#at this point they have a lot of ship names

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 13: The One Where the Ashes Blew Towards Us with the Salt Wind from the Sea

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”

Ah, yes, that ominous opening line from Daphne du Maurier’s novel, “Rebecca.” Have you ever read it? It’s an old book – from 1938, in fact! – but it’s truly a remarkable story, especially for its time. It’s not often you find yourself rooting for the murderer.

Lately, I have found myself becoming more and more frustrated with the fandom. And, no, my annoyance is not from the Sincerely Ignorant teetering on and off the boat every time someone takes a dump on the deck of the USS Lukola – I’m pretty fucking used to that shit – and, honestly, many of our dear Sincerely Ignorant seem to be gaining their sea legs. It’s the Conscientiously Stupid that have struck a chord with me – a disturbing, dissonant chord that leaves me questioning the average level of human intelligence.

My issue with the Conscientiously Stupid is that they push narratives that, when taken collectively, make no goddamn sense. Thanks to The-One-That-Lurks-in-a-Play-Misty-For-Me-Heaping-Pile-of-Discordant-Garbage, I have had the [dis]pleasure of learning about Nicola- and Luke-Adjacent theories. Did you know that the small scrap of green blanket Nicola was sitting on in her August 11 “Drink Your Milk” picture proved that the picture was meant for Jake? You know the guy that, at that point in Fandom History, most people had no clue even existed? I mean, that makes a lot more sense than linking the “Drink Your Milk” shirt Nicola was showcasing to the one Luke was seen wearing on June 22. Now, I’m not saying the shirt belonged to Luke, but if we’re comparing apples to apples, which one of these theories seems more plausible to you?

At this point, you have probably started to realize I enjoy weaving in and out of storytelling mode, mixing fact with theory and speculation. Today, I decided to take a classic novel – surely you didn’t think I made that reference to “Rebecca” for nothing – and loosely intertwine it with some Conscientiously Stupid adjacent theories. This is all in good fun and, like usual, mostly for my own dark humor.

I should probably begin by introducing our book characters. Honestly, you can probably guess which of our shipmates I have assigned to each role fairly quickly.

First, we have our Unnamed Narrator. Seriously, her first name is never revealed.

Second, we have Mrs. Danvers, the obsessive, borderline psychotic housekeeper.

Third, we have Maxim de Winter, our Narrator’s husband.

Fourth, we have Jack Favell, the dodgy and unlikeable cousin.

Lastly, we have our titular character, that darling creature Rebecca.

Now, let’s see who is on the playbill.

ANTONIA AS MRS. DANVERS

It pained me just a little to give the role of Mrs. Danvers to Antonia, primarily because Mrs. Danvers is such a complex character and I’ve always found Antonia to be rather simple. And, no, I’m not insinuating Antonia is simple-minded; I am saying it was never difficult to see through her bullshit (i.e., the phrase, “patterns are patterning,” didn’t come out of thin air). It helped that Mrs. Danvers is one of the main antagonists in the book and almost certainly the GOAT at trolling the heroine of “Rebecca.” I mean, the second Mrs. de Winter didn’t stand a chance with Danny lurking in the background.

The general narrative in Lukola Lore is that Antonia is an online troll. I’ve never been sure as to who her primary target was – Nicola or the Lukola fandom. I tend to believe it originated as Nicola and the Lukola fandom was simply collateral damage. I also cannot say for fact that Antonia was trolling anyone, but I can confirm that the general belief within the fandom that Antonia was trolling is well-documented on social media. For today’s story, we are going to assume the narrative that Antonia was trolling both Nicola and the Lukola fandom. We are also going to assume the USS Lutonia (because I have no fucking clue what the Luke-Antonia ship is called!) was real. Don’t get your feathers fluffed over this. This belief does exist – and it’s why Antonia has been able to fuck with the Lukolas as long as she has – but I promise I have every intention of peppering the side of this ship with holes.

Okay, let’s tow the USS Lutonia out to sea. Don’t forget your Dramamine!

We are living under the umbrella that Luke and Antonia were dating during the World Tour. Poor Antonia was forced into hiding by – who the fuck knows but let’s keep rolling with this narrative – and she wasn’t allowed to be openly seen with Luke or post anything on her social media with Luke. And, Luke mirrored this behavior and made an effort to keep Antonia out of the spotlight (in fact, at the New York City premiere, the average viewer wouldn’t have known Antonia was anything more than Luke’s “friend of a friend”). Antonia, annoyed with this lack of engagement (and, almost certainly fed up with, at a minimum, fans shipping Luke with Nicola), started the pattern of posting pictures of herself and tagging her location as places the fandom knew Luke had recently been. Luke, for his part, made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia. Instead, he continued his flirtatious relationship with Nicola. After the London premiere, the Lukolas put a target smack dab in the middle of Antonia’s back and blamed her for setting up Papsmear for her own benefit. Luke still made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia or protect her from the abundance of online hate she received. In fact, he posted his “I will not let [Cressida] ruin our night” story to Instagram instead (see my “Entry 1 – The One About That Weird Ass Cressida Post” if you’re confused by this comment). During post-Papsmear events, Luke did not list her as a plus one and he didn’t like any pictures of Antonia that were not on her grid. In fact, the only evidence directly linking Luke to Antonia were leaked and/or since-deleted pictures and videos not released by Luke. Throughout the summer, Antonia continued her efforts to place herself in proximity to Luke via tagged or easily recognizable locations. Oddly, many of Antonia’s posts seemed to occur shortly after Nicola posted or before/after DeuxMoi posted pap pictures, which gave birth to the “Antonia is trolling” subplot. Still, Luke made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia. On July 30, Luke was papped with Antonia and his friend group in Sorrento (see my “Entry 11 – The One About the Heart of the Ocean” if you want my opinion about that excursion). This was the last time Luke and Antonia were publicly photographed together. Once Luke returned to London on August 2, Antonia continued her campaign of insinuating she was in the same location as Luke, with the most recent being the Italian restaurant in Rome (which the restauranteur debunked, in my opinion). Again, Luke and Antonia have not been photographed together since July 30. To date, Luke has made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia, and the only visible interaction by Luke are his likes on Antonia’s semi-monthly Instagram grid posts, which seem obligatory at this point. For the month of November, there was no interaction between Luke and Antonia because Antonia did not post to her grid (gasp!).

Now, for all the Lutonia’s out there, explain to me why this kind of relationship is acceptable to you. Seriously, explain it to me.

Convince me that Luke didn’t shutter Antonia from the moment the USS Lukola schematics were presented to the engineers.

Convince me that Antonia is the kind of woman who would happily accept Luke’s blatant dismissal of her existence while he globe-trotted around the world with a woman he was being openly shipped with by fans, the press, and Bridgerton mates.

Convince me that Luke’s behavior towards Antonia doesn’t make him the worst boyfriend on the planet.

Convince me that Antonia’s online behavior towards Nicola and the Lukola fandom during and after the World Tour doesn’t make her a troll.

Convince me that Luke and Antonia are the definition of “true love.” Actually, before you do that, convince me that Luke and Antonia are currently dating.

Or, maybe you’ve realized that any effort to try to convince me would be a waste of your time because you, too, are starting to find this entire narrative unacceptable. It equates Antonia to someone who doesn’t mind being boxed into a corner and forced to claw her way out, and it likens Luke to an overbearing womanizer who doesn’t give two flips about how online hate may be affecting his partner. I mean, we may as well dump these two into an entirely different book called “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

I didn’t assign the role of Mrs. Danvers to Antonia because I thought Antonia was a feeble coward without her own voice. And, no, I didn’t give her the role because Mrs. Danvers is an obsessive psychopath. I gave Antonia the role of Mrs. Danvers because the fandom handed her the power to influence this narrative on a silver platter, just like the Narrator in “Rebecca” allowed herself to be manipulated by Mrs. Danvers. Moving forward, when you see Antonia with a lit match, all you need to do is lean over and blow it out. Poof! And, she’s gone. Seriously, if you see our version of Mrs. Danvers with anything that might light a fire, take it away from her!

Surely someone out there gets my joke…

LUKE AS MAXIM DE WINTER

Of course, Luke is Maxim de Winter, the outwardly charismatic, but recently widowed anti-hero who caught the affection of our Unnamed Narrator. I mean, he’s a good guy, right? Uhh, yeah, sure… Who doesn’t want to be married to a brooding chauvinist who is outwardly obsessed with the titular character? Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound like Luke at all! Oh, no, actually it does – if you believe the USS Lutonia is real!

For Luke, we are going to assume the same narrative as above – that the USS Lutonia is real, that Antonia trolled Nicola and the Lukola fandom, and that Luke refused to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia. Besides the obvious “Luke is the shittiest fucking boyfriend in the universe,” I have a few other gripes with the USS Lutonia.

Initially, I understood the concept of “keeping Antonia in the dark,” after all I try to be logical when I process information. It was always possible Luke and Nicola were rocking some great PR in the beginning of the World Tour, and that was the only thing they were rocking. In fact, that’s what I initially believed Nicola was doing – being cute but also professional in her interactions with Luke during those early press junkets. Luke, on the other hand, always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. Once they hit Australia, it seemed obvious to me that something had changed (go back and read my “Entry 12 – The One Where We Start Laying the Yellow Brick Road to Italy” for a briefing on this). The more I watched Luke and Nicola interact on the World Tour, the more I became convinced Antonia must have been a thing of the past (or possibly nothing) for Luke – until Antonia showed up at Papsmear. At that point, I fully expected Luke to just own up to her. Like, give up on trying to hide Antonia from public view. But, then he pulled that goddamn “Cressida” post (seriously, if you have not read my first entry to this blog, go back and read it!). When you look at the World Tour and subsequent Hot Boy Summer, and the behaviors that were – and were not – on display during that timeframe, you start to develop a completely different view of the USS Lutonia. I mean, I’m not even sure that ship ever left the planning room!

One of the most glaring cosmetic flaws with the USS Lutonia is why “nice guy” Luke would treat Antonia with such indifference if he loved her. When asked who was most like their Bridgerton character, everyone always answered Luke. That he was the kindest, most genuine person. If that’s true, then why did Luke treat his “girlfriend,” Antonia, like she didn’t exist? Again, convince me that Luke’s Public Display of Apathy towards Antonia made him a great boyfriend. Even if Luke was a private person, one would think that after someone he cared about received as much hate as Antonia did after Papsmear, he would have stepped up and taken control of the narrative. He didn’t hesitate to clear up the “cake eating” picture from his September 7 Instagram post (about Nicola), and that “Cressida” post will live rent-free in my mind forever. The only “logical” explanation I can come up with for “nice guy” Luke to shutter Antonia right from the jump is that Antonia is not, and was not, a significant person in his life. That, or he really is a shithead, and he has a team of people lying about what a great guy he is.

We also need to consider Nicola’s interactions with Antonia. First, Nicola has never followed Antonia and Antonia has never followed Nicola, at least not on her public account. But, Nicola followed – and still follows – Luke’s ex, Jade. Now, typically, I’d just be like, “Meh,” on something like this. But, after Papsmear, Nicola could have very easily played the “Diplomat Barbie” and given Antonia a follow on Instagram. But, she didn’t, which signals to me that Nicola wasn’t touching Antonia with an invisible 10-foot pole. Second, if you watch the back-and-forth between Nicola and Antonia on social media – in black and white, pen on paper – you’ll see Nicola playing the cat-and-mouse game right along with Antonia (Nicola just played it a helluva lot better). It even appears Nicola sicced her – what my father calls JVN – “assassin” on Antonia starting around July 20 or, at the very least, she condoned JVN teasing Antonia. If everything was great between Luke and Antonia – and Luke was genuinely happy with Antonia – why would Luke put up with the back-and-forth on social media between Antonia, Nicola, and JVN? Oh, that’s right, because Luke is the corrupt captain of the USS Lutonia.  Seriously, if all was well between Luke and Antonia at this point in the timeline, then you’d have to surmise that all was not well between Luke and Nicola. We will get to that in a moment. Right now, aboard the USS Lutonia, Luke is just a lousy boyfriend.

Lastly – and what has always left me scratching my head – why would Luke allow Antonia to troll his fandom? Why allow Antonia to make insinuations online that they’re together but never come to her rescue when the fandom starts flinging shit at her? In my opinion, the InStyle copycat pictures (go read my last blog entry…) were just Antonia getting her feet wet. Why continue to put up with Antonia after allegations began flying that she arranged Papsmear and the Italy pap pictures? I suppose the answer most Lutonias would give is, “Because they’re in love.” With everything I have outlined in this entry, do you honestly get the “in love” vibe from those two? Because I don’t.

Now, why did I draw parallels between Luke and the book character, Maxim? It’s not because I believe Luke to be a male chauvinist so wrapped up in his own drama that he ignores those around him. The USS Lutonia will definitely paint that impression, though! It’s because Maxim’s demeanor was superficial. What the Unnamed Narrator believed was true about her husband was not actually true. And, that’s how I view the USS Lutonia – Luke’s behavior and the narrative surrounding this ship does not match the logic.

JAKE AS JACK FAVELL

Sorry, Jake, you get to be the icky Jack Favell. Yeah, that manipulative, blackmailing creep sleeping with his own cousin! But, hey, that subplot isn’t any more disturbing than Jake being shipped with Nicola, is it?

Alright, let’s jump on board the USS Jakola but not before I preface this section with my father’s flabbergasted words: “This ship is on the bottom of the ocean. These people must have oxygen masks. They’re down there with Jules Verne. This just doesn’t make sense.” No, it really doesn’t make sense but, because I’m here to tell a story, I will begrudgingly dive into the USS Jakola narrative. And, by “dive,” I mean plunge to the bottom of the ocean because that’s where this ship rests.

Just like we did with the USS Lutonia, we are going to assume the USS Jakola is real. The Jakolas believe that Nicola has been seeing Jake since, I guess, the Renegade Nell premiere on or about March 26, 2024. Although, the last I checked Eamon Farren was also at that premiere holding an umbrella for Nicola. I am not confirming Nicola was ever dating Eamon; I am simply saying he was present at the event and holding a fucking umbrella for her. You can make up your own mind about Eamon’s role in Nicola’s life. Regardless, it must have been an instant connection between Nicola and Jake because, if the Jakola narrative is to be believed, they began secretly dating after that. The Jakolas will argue that all the songs Nicola posted to her Instagram stories were for Jake. The Claddagh ring has no traditional meaning when Nicola wears it, and Chaos Week was also for Jake (and a “fuck you” to Luke). The Lukola-coded fan fiction was a “fuck you” to the Lukola fandom (see my “Entry 10 – The One About the Audibly Loud Lukola FanFic”). And, Jake and Nicola are in love and have hard launched their relationship because (a) Jake has been seen wearing Nicola’s bucket hat, (b) they have been seen in public together, and (c) they occasionally hold hands.

I’m not going to lie – for the longest time I didn’t pay any attention to the USS Jakola because it was such an incredibly absurd concept to me. A few weeks back, I posted to my Tumblr account a music video that Jake had done in early 2023. The song is called “Mixed Emotions” by You Me at Six, and the article that came out with the video on February 7th, 2023 stated, “With Jake Dunn who played the protagonist in the video who is actually a friend of mine, we actually spoke a lot about toxic masculinity and his experiences within his sexuality and the impacts it has had on his relationship with his dad.” It honestly never occurred to me the USS Jakola actually had passengers on board until October when the Jakholes went bananas over Nicola holding Jake’s hand. In my opinion – and you do not have to agree with me – the music video speaks for itself as does Jake’s social media presence, whether it be on his own pages or on those of his friend group. I’m sure I’ll get some Jakholes in here crying that we shouldn’t speculate on Jake’s sexuality, but the reality is the only people speculating on Jake’s sexuality are the Jakolas trying to discern whether he’s heterosexual. But, why doesn’t he just come out and say it? I get this question all the time. The answer is quite simple – he doesn’t need to. Jake never buried this part of his life; it’s other people burying it for him. Do you need to blast your sexual preferences out into the universe? I didn’t think so.

For shits and giggles – because that’s what I’m here for – let’s keep going with the story that Nicola and Jake are hot and heavy with each other. I’ll play center field and say Jake is a switch hitter. Happy now? If Jakola is real, then why would Nicola lay all those Lukola-coded breadcrumbs? And, NO, I am not explaining every crumb she’s dumped online. This post is already too damn long. But, Dear Jakolas, don’t tell me those coordinated airplane pictures didn’t have you crying into your pillows. Seriously, though, why would Nicola fuck with the Lukola fandom? I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Polin and Lukola have even been blurred by Netflix & Co. at this point. What would be the point of dragging the Lukolas along only to find out it was Nicola just fucking around? That makes about as much sense as “nice guy” Luke being the shittiest boyfriend on the planet. Again, the narrative does not fit the logic – although you’re welcome to try to convince me that Jakola is real.

For starters, convince me as to why Nicola is Jake’s “type” and not Luke’s. I am not being factitious. I seriously want to know why she’s acceptable for Jake but not Luke. And, if you’re going to tell me it’s because Luke likes brunettes, you better bring me some evidence that Jake likes blonde women.

Convince me that the Claddagh ring has no traditional significance to Nicola and that Jake would be okay with Nicola wearing that Claddagh ring – the one she had made in honor of Bridgerton Season 3, the season she shared with the man that fills her Instagram grid and tags and is the other half of Lukola. If you’re stuck on the significance of this ring, go read “Entry 6 – The One Where I Explained the Claddagh Ring to My Dad.”

Convince me that Nicola and Jake are a couple. And, if you’re going to mention handholding, then convince me that Nicola is not in a relationship with Mark, JVN, Jack R., Golda, Hannah D., Dylan L., or Luke. Oh, and is it true Jake is now dating Ellie Bamber? Convince me he’s not…

Any ways, good luck, babe, trying to sway me into believing Jakola is the real deal because I have a feeling your efforts are going to make your face become as flushed as Jack Favell’s when he was caught with his hand in the till.

NICOLA AS REBECCA

Surely you didn’t think Nicola was going to be the heroine of this story! If you believe the USS Lutonia and USS Jakola are smoothly sailing across the ocean blue, then the only role Nicola could reasonably play is that of the story’s villain – Rebecca. Yes, Rebecca was a bad, bad girl. She was manipulative and intentionally cruel; a Bitch with a capital “B.” She haunted poor Maxim and controlled Mrs. Danvers and Jack like a master puppeteer. She also tortured the Unnamed Narrator from her watery grave.

Seriously, though, let’s turn the tables. Let’s pretend Lutonia and Jakola are real. Starting, say, April 29, Nicola started trolling Antonia by dropping Luke-coded material online and really started ramping up those doe-eyed looks in Luke’s direction. Remember all that cute BTS? Perfectly timed to make it look like Antonia was trolling her when in reality Nicola was trolling Antonia! Unbeknownst to Luke, Nicola commissioned that Claddagh ring and started wearing it to make it look like she was in a relationship with Luke. She even organized a side jaunt over to Galway to introduce Luke to – surprise! – her mother! But, after being rejected by Luke – because he really is in love with Antonia (the USS Lutonia is blasting its horn right about now) – Nicola – YES, Nicola! – set up Papsmear to ruin Luke. I mean, if he wasn’t going to be her boyfriend, he sure as shit wasn’t going to be anyone else’s! All summer Nicola waited for Luke, but he’d gone into hiding, scared to surface because Nicola might find him! After growing tired of waiting for Luke, Nicola got her assassin, JVN, to start trolling Antonia online, that way Nicola could put all her efforts into finding and trolling Luke. She set up Chaos Week. She trolled him on the airplane. But, she needed help (after all she had so many other events and awards shows this summer) so she enlisted her unwitting accomplice, Jake! Jake helped her set up that Lukola FanFic to remind Luke of what could have been. But, nothing was working so Nicola upped the ante and volunteered Jake to be her confused boyfriend. “Luke…Luke…” I can still hear her desperate cries being carried like ashes in the wind…

SEE!  I can do it, too – make up total bullshit to fit whatever narrative I please!!!

Yeah, yeah, maybe I went a bit too far (I warned you I had a dark sense of humor) but, honestly, I believe the only way the USS Lutonia and USS Jakola could stay afloat is if Nicola is the villain. She doesn’t even have to be a super villain. She just needs to be disingenuous enough to alienate Luke, terrorize Antonia, manipulate Jake, and mislead an entire fandom. Lucky for her, I don’t believe Nicola to be a real-life Rebecca. If you need an explanation as to why, then you didn't watch the same World Tour as me and you’re clearly on the wrong side of the fandom.

In truth, I believe the real villain to be…

YOU AS THE UNNAMED NARRATOR

Now, now, calm down. I’m not calling you out – at least not individually. I’m calling all of us out.

We as a fandom are the Unnamed Narrators of Lukola, Jakola, and Lutonia. We built these ships, and we control whether they stay afloat.

We took the narrative out of Luke and Nicola’s hands the moment we launched the USS Lutonia. Then we had to go and build the USS Jakola – I guess, because we were bored. No matter how hard Luke and Nicola try to pull the narrative back under their control, we allow side characters to feed us their side of the story! We fill our bellies with their nonsense and then vomit it all over the deck of the USS Lukola.

Seriously, we are the villains in this story. And, collectively, we are one bloody powerful super villain, aren’t we?

We control the narrative. So, if there’s a narrative you don’t agree with – for example, one that doesn’t make sense to you – stop being Conscientiously Stupid and feeding into it.

Remember what I said earlier? If you see Mrs. Danvers with a lit match, blow that fucker out! Otherwise, you’re going to let that bitch burn down the whole goddamn house.

[solar4seekstron]

IDW!MTMTE!Drift/Deadlock x Cybertronian!GN!Reader x IDW!MTMTE!Ratchet: New Beginning Part 1

Content: SFW, Deadlock and Reader were together, but then he dipped. Ratchet an Drift are together. But Ratchet wants that reader booty to now lol. Lore is changed a lot sorry.

TW/Tags: Angst, Lots of angst, sparkling is so god damn cute, Ratchet wants that reader booty near the end, wholesome moments including sparkling, sparkling with a fever, more angst.

You were Deadlocks Conjunx once. You both becoming one after both joining the Decepticons. Him being the very bot who won your spark when so many couldn’t.

Something most would've expected anyway thanks to the swords and both similar combat skills. It wasn’t always easy though. Him being in an aggressive mood most times. There was a point where you didn’t believe in the cause as much.

But stayed for Deadlock. After speaking to him of his current views.

And so as time went by. You and Deadlcok continued to be used to fight in many missions and execute bots for Lord Megatron.

Something you didn’t enjoy as much as Deadlock did.

On one special night you went to one of your available doctors. Having felt sick for days and so on.

Deadlock was busy with a mission. And….well.

You were with sparkling. This could be bad for not only you. But for Deadlock as well with his status. Usually when Cons have sparklings they can leave but can’t be protected.

As you made it to your shared berth room you grew ever so nervous. Sitting on the berth.

Waiting for him to return. But you’d then notice a data pad with his writing on it. You picked it up. And soon was hit with tears falling down your cheeks as you read.

“My dearest. My Sweetspark. I’m sorry….I know you have your opinions and thought of the clash of bots and cons. But I couldn’t bring myself to come to you with this choice. I was a terrible partner. And I only hope you will find another who can treat you better then I ever could…..Best of wishes…….Deadlock.”

”………………………………………………ah crap.”

———————————————————————————

A couple years went by since then. You left the decepticons after breaking the bond between you both. To live in the city with neutrals. You and your sparkling. Who was born a few months after Deadlocks leave. Were accepted in and from then on you were able to live a safe life with your little one.

You named him Rubble. He looked like the perfect mix of you and Deadlock.

Eventually you were able to join a crew during the war at the time. The Autobots who accepted you. Allowing you to take your sparkling with them and promise to protect him.

Your sparkling grew a little. Being very small. Defiantly from you.

One day, time after the war ended. You and your sparkling were asked to join the Autobots by an old friend of your. Cyclonus. You and him were close. And he loved your sparkling Rubble.

Already wanting to teach him how to use swords when he was old enough to crawl and hold things in his small cervos.

You agreed to join knowing your sparkling will probably be the safest sparkling there.

And so you came along. Staying close to Cyclonus.

Luckily being a big and scary bot no one dared to come near you and your little one. Your sparkling in your arms. At times reaching for your helm as his other cervo clawed at the top of your chest.

Letting out small coos as you gently shhhd him.

Rubble getting happy whenever he sees Cyclonus standing there. Rodimus would start his speech with two bots next to him. Speaking about his plan of the lost light and the future path for them since the end of the war.

You could swear the white bot on his right looked familiar. But you weren’t sure. So you just ignored the feeling. When boarding onto the ship you were greeted by Skids.

He was polite. Charming. And he honestly just wanted to meet the little one and ask where the Sire was. You were walking around to your room next to Cyclonus. You both chatted and got along. Having some things in common with each other. And so you both walked together and talked.

Little Rubble in your arms slowly falling asleep with his helm rested against the top of your chest.

You didn’t notice hw you two past three certain bots going over some news and messages from Optimus prime. As they past.

The white bot was the one to notice you. You didn’t change your look much and he also took note that you had a sparkling in your arms.

He couldn’t build up the courage to stop you until he got a comm from Ratchet…His Conjunx.

After a few days you descided to see Serve. He already knew you have a sparkling and always made sure there was energon goo enough for you to drink. But nothing strong. Since you don’t have a babysitter. You had to take your sparkling with you everywhere.

That didn’t stop the stares and small flirts by some mechs and even femmes.

Something you didn’t understand very well. And so you sat at the bar with your sparkling on your lap as he nibbled on his cervo. He would reach for you and Swerve every now and then.

Swerve at times smiling at finding little ways like doing tricks with the drinks to make him laugh.

He is pretty good at that. The others seem to enjoy hearing your sparkling laugh as Rubble placed his small cervo on the table. Standing on your lap as your cervo gently held and rested on his small belly. The other holding your drink.

You didn’t pay much mind as a mech sat next to you. It was that white one again.

Swerve already knew to give him the drink he wanted and went to serve others drinks as you and the bot were alone. Rubble kept gently slamming his tiny cervos on the counter.

Drift looked at you as you drank and watched the Cybertron news. Your frame and paint still the same as ever.

You had an autobot logo on your chest and shoulders now. You had that damn same warm smile and bright yellow optics. Your sparkling having the same optics as he had a large grin on his dermas. You’d let out a few chuckles because of your sparkling.

”Is Uncle Swerve making jokes little one?” He cooed as he looked back at you then back at Swerve.

Drift also noticed you still have your swords. Just brighter now then when he left. He’s sure you still didn’t recognize him. He honestly wasn’t that sure why he came her. He just knows he must talk to you. And so with a gulp. He spoke.

”Hey….Y/N.” His voice catching you off guard.

No it can’t be. Your helm slowly turned towards him as Rubble did the same as he let out a small sound. Looking at the bot as drift looked at him as well.

“Do I know you?” He let out a soft chuckle as your cervo gently pressed Rubble a bit closer to your chest. Your optics narrowed as drift turned his frame a bit to face you as he tried to find his words.

”I’d…sure hope so. It’s…it’s me. Deadlock.” Your optics widened a bit as you stared at him. He can tell you didn’t know what to say.

Rubble looking at you then him as he sat down on you lap. His little cervos gently holding your larger one.

Drift finally spoke after a moment of silence. “Is he….”

You soon had a small frown. Your optic ridges a little furrowed as you stared at him and tried to not break the cup in your cervo.

You then drink the last of your energon and sets it down. Standing up as you pick your sparkling up to have him against your chest. Soon out of your seat and walking out of the bar. No one seems to notice. Even as Drift chases after you.

“Y/N Wait.”

As you walked down the hall Drift continued to come for you. “Please. Look I’m sorry I never should’ve left. I should’ve came to you as we promised and-“

You were fast to turn around making him stop. Both cervo holding Rubble so he wont look back and stays close to your chest as he cooed for you.

“I don’t need your empty apology Deadlock. What I need if you to stay away from me and my sparkling!”

Drift was panicking. You’re finally here and this could be his only chance. “He’s mine. Isn’t he?….Please I just wish to know.”

You stay still for a moment. Your back toawrds him as your sparkling looks up at you.

He gently cooed at you and reached up at you. You swear he’s trying to tell you something. And so you turned to almost face him. He can tell you’re holding in tears as Rubble looked at him as well.

Unsure as Rubbles cervos gripped at your top chest.

”Yes. He’s yours. Was a month pregnent with him when you chose to leave us.”

Drift stood there in silence for a moment longer. His sparkling. The same sparkling that was just staring at him. Probably not realizing who he was. And what his sire has done years before his birth. All the bad an horrible things he did…

Drift slowly then spoke. “Can I-“

”No.” You said firmly. Turning away as you return to your habsuit. Rubble looking over your shoulder as he stared at Drift.

Drift trying to not cry as he stood there.

After a few months, you have gone on a few dates with Skids. Cyclonus being nice enough to watch Rubble as you went to the other side of the ship. Eventually you both realized it was a small fling in a way. The emotions there then gone.

But you both remained friends and he always loved seeing Rubble when you would cross paths.

Drift stayed away. Understanding his boundaries. ratchet was well aware of who you were and Drift sure got a scolding.

———————————————————————————

One day as you slept on your berth. Rubble next to you in your arms as you both were sound asleep. That is until your sparkling stared to cough. You woke up when you felt a small cervo on your cheek.

His large yellow optics looking down at you as he had a frown. “Hey. What’s the matter my little one.”

He gently patted at his own chest and keeps coughing. He seemed to try too not cry as he stared at you. You soon sat up and gently held him as you got off the berth. He was burning up and kept trying to not cry.

“It’s alright my little one. Lets get you checked out.” You’d then transform around him.

He was in the passenger seat as he couldn’t stop crying. You drove in the middle of the night. There being only guards who all knew you. Sparkling of course. You drove as fast as you could to the med bay.

Rubble keeps crying as you tried to calm him down.

“I know you’re hurting my little one. Hang in there and stay strong for me. Can you do that for carrier sweetspark?”

You can hear him gently trying to hold in a sniffle. His cheeks puffed up as he try’s to not cry but his tears won’t stop falling down. You panick. “No no little one it’s ok to let it out. You’re already being so strong!”

He’d continued to cry as you got closer. Luckily the best medic was pulling an old nighter in the med bay.

You rushed in speaking as you transformed and held Rubble. He continues to cry which annoys Ratchet a little, causing him to turn around. “Please I don’t know if my Sparkling has a high fever or something!”

Ratchet looked at Rubble. Rubble having tears in his optics as he tries to hold back from crying. Ratchet just sighed as he gently took him.

“Alright you little sparkling you don’t have to hold back just to impress me.”

He gently held him in his arm as his other cervo rests on Rubbles chest. Rubble gently grabbing his digits having a firm grip. You stand there with cervos together worried as Ratchet feels his spark beat and all. Then felt his forhelm. Rubble still grabbing at that as well.

”He defiantly has a high fever. He’ll have to just try sleeping and give him some medican. He wont like it but it’ll help. Would you mind sitting?”

You’d nod and sit at the patience spot. He gently sets Rubble on his lap.

Rubble turned his frame so his side is facing you. Gently grabbing your arm as he keeps trying to hold in his tears.

Ratchet then grabs a medican to help with heavy fever and colds. “He wont like it but it’ll help him sooner then most would think.”

He presents you with it. You gently took it and looked at it. Rubble of course curious tried reaching for it as he cooed. Still crying. Still sniffling as tears come down his cheeks.

”Thank you Dr. Ratchet.”

”You both take care now.” You’d nod and walk out with Rubble. He watched you as the door then closes behind you. Ratchet stood there for a moment in silence.

”…………….Damn.” Ratchet said with a blush.

———————————————————————————

“Come on Rubble you have to take your medican. It’ll make the fever go away.”

Rubble only made more baby noises as you try to put the spoon of medican in his mouth. His cervo pushing at yours as he turns his helm away.

“mmmmBA!!” He keeps crying since his fever was still high.

You both were in your berth room. Trying to get him from crying was the hardest part. You’re sure your neighbors aren’t too happy.

You’d then hear a knock on the door. You’d then look back at Rubble who looked at you. “Stay here you little gremlin.” He smiled even through his tears as he watch you leave.

You click the button to open the door and it was Ratchet. He had a small smile on his dermas. “How’s fever sparkling doing?”

”I’m sorry. I know he can be loud when he wants to be.”

”BA!” Rubble yelled. You’re guessing his way of saying hey in baby language as he sat on the bed.

”Would you mind me giving it a try?” You let out a soft sigh and nodded. Stepping out of his way so he walks in. Closing the door behind him once he was fully in.

Rubble continues to cry as Ratchet sat next to him on the berth.

A few minutes went by. Ratchet spoke to Rubble. Not sure if Rubble understood him but his large optics just stared up at him like as if he’s his sire.

You watched the two. Rubble slowly stopped crying and Ratchet was able to get Rubble to take the medican before Rubble realized it. Instantly closing his mouth once he tasted it. Struggling to swallow.

Eventually he does as ratchet comforted him.

Rubble saying BLA many times. “Wow you actually got him to take it.” Ratchet just chuckled as he got off the berth. Rubbing laying back as ratchet makes his way to you. His cervos on his hips.

“That should help him. Um do you mind if I ask you something?”

”Of course not. What’s your question?” he seemed a bit nervous as he trys to speak.

“Well would you like to um hang out at times with me and my partner. I don’t have a shift in a couple days.” You were taken aback but let out a soft chuckle. “I’d love to.”

Ratchet let out a chuckle before speaking once more. “At 4. In a couple days I’ll come by.” He said with a smile as he looked down at you. You’d nod as he then walks out to the hall. The door closing behind him.

You’d look over at Rubble. Who was fast asleep. His little cervos and arms over his belly. You’d then walk over, gently holding the side of his helm as his dermas have a small smile. Leaning into your cervo.

Thank primus he was born healthy. Although it’s awkward for you being on the same ship with his Sire.

But as long as your sparkling can grow with the ones closest around him. You know you can handle anything. So now it’s time to get to know some new bots! Rubble needs a Sire figure after all.

And your carrier instincts are telling you to not disappoint!

Hey guys! Sorry this one took all day I could not for the life of me figure out the ending. So sorry that it’s a the weakest part of the story. I was gonna do a full fic but I realized there’s more depth so I’ll make a part 2.

I hope you guys liked this one it was going to be just Drift but honestly looking at that medic booty by “total accident” I swear guys. I have to add Ratchet but also being for angst too. I swear I’ll make a scene of reader kicking aft at some point in part 2. Might get spicy a few times.

Am I good at doing sparkling scenes? I hope they came out good and still enjoyable. As always I hope you guys enjoyed this and a repost is always appreciated. I hope you all have a good rest of your day and see y’all in the next one!

[blitzwhore]

I've seen a few people over the past few days (and weeks, and months) discuss whether Stolitz is, or will be, "canon", and... I must admit, these conversations confuse me a bit.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but through the years and across various fandoms, I've always understood "canon" (with regards to a ship) to mean "are shown to be, or to have been, romantically or sexually involved in the source material".

I might be the only person who sees it this way, and if I am that's totally fair, but to me, Stolitz has always been canon. We have known that they fuck since the pilot. Episode 1 reinstates that Blitz and Stolas fuck. They have kissed on screen. Obviously, they have also pined to hell and back (ha) for one another. This is no different than, for example, Blitz x Verosika, a ship that is also canon, because the show has stated that they dated, fucked, and that Verosika loved Blitz. They are shown to have been involved romantically/sexually. An example of the opposite would be, say, Verosika x Barbie—a ship many people like, but that isn't canon (as of right now, anyway), because these characters aren't confirmed to have been involved romantically or sexually at any point.

I think a more accurate word to use in conversation to convey the "will they/won't they" arc between Stolas and Blitz is "endgame", which I understand to mean "are together by the end of the story told in the source material, and implied to stay that way indefinitely". Which, to be fair, I also see used a lot in conversations about the ship.

Again, correct me if I've understood this wrong, but as I see it, every ship that is endgame is canon, but not every ship that is canon is endgame. And once a ship is canon, you can't really de-canonise it. (I mean, you could, if you revealed it all to have been a fever dream, but you get what I mean). Stolitz has always been, and will always be canon.

More accurate words to describe what's happening between a ship such a Stolitz at different stages of their getting-together journey, I think, would be "together", "dating", "in love", "fucking", "having sex", "declaring their love to one another", "aware they love each other", or "on the same page", to name a few.

Questions like "Are Stolitz together now?" or "Does the latest song count as them declaring their love to one another?" are a lot more productive and interesting, in my humble opinion, than "Are they canon?"

[moonyasnow]

Ship intro: Mallina

Fics:

Malleus and a Reader who's just as lonely as him

Your[Irina's] latest ‘friends’ turn out to be trash. Their words lead you down a terrible descent. At least someone is willing to reach out to you.

Spotify List:

IT'S TIMELINE TIME

I'VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA

This is just a basic timeline though; I'm leaving out a fair bit of detail.

Also added in random things I've written so if it feels a little bit disjointed in some areas, that's why.

T I M E L I N E :

How they meet:

Book 2

One night she'd just been laying in bed unable to sleep, hearing the distant whispers of her parents fighting at the edges of her mind like usual, and deciding to go outside just to escape the confined room and get some kind of distraction from hearing them. She was incredibly startled hearing someone suddenly call out to her, having been too stuck in her own thoughts to notice him approaching like she usually could. She was honestly scared at first, though mostly as a result of being caught with her guard down, which she usually never was.

But as soon as she properly looked into his eyes, all that fear suddenly seemed to fade away in an instant. She didn't know why, but she suddenly started to feel relaxed in his presence, more so than she usually ever did. And she felt almost sad when he disappeared. But she told herself off for it; that was the first time she'd ever met him after all, and she didn't even know his name. But since he'd said she could call him whatever she wanted…

She'd call him Peridot, after the color of his eyes. 'Peri' for short.

Tomoe's first reaction to the name 'Peri' was to laugh, explaining that it made her think of Perry the Platypus. And once she'd also had the thought, Irina couldn't help but laugh too, 'Peri' being exchanged for 'Perry' in her mind after that point.

Book 3

She ended up being asked by some Student or other if she'd thought about joining a club yet. She hadn't, not even really knowing which clubs actually existed. And so she decided to take a look to see if anything seemed interesting; she had a lot more free time after being fired from her job anyway. When she saw that there was a 'Gargoyle Appreciation Club' and that it had only one member, she knew instantly who that must be, and decided to join it. Irina joins Gargoyle Studies Club

Then Irina goes to the Harveston Sledathon!

This is the first time they'd really gone without being ABLE to spend time with each other and go on their nightly walks.

Book 4

When Lilia showed up to give her the postcard, she knew who it must have been from. And so she asked Lilia to wait for a second, rushing into her room to get a box, with a letter attached, which she asked him to give to the sender of the postcard. It was a birthday gift for her friend Peridot; a clay tea pot, its spout designed to look like a little dragon, the handle on the opposite end sculpted into the shape of a scaly tail. The letter contained not only wishes for him to have a happy birthday, but also an explanation of the spout. She wanted to give him a Gargoyle as a gift, but she also wanted to make sure it was an actual Gargoyle, with a clear purpose, rather than just a decorative Grotesque. So she settled on a tea pot! Since it serves as the spout, the 'needs water spout' element of a Gargoyle was cleared, as well.

She wasn't there to see it, but when he got her gift and read the letter, he was so beside himself with joy that for the first time in at least a century, there was sunshine in Briar Valley. Not only was it a birthday gift from his best friend, hand-crafted no less, it was also incredibly thoughtful, proof to him that she'd been listening and paying attention to every single word of all his rambles about his beloved Gargoyles. The next time they met again, before any words could be spoken he quite literally picked her up off the ground and spun her around as a way to say 'thank you'. That was the moment she admitted to herself that she'd fallen in love with him.

He ended up insisting on them drinking at least one cup of tea for all their club meetings after this point, so he got a chance to use it. And he also insisted on the same for every single Housewarden meeting he went to, which he'd started to actually know the times and places of thanks to Irina knowing through Tomoe and telling him. If he'd had any less decorum he would have literally shoved the pot in the face of random people in the halls; he was that happy about it.

Book 5

The invitation and everyone who didn't already know finding out about their friendship

She's also the one who gives Malleus the tickets to the SDC. For their booth at the cultural festival Irina made a bunch of small clay figurines of Grotesques and then wrote above them the differences between them and Gargoyles, to educate people.

When Tomoe meets Malleus for the first time, she lightly teases Irina, asking "So this is the famous 'Perry the Platypus."' Irina got very embarrassed, and Malleus, eyes wide with surprise, asked if that was meant to refer to him. Irina, face burning with embarrassment, then explains the name and its connection to a certain animated Platypus spy, but also says her nickname for him was actually supposed to be short for Peridot. It ended with Malleus bursting out laughing right then and there, Irina, still embarrassed, saying: "W-was it really that funny?" It then becomes a recurring inside joke of him calling himself 'her platypus friend'.

When Malleus began to fix the stage, not being used to magic and thus a bit scared at first, Irina moved close to his side out of reflex, feeling safer there. It made him really happy to think that for once, not only was there someone who wasn't afraid of him, but she even felt safe around him. Though she became very flustered when she realized she'd been gripping onto his jacket arm.

After this, she starts referring to him as both 'Peri' and also 'Malleus'. He can't decide which one he likes more: the nickname, or her calling his name. (by this point he is just as head over heels for her as she is for him. But he still hasn't figured out why sometimes, she does something that makes him so happy it literally makes his chest hurt and gives him goosebumps. He just hasn't realized why yet)

They have their first Sleepover! I wrote an actual fic about it here! 👀

Book 6

She stays behind at NRC, staying in an unoccupied room at Diasomnia and waiting for Tomoe, Grim and everyone else to come back. Just as she's starting to settle into the bed in the room, she gets a knock on her door. It was Malleus. As soon as she saw him, she basically launched herself into his arms. And he embraced her as though he'd been expecting her to do just that. He walked further into her room and closed the door, then just picked her up, and laid the both of them in the bed and used his magic to cover them with the blanket, not wanting either of his arms to let go of her for even a second.

She was incredibly worried, and disoriented— one of her best friends (Jamil) and the closest thing she had to a family (Tomoe and Grim) were gone, and her other best friend (Ruggie) was visibly stressed and very busy trying to manage his dorm while his Housewarden was gone. So everyone she was close to except for Malleus was unable to be there for her when it felt to her like the entire world was falling apart. And she's not used to things going back to normal when it starts to feel like that. Even if she knew where they were, to someone with such bad abandonment issues as her, who is so dependent on the people in her life and has such bad separation anxiety, she wasn't handling it well. When Malleus offered her a room in Diasomnia, she was grateful… But something inside her just felt absolutely horrible when she was given a room that wasn't his room, or anywhere close to his room. She really, really needed him.

She cried into his chest for a long time, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping her from falling off the edge of the world. And in a way, that's what it felt like to her. She called out his name between her sobbing, and each time, he replied with an "I am here" and held her a little tighter. When she finally fell asleep, he was holder her so tightly it almost hurt. That was exactly what she needed. After she'd fallen asleep, he kissed the top of her head, and vowed to himself that he would never ever make her feel like that; he'd never leave her side for as long as he lived.

Glorious Masquerade

"My lady," he bent down as far as he could without hurting his back, and placed a kiss to the back of her hand. "May I have this dance?"

He lifted her by her waist, spinning her around. Looking up to see her surprised face as she held onto his shoulders to keep herself upright, he felt utterly breathless. The smile that formed on her face, accompanied by the rare, breathy sound of her laugh, shot through his heart like a spear. When he gently let her down onto the ground again to continue their dance, there came that feeling again. That indescribable urge of wanting to take her by the hand and guide her to someplace they could spend time just the two of them, to do…something. No matter how he tried, that 'something' refused to make itself clear to him, leaving him struggling ceaselessly to understand the very nature of that urge. And so, he did not act on it. For he did not know what it even was he wished to act upon.

Even with her mask crooked on her face and her hair disheveled, he thought her beauty greater than that of any painting he had ever seen. Not even within Briar Valley's uncountable collection of art could there be one which came even close to what he saw before him in that moment. Nor could any poem, written in any language, living or dead, adequately put it into words.

Coming back, his eyes were locked on her all the while. And as they were, he saw her begin to talk to someone. When he came within earshot he heard:

"Will you dance with me?" The boy in front of her, one from Noble Bell whom he did not recognize, was blushing, looking terribly flustered, even shy. The image sickened him. In seconds, a terrible storm began to pick up outside. Who was he? What right did he have to look at Irina, at his Child of Man, that way? None. Malleus was better. More worthy of her attention. So why did he feel so threatened by that nameless boy? As though someone was trying to yank away the one precious thing he cherished more than anything; his one and only friend. That boy probably had friends of his own. Why couldn't he go be with them, instead? Irina was his friend. His.

He walked over with a steely gaze, no doubt frightening any poor souls he passed by near to death. But the moment she noticed his approach, and her guarded body language broke and she nearly lept to be closer to him, wearing that sweet smile, the clouds vanished in an instant. "Peri!"

"My Child of Man." He smiled right back.

The other boy quickly backed off. 'Good.'

"I had a wonderful time. I was happy to spend it with my dearest friend, Irina."

The word 'friend'…had it always come up so…short? He had felt the same once in the past, and brushed it off, too afraid of what it might mean, were they not friends- as though it would mean losing the warmth and joyous sense of familiarity the title brought. Yet the question plagued him more and more, until at last, he found himself unable to merely brush it off as he once had.

It occurred to him that, having no prior reference of what a 'friend' was, or how friends acted with each other, he had no idea if the things they did were things friends would do. Did friends have sleepovers where they shared a bed, holding each other tightly through the night, singing each other to sleep? Did friends feel so possessively about each other as he felt over her? Did friends…sometimes look at each other's lips and wonder if they would be soft to the touch? Did friends wish to spend their every waking moment, now and forever in the future, together?

He didn't know. Irina was the only friend he'd ever had. And she made him happy.

But…he was beginning to wonder if they truly could be called friends at this point.

What were they, if not friends? What lay beyond that title?

Things were fine as they were now, weren't they? He was happy, and so was she. Wasn't that enough? Yet, then…why did he desire for something more?

...

Perhaps he would consult Lilia, after their return to Night Raven.

And so this is where, during a conversation with Lilia about it, he finally starts to realize just what his feelings are. The literal second after realizing he loves her, he starts thinking up a way to propose to her

He's already picking out their kids' names in his mind and mentally decorating their bedroom in Briar Valley's royal castle.

Book 7

She runs to him, who's sitting on the ground, and throws herself around his neck. She's crying.

“I-I-I was— w-was so— sca-red…!” Her voice is shaking and wavering so much from the tears that she can barely speak.

“I…apologize, my dear Child of Man… I know now that my actions were wrong, but it was never my intention to frighten—“

“Th-that's not why!” Uncharacteristically, she cuts him off.

“I was so, so, s-so worried! I thought you could die! I-if I didn't defeat you in time. I-I thought you were going to die! I thought I'd lo-lose you!!!”

Then she just can't hold it in anymore— she starts wailing, just at the mere thought. She holds him tighter.

When she's calmed down enough that there are no longer tears cascading down her face, she pulls back…and she cups his cheeks and pulls him closer so their foreheads touch. “I love you. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you! I—“

He kisses her forehead and holds her closer, tucking her head under his chin and circling his arms tightly around her, apologizing profusely for scaring her so badly. And he kisses her. For a second she just stares at him in shock Before she can really respond, they're interrupted by someone who says they should really get him to a doctor.

After that is another sleepover since Irina can't bear to be apart from him for a while after what happened

Stuff I didn't know where to put:

Quote I'm stealing from @diodellet:

"They're 2 flavors of incapable of vocalizing their feelings but they're willing to share the burden with each other wordlessly"

BECAUSE YES SHE PUT IT SO WELL

Not sure when exactly this would happen, but certainly after they get together. Anyway, here is how I imagine Malleus proposing to her:

And ALSO how the whole 'Malleus is immortal and Irina isn't' thing gets resolved because I REFUSE to let either of them go through that; there are some angst lines even I won't cross

AND A FINAL THING! There's a Swedish song in their spotify list called 'en säng av rosor' (a bed of roses) and I NEED you to know what the lyrics are, so I translated them:

"The glass is half-empty right now Half-full if you'd been here The days they go by but never seem to end I wish I were where you are

The streets echo of you Memories that'll always be there All I say is a film-reel of the two of us I've gotten stuck in our little world

I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses for you

Stockholm is more grey now The summer passed all too quickly Now Spring is nigh and soon you'll be here I've longed for it more than you'd probably think

I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses for you

I miss getting stuck with my gaze deep in your eyes The safest place in my lonely word, no questions I can be myself with you; no need for words

I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses I will make a bed of roses I will make a bed of roses for you"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now, I'm not saying I have a favorite ship....

But I have a favorite ship OTL

Tag list:

@another-random-paradise @thehollowwriter @faefum @cactus13-rolloflammesimp @beneathsakurashade

@nyx-of-night @theolivetree123 @babyghoul138 @skibidibabygirl @screamintoad

@gingacat @buttholesparkles @angelwishess

[darth-jess]

A question for Obidala fans…

I get that you like Obi-Wan, I honestly love him too. I love his character, I love his guilt and his shame, I love his sassy wit, I love his subtle (and not so subtle) cockiness, I love his kindness and his dedication. I love writing from his POV.

But like… how does this translate to you wanting him to be with Padmé? Pretty much the only thing they have in common is their love for Anakin. They have no chemistry, their personalities don't MESH.

Why is Satine so often forgotten? Or even Siri Tachi in Legends? His love story with Siri is very developed in the books, and it's so sad and beautiful. Or (leaving the canon/legends realm) why not Cody? At least he has things remotely in common with these people (he's spent a lot of time around Satine, they formed a bond in his early days, and Cody is by his side throughout the war and they obviously have good chemistry).

I can't ship Obikin but I have to admit that at least makes more sense than Obidala simply because of how much time Obi-Wan and Anakin spend together.

Obi-Wan barely knows Padmé, and he has no reason to get to know her on a deep, personal level, and even if he did there's a lot that Padmé and Anakin agree on that Obi-Wan simply cannot comprehend with his rigid worldview.

I understand loving Obi-Wan as a character, I love him too, and I understand wanting him to have someone who is passionate and kind, I understand wanting him to have a happy ending with a romantic partner, but that person is NOT Padmé for him. He could never be happy with someone like her, and she could never be happy with someone like him. (See my posts –> Why Padmé Would Not Choose Obi-Wan, and Anakin WAS a Good Husband)

You have to take away huge chunks of what makes these characters WHO THEY ARE to turn them into people that "belong" together. And at that point, they would have changed so much from the original characters that they're not Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala anymore, they're just completely different people who happen to have the same names.

[gamora-borealis]

hi callie i was wondering if you had any theological thoughts about phan vs jedus, im ex-catholic and kinda agnostic-atheist but i genuinely find your perspective on religion and christianity to be refreshing :)

oh thank you it is an honor to be asked 😭💖 this got really long so my answer is under the cut:

I had to go look the story of judas up again to refresh my memory on certain details because I feel like I'm mostly familiar with the simplified sunday school version in my head (I love theology/philosophy but sometimes the nuances of all the different tellings from each gospel get mixed up or forgotten in my head lol). If you want like, in depth info on the differences in the stories or arguments among biblical historians/academics about the historicity of his story I would recommend reading the Wikipedia article about Judas because it goes in pretty good depth and gives lots of citations and quotes like actual credible scholars that I read and not crackpot evangelical "historians" who try to claim that everything that happened in the bible is somehow 100% true and try to make all the gospels fit together when they actually contradict each other lol.

but essentially the main reason people even ship jedus is because in the text judas gave jesus a special greeting kiss on the cheek in front of the romans who were looking to arrest jesus to show them which guy they were looking for (he accepted a bribe for this). like I think it's more so a modern invention to make the kiss seem homoerotic or something, which like be my guest I guess lol I love making shit gay! some gospels claim he was possessed by satan, some claim he was just in it for the money, but I think it's agreed that he regretted it afterwards and didn't actually want jesus to die and so he killed himself (or had an accident after being very distraught).

but like, if you want to get real gay, john the apostle is referred to as the disciple "that jesus loved." although I have seen it pointed out that this is a bit biased considering that line is from the gospel of john which was written down by john's followers like a hundred years later. but still, also john was the only one of the 12 disciples at Jesus's crucifixion (along with Mary Magdalene who basically was a disciple but the church has tried to cover that up because she's a woman, and his mother Mary, and some other family friends who were also named Mary lmao). so like why jesus x judas and not jesus x john?? it kinda seems like childish "hehe judas kissed him GAYYYY" over like. the actual close relationships jesus had lol.

to be fair I don't think I've ever seen jesus christ super star or any other jesus inspired musical that may or may not have contributed to this ship being popular. but at least there is probably a narrative or subtext there that leads you to want to ship them, whereas in the straight up bible I'm like. idk lol.

but real talk like. dan and phil are so very like, drawn together by the universe coded (which in the kind of non-standard theology I ascribe to, God is the universe!) and are such an uplifting entertainment duo that bring joy and hope to so many people I'm like. If God and/or Jesus had to chose, would they choose this beloved real couple or the guy who betrayed Jesus and helped get him crucified??? Like please.

(also I could write an entire treatise on why theologically god is not homophobic lol I won't get into that, but whether that includes Jesus the historical guy who existed? idk he never spoke on that - though some people think he was accepting of a roman soldier who maybe had gay relationship with a servant but that interpretation is a bit iffy - but jesus did go against a lot of gender norms at the time by being a single nomadic teacher who hung out with single women and told men to leave their families and follow him and if we think of him as theologically supposedly being at the right hand of God in heaven nowadays then they would be on the same page lol).

To get actually theological about Judas though, there are people who believe that Jesus's crucifixion was a necessary in some kind of weird sacrifice for our sins situation (academically known as penal substitutionary atonement theory) which I just don't buy into that at all lmao even though it's very popular in Christianity, especially among evangelicals. so like some people might be like "well judas had to betray in order for Jesus to die which was a good thing" but I just straight up think that's a crazy thing to accept like why did God have to violently crucify a supposed version of himself and/or son in order to forgive people of their "sins" that is such a weird convoluted way of thinking but that's what happens when people insist on believing God is all powerful and then try to justify bad things happening. Whereas I'm a fan of the movement to replace the term "omnipotent" with "amnipotent" meaning God isn't all powerful but is all loving (and there are some better translations that actually support this there is a recent book about it by Thomas Jay Oord) and be like well sometimes bad shit happens that God doesn't support but God's gonna just keep trying their best!!! so like I don't think Judas had an excuse per se but also maybe Jesus was bound to be crucified anyways not because God wanted it but because he was like, building a movement to challenge the Roman Empire even though it wasn't necessarily a violent one (more like mutual aid, dual power type stuff rather than a direct, violent revolution - which some jews at the time understandably supported although it unfortunately didn't work out for them). But this is looking back at it from modern times. At the time you could say Judas sold out Jesus to the equivalent of the CIA or FBI or something, like even if he felt bad afterwards why are we shipping them... I guess people might be like "Judas had to do it for the plot it's tragic!!!" but for what other reason are we shipping them besides the betraying kiss on the cheek that was in a different culture lol

I did see some interesting arguments in the Wikipedia article about how most historians think Judas was real but some think he could have been an antisemitic invention by Christians, there's a very big messy history of Christians, like even in the scriptures, blaming Jesus's death on the Jews in a way that is just very antisemitic and probably not true so that's another interesting aspect to this as well.

Anyways this is my perspective as someone into queer, existential, process theology/philosophy that is ultimately pretty protestant despite me being a practicing anglo-catholic episcopalian who likes saints and catholic worship and some other catholic-y things lol (episcopalians are like the bridge between protestant and catholic lol). hope this big rant made sense, I got kinda hyperfixated and haven't had addedall today and have been procrastinating eating since before I started writing this so I better go do that now 😂

[burningcheese-merchant]

Honestly I don’t understand the hate behind “toxic” ships in fiction, I personally couldn’t care less what people ship as long as it’s entirely fictional and they aren’t condoning the actions of the characters. Sure I’ll still block someone if their ships make me uncomfortable, but I have a “ship and let ship” type of view on these things.

Exactly. I'm just SO tired and so done with this shit. The Cookie Run fandom has always been shit to some degree, since CROB first came out, but CRK brought in whole legions of people who haven't seen grass in years and it's just sad at this point lol. So long as they're both adults (ZERO tolerance for adult/minor ships at all times, fuck that shit), why does it matter? It's fiction. No one is being harmed. Explore whatever concept or dynamic you wish. Wholesome, toxic, everything in between. Just remember to maintain a healthy level of detachment from it all; don't get mad if people don't ship the same ships you do, don't get wrapped up in discourse or arguing or anything. Doesn't do anyone any good, including you and me.

There are plenty of ships I don't like (in general, even outside of Cookie Run). I am anti-FireWind and always will be. ShadowSpice makes less than zero sense to me, like wtf are you people on about lol. Hollytaya gives me rabies and I hate remembering it exists (God I hate Hollytaya so fucking much it is absolutely unreal lmao). Guess what? I block the ship tags and go about my business. I don't go out of my way to look for ship art or fics, nor do I bother people who ship any of those (or any other ships I don't like). I have friends and acquaintances that ship these three that I've listed, and I don't think any less of them for it. It's all good in the neighborhood. All shipping is at the end of the day is playing dollhouse. Getting mad at people for playing with the dolls in the "wrong" way is dumb and pathetic lol. Live and let live. Hate the ship, not the shipper.

Just don't call me names. Don't accuse me of terrible things because I like hero/villain ships, the enemies to lovers trope, and/or exploring darker topics or relationships in writing. It's FICTION. No fucking shit that stuff is wrong and I don't condone it irl, the fuck is wrong with you? What kind of person do you take me (or anyone else like me) for? I get so goddamn irritated with the shit I see getting hurled at Beast x Ancient shippers regularly, especially on Twitter. People get harassed, people get outright doxed and threatened. All that over fictional talking cookies? You're the ones who need help, not us lol. You don't have to like BurningCheese, you don't have to like Beasts x Ancients, you don't have to like Heroes x Villains at all. That is perfectly understandable, that trope is not for everyone. But don't do that shit. Don't call us misogynists, or abusers, or anything else like that. Those are serious and damning accusations. You've got a lot of nerve saying that to people you don't even fucking know, especially from behind the comfort and safety of a computer screen. Frankly, you cheapen what those horrible things really mean by hurling them at random strangers so carelessly. You think words in a document or lines on a screen compares to real-world violence against innocent people? You think because I toy with the concept of some little buff spicy cookie dude having an evil crush on a little winged cookie lady, I want real people to be harmed? Fuck you for that. I am VERY familiar with the horrors of violent crime, BELIEVE ME WHEN I FUCKING SAY THAT. I hate bad people as much as the next guy, probably more so, because again, I AND MANY I KNOW PERSONALLY HAVE SEEN SHIT IRL, SO DON'T FUCKING COME AND TELL ME I ENDORSE REAL CRIMES WHEN I AM THE LAST PERSON ON EARTH WHO WOULD. Fiction allows us to bask in the light or be engulfed by shadows as much as we wish, while being able to safely disengage and return to real life without any pain or discomfort being inflicted on ourselves or others afterwards. All of this morality and media-enjoyment policing is just the newest incarnation of the fundies that tried to paint Pokemon as satanic, or those pearl-clutching dipshits on the news and in government that insisted that people would become carjacking homicidal maniacs because they play Grand Theft Auto. It's fucking stupid and a waste of time.

I'll say it one more time: YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. TO. SHIP. BURNINGCHEESE. OR. ANY. OTHER. BEAST X ANCIENT PAIRS. You are entitled to your thoughts and feelings and ships. Block the tags and move along. Block users if you have to. Better yet, turn off your computer and go spend time with real people. There's more to life than Twitter or Tumblr or these wack ass games about cookies, I promise. None of this matters, man. I have a Bill Cipher plushie as my avatar. I post silly dumb memes half the time, and then just ramble nonsensically about Evil Spice Man x Pretty Cheese Lady the other half. This shit is stupid. We're all stupid for liking these games in the first place. They suck. We all suck. Write what you want, draw what you want, mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine

[thefanficmonster]

The Tortured Journalists Department

Declan O'Hara x Reader (Female) [Rivals TV]

Warnings: Age Gap (Reader is 21), Swearing, Emotional Infidelity, SPOILERS for Rivals S1

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Summary: The characteristically prominent electricity that pits journalists against one another also has a magnetic sort of pull that brings them closer. As Declan and Y/N find out the hard way

"Alright, listen to me." Y/N had rushed into the O'Hara residence like spring wind, bringing warmth to a house Declan has felt cold in ever since the departure of his wife.

She headed straight into the kitchen where she dropped several files and folders, splaying them out on the table. It was evident from her pace alone that she'd come with an agenda but that didn't bother Declan. If there was one thing that could stray his thoughts from Maud it was work. And Venturer still required a lot of it.

"It'd be quite impossible to not listen to you, my dear. Especially with such an impressionable entrance." Declan chuckles, taking a drag of his cigarettes as he comes to stand across the table from the girl.

"Good, because I didn't spend an entire sleepless night drafting all this for you to not pay me any mind." She grumbles as she flicks open the folders, flipping past the formality pages to the main course of the idea she's about to pitch.

Y/N is one of the Corinium refugees that jumped ship the second Declan resigned. She was a paid intern and the face of Corinium's 'After Dark' segment focusing on rather scandalous topics and entertainment targeting the young adult demographic. However, with the continuous undermining she felt from practically everyone, she had long been planning to break the chain binding her to the company. The only thing - or rather, person - that kept changing her mind was...well, I think it's pretty darn obvious when you take note of when she finally decided to go through with the decision and leave.

Declan pulls out a chair and takes a seat, leaning forward with his elbows on the table to skim all the files she's laid out for him "I'm all ears, darling."

"You better be." Y/N says with a clap of her hands as she takes a deep breath, "So, I've been thinking, we should set Venturer free from the shadows of Corinium. Because, right now, especially with you as the face of the company, we seem like a bitter revenge attempt. Just an endeavor to bite back at a company that wronged you. Of course, that is not my personal opinion, but-"

"I think it is."

"Hush!" She scolds him as he interrupts her, "I'm far from done."

Declan laughs, smoke curling around him as he lifts his hands up in surrender, motioning for her to continue.

"Thank you." She narrows her eyes, "So, I'll cut to the chase, seeing as how your attention span is one of a fish. My idea is to make Venturer unique in more ways than one. Truly make it our own. And....take down two birds with one stone." She says with a knowing look.

Declan quirks an eyebrow at her, tilting his head to the side, "And what's this second bird you speak of."

Y/N points a manicured nail down to an underlined name he recognizes, "The Scorpion, of course. They have a massive monopoly over London's printed journalism and they don't even know how to use it properly. They have a wide reach and use it to spread gossip and rumors. I can count on all ten fingers the amount of nude pictures I've seen in a supposedly serious paper just this past year. It is abhorrent. That being said, what do you say?"

Declan places a hand on his chin, giving the documents she's put so much thought in a more thorough look. The idea had never even crossed his mind - the Venturer merging two separate branches of journalism, setting in motion a domination attempt of the entire field.

The more he ponders it, the better it sounds, but it doesn't exactly show on his face which makes Y/N feel nervous for the very first time since she started working on the pitch. She hadn't for a second doubted that it would be a good idea but right now she feels rather unsure as she takes in Declan's thoughtful furrowed brow.

"You don't have to give me an answer right away. I know it's a hefty endeavor and you have to consult with Rupert and Freddie and Cameron. I probably should've gathered all of you to properly pitch the idea but I wanted you to be the first to hear it in case it was an utter embarrassment. Again, think it over, and get back to it whenever you-"

"It's genius."

Her rambling comes to an abrupt halt, leaving her slack-jawed and wide-eyed. For a moment, she refuses to allow herself the joy of success, opting to make sure she hadn't misheard him first. "Come again?"

"It's genius." He doubles down on his original statement, "You're a genius, love. Which is why you'll be the leading force behind Venturer Daily." He smirks when he sees her eyes grow impossibly wider, "Like the name?"

The airy laugh that leaves her parted lips carries all the disbelief, worry and uncertainty from her body, giving way to relief childlike excitement that displays itself with a wide grin, "Venturer Daily.....yes, y-yeah, it has a nice ring to it." Her mind is already a whirlwind of potential topics and stories she could report on. How she'd have complete control of all that'd get printed and released into the world for all of London society to read. And beyond - nation wide even.

But then logic and rational thinking kicks in, curbing her thrill, "Wait, don't we have to consult everyone else before making such decisions?"

Declan shakes his head, "With a passionate pitch like yours they'll immediately climb onboard even if they are initially against it. Which I honestly doubt, there are very few downsides for them to pick at."

"Alright, fair. What about my writing? What if I don't have what it takes to transfer the charm I have in front of the camera to a printed page?" She asks, more so wondering aloud rather than actually directing the question to Declan.

Still, he points a scolding finger at her, "Never let me hear you doubt yourself like that again."

The sternness in his voice causes something to stir inside her, like ripples in a still lake that progressively become waves when she sees the intensity in his eyes. Because of course that's how her body reacts to strict praise and attention from a man twice her age that also happens to be her boss.

Her next worry is voiced a little quietly, almost sheepishly, "I don't even have a typewriter of my own."

He doesn't give an instant reply to her raised concern. Instead, he motions for her to wait a moment before leaving the kitchen, heading up the stairs in the foyer.

Y/N is left standing alone in the kitchen with a flushed face and a speeding heart as she chews on her bottom lip in anticipation. Her fingers drum nervously on the edge of the table as she takes a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down and take it easy. All in the hopes of not being let down in the end.

Let down she most certainly isn't when Declan comes back down the stairs, typewriter in hand, and places it on the table in front of her.

"Problem solved. Anything else bothering ya? If there is something, let me know so I can take care of it for ya, alright? You just focus on getting me a newspaper draft within the next two weeks. Sounds good?" He asks, as he stands beside her, hands on hips, spine straight and a satisfied lopsided smirk on his face.

The earlier mentioned waves turn into a full on tsunami.

Y/N runs a gentle hand over the polished black typewriter, her fingers lingering on the golden accents adorning it. "You would give this to me? Are you sure?" She asks, mouth agape in disbelief as he nods "T-thank you....I promise to take good care of it. I'll have it returned in pristine condition as soon as I purchase my own."

Declan immediately shakes his head, clicking his tongue, "Oh no, no, no, darling. It's yours. Yours to keep, that is."

Y/N's disbelief is palpable as she quirks an eyebrow at him, "How could you ever bring yourself to part with something so beautiful." She gathers some of the dust layer that coats the keys, "And something you've had for a long while, no less."

Declan doesn't show it, but his heart clenches as he sees how gentle and almost loving Y/N is to this object that he too feels such a connection to. He'd originally bought it for Maud's birthday a few years back only to earn himself a displeased reaction from his wife who demanded something - in her words - actually valuable as a birthday gift. Seeing someone be as appreciative and admiring of this typewriter as he'd been the moment he saw it returns that same excitement he'd felt when he was preparing to gift it to Maud. This time however, the excitement isn't deflated by disappointment. If anything, it's amplified by seeing it be mirrored in Y/N's eyes.

Eyes that hold such adoration.

Adoration he witnesses morph into something else when her eyes meet his for a split second before she throws her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. The action stuns him, mostly because it's coming from someone who's not typically openly affectionate but he welcomes it none the less, returning the gesture with a flutter in his heartbeat.

He's unsure of how to describe what he's feeling but a small voice in his brain is condemning him for it. For how good it feels to have someone's arms wrapped around him with undivided affection he hasn't been treated to by his own wife in years.

Speaking of his wife, he catches glimpse of her smiling face framed on the coffee table in the living room. He should feel guilt but he doesn't. Especially not when he remembers that he hasn't been on the receiving end of that smile in a long, long while. The notion causes his arms to tighten around Y/N, his face nestled into the crook of her neck, each inhale filling his nose with the sweet scent of her perfume lingering on her skin and in her hair.

"Thank you..." She whispers as her arms slowly loosen around him. He doesn't even have time to feel disappointed to no longer feel her warmth around him when her lips press against his cheek, sending sparks of electricity throughout his entire body, setting every nerve ending aflame.

Before he's even had the chance to gather his bearings, Y/N has already collected the files and folders she'd brought, leaving them in a neat pile on the table. She picks up the typewriter in her arms, the weight of it evident in the way she's carrying it like an infant - or rather that is a display of the care she feels for the gift.

It's obvious the kiss was an improvised action on her part. There's a solid chance she herself was surprised by it considering how flustered she is now as she's doing everything in her power to leave the O'Hara residence.

"I'll have a draft delivered to you in a couple days." She says hastily, one foot practically already out the door, "I promise I won't let you down."

Declan's arm seems to have a mind of its own as it shoots out and gently grabs hers, stopping her in her frazzled haste to run away. His thumb swipes over the soft cotton of her sweater, allowing her to feel the warmth of his touch on her skin through the fabric. His eyes are warm and inviting, exuding comfort and reassurance she's never been offered by anyone before.

"You could never let me down, darling."

His words might as well have been a physical force the way they knock the breath clear from her lungs.

In another universe, she might be a better woman. The kind that wouldn't kiss her still-technically-married, twice her age boss. But in this universe she has no such restraint.

And clearly neither does he, seeing as how he meets her halfway, their bodies symbolically separated by the typewriter she's cradling - a disappointing gift to one, but a beautiful memento to another.

* * * * *

A couple days later, Declan finds a draft of a newspaper wedged into the side of his front door, waiting for him, a bow neatly tied around it. He reads through it while sipping on his morning coffee, smirking at the bold title - Daily Venturer, a slight variation of the name they had agreed upon.

Y/N's passion is warming the pages in his hand, eliciting genuine emotion and reaction with each paragraph she has written, the word alive on the crisp paper.

He's about to close it when the farewell block of text at the bottom of the last page catches his attention. It's not printed, instead handwritten in beautiful cursive

⋰ May you find my writing even half as beautiful as your own soul, dear reader

May you have enlighten yourself with my words the way you've enlighten my life with your presence

May your heart be warm as the coffee I'm sure you're drinking as you're reading

May all be well always ⋱

Yours only,

~Y/N

[mistawolfie]

They’re yuri to me

[mrspronouns]

dear malevolent podcast fans, why does no one ever talk about john and kayne and their whole dynamic . not even necessarily ship dynamic. no one talks about them NEARLY as much as we should be.

do you guys ever think about how whenever arthur and kayne have their weird gay shit going on, john is the one Witnessing it? arthur can't even see kayne's gay ass. JOHN can though. and he DOES. do you guys ever think about that. how he's forced to watch that?

do you guys ever wonder about what exactly happened with the whole deal to get john out of the dark world? why did kayne say uhh "the things you did to make this deal happen" . WHAT things? did kayne make john give him a little kissy? like did john have to massacre millions? theres so much to be explored here guys come on why aren't we talking about them more

they have such a weird freaky power dynamic and no ones even talking about it. it doesnt NEED to be like a ship thing. just in general. BUT ALSO do they even have ??? a ship name??? these are two of the main characters of the podcast guys. i know we all care about arthur sooooo much but..... but what about them.......

[lokh]

WAIT SHUROS DAD SAID HE WANTED HIM TO BRING SOMETHING BACK INTERESTING.... AND WHO IS MORE INTERESTING THAN LAIOS....

[aroaceleovaldez]

i stand by that a better, more sensible, and more intriguing plot for TSATS would have been, instead of retconning literally everything:

Bob is dead (because he was very explicitly absorbed/killed by Tartarus Himself in House of Hades, alongside Damasen), and nobody is going into Tartarus to save him. He made his sacrifice and is gone. However. Remember how the Titans, including Bob, were just kind of kicking around for several years? Particularly. On a cruise ship full of mortals. And Bob happened to be kicking around in general for an extra year versus all the other Titans. And he mythologically sometimes has a mortal demigod son who partook in the Calydonian Boar Hunt (Dryas of Calydon). Yeah.

So turns out, Bob/Iapetus leaves behind a demigod (demititan?) child. And because Nico was pretty much his only friend, he named Nico his child's godfather. And while he's not being left in charge of the child, as a son of Hades and godfather to this kid, Nico is duty-bound to fulfill Bob's last will and go find this like 2 year old to make sure they're safe. So Nico has to undertake this very unusual quest (that raises many questions, such as "demititans are a thing?" and "DOES THIS MEAN THERE'S POTENTIALLY MORE-?!" and "SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS?") and is kind of freaking out because. He's the son of Hades! He's notoriously bad with living things, and animals, and definitely small children! Even if he does find this kid and assure they're safe, he is the last person who should be undergoing any kind of quest involving even potentially having to babysit. Fortunately, his boyfriend is the human embodiment of sunshine and calmness and good vibes, and also once helped a nymph give birth, so he feels Marginally More Confident in theoretical demititan babysitting and offers to come along on this Epic Journey of Figuring Out What In Hades' Name Is Up With This Demititan Baby Business.

Proceed with wholesome epic shenanigans quest of Nico and Will scurrying around trying to locate this random OP baby while Nico has an existential crisis about the nature of his powers because he doesn't want to let Bob down! Both for Hades Kid Honor Reasons and because Bob was his friend! But what if he's destined to fail this quest just because of who he is? Because he's simply not built for hanging out with the living/mortals? And Will reassuring him that He Will Probably Not Traumatize The Weird OP Titan Baby And It'll Be Fine, and simultaneously getting a peek into the weird other life Nico leads hanging out with immortals much more than the average demigod, which Nico considers his norm. Bonus shenanigans of both of them getting caught off-guard and culture shocked from where each other's respective worlds (Nico's mostly-immortal versus Will's mostly-mortal) cross over and learning to navigate those for each other - Nico finally starting to make some mortal connections and get glimpses at modern mortal American life, and Will trying not to get his brain literally incinerated while Nico's happily casually catching up with some of his old friends who happen to be literal gods.

[orphiclovers]

I headcanon Uriel and Yoo Joonghyuk being together in the 999th regression specifically because she was attracted to his overwhelming 'goodness' in this round, them being really happy with each other etc just to make this moment even MORE painful

[hailsatanacab]

@the-ghost-trader - ooooh, i love this! it has the potential to be so incredibly sad, too, like poor Damian just trying to carve out something normal for himself only for it blow up in his face

BUT, shockingly, i'm not about the angst today! not yet anyway 😇

---

“So, how was your day?”

Despite his answering groan, Damian likes this. This. This whole… thing he has with Danielle. With Ellie. 

And, yeah, he’s not exactly told any of the others yet, but can you blame him? For wanting to keep something, anything, to himself. Wanting to keep this small little slice of goodness he’s managed to carve out, untouched and unmarred by his family, by their other lives, by the rogues, the vigilantes, the assassins, everyone.

“That bad, huh?”

Being with Ellie is freeing. That’s the best way to describe it.

She knows. Damian surprised even himself when he told her—not about the others, mind, but he supposes it’s not hard to put two and two together and Dani has always been smarter than most—but it’s the best decision he’s ever made, and no matter what the niggling little voice in the back of his head says (the one that sounds suspiciously like Father), he can’t bring himself to regret it.

He won’t. Because having Ellie know gives him freedom.

She’s a safe place, a hand to hold, a warm, welcoming presence when things inevitably turn ugly. It’s the freedom to just be normal when everything else in his life spirals into stranger and more stressful missions.

“Richard is being insufferable again. I do not understand his incessant need to know everything about my life.”

“Oh? What’s he done now?” 

“I was subjected to an hour long interrogation about my love life, like it’s any of his business. It’s infuriating!”

“Ugh, tell me about it. I get the same thing from Jazz, constantly. It can be suffocating.” Ellie says as she curls herself tighter into his side. “But it’s just how they show they care.”

“Yes, well, sometimes I wish he wouldn’t—”

“Hey!” Ellie pushes herself up to glare at him, punctuating her shout with a soft whack to his arm for good measure. “What have I said about using that word?”

“Yes, yes,” he placates with a roll of his eyes, “‘Be careful what you wish for.’ I apologise, it won't happen again.”

“Damn straight it won't.”

She maintains eye contact with him for a second longer before tucking herself back into his side, squirming around with a long, contented hum that Damian can feel rumble through him. He smiles and doesn’t complain even when he has to shift to give her more room after a particularly strong elbow jabs him in the ribs. It means leaving the warm patch on the couch, but he’s rewarded with another long, happy moan as she settles and Damian can’t bring himself to mind.

Ellie constantly makes noises. Little mews and hums and laughs and songs known only to her. It reminds him of a cat, sometimes. He likes it. It calms him down; it means she’s happy, so he's happy.

They settle back into the cushions and Damian lets the subject drop, not wanting to spoil the moment. Outside, the wind changes direction and from where he’s laying he can watch as the snow starts to come down thick and heavy. Hopefully it’ll mean a quiet night's patrol.

“Is that why you haven’t introduced me yet?”

“What?” He can't help it, he stiffens at the thought of losing his secret, of the scrutiny he'll be inviting if he lets anyone know.

“Are you worried I’ll embarrass you?”

Damian’s eyes snap down quick to reassure her, only to see her light, teasing grin. He lets out a breath of relief. It figures she wouldn't worry about that.

“Of course not, don’t be absurd. You could never embarrass me.”

“I don’t know,” she muses, her voice taking on a dangerous lilt, “that sounds like a challenge.”

“Believe me, having been subjected to Father’s Brucie persona at every gala I’ve been to, it would take a lot to embarrass me.”

“Alright, bet. I’ll get you, just you wait.”

“You’ve already got me.”

She flicks him on the nose. “You’re such a sap.”

He hums his agreement, enjoying the tinkling sound of her laughter. And then, before he can think otherwise, he asks, “Is that why you haven’t introduced me?”

“That’s different,” she scowls. “You know how hard it is to get there, there’s no signal, and Danny only gets a break like—oh, Ancients!”

Damian gets another elbow to the ribs as she bolts upright, a manic grin on her face that has him laughing.

“What is it?”

“It’s the holidays! It’s nearly Truce Day! You know I said I had a family thing around Christmas?”

“Yes?” 

“Well, do you want to come to it? I can introduce you then! I mean, it’s going to be a bit formal and you’ll have to meet everyone, not just family. There’s going to be some banquets, you’ll have to sit through some long speeches and you have to be on your best behaviour at all times, okay? Absolutely no fighting, it’s called Truce Day for a reason!”

“What?”

“Yeah, it’ll be perfect! I think Jazz is going in a couple days earlier to help with the preparations, so I’ll get her to let Danny know—and fair warning, he will try to give you the shovel talk, but this is great! It’s Truce Day, so he can’t actually do anything about it!”

“I’m sorry, but you're going to have to explain a bit.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s a bit much—but that’s family, right? Danny can get pretty protective over me, which is why going on Truce Day is the best time to do it! He can’t even command the Fright Knight to stab you! It’s genius!”

“Ellie, what?”

“Like, yeah, sure, he’s the king, but even he has to obey the rules of Truce Day—and then once you’ve spent all day with him, he’ll see that you’re a fantastic, wonderful, kind, brilliant, smart, strong, capable person and he’ll get over himself and everything will be good!"

Damian collapses down onto the couch, the wind knocked out of him. This is… He had not expected anything like this at all. For all that Ellie talked about her family, she had never mentioned this.

“Did you… did you say your brother is a king?”

“Yeah! High King Phantom, have I…” The manic grin slips off her face as she turns round and notices Damian. “Have I not mentioned that before?”

“No. No, you have not.”

“Ah. Sorry. Probably should clarify that I’m also a princess.”

“Right. Yes, that follows.”

“And I’m not really his sister, I’m his clone.”

“What?”

Damian blinks and tries to say more, but he has no idea what he’s meant to do with… any of this information. 

Normal. He thought she was meant to be his normal. Nothing could have prepared him for this.

Not that it changed anything, of course, of that he was certain. It’s just… a lot to take in. Overwhelming. But it's okay! He takes a deep breath, and another, and a sense of calm washes over him. Ellie makes one of her little hums as she cocks her head to the side to consider him and he can't help but relax at the normalcy of the sound. It'll be okay, he's dealt with stranger and he can deal with this.

“I’ve, uh… I’ve told you that we’re half ghosts, though, right?”

“What?”

[multifairyus]

Anyway I love Black people and seeing this explosion of creative and cultural expression is healing something in me I think 🥺

Now to make some Black ATSV moots to bounce playlist ideas off of…

[x-itzzzzzz-x]

thinking about Atsushi Nakajima and kicking my feet while giggling gleefully