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#why do they keep getting long?
airas-story · 10 months
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Not So Lonely
“Are you lonely?” 
Stephen blinked, glancing up from his book at the question. Peter was staring at him, the expression on his face genuinely curious.
“Why would you ask that?” Stephen asked. He didn’t quite mean for the words to come out defensively, but he also couldn’t quite help it. The question poked at old wounds; new wounds; festering, bleeding wounds.
Peter shrugged, gaze diverting as though he was suddenly fascinated by the bookshelves they were surrounded by, as though he hadn’t scoured the whole library dozens of times looking for who knew what.
“Just curious. I think Mr. Stark is sometimes, and I worry about him.”
Stephen wasn’t quite sure if that was meant as a subject change, an explanation, or a distraction. Either way, Stephen felt the need to answer the question. With a lie, of course, but answer it nonetheless. “I’m not lonely, Peter.” The gaping emptiness of the sanctum seemed a direct contrast to his words, but Peter wouldn’t know that. “I’m used to being alone, I prefer it that way.” A truth and a lie and a truth in a lie and a lie that was the truth and Stephen wasn’t sure what was what.
Peter frowned. “Okay,” he answered. Stephen got the sense that Peter didn’t quite believe him.
Stephen forced himself to smile. “Really, Peter, I’m not lonely. I’ve got Kamar-Taj.” And it was true. But the role of a Sanctum Master was one that created a distance. He was a part of a community, a community he loved, one he was grateful to have, but it was different.
“Okay,” Peter repeated. He sounded just as disbelieving as the first time and Stephen decided that another denial wouldn’t do either of them any good, so he just turned back to his book.
Peter had to leave not long later, saying something about patrol.
Stephen made an absent goodbye as Peter left, mostly distracted and used to Peter coming and going as he pleased.
But the moment Peter was gone, Stephen found himself distracted, Peter’s question coming back.
Was he lonely?
The answer was yes.
It was an annoying part of his personal growth, because Stephen had never been lonely as a neurosurgeon. Not necessarily because he’d had more people around him that cared, but because back then he hadn’t enough space in his life for more than just him.
It was one of the few ways in which his personal growth felt almost like a curse.
He sighed, leaning his head back against his chair, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
His phone ringing drew him out of his own head. It took him a minute to find his phone, he’d been using it earlier and had somehow buried it in books. He glanced at the screen. Tony.
“Hey,” Tony said the moment Stephen picked up the phone. “You okay?”
Stephen blinked, confused. “What?”
“Are you okay?” Tony repeated. “Peter sounded worried about you when he called me.”
Stephen felt an embarrassed flush cross his face at the words. “I’m fine. He just got it in his head that I was lonely or something like that. I corrected him, but you know Peter, as soon as he gets a thought in his head it’s hard for him to let it go.”
Tony hummed, sounding about as believing as Peter had. Which was to say not at all. “Look, Peter likes you, and he’s kind of an interfering busybody.”
That didn’t come as much of a surprise. Peter had the tendency to get over invested in things; it wasn’t a surprise that that extended into people. Stephen wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that he was one of the people that Peter got over invested in.
“He has nothing to interfere with.”
Tony was quiet for a moment. “You okay with opening up a portal and letting me come over?”
Stephen’s first instinct was to say no, because he knew exactly why he would be coming over and he didn’t need the pity. But he also had a hard time refusing Tony things. “Sure. Where am I opening up a portal to.”
“My bedroom,” Tony said.
Stephen found a flush crossing his face. He’d opened up a portal into Tony’s bedroom before. There had been an incident with a feverish Tony and FRIDAY asking for Stephen’s help to get him to bed, but this felt very different given that Tony wasn’t currently sick.
Still, he opened the portal, trying not to react when he realized that Tony was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt looking like he’d been minutes away from crawling into bed. “You don’t have to—“
Tony ignored him, stepping through the portal and sprawling out in the nearest chair. Tony glanced over the books on the table with an absent sort of curiosity. He didn’t say anything though, moving one of them over and opening it.
“You don’t need to do this,” Stephen said quietly, knowing exactly what this was.
Tony glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Have you considered that I want to?” Tony asked, and there was no denying that the words were genuine. “I like spending time with you, Stephen.” He hesitated a moment, biting his lip before he reached out across the table, resting his hand gently on Stephen’s hand where it sat on on the book. "I want to. If you want that."
Stephen stared at it for a long moment, heart pounding in his chest for no discernible reason. Slowly he turned his hand, gently catching Tony’s hand in his own.
“You mean that?” Stephen asked, voice quiet.
Tony smiled at him, soft and warm. Stephen found himself smiling back, unable to help himself. “Yeah, Stephen, I do.”
Maybe neither of them had to be lonely.
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bixels · 25 days
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Learning that fans hated Applejack and called her "boring" is crazyyy to me because I genuinely, unironically believe AJ's the most complex character in the main six.
Backstory-wise, she was born into a family of famers/blue collar workers who helped found the town she lives in. She grew up a habitual liar until she had the bad habit traumatized outta her. She lost both her parents and was orphaned at a young age, having to step up as her baby sister's mother figure. She's the only person in the main gang who's experienced this level of loss and grief (A Royal Problem reveals that AJ dreams about memories of being held by her parents as a baby). She moved to Manhattan to live with her wealthy family members, only to realize she'll never fit in or be accepted, even amongst her own family. The earlier seasons imply she and her family had money problems too (In The Ticket Master, AJ wants to go to the gala to earn money to buy new farm equipment and afford hip surgery for her grandma).
Personality-wise, she's a total people-pleaser/steamroller (with an occasional savior complex) who places her self worth on her independence and usefulness for other people, causing her to become a complete workaholic. In Applebuck Season, AJ stops taking care of herself because of her obsessive responsibilities for others and becomes completely dysfunctional. In Apple Family Reunion, AJ has a tearful breakdown because in she thinks she dishonored her family and tarnished her reputation as a potential leader –– an expectation and anxiety that's directly tied to her deceased parents, as shown in the episode's ending scene. In The Last Roundup, AJ abandons her family and friends out of shame because believes she failed them by not earning 1st place in a rodeo competition. She completely spirals emotionally when she isn't able to fulfill her duties toward others. Her need to be the best manifests in intense pride and competitiveness when others challenge her. And when her pride's broken, she cowers and physically hides herself.
Moreover, it's strongly implied that AJ has a deep-seated anger. The comics explore her ranting outbursts more. EQG also obviously has AJ yelling at and insulting Rarity in a jealous fit just to hurt her feelings (with a line that I could write a whole dissection on). And I'm certain I read in a post somewhere that in a Gameloft event, AJ's negative traits are listed as anger.
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Subtextually, a lot of these flaws and anxieties can be (retroactively) linked to her parents' death, forcing her to grow up too quickly to become the adult/caregiver of the family (especially after her big brother becomes semiverbal). Notice how throughout the series, she's constantly acting as the "mom friend" of the group (despite everything, she manages to be the most emotionally mature of the bunch). Notice how AJ'll switch to a quieter, calmer tone when her friends are panicking and use soothing prompts and questions to talk them through their emotions/problems; something she'd definitely pick up while raising a child. Same with her stoicism and reluctance at crying or releasing emotions (something Pinkie explicitly points out). She also had a childhood relationship with Rara (which, if you were to give a queer reading, could easy be interpreted as her first 'aha' crush), who eventually left her life. (Interestingly enough, AJ also has an angry outburst with Rara for the same exact reasons as with EQG Rarity; jealous, upset that someone else is using and changing her). It's not hard to imagine an AJ with separation anxiety stemming from her mother and childhood friend/crush leaving. I'm also not above reading into AJ's relationship with her little sister (Y'all ever think about how AB never got to know her parents, even though she shares her father's colors and her mother's curly hair?).
AJ's stubbornness is a symptom of growing up too quickly as well. Who else to play with your baby sister when your brother goes nonverbal (not to discount Big Mac's role in raising AB)? Who else to wake up in the middle of the night to care for your crying baby sister when your grandma needs her rest? When you need to be 100% all the time for your family, you tend to become hard-stuck with a sense of moral superiority. You know what's best because you have to be your best because if you're aren't your best, then everything'll inevitably fall apart and it'll be your fault. And if you don't know what's best –– if you've been wrong the whole time –– that means you haven't been your best, which means you've failed the people who rely on you, which means you can't fulfill your role in the family/society, which makes you worthless . We've seen time and time again how this compulsive need to be right for the sake of others becomes self-destructive (Apple Family Reunion, Sound of Silence, all competitions against RD). We've seen in The Last Roundup how, when no longer at her best, AJ would rather remove herself from her community than confront them because she no longer feels of use to them.
But I guess it is kinda weird that AJ has "masculine" traits and isn't interested in men at all. It's totally justified that an aggressively straight, misogynistic male fandom would characterize her as a "boring background character." /s
At the time of writing this, it's 4:46AM.
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floweroflaurelin · 1 month
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How do you want to do this?
Goodbye, Faithful Caregiver.
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dollya-robinprotector · 10 months
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Once upon a time... Reference: Hylas and The Nymphs by John William Waterhouse
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natjennie · 9 days
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what's weird about the fantasy high drama is that like. it seems to me like people forget d&d is primarily a) a game you play with your friends and also b) luck based.
I mean it's fine to say that "nothing felt like a challenge" and "they just dominated everything and there weren't any stakes" but like. it's not as if they weren't up against huge threats. they lost the mall fight. the last stand was an onslaught of enemies. they fought a dozen dragons from an airship. the fights were hard. they're just really good. they've had very good dice luck in general this season and are all very high level and highly specialized. fig is gonna beat deception and performance checks. adaine's gonna figure out the arcana. riz is gonna succeed investigations. like. for some reason their strategical competence and wisely picked abilities are. a downside? a disappointment?
the thing about d&d that you need to remember is it's first and foremost a game. it's mostly random and it takes you down weird paths and you're playing to have fun with your friends. the dice are literally telling the story that it's their time, it's their year. they've struggled enough. they've trained enough. they're good at what they do. and in my post about the academic/domestic/personal stressors being the focus, d&d doesn't have any other system to work them out than rolling different skills. that's what d&d is. brennan set specific challenge levels for different tasks and the players strategized to prioritize which abilities they were strongest in. the challenges were there. and the players rose to them. they were both smart in their delegation of responsibilities and lucky with their dice rolls. of which, both are foundations of d&d.
don't mistake them being good players and getting lucky with there being no hardship. just because they smashed through the wall, that doesn't mean the wall wasn't strong. they were just stronger.
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yuwuta · 1 month
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yuuta exhibits such previously abandoned, recently adopted dog behavior. incredibly anxious all the time, even though nobody’s out to get him or leave him behind. waits for you to return home or from school or from work excitedly, just to see you when you walk through the door. follows you around senselessly, hovering in your space just for the sake of companionship. initiates affection in prodding ways—starts off next to you, then a hand on your thigh, then deems it safe to lay all the way down, then slowly pushes his head into your lap. gets up whenever you need to get up, and resumes his position as soon as you’re ready. brings you gifts as a sign that he’s thinking of you, and maybe because he likes the affection it brings out in you, maybe because he likes the gentle affirming touches of a hand in his hair or a pinch to his cheek. rests his head on your stomach or his chin on your shoulder when he’s sleepy, stays there, immobile, and will not move unless absolutely necessary. sometimes he gets surprised when he hears you calling for him, there’s a moment of disbelief as he thinks “me? really? you need me?” but it’s very quickly overshadowed by this compulsive need to show up, to please, to do anything for you, which is why he always answers when you call. he doesn’t realize that he has puppygod eyes, especially when he’s excited or confused, but he does and it’s incredible endearing. very reluctant to share your space or attention after a while, considers that to be sacred and he won’t risk being let go or lost again, so as a safety precaution, he keeps himself right by you, waits for you always. 
#atp i need to shut and write the omega verse fics that consistency plague my mind#but while im here time for my obligatory megumi mention bc i mentioned dogs teehee#yes megumi attack dog hes megumi grumbly yes megumi bark bark bite bite BUT BUT BUTTTT#megumi is also used to like... hm........ taming? having? caring for? people in his life and also literal (divine) dogs#so for him yes he bites and barks#but he also... he gets confused if YOU dont follow him around like a puppy bc everyone else in his life has so why not you?#gojo's always been the annoying yapping pomeranian chewing on his arm even if he didn't ask#always in megumi's space even tho he didn't ask but he learned to deal with it#won't admit it but knows that too much attention is better than having someone who couldn't give a shit about you#yuuji is the golden in everybody's life and megumi is no exception#unmovable unshakeable and incredibly addictive even if he doesn't mean to be#and very very attached to the people he cares about so yeah yuuji is loud and annoying but he's also loyal and megumi respects that so fine#nobara is like... she decided she liked megumi and was upset about it so she bit his ankle and he tried to kick her off but she has too muc#pride to get shaken off by someone as scrawny as megumi and somewhere along the way megumi became impressed that she was still there even i#it hurt a bit and she was a little rough it's not like he was worse so fine whatever she can stay too#so if you like... if you dont hover around megumi if you dont pry if you dont prod then he has to be the dog smh#now he's gotta bite for your attention and nudge you and how annoying. he's gonna keep doing it tho. as long as he has to#or until you learn to fall in line and accept your leash too whichever comes first n e way.... anyway.............#somebody's pampered omega always gets what he wants megumi complex is showing......#this was about yuuta right? ok i'll put his tags now....#juju#jujutsu kaisen smut#jjk x reader#jjk smut#jjk fluff#jujutsu kaisen x reader#yuuta okkotsu x reader#yuta okkotsu x reader
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whilomm · 4 days
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note: pollmaker is thinking of the USAmerican lottery system (powerball, mega millions, state lottos, scratchoffs, etc), but poll applies to other countries lotteries systems so long as its still the same concept of "big ol state sponsered gambling shit", but not like casino style gambling. u know what i mean, Lottos.
questions for the tags: how regularly, what stuff you play, if you have limits for yourself, if you feel like its a Problem for you, and for funsies the usual 'first thing youd do if you won the lottery' shit
reblog to have absolutely zero effect on your luck either way. just like, absolutely no change in luck whether you reblog this or scroll past. this is the luck neutral post reblog in the next 30 seconds or dont who give a shit
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turquoisemagpie · 20 days
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Appreciate the little things.
Not to ignorantly deny all of the big bad things in the world, but to survive them.
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I know the full arsenal update is out and hype for that but I just found the gutterman's poem in 7-2 and I HAVE to type about it because its night where I am and I cant wake up my friends to rant about Ultrakill.
Anyway, absolutely indescribable how we have the thoughts of a machine just laid bear in a secret for the first and maybe last time. The fact that a machine made for merciless slaughter could not only feel sadness for the person powering it but also WRITE a POEM? A machine made art??? The knowledge that they understand how cruel it is to make a human a blood battery, recognize it as torture, but also feel gratitude for the life they've been given?? It was known that machines had a sense of aesthetic from Swordsmachine and Mindflayer's entries but. Goddamn. The gutterman refers to the human as their mother and it states it CRIED when it crushed her skull as it hoped it would redeem its life.
Also the excerpt, "I know I know you would hate me so, and mother of me, I do too." Does this mean the Gutterman hated itself as much as the human? Did it hate the human instead along with the feelings of love and gratitude? Probably the former. Gutterman angst is so in.
V2's mannerisms and Swordsmachine's data entry are intresting, but a gutterman's eulogy for its prisoner and its attempt at redemption is another level. Actual machine thought process recorded!! Sapient lifeform that knows only war and death! The fact that the gutterman crushing the human's skull seemed to be out of mercy. Ough.
Noone has to interact I havent proof read this I am just RANTING this is CRAZY HAKITA HOW COULD YOU AND THE TEAM DO THIS
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bunnieswithknives · 8 days
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The sillies!! Might gonna change Demon Laios' design later and I still need a name for whatever this AU is
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emry-stars-art · 9 months
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Have you ever heard the noises axolotls make? its kinda quiet blub!, when they reach the surface of the water to gulp down some air. Anyway any time i see JellyNeil my mind immediately goes to Neil just making that noise
I HAVE NOW. wow I made a reel for the first time in forever just so I could get this across properly, here you go
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(Audio from this YouTube video)
Find the mer au masterpost here 💕
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thedickgraysons · 2 months
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tamlin doesn’t need a redemption arc. tamlin needs a rocking chair and a 12 gauge laid across his lap so he can take pot shots at rhysand the next time he next breaks onto his property
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shopwitchvamp · 3 months
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me the absolute first split second people are acting up in the shop
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the-bi-fangirl-biatch · 7 months
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the entire season they've shown sylvie perpetually being okay to just walk away from the fray and getting no consequences whatsoever. which would be ok since she doesn't rlly care about them like loki does. but in the end she just moves on so fast after she watched loki isolate himself and go off JUST to fix her mistake.......
meanwhile mobius is there, frozen in that time, left behind by the person he's an "expert" on not only bc of his job but bc of their friendship, him quitting the job that was his entire life, because loki has left and his previous purpose didn't have loki anymore
it's just fucked up how everyone else got their happy endings (good for them) except for loki and mobius. they're apart, separated once again, looking miserable in their last shots. just like last season.
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heres-someart · 2 months
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He said he loved me, and it was like a dream
Click for better detail. ID under cut. Reblogs are better than likes
ID:
A digital drawing of Juno Steel and Peter Nureyev, both in profile. Nureyev has his hand on Juno's face, bringing it up. Their faces are near each other but not quite touching. Peter is seen from the shoulders up and Juno from the neck up. Juno is a black person who wears a dark eyepatch. Peter is an asian man and is wearing a sheer red shirt. He has on dark red lipstick. His mouth is open slightly, making his sharp canine teeth visible
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lameow-l · 5 months
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GAMING IS MY SON AND IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM IM GONNA KILL EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AND THEN MYSELF!!
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LOOK AT HIM HES SO CUTE
i still have hope in getting the other boys too
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its ok they can be a band or smth.. at least then gaming wouldn’t have to be so disappointed in people not hiring him bc he’s just having fun with his boys…
#it took me soooo long to realize his name can also be 'gaming' and idk if i should be ashamed or proud lol#his hashtag is gonna get real funny real quick#is it actually an intentional business decision made by hyv#no way this was accidental#anyway im disappointed in his hair design but i stopped feeling much since all genshin charas always have the ugliest hairstyles#also him being another bennett just not as unlucky#he works so hard and still tries to achieve his artistic dream at the same time#but people just smile and ignore him…PAY THE DUDE!!!#ALSO ALSO.. chiaki 2.0 and they better add all other ryuseitai next#i just can get over how energetic and cool genshin concept designs are when the game keeps slapping us with a downgraded version every time#not to say current designs aren’t energetic or cool.. just not as much lol (still salty about red xiao and those flying nahidas)#now i know why they still not doing an art book yet.. they’re ashamed to admit of the amounts of good designs they never use#AND I LOVE GENSHIN DESIGNS honest (otherwise why would i keep doing fanart of this game and this game only for 3 years)#sorry i dont post all of them.... i have issues#but i cant help but feel robbed when i see these designs knowing what they could’ve been#and it’s in no way hyv’s fault *glance at leakers* and the new designs are getting crazier and cooler but#please for the love of god hyv stop with the mullets PLEASE!!!#gaming#ga-ming#gaming genshin#genshin impact
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