#this explanation is short but hopefully it gets things across

[burning-sol]

I know more additions will be made to the post later but for now everything is transcribed under the cut. Sorry if I made any errors! (If someone wants to tag me when new additions are made I'll do my best to transcribe everything!! I know this isn't a lot but I hope it's somewhat helpful.)

The DMs:

edenfenixblogs: Hello friend! In the interest of Jewish Muslim solidarity, I want to try an experiment! Would you be interested in participating with me? It's ok if not! I can definitely still do the experiment alone, but I would like to highlight Islamophobia as well as antisemitism. So I thought I'd ask if you're up for it. I just made a post with this exact text: I am experiencing a lot of antisemitism due to the ongoing conflict and I would like it to stop, please. And the tags: antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #i/p #i/p conflict #israel #palestine In one week, I would like to check my replies/reblogs/tags/notes and see what kind of messages I have received. My hypothesis is that I will receive some hate and some support and relatively low engagement. If you would be willing, I'd like to see what happens if you posted this exact text: (Only if it is true to your experience and you feel uncomfortable of course!!!) I am experiencing a lot of Islamophobia due to the ongoing conflict and I would like it to stop, please. And the tags: #islamophobia #i/p #i/p conflict #israel #palestine My hypotheosis is that you will receive more engagement and more support but probably more hatred. I want to be very clear: I do not want to ask anything of you that is uncomfortable with any aspect of this, please do not feel pressured in any way to say yes if you feel this would be inappropriate or generally upsetting to your mental health. If you'd like to participate, but are worried about the toll it would take on your mental health, you could make the post and immediately mute any notifications about it.

thatmuslimlady: Sure, I could do that

edenfenixblogs: My goal with this post is to highlight both knee jerk reactions from bigots as well as levels of support and apathy that diasporic Jews and worldwide Muslims are experiencing. For the whole week, I would ignore any replies or reblogs or tags or clearly related asks I get. At the end of the week I would screenshot all of the replies and post them in a reblog of my original post. Then I plan to discuss how apathy, violent support, and virulent hatred on all sides is hampering peace. I just want to talk about how to be a goood ally. You're a hero!!!!!! I would do the same for your post btw. I don't want to burden you at all or ask anything of you other than to make the post. 💜💜💜💜

thatmuslimlady: No problem!! You're a really cool person so I figured I'd do it 👍

edenfenixblogs: You're the coolest person on this whole site! It's 3am so imma sleep. Salaam aleikum!!!!!!!

thatmuslimlady: Aww thank you! It's four am for me lol. I just woke up like five minutes ago

edenfenixblogs: Hi friend! I'm planning on making the post about our little experiment later tonight. I've been monitoring your post itself for Islamophobic reactions, so I don't need you to look at that at all if you don't want! But as of the moment I'm sending this message, I have not seen anything but support on yours, which makes me very happy indeed. Have you received any hate messages in your inbox since last week? Any support messages?

thatmuslimlady: I've received support thankfully, no hate so far

edenfenixblogs: 💜

thatmuslimlady's post interactions:

reply 1: ooof that really sucks. unfortunately i don't know if there's any substantial way i can help but sending emotional support <3

reply 2: I am so sorry that you are dealing with that. I pray for peace and safety for you and your community.

reply 3: Shit sucks so bad. <3

reply 4: My heart is with you.

reply 5: I hope you have support to get through this

reply 6: We need more Jewish-Muslim solidarity. It's so messed up that lots of us (both Jewish and Muslim) are just minding our own business trying to exist in the diaspora and getting harassed by (mostly) white Christians. I've have so many convos w Muslims friends about how the majority of the people making our lives hard are not even adjacent to the I/P conflict. I have a friend who has stopped wearing a hijab and my sister took down her mezuzah. We are all living in fear.

reblog 1: #let me know if i am using islamophobic language

reblog 2: #fuck islamophobia #Muslims and Jews are cousins

reblog 3: #i can go in the notes of the offender and talk mad shit if that is needed

reblog 4: We gotta stand together!

reblog 5: Seconded! Leave Muslims alone. They're not to blame for this conflict and they've been through enough. if you blame someone for a crime because they're the same religion you're a bigot. #end of story. #leave Muslims alone #islamophobia

reblog 6: #op I am hugging you #please let me know if you'd ever like back-up #especially if this is coming from Jews - I am not afraid to issue some tochecha 👍 #< prev tag #but I whole heartedly agree

reblog 7: @ thatmuslimlady I'm here if you need asses kicked. I should mention my work shoes are steel toes.

reblog 8: #i dont reblog enough about this. #i've been reblogging about antisemitism #but islamophobia is also incredibly prevelent right now and im sure its really bad in the usa rn as well #sending all my love to muslims suffering…

reblog 9: Actually no, this belongs in the maintext: OP and any other Muslim followers, if you need back up, let me know. This is not okay and you should know that I am ready and happy to show up for you. This goes double for if this is coming from Jews or people claiming to be our allies - Islamophobia is not the answer to antisemitism, it's not helping us, and I will gladly inform anyone who needs to hear it of that. 🙂

reblog 10: ^^ What [redacted] said, feel free to message me as well

reblog 11: #islamophobia #don't be awful to each other

reblog 12: #yeah neither Islamophobia or anti-semitism is ever a solution to anything #nor should it happen in the first place! #solidarity forever

reblog 13: #islamophobia #i will deadass fight anyone actually #let us know and we'll pull up #and on a serious note op i am sending you strength and courage to deal with the bigots <3 #(not to say my offer to fight isn't serious. lmk who…

Reply from @ arabian-knight: Zionist blow your brains out

Reblog 2: The Jewish Experience

screenshot 1: #i/p #leftist antisemitism #antisemitism #jumbler #I've stopped talking about my feelings with ayone #because I'm so afraid it will push my friends away #at first I talked about it a lot but after a while I felt like I was bothering them by harping on it too much #idk if I actually was because my friends are really understanding #but it *felt* like I was #so I've basically just been pretending I'm completely fine ever since #and I'm really really not

screenshot 2: Leftist antisemitism is so insidious It is intentionally constructed so people cannot acknowledge that it is in fact antisemitism It dresses up decades-to-millennia old anti-Jewish propaganda and conspiracies in progressive language It does not allowed Jewish people to define antisemitism It leaves no room for nuance where nuance is vital It reduces complex history and an even more complex geopolitical conflict into a litmus test It sorts Jews into "Good Jew" and "Bad Jew" It denies Jews equal access to public life and equal accommodations It turns harassing and hating Jews into praxis while claiming to love Jewish people, you don't hate Jews you just hate [vital aspect of Jewish identity] and believe it must be eradicated

screenshot 3: I feel disgusted with everything I read, hear and watch I can never trust hundreds of content creators who I watched and read and liked art of It's gotten to the point I refuse to check social media for content creators I like because they might be cheering for my death I feel guilty listening to any music not in Hebrew because I don't know what the artists have said and I don't want to look I'm scared of finding any new people or shows to watch Everyday I block yet another creator who prided themselves on inclusivity and progressivism and yet doesn't offer that to Jews or Israelis I've left so many forums and discords and deleted so much social media how will I ever return from this? Will I ever be able to watch YouTube, or read books, or listen to music or read webcomics ever again without thinking about potential horrible things the creators have said?

screenshot 4: There are a million other ways that it is harmful, it's terrifying looking at the people who claim to care about the marginalized and the oppressed and knowing the majority will never actually care about you and your people when it really counts

screenshot 5: listening to people whose countries either killed jews, expelled jews, or refused to allow jewish refugees entry then go on to have very loud opinions about where jews ought to live and how it's the evil jews' fault a lot of jews began to cling to an ideology that sustains itself on the idea jews cannot be safe anywhere but in their own state. Well it's a lot, bro. it's a lot #there's another word for it 😒

screenshot 6: i don't know dude i'd think some of these antizionists who are not antisemitic would have like. acknowledged that attacking the berlin synagogue, synagogue in tunis, synagogue in melilla etc. was not exactly a le epic act of decolonization. was kinda under the impression that's where those pesky israelis were supposed to return to ?

screenshot 7: Based on my mentions the only protest to the Israeli govt that would be sufficient for some of you would be a protest suicide. The only good Jew is a dead Jew

screenshot 8: #prev tags are so real #actually you just wish that all Jews were all perfect dead victims instead of a vibrant living people #because dead victims can't object to you usually their murder as symbolism for literally whatever you want it to mean

screenshot 9: Your Jewish friends aren't upset that you're speaking out about Palestinian deaths. We are upset that you were silent until there were Palestinian deaths. Because Jews don't count. And now we know that as your friends, we don't count.

screenshot 10: #antisemitism #literally from the days after October 7th #where many marches had iconography of parachuters #and apparently no one at those marches had a problem with it… #a lot of people I thought I trusted didn't seem to see a problem with it #why the fuck would I feel safe around any of you

screenshot 11: #to be clear: yes it's very possible to support Palestinian self-determination without being antisemitic #lots of Jews in fact do this! #it's super possible and you should try it today! #all you have to do is care about Jews like you would any other marginalized group #this is apparently a startlingly tall order for some people #but it's completely doable if you aren't an antisemite 🙂 #hope this helps

I am experiencing a lot of antisemitism due to the ongoing conflict and I would like it to stop, please.

[siddyyyyyyyy]

You're Only Sixteen

wc: ~3.6k

summary: child soldier gets into task force 141 part TWO, things are getting a bit funny; first part, third part

warnings: description of scars, some violance (combat training)

a/n: I'm actually pretty shocked of how well this fic is going, I hope you're all enjoying this so far, and the plot's is going to intesify a bit the longer this goes on.... and I'm talking too much. Have fun!

Waking up to the familiar alarm is hard enough, but eventually making yourself ready for the first training together is harder. You put on your new uniform and make yourself look more presentable, only to stop midway by the mirror. Your eyes move instinctivley towards your neck. There's no material covering your neck area, making you slightly anxious. There is a long scar across your neck; the scar tissue white and stands out a bit. You feel your deep scar across your neck that goes horizontally through your skin with a slight curve up to your jaw. Hopefully no one will notice. But how is it possible to ignore such thing? There will be questions, there will be eyes on you all the time, there will definitely be snarky comments, and... deep breath in and out. It's no one's business, and you don't owe an explanation to anyone anyway.

Picking up your last courage for today, you walk out of your bunk to the training hall. Walking in, you see a few other soldiers training together, and also Price seemingly waiting for the rest of his team to arrive. He notices you almost immediately and waves you over to him.

»Good morning. Sleep well?«

You shrug, answering him. »Yeah, good enough.«

»Great, you'll need it today.« Perfect, so he planned something tough for today, that's for sure. Shortly after, Ghost and Soap arrive into the hall, as well as Gaz, who seems to be in a good mood. Price claps once, having the attention of everyone on him. He announces the morning stretch you'll be doing first and the next exercise has got to be some teamwork exercise already.

The supposed 'morning stretch' was nothing short of relaxing, but lucky enough you're flexible and got along just fine. Afterwards, the first exercise begins, and as Price explains it, the more you start to think he can't be serious.

»Trust falls?« Soap asks again, also not having expected this exercise to be the first one. Usually, they never do something like this together since they already trust each other with their lives. Price nods, hands on his hips and dead serious. »Who wants to start?«

You're stiff, silently looking around while hoping you won't get picked out. Luckily, Gaz raises his hand slightly and volunteers as first for the trust falls. The captain smiles and nods once more, letting him pick a person to fall against. He chose Soap as some might've expected, and they do it naturally. Nothing bad happens, they trust each other, and one catches the other. They repeat it after switching also, nothing spectacular happening. You watch silently, arms crossed and with nothing to do. It's almost amusing to watch these buffed military guys do silly things, like trust falls. Next was Ghost and Soap, then Price and Gaz with the others. It's awkward now for you since you're the last one, having to just fall back and trust the other to catch you. How can you not feel at least a little awkward while doing it?

»C'mon, it's fun. Just trust us.« Soap encourages you before you could say anything in the first place and already opens his arms for you. There's really nothing you can do but accept your fate and do the trust fall, knowing you have no choice but to trust them all as your teammates. You turn your back to him with a small sigh and close your eyes before falling back, feeling how he indeed catches you right up and lets you sink down a little more. He feels strong and big against your back, not that you doubted it. Soap leans you back up, and you stand up straight again. You hate to admit it but it was fun. Maybe you'd do it again... oh, you need to do it again. Trust falls with everyone, remember?

Price wants to be the next one to do it with you, an almost loving smile across his lips and open arms as he steps up to you. You do the same as before and fall, feeling how he catches you the same and lets you stand right back up afterwards. He pats your shoulder lightly and steps away, looking to the others to see who wants to go next.

»Me next.« Gaz states with a raised hand, standing at the same pose as the other two before. You can't help but crack a small, tiny smile at that before turning back around and falling back, trusting them all by now. The last one should be Ghost, and to be honest, it's somehow scary. Maybe it's his height or his aura, but there's no choice but to trust him. Eventually, you fall, back and he catches you just the same as the others, feeling as if he's more careful with you for whatever reason. But that could be just your mind hallucinating at this point.

The next station for this training session is more serious and requires more technique and skill. You're glad, it's something you're good at and won't be awkward to complete.

Knife melee. With fake combat knives. Each gets a combat knife to fight with and a randomly assigned partner. You get to be paired up with Gaz, and he shoots you a soft smile before standing in front of you to test out your true skills. Price is mostly there to watch over everyone and lead the practice, standing not too far off the big mat.

»You go first, I'll try to go easy too.« Gaz tells you with a small nod, waiting for you to attack and see how you'll do. Or maybe he's just too afraid to hurt you, knowing how young you are.

»Okay.« You think for a split second before going straight in, grabbing his right wrist with your left hand, pushing it out while moving the blade close to his neck. Gaz is briefly surprised at your attack, especially with how you went straight at him. But he's strong enough to bend his right wrist slightly and wrap his left arm over to grab his knife with his non-dominant hand. You didn't expect this to happen, being spooked for a moment by the sudden action of him wrapping his arm over you just so he has his knife in his free hand. He presses his knife against your stomach just enough for it to be touching your shirt and is about to swipe your feet off the ground.

You back up, trying to kick off the blade off his hand quickly, in which you fail. You don't want to hurt him, but you also know that it's just training and minor injuries are normal. You know it from the camp, but this feels different. You have... more respect for them. Getting back to reality, you're the one who sweeps his feet off the ground, kneeling over him and pressing your knee against his chest with your knife against his throat once more but not pressing onto him.

»Fine- you win.« He gives up and throws his hands up in defence, looking to you impressed. You get off him and give him a hand to stand back up, feeling like he went too soft on you on purpose.

»Was that all you had?« You ask before being able to think about your words longer, not meaning to sound rude. »What? Of course not. Told you I was going easy on you.« He shrugs with a small chuckle, dusting his pants off quickly before standing straight.

»Want me to attack first?«

»Fine-«

He's quick to land a kick to the side of your thigh, making you wince lightly, but you quickly regain your focus and step out of his way. You quickly kick him into his side instead, knocking out his breath briefly. Gaz realises how strong you actually are and decides to go harder on you. There's a sharp pain on your ribs before you feel the dull slice from his fake combat knife against your arm. You give him a rather irritated look before going in once more, slicing across his chest with your own fake knife before kicking him into his chest. He stumbles back, once more out of breath. It's your chance to get close to him and strike another attack, so you do just that. You step closer to him quickly and jab a few more slices against his ribs before kicking his legs in. He's on the ground and probably more out of breath than you. Gaz looks up to you and catches his breath before standing back up, not giving up yet.

»Where'd you learn that?« He questions almost confusedly and simultaneously thinks of another approach at you for his next attack. You shrug, not giving him an answer as you're studying his stance. He's about to cage you in, that's for sure, with his wide stance. That's got to be the most annoying technique for you, not liking how it feels like to be trapped or pinned by anyone. Moving your eyes back at his, you waste no time to kick against him once more, but he catches it.

He has your ankle in his hand and twists it enough for you to lose balance and fall to the ground. You huff and try to get back up quickly, but he's fast, kicking your knife out of your wrist.

Price watches you both fight, and he must admit you're quite strong. Beating Gaz twice? That's already impressive for him. He watches as you manage to fight yourself out of his pin, having him on the ground instead. You both fight like siblings at this point, at least that's how Price views it. He sees that Gaz is still trying to be gentle with you even though he doesn't need to. You're highly trained and fast, thinking logically as well. Meanwhile, Soap gets his ass beat by Ghost since he's trying to watch you fight but gets awfully distracted that way.

Price keeps most of his attention on you both anyway, being curious about how much longer Gaz will be gentle with you before being sick of losing every time. After losing for the fifth time, Gaz stops fighting for a moment.

»Wanna catch a break?«

»If you say so.« You agree and shrug lightly, having a light coat of sweat but being nowhere near done. You're still full of energy but also can't wait to sleep tonight.

»So, how do you like it on the base so far?« He asks, his tone friendly and voice smooth. His eyes are on you, hands on his hips.

»Yeah, it's... fine. Like a base.« There's just no way you can answer otherwise, not sure of how to answer it anyway. You press your lips together lightly, unsure of how to continue. Gaz is rather talkative, so you're grateful for that as he goes on, seemingly wanting to get to know you better.

»You should check out the mess hall too, the food‘s a bit plain, but it's cosy in there.« That's great information however, you do not know how to respond to that.

»Cool.« With a light nod and a more or less forced smile, glancing away shortly after. Gaz notices that you don't seem to talk much, having a similarity with Ghost on that. He accepts it however, and stretches his arms before suggesting another round which, you also agree on.

You're sweating way more now after the training session ended, Price saying that it's time to have lunch and just have a normal day afterwards. The sun is fully up, it's a warm day outside for once and there are no annoying people around you. Until Soap is approaching you on the way out from the training hall.

»Wanna eat lunch all together? It won't be boring, promise.« He suggests with a friendly smile and waits for your answer, coming off more excited than you.

»Uh, yeah. Where's the mess hall again?« You ask sheepishly since you have no clue how this building is laid out, let alone know where the exit is again. »Oh, you haven't been shown around, eh? Well, I'll just show ye around after lunch. The mess hall's on the first floor, 's pretty easy to find.«

Soap explains to you shortly, having faith in you that you won't get lost on your own. You simply nod back in response and make a mental note of where the mess hall should be, retreating back into your own bunk after taking a shower.

You're hesitant at first, having considered just skipping lunch, but you can't let the others hang. So, you make your way to the mess hall shortly after putting on new clothes, making sure to cover your neck once more. Stopping mid-change, you realise something. No one made comments or even looked at your scar earlier. You expected the total opposite, now trying to remember any moment that was close to some of your expectations, but there were none. Maybe, just maybe, they don't care. Not in the rude way, but in a way that they won't judge you. Well, considering the small but slightly more visible scar on Soap‘s chin, there's a chance they just don't want to pick on you with stuff they also have. Brushing away those thoughts, you enter the mess hall and are shortly after greeted with Soap. He stands out from the crowd with the way he waves at you, seeming to be excited to show you around or just have an addition like you on the team.

»Hungry? I don't know about you, but I am.«

His ways of starting a conversation with you are always a little strange. The way he is more energetic around you and is being overly friendly while trying to use 'modern slang' is slightly off-putting.

Ghost would be greater company at this point. You don't say anything, too caught up in the large hall and all the people around that are patiently getting their food for themselves.

»Well, there's where the food is, the trays and the utensils. Alrighty?«

»Alright.« You answer slightly unsure and look to where everyone is picking up their food, seeing that it won't be too difficult. Picking up a tray for yourself, a plate, and a few utensils, you make your way to the buffet. There's an option between a vegetarian meal that looks mostly... bland and another meal that doesn't look too bad. Soap is before you and loads his plate with the second option, grabbing a glass of water afterwards. You do the same, considering the vegetarian food seems too dry to even look at. Sitting down at a free table where Gaz is already seated, shooting a friendly smile your way.

His teammate sits down beside him and you on the opposite of them, taking a last look around the huge mess hall.

»How was the training for ye today?« Soap starts again while stuffing a bite into his mouth, ready to listen to whatever response you'll give.

»It was fine. Easier than at my camp.« Soap quirks his brow at you, asking further. »Easier? What'd you do at your camp, then?«

Ah, there it is. Finally, the burning question that seemed to have been on their minds since the day you arrived, even though they won't admit it verbally.

»Well, any kinds of things. We had a big variety and did everything a little every day.« You explain calmly, leaving out a lot of things for now and just giving out useful and light stuff. Gaz glances at you while eating his own meal, listening quietly to the conversation between you two.

»Everythin'? What was everythin'?«

God, he's giving you no chance to eat right now, is he? »Combat, shooting, underwater training, hostage saving, medical training... oh, and our stamina.« He nearly chokes on his food while you finally take your first bite, thinking it tastes quite good. For military food, it's actually quite good, it tastes fresh and is warm- »Everyday? Every focking day?«

»Language, McTavish...« A familiar, rough voice is heard from behind him, and he quickly glances back to see his Captain. Price takes a seat beside you, facing the two other teammates.

»Sorry, did you hear what she just said? That's like- that's... that should be illegal-«

»I know, Soap.«

He interrupts him again, giving him a hard look. He's either trying to stop him from saying something that could hurt you or is just fed up for some other reason.

»I'm glad we don't have such hard training here. That's it.« Soap realises that he may have gotten too far with his reaction and tries to be more calm and himself from now on. The problem is now that it's awkward because no one talks for a solid minute or two.

»Where is Ghost?« You speak up for the first time by yourself, not able to listen to the silence around the table any longer. Price answers your question calmly, seeing no reason to keep that from you.

»He eats alone, mostly. Or does some paperwork right now.« So, no one really knows what he's doing at breaks. That's something you could have expected from someone like him.

»Do you think his mask looks cool?« Gaz chimes in and looks at you almost amused, waiting for your answer. Soaps eyes also study you now, waiting curiously on your answer. Unsure of what to say, you answer them briefly.

»I mean, it's not bad.« Gaz shoots his teammate a quick look with a small nod, telling him something without saying anything. Soap sulks a little about your response, having hoped you'd say something more positive.

»Told you...« It's very quiet from Gaz and non-threatening, but you still heard it and now feel curious about what these two jokesters are talking about. Price continues to eat his own meal as he's not fascinated by their usual antics, seeing no reason to dig deeper and find out what they're on. That is until Soap notices your confused stare and wants to clear the confusion.

»We had a bet. I thought you'd find Ghost‘s mask cool, but wha'ever.« He shrugs and now has to pay five pounds to Gaz, having officially lost the bet. You can't help it but be amused by it, seeing how they're all trying to understand you, but know absolutely nothing about you but your age and name. They probably think you're like most teenagers, thinking in stereotypes, and you choose to just watch them trying to figure you out.

»He was actually quite scary at first.« You mumble, carefully trying out talking more to them and letting them get to know you more. It's something new for you to be able to be so open and casual with new people that are much older than you. Even though Soap is about ten years older than you, it still seems a lot. It's a whole decade, either way.

»Well, yeah, Ghost has his way to scare people off. But don't take it personally, he's got a good soul.« You glance at Price saying that, reassuring you about Ghost.

What kind of name is that anyway?

»Hm, depends on how you see it. He's only friendly to people he likes. Like a cat.« Gaz shrugs, adding his opinion on Ghost. You're all lucky he's not there with you right now, considering that he would shoot death glares at everyone. You listen to them, being invested in their opinions and views on him since you know nothing about him. »But he doesn't scratch us. So, that's good.« Price jokes, probably still trying to reassure you mostly and not let you get spooked. Eventually, after some more exchanges, Soap is standing up and wants to finally show you around the base. You accept and follow him out, curious to see the whole base and not get lost from now on. He walks through the building and shows you the important parts first: showers and bunks, training rooms and halls, shooting range, going on about the storage rooms, and eventually making your way outside the base. There's a small park attached to the base, great for taking small walks.

»Wanna go for a round?«

»I don't see why not.« You can't help it but still want to add that respective 'sir' at the end of a sentence. It feels like disrespecting him, but they made it clear how open and friendly you can talk to them way earlier.

Walking besides Soap is somehow calming, not needing to talk much when he does most of the talking. »You handled the surprise attack well, yesterday. Just try to warn us before firing, though.« You nod and look away slightly embarrassed, knowing you forgot to give them a sign before doing something like that.

»Sorry, thought too quick.« »'S fine, I'm actually impressed. Were ye taught that back in yer camp?« Soap can't help but be curious and ask questions, making sure to be careful with his wording.

»Yes, kind of. It's always smarter to be meaner to the enemies, so they don't have a chance.« Soap shrugs lightly, thinking about that statement. »Well, yeah... but aggressive approach is not always the best, you know?« He eyes you for a moment, continuing to walk beside you through the small park.

»It really depends on the situation and enemy, there.« You reply back after a second of considering his words, not realising that you once again impressed him.

a/n: came out a bit floppy, but the next part will most likely be better, pwomise :33

[mmoonpies]

Okay okay I saw that you're taking requests and then SPENCER R3ID ARE YOU KIDDING, love that guy honestly sooo could you maybe do something where the reader is also in the bau and spencer and them have been dating for years (like from s1 to like s4 idk ) and only Aaron knows (because he obviously has to know for work reasons) and the team somehow finds out and are like wtf since when and then spencer says 4 years and blah blah days and so on you get the drill

i literally love him sm. him + fluff is my fav thing!!

also sorry this is lowkey sloppy + unedited

spencer reid was nothing short of being described as introspective; gentle and withdrawn eve. his mind was constantly running, comfortable focusing on his inner thoughts and ideas, drawn to the corners of the wall as he willingly let other people's shadows tower over him.

despite the uncontrollable bursts of facts that fall from his tongue before dissolving into a stuttering ramble, he was pretty withdrawn. often refusing to go 'socialising' with the other bau members, preferring to stay within the comfort of his apartment to read and write.

that was until he met you.

your smile was toothy, lips sharply curved into a grin as your eyes shimmered with a playfulness he yearned for. you had no problem being in the "spotlight" voice loud and almost boastful as you bashfully took control of the room. you were loyal, unafraid to protect those you loved; even if it would end in your peril.

your greetings were filled with enthusiasm, followed by your signature grin, despite being 4am in the morning, only fuelled the other's disdain as they winced and clutched their coffee tighter. spencer's eyes would rest on your face from across the room, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he felt the urge to smile at your bubbliness.

spencer once thought you'd be attracted to someone as confident as you, willing to show you off and flaunt your skills whenever possible. when, in reality, it was the opposite; you were searching for someone you could show off.

you were the one to listen with undivided attention to his over-the-top explanations, eyes wide and attentive as you smiled at him when his voice died off, encouraging him to keep speaking. it made his chest swell, cheeks growing warm as hesitantly gripped at his fingers, playing with them as he nervously continued his explanation.

you were the one who dropped a coffee off at his desk with a small smiley face messily drawn on the side, shooting him a bright grin before bouncing off to your desk. spencer would keep his palms wrapped around the cup, silently treasuring the drawing meant for him.

it became a routine - you sent a coffee his way each morning, and in return, spencer would offer half of his sandwich to you after you walked him through a 'tour' of your lunch. you would give him a generous serving of your lunch, and he would gratefully eat it, no matter the taste.

and to be honest, he wasn't sure when a full sandwich became 'too much' for him, always craving whatever concoction you had created after each half of his sandwich. he wasn't sure when he became so fond of you, patiently and hopefully waiting for you to bound over towards him, fists clenched in front of your shoulders as you beamed up at him.

"spencer, you will not believe how excited i am for lunch today!"

"i think i can," spencer would smile back, eyebrows raising as you bit your lip, grin still toothy and bright. "what've you got today?"

"can't tell you," you squinted up at him, giggling like a devious child. "you have to wait until lunch, but trust me, it'll blow your silly mismatched socks off!"

"hey! what'd they ever do to you?!"

it had stayed that way for 4 years; every single day, without missing a beat. no matter the time or day, you never failed to bring him c coffee with a smiley face, just like he had never failed to give you half of his sandwich.

being with you came as easy as breathing, although he struggled to convey his emotions, both physically and verbally, you both confided in the action of sharing lunch together. he hardly touched you at work, not wanting to seem unprofessional and upset hotchner or anyone on the team.

the only words hotchner had said in relation to the two of you were practically unthreatening. yet, as spencer shyly stood behind you as hotchner processed the information, the sickly feeling of dread spread throughout the inner lining of spencer's stomach.

"don't let it interfere with your work," he demanded, eyebrows furrowed as usual. you both gushed out 'thank you' before turning to leave, the stress of hiding it washing off the two of your shoulder's.

spencer, for 4 years, had assumed hotch had announced it to everyone else on the team. he still dealt with derek's teasing about him being a 'virgin' and his constant jabs about his 'experience with women.'

he was honestly just glad nothing had changed; your routine stayed the same, your glances lingering a little longer than usual, and your smiley faces turning into hearts. but that was all.

spencer was currently cursing his wonky alarm, almost tripping over his own feet as he struggled to pull his own pants up. a slice of bread was caught between his teeth as he slung his satchel over his shoulder before rushing out the door of his apartment.

he was cursing his dumb decision to skip crashing over at your apartment, fingers smashing against the buttons of his cell phone as he called you back, wincing at the number of missed calls he had.

"hey, hey! i'm so sorry y/n, please just tell them i'll be there soon. my alarm didn't go off!"

"i told you it needs new batteries-"

"is now the time to say 'i told you so'?" spencer practically whined in your ear, a small smile curving at your lips as you giggled.

"got it, just get here as quick as you can." you murmured in response before flipping your phone shut, lifting your head up to meet the inquisitive gaze of four profilers staring right at you. "he slept in, he'll be here in about 5 minutes."

"the spencer reid being late? that's a first," emily teased, flipping through the case file in front of her. hotch's facial expression was the same as always; eyes slightly narrowed and eyebrows creasing inwards with his lips stretched into a thin line.

"everyone's allowed to be late," hotch shrugged as he stepped in front of the projector, grabbing one of the files scattered over the round table. "once."

you almost snorted at the delivery, shoulders hunching over as you caught yourself, swallowing your laugh. you caught derek's eye just as the door behind you swung open, a flustered spencer basically clambering through the doorway.

"sorry, sorry! i'm so sorry i'm late!" his voice was pitched, bowing his head at hotch before walking over to you. his brain was still recovering from his interrupted and rushed morning, a cloud of haziness hovering over his brain as he leant down and pressed a kiss to your temple. "sorry i missed your calls."

the room is silent apart from the squeak of spencer's chair as he sits down, rolling forward to reach a case file before noticing the defeating silence in the room. he lifts his head up, only to be met by the shocked and wide-eyed faces of his team members.

"what?"

"what was that?' derek exclaimed, gesturing between the two of you. spencer shook his head with a shrug before tilting his head, eyebrows furrowing with confusion.

"what do you mean?"

"you just...kissed y/n on the forehead," jj spoke slowly as if she was still processing the situation in her head. spencer had a confused smile stretch across his lips. looking between the three of them as if they were crazy.

"yeah? you guys are acting like we aren't dating..."

"WHAT?"

spencer jolts back at the yells of the three members, hands raising in a defensive manner before looking over at you. your jaw was basically on the floor, eyes wide as you stared at spencer.

"...they didn't know, spencer," your voice is barely above a whisper, embarrassment running thick as you hunch your shoulders once more. for once, the attention is focused on spencer, and you're thankful the spotlight isn't on you.

"since when?" emily immediately interrogates him, standing up and leaning over the desk as her palm splays against the wooden table.

"c'mon, they're obviously pranking us," derek shrugs with a confident smirk. "we would've known sooner if they actually were dating."

"no I'm-i'm serious," spencer defends, mouth opening and closing before he turns back to face emily and answers her question. "it's been 4 years."

"WHAT?" they all exclaim in unison once more, lips parted as their jaws drop. they're all frozen in shock, eyes flickering between the two of you.

"i'm confused, how did you guys not know? we share lunch together every day!" spencer laughs in disbelief, shrugging as his hands flop between you and him. "y/n brings me a coffee every day."

"yeah but-"

'you never gave us a reason to believe that you were more than friends!" jj interjects, arms crossing over her chest.

"can we please focus on the case, guys?" hotch interrupts with a deep sigh, rubbing at his forehead with an impressed glower.

"hotch, you're not surprised?" derek exclaims, sitll in disbelief.

"no, they told me 4 years ago," hotch states simply before turning towards jj. "now, we've had enough interruptions. the case? please?"

"we're going out for drinks, and you're telling us everything." emily demands, her index finger pointing directly at you. you can feel everyone's gaze turns towards you, snickering at how flustered you look - unable to meet their eyes as you cover your cheeks with your hands.

"i'm sorry?" spencer offers, his own shoulders hunching upwards."i can give you my entire sandwich?!"

"be quiet, spencer!"

[fl3shm4id3n]

Wₑₐᵣᵢₙg ₕₑₑₗₛ ₐᵣₒᵤₙd ₜₕₑ ₛᵤₗₗy'ₛ

𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 -👠𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʟʟʏ'ꜱ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (ᴘʟᴀᴛᴏɴɪᴄ)

Tw: None

A/N: I couldn't squeeze a lot, but I manage to think of something. Hopefully ya'll like it. It's kinda short.

Masterlist

You no idea what heels were, until you found some in a storage unit in Hell's Gate. You were snooping around the unit and came across a pair of red heels. This was new to you. As well as weird, you were used to seen others wearing boots or just flat out tennis shoes to be comfortable.

But you couldn't help but grow curious and try them on. It was a pain at first, since the heels held your feet up in a different position and they'd hurt after some time. Same with walking in them. You'd wobble and stumble around a first, but you manage to walk on them.

After some time, you decided to show off your new heels to your friends. When you walked to the camp, you had to do it barefoot. At first you were going to wear your heels, but the very thin heel would bury itself onto the dirt and you nearly tripped a few times. So you just walked barefooted until you got to the camp.

Once at camp, the Sully kids were already out of the hut and just hanging around their home. As soon as you saw them, you showed them your new heels. They had no idea what they were, just like you the first time you had found them. Then you went up an explanation of what they were and so on.

Then you put them on, showing them how you became a pro at walking on them. All they did was stare at the shinny red heels that you walked around on. Not only that, but you saw how their ears would twitch slightly by the clicking of the heels on the hard ground.

Ever since then, you'd began to get teased. Specially by Lo'ak and Spider. They'd go on and on how you were slightly taller now and how you nearly reached Tuk's height. Those two just loved poking fun at you ever since your heels were shown to them.

Kiri didn't really get the point in you wearing them. At first she thought that you didn't really need heels to be taller. That you were fine just the way that you were. But you told her that you simply wore them because they were pretty and stylish. Kiri still couldn't help but wonder why you wore them. They seem like torture devices.

Out of all her Siblings, Tuk liked your heels. She thought they were funny in a way but also cute. She'd often ask you if she could look at them, which you allowed her. She'd just look at the heel as if she was trying to figure out how or why they were made the way that they were. She often wishes she could hear your heels just to be a bit more tall.

Neteyam didn't mind, he was all 'Alright' when it came to your heels. He too didn't think you needed them, but if you liked them and choose to wear them, cool. He'd ask question after question on why you wore such shoe that can and will cause you pain thought. He never understood why humans made things that could cause you pain.

When Neytiri had heard about your famous heels. She too got curious. When she saw you wearing them one day, she couldn't help but find the clicking of your heels a bit annoying. When you came to the hut, she'd tell you to take them off. She too wonders why humans wear such painful devices.

She then went to ask Jake about them. He didn't know much, but explained to her why humans women, and some times men wear heels. She didn't get it at first, but after some time she did. She still despised human things, specially those noisy torture devices.

[racheyace]

Lightning Ridge - Part One

A young Shifter wanders into a town crawling with hunters, Hendrix plans on laying low but when he catches wind of one particular hunter who is after the same Shifter that he’s been tracking himself, his curiosity gets the better of him. Offering to join the man on his quest he can only hope he can track down the dangerous shifter, saving the lives of innocents all the while keeping his secret hidden.

TW: mentions of murder/eating people, giant spiders, some swearing, mentions of death, mentions of drug use

G/t Shifter story, the idea came from a prompt I read a while back by @maplesyrupandgt. I’ve just come back to writing after recovering from an injury to my writing hand of all things, but I’m back and posting short stories and prompts to get me back in the swing of things. This will be a Four Part Story so keep an eye out for more to come!

Approx 3.2k words

Part One - Here

Part Two

The rain beat down hard on my shoulders and I knew I’d have to stop for the night, my eyes had caught sight of distant light coming from this direction and I had hoped to stumble across a small village in search for cheap accommodation. What I didn’t expect to find however was currently staring at my face menacingly, urging me to turn around and go back the way I’d come.

A sign was posted a few yards from the small village, and it read:

‘GIANT’S BEWARE’

And Another:

‘GIANT SLAYERS WITHIN’

The signs were large enough that any shifter would be able to read it in their Giant forms, what was unnecessary was the graphic image of a shifter having its head cut off by a human that was scrawled under the blocky letters above it.

“Charming” I said to myself.

It was known among shifters that most humans didn’t know that ‘Giants’ as they called us, were not in fact Giant’s at all but a special kind of shape shifter that could grow into their large forms at will, or sometimes against their will. For that reason, I deemed it safe to enter, no one here would know what I was, I’d just have to keep a low profile as always.

My boots trudged heavily through the muddy streets until I found a tavern, the sign out the front told me that there was availability inside, perfect. I pushed open the double wooden doors and was greeted with a waft of warm thick air filled with music, laughter and the smell of smoke and whiskey.

I inhaled deeply, soaking in the pleasant sensations, I’d get a drink once I’d secured a room for the night. I found a coat hanger near the entryway and placed my wet jacket onto it along with my fedora, feeling somewhat warmer and dryer I headed straight for the bar with my best panty dropping grin.

“A straight whisky darlin if you don’t mind?” I asked the young barmaid from behind the counter, she gave me a playful wink while pouring a fresh glass without even looking at it. She slid it across the polished counter to me and leaned over.

“What’s a pretty face like you doing here?” she asked, flicking her long black hair over her shoulder.

“Just passing through” I said casually. “I was hoping I might find some accommodations hereabouts.”

“Well, you need look no further, we have a few spare rooms tonight, just a single?” She asked hopefully, she briefly glanced around to see if I had come in with anyone else.

“Yeah, just a single.”

She handed me a piece of parchment to sign, a guest log, I scribbled a fake name in as I usually did and handed it back to her along with a generous payment, she gave me a set of keys and then asked. “Where are you headed to?”

“Oh no where in particular, I enjoy exploring, I’m a bit of a nomad.” I shrugged, taking another heavy slog of my drink. “Might head toward Lightening Ridge tomorrow.” I said offhandedly.

The man beside me at the bar, scoffed, I hadn’t even noticed him sit down until now, the barmaid and I both looked at him curiously, waiting for an explanation.

“You haven’t heard the rumors?” He asked, looking at us incredulously, his dark hair and darker complexion gave off a mysterious air in the already dim lighting of the tavern, his shaggy hair keeping his face in the shadows expertly.

“That’s Giant territory up that way.” He explained, turning to address us properly.

“Is that so?” I asked, I hadn’t heard of any territory being claimed as ‘Giants Territory’ ever, most of the time shifters mainly lived amongst humans. Of course, there were the rare kind who took advantage of their sheer strength and sought to harm and press their power over others.

One shifter in particular I could think of, we’d crossed paths a few times, I had actually been tracking him for a long time after hearing the first reports of a Giant terrorizing villages. I’d found him about a year ago, warning him of others who were hunting him, I tried to get through to him with reason, but he wasn’t interested in hearing any of it, in fact he very nearly killed me.

I’d kept my distance then but continued to track him for a short while until I lost his trail. It had been months since I’d had any firm leads and I wondered if my instinct taking me this far East had finally paid off. Perhaps he had taken over Lightening Ridge claiming it to be his own.

“What makes you think it’s Giant Territory?” I pressed further.

The young man finished off his drink and indicated that he would like another.

“I’ve been assigned to hunt a Giant living in that area, he’s set up camp there for a while now, many have gone in, but none have ever returned.” he said forebodingly wiggling his fingers for emphasis.

I shivered but not because of the stupid theatrics the man was displaying, but because in all likelihood Blade was killing if not eating the men who had entered ‘His’ Territory and the thought turned my gut to ice.

“Perhaps I could assist you.” I said resolve set, I was sure this was the shifter I’d been after, and I wasn’t going to let him get away again, especially knowing he was now murdering civilians.

The young man laughed loudly but I kept my expression neutral, and his laughter died down to a look of pure disbelief.

“You’re not joking? Are you?” He asked and I shook my head, he gave a heavy sigh. “Look I appreciate the offer, but I generally work alone, besides I don’t wanna get distracted looking after you when I’m trying to slay the beast.” He explained, all good points.

“I’m a hunter as well.” I lied. “I actually know of the beast your after, been on his tail for months, I think I could prove useful.”

He gave me a skeptical look; I was sure he was going to turn me down again and then I’d move to plan B which would be tailing this man in order to find Blade, but he held out a hand instead.

“You don’t get in my way.” He said sternly. “When we find the beast, it’s every man for himself, I wont risk my neck to save your ass if you do something stupid, you hear?”

I couldn’t help the smile edging onto my face, and I grasped his hand.

“Deal.” I said, so much for keeping a low profile.

“The names Ryder, I’ll meet you down here an hour before sunrise.” He said stiffly before rising from his chair, intending to head in for the night.

“Hendrix.” I answered honestly. “I’ll be here.” He gave me a curt nod before heading up the stairs to the Tavern’s rooms.

“Boy you do have a death wish.” The barmaid was shaking her head whilst cleaning a glass. I gave her a small shrug before heading up the stairs myself, and I wondered if the barmaid had noted that the name I put on the guest log, was not the name I’d given to Ryder. I supposed it didn’t matter, in all likely hood we’d leave before anyone else arose the next morning and I’d never see her again.

With that I hunkered down onto the small cot within my room and urged my racing thoughts to quieten, though regardless of my efforts my excitement at having finally got a lead was too much to give me a good night’s sleep and morning came all too quickly.

I rolled out of bed and stretched my aching limbs, sleeping on a different surface every night didn’t bode well for my back. I wandered to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face briefly glancing my disheveled appearance in the mirror. Ryder had been right to worry that I wouldn’t be useful in a fight, where he was toned, I was more malnourished with my poor muscles trying desperately to make themselves known.

My dark blue eyes popped against my freckle-stained face where my cheek and jaw bones jutted out. I wasn’t much of a fighter, more a survivalist, but I had been training since my last meeting with Blade and I was confident I’d be able to take him this time.

I brushed my fingers through my shoulder length sandy blonde hair and pushed away from the sink, I’d guessed it was about an hour before sunrise now and if I didn’t get a move on, Ryder would likely leave without me. I slung my satchel containing my meager belongings across my chest and headed down the stairs.

“Ah there he is, I was thinking you might have come to your senses overnight.” Ryder joked, putting on his own hat and jacket, ready to head out the door.

“Not a chance.” I smiled, and followed him outside, the air was fresh and held the sharp bite of winter closing in, I longed to be back inside the warm tavern, but I also wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity, especially if I could put an end to Blade’s rampage once and for all.

It was bad enough that he was putting the identity of our kind at risk but using his power to harm others was something I just couldn’t stand for.

I followed Ryder as we headed further east, following signs for Lightening Ridge, it was approximately 200kml away from SheerWood, the village we had just come from, and would be about a three or four day walk with minimal stops.

“So, tell me a bit about yourself Hendrix.” Ryder asked, the sun was beginning to rise, and we had walked in mostly comfortable silence until that point, I had gathered that he preferred not to grow attached to his travelling companion in case he died once we faced the shifter, his question caught me off guard.

“There’s not much to tell really.” I shrugged, preparing to spin off the usual story I give people. “I’m a nomad, I travel all over, got no family to hold me down so I’m just out exploring really.”

“Bullshit, you’ve been tailing a Giant for peats sake, there is more to you than just drifting with the wind.”

I bit my lip, I hadn’t really thought that one through, I’d forgotten that I’d told him I was a hunter back in the tavern.

“Well, you know I pick up a few hunting jobs here and there as a travel through, no big story, sorry to disappoint.” I covered quickly, it wasn’t an unheard-of story and totally credible if I do say so myself.

He didn’t seem convinced, but he also didn’t seem frustrated at all, like he understood that not everything was okay to be shared with a total stranger.

“Well, I suppose I’m much the same as you, grew up in a small town and as soon as I was able, I up and left, took up hunting jobs and make my living that way, I must say it’s not a bad way to see the country.” He glanced at the surrounding forest appreciatively.

“Do you have any family?” I asked trying to continue to keep the topic on him.

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen them in years, they live way out west in the desert, my mum, dad and sister, as far as I know Kailani is still there tending to the farm with them, farm life just wasn’t for me you know?”

I nodded, the lifestyle had never interested me either, come to think of it I wasn’t really sure what kind of lifestyle called to me. I supposed travelling and exploring the country was okay, but the thought of settling down somewhere was intriguing, even if it was an impossibility for me.

“What’s Kailani like?” I asked, my mind wandered to my own little sister, she’d been only five years old when I left home, when my abilities had made themselves known.

“She’s kind.” He said wistfully. “She was always very reserved, especially around our parents, she was never shy about giving me a hard time though.” He chuckled at a memory playing over in his mind. “Last I heard she was seeing a fella, she’d make a good wife, I just hope she’s happy.”

“I suppose that’s all any of us can ask for.” I said quietly, hoping the same was true about Ella.

A twig snapped to our left and we both paused, Ryder held up a scarred hand indicating for me to keep quiet. I scanned the area, but I couldn’t see much of anything off the trail, the forest on either side of us was dense with underbrush.

After a few moments I was going to tap Ryder on the shoulder and suggest we keep going, it was probably just an animal skirting too close to the trails, that’s when we heard a soft hiss disturb the silence around us. And that was all the warning we got before the large Arachnid made itself known, its many eyes flickering like embers in the dense forest and its large hairy legs moving faster than they should have been able to.

“Duck!” Ryder shouted, I was going to question why I would do such a thing, and to instead suggest we run but I crouched low to the ground anyway and narrowly missed a projectile of sticky silk that was shot toward us. Ryder had rolled out of the way and brandished his sword, crouching in a fighting stance and ready to leap at the thing.

I dug in my pockets for my dagger, and then realized it was woefully too small to fight a creature this large. Of course, normally when I encountered giant spiders in the forest, I was much bigger and would simply crush the creature with the heel of my boot, I’d never thought I needed a larger weapon when I was usually the largest creature around.

Of course I couldn’t grow right now, not with a hunter standing right there, I rolled as the creature made a move toward me and I narrowly avoided one of its sharp claw-like legs from spearing me through the middle. I watched as Ryder pounced on top of the thing, using his sword to strike at the Arachnids thick exoskeleton.

The spider seemed to pay him not mind, not finding his efforts of any concern at all and instead kept on moving toward me, the spider positioned itself over me and spat more sticky silk covering my left hand and pinning it to the ground. My breath hitched and I felt myself expand a few inches, breaking my hand free of the sticky substance.

I focused on stopping the growing energy within my body, reining it in for now. I wasn’t about to die at the mercy of an insect.

The spiders’ pincers sliced awfully close to my neck, and I jerked my body upwards pushing the heels of my boots into the spider’s face.

With only a second to make the most of my distraction I backpaddled on my hands and knees crawling under the spider and then out into the open. I dug in my bag frantically and pulled out what I hoped might do the trick, tearing off a part of my sleeve, I picked up a stick nearby and wrapped my shirt around it.

The spider had its eyes on me again and let out another hiss, I doused the cloth in whiskey and then struck a match, creating a large fire stick that I brandished at the spider. It threw its body backwards showing off its front legs in a display of aggression and in doing so threw Ryder from its back, he landed in a heap dropping his sword a short distance away from him.

With the flaming stick in one hand, I inched closer to Ryder’s sword, causing the spider to back up further.

“Ryder!” I shouted kicking the sword toward him, he got the hint grasped the sword and then stood directly underneath the beast. I backed up and as the spider came down Ryder expertly placed the sword between the spider’s thorax and abdomen and then it went limp, its body falling heavily on top of Ryder.

I concentrated and allowed myself to grow only a little, just enough so that I would be strong enough to push the beast off of Ryder, with a grunt of effort I rolled the spider off of him. Ryder lay there breathing heavily, his whole body covered in unidentifiable spider guck, I focused on my own breathing shrinking down to an acceptable height though my body protested.

“You look like hell.” I stated, holding out a hand for him. He grasped it with a slimy hand of his own and I cringed a little at the sickening feeling.

“I’d look a lot worse if it hadn’t of been for you.” He said completely awe struck, he walked over to reclaim his sword from the spider’s belly and then looked over at me, his hazel eyes flashing.

“That was some quick thinking back there.” He said, voice still laced with amazement. “I mean, after seeing you brandish a dagger of all things, I had my doubts, but… that was something else.”

I brushed it off, throwing the fire stick on the ground and stamping it out before putting my matches and flask back into my satchel.

“I work well under pressure.” I shrugged, and his eyebrows reached the sky.

“I’ll say.” He said clapping me on the back. “In any case, well done lad.”

I chuckled nervously and followed him as we continued down the trail. Thankful that I had made it out of my first encounter with an aggressive creature and lived to tell the tale, secret still intact.

“Ha, that’s funny…” He started, looking me up and down as I caught up walking briskly beside him.

“What’s funny? That I’ve only got a dagger to defend myself with? Yeah I know the truth is I lost-“

“No, not that.” He cut me off. “I just could have sworn I was taller than you.”

PART TWO

[actual-changeling]

On unhealthy relationship dynamics

A little while ago, I stumbled across a post discussing Aziraphale's character on a meta level, and without knowing the content, I was completely unprepared when one single sentence pushed me from 'uncomfortable but doable' into 'triggered and panicking'. The post itself was triggering from start to finish, but that phrase stood out to me.

Why am I telling you this?

After calming down and thinking about it for a few hours, I realised what exactly my brain had reacted to—victim blaming rhetoric repackaged to fit Aziraphale and Crowley's situation. Victim blaming is, to provide a short summary, the act of putting blame for mistreatment on the victim instead of the perpetrator. It's a concept often used in r/pe discussions, but it can be applied to any abusive or non-abusive situation as long as a power imbalance is created, meaning you have at least one person harming another in whatever shape or form.

If you broaden the definition, you can apply it to more situations, including—and this is where we reach the actual topic—their relationship and the Final Fifteen (F15).

That is exactly what some people have been doing—putting all the blame on Crowley and absolving Aziraphale of any and all responsibility as if it were his fault that Aziraphale broke his heart

Before anyone runs to the comments, let me clarify what I assume will be the FAQ.

no, I do not think Aziraphale is abusive

I do not think that their relationship is abusive either

no, I do not hate Aziraphale

yes, I know what I am talking about

everything I will talk about is largely based on what we as the audience actually see and know, combined with interpretations of the intentional subtext Neil wrote into the show.

I have been actively in this fandom since the second season was released, and I have seen a lot of (hopefully accidental) ableist & generally insensitive takes. These are the ones I see the most and what I personally consider to be important topics of discussion, but the same logic I will be applying to these can be applied to many, many more situations.

Since my meta posts get very long very quickly, I will be posting them in parts and always linking back to the others, plus this one as the masterpost.

Part 1—Nice Is A Four Letter Word

The basic pattern is this:

Aziraphale refers to Crowley with a 'nice' term -> Crowley gets upset and tells him to stop -> Aziraphale hears him but continues anyway.

There are reasons behind Crowley's rejection, and I will go into detail, but I want to make one thing very clear: It does not matter why Crowley asked him to stop. He set a boundary, and Aziraphale repeatedly and intentionally overstepped it; this causes understandable anger and frustration.

Crowley does not owe Aziraphale an explanation, just like you would not owe someone an explanation when you don't want to be called x-term. Mutual respect requires the acceptance of personal boundaries like that, and by breaking them over and over again, Aziraphale tells Crowley that his own wants are more important than Crowley's needs.

In the 1827 Edinburgh flashback, we see the consequences of Crowley doing good/being called good (which are usually connected, meaning if they notice someone is calling Crowley good, he most likely did something to cause that) firsthand, and so does Aziraphale. He gets dragged down to hell and tortured for up to thirty years.

Even before that, Crowley expresses numerous times how hell punishes good deeds, and they are 'always listening' in on him. You would assume that Aziraphale would stop to keep him safe—and yet he doesn't because he cannot accept the reality of Crowley's situation and refuses to listen to him.

On top of that, Aziraphale only ever "praises" Crowley when he does something he personally sees as praiseworthy, aka something good/kind/nice/angelic/etc. but never when it is something that CROWLEY would like to be praised for, or at the very least acknowledged. We see it in season 2 over and over and over again: Aziraphale cares for no one's thoughts or plans except his own and has no interest in even hearing Crowley out.

Aziraphale calling him nice is not a sweet little gesture, it is an intentional overstepping of a boundary Crowley has been trying to enforce for centuries, and it reinforces the dichotomy of good angels/bad demons, with angelic existence being the ultimate goal. At the very least, it's disrespectful towards Crowley, and at worst, it is actively keeping Crowley in a trauma response, tugging on his leash whenever he tries to explain reality to Aziraphale.

To have a healthy relationship, Aziraphale needs to stop.

part 2 - part 3

[skribbyposts]

WIP WEDNESDAY EVERYBODY!!!!!

heres a new fic im working on where Sanji gets his tongue pierced on a dare. it’s zosan ofc but that part comes a little later ✨✨ enjoy the three lines i have written thanks

__________

Ah, shit, is the first thing Sanji thinks when he wakes up, sprawled across the deck and surrounded by his snoring crewmates.

There's a headache pounding ferociously behind his eyes, and he’s still wearing the same clothes he had on last night. Speaking of, he can’t seem to remember last night. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for the entire crew to get piss-drunk and pass out on the Sunny’s lawn (They’re pirates, for god’s sake), but Sanji has never been this disoriented when he wakes up the next morning.

Warmed by the few rays of sun peeking through the morning clouds, he staggers up and picks his way through all the bodies on the floor. He takes a a moment to stretch, and when he yawns, he feels a twinge of pain in his mouth. Strange, but Sanji doesn’t really have the metal capacity to worry about anything right now. He drags his feet to the bathroom to brush his teeth before he gets started on breakfast.

Upon entering the bathroom, he makes the astute observation that he looks like shit. His hair is greasy and sticking up in places, he only has on one shoe, and three buttons are missing from the only casual shirt he owns. In addition, some of his stubble is growing back- he really needs to shave. Great. He sighs and finds his toothbrush from the many scattered all over the sink’s counter. He puts on a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, looks back up at the mirror and opens his mouth, and-

He screams.

—

Usopp is the first one is the first one to come running inside, bleary-eyed and mumbling something along the lines of “What? What happened!?”

Once Sanji turns toward him though, all of his concern immediately disappears and he starts laughing. Hysterically.

Sanji would threaten him to shut the fuck up, but he literally can't. He can barely even move his face now because his tongue has blown up like a fucking balloon inside of his mouth around what looks like a shiny silver bar. In short, Sanji has a fucking piercing. In his mouth. Why, or how, he has no idea- but it looks like Usopp does.

“Oh my god,” Usopp manages between cackles, the fucker he is, “You- stay, just-” he dissolves back into a fit of laughter and rushes out of the room. This leaves Sanji staring at the door with a dripping toothbrush and still no explanation.

After a few minutes, Usopp comes back with a cameko in his hands. “Just know, i had no part in this. In fact, I was sleeping. Yes, sleeping- I was so tired, you know…”

Sanji levels him with a blank stare. “Yeah…” Usopp stammers, “Okaytakethisbye!” He pushes the snail into Sanji’s hands and then scrambles out again.

Sanji looks down at the cameko in his hands, turning it around to the compartment on it’s back. He flips out the screen to the last recorded video, and presses play.

__________

hope you liked this little snippet!!!! the rest will (HOPEFULLY) be coming iut in the next two weeks, so watch out for that!!!

[itmeansiris]

The Solar System Legacy Challenge: Getting to Know the Neighbors Gen 1 pt.55

The day before Zohrehs birthday Mercury and family head down the street to meet for lunch with Kiersten and her family. When they arrive they knock and a gruff voice calls out from inside

???: It's open.

In the distance they can hear a softer voice respond, Kiersten.

Kiersten: Did you even check who it was?

Kiersten opens the door and lets them in

Kiersten: Mercury! Kason! I'm so glad you guys made it. Rufus these are the neighbors who own the gorgeous blue house near the towns center. I told you they came by yesterday to say hello while you and the boys were out.

Rufus was in the middle of a flash card lesson with his youngest son. He cuts the lesson short, kissed the small red headed boy and stood to greet them.

Rufus: Good to meet you. Rufus, I see you've meet my beautiful wife. This handsome guy is Malachi and our oldest son Tucker is around here somewhere.

Kason steps forward to introduce his own family.

Kason: Rufus, nice to meet you. Kiersten it's nice to see you again. I’m Kason, this is my wife Mercury and our triplets Venus, Ishtar and Aphrodite and our youngest Zohreh.

Rufus: Well lets not stand in the doorway come in please.

As soon as everyones inside, the oldest boy Tucker comes down whining loudly to his parents.

Tucker: Mooooommm you said dad would help me with my creative writing paper. I actually have to attend school tomorrow if you forgot.

Tucker plops down at the kitchen table.

Rufus: We have company buddy.

Tucker looks around noticing there are other people in the room.

Tucker: Um...sorry. Hi, I'm Tucker.

He politely introduces himself.

M: It's very nice to meet you Tucker. If you don't mind me asking what is your creative writing story about?

Tucker smiles and animated launches into an explanation of the world he'd created and the characters and creatures that inhabited the land.

Tucker: I want the main character to become a werewolf but I've never written about werewolves. Which is where my dad came in. He loves the supernatural, but he hasn't had much time since the move.

M smiled and sat down across from him.

M: Well I just happen to know a little something about writing werewolves. Would you mind if I helped out?

Rufus and Kiersten looked at each other surprised.

Kiersten: Thank you so much, but we couldn't ask you for that. We invited you over for lunch and to hopefully make friends-

Rufus: Yeah, not put you to work.

Kason laughed, seeing Rufus and Kiersten finish each other sentences made him like them more. They reminded him of himself and Mercury. It was easy to see they had a close family dynamic and a healthy relationship.

Kason: One thing you'll learn about M, writing is never work for her. She's a pretty amazing author herself.

Kiersten stops in her tracks as realization dawns on her. She walks over to the bookshelf and pulls out a familiar book.

Kiersten: I knew she looked familiar. She wrote "Journals of a Werewolf".

Rufus takes a closer look at the photo on the back of the book.

Rufus: Well what do you know, that is you. I admit I'm a little ashamed now, I've read that series at least a dozen times. Can't believe I didn't recognize you.

M laughs and reassures them.

M: Please it's better that way. But it's nice to know you enjoyed the series. Thank you

Tucker: Sooo, can she help me?

Kiersten hesitates still

Kiersten: We really couldn't ask you to do that.

M: It's not a problem. Please I'd like to help.

Rufus: Kier she says its okay. Besides who better to help him than the werewolf master herself. Thank you Mercury. Come one Kason we can head out back. Falls taking its time and I just got a new grill I'd like to give a go before the season gets too cold. We'll take the little ones we have a swing and space for them to play.

Kason and Rufus around up the toddlers leaving Mercury to help Tucker with his story.

After about an hour Tucker and Kiersten join the others in the yard.

Kason: Where's Mercury?

Kiersten: She went down the street to change. I thought she was dressed a little warm for the weather.

M returns 10 short minutes later and everyone is already gathered outside.

Rufus: You're just in time. Your husband was just impressing us with his culinary talents and finished up what looks like an excellent set of Chimis.

During their meal Kason and M ask the Walter’s what brought them to Brindelton Bay. Rufus explained how he'd been promoted from his position as Constructor of Computers in Chestnut Ridge.

Rufus: The office out there is still small and well they aren't all tech savvy. So the only way to really get the promotion was to move my family to San Myshuno or the Brindelton Bay office. My choice was a clear one.

Kason: It will be nice to see a friendly face in the office.

Rufus smiled, the comment meant to instill a sense of friendship but Kason knew it had another meaning, but that was an issue for another time.

As the evening draws to an end M extends a invitation to Kiersten.

M: Tomorrow and the day after we’re having birthday parties for the triplets and Zohreh. You guys should all come by.

Kiersten pulls M into a hug

Kiersten: We would love to, and thank you for today.

M hugs her back. When she pulls away Kiersten wiped tears from her eyes.

M: For what? We were guest in your home we should be thanking you.

Kiersten: You and your family have made us feel so welcomed already. We've hardly seen any of the neighbors sense we've been here. The last town we lived in was so lively, and warm. The people were like family. We've been here for almost a week and your family is the first and only to come over and even introduce themselves.

M: The neighborhood is fairly quite. More dog owners than families with kids, living so close to the clinic and dog park. Don't worry it was the same when Kason and I first moved here. We can go by the cafe or the towns national park sometime.

M: And if we don't find any nice people don't worry, you and I are going to be good friends.

Kiersten giggles and wipes the last of the tears from her eyes,

M: It'll be nice to have a friend close to home.

Kiersten sighs

Kiersten: It'll be good to have a friend. I'm so excited for tomorrow.

Kason arounds up the kids as M finishes her goodbyes. Before they leave Tucker runs out and hugs M tightly

Tucker: Thank you so much Mrs.Gratz! Could you come over again and help me with more of my stories please?!

M: I told you it's okay to call me Mercury, and I would love to help you with your stories in exchange you and your family have to come over to our house tomorrow for Zohreh's birthday. What do you say?

Tucker: I get to come to your house?! Mom we can go right?

Kiersten: Of course

She mouths thank you to M again with a fresh batch of tears in her eyes.

M: Then i’ll see you guys tomorrow. Thank you for lunch. Have a goodnight.

PREV

NEXT

*Journals of a werewolf” is the book that got M her 4th celebrity star. It was a best-seller and she won a star- accolade award. It’s the book most sims are likely to have read. She wrote 2 squeal’s.

[ellawrites-if]

SHARED DESIRES

This short (spicy-ish in a very vague, very gender-neutral (i hope) way) story was inspired by Newmann fanart I saw of Hermann and Newt sharing a dream of them kissing. The artist is @/dad-dumpster.

As always this is unedited and vaguely proofread, so any mistakes are my own. I’m pretty sure the tense changes like 8x but whatever.

Your lips crash against theirs, knocking the breath from their lungs.

That’s not unusual, although it’s usually because of your mere presence rather than your lips.

They kiss you back with a fierce hunger, with a need to wreck you, to consume you, to make you crave them as much as they crave you.

Your hands slide up their stomach and push, and they’re powerless to do anything but fall.

They hit their bed and you’re on them. Your teeth nipping at the skin of their neck and soothing the sting with your tongue. All they can do is pant and tip their head back for you. Their hands latch onto your hips and dig in. They’ll probably leave bruises, and that thought thrills them even more.

Your lips have reached their jaw, but it’s too much and not enough all at once, and they delight in your surprised yelp as they flip you onto your back.

They immediately latch onto your neck, paying you back with a love bite that you’ll struggle to cover up.

Your hands fumble with their trousers, pushing them down just enough to gain access to what you want. Your fingers explore and they moan, their voice echoing across the space.

You laugh, triumphantly, even as your pupils swallow the colour of your pretty eyes. It drives them crazy to see how affected you are by them.

They decide to return the favour, pulling your hands away from them, so they can tug your own trousers down and lay between your thighs. The only thought in their head is that they’d die here quite happily.

Their mouth descends onto you, and your hips jerk as your snarky words are cut off by a choked out moan. A bit of information to file away for later.

They want to make you feel good. Want to taste your desire on their tongue. Want to be the one you pleasure yourself to thoughts of. Want to be the only one you turn to when the need gets too much.

They’ll ingrain themselves on your soul if they have to.

You scream, your thighs tightening around their head and your hands yanking at their hair.

They’re in heaven.

It’s the only explanation.

-

Ciaran jolts awake, their heart thundering in their chest and their breathes coming out in harsh pants.

They wipe the sweat from their brow.

A dream.

The only explanation that actually makes sense.

They take a few gulps of their water from the glass they had left on night stand, and attempt to do what they always do when it comes to you.

They shove their feelings down into an abyss and pray that they never come crawling out.

Once they calm down enough to get back to sleep, they place their water back on their night stand, and flop onto their mattress. They hit their pillow a few times and force their eyes to close.

Ciaran is a master of burying their head in the sand by now. This is no different.

At least, it isn’t until the next morning when they spot you and you can’t look them in the eyes.

Ciaran raises an eyebrow at your behaviour as they sit opposite you.

“What’s up with you?” They ask, curious. “You dream about me or something?”

They don’t know why they asked you that, but your reaction makes them freeze up.

Did they send you their dream through the connection between your minds? Did you send them yours?

Or…did you share the dream? Your subconscious coming together with theirs in a mess of both of your desires.

They shake the thought away.

Breakfast, surrounded by some of the sharpest minds in the world, was not the place to be thinking about such things.

“Idiot, just eat your breakfast and stop being weird.”

That snaps you out of it.

Good.

Your nonsense should hopefully be able to stop them from launching over the table and kissing you senseless in front of everyone.

[simslegacy5083]

Today's (10/23/2024) Episode: Take A Breath

When they arrived at the medical clinic Luigi and his family were whisked quickly to the private room they’d requested.

“Thanks so much for protecting our privacy” Luigi told the medical assistant when she arrived to begin the exam.

“Not a problem Mr. Lawbourne” she replied, “We’re always happy to help.” She pulled up Skye’s chart on the computer before turning to her patient “I see you’ve been having some trouble breathing lately. Can you tell me a little bit more about how that feels when you notice it?”

“Every time I teleport my chest feels funny, and I start coughing a lot.” Skye frowned “It happened one time when I was playing tag with my friends at school too, but I don’t like to do that anymore.” Noemi and Luigi exchanged a glance then but didn’t comment.

“I’m sorry to hear that” the assistant smiled kindly. “Thank you for the fantastic explanation! Today we’ll run some tests, I promise they won’t hurt, and hopefully help you feel better. Does that sound good?” Skye didn’t look up but nodded slightly and let her get started.

At the end of his examination Skye was diagnosed with Asthma.

The doctor did his best to explain the disease in a way the young sim could understand: “With asthma, teleporting or exercising can cause your lungs to start making thick sticky stuff called mucus” he said. “That’s why you start having trouble breathing. The good news is we have medicine to help you feel better fast when it happens.”

“Mom, Dad” he went on “I’m going to give you some resources to review so you can learn how to help Skye manage his new diagnoses.” “I know a bit about it” Luigi told him “my great great grandpa Don has dealt with it for centuries.”

"It isn’t uncommon for asthma to run in families actually” their provided smiled “though in your case it seems like it skipped a few generations!”

Luigi and Noemi talked with Dr Anderson for awhile, learning more about next steps for follow-up and things they could do, such as creating an Asthma Action Plan, to help others know how to help their boy in case of an attack. Afterward he asked: “Now Skye, do you have any questions before I go?”

Skye hadn’t really understood everything they’d been discussing, but he did have one important thing to ask “You said the medicine will make me feel better. Does that mean after I take it, I won’t have asthma anymore?”

The adults in the room frowned. Luigi reached out to place a comforting hand on his son's shoulder as the doctor answered, “Unfortunately there is no cure for asthma, so you’ll always have it, but as long as you keep your inhaler in your inventory it should make you feel better quickly next time you have trouble breathing.” Skye’s face crumpled at his answer. He buried his head in his dad’s chest; big fat tears falling freely at the news.

The doctor left then to see his next patient, telling them as he went “take all the time you need before you go; we have plenty of other exam rooms.”

Skye calmed down slowly as Noemi moved to sit across from him “I know you’re worried, but we’ll do everything we can to help you adjust.”

“Now that we know what’s wrong” Luigi continued “we’ll be able to help. When I was your age, I learned I had Eczema. Once we understood what was causing my issue, my dads got me that special lotion you see me use and it made a big difference, just like your new inhaler will do for you.”

“We love you so much, and we promise you won’t have to go through this alone.” Noemi finished, finally earning a smile from her glum little boy.

“Well, that was awful” Luigi lamented as he and Noemi waited for Skye to come out of the restroom “I know what he’s going through, and it sucks.”

Noemi nodded “I was really hoping it was just some short-term infection but given his symptoms I’m not really surprised.”

The pair fell silent when Skye rounded the corner. As they left the medical clinic, heading towards the vision center a short walk away, Luigi took Noemi’s hand in his. Squeezing it tight he silently hoped against hope that Skye wouldn’t get anymore bad news at his next appointment.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[femmefatalevibe]

i have recently discovered your blog. i noticed in some of your posts from last year you use the term "high value woman". if it's not just a buzzword, then it must have a (more or less strict) definition. for example: a high value woman is a person who has traits x, y and z. so, if i wanted to be a high value woman, i would have to meet certain criteria. if i didn't meet the criteria (i would have traits that are opposites of the traits that define a high value woman), what would that make me? a low value woman? sorry for any errors, english is not my first language. i hope i explained this well enough. this isn't a personal attack (i like your blog, i think most of the advice you give is useful), i'm just curious.

Hi love!

I appreciate your question as I believe it's an important one! Ok, hope this explanation makes sense lol.

The short answer is: Yes, I'm targeting a "buzzword" and sharing a more important message. If you follow the media––publication, social media, or otherwise, you know that, when applied thoughtfully and ethically, using trends to share a more significant, impactful, and actionable message is a very effective method to get more eyeballs on your core (evergreen) message and hopefully reach audiences who will find value from your content through the "trendiness" or "virality" of the way you packaged your content (think: how some creators who utilizing the current "demure" trend to share fundamental truths/valuable content + information).

The longer answer is that I ALSO believe that being a "high-value" woman does mean something, but for YOU, not through the eyes of society aka the patriarchy and the covert alt-right messaging many people disguise using this term. Viewing YOURSELF as a "high-value" woman, purely for your personhood, values, and depth as a person, is a very powerful tool. And, learning how to harness this confidence and competency in various aspects of your life is empowering––which can also (often) lead to many tangible and intangible benefits in your physical, emotional, and mental lives.

My mission with this blog is to help women dismantle the automatic programming of feeling powerless and slaves to people-pleasing, the patriarchy, shame, and all of those disempowering things while working through them in realistic ways. Many blogs seem to push very polarized, fantastical, or juvenile ideas, so I want to provide a space that feels welcoming, practical, and like a real community that doesn't push some sort of ideological agenda. My views are likely to come across if I'm giving my opinion on certain topics. But, ultimately, I believe everyone needs to be true to themselves and do what they want as long they aren't hurting or attacking other people.

I've always known that I was on an "unconventional" path in certain areas of life and never really questioned who I was/who I should be. I just went for it and am still trying my best (!) to become that woman I always dreamed/strived to be. I'm hoping to connect through this content with women (or men/non-binary individuals––everyone's welcome!) who feel this inner yearning as well.

Hope this makes sense! Sending love xx

[searchforahero]

tag game & WIP game

combo tag game, i was tagged by @necrotic-nephilim ! :]

last song: roxanne by the police

currently watching: honestly like nothing... i have been swamped with midterms lol but i have a whole list of scary movies i wanted to watch this month that i will hopefully start working my way through soon... i also want to start watching buffy the vampire slayer & star trek & hannibal. also need to get back into supernatural & teen wolf... so much to watch so little time...

last movie: romeo + juliet (1996) but that was like over a month ago. urg. i need to watch more movies...

sweet/spicy/savory: savory (but i love all three yay)

relationship status: single yay :D but also starting to think more seriously about if i want a relationship so that's been interesting.

current obsession: DC as always LOL on a smaller scale, desperately trying to make my t4t4t jaydicktim fic work even though it has gone nowhere

last thing i searched online: other than just searching up ao3 "giant lightning mcqueen canada"

WIP game:

Rules: You will be given a word. Share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word.

word: ROBIN

R [dicktim undercover WIP]

‘Richie’ Grayson is possibly the worst of all Dick’s undercover identities. It’s not that it’s a weak cover or that it isn’t helpful in the field, it’s that Tim can’t focus when he has Dick leaning into his space, muttering mission information under the guise of whispering something salacious into Tim’s ear. Tim hates to admit it, but he’s gorgeous like this, long hair slicked back and piercings studding his ears. He’s applied subtle makeup to change his face, but the way his eyes crinkle fondly when he looks at Tim still shines through, even with the added layer of grease he’s managed to apply to every action he takes. Looking at him now, Tim wants so badly to slip his finger in between the thin gold chain resting across Dick’s collarbones and his pretty scarred skin, and pull. Wants to mark him up and undo him until all that’s left is plainly Dick Grayson - no slimey smiles, no Nightwing confidence, not even the charm he carries like a well-worn coat - just Dick Grayson, the man that has eclipsed Tim’s entire world since he was twelve.

O [dicktim roadtrip WIP]

Obviously It's going to be fine, he needs to stop being such a freak about this, rule number one was literally "be normal" and he's somehow found a way to fail at that before the trip has even begun. He has no earthly idea how he's supposed to be normal in the car with Dick when he can't even be normal in the privacy of his own bathroom.

B [???? WIP]

Bruce is evil. Bruce hates him. Bruce wants him dead. That is the only possible explanation for why Tim is where he is now, sweating like a dog waiting for Victor Fries to leave his newest hideout. The air conditioning in the apartment he’s conducting his stake out from is shot to hell and he can’t leave the window for long enough to figure out what’s wrong with the piece of junk. This is all made about a thousand times worse knowing that there’s what amounts to a giant ice box mere metres away.

I [dicktim roadtrip WIP]

It’s unavoidable at this point, Dick is going to kill him. A full year as Robin and a man Tim caught kicking dirty clothes under his bed in response to hosting unexpected guests is going to be what does him in. Write that on his tombstone and put Dick away for murder: Tim Drake, beloved son, killed by Dick Grayson’s heart-stopping smile and infatuation with low cut necklines on a road trip to New York.

N [damitim camping trip WIP]

[Drake was a road rager.] Not just a sit-in-the-car-and-swear at bad drivers road rager, no, Drake went all in. The space between their two seats had become a danger zone, with the frequency at which Drake shoved his hand between them in order to give the finger to traffic in the rear window, and he had slammed the horn a full three times in their short hour on the freeway. Damian grips his seat belt as Drake swerves into the right lane, cutting off a completely innocent driver to come up beside the Honda previously in front of them. Damian can hear the person behind them slam on the breaks and lay down the horn loudly, but Drake pays them no mind, instead groping around the centre panel to find the window button. Once the window is down he sticks his scrawny arm out the window to make a rude gesture at the driver next to them.

Damian is unsure if Drake has always been like this; he can't quite imagine it - little seventeen year old Timothy Drake cutting off drivers in the Red Bird and racing obnoxious sports cars down the highway - but then again, he knows very little about Drake as a person. He didn't know him then, and he knows even less about the twenty-four year old sitting across from him now.

honestly most of the people i know on here have already been tagged in this so... hi mutuals if you see this and you haven't been tagged yet this is me tagging you!

if you do the WIP game your word is: CAPE

[wordsandrobots]

For the writer ask meme: 3, 7, 14, 16, 20, 27, 34, 35, 40, 44, 61, 74 (❛ں❛ )✧

From the 'Get to know your fic writer!' ask game.

3) Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Typically, I'll start with the overall structure. Where the section breaks go, short summaries (maybe just a couple of phrases) of the contents of each section, placing any scenes I've already started in their proper context, and establishing where I'll swap to a different character, if I'm doing that. Then I'll most likely start at the top and write it through to the end. I can write chapters out of order but find it easiest to take each individual chapter in narrative order. Sometimes I'll have pieces I'm joining up, though, so it's not always a strictly linear process.

And then when I'm done, I'll go over it again and again until I'm happy, cutting the text down to what is absolutely necessary to get my point across: I overwrite a lot on first draft, so there'll always be pruning to do!

7) How do you choose which POV to write from?

Switching character point of view is usually a structural conceit: I'll use it to guide the reader through the different angles of a situation, slowly filling in their understanding of what is going on. It's a great method for creating cliffhangers and sudden twists without being cheap (there will always be an explanation, but POV management allows me to keep it in reserve until the correct moment).

But sometimes there are parts of the story or emotional beats that only make sense from a particular character's perspective. Which is not always the one who is experiencing the beat directly, mind you. When I decided to have show what the new Ryusei-Go was capable of in Fata Morgana, it was because I thought that would be most impactful from an outside POV. Yeah, that's a really intense moment for the pilots, but by showing it at a remove, I was able to focus on how preternaturally effective the combination of developed skill and fine-tuned machine really was -- underscoring the thread throughout Wishing on Space Hardware of how damn scary Tekkadan's legacy is for everyone outside their bubble.

14) how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

I don't exactly feel what the characters feel. They're not really feeling anything, they're words on a page. What I'm generally doing instead is looking for the right words and tempo to hit the pitch of an emotion. It's almost like music, I think, in that emotions have a rhythm to them that alters the character voice, and it's a question of tuning the scene until it conveys the right quality. Even something as simple as how the sentences are laid out can have an impact on that.

So for me, it's an exercise in finding the best combination of tricks and description to hit the note I want to convey. And yeah, a part of that is always going to be drawing on my own experiences and trying to capture what those feelings were like. But that's not always as helpful as you'd think. I happen to know exactly what cold fury feels like, for example, but I'm not sure I could describe it beyond simply saying 'cold fury'. That being said, sometimes that's OK. We have these common turns of phrase for a reason, and coupled to the right cues, they can be very powerful.

16) How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Lots of ideas, always, but functionally I am currently working on two things. One is just -- all the Yamagi/Shino/+ smut I can think of and think is worth actually attempting to write. Currently a prospective six chapters of various lengths, a variety of situations and additional factors. It'll hopefully be a good time!

The second is, surprisingly, not the mooted Wishing on Space Hardware future-fic. That's still percolating as I try to draw together my ideas on it into something concrete. No, I got hit by the urge to invent some entirely new OCs and have them do a heist story.

The basic concept is a twin brother and sister who join a military company some years before everything kicks off with Tekkadan. They have the Alaya-Vijnana surgery and while it works for the sister, the brother is left paralysed from the waist down ala Bilth. Their dynamic follows from this with them swearing to do absolutely everything to stay together (this group isn't the CGS and doesn't throw out the 'failures' but they are not expected to survive long), with the brother, Kais, eventually becoming a strategist while the sister, Inas, being the obligatory a mobile suit pilot. Fast-forward to three or four years after Tekkadan's final stand and they're planning to rob Gjallarhorn on the eve of Martian independence.

I think it'll fun to explore* and ease me back into writing for characters the reader won't automatically know everything about, after several years of just doing fanfic.

*Bear in mind that 'fun' here involves me looking up the Bolivian Army Ending trope, so pitch your expectations accordingly.

20) Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

I'm quite fond of a smile that isn't a smile, or isn't quite a smile. I have a thing for performative characters, and the act of shaping oneself to a particular end in general, which leads to toying with what an expression mechanically is and what it is actually conveying. Smiles are just the lowest-hanging branch there, since they are very easy to turn unsettling.

Themes . . . well, I'm not not making a habit of poking at the wider political implications of settings, either to jab at what they're saying or just to find the potential plot-hooks that fall out of events, that the original piece of media didn't find time to explore. It wouldn't be accurate to say I set out to produce political fics: I like the aesthetic of political manoeuvring more than I care to write tracts. But I do enjoy thinking through the hows and whys of a fictional society, and contrasting different levels within it.

And if it can be called a common setting, then I will be found writing exclusively in the one from canon. I just don't really do AUs, certainly not the kind that transpose characters somewhere vastly different. If I like something, I will generally like it on its own terms. I think it's an admirable skill to be able to pull off setting or genre transposition in a way that makes sense, but I'm not interested in trying it myself.

27) What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

I'm not sure how to answer that.

For least, it's less any one task and more reaching the point of having done it so often that I get fed up with it. I will edit until I'm sick of the sight of my own words, or wear myself out of writing for spells at a time. But neither of them are tasks I find onerous in their own right.

For most . . . I think I just like being in the flow of writing, whatever particular task I'm working on at the time.

34) Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Not a damn clue. Better than I am now, hopefully. That's all I can wish for.

35) What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain? 

That they're people too.

Proper villains, those who deserve the title and aren't merely antagonistic forces, should act with the same level of interiority and depth as protagonists. They should have desires and motivations, aims they want to achieve and personalities that shape their actions.

They can absolutely be shallow, vain and cruel, but those are all things real people can be and it's always worth asking, as you would of any other character, 'how did they get to be this way?'

Nobody wakes up one day deciding to be evil. There's always a yesterday that made it seem like the best option.

40) If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Aye aye. Coming from the person who's done the most (i.e. any) art influenced by my writing, I can't help feel this is a loaded question! :)

Honestly, there's a whole bunch of characters I'd love to be able to draw myself, or failing that, get commissioned one day. Almiria's gang in particular -- I know Almiria's costume looks like a mix of McGillis-as-general and Relena from Gundam Wing in her Sanc Kingdom outfit, and that Almiria grown-up takes after Gaelio, but it'd be nice to be able to render that in something like IBO's actual style. Similarly with things like post-everything Shino (purple jacket and all), Yamagi in the pilot-suit with short hair, or the Goibniu pilots. I think I just want to be able to draw anime stuff at all, honestly!

Scenes though . . . hmm. For the purposes of structuring my thoughts, I'm going to take liberties and go through all of WoSH in order to see if I can work out which scenes I'd like to see the most.

A Handful of Rusted Petals: Almiria and Bael.

The Grandmaster: This doesn't actually have any non-canon scenes per se, but I'd be interested in what someone might draw based off it, as a concept.

To Catch a Falling Star: Any (all?) of the reunion scenes.

Fragments of You/Pieces of Me: The end scene in bed, where Shino is asking if Yamagi just made a dick joke (he 100% did).

Let Sleeping Angels Lie: Eugene walking in on Shino while Shino is topless and showing Sri his arm.

Between Family: Again, the final scene, mostly for grumpy!Yamagi puncturing the heartfelt conversation.

The Ares Affair: The moment Ride shows up.

The Haunting of Takaki Uno: Takaki confronting Elion, specifically when he asks directly about Galan Mossa.

Frozen Sunlight: The Turbines' games-night.

Of Obsessions and Erotemes: Iverson in cold storage, looking at the bodies.

Revolution for Beginners and Polyamory for Dumbasses: The training scene with Trow, Ride and Hirume. (There's obviously a bunch of stuff in this, but I think that's the one I'd enjoy seeing.)

Under a Crescent Moon: Just anything with Ordsley struggling with everything.

Eugene Sevenstark and the Hesperus Treasure: Oh, the moment everyone has to run away from an avalanche of Haros, absolutely.

Hope Against Hope: The scene with the mirror, I think.

Love, Death and Cannoli: Probably Shino being dumbstruck by Yamagi in the pilot-suit (though I am very fond of Shino getting bullied by the Turbine kids, too).

Fata Morgana: Argi dealing with a drunk Kim.

We Three Kings: Oooo. I can't choose for this one. At a certain point, this is all a series of really big important moments. Probably the fight in the office or the confrontation in the council chamber, if we have to narrow it down, though there's also Lin and Almiria.

History of a Catastrophe: Embi and Asher in the garden, definitely.

Ragnarök in G Minor: Oh, you, specifically, will absolutely know it when we get there. (But also this one is chock full of climactic confrontations so there's dozens I'd love to see in image form!)

Day in the Light: Not posted it yet, but the penultimate scene of WoSH is a very fun one that I'd love to see drawn.

44) What mistakes do you keep making no matter how many times your beta corrects you?

Most often cludging a sentence in the edit. I have a bad habit of missing words, or otherwise reading what I think is one the page, so it's nice to have someone to catch those!

61) Why do you continue writing fics?

You can . . . stop writing them?

74) You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

I think it'd basically include all the answers to question 20. Bonus points for extended exposition scenes that double as character interactions, doppelgangers of some description, and being a post-canon continuation.

-----

Phew! Thanks for asking and asking so many!

[plantdad-dante]

Book #138 - The Crimson Fortress by Akshaya Raman

(probably the only book with "published first draft" vibes that I would pay actual money to read a re-do of)

So, uh... what the shit happened?

Don't get me wrong, the first half of this book was fine. Maybe stumbling a bit, here and there, but The Ivory Key did, too, so, like... it's fine. Especially because fuck, was I looking forward to this! And then...

And then the pacing just started picking up speed and kept getting faster and faster and faster, until the details, the descriptions, the explanations, the transitions, the character beats, disappeared from the page and it was just action, just plot, like a fucking summary-

Okay. To maybe illustrate what I mean, an example. There is a chapter, close to the climax, that is about 1.5 pages long (for the last ~100 pages, the chapters shorten from about 8-15 pages to 1-4 pages. Feel like that's important to mention) and it's from Ronak's perspective. In it,

- he sees his sister faint - he registers that there are no further traps in the room, other than the thing that made Vira faint and that seems to have been a one-time thing - he knicks The McGuffin (that he had given to Vira in the first place, so why even- ugh) from Vira - he decides to just carry her, because they need to continue their search for The Villain and hopefully she'll wake up on the way? - he hears and then sees The Villain's Goons draw near and realizes he can't hide - he decides to throw the McGuffin he just knicked at the enemies as a distraction, so that he has time to run? (btw, this is the last McGuffin the bad guys need to complete the Evil Plan and Ronak knows that, ffs) - he flees, carries Vira to safety - Vira wakes up and he tells her that he gave away the McGuffin

... in one and a half pages. And this isn't a dense, 6-point font kinda book. This is a normal, standard YA formatted book.

The fact that Ronak gave away the McGuffin never leads to conflict, btw. The next Vira chapter does not start with her yelling at him. It does not feature a fight, or even a discussion, or at least a mention of what Ronak did. It is just accepted, and then not mentioned again, like Ronak didn't do something extremely short-sighted and dumb, yet a-fucking-gain.

Also, Kaleb is just kind of a non-entity in the final showdown? Like, he has the Secret Weapon to Deafeat The Villain, and he hands it over to a very hurt Vira, who limps across the room to get it from him, so she can then limp back to the somehow still distracted Villain to defeat her?? And that's all he does, that's his entire contribution to the fight. We don't even get to know where he is in the room. So basically, Kaleb just stands there, paralysed by things outside his control, watching his siblings do their usual things (Riya - be rebellious and combative, Vira - be the one chosen to do the important bit, Ronak - get himself into danger for nothing but ego) and honestly, it's like nothing changed at all between these... ... Actually, I will just choose not to read into that scene any further, if it's all the same to you.

Speaking of Kaleb, I loved his character arc (and he does have one, even if it's a bit tell-don't-show, due to the pacing problem), but it wouldn't have hurt to actually see Lukas in the denouement. Just a bit. A glimpse. A line. A presence. Or am I asking too much. Like, when Lukas was introduced and Kaleb and him started exhibiting romantic tension, I was hyped, because the blackmailing thing had so much juicy angst potential, and then it just kinda- ugh.

And the worst thing is that I can't even dislike this book! Because the imagination that I loved in The Ivory Key was still there! There is, very clearly, a lot of coherency and thought behind this story. The characters and their relationships and the plot make sense. And they stay consistent throughout. It's just that... for about 150 pages, suddenly this lavishly described, evocative world gets stripped to its bones, as if the clock is running out and it is only conveying bullet points to me anymore, because it wants to get to the end before the bell rings. And then the denouement is completely normal again, as if nothing happened. As if I fucking hallucinated this skeleton of a third act.

Ugh, what I wouldn't give to read a version of this that's... well, actually finished. Hm.

[aevyk-ing]

2023 review stuff

Here we go again. Gotta keep up with the tradition because it's always interesting to go back and reflect on a whole year. While things have improved ever so slightly, my life isn't good yet. But hey, I'm doing my best to keep on fighting until I get there.

2020, 2021, 2022

Health (mixed)

I started out this year with a surprise: I'm autistic! And while it's not a bad nor good surprise, it has changed completely the way I treat myself. I used to feel useless and an idiot but now there's an explanation for most of my quirks and I can use my newly discovered "superpowers" to make me feel better. But hey, it's still a secret. I'd like to get a formal diagnosis (I mean on paper) before talking to my parents and family.

That being said, I've used this new knowledge to fight the many bumps I've encountered this year. There's still a long way to go, but I feel like I know myself way better now.

2. Writing (freaking good)

I started the year finishing a book, then I wrote another one, translated three, wrote four short stories, a full comic strip and lots of stuff more. I've created a whole new continent for Gingaria and new places for the next books. I had a great presentation for my book Kylkos and lots of people have praised Legends of Gingaria, which makes me so happy! It all gives me the strength to go on the days I feel bad. And I can't wait to show you what's in store! Also, shout-out to all my AO3 readers.

3. Art (quite good)

I'm getting the hang of Clip Studio Paint and I think you can see the leveling up. I'm trying to improve with more character, creatures and places designs. I've drawn more comics and some illustrations I'm really proud of. While I sometimes have bad days when nothing seems to work, I can just go back when I feel better.

4. Cosplay (eh...)

Believe it of not, I've managed to keep on sewing some new stuff. I can't share it for now, but hopefully next year. I've done some clean-up and while I'll use most of my time to fix stuff next year (once I can get it out of the boxes), I'm planning to do more photoshoots.

Now I'm going to talk about the stuff that has helped me go through this year. But first...

I'm sure nobody cares, but this year has been worse because we've had some problems regarding the documents so they can demolish our house and pay us. The thing is some... baddies have been meddling with the process and we were in the middle, so that's why our case is getting longer to resolve. Hopefully, now that we've got the papers we need, things will start going on more smoothly.

Movies & series

I've watched a lot of stuff this year. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse was so good, I loved Suzume and The Boy and the Heron and, about series, Over the Garden Wall and The Blue Eyed Samurai.

2. Gingaria

While writing is not always easy, I've had so much fun making this world even bigger. And I made a doll maker! There's a lot to come and I hope it keeps on growing.

3. Webtoons & reading

I still struggle with reading but my mind is calmer this year. I've read some books from a public place where you put one and get one (left one of my Zem copies just because). I'm currently following some Webtoons and my favorites are The Blind Prince and Your Smile is a Trap.

4. Side projects

I was commissioned to make 35 fabric cubes and a replica of Gladys from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Also made some props for cosplay and fixed other stuff.

5. Therapy

I'm so lucky to have found someone who gets me and understands what I'm going through. Sometimes is hard because she makes me rethink everything but I've improved so much this year thanks to her.

Someone asked me recently about my New Year's resolutions and turns out I don't want to have any, I'm going to rely on my projects. I've had an interesting idea recently and I'm going to search for someone to make it come true, I have more stories to tell (currently writing yet another book) and more surprises along the way.

Thank you so much for being there. I hope you all have a happy New Year. Keep on shining!

[releasing-my-insanity]

What were your feelings on Maggie in the CS? As soon as she showed up I thought of you!

Aww, that's sweet that you thought of me. I haven't watched the full episode yet, kinda scared to honestly. But I've watched the clips the official twitter shared. Based on that I understood that Arthur is still a thing, but get the feeling that Maggie really does not care about him much if at all. If James were in the war I think Helen would be concerned/upset. Maggie doesn't seem at all bothered by Arthur being in the war and away during Christmas, at least not in the clips I've seen.

She also seems to be VERY focused on Tristan once again. And the fact that Tristan invited her to "just a few friends for drinks" and she went is very telling. From what I've seen so far I'm feeling like Maggie has been allowed to regain her personality. And that she and Tristan are allowed to be friends again.

I don't like that she's still in relationship with someone she doesn't seem to love and I feel like she's having an (not necessarily expressed) emotional affair with Tristan. That makes me sad and still seems out of character from what we saw in season one. But just having her back makes me feel a lot better.

I also think that at this point there is very little doubt that Maggie/Tristan is going to be endgame. The fact that she's been important three seasons in a row and returns as soon as he's single again clearly means something. Especially in comparison to Siegfried's love interests, since both Dorothy and Diana Brompton disappeared after a season.

(Came back to add a cut because oops, that’s very long.)

As I've said, I haven't seen more than a handful of clips, but based on what I have seen, I suspect that Tristan's time in the service will be short (I assume they don't want to lose a main character for most of a season). So I'm expecting that something will happen to Arthur either before Tristan returns to Darrowby or shortly thereafter.

I've been realizing that there's a fair amount of evidence for Maggie's family being poor. In the first season she only wears a handful of things across multiple days/seasons. Two blouses, a couple of skirts, one vest(US)/sleeveless jumper(UK), one cardigan, a pair of earrings, one coat and her hat/scarf/gloves. (Contrast with Helen's multiple outfits and three coats.)

But in season 2 and season 3 when she's with Arthur she suddenly has six new blouses and a couple new sweaters and some new skirts. And I brushed over it at the time, but she outright told Tristan that Arthur has money.

So I'm suspecting that Maggie made that choice because she and/or her family felt that she had to marry money. She's so focused on Tristan because he's the one she actually has feelings for. Arthur is just a way out of living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Obviously my preference would have been for Maggie to have broken up with Arthur for the same reason Helen broke up with Hugh. But since that's not happened, I think the most likely direction for season 4 to take is that Arthur will be killed in action. Maggie will be upset, but it will be because she's mad at herself for not being more upset. Hopefully she'll eventually explain to Tristan that her relationship with Arthur was about money not feelings. I want so much for Tristan and the audience to finally get an explanation.

TL;DR: From the clips I've seen Maggie and Tristan seem to be able to be friends again (though I don't think "friends" accurately captures their feelings for each other.) Maggie doesn't seem to care about Arthur very much despite still wearing a ring. I'm pretty darn sure Maggie/Tristan will be endgame, and I suspect Arthur will conveniently be killed in action to felicitate that eventuality.