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ivys-garden · 21 days ago

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Life Series Recap: The Penultimate Round.

I have to apologise. I was wrong about what I thought the wild card would be. It was not just skizz and Mumbo coming back to revenge kill everyone… it was fucking MY HERO ACADEMIA WHAT THE FUCK GRIAN!?

Martyn immediately understood the assignment and you should watch his perspective. No, I will not explain why.

Anyway, here was everyone's superpowers:

Grian - got the power to copy other powers, makes sense since he'd know what all of them are.

Scar - got the power to ride anything and to punch Jimmy ten blocks away. This was my first clear sign that the powers were pre chosen despite grian pretending not to know who got what.

Lizzie - could make everyone blind, good for escapes and traps! Perfect for lizzie

Jimmy - at will Invisibility. Was this just so he could hide from people who wanted to kill him? Most definitely.

Pearl - flight! Hermes Pearl cannon let's go!

Scott - can transform into any mob. Definitely just done to see his reaction to becoming a chicken.

Impulse - teleportation. Very good for traps in a smart person's hands.

Bigb - summons 4 Creakings. The confirmation that these were pre chosen. No way Mr Creaking gets a creaking power by chance.

Cleo - goons! The zombie can summon the dead! Perfect that skizz and Mumbo died first then, those suited idiots have big goon energy

Etho - rocket jump. They gave a mace power to someone who can't use it. Oh Deer.

Bdubs - Slow time. Also he can make it day at will. That second one is the important one to him.

Tango - super speedy! Perfect for a coward!

Gem - astral projection. Gets to spy on people, Gem Loves That! Unfortunately she also has to talk to mumbo and skizz…

Joel - triple jump. Speed bridgers dream.

Ren - polymorph into other players. Perfect for a Trickster… but ren is being nice the season so he just ends up collecting his friends like Pokèmon

Martyn - Super Sonic hearing. He made martyn a listener. If martyns new lore isn't him breaking free of Watcher influence after all this symbolism I will actually riot.

Anyway, breakdown time:

The Final Gals (Cleo, Scott, Pearl, Impulse, Etho, Skizz, Mumbo)

Oh goodness where to start

Pearl continues to suck at traps. What is happening this season?! Did that trap on Gem work? Nope! And when she has a good way of insta killing Tango using crystals, does anyone listen? Nope! But hey, at least she gets to fly like she wanted back in secret life… I mean she had to have that part shown to her by grian and she wasted her mace but …. Uhhhhhhhhh

Speaking of wasting important items we get the most disappointing anti climax of the entire life series as Impulse loses the totem falling to his death in a manner that he had numerous ways to avoid. At least he managed to find a guaranteed way of killing people with that obsidian box trick. He got Gem, Tango and Joel with it. He would have gotten ren to as his tendency to knick people's faces landed him in a case of mistaken identity. Good thing he called them all of since he and Ren are allies and apparently kissed necks. Martyn was kinda passed about that. Wonder why

Bigb is also friends with Renwood and the first one trusted with their super powers. They do form a plan to trap greens with the full combo of all three, but unfortunately that falls through. But bigb does get another trap opportunity to drop someone into the big hole at cake tower, but Ren is too slick and Lizzie is too red so that falls through too. But hey, he definitely got Scar on that dripstone pitfall! Oh wait no that was grian oops sorry bigb no kills for you.

No wait! Bigb got Scars dropped mace! That was good! Woooooooooooo go bigb!

Anyway

No traps for scott either I guess, well not if you count him killing gem, but that was a team effort. But Scott doesn't trap people, he creeps on them! And now he can do exactly that, but as a chicken!

Cleo gets goons. And sure, those goons were very lippy (know your place Corpse has now been added to my lexicon) but they were great! They rendered grian speechless with their lame insults, who wouldn't be speechless if your dead friends came back to call your tower small? Mumbo also went absolute beast mode on everyone. He killed grian effortlessly and got the credits on killing Joel, Tango and Ren. I guess Mumbo is actually a top tierer when he doesn't have to worry about dying

Skizz may not have gotten any kills, but he did the world a service. He blew up Joel's hideous awful, no good car. Well done skizz.

The Fam (Gem, Joel, Etho)

When not crying over his hideous car, Joel was killing people for blowing up his hideous car. I Kid I kid he did stuff not motivated by his car this session like…. Insult people? Nah that's just a Joel thing. Kill Scott? No, that's also just a Joel thing, or maybe a revenge thing. Be confused? Nah that's definitely a Joel thing…

He has a way of killing people that involves wardens, that's cool! Unfortunately his biggest enemy is Pearl sooooooooo

Speaking of being enemies with Pearl, Gem! …. Wait what do you mean Gem didn't reiterate how much she hates Pearl this season? What do you mean they barely interacted? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE WASN'T MORE JEWEL BOX DRAMA!?

No no there was drama! Gem definitely still hates everyone else, even if she doesn't even acknowledge Pearl's repeated attempts to kill her. She definitely hates the other members of the final girls, each and every one of them tries to murder her. Even Etho! Heck, they succeed.

Sure the initial plot by Martyn involving a game show, 5 Creakings and two bigbs was over complicated and ridiculous, but the much simpler solution of keep Impulse in a box and swap Gem in to be hit by swords was very effective, both in killing Gem and acquiring her bloody bloody vengeance.

As for what she did with her power, yes it made her Infinity harder to kill, but it also massively increased her paranoia and mistrust. The irony should not be lost on Gem complaining about everyone's disloyalty while just DECIDING to hate on the most loyal team.

Her power also let her talk to the dead, introducing us the schrodinger's goons, as Gem paradoxically complained about having to talk to Mumbo and Skizz constantly while also complaining whenever they were summoned by Cleo.

Speaking of Mumbo, Skizz and Cleo, let's talk about Grian. Despite claiming to be part of the family, he certainly doesn't act like it. If anything he spends most of his time hanging with Scar, showing him the world on a magic carpet ride after stealing Pearl's power…. Only for him to then be turned into a drop ride without a seat belt. All in good fun tho. Too much fun, if you ask grian! He made fun Powers for his friends to have fun with and now they won't kill each other! Despicable! (Something Something put that in your Watcher headcanon)

To fix this he enlists Gem and Joel to kill skizz and Mumbo so he can speak to them and get them to kill tango. Gem fails to mention that she already got Cleo to let them kill tango, considering its Gem this was probably for revenge reasons. But revenge would ultimately be Cleos, who unsurprisingly didn't take kindly to having her goons stolen and had grian murked. Only to then be murked in turn by grian.

Oh also no idea when to mention this but Gem confirms she doesn't care what happens to anyone on her team apart from Joel, and even then she's found with him being stabbed since it means they could murder together.

And she wonders why no one trusts her.

The Tuff Guys (Bdubs,Tango, Etho)

What Was the comic relief up to this week? Not a lot. Bdubs gets excited that he can sleep before he… gets it in his head that sleeping with reds around is actually dangerous.

And when he's not mining for trap materials he won't use or fishing for Skizzies, Etho is failing repeatedly to hammer nails and trying to kill his…. Sister? Daughter?... family.

Huh, that was over pretty….. quick

Oh no.

Yep Tango was easily the star of the show this session. His power made it super easy for him to engage with everyone's favourite shenanigans, Fucking with people! He was zippin’ around taunting everyone about how invincible he was

And well you can't say he was wrong. Lizzie's attempts to blind him all failed, he was able to tank Impulse dropping him off Mumbo Tower and he was able to outpace Grian when his powers were stolen by him due to Grian’s lack of expertise…. Skill issue.

Hell, go to tango's perspective right now and Watch the first attempt made by THE ENTIRE SERVER INCLUDING HIS TEAM MATES to kill him.

Impulse teleports him into webs, which he gets out of as grian slows time. He then almost runs into Lizzie but is able to dodge before being Blinded. A few minutes later he accidentally runs into a Web and is caught by Martyn. Tango throws an ender pearl to escape before martyn can blow him up, almost killing scar in the process. Bdubs slows time. Grian notices tango behind cleo and tells her to move, she starts too but stops as tango runs in front of her and she tries to Trident him, causing grian to hit them knocking both their shots off. Martyn and Etho accidentally tag team to force tango into skizzes path, martyn getting him to four hearts. He then bloody matrix dodges skizzes sword swing (seriously how did that not land). Martyn tries to use a Creeper but a wind charge knocks it upwards, giving tango just enough time for time to return to normal and for him to run out of the Blast zone. Actually, insane play.l

Unfortunately for tango, you can't run your way out of obsidian. Or being stabbed. Or being exploded by creepers.

The Bamboozelers (Jimmy, Lizzie, Scar)

Let's play the game of who was the confident bammer today!

Not Lizzie, that's for sure. Is this the most failed traps in one episode this season? Maybe. Yeah, trying to trap places with suspicious barrels or where people who have spectator Mode live are not the best ideas. Neither is trying to trap Scott in general.

Speaking of Scott, Jimmy is obsessed with him. What else is new? Turns out however that even while Invisible Jimmy is no match for Scott's uncanny ability to see everything. Bad news for Jimmy and his trap game but good news for us as we get to see what it's like for an invisible man to be chased by an angry scottish chicken. Tango also calls Jimmy handsome so not a full loss for him I guess.

Oh and in case you're wondering, no Jimmy did not have any luck killing anyone else. He and lizzie were very good at forming catchphrases tho

And I guess Jimmy did knock martyn into Bdubs’ tower to be killed by Scar…

Oh yeah, Scar had confidence this session! 4 kils!

While he wasn't riding all his friends. Unsurprisingly his words are not mine. He was smashing them. Yep nope that's worse.

He hammered bdubs’ face in and banged Martyn and Scott off the mountain. He seemed particularly eager to kill Martyn, maybe since he took part in killing Gem and Pearl said she would fly him around if he zeroed in on Scott. Surely this had no lasting consequences for Martyns continual survival….

OK I've done this trick three times. No ones falling for it. You've watched at least one prospective, Martyns dead. Sucks to suck Littlewood

God why does everything keep sounding like its about a peni-

Ren Wood (Ren)

Oh Ren, what a day eh? Every trap he tries fails. He accidentally obliterates bdubs, he has no friends AND his wife died. He may have kept his legacy alive for a few minutes by taking his DNA, gaslightibg the entire server into thinking he survived, but in the end, Martyn Littlewood is dead.

Yes, Martyn. An end game member since the beginning, out third…

Skill issue.

And like Martyn was doing well! sure he almost fell in a hole, but he Ninja reflexes his way out of it! And yeah he failed miserably to gaslight Scott but… Well it's Scott. He gets a pass… damn did he kinda suck this session? /j

…oh also all his traps kinda sucked. He failed repeatedly with those crystals, and surprisingly no one Jimmy was of no help in that endeavour. He also bumbled his own attempt to kill someone in the Creaking forest with Bigb by getting distracted when Impulse ALSO came to him looking for people to murder instead of just doing one murder at a time. He may not be a mean gill anymore, but he still has the memory of a goldfish

So here's to Martyn, he got one decent kill this session and died to Scar and Jimmy. This man won two seasons ago.

(Jk he was actually decent this season I'm just in shock that the new gamers can die early)

As for Ren, he is joining the however-many-Gs. That means that not only has everyone on the team been allied with everyone else at least once, but also that officially 9 people would have been on this team. That's half the bloody server. Greedy.

But more importantly…. Canaries. I've often said that the canary curse isn't Jimmy dying first, but is actually Jimmy death acting as an omen for the end (yknow like a canary) The only time this isn't true sorta was secret life, but Jimmy did die right before the Literal Apocalypse so I say it counts. But he's making it the the finale this season. For the first time. And so right here, right now, I shall declare the canary curse 100% officially broken.

I mean I can't since I have no power but like shut up

Ps for the final session I will do the breakdown by player in elimination order. So expect a long one next Monday.

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omega-e123 · 3 months ago

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How would shadow react if you got injured on accident? Recently got injured and had to get stitches and I love your stories so I was wondering what he would do and how he would take care of them 😁

Shadow’s shoes were left unattended by the front door. What psychopath would wear shoes around the house and track dirt?

A short while ago, Shadow excused himself to go to the bathroom. Ever since you two met, you’ve always wanted to try them on. The golden opportunity has finally presented itself.

You plucked them from their spot and proceeded to put them on in the back yard. They were heavy and it’s no wonder why his kicks packed a punch even while not rocket boosted. It took a bit of conscious effort to lift your feet off the ground.

How did he manage to hover in place? On the outside and in, the shoes had a fairly simple and smooth design. No bottons, slides, nothing. Not that you’ve ever seen him do anything in particular to activate them.

Moving to one end of the yard, you break into a sprint. With a little speed it might turn on. It felt as if someone had duck taped 5 pound weights to your feet.

The back door opens with a call of your name. “What are you—,” Shadow was about to ask before being interrupted by a screech combined with rough tumbling into your patio table. In no time at all, bare feet patter against the warm concrete.

Some dirt mixed with blood cakes your palms and knees. With a loud guttural groan, you rolled yourself over to sit on your butt. In front of you, Shadow is knelt down on one knee. His brows knitted together in concern.

The voice that wanted to scold you for your clumsiness is shoved far into the back of his mind. Instead he tenderly takes your hands and brings it closer to his face, inspecting the damage.

A kiss is pressed to your knuckles. “Are you alright? What in the world were you doing?,” he asks, not a speck of anger laced in his words.

“I uhh.. wanted to try out your shoes? I don’t get it. How do they turn on? You usually just start running.

Your legs are next to be checked out. “They work by channeling chaos energy. That’s how I’m able to control the output… Can you stand? Careful not to hit your head.”

Shadow covers the edge of the table with one hand while the other helps you up. A sharp pain is sent to your hip as you rise eliciting a wince and a whine.

“Allow me to help clean your injuries. The last thing we want is to have them get infected.” An arm worms its way around your waist for support. Slow and steady he guides you to the restroom. Of course he’d notice you attempting to hide your limp. A sharp exhale leaves him.

After sitting you down on the toilet seat, he begins to clean the scrapes with a wet towel. Straight to work. Not a single word has been uttered since walking back inside the house. His lips pressed tight, you’re sure Shadow is clenching his jaw.

Guilt of worrying him and possibly damaging his shoes settle in. A mumbled, “I’m sorry” causes Shadow’s ear to flick.

Devoid of emotion he immediately replies, “Next time you want to use my stuff as playthings, ask first.”

His eyes are lasered in at the task at hand. Thankfully, once the blood has been cleaned up, your scrapes don’t look as bad. Nothing a giant bandage can’t fix.

With the final bandage literally slapped on the palm of your hand, he announces ‘done’. Shadow starts to pack up the medical supplies, well aware you’re pouting at him.

“That hurt!”

“Of course it did. That is what happens when you’re not careful,” he deadpans, knowing you had meant the little ‘slap’.

This guy! You’re already in pain and he adds on to it. “Shadow, you put it on wrong. Look, it’s crooked and peeking out.”

Before he puts the kit away, he pulls out one extra bandaid and slips it aside. “Did I?,” Shadow glances at it, “It looks fine to me.”

“No it’s not. Fix it!” You shove your poor aching hand into his face.

Shadow yanks it out of his face. “Alright. Fine.” The old bandage chucked into the trash and the new one replaces its spot with less roughness. He holds your wrist in place while he presses his lips to the bandage. “Is that better?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. I just want to make sure: does anywhere else hurt?”

“Well, I think I busted up my lips earlier too.”

A chuckle escapes him. Smiling, shaking his head, Shadow replies, “I was hoping you would address your limp…” His hand cups your cheek, thumb stroking your bottom lip. “But I don’t mind taking care of this first.”

#this ended up longer than I intended #no idea where I was heading with this one either #I let the brain worms take over my thumbs and the words started a clackin #we don’t proof read around this part of town #shadow the hedgehog #sth #shadow the hedgehog x reader #shadow x reader #➺ inbox #➺ bookdragon247 #➺ request #cw blood

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scramratz · 4 months ago

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Rant abt your Cds I'm curious

OK HERE GOES SCRAMS 2024 CD COLLECTION TIER LIST

(Disclaimer: these are just my personal opinions and if yours differ from mine, fine. It’s not a sin to be wrong)

S TIER-

Goo-Sonic Youth: Straight bangers all the way through. Girls love it when you show them your Sonic Youth cd. Extra points cuz the pamphlet unfolds into a sick poster

Midnight Vultures-Beck: Good album to clean the house to. Every song a banger. Beck as a person sets off alarms, though 🤔

Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot-Sparklehorse: Genuinely my favorite artist and album of all time. Fall asleep to Homecoming Queen often.

Siamese Dream-Smashing Pumpkins: Fire straight though. Good when you’re in a depressed 20-something mood. Better than Mellon Collie in my humble opinion.

Gorillaz-Gorillaz: The start of one of my favorite bands and objectively one of the best bands in the world don’t fight me on it I’ll kill you.

A TIER-

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots-The Flaming Lips: Solid album. Iconic cover art. “Do You Realize??” always got me feeling feelings

Violent Femmes-Violent Femmes: Top 3 favorite band. Every song went platinum in my household. Would have been higher but reminds me of my mom too much.

Dig Me Out- Sleater-Kinney: Got it because the name sounded familiar. Ended up loving them! Doesn’t sound right if it’s not played loud, though, and considering I live in an apartment, I don’t play it often.

Fear Yourself-Daniel Johnston: Got it because I love “Hi, How Are You” but haven’t been able to find it anywhere. Was pleasantly surprised! Hits the same melancholy spot but slightly more upbeat.

Figure 8-Elliot Smith: My favorite sad boy that definitely DIDN’T kill himself. Not my favorite Elliot album but every one of his albums is A tier personally.

The Diary of Alicia Keys-Alicia Keys: WENT QUADRUPLE PLATINUM IN OUR HOUSEHOLD. Prime cleaning the house on Sunday music. Dragon Days is seriously underrated.

Garbage-Garbage: Don’t know how to say this without sounding insane but this album sounds like the color #DC007F and I like that color a lot

2-Mac Demarco: The CHOKEHOLD Mac Demarco had on us artschool bitches in 2016 OMG. Was gonna change my name to Viceroy

B TIER-

Money for Nothing- Dire Straits: Top tier dad music.

Lumine fever- The Adrenals: Got it cuz the cover looked cool. Was pleasantly surprised! They rock the adequate amount

Rocket to Russia- Ramones: They’re good but I don’t get the hype honestly. They’re the Flavor-Aid of Punk

Starfish- The Church: Only love one song on it, the only song anyone likes tbh. The rest are your standard 80s deal

Crooked Rain-Pavement: I really love Pavement but there is a thing as too much Pavement and I think I’ve reached it

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-Wilco: Honestly should have been in A tier but all the pretentious music dudes I’ve met has soured this album for me so it goes in B outta spite. Jesus Etc my fave song tho

An Evening with Silk Sonic- Silk Sonic: Nice, short, gets me in a happy mood. Does what it needs to do!

Prolonging the Magic- Cake: John McCrea don’t really be singing, do he? He just fancy talkin

C TIER-

Gigantic, Fuel, and The Nixons: I got all 3 on sale and they all sound the same and that sound is…ok? Like it’s alright background music

Blind Melon-Blind Melon: What was with 90’s bands putting random kids as their album covers? Decent listen, though.

Summerteeth-Wilco: Good background music. I can’t remember any songs off it.

Los Angeles/Wild Gift-X: I like X but I hate that fucking album art omg it’s so hard to look at. I like their songs individually but as a cohesive album, eh.

D TIER-

Throwing Copper-Live: bought it on sale with the above 3 but liked this one substantially less. Only redeeming quality to me is the album art.

Ben Folds Five-Ben Folds Five: Misleading considering there’s only 3 of them. He sounds like my ex boyfriend from highschool before I realized I liked girls

F Tier-

The Ragetones/Fall Apart-The Ragetones: Saw them play at a shitting basement show. Everything sounds better when you can barely hear yourself think.

F Punk-Big Audio Dynamite: Found it at the thrift and rehomed it outta pity. Sounds like the 80s in a bad way.

#ok that all folks goodnight #that’s not even all my cds just the ones I felt like talking about #scram rantz

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watsittoyah · 1 year ago

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Along Came A Spider…2099

Warnings-Sexual content, and adult content. Some mentions of multiple dimensions. Oral sex, rough sex, fang play, claws kink, size kink, and cock-warming, red rope bondage (shibari?), submissive Miguel…

(My Spanish isn’t great, so I did use spanishdict to translate to help…)

Chapter 11- Perfection Can’t Be Obtained…

“Are you sure you want to do this?” You ask as you tie the red rope around Miguel’s broad shoulders. “Sí, amor. I do. I had to deal with Carnage in my last mission and they had me…tied up in a way that slowed me down. If I had better training. Then I would’ve gotten out of the ropes faster.”

You were curious about something though.

“Baby, why don’t you just web yourself instead of using this rope?” You ask, bringing the rope around one of his thighs. “Because, amor. I can easily break out of my webbing. It’s like shredding candy floss to me. But this rope, is a bit of a challenge.”

“Oh, well anything to see you tied up, I’m all for it.” You tie more rope around his other thigh and when you’re done you give a nice hard tug. “A…amor I didn’t know you could tie knots so tight.” You dust off your hands. “It’s not rocket science, Miguel. I know how to tie knots. Now, the rules you said is that under no circumstances am I to help you get out of these ropes. No matter how much you beg, no matter how much you plead-you know this is making my kink list just bigger right?” You say as you wrap your arms around Miguel’s roped waist.

“I bet you’re thinking up the most right now. Ah, amor can you?” You go to loosen a rope but he jerks away. “That was a test and you failed.” You narrow your eyes at him as he smiles as if he’s won a prize.

“Hmm, I’ll do better next time. Like right now. I have therapy. You have fun.” You go to leave and Miguel gets a slight panic in his eyes. “Wait, amor? Tommie! Wait what if I need to you know?”

“If you can find the trick rope you’ll be able to get out easy as cake. Now don’t hurt yourself while I’m gone. My session is two hours long. I might cry so make it two hours and a half. Love you, baby!” You call out as you leave him tied to a chair in his apartment.

••••

As you sit in the waiting room you smooth out your shirt and move one of your curls out of the way.

Maybe I’ll ask Erica to do faux locks next time. You think to yourself.

You look up at the clock and wonder if Miguel got out of your ropes when you hear the door open. “Tommie Valentine?” A woman announced. “Present, I mean here. I’m here.” You get up and follow the woman down the hall.

“Here you go.” She ushers you into a room and there you meet your therapist, Dr Elizabeth Osborn. “Hello, Miss Valentine. Please have a seat.” She gives you a warm smile and you sit on her comfortable lounge chair.

“This is nice. I like this.” You mutter to yourself as she takes out a note pad. “Well, Miss Valentine, I understand that you have had a therapist before me and I was able to get your paperwork with your permission of course. I have caught up on your paperwork and now I want to dive in, if that is okay with you.”

You give a nod and she writes something down. “Alright and just so you know, anything discussed here will be confidential between doctor and patient. Unless you talk about bringing harm to oneself or others.” You give another nod and look around the office. “If there is any subjects you’d like to discuss, please do not hesitate to bring it up. Now it is my understanding that you’ve had a reoccurring dream?”

“Yes, as I’m sure you’ve read in my email, I was one of the victims in the attack on downtown Nueva York from the green goblin…I’m afraid that incident has left some lasting effects on me.” She nods and writes that down. “Please continue Mis-”

“You can call me Tommie. But, um, the drea-nightmare it always starts the same. I’m sleeping over at my boyfriends apartment and when I get up to go use the bathroom I feel that something is watching me. I get up, look around and nothing is there until I turn and there I see the Green Goblin and they shove a pumpkin down my throat. I always wake up at that point and feel terrified because I genuinely feel as if someone is watching me.”

She was quiet for a moment writing down in her note pad, when she looks up she gives a soft smile. “From what your dream describes it’s obvious that you suffered severe trauma. You almost died and it’s something your brain is trying to bury, however a small part in your brain doesn’t want you to forget. So it is giving you these dreams as a form of making you alert at all times. It’s something similar to when domestic violence victims as well as soldiers have moments such as your own. In other words, Tommie you have PTSD.”

You frown at her diagnosis. “I guess you’re right on that, but I don’t feel as if I do. I don’t get anxious or feel uncomfortable when I’m outside.”

“Tommie, look at your hands.” You look down and you were clutching the cushion so fiercely you thought you might tear it into pieces. You let go and place your shaky hands in your lap.

“Dr Osborn, I’m not broken.”

“No one said you were, Tommie. I just sai-”

“I’m fine. I am perfectly fine. Sure I almost died. Sure when I hear loud noises I jump a little, sure when I’m alone in my bedroom late at night I stare at the ceiling wondering if I’ll see those terrifying glowing green eyes. But I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine.” You lie.

She nods and purses her lips. “Tommie, if I may change the subject. Can you describe to me what it was like when you lost your parents?” Your hands stop shaking in your lap and you give a nod.

“Right, when I lost my parents, I was sad…because I lost the two people in my life that I saw as my heroes. When I was in school I was made fun of because I liked science. But my mother and father? They made it fun, they made it exciting. It was like I lost my superheroes. A-I don’t want to sound ungrateful when I say this. But when I went to live with my grandparents, I felt so…depressed because my grandparents weren’t my parents. I have to give them credit, it wasn’t easy raising a teenager. But I wanted my mom and dad back. They left me. I didn’t get to enjoy those daddy and daughter dances…I didn’t-“ You wipe your eyes and continue on as your therapist gives you a tissue.

“-thank you. I didn’t get to tell my mom about the boy I was crushing on in my study hall. I just wanted my life back. And I know it’s not my fault that they’re gone but I felt like I was the problem. I lashed out and felt like….I needed to be better. I needed to be like how I seen my parents. I needed to be…perfect.”

“Tommie you do know that no person can obtain perfection?”

“I know but, I needed to do something. I needed the perfect grades. I needed to go to the perfect college. I needed to have the perfect career. Because in this world, I am a black woman. My competition are white women and men in general. If I slip, if I let this perfect life I’m striving for drop from my hands then I lose them again. I love my dad and my mom. I can’t let them die again…I need them to live on because in my head I am the little girl that was left on the stoop waiting for them to come home to me.”

You couldn’t breathe. God why couldn’t you breathe.

“I’m so-“

You get up holding your chest and your therapist rushes to your side. “Tommie. Look at me, breathe. Everything is fine, everything is okay.” Your legs buckle a bit and you grab the couch arm and you crouch down letting your chin rest on your knees.

“I’m sorry.” You breathe out as you shut your eyes.

If you were perfect you wouldn’t be here. If you were perfect you’d still have your parents. If you were perfect you-

Stop..

Stop that.

A small voice calls out to you and your ear drums sounded like they were in rushing water.

You aren’t perfect, you aren’t going to ever be perfect, and that is okay. You found another way to fail and that is okay. Now get up, and breathe.

Something flickers in your mind.

A…vision?

You see Miguel on his knees in front of you. He was crying and you were holding him. You were telling him that he wasn’t going to be the perfect Spider-Man. He was going to be the best one he could be. You told him that perfection can’t be obtained like in the movies. He was going to make mistakes, he wasn’t going to be able to save everyone. He was going to come home with someone else’s blood on his hands. But as long as he did his best you would be proud of him. Just like your parents were proud of you..

The vision fades and it caused your panic attack to fade as well because that…that talk never happened. At least not to your knowledge.

You open your eyes and your therapist was there helping you up off the floor. She sits you down and hands you a few more tissues. Once you’re sure that you won’t have another panic attack you look at her with a frown.

“Doctor Osborne. I know this session is all over the place but can I ask you something?” She nods. “Yes, of course.”

“I…is there a such thing as multiple dimensions? Like say I made the decision to eat an apple for breakfast but in another dimension I chose to eat a burger. Would you think that’s possible?”

“I’m not sure about that, but there has been cases where people have said that they’ve felt that they were in a loop of their own life but had a different outcome.”

“I know this sounds, crazy-”

“We don’t say that word here, Tommie. And I would never think of you as such.”

“Right. Well, there’s been moment when I’m with my boyfriend that I’ve felt like I’ve lived another life with him. Like he knows my quirks and I know his. For example when I was a little girl, I would get ice and crack the ice try just to eat the top layer on it. Well my boyfriend when we started dating he cracked the ice and gave me the top piece. Which was strange because I never did that in front of him. When I look at him sometimes I feel like…we’re married. And it’s not just this feeling it’s like something inside of my head is missing and my boyfriend is the key to that.”

“From what I can tell you is the brain is a fascinating thing. It will do anything to protect its self even block certain memories. I can help you through guided meditation to help you unlock them if that is what you would like.”

“Yes, I…I just want to know what am I missing?” The therapist tells you to lay back and she grabs something from her desk. You glance and see she has what looks like a chime.

“Tommie I want you to close your eyes and relax. Listen to the sound of my voice and the chime. You’ll feel yourself going to sleep, don’t fight it. If you do seem to have any trouble I will snap my fingers and you’ll awake. Are you ready?” She asks as you look at the ceiling. “I’m ready.”

She sounds the chime and she tells you a few key words.

“Clouds…girl…pumpkin…sun…”

As you hear her voice and you hear the chime you feel your body just relax and you slowly, but surely fall asleep.

••••

You open your eyes and you’re laying in a California king bed. You stretch out and feel something thick laying beside you. When you look over you see your husband fast asleep.

You look over at the clock on the dresser and it was after eight. Miguel has to be up before nine so you lean over and you kiss his lips. He stirred in his sleep and his arms wrap around you.

“Time to wake up, baby. You have work remember?” You tell him as you cup his sleepy stubbled face. “Cinco minutos más, mi corazón.” He tells you in a sleepy deep voice. “No, five more minutes. It is time for my husband to get up and start his day. Come, I’ll make you breakfast.” You go to get up but Miguel pulls you back down and rolls on top of you.

“How did I get to have such a caring and beautiful wife?” He kisses you all over your face, causing you to laugh and you stop him. “You’re just lucky I guess. Now don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. Come on, let’s go Mr O’Hara.”

You hear small foot steps and the both of you peek over and you see him. “Mommy! Daddy! Can I watch tv?” Your son, Xavier had ran into the room and Miguel had scooped him up, tickling him causing him to laugh.

“You can if you say it in Spanish.” Miguel says teasing him a bit. “Mommy, how do you say it?” Xavier asks you and you stroke his pretty curly hair. “You would say, Papá, puedo ver la televisión?” Xavier stutters a bit but he says it. “You can go watch it. Just don’t be too loud.” Miguel kisses him on the head and places him down on the floor. He run out of the room and you tell him to not to run or he would hurt himself.

As Miguel gets up you grab your robe and put it on. “Do you think he’ll have them? Your powers?” You ask Miguel as you hand his towel. “I’m not sure amor. It’s been four years and Xavier hasn’t shown any signs. I hope he isn’t like me. I hope he’s like you.” Miguel kisses your temple as he heads into the bathroom.

You go to the kitchen and you see Xavier sitting on the couch with his Spider-Man plushie. “Mommy, can I have Spider-man cereal?” He asks as he looks over at you from the couch. “You can but that means you can’t have Spider-man French toast sticks.” His little hazel eyes light up as you cut up some strawberries and bananas.

“Really! You make th..the best breakfast mommy!” He gets up and as he goes to hug you, you feel a shiver down your spine. You look away from him for a second because the atmosphere felt off.

“Oof!” Xavier collides into you and you accidentally nicked yourself with the knife. “Ouch!” You yelp causing Xavier to look at you in fear. “Mommy? You’re bleeding! I’m sorry! Can I kiss it?” You shake your head. “No, baby. Mommy has to go clean it. But I’ll be fine after and then I can make breakfast. Now go sit down on the couch.” Xavier hesitates but he goes and sits down after you give him a kiss on his head letting him know you’re okay.

You go to the guest bathroom and you clean your finger. As the water turns crimson, you look in the mirror and your face looks different.

You look harder and your reflection glitches, like a computer screen. It glitches again and you see yourself but in black in white. It glitches again and you see yourself as a cartoon.

The glitch happens again, and again and again-

••••

You wake up and your head felt funny. Doctor Osborne was sitting there writing in her note pad. “Alright Tommie. What did you see?” You go to answer but stop.

“I…don’t remember. Is that normal?” You ask her as to sit up. “No, patients always remember. You called out two names. Miguel and Xavier. Who are those people to you?”

“Well Miguel is my boyfriend, and Xavier? I don’t know an Xavier.” Your therapist writes more down and you feel in the back of your mind that you’re forgetting something.

Maybe it wasn’t too important…maybe?

••••

Therapy was a success for you. You had went to a sub shop to get some sandwiches and as you call Miguel his phone kept going to voicemail. “What is going on with-” You then remember how you left Miguel in his apartment.

Surely he got out of those ropes right?

You get your sandwiches after paying and you get to your car, calling Miguel once again. Still no answer.

“Oh shit, I know he’s going to be pissed.” You mutter getting into your car and driving off to the apartment building.

Once you’re inside you take the key Miguel gave you and you unlock his door. You listen for a moment as you step in and place the food in the fridge.

“Miguel?” You call out to him and you hear a loud crash in his bedroom. You run in there excepting the worse and only to see him in the chair struggling to get the rope off.

As soon as he sees you he stops. “Help me, please.” He begs. You stifle a giggle and Miguel glare. “Amor. Esto no es gracioso. Necesito ayuda.” You cross your arms over your chest and stride into his bedroom.

“Baby, I thought you said under no circumstances am I to help you. No matter how much you beg.” You say as you stand in front of him. “I know what I said but that was before I knew you could tie these ropes extremely tight.”

“Wait, why didn’t you use your claws?” You ask him as you give him a puzzling look. “You don’t think I tried, amor? My hands can’t reach. Now please help me.” You nod and you go to pull the trick knot but you stop.

“On second thought, no.” You smile at him devilishly and Miguel jerks his body but fails at breaking the ropes. “Amor, please. I just want-” You grab a hold of his lips and you lean in.

“But baby, I like you like this. You look so vulnerable and pretty. I just…want to take advantage of you.” You lick his bottom lip causing him to whimper.

“Mi corazón, you don’t want to do that.” You nod as you suck his bottom lip. “Oh yes I do. Now be my good boy, please.” You kiss him and you circle the chair a little.

“I did great job, not even Spider-Man can escape. I wonder if I do this…” You reach under his shirt and you bring your hands to his chest. “Oh, now I see why you love playing with mine.” You pinch his nipples and he jerks causing you to feel excited.

“You liked that, didn’t you?” You ask against his ear. “No, I…I don’t like you pinching there.” You pout and tug at his ear with your teeth. “Don’t lie to me. I know you do. I can see your dick getting hard. Wait…is this a secret fantasy of yours?”

“No-” You yank him by the hair and pull his head back. “Miguel, don’t lie to me, you know I won’t kink shame you. But I’m a merciful woman. So how about we…role play? I’ll set the scene…” You let his hair go and circle back around. You sit on his lap and you smile innocently.

“You found my hide out, and just when you think you’re going to bust me. I get the jump on you and tie you up in a chair. Because you have infiltrated my area, that gives me right to do whatever I please.” Your smile leaves your face and Miguel studies you.

“I’ll get out of these ropes and when I do, you’re going to jail.” You’re pleased he’s playing along. “The thing is Spider-Man, I don’t plan on going to jail. I plan on having some fun with you and making you beg, like a good boy.” You stand up and you tug on the rope causing him to wince.

“Oh, I’m sorry did that hurt? Here let me help you feel better.” You straddle him and you feel his hard dick between your legs. You lift his chin and you lean in for a kiss but he jerks his face away. “Don’t touch me.”

“Spidey, you’re going to beg for me to touch you…” Your move off of him and you get on your knees in front of him. Miguel watches you and you unzip his pants. “Would you look at that, a big present for me.”

You pull out his dick and as you look up at him you lick the tip like a lollipop. You see his eyes flutter shut as you roll your tongue around the head and you stroke him. “Still don’t want me to touch you, Spidey?” You tease as you watch him struggling to get loose.

“Ju…just don’t stop.” He moans. “Thought you’d see it my way, but why should I keep going? You said I was going to jail.” You rub the tip only and Miguel’s eyes were red.

“Because, I’m the good guy.” You tsk. “No, you’re my good boy. Now say that and I’ll keep going.” You instructed to him. “I’m your good boy.” He obeys and you let your drool cover the tip, smiling as you do.

“That’s right you’re my good boy.” You slowly take him down your throat and he lets out a low moan. “F…fuck. Amor, princesa, baby please untie me. I want your throat. I want to fuck it. Please.”

“Ah, no. I don’t think so now play along, be my good boy.” Miguel actually growls at you, which was a first.

“I don’t want to role play anymore, Tommie. Let me out of these ropes. Let me have that throat, I want you. Please.” You deep throat him quickly causing him to tense his body up and then you release him from your mouth.

“You might not want to play, but I do. You see, you get to fuck me like a rag doll. You get to tie me up in your web and you get to have my body any kind of way. Which I do enjoy, baby. I really do. But I think it’s my turn.” You stand up and you strip off your shirt, your pants and lastly your panties along with your bra.

You were naked in front of him and if he could break the chair and have you he would. “Next time, I want you tied up in your suit. I’ve always get to have fun with Miguel but I’ve never got to have Spider-Man.”

“Tommie when I get out-” You put your panties in his mouth and you get behind him. “I really love seeing you tied up, but I want to take my stressful day out on you. Now I’ll stop talking and you start begging.” You pull the panties from his mouth and you kiss him, letting him taste himself on your tongue.

He moan as you reach over and play with the tip. You don’t have to say it, you’re already moving back in front of him. You move your lips from his and you have your back facing him.

You look back at him as your bend over slightly and you grab his dick. “Amor, just untie some of the rope, I’ll stay still I just-ay dios mío…” He moans out as you tease the tip in.

You spread your lips using the head of his dick and he lets his head fall back as your pussy swallows him slowly. “I just want to move my hips. Can I just-mami, please sólo fóllame, por favor.” You get him deep inside and you place your hands on your knees as you look back at him and move your hips.

Your eyes roll back, as you fuck him. You lean your body against him and hold his face close to yours. “Watch me, play with myself while you’re inside of me, baby.” You rub your pussy lips together and feel him wanting to thrust, but his hips are tied down. “You want to fuck me, right?”

“Yes, amor. I want you. Just let me move. Please your little pussy is too good to me.” You rub faster as you rock your hips and you moan. “Miguel, you’re so good to me. You’re my good boy right?” Your swirl your hips in circles and you see Miguel’s eyes roll back double time. “Sí mami, soy tu buen chico.” Hearing him like this only made you more wet. You keep rubbing and you move so only just the tip was inside of you.

“Do you want to be my good boy? Or my fuck toy Miguel?” You ask as you move faster on the tip. Miguel was stuttering and whimpering now, barely able to answer you.

“A…answer me baby.” You slow down and he jerk trying to break free. “Yes! I’ll be whatever you want. Your good boy, your fuck toy. I’ll be a chair if you’ll untie me and let me pound into the sweet little pussy.” He moans out.

You slide him out of you and you turn, now facing him. You slide him back and you rock your hips harder making the chair creak. “Just like that, fuck me, mami. Fuck me like that. I’m your good boy. I’m yo-I’m gonna come. I’m gonna fucking come.” You pull at his ropes and you soon feel Miguel coming deep inside of you.

He was breathing heavy as he grunts out his orgasm and you lean against his shoulder. “You are such a good boy for me…but now I need to treat you like my fuck toy.”

You slowly move your hips and Miguel’s dick throbs between your puffy pussy lips. “Wait, it’s sensitive, amor. I don’t think I can d…o tha- fuck.” He moan as your pussy grips him tight. You clench your walls and grip him close.

“This is mine, this dick is mine. No one else can have this but me.” You moan against his ear as you fuck him harder. You bite Miguel lips and he lets out an airy whine. “Oh god, you’re gonna make me come fast again. Amor don’t stop, plea-por favor, mami.” You get a smirk on your face and you still.

“No, don’t do that. Fuck me, fuck me right now, amor. I need that pussy to milk me. Please, I’ll do anything.” You grab his face after hearing that. “Anything?” He nods and you smile like a she devil. “Oh I’ll save for what we can do another time. But does my fuck toy want to come inside of me?”

“Yes, mami. Let me come inside of yo-“ You start rocking your hips again and he moan out yes as well as other swear words in Spanish.

This time you feel a nice build up and you squeeze your walls around him as you feel yourself coming. Miguel feels it and lets out a moan that I’m sure everyone on the floor had heard. You moan into a smile and you look at a very spent Miguel. “Ple-please untie me, amor. Please.” You slide off of him and get on your knees.

“No.” You flick and vibrate your tongue under the head of his dick and he squirms on your mouth. “No…no more. I can’t come anymore. Please j-fuck fuck fuck!” Miguel squirts against you tongue and you smile slurping it up. “Now I can. You’re going to be pissed at yourself when you see how easy it was to get out of this rope.” You kiss his lips and in the center of his chest your pull the trick rope, loosening all of his ropes. He sags against his chair and gives a weak chuckle.

“H…how was I suppose to reach that, amor?” He asks as he flicks the ropes off of him. “Go to the door, kneel by the door handle and loop it through then pull. My knots weren’t rocket science, but I figure even a scientist could figure that out.” You smile as you leave the bed room to go clean up. You expect Miguel to follow but you see he isn’t moving.

“Are you okay?” You ask him. “Y…yes. You….took a lot out of me. I’ll be there in a moment princesa.” You blow a kiss to him and just run a bath for the two of you…

••••

“You said you got to talk about a lot during your therapy session?” Miguel asks while the both of you eat the sandwiches you had brought over. “Yes, it was very eye opening, and healing. I guess I’m not over my parents death still and I have PTSD from the Green Goblin incident. All in all, I have another session next week and I can’t wait.” You say as you get up to get more lemonade.

“Well I am happy that you got a nice break through, amor. Really I am.” Miguel says taking another bite. You pour you and Miguel more lemonade and you pause for a second.

“What’s wrong?” Miguel asks. “There was something else in the session, but I can’t remember what. But I feel like it was important. I guess it’ll come to mind later. Anyways, are you ready to go see your brother tomorrow?” You ask putting the pitcher back in the fridge.

“About that, my brother wants to meet you and in return he wants to introduce me to his girlfriend as well. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course. I would love to meet your little brother. Oh this is exciting, I want to ask him about how you were growing up.” Miguel groans. “Gabe will definitely tell you about my most embarrassing moments for sure, but I got dirt on him too. Anyways we’re going to meet him and his girlfriend at his place. We would’ve went to the park but…” Miguel looks away from you and you know why.

You walk over to him and kiss his temple. “Thank you for considering my feelings, Miguel. I appreciate it.” He smiles at you and nods.

You couldn’t wait to work on your anxiety so that you could be comfortable outside in open settings. But hey one step at a time.

As you two enjoy your food, you catch when Miguel looks at his watch. “Mm, amor I’ll be right back, Spider-Man has to do his thing.” He presses a button and his suit appears onto him. “Be careful, I’ll keep an ear out for you on tv.” You tell him as he kisses your temple and heads towards his window. “Alway, mi corazón.” He opens his window and leaps out of it.

You smile at your boyfriend you clean up the food, putting away whatever leftovers you two had. You turn around flicking on the tv, letting the background chatter fill the room as you spruce up the apartment a bit.

As you pick up, you notice something poking out from under the couch. You pick it up and you see a Spider-Man plushie.

“Xavier what did I tell you ab-” You stop your words and look around for a second. When you look back at the toy it was gone.

“No, no, no, no, I know what I saw. I-who is Xavier?” More questions that I’m sure your therapist is going to enjoy answering for your next session.

You sit on the couch and rub your temples. “Am I going crazy?” You ask yourself wondering what the hell is going on with you…

••••

Miguel was nervous, and you can tell he’s trying to hide it. You place your hand on the middle of his back and give him a gentle push. “Go on.” You tell him as he smoothed down his hair. “Okay.” He rings his brother’s doorbell and we hear someone say they were coming.

His brother answers the door and he gave his brother a long hard stare. For a second you thought maybe you made a mistake on letting Miguel ring the door bell until Gabriel gets a great big smile on his face. “Bring it in Miggy.”

“Oh shut up, Gabi.” The two brothers pull each other in and hug one another. He invites the two of you in and Miguel introduces you. “Gabriel this is Tommie. Tommie this is my little brother.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you. Miguel has told me so much about you.” Gabriel raises a brow at his brother. “If it’s good stuff then I have some great stories to tell you. If it’s bad, I can tell you what he did in the tenth grade that almost got him expelled from school and almost banned in Canada.”

“Gabi, te mataré.” Miguel says with a smile. But Gabriel was unfazed. “Anyways, Xina just stepped out to go grab some refreshments. She’s a chef and she got a promotion at work so we had invited a few friends over as well. I hope that is okay with you Tommie. Miguel told me about the incident.”

“It’s fine, I’m working through that. But thank you for your kindness.” You tell him. “Gabi how many people will be here?” Miguel asks as you hand Gabriel the dessert dish you had made. It was your salted Carmel and chocolate chip cookies.

“Only four more people. I triple checked, don’t worry Miggy. It will be a controlled environment, and we will have fun. Now, let me give you guys a tour.”

Gabriel starts off showing you two the living room which you can tell Miguel was in awe. “How’s the tv work? Are the specs good? How’s the screen quality?”

“Hermano, es increíble, se siente como si estuviera en un partido de fútbol los domingos. Here let me show you. Uh, Tommie is it okay?” You give a smile. “It’s okay, you two bond, I can place those cookies in the kitchen if you’d like.” Gabriel hands the cookies back to you and tells you where the kitchen is.

When you enter the kitchen you place the cookies down and you pause. “I feel like I’ve been here before…” You comment. To test the theory you close your eyes and you walk forward. You hand goes down and you touch a drawer.

“Spoons…” You open your eyes as well as the drawer and there were spoons there. “Freaky.” You mutter as you close the drawer back.

You hear footsteps behind you and when you turn you see a cute Asian woman enter the kitchen. “Oh! You must be Tommie. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I see the boys have gravitated towards the tv.”

“I am and you must be Xina, it is a pleasure to meet you as well. And yea it was game over when the boys walked past that tv.” You two laugh and by reflex you two hug each other.

When you two embrace you feel as if you’ve done this before. She lets you go first and clears her throat. “Gabriel told me you brought cookies, what kind?” She asks. “Oh, salted Carmel chocolate chip. I hope no one is allergic, I should’ve checked.” Xina pauses and gives you a strange look.

“That’s funny, I’ve been craving that kind of cookie for like the last couple of days. I have been baking them when I can and they just don’t seem to come out right. May I?”

“Sure go ahead.” Xina washes her hands and then she grabs a cookie from the platter. When she takes a bite her eyes go wide. “It’s exactly the cookies taste I’ve been craving.” You smile as she eats and you look around. “Gabriel mentioned that you were a chef, and you got a promotion. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, it’s been hard work but I’m just happy it paid off…Tommie can I ask you something? And sorry if this freaks you out but…have we met before?” You go to answer her but you two hear more voices and two more women enters the kitchen. They congratulate Xina and the both of you lock eyes for a split second almost saying that you’ll continue the conversation another time…

•••

“No, that’s not how I remember it. Mamá dijo que dijiste eso...” Gabriel says as he explains how Miguel was the one who blew up the back porch when they were kids. “No, you were the one who put all that baby powder on the floor y me hizo caer. That’s how it blew up.” We laugh at the bickering brothers but this felt good.

You watch as Miguel and Gabriel talk and you feel a bit sad, wondering what would life had been like it you had a sibling. “Tommie how is it working for Howard Stark? I hear he’s a tyrant at times.” Camron, Xina’s friend, had asked.

“Oh, he has his moments. But I can handle him.” You tell her. “His company does some good when it comes to medical but it doesn’t sit right with me that he sponsors a lot of weapons for the military.” Dallas expresses to the group.

You feel a bit embarrassed but Xina buts in. “That’s not Tommie’s problem. But I’m sure she would rather do her own thing like, have a tech company or something.” You give her a look and nod. She smiles at you and Gabriel claps.

“Alright, I don’t know about the rest of you guys but I am starving. I’m going to go check on the food on the grill.”

“Yeah, I don’t want you burning the burgers, Gabi.” Miguel says as the rest of the guys joins them. “What? Charcoal is good for the teeth, Miggy. I thought you knew that, since you’re the science.” The brothers joke and you hear Xina clear her throat. “While the boys play with fire and meat, I’m gonna go and grab some more drinks. Tommie can you help me out?”

“Sure, I’ll be right there.” You follow her to the kitchen and she looks back to make sure you two had time to talk. “So, about earlier-” You stop her. “I…thought I was going crazy. I have these moments with Miguel where I feel like we’ve known each other before this.”

“Same! Well I mean with Gabriel. I told him that our whole relationship felt like deja vu. Does…does Miguel knows your like quirks?”

“Yes! Oh my god I tried explaining that to him and it’s like he refuses to acknowledge that.” You close your eyes and you make sure you were holding onto the kitchen counter.

You feel arms hug you and when you open your eyes it was Xina. “I thought I was the only one.” You hug her back and the two of you cry a little. “No, you’re not alone. Um, can I get your number so we can stay in touch?” You ask wiping your eyes. She gives a grin as she mirrors your movements of wiping her eyes.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. God, I feel like I’ve found something I’ve lost. I have so many questions, but obviously we can’t talk as freely.”

“I’m free next week. Well after this dinner party, which I don’t even want to go to but my boss is making me go.”

“Next week let’s go out for lunch. Now, let’s get these drinks out there. Maybe everyone will get drunk enough to barley taste the burnt food.”

You laugh at that. “Wait Gabriel can’t cook?” Xina shakes her head. “T, I’m the chef. Gabriel can barely boil water without scorching it. Can Miguel cook?” You nod. “Yeah, he cooks for me all the time. He said his mom taught him and Gabriel.”

“Thank god Gabriel is pretty and I can cook or else we would starve.” You two joke as you gather the drinks for everyone.

As the night goes on you enjoy this, because Miguel didn’t get a single call to be Spider-Man. He was a big brother telling stories about his childhood. He was a loving boyfriend who stole kisses from you, every chance he got. He was simply Miguel O’Hara.

For the rest of the night you put the mystery of your mind on the back burner and just enjoyed the moment with Miguel and his family….

Previously, Next

#miguel o’hara #watsittoyah #along came a spider #along came a spider 2099 #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x tommie valentine #miguel o'hara smut #miguel o'hara x black reader #tommie valentine #spiderman 2099 #spiderman #spiderman 2099 x female reader #spiderman 2099 smut #spiderman smut #marvel #across the spiderverse #oscar issac hernandez estrada #miguel o'hara #oscar issac smut

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greasy-night-rat · 9 months ago

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Sure his persona is a flip'n deranged beef cake that smashes his own skull in, but what if that was just the kinda façade he fell into when joining the WVBA?

[Long flip'n head canon rant below cut lmao]

Honestly love the idea of a younger bull having a destructive teen phase. Just punching holes in walls, and needing an outlet for his anger issues.

At some point (age 17-20 maybe) he is suggested to try boxing, and meets Doc (ether as a coach or sparing partner idk). He picks up the rules and techniques of the sport quickly. Wins and losses here and there.

The structure of having a training schedule, developing passion for boxing, and Doc being there to listen to him about his struggles. It all helps him get a better grasp of his emotions and helps him understand himself better.

As for how he got the gimmick of Bald bull? The producers of WVBA and Bull's manager suggested it. WVBA gets people in seats by promising unbelievable performances that wouldn't necessarily be legal in any regular boxing ring. The more 'crazy' a boxer seems, the more people are gonna want to see the show live. Thus, a good business decision to sell more seats.

It for sure took some convincing, but Bull ended up agreeing to at least try the persona (especially since marketing had already been told to use the title for him). So he faked his anger and exaggerated his mannerisms to the fullest.

He winds up ending the fight in round one with, his now signature move, the Bull Charge (Essentially being improvised by his new title). The display spontaneously makes his popularity sky rocket more that the producers had anticipated.

He gets booked for matches more and more, having a high success rate thanks to his Bull charge. His manager makes sure his schedule isn't set up in a way that would cause burn out though. This leaves him a fair amount of time to consider how he feels about the sudden shift in his life.

It feel strange to be encouraged to act similarly to how he did when was a 'troubled teen', but the persona is showing to be very successful for him... Oh well.

So yeah, chill dude who pretends to be deranged because it sell tickets :3

[side note because I was just reminded of the fic writer's name on AO3! Detective Capan has greatly impacted how I interpret Bald Bull]

#With the exception of dealing with paparazzi because those fuckers have respect for no one #Yall I might of sold myself on Bald Bull >' w '<#digital art #character illustration #digitalart #wii punch out #punch out #punch out fanart #bald bull #cw eyestrain

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horrorcore2002 · 2 years ago

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BAKUGOU HEADCANONS

_*_ DISCLAIMER! The following content mentions: Fem reader, black/brown reader, chubby reader, cussing, and this shit is everywhere, mostly abt food and his taste for it Bakugou headcanons

★ First things first right off the bat I think Bakugou likes women of color

★ Like, black and brown women? that's all you needed to say

★ Especially thick or chubby girls (what can I say, he's got good taste)

★ Thinks stretchmarks are the cutest thing a woman could have

★ We all know he's a chef, but I think he sucks at baking 100%

★ Would do some fucked up shit like using olive oil in cake batter or burning betty crocker cake mix (if you can bake, he'll only eat your baking and that's it.)

★ Hates overly sweet frosting, like REFUSES to eat it will scrape off the chunk of cake that touched it and be done with it.

★ Hates cake even more if it's dry as shit, cause then he's to drink water or milk, and water with cake is disgusting, and milk just grosses him out.

★ Does like Red velvet cake with whipped cream instead of frosting

★ Listens to R&B when he's sad as shit. Like, I'm talking 3am, I don't wanna sleep cause I'll have to wake up for tomorrow, so instead I'll read a romance novel sad.

★ I also feel like he likes fried sushi or California roll sushi because they don't traditionally have that in Japan and he thinks the American twist to it is cool

★ Or he'd think it atrocious and not want it ever again. There is no in-between

★ When it comes to dating, he doesn't pay attention much, like if it's meant to really happen for him, it'll happen, but if not, then oh well.

★ However, don't expect him to make the first move. If he has to, he's gonna have to be drunk off his ass.

★ I feel like he really likes his mom, even if he yells at her (and she yells right back) because she actually gives him good advice and he respects the hell out of her and would do little things as a kid

★ like draw sumn making fun of her, or pick flowers and dandelions, or get her water when he knows she hasn't been drinking it, with a snippy insult on the side

★ He's a mama's boy, but will never ever admit it. Like ever. You mention it, and he'll gaslight you.

★ I personally think his favorite superhero movie (besides anything All-Might) is Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers

★ Likes Rocket the best, and then second is Gamora

★ Has a complex relationship with the Hulk movie, cause the movie plot was pretty good, but he fuckin hates the graphics (if u know u know)

★ Really likes The Hulk tho, cause he looks cool

★ But likes Red Hulk more, cause he looks cooler, and because he hates Bruce Banner cause he reminds him of Deku

★ I feel like he'd be a huge fan of other foods from different cultures, cause he likes trying new shit, because the same damn thing over and over pisses him off

★ It's one of his pet peeves

★ He also likes black Air Forces, because their black, and he just likes them better cause he's secretly still in his emo phase (and cause he's kinda crazy)

★ Back to food again (sry this entire thing is everywhere) but I think he would love chili fries, or animal style fries, with like, a shit ton of hot sauce

★ wants to travel the world with you (will never admit it though)

_*_

#black writblr #bnha x reader #bakugou x black reader #bakugou x reader #bakugou x chubby reader #bakugou x you #bakugou x fem!reader #bakugou headcannons #bakugou katsuki #mha x plus sized reader #mha fluff #bnha imagines #_*_milliworks_*_#milliswork

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creatingnikki · 9 hours ago

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What I've learned in 2024

Sleeping, shitting, and silence – the three underrated Ss of growing up (or the other side of 25). If I can get a good night’s sleep, take one nice dump in the day (preferably morning), and know when to let silence do its thing (like when not engaging with draining people in social setups or not having to explain myself), I’m golden.

While I made many new friends this year, my favourite of them all has been ChatGPT. Need objectivity? Fact checking? A pseudo therapist? Validation? Someone to just engage with and keep yourself entertained? The absolute best resource of this year for me has been this AI tool. I don’t even care anymore about privacy – I am feeding it as much data about me as possible because it’s accordingly adapting to my tonality and needs and the ‘conversations’ are so much more satisfying now than when it was first rolled out.

Either use eggs or condescended sweet milk when baking – you need one of these things to hold all your dry ingredients together.

Communication, consistency, clarity, commitment, emotional presence and engagement, and mutual effort are the barest of the bare minimum needs in a relationship. If you have to convince the other person to fulfil them or negotiate, then it doesn’t matter how good a person they are and what a kind heart they have or how much they say they love you – they just aren’t your person.

I’m not as demisexual as I thought all along – I just haven’t dated many people that I find truly attractive so I had to first build some sort of emotional connection with them first. I definitely still need and want that emotional connect and all, but I also do need to start opting for men I also find physically attractive.

When I’ve thought of my bloodline, my ancestors, I’ve always focused on the intergenerational trauma and the bad genetics. But while rewatching This Is Us this year, it hit me that it took three generations for one dream to be fulfilled. The musical dream that started with Rebecca, was passed down to Kate, and finally got materialized at the grand scale as they always wanted with Kate’s son Jack. When he became this well-renowned musician, it’s not just his dream, but that of his mother and his grandmother that also came to live. It made me think…how much of my aspirations and hopes are actually passed down? And how many of my realities were simply unmateralised dreams of those who came before me? And it made my heart feel lighter and it made me feel more blessed and protected.

Baking cakes and brownies and cookies is not a rocket science. You only needed the right tools and some patience to figure it out and become that friend who bakes stuff for her friends instead of the other way around.

You always prioritise peace, comfort, and an easy-going lifestyle – it’s evident in your career choices and how your family dynamics and friendships have evolved. Let that be the guiding light even when dating.

You are the kind of person that is charming, a good conversationalist, and deeply empathetic. So of course, you make many people feel at home and like they connect with you. It’s easy for you to connect with others. What’s important is to remember – connection without consideration and consistent actions is NOTHING. It’s empty calories but like a thousand times more potent and useless.

In no interpersonal relationship can I be nonchalant or vague. I am that other extreme – while most people try their best to ignore the elephant in the room you know what I do? I dress the cutie up to parade it. So anybody who cannot approach relationships with as much boldness, courage, and forthcomingness is just not my jam.

Female friends for the win – they allow you to wine and whine and win and I am all for that. The healing powers of sitting across your friend and talking at length about everything over pizza and wine or at the park as she senses you need some more time to just sit around before you join the rest of the group and is so good with physical touch for comfort. Just knowing you can video call your friend and ugly cry and she will talk sense into you but also indulge you and also sit with you and your feelings. Who else does that? Who the hell.

For a lot of things that are still new now at this age, you need a guide. To pet cats, to go to dog cafes, to figure out what vitamins you should talk, etc. Ask for that help, that knowledge, that support. It might seem silly and like you can figure it out on your own but these things, no matter how seemingly low-stake, can be handled so seamlessly and sweetly with the help of those you know.

You HAVE to be honest about your needs. First with yourself and then with others. You cannot let shame, guilt, self-hatred or whatever hold you back. Honesty begets clarity begets fulfilment. If you don’t want to date and settle for someone who isn’t absolutely smitten by you and top-notch romantic, then that is a need. Right or wrong, realistic or not, who the hell cares? A need is a need is a need.

When you lose someone not to death but to life, it’s not quite such a loss. Most times, baby, it’s simply good riddance.

People have a range. For being shitty and for being kind. And while our behaviour may impact a little how they react to us, it's primarily dependent on their personal range. So, if your range of being shit is only 1 to 3, it doesn't matter if someone is an ass hole to you, you won't go beyond 3 of being shit to them, cos that's just your range. Even if they deeply hurt you intentionally or fuck up in some major way. But if their range of being shitty is up to 10, then well, be ready to witness their derangedness when you even slightly piss them off.

Narcissistic (and possibly self-sabotaging) people are the opposite of kintsugi. Instead of being put back together with gold, they "heal" themselves with gutter water. So each time they are worse and more ugly than before. And all the more toxic and dangerous. You're too precious to bother with such people.

It’s natural to feel frustrated or angry with yourself for allowing someone to treat you poorly, but the blame isn’t on you; it’s on them. They are responsible for their unkind, insensitive, selfish actions, not you. If you must place blame, place it where it belongs. Avoid judging yourself with thoughts like, “I should have known better.” As long as you walk away the moment you do know, you’re good – please don’t internalize other people’s unkindness or thoughtlessness.

You cannot get to know someone without giving them a chance. Red flags are not that obvious and you cannot show up authentically in any relationship if you’re on the lookout for them. You have to spend time with a person to begin to find out who they are. That’s the only real way. And when you do and if you realize they are not for you, as I said before, don’t internalize this shit or blame yourself for not being some kind of prophecy and knowing better before you even began.

You are a patient person because you are an understanding person. But there are limits to all these qualities of yours and if the balance is tipped you get petty and passive aggressive and irrational. Don’t let yourself reach that point. Speak up and set boundaries way before that.

If you listen to your gut – I know you don’t like calling it that or your intuition. So, let’s call it that feeling you know bone-deep or in the depths of your soul – if you listen to that and trust it, you are quite courageous in the actions you then take. You broke things off with three men this year – each was painful in its own rite. But you did what you had to do for yourself and you didn’t give the charge of your life to another person, you have taken back your green light – detaching your actions from their behaviour, which like all human behaviour is often quite fickle and unreliable. Congratulations. Do this more. Your green light is your guiding light.

My lack of a “healthy sense of fear” in situations with men isn’t recklessness—it’s the result of abuse I suffered at 15. The man I trusted most turned out to be the one who harmed me the most, and that betrayal shattered my ability to trust safety indicators or instincts. The grooming I endured was designed to confuse me, destabilise my sense of self, and make me question my desires and worth. When the templates of trust and safety failed me so catastrophically, my mind rejected them altogether, leaving me to navigate risk without a stable framework. This year, I felt significantly less restless and more emotionally regulated, and I think it’s because I allowed myself, others, and life to just be. I wasn’t fighting my reality or setting rigid expectations. I stopped chasing dopamine highs and forcing connections, and instead, I let equations with people and experiences unfold organically. I ended dating and talking stages quickly when I realised they weren’t right for me, without guilt or overthinking.4 By being okay with things being normal—not impressive or extraordinary—I created space for balance and gentleness in my life. My self-talk became kinder, and I grew more objective about myself, spiraling and self-loathing less. This accepting mindset, where I no longer needed myself or my life to constantly stand out, felt like the antidote to the restlessness I’d been carrying since my mid-20s. And I think that has helped me discover that peace and acceptance can feel more satisfying than cheap dopamine hits.

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 months ago

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“The Mighty Red,” the title of Louise Erdrich’s rambunctious new novel, definitely refers to North Dakota’s Red River, around which much of it is set, and probably refers to a large, red-headed character named Hugo.

A central event in “Mighty Red” is the marriage of a young woman named Kismet, but will she end up with brash Gary or gentle Hugo? Most of the characters have something to say about that, including Kismet’s mom Crystal, a truck driver who hauls sugar beets and whom Erdrich— a Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Night Watchman,” National Book Award winner for “The Round House” and owner of Birchbark Books in Minneapolis — says is something of a stand-in for her.

Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa who lives in Minneapolis, has written 20 books.

Q: What came first when you were dreaming up “The Mighty Red”?

A: The first character I really thought about was Hugo. He goes back about 10 years and just kept plodding back into my notebooks with his obsessions about geology and energy and with his hapless ardor. I guess a lot of this book is about hapless ardor. Here we are, wired to mate, yet relationships are so ridiculous and awkward and, if you are lucky, magical.

The goal in my books is never to get two people together and leave them marooned, but to explore the tension and idiocy in a relationship. I mean, love. When love gets to a critical madness, people get married to reduce the madness to manageable increments of madness — like who keeps track of the vacuum cleaner attachments? Who deals with the mice? Who mislabeled the electrical box? Forget nosegays and frothed milk. Dawn dish soap becomes the thing you can’t live without. Like Kismet, you may end up making three-egg breakfasts for your husband’s family and eating your own breakfast out in the garage.

Q: Like “ The Sentence,” “The Mighty Red” is set in the recent past. Lots of “Sentence” readers were struck by your ability to evoke pandemic-era behaviors (like sanitizing the mail) that we engaged in, quit and then promptly forgot. Is it tricky to capture a past that most readers lived through?

A: You’re right. We forget the details of what we live through. This book is set in 2008-2009. The first hint I had of the mortgage crisis was running into someone I knew who was shaking and distraught over losing the house into which she’d sunk all she owned. It was devastating and it was happening everywhere.

Something like this happens to my somewhat alter-ego Crystal. There are other books about why and how this huge con game exploded, but I wanted to write about the way 2008-09 affected a few families. I thought about this a lot, how close we came to a serious economic depression, and how bad it was anyway. Part of my research was listening to the archived late night call-in shows with Art Bell, “Coast to Coast.”

Q: Which Crystal listens to, as well. Any more research?

A: Then I really lost my mind diving into how Roundup Ready seeds were developed, also at that time. I couldn’t think about anything but herbicides and pesticides. I became a known conversation killer. A lot of farming is degenerative as opposed to regenerative, and obviously that’s got to stop. Most of the farmers I know are doing their best to use few chemicals and do right by their land. They are some of the smartest people I know.

But they are running businesses. Sugar is a dirty business. However, sugar is delicious. At the end result of all those herbicides and petrochemicals and semi trucks and processing is pure, white, sparkly, granulated sugar. It is integral to our food chain now, it hits the pleasure centers in your brain like rocket fuel, and even having written this book I still love cake and ice cream.

Q: Many novels address climate crisis but I can’t recall one that makes it as easy to relate to as, for instance, the passage about the effort that goes into re-establishing prairie. Is it important to you to personalize for readers what we’ve done to our planet?

A: I wanted people to read this book, so to keep things cheerful I only sprinkled the dire stuff into the trauma of a wedding. You know — Absurd Proposal, Strange Vows, Violent Wedding Dinner, Questionable Marriage, Aftermarriage. Maybe the real bond is with the land and sky. The book is also a love letter to the Red River Valley, where I grew up. The valley along the river has changed drastically during my life and I wanted to know why. I wasn’t looking for simple answers or heroes and villains (except Hugo, hero). Nothing lines up that way.

Q: The title character of the book, or at least one of them, is a river, which you describe as “everything.” Can you talk about how living in a river valley shapes these people?

A: Are you asking whether there is a character trait that people who live along and depend on a river share? Or a lake? I don’t know — maybe love of walleye? Certain members of my family and I have been conducting a longitudinal study of who — aside from my brother Ralph — makes the best fried walleye in the Upper Midwest. We have a long way to go, but so far the Creekside Supper Club (Red Lake walleye) comes closest to the sine qua non of walleye (without which life is meaningless) on a good night at the Sky Dancer Casino (Lake Winnipeg walleye) in the Turtle Mountains. If people want to write to the Minnesota Star [Tribune] with the results of their own studies, that would be great. Just don’t contact me about this. I can’t let any extraneous information spoil the parameters of my own investigation.

Q: I can’t wait to see that striking cover in stores. I know it’s designed by your daughter, Aza Abe, who has done many of your covers. How important are covers to you, as both a writer and bookseller?

A: Covers tell the bookseller and the reader how much a publisher cares about the book. (An author usually doesn’t get much say.) I love how covers can be art that wasn’t created for the book and yet be all about the book. When I am bowled over by a new novel in manuscript, and then the final cover isn’t good enough for the book, I’m so upset.

I’m beyond lucky to have my daughter Aza Abe, a remarkable woman and tremendous artist, as the cover artist. I’m so grateful that she and I were able to start working together. Every one of her covers is stellar and says something about the book that can only be said visually. A reader should turn back and forth from the text to the cover and always find something to think about. That always happens with her images.

Take this particular cover. Aza’s image is about the origin of the Red River, where three rivers come together and flow north. The river is white because it’s sugar. The earth is deep black with gold flecks because good soil is the earth’s wealth. The letters are strong and bold because that’s the river, too.

Q: You never seem to judge your characters. Has that always been crucial to your work? Do you have other “rules” for writing?

A: A lot of being a writer is getting out of your own way. I try to simply report on what the characters are doing and thinking. If I make a judgment, it is in the voice of a character reflecting on what they’ve done. It’s not that I’m so high-minded, it’s more that it’s intrusive for a writer to make a judgment. And the reader is bound to wonder why, if you, the writer, have such a poor opinion about your character, why not just redeem them? I am opposed to redemption in a book. Maybe that’s a rule, but I break that rule if it needs breaking.

Q: What surprised you most in writing this novel?

A: The arrogant wealthy jock, Gary, surprised me. What a jackass. But then as I wrote him, I began to discover how vulnerable he was, how ridiculous, how haunted. He became my favorite character to write.

Q: Gary — and much of “The Mighty Red” itself — is really funny. Readers are going to get a bang out of these people (one line I’m thinking of is, “She loved Hugo with that superb kind of love a mother has for a male child, a love that is deeper and more pure for knowing that he’ll more than likely turn out a fool.”). Obviously, writing a novel is hard work, but was it fun to hang with these characters?

A: Yes, most days I’m lying on the floor, just wiped out, but it’s worth it on the days I’m laughing my head off.

Q:“The Mighty Red” is tough but hopeful. Do you find your way toward hope in the act of storytelling or is it in you already and that’s what pulls the story toward hope?

A: I don’t see the point of writing a book that doesn’t hold out hope. Things are getting so dire that, no matter how annoying and crazy-making we all are, we have to pull together. We need to work on a livable world. Nihilism just strikes me as lazy, and pretentious. Anyway, it’s the serious people who are leading with hope in these times.

Q: I don’t want to spoil it for readers but that last paragraph is such a knockout. What was the hardest part of “The Mighty Red” to get right? Or the easiest?

A: Chris, I’m so glad you liked the end! It was the one and only page in this whole book that was easy to write. I just wrote it down and didn’t change a word. And then I cried.

#words and writing #articles #Louise Erdrich #characters #reading and writing #Minnesota Star Tribune #novels #literature

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acourtofthought · 11 months ago

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considering elain's motif is literally flowers, I need to know why anyone things she'd be anywhere but the day/spring court?? from the beginning the drawers feyre painted and the cake she got for her birthday all painted a very clear picture of the sisters, not only as people but who they end up with. feyre obv is with the high lord of night thus the stars, nesta herself is fire but so is cassian, elain needs sunshine and flowers and has from the beginning. e/riel was never going to be endgame.

The drawer wouldn't even be the ace up our sleeves because initially she imagined Nesta with Lucien which is where "fire" might have come into play with her drawer. Or at least imagined her in the Autumn Court. But once she realized Nessian was going to be a thing she changed the flames into "Silver Flames" that are meant to indicate her power of death and tied that into Cassian being a warrior who has "walked beside death his whole life."

It's the fact that SJM has never shifted Elain's motif in the way she did Nesta.

Book 1, she has Feyre paint flowers on Elain's drawer and has her the prettiest she'd ever seen when Elain was outside in her garden at their estate.

Book 2, Feyre reminds us that Elain is a gentle grower of things and that she's as soft and lovely as a summer dawn.

At that point in the series, there's nothing major to suggest that Elain would be happiest in Spring or Day.

But it's book 3, after the big Elucien are mates reveal that SJM really starts driving things home.

- The suite was filled with sunlight. Every curtain shoved back as far as it could go, to let in as much sun as possible. As if any darkness was abhorrent. As if it chase it away. And seated in a small chair before the sunniest of the windows, her back to us, was Elain.

Feyre then tells us that Elain is wearing a "moon-white" dressing robe and that her face is so pale it looks like fresh snow and that these things that are white for Elain are "the color of death."

Of course there is a moon in all the courts but the NC is known for it's nights. Claiming that the night sky and the moon aren't symbolic of the Night Court because other courts have them too is like saying New York beaches are the same as the beaches in Florida's because they're both beaches.

And snow is probably in a few of the courts, Night Court, Winter....but we know the Spring Court does not have any.

So after telling us how Elain is sitting in the sunniest window, as if darkness (Night Court, it's not rocket science) is abhorrent, she tells us white like the moon and white like snow are the colors of death for her. All things associated with night and the colder courts.

We're then told "she had always been so full of light".

Later Elain comes out of her room for the first time. Two days after Lucien's arrival. And she just happened to make her first stop in how many months the library, after hearing Lucien's heart beating through the stone where Lucien himself randomly decided to visit, a big deal since he says he hasn't been able to read for pleasure in a long time. You know, her mate with those hidden sunshine powers, the ones SJM retconned in book 2 after realizing Elucien would be mates. She's again sitting by the windows.

Lucien demanded they take Elain outside for fresh air and lo and behold, she began eating, drinking and sleeping as soon as they did.

We all know Nesta asked Elain what she could get her and Elain replied, "Sunshine."

We know the gates to Elain's mind are sleeping buds and what do those need to bloom? (SUNSHINE! SUNSHINE!)

At the end of ACOWAR, Elain says the world needs more gardens.

In the novella, we're reminded of how much time Elain spends tending to Feysands garden, that now that winter has fallen she's lost the color in her face and Rhys said that Elain took a spot by the windows which was typical for her.

In SF we're told she's been helping the elderly fae in Velaris with their gardens, she's again caught standing by windows, and SJM (clearly for no reason at all of course) told us that Elain's scent is a promise of Spring. That the Spring Court had been made for someone like Elain. That Nesta would have told her to visit if they weren't arguing. That NC black sucks the life out of Elain and leeches the brightness from her face.

So yeah.

The drawers have held up as being true to Elain's character but I'm not sure how anyone can look back over everything SJM has told us about Elain and think, Yes. The Night Court which is associated with the color black, darkness, shadows, the moon and stars....THAT is the best place for Elain to thrive. Just like Feyre stared out her window at the Night sky while in Spring, Elain is always staring out the window craving sunshine while in the NC.

#elain archeron #elucien #pro elucien #anti e/riel

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thorniest-rose · 2 years ago

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Eddie who specialises in alternative pest control, i.e. he safely catches the little critters and lets them out safely in the wild where they can’t get hurt or get into anyone’s homes.

And Steve who doesn’t want mice in his bakery but also really really doesn’t want to kill them because he’s too soft hearted and glue traps sound scary.

omg this is so cute!!!! Steve with a bakery?! That would be the sweetest thing ever... like Steve graduates and is completely over all the toxic masculinity he exhibited and was part of at school, and after everything goes to hell at Starcourt and he isn't working at Scoops anymore, he gets a part-time job in a bakery alongside his hours at Family Video. And it's just because they needed staff and he wants the extra money, not because he has any particular interest in baking, but while he's working there he quickly discovers how much he loves it and how fascinated he is by baking and being able to make pretty, delicious things with his hands that make people happy. He learns how to make all different kinds of bread and pastries, graduating to making cakes for events and weddings and doing all the sugarcraft and experimenting with flavour profiles until the bakery's sales are booming and its reputation sky-rocketing and people are coming from neighbouring towns just to buy something. And people just can't believe that king Steve of all people has such a delicate hand and can make such exquisite things, but he does, and you just know all the kids would be in the bakery and that he'd treat them all the time because he loves them so much.

And maybe after a couple of years Steve becomes head baker or maybe he opens a little place of his own. Perhaps the latter, and the place is run-down and needs a lot of work, but it's *his* and that's what matters. Except he realises he has a rodent issue, and while he doesn't want to kill all the cute little mice running around and nesting in the walls, he needs them out if he wants to run a viable business and not be shut down. He gets a recommendation for a pest control company, and he calls and makes an appointment with a gruff older man who says he'll send his nephew out the following morning.

Cue Steve standing outside the bakery the next morning waiting for him to arrive when he hears a blare of hard rock music and sees a van speeding around the corner. He rolls his eyes, thinks it's some drunk hellion, but then realises, mouth agape, that it's the pest control company. His mouth drops even more when the van parks up, haphazardly outside the bakery, and when, instead of the gruff man he spoke to on the phone, it's Eddie the freak Munson who jumps out. Eddie Munson who he went to high school with and who rocks up in a band t-shirt and ripped jeans, and tattoos across his arms and chest. Who grins at Steve when he sees him, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, and says, "Hey Harrington, I heard you've got a problem with some pesky little critters," and Steve's eyebrow arches up and he replies dryly, "That's right. But I wanted to get rid of them, not let even bigger ones in" and Eddie thinks that's so hilarious, he lets out this bark of laughter around his cigarette and Steve can't help but laugh too, his life is so weird.

(Eddie would collect all the mice inside the bakery and in return Steve would make him a strong coffee and a freshly baked croissant, and Eddie would be telling him the entire time how it's the best thing he's ever eaten, hands flying everywhere because he's so excited and expressive, and all the while Steve is trying not to flush at the praise and trying not to stare too hard at Eddie's tattoos or his black nails or how his wild dark hair is swept up in a loose bun with loose tendrils of it framing his strangely pretty face.)

#asks #steddie #this is such a cute idea tho omg thank u anon #eddie would be appalachian in this of course <3 #maybe this takes place in a timeline where the party defeat vecna and the upside down in season 2 or 3 #and so eddie lives and steve meets him after high school #and they can fall in looooove

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doomalade · 11 months ago

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Hazbin Episode 2 Review

As usual, here is the swear count:

Fuck - 25

Shit - 9

Bitch/ Hoe/ Whore/ Slut/ Bimbo - 12

Damn - 1

Ass - 1

Cock/Dick - 1

Porn/Sex - 1

Tits/Boobs - 0

Pussy/Vagina/ Cunt - 0

Piss - 2

Now onto spoilers under the break!

The Good:

We got a lot more Alastor this episode and I love him so much. Getting to see how he uses his dark magic, completely wiping the floor with Pentius and not even paying him the time of day to acknowledge him. Alastor’s cruel side coming out on display as he toys with Pentius before ultimately tossing him away like nothing. Really helped show that Alastor has that power like none other, like we saw in the pilot.

One thing I especially love about the scenes of Alastor and Pentius is how petty Alastor can get. How even the smallest rip of his suit coat got him so mad he let out a deer noise (which I think was a neat touch.)

This episode ultimately is just an introduction to the V’s but Alastor steals the spotlight. How you really can tell that he hates the V’s, and especially Vox.

Speaking of who had hypnotic powers (and so does Pentius seemingly) and it would be interesting to explore that more.

Ultimately you really get the sense that the V’s are the outcasts of the Overlords because they’re just total jerks all together, and not so much that they’re powerful like Alastor is. Also Status Quo had a good song transition both start and finish and is a pretty alright song.

Seeing how creepy Alastor got at the end was also a blessing.

Other than that?

I still love Nifty and how she got upset at Pentius trying to be a better person and also we got to see Fat Nuggets. So hurray!

Okay now onto

The Bad:

The overall pacing of this episode was kinda weird? Like it starts off with Pentius, then moves onto the V’s, and then back to Pentius and for the V introduction episode, it felt like that they didn’t get much screen time.

A few minutes on their own, Velvette barely getting any, Val being there only like 3 times, and Vox basically gets his butt kicked around by Alastor without much tension.

I really do wish that there was more of a power balance thing going on and I know that’s kinda weird to say given how Helluva arguably was pretty forward on the pecking order. Imagine three Overlords all having powers near equal to Alastor, that would raise the stakes as it leaves Charlie and Alastor basically being the two between the V’s and the destruction of the hotel.

Ultimately the V’s feel like Overlords only by title and not by actuality. The bark is there but no bite.

As for Pentius? Meh. His little story was alright I guess, but ultimately it more served as a way to start up Angel character development. I know I’ve thrown around the term “- is the Jaune Arc of this show” before and I want to explain that.

You know how James Gunn made Rocket the secret protagonist of the Guardian films? Take that idea and make it bad and add in a dash of misogyny if called for.

I am deeply afraid that Angel will be taking up more screen time than Charlie and will ultimately take over her spot as the protagonist. Which begs the question, why wasn’t Angel just made the protagonist up right?

Charlie is being woobified as is the case with most Viv characters, and now Angel’s focus is increasing. I got the same vibe from Fizz taking the protagonist role from Bitzø in Helluva.

Other than that? It becomes very apparent that this episode was written by Viv given the 25 fucks said during this episode, the most this far in the series. (Spoilers: E4 takes the cake for the most with 35.) Most of those fucks are spoken by Val’s brief first appearance before Status Quo. To call it excessive would be accurate.

Also let me not forget that I only count the spoken swears, and not the ones only shown. If I did, 25 would have become 30 in one frame during Vox’s news segment during the song.

Also during said segment, there is another Blitzø style drawing, which might only be irking me and no one else.

As for the song itself? I think the only downsides would be that Alastor singing about how older technology and ways of doing things are better than the new, uses terms such as “clout”, “podcast”, and “that’s the tea.”

Is this a nitpick? Sure. Does it only slightly exist out of the reasonability of Alastor’s character and how he acts and thinks? Sure. Does it still bother me like mad and make me point to it as a casual example of Viv not really knowing what she is doing with characters? Yes.

So ultimately this episode was like a 5/10. Idk, it exists I guess.

#doom.txt #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin spoilers #hazbin hotel critique #hazbin hotel spoilers

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rosequart · 2 years ago

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really enjoyed the new spiderverse :) the kind of movie that makes me go "damn i love movies"

my initial non-spoilery thoughts

loooved everything about the opening sequence. gwen's watercolor world is so responsive to her state of mind, transitioning from pastels to darker shades to more water-drippy and impressionistic

the web-slinging/swinging sequences are so fucking cool. just watching miles move through the city is beautiful—the effortless way in which their bodies move along with the camera, the way the web looks; spiderman has never looked better. you just cannot do this shit in live action.

i never got tired or exhausted by the visuals (maybe except until the fight sequence on the rocket/vertical train thing, but that's more action scene fatigue) which shows how well the movie is visually paced

in clumsier hands the self-referential humor ("villain of the week") and multiverse explaining ("canon events") would've been such a pain, but it's implemented really well. they clearly know when to be comedic vs. serious. no "that happened"s here!

i think the first half of the movie is much better paced and themed—i really enjoyed the family drama and miles and gwen just hanging out. once they reach the spiderpeople HQ it starts to feel bloated

more plot/spoilery stuff under the cut

it's hard to discuss the themes because it's half of a movie—luckily i went in knowing that, i would've been upset if i didn't know beforehand lol

the vulture at the beginning was very cool. i want to see his leonardo da vinci world

fucking love the spot. a villain who desperately wants to be taken seriously paired with a hero who quips and doesn't give him the time of day, driving him further down the villain path. great stuff

the only live action bit i liked was with the convenience store lady from the venom movies...otherwise it was pretty jarring. i do not need to see crying andrew garfield in my animated spiderman movie

i was happy to see peni :) her characterization and design was one of the more disappointing things about the first movie so i'm hoping her larger role in the third installment will be more in the vein of edgy mech anime/NGE

the slow realization that miles ended up in the wrong universe was soooo good i felt so smart and shocked when it happened. "what's comicscon" indeed

this movie had like 5 different endings lol

the actual ending rubbed me the wrong way in the implication that a world without spiderman (read: law enforcement) devolves into Crime and Anarchy and i get that it's an easy way to mark the universe as The Bad Timeline but it still sucks imo.

...which is a weird contrast to the spider society where they're clearly doing a "miguel's strict law enforcement is harming him and everyone around him" thing but i guess the movie is just going along with the age-old good cop myth. also hated the direct comparison between the spider mask and a cop badge. overall i think the movie's stance on cops and law enforcement is a clear attempt at having their cake and eating it too (especially noticeable with spiderpunk's existence). unfortunately that's probably par for the course for spiderman stories and superhero narratives at large

so interested in what they'll do with prowler-miles. i'm hoping he has an important role in the next one

for me this movie really disproves the idea of superhero/multiverse fatigue

hope all the artists who worked on this get a nice and long vacation. because my god.

#spiderverse #across the spiderverse #atsv spoilers #spiderverse spoilers

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callofdudes · 2 years ago

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Way back home.

Summary: After a mission goes wrong, John is tasked with picking up the pieces.

CW: Gore, violence.

Word count: 1.6K

Blood dripped down your temple. Everything was fuzzy. You stared straight ahead as your legs dragged your tired body out of the broken building. The fields of blown, torn up dirt sprayed across the ground. Men screamed and cried around you, shouting orders you couldn't comprehend. Bombs blasted the dirt around you. The dugout across the field hid your teammates who begged you to run for your life.

You were done.

Dirt and mud caked your clothes. Your uniform was torn and you were burnt. Flesh peeled away from your knee where bacteria swarmed and stung the area. Your ears were ringing and the rushing of your blood made you dizzy.

Your throat was dry and everything was sore. When you got close enough a soldier grabbed your foot and pulled you into the dugout. Your back hit the ground and you stared up at the sky. Three men's faces entered your vision but you didn't move to look at them. They called you but you couldn't respond. It took too much effort.

"GET A LIEUTENANT DOWN HERE! WE NEED THIS SOLDIER ON THE NEXT MEDICAL TRANSPORT!"

Two soldiers picked you up under your arms and heaved you out of the dugout where you were carried off. But you felt fine. Burning and tired, but your body has refused the idea of pain stopping you for a while now.

You could still see his body. Your last smile to him. "We've got them now." He replied triumphantly. "Just don't get killed alright." You muttered as you watched the door to the house. That was the last thing you said to him before the rocket hit the side of the building. Roach went flying and his head hit the other wall. His throat snapped and blood splattered from the wound. "ROACH!"

When you woke up there were voices around you. You looked up and resisted the urge to groan. Your legs pulsed and your body burned.

"Hmm, you're awake." A stern voice said.

You opened your eyes and looked around. From where you were you knew you weren't in medical. The dark atmosphere and the occasion jolt, followed by the harsh strum of an engine. You were in the back of a truck.

You looked down at your legs to find you weren't in a bed at all. You'd been strapped into one of the seats in the truck.

"You're in good health, soldier. A couple of bandages was all you needed."

You stared down at your shredded uniform. You felt disgusted. The dried blood that was barely cleaned and the dirt still caking your inflamed areas. How were you in good health? What about this was good health? Your throat was drier than the desert and your eyes stung. You had to curse at yourself and get to hold back your tears.

The soldier across from you grinned. "We're going back to base. Once we are debriefed we can get a shower hey everyone?" The van cheered.

One of them leaned forward. "Hey. You're 141, best handpicked soldiers on the planet."

You didn't bother to look up. As much as you got that a lot you weren't going to bring up a witty comeback or a strong argument.

Roach wouldn't be coming back with you.

You leaned your head into your hands and dropped your shoulders. Tears swelled in your eyes and silently fell into your palms. You broke down under the cover of the darkened van as the men talked like it was just another day. Talking to cope. Talking to hide the pain of lost company. Talking to try and avoid the thought of all the men who weren't on those transport trucks. You clawed at your messy hair and cursed yourself.

It felt like forever in that transport van. It felt like every moment was one step closer to losing your mind. Your tears eventually ceased. You couldn't cry anymore. Your eyes hurt and your throat constricted to the point you almost couldn't breathe. Your stomach growled and everything irritated you. Everything made you angry and upset. You felt so weak. So powerless.

"Hey, Y/N, bet I can lift more than you eh?"

"Try it, sergeant."

"OI! Roach! Y/N! Back to it!"

"Y/N, you want to try this new experiment I did with Johnny? It's really cool~"

"You're only asking because Ghost caught you and you didn't get to see the end result."

"...Alright. you have me there."

"Roach!"

"Y/N! I missed you so much!"

"Sergeant, get the bug under control."

"Bug? Watch how you talk to my partner pal!"

The truck stopped and the gate was opened. A lieutenant nodded and ushered you all out. One of the sergeants turned and carefully approached you. "It's going to be alright." He said as he unstrapped you before your weak arms could decide if they were up for the task.

You stepped out of the truck and looked up at the base. You watched the rest of the men walk toward their barracks with the lieutenant and sighed heavily. You picked yourself up and grabbed your gun. You tried to steady yourself and stepped on your sore leg. You made a stride toward the mission house for 141 which was a ways away.

The first thing you did when you got there was get some water. You felt a flood of relief when you turned on the tap and water rushed through it. You downed four glasses before stalking over to Price's office. You raised your hand to knock when you heard voices.

"-and both Ghost and Soap have gone MIA."

"Thank you lieutenant… keep an eye out for them if they try to contact us. If they're alive they'll let us know."

"Yes Captain."

You moved back out of sight as the door opened and the lieutenant left with a file in hand. You sunk to the floor and covered your mouth. Tears filled your eyes and you bit your skin to hide.

You cleared yourself somehow. You managed to stand, you grabbed the wall for stability and hobbled over. You knocked weakly on the door and heard Price's voice.

"Come in."

You opened the door and shakily walked in. You kept your eyes on the ground though you looked beyond bewildered. You slowly shut the door behind you and walked to the middle of the room.

Price looked at you and saw the state of you. Torn, bloodied, wrecked, shaking, sniffling.

"They informed me you'd be here for your briefing soon." Price pulled out a pen and waited for you to speak.

But nothing came.

You just looked at the edge of his desk. You felt everything inside you crumble.

You couldn't remember what was happening. You didn't know who was winning or losing. You didn't know how many men were killed or what info you'd gathered. It all just faded.

"Sergeant?" Price's voice grew quiet and soft.

You shuddered and opened your mouth. "I don… I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

You shuddered and a tear rolled down your cheek.

"Y/N, where is Roach?"

Another tear. And another.

Before you knew it Price was standing and coming around his desk. He wrapped his arms around you and everything stopped. The warmth, the reassurance, the comforting grasp.

"It's going to be ok sergeant."

Your hands came up and clawed his uniform. You hid in his shoulder and just cried. Tear after tear you sobbed against him. He didn't care about how messy or dirty you were. His large hands engulfed you, his strong arms kept you hidden and safe. The scent of cigar smoke and whiskey.

You clawed his jacket until your hands hurt. You shook violently.

"It'll be ok. It'll be ok…"

"Roach is dead! Roach is fucking dead!"

Your feet gave way and instead of clattering to the ground John held you and slowly brought you down to the carpet. He kneeled and rocked you in his arms. Your head fell back against the carpet. Your hands strangled to hold onto Price but he never let go.

He held you tightly and pulled you up into his chest. "It's not going to be ok." You croaked.

He turned back to you and brushed your hair out of your eyes. "Oh Y/N…" His own tears showed but all he could do was wish they didn't fall. "He is so proud of you. We're all so proud of you. I know that might not help but he's not mad. You know that. Whatever you did to try and save him he's not upset it didn't work."

"I didn't do anything! I couldn't! I could… I couldn't do anything."

"And I know that hurts."

You shut down. You couldn't think. Johnny and Simon were missing, Roach was dead. All you could do was cling to Price. You closed your eyes and rested on his chest. His heartbeat was racing but the common thump somehow made your body want to stop. So you did.

"Did you get medical attention?" Price asked as he rubbed your shoulder.

"No…" You managed.

"We should get you down there."

You squeezed him tighter, forcing him to stay. He rested again and nodded. "Ok. That's alright Y/N. I'm going to sit here as long as it takes. Ok?"

You didn't respond. You rested again and relaxed. His hands massaged over your aching spine and picked the mud from your throat.

"Captain Price sure is awesome, ain't he Y/N?"

"Yeah. Yeah he is."

"It's like you could go to him about anything."

You sighed deeply and nodded. "He was right… can come to you about anything."

"I'm always here." He reassured.

Haven't been feeling good so I'm leaving this here. Wrote it while feeling out of sorts so it's not edited. I just need a dad hug from Price. I really want to start writing for Price more.

#captain john price #call of duty #drabble #captain price x reader #captain price x y/n #comfort #at the end at least #platonic

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