#like taking in count what i know of the comic his father does make him laugh at a dead lady

[toomanywordsnllines]

What if Ghost wears his mask because, after all the torment his father rained on him... he got the nervous tic of smiling AND laughing...

He starts getting nervous and his lips start to twitch up into a smile.... He can't stop it. It just... happens

Someone can be brutality killed in front of him but because of his father, his lips just twitch into a smile instead of a frown or grimace. It doesn't reach his eyes so no one really knows it, but he feels disgusted with himself anyway. Smiling and laughing at someone suffering? "What kind of monster are you Simon?"

[venuslarkspur]

Teen Hero Shenanigans

(The Prologue)

Fall Of Girl Wonder

Summary: Your Damian’s Twin Sister who arrived 3 years after your brother, because of your late arrival you’re never excepted to become Robin, until your brother runs away and you volunteer to take his place in his absence, things are going well until Damian returns and you are thrown under the bus completely by being told you can’t be Robin anymore, after bottling up your anger you decide to go solo by running away and stealing a Batgirl costume. But you’re not alone, your sort of boyfriend joins you; which would be okay if it wasn’t your brother’s best friend of all people.

Pairings: Batfam x Batsis (platonic), Jon Kent x reader (romantic). Very bittersweet tbh, you love your bf but you’re also proving your worth to your family.

Notes: Reader and Damian are very on and off but do love each other ofc. (they only really had one another growing up in the league) To clear things up Bruce has a genuine reason for discharging reader of the Robin mantle but that’s an epilogue thing I fear, Reader is 16 so is Jon. I’d give this series maybe a 15+ rating as there will be be some heavy topics involved and some “problematic” language icl. Reader also is closest with Cass and Jason specifically, all of this isn’t at all comic book accurate but does include elements from the comics. (Also very fanony when it’s comes to the Batfam and Superfam) (I don’t own any of the characters this is fan-fiction 💙)

Warnings: Mentions of panic attacks, Damian runs away from home for a bit. Unless count Bruce being a semi shitty father then not a lot of warnings tbh. This is just the epilogue we haven’t even got to the real drama yet. 👏

Words: 1.4k

6 months, 2 weeks and 3 days. That’s how long you’ve held the Robin mantle, you trained none stop before even having volunteered for it. You wondered what your plan even was, as long as Damian had it you couldn’t. Then he ran away and it was all too convenient, you got the mask, the gloves and the cute boy. Were you worried about Damian? Obviously, you had panic attacks about it mid patrol, which meant whatever member of your family that was unlucky enough to be awake at that time, had to take your shift. You knew Barbara and Tim would track him eventually and were doing everything in their power, but that didn’t ease your worry, you even considered alerting your mother but you knew if she got wind of this she would force you to come back with her for your own safety, and you didn’t feel like going to back the small, sad, isolated girl you were before.

You had also gotten closer to Jon Kent, a best friend of your brother. In truth, you are immediately lovesick, so was he. But it came as a bit of bittersweet shock to you both that over your course of searching for Damian you had given up along the way and became invested in one another. Eventually it become so much more than just a mutual love for Damian, soon the Damian questions become You questions. Things progressed quickly, it went from “Do you think my brother is close by?” to “My dad and siblings aren’t home, do you wanna come over?” He makes it over every time, Alfred knows and you know that he knows. You begged him not to tell your father or anyone for that matter, he respected your decision to wait for the right time but would occasionally come in asking if you wanted anything. (You know it’s a ploy to check on you two) Clark and Lois 100% know and they approve but have been sworn to secrecy by you, you weren’t ashamed; of course not. It’s just that if you told even just one of your siblings, knowing them they would spill and accidentally tell another one of your siblings until the cycle continues and eventually reaches Damian. Though you were sure Cass already knew and you suspected Jason was catching on, but you weren’t even surprised that he was beginning to find out. He knew you well, after a good three years spending time and training with him and his group of people it became hard to keep secrets, although your weird duo did start off as a result of you being upset and jealous of Damian’s close relationship with Dick, you’re sure you’d still pick being Jason’s dysfunctional- unofficial sidekick.

As for Cass you knew there was a mutual appreciation for the fact you were both less outnumbered in terms of Bruce’s female children, sure Barbara was like an older sister to you and she always supported you over the com line on missions. But it wasn’t the same as having an actual sister, but it was unusual to call any of them your siblings, not just Cass. It took a while but the first time you remember calling one of them your brother or sister was when Dick had to come all the way and pick you up from school because of a “skiing accident” with your father, you knew immediately something must of happened because Alfred was always on time to get you, So when Dick came along you told your teacher your brother was here to pick you up instead, she waved you goodbye and as you entered the car you noticed the slight grin of his face, looking like he wanted to tease you, but he knew you weren’t so like Damian and wouldn’t even deny accepting him as a brother. You adapted much quicker than Damian, even if you have to get used to having 5 more siblings from now. (Yes I included Duke. <3)

—————————

It was the start of Christmas month and you were just doing your rounds with Stephanie and Barbara around the mall, Steph had gotten distracted a couple of times whilst window shopping but you and Barb managed to tug her along. You were nervous as your 16th birthday was also approaching, Jon had already turned 16 and you got to see him on his birthday; by masking it as going on patrol. It was fun but the question was popped at the party on when you were planning on telling your family about your relationship, you tensed up but luckily Lois took your side and encouraged you to tell Bruce and the rest when you were ready. This is why you like her. But right now you couldn’t think of that, you had to look for a present for Jon without being suspected.

Luckily Barbara had gone in the nearby cafe to get you guys some drinks, but that still left you with Steph. Maybe if you played it calm she wouldn’t even notice, so you started searching around looking at stuff and you thought that maybe you were safe. “Whatchu got there?” She bubbled, you took about a 5 foot jump backwards before blushing intensely. “Nothing.” You said calmly whilst shoving the item back on the shelf, she put her hand on her chin as if she was inspecting you. “Sooo who’s the lucky guy then? Or girl.” She smirked, “There’s no use lying is there?” You asked, “Absolutely not, so spill.” She leaned in and studied your face, “I can’t tell you who, but I’ve been seeing someone and before you ask I’m not in any trouble.” You confess, she shrugs as if wanting to ask more; but Barbara called out to you both drinks in hand, you swiftly looked back at Steph just for her to do a zipping motion with her lips, which satisfied you enough. “What have I missed?” Barb asked, you let out a sigh you didn’t know you were holding in and spoke up. “Well I was just wondering-“ You were cut of by a notification sound on Barbara’s phone, “We need to get back to the manor, now.” She said without a hint of warmth in her voice in order to calm you. What has happened now? You had quickly all changed into costume, excepting the worst.

——————————

You hastily made you way through the manor, Steph and Barbara in tow. Tim was waiting at the entrance to the kitchen and he tried to stop you, “Hey-don’t go in yet-“ you shrugged him off and continued on and Barbara eyed him suspiciously. You wished that you had waited, you weren’t prepared to see your newly found twin brother sitting on one of the stools with an ice pack above his brow, deep cuts layered across his arms and bruises across his neck. He must of put up a good fight against which ever one of your siblings found him, you assumed it was Dick as he was in costume and had slashes of his own. Alfred sat next to him, tending to his wounds whilst your father was stood next to him; checking out the marks Alfred wasn’t attending to, the room had now fell silent as everyone had now realised how awkward it was for Damian to see his twin sister in a Robin get up, this is the worst. You simply only stared into each other’s matching green eyes until you made the first move, you ran over and collapsed into him, giving him a bone crushing hug, he sat all tensed up before slowly returning the hug. “I’m sorry brother-I-I just.” Tears welled down your face before you threw off your mask and let it land on the other side of the room, you had never felt so relieved and guilty at the same time.

——————————

That night you stayed with your brother as long as possible, you had so many questions but right now you just wanted to embrace his return. Since it was an uncomfortable situation for everyone, most of the family decided to stay the night. You had crossed paths with Jason mid kitchen trip and he checked in on you first, but you couldn’t pin why it felt like he was holding something in. “You know you could forget all about this Girl Wonder thing and just join me, like old times.” He proposed, you looked at him puzzled. “By old times you mean a couple months ago? Also why are you asking me this? did something happen?” You questioned but watched as he couldn’t meet your gaze, “Bruce wants to see you downstairs, but you don’t have to go-“ “Okay fair enough, I’ll go see him now.” You interrupted and walked past him and ignored his muffled rejections, as you were now approaching the main office.

You should have listened to Jason, you should have gone with him. You’d regret not listening to him.

————————————

“Good news, you can put away the Robin costume for good now.”

————————————

Taglist: @waterwyne @venusmorning

(Part 1 is out!)

[allfortheslay25]

Hii, I love your drawings especially the siren and mermaid ones! I just have a question, why did Neil eat Dr*ke's body? Is it like an instinct type of thing or to hide the body or something else?

Sirens are cannibals. They eat mermaids and other sirens. Kevin and Neil are not keen on eating mermaids or sirens but Neil has eaten his fair share of them when he was still living with his father.

Mermaids will often wrap their dead with seaweed or other plants and toss the bodies into nearby pits. They try to stay ignorant but they know sirens or sharks eat the bodies.

Neil knew that the Monsters would be stuck with Dr*ke’s corpse and he was already consumed by rage by what he’d done so Neil decided to eat him.

The comic was originally meant to extend to the rest reaction. Nicky gets nauseous because even if it is human trash, he never wanted to believe Neil could eat them. Aaron is terrified since this was his fear from the start. Andrew doesn’t know if he should be attracted to this or not. Kevin is actually just plain embarrassed because he thinks Neil has bad manners. But Kevin realizes quickly how horrified the Monsters are so he tries to get Neil to stop (Kevin doesn’t want the Monsters to see them differently)

Neil later explains to Andrew that he would never eat a person like Nicky or even Andrew’s horrible uncle. Dr*ke didn’t count because Neil didn’t consider him a person. To Neil, he was just a slab of meat stinking up their home so Neil took care of it

If it were instinct, Kevin would have joined him. This was all just Neil and his rage

(This does cause a small rift in the Monsters for a while.)

Nicky and Aaron can’t face Neil or Kevin (for different but similar reasons) and Andrew is all that keeps the two sides together. Neil refuses to apologize or soothe their worries and anything Kevin says is just being shut down by the image of Neil tearing out a man’s throat

They sleep separately and Andrew is not fond of picking sides (so he doesn’t) He forces himself into his old den which he hasn’t used in ages (it’s a solitary cave within their territory)

Nicky and Aaron have constant nightmares and tend to go to Andrew to make sure he’s in one piece (they rotate responsibility) meanwhile Neil is a bit hurt by their actions so he sticks with sleeping by Kevin until Nicky and Aaron can tolerate them

It takes a while and a few half hearted jokes on Nicky’s part before they can function during dinner (Andrew is relived, he’s tired of having to hunt twice for one dinner)

[theadhddimsenion]

a few predications on Sinsmas and season three and four of helluva boss.

this is gonna be a long one so hold on.

first and foremost I can all but guarantee that Sinsmas will stolas second big reality check. He’s going to get torn into by his daughter and called out for everything in a practically brutal and heart wrenching scene and the moment Octavia is out of earshot Andy will move in to finish stolas off once and for all but will fail perhaps due to blitz comically cutting off his precious plumage leaving him pathetically bawling over his destroyed peacock feathers unable to take a hit to his ego like that then paimon will reveal himself as the TRUE master mind and Andy was just the star scream to his Megatron so to speak and decides to go to kill stolas and blitz himself but is fought off either by blitz having some genuine power of love type shit where he grows wings and actually manages to wound the goetia king or due to some other force intervening. Blitz will take his boyfriend home and actually manage to cheer him up a bit with a he and the imp teams crappy attempt to give him a nice Sinsmas because the thought really does count.

Season three will have a lot of more action oriented episodes with the battles between the dhorks and cherub getting more intense and Collin becoming increasingly unsure of the morality of what they are doing because their human “friends” seemingly care more about killing demons and proving to the world that they were right than actually protecting their species and Cletus and keenies abuse of him getting worse and worse. Eventually cumulating in a final battle where the dhroks make their lack of care for humanity clear and Cletus and Keenie finally fall from grace and become the monsters they always were and after both are defeated and the dhroks replaced with a more competent demon hunting organization Collin is just about to return to heaven only for deerie to spitefully deny it to him out of her personal grudge not even bothering to come up with an excuse this time around and saying she hated him and surprisingly it’s Loona of all people who comforts the little sheep because she knows better than anyone what it’s like to be screwed over by unfair systems considering she was born a slave really showing how far she’s come.

Loona will getting some minor devolvement just one final push over the finish line to get her fully on board with learning to accept help and love and her banter with moxxie now feels like siblings teasing than real hate.

Millie will have an arc about learning that she can say no to people and that overworking herself trying to solve others problems is only going to end up hurting the very people she wants to help

Season four will be essentially a “trauma final boss rush” with each of our heroes from hell going up against something/someone who will try and temp/force them to return to their old habits but each one of them will reject/fight off these challenges and learn to stay good after becoming good. Blitz will face his father who tries to manipulate him into thinking that self sabotage and self hatred would be the right call but he won’t fall for it, paimon will try and bride stolas with his daughters safety (which is a lie) and having his old life back so he doesn’t have to ever experience the real hardships of hell and he can return to his fantasies and delusions but stolas will reject this and turn goetia law against him and now that he and his daughter won’t marry paimon has to go back to one of his old wives who is essentially his Verizon of Stella, moxxie will save his wife from crimson and drown the fucker in the same lake his mother died in etc etc for each of our heroes.

fizz and Ozzie will have their first spat but will be a okay same with m&m.

blitz will get his own hair metal love ballad for stolas and the owl will lose his fucking mind.

the end of season three will conclude with stolas organizing his daughters rescue from her arranged marriage but the important part is that he will make it clear that he isn’t doing this to win her forgiveness but rather because he wants what’s best for her whether or not she forgives him for his actions.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

So, controversial topic. taking in count that in a month, the webcomic "scarlet lady" is gonna end ¿what are your feelings about it?

I know that there's people out there that don't like it for the chloe salt, but i have to admit that the damnation that chloe went through, at least for me, gave her more agency than canon, for the fact that it wasn't manipulated by outside forces like canon did, it gave her the right to choose to be better or worse.

Another great element is that it does what canon refused to do: five back Adrian his agency by letting him vent his frustrations AND let him realize that his father is a bastard.

If you don't agree, that's more than excellent, i want to know your take in this topic, that being positive or negative 😄👍

My friend, you are talking to a big Scarlet Lady fan, so I'm happy to give my thoughts! Get ready for some gushing and in-depth discussion of the adaptation process. That's really what all fanfiction is, but Scarlet Lady is more of an adaptation than most since it's a true canon rewrite that often requires you to know canon to fully appreciate its jokes and meta commentary.

Before we get into it, I want to give a link to the comic for those who haven't read it. The artist/writer is @zoe-oneesama and this is page one of the comic. I'd follow the comic link if you haven't read it as the comic is nearing its end, so going straight to Zoe's page will spoil you on elements of ending.

General Thoughts on Adaptation

Adaptation is an art, not a science. There are things that are objective elements of a story. Things you really cannot change if you want people to feel like you're telling an adaptation of a given tale. But there are also plenty of elements that are more subjective. Things some people might consider vital, but that aren't truly necessary to stay true to the story's core. (Yes, the character core thing applies to stories too!)

For example, to be a Cinderella adaptation, you need to have some sort of big reveal moment where "the prince" finds Cinderella, but that moment doesn't need to involve a slipper and the prince doesn't need to be an actual prince. My favorite modern Cinderella adaptation is A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song and it twists both of those elements while keeping the major story beats in place, making it fully deserving of the Cinderella label while also being its own unique story that isn't a straight retelling, it's an adaptation.

I bring all this up because, as readers of this blog may have already guessed, Scarlet Lady does a lot of things that I personally would not do when adapting Miraculous. A big one being that I prefer a more complex take on Gabriel, but that's simply a matter of preference. A complex Gabriel is not a requirement for adapting Miraculous. Complex Gabriel vs comedic villain Gabriel is just a choice you have to make when it comes to adapting canon because canon is such a mess that both options have straight up backing in the source text. Even if they didn't, Gabriel's core role - villain - is one that leaves you a lot of room for interpretation based on other factors that we'll talk about in a second.

I'll close off this section with this: having read all of Scarlet Lady, I'll be so bold as to say that Zoe and I almost perfectly align when it comes to identifying the flaws in Miraculous because I've agreed with pretty much every change she's made. She did a fantastic job staying true to the core of canon while also telling the story she wanted to tell. It's not the way I'd redo canon, but it doesn't need to be for me to call it a fantastic story. Plus a lot of the different choices I'd make come down to narrative style and tone.

Narrative Style and Tone

I'm a novelist at heart, which means that I favor serialized storytelling. For those who don't know that word, it means stories that are one coherent whole just broken into chunks. Stories where the order matters. You can't start watching at a random episode, you have to start at the beginning. And skipping an episode usually means that you'll have no idea what's going on.

Miraculous is not a serialized show. It's primarily an episodic show, a word that means that episode order doesn't matter. Every installment stands alone.

Obviously Miraculous isn't completely episodic, but that's fine. Purely episodic narratives are rare these days. Most stories have at least minor serialized elements even if those elements are often ignored for multiple episodes at a time. This is where both Miraculous and Scarlet Lady fall. They're mostly episodic stories with serialized elements popping up every now and then.

Miraculous does this element poorly because it acts like it's a purely episodic show and then takes that to an absurd extreme. Rules, characters, and lore can never be counted on to stay the same from episode to episode even though that's not actually how episodic stories work. Scarlet Lady doesn't make this mistake. It understands that episodic narratives should have STORIES that stand alone, but that the WORLD the stories take place in must stay consistent.

Now that we've gone over the basic format stuff, let's talk about tone.

Generally speaking, tone is the vibe of your story. It can be serious, silly, dramatic, and so on. One of Miraculous' biggest flaws is that its tone is all over the place. It's a silly romcom that brings in serious topics in serious ways and then handles them with all the grace of a hippo performing ballet in a china shop because of course it does! Those topics are horribly suited to the show's overall tone so it has no way to properly address them.

This is one of the many things I love about Scarlet Lady. It takes the show's absurdist tone and honors it. That's why Zoe's version of Gabriel works so well! He's a silly cartoony villain in a silly cartoony comic as he should be. It's also why my versions of Gabriel tend to be more complex. More serious serialized narratives are where more serious complex villains thrive. Neither option is better than the other, it all comes down to how you're adapting the original work. Zoe's choices are perfect for her version's style and tone. If mine are even close to that good for my preferred style and tone, then I'll be a happy author.

Narrative Weight & The Chloe Thing

This is getting long, so I'll end with a note on Chloe since you brought her up as it's another great example of the fact that there are very few choices that are inherently right or wrong when it comes to adaptation.

I don't know if I'd say that I'm a Chloe fan, but I certainly don't hate her. I also love what Zoe did with the character! It's a prime example of a thing that I've talked about before: the issue with Chloe is not a lack of redemption. The issue is that Chloe was given too much narrative weight to be what canon made her.

Quick definition: narrative weight is the importance a narrative places on a person, event, thing, etc. The more time you dedicate to an element of your narrative, the more weight that element has in the eyes of your audience. The more they expect the element to matter. The way that you develop the element will also shape audience expectations.

In the context of canon, Chloe has more development than almost any other side character. We know more about her family, her childhood, her personality, and so on. This was an absurd choice for canon to make because Chloe is not actually important to the story they told. You could pull her out of canon and almost nothing would change. Gabriel can make akumas do whatever he wants so, lore wise, he didn't need Miracle Queen. In fact, he arguably shouldn't have made Miracle Queen. He could have just taken the miracle box and jumped right into the plot of season five. Similarly, Chloe being mayor was an absurd one-note moment that's easily replaced with something more logical.

Because of this, there are a lot of things you can do when adapting Chloe. Everything from turning her back into a one-dimensional mean girl to redeeming her to what Zoe did: take Chloe's narrative weight and petty brat behavior and lean into both to make Chloe a main antagonist while also acknowledging the fact that Chloe is a messed up teenage girl who needs some serious help. I'm super excited to see the end of Chloe's arc in Scarlet Lady as I think it's going to be one of my favorites in the fandom. That is admittedly not a high bar as I'm very picky when it comes to Chloe content. I think most of it falls flat because most of it fails to let Chloe hit some sort of rock bottom when she absolutely needs to if you want to do anything interesting with her. She's not the kind of person who will easily change or see the error of her ways.

Conclusion

Scarlet Lady is a fantastic adaption of Miraculous and Zoe is a fantastic and funny adapter. The comic might not be to your tastes - and that's fine, nothing has universal appeal - but it's still a great example of how to honor source material while doing your own thing with it, which is a true skill. One of the problems with many modern retellings and reboots is that the people running the show don't understand how to adapt a narrative. They take far too much creative freedom and end up with something that doesn't feel anything like the source.

If I found out that Zoe somehow got hired to adapt something I love, then I wouldn't have any concerns. I'd have no idea what she'd do with it, but I'd be confident that it wouldn't spit in the face of the thing I love. I'd personally read a hundred Miraculous re-imaginings with her at the helm.

[eponastory]

I know you most likely already realized this, but I was just thinking about Aang as a father in LOK, and realized something. If Katara ended up with Zuko and eventually had children together, Zuko would likely end up being a better father than Aang. Aang never even met his parents, and only had instructors as parental figures. They're like parents but mostly just in the way that a school teacher would be. But Zuko understands what good parents and what bad parents look like because he knows what his own parents are like. His memories of Ursa and Iroh would be his guide to what you SHOULD do for a child, and Ozai is an example of what you should NOT do. Zuko doesn't have the pressure of repopulating firebenders because firebenders aren't virtually extinct, so there wouldn't be as much (if any) pressure to pay unfairly extra attention to one child over the other. Zuko knows what it's like to be neglected by a parent that's supposed to love because of something you can't control. Aang clearly doesn't, hence why he neglected Bumi and Kya II in the first place. Zuko also has experience with Azula, and would know to recognize any bad signs of sibling jealousy and/or hatred, and put an end to it because he knows what bad sibling dynamics look like.

I feel like he would also be a better husband to Katara. He's not as naive as Aang when it comes to marriage; Zuko has the experience of growing up with two married parents, and would know what not to do. Katara would relax better because the distribution over who watches the kids would be more fair, as Zuko would give them ALL attention. While Aang made Katara jealous from always being around the Air Acolytes (in the comics), I feel like Zuko would not give polite attention to women who are rude to Katara/flirting with him because in the show, Zuko knows exactly how hurtful it feels for a romantic partner to flirt with/give polite attention to people who are obviously pursuers. Imagine being in an alternate dimension where Zutara was the main endgame couple, and we get to see their parental dynamics in LoK. There would probably be a flashback of Katara getting worked up about one of their children, and Zuko would ease her into calming down because he sees a solution that she didn't.

Aang's issues are more than he doesn't know. He is selfish by nature. Selfish parents aren't good parents. I know this for a fact. It's an endless cycle of 'It's your fault' or 'what about how I feel' every time you try to say something. It's not fun, and it's damaging. I can totally see Aang using this behavior as a way to get what he wants. As far as him being naive... yes. He is very naive and doesn't take anything seriously.

Like the war, for instance. He was only there for the last year of it. He wasn't born into the war like Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. They aren't naive. They know what war is like. Toph is the same age as Aang, and she is much more mature than he is. He's got this idea that killing anyone is bad, but he is responsible for a lot of deaths. Honestly, he has a kill count from the Fire Nation attack on the NWT, and a lot of people overlook that for some reason. Actually, the show overlooks it because Aang is the Hero, and it's okay if he killed people. So, when all is said and done, all of the things that he does afterward is overlooked too. It's a huge writing flaw with the show. So how does this translate to him as a parent?

It makes him a hypocrite.

Plain and simple.

He's so focused on reviving the Air Nomads that he has little knowledge on what they actually believed. What we are given is a few Taoist, Hindu, and Buddhist proverbs to go off of. Then, it's completely disregarded (disrespected as well) for 'Love'. This 'Love' is actually deep infatuation fueled by jealousy and possessive behavior. Which is actually frowned upon by the three religions mentioned above. It is a 'poison' to the spirit. And disconnects you from being enlightened (I think that is what the proverbs/scriptures are eluding too, if I'm wrong, please do not hesitate to explain, I'm super interested in cultures and eastern religions) or granted a place in Heaven (or their version of it). Letting go of all earthly possessions is common place in most religions. Aang does not do this. But I digress.

So, while there is the Nature vs Nurture aspect of parenting... where Katara does most of the Nurturing because that is how her character is written post-war and LoK. Notice how is said Written. Written by two misogynistic men who stripped her of a lot of her characteristics from the original run of the show. This is the problem. And it's the same with Aang. I can't take him seriously because he doesn't take any of it seriously. Especially with his children. He's not a serious character. He acts like he's serious, but he never really left the 12 year old boy behind to mature. Probably because in his fictional relationship with Katara, she enables him to keep doing what he always does. Which is to not grow. Relationships grow sour when the two people in them do not grow. It's not really about who grew up with parents at that point because it's the current parents that are the ones that should be to blame.

Now on to Headcanon space...

Zutara is a Headcanon ship. Did it almost happen? Oh yes I believe it did because the writing supports it heavily and Bryke's actions post show also scream 'lairs'. Sorry, but I have a pretty good Bullshit metor and Bryke set it off big time by their immature behavior.

But I digress.

Zuko grew up with a Narcissistic Sociopath as a Father and a Mother who was caught in the middle of a choice she was essentially forced to make. Ursa was also forced to forget her own parents never existed after she married Ozai. This is all canon, by the way. Her life before her marriage was great, but then it was taken away so she had nothing left but her morals and beliefs. However, while she loved both of her children, her influence on Zuko is essentially what made him who he is. Ursa didn't get to influence Azula like she did Zuko. Why? Because of Ozai.

Ozai pit his children against each other. This was apparently a Fire Nation Royal Family tradition because it sounds like Azulon did this with Iroh and Ozai as well. This kind of parenting style is abusive to its core. What Ozai did to Zuko isn't neglect... it's straightforward abuse and control. How do you make a child do what you want? You hurt them, or you take something away from them. Ozai both hurt Zuko and took away his home by banishing him. If Zuko wants to go back home, he has to find and capture the Avatar. It's that simple, but at the same time, it's also near impossible.

Flash forward to Canon Zuko and we see he has one child and he is a very loving father. Actually, he's the best father in the show. His experiences with growing up as the not so favorite child has made his choice to have one child easy. Probably because he and his spouse had a less than perfect relationship. This also may have influenced him to be protective of Izumi (as we can see he's still protective over her even at 90 years old) because of the loveless relationship his parents had. It was enough to damage him deeply when it came to relationships. This is likely also why he had trouble with Mai as well.

Headcanon space now...

Zuko loving Katara is what makes the difference here. Love is giving your partner the freedom to make their own choices and support them. As long as there is good communication, trust, and honesty. Something Maiko does not have, by the way. So it stands to reason that even with Nature Vs Nurture in the way of parenting, both win here. I'll tell you why Zuko's relationship with his parents here have no effect on why he would choose to have more children with Katara.

Because if written well, it's a very good relationship between them. We already know they work well as a team. The show gives us this. We know that Zuko absolutely cares about Katara. The show also gives us that. We also know they become lifelong friends. So why do they make great parents?

Because they rely on each other.

It has nothing to do with how they were raised individually, but everything to do with how they support each other narritively. They trust each other to make good decisions together. They rely on being honest with each other. They also communicate with each other. This by itself is the building blocks for a healthy and stable relationship. With that in mind, parenting is easier. There is no need to be afraid of becoming a bad parent because they hold each other accountable. It's a deep relationship. Having multiple children is easier because it is a loving relationship. There's no conflict besides the silly little arguments over simple things that happen all the time. It's just an overall healthy dynamic.

And that is what appeals to Zutarians.

While it was almost canon, I'm glad it isn't because Bryke would definitely not get it right. They tried to make Korra and Mako happen out of spite because they believe Zutara is toxic. It's not. Their children would turn out absolutely fine because Zuko would not change a thing about Katara. It's in the show. He doesn't try to change her because that's not his job. His job in TSR is to let her find closure. He offers it to her because he cares about her. Bottom line.

Anyway, I probably forgot what you said at this point because I just tend to go on and on, but I tried my best to stay on topic... ADHD is both a blessing and a curse.

[akumastrife]

Maybe You Were Sent For Me; Maybe I Was Made For You {Steddie/Stranger Things}

Rating: Teen? (References to non-explicit sex in one of the ending scenes?) Fandom: Stranger Things Pairing: Steddie Word Count: 4k Summary: There's a demon in Hawkins, but Steve isn't sure what that means. He's also not sure why he's committed to figuring it out. This was supposed to be about weird demon sex for Monsterfucktober 2023, but then I did what I always do by making it weirdly introspective and yearny and soft. Oops. Maybe one day I'll write a PWP sequel. {Also on AO3}

There’s a demon in Hawkins.

At least, that’s what all the adults whisper about over immaculately set tables and potlucks and sun-dappled mailboxes.

Looking at the young man darkening the open back door of the church (propped open to let in any slip of breeze, and in the process letting in the filth, his Mother hisses to his Father), Steve doesn’t see it.

How does someone look at another and know?

Steve’s looking at him closer now, more shadow and bright light than boy. Metal winks all over him like a glittering midnight sky when he moves, and when his eyes find Steve’s, the darkness of them burns.

Steve jerks his eyes back to the pulpit, swallowing thick as his heart beats against his sternum in something one step to the right of fear.

When he looks out of the corner of his eyes, the exit is empty.

He doesn’t hear a word of the sermon after that. Maybe hadn’t heard any of it the moment he sat down.

Maybe that’s what his Mother meant, about demons and the handsome young men who house them, leading the weak-willed from holy light.

“—right trouble,” Mrs. Mitchell says. “He’s just not right.”

“His poor uncle,” Mrs. Roberts agrees. “Can’t decide if he’s a saint for taking that thing in, or wicked himself for letting it back into town.”

Steve tunes back into the conversation, bored and tired and hot in the stuffy church. Looks longingly out the window where some of the other boys are out throwing around a football, having shed their nice church jackets and unbuttoning their collars. But Mother has her arm twined with his, keeping him close and respectable.

“He was the sweetest little boy,” Mother muses, “if a little wild. Before all that… strange business, with his parents.”

Mrs. Thompson sniffs reproachfully. “If you ask me, he’s always been tainted. There’s something dark hiding in that boy.”

Steve doesn’t see how that’s Munson’s fault.

Steve had seen a statue of Satan once. When visiting his grandparents, they’d spent Sunday morning in their church. All familiar and alien at once. Like seeing your bedroom in a dream and not knowing if the layout is the same or if you’re just remembering it wrong.

He’d missed that sermon, too. Had been too fixated on carved stone outlining a fallen angel as pretty as a saved one; limbs elegantly muscled, demonic wings at odds with the strangely submissive pose of it, and hair a tumbling curtain that looked like it’d be soft if touched. 

He couldn’t, obviously. Couldn’t be caught looking, either. Even if his grandmother had and told Father and—

He doesn’t remember the rest of the visit. But he remembers the statue.

Thinks about it now, weirdly enough, in the lunch room. Thinks about the curve of stone effigy as Munson perches on his chair, performing for his little band of weirdos. His dark curls tumbling around him like some sort of halo, hands up and hooked in parody of something more wicked.

Fingers snap in front of his face. “Earth to Hair,” a teammate says.

Steve can’t get caught looking. Snaps his eyes away, snaps up a rakish grin, snaps his hand into a soft stomach and laughing at the grunt and flinch it produces.

There’s a demon in Hawkins.

Everyone’s whispering about it.

Steve isn’t sure he really, truly believes that. But he leaves practice late—the sun already sinking, covering the campus in shadows—and he sees the shadowy figure sprawled along the field’s bleachers, ringed in lazy smoke. Like a character in a comic book. Regal and indolent at once.

He’s stopped to watch; breathes in the chilly evening air and grips his backpack strap too hard. There’s a sharp wanting in his gut, twisting and churning, that tells him to step closer. Instinct and something more primal flashes in danger. Growing up in the church pews has told him it’s wrong. Whatever it is, whatever Munson is, it’s wrong and he can’t.

Munson knows he’s there, even as his loose-limb perch stays easy, even as lips wrap around the smudged, damp papers. There isn’t any breeze to stir the thick silence between them, but smoke floats over to him anyway. Too skunky to be nicotine, but laden with sulfur undertones that ping as familiar and foreign at once.

Munson pushes a ringed hand through his hair; pushing it back frizzy and untamed.

Steve must be as stupid and vain as everyone teases, because the fear is replaced with distress at long dark hair that’s not being cared for properly. It needs moisture and some sort of heavy product. His hands twitch to get in there. To dampen it, twist it around his fingers—

Munson curls a lock around his finger, slow enough to watch, looking back at him with the sleepy heaviness of a large predator on a nature documentary.

Steve swallows around a dry mouth and turns for the parking lot quickly.

He spends too long in the bathroom that night.

Just because someone’s weird doesn’t mean they’re satanic. (He does not say this at the dinner table, but it gets him thinking anyway.)

Yeah, Munson’s dripping in occult symbols and spends his time locked up in dark basements weaving tales of magic and evil with his freak cronies.

And yeah, symbols have power. The letterman jacket he wears is a symbol that means something. It gives him a power in school and around town. A jacket like his means he’s good and popular and right. It’s all about fitting in the jacket and the box built for him; being the boy his parents expect and the church expects and the town expects.

But what even is goodness? The stuff they talk about at church, only achieved by following their set of rules and codes? He’s not sure that’s enough, because Johnny on the team doesn’t go to church, but he’s down at the soup kitchen on Saturdays and he helps old ladies across the street, so that should still count for something. And Mimi on cheer squad sits with girls in the nurse’s office and picks up litter in the spring, even though her family doesn’t celebrate Christmas.

Steve wears the jacket and goes to church and does as he’s told, but he doesn’t always feel good, either. Sometimes he slips on the jacket and squirms at the thought that he’s a fraud. That the jacket means more than he actually is. Something he can’t measure up to.

“Stop thinking so hard, you’ll burn up your last two braincells,” Chrissy teases, poking her knuckles into his temples to get him to relax his face.

Cheer and Basketball have to share the gym today and it means neither team is doing much of any practicing. He should be helping Coach get everyone back on track, but he’s too preoccupied to care about three pointers.

He grins and rolls his eyes, batting her hand away. “Just thinking about the new defense plays.” Not fully a lie.

Her laugh is high and bright. “But you’re too pretty to be thinking.”

Usually it’s an inside joke between them; both of them seen as too pretty, and pretty as in not good for anything else. No expectation for anything more.  

Lately it just makes him shift somewhere inside himself, pushing his tongue into the inside of his teeth to stem it.

Is that really all he’s good for?

Is that enough?

Could that be enough for himself?

He huffs, ruffling his own hair as he speeds up to rejoin the guys in their cool down laps. Maybe everyone’s right—maybe he’s not made for thinking. He’s not even sure what he’d really been thinking about, what conclusion he was trying to puzzle out, except in circles.

Sometimes when Steve’s thinking too hard, his eyes drift over to land on Munson. Like some sort of tar trap. Or a magnet, stuck in his throat whenever he looks and tries to swallow.

Sometimes, when he does, Munson catches him at it.

Sometimes, Munson’s looking first.

It should mean nothing. It probably does mean nothing and he’s being the weird one. They’ve literally exchanged maybe a dozen words over the years. They were almost lab partners early in the semester before Rodney made a fuss and convinced everyone to swap. They’d done poorly on the assignments, but Steve was used to that, at least.

What would a demon even want to do with Hawkins, anyway? Even if Munson was one, so far all he’d done since he got back was start a band, go to school, and start the dungeons and dragons club back up. As far as he could tell, it was keeping Nancy’s little brother and his friends off the streets and out of trouble, so he wasn’t sure what the harm was in that, either.

Maybe he just didn’t get what the adults were so worried about. Maybe he didn’t get it and so that’s why he was just as at risk to fall into Munson’s demonic ways.

That was probably why Steve was looking at him so much these days.

There’s a demon in Hawkins.

He dresses in all blacks and reds and dangerous flashes of metal, and moves his body in weird ways. He plays satanic games and satanic music. He and his uncle never come to church—there’s hushed chatter about him still hovering around the church, probably up to no good and refusing to come inside. Maybe can’t? He and his friends (minions, Mrs. Thompson spits,) are always around town in a little pack up to no good.

He, also, catches Steve’s eye in the hallway, grinning brightly and mocking, flashing sharp canines.

He, also, chats animatedly with Chrissy, always slipping away whenever Steve gets closer.

He, also, sells pot at Steve’s basketball games, out back behind the building when everyone’s distracted. Steve knows because he can smell it when he leaves the locker room at the end of the night, the air heavy with herbs and sulfur. A calling card or a tease of some game Steve doesn’t know they’re playing.

He, also, lounges high up in the bleachers early in the morning when Steve’s swimming laps. Steve’s not sure how long that’s been going on, or why Munson’s picked there to haunt. He’d expected Munson to be the sort of “out all night, sleep all day” type that was popular with bats and horror villains.

But sometimes Steve pulls himself out of the pool, shedding water, and finds the glow of Munson’s eyes in shadows, hair curled around a finger and between his lips. Steve shivers before grabbing a towel and tries not to see those eyes every time he blinks.

Munson’s definitely weird, but ultimately harmless, Steve’s pretty sure. Mother’s book club-church-social ladies don’t know what they’re talking about. Munson’s just some guy.

Steve intends on finally confronting him about it. See what his deal is, why he’s skulking around, what he could possibly want. Maybe ask about the demon business so they can both laugh it off. If nothing else because Chrissy likes him and Jason’s starting to get weird about it, tight and angry somewhere behind his smarmy smiles. 

But there’s never a good time, or there’s too many people who’d want to watch popular Steve talk to the school freak. (He doesn’t talk to him when he’s leaving the pool or basketball practice despite them being alone and the perfect time for it. There’s something taboo about it, when he’s bare and sweating and catching his breath, and Munson’s eyes are roaming him slow and heavy. Those times are for something else, something that Steve doesn’t understand but wants to keep just for them.)

(There’s no them.)

He must kick around too long, too loudly, because he swings back to his locker long after school to get a forgotten book, and Munson’s leaving detention with one of his ruffled, punky friends. He laughs loud and sharp, flinging his head back, uncaring of where he is. He drums his hands theatrically across his friend’s shoulders and then the row of lockers, pushing him off down a hall with a farewell (a literal farewell, like he’s trying out for the Spring Shakespeare Play.)

He keeps walking.

Steve keeps walking.

Dark, liquid eyes stare into his as Musnon reaches into a vest pocket for a crumbled box of cigarettes.

Steve inhales, should stop—passes him, and keep walking.

There’s a squeak on linoleum and then Munson’s walking at his elbow, bumping a little too close. He’s warm, putting out heat like a radiator.

Steve exhales.

A lighter flicks, flickers, catches in the corner of his eye glowing red and curling into smoke.

He doesn’t look.

He pushes the exit door out the back harder than he means to, stepping out into the bright sunshine. Squints.

A firm hand lands on his shoulder and pushes, spinning him back around a corner and into shadows. Brick scratches the back of the felted letterman jacket. Steve forgets to breathe.

Munson breathes for him, fingers digging sharp into his chest to keep him still and lips ghosting soft over his, open and exhaling smoke that Steve can’t help but draw in, shuddering.

His thoughts spin dizzy and his heart climbs and stutters; then he’s not thinking at all, foggy with smoke and sulfur and the curious prodding of a wet tongue.

Steve gasps, grabbing the edges of Munson’s vest with the intention to push, instead doing the opposite. Heat and want flares across his skin, coming out as a small whine and turning him as stupid as everyone says he is.

Guilt drops into his stomach like a stone, but his hands keep pulling, his tongue keeps reaching, his hips follow a press he knows like a second language. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be liking this.

“Why are you following me around?” Munson asks against his mouth, low and raspy, his teeth catching Steve’s lip to pull.

Steve shudders and makes an embarrassing sound he’ll never admit to. It doesn’t feel like Munson minds, except—

“What?” Steve manages. He pushes, puts enough space between them he can gulp fresh air and try to clear his head. “Me? I was—I’d been—you.” He laughs despite himself, more panicked than amused, letting his head thump back against the wall. It stings, but the clarity is needed. “I thought you were stalking me.” Still thinks it, to be honest, because he has a lot more reason to be at the pool and the gym than the sixth-year senior slacker.

“What reason would I have to follow around the poplar pretty boy?” Munson asks, scathing enough that Steve’s pants go pathetically tight.

He tries to shrug instead, looking anywhere other than Munson’s eyes, deep enough to fall in like coaxing. “You tell me.” Does look, because he can’t help himself. Munson’s all dark temptation and promises of satisfaction.

Maybe he is a demon. Maybe that’s why Steve feels this way.

Maybe he’s something that’s mistaken for a demon: less supernatural and more dangerous.

Munson looks at him, and doesn’t say anything.

Steve’s too busy kissing him to say anything, either.

They don’t talk about it like Steve planned. He doesn’t get around to asking about any of it. They don’t talk at school or outside it. Nothing really changes except the stolen moments shivering in Munson’s burning hands and wicked mouth under the bleachers, or the quick and self-conscious fumble in the Munson trailer.

Steve doesn’t like anyone messing with his hair, but he likes it when Munson pulls on it.

Steve doesn’t like hickeys where anyone can see and ask questions, but he likes Munson’s sharp teeth digging in under his clothes.

Steve doesn’t like the thought of anyone catching them, but he lets Munson in through his window under the dark sky of a new moon. How can he say no to all the shadowed angles and flashing eyes of Munson softened immediately in the warm lamplight of his room?

It’s way too easy to let Munson in and then stay the rest of the night. Maybe he’s actually a vampire.

“Fussy,” Munson teases, biting at Steve’s hip, laughing at Steve’s stomach jumping at the touch.

Steve frowns and tugs at his hair in retribution. For such a wicked boy, his smiles look extra sweet in the early morning sunlight. Maybe that’s one of his tricks, too.

Footsteps echo up the stairs and down the hall, and Steve swears low. He scrambles to push Munson down, pull up the lumpy comforter over him. It won’t be enough. He pushes with his legs for Munson to shift behind him as he rolls over. Battles amusement at the soft thump and swear of Munson hitting the floor. Just in time for Father to knock and open the door without waiting, helping himself to every corner of his house without care to privacy.

“What are you still doing in bed?” There’s a queer suspicion in his eyes as they roam over Steve, looking for an answer neither of them wants to ask the question to.

“I—I don’t feel well,” Steve chokes out. Twitches at the fingers pressing into the back of his knees. Fakes a cough that turns distressingly real at teeth scraping at his backside.

“Your mother will be disappointed,” Father says in his own disappointment. In Steve. Not that he’s sick, but that he’s not obedient.

Steve shrugs, helpless and tangled up in his own bad decisions.

Father sighs, hand clenching around the door handle before relaxing. “Okay. No TV. We’re going to the Glenn’s after church. Mary will be disappointed you’re not coming.”

Steve doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t move until the door’s shut, Father’s gone, and the car’s pulled out of the driveway. Guilt and shame dig claws into him, slowly slicing down.

What is he doing?

“Stevie,” Munson sings, all rough and honey sweet at once. He grabs Steve’s ankle from the floor and tickles the bottom of his foot. Drags himself up onto the bed like some sort of alluring boogie man, smiling with teeth and glittering eyes; seeming to have too many hands as he crawls up and over Steve himself. Worms under the blankets and begins kissing down Steve’s chest.

Steve exhales, letting go of more tension than he realized he was carrying. It isn’t fair that Munson is so good with his fingers and his tongue, that he’s addicting and soothing both at once. The best kind of distraction, even though Steve can’t remember what he needs distracted from anymore.

Steve sinks his hands into thick hair, clutching rhythmically with every graze of teeth, every swirl of tongue. Thinks, blessedly, about nothing at all. Just skin and sweat and the warm, heavy weight of—

“Eddie,” he sighs, arching up into the tight heat of his mouth. Then shudders down, groaning into the flinch of a curl around Munson, through the shaking swell up and over.

Munson, who has enough nonsense going on in his brain to keep his mouth running ceaselessly, says nothing. He’s still alive, Steve can feel the damp wash of his breathing, but usually a conscious Munson is a chatty one.

When he looks down, he freezes, ice running through his veins and chasing out the murky afterglow. Munson’s open expression of awe and adoration is marred by the solid black of his eyes.

“You—” Steve starts, thighs tensing.

“You said my name,” Eddie says over him, rushed and delighted. His hands tighten, sharp nails pricking sensitive skin. His smile is bright—almost childlike—if it weren’t for the sharper points of his teeth. The tongue that was just somewhere very sensitive is forked.

He hadn’t felt that.

He’s pretty sure he’d have felt that.

“They were right.” Dread drops into his stomach.

Munson frowns. “About my cock sucking skills? Who was right? I haven’t been exactly going around tongue first.” Sticks it out in a tease.

Steve looks at his tongue again without meaning to. Still split.

“You’re a demon.”

Munson’s mouth slackens into an O as his eyes clear back into the warm brown Steve’s used to, wide and scared. Everything about him shrinks back in such a smooth transition that Steve’s brain can’t keep up with it. Knows he watched it happen, but couldn’t conjure up the image even if he wanted to. Knows only then, and now.

Muns—Eddie’s hands tighten, and then loosens in a panic when Steve flinches tight. Pets his hip bones like he’s a startled horse.

The thought is insulting enough to knock Steve out of his horror enough to glare. “What were you doing at the church that day?”

Eddie’s expression shutters guilty enough that neither of them has to clarify which day he means.

“I… I dunno. I’d just come back to town, was relearning it and then… well…” He licks his lips, glancing away. It’s all Steve can do to watch his mouth. Bruised and soft and so inviting. Demon echoes in his thoughts—all he knows about them (not enough) and what pop culture has taught him (probably fanciful exaggerations.) But they’re supposed to be harbingers of sin and temptation and leading the pure astray into damnation. Evil.

“Drawn by a higher power?” Steve asks dryly. He’s slowly relaxing. Some of the fear ebbs away. Eddie’s not evil, of that he’s certain. “Feeling repentant?”

Eddie rolls his eyes. Pinches Steve’s ribs. Steve flinches, swears, and swats at Eddie’s shoulders, but all that earns him is a sharp bite to the swell of his hip. “Drawn by something,” he grumbles.

Steve’s not sure he’s ever been considered pure, so they’re probably safe there. But Eddie’s soft brown eyes, open expressions, plush mouth, wicked fingers, tantalizing everything—

He flushes for no particular reason, distracts them both from it by ruffling his hands through Eddie’s sex-wild hair. Everything about Eddie seems made specifically to catch Steve’s attention, and maybe that’s what they’ve been talking about all this time.

“Do you want my soul?” Steve finally asks, huffy in his exasperation and impatience. The sooner they figure this out, the better.

Eddie’s face screws up in disbelief and disgust. “I don’t even know how to do that. What would I do with a soul, anyway? Eat it? Put it on a shelf? Trade it for Demonic Goods and Services?”

Steve flails the approximation of a shrug. “Well, I don’t know! It’s your whole,” gestures again, “deal. Couldn’t you use it to gain access to Hell or something?”

Eddie thinks about that for a long second. “Why would I wanna go there? It sounds terrible.”

Steve laughs. He doesn’t mean to, and it’s a little too sharp and too desperate. It clearly startles both of them. But once it starts, he can’t stop. Through watery eyes he catches Eddie grinning at him like they’re just two dumb teenagers, and also maybe like Steve’s the proof of a holy relic.

There’s a demon in Hawkins.

The congregation worry that he’s building a cult; leading all their impressionable youth into dark basements for sorcery and music that makes windows shake. He plays with fire and smoke, and peddles spirits and drugs to drag the town down to his level. Corrupting as many souls as he can so when he returns to Hell where he belongs, he has an army of the depraved at his back.

Mostly, though, he cuts class and loiters around the school and the church and too-nice neighborhoods he has no business being in. He smuggles his preppy boyfriend out of his suffocating house and into his trailer where they can neck on the old couch. More frequently now, Hell’s Best Uncle (they made him a mug and everything,) tells lame jokes they laugh and groan at easily. Better when Wayne pats Steve’s shoulder and asks about school and sports, and tells Steve he’s proud of him. Even when he hasn’t done anything.

The worst thing Eddie tempts him into doing is a little underage drinking, smoke a little weed, and indulge in premarital homosexual activity.

Steve’s pretty sure he’d be doing all of that anyway, so he can’t blame Eddie for those sins. But he can blame Eddie for the hickeys, the easy grins, the quiet of a home that doesn’t rattle his brain into anxious static. If those are considered unforgivable sins, Steve’s not sure he really cares what the pastor is peddling anymore.

[sciderman]

sorry I’ve been getting back into my Spider-Man hyperfixation And I kinda need to infor/opiniondump…

I always hear people calling Peter an “Everyman” because yes, he is. Most hero’s are made to be half relatable and half ‘impossible’

the only problem I have is that, when saying that about Peter— I only ever hear comparisons about how he’s broke or how he’s just a regular guy with a regular life trying to do some good in the world. While yes, that’s true, I don’t think people draw enough attention to more obvious parts of Peter’s character that can also happen to everyone.

Uncle Ben for example, not enough people talk about it. Peter and his family live in New York, and that state is pretty dangerous, especially in a populated area like Queens. Uncle Ben got shot and died, leading Peter to sink in on himself with grief and thinking that it’s his fault. That exact thing has happened to people before, close family members dying and leading to the person mourning on a downward spiral because they don’t know how to handle all that grief they feel, especially if they were as close with the family member as Peter and uncle Ben were.

I feel like more people should acknowledge that, you know to be silly and all

why do so many of you guys put sad and not very silly things in my inbox and tell me they're silly. they're not silly goofy funny!!

i don't think spider-man's story with uncle ben is necessarily about grief or a downwards spiral - i was going to say "in the comics" but i don't think it's the case in any adaptation of spider-man either. and it's very rare in spider-man media to even spotlight how close peter and ben were. i think this it probably just your personal reading into it - and i hope it's not to do with your own personal experience, but holding you so tenderly if it is.

maybe the closest to what you're talking about is the raimi films - they lean into the ben mythology heavier than any other spider-man adaptation, and they dig more into peter's guilt and grief. i think that's why people have the ben-fatigue now. but actually ben is not something very heavily focused on in the early comics - ben's death is more of a springboard for peter to realise that, now that he's the man of the house, he has to take on more responsibilities.

i don't think peter spirals out of grief when it comes to ben. more that - ben's gone. peter needs to make money to help may. the story is more about the financial trouble that the parkers have been put into with the loss of ben. peter puts on the tights. tries to join the f4 to make money. starts selling photographs to make money.

i think that's a very real down-to-earth sort of struggle, too - the financial hardship that families face after losing a father, and the financial hardships they face particularly with may's declining health. the parker struggle was more to do with financial stability than grief. (sorry ben.) i think there are other losses in peter's life that are more thorough explorations of grief than ben. gwen, for example. we spend a lot of time following peter's processing his grief. but ben? peter is back on his feet and trying to make a buck ASAP PRONTO because he doesn't have TIME to grieve. he can't afford to grieve. and that - that's the most relatable thing about peter parker, i think - the thing i admire about him so much - is that he's constantly faced with earth-shattering losses and tragedies and just - hits to the head and knocks to the teeth that would put any man down for the count, but he gets up and keeps going.

there's so many days in my life lately where i'm faced with things that make me feel like "wow. and you expect me to just. keep going?? after that??" but that's what peter does. and i love him. that kid just keeps getting back up after all the punches life lays on him. he just keeps going.

[ghostlythunderbird]

As a Spouse and a Parent~ Task Force 141 

Pairings: Simon Riley, John MacTavish, Kyle Garrick, John Price X Fem! Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Pregnancy, Prior Abuse, some NSFW is referenced

Word Count: 2,269

Author Notes: Is this feeding into a deep longing of mine? Why yes, yes it is. I'm sorry if this is poorly written I was writing this at 3am

Simon “Ghost” Riley

As a Spouse

Simon actually didn’t want to get married in the beginning, because if you wanted to get married it would only put a potential target on not just you but anyone you're close to. But I can assure you he wanted nothing more than to put a ring on your finger, and as a testament to that you should have heard how picky he was with your ring. Soap was definitely losing his mind while trying to help Simon out

After the initial hesitation in the first year of your marriage not much had changed between you and Simon, but your relationship continued to grow as Simon became more upfront with nothing that seemed to really bother him. Of course keeping everything related to his job confidential.

He became more doting on you, constantly craving for your attention whenever he’s at home. It was honestly comical that this large man seemed to melt into a puddle at the slightest touch from you, practically purring for you when you rake your hands through his hair when you cuddle in those late mornings. Even after this he will ask you not to share how he truly acts at home with any of his teammates, there often was the threat of not getting any more breakfasts in bed from him.

Oh and when I tell you this man can cook, I mean he can COOK. Like this man can cook full course meals but the only time you have to interfere is because he doesn't use seasoning very much. Secretly he enjoys these small moments with you, just spending quality time whenever he can is what helps him realize that getting married was the best decision.

As a Parent

When you told him you were pregnant for the first time he had a whole mental meltdown that ended up with him leaving to take a walk around your neighborhood. Now it wasn’t because he was angry, if anything he was terrified.

This is a man who has faced horrid abuse at the hands of his father, had his Brother, mother, sister in law, and his nephew murdered because of his job, had so many near death experiences, and killed men without a second thought. How could someone like him raise a child properly, much less raise one that wouldn’t hate him for who he was.

After returning and talking his fears out, you both soon started to prepare the arrival of your child. And lets be real he is fascinated with each step of your pregnancy, His favorite part was feeling his child react to his touch each time. Just to add this in because I just have a feeling this might happen, this man would definitely end up having at least 5 kids because he falls in love all over again with each one. Not only that but he wants to prove that he is a better dad than his own could have ever been.

Simon loves all his kids and will spend each moment he can with them, going to dance recitals, practice, helping with homework, putting them all to bed. Does he become a tired dad after 5 kids? Well of course he would but does he regret it, Never.

Johnny “Soap” MacTavish

As a Spouse

Oh my gosh, now this man right here is one of the Sweetest Hubbies out there. You talk about remodeling the kitchen? Well here is your new kitchen after a month. Craving a certain food, he’s either buying it or attempting to make it.

From the first point when I mean attempting I really mean “Attempting” because this man cannot cook to save his life. And before you try to say he can, he can cook a few things but hardly anything is seasoned because the military has ruined his sense of taste. While he can’t outright cook more than simple meals like grilled cheese sandwiches it doesn't mean he can't help chop up ingredients or be your taste tester. His favorite thing to do is help you bake and you know this man will be licking the spoon and the bowl, he ended up stealing it once and locked himself in the bathroom so you couldn't stop him.

When he's home you can guarantee you're gonna be cuddled to death by him, he hardly ever lets you leave and if you're gone for more than five minutes he's going to look for you and become a human koala. Johnny I feel like is a very affectionate lover and will do anything to find a compromise if you two can't agree on something. He never makes big decisions without you as in his eyes being married means you have to work together not against each other.

As a Parent

Ok let's be real here out over everyone in the task force Johnny has the BIGGEST Breeding kink out there, and like most men he isn't much of a fan of condoms simply because it takes out the intimacy. He has a true addiction to cumming inside you so it's no surprise you end up becoming pregnant.

When you tell him you're pregnant he would let out the biggest yell and then tackle you into a bear hug while crying from pure joy. After finding this out he immediately called and told both of your families. He's very invested with both yours and the baby's development over time. His favorite thing to do is to fall asleep on your lap with his head near your bump no matter how big or small it is while running his hand over it.

While he does get prepared once you start reaching the end of your pregnancy it doesn't stop the military one bit. After hearing he would end up deploying towards the end he was devastated, while he understands you cant stop when you're called back to base he wanted nothing more to stay home and would even risk going AWOL.

He would constantly facetime you everyday when he's gone, and while he wasn't physically there for the birth of your child he did encourage you from the phone while being hundreds of miles from home. And when he was finally able to finally come home? He gathered you both up in his arms and refused to let go.

But as your child grows up I can definitely say Johnny is the most supportive and fun dad out there. He wants nothing more than to see his kid grow up to be a respectful and easy person who still takes time to appreciate the little things and know when to have a little fun.

Kyle “Gaz” Garrick

As a Spouse

This man I feel like can be often overlooked so here we're gonna give him a whole bunch of lovins here. Gaz is more of a selfless lover by heart, so be prepared to be showered in love and attention 24/7. Trying to read a book? Well now you're both reading a book because he wants to constantly be in your presence.

While Kyle is home he would definitely want to go on walks and hikes with you just so you're both exploring together. That being said he tries to plan yearly vacations for you both wherever you both decide to visit. Like Simon, Kyle wants to spend as much time with you as he can while he's home. The awful part about his job is to think that there might be a last time he would ever see you, so he wants to take advantage of every second.

Kyle loves to talk about your future together, wondering about your lives of what could happen or what could have been. His favorite part though is to talk about settling down somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities in the UK. Having a little house in a village far out into the countryside where the both of you can live in peace.

Maybe there are often times where he thinks that your dreams of living out your lives together may never become a reality when coming back after a rather rough mission. You will have to talk him out of those thoughts just to remind him that even on the roughest days you'll always be by his side even when he can't see you.

As a Parent

This man is NOT prepared to hear that you're pregnant. Wanna know what he does when you wait until he comes home to tell him? This man straight up faints from the overwhelming news. After hearing you freaking out after coming to he just wraps you up as you're both on the floor and just says “This wasn't in our road map, love” as a joke.

It does take him off guard to understand that he's not only fighting the darkness just to protect you but for his child now. And to say that it keeps driving him forward to survive every mission more than ever before is a vast understatement.

Kyle ends up asking you one day after being home for a week on how many you both feel comfortable with having, you both decide on having two. Over time his excitement continued to grow the bigger your child got and when I tell you this man keeps buying toys and baby clothes I'm not joking. He's a hoarder of baby stuff now

When your little one is finally born this man has constant tears that the nurses even joked that your husband cried more than you while in labor. He's mesmerized by this child, that while you fall asleep he begins to pledge his life for the newborn in his arms. Gaz as a dad is one of the sweetest things in the world, always wanting to be involved in his children's lives and to spend every minute with them.

John Price

As a Spouse

This man is by far the biggest romantic out there without a doubt, always wanting to surprise you when you least expect him to be home. His favorite memory was when he came in with you eating ice cream on the couch and he grabbed you from behind, he didn't regret having to clean the couch afterwards.

You better expect he's gonna take you out whenever he gets home too, like this man WANTS to show you off no matter where you go. You both go out to a fancy restaurant you're getting shown off, at a taco truck just down from your shared home. Well guess what you're still getting shown off even if you're dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt.

Don’t blame this man for any of it because he's just so in love with you he can't help himself. But if he had to choose between staying at home or going out without a doubt he would choose to stay in with you and just enjoy the limited time he has. While yes sometimes he has to bring home paperwork he still finds a way such as having you curled up in his lap over his tights and having a blanket draped over the both of you.

That being said there have been times you've both fallen asleep in the chair and you both totally have NEVER tipped the chair back. It definitely became an inside joke between the both of you but it's something you both never mention to anyone else.

As a Parent

You and John have talked about what you might do if you ever decided to have kids, but you've both tried to be as safe during your “Adult” time but it seems that life said otherwise. While you had no reason to be upset or nervous about telling John you couldn't help the nagging feeling of anxiety. You don't tell him right away, but you rather plan it around one of your nightly walks.

At first he thought you were messing with him and doing one of your pranks again, but after seeing your serious face he was speechless. After the initial shock he pulls you in and kisses you, he lets out a laugh after pulling back before resting his hand over your stomach. John tries to be around as much as he can for the majority of your pregnancy, but life as an officer is a very demanding one.

While he's gone on deployments he tries to stay in contact as much as he can, and if he doesn't have service he keeps a picture of you and a sonogram picture of his little one tucked away in his tactical vest. The only person he shows and talks about his new child with is Simon, because this man is dealing with 5 kids even after saying he's too old for this life.

You end up giving birth right before John was getting ready to land, and let's just say this man threatened a lot of people just so he could get to the hospital as soon as possible. John overall as a parent would definitely be doting but he knows when he needs to put his foot down, even if it does end up drawing tears. He’s one of those dads too that definitely lets his kids do whatever to him, especially if he has a daughter.

[coco-bee]

COCO'S REVIEW: LACKADAISY INGENUE (Ft. @thesilliestofallqueers)

Welcome to Coco’s Review! Where I review and breakdown episodes, movies and etc and overthink every tiny detail  and/or give my thoughts and opinions :D

Today I'm discussing Lackadaiy Ingenue (ft.Robin)

Yes I’m a fan of Lackadaisy! I haven’t been there since the start BUT I have been following the series ever since the animated pilot- I’ve also read a handful of the comics but I wasn’t able to read everything. But I have a good idea of the characters and their lore. I’m very happy to revisit this series through Lackadaisy Ingenue! So to start things off I want to define what ‘Ingenue’ means for those who don’t know (like I did). According to google, “An Ingenue is an innocent or unsophisticated young woman, especially in a play or film.” which makes a lot of sense since this short focuses on Ivy when she was a little kitten (I’m assuming she’s around 6-9 here), and I guess this short technically counts as a film. New word to add to your vocabulary ✨ So the short opens with Ivy’s father, Reuben Peppers showing off a car to Atlas (who is confirmed to be Ivy’s godfather in the description). Btw Reuben sounds INCREDIBLY young in my opinion, I didn��t even think he was her father- I thought he was her older brother or something but nope, that’s her dad. Confirmed in the description!

We aren’t even a minute in and I’m already asking questions- mostly with how close Ivy and Reuben are. With “I like it when it’s just you and me”, it got me confused since it IS just them traveling. I’m going to assume maybe she prefers private trips with her father over using public transportation where others can hear their conversations. Which really shows how close they probably are if Ivy really enjoys one-on-one time with him. 

So as Reuben greets Mitzi, Atlas, Viktor and “Joe”. Reuben and Mitzi have an interesting conversation… “What happened to New Years?” “It’s Effie, she's uh.. We’ll talk later” The look Reuben gives Ivy might imply that “Effie” is Ivy’s mother or just a relative of the Pepper family since Reuben doesn’t want to talk about it with Ivy listening. But that's just me- So that’s totally not suspicious :D 

I also just want to mention the nice hug Atlas and Reuben have- it really does seem like they’re very close. Which is probably why Atlas is Ivy’s godfather- Atlas seems pretty comfortable around Reuben too! From what I can tell Atlas was more of a “show more, talk less” kinda guy but that’s maybe because this is my first real introduction to him before he died (lmk if he appears in a flashback in the comics). He doesn’t have any lines in this episode too so I just thought that’d be interesting to point out. And that's why I came to that conclusion.

Upnext is Ivy meeting Mordecai for the first time I’m assuming. So this seems to take place when Mordecai used to work with Lackadaisy before switching to Marigold. This also confirms that he was the bookkeeper for the daisy cafe to which if you don’t know- a bookkeeper oversees a company's financial data and compliance by maintaining accurate books on accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and daily financial entries and reconciliations. They basically take care of the finances of the cafe. This scene also highlights the gun Mordecai was trying to hide, which I guess adds more evidence for Ivy to what these people actually do for a living. In the description it seems that Ivy is not very aware of what her father does for work. At least at the time. Mordecai having a gun despite being “just” a bookkeeper gives her an idea of what they might actually do other than running a cafe.

Also the “I subtract numbers too” line is fucking hilarious I’m sorry 😭 Now we have the scene where Ivy and Viktor’s bond seems to have started! I would eat up their interactions in the comics istg I LOVE THEM<33 Victor becoming that one chill uncle 

Viktor lying about how Mordecai broke his arm is fucking hilarious too- I’m now requesting a short comic of Mordecai trying to rollerskate but failing miserably! ANYONE PLEASE- TAG ME IF YOU DO THAT (Rob ik youre an artist pls /j)

I don’t have a lot to say about this scene- I just love Ivy and Viktor’s dynamic smm! I gotta talk abt them in one of my Dynamic Duos episodes! (getting ready to go through so many comics) After their interaction Ivy notices a broken car door with bullet holes on it. It looks very similar to the door Viktor was replacing while he and Ivy were talking. That’s when Ivy pieced it together, Mordecai’s gun and the bullet holes? Yeah it became obvious to her that these guys are criminals-

You can tell that was her conclusion with her asking Viktor directly if they were robbers or gangsters while also assuring that the secret is safe with her! 

I’d just end my breakdown here BUT YOU SAW THE TITLE! I would like to welcome my first guest ROBIN!!! Aka TheSilliestofallQueers :D I wanted to bring them in because they know more about the extensive lore of Lackadaisy so I feel like this’d be a perfect time to have them featured! SO I GIVE THE FLOOR TO ROBIN!! 

HELLO YES THIS IS ROBIN!! (@thesilliestofallqueers)

I’m not as obsessed with Lackadaisy as I used to be back when the animated pilot was just released (I had a friend who got me into it, thank you for that Breezy) but I still know quite a bit so I’ll be putting a few footnotes to this already extensive deep dive into the animated short

Apologies in advance but this is just going to be me analyzing / ranting about Viktor and Ivy’s interactions since Coco didn’t!! (ITS SPELLED WITH A K?? -Coco fixing her typos) (YEAH ITS VIKTOR LMFAOOAOAOAO -Rob) Now first of all, I found it so endearing that Viktor almost immediately warms up to Ivy and starts joking with her / trying to cover up what they actually do with lighthearted / white lies. 

As someone who has read the comics I always knew Viktor was fiercely protective of Ivy (He beat up her exes because he thought they were no good lol) but Ivy almost always responded to this by being annoyed with Viktor (specifically in the instance of the ex boyfriends, she got mad at Viktor for it)

So seeing her as a kid getting along with Viktor so well was refreshing and sweet (Also this short implies that these mfs are OLD AS HELL -Coco) (YEAH IT DO DUNNIT LMFAOAOAO -Robbobin)

Now they keep getting along until Viktor suddenly tells Ivy that she shouldn’t be there in the middle of her telling a joke, and you can SEE his expression shift from fond to worried as I guess he realizes that if he keeps being nice to her, she’ll want to stick around. Therefore putting her in more danger than if she was kept away

He slams the car door as he yells at her to go, and she does, but not before giving him one last angry look because dude WHAT THE FUCKK WE WERE SO CHILL LIKE 5 SECONDS AGO

And then Coco details the rest of what happened 

SORRY IF MY PORTION WAS SHORT I JUST WANTED TO EXPAND ON WHAT COCO DIDNT LMFAOOAOA (also there wasn’t much to go off of since it was short + coco covered most of it in detail already) THANK YOU ROB FOR YOUR INPUT!! Tbh I was struggling with finding words for Viktor and Ivy’s scene so thankfully Rob did the job! Please go follow Rob on their page! And that concludes our breakdown of Lackadaisy Ingenue :D  Huge respect to Tracy Butler and her team for their amazing work on this because the animation is GORGEOUS and the storytelling is super clever! I’m so excited to cover the future episodes of the series when it eventually comes out !!

This is Coco and Robin typing... thank you for reading!

[baseballbitch116]

However Long It Takes - Chapter Two

Klaus Mikaelson x oc slow burn series

Charlotte found herself morbidly curious about the Originals ever since they came to town. After finally meeting the hybrid, Klaus, she is even more intrigued. Is Charlotte in way over her head?

Word Count: 1465

Warnings: None in this chapter

Masterlist | However Long It Takes Masterlist

Chapter Two - The Grill

You were in fact right that the others had been plotting something. Apparently Klaus’s father was not dead and Damon nearly killed him that evening, until Stefan saved him. To say that you were shocked was an understatement. Eventually it came to light that Stefan only did it to save Damon, and then made up for it by kidnapping Klaus’s siblings, which were daggered in coffins. You found it slightly comical in a twisted way that Klaus could essentially just put his siblings into a coma until he felt like waking them. Of course, you knew it was wrong and didn’t agree with it at all. But it ended up working out for the rest of you, because all of the originals were subdued or otherwise distracted.

You found yourself hanging around the others more often, trying to keep up with the events. You were hanging out at the bar with Damon and Elena, playing darts together as she watched. Damon continuously flirted with her, which was slightly annoying, given that he slept with you less than a month ago. You certainly didn’t have feelings for the elder Salvatore brother, but still didn’t appreciate being used so blatantly. “I’ll see if I can make any… improvements,” you roll your eyes at the two flirting and down the last of your drink, tossing the dart and nearly making a bullseye.

“Don’t mind me,” you whip your head around, startled by the sudden additional presence. It wasn’t easy to sneak up on a vampire, unless of course, said person is also one. Or in this case, a hybrid.

“Klaus,” Elena mutters under her breath. The original has a smirk plastered across his face, scanning Elena before his eyes fall on you.

“You’re gonna do this in the Grill? In front of everyone?” Damon adjusts his body to stand closer to Klaus than Elena. “It’s a little beneath you, don’t ya think?” You can see his demeanor has become very tense and he is obviously nervous, which made you nervous. Damon was not the type to startle easily.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate.” Klaus responds, turning to look back at the dark haired hybrid standing behind him. “Get a round would ya, Tony?” The hybrid smirks at Elena before walking over to the bar. Elena looks baffled and Klaus’s grin grows, seeming pleased with himself.

“Surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour,” Damon comments. It is becoming clear that whatever this is about doesn’t have a whole lot to do with you, so you turn your back to them and grab the darts from the board.

“My sister seems to be missing.” When you turn back around, you see that Klaus’s face has fallen into a menacing scowl, eyeing Damon like it was his fault Rebekah was missing. “Need to sort that out.”

“Cute. Blonde bombshell. Psycho. Shouldn’t be too hard to find.” Damon’s endless unserious comments continue and you roll your eyes. Klaus’s gaze shifts from Damon to you momentarily, then back to him as he takes a few steps closer to the two.

“Truth is… I’ve grown to rather like your little town. Thinking I might fancy a home here.” he takes the dart from Damon’s hand and walks past him, standing right beside you and making brief eye contact again. His gaze is very intense, not only from intimidation but just from his presence. He tosses the dart with ease and makes a perfect bullseye, turning back around to Damon with a smirk on his face once again. He is very arrogant, similarly to Damon. “Well I imagine you are wondering ‘how does this affect you?’ And the answer is, not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves, you can go on living your little lives however you choose.” His gaze falls on Elena and he cocks his head slightly. “You have my word,” he mutters, but something about the way he said it was somehow more intimidating.

“What more could you possibly want?” Elena finally speaks up. Klaus suddenly invades her space and you tense up, ready for a fight.

“Well for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan.” he responds, and Damon walks forward to stand between the two of them.

“Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass.” Damon informs Klaus darkly.

“Well you see that is a shame,” Klaus growls. “Your brother stole from me.” Your brows furrowed in confusion, but then you remember that Stefan hijacked Klaus’s family. That’s what he’s after? Why dagger them and keep them locked away if you care about them? “I need him found so I can take back what’s mine.”

“That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem.” Elena remarks bravely - or stupidly. Klaus starts approaching her with narrowed eyes but Damon positions his body in front of Elena. Klaus smirks and his gaze falls on you, watching your reaction. You continue to stand there, stiff and on edge, waiting for his next move. He leans in closer toward Elena’s face and says in a low voice: “Well this is me broadening the scope, sweetheart.” Klaus steps back and looks at you once more before walking past Damon and up toward the bar, meeting the hybrid.

“Well shit,” you finally say something.

~~~

You didn’t have any more run-ins with Klaus since that incident in the bar. Eventually, Stefan handed over the coffins like you knew he’d have to, and completely destroyed his relationship with Elena all the while trying to get the upper hand over Klaus. It turned out, one of the coffins had Klaus’s mother inside, as well as two other siblings. Now there were more originals than you could keep track of in town, and suddenly everywhere felt unsafe. You stayed home or at Elena’s most days after school, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. Not even a week after Klaus’s family was released, Elena received an invitation to a “Mikaelson Ball.” You were at her house when she got the invitation, along with a note from Esther herself. You agreed with Stefan and Damon that it seemed like a trap, but Elena was insistent that it wasn’t. When you arrived home, you saw a small box and envelope on your porch. You wondered what this could possibly be, picking them up and heading inside. First you opened the envelope, which had your name scrawled beautifully across the front. Inside was an invitation to none other than the ball. Your heart dropped in your chest, filled with mixed emotions. Part of you was happy to be invited, part was annoyed that you were despite all of your efforts to stay out of the drama. And another part of you wondered who exactly decided to invite you. Was the entire town invited? Did Esther invite you? Or… Did Klaus?

Sure enough, you flipped the invitation over and found a simple note written for you.

Save me a dance, Fondly, Klaus

Your jaw literally dropped. You were beyond stunned that Klaus not only invited you, but left you this little note. What did it mean? You quickly unwrapped the present and discovered a gorgeous dark blue dress inside. He gave you a dress? To wear? To his family’s ball? As his date? Does this make you his date? Surely Klaus Mikaelson is not asking you to be his date for a ball. And this dress… It was stunning. You held it up to your body and looked in the mirror. It seemed like your size, and it complimented your skin tone and hair well.

You quite literally spent the next two hours trying to decide if you were going to go. You wanted to, every part of you was curious to know what could happen. The more logical side of you knew it would be dangerous. You would be in a room with four original vampires, one original hybrid and the original witch… That sounded like a recipe for disaster. But still… You couldn’t help yourself.

Once you decided that you wanted to go, you then spent another half hour trying to decide if you would wear the dress that Klaus gifted you. What would happen if you did? But then again, what would he think if you didn’t? After debating and scouring your closet, you found yourself standing in front of your mirror at 6:30 wearing the beautiful ball gown and white gloves. You looked amazing. Even with your simple hair style and makeup… You knew that you looked gorgeous. This dress could probably make anyone look gorgeous. What would Klaus think about your look? Why did you care?

~~~

< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >

Let me know if you would like to be tagged when the next chapter is posted!

[marvelfanfn2187a113]

and I think Sam was a little less distressing to his sister with that.

I love Dean but throughout the seasons Sam seems a little more open to letting out his anger in other ways or at least coping with it in different ways.

Sam and Dean even yelled at each other but I feel like Sam saw it as a way to let it out while expressing what he feels.

For example when they are in the car and Sam tells Dean to stop the car and then they fight but at the same time they are yelling at each other on the road Sam is telling Dean how the situation they are going through makes him feel.

While Dean is a little more explosive, correct me if I'm wrong but I THINK, I'm not sure, I don't remember, the physical fights between brothers most of them started with Dean (he threw the first punch), I'm not saying that Sam always I was right in these fights, I'm just saying that there you can see the way of expressing emotions is different.

Also as far as I remember Sam never hit anything or had angry outbursts like Dean did, as far as I remember, you can correct me.

But well what I'm trying to get at is that maybe Sam is a little better at expressing emotions and telling his little sister that it's okay to feel sad, angry, frustrated, etc. I say Dean too but in a different way.

Do you think this behavior would be different with a sister involved or as a civil servant?

In fact, I was reading a supernatural comic, I don't know if you take it canon or not, but the important thing is that we have a flashback to when Sam and Dean were children

John hadn't told Sam about the hunt and as usual he leaves them at a hotel, Sam wants to go swimming but in the end they don't and Dean reminds Sam that he doesn't know how to swim, then Sam starts asking questions about Mary and Dean tell him not to talk about it, but in the end he ends up answering some things (lies)

John's fight with the monster for some reason ends at the motel where he was staying, so John tells Dean to go in the car where Dean knows they have to go in these cases, he does and when they arrive At the point Sam is crying because he doesn't understand anything and starts asking questions.

First Dean gets frustrated and yells at him to stop crying but then he hugs Sam and tells him that if he stops asking questions he's going to teach him how to swim :(

I only remember 3 physical fights between the guys (there could’ve been more). 1, when Dean punches Sam because they were arguing about that jerk hunter (forgot his name). 2, Sam punches Dean in season 4 when Dean calls him a monster, and then they duke it out (but I could be wrong about who started that fight). And 3, in season 14 when Sam punches Dean because he wants to die to take down Michael. Not the the count really matters, I know what you mean…

The boys definitely both have some times when their anger just gets explosive, but Sam would definitely be the one to sit the little sister down once and a while and tell her whatever she’s feeling is valid.

I imagine Sam talking more to her as a friend and big brother, talking about how it’s ok when she feels things. I think Dean would be more like a father figure, teaching her that some ways of expressing emotion are ok and some aren’t (either she lashes out and he tells her it’s not ok, or she bottles it up and he encourages her to let it out)

I feel like the difference is in seasons. Like in the early seasons when they’re younger, Sam gets angry quickly, and he’s quick to yell (kind of like John). Dean has a more broody/quiet anger, unless something really bad happens, then he’ll get loud and maybe throw something/punch something.

In the later seasons when they’re older, Sam matured past that quick anger, and we almost never see him get mad (from what I remember). Meanwhile, Dean bottles up his anger way more than ever (he did it before, but he has to do it more in the later seasons—bigger apocalypses and more young people that he feels he has to hide his anger from). So still, when it comes out it’s usually by yelling and throwing things.

I feel like Sam would get kind of protective (not that he’s mad at Dean, Sam understands why he gets like that) of the little sister whenever Dean throws things. He doesn’t say anything to Dean, but whenever Dean yells or throws anything, Sam’s first instinct is to seek out his little sister. He’ll either tell her to leave, or he’ll make sure he has at least a hand on her shoulder (but usually he’ll hug her and tuck her head under his chin, because he doesn’t want her to have to see Dean like that)

[love-kurdt]

wip (what is poppin') wednesday

from chapter 2 of ntwdt >:) this fucking document is 37 pages long rn. to put that into perspective, the entirety of TIMT adds up to 37 pages. and i'm only on part 2 of 4. i think i've gone mad

“We’ve been here for, what,” I checked my watch, just to verify how long we’d been seated in the diner booth, “four and a half hours? And I still barely know anything about you!”

Matt chuckled. “Well, we’ve gotta finish the ten things about you, first!”

“Not my fault you keep distracting me.”

I could hear the grin spreading across his face as he teased, “I’m distracting, now, am I?”

“You are,” I admitted.

Matt narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin in feigned suspicion. “Interesting.”

“Okay,” I took a deep breath, pushing the conversation forward before I got too flustered and lost my train of thought once again. “So… Hawkins, Jonathan, D&D, books, my major, singing, alcohol, my father, Dustin–”

“Dustin doesn’t count,” Matt said.

“He does, too!” I insisted, letting a little bit of my inner child seep through the cracks.

“Fine,” Matt relented with a slight eye roll, “But only because I like you.”

Well, that was very forward of him. It wasn’t too out of pocket, given the fact that I’d literally made out with him not even ten minutes into knowing his name, but listening to a guy openly admitting his romantic feelings for me without any form of hesitation was something I had yet to get used to. I spent years hiding my own feelings, and Mike… fuck Mike. “I like you, too,” I heard myself say.

“… And that’s ten.”

“Wait really?” I shook my head in confusion. “What was ten?”

“That you’re into me.”

“Oh,” I said with a slight eye roll at my own stupidity, “Yeah. I guess that was ten things.”

“And that’s my number one. I like you,” he nudged my foot with his under the table with a smirk, “I have severe ADHD, I have a dog back home named Swayze— he’s a pomeranian. I’m a sophomore material studies major because I can’t make decisions to save my life. I have a passion for writing and have this dream of writing and illustrating my own stories someday–”

“Woah, wait, me too!” I interrupted, and Matt’s eyes lit up in surprise.

“Wait, you write as well?”

How to Explain The Status of Your Co-Writing Relationship with Your Ex-Best Friend Who You Were in Unrequited but Not Actually Unrequited Love With Without Mentioning His Name for Dummies would’ve been pretty useful right about now. “Well… no. I used to work on silly comic books with some of my old friends, but I only illustrated. Someone else did the writing.”

“Cool,” Matt nodded in approval.

“I have no idea what's gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I... I think we should work together. I think it'll be easier if we're... we're a team. Friends. Best friends.”

“Cool.” 

“Cool.”

“So, uh—” Fuck, I hadn’t even realized I’d spaced out. “That was five, right?” Matt asked me, and I nodded, taking a sip of my Diet Coke. How long did I dissociate for? This hadn’t happened to me in months.

[emeraldspiral]

Thinking about the progression of Zim and Dib's relationship and who would/did fall for the other first. Like, I know I already said Dib would be the first to recognize and come to terms with their feelings because he doesn't rely on denial nearly as hard to avoid dealing with uncomfortable truths as Zim does. But I'm talking about like, the subconscious development of feelings and how they progressed throughout the show and the comics.

With Dib, it was obsession at first sight. Which makes sense. To Zim, Dib was just some random earth native he knew nothing about and needed time to evaluate. But to Dib, Zim was everything. Zim was proof that he wasn't crazy, a way to win his father's respect, a ticket to the career he always wanted, and the key to unlocking fathomless knowledge about outer space, other worlds, and advanced technology. Zim was everything Dib had ever dreamed of.

So Dib was down bad straight from the Nightmare Begins, but on Zim's end it took awhile for him to really reciprocate. Dib proves to be a problem for him as early as the second episode when he breaks into his house and snaps a photo of him in NanoZim. But Zim has multiple chances to do away with him for good starting with that episode, but never tries to actually off Dib until episode 8. Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy is the first time that Zim makes an actual attempt on Dib's life, and when he thinks he succeeded he doesn't seem to regard it with any gravitas. So I think up until that point Zim didn't really regard Dib as an equal, just a pest he thought he could get rid of as easily as Keef. But by the end of that episode, Zim realized that he'd underestimated Dib. Dib was so determined death only made him stronger, and left Zim with no choice but to completely abort his plan. This is notably also the first time Dib actually beat Zim, unless you count driving him out of his house in Planetjackers. Gaz was the one who defeated him in NanoZim and Zim trounced Dib in Dark Harvest, The Wettening, and Rise of Zitboy. So it makes sense that Zim didn't really take Dib seriously until BBRP.

Then, what happens in the very next episode? He tries again to get rid of Dib in A Room With a Moose, and it's in that episode where he explicitly acknowledges Dib as a Worthy Opponent by declaring him the only one who can appreciate his plan and implying that he enjoys being challenged by Dib.

So Dib's been obsessed from the first episode but it wasn't until BBRP that he won Zim's respect and Zim began relying on Dib's validation to boost his ego. This is further reinforced in the next episode, Hamstergeddon, where their dialog with each other is more relaxed and respectful, like they've really begun to see each other as equals.

The thing is though, at this point Zim and Dib are both fixated on each other, but they don't feel the same way about each other. Zim can see qualities in Dib that he likes, which is why Dib's opinion matters to him. He thinks Dib is cunning and intelligent so he crafts plans that he hopes Dib will admire. He starts hallucinating about the "Gangsta Specter of Defeat" and then gains the resolve to redouble his efforts in Door to Door only after Dib taunted him, because he didn't want to lose face in front of his rival. He's unable to resist Dib's obvious manipulation when he claims to admire the cleverness of his revenge in Bolognius Maximus. By the time of Mopiness of Doom, Zim is completely dependent on Dib's validation to motivate him to continue his mission, and in the comics more the once he outright says his plans are "for" Dib. Then of course, there's the more overt indications that Zim likes Dib and wants Dib to like him back. Most obviously, that time he was baffled that having him for a brother wasn't a dream come true for Dib, or programming Clembrane to think Dib loves him, or posing dramatically just especially for Dib when he finally decided to come out of the toilet.

Dib on the other hand, doesn't seem to have the same sort of open-secret admiration for Zim. He stands up for him to Tak's ship and claims that his Zim is the best since he beat Zib and all the other Zims in the Zimvoid, but it's framed as just him coping because if he admits that his Zim sucks then what does it say about him if he hasn't been able to defeat him? Dib's only ever really expressed any kind of admiration of Zim a handful of times. Aside from the aforementioned instances in the Zimvoid arc, he was impressed the first time he saw Zim's base in Bloaty's, admitted that he liked his boots when pressed to say SOMETHING nice about him, and complimented his work in ETF. Notably, ETF is the only time he really had anything nice to say about Zim. His boots and his base are just things he has, and insisting that he's a genuine threat isn't really a compliment. It's indicated at the end of the Virooz comic arc that Zim takes the fact that Dib considers him a threat as enough of an admission that he must have some respect for him, but ETF was the only time Dib ever verbally confirmed that he thought any of Zim's plans or inventions were any good and therefore that Zim himself has a respectable intellect.

Where Zim's fixation on Dib seems to be based on Dib having actual qualities Zim likes, Dib's obsession seems to be based on pure objectification. Dib does not view Zim as a person, but a means to an end. A way to get his dad's respect, a way to jumpstart his career, a way to get validation, and a punching bag to vent his frustrations. He sees Zim as pure, uncomplicated evil. No redeeming qualities, no feelings worthy of consideration, and no "humanity", for lack of a better term, worthy of any dignity or decency. Which conveniently means he doesn't have to worry about the ethics of wanting to dissect him or experiment on him, let alone bullying him at skool. But to be fair, Zim is entirely complicit in this. He wants to be seen as pure evil. He calls himself and his plans evil all the time. He nods along when Dib outlines to Chammy how they can never be friends because Zim is an irredeemable monster incapable of any emotions except gluttony and warlike ambition. Zim wants to be objectified because he's been socially conditioned to think of himself as an object. A machine with some organic hardware bred and programmed to be a cog whose only purpose is to serve the Empire and those in charge of it.

ETF is the first time Zim is ever vulnerable in front of Dib and it's very uncomfortable for him because it goes completely against how he's always viewed Zim. It's the first time he's seeing Zim as a person with feelings, and feelings he can relate to no less, and that's hard for him to process. That's why he's so quick to accuse Zim of faking it after he betrays him. Because it's easier to go back to that simple, comforting, uncomplicated idea of Zim as pure evil rather than try to integrate the idea that Zim can do the things he does while also being person with feelings and pain that Dib can sympathize with. But this isn't the only time in ETF Dib's perspectives of the people around him are challenged. He thinks his sister just hates his guts but it turns out she doesn't, and she won't kick him when he's really down and will support him when he needs it. He thinks his dad doesn't respect him or have his back and he needs to work for it to get him to be proud of him, but he finds out he was wrong about that too.

Overall, ETF was a big coming of age movie for Dib where his perceptions were challenged and his black and white views became more nuanced. The comic Dib's Dilemma would continue to show Dib's evolving perspective of himself and his father and his quest to prove himself.

So it seems like Dib is on track to shed his more childish views and understand the world with more nuance like anyone else does as they grow up. I know some people like the idea of Maladjusted Adult Dib, and that's a perfectly valid concept to explore. But I feel like the evidence is pointing us in a more positive direction. Like, as of Dib's Dilemma he's already begun to realize that his dad is imperfect and that he can make the conscious choice to be better than him, and specifically better about treating others with more empathy.

So to summarize the evolution of ZADR:

Dib was obsessed at first sight, but the person he's obsessed with doesn't exist. He's only barely begun to see the real Zim through the cracks in his facade as of ETF. But there's reason to believe that he is capable of eventually seeing the "humanity" in Zim and recognizing that he is a victim.

Zim meanwhile, initially didn't peg Dib as a significant threat until BBRP, at which point he began to respect and admire him, which grew into something of an infatuation to the point that the need for Dib's validation is about of equal importance to the Tallest. He even has the exact same reaction to Dib abandoning him as the Tallest.

But Zim is still wrapped up in delusions and denial 24/7 and convinced that he is incapable of love like all good Irkens should be, while Dib is growing and maturing and changing his beliefs according to new information. So I stand by my earlier assessment that even if Zim is the one who started to catch feelings first and Dib's barely even beginning to start thinking of him as a person, let alone a person he has any kind of affection for, Dib's the one who's going to be able to recognize and come to terms with whatever feelings he develops way before Zim will.

[leuke-rants]

Some fan facts about the four heroes in my rewrite of trotsh:

Motoyasu:

- He is half Finish-half Japanese. I like the idea of Motoyasu being a natural blond so he has to get the genes from somewhere.

- He is ambidextrous, though he favours his right hand.

- He has excellent memory and can learn things very fast if he wants to. I think this is kinda canon considering he learned the Melromarc language in just one day.

- He can speak four languages: Japanese, English, Finish and French (five if you count Melromarc's language)

- He majors in linguistics

- He is really into fashion and wanted to major in fashion but his mother shut down the idea rather quickly. Too many girls in that major .....

- He knows how to sew and cook (he is an average cook)

- Although he is very flirty and doesn't mind the idea of having a girlfriend he does not want to get married. His parents marriage is proof enough that it doesn't end well for either parties.

- He is a certified himbo

- He is a people pleaser and doesn't like making others upset.

- He trusts women more that men.

Naofumi:

- He is a very relaxed and lay back guy

- He knows how to read people and acts accordingly.

- Used to take care of his younger brother when his parents were at work so he has a soft spot for children.

- Just like his brother he has anger issues. He learned to control his anger over the years and even helped his little brother with his.

- He is generally friendly but his introverted nature make him seem unapproachable.

- He is rather distant and may seem a little cold to strangers but once you get to know him he is a the sweetest guy ever.

- His parents were so busy with work so he basically raised his brother.

- Learned how to cook for himself and his brother since their parents were barely home. He is an excellent cook and always tries recipes from different cuisines

- Just like his father he has a talent for the trading business. Because of that he majors in international trade.

- H is e also very good at gambling and knows how to manage money. Thankfully he reserves his talent for card games with his friends.

- He has no idea how to talk to women his age so whenever a girl approaches him he becomes a stuttering mess . He can talk to them normally if they are close friends or talking business.

Ren:

- The most antisocial person you will ever meet.

- He is autistic.

- He noticed that people treated him differently and not in a good way. Because of this he became really closed off.

- He puts the 'Too good to talk to you" persona so that people will leave him alone.

- He found solace in video games and spends most of his times in his room.

- He doesn't know he is autistic, he just thinks that people dislike him for no reason.

- Although he loves his parents and they love him back they have no idea what is wrong with their son and they can't seem to understand his problems.

- He has a bad reputation among the students for being the "creepy-quite kid". The teachers don't mind him,he is quite and has pretty good grades.

- He has no idea he is autistic.

- He really loves cats. His parents noticed this and bought him one. He named her after his favourite video game character and has been his close companion ever since.

- He is extremely blunt and people don't like that. That's the reason he has only one friend.

- He finds it easier to talk to people through the internet. He has a lot of online friends and they even have a discord chat together.

- His only friend is a senior girl from his school. They met at a comic con and became friends after they realized they liked the same anime and video games.

- He started to have a crush on her and fell in love after she defended him from her friends who thought he was a weirdo.

- He became heartbroken after she moved away and vowed to never get close to anyone ever again.

- After that he became more cold and intolerant of people.

Itsuki:

- Lives with his mother in an apartment complex.

- His father always told him to protect his mother and stick up for the little guys and he took that advise very seriously.

- He is being bullied for being a late bloomer and for his feminine features.

- He always defends other kids from bullying and isn't afraid to throw a punch. Because of that he gets into a lot of trouble.

- He has a talent for archery. He found out during gym class and ever since he took part in competitions and tournaments to earn some money and help his mother.

- He has dyslexia and isn't aware of it. Because of this his grades are not the best. He doesn't tell his mother about his problem because he doesn't want to burden her.

- He is very flexible and pretty good at gymnastics.

- He gets frustrated rather easily and can lose his temper quickly.

- He will either think things through or act on impulse, there is no in-between.

- He really likes animals and feeds the strays very often.

Well that's all I have so far. Perhaps I "ll make a part 2 or give information about their allies,who knows?

[ghost-bxrd]

Ok so I’ve seen your thoughts on Talia being a good mom to both Jason and Damian and generally being a better person vs when she’s morally gray and really only good to Damian, but how do you feel about Bruce being a bad dad? Like personally I don’t like him being abusive but unfortunately…canon does not disprove it 😕🫠. Like do you have hcs or prompts where he switches from one interpretation to the other? Genuinely curious bc my thoughts on him going between these two have me conflicted bc I don’t LIKE him being a bad father, specifically in regards to Jason, but it does kinda fuel some ‘Jason leaves the batfam to go find himself’ stories I’ve seen, but you could argue that Bruce doesn’t NEED to be terrible for that to happen. Idk maybe modern comics have poisoned my ability to ignore Bruce’s history of abusing his children in some way by cranking up that abuse to a solid 20/10 (I’m sure I don’t have to mention what I’m referencing lmao), but it just makes me think. So much would be nicer if he was just a flawed father, but that’s not what his character fully is y’know (this is why I brought up Talia, just realized I was rambling without making that clear lol)

Phew ok, I’ll try to answer this to the best of my abilities!

So keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts and I’m actually not that well versed in comic lore (the comics I’ve read can be counted on one hand sadly but I’m trying to get my hands on more ksksks), and majority of my knowledge comes from research and fanfic.

Okay back to the topic at hand!

Generally I write/read fanfic for some fluffy family feels (and angst) and the occasional romance, hence why I prefer to write Talia and Bruce as being good parents and likable characters in general. I enjoy reading about it, so I enjoy writing it that way.

In regards to Bruce and his canon actions… well, that’s a tough one to answer ngl.

On one hand he’s displayed as a loving adoptive father who absolutely adores is children, on the other hand he’s shown to be ruthless when they violate his no-kill rules (reference to the Batarang incident).

To me this kind of juxtaposition makes little sense, but I’m afraid there are quite a number of character inconsistencies in the franchise from what I’ve seen so…. I don’t know. It’s just such a 180 turnaround to the early concept of the Batman who considers everyone to be redeemable regardless of their crime. Why would that suddenly not apply to his child?

I don’t think I could ever stomach writing him as a genuinely bad father, most I could do to mix it up a little and have him struggle to reach an understanding with Jason regarding his rule over Crime Alley and dealing with his own inability to communicate properly.

Batman was always supposed to be a protector, the “good guy”, but he’s also human. A human with significant trauma that he’s never properly worked through which… can screw with your people skills significantly.

So that’s usually the way I try to look at it whenever I want to write a Bruce who isn’t the World’s Best Dad at the moment. He’s trying, he just doesn’t know how to show it in a way that others can understand, especially his kids. (Yes tho I take full liberty with the more heinous stuff Bruce pulls/pulled in the comics and discard them as if they’re expired candy >.<)

To sum it up, I’m afraid you won’t ever find a fic where either Talia and/or Bruce are genuinely, irredeemably bad. Simply because I personally don’t think that’s how people work in general and because… well, I’m soft and I need some soft parenting in there somewhere. Sorry dear 🥺

Phew ok I think I was rambling a bit here, but I hope that answers your question somewhat? But if you’d like I could totally cook up a prompt for you that deals with Jason and Bruce struggling to come to an understanding and making compromises to be a family again. Feel free to let me know or send another ask if you’d like to stay anonymous 💚💚💚💚