#the fact that people dont know who she is means nature is healing

[shigayokagayama]

OH NO! it’s not that at all. I just wanted an excuse to share some neat stuff I found. :) askers are underrated sometimes

(it’s the asker anon again by the way)

also what is a sixpenceee? (or is it a person)

sixpenceee was a tumblr user who was pretty popular in the mid 10s up until she tried to scam a bunch of people with a fake therapy business and also defended child slavery (long story).

[ihaveforgortoomany]

More thoughts on subtle nature of the Foundation exploiting its workforce and the people it saves

(Tw: Suicidal ideation mentioned here)

(I dont know to word this properly but looking at what Kakania chose at the end of anecdote marking the end of this particular arc of her character for now)

Im less looking at the nature of her therapy sessions (someone probably could look at that ans analyse the heck out of it) but the result and choice she makes after.

After leaving Isolde and reconiling the fact that right now, she cannot help Isolde and if anything distance between the two might be the best thing for the both of them. After all Kakania whether it was her intention or not contributed to Isolde's already worsening mental state and the only best solution right now is probably to leave her in this current blissful state/ dream.

As for Kakania? Already wrestling with the survivor's guilt of being the only recorded person to survive using the imperfect knot already weighs on her. Repeated panic attacks throughout the anecdote and the constant disassociation to the past as well. Sure she reconciles with the flaws in her methods and mindset, but what is the option given by the Foundation?

Join the expendable group of the History Guard (watchers I cant remember exactly) those jobs is to record everything happening in an era to keep field investigators informed at all times, and the way Greta described the job sounded like a high mortality rate.

Who would have even suggested Kakania the job? Certainly not Marcus, arriving at the end of her anecdote to invite Kakania to join Team TK, but Kakania initally choses to join the History Guard (its a situation where alot of Team TK members join branches in the Foundation, like Eagle with Lorenz and Edit its Windsong not Vila btw with the field investigators). Probably it was her psychiatrist who suggested the position. Which is worrying since Kakania clearly has suicidal ideations (the shard of the broken mirror and "being washed away is a just punishment for all my sins"). Why suggest a job that actively enables these ideations?

Ever notice that the colleagues of the psychiatrist she mentions also have continue working? Even if you are saved by the Foundation the immediate next step is to hire the individual, eventually even if they might fully recover from the shock of the Storm.

Its concerning that Kakania right now views her suffering as atonement for Vienna, now the Foundation hands her the job that could ensure it. The main method of the Foundation is control, over some perceived greater good in stopping the Storm, everything else falls to the wayside if it doesnt benefit the Foundation's goals.

Its not new to us for the Foundation to hire people saved from the Storm, but it is concerning that working for the Foundation is presented as the only option (why ofc you may say, they need more people to stop Manus and the Storm), but its the notion that this is the ONLY option. You cant really escape working for them, in that case you probably would be thrown to face the Storm and get reversed.

Its good that at some point Kakania does join Team TK (as evident in Vertin greeting her at the end of her trailer), maybe there she could actually heal; because with the Foundation it is only going to continue enabling that self guilt until something happens.

Summary: the Foundation traps those its save into a loop, the only option is to work for them, even if people are given therapy it seems to also double as a means to employ them as well.

[musubiki]

Has...Oscar tangled at all with the merchant before? Maybe made an impression that made the merchant think "wow this kid is actually kinda annoying" ? It also makes me think, okay if oscar is mentored by madame springs and he succeeds her, that would certainly be a heck of a way for them to be "worse than her."

Nosy persistent conspiracy theorist who wants to uncover your true nature AND who's also trying to run you out of a business in the healing sector? I'd start losing my patience. Tho this is assuming oscar's penchant for the weird lives on even in older age

you know...this is definitely something i need to explore more because!!!! true!!! he is going to eventually replace madam springs, and that means on some level, oscar will know the merchant beyond "npc guy who sells things with limited dialogue options"

for now (and throughout most of the story) oscar is just "the apprentice." madam springs is always still the one to interact with the merchant, and you see oscar just kinda smiling and listening in the background waiting for them to stop bickering.

BUT when oscar DOES interact with the merchant (in a non-buyer-seller context), he IS worse. but its in the "I'm a better healer than madam springs and also she charges too much for the work we do imo." so hes even WORSE competition. and i think this is the only way to actually irritate the merchant, is if you start interfering with his business in a way where he cant oppose you.

lore fact: the merchant really does have the best goods at the best prices!! hes the kind of npc you would see on RPG guides about "if you need [item] you need to / should get it from the merchant because hes the only one that sells it / he has the cheapest price and refresh rate." and the ONLY one who can beat him (not even for everything, just for healing items) is madam springs. so her business is the ONLY thing that is mildly a threat to him, and he hates it. i dont think you see him get irritated at anyone/anything else except her!!

(and he cant steal her formulas or kill her either. "Her business patented the formula before the fall of the witch king, so I'm assuming he can't legally take it and sell it in his own shop." --Sulluvan about madam springs and the merchant)

on the note of oscar trying to uncover his true nature, oscar is smart enough to not mess with it. its mochi and lime who almost fucking die trying to uncover it, against the advice of EVERYONE telling them to leave it alone. the only reason they didnt die is that the merchant spared them because he knew they both still had a part to play that hadn't come to pass yet. (also i want an episode that delves into who/what he is without my main characters dying LMFAO). so after that incident, mochi and lime both tell oscar and the guild about it, so he leaves it alone

(side note: at the moment, lime is actually the one in the guild who knows the merchant the best, strangely. i think its the black canvas thing about him, that whatever magic the merchant uses that prevents people from questioning his nature, it doesnt work on lime. and by "knows him the best" i mean he gets a bit more cryptic dialogue from him than the others)

[velvetvexations]

that ask u got abt blahaj made me remember something i saw around the time just before f/1nnster came out where someone said she was deliberately "appropriating transfem culture" to get money and support from "real transfems" and. well to say nothing of the fact that, at least in retrospect, it was super obvious what he was doing that entire time, its like. transfemininity is not something that is a closed practice; it cannot be appropriated. and those who are "encroaching" on this supposed "transfem culture" are usually doing so to have... transfem community. even now that shes out im still seeing transfems posts abt how uniquely transmisogynistic he is and how she deserved to be "criticized" (read: horrifically mocked during an extremely visible and vulnerable time in his life holy shit i do not envy her at all. i dont even know anything about the guy besides this fucking discourse. i cant imagine how nightmarish it was to be questioning his gender in this environment and - )

thats the thing, isnt it? treating transfemininity as if its this sacred thing that has to be violently policed and protected means that other transfems who arent transfem-ing right get isolated and hurt. people who are questioning get pushed out of communities that should welcome and support them.

It's very ironic from the "we have to emasculate random men in case one of them realizes they're a trans woman" crowd.

The sacredness is weird and off-putting. I didn't reblog it or anything because I didn't think OP fully deserved getting chewed out, they didn't seem like they were necessarily a bad person, but I saw this post earlier today that was like..."when a transfem friend says she might not use her mic because she's self-conscious about her voice, and then you hear her talk and she has the most beautiful soulful peaceful soothing healing voice ever, perfectly in harmony with nature".

And I found that really creepy! Like imagine if that was said about any other marginalized group, right?

[bonefall]

Same anon- wasnt trying to imply that with blossom either! Just wanted to say that it could've been read that way and could be triggering to some, and the fact that no one speaks up felt off, even if its against the code. I've never read the more recent books either, so by the way the posts were spaced it felt like the series goes Df battle > Tempest > Ashfur in the span of a few moons, meaning blossom went from one horrible event to another and was still feeling isolated and shameful. Sorry if anything came off as confrontational or mean!

As for the 'why dont they leave?' thing, I think we all default to how Ravenpaw actually DOES leave and we just apply the same logic. As humans we naturally draw connections, and if we see a situation where a whole clan turns on one cat, we ask why didn't they just do what Ravenpaw (or Dovewing iirc) did and decide they can't deal with this and it's better to move on. It's a pattern that we itch to see fulfilled: Tigerclaw turns everyone on Ravenpaw so he leaves, Dovewing gets her whole clan telling her to do better so she leaves, Blossomfall gets named as a traitor and repeatedly gets dishonor titles to remind her of all her faults- why do cat not leave???

But yeah, if Blossom got to heal, i retract my statement entirely. I just was going off the logic that she felt isolated/cut off and that being told she's better off invisible would just shove her further into that belief. I do wanna ask, do you know what the thing Blossom spoke up about that got her slapped with the title?

Ah, I see! Let me clear up the order of events so far;

ThunderClan's Tempest, shortly after the Great Battle, dealing with the Clan moving on. Contains some parts of the canonical Dovewing's Silence but mostly Bramblestar's Storm

AVOS, with Blossomfall joining the Kin and being rescued sometime towards the end. Still working out some kind of incident where her kits are either stolen, or have to be retrieved-- the sire is not known

Squirrelflight’s Horror, a book about how Bramblestar turns a tense political situation into an excuse to leverage his power to abuse his deputy after feeling slighted.

TBC, which is at least a year after AVOS, with all of Blossomfall's children now being young warriors and her life coming back into order

So Blossomfall is having a pretty long journey here! Her life has been rocky and she can be a really nasty person, but she was brought back into ThunderClan because she is still loved. There are people who really want to see her get better.

And as for when she gets Clearface'd, I'm torn on it either being the first sign and SUPER shocking because it was just the normal amount of Blossom-sass, OR it coming right after the death of Bristlefrost and she argued that

"Bristlefrost was a codebreaker but who cares! She was a warrior of ThunderClan! There's no way that StarClan--"

And then interrupted and quashed with the title.

So, first option, to demonstrate Bramblefake's new level of malice at the earliest possible point and use Bristlefrost's death as the "turning point" of the arc where cruelty becomes violence,

Or, as a direct response to Bristlefrost's death, and the moment where there begins to be suspicion, because Bramblestar is NOT this good at naming.

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

i dont see how criticizing men for procreating under dismal conditions exonerates israel from its genocidal behavior. as a future parent, the life conditions your child would endure have to be considered far above facts such as how much you want to get your dick wet, and yes, ahead of the 'but if i don't breed my people will disappear :(' kind of populism. none of this is blaming the women... i just dont see why this is ok if men are oppressed enough. they never NEED to put a baby in a woman.

You know, it's interesting. My mom used to say that people in Ethiopia suffering famine shouldn't be having children. My mom was a seventeen-year-old stripper when she got pregnant with me. Abortion was fully legal in my country at the time, as it is now. Contraceptives were available too, but she had never used them. And many would argue she shouldn't have had children in the circumstances she was in, and in fact I would agree it was a poor choice--she wasn't a very good parent.

But she didn't see it that way. To her the situation was normal. To her, as long she didn't treat her kids as badly as she was treated, she was doing okay. And that's the point. It's easy to look back and say, hey, having kids in that situation wasn't a good idea. But everyone normalizes their own situation in the moment. Everyone hopes things will get better.

Should men take more responsibility and not coerce women into pregnancies they don't want? Yes. They should do that period. In the most ideal, most peaceful circumstances that have ever or could ever occur in our species' existence they should be still be doing that. Women should have 100% reproductive autonomy at all times.

That is not the reason zionists are saying people in Palestine shouldn't have children. It's not why conservatives say people on welfare shouldn't have children. It's not why my mom said people in Ethiopia shouldn't have children. It's racism and classism--and yes, misogyny too.

If you think no women ever desire to have children in less than ideal circumstances, you should consider that no woman anywhere knows what a truly liberated society for women is like. None of us have lived it. And people normalize their situations if they have nothing tangible or accessible to compare it to. An average woman growing up in a highly misogynistic, isolated village with only rumours, if even that, of a better place for women probably isn't going to think consciously that that's a terrible place to bring a baby into. Hell, even if a bad situation has gone on long enough. You either think, this will get better eventually, or that, hey, I've survived this long, it's not so bad.

Now, some people indeed think no one should reproduce; that our species should just die out and "let nature heal" as it were. I think that's a fine choice to make for yourself. I fully support people not having kids (for men that means vasectomy or no pro-creative sex) if they don't want them. But you don't get to make that choice for others--especially for people in the middle of a genocide.

Palestinian women who got pregnant a few months ago (some will have been coerced, of course, men do that everywhere, but others won't have) didn't know this attack was coming at this time. And even in the midst of this attack? I promise you many women who have lost babies, sick with grief, will be looking to have more children. That may not make sense to you, who is not in that circumstance, but it doesn't have to. Palestinian men are not worse than other men.

There is a genocide happening, and people need to stop buying into genocidal logic, whether under the guise of feminism or otherwise.

[myvoide]

Eliazer [Part two? 🤨]

Yes! Eliazer has an AU counter part! Hes used for another one of my friends D&D camp and while they're the same person, their backstories and apperinces are different, This Eliazer is tweaked for my friends world since their logic works a bit different [looking at you @warriorblood1] Here he is anyway! [long post ahead much lore yes yes]

base by: rainbow-v-e-i-n-s on deviantart

For the sake of the post, and the fact i already have shown off OG Eliazer, this Eliazers nickname is Eli! [and if you havent seen the post, OG Eliazers nickname is just E lol]

I'll go ahead and list off their differences first becuase its easier and then get into detail about Elis spesific traits

Eli starts traveling a year or two before E does [yes i dont know their exact age sue me]

Eli had to actually die to "activate" his aasimar traits, so he died in the spell-explostion that E was merely burnt by!

Because Eli didn't know he was an aasimar/didnt get his traits until later in life, theyre still developing! hence the natural ginger hair turning white, the yellow eyes, and the smaller wings [this also means he cant control his wings super well and they react with his emotions and subconcious a lot more then E's do, so if he gets spooked his wings shoot out hehe]

Elis home town in now in the middle of Fuck All No Where: Woods edition

Instead of having A toxic goddess, he actually follows a goddess of the people, she loves and considers all her children! but he is in a loyalist town to a toxic empress who is dead... maybe.... ill talk more about this later

Eli's patner is a fire genasi! [rip krevin] and Eli just doesnt know whats happened to him! i dont even know whats happened to him! he could be dead! sadly i dont intend on showing the fire genasi off, even though he has a super cool character design, because when i first made his design it was with this chibi base and while the base works for average people with minimal character traits to their physique [and to quickly get character design out of the way] it doesnt for someone whos supposed to be pretttttttty buff,,, so im gonna try to find better bases so i can learn from them like i do now!

Wow! thats all i can really think of? there are other small things like Eli isnt as flirty or sexually active as E or that Eli snuck out of his home town without telling anyone thats all pretty low on the level of importance

the biggest thing to say is that Elis hammer is a courting gift from his lost lover since hes a weapon smith and that his cloak is stolen from his mother when he snuck out at night

Anywho! the summary of his story issss,,, Eli spent a lot of his time in the woods surrounding his village becuase he was an outcast, he may not have been an aasimar at the time but he showed excelent signs of being a good healer so two of the priestesses started teaching him the way of his goddess and some healing spells and other religous things. this pulled him out of school from a young age so he never learned to read or write. he also blindly followed everything that was told to him, making everyone else in the town think he was incredibly nieave and gullable and kinda outcasting him more.

When Elis lost lover came to town he was completely foreign and not very welcomed, no one wanted to hang around a fire genasi in the middle of the woods. But Eli, having learned to treat everyone equally and with kindess from his goddess, encouraged the towns people to just let him stay a few nights.

and then a few nights turned into a year or so, Eli and his love definently had some kinda of relationship but it was never difined, they just lived day to day and while his love tried to make hints for Eli, Eli didn't really catch on. But near the end of Elis beginning his love kind of opened his eyes? made him question his loyalty to a empress hes never seen. hell his love mentioned a war but Eli has never ever heard of this war.

this is great of course because then the rebles attack his village to try and make sure the loyalists dont try and,,,,,,, kill more people lmfao ANYWAY Eli ends up questioning his whole life after waking up as an aasimar and in a state of panic and paranoia he flees to just literally anywhere and now hes with his life long destiny friends so thats great

the next session will be this saturday im so excited bc sometimes its voiced and i get to do a silly russian accent, this session will be over text but like! now i dont have to focus on maintaining the accent so yippe!

[sunny6677]

Flames.

Summary: Skid is saved from a situation he never thought he'd be in. But now he has to heal from everything he went through. And he doesn't know how.

Chapter 6: A Make-believe Game.

TWS: VOMIT MENTIONS, EMETOPHOBIA, KIDNAPPING IMPLICATIONS, ABUSE IMPLICATIONS, TRAUMA IMPLICATIONS.

(SERIOUSLY. SKID GOES THROUGH A LOT IN THIS SHIT. BE WARNED. YES, THIS IS A STORY ABOUT HIM SLOWLY HEALING FROM HIS TRAUMA, OR AT LEAST TRYING TO. BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN ITS NOT SOMEWHAT DARK. BE WARNED. DONT WORRY THOUGH, IT DOESNT ROMANTICIZE ANY OF THE DARK THINGS IN IT THOUGH. IT IS POTRAYED AS A BAD THING. THIS IS JUST ABOUT SKID HEALING FROM A BAD EXPERIENCE.)

(I ALSO PARTIALLY WROTE THIS STORY TO KINDA COPE WITH MY TRAUMA, SINCE WRITING ABOUT PEOPLE SLOWLY HEALING FROM THEIR TRAUMA KINDA MAKES ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT MY OWN EXPERIENCES.)

————

Skid looked at his mother for a moment, his eyes wide as he processed the sound of the doorbell ringing. Who could have been here at this hour? His mother looked back at him with equally widened eyes, her pupils small and shivering as she then gazed toward the source of the sound. Skid then let a few soft words slowly slip out of his mouth, "..u—uh.. I'll get it, mo—"

"No—no!" His mother practically yelled that, her breathing still a little quickened as she sounded almost panicked. A bead of sweat dripped down her face as Skid looked up at her with a look of surprise in his eyes. She then let out a wavering sigh, and slowly stood to her feet. "So—Sorry.. I'll get it, okay? Just wait here."

Skid slowly nodded in response. Maybe he should not have offered to help at a time such at this? Let alone get the door for someone he presumably didn't even know the identity of yet. His mother began to walk out of the room, her steps quick and fastly paced as she nearly rushed for the door. As she did so though, that name rang in his mind.

Keender Roosevelt, the name of the man who had captured him

Keender Roosevelt, the name of the man who was so deluded he treated Skid as if he were actually his own child.

Keender Roosevelt, the man who had hurt him on multiple occasions.

Skid's breathing only quickened more as he stared at the very surface of the couch, lost inside of the endless sea of thoughts in his mind. His eyes were clouded with a misty haze of an emotion he didn't know the name of. He didn't even know if he was even feeling any sort of emotion.

His heartbeat became faster, and he felt as if his breathing was so fast that he would practically collapse at any moment.

Then, he felt two tiny and familiar arms wrap around him once more. For a split second, he panicked.

"Heyyyy!"

Recognition flickered in his brain. He knew that voice. He knew it well, in fact. The thoughts that muffled all of the noises that surrounded him vanished, and each noise around him became clear once more. Despite the feeling of his heart that pounded so fast that it felt like it was going as fast as a butterfly's flying speed, a small smile had formed on his face. Yes.. he knew that voice.

He uttered, "H—Hey, Pump.."

Skid hadn't exactly moved, and he didn't really hug back either. But he knew who it was now. It was Pump, who he only assumed had most likely come to see him. It was only in Pumps nature to want to see him, especially considering that he had been gone for so long. So Skid didn't exactly feel shocked. A few beads of sweat still trickled down his face though from the temporary fear he had experienced a few seconds ago. Yes, he knew that Pump wouldn't hurt him, for that wasn't in Pump's nature. But it felt so unsettling anyway..

As Pump slowly released his grip from Skid, Skid slowly turned his head to face Pump. He was still sitting down, while Pump remained standing. He smiled at Pump's toothy and eager grin. It was always such a treasure to see his friend happy. He had always recalled being too blinded by his happiness and energy when having fun with Pump to notice how happy he was, but he truly appreciated it now.

Skid then finally spoke up as Pump giggled childishly. "..wh—what are you doing here? Did you come to see me?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course I did!" Pump grinned in a somewhat puzzled manner, cooking his head to the side. "Why wouldn't I?"

Skid could see his mother following behind Pump with a resigned look of sadness, for she hid it with a soft smile. Skid glanced away for a moment, and slowly responded to Pump, "We—Well, I dunno.. I just.. I, uh.. um.."

Skid couldn't exactly find the proper words to describe whatever it was he wanted to say. This was a nervous habit he had gained from.. well, being at that place and with Keender. He couldn't exactly help it if he stammered whenever he was nervous that someone would get angry or upset about something.

Instead of being angry though, Pump flashed another grin at Skid. "Oh, don't worry about it. Now we can play together!" Pump threw his hands in the air for a moment, before his smile became a little bit more nervous. He slowly added, "..if you're not gonna throw up again."

Skid raised his brows. He slowly stuttered out, "O—Oh! Right.. I'm feeling better now, but I really should have gone somewhere else to do that..". A somewhat ashamed look formed on Skids face for a split second, for he knew how often he repeated the following phrase he then spoke aloud. "..I'm sorry."

Pump arched a brow. "Uh.. its okay. But why do you keep saying that?"

Skid tried to find the words to answer, though before he could, his mother spoke up. He looked at her attentively, not exactly wanting to make her feel like he wasn't paying attention. "Well, nevermind that. Why don't you two play together in the mean time?"

Skid couldn't exactly tell what his mother was doing by suddenly cutting in. Maybe she was trying to distract them both from something else. Or perhaps she was trying to distract Pump so Skid wouldn't feel humiliated having to explain why he was apologizing so much.

Pump, of course, grinned at this eagerly. "Okay, Ms. Lila!" He then grabbed Skid by the hand. Not too roughly, but a bit hard enough for Skid to let out a slight yelp of surprise whenever he took his hand in his. Pump's tiny legs darted from beneath him, scrambling. "C'mon, Skid! Let's go play together like we used to!"

Skid let out soft noises of uncertain anxiety. As much as he trusted Pump, he couldnt help but feel a bit nervous anytime someone even made the slightest bit of physical contact with him. Maybe it didnt count for when his mother hugged him whenever they reunited yesterday since he was so caught up in his own emotions. But he really didnt like it whenever people touched him. He decided not to voice this though, for he felt it was too small of an issue to be taken seriously, and he felt a little embarrassed about it too.

Then, Skid's mother spoke up again. "Oh, wait—does Susie know you're here?"

Pump stopped for a moment. He then slowly responded, "Uh.. yeah. I told her before I left my house today."

"A—Alright.. good!" Skids mother replied in a jolly tone, "Have fun, you two!"

"Okay, Ms. Lila!" Pump said in a chipper tone. "...okay, mom." Skid replied in a meeker tone.

Pump then proceeded to grab Skid by the hand rather quickly, and he began to rush toward where Skids room would normally be. Skid let out a few yelps of surprise. Perhaps Pump didn't hear him over the rush of his own excitement, or maybe Pump was just so eager to get to play with Skid again that he was unresponsive. Or maybe he just didn't care—but that couldn't be it. If he were able, Skid would have bonked himself on the head for thinking such a thing.

Skid could tell something was wrong with his mother though, whether she would deny it or not. But what was he to do?

He'd wait until Pump was gone. Maybe then she'd tell him.

————

When Pump had led Skid inside of his room, Skid had finally realized how dark his room actually was. Dark purple walls, spooky decorations. It really hadn't changed a bit since he last saw it. This room wasn't really any different compared to the dark atmosphere of the..

...no, he couldn't think of that anymore. He didn't want to think of that anymore.

Regardless, he even saw how many specks of dust had been inside of the room. Perhaps he could clean it himself. After all, if he could find alternative ways to wash himself, then he could find a way to somehow clean dust in his room. Then again, he could always ask his mother. But she was already pressured enough. So he felt a little.. conflicted.

Then, Pump finally let go of Skid's hand, and flashes another smile at him. Skid gazed back at him, uncertain of what Pump was about to say. Then, Pump said, "I got an idea! Maybe we could draw like we did that one time whenever you came over to my house!"

"..uhhh.. maybe. I don't know what to draw though.." Skid slowly replied. Skid then thought for a moment. Something then flickered in his mind, and he looked at Pump. "Um.. what if we played one of those games that we made together? Or what if we come up with a new one?"

Skid and Pump had always played their own little imaginative games together, if Skid could recall correctly. They'd pretend to be manic bus drivers, unqualified police officers, and even spooky police officers. Or sometimes they'd pretend to be ghosts. Skid could always recall the absolute bliss of how fun the games always were. But he wasn't exactly sure if he was in the mood for any of those right now.

"Uh.. okay. What do you wanna play then?" Pump inquired.

Skid thought again for a moment. He then said, "...well, I think I have a new idea for a game." He softly smiled at Pump. Pump smiled back at him cheerfully.

————

Skid had decided to come up with a game called "The Scary Man". The game didn't have any exact rules, for it was some strange kind of roleplay game where rules weren't exactly made. And most of it was strongly improvised. But the way the game would work was that one of them would play the role of The Scary Man, and one of them would play the role of The Little Boy.

Skid had intended for the game to start in front of some kind of store, but he didn't know what he'd pretend to be a store for the sake of the game. So together, Pump and Skid built a small little building block fort with one of Skid's plushies hidden behind it. (Skid had also nicknamed the plushie "The Worker", since there was no one else to exactly play that role other than his mother. But he didn't want to disturb her. So he didn't bother her to play it.)

As of now, the game had already started. Sort of anyway. At the beginning of the game, they established that the worker went to the back of the store to check for something.

Skid had then begun to pretend to walk out of the "store" while fidgeting with his hands nervously. He looked down at the ground, the situation feeling oddly familiar. He held one of his action figures, pretending that it was a piece of candy he had been given by "The Worker". Skid then said aloud to himself in a very forced high pitched voice, "Wow! I really like this candy. Nothing bad will ever happen to me!"

Pump then suddenly charged forth from the side. His fingers wriggling. Skid almost broke character for a moment, from the sheer surprise of the sudden event, even if he knew it was going to happen. He took a step back, yelping a little and holding his action figure close. Pump then spoke in an obviously forced and "menacing" tone of voice, "Hi there! Do you wanna come to my house?"

Skid stared at Pump for a moment, before chuckling softly a little. He was both amused and still a little bit startled from Pump practically charging at him. He snickered a little. "Pu—Pump—I don't think that's what the scary man would say." He said in his normal tone of voice, breaking character for only a moment. Pump looked at him, cocking his head to the side.

"Huh? Then what would he say?" Pump asked.

"Uhh.. well, he'd probably walk slower. And—and he'd probably just talk to The Little Boy for a bit, and then he'd.. uhhh.." Skid paused. He was a little unsure of where he was going with this himself. "..and.. and then he'd probably tell him to come to his house for some reason?"

Pump raised a brow. "Um.. okay."

Pump then went back to where he was standing a few moments ago, before slowly walking back over to Skid. He then cleared his throat, and spoke in his "menacing" voice that sounded weirdly like an imitation of Frank again. "Hi... how are you?"

Skid giggled a little. That was more like it. He then spoke back in his forced high pitched voice, "I'm okay. How are you?"

"I'm good. Is that candy you have there?" Pump asked. Skid replied, "Yeah, Its candy I got from the store! Do you want some?".

"Oh, sure. But I have some more candy in my house. Do you wanna come with me?" Pump asked with a silly look on his face. Or maybe it was just that Skid had a hard time taking Pump seriously whenever he was trying to be scary. Holding back a laugh, he replied, "Yeah, sure!"

"Okay, follow me!" Pump said. He then began to walk foward, but then Skid spoke up again in his normal voice. "Uhh.. Pump? Can The Scary Man hold The Little Boys hand while they walk to his house?"

Pump replied slowly, "Um.. okay."

Pump then walked back, and slowly took Skids hand in his. Skid flinched. He didn't like touch, and yet he asked for this. Why was he asking for this again?

He knew the answer. But he wasn't gonna bother to say it out loud.

Pump then began to lead him to the other side of the room that they decided to pretend was The Scary Man's house. And once he had, Pump stopped in his tracks, and laughed in a somewhat malicious manner. He sounded like a cartoon villain with the way he laughed. "I tricked you! I don't have any candy here! Now you're going to stay here forever!" Pump cackled.

Skid faked a gasp, and said, "No! Wait! This isn't my house! I can't stay here!"

Pump cackled in a false manner again. "Too late! This is your house now! And now your my kid!"

Skid gave a fake gasp again. "No! No! I already have a mom! Please! Let me out of here!"

"Never! You're staying here for the rest of your life! Hahaha!" Pump laughed in an evil manner. Skid then began to give a false look of fear, but then, something clicked from inside him. Then Skid spoke up in his normal tone of voice, speaking slowly, "Uh.. Pump? Could The Little Boy try and escape? And.. and then could The Scary Man hurt him before he could get out?"

Pump paused. He then slowly replied, "..um, sure? But why?"

"We—Well, you know.. because that's just how it's supposed to go!" Skid said back while gesturing with his hands.

"But.. but I don't want to hurt you. And didn't you say this game didn't have any rules?" Pump began to sound a little more worried now.

Skid looked away again. Something didn't feel right. "I—I know, but.. ca—can it just happen this way? Please? The Scary Man is supposed to hurt The Little Boy.. be—because he's scary, and.." Skid couldn't find the proper reasoning. All he found were incoherent syllables echoing from his mouth.

Pump frowned. "Sk—Skid.. I don't think I like this game. Can we play something else?"

Skid opened his mouth to speak. "I—"

...then, the door to his room opened.

/////////////////////

E

[larnax]

ok im not strong enough. hater mode activate.

im only so angry about this because its the first time ive ever seen bottom surgery even mentioned in a fandom context and its to shit on it. im gpnna turn into the joker

easy to DIY" this is dumb for the same reason "DIY wheelchair ramps" are dumb. gcs and making hrt both take skill and knowledge the average person does not have. DIY hrt saves lives and is many peoples' only option i am not disagreeing with that but its not your buddy brent making it in his bathtub its someone who has the medical knowledge who just isnt operating in an official capacity. you cannot do it Yourself unless you want to end up injecting olive oil. this is even more true for surgery. do you think you could perform a DIY vaginectomy????? have at least a baseline respect for the people who developed gcs procedures and the people who perform them

"leaves scars" every non op trans person owes me $500USD. i am so fucking tired of people who never bothered to address their internalized ableism/transphobia about ew yuck icky scars making that my problem by loudly announcing how disgusted they are by an extremely normal part of the human experience. there is nothing wrong with having visible scarring and there is nothing wrong with surgical scarring and acting like there is provably makes people avoid procedures that would unambiguously improve their lives

"certain procedures can be risky" aw cmon bud we all know which procedures you mean! pretty please keep fearmongering about how risky bottom surgery is otherwise someone might decide to actually get a surgery which has an extremely normal success rate for surgeries. yes they make you sign a bunch of forms acknowledging the risk thats called Informed Consent and 90% of the complications are true for literally any surgery or literally any surgery on the urethra/genitals. bottom surgery is not some uniquely dangerous procedure

"implants and bottom surgery highly imperfect" every non op trans person owes me $1000USD. would you say this about any other aspect of transition? is there any fucking room in your head for the fact that postop trans people actually exist in real life and could possibly see you talking about how disgusting you find them? because im 1) real and 2) fucking your mother with my Imperfect Dick right now

"doesnt leave scars/looks completely natural" every non op trans person owes me $1500USD. this stupid fucking idea people have that The Natural Body is 1) even a thing and 2) something we should aspire to or protect is so wildly transphobic and ableist that it, too, turns me into the joker. would you say this to an amputee? to someone who had an organ transplant? because people do and its the same bullshit. the right to bodily autonomy includes the right to alter your body! i dont fucking care if i Look Natural(although its worth noting that most people cant actually tell fully healed phallo dicks and natal dicks apart. i went to a urologist and he only realized i was postop when i told him) and it should not be treated as an unambiguously good thing.

LIKE EVEN THE FUCKING DOCTOR IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE MEDICAL BOTTOM SURGERY. olberic had an "averse reaction to medicine" <- directly against canon where he can be healed fine WHOLESALE INVENTED just so that we minimize the amount of people who could theoretically have phalloplasty

also youre lying to yourself and more importantly me if you think ophilia has any medical knowledge whatsoever shes literally a faith healer who cant even deal with poison

like ok "a wizard did it" is better than literally not even acknowledging some trans people want to "switch their junk" like most people do or arguing that its ahistorical to have any medical transition, However this is just having that so you can present it as the better alternative to the inferior gross medical transition which . go fuck yourself!!! go fuck yourself.

again im mostly so mad about this because when i saw the words "bottom surgery" in a fandom thing i was really really excited because i never get to see even other fans who acknowledge that their favorite characters could be like me! i had a solid 5 seconds of just being ecstatic to be represented and then i actually read the damn thing and it was just more of the fucking same.

[notafunkiller]

I’m glad I’m not alone. You’re rational and I trust your judgement. This has always been fishy to me. They’re just selling it harder now because so many have caught onto the lie. I really don’t understand the rich and famous. This is just tomfoolery at this point. / yeah i also think they are pr. Even with the last zoom interview seb did. Like for months he try to hide his background filming on white walls or with don he pull up woth whole set background but in last interviews he proudly show off the same background making it easy for people to speculate and locate him, like the secound the awards talk start seb was showing off his background. And i belive nothing change people still try to locate him base on pic he is in and what we can see behind him, and his team or even he because he talk like he still visit sm knows that, that this is what people do, but he show off his background now and i think its all plan and fishy.

Also like the dod and the comment. First of all it might be just me but i have a dog and when i was doing zoom i usually let my dog run in the backyard to not disturb me but it might be just me. But the way seb react like he said its some dog, and then quickly go back to the topic i would think he would say its my dog sorry or sorry my gf dog start barking but nothing like that.

Next thing i also find weird its when he again say story how he find out he was nominated for me something dont add up. In the podcast he make a point to add this gf story that didnt add anything to the convo but just was there but he didnt mention aw today? Aw post early in the morning congratulate story for his nomination, if they were so real you could belive she was there but he dont mention her and that would be more authentic like i wake up and my gf wake up too and all but no he never mention her, he only mention calling his mom(in other interview). Plus maybe i look on small things but he said when he first walk up it was dark and he start to read book to fall asleep again, like wouldn't he wake aw up if she was there, also didnt mention it and that would be again for me more natural story telling.

And the last thing his having kids comment, because i was some people already starting. He said if i have kids, its like questioning if i ever will have kids not i whant kids, i mean he is 40 so its normal question, i have single friends who are over 30 or friends who are out of long term rs and they also ask this question if i ever have kids its more like far far away posibility maybe, like thinking its even for me or just thinking because you're not in this place in live or you dont meet this person yet. But with how quick he went back to talking about his career, new roles, and just about himself, healing, understending himself i belive he is most focus on himself, also he never mention the kids again but the secound part what was career he talk for a longer time.

Also seb will be in a role of parent in his upcoming movie so this also can be why he say something about kids.

Its all my thoughts, i dont say that as a fact, but this is what i take out of it and what i belive

Peopek who ship them would find anything a proof of their undying love and they would attack anyone who questions it.

[xreaderbooks]

Two sides (2)

Pair: ACOTAR Azriel x reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: Language, implied smut

Summary: Y/N has been in love with Cassian for centuries now, Just how Azriel has been with Mor. Both heartbroken by their unrequited love they fall into a routine of 'one-night stands', Not realizing their each others mate.

Masterlist - Part 1

A/N: So I dont know how accurate the mate information is, like I said before I haven’t read the ACOTAR series since 2019 so I probably got a couple things wrong or didn’t write the characters the way you would expect them to act. I chose to make them more how they would be in head canons if you get what I mean. Either way I really hope you enjoyed the 2nd and final part to Two sides :) Feel free to send requests for Azriel or any other Acotar characters. Thank you all for the support <3

"We need to talk."

"Okay," Azriel says skeptically, he walks over to sit on the chair across from you.

"I wanted to apologize for the other night," You shifted in your seat as you spoke, you were noticeably uncomfortable. That bothered Azriel, he wanted you to feel natural not forced, he didn't know where that desire came from but it was true. Even if this conversation was a bit awkward. "I never meant to make you feel used, I guess, I just needed a distraction."

"From seeing Cassian and Nesta together?" He asked. You bit your lip and nodded. "Y/N, I didn't feel used." He let out a small chuckle. "I enjoyed it, actually. And a bit flattered that you chose to-" He coughed awkwardly, "share that part of yourself with me." You grinned. You eased up a bit after knowing that Azriel didn't feel bad about what happened the other night, and even enjoyed it. It also warmed your heart at the fact that this was one of the rare moments that he felt comfortable enough to talk about how he was feeling. Despite it probably being out of sympathy or to defuse the tension.

"Oh," You chirped "well good. The last thing I wanted to do was fuck up our friendship."

He shook his head, "Y/N you've done a lot in the past few centuries that could've fucked up this friendship and we're still okay, better than okay considering. Besides Mor and I are still friends even after..." He tensed up, you went over to him and hesitantly put your hand on top of his.

"I know." You gave him a small smile. "I have an idea, I'll admit it's not my brightest but it will benefit the both of us."

His eyebrow quirked, "Your ideas are never the brightest, that's why you're just my second."

"Okay, wow." You blinked, removing your hand, and started pacing around the room. "First Rhys made me your second because I'm good at my job and you're just better cause of your shadows." He glared at you when you made the comment about his shadows. "Two, I've had a couple of good ideas in the past you just never go through with them."

"Maybe it's because all your ideas are reckless and we'd get caught if we did our job by using your so-called good ideas." He got up to meet you when you turned around to face the other way, you were met by his chest in your way.

You huffed when you looked up at him. "Whatever, I'm pretty sure you were going to like this one." He gave a nod to continue. "I- you know what I think it's better if I just show you."

He cocked his head to the side. You took this as an opportunity to grab him by the back of his neck and slammed your lips onto his. Immediately after he put his hands on your waist, pulling you closer. He started walking backward, leading you towards one of the bedrooms. Your foreheads pressed together but you paused from kissing him, catching your breath. You knew he could hear your heartbeat, beating quicker by the second, his heart was beating faster too. It gave you all the encouragement you needed to start taking off your clothes.

"So this was your bright idea," Azriel asked, while also hurriedly taking off his clothes.

"Mhm." Was your response before nodding and relocating your lips onto his.

The intensity of it made your heart stutter. You wanted him and at that moment he wanted you. He truly wanted you, you both felt it and took that feeling, using it to fuel the passion in that kiss. He moved down to your neck, nipping and biting at it. You moved your hand to slowly graze his wings, which made him freeze. Azriel gave you a look that made your body go on overdrive.

He picked you up, you wrapped your legs around his waist as he continued to "eat your neck" as Cassian had said all those days before. You rolled your eyes at the thought, but then they rolled back as Azriel bit at a sensitive area that intensified that already intoxicating feeling you got when you were with him.

And you wished it never ended.

~~~

"How do you feel about this?" You asked, hoping he'd be okay with it. So far he hadn't opposed.

"I don't want to hurt you." He confessed. You knew he meant physically, he could be a little rough sometimes. You were okay with that though, You rolled your eyes at his comment.

"I'm serious Y/N." He looked you in the eye. You were back at the training grounds of the Illyrian camp. You didn't specify any details, so you both didn't care about speaking in public.

"I'm a big girl, I think I can handle it." You began to walk ahead of him, He grabbed your forearm and pulled you back to face him, a hint of a smile on your face. "Only if you're sure."

Your smile faded once you saw that he was genuinely concerned. "Az, you wouldn't hurt me. I trust you."

He froze and let you go. He had a hard time letting people see how he was feeling but you could tell he was struggling with letting you in and his self-deprecation.

~~~

You had kept your secret "relationship" hidden from everyone else, as much as you could. It didn't take long. They were extremely nosy and it was difficult with Mor being your best friend. She always knew when you were lying and had insisted you were acting differently. You would always blow it off and say you had a good day, telling a random story you just thought of on the spot.

Cassian had continued to tease you about your secret lover-- which only intrigued Mor even further-- you avoided the truth most of the time. You and Azriel would be extra careful when doing what you did. Sometimes even going to Inns and you would both winnow to the location.

Going through all that trouble only for Amren to find out and threaten to tell the others. She tried to blackmail you into buying her a pure diamond bracelet. As if she couldn't afford it yourself. You talked to Azriel about it and you both decided you didn't care if anyone else knew, it's only a matter of time before they found out anyway. Plus you could use the money to buy a house somewhere private in Velaris. You enjoyed the privacy and lack of teasing for as long as it lasted.

Amren didn't tell but as you predicted, everyone did find out. Some already had suspicions like Mor, Rhys, and Feyre. Amren wouldn't have known if she hadn't caught you both and Cassian never would have thought. You'd be lying if you said you weren't disappointed at him not showing any sign of jealousy. You knew he wouldn't be, being caught up with Nesta and all but you still held hope. You considered yourself a fool and would try to fuck the feelings out of you with Azriel. And most of the time it worked.

~~~

Months went by as sleeping with your best friend became your new normal. You never would have thought that you'd be one of those mysterious girls that Azriel hooked up with, ever since that night, you were the only girl. You had to admit, you liked the idea; being Azriel's only girl. But you knew that although you would be the only girl in his bed, Mor will always be on his mind. Not that you blamed him, you were still somewhat hung up on Cassian. After you can't get rid of 500+ years of feelings.

As you laid next to Azriel, who now stayed nights instead of leaving right after, You admired his tattoos, the intricate designs, you fought the urge to trace them. You did anyways but only a centimeter away from his chest so you wouldn't wake him. In the morning light that slipped through a slight gap in your curtains, It shone right on him. He looked ethereal.

You always knew he was attractive most Illyrian men were, at least if they weren't assholes most of the time. You had time now, to actually take in his beauty. You could never understand how someone so beautiful and kind could be so broken. You guessed that's why you chose him to spend your nights with, instead of some random guy. You could help him and heal him and get him to appreciate himself more.

The shadows around him became more active, it made him tense up. He was awake. You lifted your hand up to up to move the stray hair that fell onto his face. At that moment, you felt your world shift an overwhelming sensation of love and adoration consumed your body and you snatched your hand away from him. You were in pure shock.

'Holy fuck' Was the only thing going through your head.

"What's wrong?"He questioned as if he could sense your distress. His voice hoarse from just waking up.

"Nothing." You said, immediately getting up and getting dressed in whatever you had closest to you. "You should, um, You should get going. I have a lot of reports to do, I've been holding them off but Rhys has been asking me for them for the longest so I should get on it."

Azriel sat up, the bed sheet covering one leg and another part. His perfectly sculpted body in your bed, the lighting, half of his leg uncovered by the blanket. You tried to compose yourself to figure out what you would do. Hoping that he didn't pick up on how different you were acting. It was no use he probably already expected something was up.

To try to ease the tension you sat next to him, brushing the hair out of his face, dragging your fingertips down to the side of his face, and kissed his cheek. You ignored the tingles you felt as his face nuzzled into your hand. Hesitantly, you remove your hand and got up from the bed, and sat at the desk you had in your room. You pretended to read through old letters from officials.

Azriel took that as his cue to leave. He got dressed and pressed a kiss to the back of your head before he left.

He definitely knew something, that's not how your mornings usually go. You would at least spend an hour or two together either talking or enjoying each other's presence before sending each other off to your respective duties. However due to your new discovery of Azriel being your mate. You panicked. What would you do now?

~~~

Hours had passed and you hadn't left your room, choosing to focus on the reports that you did in fact, have to do. Rhys just wasn't expecting them for another week or so. Mor then busted into your room. "Knock, knock bitch."

"Uh, hello gorgeous, didn't expect a lovely visit from you today." You said sarcastically, turning your chair to face her. She dropped the shopping bags onto your floor. You lifted a brow in question.

"We're going on a trip!"

"I'm busy." You turned back around to focus on what you were writing.

"It's a fun work one." You twisted your chair around again.

"How do you mean?"

"Day court gala, bonding with people, gaining trust, and all that." She waved it off as if you didn't need to know actual information. You decided you'd ask for details from Rhysand later.

"And you went shopping." You gestured to all of the bags. "like you don't have tons of outfits you could take."

"Well of course I do. These are for you." She grinned.

"W-what?"

"Just because you're supposed to be invisible and all that, doesn't mean you have to be like that all the time." She referred to your job description, being another spy for Rhysand, relying on you being a woman to get information from people Azriel couldn't. Kind of ridiculous considering Azriel's shadows allowed him to get all the information needed but it was an easy enough job. Unlike Az, you didn't have shadows to command so you stuck to your black outfits tunics, and suits that would help you move easily. You never really dressed up, unless it was for an occasion, but you enjoyed doing it when you could. Most of the time you would be on duty or something like it so you couldn't.

This Gala gave you the perfect excuse too. You were thankful to Mor for having bought you these dresses and accessories. You were pretty sure you had worn all the dresses you had in your closet already.

"Yeah, you're right." You gave her a half-smile. Part of you wondered what Azriel's reaction would be to you in one of these revealing dresses. You shook the thought from your head. You would dress for yourself not for some male, even if that male is your mate.

You debated whether to tell Mor or not. She might be able to help you with your internal battle. Part of you was hurt about Cassian not being your mate. Another part always knew that he wasn't, and another part of you wondered how Azriel would react. Did he feel the bond snap into place? Or was it a Feyre-Rhysand situation where the bond would snap into place at another moment? Would he reject you cause you weren't Mor?

You opted to tell Mor at the day court where you would have more space and privacy from the others.

~~~

Helion's words about uniting and bonding were very heartwarming and kind, but you couldn't get past the thoughts that swarmed your mind. You took advantage of this time with everyone listening to Helions welcoming speech and sneakily made your way over to where Mor was standing. You pretended to greet her with a kiss and whispered in her ear to meet you in the room you were staying at.

"Thank the cauldron you came along, Helion was droning on and was about to make me fall asleep." She joked as she sauntered into your room. She paused her amused tone as soon as she saw your face. "You were fine like two minutes ago."

"Glad to know, I'm good at hiding it." You forced a smile. She tilted her head as if to ask you 'what's wrong', so you told her. You told her that Azriel was your mate and how it happened. You told her of your fears of rejection and confusion with your love for Cassian. It was a different love now, you felt it. There was a shift in what you felt towards Cassian and more intense feelings for Azriel. You suspected the bond but you didn't mind it. You then opened up about your insecurity about him rejecting you for her. Which she shut down, though she knew what you meant.

"Mor, Azriel loves you, like I loved Cassian. What if his love for you is stronger and he refuses to let go. We all know the only reason he never went for you is his trouble with his self-worth." Those were harsh words, but they were true. "He could easily reject me for you, knowing you don't love him in that way."

"You don't know that Y/N. And you loved Cassian, probably as much as Azriel loved me. After all this time you spent together, you truly don't think he would have changed the way he feels for me?" She grabbed your hand in hers. "You and Azriel are like two sides of the same coin, he's all dark and brooding and you, well you're the same in some ways. But you bring out the light and you can cast out all of his darkness with a simple smile."

"I don't know." You whispered. You were scared. Your feelings for Azriel already began to grow, without the bond, with it in place now it was strengthened. Your feelings for Cassian was a background noise that would soon grow into a more familial type of love.

"What should I do Mor?" You whimpered, you put your face in your hands. "I feel like a girl with a crush. This is ridiculous."

She laughed and nodded. "Yes, yes it is. On the bright side, if he doesn't know about you being mates, you could still have fun with other people."

You gave her a look. "You forget that he's my designated person to 'have fun' with."

"I didn't know you had a conversation on exclusivity." She shrugged and walked over to the cart that had alcoholic drinks, at the corner of the room.

"Technically we did when we agreed to sleep with each other when we felt like it." You reasoned.

"Hm." She mused, sipping on her drink. "I still say enjoy tonight, dance with a few males, or females, and if you two end up having sex with him again just enjoy the time you have with him."

"Thanks for the talk, Mor."

"Of course darling, by the way, I highly doubt he'll reject you. If he does he's an idiot and I'll kill him." She sent a wink your way and left you in your room to think.

~~~

Azriel watched as you swayed your hips to the beat of the music. A man who he didn't know came up from behind you, keeping up with you. That was the first of many. He felt a twinge of jealousy in his gut. He attempted to force that emotion down. He couldn't understand where that was coming from.

He was keeping watch, even though he always made sure to keep a lookout for danger to his court. Mor and Cassian tried to get him to ease up, he didn't budge. Who would pry Cassian from more liquor when he's had enough to drink if Azriel wasn't sober? He used the excuse of being the only responsible one to keep an eye on her. Y/n, Azriel thought he knew what it was to love someone because of Mor but what Azriel felt for Y/N was different. It felt raw and real and whatever it was, was growing fast. She was easy to talk to, not that he did much of that but she listened, actually listened when he did, and she didn't pry or hover as much as the others. They tend to beat around the bush when wanting to know about what was going on with him. Unlike Y/N who would take her time to make sure he felt comfortable and if, he wasn't, she would change the topic and act normal.

Y/N was a calming presence that allowed him to just be. She brought out another side of him that he thought he could never be.

That's why when he felt a change in the way he saw her dancing with a new guy than the one she was with earlier, it all made sense. She was his mate. He saw red as he practically flew to where they were. The fae males' hands that were roaming your bonds were ripped away from you and he dragged him away. Azriel pinned the man against the wall. People began to stare and talk in hushed whispers, appalled at the sight.

"Never touch my mate, again." He growled. He dug his fingers into the guy's neck.

"I-I didn't know." The man choked out.

"Well, now you do." He muttered, letting the man slump to the ground. He went over to where you were standing, eyes wide. His eyes softened while looking at you. He slowed as he got to you. "Can we talk?"

You nodded your head and began to walk toward an empty hall.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." He kept his voice low but soft. He was afraid, you would want to run away.

"You didn't." You stood there staring at him. You tried to figure him out, to no avail. His face was always stoic. "I- I thought you'd reject me and now I don't know what to do." You confessed.

"You knew?" He tried to recall if you had acted any differently. His shadows had felt the change in your demeanor and set out in whispers when you were rushing him out. He brushed it off, he should've looked more into it. The last thing he wanted to do was to make you feel unwanted or rejected.

"Since yesterday morning." You confirmed. Your anxiety consumed you, you heard of the pain that came along with being rejected by your mate. Some have died from it. Little did you know Azriel was worrying about the same exact thing. Not thinking himself worthy enough of your affection. He allowed himself the pleasure of being in bed with you, assuming it was nothing more and he couldn't get hurt you or be hurt that way. It was a release from another pain you both had the displeasure of feeling.

"I want you to know it is an honor to have you as my mate." He took a step closer.

"Really? Honestly, I thought..." You shook your head. "Nevermind."

He looked confused but let it go, if you wanted to tell him you would. "Guess this means I have to go cook you something." You let out a laugh. He smiled an actual wide beautiful smile. Azriel grabbed your face and kissed you.

It was soon interrupted by a very drunk Mor who shouted, "Finally!"

Cassian was right behind her, "Mor! I forgot where the bathroom was, can y-" He paused looking between you and Azriel. "Oooh getting freaky in the hall, that's new. Hey Y/N if he isn't hitting it right, you know where to find me." He winked at you. Azriel gave him a murderous look, putting his arm in front of you. 'So he's gonna be one of those', you thought.

You couldn't wait till the second part of the mating process.

Tags: @wildchild2707​ ,@theworthlessqueen​ ,@ciciakai​ ,@rockinginneverland​

[ventiskies]

Lone Traveler | Venti

pairing: venti x hurt! reader

summary: you often clear out hilichurl camps with amber and the knights but the one time you do it alone, something had to happen to you. fortunately, a certain (cute) bard had came to your rescue and come to send you back.

a/n: my first genshin fic!! of course it had to be venti hehe, hope you like it and massive apologies if he’s ooc/for any errors! send requests if youd like >3<

Fighting the hilichurls at night had become a hobby you recently developed after going out on random ‘clearing’ trips with the Knights of Favonius, specifically Amber, who on every occasion after the mission, treats you and Paimon to Good Hunter’s sticky honey roast.

All of you were a good team, whenever there was a bigger monster, you knew someone would always have your back, and every mission had always presented success, the worst injuries only being a few deep scratches that Barbara could heal easily.

But one day, you had decided that it was probably the perfect time to go out and venture alone. The knights were busy and feeling confident fighting by yourself, you had taken the opportunity. Paimon had stayed back, claiming that she doesn't want to go if the day wouldn't end with honey roast (not that she helps anyways), but you hadn’t minded, saying that you were just going not far out and if you don't return by morning, then she should maybe try and find you.

Though seeing as you had never done a solo venture out of Mondstadt before, it was no surprised you had gone lost in the woods as soon as you had entered the thick trees.

You had been walking for a while, and suddenly, you saw a small campfire. Assuming it was a friendly traveler such as yourself and in with your heart that had been beating with slight fear and uneasiness, you had quickly ran towards them without thinking twice hoping they would help you find your way back before the sun rose. but when you got closer, you had realized it was in fact, not a person. and when you had come to that conclusion, it had been too late as the first monster that had spotted you shot an arrow directly towards you, alarming the rest of the batch.

This was bad

You successfully were able to avoid the first arrow, but the moment got you distracted and in a blink of an eye, you found yourself being pushed and thrown by the force of a shield of a Mitachurl charging full speed at you. you feel your feet start to burn as they were dragged against the rough grass, and the painful sensation as you hit headfirst against the rubble. 

“Ouch...” you groan quietly, reaching out to rub your head, but the moment you had pulled back, the hilichurls roared, as if releasing a battle cry to alarm the others.

Fuck

Deciding to be smart, you had gotten up and ran (half limped) away, finding it difficult to outrun the group of monsters but managing to get far enough to be out of sight from them who you definitely took note to deal with in the morning,

Or make someone else deal with them, you had thought as you sat down on the stone, thankful that you were able to trudge towards the big tree just outside Mondstadt and inspected the damage it had done to you. only then had you realized that the hand you had used to cover your head was sticky and moist, and the moment you focused, you saw it was red. you were bleeding.

Just great.

You looked up at the sky, blanketing Teyvat with litters of stars that had offered a little comfort at the moment;  and released a small sigh. it was dark and you were lost, although you could just take the path back to Mondstadt, there was a high chance the monsters were waiting for you as stupid as they could be, and you really didn't think you could fight them at the moment with the gash on your leg and your bleeding head.

You shut your eyes tight, silently wishing that you hadn't decided to be so brave and venture on your own and regretting not forcing Paimon to come with you. this was it, you were over. sometimes you wished your other sibling was here for you. they’d know what to do.

But not a minute later, you feel it. a light breeze, a gust of wind passing just through you, as if gently caressing. you shivered, what was that?

It had been too brief to be a random wind passing, and when you opened your eyes, you understood why.

The moment you opened your eyes, you found yourself staring back into an unfamiliar pair of aqua orbs, wide and curious staring right into your soul, extremely close for your comfort. so naturally, as one who had just opened their eyes after trying to calm down after a fight and had assumed was alone would do, you screamed at the top of your lungs and moved back, trying to get as far as the strange person was from you.

“Woah, hey- calm down!” the person says, alarmed that you had started to run away from him. he starts to walk closer to you, and you assumed he was about to shut your mouth from how he had both hands outstretched over each other, so you only screamed harder.

“Okay, okay! I won't hurt you, see? I’m not going to hurt you,” he says gently, eyes wide as if he was also afraid, trying to calm you down, and once you did, he smiles, “there we go. hey there! the name’s Venti, you okay?”

“What?” you asked in disbelief, because who was this person?! Why was he here? Were you being kidnapped? Is this a dream?

Venti frowns, “hey, don't look at me like that!” he says feigning offence, “you’re y/n, right? I saw you running away from those monsters earlier, you got beat really bad,”

“H-How did you know...?” you asked, slowly standing up, looking up at him as he had been taller than you, “and I’m a traveler and I know how to fight, I just... got surprised,” you insisted, not wanting to seem weak in front of the boy. you couldn’t see well, but you could tell he had dark blue to black hair with short twin braids (that strangely reminded you of the statue of the seven that had granted you with the power of anemo just before you had arrived in mondstadt). 

He looked so familiar, yet you were certain you had never seen him.

“Oh, I just know,” he smiles, offering you a hand, “can you stand?”

“Are... are you from Mondstadt?” you ask, hesitant to take his hand. you glance down at his vision, a proud anemo symbol displayed on it. you hear Venti chuckle.

“Yeah!” he says, “but, not always. I mean,” he pauses, “if you’ll try to find me there, you won't be able to. I’m a bard,” he adds, as if it would help you understand better, “but you can trust me, don’t worry. I know this place well,”

“I’m perfectly capable,” you shook your head at his claims, “where did you even come from?!”

“I told you! I saw you running from those hilichurls and decided to come and help,” he pouts, arm dropping to his side, “Come on, you're hurt. I know you're capable but... I’ll-I’ll just bring you back to Mondstadt so I can know you arrived safely, promise!”

“I dont know...” you look around, fiddling with your fingers in fear. it was dark, and you weren't usually afraid of it or even the least bit bothered, but with what you had endured just minutes before, you were surely not going to return alone. 

Sensing this, Venti breaks into a smile, “great! come on, now, I wouldn't let a fellow traveler go back alone! especially not the honorary knight!”

Deciding not to ask how he knew these things, you decided to take his hand and follow his lead towards Mondstadt, or at least, hope you were heading there now. you didn’t want to trust this self proclaimed ‘bard’, but the options were limited, and you really didn’t want to choose death in the obvious sense, which was in the hands of a hilichurl, probably found by Paimon a few hours later.

On your way back, you find out that Venti was definitely talkative. he had asked you a bunch of questions, and even offered to sing you some of his songs. the sun had slowly begun to rise just far into the horizon as you listened to the bard’s chatter, casually slipping in a few jokes that had the two of you laughing so hard that you had to stop for a moment at one point. and although he might be doing it out of pity for your bleeding (now dried up) head, you still felt warm whenever he talked passionately about Mondstadt and its people as if he ruled over them, albeit being quite mischievous.

You found your chemistry somewhat a match, as if… as if you had met him before.

Thankfully, there weren’t any hilichurls blocking the path on the way, so you didn’t have to deal with them anymore (or at least, for the time being. it was as if they had all left as soon as Venti arrived... or he had cleared them out the moment he saw you running away from them. either way, you were thankful the journey wasn't bothered)

“Here we are! Mondstadt! the city of freedom!” Venti smiles, his smile on par with the rising sun’s as he finally lets your hand go the moment you arrive at the bridge- that had been the moment you realized he had been holding your hand the whole time. gosh, I really trusted someone to bring me home.

“Well, I did bring you home, didn’t I?” Venti laughs, and you bite your cheek, feeling flustered that you had accidentally said your thought out loud, “I guess this is where we part!”

“Huh?” you asked, dumbfounded, “wait, where will you be going?”

Venti merely smiles, bowing dramatically for a brief moment, “around,” he states vaguely, “farewell, young one!”

“You’re saying that as if you’re not young yourself,” you mumbled, and at that, Venti bursts out laughing, causing you to look at him weirdly, “what? Isn’t that true?”

“you have no idea how many times I get that,” he wipes a tear dramatically, “well, until we meet again, traveler! be careful next time, or i might as well have to find you again,” he jokes, before waving you off, walking away from the bridge and back out the path and into the woods, where he disappears through the thick trees without turning back.

What an odd person. 

So the next day, when you had ventured further than the usual route the knights cleared out, you silently hope you’d find him again.

[reidswritings]

the three times that it was obvious

word count; 1.9k

warnings; nothing i think-- just fluff (and a lame ending and also probably some spelling errors haha)

authors note; this is like part 2.5 of times they were just too cute so read those is you want, but you dont have to cause it’ll make sense on its own,, anyways, as always, i hope you enjoy! [ part one and part two ]

bonus— times Spencer was just a little too in love with his girl

There was no one he loved more. That was a fact. Another fact was that everyone knew that. No one questioned his love for the Pretty Girl— well, no one except aforementioned Pretty Girl. That was usually on her bad days though, but on all of the other days, she knew it better than he did. There was many times that he proved it to himself— though, not that it was a competition or anything. 

It had just been so long since he was able to openly love someone as much as he loved His Girl. Growing up in the closet, he was never able to be open about who he loved— in fear of getting beat up, not that that saved him from any beatings. Then, when he was older, he fell in love with the beauty that was JJ. But she got pregnant and then fell in love with his best friend— Emily Prentiss. Not that he was questioning her taste in women— because Emily was probably the hottest one of the whole BAU Team. There was no competition on that one. 

And once he finally got over her, it was on to the beautiful Doctor Maeve Donavan— but that was over before it even began. Damn stalkers, damn unsubs, damn everything that came with the horrible situation. 

That one crushed him. Took away his spirit along with his belief in love. Took away his belief in anything that wasn’t himself. Well, maybe even took himself with it too. That was the one that left him with more trauma than he cared to admit. 

That was the one that he was afraid that he’d never heal from.

But then there was her. Then, he met the love of his life. Then was the moment he felt his heart begin to stitch itself back together. 

The moment the beauty walked through the huge glass doors was the moment he felt like he could breathe again. He was beyond grateful for the Pretty Girl. And he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her, even if she was never actually his. 

Luckily though, the universe owed him one and she was head over heals for the scrawny agent. It didn’t take long for them to find each other, actually it only took a week of knowing each other (and Spencer following her around like a lost puppy), until he asked her out to coffee. He had learned from his mistakes before. He had learned not to wait— he had learned that nothing was guaranteed. Not even the next breath. 

He learned to go for what he wanted— even with his fear of rejection, it was better to know. 

Spencer Reid was not the best with words— ironic, considering he knew all of the words, even ones in different languages. The one thing he was good at, though, was showing her (and everyone) just how much he loved his Pretty Girl. He wasn’t aware of it at first— he just did the things. It was second nature to him. It was as easy as breathing for him.

The only reason he was fully aware now was because of his lovely friend, Derek Morgan. It was a normal day at the work place— bad guys doing bad things and innocent people dying because of it. 

His girl was being sent out to get said bad guys while he was forced to stay back and work on the geological profile (not that he was complaining, he loved doing it). The only down side of loving someone on The Team was watching them run into danger rather than from it. 

He never underestimated his girl— he knew she was a badass who could handle her own, but it was still nerve-racking, not knowing if he’d see her again (he was as dramatic as he was genius).  

So, with his heart thumping with anxiety, he had kissed her, like it would be their last time, just before she ran from the police station, and said, “We kiss before and we kiss again after, okay?”

She had agreed to this like it was nothing— because it made sense to her. She wanted that last kiss, just in case. 

Just in case. 

The dark-skinned hunk had witnessed the whole thing. The older man had snorted and muttered under his breath, “Smooth, Reid. Didn’t know you had it in ya.”

Derek never let him live it down. And Spencer let his friend poke fun, because that meant that he got another day with his Pretty Girl— he knew the day that Derek stopped teasing was the day that he no longer got to love Y/N. And that was a day he wasn’t willing to have. 

Another time he noticed it was again because of a BAU Team Member. It was yet another long night at the office— paperwork calling their names and sleep calling them even harder, stress headaches creeping into their skulls and necks aching from leaning over desks for so long. 

The Genius had watched his Pretty Girl yawn for the umpteenth time and he sighed, leaning back in his uncomfortable chair. It was routine, she’d groan in frustration, yawn, flex her shoulders and then get back to burning the midnight oil. He assumed that she was growing frustrated with the seemingly growing pile of folders on her desk— Spencer had made his way through his stack and was now finishing up his last. Not everyone had his special power of memorization and speed reading.

The young agent stood, cracking a few bones as he did so. Grabbing his now empty coffee mug, he stalked over to his girl’s desk. Upon reaching, he leaned against the large table, cup balancing on his folded leg. Y/N looked up at him, eyes tired and longing to be taken home. Though, she smiled at him and it warmed the boy’s heart. 

“Hey,” it was soft, only meant for her. He was smiling too, he was smiling the smile reserved only for Y/N. Emily, who still sat at her desk, looked over and welcomed the break from the gruesome paperwork on top her cluttered desk. 

“Hi,” it was no louder than Spencer’s words, but loud enough for Emily to hear. 

“You doin’ alright?” Spencer’s head was ducked down towards his girl. One of his large hands was still wrapped around his mug while the other one had found its way to the shoulder of one very tired Y/N. Her head was leaning on his hand, leaving a small kiss. She smiled at him like he was the only person in the world that mattered— and in her small world, he was. “You want me to take some off your plate?”

She sighed, leaning back in her chair now. Emily watched still, smiling. She was happy that the two had finally found happiness away from the horrible world they all had created for themselves. “No, it’s okay. Thank you though, Spence.”

He smiled. She continued, hands holding another empty mug. “You know what you could do, though?”

“Hmm?” The boy raised his eyebrows, mouth shrinking into the smirk that make Y/N weak in the knees. 

“Get me more?” She smiled, lips parting to show her teeth. Spencer blushed, ducking his head again. His hand moved to take the mug from her, standing. They had been dating for awhile now, but she still managed to make him breathless. Their fingers brushed and he felt his stomach erupt in excitement— he hoped that feeling never went away. He would give up forever with her just to keep feeling the way he did in that moment. 

“Anything for you, my love.” He bent down to her level, a kiss leaving itself behind on her forehead. Their eyes closed, savoring the moment— that is until the loud voice of Emily Prentiss rang out. 

“I could use some more, too!” The lovebirds looked over at their mutual friend. She was cheekily smiling, arm hanging in the air, fingers closed around her own empty mug. The Genius Boy straightened up, frown present on his once smiling lips. 

“What?” She laughed, red lips still stretched into her characteristic smile that she more often than not wore, “You’re going that way anyways!”

Spencer’s mouth opened to protest—probably— but Emily spoke again. “You’ll get Y/N some, but not me? After all I’ve done for you? My heart hurts.”

The boy snorted, “Yeah? Well, I’m in love with her, not you, Em.” 

The last time that proved that Spencer loved his girl more than anything was something that everyone in the office knew of. The lovebirds liked to pretend that it was their little secret, but in reality they both knew it was one shared with most everyone. 

It wasn’t a secret that Spencer and Y/N were hopelessly in love with each other— in fact it was very clear to anyone who walked through the BAU doors. Though in love, they were not the biggest fans of PDA. However, Spencer and his Pretty Girl were still very, very, lovey with one another at the workplace. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean they were making out against Spencer’s desk or having secret sex in the BAU bathroom— no, it means that they often shared glances from across the bullpen and small touches when the other is getting just a bit too frustrated and knowing smiles every other hour. 

It was the little things they did that kept them on their toes— kept them head over heals. It was special to them that they kept up the romance, no matter what was going on in their very hectic lives. 

For example, the two very often left small little notes for each other around the BAU. Nothing inappropriate or out of line, it was usually just something that would be sure to make the other smile. And it wasn’t anywhere that was obvious either, it was almost always in a spot that would only be discovered by Y/N or Spencer. 

And sometimes, just sometimes, another member of The Team would stumble across the colorful sticky notes stuck to the back of a chair or to the side of one of Spencer’s many, many, books or to the tip of a pen or even on a coffee mug in the cabinet— unfound by The Lovebirds yet. The Aforementioned Team Member would just smile like they were in on some little secret—because they were—and place the note back so it could be found by a Lovesick Agent later. 

They were sentimental people, keeping each and every note— which The Team so desperately wanted to poke fun at, but they let them have this. They let them stay in their little bubble just for a little while longer— as long as it made The lovebirds happy, it made The Team happy too. 

In fact, once JJ and Emily had stumbled across the small box that held each and every sticky note. They didn’t pry— well, they tried not to, but curiosity got the best of the two girls. They ended up reading each one, and they were so goddamn adorable, they just about cried. 

If there was one thing The Team could agree on, it would be that Spencer and Y/N were perfect for each other and that they all would rather die than let anything happen to the two. 

[funkfuck]

I hope this addition is not too annoying, but i agree with everything you said except that the majima saga is a masterpiece.

Now dont get me wrong I loved it too, i loved the new characters, i loved that majima finally returned to sotenbori, i loved the kashiwagi content we got i love that man and of course i loved that i got to play as majima again (man i wish i could play dead souls) my favorite part was how these 3 chapters, to me, served more of as an exploration of how majima learnt to move past and accept what had happened in 1988, how he realized that despite all the pain and suffering, good things did happen to him in sotenbori too, how he saw how makoto remembers these events as something worth remembering and that it’s part of her and made her the person she is today, how even though she suffered so much in this city, she still came back to live here because of her good memories with him. It was kind of like going through his own zetsubouchou pride moment about learning yeah life is shit but that made me who i am today so you can all suck it. it was an amazing closure to the whole majima/makoto story imo i wouldnt have it any other way.

However the majima saga is… kind of messy. I feel like the story couldve been only slightly longer, couldve explored some of its moments a little better but at the end of the day i know this is just a small side story so i cant expect much of it. Still, sometimes the endings of each chapter shocked me a little, like i was sitting there just like “wait. This is it? Thats the end of this chapter?”

How limited it is annoys me so much but, once again, i know its just a small sideplot so i cant really expect more. I didnt want a full fledged combat system for majima like it was yakuza 0 but it just felt like i was taking the mad dog out for a walk in the park on a leash but the mad dog was just like a pissed off chihuahua. The fact that street enemies were just casually strewn around the city instead of moving like in the main story was a little annoying because its not like theres much to do in this side game im just trying to get to my next objective and these guys are in the way and wont budge unless i pummel them. (I know weird complaint to have with a fighting game but its not like the combat was that fun) The eating system was just Bad what do you mean i cant eat more i need to heal idgaf if majima is full already. But thats not really that serious of a gripe.

One issue that i know is not with the game but because of the innate nature of prequels is that the characters introduced in the majima saga were so FUN i loved ibuchi and uematsu was so cool i wanted more of them but obviously because it takes place before the main story they cant just be retconned back in, they had to die. Burying them in the graveyard of characters who wouldve been SO COOL if we got to see them in more games, right next to nishitani and the dojima lieutenants.

My biggest issue is… the entire majima saga is kind of unnecessary. We already had a good explanation for why majima left the tojo, terada didnt care about the old guard guys so majima got bored and left. (And majima construction is just a totally majima thing to do and its not like the majima saga gave insight as to why his plan b if this yakuza thing didnt work out was to start building shit. If anything the goromi date did that) its really just fanservice, rgg studios realizing after yakuza 0 that people fucking love majima and so they need to do more with majima. (which is not a bad thing!!! I love majima everywhere i love the majima saga i think theyre all fun)

Thats one observation i had with this game, that i felt like a lot of the side content hinges on that you have played 0 and get all these references and callbacks. I dont know how grounded in reality that is because its been a while since i finished kiwami 2 but i remember i did feel like that while playing, that it was just Look!!! You remember this thing from 0!!! You loved this in 0!!!! 0 was a good game so now this game is good too!!!!! I didnt complete majima construction but i assume theres lots of references in there, cabaret club grand prix was just a slightly worse rehash of cabaret club czar with WAY worse hostess training segments, sometimes they were a genuine slog to sit through (and i mean they even copied the one of the hostesses gets kidnapped thing from the ccc plot line!! Like cmon guys you really couldnt think of any other reason koyuki might not be available rn have her visit family or something)

The whole majima saga exists just to have that one scene with majima and makoto for the sake of a yakuza 0 reference and more majima content to appease the fans, the among us ass murder mystery story (which is a story type we all get so familiar with in yakuza 3 for better or for worse) was enjoyable sure i liked ibuchi but it was barely held together by some scotch tape at points. The ending fucks supremely though i have zero problems about that.

Im SO SORRY idk why im rambling so much about something that was so insignificant in the original reply i totally derailed this post im so sorry still i hope my thoughts and ideas are comprehensible

so this was a tag i just got on the TO WHOM⁉️⁉️ response to the rgg summit proposal reveals post and im literally obsessed with it i've been talking to myself about it for the entire like hour since i saw it. they really do just fucking make awful decisions sometimes and we all know this. basically like every single game there's at least one Oh My God Why Did You Do That catastrophic choice made by the writers. they really are flopping all the time. i love these games but man no you're so right why are they like that

[whattheflameo]

Lin healing the bonds with her family hc?

Ohhhhhhhhhh anon you have opened up a WHOLE can of worms I have extremely strong feelings on this topic and most of them can be summed up with Lin Beifong is the Epitome of the older sibling parent trope. RANT INCOMING

Lin choosing to forgive Suyin has almost nothing to do with Suyin’s “apology” (or lack thereof). It occurs solely because Lin actively decides to be the better person in their relationship. She decides that having her sister and her niblings in her life is worth more to her than her grudge and her hurt. Which is saying something, because damn can Lin hold a grudge.

Su isn’t going to apologize; its not in her nature at all. She genuinely doesn’t recognize the need for apologies in anything. She doesn’t give them and never expects them from others. Lin knows this and decides to move on anyway.

Su did write Lin a letter asking her to come talk. Actually, she wrote several. Lin never opened a single one, determined to keep herself from getting hurt again. Its easier, especially when Su isn’t in front of her, to convince herself she doesn’t care.

Despite everything, Lin still hopes the best of her sister. Finding out that she changed her ways after being sent away, stopped with the petty crime and actually made something of herself, built an entire city and raised a pretty great family, comes with a level of relief- even if it wasn’t her to help Su see the error of her ways, at least Su was able to do so.

Lin doesn’t trust Su as far as she could throw her, especially after Su lies to her face to send Korra after Aiwei. She doesn’t trust Su to choose her to save over literally anyone else, and to be honest she has the older sibling complex that she just doesn’t have as much faith in Su’s bending skills as her own. That’s why her “I love you,” before drawing P’li’s fire sounds so much like a goodbye.

Speaking of differences in skill level, that fight between Lin and Su? Buckle your seatbelts motherfuckers I have THOUGHTS. Yes, its one of the most badass fights in the entire series, imo, but I’m gonna be real here. Su was winning. She had Lin on the defensive almost the whole time. But Lin was also at about 40% health- run down, emotionally strained, off-kilter from acupuncture treatment (which I agree with @dont-blame-it-on-the-kids was DEFINITELY not in Lin’s best interest that doctor was 100% paid off by the red lotus), and Su is taking advantage of it. If Lin had been at 100%, even like 60%, she would have WIPED THE FLOOR with Su and Su’s dancy-ass bending style. But she still held her own, even though she was literally breaths from passing the fuck out. Did you SEE some of those hits? There’s one in particular where Su hits her in the gut with a rock mid-air that physically couldn’t not have broken several of her ribs. Su’s behavior in this fight absolutely incenses me like how dare she fucking do that I JUST

All this being said I do really love Su as a character I promise.

Su’s base character hasn’t changed, but after going through the Red Lotus and Kuvira together, Lin does recognize that she’s changed in some important ways. She’s still self-oriented, but she’s not the selfish, bratty teen she was when she scarred Lin for life.

Likewise, after seeing the permanence of Lin’s scars and spending more time with her sister, Su realizes that she’s really hurt Lin. She sees how terrible she’s been to this woman who is willing to give her own life to protect everyone around her, Su especially, and actively tries to make up for it. Like I said, she doesn’t apologize with words, but tries to prove to Lin through her actions that she is going to be there for her. And the fact that Lin’s arm flickers toward her weapons whenever Su loses her temper? Su is so disgusted with herself over it that she nearly throws up the first time she thinks about it.

They’re not best friends, but they do become close. Both of their personalities mellow out with age, and they’re more understanding of each other. Su becomes someone Lin is able to talk to about some personal things, if not the extremely deep stuff. They have wine nights and Su sometimes sleeps over if she gets too tipsy. They both act a lot younger with each other, and Su is one of the only people who can snuggle up to Lin and get away with it.

Unless one of them is actively concealing their emotions (its usually Lin), they can read each other like an open book.

Lin remembers all of Su’s favorite foods and colors and activities and songs from childhood. Su realizes that she hardly remembers any of Lin’s and has a guilty meltdown to Bataar over it. He suggests that she pay really close attention to remember them now, and Su makes it her personal mission. 

Despite having confronted her feelings of abandonment by Toph ages ago, Su can see that Lin not only feels abandoned but also feels like she’s the one who let their mother down, that the break in their relationship is her fault, not Su’s or Toph’s. She knows how glad she was to have Toph back in her life, even if inconsistently, and sees how much Lin wants their mother’s approval and marches into the swamp (and that’s saying something for Su, who isn’t exactly fond of gross swampy things) and drags Toph out to force her to some of Lin’s award ceremonies or other events, including her wedding to Kya. Lin doesn’t know it was Su’s doing.

“Mother Lin may have said she doesn’t hate you but she deserves more from you and spirits help me you are going to say the words “I am so proud of you” to her or I WILL tell Wing and Wei where to find you-”

Basically, Su’s main apology to Lin for all the years of pain and hurt she’s caused is to kick Toph’s ass into repairing at least some of their relationship. Its the most truly selfless thing she’s done in possibly her entire life, because she never tells Lin.

To be clear: NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF LIN HAD NOT ACTIVELY CHOSEN TO SET ASIDE HER PRIDE AND HURT AND FORGIVE HER SISTER. LIN WAS THE CATALYST- SU WOULD NOT HAVE PUT IN WORK TO EARN HER FORGIVENESS IF LIN HADN’T GIVEN IT TO START WITH. Su’s behavior in Zaofu was utter bullshit, it was not worthy of Lin’s forgiveness. She literally showed up and immediately drove a wedge between Lin and some of the most important people in her life, said horribly mean things to Lin, and used Lin’s illness as an advantage to beat the shit out of her. But Lin, strong, selfless, badass, incredible Lin who is so much more empathetic than anyone in that show gives her credit for, looks at all of that and forgives Su anyway. Its not unconditional, like I said the level of trust isn’t bone deep, but she does the legwork. And you know what, Lin deserves to have family that cares about her in her life. Her niblings adore her, and she eventually believes that Su is genuinely there for her. I will die on this hill.

I know this probably came across as incredibly disorganized and rambly. I’ll talk more about Lin’s relationship with the metal clan kids and/or Toph in another post because I recognize that I’ve gone down a fuckin rabbit hole but I have extremely strong opinions on Lin’s relationship with her sister.

[cunningambitousdetermined]

i need a plot for this

yall so ive been trying really hard to get back into writing and i went to a writing camp this summer. im going to post a poem that i wrote there later bc im super proud of it but right now i have something else i need help with. SO basically there was a prompt about someone finding a letter or a note. that’s the prompt. so i wrote something, really liked it BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO TAKE IT FROM HERE. my basic ideas involve the two characters meeting each other again to do SOMETHING WHICH I DONT KNOW and slowly arcane (youll see when you read the story below) thaws and falls in love with kalon and kalon has always been in love with her and its like best friends to enemies to friends to lovers ya know? ANYWAY if you dont hate me for being inactive and needy, please read this and help me. 

Dear Arcane,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? 10 years. Wow. I don’t even know if you’ll ever get this, you could’ve moved. You could be dead. Oh god, that’s dark. You’re not dead, someone would’ve told me, I’m sure. So that must mean that there’s a good chance you have this, but I’m not even sure if you’ll read it.

He was right, as he most often was. Arcane had not planned to read the letter from the moment she read her name on the envelope, written in a neat sort of messy handwriting that could only come from one person. The letter had been sitting at her desk for a week before memories began to drown her and she knew she had to open it.

That’s not the point though, I’m sure you’ll read this. You’ve always been a sucker for the intimacy of written letters. Maybe that’s why I wrote to you instead of calling.

Arcane closed her eyes, the pounding of the memories at the door slowly consuming her. She took a deep breath and let them in. The whispers started to fill the room, every word echoing off the walls, like her past had become a living, breathing thing in her room. How could he write her now? After all these years. Anger reared it's small head in the back of her mind. How could he be so casual as if he wasn't the boy who ripped her heart out and tore it to pieces. 

Maybe it’s because I did read all the letters you wrote to me. Even after the voicemails stopped filling my phone and the emails ran dry, your letters kept coming.

She remembers writing those letters, the pen shaking in her hand as it hit the paper. She remembers wondering what you said to someone like him, a friend who left you behind. The squeeze in her chest that tightened each time he didn’t reply. The break in her heart when the last letter she ever wrote was returned to her doorstep.

If you’ve read this far without tearing my letter to pieces, then I would say this is a good start to our reunion. I’ve missed you. Your stubborn ways, always trying to keep me safe. But you always came with me wherever I went anyway. I miss your secret smile, the one you saved just for me. The treehouse we built in your yard. Do you miss that? I wonder if you wonder about me. I wonder if I can even ask that of you.

She did miss them. But, those things that she missed were long gone. The treehouse was overgrown with vines, Arcane was sure you couldn’t even get into it anymore. She went with him on his stupid adventures because what would she do if he left and met new people? He would leave her and she would be alone. So she desperately followed him blindly, hoping it would keep him close. Arcane missed her secret smile, the genuine one she had always saved for him. He missed it. How could he miss something that he destroyed. With his one and only letter to her, he demolished any leftover love for him that hid in her heart. He couldn’t ask if Arcane wondered about him. That wasn’t fair. That night, ten years ago, was still a raw wound in her soul that she was pretty sure would never heal.

~

The rain was relentless that night, banging against every edge of the house, but a little girl was waiting by the door, not even flinching as the lightning and thunder clapped furiously. Arcane peeked her head above the window frame to find the mailman running through the storm, his frantic steps pounding through the floor of the house. Her eyes lit up with a hope that was slowly fading with each mail drop. She opened the door and hid the small smile that started to spread up her face with a cough.

“Hi, Dan!” Arcane’s voice gave away the excitement that was flooding her system.

“Hey, Arcane.” Dan couldn’t help the pitiful grin that he gave her. She waited by the door for him every day and each day there was no letter for her. It must be soul-crushing, he thought, waiting for a letter that never comes.

“Is there…?” Arcane was practically on her tiptoes at this point. Dan rifled through the letters, dread settling as her name wasn’t there. Again. And then there was a squeal. “Oh, Dan! I found it! I knew- I knew it- I told them!” Her sentences didn’t even come out fully as she beamed, her smile brighter than any ray of the sun.

Arcane had run into the house, a breeze following in her wake. Plopping down into the soft plush couch, she ripped open the envelope, not caring about the paper that flew everywhere in the room. A paper fluttered out, floating toward the ground. Arcane grabbed it, hands shaking, she could practically feel the sweat dripping down her face. Words were the easiest way to break someone. The letter only contained eleven words, yet they would stick with her for the rest of her life.

Stop writing me. None of it was real. You were nothing.

Eleven words. And they shattered her. Crumbling, shattering, a million pieces breaking. Sobs racked through her whole body, her chest shaking and trembling with each broken breath. She caught her face in the mirror hanging off the pale wall and didn’t recognize the girl that stared back. You were nothing. A scream tore through her, the ache of her heart so raw that even the sun seemed to cry, rain dripping onto the panes of the windows. And slowly, so very slowly, Arcane buried the ache and gathered the shattered pieces of her heart and encased them in an impenetrable cage, never to opened again.

~

The ache was still present now, ten years after the letter had arrived. The dullness of her buried hurt made her clench her fists around the letter that sat in her hand now, the same lopsided handwriting adorning it.

But, that’s not why I’m writing this letter. I’m writing this with an actual purpose, if you can imagine that. I didn't just write to rehash our friendship. 

Arcane could feel her eyes narrowing, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the inanimate piece of paper. An actual purpose? To break her heart all over again? This time she did roll her eyes, even though no one was there to see it. But, it wasn’t the fact that he wrote her after all these years or that his tone was friendly throughout that made her body freeze. It was the last line that had the hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention.

In all the years that Arcane had known him, he'd never been very dependent. He often just struggled in silence and figured them out on his own. Not once, not ever, had has asked for help. But, there the sentence was inked in his slanted, loopy writing. 

I need your help.

Love,

Kalon

  ~~everything below here is stuff that doesnt have to be a part of the story but i still liked it and where it was going (idk please give me ideas)~~

The quiet, shock of the room seemed to weigh on Arcane. She flopped back onto her bed, the soft pillows cushioning her landing. I need your help. Those few, simple words, tugged at the strings that bound her heart. He needed her. The thought was fleeting as just as quickly as it came, it left. In its spot was anger. Now he needed her? After all those years when she needed him? What did he do then? Nothing. And that’s what she was going to do now. She huffed in satisfaction, tossing the envelope to the side. Her fingers reached into her hair, massaging her head. There were too many things to think about right now. Arcane squeezed her eyes shut as memories stung her eyes in the form of tears. 

~

“Please, don’t leave me.” Arcane had whispered, her small breaths filling the one room of the treehouse. 

“I don’t have a choice. You know I don’t want to go.” Kalon’s voice broke and he looked away so Arcane couldn’t see the tears in his eyes. It was silent. 

“We’ll still be best friends right?” 

“Yeah.” Kalon’s reply didn’t hold much conviction, causing Arcane to look over at him, confused, glossy eyes narrowing. 

“To the moon and back, Kal, remember?” She said, her tone desperate. It was a promise they made one night as they were watching some cheesy movie on the old television set. The boy had told the girl that he loved her too ‘the moon and back’. Kalon had then explained that the two characters said that so that they would never be apart. They could meet at the same moon, always and then they could go back. And then, they would never be fully apart. Arcane had liked that. So naturally,  she had grabbed Kal’s face and made him promise that they would go ‘to the moon and back’ if they were ever apart. It became a goodbye for them, a way of saying ‘I’ll see you soon’. 

“Yeah,” Kal had replied, a smile barely curling through his lips, “I’ll race ya there.”

~

She wasn’t sure how long she lay there, letting her memories flow down her cheeks and into the bedsheets, but eventually she had to get up. She pulled herself up and off the bed, limbs protesting at the use. She just needed a few days is all, then she wouldn’t even remember what she was crying for.  Kalon didn’t mean anything to her anymore.

thank you for reading this far, i love all of you. just throw out ideas please. or give me some advice, i would love that. whether its about my writing or the plot i would love to have tips and constructive criticism on how to get better! tagging some moots who i hope dont hate me after this below the cut:

@natashxromanovf @pad-foots @griffxnnage @voidmalfoy @flxss-bxbblxs @alwaysreading @herondalesunsetcurve THANKS YALL I LOVE YOU MORE THEN I EXPRESS AND I DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT DESERVE ALL OF YOU AND YOUR LOVE