#dad advice demise

[good-advice-ganondorf]

Okay, so we got all advices.....But there is one we must face.....DAD ADVICE DEMISE-

[greeniegirl23]

Isn't It.. Lovely? (Chapter 3#)

One month.

You had one month to make the biggest decision you'd ever make in your life. Part of you wondered why you didn't tell Alastor to have a field day with your Father's corpse, until you remembered that the other part of you still loved and cared for him.

He was still your Dad and once upon a time he was a very good Dad. Your parents were practically a power couple when your Mom was alive, after her death, depression fell on him like a bag of bricks. Leading him to find feeling again in glasses of wine and bottles of hard liquor.

Everyday you pondered on this, wondering if something would finally push you over the edge. If you'd snap and take revenge for yourself.

You didn't like having those thoughts. Yes, the idea of liberty made you feel elated but at the cost of the last family member you had? It was conflicting to say the least.

All that worrying came to a halt once Alastor began to solidify his place in your life.

Every night at 9pm sharp, when you were dressed for bed and your despicable abuser was asleep. Alastor used his powers to turn your radio into your own personal hotline. He was ever so happy to hear from you, happiest when he saw nor heard any traces of harm inflicted on you that day.

He soon found out that you were a curious one and a terrible over-sharer. It was obvious you never really had friends before and if you did, they left you behind long ago. You were as innocent and pure as the driven snow. Always asking questions about him, about Hell, and what it was like back when he was on Earth.

You loved when he told you more about his life. It was like he was reading you your own personal bedtime stories. Tales of speakeasies and the depression, parties that lasted from dusk to dawn, and of course, all of the completely justified crimes he committed before his demise.

As payment for his stories, you told him about your own and caught him up on modern day issues. He seemed especially interested in World War I, disappointed that he died a few years shy of when it started. You told him about your health science classes, your school, and he even became a good study buddy to help you out with your tests.

“Alright darling, last question.” He stated, a drum roll playing in the background. “If your patient performs a forward lunge, which plane of the body are they moving in?”

You chewed on the end of your pencil. “..Coronal?”

A bell dinging made you smile. “Correct! Well done darling, but I'd like for you to work on your confidence when you answer. No one wants a doctor that's unsure of what they're doing.”

“Yeah..I just get so unsure sometimes. I think I'm more scared of being wrong than being right.”

He chuckled. “Do not fret my dear! I've been doing these little pop quizzes with you long enough to know you have a sharp mind. Confidence is a tool that will solidify your place in the career you plan to pursue, so don't be afraid to utilize it more.” His voice was so kind and mentoirish. It felt like he was giving you life lessons almost every time he talked.

On one hand that made you embarrassed. Like these were things you should have already known but you didn't, but you decided to give yourself some grace. Life was different for you than everyone else, so obviously there would be some things you didn't experience to gain knowledge from.

You placed your pencil down and sat cross legged in your chair. Not being the type of person who could sit still, nor do things normally. “Is that how you become a radio host? Because you were super confident?”

There was a pause. “Well, it was something that helped. Being a professional at what I do required more than just believing in myself. Most people think it's easy, but it has its challenges. For example, I used to rehearse my script in the mirror to stop myself from unconsciously going ‘umm’ every 10-30 seconds. It also aided in preventing myself from fumbling my words.”

“That sounds like solid advice.” You smiled. “I should start keeping a journal when you're around and call it ‘Life Lessons As Taught By The Radio Demon.’”

A loud cackling broke out over the radio. “Ah, so the girl does have a sense of humor. A good one at that!” He said proudly. “And here I thought you were all doom and gloom.”

“Hey! I'll have you know staying positive at all times can be very exhausting.” You huffed, placing your hands on your hips in a pouty attitude. “It's really hard to smile when it feels like the world is against you...”

There was a stagnant silence in the air as you turned your head to gaze out the window, watching the rain drizzle from the grey sky. It was your favorite weather, even more so because of the friend it allowed you to find.

Alastor pondered over your words before he took a deep breath. “That leads to a question that I've been meaning to ask you for some time now. It's a rather sensitive one so if you'd prefer not to answer, I would understand.”

Giving the plushie your attention, Alastor's tone turned concerned as he asked. “I can’t help but wonder, Darling, where is your mother..?”

Without missing a beat, you replied. “Oh, my Dad murdered her.”

A sharp microphone screech omitted from the radio. It was safe to say he most definitely was not expecting that..

Not because he can't see your degenerate of a guardian doing something of the sort, he was actually more curious as to how someone as sloppy as your Dad could get away with something like that. No. What got him was even though you were saying words that no child should ever say until they're well into adulthood, you smiled. A soft one, filled with unspeakable pain and a lust for something you could not yet gain.

You could feel him hesitating to ask you some more questions on the topic, so you decided that you could quickly give him your life story. “Whenever anyone asks about it, I always tell them that she passed from cancer but, that's not true..”

Alastor’s signal chirped in curiosity, but he made sure to sound sympathetic. “What happened?..”

You chuckled a bitter melody.

“She was born a diabetic and I was around twelve.. Everyday my Mom took her medicine, the diabetes is actually what led her to becoming a doctor in the first place. Every morning my Dad would make her coffee, as a way of telling her he loved her. I snuck a few sips before only to find out she made it black, when she caught me she told me “Mommy can't have sugar…”

When I turned fourteen, they started arguing. A lot. I can remember hearing them sometimes. Mom threatened to leave him because he was starting to grow a gambling issue and she was tired of taking the brunt of most of the bills. He promised to change and that's when everything started to go downhill.. Weeks went by, she just started getting sicker and sicker seemingly out of nowhere. Still had her morning coffee though. I'd make it for her sometimes and she reminded me “Mommy can't have sugar.” Hardly able to do anything for herself, much less take her medicine. Of course he said he'd do it, he promised me he did when he took me to school..He still made her coffee, before he went to work and after she had been made bed bound..I thought it was a lie, that it wasn't true until I realized that she died that morning with a cup of coffee in her hand..”

A sour laugh left your lips, as you recalled that day you came home from school and found her lying there with blood on the pillow, blood that she had been coughing up for almost a month.

“That bastard was poisoning her with fucking sugar… Everyday he was putting a little bit in her morning coffee and not giving her the insulin she needed. She was a Type 1 diabetic and he did all of it for some fuckin insurance money..” You sighed, running a hand through your hair. Before yanking it in frustration and punching your fist through the nearest wall, your face was blank and unmoving for a second not even flinching as you removed your bruised fist from the drywall. “Mama couldn't have sugar..”

Alastor listened as you explained your mother's demise. His distaste for your father grew more and more as he recalled memories of his own childhood. He'd never tell you to your face, but he could see parts of himself in you from his younger years, if lead in the proper manner, you could become quite the promising killer.

He shook his head. Not the best thoughts to be having right now, not while you're on the edge of a mental breakdown.

“I..Would be lying to you if I said I knew what to tell you about such an awful situation..” He stated hesitantly. “But I can say that I am sorry, that you had to deal with something like this so early in life.”

“Don't be sorry, there's nothing to be done about it…She's gone now and I have to get away from him.” You declared, looking at your now bruised hand. “Now you understand why I made that wish. On any day, at any time, for any reason, that man could decide to kill me. To kill his own daughter in cold blood..”

Alastor hummed. “If you know this, then let me help you." He demanded. "I cannot sit idly by forever my dear, these links to your world are only good for short times to prevent other demons from causing other problems. No one understands the severity of this situation more than you. I would love to help you exact revenge on that putrid sack of skin but you must choose before it is too late and I am no longer around..

You sat in silence as Alastor did his best to help you come to a decision. As much as you hated being rushed, you couldn't deny that he was correct. But the decision was hard, harder than you thought it would be considering the fact that you still loved your father and the man he used to be…

All these thoughts ran through your head on a daily basis, everytime they made you wanna curl up and cry. Snatching up the plush doll, you gave it a good squeeze and hid your face in your knees, wishing that your Mom was still around.

The Radio Demon pursed his lips in thought, he wasn't good with others emotions unless he could feed off of the entertainment from it, much less comforting them. There was nothing entertaining about this, about you being sad. He didn't like it for a reason he couldn't explain, perhaps because you were so bubbly in the beginning?

You weren't trying to do anything miraculous, you just wanted to live your life in peace and possibly get justice for your mother. That was something he could understand. He wouldn't mind completely decimating your Dad, truly he wouldn't! It'd be on the house for you, truly you're the most pitiful soul he's come across in a long while.

He supposed he could pull a few quick strings to make you feel better in the moment. To bring back that smile of yours, full of wonder and a desire for life.

As you continued to seek shelter in your knees, you felt a gentle touch caress the top of your head, sharp claws softly scraping your scalp in an attempt to comfort you.

Wait..

WHAT?!

Quickly yet carefully, you snapped your head up to see none other than The Radio Demon crouched down right in front of you. His hand still rested on the crown of the head as you both stared at each other for a moment.

“I'm sorry.. am I dreaming?” You blurted out.

Alastor smiled, laughing in a low tone at your completely gobsmacked expression. “Fortunately for you, the answer is no my dear. As a gentleman, it'd be rude of me not to at least attempt to help a lady in emotional distress.”

You were still dazed and confused about him being here, much less t o u c h i n g you!! “Ida..I-- I didn't know you could-”

“Travel through the radio? It is quite possible but I only do so on rare occasions since it requires a fair bit of my power that cannot be overexerted in one day.”

Standing up to his full height, you realized how tall he was and thanked God that the ceiling was high enough for his antlers not to scrape. Crawling out of your chair, you immediately felt like an ant compared to him, the top of your head barely came to his collarbone.

“Holy crap you're tall." You blurted again. "I mean, I knew that you were tall but, you're really, really tall..”

Smirking with pride, he twirled his cane expertly like the show off you knew and loved. “7”0 exactly my dear, a foot taller than I was when I was a mortal! Though I suppose that was the universes funny way of punishing me for my crimes, I've bumped my forehead on door frames a good 50 times in both life and death!”

As you examined his real life appearance, you couldn't help but laugh. “Yeah well, the heels don't help.” You pointed to his shoes.

He huffed in feigned offense. “They are not heels, darling they are tap dancing shoes and it was quite common for them to have a bit of height back in my day.”

“Okay, Fred Astare.” You snorted as he settled himself on the side of your bed as you marveled at the fact that he was still taller than you even while sitting down. “And here I was preparing to offer you a dance in hopes of lifting your spirits, only for you to insult my tastes in fashion.” He hmphed, crossing his arms and legs while sticking up his pointy nose towards you.

In a daring moment, you sat right next to him crissed crossed, careful not to to touch him while he continued to play offended. “C’mon Al, don't be so huffy. I didn't mean anything by it.”

“ ‘Al’ huh?” He hummed. “Sounds like someone is getting rather familiar.”

“Hey, you call me 'Darling' and 'Dear' so often I think that it's only fair that I call you 'Al' on occasions.”

“I suppose you have a point. Nevertheless, I came here to try and boost your spirits, you seem to be doing better so if you wish to be bratty I can just go back home..” He teased with an evil grin.

“Wait!” You said just a bit too loudly. “Would you like to play a game with me? Ya know, before you go..”

Alastor raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he parted his lips to deny your offer, until you pulled out the big guns and gave him your best puppy girl eyes. A chill went down his spine from your usage of such cheap tactics, remembering his years as a lad and doing the exact same thing when he wanted something desperately from his dear mother.

“Okay! Okay!” He said, placing his hands up in surrender. “I shall subject myself to whatever game this is for one round, as long as you stop making that revolting expression..”

He watched as you smiled with pure enthusiasm. Such a beautiful smile you had, it made him irritated that you didn't do it more, yet proud that he typically was the source of it sprouting in the first place. Crimson eyes followed your movements as you shuffled off the bed to grab a small deck of cards off of your shelf. A part of him hoped you heard the chuckle that left his lips while you struggled to stand on your toes to retrieve this game.

“It's called ‘Uno’ “ You explained, walking back to him with a red box in hand. “It's a pretty simple game and the rules are easy.” Dumping the cards out of the box, the two of you sat parallel with one another.

”However, this simple game has been known to end more friendships than Monopoly and Mario Kart put together. It shall truly test our bond as companions, only the strongest survive it's trials..” You spoke in a dramatic tone while shuffling the cards and placing the proper numbers out for the both of you. Once you were finished, you placed the extra cards in the middle and looked the Radio Demon square in the eye. “Are you ready?”

“Yes yes,” He replied aloofly. “There isn't any possible way this silly game could cause such a staggering amount of broken relationships. I refuse to believe it's that bad.’

You chuckled bitterly. “You beautiful unsuspecting fool.”

---------------------- ( 2 Hours Later) ---------------------

“That's against the rules!” Alastor hissed underneath his breath as you threw out a fat stack of +2 cards.

“No it's not Alastor, you said you wanted to play stacks and this is how it's played.” You muttered.

The first round between you two consisted of showing Alastor the ropes. The confident man he was, he assured you that the game was easy enough for an infant to play and win effortlessly, especially since he won the first round. You then decide to spice things up by teaching him how to play stacks. He claimed that was easy as well and you allowed him to believe this as the next round consisted of him losing, and so did the next round, and the round after that, and the round after that…

Before you knew it, two hours had gone by and Alastor was determined to beat you at least once. It had gotten so intense that he resorted to taking his tail coat off and even putting his hair up, leaving him in his tight red office shirt and hair that framed his face like the scrumdiddlyumptious being that he was. The sight of his bare arms totally didn't have you blushing up a storm behind your cards.

While he was stewing over his next move, you got to confirm a few fan theories and ogled at his appearance.

Respectfully, of course.

But, the game wasn't over yet. Alastor sat across from you, irritated and with at least eleven cards in his hand, while you had three. The air was tense as he scratched his head and finally decided to throw out a small handful of 8’s, bringing his card count down to five.

Your poker face remained unmoving as you calmly threw out a wild card. “Blue.”

A warble of interference omitted from Alastor's person as his eyes scanned his cards carefully. You were actually surprised at how the tables had turned personality wise. In the beginning, it was Alastor who was calm and collected, but every loss slowly chipped away at the pride that fueled his unwavering persona. His usual smile was now looking more forced, making his disdain obvious.

Throwing out a blue card, you threw out two on top, leaving you with one card as you stated that dreadful word. “Uno.”

With a growl, Alastor tossed out a draw +4. “Red.” He stated blandly. A quick glance at the clock let him know he was late for a meeting with Charlie, but formalities be damned because he was going to win this game.

You took your cards quickly and deemed your hand an amazing one. He replied by tossing out a 2 and leaving three cards left. Victory was close and he swore that once he won he would ‘kindly’ rub it in your face.

But, just as you had been doing for these past five rounds, you had an ace up your sleeve. You tossed out the red ‘Skip’ card, costing Alastor a vital turn that could have turned the tables, only to metaphorically slap him in the face by cheering “Uno!” and dropping your final cards in the middle of the messy deck.

He suppressed a scream of irritation as you did your little victory dance, glaring at you both with gaiety and pure spite. He stood up and snapped his coat back on and his hair back down, he pinched your cheek just a little too hard. “That's enough cutting a rug darling, especially for someone that has two left feet such as yourself.”

“Stop trying to cease my dancing, I must wiggle out my joy.”

With a roll of his eyes, he tuned the radio on to his station to prepare to go back home. “Well you can dance until your heart's content, unfortunately I have to return back home to handle some business.”

Immediately your uncoordinated movements stopped, as you frowned. “Oh, right..”

Part of him felt bad. Not that he would tell you outright, but he didn't exactly want to leave you behind either. The thoughts of what your father could do unannounced made him concerned for your safety, but there wasn't anything he could do. Instead, he smiled genuinely and lifted your gaze up with his finger.

“Chin up, dearest. I shall check on you tomorrow as always and don't forget, you still need to make up your mind about what you want from the options presented to you.”

You didn't reply verbally, but you did nod your head sadly which would have to be enough for now. As he prepared to walk off, he was suddenly stopped by a tight embrace from behind. Anyone else who would have ever dared to think of such a thing would have been a splatter on the wall and he was just about to give you a kind yet serious talk about personal space until he felt something wet soaking through his clothes.

“..Thank you.” You mumbled through the fabric. Inhaling his scent as you sniffled and tried to calm down, honestly you were surprised he didn't push you off.

As mentioned before, emotions were not Alastor's think nor was physical affection. However in this moment, with you crying lightly and hugging him as if he were your only hope of survival, he decided that maybe, just this once, he would let it slide.

For his comfort, you didn't allow the hug to last longer than a minute. Once you pulled away you were embarrassed to say the least and prepared for him to possibly scold or never talk to you again. But, to your surprise, he simply pat your head and whispered, “Sleep tight, cher.”and was gone with a blink of your eyes.

To say you were sad was an understatement, but you knew that he'd be back tomorrow like he was everyday. The idea of talking to him tomorrow. To hear his voice in real time, talking to you and to offer comfort because he actually cared made your heart pound in your chest. As much as you didn't want to think this way, you couldn't help it. He seemed so concerned about you, in a way that no one else has until now.

You did your best to still your beating heart as you began to clean up your fun from earlier, only to find your cards were missing. You looked everywhere and still couldn't find them, ultimately you claimed into bed and decided that maybe Alastor snapped them somewhere you'd never find so that he wouldn't have to loose, I mean, play anymore.

Meanwhile…

“Alastor you're late!” Vaggie snapped as he came waltzing down the stairs, following her to where the rest of the group sat waiting.

“I am aware Vagatha, I was busy doing something else.” He replied calmly, only to make the fallen angel more irritated. “Whatever, I hope you brought something because it's your turn for a group activity today..”

“But of course! How could I forget?” He smiled impishly, before pulling out a red box with a familiar word on it. Once with the rest of the residents, Alastor clapped his hands together and pulled out a chalkboard seemingly out of nowhere.

“For today's activity being hosted by yours truly, we shall all be playing a game suited for bonding and the strengthening of relationships,” He beamed, writing out the title of the game in big letters for everyone to see.

“The name of the game is...UNO!"

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

(Thank you for coming back for Chapter 3# of this story! I hope you stick around for the next one because I plan to make it the last. I've been so busy with life and stuff, it's kinda hard to find time or motivation to write, but I do want this to come to a close while still making room for a bit of fun between Al and the Reader.

For those who asked me to make a tag list, I'm not entirely sure how to 😅. Though I will try to figure it out for the next time I write a short story. Don't forget to leave your opinions behind in the comments and thank you for all the love you guys give me, it means a lot 💜

Stay Tuned! :D

Taglist: @twistedvanillacoffee @diffidentphantom @boldlyenchantingfox22

[selunesdreams]

Chapter 16: The Right Dellamorte

“You can do with your body what you please, I just…think you deserve better.” “Sweet of you, but I haven’t had time for intimacy in months. If I find myself hot and bothered, I can promise you Damas won’t be my first stop.” She said as he dipped her towards the floor, one hand supporting her back while the other remained at her waist. “Any other romantic advice?” Lucanis smirked. “Only to kiss the right Dellamorte next time.” Rook’s pulse quickened as she clung to his greatcoat. Slowly, Lucanis eased her up, his expression suggesting his own forwardness equally surprised him. There was a raggedness to his breathing, and he reached out tentatively to comb a hand through her hair. When she remained still, he let the strands slip through his fingertips until he was cradling the back of her neck. A soft rattling of bones behind them broke the moment, and Rook turned to find Manfred offering her a thick tome on his serving platter. She straightened, smoothing the front of her gown with a thin-lipped smile. “Excellent work, Manfred.”

Pairing: Lucanis x Fem Rook/OFC x Spite???

Summary: Emmrich requests Lucanis and Rook's assistance infiltrating a former colleague's soiree, Rook grants Lucanis a rare moment of vulnerability, and Spite grapples with existentialism and…zippers.

Word count: 4.5k

Things of note/warnings: 18+ fic, MDNI! This chapter contains content from Emmrich's veilguard quest, A Sacrifice of Souls. Warnings for: mention of shitty dads, dead parents, temporary character demise, panting/heavy breathing/risque touching. Please read on AO3 if you need to track warnings, they will be inevitably detailed better there (or just want to be real sweet and give me hits/kudos/comments).

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

The days following the rescue of the Dalish passed without incident, but Neve managed to keep Rook occupied. After an agonizing and unnecessary Threads meeting (that Damas called just to flirt with Rook), she and Neve returned to the Lighthouse after a quick dinner at the docks.

“Someone’s on Damas’ good side,” Neve teased. “I suppose your little tryst last year did us some good.”

Just as Rook began a cutting remark, they ascended the stairs to find a small group of friends waiting for them. Talking amongst themselves, their companions sat around the table, joined by one of the Mourn Watchers, Myrna. Coffee in hand, Lucanis leaned against Emmrich’s chair. His agitated expression suggested he’d overheard Neve’s mention of Damas.

“We have her, Rook!” Emmrich shot to his feet, excitedly clenching his fists. “We know exactly what she’s planning!”

Manfred echoed the necromancer with a delighted hiss, and Rook glanced at the others expectantly for clarification. 

“Is this about your old friend? Johanna?” Neve asked as she took a seat beside Harding on the couch, “Did you find out anything about that artifact she’s been wielding, then?”

“She carries a glowing lantern.”

“Shit!”

Rook jumped at the sound of Vorgoth’s voice as the phantom-like figure appeared behind her, and Lucanis tensed, instinctively reaching for the sword at his hip. The two had shared some discomfort around Emmrich’s collection of spirits and Fade-touched acquaintances, as spirit magic wasn’t common amongst Crows. Lucanis was guilty of being more vocal about his discomfort, while Rook tried desperately to conceal hers behind a mask of polite deference.

“The lanterns were fashioned by unscrupulous necromancers of the past. They steal and concentrate life.” Myrna explained as Vorgoth took his place at her side. “Hezenkoss intends to hold a soiree at Blackthorne Manor, likely to lure such a pool for her to draw from.”

“Johanna could leech life from hundreds at a time. An endless source of power!” Emmrich lamented. “We must do something. Everyone here has already agreed to assist me in infiltrating Johanna’s lair while she’s distracted. Once we’ve destroyed her lantern, all will be well.”

“What can I do?” Rook asked.

“I could use you and Lucanis’ unique set of skills to glean whatever information you can from the other attendees.” He said and laid a hand on Manfred’s shoulder. “I’m afraid my companion is not quite ready to attend a soiree all on his own.”

“He wants us to attend the party.” Lucanis said, brushing past her on his way to the courtyard. He leaned over, his breath ghosting over Rook’s ear, “Wear something nice.”

A chill ran up her spine, the air only becoming colder as Vorgath and Myrna strode past, taking their leave.

“Happy hunting.” 

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

“No, Manfred, you pinch and pull…ow!”

Rook held the silk dress together where the skeleton had been trying to zip it up. He sulked, clicking the tips of his boned fingers together in exasperation. 

“You’re right, your hands are too smooth. It’s okay, we can try again, you just-”

“Having trouble?” Lucanis asked, peering through the crack in the doorway. He pushed his way inside, dressed in a black-on-black suit, a dark green greatcoat pulled over his shoulders. Perched atop a neatly knotted grey cravat, his usual Crow-embellished buttons gleamed subtly in the light as they held the chain across his collar in place.

Typical that a Dellamorte would have her feeling underdressed in an evening gown.

“Manfred is struggling with the zipper…through no fault of his own!” She reassured the skeleton, “I think skin is key for traction.”

“CURIOSITY DRESSED ROOK NICELY.” Spite interjected, causing Lucanis’ face to flush. He cleared his throat, giving Manfred an appreciative nod. 

“I can take things from here.” He offered as he regained control. Manfred’s teeth chattered excitedly as stooped and eagerly gathered several discarded gowns from the floor, piling them in his arms until they towered over his skull. He fled from the room, disappearing down the hall.

“Little thief.” Rook muttered as Lucanis stepped behind her, sweeping her hair over her shoulders. “I’m sure I’ll find him playing dress-up later.”

“Well, I don’t think he’ll be moonlighting as a tailor anytime soon.”

Lucanis slipped one hand to the base of her spine, pulling the dress’ fabric taut and zipping it slowly. One thumb slid up the stretch of her spine, protecting her skin from becoming pinched in the metal again. Goosebumps broke out in the wake of his touch, and Rook stepped out of his reach as soon as he was finished.

“Thank you.” Rook gathered her hair in her hands, letting it cascade down her back again.

“Don’t mention it.”

Lucanis wandered the room, inspecting her keepsakes and trinkets, before picking up her knives on the dresser and passing them to her. She affixed one to the strap on her thigh and tucked the other inside her boot. She wasn’t risking getting caught in battle wearing heels ever again, and the length of the dress concealed them well.

“It’s been some time since I’ve seen you in formalwear.” Lucanis said, offering her his arm.

“Likewise.” She hooked her elbow in Lucanis’, matching her steps to his as he led her down the staircase. “I think I’m looking forward to a rare occasion of anonymity.”

Lucanis hummed in agreement, taking a sharp turn towards the eluvian room as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“So you and Neve met with the Threads again today?”

“What, feeling left out?” Rook sneered. “I thought you didn’t want to come if there wasn’t killing?”

“Better to be consistent. Let them know I’m still here.” 

“I don’t need you to protect me.” 

“You don’t. But take me next time, anyway.” He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “Perhaps I’ll find an opportunity to dirty my blade.” 

“Something tells me you’d like to use it on Damas.”

He shrugged. “Spite doesn’t like the way he looks at you.” 

Rook stopped before the eluvian, placing her hands on her hips. “Is that true, Spite?”

“LUCANIS-”

He coughed forcefully, suppressing the demon’s response.

“Fine. I don’t like it either.” Lucanis growled, ushering her into the eluvian. 

Blackthorne Manor loomed ominously before them on the horizon as they surfaced outside the eluvian at the edge of the woods. Chatter and music emanated from within, reaching their ears even from a distance. The evening air nipped at Rook’s skin, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself for warmth, carefully stepping over the dirt-covered cobblestone path. Each uneven stone was a challenge to not muddy her gown.

“How exactly does Damas look at me?” She asked as Lucanis led her inside.

He tensed, a puff of hot air leaving his nostrils in the chill.

“Like he’s undressing you with his eyes.” 

“Men are vile. That’s just how it is. You and Spite can’t possibly pluck the eyes from every ill-intentioned gentleman who stares at me too long.”

“We could try.”

As they entered the manor, they found the grand hall alive with lively conversation and posturing, voices reverberating off the walls. The ballroom was bathed in green light, as so many Mourn Watcher spaces and dwellings were. The marbled floors reminded her of the Dellamorte Operahouse as she stepped over their gold embellishments. From her periphery, Rook could see their companions observing from a nearby balcony.

"I've never been to a party with so many mages without being hired to kill one of them." Lucanis murmured.

"Try to place nice, for now." Rook said, catching on to a nearby conversation between two mages and tugging Lucanis aside toward a pillar to eavesdrop. “Emmrich wants us to determine where Johanna’s workshop is, first.”

“A shrine in the manor? You’re kidding.”

“Not in the slightest. As an expert, I could read the spectral tome that reveals it, if our host ever let us into the library.” The other man griped. There was a soft hiss behind them and Rook discovered Manfred waiting with an empty serving platter behind her.

“Manfred, I need a spectral tome from the library.” She asked in a hushed tone, “Could you send the others to look for it?”

The skeleton nodded and scurried away into the masses.

“And now we wait.” Rook said, eyeing the bar and cursing her vow of sobriety. Feeling Lucanis’ eyes on her, she turned to him, her voice laced with irritation. “What?”

Lucanis, undeterred, offered his hand with a gentle smile. “Care for a dance?”

“I suppose neither of our cousins are here to object.”

Rook accepted the dance, allowing him to escort her to the center of the room. To her surprise, he placed his free hand on her hip, drawing her into a slow, Antivan waltz.

“I apologize if I was critical earlier. It was not my intention…” Lucanis said, guiding her through each step with admirable grace. “I just…struggle to understand your history.”

“I suppose I didn’t realize you took such an issue with my sexual track record,” Rook mused.

Lucanis swallowed. “That’s your business.”

“You seem quite eager to make it your business,” she said, doing her best to keep synced with his movements.

“Wouldn’t you enjoy it more if it was…someone you cared for? Not some slimy Thread lying about his identity?”

“To answer that question, I’d have to sleep with someone I cared about first.” Rook replied as he gave her a brief twirl, pulling her tightly against him. “Why don’t you list off some of your ex-partners? I wouldn’t mind scrutinizing you for every regrettable evening of intimacy you’ve had.”

“There aren’t many to speak of,” Lucanis mumbled. “You can do with your body what you please, I just…think you deserve better.”

“Sweet of you, but I haven’t had time for intimacy in months. If I find myself hot and bothered, I can promise you Damas won’t be my first stop.” She said as he dipped her towards the floor, one hand supporting her back while the other remained at her waist. “Any other romantic advice?”

Lucanis smirked. “Only to kiss the right Dellamorte next time.”

Rook’s pulse quickened as she clung to his greatcoat. Slowly, Lucanis eased her up, his expression suggesting his own forwardness equally surprised him. There was a raggedness to his breathing, and he reached out tentatively to comb a hand through her hair. When she remained still, he let the strands slip through his fingertips until he was cradling the back of her neck.

A soft rattling of bones behind them broke the moment, and Rook turned to find Manfred offering her a thick tome on his serving platter. She straightened, smoothing the front of her gown with a thin-lipped smile.

“Excellent work, Manfred.”

She held the volume, sliding a thumb along its dusty spine before turning to Lucanis, who was struggling to hide his disappointment. 

“Would you like to take the lead on this, or should I?”

“By all means.” He said and gestured in front of them. Rook slipped her arm back in his, approaching the two mages from before, still engrossed in conversation.

“Excuse me, my husband and I are dear friends of the host. We’re looking for an expert to decipher this spectral tome, and someone pointed you out from across the room!” She flashed a dazzling smile that made up for her lack of natural charm. Beauty could mask even the worst charisma, Teia had always said.

The Mortalitasi Mage grinned smugly, eyes fixed upon the tome with intense desire, and extended both hands expectantly. “I’d be happy to look it over for you.” 

The spectral tome growled as Rook handed it over, and she fought to remain unbothered. If they were to appear as if they belonged here, they couldn’t risk reacting to phenomena common amongst those present.

“Shh, there now.” The mage reprimanded the tome like one would a child, “I just want to know one thing…”

He thumbed through the pages before slapping the book with one hand. 

“Ah!” He pointed a passage out to his companion, “There is an ancestral shrine! In the northwest wing!”

“Fascinating…” Rook glanced up at the balcony, where an eavesdropping Bellara gave a thumbs up before disappearing from sight.

Lucanis leaned forward, cutting into the conversation. “Any other useful information?” 

The mage hugged the tome closer. “I may need time to research it. I could return it then, if you’d like?”

“Sure. Thank you.” Lucanis said pleasantly, offering a brief bow before pulling Rook aside. “Excuse us. Enjoy your evening.”

“Johanna probably has a key...” Rook whispered as Lucanis drew her into another dance.

“Any sign of her?” He asked, standing straighter to peer over the crowd. 

“Nothing yet...” She ducked under his arm as he circled her. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to dance. Or dance well, for that matter.” 

“Killing is a dance too, no?” He asked. “Caterina insisted my parents put me in ballroom lessons the moment I could walk. It was the one part of Crow training my mother consented to at such a young age. She tried to shield me from the rest for as long as she could.”

“But your mother was a skilled assassin, was she not?”

“Doesn’t mean she agreed with the Crows’ methods. She married into the Dellamortes, and Caterina adored her, but she didn’t put on any airs, and wasn’t concerned with being agreeable to appease my grandmother.”

“It sounds like she was a lovely woman, for all I’ve heard of her.”

“Caterina said I take after her,” Lucanis said wistfully. “I take some comfort in that.”

“Do you remember much of your parents?”

“I was so young when they passed, and many of my memories are clouded from my time in the Ossuary. I distanced myself from so much to survive...” Lucanis’ words trailed off. “What about you?”

“I try to remember good things about my mother. That’s how I’d like to keep her memory. As for my father…” Rook hesitated, and Lucanis nodded, encouraging her to continue.

“I loved my father. But a part of him died with my mother. The part that was gentle, understanding - you saw a glimpse of it the day Caterina brought you over to retrieve her ring. The man I knew withered away, increasingly overcome by his own paranoia, likely after making an enemy of the Antaam.”

“Is that when he left the Crows?” 

Rook nodded. No longer in the mood to dance, she slowed her steps, dropping Lucanis’ hand.

“He trained me to fight, to survive, but never wanted me to become an assassin. All of us Crows had trying childhoods but… my father’s methods were cruel and unusual. Viago and my aunt tried to intervene, but my father only drove them away, isolating us, refusing assistance no matter how poor or hungry we got, saying their money was tainted by the king’s hand. After a lifetime of taunting from other children for being the King’s bastard, that hurt Viago more than anything. In the absence of his own father, he looked up to mine, only to face rejection from him as well.”

Lucanis’ eyes widened. “I had no idea…”

“I grieved my father when he died, and he did not deserve the brutal execution the Antaam gave him. But in so many ways, moving in with Viago was liberation. He took care of me. And later, Varric taught me to take care of myself. Taught me to endure, to laugh, to strive for a better world. Qualities that made me a poor Crow made me a strong leader. I was born Fiammetta de Riva, and that will never change, but Rook is the name I made for myself. In spite of my father. I don’t want his legacy. And I do not want to remember those years alone with him.”

As he listened, a look of compassion, not pity, softened Lucanis’ features. Rook fell silent, a blush creeping up her neck as she questioned her impulsive honesty.

“I’m sorry, you didn’t ask for my life story-”

“I appreciate you telling it. That legacy shadowed you for a lifetime. Letting it go in pursuit of who you truly are?” Lucanis reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It suits you.”

Rook’s lips parted slightly, and her chest ached as she met his gaze. Everyone on her team accepted her wholeheartedly, but Lucanis knew who she was before, and still was willing to let that version go and appreciate who she was now... 

While struggling to find the right words, Rook spotted Johanna out of the corner of her eye, storming through the ballroom.

“Kiss me.” She said, grabbing him by the collar of his shit.

His brow furrowed. “What-”

Without hesitation, she pulled him in and pressed her mouth to his ardently, backing him into a pillar. He tasted like dark, bitter coffee as she deepened the kiss, tangling her hands in his hair. Even using the moment as an opportunity, something passed between them she knew she couldn’t take back. This wasn’t about seeing what made the Demon of Vyrantium tick, or trying to soothe her ache for physical contact with an old crush. This was driven by a longing to let Lucanis Dellamorte see parts of her she’d never dared to show anyone else…

As Johanna passed them, Rook dismissed her thoughts and focused on the task at hand. She positioned herself to intercept Johanna, their shoulders colliding and sending Johanna reeling backward. Frantically, she broke the kiss, turning around and feigning panic.

“I am so, so sorry!” she cried, adjusting Johanna’s attire and subtly checking for any outlines of keys.

“You should carry yourself with more decorum at a gathering such as this!” Johanna snarled, shoving her off. Rook’s eyes flitted to Lucanis, who discreetly slipped a hand into Johanna’s coat and retrieved a keyring, inconspicuously dropping it into his pocket.

“My apologies. My wife has had a bit too much to drink tonight.” Lucanis stepped forward from behind Johanna, wrapping his arm around Rook’s shoulders and guiding her aside. “Excuse us, madame.”

As an oblivious Johanna stalked off, Lucanis steered Rook to a nearby wall, concealing them in shadow.

“You got lucky,” she said with a grin, waving Manfred over.

“You never fail to impress, Rook.” He said, retrieving the keyring from his pocket and dangling it between them.

As Manfred hobbled through the crowd with his serving tray, Rook took an empty tankard from a nearby table, plopping the keys inside.

“Get these to the others.” She directed, setting the tankard down on the platter. The skeleton hissed in understanding and ambled towards a nearby corridor, searching for Emmrich. Rook beckoned Lucanis to follow her in the opposite direction to the balcony stairwell.

“So…did I kiss the right Dellamorte this time?” She asked under lowered lashes, hoisting herself up on the railing.

Something burned in his eyes. Yearning. His, not Spite’s. Encouraged, she pressed him further, tugging at his coat and drawing him in by wrapping one leg behind his calves. The movement of her gown exposed the gleaming weapon at her thigh, and Lucanis paled at the sight, bracing one palm on the wall above her head.

“Rook…” He nuzzled his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. Their rhythmic panting was audible over the music and chatter as he grasped her waist with both hands, thumbs digging in just below her ribs. 

“Are you going to answer my question?” She leaned forward and nipped at his earlobe. “Or were you in over your head earlier with that line?”

“I don’t decide what is right for you, Rook…” he rasped, “No matter how much I…” 

She pulled back, staring in disbelief. 

“You think there’s a choice involved.” She breathed. “Between you and Illario? Lucanis…if I didn’t-I wouldn’t toy with your-”

Faint tremors shook the walls, the ground rumbling beneath their feet as the crystals in the chandeliers overhead clinked together. A cloud of dust and debris billowed as a colossal skeletal figure crashed through the marble ballroom floor, prompting widespread panic. Its eyes glowed a bejeweled green, and Johanna sat perched atop its head, her voice booming throughout the room. 

“How good to see you, friends! Scoffing colleagues, interfering Templars, inept rivals - you all have a place in my heart! And tonight you will fuel my inception at the cost of your miserable lives!” 

Harding appeared from around the corner, followed closely by their other companions, and pushed Rook and Lucanis up the stairs just as the room was enveloped in emerald light, the essence of every living creature below being drained from them.

“Go, go!”

“What did you do?” Rook hissed at Emmrich as they watch the ritual below unfold.

“Got a little too cocky.” Davrin grumbled.  

“You can’t free the spirits in that lantern?” Neve asked Emmrich, shielding her eyes from the light.

“It might kill me and not even work!” He protested, “No living thing can approach it, and-”

Manfred suddenly raised his head, rising from his crouch and rushing towards the ledge. 

“I go!”

“No!” Emmrich cried, “Come back!” 

They watched in horror as the skeleton shed its backpack, leaping off the balcony and climbing the ribcage of Johanna’s monstrosity. Manfred tore at the lantern in the giant skeleton’s chest until he dislodged it, flying free with it grasped in his bony hands. The ritual came to a stop, the hostages below freed from Johanna’s control as the spirit of curiosity landed on its back, holding up the lantern triumphantly as it swung in the air. 

“Ugh! You miserable little-” Johanna swore and directed her skeletal thrall forward. With booming steps, it stomped closer to Manfred, and with a forceful thrust, he hurled the enchanted lantern towards Emmrich. The larger skeleton brought its foot down with a deafening boom, crushing their companion underneath.

“Manfred!” Emmrich whimpered as the lantern rocked on its side against the marble floor. Rook rushed forward to retrieve it, thrusting it into the necromancer’s hands.

“Don’t let his sacrifice be in vain.”

With a mournful gaze, Emmrich raised it overhead, focusing on Johanna.

“By the spirits bound here…”

“Spite, leave it.” Lucanis said under his breath, straining to keep the demon at bay. 

“What’s wrong?” Rook asked, kneeling beside him and resting a hand on his back as Emmrich continued the ritual. Lucanis’ eyes flashed with Spite’s presence. 

“I want-”

“No.” Lucanis commanded Spite through gritted teeth as a pair of purple wings unfurled at his back. Rook’s grip on his shoulder tightened, a silent plea to the demon not to interfere, and Lucanis slouched back against the railing, brow slick with sweat.

Before them, Johanna and her skeleton toppled to the ground as she cried out, first in rage, then in a strangled, cut off shriek of terror as her body landed on the marble with a heavy thud. As the dust settled and the soiree attendees regained their footing, Emmrich raced down the stairwell and across the ballroom to Manfred’s side, stifling a sob. Everyone followed solemnly, Rook lacing her fingers through Lucanis’ as she sensed Spite slipping through again.

“Bring…CURIOSITY BACK!”

She squeezed tightly, willing the demon to calm itself. “Spite…please. Not now.”

“It’s alright. Spirits are often confused by death, especially amongst their own.” Emmrich said, cradling Manfred’s limp form in his hands as he looked up at them. “His body could only take so much. I underestimated him…”

“I didn’t realize Spite was so attached to Manfred…” Bellara said sorrowfully. “Can you bring him back?”

“Spite may be grappling with some of his own fears at the moment. Best to get he and Lucanis home.” Emmrich suggested. “As for Manfred…I will ask.”

He wiped a stray tear and gathered his fallen companion, rising to his feet. “I must go to the Necropolis. I can…I will…fix this.”

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

Rook accompanied Bellara and Emmrich to the Necropolis while the others returned to the Lighthouse. It turned out Manfred could be brought back, but only if Emmrich was willing to give up Lichdom — eternal life, to achieve the best interests of spirits and the dead.

Almost certain the necromancer would be hesitant to give up a lifelong dream well within his reach, Rook was surprised to find how willing Emmrich was to sacrifice everything for his companion. It would take a few days to gather the necessary elements to perform the revival rites, but the three returned home with hope, rather than despair. 

As the others departed for their chambers, Rook returned to her own, finding her bed already occupied. On his back, Lucanis dozed with one hand on his chest, the other extended overhead, hanging over the edge.

“ROOK?”

Spite sat up, assessing her through Lucanis’ eyes over the back of the chaise.

“Whose idea was this?” Rook asked, taking off her cloak and hanging it up in the wardrobe.

“LUCANIS SAID TO STAY IN THE KITCHEN. BUT I WAIT UNTIL HE SLEEP. BRING HIM HERE. TO WAIT FOR ROOK.”

“Better than leaving through the eluvian.” She sighed, “What had you so shaken back at the manor, Spite?”

The demon remained silent, and she knew well enough to leave the matter alone.

“Do you know how zippers work, Spite?” She asked, changing the subject.

He rose, footsteps echoing through her chambers as she offered her back to him. Lucanis’ fingertips were cold as they skimmed against her bare shoulders, Spite tracing mesmerized circles on her skin. With a curious tug, he studied the zipper of her dress, bringing it down just a few notches before tilting his head to the side and sliding it down the rest of the way. With a hand behind her, holding the gown together, Rook shooed him aside. The demon’s gaze lingered, but it carried for more fascination than desire.

“What do you like about me so much, Spite?” Rook asked suddenly, realizing the potential danger in her question only after she had asked it. The spirit blinked, as if the answer should be obvious.

“ROOK DOES NOT FEAR SPITE. MAKES LUCANIS FEEL…”

He paced, gazing at the arched windows, struggling to articulate Lucanis’ unspoken feelings with such a limited mortal vocabulary. Taking advantage of his lapse in attention, Rook slipped off her dress and hurriedly changed into a white silk chemise.

“DETERMINED!” Spite finished eagerly. “LUCANIS DETERMINED TO PROTECT. TO UNDERSTAND. TO IMPRESS.”

In a flash of violet, his wings unfolded behind him, and Spite took to the air, landing with a quiet thud before her again.

“TO BE NEAR. TO TOUCH.” He extended a hand, Lucanis’ thumb trailing down her cheek. “TO BE GENTLE…”

With a sudden jerk, Spite’s presence faded from his eyes, and Lucanis’ face slackened. Worry lined his face as he recoiled in confusion.

“Rook? What happened?”

“Spite came to visit. We talked. That’s all.” She reassured him, “He’s surprisingly a perfect gentleman.”

“Mierda.” Lucanis dragged a hand down his face. “My apologies. I can’t believe he’d intrude on you like this.”

“I don’t mind. I would have been up for hours trying to get that dress off if he hadn’t helped me out.”

Lucanis glanced down at the thin chemise just barely covering her breasts, and worked his jaw, averting his gaze.

“You should rest. It’s been a long day.”

“What about you?”

“I need coffee.” He said, pulling open her door.

“In the middle of the night?”

“Especially in the middle of the night.” He replied with a tired smile, stepping into the hall, “Sleep well, Rook.”

[sepublic]

Alright hear me out. Pythor x Overlord yaoi. Think about it. The only people the Overlord has really interacted with are yes-men he created to serve him, such as Kozu and Cryptor, or people he's manipulated after rescuing at a low point in their lives, so Garmadon and Harumi.

Pythor is different; He's someone wholly independent of the Overlord, who went out of his way to find and rescue him, totally of his own volition. The Overlord might not have even known Pythor existed up until they met. Others, the Overlord has had to control and take advantage of, but him and Pythor are always on the same track, there's no moral hesitation on his end. They have an evil laugh together, the Overlord outright tells Pythor that he likes him.

Of course Kozu and Cryptor do everything for the Overlord, they were made for that. Pythor CHOSE to be unconditionally loyal. He says he wants the Overlord as a means of revenge against the ninja, but he still took a bullet for the Overlord, which necessitated Zane's sacrifice. Maybe Pythor was more assured of the Overlord's ability to destroy the ninja than his own, and was willing to die for vengeance because what else does he have left?

He's an outcast by Serpentine standards; In the canon Pythor's Revenge book, part of his motives for stealing the BorgWatch ahead of its release was to impress his fellow Serpentine into letting him back in, but they don't. Everyone blames Pythor for nearly getting them killed, he's hated by his own kind now, and was evidently somewhat of a black sheep even amongst his own Anacondrai, who eventually did recognize him at the end of S4.

Does Pythor even know what he's doing with his life anymore, or is he just angry and bitter and looking for an outlet? Has he been driven twice mad, first by surviving the starvation and Donner Party cannibalism of his kind, and then burning inside of the Great Devourer? He was all alone after the Great Devourer, vulnerable and having to take care of himself.

Maybe he sees himself in the Overlord, someone considered an absolute monster with nobody else on his side, who just wants to lash out at the world. Maybe there's a kinship between the two, where Pythor gives him the helper he himself needed. Multiple times, he is the Overlord's savior, when usually it is the other way around between the Overlord and his found champion; There are times where HE is guiding the Overlord with advice, having a grounded, mortal perspective that he needs. The Overlord has had minions and pawns, but him and Pythor genuinely feel like an equal standing.

Don't you think it's kinda sus that the Overlord trusts Pythor more with his damaged condition, than the Nindroid he literally programmed to serve him? He knew Cryptor longer. But Pythor's willing, unconditional loyalty really is something else; I think the Overlord's never had a mortal choose to be on his side without coercion of some kind, so he's like his first real friend. The only person he actually respects enough to listen to; Someone the Overlord trusts to intimately hide in the body of, over any other mechanical means up until this point. Maybe he was just sick of robotic confines and wanted to feel flesh. But maybe…!

Cryptor is wary of Pythor and learning the Overlord really did trust this Serpentine more than his own creation is frustrating to him. He thinks they're both vying for paternal affection from the Overlord. On Cryptor's end, that is the case. But for Pythor, he, um. Fucked that old man.

In Crystalized, I kinda see the Overlord as replacing the twisted paternal role that Harumi tried to place Garmadon into. So in addition to any possibly objections over the mastermind of her parents' demise being on C.O.C.K., not only is the Overlord justifying it by explaining that Pythor is loyal, but also. Also he's his husband. Evil purple couple. By extension that makes Pythor her dad, her fourth dad. Harumi has to explain to Mr. F that Pythor fucked her dad.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Might be a bit obscure but I was wondering if you have any HCs about Harmonia?

Harmonia, goddess of harmony!

I started with a couple of random ideas but ended up with a whole story for her lmao

When Harmonia was born, Ares would hold her in his arms and cry the whole night for how adorable she was.

As the only daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, Harmonia grew up with four bothers (Eros, Anteros, Phobos, Deimos) and a bunch of adoptive brothers (the Erotes). She was rarely seen without at least one brother accompanying her.

Harmonia and Hebe had a complicated relationship. Not in a bad way but in a "I'm your brother's daughter but I was born around the same time as you so uh..." way.

Harmonia was the referee/peace-keeper in the house. She was the one settling disputes among her siblings and make them hug each other out after their fights.

But don't mistake Harmonia's preference for peace for her being weak. Peace isn't always achieved in a peaceful way, and with a father who is a war god and siblings being literal embodiments of fear and terror, Harmonia can and will throw hands if you were to disrespect her. Even her siblings don't get it easy.

And you know the rule: when the most pacifist person got pissed, things will get ugly fast.

Harmonia and Eris don't interact much due to their domains being literal opposites. But they absolutely have the "Are you tired of being nice? Don't you wanna go ape shit?" dynamic.

When Cadmus came to serve Ares as atonement for slaying his serpent, Harmonia took one look at this mortal hero and got a big fat crush. But she only quietly admire Cadmus from afar and never dared to come close.

Why? Well in the godly society, apparently it's fine for gods to sleep with mortal women, but goddesses sleeping with mortal men is considered shameful (e.g. Clio chided Aphrodite for sleeping with Adonis and Merope hid in shame for marrying Sisyphus)

Ares knew about his daughter crushing on his servant but was too shy to approach him, so being the awesome father that he is, he became her wingman (or wing-dad)

Ares ordered Cadmus to run errands at places where Harmonia was often around so they would "accidentally" bump into each other. He'd nudged Cadmus like, "Hey, my little girl thought highly of you so I'll make this servitude easier for you. Also, what do you think about Harmonia?"

Aphrodite was also supportive of her daughter getting it on with Cadmus, giving her tips and tricks to win over the guy. "Goddesses being with mortal man is shameful my ass, you go get your man, dear daughter!"

Harmonia aso ried to flirt and court Cadmus with advices from Eros. Sometimes it works pretty well, other times... well, Eros got his ass beaten by his sister.

When Cadmus was done with his servitude and married Harmonia, you can imagine Ares being a shotgun father and the Erotes being shotgun brothers at the wedding.

As one of the beloved-by-all figure on Olympus, Harmonia received a lot of wedding gifts from the other gods. However, unbeknownst to all, Harmonia was given a cursed robe and necklace from Hephaestus (as revenge for her parents cheating when Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus)

It was believed that these cursed gifts were the reason why almost all children of Cadmus and Harmonia were doomed.

On an unrelated but also related note, because Hephaestus' gifts had caused Harmonia misery, Ares grew even more bitter and distant from his brother.

I'm not gonna go through all the things that happened with the House of Thebes. Let's just say all the horrors that took her children away take a toll on Harmonia. She fell into depression, beginning to doubt her own divinity and dreading over the fact that as a goddess herself, she couldn't protect all of her children from their demises.

But after everything, Harmonia held strong. She had her father's bravery and her mother's fierce love, and those two traits was what carried her through the darkest moments and made her the ever-faithful anchor for her husband.

Harmonia was the one advised Cadmus to leave the royalty life and settle for a more simpler but more peaceful one. She wouldn't mind having to live as a peasant if it meant this new life could bring peace of mind to her husband.

When Cadmus was turned into a snake, Harmonia was offered by her family to a choice to leave Cadmus and return to Olympus. She chose to stay with him, even let herself be turned into a snake to join her beloved. He was all the she had left, and she decided: if they had to go, they will go together.

And when Cadmus finally died, even if she couldn't die herself, Harmonia followed him to Elysium.

But since Harmonia is still a goddess with duties, time and time again she would have to go back to the living world to fulfill them or visit her godly family. Those parting trips weren't as long as Persephone's because Harmonia is still a minor goddess.

Anyways, it was an overall happy ending for them.

[yen-sids-tournament]

Quotable Disney Round 1 Active Polls:

Eighth group: Jan 7:

Dad finally picks THEM v Stitch found his family

John Smith's confession v Mr. Banks' investment portfolio

More cutting insult (by dog) v Less cutting insult (by god)

Stitch has a chainsaw v Pooh can do the impossible

There are two kinds of men v He'snotfreakingout!

Zeus defines a hero v children embrace the world

Genie wakes up v Lumiere narrates dinner

Is that how the saying goes? v Remember: 'jackass' = 'donkey'

Seventh group, Jan 3:

Cruella's Day v Marie's responsibilities

Pooh makes a promise v Newsboys strike

Eugene's final words v Elsa's reluctance

Newscaster Genie v Our favorite Possum

Remy's observation v Aphrodite's limits

Plot sensitive LeFou v Something Lilo should work through

Gods' final moments v A poor sinner's offer

Who needs a brain? v The genie was tricked!

All Our Polls

Finished polls:

Sixth group, Dec 30:

Aggie's instruction v Genie's cheers

Mama Odie's Excitement v Marcy's Confession

Introducing Francis v Powerful Pudge

Scared Adonis v Insightful Remy

The Archdeacon's Anger v Ancient Dodgy Watch Seller

Davy Jones' Question v Tigger and Eeyore

Anna trying v Embarrassed Gaston

Classic Xanatos v a 14th Century Prince

Fifth group, Dec 26:

The King's family v The Queen's schedule

Feminism: Sister Suffragette v Royal Empowerment

Godly Humor v Humanity's Future

Unexpected Intro v Southern Sayin's

Pirates of their word v Damsel embracing distress

Helpful cricket v Boy boldly trying

Sentimental Snowman v Murderous Old Man

He's gonna need some magic, dearie v THE Hawaiian fam

Fourth group, Dec 22:

Zenon's exclamation v Buzz's observation

Musical Dreams v Insane Plans

The Dwarf's second childhood v Dash's young demise

Soos reading v The Emperor refusing

Kind-hearted Ella v Mean mall lady

Proud Papa Mushu v Confusing Platypus Disappearances

Sarcastic Timon v Motivational Lewis

Maddie's casting problems v Kronk using his braincells

Third group, Dec 14:

Lucy's question v Stan's badger

Wendy's plea v Bradley's apology

Sarcastic Roz v Intense Edna

GF: Soos and Abuelita v Real Bill

Big words: Captain Amelia v Chinese Soldier

Claw Marks: Elisa v Curiosity: Walt

Stan yelling at the TV v Isabella asking a question

Advice for Thumper v Goodbye from Widow Tweed

Second Group, Dec 11:

Judy's Math v Mushu's Directions

Animals' feelings v Orton's knowledge

Grunkle Stan's ladder plan v Phineas' announcement

Ancestor's limitations v Basil's exception

The Emperor's New Groove: A flea v Proper grammar

Unity of the Americas v Pressure during Basketball

Flik's corporate break up v School community building

Pro-Wife Honey v Anti-Husband Merida

First group, Dec 8:

Walt's Deadlines v. Mushu's Dishonor

Bob Weis: Disney America v. Emperor Zurg: Target Planet

Kronk poisoning Kuzco v. Dr. Doof cursing a platypus

Yzma and a llama v. Clueless Morgan and Long John Silver

Buzz's assessment v. Shang's plan

Dory's mantra v. Dr Doof's nickels

Kenia's story v. Ben's toast

4th Wall Fractures: Percy v. Kuzco Yzma and Kronk's

[spotlightlowlife]

Charlie Hazbin done better before?

The pilot in the first minute has her, in her own words let us know she is a dreamer, she outlines her viewpoints and objective clearly, lets us know she's been trying, she gets dismissed and she ask if the problem was the world or her.

We see in visuals that she has various superiors to outclassed her.

It is obvious as to why she has to take her plans to her target audience which is the commoner and start from scratch, because what good is being born into power if you can't use it?

Again, we are just at the start.

Charlie went to the media with her pitch, we would see that she isn't well known to the public and those who know mwhi she is don't care. We see that she is unprepared, unprofessional and not assertive, she quickly becomes a laughing stock.

Charlie was excited to announce she had the famous Angeldust on side which she managed through bribery, she was happy to boast that he was in the way to being one of her success stories, which backfires in her face immediately as he just made the choice to participated in a turf war going on at that moment for no particular reason. This turf war which immediately followed the cleanse.

Nobody has anything to lose, they're use to what they have, plenty seem comfortable with and are able to gain from death and destruction, so why would trust in pushover Charlie's words that she 'beleives' they're better than they are and can move on up to sit with those who wipe them out like vermin? Because that's what everyone even wants?

It's understandable that she would get used for her hotel, the hotel itself becoming the solution and the problem.

Charlie's mother is too busy for her and her dad is disappointed in her decision making, the only words of advice we hear Charlie echo from him are to not take shit from any demon. We know she's a pushover. She's out on her own, trying and feeling increasingly defeated.

Vaggie is sensible, she tries to prevent Charlie humiliating herself and making dangerous decisions that effect everyone but Charlie is going to do as she pleases regardless, she knows this. This could prove a great example of their class and power divide, unlike those she mixes with, Charlie is hellborn powerful princess, bad reputation is hurtful and nothing more and she doesn't fear for her life.

A pampered princess from a functional supportive family who didn't have to endure earthly hardships and demise.

Now remember, the pilot may not be canon.

The first four minutes of episode one pit Charlie pretty low in establishing and fleshing out her parents, her charismatic mother who rose to power but is now a missing person a dad who was born into grandeur but faced many issues who is depressed somewhere, then Charlie came to be, she hasn't done any of the greatness expected of her for no other reason than she's their offspring and petty disrespect to her face is welcome from randos she hangs out with who haven't really been introduced and don't particularly like one another.

The groundwork is done, the unflattering advert has been released to nobody in particular and Charlie has her group of various acquaintances, there's no chemistry, the only one we can really class as a friend is Vaggie who speaks up for her in defense. Why are they all together? Anyone who watched the pilot knows.

Now she's out to save sinners and not just help any demon which the pilot left open for us, but just as her clientele narrows, we meet Adam, the ancestor of sinners, an unreasonable dudebro who outclasses her.

Most characters outclassed her on the attention front, her plot vanishes into one of many subplots immediately.

The Charlie we had was idealistic, caring, enthusiastic, driven and hardworking all in her own right, pushing her own thing, but she was far from oblivious to the challenges she faced which were getting everybody in the room to listen and guiding troubled folk to change their ways. Obstacles faced with rehab.

This Charlie, antichrist chosen one fulfilling her destiny, is just there, somewhere at back.

It may be early days technically but still, the pilot and the first four episodes of Helluva proved things can move along quickly and coherently.

We are expected to take what we remember of the pilot with us as a shortcut to knowing these characters, 'canon' or not.

[happylikeasadsong]

save it for later x sydney's decision

so we all know the song save it for later is everywhere this season so logically i was paying close attention to whenever the song would come out and try and read more into it.

i'll be analyzing eddie vedder's cover, released exclusively for the bear season 3.

let's dive in

of all scenes where they played it in, the one that really stuck to me was when it played in the bg while she was having a coffee with shapiro and he was offering her the job.

i saw this meta doing a deep dive in the fourth wall theory by @brokenwinebox that's based on @thoughtfulchaos773 meta on it too and they mentioned the songfacts interview where dave wakeling explains what the song is about and i couldn’t help but be even more intrigued by the meaning behind the scene in episode 7.

“So it was about being lost … and you'd have all sorts of people telling you this, that, and the other, and advising you, and it didn't actually seem like they knew any better. So it was like, 'Keep your advice to yourself. Save it for later.'”

so we know syd has been feeling under appreciated ever since carmy decided to take over the menu and started disregarding most of her ideas, if not all of them.

we see her talk to all people involved. we see her having her dad say the partnership agreement is flimsy, nat and cicero both having a friendly chat with her before telling her to sign the agreement, pete says is a good thing, carmy is being carmy, and then shapiro adding to her anxiety saying he wants her to run this new place and it all sounds incredibly good, but he plans to move fast…

it should be an easy decision if you look objectively at the situation. she’ll be getting a better pay, benefits, creative control and freedom to do as she likes, she’ll be seen as a partner from the jump, no circling around it, no doubts. chef adam shapiro wants her.

but chef adam shapiro doesn’t know her. doesn’t know her story or how she’s like. he doesn’t know about her failed business. and he definitely doesn’t know her history with carmy.

so for him i think this is a chance to have the cdc who’s working with carmy berzatto, the prodigy chef. it would look wonderful on paper. but he doesn’t know her.

sydney on the other hand has seen multiple articles on the near where they only show or talk about carmy’s accomplishments and gives only him the praise both of them should be getting.

i think that having her name erased from the restaurant she put her blood, sweat and tears in cause carmy was nowhere to be found, frustrates her even more (deservedly!).

sydney's lost. she doesn't know what to do or which path to follow.

all of these people around her don’t know what’s she’s going through because she won’t talk to anybody about it. she’s saving it for later, at her own demise.

she’s being pulled in all these different directions and she’s lost, she doesn’t want to leave her found family, but the offer is an opportunity for a fresh start in a place where she knows she’s gonna be running things as she sees fit and have the freedom to allow her creativity to flourish again.

cry, cry but i don’t need my mother just hold my hand while i come on a decision on it

this line makes me think she will eventually open up to someone that will help her once she finally makes a decision.

which can be her dad. he’s been calling and asking her about it and she said it herself her dad is the person in her life she can count on.

i don't know how i’m meant to act with all of you lot, sometimes, i don’t try

she gets tired of trying to reach carmy so she just detaches herself to make it through the day. we see that happening in ‘doors’, ‘violet’ and ‘legacy’ where she just accepts his final words and moves on, even though she’s frustrated.

sooner or later, your legs give way, you hit the ground save it for later, don’t run away, don’t let me down

we see her reaching her lowest in the last episode. quite literally, her legs give way and she hit the ground, cause she’s been bottling up all these feelings for so long that she cannot hold it in anymore.

we see flashbacks in her mind showing the family she found in the restaurant, she saw them grow so much with her these past months, they’re her family and she doesn’t want to runaway and let them down.

don't run away, don't run away, don't run away x4

this part of the song you can feel the desperation on eddie's voice, it's not an easy decision to make, running away.

she doesn’t want to let anybody down. that’s her biggest fear. so she says she’s gonna think about chef adam’s offer, she nods in agreement when nat and cicero tells her to sign the partnership agreement. she agrees when pete says it’s a good thing cause she doesn’t want to let anybody down, she can’t. and this takes a toll on her we see manifest in her panic attack.

for the second part of the song is where my delusion swoops in lmaoo

now, as i said before, the person who’s she’s finally gonna open up about her struggles can be her dad, but reading the lyrics, makes me want it so bad to be carmy.

maybe im projecting too much, idk, but it really fits them so perfectly.

two dozen other stupid reasons why we should suffer for this? don't bother trying to explain them just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it

i don't know why, but these lines makes me imagine a scene where they’re finally talking about their feelings and she express her frustration with carmy for the past months, she talks about how leaving is the best decision objectively and gives him her reasons.

she seems set on finally making a decision, but she needs him to help her through it cause this is the hardest thing she ever had to do.

she’s letting him down and she’s running away because this is the best thing for her right now.

why don’t you hold me? why don't you and kiss me now? why don't you just hold me?

as a hardcore sydcarmy i’m holding out hope for that big sydcarmy fight that’s for sure coming the next season so that we can finally see how they react to one another when they finally say what they’ve been meaning to say all this time.

hold me and kiss me now run away, run away and let me down x4

in this final part of the song eddie's voice sounds like he came to acceptance that she's leaving. he just needs to hold and kiss her to see her out.

maybe carmy will understand her reasonings and will let her know it's okay for her to go and find better things for her and though i'm a firm believer she's not leaving in the end, i think this would be a nice alternative solution to her problem if it comes to it.

sydney's so afraid of letting everybody down that she never thought they might want her see her happy in other places and that that's okay to leave. i don't think she has considered this option yet.

anyways this is just my first analysis on it, i may have to revisit once i think more on it. i'd love to know if anyone has thoughts on it too, i'd love to read them!

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

so i had a thought.

step-dad crewel whose step-daughter is terrified of him . Like she's never calm around him,keeps conversation's to a minimum,and just always seems one slightly raised tone away from a panic attack. Like she's been that way since he yanked her off the sidewalk and nearly tanned her hide and its been a couple years at this point yet she's still terrified of him.

And of course the constant stress begins to take a toll on her body and she often faints,has stomach issues,has break outs,and her hair is falling out. And despite trying therapy and medications,she's still just so scared of him.

I wonder how he'd react to that and how he would navigate that.

I also wonder how he would navigate his step-daughter just completely and utterly loosing her hold on reality. The stress and fear is too much so her mind forces itself into a false reality to protect itself. Perhaps her mind gets trapped at the mental age of a small child,or she has the illusion that her mom isn't dead,she's just on vacation or sleeping.

The Deal with Fear | Yandere Step-Father Crewel

The thing is you aren’t particularly afraid 

You are an adult and while you may have been fearsome of him at his admittance to your mother’s demise

He doesn’t directly do things to put you in mortal fear

Aside from ordering his dogs to assault you with cuddles and kisses the moment your heading off the property

When he did first take you off the sidewalk it wasn’t with aggression but rather command

And when he threatens to spank you it isn’t in the nature that you’re hide is burning with pain

They’re light, more so causing your embarrassment 

You’re more mad then anything 

Doing things and saying things to bother him 

Almost like your acting out like a  rebellious child

Which he doesn’t crack in the slightest 

He’s a professor that deals with many students just like you

Aside from keeping you within his monitoring gaze he’s not very strict

In fact he’s quite nice as a parent

He doesn’t take your freedom away 

he lets you do the things you love

You can leave the house, he’s just either with you or you’re wearing a track and have a curfew

He keeps updated with you and gives advice

He praises you and tells you that ‘he loves you often’

Heck you can probably date as long as you let him sit in the booth over

But hey if you truly end up as frazzled as you are he’ll make an assessment

“Is this worthy of a stay in a mental hospital or do some…liberties needed to be taken away?”

If you decide to revert to a child that works fine for him

If you’re having delusions of your mother than he’ll play along as long as your invisible friend doesn’t put you in danger

Now in the case of extreme stress he does get medical staff involved 

Whether that’s putting a nicotine patch on you whenever he visits

Or constantly giving you medication that makes you loopy and relaxed

“Your safety is my upmost priority. And since I’m the only one left I’m going to care for you no matter what.” 

[decimalsheep]

I finally watched Bride of Halloween and I love Amuro content (even tho he was stuck in a box for most of the movie LOL) but it got me thinking about like. how so many of his friends died and i’m a sucker for fix-its so:

Time Travel!DCMK where Conan is thrown ten years into the past, right back to the day he met Akai at the beach. He’s bewildered and disbelieving but, quote, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” so he accepts his new reality and makes a plan accordingly.

At the beach he makes sure to cling stubbornly to Akai, refusing to let go and when they eventually leave the beach, Conan has a new number registered in his phone and a new pen pal buddy. Understanding that Conan is not as he appears, Akai agrees to send updates on his life occasionally (at first out of amusement and pics of whatever food he’s eating, later on asking Conan for advice on specific cases). 

At 9 years old, Conan begs his dad for tickets to Kuroba Toichi’s magic show in Tokyo. Yusaku, who is about 86% confident that his son is a time-traveler, agrees easily and may or may not have called the police for back up just in case. Because Conan doesn’t watch magic shows, time-traveler or not (if you don’t count Kid’s heists) and the poorly hidden desperation when he asked was more than enough of a hint that something was going to go down. Surprise surprise, the venue burns down, but this time Kuroba Toichi lives with some minor injuries. (The incident leaves his arm numb, and he feels that his days as Kaitou KID is running short - he decides to pass on the mantle to Kaito when he’s old enough)

At 10 years old, Conan bumps into Hagiwara Kenji at the park. It’s an incident he almost forgets about until he’s staring at the rest of the police academy students. It’s July, and Hagiwara dies in November. Conan doesn’t know the specifics, but when November rolls around, Hagiwara gains a watchful shadow. It’s when the serial bomber case appears on the news that he knows it’s time. 

There are officers at the entrance of the hotel stopping guests from entering, but Conan has never let that stop him before, so he runs, and runs and runs to the floor that Hagiwara is on. The timer is stopped, but Conan knows that it will explode regardless. He throws himself into the room, startling the occupants, and starts shouting.

“The bomb is going to explode!” he shouts and claws at the arm that tries to stop him from getting closer. “The bomber- he- it’s going to start again, Matsuda-san says it’s going to explode!” Hagiwara looks up at the commotion, radio in his hand. “What’s going on?” Matsuda snaps.

“It’s going to explode, the timer isn’t stopped!” The kid shouts, desperate and pleading. “You’re going to die!”

The kid looks straight at him when he says that. Unbidden, dread settles in his stomach, every single hair on end and the unshakable feeling that what the kid is saying is-

“Everybody out!” Hagiwara shouts - commands. “Down the hall, now!”

There’s a rush to get out the door and the kid falls to the ground in the process. He scoops him up and together they exit the hotel room. It’s as he’s turning into the hall that he hears the tell-tale sign of the timer turning back on, ticking down to their demise. The radio is left lying on the ground, Matsuda’s voice coming out loud and panicked.

The bomb explodes.

The force of the explosion sends him flying, curling his body around the kid so as to cushion him from the impact. There’s a ringing in his ears and his back hurts like a bitch, but with more distance from the bomb and several walls to take the brunt of the damage, everybody lives.

Matsuda definitely isn’t crying when he sees him coming alive out of the hotel. Life-threatening situation aside, he is so making fun of him for it in the future. Temporarily forgotten in the moment, a small boy slips away from the crowd.

A few days after his 11th birthday, Conan feels someone tailing him. He acts as if he doesn’t notice, fiddling with his phone. But as the crossing light starts flashing for an oncoming train, he bolts and takes off across the street. His tail startles and the chase begins. Using his smaller stature he zigzags through the alleys and streets, throwing himself into crowds in an effort to shake off whoever is following him. But they’re good, and persistent. He turns into an alley that he knows has a gap wide enough to fit only him from his time in the future/past. But he comes to a stop when he sees the construction going on and curses under his breath. 

A hand lands on his shoulder and he jolts, reaching for his tranquilizer watch that he got Agasa to remake, only to freeze when he sees who’s behind him.

“Oh, it’s just you Amuro-san,” he sighs, heart beating wildly but now calming down knowing he’s not in danger.

“Amuro-san?” Furuya Rei repeats, bemused, and shit he’s not Amuro yet.

He stutters out some random excuse about how he mistook him for someone and Amu-Furuya seems to let it go. But from that day on, he sees Furuya lurking in his peripherals. He never gets close, hovering from afar, but he’s there nonetheless. It’s not until Conan gets involved with a kidnapping incident does Furuya appear, kicking down the door and a wild look on his face. The rope leaves a burn on his wrists but he’s uninjured otherwise, still, Furuya treats him like he’ll break at a moments notice, carrying him with surprising softness. 

From that moment on, Furuya gets close. He’ll say hi if they run into each other (on the days it’s a coincidence) or help him out with whatever errand he’s on (if it’s not). Conan get’s the feeling that Furuya isn’t sure how to treat him. 

He asks him about it one day, when Hagiwara spots him across the street and drags him into a family restaurant, proclaiming that he’s “caught the kid.” At the table are seated several familiar faces, Furuya included.It’s apparently lunch to congratulate Furuya and Hiromitsu on their new promotion. Everybody at the table orders for him, saying something about how he saved Hagiwara’s life. Conan insists that he has no idea what they’re talking about, but they don’t seem to care, already three beers in on a Saturday afternoon. 

It leaves him and Furuya sitting together, who appears to be the chaperone for the day. 

“That day,” he starts, keeping his eyes on his glass of orange juice even as he feels Furuya’s gaze slide to him. “Why did you...”

Furuya stares at him, expression carefully controlled. “You’re... familiar,” he says slowly, looking away as Conan freezes at his words. “Somehow, I have the feeling that if it weren’t for you... that because you’re here, everything will be different.”

His eyes flash, grief and anguish and rage flickering before fading into a calm. “Everything will be okay,” he whispers and Conan isn’t sure if he was meant to hear that.

He’s 12 when he meets up with Sera to watch the new Gojira movie, having become close friends with her since the day at the beach, forming a tight knit group of four along with Ran and Sonoko. The other two aren’t there that day, saying they’d rather go to the new cafe than watch a monster movie, so it’s just the two of them at the theaters.

At the train station where they’re about to head back home, he excuses himself to go to the restroom. On his way back out onto the platform, he bumps into someone.

“Shuu-nii?” he blurts (Sera had convinced him to call him that, and Akai hadn’t protested) and Akai blinks in surprise at seeing him. 

“Oh, are you here with Sera?” He asks, then glances at the ticket in his hand. “Then I’m assuming Sera actually does have money for a train ticket?”

They walk together back to the platform and he’s treated to yet another surprise when he sees Sera standing with Hiromitsu. Wait, he remembers Sera mentioning this-

“Hiro-san?” He asks innocently, plan forming in his head. He scoots closer to Akai so that they’re shoulder to shoulder, silently willing him to play along. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working?”

Hiromitsu looks up, surprised at first then apprehensive once he sees Akai next to him. At this point in time, Furuya, Hiromitsu, and Akai are all unaware of each other’s undercover status. In Hiromitsu’s view, Conan is currently standing next to a criminal. And in Akai’s view, Sera as well.

“I’m currently on a job,” Hiromitsu says pointedly, urging Conan to take the hint and not drop any important information, like the fact that he’s actually an undercover police officer. He knows Conan is smart, but today Conan is willfully obtuse.

“Where’s-” Furuya, he was going to ask, but suddenly he’s grabbed by the arm and dragged away from Akai. When he looks up, he sees a flash of blond hair under a baseball cap.

“It’s dangerous to be out so late at night,” Furuya says, smile tight and forced, even as his grip shifts into something more protective, his body standing in front of his as if to shield him from Akai’s view. He brightens up, bringing out his inner Ran.

“Rei-san!” He exclaims and beams up at him excitedly, doing his best to appear as innocent and friendly as he can. Sera and Akai are staring at him like he’s insane. Furuya and Hiro are staring at him the same way too. “It’s okay, I was with Shuu-nii.” 

“Shuu?” Furuya questions, eyebrow raised as Akai raises a hand to stop him from saying anything more.

“Yeah, Akai Shuichi! He’s like an older brother to me.”

“Oh? I could have sworn your name was Moroboshi.” 

“Surely you understand the importance of aliases. Right, Rei?”

“So how’s work going with the FBI, Shuu-nii?”

“Ignore him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about-”

“What the fuck do you mean FBI-”

“And you too! Matsuda and Date and Hagiwara-san were complaining about how ever since you two got into PSB you were too busy to hang out-”

“What the fuck do you mean PSB-”

[lemonpais]

Luna got did dirty and I hate this episode for acting like she was the problem.

As much as I love this show to death, some episodes more than others, this episode always rubs in a very very weird way.

A very quick run-down on Luna, to what has been shown and what I picked up :

1 || Luna, as revealed in the episode, has been shown to have a very unsavory and downright disheartening history when it comes to the type of men she’s been with. She has ‘suffered every single type of abuse, after holding Robert and Tom hostage in a guest room. (or the boy’s room, pick your poison honestly)

2 || Luna is.. very OBVIOUSLY mentally broken down and ill, lmao. has bursts of aggressive distress if she believes to have fucked something up beyond repair, and doesn’t seem to be able to pick up on body language and social cues. (which is a way lesser offense)

3 || Very susceptible to emotional manipulation.

Nicole is a very toxic and manipulative friend, giving Luna advice that is further damaging but also leads to events during the episode that further crack her down, and overall is the one of the BIGGEST components as to why Luna functioned the way she did, and how Luna met her demise.

now…. MY PROBLEM WITH HOW THE EPISODE HANDLES HER PAST

“What was it within you that made you keep going back to those kind of men?”

I personally feel like that statement already places blame onto the abused instead of the abusers, the people who normalized in her mind that this kind of treatment is normal. She saw it with her dad, She had it with her first, second, third.. and fourth.

This cycle is what she’s used to, she has been used to getting treated like shit by the men in her romantic life, Robert just adding onto the pile with his own dishonesty. Of course, someone is going go be more susceptible to being stuck in that loop if that’s all they’ve ever known.

Why is it Luna’s fault these men are awful people?

I hate how little sympathy was handed even a bit to her. There were a few good points in her needing to go to therapy and try to improve her life, and don’t take your trauma out on others, but I hated that quote so bad, still kinda has me tweaking.

[helluvabossrewrite45]

What's Blazer's relationship with Brenda and Luna exactly? Is he still creepy towards people or will he be like a doting father or a stoic mentor for them? What's his personality overall plus both girls' view of him?

Blazer is similar to Blitzo personality wise although his vulgarity is downplayed because I personally think it would be too much and especially not fitting for him in the plot considering he's in a low point of his life right now (his business crashing after his employees quit from his sexual harassment to them) He was still a creep to his employees but they quit post-plot so it would only be referenced by Brenda and Blazer. He is both still a doting father to Brenda and would be a stoic mentor for the Demisers (and still maintain out of pocket advice for their business that they do not follow or change severely to make it more competent)

Brenda and Blazer have a tolerable distant relationship where while Brenda never mistreats or rejects Blazer's love for her, she remains quite distant to him given that she was adopted by Blazer when she was 16 (she's currently 18) and with how her trust issues as well as Blazer acts creepy towards his employees, she doesn't see him as a 'dad' but moreso like a helpful roomate. They do grow to be more caring towards each other however, it is slow due to again, his actions that affect Brenda's view of him. Blazer tries his absolute hardest to not lose Brenda that would go overboard and he needs to learn to deal with his guilt and to not repeat those actions by letting Brenda be independent from him. Brenda uses Blazer as a way to mooch off of him and through the Demisers, she learns to become more independent from him as well as how to deal with her complicated emotions around situations shes in such as her relationship with Blazer.

Due to Blazer being the person Luna's dad had an affair with, she viewed Blazer in a very demonised light. It resulted in her acting cold and distant towards Blazer, avoiding him as much as possible at first. However, this view starts to shift when she discovers through Brenda of how the affair even occurred (coercion) and that's how she starts viewing Blazer in a more sympathetic light while still acknowledging his harmful actions to others. As a result, she grows curious and talks to him more and the two start to connect by their shared feelings of Damon (Luna's dad)

I hope this makes sense cuz I'm not very good with articulating myself especially when explaining things that are still in development.

[theadmiralsdaughter]

sideblog intro

The Admiral's Daughter is a fictional period drama with fantasy elements and pirates, and I'm in the later editing stages of writing it. If that sounds awesome to you, feel free to follow along for updates, ramblings, snippets, and whatever else I happen to create for this work along the way! [a sideblog of @kazoosandfannypacks]

story summary: When Maristella Arrington, the admiral's daughter, meets a handsome young lieutenant named Adrian, he convinces her to join the navy. She enlists, alongside her best friend, Verity.

A few days before her graduation from the naval academy, she receives word that Adrian's ship, while engaged in battle with a pirate vessel, was sunk, and he perished along with it. Maristella then sets out to get her revenge on the pirates who sent Adrian to his watery grave, which proves difficult when she finds that the pirates haven't killed him— they've recruited him, and she must join forces with them as well in order to save Verity's life.

current draft wc/previous draft wc: {50406/50052}

playlists: entire wip | adristella | music i like to write to | adristella (taylor's version) | ao3 chapter titles | maristella arrington | adrian alyward | verity sterling

character intros under the cut!

Maristella Arrington: Maristella is the eldest daughter of Admiral Charles Arrington. She loves nothing more than spending a few short months of the year at sea with her father, and is fascinated by life at sea and naval battles. She is confident and loyal, which makes her a strong leader to those around her.

Verity Sterling: Verity has been inseparable best friends with Maristella since they were kids. She's skilled in swordplay as well as giving supportive advice, and she would do anything for those close to her.

Adrian Alyward: Adrian joined the navy with his sister, Isabella, and they quickly rose through the ranks after their bravery in saving the Admiral's life at the Skirmish at Bedisa Sea. Upon meeting Maristella at the Admiral's Ball, he's immediately smitten with her, but their blossoming potential of a relationship grows complicated when he joins forces with the treacherous pirates that frequent her seas.

Evelyn Alyward: After joining the navy so she and her younger brother, Adrian, can make a name for themselves, Isabella soon becomes captain of The Noble Guardian. When they have an unfortunate run in with a nasty lot of pirates, her fate is changed for the worse, and she must look to the brother she's always sought to protect to come through and save her from an unpleasant demise.

Admiral Charles Arrington: Admiral Arrington is in charge of most of the navy, and captains his flagship The Star of the Sea, but most his favorite role is that of dedicated husband, and of father of six. Though he'd never claim to have favorites, his soldiers and family alike know he has a soft spot for his eldest daughter, Maristella. Despite his fatherly concern for her safety when she joins the navy, he's excited for the opportunity it provides to spend time with her.

Victor Durand III: Victor has been a rival of Maristella's ever since she was eight and he was five and her dad got promoted to Admiral while his was still a commodore. He enlists in the navy just shortly before Maristella does, and while both of them would deny it, they grow to tolerate and even, on rare occasions, appreciate each other.

Conroy Lewin: Conroy's father, Professor Lewin, is the professor of general studies at the naval academy. He quickly becomes friends with Maristella and Verity, as someone who understands what it's like to grow up in a navy family. He enjoys studying and sharing information, and joins the navy around the same time as Maristella.

Lenna Arrington: Lenna is Admiral Arrington's wife, and she runs a tight ship at home while her family is away. While she's always happy to support her children and their dreams, a part of her still wishes her eldest daughter, Maristella, had chosen to settle down and get married instead of pursue a life of high-seas adventure.

Cordelia Arrington: Cordelia is eight years younger than Maristella, and though she's the closest in age to Maristella, they share little in the way of hopes and dreams, and Cordelia can't wait until she's old enough to attend some fancy balls and tea parties of her own.

Dylon Arrington: Dylon is the oldest boy among the Arrington children. There's a year in between him and his siblings on either side, and Maristella and her friend Verity often train him in swordplay, strategy, and, much to his chagrin, ballroom dancing. Of all his siblings, he's the one who looks the most like their father.

"Charlie" Arrington: Charlie is Lil's twin brother, named after their father. At eleven years old, he shows quite promise with his writing and creative thinking, but he often struggles with controlling his temper.

"Lil" Arrington: Lil is Charlie's twin sister, named after their mother. She loves reading and studying and is quite level headed for a child, at least, until you ask which of them is the older twin. She'll swear up and down that it's her, and though Charlie couldn't care less about which of them is older, he enjoys bringing up the fact that it's actually him.

Randolf: Randolf is the youngest of the kids, and his favorite thing in the world is when his dad tells stories and he gets to help act them out.

[travajoke01]

I wanna enroll her in a contest so infopost here we come

casual outfit still developing, please stand by

rottmnt OC Chimera Solbritt, she’s a bombyx. Aaaaaand also she’s a witch (i’m almost sorry for Donnie).  

Va: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFOBe5rGrqc&list=PL0ZdQpFsexGEB8-p_dN7jflu7y7bB4Upe&index=5 Noël Wells

Her little caterpillar-like buddy is Cat (as in Cat-tools and caterpillar)

 Really hate that we saw so little of witches and furthermore they were not so…..thrilling. I’m not a good writer, so i’ll just throw out some facts about her and backstory. Maybe my headcanon will make creators and nickelodeon so angry that they’ll decide to continue the show just to prove me wrong.

So this little cutie has problems with her family (on account of them being killed) and were took in by Big Mama and trained by her great-aunty Moti, so her english is better, otherwise that would be a disaster.

BM took her as last favor to her friend (a witch), trying not to dig Chimy into her illegal business too much, but girl would peak her nose once in a while (she’s a real fan of true crime, how could she miss something like that?). 

She’s a product of love of a human (scientist) and yokai (witch), whose bond was a problem for the witch’s town by itself, and a reason of their demise. Chimera was thought to be dead too, but she was teleported by her papá along with Cat, who was supposed to be her nanny, but became a life-long companion. He recorded some things from the crime scene, including her father’s goodbye and face of the killer.

Unfortunately, it took some time to reach her mother (she was in the witch town currently, while dad was above), and since she had no idea her daughter was alive, she took the poison to rejoin her fam.

Knowing that Mira (I really see so much potential In her being evil), would want her own granddaughter dead, Moti knew that girl cannot stay, so by the advice of  Chimy’s mother, she took her to the hotel, sneaking there once in a while to teach her and tell stories of her parents.

Of course, Mira was playing the victim, crying and telling that both of her parents died in the accident from one of their experiments.(those damn scientists can’t do anything right). 

It was hard for Chimy to study, especially, when she saw Gentry getting the attention and magic lessons from Mira she craved so much. But i guess  with having the half of capabilities of others-it is how it is. Or maybe Mira didn’t trust the bombyx just as much.

So to begin her way to the top properly, Chimera had do enlarge the amount of magic she can hold\produce, call it mana if you want. Before that, to learn magic ways properly, she had to use her enchanted umbrella and Cat’s help to make and store potions and elixirs, particularly healing ones. Quite a useful buddy this Cat, after all, a creation of magic AND science. 

School days weren’t exactly easy, on one hand, because she enrolled in the already formed collective that got used to each other, on the other, because Chimera was mostly looking humanish, the only things visibly telling that she is certainly not a human were her little wings, teeth, eyes and ears. She’s not unusual enough to blend in with yokai, and way too unusual to blend in with humans. Her fluff, retractable arms, spots and colour, the size of her wings were developed during all these years, heck, even the silk wasn’t always the thing. All of that made it only harder to get used to, she was clumsy and insecure. You can’t say she was bullied necessarily, but she’s never felt being a part of community. It definitely affected her, so she seeks admiration and attention.

Being tired of this buzz of thoughts and failures in her head she quitted the school and embarked on her little adventure outside the New York, (approximately during the time of season 1-2 and the movie) travelled to the temple where she empowered her dark magic (hence the mark’s ob her hands, the more she uses them, the more they grow), and enlarged her mana. 

Coming back to NY, she had to pass an exam to show her progress in magic, which wasn’t a problem for her this time, and took private lessons from a wizard.

FACTS TIME

second and third pair of arms are retractable. First pair, normal skin, second-fluffy, third-more like a chitin, they’re thinner than the other pairs. Her height is actually about Mikey’s, but since she’s walking on her “tiptoes” (it’s more comfortable bc of her bone structure) she appears to be higher.

produces silk (uses it to lengthen the range for touch-based spells or to crochet) and pheromones (to attract or to repulse, futile against humans and mutants, they only work on yokai)

umbrella has planetary signs and on the top is a sun sign (solely decorative)

her bailiwick is dark magic mostly (darkness based harm\destruction spells, creating a field of darkness), but she tries to learn other kinds of elementary attack spells, but they’re more tiring for her to perform.

has bags under her eyes,mostly because she stays up late, her sleep schedule is a mess. She just likes staying up late and doing hobbies, with all that learning there’s should be time for fun, right? After meeting the Mad Dogs, she could spend several nights without sleep, learning\practicing spells or looking for a particular one that they need. 

Even though she sometimes seems insensitive, she’s very emotional towards animals and animated little creatures (like robots),probably because she feels they are weaker and has an instinct to protect them.

doesn’t like any physical touch if she doesn’t like\know you. For some reason, this irritating, orange masked turtle grew fast on her…maybe her shell is getting thinner. (they’re totally besties, she freaking loves Dr. Delicate touch)

Also she crochets\sews, watches true crime videos, destroys the patriarchy, u know, girl stuff  

uses her wings for DAZZLING and casting(it’s absolutely extra), more than for flying, because that would be an easy target and not as fast as umbrella and magical means. So she uses umbrella for fast travel\dodging, but at least she looks great. If she opens her wings people in the close distance can't evert their gaze unless she moves from them or if person wers some kind of eye protecting equipment.

She considers incident in witch town very amusing (Donnie vs witch town),considering her tense relationship with this place.

She genuinely finds Donnie entertaining. Her reaction to his noises and attempts to be a mad scientist is pretty much the same as Luz’s reaction to King (like: awww he steppet his wittle foot~) Does it irritate him? Very much. But at least they both have a topic to infodump (science and magic) and they can’t understand eachother, which is a new experience for Donnie, to be in his brothers’ shoes. But she actually supports Donnie and tries to listen, though rarely understands terminology.

Giggles almost every time boys have an argument (if it’s not very life-threatening situation or it’s a real time to be serious)

She likes Raph’s roughness combined with his sweetness. She would totally crochet smth for him.

Leo is the one she shows her new nails first.

April is a kind of friend she always wanted, she can tell her about her nails with the same interest as about true crime (and learn smth new from April). She would also teach her magic too or escort her somewhere she could learn it.

She has a good developed emotional intelligence but rather from a logical point of view, like “ofc they do not know they’ve hurt u, they’re not u, but if they did it on purpose and u found out about it-ditch them, u deserve better that that”. Hates showing strong emotions like crying in public, it makes her feel weak.

 She tells “failing is okay” to smbd mostly to absorb it herself, she will try to comfort them with the words she would like to hear. But it’s only if she cares for you, otherwise you can jump off a roof and she’ll be like “do a flip”. 

Even though she seeks attention, she’s an introvert and she needs to “recharge” every once in a while to avoid being overwhelmed. Otherwise she’ll be a real buzzkill.

Totally infodumps boys about serial killers and true crime stuff, Raph and Leo ARE DEFINATELY CONCERNED. 

Greets u with “Supies~” and it irritates Don-Don (that does too)  because it’s not a real word

She hates dancing, because she hates embarrassment. But somehow Donnie takes it personally and insists on dancing lessons from him ofc. She says yes just to get him out of her hair ,but he takes it seriously. Somehow, it’s fun with him, even though very awkward at first. 

eyesight isn’t that great, wears special lenses to be less sensitive to light

learns spanish 

sings when she’s nervous

has slight anger issues

[princess-of-the-corner]

LoZ: No Fate

(Glad that went through!)

I see your point on Ganon being a straight incarnation as apposed to “Guy who got possessed”. My other thought would be, OG Demise & Hylia are like, Two Forces that were Fighting, but they’re both Immortal Deities, so eventually Hylia did a thing where she trapped Demise in a “mortal shell” so he could potentially be defeated. The first Hero teams up with Hylia to fight him, but the Hero gets mortally/soul wounded, so Hylia uses her power to save him, but the price is now their souls are tied together, so Hylia reincarnates into a mortal body alongside the hero … .

Gonna be honest, not sure how well I’m explaining this. I just like the idea that OG!Hylia, or the TriForce, or SOMETHING, started this cycle as a way to beat Demise (cause, you know, as a mortal he can actually be killed) but at this point, Demise is the only one actually benefitting from it. Like, it started as a way to get rid of Demise, but Demise keeps coming back, and no matter how many times he’s defeated, it isn’t before he manages to get power, or chaos, or whatever. And no matter how strong the Hero or Mortal Goddess get, they then expend all that power defeating Demise, so the next incarnations have to train up all over again.

Somewhat unrelated, but. I have this image of the Trio being tossed into this dreamscape where they meet all their past incarnations. For Zelda, it’s a bit like meeting all your older, far more successful sisters and cousins you don’t talk to much. They are trying to be supportive and helpful, but Zelda just feels like the baby failing to measure up. With Link, there’s a bit of the family element, but it’s more like meeting a bunch of war veterans. They all have advice, experience, and are willing to share it. While there is SOME of the “failure to measure up” feeling, the Links are a bit more varied, so it’s easier for NF!Link to feel, “maybe I can do this. I mean, at least one of these guys started as an impoverished farm hand, I can probably do it too.”

For Ganon … it’s hell. It’s meeting your abusive dad that you never met, but everyone insisted you look just like him, and you’re terrified of turning into him. Most of these Past!Ganons are harsh. Cold. Cruel. They mock him, and his desire for peace. For freedom. They are either disgusted by his friendship with Link and Zelda, or disgusted that he isn’t using this friendship to his advantage. They think he’s weak, or naive, or just plain dumb. You think you can be different, boy? You think you can challenge who you’re meant to be? Look around you - look at who came before. Not one of us chose different. What makes you think you can try?

Zelda comes away uncertain, but determined. Link wakes up feeling more secure in himself. Ganon refuses to talk about it.

-

Honestly it’s been a While™ since I played through Skyward Sword but iirc the cycle was actually started by Demise cursing them all to continue the cycle because he refused to be killed for sure.

also GOD the ‘meeting the past selves’ bit is fucking OOF

[sunlightandsuffering]

TAKING A BREAK FROM CAPTAIN EREN BC JJK IS SO UNSERIOUS 😂😂 an attempt to write gojohime! don't read if u don't want to be spoiled!

“What are you doing?” Utahime asks, looking over his shoulder as they prepare for what could be the last day of their lives. “I’m writing letters Uta, duh,” Gojo comments casually, and she resists the urge to throttle him, because no it’s not fucking obvious, he’s doodling little pictures of himself on the bottom corner of the page like a child. 

“Why?” 

Gojo shrugs, “In the highly unlikely event of my demise I want my dear students to have something to remember me by.”

“What are you writing in Megumi’s?” She questions curiously, the sentimental part of her wondering if it's fatherly advice, what are the last words Gojo wants the boy to hear? The son that he’s raised like his very own.

“You can’t Senpai!” Gojo hides the letter dramatically, childish right until the very last moment and Utahime growls, “If I’m delivering them I want to know what they say!”

Because she’s not entirely sure it’s not something stupid like ‘Continue on the Gojo name' or a dramatic doodle of him beating Sukuna. No, it’s much worse as Utahime snatches the letter from his grasp, Gojo whining the whole way. It’s obvious he’s let her have it though, he has a good foot on her at least and he’s Gojo Satoru, if he didn’t want her to have it, she wouldn’t. To Utahime’s dismay the contents of the letter are so much worse than a cartoon of him kicking the shit out of Sukuna. As she unfolds the letter, her eyes skimming the sentences and her brain slowly processing the words, her face folds into her patented Gojo glare, the one she reserves exclusively for him. 

“Your last words to Megumi are ‘I killed your dad, sorry, exclamation point, exclamation point?’” Utahime ekes out viciously, and Gojo has the good sense to look properly chastised. 

“I thought he should know.”

“You’re not going to tell you that you love him or anything?”

Gojo makes a disgusted face, snatching the letter back, “He’ll get it, trust me, Uta. You worry too much.”

And then he’s flouncing towards the exit of his home, Utahime left gaping after him, “Your last words to your son are that you murdered his father, are you insane?”

Gojo tosses her a devilish smile over his shoulder, “Just wait until you read my letter to you.”

She’s going to murder him, she hopes Sukuna doesn’t do it first, she’d like him alive so she can string him up by his pretty white hair.