#and sure in some cases you can't be objective - but then the 'objective' thing to do is to admit that your views are subjective

[balkanradfem]

I don't get to talk about feminism in real life, because it's not an accepted topic here, it's an 'evil harpy movement' still, despite it getting women the right to vote, own property, own a bank account, be able to be paid for work. The consenus is that normal women don't need to be feminists, we already have the right to vote so what more could we possibly want. I do get to talk with young women about it! When I have some teenagers or young adult women in my life, I am telling them all about it, showing them all the violence statistics, instructing them on all possible methods of abortion, and they are genuinely stunned to gain this information they've never had access to before.

But yesterday, I was at plant lady's house, and I breached the topic of feminism, because I had just entered a feminist book club, and joined a little group of croatian radfems, so I was all up in my ideas about it. And I love the plant lady, she's a beloved figure in my life, but she is both against feminism, and a huge fan of conspiracy theories. So when I started talking about feminism, she interrupted me to tell me that she heard that women, are not in fact, responsible for feminism, but it's actually males in power that are pulling the strings. I explained that we don't even allow m*n to participate in what we do, but she was sure she's right, because, males in power thought it would be cool for women to have jobs and pay taxes, so they invented feminism, to collect more taxes and have more workers. And I knew I couldn't argue her about it because conspiracy theories exist to null every argument against them, right, no matter what I say, she'll have a more incredible explanation. So instead I changed the topic to the problems of sexual violence against women, domestic violence, normalization of pedophilia, and treatment of women like objects due to rampant pornography.

And she's like, no, that doesn't happen, most people are normal and have normal marriages and treat women normally, and these problems, are not the problems of 'feminism', these are things everyone is against – and I say no they're not, m*n don't care, they don't fight against any of it, in fact they're the perpetrators of 90% of these crimes. Then she launches into a story of an abused woman who refused to leave her husband because she loved him. I explain to her that this is incredibly common and it's called 'cycle of abuse', and we can resolve this by teaching women very early on about this cylce, that it can easily happen to them no matter what kind of husband they choose, and to recognize the signs early, before it comes to worst, and for women who are going trough it, they need all this euducation too. What is happening currently is nobody is talking about it and we pretend it doesn't exist and then victim-blame women when they get abused. Most abused women don't even recognize they're being abused because they're being isolated and told it's their own fault. Then she launched into another story about a woman who she knows was battered who escaped. Then she mentioned another situation she knew with a violent husband, and another with a drunk one. And I'm listening to her like. Hey. You said this doesn't even happen, that it's incredibly rare, but you personally know this many cases? And you know me, I've been living in violence too, remember?

And she just looks at me. Realizing for a second that it's not that rare. She didn't argue with me. She previously really thought about each and every case she knew as an outlier, something so improbable and rare that it wasn't really a social problem. She told me then, that we can't really help these people, because police only makes it worse, so what do we even do. I told her it's important that we talk about it, that we offer resources and teach women early on to recognize abuse, and to make a point of not blaming women for it, to make it clear any male could do it to them at any point, to be ready for it, to reconsider marrying, to have a separate bank account, to never let their survival and housing be completely dependant on a male.

I also indulged her to think why women can find themselves in these situations in the first place? If we're so equal, how come it's possible women don't have anywhere to go to, and need to stay in the abusers house to just survive. I said it has something to do with parents usually leaving their houses and properties to sons, and expecting daughters to move into their husbands places, and she again said 'no this doesn't happen', and I went 'well why don't these abused women just move into their own houses they inherited from their parents' and she again, had no arguments. It's not the sole reason though, women earn less too, get less promotions, get paid less for the same job, still mostly do unpaid labour, dedicate a big part of their life to raising children on their own, they don't get to accumulate funds and properties in the same ways m*n do.

Anyway, while we were having this entire conversation, her 18yo daughter was there, listening to us, and miraculously, she seemed to agree with me! When the plant lady claimed 'there's so many normal ones out there', the daughter interrupted to say 'no mom, there's no normal m*n out there, I can't find anyone normal', and I immediately supported her claim with agreement. I was so happy to be a little feminist influence on her and to validate her point! She was also wearing a shirt that said 'grl pwr' and I was like 'yes this is great' even though it's just a liberal catchphrase, it's still a sign of wanting women to have power in the world that doesn't believe a word they say.

I think the type of attitude the plant lady has is extremely common for women in our country, in fact she was very receptive to what I was saying. She knew about this many cases of domestic abuse, because she was often the safe person for these women to tell, and she has been helping the ones who escaped, me included.

Most women I know will launch in defense of males and trashing of women as soon as you mention feminism, because it's the only socially accepted thing to do. I believe we all have women in our lives who are not malicious or terribly ignorant, but affected by the mainstream beliefs that women are asking for too much, already have everything, and are at fault for everything that happens to them; this is incredibly pervasive and impossible to debate in a conversation. It's so ingrained in women to go against anything that makes m*n look bad, it's almost considered a sin and a hate crime to even think this way. Like something a bad, selfish, bitter, irrational and greedy woman would do, and nobody wants to be dubbed that. I remember thinking this way myself when I was a teen; I wanted to hold males responsible so bad, but the shame of being seen as this hateful and bitter person was getting to me, to the point where I would silent down and not speak out.

I used to get so angry at anti feminists, and would avoid indulging with the topic because it would irritate me so much, but I've gained more understanding as I go on, and can now tolerate the opposing arguments when I know they've come from propaganda and social pressure, rather than ignorance or hunger for approval. I'm more effective being able to indulge a little! Not a lot though. If I spent a lot of my time trying to argue with anti-feminists I would in fact, wither and die.

[writeforfandoms]

Island 8

Find the series masterlist

The group of you are finally ready to leave the base and start on, hopefully, the final journey on the Island.

Warnings: Swearing, mention of blood, mention of hunting, anxiety, general feelings of low self-worth, typical stuff for Survivor for this series.

Word count: 2.7k

It took a further three days to have everything as prepped as you wanted. You made batches and batches of hard biscuits, using up all the flour. Berries would still be available along a lot of the route, so you didn't worry too much about that. Jerky was fortunately something you'd been making for a long time, so you had quite a bit of it to go around. Fresh meat would also be available along the route. 

Water was more of a concern, but you were still holding out hope for a drop with more canteens.

Price gave in to your logic, and finished taming the iguanodon, which was good. Ghost surprised the hell out of you by coming back with a stego. Even Soap managed to tame a parasaur. 

Gaz still wanted a hyaenadon, so you and he took the ghillie and cuts of meat and started taming. You worked on one - Gaz somehow managed to work on two. It did take two days, as you'd predicted, but it worked. 

Leaving the lot of you with plenty of tames to carry things and help guard the group. Hopefully you'd be able to tame a few more things along the way, since you weren't worried much about being able to feed them all until you got to the volcano. 

Really, it was a pretty good start. 

Soap and Gaz did a good portion of the packing, with Price and Ghost handling the weapons and ammunition. Another thing you wouldn't mind finding more of in a drop. 

You kept track of everything, made sure everyone had some armor and kept essentials on them. Just in case. 

You didn't even object when Gaz swapped out one of your armor pieces for something heavier. 

The morning you were set to leave was… hard. Not for any reasons you'd expected. Packing went quickly and seamlessly, all the tames behaving themselves. Even Ripper wasn't trying to maul anyone. 

No, it was difficult for you to leave. You didn't want to leave. You didn't want to leave the safety of your base. You weren't ready to venture into the relative unknown.

Even with the four men by your side. 

“Ready?” Gaz finally prompted you, even as one of the tames snorted and shuffled behind you. 

You breathed in deep one last time, hands steady as you straightened your shirt. “Ready.” You turned your back on the base and took your place at the front, leading the whole group away. 

You didn't look back. 

If your guesses were right, it would take about four days to reach the volcano, since the lot of you weren't pushing, and were moving more cautiously. Maybe three, if things went well and nobody got in trouble and there weren't any distractions. 

You had enough food to last a week, just in case. 

The first day was easy. Nothing bothered you. All was quiet. Feeding everyone was easy - the herbivores grazed as you all walked, and you let Ripper and the hyaenadons after a few dodos. Gaz helped you build up the campfire for the night, helping you cook as the others took care of settling everything else. 

“Ye never did tell us how to tame a raptor,” Soap said, eyeing Ripper where the raptor had settled behind you for the night. 

“I didn't?” You blinked, surprised. You could have sworn you'd told them already. “Well, it's not easy. The hyaenadons are probably the easiest, honestly.” You swallowed a few berries, thinking over how you wanted to phrase it. 

“And the rest?” Price had a keen eye on you, even as he swapped a pot of boiling water for a fresh pot. 

“Well, first step is to not get killed,” you answered dryly, smirking at his dissatisfied huff. “You have to trap the predators. Usually that means with something like a bear trap. Feed them while they're stuck and can't go anywhere. Tom was pretty good at building traps that were less harmful, things you could lead a raptor into without risking your arm.” 

“Traps, eh?” Price eyed you, clearly considering. “Did he teach you?” 

“Yes,” you said slowly, hesitantly. “But we won't have time to build any traps, not on our route. The only chance we'd have of taming one is if we found one already trapped or injured.” 

“But it could be done,” Price pressed. 

“Sure,” you agreed with a shrug. “Still takes time, so we'd have to pause somewhere nearby, but it could be done, hypothetically. I don't know if we'll need more carnivores though, honestly. I wouldn't say no to more trikes or stegos.” 

Price sat back, his curiosity apparently assuaged for the moment. 

“How did Tom teach ye?” Soap asked, still looking curious. 

“Showed me what he had done with Ripper,” you said, shrugging again. “We had plenty of time. Not like we had anywhere else to be.” You paused, swallowing back bitterness. “At least, that's what we figured at the time.” 

Silence settled over the camp for a few long moments, the others giving you time to calm again. You didn't look at them, instead choosing to look at the fire, letting the movement of the flames distract you from your feelings. 

You owed a lot to Tom, and you'd never have a chance to repay him. 

But maybe if you got these men out… maybe your debt would be closer to settled. 

“What else did he teach you?” Gaz was the one to break the silence. “About tames.”

You smiled a little. “Which ones to avoid, like dodos,” you answered easily. “Which ones were easier to tame. Where to find the different creatures.” 

“You seen a lot of this place, then?” Soap piped up, watching keenly.

“A fair bit. Not the snowy lands, not the volcano. But I did make the mistake of going through the swamp once.” You shuddered in remembered terror and revulsion. “Huge bugs. Terrifying crocodile-things, except bigger. Lots of fighting and hunting going on in the swamp, all the time.” 

“Didn't ye have to go there to get the leech?” Soap looked faintly concerned. 

You shrugged. “I stayed to the outside, only went in far enough to find a leech and run. It was fine.” You reached behind you to pat Ripper. The raptor chirruped at you, clearly pleased with the attention. 

“Good thing that's not on the way,” Gaz managed to joke, his attention still focused on you. 

“Very good thing,” you agreed. “Although once we get into the mountains, there will be plenty of bad shit to keep us busy.” 

“We're prepared for that,” Price pointed out, seemingly unconcerned. 

You decided to keep your thoughts to yourself. You'd already expressed concern about the danger, more than once, so further harping on it wouldn't get you anywhere. Especially since these four could now survive on their own. They didn't actually need you anymore. 

It was what you'd worked towards with them, for them, but it was still a slightly terrifying thought. That they would survive without you. 

You shook yourself, getting rid of the worst of the what ifs and maybes, and stood to do a quick round of checks. Now that dark had fallen, it would be best to sleep in shifts, something the four of them had divided up quite nicely. 

You weren’t going to object. Not tonight. Tomorrow, though, you’d insist on pulling your weight. 

Soap, Price, and Ghost all settled down, apparently content to go to sleep. Soap even went so far as to roll away from the fire, his hair even more of a mess than usual. 

Gaz stayed where he was, seated, shoulders relaxed but gaze alert. The firelight cast odd shadows around him, flickering and dancing. Far from scaring you, however, you just thought him beautiful like this. 

“You should get some sleep,” he murmured to you, voice lowered in deference to his teammates. 

“I will,” you agreed. “In a few minutes.” You breathed in deep, the cold air mixed with the smell of the fire both soothing and exhilarating. “You see the island very differently.”

“Do I?” He sounded curious, glancing at you as you settled a little closer to him. You told yourself it was so you could keep your voices down, let the others sleep.

You didn't acknowledge that you just wanted to be close to him. 

Well. You tried not to acknowledge that, anyway. 

“You still see the wonder of it,” you murmured, letting your own gaze drift past the fire to the dark woods beyond. “The beauty of this place. I can't see it anymore. I just see danger.” 

Gaz was quiet for a few moments before he leaned over enough to nudge his shoulder up against yours. “You've been alone a long time,” he murmured. “Hypervigilance is not surprising.” 

You sighed softly, leaning just a little into the comfort he offered. “I'm tired,” you admitted, so quiet you were sure he couldn't hear you. 

But he surprised you, turning enough to wrap one solid arm around your shoulders. “I'm here,” he whispered, head tipped towards your ear, foreheads nearly touching. “I'll help. Any way I can.” 

You closed your eyes, trying to ignore the hot sting of tears, refusing to let them escape. “You already are.” 

His arm tightened around you, comforting and grounding, letting you breathe more easily. Neither of you said another word. None were needed. The shared warmth and comfort was more than enough for you. 

And when you woke in the morning next to Gaz, rather than where you'd originally set your things down, no one said anything. Soap looked like he wanted to, but he didn't. (The sharp-looking elbow from Gaz might've helped with that.) 

It didn't take long until the lot of you were walking again. You had the map, mostly ignoring Price peering over your shoulder at it. You didn't need the map yet, but you wanted to be sure the lot of you weren't getting lost. 

“Drops up ahead,” Ghost called from the back of the group. 

You paused and shaded your eyes, looking up until you spotted them. One green drop and one white. Your heart thumped in excitement. White drops were rare, and usually had really good stuff. 

“Looks like they'll be falling up ahead,” Price said, having also spotted them. “Nearly dead ahead.” 

“The white one is a bit off course,” you mused. “But it should be fine. We're not that close to the horse clan here, I think we're outside their normal range.” 

“You think?” Price raised one eyebrow at you.

You rolled your eyes. “I was less focused on keeping up with their territories, and more focused on surviving,” you pointed out, eyes narrowing at him. 

Price huffed but held his hands up in apparent surrender. Satisfied, you looked back at the drops. The green would be directly on the way, easy to stop and grab. 

An ankylosaurus wandered out of the trees in front of the group, snorting once at the lot of you before continuing to look for berries. 

“Slight change of plans,” you murmured, excited now. “You lot go to the green drop and wait for it there. I'll tame this anky and meet up with you.” 

“You shouldn't stay out here on your own,” Gaz interrupted, having clearly been eavesdropping. 

You shrugged. “So someone can volunteer to stay with me,” you said, unbothered. “Won't take three of you long to get everything out of the green drop anyway.” 

“I'll stay,” Gaz immediately offered. 

Price sighed and briefly pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something too quiet for you to understand. He sounded faintly exasperated. “Fine,” he agreed, lowering his hand again. “Soap, Ghost, on me.” He strode ahead, and you whistled the tames to follow him. 

From behind, it was rather fun to see the small herd of creatures following the beleaguered-looking captain. A sentiment Soap seemed to share with you, snickering as he passed. 

“More tames?” Gaz asked after the group had pulled ahead. 

“Ankys are pretty good defense,” you pointed out. “Not sure how much they can carry, but that tail is a good deterrent for a lot of predators.” 

“Not arguing,” he was quick to say, holding out a bag of berries. “Just surprised we're taking the time to do this now, is all.” 

You shrugged, pulling out a dark red berry and rolling it between your fingertips. “Way I see it, we have plenty of time,” you pointed out. “And more tames can't hurt.” 

Gaz nodded, accepting your logic. “So, approach slowly and feed it until it likes you?” He guessed with a little grin. 

You couldn't help your huff of amusement. “Basically,” you agreed. “Keep an eye out and shout if you see trouble.” You left him there, walking over closer to the anky. 

It wasn't a long process to feed, fortunately. The anky was hungry, and eager to take berries even from your hand. By the time the other group had the drop packed away, you had the anky following you, docile as any tame. 

“Anything good in that drop?” You asked as you and Gaz walked up to the rest of the group. 

“A canteen,” Soap answered, holding it up to show you. “And more ammo.” 

“Not bad,” you agreed with a little grin. “I hope the white drop has more good stuff.” 

The white drop seemed to be a bit off the path you'd drawn for the journey, edging closer to the edge of the Pink Ladies’ territory. Hopefully it wouldn't be a problem. Hopefully it would be worth it. 

This time, Gaz stayed next to you as you walked. You didn't mind his company, even when you heard a bit of snickering and hushed murmurs behind you. Soap, at a guess. And maybe Price. 

The white drop was a bit larger than the average drop, and it only took moments to pry the top open. 

The first thing you grabbed happened to be a bundle of incendiary arrows. You whistled lowly, impressed. 

“Hardly ever see these,” you mused, passing them to Soap. “Those could come in handy.” 

The jar of oil went right after the arrows, and your grin felt a little sharp. A little feral, possibly. 

Those arrows would be an excellent way to defend your group, if needed. 

Two more canteens, bigger and heavy-duty, met with your approval. More ammo, for all the weapons. A precious jar of cure-all. Two bags of jerky. And a bola, which you’d never had a chance to use before. 

“That was a good drop,” you said, grinning, very pleased. “Very good drop.” 

“Good to have supplies,” Price agreed, finishing stowing away the last of the extra ammo. 

“Now that this is done, we can keep going.” You didn't bother with taking the crate this time. No need, not if you lot actually got off the island. And building took too long on the road to be helpful. 

Ghost hissed through his teeth. “Got eyes on,” he said suddenly. 

The shift in the men around you was palpable, shoulders drawing up, expressions changing. Gaz shifted so he was half in front of you, physically blocking you. 

You'd be impressed if you weren't trying to peer over his shoulder to see what was ahead. 

Three Painted Ladies stood ahead, basically in the way. Your heart sank. You hadn't dealt much with them, not in a while, but the red dye on their faces and clothes made it clear. The two marked tames behind them made you a little nervous - an anky and a dire bear. You hadn't seen a dire bear in ages. 

You'd forgotten how big they got. 

You breathed in slowly, eyeing the distance between your groups. The Painted Ladies weren't approaching, weren't trying to get closer. Clearly waiting. 

You'd have to go to them. 

“You lot stay here,” you said, quiet but firm. “They won't deal with you.” 

“But–!” Soap started to protest, one hand already on a rifle. 

“No.” You shook your head a little. “They won't talk to you. They'll talk to me.” 

Price looked back at you, calculating. Then he nodded once, firm and steady. “Gaz, keep back, but follow her.” 

You didn't object that time. Having Gaz at your back made you feel better, even if you knew he couldn't help. So you breathed in deep, until the ache of it filled your lungs. 

Then you started forward, projecting confidence you didn't feel.

[dead-dove-product]

First, we need to define the (pre-PMMM) Magical Girl genre: you have either children or teenage girls (typically ranging from 10 to 14) who, in a turn of fate, either a) discover they're actually magical in some way or b) are gifted magical powers, and are asked to use their powers for good (i.e: protect the city/country/world). Magical Girl shows often make it a point to show that these girls are, on all other aspects, normal girls: they go to school, often have a love interest, a family, friends, hobbies, etc. This serves two purposes: first, it makes them relatable to young audiences and second, it makes older audiences subconsciously want to protect them. Another important trait of the genre is that animated adaptations must be colorful, and often use either pastels or bright colors to appeal to younger audience's eyes (this will become relevant later).

In Magical Girl shows, it not too uncommon to have darker episodes (like the penultimate episode of the first season of PGSM, where most of the girls die) or directly borrow codes from the horror genre (in horror, the central menace can often be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society; similarly, in Honey Cutie Flash, Panther Zora is basically the personification of human greed and hatred), however, unlike in the horror genre, Magical Girl shows tend to have an optimistic turn of things (back to Sailor Moon, Usagi's wish fix the situation, and all is well again), they have a happy ending and things go back to how they were (with some rare exceptions), and all is well again... Until PMMM

Madoka Magica starts off checking all the boxes: Madoka has a loving family, friends, she goes to school, she's happy, and then one day she encounters Kyubei, who asks for her help and tries to get her to make a wish to gain magical powers she could use to protect the city. It fits every box, but where Madoka differs from its predecessor is with its tone: while the serie starts off light and visually colorful, as the story progresses, it gets darker, which is reflected (among other things) visually.

Case in point, episode 1 of PMMM against Sailor Moon:

VS

Episode 2 of PMMM against episode 6:

And that's where PMMM excels, in its atmosphere, its tone, its visual story telling...

Magical Girl mangas tend to be darker than their anime adaptations (the most obvious instance in my eyes being Sailor Moon imo) for a multitude of reasons: the censorship isn't as tight, for one, but also they don't have all the tools anime have to make you think things are fine, they don't have vibrant colors, voice acting, music to tell you things are going to be fine, so things feel more tense, less guaranteed.

That's the main things about pre-PMMM Magical Girl animes, they make you feel things are going to be OK, no matter what happens, and that's why they don't feel horrific. Sure, there are scary/disturbing moments, but at the end of the day, you know things are going to be fine, whereas in horror movies or novels, you have to believe things could go either way in order to really get into it: if things are obviously going to be well, you're not involved because you feel safe, and if things obviously can't turn out OK, you're not involved either because it's no longer about success (survival) or failure (death), it's about how they're going to fail.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica both subverses the Magical Girl genre and embraces it fully, not exactly breaking any previously established characteristics of the genre, but also managing to put its own spin on it by making it clear things could go either way and are not necessarily going to end well. It's not the first Magical Girl anime to kill a protagonist, it's not the first one to give the girls magical object which allows them to transform and are directly linked to their life force and whose destruction or loss would result in death, it's not the first where the creatures the protagonists had been fight turn out to have a dark secret, but it is the first (to my knowledge) to acknowledge how dark all those things are, the first to acknowledge how truly disturbing it is to put the faith of the world into young girls' hands, the first to adopt a darker tone to discuss the subject, and that's where it subverses the genre, and that's what makes it a masterpiece. In all regards, it's exactly like any other Magical Girl show, but it also manages to be completely different.

This was a really long explanation that still didn't say much, but I had a hard time wording my thoughts, so I hope it at least makes a little sense. I'm very passionate about the subject haha

I just want someone to talk to about how Magical Girl (and, more broadly but to a lesser degree, superheroes) as a genre always had ties to the horror genre, and Madoka Magica (along some others) only exacerbated traits already existant within the genre through its visuals, sounds, masterful story writing and just overall atmosphere that made it the masterpiece we know and love today, but also (sadly) operated a change in the formula so many tried (and failed) to copy, hence why so many modern magical girl animes fall flat, is it too much to ask?

[vanmarkus]

i think i could agree with so many more takes if the takers weren't using words that just sound like "i am a good person for pointing this out" and "you are a terrible person if you don't agree" and "my experiences are universal and i speak for everyone who share some of my characteristics"

[sanasanakun]

Jimithon Mouthwashing is such a good representation of untreated, enabled NPD like it makes me want to squeeze the life out of him. I'm endlessly fascinated when watching him interact with his crew, surroundings, and himself because he's so fucking lost in his own sauce. It's insane. If I'm being real, it makes him my favorite character in the game.

It's a little scary to say, but watching Jimmy is like seeing a mirrored version of myself two years ago before I truly committed to treatment for my NPD. He's like a shadow. The opening line "I hope this hurts," which I believe comes from Jimmy right before the crash, is such a poignant statement. It's a simple line, but I can tell you from experience that the desire to hurt others when in a narcissistic rage is overwhelming. It's such a good line to sum up Jimmy's character in that moment. Luckily, in the real world, I had my friends and family there to catch me when I hit my lowest, even though I'd hurt them so many times. Jimmy probably could've used friends to force him into therapy (cough cough Curly cough cough)

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

I keep toying with writing this, because words are hard and I'm not sure how to fully articulate this thought.

However, it's something I've sensed very deeply and I think it's important to start trying to talk about.

Much has been said about how traumatic Oct. 7th was for Israelis and really Jews the world over, and lots has been said about why that was - from the fact that it happened on what was supposed to be a joyous holiday, the fact that this violence was as barbarous and sadistic as it was, the fact that it drew on deep historical wells of intergenerational trauma, to the fact that it was met with immediate denial, betrayal, and even celebration from supposedly progressive goyim - but something I have not seen much discussion on is how that ongoing denialism and even celebration of the carnage made sure that the trauma stuck.

See the thing is that one of the best predictors of favorable recovery outcomes from trauma is the support the victim receives, especially in the immediate aftermath. Victims with strong support networks, who are believed and whose grievances are taken seriously, recover much faster and much more holistically even from objectively worse traumas than victims who lack support and/or whose traumatic experiences are denied or dismissed. Seems obvious enough, right? That's why advocates for survivors exhort communities to listen to survivors and victims, and to hold space for them. We know what happens when that support is denied.

In some ways, the Jewish people is like a horrible case study in what happens when that denial of support happens - not just on a large scale, but over the course of time through numerous generations. In every generation they come for us, and every generation has the opportunity to step up. And so far, every generation has failed the task. (There are of course, some wonderful individuals who do step up; however they are the exception that proves the rule.)

The sadistic celebration of atrocities committed against Israelis and the denialism were not just unpleasant side concerns - these were active components of the violence.

The bottom line is this: if you deny the atrocities of Oct. 7th and the ongoing hostage crisis or try to excuse or downplay them, you are actively participating in violence against us.

And yes, of course these atrocities do not justify atrocities in return. Yes, of course confirming facts is important. But I think a big part of why we can't "just move on" to talk about other atrocities is because you people have never acknowledged our pain or let us grieve or be human. Not once. And the longer that goes on, the deeper the wound and the longer the road to healing from this trauma gets.

[ooffmlsorry]

OP Men When You're Injured

Context: I don't mean mortally injured, I'm talking something not too serious that kind of inhibits your movement like a broken bone or recovery from a surgery

Law, Kid, Ace, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji

Law

A/N: can we get a little commotion for this gif tho?? Why is he so perfect?? 😭

Law as a doctor is perfectly normal about your injury. He knows with some rest and eventual rehabilitation you'll be just fine. No big deal.

He makes sure you're healing well and comfortable, like he would with any patient

Law as your boyfriend is different.

In the case of an injury with no risk of infection, he'll press a kiss to it. Yes, like he's kissing your boo-boo 🥹

Law does not leave your side. He is your shadow. Where you go, he's right beside you or at the very least in the same room as you.

At first he deadass tries to convince you he's not lingering at all and he's the same as he always is.

But you both know he's lying. He practically moves his office wherever you decide to be for the day.

He can't help himself. What if you fall? What if you reinjure yourself? He's so pressed about the worst case scenarios, and given his past, can you blame him?

He quietly grumbles and pouts about his own "irrational" behavior because he knows in reality you can absolutely go about your day. You're a little slower but you're fine. But he just can't let you. As soon as you start to struggle, he's right beside you offering to help.

If you're aggravated by his hovering, he's twice as annoyed by it. He's literally so frustrated with himself lmao, you might end up having to comfort him instead.

Even if he complains (is it really complaining if he's actually happy lol) you're happy because all this extra time around you makes him extra affectionate. Law snuggles close to you, justifying his closeness by explaining how physical affection can lower cortisol levels.

KID

Oh Kid smh 😔he has no idea how to treat you so he just decides to behave like everything's normal lmao

Legitimately though, even if a inanimate object is what caused your injury, he's destroying it. Just out of pure fury that you were hurt.

He'll huff when you fall behind or have trouble doing something, but he just can't leave you to suffer

He's a man of action lol so he'll probably end up doing things for you just for efficiency sake. You're walking too slow? He picks you up. Can't grab or hold something? He'll do the whole thing for you and next time you try to do the same thing you find he's made something to make it a lot easier for you while you heal.

Anything you need to assist you he'll happily build.

If you have a cast or anything like that, he's gonna draw all over it (honestly, the whole crew will. You're gonna have the most bad ass cast ever)

He absolutely calls you a baby for wincing or complaining. He doesn't mean it...mostly.

If he's not keeping an eye on you than Killer is.

It's not like he's worried or anything! Fuck you for saying that!! He just doesn't want to hear or see you whining and complaining. It's annoying. Okay, sure Kid.

He genuinely hate seeing you in pain though, even if it's just wincing it reminds him of losing his arm and he never wants you to experience anything close to that.

ACE

Ace is your little emotional support boyfriend...or maybe it's the other way around 🤭.

He'll curl up at your side while you recuperate and completely dozes off.

He takes looking after you very seriously and asks Marco lots of questions, even if there's not a whole lot he can do.

He doesn't pity you, but he does feel really bad. Even if it was just an accident, he hates seeing you limited in any way.

He might accidentally treat you like you're made of glass.

It's just because he cares a lot, and he really doesn't want anything else to happen to you.

Every single morning he wakes up and asks how you're feeling or if you're in any pain.

There's a lot of people on the Moby Dick and accidents happen all the time, so don't be surprised when he literally clears a way for you to traverse around the ship.

I'm not saying he's impatient buuuut he will definitely glare at whatever part of you is injured and say, "Jeez, can you heal up already?"

He gives you space, but only if you ask for it. He just doesn't want you to feel like you're ever in this alone.

LUFFY

Luffy is neither patient nor gentle lol but he's extremely loyal

He'll goof off and continue to go on adventures, but he's not gone for long

Even his crew is surprised when tells them he's not going to get distracted because he knows you're back on the Sunny waiting for them.

He's always bringing cool things back to you since you can't do as much as you usually can. Just because you can't be right beside him doesn't mean you have to miss everything.

God bless him he's gonna try to bring you some meat so you'll heal faster 🤭.

He'll absolutely forget you're injured at some point and probably tackle hug you.

The last thing he'll let you do is stay cooped up in bed unless Chopper insists that you have to. Even if you need to rest you can do it right next to him on the head of the Sunny, right?

Exactly like Ace he's going to frown at whatever part of you is injured and say, "Jeez, can you heal up already?!"

He gets whatever you need and probably overdoes it. Need a glass of water? He just straight up brings you the whole barrel.

More is better! Besides, you need to hurry up and get better!

ZORO

He's not worried. He's so chill about it, actually. ...Until you start to move around.

The way he switches up is laugh worthy. He goes from nonchalant to overprotective in an instant.

He practically holds his breath as you make your way around the Sunny, watching you like a hawk.

Admittedly, he does tease you a little. He'll grab things for you, but hold them out of your reach or call you a little turtle if you move slower. He thinks it's very cute hehe.

For better or for worse, Zoro's not a hypocrite. He won't hound you to take it easy if you think you're up to a task. Even if Chopper really wishes he would.

He still won't leave you though, unless you're resting and stationary, he's by your side.

Zoro is your attack dog boyfriend. There's no way anyone (*ahem* Luffy) is fooling around too close to you. There's not going to be a chance you could get hurt more or reinjured.

When you're alone he checks in with you to make sure you're okay, not because he's shy about being soft in front of people but more so to protect your privacy.

He kind of likes doing extra things for you, he won't say it out loud but it makes him really happy when he can do things while you recover. He considers taking care of someone he loves to be such an honor.

SANJI

Unless whatever injured you is vitally important (e.g. the Sunny), he's kicking the shit out of it on principle because how dare anything even dare to hurt you lmao

Are you surprised that he dotes on you hand and foot? You shouldn't be.

I think it also goes without saying he is cooking you best meals.

They're gonna have to tie him down when it comes time for your rehabilitation because he wants to do everything for you.

He's such a sweet heart! He leaves you little messages like "you're doing great!" and "I love you!"

Literally this man lives with you on the ship and he still got you flowers, a get well card, and a little stuffed animal like he's not going to see you every single day

He loves carrying you (as long as it's Chopper approved). He's beaming down the sunny with you in his arms.

He makes the cutest little picnics so you can eat comfortably

Sanji's also an emotional support boyfriend lol. In between cooking for the crew and other duties, he's curled up right next to.

He might coddle you a little too much but it's just because he loves you so so so much

[saeist]

SAEIST WE NEED AN AFTER ARGUMENT FLUFF FROM OUR LOVER SAE

you and sae rarely argued.

obviously there were a few misunderstandings here and there but given that you two were adults, misunderstandings would often be patched up by the end of the day as communication is something sae values a lot especially with how most of the time, you two are in a long distance relationship with his profession and all.

sae would rather have things said right on the dot than to beat around the bush

however, communicating with the soccer super star sometimes isn't enough. especially when his stubbornness kicks in. when times are in drastic measures and you two are not on the same boat even after talking it out rationally, sometimes all hell breaks loose.

all because sae has a bad habit of ignoring you when your little misunderstanding that turns into a full blown argument that blows out of proportion.

it's very on brand of him to do so if you say so yourself.

one could say it's a force of habit given this is the treatment he gives his own manager when things aren't going the way he envisions it. but some could also say that sae is just a blatant asshole for acting like this at his grown ass age

now you might be wondering, what could you two argue about that ended up with sae ignoring you? well it's because sae can't just bite back his own tongue

you were telling him that he should take it a little slow with his trainings because intense trainings usually bring home an irritated sae that would quite literally berate everything he sees including inanimate objects such as your shared pet cactus

and sae being sae, he most likely have said some not very nice things that may have escalated into whatever predicament you two are in right now instead of compromising and working things out like you two normally would

hours have passed and it's just been silence in your shared apartment. if you listened closely you could probably hear a pin drop with how eerie quiet it was

you've already grown past the issue. in retrospect it was kinda nonsensical now that you were off the intense emotional high. now that you think about it, the whole thing that went between you and sae just sounded stupid

amidst these past few hours, sae would occassionally come out of his office to get himself a glass of water to drink or some shit from the pantry. literally anything he can get his hands on in the kitchen where he needs to pass by the living room where you were currently in

you can feel his gaze boring holes onto the back of your head whenever he was at the kitchen for like 10 seconds. you know that he was itching to talk things out with you but you know better that his pride was on the line

talk about egotistical, right?

it was dinner time when sae breaks. he honestly looks and sounds like a stray cat who just got drenched in the rain and needed to take refuge in your care

"sorry" sae murmurs, looking up from his plate to give you the look of defeat evident in his eyes

sae was sure for a while that you would be the first one to break the ice in this little cold war you two currently have going on. boy, was he wrong.

you thought it'd be time for sae to have a taste of his own medicine for a change. how it would feel to be the receiving end of his silent treatment

noticing that you weren't saying anything and continued munching on your food, he initially thought you didn't hear him clearly. so he clears his throat in attempt to catch your attention.

"i said i'm sorry" he coughs, putting down his fork as he waits for you to lift your head up to look at him in the eye while he was talking to you

silence.

sae's eyes widened. usually you'd accept his apology right away. you can't resist him, and neither can he resist you so what's with the sudden switch?

he waits a little more in case you were just busy digesting your food properly but a beat of silence passes by and you were now getting up from the table to put your dishes on the sink.

"y/n" he calls out, running after you to the kitchen. you barely even spare him a glance, maneuvering your way around him to get to the kitchen sink so you could start washing your plate

sae debates with himself if he were to call your name again but quickly realizes that you aren't going to respond any time soon. he sighs, dropping his head. looks like he just lost in his own game

instead, he gets this idea to just follow you around like a lost puppy.

to be frank, you were lowkey enjoying tormenting sae like this. it was too good to be true that he would be the one to grovel and get on his knees to beg for your attention. the way he is literally attached to your hip as you carry on with your daily night routine which should've included doing the dishes together, cleaning up together and his favorite part of the night– doing skincare together

but alas, why isn't it the consequences of sae's actions.

you two were already in bed at this point but still, you have not uttered a word to sae, who was right next to you, eyes glued to your figure, watching you like a hawk.

sae couldn't take it anymore. he doesn't want to end the day like this where you two aren't talking. it was already a hassle for him that you two didn't talk at all for the rest of the day.

not that he's gonna admit it but he misses you. he misses the way you would talk til his ears fall off. he misses your daily reports to him about whatever you did throughout the day when he was out in training. he misses the laughter in the air as you come up with a (not so) funny joke,

sae just misses you. he's not used to your silence and it's killing him

swallowing his pride, sae slowly takes it upon himself to wrap his arms around you, pulling you close to his chest

"look, i shouldn't have yelled at you like that earlier. you were just looking out for me and i've been a little preoccupied with trainings that it's getting to me. i'm sorry for being an asshole recently" sae sincerely apologizes, a hand carefully reaching to caress your cheeks

with a smile, you finally look up at sae, "took you long enough" you tease, poking his nose

sae releases the air he was holding in, now that you were finally talking to him again

"never put me through that ever again. i'd rather walk through a thousand needles than you ignoring me" sae nags, wrapping his arms around you tighter.

"now you know how i feel when you ignore me!" you retaliate, snuggling closer to him

sae suddenly kisses the side of your face. "i mean what i said though, i'm sorry for saying all those words. i know that you're just looking out for me. let me make it up to you, y/n"

you look up at him, shaking your head

"no, i totally understand that you have to go to trainings. it's fine, sae. just ease up on trainings so i don't have to worry too much for your well being. can't have my super star all worn up" you joke, nudging him in the slightest

sae smiles. what did he ever do to deserve you

"whatever. i'm still gonna make it up to you for always dealing with me"

"if it's you sae, i don't mind dealing with you at all"

[collaredsoldat]

Domestic Winter Soldier / Soldat Stuff

warnings: PTSD | Slight self-harm | Mentions past abuse

a/n: Idk I wanted to write this because he deserves some love even when he's the soldier. Various hcs about domestic life with the Winter Soldier. Actual fics in the works. I run four blogs so I try to balance it all. Not edited ignore mistakes.

Soldat is a little awkward with home life at first. He isn't sure what to do, being free from constant control isn't something he can easily adjust to.

He looks to you for commands all the time. Can he sit? Can he go to the bathroom? Can he sleep? Can he eat? Every little thing he does. You have to reassure him that he doesn't need to ask permission for anything, but he still does.

He sometimes gets snappy at you, since he still can't decide whether or not to trust you 100% or not. He can't understand why someone is being so nice to him.

Sometimes he accidentally breaks something and he flinches away from you, or he hides out of fear. You have to coax him out, telling him it's okay and that you're not going to hurt him. He always hesitates.

He struggles to sleep so he comes into your room most nights and stares at you or roughly shakes you to wake you up. "Can't sleep." he speaks lowly, and he grunts and climbs over you into your bed, never waiting for a response. At first he sleeps away from the door, but as time goes on he moves to sleep closest to the door in case any unlucky person breaks into your apartment.

Very much like a cat, he stays back but when he wants attention he sort of just...flops near you and demands it by laying on you somehow, or sitting super close so your bodies are touching.

He watches you cook a lot. He sits down at the counter and watches or he stands over you and watches. Sometimes you have to pull him away from the stove because the oil will burn him and he doesn't bother moving away on his own.

He's much more curious than you'd think. He watches you do a lot of things, almost as if he's never seen anything like it. Something as simple as brushing your hair or doing laundry, he's mesmerized by it.

When he's not watching you do something, you notice that he just stares a lot. He always watches you, at first out of uneasiness, but then...just because. He's always watching you, almost like he's worried you'll disappear.

You help him shower, he doesn't like touching his scars. He tries to rub them away, and he's tries to claw his metal arm off. So you help him clean to prevent him from going into one of those episodes of hurting himself in that way.

He used to get aggressive when you came around him when he was naked, treating you like some big threat, but you realized this was something more than just fear. It took a lot for him to get comfortable enough to allow you to touch him in the shower/bath.

For being so heavily trained as the best assassin, he's quite accident prone. Nothing major, but enough to warrant some kind of care. He feels a little confused whenever he gets hurt by accident, like he never expected the corner of the table to leave a small cut on his flesh arm. He focuses too much on things he knows hurt, that other things go unnoticed.

He learns to cook with you some days, he was tired of just watching. It's a good way to show him you trust him too, letting him handle things like knives or sharp objects without worrying he will hurt you.

You learn he really likes pie. Apple pie especially.

You also learn the alarm on the oven is too loud for him so you use your phone instead.

If you bring him out with you, he's very protective. His head is on a swivel, constantly observing everyone around you. He stays glued to your side, not letting you take many steps away from him.

Gets overstimulated easily.

Sounds that are similar to a blender or electricity freak him out. A bug zapper is also a sound he hates.

Some foods he looks at with newfound curiosity, like he hadn't seen them before. There are things he doesn't even recognize, newer or modernized things, he didn't know what to think. What the hell is an air fryer? How do you fry with air??

Get one and watch how he looks at it with amazement and confusion.

He seeks out spaces where he can be alone a lot, he needs space sometimes and you understand.

During bad episodes he sometimes disappears from your apartment, making you panic a little each time. You find him in alleys or the streets from time to time, he never wanders too far. You are worried sick but your priority is to get him back home.

It's hard for him to show it, but he does appreciate you and everything you've done for him. He gives you hugs from behind a lot, sometimes he whispers a word to you, but mostly he's silent.

He likes puzzles. He likes putting them together. Maybe because he himself feels like there are so many pieces of himself missing and it's satisfying to fill a picture.

One thing that calms him down are fresh cookies. Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, he can go from high strung to calm and docile.

He hates porridge and/or oatmeal. It's too similar to the things he was forced to eat in HYDRA. Tasteless slop, he can't stand the texture.

He loves when you brush his hair. His scalp is sensitive since he had his hair yanked and pulled so much, but you're always gentle. He loves feeling your fingers run through it and it puts him to sleep within minutes.

You're the only one who can touch his scars. Not that he is close to anyone else, but he doesn't fight you when your hand roams over where metal meets flesh.

Watches over you when you sleep a lot, his eyes glued to the door and his ears alert to every single sound. He stays up until he literally can't keep his eyes open.

He's very attached to you and never wants to leave you, ever.

Dividers by @/strangergraphics

[anundyingfidelity]

FOR ALL TIME, ALWAYS – Loki x female reader

Summary: Loki escapes the TVA for a moment. Desperate and brokenhearted, he looks for you, his wife, in the Sacred Timeline. Even if you saw him die ten years ago.

Word count: 3.9k.

Warnings: LOTS of angst, some fluff, spoilers of Loki series in general. Language. Maybe I'm not getting how the branches work oops. This is right after the end of 2x02 and before 2x03. My English is also a warning, just in case.

Notes: while looking on the tags I checked a post of someone asking for a TVA Loki fic where he finds the reader but her Loki died in IW (not canon in my head btw). So I wrote it because is such a great idea, but I can't find the original post... ;-; anyway hope you like this!

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

GEN MASTERLIST!

It's harder to stay...

Wasn't this situation hard enough? Sylvie was right. She had a point. But Loki wanted to do the right thing. Maybe he would find a chance... Again, right? Probably he would make the proper decisions this time.

The TVA was already fucked up, and with it, the thousands of timelines and lives in danger within them. Sometimes, it looked like it didn't matter. In the end, they were trying to fix something that was already broken.

Loki let out a deep breath he didn't realise was holding and walked to talk directly to his partner, Mobius.

"I need a favor," Loki mumbled, so the grey-haired man would be the only person to hear his voice.

Mobius met his eyes. He knew that gaze, it meant he was up to something. "What kind of favor?"

The god motioned Mobius to step away from the newly acknowledged variants and far away from what B-15 was witnessing. The branches were pruned from the whole existence; thousands and millions of lifes lost to the void in just the blink of an eye. Loki knew he had to do something before it got worst. Something for himself.

"I need to go the Sacred Timeline," Loki announced.

"Are you nuts?" Mobius scolded, in the same low voice tone Loki had used.

"Is just- listen, it's something I have to do. I really need to go back there. Need to see someone, make sure everything is okay," Loki insisted.

During all the times Loki showed he was desperate, Mobius was sure this was the peak of all of them. He wasn't explaning more than necessary, he looked serious, and his voice was crisp. Loki knew what he wanted at that moment. Mobius sighed, his hands finding the pockets of his pants, unsure of Loki's request.

"So it's personal..."

"A little, yeah," Loki nodded.

"Promise it'll be quick," Mobius said, taking off the TemPad from his pocket and his hand stopped in the air before the object could lay in the god's grip. "Don't make me regret this."

"I won't."

2029, Sacred Timeline

When Loki arrived to his destination, the nerves got the best from him. New York looked no different from the last time he was there. Shifting his usual clothes he wore at the TVA, he chose a plain suit to go undercover, or at least decided he would try to, considering he was a criminal once in Midgard.

But as he walked through the halls of the familiar building he met decades ago, he didn't really care. He longed for something else. Better say, someone. And it was you.

You, who met him in the past right after Thor's banishment, and even helped him to find the Teseract, only to give up to SHIELD and those idiots that people called 'The Avengers'. Of course his heart hurted for a long time, but Loki tried to deny the feelings blooming inside and instead, he just decided to walk away from you, even if that meant hurting you. It was the best.

At least that was what he believed until he checked further his file; the file that Mobius had prepared for him. His life. Even after what he did to your people and planet, you still held no grudges. And Thor was good enough to seek for yours and the sorcerer's, Stephen Strange, help once Hela appeared in their lives.

Loki would never forget the loving look in your beautiful eyes when you saw him again, after years of parting ways. He really paid attention to you while watching his file, and he found there was only love, protection, and care in you. All for him. Someone who didn't deserve it, he thought.

He felt grateful at least he had the pleasure to enjoy happiness for a moment. Even if that meant Asgard was destroyed. Loki already lost his mother, his father, and he almost lost his brother. He couldn't stand losing you either. The simple idea of living without you - even if he didn't know you further than your Loki did - was unbearable pain.

So while in the ship on the way to Midgard with the asgardians and survivors of the Ragnarok, you held a cozy, small wedding when he asked you to marry him. This was one of the parts Loki would replay again and again from his file, with disbelief that he was actually happy and joyful, enjoying a good time with you, his brother, and all the asgardians who survived. Loki felt full of hope after your wedding, thinking fate had better things to come with you as an oficial part of his life.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long, thanks to the Mad Titan. As his steps got near your door, the memory of his brother and your figure mourning on his lifeless body appeared on his mind. It was an image he couldn't erase that easily. Probably, he would never forget that was his original destiny all the way. That was meant to be. And for now, he could not change it.

Loki stopped outside your apartment. He took a deep breath and raised his shaking hand to reach the doorbell. He waited for a moment, not knowing if seconds or minutes went by, it felt eternal. Until the door opened and he saw you.

The bright smile you had on your lips faded away. Your eyes flooded with tears, your forehead was furrowed, and still, Loki thought you were the most beautiful creature in all the Nine Realms.

"Hi..." Loki barely whispered, his eyes were glossy and a single tear also ran down his pale cheek.

You were clearly in shock. You wanted to get closer and finally touch him, to feel him physically. But even if you wanted to move to take his hand to confirm it wasn't a trick of your ruined mind, your body was stiff and your feet were glued to the ground.

"Is this an illusion?" you trembled.

All Loki could do was shaking his head, before muttering. "No..."

"Loki, I saw you die..."

Tears ran down your face, denying to yourself that this was real. That this was really happening to you. And your mind started to wonder all the possible scenarios and reasons on why him, the god of mischief, the only person you loved dearly with all your mind, body and soul, was standing right in front of your door even if he was gone for you... Long gone now. And that couldn't be undone.

"I know you did, my love."

You tried to smile, even a little bit, as he pronounced those words so dearly. Loki came closer to your figure, carefully placing a trembling hand on your cheek, feeling the tears flowing on your skin. You leaned into his touch, with a simpering smile. Such was the effect you had on him, that a silly smile he also had on his lips.

And you realized Loki was so real... His touch, his heat, his smile, his scent, the way he would hold you... Everything about him was exactly as you remembered. You felt his lips brushing softly against yours, gentle and hesitant, and instantly, you melted into a slow kiss, sure knowing that Loki would taste the salt of your tears running down your face. Leaning in closer as the space between would allow you, you savoured each second your breaths allowed, longing to remain right there for eternity. For all time. Always.

"But now I am here... and I can explain," he whispered once you separated your lips from his in the sweetest way.

You let out a soft chuckle. "Mind to enlighten me, oh, god of mischief?"

Finally you guided him inside your apartment. That old apartment Loki saw his other self visiting a couple of times before you were something. It still had your vibe around it and he loved it. He felt like he was at home after a very long time. Once you closed the door, his arms wrapped around your figure, and you let yourself cry, pressing against his chest and with a tight grip of your hands on his coat.

"You don't have any idea of how much I have missed you all these years," you sobbed and his heart shrank on his chest. "I kept wishing every night and every day to be me instead of you."

"My love," he said softly, separating a little and cupping your cheeks with his warm hands. His eyes were red now because of the tears he was holding back again. "Don't say that... It was supposed to happen."

"What?" you mumbled.

Your hands found his wrists and you pulled his palms away from your cheeks. However you kept the contact with him, you just needed to touch him, to feel he was in the flesh. He was alive right now, wasn't he?

"Look, I am not your Loki. I know what you did, what the Avengers did after Thanos-" his voice broke just a bit but he continued. "I know everything. I just couldn't resist knowing there was someone for me, out there in the Nine Realms, capable to love me for who I am," Loki explained as he watched your face. Was it disappointment? Confusion? He didn't know, but he had to tell you the truth.

Your voice came out as a barely audible whisper. "So... you are saying... you're another Loki? Another him?"

He nodded softly. "I am." Loki thought for a moment on how to explain everything, but he just went for what his heart felt it was right. "It's a little complicated. I did something that wasn't supposed to be, and perhaps will sound like I'm insane, but thanks to that I am kind of trapped in time. With an organization that is not what everyone thought it was, hence a multiverse was created. Sponsored by another me, by the way. You are in what is called the Sacred Timeline, where things flow as how they were supposed to since forever. And I just needed to see you after I found out you were the love of my life."

You took a moment to understand everything he said, wishing that his fate would have been different from what originally happened. Loki gave his best, even in the last worst moments, he was changing for good. For you. For Thor... It wasn't fair.

"Your death was supposed to be then?"

"Yes, it was."

"Oh, Loki," you cried. "You know what, I don't care what's happened. I'm just- I feel happy seeing you here... Please tell me everything you've been through. I want to hear your voice again, to know you're with me right now, to feel you near... I'm not crazy, am I?" you chuckled between tears and Loki curved his lips in a smile, wiping your tears from your face with his thumbs.

Loki granted your wish and explained everything, answering every question you had about the lies of the TVA; the files he found out were his whole life; about Sylvie, Mobius and his variants. He spilled all you wanted to hear, asking like a child, until you understood what was happening. You noticed he truly had changed, just like your Loki did when he reunited with Thor before the Ragnarok took over Asgard. It was a bittersweet feeling however, thinking how much they they seemed to each other. They were the same person after all, but this Loki didn't had the chance to continue his path as it was supposed to.

Taking his hand into yours, you leaned towards him and laid down your head on his shoulder while you both sat comfortable in the couch, just enjoying each others company. Your eyes were dry at this point after crying for what it felt were hours, but his voice helped to soothe you enough.

"I'm glad knowing you have someone like Mobius by your side," you said after a quiet moment. "He sounds like a very good friend," you looked at him, waiting for an answer. "Because that's what he is to you, right?"

"He is a great friend, I'm not alone if that is what is troubling you," Loki affirmed.

You let out a sigh. "That is totally a relief to me."

Loki chuckled softly, leaning to leave a kiss on your hair. "Now you've heard everything about me, would I hear something from you?"

"I'm just a mortal, Loki," you smiled. "Doing the normal shit, not the superhero stuff anymore. I am hating my pretty much normal office job every day; I feed the birds when I go outside at the park, also thinking about adopting a cat or a dog... Maybe a dog."

"Or you could do both."

"Yeah, I might. But my place isn't that big for pets. Sometimes I feel like I'm too alone, very much alone... I would love to have a big farm, or a cabin in the mountains with lots of plants, pets and animals to take care of." The idea did sound good for Loki. Hopefuly you could find peace that way. "Do you remember Pepper?" you said, straighting up on the couch to look at him. He nodded. "Well, after Tony died I still visit her and their daughter, Morgan. She is ten years old, could you believe it?" Loki noticed the sorrow and pain you still carried after all those years of losing your friends, your people... "And I've been missing you and mourning you for ten years as well."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, Loki."

"Do whatever is the best for you, my dear... I would have loved to be here with you now, as the Loki from the Sacred Timeline."

You smiled, but it was a sad smile. "Well, either way, you're here now. It's all that matters to me."

Once again, you shared a loving kiss and took his hand to walk to the kitchen, asking him to take a seat in your breakfast bar, glad he decided to search for you in one of your free days. Otherwise, you would have surely missed his visit. But he was looking for you. Probably Loki would have found you anywhere at this point.

You talked some more while you had some tea and ate some cookies that you saved for special days on the shelfs. The afternoon was pleasant, and this was your turn to speak. Loki, coat long gone, was catching up with you and he asked every single thing about your life now. He smiled more than ever, laughed more than you have ever seen, and it was certainly something you could get used to from now on. Knowing you never continued your life with another person made his heart ache though. However, Loki was no one to blame. He would have done the same thing. No other was like you, no one would have replaced you.

"It's my decision," you finally said, reading his face like an open book. "I have loved you, I love you now and I will love you forever."

He took your hand, lacing your fingers with his. "I know..."

"The day we married you gave me a ring. I always have it with me, today I'm not working, but I use this necklace with your ring," you searched for the necklace hiding inside your shirt and taking it off, you showed him the precious jewel hanging on a fine golden chain. The ring he recognized once was from his mother. "I want you to have it."

"No,I can't-"

"But this is what I want. I know I would have to forget, because you will make me forget about this. About you, coming here, risking everything just to see me. So please, take it."

Loki knew you had made a decision, but then if he left, taking your memories away about this day, what was left for you? He had nothing, and it was okay. He would still know he came to the Sacred Timeline; that he kissed you, that you shared a moment together, that you still loved him. But you will have none of that. And you, as human as you were, would die without the memories and without the ring. You would have nothing and he was sure couldn't bear it.

"Perhaps I can have something else to remember you, I want you to keep this ring as a promise," he closed your hand around the necklace. "My promise that I still love you and I will do it. Forever."

And you sighed, taking the necklace back with a smile. Always so stubborn. "Give me a moment."

Loki saw you leave the kitchen for some minutes. While he was alone, he noticed the sunset through the windows, as it was almost ending to welcome the dark sky around the city. He knew he had to go soon. As much as he didn't want to and the simple thought of runing away was starting to hurt him deep inside.

When you arrived, you stood by his seat on the breakfast bar, putting a small photograph, perfect for a passport, on the surface. It was all in black and white, and you looked what you thought it was nice. Loki took it between his hands, lovingly and with a proud smile on his face.

"I used that when I was taking my Master's degree. Looks pretty decent," you joked.

Loki laughed, tears right at the corner of his eyes. "It's more than that. It's perfect."

His smile faded, knowing this meant he had to leave you again. Loki wasn't supposed to have a happy ending, was he? How he wished to stay there by your side.

You kissed his cheek as a sort of goodbye and comfort at the same time, noticing the sudden change on his face and whispered softly. "So you don't search for me on those files."

"Thank you, love."

Loki got on his feet to put his coat on, like some sort of mental preparation before leaving your apartment and the Sacred Timeline. He saved your photograph on his pocket securely along with Mobius' TemPad, pretending to be strong and swallowing all the pain he was feeling right at that moment. You took his hand, lacing your fingers together one last time and walked until you stood there, in the middle of your living room. He looked at you with loving eyes, trying to save your face and your figure before returning to where he was supposed to be now. And it seemed like time had stopped, as everything Loki could see and feel was you and only you.

"I guess is time now," you began, interrupting his mind.

"I guess it is," Loki nodded, expecting an answer from you. Anything. But it never came. You were also trying to save the moment as much as you could.

So he cupped your cheeks, feeling for the last time your warm, soft skin against his palms. He didn't want to talk, because if he would have said something, it meant you were really saying goodbye forever. What Loki didn't know is that you felt the same thing.

Was there something good to say to your lover, whose destiny was just to bring the best from other people with his cruelty and chaos? To the man who had learn to make things better and, in the end, died trying to protect his people and his wife? Was there anything out there that would bring the god of mischief the happiness and love you always knew he deserved? With these branches and multiverse thing, you hoped deep in your heart there was a universe where he found what he longed for so long. This was just one of many of them. Probably he was happy and living in peace in some others.

"I love you, Loki," you mumbled. He caressed your skin with his thumbs and wiped the small tears that were running on your cheeks.

"I love you too."

Loki leaned to kiss you one last time. You welcomed the kiss with shut eyes, savouring his lips and the taste of your tears, mixing now with his own.

The pain started to bloom; every heartbeat felt like a sledgehammer pounding against his chest. He was not ready to let you go, so this was all he could do. The seidr flowed from his fingers, the green lights covering your body with the help of the spell he casted for you was made to protect you from anything that could get out of hand in the Sacred Timeline, particularly from his own hands, the hands of the TVA, or any other danger that could chase you. Because if something would happen to you due to his stubborn decision, Loki knew he wouldn't forgive himself. What he was sure about though, was that he would still look for you until the end of time.

So when the kiss ended, you fell asleep in seconds. He had to take your sleeping figure with his arms to your bedroom, where he carefully laid you down on the bed. Making sure you were comfortable in your sleep, fixing the pillows and the blankets, Loki remained there, just to take in the serenity emanating from you. It was something you had, the ease and calm your aura projected to everyone in the room. This was the last thing Loki wanted to save from you.

He kissed your forehead and dried the tears on your face before standing up. Once you were to wake up in some hours, you would not be able to know everything was real. Loki made sure you thought it was a dream. So that is what you would have in your head. Something you wished for so long that will only be nothing but thoughts, scenes and emotions that felt absolutely true. As real as life could be.

Loki took the TemPad and opened the timedoor to go back to the TVA, where he knew Mobius would be waiting already since he left for hours. Without looking back to your room, he stepped in and forced to compose himself just in case he would bump into someone else. He sighed, observing through the halls of the headquaters as he made his way back to the room that was assigned to him.

At his door, a worried Mobius was already waiting for him, walking in circles.

"God, Loki I thought you were gone for a second," the analyst breathed out. Loki just handed the TemPad and Mobius took it back. He noticed his weary demeanor and teary eyes. "Thank you. Sorry I doubted you for a second."

"It's fine," Loki shrugged it off, looking for something on his pocket. The photograph slipped from his fingers and fell down to the floor. Mobius was quick enough to pick it up for him, but as he gave it back to his owner he observed it thoroughly.

"So this was the personal thing you did," Mobius said, looking the photograph resting on Loki's hand. He remembered that face from his files.

"Yeah... I guess all set now," Loki sighed.

"Good, I hope you're ready for another trip to the Sacred Timeline." Mobius turned to walk away, deciding it was better to give him some time, but he turned back to Loki before doing so. "And if you're feeling like talking about this any day, only between us, just let me know."

And with that, he walked away. Loki smiled, standing alone outside his door.

You were right. Mobius was a good friend.

[imababblekat]

Ways The TmnT Boy's Annoy Their S/O; Hc's

Anon request, "hello I love your work and I hope you are well I wanted to ask you for a fic with the turtles and a fem!reader, about things they do to jokingly annoy their girlfriend because its funny for them. <3"

~xXx~

Leonardo:

Leo doesn't normally try to annoy his s/o, but occasionally he does feel a bit cheeky and decides to pester them if they're in a decent mood

the thing he does most often in these small occurrences is randomly poke at their side, and when they ask what he needs he'll pretend to not know what he just did

loves doing it if they're working at something and he's wanting attention

you know that thing dad's do where they pretend to lick their hand and then try to gross you out by putting said hand in your space? well he does that too

will chase his s/o around either the lair or their place, mischievously grinning as they run away screeching at him to not even dare!

Leo never pushes his s/o past annoyance, and will always end his shenanigans with gentle laughter and apology kisses

Raphael:

this man has messed with his s/o before they were even his s/o; he knows all the right buttons to push and to what limit as to not go so far as to actually anger them

he can't help it, it's so adorable how they get all red and puffed up when he mildly irritates them

absolutely calls his s/o shorty and other ridiculous nicknames when he's being a butt

his favorite thing to do that always gets his s/o rolling their eyes is when they ask him for help with something such as opening a pickle jar, and he dramatically flexes his muscles while wagging his brow, stating that if they wanted to see him at work, all they had to do was ask

will also purposely man spread where ever they're seated so his s/o is basically forced to sit either between his lap or on it

Raphaels messing around is always in good fun, and he knows when enough is enough, even if your death glare is the cutest thing he's ever seen

Donatello:

his favorite way of annoying his s/o is honestly so adorable that it's hard for his s/o to stay mad about it for very long

his s/o will ask him for something like a snack, and before they can grab it from his hand he quickly holds it up above his head

will wink and state they have to pay the bae toll first, and despite all their groaning, his s/o will tip toe to give him a sweet kiss

will sometimes place things in a high place so his s/o has to ask him to get it, but more often than not they know he purposely placed it there and will try to jungle gym their way up to get it

he'll stand to the side with a smug smirk and ask them if they're sure they don't need his help, finding their determination to get whatever object themselves very adorable

whether or not they say yes, he's always read to catch them if they happen to slip or fall, in which case he'll hold off on putting their stuff high up for a while

Michelangelo:

most the time when he feels like annoying his s/o it's because he's either bored, wants attention, or both

his favorite way of doing so is playing the "gravity game", much to his s/o's dismay

Mikey will locate his s/o to find them keeling over some work that can honestly wait a day or two to be done, and if he can't bribe them to step away for a break with cuddles, he'll let out the biggest sigh, an indication of what he's got planned

his s/o will shoot him a knowing glare and tell him he better not, but it's too late, Mikey has already trudged his way over to where they're seated or standing and groans loudly about how heavy the Earth is, practically leaning all of his weight onto his flustered s/o

won't put his entire weight into it because he obviously doesn't want to crush them, but Mikey also won't let up till his s/o agrees to finally take a break and spend some time with him, to which he will act victorious and act suddenly weightless as he practically floats off with his blushing s/o for some quality time

~xXx~

[gummilutt]

It's been a while but I am back with another creation! I am very excited to share this with you, because it builds upon the work of a much beloved modding duo and I love being able to contribute to work by others in the community :) If you are a user of Sun&Moon's Loads O' Laundry, have you ever found yourself wishing that your Sims would have to do laundry if they wanted access to clean clothes? I love giving my Sims chores to do, I have to do them so they do too. And in this case of laundry, I wanted their hard work to mean something by actually needing the clean laundry for something. So I created an add-on to the original, that gives dressers a clean laundry count! Now your Sims use of them is limited, and they require restocking with clean batches of laundry to be usable.

This mod is meaningless without Loads O' Laundry, which recently got an update that you can read more about here. However, the two mods are entirely separate, mine is an add-on that alters dressers. The overlap is that it uses the clean laundry pile object from Loads O' Laundry.

What the mod does - Dressers now have a clean laundry count visible to you (except some CC, see more info below) - Dressers are given a default clean laundry count of 10. Easily changed in BCON if you want a different number. Your Sims dressers will start out with this amount, both those already placed and newly purchased ones. - When your Sim uses the dresser to change their clothes, outfit change count reduces by 1 - When clean laundry count hits 0, the menu option to change clothes disappears. Your Sim has no laundry in it, so they can't change their clothes! Does not affect dressers on community lots. - All dressers (except some CC, see more info below) gain access to a new put away laundry menu, with a custom interaction to take clean laundry piles in inventory and add them to the dresser to stock up outfit changes. Available to children, teens, adults and elders.

Here is a little video showing off how it works and looks :)

Unfortunately this mod has some conflicts, and I apologize in advance for the fact that this makes downloading it a little confusing for users. I have made compatible versions so you can use it with these mods, but you'll need to figure out which version you need based on what you use. The two conflicts I am aware of is Inteen, and PregnancyWearAnyOutfit. Update: Originally conflicted with Picknmix's Specific Clothing Racks, but I have now added compatibility with that mod in all versions, just make sure mine loads last and both will be okay.

There may be other conflicts I am unaware of. Please note this mod edits text strings, which means you'll need HCDU+ to check for conflicts I may have missed. The original HCDU does not scan for text string conflicts so it might miss some. Please let me know if you find any, so I can update the information :) Now, on to the links!

If you do not use Inteen or PregnancyWearAnyOutfit, download the regular version

If you use Inteen, but not PregnancyWearAnyOutfit, download inteen compatible version here (my mod must load last!)

If you use PregnancyWearAnyOutfit, but not Inteen, download PregnancyWearAnyOutfit compatible version here (my mod must load last!)

If you use both Inteen and PregnancyWearAnyOutfit, download the version compatible with both here (my mod must load last!)

In addition, I have a second version that I made specifically for ChocolateCitySim (whom you'll find streaming Sims 2 every sunday on her twitch channel) that allows Sims to change to their pyjamas and underwear even if their dresser is empty, as a sort of "I'm out of some clothes but not others"-thing. I have not made conflict-compatible versions because it's confusing enough as is, but if you'd like the idea of this version you can get it here. Can't be used with PregWearAnyOutfit, load order will not help, you either get my mod or theirs. Can't be used with Picknmix's Specific Clothing Racks, the menu's will look weird and laundry counter will act wonky. Can be used with Inteen if loading after, though your teens will lose the ability to do romantic interactions in AL closets.

Other conflicts: JellyMeduza has their own version of this mod which offers compatibility with some mods that I do not, so if you have a conflict that isn't covered here, I would check out their post and see if perhaps it is one of the mods they added compatibility for. There are some other minor differences in functionality, but the general gist is the same :)

If you'd like some place your Sim can always change their clothes, in case of emergency, I recommend my edited towel racks that allow your Sims to change to everyday, formal and pyjamas.

Compatibility with CC dressers Unfortunately, depending on how the dresser was made, some CC ones will not be compatible with this. Depending on how much it conflicts, some may give you 10 uses before they become unusable, others will immediately be unusable. Most likely to happen in older CC, made back when it was commonplace to move pie menus to private levels. But fortunately, regular dressers with no custom functionality added are very easy to fix. I have written down instructions that you can grab here, and I also made a video tutorial here. I am very brain foggy so it might not be the clearest I've done, but hopefully it is enough to help you figure out how to do this to any dressers you use that aren't compatible. If you really can't and you desperately want to use both, assuming I am in decent shape health-wise I can help you fix it.

Please note that this method should not be applied to dressers with custom funcionality, such as the Numenor/MaryLou object that lets you buy clothes at home. Their original is unimpacted by my mod, it won't pick up on the mod but they retain their prior functionality. HugeLunatic's 4t2 versions based on Numenors were incompatible, but HL was kind enough to update her files so that there is no longer an issue. If you use her gorgeous wall-mounted dresser racks from GoS, please re-download the files. I'm not aware of any other custom functionality dressers, but if they exist they are likely to be incompatible as well. I am not making a tutorial on how to fix them as it would depend so much on how they are made, so if you have one, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Recommendation: There is a weird game error that is triggered by some mods, I don't know why but I know Laundry Mod is one of them (because I myself got it, and I know others that have as well after getting it). It occurred to me that some of you might end up getting that mod because of my add-on, and I realized I should preemptively address it. The error happens in the Community Lot Populator, and is of the type "Index passed to Manage Inventory out of bounds." The in-game behavior (if testing cheats is off) is that no customers show up on owned businesses. Fortunately, Chris Hatch has a mod posted in a random comment on MTS that will fix it. You'll find it here.

Credits: @sunmoon-starfactory for the original Loads O' Laundry creation that this mod builds upon, some of the code in this is repurposed from the original creation's hamper mechanics, so thank you for both the idea, the reason to make it and parts of the code :) Fireflower also kindly provided dutch translations for the new strings. @kashmiresims for testing and feedback, finding parts I had missed including, as well as hyping up the creation on her twitch streams under the name of Rachums. @picknmixsims because he teaches me so many things and a lot of what I make today is using things I learned through his help answering questions. He often helps me when I run into problems, and I lose track of which creations he directly helped so he gets a shout-out always! @nikkasimms for the awesome posed I used in the thumbnail, love your poseboxes! Rachums and picknmix were also kind enough to assist me a little with the videos, splicing stuff I couldn't myself :) Thanks guys!

[sulumuns-dootah]

WHB Kings meeting their Obey Me! counterparts

A/N: I try to not pit/compare these two games against each other, but as someone who was into Obey Me! (and still is) and found out about WHB thanks to it, i need to get this out of my system.

⟡ Masterlist ⟡

The scenario is that OM!Solomon messed up some spell and made Obey Me! and What in Hell is bad? universes interconnect and our demon kings get to meet their other version. (I only included those kings that we've already met in WHB - when we get Belphie and Asmo, I might make part 2)

      ༺☆༻

Lucifer

Their meeting is the calmest and most civilised out of all of them.

They don't really talk outside of formal greeting and some polite small talk

Oh, but on the inside? OM!Lucifer is internally appalled by the amount of skin that's WHB!Lucifer showing

WHB!Lucifer is really wondering who this Diavolo guy is, since OM!Lucifer managed to mention him in their little small talk about ten times

OM!Lucifer excuses himself after some time to go make sure his brothers don't do anything stupid while meeting their counterpart

      ༺☆༻

Mammon

Oh

Oh no

This can go in two ways: OM!Mammon's ego gets absolutely crushed (there seems to be a pattern with WHB!Mammon) and just doesn't talk at all, just moping around while trying to look intimidating or he tries to get some treasures off WHB!Mammon since they're technically the same guy and he can definitely trust that he won't sell it to repay his debts

In the second case OM!Lucifer storms in and stops any of his attempts

That entertains WHB!Mammon though, and so he does give OM!Mammon some worthless (read: expensive, but not that rare) treasures

That lights up OM!Mammon's eyes and he doesn't shut up about it for the next century

      ༺☆༻

Leviathan

Well this goes even worse than the Mammons meeting

OM!Leviathan tries to keep his composure, but fails

The envy is strong in this one and some Lovecraftian horrors might get summoned

OM!Leviathan now has more reasons to put himself down, good luck OM!MC with this one

WHB!Leviathan has a hard time believing that that's him from different universe. What went wrong?

But it does make him feel better. He was worried that this other Leviathan would look better than him and beat him at one of the things he's best at

If OM!Lucifer manages to calm OM!Leviathan, they might be able to bond over their use of bathtubs, but no promises

      ༺☆༻

Beelzebub

WHB!Beelzebub expected a lot, but not this

He's not horny? He just loves to eat food so much he even eats inedible objects like pillars of buildings?

Though, he does now wonder how that tastes

OM!Beelzebub tries to not judge WHB!Beelzebub just based on looks, but can't help himself to see how thin he is. Does he even eat at all?

Also, what are those gemstones and how would they taste?

The huge word 'FEED' on WHB!Beelzebub's coat reminds him that he hasn't eaten in a while

The moment WHB!Beelzebub mentions about his hobby in cooking, OM!Beelzebub is on board and on the way to the nearest kitchen

Interestingly enough, the aphrodisiac effects don't seem to be working on OM!Beelzebub, so he just enjoys the meal, but secretly wishes it was Barbatos' cooking instead

      ༺☆༻

Satan

'What do you mean Lucifer is your father?'

These two have hard time accepting that they're technically the same demon.

WHB!Satan is disappointed. He expected someone more scary than horned chicken impersonator. What's that boa about? How do you fight angels in that?

OM!Satan tries to stay calm and not loose his temper when WHB!Satan teases his about his clothing. Somehow he manages.

WHB!Satan is surprisingly more talkative than with most demons. They're the same demon after all and therefore they face the same difficulties, no?

OM!Satan is glad to hear that his other self is favored by his people. The pain kink though? He could do without knowing that, really.

      ༺☆༻

A bonus! ^^

Barbatos

OM!Barbatos is trying to stay as calm and professional as possible, but can't help but wonder what on earth is that noose for

When he finds out it's to show loyalty for his master, he gets calmer

When he finds out that it does actually gets used for hanging, he's back to slight panic mode

WHB!Barbatos doesn't like OM!Barbatos from the beginning. How does one absorb sunlight in so much clothes? No wonder he's so pale and seemingly tired all the time.

All these gloomy colors make him sad. It's almost like this other Barbatos sucked all the color out of the room.

OM!Barbatos is appaled to find out about WHB!Barbatos' interests, but feels intrigued. If the sun ever came up in Devildom, he would try sunbathing, albeit more modestly dressed.

[selenitesdawn]

Temperance (2/3)

pairing: wanda maximoff x female!reader plot: Your best friend Kate convinced you to do charity work in Sokovia with some of your old classmates, including your former bully Vision and his girlfriend Wanda Maximoff, who you inconveniently took too much of a liking in. warnings: 18+ !! minors dni. wanda is with vision... bad words, allusions to suicidal thoughts, angst. mild sexual content. that’s it. i think <3 word count: 2500

: Part 1

Once again, you laid awake at night, thinking about Wanda. Ever since you've met her, she's been the only thought on your mind. Well, not quite literally. Of course you still had time to worry about other things. But as soon as you laid in silence, it felt like your brain was broken. No matter how hard you had tried, in the end it was all Wanda. You were sure that after this trip you'd have to put yourself in a mental hospital. Or at least have a bunch of therapy sessions. How else were you ever supposed to return back to your normal life after you met her?

“Time to get up you fuckers!,” roared Bucky from the ground floor. His raspy voice echoed through the halls of the huge building you were sleeping in. Still half asleep, you turned to the side and looked at the time.

Fucking hell.

You felt like you've been hit by a truck. Before you even had a chance to sit upright, the door swung open.

“Get up, princesses. You don't get paid for lying around.” ordered Bucky, who was still standing in the doorway in his pyjamas.

“Bucky, we're not getting paid at all. Besides, it's only 6 o'clock. Since when do we get up so early?” you replied, obviously annoyed.

It wasn't that you didn't feel like helping anymore. Making a difference was a nice feeling, especially because you felt like you hadn't contributed anything meaningful to the world in recent years. You might as well have not existed at all, you always thought to yourself. The days were all just a blur. But now you were here and everything was different. Getting up earlier also meant seeing Wanda for longer. You didn't quite know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. You wanted to see Wanda. Of course you wanted to see her.

“We are getting paid with love and gratitude, so get up,” Bucky said firmly. He grabbed the first object he could find, in this case luckily a stuffed animal, and threw it at Kate, who was still asleep next to you.

“You too Kate!,” Bucky warned.

“I'm awake!!!,” Kate grumbled and threw the stuffed animal back in a heartbeat, right against Bucky's head.

Wanda and Vision were asleep in the next room. On your first day here, you thought that would be a good thing. At least you'd be close to Wanda. However, Vision wasn't included in your calculations. The first time you heard banging against the wall between your room and theirs, followed by dampened moans, a cold shiver ran down your spine.

No fucking way.

You had met Wanda for the first time less than 24 hours earlier. When you and Kate were standing in front of Vision's luxurious private jet, you almost failed to see the vehicle. You were busy working on your suitcase when you looked up and saw her. Wanda was standing just a few centimeters in front of you, talking to the pilot, when she looked over and smiled at you. In that very moment, your world has been turned around. You don't know if you imagined it, but she wasn't just quickly grinning at you. It felt like minutes were passing, the pilot next to her engrossed in a long monologue. You don't know what he was talking about. All you know is that at some point you had to break eye-contact because it felt like she was starring right into your soul. Almost like she was reading your mind. Since then, it's been all going downhill. Getting up early means seeing Wanda for longer. And seeing Wanda is probably not good for you. You can't bear a broken heart right now. You just wanted to help dogs.

“Vision get your ass up and put some clothes on man, that's disgusting,” you heared Bucky shout from next door.

Why am I still doing this to myself?

By 8 o'clock, everyone had managed to get out the door reasonably fresh. Vision had rented two extremely expensive cars from his daddy money, which you used every morning to drive to an animal shelter in the north. The journey took about 40 minutes. Something that could have been easily avoided if you hadn't had to rent the only available mansion in Sokovia. But who were you to judge.

“Babe, I think I want to drive the Lambo today and give y/n a ride. Please?”

You turned to your right and saw Wanda looking up at Vision with an innocent smile, her arm wrapped around his bicep. You didn't know what to say. Whether you should say anything at all. Why would Wanda want to give you a ride? Does she want to be alone with you? Would you even survive being alone with her? Vision looked at Wanda critically, then his eyes drifted to you.

“Um…sure,” Vision replied, somewhat perplexed. He seemed just as surprised as you were.

“I'm going with you guys,” Kate said almost in the same breath and put her arms around Steve and Bucky.

Of course Kate knew how you felt about Wanda. You told her straight away, otherwise you probably would have gone mad. Now she grinned mischievously at you.

And suddenly you found yourself alone in the car with Wanda. You don't remember how you got into the car, but you could swear your heart was pounding in your throat. Wanda, on the other hand, looked calm. She always looked calm around you, as if nothing could faze her. She had her left hand on the steering wheel, her right arm resting loosely on the center console. You couldn't read her. Not even close. Her eyes were fixed on the road, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. You, on the other hand, were nervously playing with your hands and tried to keep your focus on your surroundings. While you started counting the trees you were passing in a desperate attempt to not lose your shit, you noticed that the ride was already halfway over and Wanda hadn't said a word.

Why did she want to drive with me if she wasn't going to say a word to me? Does she expect me to say something?

But what could you say? You didn't know much about Wanda and you got incredibly nervous around her. It's not as if you had nothing to say. The contrary was the case really. You wanted to know everything about her. What her favorite books are, what movies remind her of her childhood, what perfume she wears. What perfume does she wear? Whenever Wanda was close to you, you felt almost bewitched. Her smell was definitely etched somewhere into your brain. But you couldn't ask that. Sometimes it's better to say nothing than to break something. Something that doesn't even exist yet.

But then you looked to the side. And Wanda smiled at you. You hadn't noticed that you were standing at a traffic light. The first rays of dawn shone into her moss-green eyes and you couldn't think straight. You had to take the chance.

“Hi,” was the only word that left your lips. You said it quickly and energetically, as if you had just met each other randomly on the street.

Wanda smirked and returned a somewhat confused “Hi?,” before the traffic light turned green and her gaze went back to the road.

Great y/n, really great.

After you managed to somehow compose yourself, you tried again. “I-... wanted to thank you. For letting me see the Lamborghini from the inside. That's really kind of you.”

Wanda chuckled, her eyes still focused on the road, “Don't be silly. It's my pleasure.”

Usually either Wanda or Vision were driving the Lamborghini to wherever you guys were needed. But it was always the two of them, alone, together. The rest of you would take the other car. At first you were upset about you and Wanda never driving together. Sure, Kate, Steve and Bucky were probably a lot more fun to drive with. But you were wondering what kind of music Wanda was listening to. If she had a certain playlist she would put on in the car. Now you were sitting next to her and the volume of the music was too quiet to hear much.

“What song is this?,” you asked quietly. It was supposed to come out louder, more confident.

Wanda turned her head slightly towards you again.

“Excuse me?”

You could already feel the blood rushing to your cheeks. She didn't understand you. And now that you had to repeat the question, you realized how stupid it was. You could have asked something, just anything else. Show that you're interested in her. But instead-

“Y/n?,” Wanda asked with a worried look. Her head tilted a little to the side. You were getting so hot it was almost unbearable.

“Sorry, did you say something?,” you asked, your cheeks flushed.

Wanda was silent for a moment and then smirked again.

“Y/n, you were saying something.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I-. Just asked what song is playing. But that was a stupid question-”

Before you could finish, Wanda firmly put her hand on yours. You hadn't realized that you were nervously tugging at the hem of your jacket. Now her hand was holding yours still.

“You don't have to say you're sorry sweetheart,” she said with a calm expression, her eyes fixed on the road again. Wanda lifted her hand from yours and turned the volume up. You immediately missed her touch. How intense it felt. As you looked to the side, you saw Wanda smiling.

“This song is one of my favorites. My brother and I listen to it all the time when we hang out.”

“You have a brother?” you asked, genuinely interested.

“Yes, a twin brother," Wanda replied, her smile only getting bigger. “His name is Pietro. We were attached by the hip when we were kids.”

You spent the rest of the journey talking about Wanda's family and why Pietro wasn't in Sokovia to help the street dogs. Wanda had suggested it to him, but according to Wanda, Pietro has “more important things to do”. It turned out that Kate was right; it was Wanda's idea to come here. As a child, she had always wanted to take all the street dogs home with her, but her parents didn't have the money or resources for a pet. They could barely support the family.

“Today I'm in a position where I can really make a difference. I guess that is all I have ever wanted. Changing something for the better,” Wanda said, her tone carrying sincerity.

“You should be really proud of yourself Wanda,” you responded, the admiration you felt for the woman in front of you written all over your face.

“Thank you y/n. I really appreciate it,” Wanda retorted, placing her hand gently on your knee. Even through the fabric of your jeans, you could feel how soft her hand was. Her index finger began to circle around on your knee and it took a lot of self-control to not let out any inappropriate noise. You bit your bottom lip to suppress your building excitement, your eyes everywhere but on Wanda. You two just had your first decent conversation and you weren't about to let it go to waste. But before you could collect yourself, the hand on your knee lifted and you felt two fingers under your chin. Wanda turned your face effortlessly in her direction. One could think that the look on her face was innocent and sweet. That her thumb didn't intentionally brush against your bottom lip, trying to get a reaction out of you. But you knew better.

“You don't have to hold back y/n. You can't hide from me anyway,” Wanda murmured, her grip on your chin slightly tightening.

And before you could process what situation you were in, your alone time was over. Wanda couldn't even bring the car to a halt, Vision already knocking on the window with a smarmy grin on his face. He had once again shoved a toothpick between his teeth, probably because he thought it would make him look cooler. When Wanda got out without looking back at you, Vision took a good swing and slapped Wanda on the butt. You didn't understand how Vision had managed to pull Wanda. You wondered if Wanda knew how Vision treated you back in school. How could Wanda fall in love with such an asshole?

“Y/n?,” you suddenly heard from your right side. Kate had opened the passenger door for you and was grinning in your face.

“Are you ready?” she asked with a sly smile.

Without Kate, Vision would probably have bullied you into adulthood. But rich people always have to play nice with each other. Being friends with Kate has at least always guaranteed that no one dares to put you down. And somehow she's become your anchor ever since.

“Sure, I'll come,” you said a little frantically and got out of the car.

Today you were just on site, making sure that all the new arrivals were bathed and cared for. It was actually a relaxing job, but your mind was racing. You kept losing your focus when the redhead crossed your path. You tried to stay cool, to pretend that you hadn't been up all night because your thoughts about Wanda wouldn't let you sleep.

“And? How was the ride?” Kate asked excitedly as she sat down next to you on a bench, a little away from the others.

“Good, I think.”

“Good, what else?”

“Nothing more.”

Kate sighed and looked at you critically.

“Come on y/n. You've wanted nothing more than to be alone with Wanda all these days. And now you're saying it was good?”

Kate had this way of not leaving you alone until she heard what she wanted to hear from you. And in the end, you couldn't hide anything from Kate anyway. So you started to tell her. What you talked about, that Wanda told you about her family. And, of course, that her hands had found their way to you. Once again. She's been driving you crazy the last few days. Sometimes it's a light touch on your arm, sometimes a hand on your shoulder, sometimes her hands end up on your hips. You wondered if you were just imagining the magnetic bond between you two. Maybe Wanda was just a touchy person in general. It wouldn't be the first time you imagined someone liked you more than they actually did.

“Well, Wanda hasn't touched me, as far as I know, in the last few days. Or at all,” Kate recalled.

“Do you think I'm imagining things Kate?,” your concern clearly written on your face.

“I don't know y/n. But either way, you should be careful. We don't know Wanda well and I don't want you to come out of this hurt.”

You really wanted to listen to Kate. But deep down, you knew it was already too late. You were too deeply invested in this. Wanda already had you wrapped around her little finger. And it wasn't just you who knew that. Wanda was aware of it too.

: Part 3

[kings-highway]

haikyuu ships but its ways they said "i love you" before they had the courage to say "i love you."

daisuga: Suga's favourite movie of all time doesn't really mesh with Daichi. He thinks it's confusing and weird, and the gore is way over the top. But Suga loves it, and the comfort it provides, especially when he's sick, so Daichi always watches it with him even if he hates it. "Why do you always agree to this?" Suga asks, as Daichi's settling in to ride out another viewing. "Because it's something you love," he replies, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

iwaoi: Iwaizumi doesn't think he's ever going to convince Oikawa that he's the best setter, or that he's worked hard enough, or that he doesn't need to compare himself to everyone else. But he hates the way Oikawa can't seem to find value in himself outside of some seemingly fickle ranking system in his mind. So when they're fighting, and Oikawa keeps saying that it's just "objective fact" that Tobio is better than him, Iwa has to grab him by the face and tell him: "I won't let you slander things I care about."

ushiten: Tendou had often made the joke about being Ushijima's best friend, because it was funny. All their team, their classmates, always laughed. "He's my bestest bud," Tendou would say, because the whole school knew they made a funny pair, and it was laughable to think Ushijima would ever articulate a sentiment as juvinile as "best friends." Of course, when Ushijima realizes that people find this joke funny, he's very confused. "If it is a matter of not being good enough for you," Ushijima says, because he cannot think of a reason anyone would disparage Tendou, so it must be joke at his own expense, "then I will earn it."

kagehina: Hinata gets injured late in their second year. Its not the worst injury in the world and will heal just fine, but it takes him out of practice for a few weeks at the beginning of summer. He expects Kageyama to forget about him during this time. What good is a spiker who can't jump, can't even practice? But that doesn't happen. Kageyama seems to, if Hinata's not mistaken, dote on him. Carries his stuff, scolds him for not elevating the offended ankle properly, tells him to be careful. "Why are you being so fussy?" hinata asks. "Because I can't stand the idea of you not making a perfect recovery," Kageyama replies. "Who else could keep up with me?"

tsukkiyama: Yamaguchi likes to tease Tsukki over his lack of other friends. "You're too mean, you scare them away!" and "You're gonna have one lonely birthday if the only person who bothers to show up is me!" The last time he said this, though, Tsukki had replied with: "You're enough." and Yamaguchi still hasn't quite gotten over it yet. They celebrate his birthday just the two of them that year.

arankita: Aran came over to help on the farm over spring break. He didn't have to - between you and me, he hated that kind of physical labour anyway - but it was a way to spend a little more time with Kita before they graduated. At the end of the break, Kita surprises him by giving him a key to the house, "for emergencies," just in case. When Aran blusters and tries to ask why, Kita says: "I trust you." Considering Kita has never trusted anything except for himself and his own actions, Aran isn't sure any spoken sentiment could have meant more in that moment.

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

One really tiny but really flavourful detail in BG3 for me is one of the steps in the "Find the Nightsong" quest. The quest in itself is a big fave of mine, not just because of its buildup and dramatic twist and the fact that it deals with my personal favourite character, but also because of the way it winds through all three acts of this immense game. Here, though, I want to highlight a small and relatively early portion of it.

Initially, when you are sent after the mysterious and much sought-after relic called the Nightsong - classic adventurer stuff, really, there's even a wizard in a tower who'll pay you for it - all you have to go on are rumours that it is hidden in an old Selûnite temple in the region you happened to crash in. And sure enough, you explore the cool temple ruins, maybe you do a little puzzle-solving to open a sealed moon-themed door leading to a passage deep below - or you get into the Underdark via one of the other routes available. In any case, once there, you find the tragically doomed underground outpost some of the temple's residents tried to establish, as well as several records of their final hours. But there are no signs of the Nightsong or anything related to it ever being there at all. At that point you have no more info to go on, and your quest journal updates to say so:

Explore the Underdark. The trail goes cold in the Underdark. Where is the Nightsong?

Except... there is something here. And that something is a book - not an ancient record, but a recent publication: This tome appears fairly new-printed; it can't be more than a decade or two old, the item description says. But above all, it is very conspicuously and prominently placed at the foot of the large statue of Selûne that dominates the remnants of the outpost (and that, as part of its defenses, shoots rather deadly magical moonlight beams until you disable it).

The book is called "In Search of the Nightsong". It is marked as a quest item and it is there purely to provide you with a lead and to bridge the gap until the next bit of insight into the Nightsong you will get (which is at this point probably quite a ways away in Act 2, other than the possible tidbit around Nere and the collapsed bridge as you approach one possible end of Act 1). You are absolutely meant to find it and read it.

Fascinating that such a seemingly valuable object has proven so difficult to track down. Indeed, treasure-hunters the realm over have travelled to the Sword Coast with one goal in mind: To find the Nightsong. Yet each by each they have failed, indicating dead ends, rebuffs, or else disappearing altogether. My latest enquiry was with a half-orc named Graly, who insisted he'd come as close as possible to the relic as one may go without forfeiting his or her life. He indicated that the object is not, as most reports indicate, in the Selûnite fort adjacent to the river Chionthar. It is, in fact, held in an old Sharran fortress somewhere in the environs of Moonrise Towers. However, Graly reported that some kind of potent shadow prevents one from approaching where this fortress might be.

In fact, your next quest journal update comes from going into your inventory and reading the book:

Find the Sharran Temple. We found a book that told of a secret Sharran temple that contains the Nightsong. It is hidden underground, somewhere near Moonrise Towers.

How did this recently-published book end up sitting there, just waiting for you to read it, in the sealed, long-abandoned outpost, beset on all sides by unfriendly crowds of goblins, drow, minotaurs, a spectator, you name it? And why is this cool to me? Well, it's a bit meta, but it turns out that Selûne, She Who Guides, goddess of, among other things, questers, seekers, navigators, and the lost finding their path, has more than earned her title. And indeed, here we see that both in gameplay and in lore, Selûne guides.

In this particular case, though you don't know that yet, she's guiding you, both the character and the player, to hopefully save her long-lost daughter.