#the worst they’ll do is up the difficulty

[lactosegremlin]

if it’s a chain, it’s free rein and all that

i'm not a shoplifter but i believe in their beliefs

[moomine]

backwash III | daisuke

author's note: thank you to literally everyone who’s reading this! you guys are so so sweet and i love you all <3 if you want to be part of a taglist for future updates feel free to reply or dm me!! (cover image credit)

summary: (daisuke x f!reader) Sleep is increasingly hard to find on the Tulpar. At night the reader spends her time in the cockpit, thinking about home. When she feels the whim to sleep, she ventures back to the sleeping quarters, only to bump into Daisuke. Instead, she joins him for a midnight snack and some conversation in the lounge.

word count: 2,372

warnings: no trigger warnings! all characters are 18+

now playing: Dave Bixby - "Morning Sun"

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EMPLOYEE STATEMENT 034—

There was this movie I watched once when I was a kid, about a little girl who falls from the sky. Although I can’t remember the title of it now. I do remember that she was a part of another world, a part of something bigger. She was important. I don’t think you have us write these to talk about movies, do you? I’m sure you’d rather hear about the operations on board, or the technical difficulties, or if there’s been any damage to the cargo. You know, the “important stuff”.  Everything is running smoothly so far. Is that good?

I want to be a part of something bigger one day. Hopefully this experience will help me. I’m grateful to have this opportunity.

DAY THIRTY-THREE—

Pony Express allowed a maximum of five hours of sleep to their employees on haul. During those five hours, the Tulpar was shadowed by a veil of utter stillness. A silence not too dissimilar to that of a library, or that painful pause in awkward conversation. It was too quiet, which led you to stare at the ceiling until the fatigue of work or boredom got the better of you. Even when you could fall asleep, it was far from restful. Over the past month you had gotten the worst sleep of your entire life thus far. Worse than when you lived in those co-ed dorms with unruly neighbors and argumentative hallways. Worse than those nights thunder cracked down from the darkened sky and you clutched stuffed animals in your chubby, child hands. After a certain point, you had given up on finding sleep at all.

The computer screens within the cockpit would beep on occasion, the sound barely audible over the soft plucking of guitar strings in your headphones. The coords of some old folk song filled your ears instead. You sat in the captain's chair, curling in on yourself with your knees to your chest and arms around your person. Your head snuggled into the dip in your legs, cheek pressed your knee cap as you stared at the sea of glowing green.

Curly had given you permission not too long ago to sit in the cockpit at night. Within the first month of your apprenticeship, you had grown on him quite a bit. The captain had always been a kindhearted person. He was a people pleaser to his core, a man simply happy to help. Curly saw a lot of himself in you, and he knew what it was like to feel, well, restless.

“As long as you promise not to touch anything,” he had said, prefacing his next words with a comforting smile, “you have my permission to use your clearance to the cockpit at night. But if word gets to the higher ups, they’ll have my head, understood? We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Normally, you tried to pay attention to how long you had been sitting there, keeping track of each song that played to count the minutes as they passed, but tonight you hadn’t. With a sigh, you reluctantly stood from Curly’s chair, deciding to give sleep another try. You slipped your Walkman into the pocket of your pajama pants and left the cockpit. Each step you took was quiet, almost imperceivable, as you walked down the hall toward the sleeping quarters. You didn’t want to disturb the others, although you had a feeling nobody else was sleeping all that well either. The rusted, trusty pipes groaned as you passed, their settling moans somehow bypassing the volume of your music. It made you feel uneasy. You reached into your pocket and turned the music up a bit in an attempt to drown out the sound. 

Rounding the corner, you finally reached the door to the sleeping quarters. Just as you reached for the door handle, it slid open seemingly on its own, causing you to flinch. Standing there—holding a flashlight in one hand and with the other placed against his chest—was Daisuke, looking far more caught off guard than you felt. You winced as he shined the light directly into your eyes.

“Holy shit, dude,” he breathed, voice dropped to a raspy whisper. “You straight up scared the hell out of me. What are you doing walking around in the dark?” Daisuke adjusted his aim and shot the beam at the ceiling instead, creating enough light for the two of you to see each other a little better.

With a soft laugh, you pulled your headphones from your ears, allowing them to hang around the back of your neck. “I’m sorry. Couldn’t sleep.”

“You too?” Daisuke questioned.

“I’m surprised anyone can sleep on this thing,” you whispered. “Where are you going?”

His eyes dropped in embarrassment as he used his free hand to rub nervous circles against the side of his neck. “I’m… I’m grabbing a snack from the lounge. You wanna come?”

“Yeah, if you want me to.” You didn’t hesitate. Anything sounded better than tossing and turning. You stepped to the side, permitting him enough space to walk out of the doorway then alongside you.

Daisuke breathed a chuckle at your response. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you to.”

“Then I guess I’m coming,” you said in a hushed, playful tone.

Daisuke looked at you with a smile and nodded, shining his flashlight down the hall as the two of you began to walk in silence. In the quiet of the hall, the door to the lounge seemed to open with a deafening wheeze. Deep, royal blue illuminated the large room. The night-time window screen displayed a starry sky with wisp-like clouds, bathing the room with an otherworldly glow. It reminded you of going to the aquarium as a kid, surrounded by water and the smell of saltwater. You half expected to look up and see sharks and fish swimming overhead, but you knew all there would be was a dull, blank ceiling and slumbering lights.

Daisuke stuck his head through the doorway, peeking to see if anyone was already inside. When he determined that the coast was clear—although it wouldn’t have mattered anyway considering the noise of the door, he motioned for you to follow him inside.

“Hell yeah! The place is ours,” Daisuke celebrated, speaking louder once the door closed behind you two. He walked toward the vending machines with long, intentional strides. You tread on his heels, gaze fixed on him in amusement as he looked over the different options. 

You pulled your Walkman from your pocket, then leaned against the bar, palms pressed to the countertop as you pushed yourself up, and took a seat on the cool, brown laminate. “Is there normally someone else here?”

“Hmm?” He barely heard you, too fixated on what he was going to eat. As he processed what you had said, the words loading behind his eyes in a turning spiral, he ordered a pack of freeze-dried fruit and tore into the package. “Oh, nah. Not usually. I mean, I’ve seen Anya in here once or twice, but she’s always coming from medical bay. Getting coffee for those late nights, I guess.”

“She works too much,” you noted. “I wish she wouldn’t push herself like that.”

“You two seem close.” Daisuke approached, leaning against the counter beside you.

“Yeah. You could say that.” A tender smile graced your lips at the thought of you and Anya being close.

There was a pause, a brief lull in the otherwise newborn conversation. A series of crunches sounded from your right where Daisuke stood as he popped piece after piece into his mouth. You glanced over at him, the tenderness of your smile warping into something more entertained. He glanced over at you in turn, his mouth full of apple as he mustered a lopsided smile.

“Hey, it’s your Walkman,” he exclaimed after a swallow, pointing at the dated tech in your lap. “Whatcha listening to?”

“Oh,” you peeped with a suddenly flustered look on your face. “It’s a mix my mom made for me. Just a bunch of old folk stuff she used to play for me when I was little.”

“Can I listen?” he asked, shoving another piece of fruit in his mouth.

“S-Sure, yeah.” You unplugged your headphones and played the tape. It crackled, the old speaker not what it used to be. Or what it ever was, truthfully.

Maybe the quality of the sound would have bothered somebody else, but not Daisuke. As your small corner of the lounge filled with the sound of guitar—the stories of rural towns, first loves, and early mornings, Daisuke set his snack on the counter and listened intently. It was far from what he’d normally like, but something about listening to it here, with you made it sound perfect.

“It’s funny, actually. I never used to like this stuff back on Earth, but lately this is the only one I want to listen to,” you said over the music.

“You must really miss her.” Daisuke inched closer, standing less than a foot away from you as he leaned against the counter. His gaze flickered up to your face, quietly admiring the curves and arches of your profile. Under the blue light of the night time window screen, any blemish or imperfection on your face seemed to vanish. Not that he had ever noticed any imperfections on you. Matter of fact, for some reason, he couldn’t imagine seeing any part of you as imperfect. Even if he tried. There was a somber look in your expression as he spoke, one that made his stomach twist in knots.

“So much. I didn’t think it would be this hard being away from home.” Your voice was just above a whisper now. You felt your eyes begin to burn, the familiar sensation of tears welling in the corners as you tried to suppress the ebbing flow. With the shake of your head, you let out a quick laugh, feeling the tension gradually lifted from your shoulders. “What kind of music do you like?”

Daisuke didn’t blink or care about the change in discussion. He didn’t care about what the two of you talked about, and he wasn’t going to pry either. He knew that you would open when you felt comfortable enough to do so, and he was happy to wait however long that would take.

“A bit of everything, I guess. It kinda pisses me off when people say that and, like, they don’t actually mean it.” He slid his snack off of the bar and extended it to you, shaking it as the pieces inside rattled against each other. “I have a pretty impressive vinyl collection back home. Got everything from Etta James to Duster. You should see it sometime.”

Weakly, you smiled and took a piece of the fruit from the package. “Maybe when all of this is said and done. After the haul?”

“I’d love that,” Daisuke responded quickly, eyes trailing over your face. After another moment of silence, a brief break in conversation, he shifted on his heels and looked away. “So, you uh… you got anyone waiting for you back home? Y’know, like friends? A boyfriend? Or uh, a girlfriend? If you, like, swing that way or whatever. Which would be totally cool, obviously. I’ve got a bunch of gay friends-”

“Daisuke,” you said with a hint of that ever familiar amusement in your voice. “Relax, okay?”

He looked back at you and nodded. “Right, yeah… So, do you?”

“Friends? Yeah, a bunch. I miss them too. But a partner, not so much…” You felt your cheeks light up, a soft pink flush dusting the peaks of your cheekbones and the ridge of your nose.

“Hey, that’s cool,” he responded, bumping shoulders with you and trying not to sound too happy about your response. “Me neither. I mean, like I said, I’ve got loads of friends. Just not the whole girlfriend boyfriend thing.”

“Look at us,” you mused. “One in the same.”

“Yup, one in the same.” Daisuke glanced back at you hopefully, then looked away. He downed the rest of his dried fruit and crumpled up the package, tossing it in the direction of a nearby trashcan and missing by a couple feet. He winced, feeling a tinge of embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You gonna go get that?” you asked jokingly, pushed yourself from the countertop, and landed on your feet, securely tucking your Walkman back into your pocket as the music stopped.

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes and walked toward the trash before picking it up and disposing of it properly. “It’s on the way out anyway. In fact, I meant to do that.”

You trailed after him, following close behind as the two of you approached the exit to the lounge. “Totally,” you teased, smiling up at him.

Yet again, the door slid open with that deafening screech as Daisuke and you left the lounge. Together, you walked back to the sleeping quarters. At the door, Daisuke turned to you and stopped. His brown eyes trailed over your features once more in the darkness, illuminated only by the light of the flashlight in his hands. Even in the blackness of the hallway, his smile was bright. His gap-toothed grin seemed almost bright enough to flood the entire hallway with light.

“Thanks for coming with me,” he spoke quietly.

“Thank you for inviting me,” you responded.

Daisuke opened his mouth as if to speak, but the words he wanted to say seemed caught in his throat. Instead, he just nodded and displayed that same smile. Your brows furrowed questioningly, an expression that made his heart skip a bit. Before you could say anything, he opened the door to the sleeping quarters and ushered you inside.

“Goodnight, [Name]. See ya in the morning.” He bit his lip, walking backward toward his room and nearly stumbling when he reached the door.

“Sweet dreams, Daisuke.” 

With that, you slipped into your room with a strange feeling in your chest. A tightness you hadn’t felt since high school, since hallway crushes and etching names into wooden picnic tables. An ache at the loss of his presence. How strange.

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pookies (taglist): @xcryptk33p3rx @freakyydaisukee @sanctuaryofsmartiess @st4rrysblog @academiq @c4t-n1pp @iiveraii

[olympeline]

I’m in the mood for angst so here’s my take on the biggest personal demons of each member of the humanverse!FACE family. They’d be a close and loving unit but with some thorny issues to overcome before they get their happy ending:

Francis: Eating disorder. I imagine him working in fashion and no atmosphere is crueler when it comes to weight than Parisian cat walks. Even if he’s a designer and not a model, the pressure for the “face” of the Bonnefoy brand to stay slim and attractive would be huge. A lot of starving himself, living on coffee, awful fad diet “cleanses,” and even popping pills at his worst. Not to mention smoking like a chimney for the appetite suppressant. He’d also have some issues with helicopter parenting with the thirst for perfection leaking from work to family time. Not in a cruel way but more overbearing and micromanaging his sons’ time to try and give them the quote-unquote “best start” in life.

Arthur: Substance abuse. Guy was a punk in his teens and early twenties and the addiction got its claws into him good and deep. Mostly alcohol, but occasionally he might slip into harder things. Arthur would try to kick the habit again and again after Alfred and Matthew are born but would fall off the wagon many times. The twins learn early that if Papa isn’t home and they wake up to sounds of throwing up, they’ll need to make their own breakfast.

Alfred: Undiagnosed neurological condition and then a different kind of eating disorder when he gets older. The former being something with mania and difficulty focusing. Alfred is smart but school would be a chore because it’s so hard for him to sit still. And growing up watching Francis and Arthur’s various issues with food (and drink) left a dark impression. Alfred finds solace in sports when school is tough but the desire to be the best sets him on a path of impossible physical standards. Then he cracks, stuffs himself, falls into a cycle of binge and purge, and Arthur isn’t the only one throwing up and trying to hide it by running the taps to muffle the sound.

Matthew: Glass sibling syndrome. Alfred and his problems monopolised the family focus growing up and Matthew had to make do with what was left over. This left Matthew quiet and anxious but also defeated and with deeply buried anger and resentment towards his twin. He learnt young that trying to compete for the spotlight was pointless so why bother. That rage and bitterness simmers, deep down, and the rest of the family are shocked when quiet, gentle Matthew is suddenly lashing out and getting into fights when he hits his mid-teens. Matthew never learnt how to control his anger and now it’s controlling him.

This family gonna need some serious therapy I tell ya hwat 🥲

[iteh3xael]

Hi gay!

So given that a man who allegedly killed a CEO is now held, without bail in jail, I’d like to highlight how horrific the institution is and what he is potentially subjected to. This is specific to my experience at the Sheriff’s Detainment Center in RVA and I’ve heard rural places can be worse (he’s white tho and there is privilege in that):

-the worst part is honestly intake because they will conduct a strip search and take EVERYTHING from you while forcing you to sit/stand in a cold ass room for HOURS

-they do not care if you have medication needs and will take their sweet time getting it to you (if at all) They straight up got pissed at me when I demanded my meds back (they steal them)

-they can and will shut off your water if they decide they hate you

-there is simultaneously the most eerie quiet you’ll experience in your life and then the deafening noise of buzzers going off in least 15 minute increments which means you’re on a constant 24/7 cycle given that even when the lights are “off” there’s no real darkness or peace

-there was no visitation allowed and even my lawyer had difficulty meeting me

-speaking of which, the only reason ~I~ was IN jail was BECAUSE my bail was denied and then when I finally went to court, didn’t have a proper trial because of some bullshit formality in terms of subpoenas of a witness who wasn’t even present at the scene of the alleged crime, so when I appealed, I was slated to sit in there for FOUR MONTHS to get a proper jury trial which, fun fact: takes a circuit appeal which means even if you fucking MURDER someone, a SINGLE judge judge gets to play God sentencing people for YEARS which also reminds me

-the boredom WILL drive you insane and I couldn’t even get a fucking BIBLE to read I was so desperate. There were thankfully some decent cops (I won’t say good but there are some kind people playing the role) who gave me some pen and paper but I had to GROVEL which is humiliating

-it’s also pretty demoralizing being put in the “padded cell” which is just sponge concrete with a drain in the middle (again, no water, no furniture, no toilet) for HOURS while you have a broken foot because the cops rough housed you on arrest

-btw those cop cameras? Good chance they’ll never make it to court even if you demand the evidence be disclosed lol

-theyll steal your gum :/

-phone calls are like… 5 minutes max and they force you to pay

-commissary is effectively cheaper than the regular economy which is kind of wild in terms of the smuggling that happens

-they put me in somewhere that was somehow worse than solitary because I was stuck in my cell (no rec time) but the vents carried noise so well that I could hear every single yell which is all the time considering how

-btw there are no windows (they are slats)

-showers are at least hot!

-literally would not wish my rapist the fate of being in prison. I can only imagine how much worse it was in Saydnaya

[lagunapoint]

I’m really hoping for a happy arc for Lavellan and Solas in Veilguard, oh god. No surprises like him being trapped in the Fade while she’s stuck in reality, or having to make a painful choice about who gets to stay alive. Just no, please.

There are so many words and shattered hopes here, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stop myself. Grab a cup of tea, some cookies, and sit next to me, my dear Solavellan.

And now, it’s time to lay all the cards on the table. You know, I can’t help but connect the story of Doctor Who and Rose with Lavellan and Solas in my mind. These storylines mean so much to me, and they both break my heart in the same way.

Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the Doctor Who fandom, I tried to write this as comfortably and clearly as possible for our little refuge.

Relationships that are doomed from the start but where the characters fight through all the difficulties just to see their loved one again... these fill me with awe and pain. (I’m not normal, haha) When creating such relationships, writers have a huge responsibility, and you can’t just trample on expectations, like what happened to me (and many others in the fandom) with the ending of Doctor and Rose.

(A bit of a description of the Doctor and Rose’s love so you can better understand why I’m so anxious of the Solavellan part of the fandom. Warning: Spoilers below. If you’re planning to watch the series starting with the Tenth Doctor, you might want to skip the next few paragraphs.)

He’s immortal, lonely, brooding, and full of regret. He chose the death of his people for the sake of the universe’s survival. He mourns them, he’s broken, lost. He can never undo his decision, and he no longer knows who he is. And then he meets her. She rekindles the light and hope in him. She helps him make the right choices. She changes her life for him, falls in love, even though she knows their relationship is impossible. He feels the same, but it’s like he doesn’t want to admit it. He enjoys her presence. For the first time in almost a thousand years, he falls in love. It slowly changes his world. And oh my God, their maximum intimacy is in their looks, their hugs, and the warm touches of their hands. (There were two kisses, but another being was in her body at the time. So it doesn’t count!)

How do you think this relationship ends?

It crashes into reality. She sacrifices herself and ends up trapped in a parallel reality where he can never exist. Never. It’s the end for them. Three minutes on Bad Wolf Bay. Buckets of tears. He fades away, and she’s left alone, crying along with me.

For years, she searched for a way to see him again. Her life changed so much it’s hard to imagine.

And then the moment of their reunion comes.

Hold your breath

And what did the writers come up with? Feel the strangeness of this decision: since she’s in another world where he can’t be with her, since he’s immortal and she’s mortal, let’s just create his mortal double and give him to her. They’ll be happy. haha. Happy ending.

Just imagine this horrible scenario (forgive me for this), where they create a double of Solas, stripped of all his godhood, mortal, and he’s given to Lavellan.

And Solas, the real Solas, with bitterness and full awareness of what’s happening, gives his Lavellan to him, then walks away into the mist. He loves her so much that he lets her go to another version of himself so she can be happy. Ugh. I feel awful.

Even as a teenager, I understood that this was utter nonsense. She’d leave that double in a day. It’s so obvious, damn it. It’s the worst decision the writers could’ve made for such a strong relationship.

And that’s it, the end. For almost 20 years, there’s been nothing more, and there won’t be. It’s over, and it’s just brutal. It’s a love story that got a happy ending only in fanfiction, fan art, and role-playing.

And that’s why I’m so scared for the outcome of the relationship in Veilguard. God, let it be a worthy ending for all of us few Solavellans. Damn it, this part of the fandom deserves some happiness already.

I truly wish I could have the chance to create a good ending for Solas and Lavellan. I’m sure that even 10 minutes of a cutscene would be enough to make us happy. If we don’t get happiness, then I’ll write another endless rant. In any case, there are always amazing authors, artists, and creators who can heal any plot shortcomings.

There’s so much sadness and doubt here, oh ir abelas, vhenan

[itzynabi]

an: this was posted on the 28th of march, 2024

ITZY’s Nabi vs JYP Entertainment: Full Breakdown of First Day in Court

They came with receipts

On March 28, ITZY’s Nabi’s lawsuit saw its first day in court. Neither Nabi nor JYP Entertainment’s CEO were present in court.

Nabi’s lawyer alleged that JYP Entertainment would wrongfully interfere with the idol’s schedules, leaving her to have to clean up their mess. The most recent example of this was Nabi’s appearance on Unexpected Business.

Her appearance had been worked out beforehand for her to be a part of the show for four days before returning to Korea. On the day Eve was supposed to fly to America, however, Director Park Dakho told her that she wouldn’t be doing the show anymore. She asked if he had communicated with the producers of the show, to which he replied, “No, but when you don’t show up, they’ll get the message.” Nabi then messaged Zo Insung, one of the cast members, to tell him that she was facing a few difficulties, but that she would try to fix everything to be there as soon as possible. Nabi spent a long time fighting with Director Park before he told her that it was either she stay in Korea or go to America without the support of the company. She ultimately chose the latter option and travelled to America with her manager and bodyguard, paying for everything out of her own pocket.

Messages between Nabi and her brother, SHINee’s Key, were shown with the former asking the latter to come up with an explanation for her tardiness, saying “showing up and saying ‘oh sorry im late my company is the absolute worst’ just doesnt seem like a great first impression.” Key suggested she say she had problems with her luggage as an excuse.

On another occasion, JYP Entertainment interfered with Nabi’s acting schedules even though BH Entertainment was in charge of her acting career. A staff member from the set of Boyhood gave a witness statement, stating that JYP Entertainment would sometimes harass Nabi and tell her to leave the set early for no reason. It got to the point that Nabi had to turn her phone off the entire time she was filming until she had filmed all of her scenes for the day, or she would tell the company that if they wanted her to leave then they would have to fetch her from set. On other occasions, the company would refuse to let Nabi film certain scenes, such as the scene where she shares a kiss with Lee Siwoo. The company refused to let Nabi film that scene, saying MIDZY’s, her fans, wouldn’t want to watch her kiss anyone, leaving the director stressed about what to do. Nabi, however, pointed out that JYP Entertainment agreed to have BH Entertainment be in charge of her acting career and they had no jurisdiction to monitor what she did as an actor, and that if fans wouldn’t be able to watch her do her job as an actor and kiss her costar, they just shouldn’t watch the show as everything is fake and scripted.

JYP Entertainment’s lawyer hit back at these statements, saying that the company has a right to make such demands since they manage the idol, but Nabi’s lawyer hit back with the reminder that as her company, JYP Entertainment was supposed to do their best not to damage her reputation, but the two instances that were brought up showed that the company had no intention of protecting her reputation.

JYP Entertainment’s lawyer then stated that Nabi conducted herself in a way that was unprofessional, often ignoring staff members’ phone calls, not answering messages, and refusing to talk to some staff members. Nabi’s lawyer then clarified, with evidence, that the only people she was “unprofessional” to were the staff members that were in the back pocket of Director Park and didn’t do their jobs properly, they then presented names and evidence of those staff members and their incompetence. Nabi’s defence team brought up how in her until spring album documentary, there were staff members that admitted to not doing their jobs properly.

JYP Entertainment then argued that Nabi would speak to the staff in a way that was disrespectful, quoting her to say, “Don’t you have reading skills?” in a degrading tone, which Nabi’s lawyers immediately refuted, accusing the lawyers of misquoting her. They clarified that she said, “You must have no reading comprehension skills if you still don’t understand what was explained in the document,” in response to a staff member that was playing dumb and making the meeting time longer than necessary, preventing Nabi from attending other scheduled meetings.

Most reporters commented on the illegitimacy of JYP Entertainment’s claims, seeing as they were easily refuted by Nabi’s defence team. Another thing that was brought up was the fact that Nabi’s lawyer’s came prepared with evidence for each of their claims, while JYP Entertainment’s legal team only showed evidence once.

The judge asked that both parties prepare for the second trial that would take place on 4 April, with the final ruling happening by 11 April. Some netizens have already begun reacting:

i heard that some of nabi’s supporters went to court in pink clothes

The more i find out about how Nabi was treated, the more i hate jyp entertainment

Director Park you f***er!

She’s such a peaceful person to put up with that for so long

The reporters said Nabi’s lawyer was dressed like Elle Woods ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

©️ kim nabi

[panda-panoptic]

How do Alfred’s parental issues manifest (and more)

GOOD QUESTION I think he’s a workaholic and is constantly seeking praise.

He’s very status-conscious and always looking towards achievements, so he can come off as narcissistic because he’s trying to get the praise that was inconsistent to him as a child.

His trauma is based on “I got praise and care by doing this/being this way but that nurturing feeling became inconsistent or changed, so what can I do to stop it from changing?” so he’s constantly trying to be the “best” version of himself for other people to prevent the praise and support from changing again.

His biggest fear is being worthless or feeling like he’s not enough for others. He never wants to be a “nobody”. To try to stop this feeling he’s always looking to do the next great thing and improve and be admired by others. He wants affirmation and to be distinguished by his accomplishments.

Ironically, when he does this from an unhealthy place he becomes overbearing because he’s doing it from a place of apathy and selfishness. When he’s doing these things from a healthy state of mind he becomes more cooperative and committed to doing things for people.

He’s always focused on doing and getting things done and “how do I look right now? Do people like me? Am I doing things right?” He’s always sort of going “oh look at me! Do you like what I’m doing? Look at my achievements. Do you think I’m good?”

So he’s a people pleaser by trying to be a show off lol. He changes himself based on how other people may want him to be to get that nurturing feeling that he missed out on.

At his worst he’s vindictive, obsessive over shortcomings, destructive towards things that get in his way, and untrustworthy.

He has an insane pride and ego so of course he’s not going to admit these things easily or openly. It makes him cringe to think about how similar he is to the person who was supposed to care for him but didn’t. If he went on an inner healing journey it would be one of the first things he works on: the fact that him and the person who caused him so much pain are so similar and so he has the capacity to do the exact same things that person did to him (and has done them)

To me, I think this manifests in a feeling of resentment for his caretaker, and by extension himself. He ends up taking that out on himself through self deprecation when he feels inadequate. As well as on the people he’s closest to when he feels like they aren’t doing the things they’re “supposed to be doing” or could be doing to be the “best” version of themselves out of fear that they’ll feel or experience what he’s feeling. He becomes anxious when he thinks someone is being lazy, and he can be unsympathetic to others when he feels like they’re slacking off.

He has trouble “just playing around”. He’s a playful person and of course he has fun, but he has difficulty setting aside unstructured free time. He can set aside designated time to have fun, but that’s not unstructured. The struggle comes when he has room to do nothing or is able to do nothing in particular. To him he can’t just sit around doing “nothing” to relax he has to be doing something remotely productive.

On a more healthy note, he can be a very inspiring force because he loves to develop himself and contribute his abilities to the world. He enjoys motivating people to find and explore their own strengths and personal abilities. He’s well regarded by his peers as an efficient person and a go-getter. When he’s at his best people are able to see their own goals reflected in him and his abilities.

At his best he’s self assured, has a clear sense of direction, is energetic and adaptable, can be charming, and is a generally caring personality.

[mollyjeanne615]

Could you please write a song adapting Ted and Charlotte’s conversation/flirting/argument in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals before he leaves her alone with Sam?

Like… there’s the genuine love between them; their respective issues, fears and unhealthy beliefs getting in the way of it; their regret that they can’t just be happy together while also not taking action to make that happen; the stress of being stuck in an alien zombie apocalypse; Charlotte’s grief over and Ted’s resentment of Sam; and their difficulty actually communicating all the previous things. And of course, the sexual tension. I just think that all of those layers interplaying would make a really good song. Especially since their dynamic wasn’t explored much in the show.

There could even be a coda where Ted, after leaving, muses that he could have done better, but he’s been very careful to never give her reason to expect better from him, so she’ll get over it. They’ll be back to their version of normal soon enough (messy as it is). So he doesn’t need to go back in there and apologize or say some heartfelt shit or anything. Then the final notes are the first ones of “You Tied up My Heart”.

I say this every time but holy SHIT this was fun

So I tried to get as much of this prompt into one song as I could - it doesn't cover the entire scene, so there would be a little bit of dialogue between this and "You Tied Up My Heart," but I think it captures a lot of their relationship and connection. There could also totally be some underscoring from this going into the next song in a full production. (Also this wouldn't be in a full production cause they wouldn't be singing, but I dream.) I also cheated a bit with the orchestrations - I've been trying to make them as playable by the original bands of the shows as possible, but for this I switched out the bass part for a second guitar cause why not. There's a little bit of "Time Bastard" in the opening synth part, and there's a pretty big motif/reprise/stolen chord progression in the bridge of the song - I was trying to think of other Hatchetfield songs relating to Spankoffski stories and sexual temptation and all that, and I think this one did the trick lol. I'm super proud of the demo for this one - it came out somewhere between "Dead Girl Walking" from Heathers and "D.O.A." from The Lightning Thief, and I'm really in love with it. Hope y'all enjoy!

In the Worst Way

CHARLOTTE: Ted!  I can’t believe you’re thinking about that at a time like this, the whole world could be coming to an end!

TED: Yeah.  Exactly.  The whole world’s gone to shit and you’re worried about what someone else might think about you?

CHARLOTTE: Well, when you put it like that…

TED:

You think you’re such a good, good girl You pick your nails, you hide your stress But it’s the end of the fucking world So you can afford to decompress

You put your image on a throne You crumple underneath the crown But you need to grow a backbone Before it breaks you down

You’ve been in bed with a scumbag But baby, can’t you see You have a chance to upgrade To a sleazeball like me

So if I’m dying tonight I’ve got a great way to cap off my life I’ll be going out doing the thing I love Screwing around with another man’s wife Maybe there’s better things I should worry about today But I’d rather be here with you So let me say I want you in the worst way

CHARLOTTE: Oh, you’re such a horny bastard.

TED: Always have been, always will be.

CHARLOTTE:

My body’s telling me to run My mind is saying you’re no good But I need something just for fun So I guess I probably should

I’ve wished upon so many stars To be more confident and crude So I’ll embrace the love that’s ours With a badass attitude

TED: Okay!

CHARLOTTE:

There’s something in my gut that says You might still be alright Cause I need someone to love me Before we bite the dust tonight

So if I’m dying today I’m gonna let you lead me astray I might be meeting my maker pretty soon So I’ll get down on my knees and pray Maybe there’s better things I should worry about today But I’d rather be here with you So let me say I want you in the worst way

TED:

Ooh, I want you in the worst way, yeah

TED AND CHARLOTTE:

My happiness is coming first, I won’t be on my own Let all those without sin cast the first stones I’ll do all I can so you’ll never be alone At least until we kick the bucket

CHARLOTTE:

But should I just stick with the devil I know

TED AND CHARLOTTE:

Well, you know what, fuck it!

They make out passionately as a rocking electric guitar solo backs them up.

TED AND CHARLOTTE:

So if I’m dying right now I’ll spend this moment breaking a vow There’s nowhere else I need to be And I needed a little break anyhow Maybe there’s better things I should worry about today But I’d rather be here with you So let me say Yeah, let me say I want you in the worst way

TED:

Let’s let the chips fall where they may

TED AND CHARLOTTE:

I want you in the worst way

CHARLOTTE:

My husband’s brains fell out today

TED AND CHARLOTTE:

I want you in the worst way Maybe there’s better things I should worry about today But I’d rather be here with you So let me say I want you in the worst way

They kiss again on the button of the song.

[kankuroplease]

Can we learn a bit more about Katsura and Aori’s senseis? You mentioned that Katsura’s sensei was related to them, is he Isamu’s first cousin? Do these men have names yet, and what their techniques besides fuuinjutsu and kenjutsu?

They’re side characters to my side characters, so there isn’t much too them beyond interactions with their students 😅

Aori’s Senei (Miran Uzumaki)

Technique(s): fūinjutsu, bukijutsu, taijutsu, water release, and fire release

Alias: Ranran, Miran-kun, Sensei

Orphaned at a young age

Ex Anbu forced into retirement selected to be the sensei of other ex anbu members children

He was unsure about becoming a sensei because he didn’t have a pleasant experience with his own as a child

But he felt like he lucked out with his first team being all extremely talented subordinates

He found it hard to believe Aori was Isamu’s (one of his old superiors) daughter because she was the polar opposite of her old man and much more enthusiastic than any child that man could’ve raised

He’s pretty antisocial, but he does enjoy watching festivals as he didn’t experience them much before leaving the anbu

He loves the sweets there too so that is a part of why he likes festivals. They make good cheat days

Despite her undeniable growing talent, Aori is the only student of his he didn’t recommend to join the anbu as he didn’t believe she was a good fit

It was his way of stirring Aori towards a path where she could actually take care of her sister and keep that optimistic outlook about life

Miran himself retained some of his gentler qualities from before becoming part of the anbu, but very few people see past his permanent scowl

The same scowl his students who try to randomly play matchmaker try to excuse with “I know he looks mean, but he’s a nice guy if you don’t count the times he’s made us over train”

Absolutely not a morning person and has gotten in trouble for reporting in late. That’s the main downside to being a sensei, a little less structured

If you asked him what his ideal life would be, he’d say what he’s doing now, but add a wife and dog

Katsura’s Senei (Shinra Morita)

Technique: Kenjutsu specialist, earth release

Alias: Shin, Shinra Sensei

He was a laid back man in his mid 30’s with a Husband and a child (Aoka)

Aoka is his shining star and he talks about them often to his students

His husband is his more aggressive other half (coming from the bloody mist, it’s to be expected). Everyone knows that if they mess with him, they’ll have to answer to his hubby

He is Isamu’s 2nd (younger) cousin on his mother’s side

He didn’t want to be Katsura’s sensei because he didn’t want his own kin’s blood on his hands if the worst came to pass

Despite his concerns about her, he treated her like any other shinobi because she earned the right to be one

Okami’s sensitivity was a problem as she had a massive ninken that reacted to her emotions. So he was the kindest to Okami and had to defuse any arguments the girls had in the beginning for everyone’s sanity/safety

He knew Yuuta’s mother and about how unmotivated he was. To say he was the last student he wanted to complete his team was an understatement

He was pleasantly surprised that Yuuta not only could follow commands and complete missions with little difficulty, but he was fiercely protective of his teammates and patient with them as they attempted to catch up with them

As someone that knew his mother and the tale of her mission with the Kaguya. This boys bloodlust accompanied with him not breaking bones that should have definitely broken from hits/falls, made him suspicious of his parentage. But being a parent himself made him keep his mouth shut about it

Doesn’t have a problem paying for the kids meals and occasionally letting them goof off when they’ve completed a mission ahead of time

[aeoki]

New Start GO! - Prologue

Location: Inside Train Characters: Hajime, Tomoya, Mitsuru & Nazuna Season: Winter Writer: Seitarou Kino & Akira

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< The middle of February. On the commuter train. >

Nazuna: Urghhh…! I–I can’t move…!

Hajime: A–Are you okay, Nii-chan? Hold onto me if you feel like you’ll get separat–

Whaa!?

Nazuna: You say that but look at you, Hajime-chin – the crowd has dragged you all the way over there~!

Oh, now that I think about it, where have Mitsuru-chin and Tomo-chin gone? I don’t see them anywhere…

Mitsuru: I’m here, y’know~! I can’t move my body but I’ve been training every day so I’m fine!

Tomoya: I’m over here. I’m surrounded by people taller than me so you probably can’t see me, though.

How many people can fit in here anyway? I honestly underestimated the rush hour.

This isn’t something anyone should experience five days a week.

Nazuna: Yeah. But there are actually a lot of people who have to experience this during the weekdays~

Anyway, I’m glad you two are all right. Not that I could’ve imagined this is how horrifying commuter trains would be!

Office workers sure have it rough. I never would’ve thought there’d come a day where I’d be in their shoes.

Hajime: That’s precisely why it’ll be a good experience for us. I’m looking forward to seeing how our first day of work will be like.

Nazuna: Yeah. We’ve gotta make sure we meet their expectations since we were chosen for the project.

(In any case… There are five stations left until the company office – Let’s do our best!)

(...Ahaha. That sounds a bit weird.)

(I balance life as an idol and a university student, but to think I’d get to experience being an office worker too. It really is a strange opportunity ♪)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< A few days earlier. >

Nazuna: …”New Start Go!”?

Tomoya: Hmm. So it’s a special segment part of a variety TV show where they’ll watch us working in an office, right?

Hajime: We’ll be working at a company that sells menswear. We can promote their suits at the same time, so it’s like hitting two birds with one stone for the company…

I see, so that’s why we’ll be getting work experience there. I understand now, Anzu-san.

Tomoya: But work experience, huh. Are we up for this…?

Mitsuru: It just means we’ll be wearing suits and working, right? That sure sounds fun, y’know!

Tomoya: Well, the people watching us will definitely see it that way, but we’ll just be useless in the office. I have a feeling we’ll just get in their way.

I’m happy you offered this opportunity to us, Anzu-san, but I’m sorry. I don’t think we should make a decision right away.

So can you tell us a bit more about it?

Why did this sort of work offer come to us in the first place? What sort of work are they wanting from us…? I’d like to hear the specifics before accepting.

Hajime: Is it because we held out on our own against “Eden” during “Boogie Time”, so everyone suddenly has their attention on us…?

It’s true we’re used to variety shows, so maybe that’s why we were seen as equals with “Eden” there.

Nazuna: And a higher-up from a TV station noticed that we have potential and decided they wanted to see more, huh.

It’s great they acknowledged our variety skills, but this job will be pretty tough.

Mitsuru: I’m fine whenever and with whatever as long as it’s fun!

Tomoya: Don’t say yes so easily. I don’t think working in a company office is an easy thing to do, you know?

Mitsuru: Hmm~ But I’m not gonna be there to play~

Tomoya: Well, I guess you could say things like being an idol or acting also count as social experience… but working at an office will be a lot of work. My dad looks like he’s having a hard time every day.

It’s a different kind of difficulty from being idols – it’s a contest of who’s more talented there. They have a lot of rules you have to follow, so wouldn’t that be the worst kind of environment for you, Mitsuru?

Mitsuru: Hmm~ You think so? Sounds pretty strict!

So does that mean we should say no? Whaddya guys think?

Hajime: It’s a difficult choice… I think Tomoya-kun has a point, but I also think there will be things we can learn from the experience.

It would be nice to have some time to decide, but what do you say?

This work offer suddenly appeared out of the blue for us, so I think it would be best for the company if we have time to discuss before making a decision.

Tomoya: I agree. It’s not something we can easily say yes to and we’re happy they think highly of us “Ra*bits”.

Nazuna: Yeah. Sorry, Anzu, it seems our opinions are split, so can we have some time to think things over?

Right. Sorry we can’t give you an answer right away.

Tomoya: Anzu-san, would it be okay if we gave you our answer two or three days from now? We’ll do some research on the company until then.

Okay. We’ll also read through the proposal carefully if you have it. Sorry for all the trouble!

Nazuna: …You’ve got to get going, so you’ll send it by email? Sorry, you’re so busy, but you came all the way here to talk to us in person,.

Yeah. We’ll make a responsible decision. If we decide to accept, then we’ll be in your care, Anzu.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNext Chapter →

[heliads]

Tom!peter x male reader where reader is a powerful magic user and senses some magic on his memories after stranges spell and undoes it and confronts Peter why he didn’t make him remember (ISNT THE BEST BUT HEY)

but hey indeed

masterlist

Something is wrong. You can feel it, this wrongness, lurking somewhere in your mind, coiling around your heart, making you doubt what’s real and what isn’t. You don’t know what the problem is, only that it’s there, and there so strongly that it’s messing with your head.

That’s the worst part, you think, the uncertainty. If you just knew what the problem was, you could fix it. You’ve been fixing the bits and pieces of yourself that have fallen off for years now, medicating by throwing yourself into the whole hero/vigilante business that everyone seems to have going on these days or tracking down a certain Dr. Stephen Strange and making him deal with you instead. This, though, is a problem that even he can’t solve.

You’re no stranger to unnameable difficulties. Ever since your magical abilities started manifesting themselves some years back, you’ve gotten to know the more supernatural side of the world like the back of your hand. Spellbooks were just as common in your house as textbooks, and you see visions of runes whenever you close your eyes as opposed to the normal mathematical symbols haunting most teenagers.

Strange has been a great help, obviously, but even he can’t do everything. You were all but dropped on his doorstep when you entered junior high. Your parents had enough of your magical nonsense and went to the nearest source of inhuman knowledge. At that point, Stephen was just figuring out the whole Master of the Mystic Arts thing himself, but no one really paid much attention to that. You were magical, and even if you weren’t a sorcerer yourself, Strange was close enough and so you were put under his semi-watchful eye.

You’re definitely not bitter about that. Your magic is different from Strange’s, but that doesn’t matter, only a chance to get rid of you and pawn your enchantment habits onto someone more capable of tackling them.

Still, it clearly worked out. Strange may master a separate dialect of magic than you, so to speak, but it was close enough. He taught you control over your powers, sarcastic one-liners, and how to save the world while exerting the least possible effort to interact with other heroes. All good things to keep in mind when you’ve got spells running circles around your head like a song stuck on repeat.

You’ve had the whole magic thing under wraps for years, to keep a long story short. That means this sudden issue is baffling. It almost reminds you of what it felt like to lose control over your magic in the early days, when it was your master instead of the other way around, but your hold on your spells hasn’t slipped in a very, very long time.

If it isn’t that, then what could possibly be the problem? You just don’t know, which is the worst part. Hanging around with Stephen for this long has also given you a bit of an ego problem, you can admit that freely. You’ve spent all this time being the boy with magic, the unstoppable teenage wizard who could destroy an enemy alien spaceship with one powerful blast of sorcery. You are certainly not the type to be the victim of his own mind.

Yet the problem persists. It gnaws at your insides, whispering secrets that your hold over your own sanity is fracturing by the hour. For someone with the raw capabilities that you entertain on the regular, losing one’s mind isn’t an option that you can pick. Everyone knows S.H.I.E.L.D. is already frothing at the mouth at the chance to lock you up for further study. All it takes is one mistake on your end and they’ll swoop in for the kill.

No, you’ve got to figure this out on your own time. No matter how much you wrack your brain, though, you can’t seem to conjure up a single solution. Every time you try to think about it at all, your head explodes into a thousand migraines. It’s almost as if something out there wants you to stop thinking about it at all. It’s impossible to ignore the gaping hole in your brain, though, the empty space where you swear there was something. If only you could remember what that something was, you’d really be getting somewhere.

Problem is, this whole remembering business is hell. You try to pretend as if nothing is the matter, but you can’t help letting your frustration seep into your daily life. You stalk from home to class to the New York Sanctum then back again. You’ve already snapped about half a dozen pencils, crumpled countless failed essays into tight balls of paper, and glared at scores of hapless grandmothers for taking too long to cross the road.

Stephen, ever hostage to your various mood swings, has already picked up on the change in your mental state. He’s waiting for you when you make it to the Sanctum one afternoon, and raises an eyebrow when you all but slam the door shut.

“Do you have something against my front door?” He asks pointedly, “or are you trying to ruin the hinges for no reason in particular?”

You smile sarcastically. “Just me, I’m afraid.”

You start to move past him in the hopes of finding an empty room to practice, but Stephen holds up a hand. “Not so fast. I want an explanation for why you’re acting so weirdly.”

“Can I say ‘normal teen angst’ and call it a day?” You ask hopefully.

Strange shakes his head. “You’re angstier than normal. Why?”

You sigh. “Something’s messed up. I feel like someone’s poked around in my head without telling me. There is something very wrong, but I have absolutely no idea what it is.”

Stephen frowns. “That’s certainly a predicament. Did you accidentally cast a spell on yourself? Don’t tell me you believed Wong when he said you could enchant yourself into remembering chemistry, that was a joke. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Your brow furrows at that. “You have? Anyway, no, I haven’t done a single spell on myself, I know better than to try that. You haven’t done anything to me, have you?”

“Not that I remember,” Strange says doubtfully, “Regardless, I hope you figure it out. The Sanctum doors are praying for it.”

You make a face at him as he leaves. Even after Strange returns to his own studies, though, you’re still mulling over something he said. Stephen doesn’t remember casting a single spell, but a spell would certainly explain why you feel the way you do. Plus, one of the worst parts about the weirdness currently going on in your head is that you can’t remember a single thing that would have caused it.

Now, if you don’t remember a spell, and Stephen Strange, former Sorcerer Supreme, can neither remember nor detect it, that’s certainly an indication that no spell occurred at all. However, the possibility of a spell is too likely. And, if someone cast a spell with the caveat that no one would remember the spell at all, that would cover all your bases. You could be going mad, but then again, you already feel like that. Sometimes, insanity is your best bet.

You continue puzzling over the spell until long after dark. The only possible path you can see is to remove the damned thing, and although you don’t have that much experience with spellbreaking, you also know your own mind. You are made of magic. Removing someone else’s attempt at controlling you is like second nature.

Sitting cross-legged, you close your eyes and prepare yourself. Usually, you’d be back at home by this time, but you figured you might as well stay at the Sanctum so you could involve Strange if something went terribly wrong. You don’t think you’re going to mess up, though.

You stretch your hands out by your sides, palms up, and call your magic forth. It answers instantly, swirling around your fingers and spiking through your heart. You breathe out; it follows suit, chasing the exhalation around the room until the entire space is filled with your power. One conscious thought, and it dives back towards you, channeled towards your mind.

Now that you’re following the path of your own magic, the foreign spell is far easier to identify. A few more moments of searching, and there– locked around your brain, visualized in your mind’s eye as encircling golden bands, just like the magic of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

You curl your hands into fists at your sides, and your magic cuts through the spell. At first, it resists you, but you’re not the type to flinch back from a challenge. What could be minutes or hours later, it snaps, and your eyes fly open with the sheer force of what you’ve just remembered.

Memories flash through your head, one after another. You’re left reeling. Strange doesn’t remember the spell because he cast it. There was a fight that involved the fate of the multiverse, and although you remembered that just fine, you didn’t remember the boy at the center of it all. You can see him swooping through the streets now, the vigilante known as Spider-Man. Back before the spell, you knew him by a different name. You knew him as Peter Parker, and he meant the world to you.

Peter. More memories hit you like a tidal wave. You grew up with him, fought crime with him, died with him when you couldn’t stop Thanos. You fell in love with him. No wonder your mind was fighting so hard against the spell; living without Peter would kill you just as certainly as Thanos’ snap.

You’re on your feet before you know it, still dizzy and stumbling from the memories colliding in your head but determined to find him, and find him now. Peter had explained the spell just before it happened. Although you hated the thought of it, the memory spell was the only way to save the multiverse. You had held him close, choked with sobs, and made him promise to find you again.

Peter found you again, but he found a loophole in that oath. He had the chance to make you remember– he’d been at the coffee shop, he’d seen you and Ned and MJ, and he had looked at you with the saddest expression you’d ever witnessed in your life before turning around and heading out again. You had thought the interaction was odd, but thought no more of it.

Now, you know it for what it was– Peter giving up on what you’d have, choosing to leave you forever in the dark without him. Knowing Peter, he probably did it for some stupid self-sacrificing reason, like danger followed him wherever he went so keeping you out of his life would keep you safe, but that’s nonsense. Danger is a part of your life, just the same as magic, and you are not losing Peter because of it.

You throw open the window in a heartbeat, jumping out into the cold night. Strange may have the Cloak of Levitation, but you taught yourself a few basic flight spells during your first few lessons. You use them now to soar through the air, searching for Peter. He’s out there somewhere. He has to be.

Your intuition pays off when you see a masked figure perched on the roofline of a nearby building. As if Peter could ever let his guilt rest long enough to take a break from patrolling. Even now, too far away to make out any details on his countenance, you can guess that his eyes are rimmed by dark circles, proof that he’ll wear himself to the bone before he takes a day off.

Peter looks surprised when someone lands on his rooftop, but even more so when he realizes it’s you. The eyes on his mask open comically wide, but you hold up a hand before he can say a single thing.

“Peter Parker, how dare you try to cut me out of your life?” Your tone increases in volume with each word, and by the end of it, Peter has taken several steps back.

He holds up his hands in mock surrender, but they drop slowly as he realizes what you’ve said. “Wait. You’re not supposed to know who I am.”

You fold your arms across your chest. “No, I’m not, right? I would know if you had talked to me like we agreed, but you didn’t. I had to take matters into my own hands and remove the spell.”

Peter raises a trembling hand and pulls off his mask to make sure he’s not seeing things. His eyes are wide and glassy, and he stares at you like he’s seeing a ghost. Maybe he is.

“You knew there was a spell?” He asks feebly.

“I knew there was something wrong, and I used my magic to figure it out. You’re not answering me, though. Why didn’t you make me remember? Didn’t we love each other? Didn’t we promise to find each other again?” Your voice is quiet at the end as the force of what he didn’t do weighs on you. If Peter truly loved you, wouldn’t he have kept his promise?

Peter opens his mouth, closes it again, then gives up and pulls you to him. You freeze for a moment, then return the embrace. After so much time apart, it feels like coming home.

He speaks at last, the words muffled against your shoulder. “The people I love die because of me. I couldn’t lose you. I thought that if I kept you out of my trainwreck, you’d stay safe.”

You laugh bitterly, holding him even closer. “Not possible. I make my own danger, thank you very much. All I want is you, Peter. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Peter leans back slightly so he can look at you again. “Then don’t leave. Stay with me. We’re good now.”

That you are, you decide. No spell can keep the two of you apart, and certainly not the fate of the multiverse. You’ll have your boyfriend whether the world likes it or not. They can certainly try to take you on, although you’d have to warn Fate that you’re not one to lose.

requested by @fadedver, i hope you enjoy!

marvel tag list: @namoreno, @thatfangirl42, @rogueanschel, @mycosmicparadise, @ellobruv, @callsign-scully, @with-inked-solace, @sher-lokid7, @amortensie, @23victoria, @watchreadfangirlrepeat, @gods-fools-heroes, @w1shes43, @deafsuperhero

[waywardsalt]

im thinking about possession aftereffects that linebeck experiences immediately after the events of phantom hourglass, so here are bullet points i have down for my own ideas

he’s out cold for roughly five days after the fight. he’s conscious for a bit after being freed, but it doesn’t take long for him to collapse once he’s transported back to the great sea. link finds him when he reaches his ship to see him again (he takes a lifeboat or w/e from tetras ship its a whole thing and not the point) and ends up having to take care of him for those five-ish days.

while he’s out cold, he develops a bad fever, and has a good few physical injures from being possessed; all of his wounds from being possessed manifest as burns, the worst wounds bring cauterized and mostly closed, while smaller ones are still open wounds. the largest wound is a large burn covering most of his back, which is cauterized by the time he passes out, and then there are smaller, still open burns on his upper arms and legs. (the smaller wounds are manageable by link when he follows some medical instructions, [there are some medical books on the ship] the larger one is also manageable, but takes a lot longer to properly heal).

(link asks tetra and her crew to stick around for a while to keep linebeck stabilized while he’s unconscious. when linebeck wakes up, tetra and her crew are good to leave because then linebeck can better report what’s going on, and knows how to handle injuries).

linebeck’s fever persists after he wakes up, and he experiences… pretty much every fever symptom, with especially bad chills and full-body aches. the aches are really bad for the first few days after he wakes up, he’s extremely physically weak and shaky for a while, too. that weakness and shakiness get better with time, but he doesnt go entirely back to normal without actually moving around and doing things to build that strength back up.

he’s delirious and struggles to stay awake for those first few conscious days, too, which makes that weakness and shakiness worse; he struggles to eat and drink water, and struggles to string together thoughts or words to talk to link, and both of them figure out pretty quickly that they’ll have to wait a bit longer before so much as an attempt to coax him out of bed can be made.

beyond existing problems with food, linebeck struggles to keep anything down while he recovers, and becomes ill pretty much every time after he eats anything, so a bucket is kept near his bed. with water, he obviously needs to drink a lot of it considering that he’s feverish, injured, and vomiting frequently, but while he’s sick he has a bit of an irrational fear of water (along with an irrational fear of air and the wind, which makes him hesitant to go outside while he’s sick).

he’s generally pretty irritable, which isn’t particularly new, but it makes him prone to refusing help with certain things. he’s less irritable when tired and just resting. he’s also especially nervous, and despite the overall fatigue, he struggles to sleep for very long while he’s sick, and as said before, is often delirious and even confused when things are bad.

along with the other difficulties eating, linebeck has a hard time swallowing for a bit, and salivates a lot more than normal while he’s sick. he is soooo fucking dehydrated the whole time and that really doesn’t help.

while the weakness and shakiness stays for the entire time he’s sick and even a bit afterwards, for the first few days after he wakes up he’s stiff and also experiences some muscle spasms and numbness in his limbs, and has a hard time keeping his balance the first few times he gets out of bed.

once the sickness clears up fully, linebeck has to still be careful with the scar on his back; it’s sensitive to touch for a while and hurts when exposed to the sun or air for too long and when he stretches his back too far, but eventually just reaches the point where it’s a bit sensitive but is otherwise just a large scar.

obviously he’s also going through the wringer in an emotional and mental illness sense too but those would require a whole new bullet point list.

[archetypal-archivist]

A Kinder World AU- Part 11

Mike and Pac’s House

masterlist

Pac and Mike are a pair of young adults with a love for chaos, a deeper fondness for each other, and an utter distaste for anything resembling the stuffy atmosphere of university. As such, they've moved to Quesadilla island to work as fishermen alongside their longtime friend Felps while they try to figure out what they want to do with their lives. However, the introduction of Forever, Cellbit, and Forever's son Richarlyson have thrown a wrench into their plans and now they now find themselves titled not only as fishermen but as parents, alongside their more normal role of “horrible pranksters from the pits of hell, oh god why did you bring them with you Felps.”

1) Pac and Mike have been friends for years, having grown up and into each other such that they can't conceive of life without having both of them in it together. As such, their houses are really two smaller ones shoved together, an extra difficulty for Fit during the initial design process of building their home, but a necessary change all the same. The larger building their home is part of is known as the Favela, nicknamed by Forever upon seeing the monstrosity of stacked houses and rickety ladders that Felps had asked Fit to build for them when they all first moved there. It's a name that fits the structure well, not least because it's had problems weathering storms in the past much like the one that wrecked huge parts of it and left the Favela five homeless and couch surfing for a time. Fit blames Pac, Mike and the rest for skimping on paying for good materials, Felps and company blame him for not building it more structurally sound, but all can agree that the redesign after the worst of the storm had past looks much better than the initial draft.

2) Given their need to repay Fit for the property, Pac and Mike work long hours to earn enough to keep on top of the fees, with Pac leaving in the early mornings to fish out on the open water and coming back to trade the boat off to Mike, who takes the night shift and fishes by the light of the moon. On most days however, they’ll stay up a few hours at dawn and dusk to hang out with each other and the other Favela members. Both men are chronically sleep deprived and thus prone to the sillies, but it’s a welcome trade as they enjoy each other’s company too much to only see each other on weekends. Due to their nocturnal vs diurnal sleep schedules, Richarlyson thought for a long time that they were one person who could shapeshift or perhaps split into two beings like a cell committing mitosis. His curiosity prompted his dad Forever to stalk their front door with a camera to try and photograph the transition. Mike thought this was hilarious and convinced Pac to go along with the bit for a week before they showed up to  game night as two people instead of only sending Mike to play.

3) Pac and Mike are a pair of frighteningly intelligent people with horrible sleep schedules and a chronic prankster streak. As such, their rooftop is home to not only the local seagulls but also a wide variety of doodads, gizmos, and whatsits the likes of which the world has never seen and never really wanted to in the first place. Their inventions range from the useful, like “sonic flash bangs” and “turbo trawlers” to help with fishing, to the utterly nonsensical like Mike's hair-cutting bot that they made when Philza began complaining about his hair getting too long. It's not exactly safe to be up on the roof all the time, but Pac installed a harness and belay system that keeps the worst of the falls to something manageable. Pac and Mike also work on prank ideas too, and they are the instigators of Quesadilla's worst prank war to date, although they didn't end up the victors in the end- that honor goes to Richarlyson and his crack team of Luzu, Dapper, and Philza. The stories told about the final prank that ended it all are truly epic.

4) Since their houses were originally two that have since been squished together, the layout is more than a little atypical. The green portion of the house is an exact mirror of the blue portion, but flipped 90 degrees, and many of the rooms that are duplicates of intention and purpose keep much of their structure, even if the furniture has completely changed. For example, the green portion has what was clearly a bathroom at one point, tile floor included, but its current function is of a walk-in closet. The blue portion has a bathroom but no central living space, the room taken up by a miniature machinest's shop full of scrapped projects- the ragged sofas and half-deconstructed TV relegated to the green portion of the building. The only thing the house actually has two of is bedrooms but even that hasn't fully escaped. Given how often Mike and Pac stay up “late” talking and laughing together, it's not uncommon for the duo to end up passing out in the same bed unintentionally. This earns them some teasing from the rest of the Favela five but they laugh along with the rest of the crew- you can only wake up so many times with your best friend's feet in your face and your hand over their mouth to smother their snores before you find it funny too.

5) The second floor of their house is dedicated to their kitchen, which receives plenty of use, if not always by the duo themselves. After Cellbit’s injury that left  him unable to commit to his usual work, Felps moved them both to Quesadilla, picking up Pac and Mike to come along like two stray cats. Initially it was just to help their friend Cellbit move in, but upon seeing the community, Pac and Mike decided to stay and live with their friends. The quartet were incredibly close and when Forever suddenly arrived with his beleaguered son Richarlyson, they took pity on the kid and invited him and his dad to build a house alongside their own. Thus, the quartet became a quintet and Forever’s incredible love for good food led to the formation of daily meals together. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, one meal a day is always held as a collective in someone’s kitchen and who’s turn it is to cook is a topic of hot debate. Pac and Mike’s kitchen is fairly standard, albeit with a few rube goldberg machines to do things like make toast, so they often will hold dinner for everyone, serving up oddly tasty pizza with even odder toppings. Sometimes they’ll even invite other members of the community to dine with them, although the faces they make when it’s Mike’s turn to cook are often a little funny. (Who thought it was a good idea to put canned corn on pizza?)

6) Because of the layered nature of the Favela houses, there isn’t much parking for everyone’s boats. As such, it’s a race every morning and evening to see who gets to park at the docks and who has to park elsewhere for the night. Given their sketchy schedules, Pac and Mike often get the short end of the stick and thus have taken to leaving their boat- a beautiful green and light blue vessel with a vicious motor and plenty of room for nets- in other people’s “front lawns” so to speak. They find it hilarious whenever someone stumbles out of their house, half asleep, and tries to drive off to go fish only for their key to not fit the keyhole as it’s not their boat. The only ones exempt from this practice are Rubius, Luzu, and Quackity as all of them will either prank the boat (the former 2) or hotwire it and drive off with it anyway (the latter).

[lumineescente]

seungjin drabble

i'm in a very good mood tonight so let me share this drabble i wrote the other day between midnight and 1am while watching New Girl and thinking damn this should not be Jess and Nick, this should be Seungmin and Hyunjin (they share NO similarities except my lizard brain picturing them everywhere)

tags: alcohol game / kissing / pining (lots) (is it a seungjin written by me without pining?)

sorry for the mistakes etc. etc.

oh and i also posted this on twitter

Hyunjin can hear all their friends cheering for them to kiss from the opposite side of the door, his whole body is combusting. Not only is it an extremely embarrassing situation but the worst is the fact that he has been dreaming of kissing Seungmin for months now but never had he thought that it would be in this situation. 

He had imagined it after a cute date maybe, if he ever had the strength to ask out Seungmin for real. Or maybe it could have involved a bit of alcohol, for courage, but definitely not a drinking game on a night he was trying to actually have sex with someone else, and Seungmin is in a more or less committed relationship with another man. 

“We don’t have to do that,” he says with a laugh that he hopes sounds casual. 

Seungmin sighs and the voices outside the room chant even louder, “well…” 

He chews on his lower lip, and gosh why can’t Hyunjin stop staring at it? 

“I can kiss you on the cheek and say we kissed? Take a picture of it,” he offers. Even the thought of his lips on Seungmin’s lip is enough for him to drive him crazy but Seungmin really does not seem like he wants to be kissed by him. 

And Hyunjin does not want to lose his first kiss with Seungmin through a stupid game. It was supposed to be a trick to kiss Changbin so Felix would stop trying to steal his one night stand. It unfortunately backfired in the worst way possible.

“That’s a good idea,” Seungmin smiles. He feels like he is about to melt onto a puddle of love because of how cute he looks. “Kiss on the cheek, it is.” 

(He has admitted now weeks ago that this is not a normal way to feel about your roommate platonically)

He buries all these thoughts deep down and takes out his phone. Seungmin awkwardly gets closer to him and quickly Hyunjin can feel his warmth in his personal space, he internally screams. 

“Why is it so weird?” Seungmin laughs, “we live together, we’ve seen each other through everything but kissing you on the cheek is suddenly so awkward.” 

“Right,” he swallows with difficulty, trying to focus on unlocking his phone and opening the camera app. His ears are ringing so loudly that he barely hears the chant anymore. “You ready?” 

“Should I…? Kiss you?” 

Hyunjin really hopes he is not blushing too much or that alcohol has made Seungmin completely oblivious. Which is possible considering everyone and their mothers know about Hyunjin’s delirious crush on him, but Seungmin does not. 

“Yeah, sure, I’ll take the picture.”

He waves his phone like a loser and Seungmin giggles at it. He takes another step closer, “ready?” it is a whisper now almost on his neck, and it really is torture at this point. He just nods and puts the phone up, he tries to focus on the phone and not on the fact that Seungmin has to get on his tippy toes for his mouth to reach Hyunjin’s cheek and then the feeling of his lips on his skin. His lips are so soft and warm, and Hyunjin needs all his focus to actually take the picture and not just let himself appreciate the moment. It only lasts a few seconds because those smartphones really are quick to take a picture and Seungmin immediately breaks the contact when it is done. 

Hyunjin stares dumbfounded at the wall in front of him, not even controlling the smile on his lips and the overall excitement at the fact that it might have been the closest physically it has ever been to Seungmin.

“Is the picture okay?” 

“Mh?” 

He glances around to see Seungmin looking at him with amusement in his eyes, “they’ll lose their voices if they keep screaming like that, we should send them the picture now.” 

“Oh! Yeah right.” 

He quickly sends the picture to the group chat they have. For a second there is a silence on the other side of the door and he feels relief and a bit of regret, sure, at the idea of being freed from this situation. 

“THIS IS NOT A KISS!!” Felix yells with his deep voice, and Hyunjin will make sure he is going to pay for that. The chanting comes back even stronger. 

Seungmin sighs, “IT IS!” 

“NO!” 

Hyunjin stays still, paralyzed. Seungmin groans. 

“Fuck,” he whispers and it feels like it is the first time he hears his roommate curse like that. 

He shakes it off and bangs loudly at the door, “hey, guys,” he says loudly, “that’s enough, just let us out!” 

Everyone boos at that, he exhales.

“You agreed to the game at first, you have to play!” 

He turns to Seungmin apologetically, “I’m sorry.” 

It is his fault after all, he wanted to kiss Changbin at first like that, he had not expected for Seungmin to be pulled, it was just him being horny for a guy he had just met that had brought all this on Seungmin. 

“Let’s just do it.”

“What?” 

“Let’s kiss, this is nothing right? We just lost a game.” 

“But,” he mutters pathetically, anxiety piling inside him like legos, “uh.” 

The way Seungmin looks at him, waiting for him to do or say something but Hyunjin does not know why. 

“Friends kiss all the time for fun,” Seungmin keeps explaining and it is logical and rational, exactly like Seungmin is, “it does not mean anything.” 

Except nothing is logical and rational in Hyunjin, and surely not the fact that he wants to kiss Seungmin but not because it is a game, and not because it does not mean anything. 

“I’m not sure…” he starts. 

His roommate tilts his head, “why?” 

“Because,” he stutters in his words, “I just…” 

Seungmin stares at him with even more expectation and it makes him lose it completely, panic completely taking over his brain. 

“I don’t want it to happen this way!” he almost screams out. 

He immediately regrets it when he sees the way the other man's eyes change and confusion is readable on his face. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Nothing,” Hyunjin chokes out. He turns around to the door and starts banging against, “hey, open the door, now, this isn’t funny anymore!” 

Seungmin grabs his arm when he is about to hit the door again, forcing him to turn around. He had never thought the latter could have this much strength, “Hyunjin, answer me, what is this about? That you don’t want us to kiss that way?”

“Because it’s uncomfortable for both of us,” he tries to justify himself, “that’s… that’s what I meant! They should not force us to do anything we don’t want.” 

“I don’t think this is what you meant.” 

“Well, it is,” he retorts before going back to banging on the door, “Felix!” 

It hurts his fist but at this point he would do anything that means he would be able to get out of this situation. His heart is racing in his chest and the alcohol is not helping with his panic attack, making it hard to breath, even harder to think. All his body just begs to get out. 

“Hyunjin..” Seungmin whispers behind him but it is barely heard as the door finally opens. 

Felix looks at them with a sheepish smile, “you’re both losers for that, you know?” 

“I know,” Hyunjin just answers and then immediately rushes to the kitchen. 

At some point Hyunjin loses track of the night even more than before the kiss incident. He knows Seungmin’s boyfriend but not-really-boyfriend arrives and they leave to his room, and it only makes Hyunjin drink more. Felix side eyes him all the time but he rejects every tentative that he tries to talk to him. Of course, Felix ends up making out with Changbin and Hyunjin is not even jealous about that because all he can think about is Seungmin. He wants to disappear. Eventually everyone leaves. 

“So,” Felix sits down next to him at their kitchen table, “what happened exactly?” 

Hyunjin groans. The alcohol makes him dizzy. 

“I thought all you wanted to do was kiss Seungmin.” 

“I hate you so much right now.” 

Felix puts away all the glasses that are still filled with liquor away from Hyunjin’s grip. 

“I want to, of course, but not like that!” 

He immediately puts his hand in front of his mouth, glancing around the bedroom corridors but no one comes out. 

“It’s Seungmin,” he goes on, this time whispering, “I don’t want to kiss him because of a stupid game, I want to kiss him because I like him and because he likes me!” 

He moves his hand toward the corridor, “but he does not,” he whimpers, “and I panicked because he was saying stuff like let’s kiss and I told him that I didn’t want it to happen like that. I’m stupid.”

“You’re not,” Felix tells him empathically, “you’re a romantic.” 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, it makes his head hurt, “now he knows and it will change everything.” 

“I’m really sorry,” his best friend says, “I didn’t think this would lead to that.” 

“It’s not your fault, we were playing.” 

“Still,” he pats his arm with affection, “for what it’s worth I think it’ll be okay.” 

“Whatever, I’m going to sleep.” 

He gets up, waves Felix goodnight and goes toward his bedroom. He is about to open the door of his own when Seungmin’s door opens. He closes it carefully behind him.

“Hey,” Seungmin whispers in a sleepy voice. 

“Did I wake you up?” he asks, trying very hard not to look directly at him and his cute pajama set. 

“No, actually I was…” 

Hyunjin waits a moment for the end of that sentence but nothing comes. 

“It’s nothing,” Seungmin ends up saying, “you should sleep.” 

It is like his brain is not the one controlling his muscles because when Seungmin turns away, Hyunjin grabs his wrist and pulls him close. For a second neither of them move, he can feel Seungmin’s heart beating under his chest. He dares to move his fingers from his wrist to his hand and Seungmin lets him do it so he gets a bit bolder and tilts slightly his head forward. 

He is not sure why he is doing that, maybe all the alcohol he has drunk all night finally reached its peak and this is the thing he will be mortified of tomorrow morning. But right now, he does not care  because he feels even more intoxicated by how close Seungmin is to him, and the fact that he is not moving away. 

“You can,” Seungmin whispers very quietly. 

Hyunjin does not think any more and he grabs his chin with his other hand and crashes his lips against Seungmin’s. It is not exactly like the first kiss he had hoped for with him but it still feels like a fire is burning in his body, and the way Seungmin reacts makes him even more eager to deepen the kiss. During the time of the kiss the rest of the world suddenly disappears, nothing else is real except how Seungmin’s body feels near him, how his lips taste. Everything is warm, everything is exciting and soft. 

When their kiss ends, they stare at each other again for a while, breathless, lips swollen. Seungmin pulls away.

“Goodnight, Hyunjin,” he says. 

Hyunjin watches him go back to his room, feeling like the world has collapsed around him now that he can not hold onto Seungmin. 

[bri-to-the-future]

We all know the original screenplay for BTTF 2 where Biff gave the almanac to himself in 1967 instead of 1955, right? Well, I thought since everyone has been making such lovely stuck in the (insert time period here) AUs, it’d be nice if someone made a…

*drumroll*

Stuck in the 60s AU!

(All credit to PotatoLord’s Picrew!)

It’s just some vague ideas right now, but i love the concept and im definitely gonna flesh it out more once Spaceman from Pluto is finished!

Here’s what i’ve got so far…

80s Doc gets arrested in Hell Valley and insists that he’ll be fine and that Marty needs to go to the 60s and get the almanac

Marty is able to get it after some difficulty (same as in screenplay) and burns it, not willing to take it with him when Doc is at risk

He still gets stop by a police officer, still doesnt have a draft card or id to prove hes a minor, and still gets arrested

He asks Goldie to put out that his name is Marty Klein and that he’s been arrested, knowing that Doc from the 60s still lives in Hill Valley as an inventor

Doc shows up with bail for him and he looks way different than Marty expected. Also, apparently hes a chemistry professor at Hill Valley Community College, which is news to Marty

He gives him a lift to the barn where the Delorean is parked, Marty giving an extremely vague (at Doc’s insistence) explanation on why he’s there on the way, but when they get there they’re both horrified to find that the Delorean is absolutely totalled ((with no 80s Doc to scare the Peabodys away, they didn’t stop at just shooting Mr Fusion and went ham on the car, rendering it completely useless, but thankfully managing to leave the Flux Capacitor in tact))

Doc says he should be able to fix most of the damage but that it will take a while, a good few months at the very least but worst case scenario Marty could be there for a year or two, and there’s no way he’ll be able to fix the futuristic device on the back (Mr Fusion) so once it is fixed they’ll need a new plan to get the 1.21 gigawatts of power, especially since the lightning strike on the courthouse was an isolated incident in Hill Valley’s history

Marty is devastated and spends the first week or so just moping around Doc’s garage and keeping Newton company but after nine days of that Doc insists that some fresh air will do him some good and forces him to come to the college with him

He was right, of course, and Marty finally starts to lighten up and have fun with him again afterwards

After classes are done Doc finally gets Marty to go get some era appropriate clothes with him but when they see Lorraine trying to keep track of an entirely too small Dave and Linda while George looks at ties they immediately turn around and walk into a different store

They’re only able to keep that up for another few days before Marty’s court date comes (who knew his Mom was so anti-war??) and she comes to congratulate him on his innocent verdict after Doc shows the court his (forged) birth certificate proving he’s a minor

When she asks if he’s related to the Marty Klein she knew in high school he tells her they were cousins who were named after the same ancestor and that Doc is watching him for a while but he’s not sure how long

Marty figures out pretty quickly that Doc takes LSD and honestly he’s not sure what to think about that

One day he walks into the living room and Doc is sprawled on the couch with his jacket off for once, clearly tripping his ass off, but Marty spots these bizarre brown lines running the length of his arms that look like scars but were definitely never there in the 80s and honestly he’s a little too freaked out to care whether or not Doc is entirely coherent right now he needs to know what’s going on

“Doc, Doc, what the hell are those?” “What?” “On your arms, Doc, whats that brown stuff!?” And Doc has the gall to look fucking amused! “They’re Lichtenberg figures, Marty. Surely you’ve seen me with short sleeves in the future? The stretch all the way to my shoulders.” Marty is shocked. “Of course I’ve seen you with short sleeves, hell, you’ve had to take your whole shirt off cause of chemical spills, but I’ve never seen those before!” But then a look of realisation crosses Doc’s face. “Oh, of course! They were caused when I accidentally became part of the circuit when the plug came undone that night I sent you back to the future, it makes perfect sense you haven’t had a chance to see them yet.” “They were caused by WHAT!?!?”

Cue Marty having a guilt induced panic attack and Doc having no idea what to do because he’s still mid-trip but eventually getting the hang of it. Once Marty’s calmed down he decides he’s not gonna touch the stuff anymore, not when it impairs his ability to care for Marty (and even when he leaves, what if this had been one of his students?? No, best to leave the stuff behind for good)

Ofc this means once he does fix the Delorean his plan to power it is much less dangerous and terrifying. … its still similar though. Doc will still blow up the safety inhibitor at the power plant and Marty will still hook onto high powered wires, just at the power plant rather than over the grand fucking canyon (the plan is still a work in progress & i havent decided how long it will take Doc to fix the deloreon yet)

When Marty gets back to 85 (now back to perfectly normal Lone Pine Hill Valley, thankfully) the first thing he does is find Doc and give him a massive hug, which he returns just as enthusiastically

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Seven-Spotted Ladybug - Coccinella septempunctata

Let’s give these little spotted gems some love and appreciation. I’ve been a little busy with their smaller and more unknown relatives, but now it’s their turn for the spotlight. There’s been quite a few Seven-Spotted Ladybugs throughout the years, so I’ve found them on many a plant. Large-sized as far as Ladybugs go, they’re easy to spot walking on plants or flying through the air. Don’t swoop down on them if you plan to pick them up; you can coax them onto your hand if you place your fingers nearby or if they land on your clothing. Similar to the Asian Ladybug (or Ladybugs in general for the matter), if frightened or agitated they will emit their smelly and noxious-tasting hemolymph defense to try and escape. Also like Asian Ladybugs, looks like that Seven-Spotted Ladybugs appear red or orange! Keep your palm open and don’t let them feel trapped and the worst they’ll do is draw their legs under their shell to protect them. In my experience they’ll roam on your hand for sometime before eventually flying away or suddenly dropping into the grass below. It’s just what they do to escape the occasional spell of danger since they’re used to feasting on soft-bodied insects with little difficulty...unless Ants are on patrol of course.

I’ve mentioned in posts with other insects that Ants like to tend to honeydew producing insects, offering protection in exchange for that delicious liquid. Now, if honeydew is so tantalizing, couldn’t Ladybug larvae or adults just eat the honeydew? To answer, kind of. The larvae need protein and carbohydrates to grow and molt to their adult forms. so soft-bodied insects are the priority (unless it’s Ladybug that only eats plants such as those of the Epilachna genus). Plus, they get honeydew when they eat the insects anyway. It’s a win-win! Since the adult Beetles can unfold their wings and fly around, they can be more open to other food sources such as honeydew, fruits, pollen and even fungi, depending on the specie. Soft-bodied insects are still best, but there are nutrients from the aforementioned sources that are also beneficial to a Ladybug’s overall health. Looking into it further, nutritional content of soft-bodied insects may vary due to which plant(s) they feed on. These extra food sources have also shown to be especially valued when prey items become more scarce. If only I’d thought to pay closer attention to the individual photographed in September. These diligent creatures need to do everything they can to stay healthy if it means surviving an overwinter or migrating. 

Pictures were taken on June 2 and 27; July 12; September 21, 2020 and June 13, 2021 with a Google Pixel 4.