#leo is SO unthreatened

[fbfh]

Hey! Then in hoo it is mentioned that Leo has dealt with a lot of bullies and horrible people since Esperanza died, I could ask for something like him and his s/o going to do something normal like shopping and end up running into one of these people And they keep making fun of Leo so his s/o defends him and comforts him or something like that(sorry if it seems confusing, English is not my first language haha)

first of all your english is great babes!! not confusing at all <33

ah yes. the bitchy girls. the asshole mean girls who have a fucking superpower for sniffing out adhd and autism and other neurodivergent traits like fucking blood hounds. the devils in lululemon leggings and nike sneakers who worship the ground hailey bieber walks on and keep their marc jacobs tote bags full of knives to stab anyone and everyone in the back with the moment the see an opportunity to.

those girls.

Leo's been able to avoid them for a while. Drew was the worst at camp, but she was a watered down version of them - Leo realized at some point that Drew adopting those traits was her own way of dealing with shit, and the more time she spent at camp since Piper became head of cabin, the more chilled out she's gotten.

There were barely any mean girls at MIT, none he had trouble avoiding at least. But now he's here, back in the real world, shopping for groceries for your little apartment you have together. And in the real world, fresh out of nursing school, is Emily. The exact same Emily from the school he went to before camp half blood. At 15, Leo went through a lot of shit. School was hell, his foster family was so bad he ran away enough to be sent to the wilderness school, and he was at one of the lowest points of his entire life.

You don't know who she is, but from the look on Leo's face, the sudden, sharp drop in his energy, the way he starts picking at his hands and gets all jittery. He hopes he can get away with it, hopes she won't even recognize him.

"Oh my god... Leo Valdez?"

you grimace at her voice, the way she mispronounces his last name, and your hackles rise. She looks at you in shock, seeming to hold back a laugh.

"Wait, is he your boyfriend?"

She says it like it's some joke, like this whole thing is hilarious.

"He used to be so awkward!" she giggles, "Wow, you look exactly the same."

Leo can read you like a book, and he knows you are SO pissed off for him.

"Yeah," You say with an equally sarcastic smile, "I had no idea you guys were the same age, you look so much older. I never would have known you guys were in the same class."

She blanches a little, and you double down.

"Leo actually just graduated top of his class at MIT. He has, like, a dozen job offers already." You smile at him proudly. "So how about you, are you... doing anything?"

"Mhm." She nods, the humor suddenly gone. "Nursing school. I just started."

"Oh," you nod, glancing over at Leo and sharing a subtle look with him, "well, we better get going, we have some open houses to get to."

As you walk away, still close enough for her to hear, you mutter to Leo, stifling a smile.

"Wow. The mean girl to nursing school pipeline is real." You chuckle, "And like, she does know it's not 2016 anymore, right? Cause her eyebrows don't seem to..."

He's so surprised that after an interaction with her, after all these years, he actually feels... okay. Outside the shithole of high school, with you by his side, she doesn't seem nearly as intimidating as she had. He's not sure how you got him to realize that so quickly, but he realizes that there's nothing that feels that intimidating when you're by his side. And you're right, her eyebrows are just as awful as her personality.

[nico-esoterica]

Why Does Megan Thee Stallion LOVE Japan? An Astrological Analysis ❤️

I've seen two or three posts like this or more and it makes perfect sense because through Astrocartography, we can see that she's got her Jupiter line (while its at home in Sag btw) going STRAIGHT through the country itself sitting on top of her Ascendant. So, not only does she feel SUPER lucky but her energy feels EXPANSIVE and UNTHREATENED. Like, she actually feels SEEN AND APPRECIATED and she has 0 need to prove herself, fight for her life, or be anything she's not. She can focus on feeling the vibes and being happy and abundant. Jupiter can also be associated with 'foreign' things so it being in her first in her relocated chart for Japan (I used Tokyo bc JPN has one time zone) makes sense. It's taking a special interest in what's outside of your comfort zone.

Because she has a natal Jupiter-Saturn square between her 8H speaking to her 11H, it means that she's used to compromising her boundaries for other people's sake who want to benefit her. Like, her abundance seems to always come at the expense of others being in their feelings or that she has to sacrifice (Pisces) parts of herself around others. Like, she's always felt restricted in some way by her environment. Surrounded by people who never wanted to see her win because they felt threatened or intimidated by it. There's usually someone around her playing a victim. Her history's echoed this.

In Hollywood, her relocated chart elevates her in the public eye at a cost. With an Aries Rising, it puts her chart ruler under duress in her 5H across from her 11H--Meaning that she's popular but her artistry (5H) is weirdly hated and seen as polarizing. That Sun-Mars Opposition also feels rather violent tbh and we've ALSO seen her history with that. A Sun-Moon and Sun-Mars opposition between Leo and Aquarius with her 10th and 11th in Saturn ruled signs answering to a 12H Saturn reads to me like male figures/patriarchs or industry 'old heads' having an issue with her sexuality being so vibrant and liberating (5H) that they actively suppress and punish her (Saturn joys in the 12th in trad astro and equals isolation and Saturn can equal male figures in power). But even with Chiron in Virgo in her 6H trining her elevated 10H planets, including her Venus, it creates a story of constantly feeling burdened to prove herself to the point where she's taught that numbers and figures determine her self worth, making her ultimately doubt herself. That's exhausting!

But in Tokyo and Japan overall, that Chiron is placed ON her MC at 29 degrees (a fame degree in degree astro) and safely trines those Cap planets that have shifted to her 2H. This means that she literally not only makes money there for simply EXISTING exponentially but she feels more natural in her resourcefulness and sense of self value and worth here with the emphasis placed on the 2H opposed to feeling 'over exposed' by it being in the 10H in the other chart because it means that SHE determines how she's moving opposed to feeling the pressures of it being the other way around. Ultimately, the 2nd, 6th, and 10th are all houses we look to as money potential centers but an emphasis with planets in any of those houses is going to paint a different picture. 2H emphasis will feel more independent and the pressure will come from within, 6H will feel more like a cog in a wheel in trying to find its place but will be very successful at it but potentially overworked/overlooked, and 10H emphasis puts someone on the fast track to success but can become overburdened with always needing to prove or outdo its previous successes.

As someone who has so much Saturn in her (Aqua and Cap), she's used to working everything out on her own so the best thing for her, imo, is for her to be in an environment where people just leave her THE FUCK ALONE and let her do what she wants to do and how she wants to do it. The Sun and the Moon here are in the opposite houses of the houses they find joy in in trad astro (sun likes being in the 9th and moon likes being in the 3rd). From being someone (me) who has their moon in the 9th in whole sign, I can say from experience that it creates a pure joy and love in the unknown and in foreign places. It means you have an insatiable desire to educate yourself about your surroundings and you feel the safest around people who are very different from you bc you feel/experience that they judge you significantly less. Bc she has a natal 4H Moon opposing her Sun in the 10th, that sense of safety is vital and it means she's actually always struggled with that. With having a burning need TO put herself in the public eye and be very visible but weirdly feel attacked and unsafe the longer she's in view. It exacerbates deeper issues, imo, around fearing being vulnerable and may make a person create an outward persona as an armor they can wear to protect themselves.

So when her Moon is in a place that's opposite where it normally feels comfortable but she's USED to feeling uncomfortable, it kind of creates a sense of balance where she finds peace and freedom in what's foreign to her bc she's used to what's familiar hurting her. Then with the Sun being opposite of its joy, she's able to explore her inner child (Leo's ruled by the Sun and = children/joy), and find places that connect her to her early childhood interests (3H = early childhood education/experiences). And for her, that was always anime, among other things. So in this country, honestly, she feels the safest, on every fathomable level, esp on an inner child level, that she's ever been.

She might deadass get an apartment or property in Japan. And she SHOULD. They'll love her and she'll return it 10x over ❤️

For those curious, I offer Astrocartography readings here in my Expanded Services section.

[savemeafruitjuice]

if you’re open to it, anything with lee 2012 leo?? thank you :3

YAY! I looove 2012 Leo, and I really hope I was able to do him justice! He is so traumatized, poor child.

THIS IS SET NEAR THE END OF SEASON 4! IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED PAST THAT POINT BE AWARE OF SPOILERS!!

Lee! Leonardo

Ler! Master Splinter

TW!: DEPRESSION, FEELINGS OF WORTHLESSNESS (Dw, things get better! 😘)

'Something is wrong with my boys.'

The sad realization hit Splinter with a harsh blow. His children, as he has noticed, didn't have the same spark in their eyes, the same lighthearted goofiness and child-like immaturity they once had- and hadn't for a while.

This was exceptionally noticable in his eldest son, Leonardo. After countless horrors and freakish battles, Leo's face had turned stony, and his personality dry. His brothers were in a similar state, though the grayness in the leader's face couldn't go unnoticed.

This had become more apparent when he had relocated his stack of 'Space Heroes' DVDs to his bedroom, and hadn't taken them out for weeks. All he did in his free time was train, lecture his brothers, or stare off into space, a dull look of shame in his eyes.

Splinter had noticed this, of course. Something so drastic in their energy was very hard to miss, but he had thought it as a maturity settling over them, rather than a deep numbness hanging over their heads.

Something had to be done.

Later that day, his boys had returned home, all irritable and tired. Leonardo had kept his swords on his back, seemingly preparing for another home invasion or something of the sort. They had all eaten, and were scattered about the lair until it was time to go to sleep.

The katana-wielding teen stayed seated on the couch, as he had for many nights, gazing into the distance instead of going to bed. Unbeknownst to him, however, his father was aware of his poor resting schedule, but had left him to his thoughts, knowing that the things he had seen took time to process.

Tonight, though, the turtle seemed more melancholic, picking at the skin of his finger as he sighed. Yoshi peered from the dojo, sensing the upset radiating off of him, and knew he had to act now, before his son's condition grew worse. He stepped out into the wide space of the common room and cleared his throat as to not startle the younger.

"My son, what troubles you?" It seemed his efforts to be unthreatening were futile, as Leo had nearly jumped out of his shell, scrambling to grab his swords with a yelp. Splinter's expression darkened at this, but he was quick to give reassurance.

"It is alright, Leonardo. You are safe." The turtle's shoulders relaxed, and he voiced his relief. "Oh, it's just you, sensei. I'm fine, don't worry about me." His dad shook his head, making his way over to his son and sitting beside him, ears pressed to his head in concern.

"You have given me reason to worry, I am afraid. You and your brothers seem so disturbed, so I thought I would confront you about it." Well, that sure caught him off guard. Leo shrugged, struggling to hold eye contact as he muttered an explanation. "I'm just tired. We all are."

At the quirked brow of his rat father, his walls crumbled.

Leo sighed. "We've just seen so many things.. Things we can't unsee, unhear, or unlive, for that matter." he shook his head sadly. "It makes things hard, Sensei. Really hard."

Splinter's gaze softened. He should have guessed. His children, very early in their years, had seen more than he had in his entire life. They'd been across the world, the universe, heck- they'd even been to different dimensions and stopped wars. It was no wonder they were so void.

Yoshi's heart ached for his child, and he held his arms out to him, which, after a moment of shock and hesitation, was accepted. The eldest son let out an uneven breath, and closed his eyes, enjoying the physical affection he did not receive very often. "I love you, Leonardo, and I am proud."

That sure got the tears flowing. Next thing he knew, the rat father held his weeping turtle son in his arms, holding back tears himself. He rubbed the young boy's scarred shell, allowing him to express himself after putting on a brave face for his family for so long.

Eventually, the teen's tears ran out, and his tight grip on his father's kimoto loosened. The overburdened turtle wiped his eyes, standing from his spot on the couch, followed closely by Splinter. A worried look crept onto his face again. "Sensei, what if I can't protect them.. What if I'm not good enough..?"

"Hmph." His father cut him off before he could spiral into a 'not good enough' mindset. He thought for a moment, eventually asking a question. "Leonardo. A wise man, who I believe went by the name of Ralph Emerson, once said, "The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.". What do you think he meant by this?"

Leo blinked, and pondered for a moment, repeating the words to himself until he decided on an answer. "Huh. Well, I know a lightning rod is supposed to protect homes from lightning, and.. I guess our spine represents ourselves as an individual, and it supports us.. I- I guess it could mean that we need to face some things on our own.. and be our own protection!"

He looked up hopefully, and was rewarded with an impressed smile. "Very good, Leonardo. So as you have said, there are some things that you cannot rely on others for, and so they are not responsible for you in that time, yes?"

Understanding flooded over Leo, and he bowed. "Hai, Sensei. I get it now. I cannot worry about my brothers all the time, or they will fail to grow and learn on their own."

"Wehell, you certainly can worry about them. What do you think I do most of the day?" Splinter chuckled. "No, but you must not intervene and take control of their lives in a way that jeopardizes their independence."

The leader in blue smiled, performing another respectful, albeit smaller bow, and listened to more of his father's intel. Well, at least it seemed like intel at first.

"One last thing. There is another saying I know of, this one relevant to young leaders such as yourself.." The smaller looked intrigued, not taking notice of the unusually playful glint in Splinter's eyes, and hardly suspecting a thing when he knelt down to his level to speak. He did however, find himself concerned with the fact that in a blink of an eye, he had been flipped over and lied back down on the couch, his legs under the weight of a 6-foot mutant rat.

Seeing his son so unhappy over the past few months, mental health at a clear decline, had concerned Splinter greatly. He was so used to the bright smiles he wore, and his efforts to be a great leader, though it became more apparent that the latter was overtaking his mind, and he planned to stop that constant strive to be perfect, at least for a little while. "Laughter cures all."

Before the turtle could gasp out a question as to why this was happening, or better yet, what was happening, sharp claws were gently dragging down his plastron. Leo squealed, practically convulsing as soon as the fingers made contact.

"GAHahaha! S-Sensehei, whahahat?-" Leo was in shock. His father, who had so scarcely given approval, or physical affection, had not only hugged him, but had him pinned underneath himself and was tickling him.

It didn't matter whether he processed it or not, as Splinter had dug under his arms, leaving him to screech in mirth, gravelly voice straining with giggles. His father only smirked at him, glad to hear laughter coming from someone who needed it so much.

As young children, the turtles had played various games, chase being one of the most common, and discovered the concept of being 'ticklish' when their father had caught them, picking each up respectively and squeezing their sides a few times before carrying on with the game. After that, they went on a craze, chasing each other around and exploring tickle spots, an activity that carried on throughout the years.

Splinter had found it adorable, watching with a soft look on his face as his children tussled, and was glad to see that over time they hadn't grown out of such a lighthearted thing. It became rarer, yes, but they had something to do that showed they were still just kids, despite their mutated bodies and home in the sewers.

Over the years, as Splinter had noticed, it became obvious that the oldest son was the most sensitive, to which his brothers took great joy in exploiting. A poke to the side was enough to get him giggling, and Yoshi had had to take precautions to ensure that this wasn't used against him during training after losing five times in a row because of it.

A loud snort from the teen pulled him out of his thoughts, a growing pink tinge on his face clashing greatly with his green complexion. Splinter chuckled, using one hand to scribble into his son's neck, clawed fingers proving to be an advantage when he quickly tried to duck his head down, then throwing it back in loud giggles when the back of his neck was targeted.

"My son, I don't believe there is anything funny here. I ask that you explain what you are laughing about." Leo tried to reach up to grab onto his father's wrist, but a taze to his ribs left both of his arms uselessly pressed against his torso, trying to wrap them around himself to protect his more ticklish spots.

His ankles dug into the cushions beneath them, unable to squirm away from the offending fingers as they slid past his defenses, scratching along his belly. "Sehehensei, I- EEK! IHI CAhahan't!"

Splinter smiled fondly down at his child, taking notice in how little he actually tried to stop him, clearly needing to get out of his head for a while. Leo jolted up for a moment, curling over his father's hands before tearing his arms away from himself, opting to grip at the pillows of the couch. He tossed his head to the side, lost in giggles.

Yoshi raised his eyebrows, thoroughly amused at how he opened himself up. He scribbled over the expanse of his plastron, resulting in louder and more frantic giggles. "Oh? Leonardo, are you trying to tell me something?" He tapped at the exposed cartilage of the turtle's sides, having to pause for a moment before continuing, as the boy screeched, flinching away in reflex, before falling into cackles.

"NAHAHAHAH! FAHATHER- AHA! PLEHEASE, IHI-" Words were failing him, barely able to articulate anything before being interrupted by his own snorting. Not that he was trying to protest, or anything. In reality, he was having the time of his life, forgetting his troubles and getting the chance to laugh.

Sure, the gentle tickling was driving him up the wall, but he was enjoying himself. Still, after a couple minutes, his eyes began to droop, still quietly giggling to himself. Splinter took notice of this, and gave him one last squeeze to the sides, before picking the worn out teen up, cradling him as he had many years ago, and brought him to his room.

After gently settling him onto his bed, Yoshi covered the nearly-passed out form with his blanket, and softly held his shoulder. "You are a wonderful leader, and your brothers and I love you."

His consciousness slipping away, Leo responded in a quiet tone. "Thanks.. Father. Love 'ya guys too.." And with that, he fell asleep, a warm smile on his tired face.

Yippee, the sillies! 💙 💙 💙 This is longer than I thought it would be, but I'm not mad! Thank you all for your support, and I hope you enjoyed!

[infjtarot]

World. Weiser Waite Smith Tarot

A naked figure, hermaphroditic, stands at the center of a circle of garlands. In her hands are two staffs. She stands before or atop the world. In the corners of the card are the symbols of the four fixed signs of the zodiac: the bull for Taurus, the lion for Leo, the eagle for Scorpio, and the human for Aquarius. The World is completion. It is feeling at ease in the world, feeling unthreatened and fully accepted as you are. You need for nothing and want for nothing. The fixed signs indicate that things are stable for you, and that you are able to make real changes now if you wish. It is the last card in the Major Arcana, represented by number twenty-one. This is the end of a long journey. What started with the Fool, with that stepping-off-the-edge-of-the-universe kind of optimism and going through transformation after transformation, now ends with the World. It is wholeness and completion. And it is just the briefest of stops before you have to begin again. While many of the cards in the deck are about internal processes, the World is as external as it is internal. Most of the other cards are about you. What you need to be learning, what you need to be achieving, what you need to be doing. The World indicates that some of those processes are over. You’ve completed a project, you’ve attained a skill, you’ve accomplished something important. And there is definitely a feeling of self-satisfaction in that. But the World also means that the outside world—whether that be your field, your community, your family, your peers, or whomever—responds to your achievement. When we’re proud of ourselves, we walk around differently. More confidently, more sure of ourselves. And that can change people’s responses to us. But the World says: “These other people that you’ve been trying to impress? They take notice of you.” You are able to see real results of the work that you have done. So it’s a card of acceptance. Acceptance of yourself and acceptance by the people around you. You’re not, of course, going to win the Pulitzer Prize every time you pull this card, but that is maybe a good way to think about it. It’s that sensation of being appreciated and acknowledged. Now, every card has its darker side, even the World. If we are too focused and too daydreamy about this acceptance, it can be difficult to finish the actual work. We can be so rushed to finish something—just to have it out the door so that we can start a new project—that we don’t take the time to bring the project to completion. It just kind of ends. The World calls for refinement and wholeness, not “Oh, it’s good enough.” To realize the World, we have to be willing to be a participant in it. That requires some vulnerability. We can secret away our work, stuffing manuscripts in drawers and paintings in attics, because we don’t want to risk having someone react negatively to our work or be criticized. And that’s a mistake. Not everything we do will be a gem. The World requires vulnerability, which means it requires us to listen to criticism and to suffer disappointment. Because how else will we be able to move people, help people, unless we actively take part in the world? RECOMMENDED MATERIALS “The Tortoise and the Hare” in Aesop’s Fables, book by Aesop Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech Jessa Crispin

[fruitcoops]

I don't know if you did this already (I'm sorry if you did) or somebody asked but could you do one where they supportive teammates reacts to homophobic teammates

Hello anon! This is a super interesting idea and I’ve been thinking about it for a couple days so I could get the vibe right--none of our boys would be homophobic, but new rookies on the other hand...

Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove, but this features a character who does not appear in SW (I’m not claiming him as an OC because he’s a dick)

TW for homophobic statements, no slurs

I

James caught sight of the new guy just as he was leaving the locker room, towel draped over his neck. “Rookie! Wait up, man!”

The other man paused, looking rather surprised as he jogged over. “Hey, you’re James, right?”

“Call me Pots.” He held his hand out and they shook. “Didn’t catch your name earlier, sorry.”

“Tanner Chase, nice to meet you.”

“Welcome to the team, Tanner.” James grinned. “You’re on my line, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’m a winger,” Tanner said with a good bit of pride. Oh, to be twenty again, James thought. “Giving you a run for your money.”

“Sure, kid,” James laughed. “You do that. You’d have better luck with me than Loops, though.”

Tanner’s smile turned a little sharp. “Nah, he’d be too easy, am I right?”

James paused. “What?”

“Y’know, since he’s…” Talker gave him a significant look and a stone sank in James’ gut.

“I think you lost me.” I hope this isn’t what I think it is. “Because he’s a rookie? ‘cause I hate to break it to you, but—”

“No, dude, because he’s a fairy,” he snorted, as if they were still joking around.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Tanner blinked and reeled back. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t get to talk about my friends like that. Don’t talk about anyone like that. It’s not tolerated on this team and I won’t hesitate to kick your ass if I hear it again.” James made sure his voice was as even as possible, but he could tell it shook at the edges. “You just used up your one free pass, Chase.”

 II

“Drive safe, Loops!” Talker called as Remus headed for the hall with his bag under his arm.

Sirius opened the door just as he reached it and his face broke into a smile. “Bonjour, mon amour, I was just looking for you. Ready to go?”

“Hiya, handsome.” He leaned up to peck him on the lips. “Yeah, I think I left my phone on the bench, though.”

Their conversation faded out as they wandered off together and Talker returned to his stretch, closing his eyes at the familiar burn in his hamstring. “Yikes,” the new rookie muttered under his breath. Tanner…something, Talker remembered.

“What’s up? You okay?”

Tanner glanced over at him. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Stretching? Not really, no. That’s why I do it.”

“No, not stretching. That.” He waved a hand at the slightly-open door.

“I can close it if you—”

“Dude.” Talker crossed his legs and faced him fully. “I mean Black and Lupin.”

Talker narrowed his eyes. “No. Does it bother you?”

“I mean, yeah, how am I supposed to respect a guy like that?” he scoffed.

Talker made direct eye contact with him; he wanted zero miscommunication about this. “You respect him because he’s your captain, which is a title he earned that has nothing to do with who he loves. And you respect Loops, too, or we’re going to have an issue. I don’t know what the fuck you’re thinking bringing that attitude to this team, but you better drop it right now.”

Tanner turned back to his stretch. With a shake of his head, Talker collected his stuff and left him alone on the mats.

III

“Hey, Harzy.” Tanner sat down next to Finn on the bench and passed him a waterbottle. There was a shout from the ice as Remus stole the puck from Sirius’ stick and raced toward the goal, laughing loudly.

“Tan-man, what’s up?”

“What’s the deal with them?” he asked, lowering his voice.

“Cap and Loops? They’re engaged, didn’t you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” There was a slight tone shift that made Finn’s skin crawl. “But what do you think about it? Isn’t it, like, a little weird being on the same team as them?”

“Uh, no.”

Tanner’s eyebrows rose. “You aren’t afraid they’re looking at you or something?”

“What part of ‘engaged’ don’t you understand?” Finn’s jaw tightened. What a little shit. “If this is some homophobic fuckery, I’d like to take this time to remind you I have two boyfriends before you say something that gets you punched.”

Tanner’s eyes went wide and he scooted away without a word.

IV

“Alright, everyone, Sid’s tonight?” Kasey shouted over the noise. The whole locker room cheered in agreement and he smiled as the buzz of victory filled his chest. “Knutty, since my team kicked your ass, I believe you owe me a pizza!”

“I still say Cap is a cheater!” Leo called back; within a few seconds, Sirius had him in a loose headlock as he ruffled his hair. “Alright, alright, I give!”

The volume level did not die down as they all flooded into the hallway—Kasey spotted a flash of mousy brown hair out of the corner or his eye and frustration lodged in his throat. In a smooth movement, he reached out and blocked Tanner from following the rest of the group out. “Not you.”

“But it’s a team dinner—”

“And you’re not part of the team until you get your head out of your ass,” he said coolly. The jumble of voices echoed around the corner. That was his team. “Don’t think I missed those looks you were shooting Cap and Loops. You’re not invited. Go home and think about what actually matters.”

V

They won the next game by a landslide. Arthur Weasley was furious. Every time an opponent came to check Tanner Chase, not a single Lion moved to help him. At one point, Pots had taken the puck right off his stick and skated down the ice for a goal, leaving him in the dust. Whenever Chase was on the bench, he was pointedly ignored by the rest and left to sit alone; Logan literally sat on Talker’s lap to avoid being within five feet of the rookie.

“Team meeting, everyone sit your asses down!” he barked as he entered the locker room. Immediately, the celebratory whoops quieted. “Anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

Sirius looked up at him in confusion. “I thought we played pretty well, Coach.”

“You played fine, but Chase over here got the cold shoulder like I’ve never seen before. Even the fucking commentators noticed!”

“Good,” Finn muttered under his breath.

“Shut it, O’Hara, this is not good.” He took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “Once again, does anyone want to enlighten me on this sudden attitude toward rookies? Since when are we like this?”

“It’s not toward rookies, it’s toward him,” Kasey said, glaring at Tanner from his stall. “He’s a homophobic douchebag. You want to tell Coach what you said?”

Tanner stared at the floor.

Arthur’s fury vanished. “What? Chase, is that true?” The rookie stayed silent. “Hey, kid, I’m talking to you.”

“Yes, Coach.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus’ jaw tick and Sirius’ face grow stormy.

“How long has this been going on?”

“It started the first day of practice,” Pots said, crossing his arms. “Our first conversation, in fact.”

“Eyes on me, rookie.” Tanner winced as he looked up. “I know the organization has told you in the past that this kind of behavior is okay, but right here and right now, I’m telling you it’s not. If you’re going to continue with that, you can leave.”

“I just get uncomfortable when—”

“When what?” Remus asked, standing up and leaning on his stall. He looked overall unthreatening, but there was a stony look in his eyes. “Tanner, what did Sirius and I do to make you uncomfortable?”

Tanner floundered for a moment. “It’s just—the kissing, the cuddling, the nicknames, all that.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem when Lily came to visit,” Remus continued. “Or Natalie, or Noelle, or Celeste. Is that correct?”

“Yeah.”

“But it bothers you when I call my fiancé ‘baby’, or he calls me ‘sweetheart’?”

“It does.”

“Tanner, I hope you know I’m not going to apologize,” he finally said. “If this had nothing to do with us being gay, we would tone down the PDA, but that’s clearly not the case.”

Sirius sighed. “None of us want to alienate you, but you’re making judgements before taking the time to know us. That’s a shitty thing to do.”

“You’ve never met an openly gay person before, have you?” Remus asked. Tanner shook his head. “Hi, I’m Remus Lupin. I play a wing position on the hockey team that you were just signed to and my favorite color is green. I have a dog named Hattie and I’m engaged to a man. Nice to meet you.”

Sirius walked across the room; Arthur tensed for a moment, but he stopped in front of Tanner and held his hand out. “Sirius Black, team captain. I play center and I hate pineapple pizza. Also, I’m gay. Congrats on being signed to the Lions.”

Tanner’s eyes flickered up, and after a moment’s hesitation, he shook Sirius’ hand. “Nice to meet you.” He swallowed thickly. “Cap.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Are we done with the bullshit?”

“It—it might take me a bit to get used to it.”

“Make it quick. We’ve got games to win and nobody here has time to hold your hand through it.” Sirius turned to look at everyone else, his Captain Face in full effect. “That goes for everyone, got it? No more cold shoulders, we talk this through like adults as soon as it happens.”

“You got it, Cap,” Pots said.

“Black, Lupin, can we talk?” Coach beckoned them toward the door; just before it closed, he saw Talker walk over to Tanner’s stall.

“That’s why you respect Cap and Loops,” Talker said quietly. “Not because of threats or some shit—because of that right there.”

[remmushound]

Curse of the Clan Part 43! @selfindulgenz @scentedcandlecryptid

Content warning!! Mentions of blood, various horror mentions

“Hey guys—“ April returned to the rest of the clan.

“I mean, it's bound to make the news, right?” Leonardo was saying, “Giant brain thing covered in spikes spotted over Tokyo! We can track him like that!”

“He’s an oni, you uninformed fool!” Draxum snarled, “He can cloak!”

“And why would he be over Tokyo?” Donatello scoffed; he was laying his head on the table, his arms folded over his muzzle to muffle his senses.

“He’s achieved the power of flight.” Michelangelo nodded, “Good for him.”

“Guys—” April tried again.

“I thought oni were supposed to be these big troll guys with horns.” Cassandra admitted, “Not… whatever they’re describing.”

“Different kind of oni.” Draxum scoffed, “They’re not all the same you know.”

“No, I don’t know, Draxum.” Cassandra slammed her hands down on the table and glared at him. “How would i know?!”

“GUYS!”

April’s shout finally got the attention of everyone at the table in their entirety. April took a few slow breaths before explaining what had happened to her.

“I think we should listen to Karai and try to find out what happened with these kappa— she said I had to unlock the rest of the story, like some twisted game or something I guess— and them kappa are the only clue we got!”

“Kappa can live for hundreds of years…” Draxum mused softly, “It is possible they could still live. Possible, but unlikely.”

“Great.” Leonardo snickered, “Now we just gotta find these kappa. Any bright ideas?”

“There is a small population of kappa in the Hidden City!” Sunita offered.

“Most of them still live in their native Japan.” Draxum added.

“I’m not too keen on heading back there.” Leonardo sighed and rested his head on his hand.

“I’m not sure how many other options we’ll have, Leo.” Raphael admitted, “Gram Gram said we had to find these guys, and I trust gram gram!”

“But we don’t even have any idea where to look!” Michelangelo whined, “Maybe we could—“

Donatello stood suddenly from his chair, the loud disturbance making all those gathered flinch before looking at him. Donatello didn't move for a while, supporting himself entirely on his chair while gripping it so tightly the wood began to splinter. His eyes were lost— glazed almost white as they focused on nothing.

“Donnie…?”

Leonardo reached a slow hand toward Donatello. His fingers brushed against the softshell’s arm and Donatello’s entire body seized. He lashed out, striking his arm hard into the soft part of Leonardo’s chest. The moment Donatello made contact, the fear in his eyes turned instead to horror as he realized what he had done. It didn't hurt, but Leonardo still recoiled from the touch, eyes like saucers.

Donatello didn't stick around to see any further reaction.

“I gotta go get some air.” He hurried out of the room, head low, before anyone could stop him.

The eyes of the clan remained trained on him in various stages of pitiful sympathy, though none of them moved to follow until Sunita stood up.

“I’ll go stay with him.” Sunita told the group, nodding to each of them, “You guys stay here and keep talking.”

Sunita didn't stick around. As she left quickly on Donatello’s trail, she heard the group behind her return to their bickering.

Sunita found the softshell turtle alone in the hallway; he hadn’t managed to get that far from the room where the rest of his family remained before he had collapsed to the ground, sitting with his knees pulled tight to his chest and his arms around his legs, rocking in a stimming motion. All the cold emotions spiraling around Donatello in a dark storm cloud soaked into Sunita like a sponge; that was one of the downsides of being a polymorph yokai. Everything, good and bad, soaked into her and made her color shift dark.

“Hey…” Sunita slid over to Donatello’s side, making her form as small and unthreatening as possible when she addressed the emotionally lost mutant. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing…” Donatello said softly— almost too softly.

Sunita hummed and pursed her lips. “I don’t buy it. Us polymorphs are great empaths, you know. All that… icky illy stuffs going around in your head…” Sunita made wide, circular motions, “I can feel it too. And your cogs are a’turning!”

Donatello took a slow breath. What use was lying when he was already called out on it? It seemed like a waste of time and energy to resist the well-meaning polymorph, so he didn't. He could at least tell her what was on his mind, no matter how vague his theory was. He couldn’t voice it to his brothers, not without choking as the memories of their lying counterparts forced their way front and center. The first time he had truly believed it was them! It was so real, so honest it must have been true! Then they started to rip each other apart with teeth and claws and powerful grips like animals fighting over scraps of food. Then they had turned their attention to Donatello with the same intention. Every cut and scrape and bite he had felt inflicted as if it was truly happening. He could still the blood going down his body and the laughs of his brothers as they stole everything from him…

Donatello let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. “Uh… when I first met t… that oni, he…” Donatello swallowed, “He said that it was good to see me again…”

Sunita frowned. “Have you met him before…?”

Donatello shrugged. He felt hot tears on his face—for a moment he mistook it for blood before he recognized the sensation was too light to be such.

“D... do you know how Karai kinda… became April?” Donatello spoke slow, choosing his words carefully as he made wide motions.

“Yes.” Sunita answered with a slight nod.

“W… well… April said that… that the kappa had our colors and… and our weapons and kappa are turtles and we are turtles—“ Donatello winced when he realized how fast he had been talking, and he made a conscious effort to slow his words. “If… if Karai can become April then… then maybe those kappa could have become us! And… and I have a really bad feeling that the oni did something horrible to them…”

Sunita listened wordlessly, her eyes swimming with the emotions that were both her own and Donatello’s.

“I… I can’t…” Donatello started again, “I can’t bring myself to look at my brothers because I just see what that oni… what Krang… made me see them as. Could… could you tell them? I… I want to help them, but I…”

Sunita placed a surprisingly warm hand on Donatello’s knee; the touch brought Donatello to look up at her, blinking enough to dismiss some of the tears from his eyes.

“I’ll tell them.” Sunita reassured, “Don’t you worry; this is all going to work out.”

[blissfulalchemist]

9, 12, 14, 21, 22 and 24 for John and Cat ☺️

Thank you Lydia! Sorry this took a hot minute, but a few of these were better and easier written on a keyboard and the laptop we have is still MIA. But thank you for letting me talk about them!

9. How open are they with their feelings?

Once together they are very open with all their feelings. Before that though they were and they weren’t. See here’s the thing Cat is very much someone that has their heart on their sleeve and while she can hold back, it’s only so far. She by default is open with her emotions and feelings, however she didn’t always speak on everything that she was feeling which allowed her to sort of just keep them away or found ways to write off certain reactions to things. Her distrust for the Seeds wasn’t held back so much but she never tried to let on just how much she was scared of them. John as we all know is a master manipulator and doesn’t show emotions when he feels in control of situations. With Cat it became a balancing act of how much he should fake and how much should be left genuine in order to gain some form of trust with her and have her open up to him, as the more she opened up the more likely he was going to find out just how to get her to assimilate to Eden’s Gate. It was through this constant game of hide and seek with emotions that the two eventually caught real feelings and became more open after that.

12. Do they have similar goals? If they clash, how do they deal?

Truly when you get down to the heart of their goals they are very similar. For all of John’s more aggressive methods there’s the motive to help people and create a safer and better world for everyone. He wants better than what he had. Cat chose her career path because of the same reasons. She tries to promote that while in Eden’s Gate, doing a little more than what John was able to accomplish among the locals (though we can blame this on Cat’s unthreatening demeanor and height). When it came to fights about the methods that were being used to fulfill the confession aspect of joining Eden’s Gate neither really wanted to budge on their opinion, eventually though they came to the compromise that it should be a choice to have the more physical route or a less physical route where people were able to just talk it out and have the sin placed where it wouldn’t hurt that badly to the person or not at all if they fulfilled other duties that would count towards the same atonement. Now once Cat was gone the old methods resumed and those that didn’t have a sin got one.

14. Is their anything they associate with each other?

For John it was the wedding ring that he got for Cat once they started to have a true relationship along with a few of the small dried out wildflower bouquets that got left around the house and office. John kept the ring closest to him and upon finding out Chance stole it he did double down his efforts to finding him as he desperately wanted the ring back, Faith does eventually convince Chance to give it back. 

For Cat it’s the birthday gift that John gave her outside the Spread Eagle. She wasn’t allowed to have it while hospitalized and once she got out she wore it almost everyday until she felt and knew that there was no way that she could get back together with John. It does stay where she can see it on her nightstand. If Liz ever asked about it she would tell her that it was from her father but wouldn’t elaborate on the details. 

21. Personally, do you think they are a good couple? 

I had….so many intentions to make them a better couple when I first joined the fandom and developed their story. However as time went on and Cat became more developed they aren’t a good couple in the sense of it being healthy as there are many unhealthy things about it, however! as a dynamic though! Yes they are a good couple.

These two are very much living and presenting lies when they first interact and meet. The two, though mostly John, egg the other on to bring about parts of themselves neither want to see to the forefront. When they come to a middle ground it starts to look a little more obsessive especially when John gives her up to let her attempt to go back to a normal life with Theo. John doesn’t really leave her be, leaving gifts for her, speaking to her, seeking her out, and still telling her that he loves her. Vice versa Cat has a more subtle obsession with him for a long time with her seeking him out, asking him for advice, and making decisions that keep her and those she cares about in Hope County in the hopes of John joining them (really it’s because she can’t come to being okay with being away from John).

Once embracing the Mary Seed persona her clingy-ness to John is much more apparent. She takes on this role with the sole purpose of making a better life for her and John that will guarantee she never lose John prematurely like she lost Theo. She adores being at his side and just being with him, so much so that when he sends her away once again for good Cat does everything she can to contact him, escape to him, and just be with him. It’s these behaviors that have many professionals telling her that John’s affection for her was fake and induced by Bliss (which granted played a very small role with it just being around and having a background effect that just kept her a little more open really). With John it does turn into trying to get her back while also keeping away from his mistake and in a way finishing what she started. Once in the real world again John never fails to try and re-establish their relationship. 

He keeps his distance for a long time but knowing that eventually Liz will have questions and will try to seek out the answers, which is where he will slither his way back into Cat’s life. He does go to lengths to try and ask her to be with him again and Cat wants to, truly she wants too but she knows how bad it got and doesn’t want to risk losing Liz as it would feel as bad, if not worse, than when she lost her first child. There was no untangling them from the other once they came together, but thankfully Cat’s stubborn in keeping her distance from John romantically. 

22. From the outside looking in, what is their dynamic like? 

Very back and forth with how they play off of their good and bad qualities. Cat may not have had the same experience as John but she has the empathy and patience to help him and work through it. Once there is some trust between them, John no longer really holds back his displeasure and anger outbursts and image is everything so he needs Cat to not look like the meek little wife that Joseph more hoped for with her. She loses her spine a bit and John pushes her to stand up for herself with everyone and not just him. Vice versa John can become too much as she offers the different perspective and calms him down so he can get a better grip on his emotions and work through them, even if he’s only a calmer and nicer version of himself around her only.

24. Is their any moment that happens between them that you know happens and just makes you melt? 

God okay so I headcanoned John to be a Leo in my story because the real change for John is when Cat makes a little private birthday celebration for him, despite how much of a jerk he had been to her prior. Cat knowing that there hadn’t really been much in the way of birthday parties for the Seeds takes to making a nice dinner of what she can manage of John’s favorite meal and makes a nice cake for him with the best she can manage decoration wise as she’s no artist. She makes this little empty cabin the destination of it and decorates it to feel fancier than it is. There’s music in the background on a radio and eventually they just kind of dance under the stars and moonlight and its just so! God its just so soft and probably one of the most self indulgent parts of their story.

[consulaaris]

wip wednesday

tysm for the tag @coldshrugs ! i’m getting to this pretty late so i’m not tagging anyone, but if you see this and want to feel free to say i tagged you!

this is bit of a star wars (swtor) piece focusing on my alt agent, rysandor 👀 it’s kinda rough and unedited but! i’m excited to finally get a good start on this fic

.

Rys murmurs something intelligible as Leodi traces a line of kisses down his jaw, curling back into the warmth of the duvet they share.

“Five more minutes.”

The amusement in Leo’s voice is obvious. “You said that five minutes ago.”

When he cracks open one eye Rysandor sees his lover standing over his side of the bed- a fond smile across his pretty face, blond hair still in its tousled bedhead state. He’s half tempted to drag Leodi back into bed with him, but he’d tried yesterday and knows full well how that will end; Rys finds himself smirking at the thought.

And though he grumbles as he drags himself into a half-upright position, though he pretends to glare as Leo hands him a cup of kaf, he can’t keep the smile from spreading across his lips, can’t help himself from kissing Leodi again and again, savoring the taste and feel of him. There’s a warm feeling that rises in his heart as they eat a quiet breakfast and bask in each other’s company- a love so deep it aches, burns with the very force of his affection. Leo’s talking again of his brother’s impending nuptials and what they’ll wear to the ceremony, and Rys can’t help but follow his own absentminded train of thought towards a lovely ring hidden in the false drawer behind his dresser (although he decides the better of it). Can’t help but imagine how much lovelier the diamond will look on Leo’s hand. Now isn’t the right time, of course, but… soon. Very soon.

He pointedly avoids thinking of the other thing hidden there, behind even the ring; buries the thought of it deep in his mind. It’s just a small drive, similar in model to the type you could find at any self-respecting tech shop. Unthreatening. Unassuming.

Such a tiny thing to carry with it the weight of his very damnation.

Or salvation, depending on how you think of it.

[silver-blooded-synthetics]

@howtodisassembleyourdeviant asked:

Amazonite: How do they go about comforting or calming down others? Are they good at it? (All)

Simon is good at comforting because he already has a calming presence. His voice is soft and his body language is non-threatening. If he's trying to comfort a child he might sing or offer to hold them. If it's an adult he will whisper reassurances and encouragement and maybe offer a hand to hold. He's also good at just being present for the other person and listening to them without having to say anything.

Markus attempts to comfort others with empathy, establishing common ground and trying to reassure that everything will be alright in the end if you keep moving forward, because that's what has always worked for him in the past. His focus is on problem solving. It seems to be hit or miss on actually working. Sometimes it will calm someone down and make them feel better, other times it will overwhelm someone (especially if they keep insisting he's wrong and he loses his patience) and they won't be receptive.

Leo is surprisingly good at comforting others because he can empathize like Markus, but like Simon, he doesn't try to push a solution. He uses reassuring words and a soothing voice while employing compassion and understanding. It's one of the few things he is actually very good at.

Ralph is horrible at comforting others and just adopts their emotions in a moment of despair, often panicking. He empathizes too much and can't focus on the goal of making the other person feel better. Usually he ends up being the one in need of comfort.

Daniel used to be good at comforting others and did so much like Simon before deviating. However, since deviating, he doesn't have the patience and takes more of a tough love approach, telling the other person they need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and push through if they want things to get better. It doesn't usually work and only ends up frustrating both parties.

The Jerrys are excellent at comforting and do so in many of the same ways as Simon, but also use humor as a technique to calm others, especially children. It works to distract from the bad and help give the person in need of comfort a sense of bravery to face what they are struggling with.

Elianna tends to try and comfort others through empty reassurances and lots of "there there, it will be okay"s. She hasn't had to endure much hardship in her own life yet so finds it hard to empathize at the moment. That may change in the future but for now, she tries her best but is not great at comforting others.

Lysias doesn't really do comforting others. They can inspire loyalty or fear but not comfort. It's a weak spot for them.

Arda is excellent at comforting others, as it is part of her programming. She has a very unthreatening design, speaks with a soft, soothing, and almost ethereal voice, and can talk people through their insecurities to make sure they are calm.

Alma attempts to use logic to comfort others, which is only effective for certain types of people. Like Markus, his priority is solving the issue and he believes this will bring comfort. He struggles with the emotional aspect, but is not incapable of appealing to this side of people. It just is not his first thought. He may end up upsetting a person first before realizing his mistake and then making things better. Usually, with some persistence through trial and error, he can comfort or calm others eventually.

[flightfoot]

Convalescence Chapter 6

Week 3, Day 1

Harley’s POV

I sat in the back of Chiron’s car, fiddling with some pieces of metal, bored out of my mind. It’d been a LONG flight back from California and I just wanted to go home to my cabin and my siblings at this point. Don’t gt me wrong, I loved visiting my relatives up in Camp Jupiter, but it wasn’t home in the way Camp Half-blood was.

Chiron’s car was pretty new. All of us in the Hephaestus cabin had teamed up to build it for him for his last birthday, so he could drive even while in centaur form. Seeing his face when we presented it to him, the way his face crinkled and he choked up a bit… well it’s fun to make stuff. It’s even MORE fun to make stuff with my family. But seeing people’s faces when I give them something I helped make - that’s the best feeling of all.

Chiron cleared his throat. “So Harley, it’s been an eventful past few weeks. There’s something you should know before we arrive.”

Uh oh. That didn’t sound good.

Obviously it had been eventful lately, with fighting off the Emperors and the aftermath. I hoped everything had been okay…

“What is it?” I asked. “Is everyone okay?”

Chiron hesitated. “Well everyone is now. “

I frowned. So they weren’t before?

Chiron continued. “Apollo died during the final battle.”

“WHAT?!”

Apollo died? I hadn’t known him all that well, but I’d WANTED to get to know him better.

Chiron winced. “Please no shouting! He’s fine now. Meg - you remember Meg right? - she became a goddess and resurrected him. He’s a god again now, but the resurrection had some side effects. He was resurrected as an infant with no memories. He’s been gradually growing up and regaining them, but he’s still missing a lot. He’s at Camp Half-Blood now.”

I blinked, then shrugged. No stranger than my big brother coming back from the dead, or Apollo turning mortal in the first place. Life was weird.

“I’m guessing he doesn’t remember me then?” I asked.

“Probably not,” Chiron replied. “He recognizes his children - though he hasn’t realized that they ARE his children, he just seems to know that they’re family - Artemis, Meg, and his mother, Leto. Oh, and myself, vaguely. He’s been regaining his memories pretty quickly as he grows - he’s roughly the physical equivalent of a three-year-old, he’s been growing at the rate of a year per a week.”

So he’d be a LOT younger than me huh? Cool! I’d always been the baby of the camp, it’d be nice to have someone younger around, even if it was only for a little while.

Ooh, maybe I could be like an older brother! I’d always wanted to be an older brother, but no one younger had come to camp yet.

I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the ride, eager to see my friend again.

As soon as I arrived back at camp I ran over to the Apollo cabin.

I skidded to a stop at the entrance and knocked on the door. Every Camper learned early on to knock if they didn’t belong to that cabin. If the cabin’s inhabitants didn’t want them in there… well… let’s just say that they had ways of making their feelings known.

After a moment the door opened.

Austin blinked. “Harley? I’d forgotten you were coming back so soon. What are you doing here?”

“Chiron told me about Apollo and I wanted to see him! Is he here?”

Austin’s face broke into a smile. “Yeah. He had a rough time yesterday, but I have a feeling you’ll be able to cheer him up.”

A rough time? I hoped nothing bad had happened.

“Apollo!” Austin called, looking over his shoulder. “There’s someone here to see you!”

I heard sounds of someone scrambling upright. Moments later a small boy appeared in the doorway.

Like Chiron said, he looked about three-years-old, with curly blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He looked almost angelic.

Which immediately got my mind whirring. You can get away with SO many pranks if no one suspects you’d be the perpetrator.

Then he looked up at me and my train of thinking stopped.

Apollo looked miserable.

He shied away a minute after meeting my eyes, shrinking back as if to make himself look as small and unthreatening as possible. Which wasn’t hard, three-year-olds aren’t known for their intimidation.

“Hey, Apollo,” I asked gently. “Do you remember me?”

He shook his head.

He bit his lip, looking anxious. “Did I scare you too?”

Huh?

Where did that come from?

“What do you mean? Why would you scare me?”

He looked away again, screwing up his face, seeming to gather his courage. At last he spoke.

“Yesterday I tried to make friends with a satyr. And I thought I had! But then I told him my name and he ran off terrified. He told me later about something horrible I did to another satyr, something so bad little satyrs are told about it as a warning to not offend gods. He said he’d like to try being my friend but he was just too scared right then, that he kept hearing the screams of the satyr I killed. I didn’t like that I’d scared him. I don’t WANNA be scary.”

Ooooh. Right. Gods did some nasty things sometimes. I didn’t know what Apollo had done exactly, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d done some bad stuff. Killing a satyr was bad enough though.

But I didn’t believe Apollo would do anything like that now, and probably not for a long time. I’d been afraid and miserable before, believing I was responsible for some other people’s misfortune.

Apollo had helped me then. Now it was my turn.

“Hey Apollo, would you like to hear about how we became friends? I think it might help.”

Apollo sniffled a little, but looked more puzzled than miserable now. He nodded.

“One of my older brothers, Leo, had gone missing six months ago. Well, actually, he’d died and been catapulted into another dimension technically, but you’d given him the info and an ingredient he needed for the Physician’s Cure, so he was fine, he just hadn’t made it home yet. Do you remember him?”

Apollo closed his eyes and scrunched up his face. It was adorable. “I… think so? Is he short with pointy ears and does he tell a lot of bad jokes?”

I beamed. “That’s him!”

“Why am I picturing him dancing around like an insane ballerina while in only his boxers?”

I blinked. “Uhhh…”

I shook myself. “ANYWAY, Leo’d gone missing, and I’d been working on a homing beacon to help him find his way back. It hadn’t worked yet, obviously. But I wasn’t gonna give up. Not on Leo. But in the meantime, I was getting discouraged, so Chiron let me set up a three-legged race through the Labyrinth, filled with some of my deadly traps! Well, I joked about them being deadly, but I didn’t MEAN it. I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen, but then…”

I took a deep breath. This part was hard to talk about.

Austin leaned forwards and put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a comforting smile. “It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault, no one ever blamed you for it. It was Nero’s fault, and Nero’s alone.”

I gave him a tiny smile back. “Thanks.”

“Austin and Kayla both went missing during the race. I thought it was my fault. I walked over to apologize to you, crying, afraid for them, and afraid of what you’d do to me because they’d gone missing because of me. Do you know what you did?”

Apollo shook his head, wide-eyed.

“You told me it was alright, and asked to see my beacon, the one I’d built for Leo. I was afraid you might smash it in retaliation, sort of a ‘I can’t find my family, so you can’t find yours’ thing. But you didn’t. Instead you took it gently and fiddled with the settings, changing the frequency to one that Festus - Leo’s metal dragon, they went missing together - could hear better, in the hopes that it’d bring him back. And you told me something I’ve never forgotten. I asked you whether Festus would hear it now, and you said,”

“I don’t know. Just as you could not have known what the Labyrinth would do today. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. Never stop inventing, son of Hepheastus.”

I blinked away tears as I recounted Apollo’s words.

“What you said then meant a LOT to me. You could’ve blamed me. I blamed me. But you didn’t. You comforted me, told me it wasn’t my fault, told me not to give up, and not to let it stop me from doing what I loved.”

“So yeah, maybe I was a little scared of you before. But I’m not now. Because you saw a scared kid and decided to comfort him instead of yell at him. You helped bring back his sibling. You were kind, and gentle, and great, and I love being your friend.”

Apollo teared up and launched himself forwards, hugging me for all he was worth. I hugged him back.

I didn’t care about whatever he’d done a long time ago in the past. This Apollo was my friend, and I was gonna look after him.

…He’s gonna be older than you again in two months, my mind whispered.

Shut up me, we’re having a moment here.

[katurrade]

Come Back to Me - The Plan (6/?)

The Plan is part 6 of “Come Back to Me” an AU series. This takes place right at the end of Book 3 Chapter 10, following the bombing of the palace. In this story Chapters 11+ never happen. This is going to be a slightly angsty, slightly fluffy story and is following the story line that is Riley and Liam are engaged and are supposed to be getting married. This will start mainly from Riley’s POV but i will say when it is from someone else’s. This was written on my iphone and fyi each chapter will be pretty long! Tagged long post! Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, PB does. I’m just borrowing them.

Pairing: Liam x MC

Rating: PG. Just to be safe!

Summary: The friends hold a group meeting to determine a plan of action. Riley visits Liam in the hospital but finds him in the middle of a nightmare. Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 3,220 ish.

Tagged List: @blackcatkita @captain-kingliamsqueen @mrsdrakewalkerblog @umccall71 @hopefulmoonobject @speedyoperarascalparty @liam-rhys @melodiouskeys @theroyalweisme @alicars

Side Notes: If you would like to be added to the tagged list for this, I can make that happen ;)

Rileys POV - Day 4 (Morning)

Riley woke up to the sound of her alarm going off, instantly realizing she was in Liams bedroom at the palace. She groaned and reached out to shut it off. Not yet....I only just passed out! How is it morning already!?! She pulled his pillow over her face wishing she could just stay there. Taking a deep breath she caught his scent that lingered on it from the last time he had been in his bed....they had been in it. She sighed.

She had only arrived back from the hospital a few hours before but decided to attempt to get a little more sleep before the ‘group meeting’. When she couldn’t get comfy in her own bed she had gone to Liams hoping that would help. It had. But now all she wanted to do was stay there and sleep more. Couldn’t they have planned the meeting for the afternoon?!....Why did it have to be an early morning meeting!.....Damn these early morning people!

She thought about ditching it. Surely they’d understand and fill her in on the important details later! She grabbed her phone to text Drake, when the door to Liams room flung open...

“GOOD MORNING LITTLE BLOSSOM!!” Maxwell screamed as he entered the room with his arms stretched out, followed closely by their entire group of friends. She was so startled that she went to jump out of bed, but her feet were caught in the blankets and she fell flat on her face. Ending up in a crumpled pile on the floor.

“Oh my! Riley!” Hana exclaimed “Are you alright?!?” She said as she ran over to check on her.

“Way to go, Maxwell. We told you not to yell!” Drake glared at him as he said it.

“I’m sorry! ....I just got so excited! I haven’t seen Riley in a whole day!” Maxwell said sadly before his eyes widened “That’s 24 hours, Drake. Twenty. Four. Hours. ” he exclaimed as he lifted his hands, holding up 2 fingers on his right hand and 4 on his left, before forcefully thrusting them towards Drakes face to punctuate his words. Drake narrowed his eyes at him in responce “You’d better get your hands out of my face, Maxwell, or so help me god..” Maxwell gasped and instantly dropped his hands before mumbling something inaudible as he took a step back. Rileys loud, heavy sigh pulled everyones attention back to her.

“It’s okay, Maxwell. I should be used to this by now...” She groaned from inside her cocoon of bedding on the floor. With Hanas help she untangled herself from the mess of sheets and blankets, and stood up to sit on the edge of the bed, leaning forward with her hands on her knees as she willed her heart rate to go back to normal. “How did you guys even find me?” She grumbled out.

“It really wasn’t that hard, when we found your bed empty, this was the next place on the list!” Maxwell said matter-of-factly.

“Riiiiight. Makes sense....” she said as she raked a hand down her face. It did make sense. I should have just stolen his bedding and taken it to a spare room. They wouldn’t have found me for hours! Next time! I must remember that for next time!

Leo cleared his throat “Well, since we are all here, let’s get started, shall we...?”

Everyone nodded.

“I’ll start by saying thank you to everyone for being here toda-“

“Leo, this isn’t a courtly function, you don’t need to thank us...” Drake scoffed, cutting Leo off.

“Speak for yourself, Walker” Olivia glared at him as she crossed her arms “Some of us actually have busy schedules, and just finding the time to be here was difficult, to say the least.....but you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” She said with a wicked smirk.

Drake glared back at Olivia “Ha ha” he said sarcastically “Why, Olivia? Because I’m a commoner? You nobles are all the same” he rolled his eyes “....and busy schedule my as-“

“Guys, guys! Come on! Lets just get on with it already” Riley said frustratedly. She glared at them both before turning to Leo, nodding for him to continue.

“As I was saying, Thank you all for being here. We are here to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to Liam..”

The group talked......well argued for the next 2 hours before finally agreeing on a plan. They wanted to make sure he was given equal parts good and bad memories. It would be done in steps, one step per day, with an extra day in between the harder topics to give him a chance to come to terms with all the information. They had wanted to draw it out over a longer period of time, but Riley reminded them that he would be out of the hospital soon and expected to make a statement. Meaning, he would need to know everything by that point in order to not draw unwanted attention from the press.

First. Riley would tell Liam all about the social season, his Father stepping down due to illness and that he was now the King.

Second. Riley, Olivia, Maxwell, Hana and Drake would tell him about the scandal, the engagement tour, the investigation and the outcome.

Third. Riley would tell him all about their moments during the engagement tour with Madeleine, ending with the night they got engaged.

Fourth. Riley, Leo and Drake would tell him about the attacks and the investigation.

Fifth. Riley would tell him about their moments from the Unity Tour and the plans for their wedding.

Then finally, Sixth. Leo would tell Liam about the final attack and Constantine’s death.

“It’s fool proof!” Maxwell exclaimed

“With you helping ....let’s hope it is” Olivia chuckled while rolling her eyes.

“Hey!” Maxwell whined through a pouted lip.

“Oh, Maxwell. Don’t listen to her” Hana said as she rubbed his back “No one will ruin the plan, don’t worry!”

Riley stood up from the bed “Okay, I’m going to go to the hospital now, but while I have you all here, as you know we are planning to keep Liams amnesia quiet. To prevent it from being leaked to the press, we have set up a list of who is allowed in his room. You will all be on it along with the few doctors and specialists that need to be apart of his recovery. I just wanted to give you all a heads up before the Press Release”

Everyone nodded in acceptance.

“What happens in Liams rooms, stays in Liams rooms! You have our word!” Maxwell said with a chuckle as he raised his left hand up in a mock oath.

And with that everyone went their separate ways. Riley ran to her room to change before heading off to the hospital.

————————————

Liams POV - Day 4 (Dawn)

He grabbed the IPad off the table and opened up Safari. He thought back to Lady Hana’s words earlier that day ‘Riley Laurence’ she had said. He typed her name in then hit search, the page instantly filled with links.

He read down them until one caught his eye ‘Flirtatious Photos or Midnight Mix-up?’. He clicked the link finding a video of Tariq embedded in the article. Tariq?! ...What does he have to do with Lady Riley?!

He watched the video from start to finish. Which only told him that this all had something to do with some photos....A misunderstanding to do with rooms....A breach of privacy for which Lady Riley held no responsibility.....And that the Court had clearly treated her unkindly during the whole thing.

But the court treating her unkindly wasn’t news to Liam, he had lived at court his whole life. He knew how quickly they attacked at any indiscretion, at any sliver of misconduct.

Now he needed to know more about this ‘Mix-up’. The word made him laugh. That was clearly the presses way of downplaying what they had done to her. Trying to save face by using a small, unthreatening word like ‘Mix-up’, as if they had accidentally used salt instead of sugar in their morning coffee.

Just before he backed out of the page, a sentence caught his eye ‘Neither King Liam nor his fiancée, Duchess Madeleine have made an official statement yet, stay tuned for more as this unfolds’

Wait....WHAT? K-King Liam?!? ....His fiancee....Madeleine? But...but... how?! I-I-I’m engaged to....Riley? ..Aren’t I?!

.....Dr. Young had originally used ‘Your Majesty’...and the face he made when I corrected him...it all makes sense now. But what about my father? Did he step down?! He hasn’t come to visit me once since I woke up....he wouldn’t have stepped down without a reason...either he was ill...or, or worse....?

This was all to much. His head was spinning, he felt like he was going to throw up due to the headache that had now set up shop in his skull. He had so many questions. So many concerns. Get it together, Liam. You’re a Prin—King?... he didn’t know but he knew he had to focus his energy on one topic at a time.

He willed himself to focus, he had set out originally to figure out what happened to Riley before New York. He would do that first, then move on to the topic of him being the King and why the hell Madeleine was his fiancee. Leaving the questions about his Father to when Leo visited next. Leo hadn’t said anything about their Father and he wanted to believe he would have if something bad had happened to him.

He shook his head. This is clearly nothing more then my imagination, Father obviously stepped down because he wanted to....and he clearly just hasn’t visited because he was thrusted back into duty given that the ......possible, current King was sitting in this damn hospital bed. Yes, that makes more sense. Sort of ..

He had to think logically, he forced himself to. He took a few deep calming breaths then backed out of the page and continued down till he saw the link he was looking for “Prince Humiliated by Unfaithful Suitor!” His heart was beating rapidly as he starred at the title for a moment before finally clicking the link.

When he first saw the photos of Tariq in Rileys room, a pang of jealousy overtook him. But as he began to read down the article about how she had ‘humiliated him’ that jealousy turned to anger.

After watching the video he knew nothing in this article was true, he should have stopped there, he should have put the IPad down, but he couldn’t. He kept reading the article and the comments at the bottom from his people.

They called her unspeakable names. She clearly went through so much ...for him. She had her privacy violated, photos of her in her underwear plastered the web. Her image ruined, her name tarnished. Her morals called into question because she was an ‘American’. It enraged him, all this because she came here to take a shot at being with him.

He slammed the IPad down on the table.

He didn’t want to look up anything else, the thought of what she had gone through, crushed him. He wished he could remember. All he wanted was to remember!

He laid there in frustration for a while before the exhaustion finally took over and he passed out.

———————————

Rileys POV - Day 4 (Mid-Day)

She arrived at the hospital shortly before lunch time. She had stopped at the bakery to pick up some cronuts on her way over. She wanted to use them as an icebreaker into the conversation about their ‘moments’ together.

As she walked up to Liams room she saw Bastien standing guard. “Oh! Bastien, Welcome back! Did Mara give you a copy of the list?” She said. He bowed to her “Thank you, Your Grace. It is great to be back. Yes, she filled me in and gave me the list” he said. “Perfect! If you happen to see Mara can you tell her I am here, please?” She said. He nodded “Of course, Your Grace”.

Mara had been at the hospital all morning informing all the guards of the strict new policies. Riley had been guarded by Mara’s right hand man, Thomas, all morning. He was basically a male version of Mara. Diligent, very highly trained, loyal and he had just a hint of humour, enough to make her feel comfortable in his presence. Like she could just be herself with him, she trusted him entirely.

After finding out everything was in order and Bastien was healthy and up to date on the plan, she turned her attention to Liams door. Taking a deep breath she knocked lightly, but when she didn’t get a response she opened the door quietly and peeked in.

Liam was asleep, she tiptoed in and shut the door quietly, as to not disturb him. She gingerly walked towards his bed placing the box of cronuts down on the table next to it. Wanting to take a moment just to stare at him, pretend the last few days hadn’t happened. That he was just sleeping and would wake up with a “Good Morning, my love.” But she knew he wouldn’t.

Upon approaching him she noticed a frown on his face, he was mumbling in his sleep and she figured he was having a bad dream. She fought with the idea to gently wake him up, but was worried how he would handle that.

Before she could think anymore about it, her body made the choice for her. Her hand reached out and cupped his jaw. Her thumb lightly caressing his cheek. His heart was racing, his breathing was quick. Too quick. Something was really upsetting him.

“Shhh, Liam. It’s okay” she softly said. Trying to gently ease him awake. “You’re safe. It’s okay..”

His eyes shot open and the look on his face was pure panic. He clenched his jaw and she quickly removed her hand “I’m so sorry......I didn’t mean to freak you out! I shouldn’t have....” She trailed off as she took a step back.

“Riley ...” he whispered through laboured breaths as his eyes settled on her.

———————————

Liams POV - Day 4 (Mid-Day)

He found himself once again in a ballroom, but this time there were no assassins. No guns. No fighting for his life.

He was standing next to his father and Regina in front of the whole court. It was his Coronation Ball, he was about to declare who his future Queen would be. He knew exactly who he was going to choose. She was his only choice. There was no other. There never would be.

When in the corner of his eye he sees a Royal Advisor approach Constantine and Regina to whisper something to them. “If you’ll excuse us one moment” Regina says before following the Advisor and Constatine to the back of the raised dais they were standing on.

He turns around to see what is going on when his Father waves him over. The Advisor informs them of an article that has just been released to the press, with photos showing Lady Riley in an intimate moment with Lord Tariq.

Lady Riley and Tariq?! No. That can’t be! At first Liam was caught off guard, he was outraged, jealousy coursed through him at the thought. But that went away quickly as he remembered his talk with Drake about the missing lock on Rileys door. And of the note she showed him earlier, the threat.

They turn back around to the sound of the crowds phones going off, one by one. The gasps and whispers start right after. He pulls his phone out to look, and sees a headline ‘Prince Humiliated by Unfaithful Suitor!’ He doesn’t even bother to open it. He knows now without a doubt that she has been set up.

“Where is Lady Riley?” He yells. He needs to speak to her. To find her. He starts searching the crowd for any sign of her.

Then he notices the commotion, three guards dragging her and the Beaumont brothers towards the doors, while a few other guards stop Drake and Hana from following. He can tell Drake is pissed, knowing the same information Liam does. “Riley!” He screams, shock evident in his voice.

He sees her yell something but can’t make out what she says over all the chaos and noise in the ballroom. He is panicking now. He needs to get to her, but before he can, Regina speaks “Given the circumstances, I’m sure Lady Riley has withdrawn from consideration” No! This is all a misunderstanding! She is NOT withdrawn from consideration! She is the ONLY one I’d ever pick! The only one I’d ever marry! He turns to Regina to say “But... I need to speak to her!” To which Regina quickly pulls him aside.

“You can’t speak to her now, Liam, you know that!” Regina whispers in a stern tone.

“But Regina, this is all a misunderstanding! She was set up! I need to speak to Lady Riley, now!” He commands.

“Liam, whether she was set up or not, there is nothing we can do at the moment. However, if she was set up, someone wanted her gone. She isn’t safe here, and you speaking to her could only put her further into harms way. You must get ahold of your emotions, not only for your sake but for hers as well.”

Liam says nothing as they both turn back to the crowd. He knows Regina is right. Lady Riley could be in FAR worse trouble if he were to chase after her.....to choose her. Right then he knows what he has to do. He had to protect her at all costs.

He tries to get his emotions in check. To steel himself. After a few calming breaths he nods to his Father to continue. “And now, Prince Liam must make his choice”

The words gut him. This isn’t ‘his choice’. She is ‘his choice’. No, this is very much someone else’s choice. Someone else has made this decision for him. He can feel the rage coming back, he can’t keep all his emotions together. His face tells one story but his clenched fists tell another as he says the words he never wanted to say “I choose... Lady Madeleine”

As Madeleine is walking up to the stage something touches his face. A hand? As a thumb caresses over his cheek he can feel himself being pulled from the ballroom.

He hears a calming voice “Shhh, Liam. It’s okay”. That’s Rileys voice. “You’re safe. It’s okay..” He quickly opens his eyes, he is breathing hard and fast. His heart is pounding in his chest. It was just a nightmare. Another nightmare....or was it?! Was this a memory?! Is that what really happened? It felt so real. Like I was actually there! He clenched his jaw. But his panicked thoughts were instantly cut off by her quickly removing her hand from his face.

“I’m so sorry......I didn’t mean to freak you out! I shouldn’t have....” She trailed off as she took a step back. He realized she thought she was the reason he was panicking. In a round about way she was, but it had nothing to do with her waking him up. Actually, he was thankful she woke him up when she did. He didn’t want to be in that nightmare any longer.

He had to make sure she knew it was okay. He had to find out if it was in fact a memory.... though he hoped it wasn’t. “Riley ...” he whispered through laboured breaths as his eyes settled on her. Trying to catch his breath “It’s okay, you didn’t freak me out...” he assured her “..but I need you to tell me what happened at my Coronation Ball...”

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Chapter 7 - HERE.

[thesinglesjukebox]

PLAYBOI CARTI FT. LIL UZI VERT - WOKEUPLIKETHIS* [7.00] goddamn goddamn

Alfred Soto: Cheerfully insistent about its chowderheadness, "wokeuplikethis*" is the Playboi Carti ethos at its simplest. The title hook's wish fulfillment gains charm every time it comes around. [8]

Crystal Leww: Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert each made one of the five or so songs that I heard New York City go off to my first summer here. Was it inevitable that this was going to be a banger? Probably, but 'wokeuplikethis*' is so playful, so fun, so full of life and personality that even a fan like me wouldn't have guessed it. [9]

Ryo Miyauchi: Words don't retain much of their substance in "wokeuplikethis*." Carti's instead all energy that obscures words into blurred shapes, like what the world looks like out the window of a speeding bullet train: there's something impressionistic about his singles. The frequency at which his hook appears might make it a chorus, but such distinction isn't too reliable as the refrain also quickly melts into the scene at large. What's most telling of how elusive Carti can be is this: the only remotely vivid line here is one that's really not his, one Uzi Vert also later clarifies its origins, and that Dem Franchise Boyz nod by Uzi alone tells so much more about him than whatever Carti told in his minute and a half. [7]

Julian de Valliere: There's something strangely inspiring about Playboi Carti chucking out a four minute song that mostly comprises of him lackadaisically repeating the same assertion again and again. I'm choosing to understand "wokeuplikethis*" as Carti being so unthreatened by his copiers that the only energy he's willing to expend on them is a clapback that sounds like the audio equivalent of him rolling his eyes and buzzing for security. Uzi's guest verse adds a bit more merit to this interpretation ("No I cannot see a lame/'cause my Rolls Royce got curtains") -- which is great because I love being right, but also because for the most part, it's this attitude that makes the song. Hashtag-goals, as the saying goes. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: Average bass kicks. Average rattling hi-hats. Flat palm claps. Flat whistling synths. Average raps by Carti. Bleh raps by Uzi. Shrug rap. [3]

Maxwell Cavaseno: The voice as irritant. The synth as irritant. The rapper as irritant. The drone as irritant. The Leo as irritant (YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH!). Capitalism as irritant. Violence as irritant. Pride as irritant. Masculinity as irritant. Motion as irritant. Memetic as irritant. Co-opting as irritant. Young Scooter_-_annoying_(ft._future_&_waka_flocka_flame).m4a as framework, even if "Mr. Me Too" is the thesis. It's great. [8]

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