#They care about each other so much that they’d sacrifice so much for them

[rere9500-18]

Personally, I saw this scene as Nya’s last goodbye to her WHOLE family. She knows she may not be the same after she merges with the sea , so just in case she hasn’t told them enough before, she’s telling her family she loves them for possibly the last time.

Even if they couldn’t hear it.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey um, what if the Overblot boys told each other their backstories?

Mmm… Well firstly, I think it would take a lot of effort to arrive at a point where all of the OB boys would even feel comfortable being that emotionally intimate with the others. Many of the OB boys are highly guarded and resistant to putting themselves in compromising positions. For example, I can easily see Azul being paranoid that the others would use his background as blackmail; he would not risk having his own vulnerabilities becoming public knowledge. Would Leona really be okay with being sentimental in front of various people he dislikes, especially Malleus and Vil? Would Idia feel safe unpacking his trauma and grief in front of his peers? Etc, etc, etc.

Secondly, I think that even if the OB boys were hypothetically at the point where they were okay sharing their backstories with the others, it wouldn’t change much about their immediate circumstances?? The OB boys generally don’t strike me as particularly… empathetic? At least not automatically empathetic. It’s something they would need to put effort into and actively work on. I imagine that they’d otherwise just pull a Zuko-style “That’s rough, buddy” or potentially even say something tactless that rubs their peers the wrong way (for example, not fully understanding the situation or even downplaying one another’s trauma). Riddle (someone with very little to no experience with social media and entertainment mediums) might not get how being a celebrity influences Vil’s life, Leona might insult Malleus (someone whom he has a bone to pick with), everyone might still be upset with Malleus for what he did to them in book 7. etc. Each OB boy only has their own experiences as the lens through which they see and interact with the world, and it’s not that easy for just anyone to put themselves in the shoes of another person.

Hearing a (for lack of a better term) traumadump doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll connect with it or understand just how grueling it was for the person who experienced said trauma. It would usually take a significant amount of time and reflection (ideally facilitated by a licensed mediator or professional) to digest those stories in group therapy and to make sure that everyone actually understands one another. A surface-level story retelling alone in most cases isn’t (again, for lack of a better term) “enough”, especially with how self-centered, emotionally immature, and different many of the OB boys are.

Think of empathy like a skill or a muscle. It isn’t innate. You need to develop it and train it, and not putting it to use can lead to atrophy. And given how arrogant and independent your usual NRC student is… yeah, it’s definitely going to be something for them all to work on.

If you want to think of it another way, it’s like how different players will react differently to reading the OB boys’s backstories. Someone who experienced bullying similar to Azul could more easily empathize with him while also not fully “getting” the full scope of other stories they hear. Maybe they can’t understand why Riddle still cares about the mother who mistreated him. Maybe they don’t see why Jamil sacrifices so much for his family. It doesn’t make the player a bad person for not understanding all the stories, it simply means they have a limited perspective. The same is true of the TWST characters; they, too, have incomplete perspectives and rely predominantly on their own points of views to make sense of the world.

Maybe knowing their backstories in advance would change some scenes in small ways (such as book 6, when they split up and then butt heads with each other). They’d know where the other boys were coming from, and how that informs how they act in present day. However, I maintain that I think not much would change from the original. In a stressful situation like book 6, they could easily slip up and say something insensitive/make assumptions about their behavior based on their background/overlook or not even consider their background in the first place since they’re so focused on the current task. For example, Azul, feeling insulted that Riddle is underestimating him, could make a snide remark that just because his mother was a control freak doesn’t mean Riddle also has to be. Jamil could still see Leona as a spoiled prince because, despite being treated like an outcast, he still grew up in immense privilege as royalty. They can so easily fixate on their own interpretations of events that it colors how they perceive others, rather than how they can relate to others no matter how similar or dissimilar their experiences were.

In other ways, I think the OB boys sharing their backstories with one another stifles potentially meaningful development. Character growth in TWST isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, and we’re here for the long haul. What does depositing all the backstories in their laps achieve for the OB boys? It artificially puts them in a situation to “better know” their peers rather than let it happen organically or allowing them to grow closer through their own efforts. Let’s look at the Deuce-Epel beach scene from book 5. Do you think it would have been as impactful of a scene if Epel explained his life in the countryside and how he got his traditional views on gender norms to Deuce? Personally, I don’t think so. The scene we currently have has them bonding and connecting through a shared activity (shouting at the sea), then having a heart-to-heart without a heavy backstory exposition. It’s through that, not explicit backstory sharing, that the two form an attachment and become genuine friends.

Those are all my thoughts!! ^^

[thewhumpcaretaker]

Vincent tending to Chidi’s wounds when a medical professional isn’t near (with Vincent surprisingly having good knowledge on wounds) has always been on my mind and I thought to share with you ^_^

Anyways here’s a crappy screenshot of them because aaaaaaaaaaaaaa Chidi looks so small😭

Thank you so much for this ask! This ended up being almost chapter-length and I may use snippets of it in Those Who Have Something to Live For later on, oops!!

Also, small hearts for small chidi: 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

-⚜- I Want to Be Next to You -⚜-

TW: gunshot wound, discussion of self-sacrifice

The first thing Chidi noticed was the red pouring out of Vincent’s shoulder. The second thing he noticed was how fast he was breathing.

He didn’t say anything, just staggered back against the wall with alarmingly wide eyes almost rolling back in his head - that look of unspeakable terror that Chidi had seen only a few times in his service with Vincent.

Chidi was across the balcony and in contact with Vincent almost instantly, gripping both arms to slow his fall and guide him to the ground. Their legs folded under them in unison, almost gracefully, like two swans landing on water. And they both felt they were drifting on something like water, suddenly floating above a terrible, murky depth. Their eyes were locked together, mirroring each other’s desperation. “C'est bon [It’s okay],” he whispered, low enough to reach only Vincent.

He didn’t respond at first. Then, as if without breathing, “Non, ce n'est pas le cas, ils putain… ils… [No it’s not, they fucking…they…]”

Chidi couldn’t contradict him. They had been ambushed. A particularly crucial client had insisted on meeting Vincent on “neutral ground,” without much backup, in a remote villa. As he had feared, it was merely a ruse to make an attempt on Vincent’s life. And Chidi hadn’t stopped it…they’d laid hands on Vincent, they’d put metal in him…

“Get a medic, and arrange evacuation,” he barked over his shoulder, without breaking eye contact with Vincent. Chidi was scary like this.

The ground around them was littered with bodies. Only two other guards survived – and the enemy was demolished. One of those guards hesitated. “What should I tell them about the deal, sir? And the ambush?”

“I don’t care! I’m going to stay with my ward! GO!” My ward. Vincent was the ward of all the bodyguards, but Chidi didn’t say our. No, at moments like this, it became clearer than ever that Vincent was his responsibility in a way that none of the other Myrmadons shared.

In another moment, they were alone.

“Chidi…” It wasn’t the beginning of a question, it was an inarticulate plea. Vincent’s head was lolling from one side to the other against the wall, in danger of knocking against it from how badly he was shaking.

“Je suis là. [I’m here.]” He lowered him the rest of the way down, not against the hard marble, but into his lap, elevating the wounded shoulder above the rest of his body. Overwhelmed by the mixture of shock and human contact, he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes for half a second before staring desperately up at Chidi again. It was a magnetic look, impossible to break away from. Help me, it was saying. Chidi obeyed.

“Je vais vous attacher un garrot maintenant, monsieur. Cela signifie que je vais attacher un morceau de tissu autour de votre épaule. Cela pourrait faire mal mais je vais essayer d’être rapide. [I’m going to tie you a tourniquet now, sir. This means I’m going to tie a piece of cloth around your shoulder. It might hurt but I’ll try to be quick.]” For once, he was the one chattering away, trying to fill the silence, to keep Vincent’s mind from running away with him. He kept his breathing as steady as he could, and his face expressionless. He had to be the rock right now, something to hold onto.

He took off his suitcoat and then ripped off his shirt sleeve from underneath, tying it around Vincent’s shoulder. As it squeezed the muscles around the wound, Vincent went even paler, panting in an effort not to scream. Even at a time like this, he didn’t want to look weak. It made Chidi’s heart twist. “Vous allez bien, monsieur. [You’re doing well, sir.]” He wasn’t. He was starting to hyperventilate, and it really concerned Chidi. “Peux-tu respirer avec moi, lentement ? De la même manière que je respire. [Can you breathe with me, slowly? The same way I’m breathing.]”

The Marquis struggled for a moment, staring at Chidi’s chest. He saw another wave of fear rise up behind Vincent’s eyes as he lost control. “Je – je ne peux pas – [I – I can’t – ]”

“Ce n'est pas grave alors. Continuez simplement d’essayer et concentrez-vous sur ma voix. Je vais faire pression sur toi pour arrêter le saignement maintenant, d'accord ? Et je continuerai à faire ça jusqu’à ce que l’aide arrive. [That’s okay then. Just keep trying and focus on my voice. I’m going to press on you to stop the bleeding now, okay? And I’ll keep doing that until help comes.]” Chidi did his best not to talk too fast, not to let the panic affect his voice. He felt like breaking down – seeing Vincent like this was too much. But he had to be reassuring for him.

“…d’accord… ça prend combien de temps? […okay…how long with that take?]”

“Je ne sais pas, monsieur. Pas longtemps. [I don’t know, sir. Not long.]” He lowered his hands over the wound and pressed down as hard as he could. Vincent made an awful, strangled sound. Even through the pressure, Chidi could feel how badly he was shivering. “Attendez, faisons ça aussi. [Wait, let’s do this too.]” He took his hands off the wound long enough to throw his coat over Vincent’s chest, and then pressed down again. Vincent snuggled involuntarily into the warmth, the shivering subsiding a little. After the initial pain of Chidi’s strength against his shoulder again, he relaxed into it. Then, following a long moment of hesitance, his hand rested on top of Chidi’s.

“Merci.” He stroked along Chidi’s hand just the way he would if they were just resting in bed together after making love.

“Bien sûr. [Of course.]”

His eyes were closed again and suddenly Chidi worried he might lose consciousness.

“Hé, pouvez-vous continuer à me regarder monsieur ? Reste éveillé s'il te plait. [Hey, can you keep looking at me sir? Stay awake please.]”

Vincent wrenched his eyelids open with what seemed a very great effort. “Parlez-moi alors. [Talk to me then.]” It was an order, but spoken so quietly, so vulnerably.

“D’accord.” Chidi thought for a moment. “Tu sais, j'ai appris la médecine de campagne pour toi. J'ai pris des cours le soir, pendant mon temps libre. Parce que si jamais tu étais bloqué comme ça, je voulais être sûr de pouvoir t'aider. [You know, I learned field medicine for you. I took lessons in the evenings, during my leisure time. Because if you were ever stranded like this, I wanted to make sure I could help you.]”

Vincent swallowed. “Je ne le savais pas. Je…te remercie. [I didn’t know that. I…thank you.]” His hand was stroking idly against Chidi’s, with deep affection, soothing both himself and his lover at once. He was getting into that zoned out space that he entered sometimes, when he was hurt or very sick. A space that forced his deeply defended heart to open a little.

“Ce n'était pas un problème, monsieur. Je suis content de l’avoir fait. [It was no trouble, sir. I’m glad I did.]”

“Je suis… je suis content que tu sois là. Peut-être… peut-être que je dramatise mais… [I’m…I’m glad you’re here. Maybe…maybe I’m being dramatic but…]” He went silent for a long time, so long that Chidi almost thought he was passing out. But he wasn’t. “Si je meurs, je veux qu'il soit à côté de toi. [If I die, I want it be next to you.]”

Chidi’s throat tightened. He looked away at the sunset, waves of pink and gold crashing down over jagged mountains. But it wasn’t half as beautiful as Vincent, so he looked back. “Si je meurs, je veux que ce soit pour vous, monsieur. Mais je préfère que nous vivions tous les deux. [If I die, I want it to be for you, sir. But I’d rather we both live.]”

Vincent didn’t answer for a long time, and when he did, it was in a rush, with his voice dropping quieter and quieter until Chidi could barely hear him.  “Je préfère ça aussi, ces jours-ci. Il y a quelques instants, quand on m'a tiré dessus, j'ai réalisé que… Pour une fois, je n'avais pas peur parce que j'étais seule, mais parce que je voulais continuer à vivre. Je veux être à côté de toi. [I’d rather that too, these days. A few moments ago, when I was shot, I realized that…For once, I wasn’t scared because I was alone, but because I want to keep living. I want to be next to you.]”

You will. You always will. “Je serai toujours à vos côtés, monsieur. [I will always be by your side, sir.]” Chidi wrapped himself around Vincent’s body, giving him all of his warmth, all of his presence, all of himself. For life.

[rookiesbookies]

Greek God!Captain John Price x Maiden!Reader

TL:DR - this is what happens to the sacrifices sent to Price from my if the boys were greek gods post. Just a little thought exercise for myself.

Please send requests! I love hearing from you guys! Also Masterlist is pinned on my account❤️

Each of the boys have a forest dedicated to them surrounding the small village. Each are great hunters so it made sense, Konig has the mountain that separates the village from the neighboring war people, serving as protection.

When the neighboring war people did attack, it wasn’t pretty. Often killing half the men and taking whatever women they saw fit.

However, this girl escaped. She ran from their tents, and bolted into the woods. It wasn’t long before the men chased after her. Axes in hand. Yelling. Sprinting. Laughing darkly. Taunting her.

She ran as far as she could. She could see the fir trees. The big, thick, Grand Firs that were close together like a shield. She was lucky they hadn’t gotten her past the mountain. She would have been done for.

Her knees scraped against the limbs of the trees. Sap stuck to her whole body. Her dress tore against the branches. She began to cry.

Until she saw it. The glittering alter to one of their gods. She flung herself atop it.

She breathed out a prayer.

“Dear God Price, please God of Protection, save me now. Take me as a sacrifice if you must. Please, I beg of you. Protect me or send me a savior.” She cried out against the gold bench. Her fists clenched in the thin fabric of the drape over the altar.

She could hear the shouts of the men, gasping and crying harder.

She turned over and put her head in her hands, pulling her knees close. She prayed they’d run right past her.

She felt a warm hand touch her shoulder. She opened her mouth to scream but another covered it.

“Don’t. You’ll give us away, lass.”

She wanted to cry as she watched the war people stand in front of her, peeking around. It was as if they didn’t see her or the altar.

“See, yer a bit young for what I normally take as sacrifice, but I’m sure I can put a use to ya.”

As the people walked away she sighed and mumbled, “where do the other women god?”

“Simple, really. I see if they would fit as a bride for myself. If it doesnt work out, say we aren’t compatible, I see if I can find a man in another neighboring town that would best suit them and protect them. I put an illusion on the town yer from, as it is so remote, so that if you ever saw any of the women you wouldn’t recognize them.” He cleared his throat, “not very good pickings from your village as I see it.”

“So what is to happen to me?”

“I will see if you will work as a bride, if you do not, I will find you a protector and husband to care for you for the rest of your days.”

She shot up and hugged him. She didn’t expect gods to be this benevolent, much less a son of Zeus, but she had dreamed of escaping her village for so long. The torment of the war people was too much.

“But you said I was too young-“ she started. He patted her head.

“If it works out it will be a miracle. You’re about 10 years younger than I wanted my wife to be for the rest of time, but it will do.” He sighed, “most women do not seem to get along with me, so it would be a great deal of luck needed for you to.”

He tucked a hand under her knees and one behind her back. She held onto him around his neck as he flew. He landed in a far section of the woods. There was a cottage on top of a hill, it looks very nice and large. There was a big chimney sticking up from it with soft smoke coming from it.

“Did you mean to leave the fire burning?”

“I was in a bit of a hurry when I heard your prayer.” Price gently set her down before making his way inside. “I’m going to be chopping wood to keep the fire going out back. If you need anything, I won't be hard to find.”

She spotted dishes in the sink and decided she could have some use. So, she grabbed a wash rag and began to wash the glass cups and ceramic plates. She noticed the table had four places set. She wondered why, she assumed most gods spent their time alone. Maybe a second would make sense for whatever sacrificial woman he had at that point. But four?

There was a loud knock at the door. Without hesitation, three men came strolling in.

“Hello lass, could ya point us in the direction of Price?”

She pointed softly towards the back door of the cabin, the man with the mohawk and the tanner man walked toward the door. The blonde one stood there and stared at her.

“Bit earlier for a sacrifice ‘in’it?”

She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out, so she looked down at her feet.

The man huffed and watched the back door. The two men came back in with Price, the one with the mohawk had his arm around Price’s shoulder and they were laughing.

“I hope Simon didn’t scare you too bad, love!” The one with the mohawk chirped. “I’m Soap, one of yer resident gods. And that’s Gaz.”

Gaz gave a little wave.

She would admit, she hadn’t assumed gods played poker or that they ate. However, Price did end up cooking a noodle meal with beef sauce. It had a couple vegetables like onions and peppers in it, which he had asked her to help slice. She did so with no complaints.

“I see you took to washing dishes earlier.”

“Was I not supposed to?”

“I was just a bit surprised, love, most of the women just make themselves at home on the couch or try to take me to bed to see what a god can do.”

“Oh,” she said softly. She carefully watched the knife as she cut. Price stepped away to get a spare chair from a closet, Soap and Gaz unfolded the table to reveal a hidden piece that made it longer.

Price helped teach her how to finish cooking the meal before plating for the boys and themselves. Price guided her to the seat next to his and they all ate merrily.

“Say, Captain, how do ya feel about a wee game of poker?” Soap began to deal and she gestured that she didn’t want to. “Ever played, lass?”

She shook her head.

“Watch the master then.” Soap flexed his arms with a proud smile, Simon rolled his eyes and Gaz jabbed him in the stomach, making him smack his hand pout.

The game continued and she watched all the men play, Price was showing her his card and talking her through the rules and the different hands as the game went on, using it as a way to throw Soap off. By the end of the night, Simon had won two games, Price had won three, Gaz had won two, and Soap had won one.

The boy began to head out and Simon smacked the back of Soap’s head, “so much of a winner now are ya,” and laughed to himself.

Price laughed to himself about it as well, under his breath though, he didn’t need Soap hearing him and getting upset or offended.

“How was that for a night, love?”

She giggled, finally starting to warm up to the god in front of her, “pretty fun.”

“I hope you don’t mind helping me clean up.” He said softly as she pushed a chair in and took plates to the sink. Price cleaned up the drink Gaz had accidentally knocked over on himself when Simon won.

Her cheeks began to heat up as he stood behind her, putting a plate in the sink. The were meer inches between them. “There’s spare undershirts of mine in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe up stairs. Go get some rest, I’ll take the couch.”

“I-I can’t rob you of your bed! That feels cruel!”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded profusely.

“Than I suppose I have another idea, since I refuse to make a lady take the couch.”

Part 2 is on my pinned master list

Let me know in comments or my inbox if you want a part 2! Please sent requests in my inbox!

[nynyhaha]

Thinking about the way Chrollo represents apathy and passion.

When I first saw him,he gave the impression of someone who is both very serious about his occupation and on some kind of mission,and someone who just lets things happen.

The reason he seemed so enigmatic compared to other troupe members is because we couldn’t grasp what he actually values, besides obviously the spider.This whole line of his about not caring for money,glory or fame.The fact that he sells the loot soon after stealing it.

It doesn’t make sense for a thief to be this indifferent towards the treasures he steals.And while the troupe risked their lives trying to steal from the auction,when things went wrong the loot was the last thing they considered.I always wondered what happened to all the boxes at their hideout.I hope they didn’t just leave it there??But it was never the main focus,

I think he occasionally finds something that fascinates him,just to discard it afterwards.It’s almost like he tries very hard to,excuse me, “fill the emptiness inside him”,with material possessions but is painfully aware that it’s not possible.The troupe are primarily known as thieves but it seems obtaining stuff can’t be that satisfying,at least not to Chrollo. Even if he tells everyone to “just steal” in his character song.

The scarlet eyes might’ve caught his attention at some point but again,he’s very dismissive of the whole kurta theme even when Kurapika demands some response.

So I don’t believe it’s greed that drives him.In fact,he doesn’t know what drives him.

And the reason he’s able to commit all those horrible deeds is because of his disconnection with PEOPLE. Being the leader,he’s somewhat set apart from the rest of the spiders.And there are rules that put the good of the organisation before the well-being of the members.That’s supposed to prevent members from caring as much for one another.Which is tragic.

It all only started because they all cared.

How are characters humanised in hunter x hunter? Trough forming bonds with other characters.

Killua and meruem are excellent examples.Both of them grew to care more about humans in general trough meeting a particular person.

Chrollo lost someone important and that very personal grief lead him to stop caring about human lives.Not just his own,but the ones of his fellow troupe members.

Obviously it didn’t work and they still feel very strongly for each other.The whole yorknew arc focuses on those repressed feelings of camaraderie that aren’t allowed to be experienced fully as that would interfere with the Spider.Pakunoda has to break the rules if she wants to save the life of her friend.

Chrollo can’t do that because the Spider with its rules is all he has.He’s very good at “severing ties” with things like living a save life,the authorities,possibly religion,connections with other people,seeing dead bodies as something to be respected and not as objects.He’s willing to give up everything that made him who he was,but what does he have in turn? Nothing.

The Spider needs to have a purpose but it seems that purpose is lost.Chrollo is lost,all his sacrifices lead to nothing.

He doesn’t even feel hate or anger at the world.He rarely takes things personally.

I think there was some revenge based reason for murdering the kurta clan.The troupe seem like they’d have some reason,even tho it could never be good enough.

But my thesis is that Chrollo’s biggest sin isn’t greed,pride,anger or whatever.It’s apathy.

Nothing prevents him from hurting people who have nothing to do with him,therefore he does.

He’s afraid that things will start mattering again,but at the same time we see him constantly searching for that something.He is scared of it,but he really strives to strive for something so that he can break out of this indifference he feels for everything.

So maybe Hisoka will awake some of this rage buried inside and with it make Chrollo once again seem like a very distressed human.

[kindaasrikal]

I FINISHED MY ZANE DRAWING

He was originally not gonna have pants cause i didnt find it weird since he is still a metal man, but then i realised others might take it a bit weirdly so i had to quickly add pants 😭

ANYWAYS BACKGROUND:

Zane is known to sacrifice himself for those he cares about, and it shows how deeply protective he is of his team/family. In an AU, if that protectiveness got a bit too strong…mixed a bit too much with his care…he becomes secretly obsessive. He stalks the ninja when away from him and is constantly keeping tabs on them, his relationship with them is similar to canon, but he always makes sure to know where they are and their health. None of the ninja, including Pixal and Wu, have any idea of this going on, and they never will.

He watched over the ninja (plus Pixal and Wu) in a little area in his room, and watches memories and current events they’re going through daily. His love for them all is platonic (romantic for Pixal), and as much as he is aware that watching-stalking- his family is not normal nor okay, he does it since he only ever ensures he knows what they are doing at all times, and that isn’t too bad, right?

(Wrong, its still bad, Zane just worried and cares too much to bring himself to stop)

In this AU, if his team were to find out, i feel like they’d be concerned but accepting. Like bro it’s ZANE, they trust him more than anyone. They put limits to it and rules, but other than that they let him keep doing it. In fact, this allows them to freely do the possibly stalker-ish activities they do freely.

Kai says that sometimes he tracks or follows then when he’s worried.

Nya bugged everyone’s gi with recording and tracking devices. She listens to conversations sometimes if shes suspicious (read: worried).

Jay has books on all of the ninja, and the notes are deeply personal and downright creepy.

Cole hunts down everyone one of team mates might’ve met or known, acts like he accidentally bumped into them, and slowly weeds information out of them related to them as a person and their intentions. If they’re a close friend to his teammate/s, he gets information out about their interactions of conversations.

Lloyd follows everyone. Whilst Kai probably jumps from buildings, and leaves after knowing it’s ok (most of the time), Lloyd follows on ground with a disguise. He learns the others interests and picks then up himself to bond with them, not realising that picking up the exact same comic jay just touched and hugging it whilst thinking Jay would love him if he got this and read it is kinda creepy.

Pixal bugs all of their tech, she knows every location, every conversation, and has many recordings. She never checks them though. What she does do is read their conversations through text, she likes gathering information about the ones she loves, and likes the drama that pops up sometimes.

Wu is normal, he’s like an overbearing dad who just interrogates his team with gentle words and they spill. Either that or he already knows, by guessing.

And because i need to add Morro to everything, Wu is overbearing because of not knowing everything Morro does because if he did he might’ve been able to prevent what happens.

And when Morro was younger, he used to hide behind corners and watch people, never letting them know he’s there. He never followed them, but if he’s already there and he sees you, he’s watching you in a corner until either has to leave or you do.

But thats child Morro, ghost (cursed realm) Morro pulls a Zane and watches people, so does Garmadon in the departed realm.

BUT RESURRECTED MORRO?

Yeah, he’s the only normal one. After everything he just became tame and couldn’t care anymore. He was a bit freaked out when Lloyd comes up to him two weeks later and says “you rlly like reading about horror stories, right?” Because they both have been avoiding each other and only had five normal conversations, and not a single one was casual, so how the heck did Lloyd know that.

Anyways that was fun :>

[rheasonly1]

Nightfall was the planned time to meet him. You would bang three times on the fence and he would know It was you.

6 weeks you had survived without your loyal and loving companion by your side. The sleepless nights and the empty side of the bed haunted you like a ghost. The room was much colder now and felt no where near as comfortable without the blue-eyed archer softly snoring next to you.

Oh how you missed the warmth of his body snuggled up against yours.

Everybody in Alexandria had lost hope. But there was something inside of you telling you that he was still living and breathing. Still going strong just like you knew he could.

This small spark of hope gave you the grand idea of making a trade with the sanctuary. Fairly simple yet such a big sacrifice. You decided you would switch roles with Daryl. You would become one of many of Negan’s wives, and Daryl would be granted his freedom. He’d return living in Alexandria with the group.

The plan was brilliant. You would keep it from everyone and have them think you died or got lost out on a run. They’d look for you and eventually give up hope.

Just like they did for Daryl.

You were mad towards them at how easily they gave up on him. You didn’t care how much they were struggling because they had no idea what Daryl must be going through.

And it made you more upset that Daryl wouldn’t be surprised, knowing he was used to such poor treatment.

You didn’t even want to begin to imagine how Negan was torturing him right this second.

That set you off. You’d been waiting long enough and decided to get there early. You snuck underneath one of the broken walls that hadn’t been fixed. Successfully you went unnoticed.

3 hours later you were outside the gates of the Sanctuary. The nerves crashed down on you like a ton of bricks nearly making your legs buckle underneath you, but you managed to compose yourself.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Immediately the intimidating gates opened for your entry. Hesitantly you began walking up the path leading to the main building. Soon enough two armed saviours appeared either side of you, eyeing you up and down inspecting every inch of you. Their prolonged stare made your skin feel like it was burning but gave you goosebumps at the same time.

“Leave her.” A rough voice demanded.

Simon appeared from behind a large container holding onto his belt like his life depended on it. He started to chuckle.

“Didn’t think you’d have the balls to go through with this…especially arriving extra early.” He looked around at the saviours who had suddenly appeared all around you.

“Right?”. He asked nodding at a few of them whilst still laughing.

All the saviours joined him in a Mexican wave of laughs.

“Well then! Let’s go meet the man.” He said as he started to walk to the front doors of the building.

Once again two armed saviours accompanied you, one on each side.

Simon had guided you through almost all of the sanctuary and it felt like hours until you got to the point of your arrival.

Simon banged on the door of Negan’s office.

“Come in.” A voice from the other side of the door ordered.

The door swung open and you were practically thrown into the room by both of the saviours beside you.

“Guys guys guys. No need to be so harsh! She is doing us a favour after all.” He teased as he grinned at you.

That disgusting smile sent shivers down your spine every time and he knew it. Simon pulled out the chair in front of you as the gentleman he was. “Please take a seat.” Negan offered.

It was a short conversation with Negan about the deal and it was put into action straight away. Daryl was taken from his cell and was granted his freedom, left to venture out on his own.

You were walking through the sanctuary when you froze in your spot.

You didn’t expect to see him so soon. He was battered and bruised. His frame shook as he walked, with his shoulders shrugged and his head pointed down at the floor. A hoarse sob escaped your throat and his head flew your way.

Without hesitation he ran towards you and threw his arms around you holding on for dear life. He soon let go and grabbed your hand “cmon let’s go.” He whispered. You stood your ground and refused to move. something you were dreading.

“No Daryl.” You shook your head as tears started to form in your eyes.

He stood there confused and his eyes narrowed as if he was angry. He walked back over to you and grabbed your hands caressing your knuckles softly. “You’re free. Go back to Alexandria they need you.” You whispered.

You didn’t give him time to respond as you crashed your lips on to his cupping his face in your hands knowing this could be the last time you ever saw him.

Suddenly you heard Negan’s voice not too far away. You quickly pulled away. “Daryl you need to go. Now!” Hesitantly he ran over to one of the many motorcycles firing it up and rode away hopefully back to Alexandria.

And just like that he was gone. The deal was done and you had given yourself up to Negan to do his bidding.

———————————————————————

This was requested by: @bizquake

This was hard to write only because I found it difficult to make it flow one scene into another. But other than that I really loved this idea. Its quite angsty and I’m working on being able to write angst stories better.

But Thankyou so much for this request!

[demigodsanswer]

Percabeth dance au/baby fic

Twice Upon a Pointe baby au is on the way I promise. Here's a preview! M rated for baby making

A month before their wedding, Annabeth handed Percy a detailed schedule of when she wanted to have kids. 

Kids were a must for Percy, but he didn’t care how or when they happened. They were obviously much more of a sacrifice for Annabeth, who wouldn’t be able to dance on stage for many months, functionally sacrificing nearly a year of performance time in an already short career. He told her that they could wait until she was older, start sooner, find a surrogate, or try to adopt. Anything worked for him. 

Annabeth was not as much of a go with the flow person. She had the timeline of their family mapped out. They’d get married shortly after she turned thirty, and they’d start trying a year and half later. They wanted two, maybe three kids, and she wanted at least a year of dancing in between. 

“I want to make sure I’m dancing for The Nutcracker when I’m thirty-six, since that will be my twentieth anniversary with City Ballet,” she said, pointing to this break on the schedule. “So if I’m not pregnant by November when I’m thirty-five, we need to pause.” 

Percy looked at the time line. The hard deadline for babies was when she was thirty-eight. “I want to make sure I still have a few more good years of dance too,” she said. 

“This is remarkably thorough,” Percy said. “Trust me, I’ll do my best, but these things don’t always go according to plan,” he reminded her. 

She just kissed him. “I’ve built in plenty of wiggle room.” 

~ 

When Nutcracker season ended Annabeth had an appointment to have her IUD taken out. Birth control was replaced with neonatal vitamins, and spontaneous passionate sex was replaced with obligatory every-other-day sex (something about higher sperm counts). Percy couldn’t exactly complain, though. 

They’d been married for a year and a half, and so, according to Annabeth’s plan, it was time to get moving on baby number one. 

Really, they were both bouncing off the walls excited about their next step. They avoided telling people they were trying -- “It feels weird to announce to people that we’re fucking bare back regularly,” Annabeth had said -- which added to the excitement. Even before the baby was conceived, they had a little secret between the two of them. 

But by April there was still no baby. 

They had promised each other that sex wouldn’t become a chore, that they’d find ways to keep it interesting. But it was starting to drag on them. The Spring season didn’t make it any easier. 

Chiron had put another two weeks of Sleeping Beauty on the program, but he did it at the end of Spring for maximum exhaustion. 

Percy and Annabeth stumbled into their apartment, Percy already on Uber Eats to lock down dinner and fast, both exhausted from hours of rehearsals for Beauty and then a night of performances of ballet rep. 

“That was easier five years ago,” he complained, flopping onto their bed while Annabeth shuffled into the bathroom. He picked out her favorite tacos, selected sauces on the side, and threw in some extra chips and guac before getting on with his own order selection. 

He’d almost made up his mind when Annabeth opened the bathroom door and sighed heavily.

“Terrible news,” she said. 

Percy sat up in a panic. “What? What is it? What happened?” 

“I’m ovulating. We need to have sex tonight,” she said. 

It was supposed to be an “off night,” where the sexiest thing they did together was eat take out. 

Percy flopped back onto the bed, sighing dramatically. “Oh will the horrors of this day never end!?” He cried out in mock-distress. “Come here, gorgeous,” he said, opening his arms to her. She crawled into his embrace. “Let me just place this order. I’ll have you knocked up before the food arrives.” 

Their sex was very … Catholic: relatively passionless, missionary position, all in the service of reproduction. 

Percy was still a good man and a better husband. He made sure there was enough foreplay to make sure she got off at least once, but the actual penetration was … well, fine. It did the job. Or, more like he did his job. 

Percy finished with a grunt, burying himself inside her as she moaned. He leaned down and kissed her as he pulled out. It wasn’t the most exciting sex they’d ever had -- not even close -- but he still felt the incredible intimacy of the moment. 

He kissed her again, letting his hand tangle up in her hair, as another one lingered down to her belly. 

Four months. Four months of sex every other day, in positions optimized for conception, and he still hadn’t been able to get her pregnant. She’d been pregnant once before he knew, back when she was twenty-one and with another man. Annabeth hadn’t kept it, but the sheer existence of that clump of cells in her past meant that if there was a fertility issue, it wasn’t hers. 

He kissed his way back up, planting one on each breast, then each collarbone, before finally meeting her lips. 

“What if it doesn’t happen?” He asked through the kiss. 

“It will,” she promised. “It’s only been four months. There’s nothing to worry about.” 

He nodded, although hardly comforted by her assurances.

 “Will you hate me forever if it doesn’t?” He asked.

“Hate you forever?” She asked, resting a hand on his face, forcing him to look at her. He could feel the metal of her wedding ring against the skin of his cheek. “Of course not. Percy --” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close of a hug. “Remember what you told me? That these things don’t always go according to plan. If it doesn’t happen, we figure out a new way, okay?” 

Percy nodded into her shoulder.

“And if it doesn't, we don’t know that it’s you,” she added. 

“You’ve been pregnant before,” he said. 

“Ten years ago, before birth control, before several mental health crises. A lot can change,” she said. “You wouldn’t hate me if it didn’t happen, would you?” she asked. Her tone wasn’t the same as his genuine worry. Percy could tell she was just trying to make her point: if he wouldn’t hate her, of course, she couldn’t hate him. 

Percy kissed her forehead. “Impossible. I could never. That you are willing to do this at all is such an incredible act of love, I can’t even --” his voice broke. 

Annabeth’s eyes started to well with tears too. They almost always did whenever Percy got emotional. Her empathy overwhelmed her. Unlike her, he hardly ever cried, so she knew if he was close it was … a tear traced its way out of the corner of her eyes, and Percy wiped it away, only for several more to follow. Soon her eyes were welling with tears too. Christ, they weren’t even pregnant yet, and they were both already emotional disasters. 

Annabeth pulled him down for another kiss. They let that one linger as Percy wiped the tears that had escaped the corners of her eyes and traced down to her temples. 

Their moment was disrupted by a knock at the door. “That’s the food,” Percy said, pulling himself up and off of her. She had to lay there for at least fifteen minutes to give it its best chance. 

Percy came back in with the bag and a roll of paper towels to keep the bed clean. When he stepped back into the room, he let himself take in the sight of his wife laying there, naked and gorgeous, her legs open slightly, as if waiting for him, the evidence of his recent presence inside her dripping out. 

When they’d stopped using condoms years ago, trusting just her birth control, he’d been so turned on by the sight of his cum leaking out of her it usually led to a second or third round. Now, it was almost disappointing. Come on boys, get back in there. You’ve got a job to do, he tried to communicate with his sperm. 

 Annabeth propped herself up on her forearms. “Are we really going to try and eat tacos in bed?” She asked. 

“I know you’re hungry. I’ll feed them to you and keep the bed clean,” he promised. 

“You’re the perfect man, did you know that?” She asked. 

“I do my best,” he said. He mostly ended up feeding her chips and guac until she felt like sitting up. 

“Could you get me a washcloth,” she asked, scooting herself up. Percy wet one under the bathroom sink, hoping the water wasn’t too hot or cold. 

She dropped it on her nightstand when she was done using it between her legs. “If I don’t get up and wash my hands, will you judge me?” She asked, reaching for a taco. 

“You had my entire dick in your mouth twenty minutes ago,” he reminded her. Annabeth was super hot, but seeing her naked wasn’t enough on its own to make him spontaneously hard and ready for baby making. The number of blow jobs he received had gone up in the last few months, but the number of blow jobs he got to completion had gone down to zero. He was under strict instructions to finish in one place and one place only. It was the best of places, sure, but he could do with a little variety here and there. 

“Great,” she said, chowing down without much care. 

“You know, if you get pregnant tonight, you’ll be pregnant for Sleeping Beauty,” Percy reminded her. 

“I know,” she said, a bite of food in her mouth, but still managing a smile. 

“Do you think you’d still be able to do it?” He asked. 

She nodded. “I’ll be what? Four weeks? We might not even know yet.” She took another bite. 

Percy nodded. “Doesn’t matter, though. We don’t know if that one worked,” he said. 

“One of them will,” She promised, but in her eyes he only saw a desperate look of hope. 

Logically, he knew that, if that were the case, they’d move onto another plan. But they were both so ready, and so hopeful. It needed to happen some time. And, Percy hoped, sooner than later. There was only so much more Catholic Church-approved intercourse he could keep having.

[liloinkoink]

ok. uh. Hoe does everyone meet in the dnd campaign? I havnt heard much outside of you guys arting about it

Syyrin and Ellery met first. Ellery is the only person w a longer-than-human lifespan, and he’d been wandering the world aimlessly as a traveler and lone worshipper of Myrkul for a few decades

eventually he met Syyrin. we haven’t fully fleshed out what their first meeting was, but cj was thinking they met on the road on a heavily rainy day. they’d started off formal and polite but by the end they were both drenched and covered in thick mud and felt a closeness after seeing each other at their worst and most disgraceful. they kept traveling together after that

Ellery started the Myrkul temple specifically bc he’s a few centuries old. he’s seen a lot of deaths but even with all his experience, he’s terrified of dying, and he hates losing people. he worships myrkul as a way to try and be comfortable with it and make it less daunting for people around him. myrkul worship is shunned, so eventually he starts the temple as a way to make it less hidden or shameful, in part bc spending time w Syyrin lead him to realize how little he wants to be alone

Syyrin joins him in founding the cult and does a lot of the administrative half (while Ellery handles the religious aspects)

Flint joins not too long after. he grew up alone on the streets and i’m sure has seen his fair share of death. he loses his last tie keeping him there at the same time he meets Syyrin and after a bit of shenanigans she invites him. at the end, they play a card game—Syyrin says if she wins, Flint joins. Flint, a master at cards, throws the game

Iscariot is the last actual member of the cult. a group of Cyric worshipers fake converting as an attempt to get in and take over, and Iscariot is among them. he’s been raised on violence as he only form of connection available to him his whole life, and secretly fascinated by the softer and more caring approach to death presented in the group. this culminates in him neglecting a ritual sacrifice of an anime and letting it live, breaking his paladin’s oath to cyric, losing his faith and magic entirely

Ellery is the only member of the Myrkul trio he actually properly meets before the sacrifice. Ellery finds him in the midst of his crisis of faith—Iscariot had cut open his own hand just to test his ability to heal himself and been left bleeding and afraid. Ellery bandages his wound up, the first kind touch he knows, and expresses sympathy and care. he thinks of killing Ellery as a test of his faith to Cyric, but his magic never returns. he swears a new oath to Ellery once he’s revived

Mar isn’t part of the temple at all but is brought in by Mabuz and the Cyric gang as a sacrifice. she meets Flint bc he’s also detained to sacrifice, and meets Iscariot bc he kills her. she meets Ellery bc Ellery goes looking for her after his revival and Syyrin bc she sees the three of them wandering around and helps them all escape (which is about when Iscariot also officially meets Syyrin and Flint—mess of a moment). Mar has the least history w everyone and her bonds w the others are the most fraught

the first meetings aren’t all thought out fully yet? but this is about what we’ve got

[musicalmoritz]

Ok ok I want you to think about swap terukane so like clock keeper Teru x exorcist Akane. And also like Akanes the super super popular school president. Yea so like thoughts/headcanons?? (I always cook up the most insane ideas in the middle of the night and I actually remember this one vaguely!)

Let’s talk about the Terukane swap au!! I’ve seen a few people write and draw for this but I’ve never rly read any of the fics or looked too much into it so I’m entirely making this shit up on my own, Ik this is a popular trope so I apologize if I miss any of the sub tropes that are included with it ;-;

It’s hard for me to separate Teru or Kou from exorcism since the Minamotos were a real life clan, but I don’t think I’d go about this in the “Akane is a Minamoto and Teru is an Aoi” way. I suppose for this au it’s most reasonable to say the Minamotos are a regular family and the Aois are the exorcist clan. That provides another fun question tho, are the Akane girls still kannagi?? Since this is strictly a Terukane swap au I’ll assume they are, though if we wanted to take it further we could swap Aoi with Nene or one of the other characters. It’s easier for me to follow strict guidelines tho so I’m gonna keep it at just Terukane being swapped

That alone changes so much of the story tho, it’s very interesting to me. We’ll say the Minamotos are still a strict/traditional family, so there’s still some pressure on Teru and Kou. Just not to the extent that there is in canon. And assuming their mom still died in due to complications from childbirth, their dad would still be absent and Teru and Kou will still have to grow up too soon by raising Tiara. But things would be significantly easier on them since they’d be taking care of the family together. Teru would learn basic life skills like cooking, which would take a load off of Kou. Then since the work would be split, they’d both have more free time on their hands. If one of them wants to hang out with friends, the other can take over cooking and cleaning for the night. Tho that would lead to numerous sibling arguments, since Teru is the oldest he’d probably push Kou around a bit when they’re younger lol. He’d run that house like the military

I want to say Kou is the one the Clock Keepers threaten him with since Teru is so protective of him, but that wouldn’t rly work since they wouldn’t be at school together during Teru’s first year of junior high. As an oldest sibling, Teru is very protective by nature, so they might be able to choose any random student. Once they have him where they want him, they throw in some threats aimed at his siblings to secure their chances of making a contract. So Teru ends up going down the same self-sacrificial route we see in canon, he becomes a Clock Keeper so that no one else has to do it

Without any siblings, Akane is the soul beholder of the family legacy. Self-sacrifice isn’t even an option for him, he’s the only one who can succeed his parents so he must do it. Then there’s Aoi, his childhood best friend. If Akane were an exorcist and they grew up together, Aoi would find out about supernaturals way sooner. Maybe he tells her himself, because he can no longer carry the burden alone. And he knows she’s a kannagi, that something bad could happen to her someday if he doesn’t keep a close eye on her, so he has to watch her like a hawk. In this au there’s not as many secrets between them, so much is at stake so they have to be transparent with each other. Akane’s honesty inspires Aoi to be more honest with him as well. So the obsession between them, platonic or otherwise, is a lot more mutual. They developed sort of a trauma bond at an early age and now they have to look out for each other

Akane’s popularity comes from his natural inclination to help others. He’s such a kind person, even if he can be aggressive. And without him having to constantly chase Aoi, no one thinks he’s a weirdo. It’s a little odd that he’s so protective of his friend, but he’s so damn nice that everyone just shrugs it off as him being sweet. Teru though? Teru is the weirdo

His family is still strict but without the same expectations placed on him, there’s no need for him to try and excel at everything. No one cares if he’s the best student so he can do whatever he wants. And yeah, he’s pretty, but he’s also loud and annoying. He teases people and gets creepily sadistic at times. This ties into my audhd Minamotos headcanon, without the pressure he’s under in canon, Teru feels less of a need to mask. He still does it to some extent due to societal pressure and all but the only opinion he really cares about are those of his siblings, so he’s content to be himself. He makes a few friends this way too, he’s not exactly popular but the people who get him get him. I’m gonna make him friends with Nene in this au, she appreciates his realness

Because of Akane’s hatred for supernaturals, they don’t get along at first. Teru joins the Student Council to keep a better eye on everyone so he can do better at his job as a Clock Keeper. Kou attending Kamome and getting closer with supernaturals has a lot to do with it. When they first meet, Akane ties Teru up and tries to interrogate him but bcuz this is Less Traumatized Teru it goes way differently than he planned. Teru’s filter is nonexistent so when Akane tries to threaten him he’s just like “oh hello cute boy I like you very much.” But the thing is, Akane can’t tell if Teru is joking or not. He assumes he must be, because there’s no way a School Mystery feels things like love and crushes. Still, Teru is so painfully Just A Regular Dude that Akane is forced to see him differently. Cue the typical Terukane “relationship built on trust” shenanigans. Reluctant partners in crime and what not

I’m not gonna go as far as to say they have a Sakura and Natsuhiko type dynamic but it’s similar. The classic “are you flirting with me?” “have been for the past 10 years, thanks for noticing” meme. Think of it as all of Teru’s jokes about liking Aoi in canon if they were directly aimed at Akane instead. Then the “wait- do you have genuine feelings for Ao-chan?” scene becomes “do you have genuine feelings for me?” or “were you serious this whole time?” Their dynamic changes a lot after that. Akane starts flirting back, and instead of using Aoi to motivate Teru he uses himself. “Help me save her and I might take you up on that offer for a date.” And then they do go on a date, at the school festival right before everything turns to shit

Adding to that, in this au I imagine Aoi and Akane are the ones betrothed in the new timeline. This brings in conflict bcuz let’s say Akane used to have feelings for Aoi but those faded over time, it’s all platonic between them now as opposed to what we see in canon. So he has the opportunity to either be with the girl he used to love, the girl he’s been with all his life, his safety blanket…or go back to the boy who’s stolen his heart. Damn that was cheesy, I’m cooking here

Kako also becomes Teru’s father figure btw bcuz he needs one. And despite his dislike for supernaturals, Teru adores Mirai bcuz she reminds him of Tiara. Found family ftw

Thanks for the ask, I hadn’t thought much abt this au before but now I’ve gotten myself invested

[beezonia]

okay since me and nina were talking about crazy ex girlfriend and the song “it was a shit show”

my brain has non stop been thinking about how well it goes with Nathalie and her relationship with the Agreste’s

so take this and do what you like with it and hey @ninadove thank you for kicking the brain worms in my head

——

I love you yes, and I confess, the thought of staying is so enticing

She has to go, before things with them get worse.

But it’s hard Nathalie has been with the Agreste’s for most of her life. To leave would be potentially the worse thing she’s done!

They’d been her confidant’s her shoulders to lean on, until they weren’t.

Until they hurt her and broke her. Emilie and Gabriel taunted her with the power she could never have, with the love she’d never have.

They never did love her the way she’d loved them. God why would they, what did Nathalie had they made her so special in their eyes?

It was then Nathalie knew she had to go. Before it was to late.

Before her poor heart shattered into so many pieces. She’d never recover, Nathalie would be theirs to mould and shape into whatever they wanted her to be.

A puppet.

I can’t believe what I’m sacrificing

She thinks of Adrien and how he struggles to live up to what they expect of him, the legacies he’s surrounded by.

If she leaves now what would he do but sacrifice himself like a lamb. Afraid to let those closest to him down.

God Nathalie can’t leave, she can’t watch him curl into a shell and hide.

He’s a teenager Adrien should be living his life not running away from it!

She’d be sacrificing they boy’s happiness, if Nathalie quit, took everything she had and what they owed her. She’d be leading Adrien like a lamb to slaughter (they’d take their anger out on him and Nathalie couldn’t dare have that happen)

We can’t undo, can’t make amends.

“Oh? Did you think we cared enough to take you with us?”

It’s a sneer, a memory Nathalie doesn’t want to remember. They’d laughed and laughed in her face until she’d been sure of the tears pooling in her eyes.

“Remember your place, Sancoeur.”

Nathalie had all but dragged her feet towards the door, storming off in a flurry of anger and embarrassment.

The woman should have known then that everything she’d done, the person she’d become was just not her.

No, she was a shell of the woman she had been in her prime. Bold and free, now Nathalie was cold and frigid.

They couldn’t make amends and she has no clue why she didn’t notice it till it was right in front of her.

Dysfunction is our lingua franca

Emilie depended on her to much, Gabriel depended on her to little. They both push and pulled like Nathalie was some sort of rag doll.

It hurt her heart that they’d never care for her like they did each other.

Emilie wanted more of Nathalie, Gabriel wanted less but the desire in his eyes said otherwise.

It was dizzying, Nathalie could never think straight when she was with them. It was dark and choppy, like rouge waters in the sea.

She never knew what was coming, if it was bad or good. Would they praise her with sweet words or would they spill poison from painted lips.

Life is short and we’re not getting any younger

When Nathalie thinks back on it, she’s wasted the better half of her life waiting for them to finally adore her.

But of course, that adoration only goes to Emilie, that passionate fire burns the brightest for her.

For each other.

No way in hell would they add another mixture into that equation. It’d cause chaos, unbalance in their lives.

But she’s getting older and Nathalie might as well just live as a hermit. Closed off from the world and the harshness of heartache.

Yeah. That’s exactly what she’d do.

That’s exactly when I should split though.

Nathalie packs her bags one clear night, better to leave without a trace then cause a scene.

Heart thumping in it’s cage, this was a whole new chapter. Leaving the place she’d called home and finding a new place.

A new life, a better no dysfunction life.

She was free! Or she’d hoped to be.

“You’re leaving us?!”

No response.

“Now you’re going to ignore us?!”

Again, no response.

“Don’t go, you can’t!”

It’s Emilie pleading for her to stay, but Nathalie ignores her big puppy dog eyes. She’s gotten over them.

“I can. Thank you for giving me this job, I’ll see myself out.”

I won’t forget, I won’t regret. This beautiful, heart-stopping, breathtaking, life changing….

——-

I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCHHHHH I AM CRYING

[ilikekidsshows]

It's wild how people said Adrienette is couple goals or best couple because if it's happened IRL people would shouted 'stay away from that toxic bitch' but then I remembered one of my friends told me she likes joker and Harley and wish she has relationship like them and my brain goes brrr instantly 🥶

---

I actually kinda get the idea of codependent relationships being a fantasy, but the way people fantasize about them can only ever be a fantasy. The idea of there being a person who’s so perfect for you that they fulfill your every want and need is the entire reason why soulmates are such a popular concept. The same thing applies to the fantasy that you, as you are now, are perfect for someone in a way that requires you to do no work to accommodate another person and their needs because you’re already perfect.

This perfect match being a romantic partner is enforced by the amatonormative standards of current society. Many cultures lead to people being raised to put completely unreasonable demands on romance and their future partner. To these kinds of people, the lovesquare really is a dream come true, a relationship where you fit each other so perfectly that you never have to actually do anything to gain, maintain and keep said relationship.

Of course, when we look at the actual situation in Miraculous, this fantasy is only being fulfilled on Marinette’s part in the relationship. She can make whatever demands she wants and have them be met, she can have all her needs catered to and she doesn’t need to change one iota, and if she changes for the worse, well, her partner will just accept her and her treatment of him anyway because they’re so perfect for each other. But, the thing is, Marinette getting all of this out of the relationship, getting to make all the demands while having to deal with none from her partner, is only made possible through the further risking and damaging of Adrien’s mental and emotional well-being. Adrien has to be hurt so that Marinette can avoid being hurt, or even mildly inconvenienced if we’re being honest.

But even that is romantic to the people who glorify these types of relationships. The idea that someone loves you so much that they’d actively compromise their own well-being and health for you is very romantic when you just consider yourself a passive recipient of care and that the fantasy doesn’t have consequences. But, in reality, what human being has so much mental fortitude that they’d be able to make all the sacrifices for their partner while never getting any consideration back or even a break because said partner is so dependent? And, when this fortitude inevitably breaks, what do you think the supposed soulmate of this perfect, self-sacrificing partner will do once their significant other has given all they can, when his mental health cracks from the pressure of maintaining hers? She’ll do whatever she can to avoid having to give that care back, like gaslighting him into thinking that his problems don't actually exist.

This thing about fantasizing about unhealthy, toxic or even abusive relationships is that it always comes without the consequences such a thing would actually have in real life. The people glorifying the lovesquare fully expect Adrien to always be okay enough to put Marinette's needs first, even if he isn't fully okay, because him not being fully okay and still making sacrifices for her is romantic to them, and the fantasy includes that this state can just be maintained into perpetuity. It’s the same thing with seeing Harley and the Joker as a good couple. He literally beats her, but he’s also so obsessed with her that he’d hunt her down if she left him or kill for her. The people who think this relationship is #couple goals are only seeing the obsession, but think that kind of obsession can come without the negative consequences of it, the mistreatment.

[sepublic]

Homesick!

I just gotta say I love the pun of this episode’s title; I thought Homesick would allude to it being about Luz missing home, but it was actually a joke on Hooty being sick!

That said, we DID get what would’ve been our first look at Manny, as well as an early version of Camila lore! Turns out she was going to be a nurse, but in the end I think I like veterinarian better. Still, I remember discussing healing back during S1A as a potential track for Luz because of this, so to see that theme be apparent with both parents was cool!

Manny’s face being shrouded also seems to indicate that the dramatic reveal behind him -the illness- was always planned, at least since the pilots. Luz said he drove an ambulance, past tense, which seems like some dark irony given he probably needed one at one point. Remember how some of us theorized after Reaching Out that the Abomaton alarm reminded Luz of an ambulance siren related to her father? Man… On the plus side! We can guess Camila and Manny met through their professions, so we could try applying that to canon as well! Compassion is such a Noceda trait I love it.

Likewise, I appreciate how these two leaked storyboards have Luz and Eda covering for each other! One sticks their neck out because something means a lot for the other, but the other decides it’s not so important they’d sacrifice the one for it… With this episode, Eda doesn’t want Luz to look like a dunce but Luz is honest and can’t bear to see her mentor be mocked either, and is trying to take responsibility for what she feels is HER mistake too! It’s really sweet seeing Eda inadvertently teach Luz the Healing glyph.

Speaking of, it seems we would’ve gotten individual glyphs for all spells, as the fandom once assumed! I guess the show did glyph combos to explain why Luz doesn’t immediately find everything, as well as create a sort of fun system behind Luz having to mix and match things. And we even got to see what we always wanted; Luz making an ENORMOUS glyph around her enemy! Goes to show my speculation that since glyphs rely on the magic around them, they aren’t physically taxing; Something we see brought up with Eda’s own magic.

Caduceia reminded me of an early Hermonculus, being a teacher who didn’t really care much for the actual students and even seemed to enjoy mocking them! She looks like Raine, so much that I wonder if the design was repurposed for them because it was such a nice one! I dig the play on Caduceus, with Snakeslie as a palisman! Snakeslie looks so much like a worm on a string. Given Luz and Caduceia are both healers, it’s neat they have a snake in common, though Caduceia’s seems to allude to her being a snake (liar); Her palisman’s name is literally Snakeslie. Snakes lie. Glad to see Stringbean with the positive rep!

I also love the gag of King calling himself the King of whatever’s convenient, and it was really cute seeing him want to prove his own worth! Because two witches, it’d be easy to feel like he has nothing to offer, which is part of Sense and Insensivity in canon! There’s parallels between the A and B-plots, with Luz and King feeling ineffectual and their owl friend supporting them, only to be helped as well! Eda and Owlbert are linked and hell so are the demon hunters and Caduceia!

The House Demon lore was neat, even if it was stuff we already figured out with canon; House Demons being like hermit crabs, and also rare! Seeing healing magic be used to make someone sick and even control their mucus/phlegm was disgusting yet fascinating! And I was delighted to see the demon hunters again, they’re underrated side characters imo and we even got a crew nickname for another one of them!

I also like the bit of the moral here; That sometimes, it’s not that a student is bad or isn’t trying, sometimes the teacher is failing them. Maybe some people think this generation is raised too soft and coddled, but I think it’s an important reassurance for a lot of kids who struggle and blame themselves for it; I’ve taken teaching classes before, and we were taught to be vigilant with ourselves as potentially inadequate for students. It’s the onus of the teacher to adapt to a kid’s needs after all, and actually care!!!

What an unexpected delight! I never imagined the crew made storyboards for additional episodes and not just the pilot! This one has no voice alas, but it’s better than nothing and I feel storyboards have such a nice charm to themselves as well! I really thought the pilot would be my last episode review, but I keep getting pleasantly surprised and gifted by this show…!

[gx-gameon]

When it's time to go to the Dark World to rescue Jesse, do any of the DM crew join the GX kids or no?

This is my Great War. Every day I think about this idea.

Because there are three options here.

1) They stay behind

The portal closes before they can get there. And they are forced to wait.

Now as I wrote here Seto does still have the dimension pod that he used to go to the afterlife and duel Atem. However they were using them to try and track down Jesse. If they get left behind they won’t stay there for long. But I don’t know if they would try and lock on to Jaden or Jesse.

If they decide to go after Jesse they are going to run into possessed Jesse. Leading to a duel with Yubel. I don’t think Yubel would win but I also don’t think they’d lose. I think they’d find a way to end the duel in a draw through outside forces. And then send anything they could to keep the DM crew occupied.

Or

They track Jaden which has the same outcome as option two

2) They get there just as the portal opens and get sucked in

Now much like Zane, Aster, and Crowler they end up some place different then the Gx kids.

They don’t catch up to Jaden until he’s already the Supreme King. And oh we have so many options from here

This is Jaden at arguably his most powerful. He has super poly and is not holding back. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything right now and that makes him dangerous.

Add into this that the DM crew as are looking at their son/nephew who they raised as a little family unit. He’s lost to them right now and they are trying everything to snap him out of it.

How many DM characters do you think the Supreme King can beat?

Note they might be ‘going all out’ but they would never risk killing Jaden. Joey is definitely dueling the same way he did against Mai in the Oricalcos arc. Focused more on snapping Jaden out of it than wining. But as we know from Axel winning is the only way to defeat the Supreme King.

Yugi is absolutely trying to make the appeal to his son. “This isn’t you. I love you. Come back to me.” We could make this so heart wrenching.

Note they would probably met up with Axel right after Jim was lost. Axel tells them the horrible truth. This is because I still want to give the final duel against the Supreme King to Axel as it is a great moment for his character.

Plus after it’s all over Jaden has to live with not only ‘killing’ his friends (again not your fault) but also hurting and maybe killing some of his family.

3) They join the Gx crew for the whole journey.

Jaden still tries to rush ahead but the DM crew are not only experienced Jaden wranglers but also experience desperate protagonist wranglers. It’s your time to shine Aunt Téa and Dad Yugi.

They are able to keep a better eye on the kids so they don’t get captured. Meaning there has to be another way to sacrifice people.

We have some options

A) the Gx crew still gets put under the spell

they start talking crap about Jaden which greatly disturbs the DM crew for a lot of reasons.

Then they reach Brron the man traps separates the two groups all the Gx crew into duels (like a five on 1 tag duel?) but they all lose except Jaden because of their sadness/rage.

Leaving Jaden friendless and feeling like he couldn’t protect them. 

Jaden feels like a failure and maybe he gets tricked into thinking his family is dead and that’s what makes him fall.

B) it’s the DM crew Brron targets for his spell. They don’t have the negative feelings towards Jaden but each other.

Hear me out.

The whole situation has been stressful and a lot of them (Joey and Tristian) are upset with Seto’s school that keeps putting Jaden and friends in danger.

Téa and Yugi as super sad about Jaden’s lose of normalcy and also the way some of his friends behave.

Seto’s pride is as large as ever.

It’s not that they don’t love each other, they do but it’s stress and the situation and complex feelings. They’re not blaming each other but the situation and the spell brings out those negative emotions.

This ends with them getting sacrificed

Jaden has to watch as he loses his family and he loses it.

This also allows the Gx crew to be more active in the plot and maybe have some bonding with the remaining DM crew as only four are sacrificed.

Again this is my Great War. I have no idea which idea to go with.

[starsonthewalls]

(never) a question of trust | Batman

"Do you trust me?" Always, Jason doesn’t say. I never stopped, Jason doesn’t say. I want to, but I’m scared and I don’t know how even you can fix this, Jason doesn’t say.

Part of my Writing Wheel Challenge; this was a fill for Whumptober 2021 Day 4: Trust Fall that I... haven't really touched since, until today.

Tags: Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Self-Sacrifice, Stab Wound, So Much Medical Inaccuracy (for maximum angst), Ambiguous Ending

- • - • -

Bats were notorious for planning. They did their best to cover every eventuality, to make contingencies for every situation gone awry. A Bat-led operation was an operational thing of beauty, with layers upon layers of back-up plans with their own back-up plans. While no plan survives first contact with the enemy, or so the saying went, the Bats’ collective skill and talent for strategy and tactics meant that more often than not, even when things went wrong, they were ready for it. 

But there were always exceptions. It was just Jason’s luck the latest exception fell on his latest op. 

He’d been so careful too, and so uncharacteristically cooperative– or so he’d thought, at least. And look at what his latest attempt at working with the Bats had gotten him: a brand-new stab wound in his side, a concussion, several other minor wounds, and backup scattered across the city chasing after red herrings. 

The next time Dick or Tim ran after him babbling about teamwork and trust and other stupid things, Jason was going to stab them and see how they liked it. 

“Please don’t make plans to stab your brothers in front of me.” 

Oh and of course, the cherry on top of the cake– 

(Wait. That felt like the wrong metaphor…) 

“Do you mean cherry on top of the sundae, or icing on the cake?” 

Both? Both were good. Or either. 

Batman snorted– because that was the icing on top of this particular cake of catastrophes, that of all the Bats that could have come to his aid like he’d planned, the only one who actually managed to make it was Bruce. 

Bruce, who tensed and ducked moments before a barrage of bullets flew through the space they’d been just moments before. Jason was grateful not to be a pincushion, don’t get him wrong– it was just hard to express that gratitude when his side lit on fire and it hurthurthurt–

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry chum, just give me a moment.” 

Jason’s pretty sure he blacked out for a few moments, because the next thing he knew, Bruce was laying him against a cold, hard surface and pressing against his gut. Jason writhed, clenching his jaw to avoid screaming, because ouch–

It felt like an eternity of pain, each second stretching into infinity, though Jason knew it was probably a lot shorter than that. But eventually, Bruce leaned back on his haunches, a terrible look in his eyes. Jason took one look at his eyes and knew. 

He chuckled wetly. “That bad, huh, old man? Time to cut your losses.” 

“Jason–”

“No, look,” Jason swallowed. “I– we had– have– our differences, but the others still need you. So you need to get out of here, B.” 

“Jason–” 

“I know what a fatal wound feels like, B,” Jason snapped, a little sharper. His heart was racing a little faster already, and he hatedhatedhated it, because things had just started to get good. Sure, he and B still weren’t on the best of terms, but he’d mended bridges with Tim and Dick, and he had bonding-sparring sessions with Damian, and Babs let him join her and the girls for movie nights in the Clocktower, and he had tea-time with Alfred every Thursday. 

It sucked, because he’d just started to be happy again. 

“Jason!” 

“What?!” 

It was kind of funny, Jason thought hysterically, how even while whispering and avoiding detection they somehow managed to end up (whisper) screaming at each other. Kind of went to show how good his chances were of ever getting back on good terms with B–

"Do you trust me?"

Everything stops. 

It’s a loaded question. There’s a million scenes flashing behind Jason’s eyes, from Befores and Afters: the Pit, the Tower, Bruce’s Death, Jason’s reconciliation with the family, all of them stretching out before him and flashing out within the space of a second and–

Always, Jason doesn’t say. I never stopped, Jason doesn’t say. I want to, but I’m scared and I don’t know how even you can fix this, Jason doesn’t say.

“I thought we weren’t asking stupid questions,” he says instead, voice hoarse. There’s the slightest twitch in the corner of Batman’s- no, Bruce’s- lips as he completely breaks character, shoulder slumping ever-so-slightly as he runs a hand over Jason’s hair. Jason’s breath catches in his throat- both from the tenderness and vulnerability in Bruce’s eyes and the pulsing of the gunshot wound in his side.

“You’ll be alright, son,” Bruce says softly, clipping a small emergency beacon to Jason’s vest.And then he stands, and Jason watches, speechless with horror as the Batman- the world’s greatest detective, one of the best strategists and fighters alive, his father- walks outside the room and deliberately yells for attention before leading their pursuers away. - • - • -

A/N: You know that scene in Kung Fu Panda 2 where Po's mom leaves him in the turnip box and then leads the wolves away. That's this scene :DDDD

[marvelsfavoriteuncle]

You Were Gone… \ Marvel AU

Pairing: Jason x Lizzie

——

This could be read as the prelude to this one aka the night before…But it’s mainly a standalone fic

Summary: Every couple got history beneath their feet and complexity underneath the surface, but all that matters is how much of a connection they have between them.

Characters mentioned: Tony, Howard, Maria and Peggy

Note: Angst with a bit of fluff

———

“You don’t get to come here and act like everything is fine, Elizabeth!”

“I know that, Jason! I’m not blind here!”

“No, no, don’t. Don’t smart your way out of this one.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh no, you know exactly what that means.” Jason retorted with a stern look.

Elizabeth crossed her arms, “Enlighten me.”

“You love to criticize me and stop me from talking due to your quips or remarks.”

“You’re being ridiculous. I have done nothing but support and love you!”

“I never said you didn’t.”

“So what is this about?”

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose as his eyes watered. He took a deep breath before saying, “That you were gone.”

“JJ..” Elizabeth murmured.

“I spent every single minute of my life trying to repair the broken heart that was left.”

“You know that mission was more than enough for me to do. I took the opportunity and I ran with it!”

“I know! And I couldn’t be more proud of you for taking a leap forward for a mission…but you didn’t make it back home. Howard and I spent weeks searching for you. Weeks.”

“Jason, I know you told me all of this before.”

“No, Elizabeth. I didn’t tell you the sacrifice I made after that.”

She furrow her eyebrows slightly, a slight glare as she gestures for him to continue.

“After you gone…I had to pick up the pieces and try to keep them moving.” He admits with a sighed, a tightness in his chest. “Do you know how hard it was to tell Tony that his aunt—the woman he loved just as much as his mother—that she wasn’t coming home?”

Elizabeth’s light glares softened.

“I did my best to cooked, to cleaned, I kept him from drinking and helped made sure he didn’t go hungry…” Jason continued. “Maria was quiet…Howard turned to drinking…and Peggy was just plain hurt..you were gone for good in our lives..I didn’t have no choice, but to sacrifice myself to save the decency of our family.”

She stood silently taking in the newfound information and she mumbled, “I have no idea—no doubt about what you did while I was gone…but, JJ, you know you didn’t have to do that, right?”

“I know…but I did it. Because when I married you, even before that, when we were building our found family…there was a silent promise to care and be there for each other..you know that.”

“I remember…I know that very well. But you don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do here, I made a choice to do that myself. And I don’t expect you to go off and act like a fool whenever you want.”

“Actually, I think I earned to act like an idiot now, every once in awhile..”

“Jason.”

——

That was an unspoken tension between them. Words that flow through the heart of their own language built around them. Years they spent having a routine where she worked passionately and he stayed home half of the time, because of the decision to raise their kid, to the fights and disputes that could go on for hours. Or only mere minutes, before they’d moved onto the next topic of conversation. The times where they worked late hours until the end of the day at the office, sharing their thoughts and stories in the evening as if they’d been asleep all week long.

It was a pleasure to be able to speak to each other every time, even see one another without even knowing what they were heading through.

They were a couple of a different time.

A pair of folks didn’t belong in the same place.

Yet there was this particular pattern they fell into. An explanation neither of them considered to be placed into, yet they set themselves in this position.

The only reason the discussion started was due to Elizabeth’s constant need for control over everything and Jason lack of being boxed into a single narrative. So he been going flying lately and she supported him on it, as she decided to stay home and work on her own projects in the meantime. Yet, it’s gotten out of hand as they started nitpicking things about the other side of the story.

How things used to be back, then versus how they are now. How one is coming home late and other is working late. How their rhythm wasn’t working anymore—well, it wasn’t the same as it was before, let’s put it that way.

Eventually they started bringing out each other’s dirty laundry. Insults, insecurities and even inconveniences.

Calling each other ridiculous for certain things. Particularly, shouting over each other like a staged performance.

It was a mess at the moment but their love wasn’t.

Their love wasn’t a mistake or a fact—it was designed by the stars.

The only bad thing about their relationship was the tragedy of it. How time decided to be ripped away from their grasp by the forces they couldn’t control or even comprehend themselves.

Time was the tragedy for the relationship between two of them.

She was the woman out of time and he was the man frozen in time.

It was complexed but it was their taste of reality and romance set into motion.

——

A beat of silence ran over the entire floor.

“What? You wanna tell me I’m wrong? Huh?” Jason said with a hint of sarcasm and challenged in his tone. “No. Go ahead, Liz. Tell me I’m wrong.”

She was quick on her heels, her finger wagging as her eyes darted in his direction. “You are wrong.” Elizabeth remarked fiercely.

“I knew it. Because I’m always the idiot here in this conversation, aren’t I?”

“I never once said that. You’re one of the smartest, most caring and patient guys I ever met. It’s one of the reason why stuck around.”

“…oh. Then where am I wrong then?”

“The flying part. JJ, darling, I love you so very much but I can’t afford you making stupid decisions like flying around in a plane and accidentally getting hurt. I don’t want that for you.”

“You don’t realize I’m licensed to fly, right?”

She nods knowingly at his statement. She then asked, “Then why do it? Why do you think you earned to be an idiot?”

“The same reason, you believe you earned to be a, and I say this affectionately, a bit of an idiot in the lab.” He replied carefully.

“To have a sense of freedom and peace from the stuff weighing us down…”

“You know that tinkering in our own ways, if it’s a plane or an invention, lets us forget about it all…”

Jason once again spoke hating how he’s going to repeat the phrase again.

“Doll, you were gone for so long and I missed out on taking care of us.” He admitted gently, his thumb resting against her chin. “So everything I’ve been doing lately has to cope with this situation.”

Elizabeth knew what he meant as she sighed.

“And it hasn’t been easy for either of us.” She admitted sincerely as her voice was more gentle than usual. “As much as I want to admit we’re doing amazing…it’s been a world wind and I missed us being together.”

“We still are..we always will be.” He added.

She joked, “And we aren’t ones to do therapy, let alone couples therapy.”

That caused the two of them to finally crack a deal loaded with soft laughter. It was truly a marvel that with their history and experience, they hadn’t done therapy.

——

Elizabeth has had a lot on her mind during their conversation—well the argument that mellowed down—what do they love about each other? Is this situation permanent? Are they destined to become a romantic tragedy?

Then she had to ask.

“What are we? Some old couple of folks who aren’t meant for this?” She wondered sitting in her chair, her nails tattered against the table.

He furrows his eyebrows as he responds, “Wh-what do you mean?”

“I can’t believe I’m going ask this…but is our story just as old and over as us? I don’t want it to end..in my heart and my head, it never will.”

“Oh honey…”

“I’m usually more confident than this. Jason, I love this…us, I don’t want us to lose our minds here..our story…”

Jason took that moment to kneel down, he squatted in a position for he can stare into her beauty. The same beauty he saw all those years ago. She took his hand and squeezed it, pressing a soft kiss against his knuckles. Every time she looked at him, he got more handsome. The exact same face she did a double take back for during the war.

If was up to Elizabeth, she would stop this nonsense and take him down right now. No questions asked.

He smiled lightly, his next words coming out completely clear from his heart hushing her worries.

“Listen to me, I love us too, just as much as you. And our great love story, I know it may not feel like it right now, but baby, I promise you, it’s just getting started.” He said softly.

Before her brain can even comprehend what she did, she leaned down pressing a soft kiss against his lips and gently lifted his chin against her fingertips. He appeared stunned by the fact her lips touched his, not expecting her to move forward, but he welcomed her warmth nonetheless. She wasn’t the greatest with words but her kiss said it all.

The wonder, desire and connection between them.

They’ll be a fine line.

The two were just gonna be alright.

~~~

~~~~~

I wrote this on a whim 🤷🏻‍♀️ it’s kinda all over the place but I think it turned out well

Let me know what you think

Tags: @ask-starrk @missstrawbs2001 1 @purpleprincessonfyre @wizzzardofoz z @thechoooooosenone @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh h h @marvelsfavoriteuncle @elzabeth-stark @sci-fi-lexcon n @jackiequick @blueboirick @gcthvile @aidanxsophxoxo @meiramel l @trulysummersprivate