#anyways trying to figure out how to keep an old watch from the dump

[ellcrys]

trying to figure out how to recycle anything in this world is like pulling teeth i'm dying here

#why it is so hard to recycle things!? #every time i need to throw something out i'm like #i should quit my job and create a startup that makes recycling easy #anyways trying to figure out how to keep an old watch from the dump #like the strap is falling apart so i can't donate it #but otherwise the mechanics are fine like it just needs a new battery #i'm at the point where i'm like maybe i should just trash it but it's physically painful throwing things in the trash #that don't need to go in the trash. if society. just fucking prioritized recycling and upcycling!!! ugh.

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One of Rock Star Eddie and Baker Steve wrong number AU

Link to Part Two

Eddie's got dubious history with picture messages. Only a very small group of people have his number, considering he's the front man of a multimillion best selling metal band, he doesn't ever want his number to be public knowledge.

So yeah, picture message from and unknown number? Dubious.

Eddie's had enough dick and...vag...pics in his time that he, honestly, doesn't really want another. But when the picture is followed by a message, "were you thinking something like this?"

Well, Eddie's a curious guy. So, committing himself to the idea that this might be new number time, again, he opens the message.

To be confronted with a cake. A really fucking cool cake actually, it's got a car dashing around a muddy track on top with a big '5' in the middle. All of it looks edible, made out of...cake stuff. Eddie has no idea what it is, but it looks delicious.

"One layer chocolate, one layer red velvet? I can do any combination of flavours you want."

Well. Eddie isn't anything but impulsive and he was trying to figure out what the fuck to do for the 'quiet' celebration they were planning for going platinum. Again.

"I think you have the wrong number'" Eddie types, "but I definitely want to order a cake from you."

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, unsolicited cake pics are the worst 😉"

And Eddie can't help it, he laughs, and types back, "if I told you I wanted three tiers of the darkest, spookiest, cherry chocolate what would you come up with?"

It takes a couple of minutes, but Eddie's phone pings twice in quick succession, the first picture is of a spooky orange cake clearly Halloween themed, covered in ghosts and skeletons and stuff. The second is jet black and has a coffin on top that looks like it's leaking green corrosive stuff and Eddie nearly throws his phone in excitement. "That! The second one!"

"🤣 that's an old pic, I was just starting out then, but everything is edible, the green slime is made out of jello"

"Where are you based and can you make it for the 15th? I'll get a courier to collect."

"Sure thing, how many portions? And I need a deposit up front. I'll do chocolate ganache and cherry filling."

"Errr...like, 150? Maybe?"

Eddie sits and watches as the dots appear and disappear, appear and disappear, and then there's a pic.

It's a selfie of the most beautiful man he's ever seen. And he's standing in a kitchen, holding a cake pan. Suddenly Eddie's phone is ringing in his hand and he is panicking because beautiful man is calling him. "Hello?"

"Hey, man, it's Steve, the cake guy?". Eddie assumes he makes an affirmative noise because Steve keeps talking, "anyway, that cake pan I'm holding is literally the largest one I own, even if I did three tiers, no way will it cater that many, I'm a small business, you know, it's just me. I can recommend you some companies I know would do a great job."

But then, Eddie will never get to talk to beautiful man ever again, "what if you made like, three cakes?". He asks desperately.

There's a long beat of silence on the phone, "I mean, in theory, I mean, it might cost you more than-"

"I'll pay it. I'll pay double, for, inconvenience, or whatever-"

And oh no, beautiful man has the most beautiful laugh too. Eddie's fucked. He's so fucked.

"I'll raise you, two cakes and fifty muffins?" Steve laughs again, and Eddie laughs right along with him.

Steve grabs his phone when it pings, hoping for Eddie. It is Eddie. It's a selfie from the neck down, like always, Steve still doesn't know what the guy looks like, but Eddie's wearing a deep red shirt that he's clearly just dumped a whole cup of coffee down, "hope your days going better than mine, sweetheart,"

Steve sends back a selfie with a lump of uncooperative modelling fondant in the background, "that depends, can you tell what this is supposed to be?"

Steve's pretty sure it's wierd to talk to a customer every day, but he's started to find he's looking forward to Eddie's messages. Even when they turn flirty. Especially when they turn flirty, maybe.

And maybe it's not exactly professional that Steve's found a lot of reasons to call Eddie. He just, needs to get this right, and if Eddie wants chocolate covered cherries on the cupcakes, well, Steve needs to call him and check, right? Right.

Steve heads out into the lounge with flour on his nose and a mixing bowl under his arm, Dustin, Lucas and Max are sprawled on the couch, El lying on the floor. He can hear Mike and Will fucking around outside. He spoons up some cherry mixture, "hey will you try-"

"Shhhhhhhh!"

Well. Rude. Steve looks to the interview they're watching on the TV. It's some metal band Steve vaguely recognises, and when the lead guy speaks...Steve has to sit down. Because that sounds a lot like-

"So, Eddie," the show host guy starts, and Steve's knees would go weak of he wasn't already sitting down. He's certain his stomach has left the building. "Seeing anyone?"

Eddie laughs, says no, but the band mate next to him makes a show of nudging Eddie and sharing a look.

The host picks up on it immediately, "so there is someone," Eddie's still shaking his head, but he's got a shy smile on his face that makes Steve feel like he's melting. "Come on Eddie, give us something."

"It's not a thing," Eddie flaps his hands, "don't make it a thing."

"Oh it's a thing alright," the audience laugh, "come on, give us something!"

Eddie looks uncomfortable for a second before shrugging, "they, uhm, they make the most amazing cakes you've ever seen."

#eddie munson #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #baking #baker steve Harrington #rock star eddie munson #wrong number au #fan fic author #my fic writing #fan fic stuff #fan fiction

[poughkeepsies]

okay twist my arm here's my fic rec list

category: the most underrated fics that have never once left my mind since I first read them and I genuinely think about at least every few weeks in no particular order

(disclaimer that this list does not include a great majority of my beloveds' works but that's because I picked at random from the list of at least 30 that I've compiled over the past few days)

Tell Me Anything - AnnaNSmith/@annansmith - 5.3k

“Hey, Eddie?”

Buck’s voice rings softly in the quiet. A casual lilt on his tongue as he says his name.

“Hm?”

“Tell you something?”

Shrugging, Eddie keeps his eyes fixed at the ceiling above him.

“We got time.”

--

Or, how Buck shattered Eddie's entire world one night by confessing his love to him.

2. shout if you want my heart - hattalove / @hattalove - 5.8k

“I’m not even in the neighborhood of mad,” he says, instead of vomiting any of the thousand feelings warring inside him. “But Buck. This would’ve—this took you hours.”

“I’m good at multitasking,” Buck says, and Eddie can practically hear him shrugging over the phone. “I did all the cooking after I put Chris to bed, and then I got up a little earlier to get the cleaning and laundry done. It was nothing.”

Eddie’s starting to suspect he’ll have to wait for Buck to come back to make him understand that, actually, it kind of was everything.

or, eddie has a tupperware-induced emotional crisis.

3. find a way to you (if it kills me) - foxwatson / @eddiediazes - 19.5k

It’s something about the way Eddie phrases it. Something about the combination of his words and the way he’s staring down at the floor, and the flush in his cheeks and the way he’s fidgeting. Buck thinks, abruptly, he’s going to ask me on a date.

“Well I - wanted to tell you first, and I need someone to watch Chris, anyways - I know he’s getting old enough now he doesn’t like feeling like he’s got a babysitter, so I was hoping - sorry. Not the point. Uh. I have a date on Saturday.”

Just as abruptly as his own hopes had come soaring up above the cloud cover of his own unawareness - they go crashing back down to the floor - to the basement, and into the mud. “A date?” Buck rasps out.

or - the one where eddie decides to start dating again, buck figures out his own feelings just a minute too late, and then he spends a week going through the five stages of grief

4. Finding Home - S_lycopersicum / @slycopersicum-in-disguise - 4.4k

"Buck!" Eddie yelled as he turned his key in the loft door and dumped his suitcase inside.

He immediately got a startled "Eddie?" in response, and thank God for that because if Buck had been out running errands it would have been the last damn straw. But he was here, where Eddie needed him to be, and pounding down the stairs from the stupid platform thing he had instead of a normal bedroom. "Is everything OK?"

"No! You won't answer your goddamn phone and my house is full of bees."

5. counteroffer - buckleyseddie / @buckleyseddie - 25k

There’s a flicker of something across Buck’s face, but he quickly goes back to grinning. “You just want me at your beck and call.”

“Maybe I do.” Eddie shrugs. “You owe it to me.”

Buck sighs, as if put out, but Eddie can see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Okay, then what's it gonna be?”

Eddie hums thoughtfully. He takes his time trying to think of something good. “What about-” he starts.

And that’s the moment Buck licks his lips and Eddie’s eyes dip down to them. And before he knows what comes over him, before he can think the words through, they’re out of his mouth.

“A kiss,” he says.

Buck blinks at him. Eddie blinks back.

“You want a kiss,” Buck repeats, eyebrows rising.

***

Or in order for Buck to make it up to Eddie, Eddie suggests that Buck gives him one hundred kisses.

6. keep me as your finish line - thatbuddie (talktothesky) / @thatbuddie - 33k

“Oh no, we’re not doing this.” Chimney pops a bubble with the gum he’s been chewing as he moves one of his fingers back and forth to point between The-Man-who-isn’t-Buck’s-man-he’s-just-The-Man and Buck. “You didn’t drag me to the gym just so you can ditch me to fuck some guy in the showers."

Buck lowers his voice, leaning forward as if trying to make the words’s journey shorter between him and Chimney so they can’t escape and reach anyone else’s ears,“I wouldn’t fuck him in the showers.”

Chimney’s response is wordless in the form of an eyebrow raise.

“Not anymore, okay?” Buck clarifies, rolling his eyes. “That’s not who I am now."

(spoiler alert: Buck does fuck the guy in the showers. but that comes after nicknaming him Big Beautiful Brown Eyes, finding out his name is actually Eddie, becoming his best friend, and falling madly in love with him.)

7. bring me a higher love - KiaraSayre / @starsandatoms - 7.4k

The A-shift works 4/20, Buck gets accidentally high, and Eddie suffers.

8. home stretch of a hard time - spiritsontheroof - 4.2k

When Buck tells him that he’s engaging in a “year of possibilities” in which he isn’t saying to no anything, Eddie isn’t surprised. It’s exactly the kind of thing Buck would get himself into to break this slump he says he’s been in. He’s changing his life, or so he says.

9. tying you to me - rarakiplin (gmontys) / @hoediaz - 5.3k

“Diaz?”

The man — and it is Eddie Diaz, Buck can’t not see it now — blinks, and in a split second his expression shutters closed. “Buckley.”

Buck wonders if he looks different without Diaz’s blood on his face.

-

or, eddie and buck meet each other at rock bottom

10. Four Can Keep A Secret - Daisies_and_Briars / @cal-daisies-and-briars - 20k

When Ravi and Hen accidentally see Buck and Eddie, who are trying hard to keep their new relationship a secret, in the middle of a romantic moment, they try to make them confess without the rest of the station finding out. Shenanigans ensue.

#genuinely i know exactly where i was when i read each of these fics and some of them was like. a year ago #also genuinely there are SO many of my absolute favorite writers missing from this list but i will remedy that so soon so so soon #911 abc #weewoo brainrot #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #fic rec #911 fic rec

[corvidcentral]

Erm, Lich Scarab AU upon ye

Basically, the Lich possesses Scarab and uses Scarab’s powers and status to try and kill everything in every universe, and the entirety of F&C is the Lich steadily becoming more unstable and using the guise of gathering evidence against Prismo to try and complete his eradication goal :3

More art, some beta designs, and a complete au dump under cut!!

This is all copied from my rant in a discord server 😭

So, from what I’ve seen, it’s like the Lich can possess/manipulate people with unstable emotions or who are disillusioned with the world around them. Scarab, being a god auditor, often has to travel to different dimensions to track down wayward cosmic entities, and it’s canon (? The wiki said so) that the Lich can share memories between different dimensional variants of himself.

So basically, in some universes, Snail Lich sees this cosmic entity that’s just furious at everything and starts scheming. Basically, it starts stalking him the moment it senses he arrives in a dimension, and feeds off the negative energy. He then uses this energy to become more powerful, and eventually, in one universe the Lich breaks free and just beelines it towards Scarab

Don’t get me wrong, Scarab is a brutally efficient god auditor but he also does have a bit of a superiority complex and easily dismisses the threat that the Lich poses. He just goes about his job, disguised, until a Lich possessed old man asks disguised Scarab for some help with a chore

Scarab, wanting to keep his cover, reluctantly agrees, and then is ambushed by the old man turned Lich, who possess him in turn (and it’s canon that the Lich can, on some level, possess cosmic entities, as seen w/ New Death)

Course, because Scarab is a cosmic entity, he doesn’t die when he gets possessed, he just gets shoved into a dark corner of his mind and body. He’s like, freaking out, trying to rationalize to himself on how he was tricked so easily, and the Lich is like having a blast with a high ranked cosmic entity as a puppet/vessel

He also uses Scarab’s shapeshifter abilities to his complete advantage, and just parades around as Scarab. And, well, if other gods notice Scarab acting a bit more erratically, and if his eyes glow more green than red, and he’s quieter and more calculated, it’s just Scarab doing his job, right? Nobody really likes Scarab, anyway, so why do they care?

The only one who really notices that Scarab is Not Actually Scarab is Prismo, bcuz he got killed by the Lich before, and he can recognize that energy even if the Lich is putting on a perfect performance of a god auditor, inspecting him for some faulty readings (that being Fionna, Cake, and Simon)

Basically, the reason why Scarab was so fucking bonkers during the entire Fionna and Cake series was cuz of the Lich bending his body to the absolute limit trying to figure out how to properly take over the Time Room and eradicate every single living thing in all universes.

And during the Golbetty scene, Lich Scarab watches himself get cubized by Golb, does the whole attacking Simon before crawling into his head, and then just loses his mind in Fionna’s world

His drops the Scarab disguise and reveals the Lich face, along with his patchwork of other disguises and bones and stuff, and just goes ham on killing Fionna’s world

It’s not until another cosmic entity shows up and forcibly removes the Lich from Scarab that he gets complete control of his mind and body back, and while he’s back to “normal” he’s scarred pretty badly and has to step down as god auditor.

Prismo kinda takes pity on him and asks Orbo if Scarab can become a Wishmaster and Orbo is like “yea sure mate” and it actually really helps Scarab bcuz being out of his pain ridden body and being simplified does wonder to the mental health ya know

Not exactly Prohibitedwish but also they’re a lot more friendly with each other than in canon cuz Scarab owes Prismo for saving him from terrible pain

Scarab’s body does eventually get healed over the course of a few hundred years so by the time it’s like, mostly okay, Scarab wouldn’t be in pain for every time he moved. His body is still scarred badly, and his disguises share those scars, but yea!!

Also special shout out to Lily cuz she gave me Ideas >:3

It’s great :3

Pencil art/beta designs:

Bonus dumbass pic:

#my art #Lich Scarab AU #the lich #the lich adventure time #scarab the god auditor #scarab adventure time #scarab fionna and cake #adventure time au #au #adventure time #Fionna and cake

[oneatlatime]

The Storm

This post was delayed due to dumbass technical issues. I managed to save it from annihilation by the skin of my teeth, and learned an important lesson about saving drafts along the way.

Long time no blog. As it's currently storming where I am, I feel it's time to watch this one.

Aang in the opening credits has his tongue out like a dog on a car ride. Now picturing a car full of airbenders hanging their heads out the window.

It's been long enough since I watched one of these that I forgot that dream sequences tend to be tinted brown. Had a two second panic trying to remember the episode where Sokka learned airbending.

I wanted to see more of Gyatso but not like this!

Appa the morning person.

Hey Zuko's back. Haven't seen him in a few episodes. Pipi Longstocking hair is still doing him no favours. Also is he really pale this episode?

I feel like Zuko's intelligence varies wildly from episode to episode (usually to serve the plot) but this may be a new depth of dumbness: tell the crew to their faces that their lives don't matter. You know, the crew that prevents the thing you're standing on in the middle of the ocean from sinking. The crew that keeps you fed and actually going somewhere. That crew.

On the other hand, Zuko's method for creating mutiny may break a world record for efficiency. He's such a dumb smart guy.

I'm with Katara on this one. I don't like that swishing either. And if they're out of money, why were they in a market anyway?

And with a kick to the rear, this episode's 'violence towards Sokka for laughs' quota is filled.

Never before in the history of humanity's hubristic quest to tame the seas has a wharf ever been this clean.

And I'm with the crewman on this one too. Zuko's actions really do line up with him not caring about anything beyond his own concerns.

Talk about rock and a hard place for Iroh here. From what I've gathered, it's Zuko's ship, which means that Zuko's in charge of everything including keeping order. But, Zuko is also being unreasonable in the face of a very reasonable complaint from the crew. So Iroh has to pacify both while undermining neither, and not appear to be in command. Takes delicacy.

Appa gets a mooring! Also what is that cave back there?

I was hoping the show would bring this up! To anyone who isn't riding along on Aang's adventures, it sure does look like the Avatar disappeared when he was needed most, continued to stay gone no matter how bad things got, and then just reappeared randomly one day with seemingly no plan to set set things right. Did he reappear to fight the firelord? According to rumour, he reappeared to ride giant koi. What would the average person be left thinking? The fisherman is right. And Katara - will you please let Aang fight his own battles for once in his life?

Aang being the bravest person you know? Do you not remember this?

You know, this?

"That fisherman was way out of line."

Poor guy needs a blow dry. Should be possible, what with airbending and all. Didn't know that Appa had a goatee. Actually the facial hair in general in this show is pretty creative.

If this is going to be the exposition dump storytelling episode, we may all need an emotional support Momo.

These air scooter shenanigans are making me think that the first lesson airbenders learn is how to nullify motion sickness.

Is this the first airbending we see by someone that isn't Aang or Appa?

Someone's been taking fashion tips from Narcissa Malfoy.

Oh fuck off that's too much pressure for a kid. Nice Wisteria though.

Isn't the toys thing a thing in the real world? Something to do with the Dalai Lama?

If Avatars have to be told that they're the Avatar, that implies that they don't know instinctively. Theoretically, could an isolated avatar living in peace time go their whole lives without figuring it out?

Oh wise and learned council of airbenders, please tell me how relying on a 12 year old is going to save you from a war?

Baby Zuko! Baby scarless Zuko! He looks like just the prettiest little princess in these shots. Also, either this happened not all that long ago, or Zuko is majorly overdue a growth spurt, because he's maybe one inch shorter in this flashback. Also also, Pipi Longstocking hair doesn't work no matter how much hair you have to put up. Also also also, the whole reverse tonsure look he has going on in the present really downplays how round his face is. He's got chubby baby cheeks. Also also also also, if Zuko is as much of a prince as his title implies, he's right that he needs to know how to rule.

I have picked up over the course of this show the fact that the fire nation seems to prioritise aesthetic. But this is just ridiculous. And a bit on the nose too. A literal wall of fire dividing you from the commoners? Not even the commoners, the highly esteemed generals in charge of your war? How does this guy see or hear anything that's going on?

Katara asking Aang why he wouldn't be excited about being the Avatar seems out of character for me. Why exactly would he be excited about being catapulted to the number one spot on the fire nation's 'enemies of the state' list? It's not like Katara doesn't know what happens to people on that list.

Don't worry about these jerks. They'll all be immolated in a little bit.

Smelly kid jokes. That's some peak 90s comedy right there.

I love Gyatso. Solidly in Aang's corner and happy to advocate for his charge even against grumpy temple elders. Never loses sight of the fact that Aang is just a boy and needs balance.

This Zuko disrespecting old farts stuff is nonsense. Like when you get called in to HR for 'walking disrespectfully past Sherri's desk' or 'aggressive choice of footwear' and you know it's just because they're looking for a bullshit reason to fire you/force you to quit because the owner's nephew wants your job and they don't want to pay for severance or unemployment. If pointing out obvious flaws in objectively stupid plans is an offence worthy of an honour duel (I'm not even going to try and spell the actual name), then this guy needs to be dueled too:

He called bullshit too.

No

No no they're not actually going to

oh fuck no

hang on he doesn't have his scar yet is this going where I think it's going?

Back to idiot monks phew. Another rock and a hard place situation. Aang needs to be a normal 12 year old. The world needs a fully trained Avatar. The best they can do is a half trained 12 year old avatar. That would have ended well I'm sure.

Oh yeah just yank out the remainders of Aang's support system. That will certainly encourage him to quickly develop into a responsible adult, rather than an emotionally disturbed 12 year old with unmatchable uncontrolled powers. What were these monks thinking? Or were they thinking at all? Were they just panicking? Because only Gyatso seems to have his head on straight. Upset avatars destroy things - we've SEEN that - and these monks think the best way to turn Aang into the Avatar they need is to do something that will upset him probably more than any other possible thing? At least they didn't think to take away Appa too.

Katara's right. He does have a right to be angry. I like that this show gives the characters permission to feel.

Indulging my inner pedant for a minute, he never saw Gyatso alive again. His bones were in pretty good condition. Actually, given that firebenders killed him, why weren't his bones covered in scorch marks? Also, is that where all the other airbender skeletons went? Instant cremation?

The fisherman's right - the avatar did turn his back on the world. Aang's right - he did run away. Katara's right - not running away wouldn't have saved anyone. Kudos to a kids' show for not flinching from tackling topics that have no right answers. Yay nuance!

oh god here we go

Free life tip: If you ever see a dependent and/or child assume this position at the feet of their guardian, call the relevant authorities. Quickly.

And of course there's a crowd of hundreds too. Nothing like a little public mutilation of children to flex your power over the masses. This firelord's ego is so fragile.

So that's where the scar comes from. Also the firelord's line about learning respect casts a new light on when Zuko said he'd teach respect to the crewman at the beginning of the episode. Guess he was channelling the firelord.

Big repsect to Zuko for the above. He's never lacked in bravery. This is the opposite of the "shameful weakness" nonsense.

"Things will never return to normal." THANK YOU

Why is Zuko in such a hurry to go home to that anyway? Seems like the only person who likes him is his uncle, and he's travelling with him.

This is odd. I've always felt like I know Aang, and hearing his story this episode just confirms that I do know him, who he is, what makes him tick. And it lets me know him better. I've deepened an already deep understanding of who he is. However, I thought I had a surface (if jumbled) understanding of Zuko, but hearing his story this episode, and especially the final series of shots, the way they frame him as alone in darkness contrasted with brightly lit memories, makes me sure that I've never known Zuko at all. Who is this guy? I feel like this is meeting him for the first time.

There's also definitely something worth examining in the fact that Aang tells his own story but Iroh tells Zuko's (beyond the fact that Aang is the only person left who could tell his story).

Thank god some comic relief. Not a moment too soon.

I didn't know firebenders could do that. Judging by his face, I don't think he did either.

The judgmental energy in this shot is unparalleled.

"I'm not but I still don't wanna!" This old couple has some seriously good lines.

Appa saves the day once again, this time with an assist from the Avatar powers. I swear if Appa's existence was paired with Sokka's brain they could do the Avatar's job no problem.

Zuko apologises. That is good. But is it Iroh he should be apologising to?

"I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it." A lovely message to conclude a show on. But are we going to gloss over the whole 'father mutilates his son BARELY offscreen' thing?

Appa shakes!

Final Thoughts

This section could very easily devolve into increasingly hysterical ranting about the whole ZUKO JUST GOT HALF HIS FACE BURNED OFF AS A FORM OF COURT ENTERTAINMENT thing. Lord have mercy the fire nation is fucked up. To prevent that, I am going to share one thought, and only one thought on that fiasco:

this is the first time I've really felt that I'm not the target audience of this show. If I had seen this at 8 or 10 years old, I would have been appropriately mad at the firelord for doing such a bad thing, but it would have made perfect sense, because he's a bad guy, and they have to do bad guy things. It's what makes them bad guys. As an adult, with more knowledge in general, but especially about things like power dynamics and the long term consequences of child abuse, I am valiantly fighting not to spiral down a path of horrific implications because I want to be able to sleep tonight. From both a political and a familial point of view, there was no one (who wasn't 12 and frozen) who could have stepped in. It was the firelord who did it; it appears that there is no one above him in the fire nation hierarchy. It's Zuko's father who did it; good luck getting a kid to stand up to a father in front of an audience of hundreds in a culture that obviously worships a bastardised concept of respect (zuko tried though). Iroh couldn't (or wouldn't) interfere on either political or familial grounds. As an adult, seeing a child (because Zuko may be 16 in the show but that boy kneeling is BABY) stuck in such a situation, knowing there's literally no way to get out of it, no hero going to swoop in and save the day, no judicial process to dish out consequences, well that's hard to watch. And that's all I'll say about that.

Here's a thought: did the avatar (not Aang, but the figure/concept of the Avatar) disappearing fail Zuko, and by extension the fire nation, as much as it failed the other three nations? And the natural follow-along to that thought: did the fire nation attacking the rest of the world hurt the fire nation as much as it hurt the rest of the world?

Aang made a mistake many years ago by running away. He gets to redeem himself by not running away and saving Sokka and the fisherman. Zuko made a mistake at the beginning of the episode by undervaluing the lives of his crew (to their faces, no less). He gets to redeem himself by saving the helmsman and letting the Avatar pass in favour of getting the crew to safety. But I don't think these stories are really parallel. Aang's natural impulse was the mistake. He learned from it, modified his behaviour, and did better the next chance he got. Zuko's natural impulse was to act as he should have. He was taught (violently) that this was incorrect behaviour, and modified his behaviour based on his father's teachings. This modification (not valuing the crew) is the mistake. In Zuko's case, learning from the experience and modifying his behaviour actually means unlearning the lesson he was taught and reverting to his former behaviour. Aang's natural state needed modification; Zuko's externally imposed behaviour needed to be forgotten. Not parallel.

Aang = hope is an interesting conclusion. It's only possible for him to represent hope because he dashed everyone's hopes by disappearing and staying gone. If the avatar had defeated the fire nation 100 years ago and prevented a war from ever happening, he would not have been a symbol of hope. I don't know what he would have been a symbol of, but it's the fact that he's been gone long enough for things to get really bad that makes him a symbol of hope in the present. So if Aang was always meant to be hope, then he was always meant to get frozen.

Aang = hope is also interesting in that it positions Zuko on the side of the enemies of the fire nation. If Aang represents hope to the world, and Aang represents hope to Zuko, then Zuko is not on the Fire Nation side of the conflict (whether he knows it or not).

The humour in this episode was minimal but very welcome. The old couple was heaps of fun, Sokka got a couple of good lines (although never enough - still waiting on a Sokka episode), and the juxtaposition of humour and very serious themes was artfully handled. It was never jarring or tonally off. The switching back and forth between the two story threads was well done too, especially how they tied in at the end.

I'm kind of annoyed that Katara got relegated to shouty defender of the actually-a-little-bit-guilty or Agony Aunt. She deserves better. I'm not at all annoyed that Momo filled the role of cuddle administration. That was lovely to see.

It didn't even occur to me to check if the art/animation in this episode was pretty. That's usually a primary concern with me, but I was too wrapped up in the plot to notice.

I can't believe a kids' show went there, but they did. And they did it well. This episode felt much longer than 20-ish minutes, in a good way. It was packed. Definitely going on my rewatch list.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the storm #avatar the last airbender

[yumenotambourin]

Can you tell me more about your Elfilis pleaaseeee

AAA TYSM FOR ASKING!!!s

Okay so I’m not really good with open questions, but I’ll just dump whatever comes to my mind, if you want to know something specific feel free to ask!! I’ve been rotating them in my mind nonstop for two years I’d never be able to write everything.

First of all, my Lizzie is the Ultimate Lifeform. What does that mean, you may ask? Well, to put it simply, they are meant to* be the pinnacle of evolution, a being capable of anything, a being that cannot be outmatched.

*I say they are meant to because they are not a product of evolution. They are an angel birthed by Void’s feeling of being alive(???).

So, Elfilis is the perfect being. And knowing this has made them grow arrogant and self absorbed, although not exactly with malice. They are aware that they are genetically superior to any other being in the universe, and they treat others (who they call “inferior beings”) with I don’t really know how to explain this but with less disdain and more condescension. They essentially treat everyone around them like a little child might treat bugs: as tiny, insignificant things who can be fun to watch but even more to squash.

That’s kinda why they destroy planets, too. They just think it’s fun, and they genuinely don’t see anything wrong within it because they see themselves as above “pointless inferior concepts” such as morality. They also never really had a home, instead they travel from planet to planet, only briefly stopping to rest before blowing them up with no remorse, so they have little to no concept of consequences or society, and they dismiss these things as being below them. Also, they don’t destroy these planets due to ill feelings, in fact they love visiting different ones, but they simply don’t see the point in letting the planets continue existing after they’ve seen them (sorry if I’m not explaining well I’m just a bit tired)

Btw going on a little tangent here but today I was translating old Japanese mouce posts and one of them said “I find their arrogance inspiring” 😭 emoji)I mean I get what they’re saying, and honestly same but not worded it like that 😭 but maybe I have to look better what each word means.

Throughout their unmeasurably long existence, Elfilis never even thought of the possibility of being defeated. They are a smart mous, but they are also painfully overconfident and reckless to a fault. Which is, for example, why they let themself be run over, or get captured in the first place.

Lizzie was captured with guns. They might have healing abilities, but when the thing that hurts you stays inside of their body it actually made it worse. So they were shot until they passed out from the pain.

While in captivity, Elfilis spent the vast majority in their dream world, using it to explore the outside through the visitors’ memories and trying their best to pretend like everything is alright, waking only to see Neichel.

Btw, they’re very torn on their feelings towards Neichel, because on one hand she kept them company and stood by their side the entire time and they grew attached to her, while on the other hand she stole their song and exploited them like the rest, plus the sole fact that she is a human.

Also the New Worlders' feelings about Elfilis were mixed between fear, wonder and tenderness(like 🥺), no matter how much hatred one could hold for a being who attempted to destroy their planet, for nearly everyone it vanished the moment they saw how beautiful and miserable this creature was.

But Lab Discovera was sooo close to develop technology beyond anything humanity could've ever imagined, and if they frred the mous they'd have all the more reason to turn this planet to dust. So its better to keep them caged, right...?

Anyways, their decision to split was a stupid impulsive choice they made in the heat of the moment during a failed attempt at escape. They figured that by ejecting all their feelings would’ve allowed them to reason better, and the half of themself outside could help the half of them inside escape. They certainly didn’t expect to spawn two babies and condemn them to suffer for millennia.

In the present, Elfilis greatly loves their little ones, and takes on the role of the cool older sibling for them. They want the Gemini to be as happy as possible to make up for all the suffering they’ve put them through. Btw, they don’t want the babies to necessarily follow their footsteps, but they want them to at least be aware that they, too, are perfect like their sibling.

Btw they despise Kirby for being a “bad influence” on Elfilin and for trying to prevent them from existing just cause he made a little friend and for running them over, but they tolerate him because he undoubtedly makes their babies happy.

They also often pick on Meta Knight, mainly to tease Elfilin cause he admires him, but also cause they see that he’s trying to make himself look cooler by acting the way Galacta is (falsely) portrayed in the present and they think its funny.

Btw the were also a Gucci Gangster, specifically the healer of the team. Due to void shenanigans they can’t remember much of their other two friends, but meeting Kirby and Meta Knight unlocked their memories of Galacta. They miss him very much but they’re somehow sure they’d be able to bring him back one way or another.

Okay so its 2 am so that’s all for today, I repeat I’m not too good with open questions so if you want to know more please feel free to ask!!!

#gatorade #ask #elfilis #fecto elfilis #headcanons

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Feet on the Ground

Sweet Treats AU Masterlist

Girls being girls and getting out.

Please let me know what you think <3

🥧🥧🥧

You huddle down as you stand between the shelves, Coco watching over your shoulder as you try not to tremble into a puddle. Every now and then, she squeezes your arm to assure you it’s okay. She doesn’t really know that, you see it in her eyes, but it’s nice to have someone who cares.

She stands straighter suddenly and sucks in her breath sharply. She squints as you look at her face and she whispers, barely moving her lips, “she’s here. Don’t hurry.”

She turns and leads you down to the far end of the aisle, stopping to browse the books before continuing down the other side. You mimic her, slowly making your way across the library with her. Finally she stops beside one of the catalogue computers. You glance over at the figure standing at it, a grey hoodie pulled up over their head.

“You came,” Coco keeps her voice low.

“In a heartbeat,” Candy scoffs as she scrolls through a page of results, “what the fuck are you wearing?”

Coco lets out a soft chuckle. You shift on your feet and tuck your hands into the pockets of your too big jeans. “We got them out of a Goodwill bin,” you fill in.

Candy turns and looks at you. She smiles. “Let’s get out of here first.”

Coco nods and shuffles to the lead as she heads towards the doors. You follow behind Candy, trying not to seem too obvious. You head out to the street and they walk shoulder to shoulder as you tail them closely.

“They showed up at Sam’s. They’re already looking. Don’t know how long it took them to notice I booted.”

“Shit,” Coco huffs.

“I got money, clothes, a few other things. Not much but doesn’t look like have more than that.”

“No, got out with the clothes on our backs. We dumped those in the bin and traded them out,” Coco explains, “don’t know where to go now.”

“There’s nowhere we can go,” you chime in, “they’re gonna be so mad.”

“They already were, Birdy. What do you think was gonna if we stayed? What was going to keep happening? I should’ve left years ago. Fuck those men. Fuck the family, the friends who let us fall into their clutches. We’ll find somewhere.”

“Can’t be obvious,” Candy says, “the first place they’ll look is our pasts. No parents, no friends, can’t even hit up one of my old sugar daddies.”

“So where?” Coco asks.

“Need an ID for a hotel. And shelters won’t be safe enough. AirBnB? Or we hide somewhere, just until we figure this out. Not everything about us is trackable. It can’t be. We just have to think.”

You chew your lip and your head pulses as you dig. Deep. You didn’t have much before Steve, he knew that, he used it against you. By making himself the only one and he didn’t even want you. Your tears startle you, seeping down hotly before you can notice.

“We should take a train. Not stop,” you offer, “or a bus. Then find somewhere to sort it out.”

They’re quiet as you blend into the hustle of the New York rush. Hiding in plain sight. Not a second glance.

“Fair,” Candy accepts, “and the others? Do we try?”

“I don’t know,” Coco rasps, “Muffin and Darling, they’re not in the city anyways. I’m sure they’re gone by now. Kitty? Maybe but we really can’t risk waiting around any longer. If we try to get to her through a stream, that’s dangerous but it’s the only way.”

“Princess?” You wonder, recalling the young girl who reminded you of yourself.

“Yeah, with Stark surveillance?” Coco clicks her tongue, “I don’t want to just leave them to it but we have no chance now. Maybe later, but not now.”

“You’re right,” Candy agrees, “and I think I have an idea. Where we can hide out.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Little trick from my college days. Bit illegal but what does that matter?”

“Let’s do it,” you say, your heart in your throat, “I want to be free. Just for a little longer.”

#steve rogers #dark steve rogers #dark!steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #drabble #dark!drabble #dark drabble #sweet treats #au #avengers #mcu #marvel #captain america

[kingofplayer2]

Day 24

Okay so I'm trying to write the rest of the western story, and because I committed to much to the goofy western accent voice I'm having a hard time actually getting words down so I'm just gonna kinda dump some lore and explain where the plot is supposed to be going. 1. They return to Tilly's home to find it destroyed. Tilly learns more English along the way and becomes soft spoken, but much more proficient in the language. 2. Unfortunately, she's a cute girl in a lawless wasteland which leads to some unsavory fellows following her. The disguise is to make her look less like Tilly and more like green mage if he had a cowboy hat and a bandana. This brings less attention to Tilly and the Narrator.

3. Tilly wants to adopt the life the narrator has. Become a vigilante in the old west & other classic cowboy things. The narrator thinks it's a bad idea because she's a girl, (bruh moment) but in reality he knows she's capable enough he's just scared of losing her.

4. Time continues to progress and Tilly ditches the disguise. Lots of questions are raised, but Tilly is pretty chill to explain her story to people.

5. Oh no! Here we see bad dude trying to get at Tilly because he's got beef with the Narrator and wants him to "pay back" for what he did all those years ago.

6. Pretty much he called out the other dude for cheating in cards, lead to this whole gunfight. Dude got thrown into prison and now wants to kill the narrator.

7. The narrator accepts the duel to ensure Tilly's safety. Tilly then proceeds to pull a Mulan and go out in the Narrator's place. She dons her old disguise.

8. The reason Tilly's disguise looks the way it does is it's actually the narrator's clothes. Probably should've mentioned that. The narrator also hid his face in most circumstances because he's black and ppl are racist in the old west.

9. We frame with the line, "It doesn't matter what you look like, what matters is how fast you can draw," as Tilly absolutely destroys this man. She's got the reflexes

10. Framed as a big western story about the stories of the untold cowboy Tilly and how she saved the Narrator's life.

I honestly really like these characters and their backstories so I might look into doing something more with them at some other time. I've got a lot of research to do regarding the west in the 1890s to 1920s. I kept everything like the Native American tribes all vague as to avoid making any wrong judgement calls. Most of what I was going off of is what I remember from that time I watched Wind Walker last year.

Anyway. I'll pick this up later, maybe scrap the first half in the voice and keep it 3rd person. Figure out the Narrator's name and other details. That's it for today!

#kingofplayer2 #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing

[just-eyris-things]

okay eyris rambling lets fucking goooo (because i dont remember if i've said any of this before)

soto spoilers so imma put a read more riiiight here.

So I was thinking and then I did some more thinking and then I thought some more! In conclusion: I've been thinking a lot lately. About Eyris.

Honestly, SotO fucking sucks for her.

All your friends and family are either dead or have left you because they have their own lives (and that's okay!!). Your girlfriend kinda disappeared without a world so I guess she dumped you. Your dragon child went for a long-ass nap, your life-long mission that you've tried so hard to avoid for most of your life is finally over and in theory you finally have what you've always wanted: freedom. There is no more Wyld Hunt, no more lose threads to pick up on. Your mission is over and you can rest peacefully in a shadow of a tree with a book in one hand and Elonian wine in the other.

So why do you feel so empty? Why do you feel like a part of you is gone now that it's all over?

So after the entire Oni business is over in Cantha, Eyris finally returns to Tyria. She tries to rest at Whale Tail Island and fails miserably. Sitting idly is not doing her any good. She hates how the moment she gets to sit down and relax, she immediately starts overthinking and having nightmares. She hates how all the problems that she avoided adressing are now resurfacing. So, she leaves for the Shiverpeaks. She could try to find Freya, right? She went missing after Bjora's Marches so...

SOTO SPOILERS BEGIN HERE. THEY SMOL BUT THEY STILL THERE.

While it keeps her occupied and she meets another norn, Yagna (more about Yagna in another post that I will eventually make, but here she goes for your "looking orbs" needs),

Eyris gets a call from "Caithe". By the Bear, she is sooo happy! Finally she's needed again. But she isn't aware of those feelings. Eyris just sighs heavily and says "well... I guess she's really gone...", then proceeds to go to the Grove to meet Caithe. Right after she gets it over with with the Reporter, she gets an unexpected letter - a letter from an old acquaintence and a Whispers agent, Laeyrin.

Laerin wants Eyris to investigate the disappearance of Wizard Tower in Garrenhoff. Eyris was hesitant but she agreed. She had nothing to do anyway. Laerin gives Eyris a little private comm device for the two of them only (she omits that latter info) and sends her on her way.

So we have:

Eyris, lost, traumatised, running away from confronting her past which causes her to get send into the demon realm

Laerin, who wants to slither back in because she's bored.

Peitha, Eyris's new brainworm. Eyris doesn't want to trust her. Eyris would still choose Peitha over her sadistic ex. Also she somehow finds Peitha's presence comforting. Peitha being in her brain somehow resembles the connection to the Dream and to Airell. Yes, it's a bit more intense since Eyris feels like she has NO privacy and that Peitha's watching and hearing EVERYTHING but... She'll take it. Eyris leans into it because something about Peitha is drawing her in. Idk, something something Eyris is trying to subconsciously replace Freya and Peitha is RIGHT THERE.

Okay ramble over. Two minor points left.

This is not where I was going when I started writing this post and

I was thinking "What if Freya and Eyris reunited in teh Wizard land or in Nayos but idk how to get Freya there so for now I am shelving this idea until I figure out how that could happen and if I realise there's no way - it goes into the idea trash can.

THANK YOU SORRY FOR THE LONG POST BYE--

[dazzlingskydreams]

02 Arukenimon and Mummymon Headcanons

I was bored at the weekend and wrote these up. Figured I'd put them up here.

Let's get the usual one out of the way: They reconfigured fine and are out in the digital world. My personal preference is them coming back 1-2 years after 02; but, at the latest, the events of Tri 3-4 years later definitely brought them back anyway. (To the point that I'm not sure if this is even headcanons territory anymore; but I'll roll with it since they haven't appeared since.)

They didn't turn into eggs though. Oikawa programmed them as Ultimates, and that's all the data that the digital world had to work off of. So after trying to regress them and repeatedly calling up errors, the digital world basically gave up and dumped them, fully grown, into the digital world. Whatever location made the most sense at the time.

The kids know they're back, but they don't particularly mind. As long as the duo don't cause too much trouble; all is good.

They have no reason to be villains anymore, so they're basically off being chaotic-neutral together. Don't bother them and they probably won't bother you. (Unless you're Myotismon. In that case, you fully deserve whatever you have coming.)

They're usually in the digital world now. There's more for them to do there. On rare occasions; however, they go and have a look around the human world as well. 

They got their old jeep back. Mummymon takes excellent care of it and cleans it everyday. He's very attached to his car. Arukenimon just likes not having to walk everywhere.

Mummymon got his pink apron back too. I don't care how. It's back dammit! 

Mummymon talks to the Oikawa butterflies. At length, about anything. They're the boss after all. He needs to keep them updated. Plus the boss could be lonely! It must be hard to have rewarding conversations as butterflies. Oikawa can't respond but is happy.

Arukenimon is too cool to talk to the butterflies. Instead she takes their presence as a sign that she should be doing something. If there's a bunch of them together in one place; she will look for something nearby to get involved in. Chaos may or may not ensue. Oikawa, uh, usually appreciates the gesture. 

Mummymon's trauma from watching Arukenimon die means that his recklessness increases 100% if he thinks she's in any possible danger. He'll put his life on the line to make sure he never has to see her like that again. Arukenimon doesn't like seeing the idiot get badly hurt, especially for stupid reasons; but her difficult personality means she can currently only get this across by yelling at him and calling him names afterwards. 

Arukenimon tries to  offset her trauma partly by laughing at the incredibly embarrassing way Myotismon was finally taken down. She likes to imagine that the power of children's dreams took the form of fluffy kittens, plush toys, sweets, and rainbows that slowly beat him to death. If she ever finds him; she'll be sure to rub it in.

Arukenimon and Mummymon do eventually become a proper couple. It just takes Arukenimon another couple of years, and possibly a sharp shock to the system, to accept his feelings. Their dynamic doesn't change that much. 

Arukenimon can't cook. The one time she did, everyone got food poisoning. Mummymon got it the worst since he ate everyone's portions so she wouldn't be upset. Oikawa banned her from the kitchen afterwards. 

Mummymon's human form may look weird, but on the rare occasion that he's in Akihabara people just think he's a dude with amazing cosplay skills. He gets asked for advice and doesn't know how to respond. 

Mummymon reads horoscopes (yeah, pretty obvious where I got that one from). Not just his own; everyone's. He'll read them loudly at breakfast if he can get away with it. He's most interested in the love horoscopes, mind. He knows which ones to check because he was desperately trying to figure it out one day and Oikawa told him to shut him up. 

Arukenimon likes fine fabrics. Not just for drapes, for everything. She's a spider; she appreciates these things. She also loves Mummymon's cooking. She won't admit to that one though.

Mummymon is good with small children. He has strong papa energy. (Human children are included if they aren't scared of him.)

Arukenimon was created first. That's why Oikawa is showing her off proudly at Hiroki's grave. Mummymon's creation time was much shorter, since Oikawa had the process perfected by that point. 

The human forms weren't planned. They were just a side-effect of Oikawa using human DNA as a template. The design of the human forms was also 100% up to chance. Oikawa considers it a useful bonus. 

Bonus: I'm not saying that it definitely happened; but there is a strong possibility that Oikawa got drunk and dragged Mummymon to one of those karaoke places at least once. Lots of romantic ballads and Enka hits were heard from one of the rooms.

#Headcanons #Digimon #Digimon 02 #Digimon adventure 02 #Arukenimon #Mummymon #Archnemon #Yukio Oikawa #Headcanon #Pink apron

[ozziesjester]

I love your South Park si so much I would love to know more about him (this is also a reason to talk about South Park bc I know sweet fuck all besides what I played of fractured but whole which was not a whole lot)

OH I WOULD LOVE TO INFODUMP ABOUT HIM lemme put this under a readmore incase it gets long

ok ok so. he's based loosely off the new kid in the fractured but whole. charlie and his parents lived in denver before his mother died. his father fell into a deep depression and decided moving away from the memories of her would be the best route. also he became an alcoholic and stopped taking care of himself and all that. worth noting as well that charlie is a carbon copy of his mother, which led to a lot of...... complicated.... feelings from his father toward him

charlie was diagnosed with autism around 5 years old when he never started talking, so he was homeschooled up until moving to south park. his dad figured he could socialize with kids his age and get him out of the house for 8 hours a day so, win win LMAO

ofc around this time charlie doesn't know he's trans (or really what transgender is, he is very sheltered), and he tries hanging around the other girls but they don't really. Get him. everyone keeps trying to make him talk and try to put makeup on his face and he hates how it feels so he stops.

the Guys, though? they seem cool. they're playing outside in the dirt with silly costumes on, and charlie wants to be a part of it! he starts hanging around the back during their games, sort of trailing behind them because he wants to Belong somewhere.

i don't really consider him Part of the main group of guys? honestly, i think he's closest with butters and kenny. kenny likely told him what transgender is and got everyone to start referring to him as charlie, even if most the time they just call him soup. not like he can really object to it, plus they like him enough to give him a nickname so it's Fine

...honestly i'm kind of stream of consciousness-ing here so i'm gonna write if i think the boys would respect soup's identity

stan: was confused, didn't know what transgender was. asked his dad what it meant and got "the liberals are transing the kids" lectured by randy, so he decided he was fine with it to spite him kyle: is transgender. yes kenny: he's fine with it if soup shows him his boobs eric: ....i'm conflicted. i think Yes but only because he thinks it'd be unfair to be a huge dick to a girl, so he can be mean to soup because he's a boy

OKAY RIGHT ANYWAY. i don't have a specific character i ship soup with... i think he's kinda passed around the group because he goes along with anything. it's Stan's Turn to watch the resident autistic kid. he hangs out at stan's house a lot actually. randy is drinking buddies with soup's dad so he sleeps over sometimes

soup's dad is also friends with mrs. cartman, the two are so amazed that their children get along so well. papa campbell remarks that charlotte's always had such trouble making friends, and liane laments her poor eric has the same issue. meanwhile upstairs cartman is convincing soup to sit still so he can give him a lobotomy

soup is just so happy to make friends. he doesn't really care that they're all a bunch of douchebags that nearly get him killed on a weekly basis, he likes being around them. i think he likes kenny the most... randy likes HIM but the feeling is. probably not mutual

thank you so much for the chance to dump soup lore oh my god this shit has been festering in my brain for years ily if you read all this muah <3

#puppy answers #soup tag #i love my boy

[maple-the-awesome]

We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Chapter 17

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN Reader

Words: 2,593

Overview: Given your old-fashioned personality and obsession with all things 1940s to 1980s, it’s no wonder that most people refer to you as an ‘old soul’ who would’ve rather lived back then than in the modern era. Little do they know, you already did, but with your previous life as Hollie Stark cut short, you’ve been left with some…unfinished business, to say the least. Top of your list? Finally getting to marry your thought-to-be-lost fiancé.

Series Masterlist 🤎 Marvel Masterlist 🤎 Fandom Masterlist

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: FORGIVE AND FORGET

At first, you had stood a few feet behind Steve, having followed him into the room intending to be an active part of whatever conversation would transpire there, however you've since given up on that plan.

You counted three glances from Bucky. The first was almost immediate when you approached, long and trapped on your figure as he groggily groaned your name. You're not too sure how much he remembers about the last few hours, but it didn't seem to take him long to at least realize his current situation.

After that, his glances were mere blinks that happened to pass over you before darting away to literally anywhere else be it the floor or roof, even down his shirt if it avoided your gaze. His words would fall silent then, his words escaping him with a stumble. That's when you decided it best to leave the room.

Even in absences, you don't go too far, in fact you only move out of sight, leaned against the wall outside where you can still listen somewhat, although Bucky's voice is so scratchy and quiet, it makes his sentences difficult to hear properly. Thankfully, Steve speaks much louder; purposefully, it seems, given how he also tends to rephrase whatever Bucky had said first before giving his own reply. He must be trying to make it easier for you to hear what's going on and stay in the loop despite your distance. Bless him.

A lot's said between the trio, some of which you've already known. You didn't need any refresher on what Bucky remembers about Steve or even the existence of certain words that can set off the Winter Soldier; he's confided in you all of that. What Bucky hadn't ever told you about was the apparent existence of other super soldiers under HYDRA.

It felt like cold water dumped over your body to hear him admit it. Yes, you've never exactly asked whether HYDRA made more super soldier copies, however with something that big - that dangerous - you'd think Bucky would've mentioned it beforehand. Did he not trust you with this information? Did he not think it was important, merely something that would fade away with time? Well, it's important now. According to him, that man who set off the Winter Soldier was asking about the location where the others should be kept; enough to form an army or make an empire fall, as Steve put it.

Fiddling with your fingers, you wait not so patiently on your own, trying to distract yourself from all your burning thoughts by studying details of this broken down warehouse until you hear footsteps to your right. Glancing up, you meet Steve's eyes. He says nothing, but nods; wordlessly permission, as you take it.

From there, you're free to enter the room by yourself. You move slowly, keeping a watchful eye for any reaction on Bucky's part, although he remains hunched over, running his flesh hand through his hair. As for his metal arm, it's no longer entrapped in the press like it had been originally, meaning he must be in a good enough mental state to not run, at least per Steve's judgment anyways (not that you'd argue).

"Bucky...? Are you okay...?"

He doesn't look at you, "...What did I do?"

You're tempted to play dumb and act like you don't understand his question, but that won't help anyone here, will it? So, you move even closer instead, cautiously kneeling in front of him which allows you to be at eye level since he refuses to give you the attention you're searching for otherwise.

"Well, a lot of those government agents are going to be sore for the next few days, let's put it that way. I guess you tried to make a run for it afterwards - according to Steve anyways -"

"- You don't know? I thought you were there -..." He finally looks at you, but when he does, his surprised words die in his throat with a whimper. Initially, you assume it must be out of irritation - a growing annoyance with the situation that he doesn't want to risk taking out on you, thus he shuts his mouth, however there's a different look in his eyes that tells you a different answer; a horrified look.

This overflow of emotion behind his light eyes confuses you until his metal hand slowly inches towards you then suddenly freezes in place with a quiver. Although it doesn't reach its destination and it takes you a moment to realize where said destination would've been, you're upset to have that information click in your head.

"James."

He breaths your name with a broken voice, " I...I hurt you-"

"-Oh, don't you dare," you cut him off sternly, sitting up slightly to cup his cheeks in your hands. He flinches against this touch which would normally be your cue to release him and apologize, but right now you're going to choose to be a little selfish.

Your hands remain firm yet soft against his cheeks, your thumb ever so delicately brushing against his cheekbone as you take your time examining his features. Then, you smile dreamily,"...I'm so glad you're safe, Bucky. Do you know how worried I was when you ran off - and I'm not just talking about back at the apartment, I mean at the government facility, too."

"I had you worried...?" He asks in disbelief. Any other day, he might've scoffed at such a ridiculous idea, however he just sounds like a shaken child with a hint of wonder and curiosity behind his words.

"Uh-huh. I thought you were going to disappear somewhere I couldn't find you, that or you were going to get caught by the man and put through another cycle of abuse like in HYDRA..."

Over the stubble around his chin and the smudges of dirt on his skin, your eyes eventually reach his, studying the complex color that often tends to change in the light as you've noticed. Right now, they're dark, nearly appearing green yet when he turns his head ever so slightly to lean into your touch at last, they capture a glimmer of sun that proves their icy shade.

You sigh heavily, unable to rip your gaze away from him as if stuck in a trance, "...I can't lose you, James."

'Twenty six', you remind yourself sadly. Twenty six now, twenty six then...How terrible would it be to keep losing Bucky at this age? You definitely don't want to make that a pattern. For some crazy reason, you've been able to remember him into a new life, allowing you this special chance to protect him and keep him safe; you gotta make the most of it...

A bit too quickly per his own judgment, Bucky's flesh hand rests over yours. He surprises himself by this action, freezing immediately in waiting for you to react negatively. Against his expectations, you don't shove him away or give him even the slightest sign of anger. You remain where you are, that small tug against your lips telling him it's okay to gently take hold of your hand and give it a squeeze.

"...I could've killed you," he wanted to say something else in the moment and maybe you know that deep down, but whatever those words could've been, they go unspoken, buried in thought alone when he chases another excuse he already knows will be hopeless against your stubbornness.

"Don't you go feeling guilty over something that was out of your control, Barnes. What happened back there was the Winter Soldier. Whatever HYDRA put inside your head, it takes you over completely and gives you no freewill. It's not you.

"We've lived together for the last two years and you've never done a single thing to harm me - and you never did a single thing to harm me before that either. You're a good person, James. You spent every Monday morning helping Rosetta take her groceries up to her apartment, you helped that kid get his cat out of a tree last month - Oh, and you sat through the entire extended cuts of Lord of the Rings with me yesterday! Not a single complaint!"

Bashfully, he turns his head, "...Anyone could do those things..."

"But they don't! Do you know how many times I begged Steve to watch just the theatrical cuts with me? Absolute refusal! I mean, seriously, is he that old that he can't sit through a mere nine hours of film? It's not that bad! It wasn't that bad, was it? Eleven hours plus? You looked like you loved them!"

Bucky chuckles, a sound that goes straight to your heart and is shown through your beaming expression.

Although more serious, your voice is still soft, "...If I thought you were at fault for what happened, I wouldn't be here now, James. I would want to be as far from you as possible, not wanting to risk my record let alone life, but I don't think you're at fault.

"I know you, better than anyone else, if I may be as bold. I knew how scared you were going to be when you came back to, so I refused to leave your side even with Steve glaring daggers at me. I wanted to be here to tell you this: that you're just as much a victim in what's going on and that I want to help in whatever way I can. I want to make whoever that guy was pay for ruining what you've worked so hard to build in these last few years and I want to make sure there's zero chance of anyone harming you through blackmail or the Winter Soldier again...Do you understand me?"

After a moment, Bucky relaxes and leans further into your touch with closed eyes. Once he opens them again, his flesh hand trails up and ever so softly grazes the dark bruises against your throat, ones that took no time at all forming. They're mostly red with a little purple outlining the shape of fingers stretching on each side; nothing that won't heal for you, although Bucky might see them for much longer.

"Bucky," you practically sing his name for his attention yet it takes a few seconds to have an effect.

"...I can't lose you either..."

Your heart skips a beat, your smile faltering for a moment in surprise. Moving your hand around in his, you make it to where you can bring both of them in between yours, holding them gently over your heart.

"And you won't,"...you never have... "I think you'll find I'm a lot harder to get rid of than expected, Barnes. We're tied together, you and I, so better get used to it!"

You soak in the look of his smile and the ever so quiet blow of air through his mouth. You could stay here like this all day if someone lets you, keeping him happy and safe in your company where you feel he's always belonged. It's moments like this that you feel so sure - so sure that this is exactly why you were reborn with your memories: to be here for Bucky; to be here with Bucky.

When you stand to leave, he doesn't follow with, letting his hand fall out of yours as he hesitates in place. Sensing his remaining doubts, you quietly tell him to take his time gathering his likely jumbled thoughts while you go check on the others.

You nearly jump out of your skin when walking around the corner to find Steve standing there, leaning against the same spot you had once been earlier. He kicks his foot against the ground, giving a half nod towards the other side of the warehouse, "Sam's doing a perimeter check. We're gonna try to sneak out of here once the coast is clear."

"Nice," Stuffing your hands into your pockets, you awkwardly rock on your heels, "Good, good..."

Steve himself is equally as awkward, looking around at no place in particular before his eyes return to you, "...How are you holding up?"

There was uncertainty in his voice. He doesn’t seem confident in the exact wording of that question and you don't truly know how to answer aside from, "Fine. You?"

"Fine."

Silence. God. Awful. Silence.

"...And how did you feel talking to Bucky? Isn't that...weird for you?" Where does he even take this conversation? How the hell do you talk to the reincarnation of your best friend's fiancée?

You shrug, walking towards the other side of the warehouse with Steve following your trail closely, "Of course it's weird. I'm just kinda used to it at this point...Well, for the most part anyways…I mean, yeah, it hurts biting my tongue and not being able to tell him how I feel or mention anything about our past together, but what can I really do?"

"You could tell him-"

"- Which is easier said than done,” you sigh, not wanting to have this conversation with another person. Natasha already gives you enough crap as it is, “Steve, he didn't get to end things with Hollie the way you did. The Winter Soldier killed me back then and he almost did it again! You were eavesdropping on us, weren't you? So you heard what Bucky had to say? He could barely even look at me and I know damn well he's still in there blaming himself right now despite everything I tried to say! How do you think he'll act if he realizes I’m Hollie too?! If his guilt is bad now, I don’t want to see what’ll be like if I were someone he actually loves!”

After taking a deep breath, you pinch the bridge of your nose, "I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell, I just...I refuse to tell him yet. I need to find a way to break the news where it's not only believable, but also doesn't make him walk away feeling like total shit. Ultimately, he should start getting his own life and mental health on track before Hollie enters the picture…”

"So until then, you'll keep being (Y/n) to him?"

"Exactly."

Steve frowns, "...But who are you going to be around me?"

"...Well, that depends. Who do you want me to be?" You hug yourself nervously, your thumbs rubbing against the fabric of your shirt as you consider the question no one’s really asked you before. No one else knows aside from Natasha who, by default, calls you (Y/n); the only version of you she’s known.

Steve hums, "I'll be honest, this is all...difficult to process. I can't really say I look at you and see Hollie…- but I do believe you, don't get me wrong there! I suppose it's just something I'm going to have to get used to, isn’t it?”

“Feel free to take your time.”

“Stranger things have happened. If aliens and androids can exist, then I guess it shouldn't be so crazy to think my friend has been reborn with all their memories intact."

"Ooh, Natasha mentioned the whole android thing. Must've been interesting."

"Yeah, you'll have to ask your nephew about it," Steve rolls his eyes, annoyed by the memory, however playful towards you. Dwelling over his thoughts a bit longer, he quietly comes to a conclusion, "...I just want you to be yourself. No more trying to accommodate me. If you want to say something, it shouldn't matter who you're saying it as. Yeah, it's going to take some time to get comfortable with, but...I'm just happy to have you around again - as Hollie and (Y/n). You've both been gone for a while."

You blink a few times then tilt your head backwards to stare at the holed roof of the warehouse, "Be myself, huh? I, uh…I actually like that thought."

'Just be myself. No dancing around lies or cover stories. Wow...I haven't done that since...a long while!'

NEXT CHAPTER➡️

⬅️PREVIOUS CHAPTER

#bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x reader #bucky fic #bucky barnes x reader #james buchanan barnes #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes #winter soldier #x reader #stark reader #reader insert #marvel x reader #marvel #winter solider x reader #natasha romanoff #steve rogers #tony stark #sam wilson #captain america #captain america cw #captain america civil war

[abombihoney]

Sorry, excuse me.

Test tube?

Where the art sister fit?

Okay so this is gonna be long info dump on some world building on the hive i've developed so tldr: they're still sisters!

Gonna have to get into how i think a society based on bees would uniformly raise their young.

Babies and children

Bees are spend their first few years in the nursery. This is the larva (baby and toddler) stage. Pre school kind of thing.

Once they've pupated (usually between the ages of 4-6) they will join a dorm system with other bees their age, usually from a different nurseries than the one they grew up in to facilitate building new relationships etc. Each dorm holds six bees, and barring any issues these bees will live with each other until they become teenagers. These groups are referred to hexads, and are used to schedule meals, outings, lessons, of groups easily.

Teenagers

using teenager to mean 11+ and not yet an adult

So once kids "graduate" primary school essentially, with ages varying due to how some people mature faster than others and excel in some ways but not others etc, they enter the "working stage" which is actually just chores really lol.

Hexads will get mixed up again based on personality, interests, academics, etc. and bees will move into "big kid" dorms.

Now on top of schooling they will begin "working." So based on how honeybees cycle through jobs during their life, teenage bees will learn and work various jobs under the supervision of adult bees who have chosen that job as a career. This how teenagers begin earning spending money, gaining work experience, learning life skills, etc.

So the three jobs that all bees work in for some period of time is:

Nursery Childcare - caring for Larva and pupa (babies and toddlers). This is for bees around 11-13 years old. IE government ordered babysitting lol

Hive Care - for ages 12-15. This is a group of like, basic maintenance and upkeep duties. Bees will clean, cook, and fix minor things. Basically this is just chores lol.

Factory - The last stage, for bees around 13-16 years old, is to assist in the production, storage, and distribution of honey for the hive. (Fun fact: This is also where they learn advanced flying techniques! based on that fact that theres an "obstacle course" puzzle in the factory.)

so by the age of 16-19 bees have a basic education similar to human standardized education, as well as basic life skills. At this point they are free to choose a career, further education, try other jobs/trades, etc. They are also free of the dorm system, and may request individual or group apartments in the hive.

Families in Bee Culture

While we don't officially know much about bee culture, we know that Bianca views herself as a mother and all the bees as her children. We also know from Vi that bees don't view each other as siblings unless they are actually close and have a familial relationship.

Adult bees that develop a familial relationship with a child bee can basically request to be their guardian, if they can prove that they are capable of ensuring the child will have equal or better quality of life, and that guardianship will not interfere with their education/working.

I figure that in canon, Jaune and Vi became really close during Jaune's late teen years (jaune is probably between 4-8 years older than vi maybe). I think that Jaune likes kids and did a lot of tutoring or watching the primary age kids, maybe teaching them to fly? Anyway she and vi got close and jaune got guardianship so that she and vi would still be close even while she was attending art school etc etc

How test tube vi's upbringing differed

in this au Vi isn't allowed in the nursery, and is never a part of hexad. This is a combination of how HB needed to keep a closer eye on her due to Vi's genetics not presenting how they thought she would, Vi not knowing her strength when she was young, and that Vi physically and mentally developed much slower than other bees for the first several years of her life.

(This is because Vi "hatched" as a young bee and not a larva. It took some time for her body and brain to catch up on the early development she missed.)

Now, Vi snuck into see other kids anyway, though only once she was sure she wouldnt hurt anyone again, and only to hang out with younger kids who didn't know who she was/weren't scared of her.

So Vi was essentially home schooled by HB and Crow, leading to her poor social skills, lack of friends her age, etc.

Vi finished all of her education early, and flew through the working skills as well (since shed been lowkey babysitting the young kids for ages, and been taught how to fix all the things she broke) since she basically only had the factory to do. Vi basically qualified for adulthood around the age of 12-13.

HB gets permission for Vi to leave the hive early because of this so that Vi can become and explorer.

And finally, Vi and Jaune

So when Vi has always like exploring and discovering things, which was a problem because she was Very Very good at getting out of standard baby gates and precautions. So jaune actually encountered vi and thought she was recently pupated bee who might have gotten snuck out into the older kids area.

All sorts of shenanigans ensue until someone realizes that this is HBs experiment and not a "real bee." And Vi is removed and forbidden due to damage and injuries she caused. Juane thinks its stupid and basically gets permission to have her babysitting duty assigned to Vi.

Jaune and Vi are much closer than in canon, but tend to "fight" and tease each other more. Jaune and Vi still get into a big argument about Vi exploring, but HB manages to mediate and Vi parts on good terms (with those that like her anyway) with the hive this time.

Jaune writes letters to Vi about gossip with little drawings on them and Vi sends Jaune descriptions of the places shes been and little trinkets, like sand from the ant kingdom, a pressed plant from snakemouth den, etc.

When Vi visits Juane, Jaune show hers the paitings she's made from Vi's descriptions. They get into arguments on whether the inaccuracies are Juane's fault for being a bad artist or Vi's fault for being a bad writer and they end the day covered in paint from teasing each other and making the painting more accurate. They help each other get the paint out of their fur and Juane sends Vi off to her teammates with goodies for them all to share.

#anon the way you phrased this is so funny. #“test tube” #“where art sister” #like why did u not just say her name #test tube vi au #ask #anon #essay #kind of lol #theory #world building #maybe ill remember i used these tags in case i want to find this later #my art #jaune #vi

[lillianofliterature]

hi lillian! i hope this isn't too intrusive (feel free to disregard) but i saw your post about losing your great-grandmother. how are you? i hope you're feeling a little better and, if not, i hope you're holding up as well as you can<3

thank you so much for checking in on me, anon! it really means a lot. i'm doing as well as i can, but it is the most intense grief i have yet faced. she spent over a decade looking after me and my brother while our single mother was working during the week, essentially helping raise us, and it was very jarring to lose a very close motherly figure so suddenly. the pandemic kept us apart, so we weren't able to be around her very much the last few years, which made the goodbye less shocking but made the guilt worse. anyway, it's just tough stuff to deal with, but i really am managing alright.

i don't know if you believe in this sort of thing, and honestly i'm not even sure what i believe exactly, but she always had a connection to animals (cats specifically) and throughout my childhood always talked about how she would like to be reincarnated as a cat. when she was unresponsive in hospice, the last night i saw her alive, i asked her to find a way to come back and tell us hello, either as a cat or a butterfly---two symbols that have a meaningful history in our family.

on the day of her funeral, a yellow butterfly (specifically a tiger swallowtail, one of her favorites) flew around my shoulder and inches from my face while i watched her casket being lowered next to my great-grandfather.

two months later, on this most recent halloween night, a litter of kittens were randomly running around in our front year during trick-or-treat hours. they came and inspected our porch decorations and left, and an hour later, another one came back and sauntered right up our porch and into our kitchen while we were handing out candy!

now, for context, my parents and i always feed the stray cats, so we're used to seeing quite a few and recognize them easily. but we had never seen these kittens before, nor had any of our frequent strays ever appeared pregnant over the last six months. we believe the litter was dumped in our neighborhood on halloween due to their black coats (black cats unfortunately are treated very ill this time of year due to ridiculous negative superstitions).

we decided to keep the little one that walked into our house--i do believe it was a sign, both from the little kitty wanting a home and also from my great-grandmother saying she heard me while i visited her in hospice although she couldn't speak. unfortunately, we didn't see the other kittens again, despite trying! we're keeping an eye out for them so we can rescue them if possible.

anyway, the kitty is a little boy, he has beautiful black fur and golden brown/yellow eyes, a perfect halloween cat. and i named him Severus (yes, after Snape, lol). i'll include some pictures! he's five months old and has a clean bill of health, despite some tummy issues. he's the most affectionate and clingy cat i've ever met, and i can't believe he's ours. i absolutely adore him and he's given me more energy to keep going and be excited about getting up every day.

sometimes when he looks at me, i swear i see my grandmother looking back, but not always (which makes me believe it more in those little glimpses).

so, all this to say, i'm doing better now, although my grief isn't linear. i think the best thing that's helped me is choosing to recognize the little signs i do believe our loved ones can send us beyond the grave. i don't know how it works or what it means for those of us who are still living, but i do know there is truth to some sort of existence beyond the physically tangible, and that gives me hope. <3

#anon requests #anon asks #thank you anon #black cat #halloween cat #update #dealing with grief

[storiesofstratos]

Chapter 12: Team Genesis

Our heroes finally figure out a name..

October 20th, 2042

The rest of the camping trip went by without much to talk about. As a group, we talked to Leah a few more times, but to keep questions away we kept contact with her light. Seemed like a sweet girl, any doubt I had about her keeping Daniel’s secret melted away pretty quick. I wouldn’t want her around if she couldn’t keep a secret anyway.

“Okay so,” Daniel opened the door that led down to the lab in the junkyard again, “First things first… We gotta figure out how to get into this computer down here.” Entering the code, we stepped past the giant metal doors that contained the lab. 

Lights flared on, and Jack made his way to the computer. “Leave that part to me. I’ve been doing some research and I think I’ve found out how we can get in there.”

“Okay, next is…”

“Armor,” I piped up, already dumping the pile of scrap metal I’d been picking up on our way here, “That’s my department. Gotta make sure you’ve got at least some protection out there, knowin how damn reckless you are.”

“Hey!”

“She’s right dude,” Jack agreed with me, “Do I need to remind you of-”

“No, you do not need to remind me of the incident from April, THANK YOU.” He huffed, which got a giggle out of Leah.

“You get into a lot of trouble, huh?” I watched as she made her way over to Daniel, nudging against him a bit.

“Well, I mean… maybe once or twice.”

“My point being,” I spoke up as I started to hammer out the scrap metal, trying to get out some of the dents in the plates, “That this here metal should give you enough protection from everyday threats. Now.. If someone pulls a gun on you or somethin… we might have an issue. Hopefully it won’t come to that though.”

Daniel grimaced at the idea, “Yeah. Last thing I want is to get shot.”

“Done!” Jack yelled, snapping everyone to his attention, “I got us in. Let’s see here… Hm, not too much in the way of files. Guess whoever owned this place last wiped everything clean when they left. All I can find is some trace mentions of someone going by the name of… Genesis? Anyone ever heard that name before?”

We all looked at each other, almost collectively shrugging. That name didn’t sound familiar to me, at least. “Maybe they’re who this place belonged to.”

“According to this, this lab’s where they made all their stuff… hidden in plain sight, under the old Stratos Junkyard… pretty smart.”

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea for a name,” It was Leah to pipe up this time, “I mean… you guys said you were looking for a team name. Right? Team Genesis…?”

I almost rolled my eyes at the smile that crossed Daniel’s face. “Yeah, not a bad idea,” He responded, standing up from his seat, “And… I guess that can be the name I use out there too. I mean, I can’t really go out there and introduce myself as Daniel Rowe, can I? Gonna need an alias or something… so… Genesis. I’m… Genesis.”

“Ooo, I like the sound of that! It sounds… really cool.” Leah definitely knew how to pick her words. Daniel was obviously over the moon with that little compliment.

I finished fitting the leather straps onto the plates of metal. “Alright Genesis,” I teased him with his new name. It didn’t sound bad, but I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to mess with him. “C’mere. Let’s get your armor on.”

This armor was simple. A hoodie and jeans, for some padding. I affixed metal plates to Daniel’s shoulders, arms, and legs, as well as a couple on his chest and abdomen. With the back covered decently as well, it provided a small bit of protection and allowed him to move around freely with it on… it was a fine piece of work to start, but if this was gonna last, he’d need more protection. Maybe Jack could find something on the computer.

“Hey, take this too.” Jack came over and handed Daniel a little device. “I found this while I was rooting around. It looks like it’ll let you relay information back to us here. We can talk to you through that microphone over by the big computer.”

“Whoa, like a spy movie? That’s super dope. Thanks man.” I watched Daniel put the thing in his ear and put a finger to it. “Uh…” His voice sounded out through a speaker at the computer. “Test?” It was loud enough that we could all hear it, so it must have been working well. “Awesome. This is gonna come in handy. Thanks you guys.”

“Hey, Daniel,” Leah called out to him as he was on his way out the door. I watched as she rested her hand on his shoulder. After a short while, she finally said something to him. “...Better come back safe. Okay?”

He smiled at her, nodding. “I will. Promise.” And with that, he slipped a mask over his face, and a pair of goggles over his eyes. The hood on his jacket hid that bright red hair of his well enough. Surely this would be enough. I hoped it would be, at least.

“Go get ‘em hero.” I called out as he ran off, ready to play the hero. On his way out, I looked over at Leah. “Ya sure don’t seem too upset about joinin’ us now, do ya?”

Leah just smirked, and put a finger over her lips, like she was hiding a big secret. Wasn’t any real secret from what I could see. I just hope it doesn’t end up driving a wedge in our little group… Our team.

Go get ‘em, Genesis.

#Hero's Dawn Arc #Nico POV

[solkimcowell]

Hot Girl Summer

It’s, like, so inconvenient when the dead body of your rich uncle starts to decompose in your bathtub.

We’ve been living in his house for weeks, now — Christine and Maxine and you. And me, of course, because he’s my uncle, and I’m the one who’s going to inherit this house. And the three of you keep telling me that because I’m the one with the rich uncle, I should also be the one to drag his putrid corpse out of the indoor jacuzzi-slash-bathtub and into the basement, or really anywhere other than where it is right now. But you’re the ones who are currently bumming off my family’s wealth, so I really think it’s your job. Jobs. Whatever.

We’re not even gonna be here for that much longer. I’ve been answering his emails ever since he stumbled into his bathroom and never came out, and I’m at least okay at faking the boring old guy voice. Not that he was that boring. He used to love collecting tiny bottles of whiskey and watching old war movies and. Yeah, maybe he was kinda boring. I had a soft spot for him, though, and I think he loved me more than he loved his own very estranged daughter — she married her high school boyfriend after she got pregnant, it was never the same after that — which is why I’m, like, 90% sure he left everything to me in his will. Not that it’ll matter if the four of us get found hiding out in his mansion with his dead body, once again, in the bathtub. I think that would implicate us a little.

Like I was saying, though, no one knows we’re here, and no one knows he’s dead. I told my parents I’d be at yours for the summer. You told your parents you’d be at Maxine’s. Maxine told her parents she’d be backpacking across Europe, and Christine’s parents don’t care enough about her to even ask. What? I’m not sorry, it’s true. Our alibis are flimsy, anyway. It only takes one phone call to figure out that we weren’t in any of those places at all.

Maxine’s obsessed with true crime. She says it takes 10 days to reduce a human body to bones in “ideal conditions”. I really don’t think half submerged in gooey pink water is ideal, but maybe if we do the Breaking Bad thing and dump him in some acid it’ll go faster. But, like, he’s naked, and I really don’t want to see that. I tried going in the other day and the smell, oh my god. He’s so bulbous and round now, like a weird flesh balloon. Maxine says it’s because he’s full of gas. Ew.

It’s kinda strange, though, because I thought death was supposed to make you sad. This just makes me feel grossed out and, like, not mournful at all, because this disgusting thing has happened to my uncle. I love — loved? — him, yeah, but now I just can’t remember all the good stuff. Every time I try to think about him, I just start retching like my guts are gonna spill outta me, and then I start retching even more because I’m thinking about his guts spilling outta him. Maybe it’ll be different at the funeral when everyone starts crying and eating hors d’oeuvres. I doubt it.

It doesn’t matter now, anyway, because we can drive up to college in a few days and leave this all behind us. Or, at least, you guys can. The summer was pretty great apart from this, though. At least half of us lost our virginities! And we drank most of his old whiskey collection. God, he’s such an antique. Like, when he was alive, he was always so lost in the past no matter how much the world changed around him. And now that he’s doing the dead guy equivalent of pickling in a jar, it just makes me think that he’s finally gone to where all the old things go. Maybe he’s happier there. He’s become one of the relics of the past that he used to collect.

He’s in my past now. This whole house — this old skeleton of a house! — is just one big reminder of who he was. A whole haunted mansion, like from one of those old horror flicks. I could strip it down to its bones and it would still be full of the ghost of him. A house out of time. And maybe someday we’ll be holding onto this memory the way he did, picture frames lining our offices like we’ll forget it if we look away for even a moment. Someday we’ll be sitting in an urn in a living room reduced to decoration.

God, he didn’t even know we were coming. If your boyfriend — okay, not your boyfriend! But if he hadn’t ditched us after you two had your big fight, we wouldn’t have had to come here in the first place. And then maybe we wouldn’t have had to stick around while my uncle marinated in his own bathwater. And I wouldn’t have had to call Margaret and pretend to be his secretary, lying and saying he’s sick so she shouldn’t send the cleaner over for a few weeks.

The cleaner’s coming on Wednesday. We’ve got until then.

[ Published in Rat World Magazine, December 2022 ]

#prose #skcwrites