Tumgik
#like it sorta is but not rlly
devllishy · 10 months
Text
wrapped :3
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
also here's my top 100 songs:
0 notes
mephopheles · 1 month
Text
currently been home alone for 4 hours, take another sonic shitposting
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
283 notes · View notes
dizzybizz · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media
this one goes out to all the kids who had their brain chemistry altered by werehog sonic growing up 💪💪💪
861 notes · View notes
ohnomysoul · 3 months
Text
I think we should have a conversation about how people tend to portray Hornet as having a hair-trigger temper/being always just angry and how that’s both a disservice to her character and really odd considering how much of a stoic she tends to be in game about her feelings. She’s blunt and sharp but not explosive and straight up abrasive. She has tact. Just like someone who’s both a spider and born into a royal family has to be to survive.
And along with that, as a Lesbian myself, the way people write her as being always angry and pissed off mixed with the other defining trait of being a lesbian or sapphic in some way also rubs me the wrong way.
Like… I hope people realize that they are making her into the “angry/bitchy lesbian trope” right??? And by making her like be especially rude towards the men (who are written to hit on her) also plays into that? I doubt it’s intentional but it’s still offensive.
(Clarification too just in case: I love when people headcanon Hornet as being a Lesbian for obvious reasons that are not limited to me simply loving her as a character, but I do beg people to think more about how making the self controlled guardian that Hornet is into a lesbophobic trope that isn’t even adhering to her canon character is disheartening.)
270 notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
au where moon fills in while sun is "on vacation" and nothing bad happens
379 notes · View notes
pepperpixel · 27 days
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Initial drawings of that old man… I literally, I haven’t finished reading the book of bill yet!!! I had to stop and take a break for a week to feverishly draw fanart of myself petting fords floofy hair and giving him attention and shit…!!!! The urge was too great….!! I’ve literally. I had a crush on this guy the instant he was first REVEALED in the show, but I did not have the artistic prowess to draw good looking old men back then… but I do now… thank god… thank fucking god
#gravity falls#ford pines#stanford pines#self ship#self insert#si x canon#it me#doodles#I got a haircut! so my hair looks different now.. as haircuts tend to do lol#anyway… yeah… I LOVE HIM… GRAHHFJH#the confirmation that he rlly is just sad and lonely and insecure and craving attention and validation#OHH FORD BBY.. WE R THE SAME#like… ghghg i loved him already just w his prickly nerdy outer shell but knowing more about the vulnerable center is GREAT. ITS AWESOME#also hes a smart nerdy guy who can do science and expirements and shit which is ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS FOR A CHARACTER TO DO#u kno im all about scientists….#I couldn’t draw ship art back then 1 cuz I didn’t kno how to draw old men and 2 cuz I was like 13 lol… which would have been wierd#but I’m an ADULT NOW. GET OVER HERE FORD#also it didn’t even rlly cross my mind TO draw that stuff cuz even tho I did love ford#self ship and x reader sorta stuff was not NEARLY as popular back then.. like I specifically remember it like. booming in popularity#at some point. but being pretty rare before that. anyway. thank u passage of time and trends and new gravity falls book for introducing#me back to fictional man I love. so I can now draw myself smooching him and shit#hell yeah.#13 is probably not actually correct I do not remember exactly which year fords reveal was in…#but I was probably older then 13.. but still#the point remains lol.#also omg. the bit in the book w the goth moth. ‘ur probably into this sorta thing right?’#I AM INTO THAT SORTA THING FORD. thank u book of bill for being written specifically @ me. the immersion it’s great.#like ur so right ford I AM edgy and goth how’d u guess that tee hee. eyelash flutter#aLSO PLS IGNORE MY FINGER BEING IN FRAME IN THE LAST PIC. I was drawing in a tiny bound sketchbook#so I had to hold the paper down to keep it flat. and. I didn’t feel like censoring my fucking. pinkie finger out of the image
141 notes · View notes
batz · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
ok ya but This Scene from the new dhmis made me become so happpy i wanted to gnaw thru a brick wall when i saw it. i love gay puppets. wow<3
anyway what if they were oldmen
3K notes · View notes
mitskikissme · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
My very rushed love letter to @rowdyknives fanfic what it means to love her. hes such a talented writer no jokeee
99 notes · View notes
synthshenanigans · 1 month
Text
a friends mom said funky jash looked like hes from the 70s & i got bored sooo
Tumblr media Tumblr media
theyre rlly cool u should follow them btw...
she make s such amazing art. u should go eat said art :D
64 notes · View notes
teastarfall · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
miscellaneous traditional doodles. hi guys
126 notes · View notes
sososcareds · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media
whatre they talkin about....
63 notes · View notes
alecz-obssesionz · 6 months
Text
♦️HK GIJINKAS | HORNET & LACE ♠️
Tumblr media
◇ + HORNET ALTs ◇
Tumblr media Tumblr media
◇ Original Sketch Page ◇
Tumblr media
133 notes · View notes
cinnamin-is-a-star · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
All my thoughts have been replaced with Zelda, so please take this art I made
473 notes · View notes
primalmagic · 2 months
Text
Taylor is tired.
It’s Friday, which means that she is pretty much begging to get out of school. It doesn’t help that Tyler’s sick today, which in turn means there’s no one she can gossip to in this class. 
She closes her eyes and waits till third period ends, her eyes trained on the old wooden wall clock above her history teacher’s desk.
Her mind flickers back to a disturbing memory, one from… then, and she promptly tries to kick it out of her mind. Today wasn’t going to be any more of a bad day. 
“Class dismissed,” she hears Mr. Thomas say, his voice sounding somewhat foggy and faraway, “I will see you all on Monday. Please read pages 122 and 123 over the weekend.”
The bell must have rung, she thought. 
She moves, grabbing her calculator and notebook and stuffing it back inside of her already stuffed bag. Normally, she loved keeping it organized, but today was just not it.
“Taylor?” Aiden’s voice floats in from the doorway. His class is right next to hers, and normally, she’s the one out first, “You okay?”
She looks around the room, suddenly aware that there isn’t anyone else here. 
“I’ve been yelling for years-” He grumbles, rolling his eyes, but his shit-eating grin never disappears.
She can’t help but smile back softly, “Sorry, give me a second.”
She gets up, one hand slinging her bag over her shoulder and the other one with her still-open phone texting Tyler, and reaches where Aiden is standing- hands crossed and leaning against the doorframe, tapping his foot impatiently.
He punches her shoulder playfully, but lighter than he usually does, “Dude, you look like shit. Are you okay?” 
“Thanks Aiden,” she mumbles, and he grins back, “Tyler got sick as hell last night, and mom had a late night shift, so I guess I didn’t get to sleep at all,” She admits, one hand brushing her uncombed hair out of her eyes.
“You guess ,” He snorts, “What does that even mean?”
“I don’t remember,” she groans, as they approach the cafeteria.
“You don’t remember… if you slept or not?” He asks, raising his eyebrows. 
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Oh. On the positive side, maybe that’s a good thing? I mean, no more,” he shrugs, “Y’know.”
She does know. Nightmares. The ones that you remember every single detail from, the ones that still haunt you while you’re awake, the ones that have plagued every single one of them for months. 
She nods, so tired that she can barely hold a conversation.
Aiden frowns, “Hold up, I’ll meet you at the table.”
“Where are you going?”
“First, I’m going to grab you an energy drink. Then, I’m going to text Ashlyn to get out of the library, because I swear she always forgets that lunch exists. And then, we’re all going to live happily ever after.”
She laughs, “I don’t have any money on me though.”
“I’m not making the depressed mom pay for herself while she’s about to faint any second,” He scoffs, “How scandalous .”
She shakes her head, still smiling, “I’m pretty sure we all know that Tyler’s the mom here.”
“Well, of course, but he’s on leave, so you’re like, secondary mom. Do we need to make a ranking list or something? I’ll do that tonight.”
“Aiden no-” She doesn’t bother finishing, because Aiden is already running away. She chuckles, and, unbeknownst to herself, is somehow feeling a bit better.
When she reaches the table, two pairs of eyes look up at her in unison. 
“Uh, hey guys?” She waves, sitting down at her usual seat. 
Ben nods and gives her a soft smile- one that she sends back, then goes back to typing something on his phone, while Logan looks up and waves back.
She looks down at her own phone, and notices a few notifications from their group chat, sent only a few minutes ago.
dangeR, entr this at ur own risk
Aiden : beware: tay iz not doing well. 
Aiden : b nice.
(Logan reacted with :Thumbs Up:) 
Ashlyn : Bold coming from you. Are you okay, Taylor?
Aiden : meal
Aiden : *sean
Aiden : *mean
Ben is typing . . .
She smiles again, thanking whoever the hell gave her the best friends ever, then shuts her phone and pulls out her suspiciously light lunchbox- suddenly remembering that she’d somehow forgotten to pack her lunch as well. 
God, she was never such a scatterbrain, what was wrong with her today?
Logan wordlessly hands her an apple and frowns, “Aiden was right, you look like you haven’t slept for days.”
Taylor raises her eyebrows and takes the apple, silently thanking him, “You literally saw me yesterday.” 
“Yeah, but you look like you haven’t slept for days, today . What happened?”
She sighs, “Nothing much, my mom just had to go for a quick business trip yesterday and Tyler caught a bad stomach bug. He kept insisting that he was fine, but he was throwing up every hour and wasn’t able to sleep at all, so, well, obviously I stayed up as well.”
Logan’s brows furrow, “Is he home by himself right now?”
“Yeah, my mom is going to come back this evening, but Tyler refused to let me stay home with him ‘cause I had a big math test today. Kept insisting that he’s suffered through worse alone and that I need to stop worrying about him,” She groans, “Shoot, I forgot I had to meet up with the engineering teacher today after school. She’ll be so pissed I have to cancel on such short notice… I can’t leave Tyler alone though.”
Ben taps his screen, and an electronic voice buzzes out. Me and Logan can go after school and stay for a bit, if Logan’s up for it. I don’t have anything to do anyway.
“It’s okay,” Taylor smiles, “I don’t want to ask too much of you guys. I’ll figure it out. Besides, the weekend’s in only a few hours, it’ll be fine.”
Logan shakes his head, “No, no, I literally don’t have anything to do either. You’re not asking too much from us, besides, Tyler’s our friend too. Go figure out your stuff, we’ll head over with food after last period.”
He says it decisively, like he knows if he gives her an option, she’ll deny the help.
Ben nods, typing something else. Besides, you’d be doing us a favor. Ms. Smith is the last person on earth you want to upset. 
“I second that,” A familiar voice replies from behind her, “Don’t know what favor y’all are talking about, but she’s scary.”
She turns around right as Aiden and Ashlyn walk up towards them.
“Sorry we took so long, Ashlyn was having a very important conversation with a creep.” Aiden continues.
“He’s not a creep, idiot,” Ashlyn rolls her eyes, “He’s the TA. Besides, I’m trying to be less… standoffish, is the word you used? You’re the one that told me to interact with more people, and you never said who it should be. Suck it up and deal with it.”
She takes a seat next to Taylor, and hands her the energy drink. 
“Thanks,” she smiles, taking it from the girl. 
“Hey, hey, hey,” Aiden frowns, “I’m the one who got it! Don’t I get a thanks too?”
Taylor laughs, “Thank you Aiden, really.”
He takes a seat, and begins ranting to Logan about being stuck with some idiot for a school project.
Something pokes her, and she looks over to see Ashlyn handing over half a sandwich. “Oh, no, I’m okay-” She tries to shake her head, but is rewarded with a slightly painful kick.
“Take it. I’m not that hungry.” 
She pauses for a second, studying her face. Taylor knows that’s Ashlyn’s way of caring, so she doesn’t try to fight it. “Thanks, Ash,” she nods after a heartbeat, taking the sandwich. She is, in fact, incredibly hungry- even after the apple. 
“Don’t mention it,” the other girl shrugs, going back to eating her own sandwich, “It’s not like you haven’t done the same before.”
Affection swarms inside her chest for all her friends, threatening to spill over the edge, “Thank you all so much,” she mumbles, “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
“Don’t mention it,” Ashlyn repeats, smiling ever so slightly. Ben turns to look at her and hesitates, like he’s contemplating something.
He takes Taylor’s hand slowly, and places his phone in it- which, in hindsight, was completely unnecessary, as he could have played the sound from his own hand and she would have heard it, but she wasn’t exactly thinking at the moment.
Look, it’s natural, okay? It’s completely natural to blush when someone touches your hand. Especially with how Ben touches hers- lightly, calmly, like she means something. Like he cares that she’s upset and he’s trying to help.
The electronic voice speaks up again, and Taylor can only barely hear it above her overthinking.
We don’t know what we would do without you too.
When lunch ends, Taylor feels like only seconds have passed. But saying she felt better was an understatement, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulder. She messages Tyler a quick reminder to drink water and eat something, because even though he knew how to handle himself, he was absolutely terrible at remembering that humans need water to survive.
He texts back within seconds, with a swift, Thanks . Logan already reminded me. 
There’s a pause, and then her twin is typing again. Saw the gc, are you okay? If you aren’t feeling well you should have stayed, I didn’t know you were sick or something too.
I’m okay, She types back, Just a little tired.
Tyler answers quickly, Are you sure? 
Taylor sighs at her brother’s stubbornness, Yes, I promise. Seriously, just take care of yourself. 
If you say so. Cya soon, sis.
She puts her phone into her pocket and speedwalks ahead, already slightly late. Walking to her next class always felt lonely, more so today, because the rest of the group all walked in the opposite direction to get to fourth period. It was so close to the end of the day, but so far.
Personally, she didn’t mind English class, but her teacher could get really boring sometimes. Actually, a lot of people thought she was quite good at the subject. Her teacher the previous year had tried to convince her to tutor, but she just didn’t have the time for it. She helped her friends out with papers whenever they needed it though.
It was a little funny, wanting to be a mechanic and loving english. Most people thought it just “didn’t fit” into her vibe, or whatever. Not that she cared- reading and writing were comforts she could never get rid of. 
She enters class a bit more rejuvenated than the morning, and notices her chair upside down in an odd position. It looked as if the person who had sat in her seat the previous period had knocked the chair over completely. Huh.
She shrugs it off and picks it up, sitting down at her desk and opening up her notebook. They’re analyzing more poetry now, something she quite enjoys doing. 
Her teacher walks up to the board, her heels clicking with a sharp ksh sound, scraping the floor little by little. “So, I know we’re in the middle of a unit, but I thought it would be cool to try something new. Bear with me for a bit Richard- we thought we’d add some more room for… well, creativity. Tommy, please be quiet. Our next assignment is going to be simple. We’re going to be writing… gosh, something you’d like to share with the class, Lily? No? Thank you! Anyway, we’re going to be writing letters.” She finishes in a quick breath, clearly reading to get this over with.
A chorus of confused questions arise from the class, and her teacher shushes them all, “It’s a simple project, truly. You write a letter to someone who is important to you. It can be anything. You write the letter simply as what you think, and then you compare the writing to what you would say to the person to their face. I’d like to read them all, but I understand that some could be private, so I would appreciate it if everyone kept theirs anonymous and didn’t write their name. I think it’s an interesting experiment that goes really well with the poetry anthology we’ll be reading next- which is more of a small collection of letters. Due date is by Monday- but I’m sure you can finish today.”
Well, Taylor wasn’t one to procrastinate too much, and she was rational enough to know she wouldn’t have any time or energy to do this during the weekend, no matter how easy the assignment was. So, she gets started.
Dear Mama,
I’m supposed to write a letter to someone who is important to me, and I chose you, I guess. I would show you this immediately, but I’m not allowed to show the letters to the person I’m writing them to- according to my teacher. Oh well. I know that what I would say to your face and what I am writing would be the same, because I always want to tell you how amazing you are. You’re the second strongest person I know, honestly, and you’re getting real close to Tyler too! Shoot, I’m so glad you’ll never see that. You both are so strong. Sometimes I wish I was as strong as you. I mean, Tyler’s the one sick, and I’m the one having a bad day? It feels weak.
She hasn’t meant for it to turn into a rant, and pauses suddenly, remembering the “anonymous rule.” She erases Tyler’s name and adds a few more sentences, random thoughts and emotions pouring out of her head she knew she could never tell her mother. Not because she didn’t trust her, but because Taylor wasn’t going to burden their mom anymore- not when she was already so hurt. 
The phantom realm scared her mother, a lot. 
Taylor remembers what she said once, I lost your dad, and then I almost lost Tyler. And then you, and then Tyler again? I’m not losing you guys again. I’m not doing it. Get away from the Ashlyn girl, if that’s what keeps you safe. God, just- just stop. Please, Taylor, Please.
It took a bit of explaining to get her to understand that there was nothing they could do but fight back. And it sucked, watching her mom always feel so skittish, always afraid that something was going to happen to them.
Taylor finishes the letter and folds it neatly, handing it to the teacher only a few minutes before the bell. She walks back to her seat and promptly lays her head on her hands, closing her eyes for as long as she can get.
That’s when she notices a white piece of paper- inside of the little cubby under the desk surface. She pulls her head up, shifting the desk in the process. The white crumpled ball falls out and onto the ground, rolling around in a slightly tilted angle.
She leans down to pick it up, as if it's trash, until she sees remnants of ballpoint pen on the outside.
That gets her curious.
Taylor unfolds it, hoping it isn’t someone’s History essay or adoption papers or something. That would be pretty unfortunate. But it’s crumpled up weirdly, like someone was about to throw it away. 
Good. Not important, The back of her mind supplies.
She then hesitates, because was this moral? She had a pretty strict moral code and wasn’t about to break it for anything stupid. What if it was something personal? A letter from a previous class period?
You’re overthinking , her brain supplies once more. Which leads her to slightly panic, and then slightly panic harder, because why was she overthinking overthinking ?
She forces herself to calm down, telling herself that it doesn’t matter. Besides, her “strict moral code” had been broken before. Nevermind that it was when they were almost being killed and attacked by phantoms, as well as forced to stay in weird correctional facilities. 
She gently opens it, her eyes focusing on the first two words on the page.
And drops it.
Because the first two words on that piece of paper are:
“Dear Taylor”
Her first thought is what the hell.
Her second thought is that maybe it’s a different Taylor. Surely there was another Taylor in this school- it was a pretty popular name, after all. 
Curiosity grabs a hold of her, and she opens it again, telling herself she just needs to make sure it isn’t about her.
Her eyes chase down the page, hands slightly chilly as she grips it.
Dear Taylor,
I wish I could tell you how pretty you are. And smart. You’re really smart. You are. I think.- It feels kind of weird to admit I like you in any other place than my head. It feels  It’s almost like it’s more real. Well, it’s always been real. I think. So might as well. Maybe. I really, really like you, Taylor Hernandez. I don’t think you feel the same way, and honestly, I don’t believe I’ll ever tell you. You’d probably hate me afterwards anyway. You’re one of the most important people in my life and I don’t think I could lose you. You’re always so 
The letter trails off, seemingly unfinished. It’s ripped at the edges and still crumpled, like someone gave up on it, and Taylor really doesn’t know how to feel about that.
She doesn’t know how to feel about anything.
Someone likes her.
Oh god.
Oh my fucking god.
Taylor Hernandez does not curse. Taylor Hernandez has cursed three times in her life, and all when someone she loved was in mortal danger. 
But that does not stop her from stating it out loud, in a weird monotone voice that is just so, so unlike her: “What the fuck.”
The bell rings at that moment, drowning her moment of revelation and shocking Taylor back into reality.
Someone wrote Taylor Hernandez a love letter.
And the culprit sat in her very seat, in either periods one, two, or three.
I’m dreaming, she thinks, because the letter makes her heart flutter and giggle and she doesn’t even know who wrote it.
Hell, it could be... Barron. Barron!
( Please don’t let it be Barron , she prays)
– 
The first thing she does after she rings the doorbell is text the group chat, because she has no clue what to do with the letter and what it means.
dangeR, entr this at ur own risk
Taylor : hypothetically, if i find out someone is apparently hopelessly in love with me, but i don’t know who that said person is because i probably wasn't even supposed to see their written confession that was crumpled up on my desk, what should i do?
Aiden : TAYLOR ARE YOU GETTING BITCHES
Ashlyn: Spill the tea. Now.
Tyler: Tay what the hell??
Taylor: tomorrow at lunch, i promise. i have to go rn.
The door doesn’t open, and she presses the doorbell again, the small voice in the back of her mind insisting that Logan and Ben forgot and left Tyler alone, and something terrible happened.
But naturally- and thankfully- she’s wrong. Ben opens the door half a second later, raising his eyebrows. She waves at him sheepishly, “Hey Ben. Where’s Logan?”
He pauses and reaches out for his phone- which is always in his back pocket- frowning a bit as he does. You just missed him. He left a few minutes ago- said his parents were calling.
She nods in understanding, “Yeah, sorry I got a bit late. Is Tyler doing alright?”
She walks inside as Ben closes the door. He’s fine. We played Uno for a while and then did homework. He says he’s feeling better.
Taylor raises an eyebrow, “Riiight. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
She walks to Tyler’s room, careful not to trip on any of the random items thrown around the house. When she reaches their bedroom, she gives the door a soft knock.
More like three knocks, actually. Two quick, soft ones followed by one harsh, loud one. They’d started it when they were young, according to their mom- they’d gotten mad at their dad one day and refused to talk to him. He’d tricked Tyler into letting him in after pretending to be Taylor, which had infuriated the young child so much he wouldn’t answer to anyone. Eventually, the knock came into place, something that nobody else really paid enough attention to copy. Taylor doesn’t remember any of its origin, but that was alright. It was just… their thing.
“Can I come in?”
“Mh hm,” He mumbles, struggling to unlock the door from the other side. Once it’s open, Taylor is met with the slightly-green face of her older brother.
Yeah…
He was definitely not feeling better.
“What happened?” She sighs, pulling him onto his bed.
“I went to get groceries,” He groans, “And when I came back Ben and Logan were here so I just… tried to push away the sick? Bad idea, it came back to hit me tenfold.”
“Why were you getting groceries?” She huffs, “I told you to stay home.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t ever listen to me either, Tay,” he snorts, and then winces at the pain in his nose, “We didn’t have anything in the fridge and it was bugging me.”
He looks away, but Taylor knows what’s going on.
“I could have picked something up,” she says, softly.
“Didn’t want to bother you,” He slurs his words and falls into the mattress, “Logan said you were with Ms. Smith.”
“Ty…”
“Don’t,” he interrupts, “I know what you’re going to say- that I need to stop sacrificing myself and shit- but I’m not. Stop acting like my mother,” he grins as best as he can with the energy he has, and she drops it, because well… It's Tyler. If he’s done with the conversation, there isn’t much she can do.
“I’ll grab a glass of water,” she changes the topic, “Be right back.”
She walks slowly, each one of her steps feeling a little bit heavier.
It wasn’t right, was it, to feel betrayed?
That even after all this time, it was like Tyler still thought she needed to be protected. That she couldn’t help out as well. Instead, she was stuck in a constant cycle of watching him pressure himself too much and then blame himself for everything. 
It wasn’t fair. They’d gone through so much together. They’d literally gone through hell and back, but Tyler still wasn’t done.
She wishes so badly that she could do something, that she wasn’t so. Fucking. Useless.
God, there was at least one thing her “secret admirer” had gotten wrong. Taylor wasn’t smart- she was just… ignorant. It was easier to manage things when you didn’t believe they were real.
She got to live her little daydreams and normal life while Tyler was faced with the real stuff. And it had been killing him, once.
It’s killing him now .
The damages done to their house and their reputations after the phantom realm only meant Taylor’s mom had to work harder to fix their mistakes, barely coming home for longer than an hour a day. That Tyler had to work harder to fix the gap she’d left beyond.
Everything was so goddamn-
Taylor?
She looks up suddenly, realizing that she's already in the kitchen, the counter’s cold marble digging into her hand.
You’ve been standing there for a while.
“Oh,” she mutters, “Water. Right.”
But Ben blocks her from the cabinet, hastily typing with one hand. Are you okay?
She nods, closing her eyes. “Yeah, yep, I just… tired, you know?”
She thinks that’ll make him drop it, but instead, he simply moves closer. I’ll get the water for Tyler. You should go to sleep now.
She shakes her head, "We share a room anyway, I’ll just give him the water. Thanks for offering though.”
Still, he doesn’t move.
You said he was up all night, right? If you sleep in the same room as him, you might not be able to rest again. 
“I need to be there for him, Ben,” she smiles tiredly, “He would do it for me.”
You’ll be a lot more help to Tyler if you’re not falling asleep in my arms. He raises an eyebrow, and Taylor turns feels a flush rise up her neck. 
“I’m not falling asleep in your arms !” 
Really? So I won’t have to carry you to the couch then?
She splutters, caught off guard, and Ben only smiles. Before she can process what’s going on, she feels arms around her waist.
Almost on instinct, she lets herself rest on his shoulder, feeling a little bit of tension disappear. He holds her for a few seconds, minutes, moments that feel like hours.
It’s a simple gesture, but it makes her feel so much better. Wrapped in his arms, she lets herself feel warm.
Ben is safe, she knows.
She is safe.
She’s not alone .
“Thanks,” she whispers, pulling away. His hands are still around her though, she notes. And then forces herself to stop noting because she highly doubts her mind can handle that right now.
She’s really fighting to stay awake now, and she knows Ben can see it. “Might have to take up your offer of carrying me,” Taylor jokes, “I think I might fall asleep here.”
She can’t hear him chuckle, but she can feel it, reverberating under her pulse.
She smiles as she looks up, "Anyway, I do really need to get that wat-” 
Oh.
Oh.
Oh my god.
It is safe to say that Taylor is caught completely off guard as Ben picks her up.
Bridal style. 
Oh.
She’s pretty sure she’s combusting. 
A few thoughts cross her mind, one of them being:
Oh, he’s strong. 
And:
He’s carrying me. Why? Right. I said that. Right. Fuck. Words. What do I say? Um.
She opts to stay silent, because any sound that leaves her right now will probably sound like one of Alvin’s chipmunks. 
He carries her to the couch, then settles her down slowly. Taylor watches him in a daze, feeling a little bit otherworldly- as if she’s watching the entire scene in third person- and is somehow more awake then she’s been all day.
Go to sleep, Tay. I’ll figure it out, alright? You deserve to rest.
Half of her tries to stay awake, but the other half doesn’t need to be told twice.
Her eyes close immediately, her mind focusing on the steady (but slightly rushed?) heartbeat of the boy next to her. She lets it drift her away, away from her exhaustion and into a dreamless sleep.
Before she falls, she swears she feels lips brushing her temple, a soft, sweet touch- one that reminds her of the kisses her mother used to give to her as a child.
She’s imagining it, she knows. But it makes her feel at home all the same.
– 
When she wakes up, it’s dark outside. The lights are dimmed and there’s a shawl wrapped around her. She looks up, and notices Ben is still awake, on his phone on the chair next to her. 
“Ben?”
Ben looks up, suddenly, as if he’s surprised she’s even awake. He flushes, I hope you don’t mind that I stayed. It was getting late and Tyler was having it rough. I can leave though, I don’t mean to intru-
She cuts off the continuing text-to-speech, and shakes her head, “No, no, it’s fine! I don’t mind. Is… is Tyler okay?” She feels her stomach clench, her fear of being asleep while her brother is hurting evident on her face.
He’s okay! He threw up a few times and then eventually went to sleep.
She groans, “You should have woken me up.”
Ben doesn’t reply to that, just shrugs and gives her a soft smile.
A few moments pass, and Taylor isn’t sure if this is what people call “comfortable silence”. It’s not awkward, sure, but she has an urge to fill the gaps- to say something , if anything.
“Have you ever thought of learning sign language?” She blurts out and he tilts his head, as if seriously considering it. He types for a second, then clicks the button.
Once in a while. But nobody would understand me unless they learned it too. And I can’t really ask anyone to do that for me. 
He looks upset, his eyes downcast, like he truly believes it.
“I would,” she blurts out again because he’s started to lean a little bit too close and her sleep-addled brain is screaming warning signs, “I would learn it for you. Uh, with you. I would learn it with you.” 
He smiles- a true, genuine smile that has her smiling too.
A few quiet seconds pass, as Ben makes his way from the chair to the coach, sitting down right next to her.
And then. 
Then he leans on her shoulder, his hair tickling her neck, and her heart just about combusts right there and then. Not able to help it, she utters out a simple “Um-”
He doesn’t move, but instead faces his phone to her, not bothering to make it speak out loud . It reads: Is this okay?
“Yep!” She laughs, a little too forcefully, “Peachy. Totally okay. I’m fine. You should, uh, go to sleep too. It’s late already and we have- oh shoot - we have school tomorrow. Are you sure your parents are alright with you staying over on a school night?”
She's rambling, but she can't bring herself to mind.
He nods into her shoulder, and Taylor tries to go through her options. 
Option one: She can let Ben go to sleep and then leave (awkward, because there’s no way he's going to sleep while leaning on her. Also, being awake means she’s going to stare at him the entire time, so…)
Option two: She can just get up and leave, go back to her’s and Tyler’s room, and let Ben fall asleep on the couch.
Option three: She stays. Which would be weird- and she doesn’t want to face that embarrassment in the morning.
“Do you, uh, want me to move?”
He sighs, then shrugs. She raises her eyebrows, “No? So you don't want to move?”
He looks a little lost, and then shakes his head, humming a slight affirmation. Still, she needs to make sure, “You sure?”
He nods again, and then squeezes her wrist, as if to assure her that it's fine. 
But right as Taylor is about to get up, he traces something with his index finger onto her arm. Letters , she realizes. Four letters. 
Stay.
It’s not as awkward as she thought I'd be.
-
reposting this chapter even though i've shared it before because i need motivation. thanks to everyone who liked it <33
here it is on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57313345
64 notes · View notes
dizzybizz · 7 months
Text
Tumblr media
what a goofy gooper. what a goopy goober. what a goopy gooper. whouphfh oghhf aughfh goop goopyg ooper-
123 notes · View notes
theriverbeyond · 6 months
Note
if you’re looking for stuff about necromancy as violation I always considered the cow thing to be a big example of that! Maybe it’s my inner 4-H kid, but it’s such an undignified and horrifying way to slaughter an animal IMO. It’s this drawn out, grotesque death that parallels both Mercymorn’s death and the 7ths blood cancer. It’s just such a disrespectful way to slaughter an animal, and I think you can read it as John’s first major betrayal of self, especially as it relates to his indigenous roots. Anyway. There’s just so much there.
you're RIGHT and i also think this is a case of how this is a feature, not a bug of necromancy.
death fuels necromancy, but it is specifically cruel, violent death that results in the most necromantic potential. gradual death/senescence en masse gives general ambient power (necromancy only works in areas where things have lived and died) but it is a mass of sudden violent death that flips a planet. Siphoning, in both the style of the Second and the Eighth house, lends necromantic power via an exquisitely painful process that can easily end in death. Necromancy itself eats away at the tissues, leaving all necromancers essentially physically disabled (Ianthe barely had the ability to hold her arms up to braid her own hair). Babies give off the largest burst of power when they die, and the Fourth House -- a planet that could very well be filled with only children -- specializes in suicide bombs.
and then of course you have the eugenics that is built into both the Seventh and the Eighth Houses -- and the Heptentary blood cancer specifically fascinates me because of how it is positioned as, essentially, a boon. If you get death-fuel by being in proximity to death, and you yourself are always dying, then you always have access to a very personal well of power. Until you die. "A dying woman is the perfect necromancer"..... An entire House that values short-lived necromantic potential over anything else and breeds their heirs to have this violation embedded into their blood.
and that isn't even really getting into the fact that this is just the violence that the House enacts upon it's own citizens. the majority of people on the business end of necromancy aren't House citizens at all, but non-House civilians whose death and dead bodies are hijacked to serve the Empire's purpose. but that's another essay
83 notes · View notes