#and we barley see 40-

[a-sad-mage]

HEY, SLUGTERRA FANDOM YOU READY TO PARTY?!

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Because, if so, WELCOME TO : NEW NEO CAVERN!

[A Fan made Cavern by your local Sad Magic user]

The party epicenter of Slugterra! Where there is something for everyone to have the time of their life!

[Full details below!]

New Neo is a huge Cavern with two layers!

The Top Layer: Neo

The Bottom Layer: Paleo

[MAP]

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[Explanation on the caverns, events and Entertainment Dules]

NEO

The top layer Neo, is the one you will enter upon arrival and is for everyone! It's got arcades, street performers, food venues of all kinds, a castle, theme park, circus, clubs, and a massive area where Entertainment Dules are held!

Entertainment Dules are a duel unique to New Neo Cavern because you're goal is not to beat your opponent, it's to score the most points!

You can score points by doing several things, such as:

Preforming Combo Shots (100 - 5000 points based on complexity)

Preforming Trick Shots (100 - 5000 points based on complexity)

Pulling off Flashy Moves (100 - 2000 points based on complexity)

Pulling off Daring Moves (100 - 2000 points based on complexity)

Over all style (100 - 500 points)

Theme (when applicable) (100 - 500 points)

Cohesion of the routine (100 - 2000 points)

The most impactful kind of points to sore are audience points.

Every match, each audience member in attendance gets one vote to cast for whoever they felt performed the best, with the Stadium holding up to 50,000 guests.

note: Points for Combo Shots, Trick Shots, Flashy Moves and Daring Moves are stackable. by that I mean you can preform multiple of these moves and each and every one of them will be scored individually. Preforming the same move again however will result in it's second(and how ever else many times is preformed) score being lower then when it was first done. Verity is key.

Unlike regular tournaments, the loser dose not have to give the winner of the match one of their slugs.

Slugs and Entertainment Duelist train and work hard together to come up with their act, and just taking away one, or adding a slug that isn't familiar with the act could ruin it for both Duelist involved.

New Neo Entertainment Duels are all about putting on a show, and showing off your skills with a blaster! And wowing the crowd!

Slingers can however agree to wagers before the dule! You are free to bet equipment and Slugs at your own discretion.

Neo is also home to many different attractions as previously mentioned.

Neo is considered the more 'family friendly' layer.

there are;

Amusement Park

Circus

Water Park

Mock Stand Offs

Many different Food Vendors and Restaurants from all over Slugterra

Large Arcades

Dance Clubs

Taverns

Street Performers

Parades

Arena's

Fashion Shows

Slug-Hubs

Quiet Zones

Parks

Med Centers

Theaters for Movies, Live Musicals, Magic Shows and Theatrical Performance's

Some Key Locations are;

The Center Tower: A large tower that was built in the center of New Neo. The CT acts as an information center, got a question? you'll find the answer there. The CT is also how you'll be able to access Paleo, as there is a Roomavator, a giant fully furnished room like elevator, that will take you down. Alternatively you can take the Roomavator up to the Viewing Deck and get what some argue is the best view of the whole Cavern.

The Pink Palace: A huge castle restaurant that has a rotating menu, meaning something new to try every time you visit, there are live performances, games, and rides all inside as well. [think Casa Bonita]

Tritonn's Deck: The largest Water Park in all of Slugterra, not counting Undertow Cavern [yes I named the park after a Storm Hawks character]

Terra Circus-@: A huge amusement park and circus, with all sorts of class acts.

Opalescent Stadium: The main stage for any and all Entertainment Duels in the whole of New Neo Cavern. It host's official tournaments, events and even host's 'beginner tournaments', that focus on new, first time/regular Slinger's who want to give Entertainment Duels a shot. Winners get bragging rights >:) (and any additional prize listed)

Peach Blossom Park: This park was created by one of founders of New Neo over one thousand years ago, and is maintained in their honor to this day. It is the largest quiet zone in New Neo, with beautiful Peach Trees, a flowing waterfall and pond, and a garden. A number of relaxing events are hosted in this Park, from Painting Seminars, to Film Festivals. It is also the perfect place for a picnic.

The Med Centers: There are many medical centers scattered around New Neo staffed with the best doctors and nurses we have to offer. You're health, both physical and mental is their top priority. After all, can't have a good time while dry heaving into a trashcan now can you?

Slug-Hubs: There are a number of Slug-Hubs, all of which offer something different. From a Slug Day Care, to Slug Fashion Shows! We guarantee there is something for your little friends to enjoy! And be sure to buy our New Neo Specialty Slug Food Blend! It is the exact same recipe our founder made, unchanged for over a thousand years. We take our Slug Care very serious here.

Monroe Theater: Named after the late Marilyn Monroe, a grate Actor and Singer. This theater hosts a number of Magic Shows, Plays, Musicals and even Interactive Performances. [me? making her Ladyship Marilyn Monroe cannon to my Fan Cavern? Of course! She is an ICON!]

These are just some of places/attractions you'll get the chance to experience in Neo!

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PALEO

The second layer under Neo is for a more mature demographic. You have to be 16+ to enter Paleo, but each respective venue in Paleo has it's own Age Restriction, and Requirements for entry.

[In Case of a Shane, it will depend on the severity of the situation]

Casinos

After Dark Clubs

Extreme Actives

The Pit

Slug-Ball

Arena

Restaurants

Race Track

Action Park

Robo-Mayhem

Parkour

Haunted Forest

Some Key Location are;

The Pit: A bare knuckles fight pit with little to no rules! in fact the only big rule is 'NO SLUGS'. There are many different fighting divisions. Human v Human, Cave Troll v Elf, Amphibanoids v Molenoids there are many different divisions you can enter and opponents you can take on in the ultimate test of strength!

Haunted Hollow: A spooky dark forest that is believed to be abandon Shadow Clan Territory. It's said Ghosts of the Shadow Clan still lurk in the shows of the Haunted Hollow. Why not test your resolve and spend the night?

Vicious Way: A Mecha Race Track where (non-lethal)Slinging is allowed.

Action Park: Similar to Terra Circus-@ , Action Park is an amusement park, but the rides are more daring and the clowns more... uncanny

The Profane Arena: An Arena where you can engage in a good old fashion Slug Slinging Tournament, and play/watch Slug-Ball! Hope your ready to rumble because the Arena and its rules change with every event its host! ever get into a duel with nothing but a Sling Shot and Floppers? or witness a Slug-Ball match where the ball doubles as a glitter bomb?

Robo-Mayhem: Do you like Mechanics? Robots? Absolut Mayhem? all three? well get ready, because here you can build or bring in your own Robot and have it battle against other Robots built by other participants!

Hardcore Parkour: A Parkour Park tailored to test your skills on your feet, and on your Mecha Beast.

Double Dare: A Foodies worst nightmare, or the ultimate dining experience depending on how you look at it. They serve a fusion dishes from cultures all across the 99 Caverns. Ever wanted to try a Elvin inspired dish with Molenoid ingredients? or even a dish inspired by the mysterious Shadow Clan? If your willing to try something new then Double Dare Restaurant is some place you may want to check out.

Midas's Hord: The largest Casino in Paleo, slots, tables, cards, betting, all kinds of gambling can be had here. A number of Midas Slugs have also taken to calling this place home. Quite fitting seeing as how the Golden Slugs are considered Good Luck, so if one lands on you while your playing a hand of poker, who knows, maybe your chances of willing will double?

And many more attractions!

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[Residents explanation + some character art]

[a few key residents who you can find/interact with!]

Governess Fay - She/Her, Elf: Head of New Neo Cavern. Former Pro Trick Shot duelist. Elegant, yet fierce, knows just about everything about everyone living in New Neo Cavern. Nothing truly every surprises her, as she is always twenty steps ahead.

Doc - She/Her, Cave Troll: One of many Doctors in New Neo, specializes in dealing with those with Head Trauma and Critical Injures. She works in Paleo, near The Pit. Former Member of the LOC.

Nikki - She/Her, Human : Trick Shot fashionista! Everything about this girl sparkles, literally. She has custom made Blaster Shell's that are pink and full of glitter. A former member of the LOC, current member of the LOT, can be found at The Pink Palace in Neo and runways, and Slug-Hubs that specialize in fashion, this makes her quit good at improvising. Currently dating Heresy.

Heresy - He/Him, Human : Punk Rock Goth Guy with an eye for detail, making him quite the sharp shooter. While he dose have a regular hand held Balster, he also has a Electric Guitar that can double as a Blaster as well! He can be found either in Paleo and Neo rocking out on stage or participating in Entertainment Dule's or interacting with the crowd, he's rather good a reading people. Current member of the LOC. Currently dating Nikki.

Mane - She/Her : A Jack of All Trades who excels in Trick Shots and is one of New Neo's up-in-coming in Entertainment Dules. She doesn't have a particular niche, preferring to act as a 'floater', need her for a mock stand off? an extra set of hands to help set up? or someone to man the bar? just hit her up and she'll somehow make it work! because of this she's got some weird knowledge and skills. You can find her around both Paleo and Neo hanging out when she's not busy. Current member of the LOC.

Ace - They/Them : The most unlucky individual you will ever meet! despite that they are a dare devil at heart! Despite all the odds being against them they will always get back up and some how pull off the more daring stunts even if they don't always end the way they are supposed too. Do to their unlucky status they are always looking on the bright side, and has a backup plan for just about everting! They can be found most often in Paleo, but will so stunt shows in Neo and in The Pink Palace. Currently a member of the LOC.

Ignis - He/Him : A Hot Shot Entertainment Duelist with a flair for the dramatics. Always up for a challenge, though he can be brash and overconfident at times. Loves anything to do with fire, so if you need a firework's display or just an explosion he is your guy. Can be found in Neo most often. Former member of the LOC, current member of the LOT.

All residents use a Stage Name!

Stage Names are a staple of the New Neo Cavern! Every resident has one or two! doesn't matter if you where born in New Neo or Moved in!

Stage Names to contrary belief tend to be embarrassing Nicknames!

Take Ace's Stage Name for example. While cool sounding, actually derives from the fact Ace, is actually the best at being the worst. They have terrible luck! If you where to have a most unlucky contest, they wouldn't even make last place

Other times some individuals are lucky to pick their Stage Names.

Take Heresy for example, that guy's a menace! a chaotic little gremlin who thrives on chaos!

And on rare occasions, Stage Names become Mantles, passed down from successor to successor or kept within the family.

Take Mane for example, She is officially the forth Mane! Her biological Grandmother, being the first, getting the Nickname 'Golden Mane' for her horrible bed head. Her father and aunt would also take up the Mantle of Mane, being the 'Untamed Mane' and 'Lustrous Mane' respectively, they also conveniently have bad bed head too. And our Mane, the current one, is known as the 'Wild Mane', and she also has bad bed head! [talk about consistency!]

As for 'Governess Fay' that is no Stage Name, Governess/Governor is the official tittle bestowed on the individual in charge of New Neo Cavern.

Governess Fay is the one currently in charge and she has been in charge for close to one hundred years, as an Elf she lives a longer life than most. Fay's old Stage Name before getting the title of Governess was Faywild, and she was and still is considered one of, if not the best Slinger in New Neo. After all she has had many years to prefect her skills.

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[Visors system explanation + Visor pic]

The Visors are the main point of commination for all residents of New Neo Cavern.

The Visors are connected via what can only be described as a Cavern wide Hive Mind Network that allows everyone waring one to stay in touch, and informed. The New Neo Network Feed is customizable, so to avoid an information overload, it is recommended to tune the Feed to your preference, so info about events and things related to your primary profession and niche. With the only exception being the Emergency Line which is always open.

The Visors work by eye tracking, and the touch pads on the side of the Visors.

Resident's Visors can be physically customized to fit their vibe. They have the ability to message, take videos/pictures, upload/download files, make calls and even access the wider SlugNet.

There is a floor model that is sold to guest. these models are not connected to the Network. They have limited storage for downloadable music, and light up on the sides. however, a skilled Mechanic can mod these floor models to work like the official ones and access the SlugNet, to varying degrees of success.

Fun Fact: Friends and Allies from outside New Neo, are permitted to have custom made Visors as well, so long as the Governor/Governess approves!

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[Rules/law of the cavern for both visitor/guests and Cavern Residents]

THE LOC & LOT

LOC - Lights Our Crew - This is basically the SWAT Team/Primary Cavern Law Enforcement of New Neo Cavern. Every single Resident of age must serve at least six months as a LOC member, and after six months are free to stay, or leave and join the LOT or detach completely, depending on the profession they choses to go into. for instance Doctors and Nurses are not on the LOC or LOT.

The LOC also function is a 'night shift' of sorts. By that I mean they rotate out with the LOT and take over basic management of Cavern operations on the day-to-day. LOC members can be out and about helping and participating in events during the LOT shift, and vice versa, as there is no restrictions, the main purpose of the Shift Change is to give members of both teams time to relax and recharge before deciding to be on the clock again.

LOT - Lights On Team - They run the day-to-day operations of New Neo Cavern. Making sure things are going well, interacting with guests, organizing events, keeping an eye out for trouble and so on.

Due to most LOT members having six or more months experience as LOC, they can take point on Cases until a LOC member is available or until the Case develops to the point a LOC member has to take over. These Cases usually mean active hostile who has critically harmed someone, drug bust, massive slug smuggling ect.

New Neo Cavern is large, and because of this some think they can run criminal operations under the Cavern Residents noises. the LOC and LOT are pivotal in not only keeping New Neo running, but making sure everyone is safe. This however dose mean that sometimes LOC/LOT members have to take, extreme measures, but that is only when all other options fail.

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AND there she is! NEW NEO CAVERN!

I hope ya'll love her! because I do-

don't be afraid to use NNC as a backdrop for your own projects, or make NNC oc's or even ask questions

Why did I make this? well the Fic I'm working on takes place here and I figured having this just out in the open will help! In fact, I'll probably be using NNC myself as a backdrop of a few fic's later down the line, and adding to the lore. Slugterra HC #5 will focus on info I couldn't fit here. so yeah...

[whocaresstillthelouvre]

Foxglove Downs Chapter 3: The Race

Pairing: Marcus Acacius x Lucius Verus x Female Reader Rating: Teen. (Eventual E. MDNI) Summary: Marcus is jealous, Lucius is charming, and Sunny is stuck in the middle. Warnings: Love triangle, horse talk, jealousy, pining, angst, flirting, a kiss, wet Lucius, one slap across the face, age gap (Marcus is in his 40’s, Lucius is in his 20’s). Reader is in her 30's, has hair, and has a nickname: Sunny. Words: 4,000

A/N: Listen, IDK what'd I'd do without @devineconjuring's help and amazing beta work. She's the best and she always imparts wisdom like... ...how I can still take a bath with a toaster... if I just don't plug it in. Also she yells at me and calls me names because I use too many ...'s and I can't stop talking about Lucius's eyes being blue. Soooooooo... ... ... ... I 🩵 her... ... ... Thank you to @artsy-girl-76 for the Lucius pic colorization and everyone who helped me stop overthinking about photo decisions. 😉

Foxglove Downs Masterlist Masterlist

Previous Chapter

—-

Days have passed since the moment Marcus saw you while you were under the warm comfort of Lucius’s jacket. You busy yourself with your daily tasks, checking on the horses and taking care of your breeding program. But the less you see of Marcus, the more his pull on you consumes your thoughts–especially the intensity of his stare when he saw you that morning Lucius dropped you off.

He’s kept his distance since, choosing instead to communicate through brief messages about a few business matters. You wanted to speak to him, yet he seemed to be in a hurry every time you saw him, always heading in the opposite direction.

You couldn’t help but wonder if he was avoiding you, yet you could feel his deep brown eyes on you whenever you were near him.

—-

“Sunny,” he calls out one afternoon, breaking through your peaceful reverie as you lead your horse Harvey out for a ride.

“Yes?” you reply, trying to keep your tone light despite the nervous fluttering in your chest.

“Can we talk?” His voice is low, making all surrounding noise fade away.

“I was just about to go for a ride. Do you want to join? Maybe take Barley out as a treat?”

“Sure,” he responds, his voice still low.

“Okay,” you smile, trying to calm your heart. “Meet you at the back gate in five?”

He nods before heading to the stables.

—-

You greet Marcus as he arrives atop Barley, cantering towards the back gate.

“Ready?” you ask. His face is a mystery, his shoulders tense as he nods. “I figure we’ll just ride to the other side of the lake?”

Another nod without a verbal response.

“Let’s go,” you say, nudging Harvey forward. The horse responds eagerly, trotting out along the well-trodden path that meanders through the lush greenery surrounding Foxglove Downs. Familiar scenery allows your mind to drift, and you wonder what Marcus is thinking about. The beat of hooves on the ground helps you focus back on the present–you can feel Marcus studying you, an air of tension straining between you.

“I’ll never get sick of this ride,” you say, glancing sideways at Marcus, hoping to catch any sign of the thoughts that are hidden behind his stoic facade. His eyes remain ahead, scanning the horizon as if he’s searching for something just beyond reach.

He doesn’t respond. You feel a pang of disappointment.

“Harvey loves this trail,” you continue. “Or maybe he knows that whenever we get to the lake, he always gets a treat.” You chuckle lightly, trying to lighten Marcus’s mood.

His lips twitch, a quick flick of amusement crossing his features before vanishing just as quickly.

“So, Daisy’s looking a lot better already.”

“She is,” he replies tersely.

You bite your lip, suppressing a sigh, taking the hint that he doesn’t want to talk just yet.

As you reach the edge of the lake, you pull Harvey to a stop and look at Marcus, sitting tall on Barley.

“Beautiful day,” you remark, attempting to break through the silence as you dismount Harvey and tie him to a nearby tree.

“Yeah,” he replies, his gaze still fixed on the shimmering lake. “It really is.”

Uncertainty charges between you as you pull a small apple out from your saddle bag for Harvey. You offer it to him while keeping an eye on Marcus as he dismounts and finally turns to meet your gaze.

“What did you want to talk about?” you ask, your voice steady despite the butterflies flitting around in your stomach.

His shoulders deflate with a deep sigh as he ties Barley to a nearby tree. His usually composed demeanor seems to waver just a bit.

“Sunny,” he begins, but then stops himself.

You lean against a large oak tree, crossing your arms as you look at him. “Come on, Marcus. Can you just tell me what’s on your mind?” you tease, trying to lift the mood.

He gathers himself, his brow furrowing as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, his thumb nervously tapping against his forefinger as if trying to find the right words. “I’ve been thinking about…”

“About what?” you ask, trying to coax him and get rid of the confusion surrounding the two of you.

“Lucius.”

Your eyes widen at his name, your breath caught in your throat. Marcus’s eyes flash darker when he notices your response.

“Lucius?” you echo, unable to keep the surprise from your voice. “What about him?”

He takes a step towards you, his voice careful and questioning. "Tell me… how serious is he about you?"

You feel the heat rush to your cheeks, a mixture of shock and annoyance brewing inside you. “S-serious? Is that what you think?” Your tone stays light, but there’s a hint of defensiveness underlying your words.

Marcus takes a step closer, his brown eyes fixed on you, his jaw tense.

“Come on, Sunny, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It’s not just business for him.”

You avert your eyes, suddenly finding the leaves of the oak tree far more interesting than the intensity of his stare. “He’s… charming. He flirts. It doesn’t mean he’s serious.”

A thick silence fills the space between you.  Tension emanates from Marcus as he closes the distance, trapping you against the tree with his body. Your arms instinctively fall to your sides as he leans in, his chest pressing against yours.

“But you like him,” he states, a note of steel in his voice.

You don’t lie. His closeness pulls at something deep within you. “I… he’s fun,” you manage to say, your breath hitching as your heart races.

His hand tenderly brushes against your cheek, and his touch takes your breath away. “Did it feel good to have fun with him this weekend?” he asks, his voice dropping even lower. A shiver skims along your spine.

“Fun?” you ask, voice barely above a whisper.

His breath mingles with yours as he hovers just a heartbeat away. “You looked really good in that dress, Sunny. Never seen you in something that short before.”

You swallow hard, trying to maintain your composure as he pulls back just enough to meet your gaze. “Marcus, I—”

“It felt good, didn’t it? To have someone like him give you attention?” A flicker of vulnerability crosses his face before he masks it with anger. “Was it as fun for you as I’m sure it was for him?”

You stand wide-eyed and mouth agape, staring into his dark brown eyes. How dare he. The anger rages inside of you.

“Who the hell do you think I am, Marcus?” you ask, anger raising your voice.

His focus stays on you, unwavering, his expression a blend of frustration and longing. “I think you’re someone who deserves more than just a good fuck and a drive home in a designer car.”

You slap him across the face right then and there. “We didn’t fuck, you asshole.” Your voice is sharp and authoritative. “For the record, he was a perfect gentleman. He saved me from a shitty situation and lent me his bed, which I slept alone in.”

You slide under Marcus’s arm, quickly freeing Harvey and climbing on top of him. "And just so you know, I had a dream about you and I having fun at this lake while I was sleeping ALONE in his bed," you nearly shout.

With a swift kick of your heels, Harvey bolts past him, galloping towards the stables. You glance back briefly to see Marcus standing there, his tall frame silhouetted against the lake.

—-

After a restless night filled with thoughts that shift between deep brown and sparkling blue eyes, you dress in your most comfortable jeans and a loose-fitting shirt before heading down to the stables.

Your horses never leave you feeling trapped. They don’t critique your actions. They will always be by your side.

You lose yourself in the simple jobs, caring for them, grateful for their familiarity and companionship. You feel a sense of peace as you finish your morning tasks in the stables.

As you enter your office, you spot a vase brimming with pink foxgloves on your desk. You reach for the card and read the message. "Please forgive me" is written in angular writing above Marcus’s signature. With a sigh, you toss the card back onto the desk and rub your eyes with your palms, trying to relieve some stress.

This is why you try to keep your distance. This is why you never intended to entangle yourself in the rivalry between Marcus and Lucius. This is why you have always tried to resist both men.

It’s been three hours of trying to focus on work. Your vision blurs and your head pounds as you struggle to make sense of the words on your computer screen. Your heart aches just as much, if not more. You can’t seem to concentrate on anything except the urge to occasionally check out the window to see if Marcus or Lucius are practicing on the grounds.

You grumble to yourself as you get up, throw on your jacket, and head to the stables. Today is not an in-the-office day.

—-

The moment you step into the stables, your worries quiet down. Your boots echo across the cobblestones as you approach the stall where the new stallion is housed. As you get closer, you spot Lucius leaning against the wooden railing, softly talking to the stallion, his voice soothing as he moves steadily closer to the horse.

“Hey there, boy,” he says, extending his hand to pet the stallion’s neck. The horse leans into him, its large dark eyes reflecting trust. You’re captivated by Lucius’s gentleness and patience, unable to look away as you approach.

“Lucius,” you call gently. He looks towards you, a smile full of charm breaking across his face when he spots you.

“I was just meeting the new addition.”

You move closer to him, leaning against the railing beside him, offering your hand for the horse to nuzzle. “His name is Maximus.”

“I think he likes me.”

The gentle smile of joy he gives you fills your heart with a certain feeling–but it’s not the same weighty feeling you get when you’re with Marcus. No, this is a lighter, more hopeful sensation that beats within you.

“Want to take him out for a ride? I’ve been breaking him, and he’s responding great. I’ll take him there, you take him back. Maybe you can grab Edgar? He’s about the only horse Maximus can stand. ”

Lucius raises an eyebrow, a playful glint lighting his blue eyes. “I’d love nothing more.”

“Perfect,” you say with a nod, heading towards the tack room.

Lucius follows you in, reaching for his boots and Edgar’s saddle.

“You want to help me with Maximus first?” you ask as you grab the stallion’s saddle.

“Of course.”

Maximus stands in his stall, watching as you both approach with a saddle and bridle.

Lucius gently places the saddle onto his back while he whispers sweetly to him. His hands work skillfully, knowing exactly how to read the stallion and take care of him. It’s like he’s known Maximus for years.

You pick up Edgar’s saddle and head to his stall, allowing Lucius to finish up Maximus.

You struggle with one of the straps on Edgar’s saddle, softly swearing to yourself as you hear Lucius’s boot steps approach. 

“That one is a pain,” Lucius says, leaning in. “Here, let me show you how to do it.”

You try to steady your breathing as he guides your hands through the motions, his fingers gently brushing against yours as he adjusts the straps.

“You know, if you keep this up, I might have to hire you as my official saddle strap consultant,” you tease.

Lucius chuckles softly as he takes a step back, allowing you to secure the last strap on Edgar’s saddle yourself.

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” he praises, giving you a warm smile that sends butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

Once both horses are saddled and ready, you lead Maximus out of his stall while Lucius brings Edgar up alongside you.

The afternoon sun warms your skin as you guide Maximus along the cobblestone path that leads toward the back gate. You still can’t help but look around the grounds, secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of Marcus.

Lucius mounts Edgar, and you swing yourself onto Maximus, the stallion shifting beneath you, eager for a run.

“Race you to the lake?” Lucius challenges as the two of you make your way out onto the trail behind the grounds.

“Yeah?” your eyebrow raises as a smile lights your face. “I don’t think I’ve raced in years.”

“Maximus looks like he’s ready, but Edgar’s fast. Loser has to jump in the lake?”

You laugh, your head tilting back and your head shaking. “Now? Jump in the lake now?”

“You heard me,” his eyes are alight with joy, making your smile stay on your face.

“Are we twelve?”

“Fine, if you win, you can push me in… and If I win, you have to… kiss me,” he offers.

“So, we’re twelve,” you respond, rolling your eyes.

“So… deal?”

“Deal,” you say, your cheeks hurting from smiling.

“Count it down then, Sunny.”

“3… 2… 1!” you shout, kicking Maximus into a gallop. The world you know so well blurs into a streak of greens as Maximus surges forward. The wind whips against your body as the rhythmic thud of hooves against the trail echoes through the air.

You glance back over your shoulder and catch a glimpse of Lucius wearing a smile as he commands Edgar confidently.

You can feel Maximus’s excitement beneath you, feeling his happy spirit as he races ahead.

Edgar gains, matching Maximus’s stride. You look over at Lucius, his expression fierce yet playful. He meets your focus and sends you a wink as he shifts forward, pushing Edgar to go faster.

You also lean forward, urging Maximus to give it his all. “Come on, boy!” you whisper fiercely. Maximus pulls ahead just a little more, the lake glimmering in the distance as it gets closer and closer.

“Come on, Edgar!” Lucius calls out, but his voice is fading as you gain ground ahead of him and the trees thin out the closer you get to the water.

“Almost there!” you shout over your shoulder, laughter spilling from your lips as you sense Lucius straining behind you. “You better catch up!”

Soon, the lake is fully revealed to you, the water’s edge just within reach as Maximus gallops towards it, Lucius and Edgar much farther behind now. You and the young stallion easily win the race as you reach the water’s edge.

You pull Maximus to a halt at the edge of the shimmering lake, the stallion snorting and stamping his hooves in triumph as if he understands the victory you’ve just claimed.

“I win!” you shout, unable to contain your excitement. You slide off Maximus, your heart still racing from the ride and the sight of Lucius approaching. His body is framed against the bright blue sky that matches the color of his eyes. He dismounts Edgar and jogs over, his breath coming in quick bursts, yet a broad grin remains plastered across his face.

“You got me this time,” he concedes.

“Just this time?” you tease.

“I guess next time, I’ll ride harder. But for now…” he pauses, glancing at the lake, then back at you. “A deal’s a deal.”

He strides towards the dock, a small wooden structure stretching out into the lake. Its weathered planks creak softly beneath his weight, the water rippling in the warm breeze as Lucius reaches the edge of it.

“Wait! You don’t have to—” You start to protest, but it’s too late.

Lucius leaps off the dock, and time seems to slow as he jumps into the air. His body gracefully twists before hitting the water with a large splash.

Your laughter echoes across the lake as he emerges from the water, his white shirt now drenched. You can’t stop looking at him and how the now-transparent fabric clings to his muscles.

His blue eyes lock on to yours, a smoldering look sent your way. You feel like you’re in trouble, like he’s almost angry with you. That is, until a broad smile breaks across his face and he runs toward you.

Before you can react, Lucius tackles you to the grass, his wet body crashing down over yours. You gasp as the coolness of his skin meets yours, the weight of him pressing you into the earth beneath. Laughter escapes your lips as he grins down at you, water dripping from tendrils of his brown hair and his strong nose.

“Now who's winning?” he teases, his breath warm against your face.

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?” you reply as you squirm beneath him, trying to find a comfortable position without pushing him off. The way he looks at you–half-smirking with his bright eyes shining–makes it hard to focus on anything else.

“Oh, definitely,” he replies, leaning in closer.

Your heart pounds, no longer from the race, but from Lucius. He hovers above you, and it’s just you and him. The imposing oak tree that Marcus pushed you up against is only a few feet away, but it disappears from your periphery when Lucius’s gaze drops to your mouth.

“Sunny…” his voice changes, becoming lower and more serious.

You swallow hard, caught in the pull of him. “What are you—”

But before you can finish your thought, he closes the small space between you, pressing his lips against yours in a gentle yet searing kiss. You feel your heart beat faster as you respond instinctively, tilting your head slightly to deepen the kiss. His hands cradle your face as you let out a soft sigh, allowing his tongue to explore your mouth.

But just as quickly as it begins, reality crashes into you like a splash of cold water.

You pull back abruptly and breathlessly. “Lucius,” you manage to say, your voice barely above a whisper as you grapple with the sudden rush of emotions swirling within you. “I shouldn’t have let you kiss me.”

He lifts himself off you, his brow furrowed slightly in confusion, but the playful sparkle in his eyes remains. You sit up carefully, brushing blades of grass from your hair while trying to regain your composure.

“I mean…” you stammer, searching for the right words amidst the haze of what just happened. “This is—it’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” he repeats, tilting his head slightly in confusion. He leans back on his hands, water still glistening on his skin under the afternoon sun. The way he looks at you—both amused and intrigued—makes it hard to maintain any semblance of seriousness.

“Yes! The whole business of it all,” you say, waving an arm towards the stables in the distance. “We both know how small this world is.”

You don’t mention to him that it’s because the lips you truly desire belong to his biggest rival.

Lucius chuckles softly, shaking his head. “Sunny, I’m fine with calling this whole thing a… business meeting.” He raises an eyebrow. “One kiss isn’t going to ruin your carefully constructed empire.”

You feel your cheeks warm at his teasing. You take a deep breath, searching for the right words. “You know this whole world is riddled with… rivalries. If word gets out… well, it will complicate things.”

“Sunny,” he says, his voice growing more earnest. “I’m not interested in gossip or rivalries. I’m interested in you.”

You glance away, taking a moment to collect yourself. He looks at you like he sees right through you.

“But what about Marcus?” you ask finally.

Lucius lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his damp hair, sending droplets flying in every direction. “What about him? Why does Marcus matter?”

“Lucius, I like you, but I just… I–”

“Sunny, look at me,” he softly commands.

You obey, your eyes meeting his. His face is understanding, a gentle smile lifting his lips that you can still feel against yours.

“I understand,” he says gently. “You don’t have to go on. Just know, I’m here for you, in whatever way you’ll have me.”

Some of the weight sitting atop your shoulders—and your heart—lifts. “I’d like to have you as I’ve had you–as a friend,” you offer. 

“Of course,” he grins, his handsome face and sweet voice reassuring.

You shift closer to him, resting your head against his still-damp shirt as you sit in companionable silence, watching the sun begin to set.

—-

“So, you want to ride Maximus back to the stables?” you ask as you and Lucius walk over to the horses. “I’d love to see how he runs for you.”

“I’d love nothing more,” he replies.

“Just remember,” you say as Lucius moves to mount the stallion, “he can be a bit stubborn. Handle him firmly—but with care.”

Lucius laughs, swinging himself up onto Maximus. “No wonder he and I get along.”

You mount Edgar and give him a gentle nudge with your heels as Lucius maneuvers Maximus to trot ahead of you.

You trail behind, admiring as you observe how Lucius interacts with the horse.

“Keep your heels down!” you call out teasingly.

“Yeah, yeah! Is that your only complaint on my form?” he asks over his shoulder. “I’m a champion, Sunny. I don’t need your opinion. I pay many people to yell at me about my form!”

You shake your head and laugh. There’s something so uncomplicated about this moment—the laughter, the beautiful sunset, the understanding Lucius has shown your heart.

As the back gate comes into view, a bit of sadness settles in you now that your impromptu ride with Lucius is over.

The last time you approached this gate from the lake, Marcus had made you feel so small that you could almost still feel the tears stinging in your eyes.

As you dismount from Edgar and guide him through the gate, Lucius follows with Maximus, the two of you leading the horses to their stalls and bringing their saddles to the tack room.

“Thanks for letting me ride Maximus,” Lucius says, putting the stallion’s saddle away.

“You commanded him perfectly,” you compliment as you pick up a brush to groom Maximus’s coat.

“Perfectly, huh? You know, after one ride, I’m ready to purchase.”

“He’s not cheap–champion bloodline and all,” you say, heading back to Maximus’s stall.

“I’m sure I could afford him. Not every day you find a horse that truly connects with you.”

You nod in agreement—until the memory of how Marcus also commanded Maximus during the stallion’s arrival overtakes your brain. 

Lucius watches as you enter Maximus’s stall and begin to brush the stallion’s glossy black coat.

“I should probably get going,” he says reluctantly, checking his watch. “I have a planning meeting about Rome early tomorrow morning, and then I’m training all day. Thank you for today. I needed it.”

“I needed it too,” you reply softly, walking closer to the stall gate.

“Maybe I’ll see you around tomorrow?” he asks hopefully as he moves to stand in front of the gate and reaches out to tuck a stray hair behind your ear.

“Definitely,” you smile. “Come see me in my office. I have your jacket.”

“Keep it. Like I said,” he says, his eyes looking you up and down. Even in your baggiest pair of jeans and loosest fitting shirt, he still makes you feel like the most attractive woman on earth. “You look much better in it.”

He turns to leave, and you watch him go with a slight pang in your chest before you turn back to the soothing work of caring for your horses.

—-

Thank you for reading! Tagging those who asked and some friends! Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.

@ohheypedrito, @schnarfer, @magpiepills, @sawymredfox, @devineconjuring

@mothandpidgeon, @hellfire-state-of-mind, @darkheartgatita, @umnitsa, @christinamadsen

@pedrit0-pascalit0, @ace-turned-confused, @itwasntimethatdidit40, @lotusbxtch, @almostfoxglove

@lady--lynn, @chrissy-forfucksakes-wakeup, @copperhalfcent, @ferns-fics, @thesoftdumbass

[usafphantom2]

#TomcatTails

#TomcatTuesday

The Life of a RAG Student in El Centro or “Monkeys and Goats and Snakes, Oh My”

I know it may sound odd, but I wasn’t ALWAYS a Tomcat Pilot. I actually had to learn just like everyone else as RAG Student at Miramar back in the early 90’s. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe I was never a “natural”; I was more like the normal learning process of “monkey see, monkey do” most people need. There were some “naturals” out there but they were few and far between. Most of us knuckle-draggers just had to get in and do it.

I’ve talked previously about the phases that RAG students (Pilots and RIOs) go through. Well, one of my favorites was the air-to-ground syllabus that had just started up in the Tomcat RAG in the early 90s. I was at the VF-124 Gunfighters at NAS Miramar and restarting the RAG after a 11-month sideline time for a bad back/herniated disk and starting flying again. The back thing worked out pretty well. When I asked the Skipper if I could stay on as a RAG student, he said “Sure, why not? You haven’t f**ked up yet!” Yes, it was good to be in Fighters.

I can’t recall the class number; it might have been 9102 (second class of 1991 to crack that code) and we were trucking along. I’d redone my FAMs (familiarization) and had studied up for the Air-to-Ground syllabus where we would head to El Centro just over the hills (080° for 80nm) and fly out of there for about 10 days while our class got put through their paces in the air to ground environment. We’d be doing low levels around the Salton Sea, bomb dropping at the targets like Loom Lobby, Shade Tree, Inky Barley, and Kitty Baggage. Those strange names will bring back some serious memories for Naval Aviators. They were basically bullseyes in the desert with long run-in lines from a specific direction, and were normally at the terminus of an established low level route around the Salton Sea. You would fly the low level route (maybe 30-40 minutes) following a paper strip chart in your lap, get to the target area, and start a pop up maneuver (hard turn right 30° at 500 feet, pull vertical to 45° nose up, acquire target roll over onto it, establish the proper dive angle, and release your practice/inert bomb).

Bear in mind we’d done this same in Advanced Jet Training in the TA-4J Skyhawk so we knew the drill. The Tomcat RAG could then do some more advanced stuff for our det (larger weapons, section maneuvering down low, etc., etc.). All in all a great good time. My Dad was a Light Attack dude (A-1, A-4, A-7) so I’d always wanted to do the air-to-mud mission. Also, as you’d enter A/G phase you were a more senior student. Not that the Instructors wouldn’t give you max grief, but they realized that you’re eventually going to be part of the fleet so they started treating you a little bit more like a “Bubba”…..one of the team.

The following are a few of the most memorable stories and lessons learned on that detachment. And lesson one regards the responsibilities of “The Nugget”, the newest aviator in the squadron. I’ve mentioned Nuggets before and they are in a very unique position as the FNG (“F**king New Guy). First, they’ll probably actually get a nametag that says “FNG” on it. They’ll also be subject to a little mental harassment in the crucible of Fighters. Ya gotta have thick skin in a Fighter Ready Room, man or woman, and for the most part that skin thickening begins in the RAG.

The ”Strike Detachment” or “Strike Det” consist of a student class, a number of instructors, half a dozen jets, and a bunch of Maintainers to keep it all running (normally a 10-12 Maintainers to jet ratio). There are normally 3 launches per day in the early morning (“dawn patrol”), late morning, and early afternoon. The dawn patrol is normally a 5am brief for a 7am launch. And if you’ve got a 5am brief, the student gets there BEFORE the instructor who is going to get there at 4:30am. But as the Nugget, the students need to send a rep to get the daily morning donuts out in town. This is great Nugget training. How much time would YOU allot to drive to and from the nearest donut shop AND get to the Ready Room before all the instructors? Yes. One hour. The designated Nugget gets up and shits/showers/shaves to be ready to launch the rental van to Dunkin’ Donuts by 3:30am. Ouch.

What’s the big deal, right? A little early reveille, so what? Well, you need to not only pull all that off, but you have to get the RIGHT donuts. Two dozen of the CORRECT donuts better be on time, or you get to try it again the next day. How hard could it be? Apparently, pretty hard. What we learned after a few runs of this, the Nugget must purchase an acceptable ratio of glazed to chocolate covered (6/6), several Jellies (4), crullers and sugar twists (2/2), and a honeybun/fritter mix (2/1). So that makes 11. What we really learned was that the previous ratio was generally acceptable, but if you forgot the 12th important flavor, you were screwed. And that flavor? Monkey Butt. Yes, the all-important Monkey Butt donut.

What is a Monkey Butt, you ask? Well, it is a regular donut with pink frosting and sprinkles, very reminiscent of the ass of a Baboon. And if you came back without one, you had the donut duty the next day. I don’t know if this is still in the lexicon of Fighters, but for most of my career you could say “monkey butt” and everyone knew what you were talking about. Hey, we’re funny. Just ask us.

After a week or so of flying and the Instructor harassment package, our class decided to try and get back at them with some pranks. As are most good pranks, our plan was hatched on a Saturday night over WAY too many beers and a no-fly day the next day. We decided to get back at the instructors in what we thought was the funnies way possible. We kidnapped a sheep.

Said sheep was just outside the fence line in some very sheep like-pasture with very many little sheep-like beasts in a pen doing late night sheep things. We grabbed one up and went back to the base to the housing area. Sometimes one would stay in the BOQ rooms, much like a hotel. And sometimes at El Centro, we got to stay in base housing units that slept four people. My class had two houses, and right next to ours was an instructor house. Perfect. We snuck next door after we got back to our place, eased the instructors door open and deposited said sheep in the house, quietly closing the door after we left.

We didn’t really understand the impact until late the next morning. Apparently, the sheep had begun making loud sheep noises and the instructors, after chasing it around the house, caught it and put it in the back yard. Morning came, and they went to check on the sheep to make sure it was OK. And wouldn’t you know it, they shared a back yard with another house…..that belonged to the Base Commander. And there he was, bathrobe on, coffee in hand, eyeballing the instructors.

They gathered up the fuzzy little noise maker and banged on our door to take it back. “What?? Us??? OK, no sweat.” Sheepy was returned, but the owner wasn’t happy. He called the CO and wanted some kind of compensation. We all had to pass the hat for a hundred bucks to pay him, BUT also found out that the VF-124 CO was going to “come over the hill” to “discuss this with the class.” In the classic reprimand-while-trying-not-to-laugh moment, our CO told us to finish this det strong and stop f**king around. Message received.

And the flying around El Centro and the Salton Sea is absolutely glorious. Deserts, mountains, target ranges, trains you could thump at 100 feet, all that and more. One of my favorites was the VR-1257 that went counterclockwise around the Salton Sea staring at the southeast corner, and terminated at the Loom Lobby bombing range in Restricted Area 2510 to the west of El Centro. It was a nice long low level that had great terrain following, cool turn points, and some open desert to really get “into the weeds”. And at the end of it, you’d be on the run-in line for Loom Lobby and start a pop maneuver to the right, roll left and get your angle and speed established to drop inert Mk 76 blue practice bombs (“Smurfs”). Once there you could then “circle the wagons” and orbit over head to practice multiple deliveries for as many bombs as you had, normally 6 total.

Even more cool was in the Tomcat you graduated from the “Iron Sights” of the A-4 Skyhawk (basically stable cross hairs in your HUD) to the much more effective automatic bombing system of the Tomcat. In the A-4, you set the bombsight for your desired dive angle and speed, and then you HAD to fly that angle/speed and drop at the exactly right altitude. And if any of those were off (they always were), you had to make a correction of some sort in the last second. True manual bombing. But now the Tomcat had the AWG-15 panel that the RIO could set to the right type of bomb (aerodynamic characteristics), and it would give you a vertical bomb fall line (that accounted for wind), and symbology that told you exactly where to aim and when to drop. Yes, it was much older than today’s tech, but it was WAY more fun that manual bombing. I think I flew that route at least four times that Det and had a total blast.

And the BEST part of that route occurs northwest of the Salton Sea where it turns south near a very steep sided “knife edge mountain ridge” with the turn part on the very north end of that ridge. And what’s RIGHT at that turn point? This tall Park Ranger fire observation tower! It looks like its 60 feet tall and it’s a basically a small open-sided cabin at the very top of this mountain edge. Once you figure out it’s there, what do you THINK we’re going to do?? We’re going to “say hello to our Park Ranger friend” by wrapping the Tomcat around his tower at 460 knots in a climbing left turn to pass as close aboard him we could get. I don’t know if he was a big fan of that particular maneuver, but we sure enjoyed bringing it to him!! Oh, and right after that you had to look out for hang gliders. Heads up!

And that brings me to an event in my career that contains one of my most profound regrets for a lost opportunity in my entire career. You’ll know it when I get to it. As RAG students often did, we were trying to figure out what chances we could find for another practical joke or piece of high jinx to tweak our instructor’s noses. Turns out that we found a great opportunity, because the Ops Officer of the RAG was taking an instructor pilot on a IUT or “Instructor Under Training” strike hop to get him qualified to teach on the next strike det. Their flight was to fly the 1257 and eventually deliver 6 Smufs to Loom Lobby. “Hey, what if we drove out to the bombing range and mooned the Ops O when they were on the run-in line??” Yes, that’s how our brains worked back then. And yes, it begs a number of questions:

1. Can you actually drive out to the range? Dunno, there’s GOT to be dirt roads or something.

2. Will the rental van actually make it out there? Dunno. It’s a rental van, the fastest car on the road.

3. Isn’t there like some kind of safety observer that might see you? Who?

4. Might there be unexploded ordnance from years ago? Uhhh….maybe?

Fortunately, absolutely none of that crossed our minds and so the next day, off go four of us in search of Loom Lobby. It turns out that there ARE dirt roads out there AND the rental van handled them just FINE, thank you very much. And those roads lead to a pretty cool gate with some signs that said “DO NOT ENTER” and “DANGER” or some shit like that, but the gate wasn’t locked so we figured they were just there to scare us off.

There were some hard packed dirt roads, and we were doing our best navigating based on where the mountains were and where we thought the run-in line and bullseye were. Bear in mind, this is in the days before handheld GPS so we were just guessing. Turns out we guessed pretty good because we happened upon the halfway point of the run-in line where there was a strafing line at a 30° angle with a berm and banner on it at the far end.

We hopped out of the van, expecting that the Ops O would arrive in about 30 minutes so we had some time to look around. The strafing run-in line was cool because you could walk along it and at about the 1,000 foot mark from the berm, there were spent 20mm shells EVERYWHERE, scattered by the thousands as far as you could see. While the Tomcat kept the shells internal, the little A-4 Skyhawk gun would eject the expended shells. I don’t know how often the range was swept, but there must have been a few years’ worth of them.

Further along and closer to the berm, we saw the beginning of another expanse of expended ammo in the form of the blue training round bullets, again thousands of them. As we got to the berm, sure enough the banner was peppered with holes so I guess someone was doing some good work with the gun. We all picked up a few of each as one wouldn’t want to leave without a souvenir. By this time, we figured it was time to go start looking for the inbound Tomcat so we hiked back to the rental van and positioned it about 500 feet to the left of the Loom Lobby run-in line and at about what we thought was the 3-mile point where they’d start their pop-up maneuver, thinking there’s no way they’d miss seeing it.

Once there, we just waited for the inevitable. And sure enough, it showed up! The final turn onto the Loom Lobby run-in line is a 30° right turn just after a mountain range ends and the desert begins and there he was, haulin’ ass at 500 feet and approaching fast. We all scrambled to get our flight suits and drawers down and hunch over to moon them both before they started their pop maneuver. BOOOOSH!!!! They fly right over us but WAY lower than 500 feet so our expectation is that yes they saw us, and yes the let us know. He immediately starts his pop-up maneuver, a thing of beauty to see the Tomcat perform from the desert floor. Rolls left and pulls nose down to acquire the target, pickles and pulls off to enter the “circle the wagons” at 10,000 feet. They wrap up after five more passes and then come back from one more pass along the run-in line at 200 feet, passing over us and the rental car with a lot of smack on the jet (speed). Yes, they saw us.

Our next stop is, naturally, the bullseye to see what that looks like. We drive along the run-in line and then we can see the raised bullseye from a half mile away. We get close and realize there’s lots of twisted metal on the ground from all the Smurfs and we should probably walk the rest of the way. When we finally get in the area of the target, the first thing we notice is that we can see little white smoke trails coming up from the recently released Smurfs. They have a little smoke charge in the nose so you can see where they hit, and these were still slightly smoking. Brilliant idea number 2 of the day is “Let’s gather up Ops O’s bombs and take them back to him”, which we do. Six bent and twisted Smurfs, kinda warm, slightly smoking, acquired and put in the back of the rental van. Oh, and keep the window open, that stuff stinks.

We head back to the base, head to the squadron spaces on the flight line and find that Ops is back and debriefing, so we lay all the bent Smurfs in front of his assigned parking space. We found him after his debrief and he was rather interested in how we actually pulled that off, since it’s a restricted area. We said “the gate wasn’t locked”. Then he asked us if we’d called range schedules to see if anyone else was supposed to be in there when we were on our field trip. “Uhh….no. That probably would have been good.” All in all though, he thought it was pretty funny and gave us high marks at the Club that night.

So where is the profound regret from this story? When we were in the bullseye area of Loom Lobby, there were hundreds and hundreds of mangled Smurfs all over the area. Quite a few in the center pile of the bull, more so in the wider rings, and then a crap ton outside all the rings. My experience was only dropping Smurfs there so it was interesting to see quite a few heavy inert bombs. 500 pounders, 1000 pounders, even some weird looking stock that we couldn’t really place. And then I saw it, sitting majestically on the desert floor. An expended, absolutely pristine, no scratches or dents, set of deployed Snake Eye fins (minus the bomb, naturally; pictured).

Those fins are used to deploy bombs in a low-level environment so when you release the bomb, the fins pop out and rapidly decelerate the weapon to fall well behind you after you’ve escaped the bomb blast or “frag pattern” (fragmentation). They’re iconic in any air to ground pictures or footage from the Vietnam War and would be one of the best souvenirs you could ever have. And here sat a set, still olive drab, no scratches, dings or bends. Can you IMAGINE what a cool coffee table those would make? The Snake Eye fins upright, a 60” piece of round glass resting on top? That would be the coolest thing to grace a man’s home in the history of homes.

Did I think of that then? Nope. Did I think of it in about a week? Yep. Have I thought about it on occasion for 34 years since then? Unequivocally yes. Dammit. Ah, well. Opportunity lost.

@RSE_VB via X

[soccer-love]

Baby girl

Merle Frohms x reader 

“Then let's start then.” our trainer Tommy says and I feel like I just woke up as I get up from my place in the looker room. 

Even during the time he explained what we will do in todays session, I almost feel asleep. 

I follow Feli outside and we start doing our warm ups.

Normally I am one of the last ones to get off the field but this time I cant wait until the session is over and I can go. 

Usually we have about 60 to 90 minutes of training, depending on the weather and if we have games the day after or before, but after 40 minutes it starts raining so Tommy stops the training after about 55 minutes. 

Everyone tries to get inside as quick as possible but I sit down at the floor and take a few deep breaths. 

“Hey, Y/N are you okay?” I hear someone saying and Merle comes up behind me, handing me her water bottle. 

“Yeah I am just tired.” I say and take a sip before giving it back, Merle offers me a hand and helps me to get up. 

“Did I hurt you with that last action?” she asks and I shake my head, we where doing a little game during the last minutes and Merle accidentally tackled me down while trying to get the ball. 

“No, I am okay really.” I say and we enter the locker room, I take a shower and almost fall asleep again while standing underneath the hot stream. 

Everyone was dirty form the training in the rain and looks a little bit tired but I am probably the badest looking person right now.  

I look like a zombie. 

It takes me what feels like eternity, to put on my cloths and I barley cant keep my eyes open. 

At the exit I walk into Merle, she smiles at me, before looking outside where it's still raining. 

“Can I give you a ride?” she asks, knowing that I normally ride my bike here. 

“Uh sure.” I answer and we run over to her car. 

It’s not a long drive, but the sound of the rain against the windshield and the soft shaking of the car, makes me fall asleep even I try to fight against it. 

“Y/N?” I feel someone softly shaking my arm and slowly open my eyes, I am still in the passengers seat but the rain stoped and we are standing outside my apartment building. 

“Sorry, I...” I sit up and grab my bag from my feet but Merle holds me back. 

“Hey, you know that I know you sine we startet playing in the U-17 together, and lately you are not at your usual best, you look tired like you haven't slept in a week.” she says, giving me a worried look. 

“I am fine.” 

“Seriously, I know you're not, what is up with you?” 

I look down before taking a deep breath. 

“You know my sister?” I ask and she nods. 

“She lives with you, to support you with your baby, right?” 

Five months ago, I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl, Sophia. Her father was never really in the picture and my sister moved in with me so that I wouldn't have to give-up  my career. 

“Yeah but she moved back to Chicago where she works a couple of weeks ago, I have someone to watch over her and when I we have games my mom come here but...” I stop because I don't want to say anything bad about the person I love the most. 

“the nights are hard, she normally needs to be feed two to three times and then she needs at least half an hour to fall back asleep and I think she really misses her aunt.” 

Merle grabs my hand and smiles at me. 

“I think I have an idea, how about I come by in like an hour, make you two some dinner, you can take a relaxing bath and then I stay the night to help you.” 

“You...no you need to sleep-” 

“Y/N, I wouldn't have offered it if I didn't want to do it.” 

I know that there is no point in discussing with her, Merle is a really strong minded person and won't give up so easily. 

“Okay.” I say and grab my back. 

“See you later Y/N.”

“See ya.” I say goodbye as I get out of the car. 

I have to nannys wich take turns to watch over Sophia during the day and sometimes for the evenings. Sometimes I feel really bad about it that I leave my baby alone this much but I’m not ready to retire yet. 

I cuddle a little bit with my daughter and fall asleep for a couple of minutes before I clean the living room a little bit up. 

----

“Welcome back.” I say as Merle comes back, a bag with stuff in her hand. 

“Good evening to you too.” she answers laughing, following me inside. 

She notices Sophia laying on her favorite blanked on the floor next to the couch, a stuffed dolphin in her hand. 

Like almost everyone Merle met my little girl many times, she was actually the first one to visit me after I gave birth. 

“Hey there, how are you sweetie?” she talks to Sophia sitting down next to her. 

“Can I?” she asks, reaching her hands out to Sophia, wanting my permission to pick her up. 

“Of curse.” I say and she takes her in her arms, smiling down at her. 

I feel my heart beating a little bit faster and I don't know if it's because of Sophia or Merle or both of them together. 

“So little one are you more a spaghetti and meatballs girl or a spaghetti bolognese girl?” she asks before looking up at me. 

“Definitiv a spaghetti bolognese girl.” I answer and Merle laughs, she grabs her bag with one hand and walks into the kitchen. 

“Can I help you with anything?” 

“You can take this beautiful girl from me because I eat her up, she's just so cute and maybe set up the table, I’ll do the rest.” Merle demands and I nod, taking Sophia from her. 

I set the table and then just watch Merle cooking, getting lost in my thoughts. 

The way she cooks is the same way she plays soccer. 

With passion and love. 

I cant help but stare at her hands, watching them cutting onions and stir in the pot with the sauce. 

These hands are thousands maybe millions of dollars worth. 

And then I realize how lucky I am, 

One of the best goalkeepers in the world, is standing in my kitchen. 

Sometimes I have these moments where I realize that I am surrounded by stars, that my friends are famous. 

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say that no one knows me but I am defiantly not as known as they are. 

My mom is German and my Dad Norwegian, I grew up in Oslo and also play for the Norwegian National Team and many people in my home country know us. 

I look down at Sophia who is still laying in my arms, looking at Merle completely stunned. 

And I really understand her, Merle is so extremely beautiful and she just has this vibe that you have to love her.

“I think dinner is ready.” Merle says and looks over to us. 

She fills our plates and brings them over while I sit down, with holding almost asleep Sophia in my left arm. 

“You now I think you are really strong for being a professional soccer player and raising a child at the same time.” she says as I take the first bite of the food.

“Wow, this is so good.” she laughs and I think I just feel a little in love with this pasta. 

“And thanks but I didn't really have a choice, don't get me wrong I love my little girl to pieces but I was definitely not ready to give up my career.” I explain and Merle nods. 

We eat our dinner and after that Merle practically forces me to go and take a relaxing bath while she takes care of Sophia. 

“You know that you just could tell me that I smell.” I joke, making Merle roll her eyes. 

“Believe me you smell wonderful.” she says pushing me towards the bathroom. 

To be honest it is really great not to have to worry about doing the dishes after dinner or that I have to put Sophia to bed. 

After the bath I get dressed in some shorts and one of my VFL shirts and when I  exit the bathroom, the living room and kitchen is empty and I see a small light coming from my bedroom. 

I walk over and see Sophia laying in her bed that is next to mine and also open to this side so I have easy access to her during the night and she doesn't feel like being speratet from me. 

Sophia is laying on her side, holding onto the collar of Merles shirt with her tiny hands. While Merle is fast asleep next to her, wearing the same shirt that I have, she must have got changed while I was laying in the bathtub. 

I grab a blanket from my dresser and softy place it over her, she looks so peaceful while sleeping. 

As quiet as possible I lay down next to her and pull another blanked over myself before turning of the lights. 

Sunlight is falling over us as I wake up again, I must have turned around in my sleep and I a arm over me, only then I realize that there is a body behind me, really really close to mine. 

I smile against the wall and feel Merle pulling me closer, her warm breath hits my neck and I think I feel safer than I ever did before. 

As I wake up again, she is gone but as I turn around I see her standing next to the bed, Sophia in her arms as she is feeding her with a bottle. 

“Look who is awake.” Merle says and I smile at them. 

“I didn’t even hear her crying.” I sit up and undo my hair tie, letting them fall over my shoulders, 

“Oh she wasn't, she slept through the night and when I woke up earlier she was just a little whine so I got up and made her a bottle.” 

“I cant believe it.” I say and look at my daughter. 

“Last night you woke me up four times and now you just learned to sleep the whole night.” I add and Merle laughs. 

“Maybe she was relaxed because she felt that you are.” 

I node and get up, kissing Sophia on the cheek and I almost kiss Merle too but I can hold my self back. 

We have breakfast together and spend the morning together before Merle has to leave because of goalie training. 

-----

After this night, it becomes a habit that she comes over almost every day. Sometimes she even stays for the night, sleeping with my in my bed, but since Sophia started sleeping through the nights I am also more awake during the day. 

Often we end up cuddled together in the morning and I feel myself falling over her more every day. 

I mean I already had a small crush on her but now I really know that it is more than that. 

She makes me feel safe and her arms feel like home to me. 

We always were roommates for our away games but since she's staying at my apartment more often it kind of feels different. 

Even there we wake up close together and I don't know if I am imagining it but I feel like there is sometimes this tension between us, like when we are sitting close together on our beds, or when we are doing weight lifting together. 

But I am not sure if it is really there. 

And I don't want to talk about it with her because I don't want to loose her, it would break my heart and probably Sophias too. 

I love the way she acts with my daughter, she is just so kind hearted and a real angel. 

Oh fuck i am so damn in love with her....

[bordysbae]

could you do an enemies to lovers/exs to lovers with luke hughes or quinn using prompts 23,37,40, and 51?

“way out of my league”

luke hughes x reader

23. why don’t you ever post me?

37. forgive me?

40. he’s my ex we broke up for a reason

51. are you really that oblivious?

—

you couldn’t help but feel as if luke was embarrassed by you. he never talked about you very much, and never posted about your guys��� relationship much either. when you confronted him about it, little did you know that would be the last conversation you’d have had with him in the last two months.

“luke, why don’t you ever post me?” you asked gently, afraid of what he might say.

“i do babe, what do you mean?” he questioned, avoiding eye contact as he stared right at his phone.

“luke we both know that’s not true”

“what do you want from me? is there more than like two things on my instagram that aren’t hockey related? i don’t like posting shit like that just chill out!” he exclaimed, now looking at you.

“luke you need to chill out! i was just asking a question, but clearly with the way you’re getting so defensive there’s something else going on! are you embarrassed of me?”

“oh don’t be like that y/n!”

“luke, you didn’t say no,” you say quietly.

“y/n cmon don’t be that way,” luke groans, running both hands across his face. it was a all a blur, but the night ended with you storming out of his dorm with tears streaming down your face. and that was over two months ago.

—

“y/n, don’t dress so bummy tonight, let me help you pick an outfit,” your roomate says as she walks over to your closet.

“what’s wrong with my outfit? it’s just a regular party, i think leggings and a crop top are fine!” you protest

“absolutely not! you’ve barley gone out since you and luke broke up, and i know for a fact he’ll be there tonight. don’t you want to show him what he’s missing?”

“he won’t pay any attention to me, he’s my ex we broke up for a reason,” you say, holding up the clothes against your body that your roomate eliana passes to you.

“y/n that’s where you’re wrong! he’s your ex, so of course he’s gonna be looking at you. you haven’t been out in forever, it’s time you show yourself off! here this is perfect, these black jeans with this cute pink tube top!” eliana cheerfully says, shoving the clothes against your chest. you sigh in content, and get changed into your party outfit. you two arrive at the house, and the immediate smell of alcohol and sweat makes you want to puke.

as eliana clings to some of her sorority sisters, you tag along quietly, not wanting to be at the party at all. you get yourself a drink before eliana leaves you to go meet up with a guy she’s been taking to. you look around and the only familiar face you see is nolan moyle, captain of the ice hockey team. he shoot’s you a smile before getting distracted. “i hate parties,” you mumble under your breath before going to sit on the sort of empty stairs. the couple sucking each others faces off don’t even give you a glance as you sit down, making you roll your eyes. you feel invisible here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. as your attention is focused on your phone, you hear the loud, and drunk, voice of eliana. she’s dancing with a few people having the best time of her life, meanwhile you’re sat on the stairs minding your own business, not even done with your first drink.

you huff out a laugh, and turn back to your phone, before a painfully familiar voice speaks up. “y/n, hi,” he says. a sharp pain runs through your heart as you look up and see the familiar curly haired, well built boy you once used to call your boyfriend. “hi luke,” you say as you swallow the lump in your throat.

“can we uh, go outside?” he asks as he scratches the back of his neck. you nod in response, as he takes the lead towards the front door. he sits on the steps outside, and you take a seat next to him. he fidgets with his fingers before croaking put a few words you never thought you’d hear him say after all this time, “i’m sorry, forgive me?”

“what? forgive you for what?”

“everything y/n. i’m sorry i never posted you, i’m sorry i acted the way i did that night. it’s been driving me crazy that i treated you so poorly. i regret lashing out, i regret not posting you, i regret everything. honestly i haven’t even been able to sleep without you. i just at least need you to know i’m sorry,” he rambles.

“luke, it’s okay. all i want to know is why you never posted me? why you were embarrassed?”

“that’s the thing, i wasn’t embarrassed. i was embarrassed of the reason why i never posted you,” he says, playing with the ends of his flannel sleeve.

“what does that mean?”

“you’re too good for me, i’ve even been told it. i was embarrassed because you’re way out of my league. you’re so pretty, and sweet, and i’m just this dumb hockey player. that’s all i’m good for, meanwhile you’re incredibly smart and i just felt dumb around you. i never posted you because when i post hockey, i get validation. i know it’s super dumb, but i really reget all of it,”

“why do you regret it? i understand that, sort of. you wanted attention and validation, and by posting your achievements you got that. why do you reget it so much, you got what you wanted yeah?” you ask genuinely. that’s one thing you’ve always been good at, understanding other peoples reasonings for things.

“are you really that oblivious?” luke chuckles.

“huh?” you ask, turning your head to face him. he does the same, and smiles at your slight stupidity.

“i regret it, because i miss you,” he says softly, sending shivers down your entire body. immediately like goes to take off his flannel, but stops himself, “sorry, instinct. are you cold? you can have my flannel if you need,” he chuckles shyly.

“i’d love your flannel luke. and i miss you too, y’know,” you say, as he wraps his flannel around your shoulders and a blush appears on both of your guys’ cheeks. “you do?” he questions.

“one hundred percent. there’s not a day where i don’t think about you, if i’m being honest. i still go to hockey games too,” you bashfully admit.

“you’re still my little fan, ey?” luke chuckles, pulling you into his side and wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

“yeah yeah okay luke, don’t get ahead of yourself now”

[nerdychaoscherryblossom]

Once Upon a Pixar (2026)

Hello. It's me, and this is the Pixar version of Once Upon a Studio called Once Upon a Pixar.

(The film opens with the headquarters at Pixar as the employees leave for the day.)

Pixar Intern: It's so incredible to think that George Lucas started Pixar back in 1979 until it was founded by Steve Jobs in 1986 40 years ago today. To think of all those talented animators and unforgettable characters who have been a part of the studio over the years.

Pete Docter: Yep. (as he and the intern turn around one last time) If the characters could talk to each other.

(Pete Docter and the intern leave as the door closes while the title comes up: "Once Upon a Pixar". The camera zooms into a photo picture of Woody, Jessie and Bullseye running on a record player. Woody glances back as everything seems quiet in the lobby.)

Woody: Psst! Atta. Princess Atta. You there?

(Princess Atta flies into the lobby and over to his picture.)

Woody: Is that it? They all gone?

Princess Atta: Yep, they're all gone.

Woody: Yee-haw! (he, Jessie and Bullseye leap out of the picture) Come on, Jessie, this is it.

Jessie: Let's get everyone. Yodel-ay-hee-hoo!

Joy: (gasps) There's the signal! All right, everyone! (she, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust jump out of their production cell) It's picture time!

Elio Silos: That's tonight?

Joy: That's now.

Ember Lumen: The 40-year group photo. (she and Wade jump out of their production cell as well) And the sun's going down. Come on, Wade, let's feel the burn!

Wade Ripple: Ooh, a fire pun. (chuckles) Got to like that.

(Suddenly, Arlo and Spot come out of their production cell as Wade gasps and goes against the wall.)

Arlo: (chuckles nervously) Sorry.

Woody: Picture time, gang!

Mei Lee: (chuckles) Okay, here we come!

(Mei Lee, Miriam, Abby, Priya and Tyler jump out of their production cell while they laugh.)

Abby: Wake up, everyone!

(The Oozma Kappa come out of their production cell as Squishy yells while Russell, Carl and Dug walk down the hallway.)

Russell: Whoa!

Dug: Awesome!

Russell: Oh, Mr. Lightyear! Get the folks upstairs!

Buzz Lightyear: Roger that, Russell. To infinity and beyond!

(Buzz Lightyear flies upstairs as Lightning McQueen drives happily down the hall with Mater.)

Mater: Yee-haw!

Merida: (jumps out of her production cell) It's picture time! (runs to the lobby) We're meeting at the lobby!

Flik: Okay! See you there!

(Miguel Rivera and Riley Andersen ride on Dim as Dim flies to the lobby.)

Miguel Rivera: (hollers)

(Francis gives a fun ride to Dash Parr.)

Dash Parr: Whoa! Higher! (laughs)

(Francis chuckles as Remy and Emile slide down the stairs as Luca Paguro lands on the floor and sighs as he catches Nemo.)

Nemo: Water.

Luca Paguro: (shudders and rushes to the counter)

P.T. Flea: No, no, no, there's no time for snacks!

Luca Paguro: Uh, Andy! A little help here?

Andy Davis: Oh, uh, let me see here. There we go, a nice bucket of water.

(Luca Paguro dunks Nemo to a bucket of water.)

Nemo: (grunts)

Linguini: (chuckles) Oh, waiter! There's a fish in the bucket! (laughs)

(Ernesto de la Cruz tries to get candy from the vending machine while he curses in Spanish as Mr. Incredible and Frozone walk down the hall.)

Mr. Incredible: Yikes! Do you think all the villains might catch up?

Frozone: Hmm. (freezes Syndrome in his frame) Not all.

Syndrome: (strains)

(Rex goes to the elevator with Imelda Rivera, Manticore, Ian, Barley and Laurel Lightfoot.)

Imelda Rivera: Going down?

Roz: Hold the elevator. I'm going to the lobby.

Rex: Huh? Oh, you've got to be joking.

(Joe Gardner hums to "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" while he draws Hector Rivera.)

Brook Ripple: Hey, black man. Shake a leg, will ya?

Joe Gardner: The leg won't make a difference, it's all in the wrist.

(Hector Rivera bursts out of the drawing as Joe Gardner shrieks in surprise.)

Hector Rivera: Ay! I haven't seen a fall like that since Spain. (fixes the chair) Oh! Much better.

(At the men's room, Hopper, 4*Town and Chef Skinner freshen up as Chef Skinner blows a kiss and chuckles. Suddenly, Tuck and Roll appear in front of his eyes, laughing, as Jessie opens the door.)

Jessie: Let's move it, gentlemen!

(While Lorenzo Paguro tries to free his wife Daniela Paguro from her picture, Giulia Marcovaldo walk with Buster, Mr. Mittens, Larry and Machivelli.)

Giulia Marcovaldo: Uh-huh. Meeting at the lobby. Don't eat the rats.

(Scud tries to eat Remy and Emile but Dante pops up and scares Scud away, thus saving the rats' lives. While Izzy and her team walk by, Mei Lee and her friends watch a cartoon on a TV.)

Izzy Hawthorne: Come on, everyone, you're gonna have nightmares.

(Zurg pops out of the TV and scares Mei Lee and her friends away, laughing. Back at the elevator, Roz makes it in time.)

Roz: Thanks very much for holding the elevator.

Rex: (groans)

Evelyn Deavor: I'm also going to the lobby as well.

Rex: Huh? Oh, come on!

(While M-O is being followed and annoyed by Dot, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson follow down the stairs, where Mr. Anderson is the one to drop his wallet and they laugh. Buster picks up the wallet and runs off with it.)

Mr. Anderson: Hey, Buster! Andy, get your dog!

(Woody follows up the stairs as he looks amused when he sees Underminer leading Colette Tatou with his hypnosis watch.)

Woody: Underminer? Underminer! You-- You stop that now, Underminer!

Rosie: Don't worry, Woody. (chuckles) I got this.

(Rosie hits Underminer offscreen unconsciously.)

Woody: Huh. (gasps) Wow.

(Woody looks up at photographs of John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich and Joe Ranft while he takes his hat off.)

Buzz Lightyear: Oh, Woody, where are you? We're at the lobby!

Woody: (chuckles) Got to go, but thanks. (puts his hat back on) On with the show.

(At the lobby, Woody rides on WALL-E with a fire extinguisher)

Woody: Yee-haw!

Mike Wazowski: Coast is clear, Sheriff.

Woody: Great! (holds the door open) Right this way, everybody.

(Sulley bumps into the door.)

Woody: Oh! Sulley, are you okay?

James P. Sullivan: (grunts) Never better, Eastwood. (accidentally trips the trash can)

Stinky Pete: I knew I'm surrounded by... (gets startled by Slim who rides on EVE) Idiots!

Slim: Tallyho! Whee! I'll show you the world! (laughs)

Woody: Oh, great, the ladder.

(Buzz sets the ladder while he hums.)

Mr. Dicker: Every time it gets hard. Money, money, money.

Woody: All right, everyone. Get-- Get together now. (to Tinny) Oh. After you, Tinny.

Emile: Oh. Pardon me.

Francis: (holds up a camera) Here's the camera, Lightyear.

Buzz Lightyear: (takes a camera and chuckles) Thanks, Francis. (climbs up the ladder)

Woody: Buzz, be careful!

Buzz Lightyear: (makes it to the top) All right, now where's the timer button?

Molt: Oh, oh! Three, two, one! (Randall Boggs grins)

(Buzz accidentally falls off while he screams and breaks the camera. As Buster walks to the broken camera, Buzz recognizes it.)

Andy Davis: Come on, Buster. (Buster runs back to Andy)

Buzz Lightyear: Huh? Oh, no. It's ruined.

Anger: Well, that was fun!

Sadness: Maybe we can try again in another forty years.

(The characters sigh disappointedly and are about to leave.)

Woody: Oh, no, no, wait. Come back. It-- It-- It'll be fine. It'll be...

(Just as the characters are about to leave, Randy Newman appears from nowhere while he plays "You've Got a Friend in Me" on piano with his orchestra.)

Randy Newman: ♪ You've got a friend in me ♪

♪ You've got a friend in me ♪

♪ When the road looks rough ahead ♪

♪ And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed ♪

Hopper: I knew this was gonna happen.

Randy Newman: ♪ You just remember what your old pal said ♪

♪ Boy, you've got a friend in me ♪

♪ Yeah, you've got a friend in me ♪

(While the song goes on, Mr. Incredible fixes the camera as Buzz looks excited and Sulley puts the ladder back in position. Manny and Gipsy lift Buzz to help him up as Buzz sets the camera up for the photo.)

♪ Some other folks might be ♪

♪ A little bit smarter than I am ♪

♪ Bigger and stronger too, maybe ♪

♪ But none of them will ever love you ♪

♪ The way I do, it's me and you, boy ♪

♪ And as the years go by ♪

♪ Our friendship will never die ♪

♪ You're gonna see it's our destiny ♪

All: ♪ You've got a friend in me ♪

♪ You've got a friend in me ♪

♪ You've got a friend in me ♪

(The camera flashes as the group photo in the Pixar hall is taken, and the short ends with a text "To the animators, directors and crew of Pixar who worked for 40 years on movies and short films, Thank You." and then the song ends.)

Well, I think this is the transcript. I hope you like it. I also hope Pixar does a new short film like Once Upon a Studio did. Have a Happy New Year.

[lightfoot-bros]

We know that Barley is a certified metalhead. Although I can't help but wonder what kind of music Ian would be into. Did Barley ever tried initiating him to metal or rock like he does with Quests of Yore ?

I am pretty sure Barley blasts his metal tunes in his room or van all the time while Ian hears his older brother’s choice of music. Before the Phoenix gem incident I think Ian would have felt indifferent to Barley’s metal music. But after that incident I would like to imagine Ian being open to his brother’s taste in music, and maybe Ian would be interested in attending one of Barley’s metal concerts; however, Ian would just like to see them from afar and away from the mosh pit.

Ian seems to me he would enjoy classical music or relaxing lo-fi music to help him study. But you know he’s gotta have some catchy jingles from the top 40’s hits in his shuffle playlist.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for stabbing my bandmate and trashing our apartment?

That sounds real shitty, but I know some people gotta side with me on here...

I (as of right now, 60~M) was in a band with my four other bandmates. Right now, they're making it big, like they're loaded, and that should have been me. I drove them to success....and I'm stuck barley making rent! But anyhow, so I was in this band. We played death metal, you know? The heavy shit. Well our drummer, this small redhead dude (currently 50~ M) was playing the completely wrong drum pattern! And this wasn't a one time issue, but a constant cycle from all of them! It's like they didn't care and just wanted to goof off! So I yelled at him! What else was I supposed to do? Slapped his stupid beer to the floor too. One of our other bandmates, the vocalist, this big beefy guy (currently 40-50~M) told me to calm down and that I was acting "crazy"! But what does he know? You know, I was just real tired of their shit and fuckin' charged at him with my switchblade! Got him real good in the shoulder and this big goofball had the nerve to punch me to the floor and beat me up! I couldn't even walk for a long ass time, maybe even passed out... Later, they kicked me out of the band! Of course I couldn't just let them do that, you know? It's my band! I came back into our apartment and broke all their gear!

I mean...I KNOW I cant be the asshole but...I met this guy (late 20s~ M), he's their new rhythm guitarist and all, they replaced me with him, and I truly do fuckin' hate the guy, he's annoying and acts like a goddamn toddler, so don't get me wrong I genuinely hate his guts, but meeting this kid has got me thinking, seeing the band as they are right now... that maybe i'm the asshole...

I got some plans im working on with this statue lookin' guy I met in relation to all this... I can't say all too much yet, but I'll update when the gears start turning...Because I feel like I might be the asshole for it too and I don't know....I'm starting to kinda second guess all this, the input of some random idiots on the net sounds kinda comforting right now....

[wisdomrays]

A MAJOR SIN: GHULUL( Defrauding): Part 2

Constant self-criticism in order to avoid ghulul

Actually, the devoted souls should show more sensitivity in keeping away from ghulul. For example, if they gather together for the sake of servitude to God or worship, we need to have the thought within about whether it is our lawful right to step on the carpet under our feet. If we do not do that, then it means we have lost our sensitivity on this issue. I am not saying that it is not your right. Those who built these establishments bought the carpets for your use; this is a different issue. The point I am trying to make is that, we need to be so sensitive as to question ourselves about whether we deserve to use these carpets by prostrating ourselves on them and causing them to wear out a bit. We are eating from the food they serve us here, but are we really deserving of it? Having concerns, hesitations, and sensitivity about this issue is very important. Caring about where the morsel in one’s mouth comes from, to whom it belonged, questioning is it really lawful or not, and showing great sensitivity in this respect is a very important duty that falls on a believer.

As for what needs to be done here, within the rules determined by the team that governs the organization, they should say to employees, “You can take this much as your monthly payment, and this is for the travel expenses.” Nothing extra to that amount will be lawful for them. Otherwise, one might lose while seemingly being on the righteous path. While walking to God and having the means to gain His good pleasure, they might fall for Satan’s trickery and—may God forbid!—become a fallen one.

The ethical conduct and discipline of making an explanation to the people

Other people governing establishments of volunteers such as supplementary schools, cultural centers and the like must show the same sensitivity. The people who support this service trust the volunteers to the degree of comfortably saying, “You can take my soul” if a soul were needed somewhere. If there is a ghulul somewhere, even if it is as little as one-seventh of a grain of barley in worth, God will bring us to account for it. As a matter of fact, the Qur’an declares: “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it; and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (az-Zalzalah 99:8). Accordingly, we will be held liable for even smaller sins. The Arabic word dharra refers to the smallest particle of matter; it used to be called molecule, then atom, and then a subatomic particle… You can even call it luminiferous aether . So according to the verse, God Almighty will call us to account for evils we cannot even see with a microscope or x-rays.

There are such essential values and disciplines in Islamic teaching that it is an entire case to be studied separately. God Almighty bestowed great blessings on Muslims, such as the Holy Qur’an, the Authenticated Sunnah, the Islamic teachings, and made this into the spirit of our lives. If Muslims still fail to erect the monument of their soul after so many blessings pouring down on them, then it means they are spending their lives in vain. Therefore, if we do not embarrass the noble Prophet in the Hereafter, and if we wish God’s graces to keep coming in terms of good works in this world, then we have to show the utmost sensitivity on this issue. For the same reason I told certain people who have been my friends for 40 to 45 years, “You had better not own an apartment or car of your own.” I am not such a sensitive person, but let me tell you one thing I did. So many times I opened my hands to God and prayed: “My God, please, here I am imploring You, do not grant worldly means to my own brothers.” Because, if others see them enjoying some wealth, they can say, “Then he is taking something from somewhere.” Praise be to my God, every one of them is employed somewhere as workers and I—the whole world is a witness to it—am not disturbed by this at all. Let them keep living—may God grant them long life—as laborers. I will not feel sad at all. I would be sad if they died as sinful people or if other people gossiped about their dishonesty; for it would mean discrediting a noble ideal the people gave heartfelt support to.

Thieves of success

Let me express as a final point that ghulul can happen with not only material but also spiritual matters. For example Bediüzzaman mentions that the victory of an entire battalion cannot be ascribed to their commander only. All the rewards and honor do not belong to the commander but the entire army. For this reason, laying claims on the accomplishment of an entire movement means associating partners with God, on the one hand, and ghulul on the other. It is a great danger if a person lays claim to certain achievements by disregarding the efforts of millions and asserting his role by saying, “my plans and projects, my insight and thoughts…” and appropriating the people’s appreciation for himself by saying “I did it.” If others respond to him by singing his praises, and if he welcomes these, it is a further degree of disrespect and moral corruption. Such an attitude is also a form of ghulul, a major sin, and betrayal of trust.

[zapreportsblog]

Writing Prompts

1. Ignorance is a disease so back up asshole, I ain’t trying to catch your germs

2. “Look around, what do you see? Nothing? Yeah, cause that’s how many fucks were given!”

3. “Your hot temper makes for a great heater.”

4. “You’re the cum drop your mother should’ve swallowed.”

5. “Don’t speak please, you’re lowering this whole neighborhoods IQ.”

6. “I’m in shock, see I’m wearing a blanket.”

7. “Fallings just like falling expect with a more permanent destination in mind.”

8. “Super weird.”

9. “Bitch don’t kill my vibe.”

10. “Flex tape, stronger then your relationship.”

11. “Bippity Boppity back the fuck up.”

12. “If I had a dollar for every time I was called ugly I’d be broke cause bitch, I’m gorgeous.”

13. “You think you got problems with me, but baby I don’t even think about you. You mad at everything I do, but what are you up to I haven’t a clue. Cause baby you’re dead to me, how can I be dead to you? You’re looking way too obsessed.”

14. “Leave me alone you little fucker.”

15. “God this is so fucked up.”

16. “Older shits teach littler shits shit the elder shits should’ve taught them.”

17. “When we get in here don’t touch shit, don’t look at shit, don’t ask for shit, because we ain’t getting it.”

18. “Be careful who you call a child because you know what that makes you? A pedophile! And I’ll be damned if I sit here and be lectured by a pervert!”

19. “Bold of you to assume I even think.”

20. “I will destroy you on this court yard, I will ruin all that you love, slaughter your hopes and your dreams. I will rip you limb from limb and stand over your fallen corpse, and once that is all over I will laugh at your misery. I will be your demise!”

21. “You guys are pros right? Then why does it feel like I’m going against toddlers that barley knows how to walk right?!”

22. “Thanks, it’s the trauma.”

23. “You better not disrespect me because who you gonna send to check me?”

24. “After all these hands are rated E for everybody!”

25. “Speak for yourself. At least I don’t have more conversations with the memorial statue then with actually people.”

26. “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not.”

27. “I’m not really a murderer but when I play GTA 5; I turn into Jeffery Dahmer.”

28. “Being jealous is a disease, get well soon bitch.”

29. “ I know I’m handsome but having you stare at me is kind of a turn off.”

30. “No matter what it is, I always get what I want.”

31. “Cause I was born with this pretty face, so of course only pretty things can be worn by me.”

32. “ If I wanted to kill myself I will climb up your ego and jump to your IQ level.”

33. “Would you let me make a dildo of your penis?”

34. “Ya know, talk shit get hit?”

35. “Why is big birds emo son talking to me?”

36. “You know I really like confident women .”

37. “And I like men in my age group.”

38. “Run and I’ll break your legs. Attack and I’ll break your necks.”

39. “Listen there isn’t a single language on earth that has a word for how little I care. A super computer that calculates for a thousand years cannot even approach the number of fucks I do not give.”

40. “Once I find them I’ll peel their skin from off their muscles and feed it to the creatures of the forest, watching as they drink their blood like holy wine.”

41. “So let me tell you one last time so we're clear

42. You don't want to take the path you took to get here. If you pop that lip I will rock your shit. Stop playing with the fire, you are not that lit On monday you can get it! On tuesday you can get it! On wednesday you can get it! What about thursday? You can get it! On friday you can get it! On saturday you can get it! How about sunday? You can get it! And every single day you can get it.”

43. “ It’s heretopaternal superfecundation, mom had a threesome and got two mistakes instead of one.”

44. “As long as my fucks to care are flying around and no one catching them it’ll continue to be that way, no fucks given.”

45. “You must be into some kinky shit if you put your honored guest into chains and cuffs.”

46. “Mate, I’ll fucking spin your jaw.”

47. “It’s the borderline incest for me beloved.”

48. “Mhmm now apologize you fuckin goofy.”

49. “Now remember what I told you, walk straight even if you’re gay.”

50. “I can’t talk right now, I’m doing bad bitch shit.”

51. “If I hated any of you then I would’ve either killed you all off one by one or just left.”

52. “Why don’t you slip into something more comfortable? Like a coma.”

53. “I was not born with enough middle fingers.”

54. “My depression is vicious, but this ass is delicious. Dinner is served bitch.”

55. “You wanna talk about the seatbelt rule! How about we talk about the shut the fuck up rule!”

56. “ Hippity hoppity your grave is on my property.”

57. “You speak to your mother with that mouth?”

58. “ No, but I suck your father’s off with it.”

59. “I’m sick you assholes. Baby me!”

60. “Your first orgy! I approve. Especially the tall one. He'd make an excellent consort."

61. “What did I tell you about speaking of orgies so freely in front of mortals? It's weird. Especially since you're my dad. You're not supposed to approve of these things."

62. “Ding dong the witch is dead."

63. "This drink is my weakness and she knows it. Bitch."

64. “Because they're never gonna see that coming." You say, matter of factly. "They pull back the curtain like re-re and you're like re-re yourself, motherfucker!"

65. “And then you stab them in the eye. You thought the psycho was out there? Surprise! The psycho's in here with the Olay body wash on her."

66. “Oh shit, he's trying to say something. Quick get the Speak-n-Spell!"

67. “The total number of fucks I give are equal to the number of living relatives Sasuke has.”

68. “Haven't you seen my halo, darling? I'm an angel." 

69. “ Can I call you a waste of time? Because that’s what you feel like to me.”

70. “He looks like my depression in human form.”

71. “He looks like he could be my sleep paralysis demon.”

72. “If depression and anxiety had a child he would be that child.”

73. “Oh you shouldn’t talk so big it makes your height look bad.”

74. “Sucking the life out of you guys like depression on a Tuesday.”

75. “I’m lazy not stupid.”

76. “I can't be sad. It is a state of mind which is simply not accessible to me. But this doesn't mean that i am happy all the time because this emotion is suppressed, barely there. Mostly i am in a state of...resignation. Calmness. No matter what situation. I do feel getting touched. But i don't feel pain. At all. So none.”

77. “You could basically rip my eyes out and i would only feel a slight movement and a soft touch. I don't feel exhaustion. I don't feel hunger. Sometimes i forget to breathe. I mean...my body still does that automatically but...meditating can get pretty dangerous for me.”

78. “Think of it that way. Everything around us, is god. The cells. The air. Atomic bonds. Life itself. The movement of the leaves in the wind and the smell of the coffee in front of you. It is around us. In us. Something. Call it molecules. Call it Allah. Call it God. Call it Science. Gravity is god. Carbon dioxide is god. You. Are a tiny bit of god. God is just a word. Something, a word, a thought to share. A reason to life. Live itself. You don't have to be a Jew a Muslim a Buddhist a Christian or an Atheist to know, that the world around you exists. Maybe there is a Plan. Maybe there is a spiritus sancti. Maybe, there is a soul and maybe there isn't. We do not know. But we know of our world. We know of us. Maybe the cells in our body's weren't meant to mutate. Maybe they were. We do not know. But we can believe. That is the difference, between us. A believing and a none believing person. And the difference is, that there is none. We are the same. Thinking about the same, knowing and not knowing the same facts. Simply chose to call it differently."

79. “I’m not here to boost your ego Walmart Superman.”

80. “This is my ninja way.”

81. “They say I care I didn’t care when my dog died.”

82. “I really don’t think barging is the right word… strolled is a more accurate description, I think.”

83. “Of course. I’d tie them up. First I’d remove each nail and when it got inflamed, I’d dip it in salt. They screamed so loud, you have no idea. Then I start to amputate. I’d remove one finger each day, then the toes. Then the hand, then feet, moving my ways up. They wouldn’t die since I would cauterize their wounds. Then I’d play with them. I’d throw screw drivers, knifes, and needles at them. I have a terrible shot you know… or do I?”

84. “I rip their hair out with my own hands and feed it to them. I’d shove my fingers into their eyes till they pop out. The genitals are always last to go. Even if they admit in the beginning, I’d still do it. I’d then dump their bodies for the little birdies and critters to nibble at.”

85. “Treat me like a joke and I’ll leave you like it’s funny.”

86. “I don’t want you guys to think I’m some good guy cause if I got the chance I would sacrifice you all in a heartbeat.”

87. “You fuck me but won’t marry me! How does that work?!”

88. “Shut your mouth!”

89. “Oh I thought you liked it wide open.”

90. “I’m the person who’s gonna cut ya dick off and glue it to ya forehead so you look like a lilting unicorn.”

91. “Who the fuck are you?”

92. “Nobody gives me butterflies anymore, just anger issues.”

93. “Fuck you goatman!”

94. “Mentally sick, physically thick.”

95. “Congratulations, you played yourself.”

96. “I use my tears as hand sanitizer because there’s nothing riper then depression in it’s purest form.”

97. “Always in the sun, but no ones son is ever in me.”

98. “Well if he says I am baby then I am baby. Goo goo ga ga motherfuckers.”

99. “Is this a new technique for kidnapping kids?”

100. “Cry like a little girl. Run like a slave. But when I catch that ass boy, you gonna behave.”

101. “Call me a escalator cause I always let people down.”

102. “Call me a tree cause they always picking on me.”

103. “Call me my dad cause I’m never around.”

104. “Dark humor cause even orphans gotta laugh, shopping which is weird cause I will dead wear the same shit for a month straight, laundry - it’s something about seeing the clothes and everything drown that gets me going.”

105. “They play dumb I play dumber looks like we spongebob and Patrick now.”

106. “Roses are red, Memes are neat. I wanna die, LMFAO YEET.”

107. “If you feel like the world is eating you alive that’s just proof you always looking like a snack.”

108. “I know I’m hot, but I also know I’m not a full time hot person. I’m hit when I want to be. I choose my own hours. I make my own schedule. I do freelance hotness.”

109. “You have a build a bear as a principal.”

110. “I was gonna give you that vacuum cleaner gawk gawk 6000 and this juicy wet 🐱 till you leaked outta me after painting me white on the insides but it seems you having a good night without me so anyways goodnight ☺️.”

111. “Is this social interaction because I don’t really like it.”

112. “Listen if a guy doesn't man handle me during a makeout session or during u know 😏 I'm putting him in rice or sending him back to whoever broke him 😂.”

113. “If we dated before I turnt 20 you are not an ex but a childhood friend.”

114. “Can you wipe off my favorite seat oh I meant ya face.”

115. “Guess I’ll have to stick around, gotta keep you guys alive…for my own.”

116. “I never said I was an angel. Nor am I innocent or holy like the Virgin Mary. What I am is natural and serious and as sensitive as an open nerve on an ice cube. I'm a young black sister with an unselfish heart who overdosed on love long ago. My closest friends consider me soft-spoken. Others say I have a deadly tongue. And while it's true that I have a spicy attitude like most of the ghetto girls I know, I back it up with a quick, precise, and knowledgeable mind. My memory runs. Way back and I'm inclined to remind people of the things they'd most like to forget.”

117. “My vagina just said thank you in Spanish.”

118. “I look at you and go dry, like sand.”

119. “Told you not to call him shitty, now you look like shit.”

120. “You really don’t know someone till you’ve seen them beg for mercy.”

121. “Oh how their screams make me tingle.”

122. “Your words hold no weight against mine.”

123. “Well aren’t you Sherlock fuckin’ Holmes.”

124. “Don’t you know that threats only work on those that have something to lose? If anything I count death as my blessing.”

125. “Welcome to my abortion clinic pizzeria were yesterday‘s loss is today’s sauce.”

126. “Do you know Jesus is actually black and he’s all our fathers cause we haven’t seen him in years.”

127. “Do you know all the zodiacs have their own hairstyles expect for cancers.”

128. “It means I'm perfectly content but also wouldn't mind if the sun exloded right now and killed us all.”

129. “Every day I think I’m getting closer, gonna take a bath with my fucking toaster.”

130. “Are you a race horse? Cause when I ride you’ll always finish first.”

131. “You know what sea turtles and I have in common… we both like being choked by trash.”

132. “I’m gonna sound like a Victorian peasant but please sir may I have some bread? I rather not have some of that mystery meat.”

133. “Service error 11037: Go fuck yourself :)”

134. “🔫🐝 you are beeing robbed. Only thing that’ll save you is ya number. “

135. “Sharing is caring but unfortunately I don’t care.”

136. “He likes to play catch, so I asked him can you catch these hands. He said yes so I hit the living fuck outta him. What’s the problem officer!”

137. “Do you think when humans feel butterflies in their stomachs that butterflies feel humans in their stomachs?”

138. “I keep looking behind and hope to continue forward.”

139. “I’m sorry, is our friendly banter bothering you? I know you prefer to choke your friends rather than joke-”

140. “Are we even together together or are we together like high school musical we all in this together type shit.”

141. “Oh, because I’m so scared of a slenderman clone with daddy issues, who’s also having a sexuality crisis”

142. “Bitch, your pussy smells like hotdog water. Move on.” 

143. “You’re so cute…I hate it.”

144. “Look. I could be a whore, or I could be YOUR whore. Really; it’s up to you.”

145. “Oh, oh, oh my god. Choking is my main turn on.”

146. “This is my no no cube. Anything is possible if you have enough lube.”

147. “Aye baby you ever had KFC. Cause I can give you some of that Kentucky Fried Cock.”

148. “You’re not dummy thicc you’re dummy stick.”

149. “And you little stupid purple looking Barney looking bitch!”

150. “I was raised and surrounded by happiness, something you don’t know.”

151. “They put you in the streets but even the streets ain’t want you.”

152. “Remember reality is an illusion,the universe is a hologram. Buy gold, bye.”

153. “Better scramble like an egg before you get folded like an omelette.”

154. “Play stupid games, and you win stupid prizes .”

155. “Call me Ms.Water gun cause I’ll squirt you like one.”

156. “ I would say I’m like the ocean, I’m calm and peaceful and you can see my beauty on the outside but the further you dive into me you learn not everything is as it seems uptop. I’m calm yes but even calming things can be dangerous, I have my flaws the further you go in and things that are best left at the bottom of my ocean depths but do know if you are to disturb that sea level be ready to face the Consequences.”

157. “ i’m not interested in being disrespected by someone who I lowered my standards for.”

158. “Shut the fuck up before I fold your lanky ass like a chair.”

159. “Listen here, Snotball, don’t bullshit me. I’m ain’t come here for your public-pleasing fake smile. “Go polish your skills instead of sucking my dick…”

160. “ Nana whipped them highschool kiddies asses into shape that day, oh yes she did. They met they maker on them steps I tell you, now go and and play with this old timer if you dear I’ll send that ass to the pearly gates or the flaming pits below.”

161. “Let my hands speak for me, smack talk.”

162. “Why be a wallflower when you can be a Venus fly trap?”

163. “Out here living like the main character because if I’m not the main character, I’m that one bitch that go berserk.”

164. “Food is fun, food is great, food is why we celebrate!”

165. “I want my next piercing to be a bullet. In my head."

166. “Okay, rude. You have the Eminem’s hairline, but I didn’t say anything about it!”

167. “If I’m die, then I wish to go out on my own terms, for I am like none other person on this earth.”

168. “Criminal or not. Sometimes it’s nice to be wanted.”

169. “When I said I fell in love with you I lied. I fell in love with your entire existence, I would cry for you, I would kill for you, I would die for you. “

170. “Life is just a big movie, you just can’t pick your genre.”

[wandringaesthetic]

Regarding Hozier - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre 5/5/24

(setlist, journal, commentary)

Allison Russell opened and I need to give her a listen she has a very beautiful, soulful voice. Funky band and very lovely backing harmonies. A powerful, sunny presence, if a little corny, talking about harm reduction and voting and power.

Had a great time, didn't have a religious experience, though I've found this has as much or more to do with my state of mind as it does with the performance. Made me appreciate a lot of Unreal, Unearth more, which has been my least favorite of his albums (I think the theming makes it a little structurally awkward, and there are some songs on it (butchered tongue, eat your young) that I don't like listening to most of the time because of subject matter.) I realize there are many songs on that album I would still like to hear live (All Things End would be amazing, I think) though I was very happy to hear Francesca [I'D TELL THEM PUT ME BACK IN IT] It threatened to rain the whole time but never did more than sprinkle until we were in the car leaving. Distant lightning started on Nina Cried Power. Doors were supposed to be at 6:00 and we were let in about 6:40. There was a guy who works at the amphitheater in line ahead of us, who, from talking to some other employees, said the fire marshall was there and they were patching some things up for inspection (?? !? ???). The facilities are nice, the food sucks. We were seated right behind the VIP boxes.

I typed the setlist on my phone as the concert went on, and while I can sing along to most of Hozier's songs I don't know the titles of all of them, especially on Unreal, Unearth. So here's my raw notes with commentary from my more lucid Monday morning self in brackets

-De Selby [backdrop landscape with timelapse photography style spinning starry sky, very beautiful, very beautiful song]

-? Unreal unearth track with first order guy [Hux, Domhnall Gleeson] in the video [this is De Selby pt. 2]

-Jackie and Wilson 

-Too sweet [With this hitting #1 I thought perhaps I would be at this concert while it was still #1, a bit of serendipity since I bought these tickets months ago - alas, it's sunk down below most of the tracks on The Tortured Poets Department. Thanks, I hate it]

-Oh to be alone with h you (th God that heroin prays to) [Alone With You - I thought I didn't know the title of this one but I did]

-Dinner and Diatribes

-Francesca [I'D TELL THEM PUT ME BACK IN IT]

-It will come back [wasn't confident of the title of this one but I was correct]

-Cherry wine [Hozier solo - he looked up mid song to find that much of the amphitheatre had their phone lights out. He paused and put a hand to his heart and seemed to genuinely have a little moment]

-From Eden

-Wildflower and Barley (with Allison Russell)

-Like Real People Do

-Unknown nth (?) (see how it shines) [actually this was Abstract (Psychopomp)  I told you I did not know the titles of these. Also, now knowing that this is (in part) about an animal hit by a car is well 1) this is obvious and I feel very stupid 2) holy fuck]

- I don't know the title of this one still living roots consumed by the flame oooooooo [this is Would That I - always thought of this one as a sequel to Arsonist's Lullaby]

-Almost (sweet music) (with highlights on the band) [notably, part of the backdrop for this is pictures of records of all the song references/title drops that are in this. In case you did not Get It. Hozier will not be at peace if you do not Get It. To be fair there are a couple of them I would miss]

-Eat your young

-Movement

-Take me to church 

Encore:

nina cried power [with preceding commentary about the history of protest, about the American civil rights movement directly influencing civil rights movement in North Ireland, about boycotting apartheid south Africa, Free Palestine! about movements being seeing the truth as it is and saying that it should be better, etc. (extremely paraphrasing) This went over positively, which is always a nice thing to experience given location (ALABAMA) but the people queueing to buy Hozier tix (the show was sold out and IIRC was sold out in less than 24 hrs after it went on sale) are at least somewhat aware and approving of his politics. May not be gen. pop. but you'll never be alone.]

The being unknown angel to me [THIS is Unknown/nth]

Work song [with Allison Russell, who is notably Not A Coward and did not change the pronouns. I don't know what Allison Russell's sexuality is but she's at least an ally what with the rainbow coalition stuff. Phone flashlights out again.]

[begaydodrughailsatan]

Tw child abuse and neglect

sorry for this tumblr but im very pissed and if i write it in a diary my parents will find it and we will all get in trouble and i feel like this is to heavy to dump on my friends but i need to fucking vent

I was woken up at FIVE AM this morning to my step mom YELLING at my step sister, and after laying in bed to afraid to move having a panic attack till they all left for school and work I finally got up and started cleaning the house

Fast forward to 7 pm tonight me and both of my step sisters are getting ice cream and venting and i get the full story of this morning my step mom woke my sister at at 4:40 (they had to leave at 7????) to do her hair (only took 20 minutes dont know why she had to get up that early????) and my sister keeped saying "im really tired and i know that makes me moody can we not talk i dont want to accidentally say something mean to you" then my step mom said "GOD WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH AN ATTITUDE, YOU AND YOUR SISTER I DO SO MUCH FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT ME?" (Thats the part that woke me up) then my sister said "can you not yell at me like im a little kid" (she was not yelling back I could barley hear here) and my step moms response to this was to SMACK MY LITTLE SISTER ACROSS THE FACE WITH A BRUSH

GOD THAT BITCH IS SP FUCKING LUCKY I JUST LEARNED THAT BECAUSE IF I LEARNED THAT THIS MORNING WHEN IT HAPPENED I WOULD HAVE PUNCHED HER I FUCKING SWEAR I WOULD HAVE BEAT HER ASS THAT IS YOUR DAUGHTER YOU PIECE OF SHIT YOUR DICK HUSBAND WANTS TO HIT ME?? OKAY IM FINE WITH THAT IDC YOU WANT TO HIT *MY* FUCKIBG LITTLE SISTER I SWEAR TO GOD IVE NEVER TALKING TO HER AGAIN IVE TRIED TO PLAY NICE AND KEEP THE PICE BUT NO IM DONE WITH HER AND THE SPREM DONER I HAVE TO LIEV WITH IF EITHER OF THEM TOUCH ANY OF MY SIBLINGS EVER AGAIN I WILL BEAT THERE ASSES I SWEAR

MY BABBY SISTER HAD TO GO TO HER ROOM CALM HERSELF DOWN SO SHE WOULD STOP CRYING BECAUSE HER MOM JUST SMACKED HER AND PUT ON MAKE UP BECAUSE OF THE BRUSE THAT WAS GOING TO FORM AND KNOW HAS TO HELL PEOPLE SHE FELL AT CHEER PRACTICE FOR FUCKES SALE SHE IS 14!!!! 14 YEAR OLDS ARE SASSY SOME TIMES SHE CLEANS AND COOKS AND BABYSITES ANF IS A GOOD KID SHE ASKED YOU TO LEAVE HER ALONE ONCE AND YOU FUCKING HIT HER FOR FUCKS SAKE YOU MOTHER FUCKER I WANT TO FUCKING PUNCH HER SO BAD I NEED TO BEAD HER AND SHOT HER AND STAB HER

GOD I WANT HER DEAD I WANTMY BIO DAD DEAD I WANT TO SEE MY FUCKING MOMMY AGAIN

[cales-9]

The things I love about you.

1. I love the way you taught me how to make nice wraps with peppers and cream cheese

2. I love the fact we made a sextape together, you pushed me out of my comfort zone. I still enjoy watching it.

3. I love the way you smell. Sometimes like laundry detergent and even after you washed your car. You’ve never smell bad. Please remember to leave me some dirty shirts before you leave to Canada.

4. I loved it when you made us a Christmas bed. It was so special.

5. I love when you make my hot water bottle and turn on the electric blankey. It shows how much you care for me.

6. I love the fact that you always make tea for me. Sometimes a lot of milk but always safe to drink 😉

7. I love getting drunk with you but I get way too needy for you in that moment. I remember our first time was after we were at the Strip… that night in Capetown. I’m next-level infatuated with you on liquor

8. I love the way you make me cereal. I never get the milk-cereal ratio quite right. You always do.

9. I love how thick you smeer the Nutella in pancakes, it’s so indulging.

10. I love the intimidation when you eat. You eat so fast but so eloquently. I wish I had that skill. If I try keep up I just mess.

11. I love your love for ice cream. It’s so cute.

12. I love clever you are. You never don’t have a solution to something.

13. I love your dance moves. You’re so sexy when you dance

14. I love your foreign accent that comes out when you speak German

15. I love the way you dress.

16. I love our naps

17. I love the way you look in sweatpants

18. I love the way you look in your birthday suite. I can look at you naked for a very long time.

19. I love the way you were able to fix my car switch for me, so delicately.

20. I love the way you feel when you sleep next to me. I feel so safe when I’m with you.

21. I love that we can watch documentaries together

22. I love it when you trace your fingers on my back, it feels incredible

23. Vulgar warning ⚠️

24. I love our sex

25. I love it when you Cum in my mouth

26. I love it even more when you Cum inside me

27. I love how paralysed I feel after we’ve had sex

28. I love it when we you choke me

29. I love it when you spank me.

30. I love it when you groan during sex

31. Safe ✅

32. I love the privacy we have at your house

33. I love the peacefulness at your house , rainstorms hit different there

34. I love your glass-like blue eyes , it’s the first feature I fell in love with

35. I love your teeth, and when you smile wildly like when you’re laughing it makes me so happy

36. I love how fit you are, although it’s a little intimidating sometimes but In a good way

37. I love your bolognaise , I wanted to lick out the bowl the first time you made it

38. I love how we have adopted each others good habits. I’m barley smoking cigarettes because of you, we are both influencing each other to take vitamins and shots.

39. I love the motivation to eat more healthily

40. I hated hearing you snore In the beginning but when I don’t hear it I feel more alone. So I’ve learnt to love that too…

41. I love driving with you in your fast car

42. I love your mannerisms. You haunch your back when you’re deep in thought

43. I love how decisive you are

44. I do love your honesty. I know what I see is what I’m going to get. No uncertainty.

45. I love your formal work clothes, it’s practically Lingerie for me to indulge

46. I love how calm you can get, I think that’s what grounds me

47. I love it when you put my bandages or plasters on. You do it so nicely,

48. I love how you make getting up early worth my while. Even after a fight, the next morning I just wanna talk to you. Some interesting infatuation.

49. I love the way you tease me. Like when you wanted to spank me back when I spanked you. I was so happy in that moment.

50. I love that we can handle stressful situations seamlessly- Like when your Neighbor’s house caught fire.

51. I love when you hold me while we’re sleeping. It makes me feel like I’m on top of the world. Unless you’re on my pillow…

52. I love Miras stops and stare at the cookie jar

53. I love all the nice things you print with the 3D printer. Although the succulent pot makes me laugh. It was so random.

54. I love playing with your hair and that soft feeling when the new hair is growing out.

55. I love how blonde you are in the summer and how dark your hair goes in the winter.

56. I love seeing you in shorts. You look so nice in shorts.

57. I love you when you send me words of affirmation after I’ve seen you.

58. I love that you always share your vapes with me.

59. I love that we will actually share anything if we need to

60. I love how clean your Dustbin is

61. I love how your flat is perfect chaos there’s some systems but evening has a place. (except the scissors!)

62. I love falling sleep Holding you, or you holding me

63. I like how much you’ve shared with me. We’ve told eachother so many stories that are so vital in understanding eachother. There’s always going to be skeletons in the closest. There will be a time for them to come out.

64. I love your love for animals

65. I love that you put a charger next to my bed

66. I love spending time with your parents and gran. They are such special people.

I really do love you

[nam-the-nacho]

Mit2uba's Trauma: An Analogy

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●

Tw: I will be discussing the abuse Mitsuba has suffered from his environment, nothing that isn't in the manga, but I want to give a heads up. Additionally, I'm fortunate to have not gone though any severe traumatic experience myself, and am instead using my general knowledge, meaning if anything is incorrect here, please point it out!

(Also manga spoilers obviously)

I'm not pretending this hasn't ever been discussed, however I have yet to see an analogy of the consequences of Mitsuba's creation and (practically nonexistent) upbringing.

I'm going to divide this post into sections, but they won't really be organized, maybe chapters is a better definition. This thing is l o n g, so without further ado:

1: Mitsuba being paralleled to a puppet:

This is done quite often, although not in the same ways. Besides the psychological aspects of being Tsukasa's "puppet", as in being forced to do as he says and overall being under his control, there are physical correlations too.

Tsukasa referring to Mitsuba as a "Thing"

Mitsuba lets Tsukasa hold him. This is much more then a surface-level fact considering Mitsuba usually rejects contact/uses it as an excuse to blame others. This is easily explained by "Mitsuba is simply scared of Tsukasa, he can't tell him no", except Mitsuba doesn't look scared when being held, he just looks, expressionless.

More then that, he completely trusts Tsukasa with his body weight, leaning into his touch and allowing himself to be comforted by it. This obviously occasionally backfires horribly

While Mitsuba being punched is framed in a humorous manner, the implications and weight of it are very heavy. It's all fun and games until you remember this is how Mitsuba is being raised, and it's all he's ever known. If Mitsuba doesn't want to do what Tsukasa tells him too, he gets punched. If he talks back, he gets kicked out of the broadcasting room (we'll get back to this later). If he asks to be Tsukasa's friend, he gets fireworks shoved down his mouth.

And the results of this... well:

This one in particular is interesting to me:

"It's just Mitsuba being surprised because Kou suddenly raised his voice". But that's not what's being illustrated. Upon hearing "brace yourself" even from someone like Kou, who wasn't planning on actively trying to hurt Mitsuba, he literally stiffens, pales, and begins to tremble and sweat, dropping the piece of chalk he was holding (those things break way to easily, yk he was serious). It's not shock or surprise being drawn, it's just genuine fear.

This could very well be me overthinking, but Mitsuba falls in what is almost a doll-like manner, arms and legs completely stiff.

2: Social rejection and trivial treatment:

The Mitsuba chapter (ch. 40) was worse then I remembered.

Mitsuba runs away from the broadcasting room in search of a better place to stay. Only to understand he has none.

What's worse is that these are the characters we see being far kinder to the rest of the cast. We see Yako, Hanako and weirdo super-natural teacher together in his living quarters, watching tv together, but when Mitsuba approaches them...

(Tsuchigomori eventually does stay with him, but his opinion of him doesn't really change.)

"This guy's a pain, I'm out of here"

Tsuchigomori doesn't know Mitsuba, the only time we see them meet was when Tsuchigomori refers to him as emergency rations (above), and when he answered Mitsuba who asked him a question (answer starting with "You seriously don't know?" (YES SIR HOW WOULD HE KNOW HE'S LIKE ONE MONTH OLD)).

He probably heard he's a prankster from Hanako, which is why he wants nothing to do with him.

The point is despite Mitsuba trying his best to find a replacement the closest thing he considers a home, not a single supernatural actually understands his situation. Hanako borderline hates him, Nene barley understands he's a different Mitsuba, and Kou tends to accidently frame it as Mitsuba's CHOICE to stay with Tsukasa in the broadcasting room.

The most deranged part of this is that as a result of nobody properly digesting that he needs help, Mitsuba himself frequently convinces himself that everything is normal, like in his introductions.

The implication that every time Mitsuba fights with Tsukasa he needs to just fend for himself until enough time has passed for Tsukasa to forget is sad. He's an outcast between the wonders for replacing the old No.3, despite his only other choice being death, which they don't know.

Sakura is probably the closest thing Mitsuba has to family, being in a similar situation to him, but it's incorrect to say she truly deeply cares about him. She's fond of Mitsuba, but never goes out of her way to help him when Tsukasa hurts him, and seems to have put her personal safety and goals as a higher priority then him (this isn't Sakura slander, I love my queen).

Natsuhiko treats him like a pet more then a human, and sometimes hits on him, which is just gross. Despite this Mitsuba genuinely appreciates him and sees him as an older brother. It's cruel to see this one-sided ordeal.

We don't actually know Mitsuba's true opinion of Tsukasa. In an almost realistic manner, his opinion is constantly contradictory. Mitsuba is scared of Tsukasa, but at the same time he only feels 'safe' when he's around.

Also, contrary to Sousuke, Mitsuba is more scared of Tsukasa then thunder, which could either mean that Sousuke's phobia of thunder was memory-correlated, or that Mitsuba is SO scared of Tsukasa that thunder is nothing in comparison.

Mitsuba freezing after hearing Tsukasa's voice

vs:

We know Mitsuba is aware that Tsukasa is not treating him okay, but by the time we learn this (pp arc), Mitsuba has half convinced himself that Tsukasa is doing everything he's doing to help him, and that "nobody else can help him anyways". Genuinely Mitsuba is one of the most subtle-yet-obvious victims portrayed in media I've even seen.

3: Ok-yeah-that's-not-okay moments

Do I really need to add anything.

I will anyways. Mitsuba is a dramatic by nature, unrelated to any of the emotional damage he's suffered. The fact that Tsukasa can make him stop crying just by demanding it really shows how bad he messed up Mitsuba. The ability to stop crying on command out of fear..... somebody save him.

Stay away!

Can't add to many pictures because of the tumbler limitations, but in every one of these scenes Mitsuba totally freezes, only regaining control and suddenly snapping once someone (aka Kou) does anything intimidating to him.

Going in-depth about the similarities between Kou and Tsukasa is an entirely different ordeal, but in short summery:

There's a carefully built connection between Tsukasa and Kou, that deserves a post of it's own.

4: Symptoms of trauma:

Trust issues are heavily associated with a problematic childhood, so it's not very surprising that Mitsuba struggles to trust anyone besides Tsukasa, even if he doesn't want to.

Very commonly appearing alongside trauma, self destructive behaviors are a tragically common coping habit. I don't think I need to add any pictures for this one, as practically every other sentence Mitsuba says have some 'Just let me pass away' coding to it.

Lack of memories is a symptom that appears in very severe cases, and while it isn't completely accurate to Mitsuba it's an interesting addition considering Mitsuba has no memories.

5: Character design:

Mitsuba has lots of chains and locks in his wonder form, a lock on his neck (which has multiple interpretations), one preventing his heart from beating, which could be a clever metaphor for Mitsuba further constricting his humanity by "choosing" to become a wonder, but most interesting:

What looks to be the remains of a leg shackle.

Mitsuba in a box labeled as fragile.

6: This definitely isn't a metaphor for an eating disorder:

"I'm always hungry, no matter how much I eat" -M

"You starved yourself from all this moping around, just because you didn't want to eat something different?" -K

Can we talk about how the fandom collectively just skipped over the huge reveal that Mitsuba STARVES HIMSELF. Because I feel like that really wasn't talked about. As if this guy doesn't have enough going on, he now has to deal with constant starvation, dehumanization at new never-seen-before-pace, and the loss of his will to exist in the first place.

He is both metaphorically and physically falling apart, constantly in physical pain. When he isn't in physical pain it's because he's experiencing gut-wrenching psychological torment as he can't stop eating live beings. I don't blame this guy.

The only person who knew of this was Tsukasa, until he "told" Kou. Told is in quotation marks because it was never really Mitsuba trusting Kou enough to open up about the hell he's enduring, as mentioned before Mitsuba doesn't exactly know how to trust. The fact, at first, was discussed calmly, but quickly declined as the reality of Mitsuba's situation escaped him. Kou could not have reacted in a worse way:

Pro tip: If your reaction to learning that your best buddy is suffering from a complicated relationship with food, is shoving said food into their mouth violently, you might need therapy just as much as they do.

Kou is still unaware that Mitsuba's diet contains living things too, but if we're being honest that doesn't really put Kou in the right here. Dear Kou, I understand that you're freaking out because your friend just asked you to end him, but please redirect your anger on something that isn't him, because he very much hates his situation just as much as you do.

And don't act surprised when this is his reaction:

This is arguably the a result of post traumatic stress disorder. Mitsuba didn't just escape, he hid in the nearest corner, making himself as small as possible, hid his head and trembled. The reason I'm calling this out as PTSD is because the only other time he panicked like this was right after Tsukasa shoved the bird heart down his throat.

So for both situations it's:

Tsukasa force feeds Mitsuba -> Mitsuba loses control (starts attacking everything)

Kou force feeds Mitsuba -> Mitsuba bites Kou

And the results are the same. He reacted the same way because mentally it was the same situation to him, It doesn't matter what the intentions were, Kou triggered an event(s (considering he's eaten multiple supernaturals and is absolutely repulsed by it)) that Mitsuba had no intention of revisiting.

Summery:

Mitsuba's trauma is often overshadowed by more obvious displays of mental scarring, like with the Yugi twins and Kou, and is often represented with irony or humor, including by the creators themselves.

Even without everything he's gone though, Mitsuba was always a hopeless character. He just existed one day. He doesn't have anything, anyone. He's never been told he's loved, he's never felt sunlight, he never got to play, he's never had anyone tuck him into bed, or read him a story. He was robbed of his childhood, and any connections besides the few who remember him for someone that he isn't.

He doesn't even know what snow is, yet he knows how blood tastes like

This entire post wasn't even scratching the tip of the iceberg in terms of how much grave emotional turmoil Mitsuba has faced. And will face. Yeah I don't know how well his trust issues will cope with Natsuhiko leaving him to die. If he lives.

The idea of this long rant was to point out that Mitsuba's trauma and mental struggles are just as, if not more, relevant then his physical ones. And they do affect him, and they do have consequences. And they will most certainly come back 20x worse later on in the plot. I would say to prepare mentally, but I know tbhk fans can handle just about anything.

Thank you for reading!

ヾ(≧▽≦*)

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[veale2006-blog]

The Truth of Genesis: The Seven Feasts of Yehovah, Part 5

One thing that is often overlooked, is the fact that the priests of the Temple came to Pilate on Friday, April 30th, 28 AD, to ask him to seal the tomb of Jesus and post a guard, to prevent the disciples from stealing the body of Jesus and claiming that He rose from the dead.

A Roman seal was boring one or two holes through the stone, into the sides of the tomb, and pouring hot lead into the downward opening and inserting an iron rod. Once the hot lead cooled, it would take more than 90 tons of force to move the stone. At about 5:15 PM on Saturday, two hours before sunset, Jesus rose from the dead, folded His linen, and exited thru the walls of the sealed tomb.

At about 7:30 PM Saturday, the High Priest and his associates had returned to the Kidron valley and cut the barley bundles after sunset, and took them to the Temple. After they left, the twenty-four graves that were disrupted had their occupants rise from the dead, and followed the priests into the city of Jerusalem. The next morning, before dawn at about 5:45 AM, an arc-angel came down and rolled the stone off to the side, shearing the iron rods, and scaring the Roman soldiers half to death.

Reading from Matt 28:1-6

1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

The 70 week ministry (490 days) of Yeshua began on the 20th day of the eleventh Hebrew month (Shevat), which was Saturday, February 16, 27 AD.

This is when Jesus came to John to be baptized. After coming out of the water, and the “spirit speaking” in an audible voice, Jesus spent the next 40 days in the wilderness. He returned afterwards to the Jordan, on the first day of the new year, which was the “acceptable year of the Lord”.

It was His 42nd day, on Saturday, March 29th, 27 AD. It is then that John saw Him approaching and proclaimed “Behold the (sacrificial) Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world”! This was exactly 483 years after the commandment to “go forth and build Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1-22).

The Messiah appeared, and was proclaimed, on the first day of the new “acceptable year of the Lord”.

The ministry of Yeshua would end 448 days later, in Jerusalem, when the 120 disciples would receive the Holy “Ghost” of Yeshua, on Sunday,

June 20th, 28 AD, the 8th day of the third month (Sivan). It’s known as the “Day of Pentecost”. However, its beginnings go back to the Exodus from Egypt, in late March of 1598 BC.

Israel left Egypt on the 15th day of the first month, one day after Yehovah “passed over” the blood of the lamb. Then they traveled to the burial site of Joseph. I’m going to venture out and say that it probably was the first day of the week, maybe the 17th day of the new month, which they acquired the bones of Joseph, signifying the “First Fruits” to arrive in Egypt, in the year 2051 BC. It is from the Day of First Fruits that we begin to count seven Sabbaths, and the fiftieth day is the Day of Pentecost. The children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai 47 days after picking up Joseph.

They were told to wash and prepare for the third day after their arrival. You can read about this in Exodus chapter 19.

On the third day after their arrival at Mt. Sinai, Yehovah descended upon the mountain, with fire, smoke, thunder, lightning and loud trumpets.

Then God began to speak to the people. It is at this moment that God gave Israel the new language of Hebrew. It was a precursor of the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit would come down and speak, through the 120 disciples, in “other tongues”.

The Feasts of Yehovah were experienced by Israel on their way to freedom from Egypt, a shadow of sin. The church of Yeshua must enact the same thing. Repentance from sin (leaving Egypt), water baptism (walking thru the Red Sea), and receiving the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Yeshua (as Yehovah the Spirit, speaking at Mt. Sinai) causing the believer to speak in an unknown tongue (the “gift of Hebrew”).

In the year 28 AD, there was an Adar Bet, a second twelfth month, because the barley was not yet aviv at the end of Adar, the twelfth month.

[the-firebird69]

Hulk Hogan bartends at Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa | WFLA

It's been around this area and he's selling the beer and he's promoting it and he helped get our son to post which is normal and some tricks to it but we needed somebody to do this mostly beer out there is not good and he knows how to prove beer and that's what our son said and daughter and we said it too somebody steps up the girls had a brew beer they're going to take over the beer industry and here he is taking over. We are Master Brewers and we look at it as opportunity and they do too so we might do it and we have to have a meeting we don't think Tommy Ellen is going to do the Michelob stuff at all as a matter of fact we know he's not and he's not going to do anything these guys want to take over the country by force and they think they can and they think that the lasers below can be used on them and they can they can reflect at the surface and just from a tower and they have towers and they can hit them really badly so they have to go under it's going to be war and a fantastically huge one and short and sweet and then be more like will be out gone except for the pseudo empire and Tommy F they remind us and the beer is good it tastes good it's an amber it's a light Amber it's a pilsner which means it has plenty of hops and a little less probably and her son and daughter see the hops taste pretty damn good and The barley is a little bitter it's true you can eat hops roasted and they serve them at Red oak and they're very nice it's like a nut. And it's healthy.. we know he's having some trouble but it's not feeling too bad I oxygen is going to start rolling in a few days this last rain pushed out a huge amount of muck into a giant plume that went north to south along the west coast centered on Sarasota it's like 400 miles and the slick is out there about 750 miles and it's about 100 miles offshore and it's settling and it's growing and oxygen levels will increase from 16 or 15 during the day to about 17 almost no fluctuate 16 to 17 and it's better than last year which was about 13 to 14 also at night it will go from around 19 to 21 and it's nice it will be much better and that's going to be the new rate pretty soon within days and the rain is going to come back probably in a few days and then it will be pushing out the rest if you look at the harbor mouth is two sections 6 in wide and a foot and a half high and the rest of that berm for 40 ft 20 ft North 20 ft South 2 ft wide and a foot and a half high the rest of the room 40 ft past it to the North and 40 ft passed it to the South 3 ft wide and 2 1/2 ft high now once that bust through and it's only it's only 6 in wide the turbulence will stop and the flow will go from 55 mph to 65 mph and we believe that it's going to start raining in a couple days it's going to rain off and on until then it will slow down like massively and then it will flow out after that berm is gone very quickly and the harbor will clear in two to three weeks and some of the river it's not going to be as big of a deal.

-I'm sending orders to pull that idiot monkey out next door or freaking loser he is

-same other things happening we're going to post this

Thor Freya

Olympus