#that were wildly assumptive and hurtful

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

Hello! Sarah I am so sorry to make you read more opinions about Robin but I just wanted to add a new perspective to the mix! I have seen most people who like Robin be able to relate to it in a positive way, thinking about a child in their life that they love. And that’s great! When I hear it I can’t help but think of myself, and all the children who have traumatic childhoods, who are not protected. For context I work as a children’s mental health therapist. And my own childhood was not very warm. I often think of what a dysfunctional adult I have become and how I could’ve been so much more stable had I had someone to look out for me and not be treated like crap as a child. I think of all the kids I have as my patients, whose parents bring them to therapy, who try so hard to protect them but can’t stop life from happening like a slow-motion train wreck. It’s very “afterward she only ate kids’ cereal, and couldn’t sleep unless it was in her mother’s bed”. It’s so sad to me, regressing into childhood because adulthood is just too hard to bear and people will hurt you. (The Manuscript is definitely a top song for me off TTPD.) Anyways this got a little depressing but that is why I cry every time I hear Robin! I should also mention I absolutely hate Never Grow Up, immediate skip for me and it’s my bottom TS song of all time. And I do love seven, it’s not my favorite but to me it’s very different from Robin in that they’re different topics and it doesn’t evoke the same emotional response for me.

Hi friend! I’m so grateful you feel safe to bring up something so personal in this space - I so appreciate it. I talked about this particular beautfiul aspect of “Robin” at length in my own TTPD review and think it’s so worth highlighting that perspective beyond the more popular one from a parents POV I think songs in this Taylor sub-genre often tap into. The inner child work to address, talk to, and heal that part of yourself that I think really is more at the core of this song than talking to a third-party child.

It’s so interesting to me that “Never Grow Up” is a bottom song for you because when I clicked the inner child piece of it in my mind only last year it made the entire Speak Now album make so much more sense to me and I think it shares that aspect with “Robin” more than even “seven” does.

[the-catboy-minyan]

when people say "death to america" do you assume they mean kill every non-native in the united states? Or do you suddenly understand the concept being communicated then?

you know what, does does give more context to why people think calling for the death of Israel is okay. now, I can explain why that's still a fucked upthing to say:

1) most people who say "death to America" are Americans, there's a massive difference between calling for the death of your own country as a privileged citizen of that country, calling for its death as a discriminated citizen of that country, and for calling for the death of a country you never even set foot in.

the best comparison I can come up with is: you will call your sibling a bitch when they're acting rude to you or others, but you'll be hella upset if a stranger decides to swear at your sibling.

the stranger is making assumptions on your sibling's character based on one or a few negative interactions, and have no idea what they're really like as a person.

you (most likely) have known your sibling since you/they were born. you have a clear image of who they are in your head based on many different interactions. when you curse them after they acted out, you're calling them out on their behavior while being emotional. your sibling will most likely recognize that, and while they may get offended and hurt (depends on your relationship), they're not going to assume you have bad intentions at heart.

while a country isn't a person, its citizens are, most Americans will recognize the intention behind other Americans saying "death to America", but you can't assume Israelis will read "death to Israel" with the same mindset, especially when it's not said hy one of their own. ESPECIALLY when most of them have a history of being persecuted for their identity as Jews (saying most since not all Israelis are Jewish and I can't speak for others), and when there are people alive at this moment calling for the actual death of all Israelis.

2) there's a massive difference between American and Israeli history. I'm not an expert in history, so I can't reliably give examples, but for startes Jews are native to Israel while Americans were originally European colonizers.

you're looking at Israeli history from an American lense, and making comparisons between events that have wildly different historical contexts. American culture is extremely black and white and heavily influenced by christianity, you're interpreting the conflict as "evil white colonizers (like those first European colonizers)" versus "helpless indigenous noble savages (like those Native Americans)", this is just not the reality of the conflict.

3) if the message is being read as a call for genocide by Jews, there's a high chance that means their cultural history is giving the sentence context that you don't understand.

people are telling you "the thing you're saying has negative implications", and your response is "but I meant it THAT way, you meed to see it from MY perspective". I'd suggest taking a step back and see it from their perspective.

anyways 6/10, thanks for the context, still a call for genocide.

[entamewitchlulu]

i think there is something to be said for dunmeshi showing that two people can be wrong at the same time and sometimes interpersonal breakdowns are everyone's fault like.

"toshiro was ableist towards laios" and "laios was racist towards toshiro" can both be true at the same time. their meltdown at each other was inevitable because they had wildly different cultural backgrounds and it wasn't necessarily that either of them were wrong, but neither of them were right either. there's no good guy here but there's also not really a "bad guy". they both made assumptions based on their vastly different and unique collections of personality traits, cultural upbringings, and various life experiences and both ending up hurting each other.

and that's just. that's just how people are. no one's the villain, we're all just working from the information that we have. and sometimes we have no idea what we're missing, or that we're even missing context in the first place to look for. that interpersonal dynamic, i think, is one of Kui's major strengths, in that she is able to express that each of her characters are made up of so many layers of identity that are taken as a whole

[randomfoggytiger]

Scully: Lies and Self-Edits

Scully's lies and self-edits stemmed from a desire to be believed in: she wanted trust, admiration, and respect, honing her self-image to a fine point in order to earn that belief.

What I found interesting was how she self-edited her image to others particularly; and how that reflected in her relationships with those closest to her.

**Note**: Will ghost edit later.

"Agent Scully"

To her peers, to coworkers, and bosses (and even in her early friendship with Skinner), Scully maintains an edge of unbreakable, unapproachable distance. Her life is her own; and she will not be broken by misogynistic assumptions (2Shy and D.P.O. and Never Again) or blinded by personal connections (Revelations, Orison, etc.)

Scully seeks to earn their belief through respect, self-editing to cover up her personal struggles and weaknesses.

"Dana, What Are You Doing At Work Getting Knocked Down?"

Bill Scully is shown only one aspect of his sister's chosen line of work: abductions, trauma, and loss of inter-familiar connection. Furthermore, he is hurt, angry, even jealous that Dana would rather go to work and die in silence than admit her failing health to the family, who would be ready and willing to support and lift her up.

What Bill fails to see in his own behavior (and which Scully is too polite to point out to him) is his lack of confidence, faith, and belief in his sister: that her decisions-- be it getting knocked down at work or trying to adopt a little girl she's known for only a few days-- are born from rationality and conviction, not irresponsibility and emotions. He has prejudged her-- unlike or more than he did Melissa, by all accounts-- as flighty and frivolous: climbing to greatness before tossing herself off the mountain to doom.

Scully seeks to earn his belief through rationality, self-editing to appear emotionally detached and logical in the face of his (half-merited, half wildly unfair) criticisms.

"You Were Always the Strong One"

We get a clear picture of Maggie Scully's reliance on her daughter in Beyond the Sea and Memento Mori, setting up one-half of the complicated dynamics of Scully's Starbuck complex. She openly grieves, openly weeps, and openly clings to her daughter-- "the strong one" of her children, boys included. That angle would reinforce Captain Scully's expectations and benevolence to Scully's achieving, self-sacrificing nature; and Scully has always bloomed towards praise, even after her personal revelation in all things.

Scully seeks to earn her unshakeable love, self-editing her own struggles out of a fear that her "cowardice" or failure will dry up Maggie's motherly love or belief.

"Other Fathers"

In Beyond the Sea, Captain Scully is prodded to ask his daughter about her job-- the very issue that fractured his and Scully's relationship from recruitment to field work (quite a long period.) Scully buries her insecurity, answering with a dutifully tight-lipped "It's good." But when her father walks away, she slumps, disappointed at his desire to move quickly away from that fulfilling part of her life.

At his funeral, she begs her mother: "Was he at all proud of me?" And works through her feelings of shame until her closure in One Breath. Still, the question haunts her; and she misinterprets her dissatisfaction and disillusionment in Never Again as a symptom of her "other fathers" hangup with Mulder. The truth she learns then was a different one-- post here-- but the similarities remain. Always patching holes back onto the ship, never pushing the captain too far.

Scully sought (seeks) to earn his pride through being a dutiful second mate, self-editing and downplaying her break for freedom in an attempt to win him back.

"A Source of Strength"

In Irresistible, Scully reveals to Karen Kosseff her realization: she relies on Mulder. She also recognizes her desire to never become a burden to him-- as she says in Fight the Future, "I've only held you back." She breaks down by the end, but that doesn't stop her inability to freely admit weakness until Milagro, and then not fully until after all things.

Scully seeks to earn his belief through attention: is he staring at the stars, forgetting her? Running off to the basement after perpetrators while her heart is being ripped out upstairs? More focused on his pursuit of the truth than her limitations? "You didn't need me, Mulder. I just held you back" is another way of crying out "I ruined your life by turning your focus away from what was more important-- from what is more important to you", after all. Scully self-edits her limitations to keep up with Mulder, be it physically shoulder-to-shoulder or mentally toe-to-toe.

"Life Is... Just a Path"

Melissa Scully, ironically, was the only relationship that needed nothing from Dana: only gave and gave and gave, pushed and pushed and pushed for her to become better. (A powerful storytelling tool, as well as a powerful relationship; and probably why Chris Carter kept acknowledging her influence in his mytharc episodes.)

Scully sought (seeks) to earn her belief through reassurance, self-editing her weaknesses to Melissa in an attempt to prove she is fine. However, she could never fool her sister, leaving them both frustrated and persistent.

THE TRUTH

Scully wants others to believe in her.

She will always face doubts in her chosen field of work; but she's won the belief of Skinner and a handful of others.

Bill may never fully trust or believe in her motives or actions, but her father jumped at his chance of redemption.

Mulder might not always give her the attention she craves but Maggie did; and Maggie might not always understand, but Mulder will.

Melissa's impact lives on, touching her life and propelling her to resolve those unsettled issues within herself; which, in turn, shifts her focus from denial to acceptance.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[slytherin-paramour]

Ok, so it's three days late and probably full of typos and shit but I finally finished my Weasley Wednesday "Wet" contribution!

There is no smut (apologies), just purest of fluffy fluff times with our boi.

Garreth Weasley x F!MC

WET

~~~~~~~~~~●●●●●●●●●●●~~~~~~~~~~~

A shrill shriek erupted from your mouth at a sudden intense pain that felt like you were being stabbed in your calf. Looking down, you realised that your assumption wasn't too far removed from reality. A small, writhing mass of slimy looking flesh was attached to your leg, it's row's of razor sharp teeth currently embedded into your flesh, having ripped into your stockings. It had oversized ears, shaped somewhat similarly to a dragons wings, and bulbous eyes that flitted wildly about as it attempted to tear off a chunk of your skin. You might have thought that it was cute if it wasn't savaging you.

Hissing in agony, you shook your leg vigorously in an effort to fling the damned thing off you. No luck. It flapped its head wings manically, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a gurgle and a growl and bit down harder. The pain intensified, and you yelped, glaring down angrily at whatever this little demon creature was. You didn't want to hurt it, not really, but it wasn't giving you much choice. You reached into your robe and pulled out your ebony wand. You were suddenly aware of the fact that you had begun to feel quite woozy, vision spotting in the corners, and your leg burned as though it were on fire.

A figure burst through the lining of trees, the sound of branches snapping and erratic breathing drawing your attention away from your painful situation.

"I heard screaming! MC, what's wrong? Are you..." Garreth Weasley's mouth stopped moving and his face paled as he took in your appearance, his verdant gaze travelling from your sweaty face and down to the snarling little beast that was still trying to make a meal out of you. You were gripping the trunk of an old oak tree now, trying to keep yourself upright, though it was starting to become quite the task. Dropping the arm full of ingredients that he'd gathered from the forest, he pulled out his wand hastily.

"I'm going to need you to hold as still as possible, MC. Can you do that for me?" Your best friends voice was calm and collected, and you tried to focus on that instead of the blinding pain that was slowly making its way further up your leg. You nodded quickly, feeling a bead of sweat fall over your temple. Garreth had rolled up his sleeves and gripped his wand firmly. He moved closer to the thrashing creature and aimed at it steadily.

"Hold still, you little bugger...Flippendo!" A jet of purple sparks shot from the tip of the read heads wand and impacted with the body of the impish beast. Instantly, it's jaws wrenched open, and it released your flesh. The knockback jinx flung it away from your body as if it had been electrocuted, careening somewhere into the surrounding foliage with an outraged screech.

You breathed a relieved sigh, glancing down at your leg. Oh. It didn't look great, you thought, through oncoming dizziness. Blood seeped from a wound that had begun to turn dark at its centre, thin tendrils of black crawling out and travelling up to your knee. The look on Garreth's face did nothing to stem your worry as he stared at your injury in horror. Frantically, he yanked his red and gold tie away from his neck and wrapped it tightly above your wound, so tight that you could feel your blood pulsing through the damaged appendage. The immense burning had begun to feel more numb and tingly, and though your vision was a bit off and the dizziness hadn't subsided you did have to wonder why your Gryffindor friend was in such a tizzy. He was raking around in his satchel now, sweat beading on his forehead and eyes as wide as saucers. You grunted and slumped down against the tree, reaching out to grip the sleeve of his robe.

"What's the matter? Why are you so panicked? It's just a bite." His green eyes shot up to meet yours for a hot second before darting back to your leg.

"It's NOT just a random bite, MC. That thing that was trying to eat you was a bloody Doxy!" He had unstoppered a vial of Wiggenweld potion as he spoke and brought it to your lips, urging you to swallow it. You did as he asked, and whilst you drank, you watched through steadily blurring vision as he practically splashed the ugly black wound with Dittany essence.

Wiping his brow, he shifted backwards and stood up quickly.

"We need to get you to Madam Blainey. Now. Those potions should help to slow the venom, but..VENOM?" You cut across him, a bit of fear now crossing your features. You were beginning to feel unbearably hot. Garreth leaned down, one large arm wrapping around your shoulders and the other gripping you carefully under your knees. He looked into your eyes worriedly. He had momentarily forgotten that even though you were nearing the end of your seventh year at Hogwarts, you were still relatively new to the wizarding world, and thus didn't know about ALL of it's surprises and dangers.

"Yes, venom. Doxy venom. Extremely toxic to humans. I'll explain on the way. I'll need to carry you to the nearest floo flame. The more you exert yourself, the quicker the venom spreads." You winced a little as he hoisted you up and supported your weight across his chest.

Resting your head into his shoulder, you noticed how broad he'd become, the way he carried you as if you were feather light surprising you in the best of ways. You groaned as a sudden spasm of pain shot through your thigh. Glancing at the source, you saw that the black tendrils from the bite had reached the top of your leg. You looked away, burying your face into Garreth's chest as you fought the urge to throw up.

"I don't feel good..." You mumbled softly, your voice notably weaker than before. "Shit, shit, shit!" Garreth was barreling through the forest at a record pace, holding you protectively against him as he clambered over ancient tree roots and rock formations. He very nearly went arse over tit, but managed to stay upright and on course, breathing a sigh of relief when the floo flame at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest came into view. He struggled to get his words out with the exertion of the situation, chest heaving dramatically.

"MC, are you still with me? Whatever you do, don't fall asleep, OK? We're almost there, I've got you." You felt the deep rumble of Garreth's voice but couldn't make out the words that he spoke. Everything sounded as though you were underwater, and in a way, it was peaceful.

"OI! PLEASE, MC! Stay with me! Merlin no...!" Your arm's fell limply to dangle at your sides, eyes half lidded. A blurred collage of firey red and striking green was the last thing you recall seeing before darkness took you.

Blinking into consciousness, the first sensation that bombarded you was how insanely dry your mouth felt. Your eyes squinted open before taking a few rapid blinks. Ow. That was a mistake. A dull throb in your head caused you to close your eyes once more, leaning your face to the side and into the plush pillow that you lay upon.

Then there were fingers wrapping into your hand, the grip tight but not uncomfortable. You instinctively squeezed back, the warmth of the large hand a comfort in your half-aware state. You chanced opening an eye again and were greeted with the exhausted looking face of your best friend. He was looking down at you with such a sadness on his features that it damned near broke your heart. He looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. You smiled up at him weakly, one eye still not quite open.

"Hey, handsome." Garreth remained uncharacteristically quiet, but you saw the tell tale twitch of a smile in the corner of his mouth. The grip on your hand tightened. "Evening sunshine. Welcome back to the land of the living." You laughed lightly, pushing your body into a more upright position with a fatigued huff.

The red heads eye's were still studying you worriedly as you settled back against the headboard of your bed. You'd now ascertained that you were in the hospital wing, the sterile scent that invaded your nostrils, and peace of the place were a dead giveaway. You suddenly remembered all that had transpired in the forest and quickly moved to throw the sheets from your lower half, shocking the Gryffindor in the process.

"Merlin's beard, MC! What are you doing?" You glanced at him apologetically before returning your gaze to your legs.

You winced a little at the dull ache in your head as you inspected yourself, experimentally bending your knee up and down. "The bite wound is gone. It still feels a tad numb, though perhaps that's due to being stuck in a hospital bed?" Garreth hummed gently. You looked from your legs and up to his face, and to your surprise, he was turned away from you, his face almost as red as his hair. You frowned, a look of confusion crossing your face until mere seconds later, you realised why he'd become so skittish. In your haste to inspect your injury, you'd yanked your hospital gown up to your waist, completely disregarding the fact that your friend was sitting beside you. Your attractive male friend with whom you'd shared numerous "moments" with over the last year, you might add.

With a flush to your own face, you scrambled to pull the fabric back down and cover your underwear, though you were certain that Garreth must have gotten an eyeful. You looked up at him with an awkward smile, reaching over to stroke your fingers over his wrist gently. "Sorry about that, my modesty is in tatters, it seems. How very un-lady like of me."

He turned to look at you again, blush still adording his freckled cheeks. His flaming hair flopped over his right eye, and you had the urge to run your hands through it. "You have to be a lady for that I'm afraid, MC, and I'm afraid that you're the most unlady like woman that I know." He chuckled as you swatted at his hand in mock indignation. You appreciated him trying to diffuse the awkwardness. "How very rude, Garreth Weasley. I can be a lady. It's not my fault that certain shady individuals are always asking me to go rooting through the wilderness for elusive potion ingredients now, is it?"

You knew instantly that you'd said the wrong thing. The way that your friends face fell and hands gripped so tightly at your bedsheets caused a lump to form in your throat. You tentatively reached out to soothe away the tension in his hands, your fingers brushing his knuckles, but he flinched at your touch. "Garreth..." You spoke his name meekly. "Are you ok...?" The Gryffindor didn't reply at first, merely continued to glare down at his lap angrily.

"It's just...I'm not... I'm angry at myself, MC. You could have died back there in that forest. I thought that you had died at one point. And for what? Some bloody ridiculous potion ingredients?" Your heart felt as though it had dropped out of your chest as you listened to the utter despair in his voice, his face twisted as though he were in physical pain. You brought a hand up to his face, ghosting his cheekbone with your thumb.

"This wasn't your fault, Gar. Please don't... but it WAS my fault, MC!" His words cut across yours sharply, the jerk of his head causing you to retract your hand swiftly. You looked at him dolefully, not used to witnessing the usually buoyant and optimistic boy in such a sorry state. His teeth clenched together, and the grip on your bedsheets increased double fold, so tight that you feared he may actually tear the fabric in two.

"Please don't try to convince me otherwise. It was me who cajoled you into exploring that forest. Even though I knew that it's Doxy breeding season at the moment. I was so desperate for those ingredients that I was willing to utterly disregard your safety. I don't deserve to be breathing the same air as you, let alone call you my friend." It was your turn to look angry now. You grabbed his large right hand with both of your own, squeezing it tightly before ripping his fingers away from the sheets and dragging it up to hold it against your chest.

"Garreth. Stop this right now." His eyes were wide as they met your livid ones. You found, however, that your anger was being countered by the overwhelming urge to weep. Your body was still recovering, and all of this emotional energy was beginning to drain you. When you spoke again, your voice was tired and cracked.

"If you ever so much as think such horrible things again, I'll hex you halfway across the Highlands." You sniffled, trying and failing to stop a rogue tear from falling. "I decided to help you search for that ingredient. Me. And I'd do it again, because you're my best friend and I care about you. I want to see you succeed. And do you honestly think that I don't realise how dangerous that bloody forest is? Gar, I spent most of my fifth year there. Hero of Hogwarts, remember?" You were happy to see a tiny smile on his face when you looked back up at the red head.

"You are quite reckless. And tenacious." He added, bringing the hand that wasn't cradled at your chest up to your face. He cupped your cold cheek affectionately, thumb brushing away the tear that had fallen there. You let out a short laugh, leaning into his palm as he continued to speak in that distinctly mellow voice of his.

"Only you could be bitten by a Doxy and be stubborn enough to survive without an immediate antidote."

Where your eyes had been closed, content in the warmth from Garreth's hand, they opened and glanced up at him in confusion. You briefly recalled the Gryffindor saying that he'd explain more about Doxy venom on the way to the hospital wing but must have passed out before he got the chance. "Tell me about Doxies, Gar. You gave me Dittany and Wiggenweld. Were they not enough?" He looked at you gravely, his frown reappearing. He wasn't particularly keen to talk about the beast that had very nearly killed you. With a sigh, he dropped his hand from your face to lay atop the cotton sheets.

Doxies are actually in the same class as faeries and pixies, the only difference being that they are extremely toxic to humans if bitten. Normal healing potions and tonics don't work against the venom, which spreads around the body at a deadly pace." Garreth looked pained again, obviously recalling the event in the forest. "If it seemed as though I were overly anxious at the time, it's because I was terrified that the bloody venom was going to kill you on the spot."

You smiled at him sympathetically, still clinging to his left hand. "And you said that the Wiggenweld slowed the venom down?" You continued to quiz him. If anything, it would serve as extremely useful information for the future. He nodded, his red curls bouncing slightly with the movement.

"The only thing that can truly save a person from the bite of a Doxy is the antidote to uncommon poisons. Not a potion that one usually carries in ones arsenal. That's why I knew that I needed to get you here as fast as possible." He finished tiredly.

You nodded to show your understanding, bringing your fingers up to swipe away a few strands of hair from your forehead. You stifled a yawn. The pounding inside your head had decreased quite a bit during your chatting. "Thank you for saving me, Gar. I quite literally would be lost without you and your astounding knowledge. So please, don't go on some big guilt trip over this, ok?"

Garreth's eye's softened as they studied your face, and he surprised you by leaning into you and pressing a light kiss against your forehead. You felt heat crawl up the skin of your neck, scarcely daring to move. "I'll try, MC." His green eyes lingered close to yours, and you found yourself unable to look away. It was only when Madame Blainey bustled around the curtain and to the foot of your bed that the intimate bubble between you both popped. Garreth darted away from you so fast that you swore he gave himself whiplash.

Face a little flushed, you smiled at the kindly yet stern matron sheepishly when she gave you a knowing raise of the eyebrow. The healer conjured up a large satchel, no doubt containing various medical supplies before turning to the Gryffindor with an impatient sigh. "I'm afraid you'll need to leave now, Mr. Weasley. Visiting hours are over, and this one needs to rest." She gestured to your tiring form, and you inadvertently proved the woman right with a loud yawn. Garreth's eyes drifted to yours, softening as he spoke. "Of course, Madame Blainey. I'll let you work your magic. I have something to be getting on with myself. MC, I'm glad you're OK. I'll see you after you're discharged in the morning. Sleep well." Your eyes rove up his broad back as he left, and when his flaming locks disappeared around the curtain, you felt incredibly empty.

The healer smiled at you empathetically as she began her basic health checks and you smiled in return, but for some reason all you were thinking about was your big, dorky best friend and how much you missed his comforting presence.

The following morning, Madame Blainey gave you a final check over. Much to your disdain, she had also insisted on taking a small vial of your blood, just to ensure that there were no lingering traces of the Doxy venom. Thankfully, there weren't. She sent you on your way, but not without a stern warning about not venturing into "that damned forest" again. You could hear her mumbling about how many careless students she'd had to heal from that place alone as you rounded the corner to head down the hospital wings spiral staircase.

Reaching the lower floors, which also happened to be the Professor's private quarters, you almost barrelled into a figure on the landing. Stumbling to the side, you caught yourself before you could physically topple over. Looking up apologetically, you were met with the concerned face of Professor Weasley. You shifted your bag over your shoulder uncomfortably. "I'm so sorry, Professor. I'm still a tad disorientated, it seems." The red-haired teacher smiled and brushed off your apology.

"No harm done, my dear. I do hope that you're doing better now, though? You gave me quite the scare when my nephew barged into the hospital wing with your unconscious body. Doxy venom is no joke, as I'm sure you're now aware." You nodded sheepishly, feeling like a little child in the presence of the powerful woman.

"Yes, thank you, professor. I owe a great debt to your nephew for his knowledge and quick thinking." The woman scrutinised you briefly, a small frown appearing on her face.

"As knowledgeable as that boy may be, it was foolish on his part to lead you into that forest in the first place. I would advise more caution from both of you in the future. Even though I realise that you are an extremely capable witch, that place is not to be taken lightly." You lowered your gaze to the floor.

"Of course, Professor. I apologise for causing such a hassle." The professor's features softened, noticing your dejected mood. "Well, let what's done be done. Speaking of that troublesome nephew of mine, you haven't seen him recently, have you? I've been searching for him all morning but haven't seen hide nor hair or him." You looked up at her, slighlty baffled.

"I'm afraid not, Professor. He came to visit me last night but I haven't seen him since he left." She looked slightly concerned for a moment but plastered a smile to her face and put a gentle hand to your shoulder. "Well, never mind. I'm sure he'll turn up later. Probably off brewing some precarious concoction in a bathroom somewhere, knowing that boy. If you DO see him, please let him know that I'm looking for him, won't you?" You smiled genuinely at the kind witch, promising that you would do that before beginning the long trek to the Slytherin common room.

As it turns out, you didn't see your best friend all day. After a little power nap in your dorm room, you'd sped off on a little hunt for the red head, starting at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. The giant woman who occupied the portrait of the entrance kept throwing you and your green trimmed robes looks of disdain as you paced back and forth waiting for the first Gryffindor student to emerge so that you could quiz them on Garreth's whereabouts. It just so happened to be Leander Prewett who emerged from the portrait first, and you grabbed his sleeve quickly, pulling him to the side.

"Afternoon Leander. I was just wondering if Garreth happened to be in the common room or dorm at the moment?" The tall ginger looked you over before smiling.

"He left the common room in the early hours, and I've not seen him since, thought he'd be visiting you if I'm honest. You're practically inseparable now, aren't you?" You flushed a little at the Gryffindors obvious implication. "Yes, well, Garreth is a great friend, as you well know." You replied impatiently. Leander ran a hand over the back of his neck with that nervous disposition that he often exuded.

"Oh...yes, of course. Well then, if I see him, I'll be sure to let him know that his "friend" is looking for him." You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at the boy before thanking him and rushing back the way you came.

After checking practically ALL of the bathroom stalls, all of the classrooms (even though it was a weekend), the quidditch pitch, the Great Hall (you couldn't resist grabbing a quick snack on your way out, having missed lunch), you were now feeling desperately worried for your friend. It simply wasn't like him to vanish without a trace. At one point, you even took your broom to the grounds, flying down swiftly over the black lake by the boathouse, just in case you might catch a glimpse of his giveaway crimson locks. Nothing.

You passed by Sebastian and Ominis in the corridor leading back to the dungeons, your forlorn expression causing them to stop and listen to your concerns. Just as you finished your story, (Sebastian being none too pleased about your endeavour in the forest), a burly figure with tell-tale flaming curls came strolling into the dungeons, a huge grin splitting across his face when he made eye contact with you.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, MC!" If looks could kill, the Gryffindor boy would have turned into dust in within seconds. Garreth's smile faltered as he looked from you to the two Slytherin boys at your side, who had sensed your rage and were stepping away from you slowly. Sebastian leaned in to whisper in your ear. "Try not to murder him, MC. Good luck, Weasley!" The chestnut haired boy waved at the Gryffindor over your shoulder and ushered Ominis toward the Slytherin common room entrance. You heard the distinct hissing of the giant stone snake as they approached it.

Garreth stood nervously in front of you, shuffling from foot to foot. You took in his appearance as you glared at him through narrowed eyes. He was a state. He was wearing his usual checkered red trousers and boots ensemble, coupled instead with a casual white cotton shirt. Said clothes were covered in dirt and stains from god knows what. His hair, whilst usually messy in a stylized way, was in complete disarray, twigs, and leaves poking out here any there. And what was that burnt smell wafting from him? Your frown faltered a little as he stood there looking the way he did, curiosity fighting with your anger.

"Garreth Weasley, you have some explaining to do! You've been missing for the whole bloody day, and you traipse in here asking where I'VE been? I've been so worried about you, you absolute moonmind!" He flinched at your words a little, holding up his palms in a submissive gesture.

"Hold on one moment, MC, and let me explain...you had better have a damned brilliant excuse, for Godrics sake, you know that my nerves are a bit fragile right now!" You cut across his words angrily, but your eyes drifted to his outstretched palms. Taking a good look at them, you saw that they were littered with small singe marks, red and sore looking. That would explain the burning scent that clung to him. You took a step closer to him and gently ran your fingers over the skin of his palm.

"Garreth. What in Merlins name have you done here? Please tell me that these burns have nothing to do with why you've been missing all day." The Gryffindor closed his hands and stepped backwards, glancing down at you guiltily.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, MC. After I left you in the hospital wing last night, I was still feeling incredibly responsible for everything that happened to you." You were about to scold him for his words, but he continued quickly. "SO, I got to thinking and came up with a little idea about how I could make it up to you, help you out a little just in case similar situations arise in the future. I've been out hunting for a few ingredients all day so that I can brew you your very own batch of the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons!"

You wanted to scold him for disappearing. You really did. But seeing him standing there looking so bloody pleased with himself, absolutely filthy and injured, all for your sake, caused your anger to dissipate. You sighed, running both hands over your face exasperatedly.

"And I presume that means that you've been back in the Forbidden Forest? How on earth did you burn yours hands, Gar?" You fished around in your satchel, pulling out a wiggenweld potion and handing it to your friend insistently. He unstoppered the little green drink, downing it in one. He held out his hands so that you could watch the burns heal up slowly, explaining as you both waited. "I was extracting fire seeds from their bushes. It's one of the four ingredients in the antidote. Quite a tricky task though." He nodded down to his now burn free palms. You grimaced, running your thumbs over his fresh skin.

"You really didn't need to go through so much trouble for me, Gar... but since you did, I'm assuming that you've retrieved all four ingredients now?" Garreth held your hand in his and began to lead you out of the dungeons. You were too exhausted to resist at this point, plus, you thought to yourself, his hand felt wonderful enveloped around yours. He grinned back at you with that irresistible smile of his.

"Actually, no. That's the reason I came looking for you. The final ingredient is quite a rare one, but I think that you can help me with that, MC." You rolled your eyes but laughed a little anyway. "Remind me again what happened the last time I helped you with potions ingredients?" Garreth's smile faded at your words, which you instantly regretted speaking.

"That's precisely why I'm doing this, MC. I know that you told me not to blame myself, but I can't help it. I DO blame myself. He stopped walking and turned to face you. "I'm not sure that realise just how much I care about you. You mean everything to me, and if there's even the slightest chance that I can do anything to keep you safe, then I'm going to do it."

Your heart seemed to stutter inside your chest, and you felt blood rushing to your cheeks at his words. He spoke with such a sincerity in his voice that you didn't have the heart to refute him. He smiled again, not caring that you hadn't replied to his statement. "Come on, we need to go to your Room of Requirement. I'm right in thinking that you've rescued a pair of Graphorns, yes?" He began walking once more, in what you now realised was the direction of the Astronomy tower.

You raised your eyebrows, curiosity overtaking your embarrassment. "....Yes, the Lord of the Shore and his mate live inside my beach vivarium. They actually had a calf a couple of months ago...why do you ask?" Garreth didn't stop walking, running his spare hand through his curly locks. "The final ingredient for the antidote is...powdered Graphorn horn...I was hoping that your Graphorns may have shed one or two that they wouldn't mind me taking."

And that was how the two of you ended up in your beach vivarium together, barefoot as you tread through the soft sand. As soon as you'd entered, your beasts, the Hippogriffs, and the Graphorns had sauntered toward you. You didn't mind admitting that they were a tad spoiled at this point, instantly nuzzling at your pockets in search of treats. The Lord of the Shore, whom you'd nicknamed Caspian after the great sea, leaned down over your shoulder, his soft mouth tentacles tickling the skin of your cheek. You reached up to scratch the side of his spiked head affectionately, glancing over at your red-haired friend who was kneeling down in front of the baby Graphorn, offering her some food. The baby was delighted, demolishing the nuggets in seconds before diving on top of him, flattening the Gryffindor into the sand. You laughed heartily, thoroughly enjoying yourself at his expense. (You knew first hand just how heavy the Graphorn calf was.) You looked up to Caspian, who was wholly unbothered by his troublesome offspring. "You and Tempest definitely have your hands full with that little whirlwind, boy."

Caspian snorted in response, moving off to join his mate as you watched Garreth struggle for a moment longer. There was a tender silence in your gaze as you looked at the boy who now lay flat on his back, laughing jovially up at the sky. The calf, realising that Garreth had no food left, ran away to join her mother, jumping around with all the joys of youth. You leaned over your friend, blocking out the sun.

"Having fun down there? That looked painful." You smirked and held a hand out for him, which he took and used to hoist himself to his feet. He grinned. "Of course! I'm treating it as a life experience. It's not often that one is body slammed by a Graphorn."

"A BABY Graphorn, Gar. If Caspian had body slammed you I daresay you wouldn't live to call it a life experience."

Garreth waved off your words with a flourish of his arm. "Pfft. Technicalities, MC. Technicalities. Speaking of, what was his name again? Caspian? What do you reckon to me snatching a couple of those shedding horns from his neck? I promise it won't hurt him. They're pretty much hanging off as far as I can see." You gave him a mischievous smile, leading him towards the huge male beast. "You'll have to ask him nicely, though I'm sure he won't object. Maybe." Garreth gave you a withering look before moving into the Graphorns line of sight.

Caspian's sharp amber eyes were trained on the Gryffindor, watching his every move. He was a gentle beast around you, but a little skittish around newcomers. Garreth spoke nervously but with determination when he voiced his request out loud, giving a little bow of his head. Graphorns, unlike Hippogriffs, did not require a bow for any kind of interaction. It was, however, good practice to show them the respect that they deserved.

You stood to the side, on hand, just in case Caspian decided not to trust your friend after all. Garreth stood at Caspians shoulder now and had wrapped his fingers around a loose, scraggly horn that WAS, in fact, hanging off of the creatures heavy arsenal of horns "Steady there, big fella, I'm not going to hurt you." His spare hand stroked soothingly down the Graphorns scaly body as he pulled at the spikey shed in his grasp. It had just about snapped free from Caspian when an almighty shriek broke through the peaceful quiet.

The Hippogriff family had appeared from under the rocky alcove not far from where Garreth and Caspian stood and were fighting over a large fish that one of them was currently ripping it's beak into. Utterly startled by the cacophony of sqawks and screeching, Caspian bolted toward the ocean at breakneck speed, and as he did so, he managed to snag your poor Gryffindors shirt on one of his protruding horns. The giant beast dragged a wailing Garreth a few feet away and straight into the shallows of the salty water, where the sharp horn proceeded to rip through his clothing and dump the poor lad straight onto his arse in the waves. You ran into the water after him, the water rushing by just above your knees.

"GAR! Are you ok!? Are you hurt?" The boy was drenched, his usually bouncy curls sticking to his wet face limply. Garreth was propping his upper body out of the water, arse on the ground, and knees up. He spat some salty water out of his mouth and looked up at you with a bit of a bewildered smile. You covered your lips to stifle a laugh. Caspian was now wading happily in the deeper water, not a care in the world as he hunted for crabs and other sea creatures.

"That wasn't exactly how I planned this to go, if I'm being completely honest." He brought a hand up to swipe his sopping hair backwards and away from his eyes, which were giving Caspian a good-natured yet accusatory stare before landing on your now laughing form. A sly smirk appeared on his face, and too quickly for you to avoid it, his hand was wrapped around your thin wrist, and you were falling forward into the water as well. You squealed and splashed as the water soaked your clothes. You anticipated feeling the soft sand of the sea bed on your hands but were surprised to feel something warmer and firmer.

You raised your head, spluttering, and realised that your nose was only inches away from Garreth's, your body resting precariously across his in the water. He had been laughing like a maniac seconds ago, but a silence overcame you both when your eyes met. The waves crashed over the rocks behind you. His olive orbs were fixed on yours, flickering down to your lips and back. You were suddenly acutely aware of the way your bodies pressed together, his sturdy legs entwined with yours. Your heart raced in your chest as he brought a hand out of the water to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing softly over your bottom lip. You tasted salt when the tip of his thumb dipped into your mouth experimentally. An unfamiliar sound fell from you at the sensation, a sound that you really shouldn't be making around your best friend.

Betraying your logic, your head moved of it's own accord, closer to the red heads face. When his cold lips met yours, you melted into him with a pleasured sigh. The hand that held your cheek meandered to the base of your head and pulled you closer to him, savouring the little moans that emerged from your throat and into his mouth. Your hands gripped the soaking fabric on his shoulders, your thumbs dancing over the skin of his collarbone. Heat coiled through your body despite the cold temperature of the water.

All too soon, your mouths separated, and you rested your wet foreheads together, panting lightly. "...Gar, I..I'm..Please tell me that you're not about to say sorry. I don't think that my heart could take it." He cut off the apology that was on your tongue fiercly, looking into your eyes with an intense gaze that stilled your thoughts. The waves lapped around your bodies gently. Garreth's hand had moved down, his fingers brushing against the column of your neck. The feeling sent swirls of heat straight to your abdomen, and you had to resist leaning down and claiming his lips again. Instead, you whispered breathlessly.

"What's happening..." His fingers had trailed back up your neck to cup your jaw, his eyes softening. "Something bloody brilliant, I reckon." He pressed a chaste kiss to your lips and then peppered your jaw with little nips and licks until he landed on a particularly sensitive spot just underneath your ear. You couldn't help the whimper that left your throat at the sensation as his mouth caressed the flesh there.

The hand that he was using to hold you both upright was starting to slip backwards through the sandy seabed. Garreth ceased in claiming your neck and wrapped the arm that had been caressing your face around your chest. He pushed forward and forced you both up to your feet, water flooding from your bodies with a slosh.

Still wrapped in his embrace, you looked up at your friend, who you found to be already watching you with a look akin to longing. It took your breath away. One of his hands moved to grip your hip, keeping you firmly grounded against him. You searched for the right words to say, but all you could think about was the fact that you just wanted to wrap your arms around him and snog him silly again.

"I love you, MC." His words cut into your thoughts. Your gaze locked onto him as your heart pounded a mile a minute in your chest. "You love me...?"

It was a dumb reply, but all you could conjure up in that moment. Garreth nodded and you'd never seen him look so resolute. "I'm in love with you. Have been for a while. I don't know how I hadn't realised until recently, to be perfectly honest."

You remained silent for a few minutes, staring into his beautifully verdant eyes. "Please say something, I think I might go mad if you don't." A flicker of worry appeared on his face that pulled you out of your trance, and you reached up to run your shaking fingers over his cold, freckled cheek. He leaned into your palm, relishing in your gentle touch. Something twitched in your heart at the sight, and you knew you wanted to say to him.

"You drive me absolutely bonkers sometimes, and you're chaotic and wild, not thinking before you act on your crazy ideas....but I love you too, Gar. I think I've wanted to say that for a long time." The Gryffindors face beamed with the biggest grin that you'd ever seen on him, and he pressed his lips against your palm. One of his hands travelled upwards to completely envelope yours on his cheek, and before you could think, his mouth had descended on yours once again, taking your lips in a devastatingly passionate kiss. You kissed him back with fervour, fingers still digging into his soaked shirt. It almost made you delirious when he groaned into your mouth, his arms and hands pulling you impossibly closer to his firm torso. When your lips parted, he ran his fingers through your damp locks affectionately, not breaking eye contact.

"Would you like to go somewhere a tad more comfortable? This hardly seems the place for all of the things I'd like to do with you." Your breath hitched in your throat at his implication, lips swollen from his ministrations. "Well, I do have a perfectly marvelous room that grants the user anything they so desire..." You smiled knowingly.

Garreth took your hand with a grin and began trudging through the shallows with you, back to the beach. Suddenly, a fast blur whizzed into your peripheral. There was a sharp cry and an almighty splash to your right. The little Graphorn calf had barreled into poor Garreths legs and knocked him clean off his feet again, this time face first. Laughter erupted from you as his face came up for air, spluttering and cursing as he looked around wildy for the culprit of his bad luck. The little beast was nuzzling into your thighs playfully, mini tentacles nibbling at your fingers.

"Definitely takes after her father, that little whirlwind." The red head rasped as he coughed up some water. You laughed again, bending down to crouch in front of him. You patted his hair sympathetically.

"That's what we can call her, if you like. Whirlwind. I was waiting to give her a name." Garreth laughed with you before standing up and leaning down to tickle the babies neck.

"Brilliant name for her, if I do say so myself. Now, I'm desperate to get out of these wet clothes, MC. Let's go." He gave you a cheeky wink which had you flushing, and you both set off across the beach, heading towards the vivarium entrance. Whirlwind followed you, jumping around excitedly and kicking up sand everywhere she went. Garreth stopped suddenly, head jerking back toward the ocean. He dropped your hand and sprinted down the beach. You saw him reach for something in the sand before straightening up and jogging back to you. He panted, trying to catch his breath as you looked at him curiously.

"Nearly bloody forgot this!" He held up Caspians horn. You laughed and dove into his arms, feeling happier and more content than you had for years.

"I love you, Gar."

[partyanimal167]

Pretty Sounds- Kid x Reader x Killer

I've been wanting to write these two for awhile, so I'm throwing this out there to get a groove started. Thanks for stopping by~

CW: NSFW, voyeurism, masturbation, fem reader, dirty talk, slight misuse of haki

It really wasn't like him to just stand and listen. But he couldn't stop himself. He just had to hear more.

Let Killer tell it, he was honestly just trying to tell you that he took your laundry out the dryer. He knew that people didn't like their personal things touched and just wanted to give you a warning. He was walking down the hall towards your room when he barely heard the sounds.

He was a step away from your door, ready to knock, when the door push against the frame with a thud. "Fuck, Kid~" your whine was muffled.

Killer froze. That was definitely your voice, but he never heard it like that. It was always steady, confident. Cheerful and friendly. Silly and strong. But this sound wasn't.

It was needy and desperate.

The vice captain didn't think much about Kid's whereabouts. It was after dinner, so he usually isolated himself to look at maps or tinker with a few projects. But Killer was wondering now.

His hand twitched and wanted to open the door, but then another voice started. "Don't be so loud, princess. You want everyone knowing you're being a slut for your captain?"

Killer knew that voice too well. Years spent together, he was acquainted with Kid's arrogant tone, yet noted the gruffness to it.

His brain was screaming, telling him to leave and forget about whatever was going on behind that door. But there was something curiously poking at him too.

It couldn't hurt to stay another minute, just to be sure of his assumptions.

~~~

Kid grinned at you meanly as he continued to pound you into the door. He teased you about your volume but wasn't doing much better himself. He groaned at the way your pussy clenched around him. It was so nice hearing all those sounds you made as you got fucked dumb and held on tightly to his arms.

He was so in the moment he almost missed that distinct metal sound close by. He would have ignored it, yet just to be sure, he flexed that rare ability of his before grinning wildly to himself. He didn't mind an audience.

You gasped as you were lifted further up the door then suffocated by Kid's presence looming over you. He started speaking in your ear.

...

"Your pussy feels so good for daddy, doll. I got it all nice and wet. You like getting dicked down, huh?" Kid teased. His voice ran through your whole body and you moaned loudly in response. He groaned as you scratched up his back.

The smack to your thigh rung loudly. You gasped. "Daddy!"

Killer knew he was in trouble. He should have left before he got this deep in all of this. He was leaning against the door with an arm pillowing his head and a hand palming his front. He bit his lip to quiet himself which was proving to be a struggle as he got an earful of Kid's dirty talk and your delicious moans. The door beat against him slightly, and he scolded himself for not leaving.

He couldn't help it. After spending months daydreaming about you and years with his partner, it was a blessing and curse hearing what sexy ass scene was playing out. He made a mental note to punish Kid later. He'd let him have his fun tonight though.

Suddenly, Killer felt a shiver down his spine. Something was up.

The door stopped shaking, but Kid's voice was clear as day. "We got a little admirer, princess. How about we show 'im how good you can handle the two of us. I know you can do it."

Killer jolted then turned to get the fuck out, but the door swung open and he was pulled into your room. He stared dumbly as you laid out on your back naked breathing heavily--recovering from an orgasm.

He turned his attention, hearing Kid's laugh. He groaned. "You know rule number 2, big boy."

Killer's blush crawled up to his ears, yet he didn't hesitate to reach for his helmet and toss it off. His hair spread all over and he bit his lip trying to keep his eyes off you.

"Killer," you called after propping yourself up on your elbows. He only grunted in response.

Kid grabbed his chin and laughed in his face. "Don't be rude to princess. She wants to show you something."

The blonde turned his head before gulping hard. You grinned as you spread your legs and showed off how much of a mess Kid left behind. He whimpered.

"See princess, I told you he makes the prettiest noise. Let's get him to make some more."

~~~

Aaah, I'm happy I got this out. It was quick idea tbh but I love reading about these two. (I'd pay money to be their princess)

Thanks for reading!

[rinwritesfics]

Intolerable

Plot: Wolffe makes your life quite difficult sometimes.

Warnings: In-universe swears

Word Count: 859

Author’s Note: Wolffe. That's it. That's the note.

Wolffe was nearly intolerable. It wouldn’t have been so bad if you weren’t a medic, but you were.

Some of the troopers were really good patients. But some, like Wolffe, didn’t think they needed to be a patient.

“Why are you fighting me on this Wolffe?! You sprained your ankle!”

“Because I don’t need some kriffing medic wrapping it for me when I’m perfectly capable!”

“This is my job!”

“Well, go do it elsewhere!”

It hurt, but you tried not to show it. You took a measured breath. “I get it, you don’t like me. But General Plo decided I was the best fit for his ‘bros,’ so here I am. You don’t like it? Take it up with him.”

“I think I will.”

You softened your voice a little. “At least let me wrap your ankle before you do.”

He looked ready to snap, then stopped and nodded. His energy while he sat on the table was palpable and exhausting to wok around, but finally, the wrap was done. As soon as you had finished, he darted out as fast as he could without crutches. That man was going to wind right back on that table.

You grumbled and turned to the supply cabinet to put usable supplies away. Most of the time, you really did like him. Heck, you might have gone so far as to say you had a crush on him. But first of all, you were a medic, and second, he acted like… well, like that.

The next day, General Plo approached you and you inwardly groaned. Wolffe had done it. You were in for it. You were getting moved, bye bye 104th.

“General Plo,” you greeted, hoping you didn’t sound as nervous as you felt.

As was per usual for the General, he spoke kindly. “Hello, Y/N. I presume you know what I’m here about?”

You deflated. “When do I need to pack my bag?”

The general laughed heartily. “Pack your bag? No! I’m here to congratulate you! Not many make the Commander nervous like that.”

Now you were wildly confused. “Nervous? I thought I pissed him off. I thought you were here to -”

“To send you off? No. This is even more reason to keep you. Keep up the good work. I’m here so I can say I officially discussed this with you.” You couldn’t quite see the smile on his face, but what you didn’t see you could hear in his voice. He was positively delighted at this turn of events, although you were baffled as to why.

Later, a member of the Pack came to see you. And it wasn’t just any member, it was Wolffe himself. He looked like a child whose hand was caught in the sweets jar with the small slump in his shoulders.

You cleared your throat and turned to face him. “Commander, what can I do for you?”

“I came to apologize.”

Your lips parted and you were certain you had misheard him. “Oh.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re a very capable medic.”

“Well, thanks.” Then it occurred to you and you snorted. “Did the General send you to do this?”

Wolffe’s eyebrows furrowed. “No, he did not.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for making an assumption.”

“You should be.” Then he covered his mouth and swore.

“Alright Wolffe, you wanna do this now, then let’s do this now. What the kriff is your Force-forsaken problem? Are you trying to make me resign? Push all the wrong buttons? Well, congrats. You’ve pushed every. Last. One! Now get out of my medbay.”

“I’m sorry. I’m an ass.”

“Congrats for realizing it. Now leave.”

“I always say the wrong thing around you because you make me nervous!”

You stood up straight, back still turned to him. “What?”

“I get nervous around you. Does that make you feel better now? The Commander of the 104th gets nervous around the medic because he’s too damn worried about the future to tell them that he likes them! So he says stupid osik like the di’kut that he is and pushes them away instead, hoping that he will get past it by keeping the medic at arm’s length and ruining any chance he might have!”

You turned around, thinking he’s pranking you, but his cheeks were darkened, his chest was heaving, and he looked like he was about to kick something out of frustration. Then you stormed over to him, grabbed him by the blacks at the front of his neck, and pulled his face to yours to kiss him. As soon as your lips met, his hands went all over, eventually landing one on your lower back and the other on the back of your head to hold you in place. You both fought for dominance of the kiss before you pulled back.

“You’re right,” you said, breathing heavily. “He does say stupid shit. And if he wants to keep the medic right in his arms, he’d better start saying nice things.”

“You’re incredible,” he said, trying to pull you back in and you giggled.

“Mm, that’s a good start.” You let yourself get wrapped up in the kiss again.

Taglist is open!

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

5 and 8 for Jason, and 19 and 21 for Tim?

Hello laufire :D I've seen you around in my notes a fair few times, thank you for the ask!

Jason first bc I am predictable 😌

5. First song that comes to mind for this character?

Dana Dan by Bloodywood! I had it as his theme song long before I started headcanoning him as religiously Hindu and the music video feels all the more appropriate now that I do!

There are a LOT of runners up, sixteen in specific I could name off the top of my head bc I made a whole character playlist for him and I listen to it every time I drive (burned CD in my car :3)

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Hoo boy, that competition is FIERCE lol I try my best not to talk about it in terms of complaints though. That's just not the energy I wanna have most of the time. That being said, since you asked for some salt ye shall receive hehehe!

I think the through line of the most annoying stuff is that people will point at something Jason did in his villain era and twist it wildly out of proportion into something unequivocally EVIL and then everyone else will (incorrectly imo!!!) claim that it's out of character and due to writers that hated him and we should throw it out.

The worst example of this by far is his fight with Mia Dearden

First of all, it was written by JUDD FUCKING WINICK so yeah this was not a matter of an unfavorable writer!! Second of all, I think it's a goddamned masterpiece of a comic, and THE successor to UtRH

So like you have the second Robin, born into grinding poverty, having to commit crime to survive, joining up with a vigilante mentor, and killing someone for the greater good, and then being utterly destroyed... and then you have the second Speedy, born into grinding poverty, having to commit crime to survive, joining up with a vigilante mentor, and killing someone for the greater good, and then growing from that to become a fully fledged hero in her own right! So similar and yet their paths have been so different with Mia healing and becoming even stronger and Jason having been isolated and pushed to villainous extremes.

Then during that confrontation each of them know about the other through hearsay and research, but have never met before. Each make their own assumptions and then prove that they are more than what was assumed of them! Jason makes a deeply flawed but earnest attempt to try and connect with Mia and she rejects it because she has the support he never did and therefore has already long ago grown passed what has destroyed and consumed him!!

And some people REDUCE their fight to just "evil scawy Jason trying to hurt poor widdwe Mia"???????????????????????????? Might I challenge those responsible to a duel of paintball rifles at dawn?!?!?!?

Kinda the entire fucking point of an antagonist is to let the complexities and nuances of the characters shine, and that's doubly true of antagonists that used to be protagonists! Mia and Jason are such amazing narrative foils for each other, and tbh, Jason himself is an extremely good foil in general! On top of that the Arrows have long been foils of the Bats, so Bruce and Ollie also foil each other in the background brilliantly as Jason runs rings around them both!!!!

I would need to start pulling up pictures of comic pages and write a full length essay to get into proper depth with it (And I do intend to eventually!!) but the way they each interact with that fight and with their own histories going into it is great for both characters and it's just... gah... basically my favorite comic ever and it's stuck in this meaningless tug of war over "characterization" from two sides who both mostly haven't read the damned thing, let alone properly dug into the analysis of why Jason did any of that or what it might mean to Mia beyond just being unpleasant...

I would KILL to get DC to let me write a Mia and Jason comic. There's so much fun shit that they could do together, no matter if they were allied or enemies, I'm gonna have to write it as fanfiction tbh, but the fact that Green Arrow (2001) #69 - #72 is completely ignored until someone wants to use it as flat proof of 'Jason bad and ur bad for liking him' is just...

Le sigh...

Anyway what the fuck was I doing? Answering an ask lol??

Okay here we go: Timmy Time!

19. A relationship in canon that you don't like?

Its gotta be Steph simply due to how badly it was mishandled. As usual with female characters, I feel like Steph's nuance and strength as a character was in direct conflict with how the authors implemented her narrative role as a love interest. The fact that Tim was flat out casually misogynistic to her for her whole introduction and it wasn't treated properly as a flaw is a deal-breaker for me. The amount of Steph's Wikipedia biography that's Tim's love life makes me want to commit arson. The ship itself in isolation from much of the canon may have potential, and the canon material itself isn't all bad by any means, but to me the relationship still feels like a net loss.

21. I do indeed write, uh, a considerable amount of fanfiction about this dude, so: What's your favorite thing to do in fics when it comes to this character? Something that you don't like?

I like making him more unhinged. Or rather, I interpret his early actions as having been spectacularly unhinged, and like to imagine he kept that energy up into later years. I'm so not interested in Tim being a well adjusted person tbh I want him in my wonderful little Freak 4 Freak ship being spectacularly messed up and incredibly weird with nonsensical ideas about how boundaries work

For what I don't like... Hmmmm, this one's a little hard to answer because most of that falls into the neutral category of stuff I have no interest in writing at all, and so I just don't lol

I suppose I don't like to do apologies, though I have written one. I like to get down into the messy depths of sympathy and resentment by having him talk about those conflicts with the allies that have hurt him. However, I think the direct contrition and simplicity of apologies has less and less appeal to me the more I develop as a writer. Apologies retroactively cement an idea of fault and blame. I think there's more room for exploration in having the characters talk through all of the components of the issue without ever having that particular kind of confrontation.

Thank you very much again for the ask!!! I hope this was a fun read :3

[ingravinoveritas]

nabrrie replied to your post "I thought I was the only one who was weirded out by…”

@ingravinoveritas thanks for the answer and sorry for the rant in your askbox, but your blog feels like a safe place. I wouldn't discuss this on other socials bc I don't have the strength to deal with GT fans. To be an unplanned child is a topic that I still discuss in therapy, so seeing it treated so lightly by a mother as excuse to brag about her sex life disturbed me. Interesting that who claims it's wrong to ship D/M bc it's disrespectful to the kids is ok with this. And for that matter, she’s not a high school girl bragging about her boyfriend. The “I shagged DT and you didn’t” attitude is immature and out of place. You’re having sex with your husband… so? We know that you’re married. David is handsome and fans can be creepy sometimes, but she’s an actress, her father was the Doctor - she must know very well how to deal with the fans. I’m sorry if she feels insecure, but I don’t think she’s handling this very well. And, if she does feel insecure, I don’t think it’s about a bunch of strangers online… And you’re right, no mention of the word love whatsoever… (end of the rant, sorry)

@nabrrie No need to apologize at all! I'm glad you felt safe enough to rant in my inbox. The fact that people are refusing to see anything wrong with that caption solely because it was Georgia who posted it is disturbing to me. (I even saw one person say "If this was anyone else I would be disgusted, but Georgia is an icon.") If your first instinct is to be disgusted by that caption, it should not matter who wrote it. It should not matter that it's "British humor" because humor being British doesn't mean it also can't be wildly unfunny or even hurtful. And it's wildly hypocritical to me that these fans who rail against RPF and say how it could harm their children are the same fans who have no problem with Georgia writing a caption like that.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Georgia should not be immune from criticism simply because she is David's wife, or because she is an ally to the LGBTQ community. Being an ally does not mean someone can't be rude or a jerk, because human beings are complicated and can be more than one thing at a time. Calling her out for using her kid's birthday post as an excuse to brag about her own sex life is not some outrageous act--it's a reasonable response, particularly from people such as yourself who have experienced the consequences of being an unplanned child.

It's amazing to me how people have read things into her caption, or made assumptions because of it based on what they want to believe her and David's relationship is. I've seen people say it meant "They were madly in love when they had me," but the word "love" was never used anywhere in that caption. They were madly in drunk when they had her (or at least Georgia was), and that's all it takes to have a baby--two people having sex, whether they are in love or not. And at the end of the day, that is what her caption was actually about: Georgia letting us know that she is having sex with David and the rest of us are not.

But she clearly is insecure, because it looks like she actually did respond to one of the numerous tweets criticizing her this morning:

So, let's take a step back here. She's over on Insta bragging about getting to shag David and how great their sex life is, but instead of actually shagging him, she is searching for her name on Twitter again and taking the time to respond to stuff like this. The paradox is quite something, really.

Also, the fact that she does not or cannot recognize that what she said in that caption is not normal seems to indicate that she thinks she can say and do whatever shes wants, regardless of who it affects or whether it sends her kids out into the world with a very skewed idea of what is "normal." Interestingly, though, I don't think we can say that she doesn't care what people think, because if she didn't, she wouldn't be searching her name (again) and looking for comments to which she can respond.

Whatever the case may be, I agree with you that whatever has her feeling insecure has nothing to do with people online (@irvinis has volunteered a particularly interesting theory on your original Ask). And for someone who has dealt with fans for so many years (as you also mentioned), she definitely is not handling this in the way you would expect. I guess we'll have to see if she pushes back against any of the other critical comments...

[bi-bard]

The Perfect Eternity - Walt Deville Imagine (The Invitation)

Title: The Perfect Eternity

Pairing: Walt Deville X Reader

Word Count: 1,020 words

Warning(s): blood, injuries, blood drinking, mention of murder/hunting

Summary: (Y/n) and Walt have been together for a while now. After a coming home from a particularly rough hunting trip, (Y/n) decides they want to take the most important step for them both.

Author's Note: I feel like this idea has gotten wildly out of hand.

PART ONE HERE

PART TWO HERE

-------------------------

I was tired.

Tired and sore and hurt. And maybe a little grumpy.

The hunt hadn't gone nearly as well as I had hoped.

I got there far later than I wanted. People had gotten killed that would've probably lived if I had just been a little bit faster. Then, some kid followed me and got hurt before I could stop the damn thing. He was left in a rough condition when I left but staying wasn't an option. Not to mention that I had gotten myself hurt.

It wasn't bad. Mostly bruises and small cuts. The worst was a deeper cut on my arm.

I had gotten back to the manor, showered, and dressed myself enough to be comfortable while dealing with my arm. I had found a place on the small couch in the all-too-large bedroom, a first aid kit sitting next to me.

Admittedly, I had been avoiding Walt.

He tended to overreact when I was hurt. He'd fuss over me. Make me lay in bed for days over what was my equivalent of a rolled ankle or a paper cut.

I adored him. I truly did. But I needed to just take care of this without hearing him worry about it.

I knew I had been caught when the door to the room opened.

Walt walked in, quietly closing the door. He had probably been expecting me to be asleep.

He stopped when he saw me on the couch.

"Hello, my love," he said. "I was expecting to meet you by the door."

"Sorry," I mumbled, still looking at my wound. "I needed to take care of this."

I heard his footsteps on the floor. "You know that you don't have to handle that on your own, don't you?"

"I can deal with it," I shrugged. "I did for years before I got here."

He slowly walked over before kneeling on the ground next to the couch.

He didn't start fussing over any of my injuries this time.

That made me slowly look up from my cleaning and attempts at bandaging.

His eyes were trained on my arm. Just watching it. Most of the bleeding had stopped on its own. Just a few drops forming on the wound. But I caught him. I don't think he was aware that I had.

"Come here," I instructed as I put my things down. He furrowed his eyebrows. I motioned him closer.

When he got close enough for me to reach, I cupped the side of his face and guided him toward my arm. He hesitated for a moment. I never expected that. I figured he would simply take what he wanted.

"It's okay, darling," I mumbled to him. "I trust you."

My eyes closed as soon as his tongue touched my arm. My free hand reached out to run through the hair on the nape of his neck.

He was oddly gentle. I never considered that possibility. I had yet to watch him truly feed. I had pictured something fast and animalistic. I was basing that assumption off of what I had seen from other vamps.

But Walt... Walt was so careful. Even as his mouth fully latched onto my arm, it all felt so intimate. This was an act of trust for him. An act of love.

It was for me too.

My chest swelled with affection at the small shock of pain in my skin.

I allowed myself to imagine a try eternity with him. With moments as intimate as these. How perfect a life like that would be. A life with him. He was all I wanted. I just needed to take the step to accept the love that was already there.

Walt pulled away on his own. Slowly. Sucking turned into gentle licks, which then turned to a gentle kiss laid on the wound.

I guided him to turn toward me. I admired him. Studied him.

I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

Most of us have tasted our blood in small amounts. We've all sucked on a paper cut or bitten our lip a little too hard. But this... This was overwhelming. Almost entrancing.

When Walt pulled away, a smile pulled at his lips. His fangs were on display. Proud display.

I smiled back at him, running my thumb along his cheekbone.

I took a deep breath before speaking, "Walt..."

"Yes, my love," he replied.

"I... I'm ready," I explained. His head tilted a bit. "I want to join you... forever. Properly."

He reached up and touched the hand that I had pressed to the side of his face.

"Are you certain that this is what you want," he asked.

I nodded. "I love you, Walt. More than I've loved anyone before. I... I want to do this."

His smile only grew before he lined forward and pressed his lips to mine again. I chuckled a bit at how sudden the movement was. The kiss was passionate and loving and all that I had wanted from a kiss before.

It was all about the next step.

I had considered everything that went into my decision.

My commitment to Walt, his commitment to me, just how long eternity could be, the risks of becoming one of the very things I hunted... all of it.

The one thing that I didn't consider was the benefits that my new abilities could offer when hunting.

All of the sudden, I was faster and stronger. I had built-in weapons now. I was more of a threat. Most monsters got spooked by a vamp hunter. Other vamps respected me. I respected them. Whether that was because of my turn or simply because of who my husband was, I didn't care.

I was better now. So much better.

But the hunting and the power and the respect... none of it truly mattered.

Because even without all of that, I still had Walt waiting at home for me. I had someone to pull me close, kiss me, hold me... someone that could love me and that I could love in return.

It was the definition of the perfect eternity.

-------------------------

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[rainbowsky]

Hi Rainbowsky

Hope you are doing well.

Happy Halloween!! Hope you enjoyed your day well!!

Few days back, I was reading a fanfic where the plot was OOL shooting and some photo leaks BTS causing ripples in yizhan relationship..

I know it's a fic, but the plot is so real.. I just wanted to know was there something like this back then...

Coz in those times I was not into turtledom so I have no Idea..

Hi Anon, Thanks, I did enjoy my Halloween! I hope you did too! 👻

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

There were some set photos (props for the show) that were 'leaked' at one point and caused a stir among some turtles, and often held up by antis to try to hurt turtles. HOWEVER.

That does not mean they caused any stir at all in GGDD's relationship. Remember, they are both actors and know full well what that entails. IMNSHO there is zero chance that DD was upset in any way by the photos.

Perhaps you don't need this reminder, Anon, but just for the sake of it I want to reiterate that fan fiction is fiction, even - and I'd say especially - when the plot seems real or follows the real timeline of events.

Fan fiction about GG and DD is totally invented, and authors have no special insight into GG and DD's feelings, thoughts or real life experiences. It's their job as writers to bring stories to life and make them seem credible, but no matter how credible it seems, it's still entirely fictional.

I know that sounds lecturey and obvious, but you have no idea how many times during my years in this fandom that I've had stories from fan fiction reported to me as 'things that actually happened', and seen fans vehemently argue that fictional events were real.

Fan fiction is an open frontier. People can write whatever they want. But the more a story follows real events about real people, the more it stresses me out. There are unfortunately a lot of people who have a hard time distinguishing between fiction and reality.

And this is something that can creep up on just about anyone without their realizing. Turtles are faced with a TON of information from various sources, so much that it's hard to keep up. The more fandom information we take in over time the easier it is for us to forget where we saw or heard something, and to accidentally mistake something we read in a fic for something that actually happened.

This is why I vastly prefer AU stories over ones that try to build a narrative around actual events and fictionalize GGDD's real lives. I 100% support people's right to write 'fandom timeline' stories if they want to, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy them or recommend them.

So while you read these stories, Anon, please keep in mind that very important point:

Fan fiction is fiction. Always.

It's also very common for turtles, including fan fic authors, to glamorize or romanticize jealousy. There's nothing romantic about jealousy. It's a very toxic emotion that can lead to bad - even dangerous - behavior. I personally believe it's insulting toward GG and DD to paint either one of them as 'the jealous type'.

There's a huge amount of disinformation floating around about the OOL photos, including claims that DD was wildly jealous and totally freaked out over them. I find that notion absurd and even offensive. It is insulting to DD's level of emotional intelligence, and makes uncharitable assumptions about his level of trust and respect for GG.

As I said, GG and DD are actors, and they know what that entails.

More on that here.

You can read more about the photos in some of my past posts.

The photos and turtles reactions

Confirmation they were fake props

Why some people believed they were real

[oh-surprise-its-me]

Roy/Jamie prompt: The team are heading home on the bus from an away match when another driver swerves in front of them. Kenneth the bus driver does his best to keep the bus steady and as it wildly swerves, it's complete chaos with everyone holding on for dear life. Something heavy gets loose on the bus like a light or a shelf and it sails straight for Roy, only Jamie's suddenly there taking the blow, protecting Roy and getting knocked out cold while Roy and the others can only look on in horror. Roy cradles and carries an unconscious Jamie out of the bus and never leaves his side. He won't rest until Jamie is okay.

*me pointing a rake at you guys and poking* back!back! I say! stop it with this angst! (Kidding love you all and I absolutely loving writing requests)

They never saw the bar drop, just the sound of it hitting Jamie’s head.

Jamie who stepped in front of Roy, because he saw the bar coming.

Jamie who’s currently unconscious in Roy’s lap. Everyone starts yelling.

-

They pull over into a hospital. Roy can’t fully carry Jamie because of his knee so Isaac picks his legs up. The ER is busy, of course it is, it’s a weekend. “Oi need a bed over here!”

Jamie is taken from Roy. He almost growls at the nurse but remembers the stories his sister has told him. They are just trying to do their jobs.

“You his emergency contact?” Roy thinks it’s probably Jamie’s mom or Keeley. “Uh no?”

“You aren’t Roy Kent? Damn really?”

Roy blinks. “No I am what do you mean emergency contact.”

The nurse blinks back. “It looks like you and his mum are emergency contacts? If you want to sit with him until he wakes up you can.”

Roy off towards the rooms. Isaac texted to say they are crashing at a nearby hotel.

Roy sits next to Jamie. He can admit he’s freaking out a bit. He takes Jamies hand and presses a kiss to it. What Jamie doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

-

Five hours later Jamie wakes up. He blinks awake and his first two thoughts are that his head hurts and someone is holding his hand.

He rolls his head to see Roy. Oh.

Unexpected.

He hits the call button and then lightly taps Roy. “Roy wake up.”

Roy jerks awake. He looks at Jamie, “oh my god never do that again.”

Jamie lightly laughs. “Not planning on it. Sorry I scared you.”

Roy keeps holding his hand even as the nurse comes in and then through the doctor. They’re keeping him overnight just to be safe. They tell him his husband is welcome to stay. That makes Jamie blush

“Why am I your emergency contact.”

Jamie’s eyes go wide. He for a brief second considers pretending to pass out.

He doesn’t.

“Closest thing to family I have yeah? Mums far away and I don’t want to scare her just for it to be nothing. Anyways I trust you most. Anyways husband?

Roy squeezes Jamie’s hand. “Nurse made some kinda off assumptions. But next time you decide to list me as a contact let me know yeah?”

“Weird that she thought we were married.”

Roy shuffles his feet, “I could believe boyfriends or dating.”

Jamie blinks. He’s still a bit foggy but he knows what he just heard. “Did you just ask me on a date?”

Roy sighs. “Yeah. I cant lose you without telling you I like you. Christ this was a hell of a wake up call.”

Jamie sits up. He pulls Roy closer taking advantage of the fact the chair he’s sitting in has wheels. “Can you kiss me?”

They meet half way, it’s soft. Jamie melts into it. When they pull away Roy has a small smile on his face. “Wanna crawl into this shit bed with me and sleep?”

Roy smiles for real now. “With you? I’d do anything.”

The nurse finds them later and sees Roy’s phone sitting out. She takes a photo of Jamie curled on top of Roy who looks extremely peaceful.

[a-frog-in-a-bog]

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/resources/ace-report

I politely suggest you read it before you make the assumption that is aros and aces don't have problems to face.

If you don't believe us after reading the whole thing, fine, but remember that bigots don't care about our specific identities as to them we are all worth hurting; We all have the same face of hate against us, so whether you like it or not, we're fighting together

Just, give it a read; I promise it'll be worth it.

first i'd like to thank you for being polite and linking an actual source, it's the first time in all my years on tumblr that someone hasn't just plugged their ears and screamed "everyone is valid!!!" so genuinely, thank you. second, the point i was making was that aces and aros don't face systemic oppression, not that they don't have any problems. i'm gonna add and respond to some excerpts i found interesting for anyone who cares / doesn't have time to read the report themselves:

i would've liked to see a further clarifying question on this study about what kind of negative reaction the respondents feared. the only examples given were the above and similar, but we don't know what kind of negative reactions LGBT people anticipated. was it also just intrusive questions, or did they consider negative reactions to be physical violence, being fired, being killed, or being kicked out of their home? would a lesbian respondent consider "so which one of you is the man?" to be a negative reaction or an ignorant one? we have no way of knowing if ace and LGBT respondents had the same criteria for what constitutes a negative reaction

this is wildly unprofessional and would also make me (and i'm betting plenty other people) uncomfortable! not sure why this is presented as a micro-aggression against ace people when it's just inappropriate in general?

another one i would've liked a follow-up question to. is this because ace people are uncomfortable coming out at work or because there just hasn't been a reason to bring up lack of sexual attraction at work?

yeah! i agree! although i'm not sure why this is presented as what an ace-inclusive workplace would look like instead of what a... normal workplace should look like?

this is literally just misogyny. the same shit happens to gay and straight women (also as an aside, pain during pap smears is entirely dependent on personal pain tolerance and anxiety, it's different for everyone and has nothing to do with whether or not you've had sex before. just like how tight or loose a vagina is has nothing to do with how much sex you have. not trying to discredit the woman here, just didn't want to spread misinformation)

this is horrible, and obviously asexuality needs to be taught alongside hypoactive sexual desire disorder in med school so healthcare professionals can tell the difference between the two, as it seems most if not all of these examples stem from doctors and therapists either not knowing the difference or being confused about what asexuality is (since this study is from the UK i'm interested to know if ace people in other countries have had similar experiences, and if asexuality is taught in med school in other places)

again, thank you for sharing! it was very informative and i'll admit i wasn't aware that some ace people face medical discrimination, so i learned something new :) as i've said before, the LGBT and ace communities are a venn diagram, especially where LGBT ace folk are concerned. they're not completely overlapping but not completely separate. most marginalized communities overlap in some way. i know i said this at the start of my reply but it bears repeating-- while everything asexuals faced listed in this report ranged from mildly annoying to downright traumatizing, it's still not an organized legal attempt to criminalize, well, not feeling sexual attraction... and there weren't any hate crimes against aces... do you see what i'm getting at

[sputnikcentury]

Re: your Ender's Game analysis… a few years back I had a wild discussion with some other folks who'd read Card novels as teens and one was acting as an apologist about all the homophobia. I started naming names and fates (like Josef in Songmaster: multiple universes because it starts to become a THEME) for those who were punished outright by the narrative because I wasn't about to accept that shit lying down.

OSC is interesting in that regard bc, without jumping to making wildly inappropriate assumptions about his interior life, he seems like a guy who has… spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about what would be appealing about having sex with a man, or being in a relationship with a man, and then having to convince himself that that’s repulsive and do his self-flagellating dance of looking for explanations for why people turn out gay because it doesn’t jive with his world view for that to happen naturally and

I think he’s chosen to externalize that in tremendously harmful ways that end up hurting a lot of people

But from an artistic standpoint I want to pin him like a bug and stare at him real hard and figure out why he is the way he is

And I don’t think that being interested in his work from an analytical standpoint is apologism

[filet-o-feelings]

David and Patrick:

22. Reunion hug.

Patrick turns the tv off and picks up the empty popcorn bowl, bringing it to the kitchen to wash later. “Thanks for keeping me company this week, Stevie.”

“Anytime, Brewer. You know I’d have been here just as much if David had been home. It sucks that I finally got some time off from traveling for RMG and it coincides with David’s visit to Alexis,” she says frowning as she follows Patrick into the kitchen, setting down her empty wine glass and Patrick’s beer bottle next to the popcorn bowl.

“He misses you, too,” he assures her. “I’m glad we were able to spend some time together though.”

“What time does he get in tomorrow?”

“His flight lands at 1:55 pm. I plan on leaving early, though. I doubt I’ll get much sleep, anyway.”

“Ew, you really miss him, huh?”

“We’ve never been apart this long. I’m glad he’s spending some time with his sister, but I can’t sleep without him, and being alone at the store feels weird and wrong. I don’t even know what I would’ve done all week without you here to distract me.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough sincerity for me. I’ll see you both on Tuesday?”

“Of course. And you’re welcome to stop by when we get back tomorrow, I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you.”

“No, no. You two deserve at least one night to be gross and make up for your time apart. I can wait a day.”

“Thanks, Stevie,” he says as she walks out the door, waving.

🛬

Patrick checks his phone again to make sure the plane hasn’t been delayed. It should be landing any minute now, bringing his husband back home to him. 

He’d been correct in his assumption that he wouldn’t sleep; between his weeklong struggle of falling asleep without David wrapped around him and the excitement of knowing he would finally be in his arms this afternoon, it had been a particularly long night. Eventually, he had given up and started reorganizing his closet, since the rest of the house had already been cleaned bit by bit in every waking hour David had been gone and Stevie wasn’t keeping him occupied. Even then, he’d had some trouble keeping still. It was becoming more and more apparent just how much David’s strong hands on his shoulders were what kept him grounded. Without them, he flitted about wildly and directionless, but at least the cottage would be in excellent shape for David’s return.

His phone buzzed in his hands and he nearly dropped it in surprise, despite having expected a text as soon as David had landed. He’s here. Safe, and waiting to deplane. Patrick was practically vibrating in anticipation. He watched passengers from other flights as they reunited with loved ones, and he waited his turn.

Another group of people was coming through, and Patrick watched carefully in hopes that they had been on David’s flight. His cheeks hurt when he spotted his husband’s signature swoop of dark hair and he grinned as he watched him materialize behind other passengers as he got closer.

Their eyes met and his heart swelled as he laid eyes on his husband physically for the first time in a week, and before he’d even realized he’d taken a step, he was in his arms, his face buried in David’s neck, breathing him in.

God, he’d missed his smell. His touch. “Hi.” His voice, oh, his voice!

“Hi,” he responded, his voice muffled in David’s skin, unable to remove himself just yet. David rubbed his hands over his back and they melted into each other, the rest of the world and the sounds of travelers all around them falling away.

David is home.

And so is Patrick.

[stranger-rants]

(Trauma dumping, feel free to ignore this ask if that's not okay with you.)

I am of the opinion that child neglect is an insidious sort of abuse and the people in the ST fandom don't get the nuance of it. (Or the Duffer brothers for that matter. But they don't get the nuance of a lot of things so eh.) They dramatize things and heap more abuse on Steve to make him, I don't know, more pitiable? Like. They do not have to. Speaking from personal experience.

My parents lived with me, but they were workaholics and I only ever saw them at dinner; by then, they had no energy for child-rearing. They left me by myself and treated me as someone they had to feed, clothe and take to school, nothing more. I was pretty much a little ghost haunting a house and acted as such.

Nowadays being perceived leaves me emotionally flayed and most of my relationships fail because I don't have the capacity to deal with real, genuine emotions. People have accused me of being there but not fully there and it's shit. I'm unlearning and learning a lot to make myself available and trying to build up the energy for basic socialization.

My parents never failed to provide me with the things I need to live. My parents never raised a hand against me. My parents did their best. And I grew up thinking I didn't have it that bad until I talked to people online.

Like. Not having it bad doesn't mean having it good. The in-between can be just as damaging. If people want to headcanon Steve as abused (I know I do because projection), they don't have to add so much to it. It's fine just as is. Well, it's terrible as is.

That is a very valid experience. There's a lot my parents did that they didn't intend to be hurtful or harmful, but it was nonetheless. There are various kinds of trauma, big and small. There are very loving homes still filled with generational trauma.

A person doesn't have to be explicitly abused or neglected in order for their experiences to justify their maladaptations. Trauma is complex. It's just silly to expect people living with wildly different circumstances to cope with life the same way.

There are opportunities my parents gave me that made my life better. They didn't neglect me. I have friends who were neglected, and they cope very differently from me. I dealt with violence, infidelity, and alcoholism in my home. It's just different.

The canon pieces to Steve's home life aren't spectacular no matter what privileges he has been given, but they're also not as immediately life threatening as Billy's and his parents do not systemically abuse him in canon.

That doesn't mean he copes well with everything or that his circumstances didn't shape him. I think that the Duffers haven't truly explored that, so we have to assume a lot. However, some assumptions made like yours are pretty realistic and thoughtful.

It's when people make false comparisons that I become completely unhinged. That does such a disservice to Billy, and people who relate to Billy. We too have our trauma dismissed on a regular basis, so it adds insult to injury to do this on top of that.