#some gt towards the end

[f0point5]

Jealous Emilia after they get together plss I am beggingggg cook this for us plssssss 🙏🙏🙏

Not me rewriting this no less than four times and still hating it 😂 but it’s not going to get any better haha. This was hard to write because I actually don’t see Emilia as the jealous type. I kind of drew off a lot of her known insecurities and alluded to her kind of struggling with the “wag” role a bit so it’s not just her reacting poorly to Max being fawned over by a girl because I don’t think that would be true to her character. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

✨Set in Jeddah 2024✨

And I’m highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you

If there’s one thing to be said for the Jeddah paddock, it’s pretty at sunset. You watch people moving through the paddock bathed in golden light. The ground looks like the yellow brick road. Even though it’s getting cooler now as it gets closer to qualifying, you still choose to sit inside Red Bull hospitality. You’re also sitting inside because Max said he wanted to hang out before quail. Even though he’s spent the last forty-five minutes talking to one of the hospitality guests.

Amy, something or other. She races GT cars in some series you’ve never heard of. You’re not sure what connections got her the invite to the garage but Max had been herded away by one of the media reps to take pictures with her so she must be someone’s daughter. They seem to have hit it off, you note. He’s in full maxplaining mode, bending down to the line of his own hand as he illustrates what looks like an apex. Amy isn’t even watching his hands, she’s watching Max. Hazel eyes just sparkling as she memorises every inch of him. Yeah, you know that look well enough.

And it’s not that you mind. He likes to talk racing, he likes racers. It’s not like you know what it feels like to driver a car at top speed, and more importantly you don’t want to know. The hot laps with Max were more than enough. You can’t be everything to him and you don’t need to be. You tell yourself you don’t want to be. It’s good he has other people to talk to, because it’s not like you can ever really understand his competitive streak. The man who knows nothing except how to win will not always be able to relate to the girl who has always been too afraid to lose.

No, it’s not bothering you that Max is talking to her. It’s bothering you that she has the most obvious crush on him since…no, actually, this is the most obvious crush ever. She’s played with her hair so many times you just know karma is going to make her bald someday. You hope you’re there somehow.

“Hey,”

You jump at the sound of Checo’s voice. He sits down at the end of the table, brandishing Kitkat, which he slides over to you.

“Max has made a new friend,” he says, nodding in Max’s direction.

You tear open the wrapper with far too much aggression. “So I see,” you say, trying to sound nonchalant.

“She races, right?”

You nod, biting into the chocolate. “GT, apparently,”

“Lots in common,” Checo says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “You have to watch your back,”

You know he’s joking. You know that in no universe are you in competition with her. And yet, his words sink under your skin under your blood is curdling at the sight of Max laughing at something Amy says.

“I don’t have to watch anything,” you say with shrug, turning towards Checo. “If she can take him she can have him.” You push your hair over one shoulder and run your tongue over your teeth.

“Whoa,” Checo chuckles, throwing his hands up like he’s being faced with a hungry lion. You suppose since he has a wife, he knows the look well enough. “I was joking.” When you don’t react, he shakes his head. “It’s Max,”

You know what he means. It’s Max, not Chuck Leclerc. It’s Max, not Danny Ric. It’s Max, not Checo. But it’s Max. You don’t have to worry he’s going to lose his mind over the actresses or supermodels, but he sure seems to be respectfully admiring his female alter ego.

It’s like he can sense you thinking about him, it’s uncanny, really. Out of the corner of your eye you can see him walking towards your table with Amy in tow.

Fake smile, it’s fine, she’s just a fan.

Max introduces you, and you smile and shake her hand and ask her if she having a nice day, because you’re Max’s girlfriend, so you owe it to him to be polite. She has no such obligation, although you might be imagining her flinch when Max says the word girlfriend.

“I think it’s the best day of my life,” she says in answer to your question. The telltale flicker of her eyes in Max’s direction as they sit down almost making you roll yours.

Max doesn’t notice, he’s more interested in taking your Kitkat out of your hand and taking a bite. He bites it so that all four sticks have the end missing and you wear you’ve never been so disgusted by this man. For a second, you think Amy can have him.

“Amy races GT cars, like the ones we tested in Portugal,” he says to you now, his hand disappearing under the table to rest on your thigh and trace circles with his thumb like it’s a habit. “We are just talking about setting up a test for her with Verstappen com,”

Oh, great. So not only is she utterly bewitched by the ocean eyes, you’re making her dreams come true. Fan-fucking-tastic.

“Ah,” is all you say, sharing a look with a smirking Checo.

“That would really be such a dream come true,” Amy says, and you almost laugh. “I’m a big fan of yours, I think it’s so cool that you’re involved with things outside formula one. You should come to a race sometime. I owe you paddock passes,”

You met him three hours ago, and he isn’t even the one who invited you. Do you owe him a blowjob as well, Amy?

“Yeah. Our schedule is a bit hectic but yeah, it would be good to fit that in soon,” Max says, turning to you. “Right?”

What am I? The secretary? Because in case you didn’t notice, she didn’t fucking invite me.

You just shrug.

“GT racing doesn’t exactly draw the influencer crowd,” you are definitely not imagining the way her eyes slide over to you before she looks back at Max to say, “it’s really good racing,”

You zone out right then and there. It’s like your brain short circuits from the energy it’s taking not to reach over, grab this girl by her stringy extensions, and rip. If she and Max keep talking, you don’t hear it. You don’t want to hear it. You notice Checo noticing your discomfort, even as he engages the other two in conversation. For all his quirks, Checo reads human behaviour much better than Max. Though you don’t need to be a body language expert to see how much this girl likes him.

She looking at him like she wants to eat him, hanging on unspoken words, fingers twitching on the table like she’s desperate to touch him. And he’s nodding along, because they’re so aligned that whatever she says he agrees with, and the maxplaining is one-handed now but no less enthusiastic, and you’re about to dig your nails into his skin because he is not going to have one hand almost up your skirt while another woman is flirting with him.

All these thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of one of the Red Bull media managers.

“Amy, we were hoping to get some pictures of you with the car, if you’re free?”

“Yeah, sure, one second,” she says, turning to Max. “Which way is the garage again?” Like she doesn’t have someone who clearly just came from the garage standing right next to her.

“Just through there, keep going straight,” Max says, pointing to the corridor with engineers walking in and out. You give the girl the benefit of the doubt that she’s not that stupid, just desperate.

Reluctantly, she gets to her feet. “So, I’ll give you a call to set up the test?”

“Yeah, sure,” Max says. “Or you can call Raymond. He’ll put your team in touch with the right people,”

“Okay, awesome,” she says, leaning down enough that you can see right down her shirt. “It was really great to meet you. And I meant it about the GT race,” and then, as if remembering she can’t be rude, she glances at Checo. “You guys, too,”

You wave her off, and your smile doesn’t even fall. Because it’s funny. It’s funny that a grown woman would behave like that in front of a man’s girlfriend. It’s funny that a woman gunning for sponsorship would behave like you does regular shifts in something called the “Champagne Room”.

And it’s absolutely hilarious that Max turns to you, without a care in the world, and says, “I’ve got such a headache. I stood up into the cupboard in the garage, it hurt so bad,”

You give him tight smile and pull out your phone to text Lily to see if she’s still with Alex or if she’s free for a catch up.

“What?” You hear Max say above you. You ignore him. “What? She the-“ You look up just in time to see that Checo is mouthing something to Max. “Jealous?”

“I’m not jealous,” you snap, leaning back in the your chair to glare at both of them. They give each a mocking grin. “Yeah, very funny,” this sets them off snickering like school kids. “Fuck both of you.”

You get up and stalk through the room and back towards the garage. You don’t even know what you’ll do when you get there since being Max’s girlfriend had put an end to you just wandering down the pitlane and allowed in any garage. Maybe you’ll just try and find GP. If Max doesn’t catch up to you first. You can hear him calling you.

“Leibling, wait,” he’s right behind you now, and you hear him almost stumbling as he leans forward to catch you by the wrist.

You shrug him off, but stop at the door to his driver room and push it open, jerking your head to order him inside. He may be a dick, but he still deserve for the whole team to know his business. He steps into the room, reaching for your waist but you move out of his way and leave him to close the door while you lean against the physio table on the other side of the room.

He sighs when he sees how you’re looking at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. I mean, I did. Not at you. I didn’t think Checo was being serious,” he defends, and by the end of his sentence he’s fighting an incredulous smile and you squeeze the edge of the physio bench to stop yourself pulling your hair. Or his.

How can this guy understand complex tyre strategy but not basic human interaction?

“You didn’t think he was serious that I was annoyed by someone flirting with you in front of me?” You ask him, raising an eyebrow. “And that I wouldn’t be annoyed at you making fun of me for it?”

Max scoffs. “She wasn’t flirting with me,”

“Oh, please.” You let out a scoff of your own. “You didn’t notice me flirting with you for three years, do not pretend you’re an expert,”

“I noticed,” Max argues, “I just didn’t take it seriously,”

“Which is why you have no leg to stand on,”

“Right, because I was just supposed to believe that you suddenly-“

“It wasn’t exactly sudden-“

“For God’s sake,” Max groans, an expression of abject confusion twisting his face. “What are we even fighting about?”

“You enjoying Lella Lombardi over there slobber all over you, and enjoying it,” the exasperation gets worse when Max’s eyes widen like this is the first he’s hearing of this entire discussion.

“I’m- she- what?” He splutters, his head shaking in disbelief. “Is this one of those Tiktok pranks?”

“I get that she’s a pilot and that makes her automatically interesting, but until I hear otherwise, you’re still in a relationship,”

Max looks at you like you’ve grown a second head; shock, concern, and a good amount of unadulterated disgust. “You can’t think I was looking at her…like that,”

The way he says it, like he’s afraid to catch cooties, like it’s it’s inconceivable, like you didn’t still have bruises of your hips in the shape of his fingertips, takes all the fight out of you. Checo was right; it’s Max. It’s feels like someone’s let all the air out of a balloon. Your shoulders slump and you sigh.

“Because that would be crazy?” You lift yourself onto the physio bench as you speak. You’re not even really sure what you’re asking. “Max Verstappen, who likes only one thing on earth, that one thing being racing, attracted to another driver rather than his influencer accessory girlfriend?”

“Actually, I like two things,” he says with that boyish smirk that has been making your stomach do backflips for longer than you care to admit.

“Stop laughing at me,” you whine, fighting the urge to smile.

“I’m not. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that she upset you. I’m sorry that I upset you,” he says, taking a careful step closer to you, but he stops there. “Even if I don’t know what I did,”

He really has no idea. He is painfully, adorably clueless.

“Nothing,” you say, because you don’t know either. Sometimes it’s just inexplicably overwhelming being Max Verstappen’s girlfriend. “Just you being you, I guess,”

Max frowns at that. “I didn’t know being myself was so offensive,” he mumbles, and you instantly feel guilty. You of all people shouldn’t make him feel bad for how much space he takes up. You of all people know how much that bothers him.

“No, it’s not that. It’s not-“ you struggle for a way to explain it. Max takes the opportunity to cross the rest of the room and stand in front of you, his expression telling you he’s waiting for you to finish. “It’s not about who you are, but sometimes the way people act around you is just…and you’re so used to it, you don’t even…you just forget who you are sometimes, Max,”

He nods soberly. “Yeah. I do, and I’m sorry,” he says. He hooks his hands under your knees and pulls your legs apart and slots between them as he drags you to the edge of the bench so that you’re pressed against him, leaning back to look up at him. “But I never forget who you are, which is the most important bit,”

You can’t help but smile at him. He’s so simple. And not because he’s unintelligent, but because he’s guileless, because who he is has never scared him. He smiles back, and it’s unguarded and unbridled and you almost forgive that girl because you’ll be damned if you don’t have a crush on him, too.

“Was she really flirting with me?” He asks curiously, looking down as his hands find your and entwine your fingers.

“Oh, yeah,” you say, and he frowns, the wheels working in head as he tries to figure out how he didn’t notice. “Like me at your mum’s on Christmas Eve in 2020 level of obvious,”

“Well,” he says with a huff. “She just blew her chance at a test,”

“You don’t have to-“

“Wait, you were flirting with me at Christmas at my mum’s?”

[mattsfavbitchhh]

goodbye chris - c.s

cheating!chris x fem!reader

warnings: swearing, crying, alcohol cheating ( don’t do it ! ), angst with no happy ending

a/n: i felt we needed more chris angst fics, y’know?? anyway, hope you guys enjoy !!

word count: 730 words

not proofread

y/n's pov

4:32 am

and chris still isnt home, again. he's been doing this for the past week. ive texted him, ive called him, ive checked his location. he's still at this at this fucking house

do i go or not? i guess i should right? he's been doing this for week, i have to go. i grab my keys and my sweater, preparing to go to the house

i walk out the front door and start my car, i shiver because of the winter snow falling from the beautiful skies. i get in my car and start driving, in silence

i decide to turn on my playlist on the aux, it plays "reckless" by madison beer

"how could you be so reckless with my heart?"

i stop at a red light and start to ball my eyes out, with my sweater catching my salty tears. i get a sense of anger in my veins and run the red light, not giving a shit

i reach the house and park my car, and walk inside. my nose is immediately filled with the smell of weed and other drugs. my ears deafened by the loud shitty music playing loudly

i see drunk people dancing, people smashing their faces into eachother. i notice a closed door and wonder if chris is in there

i open the door and my eyes are meant by a scene i'm not supposed to see, chris fucking another girl

the girl gasps and chris turns around to see me in the doorway with a look on my face he'll never forget

i turn at start speed-walking to my car with tears at my waterline, i hear chris yell my name, but i ignore him

"y/n! i-i can explain!" chris yells.

"chris no the fuck you cant! you just hooked up with another girl when you have a girlfriend! do you know how fucked up that is?!" i yell back at him

"please y/n! listen to me, im sorry!" he yells, his voice cracking

"you dont even mean it. you're drunk." i say mumbling under my breath

chris grabs my wrist and turns me to face towards him,

"look i know what i did wasn't right an--" chris explains but then is cut off

"what? and you'll never do it again? that's what they all say, until they break your heart again." i say to him while starting my car and getting inside. i reverse out of the snow filled driveway, and speed down the street

chris' pov

i stand there watching her drive into the night, with a heart full of pure guilt. i did this. i caused this on myself. i went to the bar almost every night this week. i hooked up with some random girl. its all my fault.

i go back inside the house and grab the rest of my stuff from the room

"who was that?" the hooker i hooked up with asks

"none of your damn business bitch." i say rudely to her, as walk out the room and outside the house.

i grab my phone from my pocket and an call an uber home

y/n's pov

i stop at a red light and take my phone to text madison and nick about what happened. madison offers for me to stay as long as i need stay over at hers, i take the offer and tell her i'll meet her at house in 30

i get to the sturniolos home and quickly head upstairs to grab my stuff, of course saying hi to matt and nick. i grab all my stuff i need, start walking out of chris and i's shared old bedroom. but that's when i hear the front door open and chris comes stumbling through the door

i open nick's door and tell him chris' is home and he lets me stay there until he hears chris close the door of the bedroom. i hug nick and tell ill text him when i get there and leave his room

i scurry downstairs and give matt a hug goodbye and start walking towards the front door when i hear chris say my name again but i run out door. i start my car, and back out of the driveway and head to madison's home.

taglist:@certifiedstarrr @flouvela @sturnsbitch @adie-blogs @flwrs4sturniolo

©mattsfavbitchhh

just so you guys know there will a pt. 2 i js need to gts.. it will prob be out next week....i hope

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hello! I hope you're doing well and I'd like to thank you for being the rad trans uncle of Tumblr. I'm in a fuckin' crimson state that's quite unfriendly to trans people and I'm afraid I won't be able to leave until 2028 at the earliest. Might I ask if there's anything you'd recommend doing? Anywho, I hope the leaves were great where you are! Peace!

It's been weird, but I'm glad to be here. :) As for recommendations, well, while you are not in a great place for trans rights, thinking ahead towards a move a few years down the road *is* good. Stuff you should be considering:

Get your finances in order.

Start with making a budget (I like the tool YNAB), tracking your habits, and looking for places to reduce spending. I know that can mean squeezing blood from a stone, but even saving up gas money for a cross-country trip can move up your moving timeline.

You also want to start planning your moving expenses. For example, buying boxes, using a moving service, cost to service your car, calming meds for your pets, etc. Just make a spreadsheet and keep adding as you think of things. Have a rolling total and track against your savings.

Lastly, get your credit score in order. A free service like Credit Karma is fine, but as you get closer to having to apply for rent or a mortgage, sign up with each credit agency and pull your report. Get caught up on any delinquencies asap and do not miss any payments from now until you are moved - missed payments take the longest of ANYTHING to fall off your score.

If you've changed your legal name, make sure it matches with all the credit bureaus. If you feel responsible with credit, ask for a credit line increase every 6 months - that will help with your debt ratio if you are currently trying to pay down a balance. Plan a credit score timeline with a hard stop at least 2 months before you apply for a loan/rent -- after that, no more making any big purchases or applying for new cards. Try to have no more of 10% of your total credit line actually on your cards by the end of your timeline. Aka, if your line of credit is $1,000, you only want $100 on the cards.

2. Start paring down your stuff

Gt crafty hobbies? Stop adding to your stash. Stop it. Start getting rid of broken things, clothes that don't fit, stuff you don't see yourself using, or stuff that is cheaper to sell & buy at your new place, rather than pay to move. If this all feels hard, put the items you're questioning in a box now, and then open it next year and see how you feel. Don't buy anything you wouldn't want to move.

3. Start your research

Make lists of towns that look promising. See how their local government works. Check the local reddits and facebook groups to get the vibes. Make lists of "must haves" and "nice to haves" at the state, city, neighborhood, and even house level. Get an idea for what the cost of living will be in your new place. Decide what your deal-breakers will be.

4. Work on your job skills

Four years is a lot of time to improve yourself for a good salary hike. It's a lot of time to get marketable for remote jobs, which will broaden your opportunities to live where you want. If remote work interests you, start looking at job listings and note the requirements. Make a plan to be qualified within 3 years.

5. Make a bucket list of things to do in your current state

There must be some good things about your state. There were in mine. Afford yourself grace and do some fun things that you might not have the chance to do again when you move. Hang out especially with local friends and family you care about.

6. Keep an eye on what's happening wrt trans rights.

Follow trans pundits and your local trans rights orgs. Get in the habit of learning what's going down in your municipality, down to the school board level. Be prepared to have to adjust your moving timeline if shit hits the fan.

7. Stay on top of your healthcare and legal stuff

No passport yet? Apply now. Forgetful about getting your HRT renewed? Set reminders and work hard to stay on top of everything. As you get closer to moving, research healthcare options in your new home and get appointments lined up asap.

8. If you're selling & buying a house, be prepared for it to take nearly a year

Seriously, it can take forever for everything to work out. Work with realtors in your new state who specialize in remote sales & relocations. Start repairing your current place by year 3 and start packing months in advance of the final move.

tldr; Treat the next 4 years like you're at college and your degree is Getting the Hell Outta Dodge. Plan as much as you can with to-do lists and spreadsheets, with some kind of monthly goal at first, then weekly and daily goals as your move approaches. It can feel overwhelming, but knowing *now* that you are going to move means you can plan as much as possible and reduce the amount of panic-decisions.

Good luck!

[racheyace]

Do you possibly have a list of the G/t movies and/or shows? I've been looking for stuff to watch and would love to know what good stuff you've come across!

Okay so I've compiled a list from my poster and from more that have popped into my head as I wrote them down, fairly sure there's even more, but these are the ones I know well, if you know of any more please comment, I'd love to add to the list, there's actually so much out there when you really think about it!

Anyway enjoy and I hope I've listed at least some that you haven't seen before

Gt in media list:

Percey Jackson and the Lightning Theif (Literally a 3 minute scene toward the end of the movie but a great scene!)

Gulliver’s Travels (2011 Jack Black)

Gulliver’s Travels (1996 film)

Black Adam (The Atom smasher is a size shifter kinda like ant man)

Ant Man (Ant man and wasp, ant man quantomania, all three of these movies are great!)

Avengers Civil War (Airport scene)

Earths Mightiest Hero’s (Tv show featuring ant man and the wasp with great gt scenes)

Help! I shrunk my teacher (This movie is in another language however I have been able to find an English version pretty sure on YouTube)

Help! I shrunk my parents (Again in another language but should have English version on YouTube)

Help! I shrunk my friends (Now this one I haven’t been able to find with English version or English subtitles so if you find one please share, but visually even better than the other two in regards to gt!)

Tinkerbell and the great fairy rescue

Disney’s Thumbelina

Disney’s original animated Peter Pan as well as Return to Neverland (Tinkerbell gt scenes)

Ella Enchanted

The Borrowers (1973) A little old but super cute!

The Borrowers (1992) Pretty sure this is a mini series or at least 2 or 3 short films and it is great!

The Borrowers (1997) Classic movie, great visual effects, epic cast, amazing gt!

The Borrowers (2011) Another great remake of the movie, a little more modern

Alice in Wonderland – Whether it be the Disney animation or the Johnny Depp remakes, great gt scenes in this also, I personally like the live action remake

Hook – Oh my god is this movie great! Julia Roberts plays Tinkerbell and Robin Williams as an adult Peter, the chemistry and gt interactions in this are amazing!

Wiplala (Also known as Help! I shrunk the family though not from the same series of movies as the other Help! Movies I mentioned above) This is also found in a different language though English versions are available on youtube – Totally underrated movie and has amazing gt all the way through!

Barbie as Thumbelina (For a kids movie this has a super cute story and great gt enemies to friends vibes)

Jack the Giant slayer

Peter Pan (2003 live action) One of my favourites and I rewatch this a lot! Poor tink gets grabbed a lot sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently!

Honey I shrunk the kids

Honey we shrunk ourselves

Honey I blew up the kid

The Secret World of Arrietty (Another one of my all time favourites and rewatches!)

The Iron Giant (Again just amazing and one of my favourites!)

The Indian in the cupboard (So sweet with a lot of really powerful messages)

The Littles (Kids tv show and just all around great gt!)

The incredible shrinking woman (I personally didn’t enjoy this movie as much as I thought I would but still great gt scenes)

The incredible shrinking man (Again didn’t love this but it is also very old, great special effects for its time)

Fern Gully (Another all time favourite!)

Fern Gully 2 the magical rescue (Not as great as the first one but still pretty good as far as gt goes with more interactions with humans)

Epic! (one of the newer gt animations with a fantastic cast, didn’t like that the human’s move so slow but from a scientic viewpoint that does make sense)

Tom Thumb (This is fairly old and a musical, but has some excellent scenes for its time)

George shrinks (A kids tv show I grew up watching, all around amazing)

Jack and the beanstalk: The real story (Fantastic movie, though it may be a mini series, I can’t quiet remember but great gt again!)

Attack on Titan (this is an anime series, it’s also really good in the fact that one of the humans, well a few, but the main character can become a titan and helps to protect his city and his friends, now this show is not for the weak stomach, the titans are quite disturbing and there is a lot of vore and gore so fair warning)

Dinosaur (Disney movie – gt found family the tiny lemurs take in a dinosaur and raise him as their own, inspired my most recent story)

Transformers (There are many of these and can be hit and miss with regards to gt, but its there)

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (Another anime, actually just started this and its fantastic in regards to gt)

Night at the museum (All three movies as they all include our favourite tiny cowboy and roman)

Robotech (I’ve been told this is great as it contains giant mech people and some gt scenes)

Land of the Giants (TV series, it’s fairly dated but well worth a watch)

Downsizing (Starring Matt Damon, I personally didn’t like this film, it had so much potential and just missed the mark but there is some great gt in it)

Monsters Vs Aliens! (I can’t believe I almost forgot this movie and it’s not in my gt media poster ahhhh! Amazing gt all the way through, one of my favourites!)

Dwarfina (Such a cute tv series, it is in another language but I was able to understand a fair bit, following the series on youtube can be confusing but it is so worth the effort, the story is so sweet with amazing gt and romance)

My little lover (A Japanese series, though I believe there is an english dub, I’ve heard there is a remake now out but I’ve not seen it, the original is fantastic though!)

Okay I’m gonna list a few more below, they all have the same sort of vibe, I didn’t personally enjoy them they were like on the cusp of pornography but for the sake of the gt in media list I’ll put them here:

Attack of the 50 foot cheerleader

Attack of the 50 foot woman (There is two of these, an older one and a remake)

Attack of the 60 foot centrefold

The 30 foot bride of candy rock

The Amazing colossal man

Village of the giants

[reborrowing]

Hands of Fate

so, gt soulmates huh? a concept that could turn into a full story, maybe, where humans don’t get soulmates. usually.

Fate wasn’t fair.

In most ways, it couldn’t be predicted much better than the weather or your hosts’ comings and goings. It was fickle and anything you thought you saw coming turned up on its own twisted terms.

As the sun went down over an old farmhouse, a young borrower beneath the floor woke up with a prim white handmark on her forearm, a sign that she was soon to meet a soulmate. She was seventeen, a good age for that sort of thing, and her family living with her in the walls of the old house was all abuzz with celebration and speculation.

Her siblings all pressed their own hands against the mark to try to imagine what sort of person the soulmate might be—young or old, male or female, delicate or rough. Her uncle and grandparents argued about whether it meant Stepha would be leaving or a stranger would come creeping into the walls of the old house, and which would be better for the lot of them. Once a mark appears, fate starts to pull you into place to make sure the two of you will meet. That was the whole point of the old magic—to ensure that no borrower ever got too isolated.

Excitement spread through each crack and crevice of the old house until all the hidden little households heard the news. Very little ever changed in the quiet eaves where they lived their lives so rumor of a newcomer was hot news indeed. All were happy to titter on about planning a welcome party of some when the time came, gathering the families like it was a holiday. It was unlikely they’d actually pull anything so grand, but for now the musty walls were full of congratulations and excitement.

Cob, meanwhile, seethed.

He had grown up hearing about the heroic rescue from a flooding storm drain that brought his parents together and the garden walk where his aunts Kit and Melly stumbled into each other under a romantic rain of cherry blossom petals. He had admired the bond between Mix and Daisy, not romantically inclined, but so close they could outwit the and outmaneuver the neighbor’s cat without speaking a word to the other. Even the souls-tied rivalry between his grandmother and the garden trader was endearing, in its way. The connection soulmates had was deeper and more enduring than that in any relationship without…and Cob was still waiting.

It was childish to be jealous, he knew, but the bitterness was not so easily dismissed. He was old enough now to consider seeking out a partner in a more mundane manner before he missed his chance at raising a family of his own.

Why would Fate send a newcomer to his baby cousin instead of to him? It was well past his turn, wasn’t it?

Fate wasn’t fair and it seemed to have a grudge against Cob.

Rather than get caught sulking, he volunteered to go out and see if he couldn’t find something fresh and sweet to bring to the gathering. That took his mother by surprise, since Cob rarely went out into the house unless someone dragged him.

It was a decent trek down into the kitchen and it felt good to stretch his legs and get away from talk of soulmates. His agitated mood started to relax as he rappelled down the spice rack to look around the counter for a good prize. He imagined the best food would be in the fridge, but he didn’t have a good way to open it on his own. Instead he crept toward a wooden bowl on the other end of the room that ought to have fruit of some sort. Maybe, so long as no one made a habit of it, he could get away with slicing away a bit of apple or…

The bowl was lighter then it looked and tipped over when he tried to climb its side, flinging out its precious contents. Cob scrambled back to avoid getting trapped underneath. A pair of apples rolled to the floor and bounced heavily across the hardwood, easily audible in the next room over.

Cob hurried to get out of sight as he heard the door. He hid in the shadows behind the toaster as the rest of the room lit up with electric light. His heart raced. He clenched his teeth so hard to keep quiet, he thought his molars might crack. His gear was still hanging down the spice rack in plain sight to anyone who thought to look Loud footsteps drew near and with them, the looming giant. Cob closed his eyes, lest the reflections give away his position, and mouthed a quick prayer to any power that might care to help keep him hidden—though Fate was the only one he knew by name. Thankfully, someone answered.

The human picked up the mess and walked off without even glancing in his direction, muttering something unintelligible as they turned off the light and retreated to the other room. Cob breathed out a sigh of relief but his skin still prickled and burned with fear and shame over nearly getting caught right after lashing out that anyone would question his competence. Today had gone so badly that it made him feel ill. Cob hastily made his way back home, suffered through dinner, and went straight to bed.

He woke up to a whispering crowd gathered around her hammock. His father shook her and wanted to know what had happened to her in the kitchen the previous night. He scowled tiredly. He was still hot, almost feverish, and he wanted nothing more than to roll back over fall back asleep. Someone grabbed his arm and he thought his heart might stop.

His whole right forearm was newly white—as was the rest of the arm and the entirety of his left. He inhaled sharply as he ran his now-pale hands over the new development and nervously pulled up his shirt. His skin glistened soulmark white from the neck down. He’d never seen anything like it. No one had ever even heard of such a thing. This wasn’t a handprint from another borrower’s touch, the mark was everywhere.

And there, on his chest, was the faint whorl of a human thumbprint.

Fate had decided that his destiny was intertwined with a human, for good or for ill, til death do they part.

-

general taglist @da3dm @whumpsday

[gtbutterfly]

hide - gt one shot

hey, so I tried writing a one shot in an hour. I want to write more one shots like this in the future, so feel free to let me know whet you think of this one and what I can improve. criticism is appreciated.

______________________________________________________________

It had just begun and I was already out of breath. We were frantically running around looking for places to hide. We were in a forest during early fall on a cool night, all the leaves were on the ground, crunching under our feet. I ended up hiding in a bush, next to a friend of mine. I didn’t know where anyone else hid. It was dark outside, so no matter where, it should have been hard to find them, at least, for most humans. Soon, almost thirty seconds had passed. We couldn’t quite hear the footsteps in the distance, but we could feel them in the ground.  The vibrations were like feeling the face of the drum when it’s hit. They buzzed through our bones as the source of them got closer. Soon, we could hear the creature's footsteps thumping as they hit the ground. My friend was nervous, he had his hands over his mouth to cover the sound of his heavy breathing, which didn’t work very well. His breathing got louder and faster as we heard a scream in the distance. It just claimed its first victim. Then, the vibrations and footsteps got closer and closer. I could barely see the outline of the creature, standing as tall as the trees, their eyes scanning the ground and glimmering in the moonlight. I ran. I started sprinting as fast as I could from the bush, not wanting my partner's breathing to give me away. 

“Hey!” he yelled at me, shocked at my fleeing. I heard them scream as they were caught moments later, but I didn’t dare look back to witness their fate; I kept running and running, trying to distance myself from the large being.

I kept running until I got to a ditch in the ground. I got down on my stomach to hide from the entity that was chasing me. As I looked up from where I was at the naked trees above me. Someone else was hiding in them, sitting on a thick branch and clinging to the trunk. My guess is that they thought since the creature would be looking on the ground, it would be smart to hide up high. Unfortunately for them, it followed the direction I ran in. The white highlights of its eyes were visible from the dozens of yards away where they were standing, and glaring straight at the person in the tree with no emotion at all. The person in the tree panicked as it started to move towards them. They tried to climb down so they could run, going down branch from branch, but they grabbed one that was too weak to hold them. They let out a blood-curdling scream as they fell. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t see them hit the ground, but they never did. I never heard the sound of bones cracking, or they’re body hitting the ground, or their groans of pain. I opened my eyes. The creature caught her. She was in their hand, shaking but unhurt, as it looked down at her. I quietly got up and started running again the the creature was preoccupied. I counted the number of victims that the entity had claimed. The only people left were me, and some other person. I happened to run into them while sprinting through the forest. After we both processed the pain of the impact, they whispered.

“What are you doing here? This is my hiding spot,” They asked,

“I’m trying to avoid them, we’re the only two left,” I whispered back,

“Well go somewhere else,” they said, “I don’t need you attracting them to me,” Just then, the entity was heard stepping towards us. I looked behind me to see it smiling, practically a couple of steps away from us with its size. “Damnit!”

We both started running as fast as we could, the creature basically seconds away from grabbing us off the ground. Unfortunately, the person I was running aside from had always been a faster runner than me, and I had been running this whole time, so I was already tired. It looked like I was a goner, about to be snatched up by the creature at any second. But then, the other person tripped on the root of a tree. I immediately passed them and heard their yelling from behind me as they were picked up by the entity. I was the last survivor. The winner. All I had to do was get home-

THUD! “Owww!”

I rolled my foot on a rock and fell to the ground. I skinned my arms trying to stop myself from falling. Slowly, the entity stood over me. I started breathing heavily as its white eyes glared at me from above. My arms ached in pain as I held them. It got on its knees, staring at me with its large eyes. It opened its mouth…

“Oh my goodness, are you ok? Your arms look like they need to be bandaged,” the giant said, looking worriedly at me. They helped me up with their index finger. 

 “I fine, big guy, just some scraps,” I said, dusting myself off. “That was a pretty good game. You really good at hide and seek,”

“I didn’t go too far again, did I” they asked, embarrassed,

“Of course not, you did great,” I said. Then, there was a muffled voice coming from the giant’s pocket;

“Hey, is the game over? Can we come out?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, of course,” The giant pulled their “victims” out of their pocket and gently placed them on the ground with his palm. 

“Bro, why did you run away like that at the bush?” The person I was hiding with earlier asked me.

“Your breathing gave us away,” I said,

“Would you have done that if we were really being chased by a giant monster?” he asked,

“Well, probably if I'm being honest.”

“Scew you,” He said, turning away from me. The girl that fell out of the tree looked up at the giant.

“Thanks for catching me back there, I’m not good with climbing trees,” She said,

“No problem, anytime,” the giant said, smiling at her. The last person besides me to get caught scoffed,

“Why do you always have to be it when we play games like this?” They asked the giant. “Uh, because I’d be really easy to find?” the giant shrugged,

“Fine, let's go again, and have you be one of the hiders this time, just to make sure.” they crossed their arms.

“Nah, it's getting late, let's go home.” one of my friends said. 

“Yeah,” said someone else.

“Need me to carry you guys?” the giant asked us. We all nodded. So they picked us all up again, and we went home.

[body-face-words]

DT/GT

Video sent by @ingravinoveritas !

Quick 9 second video of David and Georgia posing for the press.

First lets go with what they are saying:

"I want you to ????" I think he said smile, but I could be wrong.

"I know."

For pictures, David always slants down to Georgia. He put his hand on her back, and she stays standing upright without touching him, leaving her arms by her side.

David has his picture smile as he speaks to Georgia.

Georgia, before she answers, her smile looks asymmetrical. Obviously forced because pictures are being taken, but more in a sneer. Her right upper lip is raised and her right cheek is also puffed out. Compared to the Film Awards, she doesn't seem happy.

A sneer means contempt, disgust, disobedience/disrespect to authority figure, or feeling of superiority. In this case, I would say she's annoyed at David or in some way tired of him. In an early post, we could see how she was being left behind and no attention was being put on her.

After she says 'I know' she snaps her head to her left, away from David. Maybe to move her hair and go back to the press. Snapping of the head is also anger. When something is said or we see something we don't like, some snap their heads to the opposite side to not look at what cause our anger. She raises her right hand as she speaks, emphasizing she does already know what to do. "You don't have to tell me that. I already know what to do."

In visibly inhales. Reasons for that is loss of air, because she felt David inhale (we tend to copy others around us unconsciously) or to calm herself.

At the end she licks her lips. There are many reasons why people lick their lips. In this instance she could have done it to calm herself down. When agitated, we feel our lips/mouth dry so we lick our lips. She also turns her head and put her left hand on her waist, raising her shoulder, to show empowerment.

David, when Georgia answers, his smile becomes longer. It goes more horizontal, not up. Again, both have forced smiles for the cameras.

He continues looking forward while smiling. He inhales a second before Georgia does. Same reasons as above; lack of air or to calm himself down.

As the second go by, his horizontal smile starts to fall.

Overall, they're both in their own world and not so content with each other. Being stiff for pictures isn't out of the ordinary, but compared to the Film Awards, they are much colder towards each other. I don't think their face are because the sun is hitting them. Their in the shade so that wouldn't make sense. Georgia is being ignored, more than before, and David is most likely aware of this.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Goku may have failed Gohan in some ways as a father, but Piccolo was never and will never be Gohan's Daddy

So when I was younger, I enjoyed a handful of fics centred on Piccolo and Gohan's relationship. I love how much Piccolo came to care for Gohan and it was nice to see Dad!Piccolo every now and then...but Dad!Piccolo can't ever measure up to fics where Goku is a great dad. I understand why some people may believe Piccolo is Gohan's true dad but I don't agree, especially now as an adult woman with my father now dead.

Disclaimer: I am basing this off my experience watching Dragonball, DBZ, DBGT and most of the DBZ/GT movies. I have not watched DBS nor will I ever. That series can screw itself.

Piccolo's responsibility in destroying Gohan's childhood

Piccolo is the one who thrust Gohan into the world of fighting and world-ending battles. He kidnapped Gohan and left Gohan to fend for himself for months. I will argue that Piccolo started Gohan's warrior path on a traumatic note and that's partly why Gohan does not gravitate towards fighting as he grows older. Yes, Piccolo changed but the damage can not be undone.

Difference in species

This may look superficial at first glance but it is significant as you look into it. Namekians are radically different from humans/saiyans physically, emotionally and sexually. That means that Piccolo can not advise Gohan on various aspects of his life as he grows older, especially during puberty. Piccolo can't teach him to shave. Piccolo can't give him the sex talk and talk to him about girls. Piccolo can't help Gohan with his friendships. Piccolo can't relate to whatever saiyan or human urge Gohan may experience. A father is supposed to model a good man for his kids and teach his son to be one. Piccolo can't offer that to Gohan, unfortunately.

Emotional distance

I see Gohan as a very emotional and affectionate person. You see this when he interacts with Goku, Goten and Videl. Piccolo is more reserved and closed off. Usually when Piccolo and Gohan interact, there's always some kind of distance between them. However, there are a few times when Piccolo will rest his hand on Gohan's head or shoulder when he feels extremely proud like after the Cell games. However, I don't think this would have been enough from a father figure for Gohan. When Gohan is crying after Goku's sacrifice, it's Krillin who steps up and comforts Gohan. When the Z fighters go to the lookout after Gohan's victory, it's Yamcha who carries Gohan. This does not mean Piccolo does not care for Gohan! I am just saying that Gohan likes physical forms of affection too, but that's not Piccolo's love language.

Fighting is all they have in common

We don't see Piccolo and Gohan have any extensive scenes together outside the context of battles and fighting. What exactly do they do together for fun? What do they talk about? In the movies, we see kid Gohan being silly around Piccolo and Piccolo tolerating him, but that hardly counts. I get the vibe from the series that Gohan's visits to Piccolo are brief and they don't have much small talk. With Goku, we see Gohan and him enjoy pastimes together like fishing, bathing and eating. In the lead-up to the Cell games, we see them reminisce about Gohan's childhood and have fun as a family at Gohan's birthday party. Why wasn't Piccolo there?

Piccolo is not involved wholistically in Gohan's life

Piccolo only really exists and functions in the fighting realm of Gohan's life. This is why their relationship does not feel as close as Gohan grows older and starts his career and family. Piccolo hardly expresses any interest in the other facets of Gohan's life. I don't even recall Piccolo interacting at all with Pan or Videl at the end of Z or GT. He is not close with Chi Chi and Goten, Gohan's family. I think Piccolo is closer to the Son family in Super but I don't care. Compare this with Goku who encourages Gohan to study, teases him about Videl and spends time with Pan.

Conclusion: Goku is Gohan's daddy and Piccolo can't fill that gap.

This does not take away the fact that Piccolo protected Gohan and loved him in his own way. Sacrificing himself for Gohan multiple times. Piccolo was the one who understood Gohan's mindset during the Cell games (probably because he was the one who beat baby Gohan into a fighter and saw his timidness up close vs. Goku who came back to life and only saw hero Gohan being badass all the time) and was the first Z fighter to step in during Gohan's fight against Cell. But Piccolo is better labelled as a friend or mentor to Gohan. Maybe uncle or big brother. Goku is Gohan's father, Gohan sees Goku as his daddy, and Piccolo will never fill that role for Gohan.

[angstywaifu]

The Lost Sister - Part 33

Synopsis: Xaden is known as an only child due to his sister who 'died' during the Rebellion. Little do they know she didn't die and has been so close this entire time.

Garrick Tavis x OC (Ophelia Riorson)

A/N: Little bit of a shorter part today, but I've not had the time to work on a one shot fic this week. I will probably only be posting Lost Sister for the next bit. I'm very close to the end of the Fourth Wing part and I really want to smash it out and then focus on Dahlia and one shots before moving into Ophelia's story for Iron Flame. So get ready for all the Lost Sister! The Lost Sister Masterlist | Masterlist

“So she has a book that might help?” I ask as I stand in front of Garrick and Xaden at the leadership table, which is surprisingly empty at the moment

”I think so. It was some book of Fables her father left her and it had some cryptic note in it for her. From what I saw on the pages it talks about some ancient kingdom and a Great War amongst brothers to control magic. I’d place money on it being a good starting point for your signet after what Carr and Melgren have let slip.” He says as his gaze drifts to Violet who sits with our squad.

”So go get us this book then.” Garrick says teasingly, as if its the easiest thing in the world.

Xaden shakes his head at him as he rolls his eyes at him, his gaze still focused on Violet.

”It’s not that easy.” He mumbles as he picks up his fork and stabs at his breakfast.

”Maybe if you just admitted-” Garrick starts before Xaden gives him a pointed look.

I open my mind to Xaden and feel the mix of anger and… oh god. Fucking mated dragons again. This phrase was becoming a normal part of my vocabulary with these two. The anger had come from Garrick’s words, but as I reach out towards Violet I know exactly where the other feelings were coming from.

”So that’s what the new armoire was for.” I tease as Xaden shifts his eyes to me, a silent warning to shut up, probably knowing I can read his emotions right now.

”Oh you should have seen the mess.” Garrick adds, joining in on the teasing.

I feel Xaden’s anger and annoyance flair at Garrick’s words. He knew exactly how to push Xaden’s buttons.

“Can you two just shut up?” He asks in an attempt at a commanding tone.

”And where would be the fun in that?” Garrick muses as Xaden returns to his food.

Xaden barely takes two bites of his food before he’s choking and spluttering on it, Garrick pounding on his back before grabbing some water. I turn around to see the entire quadrant staring at Xaden, but over at our squad table Violet is grinning at Xaden and I know instantly she was the cause of Xaden’s choking. Fucking mated dragons. I turn away, leaving a still slightly choking Xaden and a laughing Garrick behind, to find the one person I need to see before the day ends. I catch a glimpse of pink hair disappearing through the doors leading to formation. I rush down the dais stairs, pushing through a small crowd of cadets also heading to formation. Breaking through the crowd, I spot the pink hair disappearing around a corner.

"Imogen!" I call out, managing to catch her attention as she turns to look.

”You’re up to something.” She tells me as I catch up to her, falling into step as we walk to the Rotunda.

”Don’t know what you’re talking about.” I say shyly, already being called out.

She just shakes her head and laugh. “You are. You get the same look in your eye that Xaden does.”

I go to object but the look she gives me has me shutting my mouth. She’s probably right.

”Fine, you’re right. But you can’t tell anyone. Think you can find me some hair dye?”

@riorgail @going-through-shit @fw-gt @bbkissme99 @xceafh @leptitlu @came-to-laugh-but-cried @onthewaytotimbuktu @daardyrnitta @lovemesomevesey @mxtokko @krowiathemythologynerd @callsign-blue @1islessthan3books @side-angel @wolfbc97 @just-an-ace-elf

[greenerteacups]

Hello GT, I absolutely love Lionheart!

I published my first fic and have been dealing with some criticism; it’s not anythjng super hateful, but it’s not anything meant to make me improve either. I’ve been feeling sort of down because of it. My question is: have you ever dealt with hate or criticism before? What is your attitude towards it?

I find your work and answers on here super insightful and inspiring! I hope you have a nice day ❤️

Fuck em. Like, seriously, just fuck em. There's a time and place for writers to take critique and be strict with themselves; it's necessary for any artist to grow. That place is with a chosen group of creatives whose work you admire and whose judgment you trust. A rando on the Internet, while they may in fact be the next Marcel Proust, probably isn't. And I was raised to believe that while it's appropriate and kind to pay compliments to strangers when they're performing — just as you'd smile at a busker on the sidewalk, and or compliment a chalk artist — it's not appropriate to criticize them when what they do isn't to your tastes. They're providing you with their art for free. No one forced you to read it; no one forced you to listen. If you don't like it, it costs $0 to shut the fuck up.

Also — that thing I said about artists taking critique? That assumes that you're doing this out of a desire to improve your writing, which, while noble, is not actually a thing you need to do if you're a hobby writer. I like trying to improve; it makes me feel good. But at the end of the day, I do this for fun. I do this because in my real job, I am ruthless and self-critical and try really fucking hard to do well, and you need parts of your life that Aren't Like that. You need parts of your life where you're not worrying about whether you're Doing It Right. And living without that anxiety of critique is, paradoxically, the only way you'll find the artistic courage to take risks and develop new skills. Everyone is a little bit rough around the edges to begin with. (Not saying you're a beginner — you merely said "publish," and I certainly wrote a lot of things before I started publishing! But every artist is always trying to develop new skills and techniques; in the grand scope of things, we're all beginners.) Giving someone blunt critique when they're in the beginning phases of their journey as an artist is about as helpful as screaming at your six-year-old kid because he can't swim the butterfly.

And the thing is, these people will bluster and say "well, I'm just being honest, I'm just trying to be helpful," but like: mmmmmmno, you're not! You're not. And it's disingenuous to say so. Because if you were actually trying to be helpful, you would introduce yourself, offer your skills as an editor/beta reader, and start building the relationship of trust that grounds any meaningful co-creative partnership. People do not just accept random critique that comes flying at them from the blue nowhere. And issuing it in that form is the best way to make them hostile, defensive, and unreceptive to it. Delivering harsh feedback without a context of care and support is almost sure to fail as a method of actually changing behavior, and either (1) you know that, and are doing it anyway — presumably because you want people to know how Terribly Clever and Better At Writing you are, or (2) you sincerely have never thought about the effect that context and word choice have on how other people receive your meaning.

Which tells me you are the last fucking person on the planet I want writing advice from.

[inlovewithpandora]

- Overworked -

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem!stressed!reader

Request: [ @spidersthetic ] Jesus, have you been awake the entire night? + Look, I'm okay! I've pulled all nighters before. + I'll carry you to bed if I have to. + Go. To. Bed. That's an order. or I'll check in on you in an hour. You'd better not have moved. Whichever fits. w/ Hobie Brown || Reader is working on a presentation for work and stressing over it cause she wants it to be good because she might get a promotion she neglects sleep and Hobie notices and tells her she needs to sleep but she is too stubborn and refuses to so Hobie has to basically drag her to bed and that's where you can use either go to bed or I'll check... or both if you can fit it in.

Synopsis: When you start drowning in work Hobie is there to save you.

Content: angst, fluff, established relationship, concerned Hobie, stressed reader, Hobie forcing reader to gts, reader being stubborn but does listen to him, kissing toward the end, just a cute little fic!

Author’s Note: Thank you for requesting! I hope it meets your expectations!

Word Count: 1k

Extra: Requests are open! Please read rules before requesting! || Likes, comments, and reblogs are highly appreciated❤️!

Links: Navigation || Astv Masterlist || Main Masterlist || Taglist

As you scan through your presentation for the millionth time tonight, drinking another can of your favorite energy drink, you decipher the sound of footsteps inside the apartment.

You know it’s Hobie, so you don’t leave your work zone, continuing to work with tunnel vision, hoping that this presentation wows your boss and earns you the well-deserved promotion.

Every night you’ve spent working on this presentation made you want to rip your hair out and claw at your eyes from the stress. And even though you are filled with tension, you know that the all-nighters, consumption of unhealthy amounts of energy drinks, and overworking will be worth it once your new work bonus hits your account.

Hobie walks quietly, assuming you were fast asleep. He walks down the hallway, about to walk into your bedroom, but he notices that there is a light on in another room. When he approaches your home office, he hears your groans of frustration. He opens the door and sees you running your hands down your face then slamming them on the desk.

When you look up at him, he can see you’re tired. The sunken eyes and the way you seem to be fighting the urge to let them flutter close give it all away.

“Jesus, have you been awake the entire night?” He asks rhetorically as he doesn’t need your answer to confirm it, his voice laced with both concern and disbelief.

“Yes, but-”

“Love, you need to sleep and not stress about this presentation.” Hobie knows how much this presentation means to you and he’s rooting for you to get it the promotion, but he doesn’t want you to neglect your health over it.

“Hobie, you know how much I want this promotion! I’m competing with multiple people and I need to be at the top.” A yawn slips through your lips upon finishing your sentence. You begin to rub your puffy eyes as you turn back to your desk and continue working on your presentation.

“I know, but I just don't want you to tire yourself out-” Hobie cuts his sentence short when he notices you dozing off. “y/n! See this is why you need to go to sleep, your body is begging for rest!”

You straighten up and act as if you weren’t drifting just a second ago. “Look, I'm okay! I've pulled all-nighters before. I’ll just drink some more energy drinks or take caffeine pills so I can stay awake. Stop worrying, babe. Just go to sleep and I’ll join you later.” You plant a kiss on his cheek, trying your best to reassure him that you're fine, but Hobie knows that this is only your stubbornness making an appearance.

“No, y/n, you’re going to sleep. I'll carry you to bed if I have to.” His words just go in one ear and out the other. You are solely focused on this presentation and nothing is going to stop you –apparently, except for your boyfriend. As you blatantly ignore Hobie’s pleas to come to bed, trying to add the finishing touches to your PowerPoint slide, you feel a pair of hands scoop you up.

“Hobie! Put me down. I need to finish this!” You lightly hit his chest as he carries you down the hallway in bridal style.

Hobie gives you the same treatment you gave him earlier, ignoring your words as he places you on the bed. “Go. To. Bed. That's an order.” He gets into bed next to you, pulling you into his embrace and wraps his arms around your torso.

You start to form a protest against him, but when you feel his warmth against your skin, you decide that a little “nap” wouldn’t hurt. Just a little nap then you would go back to work, or that’s at least what you try to convince yourself.

“Fine, but only because you forced me.” You playfully roll your eyes, running your hand through his hair to lightly massage his scalp. After a while of both of you cuddling in silence, snores begin to echo throughout your bedroom with both of you sleeping peacefully, intertwined with each other's bodies.

—

The next morning you wake up full of energy. Being able to finally have a full night's sleep makes you feel the most relaxed you’ve felt in days. You now have the ability to come up with new ideas for your presentation without having brain fog. You feel so thankful that Hobie forced you to get some rest because if he didn’t you wouldn’t be able to have this new sense of clarity.

As you start cooking breakfast, you feel a pair of large hands wrap around your waist. “Mornin’, love.” His husky voice rings through your ears as he kisses your cheek and rests his head in the crook of your neck.

“Good morning.” You reply with a smile as you run your hand down his cheek before placing your attention back on your food. Hobie looks at the different things you are cooking and realizes it all makes his favorite breakfast combined.

“Is all of this for me?”

You turn around, wrapping your arms around his neck while looking up at him with loving eyes, “yes it is. I wanted to make you breakfast as a “thank you” for helping me last night. I really appreciate you seeing that I needed to take a break.”

When you pull him in for a tender kiss, he’s taken by surprise, but it doesn’t take him long before he kisses you back, moving his hands from around your waist and gliding them down your body and lightly squeezing your butt which makes you grin into the kiss.

“You’re welcome, love. You know I’ll always look out for you.” Hobie smiles softly as he lovingly cups your cheek. Hobie always makes sure to keep an eye on you because he knows you have a tendency of overwork and causing yourself stress. “So now do you promise to not overwhelm yourself with work?”

“Yes, babe. I promise. No more overworking. But if I do, I know that I’ll always have you there to ground me.”

I hope you enjoyed❤️!

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[hazel-of-sodor]

What would happen if the engines in your AU met the engines in the Young Iron AU?

Well...this has actually been a discussion before. I'm lucky enough to be friends with @tornadoyoungiron , and we've talked about what would happen if our AUs collided. So heres the main take aways from what would happen if Grand Theft Sodor met Young Iron.

A. All the YI engines (besides Flying Scotsman/City of Turo/ Sodor engines) are getting jumped by their GTS counterparts over their treatment of Tornado. Without question. YI Tornado was seen as a fake, a pretender. GTS Tornado is seen as the hope of preservation. People loving steam engines so much they brought a class back from extinction. Blue Peter specifically needs to hightail it as soon as possible.

B. YI Great Northen and GTS Great Northern would clash, possibly the worst of all. GTS Great Northern led the class, and the LNER when Gordon was sold to the NWR. YI Great Northern managed to turn both against himself. They would be utterly unrecognizable to each other.

C. GTS Tornado would take her YI counterpart on an adventure. Also pray for any YI engine that tried to treat her the same way as YI Tornado, because theyre about to reminded just how powerful the Peppercorns truly are.

D. Thomas/Cassandra (GTS) and Thomas (YI) would be keeping an eye on the Tornados from a distance, not ruining their fun, but in range in case any mainline engines try anything. Thomas/Cassandra is more serious and worn then their YI counterpart, but the two number ones would recongize each other.

E. The Great Westerns would be at war. The GTS GWR was the largest family in Britian, they would be appaled at the class sytem the YI GWR had. When they learned of the treatment of Lady of Legend? The Calley Twins will be helping the GTS Great Westerners apply war paint.

F. Perhaps most intersting collsion isn't of engines, but of dieties.

The Lady (GTS) and Lady (YI). Sisters, but both would believe the other is failing their universe.

Young Iron's Lady believes they should only intervene in divine matters, and so only intervenes when she has to, and even then she is more likely to act through the gold wardens so as not to affect the fabic of her world, as she is aware too much influence could unravel existance.

Grand Theft Sodor's Lady is going to save her children, end of story. She was put in place to protect them, and she will not fail. But there are consequences to her interventions. The veil wears thin, and monsters arise.

YI Lady things GTS Lady is reckless with her power. That she is risking her reality to save engines that are mortal in the first place. They will all return to them in the end anyway.

GTS Lady believes YI Lady is letting her children die needlessly out of fear, and that she is failing the very reason for her existance.

Both Young Iron and Myself agree that neither are fully right or wrong.

YI Lady has not caused even a fraction of the tears in reality that GTS lady has...but her children had nothing to believe in when their time came. Most engines don't even believe she exists. This is why engines in Young Iron tend towards looking out for themselves, its all they've ever had. It also means that when YI Lady actually needs to intervene...shes limited. She doesnt use her power, so shes not used to it.

GTS lady has saved more of her children. they believe in her, and are more likely to turn to each other for help...but monsters roam the lands. By the end of Steam the veil wore thin indeed, and beings like The Beast, The Creature, and Screech would continue to rise for decades after the fall of steam. She saved many of her children, but at a steep cost to the world.

YI Lady has less power...but doesnt really need it, and her world has only seen the hint of monsters.

GTS lady is at her full potetial...but needs all of it to keep the tears in reality at bay.

*****

Now there are no plans for a crossover fic. We're both busy keeping up with our own AUs...but heres some ideas that have been thrown around just for fun.

A. Showdown of the Ladies-Caomhnóir is taken by Young Iron Lady, who wishes to confront her sister over her reckless use of her powers.

B. Harlequin- Young Iron Mallard (circa 64ish) gets thrown to the Uman and Din, where he meets Screech. Can she teach him to master his black smoke. Can he get back home, and will he want to?

@tornadoyoungiron pls chime in anything I forgotten or missremebered, this was basically all from memory.

[neonthewrite]

Shackled Forest

The next GT July prompts were Jewelry and Cursed, and though I started with just the first one in mind, it fits the second pretty well too, so I'll count it for both. Got a new concept for me to play around with, some new characters ... we all know I love a forest character.

Introducing Morrel. He's doing his best, but it's difficult.

~~~

The jewels hadn’t shown a sign of life in a long time.

Sometimes Morrel naively, stupidly, foolishly-optimistically thought that they’d finally fallen inert, all power sapped away into the atmosphere never to bother him again. But if that were the case, he’d be able to remove them. The thick wrist bangles, glittering with teal and blue gems, would unclasp and fall away while the choker with its enormous ruby at his throat would fly open and he’d be free of the weight at last.

But no. They stayed with him, more than a human’s weight in gold and a matching quantity of precious stones, heavy and lifeless, until that morning.

It began as a stirring dread in the back of his mind that he almost hadn’t recognized in the early hours. By sunrise, though, he couldn’t deny what it meant.

A human had found and donned the fourth and final piece of jewelry in the set. A ring, the band human-sized rather than giant, sporting a humble diamond little more than a fleck of glitter to his eyes. Despite its small, nondescript appearance, though, that ring meant only trouble for him.

He felt no compulsion, no drive towards the wearer of that ring, which meant that they didn’t know what they’d picked up. That was good. There was still time to figure something out. Time before they understood they had a giant bound to their whim, no matter what it may be. If they figured that out, Morrel would be stuck with them, and they with him, until they passed on or renounced the ring.

No wearer had cast off the ring before. He had no reason to believe this newcomer would either.

To that end, he rushed towards where he’d last seen that infernal ring. The height of a young tree himself, nearly thirty feet, he couldn’t do much sprinting on the forest floor without damaging everything in his path. Instead, Morrel skimmed over the canopy, his boots barely touching the crowns of the trees like a water skimmer barely touched the surface of a lake. To anyone on the ground below, he would be a passing wind and little more.

He tried not to think too hard about what he might need to do when he arrived. If he indeed found the ring near where he expected it: on the tiny, fragile hand of a human. He couldn’t touch the ring itself, thanks to his own accessories. He couldn’t harm someone who’d activated the power in the ring. For someone who didn’t know, though … Morrel had options. None of them were good.

The alternative couldn’t happen again. That ring had passed through generations of tiny human hands, leaving him at the command and mercy of tyrants and warmongers, pillars of greed and conquest alike. He’d never felt relief the likes of what he felt when the last king to wear that ring had fallen to a highwayman, his jewels and money taken away to be passed around among thieves. One of Morrel’s first actions taken with free will in centuries had been to terrorize a camp of bandits, to put his hands on a human before he could take up the ring.

A nondescript piece of jewelry was easily forgotten, tamped into the mud and ruin of that camp. No one remembered a ring over a gold-bedecked rampaging giant-of-the-woods, with skin like tree bark, long, bloody hands and sharp features, four narrow eyes glowing with the colors of sunset and a voice like a storm.

Morrel didn’t want to hurt anyone like he’d done then. He didn’t need to hurt anyone. He merely needed to separate them from the ring that would seal his fate.

Whatever human it was had some choice in the matter too.

At less than half a mile from where that camp had stood decades ago, Morrel slowed his dash, sinking into the woods with only a whisper of leaves against his skin and tattered clothes.

He couldn’t do much about the shining gold of his jewelry, but Morrel had at least switched out his old clothes, fine things in the colors of the kingdom he’d belonged to for so long. He wore rougher fabrics now, pieced together or bartered from the occasional passing hill-giant, in the greens and greys of the woods he called home. When he sank into the forest, it was like a new tree had sprouted there and began slinking between the trunks.

The dread in his core ebbed and flowed like a tide. Morrel couldn’t say whether his own anxiety or the actions of whoever had the ring did it. He could barely remember the first time that ring had fallen into human hands, how it had felt then. The freedom of before was a faraway dream, hazy and faded by centuries of subjugation. What he had now wasn’t even freedom, not with that threat constantly waiting.

The threat that, now, hung so close over him he practically felt its shadow.

Stalking through the trees, the dread became sharper, more focused. He had never kept track of where exactly the ring had fallen—he never needed to. This clarity always grew when he came too close to it. Only bad things came from that little band of gold and his whole body knew it; if running as fast as he could in the opposite direction would help, he’d have abandoned it long ago.

A small voice mumbled up ahead—no, two voices. Morrel’s eyes narrowed and he crept even slower towards the sound, blending into the trees despite his bulk. His recent years of avoiding humans hadn’t been enough to forget how to read tone in a small voice; they were arguing over something. One of them was old and gruff, the other young and fresh. It was more than the simple kind of arguing between a willful youth and their elder.

Creeping close enough to parse the words but not enough for them to spot him easily between the trees, Morrel’s core chilled like winter.

“I’ve got a feeling about this thing. Why would we just give this away for what’s probably not enough money to solve our problems? There’s something magic in it, we just need—”

“What we need is money, you little idiot. Not flights of fancy and pretending the dirty jewelry you found in the woods is magic. Give it here!”

Foliage and twigs shuffled as the pair apparently chased each other a few steps. Not far—the older voice grunted in discomfort and the younger voice huffed defiantly. “It is magic. It resized to fit me as soon as I put it on. And I’m going to find out what it does!”

It was as good a cue as any. Morrel couldn’t allow the owner of that young, hopeful voice find out what the accursed ring did. He abandoned stealth for speed and surged forward, slipping past tree trunks like they were reeds in a pond, scraping away bark and low branches.

And then he was upon them.

He was fast, faster than his bulk might suggest. One long hand dropped to the older human where he stood, knocking him from his feet and pinning him harshly to the ground. Weak struggles met Morrel’s unforgiving palm, though he didn’t lean enough weight onto the man to give him more than bruises.

The other hand snatched at the other human where she stood on a boulder jutting out of the ground, surely the spot she planned to flaunt her spryness over her companion while she talked wistfully of magic and boons and happy tales. Morrel’s hand found her all the same, long fingers like steel coiling around her middle before she could flinch away. His thumb lengthened and sharpened as he hauled her off the stone, the point resting just a breath away from her throat. She stared at him with wide eyes, all bravado forgotten, while her companion shouted unintelligible things from where he was stuck on the ground. She didn’t even struggle, just stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.

It wouldn’t be the first time. With and without the influence of the jewels, Morrel’s hands had been bloodied. He could do this again.

She was so young.

Had that mattered last time?

He couldn’t remember the faces or the voices of the last humans he’d accosted. They had been bandits, humans living rough much like these two seemed to be. They were so so different from the humans dressed in fine things and living in constant luxury that had hurt him. But they had the same opportunity to hurt him anyway.

He couldn’t hurt a fully aware master of that ring, but even though she wore the grubby thing on her grubby finger, she hadn’t realized its potential yet. She knew it held magic, and that provided the wary dread at the back of Morrel’s mind, the knowledge that he could be captured again. Now was the only time to save himself, and he hesitated.

It needed to be done. He’d be protecting himself. Just one little motion of his hand and it would be over. Her fate was regrettable, but his own had to matter more to him.

But she stared up at him, so young and afraid, with eyes that couldn’t have taken in two decades of life.

“Close your eyes, young thing,” he said. He didn’t have a mouth, but his voice rumbled out of him all the same, and he was grateful it didn’t betray his hesitation. “Close your eyes. Look away. Whatever is easiest.”

It wasn’t the young human but the older one that responded. “No ... no! Take me instead, if you must take someone! We meant no disrespect or trespass!”

Morrel didn’t look away from the human in his hand, but his gaze softened. His lower set of eyes closed entirely. “No. Close your eyes, little thing.”

She shook her head, though a shiver diminished some of the sense of brave defiance. Her gaze flickered over him quickly, taking in a few details of his appearance, but she didn’t waver. “Y-you don’t actually want to hurt me, do you?”

Morrel’s eyes shifted to a slightly stormier color, some grey mixing in with the sunset hues. “I want to do what is necessary. If you will not accept what mercy I can offer, that is not—”

“No, that’s not it,” the girl said, her confidence growing while his dimmed. “I can—” she broke off into a laugh and finally looked away from his face down to her pinned arm, where one hand sported the faintest glint of gold. “I can feel what you actually want.”

Morrel froze.

Somewhere within him, a lock clicked into place.

His dread peaked and then drained away to nothing.

The girl grinned wider. “I know what this ring does.”

[cockatrice-writers-guild]

!WET SOCKS!

FINALLY. CONTEXT BEHIND THIS COMMISSION

warnings: swearing

word count: around 1.3k

taglist: @awkwardgtace , @smolcomfycat , @just-a-tiny-bun , @tripodcat-gt

I sat at the end of the dock, feet dangling into the water as I took in the scenery once more in yet another unsuccessful attempt to calm my nerves.

Today was special.

Because today was the day Thad would finally be coming home from college. For good. And the last time we video called, he said we should do something to celebrate the occasion. And now I was here.

I squeezed my arms.

It'd been a while since I'd seen him in person and to say I was nervous was a huge understatement. What if I made things awkward? What if my voice didn't cooperate when he showed up? WHAT IF HE HATES ME?

I stared down at the water with a small frown, focusing on the reflection of the velki sized trees in the distance. If Thad didn't want to meet me then he wouldn't have asked, right? This was okay. Everything would be okay. Thad would get here and we'd probably have an awkward first exchange and then...eventually things would go back to normal (…hopefully).

But I knew it wasn't just the nerves that were causing my heart to flutter. I was excited to see him again. I missed the physical touch and the sound of his real voice and also when he...uh....when the...he…lips.

ANYWAY

Thad was going to be here soon and I was excited to see him again. I really missed him. And I really hoped he’d missed me too.

Luckily, I didn't have to sit there much longer before I could finally feel the telltale tremors of velki footsteps vibrating through the wood below me. I squeezed my arms to prepare myself as best as I could when I heard the trees behind me start to rustle, my heart jumping with every snap of a branch. Finally, something broke through the treeline and with my heart now pounding with anticipation, I took a good few seconds to mentally prepare myself before finally turning around.

And my heart jumped at the sight.

Thaddeus. Thaddeus Kayne. In the flesh.

And he looked like a mess.

His hair was chaos (…more so than usual, anyway). His clothes were wrinkled. He had pine needles sticking out of his jacket and hair. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. But he had an absolutely massive grin on his face, his eyes softening slightly when mine met his.

He stood there for a long moment as we stared at each other, his bag sliding off his shoulder in the quiet.

And then his grin widened as he started walking towards me.

The dock was creaking under his weight and all at once he was right behind me (TOO FAST). This gave me just enough time to start rethinking my life choices before he bent down, his head hanging upside down in front of me. I had to lean back to make eye contact now.

Also his eyes were shining.

Oh no.

"Sy," he said simply.

I just nodded back at him, not exactly sure what I was supposed to be doing anymore.

"Would you say you have any electronics on you at this moment?"

…what?

I mean…I'd left all my stuff in a purse by the shore because I didn't want anything getting dirty. I shook my head.

"Anything you wouldn't want to get soaked?"

I shook my head.

"Hmm."

There was silence in the air for a long moment and I almost considered asking what he meant by that but before I could even fully process what was happening, the ground below me disappeared and the next thing I knew, I found myself underwater, completely soaked in freezing cold water.

WHAT HAPPENED???

It took me a while to get my bearings but when I did finally managed to find the dock again while doggy paddling, I had to crane my neck to maintain eye contact with Thad’s still weirdly hunched over form, looking to him for some kind of explanation. In return, Thad only watched me as his expression started to change.

His grin turned sheepish.

The perpetrator.

I just frowned up at him and then stopped frowning when he suddenly straightened up and somehow even more surprisingly than pushing me into the lake, took a step forward into empty air and fell face first into the water too.

???

The resulting waves from his absolutely terrible dive sent me flying away from the dock and once I managed to resurface again, I looked around only to see no sign of Thad besides the ripples where he’d disappeared into the lake.

I waited for him to resurface but when nothing happened and nothing kept happening, dread started to fill me. I was out in a comparatively bottomless lake and my giant, currently evil boyfriend could be anywhere below me. I started to paddle back to shore as fast as my arms could carry me but almost as if he was waiting for it (which he probably was), something quickly surfaced below me and started lifting me out of the water. I felt the faint twitch of muscles and the slight warmth radiating under me and I recognized what it was almost instantly.

A hand lifted me out of the water and then slowly, Thaddeus’ head emerged from the lake like some kind of river monster. His bangs hung in his eyes and his eyeliner was now running freely down his cheeks but his eyes were still shining, coughing up water in between fits of giggles.

“Sorry,” he just managed to get out between his laughter and despite everything, I couldn’t help but start laughing too.

Eventually, we both calmed down enough for Thad to start swimming back to the shore. He set his hand down on the dock and waited for me to get off before he placed his arms down on either side of me and bent them until my back pressed against them.

For a second, he said nothing, watching me in silence as he bobbed slightly in the water before he started leaning towards me. He stopped once his head was mere meters from my own and I once again considered all the choices that had led me to this exact moment before his lips tilted into a small smile and I could literally feel the tension leave the air.

"Hey," he whispered giddily and I felt my cheeks start to heat up as a small smile wormed its way onto my face.

I tried to speak but found the words jammed in my throat. I cleared my throat silently and tried to feel out the words. Said a phrase in my head over and over before finally just reaching out and brushing a hand over his lips instead.

The gesture made him smile and he actually leaned into it, letting me run a hand over the soft surface for a while before I finally had the courage to lean in for a hug, kinda just…draping my arms over what I could reach before I felt what must have been his arms press into me as he returned the gesture.

"I really fucking missed you," he finally whispered, the sentiment making my heart flutter.

He hugged me for a while longer before finally pulling away, brushing some of the wet bangs out of my face with a finger before pulling himself out of the water. He scooped me up before starting to walk back up the dock.

“I had like, a whole romantic forest picnic thing planned out for us but seeing how we’re both soaked in lake water for…some reason…and to be honest I’m tired as hell and probably need like a shower or something, I think I’m gonna just head home for the day.”

My heart sunk slightly.

“-BUT!”

My heart stopped slightly.

“-you’re more than welcome to join me. …if you want to, of course.”

I nodded so frantically that Thad immediately burst out laughing again, stopping only to give me a small kiss on the top of my head before he picked up both of our stuff and started making the trek to his house, eventually launching into a monologue of what his last few days of college were like and how the trip back was as I leaned back into him and enjoyed the feeling of having him back.

[aotopmha]

Dragon Ball Daima episode 2:

This is so cozy. Absolutely my type of Shounen.

And it's just these characters being themselves for 20 minutes straight while the animation and direction is unreasonably good.

If they keep it up, I foresee it ending up on my Christmas Cozy list.

And once again, there are just so many little details in there that add so much personality, but also lore substance.

For example, Piccolo probably has some knowledge about the Demon Realm because of Nail/maybe Kami.

And I love that Bulma gets to fix a spaceship for everyone again and use Kibito as her personal servant.

Shin has kind of just been there for a while now and he gets to be a pretty important part of the story.

It feels so wierdly considerate towards all of the characters, which is not very Toriyama-like (except Gohan, we haven't even seen him, just explained why he isn't there, which now that I think on it, IS very Toriyama-like).

But at the same time, the worldbuilding and jokes are very Toriyama.

Personally, I felt most fanserviced by the Power Pole coming back and it making sense in context.

If you know why Toriyama aged up Goku, GT becomes even less fun.

(It's because it would be easier to draw fight scenes because of longer limbs and GT didn't really use this limitation in any kind of interesting way.)

And I love that this episode actually has a fun play on this because everyone has difficulty flying because of their adjusted body size in their child bodies and Goku specifically is thrown off because he has shorter limbs now.

It's so oddly specific and thoughtful.

This is really, really good so far.

[gtbutterfly]

New Jen and Gabby story! (No title yet) Chapter one

I'm writing a new story set after my borrower story about Jen and Gabby. This is set roughly a week or two after the finale of the first Jen and Gabby series, Jen has started teaching Gabby how to borrow, and they're temporarily staying at Rebecca and tims house while Jen looks for a new place for them to live. I'm happy to be writing these characters again, and I hope you enjoy it. Criticism is appreciated!

Original story:

__________________________________________________

It was around sunset. The air outside was cool and the sky was clear. Some trees and houses across the street blocked the lowering sun and created shadows that seeped through the window. Inside, there was a turned on lamp sitting on a desk in front of the window still. The bottom of the lamp had a ripped out piece of cardboard taken from a shoebox, not more than two inches wide either way. It was taped to the side of the lamp's base with a piece of folded tape. On the cardboard, there was a marking in the center made with a pencil. She stood across from the lamp at the other end of the desk. Her sister was watching at her side as the young tiny tried to focus on the target. she got into a throwing position, and threw the toothpick with all her force, grunting as she did it. The tooth pick spun in the air and bounced off the cardboard hitting it with its side. It landed on the ground, bouncing a bit before settling. 

“Wow, good job, Gabby, that was great for your first try!” the borrower's older sister said. 

“Oh, it was supposed to hit it with the pointy end and stick on it,” the younger borrower said, disappointed. The older sister approached her and patted her on the back.

“Hey, it's alright, you did great! Your not gonna get it all the time, not even when doing it for real,” the older sister said, “I know I don’t,”

“Jen, why are we learning how to throw the pointy thing anyways?” Gabby asked.

“Well, sometimes, you won’t have a fishing hook to use to climb things, so you’ll have to use your needle,” Jen said, taking her needle out of her belt and showing her sister the non-sharp end. “See the little hole, there?”

“Uh-huh,” Gabby said.

“Humans put string through there to make clothes and blankets and things. We can use them to make a grappling hook and string if we need to. real hooks have holes just like it.” Jen explained.

“Ooh,” Gabby looked at her sister's needle in interest. “When do I get a sewing needle like yours?”

“When you're done training with the toothpick and you won’t hurt yourself,” Jen patted her sister's head.

“Ok! So when are we learning how to fight with these?” Gabby asked,

“Eh, I dunno, you can’t really be taught that, I think,” Jen said, walking away, putting the needle back in her belt. “I figured out how to defend with this thing when I first started borrowing on my own. Mainly against bugs that were around in the vents or kitchen, sometimes mice and rats,” she turned back towards her sister, “it mainly just comes from instincts, we probably shouldn’t worry about that. For now it's more important to focus on traversal, like climbing tall objects and staying out of sight, alright?”

“Uh, ok,” Gabby said, looking down and nodding. “Oh, what if a human takes me again? What should I do?”

“Stab them and run as far as you can. Come on, you know this, Gabby.” Jen said, walking towards her and getting on her knees, placing her hand on Gabbys shoulder. “Besides, once you learn how to climb, move efficiently, hide, and all that stuff, you won’t need to worry about escaping a human, just not getting caught in the first place, alright?”

“Sigh, ok,” Gabby nodded.

“You're not still scared from when you were taken before, are you? You can tell me if you are,” Jen asked,

“N-no…” Gabby stuttered. Jen sighed.

“Gabby, remember, I’m here for you. I’m not going to let you get kidnapped again. Not for as long as I live, ok?” Jen reassured her.

“Ok…” Gabby said, looking at her sister. “...what about after?” Jen looked down for a second,

“Um…well, then you’ll be ready to face the world on your own. Ok?” Jen gave a soft smile. Gabby nodded. The two sisters hugged each other tightly.

“Thank you, Jen,” Gabby said,

“It's fine,” Jen said, rubbing her sister's back before letting go of her and standing up. Suddenly, both of the borrowers flinched. There was a shake in the ground. Gabby let out a small yelp, while Jen’s eyes widened and she reached for her needle, before they both remembered. “Oh yeah…” Jen sighed, looking across the room at the approaching human. She had a blue sweater on and on her shoulder was another borrower, hanging on to some of the human hair and part of the sweater. She got on her knees before the desk the two borrowers were on and smiled.

“Oh…hiii Rebecca,” Gabby said, letting out a smile but backing away slightly at the same time. Jen got in front of her. 

“Hey guys, how are you two little ones doing?” Rebecca said, taking the other borrower off her shoulder. Jen cringed.

“Fine, fine, everythings great.” Jen said bluntly. “How was yours and Tims date? It seemed awfully short.” The other borrower jumps from Rebecca's hand onto the desk.

“It wasn’t a date, we just went out.” Tim said.

“That's what people say when they go on dates,” Jen said.

“What did you do then?” Gabby asked.

“We went to the store, looked at some things, and then we got takeout for dinner and brought it back here.” Tim said.

“We got chinese! Do you two want any?” Rebecca asked.

“No reason not to,” Jen shrugged, stepping towards the edge of the desk. 

“Chee….chinese?” Gabby thought aloud, “is that like, the…uh, noodle with the red sauce?” she asked.

“No, it's the brown noodles with the grease on it with the broccoli and stuff mixed in,” Jen said, attaching her fishing hook to the edge of the desk.

“Oh, that's much less messy!” Gabby smiled, walking up behind Jen as she tossed the string off the edge of the desk so they could climb down.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that, guys, you're our guests.” Rebecca said, “I can carry you to the kitchen,”

“Its fine,” Jen said, “Gabby would rather walk, and I’d rather stay with her,” 

“Yeah,” Gabby said, grabbing onto the string, hugging it with her arms and legs and slowly sliding down as Jen watched and smiled.

“Huh, she's already going down ropes by herself,” Tim said. 

“Yeah, she's learning pretty well,” Jen said, grabbing a hold of the string herself and sliding to the floor. Tim climbed into Rebecca's hand, and she picked her up and walked behind the two borrowers that were on the floor, who were making surprisingly good pace, even given how the borrowers had to practically jog to keep up with the human towing over them at normal walking speed. Rebecca looked down at Jen and Gabby as they moved alongside her. Jen glanced up at Rebecca, causing the human to look forward and away from them. She looked down at Tim in her hands. 

“Think they’re ok?” Rebecca asked quietly to Tim, just about whispering. 

“It's fine,” Tim said back, “I’m sure it's nothing against you,” he reassured her. Rebecca looked past Tim at Jen and Gabby on the ground, worried about them not liking her. After some walking, they were at the kitchen table. Jen took out the fishing hook again and prepared to throw it up to the top of the table, before Rebecca bent down and stopped her.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, I can give you a lift if you’d like,” Rebecca offered, 

“Oh, that's fine, we wouldn’t want to bother you,” Jen said, unwrapping the string and getting ready to swing the hook. 

“Oh, it's barely a bother, you two barely weigh anything to me,” Rebecca smiled, “come on, I insist,” the human said, holding her hand out for them. Jen sighed, putting the hook back into the bag slinged over her shoulder. 

“Come on Gabby,” Jen said, taking her nervous sister's hand as they both got into Rebecca's palm. Gabby struggled to stand up a bit, while Jen kept her sister from falling over. Rebecca raised the borrowers up to the table and let them get off. She also places down Tim from her other hand, before pulling a chair from the side of the table, and sitting down. She took some paper plates from a stack that was already on the table and scooped the chinese food onto one from a styrofoam container. 

“I’m guessing you two don’t get warm meals like this too often,” Rebecca said. Jen stood over the paper plate and looked at the pile of noodles, vegetables, and meat on it. She could feel some of the heat from the food on her face.

“Yeah, not really,” Jen said, picking up one of the ends of the noodles and looking at it. “Usually only when the last humans we were borrowing from left it out, and even then it would be cold, and hard to bring back,” she cut a small piece out of the noodle and tasted it, before cutting a much bigger piece and giving it to Gabby, who started eating it immediately. 

“Y’know, some borrowers at the trading market use candles and matches to try cooking stuff,” Tim said, trying to add to the conversation.

“Please, the only thing anyones ever successfully made with the ‘candle stove method’ is tea,” Jen said, “most people are too worried about started a bigger fire, or making smoke that humans would see and follow,” 

“Well, since you’re with me, you’ll be able to have as many warm cooked meals as you want!” Rebecca exclaimed, “I am great cook, after all, maybe I could even find a way to make small meals that are your size,”

“Uh, thanks, but I think we’ll be fine,” Jen said, looking down, taking a bite out of the other half of the noodle. “Tomorrow I’m going with Nora and Liam to find a new house for me and Gabby to borrow from. Hopefully we’ll be out of your hair soon after that,” 

“Oh…” Rebecca looked sideways for a moment, “well, you can always stay here as long as you’d like, ok? In Fact, you can stay here if you want,”

“Uh, no thanks, we…um, wouldn’t want to disturb you or Tim,” Jen said awkwardly.

“Yeah,” Gabby said, “we don’t want to be here when you do whatever gross stuff Jen was talking about to each other,” 

“Gabby!” Jen tugged on Gabbys arm slightly to get her to stop talking. Tim and Rebecca snickered a little.

“Oh, we don’t do anything that…physical, really, it's mainly just cuddling, y’know,” Tim said,

“Yeah, it's really warm and comfortable when we do it, nothing… weird…about it,” 

“...riiight,” Jen said, seeming a bit uncomfortable, Gabby looked at her.

“What would be weird about cuddling?” Gabby asked, confused.

“Well anyways,” Jen said, quickly changing the subject. “Rebecca, Saras coming here for…’tutoring’ tomorrow, right?” 

“Oh, yeah! It’ll be great to talk to another human that knows about you cute little guys,” Rebecca said, Jen groaned slightly. 

“Ooh, Saras coming tomorrow?” Gabby asked, “I can’t wait to see her again, she was really nice when she found me back at her house. I never thought I’d be friends with a human,” 

“Me neither,” Jen said, 

“Well, I’m also a human friend of yours, right?” Rebecca asked. Jen looked down sheepishly,

“Well, uh, you see, your…” Jen looked over at Gabby for a moment,

“You're an adult! It be weird for me to be friends with an adult,” Gabby said, “I’m not friends with liam, Nora, or Tim,” 

“Well, I mean, of course your not,” Tim rubbed his arm, “I mean, we’re not friends like, that, but we’re still…uh, acquainted with you,”

“Your like her godparents,” Jen said, 

“Yeah, yeah…something like that,” Tim said. 

“Or god siblings, since I’m raising her, and our parents are dead,” Jen said,

“Yeah, yeah…” Tim said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Hmm, maybe I could be your god-parent. How does that sound, tiny?” rebecca asked Gabby, lean towards her, “I could take care you if anything happen to you sister,”

“Oh, no, sorry,” Jen said, pulling Gabby back a bit, “I already told Liam and Nora they could adopt her if i…y’know, so,”

“You did?” Gabby asked,

“Yeah…when you weren’t around,” Jen answered,

“But-” 

“Anyways,” Jen cut Gabby off, “we should probably be getting to bed now, I’m getting up earlier tomorrow to scout out new houses, and Gabby probably shouldn’t stay up too late,”

“Aw, are you sure you two haven't had enough to eat yet, little ones?” Rebecca said. Jen rolled her eyes, Gabby just seemed confused.

“This is the amount we usually get to eat,” Gabby said,

“But are you sure it's enough?” Rebecca asked,

“Goodnight, Rebecca,” Jen said, holding Gabbys hand as they both walked to the edge of the table. 

“Oh, would you like me to help you get down?” Rebecca asked, “if you’d like, your welcome to sleep in the dollhouse tonight, I can get another bed for Gabby to sleep in,”

“No thanks, we’ll sleep in our usual spot tonight,” Jen said, taking her fishing hook out and attaching it to the edge of the table. 

“Oh…okay then…goodnight, tinies,” Rebecca said as she watched Jen and Gabby slide down the string. She sighed as they left the room by themselves. “They don’t like me, do they?” she asked Tim,

“What? No, Jen and Gabby…tolerate you enough,” Tim said, rubbing the back of his neck. “They’re both perfectly fine with you,”

“Really?” Rebecca asked, “half the time they don’t let me help them get around the house, and they won’t even let me know where they’ve been sleeping.” she let out a groan, “and after I’ve been so nice to them, offering them food and shelter and warmth,” 

“A Lot of tinies like to be independent, especially from humans,” Tim said, touching Rebecca's large human hand. “Jens is no different, she’d rather provide for her and her sister. That's why she’s been looking for a new place to stay,” Tim explained. Rebecca sighed.

“I just wish they realized how much better their lives would be with my help. I just want to help them, y’know?” Rebecca said. “If only they trusted me as much as you do,” 

“Hey, even I didn’t trust you at first,” Tim said, “Remember when we first met?”

“Heh, I remember it everyday,” Rebecca said, leaning on the table, laughing a bit while reminiscing. “You were all alone, cornered at the bottom of my sink, just begging me not to hurt you, heh,” she sighed, “you were so cute, scared like that,”

“Uh, I guess i was, huh,” Tim said, scratching his head a bit,

“It was so nice comforting you, petting you and hugging you to calm you down,” Rebecca said, “Jens not like that. Shes not scared at all, she always seem angry, or stern or whatever,”

“You know, you’ve made a lot of progress with Jen,” Tim said, “she’ll warm up to you eventually, I’m sure of it,” 

“What about Gabby? She seems nervous around me, doesn’t she?” Rebecca asked,

“I dunno, Gabby hardly even knows you,” Tim said, “she’s known the rest of us for ages,”

“But isn’t she friends with that Sara girl?” Rebecca asked, 

“I guess they got time to bond one on one,” Tim said, “like we did,”

“Hmm, tomorrow I have the entire day with Gabby…maybe I can get her to like me then!” Rebecca exclaimed, “and once Gabby trusts me, Jen will have to trust me too,”

“Huh, that seems like it could work,” Tim thought out loud, “how would you get her to like you? Even without Jen around, Gabby is going to be pretty cautious, given how Jen teaches her to be,”

“Saras coming tomorrow, right? I’ll just ask her how she became such good friends with Gabby.” Rebecca said, scooping up Tim and holding him in front of her face. Tim let out a yelp that Rebecca didn’t notice, startled by suddenly being picked up. “Soon enough, Gabby and Jen will be as close to me as you are!”

“Heh, yeah,” Tim said while being held by Rebecca, before looking down and thinking about what she said for a moment. “...wait….” Before Tim could finish his thought, Rebecca got down to her knees, causing Tim to feel a bump, before abruptly being plopped onto the ground.

“You talk to Jen and Gabbygabby to make sure they’re fine with me and everything. I’m gonna go get some things that we can do with Gabby tomorrow, I’m pretty sure we have some old board games somewhere around here," Rebecca said before walking away.

“Uh, alright,” Tim said, knowing Rebecca probably didn’t hear him. He rubbed the back of his neck, and started walking towards where Jen and Gabby went.

Jen and Gabby had been sleeping behind a TV stand in Rebeccas living room. It was no more cramped than the average borrower living arrangement, and was full of wires that attached to the wall. It was slightly dusty, and there were old dvd and game cases, some of which the tinies slept under to avoid being seen, folded to stand up like tents. They both had borrowed clean rags and cut up blankets from around the house to sleep on. It was dark there, and the borrowers could turn on a small pen light that was down there if they needed light for any reason. Jen was slightly worried of the wires sparking and causing a fire, but she hadn’t told anyone, especially not Gabby so she wouldn’t be worried too. Between the TV stand and the wall was the only place that Rebecca wouldn’t find them accidentally. Jen had made an agreement with the human that she and Gabby could have their own place to sleep at night without Rebecca knowing exactly where they were, just that they were in the house, and as part of the deal, Jen and Gabby had to be out in the open during the day. Jens side of the agreement was mainly out of issues of trust, and she assumed Rebecca’s was the same, when actually, the human just wanted to be able to see them during the day time. Tim knew where they were, though. Behind a TV stand was a common place for borrowers to hide from humans. He knew about Jens and Rebeccas agreement, though, so he hadn’t told Rebecca where they were. As he walked behind the black stand, he saw Jen tucking Gabby into her makeshift bed under a open movie case for extra darkness and so she wouldn’t be seen. 

“Jen, how long will you be gone tomorrow?” Gabby asked her sister, who was onher knees over her as she sat up on the carpeted floor.

“Around the whole day.” Jen said, “I should be back by the time your getting already asleep. Don’t worry though, I’ll be back before you know it,” Jen said, patting her sisters back. 

“Really? You’ll be careful, right?” Gabby asked, Jen smiled.

“I’ll be fine, I promise I’ll be back before you fall asleep tomorrow, ok?” Jen answered,

“Ok.” Gabby said.

“Make sure you be careful tomorrow, ok?” Jen told her sister, “if you feel in danger, or uncomfortable, or anything like that, run away, ok? Defend yourself if you have to. Get to our safe spot, alright?”

“Alright,” Gabby said, “um, is our safe spot here, or in the vents?” she asked,

“Here at first, and if you can’t be here for any reason, go to the vents, alright?” Jen said,

“Alright,” Gabby said, with a light smile, “goodnight Jen,”

“Goodnight, Gabs,” Jen said, standing up as Gabby laided down and closed her eyes. Jen walk away, stopping when she saw Tim standing across from her. “How long have you been there?” she asked quietly,

“I just got here,” Tim said. Jen sighed, walking towards him.

“So, what's up?” Jen asked, “did Rebecca tell you to ask us if we like her again?”

“Yeah,” Tim said, “she's hoping to make friends with Gabby tomorrow,” 

“Make friends? How?” Jen asked,

“She's thinking of playing board games, and talking to Sara about how to get her to like her,” Tim answered,

“Good, good.doesn’t sound to bad,” Jen said, “maybe Sara will get her to stop being so babyish to us,” 

“Y’know, I’ve haven’t really met Sara, yet,” Tim said, “what’s she like? Why are you two so close to her compared to Rebecca?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m too close to her, we only spoke once,” Jen said. “I dunno. She just seems a lot more understanding than Rebecca is. She never talked down to either of us, never called either of us ‘cute’,” Jen said looking down, “never insisting we stay with her over and over again,”

“Well, I guess Rebecca has a bit of an infantilization issue with you guys,” Tim said, “I’ll try talking to her about it,” 

“Thats what you said last time,” Jen said, rolling her eyes,

“Well, I’ll make sure to really tell her this time.” Tim said. Jen sighed.

“Thanks, Tim.” She said, walking away from him towards where she was sleeping. “See you in the morning,”

“Alright, good night, Jen,” Tim said, leaving Jen and Gabbys spot.