#i have 107 and all of them are perfected

[sagau-my-beloved]

HELLO SKY I HAVE A QUESTION! For context when I finally leave genshin I feed my whole team their favorite food for a good job, like I give venti an apple (or cider if he did some good crits), jean some pizza and Bennett meat. But like I have no idea what to give scara. I asked my friends and they also don't know😭 maybe you have some idea.

- 🧩anon

Well from what I know about Scara, he hates sweet stuff and is really partial to bitter stuff, but has also stated that he's not picky

So things I'd avoid off the bat would definitely be fruit and anything particularly sweet, anything cream based, and meat wise probably shrimp since that's kinda sweet

I think really the best food would probably just be his specialty dish Shimi Chazuke, or even its base Unagi Chazuke, but that could get annoying real quick if you don't have a godly pile of Unagi on hand, so if you still want to use an Unagi dish that's a bit more manageable than it would be Grilled Unagi Fillet

Now you could focus on simple Inazuma dishes like Onigiri and Miso soup, since that's where he's from he would probably be most used to them

I'm not sure of his current relationship with lavender melon, but some dishs that use that would be Konda Cuisine (strong choice cause it includes snapdragon, which I'll expand on in a minute), Rice Cake Soup, and Five Pickled Treasures (also a strong ones cause pickling usually produces a sour/bitterish taste)

Now on the snapdragon thing, I know irl snapdragon blooms are edible and described as an acquired taste cause of their tart and bitter flavor, meaning, assuming that's true there too, a pretty good option might be Jewelry Soup, Vegetarian Abalone, or Sangayaki, along with the above stated Konda Cuisine

Keeping the topic of flowers, it's more common for them to be bitter over any other flavor, and Calla Lily's are described in-game as sweet and bitter (one of the few things actually described as bitter), making Calla Lilly Seafood Soup a possible contender

Now if you wanna stray farther from Inazuma based dishs cause unpleasant memories, but want to go that route of flowers with a Sumeru dish (since he seems to generally like the area from what I've seen), Lambad Fish Roll is definitely the way to go

It's too bad they don't have any coffee based dishs cause that could be really spot on, just a cup of black coffee would be perfect for him

It'll be up to you to pick between all the ones I've listed based on your resources, and I'm pretty sure I don't have every recipe so there might be a perfect option I don't know of, but yeah general guidelines are bitter = good, sweet = absolutely not

Good luck!

[heytheredelulu]

To Have and To Hold-

And to Fuck Whenever I Want

Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

ALL OF MY WORK IS 18+

Word Count: 1.5k

C/W: Shameless smut. It’s our favorite dirty talkin’, 107 year old super soldier fucking you (his wife) on your period.

Gimme beefy Bucky coming home late, long after his kids are in bed for the night and finding his pretty little wife curled up on the couch with a frown on her perfect face, watching some shitty ass movie.

His cock twitches in his jeans at the sight of you in his tshirt and an audible groan rises up from his throat when he rounds the corner completely and notices you��ve chosen to forgo pajama pants altogether. Those innocent little cotton briefs of yours always do him in.

“What’s wrong, momma?” He asks in a low, gravely voice as he takes a seat next to you on the couch, resting a large hand on your bare thigh.

“Cramps.” You reply flatly, not taking your gaze off the garbage rom-com playing on the tv, though you’ve seen it numerous times.

“Oh.” He breathes out, glancing over his shoulder at the dry-erase calendar hanging on the wall in the kitchen that you use to manage your large family’s schedule. “Hm. Two days early?” He asks.

“Yeah, two fucking days early.” You snap, shifting in your seat.

He keeps his grasp firm on your thigh, offering an affectionate squeeze.

“You feelin’ that bad, huh?” He asks in a soft voice that he reserves only for you.

You nod, finally pulling your attention away from the television and turning it onto him. The only light source in the room at this time of night is from the flashing scenes across the flatscreen but that little bit of illumination is all he needs to see how glassy your eyes are.

“Oh, baby girl.” He murmurs, pushing your hair back off your face. “Lemme take care of you.”

You shake your head, knocking free a few of the tears that had been brimming your lash line. “No, there’s nothing you can do to help.”

He scoffs, his hand sliding up the soft flesh of your thigh until his fingertips brush the hem of your underwear.

“No. Baby, no.” You protest, bringing your hand down to stop him but his vibranium hand is faster, catching your wrist and pushing it away.

“Yes. Baby, yes.” He muses, slipping his index finger under the fabric and gently wrapping the string of your tampon around it.

“Bucky, that’s disgusting.” You hiss, frowning at him. “I’m on my period.”

He lets out a low, breathy chuckle as he slowly and carefully begins to tug. “It’s just blood, momma. You think me of all people would be bothered by blood?” He asks softly.

You pause, considering your answer but in your silence he continues. “Besides, wasn’t that part of the vows we exchanged in that sweet little church before God? To have and to hold and to fuck whenever I want?”

“That was not in our vows and you know it.”

“Hm, they weren’t? We should consider renewing those.” He replies with a crooked smirk as he pulls your tampon free, tossing it over the couch and into the waste bin with precision.

“I gotta be honest, baby girl. If the good lord hadn’t intended for me to fuck you everytime my cock was hard, he wouldn’t have blessed you with such a perfect little pussy.”

“Bucky..” you warn, sitting upright as he rises off the couch.

He shushes you, his large hands moving to unbuckle his belt as your eyes settle on the tented crotch of his jeans.

“If you think-“ He mumbles, pulling the leather through the silver buckle and unbuttoning his jeans with his thick fingers. “That I’m not going to bury myself balls deep inside my wife any and every chance I get- you are sorely mistaken.” He tells you matter of factly, tugging his jeans down his defined waist and kicking them unceremoniously aside in a pile at the foot of the couch. “Now take off those sweet little panties before I tear them off of you.”

You hesitate, swallowing down the whimper that rose up in your throat at his command.

“I said, off.” He repeats sternly, stepping out of his boxers and wrapping a hand around his weeping cock. He pumps himself lazily once, twice, in your hesitation before letting out an impatient growl and reaching forward to curl his vibranium fingers under the waistband of underwear, not allowing you a second more to protest before tearing them effortlessly off of your body.

“Now, are you gonna follow my instructions or will I have to pick you up and set you down where you belong?” He asks in a gruff whisper, his blue eyes darkening with desire.

“And where exactly do you think I belong?” You ask him defiantly, pulling at his last thread of patience.

“You-“ He growls, grasping your wrists in a punishing grip and yanking you to your feet. He jerks you towards him as he looms over you, his head dipped down to hold your gaze and his impossibly hard cock pressing against your abdomen, leaving a smear of precum across the soft skin of your belly.

“You belong wrapped around me.” He murmurs, cupping your jaw gently and brushing the pad of his thumb across your bottom lip in an affectionate sentiment that felt like such a stark contrast to the aggression he’d just been displaying. It was the little gestures that betrayed that dominance in him, that assured you that this powerful man standing so needy before you loved you so much that he’d do anything for you without question.

You lean into his touch and he lets out a low and breathy moan.

“You belong wrapped around me, momma.” He continues. “Crying out my name. Soakin’ my cock with your sweet, sweet-“ He pauses, his length twitching as he sucks in a sharp breath. “Fuck, I need you.” he chokes out, settling his hands on each side of your hip and he lifts you effortlessly, sinking you down inch by inch onto his throbbing cock.

He plants his feet and bends his knees, supporting your weight as he cups your ass, kneading the soft flesh while he allows you the opportunity to anchor your arms around his neck. A shameless moan rises from your throat, your head tipping back in the pleasure of him buried balls deep within you as he walks you backwards to press your back to the wall. A low and cocky chuckle is all the warning he gives you before he draws his hips back, thrusting up into you hard enough to kiss your cervix. Choked gasps tear from your chest as he picks up a steady rhythm, massaging your aching walls with every deep rut of his hips.

“I thought-“ He hissed through gritted teeth, dipping his head to nip at your pulse point. “You said nothing would help.”

You shake your head, mumbling incoherently and letting your head fall against your shoulder to allow him further access to the sensitive skin of your neck. “Seems like it’s helping.” He muses, licking a long stripe up the column of your throat. You whimper, tightening your legs around his waist as he slows his pace into long, deep strokes, groaning as he savors the way you grip him, the feeling of your building orgasm causing his hips to stutter just the slightest.

“Fuck, momma. You have.. the most.. perfect.. cunt.” He rasps out, emphasizing each of the last words with a brutal thrust.

You break with that last deep roll of his hips, the tension that was coiled tight in your abdomen snapping with a burst of white hot ecstacy, a broken cry escaping your heaving chest as your walls spasm around him.

“Oh God, that’s it. Come on my cock, come all over daddy’s cock.” He grunts, snapping his hips and increasing his tempo to fuck you through the dizzying waves of your release.

“Jamie..” You whimper, reaching a trembling hand to caress his jaw.

His name on your lips is the sweetest fucking sound, causing his breath to catch and his eyes flutter closed with a low and raspy moan. He turns his head to press a kiss to your palm before you trail your fingertips down his shoulders in a featherlight touch. He buries his face into your neck, his short, sharp pants hot against your skin, his movements growing sloppy and erratic as he hangs on by a mere thread.

“I’m- I-“ He chokes out, sinking his teeth into your shoulder to muffle the primal groan that rips through his chest as his balls draw up and his cock pulses, emptying himself inside you with one last powerful thrust.

He’s still for a moment, working to catch his breath before he tightens his arms around you, peppering gentle kisses along your jaw as he lowers you to the floor on wobbly legs and you sway, stumbling forward slightly.

“Momma.” He says softly, splaying a large hand against the base of your skull and drawing you into his chest. “You alright?”

“Yeah, baby. I’m alright.” You assure him, a hum of satisfaction rumbling in his chest under your ear. “I’m feeling much, much better.”

He smiles, tucking your head under his chin just to feel you close to him a moment longer.

“C’mon, baby. Let’s get you in a hot bath.”

His hands trail along your spine in a soothing motion, goosebumps prickling along your flushed skin in response to his touch.

“To have and to hold.” He whispers, pressing a firm kiss to your temple.

You grin against his chest, closing your eyes and inhaling his scent.

“And to fuck whenever you want.”

Taglist (Taglist is open):

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[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 8, Unexpected - Pt. 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, bit 'o' dirty talk, allusions to sexual situations, Tony being Tony.

Word Count: 1.9k

Previously On...: Tony invented an interesting game for the team to play while you and Bucky were otherwise... occupied, and the team voted on whether or not to approve Jade's probationary term. To your surprise, Bucky voted against it, though it didn't matter, as you were outvoted, but you were grateful for his support.

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 8! I know Bucky said some shitty stuff in Ch. 7, Pt. 1, but I'd like to clarify that none of what was said was out of malice or lack of care for Pocket. He just truly wasn't thinking about how the things he said would make her feel. Is it callous? Absolutely. Is it unforgivable? I don't necessarily think so. We all have moments where we simply speak without thought. It's not his finest moment in the fic, but it's also not going to be his worst.

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!) @jmeelee @cazellen @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @erelierraceala @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @jupiter-107 @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch

The next few weeks were some of the best of your life. True to his word, Bucky was romancing the absolute shit out of you. It seemed like nearly every night, he was whisking you out for another romantic dinner, or to this hole-in-the-wall jazz club he found so he could finally take you dancing ("the proper way, not this humping-while-standing-up-thing you kids do nowadays"). He brought fresh flowers to both your suite and your office once a week like clockwork, and the sex-- well, there were some mornings you couldn't even walk properly. It was perfect. He was perfect.

Together, you existed in your own little bubble, a new level of happiness unlocked in both of you that neither one ever expected to achieve.

The day of Jade's move-in to the Tower arrived, and you would have completely forgotten all about it if Tony hadn't mentioned it to you when you passed him in the hall on your way to meet Bucky in the common room for lunch. The reminder didn't weigh you down like you had expected it to. While she was unpleasant, and you didn't expect to become chums with her anytime soon, that burning rage you'd felt for her when she'd flirted with Bucky had subsided. Knowing how he felt about you had worn your jealousy down to non-existent.

You entered the common room, spotting Bucky kneeling in front of the coffee table, his back to you, as he took the lunches he'd ordered for you out of their takeout carriers and arranging them on the surface.

Feeling playful, you decided to sneak up on him, covering his eyes with your hands when you finally reached him.

"You know I heard you coming a mile away, doll," he chuckled, reaching around to pull you into a kiss. "Could smell you, too."

"Oh, I--" You felt the heat rise to your cheeks as you sank next to him on the floor. Just thinking about Bucky was enough to get you aroused most days, but for it to be enough for him to smell--

"Relax, ya pervert; I meant your perfume," Bucky laughed, passing you a bottle of iced tea from the take out bag. You playfully swatted at him.

"You're awful," you admonished with a grin.

"Yet, you love me," he shot back, leaning in to give you a quick kiss.

"The world is full of mysteries," you teased. You started opening up the container of Gaeng Daeng Bucky had ordered from your favorite Thai place. The portions were so large, you'd only ever be able to eat half of it, but that was just fine; your super soldier boyfriend would make sure none of it went to waste.

"I do love that lilac perfume on you," Bucky mused as he dug into his own plate of Pad Krapow Moo Saap. "Mixes so nice with the scent of your pussy."

You choked on a bite of your curry as Bucky broke into a fit of laughter. Handing you your bottle of tea, Bucky gently rubbed your back as he tried to reel himself in. "I'm sorry, doll. Drink this. Don't go choking to death on me, now."

When you were finally able to get your breathing back under control, you shot him a look.

"What?" he said, face the picture of innocence as he held up his hands in surrender. "'s not my fault you have the prettiest pussy I've ever laid my tongue on."

For the sake of propriety, you wanted to be mad at, or at least a little annoyed by him. But, Lord, if his words didn't do things to you. So, instead, you grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him toward you in a bruising kiss. His hands quickly guided your body down, until you were lying on the floor and he was resting on top of you, your Thai food temporarily abandoned as you gave in to one another.

Bucky had just begun pawing at your clothes when you both froze at the sound of someone awkwardly clearing their throat in the doorway.

"Common Room's closed for maintenance. Come back later," Bucky called over his shoulder without even looking. You couldn't help but laugh as he resumed kissing you. The man had no shame and you were kinda into it.

"Buck." The single word, low and harsh from Steve left you both frozen in place. In unison, you picked your heads up and looked to the door. Standing in the archway were three individuals-- one looking at you with barely disguised amusement, one with undisguised rage, and one who was trying very hard not to look at you at all.

"I hope you're not fraternizing on company time, Pocket," Tony said with a grin. Surprisingly, he had warmed up to the idea of you and Bucky being together (especially after you had threatened to "take my talents somewhere where my personal life won't be scrutinized and judged." "You wouldn't!" he'd gasped. "I wouldn't want to," you'd replied. "Don't let that be my only remaining option." It had been an empty threat; you both knew it, but it had been enough to get him on board).

The same couldn't be said for the man who refused to look at you, though. Since you and Bucky had officially begun dating, Steve had been ignoring you like you had cooties and he was unvaccinated, and you couldn't, for the life of you, figure out why. You'd brought your concern up to Bucky one evening, sure he'd assuage your anxiety, but he just told you to give the other man time to sort himself, leaving you with more questions. Did Steve hate you now because he thought you'd stolen his best friend from him? Or were those ‘Stucky’ shippers on Tumblr onto something?

"Like you're one to talk, Boss," you sassed back to Tony as you and Bucky extricated yourselves from your compromising position and stood up. Brushing down your pants, you turned to Bucky. "Can't even begin to tell you how many girls I've walked in on this guy with in the office before Pep came into the picture. Scarred me for life."

Tony had a faux-sappy look on his face and let loose a couple of fake sniffles as he clutched his hands to his heart. "Office dalliances of her very own. My little girl is all grown up. There is nothing more for me to teach you, precious Padawan." His hands moved to wipe away at a fake tear.

"Tony," Steve warned with a raised brow.

Tony blanched, as though just remembering his purpose for being in the common room. "Oh, yeah. Um, very unprofessional, you two. I'm shocked. Just scandalized. This is a place of business, blah blah blah and all that. Anyway, you remember Jade Carthage, our newest Probationary Avenger."

Ah, the third individual who was glaring at you with unadulterated hatred in her eyes.

"Vixen, nice to see you again. Welcome to the team." Bucky extended his hand for Jade to shake, and you watched her gaze soften and melt under his as she took his hand.

"Such a pleasure to see you again, Sergeant Barnes," she cooed. When Bucky released her hand, she turned to you, a cold, wicked smile that cut like a knife across her face.

"I don't think we've met," she said, extending her hand to you. "I'm Jade Carthage, but please, call me 'Vixen.'"

"(Y/N) (Y/L/N)," you said, with a shrug, as if completely nonplussed that she claimed not to know you. “My friends call me ‘Pocket,’ but Ms. (Y/L/N) should suffice.'" You took her hand to shake it. "CTO of Stark Industries, head of Innovation and Technology for the Avengers’ Initiative. Bucky's girlfriend." Jade's grip around your hand tightened, her super soldier strength making it feel as though she were crushing your very bones, but you held on, not letting a single ounce of pain show on your face. You'd dealt with worse.

When you didn't back down, Jade let your hand go. You flexed your fingers, relishing in the return of blood flow to your appendages.

"Buck," Steve said, and you were kind of hoping for more than just a single syllable out of him this time, "we're putting Jade next door to you. Mind showing her where to go? We've already had her stuff moved in. Tony and I just need to finalize some paperwork with her and we'll have her back down."

Sensing your body tense up at Steve's request, Bucky placed a reassuring hand at the small of your back. "Well, I'm in Pocket's room most nights now, anyway." He looked down at you, offering a soft smile that you returned. "But since she's just across the hall, yeah. We can walk you down, Jade. That is," he added, his smile turning a little naughty, "if I can convince my girl here to take the afternoon off and indulge me with a bit of her time." His arm moved from your back up to around your shoulders, and he pulled you into him.

"Well," you hemmed, as though not already completely convinced that would be an absolutely wonderful idea, "I have to check with my boss first. Hey, Tony?" He pursed his lips at you, clearly not pleased that you wanted to slack off. "Can I take the afternoon off?" He opened his mouth, most likely to deny you, but you cut him off "Oh, wait-- that's right. I don't actually report to you anymore." You turned back to Bucky. "We're good to go, baby." You winked and blew Tony a kiss. You both knew you had so much unused vacation time stacked up, you could not show up to work for a year and you'd barely tap into it.

"Great," Bucky said with a smile. "We'll finish our lunch and you can meet us back here when you're done finalizing your paperwork, and we'll show you your new digs."

Steve nodded and grunted his consent, while Jade just glared at you.

"Perfect," said Tony with a clap of his hands. Before turning to leave, he looked back at you and Bucky with a conspiratorial nod. "Just make sure to finish off your lunch and not each other, got it? I'm not due to have this carpet shampooed for another couple of weeks, and they charge extra for dealing with bodily fluids."

"Oh, gross, Tony," you moaned, while they walked off, Tony laughing to himself.

Once they were gone and you and Bucky had settled back around the coffee table to eat your now cooling Thai, you leaned in and kissed him. "Thank you," you said when you'd pulled away.

"For what?" he asked, breath a little uneven from the kiss.

"For being amazing and handling that entire thing perfectly," you told him, putting a hand on his knee.

He smiled at you, his blue eyes like crystals. "I told you, sweetheart, gonna be the best goddamned boyfriend you ever had, and that means making sure I'm not putting myself in a situation with her" he nodded his head toward the now empty doorway, "that makes you uncomfortable. Besides, it was really immature of her to pretend she didn't know who you were. I'm not going to spend alone time with someone who disrespects my girl like that."

You brought your hand up to stroke his jaw. "Have I told you how much I fucking love you?"

"Yeah," said Bucky, smiling at you through a big bite of his food, "but you might have to repeat yourself a lot. I am over a hundred, you know. My hearing's not what it used to be."

<- Previous Chapter / Next Part ->

[vase-of-lilies]

His Sister's Keepers

Paring: Mommy!Wanda Maximoff x Little!Barnes!Reader (f) x Mama!Natasha Romanoff (Bucky Barnes x Sister!Reader - not romantic at all)

Warnings: Forced Age regression, this is a dark AU, Reader is in little space when she meets Bucky again — but goes back to adult space later in the fic, faking readers death, angry bucky, drugging (use of Rohypnol), long car ride, profanity, mentions of a suicide letter, and other warnings. Do not proceed if any of these matters upset you. 

Request: How does Bucky react to his sister Tiny Reader being with Wanda and Nat all along? I love your fics 😭🩷 + Ok but like reader going back to finally see Bucky again dressed in an oversized hoodie with woodland creatures on it and space buns with ribbons in her hair oh and fuzzy socks 😍. Sorry I feel like a bean rn and this sounds so cute (girl literally no problem I love feeling like a smol bean 🥹)

A/N: Thank you for the kind words!! I am SUPER excited to post this one! I think this will be in order after all the drabbles, and then once Bucky finds out we can do more requests with Bucky included:) This was based off of the request, but I took more inspiration from this post!! I really hope you like this:) I also took some of the other requests regarding this story and put them in here:)

Bucky had a feeling you were still alive. You survived once, you would have to survive again. Wanda was good with tricks and visions, so she easily could have shown a hallucination in his brain when he saw your lifeless body on the cold ground in the Hydra base. And Natasha was good at cover-ups. She could easily cover up a death with a simple certificate and funeral since she has covered multiple aliases during her career. She did it for Fury, she could do it for you. 

She did take it as far as holding a funeral for you. With Wanda’s magical craft, she made a near-perfect model of your sleeping body to put in the casket. With your [length, color, texture] hair perfectly done, a small dash of makeup on your cheeks, and lastly a beautiful dress to lay you in. But it wasn’t you. Bucky knew it wasn’t you. Your hair was just slightly less [hair color] than it usually was, your nose was just a millimeter off, and your top lip was slightly smaller than before. 

One might think that it would just be the “dying process,” and everything on a dead body looks deflated or off. However, your older brother has known you for one hundred and seven (107) years and the Y/n in the casket was not the same Y/n he knew all his life. The body he was looking down at looked uncanny. Trying to be human, but failing so miserably. 

Bucky’s room was filled with pictures of you and him from when you were younger, all the way to when you both became Avengers. Your smile was what kept him going every day you were gone. Six (6) months, four (4) days, fourteen (14) hours, and twenty-six (26) minutes. All this time he had been looking for you, trying to find any sign of life outside the compound for you. 

Bucky was suspicious of Wanda and Natasha since they both had their eyes on you. He knew they wanted to court you, but he would not let them. He knew what Natasha had done, what Wanda had the power to do, and what your sweet and innocent brain would accept as love. Even dangerous love was acceptable love for you, you didn’t mind just as long as you were cared for. 

Of course, you were more than cared for with Wanda and Natasha. You were fed, clothed, kept warm, and loved. But in such a wrong way. They turned you into a child reliant on only them. They had no intentions of hurting you when you were in your little or tiny space, only implementing discipline as if for a child. Nothing was permanent, but everything was different when you were in your adult headspace. 

On one rainy morning, you woke up in your bigger headspace. No tears, whining, or whimpering were heard from you. You got out of your teddy bear-themed bed and opened your closet to find something comfy that wasn’t bright pink or covered in bunnies or ladybugs and finished getting dressed in the bathroom. You got ready on your own, but since you knew you were not going anywhere, you did not make yourself look “presentable.” 

Wanda and Natasha were still asleep when you woke up, so you went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Turning on the radio to a quiet classical music station, you began cooking pancakes, bacon, eggs, and some muffins for lunch. The whole process took no more than two (2) hours, and you even got a second outside on the patio before you decided to wake up your keepers. 

Putting two plates filled with food, two cups of orange juice, and a vase of flowers all onto a tray, you walk down the dimly lit hallway to the women's door. Knowing there were only some rules you had to follow when you weren’t in little space, you didn’t knock and just went right in. 

The sight you stumbled upon was oddly…sweet. The two women who kidnapped you six (6) months ago, were asleep in each other's arms. Wanda's head lay on Natasha's bare chest, her arm across her belly. Nat’s left arm was around Wanda’s body, and her right hand resting on her shoulder softly. You sigh, not wanting to wake them up just yet knowing that they need rest. 

But Natasha could feel your presence. She knew you were awake the moment your eyes opened. Gently, she lays her wife to the side and tucks her back in, looking over at you with a smile. “Good morning, малышка (little one). What do you have there?” She says in a soft voice, her long red-faded-to-white hair brushing over her shoulders. 

“Breakfast,” It took a long time for you to become verbal with them after the initial few weeks with them, but you understood what they were willing to do to you to get you to use your words. 

“Come here, love, let’s see what you have,” She says with a smile, sitting up against her pillows and wrapping another blanket around her back and shoulders. You approach the bed, the tray only slightly shaking as you get closer. 

“I hope pancakes are ok…” You whisper, not wanting to disappoint her. 

“Oh little one, this looks delicious. Thank you,” Natasha takes the tray from your hands and sets it in front of her on the bed. Wanda begins to stir at the soft voices around her and she yawns as her eyes open. Her lips pull into a smile as she sees you and you can’t help but return her smile. 

“Sweetheart, did you make us breakfast?” Wanda asks, her voice soft yet raspy from just waking up. You nod at her question, scooting onto the end of the bed. Usually, you would be asleep next to them, but you fell asleep the night before in your little space. Tonight you knew would be different though. 

As they ate, you allowed them to feed you some of their breakfast too. You told them you had eaten already, and you had, they just wanted to make sure you had enough. They really did love you, and care for you, it was Bucky who was in the way at the compound. He was a protective brother, and you loved that about him. 

As the morning went on, Wanda and Natasha helped you with dishes from breakfast, held you as you watched a movie together, and finally in the early afternoon, they had you sit down at the kitchen table to talk to you about something. Your thoughts were frantic as you didn’t know what this conversation was about. Did I do something wrong? Did I not clean the bathroom? Did I say something? Did I not kiss them good morning? (You had) You were calmed by Wanda putting a gentle hand on your thigh from under the table. 

“Y/n, you did nothing wrong. Ok?” God damned mind readers… “Watch your language…” She squeezed your thigh a bit tighter and you sheepishly looked at her. 

“S-sorry,” You whisper, not wanting to cause any more trouble. But you weren’t in any, as a matter of fact, this talk was going to be filled with good news! 

Natasha started the conversation; “You have been here quite a while, and in that time you have voiced how much you miss your brother. I know it, Wanda knows it, Tony knows it, even Bruce knows it. We all know it. So, I think it’s time we let you see him again.”

A flood of emotions filled your system, from the relief of being able to see your brother again, to anger that the two women and many people at the compound kept him from you in the first place. All the way to the sadness of seeing his reaction to what Wanda and Nat turned you into. 

You stared at the wooden table in front of you, tears threatening to spill from your widely opened eyes. “How long have I been here?” Your voice quivers, and your head raises to look at the women before you. 

“That’s not relevant, lov-” You are quick to cut Natasha off. 

“How long have I been here, Natasha?” You repeat your question, your bouncing knee under the table picking up speed. You needed to know how long you have been away from your family, your only family. 

Wanda looks at her wife across the table and nods. “About six (6) months.”

You let out a small sigh, and you lean back in your chair, shoving your hands into the pocket of your white sweatshirt. Slowly, you stand from the table but you don’t walk away just yet. 

“What does Bucky think happened to me?” You ask, the question aching in the back of your mind since you first got here, and why there hadn’t been anyone looking for you. 

Natasha has a blank look on her face, but Wanda has a look flooded with shame and guilt. She knew what she did was wrong, but she loved you all the same. 

“He thinks you are dead.” Natasha answers your question after a couple seconds of silence.  

A breathy laugh exits your mouth, your hand moving towards your forehead in disbelief. “I- I can’t believe-”

“Baby, can you come sit down?” You listen to Wanda's instructions, moving to sit back at the table with your caregivers. 

Tears roll down your cheeks, your voice wavering as you speak, “When do I get to see him?” Wanda smiles as you obey, her hand going to your arm to soothe you. 

“We are packing today and leaving early in the morning to go back to the city. How does that sound?” She asks, trying to push you into your smaller head space so you are easier to control. She knows this tactic can work, and you do as well, but you are too uptight. 

Excited was an understatement, but ecstatic was an overstatement. You didn’t know how you felt. All you knew was that you were going to see your brother again, but you didn’t know what version of yourself he would see first. 

~~~~~~~

After talking with your mommies, they told you they had to work a little bit longer and then they would help you pack. But you didn’t allow them to help. You wanted to pack all of the clothes that kept you in your adult head space—well, you packed what clothes were closest to what an adult would wear with what clothes you had to work with. 

It was mostly pink, frilly dresses, teddy bear-themed shirts and pants, and other toddler-ish clothes. Despite your hatred for these clothes, you absolutely loved one thing, your woodland creature-covered sweatshirt. It was a white-based hoodie with pine trees sprouting from the bottom rim. There were deer, bunnies, birds, foxes, and other creatures within the trees that circled the entire hoodie. 

It was your favorite because you felt free when in it. You felt like you could turn into a rabbit any day now and escape from Wanda and Natasha. But you knew better than to think of escape, especially in the hands of the Scarlet Witch and the Black Widow. 

As you folded some black leggings, Natasha entered your room. “I thought we told you that we would help you, дорогая (sweetheart)?” She says, leaning against your doorway. 

“You did. But I know what you would pack me, and I don’t want Bucky to see what you did to me.” You say defensively, the defiance and spark they loved about you showing. 

“Y/n, don’t talk back to me. We took you in when you needed us, and Bucky was just in the way. I know you have been happy here despite everything. I can understand your anger, but you don’t get to take it out on us, do you understand?”

Her stern voice is enough to push you into submission. You sigh, “Yes, I understand,” You answer plainly and resume packing. “Can I bring Leo?” You ask, knowing deep down that your little self would never go anywhere without your toy lion. 

The question makes Natasha smile and she nods. “Of course you can, sweetheart,” She says, walking further into your room. Your denim duffle back with pink, yellow, green, and blue flowers on the fabric sits fully on your bed and you let out a soft huff of pride as you smile at the bag. Ever since the two women took away your independence, you have felt very proud of yourself whenever you did something on your own. 

“You did a great job, my little love bug, now why don’t we pack your to-do bag? It’s a bit of a long drive, back to Tony’s building.” Natasha reaches for the matching backpack and goes to your bookshelf to grab a few books, a notebook, two coloring books, your teddy bear pencil case, and some crayons. She sets your backpack next to your duffle and gently wraps her arm around you, pulling you into her side. 

“Does this look like enough for you to do in the car?” Nat says.

“Mhm,” You hum your answer.

Nat gives you a soft squeeze, “Words, baby,” 

“Yes, all of that looks very fun,” Natasha kisses your forehead as you answer, then zips up your bags to take them to the car. Once everything is packed, it is nearly seven thirty (7:30), and time for dinner. 

Not once did you fall into your little space today, no matter how hard the two women tried. They knew that you were excited to see Bucky, but they also wanted a smooth car ride to the compound. Little space or not, you were going to be sleeping. The packing of the to-do bag was just a ploy. Of course, this was just a bag of things to do while you were at the compound. 

Dinner was mostly silent. A few hums and thank you’s to fill the quiet. But one question was burning in the back of your brain. 

“Project recapture didn’t follow through, and I am not going to see Bucky in a prison cell, right?” 

Both Wanda and Natasha freeze, looking at one another. The mission failed when Steve backed down. He couldn’t do that to his best friend, not after what he went through when they took him out of the ice early. The fact that they left you and Steve in the ship too everyone that Hydra knew exactly who they were looking for. 

Wanda shakes her head and puts her fork down on her plate. “Love, how did you know about the Project Recapture?” She turns to you and takes a sip of her wine. 

“I didn't lie when I said I wasn’t looking at the files, but I did see one file about it after Tony left. I didn’t say anything because I couldn’t remember exactly what I saw until now.” You explain, practically telling yourself that you indeed did look at Natasha's files. 

“Alrighty then, well to answer your question, no. The project failed thanks to Rogers’s doing. Your brother is safe, and he is not going back under Hydra control,” She pauses and gently takes hold of your hand. “Thank you for telling the truth about the files, sweet pea.” She smiles and gives your hand a small squeeze. 

You return a false smile, taking in the fact that if Steve didn’t care about his best friend, Bucky would have been under Hydra's torture once again. You cringe at the thought of him in pain, wincing when you look back at the memory of him coming back from Wakanda with a new arm. 

Dinner was finished silently, and once you all were done with your food, you cleared the table while Wanda and Natasha packed up. They each packed their clothes and necessities, while also bringing along some of their favorite toys to use on you when you were in your adult space. As per usual, the couple loved torturing you just like the day they brought you to the cabin. 

Finally, the night came to an end. While Natasha read a book in bed, Wanda was in the kitchen making you some tea to ‘help’ you sleep. In your cup of [favorite tea flavor], she stirred in some Rohypnol to get you to sleep. She would give you another one in the morning so it would be a peaceful drive.

“Here love, I made you some tea,” Wanda says as she walks into your bedroom, smiling as she sees you in your teddy bear onesie pajamas. This of course wasn’t your first choice of pajamas, but it was something you would wear. In fact, it was something Bucky would get you for Christmas if you’re being honest. 

You smile at her, still feeling love deep, deep down. You knew it was wrong to love your kidnapper, but you felt so safe in her arms and felt so loved when she kissed you. Same with Natasha. Although she may be a bit rough when it comes to making love to you, the way she held you afterward made up for a rough fucking. 

As you pull back the blankets on your bed, you slip in next to Leo who is lying on your stacked pillows. He falls into your lap as you scoot back, and you look down at the plush toy. Even looking at it pushes you into a smaller headspace, but you fight it, wanting to stay big for Bucky. 

“Little one? Can you drink some of this? It will calm you down. I know you’re nervous for tomorrow, but I promise you, once we get back to the compound everyone will be so happy to see you.” Wanda says, handing you the warm mug. 

You sigh and take a sip of the [favorite tea flavor] flavored tea. The warmth in itself almost puts you to sleep, but as you drink more you start to feel the effects of the drug mixed inside. The feeling was very familiar— your eyes became heavy, your vision blurry, and your breaths were slightly shallow. A whimper was caught in your throat, and you looked at the blurred shadow of Wanda standing above you. 

Gently, she takes the mug from your sluggish hands and puts it on your nightstand. While she is there, she presses the squishy duck night light on and moves to press a kiss to your head. She then carefully maneuvers you to a lying down position and fluffs your pillows to make you comfortable. 

“Sleep tight, sweetheart. We’ll see you in the morning.” She smiles and kisses your lips softly. You whimper at the feeling of helplessness that comes with the drug, and you hate it when they don’t tell you that they are putting you to sleep. For good reason of course; you would beg them not to. 

But this was the best solution to helping you stay asleep, and in the morning the same routine will follow. 

~~~~~~~

Wanda and Natasha had set their alarms before the sun woke them up. They wanted to get you into the car, and on the road as quickly as possible. Once the car was packed, Wanda came back in and helped you change out of your pajamas into the clothes you picked for your car ride; Your woodland creatures hoodie, black joggers, fuzzy socks with bunnies on them, and your pink puffy coat just in case you get cold. 

Still asleep, Wanda lays you between her legs while she does your hair. Parting your hair down the middle, she puts your [color, texture, length] hair into two buns on top of your head. Tying two pink satin ribbons around the buns, she kisses your head and picks you up. Your legs dangle over her arms and your head rolls against her chest as you lay sleeping in her arms. 

With the car being heated up in the driveway, Wanda walks you outside opens the back door of their rusty, red explorer, and sits you down on the chair. She gently lifts your hoodie and puts Leo right against your belly, and she buckles you in. Your head falls against the seat belt, but Wanda is quick to grab a pillow to cradle your neck during the car ride. 

Natasha stands behind Wanda, smiling as she sees how cute you look with your hair all done and your peaceful sleeping face. She sighs and kisses her wife’s neck as she wraps her arms around her waist. 

“We’re doing the right thing letting her see him again. He might be angry, but let him. She’s alive and that is all that matters to him,” Nat whispers in Wanda's ear, her worries almost creating an aura of angry red light around her body. 

Wanda nods and turns around in her wife’s arms. “I love you so much. Thank you for everything,” She whispers, her lips connecting to Natashas in a loving kiss. 

“Let’s get going,” Nat says, squeezing Wanda gently and opening the passenger side door. As Wanda gets in, she shuts the door as Nat goes to lock up, and smiles once she is back in the driver's seat. 

The long journey back to New York City has begun, and the wrath of Bucky is only getting closer. 

~~~~~~~

Bucky’s POV 

When I heard that Wanda and Natasha were coming back to the compound, I was more than angry. I was furious, ballistic, eradic, some might say. They had no place coming back here. However, if they came back with Y/n, all my questions would be answered and I would kill them both when I got the chance. 

The morning of Y/n’s funeral, the company around me was off. There was a feeling surrounding the musty room that just felt… secretive. Like the people within the room knew something I didn’t. That was when I decided to do my research. I looked into every single one of the Avengers. 

Tony was my first suspect; he has multiple houses in different countries, can cover up anything he wants to with money, and has plenty of people to work for him. Two of his maids from his mansion in California answered my questions, and I believed them. They genuinely looked frightened and wanted to help me find my sister. But I kept Tony in the back of my mind. 

Despite how guilty it made me feel, I investigated Steve. My best friend. He lived a modest lifestyle in an apartment in Brooklyn and that was all the housing information I knew of and could find. He kept to himself and was looking out for me. He was concerned at my desperation to find Y/n when he had already accepted her death, but I continued despite his concern. But when I found out about Project Recapture, I didn’t even bat an eye. Hydra would never get me again, and I knew Steve would follow through with his promise of keeping Hydra away from me. 

That mission to the old hydra base went smoothly, but Tony seemed awfully angry at Steve and pulled him aside after the mission de-briefing. 

Now my eyes were on Bruce, Wanda, and Natasha. Ever since Y/n “died,” they have barely been present during missions. Only when we really needed them. Natasha was here more than Wanda, and that scared me. Where was the witch and why was she never on missions with us? 

That was when I went on a deep dive into their finances. Near the death of Y/n, they had purchased a small cabin in the Beacon Mountains. They are married, but they live in the compound due to their job. I also noticed that the week before the purchase, there was a large transaction between their account and Clint Barton's account. A whopping 2.4 million dollars. What on earth did they need that money for? 

The next few transactions answered my questions perfectly; For $4,300 they bought a Stark home security system. Obviously, they got a discount for knowing Tony because those originally went for $7,600. The next few items on the list were items that a child would use. Pacifiers, bottles, sippy cups, and other childish toys and accessories. Natasha can’t have children, and Wanda has admitted she never wanted children. 

The money that was spent at Stark Industries was overwhelming. There were countless security items such as locks, keys, alarms, cameras, and other equipment that the couple really didn’t need if they were just living in a cabin for a while. 

But one thing caught my eye. 

Transaction 62938: “Sleeping drug - For the little one” Paid by Bruce Banner on 02/19/23

Who needed a sleeping drug? “The little one?” That made no sense. 

Unless Y/n never fucking died, and they have her in that cabin. 

Everything was making sense now, but I still needed proof that she was alive. I needed to know that she was breathing, eating, sleeping, living. But the security cameras were locked, and no amount of hacking let me in. I was devastated. 

And when Natasha texted the team group chat, it almost seemed like a celebration that they were coming back to the compound. But it was just another fucking Tuesday. With them, it was always a fucking celebration when they entered. God, I hate them so fucking much. And if they have my little sister, I swear, I'm going to kill them and make it painful. 

As I lean back in my desk chair, I take a breath as I finalize two fake suicide letters for the two people I despise the most. And as if on cue, I hear JARVIS announce the welcoming home of the two bitches themselves. 

“Mr. Barnes, there is someone who would like to see you…” The AI says to me. I hum and I wave him off, knowing damn well I don’t want to see Wanda or Natasha. 

“Mr. Barnes, I think you would like to see her.” He says, and I let out a huff as I stand up from my desk. 

“Yeah, yeah, ok, but if it’s not Y/n, I’m telling Tony to unplug you.” I replied, and all I was met with was silence. I sigh and I open my door, walking down the hallway and going to the living room where the elevator is found. It is our apartment's “front door” and is locked unless someone is buzzed in. 

I look around the room and I freeze. My breath hitches in my throat and my heart drops to my stomach. There she sat, smooshed in between Wanda and Natasha with her hair all done, a childish-looking sweatshirt on, and fuzzy socks to match. 

I stuttered out her name, “Y-y/n?” I slowly walked closer to the three women, and I knew it was her the second she looked up. 

“Das me!” She said, but it wasn’t in a normal voice. She spoke like a toddler. 

I look at the two women beside her, imaginary daggers stabbing them over and over again. I just knew that they had her, but what the fuck did they do to her? As I got closer, the wheels in Y/n’s head were turning, trying to recognize me. And as I knelt down in front of her, it finally clicked in her brain. 

“Bonky?” She whispers, clutching a plush lion in her hands. I nod with a small smile, confused beyond belief as I take in this new version of my sister. 

“Oh god… what did you do to her? You monsters…” I say to Wanda and Natasha, who sit silently, watching the interaction between me and Y/n. 

“Bonky, s’me!” Y/n’s head tilts, trying to justify that she is still my sister. She has to be in there somewhere. I glare as I see Wanda's hand rub her arm up and down soothingly, a part of me wishing I never let my eyes off of her on that god-forsaken mission. 

“Love bug, why don’t you go show uncle Tony your lion while we talk to your brother?” Natasha says, Y/n turning her head to the woman. She nods and stands up from the couch, skipping over to Tony who nods his head at me and guides Y/n to the other room. 

“Before you say another god damned word, I will never forgive you. Never. You don’t get any more fucking chances, do you understand?” I say in a low voice, standing up with balled fists. 

Wanda is the first to nod her head, Natasha putting her hands up in surrender. I roll my eyes at the gestures, letting out a scoff as I turn around. 

“She missed you, you know?” A voice sounds from behind me. “It took days to calm her down, but she missed you. And now you have her.” 

I slowly turn around, the two women now standing as well. “You told me she was dead, had a funeral, convinced Steve to undergo Project Recapture, paid off Stark and Banner, kept her locked in a cabin for the past six (6) months, and you expect me to be happy when you say that she missed me?? Please! You both are crazy mother fuckers, and I will never, EVER forgive you for what you did to my sister!” I shouted. 

The two women sighed, and I made my way to where Y/n was now. She has the brain of a toddler at the moment, so I have to treat her as such. I never thought I had to do this again, but here I go. 

As I knock on the door, I see Tony sitting on the ground coloring with Little Y/n, or Tiny, as everyone calls her. The look I give Tony would put him six (6) feet (or 2 meters for you non-Americans) underground. He gave Y/n a pat on the head and left. 

“Be gentle with her, Barnes. She’s not the same as she was before she left.”

I scoff. “Taken. Before she was taken, and held captive.” I corrected him. He shook his head and left the room, leaving me alone with my sister. 

“Hey, Y/n…” I start softly, kneeling down next to her as she lays on her belly, coloring a picture of some deer in a forest. “What are you doin’? Hm?” I get in the same position as her, and I grab a crayon from her bag. “Mind if I join ya?” 

She hums, nodding her head as I lay next to her, coloring away and not batting an eye. They really did ruin her…

“You’s can colow (color) dis guy!” She says, her words exiting her mouth with a speech impediment. She points to an owl on the left page, up at the top perched in a tree. 

“Alrighty,” I say with a small smile, trying my hardest not to scare her in this state of mind. I had to be mindful, as I knew exactly what it felt like to be in another state of mind in the body I had. I was a killer in the body of a good soldier, a hero some might say. But Y/n? She was a four (4) year old inside of a twenty (20) [or your age] something-year-old body. What Wanda and Natasha did to her to get her there will haunt me, and I don’t think I ever want to know what they did. 

~~~~~~~

Y/N POV

It was nice seeing Bucky, even in your little state you knew exactly who he was. You knew that he would never forgive Wanda and Natasha for what they did to you, but from the time you have spent with them and the times they saved you from Agatha, you learned to forgive them. They told you their circumstances and desires, and you felt so guilty when Bucky tried to keep you away from them. 

Maybe taking you was a lesson for Bucky. Maybe it was their way of saying that I wasn’t a little girl anymore and that I could make decisions for myself. That was obviously never their intention to let you choose for yourself. 

It was just past three o’clock (3:00), and you had just started to wake up from your nap. Wanda was next to you, holding you in her arms, and Bucky was at the end of the bed watching you both like a hawk. He had a mission, and that mission was to protect you all over again. Wanda of course was not a fan of this, but she let him do what he needed to feel like he was in control. 

When you began to wake up, you nuzzled your face deeper into Wanda's neck, humming softly as you got comfortable yet again. You were in your adult head space again, and Wanda could tell the shift happened in the middle of your nap when you let go of Leo. 

“Sweetheart? It’s time for lunch, are you hungry?” Wanda whispers, your eyes opening and your tummy rumbling. She chuckles as she hears your tummy, “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

You sit up, yawning and rubbing your eyes. Once you meet Bucky’s gaze, your face tells him everything. “Please don’t be mad at me. I had no choice. I will tell you everything.” He nodded at you softly and you scooted off the bed. 

As you approach your brother, he stands up and immediately wraps his arms around you. “I missed you, pipsqueak, so much,” He whispers into your [color, length, texture] hair. His body shook as he cried, he never wanted to let you go. Tears filled your eyes as you returned the hug, missing the comfort that your brother gave you in times of stress. 

“I missed you too, Buck,” You whisper into his shirt. Wanda and Natasha left the room, leaving you and Bucky once again. “You know I have to go back with them… don’t you?” You pulled away and looked up at him, your eyes puffy with fresh tears. 

“No, no I am never letting you go again, you are not allowed to be out of my sight, do you understand?” He says, his hands on your shoulders squeezing just a bit tighter. 

“I wish I could, b-but you have to understand something too… I love them, Bucky. A-and they love me too. I will never be the same after what they did to me, but I can at least be with people who know how to take care of me when my brain goes… you know, back.” You pause, looking up at him again. “I forgave them when they told me they loved me outside of the space they forced me into. They don’t love the little me, they love me. And I- I just- just please understand.” 

Salty drops of tears roll down your cheeks, soaking into your white hoodie. Bucky’s heart broke, shattering into a million pieces as he heard your explanation. He pulls away from you and moves to sit on the bed, you follow and sit next to him. 

“I am so sorry, from the beginning I didn’t know they were going to do any of this, and it all happened so fast. They found my journal, and they used it against me. I was in love with them first, but I didn’t want to disappoint you so I kept it to myself. That was in the past,” You let out a sad sigh. “I love them, Bucky. I love them and they love me.” 

Bucky was dumbfounded. He loved you with all of his heart, mind, and soul. But he also understood your pain. He went through a lot in his time kept at Hydra, and he understood the caring aspect of a dire situation. A nurse had kept him company, but the guards killed her before she got a chance to get closer to him. But that nurse worked for Hydra willingly and kept him there. She was not there against her will but with the full intent of working for RedSkull and his army. 

“Ok.” That was all Bucky could say. He didn’t want to alter your choices or thoughts, he only wanted you to be ok. “Do you promise to visit me, and you can leave on your own now? They don’t have to be everywhere with you?” 

You shake your head, “They don’t have to be right next to me, they just need to know where I am. And of course I’ll visit you. I know they didn’t buy a new apartment just to spend money,” It takes a second for him to process what you said. 

“Apartment? Wait, are you coming back to New York for good?” He asks, and a bright smile appears on his face. Once again, he pulls you into his arms, hugging you tightly. “I want to burn that god damned cabin…” He whispers, making you sigh. 

He is right to want to burn it. You wanted to burn it the second they locked you in there. The wishes of them letting you go were said to them, begged to them, screamed at them. But still, they kept you in that cabin, deep in the woods, never to be seen until your captors allowed it. 

“You don’t have to forgive them, Buck. But please tolerate them? They are kind and loving when you get to know them. Truly,” A hint of yearning is hidden in your voice, and Bucky can hear the desperation. So, he nods. He agrees to let Wanda and Natasha take care of you and love you.

“Ok… but on one condition.” He says, pulling away to face you. You tilt your head, silently telling him that you are listening. “I get to see you when ever I want to. Or, well at least need to. They don’t get to keep you hidden away anymore. I get to be your brother again, not the enemy.” 

You nod immediately. “Yes, yes that works, they will be happy to have another babysitter around when the little part of me comes out. If I’m being honest…” You say, chuckling softly. “Im not going anywhere, Bucky. I promise you.” 

From that day forward, Wanda and Natasha allowed you to see your brother when you wanted to and allowed him to come over to the cabin to help while you moved. ‘Tiny’ hadn’t come out in a while, as the move was stressing you out, but when all of the boxes from your nursery came to the new apartment, you finally felt comfortable falling into your thoughts once again. 

You showed Bucky your mushroom tent that was set up in the corner of your room, you showed him Leo and your other stuffed animal friends, and he showed his love to you just the same. He said it was like having two little sisters. It was something he would get used to. Some day. 

And as you sat in your mushroom tent, full of pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals, Bucky joined you and read you a bedtime story. Your favorite one that he read to you back in the forties (40s). You were home again, and letting you see your brother was just the thing that made Wanda and Natasha sure of moving back. You were happier when you knew, that he knew, that you were safe and sound. 

Bucky loved you, Natasha loved you, Wanda loved you. And you loved them. 

You always would. 

[timberlakefan96]

I have a theory for why Harris lost that I haven’t seen much, and it’s not glamorous or exciting.

Basically: EVERYONE knows who Trump is, nobody knew who Harris was. That’s it.

Harris had 107 days or three months and 15 days to get her word out there, and Trump literally never stopped campaigning since riding down that escalator 3431 days, or nine YEARS, four months, and 21 days before Election Day 2024.

There’s a lot of talk about which policies Harris should and shouldn’t have championed, but lest we forget, the anti-Harris messaging for a sufficient portion of her campaign was that she had no policies, because nobody could name them.

Even when she was given a public platform, any coherent argument she could give was drowned out by the opposition, even when given coverage was opposed to that opposition. Remember the debate? Remember how the news cycle was dominated afterwards, not by her 90 page economic plan, but by whether or not Haitians ate cats? That’s important.

With so little time to campaign and so much airtime dedicated to Trump, she had to rely on social media and word of mouth to get her message out there, but this is also a very flawed strategy.

I think, if you’re here on Tumblr, you’re probably very internet-oriented, so it’s easy to think that everyone is on the internet, but the internet is a much smaller, much more fractured place than we realize.

I wrote several paragraphs showing social media statistics, but it made this post much longer than it should’ve been. I’ll make a separate post later. The big takeaway is that social media platforms have vested interests to appear as big and far-reaching as possible, but actual engagement statistics are vanishingly small. On Facebook, the largest platform by a country mile, less than a quarter of a percent of people who view a given post will engage with it, and that includes looking at it for longer than ten seconds. On Twitter, 97% of the site’s content is created by less than 25% of its users. The number of people in the US who post once a day is smaller than the population of Michigan. The number of people in the US who post more than once a day could fit in Michigan Stadium.

Due to the short timeframe, Harris’s campaign had to rely disproportionately on the internet, and the internet has a hard cap on word travel. Even if every single American on social media had access to perfect knowledge of Harris and her policies, you’re still only reaching half of all voting Americans, at best.

This also explains, I think, the seeming disparity between all the “unprecedented” early voting/registration reporting versus final vote tallies: the people who vote early AND report on early voting are going to be more active on social media in general, and, again, there’s a hard limit on how many people that can be.

Also, she still got 74 million votes, which is the second largest number of votes for any Democrat presidential candidate ever, behind Biden in 2020. And Biden was, himself, a very public, well-known figure even during his own Vice-presidency, in ways Kamala wasn’t.

At the end of the day, I really don’t think Harris‘s policies or interviews or debates affected her campaign at all. I think it was simply not enough time.

And she still managed more popular votes than literally every other presidential candidate in history, save two. There are definitely discussions to be had about her policies and why she lost and where the Democratic Party is going from here, but I also think it’s important to keep those discussions within that context. Did she misstep, veering more right as the election drew near? Should she have given clearer answers when asked about Palestine or Trans rights? Absolutely! Would that have helped her get more votes than Biden, who was a publicly known figure running against *the* least popular president in modern history during a period of historic turmoil? Probably not.

This is why I push back against people saying Harris ran a bad campaign. By any measurable metric, (The big, obvious one notwithstanding) she ran one of the best campaigns ever run by a democrat. Factoring in her limitations, it was, at least on paper, nothing short of miraculous.

This is also why I push back against doomerist claims that the country is more racist or misogynist than it used to be. Trump’s voter tallies did not significantly change between 2020 and 2024. In no genuinely bigoted country could Harris get more votes than Obama. There’s roughly the same number of bigots in America that there have always been.

The country did not move further to the right. It simply moved *away* from the Democrats. And even then, not by a whole lot. Just enough. Because people tend to gravitate towards what is familiar, and Harris, in three months, could not overcome the familiarity that Trump built over nine years.

I really do think it’s as simple as that.

And more: I think anyone trying to tell you otherwise is selling you something.

[baby-alien11]

Y/N Ulrich and Jack Champion instagram interactions pt.2

taglist: @volturi-girl-imagines @dessxoxsworld @aonungsgirlfriend @ethanlandryluver @wenvierismycomfort @aliciacat20 @gabbylovesreading @nikfigueiredo

yn.ulrich, romeosanga, devyn_nekoda, and 231,195 more

jackchampion beach trip

tagged yn.ulrich

yn.ulrich it took us almost an hour to dig that hole in the shape of a heart, but we did it

› romeosanga it was fun to watch how both of you struggle to achieve it

› jackchampion and why you didn't help us?!

› romeosanga because I was having fun watching the scene

user1043 i love them so much

misstrinitybliss can I go with you the next time?

› yn.ulrich anytime you want my sweet child

jackchampion, julrich21, melton, _xochitl.gomez and 102, 374 more

yn.ulrich he got a sunburnt and a smiley face

tagged jackchampion

jackchampion I'll go through thousand of sunburnts just to keep your sunscreen smiles on me

› yn.ulrich you're killing me of love

masonthegooding that is the ugliest smiley face I've ever seen

› yn.ulrich shut up and enjoy Paris or the anime expo

› yn.ulrich or I'll go with Amenah and tell her you are bullying us

user154 mom and dad are so cute

yn.ulrich, tylergillett, camimendes, and 128, 025 more

jackchampion i'm sorry, i found this on the internet and i had to share it

yn.ulrich HAHAHAHAHAHA 💀

yn.ulrich i'm going to print this and hung it in the living room

user158 jack sharing memes of his girlfriend's dad is giving me life

romeo YOU DID NOT 💀💀

user0704 skeet is not going to be too happy about this

naiia this is pure gold

jackchampion, julrich21, bucuaron and 100, 925 more

yn.ulrich i found another jackchampion

jackchampion THIS IS EVEN BETTER 💀💀💀

user819 are they having a meme war?

› user735 if they do, it's fun for everyone

melissabarreram lol

skeetulrich tornado, where did you find this? 😂

› yn.ulrich on the deep ends of the internet, dear father

yn.ulrich, masonthegooding, julrich21 and 107, 491 more

jackchampion Tatum, I love you, but can you please stop biting my laptop and keep sleeping with Butters

yn.ulrich look at my baby, there's nothing behind those eyes

› jackchampion just pure chaos

user838 jack in his malewife era taking care of the cats

baileybass she's absolutely cute, but a menance to society

› user920 the perfect way to describe an orange cat

jackchampion, _hayleyamber, tylergillett, and 113, 960 more

yn.ulrich I had the honnor to have a private class from the awesome Tristan Lucas who worked on one of my favorite movies this year which is Evil Dead Rise, so when dad told me he organized me a class with him I was literaly jumping in excitement

Thank you for teaching me techniques on doing VFX make up and advices on how to work on this part of the industry, and telling me stories about all the projects you've worked on, it was an honor meeting you and learning from you

tagged moments_in_oblivion

jackchampion MY GIRL IS SO TALENTED

› yn.ulrich YOU'RE MAKING ME BLUSH

jackchampion SHE'S LIKE BARBIE, CAN DO ANYTHING

moments_in_oblivion it was a pleasure to teach you, Y/N, you have a great future ahead of you and I hope we can work togheter in the future

user395 this is disgusting and fascinating at the same time

sarah_woods bestie, can you do something like that on me so I can hava an excuse to miss classes

› yn.ulrich just tell me when bestie

jasminsavoy slay little one

yn.ulrich, jackchampion, naiia and 6, 301 more

julrich21 things are bussy at the house, so they sent us to get lunch

tagged jackchampion

skeetulrich boys, that food better be complete by the time both of you arrive

› jackchampion *slowly stops eating fries*

› julrich21 *does the same*

user092 what is going on??

user187 i love how they included Jack and his mom into their family

jackchampion, laurenvalera, jennaortega and 110, 351 more

yn.ulrich here comes a story time: since everyone knows, I spend part of my summers in the Riverdale set, often spending time in the girls trailers and the make up and hair stations, so when the Southside Serpents started to have more weight in the trama and with all the fake snake tattoos involved, I got obsessed and asked dad if I could get one real done, his answer was: when you're older and if you're still sure of getting it, you can

So now I'm nineteen, and still wanting it, so I got it done

thanks to _dr_woo_ who brought this tattoo to life and put up with my cries when the needle made contact with my skin

tagged _dr_woo_

jackchampion that is the most beautiful tattoo I've ever seen

› yn.ulrich I love you everyday, but today more for holding my other hand during the whole process

_dr_woo_ thank you for choosing me to do your first tattoo

willashaw that is the coolest tattoo

› yn.ulrich dude, it looks better on person

drewraytanner from honnorary serpent to oficial serpent

user1272 please tell me her next tattoo will be a little spider or something related to scream

› yn.ulrich 👀

[garricks4thwingqueen]

The Day of Dread: Xaden Riorson X reader

Prompt: “Do you want to take it off, or should I do it for you? Credit for prompt goes to @a-cure-for-writers-block

Warnings: NSFW, Swearing, not stated but intended feelings of anxiety. 

                                       The Day of Dread. 

                   Xaden X reader whom is Liam Mairi’s older sister  smut 

This fic is a part of the #FourthWingBirthdayBash!  

Synopsis: Your Liam Mairi’s older sister; exactly the same age as Xaden and Garrick. This made you the oldest female of what were now known as the rebellion children. With the work your father and Xaden’s and Garrick;s father did together you basically grew up together in Riorson House. This caused you to have a close relationship with the two boys; one more so than the other. This fic is set place on Reunification Day on the third year for reader and the two oldest rebellion boys. Being the oldest children of the rebellion, reader and Xaden know some Tyrrish. I used Gaelic to represent Tyrrish:

My love: Mo ghràdh Your love: do gaol

Mine: Mianach 

Yours: Mise

Forever: Go Deo 

Always: I Gconai

Other words to know Ilmari: (Readers dragon) means air in Scandinavian. 

Trigger warnings: Swearin, NSFW, a little angsty but mostly fluff!

Word count: 2390 

Reunification Day: Also known as the day that commemorates the day upon which the separatists were defeated and the rebellion overcome.

You groaned, waking up to the bright light shining through your and your fiance's room. Another groan left your mouth as you noticed your bed was cold and looked at the clock that read 7:00 a.m.. “Fuck.” you cursed as you noticed the dress that rested on the chair across the room. There was only a few days that you’d be caught dead in a dress reunifuckincation day was one of them that was against your will. For two years since you started at Basgiath with Xaden and Garrick; you’ve represented your group on your boyfriend's behalf. You wished none of the rebellion children had to represent the group on the day that each 107 children lost their parents. You’ve been going for Xaden and Garrick each year because those two would never be caught dead at that celebration. Thank the gods this was your last year before getting your assignments at the end of the year.

You smiled as you noticed there was a box and a note from Xaden on the table. 

I’m sorry Mo ghràdh that I couldn't be here this morning, especially today. Gare and I had to make an unexpected supply run. Don’t start with me Mo ghràdh you have enough to deal with tonight we didn’t think we needed to bother you for an extra run this a.m. I thought this necklace I was able to find on our last run would go perfectly with your dark blue dress tonight. If I don’t see you before I’ll see you after for our favorite activities of the evening. I know this year has been tough but we are almost done, Mo ghràdh. I can't express in words how thankful I am to call you Mianach; I love you just one more time for this day. You have this, we have each other. 

I’ll see you later tonight .

 do gaol

-X. 

You're insufferable right now. Your dragon Ilmari scoffed in your mind. You're not to pleasant yourself  either this morning, you chided grabbing the box of our night stand.You pulled the blue ribbon of the box and opened it to reveal a note and a small velvet blue bag.  

Brennan finally found this before our last supply run. He said he spotted the silver one morning on the sand near the river. I thought it would go perfect with your dress. I can't wait to take off of you.

-X  

Pulling the drawstring bag out of the box your heart fluttered feeling the light to heavy weight and the all too familiar shape even before you took the necklace out of the bag you knew what it was. It was your family crest necklace, the Mairi family crest. It was a Tyrrish tradition to give each newborn a necklace of their family crest. You had thought you had lost yours forever during the rebellion when you had tried to help save your younger sister from being separated from you and Liam even though both were a sad defeat. You were a wreck that night once you realized the necklace did indeed fall off your neck. It took everything in Xaden to get you to calm down over the necklace and everything else that had happened that day. Being the eldest Mairi child you had the original necklace that had been passed down from your favorite Grandmother. You manipulated the air slightly to help you open the bag and grabbed the all too familiar silver chain and cried at the touch. It’s exactly how I remembered it when your Grandmother wore it when she was my rider. You would make her proud. Ilmari chimed through your bond which you could have sworn was the nicest thing that she had ever said to you. You do have a sweet side.  

You chidded back to your green daggertail.

           The day had passed and you hadn’t run into Xaden or Garrick. You knew the supply run had run late. You endured your morning run with Imogen and Violet. Imogen was like a sister to you but Violet you couldn’t stand. When Sgaeyl’s mate bonded with Violet during this year's Threshing you were furious. On top of everything else you had to deal with this year you wished that she wasn’t one of them. You sighed, putting on your dress and tightening the last string on your corset in the front. Because of the mated bond you now had to keep your sworn enemy alive just so your fiance didn’t die due to her weaknesses. You hated the fact that you were actually starting to like her. He tried to bond with you because you were Xaden’s mate. I warned him not to touch you because you were my rider's descendent.  

   You just simply sighed making any final adjustments to your dress to smooth it out and touched your necklace and smiled as there was a soft knock on the door. “Hey Li.” You smiled softly joining your brother. “You look amazing. Is that?” “Yeah it finally turned up.” Is all you could say with Violet on the other side of Liam. “Let’s just get tonight over with.” You sighed as you always dreaded this evening but thank the gods it was finally your last year at Basgiath before you became Lieutenant Mairi. “Xaden and Garrick are?” Violet asked as Imogen joined the three of you at the courtyard. “In their right minds and not here.” you responded a little too sharply.  You knew where Xaden was and it pained your heart each year that you had to be the one to represent the group when he was you didn’t want to use the word sulking on the parapet but that was the best your mind could come up with; Garrick and Bodhi acting as his bodyguards. 

     You jumped and made a rush of air go past the group as you felt a soft brush on your hand. “Relax Mo ghràdh.” Xaden said quietly, turning you around to face him. You looked up smiling into his onyx eyes not expecting him or the other two to be down here in the slightest. “You look beautiful Mo ghràdh.” He whispered quietly to you. “What are you?” You started to ask your fiance softly as he brushed a stray piece of hair out of your eyes. “It’s our last year and you’ve endured so much this year my girl.” He soothed as his shadows were running soft touches down your arm as he held your hands tightly. “With Tairn bonding to Violet, with me making you and Imogen train Violet, so I have a chance at staying alive, to all the stuff with you know (and you did he couldn't say the words rebellion or supply runs with everyone else around), to you getting hurt; it just seemed like we could never catch a break this year.” You held your tears back as you crashed your lips into Xaden’s which he chuckled  against yours and happily returned. You let your mind wander during your kiss as the fireworks went off in the distance. Everything Xaden had said was the epiphany of your worst year at Basgiath. Which was why on winter solstice this year and also your birthday; Xaden gave you the best gift ever which was asking you to marry him. “Xad.” You said softly as your lips parted but not fully. “You don’t have to be down here.” You said softly wrapping your arms around his waist as he chuckled softly. “I’m only down here for one reason and that's to relieve you of your duties early this year.” He smirked his shadows lightly touching your ankles. “Then tell me what are you think of my Xad.” You said through a cheeky grin as he held out his hand for you to take. “I’m thinking our bed is very empty at this moment. Walk with me my queen.”  You smiled and took your fiance's hand as you both walked in the silence of each other's company towards your shared dorm on the third floor. 

    You finally broke the silence once you were on the third floor; “You know there was one thing about this year that wasn’t so bad.” You tried to smirk through your tears as his shadows now out of habit wiped your tears away whenever you cried. “And what's that?” “My birthday, that was the most romantic thing you’ve done since the first year we were fostered together.” Xaden chuckled. “It was the only fitting gift this year for you, Mo ghràdh.” He soothed “Mianach.” You whispered softly into his chest. “Mise, Geo Deo.” Xaden returned in the same tone. “I Gconai.” You mumbled softly into his chest. 

Once you both entered your room and locked the door; Xaden smirked “You know there's only one question I have left for this evening. “Hmmm.” You mumbled into his chest. “Do you want to take it off, or should I do it for you?” You giggled as his hands started to wonder up and down your dress. “You're the one that's skilled with taking off corsets.” You smirked and nibbled his ear. “Oh y/n.” You know what that does to me he purred as he worked his way down the laces on your chest. You whimpered at the feel of Xaden’s calloused hands against your almost bare chest.  Xaden nipped at the last bit of lace with his teeth and the dress came undone easily in a pool of navy blue at your feet. He unclipped your bra while sucking on your neck; as his shadows danced around your skin playfully.

 Ever since Xaden had managed to control his shadow signet, his shadows had become second nature in your bedroom activities. Sometimes they'd even be a little naughty and go places in class where Xaden couldn't physically touch at the time. “Xad.” You whimpered as he began his work sucking away on your breasts and lifting you up around his waist only to throw you on the black sheets on your shared bed. You smirked sitting up Xaden was usually the dominant one but you had your moments. “Lay down Xaddy.” You purred and poked his chest which earned a grave chuckle from his lips. “I love this side of you.” Xaden purred as your lips worked magic on one of his nipples and your hand started stroking his tip and working it's way up and down his perfect cock. Xaden started to suck on your neck, his shadows making aclit. “You've gotten me hard my queen and you're so wet for me.” “Only for you my king.” You whispered through raspy breaths as your breathing became heavier. 

   Xaden finished with a moan as you pinched his tip when he flipped both of you over with ease. You moaned out “Xaddy.” As he aggressively took one of your pert nipples in his mouth, your hands clenched the black sheets for purchase as that mouth continued It's way down your body and joined his shadows by slipping his tongue inside of you. “God's fuck Xaddy.” You moaned at his tongue slipping in and out of you, his teeth giving a small nibble on your clit every now and again. “Say it again my love.” He said through a rasped voice peppering kisses up your stomach as you whimpered at the loss of his touch where you needed it most. “Xad N-need you.” You managed to pant out  somewhat coherently. “Sshh Mo ghràdh. I have you.” He whispered as his lips aggressively found yours once more as his tip graced your entrance; his shadows still dancing inside of you. “Mine and so beautiful. Always so beautiful.” He breathed and started to trace your rebellion relic with his tongue. You whimpered and arched your hips while wrapping your legs around him once more. “You know.” He breathed and tilted your chin up so you were looking into his sexy onyx eyes. “Mmmm.” You moaned as his tip slid into you. “I may be bonded to Violet due to mated dragons but God's, y/n your the only one that could ever have me like this. You're the only one I promise Mo ghràdh.” “Please don't say her name right now.” You whimpered as Xaden chuckled and sucked your neck softly but also just enough to mark it. Violet was definitely not someone you wanted to be thinking about right now. “So wet so beautiful my baby girl.” Xaden rasped. “F-fuck Xad. I'm.” You moaned as he thrusts in and out of you with his cock and shadows at the perfect pace. “Your what Y/N?” He groaned as you knew both of you were about to completely lose all train of any common sense. “Xads.” You whimpered as you became a squirming mess around his cock. Xaden started to kiss you passionately once more as he came undone inside of you after two more thrusts. Xaden didn't pull out of you as he pulled you into his sweaty chest as you placed a soft kiss on his forehead and whispered “Mianach, Geo Deo.” As you rested your heads together; “Mianach, I Gconai.” Xad whispered in a matching tone and traced the lines of your necklace. “Thank you baby.” You whispered, squeezing his hand that was over the necklace. “No need to thank me my queen I'm just glad you have it back my love.” “Xad?” You whispered. “Hmm my girl.” “promise to never let me go ever.” You whispered nuzzling into your fiance's chest. “Never. I never plan to lose you ever my love. We've been through so much and it's only made us stronger; especially this year. I love you always.” “I love you to, forever and always.” You yawned and Xad chuckled “I suppose it is late. Curl up against me and rest y/n. I have you, good night, my love.” He said soothingly, wrapping his arms around you tighter. You couldn't even muster a good night as Xaden smiled and realized you had already drifted off. Neither of you knew what you were going to endure next but you knew it didn't matter because you would always have the safety of each other. 

Authors note: This is my first really big smut piece I put out. Any feed back is welcomed! I want to thank @angstywaifu for giving me some feedback before posting!

[kandisheek]

Cap-Ironman Rec Week 2024

Better Together Monday: July 22nd

Prompt: Tell us all about those fanworks where Tony and Steve are better teammates, are more competent, complete missions more efficiently and are just overall better for working and being together!

We all know that Steve and Tony are better together than apart, and this is the perfect time to celebrate it! Here are some of my favorite fics where teamwork makes the dream work:

-- Kludged Together by Veldeia

When he cut his morning jog short to join Tony Stark on a reconnaissance mission off the East Coast, Steve sure wasn’t expecting to end up stuck on a life raft in the middle of the ocean, his hand knuckle-deep in Stark's chest.

-- Danger Mouse by isozyme

First step: get both Tony and the pieces of Tony’s suit into some kind of shelter. It’s not raining now, but it’s only a matter of time. The passenger bay of the jet is sitting at a thirty degree angle and pretty banged up, but the doors are accessible and, hey, it’s got a roof. Step two after shelter: make a fire. That’s wilderness 101. Steve pats around his belt pouches for his matches. He comes up with a pack of tissues (wet), a couple of business cards (wet), his guilty pack of cigarettes (also wet), and finally a book of matches. It’s wet.

-- If Through a Door by jibrailis

Tony is accused of murder on an alien planet; Steve marries him to bring him home.

MORE RECS BELOW THE CUT:

-- Symmetry Breaking by Annie D (scaramouche)

After the Battle of New York, Steve rode off on his motorbike. That's how it went the first time. This time he rides back, all the way to Stark Tower, where he asks Tony for help.

-- Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happy Hour by BladeoftheNebula

“What is your problem?” Steve finally asked, annoyed at the way Stark was acting like there was a storm cloud over his head. Stark reeled back. “My problem? My fucking problem? You walk around this place with a stick jammed so far up your ass I’m surprised you can even bend over to suture!” Steve’s jaw dropped. “At least my head isn’t so big it barely fits through the OR doors.” Dr Steve Rogers is finally assigned to work at the MASH 107 army hospital in Korea, just like he’s been wanting since he was drafted. Too bad the Chief Surgeon is such an ass.

-- Senseless by Scavenge4Dreams

Blinded, deafened, exhausted, injured and afraid, Tony raised himself up into a defensive position, the knife coming up just like Nat had taught him.  “That had better fucking be you, Steve Rogers- it had better be you. Fucking disarm me. If you let me kill you, I swear I will be very, very pissed.” Tony snarled, sure it was Steve approaching. Had to be. Had. To. Be.  What if it wasn’t?

-- Trust Fall by Sineala

Tony needs someone who cares about him, bandages, a jacket, ibuprofen, dinner, a lasting romantic relationship, a nice time in bed, and assistance committing federal crimes. He gets them. In that order.

-- Love among the Hydrothermal Vents by DevilDoll

In which Namor has a thing for Steve, an octopus has a thing for Tony, and Steve and Tony eventually have a thing for each other.

And two of my own fics:

-- Flipping Through Channels

When Loki hits Tony and Steve with an illusion spell during their fight, Tony is prepared for torture, nightmares, the whole shebang. What he's not prepared for is being trapped in a kitschy eighties rom-com with him and Steve as the protagonist and love interest. And why the hell does Loki want them to kiss so badly?

-- Some More Equal Than Others

Steve split from SHIELD years ago, but when Fury approaches him with a rescue mission that goes beyond anything they've ever done before, Steve knows that he can't turn a blind eye to it. Those animals need his help, and if he has to go undercover to save them, then he'll do it gladly. He never expects to find what he does, a tiger hybrid who seems to understand him and yet pretend to be an animal. Steve knows that even more than any of the other animals in this illegal zoo, this man was never meant to belong in a cage. No matter what, Steve won't rest until the man is free.

[genopaint]

Week 16 of the Daily Dragon Challenge is here! Apologies on the delay for posting this... I was lazy. BUT!! We're finally in the 100's!!

As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily

And read more info on each of them below the cut

Daily Dragon #105 - Garchomp

Figured it'd be the perfect time to draw this fella since I just beat Platinum for the first time yesterday! Sadly I didn't end up getting one on my team but they're SUCH a cool dragon all the same

Daily Dragon #106 - Rex

One of the cutest Mario dragons! There's just something so charming about this little guy

+ 2 variants

While drawing this it really dawned on me how interesting this enemy is. It's one of the many Mario enemies that only appeared in 1 main series entry, but unlike a lot of other similar enemies it just will randomly appear in spinoff content a lot. Not even just as cameos, but like actual tangible enemy appearances. It's been an enemy in 3 games post SMW, 4 if you count the Minecraft Mario thing. That actually puts it over a LOT of random Mario enemies, but it still doesn't appear enough to be a Mario staple enemy. idk just kind of interesting to me lol

Daily Dragon #107 - Shelly Draws

A kobold with a passion (and a horde) for Trading Cards! She loves trying out new ones, and dreams of one day making her very own. Her favorite food are hamburgers.

This is a redesign of an old kobold girl from a Monster Girl design challenge thing I did back in 2016! Sadly I don't remember her name, but I do remember that I gave her a passion for trading cards. Which is more important than a name anyway, so I gave her a new card-pun name

Daily Dragon #108 - Koibito

My friend Sox's super cool Piranha Dragon! This design is super cool and I love Dragon hybrids of any kind! Thank you for letting me include them in this challenge!!

Daily Dragon #109 - Neonagon

Strange 2D creatures that appear on walls in cities. Be careful when using regular weapons on them, because their appearance doesn't make the walls any more malleable!

Another redraw! This was from a prompt request I made in 2020! I think it's a neat concept and it was a simple to do and I kinda didn't have huge drawing energy today lol

Daily Dragon #110 - Field Dragon

These incredibly tiny dragons are just slightly larger than berries. They use their spikes to collect various pieces of food while out and about, as well as breaking open seeds and nuts to eat!

Daily Dragon #111 - Fumedradon

Odd fume spewing dragons that are always found laughing and moving oddly as their nests are filled with the strange smoke the billow out. If you're going to deal with one, wear a gas mask

is... is this the first holiday dragon so far??? of course i ended up only doing that on THIS holiday and not any other.... Also 4/20 landed on day 111 isn't that neat :)

[pidgemotoiii]

Hot for Shuri

Professor Shuri x Black fem Reader

An: @ventingfanfics, Dude you really had me up on breaks with those professor shuri fics. You really did that honestly (Idk how to 'dedicate' or use this app properly but thank you for inspiring me to write again mwah, and all the other shuri writers thank you.

Word count: 3.1K

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

“Please do not forget to do your reading on page 107! Reading is just as important as the homework people!” 

Her voice boomed off of every wall in the lecture hall. The students filed out of their seats, going to lunch, another class, hookup, anyone’s guess really. 

“They never really listen, do they?” her voice softened, clearly out of professor mode.

There is really no introduction needed but this is Shuri Udaku, your Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning professor for the spring semester. 

She’s beautiful, and her smile gets a thousand miles wide when she gets on a topic she’s passionate about. She’s attentive, never missing a question, and always advertising her one-on-one study sessions. She’s caring-

“Hi! Are you here to see me?” if she only knew that's why you took her class-her black turtleneck was form-fitting and her black slacks were clean and crisp, maybe even starched. Her loafers are polished, not a speck of dust or dirt. You might be a little scared if her eyes didn’t literally spell out ‘home’ for you or ‘take me home’. Her pea coat is a little oversized, but considering her small frame, it wasn’t something out of the left field. 

Ah, Shit. She looks so elated to have someone staying behind to see her. Good thing for you, you don't have to tell her that you just wanted to stare some more. Professor Udaku is practically buzzing, she’s running her free hand over the shaven side of her head and down her neck. Now it switched to tugging at the straps on her bag, her face pleading for you to ask her something.   

“Uhm- about chapter seven. I didn't even understand a sentence to even ask you a question.” You let out a sigh and put your head in your palms: ‘Maybe too truthful’ you said to yourself. 

She placed her hand and delicately kneaded the sliver of skin between your neck and shoulder. She tilted her head and smiled, ‘it's okay you’ll be fine’, the message was well received by you. Professor Udaku rested her bag on the seat in front of you and shuffled her way to sit next to you. A quiet ‘excuse me’ as she passed by. As she turned the chair towards you a terrible screech echoed across the classroom snapping you out of your reverie. She chuckled softly, soothing your metaphorical wound, desperately grasping to have your attention on her again. Having crushes are terrible for the heart.  You prayed you didn’t say what you thought out loud.

“We’ll get there when we get there.” She’s so wise. She pulled out a yellow notepad from her bag and began to write.

“This is my-”

“Oh no no I already have it, you put it on the board on Monday remember.” You abruptly tried to rebuttal by grabbing her hand and forcing her to stop writing. She closed her eyes, shook her head no, and gently removed your hand from atop hers. It was really nice while it lasted so you leaned in closer to see what else she was writing. 

She spoke softly and clearly, “This is my personal phone number, if you have any questions-”

“Any?” You butt in again.

“Yes any, please don’t hesitate to ask. I see you have a lot of questions, make sure to text them to me.Though for your sake and mine, my cutoff time is ten pm.” She rolled her eyes at you but you could tell they held no malice. Your face could not handle the intimacy of the conversation you guys were having. The level of smiling you were doing should be illegal. You were ecstatic- 

She tore off the note and for a brief moment you felt her hand touch yours again. This time you observed more carefully; short and carefully manicured nails perfect for working in a lab (and something else if she wants to). You two said your goodbyes and she left. As she walked out though, you could tell, she had more of a bounce in her step than before you two talked. 

Shit! no, you need to go! Lia made you promise that you would meet up at the cafe for twelve it’s eleven thirty- You swiftly packed your bags and sprint out of the lecture hall.

–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cafe was warm, small tables lined the floors and brown walls with dark green detailing. Decaf filtered the air but there was a special area you two liked to sit in. Separating the cashier line and the rest of the cafe was a high table with barstools and a lengthy counter that could seat at least ten. You spotted her and she had her laptop out and a sandwich waiting for you.

“Lia! Lia!” Your voice is loud but careful not to disturb the other patrons.

“Babe! Over here!” She is not so considerate, always moving 

This is Lia, your best friend, and overall the best person you know on campus. Her braids are always in a ponytail for mostly being in the kitchen such as the life of a culinary student and pastry chef in training. Also, the best person to go to for advice and free brownies.

“Lia, guess what!” You nearly threw yourself over the barstool trying to regain the motor function that your professor stripped you of. 

“Oh no you have that look on your face again” Her face turned into a snarl, clearly disgusted at what you’re going to tell her. Lia looked you up and down, trying to sniff out what had made you so fidgety. A few things racked through her mind. 

“What look?” You questioned. You truly wanted to know what look you had on your face.

Lia sucked her teeth. She found the thing.

“Don’t suck your teeth at me-” You shot back.

“I can suck my teeth at you whenever I want!” she continued, at this point who could stop her. “You!”

“Me?!” Your eyes bulged. 

“Yes you! Don’t I think I don't know about your little hot for teacher situation” 

Your mouth was agape, too many eyes locked unto you two. There was silence, a ‘not a creature stirred, not even a mouse’ type of situation. The ‘best person on campus’ title is growing quite thin. 

“Why would you say that out loud like that?!”  

“A light shaming never hurt anyone.” 

This bitch- she was amused at your plight.

“I love you, you know this but babe, you have a crush on the teacher whose your hardest class. You won’t even take up her study seshes which are designed to help you. It’s only February and this class isn’t even part of your major, you just wanna look up in her face! You doin’ bad babe.” 

‘Oh my God am I really that bad’ you posed that ever-looming question to yourself. Lia might be right, but who would you be if you took her advice not you that's who. That 90-degree of that jawline is the best version of NyQuil you could ever get. 

“Now tell me what you have to tell me.” Her face is stone cold, and the botox finally sets in. Well now you didn't even want to tell her the good news, but who else are you telling, your therapist?

“She gave me her actual number. She told me to ask her any questions I have but not past ten.” You regained your smile as you recounted the events earlier today. Attempting to save some sort of face and scrounging around for some charm you had to mask the deep goofiness that was coming out of your mouth. 

Lia looked exhausted by the time you finished. She took a deep inhale and exhaled. She took out her phone and began furiously texting.“I’m gonna do you a big favor. I sent you Riri Williams’ number.” She dumped her phone down and it made a sound. 

“Who…?” Your voice is hushed.

“Don't play cute. Oh.. you’re serious?” You gave her a head tilt that meant ‘duh’.

“Cornrows, a year above us, just under 5’3, brown skinned.” She continued hoping to jog a memory that you clearly didn’t have. 

Your eyes flicked from left to right, “That could be anyone, thanks.” Your voice is an unwavering monotone.

“You’re welcome, she’s in robotics, heard she’s a prodigy and she's doing classes at a discounted rate.” She blessed you with a sickeningly sweet smile. 

“A discounted rate? What’s the discount? I don’t trust you.”

 Lia’s eyes seemed to dart everywhere but your face, how strange. 

“Two hundred fifty.” 

“Two hundred and fifty! Lia- what’s the rate then?” You asked her frantically, eyes dotted over her face anticipating a ‘just kidding’.

“Ten percent-” Your brows furrowed, and your eyes and mouth crinkled. 

“Shit.” You bonked your head on the table, your butterfly locs falling in your face. Her hands trying to brush the locs out of your face.

“That you are in.” You could hear her snickering trying to not break her caring friend act. 

“That’s not funny.” Your voice muffled from being in your hands.

“It is to me.” You looked up and her lips were puckered, failing to hide her smile. You felt as if your eyes would get stuck in the back of your head. 

“At least tell me where to find her.” She sighed, finally getting your head out of your ass.

“Try the Q dorms across from the library. I think she said the dorm number is one hundred eight.”

“Thanks.” 

“You're welcome again, ugh have to go to my next class. Professor said try to be early for a demonstration. I already ate lunch so Imma have to see ya. Make sure to tell her Lia sent you” 

“Alright later.” She gives you a dismissing wave and mouths ‘you better fix your shit’ with a point too, she meant business. You playfully cut your eye at her. Her walk was sad at best, demotivating at worst to watch, obviously not wanting to go early to class but begrudgingly went like a good little student. You grabbed your phone and typed out a quick message to Riri Williams. 

Riri Williams(Possible Tutor)

Hey, this is Lia’s friend, she said you did classes.

2:05 pm 

‘Might as well do some homework’, you thought. Two pages of an essay and two CIS assignments later you heard a ‘bzzt!’ 

Riri Williams(Possible Tutor)

Hey this is Lia’s friend, she said you did classes.

2:05 pm 

Hey yeah, come over to the tech building so we could talk more I hav to do sumthin for a teach

3:55 pm

Rm 24

3:56 pm

Room twenty-four in the tech building it is then. You just came from there and now you have to go back there again ugh you might just have to do the Lia walk. You pack up your things and go again- you reach there around four fifteen. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You knock on the open door not wanting to startle the girl. This isn’t a classroom, it's a printing room. The walls are grey and only one blinking light seems to work in the large space. You thought MIT had the money to fix these things and one window, sad.

“Hey you could come in, don't be scared.” her voice is raspy, and she’s hunched over one of the printers. She’s been here for at least two hours judging from the number of copies on the printer. What do you know she is just under 5’3, and you’re scared the printer might just eat her alive.

“Done! All three hundred!” She shoots up, stretches, and shakes her head. You just watch and wait till she catches her breath. 

“So why are you here?” Straight to the point, you like it. 

“My friend Lia said you did tutoring for mostly anything physics related.” 

Her eyes light up when you say Lia’s name and her smile turns crooked. You wondered why she didn’t look at you in the cafe. She pauses and fixes her face back to a neutral expression. She does a quick headcount by the hundreds to make sure she did whatever she was doing correctly and nods.

“Come, walk with me.” More walking you think, you subtly roll your eyes and pick up the pace. 

“Class?” She can barely look at you through the mountain of papers.

“Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.” Her head swiftly tilted and she gave you a look of pity. “With who? Don’t say Wilkinson.” 

“No, Udaku.” There goes the pity.

Her eyes make brief contact with yours. “Girl why the hell are you here then-” You don’t like that- her eyes might as well burn through the paper. 

“I wouldn’t be here or willing to pay the price of two hundred and fifty. If I didn't need your help.” You stand your ground firm just as your mother taught you. Too busy with your proclamation declaration you didn’t realize the two of you had stopped. 

“Can you please just knock on the door?” said Riri urgently. You dealt three firm knocks on the dark oak door. You looked up at the name tag on the door, Oh my God. You can not be serious. 

That Bitch couldn't have told you that she was Professor Udaku’s TA?

“Shuri! Can you open up the door please, these papers are heavy!” You did a double take and ran behind Riri. ‘Shuri’ opened up the door and you remembered why you didn't want to take up classes in the first place. You heard that crystal clear no Professor Udaku, not Professor Shuri, not even a miss Udaku. Oh no, these two have some history. 

“Thank you Riri, you can put them where you usually do.” Usually?!

“Shuri, I brought one of my clients. Can we stay for a bit?” Riri goes to her usual drop-off desk, you just happened to notice the Stay-. You undoubtedly have no input in her decision-making. This is why you go inside her office, Professor Udaku is still at her desk, she didn’t notice you as of yet. These papers were a blessing in disguise. 

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

Just like her door, most of the furniture is dark oak. The walls are a pretty indigo hue, a black fluffy circle rug. A black couch with two end tables. Two bookshelves opposite the couch that could be a good five foot eight. In the middle of her office is her desk, large, from what you could see; there are multiple picture frames, a lamp, Her of course, and her desktop. Oh, the window that stretches from floor to ceiling is also a nice touch. Awe you nearly squeal a poster with a panther hanging from a branch that says ‘You can do it’.

During your awe Riri walks over to Professor Udaku they're saying something. She tugs the professor over to her stack of papers pulling her from what you assume was marking. Riri proudly presents her handiwork to the professor. “Riri I don’t have time for this” she mutters while double-checking the papers. She then ushers her over to you, and she smirks, the professor is still not interested. 

“Shuri, meet my first client from your class” What the hell-  you and ‘Shuri’ shared a glance. “I just thought you’d like to meet her”. Shuri is astounded, her mouth quivering, she's clawing at you to say something. You open your mouth and nothing comes out. She pivots back to the copies, squares her face, ever so calculating-

“Riri you forgot ‘Introductory Xhosa’.“ Riri is flabbergasted, her arms are flailing and her speech is stuttering.

“Uh no I did not, check again.” The ‘check again’ comes out hastily. 

“Riri- just go look back on the printer for me.” Professor Udaku unclenches her teeth and grunts out a ‘please’. Riri mirrors her grunt with a ‘fine’, she stomps out and slams the door. You attempt to scurry out the door before

“No, you stay.” She looks for a place for you two to talk. You walk slowly and shamefully back to the area, and she guides you to the couch smoothly with her hand on your back. This crop top and the short pants duo were not working any favors for you.

 “Sit.”, you sat down, and she sat down. The room was hushed but the feeling wasn't tranquil. Professor Udaku crossed her legs and leaned her head against the couch, capturing your eye once again. Her face was despondent, her cool hand long gone from your back. The only thing you could hear other than your breath was the clock ticking, mocking you. ‘When would Riri be back?’. After too many ticks you decided to break the silence. 

“Professor-”

“No, outside of class you call me Shuri.”

“Shuri” You tested the waters, it sounded foreign on your tongue.” I already had plans of going to Riri”

“Now you lie to me too.” What did she mean by too? She crossed her legs. Her face is still despondent.

“I didn't lie.” 

“You’re still lying!?” It’s best you be quiet and let her speak, so you do that. “Why couldn’t you have told me that it wasn’t enough. Why did you wait for me to give you my number?” Your hands tugged at the hem of your shorts, your gaze cast downward. Shuri uncrossed her legs and stilled your hands with her own. Her grip was steady and reassuring, “I want to help you, I do, you just have to let me. Can you let me do my job?” 

You let out a breath, “I will.” She let out a broken chuckle and ‘thank you’.

The door slammed open, just in time. 

“Riri stop trying to break my door!” Shuri really didn’t like that, her grip turned distressing. Oh that's right you two were still holding hands, you shook your hands free of hers, Riri didn't even notice. 

“Why? you not my Umama!” Shuri rolled her eyes., “I see you found the Xhosa copies”. “No! I didn't- I told you to check again!” Riri was not backing down from this, Shuri relented and bowed her head “I’m sorry Riri.” 

“That’s more like it. You-” She’s pointing at you like she just remembered your mere existence. “If you want we can meet for three and I won’t charge you next time but after that, two fifty. Deal?” Riri’s stance is concrete.

“Deal.” you echoed. 

“wai-Wait how about you two have lessons here.” Is she serious? “I could buy some chairs and smaller desks and have them shipped by your second session.” She is serious. Riri considered for a bit, Shuri rocked on her heels waiting for her response. 

“Look, see you get two geniuses for the price of one.” If she only knew. Shuri couldn’t contain her excitement murmuring to herself that she'll place the order right now. You couldn’t feel any worse than how you did now.

An: Thank you if you read the fic. Yeah any constructive criticism is welcome. If you have any requests I have a box up (hope it works) and yeah thats it. :3

[sorcerersandskillusers]

A look at the struggles Atsushi faces throughout the series, and how he grows to resent the justice he was forced to learn. As well as his connections and contrasts with Akutagawa.

Atsushi is very different from a typical protagonist, who try's to save everybody they can, and never wants to kill anyone. Because he didn't develop this mindset from an inspiring, kind mentor; or from some innate sense of justice, or even from just his own hardships.

It was literally beaten into him through his whole childhood.

graphic depiction of abuse ahead:

Atsushi is compelled to help people. I defiantly think part of it is that he is just a kind person in general, but It is also a compulsion that he cannot refuse.

He is forced to disregard his own feelings and safety, he suffers so much pain, but he can never refuse, which is why he views it as a curse.

In BSD killing is not treated with the same 'good people can never, ever be willing to kill someone' that a lot of shows treat it as.

The entire ADA minus Kunikida was willing to try and kill Mori to save Fukuzawa. Fukuzawa has killed in the past, and told Kunikida to shoot Dazai if he sensed any evil in his heart(Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam). Kunikida has been shown to be willing to kill if absolutely necessary

I point this out to show that Atsushi's refusal to kill is not just 'because he's a good guy and would never do that'. We see in BEAST that, if twisted a bit, he can be made to kill without hesitation. His refusal to kill comes from a much darker place, and makes him a perfect foil to...

Akutagawa.

Akutagawa and Atsushi have incredibly similar histories, It's literally spelled out in BEAST that the two of them have more in common then they have with anyone else. Both children raised in hell. But there was one key difference, The value they saw in the lives of others.

I've already talked about how Atsushi was raised to think that his own life had no worth, and only the lives of others mattered. But for Akutagawa it was the opposite. He grew up in the slums, where every stranger was a potential threat to him, his friends and sister. He had to learn to kill without hesitation, and to see no value in anyone else's life.

Dazai only made this worse, telling Akutagawa that if he couldn't defeat anyone in his path, that he had no right to live. And brutally punishing any sign of weakness.

Both Akutagawa and Atsushi search desperately for validation, and the right to keep living. They walk on opposite sides of a mirror, each only seeing half the picture, neither willing to see themself in the other.

Which is why they can both show the other exactly what they need to see.

The two of them hate each other so much because they are the same ,they each embody what the other most hates about himself and this is why they can each teach to other to overcome that hatred and to see the whole picture they were both denied as children.

Their growth over this past few arcs; with The death of the orphanage director, Akutagawa that killing everything won't solve all his problems, Atsushi having to stand up and pull himself together to save the ADA.

Akutagawas greatest flaws were his short-sightedness, and inability to see beyond himself and learn from his mistakes.

While Atsushi's greatest flaws were his crippling anxiety and indecision, as well as inability to let go of his past.

Opposite ends of the same spectrum, so now they must guide each other to the middle and find a balance.

Finally, the 'promise not to kill anyone for six months' with this, Atsushi is showing Akutagawa the value that can be seen in the lives of others. We see this in the security guard Akutagawa spared being the one to distract Fukuchi and let Atsushi escape. Akutagawa seems to have truly grown a lot since he and Atsushi last saw each other. But what about Atsushi?

Spoilers for chapter 107:

I think that Atsushi will kill Akutagawa. We know that Akutagawa died before he was converted into a vampire, and with his lung condition being established just before then, even if they find a way to revert him, he would still be nearly at the end of his life.

I think that Akutagawa will probably temporarily regain control of his body, but be unable to revert fully, so he will ask Atsushi for that duel he promised him. It would even parallel Atsushi "killing" Shibusawa in TDA, since both were technically already dead to begin with.

Atsushi taught Akutagawa how to value lives, and the patience to consider his actions and Akutagawa will teach Atsushi the conviction to take them and how overcome the guilt he feels within himself. each one going from black and white, to grey.

[moonyasnow]

TWST OC Showcase: Irina Barret

Vice Housewarden of Ramshackle; the Dorm based on the Lonely Ghosts' Spirit of Adaptability

(Housewarden: Tomoe Sakurada)

Voice Claim: SynthV TETO

Human Right-handed Wales - Ramshackle Dorm 152cm / 4'11 - #ae6bcf / 174, 107, 207 June 1st - Gemini - 16 y.o. 1st year - Freshman - Class D, no. 3 Gargoyle Appreciation Club Best Subject: Potionology Hobbies: Sculpting Pet peeves: The sounds of glass and porcelain Favorite food: Warm bread Least favorite food: Cold leftovers Talent: Empathetic Perception Floyd-given name: Shrimpy Rook-given name: Demoiselle Lapine Cater-given name: Rini

Link to all my OC Showcases here!

Some quotes:

"U-um…please give me work! I-I can cook, clean, do laundry, a-and I can be very quiet about it, too! You'll barely even realize I'm here." — "I don't want to be a burden on you. Right now, I imagine I am probably using up resources, and I'm not even offering anything in return…"

"Um...I-I'm sorry!"

She's crouching down on her knees in her bed, crying, muffling her sobs by biting her hands. She wants to scream. [internal narration] *He hates me, he hates me, he hates me, he hates me, he hates me, he hates me! It's all my fault!* "H-he won't even look at me…!" She sobs. *Of course not. Who would want to spend time with someone they think doesn't trust them? A-and I can't even clear up the misunderstanding…! I'm horrible, worthless, a burden, useless…so many people's lives would be better if I was never born!*

! W A R N I N G ! Her backstory is H E A V Y. I mean it when I say this is the darkest backstory out of any of my OCs.

Includes themes of: child endangerment, physical & emotional child neglect, verbal & emotional child abuse, suicide(someone else), mental illness, C-PTSD and SH(biting, self-neglect, chasing things/people that are bad for her)

Only read further if you feel that's something you can handle today. Take care of yourself <3

Irina's mother was from a quite well-off family in Bulgaria, and her father was from a bad part of London. On a vacation to London, the two of them had a fling that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. And Irina's mother's family, having quite traditional values, said she had to marry the father. So she did, and moved to live with him in his apartment in London. But they both quickly realized they were a horrible match.

Her parents hated each other and always fought. Her mother always said that if she'd just never been born, her life would be perfect because she wouldn't be stuck living in what she with her good upbringing considered squalor with Irina's father, who spent all their money on alcohol and drugs, and said it was all Irina's fault. And her father didn't like seeing her at all because he was reminded of her mother who— in his mind— always nagged at him for stupid, useless reasons and seemed to make it her life mission to torment him at home when he'd never done anything to deserve that. Two incredibly proud, selfish people who would drag a child into their conflict. Her father would get mad and yell whenever she— or mostly her mother, since Irina quickly learned to be quiet and never talk back— bothered him in any way. When her mother confronted him about spending so much of that month's money out drinking, their screaming matches often got violent. Her father would hit her mother, or flip over furniture— most often he'd throw plates and glasses and bottles, either at the wall or her mother. Then her mother would yell at him until he left the apartment, after which she start to cry, yelling at Irina if she saw her. As a result Irina can't handle it when she hears the sounds of breaking glass or porcelain; it makes her panic so much she just dissociates. And even the sounds of them, not broken, clinking against things makes her incredibly on edge. Though most often, Irina would hide in her room, sitting on her 'bed' that was just a mattress on the floor, hiding herself under her blanket. She always felt the safest under her blanket. But when not actively upset, her mother would exert whatever control she felt she could over Irina, even in entirely pointless ways, just to not feel as powerless as she did living with her husband; refusing to ever be told 'no' and guilt-tripping and forcing Irina to do/not do whatever her mother wanted or didn't want her to. Her parents often forgot to feed her, too. Since she'd already been conditioned to never ask for anything, she started smuggling small scraps of food into her room, which she hid in a little box in her closet. But she still stopped growing at 152cm and remained very petite for the rest of her life, due in part to the childhood malnutrition. But they weren't always cruel to her. Sometimes, very rarely, one of them would be in a good mood; usually because the other was away. On these rare occasions her father would sometimes let her sit next to him on the couch, and would show her what he thought were the best parts of the game shows he loved to watch were. And if she seemed interested enough in whatever story he was telling, he'd even smile at her, and compliment her, and ruffle her hair. And when her mother was in a good mood, she'd smile at Irina and tell her she did a good job helping with the chores. She would sometimes even ask Irina what she wanted to have for dinner that day. Irina always made sure to pick something she knew her mother liked, to make her even more happy, so she'd smile at Irina even more. Those small moments made her absolutely overjoyed, and made her want to make them smile like that again. It was the only taste of 'affection' she had for the first five years of her life. And it planted the idea in her head that, if only it was just her and one of her parents, they could actually be a happy family.

When she'd see children with their parents, she became jealous, since her parents never held her hand, hugged her, sang her to sleep or gave her any sort of comfort. When she'd tried to hug them, they brushed her off and walked away. She tried to be away from home as much as she could, since she hated always hearing her parents scream at each other. When she played pretend with other kids in the neighborhood, she could ignore the reality of her situation and just be happy for a while. When they all wanted to go home because it had gotten too late, she felt lonely and scared again, because she wouldn't have anything to distract her from thinking about home. She had no other adult she could confide in, and she felt scared of her parents. They had never physically harmed her, but she was scared that they might someday. But even worse than being home when both of them were there was when only she and one of her parents were home. Then, they'd scream at her, and she was always scared they would hit her. Now that she's grown up, sometimes when it's quiet, she thinks she can still hear the distant, muffled sounds of her parents fighting with each other. And whenever anything bad happens in her life, she hears her mother's voice whispering to her saying 'your fault'.

She had one close friend from when she was 5 to 8— he was two years older than her, had brown hair and green eyes, and he was the best thing in her life. He found her crying under a tree one day after her parents had an argument. He told her his name and asked why she was crying, and when she didn't answer, just looking up at him, through her tears, hugging her knees, he just sat down next to her to begin reading something. She eventually asked what it was, and he read aloud to her. They became best friends. He would bring sweets for them to eat together, he would read to her, and whenever she was scared or sad or crying he'd wipe away her tears and ruffle her hair, placing a small kiss on the top of her head and tell the tears to go away. He taught her how to read, too! He was the only good thing in her life, her only experience with what love and comfort should feel like. When she was with him, she could forget about her parents and how miserable she otherwise felt. She could wake up each day looking forward to seeing him. She was in love with him, and dreamed of the two of them being together forever. She was so happy she could cry every time she saw him. And some of her absolute best memories were of when it had been snowing and all the kids in the neighborhood would come out to play together, where he and Irina would often join in. Or sometimes they'd just make snowmen, or snow-angels. Snowy weather has always been her favorite. Not only did her happiest memories always happen when it was snowing or had recently snowed, she thought everything being covered in snow was comforting. To her, it looked like a big, fluffy, heavy blanket, muffling the world and making it quiet, hiding her from every bad thing. She liked making snowmen the most. And she eventually started making them in more interesting shapes, most often rabbits. She'd always loved rabbits. They were the only animal she didn't feel afraid of. She often used to fantasize about owning a lot of rabbits when she grew up. Her friend once gave her a little pink plush bunny for her birthday; he said he saw it in a shop window, and it reminded him of her. She named it 'Clover' after the flower crowns he'd make for her, as well as the color of his eyes. When she cried about how much she hated the sounds of when her parents would throw glasses and plates and bowls into the ground and break them and that she'd only have wooden cups and bowls when she grew up, he said he'd also have wooden cups and bowls, so she could visit him. She felt so happy, and so treasured, and loved… But then one day he just stopped showing up. She waited, but he never came back to play with her again. She cried and cried, scared that she would never see him again, wishing so badly that he would come back, wondering why he left her behind. Only then, after losing him, did she realize he was all that had been filling up her heart until that point. She developed abandonment issues, and began to feel what loneliness was for the first time. Before she met him, she was always, always alone. He took away her loneliness…but she didn't realize the absence of it until it returned. …Eventually, knowing he was gone and probably not coming back, the memory of him in her heart hurt her so much that she just…forgot. Her mind repressed all memory of him, to keep her from hurting. So she thought she'd always been alone. Anytime she remembered him, she thought he was just an imaginary friend she dreamt about as a child, to save her from her loneliness. And eventually she forgot about him altogether. But the impression he'd had on her never faded. The color green would forever feel 'safe' to her.

Then on June 3d, two days after her 9th birthday, after a particularly bad argument, her father— like he usually did— left the house. Her mother asked her to go pick flowers to put in a vase on the table for when her father eventually came back. When Irina came back in she found her mother's corpse hanging from the ceiling. Her skin was blue. Irina could almost hear her say 'your fault', which her mother oh-so-loved to say to her. She believed it. She hid in her room for 4 days until her father finally came back. When she heard him come back she ran to him and hugged him. When he saw her mother, for the first time, he hugged her back. She was convinced this meant the two of them would start over fresh somewhere, since the only reason he was so unhappy was because he was stuck with her mother. He packed a bag and started walking, and let her follow after him, holding onto the edge of his big sleeve. But then, at the edge of the town where they lived, he told her to wait there. She did. She never saw him again. A week later, on June 13th, she was found dehydrated and half-starved, holding onto her bunny plush Clover, and taken to live at an orphanage. Funnily enough, she didn't remember where she got Clover. She thought her parents probably got it for her at some point. Knowing that not even her parents— the only people who were ever supposed to love her unconditionally— didn't want her, even when there was only her father left and her mother, whom he hated, was no longer in the picture… It broke her. After this point she truly started to believe she was inherently worthless, and that no one could ever love her. While she lived at that orphanage, she started trying to play with kids who lived nearby more than she had before, and she did make friends, always with one kid at a time. And she was so happy to have a friend— someone who could make her feel loved and make her forget things at home— that she always became obsessed and overly attached and incredibly clingy, getting jealous every time they even talked to a kid that wasn't her and scared they would stop being her friend because they found someone better. She never really managed to make any long-term friends because of this. That clinginess lead to them always leaving her behind, perpetuating the cycle. She only got better at hiding her emotions. As well as people pleasing— to a chronic extent. Every time someone left her, she became even more convinced of the fact that she was unlovable and thus became even more scared she'd be abandoned. Every time, she lost a little more trust for people until she just couldn't open up to anyone at ALL. She was convinced keeping it all hidden is what she needed to do to keep people with her— not bother them with her issues. But she has barely any memories from this time of her life. Only a handful of them The only thing she remembered fully clearly about this part of her life is that Clover, her bunny plush, was always there. Funnily enough, she didn't remember where she got Clover. She thought her parents probably got it for her at some point. She brought it with her everywhere, and it had suffered through all the same things as her. She still has it to this day, and since it's quite small, she brings it with her everywhere. It was the closest thing she can remember having to an anchor as a child, so despite being at an age where she thinks she should have 'outgrown' stuffed animals, she can't bring herself to let go of it.

When she was 13, she ended up being adopted by her uncle— her mother's brother— whom she had never heard of before. He'd recently moved to Wales for his work, and that's how the system found him. He was the first adult who was ever kind to her. He asked how she was doing, set aside time to play with and read her to bed, brought her with him to see fireworks, to run errands, or just go on walks. And she was surprised when— shortly after adopting her— he took her out to buy new clothes, and also said she could pick out one more thing from whatever store she wanted. She wasn't at all used to receiving things, and didn't feel like she deserved it. But he often had to leave for a few days at a time due to his job requiring him to be away from home often. Every time this happened, paranoia set in that he was going to abandon her just like her father did. Each night he was gone she would cry herself to sleep, begging for him to come back. She spent moment of his absence doing almost nothing except waiting for him to come back. And her luck socializing with her peers didn't really improve much... Ever since she was around 8 years old, she had started developing in a way that was very strange compared to her peers. As a child she had very strong reactions to things, she wore her emotions on her sleeve at all times, and these emotions seemed to be much stronger than those of other people around her. But those explosive feelings never matured with her as she got older, and she kept having almost child-like outbursts of emotion even well into her teens. The tiniest thing— like forgetting to bring something that she was asked to bring, not knowing the location of her stuffed rabbit Snowie for even a few minutes, or being lightly insulted in a friendly way could make her start sobbing uncontrollably and have a massive breakdown. Though often, just 10 minutes later, she'd have stopped crying and felt entirely fine again. So when she was herself, her wild mood swings seemed to just be too much for everyone. And her experience with her original parents had made her extremely unassertive and scared of angering people, to the point of her developing social anxiety and rejection sensitivity. She absolutely hates people being upset at her, and if she thinks she's done something wrong, she thinks people will dislike her. Since she herself was never enough for anyone as a child, she doesn't think she ever will be. And the new 'friends' she did manage to make were...not the best for her. Somehow the people she seemed to attract were always ones who didn't care about her, who'd use her, take advantage of her desperation for love, affection and validation and drip-feed it to her after she did things for them, before dropping her once they didn't think she was amusing or helpful anymore. When they did still like her, think she was fun and wanted to spend time with her, she felt absolutely high on the joy. But the moment they avoided or ignored her, even for just a moment, it felt like the world was caving in on itself. But they told her she was just being clingy, which once again got her to hide her feelings so as not to displease them. Gradually chipping away at more and more of her, until there was nothing left. Until she was just a shapeless lump of clay for them to mold however they liked. But she'd endure it. That was what love was, right? It was supposed to hurt, and she was supposed to cover that hurt up so they'd stay with her. To endure was to love. Because enduring showed a commitment, that she would still stay with them. That was all she wanted, after all. She knew most of her friends wanted more from her than just her loyalty, though, so she'd do anything they asked her to. Even when it hurt. But they all left her in the end no matter how hard she tried.

And every single time another one of her friends left her, her abandonment issues just became even worse. She thought it was all her fault, and that if she'd just tried harder, had fewer boundaries, been better, they wouldn't have left. She thought she was the problem. Eventually, she'd become convinced that everyone is going to leave her in the end, and stopped being able to trust anyone, alternating between 'I don't want them to get close enough to hurt me' and 'they're going to leave anyway so I'm going to try to be close to them while I can', sometimes even experiencing both at the same time. As a result, when someone actually nice, who had good intentions and respected her, did actually approach her with the intention of genuinely becoming her friend, she ended up just panicking. That wasn't how friendships went for her, after all. She was always the one giving 90%! So she was so confused when anyone was nice to her for no apparent reason. And so she ended up usually just avoiding and ignoring them until they stopped trying to get close to her. But it made her so sad every time because it felt like being abandoned and given up on all over again. But she just didn't know how to deal with the paralyzing fear and paranoia them being genuinely good to her caused her. Afterwards she would always cry and bite her hands and lip and arms so much that she'd fall asleep from exhaustion with her arms and mouth covered in her own blood. Then in the morning, all she'd need to do was wash the blood off and no one would be able to tell that she'd hurt herself. Eventually, she learned to bottle up the biggest of those feelings until she was alone, upon which she'd have another breakdown. As a result, the people who know her now don't know the true extent of her mood-swings, since she's become such a people-pleaser in a desperate attempt for people to stop leaving her that she no longer lets herself become upset in front of others. But it feels empty, since no one ever knows the real her. Always bottling her feelings up makes her feel like she's just one tick away from exploding at all times. But since bottling her emotions up like that has begun to feel like yet another matter of survival, she never lets them boil over.

Some miscellaneous info about her:

Irina is very physically independent while also being quite emotionally dependent. Meaning: She can take care of her physical needs (cooking, cleaning, buying food, washing her clothes, etc) by herself, but she relies heavily on others emotionally. She realizes she has no idea who she is as a person, what her personality is, what she likes, etc. She can never remember her past emotions nor truly comprehend thoughts of the future. The current moment, to her, becomes 'eternal'. Her mood-swings and splitting episodes don't make this any better or easier. She also takes VERY bad care of herself both mentally and physically. She was just never really taught how. When her uncle was away she mostly just ate bread, cereal or instant noodles, just because she only puts in effort for other people.

She's gotten really good both at noticing every subtle, tiny little change in someone— in addition to already having a great sense of natural intuition, or 'gut feeling', about people— and at figuring out exactly what people wanted to hear, and saying it to them to avoid conflict. Though as a result, she doesn't really know how to open up to others. She's still so stuck in 'anyone can become angry at you therefore trust no one and never let your guard down' mode. And partly due to that paranoia, she never told her uncle what her life had been like before he adopted her, him only knowing that both her parents were out of the picture for some reason or another. Actually, no one but Irina knows that. She never told anyone. Not about any of it, always being very careful in how she worded herself when asked about her past, or life, or herself in general.

Because of the way her mother died, she has a crippling fear of being unable to breathe/suffocating.

She really hates Summer. The sounds of cicadas, the bright, merciless sun, the strong smells and the loud noises of people and nature, the heat— all of it reminds her of the summer she turned 9. Seeing her mother's corpse, being forced to wait hungry and thirsty in her room for four days of 'going to the bathroom' in the corner of her room because she was too scared to open her bedroom door, since it'd mean seeing her mother again. Then being abandoned by her father when he finally came back, sitting in the scorching sun for a week waiting for him, almost dying of dehydration. Near the end of May, she always starts to feel intense anxiety, the kind where you feel like you can't breathe. And she hates her birthday, hates having it acknowledged in any way.

And around this time start the nightmares. Nightmares where she sees her mother, hanging from the ceiling, telling her in a hoarse, breathless voice that it was her fault. That she is so worthless that she didn't make her mother's life worth it, that she was so much of a horrible burden her mother would want to die just to get away from her. Her father strangles Irina with a rope that smells like vomit, and it burns her neck and it hurts so much and she cries and cries and cries and apologizes. Sometimes the person strangling her is a friend, or someone she loves. Or they're standing off to the side, watching her be strangled, doing nothing, looking at her with apathy and annoyance in their expression and walking away even as she reaches for them, begging them to turn around. She always wakes up the second before she dies, hyperventilating and shaking and crying and almost wailing. She claws at her throat and still feels like she can't breathe at first. Often until she bites herself. The pain reminds her she can breathe. Then she takes in giant gulps of breath, like someone who's been underwater for decades. She holds herself as tight as she can, leans over until her forehead is against her mattress and cries until she falls asleep again, exhausted.

It continues like that almost every night until around the start of August. On some nights, if she's lucky, it'll be raining. The nightmares don't come when it rains. This is why she hates summer vacation. Not only will she have to deal with that almost every night, the lack of a routine makes it even worse, and she doesn't even have the luxury of looking forward to be able to talk to someone the next day. Sleeping aids like medication don't work— it just gives her sleep paralysis.

Often, this just translates into her staying up late at night with insomnia, or because she's too afraid of the nightmares to want to even try to fall asleep. She does this quite often even when it's not Summer, as well.

At NRC:

For her and Tomoe, I'll be doing breakdowns of what they did during and in-between the books. Includes spoilers for: Books 1-5 (tiny bit Book 6 and Book 7 too but barely)

Prologue

Unlike Tomoe, who was woken up early by Grim, Irina was woken up at the same time as the other freshman, and went through the ceremony like normal, until it came to her turn, and a wave of confusion swept through the hall when it was found out she was magicless. But it was forgotten as Tomoe soon arrived, following the Headmage. They both ended up in Ramshackle. As Tomoe was older she became Housewarden, and Irina the Vice Housewarden, as Tomoe did not feel safe giving the position to Grim.

As she was cleaning somewhere else at the time, she also wasn't there when Tomoe, Grim and Ace burnt the Queen of Hearts statue, nor for the ensuing detention where the chandelier broke. But Irina used her bunny eyes(basically puppy dog eyes) to convince Crowley to let them try to get the magestone instead of being expelled right away. She wasn't even fully intending to— she really just wanted to ask Crowley about it, and then, feeling bad for Tomoe for being in the same situation as her— homeless, basically, with no way home— she kinda just…accidentally convinced him by saying she was worried for Tomoe, Crowley realizing 'oh shit what if people found out I kicked her out—imagine the lawsuits'. And Irina being genuinely worried enough that it showed on her face was, in part due to being worried for Tomoe herself yes, but mostly she just didn't want to be alone in that big house with just the ghosts. And, somewhere in the back of her mind, she kept thinking that, if Tomoe did actually manage to stay, she would be happy with Irina and like her more. And Irina's people-pleasing is chronic.

Whether or not Irina actually intends her bunny eyes even 50% of the time is up for debate. She's also unconsciously gotten used to always looking like a kicked puppy due to the fact that people underestimating and pitying her has really helped her in life. Not to mention the fact that she's not very good at hiding it when she's feeling something, so her anxiety often shows on her face.

Irina ended up being in the same class as Sebek, and given her experience with people yelling, she did not like the experience one bit, always hoping she'd get a seat as far away from him as possible.

Book 1

During the events of Book 1 she mostly just followed Tomoe around, not speaking much unless she herself was directly adressed. She almost started crying when Riddle yelled at her to wear her tie correctly, which soured her entire perception of him for the rest of the school year, making her scared of him. Though she also ended up somewhat latching onto Trey as one of the few people she felt a little bit less on edge around than others, the only other at that point being Tomoe.

Though in general, she was mostly left to her own devices, since Tomoe, as the Housewarden, is the one Crowley most often calls on to do tasks for him. She hates having so much time to herself, alone, since that's when her bad thoughts strike again. Realizing that Tomoe being so busy meant she wouldn't have time but that Irina did, she ended up applying for a job at Mostro Lounge shortly after Riddle's Overblot, and was hired as a waitress.

In so doing, she became acquainted with Ruggie, the unofficial Savannaclaw Vice-Housewarden, as they happened to have quite a lot of their shifts together, and he was also the one responsible for training her. He was relieved she picked it up rather quickly. It was kinda like they could just...feel, that they were from somewhat similar backgrounds, or at least had similar experiences, so they quickly began to feel a silent kinship with each other.

And during her work, Floyd seemed to take somewhat of an interest in her, giving her the nickname 'Shrimpy' for her short stature, pink hair and general skittishness. He often played pranks on her and tried to get her attention, saying it was because "Your reactions are so funny Shrimpy~ and you're real nice too." However, she seemed to be really good at handling his typical mood-swings, at least compared to most other people, actually taking his emotions seriously and suggesting work-arounds and compromises rather than scolding him whenever he 'just didn't feel like it'. And so Azul decide to put her on 'Floyd duty'. And if she were to admit it, it was...kinda nice. Having someone seem so excited to see her, who'd pick her up and hug her in that bone-crushing way she'd always craved but never had the courage to ask anyone for. She developed a small crush on him as a result. Though, as she did with most things in her life, she tried to ignore it.

Book 2

When Tomoe and Grim were assigned the task of investigating, Irina was mostly occupied with her Mostro Lounge work, feeling it was her way of helping by supplying some kind of income to Ramshackle not entirely dependent on Headmage Crowley. So she went to work, completing her shift, then back to Ramshackle. It didn't leave her with a lot of free time. But she still felt...lonely.

She didn't feel like she was really close to anyone. She was envious of Tomoe for having friends. But at the same time, Irina didn't really want to make any, if that makes sense. It felt like way too much effort for what she expected would be a shallow friendship that ended quickly, like all her other friendships— if it even got to be a friendship at all.

One night she'd just been laying in bed unable to sleep, hearing the distant whispers of her parents fighting at the edges of her mind like usual, and deciding to go outside just to escape the confined room and get some kind of distraction from hearing them. She was incredibly startled hearing someone suddenly call out to her, having been too stuck in her own thoughts to notice him approaching like she usually could. She was honestly scared at first, though mostly as a result of being caught with her guard down, which she usually never was.

But as soon as she properly looked into his eyes, all that fear suddenly seemed to fade away in an instant. She didn't know why, but she suddenly started to feel relaxed in his presence, more so than she usually ever did. And she felt almost sad when he disappeared. But she told herself off for it; that was the first time she'd ever met him after all, and she didn't even know his name. But since he'd said she could call him whatever she wanted...

She'd call him Peridot, after the color of his eyes. 'Peri' for short.

Tomoe's first reaction to the name 'Peri' was to laugh, explaining that it made her think of Perry the Platypus. And once she'd also had the thought, Irina couldn't help but laugh too, 'Peri' being exchanged for 'Perry' in her mind after that point.

Book 3

The influx of new workers after the exams and Irina being close to Tomoe, whom was actively working against him, lead to Azul deciding to fire Irina from her job at the Mostro Lounge. That, and he didn't exactly like her anyway, her timid and in his eyes 'cowardly' behavior reminding him far too much of his younger self for his liking.

She was probably the least distressed out of her, Grim and Tomoe to lose their 'home' at Ramshackle, being so used to nothing in her life ever being the same for very long.

To try to somehow make up for the fact that she was fired from her job, Irina started using the School Cafeteria's kitchen more often, so she'd be able to at least cook for Grim and Tomoe. She felt like if she didn't, she was just a burden on the dorm in general, since food expenses had to cover her, too. And there, she encountered Jamil, the Scarabia Vice Housewarden. She instantly began to see right through his facade. From there she'd end up observing him every time they were both in a room. And he, in turn, did the same. He easily noticed that she seemed tailored her words, moods, reactions and even style of humor to whoever she was talking to at any given moment. And he found he could relate to that— always wearing a mask in front of others— and even admired how well she could adapt the mask to suit the person and context. Once, he asked her about it; how she could so seemingly effortlessly mirror people like that. The question shocked her to her very core. No one had ever noticed that about her before. She didn't really know how to react. So she just said the truth: she had no idea how she did it. she just did. She'd been doing it so long that she'd forgotten when she started, that it was just second nature to her. But she was still surprised he noticed that about her at all, since no one else ever had. And through her revealing more and more just how good at observing others she was, revealed to him everything she'd gathered about him: He was overworked and looking after Kalim against his will, probably due to some larger circumstances that wouldn't just be solved with a long conversation. He was tired of always doing everything everyone else wanted and never being given any support himself. Jamil was shocked that she managed to hit the nail right on the head so well. And also impressed. They started talking more about their observations of other people, and this, for once, seemed to be an area in which she had him beat. She had not only her direct observations, but also a very good sense of intuition and gut feeling, that was rarely ever wrong. But on the whole, their opinions and observations were often quite similar. So they ended up becoming good friends.

She ended up being asked by some Student or other if she'd thought about joining a club yet. She hadn't, not even really knowing which clubs actually existed. And so she decided to take a look to see if anything seemed interesting; she had a lot more free time after being fired from her job anyway. When she saw that there was a 'Gargoyle Appreciation Club' and that it had only one member, she knew instantly who that must be, and decided to join it.

Book 4

She was in a different room from Tomoe and Grim and so didn't try to to escape. And when the others were flung out of the dorm, she was the only one of them who Jamil let stay, even offering to make her his vassal, the Vizier to his Sultan, as a form of 'reward' for being able to recognize his greatness even as he hid it.

(Azul also ends up disliking Irina even more due to now being jealous that she's friends with Jamil while he won't even give Azul the time of day)

When Lilia showed up to give her the postcard, she knew who it must have been from. And so she asked Lilia to wait for a second, rushing into her room to get a box, with a letter attached, which she asked him to give to the sender of the postcard. It was a birthday gift for her friend Peridot; a clay tea pot, its spout designed to look like a little dragon, the handle on the opposite end sculpted into the shape of a scaly tail. The letter contained not only wishes for him to have a happy birthday, but also an explanation of the spout. She wanted to give him a Gargoyle as a gift, but she also wanted to make sure it was an actual Gargoyle, with a clear purpose, rather than just a decorative Grotesque. So she settled on a tea pot! Since it serves as the spout, the 'needs water spout' element of a Gargoyle was cleared, as well.

She wasn't there to see it, but when he got her gift and read the letter, he was so beside himself with joy that for the first time in at least a century, there was sunshine in Briar Valley. Not only was it a birthday gift from his best friend, hand-crafted no less, it was also incredibly thoughtful, proof to him that she'd been listening and paying attention to every single word of all his rambles about his beloved Gargoyles. The next time they met again, before any words could be spoken he quite literally picked her up off the ground and spun her around as a way to say 'thank you'. That was the moment she admitted to herself that she'd fallen in love with him.

He ended up insisting on them drinking at least one cup of tea for all their club meetings after this point, so he got a chance to use it. And he also insisted on the same for every single Housewarden meeting he went to, which he'd started to actually know the times and places of thanks to Irina knowing through Tomoe and telling him. If he'd had any less decorum he would have literally shoved the pot in the face of random people in the halls; he was that happy about it.

Book 5

She took a while to get used to there being people other than her, Tomoe, Grim and the ghosts living in Ramshackle. At first Vil reminded her a bit of how her mother used to be in her calmer moments, and it made her feel uneasy. She was also scared of Rook at first since he kept popping up out of nowhere and she, due to her trauma, gets scared really easily. She's also the one who gives Malleus the tickets to the SDC. For their booth at the cultural festival Irina made a bunch of small clay figurines of Grotesques and then wrote above them the differences between them and Gargoyles, to educate people.

When Tomoe meets Malleus for the first time, she lightly teases Irina, asking "So this is the famous 'Perry the Platypus."' Irina got very embarrassed, and Malleus, eyes wide with surprise, asked if that was meant to refer to him. Irina, face burning with embarrassment, then explains the name and its connection to a certain animated Platypus spy, but also says her nickname for him was actually supposed to be short for Peridot. It ended with Malleus bursting out laughing right then and there, Irina, still embarrassed, saying: "W-was it really that funny?" It then becomes a recurring inside joke of him calling himself 'her platypus friend'.

When Malleus began to fix the stage, not being used to magic and thus a bit scared at first, Irina moved close to his side out of reflex, feeling safer there. It made him really happy to think that for once, not only was there someone who wasn't afraid of him, but she even felt safe around him. Though she became very flustered when she realized she'd been gripping onto his jacket arm.

Book 6

She stays behind at NRC, staying in an unoccupied room at Diasomnia and waiting for Tomoe, Grim and everyone else to come back.

Book 7

I have not yet read Book 7, but! This time it's Irina's time to shine instead of Tomoe! Irina understands why Malleus does what he does, she also hates losing people; that's why she's not going to lose him to his Overblot.

Also, I didn't know where else to include this, but Crewel is her favorite teacher. She wants to do well in his classes and get his approval. She always does her absolute best and asks for clarification from him often to make sure she's doing it right, so an accident doesn't happen, hence why Potionology is her best subject. He praises her careful nature, and it makes her absolutely soar with joy. There's nothing that makes her happier than when she does well and gets a good grade and he pats her head and calls her 'good girl'- which she is one of very few students to hear often. She wishes he was her father. She's come very close to accidentally calling him 'dad' multiple times.

And on the topic of me technically having 2 'Yuu's, here is which events Irina would go to. If there is a Story Event not on this list, assume Tomoe went:

The Phantom Bride: Love at First Fright Twisted Halloween: Terror is Trending A Firelit Sky: Over the Sands The Harveston Sledathon Camp Vargas 2: The Art of Survival Sam's New Year Sale: 2024 (EN server) Glorious Masquerade: Let the Bell of Solace Ring Fairy Gala: Operation Illusive Evolution Twisted Tsumderland 2 Tapis Rouge

More sprites:

Bonus: 'Family' & Friends

Anthony Barret & Diana Barret/Popova

Clover the Plush & 'Clover' the 'imaginary friend'

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 9, Unselfish - Pt. 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mentions of past trauma, Pocket's self esteem issues.

Word Count: 1.8k

Previously On...: Jade's really doing her best in insert herself into Bucky's life. After forgetting all about you when he walked off with her at Central Park, you and Bucky have a talk, and he seems to see where you're coming from. Hopefully, you've reached an understanding.

A/N: FINALLY! Some quality Pepper Potts. I weirdly love writing her, for some reason, and she played a larger part in my original draft of this story, so I am so happy to finally give her some time to shine. To everyone getting hit by the Nor'Easter this weekend, I feel you. Currently snowed in and freezing. It's supposed to be Spring, damnit!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!) @jmeelee @cazellen @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @erelierraceala @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @jupiter-107 @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff

The next day, you called upon the one person you knew had been in your shoes and you hoped could help you make sense of your emotions. You knocked on the door of Pepper’s office, letting yourself in when she called out an invitation to enter.

“Pocket!” She put down the file she was perusing and stood up, walking around her desk to embrace you. “To what do I owe the pleasure, honey?”

“Hey, Pep,” you said, returning her hug with all the affection you felt for her. “Do you have a minute? I was hoping to talk to you about something.”

“For you?” she asked, motioning for you to sit in one of the armchairs that sat near the windows. “Always.” She called for her assistant to bring you both a pot of tea and you made idle small talk while you waited for it to arrive.

“So,” she said once her assistant brought the tea and poured you both a cup, then  departed with orders to hold all Pepper’s calls, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is it business or personal?”

“Personal,” you told her, taking a sip of the Earl Grey.

“Did something happen with you and Bucky?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. “Did he do something?”

“No,” you laughed, though there was no real humor in it. “God, no. Bucky’s been perfect. I’m worried that I’m the problem.” You put your cup down and looked at her. “Pep, when you and Tony first got together, how did you handle it?”

Pepper leaned back in her chair. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific, honey. Tony’s given me a lot to handle over the years.”

You snickered at that. “Yeah, fair enough,” you said. “I guess I’m not really sure how to word this. We both know that, before you, Tony was a… well…”

“A giant slut?” Pepper offered.

“I was going to say something like ‘amorously adventurous’, but yeah, ‘giant slut’ also works,” you said with a laugh. “Even after you two became an official couple, women were still throwing themselves at him. How… how did you deal with it? Sometimes I just get so angry, so jealous, I want to scream. I hate feeling like this.”

Pepper reached across the coffee table and took your hand in hers. “Oh, honey,” she said, her voice conveying her sympathy. “I’m going to tell you something that took me a lot of time and pain to learn: You can’t control what other people are going to do. I won’t lie to you, it wasn’t easy for me. Every woman who made a pass at Tony, I kept thinking ‘she’s prettier, she’s smarter, she’s younger; why would he choose me when he could have any or all of them?’"

“But,” you began, “you’re Pepper Fucking Potts. You’re amazing.” The thought distressed you. If someone as absolutely wonderful as Pepper struggled like that, what hope was there for you?

“That’s what Tony said.” Pepper offered you a wistful smile. “I had to realize that it didn’t matter what any of those other women did, how they threw themselves at him. The only thing that mattered was how Tony reacted to them, and whether or not I trusted him. And I trusted him. So, you have to ask yourself: Do you trust Bucky?”

You nodded fervently. “With my life,” you said.

“No offense,” Pepper began, “but he’s your teammate. Yes, you trust him with your life, but you could say the same about Thor, or Clint, or even Rhodey. Do you trust him with your heart?”

“I do.” There was no ounce of hesitation in your answer, no pause for consideration. You trusted Bucky implicitly, with every fiber of your body and soul.

“Then you have to hold onto that,” Pepper said. “Like I said, you can’t control what other people are going to do, but you can control how you react to them. If you trust Bucky, then why waste your energy worrying about what someone else might do? Especially if you don’t have any doubts about how Bucky feels about you.”

“I know,” you sighed, “but it just feels like it’s so much easier said than done. Like, I know he loves me, but I’m so scared that one day, he’s going to wake up and realize that I’m just not worth it. That he could do so much better. Or that I’m holding him back. Did you know I’m the first person he slept with since the ‘40s?! What if he decides that he wants more? That, even though he loves me, I’m just not enough to keep him satisfied?”

Pepper exhaled and scooted forward in her chair to be closer to you, taking both your hands in hers. “Honey, I might be biased because you’re essentially my sister-in-law and I love you so much, but you are, by far, more than enough. I know you get caught up in your head, and that all of this relationship business is brand new to you, but you’re extraordinary. Look at everything you’ve overcome and where you’ve gotten yourself. Do you know how many people who have been through what you’ve endured would have just given up? Or settled for so much less?”

You halfheartedly shrugged your shoulders. “If it hadn’t been for Tony, though, I–”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Pepper interrupted gently. “Tony just saw what was already inside of you. He saw your drive, your raw talent. He knew you were starting from behind the finish line, and he just provided the resources to help you catch up. If you had been brought up the way you should have been, the way you deserved, with the love and support that parents are supposed to provide, I have no doubt that you would have found yourself here on your own eventually, with or without any assistance from Tony.”

Your throat caught with the weight of Pepper’s words. You held the CEO in the highest esteem, and to hear her speak of you this way filled your heart. “I wish you and Tony had been my real family,” you whispered, hoping to keep the cracks in your voice in check. “I love you both so much.”

Pepper’s face softened. “We might not be your blood family, honey,” she said, her eyes growing glassy with unshed tears, “but never for a minute think we aren’t your real family. You’re the family we chose, just like I hope we’re the family you chose.” You nodded in agreement– they were the family you chose– the entire team was, but Pepper and Tony were special. “I wish you could see what we all see whenever we look at you,” she said.

You swallowed thickly. “I wish I did, too.”

“Can I make an observation?” Pepper asked gently, as though afraid of overstepping. When you nodded, she continued: “Being loved has always been transactional for you. You were never allowed to just be loved for who you were; your sad excuse for a mother and her monster of a boyfriend made you work for it in the most horrible ways imaginable. They gave you less than the bare minimum, and only if they felt you’d earned it from them. That’s no way for a little girl to grow up. And it breaks my heart, because now that you’re surrounded by people who love you for you, and a man who would literally die for you, who sees no other woman than you, you’ve been so conditioned to think that, if you’re not actively working to earn that love, you don’t deserve it. And Pocket, honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. You make all of our lives better just by being in them.”

You looked down at where she still held your hands in hers. God, you wanted to believe her. She made it sound so fucking easy.

As if sensing your hesitation, Pepper went on: “I’m going to make a recommendation,” she said. “I’m making it not just as your friend, but as a sister and your boss, because I think it would be beneficial in all aspects of your life right now. You’re free to do with the recommendation whatever you like; I only ask that you seriously consider it.”

You looked at her, anxiety beginning to course through you as you ran through all the possibilities of what she could possibly have to say. You nodded for her to continue.

“I want you to consider getting yourself back into therapy,” she said, gently squeezing your hand. “We can all tell you how wonderful you are, how worthy of love, until we’re blue in the face, but it’s not going to do any good until you actually believe it.”

You looked down, ashamed to meet her eye. You had been in therapy for years while you were in college and when you first started working for Stark Industries, but you’d prided yourself on your progress and had stopped attending sessions a long time ago.

“I know you’re private when it comes to your past,” Pepper continued, “and that you don’t want anyone thinking less of you or pitying you because of what you’ve been through, but honey, it’s not healthy for you to go on this way. You’re in a whole new phase of your life right now that should be filling you with joy, but you’re unhappy. I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, or to make you feel like you can’t handle it, but don’t you think it would be good to have some help? Maybe you could talk to Tony about accessing his Virtual Therapy program. That way, you’re not divulging your secrets to a real person, but you’re still getting the help you need.”

You looked at her, considering her suggestion. It had a lot of merit, and you wouldn’t have to open up to an actual person, just FRIDAY. And Tony had created it, had trusted it with his own issues, so you knew the system would be secure, and just as good, if not better, than speaking to a human therapist.

“Yeah, okay,” you finally agreed. “I’ll talk to Tony and see what we can set up.”

The relief on Pepper’s face was palpable as she stood, pulling you up so she could embrace you again. “You’re so important to me, Pocket,” she whispered. “To all of us. None of us want to see you trapped in your head. You don’t deserve that.”

“Thanks, Pep,” you said, squeezing her back. “I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

“I am, too, honey,” Pepper said, stepping back and releasing her hold on you. She brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen into your face. “Anytime you need anything, you know where to find me.”

You nodded, thanked her again, and made your way out of her office. Once back in the hallway, you pulled out your cell phone, dialing Tony’s number. 

“Hey, kiddo,” he answered. You could hear the sounds of DUM-E extinguishing something in the background; he was obviously down in his lab, setting something on fire. “What can I do for you?”

“Hey, Boss,” you began, taking a deep breath, “I need to ask a favor…”

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->

[semi-imaginary-place]

1 more chapter to go then we will have all 108. Phos was turned into a perfect human, but all humans are imperfect, to be a perfect human is to be imperfect. The professor said to burn the bridge back to humanity so that the new inorganic lifeforms could begin a new society free of the taint of humanity and I begin to wonder if that was impossible from the start. Much in the way Adamant taught the gems with their incomplete knowledge of humanity and how to live, Phos and Brother have guided the Pebbles in creating language and culture and just like Adamant none of it was intentional or done with malice.

I like many others found the Phos death scene to be extremely emotionally evocative, beautiful in how those pages blend the literal dissolution of Phos' body by the plasma of the dying sun with the metaphorical stripping away the years of Phos' existence as we the audience reflect back on his journey.

"You will change beyond all understanding, but something of you will remain." (The Memory - Fallen London)

"as different as they are now, some important things have not changed. this is hinted to us in 99, with the parallels it draws between the beginning of the story and where we are now (black panels with the same layout as the very first panels of the manga, and Phos lying in the grass, jobless, for who knows how long until someone calls out to them)... they still do not value their own existence and therefore take the message of “burn the bridge” to confirm their desire to erase their existence along with humanity’s. they fear making the pebbles "human" like them and bringing them the suffering that comes with that. however, i believe Phos has already given humanity to the pebbles. through their influence (both passive and intentional) the pebbles are intelligent, communicate with language, and create art- they make songs, dance, and tell stories. they are nothing but kind to Phos and each other, because Phos is nothing but kind to them. Phos is afraid of their human influence on the pebbles causing them harm, but their influence has brought everyone nothing but happiness, because they are "a kind child" who raised these other "children" to be kind as well, just as Pebble suggests in 106. this kindness and innocence inherent to Phos is contained within their gem heart." (flayote)

Unlike flayote, I agree more with CrashDunning in that I do not think Phos and the Pebbles have reached some glorious better life and have escaped the sufferings and evils of humanity, humans have not reached redemption because redemption is meaningless here. The gems and Lunarians chose the easy way out of being prayed to instead off passing on through their own efforts to better themselves like Shiro or the game board did.

The new planet is not some glorious heaven/pure land, it was always a part of the current universe. Things are the same as they were before. The world of flowers was not the Lunarians intended destination planet, Brother went off course, they were never suppose to land on that planet, that just happened to be the planet they ended up on. In ch 107 the gems in the flowers and the Pebbles likewise represent how the Lunarians and gems failed to achieve true enlightenment and are still stuck in the same universe being recycled over and over, but that is not such a bad thing, just how things are. There is both inescapable beauty and pain to existence. After a lot of imagery of failed enlightenment and an empty lotus pod, in ch 107 the lotus pod is finally filled with seeds, it has fulfilled it's lifecycle and will continue to be reborn.

So despite everything changing beyond recognition, Phos and sentient life itself, it all also remains the same.

[saelterlude]

welcome to lc musical list pt7, long one bcs i've been stalling lmao (special thanks to the musical gang over at the 18+ lc discord for being the only reason im up to date whilst sick <3)

(pt.1, pt.2, pt.3, pt.4, pt.5, pt.6 here)

103. 04/05/2024 day, yall Shu Rongbo and Zhu Hanbin duo is here(shortest-shortest duo lol), my two favorite voices and theyre good together plss I want more of them. theres also sulky SRB refusing to get up on the table after getting pushed off by ZHB aaaand disastrous clap lol.

(also, it's srb lg completion day. congrats on being the first cxs who has played with all lg) (nvm, not anymore! theres 2 new lg actors lmao, srb is still the closest to completion though)

104. 05/05/2024 day, back to back Zhu Hanbin clip but most importantly, it's LG UPPIESS CLIP PLSSS Wang Yifei lifting up ZHB is perfection, they cute. also, chaotic bow lmao, ZHB just wanted to fix WYF's sprout.

105. 05/05/2024 day, same performance as above, have WYF getting bullied by ZHB into announcing his lost in basketball today (15:1 lmao)

106. 05/05/2024 night, right after ZHB bullied WYF 15:1, Teng Chunpeng came out with 101 points. What the actual fuck man. So have this rare encore of him being tired and less energetic than usual.

107. Basketball highlights week 1, simba Shu Rongbo, mad Jing Yanqiao, Du Guangyi scored with one hand, Ding Xingchen lost his shoe too. and many many others.

108. Basketball highlights week 2, 110 points Teng Chunpeng, summersault Du Guangyi, cheating Wang Minhui. Zhu Hanbin continues to ignore his opponent, he only got goals on his mind.

109. Extra behind the scenes, bcs i wanna point out, on 00:45 Du Guangyi talked about how tempted he was to score a goal during the slow part of the song. On the week 2 highlight (#108, 1:50) he gives in to temptation, and fails to score a single goal lol.

Du Guangyi is the true basketball god btw. he makes the best shots and whomever he picks to win, win.

110. More BTS vids, Wang Minhui is a basketball failure <3, especially whenever he's going against Bai Zhuoming.

111. 18/05/2024 day, Cai Qi and Wang Minhui have a shoelace fight lmao

112. 20/05/2024, It's Cai Qi and Wang Minhui again! This time they're having a puppy boxing fight. Yes, I meant that quite literally.

113. 18/05/2024 night, I think Shu Rongbo was particularly salty about losing(6:8) to Guo Hongxu this day lol.

114. Basketball highlights week 3, Shu Rongbo gets whacked, Bai Zhuoming backwards shot, Teng Chunpeng high pitched screams, and more!

115. 25/05/2024 day and 03/06/2024, have a pair of Guo Hongxu and Ji Xiaokun mic-cupping shenanigans.

116. 24/05/2024, This!!! The most tender hug, head cradle by Teng Chunpeng and Wu Yihan. WYH in general is very giggly this performance its so nice to see. TCP, ofc brags abt his basketball skills at the end and WYH just pushes him out lol. There's Zhang Jiahao sneak pillow attack too.

117. 01/06/2024 night, Wang Minhui and Cai Qi fighting on the table again? nothing new. Wu Hanglu (half successful attempt at) pushing them both off the table though? That's new.

118. 02/06/2024, Wu Hanglu rightfully hunts down Guo Hongxu after he introduces her as Deng Xianling lmao. it's the LG curse to struggle with names.

119. 03/06/2024, "rock, paper, scissors is boring. we should spice it up, whoever lose gets slapped"- probably Guo Hongxu and Ji Xiaokun backstage. Twice, during People Pursuing Light and the RPS song.

120. Basketball highlights week 4, Ding Xingchen scoring with his shoes?? what's with him and shoes. Sulky Ji Xiaokun. Zhu Hanbin's basketball skill is like Du Guangyi without the nonchalance and effortless look. Wang Yifei and Guo Hongxu 0:0 gameplay.

Closing this list with (the last?) basketball highlight we're gonna get. And at 120, pretty number. Next list, we're starting with Guo Hongxu in orange, 3 new actor debuts (theyre really good btw), the return of hug pioneers WYH-SRB duo, and maybe (based on how long the list gets) the debut of TCP-ZHB duo (aka tallest-shortest). So look forward to that!

[quincywillows]

a scattered and overall supportive review of percy jackson season 1

let me just say first of all, it's extremely fun to be enthused about a tv show like this again. the adaptation isn't perfect, but it's a lot of fun, and you can tell there's plenty of heart and good intention behind what they're doing. i'm very much enjoying tuning in every couple of episodes and catching up -- and avoiding the relentless commentary of the internet while i do so lol.

but now it's time for MY commentary!! to preface, i was a huge fan of the books when i was younger, am a stalwart long-term advocate of the original five books as some of the best children's lit of our lifetime, but i also enjoyed the films a decade ago for what they were and think people (including cough rick cough) are way too harsh about them. justice for logan lerman. anyway

i'm not going to do like a play-by-play, but in summary, here are my takeaways from the first season -- what i thought worked, what did not, and things i'm optimistic about going into the future seasons.

the good

for an adaptation of the original series (which, to be fair, i have not reread in years), i felt this was honest and faithful. there were tweaks, obviously, but none that took me too out of it or felt irredeemable. there was a lot to like about this show, so i want to start right from the top with my highest highs.

the worldbuilding / production design. i absolutely loved getting to see how they imagined certain iconic characters, locations, and sequences from the books. it was so exciting to get to see camp halfblood for the first time on screen (at least, in this adaption) -- that moment in episode two definitely felt like a turning point where we picked up from the somewhat laggy pilot episode. i especially loved the design of mount olympus, aspects of the underworld (hades and his upside down castle were baller, though how did percy and grover get up there lol; and i absolutely loved the choice for asphodel and the ghosts being rooted like trees, i never would've thought of that myself but it was so chilling and unique... just wish i could see it better through the terrible lighting, but we'll come back to that), and of course, camp. even down to the small details, like the camp beads... it's just very cool to see it come to life.

the casting. i wasn't sure about some of the casting when the news was breaking, but i'm very happy to have been pleasantly surprised all around (and have majorly avoided people bitching about every single thing). there wasn't any role where i felt like someone was horribly miscast, and you could tell that everyone involved really wanted to be there and committed. i thought the casting of the gods was especially inspired at times. some of the highlights for me personally:

adam copeland as ares. i had no idea he was apparently a wrestler turned actor until my sister told me, but i thought he was absolutely spectacular. very charismatic, with just the right amount of cringefail that ares needed. i found him thoroughly enjoyable in all his scenes.

lance reddick as zeus. having just played horizon zero dawn recently, oh my lorde was this an inspired choice. he was absolutely brilliant. i'm so so sad about his passing, i don't know how they're going to recapture his performance, but i have faith now that they'll find a way.

timothy omundson as hephaestus. i love that they took a softer, more mad scientist approach to his role than like ugly basement blacksmith vibes... i just thought it was really refreshing. his scene with annabeth, where we got so much humanity from him in such a short span of time, was one of my favorite scenes of the season.

jason mantzoukas as dionysus. i mean. what else can be said. obvious choice, but he was so fun lol. i hope they give him more to do next season.

other standouts beyond the main youth cast for me were jay duplass as hades (his brief appearance in 107 was thoroughly enjoyable) and dior goodjohn as clarisse (she was by far the acting standout of the first couple episodes to me). also very happy to see jessica kennedy parker and sinclair from the 100 get work, lol.

walker as percy jackson. it was really wonderful watching walker grow as an actor even just through the first eight episodes. the difference from 101 to 108 is almost night and day. you can tell how much he cares about the project and percy as a character, and he upped his game with every episode. i cannot wait to see what he turns out in the coming seasons. to be fair, i thought all of the youth cast did a decent job, and i'm giving them a lot of leeway and room to grow since they are literally child actors -- it takes time to hone your craft, and im optimistic they're all going to do a great job as the series goes on. but walker was, definitively and thankfully as the protagonist, the standout.

charlie bushnell as luke. i was so excited when i heard he got cast because i loved him in diary of a future president, and he did not disappoint. i kind of wish he had more to do, but all of that was forgiven in the finale when he had his final confrontation with percy. oh, the acting popped off then -- i can't wait for him to get to chew up the scenery more in the coming seasons.

grover and percy's friendship. it was so sweet to see this come alive, and i thought walker and aryan had excellent natural chemistry together. they were so endearing, and i really believed their friendship basically from the start (them swapping their sandwich fillings is a tiny detail from the pilot that has stuck with me since; i just loved that choice so much). they definitely provided a lot of my favorite moments in the season, and i think evoked the most genuine "aw wow" moments from me.

percy's relationship with sally. since sally was, understandably, absent from the original novel, it was awesome to get the flashbacks here that allowed us to more deeply understand their bond. i thought walker and virginia did a great job with this, and the young actor who played little percy also did a surprisingly great job (he was actually one of the stronger youth actors in the pilot imo lol). you totally understood why percy was doing everything he was, because that mother-son bond felt believable. big shout-out to the absolutely baller line "i am sally jackson's son." one of the first writing moments where i was like oh snap!

the music. a good score really can't be understated, and this one did not disappoint. did just what it needed to do. i also loved the closing title sequence and the art direction there with the epic music -- just such a nice touch that i'm so glad they included.

some of the writing. i'll get more into some of my qualms with the writing below, but there were definitely some great moments that deserve their flowers. i thought they did a great job weaving in some early themes without being heavy-handed about it (percy having to define who he is for himself, mostly). there were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh out loud, including "i am impertinent," annabeth's "i'm multitalented," and the entire exchange on the road side when the trio to ares are like no... we're fine... ahaha bye... oh and percy trying to drive the taxi out of the garage at the casino was absolutely hysterical.

pivotal scenes hitting their mark. when the show needed to deliver, i thought they really delivered. i absolutely loved the staging and acting in the final luke and percy confrontation -- the lighting of the fireworks was such a cinematic touch. percy's arrival at olympus and scene with zeus was also a big standout. i loved a lot of the st. louis arch episode, and thought the hephaestus golden chair sequence was really well done. overall, the episodes i thought were strongest were without a doubt 104, 105, and 108.

expansion where expansion was welcome. one of my favorite aspects of the series is how it's giving more nuance to the monsters and "villains" of the books. i loved that we got a little more motivation for alecto beyond evil -- that she clearly wanted to accomplish her own mission and retrieve the helm, whether out of loyalty or fear. i loved how medusa got much more depth and humanity, that we're sort of reexamining the fairness of how myths are told rather than just taking it all at face value. i'm really looking forward to seeing how that continues in the next seasons.

the decent

percy and annabeth. to be fair, i think my issue with this is more on the fan reaction than the show itself. i think the show is doing a decent, if somewhat awkwardly paced job, of building their friendship and offering small little hints of what could blossom in the future in classic youth awkward ways -- unexpected hugs, banter, etc. i think walker and leah are both doing a good job, and i look forward to seeing how it develops. but my god, people on the internet are really jumping the shark so hard here. i can't handle seeing more "uwu percy is in love" posts when it's like. y'all. THEY ARE 12. THEY JUST MET. LET THEM ORGANICALLY BECOME FRIENDS FIRST... i just hope the creators don't feed into that and also jump the shark. like yes, we all know where this is going, but can't we enjoy the actual journey to get there instead of forcing what isn't there yet? in any case, on the positive side, some of the moments between them i really enjoyed: the conversation on the train when grover was asleep, the hephaestus chair sequence, annabeth giving him her camp beads before going to olympus (that was a slay... that was a legendary slow burn start moment worth hyping up), the way percy smiled at her in their last scene... that's the good stuff. let's not rush through what we're getting folks. the water is fine.

lin manuel as hermes. here is the thing. i thought lin did a good job. i thought his casting was apt, and fun, and he did a great balance of hermes charisma and like, a darker edge. it's just... the thing about lin manuel is that he's lin manuel. and this is coming from someone who likes him, but it's like he shows up on screen and i'm just like. hey it's lin manuel. it's a bit of a "takes you out of the moment" stunt casting, but i'm not mad about it. i wouldn't call it a bad thing. hopefully it'll wear off (though i doubt it). i guess i'm just deciding that hermes is just lin manuel, which honestly, would kind of track.

the youth acting. mentioned this above, but again, some of that early delivery was rough. but i am giving a lot of grace, and i think they've already improved plenty in the first eight episodes. i felt the same way about shadowhunters back in the day when i thought kat mcnmara was hard to watch in season 1, but by season 3 she was my absolute favorite cast member and came so far. i have no doubt these kiddos will do the same. so very much looking forward to that.

the not so great

the pacing. this was definitely the weakest part of the story writing wise. it wasn't irredeemable, but it did hinder the first half of the show (which didn't lock in for me until about 104, when the stakes truly shot up at st. louis). and that also affected how dynamics and plot points were able to unravel. the biggest victim of this...

the luke reveal. from the start, i was worried about this. since luke was only really in episode 2, i had doubts about whether the reveal of his betrayal would be at all satisfying or earned. i don't know that i can speak on it for sure, since i knew what was going to happen as someone who read the books, but i still feel we should have gotten more of those luke-and-percy-bonding scenes and convos earlier in the series rather than tacked onto the finale as flashbacks. it worked there, but i think it could've been better. thankfully, all of that didn't hinder the delivery of the finale confrontation, which as i said, was a standout moment for me.

the fight scenes. with rare exception, i was pretty underwhelmed with many of the monster battles and confrontations this season. given that's such a huge gimmick of the novels, i hope they're able to revisit and polish up the pacing of these in the future... i just felt that scenes like the museum clash with dodds were so rushed and anticlimactic. or not even confrontations at all, like the scene with crusty. we got a bit more of this at the back half of the season, in the sword fights with ares and luke, but i wanted more of that epic feeling throughout. i'm hoping it's maybe just a budget concern and that it'll improve in the coming seasons -- especially as the bosses get bigger and the stakes get higher -- but i'm not sure i'm optimistic just yet.

some of the dialogue. it was... wooden, to say the least. i think the worst moments of this were when they were trying to force Kid Bants -- which just felt stilted in the earlier episodes -- and whenever they were explaining greek myths point blank to the audience. there were moments it worked, but many where it didn't, and i hope they flesh out how to better info dump in the future episodes. i didn't mind the change of having percy be more familiar with the myths and thus more aware, but they could afford to finesse how they relay that information to us in the audience without basically reading from wikipedia in percy's voice.

the ugly

oh my god i can't see. i can't SEE. this show went to the teen wolf academy of employing one lightbulb and it's actually criminal. there were so many scenes where i really wanted to see what was happening because the stakes were high or the scenery was so pivotal -- the entry into the underworld for the first time, the vastness of medusa's basement of stone, THE FIELDS OF ASPHODEL -- but the lighting was so god awful i legitimately couldn't see a thing. in asphodel i literally could barely see the trio's expressions, it was that bad / flat. the audience is smart, we understand it's dark out. we can suspend our disbelief so you can add some visibility to this thing. i was turning up my brightness constantly but it wouldn't go any higher. please, disney execs, rick, anyone -- GET ANOTHER LIGHTBULB. i'm losing key immersive aspects of the show to this and it's a bummer. when they were walking through waterland for the first time and annabeth was like "wow can you believe this craftsmanship" i was like i don't know, girl, I CAN'T SEE ANY OF IT. begging on my knees that they fix this next season.

well, that ended up longer than expected, but oh my gods it is so nice to be writing paragraphs about a tv show again. all in all, i'd say 7.5/10 from me in this first season. there's so much to be keen for here, and i'm really happy with how it's going so far.

friends and fellow demigods, what did we all think?