#THE BOULDER IS CONFLICTED

[hopecomesbacktolife]

not me reading this definitely m/f romance novel but reading heavily into every interaction between the main character and her best friend…

[deadinarussianelevator]

On one hand I'm like STEFAN WORK OUT YOUR ISSUES SO YOU CAN BE WITH ELANA

and on the other hand I'm like GIRL YOU GOTTA JUST MOVE ON and LOVE DAMON

[nebula1734]

Read this in the voice of The Boulder from AtLA.

[misty-moth]

My queue is almost dried up, apart from a bunch of scheduled things 😮‍💨 part of me likes that I’m letting it calm down, but the other part of me knows there has to be so much more good art hiding in the past 👀

[degradedkai]

i mean- if you want more angst... (casually adds referenced character death tag)

OOOOOOH

[whatwooshkai]

We got 11 for the ask game yet ?

"You're kidding me," Heatwave says.

Boulder, Blades and Chase all shake their helms.

Heatwave's eyebrows go up, disappearing past the brim of his helmet. "So... do just not have mechs who care about you...?"

The three of them exchange a glance. Boulder's shoulders lift up to their audials, almost embarrassed.

They really don't know much about Heatwave was raised, but his corner of the room is the only one that actually looks lived in. The rest of them had only brought the absolute necessities (or in Boulder's case, everything they owned- which was a few smuggled nanite patches and a jar of polish Rubble had given them for their forging day last vorn), so besides the calendar on Chase's wall, their berths are barren.

"Well-" Chase starts, at the same time Blades says, "No." Boulder doesn't respond, because the answer is yes, but not the yes that Heatwave wants to hear.

"Oh." Heatwave's mouth pulls into a frown, tugging at the scars on his cheek. "I guess we'll have to fix that."

That startles a harsh, humorless laugh out of Blades. "Oh, please, Heatwave. Fix my upbringing-"

"Not what I meant," Heatwave interrupts, crossing his arms close to his chassis. "I meant like. The pillows and the blankets. I can fix that."

"No, you can't," Chase says, crossing his own arms as his finials pin back and his doorwings droop. "I have seen the balance of your credit chip. You will not be able to afford anything in Iacon."

Heatwave gasps in affront. "I so can-"

"Look, I have an allowance, I can afford my own stuff-" Blades starts, clearly trying to avoid a fight.

"I also have more shanix than you," Chase tells Heatwave. "I can also purchase my own items."

"That's not the point," Heatwave growls, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "I wanna do something nice for you guys! Besides, there's definitely places in Iacon where I can afford pillows and blankets. You-" he points accusingly at Chase, "-just don't know where to look!"

Chase's doorwings shoot up, offended. "You-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Boulder places themselves in between the two before the argument can escalate even further. "Here's an idea. All go together to one of Heatwave's stores and we pool our shanix to buy what we want. Does that sound good?"

Blades grabs Boulder's arm and holds tight, pressing against them in a silent Thank you!. Heatwave and Chase both stare at them balefully, before conceding and letting Boulder push them apart.

"Thank you," they say, then turn to Heatwave. "So where are these affordable shops?"

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

Boulder was raised not to want material things. Boulder was raised believing they weren't worth material things.

They would've been fine with one pillow and one blanket. Maybe even just the blanket. But their roommates are truly a force to be reckoned with-

-which is why the four of them are stumbling through the streets of Iacon on the way home, arms piled so high with soft things that they can barely see over them. Chase has already run into Blades three times and Heatwave has almost been hit by a transport.

It should feel bad. Boulder should feel guilty for giving into temptation and taking more than they're worth.

But somehow- somehow it feels like this is what they're worth. That they deserve to have friends and nice things and a soft berth to recharge in.

Rubble would be happy for me, they assure themselves.

I can be happy for me too.

[beallofthem]

Dress is super cute, fits me like a glove, and is. Very low cut. 😂

Thinking about buying a cute but expensive dress and taking myself (or maybe my sister) on a museum date.

[rabid-transcendentalist]

[starrstained]

i won’t justify the way i live my life.

❝ you shouldn't fuckin' have to . ❞ and here the mask slips, veil lifted from pretty smiles and flowery words. AT THE END OF IT ALL, he's in her head— lungs constricted and throat raw in anticipation that sofia might say something she isn't supposed to hear. ❝ least of all to me , ❞ she adds softly, fingers reaching to tuck a strand of onyx hair behind ear. ❝ screw everyone else. do what you want. life's too short to be what someone else wants you to be. ❞ to do what someone else wants you to do. guilt flourishes at the thought, bitten down behind a wince. she deserves better than this .

EMO PHASE LYRICS , @s0fias . ♡

[marching-weirdo]

yall haru deserved better

[gennianydots]

Critical Role’s Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) player characters as Avatar the Last Airbender characters:

Vex: Earth Kingdom royalty (like Toph? Maybe?) ex-Kyoshi Warrior?

Vax: Non-bender royalty, trained in daggers, ex-Dai Li

Percy: Teo’s dad/Metal bender?

Pike: Water Tribe (healing specialty)

Keyleth: Earth Kingdom

Scanlan: non-bender, part of the Ember Island Players

Grog: The Boulder

[xmascritter]

Idk why, but I thought you were about to say it would be Hama, and I was losing it at the idea that she would use the avatar state to then control all the rats in a 3 mile radius during her escape plan.

“If Aang hadn’t run away Katara would be the avatar” “If Aang hadn’t been frozen in ice Yue would’ve been the avatar” wrong. Aang dies with the rest of the air nomads and the Fire Nation does everything to invade the northern and southern water tribes but has no luck until some 16 years later when Fire Lord Azulon gets jumped by some random swamp girl covered in mud and vines and she proceeds to absolutely whallop him. She is never heard from again by any government entity but the people of the earth kingdom tell stories about the wandering hag who will yell at spirits while eating bugs for years to come. She is then reincarnated as The Boulder

[transhetanybodys]

I'm probably gonna write a Warriors Cats West Side Story AU but I'm not sure what angle to approach it from yet. There's a few good options, namely the Thunderclan/Riverclan Sunningrocks conflict, Lionclan/Bloodclan (didn't Scourge give them three days to think about his threat? that's good because that aligns pretty well with West Side Story taking place over about a day and a half. Bloodclan also matches the urban aesthetic of West Side Story well), and Shadowclan/kittypets. I dunno I'll probably do the third one, it's sounding the best now that I'm typing all this out

[moonisthedoor]

Supernova... slay?

[serotoninisheldinkiwis]

Oh shit I just realized I can post the "Gaussian Blur Wizard That Gaussian Blurs You" here

[whatwooshkai]

Ok, my first time asking. 23

hi

Boulder has good reflexes. Great reflexes, even.

You needed them in the mines- in the event of a collapse or break, you needed to get your bumper out of that tunnel before the command even registered in your processor.

So, all this is to say, they've already moved six feet away by the time the datapad smashes against the wall where their head once was.

Chase shouts something in Iaconi that Heatwave sarcastically talks over in Kaonite. They didn't know universal translators could short out like that, but evidently, they can.

They don't even know what the fight is about, and neither does Blades, who has a pillow over his helm and pressed to his audials.

It's not like Heatwave and Chase have never fought before. They're always at each other's throats, bickering constantly over small things. But for every fight, they fall into recharge in the library doing homework together.

This one is different. They and Blades should probably leave... they would've already, if Heatwave and Chases weren't blocking the door.

Heatwave grabs another datapad to throw at Chase, and this time, the policebot acts, grabbing Heatwave's wrist and trying to shove him away. Heatwave shoves him back and Chase slams into the door, one doorwing getting caught behind him with a sickening crack.

The two stare at each other for a second, hackles raised. Heatwave moves forward slowly, before reaching behind Chase to look at the doorwing.

Chase lets him, still tensed up, as Heatwave continues his inspection in silence. And then he tweaks it.

It's an accident, it's clearly an accident, but Boulder is more than familiar with the raw and primal fear that suddenly shoots through his field as Chase sinks his fangs into Heatwave's forearm.

And then it's just instictual from there. Heatwave tries to shove him off, jostling Chase's doorwing, and Chase claws at Heatwave, because he's hurting him, back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.

What Heatwave has on him in bulk and brute strength, Chase more than makes up for in speed and actual fight training. They slam into the furniture and the walls- Boulder can already imagine the noise complaints- and then blood splatters on the floor.

Boulder clamps both hands over their mouth and turns away, trying not to purge at the sight. Oh- oh, shit-

"STOP!" Blades pounces from his bunk into the fray, hooking his arms under Chase's and yanks him away from Heatwave.

Chase's claws and fangs, deep into Heatwave's plating, hang on tight, dragging him up and back with them. Blades' back hits the door.

"What are you doing?" he snarls at Boulder, keeping Chase's back pressed to his front without jostling the broken doorwing even more. "Help me!"

Boulder forces their optics away from the blood on the floor and dampens their sensory input when they grab Heatwave, blood smearing under their hands and against their chassis.

But it only takes Heatwave a minute or two to still and relax in their arms, and for Chase to do the same.

He turns his helm and Boulder opens their optics. The yellow of his optics shine nearly white. He opens his mouth and says something Boulder can't understand.

"We have to go to the medbay," they tell Blades, who has adjusted his hold on Chase to keep his mouth held closed. Nausea radiates from both their fields.

"Yeah, no shit," Blades growls out. "If you throw up on me I'm leaving." Chase's functional doorwing and his finials drop.

The walk to the medbay is dead silent.