#because she was able to find her own first

[hismercytomyjustice]

Ngl I really enjoyed Via’s arc in Sinsmas. She is just SO MUCH like her father that it both delights and hurts me lol.

Their relationship is an interesting take on struggling to try to break the cycle of abuse/neglect.

Stolas grew up with his father not even knowing his name or showing him a shred of affection. He was a means to an end, a tool. The only way he’s ever received any kind of acknowledgement from his father is by doing his duty. Mastering his powers, entering into an arranged marriage, and producing an heir.

You can just so clearly see how he is trying SO HARD to give Via a different life. He wants them to be a family. For her to never doubt her parents love her. To be the father he never had.

To the point he shoves his own wants and needs so far down that he is barely holding on.

Via going from accusing him of not loving her to realizing that he loves her so much that he forced himself to play the role of a good father and husband. To the point he destroyed himself for her…

And that realization just devastates her.

Stolas getting involved with Blitz was the culmination of decades of forcing himself to be the person everyone else expected him to be. He feels he can’t be loved, but he can be useful. And maybe if he’s useful enough, people will care about him.

The reason his connection with Blitz is so strong is because both of them feel that way. The difference is that Blitz was able to create his own found family (tho it took him ages to realize it lol) while Stolas has always been alone. They’re two sides of the same coin. And while Blitz has spent the past few years healing, Stolas has been descending further into darkness because he doesn’t have that same support.

Via has absorbed so many of his insecurities. Especially the fear of not being loved or wanted despite Stolas trying SO HARD to be the perfect father to her. But he’s not. He can never be because he forgot the old adage of “put your oxygen mask on first before helping anyone else.”

I think that definitely can come across as him being neglectful of her. But to me it speaks to his desperation to be such a good father to her that he tries to hold himself to IMPOSSIBLE standards.

He doesn’t fail Via because he doesn’t care. He fails her because he keeps setting up these unrealistic expectations for their relationship. He massively overextends himself and puts his own wants and desires on the back burner so often that his life is imploding around him out of his control.

He doesn’t miss the stars with her because he doesn’t care. He misses them because he’s struggling to put his life back together after finally taking some initiative for himself. He’s trying to deal with the fallout of wanting a divorce from Stella, but he’s waited so long and he’s so overwhelmed by it all that the date slips his mind. And the instant he realizes what’s happened, he drops everything and goes looking for her.

Via keeps watching him make these promises he struggles with or fails to keep and doesn’t realize until she finds all of the happy pills how much he’s overextended himself for her sake. And because she’s her father’s daughter, she immediately thinks she’s at fault. She thinks he would be happier if he hadn’t forced himself to play house all these years for her sake.

She’s not wrong. If he’d separated from Stella years before, they’d probably all be better off. But he didn’t because of his sense of duty. Stolas’s problem is that he never advocates for himself until he reaches his literal breaking point. By then, the damage is more of a tsunami than a ripple because now his meticulously crafted house of cards is falling down around him faster than he can pick up the pieces.

Via is right that he would have been happier, but not for the reasons she thinks. He did it because he loved her, not out of obligation for her. And also because he is deeply broken and flawed.

Via’s dealing with a lot of complicated emotions too. Her father was willing to sacrifice himself for his affair partner, which she initially believes means he’s picking Blitz over her. But really it’s just Stolas trying to save the only other person in his life who understands him and who maybe cares about him.

How could he live with himself if he let Blitz die?

And it’s not like Stolas has time to sit down and think of a rational plan. He rushes to the trial because Blitz is literally about to be decapitated. And then he saves him the only way he knows how. I think part of him was also convinced that, as much as he loves Via, she might actually be better off without him because he is a wreck. He’s convinced he’s ruined his life and the lives of everyone around him.

I think this is why he doesn’t fight Stella much for custody of Via. Not because he doesn’t care, but because he genuinely thinks Stella is a more stable parent than he is and that Via will be better off with her as a result. The man also lacks a backbone too tho because his self worth is -9000.

But then Stolas doesn’t get executed. And the consequences of his actions hit him like a ton of bricks once the adrenaline and panic wears off. He saved Blitz, but at what cost? And, based on his statement in Sinsmas, it sounds like he would’ve done it all over again if given the chance. Because he’s the one who let Blitz use his grimoire even though he knew it was wrong. Because Blitz was in danger of dying because of him. And because he has a very strong sense of morality and justice too.

Dying in Blitzo’s place was a spur of the moment decision and once the dust cleared, Stolas realized how everything he’s tried to do to keep his shit together has fallen apart at the seams and now everyone knows it.

All Via can see when she looks at him now is that he’s hit rock bottom because of her. Again, not true. But Stolas has tried so hard to give her this idyllic family life, thinking that was the best thing he could do for her. Not realizing that she could see the cracks forming. She just didn’t understand why there were cracks until now.

I don’t think Via actually hates him. I think she hates herself. Convinced she’s the reason he’s hit rock bottom. Why couldn’t she see how much he was suffering? Why would he suffer so much for her? So she’s taking herself out of the equation, just like he tried to with Blitz. If she’s not in his life anymore, maybe he’ll stop killing himself to try to make her happy. Maybe he’ll stop being so miserable.

I think a big part of their arc together has been her going from thinking of Stolas as this perfect and larger than life figure to seeing him start to crumble and now getting a peek behind the curtain and realizing how much of that wasn’t real. And it scares and upsets her that her dad isn’t the perfect person he’s tried to be for her. He’s broken and hurting and she doesn’t know what to do to help because he’s spent her whole life focusing on her.

Not to say that he’s done that well. He genuinely hasn’t. He’s overcorrected so hard that he’s fucked her up in a completely different way because he’s overextended himself. He pushed himself until the illusion of a perfect happy family cracked along with him. He’s also made it difficult for her to know how to help him because he’s sheltered her so much.

I think this sometimes makes Stolas come across as selfish. He seemingly “ruined” his marriage and his relationship with his daughter for Blitz. But really it was just the pendulum swinging wildly in the opposite direction. He was so starved for happiness and connection that now he’s trying to live two separate lives and it’s just not possible and he’s falling apart even faster.

Stolas was so desperate for affection and to be of use that he lets Blitz have his grimoire, under the impression Blitz is attracted to him because Blitz literally tried to seduce him to get it. He also does all of the dirty talk because he thinks Blitz likes it.

I think he initially sets the terms for the grimoire usage because he thinks it’s a price Blitz is more than willing to pay because he showed up trying to seduce him. I think he l also just really wants an excuse to see/spend time with Blitz too. It doesn’t even cross his mind that Blitz might want anything other than sex from him. He’s once again playing a role based on what he thinks is expected of him.

It’s not until Stolas discovers he’s starting to develop feelings for Blitz that he realizes their arrangement is wrong. And the moment he realizes it, he immediately tries to make amends. He hopes Blitz will admit he has feelings for him too, but is willing to step away if not. But he also cares about him so much, he makes sure to give him the Asmodean Crystal so he can freely make the choice.

Meanwhile he has no idea Blitz will just view this as another person trying to abandon him or look down on him. Because Blitz struggles with self worth too and believes the only way people will care about him is if he can be useful. Blitz has a deep seated fear of abandonment while Stolas fears no one could ever love him just for himself. He offers Blitz the crystal to let him know his feelings are genuine and to gauge Blitz’s too.

All of this is to say that I think Via and Stolas will reconcile, hopefully sooner rather than later. I think Via needs some time to process who her father actually is vs who she thought he was. And both of them need to be able to forgive themselves/grant themselves some grace so they can finally meet each other in the middle like Stolas has finally managed with Blitz. Stolas needs to accept Via is grown up now and he can’t shield her from the negatives of the world forever. Meanwhile Via needs to understand everything doesn’t have to be so black and white.

[ellecdc]

"still?" "always."

Finnick Odair x hijacked!reader who asks what's real or not real [2k words]

summary: a District Thirteen reunion story heavily inspired by the brilliant @ervotica's fic 'a life of our own' & @/ilguna's 'hijacked'! Reader was tortured much like Peeta was into fearing Finnick, finding her playing the game 'real or not real'

CW: fem!reader, discussion of past torture [not described], reader tortured into believing Finnick did abhorrent and disgusting things to her [not described], medical personnel acting as villains sort of, hurt/comfort, hopeful/open ending

Finnick drummed his fingers against the paperback book that he brought with him to your hospital room every day which acted as nothing more than a glorified prop. 

Routine was a word that came to dictate much of Finnick’s life recently; stability. Ritualized schedules were the norm in District Thirteen. But more importantly, routine, stability, and ritualized schedules were deemed necessary and important to your recovery. 

Thus, Finnick drummed his fingers against the paperback book - the same paperback book - that he brought with him to your hospital room every day - at the exact same time - which acted as nothing more than a glorified prop. 

He’d been following more or less the same routine ever since you’d been rescued from the Capitol a few weeks ago, though Finnick could admit visiting you felt slightly better now than it had in the beginning. 

The beginning had been nothing short of heartbreaking for him. The beginning had been nothing short of torturous for you. 

There’d been a hunch in place of hard evidence that the lot of you were being tortured in the Capitol, though to what extent no one knew. And absolutely no one was prepared for what awaited them by the time the three of you were safe in District Thirteen.

Peeta had promptly tried to off Katniss which very off brand of him; Johanna’s head had been shaved, she was emaciated, and had a plethora of evidence of gruesome physical torture, and you…

You weren’t filled with the same loathing, hatred, and disgust that Peeta seemed to carry for Katniss. No, you were completely and utterly terrified. 

Medics had to sedate you when Finnick rushed into the room upon hearing of your arrival because you’d thrown yourself against the wall so violently you’d split your head open, then nearly ripped your nails clean off your fingers in your desperation to open a locked door in an attempt to escape from him. And if that hadn’t been devastating enough, the sounds of your guttural screams and desperate cries caused by him still haunted many of Finnick’s nightmares.

Finnick had been hesitant to return to you after that; he didn’t want to ever cause you that much distress again. 

Haymitch tried to reason with him; Finnick wasn’t the one causing you this much distress, it was the Capitol. The medics tried to reason with him; it was to be considered exposure therapy, they hoped that - over time - as you regained some familiarity and comfort with him and worked through your memories and trauma with the doctors that you’d start to remember.

He reluctantly agreed. So, he was horrified when, the first day he returned, you’d been strapped down to your bed in preparation for his meeting. 

“This is sick!” He’d shouted at the medics as he gestured at your current state. “This isn’t exposure therapy, this is torture!”

“Mr. Odair, the hope is that once she begins to realize there’s no need to fight or run, we’ll be able to take the restraints off.” One of them explained in a bored manner. 

“Fuck whatever you’re hoping for! You’re torturing her; she’s not going to feel any safer here than she did in the Capitol!” 

They’d tried calling after him, but he simply looked over at you and offered a pathetic “I’m sorry, honey” that you probably hadn’t heard over your own desperate wails before he fled.

The next day he returned, you hadn’t been strapped down, but you had been heavily medicated with some kind of sedative before his arrival. He swallowed around the bile in his throat as he took a seat in one of the chairs, pretended to read his book and tried his hardest to ignore the extremely wary and haunted gaze that stayed glued to his side for the entirety of his visit. 

The third visit went much the same, except about halfway through his scheduled ‘visit’, he noticed that your eyes seemed to fall extremely heavy. 

“Are you tired, sweetheart?” He murmured quietly, though you would have thought he’d screamed at you with the way you bodily flinched and your eyes snapped open. 

He just continued watching you as you fought to convince your heart to return to its normal tempo, slowly, cautiously nodding your head yes to his question when you seemed to realize he was earnest in his question. 

“Would you like me to leave so you can get some rest?” 

Your brows furrowed ever so subtly, eyes darting across his face as you searched for any hidden meaning or potential threat. 

You must not have found one. 

“Please.” You whispered, and - though it was still but a whisper -  it was the first time he had heard your voice since the Quarter Quell that wasn’t shrieking and sobbing in fear, causing a lump to form in his throat.

“Okay, honey, I’ll go.” He whispered back, smiling at you through tears as he stood and swiftly left the room, hardly closing the door fully behind him before he let out a sob. 

Over the weeks, you began finding your own routine and schedule outside of the time you spent working with doctors and medics. You were hardly ever seen without your journal on your person, and one of your doctors explained to Finnick that you were beginning to compile notes to differentiate between things you knew, things that you didn’t know, and what was real or not real. Many times, Finnick could find you working in your journal when he arrived, and though you still managed to keep a concerned eye on him at any given point and your body never fully relaxed while he was there, he was grateful you were becoming more or less accustomed to his company. 

And then one day he showed up to your room to find one wall completely transformed into a giant drawing board. The board was divided into two equal sides; one side was labelled REAL and one side was labelled NOT REAL. The only thing that had been written down so far was on the NOT REAL side, which read “Finnick did not set you up and leave you there to die.”

“She’s been struggling to sleep without the aid of sedatives; she wakes up quite violently from nightmares, struggling to differentiate between what is real and what is not, even when we’re standing right there in front of her.” One of the medics told him. “We tried once to have her look through her journal, but she threw it across the room and told us to get away from her. We thought maybe having a very large visualization in front of her in her own writing would be helpful to tether her to reality upon waking.” 

And that seemed all well in good, but Finnick found himself sick over some of the things the Capitol had convinced you he was guilty of more than once. 

But, if this is what you needed, if this was helping you, Finnick would stomach it, no questions asked. 

So, Finnick drummed his fingers against the paperback book that he brought with him to your hospital room every day which acted as nothing more than a glorified prop. 

He knocked twice gently on your door before stepping inside, watching as you stepped quickly away from the board and hid the marker and eraser behind your back as if you’d been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to, watching Finnick as though you were waiting for him to attack. 

“Hi, honey.” He greeted quietly, nodding politely at you before he pulled out his chair and took his place, flipping his book open to an arbitrary page as he pretended to read. 

You didn’t move; your feet seemed to be glued to the spot as you watched Finnick pretend to not be watching you. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he had missed your gaze, quite selfishly, and found that while the atmosphere wasn’t exactly relaxed, he was happy enough just to have your eyes on him again. 

Finnick wasn’t sure how much time had passed before you ended up breaking the silence.

“F…Finnick?” You asked, barely above a whisper; question so quiet that Finnick was sure if he hadn’t only been pretending to read, he would have missed it entirely.

You sounded as though you were trying his name out for size, just to see how it felt on your tongue. Finnick missed the days when you used to squeal his name in laughter, or groan his name in frustration, or call his name in excitement. But even though it came out cautious and stilted, he didn’t think he’d ever heard as pretty a sound as the sound of his name falling from your lips. 

“Yes, sweetheart?” He asked eagerly, fighting to keep his tone, face, and body language calm as he saved his ‘place’ with a finger and leaned forward in his chair, resting his knees on his elbows. 

You swallowed thickly and fiddled with the marker in your hands as you stole yourself to speak. “Can I ask you something?” 

He wanted to be an ass; he wanted to say ‘you just asked me two things’, he wanted to whoop and holler at finally having an actual conversation with you after weeks of finally having you back, yet not really having you back at all. 

Instead, all he said was “of course.”

You cleared your throat before gaining the courage to ask what he heard as “you love me; real, or not real?” 

Finnick wasn’t sure an answer had ever come to him so fast. “Real.”

You seemed somewhat surprised by his answer even though it was clearly the answer you’d been expecting. After a few moments, you simply nodded at him before turning back to your drawing board’s REAL side. 

Finnick loved me you wrote, adding bullet points underneath it...

He told me so

He acts like it

Gut feeling

...is what you cited as proof to this revelation. Finnick wanted to weep. A gut feeling; you were still in there, somewhere. There was still a version of you that knew deep down that Finnick loved you.

“It’s not quite right, honey.” He offered softly, fighting the urge to smile when you turned at his interruption, yet didn’t flinch at the sound of his voice as you often did. You simply looked at him in confusion. 

“Do you mind if I make a minor adjustment?” He asked as he carefully placed his book on your empty bed and slowly stood, holding his hands out in ask. 

You looked between him and the marker and eraser in your hands before holding them out for him; an invitation. 

Finnick smiled at you as he slowly walked towards you, hyper focused on remaining as unthreatening as possible as he gently took the items from you, careful not to touch you unnecessarily. 

He moved to the REAL side of the board, using the edge of the eraser to remove the d from the end of loved and replacing it with an s. The sentence now - properly - read Finnick loves me. 

“There, now it’s perfect.” He offered you with another smile as he held the items back out to you, gently placing them in your hands when you held them open for him before he turned back towards his chair, retrieved his book, and sat back down. 

Your eyes stayed glued on the correction he made to your board as the marker and eraser hovered uselessly midair; moments dragging on before your arms finally lowered to your sides. 

Finnick didn’t bother pretending to read, so when you turned to look at him - face full of confusion, curiosity, concern, and what looked to be devastation - you found him already looking at you. 

“Still?” You asked, voice cracking painfully as a heavy tear fell down your face. 

And if Finnick thought that no answer had ever come faster to him before, he was sorely mistaken. 

“Always.” He promised.

[hitomisuzuya]

Suzu suzu suzu suzuuuuuu imagine double penetration with kabuscara tho😳 Can you imagine kabu being a moaning mess while scara guide him how to properly do a double penetration while reader just obediently take them both? And scara is shockingly soft with reader and kabu!! OH MY GOD MY THOUGHTS WENT WILD😳 If you may, can you write it? Pretty please?

scaramouche x fem!reader. kunikuzushi (kabukimono) x fem!reader. smut. threesome. double vaginal penetration. double creampie. soft scara.

i hope this turned out okay😳 it's been awhile since i have written double penetration.

kunikuzushi is a moaning mess behind you, whimpering as the feeling of your pussy stretching to accommodate his cock next to scaramouche's. "she--she's so tight," he stumbled over his words, his hands scrambling to find purchase on your shoulders to anchor himself.

"take it easy, kuni," scaramouche glanced at his brother in encouragement, "look at how obedient she is being," his fingers danced over your throbbing clit, increasing the need to bounce on his cock. "taking us both so well."

both brothers had been preparing you for quite sometime to take both of their cocks inside of you. scaramouche sat you on his cock first, pinching and rubbing your clit while you rode him. he'd instructed kunikuzushi to suck on your nipples, telling him that the wetter and more aroused you are, the easier it would be.

scaramouche moaned as your pussy clenched around his cock, slowly thrusting up into you. "she's clenching just from hearing me mention having both our cocks stuffing her full," his fingers pinching your clit tore a cry of pleasure from your throat.

kunikuzushi's fingers dug possessively into your shoulders, his cock pulsing as he pushed deeper inside of you. "easy now," scaramouche said, increasing his rubs on your clit, "too fast at first and you'll hurt her," you saw stars feeling kunikuzushi bottom out next to scaramouche's cock.

"i..i'm fine," you reassured, "feels good," was about all you could manage. your pussy had never felt so full, both cocks snuggly rubbing against every sensitive inch of your walls.

"thrust after i do," scaramouche instructed, tending to your clit for a few moments more before taking your hand and putting it on your clit. he helped kunikuzushi set a good, steady rhythm. his soft temperament was utterly surprising to you. "that's a good girl, sucking us both in like this."

you moan louder hearing scaramouche's praise, both cocks squelching in and out of you, kissing into your sweet spot a few moments after the other. because of the position you are in, there was little room for you to do anything but take it while you shamelessly moaned. your fingers skated over your throbbing clit, pleasure burning through you as you submissively relaxed for them.

the pleasure was fast overwhelming you. your fingernails clawed at scaramouche's chest the tighter your orgasm built up. your whole body trembled in bliss, drool dripping from the corner of your mouth onto scaramouche's chest.

"fuck, i think she is going to cum," kunikuzushi could feel it, your pussy was so tight. he couldn't stop the whimpers spilling unbidden from his throat as he increased his pace.

scaramouche matched kunikuzushi's pace, his own cock throbbing almost uncontrollably against kunikuzushi's. he wasn't surprised you are already on the verge of cumming, thinking your poor little body would be overwhelmed before too long. "cum, pretty. cum on both our cocks," he hissed in momentary dominance, moving your hand away from your clit to help you along.

that was all it took to make you come undone, their cocks kissing into your sweet spot tore your orgasm out of you, squirting while you shook from the intensity of your orgasm. you are barely able to keep yourself from collapsing onto scaramouche's chest while their cock continued to fuck into you.

kunikuzushi's cock roped cum inside of you first, sloppily thrusting inside you as he rode out his high. you mewl in bliss, whimpering in slight overstimulation as his cum oozed out around his cock. scaramouche's cum soon followed, adding to the intense experience of taking them both at once.

[elliereject]

nailtech!reader x mechanic!ellie drabble!

this came to me while I was doing my nails (cuz I’ll be damned to pay $40 for 3 strips of paint that’s gonna grow out in week)

the first time mechanic!ellie sees you, is also the first time she ever steps foot in a nail salon, clad in her jumpsuit since she had to come right after her shift. dinas wedding was coming up and she requested that all her bridesmaids gets a matching set of acrylics

mechanic!ellie who thanked dina for letting her just get her short nails painted the simple lilac colour all the other girls were getting.

mechanic!ellie who almost trips over the wet floor sign when she sees you working with a client, looking so focused and so beautiful.

mechanic!ellie who allows a few of the other girls to go ahead of her so she can time it right and get paired with you.

mechanic!ellie who feels her heart melt when you shoot her a warm smile and ask her what she’d like done and if she had a reference picture.

she stares at you blankly, and you tell her you’ll just do something you think she’d like and that you'll change it if she wants.

mechanic!ellie who feels her heart pick up in pace when you grab her hands to inspect her sad excuse of a nail bed.

mechanic!ellie who’s caught of guard when you ask her if she scrubs under her nails

mechanic!ellie clears her throat and says “of course I do” after laughing like you had told her the funniest dad joke in the world (she doesn’t and you didn’t)

mechanic!ellie who tries to crack a joke/flirt?? with you by saying “you look stressed, is painting nails that hard?”

mechanic!ellie who’s confused when you shoot her a sideways glance while cutting her rockhard cuticles because she’s a clueless, grimy, loser.

mechanic!ellie tries to lighten the tension by telling a joke, “hey uh, do you know how you can tell if a mechanic had sex?”

“..what?”

“their middle fingernail’s clean.”

it’s one Joel had told her when she was younger and she hadn't quite understood it, but once she took on the business…well let’s just say it was pretty accurate.

mechanic!ellie who chuckles nervously when you give her a blank stare before cracking a small smile,

she got you.

mechanic!ellie, now that she knows you don’t think she’s a waste of space, talks to you easier and finds out that you’re still in school, but your aunt owns the salon, and you’re working here for experience. your favourite colour to work with is blue, and you once had to tackle a lady who tried to leave without paying.

all’s going well until mechanic!ellie asks you what you’re in school for and shoots you a look when you say this.

“seriously? you don’t want a real job where you like actually work with your hands or something?”

mechanic!ellie says because she’s a STUPID, clueless, grimy, loser.

“what the—this is a real job and I do work with my hands.”

“no, you know what I mean.”

“I don’t actually.” you end the conversation by putting both her hands in the curing machines and getting up to help one of your coworkers.

to mechanic!ellie’s surprise, when the machines beep it’s not you who continues working on her nails, but one of your older coworkers. she feels a pang of confusion and hurt in her chest but quickly shuts it up as she notices most of the bridal party is already done.

mechanic!ellie who looks at her hands a sighs, it was..alright, after you left the lady who took over didn’t really know what you were going for, so it was kind of mismatched but from far away it looked fine.

mechanic!ellie who pays and leaves with the rest of the party and feels her heart sink when she waves at you and you completely turn around.

mechanic!ellie who tells dina about what happened over FaceTime later that night and is taken back when she calls her a stupid idiot.

mechanic!ellie who finds out just how much work nail technicians go through to be able to run a business, plus how much they do for others.

mechanic!ellie who after hanging up googles a bit more about nail techs and reads stories or watches videos about people explaining how their nail tech practically saved their life and how nail art is a way for someone to express themselves as well as a tedious art form that takes patience and heaps of skill.

mechanic!ellie who feels like the biggest idiot ever and gives herself 30 minutes to wallow in self-pity before deciding she needed to find a way to make it right.

mechanic!ellie shows up to your studio right after dinas wedding, still clad in her lilac and off-white tailored suit, luckily she caught you outside just as you were locking up.

mechanic!ellie who apologizes profusely for being such a dumbass, infodumps everything she's learned about nail techs from her research, and explains that she thinks you're very cute and would love to get to know you more.

mechanic!ellie who trails off when you begin to giggle.

"so you did some research?" you offered her a small smile.

"tons," she nodded. "and i'm sorry."

you leaned against the door and smiled wider this time, "you already said that."

she nodded again, "right."

the two of you stared at each other for a second.

mechanic!ellie who breaks the silence first.

"would it be forward to ask you to accompany me as my date to the after-party?"

"it would," you tease. "but i accept."

mechanic!ellie who lets out a sigh of relief before pulling a gorgeous lilac and lily bouquet from behind her back.

"thank god, because it would've been really embarrassing if I'd won the bouquet toss for nothing."

you take the flowers, your smile faltering as you gaze down at your dusty crocs and polish-stained apron "you sure i'm okay to go like this?"

"you look beautiful." mechanic!ellie says honestly.

you nod but she still senses some apprehension, in a quick motion, she reaches behind you and into a potted plant placed before the entrance, smearing dirt on her pants and suitjacket.

"ellie!" you gasp which turns into a shocked giggle.

she grinned, "see, now it just looks like we’re making a statement."

you roll your eyes playfully and the two of you walk, arms interlinked, to her truck and only separate so she can open the door for you.

if anybody wonders who you are, nobody asks, although the two of you do garner a few judgemental glances at the state of your attire.

mechanic!ellie still with that grin on her face pulls the two of you from the open bar onto the dance floor when a slow song starts up, gathering you in her arms and swaying slowly to the sappy music.

mechanic!ellie who knows her face is practically fluorescent after you place a peck to her cheek.

mechanic!ellie who doesn't care one bit.

— ★

sorry if the first part of this is buns i wrote it like over a year ago and just finished it now it’s also my first time writing a blurb like this :p

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Okayyy the shark tale post is a little controversial... and got reposted to twitter...

So let me say Meljayvik in canon is initially presented like a traditional love triangle with Mel playing the role of the elite seductress beauty who exploits the well intentioned bright eyed Jayce and Viktor his partner the weary and neglected as Jayce's ambition trumps their relationship and thats utterly subverted we find Mel's loyalty lies with the protection and the progression of her city and that she is made all the more complicated by her family dynamic, trying to fulfil a legacy that fundamentally disagrees with her which ee know for certain due to her reveal as an empath by magic and therefore by nature. Jayce, as it turns out is able to do wrong all on his own, his ignorance straining his relationship with Viktor and influencing all the poor decisions he makes on the council. Viktor dies and is revived and then goes and does eugenics... what I'm trying to say is that Meljayvik is NOTHING like shark tale and I understand that the mass misinterpretation of all of these characters can lead to a certain strictness about them especially Mel but she's so unbelievably nothing like the hot fish from shark tale that I couldn't even fathom people taking this seriously and viewing it as slander... like I'm still a little, she shocked like woah... after all the Mel glazing I've done...

Anyway, I made the comparison in the first place because of the traditional love triangle dynamic meljayvik originally occupied because that dynamic permeates media cross genre and form, so as complex as meljayvik are dynamically and also as respective characters, you could compare it to something as ridiculous and random as shark tale and thats why I did because it was funny to me and thats not at all whats happening, its an utterly absurd and dumb thing to say.

Sooooo like... pls don't repost me to Twitter. Spare me my sanity, abeg.

[eurydicees]

oh dont apologise i loved your essay 😭 and i 100% agree with everything. Theres such a innate theme of choices and consequences in wicked the musical and its so fascinating to me how choices made by all the characters have such profound consequences at the end. And fiyero’s choices are no different in the way they alter the trajectory of multiple characters.

He is really the only one i can think of who sacrifices everything for elphaba and does it all willingly. How do you like elphaba and then dislike the one character who was ready to give up his whole life and everything that came with it for her 😭

Twitter is very binary in that regard honestly, and its such a shame that they miss out on some pretty interesting character analysis about their favourite characters bc they decide to be so rigid and weird about other characters who had an impact on their faves. Couldnt be me lol, making multiple threads about a character you hate. I also think something else is at play here but dont wanna say it publicly lol but given your other responses i think you’d probably agree.

And yes totally agree about dividing the film in two parts - i can only hope the film watchers stick around for part 2 and see fiyero’s whole arc

thanks for the ask! also i wrote another fiyero ted talk. if i were like charles dickens or whoever and i was getting paid by the word to write about fiyero, i could be so goddamn rich btw.

anyways, choices and consequences!!!!! like that's the whole thing!!!!!!! and the way our choices affect and change other people!!!! fiyero isn't an exception to any of that!!!!

you're so right that fiyero is truly the one who makes the ultimate sacrifices for elphaba. like glinda loves elphaba, she absolutely does. but she isn't able to take on the work and life that elphaba chooses in defying gravity.

when it comes to the things that are most important to her, glinda prioritizes comfort and reputation over, like, morality and principle. and the thing about glinda is that she actively makes this choice. she chooses not to go with elphaba. she wants elphaba to succeed, but she's not brave enough to join her. in order for glinda to find the bravery to take up the work elphaba starts, she has to lose everything that actually matters. and she has to be complicit in her own losing of those things.

fiyero loves elphaba to the point of sacrificing all of those things that glinda can't resist. the day with the lion cub, and elphaba's general influence on him, changes fiyero profoundly in a similar way that she affects glinda, but fiyero finds the bravery to act on all of that. the difference is that he doesn't get the choice to go with her until mid-act 2 after wonderful.

in thank goodness, there's that one exchange between fiyero and glinda where they say smth like "you just can't resist all of this" "well who could?" "you know who could, and who has." and he's talking about elphaba, he's talking about how she had all the love she ever wanted at the tip of her fingers when she met the wizard, and she chose to let it go because she saw the ugly parts of the wizard's world. and this exchange is so clearly boiling it down to "elphaba resisted the temptation of being universally/publically loved and glinda did not." which tbh is something so in character for a person who has never had that, and a person who has always had that and thus doesn't want to leave it behind.

ok i was going somewhere with this but i don't remember where. just. fiyero isn't a perfect character. and for SURE the choice to erase gelphie's romantic subtext from the book when adapting it for broadway was an act of homophobia. but if we're just looking at musical canon, fiyero is brave enough to give up everything first to save elphaba, then to go with her, and then to protect her. and so-called elphaba stans don't think that's good enough. which is CRAZY to me.

also like. he's literally not the comphet love interest. sorry you didn't mention that but i keep seeing people throw those words around and like that's not what's happening here guys. elphaba loves him. she sings a whole song about it. multiple, even.

comphet implies that she mistakenly thinks she loves him because society has molded her into believing that's how she should be (fyi if anyone's experiencing that, it's glinda but i digress). elphaba, who notably has never been able to comply to the mold society makes for women, because she's never been pretty white woman enough to be afforded a place in that society? you mean that elphaba?

guys elphaba just...loves him. that's all there is to it. she loves him when she realizes he's more than he thinks he is, more than the airs he puts off. she loves him when she feared he might have changed, she loves him when he proves he did change--for the better. she loves him when he sticks by her, when he chooses her. she loves him when he's a fucking SCARECROW. ("go ahead, touch, i don't mind" "you're still beautiful" lives in my head rent fucking free).

when she has her breakthrough "okay. fuck this world that has never been good to me, if you want me to be wicked, i'll be wicked" moment, it's because she loses fiyero. she gets betrayed by nessa, and she fails dillamond, and she loses fiyero--and it's then that she loses sight of what good she had begun fighting for. it's a love for fiyero that drives most of no good deed (broadway songs of all time btw). like sorry but you dont sing someone's name like that if you don't love them. that's just musical theatre rules. trust me i was a theatre major.

anyways. sorry for that detour. back to the point. twitter treats everything as so black and white which is crazy because this is a revisionist musical about how evil isn't black and white. like?????? whatever. imagine being so bitter about a character you dislike that you want to change fundamental pieces of your favorite character so that he isn't relevant.

look. gelphie is great doomed yuri and i support that so hard. but dont try to tell me fiyero isn't deeply important to elphaba and to understanding elphaba's character. tbh the love triangle here isn't fiyero choosing between glinda and elphaba. it's more like elphaba choosing between glinda and fiyero and what either of them represent to her (glinda and working within the system, or fiyero, and abandoning it).

and hot take maybe but like ultimately--as someone who has never been conventionally accepted, as someone who has been hunted down to be murdered, as someone who has been the victim of a smear campaign and propaganda against her character/intentions, all of which was in part driven by glinda--she was always going to choose fiyero.

i respect gelphie shippers, i do. in another world, maybe one without the wizard, they could've been so happy together. i'm with y'all. but given canon, even if all others fall, i will be the last fiyero defender standing. god i hope movie-only fans watch part 2 and at least learn to RESPECT him. at the bare minimum. please. please. please.

[goddessofroyalty]

Hey! I binge read all of your Work/Life Balance fic last night and loved it. The way you kept them in character was amazing. For Viktor, I could hear his lines in my head in his voice.

I saw you were still low-key taking prompts for it. An idea came to mind about Viktor's own reaction to finding out he was pregnant? Especially to be about 3 months when he found out?(If I mathed correctly lol) I know you alluded to his whole "testing multiple pregnancy tests" but I think it would be interesting to see his full reaction, coming to terms with it, and potentially his failed attempts to tell Jayce because it wasn't the perfect time?

Prompt Idea: Viktor's reaction to actually finding out he is pregnant and the failed attempts to tell Jayce that you mentioned in Work/Life Balance? Idk, just kinda think it would be cute

Glad you enjoyed the fic! I think I got all the parts of these two prompts.

In the version of the final scene in my head before I wrote it Jayce actually kept going out and getting a new pregnancy test after the previous ones positive. I feel like what I’ve gone with is possibly funnier (and a lot less repetitive to write/read).

Tags: omegaverse, mpreg, thoughts/concerns about miscarriage

-------------

The nurse hands Viktor a pregnancy test with the same amount of enthusiasm as she had the paperwork.

It is the correct amount of enthusiasm given the circumstances.

Nobody actually thinks he is pregnant. The doctors having years ago had the conversation with him about how, with his health, he would very likely be unable to conceive. They had been so gentle with their words and moved the tissue box closer with them despite how little it had actually bothered him. Relationships and children barely worth a thought compared to his work.

Policy dictates that, as he is being sexually active, they must check to be sure before doing any scans that may harm a fetus if he was carrying one.

He’d just lie about it if it wasn’t for how Jayce’s habit of scenting him every opportunity he can means half the time the box is already ticked before he’s even handed the form.

So Viktor takes the cup and the paper-wrapped stick to the bathroom and waits the ten minutes it takes for the little negative sign to appear so the nurse can tick the box on the form that says, yes, they checked, and Viktor can return to his notepad while he waits his turn. His plans for what work he should be able to get done after his appointment is finished well-formed when the results finally show up.

Viktor grabs the piece of plastic and only pauses to look at the thing because it doesn’t seem to be the familiar negative he knows.

Probably just a different brand than they usually get.

He digs the instructions out of the bin just to be sure.

After unfolding and refolding the leaflet so just the bit with what the results mean is on the front he holds the instructions in one hand and test in the other. Comparing the results against which means what.

Pregnant.

The two lines in that exact position apparently mean he’s pregnant.

When they had first started making him take them Viktor had looked up the reliability of them hoping for some argument that they were a waste of everyone’s time. It hadn’t succeeded at his goal at the time but had left him with the knowledge that false positives were basically impossible.

He is, apparently, pregnant.

He returns to the front desk in the reception on autopilot. Standing before the bored-looking receptionist who expects him to tell her that the test was negative as expected and that she can finish checking him in for the scan.

Because he shouldn’t be pregnant.

He can’t be pregnant.

Yes, perhaps, maybe he and Jayce were not as diligent with protection as they could be. Sometimes they got caught up in their excitement of their latest breakthrough and getting the condoms the last thing on their minds. But nothing should have come from it because Viktor’s body had never been healthy enough to even give him a consistent heat schedule.

“I will have to cancel my appointment today,” Viktor says. Only realizing he had brought the test with him when he clenches the hand not holding his cane and feels the plastic dig into his skin.

The receptionist opens her mouth to no doubt ask why he would need to cancel when he’s already there for it. A flash of surprise crosses her face as she no-doubt remembers what she had had him do and the obvious conclusion of the two pieces of information she has before returning to professional friendliness.

“Of course. Let us know if you need to rebook.”

She doesn’t say congratulations or any of the other things you are apparently meant to when somebody informs you they are pregnant, which is good, because Viktor doesn’t know how would respond.

“Yes, of course,” he says with a sharp nod. “Thank you.”

The smile she gives is devoid of any excitement or judgement. The smile of a professional who has been taught that something like this can mean something very different to different patients.

Viktor shuffles out of the clinic, ignoring the bored stares of the others in the waiting room until he is out on the street. The pregnancy test still in hand.

He tosses it into the first bin he finds of course. It is very unhygienic to carry around something that has had his urine on it. Keeping it with him won’t change the situation. If he needs evidence when he tells Jayce he can always take another one.

How is he ever going to tell Jayce?

No.

No he needs to be realistic. False positives are impossible but it may be a case that an embryo was created and implanted before his body rejected it. A reminder that they should stop being lax about the condoms. There no point mentioning it to Jayce if that is the case.

No, first Viktor should book an appointment to test again under doctor’s supervision. By then if it was just a momentary thing the hormones will have cleared from his system and he can forget all about it.

There is no need to get Jayce involved yet.

-----------------

“When was your last heat?” the doctor asks after Viktor returns from peeing on another stick that does not return the expected negative despite it having been long enough since the scan appointment that had it been an immediate miscarriage any residual hormones should have left his system.

“A year ago.” His heats had never been regular so skipping three was hardly a cause for suspicion or concern.

The doctor’s brow furrows because a lack of an obvious heat makes it harder to figure out any kind of timeline of conception.

“Have you experienced any bleeding?”

“No.” Not that it really proved anything from the reading Viktor had done after the initial positive result. If his body had rejected the pregnancy early enough it is easy for even omegas to miss the resulting passing.

“Has there been a single incident of your contraception methods failing?” the doctor asks. “For example, did the condom break during-“

“Eh-“ Viktor grimaces because there wasn’t really a single incident of a condom breaking but rather a common enough occurrence of them forgoing using one entirely.

“Right,” the doctor says, thankfully saving Viktor from having to say it. “In that case I think it is best to arrange an ultrasound to confirm if there is any evidence of pregnancy, and, if there is, how far along.”

Viktor nods as he tries to figure out where to fit another appointment in with the new project. It would be far easier if Jayce was around more instead of being dragged around by councilors and investors in wherever their whims take them.

“I also wouldn’t suggest informing anyone about this,” the doctor continues. “You may be very early into a pregnancy, and, with your other health concerns-“

There is a good chance he still may miscarry. No reason to bring it up with Jayce until they are more certain.

“Of course.”

-------------

“Have you told your alpha yet?” the ultrasound technician asks as she smears gel over Viktor’s exposed stomach.

“No.” there is no point considering it would likely end in miscarriage.

“Well that’s hardly fair to keep all the excitement to yourself,” the technician says as she reaches over for the ultrasound, moving it around his stomach clearly searching for his uterus.

“It is still early. I will tell him once it is far enough along to not be likely to miscarry.”

“You shouldn’t think like that!” the technician says, glancing at him quickly before returning her attention to the screen.

“I am just being realistic.” A pregnancy does not necessarily mean you will end up with a baby. Especially not if one’s health is like Viktor’s.

“So you are just going to keep it to yourself until you’re 3 months along?” the technician asks, her movements less broad. Likely trying to find any evidence of a very early pregnancy.

“Yes.” Things are easier that way.

“In that case you’re gonna’ want to figure out how to tell him,” she says before spinning around the screen so he can see his uterus and the baby-shaped blog within in. “Because three months is about where’d I put you. Congratulations.”

Viktor likely wouldn’t have believed her if he couldn’t see it with his own eyes. Which is probably why she showed him the screen. But, sure enough, there it was. Not a full baby but also not a bundle of cells of a new implantation.

“I haven’t had any symptoms.” Nothing that made him think anything had changed other than his sickness.

“Some people get lucky like that,” the technician says with a shrug. She presses a button on the screen that causes it to pause on the images while she removes the ultrasound from his stomach and offers him a tissue to wipe the gel off. Her hand suddenly resting on his knee. “I’ll arrange for a printout for you at the front desk. Maybe that’ll help you with telling your alpha yeah?”

“Thank you.” He doesn’t know if a print out of an ultrasound will actually help him tell Jayce but he supposes it is better to have it and not need it than not have it.

--------------

Viktor stands in front of the mirror in just his boxers staring at the reflection of his still completely flat stomach. His hands running along it feeling for any sign of a swell that could be the baby that was apparently in there and finding nothing.

It always takes longer for omega men to show, the ultrasound technician had said with a laugh like he was stupid for asking how he could possibly be 3 months along without a single outward sign. Your hips hold everything a bit further back. I wouldn’t worry through. Give it a couple weeks and you’ll have a bump for you and your alpha to fall in love with.

It still doesn’t feel real though. Not even with the print out of the scan that shows the very real fetus apparently resting in his uterus.

The door swings open but Jayce immediately turns around when he notices Viktor’s state of undress.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realis you were changing,” Jayce says despite the fact they have both seen each other completely naked. The fact that they had managed to make a baby together, even if Jayce doesn’t know that piece of information yet.

“It is fine,” Viktor says, grabbing his shirt and quickly buttoning it up on himself. It’s ridiculous, if Viktor can’t see any evidence of pregnancy there is no way Jayce will. But the idea of Jayce finding out before Viktor has the chance when it is clear Viktor should know is unpleasant.

Viktor grabs his cane from where he had hung it over the edge of the desk. Shoving the scan printout under some notes as he does.

“You can look now,” Viktor says because Jayce clearly isn’t going to unless he’s told he can.

Jayce turns around immediately. Beaming at Viktor in his fond way.

“Does this mean you’ll be joining the dinner tonight?”

“What? No! I was just-“ trying to see if he could see their baby. Which, if he were to tell Jayce now, would not see the alpha attending the dinner either. And while Viktor does not actually care about stealing Piltover’s Golden Boy from his adoring fans, Jayce’s growing social requirements are an necessary evil for their progress. “It does not matter. I will not be attending.”

“Come on Vik, please, for me,” Jayce says, coming over to wrap his arms around Viktor. He easily slots his head onto Viktor’s shoulder, the pout on his face reflected back on them in the mirror. “You can’t force me to go to another one alone.”

“I think you will find I can,” Viktor says, but leans into the warmth of Jayce’s body. “Anyway, they do not want me there.”

“I want you there.” Jayce’s grip tightens as he nuzzles against Viktor’s neck more like a young pup than the proud alpha he is. “Please Viktor.”

“I-“ could cause a scandal if he really wanted to. Drop the news halfway through the party when the gaggle of over-interested omegas swarm Jayce in the hopes of winning his attention. Have all of Piltover talking by morning. “-have work to do.”

It is hard for Jayce to argue with that. Their work as important to him as it is Viktor.

“It’s unfair you know,” Jayce says as he draws away, fixing his coast in the mirror. He looks every bit the charismatic leader Piltover imagines him to be. “That you get to stay in our lab working while I have to keep listening to the same conversation about the weather all night.”

“That is the price you pay for being the face of progress.”

“Not funny Vik,” Jayce says, but leans down for a quick kiss all the same. “I’ll try and sneak out and join you after the first round of being introduced to everyone.”

“Do not do anything that would have Councilor Kirramman unhappy with you.”

“Don’t worry – I’ll get Cait to cover for me,” Jayce promises before slipping out to head to the event.

--------------

Strong arms wrap around Viktor as he stands in front of the blackboard in their lab. Jayce’s head coming to rest against the top of his as the warmth of the alpha’s body seeps through the back of Viktor’s clothes.

“I missed you,” Jayce mumbles against Viktor’s hair. Nuzzling into it was if it is at all an effective way to pick up someone’s scent so far away from any of the actual scent-glands. “You smell good.”

Viktor tenses at that. Of course the pregnancy would be starting to affect his scent, making him even more appealing to his alpha in a biological attempt to keep their support there for the pregnancy and hopefully beyond. If he was as far along as he apparently was it’s surprising it hadn’t started to change already. And Jayce is not stupid. He will likely realize what could be causing it.

It might work in Viktor’s favor though. Let Jayce figure it out and claim ignorance.

All he has to do is act surprised. He can do that.

“Sorry,” Jayce says, drawing away. “I didn’t mean to break your focus.”

He didn’t think anything of the change in scent then.

“It is fine.” Nothing ground breaking had been happening. “Are you finished for the day?”

Viktor could just tell him about the pregnancy. It is not as if there is anything he cannot pause for the afternoon.

“I wish,” Jayce says with a whine. “I have another meeting in an hour. I just wanted to come check on- ah- our work!”

There will be no telling him today than.

“In that case there is something I wanted your opinion on,” Viktor says because he will take what he can get of Jayce’s mind before he has to hand him back to Piltover’s elites.

---------------

“Jayce do you have a minute?” Viktor asks on what is becoming a rare afternoon where Jayce can just stay in the lab without having to run off to some social engagement or investors meeting. Nothing that he need not be distracted for.

“Yeah, of course,” Jayce says, dropping what he is working on to come over. He leans over Viktor’s shoulders to examine what he is working on, expecting it to be about that. “What do you need?”

“What I need is to tell you something.” Viktor can feel how Jayce almost freezes at it. The alpha’s attention now fully on him.

Viktor wonders what Jayce thinks he’s going to tell him. Likely not that he is pregnant.

Before Viktor can find the words the door to the lab swings open and Mel hurries in with a hustle that is as close as Viktor thinks he’s ever seen her do to running.

“Oh good you’re here – I need you to talk to the new investor.”

“What? Why?” Jayce asks, craning his neck to look over to Mel but not moving from where he is leant over Viktor.

“He has concerns about the safety of the Hexgates and is threatening to pull funding as a result.”

“That is ridiculous. The Gates are perfectly safe!” Heimerdinger wouldn’t have let them go ahead if they weren’t.

“I know that! But he isn’t being convinced by me. I have him in a room and he’s agreed to discuss with you first, but, we do not have much time before he walks.”

“Go,” Viktor says before Jayce can think about refusing. “My news can wait.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” The pregnancy isn’t going anywhere but the investor apparently is.

---------------

“You deserve this more than I do,” Jayce says, holding out a drink to Viktor now they have both returned home from the investors meeting where they displayed their latest prototype. An identical glass in his other hand. “You did more of the work than I did.”

“You kept the investors happy.” Viktor would also rather Jayce in the lab with him but somebody has to be the face of their work and Jayce is far better suited for it than Viktor. “And, ah, none for me.”

Alcohol and pregnancy do not mix. Not that Jayce knows about that fact yet. The two barely getting to spend more than a moment together the last few weeks.

“You can take one night off to celebrate,” Jayce says still holding the glass out.

They do have the night off. The project finished and investors and council happy. Nothing that needs to be done that cannot wait until morning. Nothing he might be taking Jayce away from by telling him about the pregnancy.

“It is not that,” Viktor says, meeting Jayce’s eyes and the adorably puzzled expression. “I cannot drink at the moment on account of, eh, being pregnant.”

The surprise that overtakes Jayce’s face is exactly what Viktor expected all the times he thought about telling him.

“What?”

“I am pregnant,” Viktor confirms.

“Really?” Jayce asks, glancing down at Viktor’s stomach which remains completely flat.

“Yes. The doctors are quite sure.” Viktor wouldn’t be telling Jayce if they weren’t.

“The doctors?” Jayce asks before realization crosses his face, because he does actually know of Viktor’s frequent medical appointments – partners and all. “Right. Of course just-“

Jayce puts the two glasses back on the counter and runs a hand through his hair and this is exactly why Viktor hadn’t told him right before he had another obligation. It would be cruel to send him into a council meeting in the level of shock he is in.

“I-“ Jayce starts, before swallowing and nodding, having made up his mind about something. “Wait here.”

“Wait- what?” Viktor asks as Jayce grabs his coat and heads to the door. “Jayce where are you going?”

“I just need to get something. Don’t go anyway!” Jayce says before racing out the door leaving Viktor alone in the apartment.

“Don’t go anyway. Why would I go anywhere?” Viktor asks to nobody but himself. Sighing before making his way over to the couch to sit and wait for Jayce to return. Setting his cane down beside him.

He is sure Jayce will return and not just because it is his apartment Viktor currently is in. Yes, he’s heard stories of Piltover alphas seeming head over heels for an omega in Zaun only to vanish as soon as a pregnancy is in the picture, but Jayce isn’t like that. Their work, at least, is far too important for him to abandon.

“Can you not inherit his recklessness?” Viktor asks his still flat stomach as he leans back on the cushions and waits.

The door swings open at Jayce’s hast when he returns. The alpha not wasting time taking his coat off, instead rushing to where Viktor is and all-but slamming a handful pregnancy tests on the coffee-table.

“I know you said the doctors are sure,” Jayce rambles before Viktor gets the chance to say anything. “But please, for me?”

It makes sense with Jayce being who he is that he would want tangible proof of his own. And, really, it is not that arduous for Viktor to indulge him this.

“Can I have some water first?” Five tests will require a rather high amount of urine from him after all.

[ghostnotoast]

I'm having withdrawal symptoms from waiting for the new episode to come out, and this has been buzzing around my head since this part came out (also I wanna talk about my wife Lily)

Relistening to this part twice made me cry I'm not even gonna lie but weirdly enough it made me think of the end of season 1 where John gets a taste of being the king for a split second but then chooses to go back to Arthur. After he returns, he says:

"But it was in that time in the hospital, that month alone. Trapped in this body without you, when something changed"

"I found meaning. I found that the challenges of life within the boundaries of death were not only acceptable, but could be meaningful. That without a purpose I could forge my own. Is that humanity?"

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it was Lily who was fully responsible for giving John humanity - if anything, that's the mistake Arthur makes in season 3 when comparing John to Yellow (which John calls him out for). It was Arthur who laid out the pieces, and Lily was basically the one to make it click.

Buttt I think reducing John's reason for humanity to only one thing is almost a disservice- because developing a sense of self is so much more complex than that.

It was Arthur's love, it was the stories and thoughts he would share with John, it was being in awe of seeing trees and nature again after so long of living in the dark, it was hearing music, it was listening to the radio, it was the joy he felt after they complished something and he was finally able to feel something other than fear, it was seeing the wraith help them, it was holding a cute baby and picturing her future as a pianist, it was seeing her mother and recognising that she had just lost something priceless, it was having to hold onto hope that anyone is capable of redemption, it was defending and having empathy for the widow despite what Arthur had said.

The last moment is paralleled in season 3 with their conversation about Yellow. Listening to all these makes me realise just how much Yellow missed out on.

Arthur no doubt played a massive role in helping John find humanity and meaning, but honesty? I don't know if purely being with Arthur is what made John who he is. John himself has a conscious and had to make decisions on his own and, on multiple occasions, fights Arthur about ideology with basically little to no outside influence (e.g, their infamous first divorce).

Despite all that though, I still do think Arthur was one of the biggest reasons, I mean just look at Yellow 😭 I'll write an entire essay about him one day

But this entire yap session was basically me trying to imagine what exactly was so special about that month at the hospital because let's be real if I were John I would go crazy BUT sometimes i just imagine John being there, in a hospital without Arthur, being able to do nothing but think

He thinks about the bright clear blue sky he saw, a bird that landed on the windowsill when they were at the library, he thinks about how alive this world is compared to where he came from, he thinks about the radio that's playing, he thinks about the piano, and then he thinks about Arthur

And I imagine he looks at Lily, at her tending to them, at her chatting to them, at her turning on the radio for them so they're not bored and even though people would call all these extra bits of care pointless - she does it anyway, and she does it for them, and John is there to witness this, and that's the moment where it clicks.

I imagine it sort of being like being moved back to see a finished puzzle and finally understanding what you've been making this entire time after spending so long up close looking at individual pieces

And I think that's what the witch didn't understand about John's story. Lily's care was the climax of John becoming John, and even though John acknowledges that for her it was probably another Tuesday - it still doesn't dampen the fondness and love he has for her, he just loves for the sake of it

[will80sbyers]

Cassandra "Cassie" Byers – in a modern AU

She was fostered by them when she was already 15 years old but they were able to bond as a family with time and they eventually officially adopt her... Mike and Will just really wanted to help her however they could after finding out about her situation, and she stays in contact with her bio family for a couple of years before deciding on her own to cut them off completely because of the emotional abuse they were putting her through...

She's a bit awkward but very very smart, she loves math and is studying physics/cosmology because she was always fascinated by the stars growing up and she wants to understand the world around her, she loves games of logic like chess and one of her hobbies is photography (thanks to uncle Jonathan that gifted her multiple cameras)

Cassie is an horror addict!! She has watched every single good horror movie ever made, and reads almost exclusively horror books... Mike was a bit concerned about this at first but she explained to him that it's because it feels both familiar and cathartic to her, so she can feel those emotions without being in actual danger herself... She bonds with Will very easily because they are both prone to having sad moods sometimes, so they make up a rule that when that's happening they have a movie & ice-cream night as a family, and just put on their PJ's and eat that until they feel better! He also is always there to listen to her when she needs it... Mike helps her a lot with her studies and they have both a very quick mind that needs to be constantly stimulated with something... so they are often talking about the most recent discoveries in the scientific world and they even subscribed to multiple science magazines that they follow religiously 🤓

[evans23]

RICKMAS 2024 - DAY 24 - CHRISTMAS PARTY

Pairing : Judge Turpin x OC Colonel Brandon x OC Sinclair Bryant x OC

Summary : It's the eve of Christmas for three generations of a same lineage.

Tag(s)/Warning(s) : Someone hates Christmas.

A/N : Thank you to @deepperplexity for hosting Rickmas but also for her kindness and for her talent ! It's always a pleasure to read you ! And I had so much fun challenging me for this Rickmas and it gave me the motivation to coming back to my own personal writing and for that even more thank you !!!

And Merry Christmas to you all dear reader, I wish you all the best.

Also read on AO3 - Wattpad

Richard hated Christmas. It was no surprise to you who had learned it in your first year of marriage. It was not really a problem for you not to celebrate Christmas, in your family, you did not have the means to do such a foolish thing.

Indeed, before your marriage to the High Judge of London, Lord Richard Turpin, you were nothing more than a burden on your poor family. Not that your parents had ever made you feel like one, but you were growing old without finding shoes that fit you, which had ended up alarming them. What is a woman if she is not married ?

And who would marry you if you were nothing more than an old maid who had lost her freshness ?

Judge Turpin, obviously.

You had been afraid at first, but you also knew that refusing would be foolish. You were past the age of being able to wait for your soulmate and when your father died, you would have ended up at best in a hospice, at worst on the streets of London. So you had accepted Richard's proposal reluctantly, worried about the trap you had closed on yourself of your own accord.

The wedding had taken place quickly and you had resigned yourself to being locked in a golden cage and to giving him the heirs he needed, because you were not naive, you knew that was the only reason why he had rushed the marriage with a complete stranger.

Except that night, he didn't touch you. Nor the following ones. After your wedding, when he had brought you back to the manor and shown you the room where you would sleep, he had gone out, leaving room for a maid who had helped you change. She had told you that Richard would come back later because it was his room and you had shivered with fear, except that when he returned, he had chastely kissed you on the forehead before ordering you to go to bed.

You had obeyed, expecting him to exercise his right as a husband, but he had said in a cold voice :

"You will be mine, but not by force. You will be because you want to be," and he had blown out the candle.

You still remember thinking that you would never be his, except that you already were, by law. And later, it was your heart that would decide that he wanted to be entirely hers.

Two years later, you gave birth to your first child, a son, an heir. A difficult pregnancy, a delivery that had almost left you for dead, but you had survived to the greatest relief of Richard who could never have imagined continuing to live without you. That night, as he forced you to eat a few mouthfuls of broth to regain your strength, he had confessed to you that he didn't know how he had managed to live until now before you.

When five years later, you were pregnant again, against all expectations given your advanced age for a lady but also because of the scars left by your previous pregnancy, Richard had made sure that nothing could happen to you. You couldn't even get up to go pee without being followed by the old governess who reported all your nonsense to him like a zealous employee... except that you knew that she did it mainly because of the maternal love she had for your husband and that she had become very attached to you, the woman who had managed to make the merciless judge of London human.

Richard and you complemented each other perfectly; he was the authority and you were the gentleness. He punished, you comforted and waited for him to leave for work to lift the punishments.

If only Christmas didn't exist. 

Except that after the birth of your first child, you had insisted on an intimate Christmas at the manor. Just the two of you and your son and later your daughter. And Richard, giddy with the love he felt for you, had agreed. But he still hated this holiday as much and never let himself get caught up in it, even if he tried to hide it more or less skilfully for the sake of his children.

"Woman, I swear that if you add one more garland, you will sleep in another room," he growled when he saw you decorating the banister.

"Well that's not what the manor lacks," you replied without looking up.

He rolled his eyes, mumbling something that sounded like "Ah ! women," when your little girl came running to throw herself into his arms.

He bit his tongue to keep from reprimanding her for running like a wild girl through the corridors of the manor. She was only six, much more impetuous than her brother, unimpressed by her illustrious father and showing him a love as overflowing as yours that always melted him, even if he was careful not to show it.

"Father, I want you to teach us a Christmas carol," she demanded enthusiastically.

Richard's gaze darkened. You gave him a warning look. If you were used to walking on eggshells when it came to Christmas, it was harder for children who didn't understand their father's aversion to this holiday.

You, of course, knew. His painful childhood, those holidays locked in his room while his parents feasted with their prestigious guests, the laughter that echoed while he opened the only gift he never received at that time, the one from his governess.

"I don't know any Christmas carols," he said, trying to control his tone.

"But you're old, you should know plenty," your daughter answered with the candour of a child her age.

"My dear, you should ask your brother. He would love to teach you the ones he knows," you intervened so as not to make Richard more uncomfortable than he already was.

Fortunately, your daughter was not a child who was too difficult to convince, and she went in search of her big brother who would have to sacrifice his game with his toy soldiers.

"That's why I didn't want us to celebrate Christmas in my mansion," he grumbled.

You went down the few steps that separated you from him to come and snuggle against his chest.

"Richard, we can't deprive children of Christmas," you said softly.

"And why not ?"

"Because we love them ?" you suggested with a smile.

"I can love them without Christmas. I would love them just as much without this damn Christmas, because they are yours, silly !"

"Well, since you love me so much, make an effort because it makes me happy to offer a little magic to children. I never had the right to it when I was little. I know you don't either, but if you would agree, just for once, to leave the past behind you and focus on what you have now, you could maybe enjoy this holiday."

He rolled his eyes but said nothing, just kissing the top of your head, undoing a strand of hair from your bun with his finger to let it fall down your shoulder.

"You're lucky I love you," he said with a sigh.

"No, you're the lucky one," you replied before going back to decorating the banister.

He would never admit it, but he knew he was the luckiest man to have met you.

"Richard," you called out to him.

He looked up at you, one eyebrow raised in question.

"You know, you've been led to believe that Christmas is just a frivolity, but the truth is, it's a family holiday. And we're here, all together. That's all that matters."

He pondered your words as you made your way upstairs. Shouts could be heard from the playroom and you assumed that the pretend war with the toy soldiers had become a real war between the siblings.

"Tell them that if I have to intervene, Christmas is called off," Richard said behind you.

You let out a small laugh, shaking your head. Christmas was in two days and you weren't going to let your grumpy husband cancel it, and even the children knew that.

"Father, father !" his two children shouted in unison as they entered his office.

It was Christmas Eve, the only day when the children were allowed to stay up until midnight, but it was only nine in the morning and Richard could tell it was going to be a long day. He should have canceled Christmas yesterday, when they had given him the chance by bickering like paupers from the slums of London.

"Stop yelling like seagulls," he said angrily, "and what's the use of me hiring the most expensive and famous tutors if they can't teach you how to knock on a door ?" he added, looking at them sternly.

"Excuse me, father," they said in unison.

"Why all the fuss ?" he asked, inviting them to come and sit on his lap.

They didn't need to be asked twice to join him.

"Look what mother gave us ?" your son said, showing him an old account book.

"Can you read it to us tonight, father ?" your daughter asked, giving him her doe-eyed look.

He was about to answer that he didn't read that kind of book, but he stopped himself just in time. Your words the night before had kept him busy for a long part of the night, and he was determined to make an effort. For them. For you.

"Very well, but only if you finish your plates without protesting tonight and if I don't hear you arguing. You are brother and sister, behave as such, not like animals in a circus. Understood ?"

They nodded, kissing him each in turn on the cheek before returning to their games. Meanwhile, Richard, alone in his office, watched London stretch out before him with a smile on his lips.

That evening, he participated awkwardly, but sincerely in the party. He even surprised himself by enjoying himself, especially when the children presented you with a Christmas play that they had rehearsed since a story you had told them at the beginning of the month.

When it was almost midnight, Richard had an arm around the children who had fallen asleep against him on the sofa listening to him read the Christmas story, and another around you who was dozing, his head resting on his chest.

"You were right," he whispered so as not to wake them.

"I know," you answered, raising your head to look at him, "about what ?" you asked anyway.

He let out a rare laugh before kissing you tenderly.

"That if I focused on the present, I could enjoy this holiday.

You kissed him back, radiant.

"You see, it's not too late to create new memories for yourself. Happy memories."

"You're the one who makes me happy. And them," he said, looking down at your children.

You rested your head against his chest, your hand caressing your daughter and son's heads affectionately. It had taken Richard Turpin a while, but he had come to understand how much the family he had built with you was essential to him and that it was what made Christmas magical.

Christopher Brandon loved Christmas. Even more so since you were married and you had made him the father of five beautiful children. Three sons and two daughters who had inherited your sweet face and noble character, except for your eldest who looked exactly like his father, but who had your natural curiosity.

For Christopher, Christmas was the warmest holiday of the year. You and the children were by his side, and if he didn't organize any special parties at the Delaford and he didn't accept any invitations to spend this time with you, his domain was always filled with joy and laughter.

On this December 24th, the house was beautifully decorated thanks to you. The big tree in the living room added a little more warmth to your family celebration and the children were having fun by the fire. Your eldest son was playing the piano while your youngest daughter accompanied him by singing a Christmas carol that Christopher had taught him earlier in the day.

Your second son was looking out the window praying that it would start snowing, he who dreamed of a white Christmas to have snowball fights with his brothers and sisters and snowmen with his father.

Christopher was looking at them with affection, but he had this little smile, imperceptible to anyone else, but not to you. He was preparing something, you were sure of it. However, no matter how much you had pestered him all day to know what it was, he had refused to answer you.

"Dad, can we open the presents ?" your youngest son asked him. "Oh, yes," your daughters chimed in.

"In an hour, after dessert," you replied with a soft smile.

"And here I thought you were eager to see what I was preparing," Christopher teased you.

You gently punched him on the shoulder, but with a nimble gesture, he grabbed your hand and brought it to his lips.

"Don't set a bad example for the children," he told you with a smile.

You rolled your eyes, returning his big smile.

Finally, at the children's insistence, you agreed to let them open their presents at the same time as dessert was served. Their smiles, their laughter filled you and Christopher with joy. He then got up and left the large living room under your surprised gaze to come back with a small package in his hands.

At least you thought it was a package, but when he approached, you saw fur. Fur fluttering.

"Dad ! You brought us a dog !" your youngest daughter exclaimed.

Your five children rushed over to him and your eldest took the little ball of fur in his arms to pet it to the youngest while warning them to be gentle. You couldn't help but notice how much he looked like his father.

"So that's what you were hiding," you said with a smile as you sat back down on the couch, the children at your feet playing with their new friend.

"They've been asking for years for a dog that wouldn't be used for guarding or hunting, but just to keep them company. John's dog had puppies and he kept this one for me," he said with a soft smile as he watched the young puppy shyly move into his new surroundings.

"What's his name ?" your eldest daughter asked as she turned to you, her auburn curls dancing around her head.

"It's up to you," Christopher replied.

That was all it took for the kids to get into a heated discussion over the dog's name.

"And to think we almost had a quiet evening," you said, feigning exasperation.

"Oh, but this was all part of my plan, Mrs. Brandon."

"What plan ?" you asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"We've got an hour, while they argue, make up, and decide on a name. Enough time for me to give you your present."

He stood up, holding out his hand to you with a mischievous glint in his eye, and you knew that didn't meanonly one thing: the library books would witness your antics again.

"Your ancestors are so funny," you said, closing the diary of Colonel Brandon's wife.

Sinclair turned to you with a smile, Richard Turpin's diary in his hands.

"This one belonged to my great-great-great grandfather, the High Judge of London."

"Do you think it's as interesting as your great-great-great grandmother's ?"

"Oh yes," he said with a big smile, "it's more... juicy."

"Juicy ?"

"She was rather reserved about everything to do with sex, but he goes into detail and believe me, she wasn't shy in bed at all !"

"Sinclair ! You're talking about your ancestors," you gently scolded him.

"But it's true !" he defended himself.

What had started as a search for a Christmas book in Sinclair's vast library had turned into a dive into memories from another time. You had found Colonel Brandon's journal by chance, the one that chronicled a time before his wife, in the army and Sinclair had then decided to share with you the intimate lives of all his ancestors, although he could not go back further than Christopher Brandon.

"What a treasure to have preserved all his memories," you said as he pulled another notebook from a chest.

"Lionel had Brandon's," he said, mentioning his rich and eccentric cousin, "but he didn't find them very interesting so he gave them to me. I never told him what Richard's contained, he would have been dying to have my hands on them and read the craziest positions he made his wife take," he said nonchalantly.

"Sinclair !" 

"Oh, don't be such a prude. You're shy in public too, but when we're in bed..."

"Sinclair Bryant ! I swear if you write that in a diary I'll kill you !"

He laughed as he pulled you against him.

"It would be for prosperity," he whispered in your ear.

"Our child could find it."

He pulled away, his eyes wide as you clapped your hand over your mouth.

"Our child ?" he repeated, looking at you intensely.

You lowered your head, guilty. You'd known for three days, but you wanted to wait until Christmas struck twelve to tell him. But you weren't far from four after all.

"You're going to be a father, Sinclair," you said, placing your hands on his chest.

"I... Me ?"

"Yes, you big idiot," you replied, tapping him gently on the shoulder, "who else do you want it to be ?"

"How long have you known ?"

"Three days, I wanted to surprise you, as a Christmas present."

He shook his head, closing his eyes. After his divorce, he thought he could never be happy again. Then, he had met you one evening when your train was stopped in the middle of the tracks because a tree had fallen due to the storm that was raging that day. He was coming back from Manchester where he had to go for his job, you were coming back after yet another job interview for a job as a teacher. A new refusal that had depressed you more than usual. He had seen your big wet eyes, but also the strength with which you fought not to let any tears fall. You started talking, he made you laugh, he appreciated your simplicity and he thought that maybe that was what he needed: someone simple who knew how to appreciate the little things in life.

You had parted ways that night without knowing that fate had decided that you could never live without each other again. You had crossed paths several times, Sinclair had helped you get a job thanks to his many contacts, he had invited you to eat with him several times, introduced you to his parents - and to his great relief, his mother had immediately liked you unlike the demonic bitch who had broken his heart -, you had introduced him to your parents, and finally, one summer afternoon, in a gondola in Venice, he had proposed to you.

And today, you were going to make him a father.

"So, you're not so disappointed anymore about missing Lionel's big Christmas party, right ?" you said, smiling. 

The doctor had warned you that the pregnancy could be complicated and that you should stay calm. Your bad cough had arrived just in time to find an excuse not to attend the party without having to confess the real reason to your husband.

"Maybe it'll be twins," Sinclair said, placing his hand on your stomach.

"I'd have enough on my plate with two Bryant," you joked.

Except that once again, Sinclair's skills as a forecaster had not been wrong. Eight months later, his mother and his aunt would no longer be the only twins in the family. Now there would be two beautiful little boys as curious as their father and gentler than their mother. But you didn't know that yet. It was for later, far long after this Christmas Party.

[a-fluffer-nutter]

Along the River Shore

A/N - Hey @august-anon guess what?? I'm your Squealing Santa this year!! I loved the prompts you gave me and I hope you enjoy what I was able to provide! Have some ticklish Zuko for this holiday season!! And thanks @squealing-santa for organizing it all! Definitely my favorite event each year.

Word Count: 695

            “What are they doing?” Zuko looked over at Aang as he sat on the sandy shore of the river they were lounging around.

            It was a warm day in the Earth Kingdom and the group were traveling around the nations on a diplomatic tour after the defeat of Zuko’s father, Fire Lord Ozai. Now that Zuko had taken his father’s ruling position, Zuko assured the people of Water and Earth nations that peace will prevail and that he and Aang will begin the prospect of reunification. After a few days of meetings and general interaction with the public, the “Gaang” was taking the day off to relax and enjoy themselves. Now that they no longer needed to fear for their lives every moment they took a break, the group could finally have some fun and bond in the usual way typical teenagers would. If anyone were to see them in this moment, without knowing who they were, it would be easy to believe that these are all just local kids having a stress free day, and sometimes it was easy for the group themselves to forget that they were not just a normal group of teens.

            “Having a tickle fight?” Aang replied in a way to seemed more like a question, as if Zuko had asked him a rhetorical one instead.

            “That’s what that is?” brows raised, Aang looked over at his friend, brain stuttering and sputtering at what he had just heard. “I’ve never seen it before.”

            “Really?” Toph perked up from her spot a few feet away from them, having been smacking the ground with different intensities, learning different strategies to bend sand. “I guess I haven’t seen it before either.”

            “This is serious, Toph,” Aang rolled his eyes as Toph waved a hand in front of her face with a wide smile. “Zuko has never been tickled before! This is important!”

            “He what?” Katara and Sokka looked up from their own tickle fight in perfect unison, having been the instigators to Zuko’s question. The siblings looked at each other and before Sokka could make the first move to get out of the river, Katara launched a wave of water at her brother as she pushed herself to land.

            Mouth agape, Zuko looked up at Katara as she now stood over him, hands on her hips. From the river, Sokka sputtered as he splashed his way to shore, entire body drenched. Glaring at Katara as he walked up, his attention quickly switched to Zuko and his body language mirrored his younger sister’s. As the crowd gathered around Zuko, Suki found herself looking up from across the river, having been sunbathing the entire day. With a knowing smile, she gave Zuko a thumbs up before laying back down and closing her eyes, letting the sun’s rays radiate against her fair skin.

            “What’s going on?” Zuko stammered, eyes wide as he looked around at his friends. “Why are you all acting like this is the end of the world?”

            “Because it is, obviously,” Sokka’s voice was loud and teasing. Brows furrowed, Zuko had the sudden thought that maybe he should find a way out of this situation, however, as if Toph had read his mind, grains of sand raised in a fluid way. Like shackles, the sand enveloped Zuko’s legs and kept him in the seated position, trapped from the mid thighs down.

            “Don’t worry, Zuko,” Aang’s voice said happily from behind the young Fire Lord, “it’ll be fun! And if it isn’t, we’ll stop.”

            “Oh-kay,” the hesitancy in Zuko’s voice could not be avoided, but that was to be expected from the generally anxious and uptight teen, and this was certainly not his fault.

            “Let’s see if you’re ticklish here,” Aang began to dance his fingers over Zuko’s ribs, resting his chin on the older teen’s shoulder as he checked his friend’s sensitivity. With much delight, the group let out a collective “aw” as Zuko began to laugh.

            “Looks like he is,” Katara mused before squatting down in front of Zuko. Reaching out, her nimble fingers began to prod around his sides and hips as Aang migrated his hands upward, sneaking under Zuko’s arms.

            “What’s happening?” Zuko’s laugh was loud and frantic, his body twisting around almost against his will. The sensations that shot through his body were odd and made him laugh, a bubbly sensation that wasn’t unpleasant. It made him squint his eyes and smile wide, in a way that he didn’t remember smiling before. This sensation was foreign to him, but maybe not uniquely novel. In the very back of his mind, in his very earliest years with his mother, did this sensation have a memory attached to it. It wasn’t much, just a blur of colors, but the feeling of peace and indescribable joy was the centerpiece of it all. Now, as this memory just barely grazed the corner of his mind, Zuko embraced it and the new memory he was creating in this moment.

            “He’s so ticklish!” Sokka laughed along with his friend, voice near incredulous in tone.

            “He really is,” Katara beamed, skittering her fingers over Zuko’s belly, which elicited an even stronger response. “Oooh, I found a good spot.”

            “He’s not even fighting back,” Toph stated, having released all the sand she had bended so each grain could slip off Zuko’s legs, freeing him. While not completely still, Zuko’s legs were not kicking out in the frantic hysteria they had all been expecting. Instead, his heels were just dug into the sandy earth in order to still and ground himself.

            “Are you having fun?” Aang asked, having moved so now his chin was atop Zuko’s head, with Zuko’s own head against Aang’s chest.

            “Yes?” Zuko attempted to nod, his own answer a question. He didn’t feel weird for enjoying it, but the way they had all acted earlier, specifically Sokka, made it seem that maybe it was a bit odd.

            “That’s great!” Aang nearly sang out, stopping his tickling to hug the Fire Lord from behind. Katara pulled away so she could watch the sappy moment unfold as Aang exclaimed, “Me too! We’re going to have so much fun from now on!”

            “Just don’t kill him, Twinkle Toes,” Toph chided, having a pretty good idea at the ideas forming in Aang’s head.

            “I won’t,” Aang replied quickly, upset at this accusation. “I’m just going to make sure he never has a bad day ever again!”

            “I dare you to tickle him during his next speech,” Sokka grinned which received him a glare that could have been much more intense from Zuko.

            “That could be fun,” Aang pondered, rubbing his chin.

            “I would actually kill you,” Zuko finally spoke, lopsided smile still on his face. “This was fun and all, thank you. Just don’t do it when I’m doing important things.”

            “Speeches in front of a whole nation is hardly important,” Sokka scoffed, then flinched back as Katara elbowed him in the side.

            “If that’s the case, I’ll just have to do it to you when we’re back home,” Katara teased, wiggling her fingers in front of Sokka’s face.

            “I can help,” everyone turned their heads as Suki called from the other side of the river. Lower lip set out in a slight pout, everyone laughed at Sokka’s expression.

            Zuko knew that Aang meant well and frankly, he was looking forward to whatever Aang had planned for him.

[trinoxtrinox]

@doby-mans Aqui voy a agregar una traduccion para esta idea, puedes reblogearla si quieres para esparcir la idea aun mas :P

Translation for this idea under the cut, since I know for a fact that it won't be short XD

Something else I thought of DP x DC, this time remembering that canonically Danielle went to other places of the world by herself.

Now, Young Justice, Danielle being part of it, they all believe that she's a martian that focuses more on her magical powers and abilities of camouflage and phasing than anything else.

Until one day Miss Martian got sick and she can't use her telepathic powers to keep everyone comunicated during a mission y stay looking at her. Everything goes well regardless, they recover the dangerous magical artifact similar to a box with a strange inscription on it, until someone finally raises their voice.

Superboy: Why not share a psychic conection in the moment?

Dani: Because I don't have telepathic powers?

Superboy: We all know you're martian like her, so...

Dani: No I'm not! None of you understand the real nature of my powers and may never be able to, you don't know what it's like to be me!

Robin: What do we not understand? Being different? Having a power no one completly understands? Being an adolecent with hormonal problems?

Dani: No! Being a clone created in a clandestine lab!

Impulse: Let's see, Superboy, Red Arrow, Robin and now Danielle, anyone else I'm forgetting about?

Dani: What?

Superboy: You aren0t the first one in that situation here, so, martian DNA?

Dani: Worse... The real nature of my powers, ghost DNA...

Zatanna: If that's true then you're exactly what we need, according to the inscription on the box, one a "Halfa" can open it.

Dani: *tries to open the box but her hand starts to melt* Ah!... I can't, my ghost powers aren't stable, this hasn't happened to me for ages.

Robin: Pity that there's no other "Halfa" to open the box.

Dani: Well, that's not completly true, besides me there are two other, one of them a dangerous villain, my creator, that dissapeared a few years ago; and the other one...

Zatanna: What happened to the other one?

Dani: The other one... Well, he is...

All of the Justice League, Young Justice and the Batfam, who if they weren't present, were in a call the whole time: WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S THE GHOST KING!?

Dani: He's the only other halfa that's left in the worl and he's way stronger and stable than me, do you want to open the box or not?

Batman: This could be very important, call him.

Dani: I did, I asked him to find us here in the Gotham City base...

Nightwing: I think we have a problem, we were in the middle of a Poison Ivy attack when what appears to be a flying boy froze her in seconds.

Batman: Froze her?

Red Robin: That's not all, Joker, Penguin and Two Face were in the middle of an attack in the same street, that same boy did some kind of super scream and left everyone unconcious, including their goons.

Dani: Oh no... He's upset...

Robin: Umh... That same kid just duplicated himseld and imprissioned every villain and criminal of the city in what appears to be a box made with his own energy.

Dani: Oh no, he's very upset...

Danny: Of course I am! *he says appearing right behind her* I told you to call me as soon as you were unstable! You know very well what could've happened!

Dani: I know, I know, but there's no need to worry, I haven't needed an Ecto-shot for years, normally with some emditation it's enough.

Danny: You've melted before!?

Dani: Don't be so overprotective, I called you to help me with something else.

Danny: Don't change the subject, don't make me ask Clockwork to watch over you.

Red Hood: Clockwork?

Danny: Ghost of time.

Batman: We come asking for help with this box...

Danny: And who's this furry?

Dani: He's Batman, this city's hero...

Danny: Well bad job, I've been here two seconds and I've had to take charge... That box... It looks similar to Pandora's, where did you get it?

Wonder Woman: But Pandora's box should be protected by...

Danny: Pandora herself in my kingdom, yes.

Dani: We recovered in a team mission, apparently only a Halfa can open it, but I oculdn't, it deestabilized me.

Nightwing: I don't know what confuses me more, the box's thing or how many powers this boy got.

Danny: That's easy, I got the classic ghost powers, including those I used for the city, but as king I have access to old magical artifacts like the Crown of Fire that increases the Ghostly Powers a great amount, alongside the Ring of Rage the power would be infinite, but I made a deal with the old king when I defeated him, so he has the ring and his freedom in exchange for him to not cause any disaster; or Aragon's amulet that basically gives you dragon powers, there's also a ghost key that can literally open any door in mine or this world...

Dani: Is the list of magical objects really that long?

Danny: I only had the reality gems missing, which can alter reality itself as we know it, of course I destroyed those things already...

Batman: The box is what's important.

Danny: Yeah, we shouldn't open that thing, if it resembles Pandora's box then whatever is inside must be very dangerous... But if that's what you want... *Open the box and bot he and Danielle immediatly feel sick* I know that feeling, it's... a Blood Blossom.

Otra cosa que pensé DC x DP esta vez recordando que canónicamente Daniela fue a otras partes del mundo por su cuenta

Ahora, Young Justice, Daniela siendo parte de ello, todos creen que es marciana solo que se concentra más en su poder mágico y las habilidades de camuflaje y atravesar muros que otra cosa

Hasta que un día la señorita marciana se enferma y no puede usar su poder telepático para mantenerlos comunicados durante una misión y se le quedan viendo a ella, aún así la misión va bien, recuperan un artefacto mágico peligroso similar a una caja con una inscripción extraña en ella hasta que finalmente alguien alza la voz

Superboy: ¿Por qué no pusiste una conexión psíquica en el momento?

Dani: porque no tengo poderes telepáticos?

Superboy: Todos sabemos que eres marciana como ella así que...

Dani: No, no lo soy! Ninguno de ustedes entiende la verdadera naturaleza de mis poderes y puede que nunca lo hagan, ustedes no saben lo que es ser como yo!

Robin: ¿Que cosa no entendemos?, ¿El ser diferente?, ¿El tener un poder que nadie comprende del todo? ¿El ser un adolescente con problemas hormonales?

Dani: ¡No!, ¡El ser un clon creado artificialmente en un laboratorio clandestino!

Impulso: veamos, Superboy, Flecha roja, Robin y ahora Daniela, ¿Se me olvida alguno?

Dani: ¿Que?

Superboy: No eres la primera en esa situación aquí, entonces, ¿Adn marciano?

Dani: Peor... La verdadera naturaleza de mis poderes, ADN fantasma...

Zatanna: Si eso es cierto entonces eres justo lo que necesitamos, según la inscripción de la caja, solo un "halfa" puede abrirla

Dani: *intenta abrir la caja pero comienza a derretirse su mano* Ah!... No puedo, mi poder fantasmal no está estable, esto no me había pasado en años

Robin: Lástima que no hay otro "halfa" para abrir la caja

Dani: Bueno, eso no es del todo cierto, a parte de mi hay otros dos, uno de ellos es un peligroso villano, mi creador, que desapareció hace algunos años y el otro...

Zatanna: ¿Que pasa con el otro?

Dani: El otro... Bueno el es...

Toda la liga de la justicia, Young Justice y la batifamilia, quienes si no estaban presentes, estaban en llamada todo el tiempo: ¿¡CÓMO QUE EL REY DE LOS FANTASMAS?!

Dani: Es el único otro halfa que queda en este mundo y el es mucho más fuerte y estable que yo, ¿Quieren abrir la caja o no?

Batman: Esto podría ser muy importante, llámalo

Dani: Ya lo hice, le pedí que nos encontrará aquí en la base de ciudad Gótica...

Nigthwing: Creo que tenemos un problema, estábamos en medio de un ataque de Hiedra venenosa cuando lo que parece un chico volador, la congelo en segundos

Batman: ¿Congelarla?

Red Robin: Eso no es todo, el Guasón, el Pingüino y Dos caras, estaban en medio de un ataque en la misma calle, el mismo chico dio una especie de super grito y los dejo inconscientes a todos, incluidos sus matones

Dani: Oh no... Esta molesto...

Robin: Amh... El mismo chico acaba de, duplicarse a si mismo y encerrar a cada villano y criminal de la ciudad en lo que parece una caja hecha con su propia energía

Dani: Oh no, está muy molesto...

Danny: ¡Claro que lo estoy! *Dice apareciendo justo detrás de ella* ¡Te dije que me llamaras en cuanto estuvieras inestable!, ¡Sabes bien lo que pudo haberte pasado!

Dani: Lo se, lo se pero no tienes que preocuparte, no había necesitado una inyección de ectoplasma en años, normalmente con algo de meditación basta

Danny: ¿Te habías estado derritiendo antes?!

Dani: No seas tan sobreprotector, te llamé para que me ayudarás con un asunto diferente

Danny: No cambies el tema, no me hagas pedirle a Reloj que te vigile

Red Hood: ¿Reloj?

Danny: El fantasma del tiempo

Batman: Pedimos ayuda con esta caja...

Danny: Y este furry quien es?

Dani: Es Batman, el héroe de esta ciudad...

Danny: Pues pésimo trabajo, he estado aquí dos segundos y ya me tuve que hacer cargo... Esa caja... Se parece un poco a la caja de Pandora, ¿De dónde la sacaron?

Wonder woman: Pero la caja de Pandora debería estar siendo protegida por...

Danny: La propia Pandora en mi reino, así es

Dani: En una misión de equipo la recuperamos, al parecer solo un halfa puede abrirla pero yo no pude, eso me desestabilizo

Nigthwing: ¿No se que me confunde más, la cosa de la caja o cuántos poderes tiene este chico?

Danny: Eso es fácil, tengo poderes de fantasma clásicos, incluidos los que use por la ciudad pero como rey tego acceso a artefactos mágicos antiguos como la corona del rey que aumenta el poder fantasmal en gran medida, junto al anillo el poder sería infinito pero hice un trato con el antiguo rey al vencerlo, así que el tiene el anillo y su libertad a cambio de que no cause ningún desastre, o el amuleto de Aragón que básicamente da poderes de dragón, también existe una llave fantasma que puede literalmente abrir cualquier puerta ya sea de mi mundo o de este...

Dani: ¿En serio es tan larga la lista de objetos mágicos?

Danny: Solo me faltaban las gemas de la realidad con las cuales podría cambiar la realidad misma como la conocemos pero claro, ya destruí esas cosas...

Batman: La caja es lo importante

Danny: Si, no deberíamos abrir esa cosa, si se parece a la caja de Pandora entonces allí adentro debe haber algo muy peligroso... Pero bueno si eso es lo que quieren... *Abre la caja e inmediatamente tanto el como Daniela comienzan a sentir un gran malestar* conozco esta sensación, es... Una rosa de sangre

[absolutedarkstar]

ok back to me crying over d4dj. i was one of those people who was kinda dissapointed with lumina being an ai at first because i thought it was lazy writing, but GODDD the way the writers used it to reveal so much important information and progress the story is just. we wouldn't have gotten neo becoming human and realising she has a support system. we would've never gotten information on who neo's family was. lumina being an ai based on aria was the reason we found out that aria, this great singer who we only knew through other people's words up until sn9, had a direct link with one of the playable characters. we would've never seen that neo's dad isnt a huge supervillain who doesn't care for his child at all. we would've never gotten that scene where the rest of LMO bullies sho.

some people may have hated side nova but goddd did i love it

[crownrots]

[aria0fgold]

Thinking more about my isat au and I'm gonna need to change a LOT more than I thought. First things first, Siffrin's connection to the wish. Since in Of gems and pages, all the wishes stayed the same. So why is Odile the one looping and not Siff? So basically, what I think I'd do in my au is that the Universe decided to change things up a bit.

The first time the Universe granted Siffrin the means to fulfill their wish, things went horribly bad (just look at Loop). So this time, the Universe decided to give this new Siffrin, something a lil different. They still gave Siffrin the timeloop But made Odile his proxy. So that Siffrin may have helpers in this new timeline, with Loop as the guide and Odile helping as well, it Should go better, right??? And since the wish is connected with Siffrin's emotions, the Universe can't just completely make it Odile's problem now, sooo basically... Siffrin can still remember Parts of a previous loop PRIOR to their deaths.

That means during the beginning of canon when Siff was crushed by a boulder, he remembers that. And found Loop as well, but when he accidentally ended up touching a tear, he now Doesn't remember being crushed by a boulder but by being frozen in time. At the same time, he ALSO doesn't remember Anything else prior to it. So he doesn't remember that there's a boulder that can kill him by the entrance of the House, he doesn't remember Loop. All he remembers is that somehow, one way or another, he was frozen in time within the House and needs to be more careful with the tears. And because of the way that the loops affect Siffrin now is faaar too different than how it affected Loop, he can't go forwards or backwards in time. Siff will always awaken back in the meadow and Loop will always have to do their whole speech all over again (which would most likely annoy them immediately cuz why? Why is it so different now? Why can't this Siffrin REMEMBER?)

Odile on the other hand, remembers ALL the loops and finds a lot of discrepancies with Siffrin. It takes awhile for her to meet Loop and they get to talk to each other. Their meeting would be pretty... rocky at first. Loop still getting regarded as a stranger by Odile, Loop finding out that Odile is the one getting affected by the timeloop from their own selfish wish. Even if that Siffrin isn't them, it doesn't change the fact that they both made the same wish. Loop thinkin bout being such a favourite cosmic joke of the Universe that not only were they turned into This, one of their family members are suffering cuz of them. And she doesn't even recognize them. It'd be pretty hard at first too cuz Loop doesn't know that their appearance changed yet, there's no mirror. For Loop, they might still look like Siffrin, right? But Odile's reaction to seeing them says otherwise.

Anyway in this au, stage wise, Odile is the actor, Siffrin is the director, and the Universe is the audience. Book wise, Odile is the character, Siffrin is the writer, and the Universe is the reader. Why is Siffrin the director or the writer and not the Universe? That's because the timeloops are Still connected to his emotions, if something he didn't want to think about happens like, that argument with Bonbon (just as an example. I'm wondering if that'll still happen here considering that only happened because of Siff had memories of all the loops in canon. He doesn't have that in this au anymore), time would loop back still, so in a way, Siff Is writing how the timeloops go.

[pomrania]

From the image, I'd say we're talking about relatively early pre-timeskip stuff, which is what I'll be going with for here.

So yes, everyone's names are well-known; the only person who ISN'T reasonably likely to be recognized on sight is Sakura, because she's basically a nobody pre-timeskip, and she has no reason to HIDE her name. However, just by looking at this image, you can see that Kakashi only has a VERY small portion of his face visible, and thus wouldn't be able to be targeted by the Note from just that. And it's not something he only wears for photos, his face is ALWAYS covered, so if Kira wants to kill him it'll have to be via mundane methods (which Kakashi could easily avoid, as a high-level shinobi while Kira... isn't).

Sasuke and Sakura don't have any special protections against the Note. Their survival solely depends on if Kira decides to kill them or not. (I fully believe that if Kira kills Sasuke, then Itachi will track down and kill Kira within a month at most, and most of that time would be "how long it takes for him to hear that Sasuke's dead", but that's not relevant to this question.)

Naruto... I'm not so sure; as in, I genuinely can't tell. Jinchuuriki can be killed without the need for any special magic other than "do enough damage to them", but the presence of the Kyuubi MIGHT mess up the shinigami "targeting". Or it might just kill the kid and release the Kyuubi. Or it might return an error message of "back off shinigami or I'll bite your head off". Or maybe it gives Naruto a "fatal" heart attack but then he recovers from it. Or maybe it kills "Naruto" and puts the Kyuubi as the sole resident of that human body. Or something else. There's so many different possibilities.

Now, as to whether Kira would choose to try and kill them. I don't think we can apply a defence of "but they're just kids" here; they're GENIN, which means they're considered potential combatants. Kakashi has a Reputation, but he also has a persona, one carefully calculated to make him seem less of a threat, plus anyone trying to wrangle those three kids automatically seems less capable. (As for whether Kakashi would be noticed in the first place, I'd say yes, because he's there in the role of "person responsible for these ninja-in-training".) Naruto has a highly-developed ability to annoy people, and I think he would have gotten bad vibes from "the person who would become Kira", even BEFORE Kira got the Note; unless we're talking really late-stage Kira, he's not likely to want to kill someone SOLELY for being annoying, but I can see it influencing his choice of targets should he decide to kill "one of the genin". I don't believe Kira would consider any of those three as a THREAT, but I'll come back to this point later.

Putting this here, because I can't think of where it would best fit: the Kyuubi would be able to see Ryuk, and might or might not react in a way that Naruto can sense, and might or might not pass on "there's a shinigami hanging around that guy" to Naruto. Ryuk would be able to sense the Kyuubi in Naruto, and absolutely would NOT pass any of that on to Kira, UNLESS the Kyuubi is a threat to Ryuk himself; in which case Ryuk would just say "hey don't write down the name of that kid in orange" if it seems like a possibility.

Would Team Seven be able to CATCH Kira? Kakashi on his own, like if it was a solo mission, absolutely. He's intelligent, he's highly skilled in all sorts of infiltration and assassination, he's familiar with a whole lot of Magic Bullshit, he has dogs he can summon, and he isn't constrained by a need for formal evidence. As for the other members of Team Seven... not only are they a hindrance to Kakashi, they're a hindrance to each other, dysfunctional children that haven't learned to work together. I can see it potentially HAPPENING, but mostly because of Protagonist Power; if Naruto wasn't the main character of the story, it's not likely.

So here's how I see it going. Team Seven is hired to find some unknown shinobi (because that's the most reasonable conclusion, in that world) who is killing people; nobody really CARES that THOSE people are dying, but "having an unknown shinobi running around the place doing their own thing" isn't really comfortable. The investigation goes... laughably. Kakashi does a minimum of looking into things on his own time, to make sure that his students aren't stumbling into anything ACTUALLY dangerous, but otherwise he lets them make their own mistakes. Eventually, something changes. Maybe someone accidentally finds something that could make them a threat to Kira, even though they don't yet know it; maybe Kira learns who that dopey-looking "teacher" actually IS. Kira decides that Team Seven cannot be allowed to stay here, and the easiest way for that to happen is for one of the kids to die in an accident, and the best victim for that is the loud boy.

One way or another, it's the last mistake that Kira ever makes.

Maybe that unleashes the Kyuubi, and Kira dies as part of the collateral damage. Maybe Kakashi snaps from four different traumas all being triggered at once, and goes into "identify and eliminate" mode. Maybe all of Team Seven survives. Maybe none of them do.