#(sources are a bit out of order btw)

[glitteringstardust]

🥕 🐇 🥕 | 🐇 🥕 🐇 | 🥕 🐇 🥕

rabbit stimboard

[callmearcturus]

dottie lasso is the final boss of the show (and ted loses)

someone commented on my ted-is-a-feminine-junior-too post about recognizing dottie lasso and what she did, and i'm a Johnny-come-lately to this fandom so i missed all the discourse

but surely it's been discussed to death that Dottie Lasso is the Final Boss of Ted's life, right? like, she shows up on that bench and you should feel the opening of "MEGALOVANIA" in your soul because she's the villain of the story.

honestly, in Ted Lasso, the main villains are: Rupert Mannion, Twitter, Rupert Mannion again, cisnormativity/heteronormativity, and Dottie Lasso, kind of in that order IMO.

"Mom City" is kind of a genius episode with its thesis and punchline. Because Dottie shows up and derails Ted's entire life and not in a good way. She makes him palpably uncomfortable and all of his usual kindness and interest is just turned off around her.

This episode isn't shy about reminding the audience that Richmond has become Ted's home. From the most fish outta water who nearly gets killed looking the wrong way crossing the street, Ted knows his neighbors, knows the culture here, and is defensive with that knowledge because it's been hard-won over time.

No but really, look at how UNCOMFORTABLE Ted is EVERY MINUTE of this episode. It's so stark bc this charm offensive Dottie's doing on everyone at Richmond is so clearly a Lasso Thing. This is the exact tactic Ted used when he was new in town and completely at sea.

(fuck this got long, there's a lot more under the jump)

But he isn't charmed or permissive or entertained, he never once Yes, Ands what Dottie says. In fact, he corrects her all the time.

because Dottie being here is a nightmare. she's the person who knows the Ted Lasso Source Code and the way she maneuvers and nudges him, he seems helpless against it. So he continuously separates himself from her in what feels to me like a fearful reaction.

Like, when Dottie explains where she's staying, she does this trick

DOTTIE: An adorable little hostel. I've met so many Australians. They are backpacking through Europe. So much sex.

TED: Mom.

DOTTIE: Not me, the Australians.

TED: No, no, I get it, okay. How about you stay here for the rest of your trip, all right?

DOTTIE: Only if I'm not a hassle.

This is such a fucking move, you realize? She has been in London a fucking WEEK without telling him, then as soon as she tells him where she's staying, she, a midwestern mom to her open-minded but very romantically private son, invokes sex so he'll be uncomfortable with the situation and invite her to stay. This is a chess move they should call the Wichita Shuffle.

And Ted absolutely hates the way Dottie lies about him. The connection is pretty straightforward; Dottie deals with her trauma and pain by covering them up with pretty little lies and melting truths until they fit the shape she wants them to be in. Everything she says in this episode is bullshit.

(points up) THIS INCLUDED, BTW. This is the Ted that Dottie wants him to be, the guy who will fall on his sword at the first sign of someone else's discomfort.

But that isn't who Ted is anymore and Dottie saying this is vicious and cruel. It's disrespectful to Rebecca, to everyone at Richmond, and to the work Ted's done with Sharon.

which oooooooooh

hey, anyone else remember Ted's "I love meeting people's moms, it's like an instruction manual on why they're nuts" from S2? boy that's a brick joke

and this bit of dottie saying her anxiety re: ted's therapy out loud, that hissing sound is a fuse being lit in this moment

Ted calls her out directly. He knows how she operates because she raised him in her own image. As I noted in the other post, Leslie Higgins is not the only feminine junior at Richmond, so is Theodore Lasso, son of Dorothy Lasso.

THAT FUCKING DARK CHUCKLE, THE "YEAH OKAY" MOMENT this is the fuse finally reaching the dynamite

this is the moment, this moment of push-back, implicitly the first time Ted's ever pushed back in his life

this is the moment Dottie takes every single thing she knows about Ted, everything she put into him, and she destroys his fucking life with the exact four words it would take to make Ted give up everything he's worked for, all so he'll go back to being what she expects from him.

and hell if he doesn't know it.

everything he's done for himself, all the space he's finally allowed himself to fill, the progress and labor he's put into becoming a better person

mom shows up and tells him no, you're coming back.

(and the fact Dottie Lasso, a character who has not said five truthful things this entire episode, tells us how someone else feels should be questioned very fucking directly. i don't trust this woman to honestly report on Henry's opinion of peanut butter and jelly, let alone if he wants his father to give up his life and return to Kansas. i know every single fic has brought up the question of "hey why doesn't anyone ask Henry what he wants" but that's because SOMEONE needs to ask the question instead of taking Dorothy fucking Lasso's word for it, christ)

I don't know how tf you don't read this show as a tragedy. Dottie Lasso is incredible, she's so pitch-perfectly written and acted, and she's absolutely the final boss of the show. And Ted doesn't win that fight.

hell THE SHOW SAYS THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD, i would put the screencap here but I've run out of images, but THEY FUCK YOU UP, YOUR MUM AND DAD, THE SHOW SAYS IT this is a fantastic tragedy, i love it

[a99jazzybean]

hi!! i wonder if i can request something where viktor asks the reader (male or gn preferably) to choke him, and the reader is a bit hesistant, afraid not to hurt him, but eventually gives in, at first being very careful, but then becoming a bit rough?

and maybe the reader has big hands and is quite strong and muscular (and vik has a size kink uwu)?

btw your pfp is cute af !!

I have never written from a male reader perspective before, so I hope this turned out okay! Thank you for the request!

Rough Day

synop: Viktor comes home after a rough day at work, you find the perfect way to brighten his day!

words: 2.5K

includes: viktorxmale!reader, bottom!viktor, top!reader, dom/sub, choking, anal, rough sex, size difference, smut, unprotected sex

a/n: contains smut! No minors!

The lock on the door unlatched, and in walked a lanky man. Eyes sunken in, with dark circles beneath. His back hunched over, clearly exhausted. With a deep exhale, he let out a sad sigh. The breath catching your attention. 

Turning from your seat in the living room, your eyes locked with Viktor’s golden gaze. His appearance was significantly more ragged than usual. He looked away from you, bringing his attention to the ground. As if he couldn’t look at you. Something was wrong. 

“You look like you’ve had a rough day.” You said, rising from the couch.

Viktor let out a breathy laugh, very unamused.

“Rough is putting it lightly.” 

“Care to tell me about it?” Worry filled your face, furrowing your brow. 

Viktor looked up as you approached him, the somber look on his face softening. 

You reached around him, helping him out of his coat and hanging it on a hook by the door. He slipped off his shoes, then set his cane on a hook beside his coat. With a thump, he pressed his face into his chest. Circling around his small frame, your strong arms pulled the man into you. This time Viktor let out a sigh of content. 

“We didn’t get the grant.” He mumbled against you. 

Looking up, his amber eyes locked with yours. A sadness filled those irises. One that you wished to dissipate. 

Your large warm hands reached to cup his face. Leaning down you pressed your lips to his. Viktor’s eyes fluttered shut as he returned the affectionate action. His lips were cold and slightly chapped, but you didn’t mind. All you wanted was to brighten the man’s day. 

“I’m sorry, V.” You lifted the man’s face to look into his eyes. “I know you worked so hard for that.” 

A thin hand reached up to cup the one on his cheek. His thumb caressed over your hands in soft circles. He shrugged, resigned to the fact that they had failed once again to secure funds for their project. 

“The next stage of Hextech will have to be put on the backburner for now.” 

It was unpleasant, watching the one you love accept defeat once again. You knew there wasn’t much you could do to help. At the bare minimum you could support and encourage him. Viktor and Jayce’s project deserved recognition, and the funds to complete it. 

So far they  managed to prove to investors the potential for Hextech to be used as an alternative energy source. However, they had not demonstrated the ability to make it stable. Viktor explained it to the best of his abilities, telling you that they needed more money in order to do so. However, those with the funds were reluctant to cash in without the inventors being able to prove that they could make a 100 percent stable energy source. 

“What can I do to make your day better?” You asked, hoping you could provide some relief after this blow. 

Chewing on his tongue, Viktor thought for a moment. Of course you would want to do something to help. It was you after all. Sighing, he shook his head. It wasn’t fair to drag you into his issues. 

“I think I’ll just relax for now. Try and,” he waved a hand around his head, “ forget about it. At least temporarily.” 

“Okay, and is there anything I can do to help you forget? Temporarily, of course.” You smiled softly.

Viktor smiled back at you. A warmth bloomed in his chest as he caught the look of adoration in your eyes. 

“Just being here is enough.” He turned to kiss the hand still cupping his cheek. 

Pulling your hand off, he studied it. Long fingers trailing against your own, tracing the outlines of the veins under the skin. It wasn’t an uncommon action, Viktor analyzing you. You didn’t mind it at all. It was just one of his ways of showing affection. Albeit an odd one, but you found it endearing. 

He flipped your hand over, continuing to trail his fingers along it. The soft touch sending a shiver through you. The man caught the response, a small smirk playing on his lips. 

“Have I told you how much I like your hands?” He hummed as he continued to touch you.

“Once or twice.” You chuckled. 

Viktor was never one to be subtle. Always letting his likes and wants be known. Thus he revealed early on how much he enjoyed your large hands. Well, that wasn’t the only thing he enjoyed that was particularly large. Truly he admired all of you. Your stature, strong frame, buff arms. Everything that he wasn’t he found enticing. 

At first it had taken you aback, how much he enjoyed your physique. Soon enough, you managed to appreciate his compliments and praise. There was the added bonus that it provided quite the entertainment for the man in the bedroom, and you were there to please. 

Viktor brought your hand to his throat, maneuvering your fingers around the column of his neck. Sighing with content, he moved his hand to your wrist. Amber eyes watched you curiously. 

Swallowing thickly, you flexed your fingers along the side of his throat. Cocking your head, you gave Viktor a confused look. While you had an idea where this was heading, you weren’t so sure if you wished to go there. 

“What are you concerned about?” Viktor asked lowly, hand still on your wrist. 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” You said quietly. 

Even though your sentiment was true, you could feel the blood rush to your lower extremities. Already growing hard with barely any contact. Again, Viktor was never subtle. When you knew what he wanted, it didn’t take long for you to catch up. That was evident within the growing tent of your pants. 

His eyes glanced down, a smirk playing on his lips as he realized you were already aroused. His hand moved back to yours, pressing down on your fingers around his throat. Humming with content, he closed his eyes. Enjoying the rush to his brain at the pressure. 

Despite seeing Viktor’s enthusiasm, you were still concerned. While you didn’t want to patronize him, you couldn’t ignore the strength disparity between the two of you. He sometimes seemed so fragile, something you were afraid you would break if not handled with care. Viktor did his best to reassure you, but you could find yourself stuck in your ways. Though, you were always willing to try, even if you had your reservations. 

“I want it.” He opened his eyes, filled with lust. “I want you.” That was all you needed. 

Without a moment to lose, you used the hand around his throat to bring him toward you. Clashing your lips with his. Groaning, he allowed your tongue to tangle with his. Everything was growing warm, hot, and wet. Despite always having him, you could never get enough of the man’s taste. The lingering flavor of his afternoon coffee still on his tongue. Pulling away, you watched as the string of saliva between you snapped. The sight shooting straight down your body. Fuck, you needed him, and clearly, he needed this. 

“You’re sure?” You breathe the question against his lips, hand tightening around his throat. 

“Yes!” He gasped out, eyes rolling back as the pressure increased. 

Licking your lips, you thought of the next steps. To make sure this was as safe as possible. Truly you did not want to hurt him. Or at least hurt him permanently. You didn’t think you could live with yourself if you did that to Viktor. 

“Three taps. That’s the signal when you can’t speak.” You pressed a hot kiss to his lips as he nodded. “And you know what to say if you can.”

Viktor nodded again, and you tsked.

“Demonstrate it to me.” You squeezed his throat. 

Immediately, Viktor tapped three times against your arm. You released his throat. While he didn’t want it to end, he knew that you would if he didn’t listen. 

“Mmm, good. Now what do you say if it’s too much?”

“Red.” He breathed out.

“Good.” You pressed another kiss against his lips. 

Quickly, your adventure led to your bedroom. Clothes were stripped off and strewn about on the floor, leaving you and Viktor fully exposed. His hand reached for your cock, but you stopped him with a squeeze to his throat and a look of warning. Tutting, you pushed him onto the bed. With your hand still on his throat you crawled on top. The man beneath you shuddering with anticipation. Eyes wide as he awaited your next move.

Leaning down, you whispered into his ear. Hand tightening around his throat as he gasped.

“You don’t get to do anything unless I say so. Got it?” You lifted back up to watch his response. 

Shaking in your hold, he nodded frantically.

“Good boy.” You leaned down and kissed him. Tongue sliding against his, making him groan. 

“You know, I’m starting to really enjoy this.” Your hand squeezed again, making Viktor’s eyes roll back in ecstasy. “You’re so responsive.” 

Looking at the man’s cock, you spotted a bead of precum at the tip. You reached around his length, earning yourself a yelp. Damn, he really was sensitive.

“You know what to do if you need me to stop.” You said lowly.

Viktor nodded, eyes wide. Afraid that you would stop what you were doing. Instead, you continued. Hand gripping his cock harder, while the other continued to squeeze his throat. You could tell it wouldn’t take long for Viktor to finish. The red flush of his tip and his shivering form indicating he was ready to burst at any moment. 

“I don’t even have to do anything,” you chuckled to yourself, “just squeeze a little, and you come undone so easily. Don’t you, baby?”

Hot spurts of cum shot out of Viktor’s cock. A loud moan accompanying his release. His eyes were tightly shut as he came harder than he ever had before. 

“Fuck!” He cried out as ropes of his cum continued to shoot out. 

His belly was covered in his release. Teasingly, you dipped your finger in and placed it in your mouth. Groaning at his taste. Somewhat sweet, with a lovely bitter tang. 

“You taste so good.” You breathed against his lips, following your statement with a kiss. Forcing the man to taste himself on your tongue. 

Feeling a little neglected yourself, you reached down fisting your cock. The lewd sight before you making you twitch with anticipation. 

“Think you can take some more?” You asked.

“Yes! Please!” Viktor begged, already feeling himself grow hard again.

“Hmmm, good boy.” 

Viktor whined as you pulled away. Watching with bated breath as you reached for the lube inside your bedside table. After you grabbed the bottle, you poured some onto your fingers. Viktor jumped slightly at the feeling of the cool liquid on his hole. 

“Relax for me.” You commanded, then smiled as Viktor rested his body and nodded.

With soft circles, you lubed up his hole. Thick fingers prodded at the entrance, then pressed in. Viktor gasped at the intrusion, then moaned as you pushed further in. Fingers curling in, making him moan even louder. 

Your free hand reached for his throat again and squeezed. 

“Oh fuck yes!” He groaned. 

When he was well prepared, you grabbed the lube and poured some on your cock. You shivered as the cool feeling hit your heated flesh. Fisting your cock, you spread the lube along your length. Lining up with his hole, you sucked in a breath. The best was yet to come. 

“You ready?” You asked, and Viktor nodded.

Slowly, you pressed in groaning at the tightness. Pushing past that ring of resistance, you bottomed out. Reaching deep within Viktor, you felt the man clench around your length. His overstimulated body shivering at the feeling of you inside him. 

“Fuck, so tight…” You moaned out.

Your eyes locked with Viktor’s who was waiting. He wiggled his hips, begging for you to move. Not yet though, you would tease him. Just a little bit is all. Grabbing his throat once more, you gave a hard squeeze.

“So impatient, I could just leave you like this. Enjoy you warming my cock, huh?”

“No!” Viktor gasped out. “Please, don’t leave me like this.” He almost looked teary eyed.

You moved back, then slammed back in. Yelping, Viktor clenched at the bedsheets. 

“What do you want me to do, V? Use this tight little hole? Make you mine?” Your hand squeezed his neck again, his eyes rolling back in pure bliss. 

“Please… Ah! Please, use me!” He cried out as you began to move again. 

“As you wish.”

You began to pound into him. Squelching from his lubed up hole filled the room, mixed with his moans of pleasure. As you slid in and out you could feel your own release building up. The tightness within you growing, just ready to burst. 

Quickly, you pulled out of him, then flipped the man over. One hand gripping his throat, pulling his small body against your chest. Cock pounding in and out of him, bouncing him on your length. Hot groans reverberating against Viktor’s neck as you used his body to your content. Fulfilling the man’s desire, to be used. 

Your cock hit just the right spots within Viktor. He could feel his own release growing. Both of your moans getting louder and louder with each slide of your cock. As you slid in and out of his tight heat, you could feel the tell-tale signs of Viktor’s impending release. The tightening of his walls, his shivering body, the gasping moans. His cock twitching as you pushed in and out of him, ready for his body to come undone. 

“Cum for me, Viktor.” You commanded.

And he listened, cock spurting out hot ropes of cum. Splattering his stomach again as you continued to slam into his tight hole. His walls clenching around you was your own undoing. Your own cock filled him with warmth as you let out a low ground. Teeth clenched as your cum spurted within him, your cock twitching with oversensitivity as you finished. 

Breathing heavily, you twisted Viktor’s face to kiss him deeply. Your cock still buried in him, still twitching with aftershocks. Sloppily, you continued to lock your lips with his. Both of you groaning as you kiss. Pulling away, you maneuvered the man back down onto the bed, still keeping your cock in him. 

As you smile down on him,  he brightly smiles back. Somehow looking significantly more refreshed than he had before fucking the daylights out of him. 

“Someone looks happy.” You laughed softly.

“It’s because I am.” He reached up to cup your face, trailing his hand down your neck and torso. Making sure to appreciate your sculpted body with a teasing finger, making your abs flex. 

“I’m glad to see that.” You gave him a peck before slowly sliding out. A smile on your face as the man beneath you moaned. 

“Thank you,” Viktor sighed with content, “I needed that. I need you.” He smiled at you.

“I hope you know,” you kissed him softly, “I need you too.” 

[urautismdiagnosis-wistie]

STRANDED ON AN ISLAND KWAZII TRAUMA POST its rlly long lmk if I should split it up

No I will not provide context to how he got there at the moment,but I will let you know he was stranded for approximately 2 years from 12 to 14 (specific numbers may change) for the sake of plot while I am basing the island off of thr ogasawara islands of Japan, the island hes on is alot more isolated, smaller, and unpopulated by people 👍

Trigger warnings: a child dealing with survival issues like hunger and sickness, raw meat, wild animal corpse, mentions of intense psychological distress, small wild animals dying

They're not all gonna be in chronological order btw ✨

◇◇THE BEGINING ◇◇

so the lil shrimp wakes up on a rocky shore with a busted life boat. The suns hot, there's a bird picking at him to see if he's dead, and luckily there's a lot of resources like rations, a medicine kit, and survival guides that all survived. He'll need those

Lil dudes in shock, doesn't rlly understand what's going on, just that he's on an island that seems decently sized, but definitely not large enough for any real settlement, and that hes really glad his grandad taught him about surviving on an island. Yay family tradition ig

He spends a bit of time recovering his strength, he hadn't exactly been in great shape from even before he crashed, and follows the birds for maybe a natural water source and some kindness,the sense of horrific dread be damned.

Okay cool, so hes like stranded stranded and apparently not only did the stormy weather send his little life boat to some island that apparently NO ONE EVEN SAILS NEAR (the birds happily informed him, because they love their home thank u very much) but there seems to not be a single flowing stream or anything of the sort on the entire island :)

Water rations cant last forever, and while cats CAN actually drink salt water to survive, that's only in smaller amounts... :/ they'll get sick if they have too much... so needless to say he got quite ill for some time, luckily the first (and worst) time it happened he had rations...

This actually takes place on a smaller island near Japan, so its rather mountainous and any clean water resources on a small island would have to be a natural spring. Because of the islands isolation and little above ground water resources... They're often vulnerable to droughts and etc... fun for kwazii ain't it!

Needless to say the search for fresh water was... an endeavor. One where he did get sick from drinking unfresh water unfortunately, but he did manage to find a small spring so yay kwazii! It wasn't even too far from the lil high up cave (wall hole) he managed to claim for himself!

He did manage to figure out a fishing system (there's non sapient/sentient animals in my au) using what tools he had even though it was pretty difficult. He uh, may have gotten sick from scavenging a few times. Yk, poisonous berries n whatnot. Luckily cats can rely more on meat and less on vegetation and still be ok. That includes raw meat (still tastes BAD) in a pinch so lucky kwazii huh?

Here's a lil sketch I made of his lil cave <3 ill probably finish and color it at a later date 030

Anyways, after kwazii manages to somewhat stabilize his whole survival situation, he decided to try and yk. Escape. But uh...

Well kwazii definitely knew how all manner of ships and boats worked! But... having all the construction skills and physical strength at age 12 or 13? Esp in HIS situation? Mmnnnnahhh not happening

Not to mention he was basically just using whatever wreckage from the life boat he could repair and whstever he could get from the island

He did know where he was for the most part due to the stars and some general knowledge on where he was from before he shipwrecked. But...

Well needless to say there was a series of failed attempts. Kwazii always seemed to end up right where he started, maybe even more behind than before. Totally didn't lose more and more hope each and every time hahahah! On onenasty instance where he hit some rocks was lucky there were some friendly dolphins nearby or he wouldn't have made it to shore. They became friends afterwards, so kwazii wasn't horribly alone. After all who needs people interaction when you have wild animals :) especially in your developmental teen years!

TIME FOR RANDOM TIDBITS OF ANGST 🗣

So :) wild animals! Not always very friendly! Anyways there were alot of invasive rats and hogs on the island... and well... let's just say in my au hogs and pigs have developed to be more... predatory to fill in the gap left from certain wild animals not being wild....

black rats are an invasive species especially in the ogasawara Islands. They damage the ecosystem by predating on sea birds,snails, and insects, as well as destroying native vegetation.

In my au well.. they aren't the most intelligent animals buuuuuuuuutt.... they all know a cat is a cat. Anyways unrelated but you'll NEVER GUESS who not only kept getting their food stashes eaten, supplies damaged, and even CHASED by a lil swarm of rats every so often! Also they carry disease. Fun times!

Feral pigs of ogasawara irl mostly damage biodiversity through destroying native plants by destroying them and spreading nonnative plants. Also attacks from them to humans have been "on the rise" so...

Anyways! Guess who gets routinely chased by wild territorial boars!!! Hahaha isn't it great that even when you climbed a tree the boar still kept bashing and shaking the tree and refusing to leave for a whilleeeee. Hahahaha really fun.

◇◇◇KWAZII EATS SOMETHING DEAD AND RAW HERE

Also one time kwazii was so exhausted and tired of random rats attacking and trying to bite him or getting into his supplies- hes exhausted and miserable and constantly alert and- well instincts kick in and he swipes at the thing so hard it immediately dies on impact

This was a bit earlier on, and kwaziis food supply was especially... low. So there he was. This 12 year old in the blistering heat, exhausted and starving and at his wits end... staring at the bloody corpse of a particularly large twitching rat. The rats can only manage 2- maybe 3- words at most. yk " FOOD!!!" "MINE!!" And maybe a slur. Not very... intelligent or aware.

So maybe kwazii zoned out when he smelled the flesh. So maybe when he zoned back in he was hunched over a desecrated small corpse with the taste of disgusting nasty rat overwhelming his tongue, mouth,throat, and nose. Maybe he screamed and maybe he cried. Maybe he couldn't handle seeing mangled flesh. It was too soon, something too familiar-◇◇◇

Oh also the

◇◇◇snake thing◇◇◇ (tw snake death?)

Sooooo, let's just say that well , maybe our lil guy had been yk. Out and about, trying to tie some rope and vine for his make-shift sail boat.

Let's also say that there may have been a habu viper, not native to the ogasawara islands (where kwazii is) but the ryukyu islands. They can be very bold and aggressive, often territorial. They also lay their eggs in the summer. (Which is very rare for pit vipers, since most give live birth)

Long story short someone went to grab a rope without looking, accidentally grabbed a snake that attacked him, nearly avoided being bitten by a venomous viper by stabbing it through thr SKULl with a dagger,and then cried about it for hours and held a little snake funeral for the snake that tried to hurt him

He also may have found the snakes eggs, and feeling wretched about his crime (leaving them all alone in the world without their mama 🥺😓) ,he decided to attempt to protect and raise the baby snakes to try to make up for it. Even though he felt guilty about killing the mom snake..

Of course he did know that snakes don't form bonds, but he just wanted to take care of them. They did sorta just slither away right after hatching, instincts telling em to go hunt n whatever, but he did protect them from being eaten and help one that was stuck in its shell. Even hummed them lullabies he remembered. They did thank him when they hatched btw

..............

Thats all the specific little incidents I want to share right now lol but bro is WAY too casual about being stranded on an island istg 😭😭😭

Lmk yalls thoughts 💅

Tags for people who were interested when I asked if yall wanted this >v<

@askkwazii @hannahstales @murkywaterzz @brownyanyk @sc6rl3t @lydiabop

[hollowed-theory-hall]

this is probably stupid to ask, but do you like snape? or the marauders? there's always fanwars happening between marauders stans and snape stans. tbh i'm just curious where you stand (i like both, and prefer their canon selves rather than the fanon which is btw really stupid. they feminized sirius so much its not even sirius anymore.) what made you like snape? if you do, or are you neutral with him? just for a change of question since i always ask about harry.

Thanks for the ask! I don't think it's stupid.

I prefer their canon counterparts as well, the Marauders fanon has so little to do with canon I can hardly call the characters by the same name. They just aren't the same characters. Anyway, I'm gonna try and summarise my highly subjective opinions about them here.

1. Sirius Black

He's my second most favorite character and my favorite among the characters you mentioned. I wrote about him a lot on this blog, so I don't really feel the need to write more.

But, he's smart, resilient, and goofy on occasion. His love for Harry is one of my favorite aspects of his character because he loves Harry so much. And he has his flaws. He can be cruel, cold, and arrogant and I wouldn't like him as much if he wasn't visibly a member of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black regardless of how much he tried to get away from his legacy. I love how messy his feelings about his family are. He left Regulus' room as it was, even though the rest of the house got cleaned by the Order. He stayed in his mother's bedroom even when all the conversations he had with her portrait were in screams. I love his distrust in Dumbledore after everything he's been through and how he chooses to remain for Harry's sake — he's willing to do anything for Harry's sake.

I just truly love Sirius.

2. Severus Snape

He's the next on this list because I do like Snape, he's not a character I'm passionate about, but I like him. I think he shouldn't be a teacher (I think he hates being a teacher more than his students hate him teaching them) but he's a talented potion maker and wizard. And he is a very entertaining character, even without knowing everything about him.

But what really makes me like Snape is that I find him interesting. I think his psychology is interesting, as is his dynamic with Lily, Dumbledore, and Voldemort. Snape is a fascinating character to study from a lot of angles, and even as a reader, there is quite a bit that's up in the air about him because he's that good at being a spy and not giving us anything.

The other major thing I like about him is his competence as a spy and wizard. If there's one thing I love in my fictional characters — it's competence (and intelligence). I often joke with my irl friends that Snape is the only competent Death Eater and the only competent member of the Order of the Phoenix. We then joke that if we were in his shoes, surrounded by a lot of people who don't actually do anything and we're the only ones affecting this war from both sides, we'd probably be bitter too.

A little note that seems overlooked about Snape often in the fandom, in general, is how we think, "Oh, he's so great at Occlumancy and not being emotional" — that's not strictly true. When it comes to Lily or the Marauders all his well-crafted Occlumancy kinda goes out the window. In books 3 and 5 he throws actual temper tantrums about Sirius Black. Like, I feel Snape, deep down is actually super not well adjusted and is an emotionally unstable mess, but he learned to pretend otherwise. Basically, all the cold facade is just that — a facade. He isn't really that stoic.

3. James Potter

I'm weird about James. Like, he's almost a nonentity and what we do hear about him is either negative or comes from biased sources.

I do tend to give him more of the benefit of the doubt than a lot of other fans who prefer canon James do. He was awful when he was younger, he was a bully and he assaulted Snape and there is no excuse for his actions. That being said, I can believe he changed. War changes you and you'd be hard-pressed to find a 21-year-old who isn't ashamed of a lot of what they did or said when they were 15. And yes, some of what James did is definitely more extreme than that of the average person, but it isn't that extreme compared to the environment he grew up in. Remus tells Harry everyone was casting Levicorpous on each other in the halls. I'm not saying any of the bullying is okay, I'm just saying it probably seemed normal to him and this is important context. Same as I don't think Snape is abusive towards students when put in the context of their culture and environment where, until recently, they caned students (Snape actually seems very averse to corporeal punishment. He also likely treats Harry very different than he does literally any other student, but this is the James section).

I just, like the idea of James changing for the better. I'd like to think he did. That life and war and loss taught him something.

4. Peter Pettigrew

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I like Pettigrew more than Lupin. He's awful, he's pathetic, he's a cowardly rat man and I find his sniveling funny. Whenever I try to think of a what-if scenario in my head, Pettigrew is somehow the key to it. Because he's a character that affects so much of the plot in some incredibly crucial moments — he betrayed James and Lily, he resurrected the Dark Lord, and later, he allows Harry's survival. Idk, I just find his situation and just how pathetic he could get fascinating. It's, like, there is no rock bottom for this guy, he keeps digging. Like, you can't get more pathetic than living as a rat for 12 years when you could've moved to Argentina or something.

And at the same time, he clearly has some residual care for Harry for his father's friendship. He has so many opportunities to kill Harry or kidnap him when he runs away to join Voldemort — but he doesn't. Even after Sirius escapes and he knows his time is up, he still leaves Harry alive. When he is supposed to kill him in book 7, he doesn't, he again lets him go and pays with his own life for it. Like, again, idk, it's just how I feel.

5. Remus Lupin

I know I placed Lupin last, and it's because I don't personally like him that much. Pretty sure this is a little controversial, but I don't really like book Lupin, he does not vibe with me, at all. (Though I'd choose book Lupin over Marauders fandom Lupin every time)

Like, it bothers me that he doesn't actually care about Harry (the only one on the list who willingly physically harmed Harry, in a moment of anger, but still). It was Harry who asked to be taught the Patronus, if it was up to Remus, he wouldn't be involved in Harry's life at all. He tried to run on his wife when she got pregnant because he was scared. Like, Petttigrew is given shit for being a cowardly Gryffindor, but, look, you need some guts to betray your friends, so I'd argue Remus is the most cowardly Marauder (it's easy to be brave when you don't care for your own life).

But, all of this is part of his character and the story wouldn't be what it is if Remus bothered to get his head out of his own ass and check up on Harry. How he behaves makes him my personal least favorite Marauder, but I want Lupin to be a cowardly guy who runs away from attachment and responsibility because he doesn't trust himself with anything (especially not anything good). He's not cool, or suave, and he's desperate for people to like him but without actually knowing him because he thinks that if they do they'd run away screaming like he wants to run from himself. Honestly, I don't get why the Mauraders fandom made James the people-pleaser when Remus Lupin is right there always telling people what they want to hear so they'd like him.

Again, these are all my own personal subjective opinions, but yeah.

[schwarzgeier-side]

Another oc you say? You are now psuedo-legally obligated to yap about them. Pretty please?

Uhmuh uhh scrambles through my notes

OKAY SO disclaimer She's not finished yet cauze uh im too gay

But here's my concept for Geier, the Vulture! I know others probably made better Geier concepts but fuck it i love vultures and i wanted to make my own.

Geier units in my head could be something akin to Exterminators , a sort of. Clean up unit as a response to any bioresonant fenomena or any massive "casulties". They also serve as reserve back up in case a Falke goes a bit rouge since they would be made with bioresonant supressors built in. Like an opposite to what Kolibris and Falkes have. This module makes them a lot more resistant to any bioresonance shenanigans but also makes them. More numb in a way? They literaly think . Less sorta. Not in dumb way just kinda. Doesn'r get nosy or curious , doesn't question many orders or things outside of their objectives. They're there to burn corpses and burn bioresonant fuckery. And they do it well.

Im still deciding on the coloring but I'm torn between black motives or orange . NOW A FUN THING is that Geiers have a built in mask! It's very similair to Starling ones but the very small mouth part being the only removable part. The vents on the side serve for better breathing and filtering during clean up and burning. The visor is fully detachable though and ofc is anti heat equiped. They also have canister ports on their backs for ease of attacking the gasoline tanks that hook up to the flamethrowers. Height wise they average between a Star and an Ara and have more animal style hind legs to ease movement for any big mushy places.

Personality wise Geiers are. Scarily calm and blunt. Straight to the point , short stern sentences. They don't take shit from anyone though sdhdh they're built to face off Falkes so they will gladly spar with other Protektors too. Which happens quite a bit as a source of stabilization , along with maintaining their guns and flamethrowers. They don't need much regarding hobbies or stabilization since the supression module already makes them. More apathetic. Makes them kinda loners , squads go up to max 5 with the members of Geier cadre being in the sort of a dynamic where they don't talk at all in their dorm but they will loyaly die for eachother without a question.

Saying all that deep down they are not that bad to get along with , they're just intimidating and blunt. Stuff like a stray Eule asking for help with moving supplies or an Ara needing some metal ripped out , Geiers will help without question. They are just quiet about it. They uh do have a tendecy to come off as extreme , specialy with fresh Geiers reacting to anything suspicious , yanking an Ara from vents on accident or cornering a coughing gestalt dhdhhd , but this mellows out with experience. If any replika decides to warm up to a Geier and put in the time and effort, Geiers are terrifingly loyal and good companions ,just very specific and introverted.

A slight sidenote , since Nation ofc wouldn't like a replika thats fully immune to bioresonant mental checks , the mind and thoughts of Geiers can be accesed through their neuro-ports by manualy plugging in. They have weekly check-ins like that with either a Kolibri or Falke or any of the leading figure at their facility.

Andd some more misc doodles

Thank u for asking btw hhhh it's weird coming out and yapping even more about replika ocs but it's so much fun.

[spookberry]

Hi! Your art has gotten me into SteamBat. I'm so behind on Monster High stuff, I wanted to ask; do they ever interact in canon? I honestly can't remember a whole lot about either of their pasts. If not, do you have an idea for their history and how everything went down?

Either way your art is really cute and I'm here for the star-crossed lovers.

Yes they do!!!! In the movie Frights Camera Action.

If you dont wanna go watch it though I'll summarize:

Basically theres this magic vampire artifact called "The Vampire's Heart" its meant to reveal who the Vampire Queen is. The Vampire Court more or less fell apart about 400 years ago due to humans but also because the heart went missing and they couldnt claim a new queen.

Modern day Lord Stoker(current interim leader of the court until the queen is found) claims to have the Vampire's Heart as it reveals Draculaura to be the new queen. The twist is that this heart is a fake and Lord Stoker was hoping he could use Draculaura as a puppet leader while controlling everything himself in the shadows. Turns out tho that the True Queen was in fact Elissabat, his niece, who disappeared alongside the Court's falling apart, and the Vampire's Heart disappearing. Draculaura was actually friends with her back in the day and so the ghoul gang (made up of Draculaura, Cleo, Robecca, and Clawdeen) decide to go find her. They meet other ghouls along the way and the b plot is about this movie series called the Vampire's Majesty that Draculaura hates but is really popular generally. (Vaguely meant to be goofing off the irl Twilight team Edward vs team Jacob thing)

Throughout their journey trying to track down what happened 400 years ago and where Elissabat went, Robecca starts having these odd feelings. She never met Elissabat or had even heard of her til now but she feels this odd connection to her. Robecca's desire to find Elissabat is almost entirely removed from the goal of needing to find The Queen in order to save the court from Lord Stoker. By the end Robecca's weird connection to Elissabat becomes their guide, leading them to her.

In the movie when they finally find Elissabat it is revealed that the Heart was entrusted to Hexiciah Steam who used it to build his daughter Robecca. It now resides inside of her as a power source. (Therefore it spent at least 100 years laying in the catacombs before the ghouls found Robecca and pieced her back together)

The fact that Robecca's literal actual heart is intended to find Elissabat and to glow in her presence is kinda dropped after that. There's other plot stuff going on. Personally if it were me I'd take more time to explore Robecca's feelings on all this. The movie frames Elissabat as taking the throne back willingly cuz shes now ready but like... Part of the problem in finding her is that Elissabat didn't just run away as a means of staying safe from her power hungry uncle(who its implied killed her dad) but also because she doesnt Want to be the Queen.

She has dreams and Goals of her own. She's an actress!! Thanks to braces and lasik her physical appearance is quite different(plus i like to imagine she styled her hair differently, even if thats not canon to the movie) people don't really recognize her by the time film comes around. Her stage name is Veronica Von Vamp btw and she happens to be the star of that movie series Draculaura hates lmao. And its kinda just implied that she just does both now after all this with her identity just out in the open. I feel like itd kinda suck. So I like to imagine she's got a bit of a Hannah Montana situation going on with her identities. Obviously her friends and trusted court members would know, but otherwise she keeps the two lives separate in some way.

My take would either to have her be a small time actress, she works on indie films and stage shows primarily. Maybe the Vampire's Majesty was something she did more out of nostalgia and never expected it to get as big as it did. So after its over she keeps taking on smaller projects and less known stuff because acting is her true passion.

There's not really enough time to deal with her angst about becoming Queen to protect Draculaura/get rid of her Uncle and how that effects her life. But I do love to think about the fall out of that decision and how she copes, maybe Robecca helps her through that which leads them to developing a romantic relationship.

[lanawinterscigarettes]

https://www.tumblr.com/scealaiscoite/764864799892979712/%EF%BE%9F%EF%BE%9F%EF%BE%9F%EF%BE%9F-%EF%BE%9F-november-prompts?source=share

sorry another blair prompt...have too many ideas.. but fluffy and tender leaning please 🥺

3, 22, 30 from list above and blair calling reader ma cherie (im SICK Why does she use pet names im weak in the knees)

✨️

I love all the blair requests you send in, keep it up! (and I haven't forgotten about your other requests, don't worry! they're being worked on as we speak 🥰)

original prompt list is here btw

Drunken Accidents (Blair Waldorf x gn reader)

Warnings: mentions of overdrinking, accidental bruising, brief mentions of addiction, teensy bit of hurt/comfort but mostly just fluff

"Here, press this on it," Blair directed as she handed you a bag of frozen peas she got out of your freezer, which you gladly took. You had a bruise forming on your leg, one that you'd earned after a night out of drinking.

Partying wasn't really your thing, but you couldn't trust Serena and Chuck by themselves. Knowing them, they'd probably end up drinking the whole bar, so you agreed to tag along only so you could supervise. Things didn't go quite as planned when you started drinking yourself, getting you in way over your head.

The bruise came into play when you were stumbling around outside the bar, on the phone with Blair while trying to hail a taxi. You'd tripped and fell against the curb, which resulted in a nasty welt forming on your lower leg. She immediately rushed over to get you before taking you back to your place, allowing you to sleep off the hangover before scolding you as soon as you woke up.

"You shouldn't have gone out there," she began, her brown eyes narrowed in a mixture of frustration and worry as she watched you flinch when you place the bag of frozen peas on your leg where the bruise was. "Serena and Chuck are old enough to take care of themselves."

"I just didn't want them getting hurt, okay? We both know that Serena's sobriety is pretty fragile, and Chuck certainly doesn't help matters."

She sighed at your words, knowing you had a point. "Well, next time I'm going with you, okay? I don't want you to get hurt again." The usual icy cold exterior of Queen B had melted away at the sight of you in pain, leaving behind a much softer version of your girlfriend in its wake that very few people got the privilege to see, you being one of them. "Now, come on, let's get you back to bed."

"Wait, I wanted to make a cup of tea first. Those always tend to help with my hangovers." You winced as you stood, setting the bag of peas on the counter as you got out the teapot, two cups, and a box of raspberry tea packets. "Do you want some?"

"I guess," she muttered with a slight eye roll. You didn't take it personally, knowing she was only trying to cover up her recent vulnerability with her usual snark.

Blair simply observed with a slightly curious gaze while you got the tea ready. Whenever she wanted something like that, she always got Dorota to make it for her, so it was interesting for her to see someone do it for themselves.

After placing the tea packets into the cups and pouring the hot water over it, you went to pick up both cups and the bag of peas at the same time, something that she immediately knew would be a bad idea.

"Ma cherie, wait. You're hurt, you shouldn't be carrying all of this stuff around," she scolded while taking the cups from you. "I'll take the cups, you get the peas."

You knew better than to argue with you, so naturally you did as she ordered you to and let her take them from you, hobbling out of the kitchen towards your room with her closely in tow. The bruise hurt more than you thought it would, and having to keep frozen peas on it made it difficult to walk, but still, you persisted.

"You can set the cups down on the nightstand." You gestured in that direction before carefully climbing in the bed. "I take it you're spending the night?"

She let out a slight scoff, almost as if she was offended by how stupid the question was. "Obviously I'm spending the night. I'm not just going to leave you here by yourself," she stated firmly while getting in the twin sized bed with you.

Your bed was certainly smaller than hers was, but she kind of liked it that way. It gave her the excuse to cuddle with you, her body always pressed flush against yours under the guise of her seeking your warmth whenever you slept in it together.

She handed you a cup of tea once you were both settled before grabbing her own and taking a sip. You chuckled at the face she made, one that very clearly gave away how much she disliked it. "This is a lot more tart than I expected it to be," she commented before taking another sip, only to make that same face again.

"If you don't like it, then why are you still drinking it?" You questioned with a slight look of amusement, drinking some of your own tea with no problem.

"I don't know," she replied with a slight huff as she set the cup back down. "Maybe I thought it would taste better the second time. And don't say that's stupid," she cut you off before you could reply. "Because I know it is."

"Well, if you won't drink it then I will," you said with a shrug while reaching for her tea, having already finished your own. "I don't mind things that are a little tart. If I did, I wouldn't be in love with you."

"God, you're such a sap," she scoffed, though her retort was soon made irrelevant when she pulled you in for a tender kiss, one that instantly took your breath away. "And that's why I love you."

Her eyes stared deeply into yours when she spoke, looking like chocolate orbs of love. "You're gorgeous," you muttered in response, setting the cup down so you could pull her in for another kiss.

The rest of the night was spent huddled up together under the blankets, stealing the occasional kiss from one another in an effort to stay warm. Blair woke the next morning to find herself practically laying on top of you with your arms wrapped around her in a loving embrace.

"Oh, ma cherie," she murmured while watching you sleep, leaning in to pepper your face with soft kisses. "I love you, even when you get drunk and accidentally hurt yourself."

"I heard that," you mumbled in a groggy voice, keeping your eyes closed when you spoke, though she could tell by the faint smile tugging at your lips her words didn't actually bother you.

"I'm teasing. I'm just glad you're okay." She gave your face a few more kisses, allowing herself to be pulled in closer to you when you shifted slightly on the bed, your hands finding their way to her back as you held her close. "I really do love you."

"Mm, I love you, too. More than anything." You emphasized the statement by capturing her lips in a loving kiss, her hands moving to cup your face as she allowed herself to be swept away by the affection she felt towards you.

Even if the situation itself wasn't very ideal, she was glad you got to spend the night together. Next time, though, she'd make sure to go out with you when you drank so you wouldn't get hurt.

End notes: I love writing sweet, sappy blair 💕 finding a gif that i actually liked was hell though lmao

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[superkooku]

@aliciavance4228's post about Crown of serpents only focusing on physical strength to be worthy inspired me for more ramblings. (Thanks for the idea btw)

Because it's yet another proof that some of these "dazzling" retellings (or whatever other buzzword) are even more reductive and stigmatizing than Greek mythology !

No, just because Andromeda didn't fight Cetus herself or smth doesn't mean she's weak. Heck, she doesn't even need to sacrifice herself for the kingdom (SHE DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT) to show her own kind of strength. Let me elaborate on my stance, first.

Greek mythology isn't simply about fighting monsters and being strong

Firstly, no religion or mythology is. It's tied to the culture, to all its elements, to legends that teach values or explain stuff about the world and human nature. So of course physical strength and "epicness" aren't the only parts to remember !!!

Then, let's talk about the multiple heroes, not even women or anything, but actual male heroes, whose abilities don't lie on strength, some of them not even being fighters, and even then they're highly acclaimed.

Andromeda's healing abilities (that aren't in the source but whatever) would've never been seen as useless in a mythology where there are multiple deities solely dedicated to this domain. The mythology where we have Asclepius being literally deified for his extraordinary medicinal abilities (and him being Apollo's kid probably helped but my point still stands).

Orpheus, a figure that literally everyone knows, saved the Argonauts not by fighting the Sirens but by out-singing them, using his actual talent instead of grabbing a sword.

Heck, even among the fighting heroes, physical strength isn't everything.

Even fricking Heracles, aka mr. strong guy, doesn't accomplish all his tasks by brute strength. He has to think, at least a little bit, in order to find a solution.

Simple strength would NOT have cleaned the Augean stables and that one hydra head would've still wrecked havoc if not handled with extra-care.

The Greeks won the whole-ass Trojan war by ruse, not by strength. The mighty Achilles, as powerful as he was, wasn't enough and ended up being taken down by one well-placed arrow.

I'm using some of the most popular myths out there, not even tragedies that solely focus on the human condition and emotions, or more obscure ones.

Then, let's talk about the women in Greek mythology.

Why do we define women like Penelope, Andromache or Antigone are strong ? None of them picked up a sword and fought. They aren't goddesses, they aren't witches, just average princesses and queens.

It's because they had resilience, they had a strength of character, they had inner qualities that made them stand out, even in difficult conditions, as everyone else was against them, they stood their ground.

Even those that are more "in the background" like Ariadne, or in Perseus' myth Andromeda and Danae somewhat show these qualities and end up being rewarded for it (when it's not a tragedy anyway).

Edit : I'll elaborate on Danae. I mean, she literally had to raise a demi-god all by herself, in poverty and had to watch him go to a potential suicide mission so Polydectes could have her for himself. But she didn't give up, she trusted her son, she kept her dignity and now she's set for a peaceful quiet life.

Anyway, I could mention a LOT of other examples. My point is that even in Greek mythology, there's a lot of variety. There are powerful "badass" ones like Athena, Circe or the wholely underused Atalanta, but also some that show this less bombastic power in them. And I would love if retellings focused more on that to make female characters strong.

Same goes for the men, as I previously said. Power can be in strength of character, cunning, talents, eloquence, contacts, politics, or multiple other fields that aren't related to physical strength.

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Okay, so I'm gonna give a little bit of needless context to this ask before asking the ask -

Every time I find a "new" character that I'm interested in and scroll their tags, I find one or more canon panels with Dick Grayson being a little shittt to them. This is often accompanied by the in-universe justification of him being stressed/brainwashed/misled/possessed. This has happened with Helena Bertinelli, JPV and Donna Troy.

I also generally dislike the man because he's a batboy and I am generally peeved by their presence in other tags.

Now I have come to you, my primary source of Stephanie Brown facts, to try to confirm my biases against this man.

I remember that he was in Gotham for the Gang War, and that he was Batman during her run as Batgirl under Oracle. But it has been a while since I've read those comics.

Was Dick Grayson ever present in any meaningful capacity during her Robin and Batgirl days? Was he nice to her? Did he have any reaction to Bruce "losing" another Robin?

Dick Grayson and Steph have had extremely limited preboot interactions, so this question is actually pretty easy and straightforward to answer!!!

I don’t know if I’ll be very helpful in confirming or denying your Dick Grayson related biases, but I can give you list of every interaction I can think of, and leave it up to you to interpret them as you’d like!

(I will say ‘character wasn’t an asshole to stephanie brown at least once’ is a pretty high bar to clear. Weirdly enough a lot of the characters she meets will at first lowkey have unsubstantiated issues with her. Babs has had her beef with her, even before Steph took up the Batgirl mantle, Cass has said some hurtful things about and to Steph (and vice versa), Alfred fucking HATESSS Steph’s guts before her death and makes it very clear, Tim despite how close he and Steph are also has his more insulting moments and Bruce is like.. self explanatory. Damian’s character was just generally prickly when he met Steph, and their first meeting makes him no exception to this rule. A lot of these characters warm up to her eventually, it’s just rarely automatic. A lot of these preboot relationships are complicated, and messy and fun and nuanced. Just something to keep in mind)

Alright!! Itemized list of every interaction I can think of in order of occurrence:

- Tim and Dick have a convo where Steph’s pregnancy comes up. Dick is familar with Stephs name, presumably from talking with Tim at some nebulous point beforehand

Nightwing #25

- Dick makes a surprise appearance in Stephanie Browns giving birth dream sequence (we have not seen them meet or interact at all on panel at this point btw. No clue why she would have him appear in the dream sequence)

- Dick and Steph are both in the Last Laugh, thought they don’t rly work together or see each other except for this moment, which is like barely an interaction:

Last Laugh #6

- they also are both in BW:Murderer/Fugitive but iirc this is the only moment they are in the same room, and Steph’s pretty much only there as Cass’ tag-along buddy. It’s complicated because Steph is dealing w a VERY different layer of BW:Murderer than Dick. Steph is hardly involved at all besides her hanging out with Cass, and doesn’t know why everyone is so invested in solving this murder or the broader implications at all.

Batgirl #27 (2000)

-we don’t see them interact during Steph’s time as Robin, and we actually have no indication Dick even knows Steph even took on the mantle. Though he very well could have found out through talking with Tim, once Tim found out.

-Steph during very early War Games reflects on Nightwing and his role as the first Robin. She states she didn’t know more abt him than pretty much the barebones ‘legend’ everyone knows about Batman and Robin, the fact that he’s friends with a lot of the superhero community, and that’s he’s very loyal to Batman.

Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure (2004)

(You’re right that Dick Grayson was in Gotham during War Games, but he and Steph do not interact)

-After Steph’s death, Dicks in the middle of reeling after a genuinely horrifically intense downward spiral angst arc he has been enduring over in Nightwing 1996 for the past good while, but we do get to see his direct reaction to Stephs death:

Nightwing #99

He later (its weird timing wise) over in Batman participates in the ‘Bruce Wayne did nothing wrong / Steph was a screwup innately’ lovefest, but I find his reaction in Nightwing a lot more true to form and focused.

Batman #634

I don’t think there is another interaction until Batgirl 2009, where we get the meat of their interactions and also a source of conflict

-Dick underestimates Steph’s abilities and basically tells Babs to make her fuck off until he eventually comes around and gives them the go-ahead to operate out of the batcave

Pretty common kind of story in Batgirl 2009, various vigilantes (Babs and Tim both) are at first adamantly disapproving of Steph acting as Batgirl, with that disapproval often times portrayed as out of fear for Steph’s safety, before they discover Steph is more competent/determined than they believed.

So there it is! A pretty complete overview of Dick and Steph’s preboot interactions and relationship. You can make of it what you will.

If anyone noticed I missed anything, please lmk! Hope this was helpful and thanks for the ask!

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

There was an agreement and an announcement under Elizabeth II. They can't go on as if they respect her memory if they use the HRH. No leaks, no assumptions. It's a clear statement not allowing to use HRH in all terms not just for commercial purposes. I don't think BRF will do anything now, since today that is William and Catherine 's anniversary until the USA visit in August/September. We might get some royal sources but that's all.

Suxs surely playing with the fire. I don't know when exactly if it will be under Charles or William but they will lose it, both HRH and Princess titles, her and her children. They might thinking who this change affect cause it won't be just an announcement but a new letter pattern. Besides neither of them was born with this to say it's a birth right but even if they were born Sweden and Denmark showed that you can lose that too. Nothing happens to Queen's cousins. I don't know about Eugenie, Beatrice and Harry. If he loses it they lose it too but I can see all 3 of them not using it. Nevertheless I'm pretty sure they will still use it private and demand people to address them this way, as I'm more than certain they do it with their stuff, just like Wallis. The timing of the change has to do with Charles health. He still gets therapy but if he ends it soon and be in remission like Catherine, then it happens. But if things aren't good for him and he knows it nothing will happen. Unless if he wants to take this from William but if he does it, it will a bit before ....yk. Nevertheless I don't think it will be bad for William's inage to be seen as the one protecting the monarchy from grifters.

Lastly, once again it's evident how much this woman hates and envies Catherine. It's clear she calculated the dates of her podcast to be on W&C anniversary and coronation anniversary and from all the episodes she has she chose this Tuesday as the one to do the interview. Well her podcast flops and she needed something. It's definitely not the first time she has signed as HRH but she want it to be on the news again. She did the same with Archetypes, after 2-3 episodes there wasn't any interest and she "stop" out of respect for Queen 🙄 the same Queen she had blackmailed few days before. For me the more this woman speaks the more she shows her true self and why nobody likes her.

I think you might need to double check your sources because there is no US visit planned for 2025. The US visit will be in 2026 as part of our semisesquincentennial/250th birthday.

Also there are ways to take Harry’s titles without affecting Beatrice and Eugenie. It depends on how the order is written. For instance, if the order specifies Harry by name, then the Yorkies keep theirs. If the order requires permanent residency (not domicile, but physical residency) in the UK to use the titles, then Harry and Eugenie lose it but Beatrice gets to keep it. If the order says “male children” or some variation of sex-based language like that, then Harry loses it but Beatrice and Eugenie keep theirs. So it can be done - I know you’re thinking about how Fergie lost her HRH when Diana gave hers back, but that’s not the same thing that’s happening here.

And BTW, Louise and James are also HRH Princess/Prince too. They just don’t use it but it is theirs pursuant to the 1917 LP because they were once grandchildren of the reigning monarch.

The legal precedent is set by the Titles Deprivation Act of 1917, which revoked specific British peerage and titles from specific people/families for their support of Germany during WW1.

[theobsessedcookiefan]

https://www.tumblr.com/theobsessedcookiefan/758178391877910528/im-not-deadd-so-i-was-thinking-about-how-would?source=share

Now I can't stop imagining a story/possible story series if you like this idea enough....a human iseaked into the cookie world and the begining is like...y/n wakes up from gingerbrave and the others waking them up and they are like 'ok....this human is ours now' then...onward to hilarious eating scenarios where....well I can already imagine:

Cookie: gingerbrave! Gingerbrave! We have good news and bad news...

Gingerbrave: what's the good news?

Cookie: the human we just adopted and decided to take care of isn't trying to eat anyone that's alive.

Gingerbrave: that's good...I'm glad they have morals. Wait, what's the bad news?

Cookie: they keep trying to eat random items instead.

*off in the distance.*

Herb: STOP TRYING TO EAT THE TREES!!!

Y/n: *just chewing on the tree...*

Herb: GINGERBRAVE! Y/N IS DOING THAT THING AGAIN!!!

(Bonus if you want: I also can't help but imagine whenever they go adventuring or something....gingerbrave has to put y/n on a harness child leash in order to hold them back from trying to eat random stuff...like if you want a funny scenario:

Gingerbrave, talking to a fellow cookie: yes, y/n is a sweetheart and really loves talking to cookies but it's true they have a bad habit of, hold on one second. *they turn to y/n and yank on the leash* y/n no! No eating the dirt! *turns back to the cookie* so as I was saying-)

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LAUGHED WHILE READING THAT LMAO.

So yes, I'll do it because guess what? Cookie run hiperfixation came back like William Afton. I gotchu bro

This'll be kind of interactive btw.

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ꋬ ꒯ꏂꇙꇙꏂꋪ꓄ ꅐꄲꋪ꒒꒯

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Okay, let's make a quick recap, you remember installing a silly game of cookies out of boredom and getting totally obsessed with it, it's okay, it's fine, it's not that big of a deal, younger you was obsessed with Minecraft after all, but back with the cookie game, maybe playing it on the bus stop wasn't your best idea, considering it made you get hit by it, okay that was definitely stupid of you, your parents always told you to pay attention to your surroundings when going out, you should've learnt that from all the pokemon go incidents. But focusing on the present; if this was the paradise your grandma told so much about then you should give her extra points, it was really pretty, a forest, blue skies with some clouds and green grass that looked exactly like those in movies, it was too perfect! But in the second glance, why were you slightly bigger than the trees? More importantly.. Why the trees looked so good?.. Was this the vegan's heaven? Or was this hell where you were forced to become vegan? Either way the trees were small, the bigger ones reached your forehead.

Keeping that in mind you sat down, thinking about the whole thing that was happening, were you really dead? If so then what were you supposed to do now? Then a sound broke your train of thoughts, voices? Wait.. You knew those voices. "Wait a damn second-" You thought, peeking through the leaves of the trees, taking advantage of the fact that you were sitting and they could cover you a bit, and what you saw made you speechless, why the heck were Gingerbrave, Strawberry Cookie and Wizard Cookie right in the path front of you?!

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What will you do?

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[jesncin]

hiiii it's the anon you replied to with the taonui hugging a shark doodle (which is absolutely adorable btw) (also I know there's no proof of my identity but I doubt anyone is claiming to be me anyway).

I was not at all kidding when I said your work motivated me to read comics, even the notoriously badly written ones, because I think it's important to actually know the original material a fandom is based around.

I'm not new to the dc fandom space but I haven't had too much of an opportunity in my free time to actually engage with the comics as source material, only really tv shows and movies. A lot of what I know comes from other peoples discussion of comics as well as further interpretations of the characters in fanworks. A lot of what I see in the DC fandom is this sentiment to "disregard canon", which i think is fair if you take that to mean how comics contradict each other all the time, and there's a certain canon to each person based on what runs you actually enjoy the writing and character interpretations. However, what I actually see most of the time in fandom is the characters being put into boxes based on what they get known for within the fandom, and thus they become one dimensional comedy figures more often then not. They get assigned a couple of traits and then those traits are explored sometimes, but sometimes those traits don't even come from the comics but fandom wide hallucinations.

Completely opposite to that, is the way in which you researched and wrote your taonui mun and nanaue comic. Although you alter a lot of the original backstory and presentations of the characters from the Superboy comics, it's done with understanding of the source material, before you reconstructed it into something new. You analysed all the parts of both characters, how as characters they could be taken in interesting directions, as well as understood why they were written the way they were in the first place (blegh racist misogynist white men) and combined that knowledge into something new with more respectful cultural portrayals than they originally had. That's what motivated me to read more comics. Not the knowledge that the source material can be shittly written, or that I was disillusioned by your portrayal of characters, but by understanding the effect and critical analysis it took you to grow these characters from the potential they had in their original appearances. Better source material understanding often leads to more interesting interpretations and ideas for characters, because you have to know the rules from canon in order to break them in new and interesting ways. And your work is an absolute masterclass at this concept.

Sorry for the essay in your inbox, I just really enjoyed your comic and will def be looking into more of your art bc it's absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for the luck for seeking out more comics, I definitely need it.

You're good, I take the many anons' self-claims word for it :3c

I get that! Even though I think it's totally fair game to call yourself a fan of these characters when you primarily interact with them through adaptation, it's understandable to want to seek out more of them through their source material. Part of what makes cape media endearing to me is having insight into the transformative process when something gets adapted a bunch.

While I was hyped for my copies of Superman Smashes the Klan to arrive, I listened to the original Clan of the Fiery Cross radio show arc so I could see what Gene Yang was revitalizing in his take. And it was SO rewarding to know the broader context! The things that stayed, the things that were flipped and expanded upon, it's a whole other layer of appreciation.

When people say things like "oh I see you took the quirky bit trait (from the Superman movies) that Lois Lane can't spell and actually expanded it into something that explores her character". It's the kind of awareness of source material + how I changed it that I love! I get a lot less of that when I tackle niche characters -and it's fine since I make my comics accessible regardless of whether people get the references- but when people seek out that source material to better understand my adaptation, that's just so kind! It's an intellectual curiosity that's very healthy and I praise it (regardless of the source material's quality)!

I very much get the fandom tendency to flanderize and mistake fanon for canon. I'm fascinated by how fandom culture creates this collective conscious of rules + correct interpretations that ironically re-create the hierarchy of authorial intent. Because so much of the time when I enter a character tag on here and see discussion on these characters as they exist in canon, I'm thinking "some of y'all need a refresher on the source material, because [x thing you got from fanon] wasn't canonically thing." Being surrounded by fanon constantly can make people lose sight of the material.

Anyway thank you! As I've said before, I revisit canon to to be informed in my retelling, not to be loyal to it. I learn the source material and the context from which it's made before I break it and appropriate it. It's the most fun kind of research homework I could ask for haha.

[reality-shitting]

https://www.tumblr.com/reality-shitting/781829117037379584/i-think-i-cracked-my-personal-puzzle-regarding?source=share

STOP THIS ACTUALLY MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. I GOT A SENSE OF CLARITY😭

personally, i believe manifesting=shifting. so if i want to manifest a desire, i just shift to a reality where i already have my desires. i want to enter the void state to manifest my desires (also shifting to genshin dr). by this post, should i just be in the state where i already manifested my desires in the void and live my dream life (idk if i'm making sense like idk how to apply this to void). can i apply this logic for void state???

btw love your blog

Thank you so much for your kind words, this made me smile after having such a stressful day 😭💞

Personally, I believe that the void state is Point Zero. It isn't a place, it is still you! I think the void state is essentially the coding terminal of your reality. The best visual I can think of is the scene in Wreck It Ralph, where Turbo goes into the Sugar Rush cabinet's code. The code creates their world and Turbo can access it, even though he is himself, code. I believe the void state works in a similar manner. I believe the difference between shifting and manifesting now, is whether you witness the desire being fulfilled or if you jump to a point where you already have/had it. If that makes sense at all. An example of this could be if you wanted money. The manifesting version would be if you got a call from your boss offering a promotion or finding $20 on the ground. The shifting version would be if you woke up one day and found that you had money you previously didn't in your bank account.

In my personal opinion, manifesting and shifting are the same. The only difference is the order of events you experience them in.

Anyways! I'm sorry for the ramble, but your ask got me thinking a bit about the intricacies of my viewpoints. Essentially, yes. You can shift/manifest however and whatever you'd like in the void state. The void state itself being, if that little purple ball of awareness I drew out was no longer connected to a body, but simply disconnected. It's by itself, the creator. It's free from the worries and stipulations that it would have if it were still connected to its host body. It's free, it's no longer bound by the experience of reality. It is everything, and nothing. It just... Is. And from that Point Zero, terminal, console, nothingness, it can be anything.

I hope this answered your question and made some semblance of sense. I know I tend to wobble and veer off course like the club penguin minecart mini game. Please feel free to send in another ask if you're still confused and I'll try to answer in a different way 💞

[cumulo-stratus]

Love Like a Fathers

Request: Hello, hope you're having a good day/night, I was wondering if I could request Spencer x Father figure reader, theyre On a case the unsub tries to kill Spencer but reader protects him and gets hurt himself.

Pairing: platonic!Spencer reid x Father figure!reader

Summary: Y/n gets hurt protecting Spencer from an unsub, and y/n and spencer spend some time together at the hospital

warnings: cannon typical violence, gunshot wounds/blood, swearing, s1 spencer being an adorable little cutie-pie <3

A/N: Friend I'm so so so sry this has been a WIP for like month😭- I've had like no motivation to write :( thank you for the patience and for the lovely request, and although ive never written platonic for spencer, i did my best! btw the lovely dividers are by @cafekitsune (not proof read)

1.3k

Spencer Reid and Y/n L/n weren’t related by blood, but if you asked anyone that knew them- they would tell you that it doesnt matter. y/n treated spencer like the son he never had, and spencer treated y/n like the father he lost. Even if you didn’t know them, you could tell the pair were close. Spencers intellect bounced well of y/n’s wisdom. Hotch knew this, and often paired spencer with y/n because of it. And when they got called to a case in the small town of Trutney, Alabama, it was no different. 

As soon as the plane landed l/n and reid had been paired off to go to the M.E.’s to look at the one body they had so far. And so the next 2 days went by as uneventfully as they could go on a case with the BAU. Interviews, and case files - take out around a conference table and calls to garcia- just a regular BAU case. Until the last day when they were sure they had the right guy; Daniel Wilson, he fit the profile perfectly. And so the team was spilt into 2 groups; one going to the house and one going to the workplace. Hotch sent y/n and spencer to the back knowing y/n would have spencers back if anything happened. 

As they crept through the long hallways silently the pair would share glances every now and then. When they reached a split Y/n made a silent flick of his wrist ordering spencer to take the path to the right while y/n would take the path to the left. Y/n stalked down the hall with his gun raised leaving Spencer to do the same with the other hallway. 

Y/n was clearing the final room at the end of the hall when the distant sound of grunting and a gun shot. Without another though y/n raced down the hall toward the continuous grunting yelping. Y/n just barely remembered to call for back up as he ran- Morgan's voice sounding through the phones speakers.

"What's up L/n-"

He was interrupted by y/n's out breath voice.

"I heard a shot from Reid's side of the house I need backup" 

Before Morgan could respond y/n hung up, stuffing the phone in his back pocket. When y/n reached the source of the sounds, he found a door slightly ajar. He pushed it open all the way to find Spencer on the loop ground with the unsub above him. They were pushing against eachother trying sway the barrel of the gun in their favor. Spencer was trying to push the barrel away from his head while the unsub did the opposite. Without hesitation y/n crossed the room and grabbed the unsub roughly by his shoulders throwing him away from spencer. Spencer took no time at all the scramble away, his feet sliding as he fumbled to push himself away.  Meanwhile y/n and the unsigned were in a struggle for the gun. And almost as if in slow mo, spencer saw a bullet leave the barrel and enter y/ns shoulder- right where his neck met his shoulders. The resounding bang that came with it caused spencers ears to ring. but caused everything to come back to normal speed was the second gunshot, from y/n to the unsubs chest. He fell to the ground, bleeding out. 

“Spencer! spencer i need you to put pressure on the wound- okay?” 

Despite the many filed first aid books he’d read, spencer couldnt recall a single bit of information- and was only listening y/n’s instructions. 

“alright now use my sweater- ya its right over there. We need something to stop the bleeding-“

Y/n interrupted himself with small grunts and grimaces every time his shoulder moved. But luckily spencer was in it enough to properly use the sweater y/n had provided.

At this point spencers hands were soaked in blood, and so was the sweater. It was warm, and sticky- drying and cracking on the back of his hands. Just then Morgan came storming in, a mix of swat and paramedics trailing behind him. A paramedic took the sweater from spencer’s hands and he was pulled away by Morgan to checked out- despite his protests. spencer was quite insistent he stay with y/n but Morgan settled him enough to get checked out by telling him that he would be updated if anything happened. 

Spencer stood in front of the open doors of an ambulance- restlessly wringing his hands together while an EMT patched the small gash on his forehead. Spencer had resisted saying anything about how he thought it was unnecessary- as it wasn’t even bleeding that much. But spencer knew better than to argue with Morgan at this point. 

Spencer practically ran- which he didn’t do very often- to the nearest large black SUV. As he walked/ran across the lawn he called out to morgan.

“St. Mary’s right?”

“on 32nd street-“

spencer didnt allow morgan to finish- instead climbing into one of the FBI vehicles littering the street. 

The fluorescent lights of the hospital burned spencers retinas as spoke the woman at the desk. 

“excuse me where is Y/n L/n’s room?’

as he spoke, spencer drummed his fingers against the desk- anxious to see y/n. Make sure he was okay. 

“Down the hall and to your left, room 328 sir”

Spencer barely managed a curt thank you and nod before he was speed walking down the hall. the lights in the hospital clashed with the stark white of the hall when spencer entered. They were dimmed to be only slightly brighter than the dark sky through the glass. spencer found y/n asleep soundly with a large bandage across his shoulder and butterfly bandages littering his exposed chest and face. Spencer could feel some of the weight lift off his shoulders when his eyes met y/ns closed ones. 

----

Despite the dim light it still took effort for y/n keep his eyes open once he woke up. The first thing he noticed was sleeping form of Spencer draped over an uncomfortable looking chair. His back and neck were bent forward in what looked to be a not very comfortable position to sleep in. 

Spencer stirred when y/n grunted quietly from the pain of sitting himself up. Spencer immediately rubbed the sleep from his eyes and went to help y/n, and as always y/n tried to tell Spencer he was fine and didn't need help. But y/n always made an exception for Spencer- especially he insisted with his innocent honey brown eyes. 

"Spence I'm fine bud- come sit with me"

Y/n had a smile on his face and patted the spot next to him which he had now made by scooching over. Spencer shyly climbed up next y/n, his slacks and blazer looking out of place to the hospital gown y/n was wearing. 

"You know you really scared me back there-"

Spencer was staring at his hands as he spoke- remembering the blood that had once coated them. Y/n took the opportunity to place a comforting comforting hand on Spencer's back, rubbing back and forth the way y/ns own family did. 

"I know- but you can't rid of me that easily bud"

They both laughed lightly at that and instead of responding verbally Spencer leaned his head on y/ns shoulder, appreciating the warmth of y/ns excess internal heat. Spencer was often the one to take advantage of the human heater of a person y/n was. And this was one of those moments. 

No more words were needed for the rest of the evening. They weren't needed for anything- the team could handle it (and it helped that Hotch knew how stressed Spencer was and let him know he could stay at the hospital with y/n). 

And there; in the dimly lit hospital room, that smelled of disinfectant, Spencer felt more comforted than in his own home. 

The End 

Pls leave a like and a reblog!

[littlepolyps]

“ loving you is easy, but life will not always be ,,

little!armin arlert x cg!reader

contains: gn!reader, reader is referred to as “bubba”, reader is sorta in place of annie but she still exists ofc, big big spoilers (basically you have to have seen the end of aot if you don’t want to be spoiled), lots of crying, armin is hella traumatized, talk of death, a crumb of eremin, arguing, armin self deprecating and being existential, hints towards an autistic armin, affectionate reader, reader gets micro cuteness aggression, historia and hange being kinda like rich aunties and spoiling armin rotten, not historically or canonically accurate but we ball-

synopsis: dealing with a post-rumbling world and trying to reestablish world order is no easy feat. it can be highly taxing for someone like armin, and he needs someone to lean on (even though he believes he doesn’t deserve that)

author’s note: this sorta stemmed from the little!armin headcanons post i made a bit ago. i wanted to make a post-canon fic. this is also hella self indulgent so y’all might not agree with how the reader acts, because this is all personal bias. also please put in more agere requests in my inbox i beg.

word count: 2.3k (this be a HEFTY fic)

lyrics in the title are from “sandman” by ed sheeran btw!!

if you don’t like age regression, kindly block me and move on ☺️

“no, i’m not saying that! what i’m saying is…” you hear armin’s denial before his words are quickly being drowned out in the other clamors of marleyan leaders.

it all became so much, the bickering between them all like they were hungry seagulls arguing over a slice of bread.

nothing was coherent, until one had spoken much louder than the rest, “none of us would be arguing right now if commander erwin were leading this board meeting instead!”

immediately, you were poised, and everyone fell silent, looking to the source of the offense.

armin stood there with his eyes wide with betrayal. tears quickly formed in his eyes and his mouth went dry.

mikasa stood up from beside him at this. “how dare you insult not only the great leadership of armin arlert, but the legacy of erwin smith!?” she reprimanded. “you have no right to speak that way to armin, do you hear me!?”

the insulter and mikasa immediately begin a cat fight, and the others were roped in as well.

you were tagged in, but only managed a few comebacks before noticing armin sat staring through everyone, looking a thousand yards past them all.

his face was soaked by his tears, and his hands were shaking on the arms of his chair. he was mouthing a single word: “bubba..”

with the other board mates distracted by their school fight with mikasa, you were able to slip away with armin discreetly. you grab him by the hand and rush out of the conference room and silently shut the door behind you.

“armin sweetie, are you okay?” you asked him now that you were both out of the way of chaos.

the blonde looks up from the floor with his glassy sky blues and nodded slowly.

“did you slip, tiny?” you already knew the answer, judging by how his eyes were more glassy and he was more pouty than usual.

he looked down shamefully. “‘m fine. let’s go back in.” he mumbled.

you folded your arms over your chest and blocked the door. “yeah, like i’d let you back in there in your state.” you scoff.

“i needa finish that meeting! please let me back in!” he pressed, trying to shove you away from the door, but his oncoming regression episode made it hard.

“still no. come on, armin. don’t fight your headspace. besides, we both know that trying to talk any sense into those blockheads is impossible.” you reasoned.

the blonde pouts and shoots a glare up at you, a look that was the furthest thing from threatening. he looked like an angry baby bunny.

you laughed at his attempt at looking mean and pat his head. “ohh, so feisty. you gonna kick me too? step on my toes even?” you teased slightly, doing anything you can to stall him.

“don’t give me ideas. i just might.” he warns.

you quirked a brow at this and his pout went from angry to just pleading.

“please, bubba. let me back in. i’ve gotta at least end the meeting.” he begs.

finally, you surrender and step out of the way for him, watching as he wiped the tears out of his eyes and stepped back into the conference hall with a stern look on his blotchy face.

the arguing ceased promptly and everyone turned to face him and you standing beside him for emotional support.

“this meeting is adjourned.” armin announced succinctly, his voice strained has he held back a sob. he said no more, only turning back around and storming back outside.

you tailed behind, watching as he hurried off to his room, where he finally lets his guard down and his tears flow.

“b-bubba…” he managed through his heaving sobs, pawing at the front of your shirt with his shaky fists.

you promptly wrap your arms around him, one hand going to his clenched fist that balled up your shirt. “it’s okay.” you whispered, running your thumb on the back of his hand.

“eren would’ve handled that way better… i’m just a crybaby… i miss him.. i miss eren so much…” he panted tearfully.

you shook your head. “no, actually i think he would’ve killed those guys.” you pointed out, chuckling dryly.

armin swallowed and ducked his head down into your chest sheepishly. “r-right…” he mumbled. “it just… would be so much easier if he were here… if he hadn’t died. why? why did he have to go through with all of that, with becoming the founding titan… the rumbling… and get himself killed? was there really not a way we could save him? why would he become a monster… and leave me behind in this now mostly empty world?” he rambles.

it hurt your heart. to see him so emotionally torn like this physically pained you. it was no secret to you that eren loved armin, and vice versa. so you searched for a way to solace him, wracking your brain for the right thing to say, every word whirling in your mind like a cyclone. finally you came across some words you hoped would sound right coming out. “i think… he just wanted his homeland to be safe from all harm. even if that meant killing everyone else. he believed that if he eradicated all other people, then we would be free. but obviously, his idea was flawed. the people he was meant to protect didn’t want that. but there was no stopping him, aside from killing him.” you attempt to explain.

armin furrows his brows in thought. “so… eren only wan’ed to p’otect us?” he echoes back your words in the indicative tone that let you know he has let himself slip.

you looked down at the now fully regressed boy in your arms and sat him down on the edge of the bed. “that’s right, little conch. eren just wanted you to be safe.” you confirmed, indulging in his regression. “now then, tiny, you want to… change into something more comfy? curl up in bed with a stuffy and a story?” you offer, already knowing his answer would be nothing short of excited.

the blonde immediately brightened up at your words, nodding rapidly and rocking slightly from side to side. “mhm!” he hummed, getting up from the bed and standing beside you at his dresser.

he watches as you pull a selection of pajamas. they were all gifts from historia, each set customized to suit his interest in the sea, one way or another.

some pieces had sea creatures embroidered on them, others were just striped, and there were some plain blue sets as well, each a different shade. but they were all in materials that were good for armin’s texture sensitivities.

the boy felt undeserving of all of the care he’s received from others, and at first tried refusing the clothing from historia.

alas, she insisted he have the clothing.

then you came along and you both learned about his habit of slipping into a childlike mindset, notoriously while under stress and out of the public eye.

armin would realize that wearing those clothes historia gifted him would help him feel better.

and that it did for this case too.

he looked at himself in the mirror as you fixed the waistband of the shorts so there were no folds to bother him, playing with the collar of his shirt and pulling it up into his mouth to chew.

you chuckled and pulled out a brand new teether from your pocket, holding up the squishy ring for him as he ogled it with tenderness.

“dat for me?” he says just above a whisper, his voice cracking slightly.

you nodded and placed it in his hand, the blonde gazing apprehensively.

“what’s the matter?” you question.

he just stares at it unresponsive, his eyes welling up with a fresh wave of tears. “why people so nice t’ me?” he squeaks out.

another crack goes through your heart, breaking it in pieces. you immediately sought to quell his head demons by wrapping your arms around his shoulders from behind, your head slotting right against his. “because you’re nice yourself. people want to remind you that you deserve to be treated nice back, my little conch.” you explained, trying to make sense to his regressed state.

your reply had him crying harder, a watery smile on his trembling lips. “bubbaaa…” he whined, rubbing his eye with the back of his fist.

“what is it, tiny?” you acknowledge his whine.

he sniffled before speaking. “i wuv dose nice people ‘oo…” he mumbled shyly, biting onto the teether now.

“the people who are truly kind to you express it in different ways, but they all have one thing in common;” you gained his attention before continuing, “that loving you is not a chore. it’s not something they have to do. those people love you by their own choice, and will do anything to prove it. such as give you gifts, do things for you, like peeling your oranges or fighting for you. they may hug you and try to make those stinky thoughts leave you be.”

armin blinked at his and your reflection, mouth slightly agape as he took your response to register in his mind, using it as ointment to those wounds inflicted on his psyche. “wuv you, bubba…” he muttered into the chewy rubber, snot running down to his lips.

you pick up a hanky to wipe it away, going gently so as not to chafe his face with the linen. “i love you too, minnie baby.” you respond, kissing his cheek softly. “life may not always be easy, but i can promise you that you’ll always be loved and cared for.”

“‘ou promise?” he gives you the sweetest puppy eyes he could muster.

and of course, who wouldn’t fold at such a sweet face? well, probably a titan. you gush and squeeze him slightly in your arms, repeatedly kissing the side of his face. “you—” kiss “are—” kiss “so—” kiss “cute!” kiss, and nuzzle against his cheek.

he giggles loudly, wrapping an arm around your neck and meekly trying to push you away by pressing lightly on your shoulder, though put no actual effort put into the act. “bubba! stahahahap! that tickles!” he laughed and whined on the same breath.

you let up then, running your hand flatly along his back, up his neck, and eventually reaching the turnoff switch that was his scalp. as soon as your fingers are laced in his thick straw blond locks, it’s over for him.

armin turns to putty in your arms once you start scratching his scalp gently, leaning into you fully and seeming boneless.

at this, you decide it was time for him to be put to bed. so, you would scoop him up and personally put him down in bed.

he’s all tucked in, his eyes droopy and his chewing on the teether slow and light. he’s definitely about to drop off.

“how about that story, sweetie?” you suggested.

he wakes up a little bit at that, perking up some like a dog asked if it wanted to go for a walk. “yes, please.” he responds.

you go over to the bookcase and select a random story from the all sea themed selection, which was a gift from commander hange before their untimely passing.

the rainbow fish was tonight’s pick.

armin now sat up in bed, hugging his fish pillow to his chest. he slightly bounced up and down on the bed, scooting over to let you sit beside him at the headboard.

you shifted into a position that was comfortable for you to read to him, and a position where he could comfortably fall asleep. then, you would read to him.

armin was utterly hypnotized by your voice, using it as a lullaby that eventually would bring him to sleep.

with him finally asleep, you kissed his temple and put the lamp out, ready to leave.

though he would whimper out in the midst of his sleep subconsciously, like he knew you were going to leave the room.

you sighed and came back to the bed. “what is it, my little conch?” you inquired.

“wanna snuggle with you…” he tells you softly.

you smiled and immediately took your boots and jacket off, untucking your button up and tank top, then stepping out of your pants and leaving just your underclothes on. once you were mostly undressed, you slip into bed beside armin, cuddling him close to your chest as you both succumbed to your slumber.

written by @littlepolyps not anyone else <3

characters belong to attack on titan: 進撃の巨人 © 2009