#WHICH IS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO ME

[louisferrignojr]

i started thinking about 8x06 and i got mad again. I'm literally never not going to be mad about that fuckery. god help me from the restaurant scene with the “yOu'Re AlLOwEd tO LoOK” bullshit, Buck being flustered because a woman is flirting with him SINCE WHEN??? at worst he would have flirted back (accidentally or on purpose), at best he would have said no can do, I'm celebrating my 6 month anniversary with my boyfriend here. “I don't know what the Kinsey scale is” HE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY THAT or the fact that he doesn't know his boyfriend is gay!!! after 6 months!!! and the worst is they wrote this scene only as a set up for Tommy to talk about his past of dating women for the Dramatic Reveal

which sucks even worse because the fact is that Tommy's ex fiance could've been literally any random woman from the greater LA county area and it would have made so much more sense without retconning Abby's and Tommy's canon from s1 & s2!!!!! her boyfriend broke up with her because he was an asswipe who couldn't handle that she was caring for her sick mother, not because he was gay!!!! Tommy sat at a bar with his colleagues and said he doesn't date because women can't handle his job because he was gay and closeted, not fucking engaged!!!!!

you want Buck freaking out because his boyfriend hurt people because he was living a lie, fine. you want to put him in a room with Josh and have him wax poetic about glee, fine. both of these things could happen without the mutual ex connection. literally bringing some nonsense fanon theory into your show... for what, exactly? we know you didn't plan it that way since the beginning, so it doesn't make you look smart. we know you stole the idea from the fandom, so it doesn't make you look good. it served no purpose and ruined already established satisfying canon facts. was it to have Maddie make a homophobic joke about a woman she never even met turning men gay? after her brother had explicitly told her he still likes women? you wanted that biphobic joke in there? congrats, you ruined Maddie's character too in this scene. well done.

fuckass tim minear when i catch you....

[letsbangts]

umbrella || jjk

⤷ summary: when rain pours more into your life instead of washing things away

⟶ pairing: jungkook x reader

⟶ word count: 2k+

⟶ genre: fluff, strangers to lovers, established relationship

⟶ content: boyfriend!jk, college au, kook is a flirty tease, mainly just a fluffy couple in love with a barely there argument because of a protective jk

⟶ warnings: explicit language

a/n: so this is a very old piece I polished up a bit. it was inspired by a narration in a scene from the drama ‘goblin’, so that tells you how old it is haha. hope you enjoy & let me know what you think!

☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎

on this rainy night, what is your umbrella?

I stood under the awning outside the building, which I was supposed to be far from as of 2 o’clock. My other classmates were long gone, having made their way off campus through the rain by running to their cars with the protection of a coat or umbrella. None of the things I have because I continue not to be an adult and watch the news, missing the weather report that everyone else was aware of. Watching the heavy raindrops smack against the pavement, I contemplate how I’m getting home.

Should I make a run for it? A run for 30 minutes? Yeah, that’s not happening. I could call a taxi. But I’m not going to pay for that so no.

“Fuck, I’m such an idiot,” I say quietly to myself, or so I thought.

“Jeez, that’s a little harsh don’t you think.” a beautiful deep voice says.

Startled I turn my head quickly to be met with what I could have sworn was a literal angel in disguise as a twenty-something-year-old boy. The tall boy looks away from the rain and towards me. He gives me a quick look over and sees my empty hands and smiles.

“Ah! You don’t have an umbrella. You didn’t watch the news?” he asks. I shake my head to answer him.

He smirks and nods his head while looking back out at the downpour.

“Maybe you are an idiot.” He says all too casually while shrugging, clearly teasing me.

“Hey!” I scoff out with a laugh, finally speaking.

“I mean, today is one of the worst days we are supposed to get this year! How can you not have an umbrella or at least a hood?” He laughs out loud, gesturing his hand at me from head to toe.

His laugh and my current predicament both cause me to join in. Once we both settle down the dark-haired boy looks at me with round eyes still slightly crinkled from laughter although nothing but kindness is present in them.

“How far do you live from here?” he asks with a melodic voice and an endearing head tilt to match it.

Upon first look, he may seem like someone with an edge to them; dark-coloured clothes, piercings and some tattoos. But it is ever present that there is an apparent softness to him, one that accompanied by his calm demeanour is pouring a level of comfort over me that I can not explain.

“30 minutes that way,” I point out the way to my home, “Pretty close to Bam's House Cafe.”

“Hmm, I’m headed the same way, so it looks like you're a lucky idiot.” He says shooting me a wink while opening his umbrella held in his tattooed hand.

“Gee thanks, but I’d feel more lucky if you’d stop rubbing my idiocy in my face.” I chuckle.

“I would call you by name if you told me it.” He says with a slight, dare I say flirtatious smirk that causes my breath to get stuck in my throat.

“It’s Y/N.”

“Well Y/N, I’m Jungkook. The handsome, well-prepared gentleman escorting you through this storm today.” He sends me a beaming smile that almost sends me to my grave.

He holds out the clear vinyl plastic for me to stand under it. I do just that and as I step close to him, arms brushing I'm hit with his clean fresh scent.

“Thank you again, Jungkook," I reply looking down to hide my sudden blush.

"Shall we get going?” He asks flicking his head out to the direction I earlier pointed out, and with a nod of my head, we step out starting on our journey to my home. And so much more.  

the voice that responds when you call.

The ringing in my ears finally stops when I hear the voice on the other end of the phone say, “Hello?”

But it is no surprise to me, knowing he would answer because Jungkook always did. I knew once he saw my name flash across his screen he would not hesitate to slide to answer.

“Hey.” my voice is small when I reply.

“What’s wrong?” he asks immediately concerned, because just like how Jungkook always answers, he always knows. He knows you.

“I just miss you, I wanted to hear your voice.”

“I know I miss you too. But I’ll be back in two days.”

“Ugh! That’s going to feel like forever.” a whiny sadness to my tone.

“Hey, I told you you could come with me. My mom is still upset I didn’t bring you.” He chuckles.

“Yeah, I know but taking a trip to Busan is not an option with work right now.” I sigh.

I hear him sigh as well and there is a long pause between us.

“Then quit your job.” He states in an all too serious tone.

“What? Jungkook have you lost your mind? You know I can’t qu-“

“Sure you can! I’ll quit my own too! Then we can move out here and buy a house. We can live by the water and have a bunch of kids, it will be perfect.” His tone gets more excited as he hears my giggles pleased with my happiness.

“So what do you say, babe? Sounds good right?” he asks still joking.

“Sounds perfect,” I reply with a content smile.

And just like that you were no longer sad because Jungkook knew how to make you happy. Jungkook always knew.

the memories of seeing the same thing at the same time.

It was Monday, and although I was not as fond of it as any other person towards that day of the week, I had one thing to look forward to on Mondays. That was the one day of the week Jungkook would meet me at work and we would walk home together.

So here we are walking through the park, which was a shortcut to our home. My hand in his, fingers interlocked this being the beckon of light at the end of my work day. I feel him rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand and I glance at him to see him just looking off into the distance. My usually chatty boyfriend is now just quietly at my side. I use my free hand and pull him by the elbow holding him close to my side, gaining his attention eyebrows raised in question.

“Rough day?” I ask looking up at him.

He breathes out an airy laugh through his nose.

“Yeah you know, just one of those days.” He glances back at me with a small shrug then continues.

“It was one of those days I wished I was just with you at home, just had you beside me,” he squeezes my hand  “Only me and you, the rest of the world blocked out.”

He looks down at me and softly smiles that eye smile I could never fall out of love with.

“I wish for that every day” I reply returning the squeeze to his hand while smiling up at him.

While we share this moment I notice small white flakes landing on his raven-coloured hair. He must have taken notice too as we both look up.

We are met with flurries quickly floating down all around us making their way to the ground.

“The first snowfall.” He states almost in a whisper.

“It's so pretty,” I say fascinated and fully entranced with the beauty of Mother Nature.

I feel his gaze on my face and turn to make eye contact. He has the most delicate look, eyes filled with adoration.

“I may not have had you by my side all day, but I’m glad I have you here right now.” He says lovingly.

And at that moment, witnessing the beginning of a new season with my love and sharing this memory, I could have sworn the rest of the world was blocked out and it was just us two.

the first time you matched each other’s pace.

Angry.

No, that’s not even the right word, enraged. Yes, enraged that is what I am feeling right now. And why was I so mad you ask? My boyfriend seemed to think that a guy having a friendly conversation with me, albeit a drunken one on his part but innocent, was the perfect reason to cause a huge scene in the middle of a party with all our friends and more to see.

So now here we are walking home furious with one another because I think he overreacted while he thinks I underreacted. Not only am I annoyed with him for how he acted but now I’m annoyed with myself for wearing heels knowing I would have to walk home after a whole night in them.

My pace starts to get slower because my feet start killing me and it suddenly feels like Jungkook is running a marathon instead of walking home. I glance up and see the distance between his back and me getting bigger and bigger. I focus on trying to ignore the pain soaring through my feet and as I continue walking with my head down staring at the shoes I have come to despise I suddenly bump into a shoulder.

I look up to my side and notice the man that was ahead of me seconds ago now right beside me.

“If you can’t keep up just say so,” he grumbles, the first words I hear from him since we left the party.

I notice how he starts walking slower for me and does not move an inch further from my side. I continue my struggle to walk, feet pulsing more with every step.

“Ah fuck it,” I mumble to myself as I take off my heels.

Jungkook halts and turns towards me once he notices I stopped walking. Once I start to continue I feel my heels being ripped out of my hands, as I'm about to ask what he’s doing he kneels in front of me, wordlessly telling me to get on his back.

“Kook, you don’t-“

“Get on.” He quietly demands.

I don’t argue because my feet yell at me not to. I get on his back, arms around his neck and he tucks his hand under my knees immediately standing up with ease and continues our journey home.

“I told you not to wear those damn shoes.” He says after a couple of minutes.

For some reason that comment brings a slight smile to me, as I realize that my anger has disappeared without me even being aware.

“Thank you,” I say into his neck as I tighten my arms and lock my ankles around his torso hugging him closer to me.

He adjusts his hands to my thighs as I pull us closer together.

“For what?” he questions taking a peek at me.

“For trying to take care of me before and still taking care of me now,” I answer giving his neck a peck.

“You know I’ll always do that, it’s my job too. A little fight won’t stop that, taking care of you comes naturally to me now.”

“I mean it kind of has to look at our situation right now.” he continues with a breathy laugh as he squeezes my thighs to emphasize his statement.

I giggle at his response knowing the truth behind it. Jungkook has always taken care of me. We’ve always looked out for each other. We have always matched ourselves to each other.

did someone come to mind?

I hear the lock of the front door opening and the jingling of keys, followed by some rustling around, most likely the removal of outerwear. A few seconds later I see the handsome tattooed man I call my boyfriend walking into our living room. He smiles as he sits beside me on the couch wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head. I look up at him head on his shoulder and begin to stare unconsciously as thoughts run around my head.

“What?” he asks me with a confused chuckle.

I smile at him, “I love you.”

He gives me that butterfly-inducing eye smile and kisses me on the lips.

 “I love you too.”

yes, that’s the person.

[jaydude1992]

I'm only referring to the story told by George Lucas (i.e. not Legends or the Disney stuff he was uninvolved with), because I wasn't sure what you were referring to, and because it's gradually becoming the only one I really care for these days. Legends has been decanonized for years now, and while I'll acknowledge that the Disney stuff is official canon, I'm not obligated to ignore how parts of it (i.e. stuff written by Filoni and Headland) are wildly inconsistent with Lucas's story in regards to the Jedi (this goes for the inconsistent parts of Legends too).

If you want to do otherwise, that's fine. If you think those inconsistencies make for a better story, well, fair enough. But again, I'm under no obligation to ignore something being inconsistent with its source material. Especially when the inconsistencies in question relate to parts of the source material I actually like.

In answer to your question, in my mind, what prevents the abuses - at least in Lucas's works and those written by people who actually understand how he wrote the Jedi - is simply that Lucas never wrote the Jedi as characters who would willingly commit their like. In terms of morality, they're on a similar level to Superman; the worst they do is get a little overconfident in their ability to detect and defeat the Sith by the time of the Prequels, and prove willing to compromise on their morals a little for the sake of protecting the Republic's people and soldiers when the Clone Wars begin.

(By "prove willing to compromise on their morals", I refer to the Jedi joining the war effort in the first place, Obi-Wan and the Jedi Council faking the former's death right in front of an ignorant Anakin, and the council tasking Anakin with spying on his close friend and confident in Palpatine. All these things came from a place with good intentions; you could argue that's just another way of saying "the greater good", but I personally think they're a world apart from forcing parents to give up their children in terms of morals).

(I suppose there's also how the council handled things with Ahsoka during the Wrong Jedi arc. I'm not sure precisely what the consequences would've been if they refused to hand her over to be tried as a Republic citizen, but if nothing else, Ahsoka didn't exactly look 100% innocent, and the Jedi had already had two of their number turn out to be Sith supporters (Dooku and Krell)).

Also, this might just be me making assumptions regarding your likely reaction to the above, but I'm also going to state that Yoda and Obi-Wan never told Luke to let his friends die on Bespin, nor did they plan to have him unknowingly kill his father. Yoda and Obi-Wan had no way of knowing what would happen to Luke's friends, but they did believe - not without reason - that Luke wouldn't be able to do much to help them with his miniscule amount of Jedi training if he just flew off to Cloud City. As for killing Vader, it's a plot point that Luke risks falling to the dark side if he does so out of anger and/or a desire for revenge, under which I'd argue "avenging his father" could quite easily fall. My guess is that Yoda and Obi-Wan planned to explain the truth to him when he was wise enough to handle it, but of course Luke's recklessness and Vader himself put the kibosh on that plan.

tl;dr: Writing the Jedi as the kind of people who'd forcibly take children against their parents' will was likely never the intention of Lucas.

When a Jedi takes in a child, it's kidnapping. But when a Mandalorian does it, it's a foundling.

[laswells-ashtray]

The fun thing about taking a childcare course in college is that now I'm going to tell you the 141's key features of attachment when they were children/toddlers and you can't stop me.

If you've seen nay of my Price-posting then you know I think his parental situation consisted of a dead mother and a drunk father who was heavy handed with a belt, this stands.

John's key feature of attachment when he was just a little toddler was safe haven, returning to dad when he was upset even if the man had drunk himself into unconsciousness. But the lack of conscious interaction did nothing to soothe his distress or anxieties, so in the long run, it resulted in an ignorance towards the man's actions. John couldn't tell you if he entered or left a room because he became so apathetic to his presence and he became reliant on himself for comfort and protection that in his adult years it's why trying to explain his discomfort or anxieties to someone else makes his skin crawl. It's also why he so often acts as a base of security for the other men, spending years self-soothing leads him to try and soothe others the way he never was.

Kyle was without a doubt proximity maintenance, didn't matter if it was Mum or Dad. He wouldn't need to be clinging to them but if his Mum was in the living room and then moved to the kitchen then he carry his blocks through to the kitchen table so he could play while she was near. If Dad was out in the garden fixing up his older brother's bike then Kyle had his toy cars and was playing with them on the steps just a few feet away.

He didn't need their attention at every second but he needed the comfort of knowing they were nearby. He has a great relationship with both of his parents, on the worst of days he'll go home and sit in the kitchen while his mother cooks and they'll talk. She doesn't want his help because God, if he isn't fucking useless with anything other than a pot noodle but she'll let him sit there for as long as he needs and they'll just chat about whatever.

Simon's was secure base. If little toddler Simon Riley was exploring a new environment then he needed Mum somewhere in the general vicinity so he could return back to her every 10 minutes or so to stop the experience from becoming overwhelming.

Only, we all know what his childhood was like. And my perception of it is that his mother's mind was elsewhere, her priority was ensuring Simon didn't do anything to anger his father. So, it resulted in almost a disinterest, the less she cares about what the little one is babbling on about then the less likely he is to get enthusiastic and subsequently loud, which would upset his dad. And the lack of interest or comfort she provided led to Simon approaching new environments with an uncharacteristic disinterest for a child of his age, he wouldn't explore or participate in any of the same sensory seeking activities as other children his age. He'd just sit there on his own and glance around with a blank look. In later years he'd struggle to form good relationships with people because of his perceived disinterest, he'd never be enthusiastic about anything. Eventually, he'd learn how to express himself in a way that doesn't make him embarrassed but also can't be mistaken as a lack of care.

Johnny is without a doubt separation distress. Take him away from his Mammy and see what fucking happens. If Mrs MacTavish is cooking then he's standing by her side and holding on to the edge of her cardigan. And when she realises she's three seconds away from tripping over him then he's sitting on the counter and her cardigan is draped over his shoulders as he babbles away at her.

He has a good relationship with his dad too, mind you. His dad never took it personally but Mr MacTavish knows that when Johnny Boy comes home after being away for months, he's heading straight to his Mum to give her a hug. He keeps one of her old scarves at the bottom of his bag and switches it out whenever he goes home not because he can't live without it but he sleeps a little easier knowing that it's there. If there's anyone in his life whose opinion he cares about it's Mum, if he's going to get a new tattoo then he'll ask her opinion on it first and if she has suggestions then you bet your arse that he's adjusting it accordingly. He can go months without talking to her but no force on earth can stop him from being a Mammy's boy.

[fangirlmermaid]

You're it for me

Summary: Wanda is sick of being pregnant and her powers took over when she saw you sleep peacefully beside her

pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Warning: Pregnancy, Cursing, boobs are mentioned (oh no!!), and Pregnancy fetishism (I guess) is mentioned but not played out!

Note: I promise I won't only write pregnant fic or popstar!reader, if you guys have any ideas DM me, I think I have that open. Also another fanfic so quickly???

(Might be some grammar and punctuation errors) (Kind of long)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like clockwork, Wanda woke up at two in the morning. She sighed in frustration as she felt the twins kicking her.

You and Wanda always talked about starting a family together. She even found a way to make the baby's blood related to you both.

Wanda said she would carry the babies. Ever since the whole fighting Thanos, Wanda wanted to lay low and live a normal life with you (her wife) on your guy’s farm.

Wanda rubbed her eight-month-pregnant belly, hopefully, it would lure Billy and Tommy back to sleep. Wanda couldn’t wait to be a mother but she wanted these nine months to be over. She was tired of always having to go to the bathroom, of something hurting, and not getting a full night's sleep.

Wanda glared at you who was passed out snoring lightly. How dare you rub it in her face that you could sleep without interruptions. You rolled onto your side, your back facing her.

If you both decide to have more kids, Wanda decided that you're carrying them.

Once the babies had calmed down, Wanda placed her hand on your stomach. With Wanda’s swollen belly, it’s been hard to have you close to her. This is how Wanda has been cuddling you since her bump got big. She hates it!!!!

Wanda sighed in frustration when she felt the twins kicking her again. Wanda tried to lean close to your ear “You’re carrying them” Wanda stated for next time. Wanda stayed there waiting for the babies to tire themselves out.

Next Day

Beep Beep Beep Beep You hit snooze on your alarm, in your opinion, the worst part about working on a farm is having to wake up at the ass crack of dawn because you have a shit ton of things to do.

You throw your legs over the bed about to get up, but you stop. You sit there frozen too scared to move. Did something… No, no, that’s crazy.

You were about to get up but that’s when you felt it again, something flutter inside you.

You pulled your quilt off and you gasped at what your eyes laid on. Your stomach was swollen, and your pajama shirt which was originally a little big on you is now bunched up under your boobs.

You rubbed your eyes hoping you were hallucinating but nope, it was still there.

Your shaky finger poked the stomach, and at first, nothing happened. Then you poked it again, and the bump was rocking side to side causing you to jump a little.

Your heart was running, no matter how hard you tried to come up with how it happened it wasn’t logical.

You felt whatever was inside of you hit your ribs hard, almost as if it punched you.

“Ow” You whispered not wanting to wake up Wanda.

You lightly slap the bump which causes it to punch you in the ribs again.

“Bitch!” You yelled glaring at your stomach

“Love, what’s wrong?” Wanda asked

In a panic, you threw the blanket over your shoulder making sure to cover your stomach. You didn’t want Wanda to stress because you love her and it could hurt the babies.

Grabbing the short bed frame to help you up, you felt like someone gorilla glued five sixteen-pound bowling balls to your stomach. “Fuck, it’s heavy” You mumbled placing your free hand under your stomach for support.

You slowly turned around “Nothing baby, go back to sl-”

Your eyes widen, Wanda isn’t pregnant anymore. Like her bump just vanished.

You felt ashamed of how long it took you to figure it out.

You let the blanket slip onto the ground, exposing Wanda to your state.

Wanda’s mouth dropped, she looked down at her flat stomach and then back at you.

Wanda slowly made her way over to you, she was trying to pretend she wasn’t freaking out.

Wanda poked your stomach nothing happened, then she poked again and the twins kicked you hard.

“Fuck” you hissed bending over in pain, Wanda apologized.

“How did this happen?” Wanda asked her eyes staying on the bump, you shrugged “I don’t know! You’re the one with the red wiggly woos!” You whispered yelled.

Realization hit Wanda, she looked down at her hands before giving you a nervous smile. Your shoulder dropped “What did you do?!” You panicked, Wanda couldn’t meet your eyes “Last night Billy and Tommy woke me up, seeing you sleeping peacefully made me mad. So I placed my hand on your stomach while I cuddled you and I said your…carrying…them” Wanda's voice grew quiet your eyes widened and your mouth dropped too stunned to speak “I totally meant for next time!” Wanda explained pointing her finger at you.

You started to hyperventilate. You’re not prepared to give birth, you barely even read the parenting books Wanda bought for you. Your body hasn’t been preparing for the two human beings you're going to be pushing out. What if something happens and you have to go into surgery or you die?!

Also, how are you going to explain to people how you are suddenly eight months pregnant? You always do the socializing part of business so Wanda doesn’t have to!

“Love, Love” Wanda called rubbing your back “You need to calm down” Wanda explained in a hushed tone. You knew she was right but how could you be calm in this moment?

“Wanda, Alan is coming over around lunch to pick up some apples for the farmers market” You stated, Wanda squeezed your arms “Let’s get you back to bed, and I’ll look at the book” Wanda assured. You nodded, Wanda grabbed your hand to ease you back into bed, and she placed a mountain of pillows to support your back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wanda sat in the kitchen at the dining table flipping through the Darkhold, she didn’t even know what she was looking for.

Deep down Wanda was happy to have a break from being pregnant, she knows that you are right of course but still. There’s a part of her hoping you change your mind to stay that way.

“Ah, shit!” a voice from outside yelled, Wanda look out the window where she found you waddling towards the chicken coop with a basket in your hand. Wanda closed the book “What is she…” Wanda trailed off walking towards the back door.

Wanda walked towards you crossing her arms over her chest “Um, (Y/N)” Your wife called, you let out a soft hmmm while throwing chicken feed onto the ground “What are you doing?” Wanda wondered her voice stern, you kept throwing the chickens their food “What does it look like?” you sassed still focusing on your task. Wanda finally reached you, she pulled the empty basket out of your hands and placed it on the ground “Not resting like you should be” Wanda stated. You faced your wife sighing in frustration, “Wanda I have things to do, I can’t lay in bed” you reminded, Wanda stood behind you placing a hand on your hip and her other hand grabbing your hand “I’ll do the chores, I don’t want you on your feet until I figure out how to undo this” Wanda told guiding her wife back inside the house.

Wanda eased you back into bed “There we go, love” Wanda smiled pulling the blankets up to your chest. You groaned pushing the blanket under your bump “It’s so itchy” you whined scratching your belly, Wanda grabbed the lotion from her bedside table.

Wanda’s eyes landed on you. Seeing you carrying her children made her smile. It also turned her on, but she knew that was the last thing on your mind.

“Baby?” Your voice brought Wanda back. “Sorry, Love.” Wanda blushed, squirting the lotion onto your bump. Billy and Tommy started to move around “Do they ever stop?” You groaned throwing your head against your pillow, Wanda chuckled as she rubbed the lotion into your skin. Wanda loved that she got to take care of you for a change, she could get used to this. Maybe she could brainwash everyone into thinking that you were the one pregnant all along.

“That feels so good thank you, baby” you moaned, your breathing hitched, You were making it harder for Wanda to not go down on you. Wanda could only smile, “I got chores, do you need anything?” Wanda interlocked your hand with hers you shook your head, Wanda gave you a quick peck on the lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pain shot down your back causing you to wake up “Motherfucker” You hissed placing your hand on your back. You opened your eyes seeing that it wasn’t a dream and that you’re still very pregnant. Wanda is a fucking boss for dealing with this shit for eight months.

You stood up hoping a quick walk around the house could relieve the back pain.

After you waddle around the house, you head toward the kitchen where you see Wanda at the dining table flipping through the Darkhold.

Wanda looked exhausted, she had paint smeared on her cheek. She sighed in frustration, she kept drifting to sleep. From growing your babies to doing a shit ton of chores along with researching on how to reverse the pregnancy. You sighed guilt had a grip on your heart, you looked down at your bump placing a hand on it before looking up at Wanda. Your mind was made up.

You entered the kitchen “Hi, Love” You smiled, Wanda rubbed sleep out of her eyes “Hi, love” Wanda gave a sleepy smile. You sat in the chair next to Wanda whose attention went back to the Darkhold, both of you sat in silence. You twist your wedding ring to soothe your anxiety trying to find the nerve to tell Wanda, hopefully she would understand.

You grabbed Wanda’s hand gaining her attention “What’s wrong?” Wanda wondered her voice laced with concern, you gathered your courage “I don’t want you to reverse this anymore” You admitted pointing to the baby bump Wanda knit her eyebrows “What?” Wanda asked, you took a deep breath “You’ve been crushing it at carrying these two. Seeing you in pain hurts me and I wish I could’ve done something to help you. So let me carry them, you deserve a break” You admitted, you knew your little speech was corny but it was the truth, Wanda’s eyes glossed looking relieved “I love you! You are IT for me! We are never getting divorced” Wanda admitted squeezing your hand, you gave a light laugh “I thought that was a no-brainer” You smiled, and Wanda kissed you passionately.

Honk Honk

You pulled away “Alan’s here” You smiled brushing your nose against your wife’s, Wanda groaned before leaving to meet Alan outside.

[manasurge]

I just wanted to do a bunch of snippets of Mourynn and Wynne during the time when Wynne volunteered to be her Caretaker after she awakened (this was orignally meant to just be lineart, but it is easy to mistaken Wynne for Caithe here, so I added the flatcolour version to remedy that)

I figured I may as well include some lore stuff under the cut (mostly Wynne related stuff, but other Firstborn era stuff from around this time as well. Sorry that this is so long lskjdflk):

(Sorry this is all in point form, it’s just easier for me to write stuff out and digest it this way. Suffer with me and my ADHD way of synopsis writing)

After Mourynn (or whoever she was originally meant to be) finally emerged from her pod a year late, she was frail and unstable due to her “unique condition”. It was a miracle she was alive at all, due to her extremely late arrival that was accelerated after her pod died for a short while (due to Vallotash accidentally killing her and trying to reverse her mistake, affectively taking over her body instead and erasing her own memories and replacing it with what remained of the Firstborn’s. More here in the origins link: EPILOGUE)

(The first few pics up top portray Wynne helping Mourynn after Awakening, where her head is hurting terribly and she has no strength to stand on her own yet).

Since there were no Menders at this time (as none of the Secondborn would even exist for another year or so), and their “Late-bloomer” was in need of urgent care or she was bound to perish yet again, Wynne volunteered to be her Caretaker while she was under quarantine for a number of reasons, not all of them made apparent due to sensitive matters.

In addition, Mourynn was originally supposed to be part of the Dawn trio of Firstborn, but due to the uh, situation, she awoke during the cusp at midnight, effectively making her a Nightbloom instead (well, she insists anyways), which was another obligatory reason why Wynne felt compelled to help look after her (with Wynne being the oldest in the cycle, and Mourynn being the youngest).

However, what Wynne never spoke about was the secret she learned about their origins with Mordremoth, a secret she kept with the Pale Tree, and where this gut feeling of unease loomed over in her mind with the consistent unusual things that kept happening with this final pod.

She could sense that something felt very off and she didn’t know what, but she didn’t want to take the risk in case her suspicions were correct. The fact she couldn’t sense Mourynn’s Dream connection or sense her at all was alarming enough, but she didn’t want her worries to be true or to have doubt that one of their own was a danger to them, especially one whom she was greatful to be alive at all. But in the worst case scenario where she was right, she needed to be the one to do what had to be done for all their sakes, even if she really didn’t want to. To protect the secret as long as possible, and to keep the rest of the Sylvari safe, if it had to come to that.

By becoming Mourynn’s Caretaker, she would be able to monitor her at all times and keep watch of her condition. While she hated how horrible it felt having to watch their youngest with a metaphorical knife behind her back, she still did genuinely want to help her get better, trying her hardest to not bond too deep of a connection in case she had to sever it.

But Wynne being Wynne, she was hospitable and kind-hearted by nature. She felt guilty having to watch Mourynn with this ulterior motive and having put doubt in someone who barely had the chance to exist, but she made up for it by working tirelessly to figure out what it was that was causing her constant declining health.

And that, she did!! While Wynne wouldn’t admit that she was avoiding this last approach (after many other various trials) due to what it might entail (dragon connection), Wynne was able to discover Mourynn’s magic deficiency, and had to muster up creative ways to get some magic into her system (with some help of the other Firstborn finding different sources of magic for her to use).

Once Mourynn’s physical status started to recover, she wasn’t uncomfortably bored and bedridden for long hours of the day anymore. Her head hurt way less, she had energy, and was visibly less wilted too. Now Wynne, despite the potential risk of increasing the potential Dragon-link threat by giving it a source of magic, was still relieved that she was able to discover the cause of her problems, and now she just had to help her find a way to maintain it (which is where Mourynn started practicing both Artificing and Cooking TOGETHER to make herself magically enhanced food, as well as potions for on-the-go, but food seemed to be the most effective and long-lasting).

Now that Mourynn was able to actually thrive and be more independent, the two of them could finally converse more thoroughly and do other things. At this point, Mourynn’s entire existence was being connected to Wynne and having her around (even though she desperately wanted to see and know Caithe more after she rescued her from the Dream, she was often out and about elsewhere with Faolain, leaving her with Wynne, who seemed to be the only person who insisted in keeping her around. Something she became reliant on, being her only true comfort and familiarity).

At this point in time, Wynne was the person she was closest with, the two of them spent a lot of time doing other things. Walks around the Grove, Wynne told her stories, Mourynn TRIED to tell her anything, but her memory was nearly void save for the last few moments, which Wynne reassured her was alright (despite it being one of the many signs that worried her).

They would prepare food together, nap together, cloud watch/stargaze, play with Fern Hound pups, Mourynn would show her some of the shaping she had been practicing (exceptionally well too. Potentially concerning) but was too self-conscious to show anyone else (especially Kahedins, who she was forming a one-sided rivalry against). They shared a lot of fond memories and experiences in this short time, and even though Wynne was wary of bonding at all (in case of the worst), she reluctantly cast all her doubts aside as she didn’t see her as a threat anymore, despite the quiet little voice in her head that was still left uncertain, which she chose to ignore.

Now with Mourynn more independent, Wynne could continue pursuing some things she had on hold or could only partially work on during her caretaker role. She would leave the Grove for a while, and would encourage Mourynn to get to know her fellow Firstborn while she went to attend other matters. Mourynn, of course, was TERRIFIED at this thought and avoided them isntead. While she enjoyed the new freedom she had, she hadn’t realized how dependant she had grown to Wynne’s presence, choosing to quietly watch the others in the background (or just go elsewhere to be alone instead).

It took a bit of effort, but Wynne basically had to properly re-introduce her to the others (how embarrassing!), despite the fact that they had all been living under the same canopy all this time. Wynne couldn’t get too upset since this was kind of her fault for making her this way due to her obsessive guardianship, which hindered proper socialization. Mourynn’s Nightbloom-ness was extremely apparent as well, earning her the cheeky little “Wallflower” nickname from the others (primarily Faolain) due to how little she connected with them, and her overall avoidance and quietness (not to mention she was a little weird and off-putting, but no one was going to say that to her face. Except for Faolain, of course).

Mourynn did eventually start to interact with the others more (albeit a bit cautiously). The Pale Tree helped nudge her in the right direction and break the ice. Mourynn could sense something wasn’t quite right about herself and that was influencing her skittishness, but the Pale Tree brought her comfort when Wynne was away (which made it obvious how depressed and lonely this made Mourynn feel, but it was necessary. This also lead to Mourynn spending a lot of time in the Omphalos Chamber).

While she didn’t connect with everyone (as not everyone was there anymore, such as Riannoc being dead before her awakening, and the others that left the Grove during this time whom she only got to briefly meet beforehand), she did finally get to see more of both Caithe and Faolain (the Toxic Throuple stuff will be for another post >:3), and would eventually be tutored by Faolain in fine tuning her Mesmer skills as her nightmarish illusions/hallucinations were getting out of hand and causing havoc as Wynne was away longer and longer, and how her teleportation abuse was becoming a bit of a nuisance as well (and Faolain of course, would love to take this offer to be her mentor. I’ll save this for another post later too).

Aife also became one of the other Firstborn she bonded a bit more with (as Mourynn was meant to be a Dawnbloom initially, so Aife was a bit saddened to see her fellow pod-mate separate from them), but she did offer Mourynn a place of respite whenever she needed somewhere quiet and peaceful (the Garden of Dawn secret area, which also has the waterfalls which Mourynn felt very comfortable in, of which she will discover her affinity for water later as well).

Of course, everything leads to the end where we all know what happens to Wynne in the Point of No Return chapter, but unfortunately Mourynn does not. She won’t find out Wynne’s fate until much later, and will only be left with the ongoing worry and sadness that Wynne left for Dry Top and was never seen again, only leaving her with some uneasy parting words that felt like a potential final goodbye (as Wynne was already aware that Faolain might take things too far, considering how much she was hounding her already, and knew the secret she was carrying was heavy and dangerous). (Also to note, Mourynn isn’t meant to be portrayed as like, a shy quiet uwu softie. She’s not. She’s just a bit avoidant and quiet (and yes shy), but in a more wary/cautious/antisocial-esq kind of way. She has a dry sense of humour, is quite blunt, and is a bit of a menace who talks a bit weird and misunderstands things a lot (because I think it’s hilarious), but is a very good listener and will keep many secrets. She’s trying hard to act normally, but her dragon-brain wiring is also making this very difficult. Also with technically being a parasite (as that’s what Vallotash is), it’s partially in her nature to latch onto someone and be a bit co-dependent (as seen above), even though she contradictorily wants to be completely independent as well, causing a lot of internal conflicts in her mind and emotions)

[theoutcastrogue]

Aaaand we get our zero prize.

So all of that happened, leaving me disappointed but not surprised at every step. I gotta say, barring an actual and successful armed revolution by the Zaunites (not chucking molotov cocktails at checkpoints, fully taking the city), it would be highly unrealistic for anyone to hold Caitlyn accountable. The civilian government is an oligarchy to begin with, and The Few very much agreed to hand over the reins to one of their class. With that in mind, I really liked Vi's line: "who decides who gets a second chance?". Saying it won't help, the system's fucked, but at least someone says it.

Worst part imo, the battle didn't just sweep the military dictatorship thingy under the carpet, but invalidated the entire class war we've been following from the start of the series. And while it was spectacular, the spectacle was shallow. Zero nuance, like a battle in Middle Earth: people here (heartwarmingly setting aside their differences!), orcs there. But LOTR is a fable, so it's gotta have orcs, while Arcane spent a whole lotta time telling me that there's no such thing as orcs, there's systemic exploitation and oppression.

And a detail that irked me: Caitlyn giving the memorial/reconciliation speech was just… crass. Former dictator Kiramman shouldn't get to give public speeches to topside and undercity after what she's done. She should shut the fuck up and privately stew in her well-deserved guilt, knowing fully well who decides who gets a second chance: Money and Power, of which she has plenty, and that's why she remains unaccountable. No need to rub it in Zaun's face like that.

(Unless it wasn't a public speech and she was like, talking to herself? I could be wrong!)

Very weird to see aftershocks of Arcane discourse about 'you all can't handle a problematic female character without going insane!'

When like my main complaint with Caitlyn is really that they're flinching. She should be acting way worse in act 2, or at least more consistently. It feels weird. Give her the courtesy of some courage in her awful convictions.

[hexite-nightmares]

My very unorganized thoughts on S2 of Arcane but only about Viktor

Alright I finally had time to think and write everything down so here we go. I want to preface that I have been weary about this season ever since I watched the act 1 leaks. Mainly because it was very clear he was never going to be a machine, and they didn't give him enough screen time to develop his motivations into ACT 3 Viktor being convincing enough

LET'S START WITH THE FALSE PROPHET VIKTOR

Alright so he has about 11 minutes ish of screentime. Aside from the glaring issue of Jayce reviving him and not destroying the hexcore, taking away agency from a disabled character. It was clearly a false prophet situation, but it was so fucking confusing on whether he could feel like a regular human, if he was under the Hexcore's control which makes the agency issue worse or just jaded. He all of a sudden starts speaking like he's reading Deuteronomy passages ?? We don't know for sure if he's aware that he's basically creating a hive mind now, did he start his plans of making everyone into one right here? Sky seems to encourage him to do this, what does she know about it since shes been in the hexcore ALONE for a little longer? (writers didnt confirm whether it was the real her or not) . Act 1 Viktor's issues are mostly about agency, and a seeming full abandonment of his identity as a scientist, his personality does a full 180. He doesn’t seem to question that the object that revived him and killed Sky is giving him healing powers, but he’s angry at Jayce so we have no clue if he’s being controlled or not.

The show doesn't seem to care to spend time with him bc Isha and Ambessa I guess.

Anyways lets move on to not even act 2, but ep 6, his only episode in this act.

I had huge gripes with this episode, mainly because whatever the fuck was going on with Viktor trying to "keep" Vander's humanity, when he clearly was taking it away from everyone he touched, does he actually believe what he's saying or is he under the Hexcore's control still?. Obviously the glaring issues of Sky being there without any actual input, they're cosmic friends I guess but with very generic lines, and the fandom has to fill in the blanks with whatever Amanda Overton feels like saying about Sky in the moment(if we don't see it in the show I don't take it as her development, sorry). So Viktor builds Colloidal silver drinking Joshua tree and ppl think it's fucking Eden, Jinx calls him a Machine Herald when there's NO SIGN OF MACHINERY JUST PURPLE MAGICAL METAL LOOKING FLESH. We get a whole ass different realm with no explanation other than, oh yeah Viktor is inside there. Jayce comes in and almost kills him. The only option there is at this point is for Singed to start his MH era. The choice of becoming MH is nonexistent now, other people have to jumpstart things for him. I know some people interprete this commune as Viktor achieving his dreams, thinking he was being himself, that he was in paradise with Sky and.. that wasn’t the case for me.. it was extremely sinister. Worst part of this Act, is that MH was seemingly a damn trial experiment for Orianna.

BONUS:

So it seems that Christian Linke has confirmed Sky was the hexcore using its influence to manipulate viktor into the glorious evolution. He said it was meant to be as a misdirect. So to everyone who got dunked on here for “wanting to be spoonfed” or “not reading into it deep enough” for thinking he was being mind controlled, you were right about it being the hexcore. Viktor has been confirmed to have no agency until episode 9 I guess. He also mentioned Viktor’s goal was getting the most power/influence… we never saw a fucking glimpse of this in season one I’m sorry.

ACT 3

First awful problem here is obviously Singed having to jumpstart things. Viktor is aware for his choice of whatever is happening with the egg thing. Yet....there's still no sign of machinery. We get a scene where Sky fucking dies again, he refers to her as Ms Young, which im guessing is a parallel to the other time he dismissed her in S1. But of course we get the double fridging in the show, cuz making female characters just for the sake of advancing her crush's plot line is sooo amazing. Here lies sky, the character who is barely a character. Well after that we get the sequence of his transformation and we get that butt ugly mask. His personality does another huge change again. So we know the hexcore is not influencing him anymore as the hexcore completed its goal of the glorious evolution.. so I guess viktor really does think this is the right way?

A huge issue I have again, is the lack of agency. In this particular scene Jayce goes "My partner died in this room" yeah..Viktor didn't fully choose to become this right? it all started with Jayce using the hexcore on him, it’s been manipulating him the whole ass season…Kinda wish there was some sort of acknowledgement from Jayce that he’s basically the catalyst of this.

He gets his laser because...fanservice. There's no way he went all the way to the lab and magically attached it to himself just to cut off a wall. He keeps going on that choice is false, but a few minutes before he said he’d evolve all of those willing?

In the cosmos, beautiful sequence. I don’t love Jayce’s dialogue choices(about his disease) here and then it all being about viktor hating himself.. since the hexcore was leading to all of this, his motivation for it all being self hatred feels a bit eh. The sequence is beautiful and Jayce and Viktor destroying the anomaly with the rune shard is nice, that part was cute. But then they kinda disappear and we only know that viktor is alive so far, no clue about Jayce. The sequence is touching towards the end and I’m a sucker for characters finding each other in every timeline/universe but it can’t make up for all the other things that are bothering me. This seems to be the one time Viktor has some sort of agency I guess.

Then obviously the worst part that will bother me forever. The thing that made me almost slam my laptop shut

This retcon is just awful I shouldn’t even have to say why, it makes things fucking weird and it’s frankly stupid. Also viktor can’t rock a beard like that.

Anyways this is very disorganized, fuck you riot I felt like an insane former this whole time but I was right.

[delusionalme8]

hey, i have been a fan yours since your Instagram and old tumblr days, so just wanted to pop in ask you how you've been doing? also asking for your hinny fic recs!

Hey, that's actually so cool!

It's been about three years since I stopped using that account. Unfortunately I had to study a lot to get into University and my free time has been greatly reduced. But all in all I'm fine now, thanks for asking. I hope you are too!

There are so many fics that I love that it's impossible to remember them all, so I'll try to fit some in here!

Consider that I like really everything from these authors, so I recommend you read their other fics in addition to the ones I suggest. It's totally worth it!

-Brumous by @seriouslysam8 and its prequels (my personal favourite is Backstabber). As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best fics I've ever read and she's an amazing writer. She's on a break from Brumous at the moment, but is releasing Selcouth which is just as good in my opinion!

-7 Scandals and a Baby by @ginnyw-potter ! It's a story set during the Regency and has an incredible atmosphere around it! She's an incredible writer and has an insane creativity too. Think of any trope and 99% of the time she's already written about it lmao (if she hasn't already, she almost certainly will). Also, her Harry and Ginny are soo good. (Not a Done Deal is one of my favourites too!)

-These Cuts I Have by Melindaleo and its sequels. It's a trilogy set in the post-war period and it's a wonderful read. I just reread it for the third time and I love the way it deals with Harry's horrible childhood and the relationship he develops with the Weasleys! Read it!

-The Path From You by @takeariskao3 too! I feel stupid for only now discovering her work, but I'm spending my afternoons catching up on it all lol. It's a story full of angst and great tension building before Hinny arrives. But I love a good slow burn, I have to admit, and she wrote it so damn good! I really recommend reading it!

-An Hour of Wolves by @solvskrift ! This one is quite heavy and angsty because it deals with a particularly sensitive subject, but I think it's absolutely worth it. The worst thing is that it's about something that could have easily happened in the canon and it's horrible to think about. I love the way it is written and deals with such sensitive topics, as well as the wonderful characterization of the characters. It is a work in progress, but it is definitely worth reading because it is incredible!

These are just a few fics and I don't know how many more I'm missing, but feel free to recommend me some too!

[vigilskeep]

You mentioned Sol & Minerva interacting in the tags of a post and now I’m curious what you think the dynamic would be like between Sol and your other protagonists

sol’s family fled ferelden when they were a kid because of the blight, so they have an extremely weird relationship with the concept of the Hero Of Ferelden and would be a little nervous to meet her in a deeply uncharacteristic way. meanwhile, minerva would recruit sol to the wardens faster than you can blink. oh a world-class darkspawn slayer who’s, yeah, impulsive, but also fearless, charismatic, and adaptable, and has even thought about joining up because they want out of their current life situation which happens to be a faction minerva has beef with? Hers Now. i actually had them interact in that post in a theoretical situation where sol is pregnant because that’s the only thing i can think of that would slow her down. legendary minerva viago custody battle let’s go

varric picked sol out partly because they are (in his eyes) keir if he was funny and likeable. (scrappy sword and board human warrior fereldan blight refugee who cares a lot about a sibling figure.) keir would IMMEDIATELY clock this and sigh internally. even today he has to endure whatever the fuck varric’s issue was and now he has to grieve about it too. sol when dealing with keir would probably poke the bear a lot so to speak because they’re very good at noticing when someone is actually all bark no bite and they would think he’s funny when he gets snappy. they don’t respect him and only think of him as varric’s old friend rather than a Great Hero of Thedas or whatever. i think he would find their particular mixture of high energy and pessimistic beliefs irritating. keir loves people who are passionate about things; sol is easily bored, they usually don’t want to hear or give lengthy explanations, their mind skips from one thing to the other. he would probably also be the one to notice the real way in which sol is dangerous: not just that they’re an impulsive live wire, but also the other thing he and they have in common, which is their intensely specific priorities. they would both let the world burn if like 5-10 specific people didn’t need it to live on. and he would, rightly or not, consider their set of 5-10 people—well, mostly the central antivan crows—to lead in more questionable directions than his set

toramar cadash would think of sol as a kid who’s been through a lot. he sees them and is immediately not happy with varric’s choice; this weight should have landed on the sturdier, more experienced shoulders of someone who could actually handle it and, ideally, not come out broken the other side. and someone who isn’t visibly the absolute worst shot at getting solas to hear them out! but he can’t change things now so all he can do is show confidence. sol is sharp enough to pick up on that but shrugs it off. one major thing which is continually hysterical to me: sol is andrastian, and used to listen to varric. resulting in the fact that there is a non-zero possibility to them that toram is legitimately andraste’s herald. because they are also an objectively funny person whose mind somehow moves on quickly from this kind of world-shaking concept—got things to do and places to be!—this doesn’t massively affect how they talk to him. but it is present and they do give his opinions more respect than they would most people’s. interpersonally toram quite likes sol. they’re fun and a breath of fresh air; most of the people he talks to these days are just so squeamish about lines of work like the ones they come from. they remind him of sera a little bit and sera was a massive favourite of his. this makes him go back around again to feeling worse about their involvement lmao

[sorinethemastermind]

 Sorvus Week 2024 | Prompt: Camp (No Warnings Apply)

   Soren didn’t get why he had to watch Callum. It was a few weeks out in the woods, and there would be other people to look after the prince (step-prince, Soren added sullenly). What was the worst that could happen? Plus, camp was his thing. He’d been looking forward to it all year. 

 Thinking back to the previous summer, he could still remember the sense of satisfaction he’d felt after beating one of the older boys in a sparring match. All the kids in his year had cheered, and afterwards one of the instructors had come up and said that he was proud of him. This was Soren’s thing. This was what he was good at. The one thing he was good at. 

 Why couldn’t his Dad see that?

 But Viren had asked him to watch Callum. Well, sort of. He’d told King Harrow that he would keep an eye on the young prince, and Soren had been there, so it was sort of like asking because he could have said no. Except he didn’t, because if his Dad needed him to do it, then of course he would.

 Just think of it like Crownguard training, Soren thought, hoisting his pack up a little higher as he led Callum down the trail towards camp. It’ll be good practice. 

 It wasn’t like the young prince seemed especially thrilled about it either. He wasn’t really the outdoorsy type. Which was being plainly illustrated by the fact that he was daintily making his way around the muddle puddle that blocked their path. Soren just stomped on through, enjoying the little waves that his steps kicked up. He wasn’t as big a fan of his soggy socks afterwards, but that couldn’t have been avoided. 

 “Soren, wait up!” Callum called, struggling to keep pace with his longer strides. Sometimes Soren forgot how small the other boy still was. He stopped for a moment to let his shorter legged companion catch up before forging ahead again.

 “Are we almost there?” Callum asked after a moment, still a few steps behind.

 “We’ve only been walking for like, five minutes." Soren pointed out. “Anyway, you’re the one who made us take that fancy carriage instead of just arriving with the rest of the kids.”

 “King Harrow wanted us to take the carriage.” The other boy corrected him.

 “Yeah, so you wouldn’t have to do the hike.”

 Yet another thing I won’t be doing this year because of stubby legs back there, Soren added in his mind.

 “And yet.” Callum managed, words coming in between huffing breaths. “It feels like we’re hiking right now.”

 “This is the shortest way I know.” Soren told him. Which was mostly true. Technically it was the second shortest way that he knew up the mountain, but Callum didn’t need to know that. It would only make him complain more.

 “Just… how long do you think it’ll be?”

 Soren turned to face the other boy, opening his mouth to say something about how it wouldn’t be taking this long if he would just hurry up - but Callum had his hands on his knees, cheeks puffing out with every breath.

 “Hand me your pack.” Soren said instead, holding out a hand. 

 “What?”

 “Your pack. I’ll carry it.”

 “But you’re already carrying one-”

 “I can manage.”

 Callum handed over the heavy bundle of camping equipment and Soren shouldered it alongside his own. 

 “Thanks, Soren.”

 He only felt a little guilty at Callum’s grateful smile.

 “Yeah, well, come on. Try and keep up.” he forged on ahead, Callum still trailing a few steps behind, but at least seeming less likely to topple backwards. 

 It was a solid twenty more minutes before they arrived at the camp. The sun was beginning to set as they trudged into the clearing that had been chosen for this year’s gathering, most of the other boys already having gathered to huddle around the great fire pit at it’s center. Soren started to make his way towards them, but was instead nearly swept over by the sudden flurry of activity that sprang to life around Callum.

 There must have been at least four attendants, brushing quickly past Soren to hover around the prince, offering clean clothes and refreshments. Soren wrinkled his nose, dropping Callum’s bag to the ground at his feet. One of his helpers would be able to find it, surely. None of them so much as gave him a second glance. 

 Stalking past the fire pit and the other campers, Soren found a spot at the edge of the forest and began erecting his tent. Nobody offered to help, he noticed. Though somebody was building Callum’s for him. Soren’s frown deepened and he hit the tent peg he was hammering with a little too much force, nearly splitting it. 

 “Drat.” he muttered under his breath, being more careful with his next strike. The familiar repetition of the process helped, and by the end of it, he was pretty sure he’d never been frustrated in the first place. Pretty sure.

 Still, he didn't really feel like joining the other boys for campfire stories, so instead crawled into his little shelter as soon as he’d finished setting it up. He stared at the ceiling, willing himself to sleep and listening to the quiet murmur of voices outside.

 “I heard the prince-”

 Soren rolled over, facing his back towards the fire and the assembled voices. But it didn’t stop them from drifting into the tent.

 “Do you think the prince-”

 He clapped his hands to his ears. What was so great about Callum, anyway? He hadn’t done anything special, hadn’t earned any of this attention. His Mom just married the King, and that was enough. He wasn’t even a real prince, Soren thought, bitterly. He was a step-prince.

 Eventually the voices outside quieted, along with Soren’s mind, and his eyes drifted closed. Callum isn’t going to ruin camp. He thought to himself, distantly. It’ll be just like last year. I’ll just need to do something bigger, work harder. It’ll be just like last year.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

 Something was scratching at the entrance of Callum’s tent. It had been for the last few minutes, snuffling around the edge. He could hear it through the walls.

 It’s probably a Banther, Callum thought, tucking his knees to his chest. It’s a Banther and it’s going to eat me.

 He didn’t know why King Harrow had made him come here. Was he really that much of a nuisance that he had to send him away for weeks, out to the middle of nowhere, with no one but Soren to help him? And where was Soren, anyway? Harrow had said that the older boy would be keeping an eye on him, and that had made Callum feel a bit better about the entire thing. But as soon as they’d arrived he’d vanished.

 The creature snuffled again, it’s shadow moving on the other side of the thin fabric of the tent. Callum was vividly aware of how fragile it was. Of how fragile he was. Will King Harrow care if I get eaten by a Banther?

 Don’t be silly, he amended. Of course he would care if I got eaten by a Banther. However, that won’t stop me from getting eaten by one.

 The snuffling thing pushed at the edge of the tent flap, and Callum scooted further away, gripping his satchel tightly and holding it out before him like a shield.

 “S- Stay back.” he managed. “I’m a very dangerous mage, and i- if you come in here, I’ll zap you!”

 Unfortunately the snuffling thing didn’t appear to speak Katolian. It stuck it’s head through the flap, and at the site of it’s intruding snout, Callum panicked; throwing his satchel at it with as much force as he could muster. But all he managed to do was blow the entrance to the tent open wider, revealing the form of his raccoon tormenter outside.

 “Ah!” Callum let out an involuntary scream, clapping his hands to his mouth and muffling the sound as much as he could. The last thing he wanted was to return home with all the other boys talking about how he was scared of a rodent. A rather large rodent, but still.

 The thing had scampered back when he threw his bag, but now crept forward again, pushing it with it’s nose. Callum reached tentatively towards the satchel’s strap, but the raccoon’s beady eyes flashed as it looked up at him, and he snatched his hand back. 

 “Shoo.” he whispered, kicking a foot in it’s direction. Not close enough to do anything, though. He pulled his leg back the moment it moved.

 It sniffed at his satchel again, and he realized belatedly that one of the attendants back at the castle had packed a few jelly tarts in it. For the road, she’d said. Callum waited for the raccoon to dig them out, figuring it would take them and leave. But instead it grabbed the satchel’s strap in it’s teeth and began dragging the entire thing away towards the woods.

 “Wait, no! Give that back!” he scrambled out of his tent and ran after it a few steps into the dark. But he was tentative, and it knew where it was going. All he saw was it’s busy tail vanishing into the pitch black of the treeline, carrying his satchel - and sketchbook, he realized with horror - with it. 

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 “Soren.”

 Soren rolled over, blearily flapping a hand in the direction of the voice, trying to ward it off. “I’m sleeping.” he murmured.

 “But you just talked, so clearly you’re not asleep.” the voice pointed out, making it painfully clear who it belonged to.

 Soren stifled a yawn, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. “Well I was before you woke me up.”

 He opened his eyes, taking a moment to let them adjust to the dark. Callum was couched in the open entrance to his tent. The younger boy looked on the verge of tears. Instantly Soren sat up straighter, grabbing the wooden practice sword form where it always lay beside his bedroll.

 “What is it? Are you okay?”

 “Th- There was a raccoon and-”

 Soren groaned, dropping the weapon. “A raccoon? You woke me up cause of a raccoon?”

 Callum sniffed. “It took my sketchbook.”

 “So get a new sketchbook.” Soren offered.

 “It- It was a present from King Harrow. And it’s got…” Callum trailed off for a moment, then swallowed. His voice was quieter when he continued. “It’s got all the stuff I drew of my Mom.”

 Soren glanced away, feeling a pang of something in his own chest . He took a deep breath, then sighed.

 “Alright, let’s go get your stupid book.”

 The other boy’s eyes widened. “Really?”

 “Yeah.” Soren grabbed his sword from where he’d dropped it, bringing it with him as he crawled out of the tent. “I did promise both our Dads I would keep an eye on you. Your stuff was probably included in that, too.”

 “Thanks, Soren.”

 “Yeah, sure.” He stood up, surveying the darkened camp. “Do you know which way it went?”

 Callum pointed off into the trees, and Soren rolled his shoulders. 

 “Alright, stay right behind me. Got it? There are Banthers in these woods.”

 Callum swallowed. “Uh huh.”

 “Let’s go.” Soren laid the sword across one of his shoulders, marching into the darkness. 

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 Check. Check. Che-

 Corvus stopped outside the next tent on his list. The flap wasn’t secured properly. He shook his head. Who was this supposed to be again? Oh yeah, the High Mage’s son. Probably doesn’t spend much time out in the elements. I’ll just show him how to do it.

 He crouched down, lifting the flap up and peering inside. But his instructions died on his lips. It was empty. Corvus stood quickly, glancing around. This was bad. Really bad. He couldn’t lose the High Mage’s son, not his first year of being an assistant councilor. 

 “Hello? High Mage’s son?” he called in a low whisper over the camp. 

 He probably just had to use the bathroom, Corvus though, logically. I’ll just wait for him here.

 But when the other boy hadn’t returned to his tent after ten minutes, he began to worry. Corvus glanced around nervously. He hadn’t heard any sort of commotion, but that didn’t make it much better. For all he knew the boy had just wandered off and gotten lost. And either way it had happened on his watch. 

 Corvus checked the rest of the tents quickly, keeping an eye out for anyone who could be the High Mage’s son. But that ended up being only the first of his problems when he found the prince’s tent was also empty.

 Now that is too much to be a coincidence, he thought. They must have gone off together.

 Scanning the ground for footprints, he caught sight of a small set leading from the prince’s tent and across the clearing. Following them, he discovered that his hunch had been right; they led directly to the other empty one. 

 So if I find the prince, I find them both. He thought, carefully picking out the smaller tread from the mess of footprints that filled the camp. They led him to the edge of the forest and into it, disappearing into the dark. With a sigh, Corvus followed them into the night. 

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 “Hey, uh, Soren? How do you know where we’re going?” Callum asked, picking his way carefully along behind the older boy.

 Soren pointed at the ground. “Your bag left drag marks.”

 “Oh. Cool. Coooolll.” Callum said. “And, uh, Soren?”

 “Yeah?”

 “How are we going to get back?”

 “We’ll follow our footprints.”

 “Yeah, but like, what if it’s too dark to see them?”

 “We’ve got the moon.” Soren said, pointing at the sky, eyes still trained on the ground.

 “Okay. Cool. Coooll-”

 “What?” Soren turned to face the prince. He was right, it was dark. He could hardly see Callum in the shadows. 

 “Just, uh, we’re pretty far from camp.”

 “Do you want your stuff back or not?” Soren asked. 

 “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

 “Well then, come on. I’m not going to get us lost.”

 “Okay.” Callum had taken the moment of pause to catch up, and fell into step beside Soren as they continued on. After a moment, he cleared his throat. 

 “It’s really cool how you can do all this stuff.”

 Soren glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah, well, I am pretty cool.”

 “I wish I could do this sort of thing.” Callum sighed. “But I always mess it up.”

 “You’re probably good at other stuff.”

 “Nobody cares about other stuff.” Callum huffed. “Princes don’t need to be good at drawing, or at… at… I don’t even know! They need to be good at riding horses, and slaying dragons, and making decisions! And I’m not good at any of that stuff.”

 “Do you really need to be? You’re only the step-prince.”

 Callum sighed. “Yeah. I guess so.”

 He looked so downcast that Soren felt a little bad. He clapped the other boy on the shoulder. “Er, maybe you can use your drawings and like… make maps or something. That sounds pretty prince-y.”

 “Yeah. Maybe.” Callum didn’t seem convinced, eyes still fixed on his shoes. 

 Soren cleared his throat, fiddling awkwardly with the worn leather handle of his training sword. “You know, there are a lot of things I’m not good at either. Like… smarts stuff. So I just got good at hitting things instead.”

 He hefted the blade, swinging it before him. “Don’t need to talk to something if it’s already defeated!” 

 Soren shot Callum a hopeful glance, but the other boy didn’t laugh.

 He scratched the back of his head, returning the sword to his shoulder. “What I’m saying is, maybe you just haven’t found the thing you’re good at yet.”

 “Even if I do, it’s not gonna matter. It won’t change anything.” Callum huffed. “You’re right. I’m the step-prince. Being good at stuff isn’t gonna change that.”

 “That’s not what I meant.”

 “Then what did you mean?” Callum asked, shooting him a glare before quickly glancing away.

 “I- uhm.” Soren tried to find the right words, but it was all so muddled it was hard to explain. He scanned the trees, as though they would offer him a way out of it.

 And they did.

 “Hey, look!” he pointed at a nearby pine, drawing Callum’s attention up and into it’s branches. “That’s your bag, right?”

 “Yeah! Yeah, it is!” the prince ran over to the tree, reaching for the lowest branch. His fingers barely grazed it and he pushed himself up onto his toes, trying to reach it. 

 “Come… on!” he groaned. “I can’t do it.”

 “Step back.” Soren leaned his sword against a nearby trunk and walked over, cracking his knuckles (or trying to). “Let me handle this.”

 Callum scrambled back, staring at him as Soren leapt up as high as he could, catching the bottom most branch. His arms strained as he tried to heave himself up, but he managed to get up and over, straddling the branch while he tried to pick out which one to aim for next.

 “Soren, it’s really high.” Callum cautioned from below.

 “Chill out. I’ve done this before.”

 Soren braced himself against the rough bark of the tree’s trunk, feeling it scratch at his hands as he pulled himself upright to stand on the branch. Callum was just a vague shape in the shadows below, pacing back and forth nervously. 

 Soren carefully took his hand back from the tree, balancing as best he could, and grabbed the branch above him. Some of the bark came away on his hands as he heaved himself up and over again, steadily making his way closer to where the satchel hung a few limbs above. He repeated the process, slowly gaining height, until he was on level with the satchel. It’s strap was stuck on the branch above him, wedged between too smaller offshoots. 

 “Look, I’ve nearly got it!” Soren called to Callum, looking down. Which was probably a mistake, as he realized just how high he was. Soren swallowed, feeling his balance shift, and wrapped his arms around the trunk of the tree. 

 “Soren! How are you going to get down?”

 “Um. You let me worry about that!” Soren said with a lot of false bravado.

 “Did you get my bag yet?”

 “Working on it!” Soren slowly released his grip on the tree’s trunk, beginning to make his way carefully along the length of the branch, hands reaching out for the bag. The wood creaked below his feet and he swallowed hard. 

 “Soren! What was that?”

 “Nothing!” he called down to Callum. “It was nothing!”

 “Soren, is the branch breaking?”

 “No! Definitely not! That is definitely not what’s happening!”

 It creaked again, even louder this time, and Soren felt his foot slip as it branch groaned and heaved beneath his weight. He grabbed quickly onto the branch above until it steadied again.

 Just then a second, newer voice joined Callum’s. 

 “Prince Callum! I’m so glad I found you. Are you alone?”

 Soren didn’t know the new voice, and he couldn’t make out much of what was happening below through the darkness. The moon seemed to have abandoned them at some point during his climb, leaving everything in even deeper shadow.

 “Stupid moon.” Soren muttered to himself. “I hate the moon.”

 “Uhm, hello.” Callum was saying to the newcomer. Soren tried to listen even as he continued making his way closer to the end of the branch, his footfalls becoming slower and less sure the further out he went from the center of the tree. “And no, I’m just waiting for Soren.”

 “Soren?”

 “He’s in the tree.”

 “Oh. And why would he ever do that?”

 “You see, it’s a funny story actually-”

 Soren’s foot slipped, and he let out a small gasp of fear as he barely managed to steady himself on a nearby branch. Callum’s voice cut off at the noise, and suddenly the only sound was that of the wind rusting the pine’s needles and the bough under Soren’s feet groaning.

 “I’m sure it’s very funny, but perhaps you can tell me later.” The newcomer said after a moment. Then he called up into the tree; “Why don’t you come down now! Before you get hurt!”

 “I’ve got it all under control!” Soren called back. Which was kind of true. He was almost far enough out to be able to reach the bag. And he’d probably be able to figure out next steps from there.

 “I sort of doubt that you do!” the voice came again. “So please, just come down here and-”

 Soren took another step, and the branch gave it’s loudest complaint yet. He felt it shift under his feet, dipping downward. More, and then more, and then- 

 SNAP!

 Soren lunged forward as the branch broke, hands barely managing to grip onto the edge of Callum’s satchel before everything plunged downward.

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 Corvus was fairly sure that the kid in the tree was either the bravest - or more likely stupidest - person he had ever met. And he was going to get them all into a lot of trouble.

 “-just come down here and-”

 He was interrupted by a horrible snapping sound, and one of the tree’s higher branches - which he presumed the boy must have been on - broke away from the tree and plummeted towards the ground. Corvus grabbed the prince by the shoulders and pulled him out of the way, just barely managing to save them both from being squashed.

 No movement came from within the needled branches of the broken tree limb, and no scream of fear or pain had sounded as it plunged to the earth. Corvus crept forward, fearing the worst, but there was no boy to be found among the fronds and broken twigs. He glanced up at the tree, just barely making out the form of someone still above them, swaying gently back and forth. 

 Oh thank the Saints, Corvus thought. He caught himself.

 “Hey, Callum! I got your bag!” the idiot - Soren - called from above. Corvus faintly saw him wave a hand through the darkness. “I just, uh, don’t know how to get it down to you!”

 “Can’t you climb?” the prince asked, stepping up beside Corvus and staring into the foliage alongside him. 

 “Uhm, that would sort of require me to be able to reach the tree. Which I… can’t really do right now.”

 “What do you-” Callum’s eyes widened, and Corvus realized at the same moment he did what had occurred. “You’re hanging from my satchel?”

 “On the plus side, it seems to be very nice quality.” Soren informed them. 

 Definitely the stupidest, Corvus thought, shaking his head. Though that is it’s own kind of bravery.

 “Actually, uh, Callum.” Soren’s voice came again. “How much weight would you say this thing usually carries?”

 “I don’t know.” the prince tapped his chin. “Maybe like, three books worth?”

 “Well, uh, I think I weigh more than three books then.”

 “What’s happening?” Corvus asked anxiously, stepping forward. Not that he would be able to do anything if he fell. Could he catch him? Would that work?

 “You might want to step back.” Soren said by way of explanation.

 Callum stumbled quickly away, but Corvus scanned the ground furiously, trying to find anything that could break the other boy’s fall. Nothing. There was-

 “Timber!” Soren called, his voice betraying fear.

 Out of options, Corvus held out his arms and closed his eyes.

 It didn’t do very much good. Soren landed on him, sending them both sprawling into the dirt. Corvus spat out a few pine needles, wincing at a twinge of pain in his left wrist. 

 “Ow.” the other boy groaned, rolling off of Corvus and onto the ground. From there he held the satchel up, not moving from the dirt. “I got your thing, princeling.”

 Callum rushed forward, grabbing it and helping to pull first Soren to his feet, then Corvus.

 “I can’t believe you got it!” he gushed.

 Soren shook a few stray pine needles from his hair. There were a few tears in his clothes from where it’d gotten snagged on branches on the way down and Corvus was sure he’d have more than a few bruises later on, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. “Yeah, well, it’s not in uhh… exactly the same condition as before but-”

 Callum was already opening it, dumping the bag’s contents on the ground. He grabbed a book from among the other scattered items, rifling through the pages. He let out a relieved sigh. “It’s fine. My sketchbook is fine.”

 “You did all of this… for a book?” Corvus asked, glancing between them.

 Soren shrugged. “What can I say, he really likes his book.”

 Corvus shook his head, confused and a little bemused. “Well your adventure ends now. I’m taking both of you back to camp.”

 Callum quickly packed the rest of his things back into the now rather battered satchel and the pair of them allowed Corvus to lead them back the way they had come. 

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 Soren practically flopped onto the ground as soon as they got back to camp. The older boy - Corvus - had gone off to get a medical kit (Soren didn’t know why, he was mostly fine) and left him and Callum alone by what remained of the fire. 

 The young prince was already sketching again, doodling something in his newly rescued spellbook. Soren heaved himself up off the ground and went over to sit beside him, glancing at the page. He was surprised to find his own likeness staring back at him.

 “You’re drawing… me?”

 Callum’s tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration, and he nodded. Soren watched, transfixed, as the younger boy drew not just him but the tree, raccoon, and satchel as well. The entire escapade came to life under his pencil. Even Corvus and Callum himself made an appearance.

 “You’re really good at that.” Soren told him as he was finishing up. 

 “Like it matters.” he let the book fall closed, tucking it and his pencil back into his bag.

 “I’m, uh, sorry about what I said before.”

 Callum just grabbed a nearby stick, poking sullenly at the last few embers that remained in the firepit before them. “Why? You were right.”

 “No. I was just… I don’t know.” Soren gazed up through the trees and out at the stars. They were really pretty, out here in the woods. “I guess I was jealous.”

 “Soren, you just tracked a raccoon through the woods, climbed a tree, and retrieved my satchel. And I just… watched. What do you have to be jealous of?”

 “I always have to do stuff like that!” Soren explained. “Just to get noticed. And then you get to like… walk into camp and instantly everybody wants to fawn over you and gives you all the attention you could ever have wanted and-”

 “But I don’t want it.” Callum interjected.

 Soren blinked at him, surprised. “Why not?”

 The prince squirmed a little. “It feels weird. Like they’re not paying attention to me, they’re paying attention to what I’m supposed to be. They only care cause I’m the prince, and like you said, I’m not even really that.”

 “I guess that doesn’t sound especially… fun.”

 “Yeah.” Callum agreed. “Not especially.”

 “Well, for what it’s worth, I think your drawings are really cool. And I’m not just saying that cause you’re the prince.”

 A small smile tugged at the corner of Callum’s mouth. “Thanks.”

 He seemed to be deciding something for a moment, and then pulled his sketchbook out again, leafing through until he found the illustration he’d done of Soren and the tree. He carefully ripped it out of the book and held it out to Soren. 

 “Here, I want you to have it.”

 “Really?”

 “Yeah.”

 “...thanks.” Soren took it gingerly, staring at it for a moment before folding it up neatly and tucking it into his pocket. “I can’t wait to tell my Dad.”

 “That you fell out of a tree?”

 “Well, maybe not that part.”

 Callum laughed, and Soren grinned at him. 

 “What’s so funny?” Corvus asked, returning with the med kit tucked under one arm. 

 “Just Dad stuff.” Soren explained.

 “Hm. Alright. Well, let me see your leg.”

 “It’s fine, Corvus.” Soren groaned.

 “It will be fine when I say it’s fine. Now show me your leg.”

 Soren sighed, pulling up his pant leg. He grimaced, most of his ankle was already a deep violet. Alright, maybe it wasn’t that fine.

 Corvus shook his head and sighed. “You’re probably going to need a splint.”

 “A splint! But it’s… it’s fine! If my leg is all messed up, I can’t do any of the activities. Like the hikes or the sparring or the-”

 “You’re going to need a splint.” Corvus repeated. “And no, you probably shouldn’t do any of those.”

 “But-”

 “You need to take it easy for at least a few weeks, until your ankle is better. I don’t know how you even walked on it the whole way back.”

 “Soren’s tough.” Callum supplied, leaning over to look at Corvus. “That’s how.”

 “Hmph. Well, he wouldn’t need to be tough if he didn’t go falling out of trees. Why don’t you go to bed, Prince Callum. It’s nearly morning and you aren’t on bed rest.”

 Callum sighed, but plodded off towards his tent. He glanced back at them once before disappearing inside, and Soren gave him an encouraging smile. But as soon as he was gone he let out a heavy breath, wincing. 

 “It’s not fine, eh?” Corvus said, not looking up from what he was doing.

 “I mean, it probably would be by tomorrow- ow”

 “No. It won’t.”

 Soren sighed. “Fine. I’ll rest.”

 “Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad? I could have helped you back to camp.”

 “I uhm…”

 “There’s more than one way to be tough.” Corvus told him, finishing the splint and sitting back to look at Soren. “Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness.”

 “Yeah, well, where I come from it is.”

 “That’s stupid.”

 “Are you calling my family stupid?”

 “I guess so.” Corvus returned the rest of the supplies to the med kit and clipped it shut before standing up. “I’ll check on it again tomorrow. Okay?”

 “But what am I supposed to do all day? Everyone else is going to be out doing fun stuff, and I’ll just be stuck here watching the grass grow.”

 “That’s the price you’re paying for your heroics.”

 “Heroics?” Soren perked up, and Corvus glanced back at him.

 “Don’t let it go to your head.”

 “Too late.” Soren grinned at him, and a small smile tugged at the corner of Corvus’ mouth. The older boy sighed.

 “I suppose I should stay back and ensure that you actually rest.”

 “So… what I’m hearing is that you’re gonna keep me company?”

 “That would be a side effect, yes.”

 “Great! We can come up with a new camp song.”

 “And why would we do that?”

 “Because it’s fun.” Soren said, counting off the reasons on the fingers of his left hand. “Because we can. And because I said so.”

 Corvus rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Camp songs it is, then.”

 “Yes!” Soren cheered, forgetting that the log he was sitting on didn’t have a back and toppling over.

 “Soren!” Corvus rushed to his side, peering over to make sure that he was alright. “Are you okay?”

 Soren brushed the leaves from his clothes as the older boy helped him up. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

 “Tomorrow, then?”

 “Tomorrow."

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

The only way i could see Canon Katara interested on Zuko is if he somehow did his Heel Turn long before the start of the show and has become a freedom fighter akin to Jet, but without the murder.

Obviously, this is impossible, there is no way that a young Zuko could become a better person without his exile, his enviroment is just not place that encourage

Sorry for the last question i send, i made a mistake and send it sooner than i wanted.

But anyway, what i tried to say that, even if that ridiculous scenario that i propossed where to happen, Zuko would be a very different characther from his Canon self. Plus even if he has become Katara's type, there is no way to know if Katara would be Zuko's type on that scenario lol

***

Once again, guys: pre-scar and exile Zuko was already dealing with a ton of bagagge, and post-redemption Zuko was already a "freedom fighter but without the murder." Katara saw him at this worst during all of book one, at his somewhat less of dick moments (Ba Sing Se), and at his best after his redemption - and she wasn't attracted to him at any of these points.

"I don't support war, genocide and/or murder" is the bare minimum for Katara to not want somebody dead. Compassion is an obligation, not something that immediately makes a guy be a potential boyfriend in her eyes.

We have the answer of what would take for her to be into Zuko, and that answer is not "He can't be a villain anymore" but rather "He can't be Zuko." He can't be a dork that says the wrong thing in a funny way, she'd get mad. He can't want to live in the Fire Nation, there's nothing there for her. He can't be as stubborn as she is, otherwise they're gonna fight (just look at how many times she fights with Toph). He can't take himself too seriously, she'll just mock him for it (ask Sokka).

She wants the guy that literally sweeps her off her feet to charm her, or the guy that notices she's feeling left out at a party, dances with her, and smoothly tells her to ignore everyone's eyes on them because "it's just you and me." She would NOT react well to a guy that screams "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" in the middle of their date (just see how well it worked for Aang when he went "I mean, if it was between kissing you and dying")

And we do know what Zuko's type is: Mai. Gloomy yet sweet, bitchy yet unbothered, out-spoken yet doesn't feel she owes anybody any explanations ever, can handle herself but likes being pampered, apathetic yet caring, has nothing prove yet can be quite arrogant, stubborn yet understanding, aloof to the world in general yet obviously crazy about him in particular.

Zuko might catch brief feelings for someone like Jin (nice, sweet and cheery), but long-term he needs someone as messy as himself so he can relate, but with the kind of mess that balances him out instead of encouraging his worst traits - the yin to his yang. He was not kidding when he said "You're so beautiful when you hate the world"

Katara loves life in general too much for her and Zuko to relate to each other in that regard. She doesn't even know what the word "apathy" means. She doesn't have an "unbothered" bone in her body. Girl went through a ton of trauma and still wasn't anywhere near gloomy, quite the contrary. And she has a bad temper, just like Zuko, which they both know is a bad combo, hence them surrounding themselves with more chill people (Aang, Iroh, Hakoda, Mai, etc).

They're not each other's type AT ALL, hence there being no spark when they become friends. Hence them being not just embarassed, but weirded our and uncomfortable when people mistake them for a couple.

There's a reason zutara fics re-write their personalities completely: there's no other way to force them together because they're fundamentally incompatible. The real Zuko would NEVER be attracted to the real Katara, and vice versa.

[batsplat]

CRAZY THINGS ARE HAPPENING https://www.tumblr.com/kwisatzworld/767503662882914304/sete-came-to-the-vr46-garage-what-year-even-is-it

(photo of sete in the vr46 garage) been thinkinggggg about this.... I'm actually quite ambivalent on the topic of like. sete + valentino reconciliation because I'm also a big believer in some wounds remaining open, like I actually think there's something cute and fun and compelling about valentino being So Fucking Weird about sete and doing his weird erasing him from the narrative gig... and I've been a very sete-sympathetic mood recently where he's really been triggering my sports underdog-love brain and what valentino did to him was SO MEAN and SO FUCKED UP - low key kinda the worst he's done to any rival lbr!! - and obviously valentino will NEVER apologise for that... so a part of me kinda wants sete to pull himself together and be a bit more bitter in his own right y'know. but I suppose the bit of sete that folds is kind of key characterisation too... idk. it's also not going to prompt anyone to take his career + rivalry with valentino more seriously because valentino's already basically done the damage there. and if you're going to be such a cunt you might as well go all the way, like if valentino were any less evil about it I would find the whole thing considerably harder to stomach. as a sports fan my heart is very much attuned to sete's plight!! sete, don't talk to him. don't go to his bloody ranch

anyway that's the normative analysis about what I'd LIKE to happen. as for the positive analysis... weird weird vibes. I recently remembered some uccio/vale/sete lore that didn't make it to the toxic yuri post and it does kinda make me very. curious. about what that three-way dynamic looks like, if you will. real likelihood that sete is the valentino rival who uccio had by far the most of an actual... direct rapport with... like it's not unreasonable to suggest them and valentino hung out socially on several occasions... they also knew each other when valentino went all *gestures* y'know. on sete. idk where I'm going with this!! I just think it's interesting... I don't really feel like this is a photo I could imagine happening with any of valentino's other rivals, which does Tell You Something idk. curious if this all leads somewhere or if uccio went back home to valentino to call sete a bitch

[backofthebookshelf]

Another thing I find fascinating about Beholding specifically is - the pursuit of knowledge is not an inherently unhealthy or exploitative way to manage your relationships with the world! It *can* be, sure - but where is the line? Where does "I need to know what that was so it never happens to me again" turn into "I need you to relive the worst thing that ever happened to you so I can feel safe"? Where does it cross the line? Is it when you ask someone else about their experience? When you encourage someone who's reluctant to talk? Obviously at some point Jon developed an unhealthy relationship with the statements, but was that when he started intentionally seeking out live statements? When he got weak and shaky without them? When he realized he knew which statements were real? When he joined the Magnus Institute because even though Mr Spider was the only supernatural encounter he'd had in his life he still couldn't let it go?

Slippery slope is a logical fallacy because it's often used to connect things that have no inherent connection, but when it's tiny steps towards something that you can't see coming that's just... normalization. The Overton window shifting. Normal human adjustment to difficult circumstances.

Jon absolutely chose a lot of the steps that put him on the path to S4 and Scrutiny (his low point, I think, although Jordan Kennedy's domain is fighting for that spot). He didn't choose them knowing where they would lead, but most of us don't; I don't think Jonah did either, to be honest, I think he just was less unhappy with the results. But what's so fascinating to me is, absent the foreknowledge of the plot and the awareness that it's a horror tragedy story, it's impossible to say where he absolutely should have turned back before it was too late. Hell, even once he's fully tied to Beholding, it's impossible to say when he's definitely, absolutely causing more harm than doing good by attempting to understand and stop what's happening.

So yes, he was manipulated, and he chose it, and he didn't know it was dangerous until he did, and he didn't realize how harmful it was until he did, and he could have stopped but at such a cost that very few people can really argue it was a reasonable thing to expect anyone to do, but he didn't. There's a line there, somewhere, but it's not a clear one and there's no clear way to avoid getting there either.

That's why I love tragedy, I think. Because it's actually really common to find yourself, through no particular ill will on your part or anyone else's, in a situation of your own making where the only choices you have are between bad and worse. And that doesn't make you a terrible person or absolve you of blame; it doesn't mean you shouldn't try to invent better choices or make sure the same thing doesn't happen again, but it doesn't mean it's possible to do anything that won't make you hate yourself a little. That, as Picard says, is not failure. It's life.

readings of the podcast which try to frame jon as having been tragically manipulated and forced through every decision by elias are of no interest to me. because it's not true, is it. when elias tells him in mag 92 "you always chose to see," he's being cruel, yes. victim blaming him, even. but to completely disregard it as an attempt at manipulation would be a mistake. much of the podcast is about exploiting people's trauma. as i've said before, jon's role as head archivist, back when it was still presented as a mundane office job to the audiences, and he hadn't developed any beholding powers yet, involved filing away statement givers' trauma without offering help of any kind. the institute subsists on this form of exploitation, in a literal sense obviously, because it's a temple to the eye. but even if you take that reveal away, it's also true in simply an administrative sense in season one. and jon used to ruthlessly dismiss every single statement giver with as much apathy as he could muster (while knowing that if a statement doesn't record digitally, then it's the truth), and note that faking skepticism was a form of coping mechanism for him, it was the choice between making statement givers feel small or making himself feel vulnerable—and is this not simply the bureaucratic version of what he does later as a supernatural avatar of the beholding, vampirically feeding on people's terror to stay alive or risk being consumed by the eye?

(Season 3) MAG 117 - "Testament" // (Season 4) MAG 142 - "Scrutiny"

of course, i'm not saying he bought it on himself, that he deserved to be put in an impossible situation later for being an arse in season one. jon too, has had his trauma exploited in the form of a guest for mr spider, an experience which eventually led him to the magnus institute where he would help fulfill the web's designs. so, in the grand scheme of things everyone was puppeteered by forces beyond their control, but would you excuse jonah for eveything he's ever done because of it? then why must jon be rendered completely non-agentic? yes, elias manipulated him, but he has never had to straight up coerce jon into anything. jon's just always done what's been expected of him. because they're alike. their shared desire for knowledge originates from fear. jon always chose to see because something had hurt him once and he needed answers, and we can assume jonah chose the beholding because it was the only entity which would expose him to information on all the other fears. knowledge is a means of survival for both of them, an inclination which later manifests literally as they become avatars who must subsist on terror. it all really comes down to letting yourself be exploited or exploiting someone else to escape that fate (you don't escape, not really, nobody does in the podcast), and jon did choose (with as much agency he could've possibly had in a story like this). the difference between them being that elias feels no remorse for his choice, but jon's character is defined by the enormous guilt he feels about the things he has done and what he must do to continue living, until he doesn't.

[calsvoid]

oh god it’s happened again it’s happened again

[babypanther95]

One of my first experiences, upon no longer being in Israel and returning to my regular job as a teacher, is a student leaving a note in my classroom that says "Ms. --- is a Jew. No Jews. Hitler to come back." So you know. Really wish I was still in Israel or at least wasn't the only Jewish person at the school (teacher or student). By the way, I teach 6th grade...