#and i think she'd be a great grandma honestly

[izziegs]

Starting to feel like my future is gonna be a "Choose 2 out of the 3" scenario between:

A. Being true to myself and my identity

B. Being a parent

C. Keeping regular contact with my family

I can only have two. One has to be left behind. And it's kinda devastating to think about rn

[stardewvalleybut-i-draw]

Can u give me ur full thoughts on Alex? I feel like a lot of the shit he gets is unjustified. Yeah he says some sus things to the farmer (no matter what gender you are!) but that's only because he's horribly mislead. The man just doesn't know any better. I mean think about it. Abused and neglected, lacking good male role models, and he's got no friends in town except for maybe Haley and you know how she is. If she was told "you're probably not into sports" she'd say "ew no" because sports would get her all dirty.

I always saw him as just a loner-type guy who doesn't know how to talk to people. Spent too much time trying to develop his cringe ass macho man persona that he forgot to develop social skills. I don't think that makes him a bad person though. I could honestly talk for hours about how toxic masculinity is a monster that preys on young boys and eats them alive if they're not careful. But even with societal pressure being so intense, growth is possible. Alex is still a massive sweetie in my eyes. A big dumb doofus who loves his granny and wants to lift heavy things just to impress you.

I would love your thoughts though!!

#1 Alex fan anon ⚡️

Yeah. That's basically more or less my thoughts😅

It honestly depends on what you experience that can greatly color Alex's character

This might be one of my more controversial takes

(right next to being a Clint apologist💀)

but stick with me here-

If you grow up in a similar environment to most guys, you can understand why Alex is the way they are. It's not exactly easy to be soft or mindful when you have a harsh environment around you. Many guys end up coping with repressed thoughts and feelings in unique ways to soothe themselves. I think Alex's was sports. (Idk just a hunch) but it often leads to a lot of blind spots or misunderstandings of the world.

I've seen a lot of people like Alex and I've had a couple of friends in high school like that too! And I can tell you... yeah... it comes from SOMEWHERE, A lot of them ain't doing so great mentally.

Heck, I do that! Whenever I get uncomfortable with a situation or feelings I don't like, I make jokes to ease my brain. Releses a little serotonin ya know what I mean?

Not all coping mechanisms are bad tho, we kinda have our own form of bond and support that from the outside looks cold and uninviting but I promise you, we would die for our brothers. (plus the cold uninviting part is just a front)

"I know the homie told us to KYS over Roblox but he bought the group Freebirds during the gym session so it's all good!"/j

I can't say much from the other perspective but I would assume they would see Alex as a HUGE BIG RED flag and someone potentially dangerous or someone who brings back bad memories which is why he is dunked on so much. Even if they don't mean it, they have a higher chance of hurting people.

I don't think Alex is THAT type of character at all, I think he has good intentions but as you said "no social skills". I can see why others would interpret that way though.

It's funny that you mention how Alex doesn't have many female role models cuz... you have

Haley- Lazy and super not into dirt.

His mom- got sick and DIED.

Granny Evelyn- frail weak old woman who makes cookies and tends to flowers.

Those are not exactly SUPER GREAT examples of women who like sports.

Personally, I get why people say that playing a male farmer is better for Alex's story arc along with confronting George about the whole being gay thing but I think the female farmer has elements that I don't think are acknowledged much.

From my perspective anyway, I think a Fem farmer shows Alex a better example of women and what they can do VS grandma, dead mom, and Haley... along with learning boundaries and how better cope with repressed feelings and MAYBE-

-even address the fear of the farmer DYING of a sickness just like his mom or the intrusive thoughts of believing he'll end up like his father making him overprotective and paranoid about the farmers well being...

but you can ignore that...

Idk man, that's just the way I view it. You either like Alex or you don't :/

I ain't saying anyone's wrong to feel the way they do

[0lshadyl0]

Hiya! I saw request were open! So hear me out. What if, the reader s/o, darling, whichever you may call it, what if the reader managed to act get unlucky enough to be bought by a Celestial Dragon? 👀👀👀? But more so, with Yandere Boa Hancock? (headcannons) it'd be interesting to see what you'd think she'd do, seeing her beloved go through what she did. Also would you mind adding yandere Sabo and Ace to that list? Tell me if you don't wanna write this, I'm honestly just tryna see what you'd think they'd do :P. Thank you and bye~! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o XOXO(´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

 Yandere reaction of s/o bought by a Celestial Dragon

Since I'm feeling generous, I'll make it possible for the darling to be rescued and have a happy ending with their yanderes, but if you want the bad ending, send another request.

Boa Hancock

When the news reaches the Pirate Empress that her Darling has been captured and not only that, but that she has been sold to celestial dragons, she will feel as if the world is falling apart around her and flashbacks of how much she suffered during her years of slavery will come back to her head, which will make her collapse to the ground while being comforted by her sisters while she is consumed by helplessness after all she still has not overcome her traumas with those people. But when she manages to react again, she will have to be stopped by Marigold, Sandersonia and Gloriosa (you know, Grandma Nyon) because without thinking twice she will try to leave Amazon Lily alone to rescue her beloved.

When she comes to her senses again, because even if she wants to, she can't take on what is technically the entire world government alone, she will turn to the only person she feels could go against the Celestial Dragons and win, obviously I'm talking about the Mugiwaras (especially Luffy, well Boa was just thinking in Luffy)

And we all know that this little group is always willing to save whoever it is, no matter who they have to face, in fact, they would help even more because everyone hates the Celestial Dragons (remember Sabondy and Camie's kidnapping, Luffy's punch was epic)

So with the help of the Mugiwara (I'm thinking we're already out of the Wano arc), Luffy's army (because yes, all his followers that he got in Dressrosa would go to help his yonko) and all the Kuja pirates (only Grandma Nyon and the very young girls who can't fight would remain on the island)

All together they are going to Mary Geoise to do a raid of biblical proportions and while the Mugiwaras and the rest are breaking everything breakable in the government and its people, Hancok will be crazy looking for her dear all over the place while praying to the god Enel or whatever she believes in for her well-being (remember that except for Luffy, I don't think she is romantically interested in another man… unless it's Shanks but we all here know that he is irresistible, he's like Thanos, inevitable XD, I don't make the rules that's like a law in One Piece, I know, Oda told me in a dream)

In those moments she is not Boa Hancock, she is the demon of her fruit manifested in the body of a beautiful woman who will turn you into stone and kick whoever crosses her regardless of whether they are an ally or an enemy until they are less than dust, after all nothing matters more than her beloved, besides, everyone will forgive her because she is beautiful.

When he finds her, she will cry with joy as she will thoughtlessly free her beloved and shower her with kisses until her lips get tired. Then, when the euphoria passes, she will analyze the state she is in. If she is okay, Hancock will thank the heavens for such great fortune, but if she is hurt, her anger will be immeasurable and as she takes her to a safe place, she will have no mercy on any poor idiot who crosses her path.

Honestly, this raid will help take away some of the trauma the Pirate Empress has with the Celestial Dragons when she sees them fall into Luffy's crew hands.

If her beloved were to have a mark of slavery like her, Boa Hancock would cry and the two of them would console each other for the hard event that they both went through, but now that symbol would change in their minds, or rather, in Boa's mind, since it is a mark that unites them, a traumatic event from which they both survived and which is a sign of destiny that nothing can separate them, not even the government or the celestial dragons.

Oh yeah, after this Darling will never be able to leave Amazon Lily again, or even be more than 30 centimeters away from Hancock, she will be very afraid that a similar situation will happen again, good luck trying to convince her otherwise.

Well, I only did the Boa Hancock one, I was going to do the others but the post would be too long and I couldn't explain everything I wanted if I had to do the three characters in the same post, if you still want to know Sabo and Ace's reactions, feel free to leave me another request.

[blueberrymash]

james sirius potter - the star boy

·˚ ༘ just some headcanons on what I think harry potter's eldest son would be like

·˚ ༘ 1.4k words

- he's a big marvel fan and he lovess miles morales (he literally wants to be him), if he had a girlfriend he'd beg her to go as miles and gwen for halloween. literally don't talk to him about any superhero stuff though, he'll talk your ear off he's such a fanboy and gets like a little kid whenever he talks about batman, spiderman or captain america.

- he's extremely popular like almost ridiculously so. he has a huge friend group and everyone except maybe for the slytherins like and respect him. nobody says that they don't like james sirius potter and if anyone within the gryffindor house would even utter one bad word about him, they would definitely be frowned upon

- some say he's like a carbon copy of his father, because they're so similar in so many aspects (they're both sassy boys).

- OH he's absolutely a fuck boy. there's not a single doubt in my mind that he is. he's not against having a girlfriend but she'd definitely have to be super popular as well and stand out from the masses. he'd never date someone shy or introverted, since he's like "if the word 'extroverted' was a person" if you know what I mean. he just wants somebody to match his freak and do crazy irresponsible shit with. he's also the type of person who loves to go out & socialize so he'd need to date somebody who's also like that. he also needs to release the pent up energy inside him so staying in all of the time just isn't an option for him. but he would have introverted friends.

- he likes to make out with hot girls at parties and forget their name in the morning. he likes to drink and sometimes smoke as well. he's the life of the party, always animating everyone to dance and drink and play games, always doing smalltalk with everyone and remembering little details about them but forgetting the big things (like their name lmao). he's a beer pong champion and in general really good at all the party games. he's just like a party animal

- he always knows the right things to say at the right time and people adore him for it. he genuinely cares about everyone in his year, even the slytherin outcasts. if he sees someone crying or hurt he doesn't care who you are or which house you're in, he's cheering you up

- he likes to be the center of attention. whenever his dad is followed by paparazzi or journalists, he makes a show out of talking to them, posing for the cameras until he's pulled away by ginny. she's honestly so done with him by now because he's such a sucker for attention lmaoo. but then he ends up in like famous wizard magazines (even the daily prophet) and he just has the biggest, most smug grin on his face when he sees his picture, it definitely encourages him to keep giving the paparazzi what they want

- he's also a family guy even if he doesn't get along with albus that well. he loves his little sister lily though and his mom and his dad. christmas with his family is his favorite thing because he loves their little traditions. he always puts great care in what he gets eveyone as a present and he loves it when lily's face lights up when he gets her that exact thing she wanted. he also loves his grandmother (slayy grandma molly) and he always proudly wears the sweaters that she knits him! the whole weasley-potter-delacour and whatnot family always has a big get-together ont the 25th or 26th of december and that's where james whips out his guitar and performs the christmas songs he's been working on perfecting all season.

- he lovesss quidditch and dancing and he'd actually be the type to start kpop dancing or something and he'd be AMAZING like actually breathtaking. he's the only thing you can look at while he performs on stage, he's just the golden boy. he'd go to training like everyday when he's at home and while he's at school he'd practice on his own! he really looks up to celestia warbeck and wants to be the male version of her when he's older! definitely he's really dedicated and I can imagine him being in like a boy group when he's older or going on to be a solo performer

- he can also sing and play the guitar, bro writes his own songs! his voice is the one of an angel and whenever he sings at a gryffindor bonfire or party, the whole room is drawn to him, falls for him. he dreams of being an entertainer or professional quidditch player later in his life and he's honestly made for it as well. the scouts who watch him play or dance always eat whatever he does up. he's literally destined to be a superstar, plus he also has great advantages from being a nepo baby.

- he's not that good at school though, except maybe for flying class and some random subject like divination (let's be honest, only because he flirts with professor trelawney), he'll just get some ravenclaw girl to tutor him though

- he's the type to take feminist literature to a café and pretend he's reading it lmaoo. it's not like he's not a feminist or doesn't support women's rights (he loves women), the boy just doesn't read books, like at all. he just wants to pick up women with the feminist literature and he'll pretend like he's read the book.

- honestly he'd even listen to lana del ray or taylor swift and he's not embarrased or scared he'll be seen as gay or soft. he knows he's straight (maybe even a little heteroflexible) and cis and he doesn't feel threatened in his masculinity when a gay boy comes and flirts with him, he sees it as an honour and politely declines, I mean, he even has gay friends and gay cousins and bro let's be honest, even though he isn't out yet, his brother's definitely a bit fruity for his best friend scorpius. he's not scared of rumours about his identity or sexuality, people can misinterpret him, he literally doesn't care.

- unbothered king!! you either love him or you hate him but he literally doesn't care, he can be so nonchalant and can definitely break a girl's heart cause he literally DOES NOT CARE TUT and he's definitely gotten himself into a lot of situationships (like I said, he's a fuckboy) but he will only ever get with a girl he is in love with, he doesn't just bring any girl home to his momma, she'd have to be special

- apropos, he is such a mama's boy! not like those boys who's momma is in love with them and hates every girlfriend their son brings home, no, that's obviously not ginny, but he just honestly loves his mom! he likes to go shopping with her and lily or go get their nails done with them (yes, he also loves those pretty nails with designs, not the long acrylic ones obviously but the short ones. he practically advanced from just painting his nails black to getting designs on them)

- the best way to be in james' life is honestly to either be one of his cousins or friends. his friends are literally like family to him and he's so loyal to them. also he's such a fun friend and always comes up with the best ideas, it's never boring with him. he's also open to doing so many different things, depending on what his freinds are like. if you're introverted and like staying in, he'll literally just do that with you and yes, he'll even watch gossip girl and do face masks, he doesn't mind, he just likes spending time with his friends. he'll enjoy whatever he does as long as its with a friend. and if you're one of his cousins he'll literally treat you like a sibling / best friend because all of his cousins are his best friends

- he's sooo generous and caring. you haven't eaten all day and feel like you're about to die from starvation? have his entire sandwich and let him bring you a plate of food from the house elves kitchen to your room. you feel like throwing up? bbg he'll hold your hair while you're puking and give you back rubs. you don't have anything to do in the summer holidays? come with him on the potter family holiday to spain! he literally just wants his loved ones to be happy and he'll do anything for their happiness

y'all want more?

[five-rivers]

Season of the Skies

I started playing a game called Sky: Children of the Light recently, and although this isn't a crossover, it's definitely inspired by the vibes of that. It's a cute game!

Also, based on the feedback I got on AO3, there seems to be a significant overlap between the Phandom and Sky: Cotl players? Is that the case?

.

Reality had broken a month ago, and Danny was having the time of his life.  

He leaped lightly from rooftop to treetop and back again, gravity a dreamy afterthought.  The tiles and bark were rough beneath his bare feet, but not so rough he regretted not wearing shoes.  His impacts shook loose pollen, glitter, and a few stray petals, but did the trees no harm.  On the roofs he was silent, and no one came out to yell at him, but the window glass chimed with flashes of light.

The colors around him were bright and soft. Easy to look at, easy to fall into. The sky above was marbled with dawn-colored clouds and stars caught among distant nebulae.  Light and color were some of the first things to break, and Danny wasn't sorry to see light pollution go.  Most Everything glowed, now, and stargazing would have been terrible if eyes still worked the same way.  

At his next jump, this one taking him up a good ten feet, the feather-soft edge of the shawl he was wearing flared out behind him, brushing his arms.  The shawl was huge on him.  An old project of his great-grandmother's, it had been made with the typical Fenton girth in mind.  Honestly, it fit him more like a cape than a shawl, but he liked it that way.  

He landed safely and straightened the cape.  His dad’s needlepoint hobby had been inherited from her, so the dark blue fabric was covered in fine embroidery, lace, and tiny glass beads in shades of clear, pale blue, and white.  Great Grandma Fenton hadn't been into ghosts the same way the current Fentons were, but she'd been into something, so the patterns were strange.  Icicles, snowflakes, stars, clouds, and trees competed with lightning, runes and sigils, and strange, spirit-like creatures.  

“Hey!” shouted someone from the street below.  “Hey, Fentwerp!  What the hell do you think you're doing?”

Ah.  Dash.  Charming.  Danny leaned over the edge of the roof.  “What does it look like I'm doing?” he asked agreeably.  

“Getting your dumb nerd self killed is what it looks like,” said Dash, glowering up at Danny, his face turning red.

There.  See.  That's what Danny didn't understand.  No one else seemed willing to experiment with how the world was now.  They were all operating under the old rules, or, worse, looking for ways to fix things, as if the new world wasn't better than the old.  

Sure, it had been scary the first few days.  The suddenness.  The uncertainty.  The way systems they had relied on for so long had stuttered or failed outright.  Danny knew people had been hurt, that, in some places, they were still getting hurt.  He had been one of those people, having been in the hospital when the change rippled through the world, a result of an equipment malfunction in his parents’ lab.  

Maybe his opinion would be different if he was still getting hurt.  But as it was… why would he ever want to go back to how things were?  Why would he want to leave this world, where the colors were soft and bright, and the light sang?  Why would he want to leave this world where the air itself seemed to bear him up?  Where the possibilities seemed limitless?

There was so much more potential for good, with the world as it was than as it had been.  So much less potential for harm.  This was a more finished version of the world.  All the rough edges were gone, and filled with wonder.  He could feel it.

“Get down here!” demanded Dash, when Danny didn't respond.  

“No,” said Danny.  

“Get down here or else.”

“Or else what?” asked Danny, genuinely curious.  Dash couldn't get up here.  No one else could, as far as Danny knew. They hadn't taken the time to work out the new rules for gravity. 

Dash clenched his hands into fists, then stooped to grab a fairly large rock.  Danny, seeing no reason to just let Dash throw it at him, left.  

“Hey!” shouted Dash.  “Hey!  Freakton!  Get back here!”

Names like that were a lot less distressing when the people using them had no power to hurt you.  

Danny continued on his path upwards, touching on higher and higher buildings.  It was tough to get the proper amount of momentum to make some of his jumps, especially since he'd stopped to talk to Dash, but he managed to make all of them, and soon he was standing on top of the tallest building in Amity Park.  

In the center of the roof was a small tree, a sapling.  It hadn't been there the first time Danny had made it up here, and it had grown rapidly since then.  Next time he came, it'd probably be taller than he was. 

For now, though, Danny knelt to check the roots where they grew through a widening crack in the building's roof.  He'd warned the people in the building (he had warned everyone in buildings that had suddenly found themselves with roof trees), but he hadn't heard that anyone had done anything about it, and the roof trees felt friendly to him, so he hadn't pushed the issue.  From the descriptions and pictures Sam had given him, this one seemed healthy enough.  

He pulled a bottle from his backpack and gave the tree a generous sprinkle.  Then he stood up, gave the crown of leaves an affectionate ruffle, and made his way to the edge of the roof.

The city spread out in all directions below him, vibrant and changing.  Towards the edges of town, some buildings had lifted off their foundations, becoming floating islands.  Across the viridian, iridescent forest to the north, he could see blue-bright-gray flashes of Lake Eerie.  Fentonworks was easily visible off to the west, silver dishes and spires chased with green halos.  The parks bloomed with flowers both alien and familiar, vines trailing up into the air, trees growing explosively fast.  A breeze from behind turned his attention south, and he saw high clouds letting down shimmering curtains of rain.  

It wasn’t like Amity Park had been drab and horrible before, but why would anyone want to go back?

He looked away, back down at the street far below him.  Steeling himself, he grasped the edges of the shawl, he spread his arms wide.  

“Time to lift off,” he said, quietly.  “T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two–” Where he would have said one, he instead inhaled deeply.  Where he would have said zero, he jumped.  

For a heart-stopping moment, he wondered if he’d made a terrible mistake, if he’d made an error in his calculations, if reality had chosen that moment to reassert itself and he was about to drop like a rock.  

The moment passed quickly.  He was flying.  Or, at least, gliding.  

He laughed, and flapped his ‘wings.’  The shawl snapped behind him and gave him a small amount of lift.  

He was doing it.  He was doing it.  

And now that he was doing it, it felt as natural as breathing.  All that planning, all those calculations, all that running, climbing, and jumping–

He could fly.  

Oh, maybe it wasn’t as impressive as it would have been in the old world, where gravity was a cruel mistress.  But it was still flight, unpowered, human flight, and no one he knew of had done this before.  

He laughed, and banked to the side, flying in spirals.  He wasn’t brave enough to try a loop, yet, but he would, eventually, when he learned more about this.  

His spirals took him over the park, the school, the mall, even the Nasty Burger.  But he was losing altitude, his arms were getting tired, and he knew that if he got too close to the ground, gravity would get him again.  Not to the point of hurting him at all, but he didn’t want to land just anywhere after all this work.  

He tipped his wings westward, and started gliding home, pumping his ‘wings’ as infrequently as he could get away with.  He didn’t quite make it all the way back to his front door, but he got close, just a few houses down the street.  He rubbed his shoulders.  That was going to leave him sore.  He’d have to work out and practice more if he wanted to fly any real distance.  He'd also need a way to take off that didn’t involve climbing the tallest building in town. 

The front door of Fentonworks slammed open, revealing a pale Jack and a furiously pink Maddie.

“Daniel James Fenton!  What do you think you're doing?”

Danny looked down at his bare feet, then back up at his parents.  “Walking?”

Maddie sucked a breath in between her teeth.  “Inside,” she said

Danny hurried to obey, taking the steps up to the door two at a time and squeezing past her and Jack to get into the house.  Maddie closed the door behind him. 

“So, um,” said Danny, shuffling from foot to foot.  “What, um.  I thought you guys were going to be working all day today?”

“On the Ops Center,” said Jack.  “Not in the la– Not downstairs.”

Danny made note of the near-slip but didn’t comment on it.  He was already in trouble.  He didn’t need to remind them that the lab didn’t exactly exist anymore and make their mood worse.  

“Oh,” he said.  “What were you–?”

“Never mind what we were doing.  What were you doing?  What were you thinking, jumping off a building like that?  You could have died?”

“Or been seriously hurt!”

“But I wasn’t!  I’m fine.  I planned it all out, and it worked.”

“And it shouldn’t have!” shouted Jack and Maddie at the same time.  

Danny blinked up at them.  “What?”

Jack explained.  “We’ve been tracking the changes to gravity, too, Danny.  We’ve been measuring it, measuring all the changes, to see what those darn ghosts did.”

Danny held back a sigh.  There still wasn’t any sign that ghosts had done this, or even that ghosts existed.  

“Gravity might have changed a bit,” continued Jack, “but not enough to keep a human being airborne like that.”

“There are whole buildings floating,” said Danny.  “I’m a lot smaller than a building.”

“The rules seem to be different for different masses, as well as different altitudes,” said Maddie, making a face.  

“Yeah!  It’s really exciting.  We’re trying to measure the ectoplasm levels– It has to be related, but we haven’t been able to detect any yet– Those ghosts are tricky, son–”  

“Well, yeah.  But the rules are also different for things that are alive.”

“Really?” asked Jack, leaning close.  

“Uh, yes?  Otherwise I wouldn’t have done, um.  That.  I tested it.”

“You tested it?  Did you write it down?”

Danny nodded, cautiously.  Jack swept him off his feet.  “Our boy has been doing science, Mads!”

“He’s been jumping off of buildings!”

“Putting his research to practical use!”

“He’s been jumping off buildings without being peer reviewed!”

“Oh, yeah, son, you should have had someone check your work.”

“You never get peer reviewed,” said Danny, scowling.  

“That’s different,” said Maddie, quickly.  

“If anyone else believed in ghosts, you’d be sure we would be!”  

Hanging limp in Jack’s arms, Danny grumbled.  

“Danny,” said Maddie.  

“Yes?” he mumbled.  

“No more testing theories without checking in with us first.  Safety first.  You should know this by now.”

Danny hunched his shoulders and tried not to think too hard about his scars.  They weren’t very visible, and the doctors had said that they’d fade away, probably entirely, eventually, but they were still there now, if you knew where to look.

A month ago, reality had broken.  

A few days before that, Danny had almost died.  Lab accident.  It turned out that his parents thought portals to other dimensions which may or may not exist needed a lot of electricity and chemicals to function.  Danny had been curious.  He’d wanted to explore, to investigate.  He’d stepped on a loose wire that had led to a capacitor.  He’d been horribly electrocuted, and then exposed to a chemical cocktail.  Sam and Tucker, who had been in the lab with him, had called for an ambulance, and he’d been brought to the hospital.

At least, that’s what he was told, later.  He hadn’t woken up until he’d been in the hospital for a few days.  Of course, when he had woken up, he did so because a bunch of the medicines going into him had started to do weird things while reality restructured itself, and that had been… incredibly unpleasant.  Everyone had been grateful that only a very few things - like whatever Danny had been on to take care of the chemicals he’d picked up in the lab - had acted like that.

Later, Jazz had told Danny that for a brief period of time between the accident and reality breaking, Jack and Maddie had sworn off ghost hunting.  Presumably forever.  But once the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology started to rebel and twist, they’d taken it back.  Well, to be fair, apparently they didn’t take it back until the lab disappeared.  And the Fenton Stockades.    

Although, to be fair in the other direction, it was more a case of everyone’s basements disappearing and being replaced by weird misty caverns than ghosts specifically targeting his parents.  It was a whole thing. 

(Personally, Danny was glad to see them go, although it had sounded like Sam was mourning hers.)

“Danny,” said Maddie, “tell us that you understand.”

“I understand.  I don’t test theories without you,” said Danny, grudgingly.  “Not even about cool things like flying.”

Maddie scowled.  Jack beamed.  

“Great!” shouted Jack.  He whirled Danny around again.  “Let’s go see your data!  Where is it?”

“Upstairs,” mumbled Danny.  “I’ve got a notebook.”

“A notebook, Mads!”  

Maddie sighed.  “Alright, let’s see the notebook.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for lashing out at my mom?

This is something that happened a while ago (like a couple years) and im moreso just curious what people think.

A little backstory before we get started, I was in high-school during this time and was severely mentally unstable. So unstable that prior to this I had JUST gotten out of the Psyche ward. My mom is notorious for being abusive and neglective, and anyone who knows me well will recognize my mom instantly from this. I also have DID, which can make remembering to do tasks pretty hard. With that out of the way:

I, (17nb), was driving home with my mom (40f) and two sisters (15f) and (16f) from my adoptive dad's house. He isn't important to the story, moreso that we were in the car during this time. I was on my phone which at the time I was punished from but was allowed to have to look at my grades. Because of my frequent hospitalizations (the most recent one had been my 8th) I wasn't doing very well in school on top of my already struggling mental health. (When something reminds me too much of high-school these days I actually pass out.)

I had been working really hard to bring up my grades! They went from straight Fs to Cs in a couple of weeks, and it was very close to the end of the year. I had pulled off what you could honestly call a miracle because if anyone knows the American school system, they know it's INCREDIBLY difficult to raise your grades at the end of the year. I was very excited because of this. I showed my mom the grades because I was so excited, and instead of validating me, she responded "that's great now do better"

I remember it felt like my world went silent, and I remember shouting "why can't you just be proud of me?!" I don't remember a lot of the conversation, but at some point she hit me. She'd hit me a lot in the past, and at this point I was really at my limit and I hit back. This is where I might be tah, because I escalated the fight by hitting back while we were in a moving vehicle, but I did demand she pull over the car shortly after. As soon as she did, I got out the car and ran as far as I could with the thought of going back to my dad's in my mind. However somehow she convinced me to come back and I got in the car. She yelled and berated me a bunch, before calling my grandmother and planning to drop me off with her. She then went back to where we were staying (where her current husband lives) and said husband almost attacked me. Eventually they got my things (some of which he destroyed) and then dropped me at my grandma's house and left me.

At this current point in time, she actually ended up giving up custody of me, and i live with my grandparents nowadays. I'm content here, though I wish I could change some things. Overall, I'm really just curious since my mom paints me as the badguy. Was I the asshole???

What are these acronyms?

[wordy-little-witch]

Do you think Shakky would be a good grandma?

To answer shortly: yes

However I honestly don't really ship Shakky and Rayleigh. I see them more as like. Best friends. Unhinged queer platonic life mates. If they ARE married, it was for tax evasion (/hj) or convenience.

I do however love the idea of great aunt Shakky á la Down For Anything Wine Aunt Vibes. Think a slightly more chill lady Stan from gravity falls lmfao.

She'd absolutely pull a line like "oh... that's something a responsible parent would never allow. Good thing I'm an aunt! Have fun, kids~"

She's good for babysitting short term but is liable to allow some more.... excessive..... games to fly by if it's longer terms. Honestly, most think her very level headed, but she believes in the pros and cons of "fuck around and find out".

She'd absolutely kill someone for the kids, though. No questions asked.

((Also a chronic enabler. Someone says no? Well, aunt Shakky said yes. What the parents don't know won't hurt them. Come along, minions, let's cause chaos-))

[emeritus-fuckers]

How do you think the papas and seester would treat a plus sized lover?

I just did some general hc here, if you want more, just ask - Jez

The Papas and Sister Imperator with a plus-sized s/o

Primo

I honestly think Primo would actually prefer a bigger darling.

He just associates it with you being a homemaker, a warm presence to get back home to.

He's an old man, he enjoys a cuddle, and a chubbier darling means better cuddles.

He loves holding you and resting against you.

You're very soft and he likes that a lot.

Secondo

I feel like he would certainly enjoy a larger darling, especially after retiring.

He needs some security and I feel like holding onto a plus-sized darling at night would make him feel better.

There is just this very nice feeling of comfort and security to fall asleep and wake up holding to a bigger darling.

He especially cherishes when he gets to lazily wrap his arm around your tummy and feel your soft skin.

Big fan.

Terzo

He's the type of person to not even notice your size.

Like... his darling is his darling.

He thinks you're sexy no matter how you look or what you wear.

He's short, he'd love to rest on top of you if you'd let him.

He also really wants to use you as a pillow.

Of course he wants to make sure you're comfortable with him doing that.

Absolutely adores you and your size.

Copia

Copia adores you.

It's a simple equation, bigger darling = more to love.

He loves resting against you while you play video games, snuggling against you with a childish whine when he loses.

You are the prettiest, the most beautiful person he's ever seen!

He will literally babble about how stunning you are!

The most affectionate man ever.

Old Nihil

At his age, he doesn't really care much.

If you're nice and caring, he's gonna simp for you and not even realize your size at all.

It's gonna be a few months into your relationship that one day he looks at you, realizes that you're plus-size and just goes "oh, okay".

And then he just goes back to simping like nothing happened.

Young Nihil

I feel like he's somewhat immature considering his age and he wouldn't exactly go for a bigger darling at first. He's just... somewhat shallow, I suppose.

But then again, life's full of surprises and he learns that a chubbier lover is actually a great deal!

He especially loves hiding his face in his darling's chest or stomach, pressing himself against your soft flesh.

You're gonna get facepaint all over your skin because of him.

I feel like he's somewhat judgy at first, at as he gets to spend more and more time with you, he becomes more accepting and likely to defend others who are your size and get bullied for whatever reason.

Young Sister Imperator

She finds you absolutely adorable. Pinches your cheek a lot.

She also somewhat knows if you're insecure about any parts of your body and gives many small, fleeting touches to them.

Her favorite activity is hugging you from behind and stroking your body with her thumbs as she rests her head on your shoulder.

She doesn't really say anything or acknowledges it too much, but the way she touches you makes you feel really loved.

Old Sister Imperator

Aside from after the months in hospital, Sister Imperator did develop a tendency to gain weight in her older years.

She does eat healthy and take good care of herself, but she is plus-size as well, simply because of genetics, like some grandmas just become chubby over the years (my grandma did).

So she doesn't mind a plus-sized darling at all!

If you're insecure, she'd love to help you develop a healthier relationship with your body.

Similarly to how she would do that in her youth, she'd give you soft, feeling touches.

All in all, she's incredible at boosting your self-confidence and making you feel loved.

Taglist: @firefirevampire @sirlsplayland @thatoddboy @ouijaboardemo @mamacarlyle (send an ask if you'd like to be added! read the pinned post before asking!)

[greetings-inferiors]

Talking to my mother feels like debating with Ben Shapiro, Jesus Christ it can be unbearable sometimes.

I posted this on my Instagram story

Banger meme I know. To those who don't (like my mother), the joke is riffing on the meme format itself, where two people say that they like the same thing, but then in the second panel they like different things with the same name. But the whole point of the ship of Theseus is that it's identical but completely different, so the creator has referenced this by using the same picture of a boat, twice. As a visual shorthand. Because they aren't going to get a picture of a before and after of a ship of Theseus experiment, that would be too much effort that frankly isn't necessary. You need a tiny bit of suspension of disbelief.

Anyway, my mother, who regularly thinks that fictional movies make no sense because that's not how things actually work (i.e. she has no suspension of disbelief). Messages me saying "but they are holding up the same thing?"

And like. Okay. I get that the whole point of this meme is subverting the meme format itself. The joke is that they found the one possible thing where they could be holding the same thing and the joke works. The joke isn't the ship of Theseus itself, it's a meta joke. But I've explained this. Maybe she just doesn't get the ship of Theseus?

I explain it to her. She says "no, I know the ship of Theseus. I'm just saying it'd be clever if the images were of different ships, as that image could be the same ship". And like. Yeah. The image is the same image at the same time. That's not the point. If it were different images a.) that's not a good shorthand for the ship of Theseus as the point is it looks and feels identical but isn't and b.) you're missing the meta context, and I'm sorry but it may just not be funny to you because of it. What you are offering is a different joke. If my grandma had wheels she'd be a bike, and all that.

Anyway this kept going and it was infuriating. I'm so used to not engaging with bait and trolls online, but when it's your actual mother, it feels like I have to. And it sucks. I get that she loves debating, arguing, and playing devil's advocate. I get that mbti isn't a great model, but you wouldn't know it from how accurate it pinned her down (I can't remember which one it is but she's the debater). And I honestly can't be arsed. I love a good debate sometimes, but when it's for the sake of debating, and especially when it's her, I just can't be arsed.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Wanted to comment under the fanfic but for some reason my account refuses to post the comment so it's copied from ao3

I am so glad we are getting the POV of the background tributes and the image of sheaf curled up into a little ball and panlo looking after her is so cute 🥺</p>

<p>I was so excited seeing a facet prespictive he's one of my favourite characters and him babysitting Is so cute I have been headcanoning that he is great with kids and him and the tributes standing up for dill is amazing she is just a harmless innocent sick little girl leave my baby alone<br />

And more Livia slander let's GOOOO<br />

And treech giving lamina all the food oh poor boy 😭 😭<br />

Once again I don't like babying snow but it's so entertaining seeing him embarrassed at showing Lucy gray he's home I am looking forward to her meeting tigris not so much to the grandma she better keep her venemous mouth shut for our rainbow songbird</p>

Amazing chapter as always 👍😊

There's been a lot of hateful bot comments so AO3's turned off guest comments multiple times, I guess it could be that? Idk but I can't think of anything else because I let everyone comment on my fics (I crave validation lol). Sheaf and Panlo need more love so while I struggle to characterize them distinctly I've decided to give them more love. Same with Facet. Idk if they came across well but I tried lmao. And I cannot resist writing about Treech and Lamina so they got thrown in there, which works because I made Facet very nice and very observant. Hence why he knows everyone's names and why he talks about Livia the way that he does. She'll warm up to him eventually, but for now I'm slandering the fuck out of her and honestly most of the mentors except for Sejanus. Sejanus is the only mentor who truly understands the horrors of the games, and even the nicest Capitol mentors have some pretty bad moral compasses when it comes to the districts to start with. Sejanus is the only one who doesn't have an arc to becoming a better person. His arc is understanding when it's time to let go of a relationship because the other person will drag him down into the depths if he doesn't.

Though, to be fair... I'm making Coryo a better person in this because it's a full fix-it. Dill and Felix will do most of the early heavy lifting (because he's the president's son like in the movie) but Coryo and Gaius will be more involved in some later happenings. Gaius strikes me as a person that tries to be good, comforting people in pain and making them laugh. However, his messed up view of the districts is blinding him when it comes to the tributes and the games. It's hard to laugh about someone's pain when they've been a better person that the people you consider "superior". Especially once you learn the horrific extent of their suffering. As for Coryo... I'm mixing the movie's general softening of his worst traits with the fact that this happens relatively early in the story. None of his worst conclusions have been drawn and since he'll never brutally murder Bobbin he'll never really start believing Gaul's theory. One thing I noticed is that he seems to think himself superior to district people because he overcame his struggles and he doesn't understand how much worse the districts have it. Nor does he understand that they don't have the opportunity to overcome their struggles like he does. That's why he looks at Lucy Gray strangely when she mentions not knowing there's multiple kinds of tea. It's a small thing, but it's pretty significant because of how it utterly shatters all of his excuses for why the districts deserve what's being done to them.

It shows that his situation isn't comparable to theirs. Because despite the poverty, he knows that there are multiple kinds of tea. He's seen them around him, he even managed to get some. It would be one thing if Lucy Gray wasn't able to afford any, but she doesn't even know they exist! The mere idea is so luxurious to her that she'd never even heard of it in the first place. And the items on the table are very mundane to him. Nothing to be marvelled at. Yet Lucy Gray is practically entranced by it because she could never afford it. While Coryo can't read her mind, he's not stupid. This isn't rocket science. And it rocks his world because it shows his assumptions about his own position in the world vs the districts is completely out of whack. So yeah, that'll build to at least a pseudo-redemption for him. I won't make this SnowBaird because I flat out don't ship it, but I do have plans for conflict and romance for Coryo. Specifically with Sejanus, because those two definitely had some undertones.

[emilyofthegreenwood]

"Queen of the May" by Denée Cody

Zebra Books, 1997 || Read and reviewed in November 2024

Introducing my first foray into the classic genre of paperback romance! As this is my first paperback romance, I can't compare it with any others. There might be better ones out there. There might be worse. I've been interested in trying one of these out for a while, particularly because these are books made and marketed for women, specifically for the sake of having fun reading. The marketing is shamelessly up front about what they are and what they offer, and there's something badass to me about grandmas having a casual romance novel in their yarn basket, with a fabulously erotic clinch cover on full display.

So, the other week, I wandered into the most embarrassing aisle at Half Price Books with the goal of finding a paperback romance to try out. To my surprise and delight, I stumbled upon "Queen of the May", which features Robin (spelled Robyn here) and Marian as secondary characters. I knew it would be a hoot, and I was right. "Queen of the May" follows our two protagonists, Giselle and Alexander. Giselle, although not really an outlaw herself, lives in Sherwood Forest with Robyn Hood and company. Her best buddy is Marian. Alexander is the lonely baron of Wolfhurst, a fictional village near Sherwood, and he's back in England after twelve years on crusade. For inexplicable reasons, Giselle accidentally shoots him with a poisoned arrow and then takes him back to her cave to heal him. And so, they immediately fall in lust with each other, and we're off on the grand nonsense ride of this book! I didn't crack this open expecting anything particularly good, and fully expected to find some distasteful tropes along the way. (And, oh boy, did I ever.) To be honest, that was half the fun. This book was hilarious and deserved every eyeroll. Let's look at some highlights.

Hot tub sex in Sherwood! Oh, I'm sorry, it's a hot spring. Okay, sure.

Alexander and his family have some kind of emergency whistle protocol and it's absolutely hilarious.

Every character's favorite curse is "God's feet!" for the first two thirds of the the novel. And then in the last third, everyone graduates and uses "God's blood". I was so relieved. I was sick of hearing about his feet.

The absolute low point is when Giselle doesn't want to marry Alexander because she thinks she'd be an embarrassment of a wife, and he decides to "wear her down with persistence" until she agrees. "I'll accept nothing less than total surrender." Yikes, buddy. Maybe not? Villain behavior. Seems it was all talk though, because nothing actually happens in that vein.

The standout character is honestly Marian, and I swear I'm not being biased. She didn't get to do much, plot-wise, but she was great fun every time she was on the page. Which is more than can be said of anyone else.

Just as a fun throw-in, Marian is pregnant for the entire novel, although we are only told a few times, and there doesn't seem to be any purpose to it. Over the seven months of this novel, she continues to exist without so much of a mention of a baby bump or any other changes. During a horrible winter storm, Giselle (in the castle) worries not a whit for her pregnant best friend living in the woods. Robyn, bless him, is the only one who seems worried about Marian having a baby in the forest. Meanwhile, Marian does not mention the baby even once. So.... why?

What little character Robyn was allowed to have was good enough, and he seemed mostly like himself. I liked this bit of internal reflection from Alexander: "Robyn had proved an able and reliable man, intelligent and with a mischievous sense of humor." Sounds like Robin Hood to me. :)

As a Robin Hood book, it's very periphery. Then again, the pages are filled with Robyn, Marian, Tuck, and Guy of Guisborne. Heck, Guy is the primary villain! Other characters who get a mention or more are Little John, Alan, and Alan's lover (here named Alice). The focus, as expected, is the romance between Alex and Giselle, and it's more physical than emotional so there's not much to really bite into. The muscles are firm, everyone's hot to go, the bedroom is the goal, and Robin Hood stuff happens on the edges of it all. I would recommend this only if you, like me, have an interest of some kind in paperback romances and are willing to put up with the negatives that come with that. Go have fun! Read some silly, pulpy books. I approached this book with completely unserious expectations and had fun. I think that's enough. Robin Hood shelf: for more Robin Hood book reviews (eventually)

[ohmeadows]

When did you discover your love for writing?

this ended up being a bit of a story, so. sorry for length.

must have been around 2001? i went to a really underfunded school in a broke town and we didn't have anything to do after school ended, so i mostly went to my grandma's and read books she bought me. one day i came home and she'd bought the lotr trilogy, and it was a very difficult translation. it took me months of careful reading on her couch. then i finished it and it felt like my life transformed. i watched the movies as they released in the cinema, i didn't have any friends to hang out with on the weekend so i'd beg my mom to drive me to the nearest big town and let me watch fellowship of the ring again. i couldn't get enough, so i started visiting fansites for it and thus discovered fanfiction. my english wasn't great, but i couldn't stop thinking about writing something for myself. yes, mary sue/self-insert, whatever. yes, it was with legolas and aragorn and all of those.

my fanfics were, obviously, not good. but i had a good time making them. i connected with a community of writers who had a ton of advice to give out, who suggested books to read, movies to check out. while i'm not in touch with any of them anymore, i know some of them went on to become university professors and literary translators, and that's pretty cool. i honestly remember less of the writing as much as i remember the community i kept having on livejournal. on top of that, writing a journal almost daily was really good consistent writing exercise. i loved writing so much that it became The Hobby for me, and i kept the lj and a physical journal going at once.

[deeisace]

Thinking again about how to go about approaching publishers with my grandma Millie's first book

There's no clear thing of, like she didn't leave all her writing specifically to anyone in writing - because she couldn't, because he was nominally disowned, she just made sure my grandad, her middle son, got her writing box, made sure of it before she died, you see, and then I'm the one that's typing everything and actually working on it - very slowly, mind, there's all sorts of short stories I haven't got to, and a whole handwritten second novel, tho I think I've finished all the poetry

But erm like

How do you say to a publisher, here is a book, it's not mine, it's my dead great-grandma's and she wrote it at least 30 years ago, d'you want to publish it?

I spose that, really, in more fancier words

I spose, they publish things posthumously all the time, even tho those are usually already famous authors like, rather than some random schoolteacher from the Wirral, y'know

Or, I'd've thought self-publishing is a thing, but I wouldn't the first how to go about that, and besides back to my first point, if I did that then surely the money ought to go to someone closer related to her than me, tho her eldest son has died, her middle son (my grandad) is disinherited so far as I know (tho I don't know if that was in writing or just by social/religious pressure), and I've never met her youngest son - but it's grandad that got the box, and me that's done the work

I just think other people should see this, I'm sure it's not family bias, it is really actually good - and there's 60+ years of short stories, for kids and for adults, and reams of poetry, and two (one and a half, maybe, I've not read the second one yet, cs her handwriting can be tricky and I've not had the time besides) novels

The first one is a good 500 pages, following all the different people living in one house in London in the early 1950s, all their lives and how they intersect and differ - some of it's autobiographical, I know, taken from her early married life, and my grandad said that she said it was the sort of idea that wouldn't leave her alone, she'd put it down and pick it up again for years and years, but it was typed up, and my copy is one we found on a floppy disk, so she kept at the same story for years and years - there's bits in there referencing her life in the 50s-60s, and I'm sure some bits that are about my mum if you know to look at it sideways, and that all happened in the 90s - but besides all the bits that mean a lot to me cs I sort of get to know her through them, it really is just a good read, honestly

Oh I don't know, I haven't got the time or brain to do anything about it right now anyway, I don't even have the wherewithal to get my fucking dishes done, so

I just looked in a bookshop on my way home, and it always makes me think, to go in a bookshop, her name should be up on the shelves too, with all these others

I don't know how to get that done by myself tho

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Remembering my grandpa: the coolest guy I've ever met

so, like, still haven't processed what happened. that's honestly pretty typical for me, it's something I used to feel really guilty about (everybody around me would be crying, and I wouldn't actually feel those emotions for upwards of a year), and I've gotten better at addressing what's under the surface before it gets to the point of a breakdown. there are several reasons for why my biggest personal metaphor for grief is as follows

our love is a garden; this grief is a seed

mostly been keeping myself busy, just cleaned most of the kitchen in one go, probably going to clean my room later today. also been thinking a lot about how incredibly cool my grandpa was. he's genuinely one of the most rad people I've ever had the chance to meet, and I don't even know all of his stories!!! just gonna ramble about him for a bit

dropped out of high school (and later got his GED) because WW2 was happening and he enlisted (either lied about his age or was just barely old enough). got recognition for his marksmanship skills, and (forgive me for not knowing his official rank/title) even ended up being a sort of guard for a high ranking officer. I remember being told that when they had to drive somewhere, Gramps was the guy with a scoped rifle keeping an eye out for trouble, ready to counter ambushes or something like that.

(the point is that I haven't heard the details since I was a kid, but his rifle skills were incredible, especially considering his age at the time)

known for drinking Respect Women Juice and being a stand-up guy. I've read some of his memoirs (not published, but they might be at some point, I'll let y'all know), and he talks about how mad he was at my grandma's dad (his eventual father-in-law) because the FIL was soooo excited to have "man time" with Gramps, after already having treated Grandma like the son he would have preferred, and Gramps couldn't understand why FIL wasn't appreciating the incredible woman that Grandma was. seriously, Grandma was also a badass, an equally incredible sharpshooter who only quit competing (having reached the highest level for women in the US) because she realized in order to keep winning she'd have to actually put time and effort into getting better. also she was a great cook, apparently. had a real temper tho

Anyway, there's also some other stuff about his respect for women, but that involves a bit of family drama with other relatives that I don't want to get into online. The gist is that he went out of his way to make sure that several women in the family got treated fairly, especially when some people weren't properly appreciating the work of a stay-at-home mom.

He was an active scuba diver for many, many years, and several of his longest friends were met via the hobby. at one point, he even worked with several of them to buy a large amount of land on San Juan Island (of the San Juan Islands), where they divided it up and all built houses together. I have many memories of going to visit during the summer, and honestly it was really impressive what they built together. Grandpa also loved kayaking, and even dabbled in making kayaks!

Putting more under the break because I recognize this is lot

In order to get to San Juan Island, most people take a big ol ferry. during an incident that got a fair bit of coverage in the local newspapers, my Grandpa was taking the ferry when he realized someone in the distance was in trouble (small boat, might have gotten flipped or something, again don't remember all the details). Grandpa was quick to take action, got the attention of the ferry's crew, and was able to arrange a rescue. If he hadn't noticed the boat, chances are the person/people would have died.

Gramps was very active even up into his mid-to-late eighties (genuinely very fit and healthy until his kidneys started failing), and had some fun ventures as part of a historical group that went around the San Juan Islands finding old map markers/territory markers (god, I wish I remember the right word) and using modern tech to record their exact locations. It was like a scavenger hunt, almost, using old/outdated maps to find these things.

He was also an official boat inspector for Friday Harbor (the main part of San Juan Island) for several years, and was recognized for his hard work/the sheer number of inspections he did.

On top of all of this, my Grandpa was genuinely one of the warmest, funniest guys around. If someone asked me to think of an example of healthy romantic love, I would think about my Grandpa and my step-grandma. Then I'd think about my brother and his gf but that's a whole other thing. Grandpa was full of love, and had no qualms with showing it, using his musical talent for serenading her (he also joined in during the family gathering jam sessions). The way he looked at her will be forever engraved in my memory, full of love and full of life.

There are plenty more stories about Grandpa, some of which I just never heard, and some of which I have simply forgotten. I'm gonna miss him.

[grokebaby]

🌼🎹🎯🌂❤ for Nan, Grandefel andd Maiju maybe :333 answer as many as you want I just wanna know more about the ocs of all time <3 (also hi me again)

(Hi you again !!)

🌼 = How old? / age group

🎹= Hobbies?

🎯= What do they do best?

🌂= What genre are they in?

❤️= Best memory/ies?

I'm not sure if you meant that all these questions for every single character, or like?? Some other way?? But you said I can do however I want so I shall °w°

AGES:

Nan being an elder is somewhere between 50-60, I think developmentally she's the oldest character here (not chronologically bc Grandefel has for sure existed for over a thousand years but ykno. What's equivalent to their species). Ofc nan has likely also existed for a little longer than that chronologically speaking? Can't say for sure but she's in the Early elder category. Maiju is AT MOST (equivalent to) in her 40's but I'd put her in late 30's. Middle aged to some capacity. Grandefel is funnily enough youngest of everyone despite having existed the longest lolol, for an angel she'd be considered to be in her 30's approx. She's in the generation between Kxxxtr and Lamera.

HOBBIES:

Grandefel - What hobbies? 😔 Yall got free time from your all consuming societally enforced role in life? Most her free time is spent with Deirdre and the kids, but if not she's out in the sky exhibiting cat behaviour (lounging on sunny clouds, napping in strange poses and knocking stars off counters their course just bc)

Nan - Something very grandma esque probably. I mean I'm sure she does alot of "hobbyish" activities but moreso because it's been a vital part of her duties growing up (sewing, gardening, cooking ect). But how she entertains herself? Pinecone cows. And talking to them. (Google Käpylehmä, it's a thing wi/ Finns)

Maiju - What hobbies? Looking at picturebooks. Not bc she can't read or doesn't care about reading but she likes to look at nice things especially if she hasn't seen them before. Either that or sitting around and thinking about cool things. If she's feeling extra adventurous probably going on a walk or something, stopping to smell the flowers and all that jazz

DOES BEST:

Maiju - I feel like I could put so much here and it'd be really obvious. Like decapitation. Wielding a Warhammer. However I think she's the best at being an advisor and second in command to Xerxes when he's Going Normal™ about things (as he does), and keeping the anchor down on stuff. However she's also great at supporting him in his decisions so who's to say..

I'm honestly a little unsure how to answer this for the other two, I'm not saying there aren't things they're good at but I can't think of something they excel either. I think I'll just say both Nan and Grandefel are great at defying the will of unfathomable cosmic forces, whether that be deities Or societal expectations (guess which one is for which character I dare you)

GENRE:

Funnily all these characters exist in the same setting haha? Minus for Nan being an intersectional character in another story of mine as well. Anyway I will go off of vibes

Grandefel - Gay workplace drama

Maiju - Doom with animal crossing music

Nan - that brand of horror where you're stranded in the forest and find yourself in a strange village.. / maybe the monster was the generational trauma all along

FAV MEMORY:

(prepares myself emotionally)

I don't think Maiju could pick just one, she can't pick favorites in anything. The first time Xerxes took her to earth to show her sunflowers? Having a ladybug land on her nose? Learning her hair isn't red but Maroon? Getting a tie in a duel against a Power angel? Seeing herself in a mirror for the first time? There's just so many

Grandefel would probably claim it was the day she was made the primary Persecutor after her mentor (father) stepped down, however in reality it was her opening up about her feelings to Deirdre for the first time and crying in the presence of another person. For the first time also.

I feel like.. Nan's favorite memory is still yet to come, because.. (side eyes my story outline) bc ykno (starts tearing up) because b

Future memories aside I too think she can't pick just one. The choice floats between the rare few heartfelt moments with her dad, the support of her relatives after That Tragedy, getting Siru some friends (at all), messing around with her friends at the cow barn, ykno..

[amynchan]

Before I moved, I finally got to visit great-grandma's grave. I finally got the location, and I finally got to go down and see her. I never met great-grandpa, but I did meet great-grandma. To be honest, I don't have vivid memories of my own. Whatever I do remember is always assisted by a picture.

But I remember that she loved me. I remember that she cared, and I felt that care. I felt it so, so, so much. That's why it hurt when no one told me she'd died and been dead for three days and I wasn't allowed to go to her funeral. She was just gone one day, and I can't even remember how traumatic that is, but I can feel echoes of it.

But I got to finally see her grave site. To be honest, I didn't know what I'd say. I dreamed of the moment for forever. I imagined telling her about myself and about how I've grown up. I imagined that I'd feel her pride in me.

I did. I thought it over and over and over again. But what happened was actually different.

First, my grandma and grandpa and I kinda... went on an adventure finding her grave site. We went up and down and walked all over that graveyard to find her. I figured they'd know where she was like the back of their hand, but it turns out that the landmarking tree they used back then has since been cut down, and the lake was redone. The landscape was as confusing to them as it was to me, so we searched for ages for those headstones.

When we finally found them (because obviously great-grandma is buried next to great-grandpa), I helped grandma wipe off their name plates. They weren't dirty by any means, but we were able to make them glisten again. At that point, I knew where they were, so I didn't really feel the need to say anything at that point. For the first time in ages, I felt I could relax about it.

She was there. I finally knew where she was.

So my grandparents and I left that day, and I came back, alone, the next week. I didn't have to pick over all of the graveyard again. I remembered where she was, and I went back with an umbrella, because the last time I stayed outside to pay respects to someone no longer in this world, I got second degree burns on my shoulders from the sun.

So. Finally. I was finally there. it had been over twenty years, I think. She died in 2001. I always thought I'd feel satisfied telling her about my life, so I started off with that.

But it didn't feel right. Not really.

So I stopped sticking to the script. I went off a bit. I remember telling her that I missed her and that there were times I really wanted her back, but that didn't make me feel much better.

It wasn't until I started telling her about my siblings that I started feeling better. She'd met my younger sister, but she had never met my youngest sibling. When I realized that she'd never met someone I consider so wholly important to me, I had to tell her about them.

Then I realized that she never knew how many great grandchildren she has. She's got at least 13 now. When she died, she had 3-4. I spent a long time catching her up. Telling her about the strengths of each of her grandbabies.

Because I know. I know that if she met them, she would have loved each of them the way she loved me. I just know it. She would love every little rascal, every confident stride, every proud picture, every bruised knee and harmless bonk. She would have adored each of them in different ways. It's important that she heard about them.

She never got to watch my sister grow her cunning and her care. She's more emotionally agile and intelligent than most of us. She never got to watch my brother grow out of his 'cooties' phase. He's got the biggest heart and throws himself into helping people so much that I honestly worry about him sometimes. She never got to watch me find my place. It was a long journey, but I think she'd be proud of who I am now. She never got to meet anyone else; know their names or learn their hobbies or likes or dislikes. But when I sat at her grave and told her about them. About each little name and face, about how important they are to me, it made me feel like she could see, just for a moment, how big and beautiful her family's become.

That's when I felt better. It wasn't that she left, I don't think. It was that no one told me, and I couldn't talk to her anymore. She was in a place I couldn't talk to her; I couldn't tell her about joyful things anymore. After that, and knowing what I've been told about my own reaction to her passing, I'm pretty sure that's it. I missed telling her about joyful things.

I know that she's not in her body anymore. Wherever she is, she's not there. But being able to put a distinct place to her. To say that 'you are here, and I can talk to you here' was so important. And it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say, but I'm glad that I finally was gifted the time to do that.

I miss her sometimes; I always will. But it doesn't hurt anymore. I was able to tell her about how beautiful life is. About how much we've grown, and I know, deep in me, that she's proud.

of me. of us. of all of us.

And that's just. A gift.