#I almost forgot JINX of all people

[tumblezwei]

Alright we're doing the poll thing

Rules: Make a poll of your favorite female characters (no limits - as many or as little as you want) and see which your followers like the most!

I am NOT putting Ruby on here bc that'll make it too easy for you people

ok ten's enough

Thanks to @starship-nine for the tag! Go vote on his poll too.

[lovedrruunk]

'Forget her

In which you get played by your situationship. Jinx thinks you deserve better anyway. (drabble!!!)

You sat on the couch in Jinx’s hideout staring blankly at the sky, your fingers absentmindedly tracing over the ripped leather of the furniture. The bitter pit in your stomach hadn’t left since you heard it. Those carefully chosen words that meant everything and nothing at the same time, but you weren’t even sure why you were surprised. It wasn’t like you hadn’t known deep down that things wouldn’t work out with her.

But it still stung.

The situation had been complicated from the start. No labels, no promises, just two people who occasionally crossed the line into something that felt almost like more. You thought it was heading somewhere, but apparently she didn’t. And today, with a few short sentences, she made that clear.

“I’m not looking for anything serious.”

Classic.

You clenched your jaw, sinking back into the cushions. The room felt heavy and you hated that you’d let yourself get invested. You weren’t even sure why you had told Jinx you’d come over. You didn’t want to be a downer, but the idea of sitting alone with your thoughts had been worse. So now you were just sitting here, feeling like a total idiot for ever thinking she was serious about you.

“Ya know, if you keep sulking like that I might start thinking you forgot I exist,” Jinx’s voice cut through your mental spiral, drawing your eyes towards her. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed looking at you with a raised brow. “Not a good look for you by the way.”

You snorted, rubbing a hand over your face. “Yeah, well, it’s been a day.”

Jinx pushed off the door, walking over to flop down next to you on the couch. “A ‘day,’ huh?" One look at your face and she already knew. "Lemme guess. Her?”

You hesitated, not really wanting to dive into the whole mess, but the look she gave you made it clear she wasn’t about to let this go, she never does. Wasn't necessarily a bad thing you figured, you liked that about her. “Yeah… her. She finally dropped the ‘let’s keep things casual’ bomb. As if I didn’t already know that’s where it was going.”

Jinx let out a long whistle, pretending to look thoughtful. “Wow, shocking. Who could’ve ever seen that coming? Definitely not me, noooo,” she said with obvious sarcasm.

You shot her a look. “I know, okay? I knew it wasn’t serious, I just… I don’t know, I guess I hoped maybe it’d turn into something more.” The bitterness in your voice was hard to hide, even if you were trying to downplay how much it bothered you.

Jinx didn’t say anything right away, but you could feel her watching you, her usual smirk faltering a bit. “Look, I’m not saying I hate the girl—”

You raised an eyebrow. “You definitely hate her.”

“—I’m not saying I hate her,” she repeated, this time with a little more emphasis, like she was trying to convince herself as much as you. “But, y’know, she’s kind of… what’s the word?" She tapped her chin pretending to be in thought. "Trash.”

“Jinx.”

“What? I said I don’t hate her!” She threw up her hands, giving you an exaggerated innocent look before settling back against the couch, her tone becoming more serious. “But... seriously. You deserve better. You know that, right?”

You huffed, sinking further into the cushions. “Yeah, well, better isn’t exactly lining up around the block.”

Jinx’s brows furrowed, her lips twisting in that way she did when she was trying to keep something secret. “If it were me…” she started, then hesitated, glancing away like she was debating whether or not to say the rest.

You sat up a little, noticing the shift in her tone.

She cleared her throat, her voice a little quieter. “I’m just saying… If it were me, I wouldn’t make you guess all the time. You wouldn’t have to wonder where we stood, y’know? ‘Cause I’d make it pretty darn obvious.” She said with a light chuckle, her eyes glued to the floor.

You blinked, caught off guard by the shift in Jinx's tone. Her usual bravado had faded, leaving something raw in its place. You sat up a little straighter, turning to face her. “What are you saying?”

Her eyes flicked up to meet yours, and there was no teasing in them now. Just something deep, something real. She hesitated for a moment, like she was debating whether to push it further. And then she did.

“I’m saying…” She leaned in slowly, her voice barely a whisper “...I wouldn’t waste your time.”

You froze as she closed the distance between you, her hand brushing the back of your neck. For a second, neither of you moved. Her thumb grazed the skin just below your ear sending a shiver down your spine.

And then, before you could even process it, her lips were on yours.

The kiss was soft at first, tentative, like she was waiting for you to pull away. When you didn’t, she deepened it, her fingers threading through your hair, pulling you closer. Her lips were warm, and the way she kissed you made it clear, this wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment thing. She had thought about this. Wanted this.

After the initial shock you kissed her back, your hands finding their way to her shoulders, pulling her closer. The frustration and hurt that had been swirling in your chest moments ago melted away, replaced by a new kind of warmth.

Finally pulling away you stared at her breathless, heart still racing trying to process what just happened.

She pulled back slightly, still grinning but this time it was softer, less playful. “What?” she asked, her voice lighter, teasing. “Not what you expected?”

You let out a small laugh, looking away feeling your face get hot. “Not exactly.”

“Well, I like surprising you.” She leaned in again, her lips ghosting over yours, but this time, she didn’t kiss you, just hovered close enough that you could feel her smirk widen. “So, you wanna sit here and keep sulking?...

Or do you wanna graffiti the bitch’s house?”

. . .

;p !!! this was super fast paced and unrealistic but its just practice! plus my first one shot in months! and tbf in what realistic world would jinx be in a relationship anyway lol... hope u liked!

[demonic0angel]

(Prompt: Clockwork gave Danny, Jazz and Jason a mission: Capture the Four Perils and bring them back to Ghost Zone)

"Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie," Jazz said as she, Danny and Jason were looking at the cave. "the Four Perils. These creatures were said to be the ghosts of the four ancient criminals namely Huandou, Gun, Gonggong, and Sanmiao. You may knows Sanmiao is identified with Chiyou, a bull warrior that rebels against the Jade Emperor."

"There was a guy named Gun?" Danny asked.

"Yes, but his name is just means big fish in Chinese..." Jazz explained.

"So what're these creatures actually looked like?" Jason asked.

"Hundun is a yellow winged creature of chaos with six legs and no face, Qiongqi is monstrous tiger with wings that eats people, Taowu a reckless and stubborn tiger-like creature with boar teeth and human-like face, and Taotie is gluttonous... sheep and boar hybrid?" Jazz replied. "That's all the informations Clockwork gave to me."

"Ok, so now we've to those catch these guys, right?"

(An odd choice of capture targets but aight lmao)

“Yep,” Danny said. “Easy peezy.”

“You’re going to jinx us,” Jazz scolded, and Danny obliged her worries by knocking on the cave wall in place of wood.

But it was too late.

They hadn’t even needed to look for the Qiongqi. The moment the three of them had stepped out of the cave with intentions to go into the city to continue their search, the tiger-like monster immediately swooped in and tried to eat their faces off.

“Oh! I forgot that it bites off the noses of noble and righteous people!” Jazz recalled, and Jason immediately grabbed her and pulled her down as the beast lunged at them.

“Thanks for the info, Princess, but we’re in the middle of something?! Stop getting distracted and catch the damn thing!”

So while Jazz and Jason were fighting off the Qiongqi, Danny ran off to capture the Taowu, which was trying in vain to fight the cars in the middle of a street, blocking an intersection with its body as people screamed and ran away from it. Seeming to think that the screams were cheers, the Taowu preened and was even more enthusiastic in trying to kill the cars as Danny dodged its chaotic moves to try and catch it.

The Taotie was slightly more difficult to find after the three of them struggled to capture the first two. It had been found inside of a restaurant, hiding within the freezer and eating everything in sight, even the metal walls. It took a few days before anyone found it and reported it.

Finally, the three of them only needed to find the Hundun. It took a long, long time, almost a week before they found the faceless creature helping the Joker in a new plan to torment everyone in Gotham. It was quickly solved with some ghostly technology, but by the end, Jason’s eye was twitching and Danny looked like he was about to wring the necks of anyone who was about to approach him.

Clockwork watched them with a small smile on his face as they all trudged up the steps to his lair.

“You found them?” He asked, his form shifting.

“If you weren’t Jazz and Danny’s grandpa, I’d tell you to fuck yourself,” Jason hissed as he tossed the special container that held all Four Perils to Clockwork. Clockwork caught it and chuckled.

“But you got to spend time with Jazz, right? It’s not all bad.”

Danny growled, crossing his arms, “It was bad for me. You’re on thin ice, old man.”

“Maybe next time, I’ll send you on a mission with—”

“SHUT!!”

[eternalwanderer-stories]

Usually, Jinx is compared to Harley Quinn – you know, firearms, insanity, sick codependent relationships and all that sort of thing. Jinx in LOL even got the nickname "Harley Queen of Runeterra" (and maybe for the game version it's even fair to some extent, but I still don't like it).

But to me, Jinx has a lot more of the Joker in it. And it's not about the madness itself or the love of sophisticated and spectacular traps, but in some aspects of the philosophy of his behavior.

In the 2008 film "The Dark Knight", the Joker utters one of his legendary phrases (if you haven't watched the movie or forgot about this fragment, then you can watch it here):

Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it!  You know, I just, do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon’s got plans. You know, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are.

And it's actually so much like Jinx.

______________

Do I really look like a guy with a plan?

You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! 

You know, I just, do things.

Interestingly, even in the League of Legends itself, Caitlyn has this voice line when she first meets Jinx: "Is there a point to this madness, Jinx, or is it just a channel for your pain?

Jinx's psychological trauma has become a determining factor for almost all of her actions. It cannot be said that Jinx has no purpose at all in her actions (if we are talking about specific actions like stealing a stone or going to help save Vander), however, globally, among the many important figures like the Piltover Council or Silсo, who have a very clear plan and prospects for its development, but Jinx is really like that dog running after the car. The desire for love and for its mechanical gadgets to work is not a plan per se, but rather it is an unrealized natural human need. Jinx is unpredictable and impulsive – you really can't predict what a girl might do at any given second. Moreover, impulsive action always comes to the fore, and its consequences and causes seem to fade into the background.

This is and the shot at the girl-firelight who looked like Vi, and this is the explosion of a bomb in her hands on the bridge during a fight with Ekko, and the decision to steal a stone after a failed mission with shimmer, and the decision to arrange an ominous "family dinner" in the last episode for Vi, Silco and Caitlyn, rocket launch into the Piltover Council building – all these are impulsive actions caused by a specific trigger. Jinx doesn't know what she will do with the consequences of the action she has committed – she has a trigger and just do the thing.

She, like the Joker, can perfectly cope with thinking through her clever traps and she has succeeded in creating her weapon (as a certain planned actions), and yet "I just do things" is actually always at the center of everything.

The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon’s got plans.

You know, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds.

The Piltover Council has plans. Silo has plans. Ambessa has plans.

Big and Important People have their grand plans and try to control their own worlds. Piltover is busy researching Hextech and developing trade with the help of new technologies, Ambessa is trying to strengthen her position to protect her family and to get her hands on weaponized Hextech, Silсo is trying to achieve independence for Zaun, simultaneously developing the use of shimmer in various directions.

The Main Pieces on the chessboard, protected by pawns, determine the course of a large and intricate game, each in its own world.

I’m not a schemer.

I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are.

But there is one hand that just knocks down the entire chessboard, breaking the course of the whole game. From the most important pieces to the small pawns, all plans are destroyed, the whole course of the game is turned upside down.

The kids sneaked into Jayce's apartment to steal something valuable - Oh, the friendly company of Powder, sandwiches and explosive crystals has a surprise for you.

The kids ran to rescue Vander – Hooray, Powder's bomb finally worked!

Silco planned an important shimmer delivery – Well, we know how it all ended.

Firelights trying to sabotage the shimmer supply – Receive backfire.

Piltover decided to use Hextech for his own purposes – Well, you've already lost one stone.

Jayce wanted Jinx arrested – Get ready for war, man.

Vi and Silco wanted to establish a relationship with Jinx – Get a crazy dinner with the whole family at the end.

Piltover has made an important decision regarding the Zaun and using their own technologies – Congratulations! But it's too late, catch the Jinx rocket right in your face.

Jayce and Viktor have come to a final decision about their research the hard way – It's great, but Jinx rocket is still flying at you.

All plans – from small to global – were destroyed. The difference between the Joker and Jinx is that the Joker is well aware that he spoils all the plans of the schemers and consciously assumes the role of someone who shows how pointless all this is and can be destroyed at any moment. Jinx does this unconsciously (but even if she is aware, it is only partially). Jinx doesn't assume the role of an "agent of chaos". Jinx, as the true "jinx", is the very agent of chaos, its source of embodiment and is its natural essence.

Could Piltover control her? — no.

Could Vi and Vander control her? — no.

Could Silco control her? – no (of course, he influenced her as a father figure and mentor, but has Jinx ever been an obedient daughter?)

Primordial and uncontrolled chaos that no one is able to curb.

Schemers can make their plans as much as they want, but there is always someone who will show how ridiculous and pathetic their attempts to control something look.

All plans will eventually be destroyed.

Because of Jinx.

[kalcium-yippee]

I too think Sevika is hot asf, but we must not let this blind us! Her development is impeccable!

I don't see enough people talking about how her loyalty to Zaun is shown in different ways and in who she follows. She obviously felt Vander wasn't doing all he could for the undercity, so her allegiance switched. That's not because her loyalty isn't strong, I think it is because who she puts her loyalty to is based on who's best for the undercity as a whole. And for a long time, that was Silco, and in this time of loyalty, she found guidance in silco, which is why I think she ahd a hard time after his passing.

Obviously, she has been loyal to someone she thinks was capable of rallying Zaun fir the better, and now that he's gone, she's stuck with his bitch ass kid. And I think in those moments between silcos death and agreeing to work with Jinx, she had to remember what her allegiance is. She seemed to get so fixed on Silco for so long that she almost forgot she was for Zaun and the people of the undercity. And that means working with Jinx.

And obviously, that lead to her whole arc of learning toa accept Jinx. Without Silco there, she was forced to confront that she does have more in common with Jinx than cavelice.

[grimdarling69]

Spencer Reid is a bat Good Mom!Talia Editon One-shot

Spencer Reid has been an enigma for as long as Derek had known him.

Eidetic memory, never wore matching socks, love for statistics and math, and a special interest in languages, etc. Reid was one of his closest friends in the bau for years now, but he'd never have guessed how hot his mom was.

--------

Spencer was having a terrible day. Firstly, he forgot his lunch, missed his stop, had to wait for the next, and then almost ran to work, and when he finally made it, the coffee machine was broken. The only thing that was going to save it was the fact his mom was coming into town for a mission and wanting to meet up after work.

"You're late, pretty boy!" Morgan laughed at him. He attempted to ruffle his hair, but he dodged it, knocking himself against his desk. That would leave a bruise. At least his family wasn't here, Dami would tell him he was embarrassing the family name despite the fact he didn't even have the family name.

"Fuck..." he grumbled clutching his leg and limped behind his desk to collapse into his chair.

"Definitely not my day." He complained.

"Come on, boy genius! At least we dont have a case!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Pleaee for the love of God dont jinx us." Prentiss begged, lining up her paperwork on her desk.

"Bad day, Spencer?" She queried amused." Don't even get me started." He complained, throwing his arms back.

She snickered at him but returned to her own work. Garcia continued past to her own office after stealing her pen he borrowed yesterday, and Morgan simply smirked and sat back down.

The day continued with occasional questions or jokes. Some of the paperwork had begun to stack, and they were taking the day to complete it, but the rhythm of paperwork was drolling.

--------

Penelope had made a deliciously delightful and creamy pasta dish for dinner last night and taken the leftovers to split with her chocolate thunder. Derek and her were currently on their way to the closest microwave when they saw her.

Her being an incredibly good-looking older woman of possible Middle Eastern descent approached them.

"You two look like you know your way around the building, care to show me the way to the cafeteria?" She spoke with a calm and fluid voice with slight humor in it and an Arabic accent. The kind of voice, the words, that just roll together, and you just know they sing heavenly. Her eyes were sharp and intelligent, and it raised a slightly uneasy feeling in her stomach.

She was dressed simply but richly. The kind of clothes she could only dream to buy and never pull off.

"I don't know who's asking?" Derek attempted to flirt.

"I don't appreciate my time being wasted by shameless dogs like you. I'm already spoken for, and even if i wasn't, i certaintly wouldn't waste my time with you." She spoke harshly, shoving past between them barely avoiding bumping shoulders.

"Good lordy, what her problem?" She attempted to joke, trying to pick up her slack jaw.

"I don't know, but i don't like it." Derek warned in that sexy and mysterious voice of his.

Derek turned around and trailed behind that woman's expensive pencil skirt. She unfortunately realized that she wasn't going to be able to heat up her pasta and would have to eat it cold again. She lamented for a second, then followed him past the few people milling about.

---------

Derek had been in the fbi, police, and marines way too long to not be suspicious of a woman like that. He's seen plenty of men underestimate pretty women and miss the sharp keen eyes and get stabbed by their sharp keen knives, and he wasn't going to let that happen to any of his friends. Mostly Reid and Baby girl, the others don't need his help all that much.

She was walking fast, suddenly with a mission, and Derek somehow lost her in the lunch crowd. Eventually, he realized he couldn't see her and was getting nowhere, so they made the decision to head back to the bullpen she was probably long gone anyway.

By the time they made their way back after they found a microwave , they had all but forgotten about the mysterious woman until they saw her perched on Spencer's desk stealing his food.

Henquicku catologed the others in room watching in the room. Rossi and Emily were shamelessly watching a few desks away while Hotch and JJ were near his office on the railing, both pretending not to notice.

"What's going on?"He whispered to them. "That is apparently a woman close enough with Spencer to go to his apartment while he's gone and notice his lunch is on the counter so she made him homemade to replace it and brought it to his work." Rossi stated without looking away.

The woman was smiling lovingly at Spencer, and sharing a large dish of some Middle Eastern dish, he'd butcher the name of.

They continued shamelessly staring, but the woman would occasionally look st, then from the corner of her eyes. Spencer was laughing with her and smiling wider than he's seen him smile in years.

" I can't do this anymore. I'm asking them." Emily suddenly announced stsndingnuo and taking the room in great strides.

" Wait, Prentiss-" both he and Rossi tried in vain to stop her and were outmatched by Garcia folding shirts after her much slower.

"Hi, SSA of the BAU Emily Prentiss." She introduced herself with a kind smile and an outstretched hand.

"It took you all long enough to end your blatant eavesdropping." She spoke harshly, staring at the hand as if it had personally offended her.

"Talia, please not now." Spencer hissed at her, his voice scandalized.

"But habbibi-," the newly dubbed Talia tried defensively, attempting to explain himself.

Habbibi? Wasn't that some kind of Arabic word for love or something like it. He really wasn't as languidly gifted as the others.

"These are my friends and coworkers. Please play nice for my sake." Spencer pleaded. He could see Hotch and JJ finally making their way to them from the corner of his eye.

He turned to look questionably to look at Rossi but only got a shrug and a grimace all in one.

"Talia, pleased to make your acquaintance." She spoke as if her words poked at her own being.

" I'm-" He attempted.

"I already know who you all are, kalb." She spoke disdaned.

" Mom!" Spencer shouted suddenly incredibly offended.

"Mom...?" He heard Garcia mutter under bresth. You and me both baby girl.

" Reid, who is this?" Hotch questioned.

" Why I'm his mother. Don't you see the resemblance?" She spoke smoothly, her chin coming to rest on her hand. Her crossed legs and one hand on her lap while the other rested on her leg holding her head up directly contrasting Spencer's scandalized face, but the way he was now leaning backward arms crossed staring her down started to seem a little familiar.

While their mannerism were similar, their everything else was different. Spencer face shared no Middle Eastern features, and with light curly brown hair and chocolate eyes, her straight dark brown hair, and almost glowing emerald eyes, they were far from having any family resemblance.

"I thought your mother was Diana Reid?" Garcia asked hesitantly.

"Well, genetically speaking, yes." He answered, cringing st his own words.

"And legally." Hotch spoke deeply.

"Well, my beloved never cared much about laws anyway." She waved it off, disinterested.

"Mom! We are in a federal building!"

" What? You know he kidnapped Jason off the streets. That's far from the worst law he's broken anyway." She continued.

"He was later legally adopted. I never was." He spoke, his voice wavered slightly.

"Oh, habbibi, he would adopt you the second you asked. He keeps all the papers up to date in his office." She comforted.

" I... Um Hotch?-" His eyes were becoming suspiciously damp.

" Take the rest of the day, Reid." Hotch spoke simply before turning bakc to his office talimg Rossi with him. What a softie.

And as he watched Spencer and his mom walk out, he couldn't help but think more on the enigma of Spencer Reid.

A/n I loved writing Penelope and tried to bleed her cooky personality into her pov. The reason why Talia is a little bit more harsh is because she knows they weren't really there for her son when he was struggling with like Hankle and the other stuff so I wanted to make her have a bit of a grudge against them.

[labshouse]

what nationality is this arcane character ?

notes: first post omgg *laughing nervously and shaking* anyway, I'm grieving because my religious leader husband died (rip viktor) and I just wanted to relax. There will probably be typos, my english sucks. by the way, thats all.

— xoxo, labs!!

jayce: this man is a latin. thanks for reading, now have some hugs.

— you may be thinking now: "but in his backstory they were on an icy mountain" and I will magically pull out my geography book and show you the Andes Mountains in South America. I'm not lying that I like Jayce's Tibetan or Filipino headcanon, but you know, there's a GLARING latin tendency in him.

viktor: think he might be polish.

— a lot of people says he's russian, but honestly, there's other places in easteurope he could been born. not forgetin that vik's voice actor is czech, so he could also be. sounds cool for me.

ekko: brazilian, you can't prove me otherwise.

— actually, for me 99,9% of zaun people are brazilians or south americans. I dont care, like, just makes sense if you see Piltover as a paralel version of USA that was probably league of legends creator's idea when made the lore. I like to think The Tree as a paralel to brazilian culture estereotype also, is kinda fun.

caitlyn: my babygirl is korean, and I wont justify because I think that's a consense.

vi & jinx: yeah, I gonna headcanon them as brazilians now try to stop me.

— but before you say a thing, just telling you that theres a lot of white brazilians and we dont have a "own etinicy" by ages because colonialism shit. so, their visuals are not the problem. and bonus information, recently (like, nov 14 or something) we just got bombed by a terr0rist attack in STF (Federal Supreme Court) and guess what? we made memes about it, if this not a jinx coded thing, i don't know what is.

silco & vander: almost forgot my favorite girldads, they cuban and comunists. both. silco is singing "hasta siempre - che guevara" with vander while they drunk, I know, Im hearing it right now.

not me pulling latino stuff in every show i like, goodbye!!

[dirtytransmasc]

Thoughts on slico?

honestly? I'm still oscillating loving him and needing to bash his head in at a very rapid pace, because that's just the character he is. and I started rewatching season 1 last night so.... my thoughts and feelings are all over the place.

but, the thing that I most steadfastly stand by, is the fact that he attempted to keep his promise to Felecia.

now. he fucked that shit up for a hot minute. he was blinded by his hatred and pain and anger towards Vander— which the anger itself, I think was justified. I understand why Vander was angry, considering Silco's actions for their people killed, got Felecia killed, orphaned her daughters. but Silco was trying to fight for Zaun. he lost his friends too. he was scarred too. and to be cast away so violently, and never hear a word from Vander's mouth (cause I'm assuming that letter meant that Vander never actually tried to have a conversation with him, at least, not until after it was too late). so I get why Silco was angry and turned away from his brother —and let that hate spill onto the girls. I think it goes without saying that taking out violent anger on little girls years after the fact, when they had no hand in what happened to you, is not justified.

in his rage, he forgot his promise. abandoned it in a ditch. and he was a little bitch for that. he was ready and willing to kill Vi and Powder just to get back at Vander. he had no care for those girls.

but you can see the very moment he remembered. when he pulled the knife back from view and looked down at Jinx crying. he remembered, and a war took place in his mind. does he stick to his promise or his anger?

and he chose his promise when that little girl clung to his chest. his niece. the youngest daughter of a friend he lost so long ago. clung to him. crying from the same pain he felt when Vander abandoned him.

and after that, he, in his head, which was superbly fucked beyond doubt, he thought he was keeping to it.

he was protecting Jinx the only way he knew how. and that was to change her. to make her someone people like Vi and Vander couldn't hurt. to kill Powder, so she could thrive as Jinx. and he, again, in his own fucked up way, was doing what he thought was best for Zaun.

I almost entirely disagree with his methods, but I acknowledge he was keeping his promise in his own way. he was being the best father he knew how to be. he was protecting Jinx the best he knew how to. he was fighting for a world where Zaun was a better place, though, being a good place, got lost along the way, in place of Zaun having power.

Silco was too jaded and sardonic and scarred and angry to be a good father or leader or rebel. he was corrupted. so trying to look at him from a moral lense isn't really an option if you want to understand him. but if you look at him through his set of morals and ideals and such, while it doesn't make him a better person, you can see that protecting Jinx and bettering Zaun are still at his core.

so. I don't know. I hate him and I don't. his world view is so fucked. the way he ended up trying to "fix" things was fucked. but I will give him that one thing; he tried to keep his promise, sorta.

[justanerddummie]

Ok, I'm going to ramble once again, about the new amazing sneak peak that at least to me feels like Vi is kind of trying to put herself in jail once again, it's pretty long so I'll put a cut.

It's kind of the perfect parallel with s1 if you think about it, except this time it's not Marcus that drags her in Stillwater but it's Vi who creates a weird version of it by herself.

"So you just wave an arm, have someone dragged out, don't bother to find out what it does to someone being stuffed in a stone box for weeks, months or even years" this is what Vi tells jayce after he threatened her to have her arrested and it's kind of what we see in the sneak peak. Vi locks herself in her one bedroom apartment and slowly loses her sanity with every passing second, only to go downstairs when she can't take it anymore - no one can convince me that the apartment isn't right above the fighting pit - and either gets herself beat up until she looses consciousness or drinks enough to pass out.

The fact that she hallucinates Caitlyn makes me think that she's going to blame herself for Cait's villain era, almost as if she created not just Jinx but another monster, and in a weird and fucked up way I think this is also Vi's way of getting a time-out from being herself, from being the reason everybody goes batshit crazy and the only way she can do it is by locking herself away in the deepest pit the underground has to offer, a place where her actions affects her and only her (somebody please go check on her).

In Vi's head it all makes sense, and I don't think this is an identy crisis, I think this is the end of a cycle for her, (like if you think abt s1 it's pretty obvious how the "kids" are making the same choices of their parents with a few differences here and there but with the same results, and then the cycle starts again) this is the end of the story of her trying to save her sister and accidentally turning the naive, bright eyed enforcer that got her out of jail in an even bigger monster, so she decides to lock herself up, to punish herself.

This is the pinnacle of Vander's education (don't get me wrong I love the guy, but in trying to teach Vi what he learned from his mistakes he forgot to teach her that other's people actions are not her fault), now what remains to be seen is if this is just another beginning of the same cycle or if she'll manage to break it.

Because at the end of the day I think Vi's the only character who can manage that, she's the link between top side and underground and possibly one the few characters who is capable of forgiveness, not for herself unfortunately but for others, yes, she is.

[arcane-ish]

Headcanons vs Source Material

I think everyone is a bit attached to their own head canons. I think that's just human nature.

It's something that I try to battle against for just oddball personal reasons. Doesn't mean that I'm any good at it, but particularly with a serialized show, I often kind of like to think of a piece of art almost as a conversation. Or more like, meeting various people in a bar and them telling you their stories.

That's why I like to speculate on stuff. I don't need to be right about a characterization (maybe that person who is telling the story has terrible taste, is horrifically racist or drunk and meandering). But it's sometimes kind of cool if one is. It makes me feel like I understood that person who is trying to tell me a story.

Cait

Like my take on Caitlyn and Vi, that Caitlyn is is probably the more experienced one when like way back in season 1 there were a lot of people who were all about virgin!I don't even understood my sexuality before meeting Vi!Caitlyn. So I feel pretty vindicated by Cait just casually talking another lover.

Vi

Or all the "adult Vi is not a Zaun patriot and has zero designs on leading the Undercity and becoming a rebel leader" discussions.

Jinx

This is not a brag. I'm often very wrong. For example, I was genuinely surprised at what they did with Jinx's voices after Silco's death. It's intriguing and now I feel I understand what they might be thinking there. But it's not something I necessarily "saw", but I think a lot of it is very cool. To what extent she is functional and what triggers her, how she expresses herself even if the voices don't play a role. Just to unpack her meeting Isha and not wanting to be Jinx, just like how being or not being Powder played a role in season 1. It's just overall cool.

Vander x Silco

Anyway, I've never been brave or disciplined enough to finish and post any of my fanfic. But one thing I noticed whenever I wrote Vander x Silco, like the moment the fic gets longer I always, always very quickly fall into a pattern of Vander being the who drives the reconciliation. Like I have, modern AU "Vander decides he wants Silco back, that he's not gonna take no for an answer and he's gonna bludgeon his way back into Silco's life while Silco who is just coming out of being cheated on by another partner is amused by Vander's efforts".

I actually tried to write the "Vander and Silco's relationship went bad because Vander was upset about Silco not wanting children" ABO universe story. I tried to write Vander and Silco being sweet revolutionary miners in love and it ended up as Silco thinking that Vander is too all consuming and he asks if they can't have a open relationship and Vander is just fucking floored by that and it's the quiet "and things were never the same again after that" moment.

I intentionally tried to write "Silco is crushing on whore!Vander who is in a relationship with Benzo" and that somehow morphed into "As Vander makes fun of what a loser Silco is and that he'll never fuck him he slowly grown increasingly more protective and obssessed with him" (and it ended up with Vander being jealous that Silco loves the revolution more than him).

So yeah, I've just naturally ended up on tons of variations of "Vander was a shitty boyfriend because he's insecure".

I presume that's why the read of s2act2 as "okay, Viktor peered into Vander's mind, Vander cared deeply about Silco, never forgot him and wanted to reunite" comes pretty naturally to me.

(I also wonder if that's a sign that I relate more to Vander, because I think people have a tendency to project more pining onto the character they identify with more, also because in a lot of way that is the more active, pursing a goal story thread. Even if I try to pretend that if Silco was the emotional pursuer, it just wouldn't work as well as a longer story, because Vander would be either up for it or not)

[thatneoncrisis]

hi prev anon from the post abt the arcane kid!

yeah sorry i do realize i came off as super condescending, i meant it more jokingly bc i thought your og post was a little harsh but it did close the door to actual criticism and that's like rude and lame as a response mb

i do see your point now though! i think i was just blinded by just personally liking the character but yeah in retrospect they really didnt give her any defining characteristics that weren't directly tied to being sad backstory fodder for jinx, which is in pretty poor taste even for a common archetype. thank you for taking the time to respond, i haven't seen that many critical takes on arcane so it was really interesting to read :)

(also ps the whole Vander being a werewolf thing is directly from League which is why it was included even though it's a little left field, they probably could've worked it in better but he Did need to become a weird dog man bc arcane is League backstory. i would like to hear more of your thoughts on why you thought he was poorly implemented if have any you'd want to share!)

thank you for taking the time to read it, ill be the first to admit that first initial post was in some part hyperbole to capture my frustration with the direction of the show.

to put it succintly, arcane feels like the first draft of a really good essay. all the points are laid out but they do not necessarily flow in a concise manner, there are definitely chunks that could be taken out, and it does that Thing of embedding a quote without properly explaining its relevance to the overall thesis. there are many times i found myself watching and thinking "damn. this would be a really great bookend to an arc that literally did not happen in the show"

and it definitely feels like thrall to its own origins. i understand that the werewolf frankenstien thing is a league thing, just like how i understand violet being an enforcer and ekkos time powers are all based in league lore. i also do not think the show has the time or energy for any of this. vi's enforcer arc lasts maybe one episode total, and her little pitfighter montage displays that she is far more torn up over losing caitlyn than betraying her own ideals and people to wear the badge. it means nothing it changed nothing. ekko has featured very little in season two, and any revelations about his time power junk will feel tacked on, like they forgot about it until it was time for him to have his One or Two episodes. i do appreciate them not waiting until act two to even introduce the idea of whats happened to vandor, but it feels so out of place. at best its a catalyst to get the sisters back on the same page but that was definitely not the only way they could have done it. and then they kill him again! in front of them! again!

ultimately i find myself at an impasse. i will never see this show in the same way arcane lovers do. i acknowledge its gorgeous visuals and ambitious story but too many things just keep falling short for me to forgive it. and despite this i can understand why people think of it as the greatest animated television show of all time- but not because its close to actually being a masterwork of story and character, but because there is genuinely almost NOTHING to compare it to. i looked- most western adult animation are prime time sitcoms- family guy, american dad, bobs burgers, rick and morty. even some of the best ones (moral orel <3) are still grounded in a reality much closer to our own than the fantastical world of arcane. at best i could compare it to like, primal? scavengers reign? the legend of vox machina? blue eyed samurai? and i have literally seen none of those shows so god only knows how apt the comparison is, ive just heard excellent things via word of mouth. my point is the children yearn for the mines, the mines of high concept fantasy and political intrigue, and arcane having like, excellent character design and lesbians cannot make me agree that those characters are being used to their fullest potential

tldr. anon. i am gripping you by the shoulders. please enjoy this show when i cannot. i think it is good that art is being made forever, even when i personally think that art is the worst kind of toothless liberal ideology

[80pairsofcrocs]

baby scarab || 66

anon - Hi!! I have a request for the baby scarab series, can we meet Jean-Paul Duchamp? Also know as frenchie, he was a French mercenary along side Marc in the comics,I was thinking what they could be kind of an uncle? Pls don’t feel pressured to write it tho <33

~~~ @0scars1saac - Do we still acknowledge our taweret and ugly khonshu plushies?

~~~

A/N : THERE IS NO MORE SCHEDULE, IM SORRY also thank you all sm for the support and requests :)))

please enjoy, and don't be shy if you want to be in the taglist, just ask <3, sorry for the long wait

pairings : steven grant x (platonic)reader, marc spector x (platonic) reader, khonshu x (platonic)reader, jake lockley x (platonic)reader, layla el faouly x (platonic)reader

TW : medicine (pills), spidey stuff, violence, language, angst, kinda rushed? hella angsty, the kids fight, idk i already forgot everything else, let me know if i missed anything.

~~~

it was already months later, almost the last day of school and you are doing great.

you have almost all b’s, gone on more dates with casper, and you and your dads go mini golfing every weekend now since jake knows a guy.

you would lose every time though, and marc would laugh in your face when you fall to the ground while fake crying.

you would grab onto his leg and beg for a rematch but he would just say no.

and this all occurs in public with people recording you by the way. but then one of your dads yells at them to delete it while you’re still laying on the dirty ground while fake crying.

steven would then take you for ice cream so you were all better after all the madness that’s always bound to happen.

but right now.. its less fun.

you were stuck at the kitchen table with steven on a saturday studying for a big test coming up, and it’s worth 50% of your grade.

you hand your head in your hand while steven rambled about amino acids or some shit.

“…so they can build up your muscles even though you personally wouldn’t need any- are you listening to me?” he snaps his fingers in your face, making you flinch and glare at him.

“sorry- i- i just keep zoning out..” you start. “i can’t focus knowing my whole grade depends on this test” you run your hands down your face in frustration.

steven sighs, taking his glasses off. “how about we keep going for five more minutes.. and then we can take a break” he offers and you nod.

“so what did i just say?” he asks and you groan. 

“i don’t know, i wasn’t listening” you admit and he chuckles.

“i said that amino acids can build muscle, now write it down” he forces a pencil into your hand and shoves your notebook towards you.

you grumpily write it with all your other notes as steven puts his glasses back on.

you smile when you look over to him, seeing that he never bothered to take the hello kitty stickers off of them.

steven notices and smiles back. “break time, yeah?” he asks and you nod.

“i’m so sick of school” you groan, getting out of your chair and going into your room before coming back out with both the taweret plushie and the khonshu plushie.

steven sighs. “i know you’re sick of it, but you graduate in literally a week and a half” he starts. “you’re being too dramatic-“

“dramatic…?” you blink at him.

steven gets out of his chair to face you, with both plushies in your arms.

“you think i’m dramatic?” you put a hand to your heart, dropping the plushies to the ground and falling to your knees.

steven just stares down at you.

“how could you even say that?! you’re such a penis!” you yell at him, before breaking character and laughing.

steven raises an eyebrow before sighing tiredly. “very funny, now get up off the floor and you can go play on your phone for a bit” he says which makes you rush to the kitchen to grab it off the charger.

“gods, she’s making my hair turn grey-“ 

“don’t jinx it, looking like i’m thirty is what gets me tips from the ladies” jake interrupts as marc scoffs.

“yeah right, like you get ladies-“ marc laughs, and you listen to them bicker while you text casper.

you : come over rn

casper <3 : i can’t im at work :(

you : then quit 

casper <3 : bitch i need money i’ll come over tomorrow 

you : don’t call me a bitch unless you want your ass beat

casper <3 : oh no i’m so scared 

you : ok smart ass i’ll see you tomorrow 

casper <3 : okay i love you :)

you : i love you too stupid :)

you smile down at your phone as your three dads continue to argue as steven makes tea.

you begin scrolling through tiktok, when you see a vegan recipe come up. it was a cake recipe, so your put it in your favorites to make later. 

possibly in the middle of the night.

you stand up to approach steven to help with the tea when there’s a knock at the door, shocking all of you.

you raise an eyebrow and look to marc, who had fronted out of habit.

“i can get it” you mumble, going to open the door before marc pulls you away.

he puts a finger to his mouth into a signal to stay quiet. “go to your room, close the door, and do not come out until one of us gets you” he tells you quietly and you send him a worried look and nod shakily before doing so, closing your door and sitting against it, listening.

you shift so that your ear was against the door, and you make sure the cats were still sleeping on your bed.

you feel a nervous pit form in your stomach as you here parts of a tense conversation between marc and whoever was at the door. 

“is it really so bad that i come say hi?”

“yes, now get out of my house-“

“wait, those ain’t your stuffed animals are they? didn’t know you still had those” the mystery voice chuckles.

you could tell the voice was from a man, but you had no idea who.

“this is a bad time- now get out-“

“hang on a second.. i know it’s a bad time but it’s been a while”

you keep listening when pedro and luna decide to start bothering you, woken up from their nap.

“shit-“ you whisper, trying to get them to stop meowing at you.

“shhh- shut up-!” you whisper shout at them when you hear footsteps coming to the door.

“fuck fuck fuck fuck-“ you say a bit louder, holding both of the cats in your arms.

“i knew i heard a voice, now who’s in there?” the man asks and you can tell marc is anxious, but can’t do anything to remove the guy.

“nobody, just leave it alone. can we talk somewhere else-“

“now wait just a minute, we’ve known each other for years and you won’t tell me who’s in there? are they that embarrassing?” he jokes and you roll your eyes, setting the cats on the bed.

“no- she’s not embarrassing just- i didn’t want you to freak her out, you know how you get-“

marc is cut of by the man opening the door, making you look over in shock.

he was wearing dirty old boots and black jeans with a plain dark brown sweatshirt.

he makes eye contact with you and smiles, looking back at marc.

“is she yours? is she- is she your kid?” he asks excitedly and approaches you.

marc tries to stop him but the man reaches forward to hug you tightly before anyone could say anything.

you tense and stand still, looking at marc over the man’s shoulder.

“get off of her, frenchie” marc glares at him, so he lets go of the hug to just look at you.

“she don’t look like you” he says and you clear your throat.

“she’s adopted. now get out of her room” marc keeps a glare pointed at the man he called frenchie.

he waves his hand in marc’s face. “is she laylas?”

“no. get out-“ “why would you ask that after he just said i’m adopted?” you and marc say at the same time.

frenchie just tilts his head at you with a shrug. “just wonderin’”

you blink at the man. “so what’s your name then, little spector?”

“leave her alone dude-“

“marc- dad it’s fine” you sigh. “it’s y/n” you mumble and he gasps lightly.

“that’s a beautiful name-“

“okay that’s enough” marc drags the man out of your room by the collar of his sweatshirt.

“but marc i’m just tryna get to know her, she’s your kid for pete’s sake!” he exclaims in the kitchen as you peak out of your room to watch them.

“yeah dad, be nicer to your friend” you step out to join them in the kitchen.

“yeah marc, be nice to me. after all we’ve been through” he says dramatically.

you like this guy. he’s a lot like you.

“how do you even know each other?” you ask and they both go quiet, and marc gives you a shrug with pursed lips.

“..so you met when you were a mercenary?” you ask even though you already know the answer.

frenchie blinks a few times. “do you just tell her everything?” he sighs. “man she must be a good kid if you trust her with that information” he tells marc and he feels a sense of pride in his chest.

“well yeah, she’s my kid-“

“yeah i can tell” he starts. “i can see the resemblance. not physically but i can sense it” he tells both of you.

“kinda like that spider thing i saw on facebook- it’s like i just know things” he explains while you and marc make eye contact.

“okay well you’ve said hi so now you can go-“

“oh no, i have to stay here. lay low you know?” frenchie says and marc’s eyes widen, sputtering over his words. 

“you can’t stay here! it’s- it’s a school night and-“

“and what? if it were you i’d let you stay” frenchie retorts.

you look over at marc and shrug while he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and thumb.

“fine. you’re sleeping on the couch and you’re not going to be bothering my daughter” marc says sternly and frenchie crosses his heart with his fingers.

“another time perhaps-“ “no”

“come on, partner!” frenchie throws an arm around marc as he tenses up a tad. “i can be her cool uncle frenchie!”

“no”

you just pray for marc and retreat to your room where both your cats are laying on your pillow.

you sigh and stare at them, not wanting to move them and risk waking them up.

so you sigh and decide to just go to your dads room, laying in his bed with your plushies, waiting for him to join you since the weather is starting to get colder.

you eventually fell asleep and marc just stifled a laugh when he saw you taking up all the space in his bed.

he finally got frenchie to sleep on the couch so he was exhausted. 

he gently moved you so he could get on the bed to get a good nights sleep, not knowing he’s going to be totally pissed of in the morning.

~~~

you wake up to your alarm, and the smell of… bacon?

you open your eyes and see that marc was still fast asleep, which made you panic for a second before remembering marc’s ‘friend’, frenchie was still here.

after getting out of bed and sneaking off to your room to get dressed, you head out to the kitchen to see marc still half-asleep and glaring at frenchie as he cooks bacon and some for of omelettes.

you blink a few times before going to the bathroom to brush your teeth and take your medicine, texting casper your regular ‘good morning baby girl’ message and going back out into the kitchen.

it’s a little weird when he didn’t answer right away like he usually does, but maybe he was busy at the moment.

you walk into the kitchen and sat next to marc at the table, nudging his side with your elbow.

he looks to you with a raised brow. “what’s wrong?” you ask, already knowing the answer.

“the fucker is using my stuff. without asking” he says grumpily and you sigh.

“come on dad, he’s your friend right?”

“jakes friend-“

“he said he’d do the same for you-“

“he doesn’t have a kid at home” marc argues and that’s when frenchie approaches, putting three plates down.

“actually, i do” he says, shocking marc. “wife and two kids, one on the way”

“i didn’t mean it like that-“

“i know” frenchie smiles at marc and sits down, digging into his food, and you do the same.

“wow, this is great” you mumble and frenchie laughs.

“glad you think so” he smiles at you. that was when you finally got a text back, which just read ‘morning.’ 

with a period on the end. uh oh.

you furrowed your brows and left it alone, hoping to talk to him a school like a normal person.

~~~

marc sent you on your way after breakfast, and frenchie ended up giving you a hug even though marc was screaming at him to leave you alone.

you just laughed it off and left.

you meet casper in your usual spot and notice he’s more tense than usual.

“hey.. you okay..?” you approach carefully, not to set him off.

he just nods and starts walking in the direction of the school, making you jog to catch up to him.

“are you sure? you can talk to me, you know..” you offer and he just sighs before his eyes dart to you, red around the rims.

“he hit her” he mumbles and you both stop walking.

“…wh-what..?” you start. “who are you talking about-“

“my dad, y/n. he hit my mother” he tells you tensely and you move closer to him.

“you don’t have to explain anything.. but i really think you should tell someone- they can help you” you offer.

“no. my mom still can’t find a job snd allison is scared out of her mind- she- she saw it y/n, she saw him hit her!” he exclaims and you nod, taking his hands in yours and moving to the side of the walkway.

“casper, we know somebody who could help you, we can give you all a home where your dad won’t be with you- and you won’t even have to worry about paying-“

“we can’t- why cant you just understand?!” he begins, startling you with his shouting. “all he has to do is say the word and it would ruin our lives! he has too much power over her! my mother is scared- too scared to even leave the house!”

“casper please calm down, we can help you guys-“

he laughs bitterly. “no- you- you can’t help us, for once you just.. can’t” he scoffs and starts walking towards the school again. 

“wait- just let me explain how we can-“

“no. i am done talking to you. just- give me some space, alright?”

“why don’t you ease up a bit?”

“ease up..?” he stops to turn around to face you. “you have no idea how i feel right now-“

“oh my god- you know every single little detail about me, and you’re seriously telling me that i don’t know how you feel?!” you shout back.

he scoffs again. “no. because before a year ago you didn’t even have parents” he says, and the look on his face makes it seem like he regretted saying that completely.

you stand still and tears gather in your eyes. “..you’re fucking joking right now..” you say more to yourself than to him.

“y/n i’m sorry- i just-“

“no i know.. it.. you’re just stressed. i get it” you let out a sad laugh. “you just said what you had to so that you could feel better about yourself”

“i’m serious! i didn’t mean it!” he approaches you but you take a step back.

“i hope you’re fucking happy with yourself right now” you send a slight glare to casper as you pass him, speed walking to school.

it was going to be a long day.

and khonshu..

he saw all of it.

~~~

you got home that night in a terrible mood.

you walked back all by yourself because you were still angry at casper, and you knew that your dads would be asking what was wrong until you told them.

you arrive in the elevator and sniff as you press your floors buttons, trying your hardest not to cry.

immediately after opening your door you burst out in tears, jake coming to you while you hug him.

“mi vida- what happened?! are you okay?!” he asks in a rush, snaking his hands around your waist to hug you back.

“w-we got in a fight-!” you sob.

“okay.. okay its- it’s okay” he assures you, looking to marc who was glaring out the window from the mirror.

“i- i know he didn’t m-mean it but-“ 

“hey, cariño” jake starts, leaning back to wipe your tears from your face gently. “what happened? can you tell us..?” he asks and you nod, taking a few deep breaths.

“he- his dad hit grace, and i told him we could- we could help but he got mad saying he doesn’t n-need help and he said something about me not having parents until you guys a-and i haven’t talked to him since” you rush out before breaking into sobs again.

jake let’s go of you to get you a box of tissues while you sit down on the couch.

you cry into a tissue as jake stares at marc in the mirror on the coffee table.

“i think we need to have a talk with the harts..”

jake nods. 

“again”

~~~ A/N - im so so sorry that i haven’t posted in a while i’m just going through mega writers block and i’m actually getting my tonsils out in a month so i’ll have more writing time lol. i miss all of you so much, and i hope to see you all soon. :) with much love, v.

~~~ taglist -

@alexloveskili @ihatemyselfmorethanmydepression @thebiggestsimpshrimp @guyinachair27 @astrobuzzsstuff @mooonlight-and-stars @moonlighting87 @mateihavenoidea @inactive-things @alondrashultz @femalemarvelself @queenthorin1 @haileymorelikestupid @jvdethirlwall @justtiredandvibing @winterfrostsarmy @themapoftinyperfectthings @littlebird101 @atzlena @httpslinow @arrowurboat @m-brekker @lifeandbandmembers-blog @adamcarlsenslvr @violet-19999 @seninjakitey @bestgirlpip @panic-in-the-multiverse @in-between-the-cafes @branolagar @bl6o6dy @annoyingmarvelreader @bee-a-cool-kid @buzzitsbeee @wintergirlsoilder2 @crow-carcass @you-bloody-shank @distinguishedmakerpandapatrol @valiantphantomangel @50shadesofcrocs @rayrlupin @kingshitonly @brekkers-desigirl @hutaos-gh0st @kayane28 @nevaeh-jasso @lizlil @scarabgrant @luvxxee @certainchildmentality @yikesitskennawrites @alexisabirdie @zlatolait-writes @thursdaywritings @izzzzy-the-amazing @angrykitsune01 @kult6 @deadthings-pdf @0scars1saac @jones89 @idontknowicomefromtwitter @yeetskeeter

[callsigndragon]

Tasting the Ashes | Ch. 24: Thanksgiving ✍️

Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: mentions of babies, guns, sappy moments, some angst (mickey and jinx aka finx are having problems in paradise guys) and all the love of the Dagger family.

A/N: FUCKING FINALLY THE THANKSGIVING CHAPTER IS FINISHED WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Follow @meigalibrary for updates.

Masterlist on pinned!

After a sleepless night and a hectic morning rummaging through your wardrobe for something appropriate to wear to a Thanksgiving dinner with the Seresins, er, the Mitchells, you collapse on your bed and sob.

Poor Bradley comes running to you immediately. 

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” 

“I don’t have anything to wear. I’m big. And fat. And ugly!” You whine, covering your face with your hands. 

“You’re dumb.” He says, and you raise your head, nose red and wet cheeks staring at him. Your lower lip trembles, and he chuckles. “What I mean is that you’re dumb for thinking that you’re big, fat, and ugly. Maybe you are big, but you have two beautiful babies inside, so of course you’re gonna be a bit bigger. But you’re not fat. You’re actually really hot.” 

You frown, pointing a finger at his face. “Don’t give me that look.” 

“What look?” He questions, smiling teasingly. 

“That one!” You throw a pillow at his head. “That look got us here. Pregnant!” 

“Well, it was actually the 2% of uselessness of the condom but- Don’t hit me again!” He grabs the pillow and gets up. “I forgot to give you something. Wait here.” 

He comes back with a green maternity maxi dress. It has long sleeves and some flower embroidery. It’s absolutely beautiful. “Is that for me?” 

He nods, a shy smile on his face. “You like it? I know my fashion sense isn’t the best, but I think this one is really cute.” 

“It’s beautiful, Bradley.” You stand up and kiss his cheek. “Thank you.” 

He stays there for a moment, looking at you with warm eyes. “I’ll let you change. I’ll be waiting in the living room, okay?” 

“Okay.” You watch as he leaves, closing the door behind him, and you know that if he keeps being an absolute sweetheart, you’ll fall for him. 

“Bradley?” 

“Yes?” He says, still looking ahead while the main gate of Jake and Red’s house opens. 

“That’s Bob’s car. Why is Bob’s car here?” You question. It was supposed to be a family dinner. Bob is family, sure, but this was supposed to be a Mitchell thing. 

“Well, maybe he left the car here so Jake could watch it while he and Doc went to see his grandma?” He drums his fingers against the wheel, his leg bouncing up and down. 

“You know you’re a horrible liar?” 

“No. You’re too good at guessing when I’m lying.” Bradley can’t understand how you do it. Does he have a tic or something that gives away when he’s lying? Does he stutter? Does his voice raise? What is it? 

“Don’t lie to me, then.” You whisper, watching as the door finally opens and all the family is waiting at the main door for you. “Wait, they’re all here?” 

“I thought you deserved to have a taste of what a Thanksgiving with the family feels like.” Bradley confesses, and you feel yourself tearing up at the idea of Bradley asking everyone to stay home for Thanksgiving. 

You know they had plans, they had told you over the past few days. But Bradley somehow convinced all of them to change plans and stay with a random girl that they met a few weeks ago. What an amazing family. 

“Surprise!” Red yells, almost running to open your side of the car and opening the door. “Okay so, let me introduce you to some people you may not know.” 

Red drags you away before you can even process what’s happening. You turn around, looking for Bradley, but he’s already being pushed into the house by the guys. 

“Wait, wait, wait. You went all the way to Hidden Hills with guns on the truck?” You ask, still unable to believe that your friend has killed a man. 

Red nods, leaning closer to Jake’s hand that is caressing her hair. This couple has the most stunning relationship you've ever seen. It almost makes you feel jealous. You also want something like that. A healthy relationship. 

“When those babies are born, you’re gonna do the most unimaginable things so they can be safe.” She grabs Jake's hand and presses it against her stomach. “Can you tell your daughter that I’m not a ball she can kick?”

Jake chuckles, lowering his head to talk to your belly. “Maeve, please don’t kick Mama or she’ll kick me.” Red smacks the back of his head, making him laugh. “See? I told ya.”

“I gave her the guns. I would have gone with her, but we had to stay back and distract the NCIS agents” Sarge says, grabbing another sandwich. “Doc, these are amazing. I can't stop eating.” 

“Thank you! I made them while Bob and Hollie were napping. These two sleep more than me.” Doc says, looking at Bob, who has baby Hollie in his arms. He is standing behind the couch, rocking her back and forth, so she falls asleep again. Hollie is daddy’s little princess, and she only wants to be in her dad’s arms, much to Doc’s dismay. Nine months of carrying her, and she prefers her dad. 

Bob looks at his wife, rolling his eyes. “I stayed up late because this little girl couldn’t sleep and you had been taking care of her all day. It was my turn.” 

“I know, Robby. You’re the best husband I could’ve ever asked for.” Doc smiles, her eyes filled with absolute devotion. Bob leans over the sofa, kissing his wife’s head. 

“It seems like yesterday when they met at my wedding.” Penny sighs, remembering the day. 

“You met at Penny's wedding?” You ask, looking at Doc who smiles at the memory. 

“Well… Bradley invited me.” She tells you, and you raise an eyebrow. 

“You were Bradley’s date?” 

“Not exactly. Bradley came with Reuben one day to the ER because Ava wasn’t feeling good. We talked for a bit, and then he blurted out: ‘are you free this weekend’?” 

You look at Bradley, playing outside with Mickey and the kids, and somehow you can understand how he managed to find the perfect match for Bob. He’s always taking care of his family, one way or another, always looking out for them. Even if he doesn’t actually verbalize it, he’s always watching. He’s a lot like Bob in that aspect. 

“So he asked you to accompany him to the wedding.” 

“Because he wanted me to meet this ‘cute friend who needed a date.’” 

“He made me look desperate.” Bob adds, kissing his daughter’s forehead. 

“You were desperate.” Jake snorts, getting up from the sofa he’s been sitting on for a while. “I’m gonna get the kids inside, I think it’s time to eat.”

“Wait!” You exclaim, louder than intended, earning the attention of the whole room. “Oh, sorry. It’s just that… Bradley and I had something important to tell you."

“It’s the gender?” Frosty asks, getting up from the sofa. She’s an absolute sweetheart, and you can see in her a good friend. You can’t believe she’s the Admiral’s daughter. They’re so different. 

You nod, and Samantha and Amelia, who had been playing with their phones at the back of the room, get up and look at each other. “You go get the old guys in the kitchen, I get the ones that are outside playing with the kids.” Amelia says, locking her phone and sliding it into the pocket of her hoodie. 

“Deal. I’ll be back with the old timers.” She says as she dashes into the kitchen. 

“I said old timer once. Once.” Jake says as he sinks his head into the back of the sofa. 

“Some things last forever, cowboy.” Red chuckles, kissing Jake’s jaw. 

Amelia opens the glass door, takes a deep breath, and yells. “The Bradshaws are gonna reveal the gender of the babies!” 

Mickey gets startled by Amelia’s sudden appearance and falls to the floor. The kids run over to tickle him, and, even though everyone is really interested in learning about the new additions to the family, the moment in front of them is so endearing that they can’t just ignore it. Even Jinx, who had been oddly quiet and ignoring him all day, is now looking at the wizzo and smiling. 

Eventually, they all come inside, and the older pilots turn up a bit later. You watch them sit down, everyone finds their place. Mav sits with Penny, kissing her cheek affectionately. Slider, Ice, and Goose stand behind the sofa, knowing that there’s no room for everyone to sit. Payback gets inside with Ava in one arm and Ted in the other, playing with them and making them laugh. When her husband approaches, Sarge opens her arms, ready to take one of the children. 

Bob sits with Doc. Javy and Nat walk in the room, and by the look of Nat’s hair, you can guess they have been hooking up in one of the empty rooms. Ames and Samantha sit together, already speculating on the gender of the babies. Frosty sits next to her father, smiling at him. Last but not least, you see Mickey enter the room, looking at the seat next to Jinx and debating whether or not he should sit there. Eventually he sits, looking at her and nudging his leg against hers. She glances at him, a little sad smile on her face. 

“Hablaremos luego” He says, kissing her temple softly. Nobody knows what has happened between the two, and no matter how much you've tried to help Jinx be a bit happier, she hasn't said a thing. (We'll talk later)

“Lo siento,” She whispers, and even though the room is quiet enough for everyone to hear her, she switches to Spanish. Clever Jinx. (I'm sorry)

There are different people in the room, different couples with their own stories, but all of them have something in common: they would give everything to protect each other. Jake and Red. Mav and Penny. Bob and Doc. Reuben and Jazz. Javy and Nat. And Mickey and Jinx, even though they don't want to admit it to themselves, and are acting like a couple who can't stay away from each other even when they're mad. 

That's the type of relationship you've always wanted. Love. Respect. Protection. 

Everything you never had. 

Bradley offers you his hand, in case you want some support. You take it, not because you need it, but because you want to. You want his hand around yours. In a romantic way, or in a friendly way? That is something you don't want to think about now. 

“Well, yesterday we went to the doctor so Bradley could see the babies for the first time.” You start, feeling Bradley’s hand tightening around yours. He’s excited. 

“Did he cry?” Jake asks, looking at you with a knowing smile. 

You smirk, feeling the sibling connection between you and Jake that has become stronger in the past few weeks. Neither of you knows what having a sibling feels like, but somehow you two know that you’ll be there for each other. Funny, because you two don’t have biological connections. The only thing that you two have in common is Maverick. “Like a baby.” 

“You owe me ten, Goose.” He says, looking at Bradley’s dad. 

Goose shakes his head and gets out a ten-dollar bill. “I’m disappointed in you, son.” 

Bradley gasps, shaking his head. “Let’s focus on this, please.” 

You clear your throat and regain the attention of the family. “We’re having a boy and a girl!” 

You see happy faces and tears here and there. Slider and Iceman give money to Goose, apparently they have lost a bet. The girls approach you, ready to toss thousands of names they've been collecting for weeks, in case you need some suggestions for naming the babies. 

“Woah, woah. We already know the names!” Your words make everyone in the room stop moving and wait expectantly to hear your next words. “Bradley, I think you should tell them the name of the girl.” 

Bradley nods, abandoning your side and standing next to his dad. “Baby girl Bradshaw’s name is… Carole. Carole Wren Bradshaw.” 

Goose opens his mouth to say something, but closes it immediately and hugs his son with tears in his eyes. Ice and Slider pat Goose’s back, and you can see Penny rubbing Mav’s back affectionately. Maverick was Carole’s friend, and he also feels emotional about having another Carole Bradshaw in their lives. 

“I wanted to honor Mom somehow.” Bradley mutters, tearing up, too. Goose takes a few steps back, wiping his own and his sons' tears 

“She would be so proud of the man you’ve become, son. Don’t ever doubt that.” He states, emphasizing every word. 

“Okay, enough sappy moments for today, what’s the boy’s name?” Jake says, partially because he wants to know, but also to give the two men some time to recompose themselves. 

“Jacob Jay Bradshaw,” you announce, smiling when Jake realizes the meaning behind the name. “Like his uncle.” 

“Wait, you’re naming your kid after me?” Red ruffles Jake’s hair, laughing softly. “Why me?” 

“Well, at first we thought about Pete,” you confess, looking at Mav. “but with the middle name Bradley thought his initials would’ve been PJ. I didn’t want my son to be called PJ.” 

“Pajamas Bradshaw.” Ice says, and you point at him. 

“See? Pajamas! Poor kid. So the other option was Jacob.” 

“What’s the middle name?” Amelia questions while sitting Liam on her legs. 

“Jay. Jacob Jay. We call him JJ.” You smile when one of the babies kicks your belly. “And I think he likes it.” 

“Carole, JJ, and Maeve.” Red says, and the smiles spread around the room. “The new babies of the Dagger family!” 

“Can we go eat now?” Ava questions, making all the adults chuckle and the kids whine about being hungry. And without further ado, everyone moves to the dining room. 

“There you are.” 

Jinx stops scratching Milo’s belly and looks up, sighing at the sight of Mickey standing there. “How did you find me? This house is huge.” 

“When at a party, find the resident animal of the house, and you’ll find the introvert.” Mickey sits down next to her and watches as the animal leaves to nap on the sofa. “I’m sorry for what I said.” 

“I‘m sorry for ghosting you.” She says while resting her chin on her knees. “I still don’t want to talk about that, Miguel.” 

“Jesse, come on. You know there’s something between us. Everybody knows it.” 

“That doesn’t mean I want to do something about it.” Mickey watches how she hugs her legs closer, as if she could, somehow, become small enough to disappear. 

“We can’t ignore it forever. It’s gonna explode in our faces sooner or later.” 

“I’ll worry about that when it happens.” She retorts, raising her voice a bit. It’s clear that she doesn’t want to talk about this or even acknowledge the problem. 

Mickey sits in front of her, looking in her eyes to find all the answers and all the feelings she’s not giving him. “What are you so scared of?” 

Jinx closes her eyes, inhaling deeply, and shakes her head. Why can’t he just let it go? “How long have we known each other?” 

“Since we were eighteen.” Mickey responds, not understanding why she’s asking that. 

“That’s ten years of my life, Mickey. Ten years of friendship. I can’t risk that.” She lets out an airy laugh, not believing that she has to spell it for him. “Look, if you don’t care about our friendship, that’s okay. But if I try to have something with you and it doesn’t work, that would destroy us. We won’t be able to be just friends again.” 

“So now I don’t care about our friendship.” He scoffs, and Jesse refrains from smacking him. “I care about our friendship. But I also care about my heart. And my heart tells me to follow this feeling because I know deep in my soul that I lo-” 

“Please, don’t say it.” She begs, covering her face. “Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.”  

By the time Jesse’s hands rest on her legs again, Mickey is long gone. 

“Can I have your attention for a moment, please?” Jake asks, rising from his chair. After dinner, all the adults moved outside, to enjoy the calm and peaceful November night. Conversations die slowly, all gathering around Jake and Red, somehow everyone seems to know what’s about to happen. 

Once he has all the attention he wants, he kneels in front of Red, holding her hands in his, and kissing her knuckles before taking a deep breath. 

But before he can even start, Red covers his mouth with one hand, and smiles. “Jake... We’ve been here once, in this same situation, you are about to ask me to marry you, and I am excited to say yes. The first time, it didn't work out for us. Not because we didn’t love each other, because we did. We loved each other a lot. We weren’t allowed to love each other. I don’t want to do this exactly as we did the first time. I want to do it differently and I want to do it right.” She takes a deep breath and laughs nervously. “Is not as easy as it looks, you know.”

“Oh, I know. It’s worse when you can’t know for sure if you’re gonna get a yes.” Jake says, chuckling softly. 

“When I met you, I had no idea how much my life was about to be changed, but then, how could I have known? This that we have, is something that happens once in a lifetime. That’s why even when we had to be apart for three years, we never stopped hoping that, somehow, life would bring us together again. When you came into my life, I realized that what I had always thought was happiness couldn’t compare to the joy you brought me. You are not only the father of my children and an important part of my life, but also a part of everything I think, and do, and feel, and with you by my side, I believe that anything is possible. Even go on a suicide mission to save our kid. You are, and always will be, the love of my life. And I don’t want to spend a day without you being my husband. So, even though I can’t kneel down, I want to ask you: Jacob Mitchell, will you marry me again?” Bradley gets a small red velvet box from the pocket of his jacket and gives it to Red. 

She opens the box, revealing a black ring. “Thanks for helping me, Bradley.” 

“Anything for you, Commander.” He watches the stunned expression in the room and raises his arms in disbelief. “I do know how to keep secrets, okay?” 

“And you’ve proven that to everyone.” Jake says while looking at the ring. “Do I have to put it myself?” 

“You haven’t answered my question.” Red rolls her eyes and gets the ring out the box. 

“Of course I want to marry you, sweets.” Jake gets the blue box from his jacket and opens it to get the ring. “How did you find out?” 

Red laughs, placing the ring on Jake’s finger. “Liam found it. He said that you hid something in Maeve’s room. So I went to look. I honestly thought they were Liam's birthday presents."

Jake takes Red’s hand, sliding the ring on, and leans in to kiss her passionately. “You’re always trying to win, right?” 

“I won a long time ago, Jake.” 

The soon-to-be married couple hugs each other lovingly, and the rest of the family goes to them to hug them and congratulate them. 

You stay seated, watching the scene from afar, wondering how it feels to be loved by someone who will marry you once, divorce you to save you, and risk everything just to be with you again. Are you envious of that kind of love? Perhaps. Who wouldn’t? 

Bradley sits next to you, kissing your temple and offering you his hand for you to grab. “I know. Their love is something I’ve never seen before. It somehow reminds me of my parents.” 

You trace the lines in the palm of his hands with your fingertips, listening to his words. “Did they love each other?” 

“So much that it hurt. My dad used to dance with her every night when he wasn’t deployed. Always the same song.” 

“Which one?” 

“Right here waiting by Richard Marx. It was kind of their song.” He admits, feeling a tightness in his chest. “I want what they have.” 

“I’m sure you’ll find it, Brad.” 

He looks at you, his shiny eyes full of hope and determination. “Someday, I guess. Maybe it's right there in front of me, and I just can’t see it. Or maybe she can’t see it.” 

He whispers the last sentence, knowing really well that those words are for you, but what are you supposed to say? You can’t just have a relationship with him when there are two babies in the way and a psychopath looking out for you. 

It’s not the time for romance. 

[dancersmirrorball]

Taylor Swift Midnights Sentence Starters

Tracks 1-4

"You don't really read into my melancholia."

"I've been under scrutiny, you handle it beautifully."

"I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say."

"They're bringing up my history, but you weren't even listening."

"Talk your talk and go viral, I just need this love spiral."

"Get it off your chest, get it off my desk."

"We lost track of time again."

"How'd we end up on the floor anyway?"

"I see you every day now."

"The lips I used to call home, so scarlet it was maroon."

"Ain't that the way, shit always ends?"

"I wake with your memory over me, that's a real fucking legacy to leave."

"All of the people, I've ghosted stand there in the room."

"I end up in crisis, tale as old as time."

"I wake up screaming from dreaming."

"I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror."

"One day I'll watch as you're leaving, and life will lose all of it's meaning."

"She's/he's/they're laughing up at us from hell."

"I saw flecks of what could've been lights, but it might just have been you passing by unbeknownst to me."

"Life is emotionally abusive."

"My flight was awful, thanks for asking."

"You wanting me tonight feels impossible."

"It's fine to fake it 'til you make it."

"I can't speak, afraid to jinx it."

Tracks 5-8"

"I play it cool with the best of them."

"It's ok we're the best of friends."

"You're on your own kid, you always have been."

"I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this."

"Everything you lose is a step you take."

"You've got no reason to be afraid."

"My town was a wasteland."

"But for some it was paradise."

"he/she/they wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain."

"I was making my own name, chasing that fame."

"All of me changed like midnight rain."

"I guess sometimes we all get some kind of haunted."

"Big city, wrong choices."

"You painted all my nights, a color I have searched for since."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room?"

"It was one drink, after another."

"That's nice I'm sure, that's what's suitable and right but tonight."

"Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man."

"You did some bad things, but I'm the worst of them."

"They say looks can kill, and I might try."

"Lately I've been dressing for revenge."

"Picture me thick as thieves with your ex wife/husband/spouse."

"I'm on my vigilante shit again.

Tracks 9-12

"Didn't notice you walking all over my peace of mind, in the shoes I gave you as a present."

"Putting someone first only works, when you're in their top five."

"By the way, I'm going out tonight."

"I can still make the whole place shimmer."

"Sadness became my whole sky."

"A diamond's gotta shine."

"It only hurts this much right now."

"Breathe in, breathe deep, breathe through, breathe out."

"I'll be getting over you, my whole life."

"Oh no, I'm falling in love again."

"Lost in the labyrinth of my mind."

"You would break your back to make me break a smile."

"You're talking shit, for the hell of it."

"You're terrified to look down."

"It's coming back around."

"I keep my side of the street clean, you wouldn't know what I mean."

"Ask me what I've learned from all those years, ask me what I've earned from all those tears."

"Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here."

"We almost forgot it."

"They said the end is coming, everyone's up to something."

"All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing."

"On the way home, I wrote a poem."

"You should be doing more."

"I'm just too soft for all of it."

Tracks 13-17

"You and I ended up in the same room, at the same time."

"Checkmate, I couldn't lose."

"What if I told you none of it was accidental?"

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

"No-one wanted to play with me as a little kid, so I've been scheming like a criminal ever since."

"This is the first time I've felt the need to confess."

"Spineless in my tomb of silence."

"Maybe it was egos swinging, maybe it was her/him/them."

"I vowed not to cry anymore."

"You said I have to trust more freely."

"Maybe it's the past that's talking, screaming from the crypt."

"It turned into something bigger, somewhere in the haze, got a sense I'd been betrayed."

"No words appear before me in the aftermath."

"Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness."

"Cause it's all over now, all out to sea."

"You were bigger than the whole sky."

"I've got a lot to live without."

"So I'll say words I don't believe."

"And all the outfits were terrible, 2003 unbearable."

"Did you see the photos?"

"No I didn't, but thanks though."

"I'm so in love that I might stop breathing."

"Like we were somewhere else."

"I wanna brainwash you into loving me forever."

"I didn't know you were keeping count."

"Put on your records and regret me."

"I bent the truth too far tonight."

"Do you really wanna know where I was April 29th?"

"Seemed like the right thing at the time."

"There's many different ways that you could kill the one you love, the slowest way is never loving them enough."

Tracks 18-20 + Hits Different & You're Losing Me

"We were supposed to be just friends."

"You don't live in my part of town, but maybe I'll see you out some weekend."

"I think there's been a glitch."

"Nights are so starry, blood moonlit."

"Must be counterfeit."

"I thought we had no chance, and that's romance."

"All I used to do was pray."

"And I damn sure never would have danced with the devil."

"The god's honest truth is that the pain was heaven."

"Memories feel like weapons."

"God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be."

"If clarity's in death then why won't this die?"

"If it feels like a trap, you're already in one."

"If you don't recognize yourself, that means you did it right."

"Never take advice from someone who's falling apart."

"When you aim at the devil, make sure you don't miss."

"So I wander through these nights, I prefer hiding in plain sight."

"You should find another guiding light."

"You made a mess of me."

Each bar plays our song, nothing has ever felt so wrong."

"Oh my, love is a lie; shit my friends say to get me by."

"Moving on was always easy for me to do."

"My sadness is contagious."

"Is it okay? Is it you? Or have they come to take me away?"

"We thought a cure would come through in time, now I fear it won't."

"Now I just sit in the dark and wonder if it's time."

"I'm getting tired even for a phoenix."

"I know my pain is such an imposition."

"I wouldn't marry me either, a pathological people pleaser who only wanted you to see her/him/them."

"I've got nothing to believe, unless you're choosing me."

[practically-an-x-man]

Roses and Tulips (Copia x Silas)

For @can-of-pringles, Happy Valentine's Day bestie!

Pairing: Cardinal Copia x Silas Petersson (Pringles' OC) Word Count: 1.2k Content Warnings: none! cute little fluff-bomb

____

It took all his courage just to knock on that door.

It's not the door that's intimidating, Copia reminded himself, You've knocked on worse doors. You had to knock on Sister's door before you were made Cardinal, and that was twice as scary. Three times, even. This is a piece of cake compared to that.

That helped a little. Not much.

Copia shifted his grip, feeling the waxy stems of the flowers squeak under his gloves. He wasn't sure Silas liked flowers. Especially roses- was that too presumptive? Maybe he should have stuck with chocolates. Or... were chocolates more romantic than flowers? Did he want them to be more romantic? He didn't want to overstep, but he didn't want to understep... if that was a thing.

He was overthinking this. He would open that door, give Silas the flowers, ask him to dinner... and that would be that. Easy-peasy.

In theory.

In reality, he couldn't make himself move.

You have stood before a hundred thousand people. Many times. Your band is made up of underworldly ghouls, and they live down the hall from you. This should not be as intimidating as it is.

But somehow, the thought of being disemboweled in his sleep because he'd stolen Pigeon's Sour Patch Kids was less frightening than the idea of being rejected by Silas.

Just do it, he told himself, It'll only get worse the longer you stand here and think about it. Just... knock on the door. Just lift your hand and knock. Just-

"Copia?"

He spun, a little too fast, and almost tripped over his own feet when he saw Silas standing there. He must have come straight from his shift - Copia had been so wrought with anxiety, he forgot Silas worked on Wednesdays. He had a broom in one hand... and a handful of Queen of Night tulips in the other. Silas shifted on his feet.

"I was, uh, trying to find you," he said, dark eyes flicking up and down Copia's figure before settling on the roses in his hand. Silas chewed his lip, clearly swallowing his own anxiety, and held out the tulips. "Jinx?"

"Doyouwanttogotodinner?" The words tumbled out too fast, just a blur of syllables, and he stuck out the roses almost mechanically in Silas' direction.

That went... better than expected.

Silas blinked and took the roses, though his brow furrowed as he tried to process the words. Copia bit his lip, forcing his lungs to take in a full breath of air.

Silas still held the handful of tulips out in front of them. He'd been holding them for a long time. Copia internally winced, wishing he'd taken the flowers a little sooner, but reached for the tulips. He found himself fiddling with the leaves as he tried to work through his thoughts.

"Do you want... to go to dinner?" he tried again, this time managing something almost coherent, "With me. Tonight."

There. He'd done it. He'd said it. He'd be crushed if Silas turned him down, but... at least he'd worked up the courage to ask in the first place. The hard part was over.

Well, except for all the other hard parts. Like hoping his anxiety didn't melt him into a puddle of goo while he waited for Silas to respond. Not only would that be utterly humiliating, he imagined Sister would make Silas clean it up. Some Valentine's Day for him, Copia thought.

"I'd love to," Silas said, smiling at him. Copia wondered if he'd melt anyway - not from his anxiety, but from how warm and fluttery that smile made him feel. He beamed, resisting the urge to bounce on his toes in excitement. Silas lifted a hand towards his door. "Just- um, let me get changed first? And put these in a vase... and then I'll meet you in the courtyard?"

"I'd like that." Copia managed, "I'll see you soon."

Silas' smile widened, just for a moment, and then he brushed past Copia and slipped into his apartment. Copia was frozen for another moment, flooded with too much surprise and excitement to even think. Then he kicked his mind back into gear and hustled back down to his own room.

His rats greeted him from their enclosure in the back of the room when he entered, and Copia smiled at them.

"He said yes!" he told them, "We're going to dinner!"

Clara chirruped at him, her tiny paws hooked onto the rungs of her enclosure as she stretched up to look at him. She seemed happy for him, Copia thought. He held out the tulips to them, just a few inches away from their enclosure. Rats had poor eyesight.

"And look- he brought me flowers!"

Bella wiggled her nose at him, dark eyes bright and shiny. Her tail flicked back and forth.

You brought him flowers, she seemed to say.

"You're right, I did." Copia agreed, "But I didn't expect him to bring me flowers too. Look at them, they're so pretty."

You should put them in your nice vase, Alessa seemed to suggest, wandering across her enclosure and tilting her nose at the kitchen, The one that looks like stained glass.

Then she took a drink from the water bottle in the corner of the enclosure. Maybe he'd read that wrong. But the flowers would look good in that vase, he thought.

"What should I wear?" he asked as he ran a little water into the vase, "Do you think this is good, or should I change?"

You look great! Clara told him with a squeak. He knew, logically, she was just mimicking him - he talked to her, she "talked" back. But it was cute to think that she was actually trying to communicate with him.

No, no, your other vest would look better with those pants, Alessa argued. He'd always imagined she was the fashionista of the bunch. Her fur was the shiniest, and she spent the most time grooming herself... it made sense. Alessa was the fashionable one, Clara was the down-to-earth sweetheart, and Bella was the lovable disaster who once got her head stuck in a toilet-paper tube.

"Ladies, please, you're confusing me," Copia said, setting the vase of flowers down on the table. Talking with his rats helped him calm down. He didn't feel quite so nervous about his date with Silas. Still a little nervous, of course, but... he wasn't tying himself in knots. That was good. "Should I change or not?"

He'll like you no matter what you wear, Bella promised, giving him an encouraging look with her big dark eyes. They almost reminded him of Silas' eyes, big and brown and sweet. Copia smiled.

"Thank you, Bella," he said. He reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a box of Cheerios. All three rats chirped in excitement, dancing around on their paws. Copia sprinkled a few Cheerios into their enclosure, watching them grab the cereals with their clever little paws and nibble away.

"Happy Valentine's Day, ladies," he told them. He watched them for another moment or two, wondering if he'd have to break up any arguments - Alessa had a habit of hoarding treats away from the others - but they seemed to be in a good mood tonight. Copia finally drew himself away, giving his waistcoat a little tug as he checked his appearance in the mirror. He wanted to look his best.

After all, it was Valentine's Day. And he had a date.

[crguang]

still can’t believe I have Kafka ngl, I was playing earlier and kept stopping to stare at her and giggling. Her traces are almost fully maxed, ignoring the fact that I have 100 credits, the build sucks but it’s fine, she just has to show up yk. btw what’s ur kafka’s level, I prefarmed bc, but wbu? omg her voice lines are killing me, forgot how nice her voice was…hsbsbsjsj I’ve only read her voice lines so I was giggling the entire time she was talking. And I got the same messages you did for her so uh our accounts are definitely like synced up or smth, that why we both won the 50/50. And not you making a 9/11 joke the day before 9/11. Also Kafka not having an account to message the TB is so unserious. Like all the stellaron hunters have one but she just needed to be dramatic and mysterious, she’s such a loser, I love her sm…I took so many photos I’m actually not okay, her blushing? I need her so bad.

also u watch arcane? I watched it like a month ago bc one of my friends told me to, but I haven’t found anyone besides myself who doesn’t rlly like Caitlyn. I don’t rlly interact w the fandom bc of that + spoilers from people who play league. I’m just watching for jinx tbh, she blue and mentally ill so shes my favorite character. also I might finally play the story again, but we’ll see, I’ve been busy but I’ll probably like the characters, from what I’ve seen.

-🌠

i can’t believe shes home either like i made a delusional tweet 3 months ago about how she’d be home in september and it actually happened😭😭 im abusing the camera feature fr she’s so pretty… my build also sucks, ive been farming prisoner of deep for months for robin and havent even gotten 2 good relics. like its unbelievable at this point, the drop rate is horrible. i use kafka with jiaoqiu and acheron so at least she’s useful but shes no dps yet </3 im putting that woman to work REGARDLESS.

kafka’s insistence on using burner phones is purely for the drama because her actual phone is likely encrypted and untraceable… like theres absolutely no need she just wants to be mysterious hdjdnfnf shes so silly i love her so bad.

listening to her voice lines is a daily affair at this point. if i don’t hear “oh, bye bye” i start twitching. also— her delivery of “fiercest” always makes me smile i just know she’s a good storyteller

ALSO U DONT LIKE CAIT EITHER?? anddd you love jinx… youre so real