#like i knew i want gonna be able to go for a variety of reasons so i was like ‘welp that sucks but its okay’

[beloveds-embrace]

Fuck it, we ball, I hope that disrespectful anon gets hemorrhoids and they can't get them removed until next year, AND that their insurance doesn't cover it. I'm here thinking about your Omega idea where omegas normally do the pursuing, but with a slight twist; the boys being the omegas. An alpha who is for sure down bad for the boys, but thinks "ah, theyre out of my league, I should be aiming lower, manage my expectations". Only 141 is just as down bad for them, and they're doing everything just short of screaming "PICK UP ON THE HINTS, COME INTO OUR HOUSE AND BEDS AND LIVES AND STAY FOREVER PLEASE"

Johnny is about to say fuck decorum and just show up in reader's house wearing nothing but a ribbon and a tag that says 'free to a good home' (your home is the good one, please keep him, there is no receipt so you can't return him).

Price has the brain cell normally in terms of trying to gently coax you into getting you to say you're into them, he has a 15 step plan that may or may not involve using his various contacts to get you spending more time in close proximity to them. Also he for some reason is always baking, he always comes over asking you for sugar? (He'll take any kind of 'sugar' you're willing to offer, he loves making a variety of cream pies)

Gaz is always gently inviting them to attend 'friend' things, things that could be a date but that he can excuse as 'well we're coworkers/friends/neighbors, we should get along :)'. It's just a coincidence that various other people seem to bail except for any of the other boys, now why don't you sit beside him so you guys can share popcorn at the movies (you both always seem to be reaching for it at the same time, if your fingers touched anymore you might as well be holding hands)

Simon is chasing off any omegas he thinks are a threat to them getting reader, that is THEIR alpha, paws OFF (rip to anyone reader was halfheartedly going on dates with, this man is gonna become those people's sleep paralysis demon)

Hope you enjoy!! :3 💕💕 i lovedddd writing this sm omg

See, the thing is, you’d always thought of yourself as a decent Alpha. Not overbearing, not egotistical, not a demanding freak- just capable and steady. But you weren’t extraordinary. Not the kind of Alpha Omegas like them would look at twice. And so, while you worked alongside the men of Task Force 141 you convinced yourself to be content with just admiring them from a distance.

You couldn’t help it. They were perfect, as far as you were concerned. Perfect, and fully out of your league.

Surely, Omegas like them would want someone better. Someone stronger. You’d told yourself that so many times it was practically your mantra, the only way you’d be able to stop yourself from pursuing them. They deserved someone more charismatic, more confident- an Alpha who could match their brilliance. Not someone like you, fumbling through conversations with them, struggling to keep your feelings in check.

But they’d already decided. They didn’t need a flashy Alpha or someone who tried too hard. What they wanted was you. The only problem? You didn’t seem to realize it, no matter how obvious they made it.

John took the lead, naturally. He knew you were cautious and perhaps a little insecure when it came to relationships (it was fucking visible in you, silly Alpha. He scoffs each time you draw back, frustrated), so he made it his mission to draw you in- slowly and subtly. His plan was meticulous: get you comfortable, build trust, and create opportunities for you to spend more time with them so you’d see that they only want you.

Maybe then you’d break out of that stupid shell you’ve put yourself in.

He’d started baking regularly, a habit you hadn’t even known he had. At least once a week, he’d show up at your place with a tin of cookies, a loaf of fresh bread, or a perfectly golden pie. “Thought I’d share,” he’d say casually, though the slight smirk tugging at his lips told a different story. He peers at you, letting his scent coil just a bit more. “I hope you don’t mind the amount of cream. I happen to like cream pies a lot.”

The way to an Alpha’s heart is through their stomach, and all that.

If he wasn’t offering you baked goods, he was asking for your help to make said baked goods. “Ran out of sugar again,” he’d sigh, handing you an empty container. “Mind sparing a bit?”

It was ridiculous, downright unbelievable how often he supposedly ran out of baking supplies. But his visits became a highlight of your week, and the lingering looks he gave you left your heart pounding long after he was gone.

The one time he’d handfed you, watching you lick the syrup from his fingers with half-lidded eyes, still lives in your mind rent-free.

Kyle took a softer, more personal approach. He wasn’t above using the pretense of friendship to spend time with you, often inviting you to casual dates- grabbing coffee, going to the movies, or just walking through town and shopping. Every invitation was framed innocently, but there was always a little extra effort behind it. He’d pick a movie he knew you’d like, suggest places he knew you’d find interesting, and ensure that others you unfortunately knew joined just enough to make it seem less like a date.

Somehow, though, those other people always mysteriously canceled. It was never anything dramatic- just a sudden cold, a scheduling conflict, or a “something came up, sorry.” Eventually, it would be just you and a very smug Kyle, sitting close enough that your knees brushed or reaching for popcorn at the same time. Once, right as the bowl emptied and you both reached for it, Kyle simply thought fuck it and held your hand.

On one occasion, you both shared a bowl of spaghetti and ended up with the scene from the Lady and the Tramp.

It was so painfully obvious to everyone.

Except you.

“It’s not a coincidence,” Kyle muttered to Johnny one evening after you left, both of them sitting in the spot you were in, bathing in the leftover warmth and scent. “How can they not notice?”

Speaking of Johnny; he’s barely keeping himself together. Subtlety in missions are a must sometimes, but he doesn’t want to that with you anymore. He was just so, so, so frustrated with your obliviousness. What more does he need to do to show you that he- that they- want you?

He’s been dropping so many hints; half-jokes about Omegas waiting begging to be swept off their feet, suggestive winks when you compliment him in that lovely, adoring tone of yours. Once, while watching a romantic tv show, he’d sighed loudly and very pointedly said: “If only someone would claim me.”

“If ye don’t figure it out soon,” he growled at the others one night, pacing back and forth like a wild beast and probably on his way to leave a dent in the carpet, “I’m showin’ up at their doorstep with nothin’ but a red bow, like some bloody Christmas prezzie, I swear to god.”

John sighs, rolling his eyes. “You do that, and I’m leaving you on their porch.”

“That’s exactly what I’m askin’ for!”

Simon took the quietest but most direct approach. Just not exactly direct towards you. While the others worked to get closer to you, Simon focused on eliminating what he saw as obstacles: other Omegas who thought you were free for the taking. It didn’t matter if they were serious or just someone you’d gone on a casual date with- Simon saw them all as threats.

He didn’t have to say much to scare them off. A single cold glare from across the room, sharp bursts of his scent, or a low, menacing comment was usually enough to send them packing. He didn’t care if it was excessive.

You were his Alpha. You were their Alpha, and no one else had a right to you.

But even Simon softened when it came to you. He couldn’t put all his thoughts, all his feelings into words, so he did them with his actions. Quiet protectiveness, gentle, careful touches. Moments of fleeting vulnerabilities shared between you and him.

He was always there for you. Even if you didn’t know you need him with you.

Still, despite all their efforts, you remained convinced that they weren’t interested.

In the end, to no one’s surprise, it’s Johnny who snaps. Johnny, so close to his heat, so absolutely done with your obliviousness and the Omegas that aren’t them talking with you when you should be only focused on them.

He doesn’t care; leaves the carefully made nest with your stolen shirts and none of the others stop him when he just. Drags your surprised self to the nest.

“Johnny! You-“

“I want you.” He hisses, bares his teeth all sharp and desperate. “We want you. And damn it, we will have you.”

And well, who are you to even say no when this is all you have wanted?

[one-piece-aus]

Unbottle Your Emotions

Eustass Kid x Reader (Part 2)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Ahoy, here with Part 2 of this series. Quick A/N that if Apoo is ooc, I don't care. This story is about Eustass Kid :3 Enjoy ^-^

"Yo yo yo! How are my favourite non-party people doing?"

"Hi Apoo," you greeted the DJ who slung his long arms around you and Hawkins.

Apoo's the extrovert friend that adopted you and Hawkins. At first, you didn't understand why he decided to hang around you guys until he admitted he felt excluded by the social crowd in school. You and Hawkins had let him be a part of the conversation and he liked being around you guys after getting to know you. He invited both of you to a few of his parties but then realized you weren't party people, hence the nickname.

"Greetings Scratchman, are you planning to join us for lunch?" Hawkins asked Apoo while you closed your locker.

"You know it," Apoo replied and took his arms off your shoulders, aware you didn't like physicalness for too long. "Where we heading?"

"We're going to the vegan restaurant Hawkins wanted to try," you answer as the three of you head out of the school.

"What?" Apoo look at you dumbfounded. "I thought you didn't like that stuff [N/n]."

"[Y/n] had been partnered with Eustass in English and their last conversation left her not wanting to face the redhead again, so she asked me to get her stuff and we're going to the restaurant as her returning the favour," Hawkins explained to Apoo.

"Oh, you're partnered with Kid?" Apoo looked to you for a response. Seeing you only nod, made him switch topics. "... Hm, to the restaurant we go. What's going to be served there anyway? Salads?"

"You are aware vegans eat more than just vegetables," Hawkins stated with an unamused expression, though to those who pass by, he still kept the same face.

"My bad." Apoo held up his hands in defence. "But you can't blame a guy for thinking vegans just eat rabbit food."

Hawkins would've glared at the DJ if not for you giggling, seeing you amused made him let it slide for now. "Rest assured, there are a variety of dishes you'll be able to choose from."

"We'll see about that," you said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yo, the coconut cheese nachos were da bomb!" Apoo exclaimed as he exited the restaurant. "Who knew vegan food taste so good!"

"Ehhh, I still prefer my burgers," you teased the blond who held the door.

"I'm at least grateful you gave it a try, even if it was for paying back a favour," Hawkins said, letting the door close and joining your side.

"Yeah, yeah." You waved it off.

Your mood has picked up since this morning, practically forgetting what had happened in the first place. You suppose you could thank Apoo for his infectious upbeat vibe. Despite how annoying he can be, it's nice to have someone who can distract you from stressful things in life.

"Next time I'm picking where we eat!" Apoo declared walking backwards in front of you and Hawkins.

"Sure, do me a favour sometime and we'll go." You smiled. "Just as long as it's not you trynna sneak us into a club with a bar again."

"Aw right!" Apoo threw his arm up. "Trust me guys when I say, you are gonna love- Oof!" He stumbled forward when he bumped into something, or rather, someone.

"Watch where you're going," a blue-haired guy said.

"Yo-" Apoo turned around, his defensive mode switched on. "Maybe if you didn't stand around blocking the sidewalk I wouldn't have to," he "countered".

You deadpanned, it's not the first you've seen Apoo puff his pride to where you can hardly tell the difference between him and a barking chihuahua, it just gets old after so many times. Perhaps this attitude of his is the main reason he's excluded from the social crowd at school. Though, it never bothered you much since you knew it wasn't real beef, and Hawkins... tolerated it? Well, he never brought it up so you can only assume as much.

Hawkins rolled his eyes and passed by the two. "Leave it, Scratchman."

"Come on, Apoo." You walked by him and patted the other's shoulder. "Sorry about him."

"Yo, can't you see I'm not the one at fault here?" Apoo questioned you guys.

"People who don't watch their surroundings get killed." The guy glared at Apoo, and that's when you recognized who this guy was. He's Heat from Kid's gang, which means the rest are nearby.

No... no no no. You already didn't want to bump into Kid again, being in range of his anger is so much worse. The thought alone caused stress to weigh on your mind. Haistly, you spun on your heels.

"You threatening me or some- hey!" Apoo didn't finish when you grabbed his arm and scrambled to get away. "Ayo, what gives [Y/n]?"

"Go. Go! Before-"

"What's the going on here?"

Fear ceased your haste, and colour drained from your skin. You knew the voice belonged to Kid before you turned around, though it didn't surprise you that the rest of his crew followed in company. Seems like they came out of one of the restaurants.

"Nuh- nothing! My friend just accidentally bumped into your buddies, sorry about that." You bow to show your respect as you apologize, nudging Apoo to do the same.

"What? I ain't apologizing." Apoo frowned at you.

Kid got ready to pick a bone when he saw you throw a deadly glare at Scratchman while gripping the guy's arm and not two seconds later it had Scratchman saying sorry. He eyed you, intrigued, the actions you just displayed shined a different side of you he had not seen in English class. You gave off the impression you were an academic scatterbrain, then he found out you listen to metal which confused him. You seemed too submissive and agreeable to be into something so hardcore. That glare you threw at Apoo told another story. You were strange, he couldn't figure you out. Perhaps there's more to uncover.

Kid narrowed his eyes at you as if staring at a puzzle. "You should hang out with other classmates, [L/n]."

"It's not like anyone else wants to be around me," you muttered to yourself, not knowing Kid picked it up. "We'll be leaving now, have a good day Eustass." You flashed a soft smile at him.

Little did you know the effect your smile would have on Kid would start something.

[marshmallowprotection]

Saeran's overstimulated. He's never been to a crowded amusement park before and Saeyoung's letting him rest and recuperate. But, look at Saeyoung with that tall strawberry parfait! I know he's gonna share with Saeran because strawberries are his favorite treat. I know that's the reason why he picked it out. He could get any treat in the park to eat and he chooses the one his brother wants so he can take one bite and then give Saeran the rest.

I don't think I've seen Saeyoung in that green jacket in forever, either. It's my favorite one for him, though.

Yoosung, who is going to eat all of those corn dogs you got? I know your tummy won't be able to handle that many corn dogs.

I am not surprised he picked a simple vanilla swirl. He wouldn't love a lot of variety in his treats. He is a simple man and he doesn't need the works on his ice cream. Sprinkles and vanilla? Perfect. But, it's nice to see a big heart-laced grin on Zen's face, too.

"You mean to tell me they've coated this strawberry in a simple glaze of sugar? Interesting. I'm intrigued. Who came up with the idea in the first place? Who knew sugar would harden just enough to create this sugary coating? It has a fine layer which suggests to me that this is a trade secret, known only to the theme park and its chefs."

JAEHEE TAKING A PHOTO OF THE GROUP, NOT JUST ZEN, BUT HERSELF AS WELL AS SHE MAKES IT CLEAR TO HER HEART SHE'S A MEMBER OF THE RFA AS WELL, NOT JUST THERE DUE TO HER PROXIMITY TO JUMIN. THESE ARE HER FRIENDS. SHE'S HAVING FUN.

JIHYUN CAME HOME WITH THE MILK. HE'S FINALLY INCLUDED IN THE PHOTOS AGAIN! I was afraid the last one might be a one off encounter. LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT HIM! OH MY GOD, IT'S SO NICE TO SEE HIM. But, wait a minute, enhance on the camera screen! At first glance, I thought it was a photo of the twins because of the red glare and white glare on opposing sides, but as I stare at it, It looks more like a window with tall hedges.

Last but not least, the MC is here!

[breithenua]

Probably gonna get some Sakura haters (probably including the misogynist troll variety, kill me now lmao) on this post but... here goes.

Rewatching the episodes where the majority of the Konoha 11 decide to "deal with" Sasuke and the fallout from that. And well, I think people's reaction to Sakura's "confession of love" to Naruto is unfair.

Yes, it was emotionally manipulative of her. Yes, if it had worked it would've resulted in a relationship based upon a lie. Yes, she hurt Naruto with that attempted manipulation. And yes, she's normally smarter than to think that's a good idea.

But y'all forget how emotionally broken she was at the time. She'd just gone through witnessing the entire village of Konoha being razed to the ground. People she had been treating at the time probably died in that Shinra Tensei attack (yes they were brought back afterwards but it was still traumatic). Her sensei and the 5th Hokage was in a coma that no one knew if she'd ever come out of. Danzo had just undermined and replaced Tsunade as Hokage, with her still being in a coma and being unable to defend herself from being deposed in any way, and then basically sent out a kill order on Sasuke. Sasuke, the man she's loved since she was a child, that she begged to not leave Konoha, had been directly involved in *two* different missions to bring him back, both failed, one of which was only a few weeks earlier and they had come *this* close to making it to him in time. Sasuke, the man she had only just found out had joined the Akatsuki and "kidnapped" Killer Bee, making Danzo's order all but justified. Sasuke, the man Naruto just willingly got the shit beat out of by Hidden Cloud ninja, in an attempt to appeal to their senses of mercy in regards for Sasuke. She has to be feeling absolutely powerless at this point. Afterall, she wasn't able to do much during Pain's assault (or probably at least perceived herself that way), can't do anything to help her comatose mentor, can't do anything to stop Danzo from taking over her mentor's position, and so far has been unable to bring back Sasuke. She feels powerless.

And then Sai comes up and tells her that she's part of the reason Naruto is in so much pain over Sasuke. That his promise to her to bring back Sasuke is causing Naruto even more pain and his shouldering of that burden is getting ever harder. And mind you, Naruto only recently lost his greatest mentor. And she's told that the rest of the Ninja of her generation (with the exception of her and Naruto obvs) have decided that they'll go and kill Sasuke themselves to avert war with the Hidden Cloud.

Sakura is incredibly fragile at this point in the story. And now she's told that she's causing one of her closest comrades and friends immense pain, and that said comrade's love for her is only intensifying that pain. She's feeling like a failure in *multiple* ways at this point, she's terrified she's going to lose her mentor, and her lifeling love interest, and she's struggling with the fact that her peers in the Konoha 11 *might actually have a point* in thinking everyone would be better off if Sasuke were dead. She's under so much emotional distress from so many sources, feeling guilty for not being able to bring her sensei put of her coma, not being able to stop Danzo from taking over as Hokage, not being able to stop Danzo from issuing an order to hunt down and kill Sasuke, etc etc. And there's nothing she can do about any of it. But she perceives that there is at least *one* thing she can do something about: The pain that Sai just told her she was putting Naruto through. And in her desperation and guilt, she decides she's going to sacrifice her own happiness and aid in killing Sasuke, and is willing to give Naruto what he's wanted from her for a large portion of their childhoods as extra insurance that he'll give up on aaving Sasuke.

No, her and Naruto probably would not have been happy in the long run in a relationship built upon a lie like that. But again, she's not in a stable emotional state right now. She's probably not thinking long-term consequences. She tries to put on an act to convince him of it.

My point being that yes, maybe normally she'd be smarter than that. But there were a lot of extenuating circumstances that affected her emotional stability and judgement in those few episodes.

Not only that, but something I neglected to mention earlier in this post is that *she is a child* at this point. A teenager yes, but still a child. Her emotional maturity (outside of moments of cartoon gag violence, which imo should be given a pass considering the medium and the genre) is incredible for someone of her age at this point, sure, but at the end of the day she is still a child soldier in a world without mental health professionals and therapists. Under the pressure of what she was going through at the time, just about anyone of any age would have likely snapped, much more so someone that's only 16.

I have my issues with how Kishimoto writes Sakura, but this particular incident is not one of them for me.

[aeoki]

Number Eight - Tripping: Chapter 7

Characters: Rinne, HiMERU, Kohaku & Niki Location: Los Angeles Townscape

TL Note:

A pure culture of an organism is a culture which is obtained from a single strain having no contamination of other strains of organisms. Basically, Niki is trying to say that Rinne was raised in a pure environment, free from other influences/culture.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< After some time. >

HiMERU: Three hours left. It seems “Number Eight” is finally coming to an end.

Niki: Let’s hurry and find the goal while Rinne-kun’s resting in the car.

Kohaku: Where are the clues for the goal hidin’, anyway? I wish we had somethin’ more specific.

Rinne: Sorry to make ya wait, guys!

HiMERU: That voice–

Niki: Rinne-kun! You’re finally awake. Are you feeling okay?

Rinne: You betcha. Rinne-kun slept like a baby, so he’s in tip-top condition ☆

Kohaku: Thank goodness… Still, it’s rare to see you sleep for that long.

Did you feel like a fish out of water?

Rinne: Probably. The water and air was just so different here, so I guess I must’ve used up more energy than I’d thought.

But who knew we had this sorta weakness~? Man, I’ve never been more envious of Niki’s sturdy stomach.

Niki: There’s a lot of nature back in your hometown, right, Rinne-kun~? It’s kinda like pure culture[⁎].

Rinne: I don’t wanna hear that from you. There aren’t that many things that can rival your purity, Niki. Or in terms of cooking, anyway.

Well, I’m sure the only reason I got used to living in the big city was all thanks to your cooking. But now that I’m overseas…

I ended up passing out due to starvation and lack of sleep. Haven’t done that in a while.

Dunno if someone cast a spell on me or something, but I found myself at our destination when I woke up.

You guys can’t drive, right? If you guys committed a crime, then even I can’t help you then, ya know?

HiMERU: Don’t worry. We came up with a plan for that.

You should be able to understand what happened if we told you we borrowed a staff member’s phone and used all our money to call a towing car over.

In any case, we need to find the goal.

But we don’t have any clues. There hasn’t been any new information from the tablet, either.

Kohaku: “Go back the path you came and find the goal”... the mission itself sounds simple, but we’re stumped because we don’t have any clues.

Niki: We should have more luck if we had some clues~

Rinne: Oh? You guys really have no idea?

There was a huge clue on the way here.

Niki: Wha? You sound like you know where the goal is, Rinne-kun.

Rinne: You betcha. Don’t underestimate Rinne Amagi-kun the genius…☆

I know exactly what the mean “Number Eight” staff are thinking!

HiMERU: You mean on the way here? Don’t tell me, you’re talking about that?

That banner that was at the place we landed on with the parachutes…?

It had “COME HERE” on it, didn’t it? You’re saying that wasn’t a landing point, but a clue hinting towards our goal?

Rinne: Perfect answer ☆ I’d expect no less from you, Merumeru!

I can be a bit mean, ya know~? I had a lightbulb moment when I saw the tablet saying “go back the path you came”.

It’s pretty convenient for a variety TV show to have both the starting point and the finishing point at the same place, right?

Kohaku: That’s true. It makes sense when you think about all the ridiculous things we’ve been through. They were plannin’ on confusin’ us even further by givin’ us that hint.

Niki: And they wouldn’t be villains if they just gave us a hint from the very beginning. You could even say it’d be our fault if we failed to notice it.

Rinne: If we couldn’t reach the goal, then they could laugh in our faces too.

Gyahaha. That sounds pretty funny in itself, though.

“The problem children of the idol industry fail to notice the clue at the starting point and wander around in circles on the West Coast!”

But we ain’t gonna fall for their trap.

We’re currently in a clean era, where anyone can say whatever they want on social media. They want to be a villain who wants to feel satisfied after arguing with those with differing opinions.

They only care about themselves. We’re in an era where everyone wants to win – they want to argue and eliminate the foreign matter…

If a villain doesn’t exist, then they’ll find another to use for their own satisfaction.

It makes you wonder where the real evil is, huh? Let’s hit back and do a proper job of saying NO to those opinions.

We’ll reach “Number Eight’s” goal, and we’ll sing our hearts out with love and peace. And the ones who are allowed to do that are us, “Crazy:B”, right?

HiMERU: Hehe. You’ve got quite the silver tongue. You said it loud enough for the staff behind the cameras to hear as well.

If you’ve had a good rest, then all that’s left to do is to head towards the goal.

Once again, we’ll be counting on you to drive. You’ll do it, won’t you, Amagi?

Rinne: ‘Course, I will. Right now, the word “impossible” doesn’t exist in my dictionary!

If they’re tellin’ us to “COME HERE”, then we’ll have to do just that…☆

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[bi-bard]

You'll Always Be a Flower on my Skin and the Pain that I Am In - Daisy Jones Imagine [Daisy Jones & the Six]

Title: You'll Always Be a Flower on my Skin and the Pain that I Am In

Pairing: Daisy Jones X Reader

Based On: Your Needs, My Needs

Word Count: 1,812 words

Warning(s): LOOK HERE! addiction, unhealthy relationship, overdose, mention of sexual assault

Summary: (Y/n) and Daisy are two broken people that had learned to rely on each other. However, at what point does support become reliance? When does helping become enabling? What do you do when the person that probably saved you becomes the very reason that you haven't been able to save yourself?

Author's Note: THIS IS IMPORTANT! This is a story that I've been wanting to tell for a while, not specifically about this character, but in general. I've hesitated for a very long time out of fear of a variety of things. It is a heavy story and if you have any history with addiction (yourself or your friends/family/etc.), then I would advise that you skip this one. Thank you.

STICK SEASON (WE'll ALL BE HERE FOREVER) WRITING CHALLENGE MASTERLIST

----------------------

When I first met Daisy, we were in the crowd at the same concert.

We were both young and stupid kids trying to escape whatever was waiting for us outside of the venue that night.

I felt as if we stuck to each other. Two eyes always meant to lock. Meant to dance together, sing together. No matter what had happened before each of us walked into that room and what happened once we left, we were always meant to be stuck together.

We continued to grow through those concerts. We'd meet outside and find a way to sneak inside. We saw every show that we could get into.

Daisy was better at that than I was. She always had a charm about her. I would happily run in right behind her. Mostly because she usually had my hand clasped in hers anyway.

Being with Daisy was the first time that I felt truly accepted. I thought it had been the music and the crowds around me, but it was all her. She was this beacon of light for me. A lighthouse. I wasn't scared around her. I was more energetic. I was happier. For the time in my life, I had someone that I could truly find joy with.

We saw each other laugh and cry and go through these different moments and phases. I still remember when she told me her new name... her proper name. Daisy Jones.

I knew why she changed it, but she never talked about it. Neither one of us did. Our friendship was an escape from the shitty parts of the world, not a reminder.

And so, we continued. We continued going to shows and meeting these interesting people.

We were both in our late teens when Daisy came running up to me with a smile and a drink in her hand. We were at some party for some band that was admittedly shit.

She wrapped her arm around me as she excitedly yelled my name.

"Hi," I chuckled at her behavior.

"Try this," she held her cup out to me.

"Why," I asked.

"Because it's great," she explained simply.

"Are you..." I leaned forward, acting as if anyone here would truly care. "Are you drunk?"

"What? Nooo!" she shook her head. "Now, try this, please!"

That night, we both ended up stumbling onto my family's back patio. We laid on the wood and stared up at the sky. It was a new kind of escape for both of us. A true disconnect from all of the weight and fear and stress.

It was exactly what we needed.

"I wanna be a star," Daisy said quietly after a while.

I turned my head to her. "You will be."

She looked at me. "I know."

I chuckled.

"I'll bring you along with me," she promised. "Wherever I go, you go. Recording and performing. You can be backstage for every performance. All while you write that fancy book of yours."

"I'll write my book on you," I replied. "You'll be the main character. The star of the show. Just like you already are."

"I like the sound of that," she muttered. She reached over and grabbed my hand. "We are gonna do some great things, (Y/n) (Y/l/n)."

"Yes, we are, Daisy Jones."

We kept going. Going and going.

Drinking turned into experimenting with drugs that Daisy would score from some guy that she knew.

And no matter how out of control we ever got, we were doing great work. We were finding stories and words and sentences that neither one of us ever knew we were looking for.

It was perfect.

She kept her promise.

I was dragged to every party. Every concert she ever attended. I met everyone that she did. We became known as a duo. A reputation. We had a reputation. It was funny to think about even then.

I was there when we realized that her lyrics had been stolen. That guy was an absolute prick, by the way.

I was there when she performed at Simone Jackson's show.

I remember trying to talk her into taking Teddy Price's offer. She refused. She hated the idea of being put in some small box.

I got dragged to the studio when she recorded her first song with the Dunne Brothers.

I was there when they become Daisy Jones & the Six.

We were parts of every single major life event. We witnessed our personal histories. I knew her story like the back of my hand. She could probably recite mine in an album; a song dedicated to the

And I thought that it was a good thing. Daisy did too.

I didn't think about the true nature of our friendship before Daisy ran off before she ran off and got married before the tour started.

It was like being forced to look at old pictures of yourself. You could see the wrinkles that you didn't notice developing over the slow course of time. You could see the dramatic change in height. You could see how your face changed and sharpened.

I was suddenly forced to see how time had changed us. We still fit, but we were deteriorating. Crumbling. All that was truly holding either one of us together was the drinking and the drugs. And we both wanted to claim that it was art.

I continued claiming that it was all due to the art.

Through all of the tour dates and the messes. The fights and the yelling. God, it got so loud with both Daisy and Billy there.

And then, Daisy almost overdosed.

That was when it felt like everything suddenly stopped.

Nicky- Daisy's husband- had run for it. Billy found me in the bathroom trying to help her as I hyperventilated and shook and cried. He took her from me. I curled up against a different wall, just watching silently.

And I realized that I couldn't do it anymore.

I wasn't even thinking about getting myself treated. I didn't think that I could get better. But Daisy... she could do amazing things. I couldn't watch her fall apart anymore.

I packed the next day.

She didn't notice me packing my bags while she was ranting and pacing my room. She was still so angry and upset about Nicky. I understood that. I would have been pissed.

I was only scared of what happened when that anger was aimed at me.

"What are you doing," she finally asked.

"I... I'm leaving," I admitted, staring down at the bag.

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I need to."

She scoffed. "Does this really seem like the best time to do this?"

"Yes."

"I just almost fucking died-"

"That's why I have to do this now!"

I finally turned to look at her. We stood in complete silence for the longest time. Just staring at each other.

The worst part was that she was amazing. She was everything that I wanted to be. Confident and clever and funny and just... everything. But I could see that if I continued to see her that way, then I would never be able to help her.

"You're just gonna fucking abandon me?" she muttered. "After everything we've been through? All these years? All because I screwed up?"

"Daisy, we are both screwed up people," I corrected. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as my voice started shaking. "Neither one of us is fucking healthy. For ourselves or for each other. And I know that you could be amazing. You can be so much better. But if I stay, then I will always be in the way of what you could become. You will never get better with me around."

"You don't know that-"

"But I do. I really do. I have watched both of us try to get better and be better and it has never worked. I am a weight on your back, Daisy. I am a constant reminder... I would always pull you back and we both know that. And I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to realize it. I'm sorry-"

"Stop acting like this is an act of fucking kindness!" she snapped at me. "You are selfish! You are running from the mess! What is it really? Tell me! Is it because of what I'm doing while you can't get a fucking word published? Is that it? Some weird, pent-up jealousy?"

"Daisy, no," I shook my head. "If I stay, then we will both continue on this fucking path. There are two ways that ends: we despise each other or one of us fucking dies!"

Her jaw clenched.

I felt sick to my stomach.

"Well, you don't have to wait," she forced a smirk. One of those angry smirks that would rest on her face to hide her anger or sadness. She had never pointed that smirk at me. "I already fucking despise you, so you can fucking go whenever your bags are packed. Have a nice life!"

She stormed out a few moments later. I flinched a bit as the door slammed shut behind her.

I put a hand over my mouth as I finally broke down sobbing.

I sat down next to my bag for a moment.

The weight of the moment sat on my shoulders and held me there.

I lost the one most constant thing in my life. I lost the person that I found the most joy with.

And it was my fault.

--

"What happened after you left?"

I blinked a few times and looked at Julia- the young woman that was interviewing me. She was Camila's daughter.

I hadn't kept much contact with everyone around the band, but Camila had tried. She sent me a letter after my book had been published. It felt wrong to reject her daughter's request.

"I... I went home," I replied. "To my parents' place. They helped me find treatment and get back on my feet. After that, I got my book published. I kind of just... forced myself to keep going."

"You never reached out to Daisy?"

"It felt like too much of a risk. And I never thought that she'd want to hear from me."

"Oh," she murmured.

"I always wanted to," I explained. "I did. I just... I couldn't."

She nodded, pausing for a moment before speaking up, "If it's any comfort at all... Daisy's the one that asked me to talk to you."

"Really?"

Julia nodded again, a grin spreading on her face. "She wanted me to mention how much she loved your books."

"Oh," I felt a smile pulling at my lips at the idea.

"I don't think she despises you as much as she used to."

I looked down at my lap for a moment. "I hope so."

If that were the case, it made everything feel like it was much more worth it.

----------------------

Author's Note: I cried while writing the last half of this. Just in case y'all were wondering about the toll that this story took on me.

----------------------

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[firecrackerhh]

I dunno if this is a hot take but sex work as a thing that exists doesn’t particularly bother me and I dunno why it bothers people so much.

I get that it CAN lead to abuse and all that shit, but I don’t think there’s anything INHERENTLY abusive about it. People practically sell their bodies if not their minds to their dead-end jobs but if someone is an Onlyfans model or something and making bank off of that suddenly it’s a problem?

Like I said, I get there’s problems in that industry, but there’s problems in every industry, doesn’t mean getting rid of it is fucking worth a damn. Or fucking reasonable. Maybe if it wasn’t so fucking taboo, maybe if it wasn’t considered a crime worthy of punishment in itself, more people would actually be able to come forward if there WAS actual abuse going on.

Why come forward with abuse allegations if you’re just gonna get in trouble for it right?

And if a woman or man WANTS to do that shit, I don’t see why others hypothetical disgust should make any fucking difference. Bitches just mad they can’t get money from their looks.

I dunno, I just think at the end of the day it’s always gonna be a thing, and it would be easier if we just stopped…I dunno, giving a shit about shit that really isn’t any of our goddamned business. Unless someone IS being abused, but let’s not act like abuse of any kind is particularly unique to sex work. Abuse happens everywhere and in a variety of ways, we can’t get rid of it completely, but there’s things we can do to mitigate it. But we never choose to do any of that because America is hopelessly puritan and frankly I’m starting to believe thanks to recent events America is actually more misogynistic than I ever realized.

Like I knew it was always THERE, I just feel like it’s been so much more…pronounced as of late.

Scary times.

[raayllum]

So I was thinking about your many (wonderful) metas and thoughts about how far Callum is willing to go for the people he loves. And I was thinking about the Pip-Harrow soul switch theory. If true, and if the boys find their dad again there’s probably not a way to ethically un-bird him. Could you see Callum doing some shady things to get Harrow a human body again, or because his dad’s life isn’t in immediate danger he wouldn’t be as quick to cross those kinds of lines, like use Dark Magic. Thanks!

Aw thank you! There's a few caveats here:

1) I've touched on it briefly before, but I don't think Harrow was part of Callum's inner circle (although I could see Sarai) in canon. Due to a variety of well meaning factors, while Harrow and Callum loved each other deeply, they were never that emotionally close, each expressing that "Ah, this isn't easy" when being more emotionally open with one another about their love for each other / relationship. This distance is part of the reason why I think Callum (predominantly pre-series) clung to Ezran as much as he did. Even if he didn't always feel like Harrow's 'real' son, he was always Ezran's brother, and subsequently when faced with the choice twice to potentially connect with and save Harrow, Callum's first priority is always Ezran's safety (running after and leaving him in the hay in 1x03; knowing Ez is at threat from the assassins regardless of the egg's existence). So while Callum would still want to save Harrow if there was a tangible way, he might be more 'collected' about how to go about it... unless Ezran would take those steps and speed it up if Callum didn't, and then Callum would, but through a lens of "I'm getting Harrow back but mostly protecting my brother", I think anyway.

Some of this might also be an extension of like... if Harrow does come back in a partial or whole capacity, Callum gets his father back, and that cannot be overstated, but 1) Callum's arc hasn't heavily involved Harrow, overtly, since roughly S2 and 2) Harrow is more ultimately important and present in Ezran's arc season by season, since Ez's arc revolves around a job he just wouldn't have if their father was still alive. This is not to say that Harrow is more emotionally/personally important to Ezran than he is to Callum, but that Harrow's existence or non-existence is more likely to more heavily affect Ezran's arc and priorities than his brother's just by proxy of their plotlines.

(This is also drawing on the fact that, canonically, Rayla leaving affected Callum further and changed his personality more than the actual death of his father, as far as we can tell - think Callum's behaviour in S1 vs S3, and S3 vs S4. Like batshit, but true).

I would also not be opposed to Callum being driven to bring Harrow back (yet another problem he's inherited from Viren and that damn relic staff) and it'd be a very interesting parallel between him and Viren on that level, but I don't know if I think (with the info we have at this time) Callum being super duper driven about it is in character. This is for one big reason which I'm gonna expand on a bit more later:

2) Now this is more pure speculation, and less relevant (i.e. if Harrow is in Pip, that's hardly an actual death) but I do think it's adjacent, and ties back into older thoughts where I was never a big fan of the hc of Callum taking, un-corrupting, and wielding Sarai's spear: Callum knows how to, and is willing, to let the dead lie.

Callum is always confident that Viren is dead, unlike Soren (in TTM) and unlike Rayla (for all of the timeskip). When Callum learns that his father was dead, he admits, "I think maybe I did know. Deep down. I knew. I just hoped, if I didn't think about it, maybe it wouldn't be true." He's even able to table his initial waves of personal grief to ensure 1) he's not cruel to Rayla by shutting down the discussion ahead of time and 2) prioritizing his brother, only making his way back to Rayla when he's ready to make up with her. He routinely encourages and goes into things to help Rayla move on in TTM in a healthier manner, rather than wanting to dredge the dead back up with Viren, etc.

What I mean by this is that one of the things that differentiates Callum from Claudia to me the most (and is mostly based on vibes, I'll admit) is that I don't think Callum would ever be a necromancer. I think he'd fight for you (if you're one of his two pillars) to his last breath, but once they're gone, they're gone, and he'd let them be. Meanwhile Claudia very much... does Not do that.

Is there a dark magic spell that could let him resurrect his father, and has he conceivably come across it? Maybe. Has he looked for one? I doubt it.

TLDR; I think Callum would be more tempered about bringing Harrow back in a soul-switching spell, and if he was more extreme, it would in a vein of wanting to protect Ezran from making those more dangerous choices.

[judzea]

As a person who writes, reads and thinks about spidypool all the time I have complicated feelings about Deadpool 3 I think others like me can relate to.

I saw @thefuzzyaya talking about it and I felt their feelings.

I have read allot of comics for these characters and even more fics and they mean too much to me. But I also don't wanna b a hater so I am gonna ramble my negative feelings with a positive after each one because there were positives.

Wade was not queer enough. Sorry I know we knew this would happen but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. Yes Wade was horney for Logan like allot. But it was also so saturated with jokes about it so it somehow didn't feel real. Again centralising Vanessa made all the jokes about Logan come across as wild and un serious when we all know Wade in fact is 100% serious about it. For a movie so open about gay sex jokes it never one has a genuine moment of affection between those two men that could be read as romantic even one sidedly. Did I need them to kiss (one on the cheek would have been very in character tho) no. Did I need them to show actual care for eachother just a little yes.

On the other hand I love that they didn't shy away form the hot for Logan jokes Wade did feel like a stand in for the female audience they were trying to market to with the sexulisation of Logan. This is huge I fully admit to this.

Wades physicality. One of the best things about Wade being made live action was being able to see his crazy body language and physical humor. Ryan truly embodied this in dp1. He is a character with a variety of body languages that can go from crazy funny over the top jokes to overly effeminate and fun and queer to deeply intimidating and down to bissnuess. His body language is over the too because a he is and because he is in a full suit they do that to express themselves though the mask (look at andrews performance in spiderman with a mask that has still eyes he compensates). I felt in dp3 for some reason this was lacking mabye because Logan was a focus or just so much dialogue that there were more face shots idk but I did notice it.

Highlights where his physicality did show, the Honda scene, the pole dancing in the end dp vs dps fight and the gay clap at the end for dog pool.

Deadpool was not scary. Deadpool is scary. I love him and one of his best features is that when it comes down to it and he needs to be he can be intimidating as fuck. Can be scary. He is funny sure. But he is also a killing machine with rage issues. In his last 2 films he has had great moments when he shows he is very capable of being serious and scary. Dp3 lacked this never once did I feel Wade was a competent and potentially scary character. Which I think is key to dp being dp.

I think they upped his flexibility factor in the fights and a I loved it. There were some great shining moments when dp did some dope af tricks in fights that were both skilled and more flexible than we had seen him before. As Ryan renolds is more slim than dp is on most comics I think makes sense for him to be like this. Added nice juxtaposition to Logan fighting style.

Motive. What even was it. The last 2 moves for this version of Wade have a clear follow through of theme and motive for Wade. He is trying to figure out where he fits in the world. What his motives are and what he wants to do with the powers he gained in the worst ways. Dp 2 is about him comming to terms with the kind of hero he wants to be. The kind that kills when he deems needed and saves when he thinks he should. It was frankly a great take on him for me personally. But him fucking with that by bringing Vanessa back irritated me to no end. And the way they used her in this film even more. It is bad enough to fridge a great female character but to then use her like this was so odd. Why would a woman who married a mercenary try to make him a hero. Why would Wade try to be normal at all that was never him. How the fuck did him keeping her alive not create a new universe or some shit. Just don't get me started on the universe time travel time lines not lining up shit. Bottom line is Wade wanting to save his peope sure makes sense they in no way needed to add the relationship drama too it. It cheapened his motives and Vanessa's bring back if u r going to keep him In a relationship to keep the boys afraid of queer dp satisfied fine. Then don't fucking break them up.

I enjoy Wade tring to be a hero and being crap at it. It is one of my favourite stores Wade can tell. What happens when someone with issues as bad as Wade tries to do the right thing. Where is the line between vigilante, anti hero and hero? It is so fun to play with. And I like that Wade is still struggling with it.

Sexism. None of the deadpol moves pass the bechtial test. I know this. But did the first dp movie have a character who was both a stripper the love interst but still a fun lovable female character yes. Did it have a female villan who was cool and not in a bikini yes did it have a dope as sassy as teenager I loved yes. Did deadpool 2 have a cool as hell additional character that was plot relevant fun and a woman of colour yes! Dp3 had a female villain I will give it that. But she was both the main villain and a secondary one it was weird. The other women were 2 cameos that were very in conecuencual and the love intest being used as the motivator for the man again. Boring over done motivate yourself you don't need a woman breaking up with you for that.

Ultimately whilst I understand the appeal of a fun time I am very done with hero movies being nothing more than a fun silly time. I wanna cry in hero movies again. I wanna be shocked. I wanna feel the need to rewatch over and over again to notice new little details. Deadpool 3 is none of these things for me

[pucksandpower]

hi natalia! i hope life has been treating you well and that you're doing amazing. i wanted to say, i love your account so very much! everytime i go through the f1 tags on here i'm alway searching for your username among the fics and safe to say is you have never ever disappointed me. when i first got into the fandom you were definitely one of the blogs that really hooked me in. oh girl you don't know how ecstatic i was going through your masterlist, i literally felt like i was camping in that one post going through everything in one night. still, even now i love going back and reading it again because that little spark of joy i feel clicking the links to every au is the reason i love to be on tumblr!

you never fail to deliver an insanely good level of world building like this is kind of surreal to me, because you give us such a fresh and wonderfully blissful take on social media au's. it's super cool to see you explore all types of medias like articles, blogs, twitter, instagram, youtube videos—i feel like you've used EVERYTHING girl. all your posts are sooo long and idt people realize how much work you have to put in to make a cohesive story like that?? + using all sorts of outlets ur an actual beast at this wow. and it's not just the way you deliver it, it's also all the ideas that you have. i'm a huge sucker for the deep lore ones that are like the ones involving racing teams and stuff. it's so great to see your takes on real time events and how it could've been if this or that happens. the readers are also of so much variety, i hope you keep doing that bc it adds a lot of potential and spice into the story. royal au is also sooo good! your account to me is basically girlhood personified. i'm always so immersed in it that i forget i'm reading an au... that really shows your effort in the work you put out. i can tell the time you spent crafting these pieces i mean WHO goes this far and wide if not pucksandpower?? ur the backbone of my mental health i would've gone in the trenches if it weren't for you... that's my mother ya'll. there is not one fic of yours that does not have me at the toes of my feet, all giddy to click the "keep reading" button. i wish for you to know that i, and i'm sure many others who follow you, really appreciate all the work you put in! i'm lowkey like suspicious with how real and professional some of the articles you make are bc how is that not something that would come out of an actual blog? 😭

AND OHHHMYGOOOD you are doing god's work for feeding my delusions on giving charles leclerc the team that he deserves. seeing the newey reader fic, that was when i knew you were ON to something like this girl is special she's doing all the research.. babe you could be the new damn chief tech officer if you wanted to i mean. you are operating in levels that we can't even comprehend?? one step ahead in everything. when i read your cl stuff in my heart i'm rooting for this man so bad and like if this isn't happening irl at least pucksandpower got my back like... you know what they say about delusions=manifestations so if we keep this up yall i believe it can be real trust me i've seen it in my head....

i'm sure there's a lot more that i want to say but anyways, i'm really glad that i ever found your blog and i look forward to future works you're gonna put out! cheering for you always and please take care of yourself, xx ❤️

Hi, my love! Thank you so much. I totally teared up reading this and I am not the slightest bit ashamed to admit it. Every single thing I post is crafted with love — I do it because I love working on them and because I love being able to make my fellow fans happy through my work. There truly is no more rewarding feeling. I have posted a whopping 119 fics/imagines/AUs on here and typing that number out really made me realize how crazy that is and how far I have come since I started this blog back in November

I can’t lie, sometimes the research and time I put into each of my works can feel overwhelming at first but I am always proud of the end product and especially happy to share it with you all. Some are lighthearted fun and I can have them completed in a few hours while others run deeper and can take me days upon days to finish. I truly want to build a mini immersive world through each of my AUs and I am so happy that you have been able to get that experience through them

Also I like to say that delusions make the world go round (and help keep us sports fans semi-sane) so I am more than happy to contribute on that end

Thank you again because your words mean so much to me! I can’t wait to share more work with you. Have an amazing day 🫶

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #122

I made a tea today. I made the vanilla-rose black tea. I think you'd really like this one, actually. I took some pictures for you.

…But that's not what I'm gonna write about today. One of my cats managed to catch a bird. And if you don't wanna be sad, I imagine you should stop reading here.

Our house has a little backyard area that's about the size of a postage stamp. We would like our cats to be able to enjoy fresh air, but the outdoors is not safe where we live for a variety of reasons - the HOA puts pesticides and herbicides everywhere, and we manage to live near nature and near a city at the exact same time, so not only would our cats need to worry about foxes and owls and other birds-of-prey, but also cars and dogs and people. So we built a barrier out of chicken wire so that at very least, our cats can enjoy fresh air without getting hurt.

There's really nothing for birds in our backyard space; it's made primarily of concrete. It's messy. And it obviously reeks of cats, because we have 5 of them. So I'm not really sure how a bird managed to get in there; typically they are smart enough to only chill on the fence posts, aware that there are predators afoot, and that they shouldn't get too close. I guess this one wasn't typical:

I can't be angry with Arremo; he is only doing what cats are built to do, with exactly the efficiency and skill that he is built to do it with; it's how they survive in the deserts to which they are native. And we're used to chipmunks coming into our yard despite the obvious presence of predators far larger than they are; admittedly I'm not sure what possesses them do it - toxoplasmosis, maybe?

In any case, normally, what happens is that we hear the struggle, we go out, we pry the cat's jaws open to get the animal out of them, and we either bring them to a nearby place (10 minutes by car) called The Animal Hospital for treatment, or they're just stunned briefly and end up running off after a few moments. We can't let our cats eat what they catch, because we don't know if they're diseased, but we do know that they've been exposed to pesticides and herbicides; the last thing we need is for our cats to get poisoned or sick.

When I pried open Arremo's jaws to retrieve the bird, I expected it to be much the same as what I've described with the chipmunks; at first, the little thing seemed alert, but just stunned and scared. It wasn't bleeding; there were no fluids leaking onto my hand as I held it. So I prepared a small box to take it to The Animal Hospital; here's a picture of what I prepared, taken at the end, after everything else happened:

…However, once my mind was no longer occupied by preparing the box, I had an uneasy feeling. My instincts told me that I needed to turn the bird over, so I did. If you're squeamish, then you should skip the rest of this paragraph… …I'm not entirely sure how it can be that no fluids got on my hands; its belly was cut open with near surgical precision, and all the expected things were clearly visible and moving, even if some of them appeared to be missing - the power of a cat's hunting equipment, I suppose. I won't describe what I saw any further, and obviously, I didn't take a picture.

I couldn't avoid falling to my knees and weeping for the creature's suffering in response to what I saw. But once I was able to speak again (it didn't take me long to regain my composure, but my eyes still have not stopped leaking, even as I am writing now), I asked M to bring me to The Animal Hospital (because I was in no condition to drive) anyway; I knew that they wouldn't be able to save it, but I did know that they'd be able to euthanize it, and I didn't want the creature to be in pain for longer than it had to. So I carefully put it in the box, and we went.

We got about halfway there when it started spasming. I have some basic knowledge of anatomy; I understand that spasms can be the result of too much blood loss. I knew then that the poor thing couldn't go on, so I picked it up and held it in my hands until it passed on. Maybe it's silly, but I thought it would be good if its final moments could be in the soft, warm hands of something that sees it and loves it, even if I didn't know the creature very well. I didn't want it to feel alone.

We turned around and went home. From there, I retrieved the daffodils that Br cut and brought to us recently; they smelled heavenly. Then I went out with the daffodils and the body of the bird to the nature trails near my house; I wanted to lay the bird to rest in a place without pesticides or herbicides or the sound of lawnmowers and weedwhackers. J went with me, and helped to keep me focused and stable.

We walked on the trails for a while. Eventually, I found a peaceful-looking mound of dirt with some fuzzy-leafed plants growing on it. I arranged the daffodils so the flower would be in kind of a circle, and then set the body of the bird on top of them:

I thanked the creature for existing, for gracing the world with its presence and song, even if its life was cut short. Then we went home. Some scavenger will likely come along to eat the body of the bird, and it will be a source of nourishment, and then it return to the soil, just as it should; the cycle of life continues.

On the way home, though, we saw something weird. J and I found some lines drawn in the sand, presumably with a stick; we paused in the spots where circles were drawn. I didn't think to take a picture.

But then, I found 7 tiny little whiteish-greyish-blue feathers, all in a line on the dirt path, near the exit of the trails. It was very odd, so I took pictures of the little feathers:

…Maybe the little birdie is okay, wherever it went off to after it exited its vessel.

I washed my hands thoroughly after I returned home. I'm not really sure what to do now. I suppose I'm still stunned. My face is still leaking, and my body is still trembling from time to time. I know I'll be okay eventually, so don't worry about me. But for now, I guess I'm in some kind of weird mental space. My descriptions of what occurred feel very mechanical compared to the intense swirling of the inside of my mind.

My biological family would tell me that it's just a stupid fucking bird, that they die all the time, and that I need to get over it, because it's not worth feeling sad, let alone crying over. But you know? Maybe it's okay that I'm still soft enough to cry over a bird, despite everything. And maybe it's okay that I tried to help, even if saving it was impossible. Maybe it's okay that I tried to hold and comfort it before its last breath, and maybe it's okay that I spent time trying to find a peaceful place for it to rest afterwards. Maybe it's okay to believe that choosing to be gentle, loving, and kind, even in a place where there is so much senseless pain, is where true strength lies.

Sephiroth. I'll recover from the loss of the bird. I won't recover from the loss of you. Don't do something stupid and end up getting yourself killed. Please.

I'll write again tomorrow. I love you. Stay safe.

Your friend, Lumine

[soleminisanction]

i just wanna say you and a few others that i follow on here are one of the biggest reasons i finally ventured into reading dc comics and getting to know the source material. i wanted to be able to understand what y’all were talking about 😭 y’all’s metas/headcanons/analyses/etc were so interesting and thought-provoking, but i couldn’t fully appreciate it bc i didn’t have the context behind it. tim drake is my blorbo (really an understatement— i was immediately infatuated) but i got hooked on him in fanon. (one of the reasons) i hesitated to read the comics was bc i didn’t think i’d like him anymore if i knew how he was canonically. i’m glad i didn’t let that stop be tho, bc not only do i love tim drake even more, but it allowed me to have so, so, so much love for the other batfam characters, their motivations, their personalities, their relationships to one another, their messiness.

i’m still relatively new to reading comics, it’s only been a lil less than a year of me actively reading them so i definitely don’t see myself contributing to y’all’s conversation anytime soon. the batfam are also my comfort characters, so i’m really struggling to venture out (im getting there tho). but i’ve read enough now where i get it. i get why y’all are so critical and passionate about these characters. i’m so excited bc there’s so much material to read, i get to experience the batfam in so many different and interesting ways, the good and the bad. i haven’t felt this much love and excitement for fictional media in years.

anyways i’m gonna stop here bc i’ve already written a short novel, but i seriously cannot thank you and others like you on here enough. if i could, i’d thank every last one of them too, but you were on my dashboard and i’ve been meaning to say this for a bit. please please please continue giving your insights, your discussions, your criticisms. i enjoy them as much as i enjoy reading the comics ❤️

🥰🥰🥰 I'm so delighted to hear it! I hope you're enjoying yourself, there really is so much to explore. If you don't mind I want to highlight this part of what you said in particular:

i’m so excited bc there’s so much material to read, i get to experience the batfam in so many different and interesting ways, the good and the bad. i haven’t felt this much love and excitement for fictional media in years.

Because this perfectly encapsulates the appeal of this fandom to me. There's so much variety and nuance and different perspectives, with the scope of those POVs growing in diversity and inclusion as the decades go by. And sure, some of them are gonna suck, but some of them are going to be transcendent, and others will be satisfying, or so terrible they're hilarious, or mediocre, or just kinda fascinating. It all adds up.

So, thank you for the lovely message. I hope you continue to enjoy your explorations of canon, wherever they take you. <3

[boreal-sea]

So I have over 1,000 hours in Civ V for... reasons...

(I'm trying to get through victories for all of the leaders ok? And I play on Standard pace, and it takes a couple of hours per leader, and there's like 50 leaders, ok???)

anyway

I usually aim for just having the most points or getting a Science victory because those are easiest for me. And at the end of the Science victory, for years, I've seen the "Go Beyond Earth" button, and knew it linked to a download of Civ: Beyond Earth.

Well, the other day, I finally decided to download it because it was on sale for like $6, so why not?

And... I really like it. It's very similar to Civ V in a lot of ways, which I like. The tech tree is... bad, from a design perspective, but I get why they did it that way. Thankfully, they have ways to filter the monster spiderweb they turned the tech tree into so it's actually pretty easy to work your way towards the different victory types.

For my first playthrough, I was on standard difficulty and found it impossible to keep Health up (this game's equivalent of Happiness) and then Hutama attacked me and that was that. Second playthrough I went on Easy and found it much better, I wasn't struggling to keep Health up and could actually enjoy the game. Hutama was still a dick, but other civs were my friend and I was making a boatload of energy (gold) so I was able to kick Hutama's ass when he inevitably attacked me. He's like the equivalent of Napoleon or Bismark or Alexander: if you start off next to him, he's gonna attack you at some point.

SO: a lot of the game is identical. You construct units and buildings that have familiar purposes. You do research, you develop both science and culture trees. You trade, and try not to get killed by other players.

Where the differences lay I find a lot of interest.

First, setup is a bit slower than for Civ V. After picking difficulty/map size etc, you have to pick a Sponsor - the equivalent of leaders. They of course come with different abilities to take into account. Then you have to pick a Colonist type, Spacecraft type, and Cargo. These can give you some major advantages, and add variety to startup. Finally, you pick Planet Type, which is equivalent to continent type.

Instead of Ideologies, you have Affinities, and they're really interesting. The three Affinities are Supremacy (technologically advance humans), Purity (solve humanity's problems while remaining human), and Harmony (genetically modify humans to synergize with the alien planet). These synthesize with the Victory types: Domination, Contact, Transcendence, Promised Land, Emancipation, and End of Time.

I took the Harmony/Transcendence path in my first successful playthrough, because I'm a big ol' hippy and becoming one with the new planet and its ecosystem just seemed like the right thing to do.

The Contact victory entails making contact with a superior alien race. Promised Land is a Purity victory that involves bringing more humans from Earth to settle. Emancipation involves returning to Earth and helping those humans achieve Supremacy. End of Time is what happens if you get to turn 500 and no one has won, much like getting to 2050 in Civ V. Points are tallied, and the player with the most points wins.

But that's not where the differences end!! The spying is reworked, and you can assign them actual tasks. I am not good at it.

But a BIG difference is that you get quests and throughout the game you have to make choices about what to do, which was really engaging and added even more variety to the game for me.

Oh, and there's the BUG problem, too. The planet you land on isn't lifeless, and there are lots of local life forms that really want to eat you. Whether you kill them or not actually has an affect on gameplay and how the other leaders feel about you.

[starcrossedjedis]

hiii hiii i am back (on my searching for opla oc crumbs voyage bc my exam-taking ass needs to live through y’all rn), and again i would like to screech abt Sun bc umm?? how could you give her so much pain?? also i need to know more abt her power?? like what does the sairen sairen no mi do and is it the fruit that gave Sun her full name or is it just a coincidence since it sounds very much like siren (if that was intentional i would like to steal your brain for naming oc purposes thank you /j); pls and thank you and i hope you feel better soon!! (if you’re still feeling under the weather that is..?)

Oh babe you can come here for crumbs anytime, it be keeping the hyperfixation going 🤩

I hope you're doing well aside from the exam taking. I'm actually alright, even though rn I am feeling more under the uterus than the weather 😂

Let's preface today's deep dive by me reassuring you that you do not - not - wanna be me when it comes to naming OCs. Literally, for like the first week her name was "either Lya or Sun", followed by a few days of her being "probably Sun but WHAT THE FUCK AM I GONNA DO ABOUT HER LAST NAME???" 🤣

And THEN as I proceeded to look for her special power was when it all came together -

I knew I didn't want to give her a Haki (mostly because she is a Shanks!OC and he already is The Conquerer's Haki Dude), so devil fruit it was. I spent a day or so going up and down and back up the list of known devil fruits and didn't find a single one that tickled my pickle. But - like so many times over the past weeks - it was @bravelittleflower to the rescue, because she pointed me to the mythical zoan devil fruits who basically turn people who eat them into mythical creatures and I decided that "fuck it, Imma just make my own"

By that time I had already gotten it in my head that I wanted "Lya or Sun Whatever-The-Hell-her-name-is" to be a more feminine, sensual character (maybe because Nami, at least in the beginning, was a little too Not Like The Other Girls for my taste ^^'), so sth of the nymph/dryad/mermaid/siren variety seemed like an obvious choice.

Google translate told me the Japanese word for siren was "sairen", making her fruit the Sairen Sairen No Mi and my brain just took the jump from there to "Sun the Siren / Sairen Sun" and since I still hadn't found a last name I liked, I thought a moniker that was actually given to her in the brothel at Shells Town would be a great place holder. It also makes for a pretty great pirate name tbh. ^^

(she has a last name btw, a last name we will learn later on and it comes with ✨drama✨ attached)

When we start the story, Sun doesn't know who gave her the fruit and she isn't really all that clear on the true magnitude of her powers. When we meet her, she simply has to touch men (and probably some women, too 😏) and tell them what she wants them to do.

(that did come in handy when teenage!Sun was looking to avoid chores at the bar or when harbour whore Sun left the less savory clients with the distinct impression that putting their hands on themselves rather than her would be the height of extasy 😈)

Her power doesn't work in active fight situations, which is why she is also able to hold her own with knives (although Zoro sees a lot of room for improvement and - much to Sanji's dismay - takes it upon himself to train her xD).

Maybe it's also her power that makes it easy for her to make friendships (one of the reasons Nami doesn’t like her at first is a kind of envy at how easy it is for Sun to fit in with this new group of people while she has to keep her distance). It could be that it makes people more open to her, but it's actually sth that makes her less self assured rather than more, because there is always that little bit of doubt about wether people care about her or if it's just her power at play.

I am also looking to expand on her powers as the story progresses (one version of the "Sun and Shanks reunite" ideas especially has great potential for Shanks trying to teach her to really tap into her ability).

"And how exactly do I do that?" - "You use it on me." 🥵

[jimothysomebody]

Rambling, Fitness, Mobility, Aging, Blah

Feeling kind of meh tonight, for a variety of reasons. Trying to snap out of it, or rather *stay* snapped out of it, it's just hard. Currently trying to refocus myself on my fitness journey.

I'd been doing pretty well about this time of year a year ago, I weighed about 245, down from 281 that June, strength training was going well, I was pretty active, and then February of this when I was 238 year I broke my toe and within 3 months between pain and depression gained back *half* of what I'd lost and have been struggling to lose more weight. It's mostly my diet and being more active that I've been struggling with, and this year with some health scares (read, random otherwise harmless events that triggered paranoia) I've been trying to be more mindful of things like sugar, sodium, alcohol consumption and caffeine.

It's not even so much for aesthetic purposes, I'm realizing. Honestly my goals are mostly strength related. I wanna be able to move heavy shit and not break much of a sweat, I wanna look intimidating enough to make asshats think twice about wanting to fuck with me, and want to have/maintain decent mobility, which I'd already wanted but a broken bone just sort of brought it back to the forefront of my mind.

There's some neat fitness influencers who could give a fuck about the BMI index or numbers on the scale who put emphasis on mobility and strength training and I'm so grateful for that, because for too long fat shaming and the attitude toward obesity and numbers on a scale was just so unavoidable, whether it was the attitude people wanted you to have toward yourself when pursuing fitness goals or judging others being socially encouraged in that kind of scene or whatever. I've made a lot of strides learning to love myself for who I am, the body I'm in, and trying to take better care of myself too.

The love I'm trying to show myself now is that a number over 230lbs isn't bad or wrong or shameful, and to wanting to be mobile with the body I have. I've seen some people, family and close family friends really struggling to get around as early as their late 30's and really struggling as they age and it worries me. In June of 2022 when I was 281 I was hiking over a dune to the beach in the outer banks of North Carolina and out of shame lagged behind some fit friends of mine because I knew it was gonna be difficult and I was gonna be out of breath. This year, even 4 months after breaking my toe? Moving along just fine, pretty tipsy (probably more drunk than tipsy but not hammered) and on island time, and I was chuggin' along up that hill so well Kate Bush would have written *that* song about me, lol. Mid trek and I realized how differently I was doing compared to last year and it hit me just how much better shape I was in, despite a broken toe and being drunk, and doing it mid conversation too. It just felt nice and made me worry a bit less.

Not that it means much, but today I weighed in at 252lbs, have gained some visible muscle mass and definition since last year (probably not enough to move the scale much but idfk) and honestly, as long as I'm still feeling well, can move around and exercise without getting too winded, I genuinely wouldn't be bothered if I don't lose much more of my belly and love-handles (or even gained some!). I do however want to continue with my strength training, get some more definition and mass. Today I got a new 25.5lb olympic barbell, I've been running out of room on my standard one to put the weights I have, and when my buddy regifted me all the workout & weight stuff he wasn't gonna use it included some olympic weight plates that I'll finally be making use of. In Sept. of last year I was using a cheap $25 42lb dumbbell/barbell combo thing from Five Below. Today I can bench *at least* 132lbs (not sure what my max is, ran out of room on the bar lol). The new bar has a limit of 310lbs, so who knows where I'll be this time next year.

I'm blaming all this on my birthday coming up Tuesday lol. Thoughts of the past, what I'm doing with my life in the present, where things could lead in the future, etc etc. 30 wasn't my worst year by far, I don't know what being 31 will have in store for me or if 2024 will be my best year, but... it'd be neat.

[sappygentlemen]

PART TWO ☝️‼️ to basement dweller

As always. These are my own self indulgent fanfics for right now. later, im gonna write a wider variety of things when I have more energy ‼️‼️🤌 but for now, have this part two, to our beloved Yandere declan x Yandere Sam

TW: DARK, GORE DESCRIPTIONS, TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS/ATTACHMENTS/BEHAVIORS. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION ☝️‼️

His eyes. His stupid green eyes. I think by now Ive spent so much of the last couple hours, staring into them, that I've begun to despise the very color. Those eyes. Staring at me. Lifeless. Cold. Dead...

Those stupid eyes had looked at what was mine. The same eyes that were teary, sobbing, somehow screaming the words "STOP. PLEASE. IM BEGGING." despite the lack of words coming from his throat. The same throat that currently had wire marks, from where I tried to be nice. I tried to be fair. I tried to be good. I wanted to avoid all this. It's his fault really. His fault for trying to take Declan away from me. Away from who he truly belongs with.

I thought deeply, running over the events in my mind. What took place during these four hours playing like a mantra in my head, stuck, on repeat like a broken record. Just four hours ago, I had stalked this heathen. This whore. I tracked him, followed him. All the way to a park. Such a fool, walking in a dark park alone. He was practically inviting me. I didn't even hesitate to wrap that barbed wire around his throat. I tried to be fair. I tried to be good, but he just had to ruin it. He just had to fight back. Had to bite me. His Filthy mouth has touched me. I'll definitely have to take quite a few showers tonight, I can't have any of his DNA ANYWHERE. near. Declan. He is mine. Completely mine. Speaking of Declan, I've already forgiven him, for what he did.. who he did .. it's not his fault. He was tempted. Lured in by this. Whore. I made sure to deep clean the house before I left. Checking every nook and cranny. Washing every piece of clothing. I made sure there was no longer a presence of stray brown hairs. I made sure Declan was clean. That our home was clean.

I don't regret what I've done. I've done it countless times. Though, for some reason, I can't forget those eyes. Every other part of the event was just routine. Nothing but business. After he had fought back, I had to stab him. I had to. I had to make sure he didn't escape. Didn't go back to Declan. I stabbed him 6 times. One for every hair on my bed. MY bed. His Filthy blood was all over me, all over my tools. Dripping down my body and my clothes. So much of it. Everywhere. So disgusting, from all the stabbings, and the handling of his dead body. Making sure he was dead.

Those eyes. Those emerald green eyes. Even as I take his body out of my deep freezer. I can't get them out of my head. Declan had always loved the color green. My eyes were brown. I would've already taken those green eyes out, and replaced them with mine, but I'm not quite smart enough for that severe of a surgery. I need to work on that. Need to be better. For Declan.

Declan.

Declan would be home soon. I knew what my punishment would be. It would be much more severe this time. It would be worse then anything before. I already hadn't eaten for some days, not being able to stomach food. Not after seeing my bed a mess. Not after seeing those eyes. Hiding in my closet. Thinking I was too stupid to see them shining back at me. I dragged the body along, outside, into our large yard. Throwing it into the wood chipper, as if it was any other day. The neighborhood stray dog would probably eat the evidence come morning. Declan would know. The stench infiltrated my nose. Invading my senses. It was me. I smelt like blood, blood. So much blood. My pants and shirt were soaked in it. I was soaked in it. Every weapon I used had been heavily sanitized and cleaned by now. Neatly put away as if they were never touched. But he would know. He would know. He always did. No matter how well I cleaned. He would always know. He knew me so well. This is why I needed him to stay. I need him to stay.

Several hours and lots of pacing later.

He hasn't come home. It's 4 in the morning and He's not home yet. What did I do. Did I upset him?.. I must have. It must be me. I wasn't good. I didn't try hard enough. I could've been better. Could've done better for him. He's too good for me. I knew he'd leave.

Just as I was starting to spiral, I hear the soft click of a key in door knob. Instantly, I ran to the door, waiting for it to open. Waiting to jump into my beloveds arms!! My dear Declan!!! He came back!! I knew he wouldn't leave. I knew he loved me. I knew we were perfect-....

The door opens, revealing, a tall skinny man, supporting declan as he tries to half carry him into the house. Declans arm around his neck, attempting to use him as support. Declan was sleepy. This wasn't a normal tired Declan. This is a previously sleeping Declan. Declan always had trouble walking after he woke up from a nap unless he had proper time to recalibrate and get used to his surroundings for at least 15 minutes. He had been asleep. Somwhere else. All night. The question is...Where. Was. He.

And I know the answer. I always know. After all, I'm his soulmate. I'm whats best for him.

The man helping Declan walked in, helping Declan onto the couch and soon introducing himself. He has a light redness over his face. he is blushing. Madly.

Declan my love. Must you make me work so hard.