#if i had been smart making this prompt list i would have swapped today and yesterday but alas

[miwtual]

kai @miwtual's birthday countdown celebration — day 9: layout/template @miwnet motionless in white meme — [2/3] band members @lgbtqcreators creator challenge — layout + celebrity profile

RYAN SITKOWSKI (insp) (google template)

[jasontoddswhitestreak]

fluff prompts 10 & 19 with pietro maximoff would be so cute 🥺

elevator talk

summary: while on a mission with the avengers team you manage to save pietro’s life leading him to want to show his appreciation for you inspired by this prompt list

content warning: pietro maximoff x fem!reader, fluff, slight angst, mentions of blood, set after age of ultron but pietro never dies and civil war doesn’t take place <3

note: i hope i don’t disappoint you with this fluff! i’ve been reading more quicksilver comics recently and this is the outcome of that :)

REQUESTS ARE OPEN! (lmk if you want to see anymore content like this <3)

masterlist

"Remind me again, why did the ENTIRE team need to come on this mission?" You complained, fighting off two grown men while waiting for the signal Tony was supposed to give to tell you it's safe to go inside the building.

"Call it a group bonding session." Tony teased while flying near the building in his Iron Man suit, trying to figure out how to lower the shields. Ever since the fall of SHIELD, it became even more difficult to find the remaining Hydra bases and due to the Ultron situation that occurred a few years ago, the difficulty only increased.

"Could we do a little less chitchat and a little more fighting?" Steve demands, you could hear Cap's grunts through your earpiece, making it obvious that he's struggling to fight off the Hydra goons.

You were a couple miles away from the building attempting to make your way closer to it, the enemies clearly noticed your arrival when they saw a person in red and yellow suit flying pass their windows, easily recognising the well known Iron Man.

And because a huge green angry Hulk isn't exactly easy to ignore.

"Clearly Cap can't keep up with us superheroes." Pietro teased, with a blink of an eye he knocked out the enemies surrounding both you and Steve.

"Thanks for the help Sonic, I'd give you some onion rings but I don't have any on me right now." You joked, smirking at the exasperated speedster that stood in front of you.

"I just saved your life and this is how you repay me Prinţesă?" He feigned hurt, placing his hand over heart.

"Saving her life? That's a bit of an exaggeration even for you Piet." Wanda's voice was heard from the comms, she managed to make her way into the building effortlessly, fighting beside Vision.

"Mind your business Wanda." Pietro scoffs biting back the smile forming on his face, he could hear his sisters laugh through the earpiece.

"As much as I love hearing the two of you argue with each other, now may not be the time." Natasha commented, followed by Clint agreeing.

You sighed, knowing they were right, focusing on the mission instead of the twin in front of you, glancing around at your surroundings. You noticed the enemies lined up behind Pietro preparing for an attack. You would've seen it earlier if it wasn't for the conversation distracting you.

You thought it was too late when you saw the bullet fly through the air, aiming directly at Pietro, it felt as though it was moving in slow motion. The piece of metal cutting through the air making its way to the speedster. Not registering the fact that Pietro had super healing abilities your mind recalled what happened in Sokovia. The bullets going through Pietro in every angle possible. Him falling onto the ground, the colour drained from his face, everyone thought he was dead, Wanda included. That was until the speedster managed to spit out a joke about Ultron's good aim.

You didn't register what you were doing until after you did it. Rushing to protect him from the bullet you pushed him out of the way last minute, the bullet barely missed him, you felt the bullet scrape against your arm instead. Pietro fell to the ground with a yelp as you fell on top of him, wincing due to the pain the bullet caused you.

Steve ran over to the two of you after knocking out the culprit.

"They're both down." Steve states, Pietro shakes his head, attempting to sit up, lifting you up and placing you in his lap comfortably.

"Why'd you do that? You know I can take bullets right?" Pietro scowled, glancing over your body to check for anymore injuries besides the bullet wound, his hands were gentle, brushing over your body in a caring manner as he lets the palm of his hands rest on the sides of your face, holding your face in his hands.

"Now i saved your life." You joked, blushing at the position the two of you were currently in and trying to hide the pain the bullet was causing you. You weren't a super soldier or someone with super healing abilities, so jumping in front of a bullet to save someone that could survive getting shot multiple times wasn't smart thinking on your part.

But you couldn't help it.

You wouldn't say you and Pietro were best friends, you did get along well but the twin refrained from getting close to any of the avengers. Your relationship consisted of teasing each other often and bumping into each other constantly during midnight, resulting in the two of you having your own midnight sessions where the two of you sat in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate.

You reminisced on the last time you had your 'midnight session' with Pietro, not being able to focus on what Pietro and Steve were saying to you, there was a loud ringing in your head, echoing as you closed your eyes to stop the headache that was forming, you felt yourself being lifted up in someone's arms.

Maybe you underestimated how bad the bullet wound was.

"Fine weather we're having don't you think?" You laughed, glancing over at the window, the heavy rain pelted against the glass of the compound, that alongside the wind that sounded much louder in your bedroom made it difficult to even attempt to sleep. You could just barely make out the trees in the distance due to the night sky.

"Didn't think you'd show up tonight, don't you need the sleep before our mission tomorrow?" Pietro questioned. He was facing the stove, you could smell the hot chocolate that was heating up. You made your way next to him, grabbing two mugs and placing them next to him before moving to the fridge to grab the whipped cream.

You swapped positions with Pietro, passing the can of whipped cream to him and grabbing the spoon that was used to stir the hot chocolate.

"Oh wait! I made cookies today, we could have them now!" You remembered, grabbing the plate of cookies from the cupboard and placing it on the table, Pietro immediately reached out for one, and then another.

"I don't know if you know this yet but, I love you." Pietro confesses, grabbing another cookie. You pushed the plate away from him before he could grab another.

"You gotta slow down Piet, don't want you emptying the plate before we even get to have the hot chocolate, now do we?" You grinned and he complains, reaching out for another.

"It's nice to know you care so much about my well-being dragă." You rolled your eyes at the smirk plastered on his face. With the blink of an eye he was stood across from you, closer to the plate of cookies, with another in his hand.

The two of you couldn't stop the smiles that formed on your face, even going to bed in a much better mood than you were in previously.

It was hours after the mission, you were patched up as soon as the quinjet landed at the compound. After a long lecture from Steve and the debriefing, you were finally able to be alone, only wanting to go back your room and sleep for days.

You made your way to the elevator that would take you to your floor, too tired to take the stairs. You attempted to fight back the tiredness, blinking harshly to keep yourself awake, missing the blue streak of a superhero making its way into the elevator and right beside you.

"How are you feeling Dragă mea?" Pietro speaks out after a couple moments, you jumped in shock not realising the speedster was next to you.

"Dammit Piet! What did I say about doing that?" You held your hands over your chest, frightened. He looked at you apologetically before moving to the elevator buttons, pressing the button that stops the elevator from moving.

You stared at him as he sighed, struggling to put his thoughts into words.

"Piet... what's wrong?" You whispered, analysing his face and posture, you could tell he was stressed. He turned to look at you, his face softening when your eyes met.

"I can’t lose you prinţesă." He manages to say, making his way to you, reaching out for your hand.

His hand was warm in yours, he held onto your hand tightly, you looked at him confused, raising your hand to rest against his jaw, your thumb stroking his cheek gently.

“You’re not going to lose me, where’s this coming from Pietro?” You asked softly. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest, your head rested against his chest. You could feel his uneven breaths, almost as if he’s on the verge of having a panic attack. Pietro struggled to even out his breath, panic bubbling up inside of him, he can’t lose you. Even the thought of losing you filled him with dread, he doesn’t deserve someone to risk their life for him, especially someone like you.

“How did I manage to get you?” He finally whispers, pulling back to look at you.

That’s when you understood what he was trying to say.

“I don’t want to lose you too, you know? Even the thought of it, it just-” You take a deep breath, smiling solemnly at him. “Every-time we go on a mission I’m terrified Piet, after what happened in Sokovia- after what happened to you. I cant lose you, I care too much about you.” The memories of what happened in Sokovia haunted you. You weren’t close to the Maximoffs then but you understood them, you understood their pain and loss. Similarly to them you had no one, no family, no one to say ‘I love you’ too.

Until now.

“That’s a very complicated way to say you love me, dragă.” He teased, you could see the redness in his eyes from the tears that were threatening to spill.

“Well no one else enjoys my baking as much as you do.” He rolled his eyes in response knowing your referencing the night before, while still holding you in his arms, he reaches out to turn the elevator back on.

No more words were needed to be said, not for now at least. You had each other, and that’s all that mattered to you, for now.

[themonotonysyndrome]

REDACTED verse - A special night

Prompt: Any Fandom | Any Characters/Pairings | Ordering a sweet treat to be delivered to the other person at home/work

Word Count: 2,136

Author/Team: LadyMonotone

Fandom/Original: Redacted ASMR (Gavin/Freelancer. Vincent Solaire/Lovely) 

Rating: T

Triggers: NA

Summary: Having an Incubus boyfriend comes with many perks. The Freelancer and Lovely really should have seen it coming. 

ConCrit: Y 

Well, I guess this can be a sequel to my previous oneshot, REDACTED verse - Those that stood above the rest. I really wanted to write the Freelancer and Lovely interacting after their first, proper meeting so this oneshot suddenly comes to mind! 

-

Exam week is the bane of every student, everywhere — even for the magical ones. 

An uneasy atmosphere lingers around D.A.M.N as the current semester hurl the students into an intense week of revisions, study groups, and extra classes; all for the upcoming exams. 

The seniors are frantically cramming for their final papers and projects under the watchful eyes of the lecturers. The Freelancer doesn't envy them one bit when they caught a Sonal Energetic screamed into his backpack for a solid ten minutes. 

His scream shakes the student lounge, and the windows shattered. 

Once he got that out of his system, he focused back towards his textbook, expressionless. The rest of the students around the Energetic hardly bat an eye over what just happened. 

On that day, the Freelancer learned to avoid a large group of seniors until the exam week blows over. 

"The tension alone in that lounge could make a Serenity Daemon hide underneath a bed." The Freelancer narrates their experience to Lovely. The two of them are currently having their own study session over at the Freelancer's apartment. 

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and yet here they are - flipping through textbooks, reviewing and swapping notes and downing cans of coffee and Red Bulls from as early as 9 AM. "Even the janitor wasn't fazed by it. He just snapped his fingers, and the windows were good as new!"

That night after their proper introduction, Lovely and the Freelancer had become quite good friends, much to Vincent's annoyance and Gavin's pleased smirk when the Freelancer told him that Lovely would be coming over for their study session. 

"Aww, look you, Deviant. Arranging a little study date with that friend of yours," Gavin teased during breakfast this morning. They both woke up early to prepare meals that could last the Freelancer and Lovely throughout the whole day. When his Deviant absentmindedly replied, "Uh-huh" as they were busy chopping the vegetables, Gavin couldn't help but plant a fond kiss on top of their head. "Anyway, I'll be popping into Aria for a bit today. A few of my, ah, older brothers and sisters called for a meeting. Can I trust that you two won't be having too much fun without me?"

The Freelancer stopped chopping to gave their boyfriend a deadpan stare. "Gavin, we'll be studying." They explained. "Our first paper is literally next week. So I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there won't be any fucking happening." They then stop themselves. They suddenly recalled something. "I don't want to be on that Solaire Prince's hit list too."

Gavin just cooed at their disgruntled partner, as if the genuine possibility that the both of them being shred to pieces by Lovely's possessive boyfriend amused him. 

Nonetheless, Gavin pulled his weight to ensure there was enough food and comfortable pillows and blankets in their shared apartment so that his Deviant and the Electro Energetic would be comfortable for their revisions. 

An hour before Lovely arrived, Gavin kissed the Freelancer goodbye and Rifted into his home dimension. 

And now we're back in the present. 

"I think those students around that guy were his classmates," Lovely commented. They take a quick sip of the lemonade that Gavin prepared to refresh their parched throat. Even in a simple pair of slacks, baggy t-shit, and hair pulled up in a bun, they still look as breathtaking as ever. "They reacted as if it was like a regular Tuesday for them. It's so crazy to think that we'll be seniors like them soon."

The Freelancer pours more lemonade into their glass from the pitcher beside them. Their books, notebooks and snacks are spread all over the dining table. A large and fluffy pillow is propped behind the Freelancer so they can lean back on their chair comfortably. "Urgh, mood. I can already imagine the coursework we'll be forced to do in our final semester." They groan. Their brain is fried from all the information and notes they've been reviewing since this morning. On top of that, the thought that they will be getting even more work once they hit their senior year is starting to freak them out. 

Seeing the Freelancer is having an internal crisis, Lovely quickly glance at the time on their phone and decides, "OK, I think we seriously need a break. You look like you're going to pull a stunt similar to that Sonal Energetic, and I don't think your boyfriend appreciates coming back to a half-destroyed apartment."

"Gavin can fix the apartment with his magic, don't worry." The Freelancer is quick to assure Lovely. "He did that after he and Vega trashed the place anyway."

"Uh, what? Who's Vega?"

The Freelancer snapped their attention back to Lovely once they realised the name that they accidentally dropped. "N-Nothing! I didn't s-say anything!" They laugh awkwardly, doing their best to brush off Lovely's concerned expression. "Anyway, break! Yeah! That's a good idea! Are you hungry? We can watch something on Youtube and eat in the living room. You're OK with that?"

Lovely gingerly nods; it's best not to comment or ask about this Vega person since the name alone made their friend jumpy. They push their chair back, stretch their stiff spine, and get up to help set the plates and cutleries while the Freelancer heats the lunch they made in the morning. 

They then move to the living room with a tray of food and drinks, where the couch and coffee table are surrounded by pillows and blankets thrown around messily. 

"You play video games, right?" The Freelancer asked after Lovely settle down on the couch with a blanket over their lap. "Do you want to watch a playthrough or something?"

"Sure! Do you and Gavin play video games too?"

"Gavin does, though he usually only plays those dating sim games for girls. It's a guilty pleasure of his."

"Oh, Otome Games? My respect for your boyfriend just levelled up. Has he ever played Hatoful Boyfriend?"

"Uh... I don't remember he ever mentioned that title. What is it about?"

"We're watching a playthrough of that game. Right now. You can watch it with me, but you can't tell Gavin anything, OK? I promise you're going to love his reactions."

Lovely's eyes light up with glee and grin widely as the Freelancer switch on the Smart TV. When thumbnails of pigeons with pink hearts in the background pop up on the screen, they immediately throw an incredulous look at the Energetic. 

"That top playlist is good to watch. Come on, sit beside me." Lovely pats on the empty spot on the couch beside them, unperturbed at the look the Freelancer is giving them. "I think you're going to like Okosan."

The Freelancer press play on the first video and kick back on the couch with the Energetic. What's better than having a break after a long study session? Hanging out with a friend with some good food while watching a crazy romance video game about pigeons! 

However, when the fourth video starts to play, the doorbell rings. 

"Uh... are you expecting someone?" Lovely asks curiously; their head is tilting towards the door. Their plate of eggplant pasta and buttered abalones are polished on their lap. The Freelancer internally preened when they enthusiastically complimented on theirs and Gavin's cooking skills. 

Anyway, the Freelancer moves their empty tray onto the coffee table and flip over the blanket to get up. "Not really. Gavin said he'll be coming back home at night." They explain and went towards the door when the doorbell ring once more. 

A delivery man greets the Freelancer with a stoic face, an armful of flower bouquet, and a thick, rectangular item wrapped in hot red packaging. 

"I, uh, think you got the wrong address?" They said, confused to hell and back. 

The delivery man blinks, unfaze at the Freelancer's greeting. "Good afternoon. Delivery for..." He pauses to read the card attached to the bouquet. "Deviant? We received a request from Gavin to arrange a flower bouquet and some... special chocolates. He also left a message for you: My Deviant has been working so hard lately~ So I got you something to... help you relax. PS: give some of the special chocolates to that gorgeous friend of yours and their boyfriend."

The Freelancer could only gape when the delivery man finished reciting Gavin's message. From the living room, Lovely is also doing an excellent mimicking of a goldfish. Their stunned expression made the man sigh tiredly. "Look, I'm not going to judge your... bedroom activities. Just take the packages already. I still have more stops to deliver."

"O-Oh my god! I'm really, really sorry about my boyfriend!" The Freelancer finally snaps out of it and stammers an apology. Their face is bright red. They hurriedly accept the flowers and package, shoot a quick thank you and slams the door shut. 

Lovely watches as the Freelancer stares into the bouquet with a mixed feeling, something between fondness and extreme embarrassment, before they scream into the large sunflowers. 

They patiently wait for the Freelancer to get it out of their system before Lovely delicately asks, "So, uh, does Gavin do these sort of things often?"

"No. This is the first time ever." The Freelancer replies. Their voice is muffled because the flowers are still pressed onto their face. "That's what I get for dating an Incubus, I supposed..."

"Aww, don't be embarrassed, dude! I think it's super sweet how much Gavin loves you. Flowers and chocolates? Boy got some serious game; might even give Vincent a run for his money, and you should've seen how we first met."

The Freelancer peeks through the petals and is relieved to find that Lovely wasn't put off by Gavin's forward nature. In fact, they are very accepting of the Freelancer and Gavin's relationship.

Feeling the warmth on their cheeks slowly disappearing, the Freelancer made their way back to the couch. The rectangular package is tossed onto the couch, and the bouquet is on the coffee table. The Freelancer figured they could put the fresh flowers in a water-filled vase later. 

"The guy said that Gavin sent you some chocolates?" Lovely reiterate as the Freelancer began to untie the ribbon and unwraps the box. 

"Special chocolates, and knowing Gavin, I kinda have an idea of what kind of chocolates they are." They admit and make quick work of tearing the paper wrappings. 

Apparently, Gavin ordered two types of chocolates for his Deviant. One box holds a fancy gourmet assortment of salted almonds dipped in rich Belgium chocolate, double chocolate raspberry truffles, vanilla pieces powdered with light matcha and some white praliné hearts. 

Lovely whistle, impressed over the spread. "Your boyfriend really went all out for you!"

The box below it contains rows of heart-shaped chocolates, but the short message written on the card of said box proves it's anything but ordinary treats. 

'These are homemade chocolates made by one of my close associates. She's a Succubus, by the way, and renowned for her aphrodisiac desserts. You can try some first if your Energetic friend doesn't mind being a voyeur.'

The Freelancer promptly throws away the card and cues them, and Lovely shrieking in embarrassment. Neither of them expects the second batch of chocolates. 

"These are sexy chocolates? Like, legit aphrodisiac chocolates made with magic!? Oh my god, I didn't know they were a thing!"

"I didn't either! I was expecting sex toys below the chocolates!"

"Wait - didn't Gavin wants to give these to Vincent and me!? Dude, does he has a thing for Vincent? Because at this point, I should tell you: he noticed that Gavin was purposely riling us up when they first met, and he's been thinking that your boyfriend is out to get him. But, uh, not in the sexy way, but I'm thinking otherwise now. And if that's the case, then you can warn that Incubus to be ready and catch these hands."

The Freelancer groans and hides their face in their hands. "OK, you know what? I'm going to put the special chocolates in the fridge, and then we'll continue watching a few more videos from the playthrough and get back to studying."

"... You're in denial."

"I'm just trying to keep whatever sanity I have left. It's been a crazy year."

"Urgh, tell me about it."

-

That night, at Lovely's and Vincent's apartment: 

"Vincent, baby? I'm back. Look what I got!"

"Welcome home, Lovely. Dinner's ready if you're hungry. Hmm? What's that?"

"It's homemade aphrodisiac chocolates made by a Succubus. Gavin and the Freelancer gave some to us."

"...I'm gonna punch that Incubus in his smug ass face."

"...Does that mean you don't want them in the bedroom tonight?"

"OK, I'll punch him tomorrow. C'mere, Lovely. I've missed you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

[themadlostgirl]

Keeping Warm

*It is soft Felix simping hours*

Prompt: Reader gets cold easily and steals Felix’s cloak to keep warm not knowing it was his. Felix has some feelings about this.

Requested by: anon

Warnings: language

~~~

I am not good with cold. I’m just not. It’s been that way ever since I was little. When I am cold I shut down and for some reason I always seem to be cold. I don’t know what caused it but I needed to be in the heat at all times. I figured that when I flew to Neverland I wouldn’t have to worry about the cold anymore. It is a tropical jungle after all.

The days are long and the sun is sweltering. I bask in the heat and humidity with a reverence reserved for deities. I was warm and I was happy. The Lost Boys often joked that I was just like a lizard basking on a hot rock. Almost no one actually called me by name anymore after they made that connection. I was always lizard or viper. I learned to live with it.

With that said it looked as if Neverland was my dream come true and it was...until night came. The second the sun was no longer in the sky the island got cold. I expected it to drop a few degrees during the night but the difference was so stark that I spent most nights shivering in my tent with my thin cloak huddled tight around me.

One night I had been so cold that I huddled myself near the bonfire and fell asleep there. It was at that moment I decided to suck up my pride and ask the boys for some help.

“Hey guys,” I approached a group of boys I was sorta close to, “Are there any blankets around?”

“What do you need a blanket for?” One of the asked.

“Well, I get really cold at night and I was wondering if I could maybe get a blanket or at the very least a thicker cloak.” I muttered, meekly.

“How on earth are you cold?” The boys started laughing. “This island is a thousand degrees all the damn time. You really are cold blooded, lizard.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” I crossed my arms, “I’m a wuss because I get cold easily. Can you stop making fun of me?”

“Awe, did we hurt your feelings?” One of the boys pinched my cheek, “Little lizard girl can’t stand a little cold?”

“You guys are such jerks!” I shoved them off. “Forget I said anything. I’ll find something on my own.” I huffed and marched off. The boys were wrong about me being cold blooded because I could feel the blood boiling in my veins. Now if only I could bottle this red hot anger and use that to warm my tent at night.

I went up to other Lost Boys asking around for a spare blanket but they all gave me the same bark of laughter and refusal to help me. I had enough and went out to the beach to find my sunbathing rock. It was a large smooth flat rock that stretched into the sea a bit. It was a nice place to keep warm and get some peace and quiet.

When I got there I saw that I wasn’t the only looking for some quiet.

“Hey Felix,” I sat down next to him, “What brings you here today?”

“Stone skipping,” He gestured to the pile of stones by his feet. “Come to warm yourself, viper?”

“What else do I do?” I sighed. I liked Felix. He was easy to talk to and unlike a lot of the other boys when he called me lizard or viper I didn’t think he did it out of malice. It was just a name like Toodles or Slightly. I thought briefly about asking him about acquiring a blanket but decided not to. I had enough of the boys laughing in my face and I really didn’t want to add Felix to that list.

The minutes passed by as I laid down to soak in the sun. Another thing that I liked about Felix was that I didn’t feel the need to fill the silence around him. We could simply exist next to each other. It was rather comforting that we could have these moments when I lived on an island full of boys that couldn’t stand still for more than five seconds.

“Scoot over,” Felix nudged me with his foot.

“Run out of rocks already?” I made room next to me so Felix could lay down as well.

“Yeah,” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Weren’t a lot to be found today.”

“Happens,” I shrugged. I pulled an orange out of my pocket and started peeling it. “Orange slice?”

He opened his mouth and I rolled my eyes before dropping a slice in. “You know,” I said, “One of these days I’m going to do something like drop a rock or a little hermit crab in your mouth.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I?” I bit into a slice. Felix opened an eye to glare at me. I held out another slice as a peace offering. He took it with his hand this time. “Smart choice.”

“Remind me why I put up with you?”

“Because I’m fun and also quiet and I always end up giving you half of my snack when we’re together. Speaking of, my canteen is empty.”

“Here,” he handed me his.

“Thank you.” I took a generous swig. We passed the rest of our time laying in the sun not saying much until Felix had to leave.

The sun started to set and it was with a heavy heart that I braced myself for the cold and meandered back to camp. The boys I had spoken to earlier sniggered as I passed. I got to my tent and sighed when I realized what exactly those idiots had been giggling about. My cloak was gone. The one thing I use to keep myself warm at night and it was gone. Assholes.

Fine. If they want to take my stuff then I’ll take theirs too. I maneuvered stealthily around the camp looking for an unattended cloak. I eventually found one in a distant tent near the edge of camp and grabbed it. Let’s see how funny they think it is that their stuff gets stolen.

I bundled up the cloak and made a straight line for my own tent. I unfurled the cloak and was surprised by how much thicker this one was than the one I had. Probably thicker than what any of the boys wore. It also smelled kinda nice. I don’t know why but I caught a whiff of it and it put me at ease almost immediately. I wrapped myself in the cloak and reveled in the extra warmth it provided before promptly falling asleep.

~~~

Someone was gonna die!

Felix was turning in for the night and had noticed that his cloak had been missing. One of these idiots stole his cloak and when he found out who he was gonna murder them. No one steals from him. Not even as a joke.

It was the whole reason he set up his tent away from the main bustle of the camp. So stuff like this wouldn’t happen. But now it had and heads were gonna roll.

He noticed a group of boys together laughing it up by the fire. He saw one of them holding a bundle of fabric and charged.

“Hey!” Felix grabbed the kid by the neck. “You got some explaining to do you little shit!”

“Felix, calm down buddy.” One of the boys tried saying. “You’re choking him.”

“That’s the point.” He growled. “Cloak. Give. Now!”

The boy shoved the cloak into Felix’s free hand. Felix released him and the kid stumbled back gasping.

“Why do you have to be such a kill joy?” The boys complained. “Did the lizard send you to do her dirty work?”

“What?” Felix asked. “What are you talking about?”

“We stole her cloak cause she was complaining about being cold again. I really don’t see how she can be cold when it is always hot on this island.”

“Oh so this isn’t mine.” Felix really looked at the cloak in his hands. It was very thin and threadbared from years of use. It was a wonder that it was still together at all. He balled the cloak up and stuffed it under his arm. “So which one of you assholes stole my cloak then? It was in my tent this morning and now it’s gone.”

“We didn’t take anything from you.” The boys said. “We swear we didn’t go anywhere near your tent.”

Felix prowled closer, fire in his eyes. “You had better not have. You know how I feel when people touch my stuff. So if I find out you are lying I will shove a spear up your ass and roast you over the fire.”

Felix trudged away leaving the terrified Lost Boys behind. Now he just needed to get this cloak back to you. As thin as it was it was the only thing you had to keep the chill off so some coverage was better than none. Maybe he could approach Pan about getting you a real blanket or at the very least a thicker cloak. He knew how easily you got cold.

Felix sighed. He really was stuck on you. Out of everyone on the island you were the only one that he liked spending time with. Unlike everyone else you were able to sit still and enjoy the moment of silence the world offered. Spending time with you was like finding the eye of a hurricane. All the noise and chaos continued while he stayed safe.

He came upon your tent and peered inside. You were already fast asleep. Looking closer he realized that you already had a cloak covering you. How was that if the boys had taken yours earlier?

Wait. That was his cloak. Why would you steal his cloak? He plan was to wake you up and make the swap but upon seeing you laying there without shivering he couldn’t bring himself to take his cloak away from you. It was much thicker and warmer than your old one was and you clearly needed the layer.

It didn’t help matters that he got a strange fluttering in his chest when he saw you curled up in his clothes. Why was that happening? Why did you look so...cute? Cute was not a word that Felix used, ever. But it was the only appropriate word he could find as he gazed at you.

With a sigh Felix left your tent. He threatened the Lost Boys to not take anything of yours again lest they answer directly to him. The boys nodded in terror, not wanting to incur the wrath of Pan’s second in command. He threw your old shitty cloak into the bonfire. You wouldn’t be needing it anymore now that you had his to keep you warm. Felix let himself a small grin as he watched the cloak turn into a pile of ash. Besides, he thought, his cloak looked way better on you anyway.

---

(Part 2)

[suppressedanxiety]

Breakfast time! Time to see how much the experiment boys have f’d up Patton’s emotional processing! 🙃

Anonymous said: The other sides: what’s for breakfast Patton? :) Patton: depression toast :)

Roman got to the kitchen with time to spare before their usual breakfast time, but it seemed that Patton was a step ahead. The dining table was piled with food to an almost comedic effect, the shortest stack having at least 9 thick, fluffy pancakes. 

He turned as Patton emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray of breakfast sausages, and blinked in surprise. 

The paternal side was smiling brightly as usual, but his normal daily attire had been swapped out for something a little bit different. His normal cardigan was a pastel pink, contrasting with his shirt like two-toned cotton candy, and the nails on his left hand were painted to match. 

Most notably, his normal glasses had been swapped out with a pair of star-shaped sunglasses, the sort you would find on a drunk teenager at a costume party. Roman couldn’t help but grin slightly; they looked super goofy on him.

“What’s up with the new eyewear, Party Patton?” he asked, sitting at his customary spot. 

Patton’s smile only grew. “I’m just feeling a little festive today! Gotta live up to my role as your Pop Star, am I right?”  

A disgruntled click of the tongue announced Logan’s entrance, but Roman gave Patton a thumbs up for the terrible pun anyhow. “I presume that’s the reason behind the surplus of food?” 

Patton blinked, as though he was just now realizing how much he’d made. “Whoops, guess I got caught up in cooking! Let me go turn the stove off and we can dig in!” 

He bustled back to the kitchen, and Logan sat down across from Roman. “I do hope those are prescription sunglasses if he’s wearing them while operating cookware.” 

“What’s life without a little danger?” Roman replied, feeling oddly rejuvenated despite the awkward start to the morning. 

“Longer, for one.” 

They cut off their bickering as Patton returned, and began to eat without needing any further prompting. About halfway through his plate, Roman noticed that Patton had been holding the same piece of toast for a few minutes now, simply staring at both of them. He assumed he was staring anyhow, since he couldn’t really see through the shades. 

Anonymous said: hey, logan, roman? i know what with your little experiment you haven’t been able to spend as much time with patton as you normally would, so maybe you should check in on him? maybe watch a movie or play some games or something. i mean, he IS the heart, and emotions have a tendency not to do well when there isn’t social exchanges happening, y'know? what i’m saying is, he’s probably feeling a bit lonely, so some company might do him some good  

“Patton?” he asked, making the moral side jump. “You okay there?” 

“Sure am!” Patton confirmed, the spacey smile on his face firming into something more solid. “Just happy to be spending time with you kiddos!” 

Roman felt an abrupt stab of guilt. “I know we’ve been busy with our own projects lately, but you know how it is when Thomas has such a busy week… We certainly don’t mean to leave you out in the cold! Let’s plan to have a movie night one of these evenings, yeah?”

“Aw, Roman, I’d love that!” Patton said cheerfully. “Don’t you worry about me, though, your happy pappy Patton is doing great! I get the feeling Thomas is going to get so much done today!” 

“That’s certainly good to hear,” Logan chimed in, sipping at his coffee pointedly. “We need to avoid distractibility and stay on task if we want to help Thomas have a productive week.” 

“Thomas is a smart kiddo, I’m sure he’ll make something fantastic of today no matter what he chooses to do!” Patton replied brightly. 

Logan raised an eyebrow as though he was unsure of whether he was being agreed with or not, and Roman took the opportunity to dart into the kitchen and pack up some still-hot leftovers for Anxiety.   

When he returned, Patton was listing off all the potential activities for the day, and the logical side seemed a bit dazed, quickly and unsubtly making his exit as soon as Roman appeared and distracted Patton. 

“I suppose I should go get to creating if we’re going to have such an idea-packed day!” he said, and to his surprise, Patton didn’t seem disheartened at all. 

“Of course, kiddo! I’ll see you later!” 

Roman left with a bounce to his step, feeling cheered. Hopefully the good feelings would spread to his gloomy compadre and improve his day, too. 

[occasionalfics]

Paige’s 2k Challenge/Bash!

Hello and welcome to my 2k Follower Celebration/Bash! First and foremost, thank you for getting me to 2k!! This blog has more followers than my main blog. But I write for Thor so I get it. We’re hungry.

Secondly, the challenge! I wanted to do something more creative than just a simple writing challenge...but I think that’s gonna end up being more in the execution than this prompt list. And by that, I mean that I want y’all to get as creative as possible. Do whatever you want (within reason): one-shot/drabbles, feature-length fics, mini-series, letters, etc.

So here are the specifics:

Up to two prompts per person, two people per prompt. 

Should enough prompts be open by Wednesday, September 19th, I’ll think of something else to add because right now I’m out of ideas. 

Send me an ask with the prompt you want, the character(s) you want to include, and maybe a backup or two if you think you’ll need it (I’ll let you know if someone gets to your choice ahead of you though).

If I don’t respond to your ask within 24 hours, send it again.

Tag me in the body of your post and make sure to tag #paiges2kbash so I can find your entry! (If I don’t respond within 24 hours, send it to me in a message.)

If you’re gonna write smut, you’ll have to be 18 or over and the character you write for needs to be as well.

All Marvel characters are on the table - even ones I don’t normally write for. This is about what you want, as my way of giving back to you for following me!

I am 100% cool with and encouraging you to play with the genre your prompt comes from. You see something in the Angst category, but you think it’ll be cute and fluffy too? GIVE. IT. TO. ME.

Gimme AUs, Gimme body swaps. Gimme it ALL.

Word minimum: 500. Total. There is no maximum.

I prefer Reader Insert fics, but I’m also cool with OCs. PLAY WITH THAT PERSPECTIVE BABE!

Make sure the prompt is easily identifiable in your post. Bold, italicised, a different color, or just point it out in the informational part of the post (if you do those like I do), just make sure I and other readers can easily figure out what the prompt is!

You do not have to be following me to enter! I’d love to have you and would appreciate your company, but it’s not required to participate.

Entries are due by HALLOWEEN (10/31/18)! 

Make it spoopy.

Here’s what I’ll be doing throughout/at the end of the challenge:

Making a masterlist of all the entries with descriptions and tags

Denoting which are my favs in some way

Reblogging each entry to support and promote both the entry and the challenge (once again, if I don’t reblog within 24 hours, send it to me in a message)

Interchangeable prompts are located under Misc. So you get to pick what genre!

Angst

“Not you again..”

“I thought you loved me.”

“I can’t believe you!”

“We can’t keep this up forever.” - @mcu-owns-my-ass

“Don’t leave me…” - @the-resal10 with bucky (and/or steve)

“You’re a disappointment.”

“Don’t die on me– Please.” - @bvckysmanbun with steve

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“Thanks for nothing.”

“Why did you spare me?

“You need to leave.” - @the-resal10 with thor

“I thought we were family!” - @akamaiden with thor

“There was never an us.”

“So that’s it? It’s over?”

“I fucked up.” - @distinguishedstarlightcrusade with tony

“I came to say goodbye.”

“I don’t deserve to be loved.”

“About the baby… It’s yours.” - @sidehowriting with thor

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No, it was my fault for thinking that you might care.”

Fluff

“I’m so in love with you.” - @thorsstorms with thor

“Dance with me!”

“I wish we could stay like this forever.” - @thorsstorms with thor

“Will you marry me?”

“I’m pregnant.”

“You’re special to me.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Can I kiss you right now?” - @lookslikeleese with thor

“You’re cute when you’re angry.” @multi-fandom-imagines8 with thor

“We’d make such a cute couple.”

“I want to take care of you.”

“Shut up and kiss me already.” - @iambuckyrogers with bucky

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Is that my shirt?” - @barnesrogersvstheworld with bucky

“You’d be a great dad/mom.” @averyrogers83 - with steve or bucky

“Did you do something different with your hair?”

“This is why I fell in love with you.”

“Stop hogging all the blankets!”

“Let’s run away together.” - @sweetboybucky with bucky

“Where did all these puppies come from?” - @samanthasmileys with peter parker (feat. tony stark)

“Wanna go see a movie with me?”

“I vote today to be a pajama day.”

“I’ll just be in the bathroom throwing my fucking guts up because our unborn kid wants to be a dick!”

“You’re smart and successful with an adorable belly.”

���Your hair is so soft…”

“Just relax, I’ll wash your hair for you.”

“You are ridiculously comfortable…” @uhltrons with peter parker

“I’ve had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with…”

Smut (NSFW, for 18+ only, I will be checking)

“This was fun— Let’s do it again sometime!”

“Why are you naked?”

“Bite me.”

“Fuck me.”

“Stop teasing me so much…”

“What a pretty sight.”

“Well, fine; just this once.”

“As you wish.”

“First one to make a noise loses.” @sassysupernaturalsweetheart with loki

“Car sex looks so much more easier in the movies.”

“Already? Do I really have that much of an effect on you?”

“We can’t do that here!”

“I’ve never wanted anyone to fuck me this badly.”

“Don’t give me that look.”

“You’re more than just a one night stand.”

“Don’t be so rough. There can’t be any marks.”

“I really don’t care. You still look hot and i’m trying not to kiss/fuck you senseless right now.”

“Put that thing away!”

“Don’t kink shame me.”

“Tell me what you want.”

“You’re n-not ,um, w-wearing anything under that, are you..?” - @buckybarnes-xyou with bucky

“Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?”

“You taste like fucking candy.”

“Just let me finish this level/chapter/etc. and I swear I’ll go down on you until you cum at least three times.”

“If I have to stop what I’m doing, you won’t be able to walk for the next week.”

“Were you just masturbating?”

“Ah, he’s playing hard-to-get. thats cute.”

“For the love of fuck.”

(optional) “Yep, thats me. I love to fuck.”

“I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that.” - @kentuckybarnes with bucky

“Your ass is going to be seven different shades of red after that little stunt.”

“Did you just… finish?” - @supernovasandcoronas with bucky

“They always make shower sex sound so appealing, but honestly, this is getting dangerous.”

“I’m not actually feeling anything.”

“Are you getting any closer?”

“Boobs are really just squishy pillows.”

Misc. (could be any genre you’d like)

“I’m fine.”

“I’m really fucked up.”

“Are you drunk/high?”

“Don’t touch me.”

“Not sure if you could tell, but I’m not exactly a people person.”

“I don’t remember that!”

“Well that’s pretty rude of you to say.”

“You owe me.”

“You did what?!”

“I love that show too!”

“Can I borrow that book of yours?”

“What are you listening to?”

“I brought you your coffee.”

“I haven’t slept in four days.” @hwkewhy with steve

“This place gives me the creeps.”

“Just how stupid do you think I am?”

“I can take care of myself just fine.” - @samanthasmileys with steve, oc, and tony appearance

“Since when have we ever been friends?”

“Stop texting me weird stuff so late at night.” - @thatfanficstuff with clint

“Put me down!” - @evanstarff with bucky

“It isn’t what it looks like! Okay.. Maybe it is…”

“Didn’t you read the sign?”

“Do you think you can teach me that?”

“Okay.. This is new.”

“You’re in trouble now.”

“Tell me again.”

“What do you think? You like?”

“This isn’t what I had in mind, but okay.”

“Don’t forget who taught you that.”

“Are you sure this is legal?”

“Why are you so annoying?”

“What’s with the box?”

“Stop pinning this on me! You started it!” - @hiswhiteknight with bucky

“Just pretend to be my date.”

“The planet is fine. The people are fucked.”

“I just did some calculations, and I’ve determined that you’re full of shit.”

“Do you ever think if people heard our conversations they’d lock us up?”

“It’s not that you’re wrong, exactly, you’re just extremely not right.”

“You shouldn’t be trusted with small children, should you?”

“Give me cake or give me death.”

“You have to tell me why were committing a felony before we do it. Not that that’s going to stop us, but at least I’ll have all the facts.”

“Those things you said yesterday… Did you mean them?”

“You’re like, five feet tall. How you gonna reach me, shortie?” - @sectumsempra-beaches with loki

“It’s not a double date, we’re just third and fourth wheeling.”

“I’m going to keep you safe.” - @captain-ariel-barnes with thor

“It’s lonely here without you.” - @romancing-the-reader with loki

“How did we get here?”

“You are not going without me.”

“You know we’re supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you, and you know it, too. I know you do.” - @mcu-owns-my-ass

“I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

Prompt sources:

http://rfaimagining.tumblr.com/post/159085054669/nearly-200-writing-prompts-feel-free-to-reblog

https://justforshitsandcackles.tumblr.com/post/173942517099/smut-prompts

http://rpmemesfam.tumblr.com/post/164529932732/nsfw-sentence-starters

http://you-make-me-wander.tumblr.com/post/128505986473/random-sentence-starters

[freedom-shamrock]

Achievement Unlocked

Also on AO3. This is a companion piece to “In the Line of Fire,” and will make most sense if you’ve read that first.  This is the @miraculousfluffmonth  Aug 29 prompt, I do. 

"There's something I need to tell you," Ladybug said, landing next to Chat Noir in tonight's meeting place, the Arc de Triomphe.

"Oh.  That sounds serious," he said, his ears and tail at the alert.  "Are you okay?"

Smiling a hesitantly, she nodded.  "Yeah.  It's… it's not an ideal situation, but it's okay.  I've… come to terms with it."

"Uh, that sounds really serious."  He sighed and sat down, crossing his legs and patting the spot across from him.  "I've got some news to share too, but I may hold off if yours is more than enough for one night."

She folded herself down with a sigh.  This was much harder than she was expecting it would be.  To admit that she'd somehow screwed up, and someone knew her identity was bad.  That he wasn't the first to know it… it left a yawning pit of guilt in her belly.

"Hey, it's okay, you know that, right?" he asked gently, one hand reaching out to rest on her knee.  With nearly any other guy, it would have been creepy or weird, but not with him.  He was always respectful of her space, though their relationship had grown very tactile over time.

"I messed up, Kitty," she mumbled.  Oh god, she was totally going to cry.  "And I'm afraid this is going to hurt your feelings.  But I swear it wasn't on purpose."

"Oh, hey," he said softly, pulling her into his lap, and settling her over one thigh.  "It can't be all bad, right?  It's not like someone found out who you are."

She gasped.

He went still.  "Oh," he whispered.  "Someone found out?"

"I'm so sorry!"  She wrapped her arms around herself, waiting for the anger.

Instead, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close enough to rest his chin atop her head.  "Are you safe?  That's the most important thing.  Will they keep your secret?"

She nodded.  He was too good.  All this time, he'd wanted to know who she was, and honestly when it came down to reveals, he was at the top of the list for deserving to know.  Someone else knew first, and his primary concern was her safety.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured.  "I know this is the most important thing to you.  You've been so careful.  But it's going to be okay.  I'll do everything in my power to help, okay?"

"You're... t-too g-good to me, Kitty," she stammered, though his kindness was helping her get under control.  "And sh-she wants to h-help y-you too."

"The person who knows?" he asked.

"Yeah."  She sniffled and nodded again.  "She's my best friend.  She's kind of been my assistant the last two akuma battles and she said she'd be happy to help you, too.  She had some pretty good arguments for it."

Chat leaned back so he could smile at her.  "It's funny you should mention that."

Alya opened the apartment door and quietly ushered Nino into her room.  She wasn't sure what to expect when her boyfriend texted her around nine thirty, telling her he needed to talk to her in person right now .  She half expected him to be distraught over a family emergency or something, but he wasn't.  Nino wasn't prone to fits of exaggeration or hyperbole, and she wondered what was going on.

"Hey," she said quietly.  "What's up?  What's with the cryptic text and urgent talk?"

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then gestured to her desk and bed.  "You're going to need to sit down for this."

"Oh."  She dropped to the bed, looking up at him.  "What's wrong?"

"You may want to grab your screaming pillow."  He pointed to the small round pillow Marinette had made for her two years ago.

"Are you moving away or something awful?" she asked, hesitating as she reached for the pillow.

He shook his head.  "Nothing awful, but I'm not saying anything until you have that thing at the ready.  I don't want your papa offering me to his panther as a treat."

"He wouldn't," she said, not really thinking as she grabbed the pillow.  "Ok.  Out with it.  Just rip off that band aid."  She preferred to get all her bad news and revelations over with quickly.  It helped her see the bigger picture than having it fed to her in bits.

"You're Ladybug's Alfred," he said.  "You're helping her at akuma battles, carrying food for her kwami, and coming up with excuses for her random absences."

Alya gasped, staring at him.  She knew Nino was crazy smart.  She'd been dating him for nearly two years and had seen his test scores, his papers, and his music practice.  Not too many people knew he played four instruments in addition to the digital stuff and DJ turntable skills that he showed off more readily.  "How…"

"Good job with the anxiety disorder.  Fucking brilliant really."  He smiled at her.  "But I'd expect no less."

That was all so painfully specific.  He knew more than just a piece of the puzzle.  He'd assembled the entire five thousand piece puzzle without her realizing he was even working on it.  "Oh god.  You know who she is…" she whispered.

"Well yeah.  It's stupidly obvious now that I know.  Kind of surprised it took 'til today to figure it out."  He shrugged and sat down beside her.

"You realize you can't tell anyone, right?" she demanded.  She would do whatever it took to protect her best friend.  Nino's hand settled onto her shoulder, soothing her.

"No need to get worked up mama bear."  He smirked at her.  "I would never give that secret out.  I'm an ally."

"How did you figure it out?  Did I mess something up?"  Oh crap.  Marinette would never forgive her if she'd fucked up already.

"You guys came to class late, which could be overlooked, especially with that excuse you used," he admitted.  "But Marinette was fidgeting; she said something about being hungry.  You offered her camembert, great choice by the way."  He shot her a finger gun.  "But she wouldn't take the cheese.  God that stuff stinks.  I had cookies and we swapped."  He shook his head  Marinette didn't need those for herself, because she didn't eat them.  She put them in her purse."

"What do you mean?" Ladybug looked at him, puzzled, her face still streaked with tears.

He set his thumbs to work cleaning up her face.  "My best friend recently revealed that he's known I was Chat for… roughly two years," he explained.  "I will freely admit I had a full on panic attack when he called me Mr. Noir."  God he was lucky Nino was that friend.  "He's keeping the secret, and has been helping me out with first aid, mid-battle kwami snacks, and excuses for my absences the last few attacks."

"Oh," she sounded a little shell-shocked.  "I'm glad there's someone helping you, too."  She shook her head a little, something he'd seen her do when she needed to get her head back in the game.  "The first aid… that's a great idea."

He nodded.  Now that her cheeks were dry, he slipped his arm around her shoulders, careful to be comforting, not restraining.  "He's been making small batches of his mom's special chocolate chip cookie recipe to make sure he has a few of those on hand at all times, just in case."

"Wait, is that where you got me those when I needed to recharge?" she asked.

He nodded.  "Yeah.  It didn't seem the right time to tell you, though.  I kinda needed to get to a place of acceptance first."  He suspected Nino was trying to wingman his friend's super crush.

"I suppose... I mean, I did the same thing," she admitted.

"Anyway, my friend, he wanted me to let you know that he totally gets your concerns about identity, and that he's happy to act as your support too."  He shrugged.  "It's been really handy.  And maybe having two support folks would be even better.  That way if one can't make it, the other can help us both."

She let out a shaky breath.  "Good points.  And I guess, he's already doing it, really."

Chat Noir nodded.  "I could bring him by for you to meet next patrol, or we could set something up.  I mean, maybe we should have both our friends meet, too.  They could share their ideas and their kit set up, since you don't have a first aid kit, but I bet your friend has ideas Nino didn't think of."

Ladybug gasped and stiffened, nearly falling off his lap.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking around for anything that could have hurt or upset her.  "What's wrong?"

"Did you say, Nino?" she asked.

He nodded, wondering if there was something wrong with that.  "Nino Lahiffe.  He's my best friend."

"Oh fuck," she muttered.

She didn't swear much, so when it happened, it was worth noting.  "Uhm… what?  Do you know him?"

Her hands grasped his face and she stared intently at him.  "Adrien?"  Her voice was a cross between a shriek and a squeak.  It was also appallingly familiar.

"Uhm… how did you do that?  You know Nino, don't you."  Dammit.  He'd really messed this up.

She let go of his face, but didn't scramble away as he half expected.  "My best friend, my support person is Alya Césaire," she said in a slightly trembly voice.  "Nino's girlfriend."

"Marinette?!"  Her name burst out of him.  He didn't even have to think it through, it just seemed so right.

She wiggled her fingers at him.  "Hey Adrien.  I hope Tikki isn't too mad about this."

His face hurt from the size of his smile.  "I don't care."

"You should," Ladybug… no, Marinette said.  "She's totally got the I'm-superior-to-you thing down when she thinks you're wrong."

"My Lady is my Princess," he said, happily.  "I think I get get through anything with that knowledge."

She let out a shaky sigh.  "All right then, do you think we should take on Alya and Nino as our support crew, then?"

He nodded.  "I do."

Nino watched as his girlfriend finally pulled her pillow to her face to let out an unholy scream, thankfully muffled.  "It's okay, babe."  He rubbed her back lightly.  "Honestly, this makes everything so much easier."

Still holding the pillow ready, she met his eyes.  "What do you mean?"

"I can't name any names, but I've known who Chat Noir is for years."  He held up a hand to keep her questions at bay.  "It wasn't my place to spill those beans, still isn't, actually.  So I'm not going to tell you, but I have no doubt you'll know in a minute just from what I can tell you."  He smiled.  "It just so happens that I entered a similar arrangement with my bro Chat a couple weeks back.  It was ridiculous to keep pretending I didn't know, and with how bad some of those fights go, I really wanted to provide more significant backup."

Her eyes went wide.  "You didn't go to those emergency response classes in case I got in trouble in an attack," she whispered.  "It was a brilliant cover, but that wasn't your real reason."

"It wasn't the primary reason," he admitted.  "But it was a factor."  He shrugged.  "I worry about you sometimes out there, but you've gotten better about being safe.   He gets thrown face-first into walls, the Seine, flaming buildings…"  He paused and shuddered.  "I'm pretty sure he's died several times."  That was one of the harder things to face.  Looking back on old battle footage, he could name several where Chat had thrown himself in front of Ladybug and she'd finished the battle alone and hella pissed.  "Anything I can do to help is worth it."

"Are you okay?" Alya asked, looping her arm through his.  "You just… you looked really worried there for a moment."

He nodded.  "I'm okay, but yeah, I worry.  He's a self-sacrificing idiot, and he doesn't get nearly enough love.  And it..."  He sighed heavily.  "It breaks my heart."

"Oh!"  She dropped her pillow, covering her mouth with the hand that had been holding it.  "It's Adrien."

He chuckled.  "Gee Al, what makes you say that?"

"Oh my god.  Like he needed anything else on top of that shit schedule his shit father has for him?" she demanded.  She was getting worked up, and he needed to defuse her anger if he didn't want her parents to come barging in.

"But he's awesome at it, Al.  Who else could do it?"  He'd asked himself the same question over and over.  If Adrien wasn't Chat Noir, who was really worthy of taking up that mantle?  His best friend cared so much and so deeply.  He had a fierce sense of justice.  Who would he trust with that power of massive destruction?  "In talking to Plagg, uhm his kwami, the power of the black cat needs to be held by someone with compassion or really bad things happen."

"Really bad things?" Alya asked.  "Like what?"

"The Black Plague is apparently the most recent instance of a black cat holder who was… the wrong choice."  His conversations with Plagg had been fascinating, and a little terrifying.  He was reasonably sure the little kwami hadn't told Adrien half this stuff.

Alya stared at him, apparently speechless for once.  He wasn't surprised.  That had been a particularly revolting revelation for him, too.

"Anyway, when I realized you were helping out our favorite bug while I was taking care of our favorite cat, I thought maybe we should join forces, share our ideas, come up with a plan to make sure we can be there for both of them."  This was the real reason he'd come over.  "We work great as a team, and I think we could really make a difference."

"You're not wrong."  She grinned and nudged him with her shoulder.

"So do you think this is a plan you can get behind?" he asked, knowing the answer and holding out a fist.

She bumped his fist with hers.  "I do."

Did this in two 30 minute speed writes, because wrapping this up was going to require all four POV characters, and while I write fast, I don't write THAT fast.

This is currently the last in the I See You series, but I could see coming back to it at a later date when I've wrapped up my Miraculous Big Bang project and the Bobbin Bug sequel.

[thisiswhatwereupagainst]

FIVE UNDERAPPRECIATED CHARACTERS (and five runners up)

A few caveats before we begin. Firstly, the difference between underused and underappreciated. An underused character is one that the writers haven't done much with at all. An underappreciated character is one that fandom doesn't pay much attention or give credit to despite what the writers have done with them already as is that should warrant more attention. Secondly is that this list is biased as fuck. The only person on it who isn't one of my special favorites is Moira MacTaggert. I tried for that not to be the case, but the fact is, the Marvel Universe is really, REALLY big, and there are soooo many characters that I can really only get to know a specific few. And so of course the ones I know best are the ones that I know have done stuff that should be more widely appreciated by fandom. So if your under-rated favorite isn't on here and you think they deserve to be, it's not that I looked at them and said "what a loser" and deliberately left them off, I just probably don't know who they are and what they accomplished to deserve to be on this list. I'm sure that the characters who deserve to be on it could fill a book. That's why I just put "five underappreciated characters" instead of "top five", because I don't think these are objectively the TOP underrated characters, they're just five of the ones that I know and like best. Thirdly, my definition of "underappreciated" is based solely on what *I* have seen of fandom in *my* experience with it...and I am not someone deeply involved in fandom. I largely stay out of it, only venturing in when looking for info on a preferred character, or just happening on stuff by chance. So I might be totally wrong in how I've gauged the popularity level, or lack thereof, of a character. Thus, one or more of these might actually not be "underappreciated" at all.  Which, hey, would be great! Anyway, on to the list...

FIVE UNDERAPPRECIATED CHARACTERS

- Moira MacTaggert: If you're imagining a sexy young American CIA agent, stop it right now. I'm talking about comics Moira. Comics Moira is around Charle's age, very Scottish, and she is actually DOCTOR MacTaggert, a world-renowned leading geneticist whose area of specialty is mutants. She's badass, she's smart, she calls Charles out on his shit when no one else does, she has dark issues of her own, and she goes after a kelpie with a giant gun. She's a longtime ally of the X-Men, she lives at the mansion and forms a relationship with each team member of the time, and even forms/leads her own team of X-Men on Muir Island (the site of her research center) when it appears the original team has been killed. Moira debuts at an early point in the comics, and is an important player in numerous stories for years to come up until her death at the hands of Mystique, but not before she discovered the cure to the Legacy Virus, saving the lives of countless mutants. If you remember no one else on this list, remember Moira MacTaggert. - The Hellions: During the 80s when Emma Frost was still a villain, she ran a school of her own and the Hellions were her teenage proteges. They were rivals to the New Mutants, but with the exception of Empath and maybe Roulette, not evil at all. They were just mutant kids that Emma had gotten to before Xavier did. Some of them formed friendships with the New Mutants, and their clashes were more like contests than real battles. They all had distinct personalities, most of which were quite likeable and interesting, but were never used to their full potential. They might have had big futures ahead of them, but when the 90s came along, they were all wiped out in a mass slaughter (except, ironically, Empath, the one character I don't think anyone WANTED to survive) which prompted Emma Frost to join the X-Men, as she felt her future students would have a better chance of surviving if she were with them. While the Hellions are still beloved and mourned to this day by a small but devoted number of comic fans, their fascinating and unique personalities make them worthy of so much more remembrance. - Destiny: I see more fanart of Mystique and Azazel than I do Mystique and Destiny, and I think that's a damn shame. Azazel was just a dude who knocked Mystique up. Destiny was a woman she had a lifelong relationship, never leaving her side even when she grew old while Mystique stayed young. Historically, same-sex relationships in comic books and other movies were used to show how evil and depraved a villain was to engage in such a thing, but Mystique's love for Destiny was used to humanize her instead. While they could never actually be called lovers on-panel, they pushed the envelope as much as possible for the time, living together and even raising an adopted child (Rogue) together. How is fandom not all over that? God knows there's a fuck ton of fanart of Charles and Erik raising the latter's kids together, and that didn't even happen! But she's more than just Mystique's wife or Rogue's mother. She's an enigmatic but influential force in the Marvel universe who affected all of the X-Men even long after her own death. She was far less malicious and malevolent than the rest of the Brotherhood, yet her predictions are what steered their actions. Did she really want to achieve their cause of mutant supremacy? Or was she manipulating them to shape the future in a larger way? And the diaries she left behind recording her visions both predicted and moved plots in the 2000s, making her a more important character post-mortem than she was alive. She's also neat in that not only in that she was one of the first LGBT mutants (and represented positively, no less, despite her villainy) but also in that she wasn't a hot sexy villainess, she was an elderly woman and neither she nor her relationship with another woman was sexualized at all. That's very rare. It's even more rare to see older gay people represented; the 'face' of the LGBT community is typically portrayed as people around 30 or less, seldom over 50. Therefore, I think she deserves more recognition both in terms of being a diversity milestone and for just who she was and what she did. - Fabian Cortez: Yes, there's a little personal bias here, but I really do think Fabian deserves more spotlight in fandom than he gets. This dude showed up at the beginning of the 90s, expertly manipulated the retired Magneto back into villainy for his own purposes, then orchestrated his death for the same reason, framing humanity for it. He then used Magneto's image as a martyr to gather a cult called the Acolytes that numbered far more than any incarnation of the Brotherhood ever had. They were vicious, they were bloodthirsty, and they did anything Fabian said. Fabian manipulated heroes and villains alike, attempted to sway Quicksilver to his side. When that failed, he became his nemesis of the era, and during Blood Ties he even kidnapped Quicksilver's daughter to hold hostage as he deliberately plunged the nation of Genosha into a bloody civil war. After the return of Magneto and addition of Exodus, Fabian loses his badass status and gets put more in a "Toad" role as the slimy subordinate who is abused by his superiors as he secretly schemes against him. But while he ceases to be important in the OVERALL story, he remains important in relation to Magneto and Quicksilver, as there's obviously still a lot of animosity between them. This animosity remains right up until Magneto kills him once his use for him runs out. So, what makes Fabian Cortez unappreciated? Well, when's the last time you met a fan who knew who he is? Did you even know who he was before you read this blog? He's a major player for the first half of the 90s, then attached to a major player through the next half (and one that is IMMENSELY popular in fandom), yet no one knows who he is. Even fans of Magneto and Quicksilver, whose stories he was very important in during the entire decade, don't know this guy. Then there's his personality. Fabian is the WORST and it's AMAZING. It's not just that he's a manipulative liar who will do anything for power, it's not just that he abuses and even sacrifices his followers for his own gain, it's not just that he's a major egomaniac, he's also a tremendous sexist and tremendously thirsty, with goals of forming a harem. He even causes a 15 year unexplained mystery because he was staring at a woman's butt! He's threatening and competent, yet at the same time, utterly hilarious in his sex-crazed misogynistic pompous cowardly assholery. He also has some fantastic lines, such as MY WILL BE DONE SO SAYETH ME in the animated series, and telling Quicksilver that he scream his name very well. He's also in some hilarious scenes, like vanishing even faster than QUICKSILVER can see when Quicksilver says he has explaining to do. Seriously, if you don't recognize him for his importance to plot as a villain or for his role as an enemy to Magneto and Quicksilver, recognize him for his epic doucheyness and epic hilarity. - Kwannon: If you love Psylocke, you need to love Kwannon, or at least know her, because everything Psylocke is today is due to Kwannon. In both the 90s cartoon and the X-Men movies, Psylocke has always been depicted as Asian, but in fact, she's not---Kwannon was. And in many regards, she was who Betsy has been since. You see, Psylocke originally was a well-mannered little lady from England. Her time with the X-Men made her want to be a fighter very much...and she got her wish when she was body-swapped with Kwannon, a Japanese ninja assassin, in order to save the latter's life. The swap was done by the Mojoworld villainess Spiral, but arranged by Japanese crimelords Mastu'o Tsurayaba and Lord Nyoirin. Once it was done, each of them attempted to manipulate the two mentally confused women into both their loves and personal weapons. The swap also resulted in their minds merging to a degree as well, so that they absorbed skills, memories, and personality traits from each other. For Psylocke, she gained Kwannon's ninja abilities, and a much more brutal personality. The latter was only exacerbated by her rage at how she had been used and victimized, how her agency had been taken from her to the point her body literally was not her own, of what these men had done to her. This was the beginning of the Psylocke as we know her now. As for Kwannon, she suffered an identity crisis. Thanks to absorbing some of Betsy's memories during the swap and the manipulating lies of Nyoirin, she believed herself to be the REAL Betsy Braddock, mentally as well as physically, and accused Psylocke of being an imposter. Due to their scrambled psyches, this could not be worked out for some time, and it was not until the time that Kwannon was on death's door with the Legacy Virus that she was finally able to realize the truth of who she was and what had been done to her. She perished in the white body of Betsy Braddock, while Betsy lived on in her Asian body, which is now the appearance most associated with her today. Kwannon deserves to be remembered both for what Betsy gained from her, and as a character in her own right.

FIVE RUNNERS UP

These are the characters that I think deserve more recognition for whatever reason, but also aren't truly what I would call underappreciated either . Sebastian Shaw: Sebastian Shaw has been a big name in the comics fandom since his first appearance, and for very good reason. He's a major baddie, and he's very good at it, though admittedly he's never managed to top his first story. Poor guy peaked too early. But he's still managed to be a pretty cool villain, and a fairly consistent one, though his role wanes more with every decade. Still, he's always been at least B-list in fandom. Maybe not everyone's favorite, but at least everyone knows who he is, what he does, and the basic reasons why he does it. The evil billionaire who just wants more money and power and will do anything to get it isn't new or original, but Shaw does it very well, and with a mindset that makes him more realistic than the stock stereotype and with a flair very distinct to him...also, he takes his shirt off every chance he gets and it's hilarious. He's great, and even fans who don't love him have generally still recognized his importance as a good villain. But with the rise of movie fandom, that's changed. The movies have far overtaken the comics in reach and popularity, and while I don't think that's a good or bad thing, it does mean that now most people think Nazi Kevin Bacon when they hear the name Sebastian Shaw, who has nothing in common with comics Shaw. The fact he hasn't done any proper villainy in the comics for like ten years doesn't help. And I think Shaw deserves better. He's not a sympathetic villain, he's not even a particularly complex one, but he's interesting in his own way, and he's both threatening and fun. Threatening because of his ruthlessness, how he uses political and economic power as much as punches, his willingness to throw all of mutantkind under the bus for his own gain, and his incorrigible perseverance. He's also got a pretty fleshed-out past which could easily have been used to make him tragic to the point of cliche, but isn't, which I find neat. He's not tragic in the SLIGHTEST at all, actually, he's so self-interested and awful it's kind of hilarious. And he has some great dynamics with other characters. So, why would I only make him a runner-up? Because I think that while he's not getting as much credit as he used to, and that he does deserve a little more spotlight, he's not totally deprived of it either. There are still plenty of comic fans out there who know he is, and who say, yeah, that dude was pretty cool. He's not as big a name as he used to be or as he could be, and he probably is never going to get out of Movie Shaw's shadow ever again, but he's hardly forgotten either. I think if the comics find cool new things to do with this fucker, he'll start gaining back some of his former glory from the classic days ASAP in fandom. He's a character in All New All Different right now, and they do seem to have SOMETHING planned with him, so here's hoping! Madelyne Pryor: As with Shaw, the rise of the movie fandom overtaking the comic fandom has made her name more obscure, but lots of comics fan still know her. But I think the underappreciation factor is that many only really know her as the Goblyn Queen, the insane villain, the evil ex-wife, the Jean Grey clone gone wrong. The fact that she was good guy character for six years, and even a member of the X-Men in addition to their friend, goes forgotten. Before she was the Goblyn Queen, she was just Maddy, and she had a lot of adventures with the X-Men where she was a hero, and a strong character in her own right for reasons that had nothing to do with being Jean's clone or Sinister's creation or the rest of that stuff. I think that the original Maddy, the real Maddy she was at heart before everything went so wrong, needs to be remembered too. But I've never seen so much as a single piece of fanart where she wasn't in her villain garb. That said, I can't call her underappreciated altogether just because one aspect of her is overlooked. Many fans still know who she is and recognize the tragedy of who she became, even if they don't really know who she used to be, and there's a lot of sympathy for her in comic fandom to this day...and skimpy fanart, of course. Haven: Haven is a big-time favorite of mine, that's no secret. Other villains, I love because they're nasty, but Haven, I love because she's good. She's really, really good. And while I've seen villains who are good people before, I've never seen a villain that was a pacifist, and who not only never harmed the heroes, and barely even threatened to, but even healed them and helped them and rescued them. It's a really unusual decision, and a risky one (TV Tropes says she was killed off because readers refused to root against her) and it can be interesting to the point of distressing to read her comics, because it gets really hard to tell who should be seen as the bad guy. Because in spite of all the bad things we're told that her cult is doing offscreen, all that's shown onscreen is the heroes attacking a gentle compassionate woman who doesn't want to fight and doesn't hurt them back even though she could. It's such a unique dynamic, and brings conflict not only to the story but the reader. Haven also brought other unique ideas to the scene as well. For one thing, she wasn't a mutant herself, but her unborn child was, and she could access its great powers (hence why the Adversary probably chose her) That's a really neat idea, and it also puts her in a unique position of not really being human or mutant but sort of both, and having lived half her life as one, half as the other. She brings up the perspective this gives her at one point, and I really would have liked to see that expanded on. Another thing I'd liked to have learned more about is her books and lectures; in addition to being a supervillain and a charity worker, she was a best-selling author and lecturer who promoted mutant/human peace. Even though she's little-known to fans, she was apparently pretty prominent in-universe, and I think having a voice in the mutant/human debate that for the first time wasn't white, male, and Western was neat. I would have liked to know more about her perspectives and arguments and how they compared and contrasted with those of others, from Graydon Creed to Professor X himself, and how the public viewed her. Also, she's just endearing. Again, TV Tropes says that fans of the day refused to root against her, and I can see why. She heals the sick, she feeds the hungry, she cares for orphans, and she tells X-Factor she loves them. How do you bring yourself to fight someone like that? It's easy to stand against bad guys who are mean and nasty, who doesn't wanna punch Fabian Cortez in his smug gross creeper face, but Haven creates the dilemma of making the heroes (at least some of them) very reticent to apprehend her or even believe the accusations against her. It's a much more complex setup than is typical, and as I said, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it anywhere else. The fact that the reader finds out she's not really doing this of her own free will (though the heroes never discover this) makes her all the more sympathetic. Ultimately, though, I don't think she counts as truly underappreciated because that word implies she deserves much more recognition than she gets, and I think she simply wasn't major enough to the story to warrant that (unlike, say, Fabian Cortez, who was VERY relevant). And unlike the Hellions, I don't think she had potential to go on to become a lasting character. Her story could only end one of two ways. Either she died tragically (as she did), or she was saved from possession and went on to live a normal life as a normal human. Either way, she would be removed from the scene. I guess they could have had her stay on as part of the team or something like that but...I can't see that happening at all. What would she even do? And would she want to? I mean, can you seriously see HAVEN as part of a government strike force? No way. Haven simply is not cut out to be a major character in an action comic, and once you take away the Adversary forcing her into conflict, she's out. And she just...didn't do much while she was in. Consequence of refusing to hurt anybody, I guess. I think she's definitely worth looking into for fans who are interested in seeing an unusual type of character like her, but she's far from being a "must-know" little-known. Zaladane: Magneto's family has been a point of interest in canon and fandom for a long time, and the rise of the movies has only increased that. There's fanart GALORE of the Magneto clan, most prominently him and the Maximoffs but also Polaris, Speed, Wiccan, and Luna (Magda and Anya tend to be forgotten...) And now there's a kid named Nina from XMA, apparently? And yet, there's nothing to be seen of poor Zaladane. Few people even know who she is, let alone that she is almost certainly a child of our favorite iron-controlling helmet-head as well, or at least was until recent continuity changes fucked up that possibility. So, who was she? She's a sorceress from the Savage Land that the X-Men faced as a foe more than once. On one occasion, she kidnapped Lorna Dane aka Polaris. She revealed that her real name wasn't Zaladane, it was Zala Dane, and Lorna was her long-list sister. She then proceeded to use a machine to transfer Lorna's magnetic powers to herself. Lorna had no memories of Zala and dismissed her claims of sisterhood as a crock, but Moira MacTaggert confirmed that the machine required that the two people in worked on be genetically related in order for the transfer to take place. In other words, Zala was indeed related to Lorna, either as her sister or some other connection. Not content to steal the powers of Lorna alone, Zala later went after Magneto, and successfully took his as well using the same machine. So, if the machine requires the people involved have similiar genes, to be family, to work...and she could use it on Magneto....it follows he and she are related as well. And if Zala is Lorna's sister...and Magneto, as we now know, is Lorna's father...well, the math does itself. Zala is Magneto's daughter too. Though Zala must surely have worked this out, she never mentioned it to him, and Magneto killed her without ever knowing their likely connection. Unlike many X-villains, she has yet to make a resurrection. This all went down during the 80s and 90s. During the 2000s, writers who had either forgotten Zaladane or simply didn't care made alterations to Lorna's history that make any relation between Zala and Magneto impossible. But me, I think that could be easily explained---just say she came from another universe! She sure wouldn't be the first alt-dimensional child of a character to come to 616, and it might help explain how the hell she got to the Savage Land, as well as why Lorna had no knowledge of her.I think Zaladane should get more attention because, well, Magneto's other kids get so much love. However, there's really nothing about her besides her potential pedigree that makes her stick out enough that I think she's truly "unappreciated" aside from this. Hence her only having a runner-up status. Shinobi Shaw: There's really nothing important about Shinobi. He wasn't in any big stories, he didn't do anything major, he barely did anything at all. Calling him "underappreciated" would in no way be justified. There is no reason he deserves appreciation and recognition. But you know what? He's funny. He's really, really funny. He's ridiculous, and that's my entire reason for reading him, and I think the outlandish shit he manages to get up in his 20something issues of existence is enough that he bears warrant as an honorable mention. There's no real reason you NEED to know who he is, but I think you'll be get a lot of laughs if you do look into him. He's basically the Emperor Kuzco of D-list X-villains, and I wouldn't have him any other way. Seriously, bless this vain selfish lazy wine-loving bisexual idiot, I love him so much.

[josephkitchen0]

A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s

By Kathy Belt – In the September/October 2012 issue, a reader wanted to know what homesteading life in the 1800s was like. Here’s my reply. I am a bit of a history nut. I have spent many years engaged in accurate historical re-enactment. (Think Ren Faire but with no turkey legs.) So your question about what simple homesteading life in the 1800s looked like prompted me to write.

First—when talking about life in the 1800s, do you mean the early 1800s? Before the advent of canning, telegraph, railroads, and sewing machines? Or are you talking late the 1800s? If the latter—just talk to any member of an Amish community about their simple homesteading lifestyle. If you are talking about the early 1800s—that’s a completely different matter. I would recommend visiting historic Williamsburg, Virginia.

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There are numerous diaries that have been left behind by the folks who “traveled West” and the hardships of simple homesteading they endured; as well as diaries of those who “stayed behind” in the civilized world of chamber pots and chimney fires. Reading these diaries gives a very good insight into how people lived.

Are you interested in the day-to-day life of agrarian people as opposed to those who live in the city? If so—I recommend becoming a homesteader without electricity, power tools or indoor plumbing.

Also take away modern medicine, familiarize yourself with a healing herbs list and learn to recognize gangrene. Go to the grocery store for only flour, coffee, and sugar. Grow your own linen (hemp is preferable to flax for durability and comfort), and wool. Simple homesteading of this era means you learn how to knit, spin and weave, and use only your own feet (or those of a horse) for transportation. Dig your own well, do your own blacksmithing and starve in the winter when you’ve had a bad crop year.

If you truly want to try life in the 1800s, be expected to have 18-20 children, all born at home, and have half of them die before the age of five because of dysentery, typhoid, scarlet fever or measles. Be prepared to get up with the sun and read by the light of your drafty fireplace. (Yes, the Franklin stove was invented in the late 1700s, but it weighed so much, most folks who went west didn’t take it with them. Of course, if you stayed in one of the “big” cities, you would have access to whale oil or kerosene for your lights.)

Be prepared to slaughter pigs and use everything except the “oink.” (Think pickled pig’s feet.) And you had better spend all day Sunday at church.

Let’s see—what else—oh yes, hygiene. It didn’t exist. There was usually a pan with water in it (that you carried from the well in a bucket) for rinsing your fingers before meals and washing your face in the morning. Everyone washed in the same basin of water. There was one bathtub full of water that everyone used for their Saturday night baths.

And ladies—would you like to know the origin of the phrase “on the rag?” Just one of the many uses of the rag bag. I heard a nurse tell a story that happened in 1950. An old “bachelor farmer” came into the hospital and had to have both pairs of long johns cut off him. He had had them on so long, his hair was growing through them.

Babies wore cloth diapers (if they wore anything at all) and the diapers had to be boiled before hung on the line to dry. Yes, even in the winter. You’d hang them out so they froze, take them down and snap them so the water crystals would fly out, then bring them in and hang them from rope you strung from one side of the house to the other.

Clothes for the rest of the family? One dress for momma for church, and one dress for the rest of the week. One pair of pants and a shirt for poppa for church, and one outfit for him for the rest of the week.

The rest of the simple homesteading family— hand-me-downs. Clothes were remade and remade and remade until they ended up in the rag bag. Remember those funny pictures of baby boys wearing dresses? Yup! The ultimate in recycling. By the way ladies—there’s no underwear from the waist down—but there are chemise, corsets, corset covers, and then a blouse on top, and the skirts were multi layered—up to 16 layers.

Animal husbandry for simple homesteading? You’d better like being pecked by chickens, trying to solve mastitis without antibiotics, treating thrush (on your horses feet) with iodine, and trimming the hooves of everything that walks. Roosters need their spurs clipped, dogs need their claws shortened and so do cows, goats, horses, sheep and just about anything else you can think of except fish.

Don’t forget you should not drink water that is “downriver” from where the animals drink. And if you want your animals to work for you, they need to be fed before you are. You had better have good neighbors to swap seed and semen with. Remember, this is before artificial insemination and top seed companies. And animals are dangerous. Just because they are cute, doesn’t mean they are safe. Horses kick and bite. Bulls can gore you. A pig will eat you. Roosters’ spurs are sharp. I do hope you know how to sew up cuts and have alcohol (that you made yourself) to wash out wounds.

Housing. If you are living like a “pioneer,” expect a drafty cold house with snow on the bed, no glass in the windows and two rooms. One room is the bedroom, the other is for all other functions, including mending the harness, sharpening and oiling your tools, spinning, and weaving, cooking and relaxing in the evening.

If you were smart, you put in a loft (heat rises). Up there you will find two beds. One bed is for mom and dad and the baby, and the other bed is for everyone else. Half the heads on the pillows at the “head” of the bed and half the heads on the pillows at the “foot” of the bed. The bed will have ropes tied about every foot going across, and three or four ropes going from head to food. This is your “box spring.” Your mattress will be a piece of thick cloth (ticking) that is stuffed with straw or corn husks or something of that ilk. The featherbed (if there is one) goes on top to keep you warm.

If you are “city folk,” instead of simple homesteading you’ll have curtains around your bed to help keep body warmth in. You might be smart enough to make a house that has good chinking between the logs. In which case, you have to worry about “cabin fever”—which is really another name for carbon dioxide poisoning, because you haven’t opened the door enough to bring in oxygen after the fire and all the people use it all up.

Here’s something else you can do in your spare time—boiling the horns from the cows so they can be flattened and used to make into spoons and the “glass” in the lantern. That’s after you oil and mend all the harnesses, clean all the glass lanterns of their soot, and drop a live chicken down the chimney to break loose all the creosote. (Yes—I know folks who do it.)

Cooking. If you are living “out west,” you’ll be using dried buffalo dung for fuel. If you happen to live where there is plentiful wood, you get to chop down trees. As in, with an ax. There are saws, but most of them take two people. Look up bucksaw and “Swede” saw. Then you hitch up your horses to haul it out of the woods, chop it into smaller pieces, stack it and haul it into the house whenever you need heat. (Cooking, keeping warm, keeping the wool warm so it will spin, etc.) Ten cords of wood should last you a winter. A cord is 8′ x 8′ x 4′. With a chainsaw it takes me two weeks solid to cut 10 cords.

And the only food you have is what you grow or kill. If there is a drought or a flood, or the locusts hit your garden, or you get sick and can’t carry the water from the well to water the garden, you’re going to go hungry. By the way, you will probably only have two or three metal pans, a Dutch oven (or something that can be covered with coals), a frying pan and a boiling pan. (For 17 people, remember). In simple homesteading, lots of cooking is done in crockery or wrapped in leaves and stuck in the coals.

Expect to eat a lot of soup, especially for breakfast. And if it’s before the time of Napoleon, nothing canned. It’s all fresh, dried, salted, or fermented (think sauerkraut). Hopefully you have dug yourself a well wide enough you can keep stuff cool if you don’t have a springhouse or a root cellar. One of the reasons to make cheese is to use up all the milk you ended up with by milking by hand—after you weaned the calves. Another chore that isn’t fun—flour. If you grow your own grain, you’d better know the difference between a snath and a blade and how to sharpen the latter.

Have we talked about shoes yet? Before the American Civil War, there were no “left” and “right” shoes. Or rather, they weren’t made that way, but after wearing them often enough, they developed “left” and “right.” The country songs that talk about getting a “brand new pair” when the kids go off to school is pretty accurate—for the 20th century. Before that, you went barefoot most of the year. If you lived in the city and were a lady, you had satin slippers to go dancing in. Yes, satin material. No insole. No sole. Just a piece of satin material sewn into a slipper shape.

By the way, did I discuss disease yet? You know all those vaccines that are pushed on you as a child? All those were diseases that killed or crippled. Polio, measles, mumps, chicken pox, small pox, influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, whooping cough, trench mouth, milk fever, goiters, warts, and worms. All those and all the “little” problems that we face such as arthritis, heart attacks, and diabetes, were out there with no cure. But there was opium!

Because of the high death rate among children, the “average” lifespan was 35. If you survived childhood, you had a good chance of living to be 60 or even 70. But by that time you were so worn out by all the work, you were ready. By the time you were 40 your skin was very wrinkled, you had lost most of your teeth, and every joint hurt—all the time.

Yup, life in the 1800s: the “good old days.” I’ll stick with homesteading today.

Two of my many sources are: America Eats, by Williams Woys Weaver, Museum of American FolkArt, Harper & Row Publishers, 1989 Everyday Life in the 1800s, by Marc McCutcheon, Writers Digest Books, 1993

Originally published in Countryside January / February 2013 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s was originally posted by All About Chickens

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A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s

By Kathy Belt – In the September/October 2012 issue, a reader wanted to know what homesteading life in the 1800s was like. Here’s my reply. I am a bit of a history nut. I have spent many years engaged in accurate historical re-enactment. (Think Ren Faire but with no turkey legs.) So your question about what simple homesteading life in the 1800s looked like prompted me to write.

First—when talking about life in the 1800s, do you mean the early 1800s? Before the advent of canning, telegraph, railroads, and sewing machines? Or are you talking late the 1800s? If the latter—just talk to any member of an Amish community about their simple homesteading lifestyle. If you are talking about the early 1800s—that’s a completely different matter. I would recommend visiting historic Williamsburg, Virginia.

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There are numerous diaries that have been left behind by the folks who “traveled West” and the hardships of simple homesteading they endured; as well as diaries of those who “stayed behind” in the civilized world of chamber pots and chimney fires. Reading these diaries gives a very good insight into how people lived.

Are you interested in the day-to-day life of agrarian people as opposed to those who live in the city? If so—I recommend becoming a homesteader without electricity, power tools or indoor plumbing.

Also take away modern medicine, familiarize yourself with a healing herbs list and learn to recognize gangrene. Go to the grocery store for only flour, coffee, and sugar. Grow your own linen (hemp is preferable to flax for durability and comfort), and wool. Simple homesteading of this era means you learn how to knit, spin and weave, and use only your own feet (or those of a horse) for transportation. Dig your own well, do your own blacksmithing and starve in the winter when you’ve had a bad crop year.

If you truly want to try life in the 1800s, be expected to have 18-20 children, all born at home, and have half of them die before the age of five because of dysentery, typhoid, scarlet fever or measles. Be prepared to get up with the sun and read by the light of your drafty fireplace. (Yes, the Franklin stove was invented in the late 1700s, but it weighed so much, most folks who went west didn’t take it with them. Of course, if you stayed in one of the “big” cities, you would have access to whale oil or kerosene for your lights.)

Be prepared to slaughter pigs and use everything except the “oink.” (Think pickled pig’s feet.) And you had better spend all day Sunday at church.

Let’s see—what else—oh yes, hygiene. It didn’t exist. There was usually a pan with water in it (that you carried from the well in a bucket) for rinsing your fingers before meals and washing your face in the morning. Everyone washed in the same basin of water. There was one bathtub full of water that everyone used for their Saturday night baths.

And ladies—would you like to know the origin of the phrase “on the rag?” Just one of the many uses of the rag bag. I heard a nurse tell a story that happened in 1950. An old “bachelor farmer” came into the hospital and had to have both pairs of long johns cut off him. He had had them on so long, his hair was growing through them.

Babies wore cloth diapers (if they wore anything at all) and the diapers had to be boiled before hung on the line to dry. Yes, even in the winter. You’d hang them out so they froze, take them down and snap them so the water crystals would fly out, then bring them in and hang them from rope you strung from one side of the house to the other.

Clothes for the rest of the family? One dress for momma for church, and one dress for the rest of the week. One pair of pants and a shirt for poppa for church, and one outfit for him for the rest of the week.

The rest of the simple homesteading family— hand-me-downs. Clothes were remade and remade and remade until they ended up in the rag bag. Remember those funny pictures of baby boys wearing dresses? Yup! The ultimate in recycling. By the way ladies—there’s no underwear from the waist down—but there are chemise, corsets, corset covers, and then a blouse on top, and the skirts were multi layered—up to 16 layers.

Animal husbandry for simple homesteading? You’d better like being pecked by chickens, trying to solve mastitis without antibiotics, treating thrush (on your horses feet) with iodine, and trimming the hooves of everything that walks. Roosters need their spurs clipped, dogs need their claws shortened and so do cows, goats, horses, sheep and just about anything else you can think of except fish.

Don’t forget you should not drink water that is “downriver” from where the animals drink. And if you want your animals to work for you, they need to be fed before you are. You had better have good neighbors to swap seed and semen with. Remember, this is before artificial insemination and top seed companies. And animals are dangerous. Just because they are cute, doesn’t mean they are safe. Horses kick and bite. Bulls can gore you. A pig will eat you. Roosters’ spurs are sharp. I do hope you know how to sew up cuts and have alcohol (that you made yourself) to wash out wounds.

Housing. If you are living like a “pioneer,” expect a drafty cold house with snow on the bed, no glass in the windows and two rooms. One room is the bedroom, the other is for all other functions, including mending the harness, sharpening and oiling your tools, spinning, and weaving, cooking and relaxing in the evening.

If you were smart, you put in a loft (heat rises). Up there you will find two beds. One bed is for mom and dad and the baby, and the other bed is for everyone else. Half the heads on the pillows at the “head” of the bed and half the heads on the pillows at the “foot” of the bed. The bed will have ropes tied about every foot going across, and three or four ropes going from head to food. This is your “box spring.” Your mattress will be a piece of thick cloth (ticking) that is stuffed with straw or corn husks or something of that ilk. The featherbed (if there is one) goes on top to keep you warm.

If you are “city folk,” instead of simple homesteading you’ll have curtains around your bed to help keep body warmth in. You might be smart enough to make a house that has good chinking between the logs. In which case, you have to worry about “cabin fever”—which is really another name for carbon dioxide poisoning, because you haven’t opened the door enough to bring in oxygen after the fire and all the people use it all up.

Here’s something else you can do in your spare time—boiling the horns from the cows so they can be flattened and used to make into spoons and the “glass” in the lantern. That’s after you oil and mend all the harnesses, clean all the glass lanterns of their soot, and drop a live chicken down the chimney to break loose all the creosote. (Yes—I know folks who do it.)

Cooking. If you are living “out west,” you’ll be using dried buffalo dung for fuel. If you happen to live where there is plentiful wood, you get to chop down trees. As in, with an ax. There are saws, but most of them take two people. Look up bucksaw and “Swede” saw. Then you hitch up your horses to haul it out of the woods, chop it into smaller pieces, stack it and haul it into the house whenever you need heat. (Cooking, keeping warm, keeping the wool warm so it will spin, etc.) Ten cords of wood should last you a winter. A cord is 8′ x 8′ x 4′. With a chainsaw it takes me two weeks solid to cut 10 cords.

And the only food you have is what you grow or kill. If there is a drought or a flood, or the locusts hit your garden, or you get sick and can’t carry the water from the well to water the garden, you’re going to go hungry. By the way, you will probably only have two or three metal pans, a Dutch oven (or something that can be covered with coals), a frying pan and a boiling pan. (For 17 people, remember). In simple homesteading, lots of cooking is done in crockery or wrapped in leaves and stuck in the coals.

Expect to eat a lot of soup, especially for breakfast. And if it’s before the time of Napoleon, nothing canned. It’s all fresh, dried, salted, or fermented (think sauerkraut). Hopefully you have dug yourself a well wide enough you can keep stuff cool if you don’t have a springhouse or a root cellar. One of the reasons to make cheese is to use up all the milk you ended up with by milking by hand—after you weaned the calves. Another chore that isn’t fun—flour. If you grow your own grain, you’d better know the difference between a snath and a blade and how to sharpen the latter.

Have we talked about shoes yet? Before the American Civil War, there were no “left” and “right” shoes. Or rather, they weren’t made that way, but after wearing them often enough, they developed “left” and “right.” The country songs that talk about getting a “brand new pair” when the kids go off to school is pretty accurate—for the 20th century. Before that, you went barefoot most of the year. If you lived in the city and were a lady, you had satin slippers to go dancing in. Yes, satin material. No insole. No sole. Just a piece of satin material sewn into a slipper shape.

By the way, did I discuss disease yet? You know all those vaccines that are pushed on you as a child? All those were diseases that killed or crippled. Polio, measles, mumps, chicken pox, small pox, influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, whooping cough, trench mouth, milk fever, goiters, warts, and worms. All those and all the “little” problems that we face such as arthritis, heart attacks, and diabetes, were out there with no cure. But there was opium!

Because of the high death rate among children, the “average” lifespan was 35. If you survived childhood, you had a good chance of living to be 60 or even 70. But by that time you were so worn out by all the work, you were ready. By the time you were 40 your skin was very wrinkled, you had lost most of your teeth, and every joint hurt—all the time.

Yup, life in the 1800s: the “good old days.” I’ll stick with homesteading today.

Two of my many sources are: America Eats, by Williams Woys Weaver, Museum of American FolkArt, Harper & Row Publishers, 1989 Everyday Life in the 1800s, by Marc McCutcheon, Writers Digest Books, 1993

Originally published in Countryside January / February 2013 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s was originally posted by All About Chickens