#sometimes daddy issues are just like that

[fireheartpages]

free falling | b.d.

bodhi durran x reader one. two. three. part four. five. summary: everyone has their demons, you just chose to run from yours. straight to basgiath war college. and definitely not towards the grinning tall, dark, and handsome marked rider that seemed too kind to be in a hardened place like the rider's quadrant. when you catch his attention and bond a conundrum of a dragon, you finally feel like you can catch your breath. word count: 2.9k ish maybe a bit more note: second person pov--reader has she/her pronouns, a nickname stolen from dirty dancing, and a last name for continuity purposes. warning for daddy issues, and not xaden's. use of surfing techniques to ride a dragon. someone tell me to shut up why is this chapter so long. i havent even gotten to the point yet. another one is probably coming if not tonight, tomorrow. warning for my proofreading skills theyre really bad even when im not drunk and tired

This boy was everywhere.

The mess hall at breakfast. Battle Brief. Challenges and gym. The flight field. The courtyard after class.

And every time you saw him, he had that lopsided grin, like he was saving it just for you.

Sometimes you two would talk. Sometimes it was just a fleeting look or glance, stolen in between moments that made your gravity shift until you were orbiting him. Sometimes, when you did interact, it wasn't for very long--there were always people around you. Rhiannon and Sawyer pulling you to the library, Garrick and Imogen pulling him to the gym. Your conversations took the back seat to Xaden and Violet's bickering (you would pick sides and place bets on the conclusions when this happened). But sometimes, in a rare moment when you would catch each other and you were both alone, he would walk you to your next class, or your dorm. Sometimes he would leave his friends to do so. Sometimes it all gave you a fuzzy feeling, right in the center of your chest.

It was one of those rare moments. He had seen you across the courtyard and said a quick goodbye to his friends--who proceeded to laugh and wolf whistle as he jogged over to you.

You weren't blind, and you weren't stupid. You knew what this was, this growing spark between you. Knew a boy didn't just walk someone to their dorm because they wanted a friend. You just weren't sure you were ready to admit it to yourself yet.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi."

"Hi." That had become a game between the two of you. It always made you giggle, and you really liked the way he looked at you when you were laughing.

You wrung your hands together, tightening the gloves you wore, more as a nervous habit than anything. Shocair had insisted you get better gloves, even suggested you take her scales and make some yourself. And when you had pointed out that you wouldn't know how to do that, she had scoffed and given you a mental eye roll. She was really good at that.

"How are your hands?" Bodhi asked. "Is the balm helping?"

The balm he had gotten made for you. To help the cracking and peeling skin of your palms. The one he had noticed you had a need for, gone to a healer to have made, and brought directly to you.

"Yeah," you said. "I think it is. A lot, thank you."

"Yeah," Bodhi said. "How much do you have left?"

You cocked your head. "About half."

He just nodded, and slid you one of those lopsided grins before offering to walk you back to your room.

And a month later, he had shown up at your door with a new tin of it, and you let him walk you to breakfast that morning.

You hadn't really been alone together, though. If you weren't with one of your friend groups--which had melded together by now, considering the way Violet and Xaden tended to revolve around each other--you were walking through crowded courtyard and buildings and hallways. Which was fine. You weren't expecting anything.

"Liar." That was Shocair. She had taken a liking to Bodhi.

It was comments like that that had prompted you to figure out grounding and shielding prematurely. Turns out, you’re a natural, and one of the strongest in your year. Shocair was annoyed by the development, but nonetheless impressed.

“I chose you for your mind,” she had said. “Do you expect me to be surprised when you excel?”

Despite her grumbling and chiding, and pretending like she wasn’t happy with your progress, Shocair was the most supportive relationship you’d ever had. You’d answer a question in a class that no one else had thought of and receive a hum of approval in your chest, and she never chided you for making mistakes during flight maneuvers—and there were a lot of them—just gently corrected you until you figured it out.

When you had succeeded as a child, your father had always acted like you met expectations, and your mom was never around long enough to counteract it. So maybe a mother-henning dragon was nice. Kind of. Just a little.

The flying was your favorite though. When you weren’t sitting in the field with her doing work, or dancing around whatever was going on between you and Bodhi, you were on Shocair’s back, flying over the field. Sometimes for practice, sometimes for fun. You’d see Tairn putting Violet through the wringer with incredibly difficult maneuvers, and Shocair would mimic them with more grace, making a dance out of it. An art.

You’d gotten ballsy with it, much to her dismay, but you had the sneaking suspicion she enjoyed it as well, considering the contentment she radiated after every practice and class. You’d taken to walking around on her back, one of the more enjoyable tricks you would pull.

That had started out slowly, and with a lot of protests from Shocair.

“Slow down!” you’d called. Then, mind to mind, “Slow down just a little. Please.”

You felt a flair of curiosity, edged with confusion, but she did as asked.

Slowly, you released your grip and braced your thighs until you had your balance.

“What are you doing?” Shocair snapped.

“Trying something.”

You placed your hands flat on her hide, moving with the dips of the flight and the wind around you until you were able to push to stand. You slipped one foot under yourself, leaning into it and steadying your center before bringing the other one up so you were in a crouch.

“This isn’t as easy as the third years make it look,” you mumbled, more to yourself than anything.

“They have two and a half years of riding experience over you.” The panic that was taking root in your chest wasn’t yours. You ground your feet into the sand of your mental beach, turning your back to the wind of the choppy waters until you had blocked out the feeling, but still leaving the bond open enough to communicate with her.

Slowly, meticulously, you shifted your weight back until you were able to stand, your feet grounded on Shocair’s scales, and you raised onto your fingertips. And then your hands were up.

“I need to know how to do this,” you said to her. “My hands aren’t always going to work like I want them to.”

“And standing mid-flight is your solution?” she growled.

“Do you have a better one?”

There was no answer down the bond, but you could feel the disapproval—and you didn’t need the bond for that.

You kept a bend in your knees, shifting your weight when there was movement, leaning into it to keep your balance. This was it, this was what you excelled at. This was what you were made for.

“Do something,” you said to her. “Let’s test this.”

“I’m not catching you when you fall.”

“Then, I won’t fall.”

You did fall, and she did catch you, and then you tried it again, until you could get the hang of it.

Your biggest hat trick had turned into barrel rolling while standing. That had impressed the fuck out of Kaori. It had been an accident the first time it had happened. Shocair had banked too hard, and you’d gone tumbling, free falling, but she had caught you on her back when she had been able to straighten out, soaring over you before diving under to catch you.

Your landing had knocked the wind out of you. “Do that again!”

“Do you not value your life?”

“Just try it!”

You stood again, getting quicker each time you were able to do it until you were practically able to hop up. She tilted, and you leaned into it until you were practically sliding off of her, and then you jumped.

You fell as she soared over you, and then she banked, finishing out the barrel underneath you, and you landed in a crouch. Your hands had grappled for purchase on the pommel, almost slipping off, but you’d done it. And then did it twice more until you had it down pat.

You’d landed to a multitude of back pats, high fives, and even a handshake from your professor. And despite her grumbling, Shocair was puffing out her chest with pride.

So, you were the best at flight maneuvers, top of the class at battle brief, and fighting with Violet and Rhiannon for top grades in other classes. But it had been nearly five months, and you still didn’t have a signet.

Everyone else did. Sawyer could bend metal and Ridoc could wield ice and Rhiannon could make things disappear and reappear at will. And you had nothing. The power from the bond would make your skin itch sometimes with its intensity, and still nothing.

“It’s fine, Baby. I don’t have mine either,” Violet said with a lightness you did not feel, one day when it was particularly weighing on you. The two of you had shared a look that said everything it needed to.

You were pretty sure the excess magic was triggering the dry patches on your skin. Bodhi had taken to getting you more tins of the balm much more frequently. You had offered to fetch it yourself, asking him to put you in contact with the healer that was making it, but he’d waved you off with some sort of excuse, and kept showing up at your door whenever the tin was low to give you a new one and walk you to class. You’d written the healer—Ané, he’d told you—a thank you note anyway and given it to him to deliver.

It was six months now after Threshing. And you still had no signet to account for, not matter how open the bond was, or how much Shocair channelled into it.

“It will develop in time,” she had said, one day when you’d asked, more full of anxiety than anything. “I know you.”

So you waited. You were sitting in the flight field, leaning up against Shocair’s neck as she dozed. You had a book open in front of you, something you’d found in the archives to study up on signets—since it didn’t seem like yours was coming anytime soon. You flipped the page, the sun smoothing your skin and warming you from the inside out as you lounged.

A rustle through the trees drew your attention, and there he was.

Bodhi stands a few feet away from you, and Shocair stirs, blinking open a golden eye before shutting it again.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” you say, and like clockwork:

“Hi.”

“Are you coming out for a flight?” you ask, shutting the book in your lap.

“Nah,” Bodhi says, moving closer to you. “Cuir was around here, but I don’t think she’s in the mood. So, I’m just… taking a walk.”

You nod, a smile tugging at your lips. “I see.”

“What are you reading?”

“A Study on the Magic of a Bond,” you say. “Reading up on signets.”

“Still nothing?” he asks. He sits down in the grass across from you, stretching out his legs, and for a moment, you’re mesmerized by the way the sun reflects the dark strands of his hair, the dark bronze of his skin. He looks like he’s glowing.

He’s beautiful.

“No,” you say after finding your tongue. “No, nothing yet.”

“Has she started channeling?” he asks, glancing to the sleeping dragon behind you.

“Yes.” Your gaze drops.

“It’s okay,” Bodhi says. “It can take a while sometimes.”

“I would just rather not burn up from it if it doesn’t.” You laugh, but it’s a humorless thing.

“You won’t.” His sincerity strikes you straight in the chest, with the surety of it.

You blink. “How long did it take yours?”

“A couple months.” He picks at the grass. “I think it took me a while to figure it out.”

“How so?”

“I had to wait until someone used their signet on me.” He grins, and you get that funny feeling in your chest again. It makes you suck in a breath. “Xaden, actually. He had sent some shadows around me as a joke, and we were all a little surprised when they burned up, basically. Thought light was my signet for a while. Sunlight, or something, but then a fire wielded had thrown something at me, and I blocked it with water, and even then, it took a few more tries for me to figure it out.”

You nodded slowly. That made sense, countering signets would require a trigger. “Do you have strong shields?”

Bodhi cocks his head. “Yeah, I guess. Why?”

You shrug. “I feel like it would come with the territory. Being able to counter any sort of cognitive signet.”

He seems to sit on that for a second. “I don’t think I’ve actually ever tried that. Never needed to, I guess. Or, If I have, I didn't realize I was doing it.”

You hum, and your mind whirls.

“I’ve seen you fly, though,” Bodhi says, surprising you. “You’re amazing up there.”

“You’ve seen me fly?” you repeat, a furrow in your head.

He folds his lips, suppressing a grin, and you’re once again hit with the urge to press your thumbs to them until he smiles again, until he turns those pretty brown eyes on you again. “Yeah. It’s hard not to look. You’re incredible.”

A giggle twists out of you. “Thank you. It’s… fun.”

“Yeah. You enjoy it in a way I’ve never seen before, though.” He’s grinning in earnest again, that invisible string tugging one side of his mouth higher than the other, but his gaze is elsewhere, and you take it as an opportunity to surveil him from head to toe, from his dark curls to the lean muscle to his flight leathers. His very tight flight leathers. Gods above, this guy’s thighs. “You look more comfortable on the back of a dragon, flying at a hundred miles an hour than you do with two feet on the ground.”

You laugh, and his gaze snaps to you. Something in it softens. “I’m serious,” he says. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“It’s nice,” you say. “It reminds me of home. It’s like I can understand how a bird feels now.”

You really hoped Shocair wasn’t privy to that comparison.

“Do you wanna go get dinner?” Bodhi asks, standing, and before you can even answer, he’s extending a hand.

You aren’t wearing your gloves, and you hesitate for a moment before taking his hand anyway. You stand and quickly take yours from his grip, swallowing hard.

“Sorry.” You shake your head.

“For what?” he asks in earnest, and when you meet his eye, you’re suddenly, brutally aware of how close you’re standing.

“I’m not wearing my gloves. I know my hands aren’t very soft.” You laugh it off, but it comes out strained. A mimicry of what it should have been.

A furrow suppresses his dark brows. “Did I hurt—”

“No!” you say quickly. “I just—the skin is scratchy—”

You cut yourself off when he takes your hand in his, cupping the back and facing your palm up. He runs a knuckle along the cracking skin, as if he could smooth it out, and your breath catches in your throat.

“Do you have the balm?” he asks, and it’s quiet. Like he didn’t want to disturb the space between you.

“Yeah.” You use your other hand to pull the small tin out of the pocket of your leathers, and he uncaps it, dipping a finger in and cradling your hand again as he rubs it over the conjunction of your finger and your palm, right where it was beginning to split. He massages it in, and the relief is nearly instantaneous, surpassing the slight sting of the cold. He repeats with your other hand, until he hands the balm back to you. You tuck it away back into your pocket, and finally, finally look up at him.

He’s already looking at you, and being under his scrutiny like this, all close and personal as you’d imagined a million times, sends a shiver down your spine.

“Thank you,” you say, and it’s more of a breath on the breeze floating between you than anything else.

He nods, but his gaze had drifted down, and now he’s looking at your lips. You swallow, he tracks the motion, and you hope he can’t hear how your heart is beating out of your chest.

“Are you finally going to kiss me?” you ask, unsure where you found the courage.

“Please,” he breathes. “Baby, can I?”

Your name is a plea on his lips, but it doesn’t sound like you name—it sounds like the term of endearment. An honorific. You barely even nod before he’s leaning in. His lips hover over yours, and you can feel his breath fanning your face as you tilt—

Shocair chuffs behind you, and you jump apart.

You’re shaking, and you don’t know if it’s in adrenaline or anticipation as his gaze finds yours, and that lopsided grin is tugging at his lips again.

“Dinner?” he asks, and he extends you his arm.

“Yeah, yeah!” You’re a little too eager to take it. And he leads you back to the school.

“That was on purpose,” you send to Shocair.

“Of course, it was,” she says into your mind. “Make him work for it.”

“I thought you liked him.”

“I do.” She sounds snide in your mind. “But he better be worthy of you.”

You send her an eye roll.

“You’re already falling for him. I can’t catch you if you do,” she says, and you nearly scoff aloud.

“I am not falling for him.”

“Sure.” Good gods, are dragons always this sarcastic?

[evenmyhivemindisempty]

Which of the Boyds would be best friends? Which ones would hate each other?

Steve Murphy

Who he likes best: Quinn! They’re both annoying in similar ways, and although they’re generally sticklers for the rules, they both get the importance of going off-script sometimes. Quinn also doesn’t require any small talk from his companions, or expect Steve to be anything other than what he is.

Who he can’t stand: He finds the Corinthian appalling both because of all the murders, but also for making him question his sexuality! Beyond that, the Corinthian also just tends to lay on the charm in a way Steve finds off-putting and fake.

Donald Pierce

Who he likes best: You know, I think it’s actually Steve? Pierce genuinely thinks Steve’s kind of cool, what with the chasing down drug lords and the working with black ops militia groups and stuff. He’d love to take Steve out for drinks and listen to his stories. Steve also presents fairly masc, but not in an especially threatening way. He’s a specific kind of dad-coded that doesn’t *quite* match up with Pierce’s darkest kinks, but it is enough to make Pierce hungry for his approval. Pierce also wants to make him hotter. He begs Steve to let him buy him a new wardrobe. And stop shaving his damn hairline! They can figure this out together!

Who he can’t stand: He finds Quinn an utter pain in the ass to work with. Quinn’s competent, but he doesn’t like taking orders he disagrees with, which definitely results in the two butting heads and getting into a few heated altercations. Quinn’s tendency to bluntly speak his mind is also absolutely gonna result in Pierce getting his feelings hurt sooner rather than later.

Cap Hatfield

Who he likes best: He likes Ty! He appreciates how family oriented Ty is, and he likes that he’s more capable of living off the land than a lot of the Boyd characters.

Who he can’t stand: Cap recognizes a predator when he sees one, and he instantly distrusts the Corinthian. None of the Corinthian’s methods of charming his prey are effective on Cap at all.

Clement Mansell

Who he likes best: Haha, Clement thinks the Corinthian is super cool! He loves his style, he thinks he’s a blast to hang out with, and he likes how agreeable the Corinthian is. Sure, the Corinthian is down for a concert! Yeah, he wants to try out that new steakhouse too! He’s so ready to hit up a dance club after!

Who he can’t stand: He genuinely cannot be around Danny. Clement delusionally thinks of himself as a struggling musician who’s only doing crime to pay the bills until he makes it; meanwhile, Danny’s a rich kid who grew up eating caviar and lobster, who’s got no logical reason for doing any of this crap. He doesn’t know the struggle at all! Plus, he’s got a daddy that loves him, and he’s still a brat! Clement would do anything for that kind of fatherly love!

The Corinthian

Who he likes best: Oh, he adores Pierce. He’s such a delicious mess of insecurities and trauma he’s staunchly avoided confronting for decades! And he was so damn pretty when he was younger. Exactly the Corinthian’s type!

Who he can’t stand: He thinks Quinn is deeply unfun. At least Steve has some tasty breakdowns and self-worth issues to exploit! Quinn is too sure of himself to be interesting, and he’s also not exciting in the ways the Corinthian likes.

Eli Klaber

Who he likes best: He likes Cap best, mostly because Cap’s fun to go to the shooting range with, and also because if Cap sees him in a pretty dress he’ll instantly think of him as a woman, without Klaber having to say anything at all.

Who he can’t stand: As far as he’s concerned, Steve is a tedious control freak with the blandest and most boring outfits known to mankind. Sure, Klaber dresses similarly when he’s out and about, but Steve seems to genuinely think those ugly suits look good! Horrifying.

Danny Maguire

Who he likes best: Haha, he likes Clement best! He kind of looks up to Clement in a weird way, and thinks his schemes are next-level impressive. He kind of digs his outfit choices too, and he really vibes with some of his music tastes. He’d love to do karaoke with Clement! He can bring the weed and the coke! Once Clement responds to his texts, they’ll make this happen!

Who he can’t stand: Yeah, definitely Steve. He’s DEA – that’s kind of Danny’s natural enemy. Beyond that, Danny also just thinks Steve is a giant buzzkill and an unpleasant workaholic/alcoholic.

Ty Shaw

Who he likes best: Haha he honestly likes Steve! He thinks his crime-fighting stories are super cool, and he’s an excellent guy to go duck hunting with!

Who he can’t stand: Danny’s probably the guy he most dislikes on the spot, but if he gets to know the Corinthian better, it’s definitely gonna be him. He thinks he’s stylish and erudite at first, but when he eventually clocks him as a threat to his friends and family, he’s gonna want him as far away as possible!

Quinn McKenna

Who he likes best: Cap. He’s just an easy guy to kick back with, and maybe go on some nice camping trips with. There’s not many people in Quinn’s life that are down for roughing it in the way he prefers, but Cap is totally fine sans electronics, making fires, and navigating by map and compass!

Who he can’t stand: Clement is an unpredictable criminal and liar, and his out-of-tune singing gives Quinn the worst headaches!

[alittlerpblogforalittleguy]

"I'm not saying play nice with everyone. I'm saying show hurting people, the ones you are trying to protect some kindness, and if anyone one gives you shit about it, give them hell."

He plopped down on the couch next to him, "Maybe it has always been in the background just right now. You can't ignore it." He shrugged, "Sometimes it takes so time to sort out all your feelings, especially with all the daddy issues you have." He teased gently. "You don't have good role models, it's easy to ignore things like this until they all boil over."

"Do you have to go back out tonight or can you cut yourself some slack and take time to fucking heal your wounds? Doesn't Gotham deserve you at your best instead of half assed with shit on your mind and just barely not looking like Swiss cheese with all those bullet holes in you."

"Yeah, well, your queer awakening doesn't give you the right to be a dick." He crossed his arms. "But you are forgiven for now."

He let the other do the concussion check not fussing as the other checks his head.

"Red Hood deals with victims just as much as he deals with bad guys. Maybe he should work on his alleyside manner a bit so said victims can... I dont know actually trust him to help." He commented.

"Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm Matthew, and I'm going to go change before the feeling of my scrubs drives me into becoming the next super villain." He walked into his bedroom and shut the door, coming back out in a big comfy sweater that fit more like a dress and sweat pants, putting the peas back in the freezer.

"So Jason, are you off for the rest of the night?"

[wendybergmann]

nate thinking he's coming into his own and moving out from ted's shadow only to be replacing ted with rupert to feed his need for the validation he doesn't get from his own father... honey has a big storm coming

[sammygender]

wrt prev post and sam’s original ‘fed demon blood by azazel as a baby’ arc like. actually that was the most insane thing to see depicted on my television especially when it seemed like no one else i knew or followed was talking about it. it felt so explicit and yet it was sooo deep in metaphor. she walked in on us. sammy, you’re my favourite. god it must be terrible to know something happened but that you’ll never be able to remember it or tell anyone about it. never be able to rip it out or scrub it clean. so azazel could get into my nursery and- bleed in my mouth? because i wasn’t clean. these trials - they’re purifying me. anyway. augh

[cuepickle]

Stranger Things x Breakfast Club AU (part ?)

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

What can I say? They're my favorite.

[a-bitch-made-fullmetal]

my personal headcanon is that Ed and Winry end up having four kids (inspired by that one excerpt from somewhere that stated they go on to have "several children" lmao), their firstborn a boy and the other three girls.

because let's be honest, Ed would ROCK the girl-dad life. my man's out there spoiling his little girls rotten and also teaching them to KICK ASS as any good father should <3

but I also think he has a special relationship with his son. he's too aware of how much a father can fuck a kid up, and he's terrified of continuing that cycle. even though he has no idea how to be a dad at first, never really having had one of those himself, he puts his all into it from the very start (and even before their first is born. that guy is the most annoying and sickeningly doting dad-to-be, especially when you're his pregnant wife).

by the time his first baby girl comes around, he's gotten the hang of parenting babies and toddlers. he's great at it! my man's 100% a house husband and stay at home dad, supporting his beautiful talented wife as she provides for them <3

but because his son is the oldest, there's always a certain learning curve involved in raising him; one the kid, whip smart as he is, notices more and more the older he gets. it strains their relationship a bit, even if it's still great overall, but that only makes Ed buckle down and try harder–making the kid feel a bit smothered. lol

Ed's relationships with his daughters just kind of... come easier for several reasons, but fuck, would he move heaven and earth for his boy.

it's a bit awkward sometimes. Ed tries so hard, too hard on occasion, and really struggles to let go as his son outgrows the stage of needing constant parental supervision (what if he's not there enough? what if he gives him too much space and the kid stops thinking he can rely on him and suddenly Ed has become the absent shitbag of a dad he swore he'd never be-)

but even if they're not always perfect, at the end of the day, his son knows how much his dad loves him-

and his kid loves Ed too. which really is everything Ed had ever hoped for as a dad.

[goosologist]

[paging-possum]

No because the number of nonwhite dndads fans saying they were put off the show/fandom because of the way white fans treat nonwhite characters…….like hello. Is that not a bit of a sign there’s a problem….If you’re all desperate to critique the show can you also critique the environment you’ve all made.

[mammon-s]

I know a lot of people don’t like dom Luci and think that he is so in charge of all other aspects of his life he would want someone else to be in charge for once but like why not both??

[onlyseokmins]

What is the allure of BDSM like I mean why is literature so obsessed with it?

[mechieonu]

everytime i watch secrets of the scroll i want to grab shifu by the shoulders and shake him like a fucking maraca

[archersartcorner]

So Starstruck Odyssey grabbed me by the throat and rocketed it’s way to second place campaign for me (TUC still has first in my heart ❤️) but uhm. Can you tell who my favorite character is. It’s definitely not Skip I promise why would you think that-

[auzzyash]

The fandom: Who's your favorite SAMS/TSBS character? Me: Obviously it's Lunar. The fandom: That's such a basic fucking bitch answer. Me: Alright, you wanna real answer?! The fandom: Yes! Me: The god-wizard brother-issued single father of two children that founded the company that gave animatronics rights and has had 57 ex-wives who also only shows up once every few months. The fandom: ... Me: Look it up!

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

most days I'm so chill with the fact I'm non-contact with my father, it was the best decision, I hate him, my life is so much more peaceful without him

then bam it's a random Tuesday at 8pm and I'm sobbing because I miss having a dad, like, excuse me what is this??