#i have two of them. and I have an even bigger biology book for when I eventually increase weights

[spearxwind]

I mentioned a while ago that ive been working out at home with random junk including a toolbox, I think I should let you guys know that another of the things i use for weight lifting is a heavy book about the ocean

[merakiui]

MEEEEERRRRAAAAAAA AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH aksndlbwibfecw flwqnbefdobqljqlecf

Winters woes is so fucking good!!! Hits all my fav questionable tropes Breeding dub-con and yandere. I'm eating good tonight!!!! Thank you for writing this piece of art!!! I adore all your work and literally get so excited when i see you post something.

God whenever eggs come up in your works i can't decide on the size of those babies. Are they massive things like the size of pool balls (or even bigger 🥴) or maybe its the the size of a marble just so that they can absolutely stuff the mc with hundreds of eggs..... please tell me what Azul's Floyd's and Jade's eggs look like and maybe Malleus since hes the only other I can think might have eggs.

Brain rot idea that Jade doesn't get MC pregnant this time so next season his body goes into over time to make a ridiculous amount of eggs... so many that even in his human form you can see a few odd looking curves and indents around his pelvis...

Also could i be ™️anon if its not taken

AAAA THANK YOUUUU!!!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ I'm so happy you enjoyed Winter Woes!!!!

Omg eggs,,,, there's so much potential for all sizes!!! If we wanted to be close to real-life biology, eel and octopus eggs are very small in size and come in very plentiful amounts. Since many sea creatures produce and lay lots of eggs because very few fry actually survive, it's a fun route to go with the trio. <3 giving you lots of small eggs (which only grow bigger as the fry develop inside until it comes time to lay) just to ensure that, out of the many they've stuffed inside you, at least one will survive life's lottery.

Hehe Jade making so many eggs in his next season just to be certain he'll have a baby (or two or three) with you......... yes yes!!!!! It's also cute to imagine tako full of eggs. >w< desperate to have you fertilize them,,,,, orz orz so many thoughts.......

As for Malleus!!!! (spoilers for book seven beneath the cut)

Seeing as this is the size of the egg he hatched from:

It's safe to say the eggs are bigger than the trio's. ;;;;;; it's more of a bird situation rather than soft, small, and gelatinous mer eggs. This egg is hard shell, so perhaps there's only room in your human womb for a few. I remember reading something in relation to book seven that the egg will only hatch if it is given love??? Maybe it's wrong, but it's fun to consider so many failed attempts to have a child with you and nothing's working because you can't love the child your kidnapper has put inside you....... aaaaa the angst,,, T^T

In any case, all egg sizes are delicious. („ᵕᴗᵕ„)

[digo3d]

I am going to spit out some random ass headcanons cos it's been a minute and you have no choice but to watch (a long list as a treat)

T.C. definitely goes to the spa and gets a mani pedi and gets acrylic claw caps sometimes to make his claws look bigger cos that's a status symbol in alley cat culture and also because he likes the clicky clacky sounds (this is based off a dream I had)

T.C.'s ashcan is like Snoopy's doghouse where it's small on the outside but it's impossibly roomy on the inside he's got a whole king sized bed in there complete with a mini fridge, sink, and wardrobe

Benny was falsely accused of murder at one point and T.C. and Dibble had to tag team to convince everyone that Benny is as harmless as a teddy bear (because he is)

If you're aware of the theory of Cadwallader being Benny's brother and since Benny's Ma is Benjamin B. Ball Senior I'm saying that Benny's father is Cadwallader Ball Senior

Chooch's kidneys really like to beef with him so the last time he went to the vet they sent him home with a prescription for urinary kibble that he has to eat at least once a day. Spook made a little kibble bowl for him and Fancy painted it as sort of an inside joke but Chooch eats his kibble out of that bowl religiously

Related to the last one, the gang keeps score of Chooch vs. His Kidneys. His kidneys are winning currently (this is based of my Sims game of the lads and also because Siamese cats are more prone to kidney problems also he looks like he has kidney problems)

Spook can breakdance like a fucking boss and tbh this should be canon he will fuck you up in a dance battle and he will do it with ease

Spook has %100 slept for at least two days straight and when he woke up he was the most confused man alive for a solid 15 minutes. The gang kinda thought he was dead tbh

If you dare put ANYTHING near Spook's face his first instinct is always to bite. ALWAYS. This includes food, sticks, hands, etc. Dibble nearly lost a finger once by pointing at him accusingly after having caught him for vandalism

Spook is a graffiti artist and usually paints on buildings where he knows the owner is a dickhead to piss them off. A few store owners have actually offered him money to paint murals on their stores

Addon to that last one, Chooch paints as well. He's more of a canvas guy but has also been offered money to paint murals, although his are a lot more intricate and time consuming than Spook's

I like to imagine that Fancy is actually a huge fucking dork when he's not being a suave playboy, he especially dances like one (he does the sprinkler unironically in The Movie) he actually loves country music, and he's just a little goofy in general

Fancy's always fiending for chocolate despite him having a food sensitivity to it. He's also a huge foodie and has a hard time holding himself back when presented with good quality food. When he was younger he had to really think about it to contain himself but he's gained a lot more self-control since then

He's also one of those people that gets hangry so usually when he's moody one of the gang will ask him if he's had anything to eat and the answer is usually no because Fancy's usually well-tempered unless someone insults the gang, his grandmother, or himself

Fancy has absolutely opened a can of whoop-ass on a few people for mocking Brain's mental disabilities and he'd gladly do it again at the drop of a hat

Brain absolutely loves learning even if it takes him longer to do so. He loves doing little science experiments and T.C. has occasionally distracted him with books about various scientific topics like outer space, biology, geology, and chemistry. He's actually better at reading than the rest of the gang contrary to what one would believe, but has to stop and process what he's read occasionally

Brain is very difficult to get genuinely angry. Most of the time you'd irk him at most and he'd just give you the silent treatment but he has snapped at T.C. a few times and really yelled at him for a few reasons, mostly for underestimating him

God forbid you ever get him mad enough to attack you, because then almost nothing can get him off. When he was younger he finally got fed up with his worst bully and mauled him so bad to the point of disfigurement. And he didn't even bite him then, if he bites you he's definitely taking a chunk of you with him as a souvenir (because of those canines I've talked about before)

Brain is a fiend for muffins, his favorite being almond poppyseed muffins. He gets so excited to eat them he sniffs them aggressively before running off to a secluded spot to eat them. He sniffed one so hard he got an almond slice up his nose one time and didn't even notice until he blew his nose later

Bagels too. Loves bagels. Sesame bagels are his favorite. Hates the cinnamon raisin ones though.

And here we're gunna have some HC specifically based around laughter

Spook and Fancy have THE LOUDEST laughs when they're together. Spook usually wheezes loudly for an extended period of time before absolutely SCREAMING and cackling like a dying seagull and Fancy has this very hearty belly laugh and he also snorts when he laughs, which only makes the both of them laugh louder. They have in fact been kicked out of restaurants for laughing way too loud.

Brain's definitely one of those people who usually doesn't laugh very loud but will absolutely HONK if he laughs loudly enough. He also giggles something similar to the Scooby laugh.

T.C. will either freeze when he laughs or he falls over. No in between. He does not laugh like a normal person. He giggles and chuckles just fine though

In addition to Chooch's goofy little 'muhuhuhuhuh' he does sort of an oddly maniacal 'MUAHAHAHAHA'. As you can see, all of his funny hahas start with an 'M' sound.

Benny sounds like squeaky toy when he laughs and he really puts his whole body into it so it also looks like he's being squeezed like a squeaky toy

Dibble sounds like a duck when he laughs. Y'know the WAUGHKAUGHKAUGHKAUGHKAUGHKAUGH

Anyways yeah I bet you all are sick of me well too bad go take some antibiotics and call me when you feel better 💃

[xjumbled-up-brainx]

Could you tell us more about the Vegimal Reflection Theory? You're the first person I've heard talk about it. Who are reflections of who? I think the theory is pretty dang interesting.

Why thank you for asking it reminded me! (Again if someone has already said this out there in the octo-community just lemme know!^^) And mind you, my thing is theorizing/writing and reading wayyyy too far into things😎👍

So the Vegimal Reflection Theory is as follows:

The Vegimals in the Octonauts TV series, aside from Tunip, are completely new and not featured in the original books. This being that the show creators had to formulate new animal/veggie combos as well as give these new characters personalities, as Vegimals in the books were not often singled out(and there are far more in the books compared to the show). The Vegimals are more comedic relief, fun little side guys for laughs. While this is true, they need some character of their own, something that sets them apart from the main more serious Octonauts crew. Something to complement the shows intensity to better suit the young audience, ergo, reflection theory. This theory means that every vegimal is the opposite or reflection of one of the main characters, even tho the numbers don’t match up some can double:

1. Tunip : Shellington and Barnacles : Tunip is actually classified as one of the 8 Octonauts, though never really referred to as one except for merchandise. The biggest episode for Tunip’s complement to Shellington is the Immortal Jellyfish, being more in control and on top of things. Tunip is the “captain” of the vegimals, and we see Tunip bonding with Barnacles in above and beyond. Because Tunip is one of the Octonauts, the reflection theory is bended to more of a representation factor.

2. Tominnow : Kwazii : I’ve talked about this one before, as it was what originally tipped me off to this theory. We see Tominnow check on Kwazii’s room and drive the Gup B in A Very Vegimal Christmas, an episode I used for the first initial bases of evidence for all of em. I’ve talked about how I think Kwazii is FTM transgender, and how Tominnow being a reflection is MTF, it also works with the biology of minnows and the likeliness of vegimal siblings. Kwazii is also very brave, courageous, self confident, while Tominnow is more shy, quiet, a little clumsy. This pair along with Tunip is also in the Barracuda Episode.

3. Grouber : Peso : This is almost an inverted version of the last one. Grouber is the biggest and strongest vegimal, while Peso is smaller and shies away from attention or taking up space. Again partnering with the last one, Kwazii and Peso are often seen together as a good duo, the same with Grouber and Tominnow. Grouber helps Tominnow accomplish bigger tasks, and Tominnow is more of the brains and softer/caring side. Similarly to their complement.

4. Barrot : Tweak : This one is more obvious on a surface level, the Bunny’s opposite is their favorite snack, a carrot. There isn’t as much here as the others, but I suppose Barrot is known for being very speedy, while Tweak is more hardworking at a get-it-right-the-first-time pace. My main point is just the physical opposition, I think they are secret mortal enemies (animators I need a fight scene between these two to the song Flight of the Bumblebee lmao, the reason Barrot is speedy is that they must be ready when the fated day arrives)

5. Codish: Inkling and Dashi : Dashi was the hardest character to place, I’ve always thought Dashi needs more development and doesn’t have an overarching character trait to define her by, but Codish fit the most. Dashi is very much in control, on top of things, acting as the IT Officer and Photographer, one of the only people who knows how to operate the Octopod it seems. Inkling is similar but different, wise and knowledgeable of creatures and topics of his interest, but we saw in RoF he has no idea how to work the Octopod. Codish is a more scatterbrained or clumsy character, typically causes silly problems. This relates because being the reflection of two contrasting characters would cause a jumble of character traits, and Codish lacks the control, precision, general knowledge of the two. Also yes I see the color scheme similarities, I suppose that helps solidify it more with this being the weakest one I’d say lol.

Again, these are just my thoughts with the little veggie guys, I luv em very dearly ^^ To summarize, each Vegimal is an opposite/complement of 1-2 of the main Octonauts crew, as seen through their personalities across multiple episodes.

[go-river-flows]

Welcome back to the Avatar Programme

Part 10 of 13

Summary: Things are ramping up to the war arc of the story, but before that, relationships are being defined.

Warning:A little bit of fluff(?), a little bit of angst(?), A little bit of tears falling(?)

A/N: We're going into the double digits now.

A few weeks after my conversation with Tsu’tey. I had arrived back to Hell’s Gate. I had moved into another bigger room where I had more space to keep some books. I made another easy Dummies Guide to Na’vi for Lyle and anyone else who wanted one. Spending more time of my time with Lyle than my own colleagues. He even taught me how to samba and the flamenco which was quite interesting, also learning that I two left feet. Whenever we had free time, we would find a quiet space where we could cuddle in comfortable silence.

   When Jake completed his rites of passage to claim his ikran in the Hallelujah Mountains, Lyle had finished reading about every types of pandora flora. Even when were lying in bed together he would read reports to keep up with my research, though he had his duties to the Colonel and chores. I feel like something in him has changed, something even Colonel Quaritch didn't see coming. 

As Grace started forwarding me video footage of places on Pandora through the cams, I would look into it. And when the research came in for the Tree of Souls, I was intrigued, having never seen it as it is unrevealed to outsiders. Norm started talking to me again, Jake too. I think maybe, they were beginning to understand my relationship. Maybe they forgave me. 

“Oel ngati kameie,” Jake greeted. Lyle’s eyes widened, as did mine. 

I was having a late night video call with Jake in my bedroom when Lyle came in, greeting me with a kiss on my cheek. I think Jake had come to accept our relationship, especially since that night when I spilled my heart out. I hadn't forgiven them for that. But I didn't tell Lyle about it either, I didn't want to dump all my trauma on him. 

“Oel ngati kameie,” Lyle returned to Jake, perfect pronunciation and all. “It's good to see you man,” he gave a small smile. But I think I can forgive them now.

When Lyle went into the bathroom, Jake spoke again.

“I never really apologised to you that night. I kept thinking about it. I think Tommy would've wanted you to move on,” he gave a sympathetic smile.

“I should apologise to you too. We didn't really talk about it, I just kept it in. I shouldve pulled you aside and just talked, but you know me. Always quiet until I burst,” I smirked, admitting to my faults averting my eyes.

“I think that's what makes you strong,” I looked up at him in awe, “admitting to it. Even when you keep things bottled up. You don't want others to worry. I get it, I was like that too…before Pandora. Before…all this. I'm glad I met you, Tommy would be happy that we met,” he had a genuine smile on his face. He looked just like Tommy, I smiled back too. Finally peaceful and free from melancholy.

After that call, I was ready to be intimate with Lyle. He didn't want to pressure me for it before, but now I was ready. Though I don't want to get into details about it, he was gentle and passionate. His kisses were heated yet soothing. I hadn't realised how long I had went without being pleasured until that moment. And after, he was just as attentive, cleaning me off with a damp towelette before we cuddled. Rubbing small circles on my hip as he lay spooning me.

*

The next day at the canteen. As I sat with Lyle with Zdinarsk were sat together talking about Na’vi’s and their characteristics, mostly about the biology, by which I mean sexual organs which was a weird conversation, but only because Zdinarsk asked so I felt obliged to answer her questions. 

“We were asked to submit our DNA samples yesterday and also to record some weird crap, apparently it's for a future project…project…uh?–” Zdinarsk rambled, forgetting the name of the project.

“Project Pheonix,” Lyle took a bite of his bread, spitting it back out, “Damn stale bread.” 

*

A few days later I joined Grace at Hometree, as one of the witnesses to Jake becoming part of the Omatikaya Clan, becoming a Na’vi man. We stood a distance away watching the na’vi become one as they joined hands. Grace couldn't help but cry a little. We joined in their celebration as the festivities began. The drinks and dancing as music played in the background. Watching Jake drink with his brothers and sisters. 

“I missed this,” Grace mumbled, “Celebrations like this remind me of earth.” She nudged my knee with hers. “Why don't you try being one of the people too?” She leaned towards me.

“Me? Oh no, I couldn't,” I shook my head, my eyes finding Jake as Neytiri pulled him away from the crowd, “Oh. Where do you think they’re going?” I snickered as Grace followed my gaze lightly chuckling too. She gave me a look before shoving my knee, laughing out loud. “I'll go get him.”

As I sauntered after the two through the crowd, Tsu’tey grabbed my hand.

“Tsumuke, I see you. It's been a while again. Why not dance with me?” Tsu’tey walked with me.

“Oh no, I'm a terrible dancer. Plus, I've got to go after Jake…before he does something he’s not supposed to,” I started jogging, Tsu’tey following. Attempting to grab my tail playfully. I playfully pushed him to return to the party.

“I see you’re talking to Grace again. The last time you were here with her, you didn't speak,” the ever observant Tsu’tey said. I rolled my eyes.

“We fought, we made up. That's all that matters,” I pointedly my feet already moving.

“Good.” Was all I heard from him, I waved to him as I walked off into the treeline.

Passing the waterfall on the long flower covered trail, I smelt the air for Jake’s scent as I approached Utraya Mokri, the Tree of Voices, the glowing purple tendrils bright against the evening darkness. Getting closer we can see two figures in the distance. Ah there he is! My ears perked up as we moved closer trying to be silent. Hiding behind a tree, I peered through the tendrils just as Jake an neytiri were making Tsaheylu. Their queues connecting. My smile faltered as I realise what they are doing.

Shit! Uhhh. Ummmm, This is not good, I gasped silently. I should not have come here, how am I going to tell Tsu’tey? I quickly ran back to Hometree. Maybe I should tell Grace. Oh, but she’ll be disappointed again, especially after my outburst. Oh no. I stopped short before Hometree, pacing and scratching the back of my head as I was thinking. I was getting a bad feeling, a really bad feeling.

I called for Grace, pulling her away from the crowd.

“Okay, oaky. I'm coming. Now, what's wrong?” 

“Jake mated with Neytiri,” I said in a rush, but hushed tone, “Like actually bonded with with their queues. This is not good, I've got a bad feeling.”

“What did you say?” a voice said behind us. We turned to find Tsu’tey standing behind us. Our expressions saying all there is to say.

Chapter 11

Taglist:

@sleepilysworld   @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed  @wolfmoon8269  @howlerwolfmax   @lovekeeho   @ducks118   @dyingofcookies   @secretflowerobservation

[memoriesofthepark]

Apologies if you've been asked this before but! What got you into mycology and/or mushrooming? I know it's common to grow up learning about it in more North & East European countries, but I haven't really heard of it being a widely done thing in the US, so I'm curious.

Thanks!

No need to apologize! This is an excellent question and one I have not been asked before!

I grew up in a very rural area and was always very close to and appreciative of the natural world around me. I was very happy playing in the mud and climbing this one choice tree across the road from my Nana's house. I was fascinated by flowers and bugs and have always cared very deeply for animals of all kinds. The first two major special interests I remember having were dinosaurs and horses. All this is to say, I was always enamored by life, in all its forms.

When I got to be an older teen, I found nature-based spirituality and that connection deepened further. Then in 2019, a little documentary you may have heard of called Fantastic Fungi came out on Netflix and it just completely blew me away. In 14 years of public education I could not recall being taught anything about fungi other than the fact that they serve a role as decomposers. Despite how massively integral they are not only to life today, but to the entire evolutionary trajectory of life on this planet. And yet, no one was teaching about it! A whole kingdom of life completely ignored. I was hooked.

Not only the fact that the more visible structures produced by some types of fungi (lichens, mushrooms) are pleasing to observe with a very diverse range of morphologies, but the study of fungi brings up all kinds of bigger questions about relationships between organisms, the substance-based perspective from which modern biology views the world, and what it even means to be an individual. Life cannot exist outside its relationship to other forms of life, and this is true all the way down, from the earth as a whole to the ecosystems that exist inside your own body. The study of fungi requires one to consider these things. And we still know so little about them. It is rare to find such a citizen-driven field of scientific study and I am so excited to see what we will learn in the coming years as mycology grows as a traditionally neglected science.

This was a VERY long answer, lol but I have no chill when it comes to this stuff aaaaaaaaaaa

TLDR: I always loved to observe the life that was around me, and it was the Netflix doc Fantastic Fungi that introduced me to the wonderful world of mycology!

The works of Peter McCoy and Merlin Sheldrake have continued to feed my obsession, I recommend them highly. Journey of the Universe by Brian Swimme and Mary Tucker is not about fungi specifically, but is a beautiful little book about life and existence in general that provides some eye-opening perspectives on relationship and connectivity.

Also, I'm just gonna leave this here.

Thank you so much for the ask! I really enjoyed answering! Wishing you a kind and gentle weekend. Mush love. 💚🍄

[matthewhillsocialdesign]

Ted Talk – Johann Hari

There is scientific evidence for nine different causes of depression and anxiety two of them are in our biology (your genes can make you more sensitive to these problems). But most of the factors that have been proven to cause depression and anxiety are not in our biology, they are factors in the way we live!

Once you understand this it opens up a very different set of solutions there should be offered to people alongside chemical antidepressants.

Every human being has natural psychological needs you need to feel you belong, feel your life has meaning and purpose, you need to feel that people see you and value you, you've got a future that makes sense.

In this culture we have become less and less good at meeting these deep underlying psychological needs and it's not the only thing that's going on but I think it's the key reason why this crisis keeps rising and rising. The World Health Organisation – If you're depressed if you're anxious you are not weak you are not crazy you're not a machine with broken parts you are human being with unmet needs.

 Human Evolution and Loneliness

We need to think less about chemical imbalances and more about imbalances in the way we live. We are the loneliest society in human history there was a recent study that asked Americans do you feel like you're no longer close to anyone 39% of people said that described them no longer close to anyone

Our ancestors on the savannas of Africa were really good at one thing they weren’t bigger than the animals they took down a lot of the time they weren’t faster than the animals but they were much better at banding together into groups and cooperating this was our super powers a species we band together just like bees evolved to live in a hive humans evolved to live in a tribe and we are the first humans ever to disband our tribes and it's making us feel awful but it doesn't have to be like this

Tribes and Social Prescribing

They treated a set of patinents with severe depression and anxiety. They were told to come to the centre twice a week to meet with other depressed individuals not to speak about their misery but to figure out something meaningful they could do together. 

 Lisa literally started vomiting with anxiety it was so overwhelming for her people rubbed her back the group started talking there were like what could we do these are inner city east London people like me they didn't know anything about gardening they were like why don't we learn gardening there was an area behind the doctor's offices that was just like scrubland they're like why don't we make this into a garden so they started to take books out the library they started to watch YouTube clips I started to get their fingers in the soil I started to learn the rhythms of the seasons there's a lot of evidence that exposure to the natural world is a really powerful antidepressant but they started to do something even more important they started to form a tribe they started to form a group they started to care about each other if one of them didn't show up the others would go looking for them so how you okay out then figure out what was troubling them that day the way Lisa put it to me as the garden began to bloom we began to bloom this approach is called social prescribing it's spreading all over Europe and there's a small but growing body of evidence suggesting it can produce real and meaningful falls in depression and anxiety and one day I remember standing in the garden that Lisa and her once depressed friends had built its a really beautiful gardening and having this thought.

 A lot of the time when it comes to socialisation you hear people say “It’s ok just be yourself.” Don’t be yourself. Be Us. Be We. Be part of the group.

 Junk values have taken over our minds and made us mentally sick. Professor Tim Cassar from Knox University in Illinois has been researching this for about 30 years now and his research suggests several really important things firstly the more you believe you can buy and display your way out of sadness and into a good life the more likely was become depressed and anxious and secondly as a society we have become much more driven by these beliefs all throughout my lifetime under the weight of advertising and Instagram and everything like them.

 I thought about this I realised it's like we've all been fed since birth are kind of KFC for the soul right we've been trained to look for happiness in all the wrong places and just like junk food doesn't meet your nutritional needs and actually makes you feel terrible junk values don't meet your psychological needs and they take you away from a good life.

We when we feel down we try and remedy it with a show off grand projection of ourselves. We all know these things. But in this culture we don’t live by them.

We know these things deep down. That the tweets, likes and notoriety are not important but 

“We are designed in a machine which makes us neglect what is important about life.”

 Can we disrupt the machine? How could you dedicate more of your life to pursuing these fleeting moments of meaning and purpose? Less about buying things you don’t need posting it on social media and making people comment OMG I’m so jealous right.

It was like an alcoholics anonymous but for strengthening mental health and boycotting capitalism.

There was a significant shift in values when people met face to face to check in with each other.

Even this hurricane of depression generating messages training us to seek happiness in the wrong places and towards more meaningful and nourishing values that lift us out of depression but with all the solutions that I saw.

––––––––––––––

Reflection – I found this TED Talk incredibly insightful. It supports my idea of bringing people together regularly through face to face interaction to battle rising levels of depression in our urban environments. 

Hari talks about how for the first time ever in human evolution we have disbanded from our tribes and are living socially isolated to pursue goals which are aligned to fuel the capitalist machine. 

This quote really got me thinking about what we value in western society:

“We are designed in a machine which makes us neglect what is important about life.”

[cowboycakes]

Do You Get My Letters

✥ Pairing: Levi x fem!Reader, somewhat Reiner x fem!Reader

✥ Themes: Fluff, angst, sadness, big ass plot twist

✥ Warnings: Female bodied reader (she/her pronouns,) Pregnancy and birth (nothing gory.) Mentions of death, violence, and threats. Manipulation.

✥ Synopsis: You are carrying Reiner's baby when he betrays Paradis. Levi decides to step in.

✥ Word Count: 2.2k

(there is a part two up to this fic, but i've decided i'm going to rewrite the ending at some point.)

Anon's Request: Hi! I saw your requests are open so here I want to give my little scenario a try! 🕳🤸🏽‍♀️ I thought abt this last night, I’m currently rewatching AOT after 6 yrs and yet to finish season 4, so sorry if I’m wrong abt timelines/the plot? My request is the reader was with child with Reiner, but b4 reader told him, he betrayed and exposed his mission. Levi stepped in to help reader. And btw, I just finished watching ep 3 of season 4, so maybe Eren telling reiner abt his child and he regrets leaving the reader? And reiner jealous at the fact Levi is most likely considered his child’s father at that point. I can’t come up with an ending, so I’ll leave it up to you if you do take in my request. If this isn’t your type of writing I totally understand!

Note: This story is canon divergent. It is set in season 4, but in a universe where Reiner is not revealed as a traitor/the armored titan until a few months before season 4 takes place, as the reader was having relations with him until then and did not know his secret. I’m sorry if that change bothers you, I just wanted to write this as sort of its own story. This story contains season 4 spoilers! It also has nothing to do with the canon ending of AOT.

---

Dear Reiner,

I hope this letter somehow gets to you, I don’t quite know where to start.

In a perfect world, I would be so happy to tell you this. You’d be ecstatic too, I think. And before you try to second guess me: I’m sure by now, don’t worry.

I’m pregnant.

I guess we weren’t careful enough before you left. I feel like an idiot. And lost. But I’m not hopeless. I know myself, I can make it work somehow. With or without you.

I’m still in shock about you. How could someone so close hide so much? You’re a talented spy I suppose, a great asset to Marley. You made me trust you with my entire life. You made me love every false thing about you. And this is the rude awakening I get in return.

I’ll raise our child to value honesty and kindness, all in spite of you.

Sincerely,

Reader

---

The paper was damp with tears after you lifted your pen for a final time. You wished you could just keep the whole thing a secret: go make a quiet life for yourself somewhere else. It wouldn’t be right. Not after all of the dishonesty that man had spewed to you over the past few years. You had to tell him.

The door to the office room you’d settled in to write the letter creaks open. It’s Levi. He looks at your puffy eyes somberly, sympathetic. He was the first person you had told about the entire situation. Not because you were close, just because you needed help.

You fold your letter and stick it into a sturdy envelope. Levi takes it in his hand.

“That piece of shit doesn’t deserve a thing from you. Not a letter. Certainly not tears,” Levi says, using a clean handkerchief to wipe a stray drop from your cheek, “but I am proud of you.”

You take the handkerchief from him, feeling more tears stream down your face.

“Proud? I’m a fucking idiot,” you say through your sobs.

“Don’t even try to pull that self pity shit with me. Things happen sometimes. And you’re strong enough to commit to getting through it,” he responds.

You stand up, pushing your chair out. You look at him as you dry your face off again.

“I’m alone. How the hell am I supposed to do this shit alone?”

“You are not alone,” Levi replies. You’re shocked when he pulls you into a hug. “I’m going to help.”

You had never seen this side of him before. You look at him as you pull away slowly, tears still welled in your eyes.

“Are you sure? That's a big burden, Levi. None of this has to involve you.”

“Not the biggest burden I’ve ever taken on,” he shrugs. “There’s a lot of death around here, Y/N. Everyone is going to be happy about the little bit of life you’re giving us.”

You chuckle. He’s cynical, but he’s right.

He licks the envelope as he walks toward the door.

“Want me to run you a hot bath or something? Is that the type of shit pregnant people need?” he asks.

You laugh, a little harder than normal. It felt so relieving to laugh.

“Sure, Captain,” you respond softly.

---

Dear Reader,

I received your letter before the battle in Marley. I actually got to hand it to Reiner myself. He knows everything now. He broke down in front of me after reading it, going on about how much he regrets everything. How he wishes he could change things and be there for you. He begged me to kill him right there.

The world will eventually not have suffering like what you are going through now.

Eren Jaeger

---

Your jaw had dropped reading it. He begged me to kill him.

You hand the letter Levi had just delivered back to him. He reads it with a furrowed brow.

“Do you think…” you begin, your voice shaky, “do you think I could send another letter?”

Levi purses his lips, “Possibly. I can ask Jaeger. But right now, you need to bring your blood pressure back down.”

You were over seven months along now. You had found out about your pregnancy late, after being in denial for four whole months. Hange insisted on checking you out after you’d thrown up every morning for a week.

Levi had since gone on a parenting book reading spree; he made you read several of them too. He knew just about everything you needed to do to make a healthy baby: what to eat, what not to eat, how to exercise, when to go to the doctor, etc. It was really sweet how much he cared. You knew it gave him hope, something to fight for, something to come home to.

You were terrified when he left for Marley. You kissed him for the first time when he returned. Just about everyone you knew had to fight. You wished you could be out there fighting with them like you were supposed to. Maybe you could have made a difference.

Levi takes your hand, squeezing it to bring you out of your thoughts.

“What can I do?” he asks.

“Get me a glass of wine,” you grumble.

“Absolutely not.”

---

Dear Reiner,

Reader does not know I’m sending this. So keep it that way, or I’ll kill your sorry ass. Or maybe not, you’d probably enjoy that. In that case I’ll get creative.

How does it feel? Being a fucking deadbeat? Is it everything you’d thought it’d be and more? Fucking her and leaving her with nothing, like she belongs in a whorehouse. Reminds me of what happened to my mother. Pieces of shit like you came in and sent her to her death, leaving her kid behind to starve.

I wasn’t about to let her suffer like my mother did. But you were. I’m glad your choices haunt you, Reiner. You fucking deserve it.

I’ll be there for the both of them from now on, doing everything you were never capable of. She’s due any day now, I’m sure she’ll try to write to you.

Levi

---

You feel your first contraction while napping on the couch with Levi. You were settled in between his legs, your back leaning up against his chest. He had his hands on your stomach; he loved to feel the baby kick and tell them some of the happier stories in his memories.

The two of you had grown so close over the past few months. You slept together every night now. You didn’t want to leave each other’s sides if you didn’t have to. Levi would cuddle and massage you any time your pregnant body was ailing you.

You had fantasized with him about life after the war. He wanted to be a husband, a father, to live peacefully in the countryside. And he wanted more than anything for you to join him.

The first contraction wasn’t painful enough for you to make much more than a grunting noise, but Levi woke up the second he felt your stomach contort a bit. He was on very high alert these days.

“Holy… shit…is that what I think it is?” Levi whispers, “Don’t answer. I’m getting Hange.”

He crawls out from behind you and sprints out of the room.

The pain worsens and becomes much more frequent while he’s out looking for Hange. You stand up eventually after getting the urge to walk around - and your water breaks. You start panicking, unsure of how dilated you were and how much time you had left before pushing. You really wished you’d done more than just skimmed through those birthing books right about now.

Levi and Hange eventually come sprinting back into the room with a wheelchair and cold rags to find you whimpering in pain on the couch, trying your best to control your breathing.

You’re rushed down the halls to the Scout’s infirmary, where Levi had made sure the perfect room was set up for you - and it had been that way for two months.

The next hour goes by in a blur. Hange knew the biology of how to deliver the baby, and Levi knew how to coach you. He helped you hold your legs back when you pushed, and helped you count out your breathing. Hange attended to everything that might have made Levi faint, like checking your dilation and making sure the baby was coming out at the right angle. You got lucky having these two by your side.

Through all of your efforts, you finally hear a cry. You look up to see Levi holding your tiny new baby as Hange wiped them clean. He was smiling, way bigger than you’d ever seen him smile before, with tears in his eyes.

“Here,” he says softly, handing her to you.

You cradle her on your bare skin. “She’s so perfect, Levi! Look how sweet she is!” you coo.

“What are you going to call her?” he asks, stroking your hair as you gleam down at your baby.

“I was thinking,” you smile, “Kuchel.”

Levi lets out small gasp. Tears start streaming down his face, his efforts to stifle them failing.

“Really? I think that’s,” he wipes his eyes, “a wonderful name.”

—-

Dear Reiner,

She’s finally here! Oh my god, she’s precious. Levi and Hange helped to deliver her. Labor went smoothly. Levi started to cry when he saw her for the first time. She really is just that perfect. We are calling her Kuchel, after Levi’s mother. He cried when I told him that, too (don’t tell him I’m sharing those crying details.) I've decided to give her Levi’s last name as well.

Levi set up the perfect nursery for us.

If you really did feel guilty for leaving - don’t be. I’m happy.

She has your eyes.

Sincerely,

Reader

—-

Dear Reiner,

Kuchel said her first word today. Of course it wasn’t mama, she’s such a daddy’s girl. She started crawling awhile ago, we are now working on standing up on our own. She has all of this blonde curly hair, too. She’s growing up so fast.

Reader

—-

Dear Reiner,

Levi proposed a few days ago. It was so perfect. We found a nice house with room for a farm that will be perfect for a family.

I can only wonder how you’re doing, now that the war is over.

Are you even alive?

Reader

—-

Dear Reiner,

I’m expecting again. Levi is beyond excited. I am too, of course. Kuchel started school this year. She is such a smart kid.

I still wonder about you. After all these years.

Reader

—-

Message after message, word after word. No response. You had decided he must be dead. The devastation after the war would argue that he was.

That is, until you found yourself rummaging through one of Levi’s desk drawers, looking for baby Isabel’s lost pacifier.

You felt the bottom of the drawer shift. A false bottom?

You pry at it until it comes open.

Letters.

Dozens of opened letters. With Marleyan postage stamps.

You pull out the first bundle you see. They’re all from you. Unopened. Unsent. You set them aside, your jaw quivering.

You pull out the second bundle and gasp.

—-

Dear Reader,

Eren showed me your letter. I am terribly sorry. Let me fix this, somehow. You can come to live with me in Marley. I will take care of you. Please.

I’m not just a traitor, a liar, a farce. Everything between us was real. I can explain everything. Just trust me.

Love,

Reiner

—

Dear Reader,

Do you get my letters?

I’ve only heard rumors about our new baby girl. I wish I could see her. Just once. For a second. Do you have a camera? I know they’re hard to come by in Paradis. I can send one.

I’d do anything to change this. You know I would.

Love,

Reiner

—-

To Levi,

You son of a bitch. I know exactly what you’re doing. You think this is protecting her, but it’s not. Just let her talk to me. She would listen, she would understand. You said yourself that she writes. You manipulative, sick bastard. That is MY child. She will never be yours. No matter what you brainwash her to believe, your dirty Ackerman blood does not run through her veins. She deserves to know. You are the farce, Levi.

Reiner

—-

There were dozens more. All opened. All from Reiner.

You sink down to the floor, tears spilling from your eyes.

You are the farce, Levi.

But, why? He was just protecting you, right?

The office door opens. You jump, shoving the letters back into the drawer.

“Mommy, why are you crying?” Kuchel asks.

You take a deep breath, staring down at the letters, thinking about everything that could have been.

“Are you happy here, Kuchel?”

“Yes!” she chirps, “Every day!”

“Then it’s nothing, baby. Mommy just got hurt. She’s better now.”

Your daughter giggles and skips out of the room, leaving you to hide away the rest of the letters.

༺♥༻

I REALLY HOPE I understood your request, Anon! I actually had a lot of fun writing this. It isn't something I would normally think to write, but I'm so glad you shared this idea! Sorry for the sad ending, I love playing w people's emotions ;)

༺♥༻

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. I feel like we should note from mythology DEMETER was actually a law goddess, Persephone never was. If anyone would be a perfect lawyer for Persephone it would be her (and no you cant use the "thats not how court works!!" since none of this follows actual court systems anyway) but no only Hades can defend Persephone but also now Persephone should be a lawyer too even though she does nothing but threaten/harm witnesses and cover up her crimes. Wasnt she studying biology?What happened to that?

2. whats weird to me is so many LO fans seem convinced if they were in that universe theyd be a goddess and get to enjoy all the wealth and parties HxP and co does when it's like no? They would at best be a poor denizen of the Underworld or Olympus and at worst a normal human like they already are who becomes Hades' slave upon death. It has the same energy of millennials who still think their Hogwarts letter is lost in the mail instead of accepting they're not the main character.

3. Even ignoring RS' hypocritical writing of "bad for thee, good for me", what exactly is happening with Persephone's body in that picture? Where is her lower half when that dress is so ridiculously short? does she have no middle section? Also kinda funny it seems RS is very aware none of the past two+ years of LO is memorable enough to draw anything from so even she's still clinging to the first three episodes. Like seriously? Persephone only owns that paper napkin dress and jacket and that's it?

4. IF RS really is that upset over lost income (which I doubt considering all her merch and book deals) then maybe she could use her huge pull at WT and with the other creators to actually team up and unionize, but that would actually force her to pay her staff correctly so I don't think she'd do it. Would love to be proved wrong on that though.

5. cheating is also condemned in LO but praised when Hades, Hera, and Persephone do it. capitalism is critiqued unless Hades benefits from it. Abuse of power is condemned in Zeus but praised in Hades, Persephone, and Hera, and the list goes on. Rachel does not nor ever will give a shit about a consistent morality in her story. Why do you think her actual defense in P's trail was condemning Artemis and Apollo for a lesser approved AOW but P's mass slaughter is just a little mistake?

6. if rachel was just honest she was making a materialistic fantasy with at best a very loose connections to a certain greek myth it would be more excusable, but instead she claims shes so researched on the myths over actual greeks and is actually telling a progressive feminist work which is what shes called out on. if she was honest from the start we would have accepted it, but instead she just lies to pretend her work is something it isn't. It's a self imposed target on her back for critcism.

7. do you not get it? thats classic privileged hypocrisy where theyll condemn those economically below they as "greedy/materialistic/etc etc" but its praised in them because they "deserve it". you guys have to remember rachel was an already well off, privileged white woman when she started LO and has only gotten more privileged from it. if you really think her worldview hasnt gotten more warped with an even bigger distain for those she doesnt relate to then youre not paying attention.

8. Yeah I’m just done with RS’s BS excuses and interviews at this point. She can claim all she wants she’s trying to tell a feminist, progressive story and is calling out misogyny and capitalism but she’s not, she’s praising them if they benefit her self inserts while the rest can suffer. It’s a story not about how systemic divisions and corruption from power are an issue from ancient times to now or avoid how struggles for women are timeless, it’s about how the rich and powerful are the real underdogs while the uppity poor should be thankful they give them eternal unpaid labor jobs (slavery) and they only sometimes forget to not torture them for any tiny slight they may have that day, among many other horrible issues that’s even worse than modern day. And no, I’m not saying RS can’t write a story about a bunch of rich assholes, that’s fine, but it’s the fact she keeps lying and insisting she’s actually not writing that and is insist writing some deep work that’s actually about empowerment and progressive is what’s the problem. She’s claiming it’s something it’s not and is anything is making a story that’s exactly everything she claims it’s not. Why should I support a series where the creator keeps lying to your face about her intentions and tries to gaslight you that your feelings and discomfort with her contradictory writing and bad politics are actually not a problem of her false marketing and regressive view of the world, but YOUR problem for not fawning over everything she makes? Ugh. 

9. i went to Hot Topic the other day and saw so much Lore Olympus merch :) a lot of it was also just of Hades. imagine wearing a shirt with the slave owner old creepy man that is LO Hades

10. Thanks Rachel for randomly adding Hera into your fanfic drama. The damn goddess of marriage can now cheat, in which the actual reasoning to why she doesn’t is purposely overlooked. I’m beginning to think Hera’s involved to spice up Hades and Persephone’s relationship, compare her and Persephone’s beauty, or be a major wall for Persephone’s ongoing “development” with Hades. None of them sound good, because Hera’s purpose solely relies on a relationship and two characters.

Hera is sadly washed down and deliberately compared because of Persephone. When Leto mentioned that Hera and Hades used to have an ongoing affair, I’m so glad Persephone broke down because it shows how she understands the difference in power Hera has compared to her 😆 /j But, I wish we got to see her power and beauty dramatically compared to Persephone, because there’s a huge difference. Hera’s considered to be one of the most attractive goddess’- she was even said to be prettier than Aphrodite herself. She, as the queen of the gods, has complete control over the deities and universe. And, she was the only deity as revered as Zeus.

I don’t think Persephone can fully compete with that, considering Hera’s beauty, power, and status.

“How can I compete with the queen of the gods?”, truth is: you can’t 😁(Sorry if there are any mistakes)

[rrasado]

Hello Rras-san, if you have a free time, can you please do a TW headcannon request. Please do a headcannon of the dorm leaders meeting GN! MC’s mother, who is similar to Lady Dimitrescu, with the towering height and glowing eyes. I’m curious about what’s their reaction. Thank you and stay safe.

Meet the Mother

I’m also praying for them at this point dkdndj ive only ever seen Lady Dimitrescue in like clips and tiktoks but I know fully well she’d slice me in half.

When they meet your mom

As someone who also has an intimidating mother, he’d likely be less as shaken as the other dorm leaders dkdn. He really has to look up just to meet her gaze and when he does well..he wasn’t sure what the safest option should be

It’s more on how he meets her in my opinion, if it was planned and on purpose then a little mental pep talk would save him BUT, once he comes face to face with her. Boy would he feel tiny. Like an ant or a door mouse I suppose

“I-it’s a pleasure to meet you madam”

Would momentarily forget how to speak given the sudden chill Riddle would feel once his simple gaze locks with glowing orbs but hey he’ll get used to it djdjd

Knowing how much moms can be scary, he’d makes sure to watch what he says with Mc’s mother regardless. Even if she does offer a cup of tea to the redhead.

Leona can easily go both ways but both routes end up with him just- immediately straightening up his posture because hand to god his already tall stature isn’t enough to measure up with MC’s mother.

Oddly enough, the initial fear and intimidation becomes subtly respect and admiration. Unlike in his home where beast women were revered for their strength. Your mom was normal in biology yet..has twice the effect

“Your mom...?. Nice to meet you I guess..”

Don’t take his reluctancy to answer as hesitance, as a beast one should survey their situation, he’s just testing the water and how much exactly he can dip. More so when his senses all seek to hyphen when your mother looks at him with that killing gaze of hers.

Suffice it to say Leona is the second to take it calmly, you’ll know who’s the first later on dkdn. Tho it would explain to him why you yourself have little to no fear in this school.

Azul, is on the caught off guard side, more specifically- he thought and normal height was exclusive to fae and merfolk so hoW TF- please excuse his sudden faltering he needs time to process.

His first instinct is well, treat her like how he treats the tweels...if the tweels were women and stand at an astonishing 9ft height-

“My my it’s quite the prestige to meet you Madam~”

Behind that cover up of an introduction is an irked octo who feels like a guppy and would rather sink in his octopot. He’ll do what he does best and make do with the situation, perhaps he can use this opportunity to his advantage who knows..

What he does know is that, fear and bigger people aren’t only from the depths. Literally.

Kalim Kalim tut tut tut our dear sunshine please calm down- he likely has a habit of, always meeting someone in eye contact, but the one time he regrets this is when he meets gazes with your mom.

When he looked it felt like he was pulled out or something? He’d never admit it but it was like when he was staring at Jamil during his overblot. Except in this case it’s well...normal. And not of danger?

“Nice to meet you! Would you like anything?”

He’ll use his hospitality to make up for whatever initial slip up he’s made so far. There’s something about your mother that makes him wanna..be decent to at the very least. He has good Intuition when the situation calls for it and this was one of those times.

By the end of the day he’ll compliment your mother for the powerful aura she gives off. To which it’s met with an all knowing smile.

Vil, we all know he’s an actor, someone who’s been in the entertainment industry for so long. Which by extension means he’s seen his fair share of extreme things.

But a behemoth woman wasn’t one of them, especially one without effects nor magic nor special blood whatsoever- no no darling he isn’t scared maybe shaken but he uses his skills to put on the charm and try deflecting your mother’s naturally intimidating aura with a charismatic smile.

“It’s quite the honor to meet your presence Miss.”

A dash of charm here and there and you got the two getting along nicely, Vil even using his vast knowledge of beauty cosmetics and ways to intricately form viable compliments to your mother to which she finds amusing.

But when your mother leaves you’ll Shiite literally see him stopping to catch a breathe, it seems keeping up charisma also takes toll on the star. He’ll admit..now he knows here your beauty comes from. But that’s what he hears from rook anyways..

Idia for some reason I’d feel like. He is fuming on the spot not out of fear but more on admiration cause, as common as tall people are in his family assuming his height is from genes. It’s rare to find tall people in the norm.

She really does remind him of a lot of characters from franchises he follows. But his anxiety knows better than to start rambling about the comparison to your ever glowering mother

“H-hi- great seven I c-can’t-“

You’ll have to ease him of his nerves, he really doesn’t know how to handle the feeling because he really is torn between that anxiety and admiration. Better idea to also bring Ortho along if he does meet your mother.

He is tall as well but he still needs to look up and try not to collapse from the glowing gaze and ever amused smirk on your mom’s face. It feels like he’s being looked down on which he literally is but he also doesn’t wanna just run away out of fear of disrespecting her.

Ahhh yes, the unbothered one, well to be specific the “curious” one. MC are you sure you are not part fae or your family having history of one? How peculiar...

In short malleus is the best person to introduce your mother with given how normal he treats her to which your mother finds nice for a change of pace, yes she may still have to look down a bit to meet his gaze but honestly I think malleus has the capacity to make himself taller if it’ll make your mother more comfortable.

“I presume this is much better for us Miss”

A true gentleman through and through. The only reason he isn’t as fazed as the others is because of how much he’s already seen through his lifetime. But still that is not to say your mother is a norm oh no no no far from it in his book.

After all that gaze of hers wasn’t something normal even for him. Perhaps the nice chat you’ll all share will clear things up? Maybe so.

[someonestolemyshoes]

Hi! Have u done any pregnant Hanji and overprotective daddy Levi already?? Yep i think im craving for more domestic levihan family, im sorry 😭

Im a bit new here in the community, and when i read ur works, i fell in love with it already, thank you for existing!!! 💖💖💖

Hello anon! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed my other fics :3 Sorry for the very long wait for this one, I've been struggling to find the time/motivation to write lately, but I'm feeling a little better and I figured I'd get to work on some of my prompts. Starting here!!

It ended up a little less domestic and a touch more angsty than I had originally planned, but only for a moment--happy endings all round! 

Warning: this does start off with non-graphic depictions of nausea/vomiting, I hope that doesn't bother you!

Hange had been feeling unwell for days.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence—Hange tended to wake up feeling nauseous some days, most often when she'd neglected to eat a decent meal the evening before—but this was the fourth morning in a row now, that Hange found herself bent over the toilet bowl in the early hours of the morning, heaving up nothing but acid and empty air. 

She retched until her stomach ached. There was nothing left to bring up, but her gut still rolled unpleasantly and there was a telling tremor under her tongue that warned her it might be best to stay in the bathroom a little while longer. She settled heavily against the wall to catch her breath.

It didn't make any sense. For most of the day, Hange felt fine. A little tired, maybe, but that was only to be expected after spending half the night every night on the bathroom floor. Tonight, no doubt, would follow the uncomfortably familiar routine: Hange would dry-heave a little longer, until the queasiness abated enough for Levi to convince her to come back to bed, and then she would toss and turn, too warm beneath the bed clothes, until she could fall into a restless sleep. She'd wake up feeling a little groggy, a little bleary, unreasonably hungry, but after a coffee and some breakfast she would feel well again. Perfectly normal.

Like clockwork, Levi appeared in the doorway just as Hange had flopped herself back over the toilet. She felt his palm, cool and soft, press against the back of her neck. Hange gathered her hair back from her face with both hands, braced her elbows on the toilet bowl, letting out a groan of discomfort as her stomach twisted, threatened to revolt again. Levi's thumb rubbed soothingly against her neck.

Sure enough, she brought up nothing more, but she gagged plenty, and found herself gasping for breath by the time she leaned back against Levi, aching and exhausted. His lips pressed into her damp hair.

Levi was as silent as always. His touch was pleasant, his presence welcome. Hange needed the hand he offered to pull her to her feet, needed his reassuring grip at her hips as she brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out. Her quaking knees felt unstable beneath her. 

He lay facing her after they got into bed. Hange was sprawled out atop the covers, shifting restlessly to find the coolest patches on the bed. Levi watched her for a moment, then said, "This isn't normal."

Hange only grumbled.

"You said you'd book an appointment with the doctor."

Hange grumbled again. Levi ticked his tongue and rolled to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Call tomorrow."

"If I didn't know better," Hange said sluggishly, "I'd say you were worried about me."

He scowled and rolled onto his other side, his back to her now.

"No, just sick of waking up at half four every morning to drag you back to bed."

Hange managed a small, wicked snicker, but shuffled across the space between them and pressed an apologetic kiss to the back of his neck.

"Must be dreadful," she said. Her voice sounded raw, hoarse. She buried her nose into his hair and took a long, deep breath. Levi grunted, but reached back and pulled her arm loosely over his hip. He knotted their fingers together loosely.

"Call them, Hange."

Hange gave his fingers a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"I will."

**

Hange prided herself on being a reasonably intelligent person. She had two degrees, was working towards her doctorate, and already had her name on a small handful of peer-reviewed research papers. She spoke multiple languages, read dissertations for fun, kept a (in Levi’s words) disgustingly realistic human skeleton in a box under the bed for study purposes, and had spent the better part of the last 26 years of her life studying human biology and physiology.  

How she had not predicted that she might be pregnant was almost unfathomable. 

She left the doctors office in a daze with an appointment card and several pamphlets in hand. She had been referred hastily to a midwife and the hospital would soon be sending out a date for an ultrasound—“As soon as possible,” the doctor had said, “since you’re not sure how far along you are.” 

The thing is, Hange had been on the same birth control pill for years now. Forgetful as she may be about many, many things (like eating, and bathing, and washing the dishes and taking out the garbage and and and), Hange was religious in taking that damn pill at the same time every single day. She had never missed it, not even once. Without a regular cycle, Hange had no way of predicting when they had conceived, and the doctor was eager to make sure no essential landmarks in her antenatal care were missed, if they could possibly help it.

The thought had never even crossed her mind. It seemed ridiculous now, in hindsight. The sickness was one thing, but now that she thought about it, there were a whole host of small oddities that Hange could easily attribute to pregnancy. Lethargy, and bloating, heartburn, and she had been peeing more than usual—Hange groaned, and scrubbed her hands over her face. She should have suspected, at least. Should have put the pieces together sooner. 

But, stupid and naive as it may be, she hadn’t thought it possible. Why worry about it, when Hange had taken consistent precautions to avoid it? 

She felt queasy the entire bus ride home. 

It wasn’t that she was against the idea of having children. One day, maybe. When she had finished her doctorate, got herself a steady, well-paid job. When she and Levi had moved out of their tiny, cramped apartment into somewhere bigger, somewhere more suited for a family. 

And god. Levi. 

This was something they’d never really talked about. For his part, Levi never seemed all that interested. He was good with Hange’s nieces and nephews, and Erwin’s son adored him, and he hadn’t showed any express dislike for children, but—well, tolerating other peoples little brats and raising your own are two very different things. 

What if Levi didn’t want the baby? What if he did? Hange wasn’t even sure herself what she wanted to do about the whole situation—what if she didn’t want it? What if, after some reflection, Hange decided now wasn’t a good time? Could they even afford a baby right now? Hange’s money was tied up in her education, while Levi was just making ends meet at the office. They got by well enough with just the two of them, but add in a baby? A whole other person, entirely dependant on them for support? Hange could barely feed and bathe herself, some days, never mind responsibly care for a child. 

By the time the bus pulled up near the house, Hange felt more distressed than ever. Levi, at least, was at work until the evening, so she had a few more hours to herself to mull everything over, but the entire situation made her stomach clench and churn unpleasantly with every new thought. 

The prospect of having a child was terrifying. The prospect of not having this child was nauseating. 

Levi had left the flat in pristine condition when he had left for work, but Hange barely had the energy to feel even a little guilty as she shrugged off her coat and kicked off her shoes, leaving both strewn about the floor. She dumped her bag and made her way sluggishly through to the bedroom. 

Levi had made the bed. The sheet was stretched flat over the mattress, the pillows perfectly fluffed and set against the headboard. Hange’s nightshirt, one of Levi’s old, baggy shirts, too stretched and threadbare for him to wear, had been folded neatly and left on her side of the bed, her slippers lined up smartly with the bed frame. For some reason—hormones, she told herself—her eyes watered, and a lump swelled in her throat. She sniffled pitifully as she stripped off her clothes and pulled on the shirt, clambering into the bed and tugging the sheets until the cocooned around her. 

Hange passed the rest of the day tossing and turning in bed. She tried to nap, but her mind was too restless, occupied with thoughts of the baby, with the concept of having to tell Levi when he came home. She could try to lie, say the doctors had done some blood work, that she was waiting on the results of some test or other, but Levi knew her too well. She could never lie to him, and her despondent state would give her away before she had the chance to say anything. 

The sun was beginning to set by the time she heard Levi’s keys in the door. She felt exhausted, head aching with all the thinking, considering, weighing up her options; with running over every possible outcome she could imagine. Keeping the baby, getting rid of the baby, Levi not wanting the baby, Levi leaving over the baby—every scenario she could imagine was worse than the last. There was only one idea that she had hardly dared entertain, in fear of disappointment if things didn’t work out. 

She heard Levi call out for her, but gave no answer. She listened, curled up in a ball on her side, as he shuffled around, no doubt picking up her coat and shoes from where she had abandoned them. And then he made his way towards the bedroom, steps soft on the plush carpet. The bedroom door creaked open. 

“Hange?” 

She made a small, warbled noise under the bedclothes. Levi came to sit on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. His hand found the curve of Hange’s hip. 

“How was it?” 

Hange made another noncommittal sound. She wiped her nose and eyes on the sheets, but didn’t dare show her face just yet. She wasn’t ready. She had never prepared for this conversation, never even imagined it before today. It was too soon. Not enough time to rehearse. 

Levi’s hand moved to her back, rubbing lightly up and down her spine, before dropping to the mattress behind her. He leaned over her, and she felt his lips press warm and gentle to the point of her shoulder. A fresh wave of tears poured over the bridge of her nose and down the side of her face. 

She tried to be quiet, but something—the shake of her shoulder, perhaps, or the shudder of air as she tried to take a steadying breath in—gave way to her crying. Levi moved off the bed, but Hange felt his fingers prying lightly at the sheets, pulling them down until he could get a good look at her face. He was kneeling by the bed now, face level with her, and he looked at her with worry pinching deep creases between his brows. 

“Oi, what’d they say?” 

Hange bit the inside of her lip and rubbed her damp cheek on the pillow. If Levi was bothered by her using their bedding as a tissue, he didn’t show it. He simply looked at her, eyes darting over her face, searching. It occurred to Hange then how this must look to him. She had gone to the doctors due to unexplained, violent sickness, and now she is in bed, hours later, still crying about whatever news she had received. 

“I’m fine,” she said. Levi’s tense shoulders relaxed a fraction, but his face remained pinched, frowning and concerned. Hange wanted to tell him quickly, simply, like ripping off a plaster, but the words would not come. She opened her mouth, but her throat constricted painfully. 

Eventually, she said, “my bag. There’s some stuff in my bag. Have a look.” 

Levi gave her a somewhat quizzical look, but stood, dropping a quick kiss to her temple before going to fetch the bag, and dipping his hand in to fish out the contents inside. 

Hange watched with her breath held and her stomach clenched as Levi pulled out the handful of leaflets and turned them over, looking at each one in turn. His eyes widened fractionally as comprehension dawned on him. His lips pressed into a thin line. Leaden weight settled in Hange’s gut. She curled into a tighter ball, pressing the bedsheets over her mouth and nose, waiting for him to gather himself enough to say something. 

After a moment, he spoke. 

“That’s all?” 

Huh? “Huh?!” 

Hange disentangled her arms from the sheets and sat up, staring at him. Levi moved to sit on the edge of the bed again, a scowl back on his face, though there was an intriguing flush high on his cheeks as he whacked her lightly on the top of the head with the leaflets. 

“Stupid four-eyes,” he said, exasperated. “Crying like that. I thought you were dying.”  

“I’m pregnant.” Hange said the word slowly, carefully, in case Levi had somehow misunderstood. He had the audacity to look at her like she was stupid.

“I can see that.” 

“And you have nothing more to say about it? That’s all?” 

Levi shrugged a little at her. Aside from the small patches of colour in his cheeks, Levi seemed wholly unfazed by the revelation. 

“It’s just a baby. We can handle a baby.” 

“That doesn’t terrify you?” 

Levi scrutinised her for a moment, before he said, “are you scared?” 

“Yes? Yes! How are you so calm? We can’t afford a baby—we don’t have the time for a baby? Where will they going to sleep? We don’t have a spare room. Can we get time off work to take care of a baby? How will we pay for childcare when we can’t be around?” 

“Hange,” Levi said, putting a stop to her rambling. He watched her with a pinched stare. “Do you not want it?” 

Hange had spent the majority of the day mulling over this same question. Staring a family was a huge, life-changing commitment, something that required  careful forethought and planning. They had not had that luxury. Hange was pregnant now. She had doubts and fears, more than she could ever express, but the idea of simply having a baby—of having this baby—wasn’t upsetting. In the small, brief moments she had allowed herself to imagine a future where she and Levi were parents, where they weren’t wanting for money or time, where things were well, she felt happy. Giddy. The prospect was almost exciting. 

“It’s not that,” Hange said earnestly. “I do—I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I—I do want it. But I just—we had no time to prepare. We have no savings, we have no space, I’m a mess. How are we supposed to take care of a tiny person? Babies are hard work, Levi.”

“You’re already hard work.” 

Hange laughed weakly, and wiped at her face again. Levi pressed a kiss to her raw cheek. 

“We’ll figure it out,” he said.

Hange leaned into him, sighing quietly. 

“Is this the kind of thing we can just figure out?” 

Levi hummed, shrugging his shoulder. His fingers skimmed up beneath Hange’s shirt, splaying over the small of her back and pulling her closer. 

“Why not? We’ve done a good job bullshitting our way through everything else.”  

Hange laughed lightly and bumped the side of her head against Levi’s.  

“This is different, Levi. This is a person. A tiny little person who is going to need me and you to do everything for them. What if we can’t do it? What if we mess up?” 

“Hange.” Levi pulled back a little and his hands came up to grip either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. “Stop. I know all that. But if you want the brat, and I want the brat, we’ve got no choice but to get on with it.” 

“I know, I know, but—wait, you want the baby?” 

Levi maintained eye contact with her, but it seemed to take a concentrated effort to do so. The flush of his cheeks deepened a little and his lips quirked at the corners. No doubt to compensate for the show of emotion, he pulled his face into his customary frown. 

“It’s fine,” he said. Hange fought the urge to roll her eyes and caught his hands as he lowered them from her face, pulling them into her lap. 

“Are you saying that because it’s already too late, or do you want to keep it?” 

Levi’s face took on a look of constipated strain. He curled his lip as though in distaste, then hooked a hand around the back of Hange’s neck and pulled her face to his abruptly, smacking a kiss to her lips. He let his forehead settle against hers and stroked his thumb over the hinge of her jaw. 

He fought to keep his tone neutral, but Hange could hear the happy tremor in his voice as he said again, “It’s fine.”

For the first time since hearing the news that day, Hange allowed herself to feel excited. To accept the idea that she and Levi were about to start their own bizarre little family. That Levi was still with her felt incredible enough, but to know that he was pleased—it was more than she could ever have hoped for. Hange gave a wet laugh and kissed him again. 

“Are you allergic to looking happy?” Hange asked as they broke apart. Levi clicked his tongue and pulled back to flick her square between the eyebrows. She laughed a little louder and leaned to wipe her runny nose on his shoulder. Levi muttered under his breath, but didn’t push her away.  

“Okay,” Hange said, after a moment. She sat back and pushed her hair back from her face. “Okay. We’re having a baby, then.” 

Levi’s rubbed the smile from his lips with the back of his hand, nodding. “We’re having a baby.” 

Hange sunk down to flop back over the pillows. Levi looked down at her, head tilted, chewing the inside of his lip. Hange reached up to brush his fringe off his forehead, warmth spilling in her chest when he held her hand close and turned to kiss her palm. 

She smiled a little playfully, and freed a leg from the sheets to dig her toes into his ribs. 

“If I’d known you wanted kids I would have been significantly less stressed, you know.” 

Levi quirked a brow at her. 

“I’ve told you that before.” 

“No, you haven’t.” 

“I have. At your sisters wedding.” 

Hange racked her brain, searching for the conversation. She remembered the occasion, and she remembered that she and Levi had somehow ended up babysitting Hange’s family brood. She remembered Levi, wrestling to keep her youngest nephew on his lap while the eldest, still only five or six at the time, was clambering up the back of his chair, sticky hands tugging at Levi’s collar. Hange fought hard to recall more of what was said, but could remember nothing at all of Levi announcing that he had wanted one of his own. 

“You said these brats aren’t so bad,” Hange said slowly. 

Levi nodded at her. Hange waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t, only looked at her like there was nothing more he needed to say. 

“That’s it? That’s your idea of telling me you want kids?” 

“The hell else could I have meant?” 

Hange dug her toe at him again but Levi caught her foot this time, pushing it firmly down onto the mattress. Hange reached for him with both arms instead, curling them around the back of his neck and tugging him down quickly. He toppled over her with a quiet oof, and Hange rolled them quickly, straddling his waist and dropping her weight down onto him. 

“That is the kind of thing you say clearly, Levi! These brats aren’t so bad—you’re ridiculous!” 

Levi wrestled with her arms a little longer before giving up and bringing his hands instead to rest low on her hips. He watched her with a curious expression on his face, something open and soft, and then his eyes roved down to her abdomen and his thumbs brushed inwards, beneath the hem of her shirt, stroking over her lower belly. 

This time, he didn’t fight his smile. 

He reached up and pulled her down by the neck, and kissed her soundly. Hange melted against him, welcomed the press of his tongue between her lips, shuddered pleasantly when he nipped at her bottom lip. She went with him willingly as he rolled them both over, nudging a knee between her legs and settling his weight against her. 

She was spreading her legs to make space for him, when he paused suddenly, and pulled back, leaning over the bed and scooping through the discarded back of leaflets. Hange, winded and dishevelled, watched him incredulously as he flicked through the contents of one, then tossed it aside and opened another. 

“What are you doing?” 

Without looking up, Levi replied, “Checking.” 

“Checking what?” 

“I wanna know if we can still—” he waved a hand between them, and went back to searching. 

“We’ve been—” Hange mimicked his gesture, “—up until now anyway.” 

Levi looked up at her, looking mildly horrified. He held up one his open leaflet and said, “You’ve been drinking alcohol, too. You’re not supposed to do that. And look, here—you’re not supposed to overwork. You’ll have to take on less hours at the university. And you’ll eat. Proper damn meals. Every day.” 

Hange flopped back against the pillows, eyes rolling, watching as Levi picked up each new leaflet in turn, pointing out every little adjustment that Hange would have to make. 

“This one says you should get eight to ten hours sleep per night. Every night. And not so much coffee, the caffeine’s bad for the baby.” 

The baby. It sounded surreal. It sounded ridiculous. Levi shifted to sit against the headboard beside her after opening the chunky little What to Expect While Expecting volume Hange had been handed while leaving the doctors. He seemed thoroughly engrossed, and seemingly unaware when one of his hands reached out to pull Hange’s hair free of its ponytail and sink into her hair. She hummed happily as his nails scraped over her scalp. 

Things were still scary, and Hange was still uncertain about how this whole adventure might turn out. But Levi was still with her, and Levi was happy, and that—

—Well, that was good enough. 

[king-bee-sting]

Hey if you don’t mind, could you write Mammon, Levi, Asmo, and Satan reacting to the reader coming out as a trans man? Have a good day.

Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, & Asmodeus reacting to reader coming out as a trans male

The only one who doesn't quite understand wtf you're talking about

You'd have to sit him down and really talk to him about it

Dumb things down and really go into depth

Unfortunately the one who deadnames and misgenders you the most

Doesn't mean he doesn't care or doesn't support you

He won't realize he's done it until a moment after

He'll apologize though, quick to beg for forgiveness

Will get random men's things for you that you honestly probably won't even use

Will scream when corrected in a "omg i can't believe i just did that" way

Is happy to help get you a new wardrobe

Unfortunately he did not realise men's shoe sizing is much different to womens

So now you got new shoes too big for you but too small for any of the brothers

A little confused but he's got the spirit

Another one that's a little uneducated

Just say you wanna get isekai'd in a different body but in the same universe

Might understand you a bit more

Definitely reference specific anime character's when explaining it

Also occassionally misgenders and deadnames you, but he learns quicker

If you two play a 2 player game with only 1 male and 1 female character available, he'll take the lady and give you the guy

Can and will scream at online players who misgender you while you're playing

Will help you cosplay male characters

He damn near had an anxiety attack when he saw you crying while wearing a silicone chest for an open shirt cosplay (i want one so bad)

A little awkward but he's got your back

Most likely already knew about the whole trans thing, so you didn't have to explain much

Most likely learned about it while reading a book and got curious

Thus leading him to research it a bit

Knew a bit more than you at certain points

May have small slip ups with deadnaming and misgendering but will immediately correct himself, apologize, and continue with what he was saying

If someone's using your gender identity against you, he can and will get very snobby in your protection

If you ever want to do some research on it, he's more than happy to help you and even lend specific biology books

Will probably make remarkes towards Lucifer, saying you're a bigger man than he is

Probably the most casual with your new identity

An absolute king

A Chad in nail polish

Will scream when you come out

Not a bad scream

He's justs so excited

He'll hug you too

Immediately 100% understands amd supports you

Never misgenders or deadnames you

Main supporter when correcting others

The mans is taking you shopping for a new wardrobe, you have no choice

Is the best when helping you be trendy with clothing

Gets the best articles that cover up the bits you dont like but isnt too baggy and still brings out your figure

Best person to go to when you want to find a good binder for your chest.

Will cut your hair for you

Will teach you how to get a natural masculine makeup look

The best person to have with an identity like this

Yes i ranked them if you couldnt tell

Mammon: 1/4

Levi: 2/4

Satan 3/4

Asmo: 4/4

-mod ein

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Sole Crusher

Well... It's finally here... the episode introducing the new bee hero. And what do you know? It looks like I was right about how the new character would be portrayed.

It's kind of funny how I made predictions exaggerating what could happen, and they were surprisingly accurate. Isn't that funny?

Let's just get into the seventh (chronologically the seventh and the seventh episode in the season to air after “Mr. Pigeon 72”) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Sole Crusher. Damn, I hate that a pun this clever was used for the title.

We get to the point pretty quickly with the first scene being Zoe arriving in Paris and getting a tour of the city. She asks to stop at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, where she meets Marinette through some brief Unfunny Marinette Slapstick. The two quickly strike up a conversation.

I mean, it's not like Zoe is the sister of the absolute worst human being in existence, right?

Marinette compliments Zoe's shoes, and she points out that she designed them herself, and wrote every good thing anyone has ever said to her on them. But because she only has one friend, there's only a standard “I <3 U” on the left shoe.

So Zoe leaves the bakery and heads to Le Grand Paris where she meets her mother, Audrey. Unlike how she talked with Marinette, Zoe pretends to be just as snobby as Audrey in order to fit in. She then meets up with Chloe, who criticizes her for having poor person things like a phone without any diamonds embedded in it. And then she sees Zoe's shoes.

Look, that meme was already dated when it was referenced in Black Panther three years ago. Please don't try to reference memes in 2021, Miraculous Ladybug.

Chloe offers some golden heels while saying that those kind of shoes are for winners to wear and crush the losers underneath. This is the only episode to mention this kind of ideology, and believe me, it gets worse when Chloe decides to teach Zoe how to be like her.

Get used to this. This episode is all about demolishing any semblance of likability in Chloe's character. Now that Astruc doesn't have to bother with writing Chloe with decency since she's not Queen Bee, watch as he turns her into an absolute caricature of her former self.

Yes, Chloe has ordered her father to give her a lot of frivolous things in the past, but she has been shown to care about him, like immediately rushing to hug him after she was safe in “Origins” and showing concern for when he was akumatized into Malediktator while apologizing for causing it. For the love of God, one of the first things she did when she allied with Hawkmoth at the end of Season 3 was to have him unto her parents' akumatization. I guess she only cared about her rich parents for their status and not because she actually loved them right?

Next up on the list of Chloe's positive qualities to ruin is her friendship with Sabrina.

🎶It's seven o'clock in the morning🎶 🎶I can't believe they made this scene🎶 🎶With the writing Astruc's enforcing🎶 🎶It's like he's trying to piss off me🎶

Yep, Chloe doesn't view Sabrina in a twisted view of friendship anymore. Now she's a slave. I'm not exaggerating by the way, he actually said that in a tweet.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES

Okay, so I guess all those times we saw Chloe playing superheroes with Sabrina in “Antibug” and “Miraculer” were just a slave driver playing with their property. Actually apologizing to Sabrina for getting her akumatized in those episodes? Protecting her from the Scarlet Akumas in “Ladybug”? She was just interested in keeping her slave around. I think Astruc may have slept through the slavery unit in his history class. Yes, Sabrina was mostly used as a joke to show how controlling Chloe could be, but there were still semblances of an actual friendship between the two.

Chloe arrives at school and introduces Zoe as her half-sister, despite being the same age and having the same mother. Because I guess we can add basic biology to the list of things the writers don't understand. Now that we're at school, Chloe's friendship with Adrien is next up on the chopping block.

Yep, despite being Adrien's only friend and making a big deal about valuing his friendship to the point where she threw a big party just to make sure he wouldn't leave her and risked cooperating with an Akuma to save him, now Chloe just sees Adrien as a rich meal ticket. Two of the earliest episodes to show Chloe had a more compassionate side to her, and they just undid them. Even as much as I hated the episode, “Felix” showed Chloe was willing to cooperate with Marinette and her friends just to find a way to cheer Adrien up on the anniversary of his mother's not-death.

For the love of God, Astruc, 1984 was supposed to warn people about what could happen if they rewrote the past, not encourage people to rewrite the past. He probably finished Animal Farm thinking Snowball really did work alongside the humans, didn't he?

Marinette comes up and Zoe pretends to hate her, leading Marinette to wonder why she did that. She texts Zoe (she gave her number to her earlier) and invites her to a concert on the Liberty, but Chloe finds out. Zoe thinks fast and pretends it's just so she can torment her more. Chloe then takes out a book listing all the ways she can torture Marinette. I wonder if this is a metaphor for the writing process behind most of the episodes last season.

Zoe decides to go outside for some fresh air, and Andre comforts her. Funny how Andre bends over backwards to give Chloe whatever she wants, yet he's willing to actually talk to Zoe like an actual parent. Andre tries to cheer Zoe up, but she talks about her past where she had to put on an act so she would be liked, but (bet you've never heard this before) she just wants to be accepted for who she truly is. The surge of emotions is enough for Shadowmoth to akumatize her into Sole Crusher.

In addition to having one of the most clever puns for an Akuma name, I actually like Sole Crusher's design. Not only is it a good excuse to reuse Chloe's character design, it makes sense thematically, as Chloe was trying to mold Zoe into a copy of herself. The gold and diamonds also make sense given Chloe's love for shiny things. Her powers tie into the bizarre belief Chloe has about stepping on the winners. Whenever Sole Crusher kicks or steps on someone, she absorbs them and gets progressively bigger, making it easier to do so. While it's not cracking my top ten anytime soon, it's still an interesting character design.

Sole Crusher heads to the hotel to get Chloe, and she manages to get away pretty quickly. Maybe in an alternate universe, she's a track star? For some reason, she runs to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and then... Oh my God... pushes Marinette's parents so they get absorbed by Sole Crusher, before trying to do the same with Marinette.

When has Chloe ever done something like that? Whenever she endangered someone during an Akuma attack, it was unintentional or a result of her naivety. She was only trapped in Pixelator's dimension because Adrien tried diving to save her, she only alerted Rogercop to Ladybug's presence because she eagerly called out for her, and during “Zombizou” she only tried to throw Sabrina towards the horde of kissing zombies once, and that was meant to highlight her growth. The only person to actually do stuff like this consistently is Lila, but I guess she got vaporized by Big Brother offscreen.

This episode is determined to make the audience hate Chloe by retconning everything about her character while portraying her as a complete monster. As bad as Chloe could get, she was never selfish enough to use anyone as a human shield. This kind of behavior honestly could be explained by saying Chloe was lashing out as a result of losing the Bee Miraculous permanently, but the events of the Season 3 finale aren't mentioned ONCE, not even in the next episode that introduces Queen Bee's replacement! How the hell can you set up the next Bee hero without explaining why the original needs to be replaced in the first place?! And trust me, I'm going to talk about Zoe replacing Chloe later.

Sole Crusher grabs Marinette in her hand, so the Horse Kwami, Kaalki, uses her power to teleport over to Adrien's house and inform him Ladybug needs help, meaning once again Adrien did nothing in this episode before becoming Cat Noir.

At the Liberty, Chloe offers more victims to Sole Crusher in the form of the band Kitty Section (consisting of Luka, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, and Mylene) and theatens the giant golden supervillain she can send her back to Paris, even though she's really not in a position to bargain right now. And she STILL continues to insult her. Do you hate Chloe yet? Come on, do you? The writers won't stop until you do.

After we see Sole Crusher's conflicted emotions, Marinette is set free by Cat Noir and transforms into Ladybug, immediately summoning her Lucky Charm, a shoehorn. They only learn Zoe's sneakers were where she were akumatized thanks to Chloe's ranting, so the episode unintentionally made Chloe save the day. Ladybug breaks into Le Grand Paris and breaks the sneakers where Zoe hid them, using the shoehorn to open a door. So Sole Crusher is de-evilized, Ladybug fixes the damage, and gives yet another charm to Zoe.

Afterwards, Zoe goes to the Liberty, apologizes for the act she put on, all while divulging to the audience her “tragic backstory”.

Of course, everyone welcomes her with open arms.

And right here is where the biggest problem I have with Zoe as a character. I normally hesitate to use this term given how often it gets thrown around when criticizing characters these days, but I really can't say anything else.

Zoe... is a Mary Sue.

For those who don't know, the term Mary Sue originated in a Star Trek fanfiction from 1973 satirizing several self-insert stories at the time. Most of these stories showed a beautiful young woman joining the crew of the Enterprise and immediately gaining the attention of the crew. Mary Sue parodied this character archetype by showing how much she was appreciated by Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, the latter being driven to tears at her funeral despite his species being emotionless normally.

What does this have to do with Zoe? She has the exact same storyline as Mary Sue in the parody fanfiction. Her mere presence is enough to make Chloe act extremely out of character in an attempt to make her look better, and as soon as she apologizes while giving a frankly vague backstory, everyone just accepts her as their friend, and I mean everyone in the entire class. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't feel earned. Why was she bullied at her old school? What did her bullies have against her? What caused her to stop going along with her peers, and why did everyone turn against her? How the hell did the bullies who put cockroaches in another student's locker get no punishment while the victim was forced to transfer schools? It's an intentionally unclear backstory designed to make the audience feel sympathetic towards Zoe without actually doing anything else.

I want to ask anyone reading this who watched the episode a question: Outside of her backstory, what do we actually know about Zoe?

What is her personality like? She's nice? Socially awkward? We've never had a character like that in Miraculous Ladybug before! Sorry Marinette, Adrien, Juleka, Nathaniel, Mylene, and Marc, there's a new character with more personality than all of you combined!

What are her goals? She wants to be an actress? Great, but why? Even though there's no clear answer for why Marinette loves fashion, or why Alya loves journalism, or why Nino loves DJing, you can still see the passion in their lives when they do something related to their goals. Zoe only says she wants to be an actress, connecting it to her people pleaser backstory (and given how it ended, she must be a terrible actress), and in the next episode, she immediately gets the lead role in a student film.

When Mylene got the starring role in the movie in “Horrificator”, we at least got snippets of her acting skills in the same episode that established her desire to be an actress, which is also implied to be because she was inspired by her father in “The Mime”. She didn't just say she wanted to be an actress and got the leading role. She still had problems to overcome like her cowardice, which threw her own self-confidence into doubt. Here, Zoe just says she wants to be an actress, and is rewarded for no reason the very next episode.

Zoe basically exists only to be a foil to Chloe, and the writers had no idea what to do in terms of a personality, so they just dumped a bunch of extremely likable character traits onto her without thinking of how her character could come off. And like I said, she's a Mary Sue.

I'm not the only one who thinks this. I've seen a handful of posts on this very site calling Zoe a Mary Sue. In fact, I even asked another Tumblr user @anxresi​ to quote their take on Zoe being a Mary Sue, which I couldn't even top in terms of accuracy. They basically listed off five things that made Zoe a Mary Sue.

She has to have a ‘tragic backstory’ so all the other characters will fall in love with her. Usually within minutes, in the very first episode they’re introduced.

She has to have a supercute design so that the audience at home will fall in love with her. And if they don’t, they’re automatically dismissed as ‘haterz’ even if their objections are purely from a writing POV.

Her only flaw will be thinking too little of herself. “What, lil ol’ me as the Bee Miraculous holder? With my shyness, colorful shoes, chic beret and personalized pink strip in my hair? Gosh, who’d have thought it?”

The contrast to her half-sister will be a constant plot point, with Chloe always getting dumped on. “You see, kids? Bad things happen to bad people. But you see this super-sweet girl over here? She gets a free DAD. Instant FRIENDS. To star in her own MOVIE. The chance to be a SUPERHERO, even though she only arrived last week. Who cares if she has no depth, no personality and barely any reason for being in the show, apart from being a massive ‘Up Yours’ to all the Chloe fans out there?”

What about character development, Mr Generic Zag Guy? “Development? What’s that?! Zoe is already perfect as she is. The only ‘development’ she’ll receive is having her hair done in the first episode she’s introduced. Besides, That‘d’ word is banned here at Zag studios. Why do you think we abandoned Chloe’s stillborn arc so quickly? This is a KIDS show, why bother trying to create a complex character with more than one dimension?”

This is essentially who Zoe is. She's perfect, has no character flaws, has a cute design so the audience will love her already, and was designed only to replace Chloe as Queen Bee. That's all she is.

So the episode ends with Zoe feeling happy at all the new friends she made while we get one of the most blatant attempts of symbolism in the ending card I've ever seen.

See, look. While Marinette is happily talking with Zoe with the image of Ladybug next to them, Chloe is to the far left with an EVIL purple aura, showing how bad she is compared to how great Zoe is. Only a braindead moron would actually like Chloe over the super awesome and pretty Zoe!

I'll give my final thoughts on the episode in the next part where I analyze this plotline as a whole.

LINK TO “QUEEN BANANA” REVIEW

[userwasredacted]

one piece ficlet -omega Roci

got a request for an Omega Roci

Tbh I dont really get into the omega verse all that much but I may as well give it a try

------

The thing about being an omega was that most would think that they were weaker, more subservient, and easy to control. In many ways they were, because they were generally more passive, avoided fights and would prefer to follow along with others for the sake of the community.

Because of that, many of them get treated differently. Some people thought they were suddenly made out of glass. Others imagined that they would immediately need to act and serve in a certain way. Others immediately thought of them as objects to be bred. As if simple biology would necessarily dictate the indication and preference of a person. It was unfair and unfortunate that most people and sometimes organizations would lean in to heavily into those biasness.

You'd think that the marines wouldn't be as backward as that.

Rocinante sighed to himself as the alpha pup in front of him tried to put up a front about how he was an alpha and that indicated that he would definitely be rising up the ranks faster and easier than everyone else. It may be true here especially, that being an alpha in the marines meant that you were more of a shoe in to being promoted due to your 'leadership' skills. However most of the time it was simply because they were bullies who played into the role and society just collectively agreed to allow them to be that way.

Inwardly, Rocinante thanked the gods that his foster father wasn't as dumb and as narrow minded as that. Or else he would not even have been able to join the marines. And that Sengoku didn't believe in bullying and relying on just the idea of alpha supremacy in order to get his way.

He conveniently forgot the fierce battle that had occurred when Roci had first found out that he was an omega, and the pleads and entreaties that he should drop out of the marines because of that.

Roci was lucky in many ways. One that he was stubborn enough to go through with the marine training even when everyone said that omegas should stay to be on the admin team or something the other, he didn't really listen. Two that Sengoku was able to see that he wasn't going to be giving this up and quickly changed his tune to ensure that he would be protected instead of just making his life harder (Though this did cause an issue with supposed favouritism). And three, that Rocinante was not an attractive omega. Not anymore at least.

He was big for one. Much bigger than most alphas. He was also strong. He was able to throw a person with just his arm strength. He was not pretty either, with the sharp nose, broad chin and non-existent eyebrows. One could even call him ugly. Almost brute like. And that was perfect for him.

No more stupid wanna be alphas trying to bully him into submission by picking on him, or ordering him around. He memorized the marine hand book to ensure that the others knew what they could and could not expect of him. He was not a coffee boy or a runner. Nor was he someone that they could dump paperwork on him just because they were getting lazy. They couldn't try and intimidate him with unwanted growls and hoots. They also couldn't wipe the floor with his face. Not anymore since he had grown.

The alpha that was trying to parade around stopped in front of him with a smirk and asked him what his position was and why he was not under anyone's orders. Oblivious to who he was and his position. possibly because Roci wasn't wearing his coat. Just his usual marine vest and suit.

"You'd need to ask the Vice-Admiral for that information. I'm unfortunately classified" he said apologetically as he looked at the other with a small smile.

It was never good publicity to show the world that he was an omega and in such a high position. So he was stuck there in his little room with his little desk, away from big profile missions. Which was perfect for his actual job.

His hands were stained red.

"Probably an admin clerk somewhere. You're an omega right? I could smell it. They shouldn't put you out in the field. What would happen if you encounter an alpha in a rut? Or if you started your heat? Honestly its not a safe thing." he little pup said with a cocky smirk.

"You should come with me. I'm definitely going up the ladder. I could protect you."

Rocinante looked at him considering. The marks on his uniform and his rank. He was still very very young. It wouldn't do to have him be scared away from the Marines entirely. But this kind of behavior couldn't be left unchecked either. He took a drag of his cigarettes (and paid homage to another dead omega) before shaking his head.

"You really shouldn't be mouthing off so much to someone who is higher ranking than you, Ensign. You may get in trouble."

He noted the other's look of confusion.

"You also shouldn't just dismiss a person by their gender, Ensign. The Marines take a tough approach to everyone, and make sure things are equal. Do you intend to say that Vice-Admiral Tsuru is any weaker than Vice-Admiral Sengoku or Vice-Admiral Garp?"

The ensigned paled and shook his head.

"Gender is gender, Ensign. Please do be aware of that the next time. Who knows, maybe one day you would see an omega be the one that defends the grounds, or takes the killing shot."

With a hasty request to be dismissed the young alpha scattered away from him. Rocinante took another drain of his cigarette.

There definitely was a place for omegas who were deemed tough enough in the navy, he would learn. After all, an omega scent would help to let the enemy lower their defense. An omega croon would distract heavily involved alphas. The idea of a dainty little omega in a marine uniform ready to be ravaged called to the sickest pirates like a siren's call.

The kills were easy when nobody believed that an omega was capable of such feats of violence.

The tables easily overturned when the public believed that omegas were unthinking when they were in their heats, and couldn't remember what had happened.

The support mountainous when they believed it to be an assault on a helpless omega.

Infiltrator. Spy. Killer.

Slick may be dripping down my legs, but my aim will never waver from your head.

Rocinante took another long drag, and tried to clear his head away from the blood splatter and the screams. It didn't matter in the end Alpha, Beta or Omega, young or old they all begged for mercy. In the end, they all died the same.

Who knew that being a marine would lead to this? At the very least, he was staining his hands for the good of the people. for justice.

Idly, he let his thoughts run to the various pirate crews with all the various genders interspaced. It didn't matter Omega or Alpha or Beta, everyone could be a captain, a first mate, a navigator, a shipwright. The way they would all laugh together as they drank their booze before he lured them away with his scent. They would all scream their crews names as they were eliminated one by one. They would all curse the marines as their ships that held their memories sank with them inside of it, crackling flames, drowning out their words, but never their intent.

His fingers burned as the ash reached them, causing him to drop the cigarette and burn his clothes. With a loud cry he patted on the flames as he searched for water, rushing over and falling on the process.

With a groan, he sat up and doused the flames with his own hands.

This kind of thinking was dangerous, he knew. If he started to question the marines and what he did... Well, it wouldn't be good. He'd need to talk to Sengoku about this and soon.

Maybe finally take up the one job he was mulling about for so long.

It would be good. To have his last mission and stop before he lost faith in what was happening in the marines. Before he could be turned against the Marines due to the thoughts in his own mind.

It would be good to do one last justice in the world, so get back to the day that had haunted him for so long.

His aim would not waver... could not waver.

This time, he would bring Doflamingo down.

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (8)

(Thank you all so much for your love and support during this fic! I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter and be sure to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries!)

Ch.1 / Ch.7 / Ch.9

Chapter 8: Lost and Found

Lost. 

Felix was utterly and hopelessly lost.

He stalked the aquarium aisles, looking this way and that for the rest of the group. How did this even happen? Allegra had had an iron grip on his wrist. He was certain of that. Yet somehow, he runs into one person- one person! -and just like that, everyone’s gone! 

Felix tisked, annoyance quickly rising in his mind as he turned down another aisle. Briefly separating wouldn’t have been that bad. In fact, he welcomed the moment of silence at first. Aside from the occasional person who bumped into him, no one was yanking on his wrist or dragging him along. The problem arose, however, in the realization that he’d been aimlessly searching for them for thirty minutes now. After losing sight of them for a second! Did they truly walk that fast or did they leave him on purpose? It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. 

His hands clenched into fists, and a scowl tugged at the corner of his lips. He was this close to climbing on top of heads- 

A light giggle caught his attention, faint but there, coming from the southern side of the room.

Felix whirled around, his eyes darting through the crowd. He recognized that laugh, but where was she?

His gaze landed on a pair of pigtails a moment later, and he nearly sighed with relief. Even with the dimmed lights of the aquarium, he could make out Marinette’s small figure standing in front of a smaller aquarium not far from him. He didn’t see anyone else with her, though. Where were the others? Did she get lost too or were the other people blocking them?

Felix moved forward to approach her. With the trio or not, he’d finally found someone from the group. That was his main concern. Besides, she didn’t seem worried about being alone, unless cooing at the glass and laughing was a sign of nervousness. (which, for her, it wasn’t.)

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.” He commented as he stopped next to her.

Marinette jumped, as usual, and let out a squeak of surprise.

“Oh, Felix!” She gasped. “We were looking for you earlier.”

Felix hummed, glancing down at the octopus that was crawling along the rocks in front of them. “Yes, it would seem that ‘keeping up with the group’ wasn’t as easy as Allegra had claimed.”

A nervous chuckle tumbled from her lips, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her as she said, “Yeah.. we thought about texting you, but Claude said that you would catch up eventually.”

Felix scoffed. He should have known that Claude would be the one to prolong his suffering. Looking around for the brunette once more, he noticed that they were indeed alone. (Save for the large crowd swarming around them, that is.)

“How did you get separated?” He asked, merely curious. The group’s left him several times, but he doubted they would abandon Marinette so easily. Something else must have happened. 

“Well, I was originally trying to look for you,” she explained, “but then I ended up getting distracted..”

She snorted. “I swear I stopped to look at one turtle, and by the time I turned around, everyone was gone.”

Felix offered a nod. He knew all too well how that went.

“At least we found each other.” He pointed out. 

Marinette smiled up at him. “Yeah! And I found this adorable octopus!”

The way she said ‘adorable’ was similar to the babying tone of someone who was speaking to a dog, and she turned to the tank to wiggle her finger at the creature. Felix thought it to be somewhat.. endearing. 

“.. Did you know that an octopus has three hearts?” He asked, strangely wanting to encourage her enthusiasm. Normally, when Claude would start rambling or bouncing around about different subjects, it would annoy Felix. With Marinette, though, that.. simply didn’t happen. Perhaps it was because she was quieter about it?

Marinette gasped, her sparkling eyes shifting back to him. “Wait, are you serious?”

Felix nodded. “They also contain blue blood.”

Her jaw dropped open. “No way! How do you know that?”

“I’ve read a few encyclopedias.” He admitted with a half-shrug. “They’re a lot more interesting than people give them credit for.”

“That’s so cool!” Marinette nearly squealed. “Tell me another one.”

Felix stared at her for a moment. That might be the first time someone’s ever willingly asked for him to recite facts without a sarcastic tone. He didn’t think he would be this pleased about it.

“Well..” He began, mentally sifting through the pages of books that he’s read. “Their limbs are actually called ‘arms’, not ‘tentacles’. The term ‘tentacles’ is reserved for squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus.”

“What?” Marinette blanched. “No! My whole life is a lie!”

Felix smirked at her dramatic groan. It had been surprising for himself when he first read it too. 

“Tell me another one.” She said after rubbing her hands over her face.

Felix let out a small laugh. “Are you sure? You didn’t seem to like that last one.”

Marinette waved off the comment. “Yeah, yeah. I can take it. Tell me another one.”

“Alright, another fact..” Felix muttered, his gaze flicking upwards in thought. “Ah.  Each arm has a mind of its own. Some two-thirds of the octopus’ neurons reside in its arms, which allow the arms to react to stimuli and function at a fairly high level on their own. This fact applies even when one of the limbs is severed from the body.”

Marinette scrunched up her nose at the image of a severed, octopus limb still twisting about. 

“How do you remember all of this stuff?”

Felix clicked his tongue. “I think the information is interesting, and I enjoy being knowledgeable. So I make it a point to remember everything that I can while reading.”

Marinette nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.. Do you know facts about other animals here?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth, trying to recall the animals he’d passed while searching for the group. “Most likely. As I said before, I’ve read a handful of encyclopedias, along with a book or two on Marine Biology.”

She lit up with a grin at the reply and reached down to grab his wrist. “Great! That means you can come tell me more facts!”

Felix was pulled forward, and a part of him held his breath, waiting for the indignation and disgust to set in from being grabbed. It always happened. Allegra, Claude, and occasionally Allan would jerk him around, and resentment would kick in without fail. Of course, the irritation towards Marinette certainly wouldn’t last, since she’d simply gotten excited, but it would undoubtedly come. So he waited..

..And waited..

..And nothing came.

Felix looked down at her hand, which was still firmly on his wrist, and frowned. She was dragging him through the crowd, yet he felt.. nothing. It wasn’t necessarily good, but it wasn’t bad either. He was just.. normal. 

How odd.

“Which animal should we go to next?” Marinette inquired, eagerly looking around. “I’ve already seen the jellyfish, the octopus, and some of the bigger tanks with the multiple types of fish.. Maybe we can see the big tank again so you can tell the na-”

He didn’t look up at her until her ramble abruptly cut off. She was staring down at his wrist too, her eyes wide with surprise. She must not have thought about what she was doing when she grabbed him.

“O-Oh!” As soon as she registered what she’d done, Marinette ripped her hand away from him. “I-I’m so sorry! I- uhm -I was just so excited, a-and.. I’ll try not to grab you again.”

“No, it’s..” Felix rubbed the part of his wrist that Marinette had grabbed, almost not believing the next words he was about to say. “It’s fine. We should probably be holding onto each other anyway, unless we want to get separated again.”

“Oh..” Marinette said, sounding a bit dazed. “Oh yeah.. Um.. How do you want me to..”

She held her hand out towards him again, and Felix hesitated. If they were to hold onto each other, holding hands would be the obvious option, but that was out of the question on account of the strange feeling that twisted inside him at the thought of doing such a thing. The next option would be holding onto his sleeve, or grabbing his wrist again. Would that be peculiar for her, though? He’s unsure as to why it would be peculiar, but it felt peculiar. 

Before he could decide what to do, Marinette tentatively took hold of his bag strap.

“I-Is this okay?” She asked, searching his face for discomfort or disagreement.

Felix blinked. That was actually..

“This is perfect.” He said, grabbing the part of the bag strap that was just above her hand.

A relieved smile passed her lips. “Good. Let’s keep walking then. I wanna learn as many facts as possible before we leave.”

The two set off, weaving around people and going from tank to tank. At each new animal they passed, Marinette would request a series of facts, and Felix would oblige when he could. Then, when he couldn’t recall any facts, they would look up a few for the sake of fun. He had a decent time doing it, as he got to learn some new things about the animals and himself. For example, the electric discharge of an eel can be stronger than five hundred volts, sea turtles apparently think jellyfish are delicious, and when Felix’s hand finally slid onto Marinette’s on the bag strap, he didn’t mind at all. In fact, he didn’t even notice that his hand was on hers until she jumped ahead to look at the shark tank.

“Wow..” Marinette breathed, staring at the enormous whale shark that was gliding through the water in front of them. “Look at how big it is..”

Although slightly distracted by the fact that they’d been touching and he hadn’t noticed, Felix joined her at the tank and watched the shark as well. With its large body and narrow tale, its movements were slow and graceful, and seeing it brought a soothing sense of calm to him. 

He glanced down at Marinette, curious how she might react to the gigantic creature. 

Despite buzzing about while looking at the other animals, she stood entirely still as she stared upwards through the glass. One of her hands was delicately placed on the tank, and her lips were parted with awe. She appeared to be mesmerized by the sight. 

The mix of water and the lights above brought a bright, blue glow to the room, and it reflected on her perfectly. Accenting her round cheeks and wide eyes, bringing out the deep blue color of her hair that was often hidden.. the illumination made her seem utterly.. ethereal. 

Felix sucked in a small breath, shocked by the swirl of warmth and enchantment that swelled within him. Why was he feeling this way? He didn’t recall experiencing it before. Was it something about the aquarium? Or was it something about Marinette? Why would she make such a difference, though?

“I know you enjoy her company.”

His mother’s words hit him like a truck as they resurfaced in his mind. Enjoying her company.. Was that what this was? He didn’t think something like that would be ‘warm’ or ‘enchanting’, but he supposed he’s never fully enjoyed someone’s presence before to know. Claude and the others- even his parents on rare occasions -would annoy or pester or drain his energy. Marinette, somehow, never did that. Maybe it was because she always listened to him, or because she would offer a smile or clothes or croissants- whatever he might need without ever asking for anything in return. She was selfless and didn’t demand his attention like everyone else, and that, Felix realized, made all the difference. 

“Know any facts about this one?” Marinette said, shaking him from his thoughts.

“Hm?” Felix dragged his eyes back to the whale shark. “Oh, yes. If I remember correctly, they-”

“There you are!”

Claude’s declaration barely registered in Felix’s mind before he was suddenly tackled by the brunette. 

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Felix scowled as he wrestled Claude off of him. There’s the feeling of revulsion that he remembered so well. 

“Oh, and you found Marinette!” Allegra chimed in with a smile. 

Marinette pulled a sheepish expression. “Sorry for walking off.. I got distracted.”

Allan waved off the remark as he joined them. “Don’t sweat it. This trip was meant to be fun. As long as you had a good time, everything’s fine.”

Marinette smiled. “Thanks. I had a great time.”

“Aw~.” Claude jokingly sang. “That’s good to hear. What about you, Felix? Did you have a good time?”

Felix rolled his eyes at the babying tone, but a chuckle brought his gaze back to Marinette. She was shaking her head at Claude, her eyes bright with amusement and her smile warm.

“Actually..” He muttered. “I did.” 

~~~~~~

The icy cold of the evening brushed over Marinette as she walked outside, but she smiled anyway. The aquarium had been more amazing than she could have ever predicted, which was saying something considering she’d already expected it to be great. She got to see turtles and whale sharks and octopi and all sorts of animals! On top of that, she got to see all of those animals with Felix, who was able to tell her little facts about them! Although some of the facts were hard to swallow.. like, who calls octopus limbs ‘arms’ instead of ‘tentacles’? That’s crazy!

Marinette chuckled at the memory as she nuzzled her nose into her white scarf for warmth. Yes, some of the facts were definitely mind boggling, but there was no doubt that they were the best part of the trip. 

Well.. She thought, glancing over her shoulder. Maybe not the best part.

The rest of the group was exiting the aquarium behind her, Felix being amongst them. The best part of the day had honestly been when he said that he had a good time. With all the scowling and his getting lost, she’d been kicking herself about inviting him to the aquarium, especially when she knew that crowds weren’t his forte. But then they went on that impromptu tour together, and his hard expressions softened into small smiles and quiet laughs. 

It was the first time she saw him fully relax (in a crowded room, no less!). Just knowing that she’d been a part of that brought her more joy and fulfillment than the whale shark she’d originally wanted to see. 

Of course, now that the tour was over and the group was back together, the hard expressions had returned, and he was currently chewing out Claude for trying to hug him “in the name of warmth”. Marinette couldn’t help giggling at the sight, though. Even as Felix was clutching his coat around himself and shivering, he refused to be touched by anyone. She vaguely wondered if he was against the notion for a specific reason or simply had an aversion to touch. He didn’t seem to mind them touching in the aquarium, though, so there had to be a specific reason then, right?

“I don’t know about you guys,” Allegra spoke up, taking Marinette from her thoughts, “but I had a wonderful time today.”

“Are you kidding?” Claude asked, finally stepping away from Felix with a smile. “Today was awesome! And that mermaid show? Incredible.”

“And completely generic.” Felix added with an eye roll. “They didn’t even bother to make it look as though she were breathing underwater.”

“Well, yeah.” Allegra smirked. “They can’t get real mermaids. Those are too hard to catch.”

“That’s because they don’t exist.” Felix stated flatly. “Which is another reason why they shouldn’t hold that show. It will give people the wrong idea.”

“Hey, mermaids could exist!” Claude- because if anyone were to fight for this, it would be him -insisted. “The ocean is huge, and we haven’t seen it all yet. You have no idea whether mermaids actually exist or not.”

Felix scoffed. “Please. A creature with a human half and a fish half that also lived in the ocean would be scientifically impossible. At the very least, the human side would perish from the low temperatures and prolonged exposure to salt water. The only way it might survive is if the creature simply had a humanoid half rather than a human half, and in that case, the creature wouldn’t look anything like the actor they had inside.”

“Who said anything about science?” Claude argued. “What if it’s magic?”

Marinette had been watching the conversation with an amused smile until the topic of magic came up. She knew it wasn’t a direct mention to her alter ego, but it still caused her stiffen. Thankfully, no one noticed, since they were too busy watching Felix raise a brow.

“That’s preposterous.”

“How come?” Claude retorted. “If we can have Ladybug and Chat Noir running around with their magical weapons and abilities, why can’t we have mermaids?”

Marinette faltered in her steps, but quickly regained balance. Now that was a direct mention of her alter ego. Should she try to change the subject? It definitely felt like it was time to change the subject. 

“Chat Noir and Ladybug gain their powers from the miraculous specifically.” Felix stated. “What you are suggesting is an entire species that is born and raised with the same ‘power’ that doesn’t come from a miraculous. That’s what I’d call grasping at straws.”

“You guys know the show is supposed to be for kids, right?” Allan asked, gaining a snort from Allegra.

Claude placed his hands on his hips. “Yes, but I still think mermaids can exist somewhere.”

“No, they can’t.” Felix remarked.

“You don’t have any proof of that!”

“Neither do you!”

“Okay!” Allegra interjected, stepping between the two boys with a barely contained snicker. “You two kids need to behave or you’ll both be put in time out.”

Marinette laughed despite herself, even as Felix glared at the blonde. 

Allegra ignored the glare, turning back to the group as she asked, “So where do you guys want to eat for supper?”

“We’re eating supper together?” Marinette inquired.

“Only if you want to.” Allegra smiled. “I just figured, since it’s seven o’clock, that our parents have already eaten. So we might as well eat together, right?”

“Yeah!” Claude agreed, the mermaid discussion slipping from his mind before Marinette’s very eyes. “Let’s go to Dairy Queen. I haven’t been there in a while, and an ice cream sounds so good right now.”

“You want to get ice cream?” Felix blanched. “In this weather?”

“Sure.” Claude smiled. “Anytime’s ice cream time for me. Besides, it’s not that cold.”

“Not that cold??” Felix retorted, his eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. 

Marinette chuckled, silently agreeing with Felix. Ice cream was nice when you weren’t already covered in goosebumps due to the cold, but right now, she’d much rather a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate.

A gasp brought her attention to Allegra, who pointed towards the sky with wide eyes.

“Guys, look!” She grinned. “It’s snowing!”

The group followed her gaze to the Eiffel Tower, which stood bright and tall in the blackness of the night. 

Sure enough, flakes of freshly fallen snow were passing the lights of the city and fluttering to the ground. It started out small, with a bit of snow here and there, but soon, a whole flurry began, quickly covering the sidewalks and roads.

“Aw, yeah!” Claude cheered, sticking out his tongue to catch some of the snowflakes. “Freshly fallen snow, man!”

Marinette giggled and stuck out her tongue as well, feeling a wave of euphoria as the snowflakes began hitting her tongue, nose, forehead and cheeks. It hasn’t snowed since last month, and she’d missed it dearly.

“C’mon, Fehix!” Allan urged, his words coming out in blabs because of his tongue sticking out. “Catch snowfakes wis us”

“Absolutely not.” Felix sharply declined. “Do you know how many pollutants are in the first wave of snow, especially with all of this wind? Sulfate, Nitrate, Formaldehyde, Mercury- you might as well drink a bucket of chemicals!”

Marinette paused, though she left her tongue sticking out. Were there really that many chemicals in snow? She’d known there were some, of course, but it couldn’t really be that dangerous, could it?

“Wow, Felix.” Allegra said with an amused smile. “I didn’t know snow could be so dangerous. Can you lighten up a little, please?”

Felix tisked. “I’m only stating facts.”

“Right, right.” Allegra replied. “You don’t have to stick out your tongue, but at least spare us on the ‘grim’ details, will you? It kind of dampers the whole ‘first snowfall of the year’ deal.”

Felix rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he tilted his head towards the sky and closed his eyes. Marinette imagined he was trying to gather some semblance of calm or composure, if his deep breaths were any indication. What really caught her attention, though, were the snowflakes. Or rather, the way the snowflakes landed on him. They were crisp and frozen, and it created specks of white all across his features as the snow nestled in Felix’s hair and eyelashes. If she had been any less disciplined, she might have been tempted to take a picture of him. (Only to use the snowflake patterns later as a design idea, of course.)

“Alright, let’s head for Dairy Queen!” Claude abruptly declared, breaking the brief silence that had settled amongst them. 

Felix’s eyes cracked open, incidentally meeting Marinette’s at the same time. She averted her gaze, a strange sense of deja vu washing over her. Here she was, staring at him again. How many times was she going to feel weird about staring- or being caught staring -until she remembered not to stare? Granted, it shouldn’t feel weird in the first place. Staring was staring, especially when it was a stare between friends. The most he should say about it is, “what are you looking at?”, and that wasn’t a problem. That was a completely logical response, actually. So why did her stupid brain think it was a problem?

“I call dibs on driving Marinette!” Claude added, wrapping his arm around Marinette’s shoulders.

“What!” Allegra nearly yelled from shock. “You can’t call dibs!”

“Okay, then I call turns!” Claude shot back. “You got to drive her on the way here, so I get to drive her on the way to Dairy Queen.”

“Guys, you know she’s a human being, right?” Allan commented.

Marinette laughed. “It’s alright. I’ll go with Claude to Dairy Queen, and Allegra can drive me home.”

“Aw, she gets to drive you home?” Claude whined.

Allegra, however, pulled a triumphant grin. “Ha-ha! I get a good night snack from Mme Sabine!”

“I’m glad you two only value Marinette for her pastries.” Felix remarked.

Marinette snorted, but Allegra and Claude immediately let out an offended gasp.

“How dare you claim such a thing!” Claude said, now wrapping both arms around Marinette’s shoulders. “Marinette is amazing and wonderful, and I would choose her over pastries a thousand times.”

Allegra hugged Marinette as well. “Yeah, we’re not that shallow. Mme Sabine’s cooking is phenomenal, but Marinette is the one we truly love.”

“I hear that.” Allan chuckled.

The beginnings of a blush curled around Marinette’s cheeks, and she hugged Allegra and Allan back. She knew that she was the one they loved, not the pastries, and that’s why she wouldn’t hesitate to give them all the pastries in the world if they asked.

Tag list:  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything  @magnificentcrapposts  @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @vixen-uchiha @casual-darkness @luxmorningstarr @jjmjjktth​ @kaithehero​ @itsme1598

[anachronisticcrab]

Nico di Angelo Headcanons

It’s Nico’s birthday! So here are some Headcanons about him

* He wears dresses cause they’re pretty and make his aesthetic pop even more

* He’s royalty. I think his grandma was related to the Savoia’s (Italian royal family) so he grew up royal and shit

* He’s Rromani

* He’s a classics nerd, especially with literature and art

* ARTIST NICO RIGHTS

* He has a huge family after the Giants War, most of them adopted. Reyna, Meg, Rachel, Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Piper, Castor, Mr. D, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Gwen, Will, Austin, Kayla, Chiron, Hestia, Bob, Damasen, Hades, Persephone, Zagreus, Mesperian, Melinoe, Hermes, Castor, Apollo/Lester, Thalia, the troglodytes, Estelle, Sally, Paul, Drew, Mitchell, Clarisse, etc.

* They have the most comfortable bed in the WORLD. Whenever his family can’t sleep, they go to the Hades cabin and they send good dreams their way and chill out on one of the huge comfy beds

* He stress cooks

* All he wants for gifts is more family

* He’s literally a nonna ngl

* He hates IKEA. He calls it the Swedish Mafia and glares whenever someone gets anything IKEA related

* He’s gone vegetarian cause meat just tastes like death to him (not my hc but I’m not sure who originally came up with it, if you know pls tell me)

* He drinks his weight in coffee every day. He’s a caffeine addict

* He’s nonbinary cause duh

* He’s ace cause everyone is

* He hates horror movies. They remind him of Tartarus and he gets rlly bad flashbacks from them, so he doesn’t watch them

* Toasters make him jump. The amount of times he’s stabbed a toaster cause it went off and spooked him is amazing

* He loves Marvel and DC

* He’s amazing at poker

* He wears crowns all the time cuz he’s ROYAL

* He has a shockingly deep voice. No one expects it from him cause he’s short and skinny and looks like he should have a voice like a little flute, but his voice is super deep. It’s one of the reasons ppl are kinda uneasy around him

* He still wants to be a pirate and had a blast on the Argo 2. It was his childhood dream come true— demigods and pirates

* Nico talks with his hands all the time (click here to see my bigger post about it)

* He loves his sisters more than anything cause he’s Italian at heart. Rachel, Drew, Meg, Hazel, Reyna, Estelle and Annabeth are the luckiest people out there

* Contrary to popular belief, Nico is more interested in a career in medicine than Will. Will has a lot of trauma from being a combat medic for years, while Nico wants to learn more about biology and medicine cause it’s come a long way since he was a kid. Will ends up becoming a guidance counsellor

* As I said, Nico’s more likely to do something in medicine, but he doesn’t. He gets a degree in art history and ends up as a museum curator

* Nico has hundreds of books on his shelves and there’s sticky notes with writing on all of them. Little notes, observations, connections, ideas of what something could mean in a deeper way, notes about how Character A was 100% queer and in a loving relationship with characters B and C

* He can’t stand country music. There are a total of two good country songs and he hates the rest of them

* Other than that he listens to pretty much any music. His favourite band is the Ramones cause it’s canon and they’re amazing

* His favourite song is actually My Heart is Buries in Venice tho, not smth by the Ramones

* He’s shockingly good with kids. He’s very entertaining for them to hang out with, he listens to them rant, he plays games with them. Nico’s just great with kids and everyone at CHB loves him

* There is a total of three (3) animals that Nico can stand. They are cats, dogs, and snakes. Anything else and he will despise it forever

* His full name is Domenico Ade Uriele di Angelo. Ade is the italian form of Hades, and Uriele is the Aquarian Angel so I kinda thought it was a good fit lol. Plus Domenico is fun to say

* He’s never told anyone, but he’s actually open to the idea of a poly relationship and has always had a tiny crush on Leo (don’t mind me throwing in a hint of soldezangelo to appease my soul)

* He lives cuddles! If he doesn’t know you well, he won’t touch you with a ten foot pole. But once he gets to know you and he is comfortable around you... he’s s o f t. He falls asleep on ppl all the time

* Percy gave him his address and phone number after the Battle of the Labyrinth (which is how Nico knew where Percy lived at the end of the book)

* I’ve got so many ideas about Percy and Nico being like siblings and you can find a post about that whole deal here

* When Nico was still living on the streets b/w BotL and tlo, he spent some time at both Percy and Rachel’s homes. He and Rachel bonded over painting

* He’s really good at photography

* He can play like 9 instruments

* He doesn’t really get or understand Halloween and Thanksgiving, but he participates

That’s all for now!! Happy birthday to Nico di Angelo!