#i legit have some in mind but I think it be better to save it for a hilda sideblog

[zartikus]

Some redesign ideas I had for Eugene and the Pooka (or pookas since I assume they’re a species and not a singular entity) after watching S3. I honestly do like them how these turned out, so I’m hoping to use them for future projects and fanfic stories I have in mind, especially since I plan on doing more S3 redesigns soon if the interest for it is there.

For Eugene, I took some inspiration from the original myth of the Nordic Nixie, water spirits that attract women, children, and even men through their enchanted playing of the violin, either for the audience or to drown them, and attempted to figure out how to properly translate that to the show’s art style and tone. I decided to make him a bit more menacing by giving him a bit more pinniped inspired features, like the elongated skull and enlarge nostrils, while mixing in some cues from Mike Mignola’s Abe Sapien, specifically with the gills and the eye markings, and some from the Gillman from the CotBL and the Amphibian Man from Shape of Water, in terms of scales and general physique.

Also a bit unrelated but I’ve no doubt the Amphibian Man may have legit influenced canon Eugene as well, what with the use of bioluminescence, but that is a discussion for another time.

As for lute, I thought it be interesting to switch out his comedy and singing routine to a musically based one, with the idea of him being more of a bard regaling specific hymns and laments rather than using a violin to lure in victims. I also simply like the idea of the lute having an adult deerfox antler as a neck that connects the strings, mainly to imply the weird ecological interconnectedness of the creatures in Trolberg.

For the Pooka I started off by simply taking features from real extant animals like rabbits and horses while trying to take some inspiration from the descriptions I’ve read from the original folklore involving the puca, which can vary from black fur or white fur, humans with some animal features, a weird hybrid of animals, or an amorphous goblin like that sketch that inspired the look for the show’s canon puca.

Obviously I decided to lean into giving them more animalistic features, with giving Astrid’s Pooka rabbit ears and some fur tufts to correlate with the rest of the creatures in Trolberg while still keeping the original shape of the design, and making the older Pooka a weird mix of an opossum and a horse, what with the hooves, the head shape, and the mane to compliment other features like the rat-like tail with the fur tuft at the end of it and the little button nose.

I probably have more in mind with the redesigned Pookas but for now, I rather attempt to do more designs for some of the S3 characters and actually try to make a Hilda side blog so I don’t annoy ya’ folks with my ramblings. Regardless, I hope ya’ll like this.

[lilywritings]

Little "time travel" au with gen!lilia and human reader!

.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟

I can't stop thinking about "time travel" ughhh i love that au, imagine you two are already very deep into your relationship in current time then

Poof.

You're accidentally transported to the past only to meet general Lilia the second you land ( you already knew how he was bc of his dream in book 7 but now you're legit in the past).

You choose not to tell him that you're actually together but rather his future "friend" ( he is not buying that ) you knew general Lilia would've NOT taken it well bc you're a human that magically popped infront of him at the worst time possible, a little before the war.

But the way you said his name , had a blessing upon you and the way you looked at him made him a bit hesistant and unsure so he pulled his magearm away from you and took you to his dear friends to get the truth out of you.

Lucky for you Levan saved your ass here from his wife and best friend bc meleanor would've fried you by now . A human trespassing JUST before the war!?

And what added the oil to the fire was the fact that malleus put a blessing upon you ( the one mentioned up) after the whole book 7 heartbreak. Meleanor sensed it was a draconia family blessing IMMEDIATELY and was VERY suspicious and angry at you.

So you explained everthing to them and made them sort off belive that you're from the future and searching for a way to get back after you mentioned Malleus. Nobody should've known that princess was about to have a baby and you even knew his name. Meleanor was thinking of zapping you right then and there but Levan held her off and made an agreement.

And thus they put Lilia to supervise you while they work on a way to get you back and think about your words.

Let me tell you something, Lilia HATED IT . why HIM!? THIS HUMAN THAT WON'T STOP STARING AT HIM WEIRDLY AND CLAIMING TO BE HIS FUTURE "FRIEND"!? he wanted to hiss at you at least.

While Lilia was having a crisis you took this situation to try and get closer to him and find out more bc your lilia didn't really talk about his past SELF! that much he is a man of secrets after all...

This was your chance to get to know his past self better and maybe try to open him up a bit and help him.

You knew what was about to come and you know better than to mess with the fate in this "time travel thingy" but was it really that?

Your mind was boiling at tge idea to spoil him ROTTEN & show him how loved he is. But you couldn't do that rn at least not so sudden ...

Ahh loving this fae is complicating.

After some time of looking at him training the troops & being busy but still having to take you with him everywhere he finally sat down with you to talk about how you're bothering him.

And truly , what made lilia irritated and bothered the most was. Your gaze.

Ah those eyes that never stopped looking at his directly, firmly ,not an ounce of fear in them.

The way you gazed upon him like he was a treasure that you couldn't bare to look away from not even for a second or he might just slip away and never return.

Whats that emotion inside your eyes?

Whats that warmness?

It feels familiar yet different ? Nobody has ever looked at him that way . He is not used to it and it makes his skin crawl.

Are you bewitching him human?

He still doesn't trust the fact that you're magicless ,not when you're doing something to him .

Your damned gaze made him feel ... something at least.

Yet he couldn't help himself to brush you away completely you were ... interesting?

On the other hand you were fighting inside bc of the fact that you couldn't shower him in love right this moment and tell him who you are... You must focus to find out more.

And just as he was about to say something your vision got blurry~~~

.

.

.

"Darling you've been sleeping for a bit too long aren't you going to wake up soon?

"..."

"I might even make you a meal how about that? Oh i know you're going to love this one♡"

You stirred awake and found yourself on your present Lilias lap.

"Lilia?" you looked up at him all confused ( Was that all a dream?Does he know, does he remember?)

You didn't even notice you fell asleep on him while he was gaming for god knows how long.

He was caressing your face at your call and cooing at your sleepy state. My how adorable you looked to him right now.

"Hm?"

"Did we perhsaps meet before?"

Lilia smiled wide at your question before bending down and kissing your forehead gently.

"Perhaps my love, perhaps~"

.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑**̑˟

Ps. I would love to know what do you think guys :3 (i had a bit of help)

[deathofacupid]

stupid | jake peralta

a/n: apparently gina's character has haters...

summary: he's an idiot, and you can't help but worry for him.

warnings: cursing, petty y/n (sorry in advance)

pairing: fem!reader x jake peralta (enemies but lovers)

word count: 2.5k+ words

"no, because you're an idiot!"

"i had him!" jake argues back. look at him, thinking he's all smart and crap.

"you quite literally did not," you throw your hands up, exasperated, "he would've blown off your head!"

"he wouldn't have! i would've talked him down!"

"oh, yeah, because you're just so charming," your voice oozes with sarcasm.

"i'll have you know that i am, in fact, quite charming."

"i don't want to even know what your definition of charming is."

"it's-"

"i said i don't want to know. and that's not even the point. how did we get here?"

"because you claimed-"

"it was rhetorical! the point is that you were being stupid and reckless!"

"what about you? is there, like, no trust in this relationship? fine, i might've been a little... but- but it doesn't matter! i could've got him! he wouldn't have shot me."

"yes, he-"

"nuh-uh!"

"yeah!"

"nu-"

"look, peralta. for once in your life, think with your head, not your junk."

he paused, squinting an eye, "uh, spontaneousness is... hot?"

"having my partner bleeding out on the ground, and i hate to break it to you, is not hot."

"subjective."

"it's really not."

"that's also subjective."

"what's also subjective?"

"your opinion on the subjectiveness is subjective, 'kay?"

you pinch the bridge of your nose. "jacob-"

"'jacob'?" he whines. "that's never good."

"-it's not even about your stupid, rash decisions. i'm your partner for this case. you can't just- just go off without me. we work together, you know that. storming into an active crime scene - mind you, with armed shooters-"

"well, if they're shooter, aren't they already armed?"

you give him a look (the millionth one that day). "jake, i am not kidding. and honestly, you shouldn't be either. this whole," you vaugely gesture to him, "childish personality was cute at first, but i'm getting real damn sick of it. grow. up. everyone already has. it's your turn," you jab him in the chest with your finger, jaw clenched.

"okay, wait, so it's not hot?" he calls to you as you storm out. he wasn't really expecting an answer, but jake was disappointed anyways.

you do your best to avoid him the rest of the week, and yes, the silent treatment is petty, but he needs to know you're being legit about this. otherwise, he'll never get it.

you don't want him to get over-confident and pull crap like that. up until now, someone's always had his back.

but what if one day, they just don't?

"mm, i'm thinking there's a little trouble in paradise," gina says, pointing at you, then jake from across the bar.

another case had just been solved, and it was a big one. and who doesn't like to get shit-faced drunk?

not many people, actually.

and, hey, maybe this is what you need. a chance to loosen up, and just for once, not think about that fight.

a chance to loosen up by sulking alone is what you mean, not gina prodding you about your relationship problems.

"okay, well, you go take that big brain of yours and think somewhere else."

"or - and hear me out - you tell me what's going on. i think we should go with the latter."

you sigh, is there any way you're getting out of this? you peer over her shoulder, trying to find amy.

"it's no use, my friend," she says, "we are offically on drink three amy."

"aw, man." from past experience, third drink amy was not helpful amy. you think you like helpful amy better.

much, much better.

especially now.

"now, spilll."

"ugh, fine," you say, as you down another two shots. if you're gonna talk about this, you're gonna need some background help.

"ooh, and she's going down from there," gina whispers.

"jake was being stupid, i got mad at jake for being stupid, jake is mad at me - because, and get this, he thinks i'm the stupid one!" you scoff, "i mean, come on! like, sorry i saved your ass, my bad. won't happen again!"

when you look over at him, he's talking with terry. completely unaffected! it's like, how dare he.

"oh, my god. gina, do you see that? look. at. him." he's laughing with terry and charles, as if nothing ever happened. you did not spend an entire week being petty for nothing.

you grind your teeth and turn back to the bar.

"i'll be honest with you, i have a feeling he doesn't realize you're mad at him."

"i've been avoiding him... all week."

"uh, you might have to step up your game."

"or don't do that," rosa says from beside you, making you jump.

"when did you even get here?" you splutter.

"i'm a good cop."

"or just a really scary ninja," you mutter.

gina tilts her head, "yeah, but if you're over here, who's watching amy?"

rosa blinks, "jake, i guess."

you've never almost snapped your neck that hard. you narrow your eyebrows, "four drink amy."

"is she..." gina pauses, "dirty-talking him?"

"she's drunk," rosa reminds you, to which you nod. "yeah, duh, of course. i can see that. um, very well."

gina cackles, "now, it's how jake responds - that's what matters."

"this is the saddest thing thing i've seen all day."

you shoo her, not looking her direction, "shhh, rosie." she swats your hand away, but you're too busy to notice.

"y/n, he's literally getting her water."

"damn him for being such a gentleman," you mutter.

"jake? gentleman? isn't his sense of humor literally just poop jokes?" you ignore gina's remark too.

you watch charles gently guide amy to a booth in the back, and then your attention is back on jake.

jake and the hot blonde beside him.

gina nods, "and the plot thickens."

"god," you scowl, "look at her with her prada. i hate rich people."

diaz snorts, "think you might be projecting there?"

"definitely," you tell her.

"it looks like small talk, y/n."

"who's side you on, diaz?"

she puts her hands up in mock surrender. "no one's. i'm just doing you a favor by not feeding into your delusions."

"where's sober amy when you need her?" you groan.

"what would you need her for?"

"lip-reading, duh."

"...right," rosa blinks.

you whine, "holdling grudges are so hard."

"they really aren't," diaz shrugs.

"why can't he just be not dumb? do you know how much easier that would make my life. hint: much, much, easier. like, scale out of to ten; 12, easier."

"terry has a wife, right?"

"is that rhetorical? or are you really asking? because he never shuts up about his wife and kids."

"do you think-" you start.

"that he could help you figure out what's happening between the two of you?" a deeper voice says.

"god!" you exclaim, "you guys just come out of nowhere!"

"well, terry would love to help you."

"okay, first, i was gonna say 'help me by talking sense into him', not have a couple's counseling."

"i think you should talk to him," terry says.

"no, no, you should talk to him. he totally started this."

"what happened?"

you frown, "n-"

"nothing is not a valid answer. because, trust me, everyone at the precinct know it's something."

"everyone?" you squeak.

"everyone," he confirms.

"i second that," rosa adds, "you guys are normally on top of each other."

"...yeah," gina winces, recalling the storage room incident.

"you really think i should just talk to him?"

"i do."

you tug your bottom lip between your teeth, debating this. "i just... i feel like if i talk to him... he'll automatically think i'm okay with it. like i'm letting it go or something."

terry gives you one of those looks, "maybe that's why you should talk to him."

you pause for a moment longer, before deciding he's right.

ignoring him has done nothing, which is the opposite of what you're intent was. you want everything to be okay again, so maybe the silent treatment isn't the right thing.

you have to try somthing else.

and, by the looks of it, it's talking to him.

you slid off the barstool, playing with the end of your hair as you approach him.

maybe if you'd gotten up a little earlier, as his girlfriend, that stupid blonde wouldn't think it was okay to shamelessly flirt with him. you raise an eyebrow as she rest a hand on his bicep, and he does nothing to stop her.

does he not realize she's clearly feeling him up?

you turn back to your small group of friend, giving them a look that says "what now?".

before any of them can respond, someone taps your shoulder. "jesus! what's with scaring the shit out of me today?"

you except it to be hitchcock or scully so you can let some hot air out by screaming at them. it is not in fact either of those to.

standing in front of you is the literal definition of tall, dark, and handsome. "i'm a good cop!" you blurt.

"sorry if i startled you," oh god, he's british too.

if you weren't dating jake, you'd be all over this guy. but honestly, he doesn't hold a candle to your boyfriend.

but... does he know that?

you put on a polite smile as you shake your head. "no, i'm all good."

"cool, then," he remarks, leaning against the slab of the bar. okay, okay, slick. "one kamikaze, please." the man turns to look at you, "mind if i get you something?"

"sure," you brush a strand of hair behind your ear. "i'll have..." you scrunch up your nose, "the same thing."

"it's a margarita. just vodka instead."

"pft, i knew that."

he laughs, and it feels so... practiced. like he's done it a thousand times before, nothing but for stage presence. your eyes flit over him, and by his watch, you can tell that just might be the case.

"vincent, by the way." man, rich person name too.

"y/n," you say, shaking his hand. "nice to meet you."

"wow, pretty name for a pretty girl."

you pretend to giggle, squeezing his arm gently. how cliched was that line?

"you're so sweet." you can see jake seething at vincent, and you give him nothing but a petty look.

his attention is clearly not on the girl anymore, and it's just the way you like it.

you decide to indulge in this further, "where you from, pretty boy?" wait, was that too much? too late.

he chuckles, "london, sweets."

"oh, wow. what're you doing all the way over here?"

"ah, just work things."

"really? what's your job?"

"v.p. for a finance company. you?"

"nypd," you say.

"interesting."

you blink, "why?"

"i just- well, you don't see too many female cops. it's more of a... male-dominated thing, you know? and for good reason, i bet," he laughs like it's this insanely funny thing, and you follow along.

"hey, baby," jake comes up beside you, arm around your waist.

"oh, so now i'm 'baby'."

vincent looks from you to him, then back at you.

"you've always been 'baby'!"

"have i? because you looked like you forgot that, over with that blondie."

"are you serious? i wasn't even-"

"great," vincent mutters.

"she's was flirting with you!"

"she really wasn't!"

you give him a look. "okay, so maybe she was, but i swear i didn't know. like, she asked me about that dimond heist! and it's the coolest story to tell!"

"c'mon, you really didn't know? you always know!"

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"it means you can't keep it in your pants and, for some reason, you're proud of it!"

"what about you? you, and i know for a fact, were all giggly with this guy!"

"i think i'll be heading out-"

"don't you dare even move, vinny."

"seriously? vinny?" jake scoffs.

"and i was only over here because i thought you were flirting with her!"

"so it's some stupid, petty, misunderstanding?"

"stupid? oh-ho, you want stupid, jakey? what's stupid is trying to take on an armed criminal while unarmed."

"god, this again? i told you i had it!"

"guys!" you call to rosa and boyle, "enlighten us - him - did jake really 'have it'?"

neither of them respond. in fact, charles finds the rim of his shot glass very interesting.

"that's what i thought," you say, finishing your shot and slamming it down.

you march right out, and it's not until you make it out that you realize you rallied the attention of everyone in there.

a part of you feels really stupid, but another part is just mad. why doesn't he get that his actions have consequences?

"y/n?"

you quickly wipe away your tears.

"go away. i'm going home," you rummage through your purse for keys. you may have forgotten that you drove here.

"no, you're not. you're intoxinated."

"fuck off."

"it would've been so much cooler if you said 'fuck you'."

"wh- oh, my god."

"sorry, sorry! look, you're right. i didn't want to admit it before, but you are."

"because of your hero complex?"

"i don't- oh."

"yeah," you sniff.

"hey," he says, pulling you in for a hug. he smells like jake, like home. not your house, your home. resting his chin on the top of your head, you're tucked into his neck. "i didn't even know she was f-"

"jake, it's not about her. you know that."

he sighs, "i just don't get it. i mean, it's my job. and my job is dangerous."

"yeah, and you're right. the hostage thing was dangerous, but it didn't have to be that dangerous. if you would've given me just two minutes, i would've been there. i could've helped. you didn't need to do all that."

"what if in that two minutes, they hurt someone?"

"they were so obviously busy. they wouldn't have done anything. they were... dumb. and you just wanted to make your 'cool enterance'."

"okay, yeah, that was part of the reason. but i needed you to trust me."

"and i needed you to keep me in the loop. you just went, i mean, i didn't even find out until you were there."

"alright, i'm sorry. but i'm okay. i'll always be, right? because i've got you," he pauses, "that was cute, right?"

you pull away, "i might not always be there. you got lucky! jake, you... you could've died." your voice breaks, and you don't do anything to conceal it.

"aww, hey," he coos, bringing you back in. "i'm... i'm sorry. seriously, i really am. i didn't know you were worried about that. i thought you were just mad at me for keeping you... in the dark, a little."

"of course i was worried, jakey. you're my boyfriend, and i love you. i don't- i don't know what i'd do if you died out there. so, maybe in hindsight, dating my co-worker wasn't a good a idea."

"i'll be more careful from now on, i promise. it won't happen again," jake finishes, kissing your forehead. "and i love you too."

"okay," you sigh, content.

"does this mean we can have hot, angsty make-up sex?"

"why would it be angsty?"

"is that a no?"

ask to be added to the jake peralta tag-list!

[rhemaji]

Lil rant abt Caine

Caine is just a lil guy, despite it all. From a design standpoint I thought I was gonna absolutely fucking hate looking at him because those chattering teeth toys make my skin crawl- but the art direction really helps make him look more appealing and whimsical than a disembodied pair of talking dentures sounds on paper.

The thing with Caine is I didn't initially like him that much after the pilot. While his interactions with Bubble were quite funny, that one episode left me feeling like he'd just end up being kinda one note or at the very least one note in a way that'd get on my nerves. Then everything changed when Pomni Wake Up Time to Go On an Adventure! attacked

The comedic timing throughout that announcement video was so fucking funny and thanks to his line deliveries and animation/model [?] upgrades- CAINE LOOKED AND SOUNDED SO ADORABLE!!

Legit it wasn't until this came out that I realized I actually could be on board with Caine as a character and it's been uphill from there. Episode 2 was better than the pilot not only comedically and visually but also in terms of showcasing just how actually unsettling Caine can be as an antagonist. Not because he's vengeful or malicious, but because he's so oblivious to how people work. His mind's always buzzing with terrible ideas and he's so so eager about these adventures, but at the end of the day he really really doesn't get the circus crew. Try as he might to include them, keep them engaged [ZOOBLE WAIT!], or even give them what they want [Exit doors] he doesn't realize how traumatic and distressing their current situation can be. The very nature of being trapped in a digital world is bad enough but it's especially rough here bc not only does its god have limited capabilities, you also are very well acquainted with him, and he can't fully understand your pain nor can he truly save you from it. He won't mourn your abstraction. He will not attend your funeral. He will not understand the distress of your arrival, nor the weight of your departure.

This isn't just sad from the pov of the circus gang, it's also very sad for Caine- not because i think he'll ever feel sad about it himself necessarily, but instead because the situation is sad. New members appear over and over, you craft adventures and games and distractions like [i'm assuming] they'd asked you to, but over and over, one by one, they abstract. They stop laughing at your jokes. They don't like you. They want you to leave them alone. It's confusing and maybe even inconvenient.

Where I'm hoping the series takes Caine is that this dissonance between Caine's intentions and the distress of the circus gang gets worse and worse and worse until something's got to give. I'm hoping that maybe at some point a character will try to sit down and talk with him and for it to either sorta get through to him but completely backfire in some form because he misinterprets what the others want from him OR i'd also be down for him to listen, but not understand any of it and proceed as tho nothing happened. I don't want Caine to come around really, it'd be interesting to see how Goose would go about having him come around to being a better host that empathizes more with humans, but personally I do prefer him to keep on keepin' on being this oblivious and eager antagonist.

My favorite Caine lines/line deliveries so far:

"You, my friend, stumbled into an incredible world of wonders, where anything can happen!…e-except for swearing."

"And here we have THE GROUNDS! Drown yourself in the digital lake, or engage in ridery at the digital carnival!"

"What do you think of XDDCC? You're right, terrible, LET'S TRY THAT AGAIN!"

"Kaufmo abstracted? Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"Bubble you can't say that"

"-ZOOBLE WAIT!"

"Why are you all just standing there?! The- The Canyon- C-Candy Canyon Kingdom needs you now!" [according to his VA, this was an actual line flub but hoo boy am i glad they use it bc it's hilarious]

"I know you guys love your NPCs, but if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows...what. could. happen..."

That last line there specifically surprised me the most because up until he said that I was under the impression Caine was linked to every single NPC. I even thought he could see through their eyes if he so chose thanks to his "hundreds of all seeing eyes" line in the pilot. Him saying this here implies lots of things. Has Caine forgotten before? Is someone in the circus secretly an NPC ooooooooh~

"Who knows what could happen..."

Honestly, when Caine first said this I did immediately theorize Jax as being an NPC but now that it's been *checks calendar* three months since I watched episode 2, I don't think this is the case anymore. Jax being an NPC would be...something. Jax not knowing he's an NPC would be interesting [i like it when ppl's realities get shattered], but honestly I think this line was a way to telegraph to the audience that no Caine isn't actually all knowing. He didn't know Gummigoo was coming through that portal until he saw him with his own two eyes. My theory is that Caine is only able to teleport, create, censor, transform, and destroy the world around him, but isn't able to see all of it at once unless he tries to. I think Caine's default state is one where he only knows what he sees directly in front of him/what he himself has left waiting for someone else. And rather than implying someone in the gang is an NPC, I think that line in episode 2 was mainly implying Caine can be tricked, that it's possible to hide something from him, to surprise him even. Though I'm not opposed to an NPC we haven't met trying to join under the guise of being human, it'd potentially create some fun tension assuming the audience was given enough reason to care about them.

Jax is actually my favorite character in tadc, but i couldn't fill an entire post with things to say abt him. Caine seems to be- at least as of right now- the easiest of all the characters to try and wrap my head around. I'll probably have a lot more to say about Jax as he exists in canon as the episodes come out [EPISODE 6 MY BELOVED]

but uhhhh yeah, that's all the things i had to say abt Caine. Pls go watch/listen to the fansong Digital Land bye!

[mintytealfox]

NORTON'S 2025 LETTER

"Investigation Field Notes 1" 👀🙏🙏🙏

My THOUGHTS:

So its sounding like Alice showed up to look into the mining industry and the corruption there instead of looking into the accident itself! So a good amount of time could have passed since the accident 👀and judging how Norton had '1 Para' on him, sounds like he was traveling and traveling FAR.

This has me wondering what were all the places he went to before returning to find Benny rotting away in an alley. And what drew him to those places 👀🙏 Mans has his drive to grind for that money so why go all the way out there? the pay off must have been worth it to do all that travel. Then what brought him back to Benny? It isn't likely anyone contacted him to say that 'Benny is hella dead'. Maybe he was returning to check on him only to find him laid out and abandoned in such a horrible state. Which then makes me think that he wants to despise Benny so bad but he can't help himself, he cares and he can't help but care ;; He tries so hard to be dead inside to match how he looks on the outside but he just caaannnn'ttttt ;; BUT I wonder what would have happened if he returned and Benny was still alive? Cause again, there was no way anyone was like 'this dude dead come get him' he was returning to see an alive Benny. What was his plan? Was he actually returning to potentially get Benny out of there to somewhere better? Did he find something on his travels that made him go back to Benny??

(I still think Benny was manipulating Norton to do all the work and Norton peaced out of there after everything was said and done. But the fact that he returns to Benny after all that....gosh)

Cause by the sounds of it Norton would bring the freshest bread to Benny and not bother getting any for himself. He would save up to give Benny the best. That is NOT the actions of someone only there to use and take. He would have had some fresh bread for himself as well, but he didn't, he would eat nasty bread always and then only Benny got the good stuff ;; LIKE?? Makes me think that maybe Benny was getting dementia or something and thinking that Norton was just using him and yelling and screaming about Norton being a thief but maybe Norton was legit trying to do it for the both of them and not just himself 🙃 ITs difficult dealing with elderly who are loosing their minds.... Getting berated and accused of stuff simply because they are throwing a tantrum in the moment just 180 flip flops in mood and actions ;; So Norton not visiting as often when Benny started to get too much, makes perfect sense to me. Life is hard enough without the person you view as family loosing themselves and attacking you now cause their brain is just gone ;; and you just want to remember them for who they were. And maybe he got so desperate to get them both out of there that he locked the eff in so he could get Benny to a doctor instead of this nasty moldy place they are currently in. But Benny and his twisting thought process, due to illness, thinking that Norton was just doing all this for himself and going to abandon him -sigh-

ITs just the fact that Norton returns after his travels makes me think he found something for Benny and was coming back for him orz but was obviously too late

and just became another nail in his own metaphorical coffin that leads him to agree to anything for money so he doesn't end up like a dead rat in the street. Just the massive disrespect to human life to have Benny just left out there for so long just to decompose in the alley like that is just beyond horrible.

---- Extra Thoughts: Norton bringing those Hades vibes back again ;; Tied to death and paying Benny's way into the after life ;;

I also think its interesting that the other miners are talking about Norton like he is some mythical creature that they think they have spotted pff

[ahamkara-apologist]

okay disclaimer: ik that categorizing female characters as the 'mom friend/figure' is a legit disease in fandom caused by general misogynistic views of female characters, and it's something that personally greatly irritates me bc its not only awful to do, it also tends to ruin the characters its put upon. ESPECIALLY in D2, which is outstanding in its cast of strong female characters

however. in the case of Eramis, I do believe that the fact that she was a mother and is a genuinely caring, nurturing person at heart is something that is a deeply important core part of her character, as well as thematically important to the future of the Eliskni moving forward. It's important because in her case, I believe that her motherly inclinations are why, pre-Witness-whispering-through-the-Darkness, Eramis was such a successful kell- because unlike some other kells who sought a future for the Eliksni via domination, her main focus for them was to create a haven for her people that could be defended from Lightbearers. Riis-Reborn wasn't something to sniff at- it was the closest thing to an actual Eliksni city in a very long while. What got her was her trauma of the Whirlwind and her desire to destroy the Traveler to level the playing field for everyone involved- trauma that the Witness preyed upon in order to get to us. Like a parasite, seeking its secondary host. Eramis certainly is not the only Eliksni who lost her family during the Whirlwind, but I think that her specific brand of anger is closest to that of a mother lion whose cubs are in danger, and is lashing out in a furious fight-or-flight reflex at anything that she perceives as a threat. It's just that in this case, her 'cubs' were the Eliksni as a whole, and the threat she perceived before the Witness started torturing her was the Traveler.

I also think that her relationship with parenthood also makes for a very interesting character contrast to Misraaks (aka the other successful kell viewed as a source of hope for the Eliksni), and helps to set them up as antiparallels to each other. Eramis was a gentle, nurturing mother with a reverence for the Traveler who turned into the bitter, cunning warrior we see now when she lost access to her wife and children; Misraaks was a fearsome, ruthless pirate before he became a father, which gentled him and turned him towards being more pious. Eramis represents the old ways, and offers hope to the Eliksni who cannot bear to cohabitate with humanity; Misraaks represents a change in the tide, and kells the open-minded Eliksni who are willing to lay down their arms to live among the humans of Sol. Misraaks is of Light (change, forgiveness, moving forward), while Eramis is of Darkness (memory, control, looking back). They're opposites in every way except for the fact that both of them were/are amazing parents, and I'd argue that their ability to nurture and overlook others is what led to their success as kells.

Most importantly, however, is their relationship to Eido, who represents the future of the Eliksni. Misraaks was her father, and he did his best to raise her to be kind and openminded, but he also shielded her from the horrors of the past a little too well. She's outgrown that, and now that she's strong enough to handle said horrors, Eramis has been acting as a mentor to fully introduce her to the tragedy of what she lost and why elder Eliksni are so angry about it- and I don't think that she would have been receptive to Eido attempting to talk to her if it weren't for the fact that under all of her prickly armour, she's still that nurturing person at heart. It's her desire to care for others and to see a better future for her people that has kept her going despite her having no hope for herself, and it's that loving heart that has saved herself and her people from utter destruction at both our hands and Fikrul's- because if she didn't look at eido and go 'oh this child is the future of our people and i must protect her with my life', then both her and the rest of House Salvation would have been marked for death. And now here she is, continuing to care for Eido even as her father declines by telling her stories about Riis and helping her track down an apothecary to try to cure him, despite her not believing in his ways. I don't think it's entirely because she used to be a mother, but...I do think that it's playing a huge role in it.

(I also think it's personally fascinating to see how someone who used to be known for being a doting, sweet mom to her hatchlings and a caring mate to her wife can turn into someone who's a terrifying warrior on the battlefield and a cunning, politically saavy ruler, but even then, that doesn't surprise me all that much- if you've got a dearth of experience wrangling hatchlings, then being kell of a house is basically just wrangling a bunch of grown-up hatchlings. Same principles, just upped a level or two in complexity.)

[ninainthetardis]

Given that it's completely beyond me how a character like Jason Grace can be hated by so many people within the fandom, I've decided to try and figure this absurd bullshit out. It turns out it's not just an unnecessary desire to boost Percy by diminishing Jason's character. A thing that I hate, because I think that diminishing/bashing some characters to appreciate others is quite the opposite of validation, as I believe a character can only be truly defined by their own actions/words/personality and hence, should be appreciated for those aspects, not by unnecessary/non sensical comparisons with other characters.

So I'm currently rereading HoH, and I've just noticed that, basically, all the Jason haters simply use Piper's words about him and take them for granted. Which speaks volumes and is also one of the reasons why I've never liked them together.

And no, it's not that "she knows him better than anyone else" because that is bullshit. She never even bothered to really get to know him. All she wanted was to make that Mist induced fairytale their reality, mainly because she thought he was hot, and strong and cool, and liked the Mist version of Jason. A version that was not even real. She knew that, yet she was constantly making comparisons between that and reality, and whining about it. And this in particular would be even fair if she wasn't the one out of the two of them who was completely obsessed with getting together for real in the first place, despite knowing he might have someone waiting for him at Camp Jupiter. A thing Jason constantly thought about in TLH.

We don't get to see how they really start their relationship. All we are shown is Piper threatening Drew - and by association anyone else in cabin 10 - and saying that "Jason was hers even if he didn't know it yet" (seriously, what would you think if their roles were reversed?).

But somehow, they got together later on. We don't know what made Jason change his mind about them. Piper gave a tantrum every time he mentioned Reyna (even when he was just talking about information that was useful for their quest and hence, you know, saving the world). And then we even get the "boys are so stupid" line when it's actually Piper who is being unreasonable here, letting her own insecurities put their mission to save the world at risk. Insecurities that are legit and prove she is aware that she pushed things between her and Jason when she should have just realised the damn memories she had were fake and let go. And that's on her, not on Jason. She was pushing from the very beginning. He was holding back because he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, considering he didn't remember anything.

Again, think about all this as if their roles were reversed. Doesn't look good, uh?

Piper also knew she was potentially putting an end to something that could be meaningful for Jason, yet she kept pushing anyway despite being pretty clear that she was just obsessed with the idea of him/having him as a boyfriend.

And then she just went and blamed Hera, saying she forced them together because of the Mist thing. Bfr.

She wanted that from the very beginning and during all the time they have been together. Her povs were almost all about that, for most of the time.

She never truly took into account Jason's feelings, or the difficulties he was going through due to his memory loss, completely disregarded his trauma and his insecurities, and she even influenced his thoughts and emotions with her powers because she was scared of his past life. As if him being in a vulnerable position when she did all she could to get together with him wasn't bad enough without her use of her charmspeaking abilities. And she admitted multiple times of using it on him and the other demigods on the Argo II, deliberately and unintentionally. Even Jason, in his own pov, suspected she used her powers on him, making her the only thing he could think of whenever he mentioned Reyna. This isn't normal. This isn't romantic. "He supposed it was not the worst sort of revenge". Boy, you shouldn't even be blamed for having a pre Piper life at all!!!

So yeah, she didn't know him. How could she, when he didn't even know himself?

It's also the way she describes him: boring, distant, rules centred, closed off, always serious. She even compares him to Percy, and their relationship to Percy and Annabeth's. A weird way to describe the guy you claim to love. A weird way to prove your love to someone, complaining about him "being distant" when you know damn well he's trying so hard to retrieve his memories. A way bigger, existential deal to cope with than romantic drama, don't you think? Hadn't she pushed so hard, I'm not sure he would have started their relationship at all.

Anyway, we then move back to Jason's pov and he claims that he doesn't like rules, that they actually annoy him, that he's always tried to change things a Camp Jupiter but had to take it slow due to the Romans' attachment to tradition, that he always does the opposite of what he is told/suggested (except, clearly, when it come to be summoned for a quest). And he claims all that on the basis of the few memories he got back. And he makes jokes, too. He has sarcastic comebacks, too. THIS IS THE REAL JASON, these are the elements that need to be taken into account when trying to figure out who he truly is, not Piper's biased perception of him. And people would know those things, if they had actually read his povs.

Also, I don't think that reading the rest of the books (ToA) will change my mind about any of this. Honestly, it is too much to get past to. And I don't even want to do that. I think it can only get worse, from the few things I know about ToA.

[redheadspark]

Prompt #2 with Azriel

Pls.

A/N - BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for requesting this, anon!

Time

Summary - Azriel never thought he had the time for someone. Cassian disagrees.

Warnings - Just some cute fluff

“Come on, Az.  Let’s talk about.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” 

“Of course, there is!”

Az looked up from his makeshift desk, which was basically a piece of plywood that was blanking on top of two crates on either end.  He would get a better desk, or a legit desk if he wished to.  But he would rather use what he had than pay some money for something new and something he would barely use.  Maybe he was frugal, but he would rather be frugal than far too comfortable.  It was a running joke with the Inner Circle, how little Azriel would spend, and how he hated the concept of money.  Rhsyand was the opposite, though he used his spending on good things and for the better of those he loved.  Cassian just needed to learn how to handle money in general, if he was left to his own devices he would be broke within seconds.  

There, in his little broom closet of an office at the Townhouse, Azriel saw Cassian grin at him as he placed his pen down and kept his intense stare on Cassian, “I am far too busy for anything apart from work, especially with our upcoming negotiations with Tamlin and Spring Court.”

“Psh, that’s child’s play, and that dirtbag of a Highlord is nothing we can’t handle,” Cassian replied with a wave of his hand, “We have more important things at hand, including your love life.”

Azriel snorted and took his pen again, looking down at his paperwork that was in need of a look over and he scanned the paperwork once again.

“That is nonexistent,” Azriel explained.

“And that is the problem, especially since there is a clear candidate that can change that for you,” Cassian teased.  Azriel said nothing, but he knew exactly who Cassian was talking about.  It was the same person that was on the other’s mind who would be perfect for the Spymaster, the calm to his storm and the peace to his chaos.  

“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Azriel hummed, writing a bit before flipping another page.

“Bullshit you don’t,” Cassian joked, “Being in a relationship and with someone you love actually makes someone…oh, I don’t know….more likable,”

“I don’t have time for a relationship—“ Azriel was about to say to him before Cassian clicked his tongue.

“That has nothing to do with anything I just said. Like at all!” He said back to the Spymaster.  Azriel had to pause then and look at the Illyrian Commander.  Cassian gave him a stern look, the kind that Azriel would get when he made a bonehead move.  Sometimes things did go over Ariel’s head from time to time, he was never one to pick up on regular social clues.  Perhaps he was too wired to be the Spymaster to simply be himself…what was himself anyway?  

Having a social life was never really part of his life, not for how long he was working with and for Rhysand.  He was far too busy to have downtime or hang out with friends, apart from the Inner Circle.  That was different, that was built on deep and intense relationships and friendships that made and shaped him.  But love?  Was there love meant for him?  Was there love meant to be in his life?

Did he want it?  Now that he thought about it.

“She’s coming over tonight for family dinner.  Nesta invited her, and as someone who will not go against his mate, I think it’s a great time to introduce yourself to her,” Cassian advised Azriel, who then leaned back in his chair and thought about it.  He did see you from time to time, you were good friends with Nesta since you asked Rhysand and Feyre to help start up the Velaris library.  You too were a bookworm, you loved reading books and saving the volumes that held history and stories that were meant to be told for centuries.  Of course, Rhysand agreed and gave the funding, along with the connections to build and jump-start the library.  Within months, Velaris Public Library opened to all the Velaris citizens and it was an instant hit.  

Azriel was there at the Opening Ceremony, seeing you beaming in pride as you spoke in front of the spectators.  Nesta was a partner in the project, standing next to you and clutching your hand in excitement since she too was enthralled with the notion of a library in Velaris.  Azriel was entranced by you from the start, there was no argument there.  But he also saw the thirst for preserving history and wanting to know more.  He loved that fire, that spirit, and yet it was laced with sincerity and kindness that was rare to see in the broken world around them.

“Come on, Az.  Live a little,” Cassian urged, to which Azriel finally cracked a smile.

“Oh, there you are Azriel! Come meet the guest of honor!”

“Honestly, I’m no guest of honor, Nesta.”

"Yes, you are! This is Azriel, the Spymaster himself. Azriel, come meet Y/N!"

You were sitting on one of the loveseats, holding a glass of wine in hand as Azriel came into the sitting room of the House of Wind.  After his talk with Cassian, Azriel felt as if he should be the one to officially meet you, though he was giving him some fear since he only knew you from afar.  He even tried to dress up decently, in a dress shirt and pants with his hair styled to be less rugged and more formal.  Perhaps he looked like he was trying too much, but at least he was putting in the effort.  

You were wearing a simple cream dress, though it was showing your curves in the right spots, and a shawl over your shoulders since there was still a bit of a chill in the air in Velaris.  Your hair, long and thick, was half up and down in a messy style but it suited you.  Azriel’s heart skipped for a long moment, you smiling up at him as you got up from the loveseat.  You two were smiling at one another, not noticing Nesta and Cassian watching from the side and somewhat hiding behind a pillar with their own smiles plastered on their faces.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” You said to him, holding out your hand for him to shake.  He took it instantly, your palms connecting and warmth was felt along your skin.

“You as well,” He said, your smile growing slightly.  

“See, told you that they were meant for each other!” Nesta whispered to Cassian as they watched you and Azriel sit together on the loveseat and start a conversation.  

“I know, baby.  I know,” Cassian hummed, kissing his mate on the cheek.

The End.

January Prompt Session

[rooks-dagger]

Six(ish) Song Soundtrack: Ember "Rook" Mercar

Thanks for the tag, @dancing--lights @themildmahariel and @litchigaming! 💜 Highly recommend y'all check out Livia Mercar, Euzen Thorne, and Vesper Mercar's playlists for some cool songs!

Rules: If you're tagged, make a post with links to music and/or lyrics describing six things/events about your OC/story.

No-pressure tagging @augustnugs @dudewheresmynug @jouskaroo @fatagenda @thesummerstorms @curiouswisp @grimrevolution and @master-of-the-elements ✨

1. An event that defined your character's past

Gladiator - Zayde Wolf

I'ma give you a second just to catch your breath 'Cause I can see that your heart is jumping out your chest I know you gave it all, 'cause I've already seen your best And it's time you accepted this Gladiator, gladiator, gladiator Picked a fight with the gods, I'm a giant slayer Bone shaker, dominator Freight train, wrecking ball, I'm the gladiator

Ember spent a good deal of her past as a gladiator. It’s where she learned to fight and where she realized the power of a little showmanship in the arena. She takes that same cockiness to her fight against the gods.

2. How others see them

[POV of Rook's Enemies] Don't Get in My Way - Zack Hemsey

You don't want to say no more than a mime you can't afford And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw Cuz trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth and claw And you don't wanna see inside the mind of a savage kind And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"

Ok, but legit, Rook would be a terrifying enemy to have. I mean, you've got rumors of this upstart nobody and then suddenly she's everywhere. Bouncing across the Thedas like it's nothing. Hunting down Venatori leaders, Antaam generals, and blighted dragons one by one. Then she picks a fight with the risen gods and WINS. Those corrupt magisters are shaking in their boots when they hear Ember's back in town.

[POV of Rook's Allies] Hold the Line - Tom Morello (feat. grandson)

It ain't a matter of if, It's just a matter of time But to get where we're going Sister, you gotta hold the line You gotta stay steadfast Tread lightly 'Cause they're looking for a reason to knock you down But you can't ask too politely In the trenches you gotta get loud Hold the line

Ember's friends see her as someone who stands tall against impossible odds. She doesn't back down. And more importantly, she’s right there in the trenches with them. She’s at their side when they’re facing their own demons. I don't think Ember even realizes how much her presence rallies the team. In her eyes, she’s just doing what she can to hold the line.

3. How they see themselves

Blood Runs Red - 78rpm

I may be under fire, but not burning up I'll come out on top, let there be no doubt I may be on the ropes, but I'm not going down Give me one more day, I'll be wanted all over town As long as my blood runs red Racing through my veins, and my heart still bleeding I will fight 'til the end Even if I'm crawling on my hands and knees and bleeding out

Ember has an... interesting relationship with pain. I’ve always thought her demon would be one of Self-Destruction or Pyrrhic Victory. She will do everything she can to keep her team safe, but she’s the first to put herself in the line of fire. She’ll take the hit because she knows she can bear it. She’ll fight all the way to her death if you let her.

4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic)

Hero - Faouzia

If I were your hero, would you be mine? I know this ain't a fairy tale, yeah, this is real life But if I were to save you, would you do the same? And catch me if I'm fallin', fallin', fallin'?

Ember, sap that she is, would absolutely tell everyone that Neve is her hero lol. Neve’s been with her every step of the way in the fight against the gods and has saved her life more times than she can count. Underneath all the playful banter and late-night cases are two people who trust one another to show up and be in their corner. They're partners and each other's heroes. It's cute!

5. A major fight scene

Fire - House of Protection

Doubt can take away All your intention Trust the chase and stay On your direction If you know what you desire Hit 'em with, hit 'em with, hit 'em with... Fire

Ember goes into her biggest battles with intention. She brings chaos to the fight, blitzing around the enemy with poison and explosives, but she’s got an end goal in mind. Plus, fire... ember... get it? lol

6. End credits

You're Where You Belong / Give 'Em Hell - Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe

Ember isn't the type of hero to go riding off into the sunset and retire. She's found a place to belong and people she loves. She's going to keep fighting to create a better world for them. There's plenty of adventure ahead. "The Veilguard Remains Vigilant" and so will she.

[pro-logue-epi-logue]

RANDOM DEVIL'S NIGHT THOUGHTS

~NUMBER 18~

Devil's Night-

Some things people forgets or pay less attention to:

1. Michael was also abused by his father.

2. Rika lost her father to accident but her mother to drugs and depression( she didn't die but she was not fine at all).

3. Banks mother made her steal things before she lived with the torrance's.

4. Banks mother SOLD her to damon when she was 12.

5. Damon saved Winter from an abusive family.

6. Damon saw all kinds of horror by the age of 11 in his house.

7. Only person who cared about winter is damon.

8. Winter gets left behind because of being blind, by her own family and even by the "found family" gang.

9. In the entire series only Emory pushed Will to do better and be better.

10. Will would have dies by 30 if Emory would not have came in the picture again.

11. Emory's parents died when she was 11.

Her brother who was fun suddenly became the thing of her nightmares.

She was abused financially, emotionally, physically and mentally for years.

12. Emory's abuse started when she was 11 and did not stop until she was 18 all of her formative years revolved around abuse.

13. Everytime Martin used to hit emory and she was brused or bleeding NO ONE used to put medication on her, NO ONE.

14. 11 years old Emory used to go to school with bleeding wounds or bruised body.😭😭

15. Emory only used to get hugs from her grandma even that stopped when she was 14.

16. Emory Scott lived a hellish life of abuse, got out of that house, got a better education and then became an ARCHITECT but it was always overlooked.

17. Emory was probably alone at her college graduation.

18. Emory fell in love with Will when she was 16 but had to let him go because she knew he would never understand her trauma( he didn't even when he was 26) and she would only bring him pain.

19. Emory always considered Alex as a friend but Alex was never a friend to Emory.

20. When Emory was getting rape threats( more than 4, yes i kept a count), was bleeding and getting brused, aydin was playing with her mind and rory wanted her to die, while not knowing anything about those boys, Alex was hiding safely in blackchurch, knowing what aydin can do, how taylor was a vile rapist and rory was a serial killer, and she called herself a "friend" of Emory.

21. Alex could have easily found 2 minutes to show herself the first day Emory arrived at blackchurch and explain everything, but she didn't, until she realized Aydin liked Emory, and she was jealous.

22. Alex was not planning to take Emory back to Thunderbay with them, hence not telling anyone about her from her satellite phone.

23. Alex was neither a good friend to Will nor to Emory.( she came to blackchurch for aydin, told a legit addict how she preferred him drunk, don't even get me started on how bitch she was to Emory example hitting a abuse survior even completelybeing aware of emmy's abuse).

24. Alex was always jealous of Emory and hated her all throughout Nightfall for no reason. (Will was literally in love with her since emory was 13,

Aydin whom Alex loved ignored her and never respected her in 7 years but respected Emory in 1 day and was a friend to emmy in blackchurch.

Micah and Rory were acting like brothers to emory within knowing her for only 1 day.

Will wasn't giving Alex time of the day in blackchurch and thinking of emmy

Emory faced life of difficulties but made something of her, architect, but alex hated what she did.

Emory had no one with her but was still standing strong but alex had the support of the friends and would be nothing without them

Emmy didn't need anyone but alex did

Every single boy in blackchurch respected and wanted to be close to emmy and save her but Everyone was ignoring alex, literally micah and rory didn't even gave her 1 look).

25. Alex was in love with Will and wanted to marry him.

26. The friend Will was to Alex he was never to Emory.

27. Will never understood Emory and her abuse.

28. Alex hated Emory but was fake acting as a friend and always looked down on Emory's and never leaft a chance to show her down( everyday she was visible in blackchurch,

Everytime aydin looked at emmy,

The entire train ride,

And even after the train ride in some scenes).

29. Alex COMPARING her difficulty life to Emory a literal surivor of child abuse and trauma was the most Shittiest thing.

( i get it alex had seen bad times butttttttt alex was thrown out of college when she was 18, started working as a luxury escort at 19,

But emmy lost her parents at 11,

Got brutally abused EVERYDAY from 11 to 18,

Lost the love of her life at 16,

Had to take care of her grandma since she was a child herself,

Had to make all adult decisions as a child.)

30. Alex thought Will was in love with her too.

31. Emory was more like Damon than anyone. Literally they are the 2 sides of same coin.

32. Emory at 16 always thought she will bring will down with her problems and he deserves to always smile so she let him go.

33. When emmy saw damon bury a body her first instinct was not to run but asked him if Will had anything to do with it.

34. Alex was going to use Will as plan B and marry him to make aydin jealous and make him feel less.

35. Emory was abused financially, emotionally, physically and mentally for years.

36. Emory had no one to lean on since she was 11 to she was 25, thats 14 YEARS!

37. Banks was the knly girl in a house full of gangsters and criminals.

38. Both Emmy's and Will's reaction after seeing a dead body is to dump it in ocean.

39. Will thought of Emory the first time he drowned and the second time too just like he did the third time.

40. Will was never in love with Alex.

41. Aydin had to fight his entire abusive family for Alex but when he came back She acted as if she was the only victim( as always).

42. Aydin was someone else's boyfriend when Alex wanted him and Alex was her friend, just like she wanted Will knowing full well Will and Emmy have a thing and just like she was Emmy's "friend".

43. Emory don't remember her parents.

44. Rika and Alex wanted the horseman validation. Seriously they were drooling for it.

45. Emory and Banks has no respect for The horseman. (Okay we all know this).

46. Kai got the biggest daddy issues.

47. Pd's decision to insert Alex in Nightfall was completely stupid, it ruined the book. WILLEMMY'S BOOK SHOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR ONLY!

48. Rika and Alex are not girls girl.

49. Rika knew Damon wanted to hurt Winter still didn't do anything.

50. Emmy was the only person someone can rely on.

51. Will knows how to tattoo someone and he tattooed most of his tattoos himself when he was in jail.

52. Both best friends Damon and Will are stalker they both stalked their Love interests. I mean guys Damon was is Winter's house and Will... this guy knew EVERYTHING about Emmy, on Saturday she works all day at gazebo, she gies to school, gazebo and her house not other places, her with her grandma.

[sonomly]

Haven't cooked up some fun, random fic fodder on here in a hot minute.

MonoBaku fans? FOR YOU:

Monoma knows how to stay in the top ten. The man is epic in his ability to balance hero saves with endorsements and media appearances, along with civilian meet and greets.

He kind of works 24/7.

Bakugou is a top notch hero. The guy saves lives day after day! I mean, he should easily be praised for it...

Only he's falling in the rankings...

Because he's SO BAD AT PRESS!

Atrocious, really.

Then the one night stands come out of the wood work.

Bakugou isn't even a love em and leave em guy... He's kind of just a leave em...

Oops!

Tabloid journalists start hounding him after he's doing LEGIT hero work. Hell, even in the middle. Does he agree that he's "spineless" and "emotionally abusive"?

Damn. A citizen being pulled to safety may not want to hear these things about a guy who they are relying on to make them feel better that their apartment just crumbled before their eyes.

Bakugou needs to be taught how to handle this better, because it's bubbled under his skin and pushed at the sore spots from his youth when he covered up his compassion to the nth degree.

He gets told by his PR he's going to go meet with another hero to talk strategy. No, Bakugou does not get to know who it is and make up an excuse to get out of it. There's a free lunch anyway.

It's Monoma.

Monoma freaking Neito!

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!

And Monoma's first mission?

Get Bakugou to go on more than ONE date with someone before dropping them like a sack of potatos.

Well... AT LEAST ONE DATE...

Jeez...

Maybe they need to meet again to go over strategy...

And again...

And a-

Wait...

Hold on...

Do THESE count as dates?

Are people starting to wonder why Phantom Thief and the Murder God are being seen together eating and talking and... LAUGHING? IS THAT A PICTURE OF DYNAMITE LAUGHING??

Maybe THIS is the press he needs, thinks the PR team.

Maybe they can keep going out to places for just a little longer.

For the rankings.

Maybe the PR team tells them they should find a reason to lean against one another nonchalantly...

I mean, they don't have to CONFIRM anything. They can just be CLOSE so the citizens are the more empathetic side... The HUMAN side... Of Bakugou.

After all, if the Phantom Thief is willing to be around him.

And smile.

And laugh.

Why SHOULDN'T Bakugou be higher in the rankings?

It's just to help out a classmate who clearly forgot how to have sympathy.

Monoma can pull back whenever he wants.

But Bakugou texted him again...

And he kind of... Doesn't... Mind?

[jilkbs]

Giorno giovanna, Jonathan Joestars son.

is it just me who gets pissed when people call Giorno the son of Dio....

he is Jonathan's son, he's Jonathan's seed even after his body was taken over by the wicked Dio and planted inside a woman cruel and unkind as Giorno's mother and despite the way Giorno grew up he still grew up to have compassion.

in my mind that's part of the reason Giono's power has to do with plants and growth. over and over again in part one dio mentions how the more you fight Jonathan the stronger his skill gets the more he grows

the moment Jonathan showed Buford compassion the flowers on the ground began to spout. signifying Jonathan's true honor, noble and gentle nature.

Giorno, despite his hard ships grew into someone who wanted to better the world and show compassion. unlike dio, who choose to be wicked and destroy the life of the only people who showed him compassion.he has Jonathan's spirt and honor, the only thing giorno inherited was dios ability to be ruthless, giorno is compassionate yes, but in that he's willing to do whatever it takes for justice and peace to prevail

this is shown in episode 1 of golden wind as Jonathan mentioned allot he strived to be a true gentleman, Giorno sees the women being yelled at and stolen from by and man and steps in, yes he takes some of there money but this refences the kindness of George Joestar, the father of Jonathan. despite finding out Dios father was attempting to rob him and not save him he still tells the prison guard to free him and simply says "if i was in his circumstances i may have done the same thing." this also parallel to when Giorno saw the Mafioso running away injured trying not to be caught while wounded. Giorno lied to the people searching for the man as Giorno understood hardship due to his childhood.

infact feel free to argue, id like to believe Giorno developed blonde hair not from his connection to Dio but due to the Hamon energy inside of Jonathans body. Jonathan held onto hamon its all he had and thats why i think Giornos hair turned blonde once he turned 15, the story starts of when jonathan is around that age, when he first encountered dio, that's must be why Giornos hair manifested into a blonde color, i mean the name of the power is legit sunlight yellow overdrive...Giorno is truly Jonathan's son, there's also another thing when the way Giorno can breathe life into almost anything just how Jonathan uses Hamon with his breath. Giorno is seen allot with flower of a pink color, when Jonathan held onto the tree sprouting pink flowers that's when he had first discovered Hamon.

i think that the pink flowers signify that despite being planted by Dio, Giorno truly is Jonathans seed, his son. Jonathan has multiple son, but there's a reason Giorno is always seen with the pink flower, even Jonathans first born son, made from his own will isn't shown with the flowers. because of out of all of Jonathans children and descendants Giornos is the closest to him they will ever get.

okay this was a rant rant i had to post as all my interest in jojos flooded back, lemme know if you agree with what i said with a like please and thank youuuu <3

[themiraculouschatnoirblog]

ATP i'm just not even sure why they put CN's name in the title...

Like, thinking about it, there's no way they ever planned for Adrien/CN to be near as much of a main character as Mari/LB.

First of all, they only gave LB a way to purify akumas/amoks. If LB and CN are supposed to be partners of equal standing, how is it that one can exist without the other? Bc no matter how many times they try to claim otherwise in the show, LB can handle herself just fine without CN. This is just the simple, sad truth because the writers decided LB needed to come off as a more competent hero than CN despite the fact that he has the same basic fighting ability that she does, if not better bc of his fencing skills. Actually, we don't even know if he could defeat a villain himself as they never give him the chance to. They always have to have LB be the one to save the day. They very easily could have LB be affected or trapped by a villain in the same way CN is all the time, just to have her be saved to perform her miraculous ladybug and purify the akuma. Like something similar to CN in Dark Cupid. They have the ability to do this, they just decide not to.

Second, and I mean this one's pretty obvious: the theme song, the shortened one they actually use for the show. Self-explanatory.

Third, Mari is the only one who got to meet with Master Fu for a long time, resulting in her being the only one who gets to know heroes' identities. For what reason? Now, I get why two people knowing one hero's identity could be risky, but CN could've gone to Master Fu, chosen a hero or two, and returned the miraculous after the battle with no problem. And when the issue of LB not having enough time to collect all the miraculous after a battle came up, I don't see why CN couldn't have helped. There would've been ways for holders to return miraculous without identities having to be shown (see: Alya's first outing as Rena).

Now, I could probably keep going for a really long time so I'll just make this final point: Adrien/CN is always left in the dark!! No matter how many times he expresses how much he hates secrets, Mari/LB was/is always leaving him out! For why??? Now, keep in mind that I've only watched through the first few eps of s5 and I barely remember them, so maybe she's told him some stuff now, but it's legit so frustrating. And now with s6 and the whole Gabriel secret... it's just gonna happen again, I can feel it. But fr: Adrien/CN deserves to know things!

I'll stop myself here. I wanted to make a quick clarification that I don't hate Mari or LB; I actually love her and I think she makes a great main character! I just wish that the show lived up to its name and had two mcs instead of one. They should be on equal footing with equal screentime (and importance), but unfortunately that's just not the case, and makes the show title seem pretty misleading. Anyways, since I apparently have more to say (more than even I thought lol) lemme know if you want me to continue this post or go into more detail about something!

Thanks for reading my first rant on this blog! <3

[komaedatulpa]

Some thoughts and ramblings about the recent Blue Lock chapter. Spoilers for ch.289 of blue lock, the latest chapter of Episode Nagi and all that. This is gonna be long so like bare with me.

OKAY, so I knew that not everyone was going to make it. While this series is a sports shonen series so it is easy to forget that "Oh right, this has killing game genre elements" so people get super comfortable of like who is expected to stay. For me though, I have been in the mindset of everyone is fair game. Some will last longer than others but who does all depends.

Like yeah yeah Isagi, Rin, Shidou, Barou, Bachira, and Chigiri were gonna make it this far. They are in the "They are going to make it until near the end" category in my brain. Kunigami making it was like a bittersweet surprise in the sense of "The hell he went through did make him survive longer but how much further can he go before both his mind and body give out" ticking time bomb of a character but also that little hope that maybe...things could be okayish...but my boy has been through it so it is what it is. Characters like Otoya, Karasu, Aiku, and Yukimiya I kind of knew were gonna make it since they were already great players but now have just gotten so much better. Aryu, Gagamaru, Niko, Kurona, and Zantetsu were pleasant surprises of "Oh damn, you are really pulling through. Good for y'all" especially my little yugioh boy Niko. Characters like Sendou, Raichi, Hiori, and Kiyora making it were the more surprising in the sense of they could have gone either direction but because of Blue Lock or in Raichi and Hior (especially Hiori)'s case Isagi's influence really pushed them to make themselves better at the game. Genuinely the most surprising ones that made the cut were Fukaku and Nanase. For Fukaku it is because I legit forgot who the fuck he was (we have three U20 players who made the cut which hey that's neat) and I don't think we really know anything about him. We might learn more idk. But Nanase making it is like fascinating. He is this polite sweet boy who by all accounts would not have made it based on what Blue Lock pushes...if it wasn't for Rin. Rin's training really made him a much better player and therefore increased his chances of survival. I could say something about how Igurashi's training and Nanase's training are parallels of each other's where no matter how hard you trained on what you were good at you just couldn't cut it (Igurashi) vs your hard training made you learn something new about yourself and therefore got better at it (Nanase). But I'll save that for another time maybe.

Characters like Igurashi and Tokimitsu not making it isn't surprising but a bit sad. Well for me when it comes to Igurashi. I know I am probably one of the only fans of my scrappy little bastard Igurashi but I genuinely did like that he did get as far as he did. In that sense he does remind me of a DR character that in most killing game series would die early but makes it to the end. Well except for this he didn't but alas. Thank you for you pragmatist service Igurashi, you would have done amazing if you were in DR.

BUT most people are talking about everything with Reo and Nagi for like understandable reasons but I wanted to get my other character thoughts out of the way. THIS...was inevitable. Like as I read both Blue Lock and Episode Nagi I knew that they were not making it together, that one of them will be cut before the other one follow suits eventually. I just didn't know when, I assumed it would be much later, but I was wrong in that. I know for some it would be easy to say Reo would go before Nagi because of what he was like early on with his clingy behavior towards Nagi. But during his time away from Nagi and being on Shidou's team he had to learn how to crawl his way through hell to survive. As the recent events unfolded it made me think back to why Shidou chose Reo,

"Humans who can't destroy themselves...can never make explosions."

Which did influence the dark path Kunigami went down but also...forced Reo to adapt. That he cannot rely on people, he has to be strong alone for himself. That even when things got better between him and Nagi...Reo has become more capable than before. He can do things on his own, with or without Nagi. He chooses to have Nagi in his life, to be part of his goal but he actually doesn't need him. However...Nagi relies on Reo.

In the beginning Nagi depended on Reo for motivation when it came to playing soccer. Reo is the reason Nagi began playing soccer, Reo is the reason he is in Blue Lock in the first place. When I look back on it all I see moments that seemed like Nagi would start becoming more independent and learn to play for himself and not have to rely on Reo. Like when he joined Isagi because he made him feel frustrated, an emotion he probably hasn't felt in a LONG time. Or how in the match between Rin and Isagi, Nagi told Bachira that his own reliance on Isagi (similar to his reliance on Reo) is holding him back. Gave these hints of Nagi growing and becoming stronger but now that I have looked back...it was just another relying on someone else. Nagi relied on his pure desire to beat Isagi that once he technically did...he had nothing else. He got what he wanted, what else was there left to do? What new goal did he have? And what did he do? Go back to Reo. Back to square one. He could not let go of his dependence on Reo, he never could. Karasu in Episode Nagi pointed out that Nagi's softness and nativity is going to plunge him into despair someday. I didn't think much of it at the time (clueless) until the recent chapter...it hit me like a brick to the face. Nagi's fatal flaw he just couldn't let go of completely clinging to Reo. Reo in a way was the death of him. His love for Reo did him in. That love and friendship dragged him down. By the time Nagi realized that he needed to fight and get stronger for himself it was too late. Bachira's harsh words called back to when Nagi did similar to him but Bachira, unlike Nagi, was able to let go of relying on Isagi. This recent chapter HURTS but a good kind of hurt in an odd way. The type of pain I WANT in a killing game. The unfairness, the tragedy, and despair of it all. These (ego) deaths are suppose to hurt and matter. This was a twisting of a knife that at this put could stop or keep going. Nagi is one of my many favorites in this series and his future is uncertain as I write this and whatever happens...happens.

[eri-pl]

Maeglin and Anglachel for the character asks!

Thank you for the ask!

Maeglin.

How do I feel? Hm. Not a lot. I mean, he is a very tragic character and did some awful things (with unclear degree of his fault) but he's not one of those I'm very invested in. Generally the Gondolin story is less interesting than Nargothrond for me. But yes, Maeglin is sad tragic and I'm sorry for him.

Also, I have no idea why but he's very hard to write for me. Harder than many very niche characters. Waay harder than Eol. I just don't feel him.

Ships. OK, this is funny. So one day I was wondering what Finduilas did after getting reembodied, and I realized that I can very much see her and Maeglin together, post-Halls. The symmetry of it. She's into hidden-city-destroying brooding cursed guys. He's into blond princesses. If I ever wrote a post-Halls Maeglin, they'd likely be together. Unless she'd be with Tyelpe, he's my second idea. But Maeglin fits better. I'm sorry.

Non-romantic OTP. I wish he got along well with Idril :( anyway I think Maeglin's main problem is the lack of someone who he could honestly talk to about his feelings. He had a lot of friends, but nobody close enough. Post-Halls I think he'd get along well with Tyelpe.

And yea, when I imagine Sauron falling onto Gondolin… and squint a little bit, I can see Sauron not being a total evil jerk to someone who actually saved his life, and the two of them as a very close and interesting friendship, but not romantic.

Unpopular opinion: He is (at least in the Silm, idk about the extended Gondolin material) very open to interpretation and may be read as anything from a really bad case of stalking that didn't get full on SA only because of the circumstances; to a very lonely and sad innocent guy with loads of trauma, who later got his mind broken by Morgoth and is not responsible for what came to pass. Or anything in between.

TBH I don't have one set opinion on how I see him on this scale. But the whole idea that both readings are possible seems quite controversial to me.

Oh, and to keep with the tradition of "unpopular canon fact": He wasn't a coward, he fought in the battle of… I think it was Unnumbered Tears.

One thing I wish: *shakes Tolkien by the arms* I need to know what happened to Anguirel!!!

Anglachel

How I feel: I really like black talking swords XD Anglachel is one of the weirdest… I'm not sure if I see her as a full character. I can but typically I don't. Typically I see it as "reflects your darkest thoughts on you" not as a full "talks and is sentient".

But also I can see her as a character and then she's a "she" (because Silm names ending on -el are generally female) and I imagine her humanoid form like in the Czech musical.

Ships: She's a sword. I don't.

Her nonromantic OTP is obviously the forgotten-by-narrative Anguirel. They are naturally a pair, why is Anglachel in the stupid prophecy and Anguirel not???

Unpopular opinion: I think she's too niche for any opinions to be unpopular. Counting her as a character is unpopular already. XD

Oh, and also: the "second prophecy" is not a legit prophecy of Námo. This is an opinion about Anglachel, kind of. No bestie, you don't get to permakill Morgoth, neither does Túrin come back even if you miss him. Sorry.

One thing I wish happened: reunite the black swords! Seriously. Why is Anguirel lost in the narrative.

[angels-silhouette]

In the Fields We Lie: i

Summary: World War I is at its climax. Dean is figuring out his life before his name gets drawn from the draft. Falling in love while he can. Will he get the life he always wanted? Or will the war destroy him? Word Count: 3k

Warnings: british!dean?? let's spice it up a little bit! I just know his deep voice with this accent would eat me alive if I could actually hear it! Also, world-building. No legit tw's.

Prologue

They say that in the midst of darkness and a time where nothing prospers, the mind tends to wonder. This is the time where inspiration strikes and masterpieces are made. There is, more than anything else we have in the world, is time. What we do in that allotted space is up to us to choose. What shall we occupy ourselves with? Where shall we let our minds wander off to? Distant lands or perhaps a reality that we dream of that is better than our present? Do you dream of being in your lover's arms? Or do you wish you could have taken back those harsh words you said to your mother recently? Others have to think quickly, in a fraction of a second, or else they will not live to see the light of day. 

In that darkness there is chaos and when everything turns quiet, is that moment of primal instinct to save your life or to accept that death will grab you and bring you to a hell that you have not seen yet. Anything to keep the mind busy in times of hardship is crucial. That is how we survive. The silence, especially in the time of war, is deadly. So deadly that it could turn anyone crazy.

Every soul is trying to keep themselves safe and there is not an option otherwise, unless they have lost their way. Lost hope. Those are the people you have to take care of, to watch out for. Without community and camaraderie, there is no purpose. Without care for others is the destruction of oneself. Without the care for oneself is to rot. Those who only think of the betterment of themself are soulless. To be self-sufficient is another story. To have support behind you, next to you, in front of you–gives you strength. To know that others are experiencing life similar to yours is comforting because ultimately you’ll feel less alone.

—

England

17 December, 1915

Friday

Dean Winchester was young and eager to work. He had always put some money to the side but now, with no end in sight to this war, he's been saving every penny. Maybe he could afford to send his brother to university–to save Sam from being a pawn in someone else's game.

It was a particularly cold morning, grey clouds coated the sky as far as you could see. The freezing air hitting Dean in the face feels like a pound of bricks. He’s already slipped and landed on his ass twice this morning while walking to work. Dean got a respectable job as a high-end tailor three years ago–a trait he has been naturally good at, all thanks to his mom.

He’s okay with having a wet bum because he knows the ladies he works with are going to have a good time making fun of him. What he isn’t okay with is his inability to stop daydreaming about his neighbor, and that is exactly what he does walking two kilometers to work.

They are acquainted. Dean has helped her move furniture and tried to fix her shower pipes once but failed miserably. The war is only getting worse, and there's no one to fix the problem–so that means unlimited access to his washroom. She has occasionally made him food whenever he came home late, or she would purposely bump into him in the morning before work to put a smile on his face.

They enjoy each other's company so much that they go to the market together to buy groceries. Sometimes, Dean stargazes in the park right below their building. On the occasion, she sees him through her kitchen window–every time she joins him to make sense of the clouds and their shapes. They’d always lay in silence, enjoying the presence not only from one another but the vast universe above them.

In this particular moment all Dean can focus on is her being in his home, using his shower. Being the gentleman that he is, he respected her privacy when she was over to wash up, which was almost every night for six months. But he also couldn’t, and presently cannot help but imagine her beautiful figure underneath her clothes.

The sound of her humming to herself in the shower echoes through his mind as snow crunches under his feet. Her voice sounds like a goddess blessing all of creation, a thought that had crossed his mind yesterday. She slipped the very first time she had been over and fell pretty hard; she screeched but then laughed hysterically. It was something Dean could get used to. Her coming over made Dean feel whole–made his flat less lonely.

In the first month of this situation, she had forgotten a change of clothes, and it was then that Dean knew he was truly in love with her.

—

Dean was making some boiled chicken and pasta when he heard the shower handle squeak and a handful of choice words fall from his beautiful neighbor's mouth. He assumed that she had rushed too fast while getting her toiletries together that she had forgotten her hairbrush or lipstick or something...

She had a date waiting for her outside the building. Jealousy raged over him when she told him that a particular man was taking her out to dinner. Apparently, they’ve known each other since grade school, even dated in their early teen years, and then reconnected at a mutual friend's wedding. The negative emotions he was feeling quickly dissipated when she said his name.

“Dean…”

She sounded worried. Why was she worried? Was she nervous?

“Fran, I know your nerves are getting the best of you, but I’m sure you look lovely…” He turned around to find her in just a towel. Eyes widened, jaw dropped, and heart racing at a million miles an hour. Too stunned to speak, Dean quickly spun on his heels so he wasn’t starring. “Shit, I- I’m, I-”

She’s now laughing at his embarrassment. All worry washed away from her voice, “I forgot my dress. I guess I was so excited to get ready that I forgot it. Can I borrow a blanket or shirt to cover up in?” 

After a few moments of silence she walked up to him and tapped his shoulder and spoke, “Dean, it’s okay. Turn around.”

He did as he was told, making sure that when he did, he only looked into her eyes. She was so beautiful–so confident in her body and in herself to let a man she wasn’t with, to look at her when she was indecent. A strand of curly hair fell into her eyes, before she could move it herself. Dean gently pushed the lock behind her ear, and both of their breaths caught in their throats. 

Dean managed to whisper, “I’ll um, go grab you a shirt.” He never walked so fast in his life. Making sure he picked out a nice shirt that smelled good was top priority. He ended up dabbing some cologne on the collar just in case.

She was too busy admiring the books on his bookshelf to notice that he had come back, so he cleared his throat before speaking, “Fran, you better change quickly before your date thinks you’ve fallen in the toilet.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny Winchester. Gimme that.” Snatching the shirt like it was hers to begin with. She disappears behind the washroom door and reappears seconds later it seems like, but maybe that’s from the state of shock Dean’s still in. Fran has to ask him this twice to get his full attention, “Will you watch for any unwanted eyes as I walk to my flat?”

“Of course I will. Let me see your key so I can unlock your door.” 

Walking past her is painful, he can feel his excitement pushing against his trousers. It’s only just started but he needs to be free of Fran soon or else she’ll see his indecency. Moving quickly and lightly, making sure not to cause a ruckus and concern the nosey neighbors. He unlocks her door and sets her key on the small table that sits just to the right of the door. Making sure that no one is in sight he quietly calls out her name. She holds her dirty garments to her chest as she sleepwalks to him. Hopping almost. Bloody cute, this one, Dean thinks to himself. As soon as she’s in her doorway Dean stands in front of her with both arms outstretched, and hands grabbing the baseboards to make for a better cover for Fran.

They are extremely close again, both of their hearts are pounding so hard it’s a surprise they can’t hear each other's heartbeats. 

“You better have fun on your date. Hurry along then, you don’t want to miss him.”

“Oh, I will. Aaand… don’t tell me what to do.” Fran winked at him and then closed the door in his face. Dean smiled and walked back to his flat. He ended up burning his pasta on the stove. If this was any normal night, he would have lost his wits if he burned his food, but he made an exception for the gorgeous woman that stole his attention.

—

Ever since that incident, a very particular image of Fran has been taking over Dean’s mind. The shirt that Dean gave her was a pale pink shirt and he never realized, that without an undershirt underneath, that it was sheer. When Fran came out of the bathroom, her hair had gotten the fabric around her breasts wet. It was only for a brief moment that he looked, and Dean swears that she did it on purpose. She was perfect, everywhere. He thought he saw her smile when he gazed his eyes up and down her body, seeming almost satisfied with his actions. An angelic devil.

Too distracted by his thoughts, he barely realized that he was arriving at work. Taylor the Tailor: “Let Taylor, Tailor You!” was displayed above the building in bright red lettering. It was a quaint little shop that sparked Dean’s interest when he first moved to the city. Before he even asked for a position, he had to come in for a repair on a set of trousers. Long story short: while moving into his flat, he had slipped on some ice like he had been doing presently, and ripped them right down the bumline. Quite embarrassing, even more so, considering one of his neighbors came out of the building right as it was happening and laughed. It turned out to be Fran. She still teases him about it.

His mum taught him how to sew, crochet, and knit, so already having experience was attractive to the owner, Mr. Taylor. He was hired on the spot actually. He loves everyone he works with and that’s the reason why he’s stayed with the shop for almost two years. 

He welcomes Mimi and Rena as he walks through the main room and towards the back to set down his jacket. Dean can hear the two older ladies gossiping about who knows what but it makes him chuckle. They think they’re whispering but they’re both basically shouting at each other.

“Ladies, ladies,” Dean interrupted them, “No need to whisper about how gorgeous I am, when I’m right here!”

Rena rolled her eyes, while Mimi stood up and made her way to him. Mimi takes his blue bowtie from his hand and begins to put it on for him. A little tradition that they’ve made. Dean is fully capable of doing it himself but he lets her. They both gain from it. “Thank you, my darling,” He kisses her on the cheek when she’s finished. “And how are both of my girls today? Ready for the weekend?”

“Always ready for the weekend, Winchester. Two days out of the week where I am free of you.”

“I’m truly hurt by your words Rena. You know what that does to my ego. Everyone loves me, right Mimi?”

Mimi laughs, “You are very lovable Dean. Rena is just an old fart. You’d think after so many years she’d warm up to ya.” That is exactly how each day goes. Rena is the stern and conservative type but has her moments, Mimi is a freer spirit and can get along with both of her coworkers, and Dean is, well, Dean…

The day is long and cold, everyone is being careful not to let their fingers get too stiff. Their day has only gotten longer, because right before five o’clock, a woman comes in. She is in desperate need of fixing her husband's work attire that her children had shredded with scissors. Three shirts and four trousers. She was a fairly sweet woman and she would pay them extra to get it done for her by Monday morning. They all obliged.

To make things fun, Dean took on three garments that were badly damaged, and told the ladies he would finish all of them before they finished their two pieces. This didn’t amuse Rena, but she ended up finishing before him and she was greatly satisfied, giggled even. Getting out of the shop around half past nine was quite impressive and everyone patted themselves on the back for the hard work.

“Get home safe my loves, I will see you later. Rena, you better think of me!” He yells at them when they’re about to round the corner of the street. It makes Rena furious.

The weather changed within the last two hours, snow is falling fast. He usually doesn’t mind walking through it, but he’s afraid that he’ll fall like he did earlier. His tailbone was still throbbing. As if summoning the inevitable, he slips and one of his legs extends too far out in front of him. Almost ripping his pants, again! Thank goodness for having hands to catch you. It was a close call—the amount of stretch he felt was worrisome. 

As he approaches his building, he notices an all too familiar Rolls-Royce that belongs to someone who is the epitome of rubbish. Someone who is used to getting his way. Maybe it’s the money he has or possibly the fact that he has not struggled a day in his life–is why Dean hates him so much. There’s definitely another reason that has nothing to do with those things though. Dean is reluctant to go inside the entryway but likes to make this man suffer.

“Hello, Dick! It’s awful seeing you here,” Dean coldly welcomes him, “Where will you be taking Fran tonight?”

“For the last time, it’s Richard. And it should be none of your business, but I know she’ll tell you anyhow. We are going to my brother’s engagement party, and before you say anything–”

“Speaking of engagement, when will you ever ask Fran to go steady with you? Oh wait, that’s right, you were too busy getting your dic-” By the look on the other man's face, Dean knew Fran was walking up to them, “Dick! So lovely to see you mate!”

He then turns around and smiles at his neighbor. As he walks up to her, he whispers for her to be safe, and heads up to his flat. In the stairwell, Dean could hear Dick tell her how much he annoys him, and that is always his goal.

“Such a nosey neighbor…”

“I think he’s perfectly fine, Richard. Leave him be…” Her voice is so soft. She wouldn’t be talking so tenderly to him if she knew that he was seeing other women. It infuriates Dean to his core, but he can’t tell her because she would rip him a new one for knowing. Quite frankly, he feels like Fran wouldn't believe him.

Dick has her wrapped around his diseased little finger.

Second, Fran would be so devastated and Dean doesn’t want to deliver that news to her. She will find out sooner or later, and Dean prays that he gets front row seats to Dick getting his balls kicked in.

—

The storm only got worse throughout the night. The power went out shortly after Dean got home. Currently at the kitchen table reading a book but failing horribly from sore eyes, waiting for Fran to be dropped off. At this point it could be likely that she had to stay with Dick and his family, which is revolting.

It’s none of Dean’s business where she is, who’s she with, and he shouldn’t be waiting up for her but something isn’t sitting right. It's way too late for them to still be out for dinner. Maybe the group was drinking or something? Fran is a grown woman. She’s fine. Dean needs to stop worrying.

Looking out of his window one last time, to make sure he doesn’t miss her, is when he sees headlights crawling towards the building. Assuming it’s Fran, Dean sighs in relief and heads to his washroom to get ready for bed. As he gets done brushing his teeth is when he hears her walking up the stairs and decides to meet her in the hallway. Knowing she can barely see up the stairs from the power outage, he brings out a candle to give her when she gets home.

“How was your night out Miss Fran?” He questions as genuinely as he can, as she reaches the last step. She’s too quiet. He walks closer to her once she reaches her door and leans against the wall. She looks sad. Her eyes and nose are red. Dean can make out where the tears streamed down her face. His stomach flips and he feels nauseated instantly. 

What happened? He wants to ask but knows it’s not the time.

Her voice is hoarse, “You know, you don’t need to wait up for me—it’s sweet but a little strange.” She half heartedly jokes. “My night was fine, thank you. See you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Of course. Here, take this…” He straightens up, taking a few steps to get closer to her, and he smells the alcohol coming from her breath. It must’ve been a rough night because she hardly drinks. 

Handing her the candle and keeping eye contact he whispers, “So you can see where you’re going. I’ll come get you tomorrow.” 

Dean wipes away a fallen tear from her face with his thumb and kisses her cheek in that same spot.

So softly she murmurs, “Goodnight Dean.”

“Goodnight Fran.” He says with equal gentleness. With even more longing.

—

A/N: Please let me know what you think!! I edited this on four hours of sleep lol.

tags! @aylacavebear @daylighted (idk if yall wanted to be tagged but hopefully it's okay!)