#her over-protective mom and her brilliant mind

[fanwarriorfictions]

Not Again - Part Thirteen

Summary: With Y/n reunited with her family, her and Az must face their inevitable fate, the exact reason Azriel hid the mating bond in the first place, their ending.

Warnings: ANGST!!!!! Light smut, and more angst

Series Masterlist

-Part Thirteen-

With a sword pressed to his back, dangerously close to his wings, he really should have listened. Azriel did the opposite, holding Y/n tighter to his chest, the words not quite registering, only the immediate danger to him, to his mate. Shadows swarmed around them, ready to defend, to kill.

“Gods,” Y/n groans, harshly pulling away, glaring over his shoulder, “Could you not?”

Azriel didn’t let her go far, instinct screaming to protect her from whatever dangers were behind him. His hand firmly holds hers as he turns to look over his shoulder, finding that sword still leveled at him, and a large fae male behind it. If Azriel wasn’t so concerned with protecting his mate, he’d be more than a little nervous of the foreboding male.

White hair, braided back from his face, sprawling tattoos going down one side, continuing to his neck, and onto the arm holding his weapon, in a language Azriel couldn’t read. The male was large, he could put even Cassian to shame in sheer size, daggers strapped to every part of his body, clad in fighting leathers. His green eyes were narrowed, lethal focus on Azriel, on the hand holding Y/n’s. Azriel almost snarled that attention, Y/n beat him to it.

Teeth bared at the male, she growls, “Put your sword down.”

Azriel’s shadows were frantically swirling around and around, trying to hide her from the male’s view. She hisses at them, and as if they answered to her, they backed off.

“I’ll kill him,” the male replies coldly, voice like the harshest winter.

“Now is not the time for you to go over protective dad mode,” she snaps at the male, “Put the sword down.”

And just like, the words finally register in Azriel’s mind. Take your hands off my daughter. Mother spare him, this was Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius, one of the most powerful fae males in her world, her father, here, in his home, speaking his language.

That revelation left him reeling. They’d opened a gate, she’d reunited with her family, and she was still here. Still with him.

“Threatening lover boy without me?”

He didn’t need to be told who the female was, Y/n had inherited the very cadence of her voice, that confidence, that soft, swirling accent. Queen Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius, gods killer, his mate’s mother. From the stories she’d told him of both her parents, he wasn’t sure which one to be more terrified of. Perhaps the father who had just caught him thoroughly kissing his daughter.

“Mom please,” Y/n sighs, “He just woke up from almost dying. He doesn’t need you two threatening his life.”

“He seems fine,” the golden queen shrugs, turquoise eyes examining him intently, “Fine enough to be pawing after you like a dog.”

“Gods spare me,” Y/n groans beside him, resigned to whatever was about to happen.

Aelin stalks closer, Azriel felt like he was being hunted, maybe he should be more concerned about her. She moves with grace, surpassing that of usual fae stillness, an assassin, a warrior, a queen. There’s a brilliant blade in her hands, an ancient presence, something made like his dagger, like Gwydion. It has an intricate golden hilt, a large ruby set into the pommel, when she raises the sword, level with Azriel’s throat, golden flames coat the blade, hot enough to bring sweat to his brow in seconds.

Y/n hisses, shoving herself between Azriel and that sword of fire. Despite knowing that she was essentially fire proof, and that her mother would never willingly harm her, Azriel wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her to his chest, shadows tightening around them, ready to shield them.

Aelin’s eyes sparkle with amusement, practically twinkling in the light of her flames, “Don’t get all huffy, I only want to offer him some advice.”

“Is Goldryn necessary for that?” Y/n snaps, gripping onto Azriel’s arm.

Aelin ignores her daughter, looking directly into Azriel’s eyes, “I know what you did for her, all of it, the weight you shouldered alone.”

Azriel doesn’t miss the flash of emotion in Rowan’s face, that look of old pain. It echoes in Aelin’s, tinged with guilt. There was a story there, and it wasn’t a happy one.

“I know you took that arrow for her gladly,” the queen continues, “That you would do it again, my advice is simple, dying for her is easy, getting yourself killed in some heroic need to protect her, is easy, but in the end she’s the one who truly gets hurt, having to watch you die, having to live with that hole in her chest where you used to be.

“Live for her, fight for her, and know, that if you ever hurt her.” The fire on that ancient powerful blade burns brighter, hotter. “If she doesn’t do it for me first, I will kill you, and I know a thousand ways to do it, each more painful than the last.”

Azriel simply nods once, holding Y/n to him, she didn’t need to warn him, he would sooner die on his own blade than hurt the female in his arms. Aelin, seemingly satisfied, lowers that flaming sword, Rowan stepping to her side, that harsh glare, cold, promising a slow painful death, Aelin smiles warmly at her mate, a vicious gleam in her eye.

They made a menacing image, Azriel remembers teasing Y/n when she’d first arrived, of how it must have been to bring partners home, he understood why some ran screaming. He prayed they hadn’t brought the Witch Queen with them.

“As much as I love Azriel getting threatened by the in-laws.” Rhys casually strolls around the corner, hands in his pockets, “Would you all care for breakfast?”

Azriel gave his brother a scathing glare, opening his mind, you couldn’t have come to my rescue sooner?

You’re the one who shoved your tongue down their daughter’s throat, where we could all hear you might I add, Rhys grins, gesturing to the dining room behind him, “Shall we.”

Y/n had nervously placed herself between her mate and her parents, her mother by her side, unbelievably grateful for Cassian who had taken up the empty seat on Azriel’s right, Nesta beside him, taking up the rest of their side of the table.

There were to many glaring sets of eyes on Azriel to count, to his credit, he didn’t back down from any of them, that calm mask firmly in place as he met every single one.

“Well this is just wonderful isn’t it?” Rhys grins from ear to ear, fighting back a laugh when Feyre smacks his arm. “We’ve been getting acquainted with your new extended family, Az.”

Across from her sat her uncles, all glaring and sizing up Azriel like they were ready to leap across the table and tear him to shreds, all but Fenrys who was grinning just as devilishly as Rhys.

“You disappear for nearly two months and come back with a guy with wings,” he laughs, it seems almost threatening, “At least he’s pretty.”

“Debatable,” her father says quietly, stabing his fork into a poor unsuspecting strawberry on his plate.

Beside Fenrys, Lorcan looks almost as murderous as her father, glaring past her at her mate. Y/n doesn’t miss the way Cassian sizes her uncle up from Azriel’s side. Even sitting, Lorcan towers over everyone around him.

Aedion sat to his right, the wolf practically snarling. He might have been one of the most protective of her uncles, he’d had more than his fair share of scaring off her past partner’s. Lysandra beside him eyes narrowed as if she’d shift into an actual wolf, together they’d had boys screaming as they ran from her home.

“Hands off,” Y/n halfheartedly snaps at Fenrys, fighting to break some tension, “He’s mine.”

She can feel a ripple of satisfaction from Azriel. Again, Y/n sends the word down that bridge, mine. He entwines his hand with hers, squeezing once in response, mine.

On Fenrys’s other side sat Chaol and Yrene, Dorian at her side, they were the only ones not seemingly premeditating murder, but her uncle Dorian was a master of hiding his true thoughts. He could easily smile at someones face, and send a shard of ice into their back. Y/n thanked any god or mystical force, the mother, the cauldron, the Wyrd, that Manon was not with him.

The witch would never admit it, had only let Y/n call her aunt once in her life, but she was sure Manon had hunted down one of her poor exes. There was no tears shed when the male had wound up missing.

Beside Dorian sat Rhys, separate she wouldn’t have necessarily made the connection, but side by side, they look eerily similar. Raven black hair, sharp jawlines, the only major difference was the eyes, blue to violet.

“I recognize you,” her mother says from her side, eyes trained on the Lord and Lady down the long table, “This place.”

“I’d had a theory,” Rhys says, “When dear Y/n had described your journey through worlds.”

Y/n feels the dots connect, she’s surprised she hadn’t done it before. Her mother had told her of the world of stars she’d fallen through, the male who’d slowed her down enough so that she could go home. The wings, the heavily pregnant female, the night kissed power that had slammed into her.

“You’re the one who slowed me down,” Aelin says, leaning back in her seat at the revelation, “Thank you for that, if it wasn’t for you, I might have never made it home.”

Her father takes her hand in his, pausing his glaring at Azriel long enough to nod his thanks to Rhys, turning back to her mother, the tell tale sign of a silent conversation passing between them.

“You were that red star?” Nesta asks, leaning forward to peer around Cassian at Aelin, “But that was only a few years ago. That happened many many years ago according to Y/n.”

“Time was strange when I was falling,” Aelin explains, “I fell through worlds, moving forward and backward in time and place. I fell into your future, twenty odd years seemingly.”

There was a brief pause as everyone takes in the information. Only a few years ago, her mother had been here, falling through the sky like a red falling star, Y/n hadn’t even been born and yet she fell into this word only a few years later. It was hard to wrap her mind around.

Cassian seems to finally finish his thorough examination, breaking the silence that had fallen, “How tall are you really?”

Lorcan simply gave the male a incredulous look, “Tall.”

Cassian sighs, “Why is there another one, we’ve already got a tall dark broody with Az.”

Azriel glares at him, “Really?”

Y/n grins, chuckling under her breath as he gives her a near perfect match of her uncle’s look. His eyes light with amusement, lips twitching like he was fighting a grin.

Cassian leans his elbows one the table, with a feral grin, “I bet I could-“

“Don’t make bets you can’t win,” Lorcan interrupts.

“I could definitely win,” Cassian scoffs, crossing his arms over his broad chest, perhaps to look threatening.

“No,” Lorcan says simply, “You couldn’t.”

“Don’t mind him,” Aelin waves off Lorcan, “He’s just grouchy because his wife had to stay home to watch over things.”

Lorcan turns his glare on Aelin, she only gives him a sweet smile. It instantly gets beneath his skin, his hands clenching into fist on the table. No matter the years they’ve spent as friends, Aelin never failed to annoy the male.

Azriel gently squeezes her hand, saying down that bond, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, exact same infuriating smile.

Y/n simply gives him one of her own, turning to look at the room full of her family and his, who slowly open up into uneasy conversation.

Nesta looks half ready to corner Lysandra to wring her for shifting stories. Dorian and Rhys look like mirrors talking, Feyre, Chaol, and Yrene talking beside them, glancing between the two with similar expressions of confusion. Poor Lorcan was not getting away from Cassian, with the help of Fenrys and Aelin.

The only one still silent, still paying attention to their hands entwined between them, her father. Rowan glares intently at the connection between them, Y/n was half tempted to hide her hand below the table, Azriel wasn’t having any of it. He held her firmly in place, scars fully on display, shadows gently twining over her wrist, caressing her skin in comfort. He held her father’s ice cold glare, met it with one of his own, the shadowsinger’s like the cold of darkness.

“He’s had enough, buzzard,” Aelin says quietly, her mother putting herself into Rowan’s view, “Save some of the threatening for later, you can sit by the door, sharpening your sword when he can come to visit.”

“Visit?” Azriel asks, a brow raised at Y/n.

“I was hoping to have this conversation later,” she glares at her mother who simply shrugs.

“What do you mean?” Azriel holds her hand tightly, like he was coming to his own conclusions, none of them good.

Y/n didn’t want this to happen now, for anyone else to be the one to tell him. She was still reeling from the pain of being told herself.

“We waited for you to wake up,” Rowan says, an edge to his voice, “For her sake.”

There were to many risks, to many long lost enemies that would be drawn. To go between worlds frequently, to open and close those gates to many times. They’d already opened so many, already tested their fate. So she had to make a choice, she had begged to wait for him before she made it.

“Wait to do what?”

Y/n could feel his panic down the bond, and she hates the words as they come from her mouth, “To go home.”

He knew it was coming, had known it from the moment Rhys told him she was his mate. It was the reason he didn’t tell her, the reason he’d fallen apart so spectacularly. Despite everything, of course she would still go home, still leave him, she was a princess, she had a destiny, a crown, a kingdom, and he, he was nothing.

He was a bastard nobody of a long dead lord. In what world would this female, this princess, stoop so low to be with him, to give up her crown?

“Az.”

Gentle, oh so gentle, as if she spoke softly it would keep him from shattering.

“Excuse me.”

Azriel stood, ignoring the eyes from every angle, concerned gazes, glares, all of it. He walked away, he didn’t break, didn’t fall apart, didn’t cry, didn’t scream, he just left. Put distance between him and the knowledge that he found this beautiful female, his mate, and fate would rip her away from him just like that.

“Az,” her voice almost broke him, “Hold on, stop for a second.”

He couldn’t, if he stopped he was scared he wouldn’t be able to hold himself up anymore, he would fall apart and he would never be able to put himself back together again.

“Az,” she pleads, running to catch up, “just hold on.”

Shadows screaming in his ears, stop, listen to her, stop, don’t let her go. He forces them away, forces his legs to keep moving, to find his room, to hide, hide, hide.

“Damnit, shadowsinger.” A hand wraps around his arm, nails digging into his skin to simply hold him in place, “Will you just listen to me.”

Azriel whirls around, and he does the one thing he could do without breaking completely, the only selfish thing he’d allow himself. He kisses her, putting every raging emotion he was feeling into his lips on hers, into his hands on either side of her face. She gasps and his tongue sweeps into her mouth, fighting, claiming, begging.

“Stay.”

One word, whispered against her lips, one word, one selfish selfish word. Azriel would never ask for anything else, would never need anything else, as long as she stayed.

“Az, I-“

He couldn’t do it, couldn’t listen to her say no, because she would, and he didn’t blame her for it, didn’t hate her for it, he couldn’t. He couldn’t.

He pulls her to him, lips crashing in desperation and despair. She doesn’t pull away, doesn’t continue to say those words, doesn’t break him. Azriel drops his hold on her face, reaching down to her thighs to lift her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist when her legs wrap around him. He carries her, blindly finding his way to his room several doors down, closing them into the space, lips never parting from hers, never allowing those words to come.

Azriel pulls away, only long enough to find the bed, to gently lay her down atop it, settling above her. Her hands caressing his face, brushing through his hair, dragging her nails over his shoulders and chest as they undress each other. He takes his time, ignoring the ticking clock in his head that counts down to the inevitable end.

She’s just as beautiful as the first time he saw her, soft skin beneath his palms as he holds her, admires her. Undoing each lace of her leathers, watching the way she writhes beneath him, listening to the whines and pleas.

“Az,” she gasps, “please I-“

He tugs the material down, taking the small lace beneath with it until she’s completely bare beneath him.

“Beautiful,” he whispers, not trusting his voice as the emotions rise in his throat, as words beg to be let out.

She can feel it, feel everything, the tears he bites back, her eyes fill with them, quiet silver tears that roll down her cheeks. Azriel takes her in his arms, kissing away the hurt as best he could, their naked chest pressed against each other. He could feel her shaking, Azriel wasn’t sure if that was just him.

“Az,” she begs softly.

Azriel knew what she was pleading for, and he wouldn’t deny her, wouldn’t deny himself. They were both selfish, they both needed this, needed each other, even if it was the one and only time. They would take everything they could before it was taken from them.

He lays her down, softly kissing her cheeks, right over those tears, before sitting back, scarred hands undoing his own laces, quickly, desperately. There’s immense relief when he pulls the pants down his thighs, a strike of pure lust through him, from that bond, from her when she sees him standing naked before her.

“Please,” she begs again, hooking her legs around him to pull him close.

The briefest touch has him gasping, and when she lifts her hips, pressing her center to him, he groans. Dropping down to capture her lips again, tasting her moans as he slowly guides himself into her. Slow, he would need to be so slow, she’d been tight around just his fingers, he didn’t want to hurt her, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did.

“I’m not going to break,” she whispers against him, “Please, Az.”

Any control snaps when her voice wavers with the weight of her emotions, when she wraps her legs tightly around his waist and pulls, taking his breath away from him. Azriel had never felt anything like her, like their bodies along with their souls had been made for each other.

The sound she makes, the high breathy moan almost has him coming undone. He waits, letting her get used to the feeling, to the stretch, he kisses each of her cheeks, tasting the salt of her tears, and then he claims her lips, claims all of her, all that she can give, and he gives himself in return.

She writhes beneath him, silently begging him to move, he does, slowly dragging his length out, groaning against her lips, perfect, absolutely perfect. He rolls his hips, drawing sharp gasps from both of them, slow delicate movements to draw out their pleasure.

“Az, I-“ She gasps as he hits that spot deep inside her. “I-“

Azriel felt the words she tried to say, felt the emotion mirroring his own, felt his heart heal and break at the same time.

“I love you, Princess,” he whispers against her lips, his pace quickening, “I love you, I will love you even with a million stars between us.”

She cries, arching into him, matching each of his strokes. Bodies, minds, hearts, and souls completely intertwined, everything she felt, so did he, every emotion, every stroke, everything. He felt the tightening band in her core, threatening to snap and send them both over the edge.

“I love you,” she gasps out the words, struggling to speak around the pleasure and the pain, “I love you.”

And when she can’t speak it anymore, she chants it down that bond, I love you, I love you, I love you, my mate, those words are Azriel’s undoing. The band snaps, and both of them are thrown over the edge.

I love you too, Princess, he can’t find his voice, My beautiful mate.

She clings to him, like she’s terrified he will disappear at any moment, Azriel finds that’s exactly why he holds her just as tightly, sitting back, lifting her into his lap with his arms around her waist to have her as close as he physically can. Her arms wrap around his neck, nails digging into his skin like she could anchor herself to him.

In all their time together, he’d never actually heard her cry, not until now, the smallest, most heartbreaking noise, a whimper of pain. He can only hold her tighter as that small sound turns to a sob.

“It’s not fair,” she cries, burying her face into his neck, “None of this is fair. How could fate be so cruel, so gods damned cruel to gift me a mate, all the way across the stars, to bring me here, bring me you, just to rip us apart.”

Azriel wants to be strong, to just hold her, stay put together for her, but he can’t. The tears he desperately wanted to hide, to hold back, flood his eyes. And all either of them can do is cry, and hold onto each other.

They gave them time, time to be together, to cry, to feel everything they could offer each other.

Y/n had cried until she had nothing left to give. Azriel holding her through it all, listening when she’d finally gotten herself together to explain, to tell him what she’d been told.

That there were gates opening to worlds that should be long gone, that the threat of enemies like the valg, enemies stirring in this world even, was enough to keep them from coming and going from each others worlds, that it wasn’t forever, just long enough to find a solution, one they would work on in both worlds.

It was nearly nightfall by the time someone came knocking for them. Whoever was on the otherside waited patiently for them to dress, to have those last few moments together.

When Y/n finally had the courage to open the door, she’d been met by her mother’s turquoise eyes filled with love and understanding. She didn’t miss anything, the joined scents between them, the puffy red eyes, the hands that refused to let go.

“Everyone is waiting at the gate,” Aelin says gently, “We figured you would want to say goodbye.”

Azriel is a silent figure behind her, his hand never letting go of her own shaking one. They walk down those familiar halls, the house’s presence beside them, sad to see her go.

Y/n bows her head, a gesture of thanks to the first being in this world that had reached out a friendly hand and kept reaching despite her own protests.

Voices travel on a stray breeze, and Azriel’s hand shakes, that panic flowing like a river down the bridge of shadow between them. She never thought she would dread hearing her family.

“We’ll see each other again,” Dorian’s voice sounds, “We’ve had our best scholars looking into the gates while Y/n had been missing, we’ll continue searching for a solution.”

“As will we,” Feyre promises.

Y/n feels the tears welling up in her eyes again as they pass through the door way. Even in the large space, the sheer amount of bodies crowds the room. Her family, the one she’d been born with, had been surrounded by her entire life, and the family she was slowly growing into. Even Amren had shown up, the small female offering her a solemn bow of her head.

The gate was already open, and through it she could see Orynth, the setting Sun lighting the sky in brilliant colors, bright oranges and pinks slowly fading to deep purples and blues. And there, starting to faintly glow in the sky, the bright flame between his antlers, the Lord of the North, shining down on her, welcoming her home.

There were many eyes on her as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. The only thing keeping her from collapsing completely was Azriel by her side, his arm coming to wrap around her waist.

Azriel leans down to whisper in her ear, “He found you.”

She wasn’t lost anymore.

Her family said their goodbyes to the Inner Court, slowly filing through that gate until only her and her parents remained. Rowan still glares at that arm around her waist, but he raises his hand to Azriel’s free one. They shake once, and Y/n knows that her father was not holding back his strength in that grip.

“Take care of her,” Rowan says, and there’s a hard look in his eye, “I don’t care what hell it would bring down on us. If you ever hurt her, know that I will hunt you down through gates and worlds and I will kill you.”

Confusion lights her eyes, Azriel’s too, “I would never dream of hurting her.”

“What is this?” Y/n asks, searching her parent’s faces for an answer.

There’s a broken look in her mother’s eyes as she says, “Stay.”

Behind her, through that gate, her family stands united, sad smiles on their faces. It takes a moment for Y/n to understand, to grasp the words, the warning from her father, the gentle command from her mother.

“What? I- I don’t,” she struggles to find the words.

She staggers forward on shaking legs, Azriel letting her go. Her mother grabs her hands, steadying Y/n, she felt like she would fall apart at anymoment.

Aelin smiles, holding tightly to Y/n’s hands, “Stay, it won’t be forever, we will see you again.”

Her father stood beside them, a small heartbroken smile on his face. Y/n felt like the world was tipping beneath her feet.

“But,” Y/n felt like her throat was closing around the words, “I want to go home, that’s what I’ve been fighting for this whole time, to find my way home.”

And it was Rowan who said, looking over her shoulder, “You are home.”

Y/n follows his gaze, finding Azriel, a shattered expression on his face as he nods at her father. He’d made a promise to Rowan, and he would keep it.

“Stay,” Aelin says again, one hand lifting to Y/n’s cheek, swiping at the tears streaming down her face, “Live, be happy, love fiercely with everything in your heart, and know, that no matter how far away you are, the stag will always be there to watch over you.”

Y/n looks at that constellation through the gate, saw that brilliant stag watching her, watching the sky above like he could see all the way to the world she stood on now.

“We will always find you,” Rowan says, and she can hear the pain in her father’s voice, “I promise.”

“I’ll miss you every moment,” Aelin says, drawing Y/n into her arms, “But I will sleep peacefully knowing you’re here, safe, with him.”

She felt her legs give out, felt her father’s arms wrap around her and her mother as they all sank to the stone floors. Rowan held them all together, like he had always done. She felt like she was a child again, so small, so breakable, but with her family around her, she would always be safe.

“I love you both,” Y/n cries, “I will see you again.”

Aelin was the first to pull away, “We will see you again, my Fireheart.”

Rowan held on a moment longer, kissing that invisible mark on her brow like he’d done since she was a child. When he rose, taking Aelin’s hand, he looked past Y/n, to her mate standing behind her, Rowan bows his head just barely, a thank you. And her parents turned, and walked through that gate.

Y/n could only watch and cry as her family waved their finally goodbyes, as that gate closed between them, as the Lord of the North smiled down on her one last time.

He stayed with her, well after that gate had closed, her family behind it. His own had left, giving her the privacy to grieve. Y/n simply knelt there, staring at that empty arch on the wall, silent tears still streaming down her face.

Azriel was a selfish male, the relief he’d felt when Aelin told her to stay had almost taken him to his knees. But when he’d seen the broken look in his mates eyes, felt her heart shatter beside his own, he felt the guilt eating him alive.

So he stayed with her, sat down beside her, not touching, but close enough that she could reach out whenever she was ready.

Hours passed, and finally she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Azriel sighs at the contact, wrapping his arm around her to pull her closer. She finally looks away from that blank wall, only to bury her face in his chest.

Azriel holds her tighter, lifting a hand to her chin, tilting her face towards his. He searches her eyes, the tears are long gone but the redness remains, and in them he doesn’t find the lost and broken pieces he expected, that he prepared himself to help put back together.

He tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear, resting his palm on her cheek. She leans into that touch, nuzzling into his palm.

“Where’d you go, Princess?”

For a moment he doesn’t think she’ll respond, she only stares up at him. And then she’s capturing his lips with her own in a soft, gentle kiss. Azriel runs his thumb over her cheek, admiring the feeling of her lips against his own. Here, she was still here, with him, in his arms.

She pulls back, only just far enough, lips still brushing against his own as she says, “Home, I’m finally home.”

Tag list-

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[zweetpea]

The Hatchling and The Cursed Princess

For @liuaneee

Once upon a time there was a princess-

“Hold on hold on! That’s so cliche!” Scara had the audacity to interrupt me. Anyway so it all started a long time ago-

“Audacity? This is my love story!”

Excuse you? Boy sit down before I make you sleep on the couch!

Anyway… where was I?

“Not so long ago?” He reminded.

Fine (¬_¬) it wasn’t so long ago. An old witch had been snubbed- really? Not gonna say anything?

“Nah, you’re spitting facts.”

Okay so the old hag had not been invited to the baby shower of the princess. 6 other Mages and their familiars were invited. They all gave the princess lovely gifts.

Venti and the dragon of the Winds gave the princess a beautiful voice. Zhongli and the drake of the Earth gave the princess the gift of loyalty. Nahida and the Aranara of the Flora gave the princess an exceptional mind (both brilliant and wise). Furina and the dragon of the Waters gave her beauty both inside and out. Murata and her dragon of flames gave her strength of will. And The Tsarista and her jester gave her true love.

Everyone was- boy what are you smirking at?

“nothing.” Scara barely tried to hid his smirk. “Hey! Don’t call me out.” He chuckled.

Anyway everyone was laughing and cheering and just when all the gifts had been handed out the Witch of the land far far away had appeared in a cloud of purple mist.

“A party? Without me?” She glared at the king and queen.

“We were very frightened.” Thanks mom. Note the sarcasm.

So the old ugly witch walked over to the king and queen who held their baby. Her familiar the Kitsune of lightning sat on her shoulder. She held out her hand and recited a spell.

“On the girl’s 20th birthday she will prick herself on an Electrograna thorn and die!”

Everyone cried out in horror as she summoned a strike of lightning and disappeared. The king and queen were devastated. They resolved not to loose their baby so they burned all the electrograna in the land and kept their baby under 24 hour surveillance at the castle.

“Because seriously, who decides “oh yeah let’s keep her safe by sending her away where we can’t look after her”?” Scara spitting facts there.

So the princess grew up surrounded by love and protection. One day she met an adorable cat, his fur the color of midnight. “Hello little kitty.” She said and in response the kitty nuzzled his face into her hand. “I’m gonna keep you.” She picks him up and walks into her room. She named the cat midnight after its beautiful black fur.

She’d sneak him lots of fish but after a few days the cat revealed his true form as a young boy around the same age as her.

“please no more fish.” He whined. “No I didn’t!”

Yes you did!

“I do not whine.”

Fine you begged. “I don’t do that either!”

Do you want to tell the story?

“gladly. She fell in love at first sight with me and my awesome powers-”

Okay that’s enough! The cat boy asked for something other than fish.

“acceptable.”

So the princess and the boy snuck through the castle to get the boy some bread and eggs. “Midnight. Why are you human.”

“Mine name isn’t Midnight. It’s… Scaramouche.”

“Nice to meet your Scara.” She shook his hand.

“Nice for you to meet me too princess.” They smiled at each other.

Over the years the two of them became the closest of friends. She watched him study magic. And he would do tricks for her.

Around her 20th birthday-

“Wait wait wait! You’re going to skip 15 years?! But so much happened in that time! The time I almost died falling out of a tree and you caught me. The time I transformed into a black leopard and mauled a guy for kissing you. Your 18th birthday-”

We are not going to mention my 18th birthday.

“You looked pretty in pink lace though.”

Scara! Do not be a perv right now! Anyway it was around the princess’s 20th birthday-

“Okay skip the best part of that day but tell the rest of that story at least!”

The- the best part!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE BEST PART!!

“just saying.”

Stop being a perv or get out!

“Okay I’ll stop but tell the rest of the story!”

Okay, okay. “My dear scara comes back today!” The princess cheered as she ran through the halls. He had left three years before to go to this magic academy.

After the “incident” with him-

“the third greatest moment in my life.”

The princess and- third!?

“First is a three way tie between our wedding and the kids births”

So what’s the second?

“Our wedding night.”

Wipe that smirk off your face! Anyway the princess came to properly greet her friend after three years of being apart. Only to find another girl snuggling up to him, he however didn’t look all that pleased to be there.

“Scara? Who’s this?” Her smile was strained.

“I’m Mona. I’m courting him.” She said with a smirk.

“No she’s not!” “Well she wasn’t doing a very good job. I didn’t want her to.”

I know Scara. Anyway the princess smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you Mona. I didn’t know women could court me.”

“It’s probably not something you need to think about considering you’ll have an arranged marriage. Who’s the viscount you’ll be marrying?” She asked insincerely.

“It’s me- “considering what happened this morning.”

Hey! I’m trying to tell the story.

“Well I remember what I said that day.”

Stop interrupting me! Anyway Scara assured the princess Mona was just a classmate. Barely an acquaintance of his.

Anyway on the-

“You’re not going to talk about how you beat the crap out of Mona when she kissed me?”

I did that to avenge you after her assault.

“It was just a kiss.”

That happened without your consent! That’s assault! Anyway So on the princess’s 20th birthday her parents held a party for her.

“My dear Scara. I do hope you’ll accompany me to my Party tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He looked away ashamed. “Shut up.”

You did. Anyway the princess responded, “But, I really want to share this moment with you. Mother and Father said that after Tonight I could roam the world as I please. Tonight is my last night in the palace for a while. Plus I want the first face of the night to go to you. Please?”

“Fine.” He said against his better judgment.

“I thought it was worth it when she gave me a hug right after.” Cut it out you cheese ball.

It was later that night and the princess had dressed up in a beautiful purple dress to match Scaramouche’s purple suit. He took her hand in the ball room as many of the older nobles gasped and glared. She didn’t care, she was having the time of her life in his arms. Stop smirking Scara. Anyway after the dance the monarchs tore their daughter away from him.

“Get away from her you monster!” The King yelled.

“Father what are you doing?!”

“Sweetheart you don’t know what you’re doing. This is Kunikuzushi. He’s the son of The Witch Raiden! His mother cursed you to die today!” The king explained.

“Well he’s not her! He didn’t curse me!” She exclaimed. “I want him here!”

“WHY?!” The king exclaimed in terror.

“Because I love him!” The ballroom fell silent upon her declaration.

“I- I should go.” Scara looked down and walked away curling in on himself.

“Scara wait!” The princess called to him but it was too late. She started to run after him, but the guards kept her in place. “Let me go father!”

“You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I do! I love him! I can’t live without him!” She shouted.

“You said that?” Shut up.

She slipped away from the guards and ran out to look for him. “Scara! Scaramouche! Come back please!” But it was too late. He was gone and she was taken back to her room by the guards.

After a while of the princess crying a woman appeared on her balcony. “My my. What a cute little pet my son has.” She came over to the princess.

“Stay away!” She scooted to the back of her bed.

“tsk tsk tsk. Silly girl I’m here to help. Your father slighted me 20 years ago and when I called him out for it he made up lies about me. Why do you think you’ve never heard anyone tell you about a curse before?”

“I… I don’t know?”

“You said you love my baby, right?”

“I do! I love Scara- Kuni more than anything. More than my own life.”

The witch grinned at this. “Then give me your hand and I shall take you to him.” Without a second thought the princess reached out and took the witch’s hand.

“ow!” She shrieked as the witch revealed a small Electrograna thorn in her hand. The world became dark. The witch cackled as she ran everyone else out of the castle.

A few hours later Scara showed up to save the princess! It wasn’t easy and (he had to kill his mom who’d turned herself into a dragon) but it was worth it in the end.

Until he got to the tower and saw her lying on the ground. He tried an assortment of different spells to revive her. He hadn’t known one had worked and so he held her in his arms and placed one kiss on her lips. A final farewell to his love.

“That’s weak for a first kiss. How about you come over here and give me a proper one?”

“You’re alive!” He exclaimed and hugged her.

“All thanks to you.” She kissed him again.

“Okay why is what I did fine but what Mona did is Assault?” I told you I loved you a few hours beforehand, you had my consent. You always have my consent to kiss me.

Anyway so the King and Queen came back and accepted Scaramouche as one of their own citizens. Then a few months later the two got married.

“And that is how your father and I got together.”

Bonus:

“Happy birthday Mama!” The children cheered in unison. Their mother opened up the box to find a Lolita style pink lacy dress. They had the idea because of what their dad said in the story. However he was referring to different garments at the time, though they’d have no way of knowing that.

Needless to say she was not pleased.

[neurodiversebones]

it's the five year anniversary of my best friend's death and i'm coping via thoughts about brennan and grief.

sixteen year old brennan in foster care, facing the world alone and being so angry at everyone she's lost that she can't even feel the sadness anymore. furious at her parents for not protecting her. furious with russ for lying to her when he said he wouldn't let her go into foster care. furious at the whole world that she just doesn't seem to fit within.

brennan in her early twenties, graduating with yet another degree, and just feeling empty when she sees all her classmates parents hugging them and bringing them flowers. going home to an empty apartment to stare at the ceiling because it doesn't matter how incredible she is, it's not gonna bring anyone back to be proud of her.

brennan at 28 after finding her mothers remains. radio silence from her as she sits in her apartment trying to piece together everything she thought she knew about her life. staring in the mirror trying to figure out what parts of her are her mother, what parts are her father, what parts are real and what parts were lies. breaking the mirror in a rare moment where she just lets herself feel so angry at what the world has done to her.

brennan looking at baby christine and just crying. because part of her knows she would do anything to protect this perfect being, but the other part can't comprehend how anyone could leave someome they love so much. being so afraid that she won't know how to be a mother, crying and wishing she could just ask her mom for help.

brennan, burying her father, being orphaned for a second time over. despite knowing that she is so surrounded by love, feeling like the two people who loved her most in this world have abandoned her again. wondering what she ever did to deserve this.

brennan, trying to tell stories of her childhood to her children, but having to work through the haze and fog in her brain around every good memory she's ever had. realizing that every wall she put up is still standing strong, being so afraid that she'll make her children the same way.

brennan, refusing to get close to her interns for years after what happened with zack. no matter how intelligent, hard working, and truly brilliant they are, always having this feeling that something is going to go wrong and they will be gone just like him. finally letting her guard down and letting herself care, only for vincent to bleed out in her arms.

brennan, feeling a pit in her stomach every time she walks past vincent's plaque, the memories of his smile and the scent of his blood twisting together in her mind. the gnawing guilt that the best things in her life came to be the night he died.

brennan, who takes every change like its the end. who feels the changing seasons, her birthday, her friends new phases of life like everything is about to come crashing down. who looks around corners like a scared animal in case someone is coming to take another person away from her.

brennan, who feels like nothing but a vessel for grief some days. who, in a rare moment of self awareness, wonders how much more her body and brain can take. who feels more like a graveyard than a human more days than not. who spent most of her life feeling like a ghost.

[saphiccarma]

And I loved you, but you're a killer

Warnings: Death

Relationships: Agatha Harkness x Rio Vidal

Summary - Agatha had simply wanted the power to protect her son, but she ended up doing the opposite

A/N: This isn't what I neccesarily believe what happened, but I thought it made for something fun to write. Also, I'm down to take requests....

______________________________________________________________

Agatha cradled the book in her hands, gently holding the leather material. The tips of her fingers were blackened, taking over her nails and delicate skin. She clutched the Darkhold tightly. Nicholas was beginning to get curious, and it was worrying her. He, in his young mind that was always curious, was beginning to ask where she was all the time.

She didn't have the heart to tell her son that she was meddling with evil forces. He was too vibrant, too brilliant, too innocent. Flipping the book open, Agatha read the pages, words written down on how to gain more power. Words on all the forbidden magic in the world.

Purple magic bloomed on her fingertips, over taking the black as she read the words aloud. Her voice started out as soft, slowly increasing in volume. The power in her hands grew in power. It swirled around the room, coating it in a mist of purple. She could feel the power surrounding her - all powerful and consuming.

And then, the door creaked open. A little head popped in, fluffy black hair and innocent eyes.

"Mama?" Nick's voice called. He sounded so happy, so filled with life and joy.

Agatha tried to stop the magic, tried to get it to return to her hands. But the purple continued to swirl around the room and her mouth kept moving. Stepping into the room, her son looked around, his eyes wide and filled with wonder - yet a healthy dose of fear. He reached out to touch a purple wisp, yelping when it burned him. Agatha felt her throat clogging up, but the ancient words of the spell wouldn't stop flowing.

"Mom?" Nick asked, his voice soft, he looked her straight in the eyes, "What's happening?" She wanted to scream at him to get out, but her voice wouldn't work. Nick took a step forward and her panic increased. He needed to leave, to get out until she was done. "Momma?"

Managing to shake her head, she conveyed as much emotion as she could into that one movement. Her son looked up at her with watery eyes, a small sniffle escaping him as he cupped his hands close to his chest. Now she noticed a drawing in his hands, a small picture that she couldn’t make out.

Now the magic whipped around the room, blowing her hair around and swaying Nick's small form. He braced himself, trying to take a step closer and latch onto her. The magic slapped at him, purple turning his skin red and blistery. Agatha wanted to scream and cry as her son did, but her mouth once again continued to chant the ancient words. Still, even as he cried out in pain, her son persisted, reaching her and grasping her skirt. He held on, clinging to her and using her as an anchor.

Levitating in front of her, the book pages turned for her to read, allowing her hands to remain spread out and produce the magic. Her body felt tired, her arms felt like they were filled with rocks. Desperately, Nick clung to her skirt, peering up at her with watery eyes.

The magic inside and around her grew stronger. Nick buried his face into her skirt, pressing against her legs with a familiar warmth. Agatha's eyes watered as she neared the end of the spell - the final words spilling out of her mouth.

Exploding, the purple wisps consumed the two of them, bursting into a giant cloud. Agatha was knocked back, Nick torn away from her as she was slammed into the wall. Smoke was billowing around her. She coughed. Her fingertips tingled, filled with a new sense of power that ran through her veins. It felt wonderful, a new level of power that consumed her and would allow her to keep her son safe from all the dangers.

Her son. Nicholas.

Agatha scrambled up from her slouched position against the brick wall. She waved away the smoke, it disappeared instantly with a wave of her hand - not that she noticed. And then, she saw a broken form lying on the ground. Hurrying towards him, Agatha slid to her knees, cradling her son's head in her lap.

She stroked his hair gently, carding through the soft black curls. He coughed a little, his entire little chest heaving. Nick's breathing was wheezy. Tears filled her eyes as she hugged him close. No. He would be okay, it would be okay.

"Shh, baby," she whispered when he coughed once more, "It's okay, momma's got you."

His eyes fluttered open, "Momma?” The joy was gone from his voice, replaced with a sense of tiredness and she could feel the life draining from him.

"I'm here, I'm here," she brushed the stray strands of hair away from his. Wiping his face of dust, she smiled down at him and his beautiful, innocent eyes. A hand was pressed onto her back and Agatha jolted. She looked behind her as a figure, clad in black, moved to stand in front of her.

Rio stood in front of her, a knife in her hand, and black clothes covering her frame. Panic seized her and her heart clenched. No, Rio was here to comfort her, help her. She wasn’t going to steal her son. She would never. But as she looked up at her lover, her perfect, soft, lips were frowning, and she wasn’t making eye contact.

"No," she shook her head, "Don't do this to me. Don't."

"Mi amore," Rio crouched down, her hand cupping Agatha's face, "I'm sorry."

Tears streamed down her face, tracing tracks in the dust, "Rio, no," she pleaded, "Please."

Pulling Nick closer, Agatha looked into Rio's eyes. Her lover looked sorrowful, for the first time when she was doing her job, Agatha saw sorrow in Rio's eyes. The personification of Death, cupped her face with two hands, pressing a gentle kiss onto her nose. She wiped away Agatha’s tears, pressing her forehead onto Agatha’s own.

"I have to," she whispered.

A sob was pulled from Agatha's throat as she cradled her son. He was her beautiful boy, the light in her life aside from Rio. He had loved the other woman, always enjoying when she came over and played with him. Pulling away from Rio, she bent down, burying her face in his curls. Her lips pressed a soft kiss onto his head. Slowly, she felt his breath start slowing even more.

In an act of desperation, she looked up at Rio, her eyes filled with a plea, "Rio please. Don't take him from me." There was a crack in her voice. The famed Agatha Harkness was breaking. Rio didn't say anything, instead pulling her knife closer. Scooching away frantically, Agatha clutched her son. "No!" she lashed out, now angry and a snarl in her voice, "You can't take him."

As she took a deep breath, Rio looked truly regretful, her eyes fluttering shut as her movements faltered. But then her eyes opened, and they were filled with a determination.

"I can't make exceptions for you Agatha," she said softly, "You know that"

Tears were still streaming down her face, but Agatha didn't move, and Rio came closer. The knife, a small object that held so much power, was brought to her son's chest. Agatha, despite all the power running through her blood, was powerless against Rio as her lover plunged the knife into his chest. Sobbing increasing tenfold, Agatha bent over Nick's body, shaky breath's escaping her. Arms were wrapped around her, pulling her close even as she clutched her son.

Rio gently carded her hands through Agatha's hair, whispering soothing words of comfort. The famed Agatha Harkness was broken.

"You're not broken," she faintly heard Rio say, "You're still powerful."

And for some reason, those words shattered something in her. She shoved Rio away, allowing her son's body to fall to the floor. Launching to her feet, Agatha snarled at Rio.

"Don't say that" she spat, "I just lost my son."

Rio stood to match her stance, rubbing dust off her jacket, raising a brow, "And who's fault is that?" The words hit her like a punch to the gut. Anger taking over, Agatha launched herself at Rio, prepared to tackle her to the ground. Then, a force stopped her, holding her back. Even though she was filled with a new magic, she was sore and tired, and Rio was still stronger. Her lover looked at her with a mix of sorrow and anger. "Calm down."

"Get out."

Rio reeled back, "What?"

"You heard me," Agatha took a step closer, her lips curling into a snarl, "Get. Out."

Shock filled Rio's face as her brows furrowed, before it was slowly replaced with anger, her snarl a perfect mirror of Agatha's.

"I was just doing my job!" she shouted, the danger in her hand waving around. Blood dripped from it onto the floor. Agatha watched it, hate filled her as Rio waved it around carelessly. She had just used it to take her son's life, his soul - just as she had done for hundreds of others. Rio caught her gaze, looking at the knife, then she looked back at Agatha. Resignation filled her eyes, "You know what? Okay."

In all honesty, Agatha hadn't expected Rio to accept it like that. But The Green Witch turned around, making for the door. Just as she had opened it, Rio turned around, a bitter smile twisting her lips.

"Te veo."

With those words, Agatha collapsed to the ground. Her son's body lay beside her, blood dripping from his chest. Looking down at the ground, Agatha noticed a piece of paper covered in dust. She picked it up, blowing away the dust. There were three figures on the paper. Her, Rio, and her son. They were all holding hands, a big happy family. Grief filled her, overwhelming the power in her system as a fresh set of tears streamed down her face. They dotted the paper with little wet patches.

Nothing had ever broken her like this before.

[ficretus]

*during Volume 7*

Ruby: General Ironwood, me and my team have some... concerns about your leadership.

Ironwood: *with his back turned* What's an issue?

Weiss: Well first you closed Kingdom's borders.

Ironwood: Necessary precaution. We must impede infiltration of Salem's agents with any means necessary. When Salem sends her people, she is sending her best.

Yang: Then you called Mistral "a shithole Kingdom."

Ironwood: That is not language I usually use, but I stand by my stance about Mistral. I assure you, nobody knows more about Mistral than me.

Blake: Then you claimed Robyn Hill is Vacuan agent sent to undermine Atlas. And you keep demanding to see her birth certificate.

Ironwood: And I am yet to receive those papers.

Ruby: But most concerning is... that cap you are wearing.

Ironwood: What is wrong with my cap, am I not allowed to make rash fashion decisions?

Weiss: You really shouldn't make rash fashion decisions.

Ruby: General Ironwood... turn around.

*Ironwood turns around revealing MAHA cap*

Ruby: Make Atlas High Again?! This was never about saving Remnant, you just want to launch Atlas into stratosphere and leave the rest to die!

Yang: I knew we couldn't trust you!

Ironwood: Wait what? That would be crazy and unsustainable plan. No, my plan is far more reaching. *reaches for his pocket*

Blake: He might be pulling a weapon!

*RWBY reach for their weapons*

Ironwood: This is the key to MAHA plan.

Yang: That's a... blunt.

Ironwood: You see, after I lost my limbs I was prescribed medicinal marijuana for my phantom pain. It seemed silly initially, but then it awakened my Semblance, Woodstock. Every time I smoke weed it clears my mind and I get brilliant ideas.

Ruby: I'm confused.

Weiss: So every time you had a secret meeting with your inner circle... you were... you were... smoking weed?!

Ironwood: Yes. Your sister is way more pleasant and honest conversationalist when she is high.

Yang: Wait, how? I tried it while I was in Branwen bandit camp and it only made me more cranky.

Ironwood: You didn't try the good stuff. And this just confirms my stance on Mistral.

Blake: Nothing beats good catnip.

Ruby: Look, I am gonna ignore this whole post has been hijacked by weed jokes. What exactly is your plan General Ironwood?

Ironwood: Before Atlas gets high, it needs to get low. We are gonna land Atlas before using Relic of Creation. With it, we are gonna create a massive eternal blunt. Using the Winter Maiden power, Specialist Schnee will spread its fumes across the Remnant.

Weiss: How will that fix... ANYTHING!?

Ironwood: It will work as a double protection. Salem and her agents will be neutralized by relaxing effect of the blunt. Grimm are immune to it, but they'll have nothing to latch onto since everyone will be spreading positive vibes. It's a foolproof plan.

Yang: Have you lost your mind? That will never work!

Blake: Subjugation through hedonism. That's a gross violation of free will!

Weiss: I said no to drugs long ago! I am not gonna be defeated by glorified second hand smoke!

Ruby: I'm afraid we have to stop your plan General.

*RWBY pull out their weapons*

Ironwood: Stop me? Did you really think I would parade around with this cap and tell you about my plan if there was a chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it... 35 minutes ago.

*smoke enters the building*

*5 minutes later*

Yang: *giggling* You know what, I loooooooove you Blake!

Blake: Really, just like that?

Yang: Why not, did you expect me to confess while hanging over chasm or something.

*Bees kiss*

Weiss: *giggling* Great, I took one whiff of it and I immediately find myself in indecent company. Mom was so right about drugs.

Yang: Oh, it's gonna get even more indecent. Where is Ruby?

Weiss: She is zooming around the building. Do you think this plan actually worked?

*elsewhere*

Cinder: Maiden powers are so lame, it's the exact same power repeated four times. Such a dumb thing to obsess over. Screw it, I'm getting laid.

Emerald: Me, me, me.

Cinder: Someone loyal, bold, responsible...

Emerald: Me, me, me, me, me.

Cinder: Blond...

Emerald: Sigh, not even with weed.

Salem: I feel like everything I have done just keeps spreading... negative vibes.

Tyrian: Whatever you say my Goddess.

Salem: I am cancelling this whole end of the world thing and getting back with Ozma.

Tyrian: Aw...

[midnight-in-town]

Finally caught up with One Piece

Because I have many many thoughts, here are some theories the latest parts of the story made me think of ! Please note that I totally need to reread a few things in order to be certain of what I’m hypothesizing about here.

Also, sorry if people already mentioned these possibilities, I really just caught up (and i need to empty my mind or i won’t be able to sleep). :))

1) The Five Elders realized the truth about Luffy’s devil fruit during Wano, because Shanks tipped them off.

Tbh it bothered me that the WG suddenly realized during the battle against Kaido that Luffy had the Nika fruit, precisely as it awakened. 

However, during the Reverie arc (which takes place at the same time as Wano), Shanks requested a meeting with the Five Elders, to speak about “a certain pirate” though the rest is currently unknown. Additionally, thanks to Jinbe fighting Who’s Who, we found out that Shanks stole that fruit from a government ship, so it’s likely that Shanks knew exactly what kind of devil fruit it was when he stole it.

As for why Shanks told the WG the truth about Luffy... maybe to stall him from getting to the One Piece? or for some other grand scheme we likely can’t figure out for now. :))

2) Seraphims were made after people who are of different races persecuted by the World Government

On Egghead, we discovered Seraphims & Pacifistas made after Kuma (whom Bonney said at the beginning of the arc was “from a different race”) and Jinbe (who’s a Fishman). Also we learnt that their ���green blood” is actually Lunarian blood (gotten from King/Alber, who was experimented on at Punk Hazard and later saved by Kaido). 

This could mean that the Seraphims are made after Hancock (who was sold into slavery as a child, with her sisters, with the mark of the Celestial Dragons on their back forever showing that “they are less than humans”) and Mihawk (history completely unknown but there’s that line from Zoro “you’re a little more human than him”, when fighting against the Mihawk Seraphim) because these two are also of different races? 

3) King Im/Imu has been alive ever since the Void Century because someone who once ate the Op Op fruit during this era gave him immortality.

Very clearly, the latest chapters revealed that Im/Imu knew Nefertari D. Lili who lived during the Void Century, so they gotta be immortal at this point.

Additionally Doflamingo blackmailed the WG, because he had leverage over them, which is how he became a Warlord and Dressrosa’s king.

We never really had a confirmation as to what it was, but I’m guessing that’s because he found out about Im/Imu and also about that special property of the Op Op fruit, which is why he was seeking it with so much intensity and was so furious when Cora gave it to Law.

4) Maybe Dragon left Luffy with Garp as a baby, because Luffy’s mom is from a different race as well, so he thought Luffy would be safer with Garp, who was the hero of the navy and already hiding Roger’s son, Ace?

I know this one might seem completely random at this point, but hear me out : 

In Vegapunk’s flashback about Ohara, Dragon was said “to hate war”, was already a “freedom fighter” and was apparently not yet affiliated with either Kuma or Iva and that was before Luffy’s birth. 

It’s too early to tell since Bonney isn’t done checking Kuma’s memories, but imo Kuma probably agreed to become a pawn of the WG in order to save his kid, Bonney, from living through the same horrors he lived through as a kid. 

But before that, Kuma started the revolutionaries with Dragon soon after the Ohara genocide, so I could see a similar motivation fueling both men back then (i.e dads wanting to fight for worldwide freedom but also to protect their kid from the WG).

Also considering the newly found Cross Guild putting bounties on navy and government men (a brilliant idea btw), it’s interesting it’s made of 

Buggy who used to be a part of Roger’s crew, a man who was one of the biggest thorns in the WG’s back, 

Mihawk whose past is unknown, but who, according to Croc, is highly distrustful of others & maybe of a different race (see previous point) 

Crocodile : past unknown, but highly distrustful of others as well, wanted Pluton to fight against the WG, and mostly has a connection to Ivankov, who founded the revolutionaries with Dragon & Kuma and who knows Croc’s “secret”, implying Iva probably used their powers on Croc at some point (absolute fan of the Crocomom theory btw)

All I’m saying is that two of the Cross Guild founders might be not be estranged to the whole “previously being persecuted because of their origins by the WG”, especially considering that Crocodile is the one who sought Mihawk for this partnership in the first place (and Buggy is included for the symbolic of the threat Roger used to represent, on top of wanting to compete against Shanks for the One Piece). 

5) The last road poneglyph is held by “the man with the burn scar” aka Jaguar D. Saul.

When Wano ended, Shanks said to his crew that they were going to go after the One Piece and the next time we met them, with Kid in hot pursuit, they were on Elbaf. In other words, I think it’s fair to say that the man with the burn scar is/was on Elbaf.

Coincidentally on Egghead, we found out that Jaguar D. Saul survived being frozen by Kuzan during the Ohara genocide and worked with Elbaf Giants to salvage what he could of Ohara’s library. So I think it’s likely that at some point he found out where that last road poneglyph was and possibly acquired it. 

in that case, yay, because an encounter with Robin will prove to be both very emotional and immensely fruitful. :D 

Can’t wait to see where the story is going hehehe!! ^3^

[bestbonnist]

Chapter 175

175.1 | 175.2

I love the chapter title. “A Perfect Plan.” Yeah, Fushi, lying to your friends (again) is a brilliant idea. That worked so well for you the last time you tried it.

This feels like a good time to go over Fushi’s tendency to lie in the present era, because now it’s continuing over into the wish era and at this point I would go as far as to call it an essential part of their character.

Chapter 125 "Secret Base"

It starts with Mizuha, and Fushi’s decision to omit the truth about what happened to Izumi for her peace of mind. During their conversation the night after Mizuha kills her mom, they have a pretty telling exchange about lies and their deeper meaning. Fushi reveals that they think lying to someone means that someone’s important to you. They don’t say why they think so, but I’m going out on a limb and assuming it’s how they justify the decisions Bon made in Renril.

Chapter 105 "Setting Sun"

Immediately after Fushi tells Mizuha what they think of lies, they then proceed to lie to her, setting up that she’s important to Fushi and laying the groundwork for their eventual conflict. Mizuha doesn’t go into why she thinks lying is bad, but in the case of her relationship with her mom, she was so upset at Izumi stealing her hair-tie and lying about it because it was an act of self-preservation. Sure, Izumi wouldn’t have lied if she didn’t love Mizuha, but her lie was—from Mizuha’s perspective—100% selfish. Fushi is already inclined to take Izumi’s side, because they’re doing the same thing she is. After all, they’re concerned about Mizuha because she’s Kahaku’s reincarnation.

Fushi continues to lie not just to Mizuha, but to their other friends. They don’t tell them about the knockers returning because they want their friends to remain blissfully ignorant of what’s really going on. They tell Yuuki that it’s because they promised their friends a peaceful world, and they don’t want to let them down.

Chapter 131 "Alongside Peace"

Ideally, Fushi would like to take on everything by themselves and spare everyone else the pain. Connecting all of this back to the events of the chapter which I am supposed to be discussing, Fushi lies with the intention to "protect." Reality doesn’t go away if they don’t tell their friends about it—it’s still going to hit them eventually—but given the option Fushi will always choose to pretend everything’s fine for just a little longer.

Chapter 175 "A Perfect Plan"

Chapter 1 "The Final One" (panels in achronological order)

The composition of some of the panels in this chapter are a callback to the scene where the nameless boy thinks the rustling of his fishing line means a human tripped it. He and Fushi both expect to see someone on the other side of the door, although they’re hoping for different things—the nameless boy hopes that someone will be there, Fushi hopes that no one will—and they both switch back to a happy denial when the moment is gone.

Like Fushi, the nameless boy is a liar. He kept up the appearance that everything was fine, and carried on imaginary conversations with Johann because admitting the truth would completely break him. In a way, he was lying out of necessity. But the only person he was lying to was himself.

In the same way, when Fushi lies to the people around them, they’re trying to paint over the truth with an idealized version of reality. They’re lying to themselves just as much as they’re lying to others.

Chapter 172 "Utopia"

Earlier in the wish era, when one of the lacking dies in front of them, what Fushi says when reassuring him reveals more about what they would find comforting in this situation. Similarly, when Fushi lies to their friends about what’s going on with the knockers or Mizuha’s clones, they’re projecting what they wish happened over what actually happened. Fushi doesn’t want to say that the clones are dead, because theoretically they could have stopped the massacre. They especially don’t want to disappoint the doll. Hence the lie that they choose to go with, about all of 32’s friends remembering her.

In terms of whether Fushi’s lying is selfish or not, well. That’s not a distinction that matters in any way. Fushi is doing what’s best for themselves, but they only go through with it because they genuinely believe that’s it’s the best for the people they’re lying to as well. They’re just… not always right about that.

Chapter 175 "A Perfect Plan"

Moving on to the second half of the chapter—which I don’t have nearly as much to say about—this is our introduction to how Fushi uses Yuuki’s form now that he’s acquired it. Immediately I wonder what would happen if Fushi lost Yuuki’s form. It’s clear just from what we saw in this chapter that their memories of Yuuki have become a core part of Fushi’s decision-making process. “What would Yuuki want?” The wish era is the world that Yuuki built, of course Fushi is unwilling to disrupt it even thought they're familiar with its flaws. Maybe that'll change if they lose his form—or if they realize that this world isn't what Yuuki would have wanted.

It seems like most of Fushi’s friends don’t approve of their insistence on pacifism. Tonari and Messar are just tired of it, Bon and Hylo don’t really understand. It’s sort of ironic, since Fushi wanted to create a peaceful world for their friends to live in, that most of them don’t value peace all that much. What they value more is their life with Fushi. A peaceful world has been Fushi’s dream since Takunaha, and they believe everyone else wants it as much as they do. Kind of like the way they lie assuming everyone wants that kind of treatment. Just tied it all together, bam.

[wesleyswrld]

The Beginning

Samantha Carpenter sighed in frustration as she wiped off blood off her boyfriend's knuckles for the second time that week.

"Donnie, you have to stop going this. It's scaring me."

The young teens where in the kitchen of a beautiful two story home in Woodsboro. Donnie was seated at the oak table, with Sam standing over him.

"I'm sorry." Donnie apologized, he completely didn't mean it. He'd go to war for Sam, anybody so well as looked at her to long or god for bid said anything about her was in a world of horror.

Sam finished cleaning his wounds and wrapped them up. "Yeah?"

Donnie began to nod, but Sam gave him a "Really" face and he shook his head.

He stood up to his full height of 5'10, and gave her a kiss. "I will protect you at all costs, Sam. I love you."

"Sometimes you can protect me without hurting anyone."

-

Three years later.

"You remember when I told you you can protect me without hurting anyone Donnie? This is one of those times that could have worked!" Sam shouted at Donnie.

Donnie rolled his eyes, as officer Judy Hicks put him in hand cuffs.

He had beat up at guy who thought it was a great, brilliant idea to slap Sam after she stole his wallet.

Donnie didn't even know why he wanted it back there was only 10 bucks in there.

The guy was out cold with a busted lip and an unrecognizable face on the parking lot ground of the local theater.

"He had it coming Sam, I couldn't fix that with fucking words!" Donnie shouted back as officer Judy sat him in the police car.

"This is officer Judy requesting a ambulance to the south side of the parking lot at 100 Meijer drive. We have a unconscious male and a domestic disturbance."

Sam signed rubbing her hands down her face. "Jesus, And. You're so fucking-"

"What, Sam?! I'm so fucking what?" Donnie stood up in anger, getting out of the car.

"Sit down, Clark!" Officer Judy shouted, standing in front of the two.

Donnie groaned but complied, sitting back down in the police car.

Donnie was beyond pissed with Sam he didn't understand why she couldn't realize he had to protect her.

He couldn't save his little sister so he had to save her.

Officer Judy turned to Sam. "Get in the car, Sam, I don't want to see you again."

Sam rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I'm not leaving him with you!"

Officer Judy walked towards Sam with her hands on her hips. "Do you want me to arrest you too?"

"Go Sam, I'm fine." Donnie sighed telling the brunette.

Sam nodded at turned walking towards her car. She got in and looked at Donnie one more time before putting the car in drive and leaving the parking lot.

-

Five Years Later.

"I'm really surprised mom let you watch me." Tara Carpenter told the Clark boy. The two where eating dinner at her house.

Donnie laughed, shrugging. "What can I say Little? I've had a change of heart."

Tara laughed remembering Donnie's teenage behavior turning for the worst.

Tara's mother Christina was at a conference in London and asked Donnie to look out for Tara.

Donnie of course agreed and moved in with Tara till her mother came back, Tara was just as excited to hangout with Donnie and didn't mind a babysitter.

Donnie had made his famous gourmet Mac and cheese which was just Italian seasoning added.

"Amber has a crush on you."

Donnie choked on his drink. "Oh, for real?"

"Yeah, she said she thinks you have a big di-"

Donnie unfortunately choked again in shock of how crazy kids were these days. "Woah, woah, woah, chill."

Tara shrugged. "Her words not mine."

"Do you miss her?" She asked Donnie, her older sister Samantha had left 5 years ago without saying goodbye to anyone.

Donnie sighed, "I miss her everyday. I wish I was better to her."

Tara nodded. "Yeah, you were a bit of an asshole."

"Yeah, I hope she's happier now."

"Me too."

-

After dinner Tara persuaded Donnie into going to the store to get chocolate chip cookie dough.

Donnie grabbed the store bag and closed the door to his Dodge Charger, he walked to the house door and went to unlock it with his key. Only to find it unlocked.

"Huh?" Donnie just assumed he just thought he locked it before he left.

He opened the door to see Tara laying in her own blood.

"Tara!" Donnie immediately went to Tara and dropped to his knees.

"What the f-fuck. Little, hey." Donnie put one of his hand on her wounded side, trying to stop the bleeding.

"D-Don it hurts." Tara cried, trying to push his hand away.

"Tara, you have to let me put pressure on it." Donnie fumbled with his phone dialing 911.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Hi, yeah my friend was attacked, her leg is broken, she has a hole in her hand and multiple puncture wounds."

"Is she conscious?"

"Yes, p-please send a ambulance she's in a lot of pain."

"I will send officers and an ambulance. What's the address?"

"Uhh, 809 Wood Ave. please hurry."

-

"Donnie?" Tara moaned as she came too. She sat up grabbing a glass of water on the tray next to her.

Donnie took his headphones out and put his phone down. "Hey. H-How are you?"

Tara gave him a sad smile. "Still in pain."

Donnie kisses her forehead, and moved a piece of her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

He let out a choked sob. "It's all my fault I should have been there."

Tara shook her head. "Donnie, you had no idea that was going to happen. It is not your fault."

"I'm sorry, little." Donnie laid next to Tara in the small hospital bed.

Tara laid her head on his shoulder. "I know, I love you."

-

Wes Hicks

She's awake.

Leaving school now.

[lesbiangummybearmafia]

The Gilded Age season 2, episode 1: You Don't Even Like Opera spoliers...

First I have say I'm so happy The Gilded Age is back! I've waiting since they showed us the teaser for season 2, thought I'd lose my mind. But finally...

I'm so glad to see Bertha there in all her glory. Reminding, re-reminding, annoying, giving a headache to especially Mrs. Astor and showing them all they need to be falling under her reign. I definitely think that lovely surprise at the end of her dinner helped greatly. Mrs. Astor was squirming like worm on hook. Which I personally couldn't been happier about. Because some time in first season I completely fell under Bertha's spell I'm good with that still. It's not just that she's attractive because well duh, but it's that she's cunning, brilliant, devilish, crazy intelligent, 6 steps at least a head of anyone else, always has plan, suffers no fools, old money/new money she'll can take you down faster then you snap your fingers. But I do think she's a loyal friend and a good person to those who prove to that her too. So I have very deep affection for her character.

My heart went out to Peggy and her Mom that they didn't get to her son in time. That whole arch just put me in tears time and again. To get that close to her son only to lose him like that was just cruel. I really want to see happiness for her character. I still will never be ok with what her father did but I understand a little more why he did it. Especially back then, they have soften his character which helps to see where he may have been coming from trying to protect his daughter. It would be nice to see Peggy as some point have a relationship with her father again. Her father know the pain he has caused to both his wife and daughter. It's easy to the guilt and pain he himself is feeling.

Same for Marian after what happened last season, I hated watching her fall in love for first time to that low life who didn't deserve her. I doubt it would happen but I think her and Bertha's son Larry would make a wonderful couple. He definitely likes her, we seen that last season. I just like to see happiness for her. I really think Aunt Agnes needs get over Marian teaching water painting to upper class girls at a private school one day a week. Give me a break, it's so not a big deal. Even for back than it's shouldn't be a big deal.

I have such a I like her/I dislike her relationship with Aunt Agnes. All last season I was like this omg one moment I wanted smack her upside the head and next I was nodding my head agreeing with her. I feel it may be another season of that with her.

Then there's Aunt Ada in middle trying to keep to peace or keep the house from burning down. Their like sisters that got custody of an adult teenager which it basically was back then when you had an adult young woman in your house. But I really love Aunt Ada. I know she's always keeping the peace but she did say in episode sometimes yelling could be a good thing so. But she has such a loving heart and she truly wants everyone to find happiness. I'd like to see her get happiness also. I could easily seen her be a wife and mom. So she deserves her own amount of happiness.

Now I know, we all know there is no way that Bertha is going to allow Gladys to marry Oscar. But what I'm trying to figure out is this is that good or bad? Now I see Bertha wanting have what happened with Cora on Downton Abbey, with Gladys ends up marring a English Lord or Duke. Not Oscar Van Rhijn that's for sure. But what about for Gladys at first I was against the idea because shouldn't she find a man that actually want to be in love with her? With Oscar because he's gay that's never a true possibility. But after what Oscar said in episode it got me thinking. Because back then it wasn't like a wife square and equal partner in a marriage. Depending on husband it was expected for the wife to have the husband's opinions on things, to keep in line. Gladys being married to Oscar she would have freedom she most likely never have in any other marriage. But she would also never have romantic love, I definitely think she'd have love with Oscar. Now I'm a lesbian so it is different to say the least but some of my closest friendships have been with gay men. One I consider the brother I never had. So Gladys could have a very deep emotional relationship with Oscar that's love just not romantic. So I'm lost what to think, however Oscar would need to show that wanting to marry Gladys isn't just for his own selfish reasons.

Than the mess with the robber barons. Which I wonder is just ment to mirror so many CEOs, Executives, Studio heads and etc... that are fighting the unions in our own time? I don't know if labor unions started because of robber barons or not. However I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they did. At that meeting with George Russell and the other robber barons is having talking about workers wanting medical care, better housing, better pay, 8 hour work day. While they choke on their own wealth but don't want to give the very people that are making them that wealthy a better life should be definition of greed. Is this how America became the greedy horrible place we now live in? That's why I use the term robber barons instead of successful heads industrialists. One tell everyone plainly what exactly what they were. But in the show it hard to know where place my feelings. Because the show is based somewhat in reality but the Russell's are fictional. But say that George Russell had been a real robber barons of the time. A large part of me wants to hate his character, but the problem is I actually like his character quite a bit. I want to see him put in ethical workplace practices for his workers, I want you see him do the right thing for the people that work him. Now I'm somewhat fearful what the show will have them do. Most likely mirror history no doubt.

Because I'll attempt it I love seeing Bertha in all her gorgeous, insanely beautiful dresses. Their so many of her's I was drooling over in this episode along, (she has the best wardrobe of whole cast). But if we were talking realistically, where is all that money coming from to pay for those dresses and grows. Off the backs off works who live in poverty. Does now, just like then makes so much sense why all jobs and industries need labor unions. But perhaps ultimately that's a part of the show. Because those two very thoughts were fighting against themselves at the same time in US right then. I do like the idea of the Gilded Age making us really think about that.

I'm so looking forward to whole new season!

I'm 100% on Bertha Russell side. She's basically Regina Mills cousin to me, don't ever ask me explain that outside my own mind lol.

Oh yea can't wait to see all the gorgeous clothes.

[importantangeldefendor]

OC superhero team profile

impossible girl : Real name: Saturn

Height: 5'8

Gender: F

How they act: positive , excited, and often times eager to share any facet of being alive with others

Core traits: Genuinely loves everyone.

Strengths: loving, creative, patient,

Weaknesses - Conflict avoidant, naive, overly forgiving, self-loathing

Likes: Musicals, community service, superhero stories, stuffed animals

Dislikes: Difficult conversations, the Celestial shards, having to Hurt others, HATES being in pain .

Backstory: She lived with her abusive transphobic mother before "The Great Shine" caused her to gain telekinesis . She accidentally injured her mother before running away . She ended up playing as a homeless superhero for a bit before being found by the AHRA and eventually adopted by one of its directors, a friendly alien named Kalari.

While being a child in the agency, she meets Danera, aka the world's smartest teenager (at the time) who promptly takes her under their wing.

3 years pass more or less peacefully until the 2nd celestial shard appears and the plot kicks off

Favorite TV show: Sailor moon

Favorite food: Burtali, an alien fruit from her Alien mom Home world.

Animal woman real name: Danera stripes

Height: 5'6

Gender: F

How they act: Goofy, smug, smarter than you, Playful .

Core traits: utterly brilliant, still finds ways to overestimate herself, intensly curius and deeply loves her friends - ESPECIALLY Jupiter.

Strengths; Determined, brilliant, adaptative

Weaknesses: Prideful, holds important information, manipulative, kind of a dick sometimes .

Likes: Math, junk food, fighting games, Nature documentaries .

Dislikes: Cheaters, not knowing tf is going on, being bored, magic, just all of it.

Backstory: She was a child genius who was discovered by the science society at an orphanage after she successfully auto mated the whole thing. She met and bonded with Row Wilkins, a fellow brilliant scientist, and worked with them for a handful of years.

However encountering the celestial shard during the great flash, she not only gained the ability to turn into animals but soon came around to realizing the whole "protecting the world from the shadows' thing was never going to work out so she decided go Join AHRA . There she later and became incredibly close to Jupiter, considering her like a little sister.

Favorite TV show: Cosmos

Favorite food: Gulab Jamun

Glueman: Real name: John lamar

Height: 6,0

Gender: M

How they act: responsible, straight man, anxious, complainer

Core traits: Would do anything for the people he loves, Comically out his league, indomitable spirit

Strengths: Quick-witted, stubborn, responsible, hard-working

Weaknesses: Close-minded, just a pinch of sexism , over estimates himself, doesn't do self care

Likes: Family sitcoms, Schedules and people following them, chemistry, superhero comics.

Dislikes: Eldrich abominations, Progressive rock, Sexy men (they make him question himself)

Backstory: He grew up in a somewhat normal, abliet dysfunctional household and was forced to take care of his sister from a young age. He overcame these obstacles and eventually got a degree in chemistry.

On a seemingly ordinary day, he was driving his sister to school when the celestial shard crashed right into them, to which his sister grabbed and briefly absorbed the shard before disappearing in a giant flash,

As a result, he put his chemistry career on hold and dedicated himself to joining AHRA to find his lost sibling. 3 years of hard work (and successfully inventing an entirely new substance) have put him here . Let's hope he doesn't die along the way!

Favorite TV show: Malcom In the middle

Favorite food: Mac and cheese

Goliath real name: Ava Hope's

Height: 6'10

How they act: Gruff, Sarcastic, Prone to brooding

Core traits: Terrified of the world but just brave enough to keep going with the help of her friends.

Strengths: Accepting, self-aware, empathetic, strong sense of justice.

Weaknesses - Depressed, Internally terrified, Body dysphoria.

Likes: Gay pop music , superheroes writing horror fiction,

Dislikes: Emo music, board games, junk food,

Backstory: She was an ordinary (very pretty) college girl when the shard exploded in NYC, granting her mile super strength and furred arms . She played at being a hero for a bit before being captured by the COUNTER CONSPIRACY AGENCY and was expiermened on to harness her unique power .

This failed - but not before turning her from a 5'5 Woman into a towering furry giant with incredible strength that barely looks human . Naturally this wasn't exactly a pleasant expiernce!

She decided to quit any chance at a normal life when , attempting to attend her little sisters graduation had AHRA called on her . All this shaped her into being an callous and cynical person far from the idealistic girl she once was.

Still, she refuses to give into what was done to her and chooses to use her powers for the good of mankind .

[nectaric]

I don't know if you've ever spoken about this before. But what is Hera and Demeter's relationships like with each of their children?

i may have mentioned things briefly, but i don’t think i’ve ever sat down and talked about it, so thank you!!! i’ll start with demeter, because that’s a little easier.

demeter is a very good mother. she gets a bad reputation because women expressing any kind of emotions get treated poorly, but her love for her children literally knows no bounds. she is encouraging and kind, affectionate and forgiving. she can border on over-protective, but it’s done out of love and knowledge of what her world looks like (demeter has been burned so many times by the gods around her, that she does not trust them and does not trust them with her children).

the easiest child to talk about is persephone, because the myths are so abundant and i’ve written with many great ones. demeter adores her daughter. she dotes on persephone endlessly, and is still willing to receive that 4am call for assistance. she’s learned to forgive hades for persephone’s sake, and is as involved in persephone’s life as she’ll allow. but demeter has relaxed a lot, and trusts in her daughter to make her own decisions and make them well.

her other children - ploutos, despoine, arion. i haven’t really had much of a chance to explore these relationships, but i imagine it would be the same. they have their own lives and demeter respects that, but she’s happy to be as involved as possible, and dotes on them a lot.

family is incredibly important to hera. her role as mother is significant not just to her children, but as mother to all, as goddess of motherhood, as she who blesses mothers and families. and so her relationship with her children is extremely significant, and she adores them all in her own way. but i think it’s also fitting that the goddess of motherhood is not a perfect mother - because none are perfect, because all make mistakes, because mothers are not infallible.

her relationship with hephaetus is complicated. the post-partum depression was severe, and what she did to him was horrific and awful and so unlike herself, as PPD often does to mothers, and it haunts her. part of her reluctance to reunite with hephaestus afterwards, after she knew thetis had come to care for him instead, was because she did not feel worthy as his mother. she did not think there was anything she could do to earn his forgiveness, and so she left him with a mother who could be what he needed. her shame was insurmountable. which meant that when he came to olympus to enact his punishment of her, hera accepted it. she did not like it, but she accepted it for what it was, and upon her release, made it her solemn vow to make up for what she had done. and i think, after a lot of work and forgiveness, her relationship with hephaestus has grown stronger. she loves him. she thinks he’s a brilliant mind and he makes her proud.

ares is her little baby boy, and hera’s boy mom vibes really come out with him. he’s unruly and difficult, and he always got himself into trouble, but hera sees so much of herself in ares that she forgives it a lot faster than zeus does. she’s hard on ares - as she is on all her children - because she sees so much potential.

eris is more complicated. eris is the kind of chaos that’s hard to focus, the kind of aggression that cannot be contained, and it put her at ends with her daughter. hera is very much so a tough love kind of mom, not taking any shit or allowing disobedience to go unpunished. and because of eris’ nature, hera’s parenting methods did not always mesh with her daughter. it severed their bond, and has taken centuries to repair in my opinion.

hebe and eileithyia receive the same treatment from hera - tough love, no room for nonsense, but a loving and guiding hand that often pushes them to work harder. she is proud of her daughters - eileithyia took on part of her domain, and hebe became hera’s personal cupbearer (and assistant), and she loves them dearly. she visits them regularly and takes them under her wing to raise her daughters to be strong and independent.

i would also like to add that most of zeus’ other children have become “hers” in one way or another. (the exception being dionysus… and sometimes artemis n apollo). athena is like a daughter to her, and hermes, the muses, persephone even - she may not like how they came about, but she cares about them a lot and views them as her own. mother to all the gods, y’all.

[alannybunnue]

Since the topic of Ramsay and his stepmother is the product of my brilliant mind, I would like to help you further. Let's say you found Ramsa and brought him back when Roose and the reader already had two sons. She gave birth to one or two more daughters after Ramsay. Defends and protects Ramsay. The reader is ready to act as a shield when Roose wants to mistreat or hit her. Roose leaves Ramsa alone in order not to harm his wife as he is obsessed with her. I don't think Ramsay would have killed his half-brothers. In the end, his mother was very upset. And I think she's going to call her mom. Whoever tells him that you are his stepchild will kill them. Maybe the Ramsay reader and the obsessive Roose are his real children. After all, it seems to me that if Roose is so obsessed with his wife, he shouldn't touch anyone else.

Thank you for the idea btw 😚💖

But since the first time i wrote down that they only had Domeric at the time, let's keep that way. But the idea of them having more 2 kids later is quite interesting.

The stepmama taught the children (especially the younger ones) that Ramsay is their actual sibling to spite Roose. Because he knows the truth.

But that doesn't stop him and Domeric to feel jealous over the menace brought to the Dreadfort.

Ramsay believes truthfully that the reader is his mother and doesn't like anyone who disagrees or tries to give him a reality check. They all got stabbed for this.

[kick-a-long]

spoilers for cockoo and why it is one of the best movies of the last 15 years.

disclaimer: im cis and the main actress hunter is trans, also tw sexual violence definitely/kinda??

this movie is sooo fucking good technically, writing wise, good looking, emotional, ethically complex and both personally and socially meaningful. not a misstep to be found. if you can handle spooky scary movies i definitely recommend it.

I'm not going into great detail, but the thing i like about it the most is that it is a total marriage of feminist anxiety and queer (especially trans) anxiety.

my favorite thing that I haven't seen anyone talk about is that while hunter is a trans woman, the character she plays is (in my mind) kept ambiguously queer. she might be a trans woman, trans man, non-binary, or a cis lesbian. all we know is that she is some form of queer, attracted to woman and is treated like a woman who has failed at womanhood. the setting is the 80s which is brilliant because it side steps all the formal conversations around pronouns and respecting identity, it implies there are no hormone therapies to get or operations or any way that gretchen can earn womanhood or manhood with her outer appearance/gender performance. what's left is the single implication that in some way Gretchen has failed at womanhood. it makes it clear that Gretchen might be any letter of the alphabet but regardless of which one she IS being pushed out of her own home for being the wrong type of woman, not even just for being lgbt. she's in survival mode, in a foreign country, totally isolated and continually attacked for/from finding anyone like her, dealing with grief/the loss of her emotional family, not there by choice, not there because she did anything wrong, and not afraid of being proactive to fix that situation.

the cockoo is the perfect monster for her. It's the type of femininity that looms over her as well as all woman (even her hyper feminine step mom.) it non-consentually impregnates the right type of woman, in a non-sexual procedure. It's heterosexual and performing femininity well, and controls who has children with whom like a male institution but it is a biologically female animal. it implants it's eggs, not sperm, it dresses and looks like a traditional (even antiquated) version of a woman. it's the grandma 1950s pre-feminist femininity that haunts us. so it acts as both a symbol of patriarchy like it's acting in lock step with conservative heterosexual men's values and as the specter of conservative femininity that could be terf or could just be conservative femininity generally. it even covers it's hair (in a non religious way) and wears demure cloths, solely focused on other woman's reproduction, while being ungodly powerful yet controlled by patronizing men. even it's monster power is to repeat time, literally stop people progressing by force, a literal power that conservatives want to go back in time and freeze us all there. It's so fucking smart!!

the resolution is EVEN MORE SMART!

the film points out how fucking weird all this shit is, and then makes an actual active choice to say, "fuck it, solidarity against all this violent and nonsensical philosophical bullshit!" it takes the deeply humanistic option of "i'm a freak that didn't ask to be born this way, you're a freak that didn't ask to be born this way, all these systems and gender roles are fucking you as much as me lets band together and figure out what the fuck we can do to change all this!" they only escape by using each other as shields. the girl born of hyperconservativity who doesn't want to live that life, protects gretchen against conservative patriarchy/violence while gretchen's atypical but humanistic femininity protects alma's typical girlhood femininity against ultra leftist/violent deconstruction of femininity. and then they run off with a hot lesbian who has a car. perfect!

the movie is so wonderful because it is the first film that i've seen which communicates not just the pragmatism of focusing on all woman's (any kind of woman: straight and any type of LGBTQIA+) shared interests so we can all work together to build each other up, protect each other, get each other to some place safe, but also how much more sane that is. put the violence on the horrible ideas and not vengeance against the people who uphold them, because while the ideas seem impossible to defeat, part of defeating them is facing them without becoming overwhelmed and just not listening! because they are fucking weird and self defeating, again brilliant!

there's a million more things to say but you have to see it. it's as close to perfect as any movie I've seen. i love it.

please please see it. even if you don't want to think it's a fucking fun popcorn movie and an incredibly thrilling ride.

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 30 of Harrow the Ninth

So, Harrow hasn't said anything about her age to anyone other than Mercy, and knowing Mercy, probably no one on the Mithraeum has actually gotten the number "15" out of her regarding Harrow's age, but she's canonically short and scrawny and gremlin-like so I can't imagine that anyone is overestimating her age, but Augustine's plan is still to introduce her to a lot of alcohol and then start making out with John and Mercy in front of her and all he says to her to prepare her for this is "don't get involved"

And for all that Mercy seems horrified by how young Harrow is, she doesn't object to this plan at all based on Harrow's age, it seems like in the last chapter she mainly punched Augustine because she was personally not a fan of the making out with Augustine part of this plan. Like, you would think that if she saw Harrow as that young she would be somewhat protective of her and worried about her, but she doesn't really seem to be at all?

Aside from the obvious absent friend that she no longer remembers, I just realized that she also doesn't remember any of her interactions with Palamedes, either. I don't know if they were exactly friends, but they seemed on reasonably good terms by the end of the book. It's also interesting that Ortus also doesn't come to her mind as an absent friend, and she doesn't think of him when they start talking about their cavaliers, either, even though she has the memories of him being her cavalier at Canaan House

Yeah, she definitely does miss Cristabel

So what I'm getting from this is that Alfred and Cristabel hooked up at some point and Augustine was Not Happy

Maybe Pyrrha wasn't so well-liked as that? Or he just doesn't enjoy the other three thirsting over her? Really curious about this now

So, way back when, Mercy and John were wondering if Gideon the First was putting two and two together about something, probably the nuclear missile event that was current at the time, and now it looks like maybe he has some history with this Blood of Eden commander. Augustine is talking like the commander is long-gone and nuclear missile attack didn't have anything to do with her, but I'm guessing maybe it actually did. John says the stuff with the commander happened 25 years ago, which is less than a decade before Harrow and Gideon were born, so I wonder if the commander has something to do with Gideon's mom? Or even is Gideon's mom, since the commander was female. I'm pretty sure Gideon the First had something to do with Gideon's mom, and I think Mercy seemed to be worried about Harrow having something to do with her back on the Erebos, and it's discussion of the commander that sends Gideon the First out of the room

Also, the idea of making weapons out of Heralds sounds brilliant, and also an incredible feat based on what we know about them so far. He says "even a dead Herald can drive a necromancer insane", which makes me wonder if Heralds are really only dangerous or project their fear aura to necromancers for some reason?

I assume this is A.L.-related?

Honestly surprised the answer wasn't "Valancy"

Also funny to know that Cytherea liked to chitchat about how hot other people's cavaliers were considering all her interactions with Gideon

I mean, what's happening right now is probably real. Probably. But all the stuff you remember from Canaan House wasn't

This is making me think that whatever kind of relationship or whatever Alfred and Cristabel had is now sort of affecting how Augustine and Mercy feel about each other, because of the differences of opinion they had with their cavaliers about the other set that's why their relationship is so fraught? And maybe this also helps with the whole making out part of this scene

I know earlier John commented on how his Lyctors had spend 10,000 years in and out of inadvisable romantic relationships, but I actually did sort of think he would be above that, or at least above doing that with his Lyctors, he had some kind of thing with A.L. probably. But like, I also accidentally create aroace characters by just not giving characters in their 30s any history of romantic relationships because it just genuinely does not occur to me that that is a normal thing to have most of the time. So I'm going to blame me not expecting this on that. I really should have though, because I think this scene showed up in that "which one of these things do you think didn't happen in the Locked Tomb" poll way back when

[machihunnicutt]

I would like the sons and bowlers thoughts please

Under the cut bc it’s soooo long lmao

Things in sons and bowlers that make me crazy (in no particular order)

1)The idea that daniel pierce shields hawkeye from things that he thinks will hurt him psychologically and actively tries to distract him with kindness/good things i.e. making him elaborate breakfasts while his mom was dying in the hospital and downplaying the extent of her illness. I think this is so interesting bc we’ve often seen hawkeye deflect with jokes/go out of his way to help people inside and outside of OR and make sacrifices to do so/ downplay the extent of his own pain/trauma in order to avoid inconveniencing people and the idea that this is a behavior he learned as a child, way before the war is a major clue to the events in GFA

He doesn’t deal with his trauma, he minimizes it to the point of repression and convinces himself things are alright! He’s become his father! That blows my mind idk

2) hawkeye just has his dad and his dad just has him! We saw in where there’s a will that he leaves everything to his father but this really drives home how much hawkeye loves his dad. Like i think part of why this makes me crazy is that i have daddy/mommy issues but i feel like for hawkeye this is a big character beat that people overlook. He’s not like the others at the unit in that they all have families/career aspirations/grounded support systems to return to and for hawkeye all he’s got is his dad and he really finds his support system in the MASH…and yeah he’s a workaholic and a brilliant surgeon but he’s also the kind of person who thrives on human connection and cannot live without his connections to those around him. Like hawkeye is all heart AGH what happens when someone like that is removed from a place where they formed deep connections?

Also the fact that he’s like iv’e said ily but what if he doesnt know i mean it like man u really don’t expect people to listen to what u say

3) back on daniel, sorry but i love food/mealtime/cooking themes with hawkeye too and the fact that shared, homemade breakfasts were his father’s symbol of love and protection just makes the absence of good food at the MASH even more devastating. I also see hawkeye as someone who can disassociate from his body easily (the drinking, the sleeping around, the constant sniffing of food/not eating if it isn’t appetizing/ going long periods without sleep and insomnia, the manic episodes/psych problems) so the reconnection of family to food is important here too! Like i’m going to get to charles but the fact that he tells the story about feeling tested at dinner and his related food associations, i think it’s really telling that in contrast we get hawkeye and daniel talking about the good times they had eating dinner together

4) brief margaret tangent i like that this is a reversal of the early seasons trope of her sleeping with someone for some plot/ulterior motive and now when potter asks her if she’ll do that she’s like fuck off and then uses the guy for bowling tips and not sex lol i just think it’s a succient way to show her development over time and i also love when she gets to do sporty/more traditionally masculine things and not be dunked on for it

5) bj and charles scheming idk i love this in any episode i like that they bring out the evil asshole in each other i find it funny and charming they’re my faves for a reason i think dos and mike are both soooo talented

6) the contrast between charles’ home life and hawkeye’s and how thats shaped them. i ‘m really interested in the similarities between charles and hawk i think they have similar backgrounds and similar drive/talent/pressure to be surgeons and be the best at what they do/similarly desperate desire for connection with people/to art and music and theater etc. and they can be similarly overconfident/stubborn it just manifests so differently in their behaviors. I feel like this is one of the few times we see them acknowledge each other as people and put aside their differences in order to support each other idk u know i love a charles plotline im human

7) speaking of supporting people! Also crazy about bj’s progressive loss of the ability to provide hawkeye with emotional support and here he doesn’t even know hawkeye was struggling bc hawkeye’s like don’t tell anyone ! he doesn’t want to tell his best friend his problems bc bj doesn’t help him with things like that. And in fact telling bj might be something that sets bj off further like every day this man’s mental health is crumbling he’s hanging on by a thread and hawkeye knows this, more finale set up that’s so subtly done i love it

7.5) also the fact that if daniel’s surgery had gone badly this would be another hawkeye doesn’t get a real goodbye situation (.i.e his mom, trapper, henry, carlye, tommy, kyung hee, bj etc.) whyyyy do they do this

8) there’s bowling like come on are u serious i love bowling and they’re so cute bowling

[bokutokiya]

{4.25}

You shake your head to clear your mind before grabbing ahold of Mikey and dragging him behind the stage. “What do you want?” You call out to the princess and her guard. “We want the stick! We know you have it” she calls back, starting to walk closer to your hiding place. “A-actually I have it!” A small voice calls from the side, you both look over and see nat standing with the stick in hand, you quickly check your pouch and realize she does have the real Stick. “Shit.” You whisper and quickly heal Mikey before letting him up, “she’s got the real stick please keep her safe.” Mikey nods and quickly rushes after Nat as you turn around and scan the battlefield. You spot abi flipping Craig over her shoulder before turning on tweek before your eyes lock on Jae and Gracie. Gracie is sitting on Cartman's shoulders using her legs to choke hold him while Jae is standing on Kenny’s back and cheering Gracie on and throwing bits of rock at his knees. Laughing you turn and lock sights with Ona and Mey again, the laugh locking in your throat. “Only one of us will leave this battle” Mey says, unsheathing her sword. “Unless it becomes 2 on 2” Kyle says as he steps up to your side, causing you to jump. “What about Stan?” You ask softly, Kyle goes red and points behind him. Stan is being princess carried by fleur while trout is battling butters and Tolkien with a sword, butters quickly realizing he’s losing turns and books it for the fence screaming retreat. You turn back to Ona and Mey “your army is falling girls, maybe you should regroup” you say smugly. Mey glares before rushing you, caught off guard you take a punch to the nose before quickly ducking behind Kyle who Ona had turned to and hit with a well placed arrow. They both nod to each other and follow after the rest of the humans back to kupa keep. You groan from your spot on the ground behind Kyle before pushing yourself to your knees. You both look at each other before dissolving into giggles as you help each other up. You quickly turn to the elves gathered around you and nod “we protected the stick today, thanks to nat’s brilliant work. And thanks to Gracie and Jae who defeated the great wizard fatass and his princess Kenny. I Don't wanna be cartman right now!” You say causing the collection of elves to laugh. “You're all dismissed for the night since we’ll, we had only planned to make statements today.” The elves said their goodbyes, Abi quickly stepping forward “so which twig did we protect? The stick or Kyle?” She yells before racing off after nat and Jae who laugh as they leave. Kyle huffs before whicing as the cut over his eye stings. “Let’s get that cleaned up before we have to sit with your parents” you say playful, leading Kyle up to his bathroom. You set Kyle on the toilet before pulling out the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet and start dabbing at the cut with some disinfectant and smile slightly. “You took an arrow for me” you say, Kyle laughs softly “remember back in 4th grade when I left you on the roof? This is me saying sorry.” You start laughing and shake your head “oh no way Kyle! I’ll never forgive you for that! Kenny had to come get me down!” You say. Kyle rolled his eyes before jumping, “KYLE! Y/N! DINNER!” Sheila yells. “Coming mom!” You and Kyle chime, before looking at each other and laughing. Before long you and Kyle head down to the kitchen only for a small blurr to knock you off your feet. “y/n, Buddy!” Ike yells, you let out a laugh and hug the boy back “Ike! I’ve missed you!” You say. A small girl walks out of the kitchen and smiles shyly “hiya, I’m Em! It’s nice to meet you.” She says, shaking Kyle’s hand. “I’m Kyle, this is Y/n. It’s nice to meet you” he says as you all sit down to eat with his parents.