#but who was the mother and why is she never mentioned

[anxiousapplepie]

Just spent every free second of my day drawing Traveler!Odile. So might as well take this inspired opportunity to talk about her? maybe? If anyone is interested, read some of my vibes below!

As I might've mentioned before (or maybe not, I can't remember what I have and haven't said) Traveler!Odile's deal is that she's been living in Vaugarde for roughly 20 years before the King started freezing the country in time. Long story short, after her mother left her as a child one of her many, MANY uncles reached out to her dad and gave them both the option to connect with his Vaugardian in-laws one day. If they wanted to! They didn't have to! But the uncle made it clear the extended family would love to meet Odile one day, if she ever wanted to do that too. And during a bad year failing to cope with studying in college, Odile decided she'd give it a shot. See what "the other side" was like. Amongst other reasons. So she took a study break, meeting the uncle who first gave her father the addresses where some of her mother's family could be found. Then she extended her study break, traveling and meeting with various cousins and relatives. Which then turned into an indefinite break, where she just....... didn't go back to Ka Bue. Always moving around, finding more roots of a family tree she hadn't cared to be a part of until now. And longer, LONGER story short, she got so interested in all the Familytales that belong to her mother's side, she started diving deep and began connected stories and filling in blanks and accidentally became the unofficial editor and chronologist of the family. Yet despite being allowed access to all these Familytales, being invited to family dinners and homes and being seen by everyone else as "part of the family" she never let herself get involved in relationships beyond reading about them in all the books she studied more than anything she had in Ka Bue. And of course she never included her own stories or experiences in any of the Familytales. Why would she? This wasn't about her. This was about her Vaugardian family. Something nobody else could fathom or understand her logic for. Which of course means she's ripe for the picking when a bunch of young adults and a child claiming to be blessed by the Change God walk into her life and give her an impossible hope and a chance to do something more interesting than rewrite family secrets or edit genealogies. Maybe writing an accurate account of the journey a Child Hero took to save the country from being frozen in time would be more fulfilling.

[nejiverse]

KIDS AND CARS

Toji Fushiguro

In which Toji who has been a father for six years is bested by his own girlfriend who has never been a mother. Fem! Reader

cw: none, im starting the ‘megumi being an expressive kid’ agenda 🫡

700ish words

Megumi was at that age where he rebelled against everything and anything Toji said or did. Frankly, it was starting to annoy Toji, he was starting to think his own son was trying to make his life a living hell on purpose

Then there was you who made it seem so effortless. Toji couldn’t comprehend why his six year old son only listened to his girlfriend

This particular day, Toji had an unimpressed look etched on his face as he folded his arms, leaning against the kitchen counter. He was clearly fed up

“You have to put your toys away Megumi, I keep stepping on them”, he tried to be somewhat nice, he really did. But the boy just flat out ignored him as if he was deaf or something, continuing to bash his toy cars against each other while mimicking explosion noises. He was sat comfortably on the living room carpet with not a care in the world

Toji felt like a vein was about to burst as his brow twitched involuntarily. “I’m talking to you brat”, he spoke sternly, his patience drawing thin

In Toji’s defence, the little boy’s cars were scattered absolutely everywhere, it was hard to walk by without stepping on one. Besides, he was only playing with three out of the millions of toy cars on the floor

“Don’t wanna”.

Toji itched his head and clenched his teeth. Since when did his little boy upgrade from a simple ‘no’ to a ‘don’t wanna’?

Without a doubt, out of all the opponents he had faced in his lifetime, Megumi had to be his biggest challenge yet

“Yeah well I don’t give a fu—”, before Toji could finish his sentence, a hand came over his mouth

“Be nice”, his beloved girlfriend had a frown on her face because of his vulgar language

Toji sighed, relaxing his facial muscles and unfolding his arms. “Yeah yeah”

The woman approached Megumi, crouching down beside him with two of his little toy boxes in her hands after overhearing the whole situation while she was tidying his room.

“Say Megs”, she started with the nickname he loved to hear. “I’m really bored right now, can you play a game with me?”, at the mention of a game, Megumi perked up, turning to face Y/n

“What game?”, he asked, curiosity evident in his big blue eyes

“Whoever can pick up the most cars and put them into these boxes in 30 seconds wins!”, she explained before feigning a sad expression. “Oh but I don’t think you’ll be able to beat me, I am a faster runner than you after all”

Megumi felt challenged. “Liar! I’m the fastest!”, he boasted proudly

She smirked. “We’ll see about that….3, 2, 1, go!”, and the both of them scrambled to pick up as many cars as they could from the ground

Toji watched in amazement how good she was with him without ever having any experience with kids. He definitely chose the right person to date

Later that evening, after Megumi was tucked into bed and the house was quiet (finally), Y/n got comfortable between Toji’s legs as he threw on a random movie.

“Thanks for earlier, I feel like Megumi has a secret vendetta against me at the moment”, he commented

She laughed. “Im sure he doesn’t, you just have to know how to approach him”, she leaned her head against his chest. “He really is a good kid”.

“Mhm”, he hummed against her neck as his head moved to rest on her shoulder, his arms slithering around her waist

“Makes me think we’d do alright with more, y’know?”, his hands moved under her shirt and massaged the flesh around her stomach

She couldn’t resist the smile that creeped onto her lips as she turned around in his arms. “Toji Fushiguro are you asking me to have your kids?”.

“Is that a yes?”.

Well, is it?

a/n: off topic but kinda wanna start writing for bleach now that im caught up with the newest season 🤭 (requests opened btw)

masterlist :)

[chrismerle]

on the whole, I'm willing to let a lot slide under the umbrella of 'the blight is now effectively its own living entity, as it's being altered in real time by Ghilan'nain,' and some of it I'm willing to just go 'that's clearly a loose thread for later' since it's clear that another sequel in probably another fifteen years is intended (mostly with regards to 'something even weirder is in the blight now'). generally speaking, though, I do agree that the blight needed to be handled with a little more consistency than it was (and lbr, 'sometimes red lyrium just means it's angry' was a cop out because they wanted the lyrium to look like blood and ignored the fact that keeping it unnaturally blue would have been plenty spooky) and SOME explanation for how the Neve/Bellara got healed at the end would have been nice. but a lot of this seems ... I don't know if nitpicky is the right word. it just seems really convenient to only bring some of this up solely with regards to veilguard

like, 'oh, the blight is suuuuuper contagious and deadly, except for Rook and Co.! booo!' okay but then tell that to Morrigan, Leliana, Zevran, pre-Awakening Oghren, and Sten, who were all not Wardens and who were all getting wounded by supposedly highly infectious darkspawn. plus your literally blighted dog, which you cured incredibly easily with one(1) flower that is then never mentioned ever again. if that's an inconsistency now, it was an inconsistency then, too. when in reality allowances just have to be made for the fact it's a video game. in-universe, it's super easy to get infected with the blight, but as a player, if you keeled over and died every time a darkspawn touched you then the games would have been unplayable from the beginning. or i guess they would just be another series of souls-likes.

or the talking darkspawn or the heavily blighted Wardens. the blight doesn't just make you drop dead, it turns you into a darkspawn. the calling isn't the point at which wardens drop dead. it's the point at which the blight catches up with them and turns them into a darkspawn finally. that's why a lot of them go off into the deep roads when they start hearing it; they want to go get killed so they can't turn into a darkspawn, while taking as many already-existing darkspawn down with them as they can. it's a zombie plague, but it's set in a medieval fantasy so no one wants to call it a zombie plague. some of the zombies are just smart zombies; this is not a new trope. the heavily blighted wardens helping isseya are talking darkspawn, which have been around in every game, if you include the DLC. the Architect and the Mother in Awakening? they're talking darkspawn. Corypheus, the big bad of the entirety of Inquisition? he's a talking darkspawn. Isseya is the same thing; she even kinda looks like the Architect. if intelligent, talking darkspawn are an inconsistency now, they were an inconsistency then, too.

(and this isn't even getting into the fact that the Architect baldly states 'darkspawn can be returned to full rationality by drinking the blood of a Grey Warden' and it is then never addressed again)

was veilguard messy in places? yes, but that's not unique to veilguard. dragon age as a whole, as much as I love it (and I do love it, so much), has just always been a goddamn mess. there's a random event in Origins where totally-not-kal-el falls from space and is then found by totally-not-john-and-martha-kent and it is never addressed again. the qunari basically turned into a different species between origins and DA2, and the entire thing was just hand-waved away with 'sometimes they're just born with no horns.' in Origins mabari are said to be super intelligent by dog standards, to the extent of being able to understand spoken orders, they imprint on a single owner, and they're relatively rare, but by the time Inquisition happens basically every dog in Thedas is a mabari and they've just become really big pit bulls, and Cullen just finds and adopts a random one. only mages can do magic, but it's apparently not magic when the rogues turn invisible, teleport, back flip 16 feet into the air and still shoot with unerring accuracy, drop a respawn point in the middle of battle, or make spectral clones of themselves, and it's also not magic when the warriors spontaneously become invincible.

I dunno, I don't expect anyone's opinion to change from my tirade. it just feels disingenuous to see so many people go 'can you believe how messy Veilguard is for these things that have been there since Origins but that I'm only conveniently taking issue with now?'

the lore inconsistencies with the blight in this game are actually exhausting. 'the rules have changed the blight has changed' okay but make it make sense within the changes please like

the blight is the titans dreams gone mad with rage okay. red lyrium is lyrium infected with the blight. except that section of red lyrium in harding's quest which is... angry... but somehow not infected with the blight... even though we know what red lyrium is from inquisition

the calling eventually kills you but there's a bunch of super blighted wardens who've been alive for ages underground. isseya has been alive since the 4th blight. these wardens aren't even proper darkspawn they're just Really Corrupted

there's that ominous 'theres something in the blight' quest you do in the wetlands that just turns out to be a giant blight growth. darkspawn appear from blight pools now. also apparently in the wetlands there's just a bunch of flowers happily thriving beneath the blight that are fine once the blight is removed. did we forget the western approach. that the land is barren after it's infected with the blight.

it's super easy to become infected with the blight, except if you're rook and co apparently because that blighted status sure doesn't really have any consequences. spEAKING OF which neve/bellara become super duper infected by the blight to the point they can control it and yet afterwards... they're fine?? they're fine!! there's no cure for the blight except apparently you can just shake it off. the hero of fereldan has been searching for a cure for decades but could've just shrugged it off apparently!

[dickgraysonsptsd]

#honestly I’m even sick of the way people always qualify liking her work by acknowledging every little off color thing that made it in when #she’s never done anything half as objectionable as war games #Devin Grayson was—in fact—one of the people who objected to the treatment of female characters and characters of color in war games! #but do people on here even know what happened to Orpheus in war games?? do they know who that is??? #do they care about Winnick fridging Onyx in UTRH or know who Onyx is????? #where is any of this treatment being aimed at men?? #it’s nowhere so forgive me if I assume everyone who apes on Grayson is working backwards from the fact that she’s a woman (@fredricwertham)

yea i personally have never felt like i need to say "i love nightwing as a character and tntt as a comic BUT i acknowledge marv wolfman wrote a 15 y/o girl as a sociopath fully responsible for an adult man statutorily raping her" in the way i feel like i need to qualify even the most remote mention of liking devin grayson's writing and her impact on dc. the assumption made of people who like grayson's writing is that you are pro-racism and pro-rape* until you establish otherwise and that is nuts! why is this true of her and of no male dc writer when male dc writers have consistently done way, way worse?

i get why people DO qualify liking her work because i've already seen someone on my dash this morning get yelled at by a total stranger for talking about her WITHOUT that qualification. but oh my god pleeeease let 2025 be the year where we can all just say "yeah i love devin grayson's run on nightwing" without a fifteen paragraph disclaimer attached... please god i want to breathe fresh clean mountain air and talk about how good her gotham knights was

*this is insane btw. absolutely bonkers batshit wacko crazy that so many people are to this day eager to allege that she's pro-sa because she wrote a serious dark sa arc. actual floridian book banning mother dialogue.

[kingeparr]

abt percy jackson's middle name - a long post

let's talk about percy's middle name, its implication and what is my headcanon for it!!

first a warning!! i know very little abt actual greek mithology. i've tried to read my copy of odyssey and illiad a total of 10 times and i CANNOT for my life understand that shit. having said that, my mythos knowledge is based on hours on wikipedia sources pages, greek miths articles and more. anyways, this will have spoilers of the Percy Jackson Universe by Rick Riordan.

having been warned, I should start with one point:

percy doesn't have a middle name in canon. From what we've known it's never mentioned a middle name at all, wich is not very uncommon in the PJO universe, as most character do not have one (from the top of my head the only ones that canonically have one are Rachel and Reyna (Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano))

BUT in most fandom fanfics that feature his middle name, he is called Perseus Achilles Jackson. Again, it is not canon, but it is so common that most people think it is true. Unfortunately, it doesn't make sense.

It's canon that Sally was the one that named Percy, and she chose Perseus, a son of Zeus, as her choice because he was one of the only Greek heroes that in most versions of the myths get to live a long and relatively happy life after their adventures. From what I've known most times Perseus dies of old age or ascends as a constellation along with his mother and his wife, Andromeda.

Now, what are the implications that we know of?

this will be mostly speculation and head canons, so beware!!

i don't think Rick Riordan ever stated, but it is possible to draw parallels between Percy and Annabeth with Perseus and Andromeda, essentially in their first quest, even more in the series. The same is possible to associate with other characters with names derived from Greek myths.

and, until now, all of Percy's quest he has come back alive, even if the world was ending or if he has gone trough Tartarus, he has come back alive.

As it stands in canon, it's often said that names have power !! saying gods, monsters or others names will call their attention, or give them power. it could be associated that those names with History, or a Legacy HAVE more power and purpose behind them. Ex: Castor and Pollux, Jason, could even say Leo etc.

that is great, and reforces that its possible Sally did something right about the naming.

now, next part is a FULL BLOWN HEAD CANON!!

to me, his full name is Perseus Ulysses Jackson. let me tell you why.

Ulysses = Odysseus

Ulysses comes from Odysseus, yes, the Greek hero hated by Poseidon from the Odyssey. Why would Sally do that? Same reason of why Perseus.

Odysseus, despite all his Odyssey, came back home. In the Odyssey, is said he will live the rest of his life peacefully, and apparently he lived mor 10 years as Ithaca's King. There is another myth where he is killed by his son with Circe, but ignore that for this post.

I think it would make sense for the way they both lived that even if Poseidon hated him, that Sally would have her son named after a hero and a general that even after everything he went trough he still made home, still had people who believed in him, even if Sally herself were not there to see him, like Odysseus' mother, at least he would be alive.

Someone that is selfish in a way if that means he lives. In the same way Sally calls herself selfish for trying to have Percy with her for more time during the years before TLT. For that she endured Gabe.

Not that she knew that of course, but the fates could be at work. I'm always fan of a good foreshadowing.

Now Speaking of foreshadowing, next topic

2. Ulysses - Roman name

Ulysses is the roman version of Odysseus, still has the same meaning and the roman version of the myth is not that different. Why roman, then?

First, because my Odyssey copy was with the Roman names and I was very pissed at that when I was 12 and tried reading it for the first time and discovered that the FUCKING ODYSSEY MAN WAS NOT CALLED ODYSSEUS IN MY VERSION, to my frustration.

ANYWAY, second point: Percy has a connection to the Roman since the first book.

In his classes with Chiron, Percy fights in Roman armor, swords and has Latin classes, and while that is all good and cool, i always found it strange of Chiron to teach Latin, and not Greek. Of course, it could be a ruse of Chiron to distance Percy even more from his greek side, while still helping him learn about the world. it could be nothing.

but to me is not nothing.

Percy has a weird facility with Latin at 12 that Jason did not have with Greek at 16. And while it could be argued that they did not have their memories, Percy was a 12 yo boy that CURSED IN LATIN in a time of distress. I bet they did not have classes about "How to curse in Latin" and i doubt Percy searched for that somewhere.

Percy is very connected with the Roman side of the demigod world, he feels drawn to New Rome, goes to the Roman Uni and he gets so wrapped in it he becomes PREATOR in like a week!! while Jason spent months on the Greek side.

Percy has a lot of participation in Both sides of the demigods being a kinda important figure in both camps.

now, a subtopic.

Percy Jackson: Son of Neptune

Percy is presented as a son of Neptune from the get go in camp Jupiter, wich he doesn't protest at any time (from what i remember), the thing is Poseidon IS different from Neptune specially their roots.

Poseidon is primarily the god of the sea. Neptune is the god of rivers, springs, and waters.

Technically, Percy should not have control of any type of water or rivers, his father is the god of SEA, saltwater. Even then, he can control even the rivers in the Underworld. He has such control of "water" that he can control ALL LIQUIDS! That is not Poseidon's domain, the control of Waters is Neptune's.

knowing this i like to believe the following.

Percy is the son of both Poseidon and Neptune. Don't ask me the logistics, i wouldn't know, and i don't care. HOWEVER when you add things up, it makes sense, in my head, at least.

In conclusion, Sally associates her son's fate with two heroes that go trough MANY hardships but get back home, are strong and live kind of happy lives after that. One of them is mainly Greek, being his first name, what he is primarily called. The other is Roman, it is there, but it's not mentioned, but it still is his name, and it gives him power.

Specially, when you think that the roman counterparts all have a child, except Neptune. Pluto has Hazel, Hades had Bianca and Nico. Jupiter had Jason, Zeus has Thalia. Poseidon has Percy, Neptune has no one? seems unequal and unbalanced in a way the gods wouldn't allow.

Not only that but why would Neptune "claim" or let be claimed a son that wasn't his when Rome hasn't been grateful or careful with him? His last child was scorned (i don't remember the name but it's said that they were basically blamed for earthquakes or something in the 1900)

as the series goes and percy draws MUCH MORE POWER from rivers and other liquids than from the ocean, and the time it took for percy to be born he could be powerful from both sides. he is the first demigod of Poseidon in 70+ years, but he is the first demigod rrom Neptune in 100+ !!!

it makes sense that even if he is called a greek, as his name evokes, he is connected and powerful on his Roman side. It is not a coincidence that people thought he was a god when he first arrived in Camp Jupiter.

It's a tribute for both his Roman and Greek sides, to invoke the names and fates of two powerful kings that are burdened with responsibility, and that learned and lived after their quests.

i could talk about this for hours, specially if Epic's Odysseus by Jorge Rivera-Herrans is taken in account (wich I am doing) but I will not elaborate

anyway, Percy's middle name is Ulysses and I'm right, idc.

[kendrysaneela]

Let’s discuss Avery,Tristan and Max’s bucket lists.

Tristan

Kitesurfing

Break a world record

Dog, house

Fall in love, family,married

Threesome

Avery

See the world

Doctor

Know herself

Perform because she wants joy and to be bold

Threesome

Max

See the world

Fall in love have kids teach them to rely on themselves

Life to have meaning

Threesome

Let’s talk about the threesome first because it’s only item on all their lists that is the exact same. First let’s discuss why they all may been so quickly on board for the threesome (besides ya know the obvious attraction they all have towards each other that they’ve been showing us since the pilot) all of them have white picket fantasies. Tristan and Max are much more open about them and wanting them than Avery they both mention that on their bucket lists and they mention it on their bucket lists and in other scenes. Avery however, she never mentions it to the boys and she doesn’t mention it on her bucket list. In fact she tells Max that she doesn’t really believe in marriage anymore after what happened between her and her first husband.

BUT the catch is that when Avery gets pregnant and she’s talking to her friends we learn she actually DOES want kids and DOES dream about the white picket fence life. And has had those thoughts relatively recently considering she just donated her eggs on their last hiatus and hasn’t even gotten back on the pill yet. But she just doesn’t discuss it really with the boys like they do with her. She keeps it closer to her chest. Which is understandable considering her last marriage she may not want to speak that into existence just yet worried it’ll be taken away from her again. But regardless she clearly DOES also want the white picket fence life. Or at least thinks she does.

They all have said they want the white picket fence life ya know husband/wife 2.5 kids. Now that is a perfectly okay and normal thing to want. HOWEVER. What’s important to acknowledge about that concept is that that is a heteronormative monogamous concept. Which most people in western countries such as the US and UK where Avery,Max and Tristan are from, are culturally conditioned to want. And monogamous heteronormativity can be dangerous sometimes. And Avery,Max and Tristan all saw that in action in episode 6. They watched this family be torn apart by their desperation to follow heteronormative monogamous norms. The mother of the bride,the bride,the groom,the best man,probably some of the bridesmaids and groomsmen too. All have their lives destroyed. So they’re walking around the ship talking about bucket lists talking about what they want their lives to be and what they want to be remembered as and who they wanna be. And Tristan brings up a threesome adds that to his bucket list.I think it’s important to acknowledge that even though Avery is the one who suggests the three of them have a threesome Tristan is the one who brought it up in the first place. Avery eagerly agrees with Tristan and makes that her fifth thing on her bucket list with the only prompt being she only had said four items. So she didn’t say it unprompted like Tristan did but she agree with that pretty enthusiastically. MAX however. Max. Max says four items. Then he is told he needs a fifth. He says can’t think of a fifth he says so he stalls. Then when (yet again Tristan) says it’s okay if Max says it’s a threesome. BUT. Max has already had a threesome. He won’t talk about it though. He made a pact. (Which he also did with Tristan and Avery which is interesting but that’s a whole other thing for a different analysis). But nevertheless they all end up having the threesome. Similar to their bucket lists Tristan and Avery start it and basically kind of coax Max into it. But Max does admit he enjoyed it and that it was wonderful and Avery and Tristan acknowledge they noticed he enjoyed it. And even with ya know everything that happened afterwards I think the threesome was a product of them sorta rejecting heteronormative monogamous norms at least on a subconscious level.

Then next items on the bucket list. They each have at least one similar item to each other besides the threesome.

Avery wants to travel the world (which she’s doing)

Max wants to travel the world (which he’s doing)

Tristan and Max both want to fall in love and have kids

The difference between Tristan and Max is that Max outright says he wants to fall in love and have kids and teach the kids to rely on themselves with no prompting

Tristan is prompted by Avery about “Six little Tristans” yes of course she’s quoting him when he said that earlier but she still had to prompt it this particular time

There were less direct similarities as well.

Tristan - Kitesurfing

Avery - Perform because she wants to feel joy and be bold

Tristan’s kitesurfing is absolutely because he wants to feel joy and be bold as well he just doesn’t outright say it like Avery did.

So there’s that on both their bucket lists as well.

And then in the same vein Max - Wants his life to have meaning. I’d say that’s in the same vein because ya know if your life has meaning I assume you’re experiencing joy and being bold. So it’s not as directly compared to Avery and Tristan but still comparable.

All of the things on this bucket list are about their lives and the meaning of them. What they want to do who they want to be how they want to be remembered. But also guess what they are? Fantasies. And they’re faced with the reality of some of these things and they reject them because they don’t fit the fantasies or they don’t reject them but they panic when faced with the reality of them.

Tristan and Max: Are given a chance to fall in love and have a relationship with both Avery and Max like Avery puts it right out there. And they both reject it because it doesn’t look like how they pictured. It’s not their who he picket fence fantasy it’s too different so they push it away.

Max: Faced with the prospect of having a child when Avery says she’s pregnant, panics immediately and starts word vomiting all over Avery cause he doesn’t know what to do this wasn’t his fantasy it doesn’t fit

Now Avery’s isn’t as direct as Max and Tristan’s because she fully supports them becoming a throuple even though it’s different and it’s understandable why she would be trepidatious pregnancy is a lot to put your body through and it’s very unexpected so that’s not strange.

The bucket list item Avery starts to question is being a doctor. She seems to start to wonder if she still wants to be a doctor. And I think that’s because in her head it went “Once I become a doctor I’ll meet a cool guy and then we’ll have kids and it’ll be happy ever after” but if she has a kid now this way. It’s already shattered her white picket fence fantasy cause that’s not the order she planned to do it in. And I think she starts to wonder. “Were there any other reasons I wanted to be a doctor? Or was it just because I thought that would facilitate my white picket fence fantasy somehow”

And I think it’s interesting how this show that makes a big deal about keeping up the fantasy of the ship and ship life has these three main characters with this big lofty fantasies about their lives and what they’ll be like in the hypothetical future where they stop working on the ship and settle down. And what happens when that fantasy is then shattered. And they have to face a reality that isn’t at all what they pictured? How does that change who they are? What they want to become? How they’ll be remembered? Who are they once the fantasy is gone and reality is all that’s left? I think they’re all on the ship cause they’re running from reality. But they can’t run anymore. Reality is sitting right there in Avery’s uterus and they’ve all gotta face it and in order to do that. They’ve gotta face everything else. Their past,their present,what their relationship is,who they are,why they’re here, and most importantly, do they actually all want that white picket fence monogamous one partner heteronormative life? Or could they be happy with their lives looking differently than they did in all their fantasies?

[phoenix-eclipses]

Casting Love Intermission

Soulmates weren't an unheard of topic in your youth. From several storybooks in your early education revolving around the romance of soulmates and even adults around you speaking about their soulmates, it was hard to ignore their existence.

You had assumed you didn't have one. You didn't have that string, always depicted as red, that would lead you to your soulmate. You didn't have any lettering on your body, despite checking several times.

The disappointment you had over your lack of a soulmate wasn't unknown by those who lived with you. Babysitters coming and going, trying to comfort you, convince you that perhaps some sort of sign would appear later.

And it did. Only in a form you didn't realize that made you different. Sitting in art class, your teacher insisting on the severe differences between some colors you were looking at. That was when you were brought to a specialist who informed your father about your color blindness.

When your babysitter at the time was informed of this, she immediately took to explaining to you a type of soulmate bond was colorblindness until you met.

That was the last day you had seen her, your father firing her later that day.

Her replacement refused to read stories about soulmates. She didn't want to speak of soulmates at all, shutting it down anytime you brought them up. Instead, she'd sit down next to you, a pitying look on her face and say.

"I know it is hard to not see the world like those around you, but if you stay obsessed with soulmates as you are now, you will also not understand the world."

So you stopped. For two years, you'd zone out as your professors read books about soulmates, no longer listening to every single word. It was only after that two years something changed. You were visting your aunt in Tokyo.

She walked beside you, guiding you to a park that she told you that her and your mother used to frequent in their youth. When you arrived, she allowed you to go play at the playground as she sat and watched on a bench.

Throughout your stay at her place, she brought you to the park each day. Somedays you'd meet some of the kids who live in the neighborhood nearby, getting to play with them as well.

It was on the last day that one of the neighborhood kids who you hadn't seen before appeared. You immediately ran over, excited to make a new friend. You waved at him, slowing down as you stopped right in front of him.

"Hello-"

You froze in your introduction as you looked at him. His golden eyes stared at you in shock as you did the same. You watched as the boy in front of you and the world around him brightened up, colors you had never known existed appearing.

"Woah..." the boy muttered in amazement. You let out a laugh, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

"C'mon! Let's go play!"

He stumbles a bit in your hold but follows after you, the both of you glancing around at the colors. The two of you play until it turns dark, your aunt telling you it was time for you to go home. You wave excitedly at the boy, promising that next time you visited your aunt you'd come to play with him again.

It's over dinner that you inform your aunt that you think the boy is your soulmate. She drops her chopsticks and stares at you in shock for a few minutes.

"Do not tell your father."

That was all she said before continuing to eat. You frown, asking her why you couldn't tell him but she just shook her head and repeated herself.

Despite her lack of explanation, you find yourself listening. When your father picks you up, you don't mention the boy, you only speak of the other kids you had become friends with. You don't tell him about the colors that you could now see surrounding the two of you.

But you do tell your babysitter. After a week of not telling anyone, you can't hold back your excitement and as she attempts to deny to read you a book about soulmates, you find yourself blurting out the fact that you did have one.

"I met him! In Tokyo! You can even ask Auntie!"

Your babysitter frowns. Pulling out a book from the high shelves in your room, not a book about soulmates. And she reads it to you, not speaking to you about your soulmate.

You assume that's just how she would treat it, even with the knowledge of you having one, she wouldn't speak of them.

But she does speak of them. She shared it with your father. The next day he informed you that you would no longer be going to Tokyo to visit your aunt. You could still see her, but she would be coming over to Miyagi.

"I don't want you returning to speak to that boy."

You cast a look at your babysitter who refuses to meet your eye. It stays silent in the room, your father's words being treated like the law. You never went back to Tokyo to visit your aunt, though she made sure to frequently come over to visit you. She apologizes to you, promise she'd find a way to bring you to find your soulmate.

It only takes another two years for your father to decide to limit your meetings. Small family meals with him present, able to hear all of your conversation. And soon, not even those happen.

It's not until you graduate from Aoba Johsai and inform your father that you were going to attend Tokyo University, with or without his help, that you are able to return to Tokyo.

Back to the park, no longer aware of the name of your soulmate. All you remember is that golden color that was the first color you could ever see. But even then, in a world full of color and so many people, there was no way to ever find him again.

After all, there was no guarantee he'd even remain in Tokyo. Even if he did, who's to say he hadn't already had his heart casted in the direction of another after you had failed to fulfill your promise to see him again?

0.17 -- Masterlist -- 1.1

Notes

This honestly was finished like the day I posted 0.17 and then some of it didn't properly save so I didn't rewrite it until today lol

Thought it'd be kinda cool to like dive more into their like first meeting and also kind of why Y/N isn't sure about finding their soulmate but also kinda wants to

Ahhh I'm almost done with this semester so yay

Divider credits @cafekitsune and @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Taglist

@staygoldsquatchling02 @walllflowerrrsss @oyasumeii @rinnylvr

@bi-bi-papillon @ris-krispie @madiexuberant @giocriedpower

@lunavixia @singleandlonely @yuminako @from-mae @3lectraheart

@kodzusora @skycasin0 @scinclaitnoir @itsdragonius @d3ly-p4v

@anqelkoz @kodzubaby @mirtaspace @writing-for-the-hell-of-it

@anteroz @yuki-sama6 @mawenskiblue @getoloverr

Fill out this form to be added!

(bolded if I can't tag you so double check your settings <3)

[angelasscribbles]

What Could Have Been: A Bad Romance One-Shot

Series: What If but more specifically Maximum Damage (the alternate ending)

Original Series: Bad Romance

Fandom: The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir

Pairing for this chapter: Liam x Max (now), Liam x Riley (past), Riley x Max (past)

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: character death mentioned.

Word Count:  812

A/N: This was written in response to an ask from @kyra75 for the angstgiving event hosted by @choicesprompts. The request was for the prompt "What could have been" and was specifically for the Bad Romance gang. Since BR had a happily ever after, I couldn't come up with a good, angsty what could have been until the alternate ending popped into my head. Once it did, this just suddenly existed in my head and I had to write it.

My other stuff: Master List.

The crown princess of Cordonia was getting married to the love of her life. It was a watershed moment in her life. All of Cordonia would be watching as she walked down the aisle.

The king was sure that there had never been a prouder father in the history of the world. His little princess was all grown up. She was happy. She was radiant. She looked just like her mother.

He turned his head to observe his queen. The years hadn’t dimmed her beauty one bit. She was as beautiful as the day he’d first lain eyes on her in that bar in New York.

Liam had been born into wealth, and raised to rule, but the greatest privilege of his life had been raising their daughter. It didn’t matter that biologically speaking; she was Drake’s daughter. Her DNA didn’t matter.

Drake. The best friend he’d ever had. His childhood companion. His partner in crime. His closest confidant. His brother.

“Don’t get too sentimental. You promised her you wouldn’t cry.” Drake smiled at him from the seat on the other side of Riley.

“How can I help it?” Liam responded as tears slipped down his cheek. “You’re here. You’re both here for her big day.”

“Liam.” Max’s voice intruded on the scene.

Not yet, Max. Just a few more moments.

Riley leaned over and touched his hand. “She’s so lucky to have you. You’ve done a wonderful job. You and Max both. Thank you.”

“Liam. Liam.”

Not yet, Max!

But it was too late. They were already fading.

“Wait! Don’t go!”

“Liam, come on, it’s time to get up.” Max shook him gently by the shoulders. “We don’t want to be late for the wedding.”

Liam blinked against the onslaught of brightness flooding into the royal suite. “Max?”

“Yeah, who else would it be? Are you okay? You were crying in your sleep.”

“I was dreaming, but Max, it seemed so real! I was at the wedding, and Riley was with me! Drake too!”

“Oh, babe.” Max climbed back into the bed and wrapped Liam in his arms and tears sprang into his own eyes. “I miss them too.”

Twenty six years later and he still blamed himself. If only he hadn’t dropped the damn cell phone that day. If only he’d pulled over to the side of the road before trying to call 911. If he’d done that, then Riley and Drake would both still be here. Hope would have her biological parents. Liam would have his queen. He would have his everything.

But that’s not what happened and now all they could do was dream about what could have been.

Liam looked up into his husband’s eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. It was a tragic accident.”

Max smiled through his tears. Of course Liam knew exactly what he was thinking. Liam was the only reason he was alive. Liam had willed him to live and pushed him to walk again.

Getting out of that wheelchair had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. Not because of the grueling months of physical therapy, but because he had felt like he deserved to be there. He would never understand why he had Liam’s love and forgiveness when he knew he didn’t deserve it, but he was grateful for it. And he was grateful for the daughter they shared. The one whose heart stopping smile was the spitting image of the woman they had both lost.

“I know,” Max lied. Today was a happy day, not a day to wallow in recriminations. “We both promised Hope that we wouldn’t cry today.”

Liam laughed, a bit of sunshine returning to his life. Max had a way of doing that. “We all knew that was a lie when we said it.”

“Oh, a bald faced lie! She’s our baby girl. Of fucking course we’re going to cry!”

Liam laughed again as the last vestiges of the dream wisped away.

Riley and Drake would be there in spirit. Hope had left two reserved seats empty to represent them.

Hope was what they had left of their lost loved ones. And she had brought exactly that into their lives. Hope was what they had clung to in those early days of grief. She had brought sunshine and joy, laughter, and beauty back into the world.

Drake had certainly named her appropriately all those years ago.

Four hours later, they watched her say I do. They both cried copious amounts, but they were happy tears.

And while they both wished that Riley and Drake were there with them, they were thankful to have each other.

The king glanced at the two empty seats. He swore he could feel them there. Maybe, somehow, in some other existence, they were.

Deep in his heart, Liam believed that somewhere out there, in an alternate universe, what could have been, was.

[darknessawaits28]

Oh My Darling {Loki x pregnant reader}

Hello my lovies! Wanted to give you a short story about Loki finding out you are pregnant. Hope you enjoy my lovies! Thank you for all your love and support! Stay awesome! :3

Warnings: sensual gifs, mention of vomit, and very small things that might make someone uncomfortable.

Story was requested by @marley-suguru4143, make sure to give them a follow! :3

Asgard, the kingdom of gods and goddesses. It was a beautiful sight that could bring anyone to their knees. Odin was the all-father that ruled among this kingdom, he was a stubborn yet fierce man that ruled with an iron fist. He is wise, honorable, and dedicated to keeping the peace between the realms. His beautiful wife and queen is Frigga who is kind, gentle, and such a loving soul. They both had two sons, Thor Odinson, the God of Thunder, and Loki Laufeyson, the God of Mischief; well adopted. It was a peaceful time in the kingdom, but a lot of heads were turning sideways at the sight of the wife of Loki. You were a mortal, something that the gods and goddesses did not want to see in their realm, but they kept quiet because Frigga always protected her sons, no matter how ridiculous their actions may seem. 

Within the walls of Royal Palace of Valaskjalf, sounds of heavy boots could be heard stomping their way along the marble floors. It was the prince of Asgard, worriedly trying to find his beloved. Ever since they had consummated their marriage a couple of months ago, his beloved has been acting quite strange, sneaking out in the middle of the night, consuming various plates of food, and….a lot of visits to the washroom. He didn’t want to impose on you and ask you various questions that could possibly make you already stressed as it is; afterall, you were the princess now and had royal duties to perform. 

“You there, have you seen my beloved?” Loki asked one of the passing servants.

“Hello sire, yes, she is partaking in the feast that we have just prepared, hope you enjoy.”

“Oh, thank you” Loki nodded, continuing to walk past the servant towards the great hall, his green cape flowing elegantly behind him. Once he arrived at the great hall, he sighed happily at the sight of you, filling your plate as usual. “Hello my darling,” Loki cooed as he approached from behind you, wrapping his arms around you ever so slightly. 

“Loki!” You gasped, pulling away from him slightly, not wanting to give him the hint that you had a bump hiding underneath your dress. 

Loki, taken aback by you pulling away from him, furrowed his brow, “Are you alright my love?” “Did I by any chance make you uncomfortable?” 

“Oh no my love, my apologies, I am not feeling well of late so….any touch is…..painful for me….”. “It isn’t you of course, so please don’t feel angered.” 

“Of course not my darling, why would I be angered?” Loki smiled as much as he could, feeling a bit hurt that you tossed him aside when you were in pain instead of cuddling up close to him and telling him what hurts so he could potentially heal you.

“Hello my son, how are you?” Frigga smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek and then gently placed her hand against your back. “Good to see you again my dear.”

“Mother” Loki smiled, giving her a kiss back when she had approached him.

“Hello your highness, it is a pleasure to see you again as well” You smiled, taking a bite of the chicken that was on your plate. 

“Did you tell him yet?” Frigga ecstatically questioned.

Shocked to hear her even ask that question, you shook your head quickly to give her an indication that you never even mentioned the idea of you being pregnant to him because you truly were afraid of telling him, but mostly due to the stress he was currently under. 

“Oh, my apologies then, do not worry about it then Loki” Frigga gulped, hoping that she didn’t overstep.

“Tell me what?” Loki asked curiously, his stomach already doing flips at whatever the ‘news’ was. 

“Nothing my love, it isn’t important…oh…uh…excuse me” you gulped, setting the plate down and covering your mouth as you headed towards the washroom. 

“Darling, are you alright?” Loki gasped as he tried to rush to your aid but was pulled back by his mother. “Mother please, let me help my wife!”

“I know honey, but I know she will refuse your help.”

Shaking his head in anger, he gripped his forehead, wanting to ask you but still pulled himself back so as to not upset you. “What is going on with her?” “Is it our food she is eating that is making her stomach upset?” “I can perfectly go down to Miguard and get her proper mortal food if that is what’s causing her anguish.” “I just feel so useless!” Loki nearly shouted in anger as he sat down on the chair closest to him.

Frigga smiled softly as she walked over to her son and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead, “I would tell you, but that is not my place my darling.” “But I assure you, she is perfectly healthy, along with her passenger.”

“Passenger?” Loki questioned as he stood from his chair, a loud gasp escaping his lips when he realized what she had meant. “No, it can’t be?” “Y/n!” He shouted loudly, possibly alerting the whole kingdom. 

Meanwhile, you were in the washroom, breathing heavily as you sat on the floor near the bathtub, gripping the small bump that you had, feeling quite nauseous and weak. Although, you jumped violently at the sound of Loki calling your name, knowing for a fact that something was wrong. “Oh no, not now” you groaned, gasping when you began to dry heave into the bathtub.

Loki, hearing the sound of pain, quickly rushed into the washroom, kneeling down to hold you gently, “My love, why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Ah…tell you what my love?” you grabbed the cloth beside you, covering your mouth so as to not bring disgust to him by your vomit. 

“You’re with child aren’t you?” Loki said out of breath, being so overjoyed and proud that he was to be a father soon.

Hearing him finally figure it out brought tears to your eyes as you nodded, “Yes….yes….” you chuckled, slowly grabbing his hand with your free one and placed it gently on your bump. 

Loki, feeling your bump and then a kick, brought soft tears to his eyes as well. “Oh my love, why didn’t you tell me before?” 

“I didn’t want to bother you my love, you were so busy as it is, and I was as well with my royal duties.” “Besides I was going to tell you tonight, in our bed together, so that I could cuddle up close to you and….tell you that I was pregnant.” 

“You do not need to worry about my stress y/n, that is my duty, your only duty is to be happy and comfortable” He smiled, cupping your cheek gently and pressed a gentle kiss against your forehead. “Oh, I’m going to be a father….what joy.” 

“I’m sorry that I did not….oh dear!” you gasped, turning to your side and dry heaving into the bathtub once again. 

“Oh y/n” Loki worriedly spoke as he rubbed your back gently to help you. “You need not to apologize.” “All you need to do now is relax, I am going to make sure that your royal duties fall upon me.” “And do not fret, I will have enough time to be by your side.” 

“Thank you my love, but I need to be in bed now…” you sighed in pain, turning towards him to give him such innocent and weak eyes.

Loki, seeing the state of you, brought a shatter to his heart. He felt horrid that he wasn’t there from the beginning to help you feel better. But at least now he can be by your side for the time being and help you feel as comfortable as possible. “Come my darling, let me help you.”

“But I’m heavy,” you joked. 

“Nonsense” he smiled, pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear and then picking you up bridal style. “Let’s get you cleaned up and dressed in comfortable clothing.”

As he exited the bathroom, Frigga noticed how her son was carrying you, knowing very well that he had raised him well; she felt so proud of him. 

After a few minutes, you were dressed, cleaned up, and already in bed, wrapped up all nice and warm. “This feels so much better” you sighed happily. 

“Does it?” he chuckled as he pulled off his royal attire, and then stood there with no shirt, and simple pants that outlined his elegant yet delicious legs. 

“My, you do look ravishing Loki” You giggled, a blush covering your cheeks. 

“Do I now?” He spoke cockily, slowly walking over to approach you and then carefully crawled onto you. “You know that’s my line to speak my love” he chuckled, softly cupping your cheeks and bringing you into a deep kiss. 

“Mm darling, be gentle with me, you know I’m carrying your daughter” You teased him. 

“Daughter?!” he gasped with eyes wide open when he pulled away from the kiss. 

Hearing his shock brought a loud chuckle to your lips, quickly pulling him back in for a kiss to silence him as you both consummated once again.

[eri-pl]

Current mood: Gil-Galad son of Maglor and some poor Silvan woman who had no idea that this handsome guy with a beautiful voice was a kinslaying prince, and when she learned about that (by pure chance) she showed him the door, but she was already married and pregnant.

[my-name-is-apollo]

Why is Hera so hostile to Leto in a manner that she isn't with the other lovers of Zeus? I can't think of any other woman who was targeted so much by Hera. One could say she didn't want Leto to give birth because her children would be a competition to Hera's children, but why bother her even after she had already given birth? Is it because Leto herself is also a threat to Hera?

Sort of I guess?

I don't think Leto would ever be a threat to Hera's role as the queen of the gods but Hera might see her as a competitor for Zeus' affection, even though I think Zeus would not marry someone else and replace Hera.

The twins are definitely a big reason why Hera begrudged Leto - it is outright stated in the Callimachus Hymn to Delos that the reason Hera especially targeted Leto was because she was told that Apollo would be dearer to Zeus than Ares is. Zeus is very proud of Artemis as well. As he himself puts it, he doesn't mind facing Hera's wrath for children like her.

But the continued hatred even after the birth of the twins (like sending Tityus to rape Leto) could have been for different reasons. This wasn't like one of those affairs Zeus would have with mortal women where he'd leave them behind once the child is conceived. Neither could Hera, despite her many attempts, get rid of Leto like she did with the other lovers. Not only did Leto give Zeus children that he loves dearly, she also stayed on Olympus despite Hera's hatred towards her (which isn't directed to any of Zeus' other divine mistresses, btw). It might have also been because Leto herself is dear to Zeus, if the way she's treated on Olympus is any proof. In the Homeric hymn to Apollo, Leto stands next to Zeus - in the Olympian assembly - to welcome their son. Hera is completely absent from the scene, as if Leto had taken her place even if temporarily. Now you could say this is because Apollo himself is such a powerful and glorious son in a way that no other son of Zeus is, so of course Leto would get such an honor (the hymn itself presents it this way).

But here's another instance - in the Iliad, when Hera goes to seduce Zeus, he is obviously very smitten but before getting into the action, he lists some of his lovers (I believe these were his favorite lovers, as a lot of others are not mentioned):

"for never has such desire for goddess or mortal woman so gripped and overwhelmed my heart, not even when I was seized by love for Ixion’s wife, who gave birth to Peirithous the gods’ rival in wisdom; or for Acrisius’ daughter, slim-ankled Danaë, who bore Perseus, greatest of warriors; or for the far-famed daughter of Phoenix, who gave me Minos and godlike Rhadamanthus; or for Semele mother of Dionysus, who brings men joy; or for Alcmene at Thebes, whose son was lion-hearted Heracles; or for Demeter of the lovely tresses; or for glorious Leto; or even for you yourself, as this love and sweet desire for you grips me now.’ (Book 14, trans. A. T. Murray)

Notice how when talking about most of them, he also mentions the children they bore to him but when Demeter and Leto are mentioned, he doesn't bring up their children at all despite them being some of the most accomplished kids of his. What's more, he takes Leto's name just before Hera's. I mean, this is an interpretation but it looks like not only did Zeus love Leto the most out of all his mistresses - giving her a place second to that of his wife, but also his love for her wasn't necessarily only because she gave him two amazing children.

Nonnus does something similar in the Dionysiaca (but this time Zeus is enamored with Persephone instead of Hera) but more notably, when Typhoeus attacks Olympus and Zeus is discouraged, Nike takes the form of Leto to encourage him and it's pretty telling of what Leto meant to Zeus.

One interesting similarity between Hera and Leto is that they both had a giant try to rape them. Porphyrion tried to violate Hera (Zeus inspired him to do this) and Tityus tried to violate Leto (upon Hera's order). Though both of them were killed, only Tityus got an eternal punishment in Tartarus of having his liver/heart eaten out by vultures so Zeus seems to have taken a greater offense at Tityus trying to assault Leto.

Again, I don't think Zeus would ever take anyone other than Hera as his permanent wife - she is irreplaceable to him. There's an entire myth about Hera leaving him and Zeus winning her back. Their relationship is obviously complex and involves all kinds of emotions including love and hate. But Leto is continually dear to him as well and that's something Hera can't do much about.

[evecallum]

I know its an old meme but…

[navree]

"it's always hating on rhaegar for rhaenys and aegon's deaths never tywin" because rhaegar was their father and had a responsibility towards them that tywin did not, stay in school

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

I love that one of the roles fire plays in this series is to represent how all consuming desire can be, and how it’s framed as something that can be world ending when uncontrolled.

So naming unnatural, untamable green fire ‘wildfire’ is therefore a stroke of genius. It’s the representation of how we humans manufacture our own doom in the pursuit power, of how uncontrolled desire will eventually blow up in our faces.

And the fact that barrels and barrels of it sit fermenting under Kings Landing, Westeros’s breeding ground of maniac desire, and the capital the ambitious and corrupt flock to for what it promises? It’s perfection!

[name-doggo]

One thing I really wish the FF Community would Stop doing is Removing All Nuance from the Parents in Those Stories in order to Make Them Abusive Supervillains who Never Loved their Kid.

Like... In the Four Years I've been here, and for how Small the Community really is, you'd be surprised how many Times I've seen it-

[daily-suyao]