#north American siblings

[moomeecore]

a love letter to weasels ❤️🩷

[cryptophasia-nabros]

Same

amemex hcs? for scientific reasons

Ah I ,,, have to disappoint you. I don’t have the requisite knowledge or perhaps background either to speak intelligently on AmeMex. All I can say is that Alfred and María have had a relationship that winds like a careful mountain road; it has been both as rocky as one, toxic as a striking snake, yet sometimes as beautiful as the stars which decorate both their imaginations.

And despite saying this, I am often inclined to view the continental North Americans as three frequently bickering siblings that can still sometimes come together to be a mostly dysfunctional family. Alone on both sides by great oceans and bordering very few, all three whose lives were influenced by great powers, as the entire New World was.

[sandersstudies]

I’ve seen a lot of content that suggests that pacifiers are as essential as bottles and as normal a “life stage” item for babies as diapers. My family had four children and zero pacifiers so I’m curious about both their frequency of use and also whether this may be a North American or USAmerican phenomenon.

(Honestly if I had unlimited poll options I would split answers into even more specific regions, especially Asia.)

No nuance button; select the option closest to your answer if none are perfect and explain yourself in the tags.

[slowcatsworld]

Blue Lock Master Striker Headcanons

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France’s PXG: Julian Loki

My sweet

Julian definitely is an older sibling (literally made a 3 post long argument on how he is one so TRUST he is). His favorite memory of his little sibling is when they first said his name. The small ‘Julian’ mumbled in multiple breaths (ju..julian yk) made him pause his homework and look them straight in the eye. They stared back with a big, innocent smile. Julian broke out into a smile of his own and grabbed the little guy for a hug.

Julian has such a carefree relationship with his mom, he gives off such mama’s boy vibes. They are a duo that would stay up late watching tv shows even though he has school in the morning and his mom has work. When his mother would cook something Julian was always her taste tester. He lost count the amount of times he would go back for seconds just to “get a better taste” and receive a wooden spoon to the hand. Julian’s mother would adore his girlfriend, especially since she can tell what a good impact you have on her son.

Julian would work well with someone who has a lot of energy but doesn’t need to be monitored or babysat. For example, say he is out at an amusement park with his friends and significant other. His girlfriend sees a game stand that piques her interest and hurls away from the group to investigate with determined steps. Julian isn’t worried about her getting lost or in an altercation with someone. he knows she’ll be back soon and give everyone a detailed report of the stand, the game set up, and the prizes offered. Whether or not she will ask him to spot her some cash to play the game is a whole other story. (Brother is loaded just from playing football)

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England’s Manshine City: Chris Prince

I hate him

Pathetic man baby vibes

Chris is very aware of his personal hygiene and is ridiculously active in taking care of his body. He has a personal massager, esthetician, chiropractor, waxer, the works. He loves his physicality too much to let himself rust in any capacity. He almost never skips brushing his teeth or washing his face. If he isn’t fueled with a type of passion or desperate enough, he won’t kiss you in the morning until you both at least have some mouth wash. He carries two different deodorant scents in his practice bag. This is nice because you know he won’t ever smell bad, but sometimes he becomes cologne nose blind (especially on high end dates).

He has a beef with Americans. (I don’t know if he’s confirmed English but he is today) He doesn’t mock them or become outwardly rude to them, but he’s thankful to be in the European League and not the North American League (is that a real league? Google isn’t helping and I don’t know shit abt professional soccer leagues-) Chris goes bonkers when someone jokingly calls him an American; as he will be whining and waving his arms about how he’s so much better than them and how it insults his legacy to be compared to an American and not be acknowledged as an English man.

When his hair isn’t cooperating with him he cries out of frustration.

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Spain’s FC Barcha: Lavinho

Lavinho loves the feeling of dancing with his partner. It’s intimate and free, no matter what style nor if there was music or not. Lavinho is so fond of holding your hips and gently swaying the two of you in the silent hours of the night that he has a pep in his step when he walks home from practice. Your scent filling his nostrils, the heat he can feel coming from your neck and shoulder as he rests his head there, it’s all too perfect as he begins to hum a song to himself.

Lavinho would want to get a tattoo reminiscent of you. If yall ever were that serious. At first he was thinking of your name, but you shot that down quickly. Something more primal and colorful was more his style. He wants something that represents you, though. Y’all compromise on a couple things that fit both of your wishes. Your favorite flower, a kiss mark, and a woman dancing with a pair of wings emerging from her back. (Picture this omg. The woman could be bowing, in the middle of a dance move or smth and the wings are halfway out of her back. Or something like the woman looking up and outstretched and welcoming to the feeling around her. With the wings spread out powerful and graceful. Okay I’m done I’m done)

Lavinho loves being barefoot. If he can’t be barefoot, Lavinho is wearing open toed shoes. Chanclas, flip flops, Birkenstocks, doesn’t matter. He grew up like this, and doesn’t quite want to conform his freedom and customs to the world of Europe yet. Even if he has been living there for years. He gets so happy at feeling sand under his feet as well, it reminds him of his younger childhood days in the best way. (This is prolly canon bc the first time we see him he’s barefoot right?)

Am I becoming a Lavinho girl..?

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Italy’s Ubers: Marc Snuffy

I don’t like him but I don’t hate him-

He says ‘shitty brats’ too much in the same breath at the end of the Ubers vs BM match I think he unlocked his previous degradation kink or smth idek maybe that’s why

Okay focus

Mick Moon’s death still haunts Snuffy. He hasn’t truly let it go, and even though he seems to make progress during the Ubers vs BM match, he has a long way to go to fully come to peace with his best friend’s death. Most times Snuffy can’t drink alcohol without thinking of Mick and becoming guilty. All the thoughts of how he could have saved Mick from his fate, how he did try but it wasn’t enough, how he allowed for his best friend to ruin his own life- even though that meant Mick stayed true to his philosophy. It hurts Snuffy. It’s the main reason why Snuffy cares so deeply for his teammates now, and why he goes out of his way to make sure they are okay mentally in his own way.

Snuffy wasn’t that interested in the luxury of lust that came from women when he first started out on his dream to being a professional footballer. It wasn’t until Mick that he started indulging in being a lady’s man. While it was almost always lustful and physical, the women that tugged at his heartstrings were the ones that would compliment Snuffy’s nose. The ones that would hold his face to their chest and give him slow, loving kisses to his nose while their hands moved further up into his hair. The ones that knew his eyes were actually orange and not brown and how those women looked into his sharp, big eyes like he was the reason for all their happiness was surreal. Those instances it would become all too real for Snuffy. The lines between lust and something more would get blurred and blurred until he got scared and backed away and moved to the next lady in the next club with a smaller smile than before.

Snuffy is very proud of his black belt in Jujitsu. Especially with the way it helps him on the football field. His understanding of his own body and abilities mean more to him than the average person too. Also because of Mick and how Mick ignored his body both before and after getting let go as a footballer.

Okay, Snuffy isn’t that bad I guess-

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Germany’s Bastard Munchen: Noel Noa

My man my man my man

Let me give you a big smooch

Noel sunburns so easily. He never tans, he always burns a hot pink. He has but an ounce of melanin in his skin that prevents him from being totally albino. Because of this, he is very serious and methodical about applying sunscreen. He applies daily, especially when he knows he’ll be outside for practice or a game. He also isn’t that fond of costal activities because of the sun exposure, even more so because he can’t swim that well. (OMG I read a little blurb about Noel not being able to swim but his wife loved to I don’t know who wrote it but it was so cute I’ll try to find the writer)

He does interviews for football, but finds them rather bland and not that important. He likes to discuss football strategies and profile analysis he’s done of other players, but most of the time reporters aren’t that interested in his words. They always want to know more intimate details about him, it feels like to Noel. Just not his exact cup of tea, but he knows other players are always willing to talk in an interview so he leaves the chitter to them if he can. He likes for his actions on the field to speak for him.

Noel makes an effort to acknowledge stray animals if he can. The cat sitting on the restaurant sill? He gave it some head scratches before continuing his walk. The dog that always lays in the same sunny spot of concrete on the sidewalk? Noel has given him some water just yesterday. It feels as though he’s paying homage to their sacrifices by giving them small acts of domesticity as he was once a stray too. He still feels like one sometimes. At night when he’s awake in his bed thinking, he ponders the possibility of taking one of the many strays home with him. He won’t allow himself to though. He can’t stoop so low as to take an animal into a home that he knows he’ll be absent enough from them (his football commitment sigh) to not properly take care of them, his head reasons, even if his heart wants him to act so unrationally.

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This biscuit is just for you, mwah 😽

8.6.24

[enamouredfae]

little astro observations i've made based on my little chart collection and experience 🎀

honestly i've observed this only in myself but you have a natural pull to people who's sun is the same sign as your 5th house, mine is in pisces and my bf, my best friend and my cat are all pisces, not to mention that 90% of my crushes have been pisces as well.

there is something about pisces and bunnies, they will either love bunnies (have tattoos of them, make art about them, be their favourite animal), own or have owned a bunny or they look like one, (my bf is all of the above).

in synastry a north node over a person's mars may indicate the north node person taking the mars person's virginity.

in synastry a person's moon in your 9th house may indicate they understand/feel/empathize with emotions in a different way from you due to where they come from and how they were culturally socialized, i have this with my bf and he comes from a north american individualist country where your emotions are your responsibility and other's are theirs and i come from a post communist country where you are responsible for everyone's emotions, and ppl live for other people.

in vedic astrology i am a hasta moon, claire nakti made a video on hasta nakshatra and describes hasta natives as "fairy pretty" and i have a pair of dragonfly fairy wings tattooed on my back, plus ive been told (before my tattoo) that i give off fairy vibes.

saturn ruled 3rd house makes you have to spend a lot of time in public transportation, for example you might live far from where you need to go, for me it used to take me 1 hour at least to get to some places, sometimes i'd have to wait an hour just to then spend on hour on the bus. just overall imposes patience for transportation

a lot of astro observation posts say that an aquarius 4th house makes you feel like u dont belong in your family or that you're the black sheep of the family, but i dont find that accurate at all, i feel like it makes the native the one to challenge family values, they may be the one to make their family change for humanitarian reasons

idk if this is a real technique already used by astrologers but i have a wholesign MC theory. in wholesign the midheaven can fall in the 9th/10th or 11th house. my theory is that wherever it falls is the way you get ahead in life, the way through which u become publicly known or get your career. If it falls in the 9th your career is owed to ur studies/travel, 10th your hard work/experience/reputation, 11th your connections/social media/friends.

i think i have the most literal astrological placements being passed down from your parents example. obviously placements dont always get passed down, my sister has none of their placements, but perhaps being the first child may have contributed to this since the first child is when parents still have their personality not yet influenced by parenthood. so my moon and my sun, which we know symbolize the parents amongst other things, are at the same degree and they sextile eachother exactly, which I think is an indicator that my parents are very harmonious together; they are still together and in love even now. furthermore, my moon and sun are the same signs of my parents' stelliums, i have a libra moon and my mom has a libra stellium, and my sun is in leo and my dad has a leo stellium.

sibling's ceres in your first is feeling like a parent to them, i constantly tell my sister she's my daughter, we even have an inside joke that i gave birth to her at 5, and my ceres is in her fourth, the house of motherhood so she definitely sees me as a parental figure.

me and my bf have eachother's jupiter in our 7th houses, besides being in a serious committed relationship, we want to start a business together. so i feel this is a great indicator for great partnership in both regards.

i feel like this is also a technique but i haven't really heard much about it, generational planets affect us through societal conditions/problems whereas personal planets affect us through personal problems. for example: let's go with two malefics, i have pluto in the first house which i feel would be very different from having let's say mars in the first house. the first house is amongst many things our appearance which i am insecure about. i have never in my life been told i am ugly, i am actually constantly told i am beautiful, and yet it does not click. it isn't through personal experiences that i have problems with my appearance but through consumption of society ideals. this is of course an oversimplification but you get what i mean.

chiron retrograde in natal changes our perception on trauma. me and my bf have the same chiron, his is retrograde while mine is not. he constantly says he is not traumatized, whereas i can tell i am. he 100% has traumas, the thing is that it's like he's left them behind? he just says it happened a long time ago so it's done. my observation is that retrogrades in your natal may make u leave things in the past or have a "it happened a long time ago it doesn't matter" attitude towards trauma. the thing is he acts like a non-traumatized person which is crazy to me.

i have a skin condition called dermatographia, also overall very dry itchy acne prone skin, i also have scars. here are a few placements that i have that i feel may be an indicator for skin conditions: mars ruled first house (traditional rulership) mars is inflamation and scarring, saturn in seventh saturn is dry and some people consider that libra(7th house) rules the skin, saturn opposite ascendant, saturn square venus i see venus as clear skin due to its aesthetical perfection.

saturn in 1st, especially conjunct ascendant indicates identity issues. borrowing elements of identity from people you admire, not feeling like you identify with the gender assigned at birth, not identifying with your birth name, etc.

having a libra 12th house can indicate traumatic female friendship. the 12th house is the house of hidden enemies, so you perceive these people as your friends, sometimes even best friends, so when they betray you it is very jarring and traumatic. having female friends that are jealous of you, female friends that pretend to like you, female friends that talk shit about you and even sometimes lie about u, friends that purposefully hide information from you, that want what you have, sometimes sabotaging what you have or trying to make u lose the thing they want, etc. this is a very difficult placement, because you love these people so much that you would've given up things, changed things or shared things with them if only they were honest with you. in the best of cases the friendship is real and full of love but you grow apart, and this is also painful because you can't control it.

venus square ascendant is people telling you they love you and you not believing them. just overall hardships around love and seeing yourself as loveable. double points when it also squares saturn making u think that if u are loved it's hard work or that people had to convince themselves to, that you're hard to love.

people with venus conjunct mars in first are stunning and have an androgynous vibe to them. sometimes this is visual, strong muscular body with graceful posture, but it can reflect in their personality, just strength imbued with vulnerability, people that surprise you, that are balanced.

taurus 6th house can indicate finding romantic partners in the workplace.

having a stellium in the 4th and no planets in the 10th, can indicate a strong connection to your mom and a disconnect from your dad, especially when the sun is in the opposite sign of your tenth house(in your 4th) feeling like your dad is not the way he should be.

🎀

please let me know what you think, im very curious how they hold up in other people's charts, critiques are welcome and invited.

[nelkey]

I'm Spanish, and I spent a year abroad in the US, in Ohio, and after the school year, my family used the opportunity to fly over so we could all travel a bit around the US together.

We were walking at dusk when I saw a few fireflies flashing up ahead and realized I had the chance to show them fireflies, for the first time! My parents and my brother were fascinated by them, and I'm really happy I got to share that with them.

Especially because I had the same reaction as them the first time I saw fireflies. To me they looked like something magical and my host family was shocked by my wonder because they couldn't imagine that not everyone sees fireflies every summer.

look at me. listen to me. this is directed at americans for the record. the reason you think North American animals are boring is because you live here. there are so many cool and beautiful animals here. we have beavers. we have wolves. we have moose. we have sea lions. we have armadillos. we have mountain lions. we have alligators. we have foxes. we have bighorn sheep. we have manatees. we have bears. we have ocelots. we have BISON. and that’s not even touching on the birds! or the turtles! or the snakes! we have amazing beautiful and diverse wildlife right here and it deserves to be appreciated and protected

[astromancy-divinare]

Luigi Mangione's Vedic natal chart and how I rectified his birth time ⏰

Date of birth: May 6, 1998

Location of birth: Towson, Maryland

Rectified birth time: 9:00PM

Not only does Luigi look like a Scorpio rising, the house placement of his planets make a lot of sense with Scorpio being the ascendant.

Rahu (North Node) in Leo 10th house:

Luigi's destiny is to be famous. The destiny Rahu gives you depends on its dispositor, which is the lord of the house it sits in. Rahu's dispositor is the Sun, which is exalted in Aries in the 6th house and is tightly conjunct Mars. The 6th house rules litigation, challenges, acts of service, physical health and physical illness. Luigi is famous (exalted Sun) for litigation (6th house) as the defendant for allegedly murdering (Mars: violence) the CEO of United Healthcare as an act of social protest (acts of service: 6th house) that may have been inspired by his own physical health struggles (6th house) that were exacerbated after a surfing lesson (Mars: sports). The 1st house lord (physical appearance) is also Mars (sex appeal) and with it being conjunct Rahu's dispositor, this indicates that Luigi was also destined to be famous for his attractive appearance.

Saturn in the 6th house:

This placement can indicate physical health problems with bones (Luigi's back problems that led to him getting a spinal fusion).

3rd house in Capricorn:

The 3rd house rules siblings. Luigi has two older sisters (and based on photos I've seen of Luigi as a child, it appears his sisters are much older than him). Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and having Capricorn in the 3rd house can indicate having older siblings.

2nd house lord, Jupiter, in 4th house:

The 2nd house rules finances and income. The 2nd house lord being in the 4th house indicates he benefits financially from his family.

Venus in Pisces 5th house:

This placement blesses Luigi in academic studies and makes him charming, charismatic and compassionate. It also makes him prone towards sacrificial love, meaning he's willing to sacrifice his needs for the sake of others. So if the speculation is true that Luigi is taking the fall for his cousin who may have been the actual shooter, then this would make a lot of sense due to this placement. And if Luigi did do it, that would also make sense that he would sacrifice himself for Americans in order to create change.

1st house lord, Mars, in 6th house:

The 6th house is also ruled by Mars so the 1st house lord is in its own sign. This placement makes Luigi not only very competitive but tough to be defeated and always one step ahead of his enemies. It also indicates that he's a talented athlete.

Moon in Virgo 11th house:

Luigi gets a lot of emotional satisfaction from his friends and being involved with groups, organizations and community activities. This placement makes Luigi an affable people person. He wants to help other people by providing solutions and acts of service. He also has a tendency to analyze his feelings rather than feel them.

*I could go on but I'll save it for another post.

How I rectified Luigi's birth time and discovered that he's a Scorpio rising.

I entered Luigi's date and location of birth in Astro-Seek and started with midnight as the time. I used his D2 Hora chart to narrow down which hours throughout the day had Cancer in the 1st house.

The D2 Hora chart indicates a person's financial status throughout their life. This chart only has planets in either Cancer or Leo. In some people's charts Leo is in the 1st house and Cancer is in the 12th house. In other people's charts Cancer is in the 1st house and Leo is in the 2nd house. If Leo is in the 1st house and there are a lot of planets in Cancer in the 12th house, that indicates financial struggles and having to work until old age.

No matter what hour I used, Luigi has the majority of his planets in Cancer but I needed to narrow down the hours throughout the day of his birth that showed Cancer in the 1st house and not in the 12th house. We know that Luigi comes from a rich family, so having the majority of his planets in Cancer in the 1st house in the D2 Hora chart reflects his privileged upbringing. It also indicates that he will never face money problems in his life because money will come to him through many resources, such as his family, his job at TrueCar and even now through donations to his legal fund and jail canteen.

Once I narrowed down the hours that had Cancer in the 1st house in his D2 Hora chart, I checked his D1 natal chart with those times to see which planet was listed as his Atmakaraka. The Atmakaraka is the planet in your D1 natal chart with the highest degree and it represents your soul's desire and life purpose.

Depending on the hour, the Atmakaraka would change between the Moon and Jupiter. I eliminated every hour that had the Moon as his Atmakaraka because it's obvious to me that Luigi is a Jupiter Atmakaraka due to his education at a prestigious private high school and Ivy League university. He's incredibly intelligent and has a passion for learning and acquiring knowledge.

Once I narrowed down the hours that had Jupiter as the Atmakaraka in his D1 natal chart and Cancer in the 1st house in his D2 Hora chart, I began comparing the house placement of his natal planets and I arrived at 9:00PM with the ascendant in Scorpio.

I'm working on a post analyzing Luigi's '24 & '25 Solar Return charts, it'll be up soon.

[wilwheaton]

Since we’ve established that anecdotes matter when it’s your point to be made, let’s briefly note a few uniquely American stories from the past week. In a small town in Alabama, 32 people were shot (four killed) at a birthday party. Also last week, in upstate New York, a 20-year-old woman was shot and killed by a 65-year-old man after the car she was in mistakenly turned into his driveway. (Police said it was “a very rural area with dirt roads,” poor cell service, and “easy to get lost.”) And in another case of a “good guy with a gun” defending his castle—a 16-year-old boy in Kansas City, looking to pick up his siblings from a friend’s house, mixed up the address and was shot in the head by an 84-year-old man after mistakenly knocking on the man’s door. And because this is America, the anecdotes can go on and on—like the two cheerleaders shot in Texas for accidentally opening the wrong car door in a parking lot, and the 6-year-old girl and her dad in North Carolina who were shot by a neighbor, reportedly after an errant basketball rolled into his yard. That’s five different states, in just a few days.

America’s Tragedy Is Its Culture of Fear—Armed With Millions of Guns

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Honda Accord EuroR, 2003. The 7th generation Accord was available in North American and "Euro" versions with the Accord Euro being more compact and sportier than its North American sibling. For the Japanese market a EuroR was offered with a 220hp K20A DOHC, 1,998cc 4-cylinder engine and 6-speed manual gearbox. The cars were fitted with a locked slip differential, bodykit, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel and 17-inch aluminium wheels with 215/45R17 tires.

[whencyclopedia]

Sitting Bull

Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotanka, l. c. 1837-1890) was a Hunkpapa Sioux holy man, warrior, leader, and symbol of traditional Sioux values and resistance to the United States' expansionist policies. He is among the best-known Native American chiefs of the 19th century and remains as famous today as he was when he led his people.

He is widely known for his part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876 and his later celebrity as a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, but, for the Sioux, Sitting Bull is celebrated as the embodiment of the four cardinal virtues of his people: courage, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. He is also recognized for his refusal to abandon the traditions of his people and his efforts to preserve their culture. Although famous as a holy man, prophet, war chief, and hunter, Sitting Bull was also a poet and composer, as well-known among his people for his rapport with wild animals and herbal knowledge as for his leadership.

He was killed while resisting arrest at the Standing Rock Agency Reservation in South Dakota on 15 December 1890 and was buried at Fort Yates in North Dakota. His remains were exhumed by family members in the 1950s and interred at Mobridge, South Dakota, near where he was thought to have been born. Debate continues over whether these remains are those of Sitting Bull, and historians also offer differing views on his legacy. His reputation as a great leader of his people, however, is unchallenged as he continues to be recognized as a symbol of Native American pride, honor, and traditional values, as well as for his stand against injustice.

Youth & Name

Little is known of Sitting Bull's life before the age of 14. His date of birth, given as 1831, 1832, 1834, or 1837, is debated, as was his birthplace until fairly recently. He is now understood to have been born on the Yellowstone River (known to the Sioux as Elk River) in modern-day Montana and was named Jumping Badger (Hoka Psice). He quickly earned the nickname Slow (Hunkesni), owing, according to scholar Robert. M. Utley, to "his willful and deliberate ways" (6). His father was Chief Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Sioux, and his mother was Her-Holy-Door from a respectable Hunkpapa family. He had two sisters and a half-brother but would later adopt others as his brothers, and these are sometimes mistakenly referenced as biological siblings.

Chief Sitting Bull taught his son to ride, hunt, and shoot expertly before the boy was ten years old. Young Slow was an excellent shot with bow and arrow and became so closely associated with horses that his peers joked how he even walked as though he were on horseback. When he was 14, he joined a war party against the Crow and "counted coup" against a Crow warrior, knocking him from his horse where he was then killed by another of the party. For this act of courage – defeating an enemy without killing him – Chief Sitting Bull gave his name to his son and assumed the name Jumping Bull. "Sitting Bull" – Tatanka Iyotanka (literally "Buffalo Who Sits Down") – fit the youth's personality as, "according to fellow tribesmen, suggested an animal possessed of great endurance, his build much admired by the people, and when brought to bay, planted immovably on his haunches to fight on to the death" (Utley, 15).

Later acquaintances and writers would claim the name was given him due to his stubbornness or, according to Sioux writer and physician Charles A. Eastman, that he was given the name after forcing a buffalo calf to sit down. The name was actually given in accordance with the tradition whereby a father passed his own name to his son when the boy was recognized as attaining manhood.

Between the ages of 14 and 20, Sitting Bull led his own war parties, and his name became famous among his enemies as a formidable warrior. Utley describes him at around the age of 20:

A heavy, muscular frame, a big chest, and a large head, he impressed people as short and stocky, although he stood only two inches under six feet. His dark hair, often braided on one side with otter fur and allowed to hang loose on the other, reached his shoulders. A severe part over the center of the scalp glistened with a heavy streak of crimson paint. A low forehead surmounted piercing eyes, a flat nose, and thin lips. Although dexterous afoot and superbly agile mounted, he appeared to some as awkward and even clumsy. (19-20)

Around 1857, in a clash with an Assiniboine band, Sitting Bull spared a 13-year-old boy whom he later adopted as a younger brother. When Sitting Bull's father was killed in battle with the Crow in 1859, the boy took the name Jumping Bull and would remain by Sitting Bull's side for the rest of his life.

Continue reading...

[nevadancitizen]

-> TEASER: WHY DOES EVIL WEAR A FACE SO FAMILIAR?

synopsis: you and logan were taken by the federation years ago.

word count: ~550

ships: Keegan Russ/Reader, Ghosts team & Reader

notes: just a quick thing to establish relationships and to see if anyone is interested because i want a ghosts sequel. so i figured i might as well write it. please lmk if you're interested <3! i'd love to talk to people about this lololol

Elias lied.

Elias was a lot of things – a husband, a father, a captain. But above all things else, he was a fucking liar. 

He parroted stories of the Federation not forcing people out of Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, and every town in between, but butchering them. Slaughtering everyone who wasn’t fast enough to get away. The elderly, the ill, children, those who stopped to help the wounded. It made no difference to them – age, race, military or civilian or someone wearing a red cross. Every American in the vicinity was shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. Each soldier in the Federation had one unifying trait – that none of them could be reasoned with. They were relentless in their pursuit of slaughter.

Living in willful ignorance is an ugly thing. But you have been enlightened. Through what Elias called “poisons and tortures” of the flesh, mind, and soul, you have seen the truth – as has Logan.

The day you both were rebirthed was a blessing. You were both made siblings in arms, codependent but thriving by each other’s sides. 

Your eyes were opened – the Federation isn’t the USSR’s second coming, but something better. Something revised and edited and molded to be superior in both technology and execution. The leaders of the USSR were selfish men who got off to the idea of hoarding wealth under the guise of communism. The Federation is too cutthroat for the slightest shift outside of the status quo. Moles and double agents aren’t tolerated. The bloodstains on the bullet traps on the firing ranges are evidence enough.

Of course, Keegan doesn’t know this. Because where you are fighting for a righteous cause, he is a threat to the precious collective. 

You don’t love him. Not anymore.

When you and Logan were dragged away on that beach, the world turned dull for both Keegan and Hesh. 

Hesh felt the grief for his brother in a full-bodied ache – something that tore at his heart and collapsed his lungs. Rorke took every single person that was left of his family. His world became The Fire That Consumes My Brother by Thích Nhất Hạnh. He hoped that the torch of Logan’s body burned bright enough to be seen through the denseness of South American jungles. 

He silently begged in the rain, praying that Logan could hear him. With every clap of thunder, he heard something that sounded like Logan’s raspy, barely-used voice crying for help. And Hesh sat, and he listened. The rain hid his tears well enough, anyway. 

For Keegan, it was a dull hurt. Something that permeated every thought and action in his life. His world became Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden. Keegan didn’t want anything to do with a world that didn’t have you in it. Even though there wasn’t a funeral, as both you and Logan were marked as MIA, Keegan still felt as though he was the only pallbearer, shouldering the weight of your coffin by himself. 

The world was no longer beautiful with this unrelenting shadow over him. The stars weren’t as bright, the moon wasn’t as wonderful, the sunshine wasn’t as nice and warm as it once was. You were his North, his South, his East, his West – his noon, his midnight, his every hour in between. But cardinal directions don’t have as much meaning anymore, and neither does time.

Keegan thought love would last forever. Keegan was wrong.

[inqilabi]

You know it's not lost on me that being in my 30s - everything I've done so far has been alone. I wrote this as I go to yet another movie. Alone. I don't mind of course. I hiked today. It was a beautiful warm fall day. With peak fall colors. I was alone. Sometimes I discover a beautiful new song, but I have no one to marvel at it and obsess over it with me. Because I chose this back when I decided that I wanted to go at life solo and rebuked any romantic relations (with men).

I've travelled alone. I've watched all my fav TV shows alone. I've gone through my daily affairs with no one to share it with..

I don't have any emotion attached to this. It's just stating fact.

I don't feel particularly lonely. But it is a long time to spend without a companion especially when most people have someone of significance in their life by this point. The average North American has two decades of relationships by this age. Many of my friends got married young. And at that point I certainly did not care, because I didn't care for marriage at that time. But now even my siblings are either married or I know will certainly have their own life. And your own life starts to feel a little empty..

[yuk-tepat]

Kinship Terminology in Swiric

Let’s talk about kinship terminology in Swiric. (This has gotten long.)

Swira, mentioned occasionally, are a mostly nomadic nation living north of Tepat. They are many other steppe nomads belong to a larger language family I call Macro-Swiric. The protolanguage has been previously introduced here. Although society has evolved and gotten more complex, of course, like their ancestors the nomads are largely migratory and live in small groups, but have shifted from primarily hunting to herding.

The proto-Swiric most likely migrated in small bands - becoming larger bands throughout history. The group could be seasonal, with people gathering in larger groups at certain times. Within bands, people lived in small family groups, sharing one dwelling, the *igʷpi. This would include parents and any unmarried children. Married children often stayed nearby but moved into a separate dwelling.

Thus the nuclear family was prominent, as in modern industrial societies. But unlike American/European families there was an additional consideration for age that sometimes overrode characteristics such as gender, generation, and so on.

In Proto-Swiric, we can reconstruct words for parents and other family members - many have a reduplicated form which is otherwise unusual in Proto-Swiric: *nana ‘mother,’ *tata ‘father,’ *xaxa ‘grandmother,’ and *dladla (or *dlada or *dlala) ‘grandfather.’ Parents were also known as *qʷabtoʔi ‘one who sent me down’ i.e., gave birth to me. Common terms for siblings were divided by relative age. Older brother was *ɯχʷa, and older sister *ini, but younger siblings were *lig regardless of gender. Siblings in general could be called *tampid(-ʔi) ‘father [is] one’ or *nampid(-ʔi) ‘mother [is] one,’ regardless of age or gender. The whole nuclear family, parents and siblings, was *igʷǝmpitʔi ‘house [is] one.’

The reduplicated family terms were often possessed, and often occurred in non-reduplicated form when they were possessed: *qʷetata or *qʷeta ‘my father,’ *qʷena ‘my mother,’ *dlena ‘your mother, etc. The simple forms of the terms were also used as suffixes, for example on names: *-ta for men, *-na for women, and *-(d)la for old people. Depending on the overall word, they might have reduced forms *-tǝ, *-nǝ, and *-lǝ.

A son was *mu and a daughter *mag, but children overall could be called *kus, which also meant ‘small,’ and there were also compound terms, *mukus and *makkus.

Aunts and uncles could be specified by compound terms (notice the non-reduplicated form):

*tan ini ‘father’s older sister’

*tan ɯχʷa ‘father’s older brother’

*tan lig ‘father’s younger sibling’

*nan ini ‘mother’s older sister’

*nan ɯχʷa ‘mother’s older brother’

*nan lig ‘mother’s younger sibling’

However the words for older siblings could also be used generically to refer to older relatives, of any generation. So a person could say *ɯχʷa to his older brother, but also an older male cousin, or an uncle, and *ini to an older sister, older cousin, or aunt.

Conversely, the words for grandparents might also be used for older siblings of the parents, especially if the speaker was young. A term such as *dladla or *xaxa might have been used politely to address any old man or old woman.

Cousins - people in the same generation - were also distinguished by age, with older cousins being *iksi (female) and *utsu (male). All younger cousins, however, were lumped together with younger siblings as *lig. If necessary they could be specified as *iksinlig or *utsunlig, which evolved into terms of their own.

Beyond *dla ‘grandfather,’ there are words for further generations. The third generation above a person was known as *sab, and the fourth one is *gʷin. The female counterparts were *xa sab/sab xa and *xa gʷin/gʷin xa. Further generations might be indicated by compounding or reduplication. However the compound form *sab(ǝ) gʷin, as well as the plural forms *dlalod, *sabud, and *gʷinud, could all refer to ancestors collectively, or to the clan or tribe.

Going the other direction, *kus meaning both ‘small’ and ‘child’ generally could be appended to the grandparent terms to indicate grandchildren. Hence a grandchild is *dla kus, great-grandchild *sab kus, great-great-grandchild *gʷin kus etc.

Returning to the plural form, , this plural is not strictly a plural in the English sense, but also referred to collective groups, typified by one member. So the plural form of ‘mother,’ *nanod or *nǝnod, did not mean that Heather had two mommies; it meant ‘mother and women of her generation, aunts,’ or even more broadly ‘maternal relatives.’ In parallel, *tatod/tǝtod was ‘uncles’ or ‘father’s relatives,’ or simply ‘clan, tribe,’ among groups with paternal descent. Paternal relatives / clan were also called *ahimud / *isod ‘bloods,’ and maternal relatives / clan were *χʷəlod ‘bones,’ reflecting the belief that one inherited one’s ‘bones’ from the mother, and ‘blood’ from the father, while either kin group might be *qalod ‘fleshes.’

The oldest male in a group was the *axʷǝn ‘chief’ or ‘master.’ Hence the *igʷ-axʷǝn or ‘home-master’ was ‘father’ or ‘husband’ - but also the *axʷǝn kus referred to the oldest son.

Upon marriage, the bride usually moved to the groom. The *akanisʔi or *akǝnesʔi was the bride or ‘one who is brought in [to the house].’ (Becoming enetsi.) The one who brought her in, her father, was *akanuʔi or *akǝnoʔi (> *eno’i). The mother-in-law was *akǝnoʔina, and the brother-in-law to the groom was *akǝnesʔin ɯχʷa or lig.

*Dibil referred to a variety of inlaws, including brother-in-laws. The basic meaning was related to ‘succeed,’ ‘inherit,’ ‘replace,’ or ‘exchange.’ It could refer to a youngest son - the youngest son was often the ‘heir’ of a family. In some historical Swiric families, older children would receive gifts on marriage and move away, while the last child would stay with the parents and receive whatever they had left. Dibil could also mean the son-in-law of a family without sons. But it could also refer to other in-laws, such as a brother-in-law. Many tribes had a custom of levirate marriage, where a man would marry a deceased brother’s widow, as a second wife if need be, and among later tribes where chiefs had multiple wives, whoever succeeded the chief, including his son, might marry the former chief’s wives (excluding his own mother).

The word *qɯd ‘part, side, half’ plays two different, important roles. In western languages, it evolved into a prefix or modifier in front of kinship terms, referring to more distant, thinner relationships, such as distant cousins, or to inlaws. Hence,  *qɯd ɯχʷa ‘brother in law,’ *qɯd ini ‘sister in law.’ (E.g. > Swiric kulini ‘sister in law.’) In Nasic languages, it referred to a side of one’s family, such as mother’s side, father’s side, becoming a suffix -χt forming words for groups of people.

Aside from the terms above, Proto-Swiric had several prefixes referring to particular categories of kinship, which could be added to some of the same terms to create several sets of other terms for kinds of relatives, such as in-laws, etc.

*O- paternal relatives (with vowel reduction)

*o-dlǝ grandfather

*o-lig uncle (father’s younger brother)

*o-χʷǝ father’s older brother

*o-xǝ paternal grandmother

*o-ni father’s older sister

*NA- maternal relatives (with vowel reduction)

*na-dlǝ maternal grandfather

*na-lig uncle (father’s younger brother)

*neni *neni mother’s older sister

etc.

*IB- husband’s relatives

*ib-pa husband

*ib-lig husband’s younger sibling

*ib-ta husband’s father

etc.

*UGI- wife’s relatives

*ugi-pa wife

*ugi-ta father-in-law

*ugi-na wi:na mother-in-law

*ugeni wife’s older sister

etc.

*SO- younger in-laws (with vowel reduction)

*so-mu son-in-law

*so-mǝg daughter-in-law

So, overall, there are a lot of possible relationship terms, but that’s fine; I have a lot to choose from in constructing later Swira’s words & can forget the ones that don’t sound OK.

[bvckbiter]

“Leave me behind.” – ethabaster (romantic) angst

for the request game

Alabaster stares at his boyfriend. “I’m sorry?”

“You heard me.” Ethan turns over in his bunk to face the wall, away from Alabaster. “If you really plan to defect, you better fucking leave me behind.”

“Why?”

“I’m in this for better or for worse, Bas. There’s no world where I take the easy way out.”

“The easy way—” Alabaster swallows hard as heat rises to his face. He’ll be damned if he cries in front of Ethan, even if the tears were of anger. “Ethan, if this goes on, nine-tenths of our army will be decimated by the time we win.”

“That’s the price of war.”

“Three of my siblings died today!”

“Not in vain. We rescued the Clazmonian Sow from the Hunt.”

“And that’s what they’re worth?” Alabaster’s voice crack. “A flying pig? Makes me wonder what you’d trade me in for.“

A sigh. Ethan sits up.

“Come here.” Ethan draws him in. A sob rips a path out of Alabaster’s chest as he buries his face into his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

A few seconds is all he lets himself indulge in before Alabaster pulls away, furiously scrubbing at his eyes. "if you're really sorry, then come with us," he says heavily. "I'll lose my mind if I see any more of my siblings die. Or you."

"I can't." A strong hand tucks errant strands of hair behind his ear, rueful and loving. "Three of your siblings might've died today, General, but do you know how many other demigods have died since I joined the Army?"

Alabaster sniffles. Maybe thirty-two, thirty-three. He'd lost exact count at twenty. Keeping demigods alive as the Army moved around the North American continent without the magical protections that Camp Half-Blood offered had been incredibly difficult; not all newcomers adapted well, especially the younger ones.

He's so tired.

"We have a cause, and we have a responsibility to the corpses we stand on," continues Ethan. His hand slips down Alabaster's face, tracing his jaw before nudging the younger boy to look at him. "I can't let their deaths be in vain, even if you're willing to turn tail because some of them hit closer to home than you were prepared for."

"Do you always have to be so pragmatic?" Alabaster heaves.

"I'm not saying that I relish their deaths. There's a reason why I remember the number, and every single one of their names and faces." A trembling smile spreads on Ethan's lips. "But it's nothing that I don't expect of myself, too."

With the tidal wave of grief and the combined six hours of sleep he'd managed over the past three days, every remaining neuron in Alabaster's brain is struggling to keep firing. Too many emotions and arguments and apologies fighting its way out of his body.

It's infinitely easier to sink back into Ethan's embrace.

"I hate you," Alabaster mumbles.

"You like that I give zero fucks about openly disagreeing with you. I mean, you said so yourself when you very dramatically made your feelings for me known." Soft snickers escape them both, before Ethan's tone turns somber again. "Changed your mind?"

Their foreheads touching and fatigued breaths mingling, Alabaster traces the eyepatch strings along Ethan's temple.

"A good general doesn't leave his men behind, I guess," Alabaster answers, hoping and holding his mother's words to his aching heart as a balm.

We will be victorious, Alabaster. I'm sure of it.

---

"Child," his mother warns, Greek fire-green eyes flaring in alarm as Alabaster's discordant laughs echo around them.

"Mother," he says hysterically. "Even if I leave him here, I can't let his death be in vain."

"Think about the siblings you have left under your care."

"Ethan would've wanted this." His fist curls iron-tight around his sword, the handle of it now bound to his hand by the frayed eyepatch he'd pried off Ethan's broken body. "We regroup."

***

thanks for this req! it was extremely yummy to write 😋

this is based off an idea i had of ethan and al having kind of opposite trajectories wrt their loyalties to kronos. ethan is under no illusion that hes being a hero and this will be a bloodless fight, only turned by the excessiveness and aimlessness of kronos' violence; meanwhile al genuinely wants to be the good guy and struggles with making sacrifices even if it's for what he perceives as a good cause - right up until he's lost too much and he gets hits with the worst case of sunken cost fallacy known to man

ethan is a tad manipulative here, which is something i don't think i see that often in fanworks, but i just think that with al being Delusional™️, ethan is also kind of the og Delusional™️ even if it's to a lesser degree, so it's fun to kind of sprinkle in how one influenced the other... al had to learn his shit somewhere.

casualty numbers completely made up on the fly. im not here for statistics-scaling

[peonycats]

You might have noticed that i havent been posting art that much recently, which has been caused by a variety of reasons, but one of which is that I've been hunkered down and working on this series about my Siberian OCs!!! Really proud of how these turned out, esp the embroidery and patterns, even if i did fry my hand a bit in the process LOL

Click the read more for icons and personality descriptions written by @irithnova, who I share many of these OCs with :3c

Yukagir: Resident old lady surrounded by (who she sometimes considers annoying) youngins, sweet demeanour and pleasant to talk to, though she isn't immune to giving a good scolding when a younger Siberian is annoying her. Lots of knowledge from her many years when it comes to practical stuff so is good with her hands, though she finds other things difficult to remember… Sakha: Approachable and outgoing, hardheaded and unafraid to speak his mind. Big organiser of events and knows who everyone is - is always trying to extend his reach, even outside of Siberia. Smokes like there's no tomorrow. Was kind of a menace in his youth - his neighbours don't let him forget. Is artistic at heart, has sketchbooks full of illustrations and is pretty crafty. Saul Goodman who? Evenia: Easy going but usually keeps to himself, often mistaken for Evenkia much to his chagrin. Somewhat playful, loves some good banter. Excellent storyteller and has a million random tips and tricks stored in his head. Sporty, loves to challenge people to a race.

Dolgan: Similar to Sakha, she is also hard headed and unafraid to speak her mind, seeing as he raised her. Very studious and serious about her research, calculative about a lot of her actions. Seems timid on the surface because of her appearance, but she's managed to wield a lot of influence. Usually decked out in pretty clothing and jewellery from Sakha. Evenkia: Likes to take on a mentor role to those younger than him, like he did with Sakha. Very knowledgeable and enjoys problem solving. Has a bit of a reputation for dumping children of his onto others, though you would never guess this through his appearance alone. Enjoys collecting things, nerdy. Ket: Serious faced mostly and protective of himself, quite reserved, so it means a lot when he lets his guard down. Very particular about his routines, though this has made him quite good at planning and organising. Caught up in his own thoughts a lot - makes sense seeing as he's the last survivor of the Yenisein family. 

Chukotka: Social butterfly and very outgoing. Likes to be sort of a big sister figure to people, including North American groups. May seem scatterbrained and silly on the surface but she is far more clever than she lets on. Very girly and bubbly, wears jewellery that jingles as she walks past. Koryak: "Sibling" of Chukotka but personality wise he's quite different - he takes himself a bit more seriously. Dry sense of humour, and like Ket, he can be pretty sarcastic. Has a reputation of being a troublemaker (blame Russia for that), he's really not though. Being somewhat strung up is unfortunately his default these days. Itelmen: Woman respecter™ (no seriously look up the Itelmens' original polytheistic religion). Invites the other Siberians to his celebrations and is a pretty good host, but is prone to being possessive over them (as in, he wants to remind them that this is HIS tradition so don't try and claim it 🙄). Also prone to unprompted malding. His hair is well styled and maintained, though he pretends like he does nothing to it so as to not give up his secrets.

BONUS:

[realityjoey]

SLOW BURN (RILEY ANDERSON MC x EVAN BUCKLEY)

Riley Anderson had always known she wanted to be a firefighter. From the time she was a little girl in the north of England, her dream had been to help people. She was ambitious, brave, and ready for anything. When she made the decision to move to America to join the renowned 118 firehouse, it had been a leap of faith—a new start, away from her large, chaotic family and the life she had known. But she wasn’t prepared for the emotional whirlwind that came with meeting Evan Buckley.

From the moment they met, Riley and Buck hit it off. Buck was charming, funny, and endlessly flirty, while Riley—despite her best efforts—couldn’t help but be drawn to his infectious energy. They quickly became close friends, bonding over their shared love for the adrenaline rush of firefighting and their shared sense of humor. Riley’s British accent was a constant source of entertainment for Buck, who took every opportunity to mimic her voice, always with a teasing grin on his face.

At first, it was innocent. Their friendship was built on lighthearted teasing and banter. Buck would give her a hard time about her accent, and Riley would roll her eyes, throwing back sarcastic quips about his American arrogance. There was an undeniable chemistry between them, but neither of them was willing to acknowledge it. After all, they were friends—best friends, in fact—and neither wanted to risk ruining that. Besides, they were both focused on their work and their chaotic lives outside of it. Riley was busy adjusting to life in a new country, juggling her responsibilities as a firefighter, and staying in touch with her siblings back home. Buck was dealing with his own personal struggles, trying to navigate complicated relationships and a rocky family history.

But beneath the surface, there was something simmering, something that neither of them could deny for long. It was in the way Buck’s touches lingered a little too long when he playfully shoved her during training, or the way his eyes softened when she laughed at his jokes. It was in the way Riley found herself wanting to spend more and more time with him, even outside of work, and how she secretly reveled in the attention he gave her.

Their co-workers began to notice, of course. Hen, Chimney, and Eddie, all close to Buck, couldn’t help but see the way he acted differently around Riley. He was more focused, more protective when they were on calls together. He would check on her first after a dangerous situation, his eyes scanning her face for any sign of injury. Riley, too, found herself stealing glances at Buck when she thought no one was looking. He had become her anchor in a way she hadn’t expected—a constant in her chaotic life, a source of warmth and comfort.

It wasn’t until one late night at the firehouse, after a particularly tough rescue, that the cracks in their carefully constructed friendship began to show. They were sitting alone in the common room, the rest of the team either sleeping or off-duty. Riley, exhausted but too wired to sleep, had plopped down next to Buck on the couch, resting her head against his shoulder without thinking. It was a gesture that felt natural, like something she’d done a thousand times before. But this time, Buck’s arm had instinctively wrapped around her, pulling her closer.

“You okay?” he asked quietly, his voice low in the stillness of the room.

Riley nodded, her eyes closed as she savored the warmth of his embrace. “Yeah, just tired.”

They sat like that for a while, neither of them speaking, just enjoying the rare moment of quiet. It wasn’t unusual for them to find comfort in each other like this—after all, they were best friends. But there was something different in the air that night, a tension that neither of them could ignore. Buck’s hand, which had been resting on her shoulder, slowly moved to the small of her back, his fingers gently tracing patterns through the fabric of her shirt. Riley’s breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she shifted slightly, turning to look up at him.

Their eyes met, and in that moment, everything changed. The teasing, the banter, the lingering touches—it all came rushing to the surface. Neither of them could deny what was happening any longer. Buck’s gaze dropped to her lips, and before Riley could say anything, he leaned in.

The kiss was soft at first, tentative, as though they were both testing the waters. But it quickly deepened, years of unspoken feelings pouring out in that one moment. Riley’s hands found their way to the back of Buck’s neck, pulling him closer, while Buck’s arms tightened around her, as if he was afraid to let her go. It was a kiss that had been years in the making, and when they finally broke apart, both of them were breathless.

“Riley,” Buck whispered, his forehead resting against hers. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”

Riley smiled, her heart racing. “So have I.”

But as much as that kiss changed things between them, it wasn’t an instant shift. They were still afraid—afraid of ruining their friendship, afraid of what their co-workers might think, and afraid of getting hurt. So, they fell into a complicated dance, neither of them willing to fully commit but unable to stay away from each other.

They continued to pretend nothing had changed, keeping up their usual banter and playful flirting around the team, though now there was an underlying current of something more. Behind closed doors, however, things were different. When they were alone, the walls they had built between them came crashing down. They started spending more nights together—sleeping in each other’s arms, sharing secret kisses, and learning the depth of their feelings for one another. Yet they were both hesitant to label their relationship, still clinging to the idea that they were just “friends.”

The turning point came one night after a rough call. Riley had been reckless, throwing herself into a dangerous situation without thinking, and it had shaken Buck to his core. When they returned to the station, Buck had pulled her aside, his face pale with worry.

“Do you even realize how scared I was back there?” he demanded, his voice cracking with emotion.

Riley had never seen him like that—so vulnerable, so raw. She opened her mouth to respond, but Buck didn’t let her.

“I can’t lose you, Riley. I just can’t. I’ve been pretending that I’m okay with whatever this is between us, but I’m not. I need more. I need you. All of you.”

His confession hit her like a ton of bricks, and suddenly, all the fear and hesitation melted away. She realized that she didn’t want to keep pretending either. She didn’t want to hold back anymore.

“I’m yours,” Riley whispered, stepping closer to him. “I always have been.”

From that moment on, there was no turning back. They stopped hiding their feelings, embracing the love that had been building between them for so long. Their relationship evolved from best friends to lovers, the slow burn of their romance finally giving way to a blazing fire.

And though it wasn’t always easy—balancing their dangerous jobs, their personal baggage, and the teasing from their co-workers—they knew they were stronger together. Riley and Buck had found something rare and beautiful in each other, a love that had been worth the wait.