#but I should hopefully be done with this project tonight

[quibble-auk]

@thebrokenmechanicalpencil

Sunrazor doodles I’ve collected from several projects… most of which have been scrapped or I have put aside for right now….

Enjoy

[e77y]

Every time I feel horribly overwhelmed by schoolwork, I just remember that next semester I have to take an internship ❤️ so I’ll be even busier ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ and I still don’t have one lined up ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[swankpalanquin]

i need to take some time off sooner than october

[roaringroa]

fucking hate doing uni work with people who aren't my designated group project friends cause some people really just blatantly plagiarize and copy from chatgpt like huh you didn't even try to hide it

[houseofwolvess]

woooo i have the house to myself for like 3-ish hours!! fuck yes!!

[blueishspace]

Hero, Villain God 39

(Prev) (Next) (First)

*Grian's (Poultryman) pov*

You reach the address written on the paper slips, for a supposedly important place it doesn't look particularly...well, important. Just a gray concrete building in a regular street surrounded by equally gray and boring concrete buildings.

You understand the need for secrecy but come on, a bit of extra flare never hurt anyone! ... well, except for when it does. Still, there are many ways to make it look less monotonous without risking someone knowing there are vigilantes inside.

"You came!"

You look up, you definitely and absolutely do not jump because you are a god and never get scared, above you is a man wearing a pink mask and cape... Oh, you know exactly who this is, you heard of him before.

"Worm man?"

"That's me! Flame told me you were coming but I didn't believe it!"

"A fan?"

In a moment he's in front of you.

"Definitely! I have to say that I love your work, you should join me in this project-"

"Startificated the party without us then?" A familiar voice sarcastically says.

And that's Flame, wondering when he would show up. He's followed close behind by Seraphin which makes for a pretty funny visual since Flame Is small and Seraphin is a pole.

With these two here that already makes three different vigilantes.

"Sooo guessing this is like a vigilante meet up sort of thing? Getting introduced and all?"

Flame shrugs while Seraphin jumps in excitedly, at the same time they respond. "Eh, not really" "Sure thing dude!" Then they kinda just look at eachother while you wonder how they even managed it.

"...Cool"

Suddenly Seraphin perks up as if he just remembered something.

"Oh! There's another reason we wanted to meetificate with you"

"Oh? Ok, I'm listening."

"We heard that tonight something big is going to go down"

Something big? That's new, you only heard of Boogeyman's meeting and if something big was happening later today you don't think Mumbo would have risked it.

"Something big? Like what?"

It's the worm themed one to respond to this one, he's managed to disappear from view and jumpscare you again... Truly a kindred spirit.

"Just some very important villains having a meeting in Las Nevadas"

"Yeah! Do you wanna join us and go kick their butts buddy!?".Seraphin adds on.

...Oh.

Oh.

This is great.

Amazing even.

"I'm in"

"Heck yeah dude!"

Hopefully this doesn't end up going horribly, you don't have much faith though... Still, It's going to be really good entertainment for one...

Wait...will you have to fight yourself? That's also not something you have done before.

Well, there's a first time for everything you guess.

[roomwithanopenfire]

Six Sentence Sunday

Happy sunday! Thanks for the tags @artsyunderstudy @nausikaaa @monbons and @bookishbroadwayandblind !!

The writing bug has bit me. I was worried all my writing inspiration would die back down to nothing after the Countdown, but that has not happened! I've been feeling so creative lately, and I've done more work on The Way We Are in the past few days than I have in months so that feels good. Hopefully, soon i can finish writing it and start posting again! (but no snippets from that today, i fear i've shown too much already)

Also, I've thought up a new idea for COBB this year! I learned my lesson from last time, and am writing something shorter and starting it earlier, but I'm really excited about my idea! Plus, I'm working on some fics for my other main fandom (Stranger Things), and have been having a lot of fun with it.

Snippets from one Stranger Things fic, and from a Secret Project under the cut.

Stranger Things:

“Come to the party with me,” Chrissy asks, not for the first time tonight. She puts her hands on her hips and makes a perfect pouty face. The expression combined with her gaze, Robin almost says yes—almost. “Come on, you know that parties aren’t my thing.”  “Pretty please?” Her pout intensifies. Robin should look away. “No.” Robin can’t look away. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” “Nope,” Robin says, popping the p. “I’ll do your makeup for you,” she pleads. “I’ll even let you borrow my clothes. Please? Jason’s gonna be a whiny bitch all night, and I don't want to go alone.” “If you think Jason’s going to be rude, you don’t have to go.”

Secret Project:

“Yeah, this’ll make a great letter,” I say to no one. “Dear Baz, I’ve been watching shitty TV and making messes with my new limbs. Everything’s fucking hunky dory. Love, your magickless, disaster-of-a-boyfriend, Simon Snow.” He’d probably send me a break-up letter in response to that. I read through Baz’s letter again and wish that I could still do magic so I could smooth the wrinkles. Good as new or Pressed paper would do the trick. Although, even if I had my magic, I’d probably end up wiping the words off with the folds. I was useless with magic, and I’m even more useless without.

Tags and hellos:

@alexalexinii @aristocratic-otter @arthurkko @beastmonstertitan @blackberrysummerblog

@best--dress @bookish-bogwitch @brendughh @brilla-brilla-estrellita @cccloudsss

@confused-bi-queer @cutestkilla @drowninginships @facewithoutheart @emeryhall

@fiend-for-culture @hertragedyconnoisseur @horsesarenotdeer @hushed-chorus @iamamythologicalcreature

@ileadacharmedlife @larkal @meanjeansjeans @m1ndwinder

@noblecorgi @prettygoododds @raenestee @rimeswithpurple @run-for-chamo-miles

@rbkzz @shrekgogurt @skee3000 @supercutedinosaurs @sweetronancer

@talentpiper11 @terra-fae @thewholelemon @valeffelees @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

[estrellami-1]

Keep You Company

So this happened because 1) I was babysitting and the little girl wouldn’t sleep until I laid in bed with her and my heart has NEVER been more full and 2) my dad’s an audio engineer with a home studio and my mom will just???? Sit in there with him????? He’s got a couch for when clients come over but 90% of the time if I can’t find either of my parents they’re both in there. I love my mom but I swear she’s tone deaf. Not to mention if any of you have heard someone else work on pitch correction you KNOW how annoying it can get after roughly .3 seconds. But she sits in there completely content because they just???? Want to be near each other????? After close to 30 years of marriage????? Where can I find someone who loves me the way my parents love each other. And the way Steve and Eddie love each other. Please.

Also side note if any of yall read Little Love I’m tempted to make this a future excerpt 👀 different name bc who knows if anything’s gonna come of this. and Joanie’s name comes from Joan Jett anyone who got that gets a gold star ⭐️ also Joanie is either 4 or 6. Idk which. But she’s one of those ages. Which if you know anything about kids you know there’s somehow no difference and yet every difference in the world between those two ages.

“Night, Daddy,” Joanie says, moving into Eddie’s studio to drop a kiss onto his cheek. “Love you.”

Eddie startles away from the computer screen, blinking as he realizes just how late it already is. The clock on his desk blinks 9:08 in red, incriminating flashes.

He smiles at his daughter and throws his arms around her as he stands, hugging her to himself and whirling them around the space, careful around the low coffee table. “Goodnight, my little rockstar!” He crows, peppering kisses to her cheeks and forehead, feeling laughter bubble up inside him in response to Joanie’s giggles.

“Daddy!” She shrieks, but doesn’t try to pull away. He laughs and finally puts her down, pressing one last kiss to the crown of her head as he kneels in front of her.

“Night, Joanie-bug,” he murmurs. “Sorry I’ve been stuck in here all day. I wish I could just play with you all day instead.”

He boops her nose and she giggles. “What are you doing?”

Eddie hums and picks her up, moving closer to the computer to save his project. “Well, y’know how Daddy’s in a band?”

“Yuh-huh.”

“Well sometimes, Uncle Gareth gets a note wrong.”

Joanie giggles. “Only Uncle Gareth?”

“Only Uncle Gareth,” Eddie agrees in a super-serious way that they both know he doesn’t mean.

“And sometimes Daddy forgets how not to be a perfectionist,” Steve adds from the doorway with a smile.

“Also very true,” Eddie nods, putting his computer to sleep. “But I did a lot of work today, so hopefully I should be done soon. How about for now, I do bedtime clean-up routine, and Papa can read you your book?”

“M’kay,” Joanie says happily, because she’s a heathen and prefers Steve’s storytelling skills over Eddie’s. Eddie wants to bite her cheeks, she’s so cute, so he does, takes a big chomp and makes a dinosaur noise that has Joanie shrieking and laughing.

“Okay, munchkin,” he says, swinging her around onto his back and trotting through the house, purposely jostling her. “Beddy-bye time, which means it’s time for teeth brushing!”

“Can you sing the song?”

Eddie fights back a groan. Somehow, he’d forgotten this was coming. “Sure thing, Joanie. Let’s get some toothpaste on that brush, alright?”

They do, and Joanie looks at him expectantly. “Sing it, Daddy! Sing it!”

“Brush your teeth, up and down. Brush your teeth, ‘round and ‘round. Brush your teeth from left to right, brush your teeth in the morning and night.”

He goes through the entire song, helpless to the smile that grows as Joanie bops happily along to his singing. “Okay, baby bug,” he says finally, standing behind her with a brush. “How d’you want your hair tonight?”

Regardless of the rat’s nest it will be in the morning, Joanie refuses to sleep if her hair is at all in her face. Steve and Eddie started with simple braids until she discovered the magic of YouTube tutorials, which makes the bedtime routine both longer and less mundane.

“Two Elsa braids,” she says, resolutely not learning the proper name and instead using the one Eddie had jokingly said once.

“Two Elsa braids, coming up,” he says, because it’s cute and he’s not going to dissuade her.

“Can we do beads?”

“Beads are a daytime hairstyle, ‘member, munchkin?”

Joanie pouts at him in the mirror. “But they’re pretty!”

“They are pretty, but they won’t stay while you sleep. They’ll fall out, and then you’ll wake up in the middle of the night ‘cause you’re laying on beads, and you’ll wake us up, and then we’ll all be cranky.” Not that that exact thing had happened.

She narrows her eyes at him, trying to find a way around it, then finally huffs and agrees. “Okay.”

“You’ll look pretty even without the beads,” Eddie promises her. “And Elsa doesn’t have beads, remember?”

“Yeah, but Daddy, Elsa’s got magic powers!”

“That she does.”

Joanie pretends to shoot Eddie with her Elsa powers, and Eddie freezes in the middle of the first braid. “I can’t move,” he says, not moving his lips. “You froze me!”

Joanie giggles. “Unfreeze, Daddy!”

He dramatically relaxes and sighs. “Oh, good! Thank you!”

He finishes doing her hair and chases her into her room, where she picks out her pajamas: a pink shirt with ballet-dancing kittens, and a neon-green pair of leggings. “Bold choice,” Eddie comments. “You wanna do it yourself? Or do you want me to help you?”

“I wanna do it,” Joanie says, just like Eddie knew she would.

A few minutes later, she huffs, frustrated. “Daddy, help,” she asks, just like Eddie knew she would.

He helps rescue her from her shirt that had somehow become sentient long enough to wrap around her head, then gets her pants on and tucks her into bed before pressing a long, loud kiss to her forehead. “Nighty-night, Joanie-bug,” he murmurs. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Joanie giggles. “Only Joanie-bugs allowed in my bed!” She declares, and Eddie chuckles. “That’s right.”

He moves toward the door where Steve’s waiting to press a kiss to his husband’s forehead. “Sorry I was so busy.”

“You were working,” Steve murmurs. “It’s fine. I’ll come join you when I’m done, m’kay?”

“I’m gonna be in the studio for at least another hour tonight, babe,” Eddie says apologetically.

“Then I guess I’ll come keep you company.” He presses a quick kiss to Eddie’s lips before shoving him out the door. “Go work, I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Sir yes sir,” Eddie salutes, marching back to his studio.

The next time he surfaces, it’s to a tugging at his sleeve. He blinks, glances at the clock—10:37—and turns, ready to apologize to Steve, only to see Joanie.

A quick look reveals no Steve anywhere in the studio, so Eddie thinks he’s probably in bed. “Hey, munchkin,” he murmurs, picking her up and setting her in his lap. “We put you to bed an hour ago, what’s going on? Bad dream?”

Joanie shakes her head before resting it on Eddie’s shoulder. “Papa’s snoring.”

Eddie blinks. Steve does snore, but not loud enough she should be able to hear it from her room. “Oh,” he says quietly. “Did he fall asleep before finishing the story?”

Joanie nods against his shoulder, and he sighs as he cuddles her closer, once again saving his project before completely shutting the computer down for the night. “M’kay, Joanie-bug, let’s go get Papa into his own bed.”

“Daddy?” She asks on the way to her room.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Why’s Papa so tired?”

Eddie sighs. “He’s a teacher, sweet pea. He does a lot all day. And he loves his job, but it is very tiring. Then he comes home and cooks, ‘cause he’s better at it than I am. And there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done around the house.”

Joanie’s quiet for a second. “And me?” She finally asks.

Eddie’s heart stutters painfully. “No, baby,” he murmurs. “Your Papa and I love you, so much, okay?”

“Okay,” Joanie agrees, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Daddy.” After a few seconds of thought, she says, “Are there cooking videos on YouTube? Like for hair?”

Eddie blinks. “To learn how to do it? Yeah, I think so.”

Joanie nods. “You should watch those. And cook for Papa.”

Eddie chuckles. “Maybe I will,” he agrees, stopping short in the doorway to smile at the sight in front of him.

The bedside lamp is on and Steve, glasses askew, is halfway on the bed, on top of the covers. The book is open in his lap, hands still holding on to the sides. He is, as Joanie had said, snoring.

Eddie kisses Joanie’s forehead and puts her into bed beside Steve before taking the book from Steve’s lax hands, shutting it and putting it on her bedside table before kissing Steve’s forehead. “Stevie, baby,” he murmurs. “Wake up.”

Steve’s eyebrows scrunch and his eyes flutter beneath his closed lids before he takes an extra-deep breath and his eyes open. “Eds?” He murmurs. “What’s wrong?”

“You’ve gotta get up,” Eddie murmurs. “This isn’t your bed.”

He watches as Steve processes his words then looks around. He sees the confusion morph into understanding when he sees Joan. “Oh,” Steve murmurs. “Sorry, Joanie.”

“‘S okay, Papa,” Joanie answers. “You should go to bed.”

Steve chuckles tiredly and kisses her forehead. “I am, right now,” he promises. “Night, Joanie.”

“Night, Papa. Night, Daddy!”

“Night, Joanie-bug,” Eddie answers, wrapping his arm around Steve’s waist, half as a hug and half to help his husband stay steady.

“Sorry, Eds,” Steve murmurs. “Meant to join you.”

“It’s alright,” Eddie promises. “How about tomorrow I take Joanie out early for breakfast and let you sleep in?”

Steve frowns. “But you have work.”

“I’ve done the majority of it already,” Eddie answers. “You could take her out tomorrow afternoon if you want. Or just have a movie marathon here. I’ll finish up what I have to do. Tomorrow’s Saturday, right? So I’ll finish tomorrow, then Sunday I can make waffles for all of us. How’s that sound?”

Steve hums. “Good, ‘sides the you cooking part of it.”

“Oh, you little shit,” Eddie says delightedly, pressing a kiss to Steve’s temple. “Just you wait, you’ll understand the power of YouTube tutorials.”

Steve chuckles, quiet, tired, but no less full of love. “I can’t wait.”

Permanent Taglist (which I’ve been COMPLETELY terrible at I’m so sorry I promise I’ll try to do better): @justforthedead89 @ilovecupcakesandtea @madigoround @bookbinderbitch @suddenlyinlove @nburkhardt @artiststarme @paintsplatteredandimperfect @i-less-than-three-you @alyelf @quarble @messrs-weasley @littlewildflowerkitten @vankaar @starman-jpg @bornonthesavage @steddie-there @goodolefashionedloverboi @andienotannie @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @platinum-sunset @just-ladyme @steddiestains @swimmingbirdrunningrock @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @martinskis-lydias @notaqueenakhaleesi @sleepyboosstuff @bestwifehaver @m-owo-n @thatonebadideapanda @finalmoondragon @velocitytimes2 @callmeanythjing @ajeff855 @ilikeititspretty @knitsforthetrail @sillysparrow @that-one-corvid @ace-is-bored @muricel @harpymoth @weirdandabsurd42

[warden-melli]

honestly the leaks are a very bad thing. nintendo is infamous for its strict copyright so people are definitely getting sued or fired. And this might affect the way the next games due might develop, worst case scenario they're scrapped entirely or changed beyond recognition by gamefreak desperate to keep things new and subvert expectations. we got some cool beta content sure, but it's done more harm than good overall.

And as a Gen 2 lover who picked Cyndaquil as my starter in my first ever Pokemon game, I'm not looking forward to having to deal with endless memes and comments of "haha Typhlosion is a pedo" for the next few years to come.

As unpopular an opinion as it seems to be, I actually agree with you fully. I know most people are celebrating the leaks, but I think they have the very real potential to cause a lot of damage to the fandom, and possibly even the franchise as a whole. We can’t really know what Nintendo/Gamefreak will plan to do moving forward, but I agree, it’s potentially not good. It seems very likely that there will be pretty serious legal actions taken against whoever they decide to go after, and yeah, it’s also very possible this may affect game development plans, or future projects pretty drastically

The worst part of these leaks for me is definitely the massive amounts of misinformation they’re bound to spread. These leaks are entirely lacking in any context, further complicated (In the non Japanese fandom) by cultural differences and language barriers leading to major misunderstandings and flawed interpretations, many of which are being spread as “canon” information by large portions of the fandom. People are wrongly coming to conclusions that aren’t canon, from sources that were never intended to be seen in the first place, the content of which they have no way of correctly interpreting. It’s a shit show, honestly.

I also just feel weird looking at it. I briefly saw some unreleased concept art for PLA today, and while you’d think I’d be delighted, I just felt sick. I can’t really explain why I have had such a negative physical and emotional response to seeing (or even thinking about) any more PLA leaks coming to light, but I do. I’m terrified about a leak (regardless of whether or not it’s canon) absolutely destroying the game, or its characters for me. I literally don’t know what I’d do with myself. As sad as it is, that game is everything to me. It’s very literally 90% of what I think about and create. I want it to stay perfect forever, and I’m scared a leak could potentially take that from me

And I fully understand your frustration. I am a huge fan of both Mr Mime and Vaporeon, so I know what’s it’s like to have one of your favourites picked as the punchline of an unfortunate fandom joke, and then to have that joke subsequently ran into the ground. I love the cyndaquil line too, and had just chosen one as my starter in my latest PLA play through, just before the leaks dropped. It’s gonna be rough out there for a while I’m afraid, but hopefully it’ll blow over eventually. At least for the most part

After seeing the PLA stuff tonight I made up my mind. I blocked the leak tags and I’ve decided to completely avoid any leak content moving forward. If it’s bothering you too, maybe you should consider doing the same? At least until the fandom settles down a bit?

[redflagshipwriter]

Reassembly 5

Masterpost

(What the frick is the bat guy about???)

They did serious damage to Lexy’s credit card in the form of a cast iron pan, a pot, basic cooking utensils and a four-person set of dishware before they even made it to the grocery store.

Peter tried not to go nuts there. He really did. But Kon had that empty kitchen! And to be honest, shopping was major wish fulfillment. Even though he knew he wouldn’t be eating all of the food he got way into it. They stocked up on easy freezer food like pizza rolls and fries. They got pasta mixes and jarred sauces and they got snacks and sweets. He even got Kon baking basics. It might take Kon a while to get into his fresh bread era, but it was going to happen. Peter was calling it now. Kon was just that kind of guy.

The last thing he got was meat. Meat and cheese and fresh vegetables. Peter ended up putting back half of what he initially put in the cart because, honestly, Kon didn’t have a massive super appetite and he didn’t know how to cook yet. Vegetables were just going to go bad, so he only got what he planned to use that night. He also stocked Kon up on breakfast supplies- bread and jam, eggs, sausage, coffee and tea and juice.

‘I wish I was staying with Kon to eat this. I’m going to be hungry again tomorrow.’

Peter pushed down that greedy little thought where it belonged. He was going to be eating lunch and dinner with Kon tonight, since they were cooking together. That was already really generous on Kon’s part. He couldn’t ask for more.

The boys ended up making spaghetti. Peter wasn’t the best cook in the world, but he could cut onion and garlic to cook meat in, shred in carrots and zucchini, and add a jar of red sauce to make something nutritionally dense that tasted really good. Kon hovered over his shoulder watching this process and making faux sports commentary. 

“Go away!” Peter shoved Kon with his shoulder, laughing. “Go start the garlic bread.”

“...Garlic bread?” Kon asked hopefully. He seemed way younger than he was sometimes. “You can make that at home?”

“You can, if you get to cutting garlic really small.” Peter tossed him a bulb without looking.

They ate dinner while watching some drama that Kon picked out on a streaming service. “Holy shit,” Kon said quietly after his first bite. He put down the plate and took a photo.

Peter snorted. Kon must have sent it to someone because his phone went off constantly after that.

He wasn’t even done eating their late lunch when he first wondered where he was going to sleep tonight. Peter stared down into his pasta like it might have some answers. When should he leave? What would he say if Kon asked for his phone number? He didn’t have one. He couldn’t give Kon the number to the phone he had on him– he was pretty sure that he really should get rid of it in case someone was tracking him. 

He should ask first. If he directed the conversation it would be easier to be normal than if he was just answering questions. So Peter swallowed hard, made himself smile, and said, “This was fun. Wanna hang out again?”

Kon noisily slurped down some sauce and wiggled in place while he chewed and swallowed. “Yeah, we should!” he agreed. “You uh, free later this week?”

He was jobless and homeless with no other acquaintances. 

“I have some time,” Peter said casually. “I’m kinda busy tomorrow, but the day after? Should I come over in the afternoon?”

“Yeah!” Kon bounced up off his seat for a moment. “We can finish the projects. Or work on them, at least.” He screwed his face up with a thought. “Can I get your handle or number, in case my work pops up?”

Peter’s smile turned fixed. “Actually, not now,” he said as casually as he could manage. “I dropped my phone in water. I just have my Dad’s old phone right now for emergencies.” He didn’t need to add that lie, but what if he needed to pull out the flip phone later? He didn’t want Kon to think that he just hadn’t wanted to give his number.

Kon laughed. “That sucks, man,” he empathized. 

Oh thank Thor, he bought it. 

The fabric was dry by then, so Peter helped Kon cut it out and sew it into place. Kon modeled his new look in the living room and then took approximately two hundred selfies while Peter worked on his project. Kon eventually flopped down on the sofa upside down and started sketching out design ideas. Peter glanced over and saw what looked like a boob window cut into some kind of top.

…Kon would look great in it. Peter didn’t comment. He smiled a little more when he went back to cutting out pieces for his own jacket.

“Smile!”

Peter looked over on reflex and cheesed. A shutter went off. “Can I send that to my friends?” Kon asked, so casually that Peter knew it mattered a lot. “Cassie says no way did I meet someone without her.”

“Go ahead.” Peter gave a thumbs up for reasons even he did not understand. Good thing he wasn’t a weird little guy! 

Kon looked relieved. There was less tension when he went back to looking at his phone. “Thanks, man. You want to think about dinner soon? You’ve been working for a couple of hours.”

Peter had to blink a few times to process that. Oh yeah, he was pretty stiff. He stretched experimentally. “You’re right,” he said, mildly surprised. “Huh. What did you have in mind?”

Kon shrugged. “Pizza?”

Peter hummed. “We can pull that off,” he decided. “We have… two more jars of marinara, one will do. Cheese, the bell peppers- yeah, that’ll work.” He stood in a smooth movement. “Could you get the flour down from where we put it- yeah, thanks.” Kon hovered back down and handed him the bag.

“I meant that we should order it,” Kon said, but he didn’t protest. “You can make pizza? At home?” He was delighted by this new information.

“You can make basically anything at home,” Peter said, because it apparently needed to be said. “Can you look up a pizza dough recipe?” He got out the salt and tried to remember where he’d put yeast.

Pizza did not go quite as smoothly as the pasta had. Kon brutalized the dough by over mixing it and the gluten developed bonds strong enough to rival the Hulk. But it was still edible! Kon was openly delighted with what he had made. Peter stole sideways glances at him, wondering if he should reassure that it was a great first try.

‘..I’m not sure he knows that it’s really tough,’ Peter decided. He said nothing. They watched one episode of Kon’s selected drama before Peter decided it was time to go.

Kon seemed surprised when Peter said that. He blinked at him a few times. “It felt like I was at the tow- a sleepover,” he said self consciously. He forced a laugh. “Yeah. You wanna leave your stuff here?”

Peter looked around Kon’s surgically clean living room and wondered if Lexy’s cleaning staff would throw away his stuff. “Yeah, sure,” he said, because it wasn’t like he had a place to store a project. “I appreciate that.”

He left not much later, making his excuses and backing out into the night with dread that he didn’t want to face curling in his gut. The feeling intensified as he got down to the lobby of Kon’s apartment building.

It was dark out, even with the streetlights on. The air was cold against his face. Peter huddled into his jacket, hand wound tightly around the strap of the bag with everything he owned in it.

At least he knew the time. It was a little past 10 pm.

He needed a shower and to sleep. The gym should be empty now. He could break back in, shower, and then go sleep on the library couch again. Even if the librarian came in early again, he could get a few hours of sleep.

He woke up again to the sound of keys in the door downstairs. This time he woke up feeling much better rested. Peter wandered blearily until he found a clocktower and realized it was nearly 9 am. Nice. He was working on his sleep debt, then. He surely hadn’t spent more than an hour between traveling to the gym, showering, and getting to the couch last night. That was maybe 9.5, 10 hours of sleep?

He left to a new hotel for a breakfast buffet. This one was particularly sad. He had two pieces of peanut butter toast and a glass of milk before he heard the front door staff quietly phone someone else asking if they had any teenagers staying at the moment. He left pretty quickly after that and walked for a while, heart pounding. The police didn’t descend on him with sirens and lights, so he was probably okay.

‘I can’t go back there.’

Later that day, Peter grimaced and took a moment to indulge in burying his face in his hands. He was overwhelmed and he still felt shitty and dirty and gross despite his shower. Maybe it was getting spotted as a homeless teen eating from the buffet? Yeah. Probably that.

He was in the library again, sitting in front of one of the older computers and hoping he'd get a reply from a potential client who had asked for some information. 

Maybe it was a little weird to spend all day in the library. He was on notice for librarians acting like they wanted him to clear out, just in case.

But, assuming no one had any problems with it, why not spend most of his daylight hours there? He could study computer science, use the computers to do his work, and be somewhere temperature controlled for free. They also had pitchers of coffee and tea for free that he took advantage of. 

He was hungry, though. He was always hungry. Maybe it had been a mistake to go to Kon’s house. It almost felt worse to be hungry again after eating everything he wanted two meals in a row. Peter suppressed despair. He was doing his best! He was taking care of himself.

"Is everything alright?" 

Peter shot up and gave a sheepish grin to the librarian. He hadn't noticed her approaching, but he'd been lost in his head. "It's fine," he said. 

The older woman gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, let me know if there's anything I can help with. It's what I'm here for." 

Oh. Before she could turn away he blurted out, "College!" 

Her face lit up. "Are you applying?" 

"I need to." Peter wrung his hands together. "But I don't know where to start. I want to go somewhere with a strong sciences program but I think I need to go there on scholarship." 

She sat down beside him, an easy smile on her face like this was a topic that she enjoyed. “Do you care about where it is?”

Peter shook his head. “It would be best if I could stay in NYC since I know here, but I’m willing to go anywhere that meets those conditions.”

She nodded slowly. “There’s a few places I can think of.” She hesitated. “Do you expect to be eligible for testing related scholarships?”

“Yeah,” said Peter, who was so good at tests but would probably falsify the results that he needed if he didn’t manage to take tests in time. “I test well. Very well.”

“That’s great! And you said sciences? Technological sciences?” she didn’t glance at his current computer science book, but she didn’t have to. 

“Yes,” he said, not entirely sure what he should be focusing on. Engineering, to build some kind of portal? Astrophysics like Dr. Foster, to find an Einstein-Rosen bridge? He’d have to get his foot in the door to figure out what was going on in the fields here. Shit, he should have looked into that already. 

“And you would be looking to live by yourself, on campus? Or off? With family?”

“By myself,” Peter said, and wow that was depressing. “And whichever way is cheapest.” He cringed as he said it. That felt pathetic too. He wanted to say he wanted to live on campus since he’d be more likely to meet people that way. But honestly, he had no resources, at all. He couldn’t afford to be picky. 

The librarian’s smile was a bit fixed now. “I… I almost hate to suggest it, but have you considered Gotham?” She continued before Peter had to decide whether or not he should admit he didn’t know that university. “It’s a dangerous city to live in, but it’s very affordable, and there’s extensive funding for the sciences and student support services.”

“...Because it’s a dangerous city and doesn’t get many people?” Peter confirmed.

She was doing her best to keep a poker face. “That’s right. They have a brain drain situation at the moment, so the sciences are really well funded. I think you could probably go there with full support, though that might be contingent on taking an internship or job in Gotham after graduation.”

Huh. He considered it. He’d never heard of Gotham, so it had to be a city that didn’t exist back home. But so what? How bad could it be? It was like, Chicago or something? He could handle that. He was Spiderman. He was an Avenger, sort of. So he directed a real smile at the librarian. “If I could get a full scholarship there, I would go in a heartbeat,” Peter said. “Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll look into the university there.”

The librarian patted the side of his chair as she stood up. “Wonderful! Let me know if you change your mind or have any questions!”

He ended up having a lot of questions, actually, once he started looking into Gotham, but he didn’t think, “What the frick is the vampire bat guy about?” was what she’d had in mind.

[musewrangler]

She exited the fresher and Firmus squinted a little, pressing his lip together as he took in her appearance.

“You don’t like it, darling?” she asked on a laugh, linking her arm in his as they strode toward a speeder station.

“I believe ,” he replied with dignity, “that I have shared my opinion about chesnut hair. But it serves the broader purpose, so I will endure.”

Something in Sola’s chest was warm at the thought that he preferred her natural hair color, and it was no hardship to walk beside him like this, as though it was natural.

A human concierge was manning the desk when they returned to the hotel, and it wasn’t one they’d seen before. Hopefully, most of the workers here would only recall her blonde hair if anyone came asking, which was why they had decided she should change the color before they returned.

They went to dinner at a restaurant the concierge recommended nearby and put on the happily married, very normal couple act.

Firmus leaned in while they shared dessert, smiling at her as though he was paying her a compliment.

“And now,” he said quietly, “We start to work our way through drinking establishments.”

Her mouth curled as he took a bite of the chocolate lygel they were sharing.

“Are you asking me to join you on a pub crawl, Captain?” she asked, snagging her own bite on her spoon.

“Essentially,” he responded, rising and retrieving her cloak to place over her shoulders. “But we’re not getting it all done tonight. We need to space this out to avoid suspicion. We want to be as forgettable as possible.”

“Then lead on, Captain my Captain,” Sola murmured in teasing tones. He shot her a sharp look as he donned his own cloak, and opened his mouth as though he was going to respond before he thought better of it and merely held the door open for her.

And what, Sola wondered as they walked to the first bar, had he been about to say?

[dysfunctional-doodle]

aahhh love your stickers but can you do a post with them seperate so I can see them better? also are you doing more? Where’s tot raph 😭

I am busy with classes right now but I do fully intend to do a proper post later tonight which will hopefully have more stickers, yes.

Tot Raph died, he will be missed. (I actually am in the process of adding him, dw! Everything is still a WIP, apologies)

I also want to add more stickers of things I kinda want for myself, which should also be ready by later tonight in my time zone. This is mostly the crossover art I’ve done and a few smaller things like the “apparently extremely traumatised” Leonardo that a couple of people have asked me to list. They will all be the same price.

The bigger post will also have sizes of the stickers listed :)

(Turns out that redbubble won’t give me any payment until I get over £20, which is worth more than what it would be in dollars but they don’t care, so this really is just a passion project because I am not going to make that much money with the small margin I put on for my cut lol. So if anyone wants to request literally anything I will list it!)

[simslegacy5083]

Not So Berry (Straud Descendants) Gen 9

Today's (9/23/2024) Episode: The Error of His Ways

Before he could make things even worse, Luigi fled into the gaming center, where he realized that he’d missed a text from his family.

Apparently, they’d found a quiet corner to play some board games on the second floor, and he started heading their way with a heavy heart.

He knew Noemi would be disappointed in what he’d done. How would this look to the public and his Project Daisy backers? He was positive it wouldn’t be long before the whole sad story saw the light of day, and he had no-one to blame but himself.

When he spotted his family upstairs the idea facing them made his stomach churn. He detoured to the restroom, barely making it into a stall before throwing up the remains of his breakfast. His embarrassment increased when he heard someone behind him ask “hey man, are you OK?”

Turning he found the fan who’d distracted him and Noemi from Skye at the start of their outing. He made a weak gesture of acknowledgement, and the stranger gave him a sympathetic look. “That was a crazy show you put on out there. Maybe next time just let it go man, it ain’t worth it.”

With no excuse to delay any longer Luigi settled at the small table where Noemi and Steven were enjoying a game of Don’t Wake the Llama while Skye played with a toy nearby. “How’d it go?” Noemi immediately asked, “Was she willing to negotiate?”

Luigi found himself having trouble forming his reply, finally grinding out “No, not exactly.” He then proceed to tell them the whole sordid tale.

“I know I screwed up.” he finished. “I was trying to protect you but as usual I made a mess of things. Its this stupid temper of mine. Something comes over me when someone tries to hurt the sims I care about and I stop thinking. I know you’re disappointed, and you have every right to be. I’m sorry.”

Little Skye, who had heard the whole thing, responded before his momma. “Don’t be sad. Daddy a big bad, you made the mean lady go away.”

Luigi felt his cheeks flush red with shame. Their little boy already had a habit of trying to solve his problems with violence, and now he’d gone and reinforced that bad behavior even if he hadn’t meant to. He was better than that and he had to start acting like it!

“No Skye” he replied “Daddy is sad, because he made a big mistake. Mommy and I don’t want you to act like that, its not OK to solve your problems by being mean to others.” Skye frowned but didn’t say anymore as he turned back to his toy.

Next Luigi focused on his grandfather. “I’m sorry to cut our outing short, but we really should go. I don’t think its wise for us to be out in public right now, and we need to get home and get ready for the awards ceremony tonight. Thank you for inviting us, hopefully next time it won’t end so poorly.”

Rising Steven said “I understand. I wish it hadn’t come to a fight but thank you for trying to get the photos away from those prying busybodies.”

Luigi nodded “you’re welcome” and allowed himself to be wrapped up in a big hug before gathering his family and heading on his way.

Back at home, Noemi pulled her husband aside for a chat. "I'm glad you understand that what happened today wasn't OK." she began "But like you said, that understanding doesn't help you in the heat of the moment. I think it's time you see a professional about managing your anger.“

Luigi could only nod "You're right, as usual. I need to record an apology video too." He shuddered "Those things are so cringe, but it has to be done.”

“Cullen texted while we were in transit, and the fight is already trending on SimTube. He said if it was anyone other than the Paparazzi, or any week other than right after the Pancakes incident, I’d be cooked… but it's still not good. Entering therapy for anger management will help sell my sincerity."

"Thank you" he went on "For being you. You inspire me to do better, be better. Today was terrible, but it was also the first fight I've had in a long time and that's largely due to your influence. I'd be lost without you, or maybe behind bars." 

Noemi smiled. “I much prefer being the only one who puts you in cuffs. Now let's find our baby and get ready to mingle with the stars. I'm crossing my fingers that after tonight you'll get to add "Starlight Accolade Award Winner" to your resume!"

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[bluedalahorse]

writing update/thoughts for the evening:

In her last feedback letter, my advisor said the writing in my novel reminded her of Last Night at the Telegraph Club. I think I’d be bursting with joy if I believed in it, because that is one of my favorite books, and a definite mentor text. I mean, I do think my advisor was being genuine, and maybe she sees something real, but I feel like there’s a glass wall between her compliment and my ability to see the compliment as real. Somehow I want to have the confidence in myself that she has in me.

Last night, I revised the picture book I turned in for my last deadline. I’ll probably do another pass later in the week. It counts as getting work done!

Today, I did not write any new prose for the historical fiction novel that’s part of my creative thesis, but I did open up the document and start making revisions. I really only worked on a few pages, but something is better than nothing. I’ll try to do more tonight.

I applied to take Monday the 30th off of work so I could do a last push to meet my deadline on the 1st. I have not made the plans that will accompany being out yet, but hopefully they are easy and not a pain to come up with. I have not done much work this weekend for day job at all.

I’m coming up on my One Year Anniversary Of The Scary Trip To The Emergency Room. I reflected on it more seriously today, envisioning a calendar in my head and such, and it feels like any writing projects from the time before that visit are also harder for me to mentally access. Like, I can work on them, but they’re just… hard? Is that a coincidence? Is that a trauma reaction? It sounds like a trauma reaction that someone would have in the movies, not like a real life trauma reaction, but what do I know. I should talk to my therapist about that. Anyway it’s probably something worth figuring out because my creative thesis novel is one of those past projects (as are other things I’d really liked to finish.)

I also don’t like that my One Year Anniversary Of The Time I Maybe Almost Died is so close to the election.

I’m gonna be okay. I’m not like, drowning in anxiety or depression or anything right now. I’ll be able to work more tonight. I’ll be able to think about things with a grown-up brain eventually. I know being a conscious adult is important. But right now I’m yearning to curl up on the couch with my plushies and eat warm cookies without worrying about the sugar content. You know?

[weixuldo]

Enigma// ch 13

anakin x reader

a/n: sorry for the wait!!! i started a summer job and i’ve been hellllllaaaa busy lol- dw tho, im still writing!!

You have a relaxing dinner with Ahsoka until the end of the year approaches

warnings: cursing, cannon disabled character, insecurity, mention of periods, possible pregnancy mention,

_______________________________

More time passed and you prepped for finals; luckily this year you were able to exempt most of your sit in exams and instead only had one big project and a 20 page thesis due. 

You had been feeling nauseous for the past few days but the 20 page paper’s deadline was looming over you, so it was probably the stress from that. You also hadn’t had much time to eat, so you could also just be hungry. 

You ignored the feeling and went back to typing.

The paper was almost done, only two more pages then you were free for the weekend.. Just two more.

Ring Ring

Ahsoka was calling, you finished the sentence you were on before picking up the phone.

“Hey”

Hey hey! Are you busy tonight?

“I should be free after one more page of this thing”

Damn! Congrats! You've been at that shit since mid terms! I think that deserves celebration!

You laughed, hopefully she wasn’t proposing a party because you weren't quite feeling up to that.

“What do you have in mind?”

I dunno… wanna  just grab take out and eat it by the koi pond? I kinda just want a chill night before I have to start practice for nationals. 

“That sounds wonderful”

Cool! I'll see you at 6:30?

“Sounds good to me!”

Oki bye bye!

The end of the line clicked as she hung up and a small smile settled onto your face; even though you hadn’t known Ahsoka that long, the two of you just clicked and were almost always on the same wavelength.

Some of you wanted to tell her about Anakin, but you just felt like at this point it would add drama to the already stressful end of the year. 

You were seen as the baby of the friend group, so you wouldn’t know how they would feel if you and Anakin officially confirmed the relationship…Also Ahsoka could be a little dramatic at times and you were afraid she would become too involved and make jokes or treat you and Ani differently.

And you had known Anakin long enough to know that those small changes would piss him off and he might accidentally take it out on the relationship.

You got back to your computer when you got a really bad cramp in your abdomen. 

Oh fuck, you hadn’t gotten your period on its normal week so apparently its deciding to come now…great, something else to add to your delightful week.

You finally finished your paper and let out a long groan as you stretched your back. You grabbed your keys and headed down to meet Ahsoka outside the dorms. Once the two of you met up and got your food, you walked to the koi pond on the northern side of campus. 

The sun was setting and the sky was a mixture of beautiful oranges and pinks; you took a seat on the iron bench that overlooked the gardens surrounding the koi pond. 

“This is so nice, I needed to chill,” Ahsoka said, breaking apart the cheap wooden chopsticks that came with her bento box. 

“Yea, I feel ya” you said opening the box of lo mein you ordered. 

“Ya know, I cant believe i’m gonna be graduating in just a few weeks… Like what the actual fuck, I swear I was just a freshman like two weeks ago” Ahsoka baffled as she watched the fish swim laps around the pond. 

“Oh yea, I wanted to get a brunch with all of us next sunday before I have to go to nationals, would you be able to come?” she added.

“Yes! I’d love to” you responded, before remembering that would be one of the last times you would see her before her graduation. 

“I’m going to miss you so much Ahsoka” you said sadly, “Will you keep in touch?”

“Does a fish need water? Of course y/n!” she smiled; “you’re my best girl friend; sure sky guy and Ben are nice, but they're not another girl. And I like Satine alot, but she's older and in a totally different place in life than us, ya know?” 

“Yea, I’m glad we met too” you smiled. 

You conversed over random topics and future plans-

“Do you think you’ll party a lot next year?” she asked you

“Hmm, I don’t think so” 

“Why not? Don’t you wanna find a partner or atleast a hook-up?” She asked, biting down on her last California roll.

“I’m actually pretty content, I think most of my party phase was exhausted freshman and sophomore year” 

“Yea, I get it, I really only kept going out cause the team likes to go to the big parties. Kinda changing topics though, are you interested in anyone this year?”

You froze for a split second before bringing the noodles to your mouth, “Not really, I mean I’ve been seeing this guy off campus, but I wanna keep it on the dl and so does he” you responded (you didn’t have the heart to completely lie to her).

“Ooo, is he cute? How old is he? What's his name? Does he have socials? I gotta make sure he’s good enough for my girl”

“Hah, that's a lot. Umm, I think he's cute, he doesn’t use social media much, and he’s just a bit older” (yeah right, more like twice your age).

“Ok….what's his name?” she asked again, a devious grin on her face.

You smiled and looked away, “Ahsoka, I love you, but I can't tell you, I promised him we’d keep it under wraps… He’s a very private person” 

“Do I know him?” she definitely was gonna guess it if she kept at the questions.

You took all the power you could to construct a final lie, “no, I met him on a dating app”.

“Oh, never mind I guess, I’m happy for you!”

Phew.

You were not practiced in lying.

“Thanks, I really like him… I think I may be in love…I’ve never felt this way before” you smiled. 

“That’s amazing, y/n. Will I meet him some day?”

“Of course” 

The rest of dinner was pleasant, until your stomach started hurting again.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, I think I'm just gonna get my period soon” you said.

“Wait, shouldn’t you have gotten it like two weeks ago?”

Huh?

“Yea, remember, we’re kind of synced, You’ve been starting yours half way through my cycle since like September”

“Oh, I think it's just late from the stress”

“Hopefully so” she laughed, “Wouldn’t want that mystery man to have knocked you up”. 

She was joking, but something in you became worried… it had been a long time since your last period… and you and Anakin had been pretty busy…but wait

Anakin couldn’t have kids. 

The doctors said so.

But what if…

You shook the thoughts from your head and asked Ahsoka if she would come with you to the drug store to pick up some tums for the stomach ache.

She went off to go look at the shampoo because she needed some more and you sneaked off to grab a pregnancy test.

While you were in line you decided to update your boyfriend on the night’s conversation

“Hey babe, just fyi Ahsoka was asking about who i was seeing so i lied and said a guy from tinder, just wanted to lyk”

In no time your phone buzzed

Alright, thanks for covering, have a good night princess.

“Goodnight my love”

___________________________________

The week went by and you only had the project to finish. Most of your academic stress was subsided, but your personal stress grew by the day.

You hadn't opened the pregnancy test you got last week… you couldn’t bring yourself to.

or

Maybe it was because you hadn't had time…

oh who were you kidding? 

You were scared. 

But if you were pregnant, you should probably find out soon. Right?

Right.

You went into the bathroom and locked the door.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

***

a/n: so this ch was more of a filler to get to the next few chapters…. the plot is thickening and i hope your interest stays!! ty again for reading :)

taglist: : @dnamht @sxoulohvn @angeelcoree @wtf-andys @httpeachesblog @katsukiswrld @jetiikote @poisonedsultana

[annestie]

Wrapped in Love

Summary: Different ways Neteyam celebrates the day of love through the years

Pairing: Ao'nung x Neteyam

Word Count: 1465

Notes: For Day 9: Cuddles of @bellakotzent Avatar Valentine's Week.

I may be going really hard on the fluff but like is there any other point to Valentine's? Besides I made a really fluffy, aged-up, Neteyam lives fic for Ao'nung, I should also make one for Neteyam. It's only fair. I don't make the rules.

The day of love is a day dedicated to those loved as the name suggests. A yearly celebration the people throw as an appreciation for the others in their lives. Normally accompanied with festivities and the like.

It’s beautiful festival though Neteyam doesn’t remember most of the day of loves he’s celebrated. They either don’t stick out in his mind or he simply didn’t celebrate. The day itself is a nice one and a good excuse to skip on duties. But for much of Neteyam’s life, all he did for the day was relax and maybe help out with the festivities. However, there are a few that do come to mind.

The first day of love that Neteyam remembers is one from when he’s young. No older than seven or eight. He spent the day weaving gifts for his family. Necklaces, bracelets, even an anklet for Tuk as she was still a baby then.

Neteyam put in all of his effort into crafting them, easily spending hours on it. His mother’s words that if a job is done correctly it should never be done again echoing in his mind. He weaved feathers, beads, and even a few pretty rocks together to make all of them.

That evening when the celebration started, Neteyam gave all of the things he made to his family. His favorite part was seeing them all being worn after the day ended and in the ensuing weeks and months.

Neteyam doesn’t even realize when the first day of love comes after they move to Awa’atlu.

As the three-month anniversary of leaving the forest approaches, Neteyam’s left feeling frustrated. He knows nothing of living by the sea still. Even if the others around him assure him that his progress is good, he can’t but feel defeated.

Everything was so much easier in the forest. When Neteyam picked up a bow for the first time, it felt like second nature to use it. Now with a speargun, Neteyam’s turned into a fumbling idiot. He can count on one hand how many fish he’s caught with no help using a speargun.

Walking to their usual morning lessons, Neteyam is understandably not exactly looking forward to it. He’s walking there alone and slightly late today because he had extra chores to finish before coming. His siblings found his task boring so wandered off and are hopefully already at the lesson.

When he gets to their normal meeting spot, he’s surprised to find only Ao’nung there. “Where are my siblings?” Neteyam asks, confused. “And the others?’ he adds. Ao’nung hands him a bag and, while confused, Neteyam takes it.

“Tonight there is a celebration for the day of love,” Ao’nung explains. “You celebrate that in the forest, do you not?”

“Yes,” Neteyam confirms.

“Your brother is helping Tsireya with the food and your sisters are with Rotxo, making the decorations. We are to make the jewelry to pass out to children and for that we need many shells,” Ao’nung says before he begins walking away and onto the beach. “Let’s go forest boy.”

“Do not call me that, fish face.” Neteyam quickly follows.

They walk together along the beach, collecting shells and the dried coral that has washed ashore. It’s a nice break from all the swimming they’ve been doing. Once they’re done and their bags are full, it’s already halfway through the morning.  

When they finally begin the crafting and weaving, Neteyam’s hands easily make their way through all of it. The way the jewelry is being crafted is very similar to the way Neteyam would make things back in the forest.

However while he’s doing so, he can feel Ao’nung watching him. Ao’nung’s eyes seem to follow Neteyam’s hands as he works.

With a sigh, Neteyam finally acknowledges it, assuming Ao’nung is about to criticize his technique. “What is it?” he asks, lifting his head up and setting his project down.

“How are you better at this than me?” Ao’nung asks in return to Neteyam’s surprise. He squints his eyes at the project Neteyam left to on the ground.

Neteyam looks at the other incredulously. “I am Omatikaya,” he says. “We are known for or weaving skills.” He quickly goes back to working on his project. They only had a few hours to complete their work and Neteyam wouldn’t wasting anymore on dumb questions.

“Show me how,” Ao’nung says as he scoots closer to Neteyam. Rolling his eyes, Neteyam moves his hands to allow Ao’nung to see.

They end up finishing all of the weaving just in time for the celebration. Despite the way his hands feel raw and sore, Neteyam smiles as he looks at all of their work. It was a nice break from the other lessons and watching the way the kids light up at getting a gift makes it all the more worth it.

The next day of love, Neteyam barely remembers but it still stands out in his mind.  It’s the day he finally wakes after being injured at Three Brothers Rock.

Neteyam opens his eyes. Though it feels as if he’s moving a boulder, they’re so heavy and weighed down. The sunlight is bright, blinding. Neteyam almost slips back into whatever sleep he just woke from. But it feels as if a voice in his head yells at him not to.

When his eyes finally adjust to the light, he’s met by the sight of the ceiling of a marui. He groans, using one of his arms to try and sit up only to get a sharp pain in his chest as he does. Pushing through the pain, Neteyam eventually sits up, leaning heavily on the wall behind him.

Memories flood his mind of how he ended up here. The tulkun hunter ship, rescuing Spider and… Oh. Looking down, his chest is covered in bandages right where he was shot.

Neteyam looks around the marui he’s in, it’s the healing marui. He can tell from the things lining the walls. He contemplates getting up, or at least trying to, so he can find someone. Luckily for him someone enters just then.

They come in silently carrying a small bowl. Once they see Neteyam, the bowl falls to the ground, splashing the contents everywhere, but neither seem to care much. “Neteyam?” Ao’nung asks from the entrance.

“Ao’nung?” Neteyam questions. His voice is rough and scratchy, it almost hurts to use it.

Immediately, Ao’nung comes to Neteyam and crouches beside him. “You are awake,” Ao’nung says, staring at Neteyam in what looks to be astonishment.

“Yeah,” Neteyam responds. They stare at each other a little. In the year, Neteyam and his family have been on Awa’atlu, Neteyam and Ao’nung had grown close. Really close. Though it wasn’t before Ao’nung got rid of all of his horrid friends and shaped up his attitude. “Were you injured?” he asks as his eyes trail over Ao’nung, trying to see any injuries.

“No, very few were,” Ao’nung says. “Your family is also doing well.”

Neteyam smiles and gently places his hand atop Ao’nung’s. The air seems to still around them. They both lean into each other, their lips about to touch when a sharp pain suddenly shoots through Neteyam’s body. “Fuck,” Neteyam then groans, clutching his chest.

Ao’nung’s eyes widen and he quickly leans back. “I will get my mother,” he announces before leaving.

Neteyam’s eyelids get quite heavy feeling right as Ao’nung leaves. He barely remembers what happens next. All he knows is the Tsahìk comes, gives him something to drink and he falls unconscious again. He doesn’t awake again until the next morning which is filled with many happy tears from his family.

The newest day of love for Neteyam is so different from the rest, it’s hard to believe it’s true.

At seventeen, Neteyam is considered an adult. He’s considered one in by both the Omatikaya and Metkayina, having completed the Metkayina rite of passage. And, he has finally found a home in Awa’atlu.

Laying in his marui, early in the morning, the sun not even peeking out behind the eclipse yet, Neteyam finds himself content as he stays in Ao’nung’s arms. They’re facing each other with Ao’nung half draped over Neteyam.

Looking at the way Ao’nung’s sanhì softly glow in the darkness, Neteyam smiles. He had long memorized where each one is but still, he counts them. When he runs out of freckles to count, he just admires Ao’nung.

Eventually, Ao’nung wakes as well, being the early riser he is. “What are you staring at?” he whispers softly.

“You,” Neteyam whispers back.

Ao’nung lets out a quiet chuckle and pulls Neteyam closer so their foreheads touch. They both close their eyes and simply enjoy being in each other’s presence. “I can’t believe I found you,” Ao’nung says in a soft voice.