#yeah i just reported them. be careful out there folks

[lilyminer]

Hey y'all, here's some more Emerald Duo character headcanon writing. A bit of a throwback since I haven't done this in a while. For anyone not caught up on my weirdly elaborate headcanons/sorta au, I made up a whole 3000 year timeline for the life of c!Philza, and most of it is sad cuz I'm an angst writer :) You don't need to know much about my headcanons for this tho, just go with the flow. Enjoy.

Like The Spring Thaw

The reign of the Antarctic Empire was a turbulent time, not just for Phil and Techno of course, the political conflicts, scarcity, and relentless environment was a constant onslaught against all the people they ruled over.

Philza and Technoblade's friendship was new, at least by an immortals standards. Techno had been so young when they first met, brought together as allies on the grand battlefields of a war neither of them really cared about. Win? Lose? It didn't matter. Techno was there to try to tame the influence of the blood god hidden deep inside his brain. Phil had been fighting to forget at first, to forget what he's lost, the home, the community, the friends. But nothing builds a bond like fighting for the same cause. Techno gave him something to fight to protect again, after all those years of not having time to take anyone under his wing. So once the war ended the two decided to try to bring peace to a divided world full of conflict.

They had their laughs, taking over the whole world via a bureaucratic loophole, yeah people got pretty pissed at them for that. But something about having a group of people to take care of again helped Phil fix some broken part of himself he left to fester years ago. He was still, and would surely forever be haunted by the memory of his long and winding path in life. The screams of those who had taken shelter in his temple as it was raided became a echo forever reverberating through his head as he slept. But now, instead of nearly being smothered in his sleep by his fellow soldiers, furious at his habit of giving away their position, there was a gentle knock at his door, a friend who's head was filled with much the same noise there to make him a tea and chat away the nightmares.

That castle became home. Sure he was forced to maintain a persona faker then any he'd worn before and the cold and exposed machinery made binding his wings out of the way a must, but they lived a life of plenty. Phil began to enjoy the cold, at home above the layers of ice and frost. Eventually, it became easy to ignore the small and inconvenient plights of his people. Without even knowing it he became the kind of ruler he swore he'd always hate. The apathetic king who saw violent gangs of thieves roaming the countryside as a non-issue. The monarch filled with so much hatred they allowed two armies to needlessly fight for decades. With a uncharacteristic lack of his usual foresight he was among those tyrants now, and so when reports came from the fishermen on the outskirts of the empire that a deadly plague was whipping out every man, woman, and child, the duel emperors brushed it off as yet another mild health issue. Just like the last illness, nothing to worry about.

And in the blink of an eye it was all over. Him and Techno watched in horror over the course of a handful of weeks as the treatments they knew had no effect on this illness. Their advisors locked them away in the castle, hoping to protect them but it only made the helplessness worse. Their doctors, nurses, midwives, wise-folk, and scientists dropped like flies. As they made the decree that all must evacuate the death-cursed city it seemed less were alive to hear it by the minute. All supply lines and social structure broke down, their empire fell to ruin while their backs were turned.

Him and Techno evacuated. Like cowards.

They were hated for a time, scorned for their inability to save their people. But not nearly long enough for Phil. At times he felt the need to remind people, even as generations passed. How could death on such a scale be forgotten? He had truly become what he hated all along, not even brave enough to fight back on others behalf. His lady was his world, but it pained him to know he had become the omen of death that he had been accused of being. Techno didn't speak much anymore, but he knew that similar feelings must be bubbling up for him as well. The two were more similar then they cared to admit.

Soon Techno was on the road again, Phil settled into a cottage all his own, but it was far too lonely. He began to feel better day by day, year by year. He laughed to himself when his crows once filled with wanderlust returned home with stories of the fearsome warrior of the blood god who opposed governments of any kind. It seemed Techno had taken a far more proactive approach to the beliefs he too had felt solidify after their great failure. He hoped the memories didn't haunt his old friend like they did to him. He did nothing with the pain though, no actions of great conviction, which he knew would make it worse in time. But his cruelty had been transformed back into the compassion he had been missing all these years along the way. With it, he felt any remaining pride he had for his days of leadership fade. The days he spent alone filled his old soul with the soft and tender warmth of a hearth fire. It was time to move on, he had sought out those who hated him for long enough. At the very least it was time to unbind his wings. It was time to fly again.

[innorogers]

Heliophilia

Steve Rogers x Reader (You / OFC)

Summary: Why are you always hiding from him?!

Warning: Fluff / Fluff / Very Fluff / Comfort / Very Comfort / Sooth?

Characters: OC, Sam Wilson, Tony Stark, Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff

Also: This a new series ❤️ It's called: Burning Sun ✨

As far as Steve Rogers had been led to believe, the world adored Captain America—the symbol, the shield, the unwavering ideal. And not just the world—his teammates, the Avengers, and everyone he led—they liked him too. Sure, he was serious, but he was also kind, funny, and always a gentleman. He combined the decisiveness of a commander with the empathy of a brother-in-arms, leading not from arrogance but from an innate understanding of his soldiers’ hearts.

But beneath the weight of the shield and the praise, there was always one person whose gaze seemed to cut through the surface, treating him with an odd distance. It wasn’t disdain, though sometimes it felt close, nor was it indifference. It was something more elusive, more personal—a quiet tension that stirred between them.

Yeah that was the polite Jane Austen version.

In reality…

"What is wrong with her?" Steve exhaled after you’d given a laser-focused, perfect-in-every-way mission report, nodded politely, and walked away. Turning to Natasha, he finally voiced the question that had been nagging him for what felt like a million years: "Am I some kind of monster?"

"Who? Oh, her Captain...?" Natasha replied with your last name after the title, barely glanced up from the game on her phone, one she’d started five minutes after the briefing meeting started. "Why would you say that? Why are you picking on her… ?" Again.

"It’s just…" Steve ran his hand through his hair, a little more frustrated than he cared to admit. "She’s so… polite."

"Last time I checked, that was a good thing."

"And she’s always so… distant. If I’m standing here, she’s in the opposite corner, or hiding behind the curtains." That last part was an exaggeration, of course. You never actually hid from anything, but it felt like a metaphor for the way you always seemed far away from him.

Natasha didn’t blink. "I’ll tell her to sit on your lap next time."

"I’m nice." Steve said, walking by her side, nodding and smiling at everyone who greeted him with a courteous "Captain."

"Yup, you are."

"And respectful."

"No one like you, Cap."

"So why is she so strange to me?" Steve couldn’t understand. You’d been working together for almost two years, and still, your answers to him were: "Yes, Sir." "No, Sir." "Yes, Captain." "No, Captain."

Sometimes he ran into you in the halls or elevators. He tried making small talk—"Had a fun weekend?" "Yes, Captain." "Nice weather." "It is, Captain." But he quickly realized it was better to smile and endure the awkward silence.

You never looked him in the eye. You always looked at the floor. Sure, the Carrera marble on Level 2 was impressive, but it wasn’t that fascinating.

"So, is this a ME problem?" Steve resigned. He constantly reflected on himself, but this time, he couldn’t figure it out.

Of course it’s a YOU problem, Natasha thought, rolling her eyes. She had lost that level of her game anyway, so she pocketed her phone and shook her head. 

"Look, she’s just a tough player, alright? She likes to keep people at a distance. You can’t blame her for not being a social butterfly. And she’s like that with everyone."

"No, she’s not. She’s relaxed around Clint, Vision, and Bruce," Steve argued, he knows that because you typically confined your hair in a sleek ponytail, but when you are at ease, you start arranging it by letting it cascade, and he seems you do that sometimes when you talk with these folks. Those lucky bastards.

"She has casual conversations with Tony, talks about pilates with Maria, and she’s practically friends with Sam."

"Everyone’s friends with Sam," Natasha gave him a 'duh' look. Then, resigned, she said, "Look, just talk to her."

"Talk to her?"

"Yeah, like normal people do." Natasha gestured between the two of them. "Tell her how you feel about the way she acts and maybe that you’d like to… be closer."

"I…" Steve wanted to say he tried so many times, but then he asked himself: why his immediate response wasn’t ‘I don’t wanna be closer I wanna know what’s going on’? Maybe it is because being closer is what he really wants.

"And maybe then you’d know why…" Natasha added, shaking her head. Everyone knows why, Rogers. The girl had been in love with you since day one.

“And Steve…” Black Widow opened her mouth but then decided to shut up. She glared at him and just said it in her mind: maybe you don’t want to smile like that when you are thinking about her? It’s a little creepy. 

But she just smiled: “Talk to her tomorrow, you know, in a casual…encounter? So it doesn't sound like you are giving professional feedback about her behavior.” She waves her head in a suggestion: “You know, tomorrow's Family Day, I think it's a great chance to chat…”

“Hmm…” Steve nodded, hesitant. Good idea. 

Miss Heleana Christensen from the Data Department was a girl everyone loved. 

Silky skin, a petite figure, wavy brown hair, and dimples that appeared when she smiled. She wore large, round glasses that constantly slid down her nose, which she’d push back up with a finger now and then. When she was deep in thought, her lips would purse tightly, making the dimples on her cheeks flicker in and out of view���she was that kind of girl-next-door everyone adored, not just for her looks but because she was so damn cute.

Her job wasn’t fun—in fact, data analysis? Thank god there were professionals handling those never-ending Excel sheets and querying big data in the infinite Stark Industries database. 

But she worked hard, striving to perfect every task, because she wanted the ‘mightiest heroes, the best team in the universe’ (her words) to receive only the most accurate and flawless reports. She put all her effort into making sure everything was right. 

She actually believed she was saving lives, not excels.

Who wouldn’t like such a hardworking sweetheart?

So when Helaena asked Captain America if he wanted a coffee at Stark Industries’ Easter Charity Event, aka Family Day, with her sparkling eyes and cute dimples peeking from her smile, even Steve Rogers—who was always careful not to give any colleagues the wrong idea—found it hard to say no.

Family Day was held the Saturday before Easter every year. On that day, employees brought their families to the outdoors (the massive private Stark Industries compound) for games, picnics, barbecues, and maybe a picture with the Avengers for their kids to show off at school. 

It was a huge thing, and almost everyone attended. Though family members were encouraged to come, most attendees were single, turning the event into something of a casual dating scene.

“I would be honored.” Steve smiled, accepting her offer, and of course, he wasn’t about to let her pay for the coffee. Ever the gentleman, he bought the coffee and cake himself, but when he went to pick them up, he noticed you behind the counter.

Fuck, you didn’t have the chance to hide.

“Hey.” Steve smiled at you. A little surprised. He actually was looking for you everywhere.

“Captain.” You glanced at him once before quickly lowering your eyes, instinctively taking a small step back. Ugh…look at you: white t-shirt, jeans, and a ridiculous pink apron with a coffee stain you poured on yourself two minutes ago. You really wished you were wearing your blood-stained, sand-covered badass gear instead, but no, you had to be like a first day in work barista.

“What are you doing here?” Steve asked, glancing up at the booth sign. “I thought this was the data team’s booth?”

The charity event was set up like a kermesse, with each department having its own booth, and all the proceeds going to Stark’s foundation. As if that would add any zeros to its wealth.

“Um… I’m just helping out a friend,” you replied softly, forcing the least awkward smile you could. “What can I get’ya?”

“Oh, um… two cappuccinos. And… I don’t know…cake?” He blinked a few times as he scanned the menu.

“The apple pie just came out hot.” You brushed a strand of hair covering your face, feeling yourself blush. “And I think it’s low-calorie?” You say that, but what the fuck would you know? You rolled your eyes at yourself in silence.

“Sounds great.” Steve smiled warmly. “I’ll take two, thanks for the calories heads up.” 

He handed over the cash, but in an awkward moment, you missed grabbing it. The bill slipped onto the counter, and as you both reached down to pick it up, the moment your fingers brushed his skin, you recoiled like you’d touched a live wire.

“I am so sorry.” That was dumb as fuck. And you called yourself an elite soldier with these reflexes? God help this planet because you surely couldn’t.

“No, my bad.” Steve chuckled, shaking his head, and wondered—why are you acting like this, AGAIN? Was he really that intimidating? 

Just as you turned to get his change, a voice called out from behind the booth, “Yo, I’m back! Thanks for covering.” Your coworker returned with a big smile. “Hey, Cap! What can I get ya?”

“Hey, George. Got everything I needed already, thanks.” Steve greeted him with a smile and handed over the order. You were already stepping away, untying that ridiculous stupid stupid! apron.

Steve wanted to say something, but then a voice called from behind.

“Cap!” Sam appeared, clapping Steve on the back. When he spotted you, his grin widened graciously. “Oh man, did you finally make a move? Did you ask her out?”

That made you freeze. Your hands paused, still hanging up that pink thing. You held your breath, not daring to look back. Or to breathe. Damn it, Sam.

Steve exhaled in exasperation at Sam’s not-so-subtle comment. “I gotta go.” He muttered, giving Sam a warning glare. “Knock it off.”

“Oh shit.” Sam whispered, watching Steve hand the coffee to Helaena as they walked off together. Clicking his tongue, Sam shook his head. “That was awkward.” 

Then when noticed you trying to walk away unnoticed, he approached with a sigh.

“You know…” Sam leaned in a little with a knowing smirk, “You should tell him something if you want anything to happen.” He tilted his head toward Steve, who had walked off with Haelena but still glanced back at you once more.

“I’m not…” You rubbed your forehead. “Is it that obvious?”

“I mean, no… not to everyone. But I’m The Falcon, ya know? Top-tier observation skills. So yeah, I noticed.” He grinned brightly. 

“And so have Natasha, Tony, Wanda, Vision, Bruce, Maria, Clint, the Parker kid, Thor, the cleaning lady, your crew, my crew, even the bald guy with only one eye… you get the idea.”

“Great.” You were mortified. Maybe asking for a mission to Saudi Arabia tomorrow would be a great idea so you can get the hell outta here.

“Well, since we’re on the subject,” Sam added casually, “I think he knows, too.”

“What?” Nope, Saudi is not gonna do. Asgard now, sounds quite far enough.

“And I think he likes you, too.” Sam continued. “So maybe stop acting like a teenage girl, and be the badass sniper you are? Ask him out for a drink or something, I’ll bet first rounds he’d say yes.”

“I…” You didn’t know what to say. “I… I’m not…” 

And your gaze wandered back to Steve, who was walking with Helaena, his smile as gentle and radiant as ever.

That smile.

It was like sunshine cutting through clouds, golden rain filtering through the mist at dawn. Warmth that chased away the darkness, scattering any lingering shadows.

You sighed, a soft smile tugging at your lips.

“I’m not…that.” you finally said, looking at Haelena. 

Look at her: she’s cuteness in person. The kind of girl who could open her heart and arms, ask for hugs and kisses with a bright smile, make people feel lucky to have met her, bringing sunshine, and stirring feelings of tenderness or protection.

You lacked many virtues, but self-awareness wasn’t one of them. You knew exactly what you were: ashes of war, bullets cracking in helmets, blood and sweat, sleepless nights, anxiety, stubbornness, and severe insomnia.

“Exactly.” Sam smiled at you, his tone encouraging. “You’re just the most badass woman I’ve met…”

He paused.

“...after Nat, Wanda, Pepper, Maria… but you know…”

“Nope.” You laughed softly, voice barely a whisper. “I don’t think I am.” At all. 

So Family Day hadn’t gone as expected. Steve had done plenty of talking, just not with you.

He hadn’t seen where you’d been all day, so his last chance was on the bus taking everyone back to the facility. He noticed you slipping into the last row. As the door closed behind him, the bus started moving, and he caught glimpses of you in the front-row mirrors.

You sat alone at the back, no one nearby. Should he move closer? This might be his chance—maybe his last one—before you returned to your usual role as the distant, official soldier, always holding up an invisible shield against him. 

Steve sighed, watching you. The sunset cast a glow on your silhouette, drawing a golden line in your contour, you looked like an ancient Greek statue, frozen in time and in eternal beauty, taking his breath away.

Then, without warning, you stood up, and Steve frowned. 

What's wrong?

The attack hit before he could even turn around. 

A missile struck from the right side of the bridge, blowing half of it apart. Fortunately, the traffic was sparse, but the explosion left a massive hole, and several cars couldn’t stop in time, plunging into the gap.

The air filled with the acrid scent of burning debris as the bus windows shattered. The bus collided with other vehicles that had braked suddenly, crashing several times before finally stopping. Instinctively, Steve threw out his arm, shielding those around him from the impact.

"Is everyone alright?" He called out, standing up and scanning the bus. His eyes anxiously searched for you among the dazed passengers. Natasha and Sam had already jumped out of the broken windows, moving into action.

"Open the door!" Maria, blood trickling down her forehead, kicked open the rear exit, supporting a nearby passenger. "Everyone out!" she urged.

"Three V65 drones." You muttered, pressing your hand to a cut near your eye as you struggled to your feet. The ringing in your ears from the explosion made it hard to focus. 

"Northwest direction... G9 missile. Fires every minute and a half, maybe two." You reported aloud while helping Maria guide people off the bus.

"Evacuate everyone," Steve sighed in relief after finally seeing you. "Everyone." He repeated, his eyes locked on you.

But, of course, you didn’t consider yourself as "everyone." You were already off the bus before he could called you out. After helping Maria get the rest of the passengers out, you returned to the back, retrieved the gear, and took cover behind an overturned car.

“I’m a minute away,” Tony’s voice buzzed through your comms, accompanied by the hum of his suit. “I’m with Sam in the air. We’ll get the people near the river out first.”

“Make it quick!” Maria ordered, firing behind the defense line Steve had set up amidst the chaos. “Who the hell are these guys?” A second missile whooshed through the air just as she finished.

Iron Man deflected it with a repulsor blast, but much of the enemy fire began targeting him in midair. He barely managed to destroy the missile that posed the biggest threat before getting hit by another shot, almost knocking him out of the sky.

The missile struck the riverbed, shattering the bridge’s support. The ground beneath you began to tilt as cars slid down into the chaos, dust and debris swirling around. But the enemy fire didn’t stop.

"Sam, break through their front line!" Steve commanded, dodging falling cars as he raced up the slanted bridge, pulling Maria with him.

“Watch out with the cars rain!” Natasha called out with a hint of amusement, also making her way upward, dodging vehicles sliding into the water. "Feels like Washington all over again."

“Washington wasn’t that fun, we weren’t even there…” Tony quipped from above, just before stopping mid-sentence. "Cap, behind you...!"

Steve spun around, but he was too late. Two gunshots echoed, and a figure appeared in front of him, taking the hits meant for him.

You hit the ground hard but got up quickly, clutching your wounded shoulder, your fingers digging into the wound to staunch the bleeding.

Before Steve could react, you had already raised your gun, aiming past him. He hesitated, stunned, but two more shots rang out, passing a hair's breadth from his skin, followed by the grunts of fallen enemies behind him. 

He couldn’t even process, and you were an all blur of motion, storming past him like a whirlwind.

You kneed the first attacker in the jaw, grabbed the second by the elbow, twisted his arm until you heard a ‘crack’, and used his own knife to dispatch him quickly. Then turned his weapon on the third, shot him down before he could even trigger the damn thing.

"Damn!" Sam muttered, watching in awe as you moved swiftly, fiercely.

Two bullets weren’t enough to slow you down. Pain was good. It kept you sharp, focused.

You surged forward like an arrow, calculating distances, the wind, mapping enemies at your sight. 

You were pissed. 

No, pissed was not even close to describing it.

You were furious. 

The thought of anyone attacking him like that, of him being hurt, filled you with a fire that made you faster, deadlier.

This was the kind of soldier you were—driven by adrenaline, pain sharpening your senses, your fury igniting your determination, making you more dangerous with every wound. And that anger... oh that was just the cherry on top.

"Enemies at my 12." You reported, spotting the last of them. But before you could act, the ground beneath you cracked, and you slid down as the bridge crumbled.

Massive chunks of concrete tumbled into the water below, the steel and iron reinforcements snapping like fragile threads. You fell along with the debris.

“Get her!” Steve’s voice broke, filled with panic. "Now, Sam!!"

"On it!" Falcon swooped down, grabbing you just in time, lifting you across the collapsing bridge. As soon as you landed, you were already moving, sprinting ahead.

"Where are you going?" Sam shouted.

"The sniper’s that way!" You yelled back, leaping over overturned cars. "VG5 ammo—they’re likely still in the same spot. South of where I was."

You were fast, crouching down, and aiming. "Wind at 30 km/h, bullet speed at 400 km/h..."

"Distance: 200 meters..." You steadied your breathing, focusing. "This shouldn’t be a problem.." you muttered, despite the pain throbbing in your shoulder. Your left arm was nearly useless, but you gritted your teeth and kept your eye on the target.

You just needed to focus. 

You’ve done this shit a hundred times and in worse conditions. 

So, focus.

Two shots, and one of the snipers fell. The others scattered, but your bullets found them quickly.

"Wow..." Sam whistled in disbelief. "Girl…I didn’t mean this when I said ‘go back into badass mode’."

He reached to pat your shoulder, then noticed the blood soaking through your uniform. "Shit, you’re hit."

"You're hurt," Steve arrived seconds later. "Let me see—how bad is it?" His voice cracked with concern. “What were you thinking?! I could’ve blocked those shots with my shield…Why..." The thought of what could’ve gone wrong—the bullet straying, Sam not reaching you in time—tightened a knot of fear in his chest.

Before he could inspect your wound, you collapsed from blood loss.

Steve caught you just in time, lifting you gently as a groan escaped your lips.

"Nice catch, Cap," Sam quipped, still finding time to joke.

"Shut up!" Steve snapped, uncharacteristically irritated, as he cradled you in his arms. The scent of blood filled his senses as he looked down at your pale face. You hadn’t completely passed out, but you were clearly in pain, biting your lip to stay silent.

As he carried you, you curled away from him, avoiding contact. 

Damn, why are you doing this again? Steve almost grunted in frustration, but then he saw your pale face and his heart just clenched.

"You’re making this hard for me." Steve sigh as giving up, he spoke as softly as he could. 

"Here, let’s..." He gently moved your arm around his neck, tucking it in place. "There, better?"

"I... I don’t want to stain your clothes with blood," you muttered weakly.

Steve couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He stared at you, trying to not lose his temper in your stubbornness, frowning slightly. "You saved my life. And you’re hurt."

Quickening his pace toward the medics, he added. "You could burn all my clothes and I wouldn’t give a damn."

Of course nothing happened between the two of you after that attack, Steve was too busy getting his hands on whoever the fuck that was behind the attack, he was outraged. 

Well, not only him, the whole Level 1 and above were in the same state, like…who the fuck would dare to attack the Avengers so publicly? They felt invaded and insulted, even if the whole enemy team was captured or eliminated, that didn’t take away the fact that everyone went through danger. On family day!

Steve was pissed. Not only because all the investigation took 90% of his time, but also because he didn’t even get the chance to see you while you were lying in the hospital. All that stuff he was planning to tell you in a private and emotional state? Didn’t happen, at all. 

“What do you mean she’s been discharged?” Steve demanded, after reviewing your health report on the tablet. He set it down sharply on the desk and looked at Maria, his tone serious. “It’s been three days. She took two shots to the shoulder. How could she be discharged so soon?”

Commander Hill received the “I told you to go easy on this topic” look from Sam, and scowled to Steve: “I…don’t make the rules? She is level 1, Cap, I don’t think she received the same treatment as in a regular hospital…I bet this is where Stark’s healing magic tech kicks in.”

“Shit.” Steve ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “Alright... fine. Do we know where she is?”

How in the world would I know? Maria thought but offered, “We could track her mobile. It’s probably on 24/7.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Steve didn’t want to do that, to intrude your privacy, but he was worried. He didn’t even know why, or…as whom was he worried, as your supervisor, your team mate, your fellow work pal? Like, you weren’t even that close. 

“Yes. Do it. Send her location to my phone.” Grabbing his jacket, he added, “I’ll be back in a few.”

“…” Commander Hill opened her mouth to say something like ‘I gotta more important shit than crashing to your crush’s mobile’, but Steve already left the room, she looked at the completely silenced room full of all the Avengers, and just did a ‘what just happened’ face. 

“Five bucks says he doesn’t get the girl today.” Tony broke the silence.

“Yeah, I’m in.” Clint was the first to respond, followed by Nat and Rhodey.

While the others were placing bets on your so-called romance, Steve was already tracking your phone. At first, he thought the GPS was glitching because it was leading him to the MET.

Actually, it was working perfectly (Tony would later smugly confirm that). You were at the Captain America exhibition, which had been relocated from Washington to New York after the Smithsonian became a crater, courtesy of a Helicarrier.

Steve slowed down when he found you in the exhibition hall, his steps halting completely when he saw you.

It was a weekday, during work hours, so the place was nearly empty. 

The natural light streamed in from the ceiling, casting large patches of sunlight that quietly illuminated your silhouette as you sat on a long bench, bathed in a soft, glowing light.

Your gaze floated, like a gentle river, to the black-and-white photograph on the wall in front of you.

It was one of the few preserved images of Steve before the serum. Back when he was a slender, delicate young man with refined features, frail and thin.

Steve barely remembered looking like that. These days, all he saw in the mirror was his current self—tall, strong, healthy. Now, standing in front of that photo, he found it almost unfamiliar, though he could still faintly recognize the determination in those unchanged, resolute eyes.

But you—he was looking at you. Your gaze was so tender, your head tilted slightly upward, a faint smile playing at your lips. The soft curve of your mouth radiated quiet contentment, and in your eyes, there was nothing but the reflection of that photograph.

Nothing but him.

That’s when Steve knew.

There was nothing else, in your eyes, but him.

All his nervousness and uncertainty melted away, replaced by a sudden warmth and joy.

Leaning against the wall, Steve realized he had the same look on his face. You were gazing at a photo of him, and he...was gazing at you.

And in his eyes, there was nothing else, but you.

You heard the soft echo of footsteps behind you and turned slightly, freezing in place when your gaze met his.

He was standing in front of you, every inch of his silhouette outlined by the backlight. Just his presence, just being in his shadow, made you feel incredibly safe. For a moment, you couldn’t tear your eyes away. But instinctively, you lowered your gaze, flustered.

You wanted to hide. You felt like a mess—a bandaged shoulder, probably some ash still in your hair, and the faint smell of the hospital clinging to your skin. But he was already sitting beside you.

“I used to get sick a lot back in those days.” Steve said, his eyes on the picture of his younger self. “Whenever the seasons changed, I’d get fevers and runny noses.. Spring was a little better, but the pollen made my asthma unbearable. And summers...” He sighed. “Brooklyn was a nightmare. Hot and humid. My joints ached constantly. Joining the army was probably the worst idea I had, but I was stubborn.”

He laughed softly. “Stubborn as hell. When it comes to what I want, the goals I’ve set... and the people I care about.” 

His eyes never left yours, and you could see your own bewilderment reflected in his steady gaze.

“I don’t buy it for a second... that you don’t know.” He said softly, pausing for a moment before you lowered your eyes again.

You wanted to hide, but under his gaze, there was nowhere to escape.

“If you were so afraid... why did you take all those risks for me?” Steve asked, his voice quiet. Why were you so fearless on the battlefield but treated him like something to fear in everyday life?

“I remember everything, you know?” His voice softened, distant as he recalled the past. “All the risks you’ve taken. Sometimes... reckless, bold...”

He shook his head, a mix of frustration and admiration in his voice. “God, I remember our first fight, you broke enemies lines, just to get my shield back…I was desperate, and then you come back with that…impeccable yet stubborn as fuck attitude ‘I’m sorry Sir but I had to do it’ shit, drove me crazy. I didn’t know what to do. You wouldn’t step back, and I knew, even if I suspended you, you’ll just go and do the same stupid and impulssive thing next time.”

You smiled faintly, looking down. Of course, you remembered. You had a scar on your back from that mission. One you wore with pride.

“So why?” Steve whispered, searching your face. “Why would you risk everything... and then hide?”

“What about you?” You asked, finally looking up at him. “On that plane, at the end of the war, why did you stay until the last moment? You could’ve escaped before it crashed into the frozen sea. I’ve seen the reports. You could’ve swam away. Why did you stay until the explosion?”

“I couldn’t,” Steve answered without hesitation. “The stakes were too high. If it didn’t explode in the sea, it would’ve been New York. I couldn’t let that happen, not even a small chance. I’d rather die than…” He stopped, getting your point.

“Right?” You nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “…than having that risk?”

Steve’s breath caught in his throat. Your sincerity, your determination—it made his heart ache.

Goddamn it…Why do you have to be so obstinate, inflexible, reckless…loyal, brave and fierce? He would spend the rest of his life worrying as fuck, fearing for this willingness to sacrifice attitude of yours.

Almost instinctively, he reached out and covered your hand with his. His voice barely above a whisper.

“What are you afraid of?”

Your lips move, you want to pull your hand away from his grasp, but you find yourself without the strength. 

Because you wanted him. 

As a leaf growing from a seed breaking out from the ground and reaching out to embrace sunlight and warmth. To embrace life.

You want to hold his hand back, feel his palm against yours. You know that feeling him, would be enough to know that all is well in the world, that there’s nothing left to fear. You could exist freely and quietly behind him, fearless. 

This wish. So strong yet so powerless, makes you so vulnerable, you could barely exist in his presence. 

You hesitated for a long time, trying to put the words together, trying to tell him the truth yet not burden him, and finally, you speak in a low voice.

“If the ending is something you can’t bear... isn’t it better to avoid it?”

Steve stood silent for what felt like an eternity. 

“I promise you.” 

He brushed a stray lock of hair from your cheek and lifted your chin so your eyes met his.

“There will be no ending.”

You could barely breathe at these words. Yet your heart was beating so strong, so fast, so loud, you felt it was going to explode.

“I'm scared too.” He sees your expressions, your broken soul, your fear of heartbreak and the endless uncertainty to lose something you longed for a lifetime. 

“But…” He cupped your face in his hands as if you were something precious, something he had been waiting for his whole life. 

“Being with you…it’s worth it, I’d rather have you and risk heartbreak than not have you at all.” 

The sunlight bathed you both, it was so bright and dazzling that it brought your eyes with tears.

“And I know I can’t change you,” Steve continued, his voice filled with quiet resignation. “You will continue to be this… badass goddess of war, in the first row of any fight, any battle to come. But I’ll try my best to shield you, from any danger, any suffering, or any pain. I’ll do my best. With all I have.” 

“No.”

Your expression shifted, and after a few heartbeats, you slowly smiled up at him.

“There’s no such thing… as suffering, pain, or danger…” You whisper, finally turning your head to meet his gaze. Your eyes seem to shimmer with unshed tears. “Not as long as it is with you. I’ll take it all, I’ll walk on fire and…”

You couldn’t finish your sentence, his lips claim yours.

That kiss… wasn’t gentle as you imagined. Instead, it’s forceful, filled with a possessive intensity. Maybe it’s because Steve has been holding back for so long, and now, that surge of determination finally breaks free.

His urgent need to have you, the longing that had kept him restless for so long, felt like a crashing wave, carrying with it all the emotions he had hidden away. Steve’s hand cradled the back of your neck while the other wrapped tightly around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer.

It was like every first kiss in the world, filled with breathless exhilaration and the glorious wonder of a starry night. 

His lips claimed yours with an intensity that took you by surprise, yet it felt natural, inevitable, as though this moment had been written in the stars long before either of you existed.

You didn’t realize it at the time, but something in Steve shifted. It was as if he’d made a silent vow in that kiss—one you couldn’t hear but could feel in the way he held you, how he kissed you like the world was ending.

In the quiet of the exhibition hall, surrounded by photographs and memories of his past, none of that mattered to him. Not the image of Captain America, not the accolades, not the expectations.

In that moment, it was just Steve, kissing the woman he loved. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t care who saw. He didn’t care if the whole world was watching.

Every poster, every photo hanging on the walls was of him, of the man everyone else expected him to be. But right now, none of that mattered. He was making a choice, and it wasn’t for show, wasn’t for the sake of his legacy. It was for you, and only you.

The world beyond the walls blurred. There were no battles, no looming responsibilities, no enemies lurking in the shadows. Just the two of you, as though time itself had slowed to witness this one fragile moment.

As your lips parted, both of you breathless, your foreheads pressed together, eyes closed, feeling the shared pulse of your heartbeats.

There was so much you wanted to say, to ask, but the words wouldn’t come. You were there, in wonderstruck, as standing in the middle of a vivid dream.

Steve spoke first, his voice hushed but filled with a resolve you’d rarely heard before. 

“I’m not going to let you run away again,” He whispered, his hand still gently cupping your face. “Not from this. Not from us.”

You opened your eyes, meeting his gaze—those same resolute eyes that had stared back at you from that black-and-white photograph, unchanged by time or transformation. You knew then, with the same certainty as his, that there was no running away.

You won’t run. Or hide.

Not anymore.

End, but probably will continue ;)

Oh yeah, I love this fierce yet fragile OC. This is actually the translation of an original piece I wrote back in 2021? Originally in chinese so I'm SO SORRY if it's weird reading it in english cause...well, struggling with the words, hehe. But I loved this piece so much I wanted to share it with you, cause damn, I loved him so much in that part of my life :3 (I do love him still.)

And for my babes that are waiting on Miracle Nr. 12! I'm so sorry not posting about it this week cause I'm still trying to figure out whether continue with the angst plot, or the original angst and dark as f... plot that's leading the story to a very very sad and dark twist. Still has an happy ending, I promise. It will be there on next Friday!

Oh I'm sorry I got carried away writing so much hehe, hope you enjoyed it!!

Tag list: @vioplay19 / @jamneuromain / @steviebbboi / @heletsmelovehim / @otterlycanadian / hisredheadedgoddess28

let me know if you want to be added! 🥰

✨ Miracle Nr. 12 ✨ Series:

1: Insomnia | 2: Lucid | 3: Reverie | 4: Nightmare | 5: Awakening | 6: Dusk | 7: Hypnagogia | 8: Lull | 9: Vigil | 10: Eclipse

[qqueenofhades]

Hi Hilary I know you’re only replying to so many politics asks — I can only imagine how many are sitting in your inbox rn — and you’ve already been such a comfort to all us folks who’ve really appreciated your insight time and time again! But I did want to ask about all the posts I’ve seen more recently about signing petitions and reaching out to the White House for a recount. I feel like at this point we’re really reaching — everyone’s talking about how there’s evidence suggesting cheating on Trump’s part, and while I would never be surprised by that, I have yet to see any trusted sources backing those claims. It feels like we’re long past that point, even though the results came in so much faster than I ever expected, but I was wondering if you have an opinion on all that? Take care in the meantime, and thank you for all that you do!

I will make this the last politics ask for the night, and hopefully for at least a few days (no promises, though), but --

This, most unfortunately, is not going to work. For one, Biden/the White House cannot request a recount in state-level races. There are strict rules governing who can and cannot request those, it's usually either triggered by a certain percentage margin or requested by the candidate, and then it also has to be paid for. Kamala has given her concession speech and the Democrats are not going to go down election-denialism rabbit holes. It is hugely unfortunate that the worst people in the world who launched a coup after losing last time are the ones to benefit from it, but... yeah. It just sucks all the way around.

The election interference happened on the day with all the Russian-linked fake bomb threats in blue areas of swing states, the ballot boxes set afire, etc etc. I fear we have only begun to see how bad it will be in this and any future elections, as with many other things, and the reports of people's ballots disappearing or not being received etc are obviously disturbing. But there is, as you say, scant evidence aside from social media chatter backing this up, people are angry and hurt and looking for something to make it not be real (me too, man) and that's easier than thinking that half the country simply shrugged and chose fascism because of grocery prices and trans panic. And it sucks absolute shit, but this is what happened. It happened broadly consistently across the country and was a symbol of the anti-incumbency that's been going on since Covid (New Zealand's liberal government also fell victim to this and elected reactionary conservatives, so this is a thing). We can split hairs about this or that policy decision by the Democrats, and believe me there needs to be a messaging revamp and the firing of basically every Democratic Corporate Consultant TM, but we need to face up to the truth that many, many ordinary American people chose this. They wanted it. And if we are going to do anything about it, we have to reckon with that fact instead of looking for conspiratorial excuses. For one thing, that's what those assholes do constantly, and fuck them.

Likewise, results came in across the country much faster due to the fact that people once more voted largely in person on Election Day, and not early/by mail as they did in 2020. They came in largely matching the expected timelines given by election officials of both parties beforehand. If there is basis to all this missing-ballot stuff, then yes, obviously, it should be investigated (though I have very low confidence that it will be if they are already making preparations to close the federal cases against Trump). But at this point, as you say, this is not something that has logistical legs and is going to undermine a lot more. It sucks. Sometimes I wish we didn't have to be the adults in the room and could just be whiny cheating shitstains like the Republican Fascist Party -- it seems to work out for them that people want Democratic policies and then elect Republicans to punish Democrats for not instantly and perfectly implementing all of them. The exit polls largely matched with what the results turned out to be. It absolutely sucks almighty shit, but it's true.

I am old enough to remember George W. Bush getting reelected in 2004, and it sucked, though not as much as this just because Trump is so crazy and extreme and the GOP has abandoned even the basic pretence of democracy and decency. It's a race to the bottom and through to the center of the earth for them now, especially since they have literally no incentive to reform or do anything but double down on their extremism. Why would they? They just won a major election and got popular legitimacy, something the Republicans have lacked for a long time. This is only the second time they've won the popular AND electoral vote (the first likewise being 2004) in the 21st century. We got the blue trifecta in 2020 because we benefited from the same desire for reversal of course that the Republicans are getting now. In and of itself, this does not indicate fraud. Terrible things about America and the future, yes, but not fraud.

So: Yes. We need to focus on the things we can control and prepare ourselves for what is still to come. It will be hard and it will suck and as I keep saying, it was completely avoidable, but people didn't want to avoid it. They're now going to learn painfully why they should have, but we can't do anything about that either. It is very much going to be a case of picking your battles, drastically limiting your daily news consumption, and a lot of other protective measures, and that is where, at least IMHO, we should focus our effort.

Take care. ❤️

[ghost-in-the-hall]

Fall For Me (Poly! Sleep Token x Fem! Reader) - Part I

Well, it happened... After trying to evade the hype for so long they finally got me 😂😂 This story has had me in a chokehold (haha, get it?) since I started toying around with the idea of it. Hopefully you guys enjoy it, let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list for future chapters and/or Sleep Token one shots!

WARNINGS: None

Part II

My Masterlist! ~ AO3 Link!

Credit to @spookyghostjelly for beta reading, ily bb 💗💗💗

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sat with your feet propped up on the counter, one of the magazines you had yet to sell spread open on your lap. "Be fashion forward this fall." You read out loud to the empty store in a mocking tone as your eyes grazed over the pictures of chunky sweaters, jeans, and boring, brown leather boots. The bell over the door jingled as a customer entered the store, your eyes darted up, expecting one of your regulars. You were met with the sight of someone in a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over their head. 'Great,' you thought to yourself, 'just when I thought I was going to have an easy evening.' You watched the man carefully, waiting to see what exactly he was going to stick in his pockets. Now, you normally turn a blind eye to shoplifters up to a certain extent, everyone deserves to have something to eat. But, being an independently owned store you could only take so much of a loss on your inventory. To your surprise, the man didn't pick up a single item. He took his time looking over the contents of each shelf, his hands never leaving his sweatshirt pocket. "Can I help you find anything, sir?" His head turned slightly in your direction, but not enough for you to see his face.

"What time do you close?" You were caught off guard by his British accent, it was an uncommon occurrence to get outsiders in your small backwoods town.

"Eight o'clock." He nods his thanks and hurriedly exits your store, almost bumping into one of your regulars on the way out.

"Everything alright?" He asks as the strange visitor leaves your store.

"Do you know him?" You ask quietly, as if he would somehow be able to overhear you despite having rounded the corner of the building already.

"Yeah, he's one of those… those cultists that set up shop in the woods." He explains. You were a bit shocked at the realization. You had been seeing headlines in the local newspaper for months as curiosity rose around the small group of men that had built a few Cabins on the very edge of town. Reporters didn't dare venture into their camp for an interview, but that didn't stop them from snapping a few pictures from the safety of the treeline. Four cabins sat at each corner of a small clearing, a large fire pit dominated the center. From what you could make out they seemed to have some sort of root cellar and a lackluster garden, which would explain why you hadn't seen any of them in person until this afternoon. "You be careful, (Y/N). Freaks like that might just try to sacrifice you to some goat demon they worship." He warns. You can't help but roll your eyes at the outlandish statement.

"Mark, those boys haven't done a single thing to bother anyone since they got here. They've been out there for months, if they were going to take someone they would've done it by now." You argue.

He chuckles, "Trust me darlin', I hope you're right. But until then me and a lot of other folks around here plan on keeping a close eye on them. You'd do best to stay away from them."

"You think I can't take care of myself?" You challenge, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Now, Miss (Y/N), you and I both know you'd beat my ass to next Sunday if that's what I was implying." The two of you shared a laugh. "I just don't want something bad to happen, that's all. These strange men show up out of nowhere one day and no one knows where they came from, hell none of us have ever seen their faces. They all wear these black masks, least that's what the reports are saying. You can never be too cautious."

"I'll take my chances." You smile politely in an attempt to get him off his soap box. "Now, I take it you're here for your pack of Marlboros."

"Yes ma'am, and an extra one for Donnie if you don't mind." He responds with a nod as he fumbles for his wallet in his back pocket.

"You got it boss." The rest of your evening was spent rather uneventfully, save for the fact that you would practically jump out of your chair every time the door opened. You glanced up at the clock, there was about twenty minutes left until you closed. "Maybe he decided to not come back." You shrug. Moments later an old, beat up pick up truck rumbled into the parking lot. You watched as the driver got out, his head dipped low to hide his face in the hood of his black sweatshirt. He pushes through the door, the jingle of the bell the only sound to cut through the tense silence. "Welcome back." You tried to sound friendly despite your unease. He nods at you in response, not saying a single word as he makes his way quickly and directly to everything he needs. He approaches the counter, unloading his arm load of supplies before taking a step back. "You got a name to go with those big, broad shoulders of yours?" You ask in a bit of a teasing tone, trying to do what you could to lighten the mood. He remained silent, despite the fact you couldn't see his face you couldn't escape the feeling of his piercing gaze. You opened a bag, carefully organizing his contents inside. "$18.75, sir." He slaps a twenty dollar bill on the counter, not even waiting for his change as he grabs his bag and flits out the door. You watched as he drove off, not sure exactly what you were supposed to make of that interaction. You had a similar occurrence every day for almost a week. He would come in, grab an armful of groceries, put down his money, and he left. You would try and greet him whenever he would come in your store, it was always met with a curt nod.

"Vessel." You froze as he finally spoke up. You looked up, your eyes met with 6 slits on an odd looking mask. "You can call me Vessel." You couldn't think of how to respond at first. He had barely acknowledged your existence before tonight, what had changed?

"Vessel… (Y/N)." You stick out your hand to shake his. "It's nice to finally meet you." You smile as his hands clap into yours.

"You're different from the other people we've run into from town." He remarks.

"The reporters?"

"Some of them, a few others we just happened to cross paths with." You could feel him studying you. "You don't seem scared."

"Vessel, you've been coming in here for over a week now. If you were going to try and hurt me you would've done it by now." You notice the corner of his mouth quirk up in a smile.

"I guess you have a point." He chuckles. You finish scanning his items and give him his total. He places the money down on the counter and picks up his bag.

"How come you never take your change?" You ask as he's almost out the door.

"I know you run this place by yourself, think of it as me tipping a small business." He flashes a brief, brilliant smile at you. You try to hide your shy smile by fixing up your register. "Oh, and (Y/N)?" You glance back up at him. "It's nice to finally meet you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: @herripinkle @mustluvecho @jumpcauseimfroggy (If you would like to be tagged for Sleep Token stuff let me know!)

[dawns-beauty]

I want to be honest: I do not make mods for "the community."

Overall, I do not care about the community, just the small niche of you folks here (and the actually cool people on the nexus.) But still: I am the audience I make my own mods for.

Sorry if you feel like me removing my mods from the nexus hurts the wider modding community, but gods I'm tired.

Do you have any idea what it's like to make something to have it picked apart and have all it's flaws (real or perceived) detailed out in a comment?

To receive constant unsolicited advice (never helpful, always based on the commenter's opinion)?

To have the same questions asked over and over and over, despite it being answered in the description? Or get complaints daily? To be blamed for stuff that your mod doesn't even touch? To have everything nitpicked, including just using the word 'diversity?'

It never stops. And like, yeah, I will probably just turn off the comments because the whiniest people tend to be lazy and won't check the forum/bug reports tabs. But like... I don't think it's fair to blame me for wanting to find a smaller, niche site where people actually have to want my mods to find them. A place where I can leave the comments on and actually feel okay interacting with the community.

[theragamuffininitiative]

Hey so for the record: I don't live in the area affected by Helene. I've heard a lot of rumors about stuff regarding FEMA assistance but struggle to find the actual sources of actual people explaining actual things (other than vague "We were turned away!" aka the officials, who may not have even been FEMA, already had too many volunteers under their responsibility "they are refusing donations" yeah bc they don't have anywhere to safely store them for distribution and people aren't communicating with them to coordinate). So here's what little I do know.

I highly recommend Samaritan's Purse and checking with local churches to see if you can assist them with their efforts if you find you cannot trust certain agencies for any reason.

I wandered around some local FB pages to see what folks are saying.

(I did not censor people's names bc these are all posted on public pages, and for the ability to verify, so please do not antagonize these individuals or attack them in any way.

[This post has multiple fact checks in it that are helpful but cursory (not citing specific sources each time) - this is not an endorsement of the page itself, I'm sure there are better ones, i just happened to see it near the end of my scrolling.]

I also happened upon this list of local churches randomly and thought I would add it in case people wanted to reach out to them to see if they are still taking donations/assistance:

Anyways.

I'm not saying FEMA is perfect, or saying I know what is going on. But all I am seeing is a lot of rumors and misinformation and unsubstantiated reports that are upset and vague, and more likely from probably well-meaning folks who tried to step into a situation they weren't prepared for and didn't understand.

But, like I said, there are ways to help (specifically churches and ministry-based disaster relief agencies bc they are not federally funded) for anyone who doesn't trust FEMA or the government or whatever. You can still help! Keep your convictions but look for ways to help instead of ways to just make everyone feel more angry and frustrated and miserable by focusing on what is wrong rather than what can be done right now to aid people who don't care about elections or sides or narratives when they don't have food or water.

This post does not reflect all the amazing efforts various aid agencies, ministries, churches, and local organizations and families and friends are doing for their communities right now. These stories are also being shared on local pages and in trending tags if you're looking for them. 💛

(I reserve the right to ignore and delete any asks/replies/reblogs and block users based on attitude or obvious misinformation. I'm no expert. But neither is pretty much anyone, and yeah that includes people in the middle of it bc sometimes when you are in the middle of the mess you can't see the full picture, and that's ok.)

[moonlight-tmd]

Continuation of Bee' ADHD adventures!

There's this thing where some ADHD folks will do a thing and that thing will turn into a big thing and they done a whole lot more before they realize what happened. ADHD Trance per se.

So one time Team Prime left Bee all alone in base cuz they had to do something and he was supposed to stay at home cuz something- maybe an unhealed injury or Bossbot put him on monitor duty or smthn.

So he was sitting alone in base, Sari also went out to assist them with whatever they were dealing with. The others have been nagging at him about cleaning his room for a while and his processor seemed to not stop bothering him about it just now. So he gave in.

He went to his room and started picking stuff up one by one. It didn't do anything. He dropped it and decided to look for something to entertain himself. He did and he noticed few of his things were not arranged the right way. So he started organizing them. Then noticed another thing that needed proper organization, then another... and one by one he organized everything in his room and cleaned out the trash and things that needed to be thrown out.

But it didn't stop there, there were dirty sticky spots he didn't notice before- that needed cleaning. So he got to cleaning. On the trips to and from his room he noticed other things that needed some care...

When Team Prime and Sari came back they noticed stuff was odd. It was... clean. Then they went into the living room and saw Bumblebee cleaning up some spills and organizing thing on counters/shelves. The music on the tv was playing loud and he was incoherently singing along to it. He didn't react when they called out to him, he didn't even seem to notice they were there. It took Prowl going up to him and grabbing his shoulder to notice- or well, let out a short startled scream, jumping and whipping his helm around to see his team standing near the doorway.

"Oh- You're back quick." He said, slightly embarrased at the scream. "'Quick'? We were gone for 4 hours." Optimus was so confused. And so was Bee. He didn't know this much time has passed.... He was even more confused when they mentioned he was cleaning. Huh? When did he-? Did he do that??

So they looked around- Somehow, Someway, Bee has cleaned up the whole base in the time they were gone. And not only his room was clean, every room that was in use was. Even their rooms- Bulkhead's art supplies were neatly stacked and prepared for work. Prowl's room was swept of fallen leaves, the potted plants were all watered. Ratchet's tools were put away and organized. Optimus' report datapads were organized on his desk- by date moreso! The berths were all made, everything that was dirty was washed and floors swept of dirt. The windows were washed too. Trash was taken out and dishes were done. Heck- Bee even managed to fix few of the minor damages around the building that Ratchet took forever to fix.

He did this all by himself. In less than 4h.

And he didn't even remember doing it.

They were all so confused while Sari was wheezing her ass off about it. So yeah, ADHD Trance has weird effects on cybertronians.

...They should leave Bee alone in base more often.

Anywho, is it obvious that i wrote this from experience just now? No? Good.

Update: i just learned the correct term for it. It's called Hyperfocus.

[boxxie-does-art]

OKAY SO I GOT SCAMMED :D

Well not really. Almost. I know I'm not so smart but there's a limit.

Earlier today I've received messages from an account who just started following me.

"Wow, what a big opportunity! Kinda weird though, let me just check their blog to see what they do"

Yeah, I found it weird for an artist, a professional especially to not have a bio, nor a profile picture.

I won't deny I investigated a bit and I found out the few art pieces they apparently claim as theirs aren't how surprising and I managed to find the true owner's instagram profile.

I tried messaging the artist on instagram to tell them about it and eventually ask if this is their account. The moment I'm writting this they still haven't answered but I don't think I need their confirmation to know that Tumblr user is an usurper.

I'm making a post about that story not only to report that one account to prevent them to act anymore but also to raise awarness about that kind of encounter online. I know that already most people are already sensitized to scams and stuff, but I know damn well that me from one or two years ago would have trusted that person. Since scamming young artists is actually pretty really current I thought I might share that story to recall the few who read these lines to be careful on internet. BUT worse again, that person is stealing another artist's work and claming them proudly as theirs, which I find so shameful and unfair for the owner.

If you guys could report them at least for stealing another's work that'd be great thank you (also reblog this so this post reaches more people).

The goal isn't to stop trusting in anyone, but whenever it happens, do check their profile and do a little research on their work.

As to me, that wouldn't surprise me if he already used my pictures to for whatever business he's having, I can't really do anything about it but please do warn me if you ever find my drawings on accounts I didn't mentionned in my bio. On second thought if this is my drawings they wanted they would have done it already, I don't know what they wanted from me nor how they would take it but whatever. Also I might have to go back and add watermarks on most of my drawings too.

That's all I had to say I guess, have a good day/night folks!

[alpaca-clouds]

How to get DnD to make money

As you might have noticed through the ramblings on how Hasbro is not really making money from DnD, how the DnD Lore is not accessible, and also lacks modern stories, I am thinking a lot on how Hasbro is mismanaging the franchise. And make no mistake: No, DnD is right now not really making money. In the earning reports for Hasbro DnD is listed under "other franchises", because it makes so little money, that it does not even earn its own little listing with a detailed breakdown. In fact, I would not be surprised if in 2023 Hasbro made more DnD-related money through the bit they got from the license on BG3, than they got from everything else.

So, yeah. No. DnD isn't really making money. Which is ironic. Because it is by far the most recognisable TTRPG franchise, the TTRPG with the most players, and close to something like mainstream in recent years. At least among younger folks: When I ask them on the street, a lot of them will at least be able to name me some playable races and classes. Even if they never have played before. Just because it is just everywhere in pop culture.

And the thing is: I have a master's degree in economics. I do know a bit about economics and about marketing and to be honest... I have no fucking clue what Hasbro and WotC are doing there.

I get, that they are planning on getting most money through DnD Beyond, which I do not think is that bad of an idea, given that yes, digital media usually makes more money than physical media. (Due to you not having to pay for printing and what not.) But DnD has one giant problem: It is a great platform. I love the character creation thing in there. But... also for everything else Roll20 is better. Because everything that DnD Beyond offers for money, Roll20 offers for free.

So, let me get out my economics hat and go a bit about what WotC could do to make DnD Beyond more viable - and to just make a bit more money with the franchise.

Please keep in mind: I am doing this from my economics point of view. There are going to be some things in there, that I would personally hate (like Rainbow Capitalism). But economically speaking... I think that they could make more money for WotC. And that without the kind of totally shady business practices they are using right now.

Why am I writing this on tumblr? Well, because I do not know where else to share those thougths.

The Issues with DnD Beyond

Alright. I think there are three major problems with DnD Beyond right now:

It puts certain things behind paywalls that Roll20 offers me for free.

It has no fucking information on the world and reasons to engage with it.

All things considered, the amount of stuff you can actually buy is very little - and most of it is fairly expensive.

First things first: I actually think that the subscripe prices are absolutely fair. It is not really that expensive and having played in campaigns with a DM who had the subscription, I would absolutely say: Those $3-6 are kinda fair, because what there is, is actually nice and nice looking.

However... Roll 20 offers most of the same functions (like the ability to use maps and stuff) for free. And there is just nothing WotC can do about this. Hence... They kinda need to up their game. Yeah, sure, their platform looks and plays better, but... a lot of people won't care.

Bonus is that all this information on items, monsters and what not that Roll 20 has for free, DnD Beyond wants your money for. And that is just... Look, I don't get why. That information is just out there. I am not going to pay for it.

On the lack of lore I already wrote a whole own essay, so I will spare you here.

And then there is the fact that... Actually even for the content you can pay for, there is a suprisingly small amount of stuff with little variety. Which is not good if you want to get it to make money.

So, let me go over DnD Beyond - and how you can make money with it.

DnD Beyond - The Content that should be Free

Let me start with the stuff that whoever makes the decisions at WotC/Hasbro will not like to hear: The stuff that should mostly be free.

Here I will say it once again: DnD Beyond needs a free wiki!

Gives players some basic information on the world. That is information on:

The physical world (that is landscapes, cities, different realms/planes)

How the magic world

A timeline with the major events

Important characters in the world

The gods and their worship

And what you would want to do is then on each of the pages put a "If you are interested in this, you might wanna buy X" and sell them adventures, one shots, shortstories and the like (more on this a bit further down). Get people hooked on events, cities, locations, NPCs and then offer them stuff on that. For the love of god, do not just expect players to do their own legwork to decide on what module they might wanna buy.

Additionally to this, I would take a page out of how the German publisher for Shadowrun does their marketing there: Have a monthly in-universe "newsletter" styled as a part of an in-universe newspaper to just introduce some in-universe events, which at times could also be used as a jumping off point for one shots and the like. (Look folks, there is a reason why the German publisher for Shadowrun is beloved even in the English fandom. How much they give on worldbuilding is part of it.)

And as much as whatever directors responsible will hate this: Yeah, fuck, make all the species and classes accessible for everyone. (With one caviat - but I will go into that later as well.) Because what you want is players to use DnD Beyond over Roll20.

This also means: Items and monster stats should be accessible over DnD Beyond without buying three different books. Because they are accessible on Roll20 and even outside of that... Look, it is not that hard to find. And given that it is fairly clear that they want DnD Beyond to be the main source of income in terms of DnD, they need to get people hooked on DnD Beyond over Roll20.

The Stuff that should come with Subscriptions

Alright, so let's talk about what I would put into the subscription model. I will not go what I would put under each tear. Because honestly, I have no clue.

For once, yes, I have complicated feelings on the map tool. Because the DnD Beyond tool is a lot better than the tool that Roll20 offers and as they are still working on it, I have no doubt that it will get even better in the future. So, yeah, it is... complicated. I get why it is behind the subscription, I do. But I am not entirely certain whether it is the right decision - for a reason I will get to shortly.

So, what I would put behind the Subscription - even though I would also offer everything of this in a short for one-time payment. Monthly content. (And yes, I am using the content word here, forgive me Patrick H. Williams.) That could be:

Little One-Shot adventures

Short stories and short comics

Maps

Like, technically they already have those "monthly perks", but... You know, right now it is mostly pretty pictures and other aesthetic. Give the people just a bit more stuff that would actually get them to play a more and interact with the world more.

Bonus points is, that in short stories, one shots and concepts you can easily test out ideas. (Like, heck, make a lot of more different genres within the setting. You can tell a crime mystery, a slice of life story, all sorts of stuff.)

Right now they are publishing some free one shots from time to time. Just do a bit more with that. It is a roleplaying game. Give people more reasons to interact with the world.

Because again, here is the thing: The world is the stuff you can actually sell. The simple game mechanics are not. For once game mechanics cannot be licensed, but also... Again, I know were to find it all for free!

In this I would also put something that is a bit more controversial: Use this to digitally distribute some of the older stuff from older editions. I know that Hasbro is like 100% against it. But here is the thing: They keep saying: "Oh yeah, not all of that is canon anymore." But they also do not bother to give us an idea what is canon and what not. So, great moment to clear this up, don't you think?

And given that I doubt that 20 years old books are the big sellers, they could just easily give away the e-books in the subscription as a little bonus.

How to actually fill up the Marketplace - Original Stuff

Alright, let's face another thing: All the lore books and adventures together in the DnD Beyond Marketplace together add up to a total worth of about $1200. Which, sure, if you are a fan wanting to buy it all, is a lot. But from a company perspective actually is not that much. Because here is the thing: Actually the production of those books is fairly expensive. Even if you only market them digitally.

Like, I do think that they would do better and go with the prices that Catalyst does with Shadowrun of $20-25, rather than the $29, but knowing how much financial overhead is there for those books, I can understand where the price comes from. Again, I am talking from an economic decision.

So, I say... Fill it up.

For example: Right now there is one set of maps sold in the market place. Which is a 20 maps strong collection. But it is literally the only maps-thing sold in that section of the market place. And maps are the one thing that literally every group will use in some place.

Which brings me back to why I think the use of the Map Tool should be free: Because then you can actually sell more maps. Sell single maps. Sell small collections of maps. Go with a low price of $1-2 per map, maybe $4-5 for the bigger or fancier maps. $10 for a collection of five maps.

Bonus: You can use those maps to also throw in fun little lore things.

And just... you know. Make a map for a temple each of each of the gods. Make some premade dungeon maps. Maps of certain canonical locations. City maps. You name it. Compared to other sorts of illustrations, maps can actually be fairly cheap.

Additionally: Just throw in little dungeon crawls as one shots. Depending on the amount of content in there, put in $3-8 per one dungeon crawl. Theme it nicely.

I love DMing DnD. I do. But I am frank with you: I hate designing dungeons. So, if I could buy a premade dungeon for $4, I would go: "Shut up and take my money!" Heck, I would probably also use it as a writing ressource and all of that.

In generally you can also sell some one shots here. Like, a one shot or two shot is actually not that expensive to produce. Which is why so many are given away for free. Sell them for again $3-8 depending on how much content there is.

Which brings me to short stories and comics.

I know what some might say: "But didn't that already kinda fail with League of Legends, like you spoke about last week?" Which, yeah. It did. But... I am also going to assume that in general the playerbase of DnD is way more interested in the lore, than the LoL crowd is interested in their respective lore. Because one game is all about storytelling, while the other is all about the gameplay.

And again: Short stories and one shot comics could be a good way to get people hooked onto the lore, which again might get them to invest into stuff like the adventures set in the world. And you can use them to try out ideas for what ends up to be fairly little in comparison to bigger stuff. Also, you can get more diverse writers and artist to do stuff for you, which looks good and might actually interest the wide diverse audience of your game.

How to actually fill up the Marketplace - Licensed stuff

Okay, let me talk about the no-brainer where by the love of all the gods I cannot figure out why the fuck WotC is not doing this. It is boggling my mind. I do not understand.

You remember the fucking drama with the OGL last year and how it bit them in the fucking ass? Yeah. Here is the thing, they did it the entire wrong way around. And honestly, I am not even sure whether now they can pull the intelligent version of this off, even though it is so fucking obvious. I mean, again. I do not understand. It is so stupid. If you know anything about the fucking internet.

Allow big content creators to sell supplementary material over your webshop and then take a cut from that. They do some of that with Critical Role, where they do sell some adventures from that franchise in their webshop. And from one other group too, I think.

But like... There are so many Actual Play groups and even other content creators (the entire Fool's Gold Campaign comes to mind with their millions of views on Youtube), that even have like their own self-produced lore books, adventures, one shots and other content.

And then there are of course just people who create additional rules, that currently can partly be shared over the homebrew system on DnD Beyond - but not be monetized, which sucks for the creators and for DnD Beyond.

I... I just do not get it. Rather than going: "Oh, you used DnD for this, now we change the OGL, so you'll have to give us money!", which went over as well as expected, they could have gone: "Hey, content creators. Great opportunity! You created additional moduls/adventures for DnD? Now you can officially sell it in our webshop at the page we want everyone to use! Of course we are gonna use a small cut for the hosting, marketing and moderation. But in return, you have access to a much wider audience!"

Like, it is so simple it is plain stupid that they didn't do that. I cannot fathom why they have never done this. I just cannot. I am sorry.

It would allow them to get a cut of the stuff they kinda want a cut from - while doing it in a way that is a lot more pro-community building.

And that is without mentioning that the entire OGL disaster has now several big Actual Play groups go and play with different systems. I heard that people are blaming Matt Mercer for it and like... No, this is entirely WotC's fault.

Speaking of Actual Plays

Okay, this leads me to the thingie where I also do not understand why they do not do it. Because they could license the living hell out of this. Do a fucking official Actual Play. Not on DnD Beyond, of course. Just... Somewhere. I do not really care where. Youtube, I guess.

While they host some one shots on their official twitch, so far they did not a big campaign thing officially as far as I am aware. And the concept is fairly simple: Follow the Critical Role formular. Get some voice actors on there. Bonus if you get a more diverse group than they have on Critical Role, that I also call "Critical Whiteness". (Note please: I do not actually like Critical Role for that reason among others. It is way too white for my taste. However, I cannot argue with success.)

And most importantly: Set that campaign in the official world, and do create and understanding with the DM that there is actually some meta-story progression with the lore. Again: The world is what they can license, so LICENSE THE FUCK OUT OF THAT!!!

With that you would also have some more characters that can work as access points into the world and the lore. You also can sell those campaigns, you can sell short stories and books, you can sell merchandise for this. Because as soon as that is the official group, yeah... You are the producers, you can get to make the money of it.

This is also something that falls under: "Why the hell are they not doing this?"

I mean, again, I am not the biggest fan of Critical Role, but technically WotC could also go: "Hey, do you wanna cooperate on the next campaign?" And jump off from that.

Or have the voice actors from BG3 cameo as their characters from that game. Folks would EAT THAT UP.

Some other assorted things

One, or two more things that I actually think they could do a bit more with... well, events and community stuff. And by using social media better, because... Look, the way WotC is kinda marketing the stuff is so 2000s in many regards. Like, use new media. Heck, use fucking TikTok. Which also might I note: They so desperately want to reach Gen Alpha. And I am honest with you, I have no fucking idea how to reach Gen Alpha. I don't. But a gut feelings tells me that TikTok might be a start.

See, I am following other franchises as well, and one thing that some do well is just got throw out some event related stuff. Make some pride month stuff. Sure, I hate Rainbow Capitalism, but sadly it works. And again, I am writing this under the idea of: "How to turn DnD Profitable."

Bring out some stuff to some other events. Like a Christmas thingie or something along those lines. Again, be it short stories, be it one shots, be it an Actual Play one shot on the Actual Play podcast THEY DESPERATELY SHOULD DO.

Also... They cannot learn the wrong lessons from BG3. Just because this one game they licensed out was lightning in a bottle, they cannot go and be: "Let's just rely on CRPGs to make us money." Because that can backfire really quickly.

[creppersfunpalooza]

wouldn’t it be so silly if my ocs had tumblr

(0 notes)

🎀 metallia’s-banned-account Follow

there’s this one girl i absolutely fucking hate but i need to know what brand of hair dye she uses oh my god. completely unrelated note does anyone know the most effective way of prying open a window without causing permanent damage or any noise? thank you, luv lia 💜

🔁 bunnicula Follow

I’m reporting you.

(25 notes)

🪽 reaperofcupid Follow

HELLO TUMBLR!💞 Have any unresolved love conflicts? A crush you just can’t get out of your head? stop by for a free love potion! i’ll also grant additional wishes that are within my range of capabilities. tips optional (in the form of life force and/or magic <3). you’ll find me if and when you need me!~ xoxoxo

(205 notes)

🧿 priest-of-pawns Follow

going out on the TOWN!! turns out being in the church has some perks lol. we’re volunteering to oversee a few services. excited af. maybe i’ll even get to read some new people.

🔁 priest-of-rooks Follow

FUCK YEAH WE’RE GOING OUTSIDE 💯💯💯 NEW FRIENDS FRESH MEAT

🔁 priest-of-pawns Follow

let’s try to keep the body count low this time okay???

🔁 priest-of-rooks Follow

I’ll try!

🔁 the-church-of-ocellus Follow

aw, you two deserve to live a little. go wild! -celly 👁️

(6,368 notes)

⌛️ allthateverwas Follow

hAhA wAtch thIs gUyS

🔁 thetalesofarabbit’s-banned-account Follow

HELP. GET ME OUT OF HERE. PLEASE.

(1 note)

🌿 fairest-of-folk Follow

@reaperofcupid is a SCAMMER. do NOT buy from him!!!!! i want a REFUND!!!!!!

🔁 reaperofcupid Follow

bitch it’s free. i hope you know how stupid you look right now. now how about you explain your issue like a rational client?

🔁 fairest-of-folk Follow

oh nvm it’s working now :3!! i think!!

🔁 reaperofcupid Follow

lovely. now fuck off.

(15 notes)

🍬 mai-kandi Follow

shoutout to my girlfriend :D!!!!! who may or may not be an FBI agent!!!!!!!!! 💖💖💖 babe you can tell me if you are!!!!!!!

🔁 bunnicula Follow

Uhm. Not exactly. Love you too though! 🖤

(52 notes)

🔷 da-official Follow

Productivity is up 6%! Keep up the good work! New approved hypotheses and studies being released to the public soon!

🔁 the-black-rabbit’s-banned-account Follow

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU????? WHO’S RUNNING THIS FUCKING ACCOUNT??? THAT’S NOT ME. THAT’S NOT ME. IM TRAPPED ON SOME STRANGE PLANE OF EXISTENCE. WHO’S PRETENDING TO BE ME???

🔁 tbr-official Follow

If anyone is aware of who was behind the impersonator account, please stop by my office to report them to me. Thank you, TBR.

(341 notes)

💉 dr-venstal Follow

Looking for volunteer drug testers! Your help contributes to a better future! You’ll get a free lollipop if you participate! <3

🔁 metallia’s-banned-account Follow

nerd.

🔁 dr-venstal Follow

Well, that’s a bit mean.

🔁 metallia’s-banned-account Follow

do i look like i care. go cry in the bathrooms or whatever you gay people do idc.

🔁 dr-venstal Follow

bisexual.

🔁 metallia’s-banned-account Follow

sorry do you want me to cry with you or something? yeah i’m bisexual so what?? do you think calling me that hurts? i was kidding about the gay thing. i also like girls. wow surprise. i kiss women. i am married to a woman.

🔁 dr-venstal Follow

I’m bisexual, Ophelia.

(532 notes)

🎸 yourfavoritebloodycunt Follow

new phone new account. apparently people thought i was a werewolf for a while lmao.

🔁 just-hollywood Follow

YOOUR USEENMAE IS RVRITUAH

🔁 yourfavoritebloodycunt Follow

HUH????!!!?!??

🔁 just-hollywood Follow

YOUT USERNAME

🔁 yourfavoritebloodycunt Follow

WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY USERNAME???

🔁 just-hollywood Follow

IT’SfyfucjUGNY BRITISH.

🔁 yourfavoritebloodycunt Follow

i’m deleting my account. kms. goodbye internet.

(13 notes)

💎 eshimaislegallyblonde Follow

Hellooo! Does anyone have room for a new flat mate?? I do have a certain price range, but I’m working on getting a better job at the moment <3. I love true crime podcasts, coffee shops, sweets, the color pink, and horror movies. I’m fine with all different kinds of music and I’m always open to new things! I’m looking for someone with similar interests, so that way we can develop a closer friendship!

🔁 o0spooky_lover0o Follow

YOU’RE MOVING OUT???????? :{

🔁 eshimaislegallyblonde Follow

oh god oh fuck callum you weren’t supposed to find this. look you’re really sweet but the weird screams coming from your room are starting to freak me out at night.

🔁 o0spooky_lover0o Follow

Oh. okay yeah that’s fair!!!! good luck!!!!!!!!! :3

(3 notes)

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia

I've seen your posts (and other bloggers posts) about antis, and although i don't agree that anyone has the right to dictate what media people are allowed to enjoy i never actually believed that they could be that bad (since I'd never had any interactions with them) and thought their unhinged behaviour was exaggerated. Until I posted a fic with a controversial pairing and OH. MY. GOD.

I have never received this much abuse (and of such a vicious sort) in my entire life. I guess this serves me right for doubting other creators' claims of how awful antis can be. I could just never believe anyone could be this... this... diabolical. But now I'm experiencing it first and it is wild.

Like I'm receiving actual death threats? Because of a 2,000 oneshot? I'm being told that me and my whole family deserve to die slow and painful deaths because of the characters I shipped?? They're calling me a pedophile and an animal abuser because one of the characters I wrote about is a teenager and the other is a human-animal hybrid??? What?

Like, are these people ok? Are they mentally unwell? This is just... I'm in shock honestly that people actually think and behave like this. Holy hell. It's been a hug eye opener and not a necessarily nice one.

Sorry if this message was unwelcome, I just couldn't think of anyone else to share this with. I hope you're having a nice day/evening ❤

Hi hi anon,

Yeah, this is what it's sadly like, and in the most extreme pockets of anti-communities are people who have literally tried to murder other people over fictional characters.

It's truly unhinged.

You have people who just don't like what other people are shipping, which is fine and normal, we all have notps and things we don't like, and then you have the people who genuinely think it's okay to torment, harass, abuse, and bully another person based over something fictional, and those people need to be blocked.

These people coming after you anon, if they're on AO3, report every single one because it might take a while, but those people get banned from AO3. If they're on Tumblr, block but also consider reporting, because death threats get people banned and all anonymous IP addresses are logged on Tumblr's side. If it's on Twitter, block on sight. Don't tolerate them, don't give them the air to breathe, and make sure you get offline sometimes or go to online safe spaces and spend time with the people who love you for who you are, it's the best weapon against antis who have no idea who you are and feel like you're a great figure to bully and abuse.

Ultimately, at the very base of what an anti is, is someone who believes their emotion of 'don't like that' justifies them bullying and torturing other people over fictional characters. It is at its foundation completely delusional, and even people who get 'logical' about it are still going 'my emotions are real enough to justify hurting you over something that is a figment of our collective imaginations.'

Some of those folks are very young, and will grow out of it, and have just drunk the collective Koolaid, some of them are older and always wanted an excuse to bully others but feel 'righteous' and 'pure' for doing it. Some really believe they're doing the right thing, others know they're hypocrities but can be all the more vicious for it. There are many recovering antis, but they're often silent about the things they've done, or the ways they've tried to hurt people.

I'm glad you posted that story anon, but not glad about the response you're getting. Consider moderating comments if it's on AO3, just to choke out the antis for a while. And yeah, practice self-care, because abusers want to hurt and harm others, and if you feel hurt and harmed, the more you can act to look after yourself, the more you thwart their goal/s and give them the big proverbial 'fuck you' that they so desperately deserve.

They do, usually, die down after a while, especially the more they get starved out. They'll often hunt for more vulnerable people. But in the meantime you also might want to inform folks you trust irl that you're dealing with this right now, because antis are unhinged, and online abuse is serious. Take care of you!! <33333 I'm sorry you had to learn about this pocket of 'society' in such a horrific way.

Antis are the worst.

[louisisalarrie]

https://www.tumblr.com/awesomefringey/753370197897969664/httpsxcomshalarryystatus1801861513407246519

OMG…I mean WTF is this?! I don’t believe it for a second. Such a private guy would no way be pulling 10 women up to his room so publicly. I mean he was only in Mexico 5 minutes…when did he possible have the time to f*ck all their women?!!

No wonder Lou likes to disappear when he’s not touring. He’s clearly had enough of trolls like this…

I am interested to know though about the comment about him getting into trouble for smoking pot in a hotel room (have we heard anything about this elsewhere?) and what video they claim to have passed on to the media. Have you heard anything about this? What horrible people they seem!

So I saw this last night, and I feel like they meant to post it to wattpad instead??? how silly of them!!

but also… I have so many questions for these losers

1. So it was her, and her friend, but how do they know about 10 other people? Did he put them all in a group chat, say “thnks fr th mmrs” and leave?

2. If you’re seen and he wants you, security will ask you if you wanna go to Louis’ room and “hang out”… ok so are we like 15 yr olds using that language?

3. Where tf is he seeing you anyway? Are you front row and louis points you out mid show and stops singing, tells security IMMEDIATELY, and then after the show finishes they find you and make you wait an hour to go to the hotel?

4. If you’re outside the hotel… again, where tf is he seeing you? From the top floor while smoking a cigarette he’s like “oh yeah bro I want that one” and points at you even though he can barely see you

5. How is he amazing in bed if he’s selfish and doesn’t get you off too? Like… that doesn’t sound enjoyable to me whatsoever, bit confused about that one tbh, which leads me to believe these folks may be too young to have even ever had an orgasm/sex. How does that make you touch the sky? Maybe touch some grass instead besties

6. I have no idea what the weed report incident thing is, and so that part is confusing too

7. Everyone who smokes loves a cigarette after sex, it’s an excellent feeling hahahaha so that’s not unbelievable

8. Then he just… fell asleep. And you and your bestie took videos of louis naked in bed… and his security was nowhere to be found? To check your phone when you leave his hotel room? To make sure you didn’t steal anything? To escort you out? okay that makes sense yeah sweet his security sound really professional

9. So they’ve claimed they’ve sold the video to a media outlet. What do you think is gonna happen when it doesn’t get released? “Oh louis’ team must have paid them off but we still have the video but we’ll never show it” yeah ok sure

10. May I kindly remind everyone, once again, about Raven-Symoné’s chat re NDAs and sexy time. There are occasional, slip ups, sure, but he’s not this fucking stupid I don’t care how stoned or drunk he is

anyway, obviously they’re lost, and they’ve missed out so much detail in their little fanfic that it doesn’t even make sense in the slightest. He was seen going straight to the airport after shows, im positive he isn’t having afternoon delights due to how busy and tight his schedule is (I’ve seen it) and that he isn’t an idiotic teenage boy. it’s just so damn laughable. And I think we should all probably just remember the receipts we’ve gotten (like the Chilean UA acct one about Harry in louis’ hotel) and the difference between that, and this. because it’s strikingly obvious

oh and also he is in a long term relationship with a man. so. that kind of discredits this all anyway.

[a-frog-in-a-bog]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[thenextcelestialchapter]

Just stupidly bringing this up for whatever reason idk

When I was 14, a lil over a year after recovering from paralysis, on my birthday... A friend gave me a surprise birthday present, a lil red Beanie Baby Bear and some leftover Halloween candy in a lil baggie with some 'Happy Birthday' confetti. A couple other kids tried giving me birthday presents before in elementary, but this was the first one I actually wanted to try to keep.

Lol well, big mistake... My parents found me enjoying them in my room later that night before bed and flipped out massively. Told me bringing my birthday present inside had brought a demon into their house. Threw away my present and threw me outside, locking me out for the night.

I was pissed so I decided to try and run away. Also a big mistake. I only had a nightgown on but no shoes, no glasses. Was literally about to go to bed, they expected me to sleep outside in the cold like a dog that night, I guess. Didn't care at the time. Walked to the complete opposite end of the city, to the limits, before I decided to go back...

The main reason I did wasn't that I was tired af w bleeding feet though...

It was bc at some point during the night, one of those stereotypical 'white vans' pulled up. Didn't see the guy driving it but out from the back popped this fucking idiot dressed up in a gorilla costume... He started pawing at me trying to drag me into the van. I knew instinctively that it wasn't gonna be a game for me if I got dragged in, that the mask might stay on, but the suit was coming off, and there was no way in hell I was gonna let a damn dirty ape-man of all things do that. Get a gun if you expect me to go along without a fight, junior. I screamed and punched and kicked and then ran like hell...

Later in the night when I was returning home... This other guy in a normal-looking car pulled up. He was 'nice' and asked me if I was okay and if I needed a ride home or anywhere else. I 'nicely' declined. Maybe he was truly nice or not, maybe I was still edgy from what just happened only a couple hours before that, but I got the same vibes from 'Nice Guy' as I did from 'Gorilla Guy'...

So yeah that's the story of how I spent one of my birthdays fighting for my life. The only bday present I guess I ever got from my folks was getting to take the day off from school to heal my feet...

And yeah I tried to report Gorilla Guy to the police a while later, but they grilled me for all kinds of specific information that I just didn't have, and bc I didn't have it they refused to do anything about it and just said "Well be glad an actual crime didn't really happen"...

[bibiwrld]

NOTICE ME🌹|HOBIE BROWN

★Hobie Brown x Black fem oc

★Content: Slight angst, slight fluff, playing hard to get, desperate Hobie, swearing.

★Before reading: Hobie is 19.

—Synopsis: Hobie finds himself attracted to a quick-witted, sharp tongued, preppy, catholic high school senior. She only wants a man with a title and class that will bring up her image. Hobie thinks revealing to her that he’s Spider-Punk, would help with finally get some notice from her.

Monet was a serious girl. When she wanted something, she was set on it and did everything to get it. Never doubt her abilities. She had the looks, the brains, the reputation, lavish life, just no love life—not that she cared, but it would be nice to be romantic with someone.

She couldn’t be romantic with just anyone. They had to match her, have a title, a future. Or maybe her standards were just too high, or maybe not.

She walked to school, she had the luxury of getting a ride everyday, but she wanted to keep up with the antics of that British punk—not that she cared about him or anything, he was the last thing on her mind.

Sometimes he’d walk her to school, sometimes he wouldn’t, but when he did, Monet enjoyed every second of it, so did Hobie.

They’d talk about anything, like how Monet wasn’t even catholic, but attends a catholic high school, even though it didn’t matter, he just thought it was so funny.

She found herself smiling back at the memory. She quickly caught herself and stopped smiling.

A man with class. A man with status. A man with a title. A man with a future. That’s what she wanted.

She heard the shredding of a guitar, people crowding around and throwing money into a jar. A small smile appeared on her face, but soon disappeared when they made eye contact.

He grinned, packing up and grabbing his money. “Show’s over folks, thanks for supportin’ a black business!” He slung his guitar to the back and tried catching up with Monet.

The crowd dispersed.

She continued walking like she didn’t see him.

“Oi!” He caught up to her. “So what you think?”

She had a pep in her step. “Oh hi Hobo.” She joked. “What did I think of what?”

Hobie acted fake hurt at the name.“Ouch.”He laughed. “You’re smart, don’t play idiotic. I’m talkin’ bout my shreddin’, what you think of it?” He leaned down and looked at her as they walked.

She closed her eyes and hummed. “It was okay, I guess.”

Hobie’s pierced brows rose in utter shock. “You guess? I been practicing that song for weeks.”

She liked when he got like that, doing so much to impress her. She found it cute.

“Yeah, I guess.” She repeated and shrugged her shoulders.

“Whatever, I know you liked it.” He shook his head with a smile. He noticed her holding her backpack. “I got that.” He grabbed her bag, stopping her in her tracks.

“Hobart.” She felt the weight of her backpack being lifted off of her bag.

“Ay, don’t be sayin’ the gov so loud like that.” He whispered and looked around.

A pigeon flew pass them.

“He’s reporting that back to HQ, I’m a dead man.” Hobie stared at the pigeon flying into the distance. “You know what they say about pigeons, they’re spies for the government.”

That got a little laugh out of Monet.

Hobie’s face brightened up at her laugh.

“Thanks for holding my bag.” She told him, and walked off acting as if she wasn’t swooned by the gesture.

He continued walking with her, holding the backpack on his chest. “It’s nothin’ really. You’ve gotten better treatment than this, little prissy princess.” He teased.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “You’re not funny.”

“I don’t believe in comedy.”

He liked teasing and annoying her.

They come up to a crosswalk, waiting for the crossing symbol to come on. Hobie took that as an opportunity to look at the shorter girl. Her smooth brown skin was glowing, her kinky black hair was sleeked down and pulled into a huge puff. Her uniform made her look sharp and studious, from the shiny black loafers and pure white knee high socks, to the mid-thigh navy blue skirt, white button shirt tucked in, matching navy blue blazer and cotton vest with a red tie to put it all together.

It was time to cross. Everyone started crossing.

Hobie grabbed her hand and crossed with Monet.

That took her by surprise, but she didn’t say anything.

They finally made it across the street, but he didn’t let go of her hand.

“What’s your plans today, miss preppy?” He put his other hand into his vest.

“School, home, study.” She answered quickly. “And you?”

“Hang with my mates and perform at a concert tonight. You should come.” He glanced at her.

She closed her eyes and pursed her lips. “Hm, I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll come.” He protested and shrugged his shoulders. “You’ll be swooned by me once you see me performin’. You’ll literally throw your panties at my feet.”

Monet busted out laughing. “You’re funny, Hobie.”

“Thank you love, I like to bring the comedic relief.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in comedy.” Monet stopped and looked at him curiously.

“I don’t believe in consistency either.” His lips formed into a smirk.

She only sighed and rolled her eyes.

“But seriously, if you won’t come to my show, when are you goin’ to make me take you on a date?” He was quite bold, he knew what he wanted, and he too, would do everything to get it.

“Never, Hobie.” She was approaching her school. “You’re not my type.”

“Oh really? So what’s your type?” He stopped in front of the building.

“A man with status, a future, very put together.” She listed. “You don’t fit the criteria, Hobes.”

“Hm, I don’t fit the criteria, but our hands have been interlocked for almost the whole walk.” He teased.

“That’s–”

Girls from Monet’s school stared and pointed at them while going into the school.

Monet quickly looked at Hobie, then their interlocked hands and tried pulling away. Hobie only held her hand tighter, pulling her even closer.

She grew flustered. People were gonna see her with him. Her image, her reputation. How long will it take for this to travel through the school? He usually didn’t walk her that far for people to actually see them together.

“Trying to go somewhere?” He bent down to her level, sneering in her flustered face.

“Shut up.” She scowled and looked away.

He thought it was adorable. He released her hand and took the backpack off and handed it to her.

She put it on and still didn’t look at him.

“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me or somethin’?” He knew it was exactly that.

She got stiff and looked at the ground, not answering.

“You care about your rep that much, huh love?” He put a hand in his vest pocket, biting the inside of his cheek. He sighed then patted her head. His watch beeped and he quickly checked it. “Go to class, prissy princess. Don’t wanna keep you back. I got some important business to attend to.”

He rushed off, leaving her with a glum look on her face.

She felt horrible, knowing she might’ve hurt his feelings. Walking into the school, people stared at her.

“So that punk is your boyfriend?”

Her head whipped towards the person who asked the question with a wrathful glare. “How about you shut the fuck up?”

She knew it was gonna be like this for the entire school day.

📎

She must’ve hurt his feelings, there’s no way she didn’t.

She couldn’t study like this. Slamming her books shut, and taking off her glasses, she sighed. She didn’t really need a guy with status or title. Any guy could do, but not just any guy, it had to be Hobie.

Who cares about reputation anyway? Hobie was cool to her, she couldn’t even deny it.

A tap on her window brought her out of her thoughts. She got up, unlocking and opening her window. She stuck her head out the window, the cool breeze tickling her skin. There was nothing out here, maybe just a bird.

She went back inside, sitting in front of her desk, attempting to study again.

“Oi.” A voice whispered.

She looked to her left to see Spider-Punk hanging upside down from a web.

What the fuck was Spider-Punk doing at her window?!

She almost fell out of her chair. “Oh my God.”

“Relax, will ya?” He crawled in, closing the window behind him.

Wait, she recognized that voice.

“Hobie..?”

“Bloody hell, I prepared a whole speech before I unmask myself to you.” He groaned, pulling his mask off. “Is this even a surprise?”

“You’re Spider-Punk?” Her mouth hung open.

He smiled at the shock on her face. “Yeah, good title innit? And I’m apart of an elite Spider society that go on missions through dimens–”

She cut him off..“I don’t care, I don’t care.”

“What?”

“I don’t care about stupid titles, or status, or my image. I just..I just want you Hobie.” Tears dared to fall from her eyes.

For the first time Hobie was lost for words, he blinked a few times before finding words. “You want me? This isn’t you being a sarcastic little shit?”

She laughed and walked up to him, going on her tippy toes and grabbing his face, she smashed her lips onto his.

At first he couldn’t move, but then he grabbed her face, kissing her more and backing her into her bed.

“Ho-Hobie.” She moaned, feeling his hand grab her ass.“We can’t, my parents are downstairs.” Worry in her eyes.

He kissed her forehead. “So then sneak out with Spider-Punk to a really cool concert, that rockstar, Hobie Brown, is performing at.”

“Thought you didn’t believe in labels.” Her lips curved into a smirk.

“I don’t, but I make exceptions. Like when it comes to the relationship between the prissy princess and rockstar.” A hand under her chin.

“Oh really? And what’s that label?”

“Boyfriend and girlfriend, suits us pretty well, don’t you think?” He smiled.

“Very well.” She smiled too. “So about this Spider-Punk thing?”

He pulled his mask on. “Long story, hop on and we’ll talk about it on our way to the show?”

“Hop on?” She knew he wasn’t implying what she think he was implying.

“Yeah, we’re goin’ there Spider-Man style.”

She shook her head. “No no no.”

“Too late.” He grabbed her, opening the window and diving out.

“HOOOBBIIIEEE!”

[myleftnut-06]

Homesick

(Chapter three)

Paring: Lee Everett x oc

Warning: canon events

This love has taken its toll on me, she said goodbye too many times before!

***

"Find anything?" Carley asked Lee lightly scaring him as he didn't know she was following him.

Lee turned around "it's a photo of the family who owned this place" he said looking at it on the floor. Carley furrowed her brows softly "I know who you are"

Just as she said that Pip and Clem walked in, Lee looked over at the two smiling softly before looking back at Carley.

"You're Lee Everett. You're a professor at Athens who killed a State Senator who was sleeping with your wife. This is your parents' store; folks around town know the owners son got himself a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE in Atlanta" Carley continued.

Lee crossed his arms and Carley spoke up again "I payed attention to that trial. Maybe you're a murderer. But I don't really care. Frankly, that's a skill that might come in handy. Did you tell anyone out there who you were, or that you were tied to this place?" She finished rambling a slight bit.

Lee shook his head "the world is ending out there. Who cares who I am?" he replied in a light angry tone. Pip crossed her arms not saying anything.

Carley furrowed her brows at this "if you don't think people will find any reason to turn on you, especially when shit hits the fan, you're insane" she said.

Lee kept his angry look "whatever" he said aggressively.

"You seem like an ok guy; and the last thing we need is drama out there. You got this little girl to take care of, and...look don't make me wrong on this" Carley said. Lee nodded softly "I don't plan to" he said.

"Good. Because if this lasts longer than a few days, and you're a detriment to the group, then we'd have a problem" Carley warned.

"I hear you" Lee said looking over at Pip and clem. Carley nodded "I'll just keep it to myself"

Lee cursed internally seeing Pip heard everything and Clem just barely knows what was said. Lee sighed "thanks"

(?) Carley will remember Lee trusted her.

Carley smiled softly "don't worry about it" she said walking out the door. Lee turned to follow her "heading back with me?" He asked Pip and Clem. Clem nods softly "yeah"

Clem soon stopped "wait...Lee?" She questioned.

"Yeah?"

"You're not bad...right?" Clem continued, Lee raised a brow "I...why are you asking me that?"

"Pip's sister...Carley, she said you killed someone" Clem answered frowning. "Was he one of those things outside?"

Lee sighed "no. He wasn't"

"Oh...was he a bad man?" Clem tilted her head. Lee nodded "he was"

"Hey, lil lady, I need to talk to Lee for a moment, we'll meet you back out when we're done, okay?" Pip asked the little girl who simply nodded walking back into the drugstore.

Pip shut the door and crossed her arms looking at the man "what's the story?" She questioned in a calm tone. Lee smirked lightly "you interrogating me now?" He crossed his arms as well.

"Maybe, but seriously, what happened?" The woman asked again. Lee took a deep breath "I was on my way to prison for...killing my wife's...side dude" he answered almost angry with his words.

Pip furrowed her brows "damn...I...I can't say I blame you, fuck, I'd probably do the same, did you find out like...through her actions or...?" She rambled lightly.

"I caught them red handed, she had the nerve to say it was my fault for not being around" Lee scoffed remembering his wife's words. Pip frowned at that "that's absolute bullshit..."

"I was fuckin' pissed when I caught them" Lee responded before looking at the door. Pip nodded "I hear you...can't believe someone would cheat on you of all people"

Lee laughed "is that a compliment?" He asked crossing his arms, a smug look coming to his face. Pip smirked "maybe it is" she replied with a flirty tone.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Pip coughed lightly "alright...let's go back, don't want people talking" she said in a soft joking tone.

Lee laughed again "right" he said and the two left the office going back into the drugstore.

"Hey there, this is Glenn and uh, I'm kinda in a jam here. Uh, little girl, if you're there, can you put your daddy or mommy on the phone? Or on the talkie, or whatever?" Glenn asked Clem as he came through the walkie-talkie.

Clem handed Lee the walkie "this is Lee, what's up?" He asked. As if embarrassed Glenn came through again "so...I'm down at that motor and, well, I'm stuck"

"Stuck?" Pip questioned walking closer to Lee looking at the walkie.

"Yeah, I, uh, saw a chance to get some supplies for the group and a bunch of the roaming ones got the jump on me. I'm hiding over here but they won't leave" Glenn explained.

"What's up?" Kenny asked, Pip looked over at him "Glenn's stuck at the motor inn" she replied.

Lee looked back at the walkie "hey Glenn, we're gonna talk it over and send a group do come get you, all right?"

"Phew, awesome. I'll sit tight 'til then" Glenn said in a soft relieved tone. Lee looked at Clem "I'm going to hold onto this until we get Glenn back, ok? I'll take good care of it"

"What do you think?" Kenny asked looking at the two. Lee thought "I think Doug's not great around zombies, and you've got your family here. I'll take Carley and Pip down to the motor inn, get Glenn, and get back here as fast as I can"

"If that's what you wanna do..." Kenny replied. Lee sighed "somebody's got to"

Pip spoke up "actually I kinda wanna stay back, keep a watch on Clem, alright?"

"Yeah. I'm in" Carley said jumping into the conversation. Lee looked at her "good. Doesn't sound too bad there right now"

Carley nodded "let me know as soon as you want to head out. I could use a jog"

Lee nodded looking at Pip "are you sure you wanna stay back?" He asked. Pip nodded "yeah, should be something around here that I can find for her to eat"

Lee thought "should be some energy bars or chocolate bars lying around here, might find one"

Pip nodded "that sounds good, I'll get on that" she smiled softly at the man before walking away looking for anything Clem could munch on.

Pip looked around for a moment before finding a chocolate bar on the floor. A smile made its way onto the woman's face "glad it's not melted..." she mumbled.

Pip walked over to Clem "here you go lil lady" she said. Clem gasped taking the chocolate bar from Pip's hand "I love chocolate!" She cheered happily.

The woman smiled softly "that's good to know. I'll let you know if I find anymore" she said.

"You ready now" Lee asked Carley walking up to her. Carley nodded "you got it. You?" She questioned.

"Yeah" Lee replied, Carley nodded once more "let's go then" she said.

Pip walked over to Carley just as she was about to be leaving "be safe. Okay?" She smiled. Carley shook her head "we'll be fine, don't worry"

The woman laughed "you better be" she said in a joking warning tone. Carley rolled her eyes playfully before nodding and walking out the door.

***

A/n: y'all ever realize Lee does say the word zombie? Like that's just never mentioned again, wild. Anyway! I'm slightly angry bc, I have to figure out how...the Carley and Doug scene is gonna go bc last time I had Pip be gone helping Clem for the Duck and Shawn scene, so I'm really struggling on how I'm gonna be doing this one. Anyway! Hope y'all enjoyed this one!