#so I have to rely on feeling for what I looked like

[queensnarf]

I am begging you all to use Google Scholar. I beg. It is SO useful.

That said, there are some easy ways to check if something is credible without relying on a website or AI to do the research for you. To start– checking citation numbers of the article (the total number of times the article has been cited), impact factor of the journal the article is published in (number of citations per document each year with respect to the previous year), looking up the first person and the last person credited on the published work and looking into the number of times their other works been cited (assuming they have any), double checking that the people credited do not have any conflicts of interest (this can often be determined by looking into where they work and what their occupation is), checking if the article is peer reviewed, and also checking to see if the people that wrote or published their work received money to do so– all are effective ways to do your research for a credible source.

Not all of these individually are guaranteed indicative of if something is credible or not, but it's important to keep these details in mind if they start to add up, as they can offer insight into whether something is trustworthy. Especially if you happen to spot a lot of inconsistencies. Things like: "not a lot of citations" or "has only published once" or "received a grant for this publication" to name a few should raise a a few brows as unreliable. These are indicative of their lack of experience in their field and whether they had ulterior motives to publish (like monetary gain), meaning their work could've been rushed or they didn't do their due diligence in preventing human or written error.

For instance, a lot of pseudoscience or political think pieces rely on big name publishers and journals to trick people into thinking they're a reliable source. So if you happen to spot a name that's easy to identify from a quick Google search, sometimes people won't dig further into it. That's why the "vaccines cause autism" guy got away with what he did. Everyone saw the journal he published in (Lancet) and immediately believed him, because the journal he was permitted to publish in was famously believed to be credible. Actually reading the article he published though gives away so much that is wrong with the study, specifically that he didn't do any sort of research and essentially wasted paper talking in depth about how he abused a bunch of children.

And this is not to say that it's anybody's fault for falling for it, it is so easy to get caught up in a cleverly constructed lie. Just that if something sounds too good to be true or genuinely terrifying, it's usually an exaggeration and they're not as trustworthy as you might think. Double check if you stumble upon an article like this!

Generally, for an article to be a credible source, you want to find a peer reviewed article with a lot of citations and a high impact factor for the journal it's published in, as well as no sign of conflict of interest by the publisher. Most of the time, you'll find that a credible source comes from a long-time professor at a university, but even then, not even professors or graduates at big name universities can fully be trusted. The numbers don't lie though, find them on Google Scholar and check out their published works and total number of citations to see for yourself.

Lastly, most of this can easily be done on Google Scholar but I feel the best place to check for impact factor is SJR. Just type in the name of the journal you're looking into and scroll down to view the citations/doc. You might find that some of journals you believe are highly reliable have had a significant downturn in citations over the years. That doesn't automatically mean the journal is no longer credible, just that it may be "less" credible than it once was. And this can happen for all sorts of reasons, including having publishing an article in the past that was later disproven.

Anyway hope this offers some helpful insight! I'd post a tutorial on how to check for these things but I'm afraid I'm out of time. Best of luck out there!

[rafeovermorals]

joel carves his initials into your thigh.

content/warnings: joel makes sure everyone knows who you belong to, blood kink (like.. if this is not your thing please scroll), dark!joel, unspecified age gap, use of daddy, joel is possessive and controlling

it was girls night. well, it was supposed to be.

you were getting ready to go out with your friends— with plans to see a movie and get some ice cream. you had ditched them the last few weekends, joel always coming up with an excuse as to why you couldn't leave.

"nuh uh, you didn't finish your chores. next time, baby." or "you know that's past curfew, can't have you out after dark."

your friends didn't like him all that much. they believed he was too controlling, too mean, too scary. but they didn't know the joel that you knew— the one that protected you, nurtured you, saved you. the man who worked all day, every day just so that you didn't have to. you owed it to him to listen whenever he told you no, considering all that he does.

but joel was working late. he called you during his lunch break to let you know that it was taking him longer than expected, which meant he wouldn't be back in time to say no.

still, he knew something was up. you were too quiet when he talked to you that afternoon- not doing your usual whining whenever he had to break the news that he wouldn't be home for dinner, again.

you didn't fuss or even try to beg him to come home early like he expected you to. it made him feel good when you did that, being a reminder of how important he was. you depended and relied on him because he molded you to be that way, but to hear how much you wanted and needed him made everything worth it.

now joel was concerned. he sat back in his chair thinking about the last couple of days and your behavior. he hadn't checked your phone recently, could you have met someone new, maybe younger? were you losing interest in him, moving on? the thought alone had him seeing red.

so he ditched the rest of his work, and headed home.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

you didn't hear him come in, too busy applying another coat of lipgloss and checking yourself out in the bathroom mirror as he stood leaning against the doorframe.

"where do you think you're goin'?"

his voice startled you, dripping in a tone that you almost didn't recognize as joel's. it was low and unsettling, nothing like how it normally sounded when he greeted you.

you turned to meet his expression to see his face firm and unamused, not a twitch of a smile. you swallowed, eyes wide in shock.

"wh- what are you doing home so soon?"

"who are you to question me? i asked you somethin' first, so answer it." he gritted through his teeth, finger pointed at you.

"my friends wanted to see me, since you were still working i told them i could." you replied hesitantly, stepping back as he walked closer.

"so you were trying to sneak out? while daddy's busting his ass so that you have warm meals and a roof over your head, you were planning to go behind my back?"

you shook your head, frowning at his words. you hated to upset him and that wasn't your intention. he was right, he always was.

"it's not like that, i promise! we wouldn't be gone long, i swear."

joel didn't respond right away, silence lingering heavy in the air. your heart was thumping in your chest as he stared at you, finally getting a moment to scan over your figure to notice what you were wearing.

an outfit you had no business in is what it was. one he told you that you were only allowed to wear around him. it fit you perfectly— meaning it was too short, too pretty, too innocent.

joel was getting angrier the longer he looked at you. he realized you also did your makeup, the apples of your cheeks pink from blush and your lashes dark with mascara.

"think m'gonna let you leave the house lookin' like this? stupid girl."

before you could speak he cornered you against the sink, grabbing your waist and lifting you onto the counter as if you weighed nothing to him.

"dressed like you're seekin' another man's attention, damn shame. after everything i do for you." he muttered to himself, his fingers digging into the flesh of your stomach. you could tell by the pressure that he would leave bruises there tomorrow— and the more you whined, the harder he pressed.

he was too far gone to calm down at this point. you could tell by coldness in his demeanor and how he eventually stopped responding all together. his pupils were dilated, the rich shade of brown now blown to be pitch black.

"i don't have to go anymore, im sorry! we can stay here, together, please."

"too late for that, sweet baby." he parted your legs, nudging himself between the gap and impatiently shoving up the fabric of your skirt.

that's when you felt it. a cold, flat object dragging along the warm skin of your inner thigh. the cool sensation sent a chill up your spine, making you look down to spot the source.

he had a pocket knife in his right hand, the tip of the blade so close that it was ghosting just over your cunt.

it was the same one he always used. he kept it with him at all times, whether it was to crack open beers or to whittle his wood carvings. now he had the idea to use it on you.

your breath hitched, your body tensing as you watched him slowly brush it past your clothed clit. "joel, what are you-"

you were interrupted by the sound of cotton ripping, the blade slicing through the thin material of your underwear. you choked on a gasp, your eyes meeting his face to find a smirk. joel was skilled with a knife. he had years of experience longer than you were alive for, so he was more than careful and capable enough to assure he didn't hurt you. not there, at least.

"how can i leave y'alone when i can't even trust ya to stay put, huh? keepin' secrets, not being honest with me. maybe i ain't made myself clear yet."

he cut into your skin. a quick, thin line on the top of your thigh just under where your dresses normally stop at. you whimpered with a wince, beads of red prickling out from the area.

"shhh, it's okay. daddy's gotta do this though, so you'll learn." he pulled what used to be panties from underneath you, balling it together and holding the piece to your mouth. "here baby, bite down. it'll help."

you reluctantly accepted it, teeth clenching down and bracing from what was to come.

he used his other hand to hold down your leg. "try and stay still, so it comes out straight. want it to look nice." you felt the next cut, this time it hooking with a jagged curve at the end.

you sniffled through the pain, squeezing your eyes closed while he did the rest, tears falling from them with each incision-like gash. as much as it hurt, joel was gentle— mumbling praises "doing so well, sweetie." and "being such a good girl f'me."

his words went to your core, heating in sensitivity from the tingling burn that was left after each run of the blade which soon turned into pleasure. "you're enjoying this, aren't you? it's okay if you do."

you nodded desperately, a muffled mewl spilling from your lips while you bucked your hips for more.

the knife was soon replaced with something wet, providing relief to the wound. your vision, still blurry from the strain of crying, adjusted into focus see joel's head of curls crouched in front of you— face down and tonguing at the tender area.

he was licking your thigh, cleaning up the blood that had risen to the surface of your skin. he moaned into it, sucking with greed as if he craved the taste, placing kisses after each spot that he finished. it was a filthy imagine, downright horrific. "i could eat you all fucking day, baby, i swear. drain you dry."

the feeling was visceral, unlike any orgasm you ever had before. your legs were shaking as he did so, soaking the marble beneath you in your slick. he brought his mouth to your pussy and repeated the same actions there until you came, the sweet of your arousal mixing with the metallic of your blood that lingered on his tongue. his pulled back, his beard stained maroon— a color that could pass as being from a glass of wine.

what joel had done was sacred, intimate, metaphoric. a carnal desire, more true than any other act of love.

he made sure that he didn't go deep enough for stitches, but enough to leave a scar. one that would be a permanent reminder embedded and branded on you, forever.

you looked to see the initials engraved: J M

[oneofstarkskids]

redemption

THUNDERBOLTS* END CREDITS SPOILERS:

genre; angst with a splash of fluff

summary: bucky knows that even when he feels like there's no one he can rely on, nobody who's willing to stay, you'll be right there beside him.

"it went poorly," bucky tells yelena about his call to sam. part of bucky wanted to be angry with sam.

how could he sit there, knowing this was what bucky's always wanted- purpose, redemption- and try to take it away from him?

at the same time, bucky felt almost guilty. like it was his own fault. he should've done something. said something. told everyone it was another one of valentina's scams.

but he couldn't. not when there were so many people cheering and chanting for him. they weren't calling him the winter soldier. a monster. not a criminal, but an avenger.

a true hero.

he went home to you, heart feeling heavy.

"hey sweetheart," you greeted him at the door, wrapping your arms around his neck.

you ran your hands through his blown out curls, brushing them out of his pretty face. you noticed the tired look in his eyes. "everything okay?"

he sighed before pulling you into him, caging you against him in a crushing embrace.

you didn't push the matter. you just let him hold you like that for as long as he needed, and eventually he sat down and confided in you.

"sam called," he started, but paused. you smiled a bit at the mention of your friend. he'd been there countless times for both you and bucky.

bucky had gone to visit him about a year ago, but it had been awhile since you had talked to him without having to dial his number.

"how is he?" you asked.

"he's suing me," he said flatly. you furrowed your brows and shook your head, trying to wrap your mind around it. "well, not just me, the new avengers. for copyright."

it suddenly made sense.

"oh, bucky," you sat down next to him, interlocking his metal fingers with your flesh ones.

he kept his gaze on the floor, "he was pissed. and maybe he has every right to be."

you didn't say anything. what could you say?

you could see it from sam's point of view. he was an avenger. and he'd lost so many of his teammates.

bucky had even told you that sam was planning to rebuild the avengers a while back. you were so sure that he would've asked bucky to join.

but it looks like he never got the chance.

and bucky. your bucky. this meant so much to him. it's not like he went out searching for it. this team, these lonely, messed up people, just happened to fall right in his lap.

they were just like him. people who'd fucked up beyond redemption.

but here they were, getting the clean slate each of them had only ever dreamt of.

he was supposed to throw that all away?

he rested his forehead on your shoulder, "i don't know what to do. you know, after steve..." you waited for him to finish, knowing it was a rough topic.

"after steve left, i thought i would never have that kind of bond with anyone else," he whispered.

"besides you, of course," he looked up at you with a lopsided grin.

you smiled back, softly.

"but then sam and i...we really started to understand each other. we were forced to work together, and despite him being an annoying pain in my ass... he's filled the emptiness that steve left behind." his face contorts with pain.

you took his face into your hands, thumbs brushing across his cheeks.

"what if he never forgives me?" he asks the question that leaves the room thick with the loss and pain he's lived with his entire life.

you shook your head once more, "buck, don't say that. he's sam. he's pissed off, probably hurting, but he loves you."

"a brief argument over the phone is never going to change that. you two will work this out," you said confidently. it helped that you truly believed the words coming out of your mouth.

there were some bumps in the road of bucky and sam's relationship, but ultimately, they were the captain and his sergeant. inseparable.

bucky was in awe of you. your unwavering faith in him. your never-ending love and support. his blue eyes shined with affection.

"i'm glad that it's you by my side, doll," he whispered. "even if nobody else is."

you pressed your forehead against his and frowned, "which they are."

he couldn't help but chuckle at how adamant you were.

"c'mere," he lifted your chin slightly and kissed you tenderly, his love for you evident in the way his lips lingered against your own.

[marsprincess889]

Vedic astrology observations

Part 11

Or rather: information that I think people forget or do not consider

Enjoy 💕

1. Your Rahu and Ketu axis (signs, nakshatras, houses) is extremely important. To understand and live your life story, you have to look into those placements. Any planet associated with them (conjunct one of them) automatically becomes a crucial part of a person's life story and the themes represented by those planets or planet are like lessons you keep learning or themes you keep bumping into along the journey. There is a highly mythological element to Rahu and Ketu as they are always connected and they always tell a story.

2. Your Ascendant is the filter that everything in your chart goes through while expressing itself. I understood the true nature of the ascendant while revisiting the themes of my ascendant nakshatra and thinking that it was so like me, so me, and yet, it was not really me on the inside, it did not fully feel like me, I just lived it. Ascendant is like the thing you just have to do and go through but even though it's so present and so important, diving too deep into and overthinking those characteristics of yours may not be so healthy. Ascendant is basically the themes of Aries (natural ruling sign of the 1st house) and those include the struggles and uncomfortable sensations that a person has while coming into the body. You may not feel like your Ascendant or connect to it like you connect to your moon but you still live out its themes in the grand scheme of things. And it's important to treat it as what it is_ uniquely important but different from planetary influences. In a way, it's also "mythological" for a person, in a sense that its themes are obvious to everyone (sometimes it can be so straightforward and "in your face" that it might be dismissed) and directly associated with a native's life but it's first and foremost those things, not a deeply buried mystery in a person to be uncovered.

(In short: accept and love your ascendant, embrace it but don't overthink it and do not try to fix it or change it. It is what it is and it does not have to be deeply personal. You cannot really escape it. )

3. Malefics are not always malefics (except maybe the nodes). Saturn, for example, is traditionally malefic for every chart but that does not mean that it gives every single person a really hard time. Unlike other traditional malefics (Mars and Sun) Saturn is directly associated with "hard times", difficulties and obstacles in general. Malefics and Benefics can be personal, and those depend on the ascendant. If a planet rules houses that are considered "negative", even if it's a traditional benefic, then it becomes malefic. The same applies when traditional malefics rule "positive" houses. This is not the exact rule, as sometimes a planet can rule both a "good" and a "bad" house. You can search for benefics and malefics for every ascendant online, it's easily found.

Having Saturn as a benefic is an enormous advantage. Saturn is the real deal. Whatever it gives, you can rely on it. You might struggle with its lessons but once you're done, the reward is true and truly valuable. I've found that, for me personally (Saturn is a benefic for me), Saturn antardashas were never as horrible as people described, and the areas of my life that were represented by the houses that Saturn was transiting in my chart were actually going as I wanted, in many ways. Because I'm also familiar with Saturn's energies (I have Sun conjunct Saturn on the same degree), I have understood its patterns of working in my life from early on. Humility is natural for me, but that does not mean that I don't struggle with it. The good thing about a benefic Saturn is that struggle itself is not a struggle, I'm accustomed to Saturnian energies and as many people have said, including me, Saturn rewards as solidly as it punishes. Saturn is great, I like Saturn.

4. D9 (navamsa) signs work as a layer rather than an alternate chart. The signs are like understones to the D1 and color the native's personality in a truly meaningful way. It's subtle, but it is, in fact, important. I think any individual resonates to people who share one or more D9 big three (Sun, Moon, Ascendant) with them. True for me. I think that even if they're not exactly compatible based on D1, when D9 big three signs (at least one) are the same, there's a natural understanding on a subtle but meaningful level. And you know how you should technically resonate to multiple based on D1 but only a fraction of them feel truly resonant to you for some reason? They likely share D9 big three signs with you.

I'd like to quickly state here, for the hundredth time, that there are no nakshatras in D9 or any divisional chart for that matter. Online calculations might show them but they also show outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto_ only used in tropical) in nakshatras too, so...

I have multiple posts about this and you're very welcome to read them but I can't deal with more insufficient arguments like "it's debated", "some people say it's really accurate". Like, think for your yourselves, and maybe after reading my posts about that you can come to your conclusion about if they make sense or not.

Some observations about D9 big three (any) in some signs:

Aries: action-oriented and unintentionally blunt, sometimes don't realize how they act, self-reflection is a bit of a struggle but they still do it, can act without thinking much.

Gemini: cerebral and often in their head, love variety, trust their mind more than their intuition or feelings or gut, can analyze too much, versatile, flexible, naturally social.

Cancer: unbelievably sensitive and can be passive-agressive, understanding but self-focused, can be aviodant, not really direct, comfort means a lot to them, secretive but their small actions betray them, may need time to process things, kind-of self involved but often unaware of it.

Leo: pretty direct, love to properly indulge in everything they do, don't like lukewarm or "half here half there" people, basically put their heart into everything, can be too fixed or rigid in their views, value loyalty.

Virgo: have a pure and "clean" aura, simple (in a good way), often express themselves in a clear, precise and clinical way (no matter how they really feel), often they are minimalists, can freeze when they're anxious.

Libra: hate agression, others may accuse them of not having a spine, truly undersranding but also impartial.

Scorpio: no matter how it looks_ they are serious and intense, understand how manipulation works, may feel like outcasts, a tad bit (or not so slightly) vengeful, very protective of their energy.

Pisces: sensitive and flexible, can understand almost anyone and anything, humble yet detached, have something ethereal about their aura, have a broad viewpoint, may have something about them that makes them look like they're "lost".

Do not have substantial info to share about Taurus, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius navamsas in big three, yet.

5. The strength or influence of any planet in any chart should also be observed from the placement of the planet itself, not from just activations in the nakshatras and signs ruled by them. Of course, those have their influence too, but if we're talking about tge influence from two opposite planets, for example, Sun and Saturn, and a native happens to have a nakshatra ruled by one of them (and does not have a nakshatra ruled by the other) in big three, you should still see if that other planets falls in the 1st or the 2nd house or is conjunct any of the big three (maybe even chart ruler, atmakaraka or Ketu). Chances are that person might feel influenced by that other planet, especially if that first planet is not in good dignity. All planets each manifest their influence differently when they're present as nakshatra rulers from the influence of their own placements.

6. The destiny of Rahu in signs, simplified:

Aries: to act

Taurus: to enjoy

Gemini: to communicate/get across

Cancer: to be safe

Leo: to express

Virgo: to cleanse/purify

Libra: to balance

Scorpio: to transform

Sagittarius: to explore

Capricorn: to build

Aquarius: to influence

Pisces: to transcend

The base/foundation of Ketu in signs, simplified:

Aries: identity

Taurus: resources

Gemini: intelligence/intellect

Cancer: safety

Leo: self-posession

Virgo: clarity

Libra: balance/harmony

Scorpio: depth

Sagittarius: truth

Capricorn: status

Aquarius: influence

Pisces: wisdom

Just a reminder: astrology is best learned from observing and double/triple/quadruple checking the facts yourself. Despite this, the mythological nature of it makes intuitive perception kind of necessary to truly grasp it and understand it. I'd advise to write down your observations or to note them otherwise but do not share them or be sure of them unless you have sufficient proof and enough examples. Also, sometimes your personal experience and a pattern you're very familiar with is enough, there's no need to find an example from media or celebrities. I feel like everyone is just throwing random senstences around on astrology blogs these days and very few of them actually say something of value or make sense.

That's one of the reasons why I'd really appreciate confirmations from you in comments or reblogs or otherwise, on this and other posts too. My posts get a lot of likes but not many get enough comments or reblogs and yeah it would be nice to make my posts more visible, but mainly I just want genuine feedback from people. That's why I want more exposure anyways. So, if you want to comment your example(s) or personal impressions do not think that you're being annoying, that's exactly what I want.

[saintshadow]

ADVICE FROM YOUR SPIRIT GUIDES

pile i

Have more faith in your circumstances, it’s okay to feel unsure but letting it consume you will not aid in navigating the rough internal waters of your emotions. You’re not processing something, a fear, an anxiety, a reality- perhaps you have a hard time holding onto this particular lesson. Your spirits do see improvement; they just need a little bit more from you so that they can actually bring in more blessings and stability. If you are not internally stable then you will have a hard time cultivating external stability. Stay busy, stay active, don’t be consumed by fear of loss or destruction. Destruction happens to us all, but we must let go of that fear- there is so much more to life than the now but we cannot grow as intended if we cannot exist in the present. You’re being advised to go within for comfort, to rely on yourself for strength- this is not meant to be painful but it is meant to be empowering. You’re meant to do great things, even if you can’t see it now. One day, your time will come- and you will know that your suffering was not for nothing. Dare to dream, and dare to go after your desires.

They will come to you much quicker than you think. If you move in alignment with your goals they will come crashing towards you. Try not to get wrapped up in the chaos and try to remember WHY you are doing this. There is also a message about taking things slow and being patient with yourself. Making sure to do your due diligence, making sure to research and to find whatever information is available to you to help you in your case or in your situation. Sit with the moments of calm and clarity, where you see a steady path ahead. When things become muddled and confusing that's how you'll know that you're overthinking and living from fear/trauma.

I heard "you're ready" you can absolutely plant the seeds for what you're looking to do. For some it could deal with travel, since the 3 of wands did come out. Moving, travel, building something steady or solid that you can utilize as some sort of foundation maybe? This could even be about internal foundations, emotional foundations, with a lover, with a best friend, or with yourself. Take what resonates and apply the message as it is applicable. I see that you are seeking a "new beginning" or a "new chapter" perhaps you've felt as if you're tired of your current circumstances or feeling exhausted. You're being guided to take this leap of faith to an extent- with planning and practicality included. This is more like a calculated risk, than a leap of faith ngl. All in all though, I heard "smooth sailing" it may be a lot easier than you think to attain your desires. You have to believe in it though, and you have to do your very best to remain positive love.

Have strength through your heartache, and know that this is meant to wake you up to the possibilities. It is revealing what no longer serves you, or showing you something. You are being supported in this, I think there may be people or things that want you to feel hopeless. You have to remain hopeful and you have to remain confident that you will get what you want. For some of you this could be about love, or even a long distance relationship. You can't let fear overcome you, and you have to be strong. Your person feels strongly for you and things can absolutely work if you allow them to. You can't get caught up in the what-if's you have to get caught up in the "how will" so to speak. "How will I get my desires, how will I go after what I want, how will I attain my desires" Your fears are unfounded, essentially- pile 1. I hope this reading resonated, if you'd like to book a personal on this topic for 35$ feel free to reach out.

pile ii

Let go of the past, I understand this person or situation may have really hurt you but the hatred/anger you’re harboring in your heart is eating you alive. There may be things about the situation at hand which you’re not aware of. There’s a message of patience, and a calm before the storm. This message will resonate with those for whom it’s intended. As for the rest of you, you’re doing really good imo. Sowing your seeds, being patient, and minding your own. Something could be bothering you, like it just doesn’t sit right. You could have witnessed an injustice, or something you seem to be incorrect or unfair. You’re being advised to move away from pain and sorrow. To walk away from the sob stories, trust in your gut. This could be a lesson of intuition, are you going to trust yourself or are you going to repeat the cycle.

Don’t ignore the blatant and unarguable truth. Embrace it fully and accept it, live with that truth.

If you’re struggling to find that truth be patient, spend time in nature, in due time all will be revealed pile two.

There's a lot of movement in these cards, the 8 of wands, the wheel of fortune, the chariot, the fool- you're meant to be moving forward. You are supposed to be creating something for yourself- but you may be fixating on creating something for someone else? You have to stop doing that, and you have to start putting in actual effort towards your personal goals. You're not a babysitter for this person, or for a specific situation and you have to stop acting like one. Be aware of this person, they could have vengeful tendencies, they may feel slighted by you and you could feel hypervigilant of their next moves. Some of you could perhaps be leaving an abusive environment, friendship, friend group, relationship, or an overall abusive situation. You could spend a lot of your time trying to balance this person out, and it's literally killing you. For some of you it could be because you have health issues, for others it could simply be because you have too much on your plate already and you just keep stacking shit on top of it. For reasons unbeknownst to myself and you. You could be scared of using some kind of savings you have, you may be scared of running out or being in a bad financial situation but I see where you will actually benefit more from taking this action than you think. Take measured action, look at your options- and move accordingly to those options.

You need to be making balanced decisions right now, even if you can't move to a nice new apartment that's top of the line you can find a room for rent, or etc.. It's not going to be perfect, not at first- but you will be free and you should have gratitude for that. You have to make a decision, and you may be shocked by the outcomes. You have many possibilities, you have many choices, and you should map out carefully what moves you'll decide to make next. Thank you for reading pile ii <3

VERY LAST MESSAGE: Someone's spirit stayed after I asked them to depart, they want to deliver a final message I have no clue who this is for BUT: You have well thought our your plans and the actions will deliver the correct consequences I'm hearing? Consequences don't have to mean that something bad is happening I suppose. It could mean that the cause and effect for this is more positive than you think. Rely on this spirit, they could be an air spirit or when they were alive they could've been an air sign or had air in their chart or had stelliums in air houses. I'm hearing "Uranus and Jupiter" idk what that means lol, but a lot of things are being supported for you. Just know that, I heard something about "I'm sorry" as well, "I supported you the best I could" this could be a family member of some kind that passed away. Idk. Sorry about the add-on! Bye pile ii ! <3

pile iii

Keep your head up, you’re in a heavily creative energy right now and they need you to understand that. For some reason I feel called to the inky blackness of the sky in the pile photo, darkness is what existed before the creation of existence. This is something we hear in MULTIPLE religions and belief systems, darkness is ALSO the chaos. So all of this chaos around you can be bent to your will, but you have to actually believe in yourself and be strategic. You’re allowed to have flaws or faults, but for the next 6-8 months you need to remain determined. Sit with water, sit with plants, sit with god or your ancestors or who or whatever. You could be favored by Adonai(yhwh) but for some reason I felt called to call him Adonai. Perhaps you should pray to Adonai, I see he wants to help you but you must first call on him. If you’ve been feeling a hankering for frankincense smells that may be because of him.

I sense a lot of adventure coming your way, but they need you to brace yourself and handle the anxiety. Don’t be afraid, you have to stop conjuring your worst fears. When you feel afraid say “show me how good it can get”. “Prove me wrong, prove my fear wrong”, you have a hell of a lot more support than you think and it’s time to wake up to that reality and bloom. The skies can only stay rainy and cloudy for so long- but it’s up to you to make the sacrifices to bring forward your desires. 💚

Some of you could feel drawn to pile 1, there may be some messages there for you ngl. ANYWHO, I see here that you are seeking love, and I think that they are trying to get you to understand that you have to transform to meet this potential. There are a lot of interpersonal things you struggle with and they are urging you to stop letting this get in the way of your success. You have to be more self reliant and self dependent, you need to be self starting and a go getter. Don't be afraid of being told no, because I'm hearing "if there's a will there's a way" I do sense this will be much easier than you think, it just may take a lot of foot work/heavy lifting and you may have to think cleverly to get what you need. You could be perceiving more stagnation than there is, there has to be a transformation in how you view "home", home is where the heart is- home is not always how you might see it.

I see that there is some kind of transformation happening in a home or around the concepts of the home in some way? You have ancestral support in what you want, that may be the message that was trying to come through regarding the home actually. Your ancestors don't want you to fear anything, they're going to help you- potentially with a lawyer for some? I heard immigration as well, so some of you could be trying to speak to migration lawyers. I heard "be blessed and know that you are loved" they are going to help you with a lot of this foot work ngl, Some of you may have an enemy working against you, your spirits are advising you to continue pushing for what you desire. This person literally can't stop you, I think you don't understand how actually powerless they are. There could be some kind of spiritual blockage stopping this person from causing personal harm to you. Do your best to dream about your desires, to dream of the best outcome- it will help so much.

Be more positive, be more outgoing- this seems to be the people from pile I who struggle with faith and inner strength. I heard "honesty" as well, so don't be afraid to bite if you have to. Don't be afraid to call people out, to have high standards and expectations- just figure out what those standards or expectations are. I heard "your own personal hell is awaiting you in the depths of your mind" you have to learn to control this part of yourself, you have to maybe LITERALLY avoid that part of your mind and work physically and in the world around you to actively prove it wrong so it shuts the hell up.

[buddiesbuddiess]

There have been a lot of discussions as to why Buck and Eddie’s argument was coded as a married couple’s argument, and I think one of the biggest reasons is that they argued in the way particularly unique to married couples - i.e they were arguing about one thing, but really they were arguing about several things. Married couple arguments always go this way because they speak each other’s language so well that they communicate on a level several layers deep, even when they’re at odds.

So I thought I’d go through each line and try to tease out the layers to further demonstrate the couple-coded nature of this entire scene:

“I thought I said I was gonna get groceries” = “We have an established domestic pattern and you’re breaking it. The fact that you’re breaking it means I can tell something is off.”

“I was out. It’s fine.” = “You’ve hurt me so I’m isolating you from our domestic pattern. Since you’re leaving me anyway I may as well act as if I’m already single. I’m trying to de-center you in my life so that it hurts less.”

“It doesn’t feel like it’s fine.” = “You’re being passive aggressive with me, and you’re insulting me by pretending there isn’t something else going on when I know you so well that I can tell that there is.”

“I heard you finally got the call from El Paso Fire” = “You’re leaving me, and I had to hear it from somebody else. I’ve been hurt two-fold by you.”

“Who told you?” = “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I’ve lost control of this situation and now I’m on the back foot.”

“Hen told Chimney who told Ravi who called me” = “Everybody knew except me. This hurts. I’m supposed to be your confidante and you’ve been keeping secrets from me.”

“I was going to tell you” = “I know I messed up by not telling you, and I’ve been feeling guilty about it. But don’t you see that I didn’t tell you because telling you was too scary, telling you would make it real?”

“But you didn’t. Instead everyone has been tiptoeing around behind my back because apparently I’m too fragile” = “Everyone is treating me like a child, including you. You have emotionally isolated me from our partnership.”

“Look how you’re acting now” = “You haven’t approached this discussion like an adult. How can this be a partnership when you’ve ambushed me like this?”

“You really think I wouldn’t have been happy for you?” = “It hurts me that you think I would put my pain before your happiness. Is that really what you think of me?”

“I know you wouldn’t. You make everything about you” = “Can you blame me for assuming that when we’ve been in this situation before?” - but also a bit of: “I have a ready-made arsenal of things you do that upset me (because we are a couple, and that’s what happens when you’re a couple, consequences of sharing a life) and I’m willing to whip them out during an argument (because that is how married couples win fights)”

“You’ve been spiralling since the funeral” = “I can see your pain despite that fact you think I can’t. Your pain is loud to me. It makes me feel like I can’t tell you things because I’m too busy worrying about you.”

“I’m sorry I’m sad that Bobby’s dead” = “I feel like you’re using my grief against me to win an argument, so I’m going to be petty about it and throw it in your face.”

“You aren’t the only one that lost him.” = “I’m in pain too. Why can’t you see that the way I can see yours?”

“You never asked what it was like.” = “I’ve not been receiving what I need from you emotionally. I’ve been cut off from you and unable to share my pain. This hurts because you are the person I rely on the most.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that’s what it was like” = “I’ve been too blinded by my own pain to factor yours in too. I recognise that I’ve hurt you by doing this.”

“I couldn’t save him” = “I’m finally able to share my pain with you, which is what I really needed all along.”

“You think I didn’t do all I could to save him?” = “It’s not just on you. I don’t want you to shoulder this guilt alone.”

“I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t there.” = “We’ve had an emotional breakthrough, but I’m still hurting, and I’m not ready to fix things between us because I feel like I don’t deserve it.”

This shows for me how this argument escalated so quickly: both Buck and Eddie can intuitively understand the layers behind what each person is saying, and that’s how they’re able to make these dramatic leaps from one grievance to the next. They understand the undercurrents of each other’s pain. And that’s why couple arguments get so messy so quickly.

[blizzardexpertmtt-blog]

I'm pretty sure Jeremy will be the captain of the US Court and will have the herculean task of dealing with Andrew, Jean, Kevin and Neil on the same team (and his other teammates, who includes quite possibly, most definitely, former Ravens).

It's difficult for Jean to be on the same court as Kevin and Neil. There are too many bad memories and unresolved feelings between those touched by Riko Moriyama. Disconcerting green eyes, vicious blue eyes, warm brown eyes. Jean turns to Jeremy to ground himself when the past threatens to resurface. Kevin and Neil are the living reminders of what the court can take away, the blood it demands like a vengeful god. Jeremy is the counterpoint, the new beginning, the love this game also brought into his life.

Kevin is as bitchy as always. He's on the top of his game, fresh out of a successful Championships and hungry for Olympic gold. He has this friendly rivalry with Jeremy, competing on who has the best play style: technical perfection or inhuman intuition. Kevin is also completely on Jeremy’s palm. Kevin can bitch and rage at pretty much anyone, including the coaches, but it takes a single glare, a smile and "Kevin." from Jeremy for the Queen of Exy be brought to a halt.

Surprisingly, Andrew was the easiest to deal with. The short goalkeeper is a nice challenge on the practices, and his intimidating demeanor had very little effect on Jeremy. Jeremy was used to dealing with assholes, so Andrew was a cake walk. The turning point was on the locker room. Jeremy saw Andrew scrolling on his phone, looking at photos of cats. "Oh, they are so cute," Jeremy said. "Are they yours?"

Andrew eyed him, then pointed at the cats on the screen. "This is King Fluffkins and this is Sir Fat Cat McCatterson."

Jeremy got his phone out and opened a picture. "This is Jabberwocky Moreau, and this is Barkbark von Barkenstein II."

They bonded over pets with unusual names and, eventually, their sexuality. Outside of the Floozies and Rhemann, only Kevin, Andrew and Neil knew Jean and Jeremy were a thing.

Neil was the toughest one to deal with. Forever an instigator, he picked fights with almost all of his teammates, including Jeremy himself. Neil was the first person who managed to make Jeremy storm out of court in anger, an impressive achievement. Since Jeremy couldn't control Neil or appeal to his better senses, he mostly relied on Kevin and Andrew to put Neil in check. After a lot of headbutting, Neil finally began to obey Jeremy, but mostly for Jeremy's insane skill on the court. Jeremy could live with that.

One day, as the newly drafted players were being introduced, one said, "I don't think I like the fact I'm being captained by a faggot."

On the couch opposite to him, Jeremy smiled. The gray, green, blue and brown death glares didn't.

[karenandhenwilson]

Okay, so you want to talk about the basketball scene? Let’s do that.

A couple of guys regularly meet for pickup basketball games. Buck has always declined invitations in the past and finally joined. It’s a pickup game, though. NBA rules are the last thing those guys are following. They’ve probably put down some ground rules. But more likely, they’ll assume everyone knows how to keep the game mostly friendly.

Because that’s the thing about pickup games of any sport. It’s not the kind of competition you find in a professional league or even in a semi-professional league like school leagues. It’s mostly about having fun, but it’s also about egging each other on, about riling each other up to such a degree that most people who meet for these kinds of games go around saying things like “just a friendly game, the ‘friendly’ being optional”. 

They play hard and fast with the rules, and we saw them egg each other on repeatedly during the scene. It was pretty clear where the whole scene was leading from the very beginning. Because the thing about these kinds of pickup games, no matter what game, is that the amateurs playing will always get injuries that professionals wouldn’t get so easily. Because of the general disregard for rules, but also because the amateurs don’t have the training for the game and might just take a wrong move, or don’t know how to fall, or aren’t able to contemplate the consequences of body checking the other player, especially in the heat of the game.

Everyone who joins in that kind of game knows exactly that they’re risking injuries. Not even just because the guys they’re playing with might get callous in their fouls, but just because they might make a wrong step, or they might be really unlucky in catching the ball.

Eddie had to go to the hospital. That’s true so far. 

Remember, we are watching a show about firefighters? The kind of job where having even so much a sprained ankle means you aren’t fit for duty. Because working with a limp while responding to a fire will slow you down in a situation where you can’t afford that. It might mean you aren’t even able to handle carrying all the required equipment in the first place. Working with a limp at the scene of a car accident or something similar, where you have to work with heavy equipment and sometimes have to rely on your strength alone.

Of course Eddie would go to see a doctor for such a fall to make sure he was fit for duty. He can’t just show up with a limp to his next shift and walk it off.

The next day we see Eddie on shift. (How do we know it’s the next day? Pickup basketball games are every other Thursday. Buck and Tommy’s first date was Saturday. The shift with the guy who had no control over his hand was between those two events.) And he isn’t even limping. Based on that, I dare say his ankle wasn’t even sprained and the whole hospital thing was nothing but being overcautious. Because that’s what canon tells us with that.

And with that, I have to say: Everyone claiming Buck broke Eddie’s ankle invalidates their whole argument right away. If you have to make the injury worse to make your argument work, you clearly know you’re full of bullshit.

Let’s take a look at the aftermath.

After Eddie falls because of Buck’s body check, Buck immediately looks and acts in a way that shows he is feeling guilty. Chimney calls him out on his behavior at the same moment. We then get a whole scene of Buck talking through that moment and how he feels about it with Maddie.

We don’t see an on screen apology, that’s true. But we get shown at great length that Buck’s behavior was not okay, that he feels guilty about it, and that the people around him call him out for the behavior. The episode then ends with the strong suggestion that Buck will call Eddie to apologize. 

You know when we haven’t seen people feeling even slightly remorseful or are so much as talking about an apology?

All three times someone got physical with Buck in an argument. 

Bobby never apologized or felt remorseful as far as we see. We never saw any follow-up for that scene. We don’t even see any kind of reaction in Hen, who watches the whole thing calmly as if nothing strange is going on.

Chimney went on a whole rant about killing Buck and bringing him back to life weeks later. So his off-hand comment much, much later to Hen that he talked it out with Buck and apologized feels suspicious at best, and unbelievable at worst.

Eddie claimed “someone” was mean to Buck, skillfully avoiding admitting any fault of his own. And then shoved two people at Buck he knew Buck would be so happy to see he’d forget what a jerk Eddie was both during the argument and then with the very misleading note in the morning and telling Buck it was his fault for misunderstanding that note.

Somehow, it’s always only Buck who is haunted by it, even seasons later, when he makes a mistake or people even just perceive Buck as the one who made a mistake (e.g. Dr. Wells being brought up as a joke). And people wonder why so many people feel with Buck and argue about his bad decisions less than other characters.

[harringtonfeels]

family

4.6k | Fluff and a healthy dose of hurt/comfort | Stepdad!Steve x Reader | Kid fic | Fluff, Angst

When Reader spends Mother's Day feeling like she's failing as a parent and a partner, her boyfriend Steve helps change her perspective.

Notes: This is a little Mother's Day fic. Reader's kid is a ~4 year old named Henry (and I love him). Hurt/comfort is involving the general mom guilt when raising a kid post-divorce.

It hasn't been a bad day - well, not exactly. It's Mother's Day, and you were supposed to have the day off work but were called in to handle an emergency while your boss is away on vacation. You'd had plans for the day already and had to cancel almost all of them.

First was breakfast in bed, although that one had been a bit up in the air. Your son is at the age where, when he wakes up before you, he wants to climb right into your bed and sandwich himself between you and Steve, poking your arm and carefully prying open your eyelids until you wake up. Sleeping in isn't usually an option unless Steve gets up with him so you can enjoy some blessed sleep alone, so it was already highly dependent on what time Henry decided to get out of bed. Ultimately, not a huge loss, but it was a nice pipe dream, nonetheless.

Then, after nap time, you were supposed to have a picnic in the park, just you and your boys. Steve already prepped the food and got a cooler ready last night, and set aside everyone's swim clothes for the splash pad.

And then you were supposed to have a lowkey dinner at home with them, and a nice, long bath, too, if you were lucky.

Any of those things would have been more than enough. The weather's been beautiful this spring, and you've been so busy, you haven't been able to spend as much time with Henry on the weekends as you'd like. It's something you've been lamenting a lot lately. Your job requires a lot of you, a lot more than it used to. You took the job when you separated from your ex because you needed a way to provide for your son without relying on a marriage that just wasn't working anymore. But now, it's two years later, and the time is flying by, and you know the things you're missing with Henry are things you'll never get back. So you've been trying hard to cherish the time you do have with him. It's just nearly impossible to put the energy into it that you want to when you're constantly working overtime with no end in sight.

Steve has been a huge help the past year that you've been dating. He met Henry for the first time about six months in, and although Henry was shy at first, they've been thick as thieves almost from the start. Steve is always at your house on the weekends, and he's converted the guest bedroom at his place into a room for Henry. He picks him up from pre-school when you need him to, which is becoming more and more frequent with your increasing workload. He joins you for doctor's appointments and holds Henry's hand at the dentist. You don't think there are enough words in the world to express to Steve how grateful you are for his help, or for how much you can tell he loves being a part of Henry's life - and a part of yours, even when it's messy.

Today, more than ever, you're determined to update your resume and start looking elsewhere. Because it's Mother's Day, and it's an hour to Henry's bedtime, and you're just now walking through the front door, tears welling in the corners of your eyes.

The way everything has been piling up the last few months, it feels more overwhelming than when you first became a single mother.

As you're turning to lock the door, you hear the pitter patter of little feet stomping down the hall.

"Mommy!" Henry says, and before you can even hang up your purse, you're tackled from behind, little arms wrapping around one of your legs.

"Hi, baby," you laugh, looking over your shoulder at him. He's got a toy car in one hand and is mashing it into your thigh, but even as tired as you are, it's hard to care about the discomfort. You reach down and ruffle his hair, moving your leg laboriously before he sits down to wrap his legs around your ankle. Only as you're trudging across the living room with a thirty five pound ankle weight do you notice the smell in the air.

Dinner.

Henry giggles as you grunt with each step, and you're smiling, too, all your worries presently forgotten at the door. When you round the corner to the kitchen, you see Steve dressed in slacks and a button-up, sleeves rolled up just below the elbows. Your eyes linger where his tanned forearm flexes as he stirs the sauce simmering on the stove, and when Steve catches you staring, he doesn't even make fun of you.

"How's our girl?" he asks, wiping his hands with a dishtowel and tossing it over his shoulder before closing the gap between you. He presses a soft kiss to your cheek.

With a playful smile, you say, "Well, I thought I was doing alright, but suddenly, I'm feeling a little weighed down."

The laugh that pours out of Henry is infectious, and Steve is all smiles as he leans down to Henry's level and pries him off your legs. "Do you want to tell Mama what we did today?" he asks, setting Henry on his feet.

This is a new game you play together. Henry has always been a little shy, and he answers broad questions with a lot of I don't know and Nothing really. So you've been working on feeling more comfortable sharing. You always give Henry the opportunity to go first, but today, he seems to want to hide his face behind your leg, even though he's smiling. So you start.

"Well, today, I got a fancy breakfast at Brew & Bloom, and they gave me a free cookie because the barista liked my aura."

Steve hums, already diving back into his sauce. "Oh, yeah? What did they say about your aura? What color was it?"

"Motherly?" you guess. With your hastily applied mascara and less than stellar hair, you certainly look the part today, although that has less to do with being a mom and more to do with getting abruptly called in to work. "What did you do today, Steve?"

He hums as though he's thinking. "When I did laundry today, I found a gummy worm in somebody's shorts."

"Was it tasty?" Henry asks.

Steve's face scrunches, and you laugh. "It was a little crunchy," he says, "but it was one of the pink and blue ones, so you know it was still delicious."

Henry pulls a face at that. "You didn't eat it," he says disbelievingly.

"I totally did!" Steve's voice is slightly higher than usual, a dead giveaway that he's lying. "If you don't believe me, you can smell my breath. It'll be just like a gummy worm."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Why don't you c'mere then and give it a try?" Steve teases, eyes full of mirth, and you blink, feeling an overwhelming wave of fondness wash over you.

When Henry hesitantly steps out from behind you as though to approach, Steve switches off the burner and pivots, the directness of his step a clear prelude to a chase if you've ever seen one. Henry is too slow to piece it together, and just as he's starting to move his feet, Steve scoops him up in his arms and holds him up. Henry wriggles violently as Steve pretends to eat his stomach like a watermelon, laughing hysterically the whole time.

After a few seconds of this, Steve sets Henry back down on the ground, both of them breathing hard, and you lean against the doorframe, observing.

"Tell Mom what you did today," Steve prompts again when they've both caught their breath.

Henry takes a seat on the floor and picks up two of his cars, which are lying about on the rug. Absentmindedly pushing them around the little streets patterned into it, he says, "Steve played dinosaurs with me, and he told me all about this one called a place-iosaurus."

"Plesiosaurus," Steve whispers loudly from the doorway.

"Ooh," you say, settling yourself onto your knees beside him. He seems to be chasing the red car with the silver one around the little cartoon hospital building. "Can you tell me about the plesiosaurus?"

Steve seems to be wrapping up dinner as you find a green car to join Henry with, and he prattles off facts that sound accurate, or at least believable to your ears. It's apparently somewhat turtle-shaped, with a long, long neck. "Like a brack-osaurus," he says.

"The noble brachiosaurus," you repeat sagely, and Henry looks up at you like you've hung the moon. You don't know all that much about dinosaurs, but that's been his thing recently, so you've all been learning. You can tell how much he loves it when you remember the things he gets excited about. One day, he won't find you so exciting, and you know that, so you're trying to enjoy it now, while you can.

You play for about fifteen minutes before Steve calls from the dining room to let you both know dinner is ready. You have to remind Henry not to run into the dining room - more than once, he's rounded a corner directly into you or Steve while you were carrying a large container of food, or plates.

When you enter the room, Steve has set the table with your nice dishes, the porcelain ones with the flowers on them. You can't remember the last time you used them - surely, when you were married, at least. But Steve has gotten out a nice tablecloth, which you know must have been stored in the back of the linen closet, and placemats. There are a couple of wine glasses for the two of you, and Henry's green, plastic cup is already filled with juice in front of his seat.

"Did you iron this?" you ask Steve, hand on the tablecloth as Henry seats himself.

"Tell me when," he tells Henry as he starts to dole out food. Then, he glances up at you, expression sheepish. "Maybe."

You didn't even know Steve knew how to iron at all.

After a few scoops, when Henry hasn't told him to stop, Steve laughs at his expectant little expression. "Okay, why don't we start with this, buddy?"

He serves you as well, and your cheeks burn at the gentleness of it all. It's not that Steve never does this sort of thing. You're just still not used to being treated so kindly, and Steve - well, Steve is old fashioned in all the good ways. He opens doors for you, carries your groceries. To his core, he's so, so considerate. It never fails to impress you. Sometimes, you catch yourself waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never comes.

Steve can cook quite well. When you first got together, he wasn't that great at it, but many nights, he's helped you in the kitchen or made dinner when you were at his house. He's a quick learner. At this point, he's probably a better cook than you are, and it shows with tonight's meal.

After dinner, Steve tells you to go relax, and he takes care of bathtime. You're not exactly sure what to do with yourself, so you find yourself curled up on the couch, watching TV and ruminating on the day.

Steve has done so much for you these last few weeks that it's hard to process it all. You love that he likes spending time with Henry, and that he never complains. But, even though he stays over a lot, you aren't even living together yet. It's hard not to feel guilty about, well, everything.

When you first started dating, Steve told you he's always wanted kids, and you think with a little more time, maybe he'll even love Henry like one of his own. You can already see it on his face, when he talks about him, long after Henry's gone to bed. When he updates you on the things they've done throughout the day, tells stories about this funny thing Henry said, or oh my god, you should have seen his face. Maybe Steve loves him already.

But it's not fair to him to be doing this much work, especially not this soon. And you don't see the situation at work getting any better, at least not in the coming months. It's one of those things, where someone leaves and they opt not to replace them, over and over, until one person is doing the job of several. And they've got no intention of hiring anyone else to help you. And meanwhile, you're trying to make the most of your time with your son, and you're also trying to make the most of your relationship with Steve. It's hard to have a relationship with someone who can't devote the time.

An old friend called you the other day, told you their new company is hiring and said they thought you'd be a perfect fit. It's almost exactly the same pay, with fewer responsibilities - and, most importantly, no overtime. Tomorrow, you tell yourself. Tomorrow, I'll revise my resume, and I'll send it over and I'll do whatever I have to do to get this job. Whatever it takes to be able to be more present in your life again.

You can hear Henry giggling almost the whole time, splashing with his rubber ducks and his boats. As usual, when Henry starts whining, you know they're about to vacate the bathroom. Sure enough, the door swings open, and they both trudge down the hall to Henry's room, Henry in his koala towel with the hood up, and Steve in his yellow swim trunks. His hair is a mess, and he's got bubbles all over his forearms and in his hair. You're so endeared, you think - despite the fact that you want him to stop having to pick up your slack - you could get used to seeing him this way.

You move quickly, following them to Henry's room to help with pajamas and a bedtime story. While you let Henry choose his bedtime story - The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, it is - Steve goes to your bedroom to change into a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. Henry's thrilled that Steve is doing storytime; it's usually just you, but Steve does silly voices better, and he always makes sure the bad guys sound extra silly.

Henry picks out some Buzz Lightyear jammies, and once he's dressed and his hair is dried, Steve says, "Why don't you show Mama what you made her today?"

You raise your eyebrows and watch as Henry dutifully trots over to his dresser and pulls a sheet of paper off the top. It's a white sheet of copy paper with four carefully drawn stick figures, three big and one small. In Steve's handwriting across the bottom, it reads Happy Mother's Day - Love, Henry with the year etched into the corner.

Henry looks up at you with cautious optimism, like he's unsure if he should hand it over, or if you'll like it, but thinks you probably will. You've seen that face on him a million times. It's the same as when you tickle him between his neck and shoulder and he leans his little head over to fend you off, fighting a grin the whole time.

"Hmmm, who could this be?" you ask, pointing to the stick figure that's about half the size of the others, who wears a very convincing blue box of a shirt and brown shorts.

"It's me, silly," Henry says with a little belly laugh and waits expectantly for you to keep going.

You cock your head to the side and inspect the three adults. It looks to be maybe one woman (you) and a man, but the third one has long hair and pants, so it's anyone's guess, really. "And this one is me?" you ask, pointing at the lone stick figure wearing a dress. You assume he learned triangle dresses symbolize women from pre-school, but then again, the figure looks suspiciously like the symbol for a women's restroom, so it's hard to say.

He nods emphatically.

"Wow. I can tell you worked really hard on this. I like the stripes on my dress." He has recently developed a real desire to color between the lines without any mistakes, and you're careful not to say anything to reward "perfection" above effort.

"Thank you," he says, very businesslike.

Your eyes shift back over to the other two characters. "And who is this?" you ask.

Henry frowns. "That's Steve," he says, like it should have been obvious. Maybe it should have been.

He's put out that you had to ask, clearly, and you nod. "Oh, right. I thought so."

"Yeah, it's obviously Steve," Steve interjects, "because of his beautiful hair."

"Exactly!" Henry says with a little gap-toothed grin.

You roll your eyes at Steve, and then your eyes rove over the other stick figure. Henry doesn't wait for you to ask, just says, "And that's Daddy."

You should have known. You really should have, and you should have expected it, but it feels like a gut punch. It's sweet that Henry included Steve in the photo. It would have been sweet if he'd included his dad with you and Henry, too. But it's painful, seeing him try to include all the people he loves, and knowing very little of his life will ever include all four of you together. Seeing how happy Henry is, and how much love he put into this drawing makes your heart ache.

Swallowing a lump in your throat, you lean down and pull him in for a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "It's beautiful, honey. Can I put this on the fridge?"

"On the front," he suggests.

All through storytime, your mind wanders. You can't help but ruminate on all the things you wish you were doing differently, how you wish things would have been different with you and Henry's dad. How you wish things were just easier in general. And how you can't shake the constant nagging feeling that you aren't doing enough in really any area of your life. You're lucky Steve does all the reading tonight and you're just there for moral support.

When you tuck him in and kiss his forehead, he wrestles free of his blanket and extends his arms toward Steve, demanding another hug. Then he demands Steve tuck him back in as well.

You remember how impatient your ex could be with things like this, all the times Henry reached for him and was brushed aside. You think of all the times it probably still happens when he's with his dad and you're not there to run interference. Once you're back in the privacy of the hallway, Steve already cleaning up in the dining room and the bedroom door shut snugly behind you, you start to cry.

You didn't know it would be this hard, is all. When you decided to have a kid, you knew there was a chance, like with any couple, that you may not be together forever. But you never thought that a guy who's known your kid for six months would be a kinder and more present parent than his own father. And it hadn't occurred to you that Henry could ever want someone to be a part of his life in the same way as you and his dad. It wasn't until you began the process of divorce that you ever seriously considered you might eventually introduce someone to Henry, and that Henry may not understand why you can't all be one big, happy family together.

Henry doesn't ask much about his dad anymore, but he sees him frequently enough that he doesn't forget him. Frequently enough that he still gets excited to sit in the windowseat and watch the driveway for his dad to pick him up.

The dishes clatter as Steve carries them to the kitchen, and then the faucet turns on in the kitchen, so the sound of your sniffling in the living room is muffled. You put your head in your hands, like that can hide the sound of your heart breaking. But after a couple of minutes, when Steve shuts the tap off, he must hear you. "Baby," he calls, panic filling his voice.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" The couch dips beside you under his weight, and he takes one of your hands in his, wet with tears.

You don't know what to say. There's so much to cry about, honestly, and it's hard to know where to start. And Steve has done so much for you already, and you don't want to put this on him. You wish, selfishly, that he would have done the dishes for a little bit longer so you could have finished crying without him ever knowing.

You force yourself to slow down your breathing, leaning into him and letting him wrap his arms around you. Steve gives the best hugs, you think, and only an idiot would refuse one.

His hand smooths down the hair at the crown of your head, and you paw at your cheeks with your sleeve, struggling to wipe your tears away as they're still rolling.

Finally, voice trembling, you say, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry for crying." His voice is gentle. You know that he means it.

"I'm not. I mean, that's not what I was apologizing for." Drawing a shaky breath, you rest your head on his chest and look across the room, clenching your fist tightly. "I'm just—I'm sorry you had to do all this today. And every day, lately."

You can hear the confusion in his voice. "I didn't really have to," he says plainly. "I wanted to do everything. Actually, I wanted to do more than this and just didn't have enough time."

"This isn't your responsibility, though. Not just Mother's Day - just - everything. You've been doing so much, and you're so good with Henry, and I know he loves you. And—"

"And I love him," Steve says calmly, brown eyes wide with earnestness, "and I love you." You don't know what to say to that. If he was looking to disarm you, he was successful. After a pause, he continues, "Look, you've been doing too much. You're too hard on yourself. If I didn't want to be this involved with Henry, I wouldn't be. If I didn't have time to watch him, I'd tell you. But I want to, and I can, so I do."

"It's just not fair to you."

He shrugs. "It doesn't feel unfair to me."

There's a long silence, and now that you've stopped crying, you do a much better job of wiping your eyes. Finally, you say, "It really hurt me to see all of us in his picture. It's just—I don't think he understands yet that his dad will hardly be in the same room with me, let alone spend a day with you and me and Henry. And it's so sweet that he put us all together, but it feels so wrong, knowing how much love he has in his heart for all of us and that we'll never be a family again."

Steve laces his fingers with yours and brushes his thumb against your wrist in reassuring strokes. "Honey, it's gonna be okay. You don't have to be a family with him for us all to be Henry's family. Hell, if there's anything I've learned over the years, it's that family is what you make it. I've got family I'm not related to, and plenty of them have never even met each other. It's okay if Henry's family looks a little different. We're still his."

It takes a little time for you to ruminate on it, but you know Steve's right. Finally, you lament, "I think I'm just scared that one day, I'll have to explain it to him why our family doesn't look like his friends' families, and that it will hurt him to hear."

Steve presses a kiss to your hairline and murmurs, "It's hard to be the one having the big talks. But maybe he already knows, and maybe it won't seem that weird, as long as we make sure he knows he's loved. Lots of kids have stepdads, or live with their grandma, or are adopted. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Of course there's nothing wrong with it," you say, "but I'm afraid he'll think it means there's something wrong."

"Then it's our job to make his life as normal and full of love as possible. And—Honey, look at me." When you lift your head and look into Steve's brown eyes, you wonder what he sees. If your mascara is smudged all over your face, if your eyes are puffy. And then he says, "I need you to know you're doing a great job."

It feels like it can't possibly be true. With how much you work, how much extra effort you feel like you have to put in to meet your own standards lately.

"Seriously," he says, "I see you doubting yourself sometimes, or feeling sorry for needing to ask for my help, but you're doing your best. And it may not look how you want it to, but even Henry can see how hard you work to give him a good life."

You sit up then, brow furrowing. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know what he said to me today? He told me he wanted to make you a perfect picture for Mother's Day because he knows you miss him when you're gone." You blink back at him, surprised. "And he told me earlier this week that he likes how you don't rush him when he doesn't know what to say. So, yeah, maybe things aren't how you want them right now, and it's hard. But if Henry can see what an incredible mother you are, I think you can give yourself some credit."

You sit with that for a few moments, trying to internalize it. Sometimes, you get so caught up in trying to be the right kind of parent and do all the right things, that you don't realize Henry might actually notice the things you do.

"And, for the record," Steve adds, "I don't just love spending time with him. I love being here when you come home, and spending time with you - with or without him. I'd go anywhere you were, no matter what we were doing."

After a beat, you say, "I'm putting in for a new job. So I can be home more."

He sits back, eyes roving your face. "Really?" His voice sounds almost hopeful.

You nod. "Yeah, I just need to update my resume, and… I think I've got a shot, actually, with this place my friend works at."

Steve's face lights up, and he makes you tell him all the details - what you'd be doing, where it is, how the pay compares. He's so excited that, for the first time all day, you actually feel yourself relax a little.

He offers to make you each a glass of wine to celebrate, and you accept, although you remind him that you haven't been offered a position, exactly. He doesn't seem to care, and when he makes it into the kitchen, he says, "Oh. I almost forgot."

When he returns, he's carrying a vase of flowers - your favorite flowers, the very same ones he brought you on your first date. He sets them on the coffee table before sitting down and passing you your glass of wine. "Happy Mother's Day, baby," he murmurs, kissing your temple.

[moonstars-tro]

I HAVE A GREAT MANY THEORIES ABOUT THIS.

1. leo is just too dumb for portals (/aff) and doesn’t understand how they work well enough

2. self worth. while the twins both have the illusion of ego, leo is more insecure about what he can do and donnie is more insecure about being needed. donnie is not insecure about what he CAN or cannot do, he tends to think he can accomplish most things by figuring it out (which is what makes him so frustrated about magic, because it’s not about what he can’t do, it’s about what he can’t figure out.) even when he can’t. leo ACTS like he feels this way but that is his illusion of ego, it’s mostly covering it up. leo is completely and entirely confident that he can make these portals because he has donnie’s mindset. leo was able to make a portal in minotaur maze right AFTER he told himself, “you’re a champion.” that confidence was enough to get him somewhere

3. trust. ninpo itself is activated by love, trust, and care for your family as far as i am aware. here, the team was working perfectly, like a well oiled machine. leo trusted that everyone would do their part and that he could do his. i think ninpo could have to do with it because it’s similar to purple game, where he was so desperate to save his family he was able to quickly make a portal for them to get away. (the scene looked scary it had to be like. a lil serious)

4. POSSIBLY manipulation? he might’ve been better than we thought for a similar reason to why he was avoiding being a leader, the fear of being relied on. he near mastered his portals by s2, maybe this was a sign of him improving more rapidly, especially after minotaur maze.

Leo masterfully wielding his odachi in Mind Meld kind of implies that he only struggles with it because he's just a little dumb

[ryoun]

watching the commentary of weak hero class 2.

there are some interesting points they talked about.

suho and humin having some similar qualities, and same with sieun and baekjin describing them as two sides of the same coin with many similarities.. and i agree. when the show initially introduced na baekjin, this studious/smart kid, and his fight technique where he measures or analyzes situation using physics or whatnot mentally, before attacking, reminded me so much of sieun.

so it's like humin and baekjin is some twisted counterparts of suho and sieun (lmao) not to mention the relationship/friendship these two have respectively.

and I want to share one of the director's thoughts about humin and baekjin's relationship:

Question: (What was) The intended points or emotions when creating Baku, Gotak and Baekjin's relationship?

Director: Like Si-eun, Su-ho and Beom-seok from Weak Hero Class 1, I wondered what it would've been like if these guys were doing that at the same time, in the same place. I thought 'It would create a sense of unity.' Just as Suho reached out his hand to Sieun, maybe Baku reached out his hand to Baekjin when they were young? Is that why Baku was so precious to Baekjin, why he wanted to stay by his side? That's what I thought.

also when the director said 'suho is sieun's first love' 🤭

also this one too:

Q: Si-eun's take on Suho and Beomseok?

Park Jihoon: To Sieun, Suho and Beomseok are actually more than friends, I think. Unknowingly, Sieun relied on them. Because of past traumas or memories, he keeps looking for his friends. Even in Weak Hero Class 1 when fighting Woo-young, I'd recall what Suho said while taking action. So they're more than friends.

Q: Baku's feelings watching Sieun constantly looking for Suho?

Ryeoun: At first, 'So he had a friend like this. Who could that be?' Then, he started getting curious about this friend named Suho. Later, he probably realized Suho is very significant person to this friend. (Watching Sieun like that) I think he might've thought of Baekjin a bit too. (Wouldn't Baku also think of Baekjin?) That kind of emotion.

[nyenyel]

Puppy/Good boy compilation

Ch 21

“You’re forgetting something.” “What do you mean?” “The person you hate sends you to dreamland every night. So, do you hate my lullaby service too? Ha-ha. You don't have to think so hard. Look at you, just sweating over it. It's so obvious. You stare into space like that, right after what I said. Open your eyes, man. I won't tease you anymore. Relieved now, huh. So cute.” “I…” “Leave it. I'll continue singing my lullabies to you every night, so don't fret like a puppy. “ I'm not a puppy!!! Javier almost shouted back at his young master.

Ch 51

Javier's expression became darkened. Lloyd tapped his shoulder. "Don't droop your shoulders like a sad puppy." "Excuse me? I am not a puppy..." "Let's go. We have a lot to do." "Yes."

Ch 156

"Are you grabbing me because I might fall?" asked Lloyd. "You got it all wrong," denied Javier again. "How so?" "I wished to grab your collar because of what you did, but my hands just don't reach that far." "Aha. So, that's why you're clutching my sleeve?" Javier was silent again. "Makes sense though," Lloyd agreed, "after all, I am an important and respectable man." “...” "My goodness. What a good boy you are, Javier," teased Lloyd. "Do you want me to shove you down the cliff?" "Really? Do you mean it?" "I think this height is enough to cleanly send you off in one try. Just enough to end your tenacious life." "I think you're being sincere now," pointed out Lloyd. "Obviously." “...” Even when Javier went on uttering viciously, he never let go of Lloyd's sleeve as though he was worried that Lloyd might fall off.

Ch 175

"I know. I know that too," Lloyd smiled awkwardly "Then apologize." "For what?" huffed Lloyd. "For calling me Lady Ella just a while ago." "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm apologizing. You're a good boy, Javier, aren't you?" “...”

Ch 264

"One boy in the miserable fiefdom was forced to starve all day. His puppy starved together with him. The two tightly embraced each other, only relying on each other's body heat to get through the cold night. But not a single person came to their aid. And just like that, the boy and the dog slowly but surely drew in their final breaths of air. And right before he died, a drop of tear welled up under his eyes. He whispered to himself, his last whisper sad. Oh, oh... Only if Sir Asrahan had put on the gigantic crab shell..." “...” "Hearing those last words, the dog whimpered and licked the boy's cheeks. But the boy didn't move. That is when the dog realized that the time had come for him to follow the boy. So, the dog-" "I will wear it," Javier huffed, shaking his head. "All right, good thinking. My little puppy." Javier's face darkened.

Ch 315

"Pay attention to your inner self," replied Javier patiently, "And you will naturally feel what it is." "I am already paying attention right now," Lloyd stressed every word to drive his point home. However, Javier was unimpressed. "It does not look like it, Master Lloyd." Lloyd sighed. "I'm trying." "It's still not enough." "Ack! Ack! Dammit!" yelled Lloyd as he suddenly tapped the arms of the sofa with his palms. To this, Javier could only say, "Calm the rage inside you and find peace. Now, breathe." Lloyd obeyed. "Whew..." "There you go," cooed Javier. "Good boy." "Hey." Lloyd opened his eyes. "Focus, Young Master."

[justnatoka]

I love poly!lost boys x werewolf!reader (especially if it's GN) but don't feel pressured of course, I'm curious what ur take would be on it :)

The boys with a werewolf partner

The Lost Boys headcanon

A/n: I'll be honest, I've never written about werewolves before, and I don't read about them all that often. I can consume vampire media all the time, but I need to be in a certain mood for werewolves. So hopefully this turned out somewhat okay haha. I know this is basically a one shot, but I like it so much more in headcanon format for some reason. It's also not as polished as I would usually go with my one shots, it's more like a bunch of ideas that happen to fit together into a somewhat cohesive story lol. So it stays in headcanon form, I hope that's okay. Thank you so much for the request, and hope the length makes up for the long wait! Enjoy!💜

Warning: mention of losing control, a minor killing spree and gore, reader acting like a cornered animal at first, mention of reader having a difficult homelife

Summary: The boys find a lone wolf who wandered into Santa Carla, and decide to take them in.

The boys knew something was up when the number of deaths in Santa Carla suddenly rose from seemingly one day to the next. And they knew this because, surprisingly, it wasn't them killing off the townspeople for once.

At first Max thought his boys went on a rampage and gave them a lecture. Even after they told him it wasn't them, he still didn't believe it at first. I mean the bodies were torn apart, and that's kinda what they do.

So the boys decide to investigate and find out who or what it is, even if just to stick it under Max's nose out of spite.

Since all the bodies were found in the woods, that's where they decided to go the next night.

As they trekked through the trees, Paul and Marko was fooling around, pushing and shoving and teasing each other as they usually did, with David's patience wearing thin, and Dwayne watching how much time it will take for him to snap at them.

Just as he turned around to give them a piece of his mind about how this is really not the time for playing games, a scream tore through the silence of the woods. That's when they realized what they hadn't noticed before – that the woods were unusually quiet that night. Which only could mean one thing: a predator was in the area. And for once, that predator wasn't them.

More screams followed the first one, then something they haven't heard in the woods of Santa Carla before – a howl. They shared curious glances and pushed on forward.

As they got closer to the source, the screams slowly died down, and by the time they reached the little clearing between the trees, there was complete silence.

The light of the full moon lit up the scene before them: four bodies strewn around a campfire, torn apart, with blood and gore everywhere. And in the middle of it all, a wolf.

It was bigger than any wolf they've seen before, its fur matted with blood both dried and fresh, and as it spotted them, it let out a guttural growl. They instantly knew in their bones that it was no ordinary animal.

"Holy shit," Marko muttered.

"Fuck me, is that a fucking werewolf?" Paul whispered, his eyes wide as he looked at David.

"It is," their leader confirmed.

"What do we do?" Dwayne asked, eyeing the wolf as it started pacing, keeping its distance but snarling at them.

"I don't know," he admitted, looking slightly unnerved, which made the boys even more jittery.

They all knew what the bite of a werewolf could do to them. And it seemed the wolf knew exactly what they were and what they could do if they ganged up on it. So with a final snarl, it ran. Not wanting it to escape and continue its murderous rampage – and risking their exposure by bringing more attention to the supernatural goings on in Santa Carla –, the boys followed.

They chased the wolf through the woods, sometimes losing it from sight and relying on their ears to listen for it moving through the underbrush, then spotting it again. This went on for quite some time until it eventually seemed to slow. They saw it stumbling ahead of them, its movements becoming sluggish, until eventually it collapsed on the ground.

Looking up at the sky, they noticed that morning was not far away, meaning that the effect of the full moon was likely wearing off.

The wolf raised its head to the fading moon and let out a howl, which soon turned into a whimper. When Marko took a step forward, it snapped its attention back to them, growling and snarling at them to stay back. The dangerous edge slowly bled out of its voice however, as it started whimpering again, then the boys heard a crunch.

The wolf howled in pain as their bones snapped and mended back together, blood matted fur turning into blood splotched skin, features becoming more and more human, voice losing its beastly undertone and turning into human groans.

The boys watched on, fascinated by what they were witnessing. They've never seen a werewolf before, let alone a werewolf turning into a human. Despite their reservations against the species, they couldn't help but feel sorry for this poor creature, the transformation clearly incredibly painful.

Before long, there you stood in front of them, leaning against a tree, panting heavily as you rode out the last few painful tremors going through your body.

You looked up at them then, the fear evident in your eyes. Your mind was still hazy, as it usually was just after your transformation, the events of the last few nights a blur in your memory. Except for the blood and the screams. You remembered those well enough.

The boys took you in, your body full of scratches, hair a ruffled mess, your clothes hanging off your body in blood-soaked, tattered pieces. You watched them with wide, fearful eyes, clearly out of it, but aware enough to know what they were and how bad they could hurt you in your weak and vulnerable state if they decided to do so.

Still, there was just something about you, something they couldn't explain that peaked their interest and drew them in.

Paul was the first to say something.

"Damn, what a babe," he whistled, and the others couldn't help but agree. Even in your roughed up state, you were undeniably attractive.

"Morning is coming," Dwayne reminded them.

"So what do we do with them?" Marko inquired.

After a moment of thinking, David answered.

"We'll take them with us."

You knew you weren't in the position to say no. Even if you tried to run, the last few days have been hard on your body and you likely wouldn't get far. And for some reason, you had a feeling they were not gonna hurt you.

With that being said, you were still taught from a young age that vampires would not hesitate to kill you if they got the chance. These kinds of instinctual lessons are hard to shake, so when you all arrived to the cave they called home, you quickly retreated into a corner. That's where you stayed, refusing to move, growling and snapping your teeth at them every time one of them got closer than you liked.

It was Paul and Marko who first managed to make you warm up to them.

Marko would get an extra portion of food when he went out, and after handing out the rest to the boys, he delivered it to you himself. You didn't let him close at first, snarling when he approached, so he set the takeout box down at a safe distance, and backed up with his hands raised. When you deemed he was far enough, you snatched up the box and retreated to your corner, sniffing the food he brought you.

"Don't worry, sugar, I'm not gonna poison you," he smiled, amused.

You just levelled him with a suspicious glare before digging in, and Marko's grin grew as he watched you scarfing down your food.

He never forgot to get you something to eat when they went out, even if they had their fill with just human blood. And you slowly let him closer, until you started taking the box directly from his hands, even giving him a small appreciative smile as you did so.

Paul would sit cross legged – at first at a safe distance of course to not aggravate you –, and try and ask you questions about yourself. Who you were, where you came from, why you were alone and not with a pack. You stubbornly stayed silent. It didn't seem to bother him though, as he was talking enough for the both of you. He told you about Santa Carla, about the boardwalk, about the shenanigans they got up to.

Before you knew it, you started anticipating when they got back for the night, because that meant Paul would come over and blabber on about what they did that night with a big, bright smile.

Dwayne was the one who got you new clothes – likely stolen from one of their victims, but it didn't really bother you. You were just glad you could wear something that wasn't soaked in blood and torn up. He set them down in front of you, flashed you a small smile and went back to whatever he was doing.

It was something so small, but at the same time so meaningful. It allowed you to be presentable again, to look like a person and not just some filthy animal. You felt warmth in your chest as you inspected each piece.

In the early hours of the morning, after they all seemed to settle down, you sneaked out of the cave to wash yourself. You could have waited until the sun was fully up, but you were eager to finally get all the blood off of your skin.

That's how it happened that when you made your way back to the cave, you found David still awake, waiting for you at the entrance.

You stopped in your tracks. You weren't sure if he wanted to see whether you would bolt or not, or if he wanted to make sure you didn't fall on the rocks, as you were still a bit shaky on your legs. His eyes were unreadable, not giving anything away, but they weren't cold. In fact, there was something warm in his gaze that you couldn't quite put a finger on.

He always did that. Always silently watching your every little move, but it didn't creep you out. In fact, it felt reassuring. Like if you showed any sign of distress or pain, he would knew in an instant and would be there to help.

After looking at you for a moment longer, he turned his back to you and walked into the cave. You watched his figure disappear into the darkness, then followed. By the time you reached the room that used to be the hotel lobby, he was already gone, likely retreated into one of the chambers further inside.

The next night, when they walked out into the main area of the cave after waking up and saw you, clean and in the clothes Dwayne gave you, Paul let out a hearty laugh and a whistle.

"You cleaned up nice, babe."

You tried to ignore the rather presumptuous pet name, but it was hard when they were all looking at you like that, like you did something good, like you were something precious. You could feel your face getting hot.

You noticed that they paid a lot of attention to you, anticipating your moves and seemingly growing more and more fond of you.

When you first told them your name, Paul almost lost his shit. He was talking to you as usual, when in a short lull of his blabbering you blurted it out. He looked at you wide eyed, a grin slowly creeping onto his face.

"What did you just say?" he asked and you repeated it.

You flinched when he jumped up and started screaming with the biggest grin on his face, calling the boys over and excitedly telling them that you just told him your name. They looked so happy that you finally seemed to warm up to them, you couldn't help but return their smiles.

Thanks to Marko making sure you were eating properly, you started getting back your strength. Soon, you were walking around the cave when they weren't around.

As you were getting better, you sometimes wondered why you didn't take off when they went out or when they were sleeping in the daytime. At first, of course, it was because you were very weak. That full moon was rough, and you were extremely exhausted. But then, by the time you were growing stronger and could have gotten out whenever you wanted to, the boys managed to weasel their way into your heart. You didn't want to leave. You had nowhere to go to anyway.

You got used to Paul's big mouth, Marko's chaotic energy, Dwayne's reassuring presence and David's warm eyes that always seemed to follow you around.

Because by that time, you were walking around when they were there too, joined them when they were hanging around the cave, curling into the corner of the couch or lounging in David's chair. One night after falling asleep stretched out on the couch, you woke up to David sitting beside you and stroking you hair. In your half asleep brain you didn't even hesitate to lean into his touch. That's how they figured out that you like to be petted.

You talked to them too. Just a few words at first, like thanking Dwayne as he passed you a takeout box or asking Marko what he was doing when he tended to his pigeons. Then more and more, and in the end you were having full on conversations with them.

It was during one of these conversations late one night in the cave that the topic of your past came up. You went really quiet all of a sudden.

You didn't want to give away too much, but you told them that you had to get away from your pack. Some members of your family loved you very much and they begged you to stay. But others made being part of the pack very hard. You were never good enough, and they never failed to tell you that any chance they got. You were bullied relentlessly by members of your own family, who were supposed to protect you and have your back. You got into some dangerous situation due to them not caring about what happened to you. So you left, and you ended up wandering into Santa Carla.

Once you started, there was no stopping the words from coming out of your mouth. You told them that this was your first full moon without your pack. You were on edge – since you were taught that a lone wolf is easy prey –, and extremely lonely, which led to you losing control. You usually knew exactly what you were doing when you were transformed, you had absolute control over your body. But this was different. Your voice was shaking as you told them how it felt like the wolf inside you took charge, and you could do nothing else than look on from the back of your mind, not having control over anything, so you just turned away. Even then, certain sensations broke through – the screams, the feeling of blood splashing onto you. And so, people ended up dead.

The boys listened, understanding. They knew what it was like, being a runaway. They could also sympathize with losing control. All of them could remember what it was like when they were just turned, still getting used to their strength and learning about the hunger, how strong it can be, how hard it is to resist. Each one of them had lost control at one point or another, some of them more times than others.

So in turn they told you about what it was like to be turned, how they all came to be part of this family after Max took them in, even some bits and pieces about their human lives that they still remembered.

And in the early hours of the morning, not long before the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, you fell asleep on the same couch you've been spending so much time on lately, nestled between Dwayne and Paul, with David and Marko settling down close by.

Something changed between you after that night. A bond has formed over your shared experiences, and you could feel it growing stronger every day. You knew they could feel it too. They seemed to move closer, linger around longer, touch you more often than they did before.

It was never said out loud, but it was clear that you were staying for good. The little touches turned into caresses, which turned into kisses, which turned into more.

Now you accompanied the boys when they went out. They explored the boardwalk with you, Marko excitedly showing you his favourite rides, Paul chatting about where you can get the best food, Dwayne holding your hand when the bustle of the crowd got overwhelming, and David sending death stares to everyone who so much as looked at you.

You felt more loved and cherished than you've ever been in your life.

They still went to feed without you, the rampage you went on and the bodies you've left behind still too fresh in your memory. You didn't mind it though, just accepted it as something that came with the life you've had with them. You were certainly not in a position to judge.

Before you've even realized, a month has passed, and the next full moon was looming closer. You would be lying if you said you weren't nervous. You were pacing the length of the cave, gnawing at the hem of your long sleeve – a habit you seemed to share with Marko –, and worrying about what would happen. What if you lost control again? What if you end up killing some townspeople like last time? What if this time you hurt one of them?

Two arms wrapped around you and pulled you into a solid chest. David's voice rumbled in your ears as he told you that everything will be alright. And as he kissed the side of your head, you almost believed him.

You all agreed that after your transformation, the boys would follow you from a safe distance. Not too far so they could step in if something went wrong, but not too close either so they wouldn't be in the immediate danger zone. That seemed to ease your mind a bit. You knew that no matter what happened, they would be there for you.

It hurt them even more now when the time came and they had to watch the transformation, your pained cries and the sickening crunch of bones snapping pulling on something deep inside them. Paul almost stepped in, but Dwayne stopped him, not being any less affected than his brother, but knowing full well that in that fragile state until it was over, you would be even more likely to snap at them and do something you would later regret.

After it was over, you stood before them, again, as a wolf. There was a tense moment when you just eyed each other silently, the boys looking unsure of what you'll do. But as you walked up to David and started nosing at his hand, they knew you were alright.

What followed was quite funny actually. Paul couldn't contain himself anymore and asked if he can pet you. When he buried his fingers in your soft fur, he looked like he could cry from happiness.

Marko was quick to follow, running his fingers up your back to the top of your head and you nuzzled into his hand. Then you've received the best belly rubs ever from Dwayne. Even David indulged, and there was a fond smile on his face as he scratched your ears.

Finally, you stood at the mouth of the cave, looking out into the darkness. The boys eyed your intense stare curiously. You were listening. It was as if you were called by some strange instinct that urged you to go and greet the moon, to bath in its light. The darkness of the forest was calling with an excited buzz. And you were eager to answer.

With all the noise you've made that night, you were sure that humans steered clear of the woods. The sounds of howling and laughter and joyful screams filled the spaces between the trees. You knew you were in good hands, so you let your instincts run wild.

You've raced through the woods with the boys by your side, challenging each other with subtle glances. Marko even started wrestling with you after he was sure that he couldn't really hurt you, not in this form. It was exhilarating, the feeling of true freedom, one you've only ever known in your very early childhood years when everything was much more simple.

That night you didn't lose control – and you never did after.

The next day you woke in the cave, in the middle of a pile. It seemed like you've managed to exhaust yourselves out enough – the perks of having the stamina of supernatural beings – that after you got back you all just crashed on the couch.

It was still sometime in the afternoon, too early for the boys to wake up, so you took your time looking at them. Dwayne's head was pressed into your shoulder, so you started to gently run your fingers through his hair. He let out a hum, but didn't stir, which you were grateful for.

As you took in their features, you thought about how much you can really be grateful for. What are the chances that you stumbled into this exact town at the time that you did? What are the chances that against all natural instinct of both your species against the other, they decided to take you in and you decided to let them? What are the chances that everything worked out so well? You've known for a long time that the odds were against you, yet here you were, in the arms of your lovers, more content than you've ever felt.

There was one last hurdle that you had to move over however, before you could officially be part of this family. And that was Max.

You've heard all about him from the boys, of course, but you've never actually met him in this first month of you living at the cave. That was quite purposeful. They knew Max would flip his lid if he heard that his sons adopted a werewolf, especially if he found out that you were the one that brought potential danger on them.

They couldn't delay the meeting further when Max showed up at the cave that night unannounced.

He looked quite unassuming with his patterned shirt and silly glasses, but some deep animal instinct told you not to be decieved by his appearance. The way the boys scrambled to their feet and subtly or not so subtly positioned themselves between you and him also told you everything you needed to know. If he saw it necessary, he would hurt you without question. And even though you were stronger than an average man even in your human form, you weren't sure if you could win in a fight against an old vampire such as Max.

"What's the meaning of this?" he questioned, his eyes zeroing in on you, and you saw a flash of yellow as he realized what you were.

"Max, let me explain," David started, but Max cut him off.

"You can't just bring a werewolf into the space where you sleep. Even you can't be that foolish," he snapped at them. You wouldn't want to be in David's place as you watched Max glare at him.

"They needed help. And they are really not like other werewolves, they didn't even try to attack us once," Marko chimed in.

"And they didn't hurt anyone this time," Paul added, and now everyone's attention was on him. He shrunk back a bit.

Max was quietly seething.

"You mean to tell me, that this is the one who slaughtered so many people at the last full moon?" His voice was eerily calm, which was even more scary than if the started shouting.

"Well- I-," a quick glare from David shut Paul up instantly.

"The point is, they are no danger to us or anyone else. They won't cause any trouble," David declared, staring back at their maker with defiant determination.

Max seemed less than convinced. Then after a long moment while he looked at each of his sons and finally at you – the way you held onto Dwayne's hand as he stood in front of you protectively not escaping his attention –, he let out a defeated sigh. It was the sound of a tired parent dealing with their demanding children.

"Fine," he relented. "You can keep them. But if I see any sign that they are a threat to what we have here, I won't hesitate to remove them," he warned. He didn't have to explicitly say it, it was loud and clear what he meant. Dwayne's hand tightened around yours for a moment.

"Keep them on a tight leash," Max threw back over his shoulder as he walked out, and you bristled despite everything.

After he left, you couldn't stay silent anymore.

"I don't like him."

David snorted. "Welcome to the club."

Max seemed to take all the tension with him, as the cave felt a lot lighter now, the boys exchanging satisfied glances and smiles.

Paul threw an arm around your shoulder. "Now it's official, you're one of us, babe." And he pressed an affectionate kiss to the side of your head.

"You know what this means," Marko said, a huge grin on his face, and as you looked around, they were all wearing the same expression.

"It's party time!" Paul screeched into your ear. You cringed slightly, but their excitement was contagious.

A little while later, while sitting behind David on his bike, your arms wrapped tightly around him as you sped towards the boardwalk, a warm, tingling feeling spread out in your chest. It was happiness. You've found your new pack.

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[writing-for-life]

Is it weird if I think that the recent influx of VI (Virtual Intelligence, since Open AI isn’t true Artificial Intelligence because it’s not autonomous) algorithm generated content should be used as motivation for artists and writers to really “step up their game” so to speak?

You know, really show that they can create content better than the algorithms can?

What do you think?

Not weird but I think ultimately maybe a consumerist way to look at it?

I don’t feel like I have to compete with AI. It’s pointless because I have a soul and AI doesn’t. I don’t have to prove I’m better than AI because that lack of soul and lacking humanity comes through in AI-generated poetry, stories etc. If someone feels AI can compete with what real humans create, they maybe need to sharpen their own senses a bit? That’s at least how I see it, but maybe I’m biased.

I admit that I grade a lot of papers (between December and April) for a performing arts course I lecture, and that I can meanwhile often tell what’s AI-generated even without using the tools we are now supposed to use (both plagiarism- and AI checkers). Maybe it’s not that obvious to other people, I don’t know. And of course we also have to be careful because at the end of the day, some of the advice out there how to “spot AI generated text” is also silly: People are now afraid to use the em dash, for example, because someone decided it’s a “dead giveaway.” I used em dashes in my writing all my life, and the hell will I stop using them. At the end of the day, AI learns from us, and it’s disheartening to see that people who write quite succinctly now often get accused of having used AI. And these often come out roundabout the 60% AI-generated mark if you run them through a checker, and as a human writer with a keen sense that’s been built over years and years of reading and writing, I can still tell they’re not (and I guess that’s exactly the point). But there are really things you learn to spot, and funnily, the main giveaways for me are (apart from a few things that are style-related) are lacking inner cohesion and often the sheer amount of someone’s output (and I’m saying that as someone who writes A LOT, but the quality fluctuates). Which brings me to the most important part of your question:

The problem here on Tumblr is exactly that: People are one step away from seeing artists and writers as content machines, not as human beings. A human being can’t churn out “content” day after day, several times a day, and never dip. There will be fluctuations in quality and amount of output. And it’s inhuman to expect that from us if I’m totally honest. But some creators on here (and not just on here) probably feel they need to do this to stay “relevant”, I don’t know? It certainly points to the wider problem that I’ve criticised and written about a few times in the past on here:

Many people aren’t willing to do the work anymore that makes fandom a community. The work to create is carried by a few in every fandom, and we should never forget that people do this in their spare time and are, by and large, not getting paid for it. The rest often only want to consume, consume, consume. They don’t even interact meaningfully—they give a like and an empty reblog if they feel generous. Neither holds any real thought.

They love fandom content until they get bored of it and then move on. It’s all become replaceable.

So become the artists and writers. And I, for one, refuse to compete with AI to prove myself or provide people with “content” until they’ve reached satiety.

Art is humanity, not content. It’s connection. So is fandom. I know I’m constantly harping on about it, but I feel it’s important to keep on doing so, because if we don’t, we will lose what’s important about it. We’re already halfway there if you ask me.

Back to AI: It strips away what’s important: The actual act of CREATING. And it also kills reasoning and critical thinking skills, and that’s a fact. I see this with students who rely too much on it on the regular, and it’s extremely dispiriting.

AI and the algorithm never can be better than humans at creating art because it doesn’t feel. And that, and sharing these things with other humans and understanding what they mean, is the point of art. Not churning out more and more content until we’re all sick of it like someone who had too much cake.

And part of that is acknowledging that humans are not machines. That means giving us grace and time for our creative process. We need to be allowed to make mistakes and create imperfect art, too. We don’t have to strive to be better than AI because we already are—even if we’re just starting out.

I don’t have any solutions to the greater problems at hand either, but I’m fairly certain that stepping up our game to create better content than the algorithm isn’t it. Because by mere design, we already are better— we understand what it means to create art in the first place, and we do it from a place of emotional connection.

[elzifelzi]

PHANTOM

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Chapter 16:Haunted Hallows Part 1

 Meanwhile in an attempt to clear his head Dan trudged through the moonlit Forest.  He had been walking for a few minutes before his phone began ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out and the caller id,read "Dad".What could he want? Why now? These were the questions Dan thought as he hesitantly swiped up and answered the call. 

Dan:”hey”

Jack:”hey”

Dan:...... 

Dan:”Any reason you called?” 

Jack:”I contacted the university, they said that you already left campus for summer.. “

Dan:”yeah we did.. What of it?”

His voice was like ice and he was certain Jack could fill the chills through the phone.

Jack:”I- I mean we assumed that you'd be coming home for summer..”

Dan:”didn't think you'd want me there.”

Jack:”Danny you're my son of course I want you there..”

Dan:”Then why wait till now to call? I hadn't heard from you for damn near a full year till now.so why?”

Jack:”............I..I mean we wanted to give you your space, and with Jazz missing we just……”

Dan:”JAZZ IS MISSING!!?”

That was the most emotion Dan had allowed himself to feel up until that point….

Dan:”How long?”

Jack:”what?”

Dan:”How long has she been Missing!!?”

Jack:”About 6 months.”

Dan:”And you didn't tell me? Are you even looking for her!?”

Jack became appalled at Dan's insinuation.

Jack:”of course we have but…”

Dan:”But what!?”

Jack:”Jazz is an adult,she'll be alright.”

Dan:”You haven't changed a bit have you…”

Jack:”I see neither have you... I don't know what else you want from me Danny! We let you go to college, we even fund this ridiculous passion of yours!! Even after what you did!!”

Dan gripped his phone tighter trying his hardest not to break it. The anger he felt from that one statement was immeasurable.

Dan:”.. You know good and damn well what happened wasn't my fault!! And….”

He caught himself before he said something he'd regret.

 Dan:”you know what, never mind..Thanks for the talk dad glad to see you in such high spirits and give mom my regards.”

Jack:’Dan, wait I'm.... “

Dan:”You know what Dad.. I can see why Jazz disappeared.i wouldn't want to be in that house with you either. “

Jack:”Danny…son, wait I…”

Beep.. Dan cut off the phone and Dumped it back into his pocket. That was the first time he'd talked to his father since he'd left for college but the pain he felt on that day was the exact same pain that he felt now,helplessness,frustration And Sadness. All he could do to prevent himself from falling to his knees where he stood was to continue walking forward with hopes that he could take his mind off it. No sooner had he continued walking his ghost sense began to go off and from behind a collection of trees emerged a green skeleton Like ghost with red eyes frantically swinging a sword at Dan. Instinctively our hero immediately took a battle stance. 

Dan:”I'm going....”

He stopped halfway.

 Dan:”Wait, shit I can't use my ghost powers or else skulker will find me. “

Dan began running away helpless against the current threat. He had relied so much on his powers up until now that he hadn't ever thought about what would happen in a situation where he couldn't use them.He ran for what seemed like hours in one direction but only a few minutes had passed. Eventually, he hit a dead end and with his back against the wall he had no other options. 

Dan:”I'm going…”

He could only get out the 1st 2 words of his signature battle cry  before the skeleton was knocked out by a shadowed assailant.Upon closer inspection it was Sam with what appeared to be a baseball bat. 

Sam:”You got real far didn't you?. Comeon let's go, that won't hold him off for long but if we leave now we can lose him. “

Dan:”gee am I glad to see you!”

Sam flashes him a cheeky grin.

Sam:”likewise.”

Sam took the lead and together with Dan they left.

to be continued…

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Chapter 17:Haunted Hallows part 2

Back on Skulkers Island he informed the mysterious figure from before of Dan's disappearance and as Skulker expected he wasn't happy about it one bit. 

???? :”how could you let him out of your sight?? we need him!!“

Skulker :”it isn't that serious…”

???? :”Of course it is you, useless psychopath!!!”

Skulker raised his hook at the figure's throat. 

Skulker :”Mind running that tone by me again?”

???? :”cut it with the stupid hook you sociopath.. This is a serious matter.”

Skulker Lowers His weapon and returns to his throne.

???? :”What are you doing.?”

Skulker:”waiting for you to shut up so I can talk.”

???? :”Fine talk!!”

Skulker :”The boy running was expected,I practically gave him the idea myself but that's no issue like I told you he WILL return.”

???? :”how'd you figure?”

Skulker : “Because I'm A Hunter and I understand my prey .”

????  :So what, we just wait for him to come back? We can't do that!! Who knows how long it'll take for him to come back!!you're just saying all this simply because you can't find him!”

Skulker :”You're not very bright are you?”

????:”huh?”

Skulker:”I still have an Ace up my sleeve”

He points to the blinded Boxghost who was helplessly chained up in a corner.

Skulker:”With That idiot's ability we can locate the ghost boy no matter where he goes in the human world or the ghost zone.The concept of losing him was never even a possibility.”

????:”Then why haven't you?”

Skulker :”The box ghost needs his eyes for the ability to work and he hasn't regenerated them yet.It will probably be another day or 2 before they're fully healed.”

The figure facepalms in frustration.

????:”He's Only Blind because of youu!!!”

Skulker simply shrugged.

Skulker:”Whether we look for him or not he will come back and if he's doing what I believe he's doing I'm certain that when he comes back he will be eveb stronger. All we have to do is wait.”

Skulker :”Now you just need to do your part.”

???? :”And what would you have me do?”

Skulker:”It's your job to find and bring our other half ghost partner here.”

???? :”What makes you think he'll help?”

Skulker:”He's already been helping,now we're Just having him be more proactive.”

Skulker pulls out a phone-like device and gives it to him.

Skulker:”His coordinates are on this..use this to find him.”

He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled up photo.

????:”What's this?”

Skulker:”I found this in the ghostboys home,our friend may find this very useful.”

The figure grabs the device and the picture and leaves to scour the human world for this other human ghost hybrid. After hours of searching he stumbled on the supposed human while he was exiting his home.

???? :”Vladimir Masters I presume”

Vlad:”You presumed right,and I take It you’re one of Skulkers men?”

The figure nodded.

Vlad:”If he's sent you , that must mean that plans are accelerating. What is it that he wants with me now?”

???? :”I've been told by him that you have certain abilities, abilities that would be a great use to us,I've come to confirm them.”

Vlad lets out a loud scoff as a sinister grin forms on his face.

Vlad:”I see,it's finally my turn to join the fray very well.”

A red glow envelopes around his hand and he fires an ecto ray at a nearby tree.

Vlad:”Is that proof enough for you?”

The cloaked figure nods then hands Vlad the crumbled photo that Skulker had given him,as he unfolded it he was surprised to see a picture of his old college roommates Jack and Maddie with their son Danny Fenton.

????: Skulker picked this up from the ghost boy's alleged home.”

Vlad:”The Fentons? Why I haven't seen them in years! and you say this photo was in the ghost boy's home?”

The figure nodded.

Vlad:”Why would the ghost boy have a picture of the fenton family unless ... .Are you trying to tell me that the ghost boy,Is Jack's son?”

The ghostly figure nodded once again prompting another sinister grin to form on Vlads face.

Vlad:”So what would you have me do?”

????:”Soon we will resume the search for Dan. He is a vital piece in our conquest.When we do find him your assistance will be needed in swaying him to our side.”

Vlad:”Seems simple enough.Is that all?”

????:”Yes, Skulker believes that seeing another halfa may be enough to influence the boy.”

Vlad lets out a light chuckle

Vlad:”Well well Jack you old fool it looks like your son will finally reap the consequences of your sins .”

???? :”so do we have a deal?”

The mysterious figure extendeds an open hand towards Vlad, Vlad takes his hand and shakes it smiling eagerly. 

Vlad :”It's a deal..”

To be continued…

New Chapters out, both these chapters were very short on their own, so I dropped them together,hope you guys understand the teen angst.Please keep reading!! Or i'll come to your house and tickle you.

READ the other released Chapters here.

[dandysworld-meh-imagines]

hii c: cud u do some (platonic!) bassie x child reader stuffs? thank uu!!

(im here so often im gonna do an anon name lol!! i hope thats ok ^w^)

-pudding anon C:

Bassie With A Child Reader Headcanons!

Hello, pudding anon!! Welcome welcome in!! Man, I love doing these, it seems that people really like them too, so I'm glad! It's really wholesome, hehe, here you go, dear pudding anon! Thank you for requesting! <3

-Anna

-Oh! She tenses up.. not because you did anything wrong, no, no, it's because she wants to appear as someone you can rely on, especially since you are one of the few young toons that happen to be in Gardenview. Bassie knows she can be dependent on others a lot but she wants to do her best to appear as someone reliable and wants to do her best for you! She will stutter and play with her fingers a lot, even fixing her appearance. As for you, you think she is a pretty lady, especially the flowers on her! If you compliment her, she relaxes as she smiles at you and thanks you quietly.

-It's mostly quiet when you are around her, she likes to sit in quiet places or even find flowers to press. If you are someone who doesn't talk much, you two will get along well! Even if you are an energetic kid, she has the energy to catch up to you and make sure you don't accidentally hurt yourself. If you talk, Bassie is a very good listener, making sure to reply to you here and there and just listen quietly. She has a very soft voice as she makes sure you are having fun doing activities together or speaking to you. Sometimes Bassie likes to watch you run around in the grass with a smile on her face though her eyes are always observing so nothing happens to you, even if Gardenview is safe.

-Bring her a pressed flower and Bassie takes it and treats it so delicately in her hands, anything you gift her, she finds it very sweet. She likes to gently stroke your head as she tells you that you did well and she will keep this close to her. Seeing you get happy that she likes it makes her smile bigger and more warm. You two like to gather flowers and when you have enough, you like to press them together, she teaches you the best method and what to use them for. Bassie also likes seeing how you do it and even offer you some help if you are struggling.

-Speaking of offering you help, she really tries her best when you ask her politely, she gets happy as she wants to do her best and help you out in anything she can. It's also technically her moment to shine here and show everyone how independent she can be! It might take her a while to realize how she can help but Bassie really does try her best, always trying to help you as much as she can and if not, she might get nervous more and more.. she doesn't really want to ask for any help now, does she? She wants to be like Cocoa, being able to help more instead of being dependent on others like she was.

-Sometimes poor Bassie can't hide how nervous and tense she gets and she might tell you to look for easter eggs and uses this time you are away to calm herself down. Don't worry though, she makes sure from before to have Eggson or even Flyte watch out for you or even team up with you. Bassie always makes some sort of an excuse, telling you she has to do something real quick or other things. She doesn't like lying to you but she doesn't want to risk you having that image of her in your mind. She's supposed to be the "main" toon, after all, she can't be showing you anything negative, she can't be showing you her worries or how she can get.

-If she manages to calm herself down, she pretends that everything is okay and spends more time with you, your presence and the activities she does with you definitely get her mind off of all those worries at least for a good while. It's almost like nothing really changed, she might feel a bit more tense or nervous, yes, but Bassie won't break down in front of you or anything like that. She refuses to. The mental image of you getting scared of or concerned for her makes her silently panic. She's supposed to show she's reliable, not break down crying in front of a child of all toons, a child!! It scares her.

-If she can't keep herself calm, she might put up a fake yet nervous smile for the other two and explain how she has somewhere to go but she'll be back later on. She stutters as she says it and sprints away quickly so you don't get to witness her face slowly falling apart, feeling herself tearing up and eventually crying. Bassie hates how her fear of being replaced gets to her eventually no matter what she does. When she sees the merchandise of Cocoa and the plushies, it really gets to her, she's afraid, she doesn't know what to do better. She clutches her head as she looks down, panting softly as she is shaking, her vision getting blurry. It takes her a very good while to calm down fully to show herself to you or her friends.

-If you spend time with Cocoa is also when it really gets to her, she won't show it but she tenses up as her breathing feels a bit off. She.. she understands if you rather spend more time with Cocoa than her, really, especially when Cocoa has such a bright and easy to get along with personality. She is also pretty energetic too and loves to help others out, it really gets the fear in Bassie when she watches silently from afar, her hands clutching her arms as she tries taking deep breaths. But when you come back to her, happy to see her is when she gets very surprised as her breath hitches. Maybe a small smile comes out of her as she laughs nervously. You really did come back..

-She really hoped she wouldn't never break down in front of you but sometimes it's very hard. She would panic even harder when she thinks about not tearing up when you are literally right there close to her. She tends to turn around but you can hear the stuttering in her soft shaky voice. If you ever manage to catch a glimpse of her tearing up, she instead gives you her shaky hand to hold, looking away as she silently offers to walk around with you, refusing to look at you. It helps calm her down as she takes deep shaky breaths. You usually get distracted by the colorful environment around you to notice Bassie's nervous expression, by the time you two stop walking, she's calm enough to face you, even if she still feels and does actions that still show she is nervous.

-Even though she can be quite the mess, Bassie really is grateful and appreciates your presence. She really likes spending time with you and she hopes you look up at her and find her helpful and that. Just knowing she made your day even a little better is enough to bring a small smile to her face as she calms down and relaxes visibly. She is looking forward to more activities with you and even taking care of you. Even if you spend time with the others, when you come back at her, happily holding a flower for her is what really gets her to warmly smile and thank you sincerely. She hopes you continue running up to her so happily like this and she wishes to make you smile happily like this too.

Thank you for reading! <3