#add shout outs if you want
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Shout out to the people who wake up a woman and go to bed a man. The the people who wear lipstick and have a beard. To the people whose gender is complicated. To the people who need a minute to think about it. To the people who don't really care. To the people who never stop thinking about it. To the people whose gender and sexuality are the same thing. To the people who like people in a way they can't explain. To the people who don't like anything. To the people with a thousand crushes. To the people who never had one.
#add shout outs if you want#queer#gender fluid#non binary#bi gender#agender#genderqueer#hypersexual#hyperromantic#questioning#aromantic#asexual#aroace#asexuality#grey ace#grey aroace#grey aromantic
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Now THIS is how youturbotastic
#I hope you guys know this was hell to screenshot correctly#turbotastic#wir#wreck it ralph#turbo wreck it ralph#shout out randomalistic if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have known abt wreck it ralph#art#is this art?? ya probably#I’d add more but I don’t want my computer to implode
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Happy snow leopard day!!
#snow leopard#fun thing to find out today!!#anyway shout out to#ottto#D3-C1#mindlessly doodling#hehehehe love Otto lots!!#erm hahaha fun possessed otto#artists on tumblr#art#illustration#my art#digital art#2024 art#finished piece#my oc art#sfw furry#furry anthro#furry#hehehehehe I dunno I think I’m getting sick but have this fun little doodle dump#Will also be posting a small animation tomorrow!! if I remember#yog!otto#because how else would you tag possession#not sure if I actually want to add possession into Otto and D3 story#I sorta like the idea but I dunno
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Flashback, warm nights.
[First] Prev <–-> Next
#Poorly Drawn MDZS#MDZS#Season 1#wei wuxian#lan wanji#jiang cheng#should I have a teen tag? for all the flashbacks? Maybe I'll add it later#Linking the song for its 80's vibes + flashback melancholy + I think its fun#We have finally arrived at the cloud recess flashback! Dramatic first meetings under the moonlight! A sword fight! acknowledgement of skill#Its like everything you see in a 'No Homo' martial arts story that makes you go 'hold on that's a little...'#except we rejoice; for these bitches do be nurturing plot relevant homoromantic tension#I have to give a shout out to 15 year old wwx for in all honesty he had no way of knowing who he was facing#on day *one* of cultivation Christian summer camp! talk about bad luck#ok some other notes: I wanted to give non mxy!wwx distinct features while still looking somewhat consistant#and i think im happy with it! Softer bangs + mole + different hair tie ain't much but it works for me#they'll soon all be in white with small accents so I gotta do what I can#What im not happy about is my paneling B*/ theres no excuse for why I went back to the bad 3 square format other than I was lazy#Sadly I do these in batches so my bad habits stick around for a little longer
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“He ordered me to kill them. So I did. I killed them all.”
#fenris#dragon age#dragon age 2#da2#murphys funny little art pieces#the shit with the fog warriors ALWAYS gets me like. fuck man#i have a lot of little fenris pieces i want to do lately but so little time#but im glad i sat down and did this one it was fun#tarot card style drawings are such a blast#you know sometimes i think about fenris and the fog warriors and then i think about his battle dialogue#theres something about the fact that he shouts 'to me my friends' that kinda gets me#'we must fight together' also sticks out but the friends one is forever in my brain#reminded of that one post about him refusing to turn mages in and i think his experiences of betraying people before add an extra layer#to like all of that. he's been hunted and whatnot but he's also had people who took care of him and fought for HIS freedom#and he killed them once before. he wont do it again.#ok done fenrisposting goodnight
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🎃 the party's halloween costumes after season 3!!! 🎃
a little character concept design
#;3#I wanted to draw Steve and Eddie and robin and Jon and argyle but my hand was about 2 fall off#I didn't add max bc I think she refuses to go because she is too sad and canonically depressed#also to the person who pointed out the inaccuracy of my prev palpatine design THANK YOU!! changed it#hope you guys enjoy......#I imagine every one of their costumes to be handmade and DIY except erica hdnhfdksj idk#also shout out to Erica she's so enjoyable and fun to draw#stranger things art#stranger things#will byers#mike wheeler#mike wheeler art#will byers art#the party stranger things#lucas sinclair#dustin henderson#erica sinclair#el hopper byers
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"Fluffier"
How could I *possibly* make him any fluffier?
#nsr#kliff#i mean... okay. i have his hair parted the wrong way#(i draw him so much that i don't look at his reference anymore)#but that can be fixed with a simple flip (shout outs)#and it's gonna be mirrored on the backside anyway#otherwise#his silhouette is pretty much the same. just simplified.#i don't want to add too many extra lines for detail because it takes away from the simplicity of it#you can see that between the first 'candy' post with just mayday and zuke and the 'assorted candy' post#and how i took out a lot of mayday's hair details to simplify her so she wouldn't stand out among the others#there are some characters that still need to be simplified further (like the blue 1010)#so. sorry. that suggestion is being vetoed~#but i will fix his hair part for accuracy
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I was tagged by @robinainthood !
Make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone’s favorite.
I tried to limit things to one per fandom and also promptly forgot every character I ever liked however I could not exclude all 3 of my DmC kids so bonus Vergil option.
anywho, tagging: @thevampireauthoress @whimsipunk @ro-blaze @destroyyaa @bigsister-watches @cainite-bite (no pressure, only if you want!)
#i'll tag six because i added a 6th dfghjkl#shout out to me wanting to add booker my beloved but not adding booker because i purely love booker out of spite and contempt for infinite#i love the concept of booker you see asdfghjk i love the booker in my heart#fab talks#fabtalks#shout out also to spy for making it into the poll my love for him is deep and infinite even if i never talk about him asdfghj#other honorable mentions: august whom i miss every day#arthas who fascinates me but i realize the way i think he best works in the narrative is um not blizzards just let him suck idk#zelda its a toss up which i like best out of her and gan by the day#my baby boy wrathion love him my singular arab in all of warcraft#and jet because i think he rewrote my brain as a small child and now im like this#also rachel amber i thought about her also but thats because i've been thinking about her a lot lately idk why#second shout out to the poll being half dmc characters#anyway if any of you have propaganda for this poll you should share it it'd be funny dfghjkl
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I saw ur post about wanting writing prompts so I thought why not lol. (This is my first time doing this 😅) but I have a few of AUs on my art blog that I would love to see expanded on like my Tall Pete/Short Vegas au, A band au with Vegas being a lead singer and Pete falling in love at first sight, or Pete being Vegas’ personal bodyguard instead of Tankhun’s. So yea if u find any of these interesting I’d love to see ur spin on it
OMG hi! Thank you so much for sending me this, I'm so flattered you thought of asking me to write sth surrounding your AUs ❤️ It kind of feels like the secret Santa event all over again, I love it haha. The timing is actually a little too perfect, because a few weeks ago, I randomly stumbled upon a YouTube short about the side couple in Laws of Attraction and I proceeded to 1. lose my shit, so much so that I decided to start watching the show and 2. write a whole page full of notes about an AU in which Pete is Vegas' bodyguard, based on the pool scene of said short. So, to give a little context: In this alternative universe, Vegas and Gun visit the main family compound for a meeting. At some point, Korn wants to talk to Gun alone, so Vegas goes to the pool area to find Porsche, along with Pete who follows him. Vegas proceeds to flirt with Porsche, as Vegas does, up until Gun suddenly appears and starts yelling at him for unclear reasons. He escalates it when Vegas asks, baffled, why he's being yelled at, by slapping him and putting his head into the pool. Pete normally doesn't intervene when Gun gets violent with Vegas, but his protective instincts here kick in and he stops Gun from literally attempting to kill his own son. As a result, Gun's anger gets redirected at Pete, who gets beaten up in Vegas' stead. The snippet I wrote for you is the aftermath of everything I described above. I hope you like it ❤️ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silence, occasionally broken by a faint sound that resembled sniffing. Pete couldn’t tell what it was, but in his state he couldn’t really tell where he was either, so he stopped worrying about it. He tried, instead, to remember what had happened that brought him here, wherever “here” was. The last thing he recalled was the feeling of Khun Gun’s shoes digging into his forearms, which he used in his attempt to protect his head from his boss’ repeated, brutal kicks. Khun Gun wasn’t the strongest man Pete had ever met, but there were reasons he always tried to stay on his good side, and his cruelty was one of them. The cruelty that had so many times been directed at his own son. The kind he was eerily familiar with.
Khun Vegas’ face materialized in Pete’s mind. Droplets of water running down his nose, his sharp cheekbones, reaching his neck. His hair wet and disheveled, his chest heaving from the difficulty to breathe after having had his head shoved into the pool. His expression crumbling with worry, something Pete had no logical way of explaining. Fuck, where was he? Pete could only hope Porsche had protected him from his father’s fury afterwards. Khun Gun was unpredictable; he couldn't be trusted to only be satisfied by lashing out at Pete. Pete needed to go find him as soon as possible. Opening his eyes proved to be a challenge. A heavy fog was clouding his vision, and the pain that was engulfing his whole body was preventing him from doing the simplest of movements. He groaned as he shifted his torso in a futile attempt to get up, resulting in a gasp that startled him into opening his eyes to check where it came from. His mouth was hanging open as he took in the image of Khun Vegas staring at him, fidgeting nervously in the chair he was sitting on. His eyes were red around the corners and he looked ghostly pale. Pete’s breath hitched. “Pete… ?” he said, dropping his gaze to the floor. He always did that when he was feeling guilty about something. “Are you... ?” “I’m fine, Khun Vegas,” Pete replied, despite the numbness in his limbs and the headache that was starting to form. “What about you? Are you hurt? Should I take you to the doct-” “We’re at the infirmary, you idiot,” Vegas shouted, interrupting him, but his voice lacked the usual heat. “Stop acting like my bodyguard right now, it pisses me off.” That’s all I know how to be, Pete wanted to tell him, but remained silent. That’s all I’m allowed. He didn’t really mind Khun Vegas’ words. He’d heard worse things over the years, things that should have probably hurt him. Somehow, Pete had the ability to forgive him anything. The atmosphere grew tense between them. Pete had grown used to that, too, but he had never seen Khun Vegas be so self conscious before. He wondered why the sudden change. “I’m not thanking you,” Pete heard him murmur after a few seconds; he uttered the words under his breath, while staring at his feet. If Pete had a better view of his face, he’d argue Khun Vegas was pouting. Pete could only reassure him. “You don’t have to, Khun Vegas. I was simply doing my job.” It had the opposite effect. The creases between his eyebrows deepened as he lifted his head and stared at Pete. Astonished as his mouth was open agape, likely for a retort that never came. Alternatively, he turned his attention to the small table next to Pete’s bed. He stood up and approached it hastily, grabbing something that was resting on top of it, before Pete could take a closer look. “The nurse said you have to take this,” he said and extended his arm at Pete, revealing a small pill. It was probably a standard type of painkiller. Bodyguards never got any special medical treatment, especially those working for the minor family. It wasn’t worth the trouble. Pete tried to lift his hand to take it, but he bitterly realized it was impossible. He winced as he took a look at both of his arms and found them bandaged, smears of purple popping at places his skin was uncovered. He cursed under his breath. “Ah, I’m sorry, Khun Vegas, I’ll just call the-” Cold fingertips pressed on Pete’s chin. They felt even colder on his lips, the pressure just enough to make him open his mouth. The pill slipped between his teeth easily, with the help of a wet tongue he'd never thought he'd get to taste. Hot air hit Pete’s cheeks. His heart was beating rapidly. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. Water traveled down his throat, taking the pill with it. Pete blinked. His head felt light, his body even lighter. He didn’t know how to describe the feeling, but he didn’t think it was bad. He focused, instead, on Vegas, who was standing above him with an unusual sense of confidence. “Get well soon. That’s an order.” It was enough to ground Pete back into reality. He was thankful for it.
“Yes, Khun Vegas.” It was only then that Pete noticed how the color returned on Vegas’ face and how his slight trembling seized. “Has Pete woken up yet?” Both of them jumped at the sound of Porsche’s voice. He poked his head into the room, completely oblivious to what had transpired before he showed up. “Oh, he has. How are you feeling?” “Good,” he replied sincerely. The pain didn’t bother him anymore. A smile spread on his lips as he added, “Khun Vegas just gave me my medicine.” Porsche returned it, though his was more mischievous than playful. “Pete, you should have seen Vegas while he waited for you to wake up. I’ve never seen him crying so hard-” Vegas punched Porsche hard on the shoulder to stop him from talking, which made loud laughter escape Pete’s mouth. It earned him a glare, one of Vegas' serious ones. It'd bring him hell later, but Pete realized he was fine with that.
#it feels so weird posting sth I wrote without having it beta read#shout out to my beautiful beta thank you for keeping me sane#sth I wanted to add but Tumblr doesn't let me is that here Vegas and Pete have a significant age gap#Vegas is 20 at most while Pete is around 28#it's how Laws of Attraction inspired me I'm sorry people#this may turn into an actual fic if I get inspiration to write the rest of it#God it feels good to write again#I have a few more prompts to write and I will I promise#I've kind of figured them all out but it'll take a little while longer#but thank you to everyone who sent me a prompt they're all incredible#it means the world to me#vegaspete#writing prompt
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Happy Pride Month!
As my username suggests I am bisexual & asexual and (something you might not know about me) I go by she/they pronouns. As a queer fan in the Star Wars space sometimes it can feel a little isolating. Which is why this year I wanted to do a rec list for the pieces of media that elevate queer voices and have touched my heart.
Please add your own fanwork recommendations to this post!
Reblog and add anything queer you've created to this post. It could be fanfiction, art, headcanons, anything. Shout yourself out! I want this post to be a place for you to celebrate yourselves and every beautiful thing you create - whether it's fluffy, spicy, or anything in between. Feel free to shout out fanworks you love, too. I don't have any rules here except for it has to be LGBTQIA+. Romance is not a requirement. A character is still queer with or without a relationship. For example: I consistently write Crosshair and Echo as people who are not straight, even if the fic doesn't feature either of them pursuing anything romantic or sexual. It's just how I interpret them while I write.
I'll start us off with some recommendations of my own.
Webcomic:
Shaderunners - 'steal from the rich to give to the poor' found family. Amazing art and a beautiful story.
Podcasts
The Penumbra Podcast - Private Investigator with a tragic past and A LOT of issues meets a thief and they fall in love.
The Magnus Archives - for you horror fans out there who love a good tragedy.
EOS 10 - Space found family and one of them is a space pirate. Who doesn't love space pirates?!?!
TV Shows
The Last Of Us - again for you horror fans out there.
The Haunting of Bly Manor - another one for horror and tragedy fans
The Owl House - animated, adorable, and heart wrenching.
Dead Boy Detectives - campy thriller ghost detectives
And last but not least:
My own fanfictions that feature individuals who are not straight:
Everything in my Cody & Obi-Wan series on Ao3
Grow Where You Are Planted - Stargate SG-1 Jack/Daniel Rated M
For The Republic's Use - Echo/Quinlan Rated T
The Spy Who Shagged Me - Echo/Quinlan Rated T
Alive - Pathologic 2 Artemy/Daniil Rated E
Not Every Miracle - Pathologic 2 Rated G
Add your fanworks! I'd love to read them. And, above all, happy pride month!
#star wars fanfiction#the clone wars fanfiction#the bad batch fanfiction#fic rec#tv show recommendations#podcast recommendations#fanfic rec#star wars fans I am SO EXCITED to see what you've done!#shout yourself out for real#I won't be offended by what you add don't worry#the beautiful the weird the wonderful the intense the dramatic the tragic the smutty the fluffy I WANT IT ALLLLLL#sorry I don't watch many tv shows OR MOVIES so I don't have a lot there </3
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Trick-or-treat
Thanks! I couldn't make up my mind, so you're getting multiple goodies 😂 🩵
Been too tired to write the past couple days, but I'm pretty sure the last sentence I wrote was this:
He might as well go bug Candace.
I'm sure you can figure out who the "he" is here 😂. But you can't gather what the fic it's from is about.
New fic idea! (not what the previous sentence is from, just to be clear lol) I had this one after our commenting back and forth on "Best Secret Keeper Ever", of a Vanessa-POV fic taking place right after OWCA Files exploring why she (and Monty) didn't show up in the episode. She first receives a cryptic text from Stacy alluding to the situation and then tries to ask her dad what happened, only to end up going to Perry to get the real story.
While we're on "Best Secret Keeper Ever", I just remembered some behind-the-scenes info regarding that fic, which was that back when I was writing it initially (the doc was created April 15, 2023) I had the idea of Stacy making a group chat of her, Perry, and Vanessa which is what grew into "The Older Siblings"!
Pics of my document for "Best Secret Keeper Ever" (since I don't write in a notebook anymore lol):
Original titles:
Original author's note:
Episode notes (featuring me struggling to remember episodes lol since I'd only watched most of season 4 once at that point):
Annnndddd bonus chapter ideas that ended up turning into something...
I'm gonna hold off on any other stuff for now. I know that some of the information in the episode notes is incorrect, but that's kinda the point that I was having a hard time remembering back then lol. But anyway, there's a glimpse into my kinda messy note-taking for fics haha. You can definitely see that sometimes my brain takes off faster than I can type and I just leave a sentence hanging.
#trick or treat#ask game#ligercat#my writing#phineas and ferb#pnf#i'll add here that if anyone ever sees anything in the ideas I share that inspires you to write don't feel like you can't!#i'm wanting to read these ideas first and foremost LOL and i would be flattered if my ideas inspired anyone to write a story#that said if it's very heavily inspired by me i'd like a little shout-out haha nothing too serious
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Doctor Who Fic Recs
¡The specials are nigh upon us (or maybe the first one will already be out by the time I finish writing this, who knows)! Over the course of 60 years, there’s been quite a few absolute gems that some anonymous, talented souls have put out for our enjoyment. So here’s some of the highlights, scraped together from various corners of the internet:
This one is centered around Nine, after his regeneration. He has to confront his trauma as he goes on a journey through his past, traveling through his memories and meeting his past selves. It goes really deep into a lot of lore surrounding the daleks and Classic Who, so if you don’t know a lot about that this probably isn’t for you. It also came out before the 50th anniversary special, so there’s no War Doctor, and it has its own interpretation of the last moments of the Time War. But if that’s not a dealbreaker, definitely check this one out, because it’s got a fantastic story about regret and identity.
This story is a prequel to both series set on Gallifrey, with some rare Doctor/Master/Rani shipping, a very eldritch approach to Time Lord society, and a really interesting fusion of TARDISes with daemons. If you’re not familiar with the concept of daemons, this story really isn’t a good starting point, plus there are some references to the Big Finish audio stories that are rather important. It’s not exactly a story as much as it is a bunch of fragments set in the same universe exploring a lot of the ideas it introduces. A must-read if you enjoy Doctor Nyarlathotep.
A personal favorite of mine, centering around the unexpected pairing of Martha Jones and Lucy Saxon. It deals with the fallout of a certain couple of Time Lord’s actions during The Year That Never Was and is very short, but manages to squeeze in a lot of emotions. It will make you understand how this pairing could work while doing justice to Martha’s character.
Drop whatever it is you’re doing. Go read this. Now. It is one of the most well-written fics you will ever find, period, and probably the best Academy Era fanfic out there. The author has an excellent grasp on how an unlikely friendship would develop into something more and then break down, making it one of the most compelling and believable explorations of the Doctor and the Master’s relationship before they were the Doctor and the Master. It can get pretty dark (we’re talking self-inflicted regeneration) but if you can stomach those topics then you’ll find something amazingly well-written.
¿Do you wish that we could’ve seen tiny Amelia as a child companion on the TARDIS instead of her adult self? ¿Are you a fan of platonic fluff? ¿Are you in the mood to have your heart explode from a cuteness overload? ¡Then check this one out! The only possible complaint is that it’s too short.
Wherein Rose decides to haul around the dalek from Van Statten’s bunker instead of Adam. ¡Very funny and enjoyable and underrated! It has a dalek named Pedro and Nine being enjoyably grumpy until he decides he can make an exception against hating all daleks just this once. ¿What more could you possibly want?
This one is a short piece about Martha and Ten going to watch a supernova, but what makes it extra special is that it’s a real supernova and the fic was written by an irl astronomer. Their passion for their work really bleeds through into their writing, and it helps to emphasize the sense of wonder and exploration that Doctor Who at its best can bring.
¿Remember Jethro from Midnight? ¿The guy who looked like Merlin? ¿No? You will after reading this.
Mostly crack that doesn’t take itself too seriously and isn’t afraid to poke fun at some of the classic sci-fi setting fanfic cliches. ¡¡Number one shipper TARDIS, sex pollen, and Martha Jones having a good time abound (¿have you figured out which companion is my favorite yet?)!!
https://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=53318 Set during the Day of the Doctor, this little oneshot is just a slight au where we get to see every Doctor (up to that point) play their part in saving Gallifrey. Obviously they couldn’t have done anything like that in the show itself without resorting to dubious CGI necromancy bullshit, but man does it make you wish they could’ve had something similar.
And last but not least, ¡some classic Donna and the Doctor friendship! This is pretty much the distilled essence of everything everyone loved about their dynamic, being sweet, silly, and sad. It leans more on emotions than action or humor, but with the upcoming specials it is well worth a read just to remind yourself of everything they went through.
#phew finally done#waaaaay after the first special finally came out#this list easily could’ve been twice as long but it turns out there’s a limit to how many links you can add to a post#shout out to that one user that helped me find my drafts#you’re a lifesaver#lemme know if any of you want a part 2#doctor who#doctor who fic#fic rec#my laptop broke so i can’t write a lot of shit#time to live up to the other half of my thing ig
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youtube
HELP I'm too tired to articulate my thoughts rn so I'm just going to say that an S2!RGB playlist would kill me /vpos
#🤖.txt#swim slowly au#the first one is SOOO Bee coded i cant. Most of you Dont Know his deal but shout out to those who doKFJDJDH#I really want to just add it to his playlist but. Me when my au/version of this ship is about healing and learning to love. And be loved#<- this is a sentiment i can see on the 3 of them is what im trying to say. But omfg it fits Bee specifically SO WELL !!!!#And the second one is literally S2!Pico LMAOFJDH#Goooood i love these guys so much#There's other songs i wanna post/talk about but I am Dead so maybe not todaydhd#Youtube#S2!Bf#S2!Pico#S2!Gf
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man does anyone else just constantly forget neji died?? i was rewatching the war arc and got to it like HUH OH YEAH like i remember shikaku and inoichi more than him because i just didn’t like the writing for his and repressed it too much so now whenever i see any reference to it my brain blue screens for like 20 seconds straight
#it simply does not compute#like don’t get me wrong im into tragedy and well written character deaths ALWAYS get me#but idk i just thought neji was a poor choice if you HAD to kill one of the konoha twelve off#not that i WANTED any of them to die but i do think someone else would have been a better option#or killing off more than one would have balanced it better#and then it was also just how it was crammed between all the other big events so we had to rush past it#shout out to the fillers always knowing naruto deaths aren’t striking hard enough and giving the dead characters more significance lol#can always tell someone is about to die when the fillers start giving them all the meaningful moments rip#idk though even the folllow up grieving and references just didn’t add enough#plus how it kind of just contradicted the main goal of the series idk#i just don’t like it so my brain is just like what death???#probably would stick better if i ever rewatched post war or if i watched boruto though#but i dont so i continue to relive the ‘wtf why :/‘ every time i remember it lol#naruto shippuden spoilers#naruto spoilers#?????#does anyone need that tag???#idk i added it in case
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“omg my intrusive thoughts won and i bought this expensive thing teehee” girl my intrusive thoughts are so bad i cant look at a sharp object without my brain imagining killing me or the person next to me with it bffr
#this is not a competition btw#if you want to build off and add to this conversation feel free tho#kitchens and bathrooms suck for me bruh#intrusive thoughts#it may be 6 am#im sleepy#shout out to my brain frfr#mental health#stop using mental health terms lightly
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Today’s @thunder-pride prompt is ‘can we talk?’ and I’ve had this partly written for a while but didn’t get around to finishing it until this morning, so hopefully it reads okay and doesn’t feel weirdly disjointed in the middle!
AO3 link
It was approaching eleven-thirty. The pale light of dusk had long since been replaced by the depths of night, yet John had made no move to switch on a lamp. He was still sat at the same tiny table in an equally small kitchen in his apartment and had not moved since his hasty retreat from a restaurant downtown.
His skin was still crawling with discomfort. He couldn’t shake the sight of disappointment in his date’s eyes. If he had to make a list of the top five worst feelings in the world, disappointing people would be in third place. And it hadn’t even been his fault. He hadn’t intentionally led her on. He hadn’t realised that it was a date in the first place, notably because there was supposed to have been four of them, only Kenny had got sick at the last minute and Scott had conveniently had ‘something come up’.
Yeah, right. The flat Earth theory was more believable, not to mention the fact that his brother had then texted him good luck. Also, this was the third night out on which Scott had abandoned him with some random stranger in an excruciatingly romantic setting. Restaurants with friends were fine, but not when it was just you and a person who you only knew vaguely but whom Scott had seemingly befriended despite only having been on campus to visit John for an extended weekend.
The spare key scratched in the lock, then the door squeaked open. Scott fumbled for the light switch and promptly let out an undignified yelp.
“Jeezus, Johnny.” He kicked the door shut and dumped his jacket on the kitchen counter. “What the hell, man? Why are you sitting in the dark?” He winced. “I take it the date didn’t go so well?”
“You set me up.”
John had been aiming for a neutral accusation, but his voice sounded a little more betrayed and upset than he cared to let on. He settled for scowling at Scott, but quickly grew tired of this. Frankly, he was just exhausted full stop. He was half-tempted to forget the whole experience and go to bed early. But he’d learnt that problems didn’t miraculously vanish if you ignored them, which was a shame given that was his preferred strategy. So, if he didn’t discuss this with Scott then it would be a recurring issue and he was so done with unwanted, spontaneous blind dates.
So.
Scott pried open the fridge on the hunt for the beers he’d stashed there earlier. “You make it sound like I framed you for murder.”
Logically, John knew Scott meant well. But his teasing tone was just irritating. He was unintentionally making light of a subject that was actually pretty serious and John sort of wanted to strangle him.
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” Scott cracked open the bottle with his key. “Was it that bad? She seemed like a nice girl. You said Adam wasn’t your type, so I figured… Anyway. It’s chill. We’ll find you someone eventually. And hey, I’m here for a few more days. I’m an excellent wingman. Ha, literally.”
“Scott, this isn’t-” John cut himself off and took a deep breath to calm down. He tried again once he was certain that his voice was steadier. “Can we talk?”
“Oh, boy,” Scott joked, slightly muffled as he bent down to unlace his shoes. “Sounds serious.” He glanced up when there was no reply and caught John’s unimpressed stare. “Oh, shit. Okay. Sorry. Give me a minute.”
He kicked his sneakers onto the mat and sank into a chair opposite, cradling his drink between his hands. There was a glint of humour in his eyes, presumably aided by whatever he’d drunk at the bar he’d vanished to for the evening, but to give him credit he did seem to be earnest about listening.
John dropped his gaze to the whorls in the table. There was a faint blue stain from spilled ink when he’d been working formulae out on paper earlier in the semester and he focussed on that to keep himself from overthinking and letting the matter drop again.
“You’ve got to stop trying to set me up with people.”
He was speaking too fast so that the words seemed to blur together, unable to shake the nerves that came with explaining this aspect of his self to people because more often than not they didn’t understand and told him that he just hadn’t found the right person. It was bad enough hearing that from anyone but not from family. He wasn’t sure what to say if Scott didn’t get it.
He continued in a rush before Scott could get a word in edgeways, “I know you mean well, but it makes me really uncomfortable. I don’t want to date anyone. Adam wasn’t my type, but Becca isn’t either, because I don’t have a type. I’m not interested in people like that. I have friends and family and that’s all I want. So, please stop tricking me into dates because it will never lead anywhere.”
There was a brief pause. The silence was broken only by the distant wail of sirens across the city, the hum of the refrigerator and indistinct voices from the apartment across the hallway. John finally risked a glance up to glimpse Scott’s guilty expression.
“Can you say something?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I- Shit, John. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise…” Scott sat back in his chair and laced his hands behind his head with a self-deprecating chuckle. “I’m an idiot. Sorry. Oh, God, I’m the worst. I spent this whole weekend trying to- I am so sorry, Johnny.”
“That had the potential to be a great apology, but then you had to ruin it by calling me Johnny.”
Scott stared at him for a long moment, evidently trying to repress laughter. “Are we good?”
“Yeah, we’re good.” John stole the bottle and took a cautious sip. “What the hell is this? Are you drinking battery acid? This is disgusting.” He twisted it to spy the label. “I’ve never even heard of this brand. Where did you get it?”
Scott made a vague gesture which translated to you don’t want to know. Which was correct, because John really, really didn’t want to know. He slid the bottle – which most definitely wasn’t beer – back to his brother and got up to find something to rid the taste from his mouth.
“So,” Scott called, still lounging at the table. “How long have you known?”
John shrugged, then realised he was hidden behind the fridge door. “Uh, a while. Since high school, anyway.”
It was slowly dawning on him that he hadn’t actually eaten anything except free bread in the restaurant, shortly before he’d made his excuses and fled. He shoved a box of leftover takeout into the microwave and leant back against the counter to wait.
Scott was staring down at the table where light from the street was spilling through the curtains. There was a certain tension in his shoulders which betrayed the fact he was secretly upset. He didn’t look up as he asked, quietly and uneasily, “Were you afraid to tell me? Because if so, I’m sorry. I never intended to make you feel that way.”
John hesitated, then glimpsed the flash of pure panic in Scott’s eyes.
“No,” he confessed. “I wasn’t afraid of telling you. I’m just tired, I guess. College is… I’m here to learn. A lot of people seem to be here for casual hook ups and parties. So, I’m constantly having to explain that I’m not interested in any of that and after a while it becomes tiring. It’s not a one-time experience. Every time I meet someone new and the topic turns to relationships, I have to… well, come out, I suppose. So, I’m tired of it. But that’s not your fault.”
“I just feel like I should have realised.”
“Not necessarily.”
“I bet Virgil realised.” Scott drummed a hand against the bottle with a sigh. “I thought you were just shy. But now- Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. I still feel like an idiot, though.”
“Oh, you are an idiot,” John informed him. “But not for this reason.”
“Thanks,” Scott deadpanned. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, looking a little less guilty and more genuinely curious as John carried the takeout over to the table and sat back down. “So, is there a specific label you use?”
John raised a brow. “Do I have to use a label?”
“No,” Scott replied quickly. “I was just wondering. Because if there is, then I want to be able to look it up and do some research. I mean, this is who you are, John. Of course I want to understand that better.”
Sometimes – this weekend being a prime example – Scott could be an absolute idiot. But he was an idiot with good intentions. And, right now, John was reminded that he was actually pretty fond of this idiot for a reason.
“Are you going to remember this?” he asked.
Scott flipped his phone out of his pocket and opened a new note. “Yep.”
“Look up the terms aromantic and asexual. Then come back to me if you have further questions.”
“Cool, cool, cool.”
John offered him a spare fork and slid the takeout into the centre of the table. For a few moments, they ate in silence. He was surprised by just how much lighter he felt, unaware that the issue had been worrying him.
“Hey, John?” Scott had that soft, proud smile again, the same one that he’d worn when watching one of Virgil’s concerts or Gordon’s swim races. “Thanks for telling me.”
John fought back a smile of his own. “No more dates, okay?”
Scott held up his hands. “I promise.”
#you know there was something i wanted to say#and i remember thinking oh i'll add that in the tags#but now i've completely forgotten it#which is bugging me#head empty no thoughts#anyway#they're good bros we love them#thunderpride#thunderpride 2023#thunderbirds are go#wait wait I REMEMBER NOW#it's aromantic visibility day today!#and yes I wrote this to coincide with it on purpose#so shout out to all my aro friends#love y'all#ok that's it i'm done now i swear kat out
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