEA Eternal or The Starfield of Anorion, etc.) via their dreams, and to enter and manipulate the dreams of others.

To be clear, this is not to say everything that happened in The Unknown was All Just A Dream(TM); that trope is far too facile (and honestly boring) an interpretation for me, and also is not supported by canon. But it is undeniable, especially given how the brothers can reenter The Unknown in dreams in the comics taking place after the show, that The Unknown and the brothers' dreaming are related. Or, rather, they become related. Specifically because of the brothers passing into and then out of The Unknown via near-death experience.

People who can do this are sometimes called "Planes Pilgrims" (or "Pilgrims" for short). But also "Dreamlords" and "Astralwalkers" (also "Walkers" for short) depending on which plane they travel to. Because of their connection to "reality"--the main expanse of the fabric of space-time, of which the others planes are the fraying fringes of that fabric--they also possess the ability to act upon and cause changes to those planes. Otherwise, they tend to remain more-or-less timeless and essentially unchanging, without advancents or progress moving their world forward nor regressions or devolutions dragging it back (The Unknown, for example, if left to itself will always be vaguely and surreally like New England in the early 1800s) (The Beast is dead after the brothers' first misadventure because of their intervention, but otherwise would've always been a part of it).

So they get to explore more weird worlds and have more weird adventures! Yay! Especially as they gain more control over their powers with time, and thus more volition over when and where they'll go. Also who, if anyone, will accompany them. Sara was drawn unintentionally into The Unknown, I believe, by Wirt's desire to share some time with her. Later on, he'll be able to do such things intentionally. (Though accidents will always be a part of it, and "reality" and "surreality" can have a will of their own. It won't ever have a 100% guarantee.)

Upsides of these powers: No more insomnia ever again, and usually no more need for an alarm clock. And there are experiences in worlds beyond imagination!

Downsides: There are experiences in worlds beyond imagination, and that isn't always a pleasant or good thing. Besides, while dying in a dream has no real-world consequence, dying in one of these planes will kill your soul, thus your body will remain unresponsive in a supernatural coma until it eventually perishes. There is genuine danger to the soul, and to the body that can't reawaken as if from a normal, physical sleep.

Lighter uses of these powers: Fun times and new friends (especially since time moves differently, and weeks or months can be lived in the space of a real-world sleep). Or, when entering someone else's dreams, the ability to learn more about them and thus help their psyche. Even reawaken them from a coma.

Darker uses, since any power can be put to a dark use: Forcibly drag someone into another plane to banish them there (thus putting them into a supernatural coma). Torrment someone with nightmares, or spy on them in the most private and vulnerable of position. Good thing Greg and Wirt would never do such a thing, right? Unless ...

Anyway, just an AU idea that's been ricocheting around my head like an old screensaver.

#over the garden wall #otgw #otgw wirt #wirt #greg #alternate universe #dreamlord #astralwalker #planes pilgrim

[ganymedesclock]

I think there's a tricky place we can fall into with discourse about prejudice where the pattern goes,

"sometimes people will be angry! Demanding minorities to be sanitized and peaceful and pleasant to groups that have hurt them and in the face of behaviors that continue to hurt them is unfair!"

Which is a good thought!

But then it becomes, "it is always ethical to bully people who are More Privileged Than You!"

At which point there are three problems,

Problem one is that bully mentalities are not good, not in a moral sense as much as a practical one. Even incidents we do celebrate, like that one time a neonazi spokesperson got punched, we don't celebrate because it's a bullying action. It was a targeted act of deplatforming. That guy wasn't embarrassed because we wanted to snap his underwear and send him home crying. The punch was a means to take the platform away from a dangerous person who was using it to spread hate speech. The goal is to stop the harm. The goal is to stop the harm.

The goal is not to be a bully, because being a bully feels good and fun and cathartic and the more you encourage that impulse the more you will actively want to find people to bully, because it feels good, and being left alone with your feelings doesn't feel so good. So the categories broaden. As a means to vent anger it fails, because it makes you angrier, because you want to be angrier, because if you have more justifications there are more people to hurt. An endless buffet of people to hurt! You're better than ALL of them! (Not good for you, not good for praxis, not good to be around)

Problem two is that every human being on the planet is complicated and Privilege is a thing we can identify much more easily in vague abstract than we can in practice. Trying to split hairs and divide everything down to the finest degree to rule who outranks who on the great objective scale of privilege, creates a model where people are incentivized to strip themselves down to victim status for credibility. And most of the categories are extremely broad and affect people to very different degrees. Is my disability "disabled enough" for people? Or because I don't have physical disabilities and I'm not nonverbal, should I shut up forever, regardless of what I'm saying? Are strangers on the internet entitled to my medical history?

At that point it's basically just repeating ableism- you're only credible if you're suffering SO much you can't live without help and then we should all pity you and see you as such a victim. And that's just one example. There's a lot of ways this can go wrong.

Problem three- and the thing that inspired me to make this post- is that if you establish a narrative where the closer to a cis, white, straight, perisex, allosexual, able-bodied, english-speaking christian man in America someone is, the worse a person they inherently are, which gives ownership to all these qualities to the worst people.

I feel like I often see jokes or discussions of characters where male characters are ascribed 'stupidity' as a trait when the thing that the audience is clearly actually reacting to is that he's. nice. trustworthy. patient. And I feel like that's kind of unfair, isn't it? Are we implying any sufficiently smart man would hurt and maltreat others? That the best thing he can be is stupid? As a transmasc person myself, I don't really like the idea that if I reached a point in my transition where people saw me as a man more than anything else, they'd be afraid of me and have to decide if they think I'm too stupid to hurt them.

Men don't inherently suck, cis-heteronormativity creates a shitty box to put men in and this experience hurts them. If the hypothetical Perfectly Normative Man I listed above is the winner of the 'game' that prejudice creates (again, in America, not necessarily in every country) he wins a really bad prize. The primary nexus of misogyny, of racism, homophobia, transphobia, acephobia, ableism, prejudice against intersex people and non-christian religions and secular beliefs are directed off him, but he is made a soldier for these causes because he is never that far off the crosshairs. A cis straight man is often culturally socialized to be terrified of queerness because there is always the warning he could fail to measure up, and become rejected like those Others. Virtually always, in some way, he is already Other himself, even if he hits all the 'correct' categories he may not hit them in a way that power approves of.

This is a system that perpetuates itself through suffering, and the worst possible men, cis people, straight people, so on and so forth do not deserve to be given the right and privilege to speak for the category.

#readmore #Obvious disclaimer that like. some people are venting/using catharsis in response to #accusations like from conservative pearl clutchers #oh gays hate straight people #obviously our relationship with language is complicated and I'm not saying this to be the cops looming over your shoulder #I'm basically suggesting that it's good to ask ourselves about habits/jokes we make consistently

[katyspersonal]

How do you think Aldrich would speak? Is he rambling on philosophically like Aldia? Goofy and cryptic like Micolash? Is he flamboyant and manipulative like Shabriri?

I KNOW IT'S YOU @heraldofcrow !!!!!!!! There are only three people left that care about Aldrich: Tail does not send asks on anon, and I am literally right here, which only leaves YOU!

But yeah... He is the only of The Guys for whom we do not have any speech patterns reference, isn't he? I mostly come from the context and analysing characters' place and motivation in the story. Whereas Aldia is like Laurence and Micolash combined (affectionate), Aldrich is like Laurence and Micolash combined (derogatory)! THIS MAKES SENSE AND YOU KNOW IT OK!! He is of course less selfish than Laurence and Micolash in corruption, and past his epiphany about how the world is doomed anyways he wants to take people to the """better place""" (?) with him; be it by assimilating them into his body or be it by teaching them how to mingle with the horrors of the Deep on their own accord! I guess the 'still caring' aspect is just common Dark Souls thing, huh. BB guys just go 'fuck you plebs I'm out' fdshjsdhsd

I imagine Aldrich being giddy like Micolash, but with far more energy and genuine joy about his ramblings, however morally twisted, whereas Micolash feels completely lost in his madness and laser focus on reaching Kos, only acknowledging the Hunter because he is being hunted lol. Micolash feels very... sleepy, for a guy that spends his boss battle running, if this makes sense? Aldrich likewise emits strong excitement for what he witnessed but also wish to share it with allies and victims both. Whereas Laurence is revelling in how 'holy' and 'heroic' he is by doing things for humanity that no one else would dare, Aldrich would have less egotism about it and go more the 'don't worry guys I have a plan for us all you can trust me!' route. Less focus on how great he is and more focus on some twisted "reassurance" for everyone that everything will be alright.... that he secretly hopes would not work because people being scared and desperate is more fun for him 💀

I also have fun taking the line 'a right and proper cleric, only, he developed a habit of eating people' seriously, as in, he funny enough does try to be "good" despite what he's doing fdsdgfs That would mean not getting prideful, being generous and inviting, not holding grudges, all that. And all this comes naturally, he barely has to put an effort in it? He naturally smiles often, giggles between sentences and laughs off most of the unpleasant things, he gets smug but in a self-confident way, not in an insecure asshole way. It is just very hard to get to him, his self-esteem is as thick as his body I swear fdshdshfd Honestly, he'd be a very pleasant male mom friend (not to be confused with dad friend) in a way less insane setting? XDDD LISTEN I know it sounds weird, but you are a writer with a very strong intuition, you can probably paint the vivid picture from my (sorry) attempts at describing.. Actually, here are a few examples from when @val-of-the-north wrote his dialogue:

I absolutely love this vibe. Basically from time to time I ask Val to "talk" with me as a character that has no dialogue in canon, because Val is an actor (like, seriously) and always psyched for breathing more life into characters that never spoke in canon. Dude you should see how he depicted Sulyvahn and Alberich, I am still impressed so much, he's crazy good???? What we do is that I share the vision and very precise descriptions of what I imagine about the character (as what I literally just did above), and Val cooks according to my recipe as someone who actually knows how verbal communication works xd An autist and an actor the best team-up!!!!!!!!

I hope this helped though! (Use it to write a more unsettling shitpost skits if you want to fsdjsdfh)

#ask replies #dark souls #dark souls 3 #aldrich devourer of gods #ds3 headcanons #crow I am flattered that you liked how I made aldia and shabriri sound like themselves as you've put it #but trust me I am an absolute cretin when I do not have even minimal canon dialogue reference #and in that case I ask Val for help #I am so nonverbal naturally that if I was allowed I'd communicate in animal noises what do you want XDDDD

[herofics]

A hand to hold

I had a dream last night that left me feeling pretty damn melancholic, because it was a dream and reality can never live up to what happens in my dreams and it sucks. The melancholy feeling only lasted for a couple of hours but it’s still not very pleasant. Anyway, I decided to sort of write about it, and since Dabi is a comfort character for me, I wanted to write about him. Kind of a rambling thing tbh

He was gone again. You would be sleeping alone for the third night in a row, and you hadn’t seen him for days. You missed him more than usual for some reason and him being gone for days really wasn’t helping.

Hours later, when you were going to go to sleep, you heard someone banging on the door to your apartment.

You went to look through the peephole and saw those familiar blue eyes staring back at you. You opened the door and Dabi stumbled in. He pushed you to the side and almost collapsed on the floor, but you managed to catch him before he completely fell down. He smelled burnt and he clearly wasn’t doing too well.

“Do you want me to help you to the couch?” you asked.

He just nodded once and you supported him as he made his way to the couch.

“I’ll get the first aid kit” you sighed, but as you were about to leave, he grabbed your wrist and yanked you towards him so hard, you lost your balance.

You yelped in surprise, but Dabi caught you in his arms and pulled you to his chest. He was just holding you, without saying anything. You were basically sitting on the couch with your upper body leaning against him and him holding you tight.

“Dabi?” you asked gently, not really sure what to make of his sudden act of affection.

He was hanging his head down so you couldn’t see his face, but you placed your hand on the other side of his face and pressed your forehead against his other cheek, that was closer to you.

Dabi didn’t really know what he was doing, he just wanted to hold you. He wanted to feel your warmth and the softness of your body against him. He didn’t deserve you, somewhere deep down he knew that, but he didn’t care. He knew he was a selfish piece of shit, but he wanted to keep you all for himself, he never wanted to let anyone else have you. If he couldn’t have you, no one could.

“It’s okay, I’m here” you said, and kissed his cheek.

You could hear him exhale deeply, and his hold on you loosened a little bit.

“Will you let me go get the first aid kit? You’re missing a few staples” you noted softly.

Dabi let go of you even though it felt like he did it quite reluctantly, and you went to grab the first aid kit from the kitchen cabinet. When you came back, Dabi was laying on the couch with his eyes closed.

“You can rest, I’ll take care of you” you smiled gently, and started replacing his ripped off staples.

He didn’t even flinch when you put the new staples on his cheek and hands. You cleaned off the little blood that there was and went to put the first aid kit back where it belonged.

When you returned, Dabi was asleep. He must have been exhausted, and you were quite sure he hadn’t slept for the last few days. It was normal for him, but it definitely didn’t do him any favors.

The whole time he’d been gone, you’d had this pit of dread in your stomach. It was often like that when he was gone for a longer time when he was supposed to. He always came back to you though. He’d never failed at that, and you hoped he never would. You didn’t know what you would do if he just disappeared one day. You didn’t know what you would do if you never got any answers about what happened to him. You knew who he was, what he was, but you’d taken his hand anyway, and if it was up to you, you would always hold onto it.

You brushed his hair off his forehead and pressed a small kiss between his brows.

“I love you, more than you know” you whispered.

You couldn’t imagine your life without him.

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #dabi #bnha dabi #mha dabi #bnha scenarios #mha scenarios #mha fluff #bnha fluff #mha x reader #bnha x reader #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction

[lordoftherazzles]

Did you guys know I am completely and utterly obsessed with @tetchy-frog​’s philharmonic AU? Well you do now, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you SHOULD. Link will be provided below, but here we are.

BAGGINSHIELD, MODERN AU, INSTRUMENTS, THORIN’S STUPID...WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR???

I got bit by the urge to write a little drabble based on Froje’s AU, taking place before their comic does, kind of, in which we see Fili and Kili trying to give their hopeless uncle some advice on how to better treat Bilbo (who thinks Thorin isn’t fond of him). Honestly, we all know how it goes...but I hope you enjoy! It’s a fun AU to visit!

FROJE IS A GENIUS AND I LOVE THIS AU, THANKS.

→ check out the comic here!

The sigh that left Bilbo’s mouth was about as pleasant as nails on a chalkboard. To say that he was annoyed would be an understatement, and with each passing practice, he was cursing Gandalf’s name under his breath more and more. He loved the dulcimer, and he knew he was damn good at it, but maybe joining this ragtag company for the sake of a few dollars just wasn’t worth it. 

With rosy cheeks and a pouty lip, Bilbo was so busy focusing on his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that wretched conductor sauntering over as if this were his greatest plan since the last greatest plan.

“My dear Bilbo, you look as if someone just told you that we were skipping lunch today,” Gandalf teased, earning a harsh glare from the dulcimist. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Your jokes,” Bilbo huffed, focusing on casing his instrument once more, “and him.” Tossing his head to the side as a means to point to the other side of the room, Bilbo could feel little prickles of annoyance across his skin.

“Hm, Thorin?” Gandalf sounded genuinely perplexed as he eyed Thorin who was tuning his harp, and had Fili talking over his shoulder. Whatever it was, it looked important. “Has he done something?”

“That’s the thing. He’s done nothing, unless you count glaring constantly, or rejecting my invitations to eat during our lunch breaks, everyone else has been just fine, but he clearly has something against me.” There was Bilbo’s pout again, his eyes flashing in the conductor’s direction and feeling a bit like a kicked puppy at the rejection time and time again. “This is basically his group, and I still don’t understand why he’s here, or why I’m here.”

A hum buzzed between Gandalf’s lips as he leaned casually against one of the seats next to Bilbo. “Well, you’re the finest dulcimist on this side of the mountain, and I just so happen to find your quirky attitude perfect for this bunch. You remind me so much of your mother,” he advised, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes before sighing. “Thorin is a passionate sort, and he leads this company with an incredible level of dedication. He is a great asset to this orchestra.”

“Well, you’ve got the ass part right.”

“Don’t be so quick to judge, Bilbo Baggins. I guarantee that things are not as they seem,” Gandalf huffed in amusement before reaching over and ruffling Bilbo’s hair like he might have done when Bilbo only reached his knees in height. “In any case, you’ve given Thorin no reason to hate you, just be patient.”

And as much as Bilbo wanted to swat that hand away from his hair, he refrained and the subject was dropped, especially as one of Thorin’s nephews was passing by, yelling across the room about lunch and just how late they were for it. Bilbo’s stomach growled in response and agreement. As he finished packing up his case, he felt Kili slap a hand on his shoulder in passing.

“Afternoon, Mister Boggins!”

What had started as a verbal flub had become something of a joke, and Bilbo could only snort in amusement at the youngster’s words. “See you after lunch, Kili.” For Bilbo was not going to miss out on a meal just as Gandalf had teased.

Cheerful and inconspicuous as Kili was, his grin diminished as soon as Bilbo had his back to him. It spurred the more youthful viola player to bounce across the room towards his uncle, who looked deep in thought with Fili chattering away. “Uncle!” Kili’s sing-song voice was soft, but it alerted the two other Durinson men in the room. “I heard something about someone that I think you’ll be interested in!!”

“You shouldn’t listen to idle gossip, Kili,” Thorin warned with an exasperated sigh, now falling behind because he had both of his nephews chattering about non-orchestra related things. 

“Is it idle gossip when it comes from the subject matter’s mouth?” Kili grinned wide like a cheshire cat. With Thorin’s arched brow, that was enough of a green like for Kili to continue. “The new guy thinks you’re not fond of him.” 

“Bilbo?” Fili asked in confusion before a smirk began to dance across his lips. “You mean the fella that uncle can’t stop looking at?”

Oh, to be teased by his nephews, it brought a sudden flush to Thorin’s cheeks as he dropped his head. “What did he say?” Thorin realized quickly he shouldn’t have asked as Kili pulled up a seat and looked ready to spill the gossip like a cliché high-school girl. “And get to the point.”

“You glare, you reject his invitations to lunch, and quite frankly, I don’t think you’ve said much to him, have you?” Kili chirped.

“I’ve been busy as of late, and…I don’t glare–”

“Yes you do,” Fili interjected with a pat on his uncle’s shoulder. “Maybe it has something to do with your poor eyesight, but you most definitely glare. RBF is your enemy–”

“Resting bitch face,” Kili was quick to clarify, finding no small amount of amusement in Thorin’s head shifting from looking to the left and right at whichever nephew was talking.

Feeling a knot form in his throat, Thorin took a quick glance at where Bilbo once was, but found nothing interesting to look at. The dulcimist was nowhere to be found, which only seemed to spur laughter from both Fili and Kili. “I wasn’t…under the impression I had this…resting bitch face,” but alright. He shrugged and dropped his eyes.

“Don’t worry, you can still turn this around!” Fili encouraged.

“Fee’s right, and you’ve got the right nephews to help you out. All you have to do is follow these steps, and you’ll have Bilbo charmed right out of his pants–”

“Erm, Kee…I’d rather not think about that.”

Thorin’s throat cleared, interrupting the funny little words floating between his nephews as his face grew even hotter. “And what do you suggest?”

Kili merely shrugged. “Well, talking to him is a good place to start. Perhaps a compliment or two in passing? Tell him what you like about him, but do it in a poetic sort of way. You know, big elaborate words that fly right off the page of a romance novel. That’ll make him swoon for sure.”

“Also flowers! I know he’s fond of them based on some of the books he carries with him,” Fili interjected with a grin. “Everyone loves a secret admirer, but think outside the box. Anyone can get roses, be different!”

“Compliments…flowers…” Thorin mused, rubbing at his jaw while trying not to expose just how overwhelmed he felt. “Think outside the box…I think I can manage that.” Rising to his feet and discarding what little work he had been doing, Thorin began to rub at his temples some in thought as a headache began to brew. Perhaps it was all of those missed meals finally catching up with him?

“Where are you going?” Fili asked, half surprised that Thorin even bothered to move, or listen to them speak about Bilbo for that matter.

“To get something to eat. Break is over in an hour, and I expect everyone to be back on time…”

“And maybe you’ll catch Bilbo at the food trucks, hm?” Kili’s brows rose up and down cheekily, earning nothing more than a groan of annoyance from the older fellow as he gave them his back.

After a few moments of silence, and Thorin had departed from the practice room, Fili reached over and poked Kili’s arm. “Ten bucks says he finds some way to goof it up.”

It was a bet that Kili would be a fool to take, but…thankfully he had ten dollars to spare for the inevitable as he shook Fili’s hand. Deal. Though maybe there was a small shred of hope that his uncle wouldn’t find a way to mess it up. Highly unlikely, but it wasn’t impossible.

#the hobbit #bagginshield #thilbo #the hobbit philharmonic au #thorin oakenshield #bilbo baggins #fili #kili #modern!au #razzledrabbles #razzywrites #i'm screaming crying throwing up over this au #froje I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY

[roalinda]

Jilypad week 2023

Day 6

Questions for this Ship? (Link to Questions for Ship I found, but if anyone wants to contribute other questions - feel free to do so before the week starts!)

Who sleeps in the middle? 

Sirius. He needs his own space since being in a triad with someone other than James can be overwhelming for him who is used to only having James that close. He disappears from time to time, sometimes a day, sometimes for weeks. James keeps worrying, scared to death that Sirius maybe is fed up with their three-way relationship and had left them for good. Lily sometimes worries as well in secret but she doesn't want to fuel James' frustration and fear more by voicing it. The moment Sirius gets back? He is stuck in the middle of the bed with the most aggressive cuddlers in the world. It's their routine until the next cycle of disappearance and desperation. 

Who is the best cuddler?

James. Sharing a bed with him has two modes. Either cuddling or sex.

Who gets hurt the most?

 Physically? James. He is reckless and lacks the grace that the Black DNA has blessed Sirius with. Lily doesn't do anything rash so by default she is more immune. Emotionally?  Again James. He is confident and arrogant by nature but he is terrified of losing either Sirius or Lily one day, or losing them to each other with no place for him in the middle. He is terrified of being forgotten and not having their love one day and it hurts him so bad, the thought of being left alone. Lily and Sirius know it as well and make sure about his emotional stability in their relationship.

Who acts like the baby?

It's not even a question. 😂 of course it's spoiled baby Jamie boy. He keeps throwing a mini tantrum until Sirius pulls his leash and shuts him up, sometimes with a heated  kiss and sometimes with a cold glare.

Who teases the others the most?

Their teasing type is different. Sirius has a cruel sense of sarcasm and a brutal honesty which always makes James pout but Lily quite enjoys it and responds with her own brand of dry humour. That is one of the first things Lily and Sirius bonded upon. James' way of teasing is way more physical. Be it by tickling the other two to death or fun and games in the bedroom.

Who proposes? 

James of course. The man is a hopeless romantic, although Sirius preferred an open relationship despite James' begging insistence for marriage. That is why James is terrified of losing Sirius in a married life with Lily, despite being in an established triad. Sirius is a hurricane of feelings, over-sensitive and easy to trigger and James knows that he is walking on a knife's edge by trying to satisfy him and Lily (who are opposites in many ways) both. 

Who is the most protective?

Lily. She will set you on fire if you mess with her lovers. Call it a woman's intuition or a motherly instinct but Lily Potter is not pleasant when it comes to dealing with her family's safety.

Who is the closest to the child? (Whether it be a fur baby, scale baby, or human child.)

Sirius. Lily and James can't help but to be a bit jealous because baby Harry always wants to sit on paddy's lap, wants to be spoon fed by him, wants to play with padfoot, etc. James whines playfully about it and Lily can't help but to be amused. 

Their cat? She is basically Sirius' tail, accompanying him everywhere like a duckling. She sulks in the yard when Sirius is not home. She hates James and just tolerates Lily.

Who gives the best advice?

Neither. Sirius' tongue cuts deep with his brutal honesty, James can be too emotional and Lily too logical. They need to either solve the problem with the three of them involved or ask for someone else's advice.

Who is like a therapist?

James. He is kind and forgiving and had learned how to give love to others from early childhood. He can easily deal with messed up emotional stuff. He had dealt with Sirius' breakdown in the fifth year and Lily's hard hormonal pregnancy after all.

Who sings B and C to sleep? 

Neither. Unless you count Sirius' distracted awkward humming while he brushes his teeth a lullaby.

Is the relationship healthy?

When Lily is involved, absolutely yes. James and Sirius are too overdosed on each other though with no shame.

Do A and B have a stronger bond with each other? Or do C and B or C and A have a stronger bond? Or are A, B, and C close together [equally]?

James and Sirius' bond is absolutely stronger, no doubt. But that doesn't mean Lily is unloved. It is just different. She is loved in a softer way, not like the dangerous clash and burn of the Sirius and the Sun.

Who can be trusted to be left home alone?

Sirius. Lily's potion making experiments can blow even the Diagon alley up if left unsupervised and James has a tendency to show off the cooking skills he doesn't have.

Who cries the most?

James. He is very open in showing his emotions.

Who is the softest?

Lily. She doesn't know it but she is softer than a marshmallow, both heart and body. 

Who is the shortest?

Lily. She is easily picked up by Sirius or James for a kiss or a bridal style walk. 

Who is the tallest?

Sirius. Case closed.

Who likes cuddles the most?

James. He feels loved and comfortable by cuddling.

Last of all, who sings terribly in the shower?

James sings in the shower and Lily sings along from outside as well just to mess with Sirius. Sirius is SO done with them. 

@jmagnabo92

#jilypadweek2023 #Jilypad #Sirius black #James potter #Lily Evans Potter

[squishymochisoo]

Department of Lost Souls | Han Jisung

genre: angst, angel-ish au, some crack

pairing: han jisung x lee minho, platonic han jisung x skz

words: 2.8k

synopsis: "Welcome to the Department of Lost Souls" When Jisung first met Chan in the Department of Lost Souls, he thought his dreams had suddenly become too vivid. But suddenly finding out he had 90 days left to live, left him clueless. There's so much he wanted to do with his life.

tw: death

“Hello and welcome to the Department of Lost Souls”

“Hope you had a pleasant journey here. Please wait here while we connect you with our Finders.”

Jisung stood in front of the woman behind the counter and scratched his head in confusion. It looked like an ordinary office. You could see people in office wear bustling around the office. Some talking on the phone, one standing in front of the printer with a big stack of paper. Jisung squinted at the board behind the woman at the counter, 

‘Department of Lost Souls’

 ‘Soul counter: 901,034,941’

‘What on earth is this dream about?’

Sure Jisung has had some weird dreams in his years of living, the one about a pirate breaking into his house and surprising him with a birthday cake and a balloon, being the weirdest he can remember. But this was on another level. What does a department of lost souls even do? 

Jisung shrugged and figured since this was a dream that he’d enjoy it. And that was how a brown-haired man who didn’t look much older than him found him snacking in the pantry with a steaming cup of coffee talking to one of the workers.

“Exactly! I believe that clown wear should be considered as casual wear for clowns! I’m so glad we have the same views Yuna!” Jisung exclaimed. Chan looked at the situation confused with a tinge of amusement.

“Han Jisung?” 

“Here!” Jisung immediately stood up, unsure why he sounded so excited. 

 “Hi Jisung, my name is Chan, your Finder.  And welcome to the department of lost souls. “ Jisung moved closer to his ‘finder’ and looked around cautiously before whispering.

“And what exactly are you trying to find?” “Lost souls.”

“…Okay… Who lost their soul? I mean what kind of loser loses their soul? Ah! Is this like an insurance coverage thing for people who sold their souls to the devil or something?” Chan chuckled looking at the wide eyed boy.

“Well for starters, I am your finder. So I’d say that you’re one of those who lost their soul”

“I DIDN’T SELL MY SOUL TO THE DEVIL!” Jisung started, panic laced in. “Oh my god! Don’t tell me Changbin sold my soul to the devil! I mean we argue sure, but I wouldn’t sell his soul to the fucking DEVIL!”

“I’m gonna need to re-evaluate all my friendships once this stupid dream is over.” Jisung groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Hey, hey listen, you aren’t here because you or someone else sold your soul to the devil.” Chan guided Jisung towards a fluffy couch. “Have a seat first and I’ll explain it to you. It’ll be a lot to take in”

Jisung followed and raised his eyebrows at the brown haired man.

“I’m a finder and we find souls –“ 

“Yes I know, I’ve heard this part already –“ Chan glared at Jisung which instantly shut him up. 

“Do you see that?” Chan pointed to the board of soul counters. Jisung nodded. “That is how many souls we have found and helped.”

“Basically we help people who got lost. And give them a little push. We help to ensure that their life has been fulfilled until they pass.”

“Us finders have 90 days to help their clients to the best of their abilities to fulfil their goal. And at the end of the 90 days we part ways and they can pass in peace.” Jisung furrowed his eyebrows.

“Wait! If you’re my finder and I’m the one with the lost soul. Does this mean that I’m going to die in 90 days?!” Chan only smiled sadly at the boy.  “Take this as a push to do the things you’ve always wanted to do.”

“…”

“And what if I’ve always wanted to rob a bank?” 

||

“So this is the recruiters. The recruiting team pairs up souls with us Finders based on how well they think we would match together” Chan pointed over to the group of people hovering over their keyboards on their desks. Jisung scanned the room, it looked like any office area with desk partitions separating the colleagues from each other. Some desks were decorated with memorabilia like photos and plushies. How on earth is my dream coming up with such intricate details? I can clearly see the photos and I literally have no idea who these people are. 

“So “ Jisung pointed to himself and back to Chan “ we match well?” 

“Well we better, if not these are gonna be a tough 90 days” right the 90 days.. and i’m gone.. Wait, why am I taking this dream so seriously. 

“Jisung, I can see it on your face that you still think this is a dream.” Chan stated blankly. Jisung only stared at Chan wide-eyed. “It’s real. And even if it’s not just tell me what goals you have. If it’s fake, you will just wake up and live you life. Doesn’t hurt for you to try. “

Jisung thought about it. Chan was right. If this is fake he’d probably wake up with more conviction to achieve his goals and finish whatever he started instead of procrastinating like he does. Oh my god, it this like an epiphany so I live life to the fullest? Wait- is that even what an epiphany is?

A cough startled him out of his thoughts. Chan raised an eyebrow at him as if questioning his thoughts. 

“Well, i’ve never thought about it but what could you even do to help? Like would you just be my personal motivational speaker? Or are you like magical. But that wouldn’t be fair because technically I wouldn’t have achieved my dreams by myself? But if you’re just motivating me it doesn’t make sense! What if my wish takes years?” Jisung rambled confused with the system of the organization. 

“Then tell me something you can achieve in 90 days”

“Well.. since i’m going to die.” Jisung slightly shivered at the thought. “ I’d like to invite my friends to my place and just hang out with them and buy them things” Jisung smiled slightly at the thought. “They’ve always helped me with all my troubles and being a unknown music producer doesn’t really pay the bills.”

Chan nodded and hummed.

“There’s this guy.. “ Jisung started, unsure if he should continue. The other man only smiled, as if urging Jisung to continue. “His name is Minho, well he’s in the group of friends that I just mentioned. And I really like him – no actually never mind scrap that” Jisung vehemently shook his head at the thought. 

“I can’t.. if I’m leaving in 90 days anyways” Jisung whispered. Chan offered a light touch on his shoulder. “Anything else?” 

“I just want to finish this one song that’s been in my drafts for a year” At the mention of this Chan’s face lit up slightly. “Well I could help you with that! I loved making music in my previous life” 

Jisung stared at Chan in awe.

“That’s so cool! So you’re not like an angel but you were human?” 

“Do I look like i have a thousand eyes and wings?” Jisung snorted at the reply. “So do I just wake up from this or?”

“You’re not asleep Jisung. The door is there. “ Chan pointed to the door behind Jisung, leading the brown haired boy to it. 

“Wait you’re leaving me alone? What happen to being my personal motivational speaker?” 

“I never said that, you did.” Jisung pouted. “I’m just here to help you start the things you’ve always wanted to Jisung. But i can stay with you for the rest of the day if you wanted me to.“ At this statement, Jisung’s face lit up once more and dragged Chan through the door that lead exactly through Jisung’s front door.

“Yo what in the fuckery is this door, oh my god you ARE magic” 

| |

The two months passed with Jisung going above and beyond for all his friends. And Chan stopping in at times to just chat with Jisung, keeping him company. He knew how hard it was. He’s watching hundreds of people know about their upcoming demise and still try to live on as it nothing was wrong. Chan wished he could help Jisung. Within the two months, a bond that Chan has never felt with any of his clients formed between the two of them. There were nights when Jisung cried himself to sleep not knowing what to do or realizing he would eventually have to leave his friends – not wait his family behind. The emotional attachment Chan held for Jisung wished he could turn the tides and stop what he knew was going to happen, happen. But alas there will always be things we can’t control.

“No way! It’s the headphones I’ve been wanting to buy. Sung, how did you afford this?” Changbin exclaimed in awe staring that the gift he just unwrapped on his lap. Noises from the other side of the sofa increased as the others opened their gifts. Hyunjin getting the art paints of the highest grade that he could never have justified buying. Felix getting a new keyboard and mouse. Seungmin getting a film camera. Jeongin getting a some clothes and a bag. And finally Minho, getting a necklace and a pair of boots. Just like the elders used to say, gifting someone shoes will lead them to walking out of your life. But this time I will be the one walking out.

“Sung! This is amazing thank you! I love you!” Hyunjin shouted in excitement, throwing himself at the boy sitting on the bean bag in his living room. The others followed, pouncing on Jisung as they all thanked the boy. 

“How dd you even manage to buy all these?” Seungmin questioned. “You didn’t rob a bank or something right” Jisung interally scoffed. If only Chan would’ve let him, he wished. 

“I’ve been saving up to buy all of you guys these. You all always take care of me and I just can’t express how blessed I am to have all of you in my life.” Jeongin looked like he was going to make fun of Jisung being sappy but before he could Jisung continued. “I really love all of you. And I hope you guys will know that. Never forget that please.” Minho frowned slightly. Was something wrong? Why was Jisung talking like this. Minho couldn’t even finish his thoughts as he caught the glimmer of a tear on Jisung’s cheek. He reached out his hands to pull Jisung into his chest. 

“Hey, don’t cry Sung. We know you love us, we love you too” Jisung let out a sob and wiped his tears, squeezing this hand in between the tight gap between his face and Minho’s chest. 

“Yea, I know. Sorry guys, just feeling sentimental these days.” Jisung let out a small laugh. 

“Well, how about another game of mariokart!” Felix smiled as he patted Jisung on the back. 

“Loser buys ice cream from downstairs!” Hyunjin declared earning a whine from Jeongin. Jisung stared fondly at his friends fighting over which character to choose. Minho kissed the top of his head. 

“What was that for?” Jisung slightly looked up not wanting to leave the warmth of Minho’s arms around him. 

“Nothing” Minho whispered and shook his head, looking up to stare at the rest starting the game. 

||

Jisung slept soundly in Felix’s lap as the other stroked his hair. Jisung accidentally falling asleep after rounds of games played with the group. Felix looked up at the guys all looking at Jisung. 

“Guys..” Felix started out. “ I’m worried about Sungie” Jeongin glanced at Felix. 

“It’s just. I know he’s showing his love for us. But it feels like a goodbye somehow” Felix slightly let out a whimper at the thought. “Oh Lixie, I don’t think that’s the case. I’m sure he’s alright. And even if he is not, we will be by his side all the way” Changbin comforted the rest. 

“Yea, we know Sungie, whatever he’s going through, he’ll bounce back up in no time.” 

||

The group never let Jisung out of their sights for the most part. With all the love Jisung was giving, he was given tens times back by each of them. 

“Sungie! Look what I painted for you with the paints you got me” Jisung had been begging for a Hyunjin paitain for the longest time and the older has always declined, jokingly saying that he didn’t deserve such art when Jisung knew Hyunjin was just too shy and felt like he didn’t have enough talent to have his paintings be given as ‘gifts’ The incredible painting of Jisung’s favourite flower and a silhouette of the 7 of them by the park now hung on the wall staring at him as he fell asleep.

“Jisung! I was trying out this new cheesecake recipe! Try it” Felix would come storming into his apartment with a new recipe he tried out. Somehow, It was as if Felix knew what desserts he was craving. A first it was once a week he came in shoving a new dessert down Jisung’s throat. But recently he’s been coming in at least four times a week. Felix has always said he was swarmed with work and barely had the time to bake as it is. But somehow he was baking so much these days. If this thought had even crossed Jisung’s mind at one point of time, it did not stay long for him to have questioned it. 

“Jisung hyung, i want to go shopping, Let’s go!” Jeongin would now drag Jisung out more, shopping for clothes and accessories.  Buying matching items for the rest of the group to wear. Matching items was most of the groups’ love language. It felt as though they were connected in a way. 

“Oi Jisung let’s go to the beach. I want to take some pictures” Seungmin would bring Jisung to the most randomest places to get good pictures. It started out with going to the beach and gardens. Now they go on hikes and restaurants that nobody has heard of.  Sometimes bringing the whole group like when they went snorkelling. 

“Of course I’ll help you Sung” Changbin said when Jisung asked him if he could help with one of his songs. A song about his friends. “Is this.. about – us?” Changbin asked carefully. To which Jisung only smiled. Changbin loved the idea of sharing his love for his friends through a way where all his friends loved. Music. Jisung pouted days and nights was poured into the song – with Changbin checking in at times when Jisung got stuck. 

“I love your music Hannie. I’ll forever love whatever you write” Mino has said one night as they were watching a movie together on Jisung’s couch. Jisung has quietly asked if making music was a right decision for him. “I’ll always be your number one fan and I’ll always be the first to listen to everything you put out” That night when Jisung fell asleep, Minho took out his phone and turned on notifications for Jisung’s soundcloud. 

||

It was only a few weeks later when a notification on Minho’s phone lit up at 3:25 in the morning. 

Forever Young. 

That was what it was titled. Minho listened to the song, eyes glistening at the love he could hear from Jisung’s voice. It was a song about all seven of them together. A song that he knew Jisung had been working on with Changbin. Minho shared the link on his Instagram and sending a message to Jisung before tucking himself back in bed. 

>> SUNGIEEE YOU’RE SONG WAS AMAZING AS USUALLY!! Nightnight baby <3

It was 10:25 the next morning when Minho awoke to another notification. From soundcloud? Another song?

My Daisy 

                  I’ve been trying to write this song for years but never got to finishing it. I just didn’t know if the person I wanted to write this song about would ever hear it. There are so many things I want to share with you. So many moments i want to have with you. So many words that needs to be said. But sometimes, some words are better left unsaid. I love you with all my heart and maybe in another life we could have our happy ending we both deserve. My daisy, it’s always been you and will always and forever be you. 

A tear fell on Minho’s screen as Jisung’s soft voice echoed through the room through the speakers on his phone. The caption he wrote for this song illuminating his face from the dark, curtain-drawn room. He scrambled to text Jisung as the last note of the song ended. 

>> I love you too Sungie. 

It’s been 90 days since Jisung first met Chan. And Minho was 40 mins late to sending that message. 

Some things are better left unsaid but telling you I love you too late will always be my deepest regret.  

||

Hi, I suddenly felt the urge to write and this has been WIP (with on paragraph for a year or two) Finished it up in one sitting at its 2am now. This means it did not beta it! it was meant to be a longer fic but I'm tired

Let me know what you think and all!! hehe would appreciate all the support! <3

#stray kids #stray kids fic #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #skz #minsung #han jisung #stray kids angst #han jisung angst #lee minho #bang chan #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin

[turtleybeachin]

Burnout in the Devildom: Satan's Chapter

(re-post to share entire fic on tumblr)

Pairing: Satan x GN MC Rating: G Word Count: 1.7k Tags: Fluff, Comfort, Satan too in his head, implied romantic interest but platonic actions

You’ve been working hard in the Devildom. Classes are intense, especially when it feels like you’re having to play catch-up just to have basic understandings of things everyone else knows innately. Add to that living with seven avatars of sin who can’t go more than six hours without some sort of catastrophe, and somehow you’re always dragged into the middle of their chaos to sort things out and be their big sibling despite being the actual baby of the entire world?

You’re exhausted. The sort of exhaustion that does not just go away after a good night’s rest and an eye mask and a glass of human-world wine. The sort of exhaustion that starts sapping the life out of everything you do, everything you touch, until you feel like you’re just going through the motions and always one inconvenience away from a complete meltdown.

SATAN:

He knows that sometimes, everyone sucks. You can love someone and still absolutely be unable to stand them. 

It's new to see that on you, though. You're usually the one who is too chipper, too willing to deal with everyone's drama.

Since when were you the one with the short fuse and the If-Looks-Could-Kill glare? 

Not to say it isn't refreshingly honest of you. The fact it took you this long to admit Mammon's an idiot or to make an adorable little human-growl and slam your glass down at the dinner table when his brothers devolved into yet another argument is impressive. 

But it's also wrong. Because it isn't you. Your wrath is as suspicious and unnatural as Lucifer's humility; sure, it exists, but if he's showing it then something monumental has occurred.

So after dinner when you retreat to your room instead of joining the family movie night, he excuses himself to 'do some studying'. But it isn't the library or his room he ends up in; no, he stands outside your bedroom door and knocks twice.

And you nearly ignore it, because it's movie night, they should all be busy, and why can they never take a hint? But it's just two knocks and silence, no shouting or shuffling or cooing or growling, no jiggling of your doorknob or shouldering into the door. Which means it's one of two demons, and neither Satan nor Lucifer tend to take being ignored for an answer. 

But at least they are also the least likely to harass you, the most willing to listen and accept your request to be left alone.

Opening the door, you find Satan waiting with one of his practiced patient smiles. It shifts at the sight of you though, a little furrow digging between his brows, his narrowing eyes, the slant of his mouth tipping to the left.

"Who was it this time?" he asks in lieu of a greeting, because of course one of his brothers has done something again. He can feel your simmering frustration like a little bead in the back of his throat, tiny and hot and tightly contained.

But you shake your head at the same time as you shrug, a jumble of nobody and everybody your unspoken reply. It's not anyone else, it's just you, you try to explain. This happens sometimes, it's fine, you just don't have the energy to deal with them right now. You'd prefer to be alone. It's nothing personal, you just need some space.

He understands that, too. He insists you text him should you change your mind, and wishes you a pleasant evening, and retires to do what he'd initially lied about doing. 

He studies. He has plenty of tomes about human behavior penned by demons, humans, and even a very few penned by angels. 

It's a matter of narrowing things down based on circumstances and other behaviors:  you've been irritable, you've been shutting people out socially, your appetite has changed, your focus has diminished, you've been separated from other humans for a bit now, you haven't been getting any sunlight...

There are a few things it could be, then, but there is one unfortunate universal truth:  there is no single absolute cure for these feelings. There is no one thing to do or eat or change that will fix it, there is no magical phrase that will turn the situation around. All that can be done are little balms for the ache along the way.

It's frustrating, and yet, it's somehow inspiring. Perhaps reassuring. Is it selfish of him to think he sees a bit of himself in your struggle? Is it cruel to find you even more fascinating as he realizes that you have been warring with your own mind all this time that you've been fighting your way through the Devildom? 

Life truly isn't like books, is it? At least, not like the uplifting fantastical ones. Some battles must be fought alone, even if that derails the romantic subplot.

But you, MC, are not alone. And he has favors aplenty to call in, both here and in the human world.

By the time the weekend rolls in, you're happily taking advantage of a day with no meetings, parties, plans or meal prep scheduled by curling yourself into bed and refusing to get up at a 'decent hour'. You know it won't actually help much, but the idea of staying in bed for half a day and just dozing off and on sounds sublime.

So of course your plans are derailed by two sharp knocks at your door.

You ignore them, hoping Satan will take the hint, but the next two knocks are harder and spaced farther apart. Your door might not survive a third round. Hoping that it will get you some peace, you call out that you're still in bed.

"Perfect." Your door swings open to reveal one impeccably-dressed Avatar of Wrath with a box propped on his hip. He swivels and enters, your door shutting behind him again. 

He sets the box on a chair, toes off his shoes, and carefully drapes his jacket along the back of the seat. He looks to you on your bed, and for a moment you're not entirely sure you know what he's planning. Especially when he grabs some sort of rectangular box from his big box and approaches you.

And climbs onto your bed.

And steps over you to brush some of the vines and leaves from your wall, standing there on your mattress as he mumbles to himself. You realize it's some sort of spell, his aura flickering gently around him briefly, and then he's attaching his wood-framed rectangle to your wall above you and stepping off the bottom of your bed to take a power cord you hadn't previously noticed to a nearby outlet.

"Satan?" you finally prompt, bewildered and bemused. And then blinded as the box lights up, bright but warm.

He's smirking at you, pleased with himself and clearly quite proud of his work. "A sunlamp," he says, and then shows off his research by explaining to you (a human, who is very aware of human needs) that humans can actually be negatively impacted by lack of exposure to the sun's rays, that apparently humans are not so different from plants, that you require that specific type of light to regulate all manner of things from vitamin levels to hormones to blood flow.

And that brings him to his second thoroughly-researched gift:  a delicate little oval that has little cat ears and a little tail. Which is cute, you have to admit, but a bizarre choice of décor. 

"Ocean breeze, cedar forest, or vanilla and peppermint?" he prompts as he fusses to find a good spot on top of your shelves for his little surprise. Whichever you choose, a moment later that scent gently fills your room. The human olfactory sense is apparently very closely tied to emotions, and therefore familiar scents can invoke feelings of comfort and safety, he explains. He was not entirely sure what home might smell like for you, but he did research common human-world scent profiles and preferences and created this sampling. 

If there's a different scent you would like to make this home feel more like your home, however, please let him know. The risk of surprise is a poor choice, but don't let that discourage you from making a request.

He pauses then, standing before his box and staring into it. He also read the importance of connection, of not withdrawing as you've been doing.

What he wants to do is approach you and tell you how much he admires you, how you are the first person to make him feel seen for himself instead of as Lucifer's brother, Lucifer's other half, Lucifer's wrath, Lucifer's. He wants to tell you how being in your presence numbs his ire and warms his heart, and how the way you look at him and smile is more precious than a newborn kitten's first meow. He wants to insist you spend your day with him, let him read to you or take you out looking for cats, until you forget all your problems.

But saying those words is so hard. Lucifer's punishments might be legendary in their brutality, but nothing is as terrifying as putting his heart into your hands with the risk you may find it lacking, might give it back, might set it aside.

So he retrieves a small stack of books instead, turning to you with his practiced smile to present his offerings directly this time. One of the books is quite familiar to you-- a favorite you had told him about when he asked months ago for recommendations. Another is a classic, one of those 'everyone should read it' books that you'd never quite managed to get to reading. And one is an author you recognize only thanks to Satan, a demon author of some small fame.

"I find when reality gets tedious, it can be a comfort to slip away to another world for a time." He taps a finger on your favorite book and tips his head with a pleasant smile. An unspoken cue to start there.

The lamp will turn itself off after fifteen minutes. Should you wish to change the fragrance, tap the cat between its ears once." He picks up his empty box, slips on his shoes, and slides one arm through his jacket before he makes his way out, his work here done.

Mostly. He pauses outside your door to murmur a quick curse so as to keep his meddlesome brothers from pestering you. And as he walks away, he pulls out his D.D.D. to text you:  Let me know your thoughts as you read.

Which seems a silly thing to say, when he gave you your favorite book that you've already read. Curious, you open the cover and adjust yourself in bed, only to be stopped by an elegant note written on the blank page.

A reminder that you are never alone, even when you lock yourself away. And as you flip through the pages, you find underlined passages and notes in margins, commentary from Satan on the scene or little notes meant for you as he identifies with characters or sees you in them. 

And even as you lose yourself in a happily ever after within your imagination, you are constantly reminded that you are loved exactly as you are in this messy reality. 

#obey me satan #omswd satan #obey me satan fluff #omswd satan fluff #obey me #obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me fanfic #omswd fanfic #my writing #omswd fluff #obey me fluff