#but emphasizing again: all could change in the finale because finales are how shows will be remembered forever!

[luneyverse]

i have a nagging critical take on the owl house that i want to share eventually (probably long after the finale comes out because that has a small chance of changing my opinion) but its extremely lukewarm… but it has bothered me enough to want to write about it when i have the time

[jinwoosbabyboo]

“Will You Marry Me?"

How I imagine LADS Men would propose. This is part 2 of 2. I tried to do the sweet elegant writing, but that ain't me so here you go....

Xavier

Our lover boy Xavier is a literal prince. I feel as though he'd be very traditional with his proposal. The only unfortunate part is he can't ask for your fathers/family blessing because you know .... Anyway :)

He would definitely court you for a week even if you’ve already been together for over a year. The day of his proposal he would take you to a spot only he knows that has zero light pollution. Of course it’s deep in the forest.

MC: If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re trying to kill me and hide my body Xavier: You have such creative thoughts MC: Seriously where are we going? Xavier: Somewhere special MC: So mysterious even after a year of dating

He’d bring you to a clearing that seemed like it was being lit up by a spotlight. It’s not though he chose to propose on a night with a full moon and clear skies so you could see how beautiful the stars are without all the city lights.

MC: It’s otherworldly Xavier: This was my favorite place to come when I needed clarity MC: Why didn’t you show me sooner? Xavier: I wanted to save it for a special day MC: oh what are you going to propose or something?

You’d be laughing and boom he pulls a ring out of his pocket shutting you right up.

MC: Oh shit! You’re really proposing Xavier: Yes im really proposing

His speech is so sweet it could give you cavities not only would he emphasize how much he loves you he’d let you know just how much he is solely yours. Even if you were to one day forget him and how much he loves you he would still always be yours and would do anything to keep you safe & most of all happy.

Xavier: My lady will you marry me? MC: I want nothing more

He might’ve been sweet and soft spoken during his proposal but that shy boy facade went out the window when you two got back home.

Sylus

It’s canon that Sylus gets nervous when he wants to ask you out. So just imagine how nervous he is getting ready to propose! He already constantly gifts you pretty gems and the gifts just keep increasing over the course of 3 months.

He second guesses himself thinking you may say no so he keeps putting it off but continues to shower you in gifts, quality time, full body massages, shopping sprees, dinner dates, lunch dates, you name it he’s doing it, you want it he got it. He’d be spoiling you so much you’d have to sit him down and ask him what’s going on. He would dismiss your concerns of course.

MC: Are you guys leaving for a while? Kieran: Why do you ask? MC: Sylus has been acting weird I feel like he’s about to disappear again Luke: That was one time and boss only did that because you asked him to leave you alone MC: I know but I’m worried now Luke: Relax miss hunter you’re overthinking

The twins would indeed gaslight you while Sylus worked up the nerve to propose. When he finally has the nerve to do it he goes all out. I’m talking he'd rent out the most exquisite restaurant money can buy. A whole staff at your beck and call. He'd wine and dine you with delicious food and expensive wine. By the time dessert comes you'd want answers.

MC: You're leaving me aren't you Sylus: Jumping to conclusions are we? MC: I'm serious Sylus you haven't been yourself lately you're worrying me Sylus: I guess this is the part where I explain myself

With two snaps of his fingers the twins would rush out; Kieran placing a giant box bouquet of red roses in your arms and Luke placing a crown on your head before rushing out leaving the two of you alone.

MC: What's this? and what am I a Princess? Sylus: You are and I'd love to change your title to Queen MC: Stop are you....

I don't picture Sylus giving a long winded speech. I feel like he would be the type to write it down so you could cherish his words forever.

Sylus: Will you marry me Miss Hunter? You can say no if- MC: Of course I'll marry you

Yet again I'm tackling this man as soon as he slips that ring on. Need to be in his arms immediately. Expeditiously.

Zayne & Rafayel here…

[cherryrikis]

ONE LESS LONELY GIRL - 014 ! im one less lonely girl

PAIRING idols riki x fem reader

SYNOPSIS fans always point out the chemistry between you and riki, and it only continues to grow after you become mc’s together on music bank. but as your feelings rise, so does the tension. and people begin to notice, so you try not to let riki know how you feel. but unbeknownst to you, he feels entirely the same way.

authors note so thats a wrap! just like that, its over. this is technically the last official part bc ep15 is more like an epilogue/can be read as a standalone, but its still just as meaningful to the plot. i had so much fun writing this and i gained so much support and so many new moots. i love you all and thank you for staying here even though i struggled to update while juggling school and work. 💗

previous <> masterlist <> next

“i’m so sad to announce that today will be our last show together, as our contract has reached its end.” you read off the script, lightly patting your waterline with the pad of your pointer finger.

“but, i hope this won’t be the last time we see each other. i am very thankful for this opportunity.” riki spoke as he looked into the camera lens, before moving closer to link his arm with yours.

“this was newjeans’ y/n,” “and this was enhypen’s ni-ki! please look forward to our future projects. we may no longer mc together, but we will forever be a couple together. thank you everyone!”

the cameras stopped rolling, and the red light turned off which signaled the recording was over.

staff and crew rushed to the both of you, so you were immediately bombarded with baskets of fruit, chocolates, snd two flower bouquets.

“this is for a good few months of connecting together. thank you for your hard work and dedication.” the head of the staff greeted, as his assistants handed out your gifts.

“thank you sir. we look forward to seeing more of you in the future!” the two of you bowed, before leaving to head backstage.

“dani said she’s gonna come with everyone else to pick us up. they want to get dinner at that chicken spot to celebrate our contract ending.” you informed riki, turning to show the texts in the group chat as he finished changing out his stage outfit.

hyein! - ‘congrats, you’re free from the chains music bank had you bounded into!🥳🎉’

danii 💗 - ‘me and enjeans are gonna get u guys from work so we can get chicken. great job on mubank :)’

riki chuckled, before handing your phone back to you. “sunghoon and heeseung are gonna get so drunk. so, beware.” he emphasized.

“no worries. im stuck with you anyway.” you sighed, gently punching his shoulder.

“here’s to riki and y/n, for finally being free from kbs! i hope none of us ever have to mc again.” sunghoon toasted as he raised his glass, after jake poured everyone shots.

“for real. we barely saw you guys while you were signed to that contract.” minji nudged your shoulder.

hyein burst out laughing, almost spilling the drinks scattered around her place at the table. “if you guys weren’t dating, y/n would’ve been sobbing because she’d never see you again!”

“is.. is she, drunk?” sunoo raised a brow, gently pulling hyein’s hood over her head.

“sunoo! she’s underage! all i got her were 2 shirley temples.” danielle gasped.

“okay! enough. we’re in public.” riki announced. “baby? go ahead my love.” he gestured sweetly for you to make your speech.

“thanks ‘ki.” you smiled. “i’m pretty happy our managers decided to let us have a joint interview that day. if we didn’t, me and riki probably would’ve never met. so, i’m glad music bank happened. otherwise, i couldn’t call this kid here my boyfriend.” you spoke, moving to wrap your arms around riki in a soft hug.

“cheers!” everyone exclaimed in awe.

as your group members around you yelled out congratulatory speeches, all riki could think about was you.

because now that you could be in his arms in public with no repercussions, that was all that mattered.

you looked at him with a bright smile, and riki could feel his heart melt as your expression.

the world had one less lonely girl.

TAGLIST (italics = couldnt be tagged) @hannicorpse @luvvhaerin @chaevibes @en-verse @ren2jay @choppedballoondetective @heartheejake @imanalien143 @istglevi-gotmesimping @yndairy @eleanorheartschishiya @lonelylandofan @gweoriz @jaemified @onlyhyunjin @softpia @frecklesbrownies @riksaes @wensurr @rikifordmiami @brideslit @ant-onie @yumilovesloona @aeminju @hoonics @catecita @clampclover @rei4sunoo @addictedtohobi @rikidaze @baekxo07 @xotyla @melancholy-z @rikisgeef @jung1w0n @tocupid @onlyseung @i03jae @iheartshopping @istphanie @queenriki7 @academiq @1117promises @nctislifue @haechansbbg @rairaiblog @nabia-bia @pkjay @lixiebokie @hiekoo @r1kizerr @d-dilemma @kingofthekards @iilwji @hoonatic @woorcve @enhaz1

[p3sephone]

What is rightfully mine (Dark! Winter Soldier x reader).

Summary: you were running for your life since months after the Winter Soldier got free and started killing everybody inside of Hydra. When he found you, things didn't go as you expected.

Warnings: violence towards reader, forced kissing, unwanted touching, obsession, hints of killing people, implied non-con, crying and home intrusion. This is a dark story with dark themes, NO MINORS, only +18. I don't own this character.

Notes: Comments, likes and reblogs are always welcome and appreciated. Also, requests are open so feel free to ask! 🏵️

You sighed heavily, yet another tiring day at work was finally over. All you wanted to do was go home, throw yourself on the bed and lounge around doing literally nothing. Your head had been racing and frantic for months now, you needed a break at all costs. You knew that maybe that break wasn't the right choice at all, but you had to take it for the sake of your mental health. Months had passed since that day, you still remembered it as if it were yesterday, and you hadn't stopped since then.

You had continued to run away, change routines and schedules, always dress casually and always with your gaze on the ground. You couldn't let it find you again. It was a bad chapter in your life, when you worked with Hydra. You weren't a good person, you were aware of not being one and when you finally decided to become one, it was already too late.

So you didn't really believe that the Winter Soldier would give you any discounts once he found you, considering that you seemed to be at the bottom of his list of people to kill. All the others had been found dead in their homes, one after the other. They could have hired dozens of men for security and they had still come to a bad end because of the Winter Soldier. You knew that it was only a matter of time now, but you had to at least try. So you continued to hide, trying to live like a normal person. And in the end, you became a normal person.

The time outside of Hydra gave you time to reevaluate things, to change yourself and during this time you really thought that maybe things could get better. Even for that man who terrorized you.

You inhaled through your nose as you opened the door of your house and then closed it behind you. You only had time to turn around and your head was violently slammed into that same door, now closed.

"Вы пропустили меня? (Did you miss me?)" his voice remained the same as you remembered, no matter how little he said, it was composed and low. You held your head, slowly dragging it along the ground, it was throbbing with pain and your vision was blurry. The darkness was blending in with his black boots and his all-black attire. He had prepared himself just for you.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?" he bent down to your level as he said those words, and when you didn't dare give him an answer he yanked a handful of your hair with his vibranium arm, making sure you could look him straight in the eyes. That arm had always terrified you and you feared one day you would end up strangled by it, you truly feared that that day had now come.

"I'm sorry, soldier-" you didn't have any more time to speak, the winter soldier showed the same mercy that you showed him when you looked away while they tortured him. You knew well that this was your karma, it was what you deserved. Maybe now you were a good person, before no, you hadn't been especially with him. But you were so lucky and you didn't know it yet!

The winter soldier made you stand up by tugging your hair once more, then he pressed the light switch. His icy eyes scrutinized you with that frowning face, so full of hatred and anger. On the other hand, your eyes had tears in them and they threatened to come out not only because of the pain in your head, but also because of the guilt. And he noticed it.

"Oh… did you regret it? Are you sorry?" he emphasized the sentence you had said previously, and only then the tears fell. You squeezed his vibranium arm in the hope that he would loosen his grip just a little. You nodded with a sob, looking into his eyes as he wanted.

“Okay, show me.” You were shocked at the request and did nothing but frown at him, while he had a small smile on his lips. He gave you a hint, bringing his face close to yours and giving you a chaste kiss on the lips, then inviting you with his gaze to return the kiss. You swallowed nervously. Given your situation and the fact that you were now completely useless to Hydra, you had no choice.

So, you did as he wished. You leaned in and kissed his lips, not expecting him to return the kiss quickly and much more passionately than your clumsy one. It was as if he wanted to devour you, take everything from you and leave you with nothing. He finally released his grip on your hair, pushing you against the front door instead and deepening the kiss, before pulling away and resting his head on your shoulder. You were now shaking with terror: you weren't ready to die and you certainly weren't ready for this psychological torture.

"It's what I've wanted for years, and they've always denied me this reward. Mission, after mission, after mission… and I didn't see a trace of you. I hated being alone and you hated doing that job, you should thank me for killing everyone." he whispered close to your ear and you couldn't help but increase your crying and moans of fear. It was a fate worse than death, yours.

"But I don't want this…" you barely whispered, and you would have been lucky if he hadn't heard you. But he had. His attention returned to you and his vibranium hand gripped your jaw firmly.

"You're mine. You always have been, since months ago when you moved to this shithole of a city. You didn't stop being mine when you worked to make my life a living hell and despite everything you still have to finish thanking me for sparing you, and you didn't stop being mine even when you moved five months ago. I've always followed you, I've never lost my attention on you." his eyes narrowed and if possible, he seemed even bigger than he was before, while on the other hand your figure was getting smaller and smaller.

Your crying didn't satisfy the winter soldier's mood at all and didn't improve the situation, so he decided to do his own thing and kiss you again. This time your body tried to react and fight against him, but the fight ended when he decided to literally trap you with his body and trap both of your hands in his, doing what he thought was right with you. After all, you had always been his, it was time to show it to you.

[l-in-the-light]

So the SBS for newest volume was revealed and...

SBS corner isn't considered spoilers for me, but if it is for you, please skip this post, duh!

I just wanted to point out I was part of the camp that said it was Kizaru since the beginning, so even though it's not stated black on white (it's white on black, actually), I still think this is as close to a confirmation as we will ever get, so let me brag for a second:

Feels good, haha.

Now down to the nitpicks, so *why* did I think it was Kizaru from the start? (well, I did suspect Caribou too, but it's later revealed he was with Augur and Devon instead).

At first it was just a fight, Luffy vs Kizaru. He calls it "playing around" and Luffy declares that the same "playing around" is Luffy's job. It's important to remember that, because I think Kizaru realized he could use that for his own purposes.

Just when Saturn arrives and soon after Luffy loses G5, Kizaru's attitude changes to "this is not good". This change in situation was something he didn't consider to be desirable, despite that it tipped the scales in favour of the Marines.

Then Kizaru takes his sweet time when he realizes Luffy finally has reached his limit. I'm not saying this fight didn't take a toll on Kizaru, he was panting before at the very least, but let's not forget that if he moved now he would have to finish Luffy off. Seems like his original plan was to push Luffy beyond his limit before any other players (like Saturn) arrive.

"Someone gimme food"

Kizaru realizes the situation is rapidly escalating now and in all the wrong ways. Strawhats and the present-on-scene Vegapunks are all immobilized, Luffy run out of energy, Sentomaru got captured, Saturn is holding Bonney and giving order for Marines to shoot at her. One second of hesitation is enough for Bonney to lose her life. And all Kizaru can do now is to be worried about his dear friends and witness them dying. Or perhaps... he could help tip the scales a bit again.

And in next moment Saturn realized someone gave Luffy food. No one saw Luffy move away, no one is near him either, Strawhats are still immobilized btw (including Sanji and Franky). This thing could have been done only by Caribou or Kizaru, but Kizaru would be faster and indeed impossible to spot if he moved with his speed of light.

And we can see Kizaru also moved, he's no longer lying down but sitting instead. He doesn't say anything, but he has the "..." thought bubble that looks very distressed (the tore-up border of the bubble is betraying Kizaru's emotions in this scene). Is he perhaps thinking something like "I hope no one will figure it out" or "I think no one should have noticed"? Would be pretty fitting.

Overall it was a good plan, but Luffy didn't restore his strength in time to help Bonney. It was actually Kuma's unexpected arrival that saved her (very touching moment).

And that's Kizaru's only reaction to Kuma's arrival. His body language shows relief, but his words kinda contradict that.

Only after Kuma punches Saturn, Sanji, Franky and Vegapunk are "released" from the immobility spell, which causes Sanji to immediately collapse to the ground, apparently. This is the definitive proof that they couldn't have been the ones who helped Luffy before.

Kizaru's back to "playing around", openly declaring he just wants to test Strawhats growth. Very interesting, considering the situation worsened for the Marines. By all means he should be quick and down to business instead of playing around. Seems he made his decision of how to manage the situation: again, by stalling for time and observing how it all proceeds, while just resorting to "playing around".

Here though he declares something contradictionary to his behaviour from mere moments ago. Perhaps beause he's speaking to Saturn. He emphasized the point that too many people are around and they need to be quick. But when you're quick you might have to prioritize impact over efficiency (which leaves openings for possible escape - Kizaru wouldn't be able to guarantee every target is actually eliminated).

Kizaru probably still was hoping to avoid this result, but once he realized he can't save Vegapunk no matter what, he decides it's better if he kills him himself. At least it will be quick with his powers, you know? The least he can do for his friend is to relieve him from his suffering, make sure his death is a bit more humanitarian than slowly bleeding out. Before Saturn actually stabbed Vegapunk, Kizaru was not ready to make this decision btw, always choosing to do something else (go after Strawhats, engage in the fight with Luffy, lying down beaten up).

This scene further proves my point. Kizaru assures them this is a mercy killing that won't hurt a bit. Because he believes the only alternative would be a very painful death instead. Thankfully him betting on Luffy was a good move, because it's Luffy who stops him here. So it officially looks like Kizaru did everything he could to kill Kuma and Bonney, but the enemy stopped him, so the end result can't be blamed on Kizaru. He's doing that dance between stalling the fight and avoiding the worst case scenario for most of Egghead's arc.

"I'm in a real pickle now". Yes, he is indeed. Sanji is cute btw for offering him an easy way out, lol. Kizaru will still have to write that apology letter to Akainu anyway.

And finally Luffy sent him flying far, far away, and this time Kizaru doesn't even try to get up anymore. That's it for him. He had to kill Vegapunk with his own hands and I think he didn't expect how big of a toll it will take on him. Luffy in a way provided him another easy way out of the situation, because if Kizaru just stays here and hopes for the Strawhats to take Bonney to safety, then at least he would have saved her.

So this is what I believe Kizaru was trying to do all this time. Avoid killing Vegapunk somehow (though he knew there was a really slim chance for that, but a man can still hope, right?) and at the very least make sure Bonney won't die on Egghead. Kizaru indeed has a heart, but he also has to make sure not to lose face and he can't really disobey or ditch his responsibilities as a Marine Admiral. But he definitely wasn't lying when he said he was forced to kill his best friend, and he truly wished he wouldn't have to do that.

That being said, I wonder what's his plan from this point onward. Some people suggested he might retire after this, but I think somehow that would erase the whole point of his struggle here, it would make it lose it's meaning. But he definitely showed us a little bit of his rebellious side. Though we need to remember, he ended up being just a circumenstencial ally to Strawhats, at least at this point in time.

What's the moral of this story? NEVER TRUST A "..." THOUGHT BUBBLE. It hides secrets, every. single. time. If Oda delibaretely hides character's thoughts from us, but emphasizes it by using "..." thought bubble, then ask questions, dig deeper, there's something to discover there. Also I don't mean speech bubbles, just thought bubbles. This has been a thing in many other mangas, it's not just a One Piece visual storytelling gimmick. For example, Death Note used that device in exactly same way, pfff.

[sideprince]

This part of Snape's memories that he gives to Harry has been talked to death, but please indulge me while I dig it back up because meta rests for no man. Emphases in the below excerpt are mine:

The corridor dissolved, and the scene took a little longer to reform: Harry seemed to fly through shifting shapes and colours until his surroundings solidified again and he stood on a hilltop, forlorn and cold in the darkness, the wind whistling through the branches of a few leafless trees. The adult Snape was panting, turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or for someone … his fear infected Harry, too, even though he knew that he could not be harmed, and he looked over his shoulder, wondering what it was that Snape was waiting for - Then a blinding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air: Harry thought of lightning, but Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand. ‘Don’t kill me!’ ‘That was not my intention.’ Any sound of Dumbledore Apparating had been drowned by the sound of the wind in the branches. He stood before Snape with his robes whipping around him, and his face was illuminated from below in the light cast by his wand. ‘Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?' 'No - no message - I’m here on my own account!’ Snape was wringing his hands: he looked a little mad, with his straggling, black hair flying around him. ‘I - I come with a warning - no, a request - please -‘ Dumbledore flicked his wand. Though leaves and branches still flew through the night air around them, silence fell on the spot where he and Snape faced each other. ‘What request could a Death Eater make of me?’ ‘The - the prophecy … the prediction … Trelawney …’ ‘Ah, yes,’ said Dumbledore. ‘How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?’ ‘Everything - everything I heard!’ said Snape. ‘That is why - it is for that reason - he thinks it means Lily Evans!’ ‘The prophecy did not refer to a woman,’ said Dumbledore. ‘It spoke of a boy born at the end of July -‘ ‘You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down - kill them all -‘ ‘If she means so much to you,’ said Dumbledore, ‘surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?' 'I have - I have asked him -‘ ‘You disgust me,’ said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little. ‘You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?’ Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore. ‘Hide them all, then,’ he croaked. ‘Keep her - them - safe. Please.’ ‘And what will you give me in return, Severus?’ ‘In - in return?’ Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry expected him to protest, but after a long moment he said, ‘Anything.'

Firstly what stands out here is that that Snape is the first one to refer to Harry and James and not just Lily, not Dumbledore. Snape says, "he is going to hunt her down - kill them all" showing that from the outset he was aware of not just Lily's fate, but her husband's and son's as well. His warning to Dumbledore takes them into consideration too, so from the outset we see that Dumbledore's assumptions are likely biased.

It's Dumbledore who assumes Snape is only thinking about Lily and doesn't care about her family. Although Snape is clearly more invested in Lily, focusing on her as Voldemort's target when he first speaks, he doesn't exhibit the selfish tunnel vision Dumbledore accuses him of. In fact, immediately after Snape says "them all" it's Dumbledore who changes the conversation to be specifically about Lily again. It's understandable that Snape is more concerned about Lily - she's the one he grew up with and was friends with, although it's likely Dumbledore doesn't know this, and may never learn the full extent of Snape's relationship to her, not even to the extent that he shares with Harry in his final memories. Snape refers to her as Lily Evans, not Potter, likely because he's so used to Evans being her name, having spent his whole childhood knowing her by it. His relationship with James was one of victim to abuser, so it's understandable that in this moment of panic and anxiety, James Potter isn't the most important thing in Snape's mind.

It's important to how the dynamics between Snape and Dumbledore play out in this scene that Snape is terrified. He's described as "panting, turning on the spot" and his fear is so palpable that even Harry feels it, though he knows he's safe and in a memory where he can't be harmed. Snape is coming into this conversation out of desperation, and trusting a man who didn't seem to care much when Snape's life was threatened by a fellow student in his fifth year at Hogwarts. To Snape, Dumbledore is the man who let Sirius' prank slide even though it could have killed him. Years after this scene on the hilltop, when Sirius escapes from Azkaban, he still asserts with viciousness that Snape deserved to die just for being too nosy about him and his friends. So to Snape, Dumbledore is the man who let that attempt on his life slide, and who invited Sirius and James - both his attackers, as far as he's concerned - to join the original Order of the Phoenix.

To Snape, Dumbledore is someone who doesn't care if he lives or dies, and who trusts and respects people who, as far as Snape is concerned, are violent and ruthless. This is compounded by the time he's spent in Voldemort's ranks, where's he's seen firsthand what people like that - violent and ruthless - are capable of. He likely sees Dumbledore as a leader who is just as volatile as Voldemort. Since we know that Voldemort doesn't believe in light and dark, good or bad, only in power and weakness, we can assume that Snape has taken on some of these ideas. His perspective may also be informed by his experiences with the bullying of the Marauders, who claimed to hate his proclivity for "dark" magic while perverting innocent spells like scourgify to enact violence (if you've ever tried to eat soap as a kid, you can imagine how vile that might be, let alone if it's blocking the airflow in your trachea). So in Snape's eyes, Dumbledore is probably not the light to Voldemort's dark, but a rival wizard fighting for power, and therefore someone he likely assumes will resort to similar brutality.

As far as Snape is concerned, Dumbledore could strike him dead just for being there. And yet he walks into this meeting, the arrangement of which is already a mortal risk, knowing he might not leave it alive. His first words to the man are, "Don't kill me." Even if he were there just to plead for Lily's life and not care about her family, his willingness to sacrifice himself to save her is already an act of bravery and frankly, I think it's a much more complicated moral dilemma whether one can choose who to give their own life for than Dumbledore's harsh condemnation makes it seem. Can we expect a man to risk his life for a friend? That's a question with a complex and multi-faceted variety of answers. Can we expect him to risk his life for an enemy, or an abuser? That's a long and complex answer with even fewer clear conclusions.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, sees himself in Snape. We see through the HP series, especially in this reveal at the end, how intertwined his relationship with Snape became. We learn that Dumbledore spends his life carrying the guilt and pain of his sister's death and his direct or indirect role in it. It's a pretty common reading of his and Snape's relationship that Dumbledore understood the depth and irrevocability of Snape's regret and guilt firsthand. Knowing all this, it's hard to read Dumbledore's judgment of Snape on the hilltop, and his immediately conclusion that Snape is only interested in protecting Lily - despite warning that Voldemort intends to "kill them all" - as being objective. I read it as Dumbledore projecting his own guilt and anxiety onto Snape in that moment. In addition, as @said-snape-softly pointed out to me very aptly, the prophecy was overheard in the Hog's Head, which is run by Dumbledore's brother Aberforth, adding onto Dumbledore's personal baggage coming out in this moment. Dumbledore's own feelings are loaded and he makes assumptions about Snape's goals and motivations out of his own anxieties about himself.

And Snape lets him. He's been under Voldemort's thumb, a murderous sociopath who throws unforgivable curses around like most people sneeze. He's desperate and terrified and isn't going to argue with Dumbledore. Dumbledore says, "Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?" and Snape replies that he has. But as we've seen already, Snape has included Harry and James and Dumbledore - as the person with all the power and leverage in this conversation - has changed the subject to focus on Lily. Snape is in no position to argue about semantics in this moment. The same way he brought up Harry and James to Dumbledore only for them to be ignored by him, he may have brought them up to Voldemort only for him to react similarly.

Given what we know about Voldemort as a character, once he has decided to go after Harry and not Neville, there's no changing his mind. Any effort made to sway him would fail and only add the asker to the pile of bodies Voldemort leaves in his wake. James and Lily are both targets, because canonically they have defied Voldemort three times and are members of the Order fighting against his cause. Snape may be able to beg for Lily's life - and we see that Voldemort assumed it was because he "desired her" - but James' is almost impossible to argue on behalf of, even if he wanted to. Snape can't claim any intimate connection even if it's a lie, because James is in the Order and enough of an enemy to Voldemort that he was targeted on the basis of Trelawney's prophecy. The fact that Snape went to Dumbledore means that he is asking for Lily's whole family to be protected, not just her. It's not just extra insurance in case Voldemort decides to kill everyone in his path to Harry, it's an effort to save Lily and the people who matter to her as well. Snape knows that Dumbledore will give them a fighting chance where Voldemort won't.

When Dumbledore accuses Snape of not caring if they live or die, Snape says nothing. He doesn't confirm or deny this accusation, and as we've seen, he's terrified and Dumbledore has already twisted his words and judged him, so it's reasonable to assume Snape is worried that if he says the wrong thing, all will be lost. Dumbledore could have just accepted Snape's warning and told him to leave. He could have accepted the warning and asked why Snape gave it. Instead, he jumped to conclusions and threw them in Snape's face, a frightened man risking his life who learned quickly in this conversation that Dumbledore hates him and is judging him, and who learned while still at school that Dumbledore doesn't value his perspective or even his very life.

And then Dumbledore asks him, "what will you give me in return?" Snape is caught off guard, because as far as he knew, he was already doing Dumbledore a favor. He's offering him free information that will enable him to protect two of his Order members when the Death Eaters already outnumber them twenty to one, as Lupin said in OOtP. Again, Snape is risking his life - if Voldemort finds out he had this conversation with Dumbledore, he's definitely dead. As far as he knows, Dumbledore could kill him, as his opening sentence in this scene shows. And yet, Dumbledore turns this around - like the tactical, manipulative military leader he is - and posits the situation as being one in which he's doing Snape a favor by heeding his warning. As if he were choosing to protect Lily and her family for Snape's sake, not his own, and not theirs. Many years later, Dumbledore will ask Snape how many people he's watched die, and Snape answers, "lately only those I could not save." But in this moment on the hilltop, that's already what Snape is doing.

[celestesinsight]

Salaar Analysis!

Time and again, we were told in the movie about how dangerous Shouryangas were! How even if only one of them survives, they would come for revenge! Raja Mannar used the darkness of night to kill them all in their sleep. Even after thinking he had wiped out all the Shouryangas, he still lived in fear for 25 years, built walls and gathered an army. He was not unjustified in his fear too as Bhaarava and others were biding their time for revenge.

But it is interesting that all Deva, their true leader, cared about was Varadha, not revenge. When Aadhya asked Bilal if Deva knew that he was the rightful heir to the throne, he didn't reply. The movie ended with a suspense that Deva might have promised Varadha the throne, being unaware of his own claim.

I believe that Deva was fully aware of his identity. First of all, the scars on his back and sword ritual he performed during climax, proved that Deva's knowledge about its Shouryanga identity.

Secondly, only children survived the massacre. If Deva's birth and identity wasn't a public knowledge in the tribe, how could Bhaarava and others be aware of Deva's identity, with no surviving adults to tell them the secret.

Most of Deva's time in Khanshar was either spent with Varadha or sitting alone on the cliff, looking over the entire Khanshar. This fixation of Deva made me feel that Deva also wanted to take Khanshar from Raja Mannar as revenge, not for himself but for Varadha.

Varadha had given up his right to be a Dora and most probably his only chance of being his father's heir by throwing away the bracelet.

It was clear from the first scene that Varadha, being the child of the second wife, didn't enjoy the same power and prestige as Rudra. But Varadha could have a chance at being the heir if he could prove himself stronger than Rudra. Because in Khanshar strength prevails over everything. But he gave up his chance when he threw away the bracelet.

And Deva understood it very well. When Varadha threw away the bracelet and Ranga's father picked it up, Deva lowered his head in helplessness. He couldn't bear to see Varadha giving away his rights and only hope of life with dignity for his sake. He looked up only when he heard his Amma cry and went to hug her and cried in her arm. He was crying due to his inability to not only protect his mother, but also Varadha. That's why he shuddered when Varadha touched him to assure him of his support. There was a rage and determination in his eyes when Varadha asked them to leave immediately. And he didn't promise his Amma that he would never return to Khanshar, but promised Varadha instead.

That was the moment, Deva stopped being a person and became a weapon in Varadha's hands. Baba and Varadha realised this and named him Salaar. It was clear from Amma's dismay that she realised it too.

And that was the moment, Deva decided to give the entire Khanshar to Varadha and he was only waiting for Varadha to ask for it. That's why he asked why he didn't call him sooner, when Varadha questioned why he didn't come sooner. Deva was waiting for the last 25 years for Varadha to decide he wanted the throne and call him.

The scene when Deva stepped into the gates of Khanshar again was juxtaposed with a young Deva stepping out of Khanshar. When young Deva was stepping out he was looking back with determination and rage. His dialogue that walls were made to prevent people from getting in, not from getting out, further emphasized his understanding of Raja Mannar and his character.

During the climax fighting scene, right after Varadha declared that he wanted everything he was looking at, the scene changed to Raja Mannar telling Radha Rama that everyone was after his throne and then showed Deva's devilish smile, the reaction to Varadha's declaration. His reaction in the scene was like Varadha had finally said the words he was waiting to hear for so long.

Thiru was not correct, when he said every Shouryangas wanted revenge except Deva. Deva wanted revenge too, but not by burning Raja Mannar with his throne like Bhaarava and other Shouryangas. But his method of wreaking vengeance on Raja Mannar was to take his prized throne and give it to the son, whom he considered as a disgrace and let bullied since childhood. The son who was supposed to be his most promising legacy, if only he wasn't loyal to his most dangerous enemy.

In the childhood scenes in 'Sooreede' song, when Varadha ate the morsel of food meant for Deva, he playfully charged at him. But then in the next sequence, he himself gave Varadha his share. Varadha never had to take anything from Deva, he would give it to him voluntarily, be it his share of food or the throne of Khanshar.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I feel like this is a horrible thing to say, but when I'm shown examples of when Marinette is having a hard time, it's hard for me to feel bad for her.

It's not like I think she deserves it and I certainly don't draw any joy from it, but I just don't feel any sympathy for when she's struggling.

My theory is that the show has toted her so much as the all-important one-and-only, all while ignoring everyone else's important moments and struggles, that I'm struggling to feel sympathetic for when Marinette is going through some sort of misfortune. Every single one of her struggles are always highlighted in such a way that it's supposed to be this incredibly-important thing that makes Marinette look so sad, but then she's comforted and validated until eventually, this struggle eventually gets resolved and she's all happy again.

But then there's Adrien. No closure about his mom, his dad, Natalie—nothing. He's slapped with all the responsibility of comforting and validating Marinette, who eventually gets her personal conflicts resolved without lasting impact.

I'm not saying Marinette hasn't done anything to comfort and validate Adrien, but his conflicts just feel largely brushed aside and/or downplayed in comparison to Marinette's, which are highlighted and emphasized as significant events.

I don't know if this makes me a bad person or something, and I do kind of feel bad about it, but I just struggle to sympathize with her when the show tries to make us feel bad for her.

Marinette is a fictional character. It's totally fine if the bad writing has completely turned you off to her and drained you of sympathy because the entire purpose of her existence is to entertain people. She's not some meaningful representation that you should want to connect with and understand to improve your world view or something like that. She's just a poorly written teenager in a bad kids show. As long as you're able to acknowledge that fact and own that this is mainly a writing issue - and it sounds like you are - I wouldn't stress about it. The writers have done a lot to make her unlikable! I totally get why someone would not want to watch a show starring her canon self. I struggle at times and I genuinely like Marinette! Her writing is one of the many reasons I just don't know if I'm going to watch season six.

I don't defend Marinette because she's done nothing wrong. I defend her because her faults are so clearly just bad writing and not some grand plan for the character where she's going to learn something, which makes me feel protective of her because I genuinely love the base character concept and what she could have been. It's annoying to see people treating her like she's the problem and not the writing because she's literally not allowed to learn lessons and change, so of course she keeps coming across worse and worse! Her flaws are genuinely fine for a serialized story, they just have no place in an episodic one where the characters stay largely stagnant.

For example, nothing about the season five conflict and final naturally follows the BS season four conflict where she supposedly learned to trust Chat Noir. As much as I don't agree that with that synopsis of what the conflict was, it is how Ladybug sums it up in the final:

Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost ALL the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian EVER! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you, I lied to you, I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of EVERYTHING! Cat Noir: We're gonna get them back one by one…until the very last. And we'll make sure this never happens again.

And yet none of this seems to impact season five. Chat Noir and Ladybug maintain all their secrets and they do absolutely nothing to track down the missing miraculous because the plot won't let them even though it really doesn't fit Marinette's character. She certainly hasn't given up controlling things because, once again, the show literally will not let her do that. The rare episodes where it happens always see her punished like when Alya handing out miraculous lead to SentiNino which almost lead Gabriel to knowing Ladybug's secret identity. Adrien suffers for similar reasons. So does Alya and so many other characters! I totally get why someone would not be able to look past canon's writing since it's not like the flaws are minor. I have the same problem with both Lila and Nathalie.

I just cannot stand Nathalie even though I know that she's as much of a victim as Marinette and all the other characters. None of Nathalie's flaws are her fault because she doesn't exist. It's just that Nathalie's bad writing hits me in a way that makes me despise her while Marinette's hits in a "protect and defend" way. There's no wider logic here. It's just a matter of what characters I connected with enough to look past the bad writing. The type of fanfics I read probably also helped...

My only real piece of advice on this topic is to watch your mental health and take a Miraculous break or even leave the fandom all together if you notice that your Marinette hate (or hate of anything in canon) is really messing with you. I've mentioned before that I'm debating about watching season six and a big reason why is that I don't know if it's going to be good for my mental health. Lila's writing has consistently got on my nerves, but she was a minor enough character that I was still having a good time. Given that Lila is our new big bad with the added bonus of how shitty season five was and the show may have hit a point where it's just not fun for me anymore.

Previously, I had issues with the overall writing, but genuinely enjoyed watching the show as the writers are pretty good at short form story telling, so canon was a nice mix of genuinely enjoyable moments and writing issues that were fun to talk about. That was not true for season five and I just can't picture how it will be true for season six. The only reason I'm even considering it is because I watch the show with my SO and he has a lot of fun listening to me rant about bad media, so I may still have a good time with season six. It would not be the first time that I suffered through a piece of bad media for the sake of a loved one who really wanted someone to rant about it with.

I'm not the kind of person who will tell people they're not welcome in a fandom unless they like X. That sort of gate keeping is ugly and often straight up bullying, so don't read this as me saying that you have to like Marinette to enjoy the show or that you need to disengage if you don't like X% of canon. As long as you're having fun and not forcing your dislike on others by sending clearly unwelcome asks or engaging with sugar posts in an antagonistic way or anything like that, then I'm going to defend your right to be in fandom even if we personally aren't going to get along and need to stay in our separate fandom bubbles.* All I'm saying is that it's important to know when to disengage from a piece of media. To keep track of when something starts consistently bringing you more sorrow than joy. When that line is crossed? It's time to move on.

The sad fact is that, while you may utterly adore a piece of media, you have no control of what that media will do, so you need to be very careful about trusting your mental health to total strangers. It's part of why I tend to be so critical of media. Analysis and plot pitches like I do on this blog are genuinely fun for me, but they're also a much healthier way to engage with a story than just trusting it to be good and getting burned when it isn't. There's a reason I avoid theory crafting. I've gotten really into that in the past and wound up hurt because I put way too much faith in strangers who ended up sucking at their job.

*Btw, the line about separate fandom bubbles was not aimed at you. It's just a general statement about how fandom works. All are welcome, but all do not need to directly interact. Curating your fandom experience is important self care. Blocking someone isn't some sort of value judgement. It's just sometimes a thing you need to do in order to keep from seething when you accidentally see their asinine hot takes.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The salt of life

Disclaimer: This makes no sense, it's just a list of Sydcarmy musings and analogies but I wanted to share it anyway.

In culinary metaphors

Syd is affecting Carmy like TABLE salt affects mixes in bakery. She enhances Carmy’s flavor, but does not change it. That’s not always a good thing. It all depends on finding the right balance and timing and ensuring the ingredients are correctly mixed because otherwise, the whole thing is ruined.

Salt is dangerous. As a matter of fact, it can kill you.

Salt is basically sodium. Sodium is poison when incorrectly used, but it also makes the ❤️ beat when its levels are balanced out with the potassium in our blood.

In medical terms

Syd is the heart.

Carmy is the circulatory system that would dry up and die unless the heart irrigates it.

The Bear, their place, is the blood. The family.

What makes the heart beat is electricity.

They generate this power. This spark. And it can get out of control, like all sparks, of course.

That’s the chemistry they create when they are together → Beating.

None make sense without the other, BECAUSE THEY FORM A SYSTEM, is you separate the veins and arteries from the heart and the blood, they are simply lifeless. Isolated they don't make much sense.

THEY ARE A SYSTEM. THE MAIN SYSTEM.

How that system works

She lit the spark in him and gave him a heart when he was used to being a robot who only worked and smoked the competition.

Sydney could definitely work without Carmy, but at this point, it wouldn't make sense for her. She would feel lifeless, even if she wins 100 stars elsewhere. Her place is The Bear, the restaurant and the chef. Because that's what she chose with her heart.

Carmy has worked and thrived without her and wouldn't do it again unless it's out of spite, just to show her.

However, I don't think it'll come to that like it once did with Michael, or his parents, he has learned that lesson the hard way by now.

Carmy works as a SYSTEM, as part of something bigger than him, if he becomes isolated, S3 Carmy takes the wheel. He doesn't work like that, he crashes and burns.

But during most of S3 the "spark" Syd ignited in him, the one that got the blood flowing again, gave him a heart, a purpose, where there was only a hurt man who felt so much pain that couldn't even express it and thus, sublimated it in the form of a work addiction and functional depression, and therefore couldn't overcome it either, got out of control.

The SYSTEM was broken, because the elements that formed it attempted to work separately. There was no synergy, just energy that was out of balance. Not completely, but mostly.

Back to the salt

I have already gone over the analogy between Carmy and onions, acid, etc. Most in the fandom have, but here's a reminder of what I think about that:

So, the result of mixing culinary purpose salt (table salt) with acid ingredients is a WEAKER ACID.

We can all agree on Carmy being "intense", right?

Well, when in contact with her he can calibrate himself better.

I emphasize "contact" because when they are OUT OF TOUCH, the effect is almost instantaneous and painfully obvious in Carmy, which has always been, and in S3 it started to become more apparent in her too, as you can see in these previous entries:

They belong together to balance each other out, when there's this distance between them, that we saw in S3, THEY ARE IMBALANCED.

Salt is the balancer ingredient in any recipe. It enhances what needs to be enhanced and neutralizes what needs to be neutralized if used correctly

But salt on its own is no good, it needs to work as part of a recipe, a dish, A SYSTEM.

She's the salt, his salt, the one that brought flavor back to his life, and that's why his story re-started the day she came into his life. Carmy and all that he represents, the restaurant he inherited, the family in it, the family business that Cicero keeps funding, the extended family now Syd found at The Bear, is the system. He is a system that needs to be balanced and sometimes neutralized. Salt is the main ingredient for him, because he lacks of it, he's acid.

Bonus track: Le Chatelier's principle

I have mentioned this before but it bears repeating→ When her dishes were out of balance it was always because of the "acid" ingredient, which means she's outta balance too. Carmy doesn't balance her, he doesn't have that effect on her. In chemistry, acids tend to dissolve salt BUT they can create NEW SALTS too (Le Chatelier's principle). She's fighting this because she knows that once she fully lets Carmy in, it's gonna be the end of the world as she knows it. She won't be able to fight it much longer after this breaking point ↓

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[oxymorayuri]

𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝟷𝟿

𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟

𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟 𝐷. 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝐿𝑎𝑤 ✘ ♀ 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓: nisir0

Story: The princess of Tanata

[Long Fic]

➽ masterlist

Spoiler: nope

Warnings: nope

slowburn with plot

Wordcount: 3535

Text in italics emphasizes the reader’s thoughts

Bold and italic text emphasizes Law's thoughts *~*

Tagging: @slytherinambitious - @norasincubi - @cottoncandyloverrrr - @one-piece-frvr7 - @hopelesslover06 - @chillerkiller - @sassyyassi

After waking up this morning, you decided against going back to the palace and made the decision to rather conquer the old ruins with Law, which you had talked about the night before.

Strangely enough, you are sure that you will uncover the secrets of this extremely well protected ruin... together with Law.

“Here, take my hand.” With a smile, you accept Law's help and let him pull you onto the stone wall. With the new view in front of you, you both see what kind of complicated structure was hiding behind this wall...

[A/N: Hello my little sweethearts, it's been a long time since I showed any examples of the surroundings. Of course I firmly believe in your imagination, but here is a small example of how I imagine the ruin and the labyrinth. The pictures are made with AI and AI didn't get the labyrinth quite right, but it's better than nothing :D]

“Apparently the labyrinth changes every five minutes.” Analyzes Law. Given the size of the labyrinth, it will be difficult to keep your orientation. Although you can see the end of the labyrinth from where you stand right now, this huge maze separates you from your actual destination...

"Well then, let's go into the maze!" And with that sentence, you jump down to the start, with Law close behind you.

Even if you have no problems solving the puzzles together, you will always find yourself back at the beginning of the labyrinth. No matter how the massive walls move, you can't make any real progress.

Law had the idea that every time your way leads to a dead end, you should place a sign on the wall before you continue, to monitor how far you have come.

Since the maze is constantly moving, the order of the puzzles you have to solve also changes, always sending you through unknown corridors that you have not yet discovered, until you come to an wall blocking your way completely.

To your dismay, you come to the conclusion that you never really get any further… Because the new paths, after a dead end, will always lead you back to the beginning...

On the wall you were standing on before, you look breathlessly at the constantly moving maze. You have tried to speed through the maze, but whenever you faced a new puzzle before you could move further, a new dead end was already waiting around the corner.

Law keeps watching the maze as you recover from the constant running.

"Judging from the layout, we don't seem to have enough time to get to the end. Maybe we need to wait for the right moment to enter the maze?"

At that very moment, the walls are aligned in a way where the signs you placed form a line.

"Do you mean a moment like this?" You look at him excitedly as if you've discovered a clue, hopefully one that will take you further.

Once again, between the massive walls of stone, you make your way past the puzzles until you reach the place where you were expecting a new puzzle, but instead there is just a dead end in front of you...

Exhausted, you sink to the floor. Despite your confidence at the beginning, you now fear that even with the help of Law you won't get to your destination.

You run your hands through your face in distress... none of this makes any sense!

"I don't understand…" you mutter to yourself as you lose all hope.

“WHY CAN'T WE GET THROUGH THIS DAMNED MAZE???!” you scream and your voice echoes into the distance.. Law, visibly confused too, looks at the wall blocking the way in front of you.

“…We're not supposed to get through the maze…” Law speaks as if he has finally understood the mazes concept. He looks around, examining the walls for clues, but apart from the traces of time, there is nothing to be seen.

“What do you mean?” You are exhausted and unable to go any further. All you want is for the puzzles to come to an end. Law turns to you, his hand on his chin and thinking hard.

"I bet that no matter how fast we go, no matter when we enter the maze, we'll never get through it…" - “Huh?! But that's the only way to the ancient ruin…" His words don't seem logical to you and with some struggle you get on to your feet.

Once again, Law places a sign on the wall and after it was time for the maze to move, you both were no longer surprised that the way lead you back to the beginning...

So you go back onto the stone wall, which gives you a perfect overview of the maze and check where your latest sign is.

"Look at the signs Princess-ya…" Your eyes follow the direction Law is pointing at. Right before your eyes, you see the same line created by your signs. But after a closer look, you notice something new.

"The signs we have drawn are now a complete row, that runs horizontally through the entire labyrinth…" You are surprised…

“Not only that... These were the dead ends we were facing, but that row never opens, instead another wall opened which only led us back to the start…" Your eyes watch skeptically as all the walls move except the ones you have marked.

"So you're telling me that we've only been moving in this half of the maze the whole time?" Your finger points to the area in front of the marked row and Law nods at you in agreement. You look at him as if you were going crazy and laugh slightly hysterically.

“If you look closely you will see that the second half isn't even moving…” With this new insight, however, only more questions arise…

“Maybe there's some mechanism that makes the second half of the maze move?” - "Maybe…" He replies. Together you rack your brains, as this appears to be another puzzle you have to solve.

"But looking at the signs, we've been already in front of every dead end and most likely walked every path, but I haven't noticed anything that could be a mechanism…" In fact, Law has a completely different idea and is strongly convinced that you both have to find a hidden path outside of the maze.

“I guess you're right, I didn't notice anything either…” Your eyes roam around. If the labyrinth isn't the path to take, which way should you go? Or maybe you need to create a new path?

"You know Law, all those puzzles had one thing in common... I always had to use my powers…” - “The flowers!” Law blurts out.

He freezes briefly and seems surprised by his own volume. Clearing his throat with reddened cheeks, he tries to distract you from how childishly he has been behaving, but instead of finding it childish, you find yourself liking the otherwise observant Law more and more.

Back at the puzzles, you try to figure out how you can use your powers. Even though the puzzles were quite different, in the end you always had to bring a flower, which was planted on the altar, to blossom.

“… Mhmmhm, okay…! The ruins usually block all devil fruit powers…” You talk to yourself and circle around.

For many years, an unknown force has surrounded the ruins, making it impossible for Devil Fruit users to use their abilities. The knowledge behind these walls is not to be gained through destruction or power. The only way to obtain the island's legacy is through knowledge itself.

Since most of the information is related to the Taimu taimu fruit, you can only use your abilities under certain circumstances, but you cannot use them freely.

“What a hassle. If I could use my powers freely, thousands of ideas would come to my mind, but no, of coooourse I can't use them...” You tousle your hair and have to stop yourself from wanting to pull your hair out in frustration.

Law is watching you, while you're going crazy during your monologue, trying to keep the corners of his mouth down but while you are at your wit's end, swearing at your ancestors, he can't suppress his grin. (You're both such dorks.)

Luckily for him, you're too busy to see that he's having a great time watching you.

“Wait a minute princess-ya… maybe there's some kind of device like the altars in the maze?” You stop in mid stride and look at him with wide eyes.

"Well of course!!!" you literally shout in his face and shake his shoulders. Law, who is obviously surprised by your sudden attack, doesn't flinch. He lets you have your moment and once again catches himself unable to take his eyes off your laughter.

“That's it! Clearly!” You jump around like a bouncy ball, looking for a mechanism that will allow you to create a path into the ruins. Law shakes his head at your behavior and joins the search.

And who would have thought it but the mechanism you were looking for the whole time, was on the same stone wall you were standing on. Together you remove the plants which are hiding a panel, picturing two hands with flowers and without hesitation you place your hands on top of it. Excited you look around to see what happens.

High above the maze, twining vines and blooming flowers grow into a beautiful bridge that starts at your feet and leads all the way to the ruins.

You leap into the air with joy... you have never managed to get through this damn maze and thanks to Law, you now know that this was never the right way anyway... After your little dance, you jump without thinking into Law's arms, who almost falls off the stone wall with you and hug him tightly.

"This is all thanks to you Law!" He awkwardly strokes your back while you thank him over and over again.

After a heartfelt embrace, you rest your forehead against his and close your eyes. Law, on the other hand, is completely unaware of what's going on and a soft pink blush appears on his cheeks.

What the hell is she doing?! Is all he can think of.

While he struggles with himself, trying not to touch you in inappropriate places, goosebumps spread across his back because your delicate hand rests on his neck.

For you, it's just a gesture between loved ones and a demonstration of the respect you have for Law, nothing unusual in your culture... but for him, It's beyond confusion...

“How can I thank you, Law?”

Thank him? He laughs a little nervously. For now, he would be very grateful if you would let go of him so his heart can calm down, but he cannot bring himself to say those words. Rejecting you doesn't feel right and as long as no one sees the two of you, it doesn't really bother him. He thinks.

“Ahhh, it's no big deal. Now let's finally go into this ruin.” He skillfully changes the subject and it works. You are very excited and quickly break away from him and sprint along the long bridge. With Law close behind you, you run along the long flower bridge while it continues to form and flourish in front of you.

You pause before stepping onto the last few stone steps leading to the ruin, your heart pounding with excitement. You carefully enter the sacred site of your ancestors, your heart beating faster, but not out of fear.

You are amazed and overwhelmed by the huge walls that neither time nor the weather has been able to tear down.

You carefully enter a kind of long corridor, your breathing is shallow, and the only sound to be heard is your footsteps echoing along the high stone walls. You can't see a thing in this dark place and you don't know where the path is leading, it's as if the darkness is drawing you in.

Without being able to avoid it, you step on a stone that sinks in a bit and you hear a strange mechanism moving in the walls. You cling to Law's arm in the darkness, feeling scared and insecure. You look around in the dark, but your eyes can't make out anything, nothing at all.

To your surprise, no trap is triggered, instead the long hallway is being lit up, bit by bit.

“Look, Princess-ya.” Law's gaze is fixed ahead and in the distance you can see the end of this hallway. You can make out some kind of hall. You look up at Law, who smiles at you reassuringly, which gives you courage and you nod at him. Together you stride down the hallway.

On the sides are numerous paintings describing stories and legends. With careful fingers, you brush along the wall, trying to understand the stories. Few inscriptions explain in bits and pieces, with each step further, what is protected in this ruin. There are stories you've never heard of, and one thing is repeated over and over again.

“The Eye of Chronos…” your voice barely a whisper. Law, who was just looking at another wall painting, turns to you because of your voice and steps to your side. Curiously, he looks at the mural over your shoulder. He can't read the symbols but he understands the painting.

In the middle is a person portrayed, left and right are doors with different worlds behind them. Both of you look at the picture in confusion. Even after all your guesses about the wall paintings, you are uncertain what to expect. While you memorize every picture on the walls in your mind, you slowly make your way to the end of the hallway.

With every step you take towards the bright room, your heartbeat quickens. You have to narrow your eyes as the oncoming light grows brighter. While you shield your eyes from the harsh light, Law puts his hand on your back and points forward.

“Princess-ya, look over there!” You cautiously peek through your fingers and when you finally see what lies before you behind all the light, your hand drops to your side.

So what could it be? A Poneglyph…

Without further hesitation, you run to the massive cube and decipher the symbols. You translate every single sentence while Law examines the stone with the same curiosity.

“Now I understand, Law…“ Your voice is a bit hesitant at first, but then it fills with clarity. You hastily go to another place where you read a certain line and put your finger on it.

“The Eyes of Chronos is not an object or some kind of device, as I first thought, it is an ability.” You catch sight of Law's face, somewhat taken aback. You are overwhelmed by what this stone wants to teach you here.

“An ability?“ He raises his eyebrow. That makes sense to him, but what exactly does it mean?

“What can the Eyes of Chronos do?” He whispers as if guarding a secret. You go around to the other side of the poneglyph and repeat its words:

“The eyes of Chronos see every place, at every time, and wherever they are…” Your voice echoes through the hall with intensity. Law doesn't understand everything yet, but he senses something. Then you turn to him, which takes his breath away for a brief moment. With a smile on your lips, you look at him full of knowledge.

“The writing says that those who are worthy can gain a special ability, and this huge block behind me is practically a description and instruction of that ability.” You point behind you with your thumb. You take a seat on the floor and lean against the cube.

Law raises his eyebrows, he knows by now that it is a special ability, but what it can do, remains unclear. He waits quietly for you to continue with your speech.

You hold your hand in front of your eyes and tilt your head back. You are actually getting a little emotional from what you have read. You take a deep breath before your lips can even start to tremble…

“With the eyes of Chronos, it is possible for me to see different places and to enter them as well. It is like opening a door in space and time and then… then you are just… there… at the place I visualize.” You are quite stunned.

“Does that mean you can travel anywhere, no matter how far?” He is noticeably shocked. That's an amazing ability. You nod at him while continuing to hide your face.

Law crouches down next to you and puts a hand on your knee. You were so brave and eager to learn just a short time ago, and now you seem so quiet?

“That's it, Law…” You can't avoid the tremor in your voice anymore, but there's a smile on your lips. Because you're happy.

“This is what I was looking for. I knew it wasn't just a stupid fairy tale!” You lower your hand and look into Law's eyes.

“My mother used to read me a fairy tale in which the hero could travel to different places… Stories about him being on an island, high in the clouds with real angels… Or a city under water with creatures that resemble humans but can live underwater like fish… There were countless places he went and as a child I always wished I could visit those places too.” While you dwell in your memories, Law's eyes widen. The places you are talking about are more than familiar to him…

“y/n-ya…“ He addresses you by name. Unused to hearing your name from someone who isn't a member of your family, you look up at him.

“These places, they really exist.” Your eyes widen in wonder. If places like this await you outside, even if they're only remotely as described in your books, then you have to see them!

“Law, with this ability, I'm one step closer to leaving this island!“ Your grin makes him feel a sudden tug in his chest. In his opinion, it would be better if you stayed protected. But why?... Surely because your abilities would be dangerous in the wrong hands.

“What do you mean, you're one step closer? What else?” He studies your sad face, isn't it enough just to keep coming back here for the ritual?

“I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to my people. I have to protect them, you know?” Your eyes gaze deeply into his. He knows exactly what it feels like, to make it your duty to protect your loved ones, remembering his crew and how often he left them behind to avoid getting them into trouble.

“I see. So you still have to find a way to keep your island safe...” He leans back and gets up. Perhaps he will be lucky and you won't find a way to leave the island, but who is he to entertain such thoughts?

“I'll definitely come up with something!” You jump up and clench your fist in victory.

“However, I first have to learn this ability…“ You walk around the cube and try to figure out how to control the Eyes of Chronos.

“Didn't it say that you have to prove yourself worthy?” Law asks, still standing in the same place and thinking. That's right, but you thought you were already worthy of the knowledge… after all, you made it into this ruin…

“Hey Law, come and lend me a hand.” With his help, you climb onto the cube and, as you had expected, there is a small altar here too. Once again, there are these moulds in which you can place your hands.

You move your hands carefully. What will happen if I am not worthy of such power?

As your hands touch the stone, you are overcome with an oppressive feeling. It's as if all your strength is being sucked out of you. Your entire life passes before your eyes, with both beautiful and memorable moments, as well as tragic ones.

Long forgotten and suppressed memories emerge before your eyes. For the first time, you see the moment when your parents died.. with your very own eyes.

All of a sudden, your eyes can see everything.

Exhausted, you break away from the stone as it seemed that it was over. Your ears are ringing and your vision is blurred, the only thing you can hear is your heartbeat. Suddenly, Law comes into your view. He grabs you by the shoulders, worried, but you can only see him as a blur...

After this state subsides and your breathing normalizes, Law quickly examines your body for signs of impending unconsciousness, but you seem to be fine again.

“Law, I think I passed the test...” You ignore how he examines your eyes, checks your pulse and body temperature. He puts his hands on his thighs and looks at your face with a concerned expression.

“You think so?” You nod weakly at him and get up. You're a bit shaky on your feet, so Law supports you and you raise a hand.

“Yes, I do… and now we'll find out.”

You swing your hand and a kind of shiny crack forms in the air. Bits and pieces of fragments come off, showing you more of what is behind it and what you can see resembles your room in the castle. Full of amazement, Law looks at this unusual phenomenon.

He walks behind the crack and looks around to see what is there, but even behind it, all he can see is your room. A little tired, you reach your hand out to him.

“Let's go home, Law…” He hurries back to you before you collapse into his arms. Exhausted, and together you walk through the crack and end up in your room…

Ohoho, it's getting exciting and I'm looking forward to write the next chapters. Get ready for innocent romance and upcoming danger...

Kiss kiss, your yuri

➽ Next chapter (Not available yet)

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Analyzing Blowing kisses

Inspired by @angel-lusions post and my earlier post.

Because analyzing the song confirms that syd carmy are endgame.

I love that the song seems to be from Carmy's perspective.

Choose to enjoy

One's time by the water

(If the song writer Jennifer Castle, was inspired by seasons 1 and 2, Carmy spends time by the water to gather his thoughts in 1x03.)

And let one's future flow

Out on and in her honor

(Carmy early on carmy is thinking of his future with syd. He wants to change the chemistry with Sydney)

( they only knew each other for 6 months and he proposes a partnership-his future flows because of Sydney)

No words to fumble with

I'm not a beggar to language any longer

It's a state of mind

Only a god could come up with

And don't get it twisted

My heart's still in it

My dedication's a star

(Even if he's distant from her mentally and emotionally the star should show how dedicated he is and how focused he is on sydney)

Finally

And it shines on our differences

And there's love in the mean time

Enough said.

My theory sorta: Jennifer Castle mentioned that everything fell into place with the song played on the show. Things fell into place because Senior and Storer often emphasized how important music is in the show. They were waiting for the perfect episode and moment to play the song.

So, they had a whole season to decide on the moment when they'll play "Blowing Kisses." And the scene chosen is a moment where Carmy is trying to find inspiration again and we look back at the times when he was inspired. He's struggling to figure out ideas. Remember, earlier in this episode, he makes a sauce inspired by her headscarf, and even his words fumble in the same episode. Because inspiration and his future flows in Sydney.

Carmy's true talent and love for cooking will shine when he stops overthinking and lets himself feel that inspiration. Because what's really fun for Carmy is when he's inspired in the inspiration on the show= joy and amusement- the answer to Carmy's contentment.

Carmy is inspired by Sydney. She is the meaning of the montage in apologies, and he just doesn't realize she's the muse when they work together. Not only is she a muse for his work, but she also inspires him outside of work.

Richie: So how do you do it?

Jessie: I think I surround myself with people better than myself.

Richie: What about when you're not at work?

Jessie: I didn't mean at work.

Jessie words connect to Carmy and his future hinges on allowing his feelings for Sydney to surface. That's why an episode titled "Tomorrow"- a episode about carmys past and future concludes with Sydney savoring the best meal she's ever had—because after Mikey, who was his reason for cooking, it's the future that Sydney holds, and she's his purpose.

Saying all of this to say that these are the moments that I think inspired Jennifer and Chris, and why I still believe that Sydcarmy are endgame, or at least it's true that they love each other.

[rey-jake-therapist]

So far ever since S2 ended, I been watching ao3 and the haladriel fanfics have been growing. It's amazing. We're getting so fed. Meanwhile on X Antis are coping hard about Cele/born and his return, which is whatever, it will happen anyways, but now it's like they're demanding they want the S3 arc to revolve around him and Galadriel like Sauron is some side character (lol). It sounds like they want what haladriel had in S1, which was purposely directed in a way to make the viewer ship the two characters because lore-wise, most people wouldn't automatically think of them in a relationship. But whatever headcanons they come up with their reunion, it's their business. The weird part is tho, they always like to latch onto this idea that Gal was this poor, innocent elf who never wanted any part or involvement with Halbrand, and they're just now emphasizing the part where he lost control and tried to kill her (while again, cognitive dissonance blinds them to the part where she was trying to kill him first) It's always pretty funny watching antis and their double standards with violence and killing between men and women.

It's amazing that the ship gets bigger ! It seems that the Haladriel finals made a significant impression on many social media users who didn't watch the show before.... It's good, very news !

Lol, It's actually hilarious to see this character suddenly become so popular, while Tolkien himself didn't care that much about the guy, and certainly didn't write Galadriel and Celeborn's marriage as this "epic love story" that these people imagine.

Whatever floats their boat, but if they seriously think that their reunion will get as much screen time as Haladriel season 1 did, they're going to be disappointed. Galadriel and Halbrand's story took much screentime because it was a part of a bigger story : how did Sauron deceive everyone, including Galadriel, and got to Eregion where he could forge his rings. The romantic bits was just a nice bonus !

(Almost) nobody wants a Galadriel/Celeborn rom-com in season 3, (almost) nobody cares, because it will have zero impact on the overall story. Halbrand and Galadriel's story had to be told to understand what would happen next. If not for Arwen, Galadriel could be remain single that it wouldn't change anything to the overall plot : she needs Celeborn only because she must have Celebrian, so Elrond can marry her and have Arwen. Sorry guys but he's just not important, except for Galadriel's personal happiness. I'm not saying their love story doesn't matter at all, but it's not enough important to hijack the overall plot of TROP !

And I say that as someone who wants Celeborn in the show, because I love Galadriel and I think she deserves some peace of mind, healthy love and stability, all things that Celeborn can give her. Do I think it deserves several hours of screentime? Sorry, but no. I'm more interested in seeing Sauron corrupt men with the Nine rings, for example.

And for the love of Eru, Sauron didn't try to kill Galadriel in season 1, he also didn't try to kill her in season 2. He just never did. Galadriel was drowning in an illusion. Sauron wanted to punish her for rejecting him, so he maintained the illusion to make her believe she was drowning and that this time, he was not going to save her. He wanted her to despair, which she did. This scene's actually hearbreaking, because we can see that for a moments she's still hoping that he will come for her.

It was cruel, but it was definitely not a murder attempt. Her drowning was an allegory of the despair she felt over Sauron's deception, but physically she was always safe. He literally had a dagger he could have used to kill her ! And he's Sauron ! He can kill anyone. Can we be serious a minute ? please ?

In the real world, she attacked him with the dagger like she did in the illusion, he pushed her in the river, where she had no risk of drowning for real, and he left when he heard Elrond come, probably. He didn't even have to maintain her face in the water, like I've seen suggested once. Her face was NOT under water, she was clearly not drowning for real and as soon as Elrond broke the illusion, she was well awake and ready to cut his throat !

Does she look half dead to you?

Besides, she never told anyone that he tried to kill her? Why ? Because she knows he didn't.

And in season 2, he didn't want to kill her with Morgoth's crown : again, he wanted to punish her for rejecting him, and also bind her to him. He knows where the heart is... If the point was to kill her he would have aimed right.

So actually, only Galadriel tried to kill Sauron, repeatedly, and I suspect that this situation will never change.

[l0vedoe]

I wanted to write something so I did this little thing, hope you guys like it!

Connor x Reader

you found an outfit on the internet and wondered how your boyfriend would look wearing it!

Words: 418

“Please, this is embarrassing…” said Connor to you, his cheeks turning slightly blue.

You approach the android, caressing his freckled cheeks (an adorable feature of his face).

“But you look so cute, baby!” you say, squeezing his cheeks.

By chance you found on the internet a cute outfit and, without second intentions, you bought it. A cropped top, a short skirt with ruffles and over the knee socks too, all purple and black with glitter. You planned to wear it as a costume to a party, but your plans changed when you saw your android boyfriend. As if a light bulb had gone on over your head, you thought how Connor would look wearing a mini skirt and crop top, with some accessories too.

Connor didn't like the idea at first, but after a lot of begging with those puppy dog eyes of yours, he accepted.

“This is tight, you didn't even check the size of it, and why is that skirt so short?!” he says, mad at the size of the outfit, trying to pull down the skirt the best he could since it was already showing his underwear.

“It's a sexy outfit, don't you think?” you hug him from behind while he looks in the mirror. “Look at you, so beautiful! Plus, these clothes emphasize your arms and thighs!” You don't hold yourself and squeeze his thighs firmly, without hurting him.

The blue on Connor's cheeks just intensifies and he turns to face you.

“I still don't know why I let you do these things to me.”

You hold his face with both of your hands, caressing his cheeks and looking deep into his brown eyes.

“It's because you love me.” you kiss him quickly. “And I love you too.”

Connor smiles, melting at your touch on his cheeks and tilting his head towards your left hand.

“Or maybe you use your puppy eyes more than you're allowed to.” He wraps his arms around your waist, bringing you closer only to nuzzle his face on your neck.

You smile at the tickle of his nose on your skin and hug him, enjoying the moment.

“Can I take it off now?”

You roll your eyes. “You agreed to wear that for at least ten minutes, Connor…”

For a few seconds Connor stayed silent, until he spoke again.

“Seriously, it's tight and itchy.”

You laugh, surrendering and helping your boyfriend take off the outfit without ruining it. Finally, you thank him and give him a kiss on the forehead.

[shezky]

Hey! It's me again, a random person from here, after being lost for almost a whole month I come to bring...very little actually, I had started to make a drawing of Shigeo where he was in his ???percentage, a serious drawing as I call it...but when I started adding color I didn't like it anymore, so I practically abandoned it and I decided to doodle...as always the doodles ended up winning the battle so here's a normal Shige to practice his hair because for some reason I can't do it without him looking shorn 😭

I was basically planning to just upload Mob and that's it but I felt uncomfortable leaving him without a background so I started doing it...as you can see I put a little Dimple in the corners and my head with insomnia problems told me "Now, cute and all but you also have to show Dimple, it looked cute for your first time drawing him or not?!" So...yeah...I temporarily abandon Mob's background to do another canvas just for Dimple and save it with his layers still separated before going to the main canvas and joining and shrinking everything ┐⁠(⁠￣⁠ヘ⁠￣⁠)⁠┌

The guy in question who took up more of my time than he should:

So again, I was about to save Dimple as it was but my head told me "Make him a background" and there you have me making a background for him too xD

Now, see the takoyakis in the frame?...well, since I've never drawn food I said "Oh no way, it turned out super cute, I have to save it separately right now!" And so I abandoned Dimple's canvas to store the takoyaki separately because I didn't want to lose the layers separately because I don't really know why 😭😔

The thing in question that also took me much more time than it should:

And again I had to do the "For the sake of God, make a bad background" for this too because if I didn't do it I simply wouldn't be able to live! And it wasn't until this that I was finally able to finish making the main canvas that was Mob!

Anyway, something good that I can emphasize?...I finally uploaded a digital drawing, yay! :D

Something bad?...it was hell because of how much I got distracted from the main goal and in the process abandoned a drawing that may or may not have had potential ☠️

It should be noted that I am rubbish at making backgrounds and that of the three drawings, the background that I liked the least is Dimple's, it could have been better, all three could have, but Dimple's more so...

Anyway, all I can say is that Mosaico 100 is a very positive change in my life...Ojalá Reigen fuera eterno 🥵

Stay safe, bye-bye! 🫶

[misty--nights]

And finally, episode 8. This rewatch has been fun. It really forced me to pay attention to the details and I’ve found so many interesting thing I’d missed before. I think by now it’s more than safe to say that this has become one of my absolute favorite shows, and I can’t wait for my brain to insist I should watch it yet again.

Edwin's reaction feels so fair to me. I also did a double take the first time I saw Crystal swallow the memories. Love that Charles is trying to be supportive and stuff, but I agree with Edwin on this one. Those things are so big, how is your first instinct to swallow then whole?

Charles' face when Crystal is explaining her name is kind of similar to the one he has in episode 3 and 5 when Niko is doing something amusing. It's a mixture of endeared and a little baffled that I find so charming

Can Esther understand Monty in crow form or is she just pretending to have conversations with him like how you do with pets? Honestly, I'm not sure which one would be better. Both options have a lot of potential

Someone please give Crystal a hug. Or two. The way her voice breaks when she's talking to her parents, how her eyes get dimmer and dimmer the more she realizes that they suck and didn't miss her, how she sounds when she tells the boys about it, ugh. It breaks my heart

Back to another intro detail, but doesn't the surface of the mirror the skelletons go through kind of look like the mirror Charles sees himself in in episode 7. Like the frame is different, but the surface with the grid lines reminds me of the one in hell

I love the rooftop scene so much. Edwin and Niko have such a precious friendship and I wish we had even more of them interacting. Now I know I've seen people mention how Edwin is so comfortable with Niko's touch and how ge lets her cuddle up to him in that scene. But also, up until this point we haven't seen him truly iniciate touch with others (besides Charles) but he bumps Niko's shoulder when he's joking about Monty and offers her his hand to take. I just think that's neat

Crystal looks tiny next to Niko when they're talking to Jenny

"The whole thing was such a mystery" and "no rest for the wicked". The tone the officer uses for these lines? Chilling. I'm telling you, there's something weird about the people in town at times and the Port Townsend police are walking a line btween purposefully useless and downright sinister

There's something to be said about Crystal offering to wipe Jenny's memories, if she wants. We've followed her the whole season trying to get her own memories back, so it's huge that she's willing to take someone else's if that could help. Because she cares about Jenny, in that same, quiet way that Jenny cares about her and Niko. Also the way she emphasizes that she can take the memories only if Jenny wants that is actually so important to me

For some reason I always assume the girls are going to hold hands in that scene where they're looking for the Cat King and Crystal gives Niko her cleaver back. Even though this is the third time I watch it, I always expect it, and I'm always a little disappointed when all Crystal does is change what hand is holding her own cleaver

Not to question old dark magic or anything, but I am so curious as to how Esther's snake works. Did she already have the snake? Did she find it and make a pact with it? How does it transform little girls into youth for Esther? Also, the Cat King calls it Esther's snake, but then later on Esther says "I never thought I'd be eating kids to stay young and beautiful" so I don't know. Many questions about this

Tragic Mick makes a point of saying the bear figure is a gift and is on him, but the girls very much leave the store without paying for the salt so... Two gifts?

Niko keeps insisting she's not brave, but she was ready to charge into Esther's house after hearing Edwin's scream

Litty and Kingham's coats in the igloo have a dandelion decoration on the chest

[imagine-that]

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause

One-shot #57 - Christmas cheer edition

Summary: Loki does absolutely everything to please you and your daughter. But is he willing to be holly and jolly?

Pairing: Loki Friggason x female!mom!reader

Warnings: obviously it is a Christmas themed read so if you are not interested in that, this piece is not for you. It also has mentions of children so if that is a sensitive topic, please be warned

A/N: HIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!! Long time no see!!!!! I’m very excited to be able to post this as I have not had inspiration to write again in such a long time. This is a favourite fic of mine and it only took 2 nights to write!!! As mentioned, it includes you, but also your daughter! In this fic there is no (your daughters name), the daughter is named Frigga (😇🥺). I just hope you enjoy it, and happy holidays!!!!!

"Love... this is ridiculous." Your husband says, staring down the red garments in his hands, holding it so far away from himself that it looks as though it had personally slapped him or something.

"Darling, you know Frigga asked for it. And did you see the look on her sweet little face when she did? She BEGGED to stay up late enough to catch him in the act Loki dearest. Aren't you happy she's picked up your knack for mischief?" You reply, imitating the look your daughter had in her eyes as she announced her goals for the night.

He groans, shoving his face into the Santa suit you had selected off Amazon.

"Why could we not have asked Thor to do this? He is a big oaf, just like this Santa Clause you mortals love so much. it would perfectly fit his loud and obnoxious tendencies." He offers, waggling his eyebrows to emphasize how much he likes that idea.

You stifle a giggle, putting down the stockings you were about to carefully hang 'by the chimney with care'.

"THAT, my dear husband, is because you would have thrown a fit if she dared to be more excited by her uncle than you." You argue, waggling your eyebrows right back at him, earning a sigh of dramatic despair.

Being a huge holiday fanatic, you were more than thrilled when Loki began very actively joining in on your Christmas festivities over the years, but especially once your daughter had arrived four years ago. She was his little princess, and whatever she liked, he liked.

Which of course, automatically meant that when she begged and begged to see Santa Clause do his job, your loving husband and her devoted father could never say no to such a request.

"You promised your princess a Santa Clause viewing love. Are you really going to let her down, or hand the task off to Thor like its a chore?" You joke, clutching your imaginary pearls at the idea.

He puts the Santa suit off to the side, giving you a devilish smile before tackling you into the bed, erupting you into a fit of giggles again.

"That, my loving wife, is never going to happen and you know it, do you not my little dove?" He growls lightly in your ear, arms wrapped tightly around your waist.

You wrestle around, trying to release yourself from the gods hold, failing to do anything more than laugh.

"Alright, alright, I know you wouldn't dare. Please release me." You ask extra sweetly. He ponders for a moment, tilting his head every which way, earning an eyeroll from you. Finally, he gently lets you go, his fingertips coolly travelling down your hips before pulling away.

With a sound of annoyance and a look you only get when he is "forced" to watch any of the reality tv shows he so often pretends to loath, he stands and starts to unbutton his crisp white shirt, immediately starting to change into the soft red suit. You stare up as he puts on the padding to make him appear holly and jolly, your eyes filling with more admiration than ever before.

As Loki uses his magic to fake a head of silver hair and a bushy beard, you clap your hands together with glee.

"Honey she is going to adore this! And she will have no idea that it's her daddy all along." You squeal, already picturing the look of excitement you knew would be all over your daughters face once she thinks she's caught Santa Clause.

He grins just as big, the beard just barely hiding it. "Well, then this ridiculous look must have some real worth." He announces, pulling on the hat and letting out a loud "Ho Ho Ho" you never thought you'd hear from your husbands mouth.

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

"Frigga" You hum, just barely shaking your daughter awake. Her hair, a curly jet black replica to her fathers, is wrapped in two braids, hanging above her head like an angelic halo perfectly fitting of her features.

"baby girl." You try gently, brushing stray hairs behind her ear. She lets out a groan of protest, rolling over to her side. You sigh, caving to your own mischievous side and yanking the blankets off of her legs.

"Momma." She whines, looking back over to you with a dark glare.

"I'm sorry I woke you up like this sweetheart but there's something downstairs you just have to see!" You whisper excitedly, stroking her back until her scowl dissipates to a look of curiosity.

The small child carefully sits up, grabbing out to hold your hand as she gets out of the bed.

"Is it christmas morning momma?" She asks sweetly, her eyes lighting up happily.

You chuckle before replying, pulling her up into your arms. "No not yet my girl, but it is still very exciting. Lets go see." You say, kissing her lightly on the forehead as you move out of the room.

"Where's daddy? He can't miss the excitement!" Frigga declares, making you laugh even louder.

"Papa went to uncle Thor's to bring their christmas gifts from us. That way we can all open them together tomorrow afternoon darling." You explain, her lips going to an o shape as she nods in understanding.

Together the two of you walk quietly down the stairs, into the hallway. You carefully stop at the bottom, poking your head around the corner to see a bored looking red covered figure by the fireplace. You give him a look, letting him know to jolly up.

"Now Frigga, you said you wanted to catch Santa delivering this year yes?" You whisper, glancing at her as she nods frantically. "Well in order to see him, we have to be super duper quiet and only watch ok? We don't want Santa to get scared and leave with all of our gifts." You instruct, and she agrees excitedly, putting a chubby finger to her lips.

You place her down on the floor, creeping around the corner just enough to see the tree and sitting on the floor, legs crossed. Gently you pull your daughter down with you, cradling her in your arms.

She watches in awe as the fireplace quickly sheds ash, a chubby figure appearing at the bottom. He crosses the room to where she left a plate of perfectly iced cookies the two of you had made the morning prior, gulping down all of the milk and letting out the ho ho ho you now knew he could.

"I can't believe papa is missing this." She murmurs, more to herself than to you. You stifle a giggle as santa-husband pulls all of the delicately wrapped gifts he had almost ruined before you stepped in out of the Santa bag on his back.

Your daughter is practically bouncing out of your lap, her excitement hardly contained. Your husband turns his head ever so slightly, only in real view to you, and sends a wink your way, making you wonder how you ever got so lucky. He fills every stocking, shovels down all of the cookies and leaves the sweet letter he wrote as santa for frigga on the counter. He snatches up the carrots and celery for the reindeer and lets out another merry christmas and ho ho ho before flying right back up the chimney.

"We gotta go watch him leave mama!!!" she begs as she runs to her coat hook anyway.

You simply smile and nod, bringing her outside again and pointing to the sleigh illusioned onto the roof.

Before she can ask any questions or say anything about the encounter, Santa is on his way to the next house. She instead lays her head lazily on your chest, hugging you tightly to her.

“Momma, do you think other kids will catch Santa?” She asks shyly, a sound of uncertainty in her voice.

“My darling, I think that they will try. But I don’t believe they will succeed as well as we have.” You promise, rocking her back and forth as you habitually did since she was a baby.

She nods, assured by your words and starts to shut her eyes, the late evening too much for her to bear any longer. She lets out a little yawn, and you plant one more long kiss in the middle of her forehead before bringing her inside, laying her down in her bed and saying a quick I love you before sneaking out the door and shutting it halfway behind you.

“So, was this Santa clause as exciting as our princess imagined?” A deep, calming voice asks suddenly from behind you, cause you to jump a little bit. He chuckles, pulling you into his chest from behind and planting a kiss on top of your head. You supposed he was where you got that from, passing it right down to little Frigga.

“She was enchanted my love. You were a hit. And don’t think I didn’t notice Santa wink at mom. Am I correct in assuming he has maybe a little crush?” You tease, turning and starting to pull him in closer by the collar of the Santa suit. He grins wide, holding you by your hips.

“Why yes, Santa thought mom was positively radiant. I must agree with him.” He purrs, finally pulling you all the way in and planting his lips hungrily on yours, earning a smile as you kiss him right back.

You two stand in the dimly lit hall, pressed together for what feels like an eternity, a little sliver of time kept just for you and him.

“This is her best Christmas yet thanks to you love.” You smile, stroking your thumb over Lokis jawline.

“Ah but if it were not for you my dear, we would not have her and I would not have my two brightest sunshines, so really you are the one who gave both of us the best Christmas ever.” He corrects matter of factly, earning a deep blush on your cheeks and an eye roll on top of it.

You quietly pull away, turning him around towards your bedroom door and giving a light push.

“Now you Mr, go and change into something less suitable of St Nick and more fitting for the king of mischief and go give your daughter a kiss good night.” You order, getting an eye roll of your own in return.

He follows orders, changing into the Christmas pyjamas you picked out for him, a pair in emerald green with gold embroidery of his initials. “I’ll be in in a moment my love, I promise.” He says, pecking you on the lips and making his way to her room.

You tiptoe behind, your reindeer slippers making you all the more stealthy, and carefully peek between the door crack, watching your husband admire your daughter before kissing her lightly on the cheek, silently thanking the universe and fate for giving you the most perfect Christmas gift of all.