#but. some of this stuff is essentials sooo if i go a bit over my budget itll be ok.. esp since my next check is gonna be dummy as hell

[nomaishuttle]

ive got a hyoooooge grocery order in my cart just waiting 4 my next check

[thesupernaturalhouse]

Sooo kinda been talking about this au but wanted to actually summarize what it was and stuff cause there is no context- jsut like, headcanons and stuff for the au- I am gonna write it, jsut gitta get started soooo for now I'm jsut gonna talk about it lol

Anyways, the Hazbins Fallen au is a fallen Emily au, but uh, jsut a bit different-

So essentially Emily is tired of being treated as a kid, tired of being called lucifers replacement and all that, she just git out if a fight with Sera and.....sees some angles leaving, que her confusion

Due tit hat confusion she follows after them through the portal before it closes, she.....was not prepared for the scene infront of her, luckily she landed in a low populated area but the mroe she walked the more screams could be heard

The sight....isn't very pretty, blood splattered and angles standing over demons dead bodies and her fight or flight kicks in and she jsut runs, she doesn't understand what's happening and surely Sera will right? She tries to find Adam, or Lute, because she's to panicked to make a proper portal and.....well, finds them in the akkyway with Vaggie, que her running around the corner and nearly throwing up because how could they do that, why woukd they jsut rip off someone's wings liek that?

She doesn't realize when the senseless slaughter ends and the angles leave. She does end up slowly going back to that ally because she wasn't going to jsut leave her and kinda just, meakly waves at chalrie and Vaggie liek 'heyyyy you uh....you good-'

Charlie goes home with two stray cats that day to put it simply-

So yeah Charlie woukd know their both angles, she doesn't care, their hers now. Emily does end up getting a disguise via putting her magic in this necklace to make one, as long as she wears it no one can tell she's an angle

She did want to go back up to heaven but....not anymore, especially not after spending some time with them- she's kinda scared of Sera now, scared she'll take her away from them

Yes this is charlie x vaggie x Emily btw- ypu can tell its my favorite ship lately huh?

I already kinda have their designs, not redrawn but liek, my version of their Canon designs (and I guess my og design if Ems disguise-) But I'm gonna draw them digitally first so I can add color then share 'em

[the-artist-grimm]

Sooo, I kinda binge read all of your CoTL au, and forgive me if I missed anything, but do your lamb and Narinder ever make-up and work things out? Or more specifically, does Lamb ever forgive Narinder?

They do make up eventually! They just gotta work out other issues first.

The first few months the Lamb basically ignores Narinder and leaves him in the care of an elderly follower who typically takes on ‘troubled’ newbies. Anthea’s tired, they’re confused, they’re grieving Aym and Baal since during their time as vessel they essentially became like a second parent to them, and they’re hurt because for the first time in their life Anthea wanted something. They wanted to tell Narinder their feelings, they wanted to maybe start some sort of life together, like the lamb had never considered having a future out of the guilt of being the survivor, so finally letting themselves indulge that selfish wish just for it to crumble? Did he think so little of them, that an out of context conversation was enough to push him away? Forget him not respecting their privacy deal by listening in-that stung the most. Anthea puts their grief in a box and throws themselves into cult-leader/new god stuff to try and not have time to dwell outside of nightly visits to the graveyard to cry over their family and the twins’ graves. 

Meanwhile Narinder immediately regrets everything after the two of them have a massive argument that first moment he appeared on the indoctrination stone-he realizes he jumped the gun, is now down two children and the person he’d fallen in love with now refuses to so much as look at him. Nona, the elderly deer woman he’d been placed into the care of alongside the Knucklebones Gang as Anthea's parental figures quickly figure out the whole situation is just miscommunication and are trying to get him to just tell the lamb plainly ‘You were doing the exact same thing my siblings did before they betrayed me, I'm sorry I was scared-’, but its kinda hard to do when the lamb just avoids him. Plus he’s thinking he’s earned what he’s got. 

Aym and Baal getting revived is what kickstarts them slowly talking again. When Anthea gets the necklaces from the seller the lamb has no clue how to use them, so they go to Narinder with basically ‘We’re both at fault for their deaths, you’re at the graves as much as me mourning, I’ll put aside everything just please HELP ME’. And he does. Perfectly. Its been 4 months and Anthea’s having a really hard time justifying their anger since he’s been behaving the whole time, and when it comes to the twins only speaks in regards to resurrecting them, works on things/loses sleep preparing the ritual when the lamb has cult things to do, and when an old failsafe left by Shamura activates during the ritual itself he runs to the lambs side to help keep them steady as they break through it. They’re still hurt, but they do realize that they’re being a bit of a jerk ignoring him like this.

The twins also don’t come back mentally ok. Their deaths/the resurrection leaves both with pretty bad PTSD and separation anxiety (they’re like 11-12 they’re too young for all of this), and especially at night the twins alternate between needing Anthea, Narinder, or both nearby to sleep since despite Narinder’s denial he’s their dad 100%, and the Lamb is basically the twins’ maternal parent. It was Anthea being so good with the kits that got them to become friends at first, and it's the kits that slowly help them to be that again. 

It still takes time for them both to be ready to sit down and just explain where their heads were at that day. As Anthea frees the bishops and gets their sides of the story they realize just how much their behavior mirrored the bishops’ prior to their betrayal of Narinder and how much of their behavior in a way mirrors Shamura themself, the ‘oldest sibling’ giving pieces away till nothing was left and they snapped (Anthea never reached that point, but Shamura did with jumping the gun on imprisoning Narinder. Lives of the many over the one with potential to be a risk), and Narinder needs to come to terms with how his imprisonment came to be/make amends with his siblings.

They DO make up after a little over a year, and after everything kinda falls back into place. Things are different sure, but they love each other too much to hold back anymore.

(Love how this AU has become half miscommunication since this pantheon has no clue how to talk to each other, and the other half is the Lamb accidentally adopts two kittens with Narinder before they suddenly have a weird gotta share the kids despite the divorce arc)

[useless-bulgariafacts]

hi do you know some cool bulgarian christmas/winter related music?

Hi! Sure, I don't know what'd count as "cool" in this case, but I can give an overview + some examples.

Bulgarian Christmas music essentially falls into three categories: traditional carols ("carol" here being a loose term) sung by groups of carollers who go from door to door; Orthodox chants performed in churches during liturgy; and Christmas songs written and composed in more recent times, these ones being often for children.

1. Carolling (коледуване) has a special place among Christmas traditions – it's not just a custom, but a ritual, one that used to serve as an initiation of teenaged boys into adulthood. A group of koledari (коледари) typically had a repertoire of 30-40 songs, which would be practiced in advance, because once they entered into someone's home they had to pick a song to sing for each member of the household, depending on their age, station, marital status etc., then at the end, the leader of the group would say a blessing. As a reward for all of this, they'd get колаци or кравайчета (little bread bun with a hole in the middle that can be stacked on the shepherds' crooks they carry), money, wine and possibly other gifts. Some examples of Christmas folk songs (коледарски песни):

– in this clip you can hear two songs, Малка мома двори мете (A Young Maiden Sweeps the Yard) and Замъчи се Божа майка (The Mother of God Is In Labour). According to Bulgarian folk beliefs, Mary's labour began on Ignazhden (the feast day of St. Ignatius) i.e. Dec 20th, so that's what this song is about.

– this is a fairly good compilation of songs that may be sung in a given household. In an authentic setting, the most common instrument used was a bagpipe. Inlcuded is the carollers' blessing as well (the spoken part)! You may notice the repetition of certain phrases (Стани нине, господине or Коладе, ладе), this is typical of Christmas songs and is part of what makes them ritual songs.

– in certain regions, the koledari also dance or sing/exclaim while they're outside. This dance and melody (specific to Yambol) are called buenek. Here's an audio recording, and also a really nice, albeit old, reenactment.

– Ой Коледо, мой Коледо is an original composition for a girls' choir, but following the lyrical patterns/rhyming schemes of traditional songs. In the late 19th/early 20th century it was very common for composers and writers to take inspiration from folklore.

2. I admit I'm not very well versed in the area of church music, but I did find some Рождественски песнопения, or the hymns sung during a Christmas liturgical service – examples of a Задостойник, Кондак (Kontakion) and Тропар (Troparion). These are actually the names of entire genres of hymns, which are not exclusive to Christmas, but as I understand it, the specific melodies and lyrics I have linked here are for the Nativity. There are also some recordings of entire liturgies, so you can hear how Orthodox choirs sound.

3. Modern Christmas music is kinda all over the place. It generally follows Western trends and tends more secular, festive, sometimes humorous, mentions Santa Claus, deer, bells, snowy landscapes and so forth. A lot, like I said, are children's songs we learn in kindergarten or otherwise around that age, like for example Над смълчаните полета, С червените ботушки, Шаро и първия сняг, etc. These all go in the same category as Bulgarian covers of Jingle Bells or Silent Night. Showing my age here, but I'm also still nostalgically fond of the subversive version of this, which we felt ohh sooo edgy for listening to as kids, lmao. Of course, there's less kiddie stuff too, see BTR's Коледа, or Stefan Valdobrev's Лепило за брада. Bit too sappy for my taste, personally.

I hope I've been comprehensive! I stuck to specifically Christmas music since it would be too long of an answer otherwise, but lmk if you're further interested in anything :)🎄

[godsofhumanity]

Could you write some new Hera/Zeus headcanons?

okie i think i've actually managed to think of some new stuff!! hope it's okay, and sorry for the wait!!!!!!

first, let me link my previous Hera x Zeus hc's: (one) (two)

now. i wrote previously about how Hera and Zeus started off; essentially, after accidentally killing Metis (the ONE other goddess besides Hera whom i hc to be Zeus' "true" love), Zeus finds it impossible to let go of the past and decides that he needs to isolate himself from everyone so that he never gets close enough to someone to hurt them like he did to Metis.

BUT, Hera actually encourages Zeus to let go of that mindset, forgive himself and move on because he's the King now and he needs to take responsibility.

in this list, i wanted to elaborate a bit more on that.

so, Rhea and Zeus are very very close. i think Rhea has the best relationship with Zeus because, y'know, he's the hero. he's the only one she actually managed to save. she feels sooo proud and indebted to him. and, even though she tries very very hard to make that same relationship with her other children, it's very difficult because the others in the Big Six are already "adults" when they're set free from Kronos.

even between Zeus and his siblings; everyone is very cordial and everyone loves Zeus and thinks he's cool, but there's a bit of a clique between Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Hades, and Poseidon-- they're the ones who were trapped in Kronos' stomach. they're the ones who understand that trauma. Zeus, sympathetic as he is, just doesn't get it. he can never get it because he's never experienced it.

so, when the news breaks out that Zeus has done a Kronos and killed Metis and his first child (unborn, but still),, that's really unnerving for them.

i think the rest of the siblings are like, "uhhh too soon!". it's scary. he's supposed to be their brother and the guy who's King, but then he goes and does That and everyone's a little bit.. scared.

Rhea, of course, recognises that there's a rift now between the siblings, and i think she does her absolute best to squash it.

Kronos becomes mad because he gives into his paranoia and pushes all his siblings away. Rhea wants to avoid that by encouraging her children to stick together.. to forgive Zeus for his mistake and not make him feel like an outcast.

but, as i said, Rhea and her other children don't have that strong of a bond. it's not truly unconditional. they won't do just anything and everything she says.

Hestia, i think, was not a "newborn" when Kronos swallowed her, she was a few months old and she has memories of Before, so even though she does love Zeus, i think she just didn't have the strength to approach him directly after Metis' death.

Demeter, Poseidon, Hades feel much the same way.

Hera is unwilling at first. but i think she sees Rhea's exasperation, and she knows that Zeus would've done anything for anyone of them if they had made the same mistake, so that's why she's the First one to go, "yeah okay. i'll talk to him".

i like the idea of Zeus sitting in a forest, sitting by a lake-- he used to practice sparring with Metis by the lake (lake = water = Oceanus = Metis' dad). so the lake is like,, Zeus' connection to Metis.

and. because he's a weather god, the skies are very grey and gloomy only in this one place that he's sitting. and it's bucketing rain. he's drenched, but he pays no notice. he's just miserable.

when Hera first approaches Zeus, i think Zeus tells her to go away, and she insists on staying, and he argues more, and then, in a fit of anger, he releases lightning and sets a tree on fire, and that freaks Hera out-- it freaks Zeus out too because he didn't mean to do it. he has no control over his powers. Zeus' anger is a recurring theme in many later hc's i have hee hee... see: Prometheus, Hephaestus

but, scared as she is, she doesn't leave him. she stays with him, and in typical Hera fashion, she scolds him for acting miserable all the time and never doing anything about his problems.

i hc that Hera is the one who tells him to get his off his mopey ass and start training harder to get a grip on his lightning and his strength so that he won't make the same mistakes again.

and she gets through to Zeus.

in the Iliad and in some other myths, Hera is shown to be proficient in fighting-- she beats Artemis at archery and is quite a force to be reckoned with even though she's not the "goddess of war". but Enyo and Ares, her children, are gods of war. i think they get that from her.

i hc that Hera is brilliant at using swords and bows and spears. it's so natural for her. but Zeus, even though he has so much physical strength, he's not that great at being focused and precise.

but, he trains with Hera and she teaches him to do better. and it works. with raw power, speed, precision-- he's unstoppable.

now, like i've said previously, in all these interactions, they're really just friends. but i think that's where all the romance starts. their bond is like gold being tempered in the fire. each of these non-romantic interactions strengthens the romantic relationship they eventually develop; it gives them a strong foundation to stand on, and i think that's why they last in spite of the obvious highs and lows of their relationship.

much later on in their relationship, when Hera becomes pregnant with their first child, Eileithyia, i think this is a very important milestone in Zeus' life. it's not his first kid, but it is his first kid with a goddess that he truly loves. not a goddess chosen because Fate said so or because he thought it would benefit the future generations of gods, or because it was just a "happy" mistake with some goddess in a tryst... this is his first child with a goddess he would move the world for. there is no ulterior motive here; Eileithyia is born from pure love. just like Athena was with Metis.

so, for Zeus to remain calm during Hera's whole pregnancy-- the pain of losing Metis still fresh, Kronos' curse still whispering cruelly in his ears from the shadows-- it is a huge step for Zeus to remain in control of his fears. he is there for Hera when their daughter is born, she's the apple of his eye and he won't lose her, he won't accidentally destroy her like he did to his other unborn child (of course, time will reveal that he did not, in fact, destroy his other child hee hee but that's for another story).

and, Zeus' strength in this matter 100% comes from Hera being his rock. she's the one who put in the time to train with him and help him get over his fears.

[bloo-the-dragon]

Fishy Fingers

A follow up fic for this wonderful oneshot written by @thedemonscrawler for my sams runaways au! You can also read it here on A03!

Word Count: 7,215

~~~

The sound of his internal alarm going off dragged Eclipse out of his weary rest. His systems booted up one by one, and Eclipse was met with the irritating flashing symbol on his HUD accompanied by the beep beep beep of the alarm, each one echoing into his mind like the wails of a tiny siren. With a small grumble he swiped a hand halfheartedly across his eyes as he dismissed the alarm, finally bringing him back to blissful silence aside from the soft breathing of Sol who lay still sound asleep beside him. Absentmindedly Eclipse noticed Lunar wasn't with them. Must be gaming on his laptop again he inwardly muses.

He continued to lay there for half a minute before remembering what the alarm was for and Eclipse stifled a groan. Right right right, the mers. It was time for their daily treatment. Being careful not to disturb the sleeping flower beside him Eclipse sat up, his metal joints creaking slightly. He made a mental note to grab some lubricant on his next shopping outing.

It had been a few days since they brought the tiny mers back to the motel. Eclipse had extended their stay there for another few days, just to allow the sirens a bit more time to heal before going on the move again. Thankfully the guy running the place didn't ask any questions. Then again, Eclipse did pay a little extra as they could afford to given the pay he'd managed to get from the other salvaged goods they'd swiped at the warehouse. Even so, once the time was up they had to move on. Eclipse felt they'd been here already too long, and the risk of being tracked down by the authorities once it's been noticed the warehouse has been raided was steadily rising.

But he knew they could not risk moving the mers too soon lest their health rapidly declined again. But if worst came to it, well- Eclipse had the motorbike filled and ready to go, and their essentials already packed in the case of an emergency gettaway.

Eclipse cast a glace toward Sol who was sound asleep still. He contemplated waking the flower, as Sol was usually the one who did the feeding and daily doctoring for the little mers. But he was clearly in need of rest and Eclipse didn't have the heart to wake him. Sol hadn't been sleeping well since they returned with the fae creatures, often staying up late just to keep an eye on them and make sure they were fine. He needed this sleep.

Besides, Eclipse had helped out with it each time already so the animatronic decided he would handle it himself this time. And so, he swung his legs around and stood from the bed, making sure to carefully pull the cover up and over Sol before heading out the room.

As Eclipse had earlier suspected, Lunar was sitting on top of the table hunched over with the laptop in front of him. The smaller animatronic looked up as Eclipse entered the room, shutting the bedroom door behind him.

"Morning stinky!" Lunar chirped.

Eclipse snorted as he passed by and into the kitchen area. "You're up early."

Lunar quirked a brow at him. "Dude it's like. 1pm."

Eclipse hummed as he opened the fridge to pull out a pack of salmon. "It's early for you."

"Yah i guess." Lunar leaned back to stretch, imitating a yawn before hunching back over again into a position that would be very unhealthy if he were human. "Need this vid done before my next stream. Got a schedule to keep to y'know?"

Eclipse huffed a soft snort, shutting the fridge before scanning the counter. So that's what he was doing. "Uh huh."

Lunar glanced his way with a small tilt of his head as he observed his twin wandering about the kitchen. "Sooo what ya doin'?"

"Getting the med stuff for the mers. They need their daily treatment and Sol is currently asleep." Eclipse replied as he rummaged through one of the drawers. Where had he put the damn- Ah there it was.

"Riiight right" Lunar waved his hand, turning his interest back to the laptop as Eclipse walked past with the bag of medication in one hand, and a sealed pack of salmon slices in the other. "Well you have fun with that. Don't let bitey get you!"

Eclipse rolled his eyes as he headed into the bathroom. As he flicked on the light, Eclipse spotted a flash of orange dart away from the waters surface in the bathtub. So they were awake then. Or at least one of them was.

Shutting the door behind him, Eclipse called out in a softer tone as to not spook the tiny mers. "Clip? Sun? You two awake?"

He spots Clip as the mer peeks at the animatronic from inside the bucket. The little orange mer glares and Eclipse sees a flash of needle sharp teeth as Clip hisses at him, followed by a tiny middle finger.

Rude.

With a sigh, Eclipse kneeled down beside the tub. Placing the bag of medicine to the side, he unsheathes a claw and slices open the pack of salmon pulling a piece out and tearing it up into smaller chunks that are more manageable for the little sirens.

As Eclipse reaches to grab the small tub of antibiotic powder, he catches movement in the bucket from the corner of his eye. Being careful not to look at them directly, he can just about see a pair of frilled heads poking into view. Ah, they must have seen the fish. Or smelled it.

Keeping the fish chunks in hand, Eclipse dusts them with the antibiotic powder with the other. The build up of powder on his hands twinges at his code, as he's all too aware of it building up and gunking up his finger joints. But he'd thrown out the styrofoam lid he'd used the first time, and he hadn't though to grab another substitute. But so long as he washed his hands after it should be fine. Plus the mers had grown used to Sol feeding them by hand already, so hopefully they'd be fine with Eclipse doing so this time. 

Once the fish are covered enough, Eclipse turns around fully and the mers who had been slowly moving more out of the shadow of the bucket suddenly dart back quickly out of view again. Of course.

Eclipse held his hand out and rested it just above the waters surface with the dusted fish in the middle, locking his finger joints as to not spook them with any accidental twitching. "Here. I got some food for you both."

There is small movement in the bucket and Eclipse spots two pairs of eyes staring at him warily. The cream and yellow coloured one Sun, cheeps in a questioning tone and Eclipse sighs through his vents as he realises why they are so hesitant. 

"Sol is asleep, so i'm managing the food and treatment for now. I'm not gonna separate you if that's what you're worried about" Eclipse tilted his hand slightly to bring the food more into view, and the sirens gaze instantly locked onto it. "Come on. Come get it while it's fresh."

Despite the promise of food, the mers were still hesitant to come out. This doesn't surprise Eclipse, as even with Sol they were still very shy. He waits patiently and watches the two turn and cheep and click at each other for a few seconds, before looking back at him warily. After another few seconds, the two slowly swim out hand in hand. 

Eclipse remains perfectly still as they approach, though Clip breaks off and hangs back as Sun continues to swim closer. This is the usual routine, as Clip has yet to build up enough trust to venture anywhere near the food and will only eat what Sun brings him. However Clip keeps his eyes fixed on Eclipse, ready to lunge if the animatronic does anything that the tiny mer deems to be threatening.

Sun after a moments hesitation lifts himself up onto Eclipse's hand, glancing up at him briefly before scanning the food before him. He picks up a piece and nibbles at it, eyes widening at the new taste and he gobbles the rest eagerly before grabbing another and darting back into the water to bring to Clip.

Eclipse notes the two seem to have gained more energy, which is a good sign. The food and medicine is clearly working as intended. He continues to hold the food until all of it is gone. As he moves his hand, he accidently spooks Sun a bit as he hadn't realised the little mer was reaching up to sniff around for more and he darts back quickly. It's only the brush of fins against his fingers that alerts Eclipse of it, otherwise Sun is already halfway across the bathtub.

He can't help a soft snort despite the twinge of guilt. "Sorry" he mumbles as he turns his hand over to show there is no food left before standing to his feet with a grunt to quickly wash his hands of the medicine powder and fishy crumbs. Now it's time for the second part of the treatment.

They are a lot more co-operative this time around. Both the tiny mers had quickly settled into the routine of feeding and then checkup, though they'll still fuss if they arn't kept together. Today however as Eclipse settles back down and lowers his hands for the mers to climb into, while Sun clambers on with only a little hesitance Clip seems to be more unwilling this time around. The tiny orange mer floats a little ways back, glaring at Eclipse and he hisses when the animatronic glances his way.

Eclipse raises an eyebrow. Without thinking he slowly curls a finger in Clip's direction. "Pspspsps"

That earns him another sharp hiss and Eclipse can't help the chuckle that escapes him. It's at that point Sun who had been swirled in the cup of his palm looks up in confusion at Eclipse and then over to where Clip is. He cheeps at his companion before slipping back into the water and swimming over to the other mer to drag him over to Eclipse's still waiting hands. Clip clicks and warbles in indignation, but Sun cheeps and chitters back and continues to drag him up and onto Eclipse's palm before flopping over him, looking quite proud of himself. Clip however continues to grumble beneath him.

Eclipse lets out an amused huff from his vents and very carefully lifts them from the water and onto his lap. His plan was to treat Sun first as he was the worst off when they first arrived. But Sun is insistant Clip goes first, grabbing at Eclipse's fingers when they come near and dragging them to Clip who growls and nips at them.

"Bossy little thing, arn't you" Eclipse huffs in mild amusement. Despite still being very skittish, Sun puts on his most stern expression and points at Clip with a firm cheep. He doesn't even allow Clip to get his argument in as when he tries to crawl away Sun grabs his tail and yanks him back. Honestly the entire thing was quite funny but Eclipse kept his chuckles to a bare minimum as to not spook Sun or make Clip more angry.

"Alright alright. Come on Clip, sooner it's done sooner you can go back to sulking in the bucket." 

Clip rolls his eyes but with another cheep from Sun who gives him a little mlem on his temple, he finally gives in and settles allowing Eclipse to check him over without further fuss. Sun hold his hands and he peeps what Eclipse can only assume are reassurances at the other. Upon inspection, the sore patch the tiny orange mer got from his mad scramble the first night they arrived was mostly healed now, and the other ones he had before were all but gone. Even so, Eclipse decides to play it safe and applies a thin layer of ointment over the scales.

"You're healing up well. One more treatment with the ointment and you should be all done with it."

Clip huffs, but the small perk of his head frills seems to indicate he is pleased with this outcome. No more manhandling twice a day. Sun appears to be quite happy too as he smiles and chirrups excitedly at Clip, and Eclipse even spots how his tiny thumbs rub the backs of Clip's hands.

They were pretty close huh, Eclipse muses. He briefly pondered the nature of their relationship but pushed that thought aside. Not his business. And he had to focus on treating Sun next, who he knew was still going to require a longer treatment. While he was breathing easier now and was looking to be more energetic, there were still signs of infection lingering, evident by the pinkish hue and slight swelling still around his eyes. At least he was healing though. 

The mers swapped places, with Sun now swirling comfortably in the middle of Eclipse's lap. But just before the animatronic could begin his treatment, Clip suddenly scrambled off of his leg and onto the floor with a soft plap.

"Hey hey, what are you doing-" Eclipse starts, but the tiny mer ignores him instead pouncing onto the pack of salmon that still sat next to the animatronic and began tearing at the plastic packaging to get to the fish within.

"Hey no, you've already had your food that's for later-" Eclipse reaches out to pull the packet away, but Clip hisses viciously and presses himself over it, flaring his fins in a threat display and swiping at Eclipse's fingers making him draw his hand back when he feels the tiny claws connect with his finger tip.

"Sheesh fine. Just don't eat too much of it or you'll make yourself sick." Eclipse receded, checking his fingertips and yep. Sure enough there was four tiny new scratch marks.

Clearly feeling triumphant, Clip gave him a smug look to which Eclipse snorted in bemusement. "Yeah yeah alright, but if you get tummy ache later don't blame me."

Clip let out a tiny huff followed by an equally small trill as he continued his assault on the plastic, finally breaking through and grabbing tiny chunks of fish in his little hands. Eclipse sighed and returned his attention to Sun who was still waiting patiently in his lap, looking quite nonplussed at his companions little venture, but otherwise he seemed mostly unbothered, which came as a bit of a surprise to the animatronic.

It occured to Eclipse that the little orange mer had willingly left Sun by himself who in turn appeared relatively relaxed. This surprised Eclipse, given how inseparable the two had been but at least Sun was behaving. And he figured it would probably be easier to treat him without Clip nipping at his fingers anyway, so all in all this was working out quite well in his favour. 

As Eclipse began his inspection, the first thing he noticed was that one of Sun's sore spots where the scales had been flaking before was looking a little rough again. He frowned and looked closer. The rawness looked fresh and recent, and he briefly wondered if maybe the mer was having a negative reaction to the ointment. He brushed a finger ever so lightly around the area and Sun tensed before very suddenly whipping around to madly lick at the area where Eclipse's finger had just been near the sore spot.

So that's what it was.

"No don't- don't lick there you'll make it worse" Eclipse said gently as he could. This seemed to snap Sun out of his preening craze and he jerked his head back, head frills flattening back with his expression a mix of sheepish and scared.

"No you're alright you're not in trouble." Eclipse reassured, gently running a thumb on the back of Sun's frilled head which seemed to help him relax a bit, allowing Eclipse to continue his inspection. He very carefully turned the tiny mer over to see the other spots and as he suspected, those were all red and sore too. Had he been overpreening this entire time?

This wasn't good. If Sun kept doing this then the treatments simply would not work. And Eclipse wasn't sure if applying it to nearly open wounds would be a good idea, or at least not without cleaning them first. Given he didn't have any antiseptic wipes on hand plus the bathtub not being available either, Eclipse realised the sink would probably be the best place to wash the little mer. And he'd have to empty out the bathtub and refill it with fresh water afterwards too, just to be safe.

He sighs, bringing Sun's attention back to him. "Alright. I'm going to have to give you a bath to clean those spots before i apply the treatment, alright? You've rubbed them pretty raw and we can't risk them becoming infected. And... i know it might be difficult but do try to not lick at them again for the time being or they won't heal."

Sun looks away, tucking his arms against himself within the coil of his tail but he gives a tiny timid nod in return. Eclipse feels a twinge of guilt in his chest but he had to be honest about it. He looked over to Clip who was still distracted with savaging the pack of salmon. Sensing he was being watched, the tiny mer glanced over at Eclipse before narrowing his eyes at him and taking a vicious bite out of the salmon chunk he was holding.

Noted.

Eclipse looked away, ignoring the satisfied trill from the little orange menace followed by more scuffling noises on the plastic. Well, as long as Clip remained distracted with the salmon, Eclipse figured he should be able to give Sun the bath he needs. But he'll try to keep it quick though, last thing he wanted was for either of them to start panicking from being separated too long.

"Alright. Let's get you cleaned up."

And with that, Eclipse made his first big mistake since the mers arrival.

In hindsight, telling a tiny skittish siren he was about to be quite suddenly scooped up and lifted what would be very high in the air for him might have been a good idea. But being distracted and wanting to get Sun cleaned up before Clip realised Sun was no longer within reaching distance, it had slipped Eclipse's mind.

And so, as he rose to his feet with the tiny yellow mer in hand, Sun began to frantically panic, wriggling and squirming to be freed. Eclipse jolted as he felt the mer wriggle suddenly in his grip and he automatically brought up his other hand to enclose the mer in, which only made Sun panic even more.

"Hey hey hey stop wriggling, calm down it's ok i'm not going to hurt you just- AH!"

Eclipse is cut off when teeth or claws catch onto one of his finger joints sending shooting pain up his arm, and causing his hand to jerkily open up. Very suddenly the mer that was once within his grasp was now freed and to Eclipse's horror, Sun swiftly slipped out from between his fingers.

What happened next was like in slow motion. Eclipse tried to catch the falling siren, but he just barely missed him and Sun continued to plummet towards the floor. However instead of hitting the tiles or the mats, there was a soft plop as the yellow mer fell straight into the toilet, just as time seemed to right itself once again.

"Shit shit fucking shit-" Eclipse swore heavily and without thinking he immedietely shoved his hand into the thankfully clean loo water, grabbed the poor mer and briskly yanked him out of it.

For a solid ten seconds, Eclipse just stood there bewildered and processing, his fans running on high with a dripping wet mer in his hand who appeared just as shocked as he was. The silence was soon broken however as the little yellow mer began wailing, snapping Eclipse out of his stupor.

Everything happened at once. Eclipse cursed under his breath and swiftly brought Sun over to the sink, turning on the faucet and carefully holding him under the water to rinse him off, rubbing his thumbs gently over the mers body. At the same time, Clip who had watched the entire thing go down began angrily chittering and screeching at him from the floor, and Eclipse distantly hears the sound of tiny patta pattas across the tiles before he feels little claws scratching and scrambling at his ankle.

But he ignores Clip for the sake of focusing on Sun who warbles miserably as he gently rubs some soap across his tiny body.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry I'm so sorry-"

He's so focused on gently but frantically cleaning the tiny cream and yellow coloured mer, that Eclipse barely registers the sound of the door opening and Lunar poking his head in. 

"Dude you're being so loud what are you- WHOA what happened?!"

Lunar pushed the door the rest of the way open, quickly taking in everything before him. Eclipse barely spared him a glance, but Lunar could see the distraught look in his eyes and his gaze flicked between him and the wailing yellow mer cupped in his siblings hands.

"What did you do?"

"I dropped him!"

"You DROPPED him?!"

"I didn't mean to!" Eclipse's voice raised in pitch from the combined stress and annoyance at his own self. He felt Sun flinch in his hands, further increasing the ever growing guilt and he muttered a quick spew of soft apologies in between his words. "He was struggling and he slipped out of my hand and into the damn toilet-"

He's cut off as Clip manages to dig a claw into the ankle joint, snagging a wire causing Eclipse to flinch. "Fuck ow- Can you please get the other one he's clawing at my leg!"

Lunar didn't seem to be paying attention as he blinked, shook his head and waved his hands before splaying them out in a dramatic fashion as he replied incredulously, "Wait wait wait... you dropped him in the what?!"

Eclipse growled, "Not the time Lunar!" He hissed as Clip snags another wire, causing him to almost drop Sun again. "Fucks sake- would you please grab him already?!"

This time Lunar finally seemed to notice Clip on the floor tearing at his siblings ankle with teeth and claws, apparently undecided if he wanted to maul the animatronic or clamber up his leg. It would probably be a good idea to grab him before he managed to achieve the latter, Lunar realised. "Ah- yeah yeah yeah sure uh... lemme grab a towel I ain't touchin' that thing with my bare hands"

Side stepping around his twin, Lunar swiftly snatched a towel from beside the bathtub and held it open it in his hands like a net. Acting fast before Clip could catch on, the blue animatronic dropped the towel over the little mer and quickly scooped him up, holding all four corners of the towel in his hand to keep Clip contained.

"Gotcha'!"

However Lunar's declare of victory was quickly drowned out as Clip screeched and while it was muffled by the towel it was still enough to make everyone in the room flinch harshly. It didn't help when Sun cheeped loudly back, causing Clip to thrash even more violently than he already was within the towel. Tiny claws could be seen poking through the material as he tore and thrashed in his attempts to escape, and Lunar struggled to keep him contained.

"Sheesh, you really pissed him off huh!"

A keen of irritation emanates from Eclipse's voicebox, his processor beginning to feel far too overwhelmed with everything that's happened and currently happening. "It was an accident!"

"Yeah tell that to this little shit-"

"What's going on?"

It's almost comedic, the way everyone pauses to turn and look at Sol who stands in the doorway, looking like he had just woken up. Aside from the sounds of Clip's muffled hissing and tiny claws shredding the inside of the towel, everyone had fallen silent and Sol's petals flattened back, his tail tucking between his legs at the sudden attention. After a bit of nervous stuttering, the flower swallows and speaks.

"Sorry, y-you were making a lot of noise s-so i-" He starts, but the moment Sol's brown eyes fall upon the still softly wailing yellow mer in Eclipses hand his petals flare in alarm. "What happened?"

Before Eclipse can even speak, Lunar points dramatically at his twin, keeping the towel containing the other angry mer grasped firmly in his other hand. "He dropped him in the shitter!"

Eclipse snapped his head around. "Lunar!"

"What?! You did!"

"It was an accident ok?" Eclipse snapped back, causing both Sun and Sol to flinch. Even the towel in Lunar's hand went still for a moment. Realising this, Eclipse took a moment to release air from his shuddering vents, before he repeated in a quieter tone "It was an accident. I was.. Treating Sun and i noticed his sore spots were looking red and inflamed again, so i decided to give him a bath in the sink. He struggled when i stood up and then i... lost my grip. He fell.."

Eclipse trailed off, unable to continue as the guilt was beginning to be too much to bear. Combined with the red flashing lights on his HUD, the soreness in his ankle joint where Clip has scratched him up and the swiftly growing headache, he just couldn't bring himself to continue. He needed a moment.

He hadn't realised how silent the bathroom and when he did Eclipse simulated a cough and looked over in Sol's direction. "Sol could you help me with Sun, please? I don't think he wants to be anywhere near me right now."

Sol gives him a sympathetic look but he nods, stepping forward so he's next to Eclipse who very carefully passes Sun over to him. The little mer doesn't even struggle this time, allowing himself to be handed over to familiar scarred green hands that gently pet his little head frills, accompanied by soft chirrups from the flower. However Sun is clearly growing tired of being touched and handled, as he quickly pushes the fingers away and curls up into a ball in Sol's hand with a soft whine. 

Meanwhile Eclipse brushes past Lunar without another word and steps outside the bathroom, pulling the door part way but not completely shutting it. Sol almost moves to follow, but Lunar places a hand out.

"Give him a minute" he says, voice a little more quiet than usual. "I'll go check on him in a bit. You wanna plug up the sink for me? I think bitey's had enough of towel time."

Lunar jostled the towel slightly for emphasis, and a vicious hiss followed with more sounds of fabric being shredded. This appeared to alarm Sol by the way his petals flared again. 

"He might hurt his claws if they get stuck on the fabric" he explained at Lunar's confused look, and the blue animatronic's expression swiftly changed to shock and then nervousness.

"Ah.."

Sol quickly plugged in the sink, and they waited for a moment for it to fill up before turning off the tap. Sol gently placed Sun in first, and the little mer uncoiled long enough to dart into the water before turning into a ball again at the bottom of the sink.

Lunar then stepped over, and turned over the towel plopping Clip unceromoniously into the sink. The orange mer thrashed in the water a bit as he regained his bearings, before letting out a vicious hiss in Lunar's direction. It's cut off when Clip hears Suns sad warble, snapping his head around and in an instant he is by his companions side, holding his face in his tiny webbed hands as frantically cheeps and clicks in their language.

While the mers are distracted, Sol leans over to quickly assess any damage Clip may have done to himself while in the towel. There's no sign of blood and all the claws seem to be intact but that's as much as Sol is able to garner before Clip notices him and immedietely covers Sun with his body, fins flaring in a threat display as he hisses.

"Sorry sorry, i just wanted to make sure you were ok" Sol leaned back while raising his hands. Clip gave him a sour look but he stopped hissing at least, his fins relaxing just a smidge but still remaining flared in the 'no touching' position. Sol turned to Lunar, allowing Clip and Sun a moment to calm down.

"So... Is Eclipse...?"

Lunar sighed, dragging a hand down his face while waving the other. "I'll go talk to him. You stay here and make sure those two stay put. We'll be back in a jiffy."

Sol nodded, glancing back toward the mers. He brought up his hands and wrung them a bit before turning back to Lunar who was pulling the door open.

"Lunar?"

"Huh? Yeah?"

"I.. I'm not upset. At him. Eclipse.. I know he didn't mean it. He.. he looked very sad..." Sol trailed off, tucking his hands against his chest.

Lunar's expression softened. "Eh don't worry about it. You can tell him yourself after we got this sorted, yeah? Be back in a minute."

And with that Lunar slipped out of the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, looking up at the ceiling while releasing a long stream of air through his vents.

Man what a shit show that was.

But it wasn't over yet, and as much as Lunar would love to just grab the laptop and hide away under the covers of their room he did have to check on Eclipse. It wasn't hard to spot him, in fact he was in the same room just a short distance away sat on the worn sofa and facing away from him.

Lunar pushed himself off the door and padded over to his twin. He leaned forward from behind the sofa to regard Eclipse who's expression was currently unreadable. However, the way his rays were tucked in halfway easily gave away how he was truly feeling. Which was, not great!

"Heeey bro. You alright?"

Eclipse didn't immedietely reply. After a few seconds his shoulders slumped and he buried his face in his hands with a shaky sigh.

"Yeahh i expected that" Lunar sighed as he flopped over the back of the sofa, regarding his twin. He reached out and rubbed his back gently. "Hey don't feel too bad. It was just an accident, yeah? And hey no damage done! At least uh, not physically!"

"They are never going to forgive me."

Lunar blinked, pausing his hand motion as he tilted his head. "What, who? Sol or the fish? Because i know for a fact Sol wasn't mad in the first place and the mers... well bitey might not i'll be honest, but Sun... well... He might! One way to find out right?"

Eclipse released a small sharp vent of air followed by a small sound of static from his voicebox, and Lunar couldn't tell if it was a laugh or a sob. He sent a ping of comfort and warmth through their shared connection as Eclipse started talking again.

"I dropped him Lunar. I fucking dropped him. I could have killed him!"

"But ya didn't! And yeah ok the toilet was definitely not the uhh.. best landing place but it was better than the floor!" Lunar shifted and front flipped himself over the back of the sofa so he was sat next to his twin. "Look. I kinda left Sol in there all by himself and, well i'm sure he could use the extra help. I'm no good with managing those things, that's yours and Sol's deal right? And i'm sure the fish have had enough time to calm down now so you can apologise to them and explain you didn't mean it!"

Eclipse snorted. "That is. Very overly optimistic Lunar." A sigh as he brought his hands down to rest on his knees. "Easier said than done though." He continued softly.

"Well you always told me it's best to nip the bad things in the bud" Lunar chirped, leaning up against his twin and poking his cheek. "So here's me telling you now, to go nip this one! Just like bitey! But maybe not literally, because that would be a bad idea and i don't even know if we can do that anyway-"

Eclipse rolled his eyes and pressed his hand against Lunar's face with a half amused huff. "Alright alright i get it, cease your rambling."

Lunar giggled and playfully pushed away Eclipse's hand before hopping off the sofa. "Alright stinky, let's go see how they're doing!"

Eclipse appeared to still be hesitant, so Lunar held out a hand for him, with a rare soft smile. "Hey. It'll fine, kay'?"

Eclipse huffed. "Since when were you the comforting type, anyway?"

"Since right now actually!" Lunar grinned, and did the grabby hand motion with his fingers. "So you coming or what?"

The black and orange animatronic sighed, but he finally relented. "Sure." he mumbled before accepting Lunar's hand, allowing his twin to pull him up to his feet. But before he could let go, Lunar pulled him in for a surprise hug.

"Love ya' Clipsy'" Lunar said quietly, his voice muffled by Eclipses hoodie.

It took him a second to process but Eclipse released a shaky vent, wrapping his arms around Lunar and hugging him back. "Love you too Lune. And.. thankyou."

"Anytime!"

They stayed like that for a few more seconds, before parting and heading back together into the bathroom where Sol was still waiting for them. The flower had cleaned up a bit in their absense, the shredded packet of salmon placed next to the sink alongside the medicines and the surprisingly still intact towel back onto it's holder. As they entered, Sol was just finishing re-filling the bathtub and placing the bucket back inside. He turned around and his petals fluttered a little when he saw Eclipse was with Lunar.

"Are you ok?" Sol asked softly.

Warmth spread in Eclipse's chest though it was edged with the guilt still lingering strongly within. He sighed and nodded. "I'm alright Sol. Sorry for making you worry." He quickly changed the subject before anything more could be said about him, turning his attention to the sink. "How are they?"

Sol grunted a little as he pushed himself onto his feet and stepped over to the sink. Lunar meanwhile set down the toilet lid and sat on it with his legs crossed. He gave Eclipse a supportive smile and reached out to give his hand a gentle squeeze, which the dark coloured animatronic returned in kind.

"They've calmed down. I offered them some of the salmon, and they did accept it. Not at first but... Clip called out and did the.. grabby hand thing. He gave it to Sun though. He didn't want any for himself."

That didn't surprise Eclipse. Sun was always the one to ensure Clip was well fed when he lacked the confidence to engage with any of them, so of course it would make sense Clip would return the favour. They really were quite close.

Eclipse looked in the sink and sure enough, the two little mers were coiled around each other, with Clip preening Sun's head frills and chittering at him softly. Upon noticing Eclipse however, his fins flare up in the threat display and he hisses. Sun looks up and upon seeing Eclipse too, his head frills flatten back and he buries his face in Clips' chest.

Another sharp pang of guilt shoots through Eclipse. He's not surprised by their reaction toward him however. Afterall, what if it had been him in their position? If he had to see something like that happen to Lunar or even Sol he'd be beyond mad and very protective as well.

"I'm sorry" he blurted out without thinking, but the damn was now opened and he couldn't stop the words as they flowed from his voicebox. "I didn't mean to drop you, it was an accident and it's entirely my fault. I should have told you i was going to be standing up so you could have been prepared. You didn't do anything wrong Sun. You're not in trouble and i'm not mad at you, or Clip for that matter. You both have every right to be angry at me, and i don't expect you to forgive me either but i'm... i'm so sorry."

His grip tightens on the edge of the sink and Eclipse has to take a moment to relax his hands as the joints begin to creak. Sol gives him a soft chirrup and gently bonks his head against his shoulder. Eclipse gives him a small soft smile, before returning his attention back to the little mers both of whom were now staring up at him, though Sun still remained mostly hidden within the arms of Clip. A single eye was peeking out but it was fixed on Eclipse.

After a few seconds, Sun shifts and removes himself out of his companions hold. Clip chitters at him in concern, but Sun replies in soft cheeps and clicks, holding Clip's' hands in his own as he does so, before turning to look back up at Eclipse. While there was still fear evident in his eyes and overall body language, Sun appeared to take in a tiny 'breath' and very slowly swam up to the waters edge where one of Eclipse's hands was resting.

Eclipse hadn't even realised he had placed one of his hands so close to the sinks edge, and he almost pulled his hand back out of panic. But he forced himself to remain completely still as Sun hovered just centimetres away from his index finger. The little mer reached out and withdrew his hand several times before finally reaching it out and just above the waters surface to very shakily pat the tip of Eclipse's finger before immedietely darting back and burying himself under Clip, who looked just as confused as Eclipse felt.

The dark coloured animatronic blinked. "Uhh.."

"I think" Sol spoke up softly, clearly sensing Eclipse's confusion, "that, that is his way of accepting your apology" he tilted his head and gave a small questioning chirrup in the mers direction and after a few seconds, Sun gave a cheep back. Sol's petals flickered, and he gave Eclipse a small smile.

"He said it was! Or, i think he did-"

"See? I told ya' it'd be fine!" Lunar piped up, poking Eclipse on the shoulder. Eclipse huffed a half snort, and brushed Lunar off. "I doubt everything is just fine like that but." He looked to Clip and Sun, the latter of whom was still watching him. "Thankyou. I'll do my best to make up for it, i promise."

Sun didn't make any noise but he gave a tiny flicker of his head frills before returning to curling up in the arms of Clip, who gave Eclipse a very unimpressed glare, and flared his fins in his direction.

Yeah Eclipse expected that. He turned to Sol, "I think you'll have to be the one who finishes the treatment. I doubt Clip will let me anywhere near Sun or himself ever again."

Clip confirmed this with a sharp cheep followed by a tiny hiss. Sol smiled sympatheticaly, and he gave Eclipse a gentle pat on the arm. "They'll come around again i'm sure. It'll just take time."

Eclipse opened his mouth to reply but was interruppted by Lunar yawning loudly and dramatically. "Yeah don't worry about it Clipsy'! Being a single dad of three, shit's gonna happen so what can you do, y'know?"

Sol tilted his head in confusion and Eclipse deadpanned at his twin. "Don't you have a video to finish Lunar?"

"Oh yeah!" Lunar perked up and hopped off the toilet seat. "You have fun with bitey and lil' yellow Sol, my work here is done!"

"Oh, ok. Thankyou for your help Lunar" Sol replied.

Lunar grinned and finger gunned before slipping out of the bathroom. Sol turned to Eclipse. "What did he mean by 'dad of three?'-"

"Anyways, i'll leave you to it Sol. I need to buy some things from the shop so i'll go make a list for that" Eclipse replied quickly, and gave Sol a quick head ruffle. "I can add an extra pack of shrimp for you if you want?"

Sol perked up his petals flickering, and Eclipse's rays mirrored the action on impulse. "If it's not too much trouble, then yes please!"

"No trouble, never any trouble" Eclipse smiled softly, before heading out the bathroom himself, leaving Sol to sort the mers. He finds Lunar perched on the table again, with the laptop sitting almost precariously on his legs as they dangle over the edge. He glances up and grins at Eclipse as he closes the door behind him.

"You know" Lunar drawled out. "It was kind of funny, the fact you dropped him in the toilet of all things. Kind of like that part in finding nemo!"

Eclipse glared at him. "That's not funny Lunar."

"Aww c'mooon it was a little bit, you gotta admit that!" 

"Nope."

"Not even a teeny bit?"

"No."

"Not the tiniest tiniest widdle bit?"

"Lunar i will confiscate your laptop if you keep going."

Lunar gasped in alarm. "NO!" He squeaked and quickly scuttled off like a little goblin with his laptop clutched tightly in his arms, disappearing into the shared room and slamming the door.

Eclipse felt a small bubble of amusement and he allowed himself a small chuckle at his twin's antics. Leave it to Lunar to still be able to get a laugh out of him. But the amusement was only brief, and the guilt began to resurface once again. Eclipse sighed as he rested his hands on the counter.

He really fucked up today.

The one chance he had to gain the mers trust around him without Sol being present and he messed it up. And while Sun did accept or at the very least acknowledge his apology, it wasn't a confirmed forgiveness. But Eclipse didn't expect it from him anyway. Not that it made it hurt any less.

He leaned back. Well. There was no use moping. He promised to do better and make up for it so, that's what he was going to do.

Grabbing an old receipt and a pen, Eclipse quickly scribbled on the back of the paper, a note at the top 'find bath toys' and circles it as a means to mark it as priority. It's the least he can do, but finding some waterproof toys for them to play with and provide some enrichment is a small start.

After that, Eclipse goes around the kitchen and the rest of their belongings to take stock of what they are in most immediate need of, including food for the mers and Sol, and a couple things for himself and Lunar which is mainly just extra robot wiring and a couple cans of lubricant. He still felt a slight twinge in his ankle and Eclipse would have to check on that soon, hence the importance of adding wiring to the list. But he should be fine to make the small walk there and back again.

Once he's finished, Eclipse goes to grab his jacket and the bag containing the wallet when Sol quietly exits the bathroom. He sees Eclipse and pads shyly over to him.

"How are they?" Eclipse asks, upon noticing Sol approach him.

"They're ok. Sun's rough patches are looking a bit raw again. I-i don't know if that was from before or.. after the i-incident-" Sol wrung his hands together.

"It was from before" Eclipse sighed. "He's been over-preening himself. I asked him to try and not do that before the whole... yeah. Hopefully he'll still take that to heart."

Sol nodded, and watched as Eclipse slipped into his jacket. "Can i.. come with you?"

"Huh? To the store you mean?"

A nod.

"Oh. Yeah sure, i don't see why not. It's pretty cold out though but you can borrow Lunar's jacket if you want. He won't mind."

Sol nodded again, but he didn't immedietely go to grab the jacket. Instead, he stepped forward and tentatively wrapped his arms around Eclipse in a hug. Eclipse blinked but he caught on quick, and he sighed as he wrapped his own around Sol, gently rubbing the back of his head. "I know. I know. I'm alright. Thankyou."

Sol let out a half hum half chirrup, holding onto Eclipse a little tighter. Eclipse leaned over and pressed the bottom of his faceplate against Sol's forehead in a small kiss before patting his back. "Alright, c'mon. Let's get out before the shops close."

The flower pulled back without another word and quickly grabbed Lunar's jacket, pulling it on. He pulled up the hood he always wore with his poncho to cover his petals while Eclipse opened the front door and stepped back to let Sol leave first. The flower shyly hopped outside, and Eclipse allowed himself a moment to smile as Sol turned up to look at the sky eagerly his tail swishing side to side displaying his excitement. Just before stepping out himself, Eclipse turned to shout into the house in Lunar's direction.

"We're heading to the shops Lune! Will be back soon!"

He recieved a single ping across their shared connection, along with a gif of nemo being flushed down the toilet from the movie. Eclipse rolled his eyes in exasperation, and shut the door behind him.

As he caught up with Sol, he made a mental note to set Lunar's twitch icon into an image of a little blue rat at some point.

[becauseplot]

Still feel is one of my fav fics ever and it made me so happy to see more stuff from this AU! Your post-osnf headcannons are sooo good!! Actually im a big fan of your ordem headcannons in general tbh

If you dont mind sharing more on it...Can you maybe tell us a bit more about your ideas for the effects the symbol left on Thiago? Like, is he still connected to it or to Santo Berço somehow?? I find this consequences stuff really interesting and id be cool to hear more about it

Aw thanks!! I'm glad someone's getting some enjoyment out of my rambles <33

I can go a bit deeper, of course! Warning for the fact that this does get pretty sad and heavy, sorry :(

So Santo Berço really is gone. Equipe E destroyed it. The effects that Thiago is now dealing with are essentially mental scarring: a mix of normal human PTSD with a paranormal "flare" to it. The Symbol has seared itself not just onto his back but onto his mind as well. His dreams of the Symbol are due to trauma and the fact that, just as he suspects, he was never meant to escape it. It is stuck with him now. Anything touched by Death cannot go back to the way it was before, after all.

I kind of like to think about his mental state in terms of Ordem's "sanity" system as well. He recovers plenty of "sanity" while in injury recovery, since he's given time to rest, away from stressors. Eventually, he starts to do work for the Order again, but he quickly learns that he can't handle stressful, paranormal events like he could before (systems-wise, he has a permanent de-buff/disadvantage in the sanity checks) and missions---even the short one he starts out with---just put too much strain on his body. So, he winds up becoming part of the Order's cover-up team, helping fudge official reports and write up those "logical explanations" that Veríssimo sometimes references.

It's a role that's...much easier on him, after everything he went through. He does notice a pattern between his stress and the frequency of the Symbol dreams, so it's much better this way. He will, on rare occasions, help his friends out in the field with intel gathering (perhaps encountering a Horror on the way, which is never fun), and with he gets to serve as a sounding board for Liz's investigations, both her personal ones and the ones she does with the Order.

There are...other effects of the symbol. That he doesn't like to talk about. He's taken a sickly comfort in swirling designs, ever since he woke up in that hospital; back when he dealt with the nightmares on his own, before Liz and the others knew about them, he used to go to bed with reminders to himself ("Your name is Thiago Fritz, you live in São Paulo with Liz, she's in the bedroom upstairs...") written on his arm surrounded by swirls in the hopes they might calm him down enough to think and read it. He ponders his father's pocket watch more than he should, taking solace in the even, steady tick of time moving at the right pace as much as he does watching the second hand go around and around. He finds himself tracing circle after circle after circle with his finger when he's lost in thought or anxious about something...

He finds himself taking comfort in it. The Symbol. The thought makes him feel ill.

Over the months between osnf and opd, his mind slowly starts to deteriorate. Anything touched by Death cannot go back to the way it was before, after all. The frequency of the dreams has always been correlated with his stress and thus fluctuates, but on average they start to get more frequent, and the more intense ones happen more often, and it slowly gets worse, and worse, and worse until---

---he "zones out" one day, thinking of the Symbol. Thirty seconds, nothing much, it must just be on his mind. Then, he starts to fully disconnect from his surroundings, in his own head, pondering the Symbol for a minute or two. The white void starts to creep into his vision sometimes, reality losing meaning and definition, for several minutes at a time. Minutes turn to an hour, two hours, more, if no one is around to pull him out of it.

Thiago, as much as he hates to admit it to himself, is very, very tired. His mind and body are worn out, abused, overused. The thought that he's been living on borrowed time ever since Santo Berço comes more often than he'd like. At the worst of times, he feels like he's orbiting and closing in on some final, finite point. But he'll never tell his friends this because he knows it'll scare them because fuck, it scares him too. (Though, the times where it doesn't scare him are...even worse.)

[raileurta]

Miguel was reading over a report from a Spiderman variant when the doors to his room opened. Unsurprisingly Miles Morales walked through holding one of the empanadas from the cafeteria. He and Miles have steadily been creating a positive relationship ever since the train incident, it has been slow, hard work. Miguel can't say that it hasn't had good results. He dare say that they may even have a filiation type relationship. Miles quickly swung up to his platform and began chatting about nonsensical things. Miguel said a quick hi to the young spiderling and then went back to his reports. Eating the empanada miguel thinks to himself that he probably appreciates Miles' company.

Miguel casts a quick glance at the little spider, he takes in the way Miles is presenting himself. Something seemed off with Miles. His posture, his smile, the way he talked, it had an undertone of...... nervousness? Miguel didn't know how to broach the topic of Miles' behavior; feelings were far from his forte. After 10 minutes has passed Miles has yet to state what is on his mind. Logically Miguel should ask Miles what is going on but Peter always says to let people tell you when they want to tell you. Another 15 minutes pass of Miles talking but not telling Miguel anything. Every so often Miles looks like he wants to say something important but chickens out at the last second before telling him.

It is.... inconvenient for Miguel.

Miguel decides enough is enough and asks Miles "What is wrong Morales? You look like you need to tell me something."

Something flickers past Miles' face before he tries to school it in too a grin. (It's disgust his brain says)

"I don't know what you're talking about tío. I am a oh k."

Miguel notes to himself to sign up Miles for the Spider HC's lying classes, the boy is a terrible liar.

"Morales don't lie to me, I can practically smell the nervousness coming off of you."

Miles blinks at him, before his face falls down into that of a nervous grin.

"Eh haha, can't lie to you can I Miguel?"

"You're just an awful liar Morales."

"Hurtful bro."

The room descends to silence. Miguel looks at Miles expecting an answer out of him. He just jubs the back of his head before saying

"peterkindaaccidentlytoldmeyouresortofasociopst-"

Miguel placed a soft but firm hand on Miles' shoulder;

"Miles, aranitá breathe. Now calmly and slowly tell me what you said."

Miles gives him a look before taking a few breaths of air and trying to speak again.

"I- um Peter told me that you can't really feel stuff well. Before you get (mad?) (irritated?) at him he didn't mean to spill your secret. We were at my house hanging and I was talking about how you are a bit of an asshole, which is rude now I know what I know but Peter made an off-handed comment about that he can't get rid of it. I didn't get what he meant so I asked him about it. He said because of your disorder and stuff. I told him 'what disorder?' Peter then started freaking out because he thought you told me about it. Once he calmed down he simply just told me that 'Boss can't feel emotions that much because of a disorder he has. Ask Miguel about it while I go cry.' Now here we are"

Miles did some finger guns at him looking like he wanted to throw up. Miguel had listened intensely throughout Miles' story and Miguel can easily say he understands why Peter thought that; he was still angry at him but he understood his logic. Miguel has essentially acting like Miles' second dad and Peter most likely thought that Miguel explained it.

"I will deal with Peter later but since you are here Morales I assume you've got questions for me?"

"Yeah if you don't really mind?"

"I do not mind Morales, that's why we're talking anyways right?." Miguel raised a single eyebrow at Miles.

"Oh yeah good point hahaha."

"Sooo how emotionless are we talking? Are you a sociopath? What emotions do you feel the strongest? Can you tell what someone is feeling?"

Despite Miles' earlier hesitation he seemed to be much more upbeat now. There's a child like curiosity written all over his face.

"Based on me and Lyla's estimate around 70-85%. I'm not. That is a very outdated term. Anger, and sexual desire. Most of the time yes. I have memorized the facial expressions for each major emotions. I just can't tell with more nucained and mixed expressions."

"Huh."

Miles began pounding what else to ask when he began to think back. Until he thought of it, a question that he has been thinking on and off for awhile now. Taking a breath Miles steeled himself for the answer and with some fear trickling in he asked:

"Miguel, do you..... hate me? I mean like do you resent me for taking the place of my original spider and the collider stuff?"

Miles faced his head down and rubbed at his arm anxiously. Miguel could feel what little of heart he had shatter at what Miles said.

"Awh no my sunflower I don't hate you."

Miguel kneeled down to Miles' height and put his hands on the kid's shoulder. God this kid was so small compared to him. Everyone was especially children but he felt so small under his hands in this moment. Like Miles was trying to appear smaller to hide himself from an oncoming threat.

"Miles I have never hated you. Even when I first met you I didn't hate you. I was... just so angry; angry at you, angry at the anomalies, but I was mostly just angry at myself. I hated that I let another Peter die under my watch, hated that I was forcing a kid to let his father die, and I hated that I couldn't stop someone from making the same mistakes I made.

I...... hated that I didn't feel guilty about it. What kinda monster doesn't feel bad about forcing a kid to kill his dad?!"

Miguel's hands began trembling.

"I hated myself so much, I still do but it doesn't excuse me projecting my problems onto a kid. God Miles you're only 15 you've already had such a rough life and I just messed it up a thousand times more. You didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't your fault your Peter died, that the spider bit you, and it still wasn't your fault when the collider went off. You did the best you could in the situation you were in."

"I was wrong about everything Miles."

"For shock sake I haven't even apologized to you for the train incident. I want to be a better person, I want to be better for you Miles. No mental illness or disorder can excuse what I did to you. I'm so sorry. For every time I have wronged you, in any way possible. I'm not saying this so you can forgive me in fact you should hate me. I don't deserve to be forgiven for what I did. You're a good person Miles unlike me, a very good person. I can't wait to see what person you grow into. I am so proud of you."

Miles by this point was crying a little. A few tears were slipping down his face with each one being brushed away by Miguel.

He didn't know what to say. Miguel laid out his whole heart to him. Miles was completely speechless. He did the only thing he could think of, he hugged Miguel. His mamá always did say that actions speak louder than words. Miguel was momentarily shocked at his actions before quickly returning the hug. Miles felt so warm and safe in Miguel's arm. He was tucked into the taller man's neck with his large arms swallowing him up. It was as if Miguel was trying to shield him from the world. Miles snuggles deeper into his cocoon of flesh and muscle. Miguel's arm tightens slightly around him in an almost protective manner. Miles sighs contently, who knew Miguel would have been such an amazing hugger?

Miles doesn't forgive him, not yet anyways but somewhere in the future he thinks he can. But for now he enjoys Miguel's comforting embrace.

-The end

[bobbydeerfields]

So, Kelsey.

I’ve been trying to keep up with tumblr a bit more lately, but I’m still pretty sporadic with it. So correct me if I’m wrong, but am I to understand you’re rewriting the Love Letters books from scratch? And if so, I cannot contain my excitement. Details, please. 😆👏🏼

🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Tell me, please. Am I going to have to redownload Wattpad lol? 😂

I have missed Val and Jill TERRIBLY.

so, shells.

i totally understand. i think i ghosted tumblr, like 7 months of out of 12 of them last year. i'm really only back on it with regularity for the past week or two now that i've kinda gotten my spark back. i hope to see you here more often!

but i can also super easily clear up your question here and say yes! i really don't know why i'm doing this, considering i have another book to be working on and big plans for school, but here we are. 2025 is my year of writing for fun again after my very bad 2024. and, in this case, my writing for fun means melodramatic rpf that i take too close to heart. my other book is so heavy and close to my actual life anyway, so i'm letting that one cook in my head as i finish up some law school admissions stuff.

sooo details. essentially, yes, i'm starting from the beginning. while people will have read a version of this story already, i figured some people who weren't here in the beginning last time might have fun experiencing it from the top with me. also, like, i need time to catch up and write the other stuff. i'm working in advance as always and have 31.5/40 chapters of rocket queen re-written, so that should keep people entertained a while. i've said this a few other places, but the story is pretty identical to the original in most regards, except there's some pretty substantial growth given to characters/storylines, i've added a few scenes, taken away a few scenes (aka useless ones that got folded into others), and overall just approached it with the brain of a 22-year-old that's been through it instead of an 18-year-old who hasn't. i feel like the drama is even more heightened this time for some reason, except it's not exactly catty? and more just like cognizant of the fact that this book is just fucked up situation after fucked up situation. i'll probably jump off a bridge if people start taking sides or pull that #team[insert name] here again, but that's a bridge to cross when i get there. i've tried to put up some form of guardrails against petty inbox wars, etc, bc i do not want to put up with that! again.

later books, i should also say, will have a few more substantial differences, one comes to mind that i will not be saying, but in general, same schtick. valerie and axl in their own world, jill and izzy on and off every ten days, izzy and axl exerting psychological warfare on each other for hundreds of thousands of words, and general mischief, debauchery, and other behaviors likely listed in the dsm-5.

more details. i plan to start posting on the 22nd of january. it'll be once a week, every wednesday, as per usual. chapters may be a bit shorter than people remember, but i can assure you it is to the benefit of literally everybody. it means you're not reading the same point reiterated 10x. everything is cleaner, tighter, and better. i will happily be here every week to answer any questions, comments, or concerns (excited about this), and i'll be posting on both wattpad and ao3, so if you don't want to go through the hassle of redownloading wattpad (so real), you're more than welcome to read on ao3! i've found it's just a matter of reader preference. i've always been an ao3 girl, but wattpad is certainly a bit more interactive for people who like to comment, etc. also you get the fun perk of seeing the book cover.

but, anyway, yes, join me over here again!! i'm dragging everybody who will come with me down into this pit because that's apparently what we were all lacking from life: gnr fanfic 😌

[smashy-headcanons]

So I watched the Super Mario Movie finally

(Actually I watched it on and off with some friends but wanted to wait until I saw the full thing until I said anything. Also at the time of posting it's actually been like a month and a half oops.)

This does mean that I'll be allowing posts about it (I will make sure to tag spoilers tho).

Many excitements, many concerns, all questions finally answered (for now). Of course, I have many thoughts. Sooo, dump time!

I consider the movieverse to be an AU rather than directly tying to the game universe. Yoshi's Island supports the idea of Mario and Luigi being born in the Mushroom Kingdom (or that universe, anyways) while the movie has them living in a more realistic setting.

As we expected, Jack Black as Bowser? 👌

I originally thought that there would be multiple power stars instead of just the one, and that Bowser would be going kingdom to kingdom to collect them. I feel like it wasn’t given as much importance as it probably should have gotten.

SMB Super Show theme makes a return! They’re really pulling stuff from everywhere.

Just so I don’t sound like a broken record I’ll only say it once. The role for Mario should’ve gone to Charles Martinet. Pratt wasn’t grating but it really did just sound like Just Some Guy the whole time. I get Mario is our isekai protagonist but come on.

Following up on that thought: Good fucking lord the “do you think the accents were a bit much” line pissed me off SO much. Poking fun at your franchise is one thing, but announcing the first movie for the franchise in 30 years, giving the titular character’s voice cast to a guy who sounds nothing like him for the sake of Big Name Actor instead of to his original voice actor, telling people upset at the choice to essentially shut the fuck up, and THEN proceeding to joke about the— Jesus Christ I can’t type this anymore. On to the rest of the review.

Ohhh my god the Bros.' relationship is SO good in this movie. Luigi's adoration of his bro, Mario's adoration but also embarrassment at Luigi bringing up their mom, Mario IMMEDIATELY getting ready to throw hands for Luigi's honor, their MUTUAL protectiveness towards each other, it's all just *chef's kiss*.

When they announced Spike as a character I didn't think it was going to be Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew (good reference tho) I thought Spike was going to be this thing

As unexpected as it came to me, I actually really liked them making Mario the underdog of the family. It adds motive to Mario's eagerness to be Helpful and gives him a good reason to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom at the end. I can also see this attitude shifting to Luigi in the sequel.

Pauline cameo hell yeah.

I actually like Toad in this movie--both his voice AND his role.

I love that they made the Dry Bones so... eerie. I would've liked to see some sentience from them (at least in a later scene), but I can understand that doing so would likely take away from the eeriness.

If you wanna see Mario being a pathetic wet paper towel then you will enjoy this movie.

I have... mixed feelings about this version of Peach. On one hand, I love that she's taking a more proactive role and that we get to see her as both a ruler and protector of the Toads. On the other hand, I'm. not particularly fond of how she treats Mario in the first half. Peach as a character has been defined by amicability and kindness towards both new and familiar people from the beginning, so her initial rudeness doesn't feel very "Peach", if that makes sense. It makes sense that she'd assume Mario to be an enemy, but after that point it stops feeling in-character.

The more serious tone they gave with Bowser was also something to wrap my brain around. Over the course of the games Bowser's been gradually "declawed" as a villain, so I love that they really put emphasis on his cruelty.

I'm surprised they actually touched on Peach's origins, if only briefly.

I love Donkey Kong's portrayal in this movie. A lot of games don't give him much personality beyond "monkey lol" so I love that they took his other personality traits and expanded on those.

Cranky Kong running a kingdom wasn't the role I expected, but it is a fun take that I like.

Wrinkly Kong isn't dead lol

Diddy Kong having to be told to be quiet was a fun touch.

Funky Kong cameo improves my opinion on the movie. However he is hard to get a look at and doesn't have speaking lines, so that score must sadly be reduced a little.

One of the few allusions to Bowser and King Boo's alliance we get. King Boo didn't stick around to help during the fight, but he did make it to the wedding so that was cool.

RIP to King Bob-omb. Poor dude didn't deserve what happened to him 😔

Peaches (the song) was funny but not what it was hyped up to be.

Sequel with Yoshi hinted after the credits 👀

No Bowser Jr. or Koopalings despite everything. I'm wondering if they'll put him in the sequel.

Uhhhh I'm not sure what else I can remember, but this is long enough as it is. I had some nitpicks with it but I did like it despite my complaints.

[cant-get-no-worse]

helllooo

what are your thoughts on scaloni having doubts about his future in the national team ? what do you think is going on ?

love your takes they’re always so well put together

Hii Ro 🫶In the 7 hours it took me to answer, a plethora of information more or less clearing up what happened appeared on twitter sooo... but since I had 2 or 3 other asks about it I'll take the opportnity to round things up briefly for people unaware of the general situation! I'm in no way an expert btw, this is just what I understood/lived as an expat arg and got from my arg side of the family.

So as per Gastón & other news outlet, Scaloni (perhaps some other members of the technical staff of the Argentine NT as well) has had a problem with the AFA for some time now. If we had to resume state of affairs :

The AFA (Argentine Football Association) show

Governing institution of football in the country which would deserve a fourth star of its own for its spectacular dedication to worsen itself by the years. A true marvel of corruption and incompetence display. Its first chairman had presidency from 1979 to 2014, and after he died things went a bit avok (not to say he hadn't already himself some corrupt payments scandals to his name). But essentially, before there was one mogul-in-chief who ran things, whereas after people started to mess it up even more.

For a quick and famous example of how things were (are) run there, the 2015 presidency election opposing Luis Segura to Marcelo Tinelli saw them tie at 38 votes each. There were 75 voting members in the comity.

Anyways what does it matter eh, Segura (elected) lasted two years before he was forced out for "aggravated administrative fraud" (fancy terms they have).

Evidence of discontentment from the players can be found in press comments and some Messi's instagram posts circa 2016 where he highlighted AFA's "disastrous" way of running things. It was also made public by a security agent that they had to come to Messi amidst an internal dispute with AFA to ask him to do something about their 6-months due salaries — quite maddening if you think about it. Regular informations of coaches and staffs not being paid for the competition they'd worked in would come out.

Precedents beefs

Amidst all those organisational/financial/political corruption issues, it's no surprise then for there to be precedents of players, employees and coaching staff beefing with AFA. Tata Martino and his entire team resigned in July 2016 following disagreements.

Tapia

AFA current chairman Chiqui Tapia (in place since 2017) is quite a controversial figure, drawing wide support & affection one day and outrage the other. A few time ago he was praised for having relocated a U-I-Forgot world cup in Argentina, allowing our evicted team to come back to the competition (only to lose again lmfao). Recently tho, it was more outrage that prevaled for how AFA passed a regulation stipulating that the Argentine first championship wouldn't have a three-places relegation anymore. Many pointed it as the death of an otherwise already wobbly championship. He's also branded with various nicknames such as Chiqui Mafioso, pointing at his meddling with politicians (including former Economy Minister and 2023 presidential elections runner-up, Massa) and other shady stuff.

So what's up with Scaloni ?

So now here are a list of stuff people/journalists have come up with over the day regarding the potential reasons for Scaloni's declarations + some own thoughts :

6 days ago - still in the middle of Argentine's presidential elections - a journalist asked Scaloni in a press conference about the clubs' privatisation - a tumultuous topic that has been thrusted on the hands of politicians for more than a decade now. Some think the journalist was mended by Tapia or others to get Scaloni - coach of the National Selection, fresh out of a treble and thus getting lots of media attention and support from the people - to publically stand against the privatisation of the clubs and thus directly or indirectly to give support to presidential candidate Massa, supported by, as I was saying earlier, Chiqui Tapia.

Still on the political, journalists report that last week Massa asked, via Tapia, for a photo with the national team's players who refused : Tapia thus tried to pressure Scaloni in persuading them to do so.

General weariness of the way things are ran at AFA - who apparently have not taken their three peat as a hint to professionalize a bit and have still not paid the coaching staff or players for the WC win in Qatar. They also have been running up and about the globe to face really lower-ranked selections in order to bring cash in which not only tires everyone due to travel but is not to the taste of Scaloni as he'd want to keep playing against levelled opponents in the perspective of the 2024 Copa América and to find an actual usefulness to the games instead of pure exhibition for money.

So all of this = could be a way for Scaloni to publically put pressure on AFA during the break before the next international break in March, to see how they are going to react and let him time to decide if the issues have been fixed or not for him to continue as head coach.

It's worth noting apart from the political turmoil that Scaloni has also been head coach of a national team for about three years now, experimenting immense pressure which is of course at its culminating point now that they've won everything and are expected to continue to do so. A lack of motivation, a feeling of being overwhelmed by the pression can be factors for his statement. In this, I'm dabing a bit into personal experience as I'm recalled of Pep Guardiola's similar situation with FC Barcelona. Once you're on top of the world, with world-class/heavy names players filling the locker room, in a place that puts football above much things, you're bound to take a pause and look around to figure out what the sweet fuck you're going to do now. As they say it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey : the motivation can drag you for one, two, three years to every culminating point you see shining, but once you've conquered all those peaks, you can be left quite empty-handed and disoriented cause you have to find a new hunger to hit a new road again.

So here's a resume + my take of whatever's happening at the moment! I think that it could go either way, although I would be surprised to see him go before the Copa América. Whatever he does, honestly, and even though I'd be truly fucking sad and bitter to see him go, I wouldn't say a bad word about his decision, whatever it may be. How could we say anything about the guy who ended several decades long drought of trophies, put a team as close as a family together and led them to win us three trophies in the span of two years? I love him very much and whatever he does, I'll just be thankful. but yeah aimar do your job omg keep him until june for gods sake

[visionarystoryteller]

Love Meets War || 3

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.

X/OC - Emileeah Rogers - essentially you

Wardlow - Micheal Wardlow

Warnings:

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.

Emileeah stood in the far part of the tunnel to the stage, capturing pictures of Wardlow standing on stage basking in his win. Once she got a few good shots, she moved back into the guerilla looking at some of the pictures she had taken, before taking some more pictures of Orange Cassidy and the Bestfriends, getting ready to go out for a match. Once Micheals music ended, the bestfriends and OC moved to get in position and Emileeah moved to lean against the brick wall, looking at the shots she captured.

She hadn’t really been paying attention until Ares started to yip. She looked up at saw Micheal making his way straight towards her in his sweaty glory. Emileeah moved her camera in front of her face and snapped a picture of him. Micheal stayed unfazed but had one thing in mind. She let the camera hang from her neck as Micheal got closer. Once Micheal was close enough he put his hands on Emileeahs face and brought her to her tippy toes and smashed his lips onto hers. Emileeah moaned into the kiss and tried to pull him closer.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.

Emileeah was snapped out her daydream when Micheal looked at her up and down after calling her name. The kiss didn’t actually happen. None of it did. Emileeah blinked a few times and shook her head. Micheal tilted his head.

“You okay small stuff?” He asked her as he bent down and petted Ares.

“Yea yea, just was thinking about something for pictures, sorry” Emileeah replied sheepishly. God was she embarrassed.

“You sure your okay?”

“Yea” she smiles at him.

“Okay, I’m gonna take Ares off your hands and go get cleaned up. I’ll meet up with you when I’m done okay?” Micheal asks. Emileeah grabs a hold of her camera that was hanging around her neck and smiled up at Micheal.

“Sounds good” she says. He kisses her forehead and walks off with Ares. Once he was out of sight, Emileeah let out a long sigh. Britt who was across the hall, had seen her daze before Micheal had come back and made her way over to her. Britt leaned against the wall next to her.

“Sooo, what was that about?” Britt asks, bumping her shoulder slightly. Emileeah looked over at Britt and bit her lip.

“I totally just daydreamed Micheal kissing me. Like on the lips.” Emileeah says sheepishly. Britt looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Well well well” britt says with a smile. Emileeah waves her off.

“I…I don’t even know” she shakes her head.

“I say go for it” Britt shrugs. Emileeah looks at her a little shocked.

“Oh please Em. I see you two. He’s totally putting the moves on you, which I haven’t seen since me and his wrestling early days….although that girl was a bitch…not my point. He likes you. And don’t think I didn’t see how red you were the other day before me and Austin came and sat with y’all…what did he say to you?” Britt asks with a smug look. Emileeah giggles and waves her off.

“I am not telling you that” Emileeah laughs. Britt giggles.

“Ooooohhhhh okay okay, but I say go for it” Britt says.

“Maybe” Emileeah says.

“Cool, I gotta go find Austin, I’ll text you okay?” Britt asks. Emileeah nods. Britt pulls her into a hug and kisses her cheek.

“Love you girl” she says as she walks off. Emileeah laughs and smiles. Britt really was a great friend.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚. ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.

Emileeah had finished posting the pictures that she transferred from her camera, to the social media accounts when she heard Ares paws and nails on the concrete. She looked up and saw Micheal and Ares coming straight towards her.

“Hey small stuff” Micheal says leaning on her desk.

“Hey” she smiles up at him. Ares barks at her. Emileeah turns her attention to Ares and gives his head a kiss and pets him.

“Hi boy” she says.

“Oh so he gets a kiss. Damn Ares, stealing my small stuff” Micheal says. Emileeahs heart skips a beat as she hugs Ares around his neck.

“But look at how cute he is!” She says with a pout. Micheal bends down and looks Emileeah in her eyes. Emileeah tried not to look down at Micheals thighs, they were stretching the fabric so tight.

“He is cute, I’ll give him that, but not as cute as you and you know it” he says, as Ares backs up a little to look at his dad and Emileeah. Emileeah went silent, the tension between the two building more and more with every second. Micheal looks over her face, her cheeks had a red hue and her eyes where shy but he just couldn’t look away. Emileeah turns her head to look over at Ares. Micheals hand reaches out to her cheek and turns her face to him. Micheal take a chance and leans forward and pulls Emileeahs head in a little bit and places his lips on hers. Emileeah squeaked a little when she knew what was happening. Micheal was kissing her. She suddenly pulls away. Micheal furrows his eyebrows a little and looks at Emileeah.

“Okay daydream over now Em” she chided herself. She bunches the bridge of her nose and takes a deep breath. Micheal raises an eyebrow and smirks a little. She thought she was daydreaming. Emileeah opened her eyes and saw a smirking Wardlow.

“Not daydreaming small stuff” Micheal says. Emileeahs mouth drops open. She blinks a few times. Then she pinches her arm and realizes that just actually happened. A small squeak falls from her throat making Micheal let out a quiet growl. Emileeah covers her mouth with both hands. Micheal chuckles.

“I…oh….uh” Emileeah giggles embarrassed.

“Do you want me to do it again?” Micheal asks. Emileeah looks into Micheals eyes and nods just enough he sees and grabs her cheeks in both his hands and places his lips back on hers. Emileeahs hands grip into Micheals forearms as the kiss grows more intense and Micheals tongue pries Emileeahs mouth open, he inserts his, gently caressing his tongue with yours. All too soon, Micheal pulls away.

“Wanna go get some food and relax in my room?” Micheal asks. Emileeah smiles shyly nodding. Micheal stands up and grabs her hand and helps her up. Emileeah grabs her camera bag and purse and Micheal puts his bag on his shoulder and Ares leash, walking out of the building together.

[riddlerosehearts]

Ok, I need to know your fob album ranking and top 10 songs, GO!

oooh okay so i need to start by saying that i am heavily biased toward their older stuff because... i've listened to fall out boy since i was probably too young to listen to fall out boy AFGKJDF and their pre-hiatus albums essentially shaped my music taste and helped me get through a lot of difficult times in my life. so i'm really just generally more attached to them than the rest but i do like every single one of their albums at least a little because they all have songs i love. i also had to think about this a bit and am still not sure if it's a perfect ranking because i'm incredibly indecisive. but this is what i'm feeling right now! (also i apologize in advance for adding a bunch of commentary and rambling instead of just giving you the ranking LOL)

albums:

from under the cork tree - was the first FOB album i ever listened to so i'm biased but it's so fucking good. especially if you include the bonus tracks from it. there is not a single song on here that i don't love.

infinity on high - contains my favorite FOB song (okay maybe it's illogical that my #1 song is from my #2 album but listen... it's a very close #2), aesthetically has the coolest album cover, and it's just fantastic all around--again, especially if you include the bonus tracks.

take this to your grave - i feel like a lot of people hate TTTYG nowadays and i'll never understand why. it's a great album. it's classic pop punk and just pure fun.

folie a deux - literally never understood the hate this album got when it came out!! it's so good!! i remember listening to the whole thing the same day as it dropped and loving it and being so confused seeing how much people complained about it :(

so much (for) stardust - okay i actually love this album so much that #5 feels too low but if i switched it with folie then #5 would feel too low for folie so idk 😭😭 my favorite post-hiatus album BY FAR though. it's sooo good and it's also special to me because i literally never got to see fall out boy live until they toured for its release last year.

save rock and roll - has some misses for me, as do the albums i've ranked below it, but overall i like my favorite songs from SRAR more than i like my faves from the albums below, and it gets bonus points for how cool the youngblood chronicles is + the nostalgia i associate with FOB's return from their hiatus.

american beauty/american psycho - ABAP gets a lot of hate but i think it kind of rocks actually and putting it at #7 feels slightly wrong. it's really only this low because something has to be and because again, i like my favorite SRAR songs more than my favorite ABAP songs.

mania - i think a lot of people on here get mad if you put MANIA last so i'm sorry afksjgdsf. it honestly just has the lowest number of songs i really like and has several that i don't. though i will say that last of the real ones is a certified banger and i was so glad it had a permanent spot on the tourdust setlist.

songs:

hum hallelujah - my beloved 💙💙 when i saw FOB live they had a slot on the setlist where each night they'd either play bang the doldrums or hum hallelujah and i won't lie, i did feel disappointed for a second when doldrums started. i got over it because i love that song too but. hum hallelujah is one of my all time favorite songs.

i slept with someone in fall out boy and all i got was this stupid song written about me - my favorite song on FUTCT and another all time fave. i also think this is the funniest song title of all time btw.

XO

G.I.N.A.S.F.S. - so jealous of anyone who's gotten to see this played live as a magic 8-ball song :(

calm before the storm - this having a permanent spot on the tourdust setlist got me hyped like you wouldn't believe because they had last played it in 2007. underappreciated banger.

love from the other side - this was literally my top song of 2023 on my spotify wrapped. i made an angsty raeda gifset with lyrics from it not long after the single came out because it made me so insane.

sugar we're goin' down - might be a bit of a basic choice but it was the first FOB song i ever liked and it fucking slaps 💖 also when i saw them live i swear patrick changed the lyrics to "wishing to be the friction in his jeans" which is just. legendary and iconic of him.

disloyal order of water buffaloes

grand theft autumn/where is your boy - again, a basic choice, but sometimes things are popular for a reason!

the carpal tunnel of love

[shzmluvrs]

I had the request screenshotted, but I lost it in my gallery after deleting a bunch of stuff for storage space and can't find it, sooo... my fault, shawty😗.

~ Star✨️

Unexceptable

(but not for the reasons you think, don't trip)

Prompt: Study date turned movie night? I think, yes. Except, obviously, it's not a date. You guys have established that within yourselves multiple times over the period of being assigned this project. So then, why does it feel like a date? And why didn't you think about doing the unthinkable before you did it? Why would you- Oh, nevermind, he liked it.

Timeline: Post S!:FOTG

TW/Content:⚡️These bitches gay. Good for them. Good for them⚡️Cursing⚡️Mentions of struggle/confusion with identity and sexuality⚡️Mentions of death (in a jokey way, you'll see/be able to tell the context, don't worry)⚡️Billy being maybe slightly OOC?? But also maybe not

Reader: Male! He/Him/His Pronouns! LGBTQ+!

Requested By: @bansheecries

Back To Master List

Before the teacher could even call your name, your hand shot up into the air. She stared at you behind her glasses, unsure of whether or not she should bother before inevitably doing so.

"Yes, (Y/N)?"

"Can I work by myself?"

Normally, the sudden attention of all of your peers would make you want to gag and recluse. But, you were willing to ignore it this time, seeing as working with some random classmate you didn't even get to pick seemed a lot worse.

"Well, honey, it's a group project. You can't do all of that work on your own."

'Oh, yes, the hell I can...' Was your thought to her innocent attempt at persuasion. On top of the anxiety working with a stranger caused you, you also knew that if you were stuck off with the wrong people, you'd most likely end up doing all of the work anyway. And get a lower percentage of the credit.

Screw that.

"It's fine, I just really wanna work on my own." You attempted twice, and the teacher still wouldn't buy it as she offered up a compromise.

"How about you just work with a partner, instead? There isn't enough to make equal groups of four, anyway, so... uhh..." She scanned down her list of student's names, stopping when she was satisfied with her choice.

"Billy Batson. You two can work together!"

You couldn't and didn't even look in his direction, not wanting to see whatever reaction it was that he had to this bit of information. You also refused to look in order to hide your own response, absolutely sure your body would just rat you out with the glowing red of your cheeks or the nervous shake of your hands.

Although, you supposed that this was what you deserved for being picky in the first place. Now left with the unavoidable predicament of working with your year long hallway crush, you figured you might as well make the best of it. Besides, you didn't even know if he was...

If he was part of...

He didn't even give off that vibe if you were honest with yourself. And you couldn't draw on whether or not he'd, at the very least, even be an ally. What would crush you is if he wasn't. And what would kill you is if he was in the community and just not into you.

So your "best of it" was essentially just getting free, extra eye-candy, at the low, low price of doing some lame school project.

What could go wrong?

"Now, class, I want you all to really focus on working through this over your weekend! It's due Monday afternoon, and not a minute later, so I don't wanna hear any 'Oh, I didn't have the time...!' excuses!"

"Hey..."

You practically jumped out of your seat at the sudden greeting, not even processing that it was Billy's voice until you looked up to meet his emerald eyes.

God, had he always been that tall?

"Yeah, what's up?" Was your painfully played off "nonchalant" response, as if you weren't literally scrambling to gather your loose items together and hold eye contact at the same time.

"I know we could just do this online, or whatever, but I've never really been good at the whole research thing... so, d'you wanna just hang and do it at my place?"

You could only stare, like a deer caught in headlights at his invitation that had ceased any movements you were making to a full stop while the class continued to chatter in their boisterous cliques and groups.

"Huh...?"

"The project." Billy clarified, hoping he wasn't being too quiet for you to hear. He was aware of his tendency to pose as a little distant. Maybe even shy. But with you, he hoped to possibly strive for some sort of friendship outside of his siblings and goddesses (a.k.a. Anthea, unknowingly to the average citizen, of course). He was never around in a single place long enough to actually form a connection, and now that he had been, he figured being partnered up with one person rather than thrusted into a group seemed to be more his speed.

Plus, Billy was intrigued with you enough as it is, always catching your eyes staring into his before you'd quickly look away. Or whenever you'd pass him, there'd be a sudden tension he couldn't place that was gone just as fast it came. Weird, at first, which was what anyone would think. But later on, as spoken...

Intriguing.

"Oh, yeah. Sure, I can do that." You nodded, flushing away any previous anxieties while Billy's lips pulled into the tiniest of smiles.

"Cool. Just meet me outside when school let's out, we'll just walk."

And with that, he was heading back towards his desk, leaving you to anticipate the future events of this afternoon.

The bell rang. Last period...

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

It came and went, all thirty minutes of your eighth period class spent with your heart pounding outside against your ribcage and your palms sweating. You would've wiped the denim from your jeans away if it were possible, given how many times you'd run your hands against them. You couldn't even focus on the lesson, repeating in your head all of the things you could and should say and do.

Reminding yourself to act "normal" whatever that truly meant. It was times like these you struggled the most with being at peace with your identity. Technically, you were out. But it wasn't like everyone knew that, nor cared. And for those who did care, it was usually in a negative aspect that left you feeling isolated and abnormal.

But at the same time... you could be thinking about this all too deeply. It was just a harmless crush, and you knew nothing was likely to come of it. You relaxed yourself as you walked through the halls of Fawcett Central, knowing that whatever was meant to happen would. And that it wouldn't happen if you couldn't handle it.

Deep breaths. In, and out...

"Oh, so you're definitely (Y/N)...!"

You were taken aback by such a statement. Was it... obvious? Then again, who else would you be? But still-

"'Sup." You greeted with a head nod, the boy coated in blue returning it with an excited grin and a knowing point. You recognized him but couldn't place his name. A frequent target of the fraternal Breyer twins, the kid who was friends with superheroes, has a whole YouTube account dedicated to The Human Powerstorm...

"Y'know, Billy's been talking about you non-stop, and honeslty... I thought you'd be-"

"Shut up, Freddy..." Billy demanded though his teeth, sending his brother a nudge to the side.

Oh, there it is. That was his name.

. . .wait, what? Thought you'd be what...?!

"What, dude?! I was just gonna say I thought he'd be taller."

Oh, okay.

"We're the same height." Billy grumbled once more, rolling his eyes while you continued to stare. He stated a fact you didn't even realize, always having just assumed Billy was taller than you. But you supposed, now with the both of you standing, you were about the same height. Ideal for hugging.

You shook your head at the last thought, an intrusive one that made you grow hot at just the thought. Instead, you played it off as amusement, adding a shrug and a chuckle along with as you spoke up.

"It's fine, dude. It could be worse. We could be getting mistaken for sixth graders."

There was a pause in the air, the brothers staring until Freddy's smirk grew into a genuine (and... unique) laugh.

"I like this guy!" Was his announcement, throwing an arm around your shoulders. "I totally get why you two got paired up, now."

"Right..."

Billy seemed a little less than enthusiastic about the statement, but only because he'd wished Freddy would remove his arm from around you. He didn't know you like that, and he was already praying things wouldn't be awkward. Especially with his family.

Not that... Billy himself knew you that well, either. Regardless, he stared daggers and was only back to feeling content when Freddy finally dropped it and turned the conversation to the both of you rather than simply bombarding you with a million different questions.

Not that you minded, simply enjoying the walk to their house and seeing this as an opportunity to make new friends, get closer to more people. Certain people. Plus, Freddy's constant sly jokes eased your nerves, making it easy for you to use them as a launchpad in talking to Billy. He was happy to reciprocate whenever he could, but still remained somewhat reserved.

Neither you nor Freddy could truly place why, exactly. But it didn't last long as you approached their large home, yourself gazing up at it while the brothers entered ahead.

"Fair warning, my siblings are... I dunno, they're insane. So just, like... ignore them." Was Billy's slightly ominous warning, which left you to laugh in the slightest in understanding.

"Sure thing."

Your one instructed task to ignore his family was something you failed at almost instantly. How could you when one was cushions deep into the couch, yelling at his switch? Another hurriedly sweeping piles of confetti under a rug in hopes for her mess not to be seen. Two more arguing who gets to pick the next song while Freddy was quick to join the chaos, wandering in between them as if he were the true mediator of the bunch.

And then, the oldest two adults in the house, which you assumed had to be the parents, came into view in hopes to reorganize the child-ridden living room. The perfect chance for Billy to slip you by and upstairs to his room. No one noticing, no one stopping the two of you and causing a scene about the whole ordeal...

"C'mon, let's go." The brunette whispered, eagerly letting you walk ahead as if he were almost trying to push you up the steps.

"Oh, hey, kiddo! How was school?"

"Billy, who's your friend?"

Shit.

"Oh, he's-... We're just partners for a school thing, it's...not a big deal."

Rosa didn't believe that not one bit. Well, the school project made total sense, but the way she watched her son fidget around you nervously and refused to make eye contact, for fear of showing off the red glow of his cheeks, made it evident his feelings resided in hopes of being much more than "school partners".

Victor, on the other hand, thought nothing of it. Elated at the fact that such a partnership could breed new grounds for a potential friendship outside of someone already living in the house. He just needed to instill some much needed confidence and encouragement into his son, and all would be well.

"Ah! I remember those days...!" Victor sighed fondly. "You boys just let me know if you need any help. I happen to know my way around a marker and some glitter, courtesy of Darla."

"Dad, no, please..." Billy began, Darla peaking her head from around the corner of the den at the mention of her name.

"It's just research, we'll be fine."

"I actually... don't mind glitter..." You spoke up with a smile, already amused with the dynamics going on around you. But a quick glance in Billy's direction made you shrug, his joking glare meeting your (E/C) eyes, causing your opinion to change.

"But just research is fine, too."

"Of course." Victor nodded, turning and gesturing towards the boy in blue. He had regretfully gotten himself in the middle of Pedro and Mary's playlist argument, trying his very hardest to play "Keep Away" with the iPod held high above his head and waving it around wildly to avoid snatches and grabs. It was only when he heard his name that he paused, Mary taking the opportunity to yank the device away as he stared.

"Freddy is the one you go to for that. Or Mary, but I think she's busy."

"Well, good thing he has me." Billy retorted, a murmur that was laced with irritation and yet still caused the heat to rise to your cheeks. If you were already this flustered at simple and more than likely meaningless words and slight glances, you didn't have a clue as to how you were going to make it through the next couple of hours.

But, you weren't really left with much of an option, Rosa swift to intervene as she ushered you two away and up the stairs.

"Why don't you two just go on and get started. I'll just check on you later and bring snacks or something, okay? Okay, have fun!"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

Though Billy thought "fun" was near impossible given the circumstances, he wasn't shocked at the fact that your presence was making this all a little more bearable.

A lot more bearable, quickly discovering and admiring how efficient you were with your half of the project. Researching and rewording information seemed to be an ease for you, so much so that you were even able to multitask. Holding an entire conversation with Billy about something completely unrelated while leaving him to focus on the more visually appealing, creative bit of the presentation.

Of course, bliss would never last for as long as he'd hoped, Freddy consistently trying to barge in and join in on the bonding or offering uneeded advice. To both of you, on what should go where and what should be said about your school project. And to Billy, separately, his brother having already assumed the most intense of interests you could have in another person; a crush.

Or when Rosa would pop her head in, ever so curious as to what the two of you were up to, seeing if you were hungry and whatnot. As well as to shoot Billy knowing glances and encouraging thumbs up.

He would brush away the both of them, further amusing you and raising your hopes up in the matter that maybe Billy wasn't just eyecandy. That maybe you really did have a chance, if you played your cards just right. But, you also figured maybe right now wasn't the time. The circumstances incorrect.

'Just work on being his friend, first.' You thought. 'Don't blow it before you even have a chance.'

Even with such self-instruction, it was still hard. Hard to just want to be Billy's friend when everything that happened between the two of you insinuated more. At least, that's what you thought whenever your hands would lightly brush up against one another's. Sharing a pencil and notebook, or simply just because you were sat too close to one another.

Or when when one of you would enthusiastically keep the side conversation going, and then hurriedly look away to avoid such intense eye contact. Shy, the both of you, even though there was seemingly no reason to be. You even found it endearing when Billy would go through the trouble to kick Freddy and Rosa out of the room, away from the scene. Rejecting their offers of snacks or help, just for him to turn around and ask/say things like, "Are you hungry? I could get you something real quick." "Oh, don't worry, I can do that, you don't have to..." right afterwards.

"What, is that a band or something?" Was his next question. Although, this one wasn't as endearing and silly, or grounds for a new topic. No, this one... this one shocked you. Visibly.

"No, it's not a band!" You exclaimed through a chuckle of disbelief. "It's a movie! You've...never seen 'Stand By Me'?"

"No...?" He answered, more in tone of a question while your jaw dropped further to the ground, if possible.

"Never??"

"...Should I have?"

You disregarded it, the both of you now chuckling awkwardly seeing as he wouldn't be able to understand your reference anyway. And yet, you were curious to know what he had seen. Maybe you two would have a familiar favorite in common. Prerequisite for a friendship to thrive, of course. Totally not you just wanting to know everything about him.

"IT?"

"It, what?"

"No, the movie." You laughed. "IT."

Billy looked away, thinking for a moment and then answering the moment his green eyes shifted back to you.

"Didn't that just come out not that long ago?"

"What? Dude- No." You sighed. "First of all, it dropped in 2017, so no, it didn't just come out. And second, I'm talking about the original one. You know, Jonathan Brandis, all of them..."

"I don't... keep up... who?" Billy stammered, urging you to explain a little deeper.

"Seth Green... Tim Curry... these are well-known people, man."

Apparently not, silence clouding over the two of you as Billy shrugged lazily, smiling to himself, wishing he had a clue what you were talking about. Although he enjoyed hearing you ramble, he wished he could participate a little more. Harder than he thought, realizing he never spent much time on pop culture until, what...? Late fifteen?

He couldn't be blamed for that, could he? He was new to this. He only had three years of experience being an actual, semi-normsl teenager!

"Okay, fine, whatever." You huffed, mocking offense to his uncultured ways. "There's no way you haven't seen 'Breakfast Club', though."

"Uh, way." He sassed with another awkward chuckle, leaving your eyes to go wide in incredulity. "What is that? Do they have a club where they talk about breakfast? Like-"

"No, it's about-... Oh my god, bro, do you live under a rock?"

Sharing a loud laugh, both at his words and the ridiculousness of not having seen (in your opinion) such a masterpiece, you threw more to the table in rapid fire. Lightning round.

"Back To The Future."

"Nah."

"Gremlins."

"Mm-mm."

"Honey, I Shrunk The Kids."

"Sounds lame."

"Ignoring that. E.T."

"That's the one with the kids and the bikes, right? With that alien?"

"Yes!" You hissed in excitement. But seconds after, it struck you. You had to be sure...

"Wait, was it on Netflix?"

"Yeah."

You huffed. E.T. was not on Netflix.

"That's 'Stranger Things', Billy..."

"Nuh-uh." He shook his head. "Mary and Freddy are watching that together, and I refuse to give in to the hype. It wasn't a show, either. It was a movie."

"Earth to Echo..." You sighed, and he nodded quickly, giving an excited point and a smile in your direction.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Dude..." You trailed, pinching the bridge of your nose before throwing out one last suggestion. He had to have seen this one.

"Goonies."

"Okay, now you're just making stuff up." Billy smirked, turning his attention back to the laptop while noises you couldn't even name if you wanted to left your lips.

"...!! You're literally wearing a shirt for it! Like, deadass merch on your body, right now."

Billy looked down, tugging at his gray T-shirt and looking almost shocked to see the word 'Goonies' written in its iconic font.

"I... just liked the pattern, man. I didn't know it was a movie."

And when he looked back up to meet your narrowed eyes, filled with a sudden determination he could recognize from the many times Freddy or Darla possessed the exact same look... he knew he was in for it.

"Unexceptable."

The laptop was whisked away from his arms into yours, your fingers expertly moving at a fast pace to Google, typing in a website you used to pirate watch movies for free. He watched, intrigued when you typed in the name of the movie on his shirt and hit play.

"What about the project?"

"Trust me, your knowledge on some of the greatest teen films of all time is much more important than some random facts on ancient Greece."

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

You were right, Billy found, having thoroughly enjoyed 'Goonies'. As well as 'Karate Kid', 'Super 8', and right now, half of 'Weird Science'. He also noticed another fact, one of which he voiced to you under the light of the computer screen. The only light in the room, minus some coming from the hallway through the cracked door, seeing as the sun had gone down.

"You're really into the whole... eighties scene, huh?"

"Eighties, nineties, early two-thousands..." You trailed, your eyes glued to the screen as Billy's returned.

"I fuck with it." Billy nodded in approval.

"You'd better." You scoffed, playfully nudging him with your shoulder. "These are literal works of art, I don't know how you missed them."

"I wasn't alive when half- No, all of these came out, (N/N)."

You felt the heat rise from your chest to your cheeks at a sudden nickname he had given you. It was the one thing that had finally brought you out of your nostalgic trance, seeing how nighttime plagued the room and how close you two had remained for so much time. Reminiscing on moments that had happened mere hours ago during the other movies. Deep dive talks, laughter, even more light touches you fought yourself to ignore.

Even now, your leg pressed up against his. Should you move it? Had it always been there? Maybe you shouldn't move it if it's been there the whole time. It'd be sudden and weird. Or maybe your leg up against his was already weird, and he was just being polite about it, not saying anything.

Oh shit. You hadn't said anything, either.

"Yeah, well, neither was I, and I still found a way."

"That's 'cause you're weird."

Your head whipped towards him at such a nonchalant statement, and though your brain was screaming at you to play it off in some way...

...Ignore it, act like you didn't hear it, take it as a joke...

"In a good way." He added swiftly, meeting your eyes that were full of offense, but now softening into flatterment while all that left you was a small, "Oh." sound.

"I like being aro- Hanging out with you. You're-... It's cool. Like, I like you, y'know?"

Billy fixing his words to sound more... "acceptable" didn't at all change the meaning of them. Not when his tone was filled with complete adulation for you. When he could barely push it out in more than a whispered volume, and certainly not when his eyes were blown as they scanned each and every feature on your face. Not shamelessly, though. It was more of a subconscious act that he couldn't help, now that he was finally given the chance under less than preferred lighting.

You couldn't miss any such signals if you tried.

"I like you, too." You responded, your lips curving into a tiny smile with attempts to find the words that matched his own. To convey everything you wanted to tell him and more, because you knew "I like you" just isn't enough. It was too vague, too... simple. It could mean everything, but it could also mean nothing. And, natrually, you wanted it to mean something.

Something like...

. . .

Something like not regret, even though that's what you felt immediately after you had pushed your lips onto his. If anything, you hadn't thought you could scramble away from someone faster while seated in a chair (at least, not without falling on the floor) until you did it successfully, just now. Regret festered into shame in mere seconds, and word-vomit was coming up, and out of your throat before you could stop it.

"Fuck, dude. Shit, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I-... I mean, I do, but it wasn't- I should've...asked? I don't know, I just, I-..."

"No, no, no, it's fine, don't worry about it."

'Don't worry about it? Was that a gold thing or a bad thing? As in, just forget it ever happened? Impossible, nope. This whole thing is ruined forever, there is no "forget about it," that's. . . Or like, as in it was cool and he wanted it...? Or, at least, liked it, I don't know. Oh my god, I'm gonna kill my-'

Billy clearing his throat brought you out of your head, and back into the deafening silence that caved over the two of you. Torture, really, the only word you could find to describe the whole ordeal until you found yourself apologizing again.

"Billy, I'm sorry that I-... Y'know..."

"I told you, it's fine." He shrugged, having not even taken his eyes off of the screen. Not... the best sign, although it became clear he had more to say as he looked down into his lap.

"I've, um... never been kissed before. So I just..." He laughed. "Was I any good?"

"You... What?"

Well, now you were just hopelessly lost, aside from being a hopeless romantic. Billy could practically sense the cogs turning in your head, from one, "Did I just steal his first kiss?" cog, to the "Wait, he's gay, too?!" cog, to the-

"You knew??!" Billy laughed at your exclamation, watching as you covered your face and shook your head in full embarrassment. Your repetition of the words going muffled by your palms.

"Oh my fucking god, you knew..."

"If it makes you feel any better," Billy started, gently prying your hands away in order to see you. Or to show off those stupid adorable dimples he had whenever he smiled. Probably both. "Not right away."

"When'd you clock it?" You asked, curiosity getting the better of you as he moved himself so that he was back to being as close as possible to you.

"Right after 'Super 8'."

"Damn."

You thought you would've relaxed by now, free of the feelings, free of the closet, and the emotional turmoil that came with both. But with Billy's palm against the side of your face, bringing you in for more light pecks, you thought that maybe you'd slip into a heart attack or grow faint with how dizzy you were.

"OH MY GOD?!"

Scratch all that. It was now all back to panic and stress again as the two of you actually fell out of your seats this time trying to get away from each other, quickly looking towards the door to find Freddy's eyes near bulging out of his skull while Rosa struggled to keep her mouth covered with her hand. Hiding a wide grin.

"SORRY, sorry, our bad, we'll just-!" Victor stammered, throwing his hand up in an awkward wave, trying his best to shut the door with his wife and Freddy in the way.

"We just wanted to check in, carry on...!"

"We didn't see anything!" Rosa nearly squealed, having clearly seen everything as Pedro was quick and last to add, "You're gay, too?!"

The slam of the door triggered your burst into laughter, Billy struggling to pull himself together.

"Dude, you-..." Your gut laughs cut you off, practically gasping for air in between each giggle while he could only shake his head, glaring at the floor.

"I'm gonna kill my-"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

Idk bout y'all, but I love this fr. Like... I kinda sorta maybe based it off of a friend's experience (not to a T, I actually changed up a lot), but I still think that makes it all the more genuine.

Plus, a lot of the writing/thoughts are thoughts I've had my damnself dealing with my own sexuality and identity and whatnot (I'm Bisexual and Polyamorous), so it really just...

I'm proud. Of myself, of this imagine, of you all out there who are proud to be who you are, and I want you to know that you aren't alone. Because even if you only have one person on this planet who supports and loves you, just know that it's me (and Moon, ofc, so that's technically two).

DMs are always open, happy pride month, and I love you all so, so much🫶🏽💞.

~ Star✨️🏳️‍🌈

Back to Master List

[galindatopland]

HI me again i had a paper to write but i'm back actually talking about the lottie point i was originally going to write about before getting possessed by the urge to write mari nolastname analysis. but basically i was thinking about how passive lottie was throughout old wounds, something that has been talked about quite a bit already. i was sort of thinking about that in relation to what we see in lottie's flashback episode as well as what we see in the s2 premiere of like... lottie is always spoken for, she is silently resigned to other people telling her what these visions mean and whether they're good or bad, something to hide or something to listen to and indulge in. like the scene of lottie at the top of the stairs listening to her parents argue about what to do with her vs lottie watching silently as the group argues about her in the cabin vs lottie catatonic and letting her dad decide what to do with her post rescue like... not only is she never a voice in the conversation but these are also SUCH polarized messages she's getting like. there is something wrong with her she's sick but then she's a prophet and a god in those woods and then it's right back to there is something wrong with lottie we need to fix her. and then something about adult lottie and all her guilt about everything. "we are the ones making ourselves sick". lottie takes all of the accountability and yet has none of the agency. like she Does make decisions for sure, she's not a passive character, but she lets other people decide what position to put her in and then acts from there. and like... how confusing and awful are all of these strong, loudly voiced, opposed opinions (that are honestly both dehumanizing in a way) for someone who is already scared and uncertain of their own experiences and what they mean? i love lottie matthews she makes me sooo. yeah. -cannibal laura lee anon

okay so. seems like the right time to discuss something i don't think i've seen discussed because i think people aren't sure how to talk about it. which... honestly i'm not sure either. everyone can judge for themselves whether they think how the show deals with mental health related issues is good or bad, there's for sure stuff to criticize or at least be aware of. but that's not really what i want to talk about. i want to talk about lottie in-universe and what are my thoughts and interpretations of her character and what she's going through. so! with that out of the way

lottie starts the show as a character who - i assume based on context clues with her childhood flashback and the meds we see her take in the days following their plane crash - has been on what i assume are antipsychotics for years (haven't researched how were psychiatrists prescribing those to minors in the 90s in usa but the show has lottie go through shock therapy after plane crash which is just. pretty damn unrealistic for the 90s so i think we can safely assume those meds are meant to be antipsychotics). my personal take on her character is that what happens to her is a mix of actual mental illness and something paranormal and regardless of that she's forced to quit her meds cold turkey after a traumatic event. even if her body and her mind dealt with it relatively well that's just horribly stressful for a 17yo who's been told for most of her life to fear her mind essentially and that she NEEDS those pills. she's so clearly anxious and then i think she's going through those rapid mood changes and then she's DRUGGED without her knowledge. like quite frankly that sounds horrifying especially in the context of what she's been through? and you're right it's this character we sort of see "in power" a lot in some ways but she doesn't actually have that much agency over herself and her life and i think she's trying to reframe it and change it in her adulthood through what she's... created and i think it's.. fascinating how she's trying to BE what people need her to be and who they think she is? at least so far in season 2. like jokes aside the fact that she's using things she's definitely learned in therapy before plane crash hurts me a little because to me that means she did find those techniques helpful and so she's trying to grasp at what might help her and others out there

[grievedeeply]

Heyo! Ive been seeing alot of GOW request and I wanted one for Freyr? Like Freyr has a crush on a person Kratros sees as a daughter and how'd Kratos would react if he'd seen Freyr flirting with her or trying to swoon her? If possible? 🙂😊

freyr is such a sweetheart and i looove this idea sooo much so. if this does well then MAYBE... i'll write an actual oneshot for it!! we'll see :") let me know if you'd want that!

fem!reader, but no pronouns are used | no tws

tags: @graciegizmo3184 @anzanishira @chocokaylarobin @uncoveredsun @caelestis-lyrae @prio-motu @bluehorizon987 | join my taglist!

freyr having feelings for someone kratos sees as his child headcanons

freyr isn't really that intimidated by kratos at first. when you show up at his camp with him, he's completely prepared to fight him until freya shows up

after things calm down and his sister is freed from her binds, the two of you become close friends relatively quickly

he sees your talent with your weapon and your ability to think quickly, and he know he wants someone like you on his side for when ragnarök inevitably comes

he thinks you're attractive. he has since the moment he saw you, but he didn't form feelings for you until a bit later. he can't help it— not really. you were so kind to him. so open. it was more than he asked for from you, and he was grateful to have received it

kratos isn't stupid. he sees the way freyr looks at you. he'll have his elbow propped up on the table in front of him, his head rested on the palm of his hand as he looks at you. his eyes are filled with an adoration like no other

it almost reminds him of his own relationship with faye

he hates the thought of you being in a relationship, but you aren't a child. freyr isn't the worst choice for a boyfriend, so he can't be too upset about that for too long

when you reciprocate, he'll have to have a stern talking to with him. it's the stereotypical dad stuff— what would be considered empty threats from other people are completely serious with him

if he hurts you, he would end him. it's simple

he promises to him that he'll protect him, and kratos believes him. he warms up to him and knows that he isn't lying

he realizes that that he's a better option than.. essentially everyone else surrounding you, and he's a good person. his motives were pure, and his intentions were true. he could tell

freyr is a bit scared of him going into your relationship and you'll have to reassure him that he's just protective over you. he understands that, but he's still worried about getting hurt by him for some reason

it's not like he would harm you, not on purpose. he has nothing to feel anxious or scared about at all, and once he realizes that he becomes more talkative with kratos

it warms your heart to see your boyfriend and your father get along. kratos ends up really liking freyr. he likes him more than he likes most people, honestly

he'll protect him subconsciously. he wants to keep him safe for your sake. he can't imagine you ever being happy again without him in your life

if he ever kisses you in public he would just cough really loudly to get him to stop. it makes you really embarrassed, but seeing you curl up into freyr like that..— it makes him realize that you're grown

it makes him realize that you have someone else to protect you. freyr would die for you. he knows that

it warms his heart to know he cares about you so much

he has his approval

if he wants to take your relationship a step forward— he has his approval <3