#the pain level shes at now she seems to tolerate as good as she tolerated the painkillers so

[fjordfolk]

How was your night? Mine involved being woken up at 3am by a creature more steel armature than dog, demanding painkillers and Being Held.

Our vet also texted us this morning to see if we needed anything (appreciate) but Sparty is a lot more herself today, so I think we might be over the worst.

[zegrasdrysdale]

Heyyy could I ask for an Ethan Edward’s fic where him and the reader have been together for about a year and a half or something and she unexpectedly goes into labour at the frozen four game, neither her nor Ethan had any idea that she was even pregnant.

[ a tiny surprise ] e. edwards

paring : Ethan Edwards x fem!reader

summary : Ethan’s girlfriend has to leave the Frozen Four game versus Boston College because she’s having intense cramps, but the biggest surprise of all time waits for her and Ethan when she gets to the hospital

warning(s) : labor and cramps, pregnancy, childbirth, mentions of period

author’s note : i thought this would be a good request to tackle since it’s mother’s day. so anon and everyone, enjoy !! <3

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From the moment she woke up that morning, she’s been cramping. It wasn’t any worse than her normal period cramps so she took some medicine and went on with her day. There was some pain in her lower back though. She wasn’t worried that it was something else. Sometimes there is some back pain when she’s dealing with period cramps.

They eventually got to a tolerable level where she wasn’t curled up in bed anymore so she got ready for the Frozen Four game that Ethan and Michigan are playing in that night. She throws on the jersey that Ethan left for her, drawers a ‘73’ on her cheek right under her eye, then heads down to the lobby where she’s meeting the other girlfriends so they can head to the game together.

For a moment in the elevator, it feels like her uterus is stabbing her right in the gut. She winces and doubles over in pain with a hand flat on the wall. She lays a hand on her stomach and breathes out until the cramp passes. Sometimes they get painful like this.

Hopefully one of the girls has some medicine she can take in a little bit.

Once she gets to the lobby, the girls pile into the bus that they rented as a group since the boys had to go to the arena early. She sits with her arms crossed over her belly because the cramps are stronger than normal.

Rutger’s girlfriend, Kayleigh, sits next to her as the bus pulls out of the hotel parking lot. “Hey, are you okay?” she questions as she lightly rests a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t look very good.”

“I don’t feel very good,” she admits with a light laugh. “I think my uterus is trying to kill me or something. I’ll be okay for the game.”

Kayleigh laughs. “Oh, I get it,” she replies. “I have Advil in my backpack if you need it. I can grab you a drink so you can take the meds too.”

“Thanks, Kay,” she says with a small smile. “Mind if I take some now? I’m really hurting.”

She nods and grabs the bottle of Advil out of her bag. As soon as the pills are in her hand, Kayleigh grabs her small water bottle and lets her take a sip to take the meds.

The ride to the Xcel Energy Center seems like an eternity because of how much pain she’s in. She’ll just have to push through the pain until after the game because she just wants to support her boyfriend in one of the most important games of his life. The Frozen Four games are always important games. She wants to be there for him.

When the bus arrives to the arena, the girls walk inside together. There is a half hour until puck drop so the boys are probably warming up on the ice. Or they’re about to start warming up.

She sits in a seat until the boys start warming up. Even after the medicine she took, it feels like the cramps are getting worse and closer together. Maybe she shouldn’t have come. Ethan would’ve understood if she told him that she wasn’t feeling good. She would’ve watched on the television in the hotel room.

As soon as the boys come out for warmups, she stands up and cheers with the other girls. Ethan skates by and she bangs on the glass, trying to keep a smile on her face despite her insides trying to kill her. Ethan looks at her with a smile on his own face as he warms up.

Then it feels like someone kicks her in the gut. She cries out in pain and wraps an arm around her stomach. Kay is right at her side. “Sit down for a second,” she orders. “I don’t think standing helps cramps. The Advil should kick in soon.”

“They’re never this bad,” she says. Her voice is so shaky. “I’ve taken so much medicine. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

There’s banging on the glass in front of her. She looks up and sees Ethan. “What’s wrong?” he shouts. His voice is able to carry over the glass because fans are still making their way to the ice from the concourse.

Kayleigh taps her stomach in response to Ethan. “Bad,” Kay yells back.

“I’m fine,” she reiterates. “Meds just need to kick in.”

“Are you sure?” Kay asks. “I don’t think he’ll be mad if you need to go to the hotel, or the emergency room since I think every urgent care in the area is closed now.”

She looks up at Kayleigh and Ethan. “The emergency room?” she questions. “They’re just really intense period cramps.”

Ethan points up the steps. “Go to the ER, baby,” he calls. “It’s okay. I know you’ll be watching.” With a frown, she shakes her head. “Please. You’re never in this much pain. I don’t want you to be in pain.”

Kay helps her stand up even though she doesn’t want to go. “I have her, E,” she calls. “Can you tell Rut?” Ethan nods.

He holds up half a hand heart. She holds the other half up before she and Kayleigh slowly make their way up the steps.

As soon as they’re on the concourse, another more painful cramp hits her. Her entire body shakes with pain and she groans. “Kay, hold on,” she begs. “I can’t-”

Something starts dripping down her leg, wetting her leggings. Confused, she looks down and sees a puddle at her feet. It’s clear fluid. She looks back up at Kayleigh.

“What is that?” Kayleigh asks.

“I don’t- ah!” she cries out in pain again. Her legs almost give out and Kayleigh has to hold her weight.

“Okay, I’m calling an ambulance,” Kayleigh explains as she sits her friend against the wall. “You’re in too much pain to walk and clearly something is very wrong.”

She nods as Kayleigh dials 9-1-1 and tells them what’s going on. Her entire body shakes and she has to curl up in a ball to elevate some of her pain. Some of the medical staff has come over to her to try and help. She’s in too much pain to speak.

When paramedics do arrive, Kayleigh manages to let her go to the hospital with them. She also has to do some begging, and she mentions that their boyfriends are on the ice at the moment and there is no one else to go with her.

She’s given some morphine on the ambulance, but it doesn’t do much. The ride is shorter than the ride to the arena from the hotel.

When she gets to the emergency room, they do an exam. When they poke at her stomach, they decide to do an ultrasound because of how ridged her torso is.

The doctor comes back with the machine and puts some of that cool gel on her belly. She grips Kayleigh’s hand as another cramp hits. She bites her lip and winces in pain.

“Miss, did you know you are pregnant?” the doctor asks after a moment.

Her eyes widen. “Pregnant?” she questions. “There’s no way. I still have a period and I never gained any weight. I have no belly.”

The doctor turns the screen in her and Kayleigh’s direction. On the screen is a full term baby. “That’s your baby,” the doctor explains. “And this baby is coming in the next hour or so. Your water has broken, which is what happened at the hockey game.”

“My baby,” she echoes. She blinks and begins to panic. “I have a baby? Oh my God. Ethan has no idea and he’s on the ice.”

Kayleigh asks, “Do you want me to call someone to get him so he’s here?” She nods. Kay disappears a second later to make a phone call.

As the doctor wipes away the gel, she says, “I’m going to get you admitted to the maternity ward and into a labor suite.”

“How is this possible?” she questions as the doctor pulls the jersey back down. “I mean, I had no idea. No signs.”

“It’s rare but it might be because you have two uteruses,” the doctor explains. “One continues to have a period and the other holds the baby. I don’t know why you didn’t show but it happens sometimes. Most women have a belly, some don’t show much or at all.” She puts away the wand and stands up. “I’ll be right back.”

She nods and rests her hands on her belly. Somehow, there is a baby in there. She had no idea that she was even pregnant. Neither did Ethan.

He’s going to be in for the biggest surprise of his life in a few minutes.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

She has never screamed more in her life than she has in the last hour. Her contractions, not cramps, are intense and close together. This baby is coming, and Ethan isn’t here yet.

Kayleigh got a hold of someone, who got a hold of Naurato, who told Ethan what was going on. He said he was leaving as soon as he could, but he’s still not here.

“Where is he?” she cries out as she feels a contraction. “I need Ethan. Now!”

“He’s on his way,” Kayleigh tells her. “He left during one of the TV timeouts. He should be almost here.”

Her OB is checking to see how many centimeters she’s dialated. “Okay, you’re ten centimeters,” she explains. “I can wait a few more minutes but this baby is coming.”

Another contraction and she screams. She grips Kay’s hand so hard she’s afraid she might’ve broken her hand. She feels bad but she needed something to hold.

“I need to wait for my boyfriend,” she pants as soon as the contraction passes. “Please.”

Her OB nods and leaves the room. She looks up at Kay. “Let me go see where he is,” Kayleigh tells her. “Give me literally ten seconds and I’ll be right back, okay?” She nods and breathes.

Kayleigh walks out of the room and she looks out the window. Looking outside helps her stay calm sometimes, even when she’s in sudden, active labor with a baby she didn’t know she was carrying.

Another contraction hits and she takes deep breaths. The door opens a second later and she’s ready to beg the doctor to wait for Ethan when she sees her boyfriend running in the room. He’s still in full gear, minus his helmet and skates. “Oh my God, baby,” he gasps when he sees her on the bed. “How is this-”

“I have no idea,” she replies as Ethan presses a kiss to her sweaty forehead. “All I know is that in a few minutes, we are going to have a baby. I’m scared.”

Ethan grabs her hand and kisses it. “I’m right here,” he assures her. “I’m right beside you through this, okay? I love you and I love our little baby even though neither of us knew.”

Her OB comes back in as she nods. “Are you dad?” her doctor asks. Ethan nods in reply. “Great. We need to push on the next contraction, okay?”

She grabs Ethan’s hand and sits up a bit. As soon as the next contraction hits, she pushes as hard as she can. She screams in a lot of pain since it feels like her body is tearing in two. Ethan has a hand on her back and helps her out. Kayleigh stands on her other side as she pushes.

When she takes a break from pushing, she looks at Ethan. “How are you guys doing?” she questions. “Are you winning?”

He shakes his head. “No, but it’s fine,” he tells her. “I’d rather be here with you. The guys told me to be here with you when Naurato told me what was going on.”

“Full hockey gear,” she teases him.

“I needed to be here for the birth of our baby,” he replies with a smile.

She smiles right back, but it’s short lived as another contraction hits. She pushes more. Her OB tells her to push a little longer.

Then the sound of a baby crying fills the room. She feels almost immediate relief between her legs a second later. She slumps back against the pillows as the doctor stands up with a baby in her arms.

“Congratulations, mom and dad,” she says with a smile. “You have a beautiful baby boy.”

She smiles at the crying baby as he’s handed to her. “Hi, baby boy,” she laughs. “You were quite the surprise.”

Ethan is given the chance to cut the umbilical cord and is right beside her. He puts a little blue hat on the baby’s head as he stops trying. She gives the baby her finger and he seems content.

The OB cleans her up a bit then takes the baby to clean him up. Her eyes never leave her son. “E, we don’t have a name for him,” she realizes out loud.

“We don’t have to think of one at this moment,” Ethan tells her. “I mean, up until an hour ago, we didn’t even know about him. I think we can take a day or two before we name him.”

She nods as her son is handed back to her. The OB leaves the room. Kayleigh snaps a picture of the three of them and says, “Sending this to Rut so he can show the guys. I think they’ll want to know that a future hockey star was just born.”

Ethan laughs and Kayleigh leaves the room to give them a moment alone with their baby boy. She caresses her son’s cheek and tears up.

“I already love him,” she admits. “This is our son, Ethan. We have a baby.”

He kisses the side of her head. “You’re gonna be the best mom,” he tells her. She looks up at him. Ethan wipes away the tears that have rolled down her cheeks. “We’re going to be the best parents. The team is going to spoil him so much.”

“So are we,” she laughs as she looks down at baby boy Edwards. “We have nine months of lost time to make up for since he decided to be a little surprise.”

Ethan laughs and gives his son one of his fingers. “We do.”

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MASTERLIST

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[lenacosse]

Pretty girls

pairing: amy santiago x female reader

cw: alcohol, mentions of vomiting, angst, cheating?

word count: 1,632

summary: it’s your birthday and the squad surprise you, but what happens when amy gets too drunk and takes it too far? you were practically in love with her but you knew where you stood with her. (based on pretty girl by renee rap. also tempted to turn this into a mini story..)

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“Okay just let me put this blindfold on you.” Jake says putting a blindfold on you and leading you through a door.

You trip over his foot and can’t contain your laugh. “Jake this is a disaster just tell me where we’re going.”

“No can do (Y/N), anyways we’re here.”

Jake takes off your blindfold, and suddenly everyone jumps out yelling happy birthday. You can’t stop the jaw aching grin that plasters over your face, you scan the room, all your friends and colleagues are there. You had said you didn’t want to do anything for your birthday, it was your first one without your dad and naturally that pained you beyond explanation. But standing here you can only appreciate the love you feel.

“Thank you Jake.” You smile and hug him, you knew he was at least partially responsible for this.

“Alright shots!” Jake shouts, making the entire bar of your friends erupt to enthusiastic cheer.

You walk to the bar and you, Jake, Amy and Rosa throw back a few too many shots, but that was for tomorrow to regret.

“Happy birthday (Y/N).” Holt nods, you smile and return the nod. Holt may be way too professional but you appreciated him these last few months more than you could explain, and he knew that.

═════════════════

A few hours into the night most people were beyond drunk, especially Amy who really let herself go tonight. Currently she stands on the bar top pouting tequila into peoples mouths.

“(Y/N)! Your turn.” Amy winks, you roll your eyes and put your mouth in level with the tequila. It burns its way down your throat and into your stomach, lighting up your system with immediate warmth. You felt a buzz of pure energy around you tonight, you couldn’t explain how grateful you really were.

Even Terry is enjoying himself tonight, and of course Gina has started a chant to get him to take his shirt off. You didn’t exactly expect him to do it, but the screaming of Gina and a few other women told you that he in fact did.

“Hey,” you hear from behind you, you turn to see Rosa. You smile.

“Hey Rosa.” Amy had gotten down from the bar, or in other words the bartender forced her down. So you sat on the barstools, Rosa doing the same.

“Happy birthday or whatever.”

You put your hand to your heart. “Rosa Diaz are you turning soft?”

“Never.”

You both laugh and order a drink together.

“Jake did a good job it seems.” Rosa says, finishing off her drink.

“Yeah he really did, I know you helped him. So thank you, I needed this.”

Rosa nods, “well we couldn’t leave you in your apartment. Personally that’s my ideally birthday plans but clearly not yours.”

You both engage in a conversation, Rosa must’ve really been in high spirits to actually have a conversation. Usually it’s complete silence, but you wouldn’t complain Rosa was surprisingly fun to talk to. That was until Charles came over and started talking about him and Genevieve’s colourful sex life which had you suppressing a gag and swiftly moving tables.

You took a minute to take in the night, Holt smiling caught your attention. You couldn’t help but feel uplifted by this. You loved your squad more than anything, and to see that they do in fact love you just as much almost brought tears to your eyes. A permanent smile was set on your face as you watched the conversations and interactions between others, you got so lost in it you didn’t notice when everyone gathered around your table and Terry walked out with a lit birthday cake. The awful singing filled your ears, but you could tolerate it for now. You blew out your many many candles that were on the cake, you could tell it was home baked, it was slightly wonky and questionably iced. It was probably Gina that made it, but you loved it even with its imperfections.

“Don’t tell us your wish! It’ll jinx you.” Amy slurred.

“I won’t don’t worry.” You response, she just giggles at you.

“Who wants cake?!” Gina yells, just taking a chunk with her hand. Jake then of course goes and does the same, you just shrug and let them have at it, after you’ve taken your own handful that is. Terry and Jake sit beside you, chowing down on the cake.

“I think Gina burnt this.” Terry says, you laugh as you hear the crunch of his cake.

“No it’s just egg shells.” Jake chimes in.

“Isn’t that worse?” Your face screws up.

“Probably.” Shrugs Jake, as he takes his next handful of cake.

“Keep my spot I’m going to the bathroom,” you say to Jake and Terry before making your way to the bathroom.

You hear throwing up and knock on the stall door from where it’s coming from. “Everything okay?”

“No.” Groans Amy.

“Open the door.” You reply and she does, Amy is on her knees with her head in the toilet bowl. You kneels down behind her and hold her hair as she finishes.

“Thank you.” She sighs and sits back against the side of the cubicle, you sit opposite her.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” You reach into your bag and grab a half drank water bottle that’s been in there for god knows how long, you hand it to her and she happily drinks it.

“Having a good night?” Amy asks.

“Yeah it’s been nice,”

“Sorry for getting so drunk. I guess I was nervous for tonight.”

“Nervous? For what?”

Amy looks at you, her eyes lingering on yours. “I wanted everything to be perfect, for you.”

“I thought Jake planned this.”

“It was his idea but I done most of the planning.”

“Oh. Well it was perfect, thank you.”

“Of course. Anything for you.”

Your heart sinks a little as she says that, you felt like you had been punched in the gut. Anytime Amy gets drunk she’s all over you, every-time and you don’t blame her but it wasn’t the easiest thing to deal with considering you were practically in love with her.

“Are you okay if I leave?” You ask.

“No. Please stay.” Amy reaches to grab your hand.

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

She smiles and moves to sit beside you. She leans her head on your shoulder and you both sit on the sticky bathroom floor, you look at your hands. You try not to overthink the situation you’re in, but this was typical, the pretty girls want to kiss the pretty girls when drunk. But when sober they dodge the situation, and this is what Amy is best at doing. Maybe she was confused.

“You know you’re my favourite right?”

“Your favourite?” You furrow your brows. “In what way.”

“Well I don’t know, you’re fun and you’re brave and you’re… hot.”

“Hot?”

“Yeah for a girl, you’re my girl crush.” She slurs. “If I was going to, you’d be the one I’d try.”

You hitch a breath as she says that, Amy may have flirted with you or been questionably close but never had she ever said anything like this. You can’t help but feel extremely conscious of her gaze on your face, you couldn’t face her so you stared ahead.

“What about Teddy?”

“He wouldn’t mind.”

You wanted to roll your eyes, you wanted to tell her that she was out of order. But you couldn’t help the smirk that appears on your face, you knew if you kissed her it would shatter you. But for the moment being you couldn’t think rationally.

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because I’ve thought of kissing you.” Amy says, she grabs your jaw and makes you look at her.

“Why? Do you think I’m just an experiment?”

“I never said that.” Amy moves closer, your faces barely an inch apart. Your stomach drops as you try to control yourself. You wanted to grab her face and kiss her, but that wasn’t a good idea.

You close your eyes as she moves even closer. She presses her lips to yours and you momentarily freeze, that is until you kiss her back. You put your hand on her thigh, her hand goes to your cheek. You both get caught up in a moment, your lipstick smearing across her now swollen lips. She pulls back and smiles.

“That was nice.”

“Why did you kiss me?”

“I wanted to.”

“But why?”

“Im not sure.”

Your heart breaks a little as she says that, you stupidly thought she was going to confess feelings. But that was a preposterous assumption. You look down as you fight off the tears you feel forming in your eyes.

“Im going to go.”

Before Amy could reply you leave the bathroom the tears were streaming down your face as you pushed through the crowd and exited the bar. You sat at the curb side with your head in your hands, you felt foolish and idiotic. Of course Amy would never like you back. But you couldn’t help feeling so damn used, being the token lesbian enabled this idea that you were simply a trial run. You had let yourself get hurt too many times because of this, Amy didn’t understand the damage of her actions and you definitely weren’t going to be the one to tell her. But you swore to yourself never again would this happen. You sit outside for close to an hour trying to rationalise your thoughts before going back inside, no one noticed your running mascara or puffy eyes. So you acted as if everything was great for the rest of the night. Then of course in the a.m the pretty girls act like it never happened and you go back to being Amy’s friend.

[dorabledewdroop]

The White Healer Chapter 6

Warnings: physical abuse, angst, little spicy content, jealousy.

author's notes: Two chapters in one day lets fucking gooooo

Series Masterlist

X--X--X--X--X

“How about this, I’ll share the memory with Nat and Piet” Wanda said. “We can tell you what we saw”

Everyone nodded in agreement. The people who opted not to see the memory directly watched as Wanda’s eyes glowed red, followed by Natasha, Pietro, and Y/n.

You closed your eyes and stayed like that for a few minutes. Everyone else held their breath as they watched the interaction. Suddenly Pietro, Wanda, and Natasha stood up. Steve shot up, about to walk to them when Pietro hurried to the nearest trash can and hurled. Wanda crumpled to the ground and started sobbing. Natasha stood up, breathing heavy and rushed out of the room. Clint immediately went after Natasha, Steve knelt beside Pietro and rubbed his back while Sam made his way to Wanda. Tony sat there in shock, as did Bruce. You hadn’t moved from your spot. You sat there, staring off into the distance as a single tear rolled down your cheek.

As Steve knelt beside Pietro, he noticed that Pietro, too, was crying. He decided he’d ask everyone later as now was not the time. Pietro kept crying and muttering something to himself, soon he zoomed out of the room.

Sam was getting worried, the sobs wracking Wanda’s body only seemed to get worse. Deciding nothing good would come of keeping her here he helped her up, expecting resistance but to his surprise Wanda stood up and ran out of the room herself.

That left you, Tony, Steve, Sam, Bruce, and Thor.

Unable to stay silent any longer, Tony stood up and pointed at you.

“You” he barked out. “Just what have you done to them?”

You paid no attention to what he said, you were completely lost in thought. Tony did not appreciate being ignored. He stomped to you, grabbing your collar.

“What did you do to them?” He shouted at you as he shook you.

“Tony that’s enough” Steve exclaimed.

“No, Steve. All we know is that they looked into her mind and completely lost their shit.”

Steve began to say something but stopped himself. He, too, was concerned at the display. Just what had those three seen? What had you done to warrant such a reaction? Was it really so heinous? Before he could think any further he heard Tony yell.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you” Tony snarled. 

Unable to tolerate your impassive expression he slapped you. Hard.

That seemed to bring you back, you stared at Tony. Tears freely falling from your eyes now.

Thor decided he had enough, he grabbed Tony and shoved him against the wall.

“You do not lay hands on her, Stark” Thor roared his eyes glowing a dangerous blue.

“Let him go Thor” Steve said firmly. He moved his gaze to Tony. “That was completely unacceptable. We don’t even know if it was her fault”

As Thor let go of Tony, Tony scoffed. “Great work both of you. She’s missing now. Congratulations”

Steve looked around to find out that you had, indeed, fled the room.

Clint followed Natasha rush to one of the many balconies. He watched her finally crumple against the wall now that no-one was there. She let out a sob as the tears started to flow. Sighing, Clint sat beside her as she turned to him and started sobbing harder. He gently stroked her back.

“What happened? I’ve never seen you react like this” Clint asked gently.

She continued to cry for a while. Her cry turned into sniffles, and when it finally stopped did she start talking.

“The stone.. it manipulated her.. she sacrificed herself to save her sister’s life but the stone chose her instead. Deciding to take her sister, without her consent.” She whispered, a few fresh tears made their way down her face.

Clint frowned, from what Tony had told him, the mind stone had some level of intelligence. But this.. this was pure cruelty.

“She was in pain, Clint” Nat whimpered. Gripping his t-shirt tightly. “She was in so much pain. I could feel it.”

The two stayed there for a little while until Natasha said she’d go freshen up and meet everyone back in the meeting room. 

Clint made his way back to the meeting room and faltered as he entered. There was a weird tension in the room. Thor was standing in the corner, glaring at Tony. Tony was facing a screen, looking at.. something. Steve was having a quiet discussion with Sam.

“Where is everyone else?” Clint asked the group.

Steve turned to look at Clint and answered. “Bruce went back to his lab for some research, Wanda and Pietro needed some time to themselves. Where’s Nat?”

“She needed some time to herself too” Clint replied. “Where’s y/n?”

“She ran away” Tony commented, continuing to stare at the screen.

Clint frowned “What do you mean she ran”

Tony huffed “She bolted, Legolas. It’s a pretty simple statement.”

“Did Nat tell you what happened?” Steve asked, desperate to change the topic.

Clint nodded “I’ll just wait for her to tell everyone directly.”

They waited for another ten minutes before Pietro, Wanda, and Natasha came in together.

At once Wanda asked “Where’s y/n?”

Steve, already dreading the conversation, said “She- um- left..”

Thor was tolerating none of this and merely scoffed.

“Do not lie Steve. She ran away after Stark hit her.” Thor rumbled, his glare focused on Tony.

Pin. Drop. Silence.

“… He did what” Wanda said, her eyes glowing as she took a step towards Tony.

She’d never liked him but this. She was going to tear this man apart. Before she could think about what to do with him Pietro appeared in front of her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t focus on that idiot, sestra. Take Natasha and go find your girl.” He told her softly.

She snapped her head to her brother, eyes widening.

“You.. know?” She whispered, completely forgetting her anger towards Tony.

Pietro merely smirked.

“I’m well aware of your feelings towards y/n.” He said

“But I’m actually with-“

“Natasha. I know. You two aren’t as subtle as you think” He said smugly.

Wanda blushed a little. Her eyes shining. Her brother… accepted her..

She was about to hug him when she remembered where she was. Giving a grateful smile to her brother, she turned around and gently took Natasha’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Everyone’s eyes went to their hands. No-one dared to say anything. Clint merely smiled, glad his best friend finally found someone.

Natasha was having none of it. She hadn’t even noticed Wanda and Pietro’s interaction. No. She was glaring at Tony. How dare he raise a hand against you. She was going to kill him. She was going to make sure he lives the rest of his miserable life in regret-

A gentle squeeze brought her attention to Wanda. Right. Their priority was finding you. Everything else came second.

“Let’s go find her, malysh” Wanda whispered.

Nodding, the both of them hurried to the main gate. 

The moment they stepped out, Wanda’s eyes glowed red as she searched for your thoughts in the vicinity. It took a minute or so but she could faintly feel you.

“Found her. Nat do you trust me?” Wanda asked.

Natasha quickly nodded “Of course, detka”

Without prompt Wanda used her magic to lift the both of them off the ground, heading straight towards you.

They landed softly a few meters behind you. You were siting at the edge of a lake, staring off into the water. They slowly approached you, unsure of whether you’d heard them arrive.

“She used to love lakes..” You said softly.

Taking this as an invitation, they sat down on either side of you. Their hearts broke as they saw your tear-struck face.

“Any large body of water was her favourite” you continued. “The orphanage obviously didn’t have the funds to afford sending us to nice places. Public pools didn’t allow us in because we didn’t have guardians to accompany us. I’d take her to a lake or beach every single week during the summer.. she’d swim for hours even if she was all pruned up. I would have to drag her out of the water because she refused to leave despite violently sneezing.”

Wanda took your hand in hers, as did Natasha.

“She sounds amazing” Wanda said softly.

“She was.” You agreed. “She was the best”

After a brief pause you spoke again.

“I didn’t want this you know.. I didn’t want these powers.. or anything. I just- I just wanted my sister..”

Nat pulled you into her arms as you begin to cry softly.

“I know, malyshka. I’m so so sorry” she said into your hair.

Wanda hugged you from behind, effectively sandwiching you between the two of them. You felt yourself relax, something you always found yourself doing in their presence.

“Come back with us detka, please?” Wanda begged.

You pulled apart, frowning.

“Am I- am I allowed to? Tony was pretty upset-“

“That man” Nat seethes “can go eat a bag of dicks”

Your eyes widened, unable to help yourself you chuckled.

Wanda smiled a bit, remembering what Thor said her eyes flashed red in anger.

“I will kill him for hurting you” she swore.

You shook your head.

“It’s okay” you said, “he was just upset because I hurt you guys”

Wanda shook her head vehemently.

“You did not hurt us at all, devochka. It just broke our hearts to see the pain you went through” she said, caressing your knuckles.

“Besides, he did what he did because his egotistical asshole who throws temper tantrums because he thinks the world revolves around him” Natasha finished.

You giggled, causing them both to giggle with you.

“So..” Nat asked

“Will you come back with us?”

You tapped your chin with your finger, pretending to think. Natasha rolled her eyes, grabbed your hands and stood up. Laughing you stood up as well. The two looked at you in confusion as you began walking.

“Where are you going?” Wanda asked

Frowning, you just said “to the compound?”

Smirking Wanda grabbed you by the hips. Not missing the way your breath hitched. Natasha grinned as she looped her arm around Wanda’s hips.

“Ready?” Wanda asked

“For wha- OH MY GOD” You squealed as you were lifted off the ground by Wanda’s magic. The two women giggled as you clung tightly to Wanda, yelling how cool you found this.

When the three of you landed at the entrance of the compound, you were breathing heavily.

Making your way up to the kitchen you paused upon seeing Pietro standing looking worried, Steve and Tony were in a heated discussion. Upon your arrival, they all looked at you. Pietro was suddenly picking you up. You yelped.

“How can you, your sister, and Nat pick me up so easily? I’m heavy” You complained.

Pietro put you down and raised an eyebrow.

“They picked you up, huh?” He teased

Your ears burned as you realised what you had said. Sure they were your best friends but you had a feeling Pietro was well aware of your feelings for the two of them.

“Y/n” Steve called out as he stood up. “May I speak with you for a moment?”

Confused, you nodded and walked towards the kitchen island with him. He noticed Pietro standing nonchalantly within earshot. It warmed Steve’s heart to see how much those three seemed to care about you.

“What’s up” you said, still smiling at your previous interaction with Pietro.

“Pietro told us what happened. How you got your powers.” Steve said.

Your smile slowly faded. Unsure of where this conversation was going. Was he going to tell you that you weren’t allowed to be a part of the team anymore? You stopped yourself going down a spiral and paid attention to what he was saying.

“I’m so sorry for what happened to your sister. I can’t imagine the pain you must have gone through. I’d also like to formally apologise for how all of us reacted. We didn’t know what had transpired and it was wrong of us to jump to conclusions. I’d also like to apologise on behalf of Tony. What he did was completely out of line and I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

You sighed in relief as he finished. Quickly telling him how it’s completely understandable and you’d already forgiven them. You also told him you hadn’t run because of what Tony did but because you were overwhelmed with the memories that had surfaced. He nodded and once again apologised, hugging you briefly after the conversation ended.

Meanwhile, Tony decided to leave as he didn’t wasn’t in the mood to deal with you at the moment. He found himself completely frozen, unable to move. Looking down he saw slight red wisps covering his body. His eyes darted to Steve who was unfortunately completely absorbed with his conversation with you. Tony made eye contact with Pietro who just raised his eyebrow and proceeded to stare at Tony with a slight smirk. Gritting his teeth, Tony gave up trying to break free. Wanda and Natasha entered the room at that moment, heading straight for him. Tony’s eye’s glanced at the knife that was in Natasha’s hands as the two women stood in front of him. Trying to maintain his cool he glared at Wanda who just smirked at him, enjoying just how much he was freaking out. Natasha leaned towards him, knife resting against his thigh.

“The next time you even think about laying a finger on y/n. I will cut you open and feed you to some street cats.” Natasha said lowly. Every word dripping with carefully controlled rage.

“The sad part is” Wanda said softly. “Y/n would do anything and everything in her power to heal you from whatever we do. Because that’s the kind of person she is”

There was a hint of adoration in her voice that Tony obviously didn’t pick up on, but Natasha did. Her heart swelled with love as she hummed in agreement and stood up. The two of them walking away, extremely satisfied with the interaction.

The moment they left the kitchen, Tony found himself able to move again. Not waiting for a single moment he walked to his lab, thinking of ways to counter Wanda’s magic.

The next morning, some of the team were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.

Thor had claimed he needed to consult his father about the appearance of 3 infinity stones, he promptly left after giving y/n a box of pop tarts.

Mid conversation, FRIDAY informed the team that Maria Hill will be arriving with mission briefing. To say you were beyond excited would be an understatement. It was your first mission ever. You were nervous about how you’d perform but everyone had repeatedly assured you that you weren’t required to take part in combat and were just there incase someone sustained an injury.

You were certainly caught off guard when Maria Hill entered the dining room. If you didn’t have feelings for your best friends, you absolutely would have attempted to woo this woman. Maria on the other hand had no such qualms.

“Well hello there beautiful” Maria flirted, staring you up and down.

You grinned “Hi there”

You didn’t notice the way Natasha’s jaw clenched at the interaction. Or how Wanda had stiffened, a burning sensation spreading through their chest.

“Mission debrief is in 15 minutes but if you’re free right now I can tell you about is seeing as it’s your first mission.” Maria said shamelessly.

You were about to reply when Natasha shot up. Pietro failing to hide his absolute shit eating grin.

“Actually, there’s something Wanda and I need to talk to y/n about.” Natasha said coldly.

Ignoring the urge to throw Maria out the window, Wanda got up in agreement and walked towards the door with Natasha. Wanda could hear only one loud thought going on in Natasha’s head. Mine. On repeat. Smirking, Wanda said nothing but stood there.

“Y/n” Natasha barked.

Raising your eyebrows you excused yourself and followed the two of them outside. 

As soon as the three of you were out of ear shot, Natasha shoved you against the wall. Hard. 

“Nat-“ Wanda began.

“No Wands. If Y/n wants to act like a whore then I will treat her like one.” Natasha seethed.

All rational thought had left her mind. 

Before Wanda could interject, in a swift movement you had moved and pinned Natasha against the wall, with your hand gripping her throat. Natasha let out a squeak in surprise. Never had anyone managed to do this to her.

Both Wanda and Natasha were caught completely off guard. They knew you could be confident and would tease them time and again. But this was different… this was.. hot.

“Just who do you think you are talking to?” You snarled right next to Natasha’s ear.

A shiver ran down Natasha’s spine. Her knees felt incredibly weak. Within a second, all the control she thought she had was gone out of the window.

Wanda’s eyes widened as she saw her girlfriend, the black widow, because a submissive heap within a second. She felt heat pool deep in her belly at the act.

Nat’s eyes fluttered shut and she let out a whimper the moment you nipped her ear.

You leaned back, letting go of her neck and watched her stumble for a second as she tried to regain her balance. Eyes wide, looking at you with a mix of shock and arousal.

“Bedroom” you commanded. “Now.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nat started making her way to your bedroom. You and Wanda followed suit. 

“Are you okay with this?” You whispered in Wanda’s ear.

She vehemently nodded.

“I.. really liked that. I know Nat did too.” Wanda whispered back.

She decided to take a peak at what was going through your head and immediately turned completely red.

Natasha was absolutely fucked.

X--X--X--X--X

taglist: @marvelwomen-simp @nothanksbye07 @jono723 @luadyjcmd @alexawynters

[goddessofmischief]

     —   ACROSS THE STARS (SITH!KIT TANTHALOS X READER)

Summary: Kit Tanthalos is a Sith apprentice - and your biggest enemy.

CHAPTER ONE: THE DYAD

Kit Tanthalos had been a thorn in your side since the day you were born.

She was a princess, and so were you. She was princess of Corellia - a planet of thieves, liars, and smugglers - and you were the princess of Naboo. You stood for kindness, hope, and purity.

You two had interacted throughout the years, at various royal functions, but never held much affection for each other. Still, Kit had always seemed protective of you. She was more likely to tease you than offer a compliment, sure, but she wouldn’t let anyone push you around.

One day, all of that changed.

Kit broke her parents’ hearts and overthrew them, turning to the Sith teachings and ruling Corellia with an iron fist. She was still only an apprentice, but it was hard to tell from the level of power she held. Her master was mostly unseen, leaving Kit as a largely unchallenged presence of evil in the galaxy.

You couldn’t have been more different. Your planet flourished under your rule, and you were beloved by every citizen. You knew that no matter what happened, you would protect them, and so did they.

There was only one issue, though. They wanted you to marry.

You had a couple reasonable suitors. A few Mandalorians, a prince or two. A Lady of some considerable wealth. They were all coming to see you, today. One of them, whichever the people chose, would be staying on this planet for as long as they lived.

You didn't like that it was up to the citizens to choose your spouse, but since you were an orphan, you had no parents to select one for you, and Naboo laws refused the option of allowing you to choose for yourself.

Still... how bad could any of them be? You’d carefully reviewed the list of people attending today, and none of them were indecent, or unkind, or cruel. They were good people, people you could trust. Even if you couldn’t love them, you could at least work together to bring your planet into prosperity.

This wasn’t about you. This was about the people.

Or so you tried to convince yourself, this sunny morning, as you rode through the woods on a white horse, lightsaber hanging off your belt-

Oh, yeah. That’s the other thing.

You were a Jedi.

You supposed that’s probably why Kit hates you. You were natural enemies. You hated her for her crimes, she despised you for your tolerance. It was probably why you were so reluctant to marry, too - falling in love was strictly against the Jedi code.

You hummed to yourself some old Naboo lullaby, your horse carefully stepping over a small creek and walking nimbly to the other side. You climbed off it, brushing off your dress and beginning to pick flowers.

Suddenly, you heard a sound behind you - crunching leaves under foot. You whirled around, face to face with-

Well, guess who.

“Hey,” said Kit, dismounting her own horse. You began to back away.

“...Hi.”

“Missed you, princess. Been awhile.”

“Yeah. Um... what’ve you been up to?”

She laughed.

“What have I been up to... um, ruling the galaxy. Yeah. That, pretty much.”

Without warning, you pulled out your lightsaber, holding it to her throat.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m not here to fight,” she said warningly, pulling out her own lightsaber and holding it to your throat. “Just wanna talk.”

“I don’t believe you.”

You rush forward, trying to land a blow. She deflected your attack, grabbing your wrist and flipping you onto the ground.

You moan in pain. Kit lowers her lightsaber, still pointing it at you. She offers you her other hand. Reluctantly, you let her help you up.

“I’ll see you later, princess, alright?”

Just like that, she was gone.

...

You could swear you’d seen everyone in the galaxy by now, or at least all the most boring ones.

Fortunately, none of the citizens had really seemed to care for them, either. You could tell they were reading your expressions, trying to gauge who you wanted them to choose.

No one. You didn't want them to choose any of them.

A few had made it on to the next round: Jade Claymore, another Jedi knight, Graydon Hastur, a prince, and Prince Airk, Kit’s exiled brother. You’d always liked Airk, but he never seemed to show an interest in you outside of how you looked.

In just a few minutes, you would be done. In just a few minutes, you could take this ridiculous dress off. In just a few minutes-

The doors burst open.

Of course, it was Kit. Of course it was.

She stood in an imposing set of black robes, lightsaber displayed prominently at her side, red jewels gleaming at her throat. Kit strode in confidently, glancing at the crowds sitting on either side, strutting confidently up to you.

Somewhere in the distance you heard Airk mutter, “oh, shit.”

Read Chapter Two here

taglist open! please leave a comment if you liked this!

taglist: @hea-vin

[haven-of-dusk]

The thoughts nobody asked for on the much discussed 7x10 Tevan/Bucktommy/Bummy/whatever you wish to call them dinner date:

From a character perspective it's...fine. i really struggle to come up with an alternative word for it, because I struggle to have strong feelings at all about it. We've known since last season (at the latest, arguably sooner) that Buck has a kinky side. Now we know Tommy has one too. And they flirted about it. Neither of them were really acting out of character, and the scene was perfectly tolerable. But...that's sort of the problem.

From a writing standpoint, this scene is...kind of an abysmal failure. Or at least I presume it is, but it depends on what the writers wanted to accomplish with the scene.

If the goal was to solidify the Bucktommy relationship, bring more people on board, end the season strong, etc, then it failed. Miserably. Because in an episode full of story-essential moments, emotional beats, drama, and so forth, there's just this date scene doing...nothing. It doesn't push Buck or Tommy forward as characters, it does nothing meaningful to develop their relationship beyond the surface layer we've known it's had since their first episode together, and its only tie to the episode's main plot is a transition into a joke. They set Tommy up to finally develop his character, give some backstory, have him comiserate with Buck, build their rapport...and then we skip right to 'teehee, daddy issues.' It feels like the middle of the scene is missing.

Like...stay with me here, and don't jump away just because I'm bringing up Buddie, but the 3x9 kitchen scene is a prime example of what it seemed like the 7x10 date scene was going for. We start with a connection to the episode's plot, framed semi-light heartedly ("So she shoots him, and then takes him back?"), we transition into them having a serious, meaningful conversation, with Buck apologizing for his absence during the lawsuit arc and them discussing Eddie's boxing crisis, and then the scene ends on a lighthearted note with the infamous "wanna go for the title?"

So the issue with the 7x10 date is that the middle section, the emotions, the bulk of the conversation, just isn't there. It's like making a sandwich but ending up with just the pieces of bread. Yeah, you can still eat it, but it's not really the same thing, is it? It's lacking the SUBSTANCE.

And this ties into a larger problem with Tommy...he just never gets ANYTHING to do or say beyond surface level comments or observations. I hear the defense repeatedly that "it's a short season" "give them time to flesh him out more" "they didn't have space to include all the development, but they've got good seeds!", but this date scene is the very blatant counterpoint. This was a PRIME chance to do something with him, in an already story heavy episode, a season finale no less, and to tie his discussion of his trauma in with Buck's and have them bond over painful memories, give them a dynamic about HOW they approach those discussions, ANYTHING. But instead we skip past the development and end on a passable joke. This is a short, condensed season, yes. It's why I accepted them cutting most of the bachelor party because it was just fun and the episode needed to focus on development and story. But this date has no more story or character weight than the party did. They giftwrapped an oppurtunity for themselves, and then squandered it.

Which brings me to the question...do the writers even want me to root for Buck and Tommy's relationship? Because if so they are doing a TERRIBLE job of it. Tommy barely appears, and when he does they do nothing with him. They feel as though they are actively avoiding giving Bucktommy a dynamic or developing anything about why Tommy in particular is a good fit for Buck. Saying "he's good for you," doesn't cut it. Having them kiss twice, doesn't cut it. All of it leads me to wonder if they're just setting the couple up to break up cordially next season, Buck having learned more about himself, and Tommy...having a boyfriend for a few months I guess.

The daddy issues joke has caused a stir that overshadowed the real issue with the scene: Tommy still doesn't have a character, or a motive, or a dynamic with Buck, or anything. And it's starting to feel like he never will. And it's a bit frightening that I can't tell if it's intentional or not.

[hollowsart]

I had to make the Morbius variant of Acedia into its own post, but here's some funny concepts n stuff I came up with while working on her with a friend.

Warning for topics with slight discussion and mentions of blood and vampirism.. cuz this is about a vampire lol

enjoy my thought process minus my friend's input that helped with a little back-and-forth to come up with this stuff:

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

tfw you're just trying to get some fruit, but this weird ominous looking older man doesn't hesitate when he sees you holding the last perfect honey crisp apple in the whole store.

goth as a subculture apparently didn't exist until the 80s in the UK with the introduction of a specific genre of music. the subculture itself is just heavily music based. it's not fashion based, although most who listen to the music will end up wearing clothes that reflect the music or the styles of those who made the music.

But that's not to say Old Man Morbius couldn't dress very dated and have a more victorian style of dress. gives him that "gothic" look

he stands out from the rest of society at the time in the 50s and he doesn't do much outside of getting necessities and then going back to his penthouse.

there were rumors that he was a vampire, mostly from the younger crowds and some older folks who loved to gossip. Acedia didn't believe it, thought it was rude to spread such things about people without any real proof…. but it didn't stop her from feeling nervous.

boi howdy was she wrong to think he wasn't a vampire.

He followed her from the store and dragged her into an alley and attacked…. taking the dang apple she bought as he fled.

Acedia hating the taste of blood, but the vampire-ness is CRAVING IT.

I think we need a better explanation for "LIVING vampire" as currently, vampirism technically means you're kinda dead tbh. you're dead and you're reanimated differently than a zombie.

I did have a concept where vampires can still eat and drink other things besides JUST blood.

They can eat raw meats and possibly blood sausages, too. they lean a bit further into being carnivorous, but they're not cannibals (not to say there isn't at least one or two vampires who may or may not have gone cannibalistic due to some kind of trauma, but y'know--)

Vampires can go out during the day, but they require coverage from the sun. umbrellas, extra long gloves, big ole hats with massive brims. pants, long sleeves, long dress, etc.

most tend to be nocturnal, but will go diurnal if necessary or for any number of reasons they may have for being awake during the daytime. (like keeping up appearances and trying not to seem so out of place to the regular humans they live around)

AS IF I DIDN'T ALREADY HAVE A SUPER SENSITIVE NOSE AS IS

Morbius!Acedia is a silly fun "non villain" addition to this whole sinistersona concept.

she has no desire to cause harm and, much like Earth-4622's Morbius, she is more of a street-level hero. She uses this for good, not evil. and has her own issues to deal with outside of that world's "Spider-Man"

Acedia: (airhead extraordinaire)

you're not special, Morbius.

me, who knows I'm hungry and should get something to eat yet is still sitting there taking +1 damage every 3 minutes that I'm NOT getting up to get food: …….maybe.. I already AM a living vampire? ..just without the desire to drink blood?

me meeting Morbius and he's like "I haven't had blood in 3 days, I am going to kill someone--"

me: ? only 3 days? the last time I had blood was uhh… 4? 5? days ago?

Morbius: Morbius, now feeling terrified, knowing I'm a variant of him: ….How are you still speaking to me?

me: I have other means of food that tastes better than blood. smells better, too.

I get hungry fast, but I still sit there and tolerate the pain. sometimes I'll drink something to kill the hunger pains. that helps me pass the time.

[abysmal-black]

@pxison

Home at last, the third son finally begins to relax. His mission had been tamed, all killing mundane at this point. One diplomat had gotten into it with another and wanted her gone; it was petty like most of the assassin work he was contacted out for. Judge never seemed to care as long as the belly were delivered in equal parts before and after the job was completed. Sanji had been under strict orders to make it appear as an accident: easier said than done given the women's schedule. Most of his time away had been spent tailing his target to get a sense of her schedule. He couldn't say he hated that part entirely. Having a candid look into people's lives; of all his siblings he's sure he has the greatest sense of what life off of Germa was like. 

The women he had killed by all accounts seemed well adjusted. Made time for her aging father who only remembered her every other visit and he thinks she liked her work. This job wasn't espionage so he didn't indulge in snooping, not like she would have noticed with the state of her home. The woman was a barely held together mess; makes sense that a fall after a shower would get her. She liked to shower after work, it was a summer island during summer so the humidity was torture.  Even in his raid suit purposely made with temperature control in mind the job was running long.

He's not sure why but he'd decided to conclude the job after one of the good visits with her father. They had spent most of the time laughing, sharing a meal he'd remember his wife loved. She'd taken leftovers for lunch the following day, kissed him goodbye, said she loved him and would talk to him later. Sanji isn't sure why he lingered after posing her body just outside the shower,water still running, her head cracked open. It wasn't painful, she hadn't seen it coming and by the time her assistant found her in the morning she'd be dead.

Sanji pulls deeply from the joint between his lips, let's the smoke swim in his lungs before exhaling long and slow. None of the details mattered now, the job was closed and he'd done his report for Ichiji's neurotic organization, the only issue he had came after. The voyage back to Germa was inexplicably rough out towards the end. He'd given orders to batten down the hatches and ride the freak storm out, the grand line too moody to test their luck.

Relief or a more muted, neutered version of the emotion settles in his belly when they are finally given permission to dock. Communication may have been affected by the storm or maybe the clones were growing more incompetent. Sanji would only tolerate as few men as he could get by with, the bloated cannon fodder his brothers kept on their ships was excessive at times. Still he doesn't expect the armed greeting  after his snail ship retreats into its hull.

Standing at the base of his tower, a good portion of paved stone and manicured lawn between them. Gloved fingers push his dark shades up onto the top of his head. "What the hell are you men doing?" He huffs chewing around the end of his blunt. 

A few of the soldiers mutter amongst themselves, the stealth black raid suit and familiarly dressed  clones behind the intruder looking all too similar to their own ranks. 

"Whose orders are you under?" Sanji doesn't appreciate the stone walling or rifles leveled at him but stands there, hand on his hip waiting for an explanation.

[hopeforkitten]

Raphael Modern Mafia AU part 2

part 1

when Tav develops a complete tolerance for cruelty, Raphael finally deprives his princess of physical integrity. another rejection, she turns around to leave, but the boss grabs her wrist and raises her hand to their eye level. Tav looks him angrily in the eyes, she doesn't have long left. it's getting warm. the sleeve under his hand flashes with fire, pain pierces her. Raphael's impassive face is opposite. The sleeve turns to ash, and Tav starts screaming. the skin on the wrist turns red and bubbles, slowly this wound spreads across the arm. but only yesterday he put another gold bracelet on this beautiful pen. she even tries to escape, wants to intercept Raphael's hand with her second, but immediately pulls it away from the fire, a less serious burn blooms on her palm.

Tav shouts his name and slowly kneels down, tears rolling down her cheeks.

- Raphael what? - he inexorably continues to hold her, even though the pain has already dulled.

- I-I'm sorry! I agree, I'll go with you!

he kneels down next to her.

- I don't agree. You will be taken home and you need to think about your behavior.

finally he lets go of her hand, Tav can't lean on his burned palms, so he falls on his side. she can't wipe her tears away because her surviving fingers are dangerously close to the wounds anyway.

now she's sitting on the floor. Tav looks at his hands

- Don't be dramatic, little mouse.- his voice is just as calm and sweet, despite the situation. - These are not ordinary burns.

The bubbles on her hands change and form an ugly scar pattern, it covers the left hand, leaving half of the fingers untouched, only a red mark on the right palm, the hands cool down sharply and the pain goes away.

- It's just a reminder of me. - he continues and smiles. - Your empathy has noticeably dulled, what was I supposed to do, little mouse?

he took out a pair of thin black gloves from his pocket and placed them in her mutilated hand. surprisingly, there was no pain followed

by a crushed Tav looking up at him. it seems that fear should take over, but these words make her frown.

Raphael grunts with displeasure and gets up from his knee. he goes to the exit past tav but stops.

- One more thing. If you ask your druid friend to remove them, I'll do it again. understand? He turned to her

- Understood - very quietly said tav lowering his head

-Good girl,- he said, the doors slammed shut behind him

at night, these scars torment her, they hurt, all the muscles ache. and without a blanket, Tav is hot, they burn and do not let her sleep until late at night.

if she wants to escape or hide, they will torment her. she'll have to lean on her elbows and scream into the ground until it's over.

over time, this will happen again, both her arms and shoulders will be in these traces. Raphael loves them, he didn't touch her before, and now at every meeting he touches the traces of his labors. It scares Tav.

___________________

Raphael is sitting on the bed, Tav is standing with his back to him. He strokes her shoulders in burns. He unbuttons his dress and his hands slide under it. Tav exhales. He hadn't done that before. He strokes her waist, stomach, raises his hands to her neat chest and pulls her close to him to breathe into her neck.

- Raphael...- Tav whispers

- What is it, my love? - his breath tickles her, and she smiles and snuggles up to him in response.

- Everything is fine

Tav trusts and gives herself to him.

Raphael coos with her on the red sheets, stroking her burned hands. Says what a good girl she was. Suddenly, the scars smooth out, leaving modest dots at their epicenter, where his hand was.

- In this version, I also like it. - he brings her hand to his face so that she can feel his hot breath and looks into her eyes.

Tav's eyes are glowing with joy that she can't contain.

- t-thank you Raphael,- she gives him a quick kiss on the cheekbone.

- Such a lovely creature.

[hecatemoon87]

Hey darling, i hope you are doing fine!

I'm going through a real hard time right now and i'm in a constant cycle of being sad, growing desperate, start crying, getting angry (mostly at myself cuz i'm a useless piece of 💩) cry some more and then just feeling numb until the sadness returns and everything starts over again.

How do you think the different Hardy characters would deal with that? Alfie, Eddie, Tommy, Bob, Forrest and all the other wonderful characters? Sorry for bothering

Dear Friend,

I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling down. It sounds like you are struggling with some overwhelming emotions. And that is something that I can relate to.

Let me first say, you are not a useless piece of sh*t. You are a wonderful human being who is trying their best at existing in a complicated world.

The complexity of the world is confusing and frustrating. And sometimes it is hard to process all the negativity, causing emotional anguish at a level equal to physical pain.

What you need to know is that the universe sees good, and it wants you to feel good. As long as we try to do better, be kind, tolerant and patient we can find balance between our mind and spirit.

You are worthy, you are good and you are strong. It is okay to cry, it is okay to have bad days, it is okay to feel what you're feeling. But I just want you to know that you are more than you think you are.

You have more power than you could possibly imagine, it's in your heart, believe me, it's there. You just gotta search for it, and you'll find that you are strong, powerful and filled with goodness.

Now, you are interested in how Tom Hardy Character's would deal with such emotions? Let's see then!

Alfie Solomons

I don't think Alfie has ever processed his emotions in healthy way. He probably suffers from PTSD from the war. It would be hard not to, even though I think he is of a stronger mind than most. He certainly has anger issues, but I believe he keeps his mind occupied by challenging himself against others regarding wits and strategy. A healthy habit is to stay occupied, and Alfie is always on the move.

Eddie Brock

I think Eddie would allow himself to feel his emotions completely. He isn't the type to feel unmasculine if he cries. Though Eddie is impulsive and causes a good portion of his own drama, he seems to be able to express his emotions rather than bottling them up. I feel like Eddie would be willing to go to therapy to work on his issues. Finding a good therapist is a very helpful tool in trying to process complex emotions, and lord knows Eddie has a few of those.

Tommy Conlon

Poor Tommy, talk about a man who has experienced trauma. Instead of embracing the need to address his issues, he tries to push down the pain with pills or fighting in the ring. I think he's the type of man who would require his significant other to support him through his pain. The woman he would be with needs to remind him of his mother in some way. Meaning that she would need to give him the same love and comfort that he had lost when his mother died. Finding a support group or even just a friend is important. And Tommy needs that.

Bob Saginowski

I feel like Bob is kind hearted and a good man. But over all, it seems he can process stressful situations fairly well. He understands what is right and what is wrong. It's wrong to hurt a defenseless puppy, and it's wrong to abuse a defenseless woman. It is not wrong to bring justice to someone who is bad. And Bob is able to sleep at night with the choices he has made. This type of person is rare I think. Not to say that Bob is a psycho! He is just able to use logic over his emotions, and according to studies, it is a rare trait.

Forrest Bondurant

We all know how Forrest functions. In silence! But, oh, boy, this man FEELS things. He just doesn't show it. He experiences rage, sadness, passion and endurance in a stoic and undetectable manner. He is a man of action. You won't find him sitting around complaining. He's gonna stand up and walk out that door. And lord have mercy on whoever pisses him off! That isn't exactly healthy...violence is never the answer, but hey, it's 1931, therapy wasn't invented just yet. And not like Forrest would go...maybe Maggie could have persuaded him?

[hookaroo]

Laden of the Torn (12 of 25)

AO3 link Catch up on tumblr: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Tagging @priscilla9993 @cocohook38 <3

***

Killian soon discovered that the wait for supplies was not the only motivation for keeping the hooks embedded. The net was still attached in several places when the high-ranking black monkey made a reappearance with a single command: 

“Secure them for Favor.”

Immediately, scorching anguish tore across Killian's shoulders as he was pulled to his knees by the remaining attached piercings. Stifling a yelp, he scrambled to accommodate their apparent wishes.

"No need to get rough." His head spun and his arms trembled beneath his weight. "If you want me to do something, all you need do is ask."

Killian worked to catch his breath as he settled carefully down onto his haunches. The attempt to avoid putting weight on the hooks in the backs of his legs and backside ultimately proved futile. He tried to focus instead on what more he could see of their surroundings now that he wasn't pinned to the floor.

Strings of fish and drying plant matter hung from the wall to his left, no more than two meters away. These were attached to loops of metal drilled directly into the stone wall, and even as he watched, it quickly became apparent that these would serve another purpose as well. A short distance away, the hands and feet of the unconscious Blackbeard had been thoroughly bound with sinewy cord, and now, that cord was being secured by an impressively athletic primate climbing the very rings projecting from the stone. Not an impossible trap to get out of, especially for a pirate, but it would certainly slow him down. And good luck trying to go unnoticed with this many eyes around.

Killian's own bound feet were already tethered to the same wall, and before the first climber had even finished securing Blackbeard, a second leapt onto Killian's shoulder and hauled a corner of the net-cape up to its level, as if fishing over the side of a human-shaped boat. The monkey on the wall curled its tail around a projection and leaned toward its comrade, who fed lengths of tangled netting into its outstretched paws. Killian braced himself for more pain, and it wasn't long in coming: the strands on that side pulled mercilessly at his inflamed skin as the ropes were tied among the cave dwellers' food stores… perhaps not as out-of-place as he would have preferred.

Cursing softly, Killian scooted awkwardly backwards to allow himself more slack. "Is this how you treat all your visitors?"

He was trying to sound nonchalant but only managed pleading. Busy overseeing the proceedings, Mandible flashed his teeth in apology.

"This is for the protection of our healers and our chieftain. He wishes to speak with you."

"Well there's no need for all of this." Killian sucked in a hissing breath as the other corner of the net joined the first, leaving his upper back awash in pulsating pain. "I give my word that I don't intend to harm any of you."

"We dare not take that risk," the black monkey growled back from a good distance away. "And you are in no position to demand otherwise."

Killian bit his tongue. If he didn't move, the pain was tolerable, but every time he shifted his weight the tiniest fraction, it was like claws were tearing him open, fiber by individual fiber, until it seemed the skin covering his back must soon turn inside out in one long strip of flayed flesh. And to add to the misery, his legs were already beginning to cramp up; what would happen when he needed to move off of them?

Off to the side, Mandible stirred vigorously at a substance within a shallow dish, and Killian caught a whiff of something strongly herbal that hinted at the healing arts. A tiny helper lugged a ceramic vessel, tucked under one arm, almost as big around as the little fellow's whole torso. He or she placed the burden within reach of Mandible and scampered away, leaving the lid secured.

Killian's arm was mostly free of netting, so he had been resting his hand on his thigh, using it for balance despite how it burned from fingertips up past the elbow. But then a being that seemed to be little more than white fluff appeared out of nowhere, grabbed onto the fishhook in his finger, and pulled. Killian shifted his weight and allowed his hand to be manipulated into the desired position, hanging loosely at his side and low enough for a rope noose to be secured around his wrist. These monkeys were not taking any chances.

Killian did not resist the brutal treatment, hoping that with good behavior he might earn their trust, especially that of their leader. Whatever deal they intended to offer probably depended on his admittedly rusty diplomacy skills. And as long as they still saw him as a threat, he remained in danger.

At first, it seemed the plan was to attach this newest rope to one of the hooks behind his head, joining the knots already there. But at an unintelligible command by Mandible, the miniature cotton puff at his side instead vaulted his knees in a single bound before scaling the dangling net like a rope ladder. It tied a knot near his shoulder, so that his arm rested loosely across his torso, with enough slack to allow some movement, but not enough to pose any threat to the primates gathered around.

Mandible took one look at the mess along Killian's forearm and immediately grabbed a monkey-sized bucket and ladle, along with a pawful of fibrous, cotton-like material. He settled himself atop Killian's thigh, not seeming to mind the slope as his miniature clawed toes found purchase in the fabric there. One of his assistants sprang closer with a short, flaming torch in paw. Using his long tail for balance, Mandible filled the ladle and stretched himself into a bipedal stance.

"Just water," he explained as the first trickle washed grit and caked blood from Killian's lacerated arm. While the ginger-furred assistant provided torchlight from a cautious distance, Mandible used his roll of cotton to dab away the grime.

It was more than a little bit surreal, watching Mandible tend to the wound in jerky, non-human movements. Killian could almost believe it to be a dream, except the pain was all too real. And the diminutive primate could exert a surprising amount of force behind the agonizing scrubbing.

Reflex jerked Killian's arm toward his chest as rough cotton discovered Blackbeard's buried needle with a deep lance of heat that seemed to radiate down to the marrow. Killian cursed, then apologized, but none of the monkeys in the vicinity seemed offended, if they even understood.

For a few seconds, Mandible leaned closer to peer at the throbbing lump, gesturing at the torchbearer in a request for more light. Then he set aside bucket and ladle to free his paws. The healer monkey seemed to have no qualms about causing his patient additional pain and went straight for the anomaly he'd spotted, obviously intending to dig it out through the torn flesh nearby. As thorn-like claws probed the area, Killian gritted his teeth, grunting,

"No plans to use your fangs, Mandible?"

"Good guess." Dainty fingers burrowed deeper. "But the name did not originate from the use of my own jaws for healing."

Another lightning bolt sizzled through Killian's arm as questing fingers found their mark.

"And besides," continued Mandible, "Torn blood is much more palatable when properly cooked."

Killian fixed his murderous stare on the unconscious Blackbeard: mental curses really ought to be aimed at the true cause of his suffering, not the torturer only trying to help.

Amazing, how easily the full repertoire of creative vulgarities came back to him despite so many years of trying to censor himself around his little girl. And honestly, Blackbeard deserved each and every one.

The flare grew white hot for an instant, the swollen flesh not easily surrendering the deeply buried needle. But Mandible's grip won out and, at last, the offending metal slid free.

Killian waited a few heartbeats for the pain to fade, then grimaced a smile. "Thank you. Much better."

Mandible was busy examining the red-tinged needle, likely checking to make sure it had remained intact, though for a moment Killian wondered whether he might decide to finish what Blackbeard had started with it. But then the healer set the needle to the side and resumed his enthusiastic scrubbing, ignoring the loose thread trailing from the wound.

"You must get plenty of practice at this," Killian commented tightly. "Considering the geography of the place you've chosen to call home."

"Probably less than you imagine. Our pelts are much tougher than yours, especially on our paws, and we are taught from birth the best way to traverse the Stone Forest."

Mandible set aside his cotton and reached for a small bowl containing crushed plant matter. "Plus, with our four-legged gait and our tails for balance, we are naturally more graceful than you Torn."

Wincing, Killian relived each tumble he had taken among the razor stone. "Can't argue with that."

"But accidents do happen from time to time, and you are fortunate that they do, because we may not have been so well-prepared otherwise." He took a pawful of the herbal paste and began to apply it to the gathering blood. Killian drew some controlled breaths in anticipation of the burn, but it was not nearly as harsh as he'd been expecting. Not exactly soothing, but nothing like the scald of a rum rinse.

Mandible included the already-sutured half of the wound in his painting, then used the residue to cover the clotted hole in the back of Killian's hand where a fishhook had been torn free. That done, the healer monkey left his perch to retrieve the as-yet untouched ceramic vessel. He handed it off to the torchbearer, who could barely even lift it, considering it was at least twice as big as her entire arm. Mandible clambered back on to Killian's thigh and twisted toward his assistant. His hind claws dug into Killian's trousers as he leaned sideways and cautiously lifted the lid a few inches. Killian caught a brief impression of writhing, skittering shadows, but then Mandible's paw flashed in and out in a movement reminiscent of a serpent strike. The healer replaced the lid just as quickly. He now held in an expert grip a dark mass of frantically struggling, jointed twigs. Obviously not actual twigs, but they certainly shared a disconcerting resemblance. What concerned Killian more were the massive jaws chomping again and again at empty air.

"Bloody hell; is that an ant or an immature lobster?"

"We call them Warrior Ants." Mandible squared himself with his patient, placing his free paw on Killian's arm for stability. "I did not invent this technique but have perfected its use among the First."

It did not take much imagination to guess what he was about to do. Eyeing the giant insect warily, Killian grimaced,

"Hence, Mandible?"

"This time, you are correct."

Without further ado, Mandible thrust the snapping jaws at Killian's wound, directly beside the point where Blackbeard's suturing left off.

The bite felt comparable to the sting of a Neverland Cockerel Wasp, though its burn started to fade faster. While Killian was still fighting the impulse to tear his arm away from the assault, Mandible performed a practiced twist of the wrist that parted the ant's head from its body, leaving a black sphere with two tightly clenched jaws embedded in either side of the laceration. The insect's legs were still twitching feebly as Mandible popped the decapitated body into his mouth.

"And nothing is wasted; an honorable death, wouldn't you agree?"

Killian watched as the monkey opened the container of ants and prepared to select another. "And this treatment is effective, is it?"

“The jaws stay locked in place for two to three days, after which they may need to be replaced, depending on the severity of the wounds.”

Alice would be fascinated by this. Not just the giant ants, but everything: the super-intelligent monkeys, the sharp Stone Labyrinth; hell, even Blackbeard over there, snoring away as though he hadn't a care in the world. Killian could hardly believe any of it himself, even with all he'd seen in his travels. So often had he wished for the ability to allow her to see such things for herself, to counteract the cruelty of imprisoning such an inquisitive mind. 

Although, as a second pair of ant jaws gnawed his flesh just beside the other, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing aloud, Killian concluded that it was probably for the best that she was not here at the moment. There were plenty of other amazing places in the world he could show her that would not result in hours of meticulous and agonizing wound care, innovative though it may be. There had to be adventures far less painful that they could share together… someday…

***

Favor of the First Clan was a deep reddish-gold color, sleek fur framing his face like a lion’s mane and garbing the rest of him in an appropriately royal robe all the way to the tip of his feathery tail. He did not strike Killian as either remarkably large or small compared to the rest; almost exactly middle-of-the-road, in fact. An hourglass of silvery bare skin contained his facial features, which currently rested in a quietly neutral expression. Flanked by a retinue of followers, Favor came to a stop just behind Mandible’s assistant, so that he would be out of range of any sudden attempts at attack, as well as squarely in the strongest torchlight in the vicinity. He paused to study Blackbeard briefly, then cast a roaming gaze over Killian, whose kneeling pose was only incidentally deferential.

The chieftain addressed his healer first. “Do you have everything you need, Mandible?” 

His voice was as silky as his shining pelt, but its tone held a natural authority commanding instant attention. Mandible positioned a struggling ant in line with the growing number of severed heads clamped firmly into the skin all along Killian’s wound.

“Yes, Favor. The Torn intruders are in little danger of perishing from their injuries.”

“Good.” Chocolate eyes glinted in the firelight, peering into Killian’s wary gaze. “I am Favor, chief among the First Clan. Have you been advised of your situation, Laden of the Torn?”

“My situation hardly requires explanation,” Killian answered ruefully. “What I haven’t been told is what exactly you need from me so badly that you’re willing to spare my life to obtain it.”

Tawny twins crouching behind Favor shared a look of wordless disapproval at his tone, but Favor only appeared tired. 

“The fact is, Laden…” He stopped, made a furtive survey of the cave over his shoulder, then continued in a low voice. “Our rival clan dealt us a terrible blow recently, and you may be our only hope of restoring what they took.”

“Rival clan?” This was the first time Killian had considered the possibility that there may be more than one faction of these creatures. Favor bared his teeth, and even Mandible took on something of a sour expression as he dipped his fingers back into the ceramic pot. Killian glanced down at his arm, wondering how many more ants would lose their heads to finish closing the wound.

“The Less,” hissed Favor. “Savage little brutes. Always scheming, coming up with ways to expand their territory or otherwise raise their status over ours. We try not to antagonize them, but you must understand, our lands have belonged to the First for many generations, and we will always defend them.”

Killian shifted his weight, trying to relieve the worsening tingling in his feet. Pierced flesh that had gone relatively quiet suddenly flared as his movements tugged at penetrating steel. 

“I won’t be much help securing your borders,” he growled. “You can see for yourselves how poorly I’ve managed to navigate this terrain.” 

Furious insect jaws chomped into lacerated skin, emphasizing Killian’s point, and he gritted his teeth through the sting. 

“Our borders are secure," Favor assured him. "Though they do try, the Less have inferior warriors and unreliable weaponry, and must admit defeat every time. However, six days ago, they… you see, the best of our fighters were occupied in a skirmish, to the north, in the Triple Cascades region, and…” The chieftain seemed to grow smaller, his ears drooping and his tail wrapping protectively around his haunches. “I failed to post enough guards here at the Burrow, and Less cowards crept in and some of our sentries were slain and… a child was taken.” 

The sudden wave of heat coursing up Killian’s spine was not pain, but inspired understanding. That look in Favor’s eyes… How could he have missed it before? It was everything Killian was forced to see when faced with his own reflection. And despite the rough treatment he’d received here, his heart went out to the small creature before him.

“Not just a child. Your child. Yes?”

Favor blinked once in slow defeat. “The future matriarch of the First. My only heir, now fated to become…” 

Golden fur stood on end, then rippled into a shudder. Favor’s distress was nearly palpable, and Killian barely even noticed when Mandible quietly transitioned from ant-wrangler to bandage-wrapper. 

None of the monkeys dared glance in their leader’s direction as he took a moment to regain his composure. They fidgeted with their claws, scratched or groomed themselves anxiously, and even Mandible’s assistant kept her gaze anchored on the torchlight she was providing. Finally, Favor bared his teeth.

“Puzzle is not yet capable of producing an heir for that villain Lack. When she does, our clan will be absorbed into theirs, our people enslaved and our lands forfeit. And she will be given no choice in the matter.”

Bile rose in Killian’s throat, having little to do with his physical condition, and for an instant, he half expected Blackbeard’s ugly face to dissolve into Gothel’s even more repulsive one. To be similarly taken advantage of, and at a young age at that…

“I’m truly sorry,” he managed to say, suppressing a shudder of revulsion.  “I take it your attempts at rescue have failed?”

Favor lowered his head, half in shame, half in sullen petulance. “We are forbidden to interfere. She is theirs by law, and we cannot venture to claim her back, at least not directly, or we risk the wrath of the gods.”

Killian almost scoffed. Not at the mention of their deities or the outdated regulations permitting a young one to be stolen from her family and forced to mate with their enemy, but at the concept of a father not doing everything in his power to get her back, consequences be damned. But… the curse on his heart… didn’t that feel like a smiting every time he entered Alice’s presence? And wasn’t he allowing it to keep them apart for fear of that pain?

He could not, in fairness, fault Favor for his reluctance.

“But sending in a neutral third party,” Killian reasoned, “that would be considered an ‘indirect’ attempt?”

“The law does not forbid it.”

This was apparently the best answer Favor could provide, but Killian was no stranger to exploiting the rules in any given situation. 

“And what are the chances that this rival clan doesn’t slaughter me on sight?”

“That is a risk,” Favor admitted. “But I believe their chieftain will have a particular interest in meeting you.”

“For argument’s sake, let’s say you’re right. How do I persuade the Less Clan to release your daughter? It sounds as though I’ll need something quite valuable to offer in exchange.”

Favor lost some of his confidence then, pensively watching his healers as they began to pluck the vicious barbs from their prisoner’s skin. “Sadly, their victory makes anything we might offer them redundant.”

Killian squeezed his eyes shut as a particularly stubborn fishhook took a painful piece of flesh while tearing free. “Bloody hell. Well then I can’t imagine I’ll be very convincing. Unless this chieftain is far more merciful than you’ve made him out to be.”

Instead of responding immediately, Favor took a moment to size Killian up once again, dark eyes taking in all of the metal barbs yet to be removed, the bandage covering his wounded arm, his general exhausted pallor from days of sickness and a rough road. He must have seen through all of that, down to the sacred parental role they had in common, for no hesitation or doubt showed as he said,

“There is another way. If we appoint you as the First Clan champion, any challenge you raise, they must answer. Defeat their champion, and by sacred law, you may claim even their most prized possession as your spoils.”

Killian nearly laughed out loud. Perhaps he’d been naïve to have sworn off all dueling after his latest disaster… but he hadn’t expected to be required to break that vow so soon after making it. “Fight your battle for you, you mean.”

“It is the only way,” Favor confirmed gravely, oblivious or maybe just unconcerned about the ludicrous burden he was placing on Killian’s shoulders. On his best day, the pirate wouldn’t have thought twice about his chances against any of these excitable creatures, even the larger, more menacing ones. But he wasn’t exactly in his prime anymore, and weakened by the journey and hampered by injury…

“You’re asking a hell of a lot from an ignorant stranger you caught wandering your territory. What makes you think I’m anywhere near the right person for the job?”

“Our scouts have been watching you, Laden. We know you did not come here by choice and are not driven by such selfish motives as your Torn captor. We sense that you can be trusted with this task. You will not betray the First.”

Killian’s concern was more of physical failure than whether or not they trusted him. But what choice did he have, really? If he refused to help, he was almost certainly a dead man.

“If I succeed in bringing your princess back,” he said half-heartedly, “do I have your word that you will then release me?”

“That, and anything else you desire which is within our power to grant.”

“‘Within your power’ is a far cry from the unlimited wish-granting of legend, mate.”

“But better than leaving with nothing but your life.”

Mandible spoke up from his position atop Killian’s leg. “Do not dismiss our offer so easily, Laden. If we are able to cure your heart and restore you to your daughter, then it will be a fair trade indeed.”

Killian stared down at him, taken aback by the casual way he had just thrown those words out there. As if it would be so simple. Was it possible?

“You need not decide tonight,” said Favor, and the weary grief was back in his tone. “We will give you until tomorrow, and perhaps when you are feeling better, you will see the sense in such an arrangement.”

Without further discussion, Favor turned his back and departed the way he had come, taking most of his attendants with him. When he was out of earshot, Mandible looked up into Killian’s eyes and said sorrowfully,

“Favor did not mention this, but he also lost his mate in the same raid. Our current matriarch. Having our princess back would do much to restore joy to the First Clan. And we would then gladly use all of our resources to help find a way to return yours.”

[theladypirate]

I’m living for your million mile tag ramblings about your bg3 kids. They all sound so messy and I love them. Can I maybe get more info dumps, or the thing where you pic a gif that matches their personality? 🥺😘

Wake

Wake is just so far out of her depth and refuses to let anyone know bc she desperately wants to seem like she knows what she's doing. She met Karlach and was immediately ready to fight Wyll for her. She's very speedy (current speed with all bonuses before dashing: 80ft) and does dope monk shit. She wants to help her friends but man can they stay like... Good? For like 5 minutes? She wants to marry Karlach and adopt 5 dogs. She thinks Lae'zal and Shadowheart are secretly fucking. She thinks Astarion needs a hug and Gale needs a rebound. She and Wyll are besties. She wants Halsin teach her how to whittle. She thinks Withers is a funny little guy. Someone help her, but don't make it obvious.

Tu'an

Tu'an's name is literally trouble and she lives up to it. She's actually a DND character I've got and translated into BG3, and her backstory is pretty dark, which is fine bc she's so beyond caring. There's so much wrong with her, she has an ungodly pain tolerance bc she doesn't really feel it anymore. She can't get drunk bc repeated infusions of very high level healing magic have artificially sped up her metabolism and she processes alcohol without getting any of the good woobly feelings. She finds the fact that Shadowheart could kill her SO sexy. Would absolutely destroy anyone who disparaged Scratch or the owlbear cub.

Moss

If you mixed Parker with Nathan and then further traumatized that resulting person you'd get Moss. Moss is an angry little cutthroat bitch who would sell you for a corn chip. Except not all the time bc if she likes you she would stab the person trying to get her to sell you out. With prejudice. And never tell you about it bc it's none of your business. Her main way of expressing affection is to bitch at you to do self care while pointedly ignoring that she is also not sleeping or eating properly. She and Gale do NOT get along at first, he finds her abrasive and clinical, she finds him annoyingly positive AND he eats magic items. After the Grove he realizes she's more than she lets on and makes an effort to understand her, which throws her for a loop bc nobody has ever bothered to try before. She has no clue what to do with her feelings. Truly a mess.

Vyn

Truly a proper bard. She thinks very highly of herself and doesn't think about anyone else. She has committed plagiarism and will do so again. She wants the glory but absolutely does not want to work. She would have committed cryptocurrency scams if it existed in BG3, and she's so charming she'd have gotten away with it too. The most likely to be tricked by The Emperor, since he's flattering her and she loves to hear nice things about herself. Has never had to deal with the consequences of her actions and is now having just so many rude awakenings. This adventure is going to drag her kicking and screaming into being an alright-ish kind of person and she isn't having it. Wyll isn't even her normally type but she zeroed in oh his hero complex and wanted to exploit it so she would have a bodyguard, but she got in too deep and now she actually wants to be the person he thinks she is and she's never going to live this down.

Ocelia

Besties with Jahiera. Does not care about being nice or polite unless you give her the respect she has earned. Has a strict moral code to protect her from the Wizard Hubris, which often leads her to denying herself things she wants, or making her do things the hard way. Thinks Gale is an idiot and one step removed from a warlock. Unflinchingly honest when prompted, if you don't want her to tell you what she thinks you should not ask her. Has backup plans for her backup plans and always has her head on a swivel. Technically a Duchess although she leaves the running of her estate and lands to her younger brother, who is a much better people person. Can see that Astarion has the potential to be Better capital B and refuses to let him wiggle out of doing the right thing. In return he won't let her pretend she doesn't want something. They bring out the most ragged parts of each other and somehow it... Just works. Neither of them will address the elephant in the room aka their feelings. Shadowheart has a bet going with half the camp over whether or not they'll fuck or murder each other. Ocelia has placed a bet and won't tell Astarion what it is.

[sessakag]

When you think about it, Sakura was kinda a terrible friend. There’s not one friend she didn’t emotionally or physically hurt (unintentionally or not). Naruto was her main target and I can see why people dislike her for it. She always made everything about her or about Sasuke.

She cut Ino off bc of Sasuke. Called her a pig and everything. She knew Hinata loved Naruto and even says it herself when looking at her being hurt but then go and hugs him during Pain arc (still to this day I feel like Kishimoto did her dirty bc he had Hinata almost die for him just for him not to do anything with it. That hug or moment should’ve been with Hinata. Kishimoto did her dirty so many times even in The Last). If any girl did that to Sasuke, Sakura would not like it at all. Not only that, she tried to emotionally manipulate Naruto (knowing again Hinata loves him) and gets mad when he didn’t fall for her idiotic plan. She left Kiba, Lee and Sai unconscious in an unknown territory to pursue Sasuke alone just to not go through with the plan. Not only did she put herself in danger, had to be saved by Naruto and Kakashi, but she also put her teammates lives in jeopardy.

I couldn’t stand her for all of these reasons and more. Her bad moments outweighed her good moments for me. What do you think of her? I don’t hate her but I also don’t like her in canon

Before I start this, letting everyone know, I'm not looking for a debate about my personal opinion on this character, been there done that not doing it again. Do not @ me with rebuttals or arguments about her. My opinion is set in stone. I'm merely answering this ask. If you like Sakura, keep liking her, you don't need me to like her too in order to do that.

Now.

I make it no secret that I do not like canon Sakura.

I don't like her on a fundamental level.

To me, her personality was extremely annoying, shallow, unnecessarily cruel at times and overall repugnant. She was selfish, mean and whinny for way too long in the show with no real reason that I found palatable. She had moments in the original and Shippuden where she seemed to turn over a new leaf and showed a glimpse of what she could have been, but then she'd completely undermine her progress with the behaviors and actions you described, anon, and I couldn't ever get on board with her. She was a lot better in The Last and for once I found her decent, but it wasn't enough to change my mind about her overall.

She's just missing key components for me to enjoy her character.

The Naruto world has a lot of flawed characters, people that did bad/morally questionable things or had abrasive and distant attitudes, however, a lot of them were relatable and sympathetic due to their tragic backgrounds or them being forced into a terrible situation, not excusing their actions, but their situations prompted understanding and empathy for what sent them down the path of darkness or hatred in the first place. Their story made it possible to like them as the flawed humans they were. Gaara, Sasuke, Zabuza, Nagato, Konan, even Neji, these are people that did bad things, but when you look at them in their entirety, past and present, there's a thread of understanding that makes your heart bleed for them.

Then, I look at Sakura's behavior, check out her past and present and I'm like 😒why tf are you so mean and nasty???? She got teased about her forehead as a kid sure, but had Ino there to help her work through it, then she got into a spat over a guy and ended a friendship...

I'm sorry but that does not garner any understanding or tolerance of her behavior from me at all. To me, the violence she visited on Naruto FREQUENTLY, the insults and selfishness was a part of her personality, not some lingering trauma that needed healing, or a defense mechanism she'd built up as a way to protect herself, she was just mean and that is why I found her repugnant.

There's no excuse for it.

Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru didn't treat Naruto like trash, there was no reason for her to do it other than her nasty personality. They were all around the same age so the 'she's a kid and didn't know better' is out the window. For all her flaws, Sakura is a very smart character, she knew how to be kind, she did it for Sasuke all the time. She was kinder to Lee faster than she was Naruto.

There's no excuse I'm willing to hear. I didn't like her behavior then, I don't like it now, and no amount of twisting words, bullying or arguing is going to change my stance on it (though many have tried, lol) I think if fans of her want to be upset with anyone, be upset with Kishsi who butchered her rather than the people that didn't like the butchered character he served them. He made her distasteful to a lot of people and never, imo, rectified it in a meaningful way and I don't think people are wrong for not liking her.

So that is what I think of her.

I hate canon Sakura, original through Shippuden, but I like her potential which I think really presented itself in The Last.

Sakura is my second most hated character personality wise, RTN Hinata is number one 🤭

[silvershewolf247]

Try Again

After Andy passed out, Chucky re-secured his arm and finished up Mixter’s instructions for taking care of his stitches. He debated with himself about putting the gag back in, but chose against it, deciding he wanted to see Andy’s continued response to the good news, unfiltered. Chucky made himself comfortable in his armchair and started reading one of his magazines. It wasn't long before Andy was waking up again. Chucky hadn’t given him much, didn’t want Andy developing a tolerance. If he was anything like Nica, they’d need to use it again. Chucky smiled at the thought of Andy waking up in a panic like Nica had, desperately trying to put together the lost time and what Chucky had done with him. 

This wasn’t the first time Chucky had seen Andy waking up during this… well… Chucky considered it a bit of a well needed time out. And every time it was the same, Andy would wake up visibly confused, take in his surroundings, and seem to settle on where and when he was. Then he'd fall into the same pained resignation that Chucky had grown bored of. But now it was different. Andy woke up, he looked around the room confused, then he settled, then came the fun part. Andy groaned, and he realized he could hear himself, he realized he didn’t have a gag in, then he remembered why. 

“Morning sleepyhead,” Chucky said. Andy’s eyes found him. He was trying to keep himself calm, but Chucky could see the fast, heavy breathing in his chest. It’s the little things that made Chucky smile. Andy meanwhile had a look that made it clear he wanted to smack that smile off his face. 

“Why’d you keep the gag out?” Andy asked, forcing his tone to be level. Chucky took a deep breath. Andy could play pretend all he wanted, Chucky would drag him back into reality kicking and screaming. 

“Well you got yourself all worked up. I thought maybe you wanted to talk about it,” Chucky said, only looking at Andy over the magazine. 

“Do you honestly think possessing me is going to work for you this time? You tried it twice and failed twice,” Andy said. 

“You try, you fail, you try, you fail, but the only true failure is when you stop trying,” Chucky said, turning the page. Andy looked at him skeptical and confused, Chucky lowered his magazine.

“Tiffany told me that; she has one of those motivational quote calendars,” Chucky explained, before returning to his magazine. 

“Well if we’re quoting shit, you ever hear about the definition of insanity?” Andy said, 

“Andy, you and I have been well past insane for a while now,” Chucky said, smiling. He was amused that Andy seemed to think he could talk his way out of this.

“You’d be stuck with me, you hate my guts, do you really want that?” Andy said. Chucky put down the magazine and gave Andy his full attention.

“Andy, I don’t hate you," he said. He got up and walked over to Andy. 

"I like you," he continued leaning closer to Andy.

"I like fucking with you, I like hurting you, I like hearing you scream, I like knowing how much I fucked up your life, I like knowing how much I’ve gotten into your head, I like knowing that I’m the only constant in your horrible life, and I like scaring you," Chucky said, smiling when he noticed Andy was digging his nails into his palm. 

"You aren’t my mortal enemy, or the big hero meant to stop me, despite how you make believe. You’re my toy, one of my favorites, you’re broken and worn down, but I keep you around, maybe it’s sentimentality, maybe it’s because there’s still fun to be had. But it’s my decision, and I’m choosing to keep you around,” Chucky said. 

Andy listened to his whole spiel, not looking him in the eye. Over the three and half years they had lived together, Chucky learned to read Andy. And that was a telltale sign that what Chucky said had hit him somewhere. He was quiet for a moment, Chucky waited in the silence. 

“I guess that is the only way you could keep someone around isn’t it,” Andy said. Chucky was taken aback. 

“What the fuck does that mean?” Chucky said. He put his hand on Andy's arm, right over one of the fresher cuts.

“Pretty simple to understand, but I guess you are pretty fucking dense,” Andy said, Chucky dug his thumb into Andy's cut. Andy winced in pain and gritted his teeth, swallowing a scream, but he was smiling. 

“You make fun of me for only having you as a constant in my life, but all the constants in your life are your victims,” Andy said. 

“That’s not true,” Chucky said, it was blunt, but Andy could hear some desperation. 

“Really, let’s go through the list of the people in your life,” Andy said, Chucky let him go on, knowing if he stopped him, he’d be conceding he was scared of what Andy was saying.

“There’s your wife, you’ve murdered her… two times?” Andy asked. 

“Three,” Chucky said. 

“No wonder she called the police on you,” Andy said. Chucky tensed, still sensitive on that topic. 

“There’s your ever shifting list of kids and teens you harass and stalk,” Andy said. 

“Every man needs his hobbies,” Chucky said, smiling and shrugging.

“But they were never enough for you, were they. If they had been, you'd never have ended up here. You wanted more than just those ‘hobbies’” Andy said. 

“You wanted the same picket fence life you saw Daniel Pierce had, but you knew you could never make relationships as strong as his, so you killed him and you tried to steal his life,” Andy continued. 

“Pathetic really, I might not have much fulfillment in my life, but at least I accept who I am,” Andy said, he was chuckling. Chucky clenched his fist, digging his fingers into Andy's wound. Andy let out a pained scream, before gritting his teeth. 

“You never let go of that," Andy said through the pain, Chucky stopped. 

"Sarah didn’t want you, so you killed her. Barbara and Nica didn’t want or need you as a father, so you killed Barbara and possessed Nica because you needed to keep one of your pseudo kids around,” Andy continued, smiling at Chucky’s growing rage. 

“She’s more a part of your life than your actual kids… They don’t even know you exist, do they?” Andy finished, Chucky grabbed a knife off his side table and put it to Andy’s throat. Andy didn’t flinch. 

“Do it, you pathetic, fucking coward,” Andy said. Chucky held the knife at his throat. They stayed still in silence for a moment. Before Chucky broke it by laughing.

“You almost got me there Barclay,” Chucky said, still laughing. 

“I don’t know what you’re trying for Andy, but you’re not getting it,” Chucky said, putting the knife away. They both heard a door creaking open and heels clicking on the creaky floorboards. They both looked over to see Dr. Mixter walking in. 

“Hello Charlie,” she said, walking over to Andy and Chucky.

"Hey Doc., Good to see ya," Chucky said, waving her over. She grabbed Andy’s leg, looking it over, clinical and detached. Andy groaned in pain when she grabbed him and glared at her. He had met her before, but he’d never been able to say anything to her. Now that he could, he didn’t know what to say. 

“The stitches look good, we should be able to take them out in two weeks,” she said, Chucky smiled at Andy, who had gone pale. 

“Hear that buddy, two weeks. Then we get to have some real fun,” Chucky said.    

[compassionatereminders]

I need to vent. Today around 12 I started to feel pain in the upper part of my stomach/beneath solar plexus. I then spread to the rest of my stomach, so I had pain all over. At the beginning it was something I could handle. But it just got worse and worse, so about an hour later I had to lie down and curl into a ball. It felt like my stomach and intestines where cramping and sometimes shooting sharp pain. I staggered in to the kitchen to take a pain killer and went quickly back to lie down. I also started getting very bad pain/cramps in my lower belly, it felt like the kind of period cramps I have had a couple of times when it hurts so bad that I almost pass out or throw up. So I was lying on the sofa not really able to move while both having way felt like the worst period cramps and a stomach ache and cramps that filled my entire body with pain and cramping from under my breasts to my pelvis. I even felt nauseous. I lay there for an hour or so, not being able to do or focus on anything other than managing my pain and breathing, wanting to distract myself with my phone or tv but not being able to focus and being too overwhelmed. Then the pain killer seems to start working very slowly and in waves where I’m for short amount of times are relieved from the acute stabbing pain and “only” feel a mild kind of constant pain, that honestly feels amazing when you contrast it with worse pain. But the painkiller never really works well enough for me to be able to even just sit up. So I have to ask my mom to bring me another pain killer. She does and she shows sympathy towards me and puts a blanked over me. Well I lay there for another hour or two, and slowly the pain gets less and the “period cramping” stops. Now at 17 I’m able to sit up and walk around slowly and carefully, still with a mild stomach pain all over and super scared that I’ll do anything that might trigger the pain to get worse again. And my mom says to me “sometimes the pain get worse when you focus on it so much, maybe try to go for a walk?” And I know she’s just trying to help, but it just makes me feel like my pain isn’t bad enough and that I’m doing it wrong or am too lazy or that I’m too sensitive so that I can’t move for several hours because of a mysterious stomachache. And it makes me angry because I feel like I have to defend myself, and I just know she’ll be annoyed with me soon for not being all normal and happy and pain free again, making me feel like I’m manipulating her by telling her how much it hurts and how little I can do at the moment. I didn’t even want to ask her to help me by giving me another pain killer, it took me at least half an hour to psyk myself up to ask her because I don’t want her to see me like this and I don’t want to have to ask for help when I’ll be meet with fake care and sympathy only used as a means to make me stop being difficult faster. It just makes me so angry and sad, and I feel so alone and like I can never lean on anybody or receive genuine care from anyone. And other than that, I have been soo fucking scared from this random pain! I have no idea where or why it came, it’s probably nothing, and even if I try to go to a doctor they’ll just tell me I’m being overly sensitive and have a low pain tolerance and then they won’t be able to find anything, and I’ll feel like I’m just a crazy hypochondriac. But it scares me so much that such overwhelming pain can just appear about if nowhere so suddenly making me feel like my organs are trying to explode or stab themselves, it’s so scary to feel so much pain and not being able to get away from it and painkillers that only work half good or less and takes at least an hour to set in. but it seems like I’ll just have to live with it.

If you hit a pain level where you can barely move or think, then you should see a doctor. And I am saying this well aware that many doctors aren't particularly helpful. Still, a 9 or a 10 on the pain scale is something you need to see a doctor about if you don't know why it's happening. So please take it seriously if this happens again. Even if your mom isn't as concerned as she should be.

[danilovesivars]

Nothing Makes Sense

If you’ve been following our journey on Facebook or GoFund Me that’s probably what directed you here. People have asked me to keep writing but it didn’t seem appropriate to keep using the updates page on GoFund Me and Facebook just didn’t seem like the right platform forever so I have looped back to an old blog page. This blog had lots of purposes. It first was used to document the journey of Ivars and I through our engagement.  Then it was used to document the first year of Riley’s life. All happy things. Now it’s being used for grief. I hid the old posts and I'm using this now to share my thoughts when I’m in pain. Things make no sense. Life makes no sense anymore. I have all this free time and I don't like it. It isn't supposed to be free time. This is supposed to be my time with you. I'm not even crying anymore. I just feel exhausted and so very confused. I can't understand how it's been 3 weeks since I took you into the hospital. I can’t understand why you never came home. I think I’m back in that denial phase. I forgot I had an appointment today about my sleep. I told the person that none of the sleep stuff seemed relevant anymore and why so we cancelled our appointment. She sent off a note to our doctor. The doctor called back. The hospital hadn't sent any information so she had no idea you spent two weeks there and that you were gone. The next thing I knew I was giving a short recap of what happened but my head was vividly remembering it all. What ifs began taking hold. I remember getting there and trying to find parking and noticing in my mirror you looked like you were losing consciousness and terror hitting me. There's a few dings on the car that we noticed since being there and it may have been from me trying to squeeze in a tight spot by a pole in the garage. I didn't think I hit anything but who knows. I would have done everything to save you. I remember you not freaking out when we got on the elevator. You hate elevators. I remember telling the triage nurse that. I remember him asking if the colour of your skin looked normal and I said no he looks green. I remember him calmly checking your vitals then telling me he wanted to go to another room with a more accurate machine. As we walked into that room I noticed the door said resuscitation room. He hooked you up to another machine and before I knew it the room was full of people. Some were residents. They were asking questions and giving you Ventolin and trying to get you to tolerate the oxygen mask. That was the first time you fought anything that day. I remember seeing Daddy find us... I remember staring at him with fear. I remember that the last time I saw you conscious you were terrified. I tried to reassure you. I tried to let you know we were there and this was going to help you. I don’t imagine you could understand that though not just because of age but also because of the oxygen level at that point. I hate to think you were wondering why we weren’t stopping these strangers. I hope that your last memory of us was not that. I feel like I want to keep writing but I just don’t even know anymore. Everything feels wrong. Riley noticed it too. We tried going to the movies yesterday and indigos and she fell apart in both places. Saying those exact words at Indigos. Nothing is right everything feels wrong. I don’t want to have time to write. Having this time hurts. You and I should be snuggled up having a nap right now. I’m exhausted so I’ll probably have one but it won’t be a good one. It hasn’t been since you’ve been gone. Today just feels like a day of repeatedly saying “this makes no sense.” Littered with curse words though. Saying “I don’t get it”. Saying “It’s not real” Just what the fuck.