#and i have to get to work even earlier

[soupfather]

Erm, what the flip guys

[naamahdarling]

You know what? You know what I think?

I think that if we lived as we were meant to, in larger intimate ("extended family") groups and with more shared labor and time to do it (UBI NOW) people like me would not feel so useless and burdensome because there would be people around to help and to do what neurodivergent people can't while making valuable space for the neurodivergent to do what they ARE good at.

The way we live right now, all right, the way we live right now forces units of two adults to be able to do EVERYTHING or PAY to have someone come do it for them. I have to do the housework. I have to do it! But I am having to do a million different things and most of them I am not good at. I suck at them.

I wouldn't feel like shit, okay, if I had more than one other person around who was not a child and who could do the things I can't, like do the yard and cook and do repairs and basic maintenance; and someone else to split everything else that I like but is too much for me. It would free me to do what I am good at and enjoy. Cleaning, as in the sink and toilet, the windows, the blinds. Taking out trash. Folding, hanging, and sorting laundry.

But because all the shit I can do often relies on other shit being done first, and I can't do or have trouble doing those things, the shit I can do often can't be done. And even the shit I can do, I can't do ALL of it. So I can't keep up, and things get very bad.

We aren't meant to live like this. We are not meant to live like this.

That thought hurts so much because being able to flee the birth family is integral to survival for so many people. I'm so afraid that living in larger family groups would create more opportunities for, say, queer kids to be isolated, rejected, bullied, and abused. But if we gave people enough money to survive, and stopped considering children the property of their parents with no system in place to help them escape bad situations except a system that is often just as bad, just different.

I'm aware that communes and collectives aren't all that successful and are kind of a joke. I don't mean that. I mean a fundamental shift to multigenerational families where taking in "strays" (which my family did) is also normalized so people escaping abuse into existing households was accepted, with these families centered in maybe a couple of different larger residences so not everyone has to buy and maintain their own fucking washing machine and vacuum cleaner, and so people can benefit from large group meals that yield leftovers, and so child and elder care can also be centralized.

Then disabled people and the neurodivergent and sick and injured people, and pregnant people, and grieving people, would not have to either labor through all those stressors or consign themselves to living off an unlivable pittance or being put under legal guardianship.

I'm not saying anything new. People live like this in other parts of the world and maybe it sucks and I am wrong. But I'm just really mad right now because I can either do laundry or clean the sink but not both, and I really think we could improve society somewhat by making it so I did not have to choose one without sacrificing the other.

[joshuamj]

In Stars And Time? More like In Ace And Gender

+ some alts

[xxplastic-cubexx]

If you were to like redesign Magneto's classic outfit in a way that both suits the character and your own tastes, how would you redesign it?

uhhhh errrmmmmm i dont know i really couldnt improve upon perfection but i have still tried for you my friend !!!

[spookberry]

I put them next to each other casually without much thought, but I've had to redraw them in this set up so many different times in the development of this project that I kinda ship them now??? like why are they always lookin at each other like that

[ongreenergrasses]

Finnick cried his eyes out at his wedding you can’t change my mind

[kirby-the-gorb]

[stuckinapril]

embracing my morning gym girlie routine i think. gonna study for like 3 more hours then hit the gym in the cutest workout fit. and then im rewarding myself w my favorite veggie wrap after <3

[thinky-think-brainblast]

MORE DAD AANG, because it just keeps me going.

I have come to the conclusion in my head that airbenders literally have had to had the most angelic voices, they are the best singers by far compared to any nation and they don’t even have to try, it just comes with the territory. If an airbender decides to practice singing they can become even better, if they practice enough they can even use airbending to sing, which would allow them to do literally magic with their voices. So from this we can infer is that naturally Aang has to be a hell of a singer, even so he would much rather just stick with dancing (I have dancing headcanons for all the nations BTW). However when bumi is born and is about a few months old this baby can’t fall asleep, there is some nights that by some miracle he would fall asleep at his bedtime and sleep through the night, but he would wake up at four am BAWLING. On a normal night bumi just doesn’t stop crying and katara is absolutely exhausted she just came from one of the most stressing days in the clinics and she just can’t deal with bumi at the moment. Aang notices and tells katara to get some rest and that he will deal with bumi by himself, some time passes and bumi just doesn’t stop, there are moments where he calms down to then start crying his eyes out again, Aang has done absolutely everything, he is constantly carrying bumi around, he is giving him food, he is hugging and kissing bumi, he is talking to him, nothing seems to work. By this point aang has become numb to the cry’s and honestly at this point he is very tired and just decides to sit down with bumi in his arms and wait it out, I mean he eventually HAS to fall asleep, right? Well Aang gets pretty bored about just sitting down and hearing Bumi cry so he begins to hum to himself, he hummed this song he had heard an orchestra play at a work dinner. Unexpectedly baby bumi calms down a little when he hears aang hum, as Aang notices he begins to hum a little louder and notices bumi calmed down completely. He continues shocked when he sees bumi even begin to get sleepy, when he runs out of the melody he begins to sing songs that were sung to him at the temples when he was a little boy. To this bumi finally falls asleep.

Don’t cancel me pls.

[direwombat]

remember when i said that my last wip wednesday was probably going to be the last snippet of ch7 that i'll share? yeah that was a lie. have some more.

He drags her out the door and down a series of hallways. They wind their way through the dark and hauntingly vacant corridors, twisting and turning through the labyrinthine hospital. Every step the soldier takes echoes heavily down the hall, heavy thuds bouncing off the chipped plaster walls.

The whole place is eerily empty.

Her shadow stretches grotesquely in front of her, its shape flickering in time with the unsteady buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead. The sharp, lemony smell of antiseptic stings at her nose, but it's quickly overwhelmed by the heavy, metallic taste of rust and fresh blood that comes to rest on the back of her tongue and throat. Bloody claw marks mar the wall they're following, only to divert down a hall where, somewhere further down, a helpless victim begs for death.

Her stomach lurches. The hair at the back of her neck stands on end as she's hauled past the pained wails and pleas for death; away from yet another victim of the cult she couldn't save.

The man drags her through the Veterans Center until finally cutting through an empty industrial kitchen and shoving through a side door that leads to the building's dumpsters. Gingerly, he unhooks her arm from around his shoulders and leans her against one of the bins. "Wait here," he mutters. "I'll be right back.

She slumps against the dumpster as her Friend scouts ahead. In her sudden sense of stasis, the weight of her body comes crashing down on her and the haze over her mind returns. Her knees buckle and she slides down the metal siding. Her stitches prickle, the skin itchy and tight. That aching throb begins to resurface without the painkillers to dull it. She leans her head back, knocking against the hollow dumpster and producing a resonant clang.

She goes stock still. Eyes wide, breath held; her muscles coiled to push herself upright and bolt at the slightest sign of trouble. Shit that was loud.

Her teeth are bared, fingers curled, prepared to claw and bite anyone who dares come to investigate.

She waits.

But no one comes.

The fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Her heart hammers against her rib cage. Her teeth fucking itch.

This is a trap.

It has to be.

Why else would her Friend carry her so close to freedom only to abandon her? Why else would he discard her behind a dumpster like some stray animal?

It has to be some sort of sick, twisted game.

Catch and release.

Jacob and his men have to be out there, watching. Waiting. Lurking in the shadows, patiently waiting for her to run, all so they can chase her down and haul her ass back, like demons dragging a sinner's soul down to Hell.

She'll be damned if she doesn't take at least one of them down with her, first.

All she sees is the flash of red rounding the corner and she's on her feet. She lunges, one hand grappling the stranger's arm while the other wraps around their throat. With her bare feet planted firmly in the dirt, she swings the other person's weight around until she's holding them against the grimy brick exterior of the building. The webbing between her thumb and index finger notches just under their Adam's apple and she presses against their windpipe, teeth bared and snarling.

"Easy—" She chokes them harder. "—Easy! It's me."

It takes longer than it should for her to recognize the voice. The choked, frantic whispers are so different from the hurried and hushed ones she'd heard from her Friend as he was dragging her through the halls. But in those pleading, dark brown eyes, she finds a sense of familiarity. She's seen these eyes before.

Her Friend sucks in a quiet, shuddering breath. "You're in control here, Deputy" he whispers evenly. "Kill me if you want, but if you do, you'll be on your own in a den of hungry wolves."

The threat doesn't escape her, but his logic is enough to get her to release her grip around his neck.

But only barely.

"What's your game?" she growls, and she pulls him towards her only to slam him back against the wall. "The fuck're you gettin' outta helpin' me? Who are you?"

taglist (opt in/out)

@buggknife, @cloudofbutterflies92, @josephseedismyfather, @la-grosse-patate, @tommyarishikages

@florbelles, @statichvm, @fourlittleseedlings, @wrathfulrook, @harmonyowl

@ivymarquis, @carlosoliveiraa, @cassietrn, @confidentandgood, @strafethesesinners,

@trench-rot, @miyabilicious, @simplegenius042, @g0dspeeed, @inafieldofdaisies

@josephslittledeputy, @aceghosts, @adelaidedrubman, @finding-comfort-in-rain,

@socially-awkward-skeleton, @voidika, @strangefable

[waitineedaname]

I think the funniest way to spin Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng's dynamic is if they work really well together, but they fucking hate it the whole time. these are two guys who know how to Get Down To Business when the situation calls for it, and when they have a common goal, they can work towards it efficiently. they just can't stand it the whole time

[fisheito]

hiya l'il-- medium?...large?? Assorted Sizes-Guy

oh thanks! i could always use more spices-

. what am i supposed to do with this.

[nightowlfury]

~ "With dogs, you're always smiley." - "... There's one dog that won't get to see me smile. What are you doing here? Are you here to consult the dog since you started school three weeks late?" ~ "Just pet the dog. Don't turn into one."

~ "Why are you looking at me? Say what you want." - "... Nothing. The dog is pretty cute, wouldn't you say?"

[fanofthelamb]

ok ONE MORE SKETCH BECAUSE I LEGIT AM FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE TO NOT RAMBLE ABOUT ALL THE SCRAPPED IDEAS I HAD FOR THIS BC I REALLY LIKE THEM AND SHIT

ok one more sketch bc i really wanted to do this idea but it doesnt make sense for this AU but,,, did u know narinder was originally gonna be the main antagonist for BTG when i first started writing this.

bonus BTG pic below the cut<333

[puhpandas]

as someone who isnt super excited for sotm for certain reasons I am really glad that like. it's clear that since ruin theyve been setting up for carnival and sotm IS carnival. so now that carnival is finally coming out, afterwards theyll be moving on to other plotlines since the main villain stuff is sorted out

I'm just rlly happy to finally see a clear direction for how the story is gonna be playing out with like "okay these games were leading up to this so after this will be open possibilites" instead of like. absolutely no info about each upcoming game and being left guessing before it releases and just having to wait and see what's in it and if anything you're looking forward to will be in it

it feels like they have a plan and a solid direction for what they're trying to do and after carnival releases thatll be all that buildup coming to fruition. & we already know from the Scott interview that theres another release 'beyond sotm' that's 'super exciting' so maybe thatll be focusing on another big currently untouched (which is basically all of them) plotline, or even the big campaign game that dawko has been calling security breach 2

[mekachu04]

29. Date

Kidd - 18 | Killer - 21

Tags specifically for this chapter:

discussions of minors and sex

Kidd confronts Killer on him leaving

Killer struggles with Kidd's age

discussions of teenagers and age gaps

would they actually talk about this irl/cannon - i dunno...

probably not... but then again, they are soft about the other

be ready for an awkward fight that they've been needing to have a for a few years now

but also needed to wait to have until Kidd matured a little bit

Read at A03 linked above or here below cut

Drabbles from Pocket Jack's KiKi-tober Prompt list

They were supposed to be going out on the town, the island they'd docked at having a wide selection of restaurants and concert halls and other amusements. They'd been loitering in the area past their departure as the days slowly ticked away in the second week of the new year, specifically for tonight. Instead, Kidd and Killer found themselves drinking in the quiet galley, sharing gossip and reminiscing about an island that never quite felt like home there at the end.

About the wild exploits of The Kid Boss of the Heaps - a teenager that had managed to unify the unmanageable, and how even Killer's Boss had sat up and took notice before their group had imploded.

Kidd had had a few times where the same had almost happen to him too, before he really came to understand the power he'd found himself responsible for - "People only fear you for so long before they hate you enough to do something about it." Which was terribly profound when you realize a 16 year old had come to understand this before the adults around him did.

"At least you had some charisma that got you a few people that had your back. Nobody followed me because they thought I was going to be a good Boss. I was just the poor bastard left standing with the dust cleared. As soon as they realized they had other options, it was an exodus. Most of them defected to you or Wire pretty fast."

"I did notice an uptick of sycophants after that one meeting we had."

"I believe I warned you about that."

Kidd nodded. "Yeah... yeah, you warned me about a few things. You were right - about using my fruit around people. It being a bad idea."

"... I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well. Live and learn."

"I hope you smeared the assholes to paste."

Kidd chuckled darkly, "I did indeed. They were worthless; be glad they ditched out on you."

"It was only a matter of time before they left. They all do." Killer conceded, sipping his beer though a straw Dive had found... somewhere. "Just sorry you had to deal with them."

"You left me." He hadn't meant it accusatorially, not really. Just a statement of fact. But once it was out, Kidd felt a little angry about the whole thing. Killer just going on about being left behind, oh woe is me, but he did the same damn thing.

Killer frozen in place, before slowly putting his mug on the table. Kidd could feel him looking to the galley exit, calculating how to leave.

Fuck that.

"Was I that awful to be around?"

Killer rubbed his palms on his jeans, and Kidd swallowed thickly around the lump forming there.

"Oh."

"Look.. It..." Killer got up then, and Kidd watched him start to pace, feeling more and more uneasy with each anxious step Killer took. "It wasn't you, it was me... Well, it was you but it wasn't your fault."

"I have no idea what that means."

Killer's head is tilted up like the ceiling holds the answers.

"Killer, what the fuck does that mean?"

Killer shook his head, and Kidd stood up abruptly, ready to block him from fleeing.

"Killer! What did I do?"

"It wasn't your fault." Killer reiterated, and that didn't make anything clearer, and they both knew it. "You were just... You were kind of a lot... at.... that age..."

"I was 14! What are you on about?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Kidd had a sickening feeling starting to form in his gut. It must have shown in his face, because Killer glanced at him once before quickly looking away.

"You... got a little.. handsy. At night."

"Handsy?"

"A lot handsy. And.. clingy?" His voice pitched like a question, like he was trying to find a way to word Kidd's apparent behavior while downplaying it at the same time.

Kidd slumped against the table they'd just been enjoying drinks at. "How bad was I?"

"Four Blues, Kidd - you were awful." Killer groaned, "Every fucking night, three times a night, minimum, you'd be all over me."

"I... I.."

"Every time I thought it safe to drift off, you start making these little noises and I was so sleep deprived, Kidd. So sleep deprived. I'd leave in the morning purely to go sleep in Ceannard's office for a couple hours."

"I was 14!"

"When I was 14, I would get up and fucking take care of it - you just.." Killer voice had a panicky edge he'd never heard, before pointing wildly at him, "Every fucking morning, I wake up and had to deal with you getting off dry humping me. And you didn't even have the decency to be awake!"

"So you should of woken me and told me to knock it the fuck off!" Kidd paused, head cocking to the side as he studied how Killer had tensed up, bad shoulder touched in - "You didn't want me to wake up. You didn't... you didn't want me to know. Why?"

The mask hides a lot - Killer was always too expressive - his face an open book. But the mask didn't hide everything. Not from Kidd at least.

"You were into it."

Killer shook his head. Not a denial of Kidd's words, a denial that they were being spoken in the first place. He was coiled up so tight Kidd wasn't sure he was even breathing anymore.

"You liked me all rubbing up on you." Kidd almost wanted to preen at that, anyone else he would be puffed out proud. Instead a knot formed in his gut. You got off on it He keeps himself from saying, the thought tangling in his throat, forcing him to swallow thickly. Or you wanted to at least...

Killer made to widen the gap, but Kidd wouldn't let him, crowding him up against the wall.

"Then why would you leave?" he cried, not understanding at all, "I was horny, you were horny, what was the problem? We coulda fucked around a little, so what?"

"Because Killer might be good for a quick fuck, but nobody sticks around long after!"

Kidd started at him quietly, stunned, step back like Killer's words had been a physical blow. Killer hunched in himself, slouching back, surprised by his own confession.

"Killer..."

"I thought... I thought if I left first it would hurt so bad. You were getting along with the other Heaps' and you had a reputation for being an tough asshole so I thought... I thought you'd be okay."

Kidd pressed his fingers up on the bottom lip of Killer's mask, a request not a demand, his brows pinched unhappily.

Killer relented, and pulled the helmet off. But Kidd surprised him by taking it from him, holding it in his hands thoughtfully. He studied the interconnected plating, planning on how he'd make the next one different - better ventilation and more internal padding around the ears.

"I really liked Vicky." He started solemnly, "The three of us. Hanging out together. And sure, I wasn't thrilled about the two of you ditching me all the time. I thought maybe I was jealous of you for a long time, getting to hang out with her alone. And maybe I was... But I think I was also jealous of her. But then she was gone." Kidd spoke to the helmet, easier to say this to the empty drill marks than the man in front of him. "But that was okay because I still had you. And .. And I really liked being with you. I always felt safe, and waking up every morning with you right there... and then.. and then you weren't anymore. Even before you left, you started to be distant, and I hoped maybe you just got a new girlfriend and after the novelty wore off things would go back to how they were."

Killer was quiet, watching his hands fiddling with the metal, before he gently took the mask back.

"But it was me. You left because of me."

The worst part was Killer couldn't even disagree. He turned away from Kidd to put the helmet aside. "I left because I didn't know how to tell you no. I left because I rolled over and let anyone fuck me for a kind word, and I knew that I'd let you too, if you wanted. But you were 14 and you're my kid, and it got all weird and complicated and I didn't know how to see you as someone who wanted sex yet and .. And I was scared if I gave in, if let you take what you wanted, you'd toss me aside too once you were satisfied... so I ran away before you could."

"And if Vicky hadn't died... would you have ever talked to me again?"

He watched Killer's hand caress the line of white and blue. "No." He said finally. "No. You were doing so well; I was so fucking proud of you. You turned into this great man: You united the Heaps, made them believe they were people again. You had all them following you because they saw you were someone worth following. And I knew that I didn't have anything to do with that. That was all you. And I didn't deserve to talk to you anymore."

"Excuse me?" Kidd frowned, "What the fuck do you mean - you didn't have anything to do with that? You don't deserve to talk to me? What are you on about?"

When Killer didn't answer, Kidd grabbed his elbow and forced him to turn back, "Look me in the face and say that bullshit again!"

Killer stubbornly remain quiet.

"No!" Kidd growled, "I've gladly bashed the face in of anybody who talked shit about you. Don't think I'm gonna let you say it either."

Killer opened his mouth to start to say something but then stopped again.

"Killer!" frustrated, Kidd grabbed Killer's face in his hands, forcing him to look at him, "Say it to my face. If you're going to insult my friend, have the balls to say it to my face."

Killer met his eyes this time, blue to orange, complementary and contrasting in equal parts, and Kidd frowned at the pained pinch at the corners, the shame Killer wore in his features. He didn't understand, and no searching helped him find the reason. "Why would you ever say that you aren't the reason I got this far in life?"

Killer tried to escape his look by closing his eyes, but Kidd shook him softly; Killer's long lashes brushing his thumbs when he opened them again.

"Why did you leave me?" he tried again.

"You were 14...."

The light went on this time, Kidd breathing out a soft, "Oh" as Killer tried to look away again. Kidd rubbed his thumb against Killer's cheekbone, tipping his head back until their eyes met again. "I'm not anymore."

Killer was starting back at him, a fearful guarded look. But now, now Kidd thought he understood. He smiled back, tone soft, "Can I kiss you?"

The fear was still there, but Kidd would show him. He waited until Killer lowered his gaze, but nodded, a soft, "Okay" that was both defeated and begging.

Kidd smiled, hands sliding up Killer's cheeks to brush his bangs away and placed a soft kiss to Killer's forehead, smirking at the red painted lip marks left behind. Killer was looking up at him curiously though his lashes. Kidd rearranged Killer's bangs until the mark was hidden under wild hair.

"It's my birthday... come have dinner with me?"

"Okay."