#i will get to these this evening when i am done with my notes for the day

[noosayog]

Sitting at the bar, alone, is far from Atsumu’s ideal Friday night. 

But Bokuto’s busy, Shoyo has a date, and Omi, well… he didn’t even bother to make an excuse. Some friends they are, especially when he’s going through a breakup. 

It does get better, minorly, when you, a pretty stranger, decide to sit in the stool directly to his left. Never mind that the bar is full and the seat next to his is the only free spot.

You’re pretty, dressed in something casual, yet memorable. He’s content to simply sit beside you, fantasizing scenarios in which he charmingly and successfully gets you to join him for a drink and dinner soon, when he hears you. 

“So how’s your night going?” 

“Uh.”

You giggle lightly. He feels his face flush a shade deeper. 

“Articulate, aren’t you?” 

Atsumu chokes out an awkward chuckle. “I’m usually better than this.” 

“Yeah?” You lean further in, propping your chin on your hand. 

“Yeah.” 

A moment of silence. Your smile drops. Oh, you’re definitely about to turn to your left and try your luck with the other guy sitting on that side. 

“Um-” 

“Ok, whatever,” you say. “I’m just gonna come out and ask. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Uh, no. I’m actually going through a-”

You hold a hand up. “I don’t really wanna hear details. So you’re single? Not seeing someone? Not trying to see someone?” 

“No.” 

“Cool. Wanna make out with me? No strings attached, of course.” 

“Uh?”

“You’re not really doing too hot convincing me that your normal is better than this. Make out.” You gesture, lips puckered. “With me. Just looking for a little fun tonight, you know?” 

Yes, he does want to make out with the pretty girl sitting next to him, so charming, he thinks he might’ve fallen in love. But instead, what he says is- 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean it’s not really my things to hook up with someone right when I meet them and I’m going through a fresh breakup…” 

You sit back up, swiveling your stool so you’re facing the bar now. “No worries. I don’t wanna pressure someone who’s not down. Have a good night then.” 

You turn back to your book, which he didn’t even notice was there. A sip of your drink, knife to the conversation. 

Atsumu probably spends a good while racking his head for a way to restart the connection when he hears you order another drink. He keeps his head down, discreetly eavesdropping as you flirt with the bartender. 

The bartender rests both arms on the bar to lean closer to you, clearly bewitched. Not that Atsumu doesn’t understand but doesn’t this guy have a job to do? He makes a mental note to write a bad google review later. 

“So…” the bartender croons, “I heard your proposition for Blondie over there.” 

Excuse him? He’s sitting right here still! 

“If he’s not interested-”

“Who said I’m not!” 

Both sets of eyes whip toward him. 

“Bro, we both heard you say-” 

“Okay, so can’t a guy make a mistake?” He turns to you, voice accusatory. “Guys say things when we’re nervous. I’m nervous, okay? I’ve never been asked to make out with some like you,” he gestures up and down. “I am so interested in making out with you.” 

You blink once, twice, before turning to the bartender. “I think I’m done drinking for the night.” 

You turn toward him. 

“Put my drinks on blondie’s tab. He’s closing out now.” 

Atsumu hardly remembers throwing a couple of bills on the table before you grab his hand, trailing after your tinkling laughter. 

–

“- and that’s how I met your mother.” 

“Bullshit!” 

“No way she asked you, of all people, at that bar to make out with you.” 

”Seems kinda farfetched, Atsumu…” 

The MSBY team is gathered in your living room, your one year old son babbling on Atsumu’s lap. 

“Hey! No swear words around my son.” 

His teammates roll their eyes. 

“You’re so full of it. No way that story-”

“What are you guys talking about?” You enter the room with a handful of beers. 

“How you and Atsumu met.” 

“Oh, you mean how I asked him to make out with me?” 

“No fucking shot!” 

“Language!”

[littelovelunette]

Omg im so super done with fragile helpless reader!!! Pls do sevika and reader freshly dating or even just seeing each other, they’re still still getting to know each other and sevika being herself she LOVES to tease and annoy reader and show off her strength and stuff expecting reader to be to be helplessly weaker than her, however when reader get fed up enough they start fighting back ^playfully^ and sevika making a mental note to not take readers warning for granted🙏🏼 basically reader unexpectedly humbling sevika

Challenge Accepted

"Look me in the eye and say that again." You said in a more gravely voice that usual as you shifted into a better sitting position, glaring daggers into Sevika's gaze.

This wasn't the first time Sevika underestimated your strength or wit. She had the habit of doing that because of the sheer fact she was so darn old and had seen a lot.

You admitted it, yeah she'd seen some shit in life but that didn't automatically mean she was untouchable.

"I dont think you'd be able to take me in a fight." Sevika repeated and put out the cigarette she was smoking in the ashtray on the bedside table.

"Oh, yeah?" You repositioned yourself so you were now over her thighs, straddling them. "Are you challenging me?"

"Why yes, sweetheart." Sevika stared at you with amusement, one eyebrow raising.

"Challenge accepted." You whispered and got off her.

Sevika blinked in mild shock before slowly getting off the bed too, to stand in front of you.

Sevika easily towered over you. But that didn't faze you really, you'd come to terms with the fact you were short as fuck compared to her.

"You really wanna do this?" Sevika asked as she crossed her arms, both flesh and mechanical arms flexing as she did so.

"You scared?" You taunted as Sevika flexed her flesh bicep purely to annoy you non-verbally.

And it worked.

It ticked you off.

You charged at her, but Sevika being taller than you took advantage of her height.

She scooped you up with ease, pinning you to the wall. "Angel, just accept it. You're weaker than me." There was no heat behind her words as she said it though. It was more playful than anything.

You simply gave her an amused look before locking your legs around her waist and grabbing her flesh hand, pressing down on the shoulder nerve making her wince and pull her arm back.

Because she did so, she let go of your frame giving you the opportunity to push her on the bed with all your strength and pinning her hands down with both your legs.

You grinned victoriously at her.

"Gremlin." Sevika whispered under her breath. You let up and let her get out of your grasp, Sevika flexed her mechanical arm and it's fingers before letting out a soft sigh.

"Fine, you win."

You smiled and laid back down in the bed, the soft mattress dipping under your weight.

"Wipe that look off your face." You pulled Sevika close.

"Hmph."

She was clearly sulking. What a sore loser. But that's fine. She was yours after all.

As you laid down beside her, Sevika wrapped her flesh arm around you. You grinned a little and wrapped both arms around her, squeezing her making her chuckle.

"Even though I am prideful, I correct my errors if I notice them." Sevika kissed your forehead, it was a silent promise of always respecting your strength. That's all you needed.

[bitter-me]

Hello! could you do Asaba Harumasa with A Loid Forger!Male!Reader who is his Fiancé? (For real not for a misson) And could you do like some general headcanons of it please?

Spy X Executive Officer

Harumasa Asaba | M. Reader as Loid Forger [SpyXFamily]

----------

"You gotta be careful. Because there's someone else back home who'd be heartbroken if anything happened to you."

----------

General Headcanons

First of all, the moment you two met Harumasa knew you are a spy. Come on now, he's responsible for Section 6's reconnaissance for a reason. In the main story he literally recognized the mercs are closing in on them by their shooting pattern alone. Are you kidding me.

Secrets out and from then on he'll rub it in your face that the Twilight was caught by an Executive Officer and through this process of endless teasing and "accidental meet ups" you two gotten quite close.

Yet despite making teasing the absolute daylight out of you his main mission. Harumasa would always comes to you for help with some missions of his. Come on! He has Twilight on speed dial! What kind of person would he be if he didn't abused use this power? The amount of times you have to pretend to be him for a meeting... too much to even bother counting..

Harumasa seems to have developed a habit since you two got together. One of which is how he looks like a wounded animal whenever you have to "be in a relationship" with someone. He's joking of course. But always seem to jump at the chance whenever Harumasa saw it.

But then again.. you're also using him for your own work as well. HAND has a lot of useful information and Departments. Having an insider on speed dial just make things ten times easier. In short both of you are using each other.. until it became something more as you two craves more with each interactions.

"You're cheating on me! I know I don't have much time, yet you--" "Darling, I am not seeing someone behind your back, it was a mission. We have this conversation before."

Endless teasing. Just endless.

By the way, are you a cat person? Well it doesn't matter you are a cat person now. Say hello to your son/daughter. Harumasa canonically has a cat, so..

Would jokingly as you to teach him some espionage with the excuse that it'll help him be a "more outstanding scout." You didn't, of course. Espionage is your thing. As if you'll let him steal your thunder like that.

Oh no. Harumasa isn't in the office again. He must have taken a sick leave. But how could he get another one? What? He has a doctor's note?

Yes, he would probably, maybe, say "please" a lot, just to get you to write him a doctor's note. Hey! Not his fault that your public image is a Psychiatrist! That just makes your notes 100% legal! And you are this awesome boyfriend of his right? So.. please~ he promise to give you kisses if you do write it~

Although Harumasa seems to know he can't use this trick a lot and uses it sparingly.

The proposal? It's the grenade proposal. I'm sorry but it's cute and it kinda fits ZZZ's world building. Both of you are running from the Ethereals and have gotten cornered. What a bad day it was. You were just about to propose when Harumasa got a call for a mission, since you don't want to waste any time. You decided to help your lover so that you can finally propose when all of these are done. But no, the universe hates you and decided to do this instead and damnit! You lost the ring! Cornered with nowhere else to go you spotted a grenade not to far away. Acting out of instincts you took it, pulling the pin and saying your vow as you put the "ring" on Harumasa's finger.

He ruthlessly tease you about the proposal though. Saying something like "Took you long enough. And here I thought I would die first before knowing the feeling of a ring on my finger." and, "A grenade pin? Seriously? How come those men and women you "marry" for a mission gets an actual ring while I--you're actual lover--only have this? I'm hurt!"

In the end you did get him an actual ring. As he deserved.

----------

Despite usually being seen slacking off. Harumasa works hard on his missions. After all, there's a reason as to why he's a member of Section 6. Naturally.

Yet he's not invincible. Harumasa knows that better than anyone else. Which is why he is now lying in the hospital bed with a sore throat and a heavy chest. It felt as if he were to somehow lie in a wrong way he'll start coughing out a lung. But he doesn't have to worry. He has [Name}. And that man would go full on doctor on him in a heartbeat.

"You're an idiot sometimes." [Name] sighs, sitting on the chair by his lover's bedside. He can't believe Harumasa had willingly injected that thing. Onto him like that. Sure, he understands. Harumasa can't let that thing exist in the world. But seriously?! Did he even think for one second what could have happened to himself if he weren't this lucky?! What if it's a one time thing?!

"You idiot." He whispers underneath his breath.

Harumasa really has to be careful.. because there's someone else back home who'd be heartbroken if anything happened to him.. and that person, is him. [Name] Forger.

For all of his time as a spy. No one had ever made him feel so.. complete. The thought of settling down never crossed his mind. But with Harumasa.. he might just consider it. But..

How is he supposed to settle when the one he loves is constantly on death's door?

[Name] snapped out of his thoughts the moment he registered the warm feeling on his hand. Harumasa's on top of his. Turning his head towards him, [Name] saw Harumasa giving him a reassuring smile. "I know.. but I'm your idiot."

"Don't worry too much. I'm not going anywhere. After all, no one cares more about my life than me."

[glorioustidalwavedefendor]

You know

While of course, as always exceptions exist

as @softness-and-shattering pointed out so correctly

I feel like a lot of the time it really doesn't matter what the autistic person does and doesn't do

What they did is used afterwarts as an excuse why it was O.K. to treat them like garbage

But they would have been treated like garbage regardless

Becasue they are autistic

Now, it's very important to note that these thin slice judgements are because of how humans evolved. This is not some allistic hatred of autistics and secret eugenics. These studies are done by letting the allistic view the autistic person without knowing they are autistic. And we set off alarm bells. This is a social disability, remember. Humans evolved to quickly look for signs if a person is safe or not safe by signals, body language, facial expressions etc. Which many autistics either struggle with or can't do at all. When the people were informed that the person they were viewing was autistic, that distrust dropped significantly.

So

It doesn't work

Autist does something -> NT is annoied -> treats Autist accordingly

It's

NT dislikes autist for being autistic without being able to put a finger on whythey dislike this person -> Looks for a reason to justefy the bad treatmen, since humans are usualyl social creatures and feel bad if they treat something bad without due cause -> Finds a reason (becasue there is aways something) -> treatds them like garbage becasue obviously it is justefied

It's like how black people will always be considered more agressive from teh get go which then of course calls for a more agressive response

Even if they wher just calmly minding their own business

Simply by existing while black they are marked as bad, agressive etc ...

And simply by existing on teh autism spectrum people are marked as bad and untrustworthy and therfor obviously guilty of something ...

Becasue thing is

I have seen people not minding behaviour X in one person and really minding it in another person

The only difference?

One was "marked" as bad (by being a women or queer or disabled or not white etc ... ) and teh other person wasn't "marked" as bad ...

All that is not to say that a more open communication isn't good or anything

Of course it is

I am 100% with OP here

And of course it is a good idea to speak up before one blows ones lid

But it will not solve the problem

The problem is that people on teh spectrum are, through no fault of their own, stuck in teh uncanny valley and people outside the spectrum will always be creeped out by that and act accordingly

Some more, some less

But it's a kneejerk reaction

One can be aware of it

One can fight it

But the onus here is on the NT to fight their naturall instincts on top of not sending mixed signals

I saw some snippet of a callout post for an autistic trans woman where they list social faux pas she committed, and I think we allistic people should all feel 100x more ashamed of not telling people in the moment how we feel about what they're doing. I think its extremely evil and cruel to not only lie to an autistic person and blame them for it but also to feel justified shaming them for your behavior. And it's currently the social norm to do that

[kazuko-stuff]

The Things You Didn’t Notice

Synopsis : You thought back about your feelings and look back at the past. You wonder how many things you didn’t notice about Caleb back then and how it matters in the present and the future ahead

Warning: This takes place after Homecoming Wings Chapter and will have spoilers from Caleb’s myth, Hidden Waves and Painful Signal

Notes: This is my take of the aftermath of Homecoming Wings chapter. MC reevaluating her childhood with Caleb and understanding on what she is feeling. She is not only learning to accept the changes of Caleb but realizing the little things see may overlook in her younger years with her growing up with Caleb. This can be seen as some sort of character analysis as well.

“I am done playing the role of being the ‘loving older brother,” Caleb confesses as he faces you, holding you tighter, unwilling to let go of you.

The words have echoed in your mind ever since your return to Linkon from Skyhaven.

A lot of things have happened since then.

Mia, Kevi… and Caleb affiliated with EVER in some way.

You were eventually given a few days off from the Association from Jenna, seeing you overworking due to the stress of the sudden events.

‘Is this really Caleb?’ you thought to yourself.

No.

You didn’t really know his real self.

You didn’t understand him.

Because you didn’t bother to

You realized that you subconsciously play the role of the sweet little sister who sees her brother, who is kinder and more fun than anyone else. Out of fear of what he truly sees you as, as well as the circumstances behind them.

Just like why he played the role of the kind older brother.

And how he wondered if you realized if you knew how he felt, as his feelings for you had gotten stronger over the years. He didn’t say a word back then because of those fears.You hurt him without realizing it, and that is what hurts you even more. The same turmoil he is feeling right now.

You depended on him too much because he was always there for you, just like any younger sibling does.

But did you really see him as a brother?

Truthfully, you weren’t sure.

Like why you didn’t want him to have a girlfriend when you two went to high school and how he promised he wouldn’t get one.

And why you eagerly played his girlfriend in college, unknowingly making him wish that this were to be true.

You wanted to run from these feelings, but for some reason you can’t.

It’s a truth about yourself that you have to face.

A shocking revelation of the real, true, hidden feelings of his and yours.

Temptation, guilt, yearning, and sin.

And he shouldered all these burdens and feelings alone for God knows how many years.

It’s because you felt the same way.

You were in love with him.

In some twisted way, you wished this wasn’t true.

As you confront these feelings at last, tears start to fall. You accepted the truth of the feelings that had piled up in your heart and how long you had kept thinking of Caleb when he supposedly died.

You were as responsible for his pain and suffering because of your ignorance.

Maybe because of the sudden separation, he couldn’t be as open as he was in the past and the events in Skyhaven. You started to see things that you didn’t notice in him before.

—

When you went back to Skyhaven to meet with some high school friends, Caleb was already there in the rain at night to take you back to his place.

The first thing you didn’t notice before is how much your needs come before his. He should have waited in the cafe and texted you a message, but he didn’t.

He waited in the cold, rainy night just for you due to Skyhaven’s patrol issues at night. Because of that, he ended up sick with a cold.

This was the first time he was sick in bed with a cold with you. Yes, he was sick before, but Grandma always took care of it.

When you were sick, he was the first to take care of you and made sure you weren’t lonely. Oh, how he sang off-key when you were young, but that didn’t really mind you. You knew he was attempting to cheer you up.

Despite Caleb’s protests, you decided to take care of him. He was always ready to put your needs first; now you want to do the same.

As you cooked some porridge, you thought back on all the things he did for you when you were sick.

You took care of him and gave him porridge in hopes he would recover soon.

“You enjoy taking care of sick people, huh?” He looks at you as he points to the bowl.

You were confused by the statement he made.

‘You’re taking care of him because you care for him. Why can’t he see that?’ as you thought to yourself, as you set the bowl on the side.

As you decide to go back to your room to give him time to rest, he grabs your arm, “Don’t go,” he pleads weakly.

“Uhh”

“You can sleep here,” he suggests, as he moves a bit to create room for you.

It was like old times, where he sleeps with you whenever you're sick. You lay on the bed with him and rest on his right arm.

As the two of you looked back on fond memories, you couldn’t help but check his temperature again. He touched his right cheek with your hand and gave a slight smile that his fever is going down a bit.

You then got up on the mattress and cupped his cheek with both hands.

“You still want to confirm it? You’re even copying what I do when you’re sick,” he sighs as you bring his forehead to yours to reassure him.

You let go as he rests on the bed board with a cough, still sullen from the fever.

You looked at him worried, “Caleb, what can I do to make you feel better?” you asked in concern.

“When you were sick, you never wanted to be alone. You made me sing for you. Then you complained, saying I sucked and covered my mouth,” as he smiled at the memory fondly.

“Then I’ll sing for you,” you respond with a soft smile, as you sing a lullaby from the past.

“Many summers ago”

“A little base”

“That secret that only belongs to two”

“Hidden in a lush place”

You finished the lullaby as he looked at you with longing in deep violet eyes. You blushed in response, “Was it bad?” you asked shyly.

“Not at all,” he responded softly. To him, your singing always provides comfort to him and makes him feel at ease. He raises his hand and barely touches the bottom of your lips with his fingers and looks away, as if he is hiding something.

“Caleb, you’re still messing around. You’re not letting me see your weakness,” slightly annoyed that he is still reckless when he’s sick, causing you to attempt to leave the bed only for Caleb to pull you back to his chest.

“… Don’t go,” he pleaded weakly.

“I never kept anything from you. The same can’t be said about you, though.”You huffed.

“I can’t have any weaknesses. Then you’ll feel safe relying on me.” He looks away in guilt.

Was this why he initially refused you for help earlier? Is this what he thinks if he sees him like this?

“But I don’t want to stand behind you. I want to stand by your side,” you answered back in a softer tone.

Caleb looks at you with soft eyes and places your hand on his heart. “Do you feel it? This is my weakness,” feeling his heart race on your hand. “She’s here.”.

“For a long time, she’s been here,” he confessed when you lay on his side, as you two embraced each other.

Another sacrifice he made was hiding his burdens away from you just to take care of you.

You just want to tell him it’s okay for you to take care of him because you felt the same way about wanting him to feel and be safe.

——

Once more, you and Caleb spent time together, this time in Lincoln. Caleb was wearing a disguise due to him still being legally dead to those who knew him in Linkon.

You two went to the cemetery to visit Grandma’s grave. You also ended up encountering Gideon in the process, leading to having him tag along to catch up at a nearby cafe.

The day went fast, leaving little room for the two of you to spend time alone together, much to your disappointment. When Caleb is about to go back to Skyhaven, you two make a promise to spend time together alone another time, whenever you two are off from work.

Later at night, after having dinner, you heard a chime from a nearby radio.

“Three hours ago, the Coelum Express, bound for Skyhaven, experienced unexpected Protocore energy fluctuations. The cause remains unknown.”

Caleb was on that express three hours ago, causing you to slightly panic in worry. You attempted to contact Caleb but were only sent to voicemail. You contact Gideon in an attempt to find out about Caleb’s current whereabouts, but the only thing you get is that Caleb had a serious arm injury in the accident and didn’t go to the hospital afterward.

This made you even more worried, and you went straight to Skyhaven to check on Caleb at his residence.

You look around the apartment for him and notice his clothes and phone on the sofa and nearby coffee table.

As you were about to look up nearby hospitals within the area, you felt a breeze within the complex and noticed the wall had a hole that wasn’t there before. You tentatively entered in hopes of finding clues, and there he was, sitting on some sort of medical chair, grunting in pain.

Caleb notices you behind him. “Stay back,” he warns, causing you to halt in place.

“Repair Complete” as the two of you look at the computer screen. You then notice that his left arm is a bionic arm; remember that Gideon informed you about Caleb having his arm injured in the accident earlier.

You tentatively continue to step towards him with his back towards you. “I almost forgot…You never listen to me during times like these.” He huffs in response.

You touch his shoulder to get him to look at you and grunt in pain.

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just didn’t expect you to find out like this.” He looks at the floor in shame as you come closer to him.

“I barely feel any pain. Unless it’s under repair,” he explains as he raises his bionic arm to hold the hand that reaches out to him.

“I …can’t even feel you anymore” as his bionic clutches your hand.

With the same hand, you hold the bionic hand to comfort him.

“Caleb… Sometimes, I wish you were always in pain,” you admitted, not knowing what to say as tears started to form.

Hearing and seeing your tears, he raises his real arm to hold yours in an attempt to feel the warmth from hands.

“If that’s what it takes to feel you, I’ll accept it.” He looks at you with guilt in his eyes.

“But most of the time, I wish your pain could be lessened” as you let go of his bionic hand to feel the rest of the steel arm of his.

“Is this the Fleet’s doing…? They won’t get away with this.”You turn in anger, but only for Caleb to restrain his arms in pain.

His heavy breathing increases as he stands to hold you back with his real hand. “You think you can just…come and go as you please?” clutching his bionic hand.

“Is that so?” you retaliated and suddenly jumped to hug him tightly.

“Then hold me, Caleb. Do it tightly,” you begged as you looked at him in the eyes with tears, clutching his bionic hand. “Use your right hand.”.

“You’re the only one…who can ease my pain,” he murmurs softly to you, hugging you tight.

You don’t know how much time has passed, but for one thing, you know whatever EVER is doing, though the fleet isn't good.

Whatever EVER wants from you and the aether core, Caleb paid the ultimate price to keep you from temporarily harm’s way.

But how long would this last for? You know Caleb would just be a pawn in EVER’s game and would discard him eventually once they achieve something through him.

What did they do to him during the past few months after the explosions? You didn’t know, and frankly you don’t, since the answer is already there.

“After the explosion, I spent a long time recovering in a hospital.” Caleb reveals as he lessens his grip on you, “At the time, this arm could still feel another’s touch. It could still feel warmth, the cold, anything and everything, but…” Seeing his expression sullen. “After the modifications, all that vanished. Only extreme pain could be felt, feeling his weight pressing down on your shoulder, but you didn’t mind.

“Is that why you asked me to pinch you harder…?”recalling the events from earlier of him wanting you to pinch him.

“It was the only way this arm could feel you. Even if it’s pain… As long as it’s from you, I want it.”

A frown comes on your face; you didn’t want him to be in pain because of you. How much does he have to suffer for?

Over the first few weeks after the events at Skyhaven, you begin looking back at your childhood with Caleb. Analyzing those memories for things you had missed back then due to ignorance. You want to help him with his burdens, and now knowing what he is going through, all you want to do is be his source of comfort for once.

“But… I don’t want to hurt you,” wrapping your hands around Caleb’s back and welcoming his embrace. You press your forehead against his trembling shoulder. “I also don’t want you to be numb to my presence,” you murmured.

“In that case, you can’t call it hurt.” He gives you a small smile in an attempt to make a joke. “You always find a way to sway my mind…” you kissed him on the lips to shut him up, shocking him in the process.

It took him a few seconds for the kiss to register in his mind, but he returned your kiss, this time with more passion, yearning, and longing.

The kiss between you two heated up even more. Your bodies are pressed together, breathing heavily as your lips press together. Caleb envelops you in a hug in the same motion, and you fall deeper into him.

You felt the slightly chapped lips against yours. Just like how he felt your own soft, silken lips pressed against his.

You briefly recalled your first kiss with him a few months back. You only wished it wasn’t under those circumstances. Once again you hurt him without realizing it. But this kiss, however, felt different. Caleb feels it too. No holding back, and no secrets are being kept.

Caleb feels some of the weight off of him lifted as he holds you tighter into his embrace. You felt warmth blossoming in your chest, sparks igniting as the kiss deepens, with more devotion than Caleb thinks he deserves.

[yermes]

Heres why your life is in shambles 🌩️

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Pick a meme

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Disclaimer: please take what I say with a grain of salt and not as the gospel. I just want to share some ideas of practicing and giving advice using the medium as often as I can with school, work, and my own personal studies and practice. But I am working on sharing my notes soon so that will be exciting! Liking and sharing does a lot 🥰

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Socials: My Socials **☾**

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The cards

X of wands🍁

God does it suck being a person with obligations and responsibilities, im not even bullshitting or being sarcastic. It sucks. Sometimes you just want to sit in bed and fucking rot but can you? Any day where you would want to sit in bed is rocked by the piles and piles of work you have. Obligations don’t go away, I am assuming you have a big goal you are going towards, so its not like you have the work it is something you are passionate about, but it does suck when you can’t get a break. Even from something or someone you love, you should get a break, even in finals week, its hard when you can’t just never catch a goddamn fucking break. But remember, you run your obligations not the other way around.

The Tempest 🌾

Resentful emotions is never fun or a vibe. There is something all encompassing about cortisol. When a negative emotion overtakes you the urge to destroy everything around you is high, but in that you also destroy yourself so. Its a lose/lose battle. Bite the bullet and enact revenge, or deal with the negative emotions and do what’s debatably harder and let that shit go, like legitimately, just, let that fucking shit go. I know when your mad the biochemical aspects of emotions sit in your gut like a fucking brick, but be aware of it. This is a chance to be better than you were. Do not stoop down no matter how tempting.

The tower🏰

Something you have been working on has just absolutely crumbled around you. You need to break down something absolutely and completely to rebuild, but how do you rebuild something you spent so much time and effort into, do you mourn and rebuild brick by brick? Do you take a breather and go at it again? Anyways you are in an awful fucking spot where you feel like all your time and energy is fucking wasted. And unfortunately it is a part of life, some of the rebuilds are better or worse, sometimes its extremely hard, sometimes your are not done building so its whatever, or sometimes you have been done building for years and you believe it to be done and you have to completely reshape.

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Extras:

Story/vent:

At snoqualmie with my pookie

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[night-night-stories-before-bed]

The window is always open

Warning ⚠️; None, just fluff and fatherhood

Pairing; None, Damian Wayne & Gn!Vigilante!Reader (Father figure$

Summary; You always leave your window open in case one the batkids would need to come in for emergencies. Yet, Damian use it all the time.

Credit @cafekitsune

Note; my doctor scare the living shit out of me, so I wrote this to calm me down.

Note 2; I’m dying, wtf was that bug? Why did a part of a draft updates here??? I am so sorry y'all! I do not know how that happened honestly 😂

You stood in front of your door, hand on the doorknob, knowing something was amiss. You frowned and listened attentively. You heard a soft sound, like little footsteps, from your kitchen which made you relax as you knew who it was. You unlocked the door and got inside, taking off your coat and boots.

- “Damian, I thought we spoke about it already. The window is open but only for emergencies and I doubt stealing my take-out fall in that category,” you gently scolded as you entered your kitchen.

You switched the lights on and crossed your arms staring at the teen as he hate your take-out. Damian stared back at you, not giving a single fuck.

- “Nah, but avoiding an angry Bruce,” Damian replied and you sighed.

- “What did you do this time?” You asked, leaning your shoulder against the wall.

Damian rolled his eyes and offered you no reply. You sighed and went to make you some food, giving some to the kid to decide whether or not to tell you why he ended up running away from his father. But Damian said nothing as long as you cooked, not even as you sat down.

You ate in silence, eyeing Damian up and down. No bruised, no injuries and no signs of him being hurt. So why was Bruce angry after his son? At some points the sound of a notification caught your attention and you knew who it was before looking at it. Bruce was asking you if Damian was at your place and you reassured him that he was and to not come, that Damian was sleeping here.

The bat left you on read.

Yeah, that wasn't good.

- “Bruce ain't coming to get me, right?” Damian asked with a small voice and you shook your head.

- “Nah, I told him to not come and that you were sleeping at my place tonight. I’ll take you to school in the morning, don’t worry,” you reassured Damian and he nodded at that.

You two finished eating in silence and cleaned the dishes before you sat back down and helped Damian with his homework. Not that he needed help but he did need the company you realized and you couldn't bear the silence anymore. So, homework it was.

You were glad to be out of school, the new subjects seemingly more boring than they were in your time, and somewhat harder. Maybe it was the wording, you thought.

Before you realize it, they were done and you allowed Damian to watch the TV with you for a while. You knew he wouldn't sleep anyway, so where was the harm?

The teen picked a series you ignored all about and, just for you, played it from the start. You enjoyed listening to Damian explaining what was going on when things confused you, the series was clearly one of his favourite subjects and you wondered if he had no one to talk with about it. It wasn't long before Damian ended up snuggling against your side, tucked under his blanket, slowly dozing off. You wrapped an arm around his frail shoulders and he sighed.

- “We got into an altercation, with Bruce I mean, and it’s my fault,” Damian ended up admitting as he yawned. “I think he want to send me back to my mother.”

- “Oh, Damian, don’t be say that. Your father love you very deeply, he just sat on a stick and never got it out,” you replied, passing your fingers through his hair. “Besides, you really think I would allow him to send you away like that? He’ll have to fight me before being able to take you to the airport,” you tried to reassure him and Damian snorted.

- “He’ll kick your ass,” he pointed out, sighing and closing his eyes.

- “Bolt of you to assume he’ll win. I too have contingency plans!” you declared with a smile.

Damian chuckled at that and his hand found your shirt. You looked down and watched as he clenched his fist tight on the fabric as if he feared you would disappear. You pulled him closer to you, stroking his shoulder.

- “I promise sweety, Bruce is not going to send you away,” you swore and Damian buried his face against your side.

- “But I… disobeyed. I went out alone without him and I told him I hated him. Why would he keep me?” Damian asked with a little voice and it broke your heart.

- “Damian, your father love you and he heard way worse from Jason, Dick and even Tim. Trust me, his only thoughts must be that you are getting “into that age”, and I bet he wasn't angry, but scared. I would have snapped too knowing you went alone playing vigilante. You know how dangerous Gotham can be,” you scolded him and Damian groaned.

You hoped you understood what you didn't say; Bruce had lost Jason once, the scar hadn't healed even if Jason was back from the dead. It wasn't hard to see he was terrified the same thing would happen to his actual son.

- “C’mon, you’ll see. Tomorrow Bruce would have calmed down and you two can speak. Before long you’ll be laughing about tonight,” you promised and Damian said nothing.

Against you, you felt the teen relax, his body going limp against you and his breath became deeper. You smiled, realizing Damian was succumbing to exhaustion. You pulled his blanket higher, wrapping it correctly around him. You leaned down and kissed his hair, wishing Damian a good night with a smile, knowing he would be fine once morning came.

[severellamabread]

Very well said my friends! Allow me to point out to excellent examples of our teachings regarding context right here, in action!

From the original word-smith @sapphic-bf

"nvm the fact that caitlyn decided to gas the undercity even before she sided w ambessa, rendering that exact argument of “but cait was manipulated !1!1!1!” even more meaningless to me."

Now this statement hits hard! Caitlyn stans trying to excuse her actions because of Ambessa are acting like she didn't commit chemical warfare before Ambessa even got her hands on her!

Note: So remember, if you want to create statements like this for your own blog, take notice. The writer made a point of not mentioning that it is only because of Ambessa orchestrating the memorial attack that Caitlyn's team is formed and the Grey is used. Context! Because if that was included it would undermine the writer's assertion completely and we cannot have that.

Now let's look at the responder @sillysalmonn101

"Ignoring how Caitlyn was gassing Zaun before she had ever even spoken to Ambessa, she is a grown woman. She should know right from wrong, especially because she was supposed to be a good, moral person in season one. She should know not to use chemical warfare — a war crime — on innocent Zaunites. She should not to repeatedly hit Vi, and she should know not to get physical when she feels that she’s losing an argument. She should know not to sleep with TWO of her subordinates. She should know not to impose martial law upon Zaunites,"

Now this is excellent work! It hits several targets just dead on totally ignoring boatloads of context and I am quite proud to see this technique used at such a high level.

Well done to the both of you!

i will never be able to stand the ppl who point out the fact that caitlyn was manipulated by ambessa somehow think it’s a complete excuse for all of caitlyn’s actions, as if she isn’t a grown woman who is capable of making her own decisions and knowing right from wrong, grieving or not.

nvm the fact that caitlyn decided to gas the undercity even before she sided w ambessa, rendering that exact argument of “but cait was manipulated !1!1!1!” even more meaningless to me.

[milessunflowers]

CONGRATS ON 100 FOLLOWERS!!!!!!

perhaps t4t omega!oscar x alpha!reader? (fluffy or suggestive, idm!! let that amazing brain go crazy)

TY VINVIN COULDNT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT 🫶🏻

trans!omega!oscar piastri x trans!alpha!reader

synopsis: he's just so cute and delicious that you can't resist him

author's note: vinnie fr be feeding into my oscar addiction and i am loving it so tysm vinvin for constantly reminding me how gorgeous this man is

FLUFF!

you both borrow each other's clothes all the time

especially when you guys are dysphoric

it helps a lot weirdly enough

and when one of you guys get top surgery, you guys are right by each other's side

so cuddly and clingy

especially after a bad race/race weekend

you guys would go on cute dinner dates all the time

oscar's family absolutely adores you

you love his scent bc it's a soft beach-y scent (at least to me that's what he would smell like)

you love making dinner together even though a lot of the time it ends up burnt

oscar's nests are so cozy that you guys could spend all day cuddled up in the blankets/pillows/clothes

oscar i feel like would be a koala at night and just cling to you so tightly, his nose pressed right to your scent gland because it's a comfort thing

also you guys have a teddy bear that you guys have deemed to be your child

loves late night drives where you guys just watch the stars

SUGGESTIVE!

hes so loud in bed

especially during his heat, like not even covering his mouth can keep him from being heard anywhere

loves riding the strap on

lowkey bratty but in a good way where it's just small things you don't mind

like scratching up your back or leaving one too many bites to cover up

in return you leave him with a slight limp

his scent makes your brain go crazy during heat/rut so like you guys don't leave for days at a time

loves seeing the small marks here and there on his chest and thighs

literally will trace them with his fingers and ask you to leave more

refuses to shower afterwards without you which totally doesn't end up in like two more rounds

loves having your scent (and cum) all over him

TAGS! (if you want to be added lmk!)

@op-81-lvr-reblogs, @koalapastries, @justaf1girl, @ghostking4m, @spoonfulofmilo, @seonghwaexile, @alex-wotton, @raizelchrysanderoctavius

[apollabarnes]

that was us part three

quick author's note: originally i wrote this series to coincide only with abby's appearances, so i didn't try and cover the time between abby leaving los angeles and coming back during the train derailment — however, since i've continued writing this series i've realized that what i orginally wrote had a lot of backstory that only existed in my head, but that was very much flavouring the rest of the story. i didn't write the tommy and abby interactions at the hospital as the first time they'd talked since he moved to harbor but all of that backstory stayed off the page. this is part of me trying to correct that, and i'm editing parts one and two to cover more of it. also, i know the hospital is originally part three, but this is sneaking in between chapter two and three (i'll update it on ao3 when i'm at my actual computer and not sneaking onto tumblr during work hours)

a tag for @leashybebes who asked to be tagged if i wrote any more of this!

abby's mom dies and she falls apart. she barely makes it through the funeral, buck holds her together while she's sorting through all of her mom's things and it's just. suffocating. her mom's passport is the last straw — how many things did she put off, thinking there would be more time before she got her diagnosis? how many things has abby put off? she loves being a dispatcher. she loves la. buck is the best thing that's happened to her in close to a decade. there were so many things she was planning to do before she tore her rotator cuff. then it was rehab, trying swimming again, quitting again — pushing off all things she'd thought about doing since she was a kid. tommy had helped with that, given her somewhere safe to recover while she licked her wounds, and still she'd put things off. put them aside and shoved them down and promised herself later, later, later. it's later and she still hasn't done even one of the things she wanted to do when she was younger.

she's going to start with her mom's old travel itinerary. abby packs a bag, buys an airline ticket, tells buck she's leaving. the thought of trying to sublet her apartment or sell it is just too much to deal with right now, so she offers him the apartment because he hates living with his roommates and she's certainly not going to be using it. she tries to be as gentle as she can. abby was stuck for a really long time and buck's the one that got her unstuck. it's a gift she's a hundred percent certain he has no idea he gave her, and she doesn't have the words to thank him for it, so she's gentle instead. buck deserves gentle. he deserves better than her, but she doesn't say that either. he wouldn't take it as the compliment she means it as.

it's a cliché to say that she can feel her heart break when he drops her off at the airport, but clichés become clichés because they're things that are true and universal.

abby sits in the airport lounge and waits for her flight to be called. she very quickly gets bored and pulls out her phone, staring at it. if she texts buck now she'll just turn around, let herself get stuck again. she'd like it, too. she wants to try. she can't stay. she scrolls through her phone contacts, stops on tommy's name. snaps a photo of her drink and the departures screen behind her.

guess who's going to europe?

since when do you text?

apparently phone calls are for fossils.

he didn't actually call you a fossil, did he?

no, of course not, but he's a texter. so. i am too now, i guess.

europe, huh? and a guinness to get you started. so you're headed to ireland.

how'd you guess?

your mom mentioned it a few times. really loved a good brogue and pierce brosnan.

she did, didn't she?

yeah. i'm really sorry, abby. about your mom and the fact i couldn't make it.

thanks. any recommendations for when i'm over there?

i'm more of a desert guy, hang on. i've got an idea.

what is this, a group chat? wait, abby texts?

why is everyone surprised that i text?

sal, abby's looking for places to visit in europe.

hey, sal.

head to italy. stop. eat. come home.

sal, jesus. i was hoping you'd be a little more useful.

well, no, he's got a point tommy, i do love pasta.

jesus, fine, stop — gina says hi, by the way. abby, i've been informed by your ex you're going to ireland first.

someone's got to keep you on track, sal.

you've already got the gift of gab since you're on the phone all day, so you can probably skip the blarney stone. there's the giant's causeway. and all the travel magazines try to rank the castles, but they're all neat.

didn't realise you'd spent so much time in europe, sal.

well, gina's the expert (and dictating some of this to me) but hey. she took me over for our honeymoon and we hit the highlights.

we're both very impressed, sal. how long are you going to be in europe, abby?

i don't know. until i get… inspired.

is the baby hotshot coming with?

i hate it when you two call him that.

we could have used his name if you'd ever given it to us.

and have you track him down at work and crack jokes? i don't think so. abby stares at her phone for a long moment before texting again. no, he's not coming. we broke up.

he broke up with you after your mom died?

forget cracking jokes, we'll track him down at work and break his leg.

thank you for the offer, i think? but i was the one that broke up with him.

why?

was the sex that bad?

because i'm going to europe and i don't know when i'm coming back?

gross, sal. abby, if this kid was really into you, he would have waited.

don't listen to tommy, abby, he's still half-hung up on this girl that dumped him ten years ago.

sal!

sal!

abby gets a solo text almost immediately from tommy, promising to dunk sal's head in the nearest toilet the next time they're in the same place. she laughs to herself, startling when the announcement for her flight comes crackling out of the overhead speakers.

that's my cue, gents. sal, just because you and gina wish tommy would move in doesn't mean you have to project that feeling onto us.

he's just so much better at folding laundry than sal ever is - gina

i'm not running away, we got a call. but i'm really embarrassed to know all three of you.

[prettyboykatsuki]

I know you've mentioned you dislike for light(which I am sooo for I hate him) but can I ask how death note as a series influenced you with characterization? Same with haikyuu I love it sm

i know death note and haikyuu are polar opposites in series content but in my opinion, they both do a really good job in handling the cause and effect of character interaction and demonstrating the influence of a chain events on both a characters mindset and their actions.

in death note, you spend most of the series listening the lights monologue - but you don't really get to see whats wrong with his ideology until L comes in the picture and consistently challenges lights ideas, intelligence, and demeanor. lights paranoia increases with each push and pull of their relationship - and it's explicitly because light and L understand each other. they're probably the only people in the world who knows the other so intimately and there's legitimacy to their relationship that unifies them that even light cannot completely ignore.

the complexity of L's death is largely responsible for lights spiral out as a character. on the roof top scene just before L dies, he confronts light head on for the first time. aware of both his betrayal and circumstances, and their participation in this cat and mouse game. ultimately, L hears the bell toll. in the end, light is unable to tell L the truth even up to his death

but their connection, their bond is undeniable. when L dies, even at the peak of ligths god complex - he is no longer a version of himself that is able to keep up with kira. they needed each other. without the threat and challenge of L in lights life - he was unable to carry out his work. they became crucial, integral to each other, over the course of the series.

the way death note goes about building, developing, and executing this relationship is brilliant. light, on paper, is a genius with a perfect life. so extraordinarily intelligent in his own right that becoming god of the new world felt truly feasible to him because he viewed all people as somehow beneath him.

but l comes into his life and challenges him. rouses him. forces him to outsmart him all the time. they truly, deeply, and sincerely understood each other under the layers and layers of circumstances - so much so that it makes you wonder how their lives would've been had they had a relationship from the start.

death note mostly influenced how i handled a character dialogue and conversation. how do people interact with each other? how are actions interlocked with a characters word choice? for what reasons would a characters internal monologue be incongruent with their behavior and how does this effect the relationship? what does it say? what things are they choosing to lie about etc

this is already very long so ill try to keep the haikyuu section shorter - but haikyuu is easily the most formative piece of media in my life and teen years and i think it accomplishes similar feats with its characterization.

the story relies primarily on character interaction in a way that feels very similar to me. there's no supernatural elements, no magic to demonstrate the efforts of the characters. reaching new heights is something that is done alongside another person. growth and develop and practice on your own can only take you so far. you are most influenced by who you are around. this is a common theme in sports manga but no manga does it as good as haikyuu

anyways. sorry for this ramble. these series r both super dear to me.

[tiddiesoutwhenthetisout]

i agree. i get comparing them (with humor) in a sense of "ooh they gay they died", but they have zero similarities :'') even the stories of their tragedies are very different. i think people may be misinterpreting it, without much regard to the plot, as

a) starry-eyed big dreams guy (jayce/achilles) and his

b) less sociable sidekick (viktor/patroclus)

or plain "himbo (j/a) and tired college student (v/p)" trope which is even more lost in translation. idk, that seems like where it'd go. there's a route to oversimplifying things that some people tend to go down when they idealize their ship because it fits the criteria to some of their favorite tropes. appearance also plays a big role in these things unfortunately, but that's an entirely different rabbit hole.

e.g., yes, neither jayce nor achilles is a himbo, but because of faulty connections, they are being classified under such. neither viktor nor patroclus is depicted as "the grumpy/chronically tired one", but because they show traits (perceived or otherwise) similar to a trope's dynamic, they are given that label, thus, compared and concluded similar.

perhaps the impression that patroclus "is a twink" from readers of the song of achilles, has aided them in likening him to viktor, who does not have the masculine body type of jayce. again, there is the oversimplification phenomena of, "they must be similar in size/build" because the patroclus from the aforementioned book refuses to fight, when in fact it was implied he was built like any other greek soldier. thus, people must imagine him as being like viktor, who has a noticeable hunch, pallor, and spindly limbs that could also have been a product of the latter's disability.

it's like they don't care much about the story-- their focal point is the shipping, which blurs out the bigger picture, and then the oversimplification i keep mentioning, happens.

> two dudes of the same field, involved in something that is more than friendship > one is [this way] and the other is [that way] which mirrors my impression of the other set of characters > i keep thinking about it, and the more i make connections that make more oversimplifications > until eventually it is all beliefs with little facts, that i've done mental gymnastics unconsciously to justify (note that there is not an ounce of condescension nor judgement despite the wording-- i'm just making statements in their simplest form)

although for the comment about patroclus' death being 100% avoidable, that's debatable imo because as far as i understand mythology, some things are just set in stone for the Other Thing to happen, and that there is a significant blur where a man's will ends and a god's will starts. also it's not that easy to disregard achilles' outburst as merely that. he was basically denied his reason living (glory acquired through the brutalities of war). i haven't gotten to that part of the iliad yet, but i hear he did intend to sail home very soon by that point and live his years but shit started to hit the fan. enlighten me on this, thank you.

anyways, again, this is my interpretation and i'd love to hear about why various sides are saying what they say 👌✨ i just don't believe in the absence of a thought process in even the most lacking conclusions. it exists but it's wired weirdly lol

sorry i am lacking sleep my eyes hurt my head hurts and the situation is not bonita so i may have rambled (i'm looking for something to occupy me so yes rn i have too much free time and too little chance of falling asleep)

This is a big Pet peeve of mine but I'll confess right here and now that I am a nerd

And I hate when people compare Viktor and Jayce to Achilles and Patroclus

I've been obsessed with the Iliad since 2019, and I've read a lot, and I mean A LOT of essays and books about the Iliad and about Achilles and Patroclus more specifically

So I guess you could say I kind of understand Achilles and Patroclus a bit

And my question is, what does Achilles and Patroclus have in common with Viktor and Jayce other than they're men and gay? Like no seriously, what?

Because, the core of Achilles and Patroclus' story; the most important part it's that they're soldiers, I can't even tell you guys how fundamentally important is that these guys are soldiers

And a big part of Jayce and Viktor's story is that they AREN'T soldiers, they're scientists! And literally a big part of Arcane would've been very different if both of them had stayed scientists instead of becoming a politician and Jesus

"they're both tragic!" Bish

Achilles and Patroclus' story is tragic, because Achilles chose his pride over Patroclus

Like Patroclus' death? 100% avoidable, wouldn't have happened if Achilles had stopped being a baby for once in his life and actually listened to Patroclus and went back to fight

Viktor and Jayce's story? Literally about Jayce choosing Viktor over everything else, About Jayce choosing Viktor over Mel, his mom, Cait, Piltover, magic, etc etc

At the end of the Iliad Achilles' hubris is punished by the story taking away the love of his life

At the end of arcane, Viktor is forgiven, Jayce and him get to be together, doesn't matter if it's in an alternate dimension or super gay heaven, but it's a hopeful ending

So the complete opposite of the Iliad

Listen, I love both Patrochilles and JayVik, but these two have almost nothing in common

And I would get into why their personalities aren't similar either but like, it's 2 am and I have to go to work tomorrow so, lmao

[bloodchapell]

castle of sand — senku i. 7 : wishful dream

brief summary: all about the school festival

what to expect: implied s/h, underage smoking, emotional abuse (?)

your sword's note: chapter on the longer side, all past and future parts + playlist of this series available in my mistresslist

"Lucia, Lucia, my daughter, please talk to me." Taiju said with despair. He was somehow a really good actor. You were all on the school theater rehearsing the play, and Taiju and you were doing the scene in which you were crying after seeing your fiancé leave the dance with the commoner girl. It was all going well, your face was hidden in your arms by some cardboard fountain.

"No father, leave me at once..."

"Lucia, my child." Since the costumes were almost done, you were using the pink dress with gold accents and the heels, and you expected Taiju to be wearing his formal clothes with a coat. Following the stage directions, Taiju picked you up. As the previous rehearsals, it went flawless, but once you saw his face covered in a fake beard you broke in laughter.

"I am terribly sorry." You apologized as Taiju put you back on your feet, still feeling the pain in your abdomen from having laughed so hard.

Senku watched from the audience, having also laughed at Taiju when he saw him. The festival was only a week away. After he finished painting the mask you would wear for the dance, the homeroom teacher made Senku help with building the props that required precise measurements.

"I never knew you were so funny!" Taiju exclaimed once the school day was over.

"But I am really not." You shrugged.

"Yes you are!" Taiju said. "Look, this is our friend Yuzuriha, from the crafts club."

"Nice to meet you." The girl said and you greeted her. "You are Senku's friend right?"

"Hmm, not quite."

"More like part-time neighbors and full-time archenemies." Senku noted.

Taiju and Yuzuriha gave a look at each other (as if they were not in a worse predicament).

"I love your haircut, it really suits you." Yuzuriha ignored Senku and complimented you. "We are going to the mall after school, wanna come?"

"Uhm..." You looked at Senku without knowing what to do.

"She has never been invited to go anywhere, but she will go." Senku replied. "Go home and fulfill your Cinderella duties and we will wait for you, don't take long."

Senku, Taiju and Yuzuriha kept walking towards the apartment complex while you went to the store to get some ingredients for the food you were going to cook for your mom. After you bought the food, you stood by the alleyway and sat behind the dumpster. It was plain daylight but you felt that taking a smoke right there and then was appropriate, so you reached to your pocket and got the box and the lighter out. There was only a cigarette left, big sigh, by that point you already got the hang of smoking so you placed the cigarette by your lips with one hand and with the other placed the lighter by it to light it.

It felt nice, smoking felt nice, it also felt accurate to your character. It sparkled some feeling of pleasure when the nicotine tricked your brain into releasing dopamine, and it was the staple for misery (and some may say it even looked cool, but you didn't believe that).

When the cigarette was over, you walked home and made sure to wash your hands before cooking lunch for your mother, making sure to leave everything neat so she would not be mad once you were back. After almost an hour, you were done. Reasonably, you stank of nicotine so you decided to take off your uniform and wear other clothes.

"Finally, Taiju already fell asleep." Senku said when you knocked on his door. "I know you have not gone to the mall with other people but you didn't need to change."

"Don't be cruel Senku." Yuzuriha laughed.

"My uniform got a little dirty when I was cooking so I threw it in the washer."

The four of you then walked towards the train station, the mall wasn't so far. Pointless conversations started and you tried participating in your own way of course.

"During class she says things that sound really smart but it makes sense, like life being beautiful." Taiju said. Woah, that was a brick hitting Senku in the face. Big oaf here could get your words and not him, new level of low.

After that one time Senku broke his brain thinking about the bridge allegory, he started to unconsciously assign people to their stance on the bridge. Where would Taiju be? He was definitely full of joy but still knew about the pains of life since he had lost his parents at a young age, maybe he had some unconscious knowledge but remained somewhat ignorant to the bad things.

You didn't like the mall, it was a place full of people with their friends and you only went with your parents, but now it seemed like a different world. Yuzuriha was buying some materials for her class' haunted house and after she got what she needed, you all sat in the food court and ate some trash food.

"After the school festival is over, we should definitely go out more!" Yuzuriha said on the way back. "It is nice to have another girl here."

The school festival would take place during the last days of May.

"Could we go to the beach?" You asked and they looked at you with some curiosity. "I have always wished to build a seriously insane sand castle."

"Me too!" Taiju said enthusiastically and Yuzuriha nodded.

Once off the train, Yuzuriha and Taiju said goodbye since they had to walk in the opposite direction. Senku and you walked towards the apartment complex and also said goodbye at your door as always.

"Where were you?"

Your breath hitches when you close the door and you hear your mother's voice. "I break my back working to let you freeload here, and you can't even have warm food for me."

"I cooked lunch."

"A horrible lunch, yes, which I had to heat up myself after coming from work. You don't do anything around here and can't even help me with these stupidities, I should have let your father decide what to do with you instead of trying to help an ungrateful daughter. He brainwashed you into hating me, you don't care about anything that I care about..."

You stood there while your mother rambled. Your eyes losing focus of reality and your mind diverting to a place elsewhere, a colorless room with nothing but you, you wondering what was the balance between a joyful and fleeting event as going to the mall and the misery that accounted for the rest of areas in your life. You only came back to reality from your mind space once your mother shut the door of her room. Though your eyes watered you didn't actually cry, you walked towards your room and locked the door, siting in the floor and reaching for your computer.

The next week was spent rehearsing the play and building the props, unfortunately the philosophy teacher canceled the trips to the conferences until the festival was over and you were left to deal with reality without the solace of nicotine.

The festival started the two last days of May. The first day was dedicated to the stands and the second day was dedicated to the presentations. On the first day, Senku, Taiju and you went around the school and made sure to visit the haunted house of Yuzuriha's class, Taiju was fascinated by the decorations, Senku babbled about the reasoning behind certain fears and you simply walked getting startled by everything that jumped to scare you. After two hours, Yuzuriha's shift at her class' stand was over and she joined you too. You couldn't help but fawn at the radiance Yuzuriha expelled and wished you could also be like that.

"You need to come see us tomorrow!" Once the day was over, Taiju asked Yuzuriha. "We are both on the play as father and daughter... she is the daughter."

"It is clear she is the daughter, why would you be the daughter?" Senku shook his head.

The evening was tedious, you made sure that everything was ready and you went over your lines several times. The nerves were consuming you so much that you wished you had saved a cigarette just to ease it.

"I am doing overtime tomorrow, make sure to have some warm food for me and clean the house." Your mom asked in a nice tone from the living room.

"But I told you that I have that play tomorrow, remember?" You walked out of your room to remind her.

"What do you mean play? You always have some fucking excuse to not do the bare minimum around here. Now I have to buy lunch since you have the national school play that will pay the bills in this house."

The sense of impending doom flooded your chest, when things got that way, you felt that the only way out of feeling like that was dying.

"I will have the food ready, I am sorry mommy, let's not fight."

She had that face of utter disgust when looking at you, but when she walked to her room and closed the door, you knew that your words worked because the door was not slammed. You made sure to cook something before going back to your room and ditch the script for your computer.

"Excited for the play?" Senku said in the morning when you two walked to school.

"I guess."

He noticed, immediately as always.

"Here. I bought some stuff last night and the store clerk gave me this." His hand extended towards you held a piece of your favorite candy. He knew he had purposefully bought some to keep around, but it was best to keep that unmentioned.

Once at school, the cast of the play was assigned to change into their costumes, so with the other girls, you went to the changing room and got dressed. Your dress had several layers and some required to be tied on the back, so you had asked Yuzuriha for some help. You put on the tights and the camisole, and Yuzuriha helped you put on the petticoat and the dress. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the scars in your arms but she stayed quiet, maybe once you two had grown closer she would ask and try her best to help you.

The last step on dressing you were the shoes, the heels in which you had to spin for a good while. Walking through the halls created an echo which you liked. Back in the classroom, Yuzuriha sat you on a chair and put some makeup on you, eyeshadow that highlighted your eyes and blush on your cheeks, plus some lipgloss. Then brushed your hair in a way that the ends curled towards your face.

"You look so pretty!" The girl complimented you and you smiled looking in the mirror.

Once Taiju's fake beard was on, you walked with him backstage and Yuzuriha and Senku went to the theater and sat in the audience. The play started flawlessly. You had already appeared and you did good for the first scenes, but you were nervous about the dance and the monologue.

Most of the cast was on the stage when the masquerade started in the play, you were wearing the mask Senku had painted for you, walking confidently into the stage. You stayed by the side watching the people dance and then you noticed your fiancé dancing with the commoner girl, while the mask still covered your face you admired proud as your classmates got their own dance down after so much practice. Once their dance was over, the commoner girl took the hand of the fiancé and walked off stage, it was your turn. You slowly took off the mask, revealing an appalled expression, you let the mask slip from your fingers and slowly the rest of your classmates moved back to give you space to dance. Miserably you walked to the middle of the stage and raised your hand towards the direction they had left, then both your hands went to your chest, your face showing a deep pain. You started the dance once the track started to play, and you kept repeating to yourself to put on a good show, to keep a straight sad face and to move with despair.

"Immense has been my sacrifice to satiate every desire of your heart, yet your steps follow those of the unrefined girl. Have I not done everything in my power for you to rest your soft gaze on my wishful eyes. My heart ached and bled for your love, for your attention, for a single word from your lips, yet I am bestowed with this most disgraceful sight. It was naught but a mistake to deliver my heart to such a suitor, and now that it resides forgotten in within your realm, I am to suffer without it."

Once the monologue was over, you dropped to your knees and hid your face in your arms which rested by the cardboard fountain. It went smooth. Now the real challenge was not breaking into laughter once Taiju picked you up.

"Lucia, Lucia, my daughter, please talk to me."

"No father, leave me at once..."

"Lucia, my child." He picked you up and you had to hide your face when the laughter started to creep in. The scene was over and thankfully your laughter sounded as crying.

Once backstage you had to cover your mouth when Taiju let you on the ground because it didn't make sense that your "crying" when acting continued once out of the stage. The play continued and it was soon over.

"That was so good! You did amazing!" Yuzuriha congratulated you and Taiju. "Did you actually cry when Taiju picked you up? It sounded so real."

"I was actually laughing so hard... it is interesting that my joy is not much distinguishable from my dismay." You said with your hand in your chin, with your index finger under your lips and a slight frown.

"That is her thinking pose." Taiju whispered to Yuzuriha.

You sat in silence with Senku while Yuzuriha and Taiju went to drink something. The silence was never uncomfortable, it just sat there too. You had genuinely not much to say, after an eventful situation you would always sit and think about it, almost reflecting on what had happened and how it made you feel. Senku on the other hand sat almost trembling trying to expel his thoughts. She looks pretty? Not by a millimeter. Whatever she may look like doesn't matter, because when the day comes to it, she will be bald as hell, 10 billion percent guaranteed. Knowing you were going to be bald made him feel reassured, because it meant that one day he would stop thinking those wrong thoughts.

In philosophy class, the teacher had talked about how to state arguments. Example:

Premise 1: Senku finds the French film girl attractive.

Premise 2: You resemble the French film girl.

Premise 3: The most defining thing abut the French film girl is her short hair.

Premise 4: You have the same haircut as her.

Conclusion: YOU NEED TO GO BALD

Makes sense.

"You did good." He simply mentioned.

"Thank you."

"Did you like it?"

"It was exciting." You said with a smile. "I might be joining the theater club."

Hearing you say that was odd. You were against being in clubs (probably because you had no friends and the social interactions you had with other people developed into them nodding confused at your remarks on the majority), but he agreed without thinking too much about it.

"We are back!" Taiju announced.

"We got you this." Yuzuriha gave you a box juice and you thanked her. "Sooo, how about we go to the beach on Monday after school? I saw that the weather will be really nice."

"Really?" You said sipping from the juice. Yuzuriha nodded. Taiju agreed with excitement and Senku shrugged. You smiled nodding too. "Then June 3rd it is."

June 3rd, 2019, marked in your mental calendar as a day that you would never forget. You were excited, it felt as if your tormentous life had reached the bottom of the void and there was no other direction to go but upwards.

"We will build a scientific sand castle that defies every other sand castle and might place us as top architects." Senku said looking at you with his little grin.

"Yeah, what a wishful dream." You sighed content.

taglist: @thelonestarinthesky

[dragon-susceptible]

Author's note: shadowsign is completely made up, and has no basis in any real-life sign language, somewhat by necessity as I don't know of any real world sign that only uses four fingers. This isn't meant to be a perfect representation of how sign language "translates" to spoken. Sign languages are languages unto themselves and just like translation between verbal languages, there are going to be connotations and double meanings that are different from one to the other, so very "literal" translations often aren't quite accurate to the meaning the speaker is trying to convey (see: many people's much more educated analysis of ASL in the cartoon and how the speaking characters interpret it). I've just done my best to give a basic portrayal of that.

Twenty years of this duty had made Runaan a light sleeper whenever he was outside the shelter of his home hollow - or his husband's arms - and he woke enough to be aware of it when Ram handed the night's watch over to Skor. He blinked through the darkness at them, confused for a moment. Since the addition of the children, they'd all been alternating tents; the princes stayed in the tent of the first watch, and they traded through the other five as the night went on. This time Skor showed his teeth at Ram for even ducking towards the tent he emerged from. Waking up a little further to look, it was clear enough as to why - he had been in Callisto's, and the wounded elf was still asleep inside.

As Skor went to sit on the watcher's perch and Ram obediently backed off and went to sleep in Skor's empty tent, Runaan sighed deep and low and pushed himself out of his bedroll. He needed to talk to his friend.

Skor was silent when Runaan sat down next to him, though he glanced over to acknowledge his approach.

"Callisto?" Runaan prompted softly.

Asleep. Skor signed.

Runaan raised an eyebrow at him. "Your throat?"

Shouting over the water.

"Ah." Runaan shifted to face him, to see his hands better. "So. Callisto is worth holding a numbing spell over, but when I needed stitches a year ago . . ."

Skor rolled his eyes. "You were fine." He signed pointedly.

"I am." Runaan agreed, but tilted his head at his friend. "But that isn't why this was different."

Skor didn't deny it, just cast his gaze back down from the tree to watch the occasional sign of the tracker they'd picked up over the course of the day. They had finally caught up a bit after night fell, though they weren't too daring getting closer.

Runaan watched him for a moment and then glanced back at the tent, which Skor had shut firmly behind him when he left it. He felt Skor's tension rise when he looked, and gave him another pointed look in response.

"Say what you want to say, Master of Blades." Skor signed with a flat look through his hair.

Runaan sighed. "You are both very dear friends of mine." He said softly. "I will not ask for details, because I do not want them if he comes to me. I will not be your go-between. But Skor, as your friend, I have to ask, are you happy?"

Skor looked at him sharply.

"You need connection so much more than he does." Runaan met his gaze. "Are you certain you're happy with the distance he keeps?"

His friend blinked at him and then looked back at the tent, then at the forest. "You know me well, but he knows me better," Skor replied carefully. "You are right that I need connection, but I have enough. He gives me the space to be who I am now. Yes, I am happy."

"Even with the distance he keeps from you?"

Skor closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "He is afraid of leaving someone to grieve. I am afraid of leaving someone I love. We aren't . . . We both need time to change, before we can be more than this, Runaan."

"You are already more than just friends, Skor. We all see it in how you care for each other."

"I know." Skor said, a bit sadly. "But committing is too dangerous for us both. We aren't you, Runaan, or Andromeda."

It was somewhat true that he and Andromeda were the odd ones out. Most assassins married within the guild, fought and died together, or remained unmated until they had left it. The problem was that Runaan knew how dedicated both Skor and Callisto were to the guild, and knew in his sinking heart that neither would ever leave it. "Will you wait forever for him?" he asked softly. "If you had a chance to retire, to have the family you wanted when you were young-"

"That chance is long gone, Runaan. I lost that dream when I was sixteen." Skor cut him off with a gesture, and touched his unmarked throat meaningfully. "Even if I left, had children, I would never be able to speak to them, tell them stories, sing them songs, the way I wanted to back then."

"A voice is not a requirement for fatherhood, Skor."

"No. But it was part of that dream. My hopes have changed, Runaan. Callisto is worth waiting for. If they are never ready, I will be all right, so long as I have them close to my heart." He touched the braid that Runaan knew Callisto had placed in his hair. "Maybe one day, my friend. But not yet. We aren't ready."

Runaan watched his face for a moment, seeing only sincerity, a bit of thoughtfulness, and sighed slowly. "I will not pry further. But things have not changed between you for nearly ten years, Skor. I truly hope you both find peace within yourselves, because watching you is beginning to be painful for me."

Skor smirked at him broadly. "Now you know how everyone else felt when Ethari moved to the Silvergrove."

Runaan rolled his eyes, but Skor wasn't done.

"And how Rayla feels whenever he shows to the training grounds with a new scar on his jaw from your horns."

"Yes, yes." Runaan's cheeks turned faintly pink under his tattoos and he cleared his throat. "I take your point."

"Not as much as you take -"

"I'm not listening to this anymore." Runaan pointedly looked away before Skor finished the sentence, and stood up from the branch. "I just wanted to check on you and this is how you betray me."

When he looked back down, Skor's smile was a little more sincere. "Thank you, my friend. I am all right, I promise."

"Good. Will you wake him for his turn on watch?"

"What do you take me for?"

"A man very much in love." Runaan replied bluntly, and his heart ached at how Skor's smile faded a little and he looked away. "Wake me early for mine, if you insist on letting him sleep. Do not exhaust yourself for him."

Skor nodded. "I will wake you."

"Good night, Skor. Moon watch over you."

Skor replied with an old, traditional sign that meant Moon watch over us all, and Runaan dropped down from the branch to return to his tent. While it comforted him that Skor seemed genuinely content with how things were, he still wished for a resolve to this dance his friends had been doing. They seemed all right, but it hadn't escaped his notice that Skor never said he was happy. Callisto never did, either.

He couldn't force them into it, though. He just hoped providing what little counsel he could would be enough.

[thezombieprostitute]

Hi, Zombie! I’ve heard those who work in pediatrics have such busy schedules that they hardly get time for themselves until they’re home! Do you think this video matches up to Jake’s single life? Or even sometimes to now that he’s married?

Eating Habits

Note: This takes place soon after you and Jake first meet. Well before the events of the previous chapter.

Warnings: Hospital setting, Talk of food and eating habits. Please let me know if I missed any!

A/N: Reader is female. No other physical descriptors used.

You were two weeks into your pediatrics rotation and you were certain this wasn't the field for you. You'd already suspected, but these past couple of weeks really cemented it. You get why these rotations are important but really the only thing you look forward to every day is time with Jake.

Jake is one of the few male nurses in pediatrics and it really is a good fit for his personality. The kids all love him and he's so good at remembering their favorite games and cartoons. He was also strong enough to carry the kids around as needed. He was on the leaner side but it was definitely muscle. You'll never forget how he looked when he had to change scrubs. His arms had definitely made an appearance in your dreams.

If you had time you'd probably let your brain come up with a more elaborate fantasy but it was too busy with coursework and trying to internalize all the medical terminology and procedures. You knew med school was going to be tough but that still wasn't enough to prepare you for the reality of it.

One of your brief respites in the break room you saw Jake downing a few things of saltines and a small can of soda. Unable to contain your curiosity you finally broach the subject of food.

"Do you eat anything other than soda and soda crackers?"

"Of course!" he replies with a smile and mouth full of crumbs. His chugs the soda before continuing. "This stuff just gets me through the day until I can get home and calorie bomb."

"Calorie bomb?"

"Yeah. The human body needs, what? 2200 calories? Especially if you're active like I am? I have a decent sized breakfast of overnight oats and a ton of coffee, I eat saltines and soda to keep my blood sugar up, and then I get home and chug a protein shake with a couple thousand calories."

"Jake, I know I'm not a nutritionist but that doesn't sound healthy."

"It probably isn't," he concedes. "But I don't have the time for eating otherwise."

"How are you still alive?" you shake your head, aghast.

"How are you?" he counters. "Don't think I haven't noticed you drink more coffee than water and seem to survive on nothing more than the occasional granola bar."

"At least the granola bars have nutritional value!"

"As do the overnight oats!" he argues. "Let's face it, hospital life doesn't promote healthy eating habits."

You sigh, nodding in defeat at his words. He sits next to you and you have to fight the urge to lean into him. You want to be snuggled in his arms so badly but you barely know each other.

Then you get an idea.

"What if we make it a competition?" He raises an eyebrow at you. "For the rest of my rotation, we track calories and nutrition. Whoever meats their daily goals more often, wins."

"Hmmmmm. I do love a competition. What's the prize?"

"Loser has to cook for the winner?"

Jake's eyes widen at that and he sticks out his hand towards you. "Deal!"

When the last two weeks of your rotation are done you almost don't want it to be over. Pediatrics is definitely not your field, but the competition has really given you more talking time with Jake. Showing off foods to each other, making jokes about cooking and recipes.

Really, the competition wasn't just good for your physical health. Sure actually getting the food and water you needed had helped your energy levels which helped your studying and overall performance. But joking with Jake, getting a few minutes here and there to just relax, had helped your nerves, too. There were fewer headaches, your instructor even commented that you were showing more patience with the patients!

Part of you was genuinely scared that, in your next rotation, you'd end up reverting back to your bad habits. You didn't want to, but you couldn't exactly drag Jake with you to every department. And then there was your post-med school career. What if you didn't get an internship or residency at this hospital like you wanted to? Maybe Jake would be up for exchanging numbers? Emails? Something to keep helping each other?

You sit next to Jake in the break room and he gives you a half smile. "So, today's your last day here, right?" he mumbles.

"That's right. Which means it's time to look at our numbers."

"Um, right, about that..."

"Are you okay, Jake?"

"Look, um...my numbers...I just...How do I say this?"

"Did you sabotage yourself?"

"No! No, I promise. I took the competition seriously! I just...I don't want the competition to be over."

Your jaw drops at his confession. "Can...can I ask why?"

Jake's face turns a deep pink as he replies. "I've really...I mean, the food has definitely helped me out. I've got more energy for the kids, my insides are a lot more...regular, and my gaming scores are higher! And..."

"And?"

"And I like spending time with you," he mumbles so quietly you almost miss it.

Smiling you tell him, "I was hoping we could keep the competition going." His head shoots up, a look of confusion with hints of relief, on face. "This has been really good for me, too. So, regardless of who wins, who loses, maybe we can still...chat? Still compete? Still cook for each other depending on who wins or loses?"

He gifts you with the biggest smile you've ever seen from him as his shoulders relax and he shows more of his usual energy. "Thank you, so much! I was really worried you wouldn't...I mean, I know I'm a complete dork, so I wouldn't blame you if you regretted this whole thing and just wanted to be done with me."

"Jake, I honestly don't think I'll ever get tired of you."

"Can I hug you?"

"Yes, please! Then we'll check the numbers."

Jake wraps you up in a big, warm, tight embrace and, rather than feeling awkward about the touch, your body seemed to lean into it. You don't usually have the brain capacity for thinking beyond the next academic year, but a part of you thinks you'd enjoy this forever.

Tagging:

@alicedopey; @delicatebarness; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @irishhappiness; @lokislady82; @ronearoundblindly; @thiquefunlover63

[cosmicterrorthe8th]

Another Grant headcanon:

I think he wrote love notes when in relationships, and he went all out with like making the paper scented and stuff. But like he had no good perfume so he ended up using his horrible body spray. So like the lucky boyfriend would like find a paper reeking of the body spray like every once in a while.

Also I think he was someone who fell deep into romance because having a crush and feeling butterflies in his stomach was better than numbness. So he would pursue every crush even if he knew it would not end well because of the thrill of it. I think this sucked but I think he atleast felt like this is a normal way for life to suck.