#plus a bunch of people literally come and go

[bpdkangel]

atp im literally just abt to force myself to make flags everyday for both of my flag blogs

[thetangibleghost]

"give me a beer, a lullaby, and a word in my ear" -guy at a speed dating event in my dream

[sonknuxadow]

its honestly crazy to me that theres so many sonic games that are inaccessible on current gen consoles or maybe are available on one but arent available on the others and instead of remastering or re releasing any of those sega just keeps re releasing the classic trilogy and sonic cd over and over and over again and they sometimes even do it on platforms where those games are already available. like why cant we get a port of sonic heroes or the storybook games or the advance trilogy or something

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt. 7

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.8] [Pt.9] [Pt.10]

“I’m having a child.”

Danny stared at Batman.

“…Uh, congrats?”

Batman whips out a stack of paper and a pen. “It’s you. Sign here and initial the highlighted spots.”

Danny instinctively, from years of dealing with Vlad, whacked the stack right out of Batman’s hands and into the bay. He doesn’t even feel bad about littering this time because, “Begone, fruitloop!”

Wait, no, that’s not what he meant.

“I mean- I have parents!”

“Not for long.” Batman muttered and then did a double take. “You have parents? How?”

Danny gasped, placing a hand on his chest to clutch his metaphorical pearls. He ignored Batman’s mutters. Everyone knows the vigilante has an adoption problem. At least, everyone who lived in Gotham did, as everyone who didn’t was somehow convinced that he “worked alone” or some bullshit like that. “Are you naturally this insensitive or were you dropped on your head as a baby? Obviously I had to come from somewhere.”

“They’re still… alive?”

“And kicking,” Danny said, inching away from yet another rich weird guy trying to adopt him. “Mostly the kicking part, though.” He said, remembering the sparring sessions. His mom could kick his as six ways to Sunday with nothing but jiu-jitsu and still have time to work in the lab.

“I see.”

“I’m charging you extra for the emotional upheaval. I have trauma regarding rich people trying to adopt me.”

Batman sullenly handed over a thousand.

“Sweet. There’s a group of shades down here asking if you could find their murderer. Apparently the serial killer is still at large.” Danny pointed.

“Of course. Tell me everything.”

The adoption papers disappeared as Batman went into detective mode.

Danny shoved the cash into his glowing chest and breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to make rent this month so it was a windfall running into Batman.

——

“Hey, Tim?”

Tim woke up from his Power Nap. “Huh?”

“Phantom’s complaining that Batman kept trying to adopt him.”

Tim blinked. “Uh.. what does that have to do with me?”

Danny stared at him, a patiently amused smile on his face. “Just in case the rumor about the Wayne’s sugar-daddy-into the Bats was a thing. Other than that, we might have to confront Batman to get him off of Phantom’s back. ”

“You… want to confront Batman.”

“Hey, man, Phantom’s a friend and it’s ride or die.” Danny snickered. It was literally die, with his Phantom side of things. He held two fists up, and wound them, like Popeye right after eating spinach or something. “And if Batman bothers Phantom, we ride at dawn.”

“Batman doesn’t come out unless it’s dark, though? Or for the Justice League.” Tim grinned. He mentally classified Danny under his “to go to” list. That’s where Bart, Bernard, Cassie, Kon, and Garfield were. If he starts shit, he could count on them to have his back and cause even more shit. Danny, wanting to fistfight Bruce over the man making Phantom uncomfortable? He absolutely is making that list.

“Then we ride at, like, dusk. Or uh, like 10PM. I gotta get my beauty sleep.”

“You’ll definitely need it,” Tim inconspicuously texted the group chat, which quickly blew up.

“Shut up,” Danny playfully shoved Tim. “Wait, can Batman even legally adopt? Isn’t being a vigilante illegal? And how can he adopt someone dead?”

Tim dramatically flailed and splayed over Danny’s carpeted living room. “Dunno about his identity,” he lied to Danny, like a liar. “But Gotham has a bunch of laws for the undead/restored to life people so there’s probably enough gray space there.”

Danny spluttered. “You guys have undead friendly laws?”

“Yeah, geht do you think Grundy just chills out? Plus, we have like a minor resurrection event every few years. It usually doesn’t stick but sometimes it does. Bruce pushed for those laws when Jason came back to life, except he doesn’t actually want people to know he’s like, alive.”

“Jason died?” Danny blinked. Well, that would explain the vibes. “Huh. So what’s up with his rank vibes then?”

“Rank vibes?” Tim pressed record on his phone.

Danny nodded. “Yeah, you know how Phantom’s got like a really chill green vibe?” Inwardly, Danny snickered at his pun. Chill. Yeah, he meant that very literally. “Jason’s got kind of a rank green vibe. He’s kind of stinky? Definitely never introduce him to Phantom.” Danny’s senses got worse in his ghost form.

“Jason regularly showers, though?!”

“Not smell! Like, a spiritual smell?”

“You can smell souls?!” Tim sat up. “Bro, you’re a meta?!”

“Uh.” Danny hesitated. “Yeah. I can smell souls. It’s a thing. Everyone from my town can do it.”

“What?!” Tim paused. “Wait, can Phantom smell souls?”

“Yeah. We’re, uh, from the same town.”

“Danny, what the fuck?”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that, you’re the one with a soul-sick brother! Not to mention, you’re kinda stinky too!”

“Hey!”

“Soul-stinky nerd man!”

——

“I stink?!” Jason spluttered out, extremely offended.

“The Lazarus pits. He’s most likely smelling traces of Lazarus pit on you, you imbecile.”

“We need to speak to Phantom. This instant.”

“I dunno, B. Danny sounded like he was gonna break your face if you bothered Phantom anymore.” Dick snickered.

“Yeah,” Tim chimed in, from his seat in front of the Bat-computer. “He was pretty serious.”

“Are we just gonna glaze over the fact that they’re from the same town?!” Stephanie exclaimed, practicing her moves on a training dummy.

“How does that even work? What does that mean? I thought Phantom was an immortal?” Duke asked.

“We also can’t rule out time-travel.” Barbara slammed her baton into a training dummy, twisting her wheelchair in an agile maneuver that left the dummy on the floor.

“No bothering Phantom.” Cass proclaimed.

“That’s quite right. You all have a warm dinner sitting above your cave and should it remain uneaten, I assure you that sherbet Sunday and crêpe Tuesday shall be canceled.” Alfred stepped in. The Bats, threatened, scrambled to ditch their gear and go upstairs.

[wonderjanga]

combining people hitting on ace marvel with Billy having total control over the magical champion body, plus Billy having terrible conflict resolution skills on account of being a child and Solomon not having any answers regarding turning down someones affections. So if someone is hitting on marvel he escapes by acting like hes being attacked or cursed. The magical champion version of "uhh my shoes are untied... OVER THERE!" A person tries to kiss him and he just.

Marvel: *inching away from a lady who keeps coming near him and trying to kiss him*

Lady: “Oh you’re my hero!” *tries to kiss him again*

Marvel: *dodged and sees a nearby drain*

Billy then proceeded to do the only thing he could think of in that moment. Melt.

Marvel: “Ah… I’m melting! Ahhhhhh…” *terrible actor but is trying his best to sound like he’s in agony*

Lady: “Oh my God! Someone call an ambulance!”

Marvel: “NO no… no. Don’t do that.” *still melting and now trying to melt into the drain* “But yeah- Ah… I’m in so much pain!

Billy didn’t really like having to find a way out of the sewers. Nor did he like smelling like sewage after. But, it did get him out of that situation, so he’ll take it.

or

Marvel: *flying*

Lady: “Captain! Captain, could I have a word with you?”

Marvel: “Of course, miss! Is there a problem?”

Lady: “Not really.” *puts her hand on his chest and bats her lashes* “I just wanted to have a little chat-”

Marvel: *makes his own chest cave in away from her*

Lady: *stares for a solid sec* “OH MY GOD??”

She was absolutely horrified because she could literally hear his rib bones snap and he somehow didn’t flinch at all.

or

Marvel: *backed up against a wall in a lady’s apartment after he helped with a small house fire*

Lady: *tries to kiss him*

Marvel: *looks absolutely mortified and turns his head away*

The worst part in Billy’s opinion about that situation was that he couldn’t really escape. Like, he couldn’t let himself fly up because there was a roof and if he did, the rubble might fall on the lady and injure her. He can’t go down because they’re on the second story of a building and the rubble will land on the people down below. And he can’t go through a wall because there are other rooms full of people in the other rooms. So what does he do? He explodes. Literally. Not metaphorically.

Marvel: *literally lets his head explode into confetti*

Lady: *stares*

Marvel: *blindly feels around the room because he can’t see and stumbles over a bunch of stuff as he leaves*

He fell down the stairs multiple times, and ran into what he was pretty sure was a trash can. (He can’t be too sure considering he can’t hear or see) He ended up somehow getting to the street and wandering before a JL member came out of nowhere, was horrified, and made him sit down on a bench. As for how he knew it was a JL member, he literally let his hand palm their face so he could feel who it was. It was Flash. Anyways, he regrew his head.

Flash: *talking with someone on his comm* “Dude, I think Marvel was decapitated-”

JL member: *says something that Billy can’t hear*

Flash: “No, I don’t know how!

JL member: *says something else*

Flash: “No, he’s not dead. Somehow. He was walking around before I found him. I got him to sit down.”

Marvel: “Flash, who are you talking to?”

Flash: “Spooky.” *pauses and slowly looks over to him now registering Billy said something* “Wha- dude! You have head again!”

Marvel: “Yeah?”

Flash: “Jesus, man, you had me worried-” *looks back to his comm and speaks to it* “Cap just grew his head back.”

JL member(Now known as Batman): *says something else*

Flash: “I don’t know! It just grew back!”

Batman: *probably says something about how he expects a report or explanation or something*

Flash: “Yeah, yeah I’ll fill more details later.” *hangs up and looks over to Billy* “Dude. How did you get decapitated?” *sits down with him* “I thought you were supposed to be super durable like Supes.”

Marvel: “Oh uh… I blew my own head up.”

*silence*

Flash: “What?”

[autball]

No one wants to be lied to. When it comes from another adult, you feel betrayed. When it comes from your kids, you feel that PLUS a responsibility to make it stop ASAP, before it becomes a “thing” that reflects badly on you as a parent. 

But a lot of people are going about doing that all wrong. Lying is actually a normal developmental milestone that starts when kids realize they can know things that other people don’t. Lying is also often a stress response, meaning it’s a symptom of another problem and can even happen involuntarily.

BUT ALSO, some people, and Autistic and ADHD folks in particular, are being accused of lying when that’s not even what’s happening.

Neurodivergent people perceive the world differently. Y’know, because we’re literally wired differently. But I see people assuming their ND kids and partners are lying *all the time* instead of considering the possibility that our different wirings simply led to different perceptions.

Lying is when the person knows that what they're saying is not the truth. If a person truly believes that what they're saying, that their *own perception of the world,* is the truth, that's not really lying, is it?

And it’s not that Autistics and ADHDers are incapable of lying, of course, or that nothing should be done about it if lying truly does become a problem. You’re gonna wanna be sure that’s what you’re dealing with before you try to do anything about it, though.

You’re also gonna need to understand that it’s about more than “moral failing” and “bad character” if you don’t want to make it worse. Because what do you think is gonna happen when you heap a bunch of stress in the form of shame and punishment onto a person who is already struggling with lying as a stress behavior??

And so I present this list of possibilities to consider when your person’s version of events isn’t lining up with yours (or their teacher’s, or their sibling’s, or whomever else it may be).

Related note: If “inconsistencies in reporting” are coming from school, please keep in mind that teachers often don’t see everything that happened to your child with their own eyes (because their attention is pulled in many directions), and that bullies who will rile your kid up on purpose and then lie about what happened are an unfortunate reality for many ND kids. In other words, please don’t assume that your child is the one who has it wrong when their version of events differs from others’ without also considering the reliability/motivations of the other witnesses.

[milessunflowers]

Wow. Criminal law seems really hard. And to me, you seem magic. I can't cram, I actually need spaced out revision, it's a curse I tell you.

But anyway! May I humbly request a smau with Max Verstappen and male!snowboarder!reader who's won like a bunch of medals and trophies in multiple snowboarding categories and even a couple skiing ones just for fun (like he has a whole room full of them because there's so many and most of them are high level competitions too). But. BUT. He's actually more invested in model building. Models of what you might ask. Everything, everything from trains to animals to Buckingham Palace to people and even to entire skylines. He's really good at it too, they're all very realistic. He's the type of person to be like "OMG!!!! Just finished my model of the New York skyline!!!! Isn't it so pretty? (And I have this gold medal from the Olympics.)"

Thank you!

i know nothing abt snowboarding so hopefully this is how you saw it!

max verstappen x male!snowboarder!reader

synopsis: you would think you would show off your gold medals to the world, but no. you showed off the models you made together with your boyfriend

author's note: as stated above i know like nothing abt snowboarding so i kind of just used the pictures and vague descriptions. for this i used a lot of pictures of lego builds bc i fuck so heavy with legos and they look so cool. hope that's okay! it isn't very long bc im still not the best at smaus but hopefully you like it!

yourusername

❤️ 75.7k 💬 55.4k ➣ 43.2k

liked by lego and others

yourusername guys guys guys guys guys. look at my legos!! aren't they so pretty

view all comments...

lego i think this guy likes legos ╰┈➤yourusername does this mean we're friends now?

user1 i forget he's literally an olympic gold medalist and not just some lego freak 😭 ❤️ liked by the author

user2 this is the same guy who is srsly incredible at snowboarding? the same guy who is dating max verstappen, four time world champion?? THE SAME GUY WHO HAS LIKE TWO GOLD MEDALS??? ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 three medals* ╰┈➤user2 my bad dawg 😭

user3 bro i need y/n's wallet ╰┈➤user4 max's* ╰┈➤youruser user4 nah he's my sugar baby maxverstappen1 ╰┈➤redbullracing can confirm

maxverstappen1 schatje, where are you going to put those? ╰┈➤yourusername i put more of your trophies in storage 😇 ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 wow. ╰┈➤user5 how many times has this happened ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 too many 😔

maxverstappen1

❤️ 127k 💬 1,287 ➣ 9,567

liked by yourusername and others

maxverstappen1 remember guys, he's a gold medalist and not an overgrown child

tagged yourusername

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yourusername well i would hope im not a child that would be weird 🤨 ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 you're the worst 🤦🏼‍♂️ ╰┈➤yourusername but you love me 😘 ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 unfortunately 🫶🏻💙

oscarpiastri when can we build more legos yourusername ╰┈➤yourusername bring logansargeant and some food and we can build some today ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 seriously?? didn't they just come over?? ╰┈➤yourusername shh maxverstappen1 ╰┈➤logansargeant yeah maxverstappen1 shhh ╰┈➤oscarpiastri plus we're already on our way ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 i give up

user6 i love how y/n is best friends with oscar and logan

user7 if my relationship isn't like max and y/n's, i don't want it ╰┈➤user8 but that means you gotta get a bf first

user9 they're so cute together oml 🥹

yourusername posted a story

convinced maxverstappen1 to build legos with me 🥰

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oscarpiastri how much did it take? ➾yourusername three hours of playing on the sim with him 😔 ➾oscarpiastri good luck man 🫡 ➾yourusername ty 😔

lando holy fuck you actually did it ➾yourusername just as surprising to me

user10 LEGO DATE NIGHT!!!

user11 max is gonna have to make more room on his shelves

user12 stop this is so cute 🥹

maxverstappen1

❤️ 263k 💬 5,490 ➣ 3,421

liked by redbullracing

maxverstappen1 🏂

tagged yourusername

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yourusername that's it?? just 🏂?? for our two year anniversary?? couch ╰┈➤user13 did we just witness max getting banished to the couch? ╰┈➤lando this has got to be worth fifteen lego sets ╰┈➤yourusername AT LEAST FIFTEEN ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 okay 😔

danielricciardo yeah bro, you're in the dog house now ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 help? ╰┈➤danielricciardo nah mate you're on your own

user14 max just gave up oml 😭 ╰┈➤user15 y/n's the same way omg ╰┈➤user16 they know when not to mess with their boyfriend 🤷‍♂️ ╰┈➤user17 they're just too cute

user18 user19 take notes ╰┈➤user19 yes ma'am

user20 oh max is cooked 😭 ❤️ like by yourusername ╰┈➤user21 NOT Y/N LIKKNG THIS

yourusername still love you tho 🫶🏻 ╰┈➤oscarpiastri wonder why 🤔 ╰┈➤yourusername i mean have you seen those thighs 😍😩 ╰┈➤maxverstappen1 love you too ╰┈➤lando yourusername stop being horny on main ╰┈➤yourusername lando stop being jealous of main ✋️🙄

TAGS! (if you want to be added lmk!)

@op-81-lvr-reblogs, @koalapastries, @justaf1girl, @ghostking4m, @spoonfulofmilo, @seonghwaexile, @alex-wotton

[sabertoothwalrus]

I'm going to think out loud about the dungeon meshi ages for a sec

I'm going to preface this by saying that this is based on my existing knowledge, and fact checking is difficult because there is A LOT of contentious research out there.

First of all, I think a lot of people come at this from a modern lens, forgetting the context that this is fantasy medieval era. this is fiction. on top of that, this is specifically Ryoko Kui's understanding of medieval era aging. plus fantasy. So before anyone comes at me with a bunch of 'ermmmm actualy's just consider that I don't really care and also it might not matter in this context lol

as far as the "age of maturity" assigned for each race, something I don't see many people talk about is that "teenagers" are a fairly recent concept. For a long time, you were either considered A Kid or Not A Kid. but this doesn't necessarily mean kids were more/less developed then, just our cultural expectations for certain age groups have changed.

Laios says the age of maturity for tallmen is 16. I don't think that means 16 year olds in the dungeon meshi universe are necessarily "more mature" than modern 16 year olds, but moreso that they have more responsibilities. However, things like medicine, smoking, drinking, sun exposure, physical activity, etc all affect age, so it's possible that developmentally they're closer to modern 18 year olds? Izutsumi is 17 (less than two weeks from turning 18, actually), and very much acts like a modern 17 year old.

The age of maturity for half-foots is 14. Chilchuck was 13 when he got married and had his first two children. Even though, at age 29, he's the equivalent of a modern 50 year old, I don't think he was That much more developed at 13 than a tallman. I think if half-foot 14 is equal to tallman 16, then Chilchuck was Pretty Damn Young for a parent LMAO. Even if you're generous and say tallman 16 is a modern 18, he still would've been younger than that.

The long-lived races are interesting. Marcille is obviously a unique case, and not a lot of this applies to her. We do know what Senshi was like as a minor (miner, lol), and he seemed like a modern 15ish, considering he was 36 and dwarf maturity is 40. I think it'd be really interesting to delve into how a culture functions with people being developmentally adolescent for soooooo long. Imagine middle school lasting 20 years. that would fucking suck. I suppose it makes sense why long-lived races are so patronizing.

Moving onto lifespans, I want to emphasize that they're average lifespans. Even in the manga, they say some half-foots live to 100, it's just rare. So it's less that a tallman 60 year old is "older" than a modern 60 year old, it's that it's easier to keep people alive for longer nowadays. Modern medicine is a BIG contributor. Dental health as well, considering how much your health is affected by your diet (and how much the action of chewing alone aids in digestion). Curious to know what the FUCK elven dentistry is like.

It also makes me wonder if half-foots would have a longer average lifespan if they weren't like, used for bait and treated so poorly, but half-foot 29 does seem to be middle-aged for half-foots. so who knows!

In that vein, I don't know if I can see Mithrun quite making it to 400 😬 like, his experience as a dungeon lord took a lot out of him quite literally, and he's doing exceptionally well despite it! I imagine he'd eventually start to develop a lot of heart problems if he doesn't have them already. Perhaps early-onset dementia. His memory seems still quite intact (he corrects Kabru on his story's accuracy) and he doesn't act like, lobotomized. He doesn't seem forgetful or confused, and he has a sense of humor/sarcasm still. It's mostly his task initiation that's been affected.

I almost want to say that mana affinity could affect long-lived races' lifespans, except dwarves have very poor tolerance for mana, so it's probably not that.

okay anyway I didn't really have a point to this post so I'm just gonna end my rambling here

[radiance1]

De-aged Mothboy Dannyo.

Except this time, he isn't in Jump City and Killer Moth is sadly not his kidnapper turned parent.

Instead, he's in Gotham.

He doesn't really do anything in the City of Crime. To everyone else, he's just a street kid who was unfortunate enough to be abandoned because of his meta status.

Danny's little home is literally a dumpster in an abandoned alleyway that he cleared out of all the trash. He has a mat that he uses as a makeshift bed, and a corner where he stores all his pretty little marbles he gets from dumpster diving, as well as an old backpack he found somewhere to hold all his other stuff.

He did use another Dumpster to expand his little home though, he doesn't know what he'll do with all the extra space really, but he'll find a use for it, probably.

The use was pulling in a bunch of other soft (enough) mats that he managed to find, filling the extra space with all of that, and then laying down on all of it in joy.

How did he make said Dumpster extra space? Simple, he just tore off one of the walls, and stuck them together with a drill and a few nails he managed to buy with his limited amount of money.

Danny... doesn't remember a whole lot. He remembers red, people in white, people who he thinks he knew laying so still. He doesn't try to remember any more than that, it usually hurts.

So, he's just one little kid trying to live his life in the City of Crime. He usually tries to stay away from any gang-controlled area, he couldn't do it all of the time, but he managed good enough. He meets some other street kids, and tries to make friends, but they aren't very receptive to his efforts.

So what does he do?

Bribery!

He has enough money to buy some snacks and stuff, and he does pay for it, no matter how cashier looks at him as if he were going to steal something, to be fair she does that to everyone but still! He's a law-abiding street kid!

Bribery worked very well! The first few times it wasn't anything too special, but after that, they decided that he was one of them now! They tell him stuff about the various gangs and stuff, which ones to avoid, and which area to not go towards because of one incident or another.

They also helped him that one time when he was chased by some really mean people who wanted to take him somewhere and apparently sell him? He didn't wanna hurt them, so he was trying to lose them and go back home, so that he could then get off those weird cuff thingies they put on his lower set of arms that made him feel a strange disconnect for some reason.

So he was running, didn't expect for one of them to have a gun, tried to evade the bullets, one hit him in the leg, then another in his other one, and he hit the pavement. Then they caught up and put some cloth to his face and he started to feel loopy and really tired.

Before he fell unconscious, he heard a loud smack. Then he was woke up to his friends, those weird cuffs gone, his legs having been bandaged and a really nice bed.

So he thanked his friends, and went back home. He gave them each their favorite snacks for their help!

About a month after that, he meets this really kind old guy that he helps carry stuff to his car, he took most of it, puffing out his chest and saying he's got this because he's really, really strong. Then the old guy invited him to come with him for a thank you dinner.

His friends told him not to accept any suspicious offers from strangers, but he helped the guy and he just wants to say thank you. Plus, food.

So he says yes.

He didn't know the old guy- no Alfred, had a giant mansion! His jaw-dropped, awestruck face practically showed what he felt. He then looked at himself, back at the mansion, and almost didn't wanna step in because he's afraid he might dirty it, before being gently pushed inside by Alfred.

[ckret2]

I've been thinking about Ford's shockingly poorly-timed "Grammar, Stanley" comment, and I've got a take on it I haven't seen go by:

Most folks I've seen think Ford's decision to pick on Stan's grammar comes from being coldly aloof and oblivious to Stan's mood. I think it's the opposite. I think he was keenly aware of the situation and too angry to think straight.

From the moment Ford was unfrozen, here's every single thing Stan said:

[coldly/sarcastically] Hey, good to see you too, bro. Now let's get outta here, huh?

Drawing a circle on the floor. Well, he's lost his mind.

You realize this is a bunch of hogwash, right? You really think some caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?

Whoa. Hey. I'm not the enemy here, people. Don't forget who literally created the end of the world.

Fine. Just do one thing. Say "thank you." [From Ford's perspective, Stan's holding the safety of the universe hostage to make him apologize, and in front of a bunch of other people who have just been dragged into their family mess]

I spent thirty years trying to bring you back into this dimension and you still haven't thanked me! You want me to shake your hand? Say "thank you."

Now, see. Between me and him, I'm not always the bad twin.

Every single thing out of Stan's mouth is either subtly snide, or a blatant insult. Ford's just been through literal torture, is trying to save the universe, already feels like this is all his fault, is trying to get his grumpy brother to cooperate—and he's just getting jab after jab after jab. He's called insane, stupid, the bad twin, the enemy, and he's forced to thank the man who just said all this.

By that point, Ford was probably as angry as Stan. He didn't care about his grammar; he wanted to knock his dentures out. A passive-aggressive swing at his grammar was Ford trying to restrain his seething rage while letting just a little of the pressure whistle out like a tea kettle. Sure, it was petty and very counter productive; but it wasn't out of nowhere. He couldn't get into it with Stan over the "bad twin" comment, so he aimed his snark at another part of the sentence.

This is a furious brother suppressing his urge to commit homicide by channeling it through his grade school know-it-all instincts. … and, in the process, accidentally inspiring the other furious brother to commit homicide.

(Plus picking on your brother's grammar during the apocalypse is such a deliberately annoying sibling thing to do.)

[fallen-w1ngs]

'' flower shop of feelings ,,

[ 03 : distractions ]

|| pairing : james "bucky" barnes x florist!reader

|| warning : very VERY brief encounter with a gun , mission but barely talked abt

|| wc : 2.5k

The next couple of weeks went by like normal, or as normal as they coule. Both you and Bucky would text each other, sending small ‘good morning!’ texts as well as ‘goodnight’ ones. It made Bucky act as if he was a highschooler again, his heart all giddy every time a notification popped up on his phone- sure, he didn’t have a phone back when he was a teen but hush.

He really did enjoy texting you, it was definitely the highlight of his day.. But the more you texted, the more.. Attached, he's grown? Didn’t help that you’d both go out for coffee at least once a week. It was harder to hide himself from you, hide the fact he was living in the Avengers Tower, that he was.. Well, seen as the Winter Soldier.

You were just so sweet. Kind. He couldn’t tell you, his past was a literal nightmare. He’d done terrible things and-

“Hey, soldat, Steve, Sam and I are going to a museum, wanna join?”

“Why would I wanna go to a museum?”

“Maybe ‘cause you’re ancient,” Natasha snickered before shaking her head. “We’re going there ‘cause we got a tip that somethings going to go down. Might be big, wanna join?”

As much as Bucky wanted to say no and just lock himself in his room, he knew Steve would just try to drag him out. So, instead of fighting it, he nodded and sat up. Plus, maybe this could distract him from you.

–

In some “undercover” clothes, the four of them were walking around a museum, one that showed off arts and sculptures. Maybe in another life, Bucky would’ve found it interesting. But, they were just pretending to be enamored by the statuettes. No, they were on guard due to the fact they had gotten a warning from anonymous that some suspicious activity was going to go down. It could be some sort of drop-off of a weapon, magic shit, or maybe just stealing some art. Who knows?

Bucky stood besides Sam as they stared at some giant piece of art, it was a painting. A really well done one, actually. Oil painting of some sort of landscape with a bunch of people, the colors matched, the composition was wonderful, and the story behind it was deep.

“Think something’s actually gonna happen today, or just bad intel?” Sam kept his eyes ahead, as if analyzing the art in front of him.

“.. 10 bucks says something’s going to happen”

“10 bucks says it’s bad intel, I mean c’mon, it’s a Wednesday”

“What’s so not important about a Wednesday?”

“Why couldn’t it be on a Friday?”

“Maybe the bad guys were busy on Friday.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and just rolled his shoulder. “I’m gonna go over down the hall, check out the statues and make sure nothing’s going down.”

Bucky nodded and went back to looking up at the painting. Admiring the bumps and parts of the painting where the paint seemed to clump. Real pretty.

He turned from the painting and went the opposite direction of Sam. But the second he started to walk, he froze. Either this is a terrible coincidence or God wants to mess with him. Standing a few feet away from him was you. Shit shit shit! He can't be distracted by you. In a small panic, Bucky started to walk back, a few steps before he turned around and bumped into something.

Shit, all that ‘training’ went to shit, he bumped into a trashcan. Making a loud clatter noise, drawing everyone's attention, including yours. Now where was Sam in all this? That bitch was recording everything.

“James?”

Shit.

He turned slowly around, tugging at his hood and hiding his forehead. “Hey, [Name]..”

You just giggled at the strange coincidence that Bucky was here. In fact, you didn’t even mean to come to the museum today, a buddy of yours that worked there invited you to go, and since you didn’t have to open up shop today, you agreed! Funny how fate works! “What’re you doing here? You here with a friend?” You glanced around, it didn't seem anyone claimed to have gone along with Bucky.

“Admiring the art.” He let go of his hood before pushing his hands into his pockets. He couldn’t say that he was actually on some Avenger mission. You still didn’t know he was the Winter Soldier. And he wanted to keep it that way.. “What’re you doing here?”

“My friend just invited me, she works here, kinda just spur of the moment!” You scratched the back of your head as you looked up at the painting in front of you. “Plus, I didn’t have to open shop today.. Kinda a free day today.”

Bucky nodded and shifted in his spot. His eyes darted from you and back to the painting, just because the two of you have been texting for the last month didn’t mean he knew how to talk to you like a normal person. I mean, he was a good speaker back then right? He could.. He could try to act like that again, right?

“Hey! Since you’re alone.. And I’m alone, wanna.. Be alone together?” You shrugged, shifting your weight from your toes to your heels. Rocking front to back as you asked. “As cheesy as that is.”

The super soldier besides you looked over your face for a brief moment before looking around the hall. Looking for Sam, who was currently pretending to be interested in some sort of old statue. Bucky was sure he’s going to ask about who you were later, God, he’ll need to make up a lie.. That’s not even what he should be worried about, he should be worried about the damn mission they were on!

Your eyes softened as you looked up at his nervousness. Bucky was an.. Awkward person, but it was part of his charm, that’s why you like him. “Or, I could walk away, meet you back up later, and then pretend it’s a coincidence?” You cracked a small smile and kept your eyes on him.

Thankfully, the small joke you made seemed to make him visibly less like he’s about to explode on the spot. He gave a short nod before turning away and walked off. You didn’t mind, he was his own person, and you were yours, but man would it have been fun to be with him instead of alone.

–

The time passed by quickly, every other exhibit, you’d find yourself in the middle of a conversation with James. Though, he seemed to be on guard more and more each ‘coincident meeting.’ Again, you didn’t mind.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s wonderful people are trying to be more- communicative with their mistakes with their partners, but seriously, I’ve gotten like 15 customers this week who wanted to buy a basic rose bouquet as a sorry present!” You tugged at your hair as you complained about work. Bucky didn’t mind, though, he’d rather listen to your voice than his. “I swear, if I get one more customer ask what’s the best type of flowers for apologizing to their partners for sleeping with their best friend, I’m gonna lose it!”

“It’s that common?”

“Uh, yeah, people are such assholes nowadays, can’t find a decent person to date, y’get desperate, then yeesh! You’re stuck with some asshole!” You waved your hand in the air as you brushed what you said aside. Truth be told, you hadn’t gotten into a relationship in the past.. Maybe 2 years? Even then, it was always casual. “That’s why I–”

RING! RING! EMERGENCY! EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST EXITS!

The blaring alarms cut you off as red lights danced in your vision. There were people screaming and guns firing, it seemed something bad did happen, and Sam owed Bucky 10 bucks. Bucky’s eyes darted towards the sound of the gunshots and started to run towards it, only to be tugged by your hand. Your eyes wide with worry and confusion as to why the hell your friend James was running towards the danger!

“James! What’re you doing?! C’mon, we hafta go!”

“I can’t–”

“Bucky, there’re 6 armed men near Sam and your location, Nat and I are taking care of the other 6” Steve’s voice came through into Bucky’s earpiece. “They’re trying to do a drop-off, some sort of Hydra weapon! Get the briefcase!”

“On my way.” Bucky replied as you stared up at him, your brows furrowed in even more confusion. What the hell was he doing?? “You need to get out of here, it’s not safe.”

“No, we have to get out of here! James, c’mon, you’re not some super he–”

You cut yourself off as your friend shucked his jacket off and blocked a bullet that was flying both your ways.. With his arm. A sleek, black metal arm. That’s when it hit you, that’s why he seemed so familiar. That’s why he was so secretive on where he stayed or not. He wasn’t just James. He was James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier.

“Holy shit.”

“Get out of here, I’ll-” James grabbed a gun from his holestor (Oh my god???) and shot at the ones who were shooting at the both of you. “I’ll find you outside.”

“.. Be careful” You muttered before turning away and running out to the closest exit. You didn’t know how to react, what to do with the newfound information. You felt so.. So stupid, not realizing that James was an Avenger. He lived in the Avenger tower- Oh my god, he was a super soldier.

With shallow breaths you turned a corner and your eyes locked to the nearest exit. You took a breath of fresh air as you felt the cold breeze hit your face, as if the museum was stuffed with smoke. It wasn’t, thank god, the people who arranged the attack didn’t seem to think to use fire power. It’s probably for the best.

As you stepped farther away from the door, a paramedic looked over you, you weren’t hurt, not shot, not even grazed. Thank god for.. James. You still couldn’t wrap your head around it. Whilst you sat on the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for the fight to die down, you pulled your phone out. You didn’t have many contacts, honestly you were.. Pretty alone. Parents? Only mom was left after dad passed. Siblings? An older, pretentious brother. Friends? You were pretty quiet in highschool, only the museum buddy of yours, who was Maria, she’s the one who gave you this death wish of an invite here. Then there was your other friend, who was in fact your neighbor, May and her nephew Peter. Nice bunch, you gave them flowers on their birthdays and they’d bring you some sort of baked good. Ah, but I digress.

Jeez. Maybe you’ll call up May, she’d probably know about this, plus, she told you Peter was an intern at Starks, right? Ah, but.. No, that wouldn’t do much good. He’s an intern, not some superhero. You kept scrolling through your phone for a few more minutes. You didn’t know how well of a promise James’ll keep, especially with him fighting people with.. Super weapons or something, but you stayed. Hoping he’ll keep to his word and try to find you.

After a long while, you heard claps and cheers from the citizens as the four of them brought all 12 of the villains out of the museum. They seemed hurt, but not to the brink of death, thankfully. The Cap was quick to hand them over to the police to take care of as the citizens slowly dispersed. People knew all about the hero's life, hearing it on the news and such, it was hard to be an Avenger. So, they needed space.

You waited as the crowds grew smaller before you took a few steps closer, holding your arms closely as you stood to the side. Watching as your friend's eyes darted around. It was amusing. Despite just saving a bunch of people, including yourself, he was still awkward.

“[Name].” He muttered, his voice light as a breath of fresh air as he spotted you. His shoulders seemed to sag in relief as he walked towards you. He should definitely be headed to the Avengers Tower, but right now he needed to make sure you were okay. “Are you hurt? They didn’t get you, right?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, James, I-” You let out a small breath and placed your hands on your hips as you looked over at him. He had some blood on his jacket, some scratches on his face.. And that arm. Oh, wow, he.. Yup, he had a metal arm. “You.. Never told me you were an Avenger.” The corner of your lips tugged into a small smile as you chuckled.

He mirrored your smile, relieved at the fact you didn’t seem upset, or even the smallest bit scared. “You never asked.”

Your nose crinkled, “I asked what your job was, you said–”

“That I work as security.”

“Security for the whole world, James!” With that you started to laugh into your hand, this was unbelievable. This awkward man who’d stumbled into your flower shop looking for a gift for his friend was James “Bucky” Barnes.

“Sorry for keeping that from you, I just-” He shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. “I liked that you just knew.. Me.”

That made your heart melt. Everyone in the world knew James as “Bucky” or “The Winter Soldier.” The only people who knew him differently was Steve, only because he knew him back in the 40s and was his best friend and.. You. You knew him as James, and as much as the name felt weird, it felt right in your lips.

“Don’t apologize,” You hit your fist against his non-metal arm in a playful manner, an understanding smile on your face. “I get why you didn’t tell me. I’m not upset over it, if you’re worried.”

A small smile danced on Bucky’s lips and he nodded. “You’re too sweet.”

“Nah, I’m just a good friend.”

“Friend.” Bucky repeated to himself and nodded again. Oh he loved being your friend. He honestly thought the only friend he’d ever have would be from the Avenger Tower, and that’s only because they were Steve’s friends. “Ah, uh- I should probably-”

He pointed over to where Steve, Natasha and Sam were talking and you immediately understood.

“Oh! Yeah, no you go do that-”

“Thanks, uhm-” He stepped back and hesitated to turn away. “I’ll, uh, text you?”

“Yeah- Yeah!”

“Cool.” He nodded and turned away, the corners of his usually scowling lips quirked up as he repeated to himself. “Cool.”

He approached his team and just blended in nicely, no one seemed to notice him leaving and coming back. Perfect.

He spared you one last glance, as you walked away. Friend.

|| WOOO !! :3 FRIENDSHIP

[pluckyredhead]

“I have larger thoughts about how DC has kind of written themselves into a hole with Jason and now he's stuck in this limbo that's unsatisfying to everyone which is why so many Jason fans are mad all the time, but that's for another ask.”

🤓 Do tell…

Okay, let's see if I can do this in less than a thousand words!

So Jason, at his core, represents a challenge to Bruce's ideology, right? Bruce's #1 rule is No Killing, and Jason's basic idea is: "That doesn't work. Some villains are bad enough that they have to be killed for the greater good." (There's something very funny about Jason, famously undead, thinking killing stops ANYONE in the DCU, but we'll leave that aside for now.) This is a really interesting ethical quandary to throw Bruce's way, and by having it voiced by his beloved son, his greatest failure, his second most profound tragedy, it becomes a deeply thorny emotional problem as well as an ethical problem. That's all great.

The problem is, DC can't allow Jason to be right, for two reasons:

Batman must always be right and must always win.

...I mean, come on. They can't actually publish a story advocating for a traumatized 19-year-old with assault weapons to be the arbiter of who lives and who dies, that's nonsense. I love Jason but really.

The problem with that is, Jason is a major recurring character.

UTRH works great in a vacuum. But if Jason is showing up in a comic every month, or even just a few times a year, this central conflict has to be addressed, and the options for doing that are limited:

Bruce and Jason fight and Jason wins. DC will never let this happen. (And what would "Jason wins" even look like, honestly? He's not going to kill Bruce.)

Bruce and Jason fight and Bruce wins. They've done this a bunch (sometimes with Dick in place of Bruce), but Jason fans don't want to see him repeatedly getting his ass kicked while being lectured, and frankly it doesn't make Bruce look great either.

Bruce allows Jason to kill people. This can't happen either; it would be wildly out of character for Bruce, not to mention literally everyone in the Batfamily. They are all canonically pretty opposed to murder.

Jason continues to operate however he wants, but outside of Bruce's reach/jurisdiction. As wretched as RHATO was, I actually think it was a smart decision to keep most of the action outside of Gotham, because then we can pretend Bruce doesn't know what Jason's up to, just like we pretend Clark couldn't super-hear everything in Gotham and save Bruce's ass every single night without breaking a sweat. The problem here is that it means Jason is unavailable for the kinds of casual team-ups and crossovers that fans of all stripes crave - plus, every time he comes back to Gotham, he and Bruce have to relitigate their entire relationship AGAIN.

Jason compromises and agrees to follow Bruce's rules in order to have a relationship with the Batfamily. This is basically where DC has landed, and I understand why they did, because it's the option that allows them to publish the most comics with Jason in them, which they want to do because he is an immensely popular character who makes them money. However, it leaves him in this awkward position where instead of being a tragic villain/badass antihero, he's just...the sassiest member of the family, while simultaneously always being available to be treated like shit because he's Bad. He gets punished without even the fun of doing the crime anymore.

So what's the solution? I don't know. Theoretically, DC could try to do what Marvel does with the Punisher. People always get mad when I say Jason is DC's Punisher, but he kills pretty much indiscriminately in UTRH and RHATO, for pretty much the same reasons. ("Dudebros think it looks cool.") And Marvel heroes inexplicably let Frank just kill however many people he wants unless they're appearing in a Punisher comic, at which point they go "Frank, you naughty boy, I shall stop you!" and then Frank kicks their ass and makes them look like an idiot. DC is never going to let Jason do that to Bruce, plus it would put a real damper on the Wayne family Thanksgiving dinner.

Alternately, they could make him a Nightwing villain. Dick has spent 40 years fighting inconclusively with Deathstroke; he's much better suited to go endless rounds with Jason without either of them Always Triumphantly Winning than Bruce is. I don't personally want this option because I just don't care that much about Dick, but it could be really interesting, though it would limit Jason to fewer appearances and primarily in Dick's book. (Jason would have made a superb Red Robin villain 15 years ago for similar reasons.)

My vote, I think, would be for a really good (god, if only), really thoughtful Jason series where he has reason to seriously reevaluate his philosophy towards crime - something that reshapes him into a character who can still challenge Bruce's entrenched ideas without being so diametrically opposed to them as to make him a villain. He needs to be close enough to Bruce's rules to appear in crossovers, but far enough and specific enough that he's not just Meaner Nightwing. Jason is a passionate character; DC needs to find a new way to let his passion work for him, because right now he doesn't have anything driving him, and it's satisfying no one.

(900 words, BOOM!)

[365emotionlessfaces]

This is going to be a 10 part fic 🙃 I wrote it for entirely selfish reasons, but if you guys enjoy it, even better.

Melissa meets a girl at The Aspiring Teachers Program, but she’s just a kid. Many years later, she meets you and wonders if she should let go of the past.

The Aspiring Teachers Program

Part 1 WC~1.5k

Melissa was thirty-five and going through a nasty divorce from a nasty man. She had been in the teaching game for a decade now, and the last thing she wanted to do was volunteer for some Aspiring Teachers Program. Well, second to last. The redhead supposed that the only thing worse would be to be spending the week in the same house as Joe.

When she had told her friend, Barbara from work, the woman had just laughed and said that she had quit going to those things years ago. Too much hullabaloo for her liking. But Melissa needed out of the house, so she decided this would be the first and the last time she signed up for this stupid program.

The end of the school year came faster than Melissa would have liked, and by the second day of summer break, her suitcase was packed and she was on a flight to Chicago, of all places. The stupid program chose a new city and a different mix of teachers every year, so there was no guarantee you’d get an invite. To Melissa, that didn’t sound like too bad a deal. Yeah, sure, she’d have to be around a bunch of eighteen to twenty year olds, answer their questions, try to get them interested in teaching, and she was definitely not thrilled about that, but it beat what was waiting at home. Plus, it was all expenses paid.

When Melissa’s taxi pulled up to the camp, the literal camp, she started to think maybe she shouldn’t have come. It was very… rustic. Looking around, she realized that this thing was a lot bigger than she had anticipated. There must be at least a hundred people walking around. She noted the woman with the bullhorn seemed to have a sense of calm in the chaos that looked to be surrounding her. As Melissa exited the taxi, the bullhorn lady could be heard calling out names and assigning them to cabins. She rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long week.

As she stood amongst the crowd, but far enough back that she had a healthy amount of personal space, she listened for her name. A girl hollering off to her left made her turn her head to see the hubbub.

“Yo, Tie-Dye Girl. A little help here!” A young girl of probably twenty or so, stood in front of a giant pile of duffel bags and suitcases and waved to a woman in her forties wearing a campy tie-dyed shirt, who promptly turned on her heel and came to the girl's rescue. Melissa rolled her eyes.

“It’s giving Parent Trap,” a voice from Melissa’s right jolted her away from the tie-dye scene and to the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed teenager that stood beside her. The shock of the girl being so close startled Melissa so much, she let out a small yelp.

“What the hell are ya doin’, kid?” Melissa snapped. “I coulda killed ya.” The girl was not affected by Melissa’s harshness, or if she was, she certainly didn’t show it. In fact, Melissa was sure she saw the girl’s grin grow wider before she replied.

“Sorry,” the girl was radiating happiness and cheer, and it was almost enough to make Melissa sick. “You were standing here all alone, so I thought I’d make a friend.” The girl’s smile was so bright and strong, Melissa wondered if the girl ever stopped smiling. “It just reminds me of a movie from when I was a little girl.”

“You’re still a little girl.”

“I’m young, sure, but I’m almost twenty,” Melissa huffed at the girl’s response. Her smile still hadn’t faltered.

“Listen, I’m not a good friend, okay? So why don’t ya go make friends with those guys over there?” The redhead pointed randomly in the crowd, hoping the young girl would get the hint and leave her the hell alone. She wanted to enjoy this week as much as she could, and having a thorn in her side would not make that task easy.

After the young girl kept trying to make conversation, and had gone so far as to introduce herself, Melissa felt obligated to at least give the kid a name.

“Em,” she had told her. When the girl asked for her full name, or even her last name, Melissa joked with her. “What are you? The cops? If you’re the cops, you gotta tell me!” The young girl laughed and seemed to leave the matter alone after that.

Melissa had gone to the restroom, and when she returned to her bags, the young girl and her bags had gone. She took that as a small blessing and continued to listen for her name. Once given her cabin, she trudged her way to it, bags trailing along with her. She pushed through the cabin door, looked around the room, and thanked her lucky stars that the remaining bed free of luggage was the bottom of one of the two bunk beds. She’d be damned if she had to climb a freakin’ ladder to get to bed!

She unpacked the clothes and most of things she brought, and headed to the mess hall where the first meeting would be held. This would be where Teacher Buddies would be assigned and Melissa got to find out who she’d be spending the next two weeks with. Melissa was considered a Veteran Teacher, despite the fact that she was only in her mid thirties. She supposed it was due to the fact that the older teachers knew better than to come to these things. Since she was of the higher rank, she would be assigned to an Aspiring Teacher. One of these fresh-faced little things that had their whole lives ahead of them, and they wanted to teach. Poor things.

When she entered the hall, it was all abuzz. It was worse than the cafeteria at her elementary school the day after Halloween. There were grown adults and young adults laughing and yelling happily alike. Despite all the noise, Melissa thought it was kinda nice to see a room full of happy faces. Even if she knew most of them wouldn’t last. She looked around and found a few faces that looked like they wouldn’t be too much trouble for the next week. She hoped that she got one of them.

She was approached by the bullhorn lady, only this time she didn’t have the bullhorn, and was told that as a Veteran Teacher, she would go up on the stage with the other Veterans and draw the name of their Aspiring Teacher. This idea was not as thrilling to Melissa as Bullhorn Lady was trying to make it seem, but she did it anyway. When it was her turn, and she pulled out the name that young girl from earlier had given her, she considered making up a fake name, and pretending that her Aspiring Teacher hadn’t shown up. Unfortunately, before she could enact that plan, Bullhorn Lady took the paper and read the young girl’s name out loud. There was clapping and hooting, and then there the girl was again.

She and Melissa made their way to a table in the back and sat down. Melissa looked at the girl as she made some comments about not believing in fate or destiny and some bullcrap about coincidences, and the redhead wondered why the girl would tell her something like that. The girl had that damn smile, still, and her eyes were… kinda shiny. Melissa wondered if she had been that beautiful when she was younger. Surely not, or she wouldn’t currently be going through a divorce.

“So, whattaya think?” The young girl asked, making Melissa snap back to reality.

“Sorry, Parent Trap. I wasn’t listenin’. Whadja say?” This time when the girl smiled, there was something else to it. The redhead noticed the difference, but couldn’t quite tell what it meant. Melissa had to work to focus on what she was saying instead of getting lost in her thoughts again.

“I was thinking that you could hit me with the worst of it first. Tell me all the horror stories about teaching, so I can steel myself for them now, ya know? And then if I can make it through those, maybe you can tell me why it’s worth it?”

Those plans were foiled before Melissa could be the one to break the girl’s heart. Bullhorn Lady announced that the week would be a series of competitions and games for the Buddies, and the free time at the end of the nights would be dedicated to asking and answering all the questions the Aspiring Teachers had. Melissa groaned. This is not what she thought this week would look like.

When she returned to her cabin after everyone was released from the mess hall, Melissa was surprised to see that not only was the young girl her Buddy, she was also one of her three roommates. ‘Oh, boy. This just keeps getting better.’ She decided that it was in her best interest to mind her business, and only talk to the girl when necessary. So she grabbed her pajamas, and changed in the tiny bathroom provided in the corner of the only slightly larger cabin. The air was warm for Chicago, which made Melissa very glad that she chose the outfits she did. When she returned to her bed in her light pink silk tank top and matching shorts, she was too focused on minding her own business that she didn’t notice the young girl’s eyes glued to her frame or how flushed the girl’s face had become.

Part Two

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! I'm writing a character who experienced a severe TBI in the past. Her main character arc is about learning that people who will support and accomodate her are out there. I based it on my own disability journey of finally finding people who accepted me and took my needs seriously.

However, I don't personally have a TBI - I am disabled in other ways. I wanted to ask - are there any notable tropes or writing pitfalls I should be aware of with a character like this? I want to be careful with this subject matter.

Hello,

The biggest pitfall is the people who don't do research on the brain and wind up giving their character symptoms that make no sense. The brain is an extremely complex organ made of a bunch of tiny parts that all do different things. Damage to one thing causes one symptom, damage to another thing causes another symptom. Usually, with a brain injury, those two things that were damaged are right next to each other or, if the brain got jarred particularly bad, on opposite-ish sides of the brain (though that second option will lead to far more than two damaged cortexi.) I'm going to get into something called neuroanatomy, the study of the structure of the brain and what little areas control what plus where everything is positioned.

Let's say we have damage to the auditory cortex on the left side of the brain. This would usually also come with damage to the limbic system region, Wiernicke's Area, the superior temporal gyrus, and possibly the middle temporal gyrus, which are all immediately next to the auditory cortex at least on the left side of the brain. But the character won't have symptoms that indicate damage to those areas, they'll have symptoms that indicate damage to the very front of the frontal lobe. And there will be no symptoms associated with damage to the areas around the area they damaged. Getting hurt like this, damage to these two general areas, is possible if you get hit in the right way, but there would be damage to the areas around the area they've affected, even if they managed to get stabbed through the head and create sharp-force trauma to these two areas (an injury that would probably be lethal unless you're going for Phineas Gage.) That's one of the biggest pitfalls here- not doing research. Is the average reader going to notice this? No, probably not. But it's still poorly-thought-out representation even if no one catches it. I know this research is going to be complicated because the brain is extremely complicated, but at the very least learn the general lobe where the damage is located and stick to symptoms related to injuries to that lobe. Do not WebMD this, WebMD has symptoms associated with damage to a bunch of different areas to the brain and if you give the characters all of those symptoms, unless they managed to get hit so that their brain literally rolled across the inside of their skull (I've no idea if that could be surviveable,) that's super unrealistic.

The evil person who becomes evil for TBI reasons is another trope that's frustratingly prevalent. They get knocked on the head and now they're evil and start doing villain things they never would have done before the knock on the head. Look, massive personality changes and mood swings can be part of a TBI, but doing them in the way this trope does is both insensitive to the few cases that are this extreme and often unrealistic, as a pacifist getting hit on the head and suddenly becoming a spree killer is almost always (I want to say 97% at least but there's no actually research there so take my opinion with a grain of salt) unrealistic and harmful to people who actually have TBIs. At least it's definitely always harmful.

The grief trope, which has been discussed ad nauseam on this blog for all kinds of disabilities, is also something to be avoided. Is this something that happens? Yes, absolutely, it'll happen for pretty much everyone who remembers the "before" time, the time before their injury (not everyone can, either due to the trauma or because they, like me, were too young to remember the time before their TBI,) but it's hard to do respectfully and gently and I'd prefer if this topic was only approached by people who've actually been through this process. If you absolutely need to include the aftermath of the TBI and you can't avoid writing the grief, get a sensitivity reader with a TBI, maybe a few, read our experiences, ask us a lot of questions, and be open to critique from people who've actually gone through this. Usually, writers approaching the TBI grief plot don't bother. Please, please bother.

Please do not treat our existence as a tragedy. You have no idea how many times people have told me they would rather die than live like me the second I say I have a TBI, and the tragedy trope plays a significant part in that. Yes, our lives can be hard. Often, our lives are definitely hard. But our lives are not tragic and should not be treated as such. They're our lives. We have sorrows and joy as everyone does, the fact that we have a TBI does not mean that our sorrows are a tragedy. Yes, there are people with TBIs who do feel that their lives are a tragedy. That does not mean this trope is something that should be done by someone without a TBI.

And please just make sure to write Character with a TBI, not TBI. You are not writing the traumatic brain injury, you are writing a character with a traumatic brain injury. She should have likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, friends, enemies, a personality- don't get so wrapped up in writing the TBI that you forget to make her an actual character. People with TBIs are more than just our brain injury, we are people. That's a surprisingly big pitfall, people taking the person part out of disabled person. Don't do that.

Mod Aaron

[georgeweasleyslostearhq]

MOVIES, KISSES, AND BIRTHDAY CAKE

Pairings: Eddie Munson x fem! Summary: a few days into being the new 'freak' in school, you come to find out the truth. Though, Eddie doesn't seem to like that truth. Warnings: none. A/N: IN HONOUR FOR THE WONDERFUL JOSEPH'S BIRTHDAY! AHH.

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Series Masterlist

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The bell chimed above you as you walked through the glass door of family video.

Your eyes scanned the store, looking for Robin, perhaps, you weren't entirely sure, because you knew where the movie you were here for was.

You wouldn't expect many people on a Wednesday afternoon at 5pm.

So, for you to be the only person in the store is probably why there were no workers at the front.

You walked to the left to the romance section, looking at the sea of bright colours of all the lined-up VHS tapes.

You picked up Sixteen Candles and looked around again when you walked up to the counter.

The doorbell rang behind you and you turned, seeing a teen around your age look at you and frown before going to the Horror section.

You had gotten used to these looks over the past week, the party being almost 2 weeks ago.

The first day or two you had sat by yourself, finding yourself with no friends before you decided to embrace being the new freak in school.

So, you took Eddie up on his offer, finding a seat on the Hellfire table.

The rest of the club were skeptical about you at first, Though Eddie made sure they made you feel welcome after the next lunch break.

It was awkward at first, being friends with a bunch of guys, one being someone that you found yourself thinking about way too often.

After Monday, 2 days after the party where you had a go at Eddie for the spread rumour, you hadn't brought it up again, afraid that it would cause more damage than good, and seen as though you found yourself in his friend group, and that he took you in, you figured you should keep him happy so at least you'd have friends for the next few weeks before you graduate.

Steve had entered the store from the back, smiling as he saw you.

"Well, if it isn't miss party rocker" He smiled, typing onto the computer

You frowned, tilting your head, looking behind you to make sure he's talking to you. When you realise, he is you look back at him, still confused

"I'm sorry?" you raised your eyebrows, leaning on the counter

"Lewenski's party? you were going pretty hard that night" he chuckles, scanning your VHS tape.

Your face visibly relaxed when you realised, he might have heard that rumour...or-

"You were there?" you questioned, leaning closer

He nodded his head, placing the tape down with a smile

"Yeah, mostly in the backyard smoking, but yeah"

You opened your mouth, wanting to say so many things, but he cut you off

"You were pretty drunk, so I don't expect you to remember bumping into me, literally, but y'know. didn't take you as the one to get high with the town freak" Steve tapped the desk, shrugging

you looked around, not seeing the boy that came in a minute ago, he's probably going to the 18 plus section, behind the curtain, which is why you leaned away, shifting on your feet.

"You didn't happen to see me with Eddie that night, did you?" you asked, really hoping that Steve had the answers you needed to hear

He nodded again "yeah, you were with him for a while outside, who did you think you got high with?"

You raised your eyebrows again, trying to hide your smile.

He went to say something when you cut him off, hurriedly talking

"-didyouseemeandeddiemakingout?" you huffed

He tilted his head, his eyes widened, and he let out a chuckle "what was that?"

You sighed "did you see me and Eddie making out at any point of the night?"

he shook his head, his lips in a thin line as he thought about your question "no"

Steve was so confused, now that he was out of high school, the only way he got gossip about that stuff was through the kids- mostly Dustin.

Which is mostly why Steve went to the party, to feel like he once did in school, to get himself in the inside scoop of what was Hawkins high.

He had no memory of you two kissing or making out, and he would never peg you as the type to go after Eddie Munson

"I wasn't exactly watching you or anything- but actually" he swallowed, his fingers pausing the tapping as he looked at you weirdly.

This was it, the answers to your questions, the truth behind why you were a freak.

"I did see you go in to kiss him, though, but he stopped you- probably because he wasn't drunk" he nodded "but you seemed pretty upset about it, actually, stormed away, if I remember correctly"

You felt a weight on your shoulder lift, and you closed your eyes in relief, this was such good news, you never made out with Eddie.

You weren't a freak.

But deep down, you knew it was too late, nothing you could do or say would make any difference, you were a freak.

It was just nice to know the truth, even if no one else would care for it.

But as much as you were happy, you were embarrassed that even drunk you wanted to kiss Eddie stupid.

At this point you thought you were sick, a little under the weather because why would you want to kiss Eddie Munson so much you want to when you're drunk?

You'd have enough of it.

You quickly paid for the tape and rushed out of the store, going over to Eddie's trailer.

You'd never been there before, and you don't think he knew you knew which trailer he lived in.

You had only known about it when visiting Max one night, seeing him pull up with deafening loud music blasting.

So, you drove to Eddie's, planning to tell him the truth, thinking he'd be happy knowing it just as much as you are.

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You walked up the creaky steps to Eddie's trailer, unsure of what to expect, but you were determined to share the good news. You were almost giddy with the thought that you hadn’t actually made out with Eddie at the party. It was a small victory, but it was something you needed to share with him.

You knocked on the door, nervously shifting on your feet. It was then that the door swung open, revealing Eddie, looking somewhat surprised to see you standing there.

"Oh...hey" He smiled brightly

"Hi" you beamed

"Out of all the club, I would've expected Dustin to show up for my Birthday, not you" He shook his head, looking behind you

You frowned, trying to rack your brain

"Come in, I just ordered a pizza, so I hope you like pepperoni, if you want cake you'll have to wait until 11... That's when Wayne gets back from the plant so...Though... I uh- I don't expect you to stay that long..."

You stepped through the door when he moved out of the way.

You were so confused, until you remembered a few days ago it was briefly mentioned when you were too busy staring at his lips.

It's weird how you got so defensive and upset about the thought of you two making out, when all you want to do a lot of the day when you're with him is kiss him.

"Oh" you chuckled dryly, looking around the trailer that was his home "yeah, happy birthday!" you smiled

He grinned "thanks, sweetheart"

You blushed, feeling nervous and a little guilty as he guided you to sit on the couch

"Want some of the good stuff?" he said, walking down the hall

"Sure, I uh- I have a movie in the car if you want me to get it?" you nodded, getting up when he laughed

"Is it some cheesy romance?" he asked, peeking his head out of his room, a wide smile on his face, dimples on show as his hair hangs.

You shake your head, trying to suppress your smile, knowing you're lying.

He rolls his eyes, groaning "fine-UH" he said, dragging out the syllable

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"Sorry! No, no way," Eddie shook his head quickly, waving a dismissive hand and grabbing the remote to pause the screen just as Sam and Jake leaned in to kiss.

The frozen frame captured the couple mid-embrace, the soft glow of the TV light flickering against Eddie's disapproving expression. a greasy pizza box on the floor crimpling as he moved his foot to kick it away.

"They’re just kissing," you scoffed, furrowing your eyebrows as you leaned back against the couch. The worn fabric pressed into your shoulder blades, and you crossed your arms, giving him a pointed look.

"Yeah," he huffed, almost indignantly, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I don’t want to see it."

"Oh, you’re just salty that you’re twenty and still a virgin to everything," you teased, throwing an exaggerated grin his way as you sank further into the cushions. “And besides, you’re lucky this is the ending scene.”

Eddie’s eyes narrowed, his lips twisting into a scowl. “Excuse me? No! And to what I’ve heard, we’ve made out, so I’m not a virgin to that, am I?”

He leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms in defiance as his gaze flickered to the TV, clearly trying to act unaffected.

You couldn’t help but smile, finding his irritation oddly endearing. “Oh yeah! No- I totally forgot- which is weird because it’s literally what I came here to tell you. We didn’t make out!”

Eddie’s frown deepened, and he leaned away from you, his brows knitting together.

He licked his lips, his gaze drifting to the side as he processed your words. “Did we think we did?”

You tilted your head, watching his confusion with a small shake of your head. “Well... for a second, I thought maybe we did... but I found out from Steve-”

That set him off. Eddie snapped his head back to you, his dark eyes glaring. He shot up from the couch in one fluid motion, pacing a few steps before spinning on his heel to face you.

“Oh, Steve? How does he know anything?” His voice was sharp, almost accusing, as he ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair, his rings catching the dim light of the room.

“W-well, I went by Family Video,” you stammered, sitting up straighter. “And he was working, and he was at the party, so I asked him, and he said we didn’t, so- that’s- that’s why I came here... to tell you!”

You didn’t understand why Eddie seemed upset. His shoulders were tense, his jaw set, but the news felt like a relief to you. So why didn’t he feel the same way? You kept the smile on your face, trying to hold on to that positivity.

Eddie turned to you, his expression unreadable as he glared at you, his voice suddenly quieter but no less biting. “I thought you came here for my birthday?”

The words hit you like a weight to the chest. You blinked, your mouth opening as if to explain, but the guilt tangled your tongue.

“You didn’t even remember, did you?” he mumbled, his face dropping as he shook his head, almost laughing in disbelief.

“Eddie, no-I-I did! I just-” You sighed, searching for the words. “I thought this was good news.”

Eddie’s laugh was humorless, and he threw his hands in the air as he walked dramatically across the room. His steps were heavy, the floor creaking under his boots. “Good news? That what, turns out you aren’t a freak so you can throw my name under the bus and get your friends back?!”

“What?!” you shot back, standing up now, your voice rising with frustration. “What are you talking about, Eddie?”

He closed the distance between you in three quick strides, leaning down so his face was inches from yours, his finger pointing accusingly.

“I bet you’re happy, though, huh? That you didn’t kiss a freak, right?”

His words stung, and for a moment, you froze, your thoughts spinning back to what Steve told you at the video store. You remembered him saying you’d leaned in to kiss Eddie, and Eddie had stopped you. Eddie wasn’t drunk that night, so...

“How do you not remember that night?” you murmured, the words spilling out before you could stop them.

Eddie’s glare didn’t falter, but his confusion was evident in the furrow of his brow. “Huh?”

“Steve told me he saw me lean in to kiss you, b-but you pushed me away because you weren’t drunk... if you weren’t drunk, how do you not remember that night?” you asked, your voice softer now as you shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

His expression faltered for a split second, a flicker of guilt crossing his face before he frowned again. He closed his eyes, running a hand down his face. “I-I don’t know what to tell you... I don’t remember... I must have gotten drunk afterward,” he said, his voice quieter, almost unsure.

You licked your lips, your throat suddenly dry as you looked away. “Why aren’t you happy? That we didn’t kiss? I thought...” You shrugged, your voice trailing off. “I just thought maybe it would be nice to know.”

Eddie laughed then, a low, bitter sound that didn’t reach his eyes. He looked down at the ground, his dimples deepening with the ghost of a smile that felt forced and hollow.

Eddie’s laughter faded, and the room fell uncomfortably silent. He rubbed the back of his neck, his head tilted down as if he couldn’t bear to look at you. When he finally spoke, his voice came out sharper than he intended.

“Why would it be nice to know?” he snapped, his dark eyes meeting yours, his tone biting with frustration. “Why would it be so great to find out that the girl I like didn’t end up kissing me?”

The words hung in the air like a firework that had exploded too close, the weight of his confession pressing down on both of you. Eddie froze, his mouth still slightly open as if he couldn’t believe what had just come out. His chest rose and fell as he stared at you, wide-eyed, his anger dissolving into sheer panic.

Your jaw dropped, your confusion only deepening as you tried to process what he’d just said. “What?” you managed to whisper, your voice barely audible.

“I-” Eddie started, but his voice cracked. He looked away, pacing a few steps toward the window, one hand tugging at his hair. He muttered something under his breath that you couldn’t catch, but the tips of his ears were red, and he looked like he wanted to melt into the floor.

“I didn’t mean to say that” he blurted, turning back to you. His hands gestured wildly as if trying to claw the words back out of the air. “I didn’t mean- it just slipped out, okay? Forget I said anything.”

But you couldn’t forget. Not when his words were echoing in your head on a loop: the girl I like.

“You...” You blinked, your heart racing as you took a hesitant step toward him. “You like me?”

Eddie let out a short, humourless laugh, shaking his head. “No- wait, yes, but not- Jesus, this is so stupid.” He groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Forget I said anything, alright? Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen.”

But you weren’t about to let it go. “Eddie,” you said softly, stepping closer to him. “You like me?”

He let his hands drop, and the look on his face was almost painful. His shoulders sagged, and for a moment, he looked like he might actually admit it. But then he shook his head again, his voice barely above a whisper.

“It doesn’t matter,” he muttered, avoiding your gaze.

You didn’t let him finish.

“It does matter,” you said quietly, stepping even closer. The distance between you closed to just a few inches, and your voice softened as your heart pounded louder in your ears. “You just said it, Eddie. You like me.”

Eddie’s breath hitched, and his eyes darted to yours, his guarded expression crumbling. He opened his mouth to respond, but the words never came. The tension between you thickened, magnetic, drawing you closer to him.

You weren’t even sure who leaned in first, but suddenly the space between you wasn’t enough. You could feel the heat radiating off him, see the flicker of hesitation in his dark eyes as they flicked down to your lips.

“Eddie…” you whispered, the sound barely audible, trembling in the charged air between you.

For the first time, he didn’t pull away. His hands twitched at his sides, his body leaning closer, as if every fiber of his being was fighting the instinct to back off.

The world seemed to still, and the only thing that existed was him, so close you could feel the ghost of his breath against your skin.

This was it... you were going to kiss him, after almost 2 months of staring at his lips and wanting to know what they felt like on yours, you were actually going to know.

Eddie didn't know what to think, his eyes were focused on your lips, but his mind was focused on that confession he just told you.

He doesn't like you, so why would he say it?

He wasn't thinking, it just slipped out, right? he totally wasn't thinking about how he liked you before he said it.

Truth is he doesn't know how he feels, you're pretty. beautiful, hot, funny...the way you laugh at his jokes, the way your eyes light up when something excites you, the way you blush when you get nervous, the way you fiddle with your fingers when you grow flustered and save a seat next to you in class- even though no one sits next to you anymore- shit.

He does like you.. but He wishes he could take it back so you wouldn't know... but that secret was out before he even realised what he said.

But he was going for it, he was about to kiss you

"Ed? I'm home" the door opened as a raspy groan echoed through the room, Eddie's uncle stepping through the door as you and Eddie jumped apart, your lips never meeting.

Your faces flaming as you stumbled backward and Eddie’s hand shot to his hair, tugging at it as he turned toward the door, his expression a mix of panic and frustration.

Wayne stood in the doorway, his lunchbox in one hand and a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. He stopped short, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene.

"Oh," Wayne said, blinking. "didn't tell me we were goin have company tonight"

Eddie groaned, his hands slapping over his face. "Wayne, what are you doing you're supposed to be here at 11?"

Wayne raised a hand in mock surrender, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was fighting a smirk. “oh yeah? why was I interuptin' somethin'?”

Eddie groaned and you looked away as Wayne's eyes met yours.

"No-" Eddie started before his uncle stopped him

"-plant shut off, gotta come home early" Wayne huffed as he walked to the bathroom, the tap running with water as Eddie turned to you, smiling tightly as he motioned to the bathroom, raising his eyebrows, his look saying 'well, that's my uncle'

You laughed softly as Wayne stepped out of the bathroom, shaking his hands from the water.

He moved to the kitchen with deliberate slowness, his eyes flicking between the two of you like he was watching the most entertaining drama he’d seen in weeks.

As Wayne grabbed a knife from the drawer, he glanced back at you with a raised eyebrow. "You stayin' for cake, Eddie's friend?" he said with a cheeky grin, winking as he went to the fridge

You Looked at Eddie as he introduced you to Wayne before turning back to you

"Do you want cake?" he mumbled, looking down as he played with his sleeve

You nodded with a shrug "sure.. if you want me to stay"

Eddie sat down by the two-seater table attached to the trailer wall and Wayne motioned for you to sit down on the other as he brought over a cake, it was a bit messy, but it looked perfect

He lit the candles, and as the lights were turned off, the warm glow bathed Eddie’s face, catching the curve of his cheekbones and the soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

For a moment, everything else faded- the near-kiss, the awkwardness, the unspoken feelings. All that mattered was the quiet hum of the moment, the flickering candles, and the way Eddie looked at you, like maybe, just maybe, this was the start of something neither of you could deny.

The glow of the candles danced in Eddie’s eyes; his usual bravado dimmed into something quieter, softer. You sat across from him, hands folded awkwardly on the edge of the table, not entirely sure where to look. Wayne stood behind him as he motioned you to start singing 'happy birthday' with him.

It was out of sync and very rough, but Eddie kept his embarrassed smile on his face, and once you finished the song, Wayne continued, humming off-tune as he waved his cigarette like a conductor's baton.

Eddie rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress the small smile tugging at his lips. “Alright, Wayne, you can stop now,” he muttered as Wayne’s humming grew louder and more dramatic.

Wayne smirked, leaning against the counter. “Hey, it’s not every day my nephew turns- what is it? Twenty-three? Twenty-four?”

“Twenty,” Eddie grumbled, though there was no real bite in his tone.

“Right, Twenty,” Wayne said, feigning a look of realization. “A big year for big moments, huh?” His eyes flicked meaningfully between the two of you, his smirk widening.

Eddie groaned, slumping in his chair. “Wayne, for the love of God-”

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave you two kids alone. After cake.” Wayne winked at you again, pulling a chair over and sitting down like he had all the time in the world.

You tried to stifle your laughter, stealing a glance at Eddie. He looked equal parts mortified and amused, his fingers drumming nervously against the table.

“Make a wish, Ed,” Wayne said, gesturing toward the candles.

Eddie leaned forward, pausing for a moment as if debating what to wish for. His eyes flickered to you briefly, so quick you almost missed it, before he blew out the candles in one swift breath.

Slicing the cake with the knife he’d grabbed earlier, he smiled, putting the pieces onto napkins “Alright, here we go. One slice for the birthday boy, one for the lovely guest, and—” He plopped a third slice onto his own plate. “One for me, Since I made the bloody thing.”

Wayne’s antics had you laughing now, the tension from earlier easing like a weight lifting off your shoulders. Eddie, despite his initial embarrassment, seemed to relax as well, his knee brushing against yours under the table.

“So,” Wayne began, taking a bite of cake. “How’d you two meet?”

Eddie nearly choked on his first bite, coughing violently as he waved his hand dismissively. “Wayne-”

"Oh, for the love of God, boy, stop being so dramatic" The older man rolled his eyes grumpily.

You hesitated, glancing at Eddie for guidance, but he was too busy glaring at his uncle to notice. Finally, you decided to take the reins. “Uh, school,” you said, your voice a little unsure.

“Yeah,” Eddie interjected quickly, recovering from his coughing fit. “School”

Wayne raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. “School, huh? Didn’t know they taught awkward staring contests in class.”

You and Eddie exchanged a look, both of you visibly mortified.

“Alright, alright,” Wayne said with a chuckle, raising his hands in surrender. “I’ll stop meddlin’. For now.” He stood, grabbing his napkin and wiping his face, heading to the kitchen to fetch a beer

Eddie let out a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head. “I swear, he lives to torture me.”

“Seems like it,” you said, unable to keep the smile off your face.

For a while, the conversation drifted into safer territory. Wayne eventually retreated to his room, leaving the two of you alone once again. The clock ticked softly in the background, and the leftover candles sat forgotten in the corner of the table.

You frowned, looking back at Wayne's door after a while of silence"did you get a present?"

He raised an eyebrow as he wiped his mouth, nodding "yeah.. got it before school"

You smiled "what'did you get?" you bounced your leg, eating the last bite of cake on your napkin

"uh-" he scratched his arm, right over his bat tattoo "new dice set..n'some figurines"

"Mm" you hummed, nodding your head "cool"

Eddie glanced at you, his fingers tapping nervously against the table, silence filling the air for a brief moment. “Thanks for staying,” he said, his voice softer now.

“Of course,” you replied, meeting his gaze. “it's not everyday you turn Twenty.” you teased,

His lips twitched into a shy smile, the earlier awkwardness creeping back in. “Yeah, well...”

For a moment, neither of you spoke, the air between you heavy with unspoken words.

“Eddie…” you began, your voice trailing off. You wanted to ask about earlier, about what he said- about you. But the words wouldn’t come, tangled in the knot in your chest.

He looked at you like he was waiting for something, his expression open and vulnerable in a way you’d rarely seen. “Yeah?”

“I…” You faltered, shaking your head with a small laugh. “I’m really glad I came tonight.”

Eddie nodded, his smile softening. “Me too.”

And though nothing else was said, the quiet understanding between you spoke volumes.

Maybe you'll get to kiss him another time.

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Taglist:

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ahhh, can't believe Joe's 31, currently crying

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[theoi-crow]

Hey, it may be looking a little bleak out there and you may need your gods to be with you now more than ever.

If you are coming from a place where being open about worshipping your gods is frowned upon or outright dangerous, but you need to say their names out loud to feel like they're around, here's a survival tip:

Tell everyone around you, you're a huge fan of Greek mythology.

Greek mythology content is everywhere right now!

There's video games like Hades and Fenyx Rising, movies like Disney's Hercules, so many shows and cartoons like Kaos and Blood of Zeus, Percy Jackson and let's not forget the Broadway musical: Hadestown! Plus a lot of neo classical paintings and their statues are everywhere!

Be obnoxious about your love for them every time you need your god to be mentioned in order to bring you comfort, and if they get mad because you won't stop talking about your gods just insist you are obsessed with Greek mythology right now, which is totally believable because their content is everywhere! You can even surround yourself with their content if it'll help you feel safer.

It's okay if you can't give them the kind of altar you wish to give them right now because you literally can't! I grew up in a very religious household so my altar was in a sketchbook! You can grab the media version of your favorite god and wear them on a shirt. If they ask you to say grace at the dinner table and you have to verbally pray to a god you don't believe in just mentally tell your god anything you say about that god is dedicated to them. If you have to go to a religious building remember that the Romans conflated their Roman gods with Christian figures all the time so the figures you're looking at are a mishmash of a bunch of gods mixed together. So, while you're in that building go ahead and pray to your gods the whole time you're there. Even if it's not a Christian building because no one can hear your thoughts or police them, go ahead and meditate with your gods whenever you enter a religious building.

The gods won't be offended, this is how their old devotees used to do it during the dark ages and medieval period since not going to church was punishable by death. They also claimed to be really into Greek mythology and praised the Christian God while secretly praying to the Greek gods.

Your gods won't think it's rude.

They've had devotees in the past who have had to hide, and there are Greek people living in modern Greece today who still have to hide their worship of them so they get it.

And don't worry about the more uptight worshippers who judge others for things that have nothing to do with them and get especially angry about treating the Greek gods like it's a fandom. Your form of worship is between you and your gods and this is a survival tactic that's been used for hundreds to thousands of years. This is a tactic that was literally the difference between life or death. This is why the gods don't care if you publicly treat them like characters or like Greek mythology is a fandom. You're not the first devotee who has had to do this and unfortunately, you won't be the last.

On the flip side, no one around you will think you're weird for saying you're really into Greek mythology because look around you, they are all over the place! Greek mythology content is EVERYWHERE:

Let that work in your favor.