#i can’t tell you how many time I’ve lashed out at the people I love the most when I’m hurting

[danibeanie]

Vibes & Beauty Astro observations 🩶

Stelliums💘

-i noticed girlies that have a stellium seem to have a stronger impression on people.Its very common to hear “I love your energy.”

-gemini stellium, love talking, mischievous eyes, sharp beauty,usually long brows,high pitched voice, playful,hair color very saturated like if you got dark hair it’s BLACK or light hair it’s super blonde.

-virgo stellium, just like their mercurial, but a bit more calm and reserved,down to earth voice,”girl me too”,natural beauty,can have a rbf,observant eyes.

-aries stellium, miss independent(love that tho), flushed cheeks, straightforward,intimidating, knows who she is, pronounced brows wether thin or thick they stand out,childlike eyes,gorg girlies.

-pisces stellium, eyes stand out wether it be color or shape you just notice them, kind & pure,high voices just like gemini but they don’t change it as much, cute, creates softness to the face,angels.

-usually when you have a stellium in a chart your gonna attract other people with a stellium as well

Eyes 👀

- water moon girlies have emotional eyes. Its even more pronounced when you have a moon conjunction with inner planets.

Cancer- looks through your soul, “what’s wrong you look sad?”,doe eyes,vulnerable ,pretty eyes ,guys nervous to look at your eyes,manipulative eyes.

Scorpio- intense,intense,intense,darker eyes DOESN’T matter the color, reads u like a book, hiding something,intimidating,mix of siren/doe

Pisces-so prettyyy,lots of eyelid space for some,in tune with other people,pure eyes,mysterious eyes ,long lashes, princess.

-I might just do a series on this!

-Lilith energy🖤

-When having prominent Lilith energy your just going to stand out somehow wether it be ur looks or personality. There’s just something to these people that makes u wanna watch.

-this may be a theory but I believe your lilith placement affects your looks even if it doesn’t tough your ascendant but it has to STRONGLY prounounced to ur personal planets.

-ex I have a Gemini stellium and I have sun moon and mercury conjunction all in 2nd house. My ascendent is in Taurus and my lilith in Gemini conjunct my sun and mercury but not my moon because it’s in an early degree cancer. I’m also a late taurus rising making half of my 1st house gemini. Also my Venus is in gemini in 1st house even though Lilith doesn’t touch my Venus it’s very pronounced in my 2nd house.(2’d house is Taurus home-connection to ascendent)

-All my life guys never approached me and when the few of them did they all had heavy mars energy wether being scorpio or Aries. I find myself attracted to Leo energy and I believe it’s because they match my strong energy. Insecure guys get intimidated by you and treat u like shit.Then get mad when you leave them but still keep on coming back?😭but for some reason expect you to be on the side like no sir we are all #1s here.I though u didn’t like me why are u trying to get my attention when u clearly didn’t want it yesterday.

-even if you try to hide your body for some reason it’s still noticed, “your so tiny” I’ve learned to embrace my body the older I get. confidence is key YALL!

-super black hair,I can’t tell u how many times people have commented on how dark my hair is😭

-mysterious vibe without even trying, my friends have told me this when I walk at the campus.

- I have a bestie with lilith energy as well but it squares her ascendent and mercury many people thought she was a b when first meeting her(even me).She also has mars conjunct ascendent lmao but I love her and our vibes just match each other. I feel like my Venus energy tames my lilith energy a bit more but it’s still there 😭

-guys just don’t approach u period :/

bye y’all thank u so much for the support in my last 2 posts lot of love🖤

#astrology content #astro observations #beauty #stellium #lilith #astro community #eyes

[hotpinkstars]

WE NEED THE COMFORTT FOR THE BLIND READER FUN YOU CAN’T LEAVE US HANGING LIKE THIS?????? (can’t do angst no comfort 😔)

-> blinded mistakes - happy ending

synopsis -> your husband feels bad for the way he snapped the other day. how does he make it up to you?

a/n -> approximately 28 people have asked for a part 2. this is insane i have so many people to tag (who aren't anons, obviously) BUT THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE ON MY OTHER ONE OMGGGGG!!!! i love u all sm

warnings -> crying, but that's kinda all lol. this ones mostly just fluff!

w/c -> 951

-> kamisato ayato

it’s been a few days since the argument. 

ayato had been given an extension due to his circumstances, and didn’t have to worry about the ruined papers due to the kindness from the city's higher-ups who assigned him such papers in the first place. a lot of them were salvageable, too.

once he finished them, he leaned back, smiling from the stress relief. he got up, grabbed a cup of tea from the kitchen, and realized something.

you weren’t in the main room, waiting for him to leave his office so you two could spend some time together.

he then thought back about the events that took place. his chest immediately fills with regret at the words spoken to you. coincidentally, ayaka walked into the room.

“ayaka, have you seen y/n?” he hurried to his sister, who simply sighed.

“they’ve been in their room. they’ve been beating themselves up about the incident, so now they’re afriad of moving incase they bother you more,” she brushed past him. “good luck making amends. they’re incredibly hurt.”

he nodded, processing the information. he pacewalked to your shared bedroom, where he opened the door to see your sleeping form. 

he sat next to you, stroking your hair until you woke up. when you felt a hand on top of your head, you flinched a little bit.

“who’s there?” you said in a soft voice, unwilling to cause more issues by lashing out or showing aggression. 

“ayato,” he took his hand off your head. “i’ve come to say i’m sorry.”

you got up and found the headboard, slowly resting yourself up on it. “why all of the sudden? i hope you understand that you really hurt me, ayato. i’ve been too scared to get up these last few days because of the way you made me feel. the only times i’ve gotten up were to go to the restroom, bathe, and eat, but thoma would bring me something here. i still think about the words you said and your gestures.”

he looked down, sighing. he didn’t realize how much of an effect his words and actions had on you, but now that he’s hearing it from you, it seems like two more tons added to his shoulders. “don’t worry about it. it was salvageable, and you hadn’t ruined anything.”

“i wish you told me that when it happened, ayato,” you started to tear up. “i forgive you, but i don’t want to hear that again. it made me feel like shit.”

he nodded, hugging you tight, letting you cry into his shoulder. you felt around his body to realize he was wearing his white and blue suit, the one he usually goes out to fight in. 

“i’m not ruining this suit, right…?” you brought your face off his shoulder, but he immediately shoved it back in the same spot, silently telling you the obvious answer. 

he was glad he was able to resolve things. he couldn’t imagine a life without you.

-> wriothesley

it’s been about a week since wriothesley has seen you. he figured you went out of the fortress, staying over at a hotel or with a friend, like navia or chlorinde. he pretty much figured it would be chlorinde, considering she hasn’t come down to the fortress or has tried to initiate contact with him since the incident. 

he figured he’d try knocking on both doors, starting with navia. once navia told him everything he needed to know; that you were with chlorinde, he rushed over to her place.

“what are you doing here?” she scoffs as she opened the door, leaning against the doorframe. “your wife told me everything. i hope to trust that you didn’t embarrass her in front of the people who work for the palais mermonia, especially monsieur neuvillette himself.”

he shook his head, rubbing at his temples. “just let me see her, would you? i want to apologize.”

she nodded, clearing the doorway, allowing him to rush into the spare bedroom. 

you knew he was the one coming towards your room, considering his footsteps were a lot heavier than anyone you’ve ever known. his were tough, threatening. 

“wriothesley! w-what are you-” you started, your heart beating a little faster.

“i want to apologize for the things i said. i didn’t have to completely redo all my papers, and neuvillette understood the situation, and i was able to get an extent.”

you shook your head. “so you embarrassed me then, huh? you told them everything? that your stupid blind wife who is not even near good enough for you ruined your work?” 

he was speechless. he didn’t know how to respond to that sentence, so he put his hands on your shoulders, asking for silent permission to take you into a hug. once you nodded, he embraced you tightly. 

“no, i didn’t tell them that. i told him it was just a spill, and that i was able to save some of the papers. neuvillette is a very understanding man, and this never happens. i never need new copies or need extents, so he was willing to do it this time. nothing about you came up in our conversation,” he swallowed a lump in his throat before going on. “and you’re not stupid. you’re also the perfect choice for me, not good enough my ass. no matter what i have to do to make you see that, just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you’re unworthy.”

you started to cry, letting the tears spill into his chest, creating a damp spot on his tie. 

“so you don’t hate me then?” you sniffed.

“no, not at all. i couldn’t bring myself to hate you for something as dumb as that.”

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin x reader fluff #wriothesley #wriothesley x reader #ayato #kamisato #kamisato ayato #ayato kamisato #ayato kamisato x reader #kamisato ayato x reader #ayato x reader #kamisato x reader

[sturniozo]

Savage Love

Matt Sturniolo x reader Mafia AU

Summary: After a night out with her friends, Y/n wakes up in a hotel bed with a handsome stranger with no memory of the night before. Pieceing together what she can, she finds the man she woke up with wasn’t just some stranger, but the most powerful man in New York.

A/N: I’m basing all of my mafia knowledge on watching the god father when I was six and that one episode of community with the chicken fingers. Other than that I have no clue how mafia works so this might not be as good as you hope but hey I tried. Tell me if you want me to continue this though! I had fun writing it!

Masterlist

I never go out with my friends and I felt bad about it for a long time. But today, Emma convinced me to go dancing with her at a club in New York. I’ve been in the city many times, as I live just outside of it, in a small apartment above a bookshop. But the city of New York still terrifies me, especially at night. There’s a rumor of a secret organization that controls just about everything in the city, and if you cross the man at the top then you’re done for.

Of course, these are just rumors and haven’t actually been proven. I have nothing to fear, right?

Now I’m sitting in front of Emma’s vanity mirror getting ready as she does my hair.

“Oh you should totally wear it down! Curl it a bit, let it hang over your shoulders. You might hook up tonight, you never know.” Emma teases as she messes with my hair. I finish curling my lashes and then turn to her.

“I don’t think I’ll hook up at all. I’m just not the type.” I shrug and stand up, switching places with Emma as she sits in front of her vanity mirror to do her own makeup.

“Well, I am the type.” She says as she starts with contour. I walk into the bathroom and plug in the curling iron to heat it up.

“You can hook up with any guy you want.” I say to Emma. “Just make sure he wraps it. I don’t want to be an aunt so soon.” I laugh.

Emma and I have been best friends since fourth grade. She’s my polar opposite, although we have the same dreams. We’re both journalists writing for a small newspaper outlet right outside of New York.

Emma’s the type to do things we’re doing now almost every day. She always tells me about all the big parties and exclusive events and venues she’s attended. She’s talk to, and slept with, many of the biggest people in multiple industries to get information for her articles.

I take a different approach. My stories come from the smaller people. The homeless and the struggling. I try to bring attention to the lower class of America.

I bet you can guess whose stories get published. Hence why I live in a small apartment above a bookshop, and Emma has a penthouse.

“God, I know. I can’t handle having a baby now. I’m only 20 for Pete’s sake!” Emma laughs and sets down her makeup brush. She turns to me and says “But I need to sleep with someone big and important tonight. I’m dying here, I haven had a story published in almost two weeks!”

I sigh. Two weeks is nothing. Try five months. I’m basically just a consultant at this point.

Emma turns back to the mirror to finish her makeup. I check the curling iron and it’s nice and hot, so I begin to curl the ends of my hair. Just a little curly at the edge.

Emma gets up from the mirror and starts shutting off lights and electronics around her penthouse. I unplug the curling iron and walk into the front room to put on my shoes and grab my purse. Emma shut off the last light and we walk out of the penthouse. She locks the door and we get into the elevator, going down to the front desk.

Emma has an Uber waiting for us. The great thing about Emma is, no matter how much more she has than me, she always gives and never asks for any in return. It’s always been this way. She’s the sweetest friend I’ve ever had. She’s also the most ruthless journalist I’ve ever met.

We get into the Uber and the driver starts for the city. It’s a long drive, one that me and Emma use to our advantage and try to find out who’s the most important person attending the party.

“Oh my god!” Emma says after a long silence of us just looking at our phones.

“What is it, who will be there?” I ask frantically.

“Matt Sturniolo!”

I look at her, confused. “Who’s that?”

“Who’s that? WHO’S THAT? Matt Sturniolo is only the most powerful guy in New York!”

“That can’t be true, how come I’ve never heard of him?”

“Because you focus on who can help the lower class. He can’t help them, it’s not in his power.”

“Then he doesn’t have much power.”

“Oh, he has power. He has all the power. It’s his rumor that he’s the one who controls all the important somebody’s in New York. I gotta make it my mission to sleep with him. God, I bet he’s good in bed.” She says to herself.

I let out a laugh. “What story do you plan together by sleeping with him?”

“I want to know if the rumor is true, duh!” She laughs and lightly hits my shoulder.

We arrive at the venue. It’s large and the music is blaring. We step out of the car and I lean to Emma and say loudly so she can hear me over the music “The most powerful man in New York is gonna be here?” I laugh. “This doesn’t look like a scene you’d catch someone so important in.”

“Trust me, he’ll be here. Steph said so, and she’s always right!” Emma says back. She takes my hand and drags me through the line, showing the bouncer a VIP pass for both her and I. They let us in and Emma immediately drags me to the bar.

“Two vodka martinis!” She says to the bartender. The bartender nods and begins our drinks. I turn around to look at all the people dancing. Men in half dressed suits grinding on women in the shortest dresses. This is what Emma does every day? I understand the appeal, but the loud music and the flashing lights just aren’t for me.

We get our drinks and Emma takes me to a table to sit down at. “So what do we do now?” I ask.

“We mingle!” She shouts and raises her hands in the air.

The rest of the night that I can still remember was filled with drinking and Emma talking to numerous people, always asking about the guy who’s name I can no longer remember due to my copious consumption of alcohol. The last thing I remember was talking to a tall, handsome, dark haired man with beautiful light blue eyes.

~

I awake with a pounding headache. I raise my head from my pillow and slowly open my eyes, groaning from the pain. I look around and realize, this is not my bedroom. This is not Emma’s bedroom. I have no clue where I am. I scan the room and my eyes fall on a strange man sitting on the couch. I gasp and he looks up at me.

“Good, you’re awake. I was wondering if I’d have to drop you at the emergency room.” He laughs to himself.

I sit up fully in the bed. “Who are you? Where am I?” I ask frantically.

“My names Matt, and-“ I stop him

“Oh my god.”

“It’s fine just-“

“Oh god what happened?”

“Nothing, I-“

“I was drunk!”

“I know, that’s why I-“

“Tell me I didn’t. We didn’t.”

“Would you let me fucking speak?” He yells. “I didn’t fucking touch you, okay? You were dancing on a table and your friend had gone home with some guy so I got you a hotel room. You could barely stand and you just passed out on the bed.” He finishes with a huff.

I stare up at him in shock. “So we didn’t”

“No. We didn’t.” He pauses. “But we could.” He says with a smirk.

A blush appears on my cheeks and my breath shakes “What?” I ask

“Well you’re an attractive girl, I wouldn’t mind it.” He laughs. “But I have a meeting in an hour, so it’ll have to be another time. Want my number while you think about it?” He asks and before I can answer he hands me a card. “I got an Uber waiting for you whenever you’re ready to go home, it’s already paid for. Just do whatever you need to before you leave.” He says, clearly insisting I shower and eat. “And tell the driver where you need to go. Don’t forget to call, doll face.” He says before leaving and closing the door behind him.

I look down at the card he had handed me.

‘Matt Sturniolo.’ With an address and phone number.

Tags: @stargirlsturniololover (the one who came up with the idea for Mafia!Matt) @sturniolobessed

#chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo x reader #chris x reader #sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo x reader #sturniolo smut #nick sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo smut #matt sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo #matt imagine #matt sturniolo blurb #matt sturniolo fic #matt sturniolo edit #matt sturniolo imagine #matt x reader

[nunalastor]

Okay, more Aus and general wholesomeness to help combat the cursed inbox content (TBH, I feel like I should start signing these with an emoji. I’ve sent you like pauses to scroll through your blog and count the anon I know I sent, 20-ish!?!? Ugh, I didn’t think I had the brain rot that bad. Guess not. Any emojis that are free?

AU: For whatever reason, Alastor’s mum comes to visit. Whether its as an angel or time travel shenanigans is unclear. But everyone basically jumps at the chance to explain just how horrible Alastor is. All except Lucifer, who pulls her aside and tells her that while her son isn’t prefect, he isn’t heartless. He’s saved my daughter, multiple times. He’s the one who called be out on being an absent parent. He supported her when I wouldn’t. He respects women so much it’s a defining part of his characterization. He treats Nifty well, even when most people don’t and are creped out by her. He doesn’t lash out at Angle for his suggestive comments (much) because he knows that’s just what Angle is use to. He’s working on a way to own Angle’s soul instead of the man who’ll keep abusing him. And yes he picks fights and embarrasses Vox, but he never starts them. He’s dragged Lucifer out of depressive states and dealt with him at his worse that he won’t let even Charlie see. Alastor’s mum leaves knowing that while her son isn’t prefect, he is doing what he thinks is best, and he is loved.

AU, ft. Helluva Boss: Rather than run IMP, Blitzo works as Lucifer’s bodyguard. How did he end up in that position? Well, he met Alastor and while they do not get along, Alastor respects that he tries to be a good father. The imp soon becomes a part of their small missed matched family, and is the only one who tell RadioApple to their face that they were not, in fact, just friends. He also likes to tell them that they don’t pay him enough to deal with their drama. RadioApple catches word of Blitz messy love life and decide its only far to meddle like he did. They are both, really really bad at it though.

AU, Human: Lucifer is a teacher. The class knows he was married and divorced, and they have reason to suspect that he’s seeing someone again based on what his daughter Charlie has said. They don’t know for  sure until they have to switch to Zoom because of the plague. Unforatnely for them, their teachers partner is very good at not being caught on camera. The only thing they’ve seen of him is a flash of a red coat and a charming voice.

General HCs: Alastor and Lucifer can see each other from their rooms, if they stand at the right angle. They make a game out of trying to communicate with each other from across the hotel with hand gestures or magic. It’s pretty hit or miss most of the time. They also send paper airplanes to each other from across the roof.

Lucifer manages to sneak a rubber duck onto Alastor’s person. Where he hides it I’m not quite sure, but it is hidden. Alastor himself doesn’t know about it, but his Shadow does. It doesn’t tell him. The duck is a means of protection and when Alastor is ambushed by the Vees while healing from his wound from the final, he explodes with magic and knocks them all out, does serve damage to the road and building around it and teleports the deer demon back to the hotel. Alastor tells him to never do it again. He is ignored, and the defense ducks are regularly placed on him.

Alastor can melt with his shadow, but what people don’t know is that he can also blend in with other people’s shadows. It's easiest if they know and consent to him being there though. Lucifer has no problem with this, and Alastor takes great delight in scaring people by popping out of the king’s shadow. It also allows him to leave the pride ring, though he can’t leave the shadow, and he can’t stay in the shadow for very long if outside.

so many!! def sign with an emoji - or even submit as yourself or post to your blog with a link i can reblog so people can follow you!

#hazbin hotel #radioapple #alastor #appleradio #radio apple #apple radio #lucifer morningstar #headcanon #nunalastor asks

[writtenontheport]

Walk Me Home?

Part 1: Today (pt. 2) (pt. 3) (pt. 4)

George Karim x (gn) Reader

Warnings/Tags: Meet cute (sorta), Sorta Stalker situation (George is not the stalker I FORGOT TO ADD THAT), Reader is also a nerd, no angst, off-screen mentioned mild violence (someone throws a shoe), Happy ending

Notes: I love George, but I sincerely struggled on figuring out how to write him. He’s just so everythingcore like… How would I even manage to express that???

Summary: You and George meet while you’re avoiding someone, and in a moment of pure recklessness he dare never tell Lockwood or Lucy, he plays along when you ask him to pretend to know you.

Word count: Uhhhhh… Around 1k probably (I am too lazy to check) 👍

On a good day, George might visit the library to fetch himself more research material. On a good day, all goes well and George gets back home just in time to put on the kettle and fetch himself a cuppa before he dives into an afternoon of old books and sloppily written notes. Lockwood would scold him for not taking care of himself, George would call him a hypocrite, and then Lucy would come in and make fun of their bickering. On a good day, George makes dinner for everyone, cleans, then heads off to bed with a brain buzzing with theories.

When he sees you skipping over to him in his peripheral, he thinks nothing of it. The other tables are full, so he expected that someone would ask for a seat soon. He shuffles his books out of the way to make room for you, eyeing the strain of your smile as you sit just across him with a few books of your own. He’s never one to pry, but the look on your face is worrying him enough to ask you simply, “Is someone after you?”

You look behind yourself discreetly and George feels like he’s about to get himself involved in something unpleasant. The second floor has a sparse population of active readers about, even less browsing the shelves. This late in the day, people are running off to head home before curfew hits. When you turn back, you level him with a serious stare.

“Can you please pretend to know me if someone comes over and asks?” You whisper quickly, giving him your name in a stammered breath.

George feels his eyes widen, but schools his expression when you mouth ‘please?’. He pushes his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and thinks this day might not be so good after all.

“Why? Are you being followed? I wouldn’t appreciate getting dragged into something illegal, thank you.” He ducks his head down to his book as he says so, but he looks up through his lashes and you freeze. Something about you is intriguing enough for a second look, and he can’t reason out what.

“I— um, well,” You cough, settling yourself into your seat, “I was on my way home when I noticed some guy following me. It’s this guy who’s been bugging me for a while; won’t stop hitting on me. I came running back here and I’ve been trying to lose him since.”

Someone calls your name and you hiss a curse under your breath, ducking into your book. George pulls his shoulders back to sit up square, and glances back down at you. Your lips are pulled up into a sheepish grin, and he can’t help but soften a little at the way you mouth ‘please’ with those pleading eyes of yours.

There’s a moment where George has the choice to either play along or just keep himself out of trouble; where he spots the bellend quickly stomping to you from over your shoulder, and wonders if it’s worth the risk.

‘Lockwood you dick,’ George thinks to himself as he forces a smile on his face, ‘look at how reckless you’ve made me.’

The relief pulling your shoulders back has him feeling warm, and the gratefulness in your grin glues him to the spot. Many people have smiled at him before, but never so genuinely and never so wholeheartedly. It’s captivating the way the light dances in your eyes. He doesn’t think much on it before he actually has to talk to the prick.

“I think I’ve seen you before, at the library,” George says, after you’ve found yourselves away from the library and the creep. He’s insisted on walking you home to keep you from trouble, or so he says. You tease him all the while that maybe he just feels bad for taking your shoe and lobbing it at the bastard’s head. The thick-headed brute managed to damage it with his head, but you told him you didn’t much mind. Doesn’t change the fact that he feels a little bad about it, though.

“Maybe we’ve bumped into each other once?” You ask, and George shrugs.

“I think so, haven’t a clue where exactly.” George follows you as you turn around the corner, eyes flitting about. He checks over his shoulder quickly, and the wind blasts in his face like a rogue leaf blower set on low. His nose scrunches at the chill, and catches you staring at him when he turns back.

“Something on my face or am I just pretty?” He asks, the snark.

“Maybe you’re just pretty,” You hum.

He stumbles a little at that, but catches the teasing grin you shoot at him with ease. He settles back in step with you as you take the lead again. The wind’s blowing a bit harsher now, sliding through his hair like the bitter breath of winter. His face rests itself in the cold, eyes darting to and fro to watch for any other creeps lurking about.

“I go to the library in the morning,” You say suddenly, and he focuses his attention on you as you smile back at him, “Sometimes I catch you sitting by yourself up on the second floor as I’m about to leave. Sometimes you look up.”

He hums, considering the thought. Usually he only looks up if something’s concerned him enough or, well— catches his eye. Ah, right then. Now he remembers.

“You’re usually taking out books on the history if the Fittes’ agency, yeah?” He asks, and you duck your head in a nod.

You turn back to him, “You’re usually reading up on The Problem.”

It’s not a question, he notices. George wonders then how many times he’d seen you pass him by or, hell, even stop at his table before. He wonders if he’s caught your eye before too.

You fall into a silence the rest of the way, marching through the cobble and asphalt of the gloomy London streets; buildings towering over you like mountains. Somewhere in between all the walking you make it back home to a small building tucked between ones thicker and thinner, just as tall. You take a moment to hug George gratefully, and struggle for words when you pull back.

“I know I’m being a bit impudent, asking this of you, but could I find you again tomorrow?” You ask him.

George teeters on the balls of his feet. “I usually wake up pretty late in the morning, is that alright?”

“Absolutely. I’ll see you tomorrow….?” You trail, forgetting that you never quite asked for his name.

“George. George Karim.” He holds out a hand for you to shake, and you do it with a smile that makes him warm even in the bitter cold.

“See you tomorrow, George,” you whisper gratefully, climbing up the steps and closing the door with a wave back to him.

He feels winded by the time he gets him and his books back to Portland Row. The front door bolt clicks in with ease, and he shakes off the dampness of his coat before he hangs it up on the rack. Somehow the day has gone awry and yet he doesn’t find himself too displeased with it.

“George? Is that you?” Lucy pops her head down from the staircase, and looks quizzically at him. “You’re not usually home this early, did something happen?”

He pauses, feeling light and a bit fuzzy as he rests his back on the wood of the door.

“I think… I owe someone new shoes,” he says, but finds a small smile growing on his face.

A/N: I’m not too proud of this one, because I absolutely love George and don’t think I can ever accurately capture all his loveliness proper, but I decided to post it anyways because someone else might like it more than me LOL.

#george karim x reader #george karim x you #lockwood and co x reader #Portie writes fanfic

[paintingpuff]

Ooh the backstory for the comic sounds so cool! Could you maybe post the short story?

Sure, I'll put it under the cut!

Keep in mind the comic is an adaptation so the story had to go through some changes.

File info says this was made during quarantine which definitely explains why I can't remember writing it

My sister--and most people in our village, in fact--think that my child is not my own. One would assume it was because of the incident a month after my daughter’s birth, where I walked into her room only to find a fairy flying out the window, a bundle in her arms. 

But that’s not why my sister thinks my daughter is fae, because I didn’t tell anyone about that incident. Instead, my sister says it’s because my child is acting odd. It’s a logic I can’t understand, since all children are strange to me. 

I love the way they approach the world with a mix of naivete and eagerness. I’ve even met children that don’t realize that a scrape or scratch is supposed to hurt until you look alarmed. They have no understanding of common sense, because everything they do is for the first time in their life. They’re honest, harsh, and innocent in a manner that is gradually clogged up with new responsibilities and knowledge as they grow older.

Their world is limited, and as such they completely permeate it. It’s fragile and destructive in a way I don’t think can be replicated, not after that window of early childhood has passed.

I see it in every child, and my daughter does not seem any more unusual. But my sister insists that there is a difference, and shakes her head whenever she thinks it’s relevant. 

 My child has broken the table. Not much, she just jumped on the top one too many times and its leg splintered. I’m not going to get it replaced, or get it fixed, or at least not immediately.

She got in a fight with some other children in town, they said something that she just couldn’t understand and she lashed out with a stick. The other kid only had a red mark on his skin from the impact, at least. 

My daughter hates being around others, and spends most of her time back home, where it’s quiet. I once tried taking her to the market and she broke down crying, sitting in the middle of the road. I consoled her there, crouching in the dirt path, and tried ignoring the judgemental stares from people passing by. She would rather spend hours on end at the edge of the forest. I don’t let her explore on her own, and when I’m gone the others say she always stands just before the trees become too dense and stares off, wistfully.

She’s a picky eater, but a very hungry one. I can’t find a consistent set of taste, and each new meal feels like a gamble of my time, but I have to take those chances because I can’t have her eating only eggs and milk for each meal of the day.

She doesn’t like being touched, reacts to my fingers as if they’ve given her rashes, and for the longest time I felt lost because I didn’t know how else to comfort her. 

(I found my ways eventually. When she gets upset, I take my grandmother’s woolen scarf from its rack and wrap her in it. She loves running her hands along the threads.)

After long days of gathering food and walking from errand to errand I’m woken up in the middle of the night by her, and we both struggle to go back to sleep from her nightmares. When she was a baby she wailed as loud as she could, because she knew doing that would bring me to her. Now I’m afraid that I won’t hear her and she’ll think I left her alone on purpose. My friends comment on the bags under my eyes always getting darker. I know they’re trying to remind me that it’s a bad thing.

They call her a changeling, something that has replaced my real baby. The child I gave birth to is out in those woods, the stories say, maybe dancing with fairies or being sacrificed to the devil. But in the meantime, they say I am left with a parasitical replica, a creature that saps me of my energy, food and time. 

I sometimes wonder if they’ve ever had a child before.

I do my best to brush off the people in town, but my sister is more insistent. I know she’s just being protective since my husband’s passing, but something snapped in me with the way she spoke. I yelled that the stories of the fae were all hogwash, and she asked me how I could be so sure. So I told her the truth:

I had already seen the fairy.

I had returned home early from the market, and had seen my daughter sitting at the edge of the forest, like always. Her hand was raised to the air, a single finger stretched parallel to the ground. This didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me, and I was about to head back inside and prepare dinner, when I saw a flicker of movement. 

A tiny sparrow emerged from behind a tree, and settled on my daughter’s finger.

It was difficult to see her face from my angle, but just from the outline of her cheeks I could tell she was grinning from ear to ear. The bird whistled to her, and the child gave a raspy, unpracticed melody in response. She moved her hand around carefully, not wanting to startle the bird, but a part of me knew that something as simple as a jolt wouldn’t make the bird go away. 

The bird was only there for a few minutes before it took off and vanished back into the forest. So my child sat up, stained in green but not caring, and ran back to the house. I entered shortly afterwards, acting casual. She didn’t know I saw her, and she didn’t tell me about the bird then, so I can only wonder how many times the bird had come before. 

Still, gradually the two of us came to a common understanding: she figured out I knew about the bird,  and I knew that she knew.

I hadn’t fully realized we’d had this agreement until my daughter stepped into my house, sharp distress twisting her face. She raised her tiny fingers to show blood spilled on them, but not from any wound of her own. She told me the bird had been missing feathers, had perched on her finger with only one leg, and its song was weaker than before. Her bird calls had already greatly improved, so she imitated the bird’s pained song for me, just to make sure I understood.

She wanted to follow the bird into the woods, see that it’s alright. I crouched down with the scarf, wrapped her in it, and told her that I would find the bird myself. 

So I wandered through the dark woods, the sun already starting to set, a torch in hand and a cloak on my shoulders. I heard a whistling in the woods, and the melody rangs familiar. The bird was still singing, and it didn't sound any weaker, but my daughter has always been more attentive to details; I trusted her. 

I kept walking, kept following the bird, and for brief flickers in the treetops I saw flaps of wings. It was flying slower than usual. It ducked behind a tree, and when I stepped around to keep my eye on the bird, I saw a child. 

It was not my child, but another little girl of a similar age, one with brown hair closer to my own than my daughter’s fiery red. Patterns were dotted across her arms like that of a sparrow’s wings, but her skin was also spotted with bruises and scratches, twigs and leaves and mud in her hair and stuck to her body. She didn't seem to be in pain, and I wondered if anyone had told her that those scratches are supposed to hurt. She hugged the tree, perhaps as a shield or perhaps as comfort. 

I crouched down, and kept my voice quiet. ��Hello.”

She stepped back a little, keeping her eyes off of me. 

“Are you the one who plays with my daughter?”

More silence. I swallowed, my throat already dry. “She considers you a very good friend.”

“She’s my best friend.”

The girl’s voice was rough and unused, but that similar constriction in my chest came when I heard it, and I fully realized that this is just another kid I was talking to. I told her what people call me. The girl gave no response, but I could tell that she was relaxing. 

“Are you a fairy?”

The girl nodded. “I can turn into a bunch of different animals.”

“Oh? Like what?” 

“A cat, and....a dog, and, uh...I’m a sparrow a lot.”

“Do you like flying around?”

To my surprise, the girl shook her head. She told me she likes landing on my daughter’s finger. “I like singing with her,” she said. 

I asked her why she doesn’t transform into different animals to do so much more, and the girl looked at me with the most genuine and honest confusion I’ve seen. She didn’t understand the other options, because this was the only one that mattered to her. Her scope was so small, but she embraced it so wholly that I couldn’t be upset. “Are your injuries okay?” I asked instead. 

There was a slight bob of her head, one I almost didn’t see in the dark. “They’ll get healed up.” She pointed over her shoulder to a small ring of mushrooms behind her. I know a fairy circle when I see one, and I nodded in understanding. I left her to vanish in the fog of that forest. 

I returned home to my daughter and told her the bird is okay, and will come again tomorrow. She didn’t make a relieved expression or gesture, but gave a very quiet and polite “Thank you,” so I know that she was grateful. 

Some of the townsfolk think I’ve had my real child switched with an anomaly, a magic changeling. When I first met the bird, I thought that perhaps she was the changeling that was supposed to replace my child.

But whenever the bird appeared again, I made sure to leave some bread and milk for her, as well as leave our window open, in case she ever needed to rest at our home. My child came to me, wanting to sew a pillow for the bird to sleep on. The snacks I left out became more and more elaborate, from a small bit of porridge to pieces of a cake. Some days I would wake in the morning early enough to see that bird curled up in the roughly made pillow of my daughter’s.

I didn’t even think twice before I moved the pillow to my child’s room, setting it next to her head. I watched her and the bird snore peacefully, and I watched as the bird’s feathers slowly retracted and its silhouette expanded in the faint morning light. 

It wasn’t until I saw the two children, holding each other tightly under the warm blankets and roof of their shared house, did I realize that both I and the townsfolk were wrong. 

No child of mine had been replaced, nor were they meant to. I simply had two daughters.

#writing #changelings #ask #gray ball

[echos-girlfriend]

Am I not good enough?

Tech x reader

Master list

~_~_~_~

You overhear Crosshair teasing tech about how smart you are. Tech takes offense and calls you an idiot in front of you without realizing it.

~_~_~_~

Warning: angst with happy ending/slight love confessions

~_~_~_~

“It’s funny how she fixes the ship’s hyperdrive faster than you sometimes”

You stopped right by the doorway. You made sure no one saw you though.

Tech didn’t say anything but his face looked annoyed.

“She’s says a lot of big words like tech does. She’s pretty smart like him”

Wrecker clearly didn’t understand that Crosshair was trying to get under Tech’s skin. You did smile subconsciously at wrecker’s compliment.

“It looks like someone is jealous.”

Tech just sulked at Crosshair

“What? Loth cat got your tongue.. are you just embarrassed to admit that there’s someone as smart as you”

You thought he was getting a little too harsh and stepped into the doorway to stop Crosshair.

“She’s nothing compared to me! I can program anything and she can’t! She’s an idiot when it comes to most tasks I can do!”

You were absolutely dumbfounded. Tech was the kindest to you. He Aldiss offered advice and taught you all kinds of things.. why would he say that now.

“Um.. tech-“

Echo tried to tell tech you were standing in the doorway but tech interrupted him.

“In fact, I’m insulted you would compare her skills to mine”

Now it was crosshairs turn to stop tech. He grabbed his brothers shoulder and made him turn around.

He then came face to face with you.. everyone was quiet. Tech’s face scrunched in disbelief. You just stood there with a frown on your face and your arms wrapped around you.

“At least you’re honest”

You turned around and stalked to the makeshift campfire outside. Tech was still standing there. He acted out of anger and it ended up hurting you.

Tech needed to fix this but he didn’t know how.. his brothers all left him to his lonesome. He figured they knew he needed to do this himself.

He made his way outside.

“Can you come inside please? I need your help..”

“You need my help or are you just trying to brush off the bullshit you said?”

“Neither.. I’m trying to apologize but. Im not good at it. None of us have had many interactions with people..”

“And that’s an excuse..?”

“Not entirely. I know you understand because you don’t sound that angry..”

“Are you just.. annoyed? Do you feel challenged by my presence?”

“I will admit. Since you’ve joined our team I feel.. less needed. We all had the thing that made us unique or useful but.. it seems me and you have the same gift. And it’s more impressive for you to have your intelligence because you weren’t engineered to be that way. You are actually gifted..”

“Tech.. you are gifted. There are many things I can’t do.. like you said. Which brings me to my final question.. am I not good enough for you?”

“Not good enough? What do you mean?”

“Am I not smart enough to be with you..”

“Be with me?… oh. Oh my. I”

“Yes tech. I want to be with you.. I’ve had a crush on you for a long time.. I admire your intelligence.. but if you don’t think I’m good enough-“

He cut you off by slamming his lips to yours. It was gentle but passionate.

“My dear.. it wouldn’t matter if you were smarter than me or had no knowledge of any technology.. I’ve always loved you.. but my insecurities got the best of me.. I lashed out. And I hurt you..”

“Tech.. it’s somewhat my fault.. I told Crosshair I had a crush on you.. and he was trying to get under your skin. Im sorry”

“You don’t have to be sorry.. now I did actually need your help. My hands are too big to reach the wiring”

You giggled loudly and grabbed his hand, pulling him inside the ship with you.

“And I want your help.. with social interaction and communication..”

“Well let’s start with calling it.. conversation”

You smiled and you both got to work.

~_~_~_~

#the bad batch #the bad batch x reader #tbb tech #clone force 99 x reader #clone force 99 #tbb tech x reader #tbb tech x you #angst with a happy ending #angsty #love confessions

[meenawrites]

Humanized Spider: Pt 3

So I've made my peace that I'm not getting work done until I get this all out of my system. 

SO

Ronal's leading Spider's physical therapy, he goes on patrol walks with Tonowari through the village. 

The Metkayina seeing both their leaders doting on this kid just kind of accept it, like they trust them and their judgment and I mean the kid's smile is infectious, people kind of wait for him to smile and are like awwwww (because I said so, he should be loved damnit)

Neytiri still isn't allowed anywhere near him or even within his line of sight. She's definitely calmed down since her altercation with Ronal and has been using this time to reflect on herself, especially with Neteyam's clear protectiveness of the boy and Kiri honestly not really talking to her. Hearing what he's been through and what state he was in really put things in perspective for her and she spends a lot of time communing with Eywa in the cove of ancestors and just thinking over her past with Spider. I'd like to think she realizes how her trauma has allowed her to mistreat a child, but yeah. 

Jake doesn't have as many prohibitions on him of seeing the boy, but he avoids him a lot tbh. Guilt is eating away at him and he can't bear to look at Spider, nor his kids tbh cause they're all so angry with both parents, except Tuk (cause she doesn't really get it).

Aonung also starts kind of taking Spider around with him (I haven't forgotten about him). He was pretty reluctant at first about the human but when his mom of all people went all mama bear over him he was like, well there's no reason for me to be reticent then. His big bro senses are tingling every time he sees Spider now and he's just like must protect, he's so SMOL.

Kiri and Spider spend a lot of alone time together, which doesn't go unnoticed by Ronal and Tonowari (and Neteyam, he knows what's up). They're always holding each other in some way or Spider just kind of shoves his head into her shoulder when he wants attention. She takes him out to the reef and shows him everything she's wanted to show him since the moment she got here. Sometimes they just do activities in silence, basking in the other's presence, other times they'll just talk back and forth nonstop for hours. Kiri makes sure to kiss his growing hair every night and run her fingers through it or pulling at his curls and watching them bounce back up so he knows she loves them. 

Eventually, Kiri does confess to him. I'd like to imagine it's during a night where she's snatched Spider away from Neteyam's protective grasp and takes him out on her ikran for a night flight. Spider's has always loved Pandora's night sky and the stars so she gives it to him. He leans back into her and reaches his hands into the sky as if he could touch them and he looks more carefree than she's seen him since he came back. They land atop one of the few trees near Awa'atlu and settle back against its branches. She tells him she wants to talk to him about something and the seriousness of her expression sobers him up quickly. She says it kind of haltingly, and talks in a bit of a circle before she gets frustrated with herself and just kind of yells, "I LOVE YOU!" then immediately slaps her hands to her mouth, peering at him through her lashes. Spider is just completely slack-jawed and speechless. Like he legit can't believe this is real and actually slaps himself across the face, which serves only to jostle his mask painfully and Kiri hurries to grab his face like what the hell are you doing. And then Spider just starts laughing, his hands coming to cover her own. He can't stop laughing but he's also crying (happy tears yall) and knocks his masked forehead against her own and it comes out of him like an animal that's finally been released from its cage, "I love you, Kiri, so much, since I met you" and BAM adorable beans. I'm trying really hard not to slip into writing a fic rn so moving on. 

Spider's pretty much fully recovered by this point and Ronal and Tonowari finally take him aside and seriously ask him if they can adopt him. Well, Ronal kind of just declares they're adopting him and Tonowari has to correct her and is like, "only if you would permit it. We'd like to officially take you in as family." At this point Spider's cried more than he thinks he has in his entire life during his time with the Metkayina clan but he's still surprised when he tears up again and is just like, "are you serious? Really? Like adopt me like you're my parents?" He obviously can't believe it. And Tonowari's like, "yes, we'd like to be your spirit parents." Spider looks to Ronal for confirmation and wildly wonders if this is some sick joke but she looks just about as serious as he's ever seen her. And he just full on cries. Ronal can't hold back anymore and just pulls him to her side and lets him cry while Tonowari lays a hand on the back of his neck. 

But before officially being adopted, Spider thinks it's time to get some closure with the Sully's. So he has Neteyam ask Neytiri and Jake if they'd be willing to meet with him. It's Neytiri who says yes first, surprising all of them. Neteyam is quick to give a lecture to his parents, the first ever and it feels good tbh, about how they've treated Spider, how Neteyam feels about it, and that he cannot stand by and watch as they mistreat him any longer. He's been obedient for a lot of things, but he's choosing to take a stand against this officially. Obviously all the kids side with him. Tuk doesn't really understand what's going on but she adds in her two cents of, "I love Spider I don't want to see him hurt, please don't hurt him."

They go to meet Spider who has Ronal and Tonowari at his back at their insistence. Ronal is fuming and is dying to say something but she respects her new son's wishes. Tonowari is also angry obviously but he's just happy the kid has agreed and he can try to make up for how he has been treated. Spider flinches when he sees Neytiri but he forces himself to stay sitting. Jake can barely look at him but Neytiri actually looks him head on, and for the first time, he doesn't see a trace of dislike in her gaze, just an eerie calm and an edge of softness that's never been directed at him before. 

Spider takes the lead first. He's spent a lot of time thinking about his past and his relationship with the Sully's (or lack thereof) and a lot of Kiri, Neteyam, Tonowari, Ronal, and even Lo'ak (in a clumsy but endearing way) constantly telling him that he had deserved to be treated better, that who his parents were and had done wasn't his fault, that he was worthy, that it was wrong of them to leave him with the RDA. He couldn't really accept it at first, even vehemently denied it saying he understood. And while his understanding of their actions being motivated by trauma and stuff remained the same, he'd finally come to accept that he had deserved better. And he says as much to the two of them. It's nerve-wracking as hell, but it feels amazing to say, to finally express to them how hurt he felt by Neytiri's dislike for him, how awful it had been to have Jake be kind to him but pull away when it began to feel like anything. I lowkey think Jake starts crying tbh while Neytiri just listens calmly and takes everything in.

When he's done, Neytiri speaks first and wholeheartedly apologizes to him, not averting her gaze or anything. She says that he's right, that her experiences clouded her judgment and hardened her heart against him unfairly. It had drawn a thick veil over her eyes and she'd never tried to see him for who he was and not his blood. She makes no excuses for the way she treated him and says she doesn't dare ask for his forgiveness because she doesn't deserve it. She ignored one of the Great Mother's most important teachings and that will weigh on her always. She doesn't apologize for cutting him on the ship because she did what she felt needed to be done to save her daughter. And frankly Spider agrees which has Ronal about to go off in protest, but Spider smiles at her and she backs down reluctantly. Neytiri apologizes for everything else though and swears to Eywa that she will never do or say anything to consciously hurt Spider again, which seriously shocks him. An oath to Eywa is a big deal after all. He almost chokes up because of it. And then actually does when she says, "I see you" and he can feel she really does. 

Jake frankly has no words but tries his best to blubber through an apology about keeping him at arms length, not making sure he as cared for better, for leaving him behind and never attempting to rescue him. I'm not super invested in his apology as I'm writing this rn so I'm gonna skip past it but yeah. 

Spider steals himself then because he's about to admit something big to them. He's already told his new parents and they've coached him on how best to broach the subject. So he tells them that he knows they don't want to hear about Quarritch but it goes hand in hand with their treatment of his and his overall lack of adult care in his life. He explains with some difficulty what was done to him by the RDA, that Quarritch pulled him out of the torture, gave him more care than he'd ever received before and had been the first adult to genuinely care for his life despite how messed up that was. And then he admits to having saved Quarritch, that he made that split second decision because he couldn't just sit and let the only person who'd ever really cared about him drown. Neytiri is shocked to her core. She wants to run and scream but she sees Spider now, truly, and made an oath to Eywa, so she can't help but face up to the fact that this development was her fault. In her fear of how Spider would turn out like his father, she'd inadvertently contributed to this decision. In not going back for him and just taking Kiri with her and leaving, she had created this situation. So she doesn't get mad, doesn't feel like she's allowed to and apologizes to him again, but makes sure he knows that if she ever sees Quarritch again, she will kill him with no hesitation. 

AND THAT'S THAT YALL! For now anyway, I'd accept any asks about this AU (would love to receive some) because I've had a lot of fun writing this even if it hurts me. Spider is adopted by Tonowari and Ronal, recovers, finds his place in the village. Kiri and him go public and Kiri's ready to beat up anyone who says anything about it. Lo'ak is shook and Neteyam's just like FINALLY. Spider and Neteyam are closer than they've ever been. Obviously shit's gonna happen since the RDA is gone but Spider finally feels like he's rooted somewhere, like he's okay and doesn't only have to rely on himself to take care of himself. He's got a family now who fusses over him obsessively. He's about to become a big brother. The love of his life LOVES HIM BACK! And he starts wearing his hair mostly curly and finds his own sense of identity, no longer trying to copy Jake or try so hard to fit in. 

I'd like to say he's eventually blessed by Eywa and can breathe their air BECAUSE HE DESERVES IT! But yeah that's enough for now. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!

PS Ronal and Tonowari begin making him a new songcord.

#Spider Socorro #Meena's Humanized Spider AU #Spider Avatar #Neteyam #Spiri #Kiri #Spider x Kiri #Lo'ak #Ronal #Tonowari #Avatar 2 #Avatar the way of water #Neytiri #Jake Sully #Sully family #Tuktirey #Tuk #Spider deserves love #And he GETS it #Curly haired Spider is the best

[dreamfyre03]

A Dragon's Love

Trigger Warnings: None

Chapter 5: A Return to King's Landing

Six months later

The Red Keep was bustling with activity preparing for the celebrations for Aemond’s name day, much to his dismay. Daenys knew he hated such gatherings, for although he had grown used to the whispers and snickers about his appearance, it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. She hated the way people would so clearly make jests about her brother’s appearance. His Valyrian features were stunning to her, and his scar gave him a dangerous handsomeness that in her opinion, should have women swooning over him. If she heard anyone speak of him in such a manner, she didn’t hesitate to put them in their place. 

She learnt a week ago from Queen Alicent that Rhaenyra and her family would be coming to King’s Landing for the celebrations, and to see their father, who had only grown more ill as time passed. 

Indeed, time had not been kind to her father, and although they never had a close relationship, in the recent months she began to visit him daily, braving the scent of sick that often lingered in his rooms, to read to him of the histories of the Valyrian ancestors. The act of kindness was lost on her brothers, who, held no love for their father, but Daenys persisted nonetheless. 

Sometimes, he would listen, and then tell her how she was as beautiful as her mother Aemma was, other times he’d think she was Rhaenyra, and sometimes, he would simply let her voice lull him into sleep. She knew her sister would probably arrive the next day, and so she was spending the day trying to calm her nerves at the prospect of seeing her again. She was walking to her chambers when she heard Alicent’s voice coming from Aegon’s rooms, shouting, as she went on about her son’s drunken exploits once again, and how Rhaenyra was coming tomorrow and he wasn’t even thinking of the family at all. A harsh slap could be heard, and Alicent left the room and a fury. Daenys sighed, and went into Aegon’s rooms, to be met with the sight of his eyes glassy with tears. His hair was tousled from both sleep and his actives the night before, and he was clearly naked as he sat wrapped in his sheets. 

She could see the red imprint of Alicent’s hand on his cheek, and she said nothing at first as she sat next to him on the edge of the bed. “Nothing is ever enough for her, is it?” He asked with a sniffle, roughly wiping any tears from his face. Daenys smoothed the skirt of her red gown and soothingly passed her hand over Aegon’s cheek, and he closed his eyes as her cool skin passed over his still stinging cheek. “She’s under immense pressure, brother. My sister’s arrival doesn’t bode well for any of us, I’m afraid. I’ve no doubt your grandsire has a scheme or two hidden up his sleeve.” 

Aegon sighed and shifted next to her, and lowered his head to let it rest on her chest, as he had done many times before. “The gods should have made Aemond the first son, not me. I wasn’t made for duty, I cannot be want they want.” He told her. She detangled his hair with her fingers, as he leaned into her, like if they were still children and Aegon had run to her for comfort after a lashing from Alicent, and she said, “Maybe. But remember there are those that love you, Aegon. Your mother does, although she has difficulty showing it. I do, as do Helaena and the children.” Thanks to Daenys, Aegon and Helaena’s relationship had improved throughout their marriage, and they had settled into a comfortable relationship as brother and sister. It wasn’t a love match, by any means, but now that they satisfied their mother and bore three beautiful children, the removal of that pressure left room for their relationship to improve. Aegon was still perturbed by her love of insects, and her strange riddles, but they loved each other in their own way. 

“Mother hates me, Grandsire only needs me as a pawn against out fucking sister, and Aemond thinks me a fool.” He confided.

“I can’t speak to your grandsire, for he is a conniving man, that much is true. Your mother and you are more similar than you might realise, and mayhaps for that very reason you struggle to get along. And Aemond might think you a fool, but you are his brother, and even if he won’t admit it, he does care.” She told him. “Maybe.” Was all he said. 

“Come now, it’s high time you got out of this bed. We can go to our hideaway, and take a break from all the madness out there, alright?” She said as she got up. He nodded, and as he got up to get ready, Daenys turned back to him and said in an amused tone, “And brother? Put on some pants. We wouldn’t want to scare those innocent maid out there, would we?” 

He finally flashed her his signature wicked smile, and replied, “Don’t be naive sister. If you stick around, I might finally show you why they always come back for more.” She laughed, shaking her head at him, and said, “As tempting as that sounds, I’ll have to pass, brother," leaving him to ready himself , while she made her way to their little hidden hideaway hidden in the castle walls. 

.

.

Aemond was training in the yard with Ser Criston when he spotted his nephews, and he was surprised, he heard they would have arrived tomorrow. But nonetheless, he took great satisfaction at the scared look on Lucery’s face when he saw him, wielding his sword masterfully. He left the training yard in search of his sister, but after search high and low, he couldn’t find her. He found Helaena in her room, and asked, “Have you seen Daenys?” She shook her head. “I saw her leaving father’s room’s earlier, but I haven’t seen her since. Or Aegon, and mother’s been looking for him.” 

Aemond grimaced and left, once again checking the library, and even her chambers, which were empty. He wondered if she was avoiding seeing their sister, perhaps she heard that they arrived a day earlier and wasn’t ready to see her. Although, with Aegon gone, he prayed he hasn’t roped her into leaving the Keep, in broad daylight no less. He stopped by his rooms for a hood, and then left through the secret door in his chambers to find his way into the city, praying they hadn’t gotten far. He kept walking through the tunnels, when he heard the sound of his sister’s giggling close by. He quickened his steps and found her and Aegon, who looked surprised to see him. “Where have you been?” He huffed, in annoyance. “We’ve been in the Keep the whole time, brother.” Aegon replied. “Don’t lie, I’ve scoured the castle and you’ve seemingly disappeared. Where were you?” He repeated. 

“You better not have taken our sister to Flea Bottom, brother.” Aemond warned, and Aegon rolled his eyes. “He hasn’t, brother, don’t worry.” Daenys reassured him. “Then where were you?” He pressed.

Aegon and Daenys looked at each other, seemingly silently communicating through their eyes, before Aegon sighed and said, “Come on,” walking ahead of them, and Daenys grabbed his hand in hers and pulled him along. He watched as Aegon stopped in front of the walls of the tunnels, and bent down to lift a latch Aemond never noticed before, and the wall slid open, and Daenys pulled him in behind her, and he was suddenly in a room he had never seen before. “Isn’t it wonderful?” Daenys sighed happily, as he took in the sight of the hundreds of books that lined the walls, and the warmth of the room that, although was furnished with furniture that looked decades old, was clearly frequently used. Aegon sat on the long settee as Daenys pulled him to show him all the books, written in High Valyrian, that did in fact peak his interest. “How long have you know about this place?” He asked as he went and sat next to his brother. “Surely a bit more than five years now, I should think.” Aegon said. “Just about. It was much dustier and messier before Aegon showed to me, but thanks to me we managed to clean it up nicely.” She explained. “But you mustn’t tell a soul.” Daenys said. “Not one” Aegon concurred. Aemond felt a twinge of jealousy that Daenys shared this secret with his brother for so long, that they had something he didn’t have with her. But seeing her smile when she excitedly showed him all the priceless books on the walls, his jealousy simmered. “Please, Aemond.” Daenys looked at him with pleasing eyes, and when her familiar scent of jasmine and lilies wafted over to him, he couldn’t deny her anything. 

“Alright.” He grumbled. His siblings smiled, and Aegon relaxed next to him on the settee, and Daenys sprawled out on the ground, the calves of her legs exposed, and Aemond forced himself to pull away his stare. 

“We can’t stay here too long. Rhaenyra’s arrived.” Aemond told them. Aegon groaned in annoyance, and Daenys shot up from the ground, a mixed expression of surprise and nervousness on her face. 

“She’s here?” Daenys asked quietly.

“With her bastards in tow.” Aemond replied, to which Aegon snorted a laugh. 

Daenys slouched as she she wriggled to sit between them. “Your mother is probably livid, I suppose we should go.” Daenys said sadly. 

Aemond nodded, but none of them moved. “Maybe we can just wait here for a few minutes? Savour the calm before the storm, so to speak?” She asked them quietly. The brothers nodded, and Aemond let Daenys rest her head on his chest as she propped her feet on Aegon’s lap, truly savouring the calm before a storm bigger than any of them could foresee. 

.

.

Daenys didn’t see her sister that day, she heard from Helaena who was told by Alicent that Rhaenyra had gone with Daemon to see their father, and took her two youngest, Aegon and baby Viserys with her. She was glad, she didn’t think she was ready to see her sister, although she figured she wouldn’t have much to say to her, but even after all this time, the sting of her last words to her was still there. She sat under the Godswood reading the book Aemond got her for her name day a few months ago, about the history of dragons, and how they came to be in Old Valyria, when she heard an unfamiliar voice say, “Aunt Daenys, it’s been quite a while.” She looked up to see her nephew Jacaerys standing close by, clearly no longer the little boy she remembered. “Nephew, how lovely to see you. How you’ve grown!” She smiled, as he sat next to her on the ground. Despite her sister’s sentiments towards her, and her brothers’ and the Queens sentiments towards her nephews, she could never bring herself to harbour any ill will towards them. She knew all too well the whispers of their legitimacy, but they were her sister’s children, and they bore no fault for her sister’s shortcomings. 

“How are you enjoying King’s Landing?” She asked, setting her book aside. He laughed nervously and passed his hand through his brown hair, “I confess, although I have my memories here, it feels rather unfamiliar at times.” 

“I can only imagine. I imagine I might feel the same were I to go to Dragonstone.” She replied.

“Perhaps you might like it. I confess, it is sometimes rather cold, and windy, but it is rather nice to go down to the beach in the warmer months, sometimes you can see the unclaimed dragons flying about.” He told her. “I should like that, I think. I find it sad, sometimes, that it is our family’s ancestral seat, yet in all my life I’ve never been.” 

He smiled at her shyly, and Daenys thought he was a rather nice boy, kind, despite her brothers’ dislike of him and his siblings. “How are your siblings?” She asked as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the beading in her rose coloured gown. “Quite well. Mother’s with child again, and I believe she might be hoping for a girl; I daresay she’d like a daughter after having four sons.” He said. “Rhaenyra is with child again?” She asked, trying to hide her surprise. She hadn’t even known. He nodded, noticing her slightly sad expression. “I know you and my mother haven’t had the best relationship, aunt, but I do hope that will not impact how you see me or my siblings? I know my uncles have no kind word to send my way, but I hope you do not mirror their sentiments.” He revealed. 

She gave him a kind smile, and lightly touched his hand and said, “My brothers have their reasons, but I am not as harsh as they might be, unless justly prompted. There is much strife between our families, and I do not wish to deepen it by mistreating you or your siblings.” 

“Thank you, Aunt, I am grateful.” He returned her smile. “Please, call me Daenys.”

“Very well, Daenys.” They spent a while talking, and laughing, mostly about their dragons, until a tall figure loomed over them, blocking the sunlight, drawing their attention.

Aemond stood there, glaring at Jace, and said coldly, “Sister, Helaena needs your help with the children.” 

She nodded, and took his offered hand to get to her feet, eyeing the glares exchanged between him and Jace, who traded his easygoing expression for a stone faced one of intolerance. 

“It was lovely speaking to you, Daenys. Give my Aunt Helaena my warmest regards.” He said, as Aemond took her arm in his, and before she could finish bid him goodbye, he turned them both and walked them away.

“That was a bit rude, brother,” She said breathlessly, trying to keep up the brisk pace Aemond had set for them. 

“Rude only scratches the surface of what I wanted to do to that Strong bastard. You mustn’t trust him, Daenys. He has no care for any of us, and despises us as much as we despise them.” He told her. “I don’t despise anyone! I do believe his brother should have been punished for what he did to you, just as I believe my sister as taken advantage of our father’s kindness to escape consequences for her actions, but I do not hate them.” She whisper shouted at him as they passed some courtiers in the halls. “It doesn’t matter. He won’t look out for you like I would, or even Aegon. You mustn’t let your guard down. You don’t know what their ulterior motives are. He is his mother’s son, don’t forget it.” He warned her. “I know. I will be careful, I promise. But he is our family, as they all are, and I won’t be uncivil.” She replied. He sighed and stopped them to look at her with a slightly softened expression. “I just don’t trust them. Rhaenyra’s feelings towards you are quite clear, worse now that she thinks you’re politically aligned with my mother and grandsire.” 

“But I’m not, I couldn’t care less about your mother and grandsire’s politicking, you know that.” 

“I know. I simply wish no harm come to you,” he said quietly, brushing her hair out of her face with a gentle touch. The gesture created an unfamiliar warm sensation in her stomach, and she felt her face get hot. “I know. I will be fine, brother, worry not. In any case, I’ve you to protect me, don’t I?” She teased, eager to change the tone of their conversation and get rid of this new feeling that took over her. He let a small smile slip past his lips. “Always, sister. You are mine to protect.” He said as they resumed walking to Helaena’s rooms. As they did, she couldn’t help but think there was a deeper meaning to what he said than he let on. 

#aemond targaryen #aemond one eye #prince aemond targaryen #aemond #aemond x oc #aemond fanfiction #aemond fic #aemond smut #hotd aemond #prince aemond #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd fanfic #alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #aegon ii #helaena targaryen #daeron targaryen

[chubbylittlebumblebee]

Please read the whole post before commenting. I’ve never made a public post like this before so bear with me if it seams long-winded.

Recently @hg-aneh has been bombarded with extremely upsetting comments since they confirmed that they do ship Crowley and Muriel.

First off, it is never okay to dog pile on someone who is not already in the wide scale public eye. Calling someone a pedophile because of fictional ships is never okay. Lashing out at someone is not going to help them see your point of view, it automatically puts them on the defense and no one makes any progress either way. If you see someone has commented the same thing you were going to say, don’t. It is a terrible feeling to see 100 notifications and know they will all be people tearing you apart.

Quelin Sepulveda is an adult. Muriel is canonically thousands of years old. They might find solace in Crowley, who I know would deeply care for them. Crowley is a character who fosters curiosity and wonder in other characters. Muriel has that inherently, and it is logical to assume that as Crowley is alone they would naturally come together in some way.

From Muriel’s perspective, Crowley is one of the first people to like them for simply being themselves. He is going to be their first constant in 6000 years that isn’t demeaning or critical. He will introduce them to earth and all the beautiful things within. (Just like he did with Aziraphale.) For the first time they will experience affection compassion; they will be important.

Crowley would have someone who needs and loves him. Muriel is also someone who isn’t critical and would see Crowley for who he really is. Muriel mirrors pre-fall Crowley in so many ways, it would be imposible for him not to care for them. They won’t shut him down like Aziraphale would, it would probably be easier to tell what they want.

Crowley also knows more about earth, heaven, and hell than any other being has except God and The Metatron. He understands the inherent traumas that heaven and hell inflict on everyone. He knows what’s coming. He knows what is at stake.

Throughout their life Muriel has only spoken to people once every 300 years. Yes they take records so they probably know some things, but only from Heaven’s point of view and without context. Most of those they do meet are unkind as they see Muriel as the lowest in their ranks. You can see how nervous they are when Saraqael brings them to speak to Uriel and Micheal about Gabriel’s matchbox. Muriel knows so little about earth that they have to be taught how to drink tea. They do not have any idea how to interact with anyone because they never got the chance to. During the season they are in an entirely new place with new people and they have no experience with any of it, so much so that they are easily manipulated twice. Once about Aziraphale and Crowley’s secret meeting, and again when Crowley gets them to “arrest” him. They don’t have enough experience to know that they even could be manipulated or abused. They think that everyone has their best interest at heart.

The knowledge gap between Crowley and Muriel’s is reminiscent of that of movies like Tron Legacy, Fifty First Dates, Fifth Element, the original Planet of the Apes, and Splash. If you have made it this far Pop Culture Detective does a great job at explaining it.

Muriel is definitely autism coded and autistic people are frequently infantilized, but most of us know basic things about the world. We haven’t been stuck in an empty room for thousands of years. It is common for those with immense trauma to find a romantic connection for the first person who was truly kind to them. That’s why doctors can’t date their patients, teachers can’t date their students, and therapist can’t date their clients. Muriel doesn’t even know what romance is or what it entails for them or Crowley. (Aziraphale has also been super autism coded this season so we don’t just have Muriel)

But that’s only the case for the current cannon. It’s okay to retcon things in your own works, to go through different scenarios with characters that would allow them to interact differently. It’s okay to wonder about different characters and see them as a couple. It’s always important to take a step back to see the whole picture before commenting on something like this. I love the Good Omens fandom, it has allowed me to be myself and meet new people. I don’t want this fandom to become a toxic place. We already have to deal with homophobia and transphobia bearing down on us from the outside. We just want to make and experience art together.

Thank you so much for reading through all of this, it is really important that we support each other right now and I hope that everybody, especially @hg-aneh is doing well (I can’t imagine how exhausting this whole ordeal has been). If this conversation does continue please do so from a place of respect. If you wish to bring anything else to my attention, please do so. I am always looking to learn more and I am always open to different ideas and ways of thinking.

Keep being beautiful beautiful humans, and take care of each other.

#good omens #good omens s2 #gomens #crowley #muriel #aneh answers #aneh draws

[anonymousdandelion]

Upstream Factors

For @flashfictionfridayofficial's prompt "against the flow", my mind naturally went MERMAIDS. So here, have a bit of original fiction.

(This feels like the beginning to a longer story, and I'd love to tell you what happens next... but unfortunately I have no idea.)

“Marea!”

Her tail lashed, a flash of silver-green scales propelling her through the freshwater waves with equal parts ease and purpose. Calder swam quickly in her wake, though it was all he could do to keep up with his friend’s pace in the water. 

“Marea, where are you going?”

She paused at last to float, turning to face him — but she was frowning, and the set of her jaw told him her mind was made up. “I told you already. I’m going up-River.”

She pointed at the broad, fast-moving stream just beyond them.

“But you can’t!”

“I can try.”

He groped desperately for another argument. “But, but the current…”

“I’ve swum against the flow of currents before,” she said mildly. “Even the River can’t be worse than the rip.”

Remembering the many upstream races they’d shared in happier times, Calder couldn’t help but concede that point.

“It’s longer than a rip, though,” he tried.

“Yes, and no one knows how long it is, because no one has ever bothered trying to find out. I know that.” She made a face. “Look, if you think the current is too strong, you don’t need to stop me. Its flow will just carry me back, won’t it?”

But what if it doesn’t? Calder didn’t say. Or what if… if something bad happens, and it carries you back too late? Or… 

“The cleanup,” he said instead. “What about the cleanup crew? We need your help.”

Marea shook her head, the movement rippling out around them. “The cleanup isn’t enough. It’s a temporary solution which means it’s not a solution at all. And you know it.”

He did know it. Everyone knew it, he suspected — though fewer of them were inclined to admit it. The general preference seemed to be to concentrate on alleviating the immediate crisis, catching and removing the ever-increasing junk and debris, with the assumption that if they just held out long enough things would get better again. 

Except that things were getting worse instead of better, and even Calder couldn’t deny that Marea was right.

~ ~ ~

For time uncounted, the Lake had been a home of health and prosperity for the Mer who dwelt in her waters.

They lived and died alongside the many fish, mammals, coral, and other undersea life that shared their world. They swam, and ate, and laughed, and loved, and occasionally fought among themselves, and generally thrived amid the rich ecosystem of which they were a part.

The Lake was their home; the Mer were the Lake’s people; and, for a very long time, all was well.

That was before the River Trouble began.

The River had, of course, always been there — at the far northern shore, feeding the Lake and perpetually refreshing her waters. The flow was fast, the current strong enough to discourage any wishes to explore far upstream. Besides, there was never any reason someone should want to. The Lake held all they needed.

And then, for the first time, the River began to carry harm.

Foreign substances, both solid and liquid, which had no place in the Lake and damaged those who had the misfortune to encounter it. Objects, oils, and other things which seemed to fit within neither category; 

Death and disease had always had a presence in the Lake; it was only natural. But never before had they been brought by the flow of the River.

The Mer, recognizing the emergency at hand, formed teams. They watched the place where the River met the Lake, and intercepted the potential harm as much as possible. They cleaned what they might, extracted what they could, and confined what they could not.

The Mer worked hard, and fast, and skillfully. They knew, like none other, how to work with their Lake and harness her resources in her defense. 

But the Trouble kept coming, and that was harder and faster still.

~ ~ ~

“It has to be coming from somewhere,” said Marea quietly. “It has to. Somewhere up-River, the Trouble is entering the water before it gets to us. Somebody has to find out where it’s coming from… and why.”

Calder looked at her, and he saw that he could no more change her mind than he could convince the River to flow in the opposite direction.

He nodded, then, and swam up beside her, taking one last look at the Lake surrounding them. Even now, with so much going wrong, it was still beautiful.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s go.”

That got Marea’s attention. She stared at him. “But— you—”

He shrugged with a curl of the tail. “It won’t be my first time going against the flow either, you know.”

She cracked a smile at that, and reached for his hand.

Together, they entered the River, to swim against the current and find the Trouble’s source.

#dandelion fics #original fiction #fiction #short story #flash fiction #mermaids #merfolk #merpeople #pollution #flash fiction friday

[sugarcubetikki]

Also I think another part of the argument about El’s s1 appearance is specifically that she was described to look like Will. They thought she could possibly have been him with shaved hair. So that’s another thing that I’ve seen bylers use to be like hm…. Interesting

Yes! A lot of us do perceive El resembling Will to be interesting byler proof.

However, I don’t really see it in the way you’re referring to.

I don’t think El resembling Will is what contributed to Mike falling in love/projecting his feelings for Will onto El. I think it serves greater narrative meaning than that.

This amazing post talks about El and Will being linked as foils. And it’s something you can see as important according to the larger storyline as well as how it relates to Mike’s relationship and his conflicting feelings for both of them.

In that way I think El seeming to resemble Will is indication of this idea of them being foils. And in reference to their relationship with Mike, he’s constantly switching between the two, he’s with one whilst apart from the other whether it’s physically or emotionally or both. It conveys a conflicting nature in his feelings for both of them.

However, I don’t see El and Will to be on equal footing to Mike romantically. I believe he’s strongly influenced by heteronormative standards and is somewhat projecting his romantic feelings for Will onto El due to the way Margaret Thatcher has been built up.

When he first met El, he was focused on finding Will, the reason why he was in those woods in the first place because he was desperate and snuck out to find his best friend.

When he found El, she was scared and lost (like Will probably was then and you can’t tell me Mike wasn’t stressing over that) so he took her under his wing. All the parallels and comparisons that could be made between Will and her were all to perfect: in terms of appearance, their passive personalities during the time and on a deeper level certain traumatic events they faced in the past.

I’d argue that I think as El has grown and developed as a character she deeply became separate from who she was in S1 but Mike has become very disconnected from who she’s grown into. As most of her character development happened when she was away from Mike (S2 and 4 physically whereas 3 emotionally she grew as a character with Max) and he never got to know who she’s become (they spent most of S3 making out and fighting then when El moved they did send each other letters but El was lying in most of them so I can’t blame Mike for this).

Their relationship in S1 was also greatly driven by Mike relying on El and her powers to find Will (he lashed out on her at the quarry when Will’s “body” was pulled out only to soften later on when she manipulates the radio or walkie talkie audio to Will singing).

It’s also interesting how many characters show strong concern over Mike’s emotional state due to Will going missing: Karen’s conversation with him whilst El is in the closet, Karen to Joyce when Mike misses school, Nancy to Mike later on - the same isn’t done with Lucas or Dustin to this extent. I understand there’s supposed to be a dual meaning here because a lot of Mike’s behaviour was to do with him hiding El but it makes you think…really think…how it’s pointed out in the show that everyone expected Mike to be acting weird because of Will but then it’s supposedly revealed it’s because of El’s presence. I think things aren’t what they necessarily seem here especially because everything relationship with El relates to Will in a way. He found some sort of comfort in El when Will was absent because let’s be frank here if El hadn’t stepped into Mike’s life he’d be worrying over Will every second onscreen.

El entering his life gave him someone to care for in Will’s absence, I’m not saying El was a stand-in for Will but she was if you consider Mike and Will’s dynamic in S2 - it mirrors Mike and El’s S1 dynamic. I know a lot of people love to say that Mike was projecting missing El onto Will but I’m sorry this is their dynamic and their closeness has been implied before the series started by every other character and the “it was a seven” on its own. If anything, it’s the other way around and it makes the most sense. Even now, in S4, Mike uses El to conceal his worries over Will (it just felt like I lost you and maybe I was worrying over El too much/Mike venting his frustrations of Will not speaking to him in the roller rink using him being a douche to El as an excuse).

Taking care of El seemed to be a coping mechanism for Mike in Will’s absence (when both El and Will are not there, may I remind you he tries to jump off a cliff?) and he seemed to be projecting a lot of his worries over Will onto that too. If you consider heteronormativity and the fact that El was a girl, Mike could be with her the way he could never be with Will. He felt like he fell in love with her then but the question is did he really when we get 3 more seasons of the show where their relationship seems to be a mess and the byler coding grows stronger?

His life started in those woods? Because it felt like it ended when he lost Will and finding El and “falling in love with her” got him through that pain.

But El is not the same girl from S1 anymore. Mike has to realise that she’s grown and developed into her own person whereas sort through his own feelings and how he’s been projecting all of his feelings for Will onto El throughout the series and how messy it has become.

Just to make it clear I don’t think Mike actively realises he’s projecting, it seems to be more of a subconscious experience that makes the most sense according to the narrative in my eyes at least. Unlike Will, he definitely hasn’t unpacked his gayness yet.

#byler #byler analysis #asks #mike wheeler is gay #mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things

[magicalgirlsasuke]

tw// sexual assault

i fully support anyone who wants to drop the show bcos of how dark things have gotten this season. i really wasn’t expecting it either and i’ve dropped many shows i’ve loved for including sa. what i’m going on to say is in no way trying to influence anyone to come back who was triggered by it’s inclusion or how things were handled. i’ve just seen a lot of people interpreting things in a way that i personally disagree with.

i’ve seen so many folk on twitter saying that seth was a closeted queer man and that is just so blatantly untrue and deeply homophobic. what seth done to josh was a show of dominance, he was in no way attracted to him, it was an act of sheer violence and torture with the sole purpose of showing josh how powerless he is in comparison.

i’ve also seen folk saying that it was solely included for shock value and i just have to disagree. they didn’t make up something horrific just to make us uncomfortable, they showed us the real darkest aspect of a patriarchal society. sa is something i have a really hard time hearing discussed even on tv so honestly if they pulled punches and decided to use a murder instead it would’ve been a relief to me, but i don’t think including it was out of place when the act itself along with the aftermath clearly showcased the insidious nature of toxic masculinity, which is the purpose of the boy group.

it would’ve been so so easy for the writers to have the characters fall into a half and half split of people who believed josh and people who believed seth, as an easy way of negatively presenting the boy group. but the characters were instead written in a way that was really realistic for modern teenage boys. i often didn’t agree with the characters’ behaviour in the aftermath but i was really impressed with the care taken to flesh things out and how it was utilised to open up discussions and show a different kind of implosion.

i found it so realistic how all the boys offered full support to josh up until he showed trauma reactions. first we see ivan who’s chronically online, get upset that josh isn’t appreciative of his kiddy glove handling of him. then ofc we have all the boys disgusted by josh starting to mimic kirin, even tho it makes absolute perfect sense for him to want to feel as powerful as the one person on the island who’s making him feel safe. josh lashing out at bo was nasty and uncalled for yeah, but no one other than kirin and bo recognised/cared it was a way of josh trying to establish any power he could. it should’ve been called out for sure but the other boys showed a complete lack of compassion by treating it with the same severity as sa.

raf’s reaction absolutely boiled my blood and i still can’t forgive him but it was such an accurate characterisation to include. seth made raf feel like he was seen and special, and as someone who wasn’t used to that type of companionship, he became very loyal to seth. he fully believed in seth right up until he learned that he was lying about his girlfriend (the commonality that seth initially used to bond with him) leading to him finally realising that seth’s friendly personality was all a fabrication. we see that as henry tries to placate raf - telling him that seth could be a nice person sometimes so it was understandable for him to fall for it, that raf doesn’t buy into it at all anymore. we see him fully come to understand that being nice doesn’t make someone trustable bcos abusers will act nice solely as a way of getting you to trust them.

i really didn’t read seth’s backstory as being in anyway sympathetic? with the story that’s being told we need to see what made seth this way bcos he himself is a product of the patriarchy. it isn’t as obvious as it should’ve been made but his need for people to like him is abandonment issues ofc, his need for power is due to him being tossed aside by women. men are raised to see women as a lesser type of person, only serving purpose as mothers and potential partners (even when they’re their friend), so for someone who views women in that way to learn so harshly that they themselves don’t matter to those women?? that they’re below even them?? that’s what resulted in his strong desire to assert dominance over others, especially ones he knows are weaker than him like josh and henry. just to be clear i’m in no way trying to excuse him, what he did is absolutely irredeemable even tho something lead him to become the way he was (i actually felt they gave him a much less drastic backstory than they could’ve for us to be in no way sympathetic). acts of violence are almost always rooted in the maintenance of misogyny within society and this just leads to an ever feeding cycle that can only end with its abolishment.

i hope this in no way sounds preachy or anything, i’ve just read a lot of folk rallying against the writers for including something so homophobic and unnecessary which is just untrue in my opinion??

#the wilds #the wilds spoilers #in comparison to the girls group is so clear how important power is for the boys #other than seth ofc i don’t find any of the boys irredeemable like that total desire to not be seen as weak so be stronger than everyone #is something drilled into boys from a young young age and i truly do think theyd benefit sm from learning to do things the way the girls do #just as i wont forgive them if they try to redeem seth i wont forgive them for not handling josh properly either #it would make perfect sense for josh to become a confederate bcos of his need for power but he better be shown as much sympathy as nora

[frostluvrs]

you are me with all the posts about Sand. i was SO giddy in the pool scene lmao the way he was looking at Ray super calculating, like yes please, manipulate him more! Also I just love smart characters and I think Sand is one.

in my case I totally accept it's because i am bitter @ Ray for how he is treated Sand at times and not loving him back lmao I know it doesn't make sense and it's not Ray's fault he does not love him back but what can i say, it's not rational lmao I loved watching Sand not caring about Ray's feelings and only caring about revenge. super toxic of me i know haha

What do you think is gonna happen? do you think Ray is actually gonna fall for Sand at some point (that scene of the trailer 'i won't let walk away' intrigues me) or it's just gonna continue like it is now, with Ray just loving Mew and using Sand as a distraction?

Also your post about being over Raymew, same and in my case it's also not because of Sandray necessarily, i just dislike the whole pinning from afar and humiliating yourself for someone who doesn't give you the time of day, it gives me secondhand embarrasment haha so seeing Ray acting like that is hard for me haha

sorry for this novel omg! but yeah love your posts <3

firstly, don’t even apologize for the novel because i’m about to write you one back so i apologize too for you having to read this long ass answer but LOL i can’t even fault you for loving sand being calculating and not caring about ray’s feelings for once. yes it’s not rational and yes, sand is not helping by refusing to admit how he feels even when ray has given him multiple times to do it. and yes, ray has not done really anything wrong to sand before the whore comments this episode but i really just couldn’t help but smile as a sand lover in ep 6. and for me like i said in my posts i’m just glad that he’s not becoming a doormat (yet… i fear there’s still time but let’s pray it won’t happen) and we’re actually seeing flaws of his. because i was really starting to want him away from everyone in the show after ep 5 and seeing the ep 6 preview and knowing that sand was continuing to help ray even after their fight and being knocked to the ground i was just like “why god, why is he continuing to come back to this man and be around these people. GET HIM AWAY FROM THEM!!!!”

so imagine my surprise and happiness when i saw sand in ep 6 prioritize his revenge over his feelings for ray and decided that he was going to use ray’s feelings. and like you said the way he went about it was really smart. is it toxic to think like that? like you said yes but i’m just happy that sand is capable of this shit too. and it also stays true to his character. he clearly didn’t expect a blow up like that and he clearly feels bad about it and didn’t take ray’s comments to heart because he knows that he was just doing it to lash out at him and push him away. and he continued to follow him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself or anyone else around him. it’s not like he was faking being a good guy and a genuine person with feelings for ray- this just added layers to his character. like sand, best character on the show? to me he is!

in regards to asking what i think will happen…. honestly, this show is so unpredictable (and even when predictable things do happen they happen in unpredictable ways if you get me) that i genuinely cannot tell you what i think is going to end up happening between ray and sand. there is so many possibilities that could happen that i’ve been thinking of since the show started and i know other people have theorized too that i’m gonna list below and there’s also the path i personally would like for them to take it.

so my ideal scenario (that i don’t think is gonna happen unfortunately) is that starting next episode they become closer and their relationship develops and ray’s feelings become more obvious and more clear that he’s falling. but yes, part of it is because ray becomes attached to sand in an unhealthy way. i would like for them to dig deeper into ray’s alcoholism and for sand to try to get help for ray, but ray not wanting to take it possibly. i’m not sure and i know i also haven’t thought too hard about where ray’s feelings for mew come in and continue to be a problem, sand seemingly walking away at some point and sand’s ex possibly coming back fits in but my ideal ending would be ray deciding to get help or go to rehab and sand being the constant in his life that is going to stay by his side as he gets help. whether it be in a platonic or romantic way. whether they decide to stay friends even though they know they have feelings for each other and maybe work things out in the future in an open ending. or just stay friends in general and sand is there to to be his support as he’s getting help. or they decide to continue to be in a romantic relationship as he’s getting help (yes that can be hard navigate but it can be done and i don’t really like the way half this fandom talks about ray in regards to his addiction).

so that would be my ideal ending that i don’t think is gonna happen. i know not everyone agrees because they don’t want the show to end with something so positive and that’s their opinion and i understand why but i think getting help is realistic too and i hope they show it. i’m here for the messiness and the dumb decisions but i’m also here for seeing these characters grow and i’d like to see it from ray most of all.

in terms of paths i can see happening for sandray (and this just a disorganized list of thoughts) -

- i can see ray deciding to get help at the end but him and sand deciding to go their separate ways whether it be in an open ending or they decide just to not talk to each other anymore

- i can see boeing coming back and jumpstarting ray’s jealousy and maybe making him realize his feelings towards sand. sounds very typical bl plot so i don’t know but it’s a thought that’s crossed my mind

- obviously, the most obvious scenario is ray is going to become unhealthily attached to sand in a similar way that he is to mew and that’s going to make them crash and burn badly. i do wonder if the relationship is going to become codependent with both of them though

- mew and ray’s unrequited love for mew continues to be a problem and this can go in many different paths. we have one of the obvious things that’s probably going to happen which is mew is going to sleep with ray and ray like a dumbass is going to agree even though he clearly will know that it’s for revenge against top. don’t know how that’ll develop or ruin or both sandray’s relationship but we’ll see.

- ray never seriously chooses sand and his feelings never become strong enough to surpass his feelings for mew; so that’s part of the reason they never work out. or ray realizes his feelings too late and they can’t come back from it. or ray realizes his feelings too late and they are able to come back from it (could be where the line in the trailer about not letting him leave his life comes from)

- speaking of that scene the trailer i am very curious about the context of it. it can be bad or good or both. it’s so clear that sand is trying to walk out of this relationship or whatever it is which is interesting to me because what the hell is going to happen that sand decides to leave? i actually posted about this the other day but he knows that ray loves mew and he knows that he doesn’t have a chance and seems to have acknowledged that so would he be leaving because of mew and ray not liking him back?

maybe he decides that his feelings are too strong and he wants to walk away but ray is like “um no you’re not”. or maybe ray starts acting in a way that gives sand hope again but it gets crushed once again and he decides to walk away which then once again ray is like “no you’re not”.

or sand realizes that the relationship is not healthy and decides to try to leave it in which ray is like “yea, no you’re not”. the way in which ray’s saying it kind of scares me a bit because i can’t tell if him saying it is going to be good for the relationship or bad. i also can’t read sand’s face well at all in that scene (but to be fair it’s really quick so i guess we don’t know if his facial expression changes or what it was before).

i’d like for it to be that he’s telling him that because he’s finally realized his feelings and he wants to fight for him. but it could be he’s doing it in a desperate attempt to keep sand with him while still not acknowledging his feelings or even just not having them on the degree that sand does for ray. or it could be both or none of that and it’s something completely different in context. i don’t know but it’s definitely one of the scenes i’m most looking forward to because so far nothing has happened that has pushed sand to the level of leaving so i’m curious as to what ray is going to do. and i’m also curious about how ray is not willing to let him leave so how did their did relationship develop to that between next episode and whenever that happens?

i’m also curious about that scene because i almost feel like sand leaving because he realizes how unhealthy their relationship is is not likely to happen because it almost seems like from the preview (but to be fair he could be joking) sand’s going to understand that but decide to continue to be in the ray’s life. maybe because he thinks he can help him or because he kind of likes idea that ray depends on him (not to the extent of thinking that he set ray up to lose his friends and only be able to rely on sand- i don’t agree with that theory)? or maybe because he just wants to be around ray and he doesn’t care if it’s an unhealthy attachment that ray has on him. but again, maybe he does decide to leave because he’s like “ok this is too much my feelings are too strong i can’t do this anymore” - cue ray losing his mind once sand decides that

- that scene of them arguing in the trailer where ray says his life is going to hell because of him could possibly be because sand tries to get him help without him knowing and ray blows up at him (cue breaking the wine). or they’re arguing about mew and if sand’s feelings are reciprocated by ray. or they’re arguing about something that hasn’t happened in the show yet.

- i don’t know if this is likely, but i want to see sand take a bat to one of ray’s possessions - preferably his car. other people have said that and i have to agree. it would be for my own enjoyment HFJDJDJD

in regards to raymew i’ve made several posts about this already, but i just would like them to focus more on ray’s alcoholism and his addiction. i’d rather them start focusing in on it more this second half and also it be the main problem in their relationship.

it’s just more interesting to me and like you said even taking away sandray as a relationship i just don’t find it that interesting anymore. his unrequited love for mew was actually one of my most anticipated parts of a show for some reason but now it’s just annoying me. i think it’s because of the way they’re doing it.

i don’t think it’s bad writing i just don’t prefer it and i feel like we’re going nowhere? ray says every episode in a different way that he loves mew but knows he can’t have him and mew is like “ok can you move on?”. like how many times can we keep going on and on about this? not even saying that it would make sense if ray got over him next episode or whatever and suddenly didn’t have feelings for him anymore but i wish we actually saw this plot line start to develop in a different way or a way that would make me like it? i don’t know.

and yeah, i also can’t with the unrequited love becoming pathetic. it makes sense for ray and especially where his feelings for mew come from but that “my mew” this episode really almost took me out like i cringed so bad. again, not saying it’s bad writing i just don’t really care about the storyline anymore. hopefully they can do something that’ll make me care about it but unfortunately if they’re going with the mew sleeps with ray thing that’ll just make me more annoyed by it.

#this incredibly long answer i’m so sorry did it even make sense #only friends the series #b speaks

[irondad-defensesquad]

Kid Arachnid - Chapter 2

You can read chapter 1 here!

Also posted on AO3.

--

EARTH-19999

Alright, let’s do this one last time.

My name is Miles Morales. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for the last couple months, I’ve been the one and only… Kid Arachnid.

Well, there’s not a lot to say. I’ve saved many people, sure, but I never gained a lot of attention. Until now. Apparently, I also saved Iron Man’s family the other day. But the thing is… everyone thinks I’m Spider-Man, when he disappeared years ago, along with half of the Earth… including my dad. At the same time I’m being praised as someone I’m not, I’m also being accused of many things. “Where was Spider-Man this entire time?” “Why didn’t he save those who dusted?” “What if this is a random guy just pretending to be Spider-Man?”

It’s hard. I’m new to this. But I have to keep trying, right? I have to be there for the little people of New York, like my dad was, like Spider-Man was. I have to fight for those I love, and make sure no one else gets hurt.

But now… I found out that the Prowler, the guy who has been terrorizing everyone with dangerous weapons… was my uncle this entire time.

And someone got hurt because I was a coward.

It’s all my fault.

I never asked for this.

–

“... he’ll be okay, you saved him.”

“No, you don’t get it! He got hurt because of me! If I weren’t so stupid, I could’ve–”

“Miles, it’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is!”

“He’s going to be okay, I promise,” the woman still soothes the boy, sounding motherly and patient despite his lashing out. “You didn’t mess up.”

He starts crying.

“I-I’m sorry.” Soon, a door slams open.

“Miles!”

Everything is dark and blurred.

And Tony is blacking out again.

–

“... Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark, can you hear me?”

He can’t see very well. His eyelids are heavy and he has to force them open.

“Please…” someone sobs. “Please, don’t go. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

It’s… a boy.

Tony is weak, the nanotech armor somehow crushing him. But all he can see in front of him… are white eyes staring deep into his soul. The teenager is calling for him, begging him to stay.

It’s…

It’s him, isn’t it?

Tony tries so hard to see clearly, to see his kid’s face again. He thought he’d never see him again… But he’s here now.

With all his effort, the man raises his arm, reaching the boy’s cheek. He can tell the mask is covering his skin. It isn’t cold like his suit. The teen is frozen, however. Tony never touched him like this, did he?

He should have.

“... Pete?” Tony calls him.

The boy tenses. “What?”

He sounds confused and scared.

Where was he this entire time?

Why didn’t Tony ever come back for him?

He rubs the other’s face with his thumb.

“Peter… I’m…”

For a moment, Tony realizes he can’t see the red he so deeply missed. It’s black with some thin red around his eyes.

“... I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t know what exactly he’s apologizing for.

The darkness prevails and takes control again.

He can’t hold him anymore.

The last thing he hears is the kid crying out for him. And Tony, oh does he wish he stayed.

He’s a failure.

It’s all his fault.

–

The light is on, and the walls are blue.

Tony is… in a hospital bed. His chest is bandaged, but it doesn’t hurt very much. He’s alone in the room, and yet he can feel something missing. Someone. A face.

The boy. Where is he?

Was it even real?

A door opens.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.”

That voice…

It’s a nurse, a dark-skinned woman with dark brown hair, almost black. She must be younger than Pepper, but her exhausted look might say otherwise.

“How are you feeling?” She asks. When she’s close enough, Tony is able to read her name tag – Rio Morales.

“Huh… never been better.”

“We reached your wife, Mrs. Potts will be arriving shortly. You’ll be home by tonight.”

Although this is good news, Tony just wants to understand what happened. How did he end up here?

“How…” he tries to word out his confusion. “Who brought me here?”

Rio’s smile falls for a moment as she looks to the side.

“Someone very brave,” she describes in admiration. “I think you’ve heard of him, right? Kid… Arachnid?”

The name is no stranger to him.

“You mean…” the black and red fabric, the white eyes… “That new Spider-Man?”

Rio hums. “As far as I know, he’s not really Spider-Man.”

So, they really weren’t the same boy.

I’m sorry. I’m not Spider-Man.

“Do you… know where he is?” Tony wonders.

Rio sighs, “He left hours ago.”

She seems to know the Kid Arachnid, judging by her genuine, motherly concern.

…

Miles.

That must be his name.

“He’s so young… Everyone is pushing him, pressuring him, accusing him of horrible things…” The nurse looks like she’s talking to herself, but then she’s looking at Tony with a pleading gaze. “He needs someone to look out for him, but he’s all alone.”

Tony doesn’t know what to say. Not when Rio reminds him of someone else, another nurse who did her best to raise a mutant kid. Sometimes she would come to Tony and they would figure something out.

Like Peter, she was gone, too.

Tony couldn’t protect him. He couldn’t protect her, either.

Rio is seeking his help.

He promised to stay away from this life, to focus on what he has now. But time and time again, he has been ruled by regret and mistakes he could never make up for. He can’t keep turning away from people who need him.

Tony takes a deep breath, even if it hurts. It’s necessary.

“I’ll find him,” he promises, “once I’m out of here.”

Rio’s tensions disappear. Still, she doesn’t give him a grateful smile just yet.

“As much as I have my concerns about you… I think you’re the best person that can reach him right now.”

He understands that.

“I will.”

–

Admittedly, he has been keeping in touch with the news lately. He has known about Kid Arachnid and all the accusations thrown at him. It was no different from when Peter was Spider-Man, but the weight of his legacy must be making things more overwhelming for this kid.

Tony was keeping a distance up until this point. He didn’t want to get attached again. He didn’t want to keep his hopes up. After all, Kid Arachnid isn’t Spider-Man. He’s a boy named Miles. Miles Morales. According to Tony’s research, he lives in Brooklyn and studies at a school similar to Midtown School of Science and Technology, Visions Academy. Apparently, Miles only lives with his mother, while his father… died along with half of the universe a couple years ago.

It’s really no wonder why Miles must be feeling so much regret, from the little Tony has known him.

Pepper already suspected he was keeping an eye on Kid Arachnid. As much as she’s worried about Tony’s well-being, she knows he won’t rest until he does the right thing. She knows he can’t let another kid suffer the weight of being a vigilante. So, she understands when he decides not to go home just yet.

Tony is searching all over Brooklyn, hoping to find Miles. According to Rio, he’s not at his uncle’s nor at his best’s friend’s. He must be out there, haunted by his demons on his own.

Yet in the middle of the darkness and paleness of New York…

He stops at this colorful mural.

A beautiful graffiti of Spider-Man shooting a web towards the viewer. It’s red, blue, and yellow gold. Tony is captivated, as it’s the most heartfelt depiction he’s ever seen of Spider-Man.

Then, the man sees someone near it. Sitting on the roof miserably, many spray paint cans lie on the floor. And whoever is there, is holding one.

But the artist is looking down, not even acknowledging the beauty they’ve made.

As Tony approaches, slowly, he sees that it’s a boy. A black teenager. He can’t see his face so he can’t really recognize him for now. He knows this is a complete stranger, but… whoever he is, he admires a true hero.

“You made this?” Tony asks all of a sudden. Obviously, the kid jumps in surprise.

“M-Mr. Stark?”

The panic in his voice, though… doesn’t read as mere admiration.

Tony doesn’t have to rely on his technology to read through him.

“You’re ali-? I mean, yeah, sure,” the kid shrugs. “It’s nothing much.”

The man hums. “Great job, kid.”

“Never thought Iron Man would compliment my work.”

“I know good art when I see it.”

“Heh.” Miles still doesn’t internalize it, much like in the hospital when his mother told him it wasn’t his fault.

They stand there in silence, until Miles decides to sit again. He throws away the spray paint, which is apparently empty judging by the sound of it hitting the ground. Tony is still flying in the air, not sure how he’s going to land and how he’s going to help this kid he doesn’t even know.

This is nothing like before.

Tony has to accept that and be there for the present.

Finally, he joins Miles and exposes his face. That way, he gets to see clearly.

Like the way Miles is holding onto… what Tony judges to be a sketchbook, but the former doesn’t let him see most of it. It must be a comfort item.

“So, what’s young Basquiat doing out here late at night?” Tony tries to lighten him up.

Miles just sighs sadly.

“Nothing.”

Tony watches him.

“Shouldn’t you be home?” He asks gently.

“Shouldn’t you be home with your family?”

Miles might sound a little harsh, but his gaze begs for someone to stay.

“Well, I’m just… looking out for the little guy, that’s all.”

The boy seems to catch on, as his brown eyes widen slightly. He avoids eye contact altogether.

“I know sometimes little guys have a lot of responsibilities, and they’re alone in this big world… but they don’t have to be. I wanna make sure he has someone for him, you know?”

Miles slowly relaxes. Of course, that only gives out the sadness he must be dealing with.

“It’s just… all of these expectations piling up, they’re too much,” he explains. “All these changes I’m supposed to deal with… it’s hard to be strong all the time.”

Tony nods, a gesture for him to continue.

“I… I lost my dad. I wasn’t there for him when he was gone. I couldn’t do anything to stop it.” Miles hugs the sketchbook closer. “And all of a sudden, I got these… these powers and I thought, maybe I could do things differently. I couldn’t just not use them. I could hear people screaming, I could hear them crying and grieving in my sleep. And all I could think was how my dad fought to save lives, and how he never gave up. So, I got out there, I did my thing. But now everyone thinks I’m Spider-Man, or even someone who’s trying to steal his credit, and to make things even worse, I found out my uncle has been selling these huge weapons and it happened in the worst way possible. Tonight.”

Tony frowns, mostly at the last part.

“Wait, your uncle?”

Miles nods, ashamed. “He’s the Prowler. I thought he stopped selling weapons but… turns out he was lying to me this whole time. But he doesn’t know I’m the one chasing him. I wonder what he would do if he found out. He almost killed me. And I just froze, like I always do.”

Tony reconstructs the whole thing in his mind, as to why all of this is familiar…

“... that’s when you showed up, Mr. Stark,” Miles lowers his voice, regretful.

The light. The laser.

It all becomes clear.

Tony found traces of alien weapons in Brooklyn again. Knowing his past mistakes, he thought of going there himself. He was surprised to see Kid Arachnid again, but he didn’t think twice before jumping in front of him to save his life. Now Tony understands why Miles didn’t get out of the way.

“... You could’ve died because of me,” Miles sniffs.

It sounds blaring to his ears.

“Miles–”

The boy shivers at the mention of his name.

“I messed up, I know.”

“No, no, this isn’t your fault.”

“You would’ve been okay if I weren’t–”

“But I am okay. I’m here, talking to you. You saved my life, kid.”

Miles simply doesn’t believe him.

“You found out your uncle wasn’t the great guy you thought he was, right?” Tony interprets. “You froze and you had every reason to. Nobody is made of iron. Heck, not even me.”

The kid looks at him with those big, sad eyes.

“But maybe if I knew before…”

My dad would still be here, he would’ve said.

He doesn’t say it. But Tony hears it anyway.

“You couldn’t have known, Miles.”

The teen starts crying more properly.

“I’m just tired, Mr. Stark.”

Tony gets it.

He lets the boy mourn.

“I know how it feels,” Tony says. “To have no control over something, and when you realize… everything goes to shambles.” Despite this, he doesn’t cry. “When you have powers and you don’t do anything… the bad things happen because of you.”

Miles is probably listening, since he quiets down a little.

“But Miles… we can’t always predict them. Like what happened to your father. You were just a kid going on with your day. How could you have known the entire world would collapse?”

The other is looking at him again.

“And your uncle? You love him. You never expect these things from someone you love.” Tony pauses. “And you did your best to save my life. You wouldn’t have known I would do what I did. I’m sorry for scaring you like that, kid. That wasn’t on you.”

Miles doesn’t reply, only contemplates. He at least calms down.

“... was that how he felt, too?” He asks.

“Who?”

Miles gestures at the graffiti facing them, watching over them.

Tony sighs, this time remaining silent.

He notices that Miles is touching his cheek.

“Were you there when he…” The question is never finished.

Tony looks away. Miles can probably tell the answer.

“I know what it’s like,” the latter sighs. “When you lose your family.”

The man feels that laser cutting his heart in half again.

“It’s so empty without them, isn’t it?” Miles adds.

Tony’s eyes might burn, but nothing comes out. The void in his heart cries for him.

He and Miles share this silence, one so heartbreaking and consuming, and yet so… comforting and relatable, when they realize they’re not alone right now, having to put up appearances.

Miles glances at his sketchbook, and for the first time a small smile comes to him.

“You know…” he says, “we’ve actually met before.”

Tony raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

Miles nods. Tony feels like he’s seen that sketchbook before…

“I got this on my tenth birthday,” the former narrates. “Somehow, my dad got Spider-Man to come. I think it was the best day of my life.”

Tony gasps. “Oh! I remember you, Peter- Spider-Man was so excited, it was the first birthday he was invited to.”

“Yeah. I also remember when you showed up to help him when he was hurt that one time. You guys just… argued for a good five minutes.”

Tony sighs affectionately. “He was stubborn, alright.”

Miles smirks, opening the sketchbook to the very first page. It’s not at all touched by drawings or sketches – just what appears to be autographs.

To my best friend Miles, from your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!

And another one that complements,

And his super buddy Iron Man.

Turns out it’s a Moleskine sketchbook Tony and Peter bought together. Tony remembers that day very clearly. Peter really wanted to make this kid’s birthday the best it could ever be.

While Miles stares at the autographs with tears of joy, Tony realizes how much he changed. He used to be so small. Obviously, it’s been a few years since, but he wonders if his spider-powers changed his body, too. Miles might as well be taller than Tony.

“It’s… weird knowing that my two heroes are both gone,” the boy says, his enthusiasm gone. He closes the sketchbook once again. “My birthday was the only time I got to spend the day with them.”

Tony clearly wishes he could make his sadness go away. Which is, unfortunately, impossible.

“This is all I have left,” Miles’ voice breaks, as he hugs his beloved gift again.

Despite the heart-to-heart, Tony has been keeping his distance, respecting Miles’ space. But this vulnerability, this deprivation…

For the first time, Tony puts a comforting hand on Miles’ shoulder, much to the latter’s surprise, but not disgust or hesitance.

“You have me, Miles,” Tony reassures him. “If you want.”

“Really?”

The older man smiles at him. “I can help you with everything you need. We can make a suit for you, give all the resources necessary.”

Miles’ eyes appear to sparkle like stars. But then…

“Are you sure about this? I’m… I’m not Peter.”

Tony pauses.

Then, “I know. I genuinely just want to make sure you’re not alone, kid. Because you aren’t.”

Miles eases at this.

“Okay, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s fragile smile cracks. But instead of letting it break and leak, he just pats the teen’s back. “You can just call me Tony.”

(You might as well hear a “please” in this sentence.)

Miles nods. “Okay, Tony.”

“Yeah.”

Together, in this lonely night, they appreciate the influence Spider-Man had in their lives. Now, they have to go on without him. But at least, again, Tony and Miles are together in this.

#irondad #ironfam #fics #my fics #death tw #grief tw #not tagging the rest of the characters for my own safety

[catboysolomon]

omg autistic solomon so real!!! i was thinking abt this hc the other day it makes so much sense to me 😭

Right?? So many of his interactions with the brothers feel like they could take place where we’re all sitting across from each other in an ASD support group waiting for a therapist to redirect the conversation and I can’t put my finger on exactly why that is lol.

A few thoughts on autistic Solomon I’m going to put under a read more. Not because it’s particularly a lot but because there’s some spoilers for seasons 3, 4 and some of the devilgrams and text chats.

Special Interests:

-At least two of his devilgrams that I know of involve Solomon staying up all night for his research/hobbies while MC stays by his side and keeps him company. These are “Solomon the Researcher” and “Let’s Write a Novel!”

-He is very into TSL. He writes an entire fan novel for it in one night. He attends TSL conventions. He cosplays. He has excessively rare merchandise. We see Purgatory Hall text messages where he badgers Simeon into telling him what’s next for TSL to the point where Simeon has to tell him to knock it off. We see him go head to head in a TSL trivia match against Leviathan. Even Mammon, who is rarely shown interacting with Solomon, knows that it is his favorite fantasy novel series and would like a limited edition box set as a gift.

-Magic is another very obvious special interest. He dedicates a lot of time to it and is often seen researching, hunting down magical items and ingredients, attempting to forge pacts, etc. Despite being human, he’s exceptionally skilled to the point where when the demons have an issue that can’t be solved through traditional means, big or small, they go to Solomon for his expertise. Even though they are much older demons who one might assume have their own magical powers. Simeon tells us Solomon often gets carried away with researching late into the night and sleeps late into the morning. We see text messages of an instance where Luke leaves food outside Solomon’s door because he can’t be bothered to stop for dinner.

-DIAVOLO gives him explicit permission to ignore the teacher’s instructions during potion class and work on whatever he sees fit. If that isn’t an IEP, I don’t know what is!

Interactions with Others:

-His entire relationship with Thirteen. They’re just so…how do I put it…? “Autistic person unknowingly crossing boundaries until their friend is ready to strangle them.” Maybe I am projecting here, lol. He thinks they are exchanging playful banter while she is genuinely annoyed, and despite making no effort to hide this, it doesn’t seem to come across to him. I’ve seen this dynamic play out among autistic friends many times, and have embarrassingly been informed after the fact that I was involved in similar scenarios, too.

-He can’t seem to understand that people hate his cooking. In the first place, cooking for someone is a great way to show affection for someone because you don’t have to worry about your efforts backfiring and making them uncomfortable they way autistic people often do with physical affection, words of affirmation, and quality time. Who doesn’t love someone cooking for them? …Unless you cook like Solomon. We see clearly in everyone’s faces how terrified they are of his cooking. But take away the nonverbal communication. What do we hear? “I couldn’t ask you to go through such trouble.” “I had a big lunch.” “I want to leave enough for the angels.” How is he supposed to come to the conclusion that he’s a bad cook from this? It isn’t until Asmo lashes out and tells him in no uncertain terms that his food is awful that he finally gets it.

-“I don’t have anyone like that/you’re the only one who understands me.” Despite being surrounded by people who care about him, Solomon feels alone. He’s unable to connect with others the way they are with each other. He wishes he could have a connection with someone similar to what Beelzebub and Belphegor have: always looking out for each other and able to tell what the other is thinking. When MC asks if he doesn’t have someone like that he responds that maybe he did at one time, or maybe he only thought he did and it was all in his head. The fact is that there is an unbridgeable gap in understanding between Solomon and every living thing he encounters, and that saddens him. This is in no doubt at least partially due to his unique circumstances. He is living a life fundamentally different than angel, demon, reaper, or human. But I suspect there is even more to it. When he says that MC is the only one who understands him, I think the similarities run deeper than being the only humans in the Devildom.

Also, consider:

In season 4 (thank you glowsticks) Solomon mentions how lonely he is without the MC around. One of the ways you can respond to him is, “So even you feel lonely, huh?”

This is a microaggression autistic people get all the time. The implication is that we are unable to feel and show a range of human emotions. We’re seen as capable of having intense feelings about data sets and special interests and changes in our routine, but never about other people.

And Solomon sees this. His response is that hearing that hurts, and ask if we see him as some kind of cyborg. He then says that he will try do do a better job of conveying his feelings for MC in the future.

Sorry, this turned out longer than I intended. Thank you so much for this ask! I would really love to hear your thoughts on autistic Solomon (or anything Solomon related tbh lol) if you feel comfortable sharing so please feel free to respond to this or dm me cuz I could talk/listen about this for hours!

#Obey me #obey me solomon #I also really wanted to talk about him & part time work but The bank closes in 20 minutes but that too!