#Difficult relationships

[phyrestartr]

Those Ghosts We Cannot Burn | Dabi x M!Reader

w/c: 1k cw: past trauma, canon-typical Todoroki family, mentions of child abuse, canon-typical violence, graphic language, difficult relationships #Eventual NSFW, bl, dunno who is top/bottom yet lol, hurt/comfort, angst, drama, reader is yakuza, reader and dabi have history, sorta enemies to lovers?? Notes: AAAAH short little snippet but I wanted to post anyway!! I need to get drafts out of my system or I'll go mad lmao...they're all just clogging up my google docs...it's so bad dude OTL so many WIPs

(ALL tags): @kamote-kuneho @tr4nnie @silvern1006

1. Hello, My Past

The bodies of his victims hissed and burned with a life only fire could leave in the path of destruction. Dabi knew it well–he was made the same way, after all. But they'd go on to simply disappear, their ashes fluttering away with the Autumn breeze while he continued to conquer his fate. 

“Hey, you're the one they call ‘Dabi,’ right?” 

The man in question paused, ears perking at that shitty, monotonous tone. Hah. It pissed him off. It made his heart hum, too. Weird.

“Who's askin'?” He drawled, tucking his hands in his pockets as he turned to face you with languid steps. When he caught sight of you in that alleyway, he almost remembered something, but couldn’t find the will to dwell on it.

“I am, on behalf of Shie Hassaikai,” you said, adjusting the cuffs of your jacket. “You've been torching our men, y’know?”

Dabi smiled. “And? You want an autograph or somethin’?” 

You quirked a brow, looked him up and down, and scoffed. “You got a pen? Or, even know how to write in the first place? Don’t look the type.” 

“Oi–”

“Anyway,” you continued, “You wouldn’t be willing to stop murdering ours while our respective leaders discuss their deal, hey?” 

Dabi clicked his tongue. Annoying. “Their deal's got nothing to do with me.” 

“Guess you're not as high up as they said, then.”

“You're a real pain in the ass, y'know?” 

“It's kinda my job.”

“Maybe someone should relieve you from duty.”

A torrent of blue bloomed and crashed through the alley with the vicious hunger of a tsunami. Sparks exploded and flames lashed against stone and concrete, engulfing sky, earth, and all in-between with his show of firepower–a show he never grew tired of, one that never failed to remind him just what he lived for, what he–wait.

He squinted. What the hell?

A bright silhouette stood in the centre of the violent cleansing, wholly unmoved by the villain's flame. It wavered like a candle tousled by the night breeze, but it did not fade away with the light, nor with the wane of fire. And in the aftermath, once the alley fell quiet and dim once again, there it still stood, staring his way with a light that might rival a god's true form.

“You done?” You asked, voice crackling through a veil of blue. 

Thousands of questions and thoughts rushed through his mind–what the hell was that? Who were you? What was your quirk? Why was your fire blue, too?--but he couldn't settle on one, not long enough to spit it out, anyway. 

“I'll consider that a yes,” you decided. Your form re-materialized with a small flourish embers, and you breathed in deep. 

Dabi tried not to let on how bothered he felt. “What the hell was that quirk?” 

“Does it really matter?” You hummed, smiling. “The only thing you need to know is what you just saw–you can't get rid of me. Not with those flames of yours.”

“Hah. You sure about that, pretty boy?” His fingers twitched, eager to try his hand again. “I could crank the heat up for ya, see just how much you can handle.”

“Maybe another time,” you said, half-distracted as you checked your phone. “For now, remember what I said. Our bosses are trying to work together. Don't make this difficult.”

You turned halfway through your thought, showing Dabi your back without a care in the world. You must've really thought you couldn't be hurt by him. You must have really thought you were better than him. You must have. 

But the sirens roaring toward the alley ruined his chance at demolishing you. He could take them on, but he'd rather not deal with the headache that'd follow–heaven knows he'd get reemed by some of the other villains for taking the PR crap too far. 

Fucking prick, Dabi seethed silently. He'd have to kill you some other day. 

–

“Touya,” you called, voice quiet.

The boy next to you, the one you squished into that single bed with whenever nightmares found him, stirred. Only your voice seemed to pull him free from the lull of dreams and nightmares, oddly. 

“Yeah?” He whispered, clearing his throat, grimacing again at the scratchy stiffness to it. 

“Once the doc helps you,” you started, sounding too serious for your age, “I think we should leave.” 

“What?” Touya rubbed sleep from his eyes the best he could without tearing stitches and skin grafts apart. “What the hell is–”

Whatever else he had to say died in his throat when he caught a glimpse of you in the filtered moonlight; your calm, passive look of day had shifted come the night. Your face was kinder, exposing flickers of forbidden thoughts for none but one to see and soon forget, come the beckon of sleep. 

“What the hell's your problem?” Touya breathed. 

Your brows furrowed. “I don't want to be here,” you answered. “Have you even considered trying to go to your family? We could–” 

“I did go back. Nothing's changed.” He smiled, bitter. “Those fucking sheep abandoned me already.”

“I won't abandon you,” you promised suddenly. “We can talk to them. Together. Come on, Touya–” 

Touya laughed a pathetic, little sound. “Are you serious? They don't give a shit about me, they're not gonna give a shit about–do you think you're better than me? More special?” 

Your eyes grew round. “Wh–I never said that.” 

“But you think they'd listen to you, and not me,” he hissed, something igniting the hollow paths of his nerves and revving him back to life. “You think I'm not–”

You covered his mouth with a quick hand, and he held your wrist with a weak grip. “Shut up. You don't know what I think, so–so just shut up.”

I know what you think. And he was determined to prove you wrong, one way or another, even if he had to rip himself apart to do it--but you saw through him so easily. You always did; you always knew how to push his buttons then reset the system before he blew up.

And when you leaned in and kissed the back of your hand, the one still clasped over his mouth, he did indeed reset. Completely braindead once again, he was.

“Forget I said anything,” you huffed, turning your back to him and settling back in. 

And Touya tried to forget, even though his mind buzzed and his heart thudded against his ribs. He tried, and he tried, and he tried.

[sillyromance]

Good day everyone!

This time here is a Pred! Shockwave/Prey! Reader story. WARNING: angst, hurt/comfort, heavy atmosphere, psychological changes, difficult relationships. This work is quite dark, so why I wouldn't recommend it to kids; there is no violence, though. Inspired by Suzanne Vega's song "Undertow".

☄️Shockwave

You'll be ready.

Shockwave was sitting in his lab, his red eye focused on a bottle in front of him. It was full of liquid which would seem like a usual water for a random observer at first but, if you took a closer look, you would see pink glow coming through the thick glass. The lab sank in shadows; the only sources of light were a small lamp standing among other different devices on Shockwave's table, the named bottle - and the mech's optic which steady, unblinking gaze drilled through the viscous, somber atmosphere of the room.

He was tired.

The 'con had been working for month, but it was still too far from the goal. Of course, some problems had been already solved; of course, he had made a progress. But it wasn't enough. His fingers were slowly tapping on the smooth surface of the table as he watched the bubbles of air lazily rising up from the bottom of the bottle and noiselessly bursting when arriving at the border between the substance and the rest of the world. At least, now the liquid was stable and didn't try to blow up at any second...

He crossed his manipulators and put the head on them, continuing to stare at the result of his work; dark, heavy thoughts were running through his processor.

You found him exactly at this position. He heard you opening the door but didn't turned to greet you; although, his behaviour didn't offend you at all. Being with someone like Shockwave is hard; you have to get used to some things, especially, to lack of interaction. So, his acting told you he simply wasn't a talker that time. You sighed, then approached his workplace and climbed up on the desk using small stairs he was so nice to make for you when you started helping him. When you were on the top, you sat beside his gigantic figure, not touching (the scientist didn't like unexpected tactility) - but staying close to Shockwave, so he could reach you whenever he wanted.

At the Nemesis it was easy to lose a sense of time; there were moments you thought only the notes of experiments you and your partner did saved you from such fate. You looked at your watches - it was almost 1 a.m. (using human counting system).

Your tensed ears caught the mechanism on your wrist ticking audibly.

It could be worse...

- What's our status, doc?

You didn't remember when you started addressing him like that; he never tried to protest anyways. However, such privilege belonged only to you; one day when Knockout called him "Doc", the red mech was quite lucky to go away alive after a blast of energy aimed at his helm. The medic had been avoiding you two since then.

- Unchanged.

It was short, but the manner in which Shockwave spoke made you smile. You'd rather expected him to be cold and distant that night; so, his soft, welcoming tone became a pleasant surprise. After all, the ringing silence at this place seemed to be eating his nerve cables too.

You traced where his was looking, got up on your feet again and came to the bottle.

- May I? - Your rising arm froze as you glanced back at your lover, waiting for his permission.

He didn't make any attempts to stop you, so you took it as a "yes". The decepticon scientist had once said to you "If it's dangerous, I'll warn you; as for everything else, you're free". And it truly worked like that. You could even use the ground bridge and leave without saying anything - he wouldn't insist on you returning back. You hadn't ever done such things, though. No one even considered a possibility that Shockwave had any vulnerable spots in his spark; nevertheless such point of view was completely wrong. And keeping this in mind, you didn't go any further than a roof of the spaceship.

- Well, interesting... - You declared after some minutes of standing and peering exactingly into the transparent solution. - it's much... Safer, than previous combinations.

Shockwave listened to your voice, melodic sounds swimming in the gloomy air, turning into words. He wouldn't say it out loud, but now it was all he needed - just to hear you, to have you nearby. Well, at least, it didn't kicked in yet...

- Positive. - He responded, only because he had to. Shockwave wasn't ready for any serious conversations; his mind was totally fed up with formulas swirling there non-stop. The 'con didn't have a face to wrinkle, so he lowered his antennas in protest.

You understood.

- Uh... What's up, Mr. Twin-Brother-of-Soundwave? - His gaze slightly warmed up as you teased him; the mech knew you too well to think you really meant what you said. - This all has already boiled your microchips, hasn't it?

You walked to his lonely coral eye and stroked his digit, considering that it was enough time passed to make the first proper physical contact. The rough metal, scratchy and faded on the edges of the joints and claws, felt... familiar, nice. You struggled to figure out your emotions - none in your alliance stood out by exclusive sensitivity - although you clearly didn't want to break the touch. He neither.

Your looked up in the strawberry depth of the huge optic and leaned even closer, getting more and more courageous. He didn't back out as you embraced his short, solid neck, pressing an icy cheek against his throat and puffing right in his audio sensors.

- Thank you... - The scientist rumbled. His thunderous whisper made your body tremble.

- I got you... - You answered quietly, then granted your darling a long, but calm kiss, the only one he could agree at - when your cool, silky lips laid, motionless, upon his burning black-purple dermas, just being there...

...Long ago, left and forgotten on a dead home planet where every detail represented loss and tragedy, Shockwave learnt to live on his own. He felt betrayed... He couldn't trust anyone except himself anymore even if he wanted to. Passionate speeches about noble sacrifices for the good of all which hang on every remained wall meant nothing to him. He denied love, loyalty and friendship, and now when anyone tried to convince him he was mistaken it made the poor scientist recall in his memory the pain of Arcee's fire and the last flash of a space bridge closing before him, separating him from the whole society of other transformers for hundreds of years. None came to rescue a geek weirdo... Even Megatron preferred to not bother searching.

They actually ditched him. So, Shockwave gave himself to the only thing which could be with him no matter what - to his work. And although Megatron considered him dog-like, in fact, the scientist served to his own independent interests. ..

But in your tiny, brittle arms he was able to finally escape the world of sorrow and suffer he trapped himself into. You were different. You showed actions.

You risked your life to stay by his side...

Something shifted inside him as he heard your last phrase. A sharp, demanding pang cut through his entire being. So awful. So good.

It came. He wanted you. Right now.

Shockwave embaced you with his normal servo, pocking the sharp claws into your gentle flesh just a little, but enough to make you hiss. His affection inevitably hurt you - as well as your tenderness hurt him. You noticed how his ventilating became harsh and deep; his pulse fastened.

- I got you, boy... - Shockwave squeezed you tighter, as if you were about to run away. The mech's spark ached in agony; it was like there was a needle digging in its shining sphere, messing around and making it bleed.

A low, desperate growl came from under the desk.

- Open up for me.

He obeyed. Shockwave released you, letting you climb behind his chest plates in a gap between them and his neck. And there was it. The maw.

Nature played an ugly joke on your beloved doc - it built him so unreasonably strange and unique that it was horrible. A gun instead of a manipulator and a single eye were the least intimidating mutations. But how about a mouth in a throat? A black, salivating hole looking like a fresh wound, inviting you in with a wiggling, thin snake glossa?

Would you love it as much as any other part of this surrealistic creation?

Because he hadn't deserved less.

You let the agile tongue wrap around your ankles and hips, and get under your shirt. You were aware of what would happen next. The mech tasted his meal before devouring - nothing unusual. Unless it was revealed you were not a lifeless snack to him.

The glossa smeared you in viscous slime, hugged you till suffocation and set free, pulsating with temptation against your fragile skin. You didn't own your body anymore - it was his toy to play and savour... Fortunately, he had no teeth - or you would be cut into pieces instantly. Then the tongue easily rose you up and leisurely pulled your feet into the wet warmness of the "inner space". The muscles of Shockwave's esophagus desperately grabbed them and tagged further; you instinctively held your breath as you half-vanished in the abyss of the transformer's chassis. Crazy contrast between heat and cold made you dizzy. It was time to shut your eyes.

And the light was gone.

...........

His dry fueltank was large and innocently tender. The scientist hadn't used it much (if he used it at all). He preferred injecting energon directly into veins - such way was more effective in his opinion... In order to that, perhaps, you were the only thing ever coming here after decades. Everything was like at the first time you two did it - Shockwave's sparkbeat jumping hysterically above your head, harsh "breathing" trying to cool his overwhelmed systems down, a soothing presence of his hand caressing you through metal...

He felt broken. Again.

You snuggled into the violet alien flesh, drawing circles on its waving surface . It was much more intimate than sex. It was much more comforting than hugs. You knew he continued sitting like he did before you disappeared inside him, but now his servo stayed on his waist, grabbing it, rubbing it with repressed desperation. His abdomen, shocked by your presence, roared and churned, tiring and crushing you up - and endlessly, immensely loving you.

He loved you so much... He needed to swallow you whole to explain this feeling, to fulfill his needs. He was secretly starving for basic happiness and love all these freaking years of oblivion... So, wild, uncontrollable hunger grew in his character and completely replaced usual desires. The mech had to contain you within to finally escape the fear of you leaving him behind. And also, it was a single act Shockwave could commit to hold you so closely; to show how much you really mean to him. He trusted you to let him live. You trusted him to not dissolve you.

And you fondled, and kissed, and rubbed every inch of his growling "stomach"; it didn't take long for the organ to settle down, discovering your caring, light touch.

And time will pass until you both know this is a point of no return. People don't live forever like machines do. One day, he will let his natural instincts take over...

But you'll be ready.

[the-healing-mindset]

Look it's true. Awful people do exist. You can't continue to hold yourself accountable for the way that they treated you. Sure. Because we're good people, we want to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, we can't let some people off the hook, especially if they are continuing to cause us emotional difficulties. We must begin to realize that we did everything we possibly could have done to try to mend the connections that broke us. So much so that we gave ourselves away in the process, which broke us further. We can let ourselves off the hook for not being able to improve relationships and people that we thought we could. In some cases, those things were never our responsibility in the first place. Now that we see that they don't serve us any good, even in worrying about them, we can let go of responsibility entirely. It hurts, but we must continue to develop our own identities so that we don't have to rely on such appalling people to meet our needs.

[andersonswords]

my father called me this morning

he woke me from my sleep

we talked about school and my future

it made me feel weak.

the last time we spoke

i told him he couldn’t be had

by me in my life

even though he’s my dad.

he chose someone else

over the children he bore

i was sick of fighting

for burden’s a chore.

why should i fight

for the attention of him

when he chose someone else

on merely a whim.

[rosewind2007]

I rang my mother this morning

Someone answered, their voice clear and friendly

My heart immediately jumped, I worried it was a first responder of some kind…various possible disasters flashed in front of my mind…

I asked, “Who is that?”

It was my mother, as she said “Hahahahaha! It’s probably because I’m not drunk…”

Yes, mother—that would likely be it

[melonsharks]

au where everything is the same except mabel and dipper have been going to gravity falls every year before the show takes place since like kindergarten.

its a pretty simple premise that derives mostly from my desire to explore interpersonal relationships and the ways a place and people can change from a young child’s point of view. it doesn’t change canon that much either, admittedly, i just wanted to draw childhood friends stuff LOL. ill call it uhhhhhhhh every summer au.

[changesmadeeasy]

Feeling persistently stuck in a negative cycle of some kind? Burdened by what feels like repetitive bad luck, hard times, or difficult relationships? Karmic debt might be playing a role.

[audhd-thoughts]

I don’t think I���ve ever seen anything that summed up how I feel about my bio dad more than this

[todobakudeku122]

Prologue

The sun was setting down. The houses of the village on a cliff that was completely fine and full of life just a few hours ago, now being completely destroyed and covered in blood. The no longer breathing bodies of all sorts of mages lay along the streets. There was a feeling of death and destruction in the air. A blond, almost white-haired woman stood up from the damp ground. The blood didn’t drip, but almost flowed like a river from her side.  There was not just an ordinary wound, but a whole hole the size of a dinner plate. The woman tried to hold back the blood, but she couldn’t. She took two steps, then lost her balance and fell. A few seconds later she stood up again, leaning on her, the battered, but still intact staff. She continued walking with all her strength. Emotions overwhelmed her mind and soul, and because of this berserk state she continued to breathe. The sun completely disappeared under the sea line, and the woman was able to reach the top of the cliff. She was standing there, looking at the night water, probably understanding that it would be the last thing she would see. As the emotions started to overwhelm her even more, the body began to act on its own, without reason or common sense. She swung her staff and hit the ground with all her might. The staff bounce back and kinda fly away from her. The woman immediately fell down on the ground, she couldn't move anymore, and her last chance to somehow survive was used. She closed her eyes and took her last breath. The blood kept going down out of her body. And then suddenly, a ribbon of green glowing magic started to grow out of the ground. It made its full way out and then as fast as it could fell back to the ground. A few steps were heard, the black hair blew up in the wind and the reason of the destruction broke into a sly grin, and walked away loudly and pounding his feet on the ground.

Read the whole thing on www.tumblr.com/obscurity-book

[obscurity-book]

Chapter 1: Time

Tides

The school bell rings. Teens and kids ran outside and started to run home. Sky was burning red color. It was Lexus's favorite time. When everything calmed down outside, he left the school. As he reached the school gates everyone had already left. Except for a group of 3 people that bombed into him. He apologized and just continued to go. It was lonely. He was just looking at the ground, but then decided to check his phone. Nothing much interesting was there. He also checked his blog, they finally started to get more followers, but it wasn't so interesting as well. He turned on the corner and was about to continue walking, but noticed two shadows blocking the way. Perfectly knowing what was about to happen, he hid his phone and looked up.

Two guys were waiting for him. He wanted to start backing up, but it didn't work. They looked at each other and started to laugh.

– Hey, Lexus. What's in your bag? – one of them started to get closer to him. He couldn't really say anything to them. They were just school bullies. He knew that perfectly. So, he just needed to ignore them. The other one just grabbed the bag without saying anything

– Please. Stop… – he quietly asked, still trying to get away. The guys just laughed at him.

– Why? I will just check it. Some kinda freak like him would be carrying something dangerous in there! – Lexus wanted to say something against it. But he felt a hard hit to the cheek reverberate with pain.

It was already evening. The moon and stars had already shown up and were lighting up the night sky. Lexus walked in his room. He threw his now beaten and torn bag in some place on his bed. He didn't look the best - bloody stains and little wounds decorated his face. With a big sigh he sat at his table. He was not in the mood for playing or watching anything. He just opened a site with supernatural stuff and started to scroll through it. He was falling asleep, but tried staying awake. After 5 minutes he actually fell asleep. And suddenly out of the keyboard started leaking some kinda ribbon of bright green light. It wrapped around his wrists and fingers and squeezed.

Lexus opened his eyes. He looked around - everything was pure white. No shadows around, no walls or ceiling, just the whole place one color. But it wasn't the eye burning kind. It was nice and kinda calming. But no sounds or noises were heard. It was weird. Lexus had nothing much to do, so just start walking. There was nothing on his way. But then suddenly, he saw a figure of a person far away. They were pretty tall, but they didn't look so grown up. The person looked at him and ran towards him. Lexus already understood who that person was

.

– LEXUUUUS!!! HEEERE! HII! – person yelled. Lexus smiled a little bit. He was calmly going towards his friend. When they finally were really close to each other he could see his friend very well. Blonde hair. Green eyes. Cheerful smile.

– Hey Alden. – he waved at him. Alden hugged him and started to smile really wide. 

– How are you doing, man?! This dream is awesome! And it's so cool that I'm dreaming about you and not some kinda monsters!! – he laughed. Lexus got a little bit surprised.

– I thought, I was dreaming about you. – he shrugged. Alden opened his mouth from surprise and made a really funny face – What? – Lexus wondered with a smile.

– Dude! What if it's one of those “mutual dreams”?! – he laid out his theory. Lexus didn't answer, but he didn't need to. – let's after we will wake up ask each other that?! Deal?? – they shake hands.

– So, how is everything going? – Alden calmed down and fixedly looked at him, at his wounds to be exact. Lexus felt a bit of pressure and squeezed his other arm. It's his bad habit. Alden of course noticed it. And softly smiled.

– Oh! Right! Remember Kojiku? From the 3rd grade? So she said that I look cool today! I bet she has a crush on me! – he laughed. But, it did help Lexus, he smiled. He knew that Kojiku doesn't have a crush on Alden. He says since that every 3rd grade and everyone knew that Alden never had a girlfriend before, even though he is a really popular kid. Of course, Lexus didn't even want to think about who could fall for him. No one except for Alden even talks to him. At least not in the “good” way. Embarrassing silence appeared. Or they both were just talking mentally. Never know. But after a little bit Alden just grabbed Lexus’s hand.

– Let's just walk? – he smiled and they both started to walk around the place. There was nothing so interesting there. But they were just enjoying each other. It’s unknown how much time they hung out in there, periodically interrupting the silence with small talks and tiny conversations. Full silence was really nice for Lexus’s ears, the soft white color was calming him down, but best friend was making this dream to be one of only best things for today. The only weird thing was that his and Alden’s hands were green. And not just the skin. It seemed like it was wrapped in something. It was glowing, but not really bright, plus it wasn't ruining the mood of this charming place, so he didn't pay much attention to it. Alden stopped for a second and softly touched one of Lexus's wounds on his face. He was touching it so carefully, so just not to hurt him. But then hugged him and carefully kissed his forehead.

– At least, you don't have any temperature – he said. Lexus nodded and smiled a bit.

– Lexus. Look at my hands! – he showed him that green glowing on hands.

– Yea. I get it. I have it too. – Lexus showed him his. Alden was staring at it amazed. 

– Oh. You have more of it, it's even on your neck. – he said and suddenly Lexus’s neck started to burn. It was really painful. The last thing he remembered before knockout was how Alden ran to him to catch, while he was falling.

As his eyes opened, it saw burning daylight. Casting a curious gaze around, a peculiar feeling crept in – things were off. Slowly, the realization that this wasn't his familiar bed. Anxiously, he scanned the surroundings, slowly understanding that he found himself in an entirely different place. It turned out to be an aged, wooden house, with holes in the walls and roof. He started to panic. He looked at the floor. Alden was lying there. He was halfway awake. He slowly rubbed his eyes and looked at Lexus.

– Oh… Aaah.. Good morning, man. – he said, yawning. Then he blinked a few times. And then his eyes went wide open

– Ah! What the f!...

– Sh.. – Lexus put his finger on his lips. Alden shut his mouth. “They were kidnapped" - that was the first idea that Lexus got. He carefully got up, but Alden did it faster than him. They started to look around the house. Found out that they were alone here. This house had only two rooms. 

– so… There is no kidnapper here… – he sighed. He was actually really happy about it, but still was scared.

– You think we were kidnapped? – Alden asked, but he already realized that. Lexus shrugged, because he wasn't sure.

– it's the most logical reason… We both got here somehow… – he answered. They sat on the floor. Even though no one was here, somehow they appeared here. Together.

– I'm gonna check outside. – Alden quickly got up and slowly opened the old front door. Lexus carefully followed him. As they opened the door they saw a big wonderful forest and a few other wooden cracked houses. They were really old as well. The whole strange place was fully abandoned a long time ago for sure. It was really quiet and even the forest birds didn't sing. It was so odd. They both were still sleepy and they couldn't really understand the whole weird situation that was going on right now. They just slowly got back to the house and uncomprehendingly sat down on a something-like old sofa.

– And.. What now?.. – Alden slowly asked, kinda warmly hugging Lexus. Lexus timidly rubbed his arm and squeezed it a little bit. He breathed out calmly and tried to think, it took him some time.

– Well… We need to look for food. There is a kitchen here and maybe in the other houses there might be some food. – the both got up quickly and rushed to look for some food around the wooden house. After some amount of time, exactly about 20-30 minutes, they got back to the old sofa.

– Nothing… – they both sighed out. For Alden that suddenly appeared really funny and he started to laugh so much. Lexus just smiled, but too poorly to call it a smile. He needed to think more, he needed time for it. Then when he realized what the next plan was, he was waiting for Alden to calm down from laughing. When that finally happened he sighed with that little smile:

– Are you done? – Alden only nodded. – So. Now. We have to get to the closest town or city. It's only dawn right now, so we need to get there by evening… We will have to go straight to the direction of sunset. Well, to be more exact, where it will be… – he slowly continued. Alden nodded quickly, like he perfectly understood everything, but of course, he did not.

– We need to find some tools… – this Alden understood and went around to find stuff. After they did get something, not so useful, but not so useless, and, they left the house. They hurry up to the forest. It was really green, really unusual for them. They were going west. At least they thought so. They were still going. The plan was to leave the forest by going only one direction. The leaves and the tops of the trees were kinda hiding the sun, so they couldn't really orientate there. It's been an hour. Two. Four. It was already getting darker, and they still didn't leave the forest. Both of them were tired. Even though Alden visits the gym almost every day, he got tired. And Lexus doesn't leave his house for very long and he doesn't have much of a strong body, so he was the first one to get tired. They were doing a lot of stops. But not for long. After 5 or 10 minutes they would continue going fast.

Sun already hid behind the horizon line. All the stars showed up. It was for sure past 10 pm, when they started a bit after dawn, around 7 am. Lexus was about to tell Alden to stop and use some tools they have to build something like a hut, as he saw a light coming through the trees and heard some sounds playing. They looked at each other and ran towards it. The green trees started to thin out more and more with every step and after 3 minutes of fast running they exited the giant forest and got to a village. Some music was playing and the villagers were dancing and celebrating something. They saw it without even coming close. But something was odd. Again. The same really old wooden houses. Poor looking people. And the music. Everything looked like it was from a movie. A fantasy movie. Everything was looking like a few centuries back. Alden grabbed Lexus's hand and they started to walk towards the village. But they couldn't make more than a few steps, because right after a tall, strongly built man blocked their way. He moved a sword up and threateningly took a step forward. They froze in fear.

– Who are you?! – the man asked loudly. They were really scared. They slowly moved their hands up. Really? A sword? Maybe it's a village, but a sword? Lexus was too scared to even breathe. But Alden opened his mouth.

– I’m sorry! We were kidnapped! We made it here all the way from over there! – he pointed the way. Lexus looked up. The north star. He was so wrong. They were this whole time going to the north, and not the west. 

– How should I believe you? You are probably spies! – he moved his sword down and started to speak more quietly. Alden sighed out and Lexus was trying to calm himself down as well.

– We are sorry. We don't have anything with us. Except this. – he showed him an old stick and sort of a shovel that they called “tools”. The man looked at it assessingly. After that put his sword in the sheath.

– You don't really look like spies… You are saying, kids, that you were kidnapped? – he slowly asked with more worry. They both nodded. They were really exhausted. The man came closer to them and tried to examine them. It was dark, so he couldn't really do it.

– Hey, let's go, just follow me, but quiet! – he quickly waved his hand as if calling them. They looked at each other once again and started to carefully follow him and they actually had no choice, or he could probably kill them. Music was playing pretty loud and people were dancing, so they went without being noticed at all. The man led them to a house. It looked pretty big, but not really. He opened the door and entered it. Because inside the light was better, they finally saw his full appearance - as they saw before he was tall and strong build, he had brown, neck-length hair and surprisingly kind eyes. He looked mid 40s. He took his sword off and some armor he had on. And smiled at Lexus and Alden.

– So. My wife made dinner, are you two hungry? – they both nodded. The man nodded back and gave them 2 blankets to warm up. They came to the dinner room and they all sat at the table.

– So. My name is Otoko! – The man smiled and started to wait for their names.

– My name is Alden and he’s Lexus! Nice to meet you! – Alden cheerfully answered. Otoko got up from the table and yelled at the kitchen – Dear! My love! Can you please bring me and my two guests the precious soup you made! – some disgruntled woman’s voice came from the kitchen and then a pretty, curvy, but angry looking woman in the room. She put 3 bowls of soup on the table. She annoyed looked at Otoko

– If those will be spies again!... I don't know what I'm gonna do with you! – Otoko softly smiled and nodded – Thank you, my love! – she annoyed rolled her eyes and left the room. Otoko turned back to the boys and moved the bowls with the food to them.

– So. Tell me what happened? – he asked, worried. Alden wanted to answer, but Lexus timidly opened his mouth, so Alden immediately shut up.

– Well… I went home and just fell asleep… And then just woke up in a house in that forest… – he looked at Alden as saying that he should say his part of the story. Alden coughed a bit.

– Oh. Same thing. I came home, played some games and just fell asleep on my bed. Nothing unusual – he said. Otoko started to think about it.

– And so you just woke up in that house and that's it? Nothing suspicious? – he asked again. He didn't mean to be rude or anything, he was just trying to get more information. Lexus got quiet for a second

– Well… – he finished and Alden started to talk. He was talking in a surprised tone, more like he just realized something or remembered about something – Wait! Something odd did happen! – he turned to Lexus and looked seriously in his eyes. – Do you remember the dream? – Lexus nodded. Of course he did remember.

– There was everything white and me and you were talking and walking, right? – Alden was making sure they talked about the same thing and Lexus nodded a few more times. – And there was a green glowing thing on our hands. Right?! – Lexus nodded one more time. Otoko was surprised to watch this whole thing.. He didn't really understand what it was, but on the words “green glowing thing”, he thought about something.

– Hey. So you two had the same dream, and there was something green? – he re-asked them. They both fastly nodded. – how did it look exactly? Like your hands were just green?

– Not really… It was something like a ribbon and it was wrapping our hands. – Lexus tried to explain it and kind of show it by hands, but it didn't really work. Otoko was listening really carefully. He nodded to let them know that he understood them and thought about it.

– Hm, let me think… Oh! Eat up! You are probably hungry! – he smiled and Alden started to eat really fast, not chewing food much. Lexus put his spoon in the bowl and started to slowly stir the soup.

– Green… Glowing… Dream… Oh wait… Maybe… Oh god, maybe that's magic… – he said it, Alden laughed at the joke. Otoko looked at him a bit surprised and confused, because he wasn't joking.

– Oh, right, you guys like 16 right? – Alden nodded. – oh, then you might not know about magic. So… You know how war is going on right now? So… – he was about to continue, because it was more of a fact than a question.

– Huh?! What?! – Alden exclaimed. Otoko looked surprised at him. Lexus was shocked by Otoko’s words. – War? What war?! Nothing like that was going on!

– Hey. Kids, what are you so surprised about?! – he asked them. They looked at each other.

– Well… There is no war supposed to go on right… – Lexus finally said. He thought a little bit about this whole situation. – Right now we are in Yuiitsukuni, right? – he asked carefully. He thought if they were actually kidnapped, they might be in a different country. So he had to ask about it.

– What? No, we are in Ichikuni! – Otoko answered. Alden got even more confused, but Lexus - scared. “Ichikuni”? But it didn't exist. The country doesn't exist anymore. He lost his ability to talk. He tried to say something, but it didn't work. He got quiet to put everything together and ask the right and only question.

– What… Year is it?... – he asked while breathing out. Alden looked at him shocked and kind of scared. Otoko looked at him confused.

– It’s 1250?... – he slowly answered, being a bit worried about the question. Alden started to cough. Lexus looked at him with empty eyes.

– Well… And we were in 2015… – he slowly said. Now Otoko looked at him in shock. Dead silence reigned and only in the kitchen could you hear the noise that Otoko’s wife made. 

– Godness… What the hell?.. – Alden said, interrupting the silence. Otoko got up quickly. Lexus looked at him confused and curious, he still didn't really get the problem. Otoko left the room and in a few minutes he came with another man. The man looked pretty young, he wasn't really tall and his hair was light brown. He sat down at the table.

– Um. Hello. So you are two guys, “from future” – Lexus and Alden, both, unconfidently nodded. The man nodded back.

– So… You probably heard about magic? Right? – his voice was pretty soft and warm.

– Well, we have heard about it, but in our time… It's like… fiction!.. – Alden answered, but on the part with “our time”, he wasn't so comfortable. The man nodded and was about to say something, but Otoko started to talk first 

– This is my friend Hiroshi. He knows a lot about magic and I'm sure that's the reason why you are here. – Otoko said, pointing at the man. He laughed a bit.

– Thank you, Otoko, but yea.. So.. You said something about the “green glowing thing”? Please tell me about it exactly. – he asked. Alden rubbed his neck and was about to repeat Lexus’s explanation, but Lexus started to talk first

– Well… It was lime green, but soft… And like… Glowing. – he timidly answered. Hiroshi thought about it for a second.

– Oh, I think… The bright blue is time magic and yellow is movement or traveling…  So soft lime green would make… Time traveling. – he softly said and smiled. Alden and Lexus just looked at each other once again. They kinda already calmed down, but just to think about it was painful. It was hard to believe, but with everything Lexus saw he would say that it's true. The music, the look and the whole vibe of this place seemed oldish.

– So you probably don’t really know what is going on right now. – Alden continued to eat and with Otoko quietly listened to Lexus’s and Hiroshi’s conversation. – So. Right now there is a war between Ichikuni and Nikuni. If you have history classes you might know about it. – Hiroshi said. Lexus nodded because he actually did know about that war. It was exactly from 1237 to 1250. So they got to the end of it. He wasn't going to tell them that, if it actually past he is going to ruin it? Or not? He wasn't sure. He didn't know what to do at all. Then he remembered what he forgot to ask

– So… Um… Magic… – Lexus started timidly. Hiroshi laughed a bit.

– For you it might sound really funny. So yea, we actually do have it and people who use it are mages. Before war everyone knew about them, but this generation doesn't really. Well, we have only one mage village and because they were scared that magic will be used in the war, they hid. They moved the whole village and put a barrier around it, so now no one except the mages know where is it. – Hiroshi shook his head and looked at Lexus worried – well… They said when the war is over they will be back. But… As i see… – he sighed. Lexus felt a bit bad, but there was nothing he could really do. He sympathetically nodded. 

– Anyways. So mages are the reason why you are here. – Hiroshi said.

– Uh! I heard everything i needed to hear! That's it! I'm!.. – Otoko was about to say something, but there was a loud knock on the door. He surprised looked at the direction of the door, then apologised and went to open it. They couldn't see him, because the door was in a hallway, but they could hear him very well. 

– Oh, hey guys. You need something? – they heard Otoko's voice. And right after they heard other two men voices

– Hey. Otoko. People say that you brought someone over again. And everyone’s worried that you brought spies again. – they both said. After that they heard Otoko's awkward laugh. – No joke. Otoko. – they could hear that silence.

– I know, I know. I’ll be careful. – he said with a sad smile. The door shutted and he came back. Alden and Hiroshi were eating, Lexus was just moving a spoon along the bowl and was listening to everything that just happened. Otoko sat back down with a little sigh.

– Um, Otoko, were you saying something, my dear – Hiroshi reminded him.

– Oh right! Um, so! I'm going to lead you to the mage village! – he hit the table with his fist. Alden and Lexus looked at him surprised, but Hiroshi even more.

– You sure?! And what about your wife and kids? – he looked really worried. Otoko just laughed – Don't worry! They are strong people! And these kids need help! I can't sit here without an adventure! – he smiled and then put his hand on Hiroshi’s head.

– Hey… Don't you… – he was saying something, but Otoko started to mess up his hair by rubbing them a lot. He looked like he was having a fun time. Alden laughed because of that and got up to join him.

– Ah! Traitor! I'm eating, you guys! – he started to laugh as well. Lexus was looking at this, kinda enjoying the sight. Everything seemed so nice. And he felt much better here than at home. But it didn't change, that he needed to come back. To his mom. But something was still odd. The place seemed so well known, but also something sad was about it. He shook his head to get those thoughts away. Alden and Otoko stopped bothering Hiroshi with his hair and started to just talk about everything. Alden told them everything that happened in the forest, Hiroshi was asking about the future, but only about everyday stuff. Otoko was keeping up the conversation and asking about people and how they will act in the future. After they finished eating Otoko got up.

– Ok-ok! Haha, it's late already, you two go take a bath! – he showed them where the bathroom is. Lexus and Alden got into it and started to relax in hot water.

– Ah… It was so fun! – Alden said, closing his eyes and laying down in the bath. Lexus nodded and started to get comfortable near him. Alden hugged him.

– Don't worry, we’re gonna be home soon. Heh, we gotta write about this in our blog, ok? – he asked. Lexus nodded once more.

– It still feels like a dream… – he slowly said. This time Alden nodded. After half an hour they were shown to their bedroom, which was a guest room, and Otoko gave them some of his pajamas. They were too big for both of them. They laid down on the bed and fell asleep cuddling.

[molinaesque]

You know why these boys brought you in? 'Cause I f*cked up a poor, defenseless gang-affiliated organ dealership? Yep. Mm.

[deadpoets]

GILMORE GIRLS 1.06 | Rory's Birthday Parties

[andersonswords]

you’ll never see this, but my therapist recommended getting my thoughts out. if you are seeing this

fuck you

[bethanydelleman]

I really want to talk about this paragraph from the Pride & Prejudice epilogue:

Lady Catherine was extremely indignant on the marriage of her nephew; and as she gave way to all the genuine frankness of her character, in her reply to the letter which announced its arrangement, she sent him language so very abusive, especially of Elizabeth, that for some time all intercourse was at an end. But at length, by Elizabeth’s persuasion, he was prevailed on to overlook the offence, and seek a reconciliation; and, after a little further resistance on the part of his aunt, her resentment gave way, either to her affection for him, or her curiosity to see how his wife conducted herself; and she condescended to wait on them at Pemberley, in spite of that pollution which its woods had received, not merely from the presence of such a mistress, but the visits of her uncle and aunt from the city.

I feel like a lot is made of women's unpaid labour in some domains (childcare, nursing the sick, cleaning etc) but we don't spend enough time talking about how maintaining social connections, with family and society, is also usually the work of women. This may be for many reasons, because it's not supposed to be work but pleasure, or because it's written off as just women gossiping, but it is work and it takes time and energy. It's also vitally important, maintaining social connections is what keeps you alive when times get tough but also what makes life worth living. These relationships will die without maintenance. The person writing letters, arranging holiday get-togethers, and smoothing over arguments is usually female.

Some readers hate this part, they want Elizabeth to Girlboss all over Lady Catherine and her snobby ways, but what does that accomplish? This is part of Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy's job, to do what she can to maintain family harmony. For better or worse, Lady Catherine is her husband's aunt, and burning a bridge is a big deal. I admire Elizabeth for putting aside her own feelings and moving towards reconciliation.

[zaana]

Hunter chatting up Crosshair during a break, one of his dumb jokes even gets the man to smile for a second

[canisalbus]

Hey so sorry if this somehow feels uncomfortable, but I'd really like to thank you for being like, very compassionate in how you portray Machete. I don't know why I feel so strongly about this but as someone who has been dealing with the fallout of religious trauma and other such problems, it really affected my ability to deal with sexuality and the overwhelming almost instinctual self-hating shame that comes with that. It's something I'm so absolutely ashamed of talking about even with close friends, it actually makes me a bit emotional to see that someone, who might or might have not been through the same, understands how it's like. It's one of the great things about art. Anyway sorry for the long ask, you're great, keep being so strong.

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