#he’s the closest thing she had to a friend

[inactivewattpadauthor]

Fujin x Nurse Reader: Neonatal

Context: Fujin, a guest at a pregnant Sonya and Johnny's hospital room, meets a nurse who works on the exact floor.

(Yes, ik he could've possibly been in the void in canon while Sonya was preggers)

Warning: Angst(?) I don't want to spoil my own one shot lol ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The dim white lights flickered as Fujin slowly walked around the room his mortal friends were in.

Sonya Blade is finally due to birthing her first newborn. He felt honored to be invited to visit her and the soon to be father, Johnny Cage, but he felt he had no place in the room while she's in labor.

Not because the blond woman seemed snarkier than usual, specifically at Cage, but really, why should he be there? It wasn't his child being borne.

So, feeling slightly downed, the friendly wind god decided its best he waits out their door. Fujin would be happy to go back in after the child comes into the world.

The pretty silver haired male's boots echoed a slow rhythm down the halls. He really should be happy for them. He is happy for them. But also... he feels sad.

Children were a blessing to have. Little bundles of endless joy. A joy he will never know. And as much as he doesn't like to think, he's envious of the two involved mortals.

Fujin stops in his tracks. He's probably walking a little too far from the room. And he'd rather not cause any alarm to anyone, to whomever catches him in this silent, maybe soothing liminal space of a hall.

The shine of the lights reflected off the light blue tiles. When Fujin turns back, he notices his reflection in the window. However, his quite admirable appearance isn't what he focused on.

Through the window, he saw a tiny little human bundled in a blanket!

The demigod steps closer to the window. The baby was clearly asleep comfortably. So small. So adorable!

Fujin notices more cribs with more babies nesting in each one. Do they all come here soon after they enter the world?

Fujin looked back at the one closest. Placing a hand on the window, he fantasized the newborn as his very own. He wishes he could cradle them. Wish to hold them and keep them safe.

All he could do was smile at the sleepy bean. "I know you'll grow into something great, little one." He whispers.

Silence rose in the ambiance more. Fujin hadn't walked back to the room. All he just wanted to do was stay put and observe the many new babies.

Though it seemed all were asleep, doing literally nothing but breathing correctly,  they make Fujin happy.

"Which one is yours?" A sudden voice spoke up behind and Fujin flinches up.

Just out of nowhere, a nurse comes up on him. A neat smile on her face, not covered my the mask resting on her chin. H/c slightly shown beneath the blue cap.

No footsteps or anything. Not that the Lord noticed.

"O-Ohh... Pardon me. None of these are mine." Fujin informs the lady. "I just wanted to watch them."

From your perspective, you watched this man stand here for nearly twenty minutes, looking at the children. It's quite late. Maybe 2 am. He looks troubled.

"Ah. Are you a visitor?"

Fujin nods quietly before looking back at the window. "My friends are about to have their first child. I thought it would be more appropriate to be at a distance."

You walk to his side and also observe the youngings. "I hear you. Do you have your own?"

"Truly, I wish I could." You could hear the sadness in his tone. The silent assumption you made was based on appearance. He's not a normal human, obviously. You didn't mind!

Earthrealm has crazy things. Maybe he has really important things to tend to than to get settled!

"I hear you. I wish I had mine." You tell him with the same smile.

Your words didn't quite make sense to him. Looking at you, he questions with the need of elaboration, "I'm sorry?"

It's quite a private story indeed, but you don't care. Everything eventually worked out for you.

"I got to hold my baby girl for five months."

His glowing eyes widened at what you were telling him, then sympathy was given off. "I'm sorry you had to endure such an experience. I can only imagine what many pains came with that."

"No need to be sorry for me. Yeah, it drastically changed me, but I'm happy to work here. Like you, I wish I could have my own; but I'm happy to help parents nurture their newborn infants."

Fujin smiles softly at such optimism. "That's a very graceful thought."

"Thank you. I always try."

Muffled crying took both of your attentions. A baby in the row nearest to the window has woken up. Their wails are definitely louder in the room.

"What's wrong with that one?" Fujin asks with concern.

"Could be it's not used to being out the womb. Or just hungry." You casually say.

Patting his shoulder softly, you start to move on now. You're still on the clock. "I best get back to work now. I'm pretty sure I'm the only free one on the unit."

"Very well, I admired speaking with you."

Before Fujin walks back to Sonya and Cage's delivery room, he watches you work gently with the infants.

Your endurance inspires him.

*Boooonnnnussss æeugh*

Fujin was still seated outside the room before he abruptly heard a loud scream, muffled by the walls.

His heart skipped a beat. Should he go in there to check up on all of them? Make sure Blade is okay. She's a string woman, but Fujin doesn't mind at all if he needs to use his God powers to heal.

Opening the door, was the actor walking out in tears. Fujin looks at him, concerned.

"She broke my hand!" Johnny's voice shakes as he showed off the impressively swollen hand.... that was him yelling??

Fujin just looks even more worried as Cage ran off to get his broken hand treated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fujin would casually stare at newborns and be very fond.

I'd give him a kid fr😔

[fictionalcharactersaremypassion]

Unexpected Encounters

Here you go @zutaralesbian!! I hope it's what you're looking for!

///

“I found a love, for me....” 

Under the dimmed lights, standing nearby the open bar, Fiona Gallagher let out a soft sigh as she took a drink from her beer. On the dance floor, Ian encircled his arms around Mickey to hold him tight, swaying to the song. As if no one else existed, the rest of the world fading away, there they were; it was only them, eyes closed to take in this moment, reveling in the start of a new chapter in their life. 

And it was fucking beautiful. 

For so long, she’d been searching for that kind of love and each time she thought she just might, it was viciously taken from her in some way. Bitter memories of Jimmy-Steve and Sean came to the surface, to which she drowned them out with a large gulp of beer. 

Nothing seemed to be going for her. Not with her love life, not with her life in general. 

Moving out to Florida was supposed to be a fresh start for her. She’d envisioned so much, only for it all to fall short. The felony on her record made it difficult to find a good paying job, let alone her lack of college diploma. She’d found a decent apartment to live in, the first night giving her this sudden feeling of loneliness that hit her. 

Little had changed in her life other than not not taking care of a house full of kids. 

And the thing is, she assumed she’d be happier that way. In some was, she was; it was easier to live, easier to breathe when she didn’t have five kids dependent on her, worryin’ about how she’ll pay the bills or if they’ll have enough food to eat. But in other ways, she didn’t know what to do with herself. It wasn’t like she wanted all of that responsibility again. It was just really fuckin’ complicated. 

Now here she was, back in her childhood home, crashing on the couch until she could find a place for herself. All while her younger siblings had moved on with their lives, coming out more successful than she was capable of being. 

She blew out a breath, eyes shifting to see Vee and Kev at one of the tables, laughing with some other guests. She’d been meanin’ to to tell her that they needed to catch up soon. Fiona missed her best friend a lot in the time that she’d been away. Down in Florida, Fiona had some acquaintances, maybe even a couple people she’d call friends. But nothing ever compared to what she and Vee had. 

Fiona shook off the nostalgia that came over her. There was no use in dwelling on it, especially today. This was about Ian and Mickey, and she’d be damned if she let herself ruin this occasion for her brother and brother-in-law. 

Brother-in-law. It was hard to comprehend that, to think that the very same boy who used to terrorize the Southside was now married into the family. 

Her lips tugged up into a smile as the song came to an end. Ian and Mickey were holding onto each other’s faces as they had been earlier, leaning in for a kiss. 

She was happy for them. There’d been times she was unsure about Mickey, hell, even times she thought he wasn’t good enough for her little brother. But Mickey had proved himself and shown just how much he cared for Ian, going above and beyond what she’d expect from anybody when they dealt with Ian’s bipolar diagnosis together. 

As a new song came on, one of the tables closest to her was empty, so she took a seat, leaning back with her legs crossed. Her eyes flittered around the room, catching sight of her other siblings. In some ways, it was kind of sad to see them so grown up, engrossed in their own issues and having their own lives when she still remembered their bright eyes, chubby cheeks and sweet smiles. 

And where did that leave Fiona? They didn’t need her like they used to. Hell, she couldn’t even find herself needed elsewhere. To some extent, it felt like they all moved on while she was stuck behind, trying to claw her way out and make it in the world. 

Out of her peripheral, a figured moved closer to her but there were lots of people around so she didn’t think too much of it until the person was right there, his hand on the back of one of the chairs. 

“Ay, you mind if I sit here?” Iggy Milkovich asked her, and it was the very last person she expected to see there - at the wedding and asking to sit at the same table as her - so she did a double take. 

Fiona knew very little of Iggy Milkovich. At one point in time, they were in the same grade, dropping out for different reasons. She’d seen him around the Southside here and there but it’s not like they’ve ever really had a conversation. 

It came as a pretty big fucking surprise to Fiona that he was here. She certainly didn’t expect any Milkovich, well maybe besides Mandy, to attend a gay wedding. But here and there were scattered relatives of Mickey’s around the venue; Colin was doing his best to sweet talk a girl on the other side of the dance floor, Joey and Jamie were swiping frosting off the back of the cake with their fingers - and by now Mickey had noticed, reaching into his pocket for a knife that Ian swiftly plucked out of his hand - while Mandy was dancing with Sandy and Debbie. 

What’s more, though, was that Fiona was struck by how roguishly handsome he looked. He was dressed nice with the tie in disarray, hair that was neatly combed and for once, didn’t give off the impression that he was high. 

“Iggy,” she said, surprised. 

“Hey, Fiona,” he was grinning, holding onto his own beer. “Thought I saw you around here earlier.” 

“Yeah,” she pushed back some hair off her shoulder, suddenly remembering what he’d asked. “Have a seat,” she gestured towards the chair. 

He plopped down in it, one arm hanging off the back. “Thought you moved outta here,” he said, taking a swig of his drink. 

“I did,” she nodded, trying not to feel too disappointed when she thought of it, “it just didn’t work out.” 

“So you’re back now?” 

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m crashing at the house for now until I can get my own place.” 

“Ain’t Mick and Red stayin’ there too?” 

“Yeah,” she grimaced at the amount of times, too damn often, when she’d overhear them fucking. 

 Iggy was looking past her, right at Ian and Mickey. “I feel sorry for anyone that's gotta hear them two bastards going at it. Had to listen them fucking for a while when we lived together.” 

“Shit, I’m sorry,” she laughed. She understood his pain. The Gallagher house had thin walls, too fucking thin if she could hear the damn names her brother and Mickey called each other in bed. God, just the thought made her want to shudder. 

Iggy was grinning some more. That could’ve been from the situation or he was just drunk. “Walked in on them once too. Thought Mickey was gonna flip his shit.” 

“Oh, God,” Fiona could just imagine that. She drank some more beer to rid herself of any images that might be conjured up. 

“Wasn’t my fault, though. Mick left the door unlocked,” Iggy shrugged. “Course, he didn’t care. Probably woulda tried to knock my teeth in if Gallagher hadn’t stopped him.” 

“Can’t be any worse than when Lip walked in on them,” Fiona remembered that one. Mickey had been murderous. Lip had been pinned under him with his throat covered by Mickey’s hands. 

Lip hadn’t been pleased with the casual tone in which Ian spoke in when he’d called his husband off of him. 

Iggy snorted. He was watching them again. “Can you believe those fuckers made it here?” 

“No,” she said honestly. She let out a breath. “But I’m happy for them. They deserve it.” 

“Yeah,” Iggy said. “I remember when Gallagher was living with us. Mick was so protective of him.” 

“Same way at our house,” Fiona remembered those days. He would’ve broken somebody’s kneecaps if they uttered a single word against her brother. Even now, now that she’s back and seen their love first hand again, he would do anything for Ian and vice versa. 

Silence came over them both. Fiona repositioned herself, crossing the opposite leg this time.  Strangely, though, she didn’t have this urge to get away like she would have assumed from being near a Milkovich. 

“I’m kind of surprised you’re here,” she admitted. 

He turned to her, blinking. “Why?” 

She raised a brow. “Do you really have to ask?” 

For a couple of seconds, he stared at her with this dumb expression. Then it dawned on him. “Oh, his gay thing. I don’t give a shit where he sticks his dick. Kinda suspected ‘bout him anyway.” 

“Really?” Fiona couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah. Never used to talk about tits and shit with us and was all secretive about his porn,” Iggy replied. “Figured it out pretty quickly when I saw ‘em kiss.” 

“You saw them kiss?” 

“Yeah, the day Mick got shot in the ass. Don’t think he ever found out I saw ‘em.” 

“And you never told anybody?” Fiona said, blown away. 

“Course not,” Iggy said with a shrug. “I ain’t stupid. Terry woulda killed him. Mick woulda definitely flipped his shit. I just had to pretend I didn't see anything. Course, then the dumbass decides to say something in front of the whole damn bar. Nearly did get himself killed.” 

He sounded fondly exasperated, a feeling she’d felt from time to time for sure, not anything she’d expect from a Milkovich, especially concerning his brother’s sexuality. 

Maybe she was wrong about him, about the family- some of them, anyway. 

Iggy kept Mickey’s secret when he didn’t have to, not to mention willingly lived with them for a while. Plus, his siblings and a couple of his cousins made it here today. Would they really have done it if they were anything like Terry? 

Iggy was oblivious to what she was thinking, just drinking the rest of his beer without a care in the world. 

“So,” she said, to which he looked back at her, “what are you doing these days?” 

Jesus, that was lame as fuck. 

Iggy didn’t seem to think so. “Not much,” he shrugged. “Gotta find me a new job. My PO’s gettin’ pissy about it.” 

“I have to find one too,” Fiona sighed. “I was working in a hotel down in Florida but I can’t see myself doin’ it again. Too many bitchy customers.” 

Iggy snorted. “Fuck that. Would’ve quit the first time that happened.” 

“I considered it some days,” she said truthfully. There was only so much she could take of being screamed at and unfairly blamed for things that weren’t her fault. “But I have to take what I can get. There’s not a ton of places that want to hire felons.” 

She used to feel bitter over it. Used to feel consumed by such anger towards herself for how she’d so carelessly endangered her little brother and ruined her life in a blink of an eye. 

It wasn’t something easy to share either. Unsurprisingly, the one guy she decided to be upfront about it and explain to him, he thought it was better if they went their separate ways.

Iggy didn’t blink an eye. “Ain’t that the truth,” he said, unfazed. “You know, I had to work at a fuckin’ flower shop once cuz my PO couldn’t find me anything else. Should’ve heard this bitch telling me I couldn’t bring any fucking weapons inside. This is the fuckin’ Southside. I’m supposed to walk around without my glock?” 

“You mean the one you’re not supposed to have while on parole?” She smirked. 

“Ay, what my PO don’t know won’t hurt him,” Iggy said dismissively.  

She snorted. “Good point.” 

Flashes of multi-colored shadows fell over their faces, bouncing away the next second. Iggy’s eyes strayed away from where they’d been glancing to look at her, keeping her under a watchful gaze. 

“You want another beer?” He said unexpectedly. 

“Sure,” she said. 

When he brought it back, he said, “Ay, let’s go outside. It’s getting too damn noisy in here.” 

This was where under any other circumstances she would’ve declined, but Fiona found herself not completely put off by the suggestion. “I would,” she said, “but I don’t know where my jacket’s gone...” 

She wasn’t lying. Fiona had taken it off when she arrived and now it was nowhere to be found. 

“I got you,” Iggy said. Fiona wondered how he was going to manage that when he hollered at the top of his lungs - though the music was still loud enough that it drowned him out somewhat. “Ay, fuckwads! Get her-” He pointed straight at Fiona, who muttered out, “Oh, Jesus,” under her breath, “a jacket before I start cracking skulls.” 

“That’s really not necessary- oh,” Fiona was thrown a black suit jacket by someone she didn’t recognize. 

“You’re welcome,” Iggy said, chugging one of the beers in his hands. 

“You couldn't have just given me yours?” Fiona said mildly, a teasing smile on her lips. 

“Fuck no. I’m not freezing my ass off,” Iggy scoffed. He smirked, though. 

Abandoning the reception, they went past the doors and out into the cold. Fiona shivered, folding her arms across her chest. They stayed within the parking lot and there was just something about that reminded her of when she used to sneak off with a couple of friends she had many years ago, just hanging around and feeling carefree before everything went to shit. 

For now, neither one of them said anything. It wasn’t that Fiona was feeling shy or anything, that wasn’t like her, but it was just different that's all. 

So she spoke up first. 

And it just so happened to be her going down memory lane. 

“Do you remember that fucking awful English teacher we had freshman year?” She said suddenly. “Mrs- fuck, what was her name? Mrs. Melvin or whatever. God, I hated her.” 

“Wasn’t she the bitch that quit halfway through class?” Iggy said with a grin. 

Fiona laughed. “Oh my God, I remember that. Nobody was listening to her and she threatened to send us all to the office if we didn’t shut up.”

“Ay, yeah. Had a fuckin’ fit when that one guy, Rubin, shot a spit ball at her,” Iggy said, paused and added, “The fuck kinda name is Rubin anyway? S’fuckin’ stupid.” 

They both laughed, and when it died down, Fiona was marveling over the fact once again that here she was, socializing with a Milkovich and she was having a pretty nice time. 

“Do you-” Fiona thought about what she was asking, deciding to go on with it, “do you ever think about what you would’ve done if you graduated?” 

She had no idea why she chose to bring this up here right now. The question had been on her mind lately, not just this second, wondering just how different her life would be if Frank and Monica were decent parents, if she didn’t have to be the one to step up for her siblings. 

“No.” 

“No?” Fiona repeated, surprised. 

“Nah. Wouldn’t have mattered. Terry woulda screwed it up anyway.”

He was honest about it, resigned, and didn’t sound upset. It made Fiona stop and think, making way for an ache in her chest, about how none of them were ever given a chance to be something, to make something of themselves. They were constantly held back by their shitty parents, shitty situations that they shouldn’t have had to deal with at their age. 

“What about you?” Iggy’s voice brought her back to the present. 

“What?” 

“You ever think about it?” He sounded curious, not just him asking out of polite obligation. Than again, she couldn’t really picture him or any of the Milkovich’s acting out of politeness. 

“Sometimes,” she smiled slightly. Dropping out of school was the hardest decision she had to make for herself, even though it was ultimately what saved them. Though, she couldn’t deny that for weeks after, she’d been plagued with a bone deep sense of sadness. She’d used to dream, used to hope of getting out of the Southside someday with a degree tucked under her belt and a decent job. Those dreams never looked unrealistic until she finally realized the depth of Frank and Monica’s bullshit. 

While other people her age were out partying, rebelling against their parents or figuring out what they wanted to do in life, Fiona was preoccupied in other ways; whether they’d have enough for the bills this month, how they’d get food on the table for all of them, whether Frank or Monica were going to come home when they left for long stretches of time. 

Iggy lit a cigarette, offering it to her. She took it, her smile still intact. 

“You know, I thought I had everything going for me at one time; grades were good, I was doing track. And then it was just gone,” she sighed. “I thought if I got out of here, things would be different. Seems like the bullshit just followed me.” As Fiona was passing back the cigarette, she had an oh shit moment. Was she really spilling her guts to him? “Shit. Forget I said all that.” 

He shrugged. “Where’d you run off to anyway?” 

“Florida.” 

“Ay, at least you got out. S’more than most can say.” 

She supposed that was true. “That’s surprisingly insightful,” she was teasing, only gently. 

He puffed up his chest. “I can be that way if I wanna.” All kidding aside, he knocked into her shoulder with his own. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with comin’ back.” 

“Even with no job and I’m sleepin’ on the couch?” She deadpanned. 

“Been there,” he said, then considered, “Course, I usually find some chick to shack up with.” She let out a laugh, shaking her head. “I slept out on those streets one night and it ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.” 

“Haven’t been there yet, thank God.” 

“Like all those Gallaghers would toss you out,” Iggy piffed. She had to agree. “Course if they do, left side my bed could use some warmin’.” 

He winked at her. 

Fiona turned her body to face him, plucking the cigarette from him. “Is that right? Who says I wanna be the one to warm it?” 

“Don’t play dumb, Gallagher,” Iggy was closer now, having invaded her personal space. “Saw the way you were looking at me earlier.” 

The cigarette was dropped to the ground, put out by the bottom of her shoe. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Fiona said slyly. 

Just a second later, her arms around his neck and his on her waist, Fiona was engaged in a fucking hot makeout with Iggy Milkovich. 

It was needy, full of fire she’d been searching for. God, even Iggy’s touch was making her weak. 

“Holy shit,” she muttered. He grinned cockily. 

“You seein’ anyone right now?” 

“And I’m if I’m not?” She said instead of answering his question. 

“How ‘bout you come to my place tonight?”

Fiona grinned. "Better be a damn good bed. My back's been killing me on that shitty couch."

She didn’t come here expecting to find herself in a Milkovich. 

But Fiona was damn glad she did. 

[lil-gingerbread-queen]

Well, Presidents of the idiots again folks.

I need to point it out, because I have seen some folks complain about the judgement from non-usamericans about Trump, when our own countries have the far-right rising: it's not the same.

In other first world countries, our far-right politicians ARE POLITICIANS, not whatever the fuck Trump is. They are smart, they manipulate informations and their images to gain more power. They don't go in public and say crazy shit.

I'm going to use the example of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right French party the closest to the power rn. Her party was created by her father with his Nazis friends. She worked to clean her party's image in the last decade, to look less racist. She posed with her kittens (poor kitties) to make herself look harmless, she had queer men in high positions in her party, she accepted to discuss ecology and the environment. All of this is a lie, a mascarade. When you look at their votes, when you look deeper into what the members of their party do, it's not lgbtq+ friendly, it's not pro-ecology, it's not pro-workers. But if you don't check, she doesn't look dangerous.

Trump is elected president when he said a ton of crazy things during the debate, like "they're helping illegal aliens in prison to get transition" (the "illegal aliens" make me die of laughters everytime) Le Pen said ONE crazy shit during a presidential debate in 2017, and it harmed her campaign badly. The moment it happened, everyone was like "she lost". When her father was saying crazy shit like "white people are superiors to black people", their party didn't have a single representative at our parlement.

The far-right are wolves in sheep's clothing. They play innocent until they are in power, that's why they are so scary, because they can trick people easily. Trump doesn't play that game, he is not wearing the sheep's mask, and he still won. If it's that easy for someone like him to get in power in the USA, it would be even easier for someone like our far-right politicians. They would play y'all like a fiddle.

When Trump was president, we called him "the President of the idiots" in France because only idiots could vote for that man. If he wins AGAIN, I'm extending it to more of y'all, because I saw how stupidly y'all behaved on social media, and y'all acting stupid is putting in danger so many of your people, you should be ashamed. And that's not even talking about the worldwide consequences of your idiocy.

[bestworstcase]

If watts is from mantle like you say that honestly makes him even more of a bastard, because much like cinder or Adam he took what was a slight against basic compassion as a personal attack against him specifically, and was perfectly happy massacring his fellow mantle citizens to get his petty payback against ironwood,

At the end of the day while he may have come from humble beginnings, he’s still an egotistical self obsessed prick

so anyway another thing about watts is the narrative conspicuously separates him from the volume eight tussling over what salem really wants. the reason that interests me so much is that watts is extremely comfortable around salem—man swans up to her teleconference grimm to obnoxiously knock on its head and heckle cinder, immediately after lionheart quaveringly promised not to waste her time. he’s indirect and dramatic about telling her qrow found the spring maiden (“a little birdie told us”) and salem’s reaction, of turning to lionheart and telling him to explain, suggests that watts is just like that. in volume six his response to her implication that cinder survived is to scoff and say “you’re joking, how could you know that?” and the only reason he backs down is because tyrian flies off the handle about it.

the only time salem herself reprimands him for any of this is when she tells him off for being cruel to cinder, which she handles rather politely (“dr. watts, do you find such malignance necessary?”). QED, watts does not modulate his shitheel behavior with salem whatsoever because he knows that she 1. doesn’t care, and 2. will calmly tell him when he’s crossed a line with her. there is a level of casual trust here that no one else in the inner circle exhibits.

watts is also the only one of salem’s cabal whose personal goal is obfuscated in, frankly, much the same way that salem’s is; he hates atlas but there is no specificity as to his emotional motivation for wanting to proverbially burn it down. the narrative lines up enough pieces to suggest he’s from mantle, slips in the fact that he faked his own death to get out of the atlesian military, and then brings out his fury over ironwood’s exploitation and disrespect to underscore the point. the fandom focuses on “you chose that fat imbecile over me!” to the exclusion of everything else in order to confirm the pre-existing feeling that watts is just a petty, arrogant asshole, but the picture rwby is actually painting here is of a man who violently ripped himself out of the proto-fascist machinery of the atlesian military and dedicated the rest of his life to getting rid of it completely. the penny project is merely the focal point. a singular concrete incident that has become an emotional shorthand for everything else.

anyway the point is, i don’t think watts knew precisely what salem intends to do with the relics, but i do think he had a fairly accurate understanding of who she is; his irreverence and casually obnoxious antics come from a place of recognizing that she doesn’t give a flying fuck—that she will, at worst, calmly push back if he does something she is unwilling to tolerate and that a certain show of deference is occasionally necessary to placate her deranged assassin—and likewise his scrupulous loyalty and respect feel considered in a way that the rest of the cabal’s do not.

hence the necessity of removing him completely from the plot point about how nobody really knows what salem is after. watts is kind of the anti-tyrian in that he is every bit as dedicated to her cause but his reasons for being so are wholly unexplained to the audience even though it is entirely obvious that he does HAVE ironclad reasons—which leaves the sort of people who refuse to ascribe agency or interiority to villainous characters unless it’s spelled out in bold print grasping for the wildly silly reading that watts is being led around blind by a petty grudge and actually salem doesn’t respect him or his contributions at all, never fucking mind that disrespect for him and his work is exactly his grievance with ironwood, and never mind that out of everyone in her cabal, watts is clearly the one salem holds in the highest regard

[ciderjacks]

despite Laios low self esteem making him think that if he’d been eaten, Chilchuck and Marcille wouldn’t have helped Falin,

theres a small part of me that thinks the reason Chilchuck stayed with the party and went back in the dungeon in the first place was because he didn’t want to leave Laios alone. That Laios was moreso the reason he stayed.

[concrete-3ater]

if I had a nickel for every time I was in a fandom and a child character had a breakdown and did something that accidentally hurt another character, and then the fandom all turned on the character and vilified them because they [the fandom] can’t understand that sometimes 14 year olds make mistakes when they’re going through something traumatic, I would have 2 nickels

not a lot but it really is weird it happened twice

[cakerybakery]

Vaggie returned the awkward fist bump and kind of wished he’d hugged her, like when she was young.

When it came to the exterminations, Adam had been an unrelenting asshole, but he was the closest thing to dad any of them had. And he’s been a pretty good dad too.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she missed being daddy’s favourite girl. She wanted to see him happy and given how much he bitched about Lucifer and their fight not ending in sex, she figured he must be pretty bend out of shape over him.

In the kitchen Charlie was already preparing a picnic without enough for four people. Since they wouldn’t be staying. Vaggie joined her and pulled out the good wine to pack for the date.

Charlie: how did it go? Did he admit he likes my dad?Ohh I hope it works out! Even if it doesn’t, maybe they can be friends. Everyone needs a friend.

Okay so we do a lot of Lucifer wooing Adam stuff. But imagine if Adam and Lucifer are arguing it get aggressive but Lucifer leaves and Adam’s left standing there going, “why aren’t we making out right now?” Cause half of his sexcapades happen because of an argument and he thought that’s where it was headed.

Adam trying to wrap his head around an argument he thought was sexually charged as Vaggie tries to talk sense into him. That no, that’s not how normal people have sex. And trying to give him common sense advice like, Charlie says her dad is super romantic, ask him out on a romantic date. But Adam’s like, so rib contest and rock concert? Vaggie is just

“Come on man, work with me here. That’s like, a fifth date. You’re the one that taught me this shit.”

[everysongineverykey]

i love how unfatherly crowley and aziraphale both are when it comes down to it. sure aziraphale is more than willing to give the young people in his life help and advice and be their friend but he and crowley spent six years (eleven in the book) practically raising a kid (you just know his parents weren't around that often) and by the end they didn't even like him. crowley even suggested they just fucking kill him. he turned three kids into lizards for annoying him right after he destroyed their house. like it was that or kill them obviously but he did NOT hesitate with the newts. that's so funny to me. they're just inherently disinclined to parenthood. we need more characters like them actually

[possamble]

I'm not allowed to be on social media for more than two seconds today but I just wanted to say that Laios will absolutely have his own reaction to all this as someone who would die for Falin but has also imprinted on Marcille as his Emotional Support Comphet White Girl Not-Girlfriend along the way

[blackjackkent]

Ask prompt fill for @astreamofstars for this ask meme: Questioning Sentences, Vol. 33 Jaheira/Khalid (and others) - “Are you getting my wife into trouble?” Two fills for the price of one cos I couldn't decide if I liked this idea or the other one better for this prompt so I did both. XD Set during Siege of Dragonspear, but doesn't include any spoilers.

-----

“All right.” Caden sways blearily on his feet, gesturing with the tankard in his hand. “Are you ready… for the master plan?”

“Minsc is ready,” Minsc agrees eagerly. “For a plan which Caden makes is masterful indeed!’

They make a rather comical tableau, gathered together in the shadows at the edge of the coalition camp. Caden is pacing unsteady circles, occasionally stopping to lean on one of the nearby trees. Nearby, Minsc and Rasaad sit side by side; Minsc has drained his mug completely and his eyes are wide with inebriated enthusiasm, while Rasaad is holding himself to ramrod stillness, the alcohol only evident in the slightly unfocused look in his eyes and the amused smile playing around his lips.

And there’s the cat, of course, which is prowling through the grass around Caden’s feet. Unlike Caden and the others, though, the cat almost melds into invisibility with the shadows. Its fluffy coat is dark gray except for a stripe of white along the tail, leaving the glint of its eyes the only obvious sign of its presence.

“Steady, Caden,” Rasaad says with a low chuckle, watching his friend take another gulp of ale. “If you are not careful, I believe you might pitch over.” 

He takes a sip from his own mug and glances over her shoulder back towards the center of the camp. No one seems to have noticed them sneaking off; most of the army has gone to sleep and the fires are burning low. The guards on watch are attentive to threats from the outside, and they have little interest to spare for the erstwhile Hero of Baldur’s Gate and his friends lurking drunkenly outside Torsin de Lancie’s tent.

“Nonsense,” Caden says gravely. “My balance is perfect and my ideas better still. Now--” He points at the cat, who is watching him with a glassy-eyed attentiveness, its tail lashing back and forth. “The key to it all.” He swings his hand in a wide arc and points dramatically into the darkness. “...A hole.”

Minsc turns his head to peer in the direction Caden is pointing and the wall of dark green canvas that sits there. “A tent,” he corrects Caden earnestly.

Caden blinks, then releases a very uncharacteristic giggle and downs another mouthful of his drink. “Nooooo,” he says, over-enunciating. “There’s a hole in the tent.” He points again at the cat. “And you can fit through it.”

The cat mrowls thoughtfully, then flops over onto its side and rolls so it is looking at Caden upside down. 

“Exactly,” Caden says, nodding several times vigorously. “And then - havoc. Shred de Lancie’s shirts. Steal his sword. Whatever you can think of.”

“It would certainly serve him right,” Rasaad agrees. He smirks over the rim of his mug as he takes another sip. “We would send Caden himself, but we have all seen his attempts at subtlety.”

“Shuuuush…” Caden whines, laughing, and punches Rasaad gently in the shoulder. This does, in fact, overbalance him and he sits down hard in the grass next to the tent’s front peg. “Oof. Well?” He grins goofily at the cat. “What d’you think?”

The cat climbs slowly and methodically up Caden’s arm until it is balanced on his shoulder, and begins to knead its claws vigorously into his shirt.

“Ow.” He grunts. Reaching up, he picks the cat up and sets it back on the ground, climbing unsteadily back to his feet. “I’ll take that as a yes. C’mon, Rasaad and Minsc and I will keep guard, and you can--”

He stops abruptly as, turning, he bumps into a man standing in his way who seems to have materialized out of the shadows. “Oh. Hello, Khalid,” he says, blinking rapidly like a child caught raiding the pantry.

Out of armor, Khalid looks about an inch shorter and considerably less broad than he usually does; his mop of dark hair is mussed from his helmet and he’s dressed for bed in a loose, dark tunic and a pair of Calishite-style trousers. “G-good evening, Caden,” he says cheerfully; his weariness from the day’s travel is evident in the thickness of his stammer, but he grins good-naturedly. “Are you g-g-getting my wife into trouble?”

Caden cocks his head at the older man innocently, an effect marred a little as he sways back on his heels. “Dunno what you’re talking about,” he says.

“Mmhm.” Khalid peers past him at the cat who has begun to groom itself, its fluffy tail curled up over its back. “S-she is not in b-bed, and that c-c-c-cat looks familiar. Are you quite sure?”

Caden follows his gaze and shakes his head. “It’s just a cat,” he says, very seriously. 

Khalid laughs. “There is n-n-no fooling me, C-Caden, I’m afraid,” he says.

At the sound of his voice, the cat’s head suddenly shoots up. Darting past Caden, it hurls itself at Khalid’s legs and begins circling him, rubbing up against his shins and purring ecstatically. 

Khalid’s grin softens. “Y-you see?” he murmurs. Crouching down, he runs a hand slowly along the cat’s silky fur from head to tail-tip, and the purring rises in volume like the rumble of a distant thunderstorm. “I would kn-know her in every shape,” he murmurs. “Though… the s-s-s-stripe on her tail is a d-d-dead giveaway.”

The cat nips at his hand, and he chuckles. “Am I g-g-giving away your secrets, my love? I’m s-s-sorry.” He raises an eyebrow at Caden. “N-now - out with it. Are you g-g-getting my wife into trouble?”

There’s a low hissing sound, and the wildshape melts away, leaving Jaheira, curled awkwardly on the ground, pressed against his thigh. She looks up at him with a bleary smile and pokes him in the side. “How dare you?” she says reprovingly; the words, though carefully pronounced, have a distinct tipsy slur. “I do not need the boy’s help to get myself into trouble.”

“Ahhhhh, I s-see.” Khalid’s eyes widen and he juts out his jaw, mock-appalled. “A d-d-drunken band, the l-lot of you.”

“I believe you have mispronounced ‘criminal masterminds,’ Khalid,” Rasaad says with a sage nod. 

“Well, t-t-tell me, then,” Khalid says. His lips twitch with amusement. “What c-c-conspiracy can you be m-m-masterminding at this t-time of night?”

Caden downs the rest of his mug. “Messing with Torsin de Lancie’s tent,” he says matter-of-factly.

Khalid tilts his head slowly to one side. His eyes flick over the tent, to the hole in the fabric at its rear, then to Caden, then to Jaheira. Then he starts to laugh. “Ahhhh, I see,” he says, shaking his head ruefully. “Well… why d-d-didn’t you say so in the f-f-first place? C-carry on.”

[woodchipp]

Oh hey, didn't see you here.

he suffered a lot due to the traumatic incident he had to witness plus the grief and guilty due to the consequences of his actions

His suffering is entirely internal and self-inflicted. I'm not going to feel much for a character whose only remarkable traits are being a terrible jerk and feeling bad for themself all the time, even if they're a child.

Honestly, I am baffled as to how you think this two characters are the same, you probably need to seek a brain specialist and check your neurons, I'm sure God gave you a wrong patterns recognition. And hey maybe you can test your IQ in there and have some advice to get smarter.

I find it ironic a discussion of a game about mental illness and trauma has the game's fans use mental illness as an insult. Thought you were better than that.

(the album captions are considered non-canon),

Because you don't agree with the arguments they're used for? XD

I shall use mine:

That recording's fanmade. The photos' desciriptions are in the game's files.

I'd appreciate canonical sources proving stuff like Mari being physical other than very blurry photos you can't glean anything concrete from. As it stands, those text descriptions, even if scrapped, are the closest thing to a canonical source there is, so they're what I'm going with.

This is a farce.

(Which Sunny did do a lot with Aubrey by the way, shown through the video montage of “Duet”)

The most they are shown doing in the Duet cutscene is a brief shot of them sitting together on the swings.

A flashback or two showing Sunny as the good listener we are told he is would've gotten that point across better, y'know.

What twelve year old wouldn’t complain MENTALLY? It’s not being an ass, if he was, he would’ve outwardly said all those things. It’s just that mentally he doesn’t want to do it.

My point is that I'm not too inclined to believe Sunny loves his friends as much as the game wants me to think he does when his reaction to the prospect of hard work for the sake of their happiness is whining.

Do I think it was just caused because he didn’t get to watch cartoons? No. Mari obviously said something to provoke it.

If it's so obvious, where's the proof? The recording doesn't count.

You think a 15 year old whose parents booked a venue for their recital wouldn’t be pressured and in turn pressure their younger sibling into making it PERFECT? Just food for thought.

Would've been great if the game had actually shown the pressure she was experiencing and subjected Sunny to.

It’s also realistic to those experiencing PTSD or shock

Trauma doesn't preclude one from being a decent person to others. How many times do I have to spell that out?

"For a moment, you feel at peace. You hate yourself for feeling this way.” He was relieved, sure. But he hated himself for that. Because he didn’t want to feel relief.

Funny you left out the caption's last sentence, which implies the reilef that he won't face repercussions outweighed any guilt he felt ("Is that all, then? Is everything going to be okay now?")

It's portrayed as a bad thing.

Which is why the game conveniently leaves out his friends' reactions, I suppose.

Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe the reason Sunny doesn’t show any guilt in-game is because he’s discovering the truth as much as we, the player are? Just food for thought

Nice to see you haven't bothered to check any of the links in that post.

Why do you think he doesn’t end up killing himself in a majority of the hikikomori routes even though OMORI has taken over?

There are only two endings to that route, and he very much does kill himself in one of those.

What Sunny did was the fault of him being a child witnessing a traumatic incident

He was responsible for it.

Also, the "irrational mindset" argument was specifically about Sunny shoving Mari down the stairs.

If anything, Basil's at fault.

1) Basil wouldn't have felt the need to intervene were it not for Sunny.

2) It's true that Basil was responsible for the lie, but it was Sunny who chose to go along with it.

...Well, that was a whole lot of nothing lmao.

Sunny is forgivable because he was a child who was not in a good rational mindset and made an impulsive decision with much more dire consequences than anticipated

Jimmy is not forgivable because he was an adult who had to make several conscious decisions to do what he did and does nothing but repeat his horrible behaviour

Both games are about forgiveness but two completely different ends of that spectrum. Omori is about how forgiveness can be healing and help those recover, and mouthwashing is about how sometimes forgiveness does nothing but enable horrible people to continue their abusive behaviour

[mycocam]

somehow the projects that have absolutely no audience are the most exciting. I just started a crossover comic for MASH and Dungeon Meshi. I may be losing it

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Hold on something's just hit me.

If everyone in the Plex were to believe that Gregory dropped Cassie at the end of Ruin to keep himself from being found, whether he did it or not, wouldn't that make Roxy to one most able to understand him?

As Mimic's guard dog, surely she would know the lengths you have to go through to keep that fucker trapped. A whole team of Raceway construction workers went straight to their deaths down there. Roxy won't let the Raceway be repaired and re-opened in order to keep people safe. She's probably been able to see Mimic and its victims through the floor this entire time, she knows what it can do and what it's done, even if she doesn't know the full extent of it.

She's willing to sacrifice her Raceway and Salon to keep people from finding Mimic. Her pride and joys, basically her whole reason for being built in the first place. They're not worth the risk to her.

Whether Gregory sacrificed Cassie to keep Mimic trapped or not, surely Roxy would realise some sort of similarity. She may think doing that to Cassie was too far, she may think he's a monster for even considering it and she may feel as though nothing could justify what he did... But there's a part of her that gets it. The absolute terror that comes at the slightest possibility that Mimic could escape. She gets that sacrifices have to made, fuck she's made those sacrifices herself. She would never have sacrificed someone for this, that's why she ran headfirst at Mimic instead of just sealing the exits again, but there could be that tiny little part of her that feels the need to constantly to remind her that Gregory was trying to do the same thing she was.

The key difference here, is that if Gregory had done it, it would fall in line with almost everything else we've seen him do. The sacrifices he makes, are of other people, and not himself. He sacrificed Roxy, Chica and Monty to upgrade Freddy for his safety and possibly the safety of Vanessa. If he also dropped Cassie, then he's once again sacrificing someone else for the sake of his own safety. Not like he has that much else to lose, but I'm drawing comparisons here.

Roxy on the other hand, sacrifices herself. She sacrificed her Raceway and her Salon for the benefit of both herself and others. Unlike Gregory finding himself in a hopeless situation and hurting others to get out of it, Roxy was given this job (probably) and chose to give up what little she has in the world to keep the situation from happening. Even when Cassie deactivates her and ends up face to face with Mimic, Roxy jumps straight at it to buy her time to escape which could have easily killed her.

So now you have Roxy, who unfortunately does understand Gregory's choice to drop Cassie (if she believes he did it which yeah she probably does) but has absolutely no sympathy for him. She couldn't care less about him. There's potentially a fearful little voice in her head that she's the same as Gregory that fuels her anger towards him even more. She hasn't ever sacrificed someone else to keep the Mimic at bay and she's been doing it for fuck knows how long, what gives Gregory a free pass? Maybe if he hadn't stolen her fucking eyes she would have been able to stop the whole thing from getting that far anyway!

I'm not saying this to frame Gregory as a villain or anything. I don't think he dropped Cassie and I still think it was entirely Freddy's fault for what happened to the others in SB. I just think this is interesting from a character stand point. The one person that could understand the choices they've made to keep Mimic from escaping is each other, but they're both too hateful of each other for it to affect anything... If they were ever to settle their differences, I think it would have to start here. The only common ground they share, is the one thing no one else does.

But Gregory didn't even fucking do it so I bet that goes well lmao

[kindaorangey]

the things you find out when you switch sides of the friendship group.... good lord

[dufferpuffer]

I'd say 'Both' rather than in-between. But voted in-between because its closest - and maybe I'm just being pedantic lol

His extreme drive to avenge her and dedicate his life to her memory is from platonic feelings primarily. And he is happy like that. If she was alive he could give a totally happy life with her as his friend. But... it has to be WITH her. His happiness kind of relied on his proximity. If she moved to a different town - he would move too. He wants to see her every day. He is to Lily what Sirius is to James.

He would always struggle with whoever she wants to be with romantically, even if he approves of them. It would be easier for him than her seeing James fucking Potter - but still hard. Which is where I think he also feels romantic. He is jealous and possessive and a little obsessed. Not to any extent some people want to paint him as - it isn't a problem because he knows when to hold back and let her go... impressive for a teenager.

But he still has these feelings. They are messy feelings that he has no ability to understand as a teenager - and still struggles with as an adult. It's part of why she is so enigmatic to him. All he has ever wanted is to be her friend but seeing her do things with other people makes him burn in ways he never expected.

He would be perfectly happy if they were best friends forever - but when she starts dating someone and giving them special unique attention he goes 'Why not me? You can do that with me...' HE can't fathom doing those things with anyone but her.

I guess I think romantic comes into it because I can't imagine him seeing Lily date someone without jealousy, even if that jealousy isn't his driving force. Finding out she had her first kiss, first sex... '???I'm right here??? Why would you ever do that without me???' He wouldn't do those things without her. He wouldn't be angry but he would be shocked, Hurt, that they see the world differently. He see's her as everything, and she see's him as just something.

I think Sirius feels this way about James, too. James liked Lily for a long time but as soon as it actually HAPPENED Sirius is surprised Pikachu face... has to process that he doesn't have James that way. He never knew he wanted that until he lost it - sort of thing. And I think both of them can manage that well. Sirius was happy for Lily and James to be together - and Severus could be happy for Lily to get with someone else, too. He sort of was. His priority wasn't his possession of her but rather her life and happiness.

I'm very curious about something... I've seen a lot of individuals interpret Snape's feelings towards Lily as platonic, and platonic only!

Since I've always seen them in a more romantic light, I'm now curious as to how their relationship tends to be viewed by others

I'm asking because I've seen people be surprised by a more romantic interpretation, which confused me at first, as I always thought him being in love with her was "canon" to some degree.

It only recently dawned on me that his feelings towards her have never been specified, lol

[itspileofgoodthings]

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