#but hey i was still under 50 pounds

[cleonard-ricsummerinenglandblog]

Independent Reviews 4 - Gay’s the Word

I’m a terrible queer English major. I had no clue about the existence of this store, nor had I ever really gone to bookstores, LGTB+ or otherwise in the US at all, not even Powell’s when I lived in Portland for a few months. But I followed some classmates here, and I was quite happy I did. Gay’s the Word is the oldest queer bookstore in the UK, founded almost 20 years before I was born, and it was a great place to visit. Not only for its selection, but for its historic value. Albeit, the selection was good, and I bought three books here that, while maybe I could have gotten them in the US, I thought, screw it, let this place have my money. 

The store had it’s history on the walls, with historic pins from the UK’s queer history, and books I know you’d never see anywhere near a ‘normal’ bookshop. Places like this are important for things like that. Also I like the tote bag I got there that says the shop name. It’s simple and blunt. 

[aviiarie]

“𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊!” — feat. kaveh & reader !

synopsis. kaveh is not having a great week. luckily, he has a best friend to distract him.

✦ contents. platonic! they are friends! best friends! modern au (they're still in university though.) some sumeru character cameos. gn!reader. fluff. 3.1k words.

✦ notes. this is my secret santa gift for.... @tragedy-of-commons! merry christmas gwen, i hope you enjoy!!! i did my best to make this as silly and fun as possible :"))

“Wow... you look even worse than I left you.”

Kaveh groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. The desk was cold under his forehead, a sweet relief from the headache pounding behind his eyes. Maybe he could lay there a little while longer, languishing in his misery, and you would lose interest and leave him. Maybe...

“Hey! Don't fall asleep on me!”

Alas, such mercy would never find him. If your voice—far too loud for a library, he would say—wasn't already enough to disturb his brooding, then the rolled up paper in your hands definitely did the job.

“Ouch,” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “Leave me 'lone...”

“Nope, not a chance.” You slip into the seat directly across him, your chin resting on the palm of your hand. “So, how much progress has been made?”

“I'm at about—” Kaveh sat up wearily, sifting through his scattered papers. “—21%.”

“Weren't you at 30% an hour ago?” You blinked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, Kaveh—”

“I'm fine, I just need... some time.” Kaveh gritted out, scanning the dozens of failed designs and hastily written notes. “And... and some inspiration. And maybe some coffee too.”

“And some sleep?”

“Are you kidding?” He scoffed, as he gathered the papers into a neat pile. “I can't sleep now. I need to get this project done, or else I'm failing this class. I can't afford a fail right now, this is making up 50% of my grade, and I only scored an 85 on the written exam, and my draft is due in a week and—”

A smack in the middle of his forehead snapped him out of his rambling. Kaveh reeled back, nursing the faint sting, as you re-rolled the paper in your hand.

“What was that for!” He cried.

“You can't keep wallowing, you're never going to get anything done! It's about time you took a break.” Carefully, you unroll the paper you were holding, to reveal a colourful poster. “And I know exactly what we can do!”

Kaveh squints at the flyer. It looked to be hand-drawn and photocopied, depicting a bustling market with smiling visitors holding mouth-watering food and bags stuffed with souvenirs. Across the top, the text read: Come visit Sumeru's Fair!

“A fair...” Kaveh murmured, reading the fine text. “This says it's only open the last week of December.”

You paused, shooting him a suspicious look. “Kaveh, do you know what day it is?”

“Uh... December... something?” He guessed.

“Well—Well, yeah.” You huffed, snatching the poster back to wave in his face. “The point is, you need some time to clear your head, and I don't want to go alone. So...?”

-----

By some miracle, your persuasion (and Kaveh's weak will towards anything you try to convince him to do) is effective enough to leave his project behind. The gates are swarming with people when you arrive, a few familiar faces sticking through the crowd, along with dozens of families and couples enjoying the festivities.

“Two tickets, please!” You grinned, handing over some money to the salesperson before Kaveh could even offer to pay for his own. The tired-looking employee hands over the tickets, and you grab Kaveh's hand to drag him towards the entrance. “Thank you!”

As soon as you step through, there is a rainbow of colours filling his vision. Brightly coloured stalls are set up with carnival games, food, and other attractions on either side, forming an aisle. Behind them, he could see a Ferris Wheel peeking out over the tents, as well as some other rides he couldn't quite make out.

“What should we do first?” You asked excitedly, scanning your surroundings.

“Wasn't this your idea?” Kaveh raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn't I be asking you that?”

“Ever heard of living in the moment?” You chided, looping your arm through his to lead him forward. “Do you have money?”

Kaveh rolled his eyes, allowing himself to be pulled along. “Do you think I—”

“No, you're broke, I don't know why I asked. Okay, I have some money. Enough for a few rides and some food, at least.” You paused to take a breath, glancing over to a stall on your left. “Woah, look at that!”

Kaveh followed your gaze, to a small stand set up with a simple throwing game. There were a few old cans stacked up, and a grinning attendant looking back at the two of them with a beanbag in his hand. That wasn't what caught your attention though. No, your eyes were firmly fixed on the stuffed animal hanging at the back of the stall, dangling just out of reach like Tantalus' fruit.

“It's a peacock!” You gasped, hand reaching out as if to try and touch the plush feathers sewn into its tail. For a carnival prize, it was remarkably well-made, and utterly adorable; there was no wonder you looked entranced by it.

“Something you like?” The attendant crooned. He tossed the beanbag from hand to hand, casually throwing it in the air and catching it again. “You get three tries, knock all six cans over and pick whatever prize you want.”

Kaveh squinted at the cans. It looked easy, deceptively easy. The beanbag was soft, but appeared to be sturdy enough to knock the cans down in one go, and yet none of the prizes had been won yet. The entire game seemed fishy, but the prospect of the peacock plushie in your hands was enough to distract you. Before he could even voice his skepticism, you had bought three tries.

“Here you go,” The man behind the booth tossed you three beanbags and stepped out of the way as you lined up your throw. The first hit one of the cans squarely in the middle, but bounced right off.

“Argh!” You gritted your teeth and aimed again, as Kaveh's frown deepened.

The second throw was heavier, and hit one of the middle cans, dislodging the structure but failing to knock it down.

“Last go! Good luck.” The man laughed brightly, and you scowled. You threw the beanbag one last time, knocking the can at the very top over with the sheer force of your throw. “Nicely done! Let me get your prize.”

Your eyes lit up in anticipation, before he handed you a dusty pack of cards, the flimsy kind you would find in a discount store. “Oh... is that it?”

“Try knocking them all over, if you want something better.” He chuckled. “Unless you wanted to try again...?”

You thought about it for a moment, considering the obvious baiting versus how badly you wanted that prize. You nodded, and Kaveh sighed.

This time though, he paid attention.

The way that the cans moved when you hit them was odd. Hitting either in the center row, or the middle one in the bottom row didn't shake it enough to move much at all, but the top can knocked over easily. If he had to guess, they were weighted differently to make the structure more stable, and much harder to topple. The closest you got to tipping over any of them was when one of your beanbags hit the one on the far left, moving it slightly out of place.

Interesting.

“Ugh, this is impossible,” You groaned, after wasting another three tries.

“You're getting better each time!” The attendant said, while he fixed the can that was askew.

“Let me try.” Kaveh cut in. He handed over some of the little money he'd brought with him, and took the offered bean bags.

“Good luck,” You told him ruefully. Kaveh took a deep breath, steeling himself. His aim wasn't terrible, but with the game being as obviously rigged as it was, he wasn't certain he'd be able to hit it.

The first throw, he hit the corner can directly in the middle, just hard enough to push it backwards slightly. It didn't topple the structure, but after zeroing in on the weakest link, knocking it down would be easy.

The second throw was slightly short, only hitting the side of the can. It moved it, causing the stack to wobble, but did little to actually achieve his goal of making it fall over.

Finally, he lined up his last throw. This was it, his last chance. With all his force, he hurled the beanbag at the tower of cans, hitting the corner squarely and pushing it right over. Without the bottom to support it, the second and third layer fell down, knocking over the other cans as well.

“You did it!” You cheered, squeezing Kaveh in a quick hug.

“Congratulations!” The man said, fishing behind the counter for something. “Here you go.”

In his hands was an ugly stuffed bear, with fluorescent pink fur and beady black eyes. He held it out like it was a diamond ring, grinning at Kaveh with finality.

“Oh... but didn't you say if I knocked down six cans I could choose whatever one I wanted?” Kaveh asked, wondering if he misheard the man. He nodded towards the plush you were eyeing. “I actually wanted the peacock over there.”

“Well, see, you have to knock them down in one try if you want the big prize.” The attendant scoffed. “Or else it doesn't count.”

“You didn't say that!” You protested. “You only said knock three cans down.”

“And I did knock them down in one try,” Kaveh argued. “On my last try, they all fell down at once.”

“It has to be your first one, boy.”

“You didn't say that either!” You threw your hands up in frustration, voice reaching a shout.

“Fine.” Kaveh snatched the ugly looking bear, and shoved it at you. He dug around for his wallet, slapping the last of his money on the counter.

“You already won a bear, don't you want to let someone else have a turn?” The attendant protested. Sure enough, there was a small line of people waiting for their turn. Still, Kaveh shook his head.

“One more turn, and I leave.”

The man, perhaps hoping to make him leave quicker, or perhaps just interested in more of his money, handed him some more beanbags with a grumble. He turned around to set up the cans again, arranging them into another pyramid.

Kaveh watched him carefully, noting the way he paused before placing down each can, clearly feeling the weight of each. He noted the way the man was sure to place the slightly lighter can on the other corner, probably hoping that Kaveh would aim for the same one and fail to knock it over.

“Hit it as hard as you can,” You whispered to him, once he was done. “Picture it as something you hate, and hit it with everything you've got.”

Kaveh squinted at the cans. Something he hated...

Nothing immediately came to mind. Perhaps his roommate, who had a personality as enjoyable as a rainy, downcast day. Maybe that engineering professor who marked him down for a tiny spelling mistake. Or even the attendant glowering back at him as he waited for his throw.

Of course, he could always picture that project he was working on, the one that cost him far too many days and nights and still remained unfinished. As he stared at the rusty metal, all he could see was the crossed out sketches and scribbled notes, all a mess that he couldn't decipher. They taunted him; a monument to his failures and shortcomings, a reminder of the progress that he has yet to make—

Without thinking, he reeled back his arm and hurled the beanbag as hard as he could, slamming it into the can. The entire tower toppled over, cans falling from the table onto the floor.

“Yeah! That's my best friend!” You yelled, pumping your fist in the air.

Kaveh tried not to look smug, but a wide grin was already spreading across his face. “The peacock, please.”

The stuffed animal was reluctantly taken down and handed over to him, before he passed it to you.

“There. Consider it my thanks for the ticket,” Kaveh said proudly.

“Thank you,” You smiled down at the peacock, running your hand through the soft tail feathers. “I love it.”

-----

After a few more games with far less luck, the pair of you stopped by the food stalls to get something to eat. There was a wide variety, with some fried foods, some sweet snacks, even a stand selling freshly squeezed lemonade.

You settled on a stall selling pita pockets, and Kaveh had no objections. The smell alone was enough to convince him to line up.

“Oh! Hi [Name], hi Kaveh!” A familiar voice chirped. Collei was stood at the counter, smiling widely.

“Collei, I didn't expect to see you here!” Kaveh greeted her warmly.

“It's my after-school job!” She explained. “I'm trying to earn some extra money for my treatment. I can't be dependent on Tighnari for everything, you know!”

Kaveh's smile faltered for just a moment. Collei's declining health wasn't a secret; there was a reason that her brother had to take care of her so much, but she was still so selfless, even with all of her struggles.

“Ah, I should have asked!” Collei jumped suddenly, scrambling to grab her notepad. “What can I get you today?”

“Just two pita pockets please,” You ordered. “And a water, too.”

“Coming right up!”

After getting your food, the two of you sat down to eat in a shady spot by the fence. The pita pockets were warm and fresh, the perfect thing to quell Kaveh's hunger. When was the last time he had a cooked meal, or any food that wasn't straight out of a vending machine? The focus on his project had stolen away all his attention, leaving him to neglect his own appetite.

“What's next?” You asked through a mouthful of bread, your words slightly muffled.

Kaveh hummed, surveying the rest of the fair. You had walked through most of the surroundings, leaving only a small section unexplored. That portion happened to be the part with all of the rides, where the Ferris Wheel loomed over the food stalls.

“How about the Ferris Wheel?” Kaveh suggested.

Your eyes lit up again, and you jumped to your feet. “Yes! Let's go!”

-----

In hindsight, you should have expected the line, but neither of you even considered the possibility until you were stuck in the middle of it. It was cramped and uncomfortable; the overwhelming crowds were almost enough to deter you. Almost.

“This is taking forever.” You groaned, slumping against Kaveh.

“Have a little patience.” Kaveh sighed, even as his own patience was wearing thin.

Directly in front was an irritated boy with a bowlcut who Kaveh was certain was in one of his classes, accompanied by a young white-haired girl holding his sleeve. Ahead of them, there was a family of four, several couples, another group of friends, and many more waiting for their turn.

It was going to be a long time before they even saw the ticket booth, let alone made it on the Ferris Wheel.

“Oh my, [Name]! Is that you?” A sweet voice called out to you.

You turned to see Nilou, a cheerful girl and another student at your university, waving to catch your attention as she walked over.

“Oh, hi!” You greeted. “How are you?”

“I'm good! I came with Dehya instead, and it's been a wonderful day.” She smiled back, smoothing down the front of her dress.

“That's good. We're just—” You jerked your head to motion towards the line. “—Waiting, as you can tell.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I'm glad you ended up coming, even if you didn't come with me. Isn't it wonderful?” Nilou gushed.

You nodded, with a slightly strained smile. Kaveh noticed the change instantly, studying your expression with a frown. “Yeah, it is.”

“I'd better go, Dehya is waiting for me. Take care, [Name]!” Nilou gave you a brief side-hug, before waving goodbye and dashing off.

“I didn't know you were friends with Nilou.” Kaveh said as soon as she left.

“Yeah, she's a classmate.” You said simply, leaving it at that.

After some time, you managed to make it into the compartment and on the Ferris Wheel. Kaveh sat across from you, pulling his legs close so you had more room to get comfortable, and your peacock plushie rested on your lap. The entire box was filled with windows, giving you a full view of the fair as it rose into the air.

“Woah... you can see everything up here.” As the box began to dip back down, your head swiveled to see as much of the area as possible.

“It's amazing... everything looks so small.” Kaveh breathed, as you hummed in agreement.

The two of you lapsed into a comfortable silence, simply basking in each other's company as you observed the landscape below. There wasn't a need for awkward small talk or idle conversation to fill the space between you; you were happy to just exist with each other for a moment.

“There's one thing I don't get.” Kaveh said suddenly. You looked away from the window with a curious expression, silently waiting for him to elaborate. “You said you didn't have anyone to go here with, but Nilou implied she already asked you and you turned her down. Why is that?”

“Oh. Yeah. I lied.” You shrugged, turning back to watch the Ferris Wheel move upwards.

“Why would you lie?” Kaveh spluttered at your nonchalant response.

You made a noncommittal noise, shrugging again. “Nilou could find someone else to go with. I wanted to go with you.”

He stumbled over his words, trying to get out a coherent response. “But—But why?”

“Do I need a reason?” You laughed, bright and clear. “You're my best friend. And besides, you needed a break. I haven't seen you this relaxed in a week.”

Kaveh fell silent. You had a point, he hadn't felt as relaxed in a while. In fact, he had barely given all of his stresses a thought, since you dragged him to the fair.

You always had that way with him, able to pull him out of his own head and get him back on his feet. Ever since you became friends, you were the ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds and bringing light to even his most dull days.

Maybe that was the foundation of your relationship, all the times you had seen each other at rock bottom, and still stuck around to bring the other back to the surface for air. He'd been witness to many of your own late-night breakdowns over failed assignments and miserable group projects, but he would never dream of leaving you to deal with it on your own.

It was you and him, against the world. As close as two friends could be, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

“What would I do without you?” Kaveh sighed, with a smile on his face. You looked back and grinned at him, the sunlight on your face making it look like you were glowing.

“No idea. But you're stuck with me now.”

🏷️ taglist: @tragedy-of-commons, @mollzaj, @wystiix, @mikashisus.

© aviiarie 2024. do not copy, repost, translate or use my work to train ai

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Child Support

Shroud: Meow! (Jumps up onto Blake’s bed and sits on Blake’s stomach) MeooooooooOoOow!

Blake: Ugh! Alright! Alright! I'm up! Just get your fluffy butt off of me. I swear. You've put on some weight recently, and it's making those ice picks you call legs dig deeper than normal.

Shroud: (hops off the bed and licks her paw nonchalantly before following Blake to the kitchen)

Blake: (puts a kettle of water on the stove and starts getting Shroud's breakfast ready. She glances at the sleek, black feline waiting patiently, amber eyes falling on the slight barrel in her belly) I don't know if you even need this. (cracks open can of wet catfood) You're getting chubby.

Shroud: (meows indignantly and visually huffs)

*Ding-Dong*

Blake: (Raises an eyebrow, glances at the apartment door, and back at Shroud) Did you invite someone over?

Shroud: (eyes glued to the bowl of food) Prrrrrrrrr.

Blake: (rolls eyes and places the cat's food bowl on the specialty feeding mat before answering the door) Hello?

Yang: (standing in the hallway confidently in a pair of orange cargo pants and white tank top, an absolute unit of a fluffy ginger tabby tucked under her arm) Hey! I'm Yang! Your new neighbor from down the hall. And this is Ember.

Ember: (purring contently as he's being carried around like a bag of feed)

Blake: Oh. Um. Hello. (Mentally: Oh, fuck! My new neighbor is hot!) My name is Blake.

Yang: Blake! Nice ta meetcha. Soooo... This is going to sound strange, but does a little black cat live here? Maybe female type?

Blake: (blinks and glances back into the apartment at Shroud eating peacefully) Y-Yes.... Why?

Yang: (shuffles and laughs awkwardly) Well, you see. A couple of weeks ago, I was out in the back courtyard with Ember here and got distracted. When I saw him next, he was...well...he was mounted up on a black cat. I tried to break them up, but she got away and scaled the fire escapes to a balcony on this side of the complex.

Blake: .....Mounted up?

Yang: They were fucking.

Blake: (jaw drops as she stares at the Goliath tabby and back at her substantially smaller black cat) Shroud! You little whore. I thought you were fixed! Is that why you're getting fat?

Shroud: (licks her chops before trotting over to the door) Meow.

Yang: Yeah, I thought Ember was neutered, too. He never sprayed or scratched at furniture or was ever aggressive!

Blake: (groans and covers her eyes) I'm more wondering how that miniature tiger of yours didn't smother her. No offense.

Yang: None taken. He's a big boy. (Whips Ember around so he's cradled in her arms but is still spilling over)

Blake: (sighs) Well, thank you for letting me know I have to deal with kittens in the coming months. I thought she was just getting fat.

Yang: Oh! There's more! (Slings Ember over her shoulder like a feather boa, reaches towards the wall, and pulls out a 50-pound bag of kitten food) Child support!

Blake: Oh, my. (Takes the bag with some difficulty) Um. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Yang: No problem! It's the least I can do considering my boy (pats Ember's side with solid thuds) got your little lady pregnant. (Reaches down and scritches Shroud under the chin)

Blake: (shocked)

Yang: So, I was thinking maybe we could check in with each other every once in a while? For the kittens! I'm willing to help.

Blake: (trying not to stare at Yang’s muscles) Right! For the kittens! That would be nice! Thank you.

Yang: Don't mention it! But I'll get out of your hair. My apartment is just down the hall, third door on the left, if you or Little Mama need anything. See ya around, Blake!

Blake: I'll see you around (closes the door and stares at Shroud in disbelief) You had to get knocked up by a damn near domesticated tiger whose owner is also a blonde bombshell?

Shroud: Meow (purrs and rubs up against Blake’s legs)

Blake: (sighs and picks up Shroud before moving to the couch) Let's get you a vet appointment.

Yang: (quickly sprints back to her apartment, locks the door, and holds Ember up to eye level) You just had to knock up the pretty little black cat who just so happens to have a hot owner, didn't you?

Ember: Mow

Yang: I am not a disaster!

[kremlin]

germany announced a new military aid package for ukraine, and it's weird, uh, don't get me wrong, it's great, stuffing euro notes/coins into mortar tubes wasn't working at all, and this new one is still better than what the west initially provided

i really don't know how we got those initial aid packages all f*cked up, we sent them scant handfuls of NATO tanks that were just new enough to be completely alien to ukraine's warsaw-trained soldiers and just old enough to not hold any overwhelming advantage to whatever russia shows up with. we also didn't give them very much ammunition either, not that twelve tanks will ever make difference, but it was bizarre considering ukraine was the soviet state that designed the actually-wortwhile soviet tank designs and built them as well. the f-16s would have been a nice idea, twelve jets will do a lot more than twelve tanks proportionally, if not for the fact that putting a frogfoot or ****** pilot into an f-16 would be like putting george washington into a cybertruck with zero instruction, except he doesn't speak english and the car moves in three dimensions. the kicker is that any relevant airspace has been pretty much closed to all parties except for the very peripheries where you can only launch weird british missiles, or (in the case of russia) literal dumb bombs with wings welded on to them. (sure, no problem, let me just stick weld this thin steel egg filled with a thousand pounds of TNT)

even stranger still is, some other things we gave them, things you'd expect by extension would also not work, they've turned out to love. they can't get enough bradleys (a convincingly tank-shaped object that does a completely different job). i don't know wtf they're doing with them, they don't even put TOWs in them, but hey, if it works.

anyways, this is what they got recently:

100+ MRAPs, ~50 "dingo" MRAPs very puzzling. these things are the result of an overcorrection fighting insurgents in the 00's, we learned that humvees with zero armor aren't the best idea against combatants indifferentiable from civilians, so the fix was to engineer a fuck-off huge stupid wheeled vehicle that can resist giant IEDs under it and i guess dudes firing AK-47s from the sides. if you've ever seen tiny-penis police departments roll out those things that look like the combine trucks from half-life 2 during riots, those are MRAPs. sure, you're doing logistics in a bus instead of a jeep, a bus that costs 20x as much, but you're alive. anyways. what use a vehicle designed to fight in desert climates in urban environments will do on a battlefield where fighting seasons are separated by harsh winters and "mud seasons" is questionable. where the hell did germany even get them from? where did they get several hundred of them??

~100 leopard 1's. a west german NATO tank from the late 70s using a third new type of ammunition that isn't the modern stuff nor the soviet-era stuff that's actually available and familiar. nato doesn't really tend to hold on to crap they've obviated, so where the hell the found a hundred leo1s is a mystery. even moreso is where the hell they got the 105mm ammunition for it, which has a shelf-life, insinuating new production of a long-obviated standard

a bunch of 120mm leo2 ammunition to service...eighteen leo2s. wtf. but at least they nutted up and gave them post a4 models (2 iterations from the currently-fielded model).

50 m113s. an m113 is an aluminum box on tracks. manufactured since the beginning of time in huge numbers. delivering twice as many leo1s as m113s?? one is like the odd alfra-romeo or citroen you see on the road once a year vs. toyota corollas

that is basically all the stuff that stuck out as weird to me. looking at the full list of equipment now, there's a lot of actually worthwhile crap getting shipped over (over 50 gepards, vehicles they love so much their only gripe is the time it takes them to reload), a crapload of patriot SAM missiles and several new launchers which is great, these are the things stopping cruise missiles to hit department stores at peak hours. a lot of arty as well, enough so to offset the fact its all NATO standard. i think it's a good package. in my opinion. as a guy with no military experience nor dodge charger purchased with enlistment bonus. and who knows, maybe they find some great use for whatever teh f*ck a "dingo" MRAP is.

[pixie-popp]

Jason’s younger sister (pt.3: A Brother’s oath)

this one might be a little longer than the others

⚠️TW: blood, attempted kidnapping, drunkenness⚠️

Amelia ran as fast as she could, her little 3 year old legs pounding on the pavement as she darted in and out of alleys and doors, her breathing fast and ragged. She looked back over her shoulder, checking to see if he was still behind her. Seeing no one, she slowed her pace and hid behind a trash bin, trying to get her breathing under control. She heard footsteps in the entrance to the alley she was hiding in and held her breath, her heart pounding. Amelia listened as the footsteps came closer and closer, tucking herself further behind the trash cans. The steps stopped right in front of her spot, causing her to freeze. She put her hands over her mouth, trying to stay quiet. The trash can in front of her was ripped away and Jason appeared. “Found you!” Jason exclaimed, grinning widely at her. Amelia couldn’t hold in her laughter and burst into a fit of giggles. Jason held out his hand, pulling her to her feet. He squeezed her hand and they took off. “C’mon pixie-pop, we have to find the others!” “Okay, Jay-Jay!” She said, running after her 9 year old brother. Now, Crime Alley is known around Gotham for many things, but one of the lesser known is the fact that due to its many cracks and crevices, it is the ideal place for a massive game of hide and seek. And that is precisely what the children of Crime Alley were doing. About 50 street kids of all different ages were currently locked in this game, the older ones helping the younger kids hide. So far, about half of them had been found, making it much easier to find the rest. Once everyone had been found, they restarted the game with 10 seekers. Amelia was found faster than the last game, and so she joined the group of seekers and set out to find her brother and everyone else. She ran down the street, finding other kids and sending them in different directions. She turned a corner into an alleyway at full speed and crashed into a pedestrian. She looked up to see a man of about 30 years, a beer bottle in his hand. “Sorry sir!” She apologized, smiling brightly at him. He looked down at her, a drunk smile on his face. “I’salright sweetheart.” He said, his words slurred. Amelia grinned and turned around to keep looking, but the man grabbed her arm. “Where’d you think yer goin’, sweetheart?” He asked, pulling the 3 year old further into the empty alley. Amelia’s eyes widened as she began to struggle, trying to get away. The man’s grip on her tightened, his other hand pulling out a knife. “Now now sweetie, stop struggling and be a good little girl.” The man said, wrapping his arms around her and putting a hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. Amelia bit down on his finger hard, tasting blood as he cried out. The man dropped her, staring at his hand that was now missing a finger. The 3 year old spit the finger out, turning to run. “OH NO YOU DON’T!” The man growled, lunging at her. He grabbed Amelia’s ankle and pulled, sending her face down to the ground. *CRUNCH* Red blood poured down Amelia’s face from her now broken nose, staining her shirt. “HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! JASON HELP ME!” She screamed as the man dragged her to him.

“Amelia, where are you, are you oka-!” Jason and 2 other kids ran into the alley and saw the man trying to take her. “HEY! LET MY SISTER GO!” Jason screamed at the man. The man’s grip lessened in surprise, and Amelia managed to get away. She ran to Jason, sobbing in his arms. Jason zeroed in on her broken nose, his eyes narrowing. The 9 year old knelt to her level, holding her hands. “ Did that man do this to you?” He asked her softly, wiping away her tears. Amelia nodded. “He tried to take me, but I bit off his finger. Then he got mad and hurt me.” She told him, shaking. “Ok. I’m proud of you for fighting back. Now, go with them. I’ll be right back.” Jason nudged her toward the other 2 kids, telling them to meet him at the base. When they were out of sight, he turned to the man. Jason’s eyes glowed with rage as his body shook. “How dare you hurt her.” He said, advancing toward the man. The man laughed. “ Look at you! A little 9 year old kid playing hero.” The man grinned, waving around the knife in his hand. Jason ran at him and tackled him, punching and kicking the man. The man grunted and slashed at Jason’s face. Red hot pain exploded in him as blood gushed from the cut across his eye as Jason stumbled back. “ Now boy, you made me lose the girl. That pretty little thing was gonna make me a lot of money!” Jason felt white hot rage burn through him. The man was a trafficker. The man was going to sell Amelia. THE MAN WAS GOING TO SELL AMELIA. Jason’s vision went red as he let loose a gut wrenching scream of rage and charged at the man. The man stumbled back, dropping the knife. Jason grabbed the knife and jumped onto the man, plunging the knife into his chest. “HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY LITTLE SISTER YOU FUCKING PERVERT!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!” Jason screamed as he kept stabbing and stabbing the man. After a little while, Jason’s rage worked out of his system. He looked down at the man, dread filling him. The man was dead. Jason had stabbed him a little more than 50 times and he had bled out. Jason got off of the body and stumbled back. He reached up to his face and felt the long gash over his eye. He could still see, but it was going to leave a nasty scar. The 9 year old looked back at the man and felt nothing. Jason turned around and walked out of the alley, leaving the body behind. Let him be a message, Jason thought.

If anyone else dares to touch her sister, they will know: If you hurt Amelia Rose Todd, Jason Peter Todd will come after you. And you won’t live long enough to run.

[bluemantics]

Lance breathed in a ragged breath.

In, out.

The soot fogged up his helmet, choking him up, but he still pushed onward. Step after step after step. In, out. His breathing was labored. His armor was dirtied. His limbs ached.

“Keith?” Pidge’s voice rang out over the comms.

Keith had come after Lance when the Galra had made the threat, when Lance dove down into that waste of a planet. At first, he’d been held back by Shiro. Keith was somewhere on this planet now, but Lance couldn’t focus on him. He had other priorities. Keith would be fine.

In, out.

Lance focused on his breathing instead, tuned out the outside sounds of the paladins calling for Keith and him. With each struggling step, his bayard illuminating the way, he dragged himself over to the cave home.

It’s curtains were drawn, and no light came from within. The only sign of life were the heat signatures his helmet picked up.

Fuck, the air was rough.

“Lance, your helmet is broken,“ Allura started.

Lance shut off the comms. Anything distracting him was preventing him from reaching /them./ He pushed his way through the curtain entrance.

There she was.

Huddling under a table in the corner was a small girl, a blue-scaled dragonling humanoid with bright red eyes. She was trembling. Lance got down on his hands and knees, crawling over to her.

In, out. His throat hurt.

“Hey,” he said softly, a rasp tickling his words. “I’m a Paladin of Voltron. I’m here to save you from the fires.”

The alien girl croaked out a whimper. She clearly didn’t recognize him, but her planet was a member of the coalition… fuck. Lance knew what he had to do.

He removed his helmet.

“See?” Her eyes lit up with recognition.

“Loverboy!” she exclaimed. Lance winced at his stage name, laughing outwardly to reassure her.

“That’s right, and I’m here to save you,” he agreed, reaching his arms out to her. Without the meager protection of his helmet, he was really starting to feel woozy. Still, that didn’t matter.

With shaking hands, he picked her up and began to walk outside the cave home and back to Blue.

This time, though, the trek was worse. He couldn’t see as well without his helmet, couldn’t recognize heat signatures or the fastest path back. Instead, he relied on lighting up his footsteps and retracing his steps.

That didn’t last long.

After 20 steps, Lance began to feel dizzy. He lurched, which caused the girl to make a series of clicks.

In, out. He patted her back and continued on.

After 50 steps, Lance started to lose the edges of his vision to blackness. He could feel the mucus in his throat fighting his inhalations. He fought back harder. He would have to reach a level of survival that went beyond what he could handle. To save her.

In, out.

Finally.

120 steps.

Lance fell to his knees.

The girl screamed.

Lance was only a football field from Blue. He had failed.

The girl scrabbled her claws at his armor, wailing, her cries embellished by the distant sound of crackling fire. Lance closed his eyes, listening to her pain, letting it soak in. He’d failed her, and this was his punishment, to lie prone and to hear her suffer. He had failed.

In, out.

He felt a tug to some hidden darkness inside of him.

“Lance!”

Oh, that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Lance felt more than heard the pounding footsteps of Keith Kogane as he ran to his side, kneeling by Lance’s head and cradling it in his hands.

“Stay awake, Lance, I have an O2 mask and we can get the girl to safety—“

“Loverboy!” The girl insisted.

Keith’s head snapped up. Lance chuckled weakly, coughing at the end.

“What?” Keith asked.

“She knows… shows,” he muttered in response. Keith huffed a breath, fogging up his helmet.

“Oh.”

Lance coughed again, and Keith panicked, pulling a mask from his belt. “Stay awake.”

“Loverboy,” the girl insisted again, tugging on Keith’s shoulder.

Lance blinked slowly. The world was slow. Why was the ash now falling on his face in slow motion? Why was Keith putting the mask on so slowly?

In, out.

Lance blinked. The darkness came back. He closed his eyes.

“No, Lance, no.”

Lance wasn’t listening. It was more peaceful, here, to focus inwardly rather than on the voices out there. It was quiet and dark and cool. The fires couldn’t touch him here.

“Loverboy? Stay with me, please. Please.” The rawness in his voice made Lance’s eyes snap open.

“Keith? I’m really trying…”

Words were too difficult, though.

So Lance let his heavy eyelids fall, let the blackness rush in. He felt the mask press into his chin and nose.

“I know, Lance.”

Silence again.

In,

[irondiotallica]

Date Night

Yay, another blurb!!! I'm really liking writing again. It's been a long time since I've written with joy and no expectations. Also, Robin finally makes an appearance. Kraft Cheese Singles have existed since the 50s. Let that sink in. Anyway, here's the blurb. Hope you enjoy it!!! -Silas

[Steddie}

Steve Harrington was nervous. For the first time in his life, he was nervous. There wasn’t anything that should be causing this anxiety save for the date that he had tonight. He’s had a million dates before, but this one was different. Eddie was different.

“Robin, what do I do,” Steve asked with panic clear in his wide-eyed expression.

Robin looked at Steve like she had many times before and if she had a whiteboard near her, there would be a tally under ‘You Suck’. She rolled her eyes and fixed Steve with a confused glare. 

“Steve, I think you’re forgetting three very important things.’

Robin held up three fingers and began to count down as she continued speaking.

“One, I’m more single than a Kraft Single.”

“Two, I’m a raging lesbian.”

“Three, you’re the one who’s had a very fruitful dating life.”

Steve shook his head. He was distraught at Robin’s very sound reasoning. He knew he was being irrational, but it was Eddie. He didn’t know how to go about wooing Eddie.

“Robin,” he whined hoping to wear her down,” This is different. Eddie’s different. Help me please.”

“I can’t help you with this. You’ve already planned it. What do you want me to tell you?”

Steve wanted her to tell Steve that he was doing things right.

“I’m doing it correctly, right?”

Robin sighed at that and shook her head. She looked up into his face and felt her gaze soften at the sight of her platonic soulmate.

“You’re doing fine, dingus. No need to stress,” she paused and rubbed his shoulder soothingly,” You’re doing great so far. Okay, Steve?”

Steve let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her. 

“Okay, yeah. Thanks, Robin.”

“You’re welcome, Steve.”

There was a comfortable pause of silence before Robin broke it with a smirk.

“You owe me lunch on Wednesday,” she said as she packed up to head home.

Steve rolled his eyes with a grin.

“Whatever you say, Rob.”

Steve stood in front of the familiar trailer with roses in his hand. He was stressed and his once perfectly styled locks were now disheveled with the numerous times he had run his hands through it. He chewed his lower lip nervously before running his hand through his hair again. Finally, he bit the bullet and knocked on the door.

Steve listened amused as someone stumbled through the trailer, seeming to trip multiple times and stubbing something as Steve heard a quiet ‘God dammit’ and ‘Son of a bitch’.

The door flew open as Eddie came into Steve’s view. Steve felt his breath leave him as he took in the perfection that was Eddie Munson.

Eddie always looked good, but today he had Steve close to busting. Those dark curls were pulled up into a high ponytail with a few strands falling out around his face. His eyes somehow popped more than usual and his rings were polished to perfection. He had a Dio shirt that had probably seen better days on and a pair of jeans with not a rip in sight. His belt and chains completed the entire thing and made Steve fall for him all over again.

Suddenly, confidence and charm flooded his system.

“Hey gorgeous, ready for our date?”

Eddie grinned and responded in kind.

“I don’t know big boy, am I?”

With no hesitation, Steve handed Eddie the flowers with a wink.

“Not until you put those flowers away, wouldn’t want them withering, left to their own devices.”

Eddie flushed at what Steve was implying. Maybe Eddie had been right to think that he would be with Steve for a lot longer than just a date.

“Hold on,” Eddie said, still bright red in the face.

The flowers were placed in water and left on the kitchen counter with care. Eddie grabbed his jacket, keys, cigs, lighter, and whatever else he thought he needed. He locked the door before following Steve to the car. He watched Steve with a pounding heart and a face blushing even more than before as Steve opened the door for him.

“After you m’lord,” Steve said with a flourishing bow. 

“I love it when you start speaking nerdy with me.”

“Good, cause there’s a lot more for later when we’re in a more,” he paused leaning in until his mouth brushed against Eddie’s ear,” private situation.”

Eddie felt a moan bubble up in his throat at the feel of Steve on his ear. He managed to trap it, but God, Steve was driving him up the wall.

They buckled up and Steve turned to Eddie. 

“Let’s get going, shall we?”

Eddie nodded, not trusting his words. Steve grinned at that entwining his fingers with Eddie’s before peeling out of the trailer park to their date of the evening.

[rowanb3rries]

tmagp episode 18 thoughts. no or not a lot of context but still read at your own peril

index of these posts

4:10 i know alice is making a joke here but ... spider stuff huh...

4:30 "talked at by you" it really is that lmao

4:50 "other businesses" -- LIKE WHAT TELL ME!! STORES? CORPORATE OFFICES THAT AREN'T THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY?

6:00 every time alice expresses worry about someone i get like a fucking rabid dog about it. she's at arms length so often with her jokes that every time she's genuine i get Concerned but also frantic

6:30 "hey lena" "hello" and then the longest awkward pause on planet earth

7:10 lena is either a fucking alien robot or there is Something Going On with her too and i would guess the latter. sam's right, she barely talks to any of them except gwen

7:55 "is that its name" the scale in my brain tips slightly back toward robot

8:25 AUGUSTUS STATEMENT????????

9:20 20.03.2024, placing this death in between tmagp 014 and 015. closer to 015.

9:30 if you don't know pounds to kg, this is like. under 70lb. starvation and malnutrition indeed

10:40 this one is giving me the brain ants. i'm scrambling through transcripts. alice's dead person also recited things relating to her death

12:50 GOD he's such a good actor

14:15 this is such tma 170 vibes. god

14:30 SOMEONE ASKING QUESTIONS IN AN ALLEY? it's not ya boi but i can dream

16:25 yeah they both also caught that huh

16:55 look, you'd be following tradition

17:20 once again i'm struck by how fascinating it is that these stories are always post victimhood and the victim doesn't *get out*. tma, the statement was usually given by a survivor of something. but here? fuck

18:10 and here we see the difference between how alice and sam deal with shit. she won't touch it with a ten foot pole and he needs to get all in there and soak it in and really make sure he got the whole trauma out of it

18:35 confirmation she's seen people die in this job

19:30 gwen here lmao "i can't possibly tell them i've been interfacing with the horrors and they can read"

20:10 GWEN

20:40 this honestly sounds insane when she puts it like this. i mean it's insane to watch her do it but jfc

21:05 SAM'S LAUGH IS SO CUTE LMAO

21:30 : (

22:00 OMFG

22:10 "who keeps taking georgie's face" YOU CAN'T SAY IT LIKE THAT

22:50 "i'm not!" very obvious buzzing sound

23:25 what

24:00 i'm. holy shit man.

24:25 THEY'RE LEAVING ME LIKE THIS???????

prev | next

i have a kofi if you like this and want to help me keep doing it

[hypnoswap]

Son of a warlock #3

Just a day of fun

At 18 I received my powers,I learn how to cast spells I could hypnotize people and give them triggers to really improve themselves or make them look like idiots. It’s been a lot of fun over the last three years now that I’m in my last year of college I tend to try Improve the underdog, or taking down the alpha or bully a notch or too.

I still like to hit the gym It’s one of my favorite playgrounds. well today I get up had for the subway to go to the gym as I’m on the subway sitting across from me too good looking guys I couldn’t help but notice they both look like they were under endowed, one was reading the other look like he was ready to fall asleep, so I cast a little spell on them to increase their balls and cock 50 percent to see if they would notice as a cast the spell I look intently as there cocks started to stretch out and balls started to inflate the one that was reading I could see he was started to shift around in the seat he lifted his book up and looked down at his bulge You could see a look of bewilderment As he took his hand and coupled his junk as he had his hand checking out his new endowment Decided to give him another surprise and cast another spell to make it 25% more bigger as he had his hand there He could tell that he could feel it getting bigger as you could see his bulge getting bigger than his hand. The other guy sorta was just dozed off through the whole process.

So this is the kind of things I do all day long when I get bored. Well I arrive at the gym. I check in, go to the locker room change into my workout clothes. go to a treadmill to warm up The guy next to me I’ve seen many times at the gym his name is Jim we’ve had casual conversation he is a nice guy , every time I’m there. I pretty much watched him working out but with little change. well today I decided to make Jim his lucky day. I looked at the timer on those treadmill. He’s been there five minutes. I cast a spell on him for every minute he stayed on the treadmill. He would lose 1 pound of fat and gain 1 pound of muscle that day I was curious how far he would go so I stayed on my treadmill so I could watch him change as he kept going. It took about 15 minutes before I could really start noticing a difference. I looked over at Jim. He just smiled. Not realizing what was happening yet. I told Jim to keep up the good work you’re starting to look fit, he replied with a smile thanks another five minutes go by Jim looks down at his body, you could tell he looked confused, but he kept walking on the treadmill. His clothes were getting baggy on him , after another 8 to 10 minutes. Jim was really starting to look amazing at that point his shorts started to fall down his legs. He grabbed them and held them up and proceeded to the locker room, I wish I was there to see his look on his face when he looked in the mirror., the next time I saw Jim on the treadmill, he was shirtless, showing off his new hot body.

Well, I get off the treadmill head to the locker room as I was changing I hear a voice say hey Steve I turned around it was Pete a kid I talk to time to time, Pete was a skinny nerd type kid. I told Pete I’ve been seeing you a-lot more at the gym, how’s it been going? Pete replied well it’s been tough at high school. I’ve been getting picked on a lot because of my size so I’m trying to get bigger. I asked why are they picking on you? He said well look at me I am skinny and in the locker room, they call me teeny Pete. And I’ve seen Pete changed before he was teeny in every way, and I decided that I was going to change him that day. I told Pete that I can do hypnosis I can set triggers so he’ll wanna work out harder and he should get bigger in no time, Pete said that would be great. I would be up for that anything to get the boys off my back. So I Hypnotize Pete and give him a trigger that every morning he wakes up we’ll have the desire to go to the gym that each time he picks up weights he’ll get a pump that makes him feel really good the more he pumps the weights the better he feels at the end of the workout that he would feel amazing. He could feel his muscles growing and testosterone building up in his cock and balls you will have a sense of well-being and being proud of your body I let Pete remember the triggers and the conversation so you can remember and understand why he is changing so much . Pete thank me and say God, I hope this works. I told him my pleasure. I look forward to seeing what you look like in a month he just smiled then he asked me why did you tell me I would feel the testosterone in my cock and balls, I replied, I was hoping That that might trigger a late puberty and increase everything if you know what I mean, he just gave me a big smile said well that would be amazing and thank me again .

Little did Pete know I also was going to cast a spell to increase his success for every day for the next month that he worked out he would gain a pound of muscle and gain a quarter inch of cock and a quarter inch in his balls for the month . I don’t think he will be called teeny Pete for much longer.

Well, on the way home again I’m sitting on the subway notice a guy with a little bulge in his pants sitting across from me again so I decided to cast another spell because I was bored, that every five minutes that he stayed seated, his cock and balls when increased 25% as was sitting , five minutes go by and all of a sudden I see him start to expand a little he starts to move around in his seat , the man could feel he sack expanding he looks down you could see a slight smile and his face, another five minutes goes by and again he’s getting bigger again he looks down and I think he was starting to wonder what was going on. He tried to put his hands down to cover up the obvious bulge. But he remains seated , again another five minutes goes by and it started to look like his balls were going to bust out of his jeans now I’ll look of concern came over a face. it really did look amazing. There’s no way he’ll be able to cover that up for now on, but it was my stop so I had to get off. I just wonder how long he remain seated before he stood up and if he got any bigger.

I was sitting at home and about a month went by so I decided to go back to the gym to see if Pete had made a lot of progress. I’m hoping that he went to the gym every day he’ll be a big stud.

I arrive at the gym, started my workout. No sign of Pete was kind of disappointed. I walked into the locker room to change when Pete walked in and said hi, I looked at him and my jaw dropped. He looked really amazing. He came up to me and said thanks for everything that you did that hypnotism really works, I told him it was my pleasure and that he looked great. I bet you’re not being bullied anymore, Pete said no , they wanted to work out with me now, they wanted to know my secret. And that trigger to start a late puberty really worked. My balls are huge and my cock actually grew another 8 inches. No one calls me teeny Pete anymore. I can’t thank you enough you really change my life I told Pete enjoy your youth you worked hard for it. He had a sexy little smile on his face. He had a tear in his eye and actually came up and gave me a hug. After Pete left, I figured who can I help next it’s people like him that keep me doing what I’m doing

Well stay tuned for my next adventure. Hope you enjoyed. I accidentally hit post before I proofread I corrected my errors and reposted.🤣

[uwukillmenowowo]

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥 [Tokyo Debunker X F!Reader]

[ 9 | Hera's Snakes] 『🐍』

Key's for the story: Insert - Narrative - And then she stared at her reflection in the mirror [Insert] - Author speaking - [Eyyy there- wazzup readers] "Insert" - Talking - "Hey there!" [But can also be air quotes] 'Insert' - Thinking - 'Dame he's cute...' "Insert" - Whispering - "I- I messed up..." [But can also be an emphasis on a word/phrase, or flashback] (Insert) - Inner mind..? - (Deadass doesn't know how to explain it here) *Insert* - Action - *Sighs with their head down*[INSERT] - Magic - [OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!] or [IGGNAIM!]

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: [ 8 | Stalker] 『👀』

━━━✦❘༻���༺❘✦━━━

[Book 0] The Academy of Ghouls

[Chapter 9] The Anomaly Known As Hera's Snakes.

━━━✦❘༻🔮༺❘✦━━━

{Third POV}

~~~~~

Hm? I don't recognize you. Who are you?" Romeo asked, still pointing his rifle at the pair. "So you're Kaito's jealous pursuer." Luca asked, still under the impression that Kaito actually did have a romantic rival. "Excuse me? What part of this mushroom head could I possible be jealous of?" Romeo asked sternly. "Mushroom Head? Is that your nickname, Kaito?" Luca asked innocently.

"Of course not, he's just being an asshole! Come on, get rid of him!"  Luca hummed. "Let me confirm something first. This is your jealous pursuer, correct?" "Yes... I mean... Well..." In return to Kaito's bad lie, Romeo tisked. "That's the backstory you gave me? Is your financial situation so dire you can't come up with plausible lies?" Kaito flinched and stepped back. "What does he mean?" Luca asked.

"Do you really think I, Romeo Scorpius Lucci. Could be jealous of an off-brand man like him? *Hmph* This little toadstool is in my debt. I'm merely collecting what I'm rightfully owed." Romeo then took out a piece of paper and smirked. "Care to see the paperwork?" He mocked Kaito. In return, Kaito ran towards Romeo, desperate to grab the paper. "GIMME THAT!!" He exclaimed, only for Romeo to hold it higher than he can reach.

"Kaito, is this true?" Luca asked. Kaito sweat dropped and was about to answer, but then Romeo grabbed onto a pendent that Kaito was wearing. "How many times do I have to tell you? If you can't pay just hand over this pendant instead!!" "How many times have I gotta tell you, this is the one thing you'll never get from me!!" Kaito yelled before Luca decided to step in, "Let him go."

Romeo and Kaito turned to the transfer student. "Who the hell are you? Did you hear what I just said?" Then, Luca held up a large amount of cash. "Will this suffice?" He asked. Romeo smirked and let go of Kaito, in favor of the cash presented. "50 pound notes, hm? Interesting. They'd better not be counterfeit." Romeo took the money smirking and started counting. "one, two, three, four, five... twenty... the real deal." "Are you serious..?" Kaito asked, jaw wide open.

"You're quite a high-end man. He still owes another 2000 pounds of interest though. Sorry, but this won't buy his freedom." Romeo taunted and tilted Luca's chin up with his index finger. "WHAT?! You never said anything about interest!!" Kaito exclaimed. So Luca's gaze hardened and decided to challenge the claim. "All right. In that case... I'd like another look at that document."

Romeo's smirk fell and he tisked and glared at Luca. "There's nothing worse than a man with a brain..."

{Your POV}

~~~~~

"The ticket gate is closed???" I questioned aloud. I stopped short just before the Galaxy Express platform, unsure of how to get through the gate. A translucent wall with glowing letters blocked my path. "Tap Catsmo?" I read and groaned. "If I had to guess, it'd be an online TTC pass like Presto..." "Meow?!" I flinched and looked down, and screamed a little when a cat appeared out of nowhere. "Meow! meow!" The cat exclaimed and ran off. "Ah! Wait!" When I locked eyed with the cat, it meowed loudly and scampered off towards the main building."

"Oh sugar... Can these cats tell the chancellor where I am?!" Judging by what I'd seen them achieve so far, I could only assume they could... "I've already come this far... there's no turning back now!" I took out my wand and took in a deep breath. "White to red, and red to white. [Doodle Suit!]"

The gate turned into golden particles for a few seconds but as soon as I passed through I couldn't progress any further. "W-What?!" I tried to use doodle suit again but it didn't work. Then a shrill alarm sounded from the platform.

I heard footsteps approaching faster so I gasped and canceled doodle suit of the ticket gate and hid my wand. The alarm stopped and I sighed. "What are you doing?" I yelped and turned around to see Romeo there. Along with Kaito and Luca. "Are you all right?! Is the anomaly here?!" "Eeeeek... Oh god, please let it not be..." I held my hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how to get onto the platform..."

Romeo glared at me and I reminisced the Savanaclaw situation all over again. "I knew it. What are you doing? Why are you wearing Hera's Snakes?" I blinked twice and calm down. "What..? Hera's Snakes?" 'The anomaly?' I couldn't make sense of that sentence, so I just stood there, dumbstruck. "Hera's Snakes..? That's the name of the rogue anomaly!" Luca pointed out and I nodded slowly. "Well, well, well," 'I don't like the smile on Romeo's face...' I thought and sweatdropped. "I didn't think it would come to me. I'll get a good price for this."

All of a sudden Romeo charged at me, rifle in hand. "You can pay back Fuji's interest WITH THIS!" I was about to pull out my wand to use Sleepy kiss but for some reason, the veil started attacking?!? "Eh?!" I cried out and stood still while Romeo dodged.

"GYAAAAAAHHH!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! ARE THOSE TENTACLES?! GROSS!!" Kaito exclaimed while Romeo pointed his rifle. "Did you... aim for my face?" I flinched and immidietly shook my head. "N-N-no! This veil just attacked on it's own I swe-" "SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I CAN'T STAND EXCUSES! SIH!!" Romeo aimed his rifle and this time I grabbed my wand. But as I was about to cast my spell, Luca interrupted, "[IGGNAIM!]" I gasped because Luca was standing in front of me, arms spread wide.

"What..? The trajectory was accurate, the bullet should have hit... Fine. There's more where that came from!" Another gunshot exploded in my ears but... "What..? Why are my bullets disappearing?!" I furrowed my brows and bit my lip. 'Luca... he's using his special skill." I awed. 'This was nothing like the spells in Twisted Wonderland. The only thing close was Floyd's Bind to the Heart.' 

The bullet was clearly heading straight towards us. But the instant before it hit Luca, it vanished, as though swallowed by some invisible force. Luca then turned around and grabbed my shoulders harshly so I winced. "I'll ask you just once. Did you deceive us?" His sharp, crystal-clear gaze bore into me so I answered honestly. "I'm sorry... But I just picked this veil up by coincidence, I swear..."

'I should have been honest with them sooner... I can't keep wearing something this dangerous even if it means they find out who I am...' I thought and grabbed the veil with both hands and pulled. "... H-Huh?!" I started to panic as I pulled harder. "I-I can't get it off!" Luca gasped and back off. No matter how hard I pulled at it, the veil remained stuck fast to my head. "It's stuck... why won't it come off?!" I questioned myself as I pulled even harder.

"All right. Calm down. I believe you." I looked at Luca with wide eyes. "Luca..." "We need to move away from here first. Then we can do something about that veil." Luca reached out his hand to me, and I placed my trembling palm in his unwavering one. "Thank you." I smiled softly.

"Hey! Are you trying to run?! Hand over Hera's Snakes fi-" "LUCAAAAA!!! HEY!! Why are you holding hands with [Y/n]!?!" I bit my lip as Kaito pushed Romeo out of the way and ran over to us. "Don't you dare run off without me!!! I'M!! HER KNIGHT!! IN SHINING ARMOR!!!!" "Kaito?!" I exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment. "Kaito! I want to go somewhere we can regroup and discuss out next move. Could you lead us there?"

"I was going to! Don't order me around! Follow me, [Y/n]!" Kaito proclaimed and started running so we followed.

But while we ran I looked back at Romeo, feeling a bit bad. "Ouch... Hey!! You think you can escape me that easily?!" But then I turned back. Kaito grabbed my other hand, and the three of us ran back the way we'd come.

"Meow! Meow! Meow! Emergency, emergency. A-6622-1,code name "Hera's Snakes", has escaped containment during transportation. It resembles a black veil. It is aggressive, and can change it's size at will. Presumptive class B. If spotted, please alert a staff member or ghoul student immediately."

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: [ 10 | A Ring?] 『💍』

[griseldabanks]

Oh, and to mix it up, how about 50 for Din and Grogu?

Prompt: "I know that face."

Let Me Count the Ways ask game

Contains mild spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3.

It wasn't the crash of thunder that woke him, nor the pounding of the rain on the roof. No, it was a small voice that cried out for just a moment before being stifled under a blanket.

Din's eyes popped open, his hand flying to the blaster at his side. Lightning flashed, for a brief moment illuminating the room where he lay. No intruders. The green light over the door indicated that all security systems were still online. No immediate danger.

But then a crash of thunder split the air, and Din heard a tiny squeak from the other side of the room. Turning his head, he switched on night vision and eyed the quivering ball of blankets on the small bed in the corner.

“Grogu?”

Slowly, the blankets lowered, until Grogu's enormous eyes peered over at him. He let out a tiny, plaintive squeak, his ears drooping almost straight down.

Din sighed, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite himself. “I know that face,” he groaned. “Yes, you can sleep with me. Come on.”

Thunder seemed to rip the very air in two. With a shriek, Grogu hurled himself across the room in a Force-propelled leap. His small body smacked against Din's breastplate with a painful sound, but Grogu didn't seem to mind.

“Careful,” Din chided, shifting Grogu from one arm to the other as he unfastened his breastplate and set it aside. “You'll give yourself a concussion or something.”

With a whimper, Grogu buried his face in Din's chest, his tiny claws poking Din through fistfuls of his shirt. He was trembling so hard, it was like holding a small motor.

“Hey, hey,” Din whispered, settling back against the wall and pulling his blanket up again, tucking it around Grogu's small body. “You have another nightmare?”

After a tense moment of listening to the thunder dying away, Grogu gave a single nod.

There'd been a lot of those lately. Din wasn't sure what they were about—it wasn't like Grogu could tell him—but he had a feeling it was something about the darkness in the kid's past. As if what he'd been through recently wasn't enough.

The thunder and lightning didn't help, either. It didn't rain too often on Nevarro, but when it did, it came with all the fury of a whole fleet of Star Destroyers. It was enough to make any child tremble in the middle of the night, even if it didn't remind them of blaster fire.

“It's okay,” he murmured, cupping his hands around Grogu's small body. “I've got you. Nothing can hurt you now.”

Grogu sniffled, looking up at him with huge eyes that glistened in the dim light. He raised his arms, letting out a warbling babble that almost sounded like words, but none that Din knew. Grogu's nails clinked against the helmet as he made insistent little grunts.

“Sorry, kid,” Din said gently. “You know I can't let anyone see my face.”

Grogu grabbed his huge, bat-like ears and pulled them down over his eyes.

Din let out a long sigh, but they both knew the battle was already won. How had it come to this? Din Djarin, wrapped around the tiny, clawed finger of the kid he'd once been paid to kill.

“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “But keep your eyes closed. You're supposed to be asleep anyway.”

Grogu obediently closed his eyes, settling into a more comfortable position against Din's chest. Once he was sure Grogu wasn't peeking, Din pulled off his helmet and laid it on the bedside table, where he could easily reach it if necessary.

The night air was cool against his cheeks, but it was fresh and clean. Even inside the house, he thought he could smell the rain that pattered against the windows. Thunder growled, menacing but slowly retreating. Another shiver passed through Grogu's body.

Din absently pressed his lips to the rough, leathery skin on top of Grogu's head. He could feel Grogu's warmth through his lips, could feel hot puffs of breath against his neck. Such a small being, but so alive.

A small hand reached up and rested against his cheek as he nuzzled closer, finding a warmer spot under Din's chin. Grogu couldn't speak. He couldn't put words to any of the thoughts plaguing him. He couldn't talk about any of his fears or hopes or wishes.

But they could do this.

[buck1eys]

A Bigger Splash

written for ‘pool’ wc: 442 | rated: G | cw: none

He had expected to hate these A lister parties that he'd started getting sly invites to since Corroded Coffin's second album had gone platinum. LA had never sat quite right with Eddie, and he was already toying with the idea of going back to Indiana to record the follow up. Still, a party was a party was a party, and he'd shown up to some manufactured pop duo's mansion with three drinks under his belt and a chip on his shoulder. 

He looked around for people he knew. There was Jonathan Byers, wearing all black and in his signature shades, taking Nancy Wheeler's photograph while Argyle drew something on the terracotta tiles with a marker pen. That tile would probably be valued at thousands of pounds tomorrow. Eddie thought about wandering over – he liked Byers' gig photos, which were moody and stark and not LA at all – but at that moment a tanned girl with a messy bob ran in front of him and shouted earnestly at him - 

“Hey, have you seen Steve?” 

Eddie shook his head. He was a little hazy from the liquor, but he couldn't fail to recognise Robin Buckley. She was one half of Russian Spy, a catchy and entirely vapid pop duo that had had about 50 number ones this year. 

“What does he look like?” he asked sarcastically, as though his face wasn't plastered on every billboard both sides of the Atlantic. 

To his surprise, Robin took him seriously. Maybe she wasn't as bigheaded as Eddie had assumed she would be. She described a stocky, fairly muscly guy in his mid twenties with poofy hair and a dorky kind of smile. 

“There,” Eddie pointed him out. Then he dropped his hand and kept looking, because the Steve Harrington on every billboard did no justice to the Steve Harrington who was about to jump off that diving board. He was gorgeous, all-American but rough and real around the edges. The rest of the party shimmered and faded. 

As though Eddie's focus had attracted his attention, Steve spotted Robin and gave her a goofy thumbs up. Then he grinned to himself and lept into the pool with an almighty splash. 

Oh god, Eddie thought to himself as people round the pool shrieked at the splashing water. Oh god – and Steve was surfacing like a sea god, shaking water out of his hair and whooping – he was no better than the ten thousand teenagers he's seen queueing for the stadium tour last week. Eddie Munson, iconoclast frontman and breakout heavy metal star, was in love with the singer of Russian Spy. 

@steddiemicrofic thank you for setting this up it's so fun (even if i did have to delete 300ish words of party vibe description and eddie being an LA hater)

[starlos-soulmate]

HEY HEY HEY light<NERS, DID YOU KNOW THAT IN TERMS OF MALE L1GHNTER D AND MALE [darkner] BREEDING, [your ol' pal] SPAMTON G. SPAMTON IS THE MOST COMPATIBLE DARK>nerr FOR H U M A N S !?!???? NOT ONLY AM I IN THE FIELD [pipis] GROUP, WHICH IS MOSTLY COMPRISED OF [sales, sales, sales!], IM AN AVERAGE OF 4”3.5’ TALL AND 68.[$9.99] POUNDS, THIS MEANS I AM LARGE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE HANDLE HUMAN [MEAT-STICK] , AND WITH MY IMPRESSIVE BASE STATS FOR HP AND ACCESS TO [ACID OH GOD] ARMOR, YOU CAN BE ROUGH WITH [1.99]. DUE TO MY MOSTLY [Mercury, francium, cesium, gallium, and rubidium] BASED BIOLOGY, THERE’S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT AN AROUSED [Number 1 Rated Salesmen ca. 1997] WOULD BE INCREDIBLY [moist], SO [moist] THAT YOU COULD EASILY HAVE [are you +18?] WITH [1.99] FOR HOURS WITHOUT GETTING SORE. I CAN ALSO [Hyperlink Blocked] SO IT’D BE INCREDIBLY [top 10 easiest receipts] FOR [1.99] TO GET YOU IN THE MOOD. WITH MY ABILITIES [Kromer abs.,oRB] & [KEYGEN!!] I CAN EASILY RECOVER FROM FATIGUE WITH ENOUGH [Kromer]. NO OTHER DARK<nner COMES CLOSE TO THIS LEVEL OF COMPATIBILITY. ALSO, FUN FACT, IF YOU PULL OUT ENOUGH, YOU CAN MAKE YOUR [BIG SHOT] TURN [#FF0000] SPAMTON IS LITERALLY BUILT FOR HUMAN [Dick-shaped Objects]. UNGODLY DEFENSE STAT+HIGH HP POOL+ACID ARMOR MEANS IT CAN TAKE [HEALTHY EGGPLANT PARM] ALL DAY, [all shapes and sizes] AND STILL COME FOR [but wait, there's more!]REMEMBER ALSO TO PUT SOME LITTLE DELICOUS KROMER, A BIT OF HOLY [CUNGADERO] AND SOME [hyperlink blocked] TO SOUND LIKE THE ORIGINAL [these birds are pissing me off]HEY HEY H3Y [[BIG SHOT]] YOU HEAR THAT NEW [[50% off Toilets]] THING!? IF I [[Capitilzim]] IT, I SHOULD [[Entertainment for 6 year Olds and under!]]YOU [little sponge] I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR DYSLEXIC [hyperlink blocked]THIS IS [so cool.] [?&@#]ING AMAZING! GREAT [Jobs! Lots of jobs!]I can't [[agree to terms and services]] more!YOU FORGOT THE [[Caps for sale!!]] BUDDY !!! THATS NOT VERY [[Best salesman on Tinder]] OF YOUGREAT JOBS [little sponge] YOU HAVE DONE SOME [good sales] AND I [number 1 rated seller 1997] SPAMTON G SPAMTON IS [very proud] OF YOU [valued customer].

BUT ON A [different] NOTE ARE YOU INTERESTED IN [hots deals] ?AS SPAMTON G SPAMTON HIM S3LF THAT WAS PRETTY [Cash Money]HOLY [[Cungandero]] K1D, YOU [[Small]] [Little Sponge]!! YOU REALLY GOT THE [Spirit] OF A TRU3 [Salesman] WITHIN YOUR [[S O U L]]!1! ONE DAaY YOU'LL BECOM3 A [[BIG SHOT]] LIKE YA OLD P4L SPAMTON!!1! AND MAYBE 3VEN APPROACH... 4APpROACH... [[H E A V E N]] AND GET ALL tHE [Hyperlink Blocked]S YOUR VERY 0WN [Heart Shaped Object] CAN DES1RE!!1!iBUT TH3 [NumberOneRated] L3TTER IS 4LWAYS [Big]!!!THANK YOU [esteemed customer] FOR YOUR [$$$!]NICE [[Tips and tricks!]] YOU GOT THERE YOU [Dave the Babe] !! ALSO MAKE SURE TO [[Like and subscribe]] TO MY ONLINE [[Alpha male course]] EAHEAEHAEAHIT'S A SIMPLE [Task manager] KRIS! JUST YELL AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS LIKE A [Starring rockstar] AND ALWAYS BE LIKE SPAMTON G. ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ SPAMTON THE [Number 1 rated salesman!] DON'T LET YOUR THROAT BE YOUR [Roadblock]DON’T [Overindulgence] ON THE [Hyperlink Blocked], [Butt] DON’T [Under][Indulgence] EITHER. WHEN [Typewriter] FOR [Yours truly], DON’T PUT [Just an average kid] WORDS IN [Hyperlink Blocked]. [Rather], USE [Interwebs] TERMS, OR WORDS THAT ARE [Oddities] BUT STILL [Making Sense] With the . INTERNET SLANG [Works out] WELL. [Thank you for coming to my TED talk] LIGHT[nerd]S.

Thanks Spamton? I'm a girl though?

Though I am studying this like a bug

[justsomestoicguy]

What.

So...

I'm not exactly thrilled about my newest group project, but hey, at least I got paired with decent people: 

Kai, Hikari, and Tanaka (again, surprisingly enough).

Our task? Researching important figures in Japan for our history assignment. Which means a trip to the museum.

Hikari bounces on her heels, her bracelets jingling and sundress flowing as she does. "I'll take the 20s!" she announces, her voice bubbly. "There's so many cool heroes from that time!"

"Then I'll handle the 30s," Kai speaks next, fixing his grey hoodie. 

"I'll cover the 2140s," Tanaka states, already looking so done with everything. 

I sigh, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Guess that leaves me with the 50s."

Lucky me, I get stuck with the late 2150s, the era of Scourge—the vigilante who ended All For One's reign and took away my life's purpose. Cool, right? 

Might learn some stuff I didn't know about her.

Except, not really. 

Because I have a good feeling I won't be getting any more info on her beyond what I got on the internet.

And what did I get after four years of scouring exactly?

Alias: Scourge. Role: Head of the Vigilante Ops (that's what the media calls her vigilante organization). Appearance: female with white hair and purple eyes. Quirk: barrier.

And that's all!

Her real name's unknown, her background's obscure—heck, even her face is still a mystery thanks to that mask she always wore.

Damn it.

I let out another sigh, dragging my feet through Hoshizora Archival Museum's sterile halls.

Better start doing my work.

Pulling out my phone, I begin lazily snapping photos of exhibits and reading plaques with an unamused squint. 

The museum is all polished glass and polished floors, with exhibits that range from ancient artifacts to modern heroes. 

It's busy enough, tourists and school groups milling about, but I'm not really interested in any of it. I skim through the displays, mentally checking off the ones I've seen before.

As I wander around though, I notice a section that's surprisingly quiet. It's tucked away, almost like an afterthought. 

Curiosity piqued, I wander in. It's still part of the 2150s section, so I guess it's relevant. 

The lighting is dimmer here, and the air feels a bit heavier, like I've stumbled into some forgotten corner of history.

Then, I see it.

A massive golden statue, smack dab in the center of the room, of Scourge.

All imposing and magnificent. 

My jaw drops. 

Why haven't I seen this online before?! 

It's like the world wanted to keep this thing under wraps! 

Why?

I look around and notice someone else in the room; a lone tall man with black hair standing in front of the statue, gazing up at it. 

Geh—really?

I'm not too keen on getting close to strangers in quiet, echoey places. 

Guess standing here will have to do.

My eyes flicker back to the left and spot a plaque below the statue. Positioning my phone, I zoom in and read the inscription.

[In Loving Memory

2132-2159]

Damn, that's it? 

No name, no detailed bio—just a lifespan. 

I snap a quick pic of the plaque, frustrated by the lack of info. 

But as I raise my phone to get a shot of the statue, my camera catches a glimpse of the man again, who is now looking directly at me.

My blood runs cold.

I recognize that face. 

I'd recognize that elongated, triangular face anywhere!

Stain.

My heart pounds in my chest. 

What is the infamous Hero Killer doing here?! 

My instinct is to hide, to put my phone away, to disappear into the nearest shadow. But before I can even react, Stain moves—fast. In the blink of an eye, he's now right in front of me.

I yelp, stumbling backward. I brace for the impact of the cold floor, but it never comes. Stain catches me, holding me steady. My breath hitches, my mind racing. 

This is it. 

I'm going to die. 

Goodbye, new life. It has been a good 14 years.

"I've finally found you."

I blink. 

Did I hear that right? 

The words are spoken with a solemn, almost reverent tone. 

I look up, my wide eyes meeting Stain's. There is a softness there, a tenderness that seems so out of place on him.

"Master."

...

HUH?!

—

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Chapter 1

[janitor-figure-a]

Art's experimental recording session, the beautiful starbucks parking lot pictured

transcript under the cut

Jack: i don’t like, godspeed

Art: yeah uh huh

Jack: fight for what is good and right, we will be looking out for you fifty percent of the time  and 50% of the time we’ll be trying to make you lives miserable in ways we haven’t worked out yet

Dre: mmhmm!

Art: yeah and I'll be doing that on a real microphone and not a phone in a starbucks parking lot

Dre: awwww

Ali: giggles

Jack: why are you in a starbucks parking lot

Austin (overlapping):  is Jess in the car with you? What's going on?

Art: no Jess had to go get Mable and Mable’s dog sitter lives where there's no cell service so she just dropped me in the parking lot and went to go get the dog

Austin: wait, are you in a car??

Art: no i'm just standing here

Austin: you're just outside…can you take a picture?

(overlapping) Mixed laughter

Jack: have you got your phone to your ear?

Art: no i'm wearing headphones, cos i was in the car 

Austin: can you take a photo of the most palisade thing you can find that isn't a palisade vehicle

Janine: can you go get a cakepop and then eat it

Ali: ooooooooooh

Art: uuuuuuuuum, i dont… no…

Austin: hey everybody welcome to friends at the table our new game this season is tell art things to do in the parking lot of a starbucks 

Dre: can you take a selfie and that's our new podcast cover art

Keith: it makes sense your outside because when you first joined the call you said is there any outside noises and i thought that meant you were driving and you didn't want like ambient car driving noises

Austin: (overlapping) right, same

Janine: don’t podcast while driving that's worse

Art: oh no i was in the car for most of the time we've been talking i've only been in this parking lot for about ten minutes?

Keith: no audio quality change!

Dre: so you got out of a car mid conversation??

Art: yeah and crossed the street i got let off on the other side

Dre: (overlapping) i never woulda known, you’re a professional

Austin (overlapping): that’s wild 

Ali: you crossed the street?!

Austin: yeah this is, this is wild

Art: cos there's a really long drive though line here that actually goes out of the parking lot and around the corner so we couldn't pull into the parking lot to drop me off 

Keith: we should figure out what game we can play where we’re all on our phone walkin around doing the…

Austin: we, i have that game already oh my god

Ali: i have that game

Austin: one day we will play that game. We have to. We have to do that.

Jack: is that the game BLEEP 

Austin: shuuush

Keith: oh oh that one that one

Art: bleep that! Bleep that!

Austin: bleep that cos they'll arrest us if we do it in an announced format

Ali: yes yes x many yeah yeah yeah x many

Art: I have posted in dog pound what I think is the best…

Jack: art has posted a picture of what looks like a southern californian parking lot

Keith: big spoiler! This is a spoiler for palisade

???: no it isn't

Much laughter

Sylvi: shut the fuck up

Austin: people can’t see the photo Keith!

Sylvi: (overlapping) they will

Austin: There was a car with a gigantic spoiler on the back of it. like the thing that is to a car not the truth darth vader's relationship status with other characters in the movie star wars

Art: I think you protected that one. I think that one was uhhh

Austin: yeah yeah yeah well uh well listen i was on a podcast the other day and someone forgot that darth vader had kids! So!

Jack: wait really

Austin: yeah sometimes you do a podcast and you forget thing, you know

Jack: oh yeah, oh yeah

Dre: thats fair

Sylvi: all the time

Art: but its a very important part of that character

Austin: uh! While we’re still in this little intro section we did briefly mention the cover art and using arts photo as the cover art. We will not be using that as our cover art because we have new cover art by aurahack who is an incredible artist that I have been friends with for years and years like six seven years now? Like since my giant bomb days. This is the first time we have gotten a new artist for the cover we, Craig has been great but Craig has been very busy, i believe in animation these days

Jack: amazing

Austin: we knew years ago that we would be, that there would be a moment when we said bye to Craig and Craig moved on to go do other stuff. Didn't go to move on to do other stuff, Craig is not. Let's be clear Craig has always been having other jobs. Craig does not sit around waiting for us 

Keith: Craig was the resident friends at the table artist we kept him in a starbucks parking lot and he’s been there for eight years

Austin: and now we’ve traded him for art! Art lives in the parking lot now! So its all fine

Dre (overlapping): this housing market i tell you what

Art: i'm not even in the parking lot! I'm in the car again!

Ali: GASP

Jack: how does he do that

Keith: is it the car with the spoiler?

Art: no… hi Mable hi!

Janine: is Mable there? yay! Mable!

Austin: aw Mable’s here!

Keith: aw Mable

Austin: hello Mable

Art: Mable everyone says hi

Janine: she doesn't know what that means or who she [uninteligable]

Jack: she’ll never speak

Austin: hi Mable! Anyway!

Keith: aw she’ll never speak…

[frasermints]

hey that post is true for everyone , including u. u dont have to post this i just wanted to tell u. ur deserving of recovery and peace w ur body just as much as everyone else, no matter what ur mind says, and no matter what fatphobic doctors might say if thatts smth u deal with. ur body is strong and smart and it doesnt give u hunger cues without reason. ihope u can make peace w ur weight bc u rlly do deserve it

baby i'm not upset with you this has just been heavy on my mind lately

i do not dislike the size of my body and my doctors aren't fatphobic my misshapen heart will literally explode under the stress of anesthesia during my top surgery if i don't lose the agreed upon amount of mass before september (and even if i do it still could!). it genuinely just is not true for everyone that transitioning is a weight/size neutral activity, but thank you for saying kind things in my ask box.

we need to move past the flowery "weight is completely neutral" because it's just not true. my body mass has a direct tie to how likely i am to spontaneously die - fat AND muscle. i could be at 50% or 5% body fat, i could eat nothing but sweets or nothing but organic meats and produce but if i still weighed over 200 pounds i would still be at a significantly greater risk for aortic rupture during general anesthesia but also like. during normal life while lifting something greater than 50 pounds.

i love my body. in the past year this body has given me more than i could ever want. in the past 20+ years this body has survived more than anyone should ever ask. now all it's asking of me is a little bit of effort so we can step into the future working together, and so the DNR order sitting next to us on the bed doesn't have to get utilized.