#also she now has a book harness

[luna-rainbow]

On Steve Rogers, loss, and loneliness

Unlike some of the other characters, Steve's hurt isn't as plain to the eye. His demeanour is usually one of stoicism and optimism, and it is easy to forget that his story is steeped in loss and loneliness.

Steve's introduction highlighted how alone he was - an orphan, armed with a list of ailments, and hiding behind a newspaper to avoid small chat with other recruits. When rejected by the recruitment centre, Steve shrugs and heads to watch a movie - alone.

Steve is a loner, we are shown, and then just as abruptly - perhaps just like the way it had happened many years ago - Bucky crashes into Steve's world and hooks an arm around his shoulders and noisily talks about an expo and dispels all of Steve's melancholic air. Steve is a loner, except for Bucky.

But Bucky is now leaving to go to war.

Steve is used to being stoic, because there were no adults around him to spoil him. He is used to being buoyant, because Sarah taught him how to pick himself up and carry on. Steve is used facing the empty house and lonely silence -- except for Bucky, who filled his room with chatter, "We can put the couch cushions on the floor, like when we were kids."

So when we hear the anxious strain in his voice as he is informed by Bucky that he is leaving -- it also becomes plain that Steve is also used to loss, or the threat of loss shadowing him, everyday.

In his short life, he has already lost so much. He has lost his health (my thought is he was probably healthier in his early childhood until he caught scarlet fever, and then his health got a lot worse after that). He has lost his father, and all the security of having a family breadwinner. He has lost his mother - to long hours of work and eventually to the disease she was battling against.

What he dreads would happen, does happen. Life seems to have a way of chasing him down like that. Sarah gets sick, and his fear of coming home to find her gone...one day inevitably comes true.

At his darkest moment, Bucky squeezes his shoulder and promises, "You don't have to do it (alone). I'm with you to the end of the line."

It's just enough for Steve to square his shoulders and push on, as Sarah had always taught him to do. Deep inside - possibly buried so deep that he can barely put it into words, he knows that he pulled through because "Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

I'm going to pause here and emphasise how deeply lonely (and young) Steve was, and how, naturally, the only stable presence — ie Bucky — in his life, through periods of terrible grief and uncertainty, is going to be such a deep-rooted emotional foundation for him (regardless of how you ship).

When the draft does come for Bucky, it's not just Bucky who's unhappy, it's Steve who's also aghast. Suddenly, the possibility of losing his last bastion looms over him, and he remembers the fear and anxiety and the devastating grief of losing Sarah. But it is also a war that needs fighting - so he comes up with a solution: sign himself up. He can't keep Bucky from the war, but he wants to fight alongside him. Besides Bucky, what else does he have to lose?

"Men are laying down their lives, I have no right to do any less. That's what you don't understand, Bucky."

He says this angrily, because the words he can't say aloud are, "You are laying down your life, Bucky, and I might never see you again, and I can't go through all that again, not by myself."

When he hears about the 107th being captured, he has to go. He is saving Bucky, sure, but he is also saving himself, because the pillar, the lifebuoy, the harness that has kept him afloat all those years is Bucky, and he's terrified of sinking.

The serum makes him taller and more women pause to smile at him, but he is still incredibly alone. He sits alone during break, he draws alone in his book, he runs off alone and none of the USO girls even notices until it's his turn on stage.

But Bucky notices him immediately, and says, "I thought you were smaller," and, "Did it hurt?"

Steve doesn't really believe in miracles. His whole life feels like one bad luck after another, even if he forces one foot in front of another and keeps marching on. But maybe at that moment, he feels like Bucky is his miracle. Bucky, who always seems to notice when he's alone and pulls him into his social circle. Bucky, who had seen him lose his dad and Sarah and promised him the end of the line. Bucky, who he - and all the commanders - thought was dead, pulls through and gives him another promise - that he would follow the little guy back into war.

When Steve is finally thrust into the frontline, the losses keeps mounting, man after man are falling, condolence letter after letter is being written. And then towards the end of 1944, the tides seem to finally turn. German forces are waning, the Allied forces are advancing, and quietly, secretly, Steve dreams of home.

And that dream dies with Bucky.

"Honour the dignity of his choice," he is told, but he can't shake off the guilt.

He pushes himself forward, step by dragging step. Nazi Germany is falling. He is taking down Hydra with his own hands…and at the end, he buries them all in the ocean with himself.

His is sinking, but he isn’t afraid, because he is going where all the people who mattered are waiting.

And he is denied even that.

He opens his eyes to a world he doesn’t recognise. They tell him they had won the war.

But no one wants to speak with him about what was lost.

A folder of old photos, the museum of unmoving murals, the silent movies of a smile he would never see again.

He thought he had lost all there was to lose, but somehow life always seem to find something else to take.

What we see of off-duty Steve in the modern world is once again a figure of loneliness. He goes to the gym alone, he goes for a ride on the train alone, he sits at the cafe alone, he goes for runs alone, he goes to the museum alone.

Only during those solitary moments he could truly be Steve Rogers, instead of trying to meet everyone's expectations of Captain America. He is just shy of 27 years old, but suddenly, he can no longer lay claim to youth. Only a dream ago he was "just a kid from Brooklyn", and now he's an "old-fashioned" (as per Coulson) "older fellow" (as per Tony).

He's in the history books, he's on the television, he's in the classrooms; everyone knows of Captain America, but Steve Rogers is lost.

He had been willing to lose his life on the Valkyrie, but what he lost was every living connection and his own identity.

"Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing," the friendly man says to him on their first meeting, but Sam only knows half of it.

The too soft bed and the too quiet room is one thing, the unshakeable nightmares another, but the worst of it is -- this isn't home.

He is marooned in a place that bears eerie resemblance to the world he knew, without being familiar.

Until the moment Bucky's mask comes off.

It's like the anchor dropping. He's now got a connection tethering him to this strange place, someone with "shared experience" that means he is no longer alone, and he is no longer a ghost forgotten by the seventy years of lost time.

"He doesn't know you."

"He will."

He has to believe that Bucky will, because Bucky is proof that Steve Rogers exists.

And once again, Bucky is his miracle. On the brink of killing them both, Bucky reels back from his brainwashing and hauls them both to safety.

Even if Bucky leaves after that, he's left behind something Steve hasn't had for a long time -- hope, and belonging.

"Family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago," he says to Tony as he prepares to meet the ragged team of enhanced people that is to become the Avengers. "I'm home."

Stoic and buoyant as he has always been, Steve sets to work building that home for himself. Gradually, we see Steve open up. He forms new connections and new friendships, he talks about his vulnerabilities with people he trusts, and he reclaims his own identity. He looks for Bucky, and waits until Bucky is ready to build that home for himself.

Until it is once again blown apart by the end of Infinity War - he loses not just Bucky, the anchor to his past, but the new family he has made apart from Natasha.

That's why it makes sense that Steve, not Tony, is the one working so hard to reverse the Snap. His family was 5 years ago, Tony's family is now. The people who rallied behind Steve and not Captain America, the people who followed him after he dropped the shield, the people with whom he no longer needed to be endlessly lonely and tirelessly stoic and who loved him for who Steve Rogers was, they all vanished in the Snap.

So even if there was only a small hope, Steve wants them back.

And that's why his decision to leave everything he had built, the sacrifices he had made to bring them back, in order to go into a life of incredibly loneliness and deception is still the dumbest narrative faux pas in the MCU.

#steve rogers #steve rogers meta #bucky barnes #stucky #stucky meta #long post #this got away from me and is super long sorry #anti endgame #as always

[jasongracedefenseattorney]

i’ve seen this assertion and tweets like it several times so let’s actually check the text, shall we! first, what he is referencing is this moment during the war games in son of neptune:

notice how it says he’s fighting in “a completely unorthodox style” unlike how a roman would fight and this is why they aren’t prepared for his assault. it also says the sheer novelty of losing has thrown the defense into chaos. now considering jason is considered a sword master and spent MONTHS with the greeks, it’s safe to assume he’d have trained in their sword fighting methods. yes jason trained in one specific style of combat but so did percy, we just never see a situation where jason has to sword fight all of the greeks. in fact, he even says in house of hades that he struggled with the strict rules of the romans

now let’s get to the meat and potatoes: who would actually win in a fair fight? many people assert percy could and use this quote from mark of athena as evidence:

now if we look at this, we may think this proves anything but it doesn’t. two teenage boys having a pissing contest and each saying they’re better than the other is not evidence that either one actually is. so here’s the relevant parts of the fight that they’re talking about, which happens right before that scene

jason and percy are fighting and jason knocks percy off of his horse with a lightning blast (i would argue that bouncing lightning off of your sword is not predictable). he has his sword six inches from percy’s face when piper distracts him with charmspeak. this gives percy time to recover and he is able to sweep his legs under jason, making him hit his head and fall unconscious. percy almost kills jason until piper is able to charmspeak him. now piper is clearly a variable in this fight seeing as she stopped each of them from killing the other so if you take her out, what happens? easy. jason stabs percy through the face and wins. it is only because piper stopped jason in the first place that percy even had a chance to get that close to killing him at all. sure they are both highly skilled fighters and had he not used lightning, jason might not have won, but he did use the lightning because he has it along with flight and being able to harness air. percy discovered in tartarus that he was able to bend poison to kill akhlys; what happens when jason realizes he can pull the air from peoples’ lungs?

i understand percy is everyone’s favorite but can we please use our brains from time to time? yall hate jason for not being percy and refuse to acknowledge anything that makes him interesting because you base all of your info off of the lost hero in which he spends the majority of the book without a memory so OBVIOUSLY he wouldn’t be super interesting to read. even in his first chapter of the lost hero, he is knocking the socks off of his opponents AND by the end of the book, already learning greek fighting techniques of slashing rather than stabbing

anyway idk how to wrap this up i just want yall to acknowledge that jason is OP

#pjo #riordanverse #hoo #percy jackson #jason solos your fav #if i posted piper praise y’all wouldn’t bring up annabeth to compare so why do it with jason #he is his own character and it’s just jason y’all do this with #how come no one can ever praise jason without him being compared to percy/nico/thalia??? #jason grace my beloved #jason grace solos your fav #jason grace appreciation #jason grace

[thatdeadaquarius]

GREETINGS! How are you doing? I've been practically gobbling up your posts (there very tasty)

Ok so hear me out- I've seen a couple posts like this but imagine-

The almighty all powerful wise creator isss

✨️A literal child✨️

Thanks for hearing me out! For you ->->❤️

Baby you taking on the world aw

DAMN SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER!! i started fics before i answered my askbox :/

Aw i fucking love child reader stuff,

Lots of isekai animes/manhwa/manga do it and i eat that shit up everytime-

I also deeply appreciate when its not done creepily, like being turned 8 again, and having crushes on others who are... yknow, actually 8 yrs old or sm fucked up shit, like even if its 16 yr olds that doesnt make it any better, bc the protag will actually be like,, actually 20?!?!💀 the straights r wild man, i feel like it happens either way too, like its usually a male MC but thats just bc theyre more common tbh, like regardless of gender of protag 🥲

☆

Sun: Child God Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: Short Headcanons

Stars: Mondstadt ppl bc i don't show them i love them enough

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: none known & Trigger Warnings: none known.

Please comment any I missed. /gen

Klee has recruited converted you to throwing bombs with her.

You are the only leash on that child too and the only thing standing between Jean and full head of gray hair. 💀

Kaeya doesn’t know whether he’s endlessly worried or endlessly amused that the most powerful god is currently a child

if Jean isnt freaking out over ur whereabouts, Diluc is instead, and worst case scenario, Noelle/Lisa/Albedo is in charge of you

and YES someone has to look out for you, bc ur ass will just start making a hot springs spot like ur in ur teapot or smth in dragonspine (Albedo was fascinated it stayed warm despite the weather so he let you make it/enjoy it before asking u to restore natural order lol)

(Albedo has definitely asked to study you and, unfortunately for Jean, asked u to demonstrate several powers u have)

You do work as a lucky charm for Bennett tho so he does babysit u sometimes

it mostly consists of Fischl, Benny, and Razor “adventuring” by trying to do smth like who can jump on the Anemo slimes and ride them around longest

(the answer is you btw, u managed to get a small fleet of them to bus you around, the teens were simultaneously terrified running around below u to catch you and also amazed)

Noelle is so happy making toddler you all the pancakes you can eat, Sucrose had to stop her from going overboard and not just listening completely to kids when it comes to food

She is now very concerned with making you a balanced diet, tho she will still make u an ungodly tall stack of pancakes every now and then <3

They kind of all equally provide for you, obv ur their god, and ur a literal cutie patootie child, they cant just leave you

(also u might like move a mountain or change the weather or smth if they don't watch you so most are a little paranoid of that too)

Lisa gets u all kinds of cute outfits, still stuff you'd like, but definitely snuck in some sumeru looking clothing lol

Fischl lends you all kinds of books to read, Bennett shows u all the cool views in the city and outside of it (when Jean lets him get away with taking u that far), and Razor…

Razor brings you to Andrius and the wolf pack for a wolf pack party and gives u all kinds of shiny trinkets he’d collected for you

Diluc/Jean/Noelle/Eula nearly had a heart attack when they found out

Amber lets you have all the piggyback rides you want lol

she even managed with her own crafting powers (and your probably editing the game code or smth) she somehow makes a reinforced glider with a small harness on the back for you to glide with her

(Venti has definitely helped for some fun flights by boosting the winds for you two)

SPEAKING OF BARBATOS

ur absolutely spoiled rotten by him (and Dvalin, and Andrius, and the wind sprites)

if this god had money he’d spend it on wine and you lol

takes u flying all the time, any time, would drop everything to go to Mondstadt wilds and use his archon form wings to take you wherever you wanna go

tries to bring u to Angel’s Share but Diluc nearly hits him on the head with a wine bottle and brings you back home after kicking Venti out and giving you grape juice (yes you get all you want, within a healthy amount)

anyway the most important part abt you being a god and child is that you can now fulfill your childhood dreams of riding a dragon whenever you want

(one way to quickly get Mondstadt citizens to trust Dvalin again was just constantly seeing him flying overhead, occasionally seeing a small child on his back also helped lol)

(neither you nor Venti tell Jean you ride Dvalin and keep it an active secret from her.)

☆

srry i took so long! i hope u liked my hot mess of writing (i think its even sloppier than usual bc of all the fic writing full sentences lately)

and if not, I'm sorrryyy 😭😭

I'm focusing on getting thru a haul of asks before getting around to posting that Eldritch AU Part 2 if anyone reads this :)

hope u guys are have a great weekend, thanks for all the birthday wishes!! :D

Safe Travels Anon,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck / @questionotmystopit

@kiyomi-uchiha777

#genshin imagines #genshin sagau #sagau #genshin isekai #gender neutral reader #my asks #aqua asks #genshin impact sagau #sagau child reader #genshin child reader #genshin god reader #tiny burst of an ask bc that felt appropriate #more to come today and next few days #THANK YOU FOR THE ASK ANON <33 #:)

[drewsbuzzcut]

Daddy’s Home

mat barzal x model!fem!reader

a visceral in doses fic

warnings: mentions teething

Sloane was not having it. None of it. She’s been going through some teething recently, plus her daddy has been on a roadie, so she’s just not a happy baby. Understandably so. You’ve tried your hardest to soothe her- FaceTiming Mat at night and in the morning, and holding her every second you could. It’s been a struggle especially with your two hyper sons.

“Mat, she is not doing too hot. She has a fever and she’s crying every 30 minutes. The boys are thankfully sane today, but I just need you here, we need you here,” you sigh into the phone.

If it were up to Mat, you’d be on FaceTime. However, you don’t want him to see how downtrodden and exhausted you are.

“I can book a flight right now. Just say the word. You know what? No, I’m booking the flight. I should be home in 4-ish hours,” Mat states, the sound of him getting up and the ruffling of his clothes reach your ears.

“No. Mat, just stay where you are. I can hold down the fort one more day. You come home tomorrow night anyways. Sorry for calling just to complain. Sloane is asleep for the moment and I just needed to hear your voice for a minute,” you whisper to mask the way your heart twists at the thought of him being gone for a second longer.

“Baby, I can come home. No game is more important than the loves of my life. I love you, pretty girl. You’re doing amazing,” he reassures you and you just about break into sobs.

“I love you. Stay with the team. I can handle one more day. I can’t wait to see you,” you let out a sigh, completely laying down in your bed that’s too big without Mat next to you.

“I miss you. I really want to kiss you and hold you. I miss the kids, too,” Mat tells you and you close your eyes to stop your tears from falling.

“We miss you and love you so much. I’ll give them kisses for you when we hang up.”

“Okay, baby. I’m going to go. Do you need anything before I hang up?”

“No. Have a goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you. Goodnight,” Mat says before hanging up.

You let out a deep exhale of air, clenching your eyes shut because you refuse to cry. You force yourself off the bed, keeping good on your promise of kissing all your babies for Mat. It’s already 9 at night, so they’re tucked in but you give them their kiss and rub your fingers through their soft hair. As for Sloane, you bring her into your arms so you can take her to your bed. Her fever has been up and down, so you just want her close.

About 3 hours later you hear your front door open and close with a faint slam which wakes up Sloane. Now you’re frazzled and a little scared while Sloane’s cry rings in your ears. As you’re about to get up, your bedroom door opens and walks in your husband.

He makes a beeline straight for you, guiding you to stand up so he can bring you into his arms. You hold him tight, breathing in his scent that you missed so much. You can’t help but let out a tear or two.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, pulling away but still holding onto him.

“You’re more important, always. It’s one game anyways. Why is Sloane awake?”

You give him a slight wince and let him know the sound of him coming in is what woke her up. He immediately apologizes, but truth be told, anything would wake up your baby girl right now.

You give him time to shower before you drag him into your bedroom, but he also makes sure to go into the boys’ rooms- simply just to watch them sleep for a little bit.

When he walks back into your room, Sloane is immediately reaching out for him. Her eyes are teary and her lips wrinkle in a little pout similar to all your barzal boys.

“My sweet girl. Daddy is here, my love,” Mat cuddles her into his chest and whispers softly in her ear.

Her little hands clutch onto strands of his hair as she shoves her head in the crook of his neck. She’s content against the warmth of his bare chest. Mat lets out a sigh of relief, he’s happy to be home.

“She’s been having a really hard week. Those teeth coming in are not treating her well. She’s had a fever the last two days, but it hasn’t been anything crazy. She’s more uncomfortable than in pain. She missed daddy,” you say, one hand caressing Sloane while your other cards through your husband’s hair.

“I know you told me to stay, but I’m glad I came home. I missed all of you and I know she’s been extra clingy to me lately. It’s not fair to you,” Mat wraps an arm around your waist, needing his other girl pressed against him.

“It’s not like I don’t know how it is. I know your job is demanding, and we’ve made a pretty solid routine. Remember, life isn’t fair. I am thankful you’re here right now, though,” you peck his lips.

“I love you, baby,” Mat says into your kiss.

“I love you, always.”

“Ow shit!” Mat yelps, eyes bugging out at Sloane who has her mouth attached to his shoulder. Her tiny front tooth coming in nips at her daddy’s skin.

“Welcome to my world. Breastfeeding has been a terror lately,” you snigger behind your hand.

Sloane lets out a little baby giggle and it makes both of you laugh in return.

“Do you like biting daddy? He’s yummy, huh? Bite him some more,” you coo to your baby girl.

“I’ve had enough biting from you, I don’t need anymore from my own daughter,” Mat pouts.

That pout. It always gets to you.

“Do you need me to kiss it better?” You tease, guiding him to your bed.

You want him to pound you into your bed, but because Sloane is cranky without her daddy holding her, you know that won’t be happening.

“Maybe.”

“Come here, my baby,” you get into bed, letting Mat snuggle into you while he still holds Sloane.

She immediately falls asleep and Mat isn’t far behind.

a/n: Enjoy!

#mat barzal #mat barzal fanfiction #mat barzal fluff #mat barzal angst #mat barzal blurb #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal smut #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #new york islanders #visceral in doses

[pinktom]

What do you think pink about tomarry content creators getting abusive tomione asks suddenly? First obsidian, then I saw one more account getting and now seminar arts. Is it only one person doing all this?

Btw my jaw dropped with your no filter answer where you said that whenever harry comes the chemistry between to marry best tomione 🤣. I would love to hear more of your no filter thoughts

I have no doubt those asks were sent by trolls. I, however, am simply a hater—I see an opportunity to hate, justified or not, I pounce. x]

In ascending order, here are the reasons I think Tomione sucks.

PS: If you know this post is gonna piss you off and press "Keep Reading" anyway - that is entirely on you. Send me anon hate and I'll assume you're a masochist who wants me to spank your pert, round hinie and call you a naughty, naughty girl.

“Book nerd loves book nerd uwu” trope does not fit Tom Riddle, and I find it obnoxious.

Like I touched on when I was first sipping on that haterade, Tom Riddle values usefulness. By this logic, you could easily contrive up a scenario in which he wants to use Hermione’s skills for whatever reason. 

However, the route that is usually taken in Tomione is that Tom is … impressed … by her intellect. A woman… who is… smart? He’s intrigued. 😏 He’s never once met a smart woman in his life before. And certainly not one so independent and feisty. She doesn’t swoon over him like the other girls do (eye roll).

I never got the impression anywhere in canon that Tom Riddle cared much about intellectual pursuits beyond those which were immediately useful to his goals, so for the very basis of a relationship to be his interest in her brains – to me, it’s tedious and off-base.

And also icky honestly lkjdflkj. Hermione’s two crushes are on a couple of stinky smelly boys (Krum, Ron), where the hell do you go off acting like she wants some mysterious, twisted dark boy? I’m offended. 

Absolutely zero chemistry; once Harry steps in, it’s game over

Because these characters lack any common ground, shared values, or compelling circumstances that tether them together, there is zero chemistry. You can try to fabricate those things with a little bit of crack!cocaine, but then you’re forced to contrive a lot of additional personality traits and circumstances that diverge them from their canon selves. (Which yes, you can do, but it only works if you’re gonna do something really interesting.)

As much as people like to har har about how canon doesn’t matter, here’s the truth: yes, it does. Our communities only exist because we’re referencing shared source material. However much you can bend characters around, everyone knows each character has an essence that just “feels like them” on a deeper human level. 

As such, we all know Tom Riddle and Harry Potter are intrinsically connected to each other. In Tomione this presents a conundrum. I could cite dozens of fics, but I’ll stick to two very well-written ones I enjoyed.

In one of them, Tom was a criminal and Harry was a detective on his tail; no matter how many times Tom fingered Hermione, he was always more entangled with Harry, because the stakes and intensity between them were so much grander. Same thing with the other fic but amplified by the Horcrux bond. At their very first encounter, when Tom and Harry laid eyes on each other, they both immediately felt an arresting connection, with distrust and intrigue. Hermione instantly paled in comparison in both stories.

It’s just like the moment Harry steps into the frame, you see how transparent and superficial the “commonalities” between Tom and Hermione ever are. Books and cleverness - oh but Harry, there are more important things! Like being spiritually linked! And sharing unique and intimate traumas in common! 

Heterosexual Tom is truly disgusting to read about

Look–it’s a matter of taste. We’re all products of our environments. For me, no amount of feminism or fantasy can overrule everything I’ve seen and experienced in my life. ( ಠ_ಠ )

I don’t enjoy reading about women in relationships with men who are controlling, violent, and selfish. Even the way Voldemort treats Bellatrix in canon always makes me wince, because I see it like this … here’s this girl who grew up proud; who was beautiful, rich, extremely gifted and powerful; and she turns into this horrible sniveling creature. Say it ain't so! I wish she'd killed him when he broke her ass out of Azkaban.

But back on the topic of Tomione specifically — I think there’s another layer to it, which is the greasy self-insertion aspect which makes me uncomfortably aware of how much the author’s ginie is tingling at the idea of Tom Riddle lifting a brow and saying, “Is that so, Miss Granger?” while she scowls and tells him to fuck off !!!

It’s of course not the self-insertion in itself that’s icky. It’s more just that the type of person who wants to self-insert into that particular heterosexual scenario is, uhh, too basic for me and my big powerful fujo brain.

And I guess that's gets me to the very core of why I find Tomione basic, trifling, and underwhelming. 

Tom Riddle is allowed no faults whatsoever in Tomione

Oh, sure. He’s controlling. He’s mean. He grabs her wrist and says, “What were you doing talking to Malfoy?” 😠

But so... ? Tom Riddle is a deeply embarrassing, mentally unwell trainwreck of a person. He's so much grosser than that. Yet you do not get that feeling at all in most Tomione fics. His worst character traits are often there but they’re made to seem sexy and flattering at all times.

I’m not saying your run-of-the-mill Tomarry fic doesn’t suffer this fatal flaw too—but when it comes down to it, Tomione doesn’t allow for his unsexy fallibility, period. Because the sexiness of the ship really depends on heteronormative romantic tropes and fantasies, which tend to be quite rigid and narrow. 

And I understand and empathize with why this is; just look at Reddit, so many women in heterosexual relationships already must put up with mortifying, embarrassing, and unhygienic things (y’all know which posts I mean 🙁). 

That’s just not what I’m here for. I love Tom Riddle because he’s a superficial narcissistic lunatic with no self-awareness and emotionally stunted outlook.

I don’t want to hear how he terrified the orphans if I’m not gonna hear about how he pissed the bed and got his bare ass whipped by a mean, toothless matron for chatting in sermon. I don’t care to see him bossing around those wimps at Hogwarts if there’s not at least one student who looks at “ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE” written in blood and feels tummy-churning secondhand embarrassment.

#tom #server #asks #offensive content #anti tomione #shipping wars

[thesirencult]

STOP INFANTILIZING GROWN MEN

Men when treated like grown men and not like baby boys are unstoppable. Your boyfriend, brother, father, cousin etc. are perfectly capable of making their own decisions and taking the reigns in their own life. They are also capable of being loyal and loving partners.

I've been spending these past few days with my male cousin. He is a year older than me and we are like siblings. He is an ENFP ball of sunshine, who is always joyful and loves making others laugh. Sadly, it took him 23 years to harness his power and to realize that he needs to MAN UP. Why ? Because no one expected anything out of him, even his own self.

Five years ago we shared an apartment in the city. We were both college students. He played WoW all day long, went to the gym, ate food and slept. He did not know how to cook pasta or wash the dishes. I begun forcing him to do stuff, as I don't like sharing a room with cockroaches. He cheated on a couple girlfriends and I was like a bachelor's Golder Retriever, wiggling my tail good morning and offering a cup of coffee (quick note ; I'm a German Shepherd or Rottweiler kind of girl).

After a bit of thought, I realized that the best way to convince him to do stuff is to help him see what's in it for himself.

The years passed. I moved out and now he has a new girlfriend who is older than him. GUESS WHAT?

She has a Master's degree, now he wants to get one.

She is tidy and takes care of herself and her career. He began cleaning the apartment, cooking and reading BOOKS.

Y'all, I thought I walked into a different apartment.

She is not asking, she is expecting. She is a high value woman and she knows that they shouldn't get too serious cause he is not as mature as her.

But, she still expects the best.

My aunt never ever had him do chores or expected anything out of him. She always told him that he is not able to do this or do that.

He wants to pursue the entrepreneurship path ? I help him by lending him books and showing him how to build his website.

I don't treat him like a baby. I treat him like a dog.

TRAIN THEM DON'T BABY THEM.

Or be smart enough to let others train them and get them with a pedigree.

Joking xoxo. S.

#hypergamyblr #hypergamous #level up journey #leveling up #leverage #level up #dark femininity #dark feminine aesthetic #art of seduction #seduction #luxury #high value woman #high value mindset #high value men #source:thesirencult

[bobfloydsbabe]

dirty mind | eccentric professor!bob floyd x oc

a gold rush fic

SUMMARY: Imogen learns something new about Professor Bob.

WARNINGS: suggestive language, allusions to smut, age gap (mid 20s/late 30s), power imbalance. strictly 18+/minors dni

WORD COUNT: ~ 1k

PROFESSOR BOB MASTERLIST

JOIN THE TAGLIST

SPECIAL THANKS to @ryebecca who sent this delicious prompt. It took on a life of its own, so I hope it's okay that I posted it separately. Your love for Eccentric Professor Bob is one of my favorite things about working on this AU, and I know I can always talk to you about him. You see and understand the vision. Enjoy ✨

She runs her fingers along the book spines in his home office, so much more neatly organized than the ones on campus. She’s impressed.

“What are you doing?”

She glances over her shoulder and finds the professor leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him. Behind him, the house is dark and quiet. Only a faint beam of moonlight hits the wall near the staircase.

Smiling to herself, she refocuses her attention on the books. “Browsing.”

Illuminated by the lamp on his desk, she can make out several titles that she knows and loves. Fiction mixed with historical texts, old dissertations from former students that send a pang of jealousy through her, and a small section of books he’s written himself.

His footsteps sound behind her as he draws nearer. “It’s not a bookstore,” he tells her, voice still rough from sleep. “Or a library.”

Casting another glance over her shoulder, he’s now leaning against his desk, watching her. He’s only wearing boxers, and the lamplight makes his chest look even broader and more defined.

“I know. No bookstore or library would be caught dead with disorganized shelves like these.”

“They’re organized,” he argues, but she hears the lilt of teasing in his tone.

“Method to the madness,” she agrees for the sake of peace. “If it makes sense to y–no way!”

Through his rumbling chuckle, she pulls the book out and opens to the title page.

She spins around to face him so fast she feels a little dizzy and Bob has to reach out to stabilize her. “You okay?”

“Am I okay? You have a first edition of Fanny Hill. Of course I’m not okay.”

She holds the fragile book in her hands, flipping through the pages as gently as she can, so she won’t damage it further. It’s from 1748 after all, and she tries not to judge him for not storing it properly. As a history professor who works with texts even older than this, he should know better.

“Must’ve cost you a fortune,” she mutters to herself, turning to the bookcase again to put it back, only for her eye to catch sight of another familiar title. “Is Lady Chatterley’s Lover also a first edition?”

“I believe so.”

She scans the entire shelf and finds only novels in a similar genre, and she suddenly feels hot all over at the knowledge that he’s read these books and enjoyed them enough to get first editions.

As if sensing the change in the atmosphere, Bob comes up behind her, chest flush with her back. Sweeping her hair to the side, his fingertips graze her skin. He leans down and places the lightest kiss to her neck, and a shiver runs down her spine, breath hitching at the sensation.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

His hand travels down her body. The dip of her waist, the width of her hips, and the bare skin of her thighs. Her whole body’s on fire. He’s everywhere, low voice stirring something deep inside her.

As his hand trails up her skin, he inches toward her inner thighs where she’s sensitive and the wet patch in her panties should embarrass her, but it doesn’t.

“Tell me,” he whispers, breath tickling her ear.

She stifles the whine rising in her throat, willing it away. “Who knew you were hiding such a dirty mind.”

He chuckles against her skin, and his hand reaches the edge of her panties. “Baby,” he whispers, “I’m hiding so much more than a dirty mind.”

His other hand presses against her stomach, pushing her against him and his hard chest. She tries to rub her thighs together, but his hand there keeps them open. His fingers skim across her clothed clit, making her squirm in his embrace.

“Oh, you’re desperate for it, aren’t you, baby?”

She wants to say no. She wants to tell him to fuck off, try to convince him she’s playing a game, and he can’t reduce her to a stuttering mess with just a few words and touches. But she doesn’t. She can’t. Not when she can feel his growing desire against her back, and not when he pushes her panties to the side, drawing slow, torturous circles on her clit.

“In your dreams,” she manages, but it comes out airy and needy.

He pulls his hand away from her aching pussy, and the high-pitched whine that leaves her throat seems to shock them both. He recovers quickly, spinning her around to face him, his features half illuminated by the lamp on his desk.

“You’re always in my dreams,” he tells her, walking her backward until he’s crowded her against the bookshelf. “And in my dreams, you’re always desperate for me, for my mouth.”

He’s sinking to his knees, and one hand trails down her leg, placing it over his shoulder. He glances up at her, a cocky look on his face as his fingers hook into the waistband of her panties. “You want me, baby?”

She nods furiously, unable to form the words when he’s right there, so close to where she wants him. Needs him.

“Tell me,” he demands, voice dark and dangerous.

“I want you.” She’s trying to hold on to some semblance of self-control, but she’s babbling. “I want your mouth.”

“Good girl,” he praises, and then he pushes her panties to the side again.

His lips close around her clit, sending her into orbit.

likes are nice, but comments and reblogs are golden

TAGLIST: @joaquinwhorres, @kmc1989, @roosterforme, @just-in-case-iloveyou, @rosie-posie08, @attapullman, @sweetwhispersofchaos, @millieb-3199, @auroraseddie, @keyrani, @solo-pitstop-vibes, @hangmandruigandmav, @cremebruleequeen, @cherrycola27, @seitmai, @bradshawsbaby, @sio-ina-bottle, @fandom-princess-forevermore, @bcarolinablr, @bluezraven

#bob floyd #robert bob floyd #robert floyd #bob floyd fic #bob floyd smut #bob floyd x oc #top gun maverick fic #tgm fic #eccentric professor bob #professor bob floyd #lewis pullman #academia au #dark academia au #otp: bob x imogen #oc: imogen van doren #fic: gold rush #helena writes #mywriting #writtenbyme #madebyme #helenawrites

[lanitalay]

Before I Say Goodnight

Chapter 3

A/n: Chapter 3 yay. Ngl i got feels towards the end. This is a sweet one. I kind of love the Band of exiles dynamic.

Other chapters

“Great, Cassian will pick you up in the morning”.

“Ok” you say between bites. “I have to get some things done before morning, but try to sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow” she stands and leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Ok so maybe this Rhysand can help. Hopefully.  If they are really worried about an unguarded portal then maybe they’ll hurry to send me back and close it up. The thought brings you a bit of peace. Finishing the stew you get up from the bed and place the bowl on the dresser. You look in the mirror and decide that you can’t wear the dress tomorrow,it’s far too long and, honestly, riding side-saddle was terrible, so you resolve to dig up your leggings and sports bra. Now that they have fully dried, the mud and sweat created a layer of crust and the smell… Ew. You bring them to the bathing room and scrub them until  they have returned to their normal color. Hopefully they’ll be dry by morning. An idea pops up. You take the damp clothes down the stairs and place them near the crackling hearth. I’m so smart. Then remember the bowl left on the dresser, groaning to yourself as you walk back up the stairs, pick the bowl up and return it to the kitchen. 

Jurian is sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a book. He looks quaint, much different then the rough looking man you’ve seen the last day. He looks up, sensing someone in the room and his eyes land on the bowl in your hands. “Beef stew is my specialty,” he says with a sly smile. “It was delicious, thank you” walking over to the basin, you wash the bowl and set it to dry with the rest of the dishes. “Tea?” He asks and motions to the pot on the wood stove. “That would be great, actually” you pour yourself a cup and sit down next to him. The tea is mint and there is another flavor that has hints of lavender. You breathe the scent in and try to ground yourself. Finding that if you are not doing something or talking you spiral and begin to think about home. Home. It's been more than 24 hours now. They probably think I’m lost in the woods. You shake your head and ask Jurian “are you human?” He looks up from the book and says nothing. You open your mouth and close it and then say “sorry, I just noticed that you have round ears and Lucien has pointed ears and also Vassa has round ears and the man from earlier had round ears but he had wings and… well in my world all humans have round ears so I'm guessing you’re human and if this is an offensive question I’m sorry. I'm rambling now. I’ll shut up” you look away and sip your tea. Maybe solo travel completely stunted my social skills. Oh god kill me now. Jurian chuckles “it’s fine, yes I’m human, Vassa is also human but she’s been cursed to be a firebird by day, Lucien is High fae and Cassian is Ilyrian. Any other questions?” About a million. “Vassa is a firebird by day?” That seemed like the most important detail. “Yes, it’s a long story though, and it’s also not mine so if you want more details ask her” fair enough. “Ok… how old are you?” He looked like he could be in his mid thirties but something about him felt off. “About 500” you choke on nothing and look at him wide eyed. He chuckles “I’m sensing a follow up question so I’ll elaborate. Yes I’m human, yes I’ve been alive for 500 years. How is that possible? Well 500 years ago there was this war that was fought by humans against the fae and I did some… bad things that got me dismembered and kept conscious in the ring and necklace of this truly awful female. Anyways, there was another war recently where a very powerful king found the cauldron and harnessed its power to resurrect me. Well, to put me back together and now here I am” he motions to himself and smiles bright. Jesus. “And I thought my life was hard, why did they resurrect you?” He sighs “The king was unhappy with the result of the last war and wanted me to help him invade the human lands and enslave the humans.” You put down the cup and ask “So there is no war happening currently?” “No, not right now but Koschei,he’s another powerful king, is up to something. Not sure what it is though”. “I see” you fiddle with your thumbs and ask another question “Vassa said that I’m supposed to go to the Night Court? Is it far?” He nods “ah, that’s right. Rhysand wants to question you. I suppose you have no idea where anything is. Come with me” he stands and walks out of the kitchen and crosses the house until he reaches two double doors. 

When you walk in you see shelves and shelves of books. Oh my god it’s a library. Sick. “Here we are” Jurian says as he pulls out a large book titled “Geography of Prythian and its Surroundings” he opens up and gestures to the bottom of the page. “We are here, these are the mortal lands, pretty self explanatory. You showed up around here” he points “that is the Spring Court, there are seven, as you can see. The Night Court is all the way up here” he points to the north of the map. “Wait, so how am I going to get there tomorrow? That’s at least a few days by horse” he hums. “I’m pretty sure it's only a few hours by flight”. Oh no. There’s no way. “What?” “You’ll be flying, hope you’re not afraid of heights” he smirks, sensing your fear. “And if I refuse?” “Well, they are your best chance of getting back home. If you think I’m old just wait till you meet some of the people at Rhysand's court. They should know something about portals”. “That’s great” you say in a monotone voice. “Listen, I’m going to call it a night but feel free to stay here if you want”. You nod as he walks out of the library. There’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep tonight. You resolve to stay and read the book. Gleaning as much information about this world as you can and not taking note of the time. You doze off on the chair and wake up to the sound of the book hitting the ground. Taking a deep breath and putting the book away, you make your way to your room and fall into a deep dreamless sleep. 

The next morning breakfast is the same: warm bread, cheese and tea. Lucien sits in front of you as you scarf down the meal, having woken up very hungry. “Do they have food where you’re from?” You swallow and scowl at him, “of course we do. We have bread and cheese and tea and chocolate and coffee”. I miss coffee so much and it’s only been two days. “Well you’re eating like a woman starved” you sip your tea and roll your eyes. “Why are you so grumpy? And if you must know I think I’m stress eating. It’s a normal reaction for someone in my situation. Is pie a thing here? I could really go for some pie right now” he seems unimpressed. “I’m not grumpy and yes pie is a thing here. I’ll see what I can do to find some, we are a bit secluded from the nearest village” you beam. “Really? You’d get me pie?” he nods “oh thank you!” You can’t help yourself as you get up from your chair and throw your arms around him in a hug. “I haven’t gotten you anything yet” you straighten up “but it’s the thought that counts”. 

“When is this Cassian guy supposed to get here?” you ask Lucien as you pack your bag for the trip. You suppose it’s only a day and you’ll be back by nightfall but you want to have your things with you just in case and having a water bottle and snacks is always handy. “Soon” you groan “but when-” before you can say anything else a knock comes from the front door. Lucien goes to open it and reveals Cassian waiting on the other side. “Sorry I’m late, the morning got away from me. If you’re ready we can leave now” he finishes looking at you. You get up and put the bag on “I’m ready”. 

“Ok so how does this work?” you ask Cassian. “Well I’ll carry you in my arms and then I’ll take off. It’s a little scary at first but I’m not gonna drop you. Promise” He flashes you a grin and you let out a shaky breath “Listen, I am terrified of heights so please, no sudden movements” he nods curtly and holds out his arms for you. You step closer and hear Lucien snicker at your visible discomfort. “Stop it, Lucien!” you whine as Cassian grabs you and you wrap your arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. “Ok, I’m ready” you scream as he takes off. “It’s ok, the take off is the bumpiest part” you try to speak but nothing comes out as you see how high you’ve gotten in a matter of seconds. You press your eyes shut, refusing to look down and try to steady your breath. I am at home watching tv. I just fell asleep. This is just a very long and convoluted lucid dream. “So tell me, how’s life with the band of exiles?” Cassian attempts to make conversation “Uhm… it’s fine, ah! They have been very nice and accommodating. Whoa!” you hold on even tighter as he dodges some rain. This is all the rain’s fault. Stupid rain. “Sorry and I’m sorry for offending you yesterday, it was not my intention” you gulp “it’s ok, I’ve been on edge recently, ha ha” you shut your eyes again “how much longer do we have left?” Cassian looks at you and you don’t see the pity in his eyes as he answers “about an hour” kill me now “oh god”. 

When Cassian finally puts you down you nearly collapse in relief. “Come on, the meeting is through here” you follow him inside the mountain building and try your best to keep up but his legs are probably twice as long as yours and you’re also still a bit dizzy from the flight. “We’re here!” he says as he walks into a dining room full of the prettiest people, or fae, you’ve ever seen. The male with night black hair and purple eyes says “yes the guest of honor, please sit” you nod and sit next to Cassian. The group all introduce themselves and then the female you now know as Feyre asks you “y/n please tell us, with as many details as you can recall, how you got here” and so you tell them. Trying your best to remember all of it. The rain, the wind, the rocks, the mushrooms. Rhysand then says “can you show me?” you look confused so he elaborates “I can access your mind and see everything you have seen, I would only be accessing that memory though” you nod “do i just sit here?” “Yes, it won’t hurt and it will only be a second” you look around and feel a gentle scrape within your mind and then you’re back in Scotland showing Rhysand what you saw. When he’s done you sag a bit, having to relive your last moments on Earth had been unsettling to say the least and watching yourself in a third person point of view made you want to scream at your past self to just stay on the path. I should’ve just kept walking. Rhysand showed Feyre and Amren and then Mor and then Azriel. “I’ll see what I have about portals, but I’ll warn you that I have never heard of traveling to a whole different realm. Other worlds, yes, maybe. A portal from point A to point B within the same world, of course. But this… this has bigger implications than anything I've seen before” Amren says matter of factly. Your eyes sting and your breathing becomes shallow. She can’t be right. “I’ll tell Nesta to get a group of priestesses to help research” Feyre says and then Cassian adds “I think we should add a patrol to the clearing, the weakened Spring Court borders and the portal business seems like a great opportunity in the wrong hands”. Rhysand and Feyre nod “I can send a few of my spies down there tomorrow” Azriel. “Y/n, you’re free to stay wherever you'd like. But we have a few rooms here if you want to help with the research. I’m sure Lucien, Jurian and Vassa have been very hospitable but they are pretty isolated and I’d feel better if you stayed here”. You try to take it all in but the despair… the sorrow is taking over you and you feel numb. They’re going to think I’m dead. A few tears fall and you nod, “I can stay, but I’d like to get some things I left at the house” . You were mainly thinking of the only change of clothes you had and saying goodbye to the exiles that had offered you shelter when you needed it the most. 

#acomaf #acotar #acowar #acosf #azriel shadowsinger #jurian acotar #rhysand #lucien vanserra #acofas #acotar fanfiction #house of wind #night court #spring court #tamlin #feyre archeron #a court of thorns and roses #elain archeron #emerie #eris vanserra #autumn court

[see-arcane]

I don't think Mina is now but a mindless plaything being led to the castle by the guy who very much does *not* want her to reach him tbh. My read is that it is her Dracula-induced senses that help her know where to go in reaching her destination, his lair, the closer they get to it. Senses she has harnessed, because she's confident instead of freaked out about it. Of course, Jonathan has written about the sharp turn on that road too, so she explains it away that way, as telling Van Helsing "don't freak out but I can do that now" would have made him think she's now pretty much turned.

Honestly, this whole scene and the premise of the coming scenes in which [SPOILERS] we meet up with the Weird Sisters is a very mixed bag ability and intention-wise. The way I break it down is:

-Mina already had something like intuitive/psychic ability prior to Dracula chomping on her. She has little blips of more than ordinary Awareness throughout the novel--and one juicy line is yet to come regarding her awareness of Jonathan 👀--that don't really tie into the Count's whole shtick. Whatever was already there might have gotten spurred into greater action by the vampirism like waking up an underused muscle, but...

-...despite Dracula's consciousness/voice being present in hers with the hypnotic trance, I doubt he really needed to be the one to have Mina point out the path with 'stolen knowledge.' Jonathan did write about the way up to the Castle! But then he also wrote about how Dracula kept driving him in circles to waste time and disorient him. All of which was happening in the dark. Maybe she gleaned enough from that entry, maybe not. But I suspect she'd have put the route together regardless and her current creepiness was what threw Van Helsing off.

-That said, I think where a lot of folks are putting their foot down as far as 'this is removing her agency/power!' or 'Dracula wouldn't want her to know how to get up there, it's a secret stealth-girlboss move!' etc etc is that it kind of overlooks a few important points.

One, Re: Dracula almost certainly threw in Dracula's consciousness being present for the "My Jonathan" line alone. It adds more horror to the scene, an extra gut punch, and provides a way to sneak in a few more lines for Karim Kronfli. It made my skin crawl to think about that smug fucker making use of the temporary trance-connection to spit that unctuous claim out. Which is the point! It makes you want to punch the bastard's fangs in even more!

Two, it's not him robbing her of anything (much as he'd like to somehow take even more from her). Their minds are mingled soup whenever the hypnosis happens. That's how she's been able to get anything out of the Count's mind in the first place. Nothing has changed in the status quo apart from the fact that she's been growing harder to get any info from.

Three, I would bet good money Dracula would genuinely be super eager to see Van Helsing and Mina mosey on up to the territory where his three weed-smoking baby-eating girlfriends are lurking around. Not just because he's still a cocky fucker when it comes to his/his thralls' power, but because here, now, he has every reason to be that cocky.

Van Helsing has never killed a vampire at this point. Arthur and Jack took the Bloofer Lady apart. The guys are all closing in on Dracula with their numbers and strength and weapons.

But him? An openly terrified old man, traveling up into the mountains that are Dracula's admitted place of power, perhaps even a genius loci, with a companion who is quickly turning into his murderer-in-potentia, specifically to confront Three Whole Vampires to hopefully catch them unawares in their coffins if he doesn't get torn to shreds or eaten first? Even having read the book, I would still hesitate to bet on the professor. If I were Dracula, I'd be brain-texting the Weird Sisters to roll out a red carpet and paint arrows on the mountains.

THIS WAY TO YOUR BIG HEROIC SCENE, OLD MAN!

NEVER MIND THE UNMARKED GRAVES OF CENTURIES' WORTH OF TRANSYLVANIAN LOCALS WHO TRIED TO BE A HERO BEFORE YOU!

WE HAVE UTMOST CONFIDENCE THAT YOU!--YOU ALONE!--WILL DEFINITELY BE THE EXCEPTION!

PLEASE WASH YOUR NECK BEFORE PROCEEDING BEYOND THIS POINT!

In short, it would make sense that Dracula wants to let Van Helsing know the route to Exsanguination Station. He has zero reason to expect that events will align in any way that's not in his favor on his own territory with his bloodthirsty thralls on alert. Perish the thought!

(If you listen close, you can almost hear Bram Stoker rubbing his hands together and snickering behind the fourth wall.)

#anyway #had a lot to say I guess whoops #sorry Anon #mina harker #abraham van helsing #dracula #brides of dracula #re: dracula #dracula daily

[littlemoriflower]

Mori Book Recommendations, by littlemoriflower

Hello, dear-friends!

It's been a while since I have done one of these "longer" posts. I have been very absent, not only from this blog, but from the internet at large. School has been killing me lately, and I let the tiredness get the best of me more often than not.

However, I'd like to state that I continue to love AND wear mori everyday. not that anyone was accusing me of not doing it lmao I've simply been lacking the motivation to make more posts, but I hope that that's about to change! I won't be posting every day, but I'll try to come by and be more active in the community where I found so much happiness and lovely people in!

On another note, I have noticed more people joining the community! ^^ That is so exciting!!! I welcome all of you to our humble corner of the internet, and I hope you find peace and happiness in mori kei, as much as we mori folk do! (✿◡‿◡)

Now, to the post!

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Synopsis:

Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.

With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.

Goodreads

Anne Of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery

Synopsis:

This heartwarming story has beckoned generations of readers into the special world of Green Gables, an old-fashioned farm outside a town called Avonlea. Anne Shirley, an eleven-year-old orphan, has arrived in this verdant corner of Prince Edward Island only to discover that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his stern sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy, not a feisty redheaded girl. But before they can send her back, Anne—who simply must have more scope for her imagination and a real home—wins them over completely. A much-loved classic that explores all the vulnerability, expectations, and dreams of a child growing up, Anne of Green Gables is also a wonderful portrait of a time, a place, a family… and, most of all, love.

Goodreads

Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

Synopsis:

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

Goodreads

Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke

Synopsis:

One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.

Goodreads

By Ash, Oak And Thorn, by Melissa Harrison

Synopsis:

Three tiny, ancient beings - Moss, Burnet and Cumulus, once revered as Guardians of the Wild World - wake from winter hibernation in their beloved ash tree home. When it is destroyed, they set off on an adventure to find more of their kind, a journey that takes them first into the deep countryside and then the heart of a city. Helped along the way by birds and animals, the trio search for a way to survive and thrive in a precious yet disappearing world...

Goodreads

Alice In Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol

Synopsis:

When Alice sees a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket she decides to follow it, and a sequence of most unusual events is set in motion.

Goodreads

#‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. my diary ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. #book recommendations #mori girl #mori kei #this post has been sitting on my drafts FOR AGES #since september to be exact #hope you enjoyed it and let me know if you want a part 2!!!!<333 #dividers by gigittamic

[evajackslover]

MY THOUGHTS ON ACOMAF AS A FIRST TIME READER 🌌✨🏔️🌙

**this review will contain spoilers for acotar and acomaf**

my rating: 4.7/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

spice level: 4/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

summary: Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she's now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people. As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre's hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.

i finished reading book 2 in the acotar series (a court of mist and fury) a few days ago, and it’s safe to say acomaf is an amazing sequel to the first book!! i absolutely adored how sjm developed the characters and love where book 2 has brought the plot!

here are my thoughts:

- feyre’s character development in book 2 was just *chef’s kiss*! her deal with rhys in acotar was the perfect set up for acomaf because with each visit feyre made to the night court, she slowly begin to heal from her trauma under the mountain. this was a huge contrast from whenever she returned to the spring court; you could tell she immediately began to relapse into a bad mental and physical state, and was clearly feeling trapped.

- this brings me to tamlin… who finally showed us his true colors! i could not STAND how overprotective he was of feyre upon returning from under the mountain. like, i get the guy had some traumatic experiences, but those were no excuse for TRAPPING FEYRE IN THE HOUSE upon so much other physical and emotional abuse! the moment mor came to whisk her away to the night court had to have been one of the best moments of relief in acomaf.

- morrigan!!! i absolutely LOVE her as a character and her relationship with the other members of rhysand’s inner court! i can’t wait for her and feyre to become even closer bffs :)

- cassian and azriel 🥰🥰 my babies protect them at all costs (also am i right in guessing a cassian nesta relationship coming soon?! because i can totally see it!)

- and finally rhysand!! i cannot express how much i love how his story has expanded throughout acomaf; from teaching feyre to read to confessing his undying love to her, he is the most perfect MMC 🥹

i wish i had room to discuss each and every character, but this post has already gotten so long!

my final thoughts: amazing and can’t wait to keep reading! my only complaint is the spice (i prefer slightly less in my books) but i understand that it is not a YA series and the level of spice was to be expected before starting the series! i’m in the middle of acowar right now and can’t wait to continue feyre’s story!

beautifulll feysand art by the lovely jrtart_ on instagram 💓

#rhys acotar #acowar #a court of thorns and roses #acosf #acotar #acomaf #sjm universe #sjm books #sjm #sjmaas #sjm fandom #rhysand x feyre #feyre x rhysand #feyre cursebreaker #feyre archeron #rhysand

[fictionadventurer]

A Little House Sampler contains an interview between Rose and Almanzo from when Rose was trying to gather information for her book set in 1870s Dakota, and let's just say that Almanzo did not share his wife's talent for crafting detailed reminiscences.

What were the early saloons like? Saloons. Did they have mahogany bars and mirrors? Yes. Paintings behind the bar, swinging doors, frosted windows, or anything like that? Paintings, yes; swinging doors, no. Brass rails? Brass cuspidors? Yes. Were they poolrooms or were poolrooms separate places? Yes.

Half of the interview is Rose just desperately trying to pull any kind of detail out of Almanzo. Which is impressive given that she typed out the interview and mailed it to him to fill out--she must have known what her father was like.

The most voluble he gets is an entire paragraph describing the different types of prairie grass for her (based on which ones make the best hay.)

There are flashes of humor.

What was your attitude toward the local banker. He was a whole fellow. We would say, "Hello, Tom," but when it came to borrowing money, it was 3 percent a month.

We also have a surprisingly sad moment.

What in regard to your claim, gave you the most satisfaction during the first few years? I mean moments of satisfaction, such as finishing the shanty, putting up the team after the sod was broken, or seeing the wheat up, something like that. Those special times that one remembers of looking at something and feeling good. As, for instance, the day on Rocky Ridge when the first mortgage was paid off, and we said, "Now the place is ours!" It must have been a grand moment when you walked into the bank and handed that money to old man Freeman. Must have been moments like that, in homesteading. To save me, I can't remember of anything except that when we thrashed the first crop that was the best crop we ever had, but it was before we had much land broke up. My life has been mostly disappointments.

I also really like this last question because it's drives home that this is just a daughter talking to her dad.

If I know you, you had a fit of extravagance now and then. What did you spend money on? When you had it in you pocket and just felt like spending it? Nowadays a man would buy a new car. Remember one time when you did something like that? And hardly dast face Mama Bess with whatever you'd brought? That would in the in 1880s, but it's all the same if it was something you could have bought in 1870s. Or maybe it was one time that Roy went on a spending spree, bought something you didn't have to have, but just wanted to have. I bought a top buggy in 1882. I bought a $50 nickel-plated harness in spring 1882. I am sorry I could not remember more but it has been a long time and things did not impress me when they happened like they did some people.

That last line sums up the situation pretty well. But when you're looking into the background of a series put together by two women, it is fun to see the man of the household get a chance to speak for himself.

#little house #rose wilder lane #almanzo wilder #history is awesome #imagine my shock when i was casually looking up rose's books #and found there was a whole extra little house book i'd never heard of #it got published with the checkered bordered cover and everything #(though my library copy is older than that)

[pointdointy]

Recently been binging the whole of the MLPFIM series after realizing that as a kid, I only watched up to S4A because I hated where the series was going, and despised Twilight being an alicorn + The School of Friendship, which goes against the message of the entire show.

With that, I made my own mane six 'reimagine' sheet and AU. I stuck to the original designs as close as I could, except for Fluttershy's lmao. These designs really just enhance the previous designs, as I wanted to toy with their silhouettes and the characteristics they had in the show, and to make designs more appealing to look at, albeit horrible to animate lol

Read More on the AU + Design Thoughts below :)

Twilight Sparkle - A gifted unicorn with ancient heritage. She spends most of her time studying, and fixating on various books, topics, and magic itself. She is the top student in her school, and hopes to get a degree in Magic, and later become a Magic Professor. In this AU, while she studies under Celestia, she is not her protege. Celestia, worried over her favorite student, sends her to a day trip to look over the Summer Sun Celebration, where she meets her future friends show-style. Her design is heavily inspired by The Last Unicorn, and medieval portrayals of regal, feathered unicorns.

Pinkie Pie - A super duper party pony who takes her job very seriously. She works at Sugarcube Corner as a part-time party planner, part-time baker, and is well loved by Ponyville's townies. Before Twilight coming to Ponyville, and later moving in, she knew the other four quite well, and enjoyed organizing Applejack's family reunions. For her design, I really wanted to lean in on her chaotic nature by adding more colors, and confetti perpetually stuck in her curly mane. At first, I thought of changing her species into a pegasus, but I enjoyed her magical properties as an Earth Pony too much to remove them. Instead, I headcanon that she, and other Earth Ponies have magic inside of them, which can be manifested in different ways. For Pinkie, that is harnessed through Pinkie Sense, and high energy, only being enhanced by her small size.

Applejack - Rancher, and apple farmer, Applejack is the head of Sweet Apple Acres (with Granny Smith and Big Mac/ Orchard Blossom's help). The business is the foundation of Ponyville, and without it, the town would go into economic despair. Apples are very important to horses, I guess. I wanted Applejack's design to reflect her massive strength, and of course, the Apple-Family genes. She is a work horse, either a shire or clydesdale, and is used to hard labor on the farm. Thinking about it now, I should've given her a few healed scars, but maybe in future art of her! I made her mane and tail shorter, as I thought her in-show counterpart would have a tough time working on the field with sticky, sweaty long hair always getting in the way. Like work horses in real life, I made it short so it would be out of the way while she did her job.

Rarity - An inspiring trendsetter fashionista, Rarity owns the Carousal Boutique and makes clothing for a living. She frequents town meetings, and has a seat in the council, often advocating for the repair of town parks, or old buildings that need refurbishing. She wears an ascot for that particular flourish a mare always needs. Being a unicorn, she trims the hair that grows down along her back to keep herself prim and proper, as she says. She finds unicorns that don't to be messy and dirty. She dare not fathom of how easily sweat and dirt gets in one's mane when so long and unkempt. Down her back, she still has a stripe of purple where her mane grows. Her design was heavily inspired by the one she has while making dresses, and the NightmareMoonverse manestyle. Like Twilight, she is also based on medieval unicorn portrayals, however, with some liberties of course.

Rainbow Dash - A daring, brave cloudbuster, working as part of the weather team in Ponyville to keep the weather on check for events and crops. However, she has bigger dreams to become on of the Wonderbolts, the most awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping fliers in all of Equestria. RD would bask in the fame, adoration, and praise like a reptile in the hot summer sun. Other than training, hoping, she can never muster up the courage to apply. While she show-boats and gloats about how awesome she is, RD suffers from severe anxiety, ADHD, and fear of rejection. In her design, I wanted RD to look more masculine and stream-lined than she does in the show. Her design never really spoke 'fast' to me. I still don't think this design truly did my vision justice, but I enjoy it for what it is. I darkened her mane colors a touch, and gave her feathered, colored hooves to make her look more like a bird instead of a pony with wings stuck on it.

Fluttershy - Shy, and rather fearful pegasus pony, Fluttershy boxes herself in close to the Everfree Forest, away from ponies who mock her appearance and lifestyle. She is part deer, and with the high separation and xenophobia of Equestria's ponies, she never could fit in. She looked far too deer to fit in with Ponyville and looked far too like a pony to fit in with her mother's herd. Instead, she chose an inbetween, only going into town for supplies and nothing else. It wasn't until meeting Twilight and the others, did she learn how to grow confident in her own skin, with lots of support of course. She finds great friendship and connection with Zecora, the zebra pony who lives in the Everfree Forest, and Discord later on. Her design is the only one I didn't really like in the main cast. It says soft, but it feels too safe for me. In my redesign, I leaned more heavily on a softer, lankier look. I made her wings fluffier, like Pipp's in G5, and gave her deer markings, ears, and hooves. I thought the brown block of hair was nice, but it could've used some dimension, and so I added a streak of yellow to tie it all in.

#mlp fim #mlp #mlp g4 #mane 6 #mane 6 redesign #twilight sparkle #pinkie pie #applejack #rarity #rainbow dash #fluttershy #digital art #my art #ok to reblog #reblogs are highly appreciated #procreate #god that was a lot of writing #thank you if you read all of my rambling!

[lesbianamalvada]

I'm sorry girlies but I just DO NOT get Darlington's appeal. He's a fine character, maybe it's just the lesbian in me, but him and Alex seem SO FORCED. Plus it's a "slow burn" but we know what the fuck you're gonna do Bardugo!! Idk it's just so forced, ntm they've barely spent anytime together because Dumbass Darlington walked into monster month (and his last thoughts were blaming Alex for it, lmfaoo). And the interaction they do have together is dull, sorry! Alex is such a cool character and she has more chemistry with literally EVERYONE ELSE in the cast.

I mean just look at the descent in Hell Bent where we get a backstory of all the characters. Pamela Dawes isn't loud and out-of-this-world like most Bardugo characters. She feels so realistic, but is still so interesting. We see how she has crippling anxiety from developing too fast, how she hides behind her academia, how she's torn up about killing Blake. She's so understated but so real and relatable for it.

We see how Turner struggles with being a cop and trying to be a bastard, how he literally killed his mentee for what he believes in, how he tries to be a fighter for good and his people in a world that rewards him for doing the opposite. Even his spirituality is handled respectfully and he's just a really well done character.

Then we have Tripp, we've all met a Tripp, all the privilege in the world but you can't even hate him for it cause he's been too sheltered to ever develop a mean bone in his body. Except we see how he dealt with abuse from his cousin all his life. We see how Spenser just gets away with it, and I empathized with Tripp when he let Spenser die. (Which btw he's not technically a murderer for that but WHATEVER LEIGH) After the descent I did a full 180 on his character!

And Mercy is so fun. She's not familiar with the world of magic and looks at it with hopeful-Harry-Potter-fan eyes, she's like a conduit for the reader in a way the jaded Alex can't be. But also if you think about her backstory is VERY dark. She was violated in the most horrible way by this magic before she even knew it existed. And now she wants to harness that same magic so she's never put in that position again. She kills a man because Alex tells her to, because she thinks this is some sort of Hogwarts adventure. And then at the end of the book you see grasp what Lethe is, and her tension with Alex is *chef's kiss* so good!

Ughh and thenn we have Darlington...what's Darlington's big murderer moment? The thing that made him eligible for a scholarship at Demon University? He *checks notes* pulled the life support on his dying geriatric grandpa at the man's own request....okayy. Surely there's something else? Well you see Darlington's always wanted to believe in magic! Just like all of us! It's like he's trying to hard to represent us fantasy readers, but by the second book Mercy already accomplishes this and does it better. And I guess you can say he had neglectful parents but it's just handled so unrealistically I couldn't believe it. 1. Once the grandpa was dead and Darlington was a minor his parents could have easily torn down that shitty house. 2. Darlington would legally belong to them, they wouldn't have to turn off the electricity to freeze him out of the house, they could call CPS who would bust down the doors and give him to his parents. 3. His whole backstory relies on a crusty house?? Really?? 4. I'm tired of the poor little rich boy trope. I'd rather have characters like Tripp, yes they've had their own struggles but wealth has shielded them, instead of unrealistic characters like Darlington. It's even worse because Leigh tries to frame Alex's and Darlington's childhood as "two sides of the same coin' when it's not that at all!

And you'd think Demon Danny would have a little spice but, no? I guess he enjoyed punishing people and making them suffer (told, not show) and he has urges to do it again? But more importantly we need to know that he REALLY REALLY wants to fuck Alex. Also he will serve Alex TiL tHe EnD oF dAyS! He's also her personal slave now and she can make him do whatever. Demon Danny is starting to feel like a fetish, okay? IT'S. SO. FORCED. They barely had any chemistry before the dumbass walked straight into Hell, but I see why Alex's destructive nature would put her on a suicide mission for his rescue. But now he's dreaming about her in his perfect future? They're cosmically connected to each other? It's so funny because they are both way closer to Pamela Dawes but just fuck her I guess.

Anyway I think Darlington lacks substance and he's not good enough for Alex BUT i'm hoping I'll like him more in book 3. Can any Darlington fans give me your interpretation of the character and why you like him? I really don't like feeling this way since he's such a big part of the story and sometimes a different analysis is all you need. As of right now he's the embodiment "Go girl! Give us nothing!" for me.

#ninth house #hell bent #alex stern #leigh bardugo #pamela dawes #darlington #captain turner #abel turner #tripp helmuth #mercy zhao #alex stern series #hell bent spoilers #ninth house spoilers

[elkian]

I've seen a few of my Murderbot posts reblogged with tags to the effect of "I don't go here but I know of it" and for people who are interested in the Murderbot series looking to break in:

Tor.com (now Reactor Mag) has the entire first chapter of the first book, All Systems Red, available free to read on their site.

Link to the article.

ASR is a novella, so this not only covers a lot of ground, but is a pretty good litmus test imo if this book is for you or not.

(I read ASR twice before getting Artificial Condition, and that was the book that got me totally hooked on the series, for what that's worth.)

I'm also just going to post the text under this readmore because free Murderbot.

---

---

I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.

I was also still doing my job, on a new contract, and hoping Dr. Volescu and Dr. Bharadwaj finished their survey soon so we could get back to the habitat and I could watch episode 397 of Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.

I admit I was distracted. It was a boring contract so far and I was thinking about backburnering the status alert channel and trying to access music on the entertainment feed without HubSystem logging the extra activity. It was trickier to do it in the field than it was in the habitat.

This assessment zone was a barren stretch of coastal island, with low, flat hills rising and falling and thick greenish-black grass up to my ankles, not much in the way of flora or fauna, except a bunch of different-sized birdlike things and some puffy floaty things that were harmless as far as we knew. The coast was dotted with big bare craters, one of which Bharadwaj and Volescu were taking samples in. The planet had a ring, which from our current position dominated the horizon when you looked out to sea. I was looking at the sky and mentally poking at the feed when the bottom of the crater exploded.

I didn’t bother to make a verbal emergency call. I sent the visual feed from my field camera to Dr. Mensah’s, and jumped down into the crater. As I scrambled down the sandy slope, I could already hear Mensah over the emergency comm channel, yelling at someone to get the hopper in the air now. They were about ten kilos away, working on another part of the island, so there was no way they were going to get here in time to help.

Conflicting commands filled my feed but I didn’t pay attention. Even if I hadn’t borked my own governor module, the emergency feed took priority, and it was chaotic, too, with the automated HubSystem wanting data and trying to send me data I didn’t need yet and Mensah sending me telemetry from the hopper. Which I also didn’t need, but it was easier to ignore than HubSystem simultaneously demanding answers and trying to supply them.

In the middle of all that, I hit the bottom of the crater. I have small energy weapons built into both arms, but the one I went for was the big projectile weapon clamped to my back. The hostile that had just exploded up out of the ground had a really big mouth, so I felt I needed a really big gun.

I dragged Bharadwaj out of its mouth and shoved myself in there instead, and discharged my weapon down its throat and then up toward where I hoped the brain would be. I’m not sure if that all happened in that order; I’d have to replay my own field camera feed. All I knew was that I had Bharadwaj, and it didn’t, and it had disappeared back down the tunnel.

She was unconscious and bleeding through her suit from massive wounds in her right leg and side. I clamped the weapon back into its harness so I could lift her with both arms. I had lost the armor on my left arm and a lot of the flesh underneath, but my non-organic parts were still working. Another burst of commands from the governor module came through and I backburnered it without bothering to decode them. Bharadwaj, not having non-organic parts and not as easily repaired as me, was definitely a priority here and I was mainly interested in what the MedSystem was trying to tell me on the emergency feed. But first I needed to get her out of the crater.

During all this, Volescu was huddled on the churned up rock, losing his shit, not that I was unsympathetic. I was far less vulnerable in this situation than he was and I wasn’t exactly having a great time either. I said, “Dr. Volescu, you need to come with me now.”

He didn’t respond. MedSystem was advising a tranq shot and blah blah blah, but I was clamping one arm on Dr. Bharadwaj’s suit to keep her from bleeding out and supporting her head with the other, and despite everything I only have two hands. I told my helmet to retract so he could see my human face. If the hostile came back and bit me again, this would be a bad mistake, because I did need the organic parts of my head. I made my voice firm and warm and gentle, and said, “Dr. Volescu, it’s gonna be fine, okay? But you need to get up and come help me get her out of here.”

That did it. He shoved to his feet and staggered over to me, still shaking. I turned my good side toward him and said, “Grab my arm, okay? Hold on.”

He managed to loop his arm around the crook of my elbow and I started up the crater towing him, holding Bharadwaj against my chest. Her breathing was rough and desperate and I couldn’t get any info from her suit. Mine was torn across my chest so I upped the warmth on my body, hoping it would help. The feed was quiet now, Mensah having managed to use her leadership priority to mute everything but MedSystem and the hopper, and all I could hear on the hopper feed was the others frantically shushing each other.

The footing on the side of the crater was lousy, soft sand and loose pebbles, but my legs weren’t damaged and I got up to the top with both humans still alive. Volescu tried to collapse and I coaxed him away from the edge a few meters, just in case whatever was down there had a longer reach than it looked.

I didn’t want to put Bharadwaj down because something in my abdomen was severely damaged and I wasn’t sure I could pick her up again. I ran my field camera back a little and saw I had gotten stabbed with a tooth, or maybe a cilia. Did I mean a cilia or was that something else? They don’t give murderbots decent education modules on anything except murdering, and even those are the cheap versions. I was looking it up in HubSystem’s language center when the little hopper landed nearby. I let my helmet seal and go opaque as it settled on the grass.

We had two standard hoppers: a big one for emergencies and this little one for getting to the assessment locations. It had three compartments: one big one in the middle for the human crew and two smaller ones to each side for cargo, supplies, and me. Mensah was at the controls. I started walking, slower than I normally would have because I didn’t want to lose Volescu. As the ramp started to drop, Pin-Lee and Arada jumped out and I switched to voice comm to say, “Dr. Mensah, I can’t let go of her suit.”

It took her a second to realize what I meant. She said hurriedly, “That’s all right, bring her up into the crew cabin.”

Murderbots aren’t allowed to ride with the humans and I had to have verbal permission to enter. With my cracked governor there was nothing to stop me, but not letting anybody, especially the people who held my contract, know that I was a free agent was kind of important. Like, not having my organic components destroyed and the rest of me cut up for parts important.

I carried Bharadwaj up the ramp into the cabin, where Overse and Ratthi were frantically unclipping seats to make room. They had their helmets off and their suit hoods pulled back, so I got to see their horrified expressions when they took in what was left of my upper body through my torn suit. I was glad I had sealed my helmet.

This is why I actually like riding with the cargo. Humans and augmented humans in close quarters with murderbots is too awkward. At least, it’s awkward for this murderbot. I sat down on the deck with Bharadwaj in my lap while Pin-Lee and Arada dragged Volescu inside.

We left two pacs of field equipment and a couple of instruments behind, still sitting on the grass where Bharadwaj and Volescu had been working before they went down to the crater for samples. Normally I’d help carry them, but MedSystem, which was monitoring Bharadwaj through what was left of her suit, was pretty clear that letting go of her would be a bad idea. But no one mentioned the equipment. Leaving easily replaceable items behind may seem obvious in an emergency, but I had been on contracts where the clients would have told me to put the bleeding human down to go get the stuff.

On this contract, Dr. Ratthi jumped up and said, “I’ll get the cases!”

I yelled, “No!” which I’m not supposed to do; I’m always supposed to speak respectfully to the clients, even when they’re about to accidentally commit suicide. HubSystem could log it and it could trigger punishment through the governor module. If it wasn’t hacked.

Fortunately, the rest of the humans yelled “No!” at the same time, and Pin-Lee added, “For fuck’s sake, Ratthi!”

Ratthi said, “Oh, no time, of course. I’m sorry!” and hit the quick-close sequence on the hatch.

So we didn’t lose our ramp when the hostile came up under it, big mouth full of teeth or cilia or whatever chewing right through the ground. There was a great view of it on the hopper’s cameras, which its system helpfully sent straight to everybody’s feed. The humans screamed.

Mensah pushed us up into the air so fast and hard I nearly leaned over and everybody who wasn’t on the floor ended up there.

In the quiet afterward, as they gasped with relief, Pin-Lee said, “Ratthi, if you get yourself killed—”

“You’ll be very cross with me, I know.” Ratthi slid down the wall a little more and waved weakly at her.

“That’s an order, Ratthi, don’t get yourself killed,” Mensah said from the pilot’s seat. She sounded calm, but I have security priority, and I could see her racing heartbeat through MedSystem.

Arada pulled out the emergency medical kit so they could stop the bleeding and try to stabilize Bharadwaj. I tried to be as much like an appliance as possible, clamping the wounds where they told me to, using my failing body temperature to try to keep her warm, and keeping my head down so I couldn’t see them staring at me.

PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY AT 60% AND DROPPING

Our habitat is a pretty standard model, seven interconnected domes set down on a relatively flat plain above a narrow river valley, with our power and recycling system connected on one side. We had an environmental system, but no air locks, as the planet’s atmosphere was breathable, just not particularly good for humans for the long term. I don’t know why, because it’s one of those things I’m not contractually obligated to care about.

We picked the location because it’s right in the middle of the assessment area, and while there are trees scattered through the plain, each one is fifteen or so meters tall, very skinny, with a single layer of spreading canopy, so it’s hard for anything approaching to use them as cover. Of course, that didn’t take into account anything approaching via tunnel.

We have security doors on the habitat for safety but HubSystem told me the main one was already open as the hopper landed. Dr. Gurathin had a lift gurney ready and guided it out to us. Overse and Arada had managed to get Bharadwaj stabilized, so I was able to put her down on it and follow the others into the habitat.

The humans headed for Medical and I stopped to send the little hopper commands to lock and seal itself, then I locked the outer doors. Through the security feed, I told the drones to widen our perimeter so I’d have more warning if something big came at us. I also set some monitors on the seismic sensors to alert me to anomalies just in case the hypothetical something big decided to tunnel in.

After I secured the habitat, I went back to what was called the security ready room, which was where weapons, ammo, perimeter alarms, drones, and all the other supplies pertaining to security were stored, including me. I shed what was left of the armor and on MedSystem’s advice sprayed wound sealant all over my bad side. I wasn’t dripping with blood, because my arteries and veins seal automatically, but it wasn’t nice to look at. And it hurt, though the wound seal did numb it a little. I had already set an eight-hour security interdiction through HubSystem, so nobody could go outside without me, and then set myself as off-duty. I checked the main feed but no one was filing any objections to that.

I was freezing because my temperature controls had given out at some point on the way here, and the protective skin that went under my armor was in pieces. I had a couple of spares but pulling one on right now would not be practical, or easy. The only other clothing I had was a uniform I hadn’t worn yet, and I didn’t think I could get it on, either. (I hadn’t needed the uniform because I hadn’t been patrolling inside the habitat. Nobody had asked for that, because with only eight of them and all friends, it would be a stupid waste of resources, namely me.) I dug around one handed in the storage case until I found the extra human-rated medical kit I’m allowed in case of emergencies, and opened it and got the survival blanket out. I wrapped up in it, then climbed into the plastic bed of my cubicle. I let the door seal as the white light flickered on.

It wasn’t much warmer in there, but at least it was cozy. I connected myself to the resupply and repair leads, leaned back against the wall and shivered. MedSystem helpfully informed me that my performance reliability was now at 58 percent and dropping, which was not a surprise. I could definitely repair in eight hours, and probably mostly regrow my damaged organic components, but at 58 percent, I doubted I could get any analysis done in the meantime. So I set all the security feeds to alert me if anything tried to eat the habitat and started to call up the supply of media I’d downloaded from the entertainment feed. I hurt too much to pay attention to anything with a story, but the friendly noise would keep me company.

Then someone knocked on the cubicle door.

I stared at it and lost track of all my neatly arrayed inputs. Like an idiot, I said, “Uh, yes?”

Dr. Mensah opened the door and peered in at me. I’m not good at guessing actual humans’ ages, even with all the visual entertainment I watch. People in the shows don’t usually look much like people in real life, at least not in the good shows. She had dark brown skin and lighter brown hair, cut very short, and I’m guessing she wasn’t young or she wouldn’t be in charge. She said, “Are you all right? I saw your status report.”

“Uh.” That was the point where I realized that I should have just not answered and pretended to be in stasis. I pulled the blanket around my chest, hoping she hadn’t seen any of the missing chunks. Without the armor holding me together, it was much worse. “Fine.”

So, I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous. Also, if I’m not in the armor then it’s because I’m wounded and one of my organic parts may fall off and plop on the floor at any moment and no one wants to see that.

“Fine?” She frowned. “The report said you lost 20 percent of your body mass.”

“It’ll grow back,” I said. I know to an actual human I probably looked like I was dying. My injuries were the equivalent of a human losing a limb or two plus most of their blood volume.

“I know, but still.” She eyed me for a long moment, so long I tapped the security feed for the mess, where the non-wounded members of the group were sitting around the table talking. They were discussing the possibility of more underground fauna and wishing they had intoxicants. That seemed pretty normal. She continued, “You were very good with Dr. Volescu. I don’t think the others realized . . . They were very impressed.”

“It’s part of the emergency med instructions, calming victims.” I tugged the blanket tighter so she didn’t see anything awful. I could feel something lower down leaking.

“Yes, but the MedSystem was prioritizing Bharadwaj and didn’t check Volescu’s vital signs. It didn’t take into account the shock of the event, and it expected him to be able to leave the scene on his own.”

On the feed it was clear that the others had reviewed Volescu’s field camera video. They were saying things like I didn’t even know it had a face. I’d been in armor since we arrived, and I hadn’t unsealed the helmet when I was around them. There was no specific reason. The only part of me they would have seen was my head, and it’s standard, generic human. But they didn’t want to talk to me and I definitely didn’t want to talk to them; on duty it would distract me and off duty . . . I didn’t want to talk to them. Mensah had seen me when she signed the rental contract. But she had barely looked at me and I had barely looked at her because again, murderbot + actual human = awkwardness. Keeping the armor on all the time cuts down on unnecessary interaction.

I said, “It’s part of my job, not to listen to the System feeds when they . . . make mistakes.” That’s why you need constructs, SecUnits with organic components. But she should know that. Before she accepted delivery of me, she had logged about ten protests, trying to get out of having to have me. I didn’t hold it against her. I wouldn’t have wanted me either.

Seriously, I don’t know why I didn’t just say you’re welcome and please get out of my cubicle so I can sit here and leak in peace.

“All right,” she said, and looked at me for what objectively I knew was 2.4 seconds and subjectively about twenty excruciating minutes. “I’ll see you in eight hours. If you need anything before then, please send me an alert on the feed.” She stepped back and let the door slide closed.

It left me wondering what they were all marveling at so I called up the recording of the incident. Okay, wow. I had talked to Volescu all the way up the side of the crater. I had been mostly concerned with the hopper’s trajectory and Bharadwaj not bleeding out and what might come out of that crater for a second try; I hadn’t been listening to myself, basically. I had asked him if he had kids. It was boggling. Maybe I had been watching too much media. (He did have kids. He was in a four-way marriage and had seven, all back home with his partners.)

All my levels were too elevated now for a rest period, so I decided I might as well get some use out of it and look at the other recordings. Then I found something weird. There was an “abort” order in the HubSystem command feed, the one that controlled, or currently believed it controlled, my governor module. It had to be a glitch. It didn’t matter, because when MedSystem has priority—

PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY AT 39%, STASIS INITIATED FOR EMERGENCY REPAIR SEQUENCE.

#elk text #tmd #the murderbot diaries #if you aren't in a position to purchase the books check out (hehe) whether your local library has anything #i know there's audiobooks too and apparently they're pretty good #i tried to indent it and tungl did not like that #tried to make the opening break obvious

[cupidsdolll]

to give everyone something to look forward to and because i’ve managed to write a good portion of this one shot i’ll put a sneak peak of it below the cut. i’ll announce the release date and time when i get close to the end. see you soon 🩷.

She hates when they go to parties and he leaves her, usually letting her know but sometimes he’s dragged away and never comes back until he’s drunk. Another reason she hates parties is how he acts when he’s drunk. She turns into a babysitter, making sure he’s careful not to throw up on himself, bump into some guy who had too much to drink and wants a fight, and has to drive them home when she doesn’t even like driving. Not to mention, she hates how affectionate he becomes. He’s always cuddling up to her, holding her hand and calling her all sorts of sweet pet names.

She thinks that’s the worst part, because not only does it fill her heart and make it swell, but it also causes her to be the target of all of the nasty glares from the girls at the party. That’s exactly what’s happening right now, he’s managed to bring her to yet another party even though she all but begged and pleaded not to come along. It was bigger, louder, and plain annoying. She just wanted to stay in bed, cozied up underneath her softest blanket with a book and her favorite songs. Harry insisted yet again that she’ll have fun, and it shouldn’t be too big. Insisted that they wouldn’t be there very long, and that was two hours ago. Y/N’s head hurts, her back and feet hurt as well and she doesn’t know any of the songs playing through the speaker. She’s just having a miserable time meanwhile Harry’s having the time of his life, she’s lost count of how many drinks he’s already had including the one currently in his hand. She knows it’s enough to get him to loosen up, to not care about the way he’s pressed against her, one tattooed arm wrapped around her waist and his breath fanning the side of her neck as he sings along to whatever song is blasting through.

They rock gently together as if it’s not an upbeat pop song, lost in his own drunken world and she just wants to go home.

“Honey, you’re just the sweetest thing. Y’know that?” His voice all but oozed into her bloodstream, warming her skin and making her fight back a smile.

“And you’re drunk, I think we should go home Harry.”’She says, hoping he listens and tells her to take them home. Instead he nuzzles his face into the crook of her neck and squeezes her.

“Don’t wanna leave yet, m’having fun with you.” She can’t help the smile that tugs on her lips at his words.

“I know but we could have so much more fun at home in our pj’s. Doesn’t that sound nice, Harry?” He only hums and squeezes her tighter.

“M’having fun with you baby. S’nice seeing you all pretty. Look so pretty every day.” She can’t help the heat that rushes to her cheeks at his words, the main reason she doesn’t like attending parties with him.

He’s so cuddly and loving, the line they’ve made blurs whenever he’s drunk and makes it hard to differentiate between just friendship or something more. She knows he doesn’t mean any of it though, at least not in the way she hopes he means it. She can feel the nasty glares from all of the other girls, knowing they’re wishing to be her in shoes. Who wouldn’t want to be wrapped in Harry’s arms with him whispering in your ear and a goofy looking smile on his lips?

“Thank you, Harry. We can still have fun at home though, I won’t change so I can still be all pretty for you and it’ll just be the two of us. I’m sorry, I just wanna go home, Har. It’s getting to be too much.” She says just loud enough for him to hear, her eyes scanning the crowd. He sighs before kissing her neck ever so gently, a kiss so feathery soft that if she weren’t so sober she wouldn’t even feel it.

“Fine, let’s go home then baby. Don’t want my girl to be overwhelmed.” He says before unwrapping her from his embrace only to intertwine their hands together as he leads her to the exit.

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x reader #harry styles fic #best friend!harry #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfic #harrystyles #harry edward styles #harry styles angst #teddysupdates #sneak peek