#sorry this isn't ic

[ladamedemartel]

“What would it take for you to trust another person, not that I'm judging. We haven't seen each other in a while and was wondering if have you changed much since the last time I saw you, I hope not, may have missed you just a tiny bit. Anyway take care darling, hopefully, I'll see you again soon”

(Has she changed throughout the years and who does she trust and why?- sneaked two questions in one, hope it's ok)

Ask my muse personal questions!

Trust for Aurora is a bit of a tricky concept because there's levels. She trusts that the "friends" she has will dump Rebekah in the ocean and give the coordinates as told, but she instantly kills these people. Were they vampires? How would she convince vampires to undertake the task, surely they knew that they'd be killed. Yet, if it was mortals that she compelled, how did they best the Strix when Aya herself seemed to oversee the mission?

Aurora trusts Klaus enough to fall asleep in his bed when she could easily be killed or taken hostage, but she doesn't trust him enough to give Rebekah back to him. In some ways, she's trusting him with her life just by being around him, but she didn't trust him with her life in that she didn't entrust Rebekah, her sire, to him.

She trusted Aya and the witches to send her mind to Tristan when really, they could have sent her mind anywhere and done god knows what with her body. Yet, she didn't trust the Strix nearly any other time.

Arguably, she doesn't trust Tristan and Lucien because she was not content to allow them to tend to things in New Orleans, but I personally think that came out of a desire to be included rather than any mistrust.

[the-ace-with-spades]

(another unfinished post i found on the way to glasgow - that was the longest train ride in my life - I'm sorry in advance)

When Ice finally passes away, at the age of 73, in his sleep, Bradley moves Mav into their house the same day.

He gets the call in the morning, while trying to simultaneously cook Jake's breakfast and try to make their daughter put on a rain jacket. It's not Mav, but someone from the hospital. Jake doesn't know this — Bradley's face twitches only for a second and then he's back to the nagging, relaxing tone and telling their daughter it's raining and it won't stop. Jake only finds out when he comes back home from the school drop-off and Mav is already there on their couch. Jake doesn't even get the full explanation until that night, just a quick, "Ice passed away overnight."

There's only their three youngest living with them at the time — their 18-year-old daughter who attends UC San Diego, and their 15-year-old son who is still in high school, and their 7-year-old daughter — so Mav takes one of the vacant bedrooms.

The first few nights, Bradley sleeps in the same bed with him. Neither of them looks like they get much sleep. They don't really eat, either, just drink coffee and nibble on the crackers.

The kids start coming back home, and their oldest helps Jake arrange most of the things for the funeral, at least for the first few days. Mav is... numb, not really there, and Jake understands — he would, too, if he woke up one day and his husband died in his sleep next to him. Bradley is silent, mostly, the way he usually rambles to fill out the silence, the way he hums, the way he sings at any given time when there are no words spoken, it's all gone and Jake doesn't know how to fill out the silence either, how to ask, how to make it better without asking.

Bradley doesn't cry, or at least not the way he knows Mav does — he can see Mav's red eyes every morning — but there's something empty in his gaze, in the way his eyes follow Mav and in the way he melts whenever Mav is around, always close, always brushing against him. Mav spaces out a lot, doesn't talk much, doesn't—well, doesn't do much. Every time he tries to help with something, paperwork, the funeral arrangements, the hospital bills, even just sorting out the kids' school leave or Jake's own work leave, he fumbles a bit, not really able to focus on anything for long, and it's like his mind is completely scrambled. Jake doesn't know how to help him — doesn't know if they even can.

The kids, well, did not take it well, as expected. The oldest two try to be brave and help Jake with everything, keep the house going, but their youngest daughter doesn't really understand why her pops isn't back, the middle kids don't understand why now — Ice was in remission, in good health, would go hiking with them once a month, play with them in the backyard, talking about plans for the future with them, nothing that would tell them to expect their pops passing away. Mav and Ice had taken care of all of them for years, while Jake and Bradley were still deployable, and helping out as much as they could. Ice was a huge part of their lives, since the very beginning.

Bradley is certainly not doing any better but one couldn't be able to tell if they didn't know him well enough. He's always been more for packing his feelings into a tight neat box, compartmentalizing until there is too much and it all overflows in some explosive way. His focus is mostly on Mav and the kids, trusting Jake to take care of anything he can't.

Jake can't even ask him how he's doing until the night before the funeral.

Mav tells Bradley he wants to be alone that night and Bradley lands in their bedroom.

He acts normal — checks the kids are in bed, checks on Mav, prepares stuff for breakfast in the morning, has a shower. Only when he sits down in their bed, their dress blues, cleaned and pressed sitting on the hangers hooked up on their wardrobe, right in front of him—only then he freezes, a blank stare still on the uniforms.

Jake sits down next to him on the bed. "Talk to me, Bradley."

"I knew it was going to happen at some point, I just," "I just thought we would have a few more years."

Bradley sleeps curled up on his chest — he sleeps the whole night, soundlessly, and Jake is almost settled.

Almost. Mav is a couple doors down, alone.

Ice's been—had been retired many years now, but he had been high enough in the ranks that the Navy still insists on making a military funeral. Jake tried to take away as much of the flashy bullshit as possible, but there are still things leftover — the sailors with the flag, the flyover. But there's no one who wasn't close with the family at the ceremony, there's no speeches, and no one tries to hand either Mav or Bradley a flag.

The wake has an even smaller amount of people, all packed in their house — Mav hasn't been at his own house since — and thanks to Slider, mostly, and his 'the bastard wouldn't want us to mope around', it's less sad and quiet.

Mav eats two slices of cake, which is the most Jake's seen him eat since, and even laughs at some stories about Ice people are exchanging.

Ice had a good life. A big family. A big happy family that loved him.

But life goes on without him. Jake goes back to work first, then the kids have to go back to school, then Bradley has to back to work. After a couple of days alone at their house, Mav starts bringing up moving back to his own house.

He's not really doing great. He's still quiet, still spaces out more often than not, still forgets himself sometimes, still freezes whenever he tries to say something and the we he uses is one person short. He's—lifeless, for a lack of better word, and seems like he's noticing it now that Bradley isn't with him most of the waking hours.

"That is our home," Mav tells them. "I can't abandon it forever, I'd be abandoning him, too, if I—"

Jake—Jake gets it. He doesn't like it, but he gets it.

Bradley's been fielding off any suggestions of Mav moving out but he's pretty sure that soon Mav is going to pack his stuff and up and leave without asking for permission.

"If he wants to move back home, we can't exactly hold him here. against his will."

"Jake," Bradley says. "I feel like—if we let Mav go back there alone, he's going to die of a broken heart and I won't have either of them anymore."

"Sweetheart—"

"I know it's selfish," he interrupts, "but I can't lose him, too. Not now."

Jake can't make Mav stay with them — so he finds the best solution he can and instead, they all move in with Mav. Hell with it, he's going to try to get everyone to live their lives to the end. They'd done it before, Mav, Ice, Bradley, Jake and their two kids under one roof, when their oldest two were their only two kids.

The two of them and two of their youngest; two of their kids move into their house so they don't have to sell it.

Mav lives on. They try to occupy his mind by throwing their youngest at him — ask him to take her to school, pick her up from school, take her to her gymnastics class, do her homework with her, teach her how to play piano. The other kids pick up on it, too, and their high schoolers would wrap Mav into doing math workbooks with them, or ask him to drive them to their friends' house, and the kids that have moved out ask Mav to go to lunch together or call him to ask him things about car and house repairs that don't exist.

Mav gets brighter every day. Never as bright as before, but no longer so numb.

Their daughter ends up never moving out and so do they.

They all get older but Mav holds up pretty well. He does break his hip when trying to wash the windows, had a limp and terrible back ache ever since, had to stop driving because he can't see shit, had to stop piloting even sooner, and his memory is also shit, but Jake is pretty sure his cholesterol is lower than his own and he has better blood pressure than Bradley. Bradley and Mav are the ones cooking after all, Jake is the one eating all the tasty but not healthiest food, and Mav's life revolves around spoiling his cute great-grandkids and Bradley's is filled with the constant stress of managing Navy's top flying school.

For his ninetieth birthday, Mav flies a fighter jet as a passenger, the oldest person to ever do that — his youngest granddaughter is the one to take him up in the air, a junior grade lieutenant herself. They have a birthday party held at their house, Mav falls asleep in the armchair, Bradley makes fun of him and promptly falls asleep on the couch, too. Jake loves them both so much and still kind of can't believe he has this — house full of grown-up kids and grandkids of his own, his graying husband of over thirty years, his father-in-law coming to an age he wanted to see his mother at.

They're cleaning up, their two daughters who still don't have kids and didn't need to go home helping, and Mav tells them he's going to get some fresh air on their veranda. "I've got a terrible headache," is all he says.

Half an hour passes, they've packed all the clean and dirty dishes, and Bradley huffs to himself. "He fell asleep on the bench again, didn't he," and goes outside.

Bradley shouts for him in less than a minute. The ambulance is there in eight. Within the half-hour and a CT scan in the hospital, the neurologist tells them Mav is too far gone to survive the day. Within six hours, every single person from their family has come to say goodbye. When they pass the seven hours mark, Jake stands up from the plastic chair behind Bradley — he's not about to tell Bradley he should rest, but he's been holding Mav's hand since the minute they admitted Mav to the ward and hasn't eaten or drunk anything all day. He tells him he'll go grab them a coffee and bagels and gets a little nod and a smile.

Jake comes back twenty minutes later and Bradley doesn't even look up from where he's gripping Mav's hand.

"Can you get the nurse for me?"

[kazanskyy]

iceman + his concern for maverick post-hop 31

[mxnster-soul]

Heya guys/gals/and fellow nonbiney pals!

[writeouswriter]

Girl, help, the book authors are trying too hard to be "hip" with the fleeting "teen lingo" and trends again, immediately dating their works before they're even released

[hidefdoritos]

PSA:

Always WASH YOUR HANDS after handling essential oils.

Signed, someone who forgot that step before entering the bathroom and is now washing a lot more than their hands. :/

[once-delight]

Louis starts working the night shift at McDonald's

Louis de Pointe du Mac

[spacebubblehomebase]

Your art looks so yummy and soft it tastes like soft ice-scream with different flavours for each character. GIVE ME MOREEEEEEEEEE

THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPYYY!!! 💙💙💙💙💙

HOW'D YOU KNOW!!!? No one has ever connected those dots for YEARS!!! 👀 See my headline? "With Love Of Every Flavor..." That's something I wrote in my adolescence which I just never bothered to change. It pertains to my posts and how I make them with love (you can cringe), but I also purposely used it to allude to- you literally guessed it- ICE CREAM!!! Which, according to my family, I was infamously obsessed with. STILL super obsessed with actually! (Tho in my defense, the Philippines is hotter than HELL rn.) So yes! I do see my own art as scoops of ice cream. Have been for- again -YEARS! Besides a "space bubble" for introverts -and people who simply love in a different flavor- to feel safe in, that's EXACTLY what I wanted my art to be seen as!!! Which is why I mostly draw sweet things. (Key word: Mostly.) I wanted to convey the giddiness I feel whenever I eat ice cream with my art. So hearing you say that, tho I know naming the taste of an artist's work isn't all that new, really feels like an achievement! THANK YOU!!! ...Okay. Now that you made it this far through my sappy sugar rush induced writing, I know I went off on a tangent, but since ya'll have been really hyping me up lately, how about an update? On my AU? Just a short and sweet reward? Nothing big. Not much lore, but let's saaaaay... it'll beeeee... today? 🫣 Hehe. More, indeed. ^v^ Stay Tuned~! -Bubbly💙

[sketchingdead]

A very late halloween post, but happy halloween everyone!

Pikmin crew...

Ocs by @suga-catt, @twobellsilence, @vivilovespink, @subzerossnowflake, @tetsukuzu1230, and @shadonut !

[blitzbuckz]

What's peculiar about your soul?

Your soul is... Warm

It draws those nearby closer to it, like a pleasantly crackling fireplace... It leaves some enamored, others delighted, but everyone leaves having been uplifted by its momentary presence in their lives. They speak of you for days to come- of the way you've changed them... You can not figure out what to make of that... Of the fact that, even in death, others are still placated- enlightened- by your very presence...

[friend-lover-traitor-narrator]

Flufftober 2024 - Day 4: Apple Cider

Tom is 7 years old when he and his mama learn about the difference between cider and cider.

Tom is born in the U.S. but his parents are not and sometimes funny things happen because of that. Well, they would be funny if his father didn't get angry so easily. Tom doesn't understand why but he knows it scares him and makes his mama cry sometimes.

One of these things happens in October ‘66. Tom gets invited by his friend George to go trick-or-treating with him and a couple of other friends from school. He's excited because he's never been trick-or-treating and he's anxious that his mama says no but unbelievably, miraculously, surprisingly she says yes! Maybe it's because his father is on some kind of business trip somewhere. That usually makes his mama less strict. Anyway, she even buys him a brand new costume! A pilot costume! Because that's what he wants to be when he's grown up. A pilot, so he can fly away with his mama. Maybe then she won't cry anymore. Sometimes he hears her talking to one of her friends saying that she wants to take him and leave but can't. Tom doesn't know why she can't and he's pretty sure he isn't supposed to know that she said that in the first place but when he's a pilot then it will be easy to get away, right?

Halloween comes around and Tom has the time of his life walking from house to house with his friends and George’s mom. When the night comes to an end he's sure he's never seen so much candy in his life! Back at George's home, his mom gets them all hot drinks to warm up again and makes sure they share their haul evenly and now Tom can take his share home with him! If he keeps track he might even have enough until his birthday in two months!

The funny thing though happens when his mama comes to take him home from George’s and she and George's mom have a short chat while Tom puts on his shoes. His mama thanks George's mom for her time, George's mom says it's no problem and how well-behaved he apparently is. Tom doesn't really listen, it's just mom talk, nothing special. What catches his attention a moment later though is his mama’s voice suddenly being alarmed and the words cider and alcohol coming from her.

He jumps up and runs to his mama because now he's worried because she is worried, almost angry. He doesn't want her to be angry and most of all doesn't want to be the reason for it.

George's mom just laughs though and Tom thinks that's rude. Laughing at someone is rude. But then she apologizes and explains that there's a difference between apple cider and hard cider and that’s apparently an American thing and that his mama couldn't know. Tom understands now. There must have been a mix up because his mama isn't American and her first language isn't English.

Now, his mama apologizes a ton of times and then they quickly leave. Tom knows that she easily feels embarrassed because of those language things.

“Next time I come across a weird language thing I'll tell you,” Tom says on their walk back home, swinging his bag of candy around.

His mama doesn't really answer but points at his bag. “You can keep the candy in your room but watch out that your father doesn't find out about it.”

Tom nods. “And I won't tell him about the mix up and that you got angry, Mama,” he adds gravely.

She pulls him against her side and hugs him while still walking home and Tom just knows that he will do everything to make sure his mama is fine.

--

Flufftober masterlist | prev day | next day

Flufftober prompts by @thepenultimateword

[botanikos]

❝ It is a FULL MOON tonight. I intend to take every advantage of the brilliance of it to reinvigorate myself and cleanse my energy. A very long and luxurious bath filled with lavender, rose, and jasmine surrounded by candles ought to do the trick. I'll wear my best robe and go out to find each of the constellations. The night is YOUNG and full of POTENTIAL ! ❞

[townofcadence]

؟

Return fire! What does Artair think of Mack? :3c

Random Thoughts

"Wow... this guy is built. He could probably break me over his knee like a fucking kitkat. Not that he would.

"....He kind of reminds me of Caesar. They both have a southern drawl and can be intimidating sometimes. Caesar just has more hair.....and I guess he did used to eat people. Mack.... probably doesn't do that."

[ghostofnibelheim]

@phantasiiae liked for a Smol Starter!

"For the record, I figured out things weren't going according to plan about two missed stops ago."

Standing beside the red-haired youth, the silver SOLDIER observed the rapid progressing of the railway before them with an impassive expression, showing an incredible degree of self-control, for being someone on top of a speeding train with absolutely no clue on how to bring it to a stop.

The mission had appeared simple in theory: to protect the recently built train line that was in charge of transporting ShinRA equipment from the cargo area by the shores of Wutai across the new railway, built by the company in record time in the wilderness of the large island to improve the deployment of military warmachines on the battlefield against the local enemy.

It was obvious that such a key structure would be targeted by the militia, and as such Sephiroth had been ready to face them when they had jumped on the train to take it over and destroy it. What he hadn’t been ready for, was the fact that he wouldn’t be alone in this mission.

The 15 years old had sincerely hoped that now that he was in 1st Class, he’d be spared from the burden of company. Teamwork had never worked well for him, and the ShinRa infantry had always only slowed him down in the war. Instead, of all things, he had soon been introduced to his new ‘team mates’. Two 2nd Class he had never met before, save for their simulated alter egos in the trianing room, that Dr. Hojo and Dr. Hollander had very eagerly put him sometimes alongside, sometimes against. 

Close to him in age, they had shown incredible potential and were climbing up the ranks almost as quickly as he had, and yet... they were not like him at all. And if Hewley had at least been a tolerable presence, despite his tendency to give advice when not asked for it (it was good advice almost every time, Sephiroth would give him that, but it was still annoying), Rhapsodos... 

The nerves with this guy. He seemed to be there just to remind the silver-haired of the most irritating side of himself he needed to quell.

One such instance being right now, where the two of them had split from Hewley to reclaim the front of the train while he handled the tail, with the promise -- from Rhapsodos, that he knew how to handle the cockpit and would see the train safely stopped at the next station... and then at the one after... and then...

“... Three missed stops, now.” Sephiroth pressed, jade eyes glancing briefly at the building they just drove past, many agitated ShinRa infantrymen waving arms and shouting as they did.

His gaze fell on the red-haired and he spoke flatly.

“I hope you are aware that should we crash, it’ll cause the loss of over two hundred units of the company’s finest weapons most essential to successfully bring an end to this conflict.” He reminded him with a slow blink, arms crossed on his chest. “At least one of which is practically impossible to perfectly replicate once destroyed.”

Maybe it was a little twisted to count SOLDIERs as part of the machinery, but he needed to get the point across of just how much gil was at stake here.

[crimeronan]

while i'm thinking about vee meeting luz in the future, which like... i'm not sure When it would happen bc neither of them wants to go into the other's realm for A While at least, but like.

oh my god. the Tragic Fucking Hilarity of vee being like "okay, i'll put up with the princess, i don't have to Like her but i can at least be civil, she's camila's daughter and camila would never let her hurt me and maybe there is some good in her, it's not like i ever met her face-to-face so i wouldn't know"

and then vee seeing HUNTER & being like "okay! mom. you know how i spent about two straight years trying to figure out what was secretly wrong with you, because no one can possibly be as genuinely good as you are???? WELL. WE HAVE FINALLY UNCOVERED-"

[daily-suyao]