#i thought i'd write it down

[calamitoustide]

Lily, oh Lily I just loathe you lately...

microfic - jegulily/regulily - 1.7k

  It started with a kiss. 

One Regulus wasn’t even included in. He wasn’t even there, he didn’t see it, and yet he replays it in his head almost constantly. It’s the first thought he has in the morning, he carries it with him through lunch. White knuckles braced against the table as he stares longing towards the other side of the hall, his ears ringing and he can’t hear anything anyone is trying to say to him. His friends all make comments but he doesn’t notice them. His mind is too loud, thinking of soft skin and eyes that bite. He forgets his notes, it doesn’t matter, they’re not even there. He lays awake at night unable to close his eyes without thinking, thinking, thinking. 

He should be thinking about James. He should be obsessively counting his every step. It’s how this whole thing started. James is everything, he hung the moon, and every single star in the night sky. He walks around the halls calling out to everyone by name, his smile hung wide across his face. And yes, Regulus thinks of him. He thinks of his sweat covered skin as he skips off to the locker rooms after practice. He thinks of him drunkenly coming up to him, leaning close to his ear to whisper nonsense. Even if he can’t understand it Regulus clings onto every single word. He thinks of how he looks in the morning, a sight Regulus has only seen a handful of times and yet he cherishes it like it’s the world. He thinks of his hair all messed up, and his eyes wide and soft like an infant. He thinks of him stretching out his exhaustion and the little moment his shirt lifts up to reveal what’s underneath. He thinks and he thinks and he thinks, but he’s not looking over at him. He’s looking at her. 

The rumors of James Potter and Lily Evans finally working it out spread like wildfire. It’s embers branching out until there wasn’t a single person who didn’t know about it. Their kiss happened in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, apparently no one was there, but there are always sources. Always whispers. Regulus woke up to a burn to his cheek, and a crackling outside of his window. His friends looked over at him, pity drowning in their eyes, but none of them said anything. None of them knew how. It was Pandora who finally brought him over, holding his hands gently as she broke him the news. He can’t remember his reaction. He just remembers the moment his face dropped, but he wasn’t thinking of him, he was thinking about her. 

He never minded Lily Evans before, he barely gave her a second glance. He saw her sometimes in the library, she always sat alone, pushed in the back. Even in the darkest parts of the castle the sunlight always tended to reach her. It covered her and highlighted every freckle on her face. Her eyes were always soft with contemplation, but Regulus didn’t care for her much. He always heard about James’ crush on her, of course he did, but he never cared. He didn’t think it would go anywhere. He thought to himself Lily Evans was as blind as a person can be for rejecting James. He could never understand it. How could she get James to even so much as look at her and not truly understand what that meant. How much other people would die for him to look at them like that. Resentment climbed in his liver, it overwhelmed him. Before it was a scoff at any remark. It was an eye roll at the stupidity of Lily for thinking James would just be there when she realized how daft she was truly being. 

Though the only stupid person truly was Regulus, for James was there waiting for when Lily finally opened her eyes. He was there to chase after her, like the tail-end of a shooting star. James ran circles around her, watching her like she was everything, like she was his entire world. He held open every single door for her. He’d make himself bleed for an ounce of her attention, and she never never cared. She never cared before now, but Regulus has been here. He’s been here and Lily just walked the epitome of angel dust to smile and beckon James over to her like he’s a dog on a leash she’s holding. 

“Regulus,” Pandora’s voice catches him out of his retched mind. 

“What?” Regulus snaps, not taking his eyes off her. Her with her perfect skin. Her with her perfect everything. 

“You’re going to drill a hole in her head, you know,” She comments. 

Regulus finally releases his gaze, “What are you talking about?” 

It’s just the two of them. Barty and Evan ran off somewhere, and Dorcas well she’s always with Marlene now anyway. Pandora looks over at him softly, her eyes filled with pity, “You don’t have to pretend you’re looking at James when it’s just me.” 

Regulus furrows his eyebrows, shaking his head, “I’m not just looking at her.” 

“You’re looking at both of them?” Pandora suggests. 

“Yeah,” Regulus answers, lies dripping from his mouth. 

Pandora smiles, “James walked away five minutes ago.” 

Regulus head whips aside to find her right. It’s only Lily, laughing at something one of her friends are telling her. She throws her head back like she’s a little kid. Coated in innocence in a kind of nostalgia not many people can reach towards. Sunlight nips at her face as her nose crinkles in a laugh. Her beauty endless, it’s like a knife to Regulus’ skin. Every perfection he finds in her is a scar on him. 

“Regulus?” Pandora calls out again, as if she’s talking to a child. “Is there something you need to tell me?” 

“Like what?” Regulus grumbles, looking back down at his plate, trying to fight the pull to look over at her. It’s like he’s under a spell, he’s certain she’s behind it. She wants him to look at her. She wants for all of this. She’s out to get him. He looks up again. She’s still sitting there. Why is she still there? Shouldn’t she be off chasing after James? Shouldn’t she be at his feet beck and call? Shouldn’t she be giving him the world right now? Why is she still just sitting there? 

Pandora hums, “Nothing.” 

Regulus looks over at her, “What’s your problem?” 

“You’re torturing yourself,” Pandora tells him. 

Regulus hesitates, he opens his mouth to speak but no words come out. In any other world this would be torture. He’s staring off at the girl who’s got the one thing he’s been begging for his entire life. He’s never wanted something as much as he’s wanted James. Looking over at Lily should be torture. It should kill him. It is. It’s the sweetest kind of torture. It’s a twisted lullaby. It’s a stinging on his cheek. 

“Unless,” Pandora starts, “You want to be looking at her.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Regulus says quickly. 

Pandora reaches out to grab his hand,  “I’m gonna hold your hand while I tell you this.” 

“Shut the fuck up,” Regulus tries to cut her off but when Pandora gets something in her mind it’s hard to resist it. 

“I did it with James,” Pandora explains quickly. “I’ll do the same now. You’re in love with Lily Evans.” 

“I am not in love with Lily Evans,” Regulus argues. 

Pandora narrows her eyes, “You’re not?” 

“No.” 

“Why are you staring at her?” Pandora asks. 

“She’s with James,” Regulus answers weakly. 

“Why aren’t you watching him then?” Pandora questions. “Do you even know where he is? You used to always know, you used to have his schedule perfect.” 

Regulus shrugs, “I’ve gotten busy.” 

“Right,” Pandora scoffs. “So you wouldn’t mind if I called her over here.” 

“Pan—“ 

Before he can even finish Pandora is raising her hand. Shouting out across the hall, “Hey, Evans!” 

Regulus scrambles for something to hold, to bring Pandora’s hand down and stop her from this, but it doesn’t do any good. Lily’s already looking over, her eyes dazzling in the sun. The rest happens like a dream as she leans over to her friends explaining that she’ll be going. She walks over on clouds and then she’s in front of him. His stomach ties itself together. His mouth opens but nothing comes out. 

“Hey,” Lily says, leaning across the bench to put her hands on the table. Her perfume reaches Regulus’ nose and it’s overwhelming, it’s making him slip back, like he’s in an ocean, drowning in all the waves. 

“Hi,” Pandora replies. 

Both of their gazes go towards him, but Regulus is only looking at her. 

Lily smiles with his silence, he wants to kill her. She looks away and he wants to kill her even more, “You still working on that potion?” 

“You know it,” Pandora tells her. “It’s close to being done now.” 

Regulus doesn’t care what they’re saying. He just watches Lily. He can’t look away. She’s the greatest thing that’s ever existed, and she’s got James Potter wrapped around her finger. Its should be him. 

She doesn’t stay long. Before she leaves she looks back over at Regulus, “Goodbye, Regulus.” 

“Bye,” he forces out, his tongue resting uncomfortably in his mouth. 

She laughs, it’s as soft as fresh daisies and she’s doing him in, “You’re cute,” she says, like it’s nothing, like it’s not eating Regulus whole. “I’ll see you two around.” 

Then she’s gone again. Walking down the hall, her hair blowing behind her like a fucking magazine ad. There can’t be someone that perfect. She’s just a person. She’s nobody. She’s the one James wants. She won his heart over. She’s the one lying beside him. And all Regulus wants is to lie when she lies. Lily Evans is poison and it’s slowly driving Regulus mad. She’s everywhere, like a call of the wind. He’s nothing worshipping at her feet, it makes him uneasy. 

“So,” Pandora breaks the echoing silence. “Not in love.” 

Regulus swallows thickly, his eyes still stuck in the last place she was, even if she’s moved on, “Not in love,” he forces out. 

The ache is endless, and bullets line his skin. A scar for every beauty, for which Lily Evans has infinite. 

[bluewolfangel01]

Levi: "I don't understand why you like someone as pathetic as me, I'm not that good at anything other then being a nasty useless otaku, (insert more self degrading here)."

Mc: *blank faced, moving sneakily close to Levi and picks him up bridal style*

Mc: "Snake <3."

Levi: *Stunned silent, he doesn't move for a few moments, then his tail curls around Mc's leg, and leans into their touch.*

Levi: "Y-yeah...."

[baejax-the-great]

If I were a writer at a big game company working on a sequel to a beloved series and the higher ups kept telling me to make the game shittier and kept sending my work back to me to be dumbed down even further somehow, and then once most of the writing was done they laid me and my coworkers off illegally without severance, I'd probably gleefully watch as people trashed the shitty game that shipped.

[royalarchivist]

Pac: Oh– [Stammers] Why– I have an Ender Flu? I'm shaking! Oh my god.

Tubbo: No, Pac! You've been impregnated! 😫

Pac: IMPREGNATED?!?! Wait, what? 😨

Fit: Oh god. [Laughs] That's a new one.

Tubbo: You're pregnant!

Pac: How?!

Tubbo: I can't believe preggers Pac is on the QSMP!

Pac: Oh my god, I'm so happy! [Laughs]

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

—

Tubbo: This is not what I want! I don't want this!!!

Fit: [Chuckles]

Pac: Oh– [Stammers] Why– I have an Ender Flu? I'm shaking! Oh my god.

Tubbo: No, Pac! You've been impregnated!

Pac: IMPREGNATED?!?! Wait, what?

Fit: Oh god. [Laughs]

Tubbo: You're pregnant!

Pac: How?!

Fit: That's a new one.

Tubbo: Uh oh, I'm about to– I'm about to not be alive much longer.

Pac: How– ahhh!!!! Wait, this is good? [Tubbo gets killed by a mob] Oh my god, Tubbo!

Tubbo: Guys? Preggers Pac, and Fit, help!

Pac: [Reading chat] "Congratulations"? Thanks guys, I didn't know, man! As always.

Fit: [Revives Tubbo] Alright, run! Ok, you're good.

Tubbo: We got his ass!

Pac: Wait, wait– What does it mean like, I'm pregnant? I'm gonna have babies?

Tubbo: It means you're gonna give birth to a beautiful– a beautiful plethora of children!

Pac: Oh my god, not– [unintelligible]

Tubbo: [Still ranting] Merciful, wonderful babies! Babies! Innocent babies will-

Fit: [Laughs] Yeah, what he said.

Tubbo: –will splurt out of you!

Pac: Oh my god. I think I saw like, Foolish having birth the other day, so I–

Fit: [Fighting a mob] Not this thing again!

Pac: Oh my god.

Tubbo: I can't believe preggers Pac is on the QSMP!

Pac: Oh my god, I'm so happy! [Laughs]

Fit: [Laughs]

Tubbo: It's gonna be such a magical time for you!

Pac: Yeah, oh my god, I have been like, dreaming for–

Tubbo: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. What do you– have you got any names? What are you gonna name it?

Pac: I'm probably gonna name it "Elton" and "John" if I have like, two.

Tubbo: Ohhh! What a beautiful name!

[hero-of-the-wolf]

Deep Shadows Analysis

all pictures belong to @/linkeduniverse

“I grew up in these woods.” The first sentence ever spoken in LU and a very strong opening. Time is in the lead here. It makes sense; not only is he their de facto leader, but he knows this terrain best. Warriors speaks next, continuing where Time left off. He says that they’re lost. This sets up the dynamic these two have and their role in the chain of command, for lack of a better word, very nicely. The last panel of the first page has Time reacting to something the audience can’t see yet, enticing them to continue reading.

He then gets absolutely bodied by this moblin. These guys are a HUGE pain to fight in Ocarina of Time, they really do come out of nowhere to hit you like a heckin freight train and that power and alarm is captured wonderfully here.

The monster gets snagged by Twilight’s clawshot and we get this really lovely reveal of all the other Links standing ready to fight, emphasizing how none of them are alone anymore. They’re a team! This is also the first time we see all of them together in the comic (minus Time, who is still on the ground rip)

Legend’s got his bow drawn, and he's the first one to attack. His arrows embed into the moblin’s forearm while Hyrule sneaks around to slash at its thigh. It manages to increase the slack on the chain, freeing up its movement enough to counterattack, but the traveler leans back out of the way. By this point Wild and Warriors have circled around to flank the monster.

But Sky? He rushes to the old man’s side, who concerningly still hasn’t gotten up, to check on him. Sky is consistently one of the first to react whenever someone gets hurt or needs help during battle and I love that this trait of his (probably from his training as a knight on Skyloft) is already established within the very first few pages of the comic!

Time waves him off, and together they watch as Warriors stabs the moblin in the back… only for it to turn around, wretching the captain’s sword out of his hands, and smack the side of his face (right on the eye it looks like!) so hard he goes down for the rest of the fight. Ouch. This is definitely not the normal difficulty level for a monster like this.

Legend, power gloves equipped, works with Twilight to tighten the clawshot’s chain and limit the moblin’s movement again. Wind takes the opportunity to CUT THE MOBLIN’S HAND OFF. Which is. INSANE. But to be expected from the Hero of Winds. Also Four’s got his bow drawn here, but afaik he never actually uses it in this battle.

Then Wild, in a quintessential showcase of Breath of the Wild’s combat, scales the moblin’s back (using Warriors’ still embedded sword as a foothold!!) and pulls out his own sword to attack. But the moblin is faster here and grabs him by the arm and tosses him away. His arm might be broken, given the way the champion clutches it for the rest of the battle. Four is at his side, unused bow still in hand. It is of note that Sky is nearby as well.

Then Hyrule!!! Using the iconic Down Thrust move from his second adventure (Adventure of Link) and probably also his jump spell, falls out of the heavens like a stooping falcon and stabs the moblin right in the back of the neck, finally felling it. Teamwork!

Hyrule stumbles back and Wind is quick to wrap an arm around the traveler and cheer. Hyrule is bashful here, but not uncomfortable. My favorite underrated duo <3 (also they’re nearly the same height here????? what????)

Warriors finally wakes up. (His poor eye, man 😭) I love all of their smiles as the adrenaline from the fight starts to come down, the relief in this panel is palpable.

Then Twilight, as worried about Time’s wellfare as he ever is, is shaken from the moment as he turns his attention to the old man. He’s finally back on his feet, though based on his posture here it doesn’t seem like it’s been for long. Legend has a hand outstretched, it looks like he wants to help steady the other hero or otherwise check on him, but Time waves him off.

Time worries about the strength of the moblin. He did not participate in this fight, but he just had a front row seat to just how hard it was to bring this monster down and how injured they all got in the process: Warriors’ eye, Wild’s arm, his own side… that’s a good third of their team significantly wounded enough that none of them were able to rejoin the fight. Against a moblin that Time had been able to take down all on his own previously. He’s right to worry. Twilight is still quietly worried too, in the background.

Legend cracks a joke to relieve the tension, prompting Time to praise their efforts. Then he continues his previous train of thought, musing about how Not Normal the entire encounter was, and we get a really cool visual representation of a voice over as we see Warriors retrieve his weapon and clean off the blood, subtly hinting at its later significance.

We get a name drop of our antagonist (side note: I think it’s interesting that it’s Four who calls it by name, “the Shadow”, when he’s also the one who’s previously had experience with a Shadow in his own adventure) and the significance of the blood is explicitly pointed out. Twilight then calls attention to their wounded, setting up his role in the group as the heart <3

With the threat gone the fairies of the forest return and heal both Wars’ and Wild’s injuries and attempt to heal Time as well, but he waves off their concern (after they’ve assumably already healed his side), establishing a lovely little rule of thirds and emphasizing his reluctance of having others worry and fret over him (“Don’t fuss over me”), which is very ironic considering what happens later on….

It seems that he shooes them away from his face specifically, seeming to imply to me that the fairies were interested in the old wound that claimed his eye. Obviously there's not much that can be done about that now, but it’s still interesting to note 🤔

Warriors finishes Legend’s sentence next (which Legend notably doesn’t seem to mind), we get some more emphasis on the blood, and the boys are off!

We end on the second ever shot of all of the heroes together, Time included this time (ha), and the words “seems we are on the right path to understand the cause of our meeting,” which is assumably still Warriors talking. I’m not sure if there’s significance or not in how they’re all standing here, but it’s incredibly epic all the same.

This first little arc is such an excellent and clever way to set up the basic premise of the entire story and to introduce all of our main players here, and I continue to be ceaselessly amazed by Jojo’s keen attention to detail. All within 20 pages of gorgeous art!

[cloudbends]

Just one detail out of the many great ones in episode 100 of pokemon horizons, but I feel like the last two episodes really solidified the parallels between liko and orio narrative roles in regards to friede.

Even before the arc began and the new designs for the trio have been revealed, aside for roy's direct similarity to friede, something I noticed was liko's new design's similarity to orio's. Their hairstyle is very similar, both having two strands of hair at the front and tying the rest up behind, and it was a particular enough choice for me to keep in the back of my mind and not chalk up to a coincidence, as almost nothing in this series is coincidental.

The opening two parter of terastal debut frames liko's grief around her bottling her feelings up, as she tended to do before her journey began, which I feel after the last episode surrounding orio, create direct parallels. Both of them were heavily shaken by the loss of friede, likely more than the other rvt members - friede was orio's childhood friend who roped her into building the brave asagi, and friede was the first person to swoop liko into her life-changing journey, and was a true, impactful mentor figure for her. In response to that loss, both liko and orio tried returning to the guise of normalcy - adopting a somewhat unhealthy "out of sight out of mind" mentality, because thinking about what they could have done and could do at present is too painful. Even more parallels can be drawn by their relationships with ann and karna respectively, as their outside figures from their grand adventure and their sole companion in their attempt to return to normalcy. Both ann and karna point out to orio and liko that their behaviour has changed, both try to understand what they go through, and both liko and orio resort to bottling those feelings up so as to not worry the other/prevent the painful feelings from resurfacing.

Resorting to a sort of routinely stagnancy, abandoning the days of journeying in order to try to, unsuccessfully and against their deeply seated desires, to reintegrate into an un-thrilling and socially normative life, was a nuanced and very realistic writing choice for both of these characters. Similarly, both of them are spurred back from inaction to action by roy's urging, while initially turning him down in a very similar manner. For both of them, the renewed encounter with roy spurs memories of friede - liko and her first encounter with friede at the indigo academy's roof as a direct mirroring, and orio seeing a grown up roy fade into an image of friede in her mind. And after the prolonged encounter, both of them tap back into their desire for adventure and taking action against the rakurium, continuing friede's will.

These similarities are further highlighted by the cinematography choices between episodes 90-91 and episodes 99-100. Both liko and orio are often framed at the side of the frame and out of focus, with only half of their face visible - highlighting their complex emotions in regards to the loss of friede, and both of their tendencies to bottle them up, trying to maintain a facade of being alright for the sake of those around them, not to burden them with their personal feelings:

They both first appear in the respective episodes with their faces at least partially obscured, and similarly reflect on the traumatic event of the past year in shots that mirror each other perfectly:

The out-of-focus framing is similarly used to highlight their internal emotional turmoil in both episodes, when they're confronted with their own stagnancy - liko watches roy and his newly acquired partner pokemon, lamenting about her own inaction and paralysis, just as orio opens up about her inability to move on - their faces are obscured for us as the viewers, just as they try to shove their feelings lest others will see.

It also leads me to believe that liko's knowledge of friede being alive is especially impactful for her as it is for orio, considering the similar framing - out of focus, barely in frame:

Which is also why I think it is no coincidence that in the previous episode, the one to truly convince orio is liko - she knows how she feels, because she's been in a similarly grieving headspace for the past year. She knows how it feels to sink into self imposed melancholy and becoming, as Karna said, "a bit of a stick in the mud". But with reinvigorated spirit, liko recognizes that friede wouldn't sit still, and so they must do the same.

Liko and orio are constantly highlighted in regards to one another in these two episodes - orio firstly points out liko's growth and change of look, further reinforcing my belief that the design similarities aren't a mere coincidence, and as orio decides to join the renewed rvts, liko specifically comes excitedly hugs her. It's a sweet gesture of warmth, but also highlights, to me, their narrative and thematic bond, and similar positions.

[funkylittlelurker]

Crackpot theory I quit literally came up with just now.

They're gonna introduce Amy in S4, that's a given. And I know people really want Silver. Like, really want him.

So what if it was both?

This is what I came up with.

They intro Amy. Yada Yada. She goes on and on about this wretched man in purple who is on a mission to rule the world. She immediately recognizes Sonic, and seems to think he's going to save the world or something. She also mentions that she got a lot of cool gadgets from Tails, including her hammer. Tails is... Confused. Really everyone is confused. Hijinks ensue.

Meanwhile, Stone has become a psudeo villian. That one interpretation where he just wants to finish Robotnik's work. Bid sad wet cat energy. Sonic goes to check up on him, thinking 'Hey, Eggman tried to take over the world once, what's twice? Also, didn't he come back from the dead that one time?' Stone is less than enthused. Obviously the Doctor is still dead, idiot. He talks about how he just wants to complete the doctors work, and he just wants to be left alone. Sonic is weirdedout by his sadness and ditches.

Hijinks galore! Amy is trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to get Sonic to stop 'the man in purple', while Sonic just wants to chill. And what do you mean Stone is doing legit scary evil stuff?

Oop. We pan in on Robotnik, still alive. He's as confused as we are. A shadow looms over him.

'as if that's what I wanted, more hedgehogs'

He scoffs.

What do ya know, Silver saved him from the ark explosion! Cause he wants to stop the end of the world. Also this weird man in purple.

So Rob recovers, and Stone gets more evil, and Sonic is tired.

Somehow, someway, there's a big climatic scene, and the three groups meet each other.

Amy and Silver freak, cause that's not just 'Agent Stone', that's 'The Man in Purple'. Rob freaks cause, what do you mean his agent is like this because of him? And Stone freaks cause, well, the Doctor's alive!

Yada Yada, Stone and Rob become the campey evil yaoi couple everyone wants

Haven't quite figured it out 100% yet, but this is a good starting point, yeah? I wanna write this.

I'm gonna write it.

[nostalgebraist]

Due to recent experiences, I am feeling an urge to make an anti-drug-style PSA except it's warning impressionable machine-learning-curious teens to never, ever try a thing called "Huggingface transformers Trainer"

Not. Even. Once.

[blot-squisher]

So the Entity had its favorites on both sides. Dwight, the first proper Survivor, and then Kenneth for a while. At least until Danny came along and started showing off his creative methods of fucking with the Survivors during Trials. Seasoning that fear and despair with that extra helping of good stuff, ya know?

Anyway the main point.

You know on the flip side of that, the Entity had to have a least favorite. Someone it looked at and silently questioned, 'Why the fuck did I pick you up again?' Not outright hate, mind you. Just, like, a mild disinterest. Boredom. A kind of 'ooh shiny new toy annnnnnd I'm over it. Into the back of the closet to collect dust with you' kind of dislike.

Anyway, in this essay I'll go into absolutely no detail or depth on my thought process as to why I think it was Freddy and Quentin.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Wow, writing stories is hard.

[lookforanewangle]

wip wednesday ✨

tagged by @fastcardotmp3 💜 finally started my orpehus and eurydice inspired buddie fic so here's a snip :]

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Eddie says and knocks their shoulders together, heat radiating from where their shoulders brush. Eddie doesn’t put distance between them this time, and Buck doesn’t pull away. “Why Lyra? How does that connect to Orpheus?” Buck shrugs, beer label crumbling under the damp of his fingers. “Jee learned about constellations the other day,” he says, “during music time of all things. She’s too young to really get it, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to brush up. She’s infatuated with her teacher’s guitar though, so I thought that would be a good place to start. There aren’t any guitar constellations, but—” “Lyra,” Eddie realizes. “A lyre.” “Yeah,” Buck says. “Orpheus’ famous instrument. He broke into the Underworld with it to save Eurydice after she died from a snake bite. Didn’t work out and he died later, alone. There’s two different stories for that, but I’ll, uh. I’ll save those for another time.” And suddenly, Eddie understands. “Buck,” he says slowly, “I don’t need saving.” “I never said you did,” Buck fires back quick, fingers white-knuckled around his bottle. He won’t meet Eddie’s eyes. “But if…when Chris is—is ready to come home—” “Buck—” “When he’s ready,” Buck pushes, suddenly meeting Eddie’s gaze head on, determination in every line of him, begging Eddie to hold onto the same hope, “if your parents put up a fight, if—if you need backup, you know I’ll be there in a heartbeat. Whatever you need, I’m there, no questions asked.” “I know,” Eddie says, voice suddenly hoarse. “I know you will.”

no pressure tagging @boasamishipper @sofa-king-lame @eddiebabygirldiaz @semperama @buckleyanddiaz @wordsonamission <333

[uncannydevotion]

staring at this trying to think if there's anyone else i could add...

[msnihilist]

"It's been quite a while since I got to see our counterparts like this, dearest," Anti-Cosmo remarked to Anti-Wanda. He grinned down at the three fairies in the cage beneath them. "Miserable."

"Shoot, it must've been at least twenty years!" Anti-Wanda remarked. "Longer for you two, though, huh?"

Cosmo cradled Peri's head in his lap, keeping him on his side so that he didn't choke if he vomited. Wanda sat next to her boys, rubbing a hand soothingly between Peri's wings, like she used to when he was a baby.

She felt close to tears. Her baby was so sick that she feared he wouldn't make it... And they had their anti-fairy counterparts to mock them through the whole awful ordeal.

"Don't you two have anything better to do?" Wanda snapped at them. "Terrorize someone else for a change! We're plenty miserable without you here."

"Oh, please don't think that we're trying to make you feel worse." Anti-Cosmo shook his head. "It's more like we're here to enjoy the show."

"I even made popcorn!" Saying that, Anti-Wanda procured a bag of popcorn. She held it out for Anti-Cosmo to help himself to a handful.

Wanda clenched her jaw in frustration. The smell of food just made Peri's convulsions worse. She shushed him, trying her best to be comforting as her son dry-heaved.

With shaky fingers, Cosmo brushed Peri's curly hair away from his sweaty forehead. He met Wanda's stare, his eyes tight with concern. "Wanda..." He started, but said nothing more.

What was there to say? What was there to do? They were trapped, and the situation was getting worse by the minute.

As a last, desperate bid for her son, Wanda cast her voice up to the anti-fairies. "Please, can't you at least ask Dev to make a wish? Something small! Peri has magical build-up, and he..." Wanda swallowed, unable to say it. "You don't want the same thing to happen to Irep, do you?"

Anti-Wanda hummed as she pretended to think about it. "Now, correct me if'n I'm wrong, darlin', but that ain't how anti-fairies work, innit?"

Anti-Cosmo adopted a similar look of faux thoughtfulness. "No, you're right, strumpet. I believe that anti-fairies aren't affected by their counterparts deaths, merely by any action which might undo their creation. So our precious child is going to be perfectly fine."

Something inside of Wanda shattered. All she could think was that this wasn't fair; she hadn't had enough time.

"Please..." She tried again anyway, because it was all that she could do. "Please don't let my son die."

Anti-Cosmo laughed. "Enough with the melodrama. I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this. You ought to be used to it. After all..." He adjusted his monocle, lips curling into a vicious smirk. "This isn't the first time you two have lost a son."

His words hit like a slap to the face. Wanda was too stunned to reply — torn between the urge to sob and the burning desire to kill someone.

Not a day went by in the last ten thousand years that Wanda hadn't thought about him. And now she was going to lose her youngest son, too. What had she done to deserve this? Why was fate so cruel?

Why did love always have to end in "goodbye"?

When he didn't receive a response, Anti-Cosmo huffed and turned away. "Look on the bright side — perhaps the loss of a child to bond over will be enough to keep your fragile relationship hanging on for another thousand years or so."

Anti-Wanda giggled, looping her arm through Anti-Cosmo's and leaning on his shoulder. "Give a holler when he's ready to pop, y'all! I love me a good confetti shower."

The two anti-fairies drifted away, cackling together. Wanda felt numb. She was so angry that she had looped right back around to feeling nothing. She was completely calm.

Cosmo reached over and took her hand, entwining their fingers. "What are we going to do?" He asked.

Wanda took a deep breath. She squeezed his hand back, placing her other hand on Peri's head. "Whatever we have to do to protect our son," she promised.

She had failed once already, and once was too much. Not again. Never again.

As long as Wanda still had the strength to flutter her wings, she was going to do everything in her power to defend her family.

AO3 link.

[empressofmankind]

Did you really think I wasn't going to inflict a dreadful colour scheme on him?

[lessons-from-moths]

alright alright alright where are my German philosophy nerds at? Because I'm kind of losing my mind over a Stan and Ford Faust retelling, specifically Goethe's Faust. This is gonna be a lil long, but feel free to stick with me for a moment.

Like, Ford is Fuast, the scholar driven by his thirst for knowledge. Bill is Mephistopheles, the devil who tempts him into making a deal and promising all of the knowledge he could ever want for the small price of his happiness and his soul.

But Stan...Stan is Gretchen. Not in a romantic sense, but he serves as the link to humanity that Ford still has, the link that he's both reluctant and desperate to get rid of.

Now in Goethe's Faust, Gretchen is destroyed by the selfishness of Faust and the Devil, but she is able to find salvation in sacrifice, and her forgiveness keeps Faust's soul from being seized by the devil when he dies. Nice. Lovely ending. Go womanhood.

But in this retelling, I would kind of go the Madoka Magica route. (Madoka Magica you ask??? What could that possibly have to do with any of this!!!) Well my friends. Madoka is also a retelling of Faust, and a magnificently done one at that. And I'm not smart enough to make my own, but I can borrow some of the elements of the retellings that I like.

So here's how it would go: Stan shows up in Gravity Falls, trying to help his brother after Ford says some concerning things to their mother. Canon to this point. And when Bill sees him, he thinks: "oh cool, a twin soul. i can get two for one," and he offers the same deal to Stan, not considering that Stan wouldn't be tempted by knowledge. Stan refuses, and is then is forced to watch Ford self-destruct, and he eventually dies, either from his own greed (investigating in GF) or by his own hand (depression gets to him, similarly to how the original Faust went). Stan, in a fit of grief, makes a deal with Bill: Bill can have his soul if he grants Stan's wish: make it so that he can help his brother find purpose in his research. Bill, amused, agrees, and in granting the wish with his cosmic powers accidentally gives Stan the power of time travel.

Begin: a timeloop, in which Stan wakes up a little before Bill's deal with Ford, and he tries to convince Ford to not make the deal. He gets close sometimes, fails a lot, and watches Ford succumb to the demon every single time.

But Bill is also curious as to why Stan is trying to stop the deal so much (he knows that he owns Stan's soul, but he doesn't remember making a deal...interesting). And eventually, he gets curious enough about Stan that it sets off warning bells for Ford, who worries what sort of deal his brother might make with the demon, not knowing that Stan's soul is already signed away....

[thelonelyshore-if]

Spending a long car ride writing today and it occurred to me that we've passed 100k words this chapter!!!