#just sososososososo interesting to me

[heartslobbf]

has anyone played desdemona as a trans woman. or like written about transfeminism in othello generally. i haven’t looked anything up yet lol like i literally just thought of this and im like ohhhhhhh. that play makes me bonkers fr

[bmpmp3]

everyone on earth probably has a hypothetical farming sim in their mind's eye that they daydream about on occasion because of the unfortunate situation that despite there being like a thousand farming games released every minute only like 4 of them are any good. and i think this is fun, i think its good to keep the imagination alive. if i made a farming sim i would bring back rival marriages from the old friends of mineral town. i want to steal someones wife.

[kosije]

hi there! if it is possible could you do a piece where the reader (fem) and iwa/akaashi go to a park to walk the reader's dog, where two kids approach the reader while they are sitting on a bench and ask her to play with them. iwa/akaashi has been planning to propose to the reader for a while and on the way back he asks them their opinion on children and the reader replies with something that convinces them that they are the one.

thank you in advance!

ㅤ( ㅤ҉ 🌳 ) puppy love

a/n ★ ׂ first post of 2024! thank you so much anon :) this was fun to write. i tried to see who i wanted to write for more, but i couldn’t! so today i present you a two course meal (^з^) scroll down to read akaashi’s part, but yk i had to put my fav first _(:3 」∠)_

— main masterlist | haikyuu masterlist

c/w ★ ׂ akaashi x fem!reader / iwaizumi x fem,reader, reader has a dog, reader is a physical therapist, reader likes kids, mentions of marriage/proposal, fluff, akaashi’s part does have a make out session (but i did try to make it tasteful)

🌱 choose your character!

player 1 — iwaizumi

you're painted in a golden glow. a star walking beside him as you talk about everything that had happened at work. today was a good day, you say. your patient has had a breakthrough and can now walk without support. her muscle movement is almost fluid and her mood has brightened up tremendously ever since.

your dog seems just as happy as you are. it practically prancing between you and Iwaizumi.

"how was work today? you got off pretty early," you coo, nudging him with your shoulder.

"oh, yeah—" he coughs, suddenly interested in the strap of the bag full of your snacks and dog stuff. "yeah, one of my clients was a no-show so i just closed my availability after i finished."

his stomach does flips, he hates lying. he hates keeping secrets from you, but he can't tell you he's been out looking for engagement rings all day. he hasn't even stepped foot in his gym; he has been planning with his clients to skip today all month.

in reality, while you have been at the hospital, he has been around every jeweler in the area, trying to find the perfect ring for you. he knows what you like. he knows your ring size, your favorite stone, and your favorite metal.

but none of them seemed like the one.

he had come across this hole-in-the-wall shop on his way back. not the cleanest, but not sketchy, but he had no time to look. he had just bookmarked it and drove home.

"that's nice. i'm happy we could do this, we rarely go out on weekdays."

"yeah? been missing me hunny?" he pouts, eyes closed, making mwah noises to you.

you scoff, but mush his face between your hands and plant a big kiss on his lips and he can taste fruit on your lips.

"so so sososososososo much, haji." and you kiss him again on the cheek, then the other, then one last peck on his lips, and he can't help the smile that spreads across his face.

you two walk for a little longer this time with his thump under the waistband of your pants until you reach the benches by the climbing frame.

"wanna rest up?"

you nod to him and plop down together, sighing. you tie the leash to the bench arm, and iwa digs through the bag for the dog bowl and water.

you two cuddle up together. your hands play with the fabric of his shorts, and his arm is stroking your side as you watch children play, people work out with their dogs, and birds fly from tree to tree.

it's peaceful. and it's natural. and he's nervous.

a couple of laughs break him out of his trance, and when he's focused again he sees two kids, a boy and a girl, nervously asking you to play with them.

"we wanna play hide and go seek, but we both wanna hide. and- and- and- my grandma said that we should ask someone to seek for us s-so we don't argue," the girl says, twisting her foot into the dirt as her brother silently plays with your dog.

"yeah?" you look to iwaizumi, and he nods, not in any objection. "where should i count?

ㅤ ㅤ҉ 🌳

you play with the kids for about fifteen minutes. running around — tag, hide and go seek, fetch with your dog, and racing with them. he watches you from the bench, laughing with the kids, and something of a flame ignites within him. his heart squeezes and his face warms more and more just at the sight of you. you're so carefree and happy. the kids are giggling and smiling ear to ear as you pretend to run as fast as you can, only to get tagged back and go back to chasing them. your dog is sitting between his legs as he adds ice cubes to his bowl for him to chew on, and he thinks he's never been happier.

it feels as natural as breathing, seeing you with the kids, and he doesn't even try to stop himself or the drumming of butterflies in his chest, daydreaming of you two at the park with kids of your own. you running around with them and playing. him setting the table for you all. him reading them bedtime stories as you kiss their foreheads and tuck them in, leading him back to your guy's room, hand in hand, with a pretty rock on your ring finger.

he watches as the kids light up at the sight of the older woman walking toward you and smiling brightly. it's no trouble, i had fun, he hears you say. she thanks you again and the kids wave bye to you and him before you walk back to the bench. your face is a little flushed and your baby hairs are sticking to your forehead messily.

"tired?"

"not..really..." you huff with your hands on your hips and head facing the sky.

"i can see why their grandma needed a break. It took you 15 minutes to get sweaty," he laughs, a large hand rubbing your hip.

"good thing when that happens with ours, i'll have you with me," you laugh, plopping down on the bench next to him. he's silent for a little while, can tell that you've noticed it when you turn your head to him.

"baby, you're all flushed." you touch his face to examine it, and he grabs it, bringing your palm to his lip.

"it is a good thing that we'll have each other, isn't it," he mumbles, and there's a boyish smile glued to his face.

you give him a funny look and kiss him softly, and he remembers to check that hole-in-the-wall spot tomorrow

"2 kids max though."

"there are only two of us," he agrees.

player 2 — akaashi

he likes how you look when it's cold. likes how you look bundled up and cozy, how you always rub up against his side. you're always so warm, it feels too good, you always say. how could he ever complain though? he may not say much, but he loves it when you're holding him, touching him somewhere innocuous, like you have to have some sort of physical connection with him at all times. call him clingy, but he'll just tell you he's in love.

your dog seems just as calm as you are, walking close between you and Akaashi.

"how was it with your client today?" you ask, playing with the hem of his cuff.

"unremarkable, feels as if it never even happened," he says and mentally slaps himself for being so literal. you're none the wiser to his lie. or the fact he's been looking for engagement rings all day. how many flower shops he's passed looking for your favorites. how many venues he's bookmarked. so instead, he's asking you how it went with your patient.

"pretty good," you say, smiling into your scarf. it belongs to him, but he the way it looks on you more. "making some real breakthroughs. she'll be running in no time."

"that's good, 'm proud of you both. this means you'll be spending more time at home?"

"just a little. she asks if we do more intensive workouts now—push her to her limits. feels like the home stretch, though."

"can't wait till the discharge, we should celebrate over dinner."

"my favorite?"

he laughs at the way your puppy dog eyes peer up at him. "of course."

and you do a little happy dance, bend down to tell your dog the great, and he's happy. his heart is hung heavy in his chest for you, but it feels as light as a cloud. and despite the sting in his cheeks, he can't stop smiling.

you guys reach a bench by a pond and sit together. you let your dog play in the grass in front of you two as he pulls a book from his satchel and wipes his glasses before putting them back on his face.

"will you read to me?"

and of course, he says yes, because it makes him so happy to entertain you. you compliment his voice, tell him it makes you calm whenever he speaks, tell him it makes reading feel more intimate, hypnotizing almost. god, if only you knew half the things you do to him.

"excuse me," he stops for a second, and you both turn to see a little boy and girl standing in front of you.

he tells them hello, and the boy asks him to read to them too.

"our- we like books a lot. and we can be very quiet," he whispers that last part. "my grandma says it's okay, she's right- right there." he follows the kid's finger to an older woman, quietly sitting by another bench close by, glancing between the kids and the two of you.

he points to himself, and the two kids with a tilt of his head and she nods, hands settling into her lap.

"can i pet your dog?" the girl asks, and you gush.

"of course, sweetheart!"

"can i sit next to you?" the boy asks him, and he nods, holding the book out away from his body, picking the boy with his free hand and letting him settle against the side of his body and reads.

ㅤ ㅤ҉ 🌳

he gets about a chapter deep before the kids fall asleep. the little girl had been settled in your arms just a moment after the boy had asked, as he read.

"your voice is like a lullaby," you muse, nudging his foot with your own.

"or maybe this book is just that boring."

"note even," you whisper through a smile. "you're just a natural."

the kids stir awake moments later, now with their grandma by their sides. she thanks the two of you, tells you how time is catching up with her and she can't do as much for them as she used to.

"it's no problem, ma'am. i can tell that you do so much already."

she thanks you again, cupping your hands as the two kids position themselves next to her, grabbing onto her skirt.

"and might i add, it is so nice seeing a couple so good with kids. tell me, do you have some of your own?"

"no," you laugh, placing your head on his shoulder. "not yet."

and when you wink at the woman, she laughs, putting her fingers up to her lips. "not for long either, i can tell."

and you both giggle at one another as he sits there flushed. not yet. it repeats in his head even as he trails you back to your car. his face is burning. he's not so immature as to be flustered by the thought have having a child with you. but he can't stop the feeling he gets when you say things like that.

not yet.

"earth to keji?"

he jumps slightly, hand sweeping up to cover his mouth.

you look worried. your lips are in a pretty pout and your hand is on his chest. "what's wrong?"

he says nothing, doesn't dare to use his words, and so he kisses you. and it's somewhat feverish and terribly lovesick. his hands are warm on your face, and his glasses are fogging up, but he doesn't care. he is fighting for air in between your moans and he'd be perfectly content with passing out as long as your lips are on his. as long as you are his.

eventually, you guys have to pull back. your lips are plumper and he's sure his area deep shade of pink.

and keji doesn't care about the venue, or date, or anything else, because as long as he can tell you "i do," he knows he'll be the luckiest man on earth.

"i have a different idea as a celebration for when your time with your patient has concluded," he says.

you pout. "so no dinner?" so damn cute.

he kisses your lips one last time before starting the car.

"you'll still get that dinner, hun."

© all rights reserved. all content published on this blog belongs to me, kosije. please refrain from plagerizing, reposting, or translating my works. i do not allow adaptation in any way without my permission!

[queenjunothegreat]

Aaaaaaaalllrighty everyone!!!!!! It's TIME!!!!!!! Let's fucking gooooooo!!!!!!! I am sososososososo excited to share @lost-trio-week with you all!!!! It's going to be SO much fun and I am thrilled beyond words! People's wonderful creations are already rolling in and I love each and every one of them SO much!!! YAYAYAYAYYAYAY!!!!

So, without any more delay, I'd like to present my day one fic: We Are Not Shining Stars (We Are Who We Are)

(CW: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse)

"Now, I’m gonna find your file. Seeing as someone won’t even tell me when his birthday is, I at least want that much. Assuming you didn’t delete it already, that is.” Eventually, Piper found his file and started her deep-dive, obviously disappointed at the barren field of information before her. She started reading off things about Leo that he obviously already knew (apparently, his birthday made him a Cancer. He didn’t know what that meant, really, but it was bitingly ironic) while Leo gasped in mock shock over her revelations and tinkered with a little wind-up toy. Then Piper got quiet for a moment, and giggled out her little mischievous giggle, which immediately put Leo on high alert. He squinted at her suspiciously. “What’d you find?” “Something weird,” she reported, still giggling. “They have the wrong name down for you on one of these documents.” He rolled his eyes, and looked back at his project, expecting her to come up with some dumb little nickname that would stick for about a week before they both got bored of it. “Yeah? And what name do they have?” “Emilio.” *** Piper learns a secret she was never meant to know. Lost Trio Week 2024 - Day One: Wilderness/Nicknames

Part 2 of Carry On (Wilderness School Fics)

To say that Dylan was a pain was more than a little bit of an understatement. You’d think that being in a school as big as Wilderness would have meant that you wouldn’t really cross paths with any one particular person too often, but Dylan somehow managed to surpass all expectations. He wasn’t actually in too many of Piper and Leo’s classes, but he found a way to bump into them in the halls almost every period, and he certainly made an effort to be as awful as possible in the little time he had with them.

His worst offense, by far, was the history class he shared with the both of them. Piper and Leo sat next to one another, like they did in every class they shared, and Dylan had made himself right at home in the desk directly behind them.  Considering his penchant for running his mouth, especially about Piper, and the teacher’s disinterest in stopping him, especially when it was about Piper, it was clear that Piper and Leo would have to take matters into their own hands. Leo had originally suggested tricking the teacher into abandoning him next time they went on a field trip, but Piper had given him one of those looks and he’d begrudgingly agreed to a solution that didn’t involve bodily harm. Again. 

The solution had come one afternoon when they were hanging out in the library and Leo had poked around for a bit on one of the computers he definitely wasn’t allowed on, then asked Piper if she had any grades she wanted him to change for her.

She squinted at him, then at his computer screen. “Wait, are you hacked into the school’s computer system? How’d you do that? Don’t you need to use, like, a super computer or something?”

Leo decided that going over all of her incorrect ideas about what “hacking” meant was probably a waste of time, so he just shrugged. “Just the grade books. The actual interesting stuff like personal records and junk is only really accessible on an admin computer. I mean, I could get to it from here, but it would require a lot of work.”

She arched her eyebrows at him. “And how, exactly, do you know that?” Instead of answering, he just winked and tapped the side of his nose, so she rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. Don’t tell me.”

“Wasn’t planning on it!” he chirped back at her.

After a moment, she gave him a curious look. “Can you change schedules from what you have there?”

Leo shook his head. “Nah, that’s all gonna be on that main system. This one is specifically easy to get into because the teachers need to be able to access it from home. There’s no need for them to access schedules and stuff, so that’s gonna be more secure.”

“Do you–” She cut herself off and thought for a moment while she sucked her teeth. “Do you think we could use that to get rid of Dylan?”

“What? You mean like mobster ‘Ay, let’s get ridda this guy’ or–”

“No, I just mean, like… changing his schedule? Just swap his math and history so we don’t have to deal with him any more.”

Leo hummed in thought. “What about P.E.? You wanna swap him out of that class, too?”

Piper weighed her options very carefully before shaking her head. “Nah. If it’s just the one class, that could be, like, a system error or something. If we go around changing a bunch of his classes, people might look into it. Besides, I think Coach Hedge hates Dylan, so we don’t really have to deal with him, so long as he’s around.”

Leo nodded in agreement. Hedge claimed that it was just because Dylan was on the track team and he needed to be in top form, but any time Dylan even tried to talk to Piper and Leo during PE, Hedge popped up out of thin air, blowing on his whistle until he was purple, and ordering Dylan to run another two laps. “Alright. Well, we’re gonna have to break into the headmaster’s office. I might be able to do it if we can only get access to the front desk, but it will be harder.”

“Wanna do it Thursday?” Piper suggested. “Mr. Thomas is supposed to be on hall monitor duty that night.”

Leo agreed, and together they started plotting. Leo was once again struck dumb by the breathtaking lack of security at this particular correctional facility. Sure, they had some of the harshest, meanest punishments they could get away with before someone (rightfully) accused them of child abuse, but they apparently had little to no interest in trying to stop anyone from breaking the rules. There weren’t even proper security guards, though most of the teachers were armed with school-supplied hand tasers. Instead, the night watch was taken on by a series of teachers all taking their turns to roam the halls until the sun rose up over the far distant horizon. Mr. Thomas was a wry, skittish sort of man that really had no business surviving in a place like this, but still managed to have the longest tenure of almost any of the staff. Still, he struggled to stay awake during his own lessons, dry-erase marker hanging limply in one hand and coffee cup clutched desperately in the other, so it was no surprise to anyone that he often “rested his eyes” when it was his turn to patrol the halls. Students weren’t supposed to know the rotation schedule, but, well. Piper certainly had her ways.

That Thursday night, Leo picked the lock on their dorm room door, and they silently crept through the many empty halls of Wilderness School, all the way down to the first floor where the headmaster’s office was. Breaking into those rooms had been even easier than breaking out of their dorm, so before too long Leo was sat in front of Dylan’s daily schedule, and with a few clicks Dylan’s 10:00 math class was swapped with his 2:00 history class, and emails were sent out to both teachers and student alerting them of the “sudden but necessary” change. 

“You said this has everyone’s personal records on it, right?” Piper asked, peering over his shoulder once he was done. He nodded and she grinned at him. “Cool. I wanna check yours out. I’m gonna find out what you’re hiding, Valdez.”

Leo scoffed loudly and rolled away, giving her free reign. “Be my guest. You’re not gonna find anything interesting.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “You ran away six times, and you think there’s nothing interesting in your file?”

“I didn’t say that,” he corrected, grinning like a shark. “I just said you wouldn’t find it.”

She laughed at him, the sound bright and loud in the cramped office. “Whatever. Get out of my way; I wanna do some snooping.”

Leo got up and offered the chair to her, bowing obnoxiously. “Your throne, my lady.”

“Why thank you, my good sir,” she replied, equally obnoxious, as she took her seat. “Now, I’m gonna find your file. Seeing as someone won’t even tell me when his birthday is, I at least want that much. Assuming you didn’t delete it already, that is.”

Leo shrugged. He hadn’t gotten rid of stuff like his birthday and social security number from his file, but he didn’t really think that mattered all that much. He got rid of the important things, like why he’d gone into the foster system to begin with, or why he’d been removed from some of those awful places before he even had the chance to run away. Anything that mattered. Anything that tied him back to that little house in Texas and the choking smoke of a burning warehouse. He was past all that now. Keep moving forward, a gnarled old lady’s voice said in the back of his mind. Be quick and be clever, but always keep moving. He figured the past couldn’t catch him if he never let it exist in the first place. 

Eventually, Piper found his file and started her deep-dive, obviously disappointed at the barren field of information before her. She started reading off things about Leo that he obviously already knew (apparently, his birthday made him a Cancer. He didn’t know what that meant, really, but it was bitingly ironic) while Leo gasped in mock shock over her revelations and tinkered with a little wind-up toy he’d been working on. 

Then Piper got quiet for a moment, and giggled out her little mischievous giggle, which immediately put Leo on high alert. He squinted at her suspiciously. “Pipes? What’d you find?”

“Something weird,” she reported, still giggling. “They have the wrong name down for you on one of these documents.”

He rolled his eyes, and looked back at his project, expecting her to come up with some dumb little nickname that would stick for about a week before they both got bored of it. “Yeah? And what name do they have?”

“Emilio.”

 Immediately, the world stood still. He was four years old and that name was being sung to him while he clapped his hands in front of a fire truck birthday cake. He was five years old, laughing hysterically as he ran away from the mess he’d made and the sound of that name shouted after him on its own laugh. He was six years old and he was being told that all the teachers and kids at school were going to call him Leo, but he would always know what name was on his heart. He was seven years old and that name was sitting warm on his shoulders as stories about what an amazing life he would get to live were told to him in hushed whispers. He was eight years old and that name was being tapped out in Morse Code as his mamá told him how much she loved him for the very last time. 

“Don’t say that name,” he snapped. “Don’t ever say that name in front of me again, do you understand?”

Piper reared back, clearly startled. Her gaze flicked over Leo’s face, but he just continued to scowl death at her. He’d had this fight before, and he’d won it every time. He wasn’t afraid to have it again, even if he didn’t want to. She narrowed her eyes at him and very obviously sucked her teeth, preparing her interrogation.

Then she shrugged, turned back to the computer, and continued casually clicking around. “Okay. Hey, did you know that Macy’s middle name is Lucille? It’s like her parents wanted her to cause problems.”

Leo felt a bit like he’d been kicked in the chest by a horse, and if he hadn't been sitting down, he probably would have fallen on his butt. “What?”

“Yeah,” she said casually. “I mean, Lucille is a fine enough name, I guess, but it’s a really shitty middle name. Especially combined with Macy. Macy Lucille Milton. Bleh.”

“You’re just saying that because you hate her,” Leo said automatically. He shook his head. “I don’t mean that. I went all Incredible Hulk on you because you said some random name and your response is ‘okay?’”

She furrowed her brow at him. “Do you… want me to get all bent out of shape about it?”

“Uh, no. I guess not,” Leo stammered. “I just… was expecting you to?”

Piper shrugged. “We all have our secrets.” She offered him one of those grins he knew so well and a handshake. “You don’t quiz me about my relationship with my mom, and I pretend that the school didn’t mess up your file. Deal?”

“I– Yeah, deal,” Leo agreed, shaking her hand. He still felt a bit like he’d been spun around one too many times, and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins from where he’d been geared up for a fight. 

She gave him a real smile then, all the playfulness gone and replaced with gentle, cautious affection. “Cool. Now show me how to send emails to the teachers from this account. I’ve got an idea.”

Leo’s eyebrows shot up and a grin curled over his mouth. “Oh? Do tell.”

“Not until you show me how to get to the email.”

They stayed in the office for probably longer than was advisable, only cutting the mission of mischief short when Mr. Thomas shuffled by, apparently having napped for long enough. They crept back to their dorm, and when they were back safely behind their locked door, they broke out into giggles, beyond pleased with themselves. 

“Ugh, I’m so gonna sleep through English tomorrow,” Piper whined, flinging herself on the bed. 

“You say that like you wouldn’t have slept through it after a full night’s sleep,” Leo accused, picking one of her socks up off the floor and throwing it at her. Piper let out some comically loud snores to avoid answering him, and he rolled his eyes, climbing into his own bed. 

Unbidden, the name came to the front of his mind. Piper hadn’t said it right. She’d pronounced it fine, but it still sounded wrong in her mouth. Her accent rounded out weird parts, and her tone had that nasally Valley Girl kick to it. That name was supposed to be said with a warm, rich voice. It was supposed to sound like laughter and feel like being wrapped up in a hug. It wasn’t supposed to be a slap in the face. 

He still felt a little bad about snapping at Piper, though. She didn’t know, couldn’t know. She’d been joking around one second, only for Leo to flip a switch on her out of nowhere. He could perfectly picture the way she’d stared at him in wide-eyed shock, and how her features had been tinged with the slightest bit of hurt. He wouldn’t have been able to really fault her if she’d been angry with him, demanding answers, but she hadn’t. She just shrugged and accepted it, more than happy to meet Leo where he was at.  She always did that. It didn’t matter how much Leo snarled at her or how bristly and defensive he got, she always stepped back and opened her arms, ready to give Leo the space he needed to go running back to her when he was ready. He curled up in a little ball and pressed his forehead to his knees. “Piper?”

“Yeah, Leo?” she replied immediately, every ounce of the exhaustion she’d been complaining about moments before gone. 

He pressed closer to his knees. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

There was a beat of silence, and then he felt Piper crawl into the bed next to him and press up against his side. “You don’t have to apologize. I get it.”

“No you don’t. There’s literally no way for you to get it.”

“Okay, I don’t get it,” she conceded. “Not really. But I get that it upset you, and I get that you don’t wanna talk about why. And that’s all I really need to get, I think.”

Leo chewed his bottom lip until he thought it would bleed. “Leo’s a nickname my mom gave me to tell the teachers and kids at school instead of using my real name.”

“Yeah?” Piper prompted gently. “Do you like it?”

Leo shrugged. “It’s not bad. It never felt quite right though.”

“Then how come you use it?” Leo squeezed his eyes shut and took in a deep, heaving breath, and Piper started gently stroking his back. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

He knew he didn’t have to. Piper wouldn’t push. She never pushed. Which is exactly why she was the one person on the planet he wanted to tell everything to.

“My mom was the last person who used my real name,” he said quietly. “Everyone else called me Leo, but she used my full name every time.”

Piper hummed softly, and he could hear the gentle smile in her voice when she said, “That sounds nice.”

“Yeah. I’m–” He cut himself off with a little choking noise, and Piper pressed that much closer. “I’m scared I’m gonna forget what it sounded like coming from her if other people use it.”

“Leo,” Piper breathed before finally wrapping him up in a hug. He clung to her, fists clenched in the back of her dumb Hello Kitty shirt. He didn’t cry, not really, but he did tremble from head to toe as she held him. After a moment, her voice whispered in his ear, “You may not like the name Leo, but I do. It’s the name of my best friend.”

Leo chuckled softly in the crook of her neck. “Yeah? I guess it’s not all bad, then.”

Piper didn’t say that name right. There was no one on Earth who could anymore. But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all. She said Leo right. When she said Leo, it sounded like a smirk curling over lips and peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches shared when no one would even look at him. It sounded like stupid pranks and stolen Pokemon games and staying up past curfew to watch the stars. It sounded like the sort of kindness and acceptance he thought he’d never deserve again. 

It sounded like his name. 

[sillystringsimpsons]

THE D'AMICO CRIME FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MAP.

Content warnings: brief mention of sexual abuse, cartoon imagery of blood, cigars, cigarettes, discussion of struggling to transition, discussion of physical trauma. This AU is centred around a criminal organisation and by default involves mature themes.

Over hours, through a painstaking design process, I created an illustrated map detailing the relationships between frontal characters in my Simpsons alternate universe, The Good Ones. A lot of love and effort has been put into this, so I hope you guys like it! If there are any characters you'd like to see drawn, just let me know.

More info and close ups of icons beneath cut!

I know I always say this, but interactions, especially questions would mean SOSOSOSOSOSOSO much to me, as I've put so much thought into this and would LOVE to yap to interested people about it. I know art is done for oneself, but it feels really good to share my creations and hyperfixations with the Simpsons community :)

For every character, I drew a little icon and wrote a line of dialogue, in order to give some inside into their personality and traits in a concise way. A few further explanations and elaborations are given below!

Valentina 'Tits' Albertini Her icon is a visual pun, featuring two Great Tits drawn in the colours of the transgender flag.

Aside from Memphis, Valentina is the only other explicitly genderqueer character in the AU's focus (Lucy-Mae is heavily implied to fall under the nonbinary umbrella, but she never personally feels the need to explore it further, and is happy with identifying as female). Her former nickname was a play on how ballsy of a person she is within the mafia - though Cora is a wildcard, she makes very rash decisions: Valentina is both calculated and bold, and her current nickname is a crude (fittingly), but well-spirited adaptation introduced by Memphis. After coming out, she experiences backlash from Tony, who is concerned her late transition will impact the image of the mob. Memphis, being a trans man, asks him why Valentina is any different from himself, and in the heat of the moment, Tony exclaims that half the people in their own family have no idea that he's transgender, which leads to some tension between the two. Tits' main character arc revolves around her exploration of gender and gender expression, and the character that plays the biggest role in it is Tony's son, Michele (purposefully drawing parallels between Tony and Memphis' own relationship, and showing social change between generations).

Michele 'Softfoot Mikey' D'Amico His icon is a nod to his (in this AU) love of ballet, and how he uses it to his advantage in his role as an underboss.

Michele is a simple evolution on Tony's canon son, Michael D'Amico. In this AU, he's been aged up to 23, and instead of having an unconventional love for cooking, has an unconventional love for ballet dance. Most all of his other traits have been kept the same, however, aside from the obvious fact that he's more rational and mature than his in-canon counterpart. He's straight, but is portrayed as very effeminate - and comfortably so. Mikey really just is a girlboss who never fails to (sometimes literally) slay.

Cora 'Connie the Howler' Mezzasalma Her icon plays on her nickname, portraying a dog with some of her key characteristics, such as a matching necklace given to her by her adoptive brother, as well as a splatter of blood - presumably from one of her usual 'errors'. Her nickname refers to the colloquial term howler, meaning a laughable mistake.

Frankie's awkward adoptive sister of Greek origin, Cora was initially made with the sole purpose of providing a dynamic for Frankie, outside of his relationship with Johnny (which is still the primary relationship explored), but she really grew as a character. Initially I made the name 'Connie the Howler' on the fly as a sort of female version of 'Frankie the Squealer', but I ended up actually putting the effort in to rationalise it and bring it into her character. The result was an awesome little dynamic between two characters who were equally stupid, but in very different ways. She may be responsible for a number of incorrect hits, as well as a good few accidental deaths and injuries, but at the end of the day, she's a silly girl at heart who really synergises with her brother's anxious energy.

Maximus 'Legs' Legman & Luis 'Louie' Walters Both of their icons refer to an car accident the both of them got into, wherein Legs, ironically, suffered severe damage to his legs (resulting in the amputation of his left one), and Louie underwent significant cranial trauma.

The two do admittedly have a closer relationship because of the shared experience, though they both experience significant impacts. Notably, Louie develops Broca's aphasia (yes, I know the injury is on the wrong side, that's my bad), a form of non-fluent aphasia where one's quality of speech and grammatical structure is significantly diminished - even though the words are in your head, you cannot get them out, usually due to damage to the area of the brain responsible for the production of speech. Louie really struggles in the aftermath, and has a difficult time adapting to his disability. Thankfully, he's got his friend there to help him through it.

[doukeshi-kun]

keshi! my sweet! do you think your stalker!nikolai and my lupus in fabula!nikolai would like each other?

(btw i'm rereading your stalker!nikolai series again and i love it sososososososo much! i'm going through the horrors and agonies (literally, i'm such a pussy, spooky stuff scares me A LOT but i just love the story), Nikolai is so hot disgusting and sexy horrible and he makes me wet scares me and i want to fuck him lock him up in jail and i love love love you for having written this <333)

hewo!

ohoo that's interesting 👀 i cannot speak for your lupus in fabula!nikolai, but i can speak for stalker!nikolai. i think he would be like "dang what the heck" to lupus nikolai and surely stalker kolya would try very hard to not let his darling and lupus kolya meet each other lmao

and thank you btw! <3 he should get locked up in jail but he's just too cute to be arrested ><

[halucynator]

LUCY HAPPY LOVE LETTER NIGHT!!!

there’s literally so much i could tell you that i’m drawing blanks omg

FIRST OFF!! you are one of my favorite people, just like that. you make me so so so happy that i can’t even process it. i want to talk to you all the fucking time, and tell you about random things happening in my life, and hear you random about the thing you’re interested in and your life, and yeah just, i love talking to you cause i think you might be more insane then i am /pos

also you are LITERALLY one of the sweetest people ever, like you always ask how i am when i see you, and you give me silly little compliments, and you’re always so sweet and considerate to every one and make sure to use tone tags (which i always forget to do lol)

and also you are incredibly funny and awesome and pretty and you make me giggle like no other anddovifkck lvfnffn and yeah :)

I LOVE YOU SOSOSOSOSOSOSO MUCH YOU DONT EVEN KNOW!! <333

WHAT THE FUCK ANDI YOURE THE SWEETEST OH MY GOD <333 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THIS IS SO SWEET IM GONNA CRY WHKJDHKAJHSD WHAT DID I DOO TO DESERVE YOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!

[lonely-darksun]

It is.. Interesting hearing that vampires lure in prey. I remember vaguely that I didn't do that. I'd just go after them like an animal. I suppose that may be partly why I didn't understand that.. I mean, to be fair I was also driven by the instincts of being a werewolf, too.

Body dysmorphia is hard. I try to focus on other things but I suppose I just.. Cannot sometimes? Especially with my eating. Tonight was suppose to be steak, I mentioned that I believe. Well, when the time came, it was so dry and I nearly cried because I couldn't eat even half of it. I still feel upset about it and it is haunting me because I do not know if I can bring myself the strength or energy to find something else to eat. Oftentimes when things like this happen I go to sleep hungry but tonight the.. Issues are gnawing at me. I hate when this happens and it is a lonely experience because I can't ask for reassurance from the likes of someone like my mother because of how she won't care or make it worse. it's horrible.

Apologies, sometimes when I am tired enough I just go on incessant rants, can't remember if I disclosed this before. /lh

- @batsbolts-andfangs

Oh no :(

I'm sososososososo sorry about your steak :<

I know how excited you were for it.

I understand what you mean when sometimes you can not focus on it. There's been times when it's like that for me too, but when that happens the things that I have resorted to....are less than optimal we'll say.

I wish you could talk to your mom, but I'm here if you want a distraction or just...someone to chat with.

And, once again, the rants are fine /gen.

[hangmanssunnies]

Wow... I will start by saying: I cannot believe it took me this long to start reading this. I have really been missing out because this is such a good fic. I am blown away and in love. Teddy is so great. And I love Jake so much already. I am enamored by them and their dynamic.

I am not sure how coherent this will be, but here are some of the things that stood out to me:

Jake playing with the model. It's like a fidget. I don't know I found this detail so endearing.

You always have have the best call signs, and this is no exception. Love Kodiak. Also, loveeeee Teddy <3

The fact that the squad hangs out in her office. 🥺🥺🥺 I am seeing found family all over this fic.

Teddy's back story is so unique and interesting. It really makes me so invested in her, and I also think that you have written her very tangibly.

JAKE WITH THE MODEL AGAIN?!? OH MY GOD I KNOW I'M GOING TO DIE. following it up with him putting it back.... I am So sososososososo sooo sooo in love with him. And I know it's only going up from here.

Bob is a very sweet man. <3

The way Jake is just so attuned to Teddy, and how he pays attention to details about her fits phenomenally with his character.

Their banter is so cute.

PROTECTIVE HANGMAN MAKES MY BRAIN GO BRRRRR.

"“No… I keep you around because you’re my friend,” you tell him, still annoyed, though it lessens when his smirk morphs into something more like surprise." -- These moments of real genuine honesty in the middle of their banter is so well written.

I am positively in love with these two, and I can't wait to go read the next chapter. Thank you for sharing your writing. Your care for this craft really shines through. 💞

Afterburn – Crosswinds

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x OC/Reader

Masterlist

OC/Reader's name is Teddy/callsign 'Kodiak'

Summary: You liked him when he was like this. You liked him all the time, but especially when he gave up on trying to get the upper hand in the conversation, and just let things be. When he was a little less Hangman and a little more Jake.

Warnings: mentions of aviation crash, mostly just hangman being a simp. smoking?

Notes: Dagger Squad took one look at Teddy and Phoenix was already printing out the adoption papers lmao. this is set post TGM, and Mav has taken up an instructing position.

A loud burst of buoyant laughter greets your ears, the noise out of place in the otherwise quiet administrative corridor, but not totally unwelcome. You have to suppress a smile and a roll of your eyes as you tuck a stack of papers under your arm and push open the door to what you imagine is the only currently occupied room in this part of campus.

Your arrival into your own office barely grants a pause in the ongoing conversations, though several out of the seven aviators lounging about throw you a wave or a quick greeting.

Hangman, who doesn’t appear to acknowledge your presence at all, sits in the visitor chair directly opposite your workstation, with his feet nonchalantly kicked up on your desk, one of your little model jets turning in his hands. You shove his feet off as you pass and pointedly ignore the tiny twitch of his lips that threatens to break into a full-on smirk any moment. Instead, you lean in and snatch back your model F-22 Raptor, before rounding the side of the tabletop, and falling into your chair.

Hangman’s hands stay suspended in place for a few moments, but he drops them a beat later, his eyes fixated on you in taunting amusement as you return your prized desk bauble to its proper position.

This time, you ignore him, tapping your login credentials into your computer, and shuffling the papers from under your arm to the surface in front of you. Out of the corner of your eye you spot Hangman’s fingers reaching out for something else, a pen or another of your model jets most likely, and the flash of surprise that flickers across his face when you sharply slap his knuckles away is almost enough for you to mirror the self-satisfied smirk he’d been wearing only moments prior.

“I know you’re capable of looking with your eyes, Hangman, considering you like to stare so much,” you tease, using the same voice that you might with a naughty child. The man across from you relents with suspiciously little bitching, and leans back in his seat, fingers laced together.

“You know Teddy Bear, I’ve been told that women like eye contact,” Hangman’s smile only grows when you fix him with an unamused look.

“And just like everything else, Hangman, you take that too far,” Phoenix scoffs from the scant seating area right behind him, where she sits facing you with Rooster and Bob.

The green eyes still boring into yours suddenly gain a challenging glint, and he opens his mouth, turning in his seat to respond, but you cut him off.

“Now, now, children…” you say scoldingly, earning an annoyed frown from Hangman, and a shrug from Phoenix.

You go back to updating your records, and for a while the tapping of your keyboard undercuts the soft conversation that fills your office, and you happily listen to the aviators discussing today’s training. It was pleasant to have the company, as much as you pretended to be exasperated with certain people, not-so-deep down you were more than alright with the Civilian Instructors’ Staff Room becoming the new hangout for the group.

It had started several weeks back now, with Phoenix and Bob visiting you on your lunch hour. The next day they brought Fanboy and Payback, who the day after that, had convinced Rooster to come along, and naturally there was no way that Rooster would be invited to any social gathering that Hangman was excluded from, so he and Coyote had tagged along too.

Now it wasn’t just your lunch breaks that had your office full of pilots, since it was plainly obvious that you were the only current civilian instructor on base, they had started using the office as their own lay-room in place of the one used by the rest of the pilots. Coyote had made up the excuse last week that the usual rec room had too many younger aviators in it, and this week it was because you were apparently closer to the hangar. With every new excuse, you’d simply let out a huff and roll your eyes with a knowing smile.

The first time you’d actually been forced to interrogate the how’s or whys had been a week ago, after Maverick had spent the best part of an hour searching for his group and had eventually come looking for you to ask if you’d seen them. He’d found your office filled with his rowdy squad of aviators having an intense argument, split down the middle over Kong vs Godzilla. After declaring Godzilla would be the winner hands down, Mav had ordered them all out.

A bemused smile plays on Maverick’s lips, and he shakes his head. One of his hands holds open your office door, and the other ushers out his squad of aviators, all wearing matching looks of sheepishness at having been discovered.

Once the last pilot has filtered out, the older man turns to look back at you, his handsome features pulled into a concerned, almost fatherly grimace. It was an expression that you’d become rather used to since you’d begun working together.

“Teddy…” Mav begins, and he almost sounds exasperated, before he pauses, and softens his tone. “I should tell them not to bother you,” he says, but you can hear the subtle question beneath the statement. He sounds sympathetic and gentle in just about the only manner that doesn’t automatically make you retch these days.

Your eyes dip down to your hands on your desk, and you spin your pen skilfully around your pointer, ring, and third fingers. It was a trick you had picked up several years ago, confined to a hospital bed and with nothing else to occupy your mind.

When you look back up, you see Mav eying your movements, his lips pulling down in the corners. He knew as well as you did by now that it was an anxious habit.

“I don’t mind. Really, having them around is nice… everyone around here treats me like I’m made of glass, it’s nice to just… have friends,” you purse your lips and drop your pen, before reaching out and straightening the model jet that a certain pilot had been playing with earlier. Another nervous tick that doesn’t go unnoticed.

You didn’t talk about this subject with many people, if anyone, but since being introduced to Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, you’d discovered the man’s earnest, ironically down-to-earth kindness was good at weeding the truth out of those around him.

“I think…” Mav starts but trails off, looking out into the hall quickly, and then stepping further into your office, letting the door close behind him before he continues. “I think they know that if things were different, you would have been recalled alongside them. They respect you for that,” he tells you softly.

You were never one for bragging, but you can’t deny that he was probably right. Still, you scoff out a small laugh and cross your arms over your chest.

“I think they’re just teacher’s pets,” you try to brush off his praise.

Maverick only shoves his hands in his pockets with a fond smile and shrugs.

“I’m just saying, they treat you like one of their own for a reason,” his face turns more serious then, and he drops his chin slightly. “But I understand if having them around all the time brings up some difficult feelings. Just say the word and…” he trails off again, just as someone calls for him out in the corridor.

You shake your head definitively then and smile softly, but genuinely. You were thankful that he’d even thought about that angle at all. To be honest, you were thankful in general for the oddball friendship the two of you had struck up while working together.

“Really, Mav, it’s fine. They won’t be able to sit around here forever, so it’s nice to have them back for as long as I can,” you pick up your pen again, and spin it mindlessly in your fingers. Neither of you point out that you didn’t even know half of the detachment before they’d been recalled to Miramar for their most recent assignment. You couldn’t really describe it as ‘having them back’, but you know he gets what you mean.

Maverick watches you closely for several more seconds, his eyes dropping to your spinning pen, then back to your face.

“Do me a favour while you’re up there, Cap?” you ask, leaning forward on your desk. Mav straightens up some and cocks his head.

“Shoot down everyone who argued for Kong,” you tease with a grin, and receive a laugh and a lazy salute in reply before you’re left completely alone once more.

You brush the memory aside, another train of thought crossing your mind.

You flick your eyes to Hangman’s neatly pressed tan uniform, and then to your watch for the time. Doing your best to sound nonchalant, you clear your throat, but don’t look away from your work.

“What are you guys still doing here?” you ask, referring to the late afternoon time, and the fact they’d clearly already run simulations this morning. Their duties for the day would have been finished at least an hour ago, giving them time to shower and change into their khakis.

“We’re headed to the Hard Deck after clock-off,” Coyote says, picking up an abandoned stress ball left behind on one of the desks and tosses it across the room where Phoenix easily catches it with one hand, before quickly offloading it to Rooster, who pitches it to Payback.

“You should’ve already clocked off by my count,” you say quietly, trying to sound more than only half-focused on your work.

“You’ve still got an hour,” Rooster tells you unnecessarily. You were aware now of what they were waiting for, and despite yourself, your heart grows warm.

“You know I can always just meet you there,” you say after clearing your throat once more.

“And give you the chance to skip out on shots again, Teddy Bear?” Hangman cuts in, somehow managing the feat of smirking and pouting at the same time.

“You know I don’t drink, right?” you cock your head at him with a squint, but he only shrugs.

For a moment your eyes linger on his mouth as he flicks a toothpick between his lips and tongue, having produced it from somewhere when you weren’t looking. When you lift your gaze again, he lets you know he’d spotted your shift in focus with a taunting lift of his brows, his smirk growing to near Cheshire proportions. You can only shake your head good-naturedly at his antics.

“Well, we figured we’d all just head on over together when you got done,” Coyote says, drawing your attention. You open your mouth to protest once more, not wanting them to feel obligated to stick around just for you, but you’re cut off by Phoenix.

“You get to dunk on any greens today?” she asks, a smile playing on her lips. Her question successfully distracts you and you drag your eyes away from Coyote with a matching smile and a scoff.

“There’s always one or two in a new class,” you roll your eyes.

“Do they not get that you have a pretty big say in whether or not they get their certification?” Phoenix asks rhetorically. You just shrug and absently start spinning your pen between your fingers.

“Well, if they don’t, they learn quickly or they learn the hard way,” you reply. It wasn’t in your nature to grandstand or call people out, especially in front of their peers, but you also weren’t going to allow some snot-nosed pilot to walk all over you. They tended to straighten up and shut their mouths once Warlock or Cyclone himself had a word or two with them.

The conversation easily flows on after that, and you occupy the rest of your afternoon finishing up a few tasks you needed to get done for Monday, chipping in with a comment here or there.

Your F-22 somehow finds its way back into Hangman’s clutches while you’re distracted, but this time there’s an almost child-like curiosity to him as he inspects the model exhaustively, and you find that you don’t have the heart to take it off him again.

When five o’clock ticks around at last, you pack up your desk and note with fond amusement that your model is promptly returned to the exact position you liked. Once you’ve grabbed your coat and bag, you allow yourself to be whisked away.

***

It never seemed to matter what day of the week it was, the Hard Deck was consistently busy. You suppose it helps to have the Naval base so close by, which was like having built-in regulars, as well as a stream of constant new faces.

You can still remember vividly the first time you stepped foot inside the bar, almost eight years ago now, still fresh-faced, a little wet behind the ears, and filled with the sort of energy only a twenty-two-year-old hot-shot Naval Aviator can possess. Back then you hadn’t really spent all that much time off North Island, but ever since Dagger squad had been around, you’d found yourself happy to be regularly crammed into one of the many small booths.

The sound of pool balls bouncing off one another cracks sharply and draws you back into the present. You throw a cursory glance toward the ongoing pool game, your lip quirking at the intensely competitive expressions on everyone’s faces. At this point in the night, they were all taking the game seriously still, but you know that later it would descend into thinly veiled duels over who could sink the coolest trick shot– or more entertainingly– making up some weird ‘dogfight’ version of the rules that would have generally have onlookers baffled.

Bob steps into sight then, briefly blocking your view of the game as he places two sodas down on the table between you, before somehow folding his not insignificant height into the booth opposite you. You watch fondly as he ducks forward to sweep back some hair that had uncharacteristically fallen into his eyes, looking almost like someone had ruffled it.

“Thanks!” you pull your drink towards you and take a sip, relishing in the ice-cold fizz that almost burns on its way down your throat.

“Penny said they’re on her,” he tells you, his mussed-up hair making sense now. You turn quickly to find Penny in her usual spot behind the bar, and even as she busily works to serve orders, you catch her eye, and send her a thankful wave. You hadn’t fully figured out why Penny never seemed to charge you or Bob for your drinks, but you were grateful regardless.

“So… opinions on the Spitfire and the Mustang?” you ask, watching the way Bob’s eyes light up behind his oversized glasses.

“The fuel capabilities and combat range of the Mustang outclass Spitfires by a mile,” Bob tells you, leaning forward and clasping his hands together on the table in front of him.

“But I’d be lying if I said that the Spitfire wasn’t my favourite,” he tells you almost giddily, and his smile is contagious.

“I mean, it just looks so cool!” you exclaim in agreement, glad that you were on the same page. Bob’s nose scrunches sweetly as he takes a drink from his glass, nodding all the while.

“I’m going to work on the Mk 24 this weekend,” you tell him a moment later. “The curator at the museum of Naval Aviation is letting me backstage this weekend, so I can take some reference photos of the paintjob,” you had to admit you were rather excited about the whole thing, but even still, you speak somewhat quietly, making sure you won’t be overheard.

It was silly, and you don’t really know where it comes from, but you felt shy about your weekend pass time. Maybe it was because it felt like the hobby of an elderly man, but regardless, you’d found a friend in Bob, who had expressed his fondness for miniature model building upon spying the F-22 Raptor you kept on your desk.

Phoenix had blinked between the two of you that first lunchtime they’d spent in your office, as you’d both discussed at length the model series you liked most, as well as preferred painting techniques. Bob didn’t actively build anything himself; he was too convinced he’d become completely obsessed, and in his own words he ‘didn’t need any more obstacles to getting a date’, but he’d let himself get invested in the online community back during his first deployment.

You’re about to ask if he (and likely by extension, Phoenix) would like to come along with you, but a nearby conversation makes you pause.

“Richter told me it’s cause she waited too long to pull her chute, wasn’t enough time for a clear landing,” a male voice says.

“If she was so good, how’d she mess that up?” another voice asks, scoffing back their disbelief.

“Apparently she refused to eject without WSO, but he got knocked out on first impact,” a third voice fills in, sounding far less derisive.

“I heard that she was lucky she even survived long enough for the medics to find them,” the first voice first voice returns, sounding somewhat awed.

“Guess it’s kind of fortunate she saved her WSO then, huh?” the second voice replies.

“’Fortunate’?! You’re joking, right? Kodiak has to be the unluckiest pilot the Navy has ever had!” the third speaker exclaims, a little louder this time, mirth filling his voice now.

“She got shot down right outta TOPGUN, pulled her chute so late she hit the ground hard enough to puncture both her lungs, and then she contracts some infection or whatever the hell else, wrecking her lungs to the point she’s now got goddamn lung disease!��� A pause follows his frantic sounding rant, followed by the sound of an emptied beer bottle being fisted down.

“Honestly, I think I’d just have preferred to die in the crash,” the second person says, his tablemates voicing their quick agreement.

You blink at the frank coldness of the statement, and even though you try, you can’t stop yourself from taking a quick look over your shoulder in the direction of where the voices were coming from. You spy a table with three of your current students, which quickly makes you flick your head back around again before they see you.

Their discussion of your accident doesn’t bother you; you’d come to expect it these days. Whenever a new class came through it was all but inevitable that they would gossip to each other about their civilian instructor, more specifically about your unique situation. You couldn’t blame them really; it wasn’t as though they were wrong about you being incredibly unlucky. Frankly, your fragile health condition felt like an utterly sarcastic response from the universe for having the nerve to be young, driven, and extremely promising in your chosen career. Like the outcome of some Wishmaster bargain.

Back when you’d still been able to fly, you had gotten familiar with being the best. You were a damn good pilot, and it was clear to everyone around you from the moment you got in a cockpit. You never let it go to your head though, after all, it wasn’t just pure natural talent. You had worked incredibly hard to make sure you were outdoing yourself every time you got in the air, to make sure that you were constantly punching up, challenging yourself.

You certainly weren’t the youngest pilot to be invited to go to Miramar to get your TOPGUN certification, not by a long shot, but you were the youngest in over thirty years to graduate top of the class.

Putting yourself in your students’ shoes, knowing all of that, coupled with the fact that you would never again be able to fly… Well, it added up to be a perfect kind of tragedy, really. It was a cautionary tale to some, a dramatic fable to others.

As far as you were concerned, you’d made your peace with your conditions a long time ago. There was no point in dwelling on something you had no control over and couldn’t change. You chose instead to focus on what you could have control over, so you took all your potential, all of that raw talent, and channelled it down a new path.

At the end of the day, you were alive, relatively unharmed, and able to work in a field you adored. You couldn’t complain about that.

“Do you… do you want me to say something?” Bob’s voice cuts through your reverie, and you find yourself blinking back at him with wide, puzzled eyes.

“What?” you ask dopily, unsure of what exactly he meant. Your confusion is cleared up a moment later however, when he dips his chin toward the table of your students, his eyes flickering nervously between you and them. Clearly, he had overheard the conversation too.

Your face softens at that, and you shake your head gently.

“No, it’s alright. They aren’t doing anything wrong,” you wave him off, but deep down, you feel touched that Bob, who seemed to despise any kind of one-on-one confrontation, was willing to step in on your behalf. You see him purse his lips uncertainly.

“What happened to me isn’t exactly usual,” you remind him, trying to sound light and airy. “There’s always some talk surrounding it when I get a new class. They’ll get it out of their systems and move on soon enough,” you assure him, and you mean it, however it takes several more seconds of your companion studying your features before his face and posture relax, and he gives you an almost nervous little nod.

You take a sip of your drink and look away to check the current status of the ongoing pool game. A glance tells you that predictably Hangman was in the lead, but not because of the number of balls he’d sunk, but more due to his peacock-like display from the sidelines. You watch as he turns and cocks his head at Phoenix, saying something clearly taunting, his signature infuriating smirk pulled across his features.

You struggle to keep a straight face when behind Hangman’s back, Payback reaches into the nearest basket and retrieves one of the insufferable blonde’s balls and places it back on the table. You make eye contact as he steps innocently away, and you share a look of sworn secrecy. You wonder briefly how long this has been going on for already, but more than that, you wonder how long it’ll take before Hangman notices.

“How’d you save your WSO?” Bob’s question makes you snap your gaze sharply back to his, and you realise he hadn’t looked away from you yet. You stutter for a moment, before blinking away your surprise.

“I… I released the yoke and shook him awake…” you mutter. Sure, you weren’t bothered when others spoke about your accident, but you never discussed it yourself. Bob considers your words carefully, before he lifts his chin slightly, his eyes flickering between yours.

“That’s why your altitude was so low when you ejected,” it isn’t a question, it’s a missing piece of the puzzle, to him at least, and for the first time in your (admittedly short) friendship, you find yourself forced to look away.

In your efforts to look anywhere but at Bob, you accidentally make eye contact with Hangman. He’s bent over the pool table, facing directly towards you, and with no small amount of amusement behind his look, he holds your gaze and blindly takes his shot, expertly sinking the ball without even looking.

You can picture him performing the trick to impress one of the many women that often fawn over him at the Hard Deck, how the display alone would get them hook, line, and sinker.

You, on the other hand, find yourself practically staring through him as you try to banish all further thoughts of your accident from your mind. Unfortunately, your expression mustn’t be as blank as you’d thought it was, because as Hangman straightens once more to his full height, his eyebrows crease together, and his gaze abruptly flickers down, quickly taking note of how stiff and uncomfortable you are.

When he meets your eyes again, his frown has only deepened, and you watch dumbly as he cocks his head questioningly. It occurs to you then, that you don’t think you’ve ever seen him tip his head like that without a hefty helping of mockery to go alongside it. Concern isn’t exactly an emotion you’re used to from Hangman, and you aren’t really sure of how to process it properly. Instead, you tear your eyes away from him entirely, and face Bob again.

You suddenly can’t remember why this conversation had felt so daunting a moment ago.

“Hey, can we talk about something else?” you ask lightly, thankful when your booth buddy nods happily, looking up as you’re joined by Halo, who deposits a bowl of chips on the table, before squeezing in next to Bob.

You ignore looking in Hangman’s direction for the next hour or so. Normally you had all the patience in the world for Hangman’s button pushing, but right now you’re not sure you can muster up the energy to take any of it.

To be honest you found him amusing, though you were well aware that you’d never been on the receiving end of his more overtly malicious jabs, which he seemed to make less of these days anyway. Unlike most of the people around you, especially aviators, Hangman didn’t treat you as though you would break with the lightest of touches. His blatantly flippant and laissez-faire approach to your generally sensitive circumstances was more than welcome.

Still, even you had bad days, and after your questioning earlier, you didn’t really feel like joking right now. If he was really concerned, he could ask you about it later, but you’re almost certain he’ll have forgotten by tomorrow morning.

***

Just like a reflection of the Hard Deck itself, as the night wanes on, your already cramped booth steadily fills up with aviators. The scarred wooden table at the centre is scattered with empty glasses and beer bottles, and the bowl of fries Halo had brought over earlier was long devoured. The pool game had ended some time ago, the polished edges of the table now being used as extra seating, which you know Penny would hate.

You’d found it thankfully easy to put aside the heaviest aspects of your earlier tailspin, checking into the rowdy conversation happily. A few of the younger pilots, not your students, had approached the table earlier, and after they’d left again, to fill another round most likely, you’d found yourself bashfully rolling your eyes and shaking your head as the squad had heckled you over the mooning of the younger men.

It had to be nearing midnight when you at last extract yourself from the sticky seating. The air had become hot and heady now, not just within the space of your booth, but throughout the bar as a whole. It wasn’t too bad, but it did feel thick in your lungs, and you knew it could quickly grow into a large problem for you, may as well refresh yourself now.

Stepping through the door to the empty back deck of the venue, you’re amazed at how much noise the simple wood and glass doors can muffle. The night was dark, but in front of you somewhere, you can hear the lapping of the waves, and you step out closer to the railing, breathing in deeply the sea salt air.

You’re a little ashamed to say you jump at the sound of the back door opening again, the roar inside drowning out the ocean for a few seconds, and you turn back to see Hangman gently closing the door behind him.

He wears an easy expression as his eyes fall on you, and you look away to lean back against the railings as he approaches.

“Everything alright?” The lightness in his voice is easily discernible as put on, but frankly, you’re too surprised by the question to figure out why.

“Huh?” you blink up at him with a frown as he comes to lean against the rail besides you, his back toward the ocean and his arms crossed over his chest. The pose, and his proximity make him seem even larger.

“Earlier, you, uh, you looked all…” he doesn’t finish his sentence, and you note that he also doesn’t mockingly demonstrate however he thought you’d looked. You straight up a little, your frown smoothing out.

“Oh, everything is fine. Bob just… he just asked me something about my crash,” you only decide halfway through your sentence to tell him the truth, and you can tell by the ensuing pause, and the way he flicks his eyes carefully over your face that he hadn’t really been expecting you to tell him.

As if he realises his surprise has been visible, he clears his throat and looks away from you, back toward the doors.

“Huh. Wouldn’ta thought Bobby-Boy had it in him,” he says shifting his stance slightly, still not looking back at you. You can practically hear him thinking.

“Hm, you clearly don’t know him very well,” you say wryly, your smile only growing when his face whips back to yours, an almost mortified look of alarm painted over his features.

“Oh Jesus, Jake, not like that,” you reach out and shove his arm roughly, giving a scoff at his stupid man-brain.

Predictably, your shove doesn’t do too much to dislodge him, but you can at least enjoy the feeling of his hard muscle under your hand for a moment. His alarm is replaced with a derisive sort of disgust, but you can tell it's playful more than anything else.

“Good,” he says flatly, and this time doesn’t look away from you, resuming his regular routine of using his stare as some kind of powerplay. You shake your head even as you glance back to squint out at the ocean, your smile still pulling at your lips involuntarily.

“You’re so insecure,” you tease him, earning a scoff.

“Excuse me?!”

You can see his chest puffing out of the corner of your gaze.

“I take my attention off of you for one second and you’re going nutter-butter and getting all pouty about it,” you chortle, glancing briefly back up at him. Even in the dim outdoor lighting you can see the light pink wash that has coloured his ears.

He’s seemingly only able to glower down at you in response, clearly unimpressed at just how aware you were that you had him wrapped around your finger. He scoffs again, looking away, but doesn’t speak, and your grin widens.

You liked him when he was like this. You liked him all the time, but especially when he gave up on trying to get the upper hand in the conversation, and just let things be. When he was a little less Hangman and a little more Jake. It strikes you, however, that he doesn’t even attempt to argue back, the silence stretching on between you saying more than enough.

You look away and nudge him once more, using your whole shoulder this time, which seems to take him off guard, and he sways lightly at your touch.

“Besides, I only have eyes for one aviator,” you say lightly. Hangman’s shoulders square, and his lips begin to form a familiar Cheshire grin as straightens up to his full height, looking down at you almost haughtily.

“Damn straight,”

“I was talking about Rooster,” you tease, and you’re glad the playfulness has returned, his hand covering his heart as his face twists in faux pain.

“You’re cruel, you know that darlin’?”

You let out a laugh as Hangman stares down at you, the fond look in his eyes only turning sharp and annoyed when the back door opens again, and you both look up to spy an unfamiliar man stepping out of the bar.

He seems oblivious to the moment he’s interrupted, sending you both a quick nod before he moves to stand a couple of metres away from you at the railing, his hands fiddling with something. You watch as he tucks a cigarette between his lips, and lifts his lighter to the ends, cupping his free hand around the flame so the cool breeze won’t blow it out.

Before you get a chance to say anything, besides you your companion has stiffened, straightening to his full height once again and stepping away from the rail.

“You can’t smoke here,” he says loudly, catching the guy’s attention as he blows out his first puff, and shoves his lighter away. He looks around at the decking, before his eyes land back on Hangman.

“I don’t see a sign,” he says evenly.

Hangman has stepped around you completely now, almost blocking your view of the other man, who you must note, wouldn’t stand a chance against the aviator if he decided to get physical.

“Listen buddy, my friend’s got a pretty sensitive lung problem, if she breathes in any of that, she’ll get real sick, so I’m asking if you can go stand somewhere else?”

You’re surprised by his words, and despite the patient sound of them, his tone is nowhere near as restrained. You gently reach out for the arm that he’d used to gesture back at you, even as the other man blows out another smokey breath.

“Jake, it’s fine, we can go,” you say, a pit building in your stomach when he doesn’t even look back down at you, the muscle of his jaw beginning to tick.

“Yeah. You can go,” the other man smirks, and somehow, it’s even more infuriating and smug than any of Hangman’s has ever been.

Your grip on your friend’s arm tightens too late as he pulls away from you, reaching the other man in only two strides as you call out for him to stop. Ignoring you, Hangman rips the cigarette from the other man’s mouth and tosses it into the sand, where it blows out.

“Jake!” you shout, a little louder as he gets in the other guy’s face, and you realise your voice is echoed by another.

Phoenix stands in the open doorway, and behind her you can see Coyote by the booth, throwing a curious glance your way. You shake your head at him, just as Phoenix repeats her stern call. Hangman snaps out of it, and steps back from the man. By the time he’s turned back to you, his face reads nothing of the anger he’d just displayed.

“Come on, it’s getting cold, anyway,” he says flippantly. You’re only able to frown at him, but he seems to ignore it, carefully pushing past Phoenix who still stands in the doorway, fixing Jake with a firm look he subsequently brushes off.

“Guy was an asshole,” he mutters by way of explanation. She moves aside for you to follow, and you can only give her a shrug in response to the eyebrow she raises at you.

You find yourself following Jake as he leads you back towards the bar, instead of the booth, and when your senses finally come back to you, you smack his arm sharply.

“You didn’t need to do that! The last thing you need is to get cited for fighting. They’d ground you!” you scold, even as he guides you into one of the stools.

“Nah, you love it, s’why you keep me around,” he rebuffs, flagging down a bartender and relaying your drinks order. You frown at him again as he leans casually against the wooden surface and looks down at you.

“No… I keep you around because you’re my friend,” you tell him, still annoyed, though it lessens when his smirk morphs into something more like surprise.

Your drinks are pushed toward you with nary another word, and Jake taps his card without even breaking your eye contact.

“How’d you even know I can get sick from smoke?” you change the subject quickly, but his face only turns even more bashful, and he looks down at his beer and shrugs.

“Mav told us,” he says, making you blanch.

“He what?” you demand, almost angry for a moment. You didn’t like being treated like glass, you didn’t like when people worried over you unnecessarily–

“He just said we should always wash up before going to your office, the jet fumes were enough to irritate your lungs.”

Your anger subsides, and you feel a little foolish. Of course, Mav hadn’t told them out of pity. He was right, the harsh fumes lingering on their flight suits could be enough to make your respiratory system inflamed. You’d learnt the hard way after you’d started teaching.

“Just figured if traces on us were enough to make you sick, then second-hand smoke definitely would,” Jake follows up, cutting his eyes back towards you, and you can’t help but smile softly. You lean forwards, chin resting in your palm, making him cock his head down at you.

“For someone who takes pride in pissing off his friends, you really do care a lot, don’t you?” Your question makes him bluster, and he tries his best to look nonchalant and annoyed, but his quirking lips give him away.

He leans in toward you too, close enough that you almost pull back, but you steal yourself instead as he gets a hold of his face, and fixes you with an infuriating, yet fond smirk.

“Only for you, Teddy Bear.”

[declqn]

y’all  just  simply  don’t  understand  how  much  declan  loves  his  brothers

[peterpparkrr]

a knight in shining armor

Pairing: Shang-Chi x F!Reader

Summary: You’re out at a club when a guy won’t leave you alone. Shang-Chi gets involved.

Word Count: 980

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, swearing

A/N: I’ve been riding a Shang-Chi-induced high since I saw this movie it was sososososososo good! If you haven’t seen it yet (and can) please do!

With the music reverberating through your bones as you swayed with the crowd of people on the dance floor you couldn’t help but lose yourself. A night at a club, getting drunk, dancing with strangers, and maybe even letting one of them take you home was your preferred way to spend a Friday night. Or a Saturday night. Pretty much any night now that you think about it. 

With some alcohol in your system and the lights strobing around you it was easy to forget. Easy to get lost in the moment and just be. 

A strangers’ hands on your waist were not unfamiliar, nor strictly unwanted, but when the mouth that they were attached to leaned down to whisper something slimy about your body and what he wanted to do to it in your ear you firmly pushed his hands off of you and pulled yourself from his grasp.

“Heyyyy no where’re y’going?” The man slurred at you, annoyed as you began to move away from him.

“I’m not interested,” You hiss as you start to make your way towards the bar.

“Just keep dancing with me,” The man whines as he reaches out for your arm.

“Hey! She said she wasn’t interested!” You hear a voice shout as someone steps between your retreating figure and the guy. 

“Who the hell are you?” The man leered at the stranger who had decided to insert himself in your business.

“Hey, I can take care of this myself,” You told the stranger. 

But before either one of you could say anything else the drunk man lunged in-between the two of you, trying to punch the stranger in the face.

Fortunately your defender was quick on his feet and dodged the fist, and was even quicker in his own attack as he quickly brought the man down to the ground, slamming his face into the sticky mess of the club floor with a dull thud.

“Hey!” A man shouted from across the dance floor, as a group of scary-looking men who you were pretty sure came in with your former dance partner began to make their way over to where you were when they saw the commotion.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” You tell them with a shake of your head.

As your defender gets up to take on this new threat your wave your hand at him dismissively. He looks at you with a look that seems to be part confusion and part concern as he stands close to you, but you just try to shoot him a look that says ‘trust me’ before turning back to the gang of men in front of you.

“And why would we listen to you, little lady?” One of the goons sneers at you as they get up in your face.

“Because I can do this,” You tell him as you pick out the biggest man and with a flick of your wrist contort his arm out in front of him before snapping his Ulna with the slight shift of your outstretched fingers.

As the man screams out in pain the others look at you with fear as they realize what just happened. As they move to grab their incapacitated friends and hightail it out of the club you turn back to the man who defended you.

Now that you get a better look at him you realize that you’ve seen him before, he’s the man from the viral video of the bus attack in San Francisco.

“You- you’re a…” He stumbles over his words as he looks at you.

“I’m (Y/N),” You introduce yourself as you stretch out a hand for him to shake. You see him glance down at your hand and hesitate slightly before taking it in his own large, warm hand and shaking it firmly.

“Shang-Chi,” He replies.

And I’m not some superhero, if that’s what you’re wondering,” You add as you finish making your way over to the bar and order the two of you some drinks.

“But you just… you broke that guy’s arm with a snap of your fingers,” Shang-Chi replies.

“I did, didn’t I,” You reply with a laugh as you take your drink from the bartender and push the other towards Shang-Chi.

“You’re in New York now, Bus Boy,” You tell him, “Sometimes it feels like there’s more super people than there are normal people.”

“Lots of superheroes, lots of supervillains,” You say as you wave your hand around in front of you, a vague reference to the insanity that it is to be in New York City these days. 

“And which are you?” Shang-Chi asks you as he takes a sip of his drink, still trying to figure out who the hell you are.

You smirk at him knowingly, in a way that unnerves him before you open your mouth to reply.

“Damn, the avengers already got to you?”

“Wha- I mean, kind of, yeah,” He says sheepishly, “But, hey, you didn’t answer my question!” He protests.

“I have to retain the air of mystery around me, it’s part of my charm,” You tell him with a grin as you down the rest of your drink. “Well, I’ll probably see you around,” You tell him as you stand up to leave.

“Until next time, Shang-Chi,” You bid him farewell before pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and turning on your heels to walk out of the club.

Oh. He was definitely going to see you again, Shang-Chi just wasn’t sure if he was going to like the circumstances.

[simplysimpingsimp]

Hi it me the anon about bunny demon request can you do a continuation where the hashiras found out about the reader please

Hi hi anon !! Welcome back :D thank you so much for sending in another request <3 I will be splitting this one off into two separate posts TT !! First I will do 4 of the hashira on the initial post and then the rest just to allow myself a little more time to work on other requests so I hope you don’t mind that T^T !! I think this would be an interesting plot for hcs :D ! As always I’m super sorry for any mistakes, I will gladly go back and fix them !! And I’m also so so so sososososososo sorry for taking a while to get to this request TT !!

🌼————————————————————🌼

🌼 𝙷𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚊 𝙴𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝 𝙴𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙳𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝙷𝙲𝚜 𝙿𝚃. 𝟷

🌼 𝙵𝚝: 𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚜! 𝚁𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚘𝚔𝚞, 𝙶𝚒𝚢𝚞, 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚞, 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒

🌼 𝚔𝚗𝚢 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚡 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

🌼𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜: 𝚑𝚎/𝚑𝚒𝚖

🌼𝚃𝚆: 𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚎!

🌼————————————————————🌼

🔥————————————————————🔥

🔥 ————————————————————🔥

𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐠𝗼𝐤𝐮

“You there!” Rengoku called out, having seen Y/n out and about a late night stroll

Y/n squeaked as he dropped a small box, his treats falling out

“Oh noooo!” He cried out, almost forgetting the yellow haired male approaching him at running speed

His sweets were a little more important, hurriedly saving the ones that were individually wrapped

He expertly dodged his initial swing before he got pushed back onto the ground by a kick to the chest sending him flying into a tree

Y/n whimpered as he saw the small scratched on his skin slowly heal but thankful that his treats weren’t all ruined

Rengoku approached, a loud laughing escaping his lips as he saw the bunny demon examining his treats, enjoying the sight of the way his ears twitched and moved as if looking to pinpoint his location

Y/n looked at him, a faint blush on his cheeks as marveled at the beautiful man before him, tears glazing his eyes as he remembered the pain in his body

Rengoku held his sword to his neck, preparing to decapitate yet there was something about him that was making him hesitate

“Tell me, what’s different about you,” Rengoku’s voice loud and pronounced

“I eat desserts,” he whimpered as he held out an individually wrapped cookie, “See? No human flesh here.”

Rengoku examined the snack with a single hand, there was no doubt it was just an ordinary cookie

He felt a bit bad for ruining his box of snacks because of how sad he looked

“Well if I ever see you again, I’ll bring you some sweets!” He spoke proudly with a laugh before walking away

🔥 ————————————————————🔥

💧————————————————————💧

𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮

Would try to kill him upon seeing him

Y/n was just sitting on a rock beneath the moonlight enjoying a slice of cake

He squeaked upon hearing the sound of running in his direction and immediately moved out of the way sacrificing his cake

“My cake!” Y/n cried out quietly, watching the small piece get contaminated with dirt, “And that was my last piece,” a soft pout forming on his lips

Giyu watched confused before attempting to attack him again

He evaded it successfully

“Please I’m not a killer!,” he yelped out as he felt the blade graze the long sleeve of his yukata

“All demons are killers,” Giyu’s voice monotone and serious despite the confused expression on his face

Y/n jumped out of the way of one his blows, “I’m just a dessert loving demon! I don’t eat people!!” he tiredly yelled out before nearly collapsing on the ground but he just sat on the ground

Giyu just watched him, confused as ever, though he was amused and entranced by his gentle air and the bunny like ears he had

He sheathed his sword, cautiously approaching the demon before handing him two pieces of ohagi

Y/n looked at him with glimmering eyes as he happily took them, not even caring of the potential of them being poisoned — he just wanted something sweet TT

“Thank you!” He smiled brightly at him, making a gentle blush appear on Giyu’s face

💧 ————————————————————💧

🦋————————————————————🦋

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝗼𝐛𝐮

would try to kill him upon seeing him for the first time because he had red stains all over his face

He would squeak in fear, expertly evading her quick piercing attacks without making it seem like he intended to hit back

“Please ! It’s not what you think,” he yelled out as he evaded her movement

“Well if you haven’t killed anyone, we can be friends then!” She smiled at him, making him lightly blush but he knew it was a deceptive smile

“I swear, I haven’t killed anyone,” his voice soft as he looked down, “I was just eating some berries and jelly filled bread that’s why I have the red stains on my face, see,” he held out his hand that had squashed berries and bread in them with a light pout on his face

Shinobu was actually quite surprised with herself at how she was actually hesitant to slay him and how she listened to his story

He was actually quite cute to her, seeing the way his bunny like ears flopped downwards like a real rabbit

She approached cautiously her hand still gripping the handle of her blade

Yet there was something so peaceful about him and the weight of his words genuine

Perhaps he would be excellent to study and get to know

🦋————————————————————🦋

💨 ———————————————————— 💨

𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐞𝗺𝐢

Y/n’s evasion skills were put to the test as he always did his best to avoid contact Sanemi

Until he was finally spotted, the man would not stop until he injured them

With a gash across his chest, Sanemi watched as the injury slowly healed

“Huh? Not as strong as the others are you,” He crouched in front of him, pulling on his rabbit like ears to look him into his (e/c) irises

Y/n winced at the feeling but didn’t raise his hands to fight, he knew it would only make the situation worse and that it would only end with him fading into ash — he was at the mercy of the Wind Pillar

It actually stirred Sanemi’s emotions seeing the genuine fear in his eyes as tears glazed them, it bothered him immensely as he pictured his younger siblings when they would cry

He dropped his grip on his ears as it occurred to him how adorable he looked, with his gentle features and bunny ears

“Cute..” sanemi’s thought before he mentally punched himself into the ground

A light pink blush painted itself across his cheeks as he walked away from the healing demon

“I better never see you again, or I will end you, got it?” He spoke in a low voice as he practically stomped away leaving Y/N confused

ᴇɴᴅ

💨 ———————————————————— 💨

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛɪɴɢ <3 ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ sᴏ

ᴍᴜᴄʜ ғᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!! ғᴇᴇʟ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴇɴᴅ ɪɴ ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛs

/ᴀsᴋs/ɪᴅᴇᴀs/ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ :ᴅ sᴇᴇ ʏᴀʟʟ sᴏᴏɴ <3

[thebleedingeffect]

Oh this is so sososososososo cool!!! I've actually been super split on whether or not if totk Ganondorf is attached to Demise's curse at all due to the lack of a triforce, but this is a super interesting idea! It's continued to bother me so much as to just why the triforce is present in botw, but not totk, but the idea that he wasn't directly descended from Demise is something I'm gonna have to chew on and think about...

But all of these ideas are super cool!! I've never thought of the idea that the sheikah and gerudo were sister nations in the past, but the idea sounds so so good and adds even more salt to the wound considering the child timeline! The idea that they have this long standing history that unites them, but the sheikah's loyalty to hylia being the first of many things that begin to drive a wedge between them? That's just so damn cool and I love the amount of potential conflicts and characters that could come out of that!! I super love the idea that they once coinhabited for several generations, it sucks so much that the royal family got in the way of that cause MAN what I'd do for a sheikah/gerudo civilization.......

But all of these ideas are so so very cool and I really like how it very much feels realistic! Everything from the genocide on both sides just makes the comparisons between them so so much more painful, like MAN.... the sister nations constantly being pitted against each other while trying to help each other so desperately..... Man.....

All of these ideas are so so good btw I'm chewing on all of them like a lil squeaky toy, gerudo and sheikah my BELOVEDS!!!

(also that lil detail of hw zelda being assassinated makes me So Sad like you cannot imagine, trying to imagine the consequences of that and I'm gonna BAWL)

(I'd also love love to hear you talk more about early hyrule!! Your thoughts are very cool so I would love to hear anything really lol)

This is me asking about what the hell is going on between the gerudo and sheikah <333 <- literally my favorite groups in all of loz

ACK THANK YALLLLLLLL!!! SO SO SO so

first, timelines. we know the Gerudo are present in totk before going AWAL for a few games, and i think that's purposeful on the gerudo's part. so, i see totk's past section as happening post SS but pre minish cap. Skyswd Link and Zelda, along with the people of skyloft, establish the first settlement of hyrule and the concept of hylians as a race, but it takes a good while for them to be diverse and large enough to establish a true kingdom. enter sonia, the first queen of hyrule and a direct decendent of link & zelda, making her part of hylia's bloodline.

(headcanon here: i think that modern Hylians are a combination of a partnership between zonai and hylians. original hylians like skyskw link & zelda are a different race than modern hylians. that's where the zonai went-- the ones who were left after the race began dying out made families with the original hylians, creating a whole new race. so, the zonai were technically still around during totk, but they were mixed race, with mineru and rauru being the last 'pure' zonai and the zonai line dying with them. i have so many head anons about early hyrule, esp the establishment of hylian religions, if yall are interested?)

so, the sheikah were originally part of the gerudo. the sheikah came first, descending from skyswd impa and her tribe (who are technically the first native group of hyrule, being present before the skyloftians were created during the rule of hylia) and while the two groups were separate ethnic groups, they mingled significantly and there was significant cultural overlap, and they lived in the desert together, building a thriving civilization in the desert. prior to totk's past section, the gerudo/sheikah flourished and had many years of peace with many chiefs, male and female, who were peaceful and brilliant leaders. the gerudo are no more destined to violence than the hylians are to peace; the hero, demise's cursed puppet, and the princess can be any race, (so long as zelda is still descended from the first bloodline of hylia in some way) and they all bare the triforce.

the first ganondorf, totk's ganon, was not actually a part of demise's curse! while he was powerful, he was not chosen by demise and did not have any connection to the triforce. he really was just Some Guy who happened to get really damn close to destroying hyrule. After he turned on the royal family, the gerudo deserted him, including the sheikah, and fought beside the sages and rauru to defeat him. they hoped that would prove their dedication to the crown and grant them pardon for what their chief did.

it did not. post past totk section, sonia, mineru, and rauru are dead with zelda dagonified-- there are no leaders in hyrule. sonia and rauru had a baby shortly before the events of totk, but she's like 1, so she's far too young to inherit the throne. the sages try to lead, but they are already the leaders of their own races and are stretched too thin, and the remaining people of hyrule, traumatized and displaced by the war, are demanding retribution. the sages need a scapegoat. they turned against the sage of lightning, more from desperation to keep the tentative new peace than genuine malice. the gerudo flee further into the desert, civilization on the verge of destruction, and become isolationists. the sheikah have the choice to join them, or ally themselves with the new hylian government.

a break now to talk about religion! so the sheikah are monotheists*. (*they follow hylia, but they also believe in guardian spirits and venerate them. so sort of monotheists?) and they are deeply, deeply religious people who have dedicated themselves to hylia. descended from skyswd impa, hylia's moral lover, they view themselves as created specifically to protect hylia and carry out her will.

(headcanon real quick-- sheik in oot isnt the only sheikah to cover their face! it is actually super common. prior to skyswd, when she served hylia, impa covered her face bc hylia's holy splendor was so great it would blind anyone who looked at it. now, more traditional and old fashion sheikah do the same as a sign of respect!)

being told to choose between the royal bloodline of hylia, who they are religiously told to protect, or the gerudo, their sister tribe, the sheikah choose the growing hyrule. the gerudo isolate themselves for decades and swear off relations with the sheikah.

minish cap and all that jazz happens, bringing us to ocarina of time. by now, the sheikah have greatly established themselves as part of the way of life for the hyrulian royal family. the leader of their tribe takes the role as the hylian princess' (and therefore, the holder of hylia's golden power, which the sheikah have vowed to protect) bodyguard, and officially swears their life to the princess. oot zelda is actually half sheikah-- their mother had an affair with the sheikah tribe leader who was sworn to protect her, and the queen and king agreed to hide that information, but not after the sheikah man was dragged to the shadow temple by his own people under the orders of the king and 'disposed' of. the queen suspected it happened, but for fear of her child, stayed silent.

shadow temple time! the shadow temple started as an actual temple to hylia built at the beginning of hyrule's golden age, but as the royal family grew more and more bloated with power, they became terrified of losing that power. they took advantage of the sheikah's devotion and ordered them to do their dirty work, starting small and getting progressively darker and bloodier over time. when a group of sheikah tried to rebel, the royal family sacked the temple, starting a long, long list of attempted and successful actions of cultural genocide, and had the temple converted to a supermax prison. the sheikah became secret police, assassins, spies, executioners, bodyguards, soldiers-- if it would keep hylians out of the army/police force, protect them from dirtying their hands, or would secure hylian power, the sheikah were forced to do it.

meanwhile, the gerudo are rebuilding. they've been growing and redeveloping their culture, under the rule of powerful women with good hearts. but this wouldn't last forever. as hyrule expanded, they encroached into gerudo land and began colonizing, leading to the expulsion of the gerudo once again from their own land. but this time, it was the sheikah doing it, because they followed the royal family, no matter what. there was an eventual mass desertion, and the gerudo welcomed the sheikah hoping to flee, leading to a massive hylian military attack that decimated gerudo numbers and showed the sheikah just what happened when they tired to fight back.

then oot happens. ganondorf tries to take the triforce; after years of the seal on demise in the master sword weakening allowing for whisps of demise to escape, demise was able to take advantage of ganondorf, poisoning his heart. ganondorf was angry and bitter. his people were being colonized, and annihilated, and he rightfully wanted justice. but demise twisted that anger, turning it into something bloody and genocidal, and the man who just wanted the triforce to secure his people's freedom was manipulated and controlled into someone who would try to kill children.

in adult timeline, ganondorf ordered the destruction of the few sheikah left, both those loyal to hyrule and rebels, nearly finishing what the royal family had started when they turned their swords on the sheikah. the sheikah go into hiding to lick their wounds, save for impa and her strange apprentice, sheik...

so im gonna stick to child timeline, as i feel that is the timeline botw is in!

ganondorf is caught, and executed, and the royal family, terrified of a repeat ganon, orders the few sheikah left, including impa, to exterminate the gerudo. impa refuses and is killed. the gerudo are almost all killed, going into hiding, and all that is left of the sheikah are the most loyal, or the most terrified of rebelling. resentment inside the sheikah grows, but those sheikah debating leaving are too scared to do so.

Twilight Princess happens, then hyrule warriors, which i like to pretend is canon, and the sheikah have begun to reestablish themselves while the gerudo numbers are finally growing again. hw zelda begins trying to mend relationships with both groups and campaigns for freeing the sheikah from hylian dominance and starting a treaty with the gerudo, including reparations.

she is assassinated meer hours before she becomes queen.

the next in line for the throne is her much, much younger brother who is easily manipulated and doesn't care much for politics. the ideas of sheikah liberation and gerudo reparations are scrapped.

the sheikah numbers and gerudo numbers continue the grow. over centuries, the gerudo go mostly unmolested by hyrule and are able to rebuild, with the sheikah using their magic to make extreme advances in technology. They successfully help seal calamity ganon, and the gerudo champion leads to the reintroduction of the gerudo as a positive force in hyrule. All is well! Except it isn't. The sheikah are beginning to discuss independence. the gerudo agrees to welcome them to the desert, and the royal family is terrified. The sheikah are high in numbers, with powerful tech, and if they wanted to leave, they absolutely could, and it would leave the hylian family defenseless. They give the sheikah an ultimatum. Return to subjugation, revoke and destroy their tech, or be labeled traitors and murdered. there is a split, with many sheikah following orders out of fear, but some sheikah go to the desert where they have been promised refugee, eventually becoming the yiga clan. They begin to venerate ganon, thinking that if ganon destroyed the royal family, they could create a sheikah nation where everyone would finally be free, refusing to acknowledge the truth that ganon would happily kill them just as fast as it would hyrule. the gerudo abandon the yiga when they realize they want to resurrect the same creature that led to so much gerudo suffering and attempt to drive them from the desert. they are unsuccessful, but the yiga go underground, biding their time for when ganon would return.

for the first time in centuries, there was tentative peace, though only because of the threat of violence. 10,000 years pass, then botw happens!

anyways this got so so so long im SO sorry i just love the sheikah so much T.T

[deepspacememes]

Hi who are your top 5 LOTR characters

omg who ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!! i LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

my top 5 lotr characters right now would have to be:

1) BILBO. top character of all time. in everything, in perhaps all media. my boy. i want to hug jrrt for creating him, even though i know bilbo is basically just the british landed gentry version of Some Guy. but i love him, he's the best, i love him.

2) EOWYN. my giiiiiirl my girl my girl, talking about MY GIRL. it's such bad politics on my part but honestly i'm like... jrrt i forgive you for your lack of women characters because you gave us one who has the chops to carry the entire series. i LOVE her forever. i'm deep down still bitter that aragorn rejected her, but i know that this is just my betrayed 9 year old self who's still hurting -- i can accept that i've grown and so intellectually, i'm over it.

...after this, the list gets more nebulous, but i will give you my current rankings:

3) FRODO. oh my god. this sounds so over-the-top, but honestly, the pandemic made me connect so much more deeply with frodo, and i have really poured my soul into my interactions with him as a character over the last two years. embarrassing, but what else are poor little meow meows for? he's so deceptively normal, i can't stand it.

4) LEGOLAS-AND-GIMLI. but only together!!!! i mean, they both have their moments by themselves, but i'm so, so, so, so, so, so so sososososososo interested in their relationship. there's so much stretchiness in their portrayals and in the glimmers we get from them on page and screen -- i can spend ages thinking about them. but again. only as a unit.

5) SAM. i love sam, he's so good, he's so important, but i don't understand him, and all of these things together put him at number 5. what is there to say? nothing that i can get into in less than 600 words.

previous versions of this list probably would have swapped frodo and sam out at various times for theoden, gandalf, and legolas-by-himself (this last one was just terrible taste on my part. i look back in kind contempt).

you may be like, ok, but why are none of them cool and relatively obscure, like, beregond? or goldberry, or eärendil? because i'm fake, that's why.

BUT MY CURRENT TOP 5 LOTR FILM EXTRAS:

1) hobbit girl whose only reaction to gandalf's fireworks is to scream.

2) kid who jumps during bilbo's troll story. ;_______;

3) ent who is on fire and then not on fire. admittedly a gimme.

4) that one elf who for some reason thinks he's involved in aragorn and arwen getting together. sorry, can we help you??? can you take a step back

5) twink orc who definitely gets his head smashed by the rohirrim.

thank you for asking me about lord of the rings, you've made my day week month year century <3

[mainlyabatfamandnct-geek]

I AM BACKKKKK

i have been silent on tumble for way to long and i am sorry. i guess i just lost motivation to write. i decided im gonna take some time off of writing incorrect quotes for the batfam/dc and marvel and show you guys my other interests!

so you probably didnt know this but i am a pretty big kpop fan. suprise. not that original ik. but one of my all time fav (possibly my ult group) is NCT and ive been stanning them since their SM Rookies days so i am a SENIOR fan lol. Recently since school is out and im super free ive been spending a ton of time watching agents of shield, burn notice, naruto, rurouni kenshin, jujutsu kaisen, a ton of movies from my childhood and NCT fan edit videos and meme compilations. soooooo why not put my growing obsession and built up fantasies of NCT to good use and actually make some content? 

ive also been watching a lot of musicals like hamilton, six, dear evan hansen (so excited for the new movie), the greatest showman, mean girls, etc. and the schuyler sisters is currently stuck in my head (no seriously ill just randomly sing “eLiZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in my head for no reason) so i may or may not make some posts abt that.

ALSO. i am SUPER PUMPED UP abt Black Widow. like even more pumped up than i was for Loki and TFATWS. im sososososososo excited i cant stop talking abt it and pissing off my brothers.

AND THERES A NEW HORIZON GAME COMING OUT. i cant wait to play it. i really really really loved Horizon Zero Dawn  so you can imagine how pumped i am for Forbidden West. honestly i kinda wish they made a whole game abt Rost’s backstory just bc its so fucking sad and you dont really learn much abt it in Zero Dawn but they might go deeper into it in Forbidden West and I really hope they do bc its really interesting and sad.

ive been playing so much TLOU especially TLOU2 and Uncharted. I recently beat The Lost Legacy and it was really great. My brother didnt really enjoy it much for whatever reason but i was just happy to see Chloe and Nadine’s chaotic love hate relationship lol. I also think the new phone feature with taking the pictures and all was a nice added touch, it really accentuated the arrival of a new character and made it really obvious that we werent playing as Nate anymore. Like usually Nate would write things down in his journal and draw the objects and puzzles himself, but i think Chloe using her phone to do the same shows us that shes not as ig “into it” as Nate is. its like shes willing to put in the work necessary but make it easy and fast. kinda goes to show the more thief part of her and the lack of the “history nerd” thing that Nate has, kinda like Sully in a way.

Anyway enough abt me ranting what ive been up to. its time to make a slight change to the profile and username and make my first actual post for MONTHS.

[aemiron-main]

HELL YEAHHHH AND SERIOUSLY THE PARALLELS ARE INSANE I DEF RECOMMEND WATCHING IT BC. THERES SO MUCH. and hell yeah!!! good luck LMAO it’s. an absolute fucking ride.  im also uh. sitting here thinking about the st peter-mike parallels and how young pete townshend happens to look quite a lot like finn/mike and has a very similar sense of style to mike to the point where i wouldnt be surprised if they intentionally looked at him for costuming. 

mike also had a guitar in his bedroom. not only is pete a guitarist but he’s one of THE guitarists of all time in terms of influence. ever wonder why doc martens got popular? it’s very very largely because of pete townshend. the who were very much considered to be counter-culture AND had a lot of themes of eternal youth/eternal teenagers/eternal childhood in their work, much like we see in ST (baba o riley by the who is actually the song used in the st3 trailer and will has ‘my generation’, a song about dying young and about youth in general on his official playlist). i don’t think it’s a stretch at ALL that the stylists would’ve looked to pete for style inspiration for Mike, especially considering that pete is also queer AND has all of those counter-culture and rebellious themes tied to him and was very much a symbol of it at his time. like there’s also a ton of themes regarding the who in terms of what mike is dealing with and repression and catharsis and finally expressing oneself and even right down to mike’s family dynamic. like the line ‘i don’t need to be forgiven’ from baba o riley haunts me in terms of mike and just in terms of karen and the whole wheeler dynamic and karen cheating on ted and Everything. and it even ties into the metal stuff in s4 because while the who was not a metal band by any stretch, their bassist, john entwistle, is credited as to having invented/really popularized the death metal growl in ‘boris the spider,’ and the band as a whole inspired a bunch of musicians of various genres and was considered to be an early punk band/absolutely paved the way for punk and they were one of the first rock bands to really crash the boundaries of how loud a rock band could be with the volume and distortion and feedback,  pete would frequently smash his guitar on stage, keith moon (their drummer) set up an unplanned explosion inside of his drums on national television, their live performances were very chaotic and just. ARGH.  The entire band and their music is very very much about teenage frustration and angst and queercoding and trying to conform with society but then rejecting conformity and dealing with a nuclear family and political frustration (aids crisis and satanic panic in st) and those are all things we see with mike in s4. i cannot stress enough how much it makes SENSE for them to do a nod to pete intentionally with mike’s styling and how it wouldnt be the first time they’ve included stuff about the who, even if we ignore the tommy parallels. 

this is an insane stretch moment FR but it’s worth noting that the guy who wrote the majority of Tommy, Pete Townshend (full name peter) wrote a lot of it based on his own life/experiences so in many cases, “Tommy” is actually “Peter”

stretching is not only okay but encouraged in this house. also i desperately need to watch that movie now if the parallels are getting even more intense holy FUCK

like i meant to watch it and i kinda forgor but now it’s something in neon flashing red in my brain and i might watch it tomorrow if not tonight