#one pride my grandfather died in the middle of the festival and i got the phone call then rip papa

[ladyloveandjustice]

I seem to be literally cursed to never have a good Pride every year, which is definitely homophobia. I also blame my town for having it in late September for some reason, which is generally the month of the year bad things happen and the mental illness hits the worst for me. June is usually fine.

[cacti-are-like-flamingos]

Wished by Anonymous

Request: Hi! I love your blog! I hope you have a nice day and I got through your rules and I hope this is within what you are comfortable with! Can I request a Marco with a reader that is literally a real phoenix? Like she doesn’t show her powers but when someone (Izo) gets hurt very badly, she just burst out into this bright red phoenix and start heling everyone while hurting the enemy? Thank you!

...

None of them could believe their eyes.  

Not even when they could feel the very heat from your flaming feathers as you flew past them.

Not even as they watched you, from the very corners of their eyes, jump off from the wooden railings of the ship and transform into the very fiery bird they see before their eyes. Clawing away at the enemy as you flapped your enormous wings, the winds produced with every wave being the equivalence to those produced by some of the strongest hurricanes.

It was magnificent you see. To be in the presence of such beauty, surrounded by the warm glows of golden embers and wisp of red. The glow so bright that it blinded all, the hue so vivid that it bathed the blue skies into a deep vermillion. No more could clouds be seen, no more could the sun be seen --- everything was bathed in red and gold, no other hue existed.

“You dare hurt my friends? My brothers and sisters?” Your voice boomed through the battlefield. Your presence was strong, stronger than even those given the title of Yonko. But how could that be? You hadn’t held the ability of the Conqueror’s Haki nor had you yet to take a bite of the Devil’s Fruit ---  by all reason, you were supposed to be an ordinary person, err, pirate at the very least. Yet the question remains, how was this possible?

It was then at the middle of watching you battle the foes, tearing them down by the tens and disintegrating them with the mere look of the eye, that the Whitebeard Pirates had begun to feel a strange sensation course throughout their bodies. A sensation that began as a warmth of sorts before settling into a sort of coolness. They watch in awe as their wounds, licked by your flames, disappear as though they had never been inflicted in the first place.

“Uh, did you know about this?” Ace inquired, landing right beside his brothers, his own flames licking the soles of his feet.

“That (Y/N) was a freaking phoenix? Hell no. Never even saw it coming to be honest.”  Thatch admitted, a chuckle rumbling out from his chest. Scratching his strangely formed beard, he sent a smirk over to his blond brother,” What about you, hm Marco? Knew that the love of your life was of bird kin too, eh?” Said man rolled his eyes, yet his gaze never left your figure. He watched with great pride as you defended the crew with swiftness and grace unlike anything he’s ever seen before. He watched as you made your way over to the badly injured Izo, your figure hovering carefully over his battered body. And with a single wing, you laid it just inches above him, the feathers gently caressing his wounds. With every lick, the open skin would mend itself back to a close, the skin blushed with newly found life. Izo’s jaw slackened, eyes widening in shock upon your arrival.

“(Y/N)? I-Is that really you?”  He asked. His voice shaken and hoarse. He could still taste the iron of his blood in his mouth.

“Hop on, you idiot!” You yelled out,  stretching your wings away to expose your back. Seeing this, he, with his replenished energy, found himself strong enough to haul himself up from the ground and onto your back. His hands, bruised and calloused, gripped tightly onto the flesh of your neck. “Hold on tight cause I’m gonna burn these fools to the ground!”  It was a simple line of dialogue as it was a simple line of truth.

There wasn’t much after that, everything was as you told. 

Nothing but scorched grounds and shadows of those who once stood.

They dared not to speak of the screams that still lingered in the air.

Returning back towards the ship, you were greeted by a merry sight. Everyone stood by the railings of the Moby Dick, smiles upon their blushing cheeks as they roar in applause upon your arrival. If you were in your human form they would be met by the shake of your head and the sight of your smile. Hovering just above their heads, you made way for the middle of the deck, your crewmates backing up as to not get caught by your wings. Hopping off your spine, Izo stumbled as he regained his footing, his hair breaking away from their bondage and flying wildly as you body was overtaken by yet another blinding glow.

As the glow died down, you gracefully landed upon the wooden planks, the fire that once surrounded you now overwhelmed by the nip of the sea’s freshness. No longer did you smell the addictive scent of smoke, but did you smell the equal addicting scent of sea salt. Turning around, you look up to the Gunner, a worried fold upon your brows.

“Are you okay? They didn’t hurt that bad right?” You inquired, voice dripping wet of worry.

 An angry vein popped out from his forehead.

“Fuck off! What I want to know is when were you going to tell us about...about THAT?!” He yelled angrily at the top of his lung, earning a small pout from you. 

“Well if we’re gonna be like that, your makeup is smudged.” If looks could kill... Raising your hands above your head, you made a face as you slowly backed away from him. Putting your hands into your pockets, you spoke, “I was gonna tell you...eventually.” Clicking his tongue, the Gunner’s gaze softened. Walking up to you, he hesitantly placed a hand upon your head, a smile slowly erupting upon his painted lips as he whispered a small thanks before moving way. And with that, the festivities began.

By the time the afternoon sun was no more, every one had gone below deck to enjoy a swell meal prepared by their favorite chef, Thatch. You could even hear their loud cheers and singing even from where you stood. Their joy breathing into the very cold sea air she breathed, their energy running course through her veins as she felt a warmth blossom upon her bosom. A warmth caused by familial love. 

“So, when were you planning to inform me of your...abilities-yoi?” A familiar voice spoke from behind you. It was then that you felt another’s chest press firmly against your spine, their breath right beside your ear. You felt his arms wrapped around your waist, the muscle rippling under his bare skin. Leaning back into your wall of muscle, you breathed out a sigh. Feeling as all the tension in your body quickly faded away. He always did have that affect on you strangely enough.

“I don’t know...I mean you never asked.” He grunted, finding dissatisfaction with your answer. You sighed, “I really don’t know. It’s just something I don’t really talk about. Well mainly because if it were a known fact that I was an actual phoenix, the World Government would be even hotter on my trail.” Humming, he held you in silence for just a few minutes more before kissing your temple, his lips chapped but soft.

“At least now we know for a fact that we’re going to have baby chicks-yoi.” You chuckled, gazing out into the sea with a soft expression. “Yeah I guess so.” “Then let’s go.” You froze, “Huh?” 

Shifting in his arms, you tilted your head upwards. Your eyes peering through your lashes as you gave him a look of disbelief. But you were only met by the sight of his usual expression of half-lidded eyes and that lazy smirk of his. 

“I hate to admit it, but watching you turn into an actual phoenix and slay the enemies really got me hot and bothered. So let’s get going.” You had no time to react for he quickly threw you over his shoulder, a hand sitting on your ass.

“Whoa, whoa! Wait! What?!” A few men still hanged around the upper deck, so upon seeing your situation they couldn’t help but laugh. Wolf-whistling as they watched Marco take you in the way of his room.

“Can you believe that? Soon enough, there’ll be mini-Marcos and mini-(Y/N)’s running around the Moby Dick!” Haruta jested alongside Vista, a mug of beer in his hand.

“Gurararara~! I’m going to be a grandfather!” Exclaimed joyously Whitebeard, a grin on his face as the rest of the men cheered you and Marco on. Smirking, the pineapple man pated your rear,

“See-yoi? Now we gotta meet everyone’s expectation-yoi. There’s no escaping tonight-yoi~!”

Fuck.

...

Original Request 

(A/N): If you’re going to request something, read the rules. 

Hope you enjoyed!

[light-miracles]

Hello. It's me. I would like to ask you if you could maybe possibly, only if you feel like it write a Taang fic about their first kiss???? Pretty please?

Heey!! Hello heavenly winged pal!

......

Toph usually had no trouble sleeping, but having to spend the night in the Southern Air Temple had gotten on her nerves in unexpected ways she couldn't explain.

Truth be told, no one had wanted to stay in that place. Everyone was concerned about how that might affect Aang. But the night had found them near there on their way to the Southern Water Tribe to visit Hakoda at the end of the Father's Festival. And Aang had insisted that sleeping under a roof would be much more comfortable than in one of Toph's rock tents, especially in the middle of winter. He had said so many times that he was okay that Katara and Sokka hadn't refused.

Naturally, Toph knew he was lying. And Aang also knew that Toph knew he was lying.

So there was Toph, unable to sleep inside her rock tent in the temple gardens. She had steadfastly refused to sleep in one of the old empty bedrooms, the idea of ​​lying on a bed that belonged to Aang's dead friends once too disturbing for her liking. When she realized counting flying bison was not going to work, the teenager simply put the soles of her feet on the ground and enjoyed the vibrations around her. The more she grew up, the more the reach of her seismic sense grew too. Toph knew that if she tried, she could feel vibrations cities away. Perhaps one day her vision would be so powerful that she could see the entire world. But right now she didn't want to see so far away, she wanted to relax.

Appa was sleeping inside the temple on a large gallery, a part of him feeling almost happy to be home. Katara and Sokka were sleeping in the bedrooms, quietly and undisturbed. Momo was in the basement kitchens, looking for some food fossils.

Aang was walking on the roof.

Normally, Toph would have left her friend alone with his own business. But they were in the Southern Air Temple, the place that had once been his home. There was no way being there would make him feel good. And she couldn't sleep. So Toph yawned, stood up, stepped out of her rock tent into the cold winter night, and made up her mind to follow him as quietly as possible.

Toph followed Aang silently, to a spacious balcony in the southern part of the gardens, where there was nothing but a stone statue. Aang stood for a long time in front of the statue, in silence, with what seemed to be flowers in his hands. Toph was about to turn around and go back to her tent when Aang spoke. "You can stay, Toph. I don't mind company."

A small smile of pride adorned her face. "Your seismic sense is improving," she said as she approached her friend.

"I have the best teacher," replied the monk.

Toph stood next to him, in front of the statue. "It's pretty late, Twinkle Toes. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I needed to clear my chakras," said Aang crossing his arms. "You see, over time I learned that it's not enough to clean them just once. Sometimes they get dirty again and I have to take a moment to meditate and clean them. But the last few days I've been feeling... anxious. So I thought coming here would help."

"It's your air chakra, isn't it? The one blocked by grief."

Aang nodded silently.

"Father's festival?"

Aang nodded again.

Toph should have assumed that was why her friend had been unusually quiet for the past few days. When the festival started, she and her friends had agreed to spend the first few days in Cranefish Town with Iroh and Zuko. Her father was also in town visiting the main Earthen Fire refinery, and she had been able to meet him and have dinner together (and give him a T-shirt that read Bae-Fong with a flying boar wearing sunglasses. Toph wishes she had seen his face). The rest of the festival would be spent with Hakoda, Malina, Kanna and Pakku. Luckily the festival lasted several days and they had had time to meet all of their fathers.

Except for Aang, because he didn't have any.

Toph stood up straight, sensing that she would have to use her imagination and limited social skills to cheer up her friend. "Is this your father?"

"Uh, no. I didn't really have parents. At least not like the rest of you. The monks didn't believe in earthly ties, so we didn't have a concept of parenthood or marriage or family."

"That sounds lonely."

"It wasn't, the entire community was your family. And the children were raised by the older monks," he took a deep breath, perhaps not too used to being asked about his lost culture. "I didn't have a father, but I did have a dad. Gyatso. He raised me," he said with his eyes still fixed on the statue.

Toph stepped forward and placed her hands on the stone face of the statue. "Pff, of course you're not related. This man is handsome."

"He was almost 90 years old and he lacked three teeth!"

"Still more handsome than you."

Aang snorted. "I just wanted to leave flowers." The young monk placed what was effectively a bouquet of flowers on the ground next to the statue. "I buried him under this statue the last time I was here." Toph felt her friend wipe a couple of tears from his eyes, and she tried to think of something to say, but Aang kept talking. "When I came out of the iceberg, I already knew that he was probably dead. But I was hoping that he wasn't. Some people, like Avatar Kyoshi, live for centuries. There was a chance that he and all my friends were alive. But when I got here, they were all..." his voice cracked. "It was my fault, Toph," he said shaking his head. "Gyatso died because I wasn't here to protect him. Every day I wake up and I know that my dad died because of me."

"Stop right there, we both know it wasn't you," said Toph putting her hands on his shoulder, with her not-nonsense voice. "It was the asshole of Zuko's grandfather. And you fixed it, you ended the war."

"But that didn't give me my home back."

Toph shrugged. "No, I guess nothing will. But you know what? Wherever your adoptive father who's much more handsome than you is, he must be quite proud of you being older, badass and a good Avatar. And I know you miss him, but I also know that you're strong enough to rely on your friends when you feel like this. We got your back, baldy." She playfully punched him on the shoulder and left her hand there. "Even if you have to polish your chakras every day."

Aang put his hand over hers. "Thank you."

"I hope I didn't make you feel worse. Katara is better with the feelings stuff."

"No, you said just what I needed to hear. As always. I'm glad you couldn't sleep."

They both laughed for less than a second, their hands still clasped on Aang's shoulder, and then suddenly something clicked in Toph's mind. She could have sworn Aang stiffened as well, the air between them changing inexplicably. Maybe the one to blame were only her hormones, but at that moment she wanted to be closer to him. And she couldn't see, but she could swear that Aang was looking at her without looking away and-

Toph stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Aang on the lips.

It lasted less than two seconds, before she took a step back. "Damn it," she said, shaking her head. How could she have been so inopportune? Now she would have to swallow her pride and apologize. "Forget it. It was just a-"

Aang leaned in and kissed Toph fully on the lips again, holding her hand on his shoulder. The kiss lasted a couple of seconds longer than the last one, and yet it seemed to last too little. "No problem. We're even now," he said, taking a step back again.

Toph felt that annoying heat on her cheeks again. "I think I should leave you alone. You have chakra maintenance to do and I should go to sleep."

"Alright," Aang nodded, looking through her as always and knowing that she needed space to process what had just happened. Or pretend it hadn't happened. Toph was unpredictable. "Good night, Sifu Toph."

She didn't reply and hurried out of his presence, on her way back to her tent. Aang took a moment to close his eyes and use his seismic sense. Her heart was pounding very fast. He almost felt guilty, evidently Toph wouldn't sleep much in that state.

When he opened his eyes, the statue of Gyatso was still there, but the pain was no longer deep like a knife in his heart. It had reduced to a background noise that did not prevent him from breathing in peace. "I've wanted to do that for a long time, Gyatso. At least to shut her up from time to time. Sometimes she talks too much," said Aang with a smile. "You know? I know the air nomads are gone forever, but I'm not alone. I have Toph and my friends. And I'll always have you in my heart as well." Aang bowed in front of the statue. "Happy father's festival, Dad."

Maybe Toph had shown him the secret formula to clear the pain. Love.

[optimisticvibeworld]

Why Love my brother David

The cold New England winter morning...

Fresh snow having fallen throughout the night, provided ideal conditions for two young brothers to venture through woods and go ice skating, maybe even practice ice hockey.

As a twelve year old being home during school break for the Christmas holidays I felt quite smart when I said to my younger brother, David, ‘Instead of our fingers freezing in the cold, we should lace up our ice skates in the warmth of home instead of carrying them a mile through the woods to the pond.’

‘Great idea,’ David said, of course he would agree with his older brother no matter what the ‘brilliant’ idea was.

Sitting beside the Christmas Tree in the warmth of our festive Living Room, David and I laced up our ice skates, quite proud of our brilliant idea. As Irish Twins, my brother David and I did everything together. Our single mother, never earning more than minimum wage, worked hard all the time, or as she taught us, ‘There is no such thing as hard work, you just do what you gotta do in life, and never complain.’ I don’t recall my brother and I ever complaining, nor can I recall my brother and I ever doing without, our mother always made it work, even when the chips were down. I learned to believe there is no force equal to that a determined woman, and our mother was more than determined, she was an optimist, no matter what.

David and I laced up our skates, grabbed our hockey sticks and snow shovel to clean off the freshly fallen snow on the small pond, and headed out the door. The new snow was crisp and cold and blanketed the floor of the woods like a white carpet. Beneath the carpet of snow however we couldn’t see the rocks, roots, nor branches and logs beneath the snow that made it slippery to walk on the thin blades of the ice skates. My brother David and I would walk a few steps, get caught on something beneath the surface of the snow, trip, and fall repeatedly. Hard headed and determined, just like our mother had taught us, we persevered nonetheless. Took a bit of time, but haven’t fallen, risen many times, we ventured again repeatedly with determination and we eventually made it through the woods in our backyard to the small frozen pond at the end of the forest.

David was eager to ice skate and quickly got to work cleaning off the fresh snow on the small frozen pond. It was when he got out toward the middle of the small pond that I heard David fall through the ice into the frozen water and scream for help. I had to get him out of the frozen water right away, something bad was about to happen. I raced to my brother’s aid, the ice gave way beneath me and I too became immersed in the frozen water. I recall to this day never feeling the effect of the freezing water, ‘you do what you gotta do’, and I did.

The water depth of the small pond allowed me to trudge to my brother David’s rescue. He was shaking violently from the cold. I grabbed David, through him over my shoulder and directed us to the edge of the small pond. Everything below the surface of the water, the leaves, the logs, the branches and rocks were like walking on grease while wearing thin blades of ice skates. As I carried my brother to the edge of the pond we fell in the water over and over again. Getting David out of the water and back home was my focus, should I not make it back before severe hypothermia set in David would suffer. I became a force equal to that of a determined brother. With David slung over my shoulder I began the determined process of carrying him while waking in ice skates, repeatedly falling from the unbalanced and slippery conditions that laid beneath the white carpet of the snow. I would lose my balance, fall, and rise again and again, each time protecting my brother as we fell. My mantra became, ‘no matter what’, a mantra that would stay with me for the rest of my life. To this day, forty-nine years later, I still exercise ‘no matter what’ in all that I set out to accomplish.

No matter what I was going to get David home, and I did.

When I wrote my book, Pride, about our family history going back five hundred years, the first person to receive a copy of my book was my brother, David. He had been living 1,500 miles away in Florida with his wife and three children for twenty plus years. Two days after receiving my book David called me and said, “I want to come home, and work together.” I was so excited!

The next day I received a phone call that my brother David had a heart attack and died. The last words he spoke to me were, “I want to come home and work together”. David’s last words would repeat themselves to me and over and over again, and for the last six years I have responded to the ‘I want to work together’ in the production of the book David and I wrote together called Optimistic Vibe.

David’s last words, “I want to come home” is the reason behind Tiny Home Hawai’i. The ‘home’ that David is coming home to is what I am building today. In our book, Optimistic Vibe, I am focused not on the profit and greed of a business, instead, David and I spent four and half years with two universities reinventing today’s common Business Model into a never before seen collaborative project that addresses social concerns, just like our eleven generations ago grandfather di at Plymouth Rock when he welcomed the Pilgrims from the Mayflower, as I spelled out in my book ‘Pride’.

The first social concern David and I are addressing is for our mother: Oppression of Woman. When our mother struggled with trying to make ends meet while earning no more than minimum wage the effects of opportunity and homelessness plagued us. I am well-versed with child abuse from my father, but nothing he did could equal the effect my mother’s fear would have on my David me as children. Fact is, the fear that a single mother must endure when society looks down at her as a burden and treats her poorly goes right through the mother into the heart of the child and stays there a lifetime. For our mother’s eightieth birthday David and I gave our mother the Tiny Home Sisterhood, an opportunity of self-reliance for single mothers in need of a home and a decent paying job with training… One Hand Up.

My mother recently told me that my Great Spirit is using my passion to open doors to carry David home to our Tiny Home Hawai'i. This week I traveled six thousand miles from Hawai’i to the East Coast of the Mainland to visit my mother and retrieve my brother David’s ashes. I have endured much to launch Tiny Home Hawai’i and David and I are now at the finish line, my courage equals my strength to persevere, when I fall I rise each time, no matter what I will dig deep until David’s ashes honor our home, David’s resting place is at our ‘Garden In Paradise”. The reason for the name ‘Garden In Paradise is that the acronym is GIP, which is David’s nickname, he was always known as ‘Gip’.

I love Gip.