#reblogging a post from myself 10 seconds after i originally reblogged it

[kingofthering-two]

Hi guys, Maïna / kingofthering here. You might have heard or noticed that I got my account terminated yesterday (and had the joy to discover you don’t just lose your sideblog but all the blogs associated with your account).

What happened? As I mentioned last week, I received my 2nd strike for copyright infringement on the 11th of December and I protested it (sent a DMCA counter notice) on the 12th. Tumblr forwarded the counter notice to the claimant on the 16th, leaving them 10 business days to answer before I could get the strike taken away and the content restored. Unfortunately, yesterday, on the 19th, I received my third strike and it came with the termination of my account. 

How is it fair that tumblr lets you receive a new strike so soon after the precedent one, when you couldn’t even have the time to finish fighting the first one? I legitimately don’t know. I’ve tried to contact them about this but they don’t treat the messages since it’s coming from a terminated account. I think I need to send the message with another email address, which I might do later.

Could my account come back? In theory, from what I’ve read online, yes, but that remains to be seen from my end for me to be completely sure of that. My only current hope is for the blog to reappear when I get my first and second strikes removed (the first is from January but I never thought of fighting it before because it was videos so I thought they didn’t stand a chance but now I genuinely believe the type of content doesn’t matter). 

In September, there were 14 days between the counter notice being sent and me getting my content back (10 business days + weekends) and I suppose we might have to take into account Christmas here. I think that in the best case scenario, I might hear from tumblr on the 30th of December, maybe the 31st.

What now? I briefly considered using this as a (forced) break from tumblr. I tried to have one earlier this year and failed miserably. I think that the older I get, the less patience and tolerance I have for things that annoy me (and get past the filtering system) (but also things outside of tumblr, seeing my gifs get reposted to twitter, something that happened again recently, really annoys the fuck out of me). But, at the end of the day, the good outweighs the bad (annoying) far much, when it comes to this website and this community. If I check my tumblr app screentime on my phone, I might cry at how bad it is. I do want to finish the projects I have ongoing (the RPF survey answers will be studied and treated and shared) and keep in touch with everything happening on here.

I’m going to use this current account to browse tumblr at least until the end of the year. I’ve already seen glimpses of stories that I need to catch up on and I’ve seen you guys being very supportive already (thank you) so I felt like making myself reachable here was better. Posting wise, I’ll probably post about things that I know are safe i.e. things of my own (stats, my progress on the 2025 journals) and gifs of things not coming from Dorna (e.g. reels/tiktoks, podcast videos).

What then? The only thing I can tell you for sure is that no matter what happens next, I’m going to create an archive blog on a separate account (with a dedicated email address). This blog will not have posts of its own but only reblogs of content I originally posted on kingofthering. If I can have my old account back, the job will be made much easier (and will obviously be more complete). If not, I’ll have to rely on a lot of research to get things back as best as I can. Don’t worry about this for now, I’m going to wait until I know for sure about my old account to start the process (since the method will be very different depending on the answer on that).

For 2025, we will see. The thing is, even if I get my account back, I know that I will keep getting strikes (even if I’m not posting anything because old posts of mine have been targeted as well) and honestly, even if fighting them works, it’s both stressful and exhausting. Also, people have been winning the battles against the strikes for now but who knows how long that will last.

And like I mentioned, it’s a sideblog connected to all my other blogs which also depend on kingofthering’s faith. That includes my main blog that I’ve had since 2011 (I don’t use it much but I use it to keep all the useful stuff like the photoshop tutorials, writing prompts, etc), my hockey sideblog (not been using it much either lately but it does have some history I’d like to keep) and a bunch of others.

A solution to keep those other accounts safe would probably be to move everything motorsports related to a new account (maybe this one if I can get my main back) and delete the original kingofthering. It would pain me because of the history of this blog and what I would lose in the process (mostly the asks I haven’t gotten to answer and obviously the following that I had grown but I suppose that I can grow back little by little). It would also mean I couldn’t see anymore the posts in my notes and the tags people add to their reblogs (which is like half the purpose of posting in the first place) and that’s annoying as well but I suppose I could grieve that too, in theory.

If I don’t even get the account back, well. I talk about creating a new dedicated account but if it also gets striked (which I suppose will happen), it will be equally exhausting to fight fo it so, I don’t even know if I want to do that.

At this point, I know which content is safe for sure (or what has been safe so far for me) and there are still a lot of stuff that I enjoy sharing with you and getting your opinion on but giffing race weekends was the major part of my blog and I don’t know how I feel about giving that up. Anyway, much thoughts to have still.

Can you do something to help? I don’t think so. Or, well, not with recuperating my account. In regards with the copyright issue as a whole, though? I don’t know what to say because I don’t know what’s the best course of action there. I’ve seen some discussions around about emails and a petition and involving other social media and bigger people but I genuinely don’t know what’s the best thing to do. I’ve personally always considered tumblr as this little (safe for everything) bubble and I don’t exactly feel comfortable “exposing” some of my content here to the rest of the world (some people on tumblr are already mean enough about RPF, I don’t need to see what people not on here have to say about it). That’s obviously just me and I’m not going to keep anyone from doing what they think is right. Part of me wants to believe that things will fix themselves once Liberty Media take over but that’s not a sure thing and the frequency of strikes lately has been quite worrying so I understand the need to do something. Some thinking over to do there too.

Where can you find me? For tumblr, on here for now. I’m going to post this on the motogp tag and I’ll try to follow my mutuals (from memory so, going to miss a lot of people for sure, sorry in advance). I might appreciate a reblog of this post to spread the word. I still have my twitter (mostly talking stats), the blog and my tiktok (barely being used but still in existence).

If I do the set ups correctly I’ll have my DMs open here and askbox open to anons. I am still bad at answering those, though, so apologies in advance there as well.

(Also, I just got home for the holidays and literally learned about the news when I was in the train yesterday afternoon, so, worst timing ever.)

[nintendont2502]

keep forgetting i changed my pfp and not recognising myself. girl help who is this and why did they reblog all the aame posts I did

[nekoannie-chan]

In the middle of the night

In the middle of the night

Title: In the middle of the night.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Brock Rumlow X Reader.

Word count: 416 words.

Square: 10 “It's the middle of the night.”

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Brock needs to see you.

Major Tags: Sneak in the night.

Additional tags: This is my entry for the @fandom-free-bingo Valentine’s edition.

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

The room was dark, the soft ticking of the clock was the only sound to be heard. You were fast asleep when a noise at the door woke you.

You blinked, confused, as you tried to adjust to the darkness. A second, more insistent knock made you sit up in bed. Before you could ask who was there, the door slowly opened.

“Brock? “you whispered. “What the hell are you doing?”

He walked in without asking permission, closing the door behind him. He was wearing a tight black T-shirt and combat pants.

“I needed to see you,” he said as if that explained everything.

You ran a hand over your face, trying to clear your head. “It's the middle of the night,” you said, exasperated. “Do you know what time it is? You could have waited until morning.”

Brock came closer, now you could see the small beads of sweat on his forehead and the tension in his jaw.

“I couldn't wait,” he replied.

“What happened? “you asked.

He hesitated for a moment, looking at the floor as if searching for the right words. Finally, he looked up and his eyes met yours.

“I was on a mission... and things went wrong. I thought I wasn't going to make it out of there.

“Brock... “you whispered, not knowing exactly what to say.

“I was a second away from losing everything,” he continued, taking a step closer to you. And at that moment, all I could think about was you. I don't want you to worry about me, but I need you to know that you're the only thing keeping me alive. All I want is to come back to you.

“Brock... “You started, but he interrupted you.

“You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. “He raised a hand to caress your cheek, which surprised you. Now go back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

You stared at him, still stunned. Finally, you nodded slowly, even though you knew you wouldn't be able to sleep after that.

Brock gave you one last look before turning toward the door. Just as he was about to leave, you called out to him.

“Brock.

He paused, waiting.

“Stay.”

Brock hesitated for a second before closing the door and turning back to you. He said nothing, but the slight nod of his head was enough. He sat on the edge of the bed; you walked over and hugged him from behind.

[skyfallscotland]

Hi friend!!! For the ask game you just reblogged: 🖍️♻️🤡

Hello, hello! 👋👋

7. 🖍️ Post any sentence from your WIP

From "keep quiet (nothing comes as easy as you)"

“Off-limits.” Liam says immediately. Riorson pauses, arms folded over his chest and turns back to him, arching a brow. “She’s on my squad and one of my best friends.” Liam says darkly. “Off. Limits. Xaden.”

10. 🤡 How many WIPs are you actually working on?

In my head? Around 10-11. Actively typing out this week? Three

8. ♻️ A scrapped idea from your current WIP

I actually haven't scrapped anything lately, so this is maybe, maybe not scrapped? I'd originally intended to have Lía and Deigh bond in Fear & Flame and I wrote the entire scene out (for the morning after Remi felt them the first time) but didn't end up including it.

They might actually not bond at all in Truth & Talon either, because if there's one thing Lía is, it's clever. She knows it could be a detriment right now if they need to be separated. Anyway, here's part of the scene below the cut that may or may not end up making it into Remi-verse at some point.

I freeze, a picture flashing behind my eyelids of my sister, her eyes closed in rapture as she arches up, pressing her naked breasts into—“Oh what the fuck?!” I curse, slamming my eyes shut as if that vision wasn’t taking place inside my head. “What the fuck, what the fuck.” I whimper.

“What are you—” 

“NO!” I yelp, slamming down every shield I have. “Do not look at that. Do not re—” I cut myself off, knowing better than to mention his second signet out loud. I stare at him wide-eyed. 

“Unfortunately…” He winces.

“You already did.” I groan in disgust.

“Sorry.” He kisses my cheek gently. “If it’s any consolation, I wished I hadn’t immediately.” 

[billpottsismygf]

I've just received a notification that I've reached 10,000 reblogs on here, which is quite strange and fascinating. On the one hand, that's a lot of times for people to reblog things from me, but on the other hand, with the number of posts I've blogged or reblogged myself (69,238) in the last 13 years, I would have expected it to be far more than that. I've never been a particularly big blog, obviously, and the focus of this blog has also changed as I've become hyperfixated on different fandoms over the years, which means a lot of my followers will only be interested in one or two of the fandoms I post about, if any of them, if they're even still active.

The post that reached it for me was the one from the other day paralleling The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit and The Legend of Ruby Sunday. It's now at 1,450 notes and is currently my second most popular post of all time, after a post I made in 2011, which is my only post ever to break 2k notes, specifically 2,266. The vast majority of my original posts are lucky to get into the 10s or even 100s of notes (my average is apparently 17.18 notes per original post), which is fine by me. I wouldn't have been doing this so long if my motivation was notes-based. Still, it's just a little weird to realise how little it all adds up to in the end.

Obviously a fair few of the notes I receive are likes and some are comments, but it brings home how little I've been interacted with in 13 years despite it never feeling that way. The 398 reblogs on my Sutekh post from 3 days ago are 4% of all my reblogs ever. That 2011 Doctor Who day post has 1,343 reblogs (reblog ratios were sooo much better then, wow) and is over 13% of all my reblogs ever. For contrast, my Hide Away video (which was an addition on someone else's post, so doesn't count towards my total unless people reblogged it directly from me) has 88,000 views, most of which it garnered in its first few weeks. My Merlin fanvideo from 2012 has 11k views. A couple of brief moments of almost virality eclipse my entire time on this platform.

Of course, this is actually quite nice really, so I don't wish this post to sound all sad and mopey. I've been very lucky with my fandom experience. Although I've had a couple of unpleasant interactions, I've mostly stayed under the radar enough to just get to chill and yell about things with people in a pleasant way. It's just a surprise to me to get sudden context for my time on here in numbers and thus have to recontextualise what tumblr interaction looks like and how much of it I've actually been on the receiving end of. Regardless, I guess thanks? For the 10,000 reblogs? I'm not going anywhere any time soon, so let's see if it takes me another 13 years to hit the 20,000 mark.

13 years, 1,885 followers, 1,842 original posts, 69,238 posts overall, 31,638 notes and 10,000 reblogs. That's pretty damn cool, but also pretty weird.

[nobodyspecialhereblog]

Base Blog Info

Art Tag - Commissions - Linktree Sketches and OC Blog ( @ukusreticence )

Reblog and Random Comments Blog ( @ludicrouspajamas ) TLDR; don't expect posts, don't expect reblogs, likes, follows- don't expect activity in general, don't expect anythin from me, I'm just going with the flow and my current vibes. :) energy levels vary a lot.

Feels like I should state this at some point and leave it pinned. Nobodyspecialhereblog was originally intended to be a normal tumblr blog after the original iteration of it got deleted due to personal reasons. However due to my horrendous habit of keeping up with things, this is more of an archive of my art so I have something to look back on now. :) Maybe I'll do SOME reblogs and stuff again but I kinda ended up getting myself a lotta social anxiety again :( so for now it's MOSTLY for art. I dunno if I'll be doing reblogging and such. Probably not. It's more of just an art archive, a way to browse things, and indulge in my self interests. I might draw random fanart, check on my friends, check on other creators or blogs, and likely do a little of it all every once and awhile. Depends on whether or not I remember. :P I am doing AT LEAST yearly posts but it's mostly for the whole art archive thing. Y'know?

I will say tho, I think I've come pretty far since I first joined tumblr and the first time I made this blog. Even comparing now to the start of the second version of this blog, I've changed a lot and I'm proud of myself. :)

I'll put some latest notes here if I ever remember to bother to... Y'know... Update. Or check my tumblr. Or honestly Imma probably forget about this post ahaha. Update Count Since Post: 7

Latest News: (Last Updated 10/16/2024) oof lost my motivation for tumblr after being on it for like 7 months straight. Woops? Artfight think burnt out my want to draw too unfortunately. poppin in every so often, always checking notes but nothing more. occasional browsing.

[amanda4love]

Good morning! It's 10:57am, January 30th of the year twenty-twenty-four.

Well, not much is new these days... Wait, what am I saying?!

Actually, I finally had my ears pierced, earlier this month to mark a milestone birthday. I quite love the studs that are in my ears right now, (synthetic) black opal. They flash green-ish. It's a vibe.

And I have a few pairs of earrings I've either bought for myself or had gifted to me by my mom and grandma, that I am also super excited to wear once my piercing holes are fully healed!

That, and I got my first tattoo a little over a week ago! I am beyond happy with it. I drew out the design two different times, with the second design being the one I was the most satisfied with. My tattoo artist managed to follow my design nearly exactly, so I'm hyped that I essentially have my own art on my body. Closest thing I could get to actually tattooing it on myself, haha. (Maybe one day, we'll see...)

Picture/video updates are going on my public/professional Artist's Instagram. Yeah, I guess I'm being a tease.

P. S.: Virtual cuddles + kisses for my one and only. I'm trying to cherish the dwindling number of days that you can be in one place.

P. P. S.: I did this guided meditation earlier (as soon as I woke up), that really helped me to clarify why I regret and hate myself for feeling regret. Jay Shetty, you da real MVP today. Apparently I am human, though. I love deeply, some people will feel the same way back and be obvious about that, and I also value loyalty so some relationships stay as friendships for good reason. Some relationships of my past, if they went beyond friendship, fizzled out if they were problematic to begin with but some also ended because I intentionally stopped putting in the effort. I've made mistakes but the important thing is that I continue to find ways to learn from them.

P. P. P. S.: Someone who devotes attention and effort to their relationship with you, even after you've completely fucked up, is the kind of person you want in your life forever.

P. P. P. P. S.: This one is an angry rant of a post-script. Fucking just stop. Being photographed with someone problematic doesn't automatically make another person a problematic person. The problematic person needs to take accountability, it has nothing to do with the other person just standing there and enjoying something else. I'm saying this because I saw someone I used to follow "Like" a reblog, with screenshots of an article that included pics of Taylor standing next to one of the Mahomes brothers - the original blogger's message was incredibly critical and basically demanding that Taylor needs to make a statement regarding some made-up connection to said brother, who is accused of something socially and morally unacceptable. Like, excuse me, since when is it Taylor's responsibility for some guy's reprehensible actions? She is seen in a picture with him, it doesn't mean she knows everything about him or even talked to him. Fucking stop preying on her privacy. You're the reason she feels like her life is inspected and critiqued under a microscope. Stop expecting her to be perfect and on top of all the bullshit news that you are making up about her. (I am fuming and I hate ending my blog post on this sentiment, but don't worry about it - I'll be fine eventually.)

[sunshine-vx]

Across Space, Time and Dreams (ASTaD) (Ch. 18)

(Blankshippers DNI)

(Please refer to beginning of chapter 1 post for complete list of CWs/TWs)

(Extra notes: Woo, a new chapter out already! Glad I could get another chapter out sooner than later like I said! :] That being said, though, I'm gonna let yall know that, unfortunately, the next chapter will probably take a while to be posted. I've already gotten it written, but basically ever since the idea for that chapter came into my head, I've told myself I'd make an animation for it. It's going to be about 1 minute and 10 seconds long, and if I get help, it will only be from one person. I'm out for summer break, so hopefully I'll be able to get it done faster, but I can't promise it will be as fast as I'd hope. I hope yall can understand, and I sincerely hope that whatever the result is will be worth it! I've been challenging myself with this fic ever since I started it, and I'm glad to tackle a new challenge! That aside, I hope yall enjoy! This one's a bit shorter compared to the previous two, hahah.)

(This chapter's illustrations done by @moonlightalpha666 !)

(Read it on Ao3 here! (Not yet uploaded to Ao3, link will be here when it is!))

(Reblogs are appreciated!)

-

Emmet woke up before Ingo did. That was expected, although it made Emmet happy, as well as slightly amused him, that Ingo's sleeping habits seemed to not change much, even in a place like this. Emmet got up to look at the old-fashioned clock on the windowsill- The time read 7:30 AM; An hour and a half to prepare and get to the Temple.

Emmet went back over to the pallet and sat down by his brother, shaking him gently by the shoulders a few times.

"Ingo. Ingo, come on." Emmet stated, "It is time to get up."

After a few shakes, Ingo mumbled something incomprehensible before his eyes opened. "Huh..? Emmet..?"

"Ingo, brother, it is three-thirty in the morning." Emmet explained, "We must be at the Temple of Sinnoh around nine so that I can summon Dialga and Palkia."

Ingo was silent for a moment, seeming delirious, before he jumped and his eyes opened wide.

"Oh, right!" Ingo exclaimed, quickly, standing up, followed by Emmet, "Yes, let us begin preparing at once!"

Now that they were both awake, the twins quickly got dressed into their uniforms, beginning the gather what they needed for the trip and a possible trip to their origin world after that. 

"Ingo. Dialga and Palkia may bring us home, so make sure not to forget anything you will need." Emmet stated, putting his Pokéballs into his coat.

Ingo was also gathering his Pokéballs into his coat as well, "Regarding items, I have everything; I just need to bid my farewells to those I feel it's necessary to do so, first."

Emmet nodded, "Yup. Of course."

Emmet and Ingo exited the house, Ingo spotting Zisu making her way for the village's gates. Ingo jogged up to her, Emmet following suit.

"Lady Zisu! Are you headed for the Temple of Sinnoh?" Ingo questioned, "Do you know where Akari and Rei are? They told us they'd be waiting at the village gates for us."

Zisu nodded, carrying a bag with one of her arms, "I sure am! And Akari and Rei are right where they said they'd be, so we can just walk together."

Ingo responded, "Thank you."

"That is good." Emmet commented. 

Zisu gave a friendly smile, and the three made haste for the village gates. Akari and Rei stood some ways outside them, just as was promised.

Zisu waved as she continued walking past Akari and Rei, heading for the Temple on her own, the others returning the gesture, before Ingo and Emmet turned to face Akari and Rei. 

"So, you will be helping us to the Temple of Sinnoh, and our stops before that?" Emmet asked.

Akari nodded, "Indeed, we thought you guys would benefit from a bit of help."

"Besides, safety in numbers, right?" Rei added. 

Emmet voiced, "Yes. Thank you verrry much."

"Excellent! You both have our thanks!" Ingo exclaimed, "I planned on making way for the Coronet Highlands first, to meet with Hectar and Lady Sneasler. How is that?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Akari replied, "Ingo, you lead the way and I'll be right at your side if you need help. Emmet and Rei must also be on the look-out, of course."

"I will stay by you. And keep watch." Emmet spoke to Ingo.

Ingo nodded and smiled, then stepped forward, the others preparing to follow, "Bravo! Yes, we will stay and work together! Now then- full speed ahead!"

After some trecking, the group made their way to the Coronet Highlands. Thanks to Akari's vast collection of Pokémon and the group's combined knowledge, they were able to get there quicker than a usual trip between the lands. 

While Akari had become accustomed to the ins and outs of the Highlands, Ingo knew the Highlands like the back of his hand; He knew just what shortcuts to use, when and how to use them, and most importantly, where Lady Sneasler's seat was located.

As Ingo led the quartet up the path to Lady Sneasler's seat, they were suddenly met with Lady Sneasler herself hopping down in the middle of the path in front of them, Hectar emerging from a turn close behind the Noble.

The group stopped in their tracks, taken aback.

"Woah!" Rei vocalized.

Lady Sneasler made a hissing sound that almost sounded like laughter, flicking her feather away with her claw.

Ingo chuckled and waved to Sneasler, "Good morning, my Lady!"

Hectar approached the group, laughing a bit as well. 

"Lady Sneasler has been waiting to see you, Ingo." Hectar explained "She wants to go to the Temple with us."

"Oh, really?" Ingo responded, "Well, let us get to her seat first. We can discuss things there."

Hectar nodded, Sneasler making a purring noise, Ingo initiating the rest of the walk to Lady Sneasler's seat.

"So you want to come to the Temple?" Ingo spoke to Sneasler, Hectar standing by the Noble.

Sneasler made some clicking and trilling sounds. She did. She wanted to be there for whatever happened.

"Alright. I have nothing against that idea!" Ingo conveyed, "But will your kits be safe?"

Sneasler made more clicking noises, Hectar piping in.

"I've been training my team in preparation for situations like these! They'll stay here to protect the kits- and I'll bring my Alakazam with me, in case they need to call for help!"

Ingo nodded, showing approval of Hectar's plan. "That sounds great!"

"Well, then I see no reason why you can't come!" Ingo said as he turned back to his Lord, raising his arm to give the Noble some pets. Sneasler purred, a silly looking grin on her face.

Ingo lowered his hand and spoke again, "Well, we've got some time to spare, lucky for us, as I hoped to be able to do a few things before heading to the Temple, first."

"What would that be?" Hectar wondered. Sneasler cocked her head to the side, also curious.

Ingo took a bag out from one of his coat's large pockets

"My Lady, we made your favorite again; But with a twist!" Ingo exclaimed.

Sneasler made a curious clicking noise. 

"I helped," Emmet added, "I hope that is okay…my Lady." 

Ingo approached the bowl at the seat and poured the contents of the bag inside, "Yes, Emmet helped me make your dish for this morning, my Lady! He did his best and I'm sure it'll be excellent! Is that okay?"

Lady Sneasler approached the bowl and looked at the food. It was still very recognizable as her favorite dish Ingo had perfected, but it certainly was different this time.

Sneasler sniffed the bowl and hesitantly took a bite of the food. Then, her eyes lit up, and she began eating quicker while purring could be heard coming from her.

Hectar smiled and Emmet sighed with relief, Ingo clapping his hands.

"Bravo, Emmet! She loves it!"

Emmet smiled and turned to Sneasler,

"I am glad I was able to make an enjoyable dish for you."

Lady Sneasler made a trilling noise before taking another bite. 

"My Lady, I don't mean to bother you, but I would like to see the kits and eggs before we leave to the Temple," Ingo stated, "could Emmet see the eggs with us? He is very gentle and loving to little ones."

Lady Sneasler, almost done with her food, thought for a moment. Then, she made a content hissing noise, nodding. She was sure Ingo would take care of Emmet if he did anything, and Emmet had proved to be nothing but friendly so far. 

"Excellent! You have our thanks, Lady Sneasler!" Ingo replied.

Emmet nodded, "Thank you, Lady Sneasler. I appreciate it a lot."

Sneasler replied with trills and clicks. She would follow them soon. 

Ingo turned to Hectar, "Hectar, would you like to come with us?"

Hectar nodded, "Of course!"

Ingo, Emmet, Akari, Rei and Hectar made their way into the den. Emmet seemed struck by adorableness by the sight of the kits. 

"They are so cute!"

"I know, right?" Rei agreed.

"Indeed, they are!" Ingo chuckled, and even though the eggs may not have been able to hear them, Ingo spoke, "Little ones! You may have heard news of a new person here! He is my brother, and he is very kind! He's here to see you all with me, so don't be afraid to say hi!"

Emmet smiled. The group took some more steps in the cave.

"Look, Ingo, this is the egg I told you about!" Hectar commented suddenly, walking towards an egg snuggled in a bed made of some grass and other soft materials. It was almost the same as the other eggs, but looked a tiny bit different.

Emmet and Ingo followed Hectar, Akari and Rei looking from a few paces away.

"Is this the egg you told me Lady Sneasler had recently?"

"Yes, sir! It seems healthy overall, but it seems just a bit different from the others."

Ingo thought for a moment. Then, he got an idea!

"Well! I think I'd be able to tell just fine, but my brother here is especially knowledgeable in care of baby Pokémon!" Ingo exclaimed, "Emmet, how about you help me take a look at this egg?"

Emmet seemed surprised, but was glad to take the offer. "Of course I can do that."

With that, the twins examined the egg for some moments, before speaking to each other for another.

"So?" Hectar asked.

"It is hard to tell; It may be a bit more fragile than the others, or be a little weaker, but we would only really be able to tell when it is born." Emmet explained.

"Lady Sneasler will probably be able to tell when the egg is a bit more developed." Ingo added.

"But it's not bad?"

"No, nothing necessarily bad."

Hectar nodded, "That's good"

"Well, I'm going to say my farewells to the other little ones." Ingo commented. He smiled and gave the egg a few pats, "I'll see you again, little one!"

Emmet laughed a little and also gave the egg a few pats. Ingo stood up, Emmet following.

As promised, Ingo walked around the cave, giving each egg and kit some pets and kind words. Emmet followed suite, wanting to let the little ones know he meant no harm- plus, they were pretty cute! He gave them a few pets and a few nice words. Some kits were a bit hesitant to let Emmet pet them, but he at least got one or two pets, and he made sure not to push their comfort levels.

A lot of them didn't have nearly as much trust in him as Ingo, but he thought he was doing well.

Soon, it was time to go.

"It's about time to get going now." Ingo stated.

Ingo, Emmet, Akari, Rei and Hectar walked to the exit of the den, where Lady Sneasler had been standing for a bit now.

Irida vocalized, "When we get to the Pearl Clan, we should perform a short ceremony to set Hectar's new role in stone. Is that alright with you all?"

Ingo nodded, Sneasler making a trilling sound of agreement. Hectar seemed shocked at first, but encouraged by the approval of the other two, he beamed, giving Irida a small bow, "I would be forever blessed."

The others only nodded- they were not part of the Pearl Clan, and they had no reason to object.

Irida smiled at Hectar's enthusiasm, "Then it is settled."

With that, Hectar and the others then turned back to look into the den.

"Goodbye, little ones! I'll be back soon, and Hectar will do his very best to take care of you all!" Ingo announced, "Don't worry, he is a great warden!"

"Goodbye! Thank you for meeting me!" Emmet added.

"I'll be back later today!" Hectar said.

"See you all some other time!" Akari exclaimed.

"Byyee!" Rei chimed in.

"Do keep an eye on that egg." Ingo told Lady Sneasler and Hectar as they left. Sneasler made some clicking noises in response, as she understood. Hectar nodded.

Once they were outside, they stopped at the exit of Sneasler's seat.

"So, you're coming with us to the Temple? For sure?" Ingo asked the Noble.

Sneasler made a trilling noise. She was sure.

Ingo smiled and nodded, "Alright then! We need to visit clan grounds in the Alabaster Icelands first, and then we will make haste for the Temple? Everyone on board?"

Sneasler trilled. 

"Yes, sir!" Hectar answered.

"Absolutely!" Akari replied

"Of course!" Rei responded.

"Yup!" Emmet said simply.

"Good!" Ingo stated, "Let's go!"

Soon, the group made it to the Pearl Settlement in the Alabaster Icelands. Sneasler was certainly helpful in getting them there faster. 

Irida was waiting at the entrance of the Settlement. She waved at Ingo and the others when they gave into view, the group returning the gesture.

"Good morning, Lady Irida. Thank you for waiting for us!" Ingo spoke.

"No need to thank me," Irida replied, "I have the people gathered if you wish to make any announcements. I'll at least be making a few."

"That's great, actually! I would like to make a few announcements, as well." Ingo turned to the others.

"Is it okay if you all accompany us in the announcements? If needed?"

All of them seemed to respond in the affirmative.

Ingo nodded, before turning back to Irida.

"We're ready."

Irida nodded and walked into the Settlement. Ingo and the others heard mumbling and whispering as they followed Irida towards the hot springs, where the announcements would be held. 

Irida stepped onto one of the rocks by the hotsprings, Ingo, Emmet, Akari, Rei and Hectar standing to the side.

"Attention! Thank you all for gathering here today." Irida spoke, "We're here this morning because I have important news, and there are things you must hear from a few others as well."

"As you all know, Warden Ingo appeared here mysteriously one day. Warden Ingo has been looking into his origins more lately. As you may also know, his brother, Emmet, appeared here just yesterday by similar means." Irida continued, "Emmet has made claims that he got help from Dialga and Palkia to come here, and wishes to bring Ingo to their origin world. Ingo has agreed to go temporarily. Emmet will soon be tested when we leave for the Temple of Sinnoh. Warden Ingo will now make an announcement regarding these important manners and their details."

Irida stepped down, Ingo stepping up after her. Ingo waved up Emmet, Hectar and Lady Sneasler, who stepped up beside him. Ingo faced the crowd before him.

"Greetings, everyone! Thank you for coming to listen to me today. As Irida said, I have a few important things to say." Ingo explained, gesturing to Emmet, "As you all have been told, this is my twin brother, Emmet. He wishes to bring me home to my origin world, and I wish to go for a while. My trip will not be permanent– if change occurs, I will do my best to make sure it goes smoothly! In my origin world, I will be recovering my memories and learning about my origin world and myself."

Ingo glanced at Hectar and Lady Sneasler. He continued.

"It may also be known that I have been training a successor to my role as Lady Sneasler's Warden. As far as I have planned, I will not be giving up my role as Warden any time soon, but I need someone to help me in situations like this- and there's no harm in preparing for things early, right?"

Ingo turned and nodded at Hectar, who nodded back and turned to the crowd. 

"Thank you all. It is an honor to be Warden Ingo's predecessor, and one of Lady Sneasler's caretakers."

Lady Sneasler made content trilling and clicking noises, flicking her feather away. 

Ingo once again faced the crowd. He began speaking once more.

"I will say, that I believe that this announcement is the last time I will be here at the clan for a while. I believe Emmet is telling the truth. And if not..then I will face the consequences of my actions." Ingo stated, "But! I will treat the end of this announcement true to my beliefs. Everything will be well; I hope you can trust me and my words. So I end this announcement with a farewell until I return and take care. All of you have our thanks!"

"Emmet, can you step down for a few moments? We are about to perform the ceremony." Ingo said

"Of course." Emmet replied with a nod before stepping down and off of the rocks, Irida stepping back up onto them.

"With that, let us perform a short ceremony to celebrate Hectar's newfound status as Warden Ingo's successor."

Ingo, Hectar and Lady Sneasler stepped onto the rocks with Irida. The crowd, along with Emmet, watched intently as the ceremony was performed. It consisted of a few small rituals, mostly symbolic vows important to the completion of the ceremony. 

At the very end, Ingo placed a small bracelet on Hectar's wrist. It wasn't as patterned or large as Ingo's, but it definitely served as an indicator of Hectar's new role.

And with that, Hectar, Irida, Ingo, and even Lady Sneasler all took a bow.

"It is done. We all welcome Hectar as Ingo's successor, and our dear Noble Sneasler's future Warden." Irida stated.

After another exchange of words– including Hectar's thanks– him, Ingo and Sneasler dispersed back off the rocks.

Irida turned to once again face the crowd,

"And there you have it. Warden Ingo will be leaving now, and I must accompany him. I will not be gone for long." Irida stated, "Do not worry. You can trust us, as Warden and Leader. Take care of yourselves. You may all go now."

The crowd murmured again, but seemed mostly content. They slowly dispersed from the hot springs. 

Irida stepped down and faced the others. 

"Thank you for letting me say what I wanted, even if you didn't necessarily like it." Ingo spoke to Irida.

"I am not mad, or disappointed," Irida replied, "I suppose I'm just..worried."

"You don't have to worry. I know I have no proof of that but..I'll say it anyway."

"I appreciate that. Truly, I do."

"I would like to thank you, as well, Miss Irida." Emmet stated.

Irida gave Emmet a smile and simply nodded.

Rei commented, "Do we have anything else to do? Or should we finally make our way to the Temple of Sinnoh?"

Nobody objected to the idea.

"Alright then, we should get going." Irida said, "Akari, why don't you lead the way?"

Akari smiled and nodded, "To the Temple of Sinnoh we go! Is everybody ready?"

The others all answered in the positive.

With that, Akari turned to face the direction they would walk, then announced;

"Let's go!"

Eventually, the group finally got to the Temple of Sinnoh. It was high up on the mountains, the structure broken and worn after the arrival of Palkia and Dialga while they were frenzied.

Now, it was a silent place, its pillars piercing the sky.

Everyone else was already waiting; Adaman, Zisu and Cyllene.

They stood near the center, Akari and the others approaching them. 

"So, shall we begin? There's not much to say." Cyllene remarked, "We all know why we're here."

Irida conveyed, "Hectar, Lady Sneasler, follow me, please."

Hectar and Lady Sneasler did as they were told, walking with Irida to stand near a broken pillar opposite of where Adaman stood, Cyllene and Zisu near yet another.

Rei and Akari decided to approach Zisu and Cyllene; They were more used to Jubilife Village, after all.

"I'm going to stay near Emmet." Ingo proclaimed. No one objected, although Ingo felt as if they weren't the fondest of his decision.

"Emmet needs the Orbs to summon Dialga and Palkia." Rei exclaimed. 

"Right." Akari replied, facing Adaman and Irida, who nodded in approval. Akari nodded back and approached Emmet, reaching in her satchel and taking out the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs. Emmet's heart began racing upon the sight of them; This was it.

"Here. Now it's time to let Dialga and Palkia decide what should happen next." Akari spoke as she handed the Orbs to Emmet.

Emmet nodded and took the Orbs, "Yup. Thank you verrry much."

Akari stepped back and returned to the pillar she had been standing at before. 

Ingo stuck to his word and stood beside Emmet, although making sure to take a few steps back, as he was unsure what would happen.

"I will begin now." Emmet stated. No one objected.

In response to that, Emmet carefully placed the Orbs on the ground in front of the center, to the left and the right. He then returned to the center.

Emmet then spoke, loud and clear.

"Dialga and Palkia! I have arrived in Hisui, just as I said I would, and as you sent me to! Not only that, I have found my brother, Ingo! Not everything is as I thought it would be; Some good, some bad." Emmet exclaimed, "Ingo and I wish to go home, for a temporary amount of time. The people of Hisui are skeptical of me and my claims of your aid to me- and so I am summoning you here, both to prove myself and ask something of you!"

Emmet's speech echoed through the air before vanishing. His heart rate went up. Ingo stiffened. For a moment, they both felt fear; What if they didn't show up at all?

Then, the ground and sky began to rumble. Yelps and other sounds of surprise came from everyone standing at the Temple. Then, two massive portals formed in front of the Orbs, which now began to vanish. Emmet smiled wide and Ingo's eyes sparkled. 

And then, the gods of Space and Time stepped through the portals, making their appearance onto the Temple. The portals closed behind them.

Everyone stared in awe. Adaman, Irida, and Hectar got on their knees, bowing to their lords. 

"..Humans." The voices of Palkia and Dialga echoed in Emmet and everyone else's heads. 

"You have summoned the Gods of Space and Time to this Temple."

Before anyone could speak, the legends' voices boomed again.

"Emmet. You have summoned us here."

"Yes. I told you why, but I ask that you allow some of the others to speak."

Emmet faced Ingo, who blinked, surprised. But then he nodded, seemingly knowing what he would say.

Ingo stepped forward, beside Emmet.

"Dialga, Palkia. My brother summoned you here for two reasons; But first things first…" Ingo continued, "Emmet has claimed to all of us that he had your aid to come here and search for me. I believe him with all my heart and soul, but others want your confirmation of his truth. Please, I ask you to give us your answer."

Dialga and Palkia were quiet for a moment, scanning the people who stood upon the Temple. Ingo became nervous, but tried to shake it off. Surely, they were thinking of what to say.

Then, they heard their voices again.

"..The truth he speaks indeed. And it seems his determination has not wavered between different spaces and times."

Emmet and Ingo felt multiple tons of weights lift off their shoulders. The others looked shocked.

"So it's true!" Rei exclaimed, "I knew I could believe in you guys!"

Ingo smiled at Emmet, who smiled back at him. They were both immensely happy.

"You have summoned us here," Dialga and Palkia spoke again, "you said, for two reasons. You have spoken one- what is the other?"

"Dialga and Palkia, much of my memory is missing, but my heart still remembers; Even without the memories, I know that Emmet is my brother, and I know I have a home from where and when he came." Ingo explained, "He wants to bring me there, and I wish to go, for a temporary amount of time. After that time is over, we both wish to return here."

Finally, Irida spoke up, "..Can that be arranged?"

"It can," Dialga and Palkia answered, "we can bring Emmet and Ingo to their world of origin, and when their amount of time is over, we will pull them back here. How much time do they request?"

"Two months and a half." Cyllene answered.

"That can be done."

Suddenly, the Temple shook again, and a single portal opened in front of Ingo and Emmet.

"This is your way home."

"It's that easy, huh…?" Irida articulated, "So I guess you won't be having to go back."

Ingo shook his head, "No. But…before I go forward; Thank you, all of you. Some people would be cruel, and not let me go at all…I thank you for giving Emmet and I a chance."

"Yup, yup!" Emmet exclaimed, "Thank you all so, so verrry much!"

He sounded genuine.

The others replied with their affirmations in response to the brothers' gratefulness.

Akari and Rei ran up to Ingo and hugged him, Ingo laughing. He returned the gesture, glancing at Lady Sneasler and Irida, smiling. Sneasler trilled, Irida smiling in return as they walked over to Ingo, Akari and Rei stepping back. Ingo and Irida shared a hug, Irida stepping away after a moment, before Lady Sneasler licked Ingo on his forehead and patted him with her claws, Ingo laughing and giving her a hug as well, along with some pats on her head. 

Ingo and Sneasler ended their gestures to each other before stepping back.

"I will be going now. Once again, thank you all so much. We're both eternally grateful."

"The trip through the portal will cause unconsciousness." Dialga and Palkia spoke to Ingo and Emmet alone, "Do not worry. You will awaken in a familiar place, and no damage will occur. Do you both still wish to go?"

Ingo then turned to Emmet. They both nodded at each other, then at the legendary Pokémon.

"Then, take your step."

Ingo turned to Emmet again, who turned back to Ingo.

-

"Ready?" Ingo asked.

"Ready as I will ever be!" Emmet replied.

Emmet reached out his hand. Ingo smiled and took it.

Emmet started, "On one.."

"Two.." Ingo continued,

"Three!"

In sync, the twin brothers jumped into the portal that would lead them to home, which closed behind them. And as they drifted off into unconsciousness almost immediately, for some reason they wondered.

What would the realm of dreams offer them this time?

Chapter 17 (part 2 of 2)

Chapter 19 (part 1 of 2)

[chaos-in-deepspace]

Alright let's get some things cleared up because you are so freaking dead set on being right, and I personally don't feel like interacting with you after this. So you can go ahead and argue your points all you want, and imma argue mine. This is the internet, people are allowed to say what they want, but let's go ahead and discuss a few things you pointed out in a diplomatic manor.

It flags autistic writers

Hi, nice you meet you, I'm on the spectrum. I'm autistic. I don't go around letting everyone know because it's none of their damn business, but I'm letting you know now. Despite this, my content didn't get flagged in the slightest. One of the other people I ran through? Came out clean despite being on the spectrum as well. And while sure, some things might get flagged as AI because all brains word differently, there's a big difference in something getting flagged at a 10% AI, and a 80% AI.

At 10% ya, it's probably just their tone, but above 50% it's suspicious, getting to 80% is insane. You saw in the video I used a bot to write. It didn't even score that high. If your really wanna sit here and tell me that they're not using AI, maybe they're just autistic, then go ahead. I'm not fucking buying it though.

Tone Policing

In case you were unaware what tone policing it, you can go ahead and read this.

I came on here with a video explaining everything in a calm manner and giving facts and evidence. You, however, came onto my blog, reblogged my mutuals things, all while disregarding the logic of the content that I showed. All for what? If anyone is tone policing, it's you. I'm mad, yes, and you took that and decided I was just ranting and witch hunting to be a dick, which I'm not. This is an issue in every fucking fandom at the moment, this is just the one I'm currently in so this is where I'm noticing it.

AI Detectors Don't Work

They do, that's the thing. They work. They're used in businesses, they're used in for education, and they can be used for anyone. Some of them use patters to detect AI, some of them use algorithms, and some of them can read other AI languages and figure out where it came from.

Are they always accurate? Absolutely not. But when you run several things through one by a single writer and all of them come up as AI, then you run something that say, you wrote and know it isn't AI, and it comes out as 0%, there can be an issue there. I use this detector because I ran it through several tests. The one in the video sure as hell wasn't the first time I tested it. I did several different runs in the past of using Janitor, C.ai, ChatGPT, just to see how accurate it is, while also getting original content from myself and others. Any time AI was involved, it detected. Any time it was written by a human, it was a 0%.

Teachers using detectors

Wanna know why they have to use detectors? Because of AI "writers". It is a problem everywhere. Now that we have AI that can pump out 1k words in less than five minutes, people have been using and abusing it.

Sure it sucks if a student gets flagged and they didn't, but in academia they don't just tell a student it's wrong and fail them. They look into it. Which is what I did. I looked into it. I didn't just find someone's writing and run it through then pointed a finger. I looked into that shit.

The person in the video? Wanna know the first sign for me that something was off? The style changed. I read their works in the past and it was different. You can go to their blog and read their older stuff, then their latest stuff. It's different. The second sign? I read it and it came off as AI written. It felt off. So I checked it, and my intuition was right. So I then checked their other stuff after.

Personally I can't say anything when it comes to how fast someone pumps out a fic. I can write 3k words in an hour. I'm a fast writer, and I know I'm not the only one, but seeing so many people suddenly posting so much stuff rapidly. I know I'm an anomaly with my writing speed from years of people telling me this, so seeing everyone writing at the same speed was a bit suspicious.

"The model learns statistical patterns."

So do AI checkers. They learn models and statistical patterns, the same ones the bots use. It's how it can tell it's a bit.

"Your friend likely wrote some prompts for c.ai."

Hey, he's my friend too. First off he uses Janitor, and I dunno if you ever made a Janitor bot, but there's categories for different sections! There's the personality, scenario, initial message, and dialogue.

You can make a super detailed bot, or a super simple one. Our friend decided to make a complex bot, using about 4k words in total for everything.

In the initial message the bot will try to keep their writing style, at least for a good amount of messages, the same. As well as the example dialogue. That means if you put in your writing style for that initial message and all the example dialogues, the bot will write in a similar fashion to you. It's how he could tell, because the fics were a lot like his writing style.

It also made sense because, until he took it down, if you typed "Doctor Zayne" onto Janitor, his was the most popular.

So ya, he doesn't use C.ai, and he used hella tokens in Janitor to make that bot write like him, and it did. It also gave long responses. Long enough to make an entire fic out of it.

Shaming People into not posting again

Actually yes, yes I am. I'm shaming people who are using Ai for their writing and claiming it as their own to stop posting. Or at least own up to the fact that they used AI in their writing.

If you don't want to be called out on using AI for your writing, then don't do it. We can tell when you do. Just don't do it. It's such a simple solution that you seem to be overlooking. People should feel shame honestly because we learned in elementary school that plagiarism is bad, but here are with all these AI fics.

"Fanfic is supposed to be about fun and exploring your own creativity."

That's why I'm so pissed about this. It is supposed to be fun, and in your own words, exploring your own creativity. Where the hell is your own creativity in using bots? It's not there. Using Ai isn't creative, instead it's stealing the creativity of others.

If you wanna use a bot, go ahead, but don't post it and say you wrote it. Write your own fics.

"This post tries to dress up harassment as community protection is twisted."

I'm not trying to protect a community, I'm not some damn guardian. I'm calling people out on using AI. This isn't some moral high ground right now, I don't think I'm better than others. I'm mad that people are claiming their writing is their own when we can tell a mile away a bot wrote it.

We're allowed to see things in different lights. You say I'm harassing people, I say I'm informing people of an issue that I see often. You think you're defending people who don't use AI when it's proven they do, I say you're being complacent to spare feelings when this is an issue. You're defending AI writers. There's two sides right now, people who use are fine with AI being used in writing, and people who are fed up. I'm fed up. I'm putting myself out there, knowing full well the backlash I can receive, and I'm still doing it because somebody fucking has to.

Our Right To Do This

Welcome to the internet! If you put out content, it's allowed to be criticized. It's allowed to be checked out for AI. Just like how you have the right to reblog my post and call me a bully, I have the right to call out those who use AI. This isn’t a conversation about the ethics of AI, it’s a conversation about using AI in your writing and not saying anything.

I think I've said enough, and honestly I'm done conversing with you. I doubt anything I've said will even register in your mind, nor do I care if it does. I've said my peace with you and I'll leave it be.

AI Call Out Because I'm Tired

So anyway, @wh1msic4lwasab1 recently posted a fic that popped up at 91% AI written, (which was only checked because one of my buddies can spot Ai writing anywhere and let me know). She then went ahead and claimed it was from Chegg and Grammarly, so I decided to make a video recording of checking things,

Mind you, in this video I put a timer in it so you can see there's no cuts. I sped parts up so it wasn't a 30 minute video, but you can see here that it's AI written.

And she's not the only one. There's been so many people using AI lately to write fics. If myself or one of my friends suspects a fic being written by AI, we tend to check it out. We're now compiling a list with recordings of going through and checking for AI and we'll be posting it once we have it, and yes it'll be a growing list.

I just don't understand why everyone is so chill with this. There was a huge uproar when people began doing generative artworks and it became something we shamed since it was stealing the work of others, and took no talent to do. This is the same thing. People are doing the same thing, but since it's harder to tell with writing, we're just letting it happen? Absolutely not.

Writing is a skill like any other. It takes time, patience, and creativity to do. There's a reason it's a job. Using AI to write your content is so disgusting. Just take the time to write it yourself. You don't know how to write? Then learn. Take the time and learn.

I'd have more respect if people at least said they used a bot to write their content, but we all know they won't because people don't want to read that.

I'm just fed up with all of this. Is it for likes and reblogs? Clout? Hustle culture? Guys wtf we're writing fan content, who cares how many likes you're getting. You should be doing this for fun, not for people to pat you on the back.

Do better.

Special thanks you: @zayne-li @starfallforest @loveanddeepgays and catgurltea (AO3) for allowing me to run their fics through an Ai checker to prove this point.

[harringtonisms]

people like us

pairing: steve harrington / eddie munson summary: Five times Amanda Driscoll hears about Mr. Harrington’s wife and the One time she realizes it’s his husband. warnings: some angst in #4 and a slight coming out (to herself) arc, hinted at homophobia (nothing explicit) word count: 7.5k a/n: (10/18/2023): a little after a year from the original post date, i decided to go back and edit it. it's still the same story any rereaders know, but all the little plot holes and issues have been fixed and there's 200 more words to read! thank you for reading <3

(og note): this is based off of this post i made! i will be doing a second part to this that follows eddie's bandmates and meeting steve! i hope you enjoy and any feedback, likes, reblogs, comments, ask, are all appreciated!

Read it on AO3

taglist: @zed-zeppeli @valenschmidt @expectocrucio @rel312 @jonathanbyersbbg @beeing-stuupid @ataztuv @noahzanehethey @ludabug @mavernanche @casualherolightbailiff @purplebellybell @phenomenal-bird @persephone13 @gleefully-macabre @darkqloszed @the-baby-goblin @aryanightshade @jojobeaner @specialagentslut-24 @goodomensgurl

1.  Monday, August 21st, 1995

Amanda was not one to be late, especially on the first day of school. Her steps echoed in the empty hallway as she rushed to her first period class. In one hand she held a tardy slip. In the other was a ripped piece of notebook paper detailing her homeroom class in smudged blue ink. 

Mr. Harrington

 U.S. History

Room 114

Having lived in Hawkins her whole life, she’d been attending the same middle school her older sister and both parents attended. This made her rather familiar with the staff at Hawkins Middle and yet she hadn’t recognized Mr. Harrington’s name. Reaching her classroom, she grabbed the handle and pushed it open. 

All the desks were arranged in groups of four and there were four groups. Hanging from the ceiling, were pieces of laminated paper designating each desk group a number. The walls were covered in different iconic historical quotes, maps of the worlds, and black and white photos of people Amanda assumed were important. On her teacher’s desk was a small globe, a pencil cup, and a clay pot full of various origamis. Her teacher was leaning against his desk, in the middle of a speech when he was interrupted by the squeak of the door being opened. All eyes landed on Amanda and she squirmed under her peers' watchful gaze. She walked shyly over to Mr. Harrington and handed him her pass. 

“Ah, Amanda! Welcome to U.S. History. Uh, here! Grab a syllabus and there’s a free seat at table two! I’m just telling the class a bit about myself.” He smiled politely at her, and motioned toward table two. At table two, Mary and Lj were sitting on the same side, facing the windows, so Amanda chose the seat across from Lj. She quietly sat her stuff down and paid attention to what her teacher was saying. 

“Like I was saying, I was born and raised in Hawkins. I walked these very same halls you did once before! It’s actually where I met my current partner, I just didn’t know it at the time. I started at Ivy Tech college before I transferred to Indiana State Teachers College to get my degree. I lived in Chicago with my spouse for a few years and taught at the local high school, before we moved back this past summer to take care of their dad and here we are! I’m also the coach for the basketball team so information about try-outs will go up soon. Now, enough about me. If you’d take a look at your syllabus…”

Mr. Harrington’s voice faded into ambient noise in the background as she looked around her classroom. He’d met his wife right here in this building, and he didn’t even know it at the time. The person Amanda would marry could be sitting right in front of her and she’d never know until she was finally with them. She glanced around and her eyes landed on Louise-Jane Brooks, or Lj as she was typically called. Amanda immediately looked away, a fierce blush painting her cheeks the same color as her hair. That happened almost every time she looked at Lj. How weird is it that someone she’s known since kindergarten made her so nervous? The sun fitted itself through the blinds behind Amanda and illuminated Lj, like she had her own personal spotlight shining down on her. Brown skin, long braids, deep dark eyes turned to honey, and freckles left over from summer time glittered underneath the light and it stirred up something within Amanda that her mind had trouble reconciling with.

“Any questions?” Mr. Harrington’s voice cut through the Lj related fog in Amanda’s mind and her hand immediately shot up.

“You said you met your wife in middle school. How did you know she was the one?” Amanda forced her eyes to stay on Mr. Harrington despite the strange urge to look back at Lj. 

“Well I didn’t know I’d marry them in middle school. I didn’t know that I’d marry them until way after college. We met in middle school. We were desk partners in our science class and they taught me how to make origami out of our homework sheets.” He picked up the little clay pot on his desk and pulled out what looked like a pencil. “They made me this little pencil for my first day teaching here.” He returned the origami pencil and the clay pot back to their spot on his desk and looked back out toward his students. “Are there any other questions?...No? Alright we’re gonna head down to the library and grab your textbooks so line up!” 

A symphony of chairs screeching against the ground and whispering voices erupted as the students lined up by the door. Much to the delight of Amanda, Lj ended up in front of her. Lj was wearing a baby pink dress with white polka dots and white flats. Amanda tapped Lj’s shoulder and waited for her to turn. She turned and Amanda had to ignore the warmth in her cheeks as she spoke.

“I like your dress!” Lj’s smile grew in response to Amanda’s compliment.

“Thank you, Amy. It has pockets!” and she stuck her hands into the pockets of the dress to show them to Amanda. Amanda went to say something but the line had started to move so she kept her response to herself. 

2. Friday, September 15th, 1995

In the weeks that passed, Amanda found herself looking forward to her first period class more and more. Mr. Harrington made learning about history much more fun than her previous teachers had. Though they had to check out the textbooks in the library provided by the state, Mr. Harrington told them to stack them along the window sill and they sat there everyday, untouched. In class, he told them the real history and explained what actually happened, what the textbooks glossed over or lied about. Instead of reading page after page in their textbooks they got to do fun projects creating poster boards, making dioramas, and even creating their own political cartoons. 

Amanda has also been early everyday. She was sitting in her regular seat waiting for class to start, when two boys walked in, talking excitedly about some band she’d never heard of. 

“Did you hear about the first Corroded Coffin show last night in Indianapolis? Apparently people were camping outside the venue for 2 nights to try and score tickets! I want to see them on tour so bad!” Mr. Harrington peaked his head up from the paper he was writing on and joined the boys’ conversation. 

“You guys like Corroded Coffin? I know those guys, we all went to high school together.” Mr. Harrington said. He looked off to the side, brows furrowed as he thought about something. “Maybe I can ask them to come for career day in October?”

The two boys gasped excitedly and started asking their teachers questions about the band and how he met them. Mary, who sat diagonally across from Amanda, sighed. Amanda watched, Mary, who had her head in her hands, gazing dreamily at Mr. Harrington. 

“Isn’t he just so handsome, Amanda?” Mary said, turning to look at her. Amanda wrinkled her nose in response. Sure, Mr. Harrington wasn’t ugly but she couldn’t see what it was about him that made all the girls trip over themselves. No matter if they were in the cafeteria during lunch or in the library for study hall, she was subject to hearing theories of what Mr. Harrington’s wife looked like, and whispers of ‘She’s so lucky’. Amanda didn’t get any of it. Still, she wanted to fit in, so she pretended. He wore the same style glasses that she did, so at least she could compliment him without lying. To herself or her classmates.

“Um, I like his glasses.” She replied. Avoiding Mary’s piercing gaze, she decided pulling her pencil bag out was a smart move. 

“I don’t know, Amy,” Lj said, looking up from her book. “I think Miss. Rosario is prettier than Mr. Harrington. She would never come to school with her shirt so wrinkled.” Lj glanced at Mr. Harrington once more before going back to her book. Mary flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder, before she raised her hand. Next to her, Amanda’s eyes were glued to Lj. Miss Rosario was pretty. Super pretty. If everyone was talking about that, she’d understand one hundred percent. She forced herself to look away when Mr. Harrington started speaking. 

“Yes, Mary?” 

“You don’t normally come to school with your shirt so wrinkled. Why today?” She asked. Mr. Harrington looked down at his shirt and inspected the wrinkles and huffed. He was wearing a plain blue and white striped polo, and jeans since it was a friday. 

“Thank you…for pointing that out, Mary. For your information, normally my partner irons my shirts every morning while I make breakfast, but they’ll be away for the next month on a work trip, and I was in a rush and forgot to do it.” He walked back around behind his desk and grabbed the hawkins middle hoodie that was hanging on the back of his desk chair and put it on. “There, Now no one can see the wrinkles.” He raised his eyebrows, as if to say ‘is this okay’ and Mary nodded as she giggled

“Why does your wife always iron your shirts? Why don’t you iron your own shirts and she makes breakfast?” Janet asked. 

“Well, Janet, if you must know, they like to pick out my clothes, and I’m the only one who can cook so it just works out.” Mr. Harrington replied. A few awws came from the crowd and he waved them away. “Yes, it’s all very sweet and domestic and all that jazz. Now, who can tell me where we left off yesterday.” 

 3. Tuesday, October 3rd, 1995

“Yo, Mr. H, what’s that thing on your nose?” It was right before class began, and Mr. Harrington had just turned around from writing their new essay prompt on the board. Right in the center of his face was a scratch, from the bridge of his nose to underneath his eye. Amanda was by the door, sharpening her pencil for the lesson.

“Well Good Morning to you too, Gerald. That thing on my nose is a scratch. My partner came home for the weekend and we ended up adopting some kittens last night. Three of them actually, so in the whole mess of transporting 3 kittens back to our home…” He gestured to his face and then shrugged. 

“What did you name the kittens?” A voice said from the back. 

“Sabbath, Kirk, and Abba.” His lips pursed, as if he was trying to suppress his smile. 

“Why those names?” Amanda asked before she could stop herself. She recognized Abba because her older sister was always blasting it through her walkman, but the other two names were unfamiliar. She assumed they probably also had to do with music but she wasn't sure what they were references to. 

“Well Sabbath and Kirk are nods to my partners favorite bands. The last cat was named Abba because I occasionally play them and my partner loves to tease me for it. Says I need to be introduced to ‘real music’.” Mr. Harrington had an exasperated look on his face, but you could hear the fondness in his voice as he talked about his partner. He glanced over at his origami pot, which Amanda noted now had a black cat added to it. She spun to walk back to her desk with her newly sharpened pencils when Lj walked into class, beating the bell by a few seconds and immediately caught Amanda’s attention.

“Woah, Amy! You wore your hair down today?” Lj said, and stopped when she saw the redhead by the door. Amanda typically kept her hair in a ponytail and her bangs neatly trimmed just above her eyebrows to keep her curls from falling into her face while she worked. Today though, she had a black and white striped headband settled behind her bangs, the rest of her curly hair falling down to her shoulders. “I really like it like this. You look extra pretty.” Lj offered her a small smile and made her way to her seat. Amanda's hand flew to her hair and her jaw fell open a bit, eyes tracking Lj’s movements as she walked away. 

Lj thought she was extra pretty with her hair down. Extra. Like she always thought Amanda was pretty, but with her hair down…she was more, pretty. Additionally pretty. Especially pretty. Her gaze slowly left Lj and landed on Mr. Harrington who was watching her with an expression on his face that she couldn’t quite place. He shook his head in amusement and then pointed to her desk with his chin. It took her feet a few seconds to catch up with her brain and move, but she made it to her seat. As she sat down, Gerald called out to her teacher.

“Wait Mr. H, I’m confused. Why did y’all get 3 kitties in the first place?” Mr. Harrington sighed and ran a hand down his face, wincing when he made contact with the scratch. 

“We couldn’t separate the siblings. Or, my partner didn’t want to separate them and…who am I to stop them. So we got three kittens.” His eyes widened like he still couldn’t believe it. 

“Will you bring them in so we can meet them?” Kendra asked hopefully. Amanda knew she wanted to be a veterinarian so it made sense that she’d ask. That was the cool thing about going to school with the same kids all her life. She knew so many little things about them and what their aspirations were. Gerald was out of this world smart so he’d decided he would either be a lawyer or a doctor, whichever paid more. Mary wanted to be a famous actress, Janet loved science, and Lj was a writer like no other. 

Amanda imagined hanging out with Lj in the future. Lj as a world famous journalist for the New York Times and Amanda working somewhere with numbers. They would both live in New York because Lj would want a friend there and they’ll live in the same apartment to save money and they’ll share a room because what if it’s lonely and she’ll get to wake up to Lj and fall asleep with Lj and grocery shop with Lj and

Amanda sat up straighter in her seat and shook her head as if to shake those thoughts out of her mind. She reminded herself to leave those types of thoughts to when she was alone and tuned back into the ongoing conversation.

“Sorry Kendra, can’t do that. I have a kid in my third and seventh period classes with allergies to fur.”

“What if your wife brings them, and then after this class period, she takes them back home?” Someone else suggested. Mr. Harrington chuckled to himself and dropped his head, letting it hang for a moment.

“That won’t be possible, they’re on a work trip, remember. Maybe I’ll bring a picture in so you all can see.” He offered, looking around to see if that would appease his students. 

“But we want to see your wife! You’re always talking about her!” That comment came from Mary. Mr. Harrington laughed again and Amanda wondered what was so funny. 

“Ok ok, I see what’s going on here. You’re trying to get me to talk about my personal life so we don’t start those essays today huh? Unluckily for you, I was a student once so I know all your tricks! Come on, let’s get class started.” A few tried to protest, but eventually they grabbed their notebooks and flipped to fresh pages. 

As Amanda worked, her hair continued to fall into her face. She resisted the urge to tie it back into its signature ponytail, instead opting to tuck her hair behind her ear constantly. Louise-Jane Brooks thinks Amanda Driscoll is extra pretty with her hair down and Amanda decided it was normal to want another girl to think she’s pretty, so she kept her hair down.

 4. Friday, October 13th, 1995

“Mr. Harrington, what was high school like for you?” 

That day, the eighth grade class had a field trip to the high school now that their first marking period was nearly over. The class was pretty chatty now that they were back in their classroom waiting for the dismissal bell to ring. They were all standing around Mr. Harrington’s desk, a few sitting on the student desks behind them. They quieted down when they heard the question asked. 

“I was pretty popular in high school, was co-captain of the swim team, fought some monsters, skipped prom, then I graduated and met the love of my life.” Mr. Harrington was staring upwards, like he was checking off an imaginary list in his mind. Immediately, a gaggle of questions were shouted out at him. His eyes widened in shock and he put his hands up in surrender. “Woahhh guys, one a time, let me see some hands. McKenzie, what’s your question?”

“I thought you met your wife in middle school?” A few ‘yeah’s came from the group as they recalled what Mr. Harrington told them on the first day of class. 

“That is technically right. I did meet them in middle school and we were friends for that science class we shared. Then we drifted apart until after I graduated. We reconnected during the whole fighting monsters thing after high school and ever since then it’s been me and them.”

“What do you mean by fighting monsters?” Another person asked. Mr. Harrington only shrugged. His arms, which were hanging down by his sides, wrapped around his stomach. “Whatever you think it means, Kevin.”

“He’s probably talking about some game or movie,” Someone commented from the back of the group to their friend. Mr. Harrington didn’t acknowledge them, only staring out the window. The kids begin to break off into separate conversation when the bell rings to dismiss for the day. 

“Hey Amy,” Lj said, approaching her as the crowd started to disperse and leave Amanda, Lj, and their teacher behind. Mr. Harrington yelled out a ‘See you tomorrow and made good decisions!’ as he sat back behind his desk. The two girls were standing in the aisle between table one and table two, a few feet from the front of Mr. Harrington’s desk. She noticed her teacher start to look for something on his desk. 

“I’m surprised you’re still here, normally you're first out the door.” She commented. Amanda smiled at the thought of Lj paying that much attention to her.

“I have Chess Club afterschool today so my mom will get me at four. I don’t have to catch the bus.” Lj hummed in acknowledgement before speaking again.

“So…I just moved to a new house, and I finally finished decorating my room. If it’s okay with your mom, my mom said I could invite people over now.” Lj had a delicate smile on her face as her fingers played with the hem of her t-shirt before being stuffed into the pockets of her jeans.

“Um, yeah of course! I’d love to! How do I tell you if my mom said it’s ok?” Amanda said, smiling so widely she knew her cheeks would ache later. 

“Uhhhh,” Lj looked around, before taking a few steps and grabbing a marker out of Mr. Harrington’s pencil cup. Amanda trailed behind her. Lj grabbed Amanda’s arm and wrote down a series of numbers on her forearm. Amanda could see that Mr. Harrington was now fumbling for something within his desk. Lj let her hand fall from Amanda’s forearms to her hand. 

“There. That’s my home phone number, just call me when you ask your mom! I hope she says yes. I got this jewelry making kit so we can like, make bracelets and stuff! Bye, Amy! Call me! Even if you can't come over!” Lj squeezed Amanda’s hand before letting go and walking out the classroom. 

Amanda was rooted in her spot, the path LJ’s fingers took burned into her skin. Having feelings for Lj had gone from manageable to completely unbearable from that one interaction. How was she supposed to walk around everyday not aching to touch her again? To feel the weight of Lj’s hand in hers and have her small, kind, infectious smile directed at Amanda. Her fingers traced the numbers on her arm as she reimagined her Saturday plans. She was shaken from her daydream when a throat cleared. Her head snapped to the source of the noise, and she met eyes with Mr. Harrington. Realizing he watched that entire interaction, her smile dropped. She knew exactly what he was thinking. It was the same things her parents whispered in the kitchen when they thought she was asleep in the living room.

“That wasn’t what it looked like. I don’t have a crush on Lj.” Mr. Harrington only raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. 

“I…I didn’t say you did.” He replied. 

Amanda’s cheeks burned a deep red as she realized he didn’t say that. He didn’t say anything. She assumed she knew what he was thinking and just dug herself into a hole. She looked away embarrassed, feeling the burn of restrained tears behind her eyes. She’d just come to terms herself with what those feelings inside her meant. She wasn’t ready to deal with what it meant to openly like girls. But now she’d have to, Mr. Harrington was going to tell her mom. 

“Please don’t tell anyone,” She whispered, looking away when a few tears fell. Mr. Harrington’s eyes widened in shock. He jumped up from his desk, walked around to the front, and kneeled in front of Amanda.

“Hey, hey, hey don't cry. I won’t tell anyone anything you don’t want me to. There’s nothing for me to tell, Amanda. Promise.” He reassured, his hands flailing about in front of him as he spoke. He offered a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before shifting to sit criss-cross in front of his desk, using it to lean on. 

Amanda watched Mr. Harrington as he sat on the floor and made himself comfortable. He looked up at Amanda and patted the spot next to him. She sat down with him, legs stretched into the aisle in front of them and her back pressed up against Mr. Harrington’s desk. She took her glasses off and wiped her eyes, and Mr. Harrington pushed his glasses into his hair and began to speak. 

“If I may ask, what is it… that I'm not telling?” He asked, voice gentle. 

“I don’t think you’d understand.” She said, voice shaky with unshed tears. 

“Maybe…maybe not. But you never know unless you tell me. If you want to, of course.” He said as he watched Amanda carefully.

“How do you feel about your wife?” She asked him, finger aimlessly prodding at the linoleum floors. 

“My partner is the best gift that I could have ever been given. They’re the most gorgeous person I’ve ever laid my eyes on. The kindest, most compassionate, and genuine person I know. And they’re hilarious, they make me laugh like never before. I used to dread going home, but now that they’re there, I can’t wait to get back to them everyday. Everything leads back to them, and I’m never not thinking about them, or missing them, or loving them. They are the center of my universe and every planet surrounding it.” 

The two sat in silence for a moment after. Amanda wondered what it would be like to love a girl so fully. To love a girl so much that her mere presence made the stars shine brighter and air seem crisper. To love a girl, and be free to tell anyone who asked. 

“I want,” she started. “I want to be allowed to feel that way about a girl.” Amanda nearly whispered the end of her sentence, the force of hearing her voice admit that out loud for the first time knocked the air out of her.

“You are allowed to feel that way about a girl.” Mr. Harrington said, shifting to face Amanda better. She turned to look at him, red rimmed eyes meeting earnest ones. “My best friend and her wife moved to San Francisco so that they could. They’re much more open minded out there. When I lived in Chicago, you heard about people like us out there way more than you did here in Hawkins.” Amanda’s brows knitted in confusion. 

“People like us?” She asked. Mr. Harrington nodded. 

“People like us,” He confirmed. Amanda let the weight of both their confessions settle in the air. Other people felt this way. Mr. Harrington did. And so did his best friend and her wife. And the people in San Francisco and in Chicago. She wasn’t the only person who felt. Amanda let her worries be temporarily soothed by the comfort of knowing she wasn’t a freak or a mistake. She wiped her eyes again, put her glasses back on, and pushed herself off the floor. She looked up at the clock which read 3:12. Chess Club started in three minutes. 

“I have to go, I don’t want to be late…but thank you, Mr. Harrington.” Amanda said, voice quiet. 

“Anytime, Amanda. My door is always open.” And she didn’t doubt that. Not many people in Hawkins knew how she felt, but Mr. Harrington did and that was more than she thought. 

 5. Monday, October 15th, 1995

When Amanda walked into her homeroom class the following day, the first thing she noticed was the new poster up by the chalkboard. It was a plain beige rectangle with rainbow patterned letters, spelling out “YOU ARE SAFE HERE.” Amanda’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes immediately searched for Mr. Harrington, but he was busy talking to one of her classmates. She walked to her seat, reveling in the warmth that grew in her chest from how nice it was to be cared for like this.

As Amanda placed her arm on her desk, she felt the delicious bite of the gems on her bracelet sink into the skin of her wrist. She lifted her wrist to inspect the new jewelry she made with Lj. There were pink, orange, and red beads patterned on her bracelet, while Lj’s had a pink, blue, and purple pattern. Both bracelets however, had “LJ&AMY”. Her right hand came up and she ran her fingers over the beads, and smiled fondly as she remembered her weekend with Lj. Memories of bracelet making, pizza, karaoke, and sharing a banana split sundae filled her mind. Amanda looked ahead of her and saw that Lj was already staring at her. She smiled at her and waved shyly. Lj giggled and waved back. 

“I like your bracelet,” She said, smiling back at Amanda. Amanda stuck her hand wrist out proudly to show off the bracelet Lj helped her make. 

“Why thank you, it’s custom made, one of a kind,” She laughed again, but was interrupted by one of her classmates yelling over the chatter in the classroom. 

“How was your weekend, Mr. H,” Gerald asked. 

“It was pretty good. I went down to Lovers Lake with my partner and they had a picnic set up. It was very sweet. They even made me a flower crown by hand. We also saw some of our friends from back in the day.” He responded.

“Wow, Mr. H, your wife sounds mad sweet.” Gerald responded, his fingers absentmindedly twirling one of his locs. 

“Right,” Kendra piped in from the back corner. “Everytime you say something about her it’s always something so gentle. Like she taught you how to make origami, and she irons your clothes, made you adopt all those cats, now a picnic at Lovers’ Lake and a handmade flower crown? She’s like, the sweetest woman in the world.” Kendra said, recalling all the kind things Mr. Harrington’s partner did for him.

“I wish you guys paid this much attention to what I say when i’m teaching, how did you even remember all of that?” Kendra only shrugs and Mr. Harrington sighs. “Anyways, what about you guys, what did you get up to this weekend?” Immediately Lj’s hand went up and Mr. Harrington called on her. She reached her hand out to Amanda, who immediately clasped her fingers around Lj’s.

“Well Amy came over to my house and we did a bunch of fun stuff like go to the mall and get pizza, but we also made these matching bracelets.” Lj then stuck their conjoined hands in the air so their classmates could see the bracelets, even if it was a bit awkward with all that space between the two girls. 

Amanda’s grin grew impossibly bigger and she looked at Mr. Harrington who raised his brows in pleasant surprise.

“That’s very nice girls, my partner and my best friend have a matching pair of purple converse that they decorated together actually. Janet, what about you? How was your weekend?” Mr. Harrington went on, letting his students tell him all about their weekend before they started class. Amanda couldn’t pay much attention to what her classmates were saying though, savoring every second Lj kept her in hand in Amanda’s.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of weird how Mr. Harrington never just says ‘my wife’?” Mary whispered to her tablemates. Amanda froze for a moment, considering Mary’s words. Lj squeezed Amanda’s hand before letting go and picking up her pencil to take notes since Mr. Harrington was now starting the lesson. Amanda didn’t follow her lead. Instead, she ran back every time Mr. Harrington brought up his wife. 

“Then I lived in Chicago with my spouse for a few years…”

“...normally my partner irons my shirts every morning…”

“Everything leads back to them, and I’m never not thinking about them, or missing them, or loving them.”

Why didn’t Mr. Harrington just say ‘my wife’ instead of ‘my partner’? Why did he always say ‘they’ instead of ‘she’? Amanda’s mind reminded her of their conversation afterschool on friday. 

“When I lived in Chicago, you heard about people like us way more than here in Hawkins.”

People like…us. 

Her eyes darted to the new poster hanging up in their class. You are safe here. Her eyes drifted to Mr. Harrington as the realization dawned on her. Why Mr. Harrington was so specific about how he referred to his partner. Why he didn’t have a picture of them on his desk like her other teachers do. 

Mr. Harrington…doesn’t have a wife. He has a husband.

 +1. Tuesday, October 16th, 1995

It was career fair day so after lunch instead of heading to her algebra class, Amanda met up with Lj in front of the gym to browse all the different jobs that came to present that day. She almost tripped over her feet in excitement once she spotted Lj. She quickened her pace, nearly running over one of the 6th graders. The two girls embraced before linking arms as they walked into the gym together. 

They stopped by the doctor table and the accounting table, and ran past the construction table giggling. They visited the journalism table so Lj could talk with the woman there. She had a short, curly bob and a name tag that read “Miss Wheeler”. Amanda looked around and spotted Mr. Harrington toward the back of the fair talking with another man with unruly, curly hair. The long haired man smiled at Mr. Harrington and knocked the educators shoulder with his own. 

Amanda told Lj she would be right back and headed in their direction. Upon arriving, Mr. Harrington’s friend stepped away from him and approached Amanda. He was wearing a t-shirt that said “The Devil Was Once an Angel” and ripped black jeans. He had many rings on his fingers and various chains hanging off his belt loops. He had multiple tattoos all along his arms and stuck to the front of his chest was a name tag that read “Mr. Munson”.

Looking at his display, she saw a speaker, quietly playing metal music and a black and red electric guitar on a stand next to it. There were pictures of the long haired man on stage with 3 other guys and a notebook open with what looked like song lyrics. Next to the notebook, there were some tickets for a band called ‘Corroded Coffin’. Amanda racked her memory trying to remember why the name sounded familiar. 

“Amanda!” Mr. Harrington greeted. He turned and faced Mr. Munson. “Mr. Munson, this is that student I told you about. Amanda, this is Eddie Munson, lead guitarist, lead vocals, and songwriter for his band.” Mr. Harrington looked at Eddie proudly, and placed a hand on each shoulder, in a weird sort of side hug.

“Thank you for that lovely introduction, Mr. Harrington,” Mr. Munson said, grinning widely. He then turned to Amanda. “What kind of music do you listen to, Red?” He had his hands clasped together, his two pointer fingers pressed against his lips. 

“Uhh, I guess I listen to a lot of pop music. My older sister introduced me to someone called Madonna? I mainly listen to my sister's old tapes so whatever she has,” Amanda responded. 

Mr. Munson gasped, dramatically clutching his hand to his chest where his heart would be. 

“Oh you poor thing! You’re a lost little sheep, just like Stevie here. He only listens to whatever’s on the top 40. AKA, Not. Real. Music.” She giggled and Mr. Munson smiled at her in a way where she knew he was only teasing. Amanda could see Mr. Harrington roll his eyes but smile, as Mr. Munson grabbed the speaker that was on his table. He pulled it closer to the front of the table so she could hear the music playing better. Mr. Munson looked around quickly before whispering to Amanda. “You won’t tell anyone if this song says any bad words will you,” His questioning gaze turned into a devilish grin when Amanda smiled and shook her head. “I knew there was a reason you were his favorite” Her feet tapped in excitement as she glanced quickly to her teacher. 

Mr. Munson turns the music up slightly and lets the heavy bass and electric guitar fill the air around them. 

“That is my band's latest single, ‘Trials’. It’s about some stuff that your teacher and I went through back in high school.” He said.

“You guys knew each other in high school?” Amanda asked, bewildered. How did her polo-wearing, mr. popular, not a hair out of place history teacher become friends with a man so completely different from him?

“Well we knew of each other in high school, we were friends in middle school for a little while. We reconnected around this time of my senior year. 1986, can you believe that was 10 years ago, Stevie?” Where had she heard that before? Where did she know this man from? She can’t recall ever seeing him before, so why do his words sound so familiar? Amanda pushed those questions out of her head, and instead decided to ask him questions about his work since that is what he was there for.  

“Do all the inspirations for your songs come from your life? How do you not run out of things to write about?” Amanda asked. 

“What a wonderful question, Red. I do get a lot of inspiration from my real life. Take this weekend for example, Me and Mr. Harrington—or Mr.Harrington and I, Miss O’Donnell would kill me if she heard me say that.” Mr. Munson said that last part to Mr. Harrington before he turned back to Amanda. “Like I was saying, Stevie and I went out to the lake and afterwards we got to meet up with some of our old friends. I got some inspiration from that experience to write about reminiscing on good times. The song that just played for you right now, is also about the past but it’s about how the past changes us today. So while I may use the same base for songs,...” 

Amanda started to lose focus as Mr. Munson explained his songwriting process. Mr. Harrington also said he was at Lovers’ Lake with his partner and that he met up with old friends this weekend. She understood them hanging out as old friends, they knew each other since middle school apparently. But how could Mr. Munson have been at Lovers’ Lake too? 

Amanda looks at Mr. Harrington, opening her mouth to ask a question when she stops herself. Mr. Harrington. That’s who she’s heard this from before. She looked back at the tickets on the table. “Corroded Coffin” She realizes that’s the band he was talking about that one day. She runs her entire conversation with Mr. Munson back in her mind matching it to the things she heard Mr. Harrington say in class. 

‘’The last cat was named Abba because I occasionally play them and my partner loves to tease me for it. Says I need to be introduced to ‘real music’”

“You’re a lost little sheep, just like Stevie here. He only listens to whatever’s on the top 40. AKA, Not. Real. Music.” 

“We reconnected during the whole fighting monsters thing after high school.”

“We reconnected around this time of my senior year.”

“Stevie and I went out to the lake and afterwards we got to meet up with some of our old friends.”

“I went down to Lovers Lake with my partner…We also saw some of our friends from back in the day.”

Amanda looked away from the table, looking between both Mr. Munson and Mr. Harrington. Mr. Harrington was watching Mr. Munson as he explained something Amanda wasn't paying much attention to with rapt fascination. His eyes were soft and his smile was adoring. His arms were crossed casually across his chest and he leaned slightly toward Mr. Munson, like the musician had a magnetic pull on him. 

Like Mr. Munson was the center of his universe. 

Amanda gasped loudly, effectively cutting off Mr. Munson’s spiel and drawing attention from a few of the neighboring tables. They all turned away when Amanda’s face broke into a wide grin, assuming her gasp was from excitement. Both Mr. Harrington and Mr. Munson were staring at Amanda with confusion on their faces. 

“Are you…okay, Red?” Mr. Munson asked as he stepped backwards to inspect Amanda, consequently getting into Mr. Harrington’s personal space. Her history teacher didn’t budge when there were only a mere few inches separating them. She peeked around them, searching for Lj and finding her talking to Gerald in front of the lawyers table. She turned back to the two men in front of her and kept her voice low when she spoke. 

“Mr. Harrington doesn’t have a wife,” She paused for dramatic effect, something she learned from Mary, and let the two men share a glance before looking back to her. “He has a husband.” She clapped her hands, excited by her discovery. It all made sense now. Realization washed over both Mr. Harrington and Mr. Munson. They looked at each other, Mr. Munson pursing his lips to suppress a smile and Mr. Harrington with both hands on his hips and an exasperated look on his face.

“How did you piece that together from my presentation?” Mr. Munson asked, head tilted in amusement.

“It wasn’t your presentation, it was the stuff you said before you started talking about the music. Mr. Harrington talks about you all the time in class. The stuff you said right now matched up to what Mr. Harrington said before and all the signs, the poster, ‘People like us...It just clicked right now. What all that meant.” Amanda said, hands waving wildly in front of her. They froze mid-air when another realization washed over her. Her eyebrows knit up in confusion as she looked Mr. Munson over once more. 

“You…with the tattoos, and the rings, and the chains, and the all black clothes…adopted three kittens? And you iron Mr. Harrington’s clothes every morning? And planned a picnic out on Lovers’ Lake? You taught Mr. Munson to make little origamis? Made him a flower crown? That was you? But you look so…” Amanda paused looking for the words. Mr. Munson glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Harrington with the widest grin she’d ever seen. “You look so, not the type.”

“I told you all those years ago, Stevie. Forced conformity. It’s killing the kids.” He turned back to Amanda. “It’s 1995 Little Red, people are so much more than their stereotypes.” 

Amanda stared at Mr. Munson, soaking in all the new information, when another question popped in her mind. 

“Wait. If you’re both boys, how did you get married?” She kept her voice low, so the other tables wouldn’t over hear her. Mr. Munson crouched down to Amanda’s level. 

“Well, to the government, marriage is a piece of paper saying ‘This is who I chose!’. And tax benefits. We didn't need a piece of paper and a big fancy party, though we did have one, to say that we chose each other for life. I love him. And the government doesn’t get to tell me if that’s okay or not, it is okay.” Mr. Munson then looked up at Mr. Harrington from his spot on the floor. They shared a look, one that said a million more words than they’d be allowed in such a public place.

Amanda looked away from them, the connection between the two becoming almost suffocating. It was so surreal to be standing in front of two people who understood what she was going through. They went through it already and came out the other end. They were living breathing proof that it’s not always this hard, and it’s not always this confusing. That one day you’ll be able to wake up every morning next to the love of your life, no matter their gender. You’ll get to visit your favorite spots from your childhood as you grow old together. That we get a fancy wedding and the promise to be together forever too. They were proof that our fate isn’t subject to becoming a forgotten name in the newspaper for a case the police won’t try to solve. People like us, get to have our happily ever after, and Amanda was looking right at one. She couldn’t quite put into words what that meant to her.

On top of that, Mr. Munson wasn’t anything like she’d expected. Besides the fact that she was expecting a woman up until yesterday, he wasn’t anything like she expected for someone who presented themself like he did. He was kind and gentle while being loud and dramatic. He picked flowers for his husband with the same hands he used to shred electric guitar. He was unapologetically himself, even if that confused some people. Amanda looked forward to the day she could say the same about herself.

Mr. Harrington offered Mr. Munson a hand, and helped him off the floor when Lj approached the table. 

“There you are Amy, I was wondering where you went,” Lj immediately reached for Amanda’s hand and interlocked their fingers, like she couldn't go another second without touching Amanda. Mr. Munson offered a small, knowing smile.  “Are you done here? I heard the veterinary table is giving out cookies shaped like dinosaurs!” 

Amanda looked away from Lj and back up at Mr. Munson and Mr. Harrington. 

“After the promotion ceremony, and we’re officially high schoolers…am I still allowed to come back and say hi?” Amanda asked. Sure, it was only October but Mr. Harrington had already changed her life in such an irrevocable way. When she gets her first girlfriend or when she moves away to find people who are like her, it’ll be because Mr. Harrington was the first person who told her that it was okay and that she wasn’t alone.

“Of course, Amanda. Come back anytime! I’d love to hear about how high school goes for you. Even beyond that!” Mr. Harrington said. They shared a smile, and she let Lj pull her away. 

“So you talk about me in class all the time, huh?” Mr. Munson teased as Amanda walked away.

“Go back on tour,” was her teacher's reply.

—

I don't know if i really have the words to explain what this fic means to me and how cathartic it was to write. Thank you for reading <3

[nevermindirah]

Yitzhak!

is a character! who Gregadiah What-Is-Math Rucka gave us almost no information about!

I've gone through Tales Through Time #6: The Bear and #1: My Mother's Axe with several magnifying glasses and done a lot of googling and taken my copy of the Tanakh off my shelf for the first time since (well, since the last time I needed to read Torah for TOG reasons, which I think was Booker Passover headcanons) and here's the best I can come up with.

In The Bear we meet someone who goes by the name Isaac Blue:

Read on for a lot of comic panel analysis and historical research and Jewish flailing!

So what do we know about this Isaac Blue person?

He's Lorge, he's got curly hair, he's basically a taller version of Joe as drawn by Leandro Fernández (ie an antisemitic stereotype why the fuck did they approve this character design?? and then why did they double down and copy-paste it to Yitzhak??):

He's got a mezuzah on the doorpost of his house in Alaska!

I screamed about the mezuzah way back in January in this post where I (very reasonably) assumed this character was Joe and spun myself a tale about how Booker is still Joe's brother so the mezuzah stays up even though Booker isn't welcome in that house for a century. Bottom line: the mezuzah is a tradition with origins in the commandment from Deuteronomy 6:9 to "write the words of G-d on the gates and doorposts of your house" and evolved over the course of the Rabbinic period into the modern mezuzah we see here.

I did unnecessary levels of google image search to glean absolutely no useful information about Yitzhak’s origins from this panel:

I've decided the variant cover of TTT 6 is Yitzhak because of a panel in My Mother’s Axe, shown here, and what's likely an unnecessarily deep reading of Exodus, discussed further down:

The person at the right of the bottom panel is wearing the same clothes as in the TTT 6 variant cover and has the same shoulder-length curly hair and hairy forearms.

Left to right, the people in this panel are Lykon (I'll never get used to him being white in the comics), Andy, Noriko (I think? why doesn't Andy mention her by name here?), and Yitzhak. Andy's robe has a stereotypically Greek design on the sleeve cuff, and I had to stop myself 10 minutes into a Wikipedia rabbit hole because Gregorforth doesn't think that deep about this shit. The solid clues as to timeline that we get in this panel are:

Andy's iron axe

the presence of Lykon, who Andy first met in 331 BCE

So all we know is that Yitzhak is an immortal, he was a contemporary of Lykon, and he's Jewish.

Isaac is the most common Anglicization of Yitzhak (which in turn is the most common Anglophone transliteration of יִצְחָק‎), and Greg always uses the (transliterated) Hebrew when he refers to this character. Yitzhak is the long-awaited child of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, the child who G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice but spared at the last minute. I see what you did there, Gregory.

Why Isaac Blue? This is where I pulled out my Tanakh. According to the New JPS translation, blue is the first of three colors of yarn listed in Exodus 35:6 among the gifts requested of the Israelites to construct the priestly garments for the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Then in Numbers 15:38 the Israelites are commanded to "make themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner."

And now for sandbox timelines party! Gregadiah gave us ALMOST NOTHING to go on, so I'm gonna make my own fun.

I, like many modern Jews, think the stories in the Tanakh are foundational mythology that are valuable because of how they've shaped our people but that contain some fucked-up shit and either way aren't meant to be a record of historical facts. Modern scholarship generally agrees that the community we now call Jews emerged as a distinct group of Canaanites sometime in the late Bronze Age (cw this video's host says the Name of G-d aloud despite being a religious studies scholar who knows that is not a name anyone but the Temple priests are allowed to say). The first non-Biblical written record of the people Israel is from an Egyptian source c. 1200 BCE, and the Biblical kingdom of David and Solomon was probably an exaggeration of whatever really happened during the Bronze Age Collapse. We start getting into historical-fact territory a few centuries into the Iron Age:

588 BCE Solomon's Temple destroyed, Babylonian exile begins

538 BCE Cyrus of Persia allows Jews to return to Jerusalem

515 BCE Second Temple construction complete

332 BCE Alexander the Great At Something I Guess conquered Judea, beginning the Hellenistic period of Jewish history — 331 BCE Andy & Lykon find each other

167 BCE another jerkface Greek king desecrated the Temple and basically outlawed Judaism

164 BCE recapture of Jerusalem and Temple rededication during the Maccabean Revolt

70 CE destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, beginning of the Rabbinic period of Jewish history that we're still in now

What if... and hear me out... what if immortals come in pairs, and the pairs are:

Andy & Quynh

Joe & Nicky

Booker & Nile

LYKON & YITZHAK

What if Yitzhak was a priest of the Second Temple? What if he and Lykon killed each other just like Joe and Nicky would in the same city around 1300 years later, but instead of enemies-to-lovers speedrun with an absurdly long happily-ever-after, when Lykon died permanently Yitzhak decided to separate from Andy and Noriko and become the hermit we later see in Alaska?

We don't know how old Yitzhak is compared to the others, only that he was a contemporary of Lykon at a time when Andy was using an Iron Age version of her mother's axe. Other plausible origins for him:

a Jew of the early Rabbinic period, maybe a child or grandchild of people who were still alive before the Second Temple was destroyed

a Judean of the Second Temple era under the Romans or Greeks or Persians, maybe a priest, maybe not

an exilee in Babylon, maybe of the generation who got to return, maybe of the generation who was exiled (he doesn't look like he was 50 at his first death but who knows, he could've been mortal for both)

an Israelite of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, maybe a priest of Solomon's Temple or again maybe not

an Israelite wandering in the desert with Moses

THEE Yitzhak, ben Avraham v'Sarah, our patriarch who was brought up for sacrifice and then spared, and then spared again, and then spared again, and again, and again...

or! he could also be a Canaanite or other Levantine who predates the people Israel, who at some point in his very long life chose to join our mixed multitude, who like Andromache before him (and like Avram and Sarai would in this case do after him) took a new name to reflect the magnitude of influence this people has had on him

Why do I keep saying Yitzhak might have been a priest? It's thanks to the one detail in the artwork I could plausibly connect to solid research without getting a PhD real quick. Take a look at the gorgeous detail on the opening of his robe in the TTT 6 cover. He's dressed in rags, holes and dirt everywhere, rough stitches probably from hasty repair work — except for the neck opening. Compare that to this description from Exodus 39:23 of the construction of the priestly garments for the Tabernacle: "The opening of the robe, in the middle of it, was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around the opening, so that it would not tear."

The next verses describe the intricate designs for the hem of the priestly garment. Yitzhak's ragged garment looks like the hem was torn off entirely.

Am I overthinking this? Yes I am! You're welcome!

My friend and historical research hero @lady-writes​ is in a Discord server with Gregadiah and asked the man himself some questions about all this. He clearly thinks he's being sneaky?? No shit Yitzhak is Jewish, dude, I want DETAILS!

I will not be giving up my Jewish Booker headcanon, I've put too much thought into it by now, the internalized shame of antisemitism explains Booker's depression too well for me, and it just adds so much richness to Booker/Nile both being children of forced diasporas. Fortunately (for him, not me, bc I'd do it anyway!) Gregothy supports fan headcanons even when they're not in line with his own:

One last thing before I close like 100 research tabs and go back to writing historical fantasy and/or porn! I love that, despite that atrocious caricature of a face design, our canon Jew and our fanon Jew are both Lorge and Soft and Kind, flying the face of the antisemitic stereotype of Ashkenazi Jewish men as small and weak, but also not falling into the New Jew / Muscle Jew stereotype that Zionism created. (I am trying SO HARD not to talk about Israel/Palestine for once ughhhhhhhhhh) Anyway here's a (US-centric but very good) primer on both these stereotypes of Jewish masculinity. Is this why I'm forever projecting my transmasc diasporist feels onto Jewish Booker the service sub? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I’ll reblog a second version of this with full image descriptions so that there’s a version accessible for folks who need IDs as well as a version accessible for folks who get overwhelmed by walls of text.

[sardonic-the-writer]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Eeeeee! Thank you! I love when I get stuff like this :>

Okay, here we go! Links will be added for anyone who wants to check these works out <3

(Edit: I chose more than just five fics, but I have a handful of, in my opinion, pleasant things I've written. So bear with me)

This Tommyinnit one shot I wrote most recently. One of the only things I've written for myself and am very proud of. Features a vigilante!Tommy au with Wilbur as the main villain. Along with hate able ocs that you'll scream at your screen about and an extremely entertaining theater kid (Y/n), this is one of my best fics by far. Watch out for typos though (Gender neutral reader)

A platonic cc!Philza x reader featuring Smallza!(Y/n) as Phil and Mumzas little kid. This little scenario involves spilled apple sauce, a pouty child being taught how to play Minecraft by a pig and enderman, along with nap times. 10/10 very sweet and one of my original works :) (Gender neutral reader)

Warning, there is heavy smut in this one. It's a Revivebur x Reader one shot I cooked up at three am due to a request I got from one of my once anonymous readers turned friend. Begins with a depressed smoker boi in a train station, but ends with two horny adults laying on the ground hate fucking. I don't recommend this purely for the smut, or for the smut at all actually, more like for the build up that comes. For some reason the background details and story I gave before the canoodling began is worth a small read. Also one of my original works (AFAB reader)

Even though I have (TW warning for those like me) a sever phobia of needles, I pulled through to make these headcanons of, well, a random handful of MCYTs. Includes a reader that is deathly afraid of needles, being comforted by a couple different content creators. After my initial panic in writing something I hate about, I came around to find out this was one of my better works <3 (Gender Neutral reader)

A nearly six thousand word one shot of a cc!Karl x Reader. This was initially set up to be a book called The Circle Of Fate, but was scraped and made into the stand alone it is today. Inside the link contains a loveable oc, special appearance of the Beast Crew, and a severely anxious (Y/n). (Female Reader)

Teacher x Teacher!AU with our favorite British boy Wilbur? Yes please. A small spout of hwadcanons entertaining the thought, "What if Wilbur was a Geography teacher?" Fantastic fanart (that isn't mine and is given proper credit of course) makes a guest appearance as a cherry on top of this sweet cake (Gender Neutral Reader)

Not much to say on this one. A yandere Simpbur drabble that I went all out on and had some fun with. Recommend checking it out of you're up for a quick read (Gender neutral reader)

Once again, smut in this one. Instead about one singular person however, this long post about specific kinks includes almost every Bursona to ever exist. Ranges from spider walking, to temperature and knife play. For all the simps out there that might be in the old for something a little more dangerous (Gender neutral reader)

That's all I have. As for the five people Imma pass it on to, let me tag them. Don't worry I'll still send this ask to your inboxes, just want to make sure I don't forget

(Tagged six becuase, fuck it, I broke the first rule I'm breaking the second one)

@cocasoula @hunneiuwu @divine--serenity @wiphur-writes @om3ga-but-sfw @ribbit-was-here

There! Now, according to Tumblr statistics only a small percent of people who like my fanfics are following me. So make sure to smash that reblog button like I smashed your mo- [*gets shot*]

[nephaelia]

Quick basic GIMP tutorial

Cutting out text bubbles/anything with rounded corners from messy backgrounds! Particularly useful for Sims, but I’ll post it here and reblog it on @nephaelia-sims​ Just because I literally just figured it out myself lol (and I’ve been using this for how long??? lol)

So I already cut the background out for the most part (using the magic wand select tool, eraser, etc), but I got these funky corners left which can be hard to smooth out since the text bubbles are originally shaded in-game, and I always end up cutting half the shading out with the background. This corner is not the worst one, it’s just one of the only ones I had left after figuring this out lol

So you want to use the ellipse select tool. You should check to see that the mode (on the lefthand side, lower panel, right under where it says “ellipse select”) is set to either the first or second one from the left- I don’t think it matters for this step which of the two. (I had the wrong one selected because I just finished another corner.) Don’t use a fixed aspect ratio, because you just want to match the curve of the corner- don’t worry about anything outside the orange circle (below:)

Once you’re happy with your curve, hit enter. Now, go up to Select and click “Invert selection.” 

Next, change the Ellipse Select mode to the 4th option (intersect with the current selection), and make an ellipse that will select the stuff you want to remove. Don’t worry if it cuts into the text bubble, we’re not done. Hit enter, but don’t go cutting anything yet.

In my case, I ended up having a couple little spots I wanted to keep. The small orange circle shows where it had caught a couple pixels of the text bubble itself, and the large one is a part I’m not sure what I want to do with yet (the tail thingy on the bubble) so I’m keeping it until I do know). For fixes like this, we can use a variety of selection tools: Rectangle, ellipse, and lasso (idk if that’s the actual name lol) are all good options, depending on the shape, size, and level of detail you need for your corrections. On any of the select tools, the third mode option is “subtract from current selection”, which is what you want now. I think I just used rectangle select for both parts of mine, and here’s the final selection before I cut it:

Now cut the selection (cmd+x, ctrl+x, whatever it is for you), and you have a nice smooth corner!

Just wanted to share this, it’s very basic stuff but I didn’t realize the use for the overlapping selection tool until literally an hour ago, and I’ve been using this program for over 10 years (though tbf not professionally or super regularly). I always wanted the functionality but never knew how to look for it.

[nekoannie-chan]

Secrets Chapter 10: The Only Friends I've Ever Had

Pairing: Steve Rogers X OFC, Brock Rumlow X OFC.

Word count: 1591 words.

Summary: Sometimes keeping secrets can be dangerous or a heavy burden, which is what Kathleen has been doing for years. She will also be in charge of guiding Steve Rogers into this century; meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be looking for a way to kick-start the Avengers Initiative by integrating her as one of the superheroes, but that won't be the only danger they face.

Warnings: Arguing, sad.

A/N: After long time working on this longfic, I finally post it. If you wanna be added to the taglist, let me know.

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too. Secrets masterlist. Previous chapter. Next chapter.

Steve was watching a documentary about the Second World War on the laptop that Kathleen had lent him. After several days, he had finally learned to use it, stopped the video, and saw the military uniform that he wore when he was not on a mission. He grabbed the files. Finally, after a month, he was going to dare to see them. He opened the folder and began to see the tokens. They were from his companions in the Howling Commandos, all dead. Until he reached Peggy's file, He held it between his fingers, felt a turn in his heart, and began to read it carefully. There was the current residence address and a telephone number. Should he dial that number and call it? Wouldn't he still remember it?

He closed his eyes and put the token aside along with the others. He couldn't do it; he could appear out of nowhere. Everyone believed that Steve Rogers had died. He took the next one. It was Howard Stark's. He was also dead. He put it with the others. It caught his attention that there was one more token. He watched her carefully, putting his hand on his chin thoughtfully. He couldn't describe the feeling he had; it was between confusion, anger, and disappointment.

He put on his jacket and, for the first time since he woke up, he went for a walk. He walked the streets; there was so much change. Now there was a lot of noise; he was practically infested with vendors. He kept walking until he reached a coffee shop near Stark Tower. He ordered a coffee and, on a piece of paper, he started to draw the nearby buildings. He had not noticed the waitress's presence until she spoke.

"Waiting for the big guy?" The waitress asked, and Steve raised his head and looked at her blankly. "Ironman," the woman turned to the sky."Many people eat here just to see him fly."

"That's right," Steve replied, looking up at the sky. The woman watched him carefully. He pulled out his wallet.

She brought him more coffee. "So, we have free Wi-Fi," she said, walking away from the table.

" Radio?" Steve was confused, so he would ask Kathleen what that was. Surely she would know. The waitress saw it as funny because she managed to listen.

"Don't be silly, ask for her number," said the old man at the nearby table.

After this, Steve took the train. He felt like he didn't fit in; what would he do with his life? He knew he had a position at S.H.I.E.L.D., but did he want to get started with it? He was depressed; there was too much news, both good and bad; so many changes had occurred in those almost seventy years; however, he did not belong at that time. He came to a gym; at least he should have some hobby or something that could help him get everything he had inside. He would return to practicing boxing.

He was furiously hitting the bag. He had completely lost track of time. When he left the gym, he realized how late it was. It was probably past ten o'clock at night.

Meanwhile, in the house, Kathleen moved nervously. She didn't know where Steve was. He had left the cell phone in the house. The city was very complicated. If Fury found out, he would surely kill her. He didn't know what to do. She was already desperate. He could look for him in the vicinity without success. He could look for the minds of other mutants, but to look for the human one, he needed what he had stored in the secret place. Suddenly, he heard the door open and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was he who entered and approached him.

"Where were you, Steve?" I asked you not to go out alone yet, or at least you could have left a note warning. I was worried...

"I don't have to tell you where I'm going." You're not my mother. I think I'm old enough to know what I'm doing. Your concern is not me, but losing your job. If something happens to me, you know I'm the mission that Fury left you!" Steve yelled at him.

She was startled, not knowing what to say. He had never spoken to her like this. He was always chivalrous and tender with her. When he passed by her, she perceived the chaos in his head. He was depressed. She heard the slamming of the door coming from Steve's room.

She went to her room and took photos of her best friends from her hiding place. She missed them; she had lost them because of her; even her other friend was upset about the situation; she was alone again; she kept crying.

Neither of them was able to sleep that night; Steve felt bad about how he had treated her; he unfairly took it out on her, and all the anger he had in store had come out; it had not been her fault, that the plane crashed and he would end up frozen, nor of everything he had lost; she was as lonely as he was; she could see it in her eyes. She always tried to show that she was cheerful, but her eyes reflected the opposite. The next morning, she left her room. She would go to buy flowers, and although she did not know what her favorites were or if that was still being done, she would give them to her and apologize. What she did not expect was to find her in the kitchen because he was always the first to wake up. She was having a cup of tea and immersed in her thoughts with a lost look.

"Kath..." he approached her, "I..."

"I don't see you as my mission, Steve," she interrupted. "I think if Fury said I would help you adapt, it was because he wanted him to have at least a friend he could trust," she continued. He looked at her without understanding. He also didn't understand why she wasn't angry. "Are you afraid of me for who I am?" She looked directly into his eyes.

"No, why should I be afraid of you?" Steve noticed the woman's swollen, red eyes. He guessed she had been crying all night.

"Well, because I’m a mutant," she sighed, "because of the problem that existed years ago with mutants, many believe that we are failed experiments or that we want to end humanity, but what they never say are the consequences." We survived with very few. When I was three years old, I began to show that I had powers, and that was when my parents decided to go to Japan to be safe. There, practically all the mutants went unnoticed. They feared that the sentinel services or the government would go after us because, although their files do not say it, my whole family is a mutant. "You know, there I met a woman who was also a mutant, the first in her family, but a few years later, according to official reports, she couldn't control her powers and die." She took a sip.

Steve looked at her attentively. He preferred not to interrupt. She never talked about her, but she always listened to everything he told her. Could it be that she also felt like a monster?

"I don't know how a man from another country contacted my dad." He had twins, a year older than me. He asked my parents to help their children learn to control their powers because no one else in their family had and they didn't know what to do. The twins and I became best friends. On vacation, sometimes they stayed with me, and sometimes I went to their country and stayed with them. We got into trouble together," he smiled as he remembered.

" Why?" He was very curious. "You're someone very nice. I find it strange that you don't have any more friends or any suitors." They both blushed.

"People are afraid of mutants; I had already told you that the children and their families started to be afraid of us; the kids at school bothered me; they made jokes, they hid my things, and so on; no one would hang out with me, so I was always alone," she said. Steve felt identified; similar things were done to him for being weak, and the only one who defended him was Bucky. "The twins were my only friends, but when they were ten years old they lost their parents, then mine took care of them too, and then something horrible happened with other friends we had; they discovered the horrible secret of their parents and ran away, but also what happened to them was unexpected, and as a consequence, I started to have nightmares.” My friend helped me with them; she was the only one who could help me with them; she did what I did with you when you had them; she was the only one who could help me."

"What happened to them?" He interrupted; he didn't think it was something so serious, but he remembered all the trouble he got into.

"They trusted someone they shouldn't have; the twins and I were too late to save them."

She didn't mention Saori, but what had happened to her still hurt. Besides, the only one who knew was Brock; if only she had arrived in time...

Ꭲꭺꮐꮮꮖꮪꭲ:

@saiyanprincessswanie  @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad

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[likesrandomstuff]

Avalance Fic Recommendations Part 4

The final part of this series. Thanks to everyone who reblogged and liked, and a huge shout-out to @heywhereisperry who encouraged and motivated me into doing this.

As I said in Part 1, feel free to add any more stories you think should be recognised to any of these posts, and my ask box is open if you would like more detail on anything.

Part 1: Bite Sized

Part 2: Snacks

Part 3: Meals

Banquets (Over 75,000 words)

When you do not have anything you need to do in the next couple of days

You're My Miracle by bihexualmess

My tags: Ava is FBI, Sara is a Private Investigator, Rip brings Sara on for a case

This just got updated the other week and ruined multiple nights of sleep for me. At almost 350k words, still going, I don’t know how to explain without spoiling stuff that happens a long way in. There are so many layers to both Ava and Sara here, and the trauma, and the issues, and the fact they will not talk to each other about anything. I jumped on this a bit late, as the title and description didn’t grab me, but oh boy, I was missing out. I did get to read a heap of it in one go, but that doesn’t help the slow burn. I would start this even though it’s still a WIP, just because it will take you a while, to read, and also the storylines need time to settle in, because they are heavy, but just amazing. It is now the longest Avalance fic with the latest update.

this is the way that we love (like it's forever) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: College Avalance dated and broke up, five years later they meet again, Ava’s dating someone else

This fic had me crying in the lunchroom during my second week of work because I couldn’t not read during my lunch break, and it was hitting me so hard. That was after starting it at 10pm, reading to 2am, sleeping until 6am, reading until 11am a couple of days before. Warning for major character deaths; the funeral for one is alluded to in the description. If anyone says something bad about Jordan, I will not be happy; one of the best original characters I have ever read in a fic. Sara’s not in a great place initially, but she gets there. And there’s some cute flashbacks to college Legends too.

you make me smile (please stay for a while now) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: High School Rivals AU, Ava’s class president, Sara is the superstar soccer captain, they have more in common than they thought

I just looked at the word count for this, and it must be the first time I have, because wow! It is a journey! There’s a couple of prequel, sequel and interjection stories in this universe too. Ava has to deal with her family not being super supportive when she comes out. Sara has to deal with Laurel struggling and their mum having a clear favourite (Laurel). Most of the Legends have really great arcs in here as well. Ava’s family is great. I wanna hang out with her little sister. Don’t be like 2018 me who gives up after the first chapter because they are mad about what Laurel is going through. She’s fine, and there’s a heap of great Sara and Laurel moments. I recently re-read the last 10 chapters, and I still couldn’t stop myself from reading like it was the first time.

i am who you used to love (and you are just a memory) by justpalsbeingals

My tags: The Vow AU, but Ava makes some better choices early on, they’re married, Ava gets into an accident and loses all memory of Sara

I hate the movie this fic is based on. The movie’s fine, and it was a delight seeing Tatiana Maslany in it while I was watching Orphan Black, but basically it is my worst-case scenario, losing my memory. The fact that this fic kept me hooked despite that, is a testament to the quality. The fic itself says “light angst”, I say it’s much, much heavier than that, but that’s just me. Warning, there are some intense twists in here, and everyone is a bit OOC to me, memory loss being considered, which might not be your thing.

and i will stumble and fall (i'm still learning to love) by lucylikestowrite

My tags: SwanQueen kid fic AU, yes, I know go with me on this, Ava adopted Sara’s unexpected baby, said kid finds Sara years later

In general, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t like kid fics. Fics with future children coming back to meet their parents, or the couple going into the future? Some of my favourites ever. This has no time travel, but I trust Lucy. This story is under 75k, but the sequel is almost as long, so combined they’re over. The sequel is a WIP. I didn’t watch Once Upon a Time, but it’s the plot of the start of that, except the gay actually happens. There are a lot of issues our girls have to work through here, but the kid is so cute.

and we could try by plinys

My tags: it’s a story mostly told on twitter through fake screen shots of social media, Sara drunk messages Ava, Ava doesn’t block her

I’m sure this format of storytelling is not for everyone, and that’s okay! I was so confused by it at first. I would recommend starting with the shorter one, I can be your hero (in Part 2), just to see if you like it, before jumping into this. I read this when the epilogue, the fic, was released, and I was up until 5am because I couldn’t stop. It became part of my personality. Story wise, Sara and Ava are on different coasts, but both know Nate, Ray and Nora. Ray and Nora get engaged, and Avalance have to deal with planning that wedding, and whatever is going on with them.

take my hands now by plinys

My tags: Another Social Media twitter AU, Sara is The Canary, Ava is trying to arrest vigilantes, Nate accidently gives Ava Sara’s number

Another brilliant twitter story. Some of our gang is trying to arrest the other half. Sara knows who Ava is, Ava doesn’t know that Sara is the person she’s chasing. Everyone has public twitter accounts. Sara actually gets [spoiler villain] to stop an attack by sending them money for a drink.

your eyes, they shine so bright by plinys

My tags: Social Media AU, everyone works for not Buzzfeed, a colab series is pitched, Sara and Ava’s teams have to work together

Ava makes factual videos, Sara does not, they are forced to work together. Nate is everyone’s boss technically, but they do what they want. Nate and Ava are non-biological siblings, and Satan Camp is a running gag. Oh, fake dating is in there too!

right to the top, don't hold back by SJAandDWfan

My tags: American Ninja Warrior AU, Sara’s a veteran and the Legends train together, Ava’s a rookie, rivals to training partners to friends to …

I re-read this every year when the new Australian season comes out. It’s so burned into my brain that when I was watching the speed climbing at the Olympics I genuinely thought “I wonder how Amaya would go in this?”. Amaya’s pre-Ninja experience is rock climbing in this fic. I learnt so much about Ninja Warrior and how the show (at least in this universe) works, and it’s fascinating. Would recommend watching some clips if you’re unfamiliar with the concept. The story goes pretty in detail about the courses. For recommendations, either Jessie Gaff, who was a S1 Supergirl stuntwoman, or Australia’s own Olivia Vivian, who is just stages better than our next female.

biding our time (until tomorrow) by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: Period setting AU, Ava’s too noble for her own good, Oliver’s dad is the villain

This was a really cool experiment. Basically, told in lots of mini chapters like a soap opera. I do not know much about this period of American history, but it did not matter. A lot of different Arrow-verse peeps show up along the way. I’m sure I complained out loud “you’re allowed to want things Ava!” at some point. There’s an attempt for fake dating, and it’s not the homophobia but the second daughter problem that gets them.

Click here to see all the parts

[squirrelno2]

this is the year in review thing but I reject the gif so. Here we are with whatever this is

I posted 107 times in 2022

19 posts created (18%)

88 posts reblogged (82%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@blackandblue13

@blueskiesandstarrynights

@kote-wan

@keldabekush

@imaginariumgeographica

I tagged 104 of my posts in 2022

Only 3% of my posts had no tags

#star wars - 39 posts

#clone wars - 18 posts

#julie and the phantoms - 17 posts

#gifset - 10 posts

#somebodys very good fanart - 9 posts

#andor - 8 posts

#fanfic - 6 posts

#julie molina - 5 posts

#fanfic related - 4 posts

#art - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#no but actually he looks so downtrodden and small and the looks they're wearing in the first one like they're wary of us the audience. ouch

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Me at myself in the mirror at 3:50 in the afternoon one day: the thing about the sequel trilogy of star wars is that Finn was in the perfect position to be a foil to Kylo Ren and a hopeful spin on the character of Anakin Skywalker and the fact that nobody even noticed these parallels is a testament to the power of racism and the fact that bigotry actually makes you a worse writer

No but. Anakin’s out here with his introduction in the prequels as a slave, and it’s poorly done but implied that the pain and fear of that part of his life impacts how he interacts with… basically everything ever, and ultimately makes him susceptible to palpatine’s grooming; your mileage may vary on the ratio of canon to fanon in this interpretation but I think we can all agree being a slave from birth is gonna fuck a kid up and there’s a reason why George lucas chose this particular backstory for him.

So you’ve got Kylo Ren, eschewing a family that cares for him (please don’t talk to me about whatever the fuck was going on in those last jedi flashbacks first of all that’s bad writing babe and second, we’re talking solely about the expectations and possibilities established in force awakens because there’s not enough narrative or character consistency in the sequel trilogy to take. Anything as a whole there) in order to chase after this version of his grandfather that isn’t even the version he died as. Like! Whether you think Anakin/Vader achieved redemption or simply did one good thing at the end of his life, we all know that act of sacrifice on Luke’s behalf is. The definition of Star Wars. Vader choosing to do good in his last moments was what the original trilogy built towards and what the prequel trilogy always knew, and it’s this fucked up spectre over everything Kylo Ren says or does in Force Awakens because he’s out here pleading with the ghost of a man who is not real, he’s chasing Vader instead of Anakin Skywalker and ignoring the choices his own grandpa made in the name of… honouring him somehow???

And then there’s Finn. Finn who’s been raised since who knows when but definitely childhood given he has no name to remember to be a weapon for the First Order. Somehow I doubt they pay their stormtroopers, somehow I expect their education is more indoctrination than anything, somehow I doubt Finn was ever instilled with a sense that he as a person mattered – Finn’s a slave when we meet him. Unequivocally. And this man who’s known nothing else his entire life turns around and says “actually I think I will do good things or at least stop doing bad ones” and runs the fuck away, freeing himself. (and also Poe. Something something the act of saving others in turn saves you, this is my eternal soapbox but that’s not my point right now)

Finn is afraid, and very nearly runs away from the fight like “I’m safe so it doesn’t matter what happens to others” – when satisfied that Rey is safe (and under the impression that Poe is dead) he feels no strong compulsion to protect an ambiguous “rest of the galaxy” which honestly is exactly the vibes Anakin Skywalker has for pretty much all his life. Anakin would be a hero because the people he cared about wanted him to be. He fought for Padme and Obi-Wan and frigging Palpatine (and Ahsoka, I say, skipping outside the movies for a hot second because I love her) first and foremost, and the Jedi and the Republic because those were the causes his loved ones cared about. Finn has the opportunity to get away, to protect himself for the first time in his life, and he doesn’t have to worry about the few people he cares about so he very nearly goes for it.

Then the thing is, Finn, unlike Anakin, doesn’t let that fear rule him? He turns around and goes back for Rey, follows Poe, stays with the Resistance. He gets to be terrified but he also says that terror isn’t his only motivating factor, and that his self-interest matters less to him than the galaxy – a choice Anakin struggled to make until literally the end of his life.

In conclusion, if the sequel trilogy had stuck to its guns and been about the tragedy of history as a cycle and the way we cling to idealised pasts and torture ourselves over might-have-beens (and also how that inaction and obsession with history allows the rise of fascism bc we spend so much time patting ourselves on the back for defeating ‘the bad guy’ we ignore what gave the bad guy power) – if it had been a well written story Finn should have been a hopeful twist to the story of Darth Vader, a man who faced the same struggles as Anakin but made better, kinder choices, which would bring it nicely full circle considering George Lucas was like. Very into star wars as being about Vader

But nope we had to have whatever that poorly written racist tug-of-war was instead. I don’t know about you but I need better fandoms

6 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#4

WAIT I stim by singing to myself and the boys canonically improvise with each other - they improvise to stim

That's it that's the post I'm just furthering my everybody-in-jatp-is-neurodivergent agenda

7 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

#3

The way two different people I followed years and years ago for completely different things have posted in the last three days about missing julie and the phantoms... Fucking hell Netflix do you see what you've done. This show was for everyone and you've ruined it. Can you imagine if these people had posted about jatp before now. I might have actually verbally interacted with people I've quietly awkwardly admired for years.

8 notes - Posted November 29, 2022

#2

Midway through Andor and I don't have very solid thoughts, at least not ones that haven't been said already by ppl much better at saying them, but something about seeing the ppl on Aldhani have this religious experience while all this shit goes on behind them. The way the whole chaos of the interspliced scenes quiets for a moment as the sky lights up - and then it's right back to the heist because they don't care because they can't afford to care and it's not their belief anyway

The empire sees the Eye as this thing to gawk at and Cassian and co are looking at the Eye as part asset part obstacle, just something to navigate through, and it would be easy to stay with their perspectives, but instead we get these moments of wonder and community, the culture that these people are trying to protect independently of all this galactic scale stuff - and then of course we also know that the empire is doing their level best to take that away too

I'm not phrasing any of this well but man that aspect of it really got to me and I'm not even sure why, fully

8 notes - Posted December 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I wrote a Big Bang fic!!! the amazing @willexmagic was my partner and made some lovely moodboards which I will be reblogging in a hot second, and I had a lot of fun (and maybe some tears) working on this monstrosity of a Superman AU

If you’ve ever wanted Flynn and Carrie to be Clark Kent and Lois Lane (or even if you haven’t and just want superhero content?) then here is the fic! Featuring my usual favourite things of friend angst, sad Flynn hours, and ensemble cast shenanigans, as well as me wandering wildly through some of my favourite coomic book tropes.

15 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

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