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#like you can make them so complex if you want to
molosseraptor · 2 days
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I usually avoid dog content on Instagram unless it’s things my friends post about, but now that I have a puppy the algorithm keeps feeding me puppy content and especially “dog trainer” puppy content.
I can’t handle all the misinformation and more importantly, the inappropriate expectations. It’s all for stupid reasons like comments and views and likes at the expense of the puppy. Baby puppies do not need to, nor should they, know 20 cues and tricks at 16 weeks. Baby puppies have no business being asked to make inappropriately difficult self control decisions. And baby puppies most definitely should not be expected to have the mental and physical capacity to perform adult dog behaviors at home or in public.
Baby puppies need the time and space to be babies and explore and learn about the world in a safe and low pressure way. Of course you’re going to be doing training at home and in the world, but most of that is teaching them your general rules and expectations and building solid foundations for life and sport skills. That’s already a lot to have on both of your plates.
While I and other dog people who get it look at these videos and roll our eyes, pet owners and people getting started in sports see these things and get super down on themselves for failing their puppies or not doing enough. They don’t know that this isn’t normal, appropriate, or something to aspire to. That pressure either makes people discouraged and they shut down or it makes them push their puppy way too hard and way too fast in an effort to keep up. It hurts everyone.
I didn’t want to put random people I don’t know on blast, so I made my own video of a mild version of what I’m describing.
What does this tell you about my puppy and us as a team?
While it looks like my puppy is doing complex “formal obedience” behaviors, he doesn’t actually know any of these skills or what he’s doing. All this video shows is that he knows how to follow a food lure and that he can eat cheese while walking. On my end, it shows that I know how to lure a dog into different positions. A baby puppy doesn’t have the mental or physical capacity to do a formal heel or chain multiple behaviors together and that’s normal.
If we kept this stuff up long term I might create an aversion to the signs/sport picture because the dog associates it with too much pressure. I’ll definitely create a serious lack of independence in my behaviors and difficulty fading out the food lure. And I’ll 100% create a lot of sloppy heeling on the dog’s part and poor handling on mine. Like most of these videos, “impressive” in the short term but digging a very deep hole that will get in the way of future long term success.
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abimee · 3 days
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hi i can no longer act coy or hope that a job will come in time so im coming to everyone really embarassingly with my issues
in June I attempted to get fired from/left my job after having a really embarassing public meltdown due to having Rapid-Cycling Mixed Bipolar and the unending stress of that job of 3+ years. I've been struggling to get a job afterwards due to being in CA without a vehicle, and i'm currently working on an overdue commission so could not open up any more.
Soon after, my mother's car imploded, and a series of incidents related to a used engine and taking out a loan with a friend has left her both needing to pay back the loan and still needing to get a new car, putting her thousands in the hole.
my mother has allowed me to not worry about paying rent while unemployed, but now the person living with us is moving out, so it will be on me and my mother to pay rent, upping mine from $300 to $500 a month. I am currently job hunting with good prospects, but I am still in need of some assistance.
I DO NOT WANT TO ASK FOR DONATIONS WITHOUT GIVING SOMETHING IN RETURN, I have a very bad time taking help from people without doing something in return because I do not want people to feel like they Have to give me money or help me, I want to Offer something in return for that money, even in a situation like this, because I want everyone to come out on the other end feeling fulfilled, so I'm offering some (slow) cheaper commissions I can work on in between the bigger comm I owe.
My kofi is always open for donation sketches ---- you can donate the minimum amount (or whatever you prefer) and get a drawing like this of anything as long as you put it into the donation message!
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i cant currently take on big commissions as I have one i owe and the commissioner is a very generous person who has been waiting a good few months for me to finish one during this hectic time, but if you're interested in getting something a little higher quality for a donation, a $30-50 USD donation can get you a ''simple commission'' styled drawing --- that is, you give me a prompt and character refferences (ocs or fanart, up to 2-3 characters depending on complexity), and I draw them like below (color complexity depends on price, the higher the amount the more the color).
You wont have access to revisions to make this as fast as possible, so i HIGHLY reccomend only getting fanart comms of these and to make sure you really like my style!!
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this is one of those situations where I DEEPLY reccomend people do not donate unless they want something in return, if you dont wanna ask for a drawing or anything i reccomend going to people in more dire circumstances and helping them out with your donation!!!
but if you want to help me help my mother get out of a bad financial situation and get a little drawing in return, you can do a small dono and att a message of what you want doodled, or you can email me at [email protected] your $30-50 donation reciept and what you would like me to draw, and ill try to get them as soon as I can
thank you so much for checking this post out and keep it real old school!!!!! i promise once this is over and i get a job we'll be back to your regularly scheduled art posting
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peachesofteal · 2 hours
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Simple Math / Part Seventeen
Simple Math masterlist
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Ghost/Soap/female reader - AO3 - 4K words Tags: 18+ mdni. nurse!reader. PTSD, references and descriptions of domestic violence , grooming, manipulation, pregnancy. Simon's back story. Trauma. Bun opens up a bit more. Domesticity, feelings of anxiety, self doubt. Simon is a nervous dad. Emotional confessions.
“It’s Beth.” Simon wipes the countertop, chasing little dirty fingerprints with a wet cloth, before fixing a hesitant set of eyes on yours.
“That’s pretty… I like it.” There’s something odd about his expression, something haunted almost, a deep, dark well filled to the brim with rancid, stagnant water. You sense it immediately. “What’s wrong?”
He motions to the chair and slides your mug into your waiting hands. “Sit.”
“Simon?”
“It was my sister in law’s name. My brother’s wife.” Was. Your throat goes dry, muscles tensing.
“Was?” He pulls your fingers into his, cradled in the palm of his hand, thumb rubbing circles into your skin, over and over on a loop. A mechanism of comfort, connection. A thread stitch into the fabric between your heart and his.
“They died, sweetheart. My family… I lost them.” Grief, a shared experience you know now, froths in the pit of your heart. You tremble, he holds you steady, though it should be the other way around.
“What… what happened?” He sighs, dragging your palm to his lips.
“Let’s sit down on the couch.”
He holds you as he talks, diaphragm rumbling against your ear. You’re laid on his chest, unable to see his face, watch his expressions, but for this, you don’t feel the urge to dissect each one.
You’re content against him. Listening. Mourning.
There’s a swath of silence afterwards, and then he clears his throat. “So, I was dead. Dead until I met Johnny, I think. And then everything changed.” Johnny’s words from weeks and weeks ago make more sense, Simon’s actions and reactions rapidly gaining clarity. “When we found you, I saw it, the look in your eyes. It was the same one that used to haunt my mother’s.”
“You saved her.” He burrows his face in your neck and shakes his head.
“I did what I could to piece them back together. Helped get Tommy clean and on his feet, got rid of the old man for good, but the damage… the way she suffered, it was irreversible. The best I could do was be there as much as often as possible.” You comb through his hair, short strands of silk like Penny’s, and hold him close. “I promised myself, when I met Johnny, when we fell in love, I’d do better by my own family. For him, and then by Penny. And now you. Promised I wouldn’t become him.” Your heart clenches, squeezing in on itself. “Violence may have been a part of my job, but it wasn’t a part of me.” His fingers dance along your spine until they reach your chin, tilting you back to meet his gaze. “Do you understand?”
“Yes.” You whisper, leaning into his touch. He doesn’t need to ask for your trust, he already has it.
“Johnny thinks I’ve got a bit of a savior complex now, but I want you to know… that’s not what this is, bunny.”
“I know,” you clear your throat, fighting through the thick of emotion building there, accumulating in heaps, “I know that.”  
“But we do need to talk about him, you know that?” Darkness creeps along the wispy, dream-like cocoon the two of you built on the couch, and you push it away, try to banish it, basking in the comfort of his arms instead.
“I can’t, I… right now it feels like I’m in a dream where nothing hurts and nothing can scare me or hurt me, and I don’t-“
“You’re not in a dream, bunny. That’s your reality. This is real. Nothing can, or will, hurt you, scare you. No one will ever touch you again.”
“I need more time. Please.” Simon sighs, but doesn’t push, and the two of you lay there, together, suspended in comforting silence. For another moment, your world is a dream. A safe, beautiful dream, where happy endings are real, where love stretches on for eternity, unconditional, limitless, unbreakable.
You’re so different now, stark changes shocking to the girl you once knew, the one who doubled back on her routes to and from work, the one that walked everywhere with her hackles up. Little pieces of black rot now turned a blinding white, a brilliant beam seeking to shine on the whole of your life.
It’s a dream.
One you won’t easily surrender.
“I was really young.” It comes during a lapse in conversation, practically a blurt, an interruption pushing heat to your cheeks. Expelled from your mind, your body without choice, cracks appearing in the preservation that you’ve so defiantly clung to. You have to tell them, eventually. You have to break it all apart, let them see. Johnny’s mouth opens, and Simon’s hand darts to his wrist faster than a snake could strike, a clear signal. Don’t speak. “Obviously now, looking back on it, I realize I was groomed, or I guess, easily influenced. He was older, and I graduated early, started college early. I was in my second year when I turned eighteen. My mom,” the lump in your throat nearly chokes you until you swallow it down, “my mom busted her ass for me. I went to college on scholarships and her hard work.” Metal clanks against ceramic, forks settling on the edges of plates. “Anyway, everyone always thought I was a know-it-all and pretty awkward. We weren’t officially like, together right away but it was pretty serious from the day I met him. Eventually… he started to change me. Change my goals. He even manipulated my career path.”
“What did you go to school for?” Simon asks casually, head tilted.
“Bioscience. I wanted to be a doctor, so I thought it would transition well for med school. Thought I could become a surgeon.” You were a girl then; you know that now. Naïve, misguided by a hand that sought to control you, not love you as you hoped. It’s embarrassing, baring this, showing these broken bits and pieces to them, shattered shards of a mirror never glued back together.
“What happened?”
“He did.” Johnny squeezes your hand. “Made it to pre-med but ended up leaving and starting a nursing program instead. It’s what he wanted, and by then, I couldn’t say no.”
“But ye didnae want it, to be a nurse.”
“No. I didn’t. I love my job now, of course, and I’m happy in it, but originally, I wanted something else. He tricked me, in all honesty. Showed me something that wasn’t real, reeled me in, and then revealed his true colors.” You shudder. “The first time… the first time it happened, I shook it off, forgave him. I-“ the memory is still so strong, it stuns you. The blood from your busted lip is fresh on your tongue, sting on the side of your face turning to a blooming ache.
“Bunny?” Johnny’s grip moves to your elbow, strong, but not too tight. An anchor. You shake your head.
“Sorry.”
“Ye’re alright, ye can stop if-“
“No, I… I want to share these things with you. It feels like I’m supposed to, like you should know me… like this.”
“We already know you, sweetheart. Don’t push yourself.” Simon’s tone is serious, and you nod.
“It’s embarrassing, looking back on it and realizing how bad it was, how bad I let it get. How I let him cut me off from everyone, change my career, squash me like a bug.” You laugh, but it’s empty.
“Ye did nothin’ wrong,” Johnny’s lips press together, muscles in his jaw straining, “was never yer fault.” You don’t answer, just trace the woodgrain of the table, texture moving beneath your fingers. The conversation is draining you, leeching light away like a horizon swallowing the last of the sun.
“He’s rich. Like, fuck you money rich. Rich like make problems go away rich, and his job…” your head shakes again. It’s the most you’ve ever said, heavy buried secrets finally dug up, resurrected, the truth trembles through your bones. “He has resources. Has chased me across the globe more than once. My only saving grace is that when he has to work, he has to work, and it’s usually for long chunks of time.”
“I know you’ve said you’re not really sure, but did he ever tell you what his job entails?”
“He’s in the military. Some sort of security work, department of defense, or something. He never really talked about it.” Johnny shifts in his seat, antsy, and you shrug. “He kept that part of his life very, very private. There was even a room in the house that was always locked.” Your head is heavy, lead upon your shoulders, and Johnny tucks his arm around you, pulling you into his chest.
“I know this is hard bun, but ye’re so brave for us. Lettin’ us know ye this way. I’m proud of ye.” He murmurs, lips to your forehead, and you fully relax, wrapping around his middle.
“I’m tired.” You whisper, eyes closing, and he rubs your back.
“Let’s get ye to bed then.”
“Your child is too big for me to carry!” You announce, hand on your hip, little backpack straps looped around your arm. Simon closes the door behind you, chuckling, and Penny plops onto the floor. She goes to a nursery day program now a few days a week, something that was a contentious subject in the house for far too long, opinions and arguments ping ponging over your head until the decision was finally made.
“It’s not safe.”
“Ye cannae keep ‘er locked up here forever, love.”
“Why not?” Simon bounced Penny against his chest, unimpressed look on both their faces, so alike you almost busted out laughing.
“Because she’s a child. She needs to be w’other children, not just us.” Johnny brings his free hand to his lips, squeezing Simon’s wrist. “I know ye’re scared.” Simon’s not the only one who’s scared, you thought. Phillip lurked at the edge of your mind, worry that he might find Penny plagued you, even though they both assured that wasn’t their main concern.
“She’s too little.”
“Simon. We agreed on this,” Johnny gives him a sharp look, “do yer research, find the best one. Ye know this needs to happen, for her. She needs to make friends, learn how to interact with kids her own age. Ye know this.”
“Fine.”
“She cannae be, not m’wee lamb.”
“She is.” You rub your shoulder. “Sheesh.” Penny’s stomach gurgles at your feet, and Simon grimaces.
“There’s a bug goin’ around the kids, teacher told me today.”
“Not surprising. Nurseries are little petri dishes.” You straighten your back, rolling your shoulder, and wince.
“Hurts?” Simon’s thumb digs into the soft spot there, and your lashes flutter.
“Maybe ye need a hot bath,” Johnny suggests, and Simon ushers the two of you up the stairs.
“I’ve got Pen. Go relax.”
“This is nice.” Johnny soaps your back, lavender and vanilla steam swirling around in the bathroom as you lean against him, his chest to your back.
“Aye.” The cloth drags across your chest, teasing your nipples, and you revel in his touch, soaking in every second he gives you, the brush of his cheek against yours, his lips on your neck. “Like havin’ ye all to myself sometimes.” You blink.
“Does it bother you? When we’re not all together?”
“No. Ye have a relationship wit’ me, and wit’ Simon, and we have a relationship all together. No one is the same. I like it.”
“Me too.” You settle again, loose and tender in the bath, soaped hands running up and down your back, kneading your shoulders, releasing the tension coiled in your bones. You groan.
“Feel good then?”
“Yeah.” He presses a hand over your heart with a deep breath, before he takes another.
And then one more.
“What’s wro-“
“I love ye bun. Wholly. Think ‘ve loved ye since the day I opened my eyes to ye leaning over the bed in hospital.” You turn, twisting to face him, and he dabs your nose with his thumb. “I dinnae have any expectations of ye, or yer feelings, but I had to be honest. I had to tell ye.” The confession fights its way forward, begging to be let out, to be freed.
Tell him. Tell him the truth. Tell him you love them, that they’re your light, that they’ve chased the darkness away and replaced it with the sun.
You can’t.
Instead, you rest your forehead against his, syncing your breathing, sharing the moment, holding onto him so tight in case he slips away.
“I can’t say it.” You whisper, and he nods. “But that doesn’t mean… it doesn’t mean it’s not there. I’m just… I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“An’ that’s okay. I’ll wait, I’ll wait for ye as long as ye need.” There’s no pressure, no demands, just Johnny and his arms, his understanding and patience, his love.
You blink back tears and crash your lips to his. “Thank you.”
Your stomach is what wakes you.  
Something it in is burning, tossing bile around, the sensation strong enough your lips curl, and you try to draw a deep breath through your nose.
You wriggle, trying to pull free from where you’re tangled up in Simon and Johnny, carefully and slow, hoping to avoid waking them though you know even in their dreams, they sleep with one eye open.
 Still, you manage to make it to the bathroom before feet are padding across the carpet on your heels.
You sink to your knees in front of the toilet, stomach bubbling, sending the scorching remnants of dinner up your throat.
The door clicks open. “No, get out. I don’t want you to see-“ you gag again, tap turning on at the sink, a cold washcloth folding over your neck.
“Shhh,” Simon murmurs, rubbing your back, “get it all out.”
“Oh god,” another wave swells, and your muscles tense, body expelling bits of bile and not much else.
“That’s the way, good girl.”
“This is gross.” You gasp. “You should go back to bed.”
“I’ve seen way worse than you puking, sweetheart.”
“She alright?” Johnny half yells from the bedroom and you groan. The guilt of him having to maneuver himself out of bed, still not one hundred percent healthy, still not back to full strength, draws a shiver from your spine.
“I’m fine, don’t come in here!” Your stomach pitches, fingers tightening against your thighs, but nothing comes up, again and again, until everything settles and you’re breathing deeply, steady, back straight.
“Let’s get you some water.” There’s no point in arguing with him. He’s going to do what he wants to do when it comes to taking care of you, you know that now. It’s painfully clear as he tries to help you drink from the glass, and then puts toothpaste on your toothbrush.
“I’m fine.” You assure weakly, but he only watches you, concerned.
“Think it’s the nursery bug?”
“Probably.” You sag, energy drained completely, and he steadies you, cupping your cheek. His touch is cool, and you lean into it, savoring the reprieve it brings against your throbbing temples.
“Want to go back to bed?”
“What if I throw up again?” He presses a kiss to your forehead.
“I’ll jus’ clean it up.”
“Can I ask you a question?” You glance up at the timid mouse of a nurse, brand new, fingers clutched around a tablet like she’s drowning and it’s her life vest.
“What’s up?”
“Can you… can you look at these orders for me?” She looks terrified, and it tells you everything you need to know. She’s probably caught a mistake.
Baby nurses begin their careers in a delicate position. They’re overwhelmed, fresh off a whirlwind of orientation, overloaded with policy and procedure, and depending on their preceptor, either somewhat prepared or completely lost. Pitting a baby nurse against a provider, even a first-year resident, is like sending a lamb in to confront a lion. The result is usually tears.
She hands you the tablet and you spot it immediately. Incorrect dosage.
“Good catch.” You reassure, coaxing a small smile, and she nods.
“What do I do?”
“We go find the provider and clarify the dosage.” You’re not going to leave it up to her, alone, hang her out to dry and probably get run over by whatever moron ordered it in the first place, who happens to be-
Marshall.
Your eyes couldn’t roll any harder. “The pharmacy is also very on top of seeing errors like this, but it’s good you’ve noticed too, for the patient and yourself. Liability for things like this can be very tricky.” She nods again, trailing behind you, brand new squeaky sneakers echoing your own steps.
You can’t stop the sigh that escapes you when you find him, leaned up against a wall, arms crossed, smirking, cocking his head at your companion. “What’s up?”
“Can you take a look at this for me?” You purposefully zoom in on the meds tab, practically painting a bullseye around his error. He scoffs, defensive immediately, dismissive, before he takes a closer look, jaw clenched.
“That’s my mistake.” You blink. Marshall rarely ever takes responsibility so gracefully. Your eyebrow lifts.
“Care to fix it?”
“Of course.” His agreement is punctuated with a smile, though it’s off kilter.
“You can go,” you nod to the nurse, “good job.” Her eyes dart between you and Marshall, and without another word, scampers off.
“She’s new?” His usual interest in new nurses is less enthusiastic than ever.
You hate Marshall. He’s a scumbag. But he’s also been your coworker since day one, and you can’t help yourself. “What’s up with you?”  
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve never owned up to a mistake that quickly, and you didn’t even make some smart-ass remark. Or berate her. Or give me an attitude.” He winces.
“It’s nothing.” But it doesn’t seem like nothing. It seems like something is wrong, like he’s sad, or depressed, and try as you might, your bleeding heart can’t walk away.
“What’s wrong.” You phrase a statement, a demand, instead of a question, and he blows a frustrated breath.
“It’s… I’m seeing someone.” Your eyes go wide.
“Who?” Please don’t say a nurse, please don’t say a nurse, please-
“Anna. From radiology.”
“Oh my god. The cupcake girl?” Anna was a fan favorite. Not only was she kind, but she was also quick with her reads, and baked cupcakes for the entire floor almost once a month. As far as radiologists go, she was better than most.
“Yeah.”
“Okay…”
“I really like her but… she’s always been aware of my reputation and is trying to take it slow. Too slow.” You could lecture him with a million reasons why she’s in the right, but it doesn’t seem like he’s got the resolve to handle it.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s dragging her feet. Doesn’t want to hang out more than once a week, rarely stays the night. I’ve been to her place a handful of times, but that’s it.”
“How long has it been?”
“Two months.” You laugh.
“That’s it?”
“It’s a long time for me!” You hold your hands up in surrender.
“Okay, okay, but seriously. Two months is no time at all. Have you discussed the… reluctance with her?” He seems uneasy, and for the first time, you’re not sure if you enjoy watching him squirm.
“Yeah. She says she’s happy, but isn’t trying to jump into anything,” his air quotes carry a whiff of the condescending asshole you know too well. This conversation couldn’t be timelier, and you think back to what you told Johnny the other night.
“Just because she’s taking it slow doesn’t mean her feelings for you aren’t there. You have to respect that. If she’s still putting up with you after two months, I’d bet she’s just being cautious. Getting hurt sucks.” He nods thoughtfully. “Give her the time she’s asking for, and don’t give up.”
Don’t give up.
The sentiment twists a knife lodged deep in your heart. Is that what will happen to you? Will they give up? Get tired of waiting for you to spill all your secrets, get tired of waiting for you to take the final step? To tell them you love them?
Get tired of waiting for you to let them use your real name?
“I didn’t expect her, didn’t expect to feel this way.” The mask comes down, revealing a hopelessly lovesick heart, the depth of it shining in his eyes.
“I don’t think anyone ever does expect it. That’s the surprising thing about love, I guess.” You sway, a palm pressed to the wall as your hand flattens over your stomach.
“You alright?” Marshall’s voice is far away as you breathe through your nose, trying to fend off the nausea tightening your throat.
“Sorry, I’ve been a bit under the weather. Think I’ve got a bug or something.” Your stomach roils in warning, and you barely grit out an apology before dashing away.
Just in time to toss your breakfast up in the toilet.
“I’m fine.”
“I heard you in the toilet. You didn’t sound fine, and you shouldn’t be working if you’re sick.” Your manager shakes her head like she’s disappointed, and you glare. You both know if you had called this morning talking about a stomach bug, she would have told you to suck it up unless you were actively vomiting.
“Look around. Do you see an excess of nurses on the floor?”
“We’ll manage. Or call someone in.” You shake your head.
“We’re already way past policy ratios.” You bite your tongue when safe nearly slips out, not wanting to piss her off. That’s the union’s job.
“At least go sit down or something. Take a break. Come back in twenty minutes and let me know how you feel.”
Your closet is cozy, and for once during the day, unoccupied. The nausea has subsided, for now, and you shoot a text to the guys, asking about Penny. If you feel like this, you can’t imagine how she feels.
You curl up and imagine you’re home instead, maybe in bed with a sleeve of crackers and some soda, warm chest at your back, a hand stroking over your hip. Maybe you’d have some soup, maybe the three of you would watch a movie after Pen went down for bed. You start to drift in the domestic fantasy, sleeping curling itself like a blanket over your shoulders, until you’re startled by the vibration of your phone, foot kicking forward in a jolt against a shelf.
A box falls to the floor.
HCG strips.
You stare at it for a long time, numbers and dates and weeks mashing together, calculations getting lost in the fray.
You’re not…
No.
Ridiculous. Not even possible. You’re on the pill. Religiously.
You have the nursery bug that Pen brought home. Get a grip.
Still…
You use the fifth-floor bathroom, one of the only single occupant toilets in the whole damn hospital, nausea now coming from a completely different source.
The timer on your phone is incredibly slow, or maybe it’s just time itself, the world turning in slow motion, every second elongated into turbulent silence, too many thoughts, too many feelings, too much of everything to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Fear.
Anxiety.
Panic.
Sadness.
Grief.
It’s grief that is the strongest. Grief for something that Phillip stole, mourning for something that was once so close, so real, and then gone in an instant.
If you close your eyes, you can still feel his boot in your stomach. The press of a steel toe, jammed beneath your ribs, wild, deranged eyes staring down at you in a rage.
But-
Buried so, so far beneath the crushing weight of it all, there is a bright little pocket of sunshine. A small little sliver of light, beams of hope stretching for the sky, warmth spilling over until your hands tremble with the conflict warring inside you.
Nothing has changed, but everything could.
The timer goes off with a shrill chime, and you lean over the sink to where the small strip sits on top of a cup.
A bold pink line.
And then another, more faint, but certainly there. A simple equation, one plus one equals two. Simple math.
Tangible. Present.
Pregnant.
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sugashook · 20 hours
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wade goes "i need you" and he literally grabs logan and is very clear and consistent on it, like i need you, all the time. i think logan needs that clarity and certainty and forwardness..honesty, someone to push him and need him. someone with transparent emotions that will get him out of his head,
and wade needs someone to be there for him no matter what . it's like logan's no longer a puzzle piece for war, he's extremely important in wades world, his other half at the moment perhaps (bark)
wolverines entire thing is that he can take great beatings and come back seemingly fine and unaffected its like a very strong closed off person, a fortress that protects his emotions. i think he feels good having people to protect.
but that's also a bad thing because being really strong and feeling like you can take all the bullets you took in your life and bounce them off while at the same time suffering in silence seemingly unaffected by what happened to you is harmful to your psyche. and seeming this way to others as well is even a bigger issue, especially with logan who has the base need to be with people and be there for others.
and for that he NEEDS someone to dig deeper and pierce through his perfect disposition he is NOT easily open and easy going like wade he needs someone to see him and give him a chance and fight for him! wade will make way for himself in someones life, logan will go deeper into himself.
others could see you perfectly "unscathed" all the time and if they don't understand you or try to understand you and how much you can be dealing with complex emotions inside, they will grow resentful,you'll be rejected and treated badly.
wade is very fragile on the other hand, sure he regenerates, but the scars of his trauma are visible and harsh on him, he knows it , everyone knows it.
that's why he's so repulsive to others, his life beat him so hard that he can't control himself with his emotions and it weirds people out, they don't understand it and they get mad,upset,etc.
even scared just by looking at him, you survived trauma, but it shows on you how it affected you and it makes ME uncomfortable, that's pretty scary, you're different and you don't fit in anywhere. they judge him in the opposite way that logan is judged. your overwhelming presence is unnerving to me.
thats why wade hides with his suit his entire face, and the blood. dont notice me,my wounds, and the wounds i give to others. while logans suit screams "notice me!! i'm not okay!! i want people to see me!"
when he regenerates, wades body generates bad body tissue from his skin to his core. and the scars of all that trauma add new trauma so he's constantly re-traumatizing himself and it layers on. he doesn't get stronger or bounce it off himself, bad things such as trauma are just bad they create more bad and he's made out of all the bad things that happened during his life sort of, so he needs a lot of external support.
cause he has no strength left! all the trauma and SLS (shitty life syndrome) is like up to his gills. but he is very joyful and positive despite the harshness of life.
he is a little positivity clown bouncing around in wolverines fortress of solitude.
wolverine can sort of take attacks from life and endure and wade can attack life more easily, he's a positive, up beat, go getter. he loves the world and sees hope in it when there's none. and when the world doesnt love him back ,it crushes him and he cant take it. he doesn't understand how anything he tries he gets hurt by. but he never stops trying :)
logan shuts himself off from the cruel world with his perfect skin and metal bones, but the world has shut off from him as well. wade keeps being hurt and open to the world just like his open wounds and scarred body. even though the world hurts him through his openness.
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supahstarrr · 2 days
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rambling.
i don't know if it's just me but hope peak labeling Xander as an "ultimate rebel" feels soooo insanely shady of them to do and so backhanded. like can i- we just talk about that for a moment. i Think too much. one could argue that they used a term with simpler meaning such as 'rebel' to refer to his activism and revolutionist work for the general public to digest the complexity & heaviness of what he stands for & does while getting the gist of what he specializes in.
thing is that this term has negative connotations which are usually heightened when applied to young adults and teenagers. typically this term is attached to an certain appearance and how the behavior affects others more than what is being said itself. that way when it is applied to people, it is used as as a way to dismiss their genuine criticisms of the status quo. it's assumed they're not justified to feel so strongly about criticizing norms in society because of it's heavy association with young people and as i've mentioned, how it makes others feel when you are critical of norms.
using the words "revolutionist" and "activist" may be uncomfortable but at least it directly tells you the complexity going behind his work and perhaps beliefs. yet using "rebel" is such an interesting word to describe his work, as it appears more like Hope peak is undermining his work & beliefs and calling him a trouble maker at once. even more so as he is a pretty young person himself, it is assumed by the story that he is a fresh adult going into college and finally facing the real world.
if hopes peak is willing to treat his work and activism like this, there is the question to why let him be in college in the first place? why bother accepting a student like this if they're aware that he will be a reflection of the school. hope's peak actions make the title of his more suspicious, specifically their cover-ups. i can't help but interpret Xander's presence in the college being thought of because Hope's peak wanted him into the school hoping that he could be "tamed" or perhaps watched, while taking advantage of his image by making the school appear "progressive" than it is.
there are various of possibilities to why Hope peak even got the thought in the first place, i have a few but this post is going on too long and i need to sleep. i don't know what to end this post at because these are just random thoughts i got.
as much as Hope's peak is very suspicious and calculated, his ultimate title seems unnecessarily damn petty to the point it's kind of funny.
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enanansbbg · 13 hours
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Anhane’s relationship, and it’s complexity:
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this was originally uploaded onto twt, but I wanted to reupload it here because I was very proud of this analysis, so please enjoy and feel free to add anything I may have missed or skipped over!
With that being said, here we go! ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
Let’s start with the basics. The pure power of their aibouness, and its connections to vivid street.
To begin, you must understand what a partner is in VBS terms. In this case, it’s ‘a person who brings out parts of you never knew existed’.
In relations to Anhane, this is based off pure raw emotions. This is shown through An’s abandonment issues and Kohane’s want to make her heart pound.
Kohane wants to recreate that feeling she felt when she first heard An singing inside of An, to ‘make her heart pound’, while An’s abandonment issues cause her to fear Kohane’s rapid growth may lead to Kohane abandoning her.
This also plays into a certain factor about Kohane and the idea of her and angst, I believe.
Many people want Kohane to have some kind of angst event, especially related to her backstory, but that would go against all her motives.
See, Kohane’s pure movies for pursuing music—for working to surpass Rad Weekend all tie back to An. It was hearing An singing at WG that made her heart pound and An asking her to be her singing partner that caused her to even consider music as an option.
From here, their relationship develops into a lot more, and it’s when the idea of partners ‘bringing out an ugly side of you’ comes to play.
You can see even in the maim story An not seeing Kohane as an equal. It only gets called out and resolved in Singing in Sync.
Singing In Sync, ep. 1 and 3
🎧: “In the unlikely event that something does go wrong, I’ll cover for you and get you back on track, okay?”
🎧: “I failed as her partner…I couldn’t protect her…
🎧: “I mean, she’s my partner…And I wanted to guide her so that she could sing without worrying…”
🥞: “You don’t think of Kohane as one of the team.”
An telling Kohane “I’ll protect you if you mess up” subconsciously puts the idea into Kohane’s head “I’m not good enough, so I’ll probably mess up” This is what caused the entire issue in SIS to begin with.
But it’s once An tells her “you can protect me too” that Kohane is able to subconsciously think “I have the power to make her heart pound too”
Singing in Sync, ep. 8
🎧: “If I miss a cue at the next event…”
🎧: “Could you cover for me?”
🐹: “An… Sure, I can do that!”
After this we get Awakening Beat. Kohane is able to come out of her shell and fully adapts the idea “I can make her heart pound too” and has a large boost in confidence because of it. An both brought her confidence down and back up in the spam of one rotation.
Awakening Beat, ep. 8
🎧: (“It’s like she’s not even the Kohane I know. Could this be because she’s completely resolved herself?”
🎧: (“But even with just that, she can really change this much…?”)
However….In the same event, An’s insecurities begin to bloom and in Bout for Beside You, An has to face them for the first time.
Awakening Beat, ep. 8, BFBY, ep. 4
🎧: (“I was just gonna tell her she did amazing… That I never knew she could sing that amazingly, but…”
🎧: (“What’s going on? I just can’t get the words out—”)
🎧: “Kohane is…going to leave me behind?”
Here, An realizes her and Kohane ‘perfect’ relationship is more complicated now. While Kohane’s adapted the idea of “I want to make her heart pound”, An opens to idea of “I wont he able to make her heart pound anymore” (they doki doki more than ddlc i swear)
At the end of the event, An ask Kohane the golden question. “If I were to leave somewhere far away, would we still sing together?”
BFBY, ep. 8
🎧: “But what would you do if I said that I’d be going somewhere far far away someday?”
🎧: “And I wanted to reach greater heights just like what Uncle Taiga did exploring the world. If I were to go to someplace even greater and far far away from here—”
Of course, Kohane affirms this. Naturally, Kohane takes a lot of pride in being An’s partner, being the only partner for her. (as said in ORS) She wants to keep singing with An forever.
BFBY, ep. 8
🐹: “Even so, I would want to keep singing with An-chan!”
🐹: “No matter where you go or what you become, I’d still want to be with you!”
🐹: “I want to properly stand beside you and sing with you!”
We’re gonna skip ahead a bit and jump up to KIUAN, where we get our lovely “She looks like Nagi-san” line, the line that killed every Anhane shipper in the tristate area.
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But what makes this line so special? Well, for that let’s discuss what made Nagi’s death (and the lie surrounding it) so impactful.
Nagi was someone An looked up to highly. So, when she was suddenly told that Nagi moved, not even saying goodbye, to pursue her music career, it left a mark on An. Added to the fact that Nagi wasn’t returning An’s messages or calls, just completely disappeared.
Now, looking to Bout for Beside you and KIUAN, you can see the importance of these lines. An fears that Kohane will improve so much that she leaves without a word, never talks go her again and just moves on. It’s why she looks so distressed.
VOT ep. 8, BFBY, ep. 8, KIUAN ep. 7
🎧: “…Aww. I wonder what Nagi-san is doing over in America? I wish she’d give us a call at least.”
🎧: “Ah! Maybe I’ll send her a text then! I wonder if she’ll be surprised~?”
🎧: “But what would you do if I said that I’d be going somewhere far far away someday?”
🎧: “…She looks just like Nagi-san…”
And, it’s why she can’t even believe Kohane when she says just how important An is to her, how much she loves her and wants to sing with her because Nagi said the same thing and now Nagi is gone.
This manages to reach a resolve in WTWG, where An ‘fights’ Kohane, takes all those raw emotions out in a healthy way, through her song.
An’s card in WTWG is more than just ‘An takes her anger out on Kohane’, because in truth that’s not entirely what she’s doing. Instead, it’s An’s raw emotions taking form.
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An wants Kohane to grow, she wants Kohane to thrive fully, but that fear of abandonment—Fear that Kohane will leave and never speak to her again makes her want to hold her close and never let her go anywhere.
So what about Kohane?
Well, starting with thr WTWG card/story, Kohane wants to be An’s best partner. As she states, ‘to make An’s heart pound’.
So, to be vulnerable here is to accept all of An’s raw emotions. Let her lean on her and feel everything because to Kohane, that makes her a worthy partner.
She says over and over throughout the fight that An is amazing, that she wants to be like her, how much it makes her heart pound. Really, it reminds me of Kohane’s colorfes story.
WTWG, ep. 7
🐹: (“An-chan…really is amazing.”)
🐹: (“…Whenever I hear An-chan sing, it really makes my heart pound like nothing else. It makes me wish I could sing like her.”)
In it, Kohane goes to Vivid Street, but everyone thinks she’s An. This happens after she thinks about what it would be like to be An, but only going through this dream does she realize that she doesn’t want to be An, she wants to be her. She wants to be An’s partner.
Colorfes Kohane ep. 1 and 2
Record Store Onee-san: “You caught me off guard, using polite like that, An-chan!”
🐹: (“Did she just say An-chan…?”)
🐹: (“—An-chan’s so cool and strong…and there’s times I wish I could be like her…”)
🐹: (“I have to be me! Because—”)
🎧: “—Y’know, I was thinking, your singing is always so amazing, Kohane.”
🎧: “Whenever I hear your singing, it makes my heart race. The tension rises, and it makes me feel like I have to start singing right now!”
🐹: (“Because I’m An-chan’s partner—!”)
And to be An’s partner, is to drag all those raw, vertical emotions out of An, just like she does in WTWG.
In conclusion, Anhane explosion their relationship is so complex and strong and I love it
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baldurs-writers-3 · 3 days
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Wyll Ravengard: A Baldur's Gate 3 Fanfic Rec List
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This week, we have Wyll Focused fics! Check under the cut for ten incredible fics all about our favorite folk hero, Wyll Ravengard. And as always, comment and kudos if you like them!
Blood-seeking Blade by specimenbag (24809, Teen) Content Notes: Canon-Typical Violence Pairings: Astarion/Wyll
The end of the world must be nigh, Wyll thought, if Wyll of the Griffins spares a monster and lets him be a bloody traveling companion. Or, the series where Wyll is a Witcher, and Astarion is the vampire he saved
Reccer says: I love literally everything about this AU. The author includes helpful notes to explain witcher terminology so its very accessible. The vibes are immaculate and the characterizations are so well done.
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Nothing Like the Sun by odessacastle (159772, Mature) Content Notes: None Pairings: Astarion/Wyll
Wyll and Astarion meet before his exile! Fate wants things to proceed down a similar path, however.
Reccer says: It's neat to see two canon companions have the 'oh shit we knew each other before this tadpole bullshit!!' that you normally just see more OC focused, it makes for very different starting interactions. Also man Wyll is bad at vampire spotting.
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the blade falls by PurpleCatGhost (4097, Teen) Content Notes: None Pairings: Wyll & Friends
Wyll used to know his own limits fairly well, but that was before the tadpole. Besides that, having friends you can rely on is also a new experience, though at least this one is a nice one
Reccer says: I really enjoy Wyll realizing just a little bit too late that his injuries are worse than he thought, and then everyone's response to that being "How dare you not tell us you needed help >:("
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Bouquet of the Frontiers by Tavylia_Sin (5796, General) Content Notes: Pairings: Wyll & Friends
Wyll tries to spend the tiefling party off on his own. His friends decide they would much rather adorn him in flowers and affirmations instead.
Reccer says: Very sweet. The found family vibes are impeccable
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Hells Escape Pact by ushauz (17613, Teen) Content Notes: None Pairings: Karlach/Wyll, Astarion/Wyll, Astarion/Karlach, Astarion/Karlach/Wyll
A bit of a 'bad end' for three of the companions. Wyll is a proper demon type in Hell, Karlach never got out, and Astarion got sacrificed in the ritual. What now?
Reccer says: Bad end doesn't have to be bad forever!
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Window to the Soul by normal_thoughts_official (653, Mature) Content Notes: depersonalization Pairings:
little snippets from wyll's childhood, through his time as the blade and how he sees himself as a person (and not)
Reccer says: for a short story it packs a damn punch, left me emotional
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Saviour Complex by fantailsock (12246, Mature) Content Notes: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Pairings: Wyll and Friends, minor Astarion/Wyll
Five times someone helped Wyll out and one time he helped himself.
Reccer says: I'm always a sucker for found family and the team forcing someone to learn how to value themselves, and this fic is perfect for that
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Less Than Ideal by jeejaschocolate (5021, General) Content Notes: some internalized ableism and drinking to cope Pairings: Astarion/Wyll
Being burned by hellfire left Wyll with poor eyesight in his solitary eye. Astarion notices. Of course, he can’t keep his opinions to himself.
Reccer says: Lovely exploration of vulnerability
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a story better than the real thing by not_whelmed_yet (1100, General) Content Notes: N/A Pairings: N/A
Wyll is alone in the woods, in the wilderness, and the heroes of his youth spoke only of victory so maybe he can convince himself of it, too.
Reccer says: a wonderful character study of Wyll as the Blade of Frontiers - creating a storybook persona so he can try and distract himself from the miserable realities of his current situation. very sad. very fascinating.
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And then we have three recs for the following: Allemande by adrezarach (7255, Explicit) Content Notes: None Pairings: Wyll/Tav, Wyll & Ulder Ravengard
Wyll is developing a crush on Tav and comes to realize that they’ve met before, when they were amongst the nobility of Baldur’s Gate! An introspective character study of Wyll, touching on how his life intersects with Tav’s over the course of nine years. He dances, he dreams, and he thinks about the storybook hero he wants to be.
Reccer #1 says: I really enjoyed this read and the author has a Wyll voice that feels very distinctive and true to character. Reccer #2 says: The author has a distinctive and poignant Wyll-voice, and the contrast between the timeframes of the fic is really interesting. Reccer #3 says: The author has such a strong grasp of Wyll’s character and a distinctive narrative voice that suits him really well. I love how they played with past and present so that the reader can see his changing thoughts over his life pre and post pact. It’s a strong piece as a stand-alone, but it’s clear the author has long term plans for this characterization and this dynamic. One of my favorite wyll-centric wylltav pieces.
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The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ!
Next week, we’ll be back with the evergreen trope, Misunderstandings!
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k3n-dyll · 2 days
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I think the reason toxic!Au's have such a bad reputation to a lot of people is because often times people just blatantly mischaracterize the subject of the AU beyond the point of recognition.
I personally don't gaf about most mischaracterizations (as long as you aren't trying to pose them as canonical fact). People can have fun and be silly if they want to, Hell - I'm sure I've written some characters a bit out of character at times for the sake of joy and whimsy - BUT - I think with toxic!AU's specifically a lot of authors love to default into making that character a genuinely bad and toxic person and in doing that they strip any complexity away from an otherwise very complex character. Like, most well-written characters have some bad traits that could potentially get them in relationship troubles with friends, family, romantic partners, etc, and instead of exploring those actual traits SOME writers go straight to taking the person completely out of character and it's just a turn off for a lot of readers who love the media to read about a character with so many different and intertwining qualities be dumbed down to being jealous and mad all the damn time (bonus if the toxicity is 'solved' with sex)
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Eurylochus's God Games
Introduction
Hello Epic Fans, I'm very excited to share with you something that's part of a Eurylochus Lives Au I'm pulling together.
Even before God Games came out I was really interested in the idea of other Epic characters having to have their own God Games to release them or let them live. Eurylochus is such a complex character and I knew right away thinking about a God Games about Eurylochus would be interesting as the arguments made for and against him would should the complex duality of his character.
So I then decided I was going to try use Jay's snippets we'd been given and conjure up my own version of Eurylochus's God Games. Honestly it was just a concept but then I wanted to use it for my au where Eurylochus gets resssurected from the dead.
Doing these snippets helped me really understand which God's should be swapped around or swapped out entirely. So I kept Aphrodite and Ares but added in Helios, Poseidon and Persephone. Ares, Aphrodite and Beaat Mode Hades were the hardest to write whilst Helios and Poseidon's were the easier parts. We are talking about the man that literally killed his cows and Poseidon would be mad Eurylochus spared Odysseus during Mutiny.
Then now with the release of The Wisdom Saga the parody has perfectly come together like glue. It was really hard though cos I didn't want all the arguments to be about what happened on Helios's island. But the Windbag and Helios's island are such important parts of Eurylochus's character arc.
Honestly it's not perfect but I'm really proud how this parody turned out. It's still got the high stakes and drama and it's super intresting. I hope I can inspire people to make their own games for other characters.
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Conclusion
I wanted to save this for my Eurylochus Lives au but I've realised that it's too far in the future right now with how busy life is and due to how good it is I wanted to share it. Never in my life did I think I'd be writing a song parody where Circe becomes Eurylochus's lawyer but it's super cool.
I have to say Eurylochus is such a cool character and his reverse character arc compared to Odysseus is what makes him so interesting. A lot of Circes defences are what Epic fans have said and I hope the defences also humanise him a bit. Fingers crossed for that Eurylochus prequel.
Honestly it was really fun writing the parody and including other God's who don't have the spotlight in Epic. Helios is a super fun character to write and he will be in some of my other fics but in Eurylochus's God Games he is both super petty and considered about his challenging the Lord of The Underworld.
Any questions about my Eurylochus Lives au my asks are open.
I'm gonna share bits of the parody on tik tok but that's all I can do I'm afraid.
Happy reading Eurylochus fans.
-Melody-
They/Them
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Tags: @tumblingghosts @caramellcandy
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bees-making-art · 3 days
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Beat of the Heart, Chapter Two: No Shame
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Here's the second chapter! I forgot to mention this in the previous one but all the chapter names are from songs! So feel free to listen to them while you read.
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It's only about an hour or two later when you see Logan again. Charles had decided that he still wanted the scan performed on Logan and assigned you to the job as Jean was ‘busy’ doing something with Scott. So you travel back to the dorms and knock on Logan's door. You hear some shuffling before the knob twists before the door is pulled back, revealing a properly dressed Logan. He’s dressed in a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans. 
His face is scrunched up in what looks like annoyance for a moment though it quickly melts back into the teasing smirk he has been giving you thus far.
“Couldn’t wait to see me again, could you sweetheart?” Logan teases. He crosses his arms and leans against the wooden doorframe, almost mimicking how you had earlier in Charles's office. 
You huff at his insinuation. Standing back from the door, you roll your eyes before correcting him. Because while, yes, he looks good shirtless, you do have a job.
“Sorry, big boy, but I'm here for a more scientific reason. Charles wants me to run that test we were going to do before you woke up. Walk with me. I'll explain the process on the way.” You turn, not glancing at Logan as you walk towards the elevator. Only once inside do you look at him. 
Logan did, in fact, follow you to the lift; slipping inside next to you. He's standing much closer than necessary, making heat tingle across your skin. You shove the feeling down to get control of your powers, preventing your veins from starting to glow. 
When the door closes, you start telling Logan the process and reason for the test you will run on him.
“On your side of things, it will be easy; all you have to do is lie down on a bed in a machine. It's like an X-ray and MRI all in one but attuned specifically to mutants and their abilities. We use it to see exactly what a mutant's abilities are, how it affects their body, and if they have any injuries we can't see on the outside.” 
You glance at Logan to see if he's listening. And to your pleasant surprise, he seems to be actually taking in the information you are giving him. A smile creeps up on your face at the sight. You wouldn’t expect anyone to pay attention, and you wouldn’t blame them for it either. But there he was, listening to your every word as you explained a complex machine's purpose.
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When you reach the mansion's basement level, the elevator dings, and the doors open with a quiet mechanical noise. You lead Logan out into the hallway. After about a minute of walking you reach the infirmary doors. Once again, your hand is pressed against the sensor and the metal doors slide open. 
“Give me a minute to put my stuff on and then we can get started,” you tell Logan as you pull your lab coat on for the second time in the day. “Actually, could you take off your shirt? It’ll make putting the sensors on easier for me.” You don’t even realize the possible implications of your statement till you’re finished putting on your gloves and you see Logan's smirk.
A blush quickly rises to your cheeks. You scoff at his expression and shove his shoulder. 
“Oh, shut up and get your mind out of the gutter. I didn’t mean it in that way.”
Turning on your heel, you quickly walk into the infirmary proper, hoping to hide your embarrassment with distance. You can hear Logan chuckle from behind as he follows you. Once sensors are retrieved from their drawer, you instruct him on which bed he must lie on. 
Once he is reclined, you begin placing the sensors. They are clear sticky circles with minor metal attachment points. You put them on his shoulders, upper arms, forearms, temples, pecs, and abdomen.
As you place the last sensor on his left shoulder Logan shifts on the bed. He leans his head up and to the left, making eye contact with you as his eyebrow raises and a smirk crosses his features. 
“Knew you jus’ wanted to see me shirtless again,’ he teases. Instead of verbally responding, you simply rip off the patch you had just placed, a small smile of satisfaction gracing your features when you see him wince.
“Ah yes, I’m totally doing all of this just to see you without your shirt off when I could instead be relaxing, definitely, for sure,” you quip. Before Logan can retort, you press a button on the outside of the medical device. 
The bed slowly moves inside the machine, and once the door shuts, you release a quiet sigh and drag a hand over your face. The burning blush on your cheeks is brought to full attention by the nerve sensors in your hand. Of course, he was attractive without a shirt, there was no denying it, but he didn’t have to be cocky about it. Logan just couldn’t let you enjoy it, could he?
After taking a moment to collect yourself, you set your hand on the casing of the x-ray machine. Then, you use your powers to connect to the machine. You feel the familiar thrum of electricity against your fingertips and crawling through your veins, connecting you to the electrical wiring inside the machine. You’ve done it so often that you barely have to focus on connecting.
What you do next, however, requires more concentration. You close your eyes and focus on the machine's scanner. Your vision is blurry initially, but after a few seconds, you can see Logan from a top-down view. 
Ignoring the heat that returns to your skin, you switch the view to X-ray. To your surprise, Logan's skeleton is either made of or has metal surrounding it. You can’t tell which kind, but the machine will tell you when the full scan is finished.
You pull out of the machine and open your eyes. They are again blurry but clear up in a few seconds, and then you walk over to the infirmary computer. 
You flick your wrist towards the computer, turning it on with your powers. It prompts you to log in. You type in the code, then start the program for the scanner's results. Even though you have some of the best technology in the country, the two devices always take forever to connect on their own. So, using your mutation, you artificially connect the two. 
Scott would always scold you whenever he caught you doing it, saying that they ‘should only be used for important or dangerous situations.’ 
Charles would also scold you on occasion. Although, that was for a completely different reason. He wanted to make sure you weren't stunting your neural pathways by doing something the easy way too often. You usually listen to Xavier and give Scott a small shock and a grin.
I mean, why would you purposely wait for minutes when you could make it happen in mere seconds?
A little ding sound notifies you that the machines have successfully connected and that the scan will now be slowly transferred into a file on the desktop. So, you grab your note clipboard and pen from the desk and write down your observations. 
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The full scan and download of files take about 10 minutes. The computer makes a little noise and prompts you to save the file. You click the prompt before walking over to the scanning machine, placing your hand on it again, and using your powers to release Logan. 
When Logan comes out, his eyes are closed, and his eyebrows are bunched in his seemingly permanent furrow. The little wrinkles between his eyebrows make you want to gently smooth them with your thumb, but you resist the urge and pat his shoulder instead. 
Logan blinks his eyes open, sitting up on the medical bed. He rolls his neck, creating a few popping noises as he does so. 
“Did you enjoy your trip?” you jokingly ask, a teasing smile plastered on your face. “I know I enjoyed the peace and quiet.”
Logan rolls his eyes and stands up. He grabs his shirt off the table he had set it on and pulls it over his head. You bite your lip at how his back and shoulder muscles move and quickly look away at the computer. 
“As if I even talk that much,” he grumbles. Logan turns to face you, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his eyebrow at you. “Let's see the fancy machine's results. Unless this really was just a long ploy to get me to take my shirt off.” 
His light frown turns into a smirk as he teases. It reddens your cheeks with heat, and your veins faintly glow with buzzing energy. You don't give him the pleasure of a response.
Logan follows you over to the computer. You double-click on the file to open it, waiting a few seconds for the full pictures to load. You expect Logan to simply stand by you or even behind you. 
But instead, both his arms are placed by your sides on the desk. You can feel a whisper of his chest against your back, separated by only the clothes you’re wearing, his arms pressing against yours. Logan’s body is caging you against the desk. And it’s making your entire body flush with heat and butterflies, veins glowing with the energy you’re having difficulty controlling.
So, to distract yourself from the warm body pressed to yours, you focus on the computer. First, you look at the skeleton scan. Using your powers instead of a mouse, you zoom in, closely looking at Logan's skeleton, specifically the three claws between his ulna and radius in each of his arms.
“That's where your claws slot into your arms, and the scan tells me right here that your skeleton is covered in a metal we call Adamantium,” you inform Logan, pointing at what you are talking about. 
He hums in acknowledgment. His nods along to the information you tell him are almost teasing, his breath dancing across your neck from the close proximity.
You move on to the muscular scan, but there isn’t much it tells you, so you quickly move on to the final scan. It’s the one that picks up the mutant gene. The one that tells you precisely what someone's powers are.
You’re just about to begin looking into Logan's power and telling him what you find when the sound of someone clearing their throat breaks the silence first. The two of you whip your head to the sound. You see Scott walking in with his arms crossed.
Even with his glasses on, Scott's face and body language express disappointment and exasperation. He steps closer to the two of you, stopping just a few feet away. You glare at the man. Scott seemingly ignores this in favor of scolding you.
“Sorry to interrupt your clearly very important business but Charles wants to know if the scan is complete.”
Logan steps back from you, allowing both of you to turn around and look at Scott fully. You roll your eyes at him.
“Yes, Scott, it's done. I was reviewing it with Logan, showing him the capabilities of our machines here. Though if Charles wants them, I’ll head there right now.”
Scott gives you a curt nod, turns to face the doors, and then leaves the infirmary just as fast as he arrives.
You groan and drag a hand over your face. You send one last glare in Scott's direction before turning to Logan.
“Sorry about that. You are more than welcome to join me, but I really do need to get those files to Charles.” You touch the computer's console once more. You have to concentrate a bit as you find the correct computer and send the files over.
Logan waves you off with a little smile, “Nothing to worry about, I’ll see you later, yeah?” You give him a smile in return and nod.
“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
The two of you exit the room together. Logan patiently waits for you to take off your lab coat before leaving out the second set of doors. The two of you go up the elevator together and separate to different parts of the mansion.
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Once you reach the meeting room, you are greeted by the sight of Charles and your fellow X-Men (except for Scott). You scoff internally at the man's audacity to scold you when he doesn’t even attend the meeting. 
Charles smiles his familiar, comforting smile and gestures to the computer in the room. You return the smile, then turn the device on and open the file with your mutation. 
Much like with Logan earlier, you show the skeleton scan first; explaining that his skeleton has Adamantium grafted on top of it, and his claws hide in the bones of his forearms. You show the following scan once everyone has absorbed the information. Since you had seen before that the muscle scan didn’t reveal much, you elect to only show the mutation scan, putting it side by side with the skeleton one. 
This time, you will not be interrupted by Scott. So you can actually explain your full findings.
“From the scan, it appears that Logan has potent regenerative abilities. This allows him to have the claws without causing severe damage and having whatever process to cover his bones in metal not kill him.”
You can tell that everyone in the room, including Charles, was just as surprised as you were when you saw the results. The meeting room is silent for a few seconds. But then people begin discussing the scans amongst themselves and how valuable Logan could be to the team.
While this is happening, Scott approaches Logan in the hallway of the teacher dorms. Logan had been heading to one of the common rooms, but Scott stopped him by calling out his name. Logan turns to face the other man, crosses his arms, and looks at him expectantly. 
Scott returns this by crossing his arms.
“Alright. Listen, I know you just got here, but you need to stay away from my medic. They don’t need you distracting them from their work, nor do the rest of us X-Men,” Scott scolds, pointing a finger at the other man.
Logan rolls his eyes and retorts mockingly, “I think they can make that decision themselves, Cyclops.” While saying Scott's code name, Logan shakes his head slightly from side to side before brushing past him to continue to the common room. 
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It is dinner time at the X-Mansion, which means that all the adults are eating together in the kitchen. It resembles breakfast, just with different food. And much like breakfast, Logan is the last to enter the kitchen. You smile when you see him and call Logan to sit beside you. 
Ororo is sitting on your other side; she gives you a little nudge to the side and a playful smile. You return it with a roll of your eyes and a nudge.
Logan sits in the empty seat next to you, giving you a small smile as he begins eating his food. 
The room is quiet and the air is awkward. The others seem to be glancing at Logan, seemingly waiting for him to say something. He was the new guy and no one wanted to overstep but they also didn’t know how to bring him into the normal conversation. However, you didn’t let that stop you.
“Sucks being the new guy at school when you’re an adult, huh?” You tease Logan.
After that, the two of you immediately hit it off, joking, laughing, and bouncing off one another. This releases the tension in the room and the dinner table is again full of conversation.
After dinner, you and Scott wash and dry the dishes together. The team takes turns every day, and today, it was you and him. Logan stood close by, off to the side, continuing the conversation you were having during dinner. 
Logan had offered to help with the dishes, but you told him, “New guys don’t wash dishes their first day.” He rolled his eyes but conceded to making you laugh from the side.
At one point, while you were scrubbing a bowl, Logan made you laugh enough that you let go of the faucet, splashing water on yourself and Scott.
Scott jabs you in the side, “Watch what you're doing I like this shirt.” It is a blatant lie, and you lightheartedly roll your eyes, giving Scott a jab in return by charged with a tiny amount of electricity. Not enough to hurt, but enough to pull a wince out of the man. 
At first, he glares at you, but when Scott hears your devious giggle and sees your grin, he can’t help but laugh along. You turn your attention back to the task at hand, giving Scott the cleaned bowl. 
He joins you and Logan in your banter, occasionally telling Logan about something embarrassing you did to which you blush and try to get him to shut up. And when you can’t, you tell embarrassing stories about Scott in return.
Once the dishes are done, Scott and you both have spots of water on your shirts, and the three of you walk together back to your individual rooms. 
Scott is the first to split off, telling you a quick ‘goodbye’ as he slips into Jean's room. You smirk and nudge Logan, the two of you quietly chuckling at Scott's lack of subtlety.
Soon, the two of you reach your rooms. You're hesitant to say goodnight, not wanting to end the fun you're having. But it’s late and you already feel sleep tugging your eyelids. 
“Goodnight, Logan, I’ll see you in the morning?” You tilt your head a bit and give him a genuine smile.
In return, Logan gives you a similar smile, “Yeah, g’night, Y/N.”
The two of you part, shutting your doors seconds apart. You sigh, getting into your typical pajamas and flopping onto the bed, soon falling asleep.
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Later into the night, sounds from the other side of the hall wake you up. Sitting up and blinking your eyes awake, you strain your ears to listen, hearing the sounds of Logan in pain and thrashing on the bed. 
You jump out of your bed, tossing your covers to the side. You practically sprint to his door, opening it hastily only to find Rogue absorbing Logan's power to heal herself. There are three bloody punctures on her shoulder, clearly caused by Logan's claws.
Once you see that Rogue's wound is fully closed, you pull her carefully from Logan, making sure not to touch her skin yourself. 
You turn towards the door to see Jean, Scott, and Ororo standing at the doorway, watching you in surprise as you handle the situation wonderfully.
Jean is the first to approach, kneeling beside the bed and quietly asking Rogue what happened. Rogue explains that Logan was having a nightmare and he had accidentally stabbed her when she tried to wake him up.
While listening, you check in on Logan, ensuring his powers are still working and healing him properly. You check his pulse and get a sense of his temperature with your hands. He’s a little clammy and his heart rate is up a few beats from the adrenaline but other than that, Logan is back to normal. 
You smile as Logan's eyes close, returning to the peace of sleep. Turning your attention to Jean, you look her in the eyes and give her a nod. She returns the nod and gets up, ushering the other two out of the room and down to their rooms; reassuring them that you have the situation under control.
You look at Rogue, finding the girl curling in on herself. She’s clearly scared and ashamed of what she did, even if no one ended up seriously hurt. You carefully place your hands on her shoulder, only touching her clothes. She looks up at you, eyes wide.
“You know, everyone struggles with their powers. Especially ones that can hurt others if you’re not careful,” You tell her, hoping to bring some comfort. “When my powers manifested, I hurt people too. I shut down the power of an entire block in the city and sent electricity through everyone inside my house. I didn’t kill anyone, but no one looked at me the same after that.”
You sigh at the memory of your mutation making itself known, “I don’t blow out power grids anymore but I’m still learning daily. I still mess up and hurt people. I don’t mean to. It's just a natural part of learning to control your mutation.”
You can see the way your words affect her. Rogue immediately relaxes her tense shoulders, breathing regularly, and eyes no longer wide. You want to hug her but settle for patting her shoulder.
The two of you leave the room, closing the door behind you. You didn’t even realize that Logan was awake while you comforted her. You didn't notice the small smile gracing his features. You tell Rogue goodnight, watching her disappear down the hallway.
You sigh softly, returning to your room. Laying down on your bed again, you pull the covers back over yourself. The pull of sleep wraps you in its embrace as you close your eyes and return to slumber.
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Hope you all enjoyed! Please don't forget to like, reblog, and comment if you liked it!
Credit to strangergraphics for the banners
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merwgue · 22 hours
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Rhysand is often portrayed as this perfect, morally grey ruler, but when you take a closer look at his actions, it's obvious how messed up he really is. Let’s break down the so-called “benevolent” High Lord of the Night Court.
1. The Hewn City – The King of Torture? Rhysand's treatment of the people in Hewn City is straight-up barbaric. The way he holds power over them isn’t out of necessity or to “protect” them from worse rulers—it’s control through fear and violence. He tortures them, plays with their lives, and enjoys maintaining his iron grip on them. It's almost like he uses them as his personal stress toys. Is that really the hallmark of a just ruler? Sure, Hewn City isn’t full of saints, but for Rhys to stand on his high horse and act like he's saving everyone while still torturing his subjects? Hypocrisy at its finest.
2. Rhysand and Feyre – Let’s Talk About Consent Let’s not forget that he literally assaulted Feyre Under the Mountain. I don’t care how anyone tries to frame it as him “saving her” from Amarantha—there’s no excuse for the way he took away her agency. Rhys manipulated her, forced her into wearing those skimpy outfits, and paraded her around for his entertainment. All while pretending it was for the greater good. It's pretty damn disgusting how that gets brushed under the rug like it was some noble sacrifice when in reality, he robbed Feyre of her choices.
3. Planning to Execute Nesta – The Line Between Justice and Control Rhysand and his inner circle legit planned to execute Nesta, all because she didn’t fall in line. Nesta had her faults—hell, a lot of them—but threatening her life because she didn't act the way Rhys wanted? That's not justice; that's manipulation and control at its core. He wasn't trying to protect anyone. He was pissed that he couldn't control her, that she wasn't another cog in his perfect little machine of Night Court harmony.
4. Tamlin – Kicking a Man While He’s Down Say what you will about Tamlin, but there’s no denying that Rhysand completely overstepped every boundary when it came to him. The Night Court loves to preach about freedom, but Rhys had no problem strutting into Tamlin’s land, throwing it in his face, and making an already broken man feel like utter shit. There’s a difference between defending your own and downright antagonizing someone who’s in the depths of depression. At one point, he basically told Tamlin to end his own life. What kind of "savior" talks like that to someone who's clearly struggling? It's downright cruel.
5. The Night Court – A Dictatorship Wrapped in Pretty Words Rhysand's Night Court is sold to everyone as this place of freedom, where people can be who they truly are—but at what cost? If you cross Rhys or don’t fall in line with his vision, you either face his wrath, his torture, or his manipulation. He's not running a court; he's running a dictatorship where everything is fine as long as it aligns with his master plan. The fact that he keeps calling himself the “most powerful High Lord in history” just feeds into that massive god complex he has. The ego on this guy is unbelievable.
6. Double Standards – The Morality of Convenience Rhys preaches about freedom and respect, but he only seems to extend that to people he deems worthy. If you’re in his circle or someone he cares about, great—you get all the privileges. If not? Well, tough luck. He’ll trample over your land, threaten your life, or torture you into submission. The cherry on top? Everyone around him acts like he’s the greatest thing to happen to Prythian, and the fandom just eats it up.
So, yeah. Rhysand is fucked up. He’s not just morally grey—he’s power-hungry, manipulative, and borderline sadistic. His version of “ruling” the Night Court is as hypocritical as it gets. Benevolent High Lord? More like the king of self-righteous cruelty.
7. Locking Up Nesta – Rhysand’s Tamlin Moment Remember how everyone vilified Tamlin for locking Feyre up “for her own safety”? Sure, it was messed up, but the narrative painted him as this controlling, possessive villain because of it. Now, fast forward to Rhysand, who literally does the same thing to Nesta. She’s spiraling, yes, but instead of finding her real help or giving her space to heal, he decides to trap her in the House of Wind like a damn prisoner. He takes away her freedom, isolates her from the outside world, and forces her into a situation she clearly doesn’t want. How is that any different from what Tamlin did?
But here’s the kicker: Rhysand gets praised for it. Why? Because he’s Rhysand, the supposed hero, and everything he does is always “for the greater good,” right? It’s utter bullshit. He used the same controlling tactics on Nesta that Tamlin used on Feyre, but the fandom acts like he was being this saintly, tough-love older brother. What he did was textbook manipulation, stripping away Nesta’s autonomy because she didn’t fit into his perfect vision of what recovery should look like.
8. Forcing Recovery on Nesta – Ignoring Trauma Let’s not sugarcoat this: Rhysand locked up a woman who was using drinking as a coping mechanism and basically said, “Tough luck, you’re staying here until you fix yourself.” That's not helping; that’s punishing someone for their trauma. Nesta was in pain, lashing out and struggling to deal with what happened to her. Did she need help? Absolutely. But instead of offering her real emotional support, Rhys just forced her into a recovery program that suited his standards and timeline, not hers.
What makes this even worse is that Nesta was self-harming through drinking, and instead of addressing the root cause of her pain, Rhysand and his inner circle chose to control her like she was a problem that needed to be fixed, not a person who needed to be understood. There’s nothing noble about that.
9. Rhysand’s Hypocrisy – Tamlin vs. Himself This is where Rhysand’s hypocrisy really shines. He condemned Tamlin for being controlling, and Feyre (rightfully) left that toxic environment. But Rhys turns around and does the same thing to Nesta, and instead of being held accountable for it, he gets celebrated for “taking action.” How does that even make sense? It's such a double standard that it's almost laughable. Tamlin’s actions were wrong, but Rhysand’s were just as bad, if not worse, because he knew better. He knew what it felt like to be controlled, yet he did it anyway.
10. Stop Giving Rhys a Pass People need to stop giving Rhysand a pass for his behavior. He gets away with literal torture, manipulation, locking people up, and trampling over others' boundaries because he’s good at hiding it behind the facade of “protecting his court.” He’s not the hero people make him out to be. He’s just as flawed and fucked up as the people he claims to be better than.
At the end of the day, locking someone up—whether it’s Feyre in the Spring Court or Nesta in the House of Wind—is a violation of their autonomy. Rhysand isn't some hero swooping in to save the day. He's a controlling ruler who just happens to be good at spinning the narrative in his favor.
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nogenderbee · 1 day
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♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 ₊˚ˑ༄
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*ੈ✩‧₊˚ anon request: Hi, friend! Could I request Solomon, Lucifer, Mammon, and Simeon with a reader who likes lights? Reader would collect lights (like lamps, nightlights, etc) and decorate their room with them.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Hi love!! Of course you can! Also so sorry for this being so short but yeah- I didn't wanted to force anything -w- Hope you like it anyway!!!
*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff
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✧ Lucifer honestly sees it as passion like any other
✧ he thinks it's nice that you got something you like and isn't too... troublesome with it... untill bill for electricity comes in lol
✧ he knows how much you like it and won't stop you from putting it around house if you'd really want to... but he'll warn you that Asmo will definitely pay attention to that and may complain about it if you "choose wrong design or place"
✧ he also tries convincing you to keep the lights off at least at night... or not I'm broad daylight if there's even one in hell
✧ if you fall asleep with lights on and wake up with them off, you can immideitly be sure it was Lucifer. But he meant nothing bad by doing it!
✧ he does his best to support you so if you ever decide to go for some light shopping, he'll sometimes come with you and share his opinion if you ask about it
"Sure, take it. Hm? What do I think about it? It's... a bit too complex for my taste... but I can see it fitting into your room perfectly."
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
@wabatle - come get your scary brother!
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✧ once Mammon discovered your unique liking, he first called you a weird human
✧ and then the next day he bought you some lights as a gift
✧ he just has to be a tsundere about it... If you ask him why he got you that gift, he'll just say it's so you won't be whining to him later
"It's just for your weird human obsession! I was simply done with you whining about how much you want it! ... Do you like it tho?"
✧ all you have to do is to mention him what lights you're obsessing on in the moment and first thing he'll do once you part is go buy you them
✧ and if he can't he'll just go to casino to win some money so that he could afford it... which... has 50/50 chance of succeeding...
✧ though if you keep your lights on while sleeping, even some, he'll be grumpy about it and be stubborn to turn them off for the time of sleeping
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
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✧ Solomon probably had something similar but only as a phase...
✧ he's human as well so he totally gets from where you're coming from!
✧ honestly, he's actually quite fond of how much lights you stole and finds your room really cozy
✧ at some point, he most likely asked you to help him pick some lights for his room too and didn't had the heart to decline any ideas you seemed so passionate about so he ended up buying whole store
✧ he doesn't really care if you keep lights on or off during the night... as long as he has a way of facing the opposite way than the light, he doesn't mind letting it stay if it helps you sleep
✧ definitely tried making some flying light orb or so, thinking you may like it!
"Hey, I made something for you. What do you think? Is there anything you want added to it?"
✧ overally, he's very supportive and will protect your hobby as best as he can if anyone tries insulting it
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
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✧ Simeon is honestly very supportive of any hobby you may have that isn't dangerous to you or anyone for that matter
✧ he's just happy you have a passion, even if it's something simple as collecting lights!
✧ he'll most likely go to all or most of your shopping's just because he loves to see what's the lights you like or want
"Oh? This one? I would've never guessed it's in your taste... But it's good to know! It certainly has its own beauty~"
✧ he'll also try buying or even making a light for you! It doesn't have to be any ocassion... but if it is, he'll probably try extra hard to make it a good one
✧ though if he's making the gift... he'll probably as someone for help since he's afraid of messing something up and would rather have someone who knows more about it than him to watch over what he's doing
✧ he also doesn't really care if you keep the lights on or off at night! His realm is rather bright so he'll fall asleep anyway~
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
@vodka-glrl - come get your soft angel~
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peachesofteal · 24 hours
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“We couldn’t wake you up.” Simon explains from your right, sitting back in a chair that’s been pulled to the side of the bed. He clutches your hand, kissing your knuckles. “You were wheezing and it-” He stops abruptly, swallowing. He looks scared, you realize, and when you look at Johnny’s face, you see it too. The fear. The worry.
&
“They said we can stay with ye tonight.” He gestures to the little pull out bed by the window, and a recliner that has a pillow and blankets stacked on it. “Hospital sleepover. We’re all goin’ eat jello.” He thumbs your cheek, and you both smile, eyes wandering to where Simon sits like stone, severe expression on his face. “She’s alright, Si. See?” Johnny murmurs, and he nods. "I Know." He clears his throat. "I know she is." You squeeze his hand. "Everything's goin' be alright." Johnny continues, and SImon's eyes shudder for a second, slipping shut when he takes a deep breath. When he opens them, he looks calmer, more steadfast, and you smile at him.
i was rereading the fic where darling got sick and woke up in the hospital (bc i got sick and this brought me comfort) and these parts specifically stood out to me bc the guys really care for darling and they never want to see her hurt. they're the ones who usually get stuck in hospitals, but for it to happen to darling, i imagine it to be one of their worst fears, also for each other, but with darling it's particularly... jarring. she has a.. softness? that draws them to her and they want to protect that, but seeing her in the hospital, knowing that she isn't always going to be safe from harm, it's sobering for them.
especially with simon being unable to finish his sentence in that first paragraph, and knowing his history. and maybe it's a small detail, but i really liked how johnny reassured simon that darling was alright. like, while simon is usually more... grounded, johnny is more than capable of being an anchor or pillar of strength to bring simon out of his head.
i just wanted to ramble a bit about this and let you know i appreciate your writing lots(づ ̄3 ̄)づ╭❤️~
I know this is so old but I loved your analysis so I buried this in my drafts to make sure I remembered to answer it. Their dynamic and the complexities between the three of them and their individual relationships were always one of my favorite parts, especially here where Johnny can clearly see that Simon is unmoored by Darling falling this ill, and swooped in to help hold him steady, so you're totally right.
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Sunshine in the Clouds
This is an incentive request from my dear friend @laffy-taffy-creations. Congrats on finishing your class!
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The house was empty, save for Hero’s slumped-over form in the kitchen. This was their third drink of the evening. Funny, they never touched a drop of the stuff before… well, before everything happened. Hero had drawn the curtains, the sunlight outside was too harsh even though it was a cloudy day. They wished it would rain. They had stopped being able to cry weeks ago. Now it was just them and the house.
The TV was on, like it had been for days on end, but Hero had long since tuned it out. Still, they refused to turn it off. If they did that, the silence would be deafening. They hated how quiet it was. They got up and chucked the empty bottle in the trash can, passing a picture of the group. They all looked so happy.
Hero blamed themselves for all of it. They were a Hero for goodness’ sake- they should’ve prevented the murder. Friend had said it wasn’t their fault, but even if that was true, they should’ve seen the signs in Friend at the very least. Why couldn’t they do anything right!? Was this their punishment for not being observant enough? What did they do wrong? Why couldn’t they-
“Breaking news, a fire at [Address] has spread across the entire apartment complex, with many tenants still trapped inside. Firefighters are on the scene. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.”
Hero sighed. Okay. Let’s get this over with.
Hero handed the last child to its mother. Hero was covered in smoke and sweat, and they had a few burns from the fire. Ice covered the entire apartment building where flames had been raging just minutes beforehand.
“Great work, Hero,” the fire brigade captain said warmly.
Hero briefly nodded, then started to make their way through the crowd that had gathered.
“Hero!” a reporter shouted, “where have you been these past few weeks?”
“No comment.”
“Are you heading to the hospital after this?” another asked.
“No comment.”
“Has something happened in your personal life that-”
“I said no comment!” Hero snapped.
As they spoke, a blast of ice erupted from their hands. They crowd recoiled back from the icicles that formed around the crime-fighter. Hero shook their head and stepped over their little fortress. They left, ignoring the cameras that flashed and the buzz of the crowd.
Hero flopped on the bed and scrolled through their phone. The doorbell rang just minutes later. Hero grumbled, getting up and answering the door. They hadn’t even changed out of their suit. What did it matter anyway? So what if someone saw them like this?
“Wow, you, uh, you look terrible.”
“Villain,” Hero said flatly, “what do you want?”
“I saw the news,” Villain said, “I was worried about you.”
Hero’s eyes swept over Villain’s figure. In their hand was a backpack, it seemed to be stuffed to the brim.
“So, uh, can I come in?”
Hero looked away, then stepped aside so Villain could enter. Villain thanked them as Hero closed the door.
Villain saw the state of the house. If they were judging, they didn’t give any indication of that.
“Have you eaten today?” Villain asked.
Hero snorted.
“What kind of question is that?”
“A simple one. Have you?”
Hero gestured vaguely to the empty glasses littering the table. Villain nodded, unzipping the backpack and pulling out some TV dinners, soup cans, ramen packets, and basically the easiest meals to make a la microwave.
Villain sat Hero down at the kitchen table, clearing it off and setting a bowl of soup in front of them.
“Eat.”
Hero didn’t want to, but their stomach had other plans. After growling at them, Hero acquiesced and started taking small bites. They only ate half of it before pushing it aside.
Villain looked down at the half-finished meal.
“Fair enough, we’ll work on that,” they said.
Villain took Hero by the hand and led them to the bathroom. A bath had been drawn for them.
“Take your suit off,” Villain said.
“Villain, I’m not going to-”
“I’m not going to do anything frisky,” Villain said, “but if you won’t take care of yourself then I’m going to do it for you. Suit. Off.”
Hero sat on the edge of their bed, wrapped in a fluffy towel. Villain came in with Hero’s pajamas, fresh from the dryer. They looked away while Hero got changed. Hero cleared their throat so Villain would know they were dressed.
“Okay. Thank you. You can… you can go now.” Hero said.
“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” Villain said.
“It doesn’t matter either way,” Hero replied quietly.
Villain sat down next to them.
“I know how-”
“Don’t pretend to know how I’m feeling,” Hero snapped.
Villain held up their hands.
“Alright.” They said, “but you shouldn’t have to grieve by yourself.”
So Hero didn’t grieve by themselves. Villain came by every day to help them live in a world that they didn’t feel like being in. Little by little, piece by piece, they started to inch their way back into the land of the living. The curtains had been opened, and though it was a cloudy day, the sunlight was just starting to peek through.
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nthspecialll · 1 day
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You are literally the best rdr account ever fr, your rants are not biased at all and i love it. Because some ppl rly should drop their ranting bcs it's obvious that they are more talking about their imagination about that character than actual facts.
I am so glad you think so because I sometimes noticed that too. From time to time it feels like people have an idea of a character and try to make the game fit around that rather than actually make the game sculp the character. That sounded very messy so: They make the evidence try to fit the result they want rather than letting the evidence form the result. And to be honest I think that is a little... Well offensive to the developers?
I am a writer, I write books and if someone tried to discard part of a character I spent years making because they felt like it, I think I would get annoyed, I even get annoyed reading it. Like it is fine if it is just jokes ya know? Like "Kieran is just a baby" as a joke but also being able to see that there is so much more to him, that is fine, but if you just refuse to acknowledge that there is more... No.
Another thing is glorification, I do not like people glorifying characters, again not as a joke, I think it is like ignoring a whole part of the character, the "mean" part of the character. Take Javier, I love Javier, he has so many nice and sweet sides, but I also know he is an asshole in chapter 6, that said I know people are not assholes for no reason, I know Javier had a reason to act the way he did. Do I think him acting like an asshole is a-okay? No, but I also know that there is nuance to it.
I have also seen it the other way around, where people make a character worse than they are? Like especially the women of the game, but also Javier and Bill. Again, dismissing part of a character that someone has put sweat, tears and blood into is not okay.
Media literacy is also a massive thing in this game because it is a historically accurate game in so many ways, and again, people who intentionally dismissive it because "Oh I wouldn't do that" are blind to history, because of course you wouldn't, you grew up in modern days with modern ideals and you got internet to educate yourself outside of whatever ideals and things were put into your head by those immediately around you.
I always strive to get as much information about characters as I can, to show both sides and to find out why do characters do what they do even if I don't agree with it. I remember when I learned that Javier did in fact point his gun at John and I at first got annoyed but then I caught myself and was like "that is fucking stupid ignoring it, face it and find out why."
To clarify, I am not shitting on people making jokes about characters, I do it too, nor am I shitting on people who does not have all information (I am not telling them to go research everything and "oh they must know every small detail to even speak about this character"), I am not shitting on people who have different opinions on characters, I am shitting on the people who chose to ignore parts of characters because that fits their narritive.
These characters are wildly deep and complex, allow them to be, and I know some people are going to say "oh that is so dramatic" and maybe, but that is my opion and if you don't agree just scroll, I am not forcing you to be here.
If you read all that, thank you! Here is a pic of Javier because I love him:
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mrs-stans · 2 days
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A Different Man dives into an absurdist exploration of identity
Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson are unforgettable as friends and rivals in a beautifully bizarre take on what it means to be human.
By: Sarah Gorr
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A Different Man dives into an absurdist exploration of identity
A Different Man is all about what it means to be seen, in all the best and worst ways. It’s what it means to avoid eye contact with the unhoused man on the subway and to gawk at anyone who looks remotely outside the norm. It’s the difference between simply being noticed and being intimately seen, the way only someone who actually understands you can.
Writer and director Aaron Schimberg looks for as many ways as possible to play with these ideas, fitting the seer and seen inside each other in a little matryoshka doll. But first and foremost, our gaze is on Edward.
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Adam Pearson isn’t internationally known, but he’s known to rock a microphone. (Matt Infante/A24)
Edward (Sebastian Stan) is a struggling actor with a rare condition that covers his face with large, benign tumors. He’s quiet and reserved. His every movement reveals a discomfort even existing in the world, never mind taking part in it. So when he gets the chance to take an experimental new drug that can completely heal him, he does so without a thought. Reborn as his new, more handsome self, he finally gets what should be the part of a lifetime in a local play based on his life. That is until Oswald, a man with the same condition as Edward, steals the part. In the process, this new arrival reveals just how exactly Edward has actually transformed.
Sebastian Stan captures all the nuance and complexity of Edward as he stumbles through this journey in a manner that’s nothing short of impressive. Hidden behind Mike Marino’s brilliant prosthetics, Stab carries the weight of his performance in body language. The slump of his shoulders, the way his eyes apologetically flit to those around him as if apologizing for even existing. Post-procedure, Stan infuses the performance with Edward’s confusion, frustration, and even unbridled rage. Schimberg’s script is an actor’s dream, and Stan more than lives up to the part.
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Renate Reinsve isn’t buying what Sebastian Stan is selling vis a vis a plaid couch. (Matt Infante/A24)
Meanwhile, Adam Pearson’s performance as Edward’s foil, Oswald, was clearly crafted with the actor in mind. It’s an incredible showcase for Pearson’s exuberance and energy. He steal every scene he’s in and gives Edward’s jealousy the perfect excuse to boil over. He embodies everything Edward is not: charming, confident, witty. Pearson’s Oswald is a man you not only want to know but are downright grateful to have in your life.
Together, Pearson and Stan depict a dynamic that is mesmerizing to watch. Does any of Schimberg’s script work half as well without them? Honestly, it’s impossible to imagine.
However, audiences shouldn’t take that as a slight against Schimberg. His script is an intensely rich text, less Beauty and the Beast, more The Scorpion and the Turtle. A Different Man questions not just what’s in a person’s nature but what benefits or inhibits the performance of identity. In art, what makes something feel real or true? What truths benefit a piece? Which hinder? What facets of ourselves we take as inherent truths are anything but?
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Sebastian Stan is giving what if autumn was fashion.(Matt Infante/A24)
It’s a film in a constant push/pull with transformation vs. consistency. Permeating it all is a sense of bleakness that seems to radiate from Edward himself. It infects everything from Umberto Smerilli’s bold and moody score to the film’s very texture, with its high contrast, sharp shadows, and rich color. It all comes together as if to say Edward’s insecurities, anxieties, and sadness that can’t seem to disappear as quickly as his features transformed.
Schimberg’s depiction of Edward’s journey to something like a discovery of self is part tragic, fully comic, and delightfully absurd. It’s a distinct film, despite the comparisons to Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance that people are already forming, and more than worth the price of admission.
A Different Man gives face in limited theatres starting September 20 before opening wide on October 4.
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