#like yes she’s nuts in it but I can’t help but think what the response would’ve been if she was a guy who’s suddenly doing a fun silly bit

[brianeno]

lydia lunch live was exactly what I expected (absolute bitch). absolutely perfect.

[loupy-mongoose]

This part got pretty long, so I shall put it under a read more bar.

PREVIOUS NEXT

The gall of that girl! What does she think she’s doing, showing up out of nowhere to accuse my kid of ruining someone else’s mental state??

The Lindens and Mr. Fuji had gone back into the house. Akoya was pacing around in the entryway, fuming. Randy lifted his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but she wasn’t finished. Why can’t this Jovie do anything to help him? It’s not Lav’s job to manage his feelings!

Hon. Her husband managed to cut in. Calm down, please. I understand you're upset, but we need to talk this out.

What's to talk out?? That kid's nuts if she thinks we're going to go kiss Nico's boo-boos!

Akoya!

The white-haired woman went silent, meeting Randy's eyes. He was stern, his face pleading for her to heed his request. After a moment, Akoya took a deep breath. Sorry... Sorry. She crossed her arms, putting a final punctuation on her feelings.

Randy gave her a little sympathetic hug before turning to Lav.

His daughter's eyes shimmered with tears and she clung to herself. He approached her and wrapped her in his arms, noting that the top of her head came up a little higher on him than it used to.

In his arms, she broke down sobbing. Akoya's expression softened, and she came to join in the hug.

After Lav had calmed down a little, Randy sighed. Let's go sit and talk.

~~~~~~

Lav sat snuggled up to her dad's side on the couch, shivering, her mind swimming. Eventually she spoke.

She said her name was Jamie Wild Rennard… Does… that name mean anything to you guys?

Her parents shook their heads. But Mr. Fuji appeared thoughtful. It sounds familiar to me. But I can't place why.

Randy gently brushed his fingers through his frazzled daughter's hair.

Your mom is right that you’re not responsible for how Nico responds to the… unfortunate turn out meeting took. You understand that, right?

Lav took a moment, but nodded. She sniffed.

Her dad held her close. It's not you're fault.

The purple-haired girl's voice shook. It's not my fault... It's not my fault...

They all went quiet for a moment, each running through their own thoughts.

He's not your responsibility...

But...

Lav looked up at him questioningly.

I think it would be worthwhile to go.

Akoya gave him a dumbfounded look. What??

He won't let her connect mentally like she wishes they could. He turned his attention to Lav. This could be your chance to talk to him about it all. To say what you want to say. He went on, ignoring the look of disbelief his wife was giving him. Even if she doesn't want to... I do.

Everyone present looked at him in stunned silence.

We can't deny that we parted in an unfavorable way. It could be worth it to settle things before we leave Kanto.

Akoya's eyes flashed with terror. A-Are you sure that's a good idea, Love? With... With what happened... Are you sure that's safe?

He looked at her, his eyes deep with sympathy and reassurance. I believe I'll be fine, Hon. If you want, you can stay here with Lav.

No. Where you go, I go. She shook her head. Look, Love, I.. I get it, but... I still don't think this is a good idea... What if-- Randy put up a hand to stop her.

Let's sleep on it. We have two days to decide, right? We don't need to figure it out right this moment.

Akoya hesitated, but then sighed and nodded. ...Alright. That sounds good.

~~~~~~

Two days later, Lav stood anxiously in front of the house, leaning against the wall and fixing her eyes on the sky.

Finally, she saw what she was waiting for, and took a deep breath. She cracked open the door.

She's here.

Like last time she'd come, the small red-headed girl hopped off of the saddle on the Crobat's back. Her narrowed blue eyes scanned them all carefully. Akoya gently shuffled and placed her arm protectively in front of the duffle bag draped over her shoulder

I hear you want to go.

Lav noticed a wave of confusion come from her dad. Yes... That's what we've decided. After a moment, she realized where his confusion had come from; She heard they want to go? She could've seen it, but heard? But Randy didn't address it.

The girl nodded curtly. She reached into one of the bags on the back side of her belt. Are any of you afraid to fly? The three Lindens shook their heads. Good. That makes things easy.

She tossed a couple Pokeballs into the air, where they opened and beams of energy shot down to the ground. As the energy faded, a Dragonite and an unusually colored Flygon appeared. The Dragonite had a saddle, but the Flygon was bare.

Jamie put her Pokeballs away and placed her hand gently on the cheek of the Flygon, who appeared nervous. I'm taking Darren, here. I wasn't expecting three of you when I came, so I didn't bring enough flyers. Can two of you share the Dragonite?

The Lindens exchanged glances and nodded.

Lav took her dad's hand and let him pull her up onto the Dragonite's saddle in front of him. Akoya settled onto the Crobat.

Oh, by the way... Jamie gestured to the Crobat. That's Percy... Then the Dragonite. And this is Sheila.

Lavender smiled at her mount. Hi, Sheila!

Sheila turned her head to Lav and chuffed a good-natured hello, but didn't meet the girls eyes. Lav looked back at Jamie, who was unrolling a foot-long plastic ribbon. She tied it to the strap on her shoulder.

Randy turned to Mr. Fuji, standing on the ground beside Sheila. We'll try to stop by again before we leave. But if we don't... thank you so much for everything, Itsuki.

The man seemed startled by the use of his first name, but he smiled warmly. It's been my pleasure, Randy. It's definitely been an exciting visit.

The two of them shook hands. Mr. Fuji went and said his goodbyes to Lavender and Akoya as well.

Jamie climbed onto Darren's back, speaking softly to him and comfortingly rubbing his head. Lav saw the Flygon's apparent anxiety fade. She then turned to face the family.

Ready to go?

The Lindens all nodded.

And the three Pokemon leaped into the sky.

~~~~~~

PREVIOUS NEXT

And with that, I believe that's farewell to Mr. Fuji. I doubt I'll draw or write them going back to say their final farewell when the time comes, but we'll have to see. Maybe I'll do some heartfelt sendoff later.

Note; I know it's been a long time, but his first name has been stated before. I figure he's used to people referring to him as Mr. Fuji, so he doesn't think anything of it when they call him that long term.

[dovahbee]

NORMANDY SR2 INFO BOARD HOLIDAY EDITION

[NEW MESSAGES AS OF 12:09]

12:09- XO. LAWSON: Good afternoon. As all of you know, it’s the winter holiday season on earth. I would like to invite @all to the starboard deck for a cultural exchange at 14:00 for anyone interested in learning about human winter traditions.

-

REMINDERS:

- Candy canes are NOT weapons. ALSO they are a privilege, not a right.

- Mistletoe (the greenery hanging from the roof) is NOT edible.

- Mess Sergeant Gardner is dressing up as Santa Clause; if you see a man with a white beard and red clothing DO NOT OPEN FIRE.

- Menorahs are NOT edible.

- Hot chocolate is HOT. Human skin is sensitive. For the love of god, just be responsible.

-

Happy Holidays. See you there.

12:10- FLT. MOREAU: seriously

12:10- LT. TAYLOR: how stupid do you think we are?

12:10- CHF. ZORAH: yayyy happy holidays! merry christmas, happy hanukkah, joyous kwanzaa, feliz navidad, gung hay fat choy!!! am i saying those right??

12:10- GO. VAKARIAN: someone did research last night

12:10- LC. SHEPARD: goddamn it, did grunt eat another menorah?

12:11- SPEC. JACK: im pretty sure mistletoe is edible. i mean it’s a plant, right?

12:11– SPEC. MASSANI: good goddamn point

12:11- SPEC. GRUNT: will there be food other than the roof salad

12:11- LC. SHEPARD: i would like to point out— candy canes absolutely are weapons. i dropped a guy with one once.

12:11- XO. LAWSON: Not helping, Shepard.

12:11- SPEC. GRUNT: noodles please

12:11- SPEC. KRIOS: Impressive, Commander.

12:11– SPEC. GRUNT: please teach me battlemaster

12:12– LC. SHEPARD: gladly. just suck on the tip until it’s pointy then ram it in the jugular. should work for humans, turians, drell, quarians, batarians, hanar (probably?) and vorcha. it’s messy as hell but satisfying.

12:12- XO. LAWSON: That’s it. You’ve all lost your candy cane privileges.

12:12– DR. SOLUS: Wise decision. Shepard and Grunt safety hazards.

12:12- CHF. ZORAH: seriously??? You can’t punish all of us for shepard’s bloodlust

12:12- SPEC. GOTO: so let me get this straight, miri. you trust us with your life in a firefight, but not with candy canes during a Christmas party?

12:13- XO. LAWSON: a HOLIDAY party. and yes, that is correct.

12:13- LC. SHEPARD: i mean… it sorta seems fair. i trust vakarian on my six with an SR… but with a taser? absolutely not.

12:13- GO. VAKARIAN: i think LCs been shot in the head one too many times

12:13- LC. SHEPARD: not the point, numb nuts

12:13- SPEC. SAMARA: If Commander Shepard can safely operate a live firearm, she should be able to responsibly handle a sharp sucrose stick.

12:13- SPEC. GOTO: you’d think

12:13- LC. SHEPARD: i don’t know if i can. i just get this overwhelming urge to stab.

12:13- DR. CHAKWAS: Pushing your psych eval forward, LC.

12:13- GO. VAKARIAN: called it!

12:14- SPEC. MASSANI: so this party… do we get turkey dinner if we show?

12:14- SPEC. JACK: what the fuck is a turkey

12:14- XO. LAWSON: Dinner will be at 18:00, given Gardner has finished up. No turkey, just rations.

12:14- GO. VAKARIAN: Why the hell does Gardner look like that? [image.attachment_sergeant_santa_clause]

12:14- LC. SHEPARD: huh. looks like he was born for the role.

12:14- CHF. ZORAH: this seems… offensive. why did he stuff his pants and belly?

12:15- FLT. MOREAU: compensation, zorah

12:15- CHF. ZORAH: ohhhh

12:15– FLT. MOREAU: it’s not a real holiday party without booze @XO

12:15- XO. LAWSON: the LAST thing this crew needs is alcohol

12:15- LC. SHEPARD: [image.attachment_secret_candy_canes] jokes on you @XO i bought myself some on the citadel. knew you’d pull this crap.

12:15- XO. LAWSON: fine

12:15- LC. SHEPARD: this too [image.attachment_4.5L_bottle_vodka]

12:15- XO. LAWSON: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

[nyaagolor]

Paldean Elite Four (+ Geeta) Headcanons

They've been on my mind recently bc of all the asks I got

Rika:

Rika is the office gossip QUEEN. She knows everything about everyone, so if you need or want to know something you ask her. She knows a guy. She also desperately wants to figure out what Larry and Geeta's Deal (tm) is. They bicker constantly, are insanely passive aggressive, but despite their opposing attitudes agree on most fundamental issues. They look like they hate each other, but Larry constantly takes on new responsibilities for the League and Geeta constantly showers him with raises and promotions. Rika has taken to snooping thru their emails and prodding Hassel for info, but he doesn't know anything either. It’s driving her nuts

Paldea had a Region’s Sexiest Man contest. Rika won. Women Want her. Despite this however she can only pick up women accidentally. If she actively tries to flirt she will fuck it up spectacularly. Just the in-universe version of this

Rika is actually on the payroll as the league receptionist and does that Elite Four thing as a side hustle for extra cash. She gets kind of embarrassed when you call her a receptionist during her Elite Four duties though because other regions often use her as an example of why the Paldean league is garbage (i.e. they're so understaffed even a receptionist can be on the E4. They must have grabbed the nearest person, etc etc). She puts on the vibe of someone chill but this in particular is a bit of a sore point for her

She hates dresses / skirts with a burning passion and refuses to wear them. If you give her a REALLY good reason it's a solid maybe, but good luck with that. She needs to stretch

Her Clodsire's name is Pancake :) I like to think all her pokemon are named after breakfast foods (which, btw, is her favorite meal of the day. She is easily bribed with good waffles)

She and Larry are drinking buddies. She does most of the drinking

Poppy:

Everyone in the league is very careful to alter their habits around Poppy. She’s small and cute and sweet and a little baby so the usual informal cursing (like Rika shouting that HR needs to “cut the bullshit”) or the smoke breaks on the roof (yes I think they all smoke) can’t happen when Poppy is around

The league spoils her rotten. Candy? Toys? Help with her kindergarten homework?? Anything for Poppy. Even Larry, who seems too strict or apathetic to care, has her drawings in his desk drawer and lets her decorate his ties. The toys in the lobby are also hers

Her parents are accountants who brought her to take your kid to work day and let her play with their Pokémon outside. Rika challenged her to a match as a joke because they had a cancellation and Geeta watched— but both were shocked that Poppy’s skill with her parents’ steel types and her own Tinkaton were unparalleled by anyone in the building. When another E4 member retired, the league decided to let Poppy battle under her parents’ names just to blow off some steam. Poppy gets to let out energy, her parents make extra money, and the elite 4 has a strong battler. Win win!

Poppy loves to braid and play with hair, so the other elite four members will often let her play with their hair and add clips while they work. Larry is Poppy’s favorite because he sits Very Very Still

If Poppy really likes the battle she had with you, she’ll give you a sticker. Geeta once walked into a meeting with a gold star directly on her forehead because Poppy stuck it there and she didn’t want to take it off where Poppy could see it, forgetting about it by the time she walked in. She later moved it to her jacket

She has nicknames for everyone except Rika, which drives Rika insane. Grandpa Hassel, Mister Larry, Miss Geeta (or Auntie sometimes) but Rika? It’s just Rika. It’s always Rika. When Hassel was babysitting her at his and Brassius’ home in Artazón, Poppy’s eyes went really wide and she asked if she had two grandpas now or if Brassius was just SUPER old. He found that insanely funny

Larry:

I saw a fic that had Larry naming his pokemon after Excel commands and I cannot stop thinking about it. It's canon in my heart. Btw if anyone knows this fic / the name pls lmk I can’t find it again but I remember his Flamigo was named COUNTIF

Larry is actually pretty wealthy, partially because he's raking in cash from his three jobs and partially because he doesn't spend money on anything but food and pokemon products. Considering that the Treasure Eatery feeds him for free and the pokemon products are provided or subsidized by the League, that leaves him with a LOT of extra income, which he uses to help out his friends or gym challengers with financial issues or simply buying them dinner

Someone added this on another post of mine but every single one of Larry’s passwords is some variation on “password”. He’s many things but creative is none of them. Also these tags are canon to me

In contrast to his outward grumpiness and seeming apathy, Larry is incredibly gentle with and good with kids. He is confident the future will be better because of them, and does what he can to encourage them. It's a big part of the reason Geeta picked him for the positions-- they have a pretty similar philosophy regarding children and the future

Geeta has been doing everything in her power to get him to quit his third job (which is not League-affiliated) because he does the best work of anyone around and his other boss is a complete and utter asshole. She's tried promoting him, telling him how valuable he is to the team, using raises, praise, and passive aggression, but nothing is working. At one point she even tried overloading him with hours so he'd be forced to quit something but that didn't work either. She's stumped. The man won't quit

That third job? I'm not actually sure what it is but I do have an AU where he's a hitman. Call that a business casuality ;)

Hassel:

He always keeps candy in his desk (and his coat pockets) because he's a teacher and wants to be prepared. It's the strawberry kind, yall know the ones. This came in handy when Poppy joined the league, so all the other members started doing it too

His family gets traditional tattoos all over, which Hassel likewise has. He'd never remove them, but still keeps them covered most of the time for modesty reasons. Brassius has filled in the gaps in the traditional dragon shapes with various flowers to show how Hassel has grown from but not forgotten his past. They look very cool and Rika is insanely jealous of that

This old man is way more fit than he appears. He's a sensitive sweetheart and prefers the arts to sports or battling, but he's still a dragon tamer and keeps up his workout regime quite meticulously. Peepaw’s fucking shredded

His favorite art medium is paint, and he loves it when the little kids have class so he can finger paint alongside them. His office in the League building is covered in art. Geeta thinks it's sweet how he remembers every piece and how emotional he gets talking about it

Hassel has a hard time turning off teacher mode, which makes his training sessions at the league insanely funny to watch. “Haxorus, we do not Guillotine our friends!”

He can, and frequently does, play classical Paldea guitar. Once his rock career fell flat, he started experimenting with the style of his new home region and fell in love. You can often find him giving impromptu concerts from his balcony in Artazon

Geeta:

As much as she micromanages others, she's more than willing to take any responsibilities herself if she can't find someone else to do them. Plumber cancelled and they need the sink fixed asap? Get her a hammer. Rika is out sick? She'll cover those emails. Part of the reason the league struggles to complain about her is that they know for all the work they're doing, she's doing double. This doesn’t necessarily mean she’s GOOD at it but she’s doing it

I’m not sure how I want to explain it backstory wise but a lot of her skin is crystalline just like the AI professors. She’s got a LOT of connections to Area Zero and her top priority is making sure nothing goes in and nothing gets out. The professor hates her. The feeling is mutual

No one has ever seen her blink

She’s incredible at traditional Paldean dances. When Hassel plays classical guitar, she’ll dance along, and it’s magical to watch

That whole thing about not being able to hold back during battles? It’s a PR thing to make kids feel better. She’s not very good at battling. Geeta is just like (gestures at her Avalugg) I just think they're neat

A huge point of contention between her and her employees is that she takes everything literally and is terrible at reading tone. Her gym leaders are scared of her and try to drop hints about things because they think they’ll be punished if they’re too forward, but all those hints go right over Geeta’s head. The gym leaders then think Geeta is ignoring them on purpose but she’s none the wiser. Everyone is losing.

[madisonthetimewalker]

Finally had some ideas for the gods in Wakfu (but modern AU)

1. Ecaflip and Xelor live together, is it chaotic? Yes but do they care? No.

2. Sadida and Cra actually have a flower shop opened in a nearby town Cra actually enjoys how sadida explains specific plants and sadida likes when Cra helps him with organizing.

3. Osamodas was a bit of a challenge to think about but I can see him opening up a pet daycare of sorts and you can often see some dragons working there to. (Sadly these dragons do not like talking to people.. for some reason)

4. Pandwa has a bar (shocking I know) and actually makes alot of money from it! Although she spends it on very odd decorations.

5. I like to think the gods live in the apartment complex of some sorts. I don’t know how to explain it but bear with me here.

6. Ecaflip and Xelor actually get along quite well. (As seen in some scenes and such) Xelor makes sure ecaflip is organized and not doing stupid things, while ecaflip keeps him in a good mood and such.

7. It’s funny to think some gods don’t really know how to fully do taxes so the best guy to go to is you guessed it enutrof and yes he helps the gods with their bills. Do you really think they are that responsible?

8. Sadida doesn’t like when people mess with his dolls (if you know you know) and mostly makes sure they are safe and sound somewhere.

9. I have a funny headcanon that eniripsa and sacrier are married and live a very happy life together. (I think this is canon)

10. Feca has a cafe shop opened near by as well, she can make a pretty strong coffee.. if you ask nicely of course

11. Sram is actually a chef and he’s very picky about which knifes he uses (he has like a huge collection he’s very proud of) I also believe he has such shitty memory loss that he can’t even remember his own name.

12. Sadida lives a very comfy lifestyle. Often spending time with his “daughters” so to speak, he is a very protective “father” and he makes sure they are healthy and safe (and Cra likes to visit Sadida every now and then and the dolls love her)

13. Xelor often times cannot sleep on his own, due him being a time god I can imagine him having a hard time sleeping or keeping track of time. So ecaflip has to basically knock him out and then put his heavy ass to bed.

14. Cra and ecaflip sometimes talk not a lot but mostly for beauty products and what works best with their appearance.

15. Sram has dementia.

16. Feca is actually very private and has a large shield collection in her house. (Don’t ask how she even got those)

17. Ecaflip is technically considered the 2nd most rich in the group due to him having ecaflip city and many other gambling companies. (Enutrof is not happy with this information.)

18. I have a silly little thing where Sadida actually enjoys Adamai more than yugo (since he yknow worked with dragons and osamodas at one point) it’s noted that Sadida ignores yugo whenever he can.

19. Xelor has an old clock collection in his room, ecaflip is not allowed anywhere near them.

20. Cra actually teaches archery as well in her spare time. Teaching young Cra’s how to properly practice with their new bows.

21. Sram can surprisingly describe how to sharpen a knife and if you do it wrong he goes nuts

22. Ecaflip actually paints his nails whenever he’s bored. There are times where Xelor actually joins in on this and they talk about their day.

Hope yall liked these! I was gonna make some insert modern AU shenanigans but I really wanted to do this as well! Difficult choices I know but a few people wanted to know more about the gods and goddess and how they live in the modern world. SOOOO ENJOY!!!

[kittyprincessofcats]

RWBY Volume 9 Episode 7 - The Perils of Paper Houses

Long story short: I’m so on Ruby’s side here that it’s borderline making me angry. I’m seeing a lot of “Ruby and Jaune are both right/wrong” takes and on this one I have to say no. While I sympathize with his trauma, I still think Jaune was 100% out of line here.

[tw for mentions of suicide]

I really can’t stand how some people are like “Why is Ruby yelling at people uwu?” as if we didn’t all want her to snap? She shoud have yelled more and gotten even angrier, tbh. She’s been suffering the entire volume and the others barely checked up on her. Of course she’s pissed at them for not noticing and just expecting her to pick up Cresent Rose and be fine.

Yes, Yang tried to ask if she was okay a few times throughout the volume, but it was always in a brief “Hey, you okay?” way, but not in a really meaningful “let’s sit down and talk about this, you’re clearly going through a lot” way. When Ruby passes out after hearing about Penny’s death, no one asks if she wants to talk about it. “No time.” (To be clear, I’m not blaming Yang for any this, the “Yang’s a bad sister” people need to shut up. Sometimes we have our own stuff to deal with and don’t notice that someone close to us is hurting. It happens. I’m just saying that from Ruby’s distorted, depressed, grief-ridden point of view, it might feel to her like Yang doesn’t care, even though that’s not true.)

Weiss tried to talk to Ruby about Penny and have that conversation, but after Ruby shut her out, there were several moments were that consideration didn’t come through. When Ruby couldn’t get to nose hairs on time, Weiss was the one to say “Ruby, come on. We got everything else.”

And in this scene Ruby is clearly torn up over Penny’s death, talking about how she was drawn to her sword, and no one talks to her about it or comforts her. Instead Weiss complains about how it’s “raining on just us” and then the team proceeds to talk about how to get back to Remnant while letting Ruby just sit there.

Heck, none of the others even commented on Ruby giving away her emblem!

And really, this might be my Nuts and Dolts shipper googles talking, but I think a lot of Ruby’s anger at her friends boils down to her grief for Penny. Penny was Weiss, Blake and Yang’s friend, too and yet none of them (from Ruby’s point of view) seem to be grieving for her. (Of course Ruby doesn’t know what happened after she passed out in episode one. For all we know WBY could have had a really long and deep conversation about Penny right there that we and Ruby missed.) But what Ruby sees is that they just all lost a mutual friend who meant a lot to Ruby in particular and the others seem to just be fine with it. Weiss is more busy mouring for a piece of land rather than a living person, a friend. Blake and Yang have are happy and sorted out their mutual romantic feelings, which Ruby sees as a betrayal because a) our friend just died, how can you think about romance and happiness right now? and b) she’s jealous that Blake and Yang get to be in love and together while the girl she loves just died. (Yes, that is my shipping googles talking, but it’s what makes the most sense to me.)

And then let’s look at this episode:

Right of the bat, Ruby’s not sleeping. How long has she not been sleeping for? Has anyone noticed that she’s always tired? Has no one noticed that her usual cheerful attitude has been completely gone for the entire volume? (Seriously, just rewatch bits of a older volume and the whiplash will hit you.)

Blake: “Ruby, where’s your weapon?” (translation in Ruby’s mind: You’re supposed to just be fine and fight like everyone else now.)

Ruby: “Oh, sorry, still waking up.”

Weiss: “Hurry! People are counting on us!” (Yeah, really not helping there. None of them noticed that she doesn’t want to pick up Cresent Rose or have the responsibility of protecting people.)

Blake: “He’s obviously been through a lot.”

Yang: “Yeah...”

Blake: “We can be frustrated later. Right now, Jaune needs us.”

Ruby’s thoughts: “Oh great, so when it’s Jaune, you recognize that he’s been through a lot and you think taking the time to be there for him is more important than moving on right away and trying to find a way out of here. But where was that energy for me? When I was suffering alone with Penny’s sword in my hand, you only talked about getting out of here asap and didn’t care to be there for me or take time for me. There was no ‘we can be frustrated about being stuck in a fairytale later, right now Ruby needs us’ for me.”

(And again, only Little notices that Ruby’s not okay.)

Weiss: “Then who does that leave us with? It’s obvious we need someone to guide us or we could end up getting thrown back in time, or killed by the tree or worse.” (Translation in Ruby’s head: “We can’t count on you to lead us.”)

^Everyone’s expression when listening to to purple paper-pleaser. (Ruby’s thoughts: “Oh great, they have compassion for someone they just met but when I’ve been low-key thinking of wanting to ascend and be someone else the entire time, none of them even picked up on it.”)

Jaune: “They don’t know what they want! Afterans are all either too smart, too stupid, or too crazy to trust!”

So Jaune not only doesn’t respect what the paper pleasers actually want, from the way he’s talking about them he doesn’t even seem to genuinely like them. The way he’s frantically trying to keep them from ascending is him coping with his own trauma of not being able to save people, but it’s all about him and how this makes him feel, not about them. Yes, Ruby was out of line calling them Jaune’s “make-believe friends”, but I don’t quite buy people’s “she insulted his family!” takes when Jaune himself doesn’t seem to really respect them.

“Wanting.” ... Yeah, there’s something here that Ruby’s not okay with and not over, I can’t quite put my finger on it.

God, I want to slap Jaune so hard right here. Accusing Ruby of “standing around” and telling her to help her teammates... Dude, first of all, who are you to give Ruby orders and snap at her? Last I checked you weren’t her boss or her team leader. And if you were observant enough to see Ruby not help her teammates, how did you miss the part where she didn’t even defend herself? She’s the one who just almost got eaten by a Jabberwalker becasue she was having panic attack and you’re blaming her? Shut up.

Yang: “Ruby? Are you o...”

And again, Yang tries to ask if Ruby’s okay but gets interrupted.

And this to Ruby must have felt like a betrayal in a way, too. Yang was about to ask her if she’s okay, they were all about to finally listen to her, but instead the village got destroyed and now everyone’s off comforting Jaune instead. (And the problem isn’t that they comfort Jaune, it’s that Ruby didn’t get this sort of comfort over Penny’s death. The paper pleasers aren’t actually dead, they’re getting reborn like they wanted. Penny - as far as we know - is actually dead and Ruby must be thinking “Where were my words of comfort? Where were all of you with your compassion when I needed it?”

So yeah, I 100% get Ruby snapping here, it was about time. And to me  “Oh, I’m sorry, should we be mouring Jaune’s make-believe friends?” definitely had the undertone of “I’m still mouring for my very real friend over here, who had her whole life ahead of her and was tragically murdered and who all of you seem to have just forgotten about.” (Of course Jaune did absolutely not forget, but Ruby doesn’t know that.) Also, given her friendship with Little I’d read this less as “they’re make-believe because they’re not real people” and more as “they’re your make-belive friends becasue you weren’t really being a friend to them.”

And also yeah, sorry, I’m not usally a Jaune hater, but he was 100% in the wrong here. I’m seeing some takes that “they both had some valid points” and no, they didn’t. “The walkers came for you because Neo hates you!” How is that Ruby’s fault? How is a crazy criminal being after her Ruby’s fault? “And let’s not forget the reason we’re in the Ever After in the first place: It’s becasue of your plan that didn’t work!” Jaune, did all those years here make you lose your memories or some shit? Because as I recall you all made that plan together. You all sat around that long table at Schnee manor and came up with this plan together. You, Ruby, WBY, Oscar, Ozpin, Penny, Emerald, Ren&Nora, Whitey, etc. But now that it didn’t all work, it’s suddenly just Ruby’s plan? Nah, shut up. And what else would you have suggested, Jaune? What other clever, better plan did you have up your sleeve? Ironwood was going to blow up Mantle if you all didn’t come up with something within an hour and you’re seriously blaming Ruby? Fuck all the way off.

And even in his apology, Jaune makes it all about himself. He doesn’t even really apologize to Ruby, he directs it more at WBY and then starts talking about his own pain, again taking the focus away from Ruby’s feelings. I do sympathize with Jaune, I really do. He had to do something horrible, had to deal the killing blow to a friend at her request and he’ll never be over that. Then he got transported back in time, had to spend all that time alone with his guilt and grief, couldn’t (as far as he knows) save Lewis either. I know he’s been through absolute shit, I’m not trying to not be compassionate here - but none of what he’s been through was Ruby’s fault in any way and blaming her when she’s already in such a fragile mental state was 100% unjustified and uncalled for. So yeah, I’m gonna say it: Shut up Jaune, she should have punched you.

“On that bridge... I was the only one that could do it, I was the only one!”

Yeah, about that... Ruby still doesn’t know what exactly happend with Penny. She and Jaune had their fight and that still didn’t even come up. I saw some people say that we’re supposed to assume Jaune told them off-screen, but I really don’t think so. The writers wouldn’t leave something that big that Ruby should have a huge reaction to for off-screen, imo. And if they did that’s terrible writing. (Still, Blake and Yang look like they know what he’s talking about?? Idk, this left me confused. I really hope we’re still getting our scene about that.)

Their faces when Ruby tells Blake to shut up. I think (or at least I hope) it hit everyone here that Ruby’s really not okay and needs more than just a little pep talk to be okay again. (No amount of trying to stay positive is going to bring Penny back. I know I’m looking at this through a shipper lense, but like...)

[aleksa-sims]

RL Story

Philip came to us today. He heard I was sick and just wanted to stop by.

I took the opportunity to talk to him about Ana. I asked him why Ana wanted to make a false statement for him in court? Ana wants to pretend she’s Philip’s partner, so he can get custody of Annabelle.

To my surprise, P. never asked Ana to make a false statement for him. He also told me, that he & Ana were/are just friends, which Ana also said. But as it looked, my sister had some dates with one of P.’s lawyers, who was 10 years older! 😯😄

A little later, N., P. and I wanted to head out for dinner. So I went to change quickly. I was no longer than 5 minutes upstairs in the bedroom changing. The two probably thought that I would need longer? Because when I came back to them, they were talking about something I shouldn’t hear?....

Philip: I just - I've had a lot going on. Sometimes I wonder why I do all this? I’ve almost run out of money. Lawyers aren’t cheap and Isabella’s fucking parents use it to their advantage. I’m going to lose Annabelle.😞

Nico: You need money, dude?... She’s your little girl! You’ll get Annabelle back!!

Philip: Having a Baby is.... a never-ending challenge. At first, I didn’t want to believe that Annabelle's my kid. Now that Isabella’s parents have taken her away, I feel......broken. Taking care of her wasn't easy. Tbh.... I hated it! Why am I always worried about her or afraid of losing her? I just want Annabelle to have a caring home, a mother, but she probably never will... I have to get her out of there.

Nico: Whatever Annabelle needs, I'll help!

Philip: Thanks, dude.... It’s crazy we’re talking about our kids.

Nico: Yea. I’m having a son, that sounds.... so fucked up, man. 😟

Philip: A. looks cute with her belly. She's happy!.... I never really saw Isabella when she was pregnant. But she never looked cute or happy. She was just....pissed

Nico: A.'s super excited about the pregnancy. Yes, she looks really cute. So beautiful and she's damn hot. Constantly! 😏 That's.... a nice side effect of pregnancy?.. Sorry you missed that. 🫤

Philip: Yea, I missed a lot in that asspect. Nevertheless all too much I do not regret it. I do not think that Isabella & I-..... well, yk? Nah, kind of gross 😄 .... But yk, what I don’t understand? Your serenity about Daniel. Why hasn’t she divorced yet?

Nico: Trust me, I'm not relaxed. She went to him. She wanted him, so she explained it to me. That totally got me down.😞 But I did everything I could, to pull myself together. I don't wanna lose her. I almost forgot how it feels to have someone you really love. Still, I don’t hate D., honestly. He’s been through a lot of shit. He told me himself that he’s fucked up and can no longer. I also know why he took off. It's.... though.😞

Philip: No joke, you have to end this shit! She can't do it herself.

Nico: What should I do?.... I just hate to kick somebody when they're down. He lost everything! His best friend, his home, his marriage, all gone. For the latter, it's on me! I'm responsible for that. 🤦‍♂️

Philip: I still can’t believe that guy Dominick passed away... Horrible. ... Listen, if the divorce doesn’t go on, you have to acknowledge paternity. Official!

Nico: What do you mean? The Baby's mine! She knows that! Everyone knows. So???

Philip: As long as she’s married to Daniel, he’s the father of your child! You have to make this official, report to the authorities and clarify it or let them know. Also, worst case scenario: A. leaves you and goes back to Daniel. Imagine she forbids you to see your little one. You wouldn’t have any rights!

Nico: She would never do that to me! And Daniel, he wouldn’t pull a stunt like this! I talked to him about that! He wants to talk to A. again about the divorce, but he can’t be with her anymore. These were his words!

Philip: Why did she even go to him?

Nico: She saw him with someone else and..... Idk? She went nuts?That's what I got. I just can't believe she was gonna shag him. She's pregnant with my kid! 😠

Philip: Did she?

Nico: She wanted him. Bsut she couldn’t cheat and backed out. Maybe... she was mad at me?... I wasn’t entirely honest with her. I didn’t tell her who I met in Italy. I wanted to avoid unnecessary drama and we weren't together anyway.

Philip: The twins, huh?😏

Nico: Shut the hell up! It was nothing exciting, ok?

Philip: Sure.... You couldn’t say no, could you? Those girls were crazy!

Nico: I’m not into her! Those bitches overplayed it. Too much for me. All fake. Idk why I met her? Maybe I was mad at A., too. She stayed with Daniel. I-.... I wasn't sure anymore? 🤷‍♂️

Philip: It's okay, man. You did nothing wrong.

Nico: Try explaining that to her!... She doesn't trust me.

Philip: Do you trust her?

Nico: Strangely enough.... yes, I do! More than ever before.

Philip: Just be there for her & keep doing what you're doing. After a while she’ll forget this thing.

I was a little disappointed in Philip. Why didn't he talk to me about D.? And I would never forbid my son to see his Dad, even if I had stayed with D.! But he was right about the authorities. I’ll have trouble registering our Baby. Those damn officers thought Daniel was my Sons's Dad. Bcs after I married him, I took his surname. I'll explain this mess later, once my baby is born.

Back to P.! I didn’t want to start a fight with him. I just wanted to help Annabelle. Nevertheless, I let him know that some of his statements got me sad. Well, he apologized. He just didn’t understand why I still didn’t divorce Daniel. I wanted to, but Daniel hesitated. Anyway, D.'s gonna talk to me soon.

And I wasn’t really aware that I hurt Nico so much.🤦‍♀️ However, it was a mistake what I did! I had to make it up to N. I was really upset to hear how he felt. 😞😢

Previous/Next

[victoriously-wicked]

NOVEMBER 17TH 2023

ONCE UPON A TIME APPRECIATION WEEK DAY 6

FAVOURITE PLOT TWIST FANFIC- ZELENA IS MARIAN

This fic is inspired by this scene and this scene from 4x19 and 4x20. It takes place immediately after Zelena removes her glamor at Robin’s apartment. There were just so many missing moments based around the aftermath of that reveal which we didn’t get to see. This acts as a direct continuation of what happens after 4x19 ends. Anyways, hope you like it. Here you go. (4276 words) The fic starts down below

“Hello, dear husband.”

“No.” Robin whispered, stepping away from Zelena.

“What the hell was that?” Lily asked Emma, her tone hushed.

“That was magic.” the Savior simply responded, looking infront of them at Regina, who took a step toward a visibly distraught Robin.

“Come on Robin, we have to get you and Roland out of here.” she warned, waiting for him to move. However, his feet stayed planted to the ground and he refused to meet anybody’s gaze. “Robin, get Roland and let’s go.” she repeated, but no response came from the thief.

“I think he still wants to stay.” Zelena smiled, flashing her teeth with a knowing grin. Ignoring her sister, Regina focused back onto the man infront of her.

Why isn’t he moving?

“Robin what are you doing? Get your son and let’s go!”

“I-I can’t.” he suddenly stuttered.

“Yes, you can. Just come with me. C’mon, let’s go.” she smiled gently, holding out a palm for him to take, but when he shook his head, her face dropped and she lowered her hand.

“I’m sorry. I can’t leave her here.”

What?

“What?”

“Do you want to tell her, or should I?”

Regina snapped her gaze away from Robin to glare at Zelena, shooting daggers into her sister’s head. 

What the hell‘s that emerald nut job talking about now? 

“Tell me what?” she demanded, raising her voice to hide the quiver behind it. Her brows knitted together as she turned back to Robin and silently begged for him to talk. To look at her. Anything. “Robin?” 

But still, he simply let his eyes widen in horror as he stared incredulously at the redhead, mouth agape. Regina felt her insides coiling in on themselves. She pressed a hand to her chest in a futile attempt to calm her ragged breaths that were only getting quicker by the second, but nothing in all the realms could’ve remotely prepared her for the words that would escape from Robin’s lips moments later.

“She's pregnant.”

~~~

No.

Bile rose in her throat.

No. He’s lying. 

Tears clouded her eyes.

He only left two months ago, he couldn’t have. . . not that quickly. 

Zelena smirked at Regina, a smug grin embedded on her face.

“Y-You got her. . . pregnant?” the brunette breathed out, before a wave of realisation washed over her. “Oh God, you and Zelena slep-” 

“No, no don’t say it.” Robin groaned, shaking his head.

“But you did.” Regina choked out, unable to form a coherent sentence any longer than a few words. Though it came out sounding like a question, she knew she was stating fact, and her stomach dropped even lower when Robin felt the need to silently nod in confirmation.

“We did. But I-I never would’ve if I knew . . .”

His words feel on deaf ears as Regina whipped her head back to her sister, every inch of her body seething at the sight of the redhead.

“Oh, you’re vile. You. . . with him?” she growled, trying to keep herself from absolutely losing it and raining hell on her sister in front of Emma, Robin, and Mal’s daughter. Zelena gleefully giggled and took a step forward toward Regina.

“Indeed, sis. And seeing you like this, all helpless and broken? Mmm, well that just makes all the effort I put in worthwhile.” she taunted coyly, tracing her fingers over her abdomen. Regina couldn't help but let her eyes follow along with her sister’s travelling hand and her gaze came to fixate on her stomach.

Her stomach holding his child.

“You did this to spite me?” she asked incredulously.

“Oh no, dear. I did this to destroy you, just like I promised I would at our little duel by the clock tower. Funny how my plan to change the past didn’t go as I’d originally anticipated, with Cora keeping me and you never being born. But I must say, this outcome is so much better than anything my original plan would’ve changed because this way, you’re alive. Alive to see that I won. And now, I get to sit back and watch as you suffer.”

Regina’s nostrils flared as she dangerously approached her sister.

“I am not having this conversation with you.” she spat venomously, her hands twitching as they fought against the urge to wring Zelena’s neck right then and there.

“Wait Regina, we really need to talk about this.” Robin pleaded, gently reaching for the brunette’s arm after she had just turned on her heel to walk away.

“No-I. . . I have to get away from here before I melt her face off and burn this damn apartment down.” Regina haphazardly fumbled over her words while trying to escape from Robin’s grip and make her way to the door.

“Regina, no-“

“Robin. Please.” she silently begged, managing to jerk her arm out of his grasp. Her heeled boots clicked against the floor as she brushed past Lily and Emma, the latter of which mumbling something into her ear when she was a few steps shy of leaving.

“Hey Regina, maybe you should-”

“Don’t, Swan. Not now.” is all she flatly replied with before slamming the door behind her and leaving the group of four alone in the living room of the cold apartment.

~~~

As the sound of the door slam echoed around the room, Emma sighed and pulled out her cellphone from the pocket of her jeans.

“I better follow her. She doesn’t know her way around New York, she’ll end up lost if I don’t keep an eye on her. Robin, I’ll text you when I find her and she’s cooled off a little?” she proposed, looking at the former thief who let out a tense breath.

“I-yes. Thank you, Emma. And uh, do you think you can take Roland with you, if it’s not too much trouble? It’s just, I don’t want him asking why his mother has suddenly disappeared. Or hearing anything from the conversation that we’re about to have.” he explained, gritting his teeth as he waved his hand between himself and Zelena.

“Y-Yeah sure, Roland can tag along. Lily, you’re coming too.“

“Fine. I’ll be in the hallway.” the young brunette shrugged, still stunned from having witnessed what she just saw, before leaving the apartment.

Emma sighed heavily and slowly walked into the bedroom of the apartment where Roland was too invested in a game he was playing with his toy horse to notice the blonde approach and kneel beside the bed.

“Hey, buddy.” she gently called, ruffling the boy’s head. Roland turned his head to the side and his eyes widened upon seeing the Savior.

“Emma?” he smiled with a hint of confusion in his tone, wondering how the blonde could possibly be in New York with him right now.

“Yup, it’s me.”

“How? Papa said that if you leave Storybrooke you can never go back.”

“That’s. . . not important right now, bud. But hey, you know who else is here with me? Regina.”

The toy horse dropped from the young boy’s hand and thudded as it fell against the wooden floorboards.

“She’s here too? Where is she, I wanna see her!?” Roland gasped, springing from the bed and onto the ground. Emma let out a soft chuckle and rose from her knees.

“Well, here’s the thing, I have to find her first. She left the apartment a few minutes ago. Wanna help me and my friend find her?”

“Yes!” Roland gasped, immediately finding and yanking on his jacket before scrambling past Emma to put on his shoes. Within minutes, the five year old was decked out in his outerwear, and Emma took him by the hand to guide him out the apartment with her. The blonde passed by Robin and Zelena before leaving, and gave the thief a reassuring nod as she lead Roland and herself out the door.

Once in the hallway Emma pulled Roland over to Lily, who was waiting by the top of the staircase.

“This is his kid?” Lily asked, walking towards the blonde and five year old. Emma nodded.

“Uh huh. Okay Roland, this is the friend I told you about before. Her name’s Lily. Lily, this is Roland.“

“Hi!” the small boy grinned, flashing his adorable dimpled smile at the young woman.

“Uh. . . hey, Roland.” the brunette fumbled, awkwardly. Emma adjusted her jacket and slightly grinned at her childhood friend’s nervous demeanor.

“See she’s nice, isn’t she? Which is good because she’s coming with us. Now c’mon, let’s go find Regina.”

~~~

Following the directions of the GPS tracker on Emma’s phone, the trio soon found themselves parked outside of a bar not too far from the apartment building, squashed into the cramped space of the Savior’s tiny bug.

“Alright, according to her phone location, Regina should be in there.” Emma murmured, analysing her device screen as she unbuckled her seatbelt. After peeling away the suffocating strap, she glanced up to see Roland in the reflection of the rearview mirror, struggling in the backseat to remove himself from his own belt. She immediately turned around.

“No, no, no. Hey buddy, keep that on. You’re staying in here. Little kids aren’t allowed in places like these.” she ordered, gesturing in the direction of the bar.

“But I wanna see Regina!” he whined, desperately yanking on the annoying black band. Emma slowly reached to pull his hands away from the belt and looked the boy in his eyes.

“And you will, bud. You’ll see her in a little while but for now please, just wait in the car with Lily, okay? Can you do that for me?”

Sighing, Roland let go of Emma’s hand and gave a small nod.

“Okay. But be fast, I really wanna see her.”

“I will be, I promise.”

Emma got out the bug and slowly walked to the entrance of the bar. Before she creaked open the door, the blonde sent a quick text to Robin, typing out directions to the bar. After the text eventually sent, she proceeded to step into the building.

~~~

Regina mindlessly remained perched on the barstool just as she had been for the past twenty minutes, with a drink in hand. As she stared into space, she stayed quiet. However, her mind was anything but, giving her ever-increasing mountain of thoughts the perfect opportunity to echo around in her head.

Zelena’s pregnant. . .

It’s Robin’s child. . .

Marian was never here. . .

This is all my fault-

The booming thoughts in her mind were interrupted when Regina heard the stool next to her scraping against the floor. The brunette almost turned in her chair to face away from the person beside her when out of her peripheral, she saw a blur of unmistakeable blonde locks and tacky red leather jacket sliding onto the stool. With a heavy sigh, Regina reluctantly turned to her right where, to no surprise, Emma was seated.

“This stool taken?” the blonde smiled gently causing Regina to roll her eyes and turn back to how she was seated before, staring at the countertop.

“I thought I said this was not the time to talk, Emma?” she deadpanned.

“You did. But you forget Regina, that I always know when you’re lying. And when you told me you didn’t wanna talk, guess what? You were lying.”

“Oh, and you know me so well?” Regina huffed, snapping her head in Emma’s direction but the blonde shrugged, remaining unfazed as she gestured at the bartender for a drink and placed a bill on the counter.

“I’d like to think I do. You’re afraid that you’ll say something in the heat of the moment that you’ll regret, that you won’t be able to take back. And we both know I’m right.”

“I. . .” Regina began before trailing off, unable to muster the energy to refute the Savior’s claim, especially when she’d hit it nail on the head.

“Here look, try talking to me. See if it helps.” Emma suggested, tapping Regina’s bicep.

“Seriously?” the brunette scoffed, raising her eyebrows.

“Dead seriou- oh, thank you.” the blonde quietly thanked the bartender for the beer bottle that he placed in front of her before focusing back onto Regina. “Go on, just try. What do you feel?” she softly encouraged.

Exhaling through her nose, Regina eventually caved and put her drink down, turning her body to face her friend.

“What do I feel? Humiliation. Anger. Pain. Emptiness. Guilt.”

“Guilt? Why is that?” Emma questioned, taking a sip from her bottle. She waited patiently for an answer from Regina, who took a large gulp of her own drink before doing so.

“Because. . . this is all happening because of me. Face it Swan, this feud between myself and Zelena was supposed to be just that- between me and her. But instead she had to go and drag Robin into it. And, oh God, Roland.”

Emma’s ears suddenly perked up even more at the mention of the youngster.

“What about him?”

“That boy just lost his mother for the second time. He’s gonna be devastated.” Regina breathed out, her eyes watering at the mention of the five year old she hadn’t seen in months. 

“Do you think your magic could help him? You can change his memories, right? Like the ones you gave me and Henry when Pan’s curse hit and you sent us away?”

“That’s different. My magic can’t create new memories from scratch, they have to be created from real life moments. The memories I gave you and Henry were genuine events that happened in his childhood, they just weren’t. . . with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“They were all of my memories with him. I just changed the brunette mother in them to a certain blonde with an affinity for hideous leather jackets. Which is why I can’t do that for Roland. I have no memories suitable enough to manipulate and transfer into his mind. The only other option that would work would be something like.  .  . like-”

“A forgetting potion?”

“Exactly.”

Emma wordlessly nodded and lightly rubbed Regina’s arm, whispering to the brunette.

“So, how did that feel? Talking about it?”

“. . . Not the worst thing I’ve ever done. I-I feel lighter, I suppose? But just barely.” the brunette mumbled.

“It’s still progress, that’s good. And-uh, about Roland. . .”

“What? Did something happen to him-”

“No, it’s just he. . . may or may not be in the bug outside with Lily, waiting to see you.” Emma murmured, mostly into her half empty bottle, but Regina caught her words and her brown eyes immediately brightened as she gasped and stood from her stool.

“He’s here? He wants to see me?”

“Yes. Robin wanted me to get him out of the apartment for. . . obvious reasons- but anyway, when I told the kid you were in New York, one of first things he said was that he was so excited to see you again. And when we pulled up outside this place, he was insistent on coming inside with me.”

“He was?” Regina asked, as her lips smiled ever so slightly. 

“Honestly. I swear, if this place wasn’t a bar he’d probably be sitting here with us right now.”

Regina gave a light chuckle and glanced back at Emma.

“I wanna see him. Roland.”

“You think you’ve let off enough steam?”

“If that’s the way you want to so-eloquently word it then yes, Emma. I have.”

Rolling her eyes playfully, the blonde slowly hopped off her stool and nodded, before manoeuvring herself and Regina out the bar.

~~~

“Okay, okay, wait. So you’re telling me you’ve actually slept in the woods? Like, without a tent?” Lily asked, turning to face Roland in the back of the car.

“All the time with Papa and the Merry Men back in the Enchanted Forest!”

“Wow, you’re actually Robin Hood’s kid. This is craz-“ the brunette begun to say before the door opened and Emma’s head curled it’s way inside.

“Hey, guys.” 

“Emma!“ Roland cheered.

“Thanks for watching him, Lily.”

“Sure.” she nodded.

“And Roland, come on. Get out the car. Somebody wants to see you.” the blonde smiled, pulling her head back out the bug and closing the door. Roland gasped and fumbled to undo the seatbelt. The instant he was free, he scrambled out the vehicle and looked up at Emma.

“Where is she?”

“Follow me.” the Savior smiled, and held out her hand. She pulled Roland along with her to the end of the street, where Regina was nervously waiting against a wall, her arms crossed against her chest to keep herself warm in the frosty New York city air.

The instant Roland spotted the figure by the end of the street, he yanked himself from Emma’s grip and took off running.

“REGINA!” he yelled, his little legs going as fast as they could. Regina snapped her head to her left and gasped when she saw the boy running towards her with Emma not too far behind.

“Roland.” she breathed out, falling to her knees and opening her arms wide. The young boy launched himself into her body and Regina swooped him up in her arms, holding him tight against herself.

“Emma was right, you really are here.” Roland giggled into Regina’s ear as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck.

“I missed you so much.” she mumbled.

“Me too.“

Regina couldn’t help her smile as she gently loosened her grip on Roland and lowered him to the ground. She noted that she didn’t have to bend down as much as she had anticipated in order to set him down safely, and it was then that she finally realised the small, yet noticeable, difference in his height.

It had only been a few months, but the young boy had stretched a couple inches taller since leaving Storybrooke.

“Wow. You’ve. . . gotten so big.” the brunette smirked playfully, hoping that she was doing a good job at masking the pain on her face and in her voice. 

He looks so grown up.

“I drink milk everyday because Papa told me it will help me get tall and strong!” Roland beamed, flexing the pair of scrawny little arms hidden under the thick layer of his marshmallow-looking coat. 

“It seems as though that milk is doing the trick. Your father may be onto something there. He’s. . . he’s a smart man.” Regina chuckled before trailing off, noticing Emma on her phone, standing a few feet away after having jogged to keep up with Roland.

Emma slowly typed out another message to Robin, giving him word that Regina had seemingly calmed down a bit. After the blonde pressed ‘send’, she turned off the phone and stepped forward to the pair of brunettes infront of her.

“Roland?” she called.

“Hmm?”

“Can you do me a favor and stand by the wall over there? I need to talk with Regina.”

“Okay!” he grinned as he sprinted off, slamming his back into the grimy brick wall after making contact with it, and waiting eagerly.

“You seem happier.” Emma smiled, noting the soft smile that had weaselled it’s way onto Regina’s face.

“Yes.”

“So, uh. . . now that you’ve taken a small step- y’know, with Roland, are you ready for something bigger?”

“Such as?” Regina prompted, quirking an eyebrow.

“Talking to Robin-“

“No, Emma. . .”

“Look how easy it was with Roland!”

“Because he’s a five year old! It’s easy to talk to him. All he finds interesting is ice-cream and animals.” Regina deadpanned.

“I know, but don’t you think it’ll be better to talk to Robin sooner rather than later? You’ve said it yourself, he’s your soulma-“

“Who chose his back-from-the-dead-fake-magic-glamor-Zelena-wife over me.”

“See, you hear yourself? You’re already letting your thoughts stew in your head. And this way, when it all ends up coming out in long run, it’s going to end much, much worse. But only if you keep putting it off.” the Savior argued, and pulled out her phone, typing yet another quick message to Robin, asking for his whereabouts. When his reply informed her that he was less than a few minutes away, she smirked slightly.

Regina suddenly narrowed her eyes and stared at the blonde. More specifically, at the glowing phone screen in her hand.

“Emma. . . who’s on the other end?”

“Huh?”

“Your phone. Your texts.”

“Oh, that. I-“

“Is it him?”

“Regina-“

“Is it?”

“. . . yes.”

“For God’s sake, Swan. Why can’t you just listen to me for once in your life? I can’t speak with him, I’m not ready!” Regina exasperated, before a familiar British accent came from behind her.

“That may be so, but we do need to to work this out.”

“Robin.” the brunette gasped, turning on her heel.

“Please, Regina. We must talk about this.” the thief begged, reaching out to take her hands in his. 

“I- I. . .” Regina stuttered, unable to formulate a coherent thought, so Emma hastily stepped in. 

“Okay, I’ll take the kid back to the apartment. You two can stay here and talk in the bar.” she muttered, leaving with Roland before either Regina or Robin could protest. It was less than a few minutes later that the screech of tyres could be heard as Emma, Lily, and Roland drove away in the bug.

With the two of them alone on the street, Robin apprehensively took another step towards Regina and tilted her head upwards by the chin to look her in the eye.

“Shall we go to the bar? I’ll buy the beers.” he gently proposed, but Regina shook her head.

“No. Not beer. I’m gonna need something much stronger for this.”

~~~

After entering the bar and ordering their drinks, Robin and Regina chose a spot in a secluded corner of the room to talk without being bothered, except neither of the pair even dared to utter a single word after being seated.

Not until around ten minutes later, when their drinks were brought to the table. 

Robin retrieved his drink from the waitress, yet he barely took a sip, simply propping his elbow up on the table and resting his head in his hand. Regina, on the other hand, was quick to grab her cup and swallowed a large gulp. 

The fresh wave of alcohol seemingly appeared to have given her the slightest ounce more of courage, as she finally decided to be the one to break the silence.

“So. . .” she trailed off, setting her glass down.

“Yeah.” Robin whispered, dropping the hand under his chin.

“So, you moved on. With her.” Regina bitterly stated.

“That’s not fair, you understood. You agreed.” Robin insisted, exhaustion creeping into his voice. 

“Understanding it and seeing it are different.” the brunette scoffed, cradling the drink in her hand.

“That’s hardly the most important point here? My son. Zelena’s not going to keep wearing that glamor and Roland’s not going to understand where his mother’s gone. For him to lose her again-“

“A forgetting potion.” Regina interjected, cutting off the thief’s spiralling thoughts. “Just take him back to before the fake Marian showed up. He’ll lose time but. . . it’s better, right?” she asked apprehensively.

“Yes. Thank you.” he sighed gratefully at Regina, who watched as his relief then morphed into distress.

“God, poor Marian. . . and Zelena, just killing her like she meant nothing so she could play out this sad farce with us. I just- I wanna... but I can't. I mean, I- I knew that things didn't feel right, but I just didn't know why.”

“I'm sorry. This was all about me. For her, this was all about. . . making sure I never get my happy ending.” she sighed, looking down at her lap. Robin quickly lowered his head to meet her gaze.

“If by ‘happy ending’, you mean us, then . . . at least, in a way, that's possible again.” he slowly divulged, causing Regina to stare at him incredulously.

He’s got to be kidding.

“Look, it's messy, I know, but . . . between us-“

“Is a huge obstacle. And it's going to get bigger every day, and not just for nine months either. It's a lifetime she has cooking in there. No matter what happens from now on, there's going to be this child. You're tied together in a way... in a way we'll never be.” Regina mumbled and averted her eyes in shame, unwilling to elaborate on that last comment of hers. “I'm such an idiot to think that life wouldn't kick me in the teeth again.”

“I hear you.” Robin insisted. “Just. . .” 

“Just what?” Regina quietly demanded, her words lacking their usual bite.

“What do we do now?”

 ~~~

Regina took another swig of her drink and faced Robin. 

“We go back to Maine.” she whispered. The former thief’s brows knitted together in confusion.

“Go back? But, I thought leaving meant-“

“That you couldn’t come back, I know.” Regina replied, shaking her head as a plan began to string together in her mind. “And that still hasn’t changed, but Emma and I found a way to briefly bypass the protection spell long enough to cross the town line.”

“You did?” Robin asked through a smile, to which the brunette responded with a small nod. “Alright, then we’ll leave in the morning.”

“No, tonight.”

“Does it make any difference?”

“Yes.” Regina insisted. “We have to contain Zelena as quickly as possible. Not to mention Roland’s forgetting potion. We can’t afford to wait, who knows what else that witch could pull.” she muttered under her breath. 

After taking a second to assess the plan, Robin nodded slowly and then shifted out of his seat.

“Okay. . . I trust you.” he gently said, holding out his palm for Regina to take. 

“I know you do.” the brunette smiled, accepting his hand and easing herself from the chair. “Now . . . let’s collect everybody from the apartment and get the hell back to Storybrooke.”

So there it is, hope you enjoyed it. This isn’t exactly my favourite plot twist, per se, but it was the one that threw me the most when I first watched it. I vividly remember going into an anger-fuelled fit of hyperventilation after they revealed that Zelena was pregnant. So yeah… that was a fun day.

[drippingviolets3]

Sooooo, a lot has been happening with me recently and since I might be sick (and desperately need my medication adjusted-) I’m going to do a part two to that one thing where I rated danganronpa characters based on how they would comfort me after that one instance where I got bullied for being 💅

Hajime: 6/10: His free time events low key make me want to strangle him sometimes for his attitude, and I’m STILL traumatized by that one nut scene, but he’d still do more then the bare minimum despite being awkward about it.

Chiaki: 6/10: I know she would never say this, but for some reason she’s giving me Zuko’s “Thats rough buddy” response from ATLA 😭. I don’t think I would be able to tell if she’s actually listening or caring, so I’d be discouraged, but Chiaki would definitely try to find some way to distract me.

Nagito: -10/10: Mf would deadass look me in the eye and tell me it was a necessary stepping stone to achieve the brightest hope or some shit he can gtfo.

Twogami: 8/10: For the sake of staying in character he would pat me on the back with a broom, but would definitely have some words of wisdom to share with me, maybe share his food, idk.

Teruteru: 7/10: Here me out, since Teru is canonically bisexual, coming from one queer to another, he’d know when to drop the pervert shit and actually help. His advice would be shit but hey at least he’d make me something to eat.

Mahiru: 3/10: I can’t stand this bitch I gotta be real with y’all 💀. While she would agree that it was bad and such, she’d still get onto me for how I reacted and tell me to stop crying. We know she doesn’t really do anything to stop bullying so she’ll just do slightly below the bare minimum and dip.

Peko: 12/10: MY. WIFE. Okay I might be biased but I do think she’d just slowly draw her sword out to kill the mfs but would retract it the moment someone said “Peko, no.” Would she know how to comfort me? Probably not. But will she make sure that karma is delivered and that it hurts like a bitch? 100% yes.

Ibuki: 5/10: I think she’d also canonically queer, but she’s obnoxious and is weird in a way that kinda feels forced to me tbh? Idk how else to describe it, but I do know that while she would do her best to help, she’s not the person I want to be around in that kind of mess.

Hiyoko: 4/10: It depends on if we’re friends or not. If we were she’d probably tear the bullies a new one before promptly getting curb stomped, or she’d just make fun of me and tell me to get over it 💀.

Mikan: 2/10: She’ll want to help but would probably make it worse by tripping, crying, and apologizing.

Nekomaru: 9/10: He’d be such a dad about it, give the bullies a firm talking to and maybe yell at them if they catch an attitude. Overall he’d be bodyguarding me around that bitch 24/7

Gundham: 7/10: He’d give me a hamster to hold and would go off on one of his tangents about being a demon lord and how he’s make them burn in hellfire and shower the underworld in brimstone, but I won’t be paying attention because I’m holding a hamster and that makes life better 💞

Akane: 5/10: Similar to “Peko, no” but instead it’s like swiper the fox where you gotta scream “AKANE NO!” Three times in a row to prevent her from going on a rampage.

Sonia: 6/10: The sweetest and gentlest thing omllll 💞💞💞. She’d make sure I’m in a safe mental space so I won’t hurt myself and brings me pillows and blankets and such. But if she gets really pissed, home girl will deadass threaten the group to leave me alone. If they catch an attitude they’re gonna have to throw hands with her whole fucking country (and it is mentioned that everyone in her country learn how to work army machinery in elementary school so 💀)

Kazuichi: 5/10: I don’t know if he knows what a bisexual is 😭. He’d try to support me but his confusion would be so evident that it somehow makes me laugh enough to where I’m less sad.

Fuyuhiko: 20/10: This man has access to an entire fucking yakuza and you think that bitch will get out unscathed? He isn’t good with words, but actions speak louder than words so he gets straight to work. By the next day that bitch would be in the hospital and get PTSD by looking at babies, knowing it was a baby gangster who knocked her teeth out

[omgilovemeawaterprincess]

love/lust ?

this all started when a certain babe she does not like posted a picture I took of her, she followed me and I could tell she followed me cause she liked what I did with her pictures I saw she was a model and had a banging body I was in my perverted era so I dmd asking if she’d be interested in working with me she said yes but she’d have to be fully clothed which is not a bad idea so I agreed hoped we would do stuff soon but for like 3-6 weeks no response from her telling me she was less busy. One lucky evening I saw she was speaking in a space I joined in and decided to text again try my luck but this time I texted with the intention of making a friend not just getting a potential muse for an interesting project we spoke a few days and connected infact I do not think it was up to 4 days I do not know why I mustered up courage to ask her to come see me at a shoot I was working on, we met at the park after the shoot cause she came super duper late which was a red flag.

I got to see her and then she looked way better in person I couldn’t but help talk to her in a manner that shows I’m flirting but at the same time there’s no pressure, I asked her if she wanted to leave here go get some smoke in my hood (I have a trap house) she agreed even though she shouldn’t have cause hm who goes somewhere private on the first date. Some girls are against it! Immediately we got to my spot I went to pick up came back for her we went to chicken republic to get food I ordered something I rarely order she ordered a regular meal we was gucci we went back to my spot I rolled up a jay for us to both smoke we smoked laying down in bed at some point I stylishly started moving closer I kinda noticed she was uncomfortable we had spoken about a whole lot of random stuff I can’t remember in detail but I think I do remember asking her if I could kiss her and her response was positive so I did kiss her and that’s how from kissing I slowly took off all her clothes then I got to realize she’s even sexier naked I must say that’s the sexiest woman I have ever seen in my life all I wanted to do was worship her body I mean it was a Sunday we could decide to turn that to our weekly thing. I remember she told me she was starting a new job soon which would make her super busy so I was a bit under pressure to impress so she never forgets me and always wants to hang out again.

Mind you I finally penetrate after a couple minutes of foreplay, I noticed how she felt when I first entered her I could tell that she knew she had finally met someone who made her feel good like a woman she is. She tried talking me through a nut but I couldn’t hear what she was saying to me I was focused on doing my best it seemed like she was asking me if I wanted to be friends for a very long time even though I couldn’t hear all I wanted to say was yes at this point if she was queen mother I didn’t care I was ready to give up everything for her. We did a lot of styles but one that I can’t easily ever forget was her bringing the lesbian in me out I mean we scissored each other Abii it felt like lol. So it was not penetrative but we dry humped at this point I still had my pubic peircing so I felt like I had clits. I could tell she was having a great time but I was so scared cause she kept telling me that we won’t see again and she seemed serious and I was so scared cause I’m used to babes not wanting to fuck me again after the first time not like I’m bad at sex but maybe they might just feel it’s too good to be true.

Well let’s see if she’d be back? I mean we’ve been talking every day since the day we met and it seems like I might be in a relationship with her very soon. Not in a hurry cause we are still getting to know each other but I’m certain I wanna be with her!

[azsazz]

The Rowdy Bunch

Azriel x Reader

Summary: Anon Request: I love your dad!az fics! They’re so good! How would he react if the reader was having a hard time with the kids? Like she’s angry and overwhelmed and the kids are being nuts haha

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,656

Notes: lol I know I just said I would post this on Wednesday but it's my bday today so I thought I'd give you all a little treat and post it instead. 🥰💙🥳

_________________________________________

“Baz, put that down!”

“Wren, Zuzu, no running in the house!”

“Jax, please stop crying, mommy’s holding the babes right now,” you plead to the two year old throwing a tantrum at your feet. Your hands are full with the twins – one of which you just got back to sleep – currently sitting contently in your arms, Malos peacefully snoozing and Knox staring up at you with wide, curious hazel eyes.

If they wake the napping daughter in your arms you’ll be in for a hell of a time.

Shutting your eyes for a minute you take a calming breath that doesn’t help in the slightest. You can’t drown out the screams and laughter of your children running around, Jax tugging at your skirts, begging to be held.

It wasn’t often that you were left to your own devices. Watching six children under the age of ten by yourself was no easy feat, even if they were well behaved most of the time. Usually when your mate was away he’d send reinforcements in the form of another member of his large family, but no such help arrived this morning when he stayed out longer and longer.

You’d tried sending a plea for assistance down the bond once Baz had woken up the rest of his siblings by jumping on their beds and yelling only a few minutes after Azriel had kissed you good morning with a promise of being back soon before he winnowed to the House of Wind for training.

There had been no answer. Either he’d been pulled away by Rhysand for a meeting or was in the thick of a spar with Cassian, you had no idea. The male usually answered right away by coming to your aid immediately or at least sending comfort down the bond to let you know he was on his way.

His lack of response doesn’t help the frustration you feel right now, your energetic children refusing to listen to you, vying for your attention.

You try not to think about what he could be doing as you take the twins to the extra cradle you keep in the living room, for times just like this. It helped to have another around the house, so you could be near the twins while you took care of things on the first floor like preparing meals or being with your other children.

“Mommy,” Baz says loudly, running up to you, Jax stumbling behind his older brother, still crying out for you, chubby hands reaching up. You’ve just placed the twins down, Knox occupied as he chews on his curled fist. It should occupy him for the time being.

“Yes Baz?” you ask, giving him your attention while you scoop up Jax, cradling him close to your chest and pressing kisses into his hair as you bounce him soothingly. His hands are clasped behind his back and he’s rocking back and forth on his heels, the face of pure innocence. This can’t be good.

“Can I please go play outside?” he juts his lower lip out, his little trick to get what he wants from Azriel. Your mate is strong, but he can’t resist a pouty face.

Too bad his father’s not here.

“Baz,” you sigh, soothing Jax in your arms. You’re so tempted to say yes, but he’d need supervision and you’re not about to move the twins again, having just put them down.

Maybe you should’ve taken Rhys up on borrowing Naula and Cerridwen for assistance.

“Can’t you wait until daddy gets home?” You ask, looking down at the little boy in front of you. Your frustration ebbs a little when the babe in your arms snuggles into you, resting his head on your chest with a content sigh. You can’t resist, laying your head atop of his for a snuggle.

Baz’s pouty mouth turns into a real frown, much more heartbreaking as his eyes cast to the floor, mumbling a soft yes. Zuzu runs past while Wren chases her, your little girl shrieking, drawing Baz’s attention who immediately joins in on the race while you cringe, glancing to the twins in their bassinet while Jax whines softly in your arms, his siblings loud voices disturbing his calmed state.

You hush them but it’s no use, they won’t listen, too hopped up on energy from their breakfast.

You try the bond again, sending a hot flash of your stress down the tether between you and Azriel. Your shoulders fall lax at the immediate response, a cold flash of guilt and then a warmth of promise.

He’s on his way.

An excited screech from Zuzu startles you as she catches a glimpse of her father landing in the backyard and everything that was just perfect goes wrong. Jax tightens his grip on you and you pray to the Mother that he doesn’t start crying but then Malos begins wailing from where she was so peacefully sleeping a few seconds ago and her older brother follows. Their howls echoing in your ears as your shoulders tense up.

Wren, Baz, and Zuzu are already at the back door as you step into the room, watching from the large window as two more Illyrians drop out of the sky, arms full with their own spawn.

Azriel’s hazel eyes lock on yours. He can feel your upset mood and he’s making his way towards the house as his children rush past him to see their cousins.

“I’m so sorry, Love,” he starts, and you just watch him with your jaw set because you can barely speak, you're so frazzled. He was supposed to be home hours ago to help you and now he’s showing up with two more children and their rowdy fathers? You don’t think you can take it.

He gently removes Jax from your arms, his shadows swirling around the babe, calming him quickly. You watch as he does so, a sting of jealousy washing over you like a wave, envious that he can calm your son so fast.

Your eyes flicker back to him and Azriel opens his mouth to say more but you’re already turning away from him, retreating into the living room to the still blubbering babe.

Reaching down to pick Malos up, your mate’s shadows wrap gently around your wrists, tugging them to a stop. You let out an exasperated sigh, eyes flicking up to your mate in a glare.

“Let me take care of her, please,” he begs because he can see how angry you are and he knows he’s in deep shit.

“You were supposed to be home hours ago,” you hiss quietly, all too aware of the children in the room.

“I know,” he admits, gaze falling to the floor in disappointment, “I’m sorry (Y/N), I just lost track of time.”

“And you didn’t answer my calls?” you cross your arms over your chest. Every cry of the babe in her bed has your chest aching to reach out to her, but you let Azriel handle it, setting Jax down on the couch to sleep while he tends to Malos, cuddling her to his chest and shushing her lightly. 

It makes your heart ache for a different reason.

“We were sparring,” he explains, rubbing Malos’ back, “And I know that’s no excuse. I should’ve come when you called. I didn’t realize how much I needed the fight and I got so lost in it that I blocked everything out and fell into my old ways.”

And you get that, you really do, but you needed help with the children and he wasn’t here.

“Please, (Y/N), forgive me,” he begs and when you look back up at him from the floor he’s got that pout that Baz had earlier, the exact one he got from Azriel.

You sigh, rubbing your eyes furiously. You sense your mate moving closer to you, reaching out to grasp you at the nape of your neck to pull you into his chest like your daughter who has seemed to settle a bit in her father’s arms.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers the mantra over and over between sweet kisses pressed into your hair.

You lean into him, breathing in deeply, the scent of him melting the frustrations off of you. You hug him tightly for a moment and revel in the silence, all of your children content at the moment.

“I forgive you,” you mumble into his shirt and he squeezes you in thanks. 

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off, Love? Take a bath, read, go shopping with the girls? Cass, Rhys, and I got the babes.”

“Yeah?” you look up at him, brows raised. You deserve it, after dealing with the rowdy bunch all morning, but you can’t help but feel a little guilty, they are your children after all.

“Yes,” he pecks you on the lips, “You do so much for this family and I was an ass this morning. You’ve more than earned it.”

You nod, mulling it over. “You were an ass this morning.”

You mate rolls his eyes and huffs out a laugh that has your heart stammering in your chest. Still, after all of these years his beauty still manages to catch you by surprise.

“I’m sorry again,” he apologizes softly, brushing a thumb over your cheek, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“I know you will Az,” you give him a tired yet wicked smile. “I’m going to bathe and take a nap to start. I have a feeling I’ll be up all night with a handsome male in my bed, making this all up to me.”

You catch a whiff of your mate’s sweet arousal as you make way to the stairs, tossing him a grin over your shoulder as you do so, swaying your hips just a little bit more as you depart.

His lingering purr has you shivering, the promise of a loud night ahead.

[inamindfarfaraway]

Sonic the Hedgehog movies AU where the times Knuckles and Sonic respectively arrive on Earth are reversed. Five-year-old Knuckles, searching his village for useful supplies after realizing that nobody is coming back, discovers the distant planet Earth marked as important on a map of likely locations the Owl Tribe may have hidden the Master Emerald. With nothing left for him in his homeland, he takes his father’s bag of portal rings and steps through. He is taken in by the Wachowskis first. Four-year-old Sonic meanwhile grows up alone, travels the galaxy and initially appears as an antagonist.

Right now I can think of two main plot divergences beyond that. Firstly, complicated but interesting: Knuckles doesn’t stay hidden, as he’s trying to find the Master Emerald and also with his code can’t resist rushing in to help when sees Tom in need, so he gets unofficially adopted practically right off the bat. He then grows up the best kept secret of Green Hills. His parents adore him, but he’s still kinda an outcast from the rest of human society, because he’s just so different and potentially dangerous - he struggles to take the necessary care with his strength and suffers from the same loss of control of his Chaos energy when deeply upset that canon Sonic used to. The townspeople see that he’s a good kid and they can’t speak ill of their upstanding sheriff and vet, but they don’t exactly trust Knuckles either. Not feeling like he’ll ever fully belong, afraid of causing more damage and not having processed his grief for his birth father and people and everything he knew before nearly enough, he develops strong tendencies to isolate himself and bottle things up in shame. And, oh yes, he still hasn’t completed his mission to retrieve and protect the incredibly powerful most sacred object to his lost culture. He fears that at this rate he never will. He feels very guilty about all of this.

Repairing his strained relationships with Tom and Maddie is a key part of his arc in the first movie, alongside learning to accept, forgive, trust and be kinder to himself. He ultimately decides that the Master Emerald is evidently safe enough for now and his mission can wait until he’s older and wiser. His current focus shall instead be being a normal teenager who Has Fun and Likes Himself.

Secondly, Sonic’s antivillain personality would not be a dutiful, honourable warrior genuinely believing he’s in the right. No. How does his literal theme song go again? “Long as the voice inside drives me to run and fight/It doesn’t matter who is wrong and who is right”. This Sonic, pre-second movie, is a cynical, untethered pragmatist who cares only about his own survival, benefit and freedom; a notorious thief and swindler sly and swift enough to get away with anything. They call him the Blue Devil. Where Knuckles had an excessive sense of responsibility, Sonic has all but suppressed his. The only person who mattered was Longclaw and she’s gone. What’s the point of getting attached to other people? They’ll all leave too. But that won’t need to hurt him - he won’t hurt them - if he follows his mother’s advice and never stops running. Yes, deep down he blames himself for Longclaw’s death. He has better social skills than Knuckles, but not his principles. Is Robotnik mean and shady? Absolutely. Is that Sonic’s problem, when he’s confident that he can either stay on the doctor’s good side or outrun his bad one? Nope! Getting to kick an echidna in the nuts with super speed is a nice bonus.

But beneath that arrogant, apathetic facade he does have a conscience. His character development starts with it slowly dawning on him how much worse than him Robotnik and big of a deal the Master Emerald are and he begins to take the stakes seriously. If Robotnik wins, innocent people will die. This entire (admittedly very beautiful) planet could be in danger. None of his crimes have risked going this far before. Does he really want to be an accessory to the rise of an actual tyrant and supervillain who wants to murder a teenager? So he begins to hesitate about aiding Robotnik. Next Knuckles notices that they’re about the same age and empathizes with him, knowing from the previous film what it’s like to be a traumatized, terrified, self-loathing fifteen-year-old in over your head; that they lost everything on the same day just draws more attention to their similarities. Tails curtails that conversation, but it remains the first taste of empathy and connection Sonic’s had since he was four. That’s pretty enticing. He saves Knuckles’s life to not be in his debt (ostensibly at least), and the rest is history.

Knuckles’s arc in the second movie is learning what it really means to be a hero and leader, after idealizing the concepts - and his parents, who are his heroes - his whole life. He’s internalized that he’s a kid and is allowed to make mistakes, but can’t reconcile that with now being responsible for an innocent and younger friend, Tails, and having to complete his Heroic Quest for the Chaos Emerald much sooner than anticipated. Surely a Hero has to be perfect and a leader has always know what to do. His birth father seemed that way, after all. When his moment comes, he can’t afford to fail. Learning that his beloved dad, and generally the echidnas, were responsible for Longclaw’s death and Sonic’s trauma shatters that idea. He eventually resolves that he can be a hero and his imperfect self simultaneously and his team are his equals and able to cover his weaknesses.

Also, Knuckles still speaks the same while Sonic absorbs modern slang and speech patterns like a sponge. This is crucial. When Knuckles calls his parents Mum and Dad at the end of the first movie instead of Mother and Father, it’s a huge affirmation of intimacy.

Now I just need a name for this AU. Any ideas?

[darksynkka]

A little late to the party but this looks fun and I'm never going to say no to gushing about my boy.

Answering all of them in one go for character development reasons.

Meet Anirin, my half-drow sorcerer turned bard durge:

General Questions:

What is their preferred combat style? 

As a sorcerer/cleric, Anirin’s combat style was mainly artillery. Keep him in the back, keep protected and let him unleash all kinds of damage. After re-classing as a bard, he’s a bit more front-line but still mostly support with buffing/debuffing, CC, etc.

What is their favorite weapon?

The Phalar Aluve. The future bard really likes the karaoke sword that uses his DEX instead of his piss poor strength stat.

What (or who) would they do anything to save? 

Strangely enough, Orin. Yes, she’s a bloodthirsty psychopath who needed to be stopped, but so was Anirin. In some ways, he was probably worse. He can’t stopping thinking about what he could have said or done that would’ve helped Orin, how he could’ve given her the same second chance that he got to have. He feels somewhat responsible for how she turned out and he’s not exactly wrong. Anirin is significantly older than Orin and did have a hand in raising her.

What (or who) would they do anything to destroy? 

Anirin would anything to destroy his past. He is deeply ashamed of what he did as the Chosen of Bhaal, of the blood he spilled in his father’s name.

What keeps them up at night? 

The fear and paranoia that one morning, he'll wake up to all of his friends being dead at his hand. It absolutely terrifies him, especially after a certain scene in Act 2.

What brings them peace? 

Playing music brings him a sense of peace and joy and strawberry cake is his comfort food that brings him a sense of warmth and nostalgia that he doesn't fully understand. He also finds that grinding herbs and whatnot in his mortar and pestle, brewing potions and poisons to be incredibly therapeutic.

What is their greatest asset? 

He's a natural leader, quite resilient and a legitimately powerful sorcerer.

What is their achilles heel?

Anirin is stubborn and prideful and has a difficult time asking for help. He’s also terrified of enclosed spaces.

What does their voice sound like? 

Voice 1. I know voice 5 is the standard but voice 1 just suited him more.

What do they smell like?

X

What do they take pride in? 

He genuinely takes pride in his abilities as an alchemist and his power as a sorcerer. It means he’s useful.

How would they spend the last night of their life? 

Haven’t really thought of it but I think he’d went to relax on his last night alive. Relax and just be with the people he loves.

How does someone get on their good side? 

He generally approves of good and heroic acts but you mainly get his respect through shows of dominance and cunning. As well as showing discipline and forethought before acting.

How does someone get on their bad side? 

Ironically, he disapproves of random cruelty. He also disapproves of submitting to others (for example; kissing Crusher’s foot) and giving in to your every impulse. He has to fight with his body and mind at all times just to not hurt someone. So, natural it sets him off when people act without thinking.

In other words, Astarion drives him nuts.

What is the best and worst memory they’ve formed since they escaped the Illithid ship? 

This is a tough one because he has a lot of good and bad memories. I guess the ones that really stick out would be bonding with the owlbear cub and Scratch for good ones, the first night after finding out the extent of his past villainy for bad ones but there also bittersweet ones. Like the night of the tiefling party. All he could think about was that Alfira should be there. Hanging out and drinking with Shadowheart ended up really cheering him up.

If they could change their ancestry and choose to live another life, would they? What path would they take? 

He would love to have anyone but Bhaal as his father, he would love to take back all the lives he took in the name of a father who does not love him. But he wouldn't take back meeting his new friends.

In a world where he never killed his family, I think he would've always become an adventurer. He'd be travelling with his adopted sister and his class would be sorcerer/bard.

If they had the option to restore their lost memories, would they? 

I honestly don't know. I don't think even he knows what he would do if presented with the option.

Which companion was the first to learn of their dark urges? How did this individual find out? 

Halsin was the first person he actually told about his urges. After the murder of Alfira and the appearance of Sceleritas Fel, it became very apparent that the urge is something that he can't just shrug off and ignore. Halsin’s a healer so he thought if anyone could help…

Are they secretive, or open about their dark urges? Why? 

He was afraid to talk about his urges at first. Anirin didn’t want to be seen as a liability to the group. But before Alfira, he didn’t even see the Urge as an issue. A few dark fantasies have never hurt anyone, right?

In the words of our resident bag o' bones (Withers), there are two paths the Dark Urge must choose from: "the heart of a savior," or "the mind of a murderer." Which path does your character take?

The Heart of the Savior for sure. I'm a sucker for redemption arcs (you can just tell that I’m very fond of Xena: Warrior Princess and Vinland Saga and that Zuko is my favourite Atla character, can’t you 😆).

The Heart of a Savior: 

What is the cost of resisting their dark urges? How does resistance impact them over time? 

Resisting the Urge is incredibly draining and downright exhausting. There are plenty of times when he wanted to give up.

How do they find the strength to resist their dark urge? 

Mainly from his friends. Especially Wyll’s support and faith that he is stronger than his urges, that he is a good person, that he is not the man he once was. But also seeing Gale and Shadowheart and Halsin work hard to research what’s wrong with him, seeing how happy the tieflings are to be reunited with their loved ones after escaping from Moonrise, the love that Isobel and Dame Aylin have for each other, and curing the Shadow Curse.

What are their motivations for resistance?

The Alfira incident made it perfectly clear what will happen if he doesn’t. Anirin doesn’t want anyone else to end up like her.

To their memory, have they ever succumbed to their urges? 

I’m not sure if this counts as “succumbing” but early Act 1, he didn’t take the urges very seriously. So he likes the sight of blood, fantasized about ripping Gale’s hand off, and kicked a squirrel. A few morbid fantasies never hurt anyone and Gale’s fine. Though he did notice that something felt truly off when fantasized about getting Arabella killed.

To their memory, have they always taken the path of resistance, or did something change their mind? 

Anirin has more or less always taken the path of resistance with a few bumps in the road here and there. It might seem a little boring but I found it super satisfying.

The Mind of a Murderer: 

Do they succumb to the urge of free will?  X

What do they gain from taking a life?  X

To their memory, which kill did they most savor? 

Viconia and Raphael. Viconia because she robbed Shadowheart of her entire life. Raphael because he subconsciously remembers what he did to Gortash (Gortash didn’t tell him about his past, he found out on his own).

To their memory, have they ever resisted the urge?  X

To their memory, have they ever regretted taking a life?

X

Get to know your Dark Urge!

It's time to get to know your Durge! Below are some "get to know you" questions about the current or favorite Dark Urge of anyone who would like to participate. As always, feel free to skip any questions that don’t strike your fancy or apply to your character by marking them with an “X”.

I cant wait to get to know your characters!

General Questions:

What is their preferred combat style? 

What is their favorite weapon?

What (or who) would they do anything to save? 

What (or who) would they do anything to destroy? 

What keeps them up at night? 

What brings them peace? 

What is their greatest asset? 

What is their achilles heel?

What does their voice sound like? 

What do they smell like?

What do they take pride in? 

How would they spend the last night of their life? 

How does someone get on their good side? 

How does someone get on their bad side? 

What is the best and worst memory they’ve formed since they escaped the Illithid ship? 

If they could change their ancestry and choose to live another life, would they? What path would they take? 

If they had the option to restore their lost memories, would they? 

Which companion was the first to learn of their dark urges? How did this individual find out? 

Are they secretive, or open about their dark urges? Why? 

In the words of our resident bag o' bones (Withers), there are two paths the Dark Urge must choose from: "the heart of a savior," or "the mind of a murderer." Which path does your character take?

The Heart of a Savior: 

What is the cost of resisting their dark urges? How does resistance impact them over time? 

How do they find the strength to resist their dark urge? 

What are their motivations for resistance?

To their memory, have they ever succumbed to their urges? 

To their memory, have they always taken the path of resistance, or did something change their mind? 

The Mind of a Murderer: 

Do they succumb to the urge of free will? 

What do they gain from taking a life? 

To their memory, which kill did they most savor? 

To their memory, have they ever resisted the urge? 

To their memory, have they ever regretted taking a life?

Is there anything else you'd like to share? Feel free to include art or a screenshot of your Dark Urge if available!

Tagging:

@baldursgrave69 , @feraelancunin , @coolseabird , @sleepymrshmllow , @sardoniqueen101 , @xxjester420xx , @taversgate3 , @lilly-frost , @tavsboots , @coolseabird , @yesistolethisurl , @jerirose , @mymilkprince , @haeluin , @whenwindwhispers , @kissupandshutme

And anyone who would like to participate!

Text divider credit @saradika

[dumbdemonslayertexts]

my general vibe is shuddering submissive armin being called babyboy and babydoll but i just got the pussyshocks from this imagery so HEAR ME OUT.

you're stressed out from the day you've had and you're at a house party. and from your experience in past hustles, you mix drinks like a mf pro and it's kind of theraputic for you so you get into a flow just to take your mind off things.

but your sweet doe eyed boy sees how hard you're shaking martinis and comes to check on you.

"hey... what is it..?"

you feel his voice-- that soft, airy gumdrop voice that does so many things to you-- before you even sense his body, and it's behind you, a sinner's touch tracing along that pretty brown skin peeking between your top and your jeans. and you ignore the blooming chillbumps he sends illuminating your glowing body. but the vibes in here were ones you wanted to absorb, not taint. so why speak your problems out and screw up the good time?

"i'm not about to fuck this party up over--"

shit. and you almost let it slip, too. the storm over your head was not letting up on you even with everyone else having a ball around you. in fact, it felt like it was trying to grow just to spite you, now that your sweetheart was here to save the day. "over some bullshit." you finish weakly. nope. you were not giving this your energy. and you definitely weren't about to cast it on armin, "i don't want you bothered over it."

"so then talk to me, baby," he rubs a tender set of circles into the small of your back with his thumb, biting a little smirk when it arches for his touch. "who do i need to embarrass?"

he said so teasingly, but you knew full well what armin was capable of with that mind and that mouth on him. and he knew you knew. you'd seen him take down entire reputations, you'd seen him raze positions in social hierarchy to the ground just with how he could expose and read folks. over slights, over digs at his friends, any reason he felt like. he could lay any bastard he wanted to out completely bare and do it with the coldest disposition you had ever laid eyes on. heartless. relentless. ruthless. he could do it without giving a fuck, and for some reason, that power of his turned you on even more than dudes out here who would knock somebody out for the same offences.

"boyyyyy..!" you whined, pushing at him softly with your crush on him stretching your cheeks in a smile. he ate it up, encircling you in his arms from behind and rocking you from side to side, his chin resting on your shoulder. "nobody..! i said don't worry about it..."

"you can't think i'm going to let something upset my queen and not worry. i'll swing on whoever, just point me where."

you can't help it. you melt. armin was the warmth of sunshine to you, and just him caring so much was whisking away everything that had gotten you so worked up. "no, cause then you can't squeeze on me."

"you want me to squeeze on you, baby?" he asked lowly, softly. you could hear the smile in his voice.

"i want you to squeeze on me."

he gives you what you want. soft and full and tight, making you feel the most heavenly mix of appreciated and owned. his body is so strong and encompassing, protective of yours-- in his smell, his closeness, his care, his unmatched brand of sexiness that was so unique to him. slowly he lessens the hold, only to hum and squeeze you again. it's so full of intimacy that you forget you two aren't alone.

he sets your body alight, and suddenly you feel yourself getting hot between your thighs.

"mmm... better..?"

"...yes," you answer more breathily than you should have. but you feel his response against your ass, so you don't regret it, "don't stop, please..."

"i love you, baby," he answers back so dreamily and elated, wrapping you again in a warm squeeze, "you know i won't stop. you know i'll do anything to make my queen feel good."

you feel one of his arms leave, and mourn the loss of that touch. but you feel two fingers press against the denim cupping your pussy, and pull in a silent gasp. "...i want to make you feel so good."

"armin..!" he eats his name when he kisses your soft lips, swirling more pressure into your pussylips while his tongue slowly collides with yours.

"just one, baby... just one for me..." he closes his eyes, his nose pressed into your edges as he begs low in your ear, "please? i promise i only need one. i swear."

your knees buckle when he finally smears your pussy open for him through your bottoms, getting that contact with your sweet little clit he wanted. he holds you up easily with the one arm still around your middle, shushing you to calm.

"let me make my baby's pussy cum... she's been so stressed all night. you didn't see like i could. it hurts so bad to see my baby like that. can i have one..?" he asks huskily, "isn't that fair, baby..? she needs more, but i'm a patient boy. i can wait for more when no one can see her shaking and crying for me... please..?"

you're grasping and grabbing now, clutching at the arm he has around you and the countertop that's hiding what he's doing to you from everyone else. "sh...shittttt..! yes, yes, baby, yes you can have it. take it, take it, please please, fuck..!"

his breath hitches and breaks in your ear, panting and shaking in a gasp like your permission alone made him bust his nut in his pants.

and damned if that didn't set your pussy on fire. you felt your arousal trickle out and gush into your panties, to armin's absolute delight. he rubbed you faster and with heavy pressure in the pads of his fingers. he's moaning into your ear in rapture with every rotation, like you're the one with your lips and tongue tight and soaking around his dick. and he's thrusting into you from the back from how bad you turned him on.

"tell me who's your babydoll."

"you!" you waste no time answering, and he groans out the gratification that so sexily gives him, "it's you, armin, only you..!"

"and am i your babyboy?" he asks further, biting his lip when he sees you roll your hips and ride his fingertips.

"you know you're my little babyboy," your glossy, half-dazed eyes land on his-- black with how lustful you'd made him, and he coos, placing tiny kisses over your cute nose and cheeks.

"and you're going to let your babyboy make you cum, right?" he egged again, seeing that you were starting to climb the peak.

"ohhhh sshhhhhiiiiiiitttt..."

"you're gonna let your babydoll get your pussy to cum all on his fingers, aren't you, baby..?"

"oh my fucking--armin, i'm about to... cummm!"

"don't keep me waiting, then, baby," he husks before kissing you, smothering your cries and writing his name into your pussy while you came, over and over while your orgasm had you convulsing against him.

[miekasa]

the babysitter’s club (1)

+ pairing: levi ackerman + (fem) reader, featuring bright-eyed but very easily intimidated interns and part-time babysitters eren and armin who are trying their best

+ genres and warnings: modern au, parents au, fluff, yes the dog’s name is captain and he’s tiny what about it

+ summary: eren and armin are good subordinates, who happen to be pretty good babysitter, too. usually. 

+ word count: 2.7k

+ notes: this was just something fun i edited and reworked again, also to provide some more insight about dad levi and my oc kids; this focuses only on holden, who is the oldest of the bunch, but you’ll more about the rest as they go

It’s not that Levi doesn’t trust Holden’s babysitters, he just would rather watch over her himself. Moreover, he would rather have the time to spend with his small daughter instead of having to leave her in the care of someone else who isn’t you, but sometimes life gets busy, and babysitters come in real handy.

He still doesn’t understand why Erwin would schedule the both of you to attend such important work-related meetings on the same weekend; much less, to send you half-way around the world for yours, and then book Levi for damn near twelve hours on a Saturday. He would murder Erwin if he weren’t his direct boss, and a long-time friend. But shit happens, and while it’s a major inconvenience and pain in his ass to be working on a weekend, it’s good to know he could rely on the brats at the office to step up on such short notice.

“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that if anything happens, I won’t hesitate to dismember you,” Levi says calmly, closing his briefcase after triple-checking its contents.

“Of course,” Armin stiffens visibly, awkward laughter seeping through his words, “Eren and I would never let anything happen to Holden.”

To his left, Holden has already tugged Eren to the coffee table for a game of children’s Scrabble, determined to show off her new skills. Levi smiles slightly as he remembers playing the game with her last week, and how awe-struck she was to have seen Levi create a word bigger than “unattainable”—which is currently the longest word in her four-year-old vocabulary. But he’s certain she would have no trouble beating Eren.

He gives Armin a slight nod. He knows Holden is in good hands; or good enough hands with Armin, anyway. It’s not the first time the duo has babysat, and for as air-headed and clumsy Eren could be at the office, he seemed to be pretty damn good with kids if Holden’s attachment to the brunette was anything to go by.

Levi recounts that you’ve questioned on multiple occasions why Eren was so dedicated to being your PA when he seemed to have a potential career in taking care of, and maybe even teaching children. Not that he’s not a good assistant to you, but he’s certainly not as organized or detailed-oriented as Armin. Levi shrugs away the thought. Eren’s career choices are none of his business; his only concern is that he keeps his daughter safe and sound.

“Right. My card is on the kitchen island, you can buy lunch and dinner or whatever, I don’t think there’s much in the fridge,” Levi informs Armin. He looks briefly to the clock on the wall; he really should get going. “Remember to walk Captain at some point, and no matter what Holden says, he absolutely does need a leash on him. If Erwin isn’t being a complete asshat, I’ll be home by nine. (Y/N) will probably still be on her flight, so call me if you need anything.”

Armin nods enthusiastically, promising Levi that they would take care of everything. They’d better.

“Alright, I’m heading out,” Levi announces, pulling his keys from the table near the door, “Be good, Holden. Tell Armin and Eren if you need anything.”

Holden’s head perks up at the sound of her name. Elegantly, or as elegantly as a four-year-old can be, she stands from her seated crisscross position, to run over to Levi by the door. He should remind her that she should use walking feet inside the house, but he can’t bring himself to, instead crouching down to meet her height.

“Bye, daddy,” she tells him sweetly. Levi reaches a hand out to ruffle the top of her head, much to the small girl’s chagrin. She sports a grimace almost identical to his as he reaches up to try and smooth out the aftermath of her father’s affections, “Daddy!”

Levi can’t help but chuckle, reaching two fingers out to poke at his daughter’s forehead. “Be good. I’ll be back soon.”

“Mommy too?”

Levi sighs, “No, mommy doesn’t come back until Tuesday.”

“That’s four days away,” Holden’s doesn’t hesitate to express her dissatisfaction. Levi nods, a little proud of how quickly she’d calculated that in her head, “Can Eren stay until Tuesday?”

“No, Eren cannot.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Holden crinkles her nose. Levi really has got to do something about her fascination with Eren.

Holden looks backwards to where Eren is still seated around the coffee table, he and Armin watching the father-daughter duo. After reconciling with the fact that Eren does, in fact, have his own home to go back to at the end of the day, Holden turns back around, and holds her hand up, palm facing Levi. He does the same, bringing his larger palm to hers, so that her hand is pushed against the middle of his.

Not one for hugs, kisses, or larger displays of affection, Holden simply turns her palm so that her hand grabs around Levi’s as best as possible, hooking her thumb around his pinky finger—what Levi’s heard the young girl call a hand hug.

“Bye, daddy,” she repeats, squeezing his hand, “Come back soon.”

Levi bends his fingers to wrap around her hand, “I will.”

“Keep an eye on her,” Levi reminds Armin and Eren, after standing back up and gripping his briefcase in his hand, “Don’t cause too much trouble.”

“Holden never causes trouble,” Eren says in response, but his words are spoken in coos to the young girl, who’s already back at his side. 

Levi scoffs, “I was talking to you.” 

“We’ll be fine, boss, don’t worry,” Eren chuckles with an awkward blush, “We love looking after Holden.”

“I’m not your boss,” Levi deadpans, double-checking his pockets for his keys, “You’d better hope everything is fine. Call me if anything happens, I’ll be back soon.” 

With one final round of good-byes, and a wave from his daughter, Levi’s out the door, and stepping into his car with a grimace. It was just one stupid day out of his life. Besides, Holden would be fine with Armin and Eren; she always is. Levi is just grumpy that he can’t be the one to spend the day with her. 

He sighs, reluctantly, putting his keys in the ignition. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could come back to Holden. Everything would be fine in the meantime; for now, he had to focus on how he was going to get himself to sit through Erwin’s long-ass meeting. 

“Levi! Hi! Um… okay, so don’t freak out, but Armin and I are at the hospital with Holden right now—don’t freak out—because there was a small incident at lunch—don’t freak out and fire me please—but! It’s all gonna be okay, they’re already treating her and she’s doing fine now, so don’t freak—”  

“Tell me not to freak out one more fucking time and I’ll castrate Armin and feed you his balls myself.”

“You sound a little freaked out,” Eren placates, wincing and holding his phone away from his ear when Levi growls in response.

“You have five seconds to tell me what you two idiots did to my daughter and explain why I shouldn’t decapitate you immediately.”

“It’s a funny story, actually—so, um, we think Holden might be allergic to nuts…?”

“What do you mean might be, Jaeger?”

Eren can feel his heart in his throat. He eyes Armin on the other side of Holden’s hospital bed. He looks no better—color almost completely drained from his face, but Eren doesn’t think he can say much else to his boss before his knees give out from underneath him.

“Uh, well, it was a lot of technical terms, and—I—um, actually I’m going to let Armin explain!” Eren hurries, all but chucking his phone at the unsuspecting blonde.

Armin’s blue eyes look almost grey with anxiety, but before he can protest, Eren is flailing his hands and pointing fingers and reminding him that Levi will kill them both if he doesn’t start talking.

Reluctant, and terrified, Armin finally lifts the phone to his ear, stuttering out a pathetic hello, but Levi cuts him off before he can say anything else.

“Save it. Send me your location, and pray I don’t kill you when I get there.” Armin chokes out a “yes, sir,” before slowly bringing the phone down to his side.

The good news is that Holden’s allergic reaction wasn’t too severe: her throat had been irritated, and hives had emerged as a result, but it hadn’t been closing up. And luckily, Eren had the endurance to run nearly a mile and half with a four year old tucked under his arm; because with the traffic Armin observed whilst he and Captain huffed and lagged behind, it would have taken thrice as long to get Holden to the ER had they waited and called for an ambulance.

Even better was that Holden was an unnervingly calm kid, even whilst having an allergic reaction. She looked almost back to normal now, save for a few red looking blotches on her neck and upper arm; and seemed more than content to be watching a video on Eren’s phone, despite the situation. She was a little bummed out to find out that she could never eat the new ice cream she liked so much ever again, but she seemed to quickly get over it once Eren reminded her that there were lots of other flavors out there for her to try. Flavors that wouldn’t make her choke to death.

Still, Eren and Armin could probably kiss their jobs goodbye, seeing as they had nearly just poisoned their bosses’ daughter. Holden seemed to like them enough, but, unfortunately, Holden wasn’t the Ackerman who signed their checks.

At the very least, Eren doesn’t think you’ll be too upset with him. He doesn’t think you’ll be ecstatic to hear that while you were away on your already inconvenient work-trip on the other side of the globe, that he also managed to land your daughter in a hospital bed… but you were the more forgiving one. Then again, maybe not so forgiving when it comes to the health and wellbeing of your daughter. 

Eren falls back against the wall in dread. You weren’t even in the same country as him and he was worried about what you might say or do to him. Levi was probably less than twenty minutes away and fully capable of beheading him.

“You… uh, you think the Interior Branch is still looking for interns?” Eren breaks the silence, looking towards Armin, who’s taken the seat next to Holden’s bed, petting Captain robotically as the dog sits in his lap.

“I don’t think it matters,” Armin responds, “They won’t hire corpses.”

Fifteen minutes, and several run red lights later, Levi is bursting through the doors to the pediatric wing of the emergency room. He doesn’t care about the old woman at the reception yelling at him for causing a ruckus, or the other parents, doctors, or visitors eyeing him for marching around like he owned the place. Holden was in there somewhere, and he was going to get to her.

“Holden—oh, god, Holden,” Levi coos, frantic, as he marches into Holden’s room, scurrying to the side of her hospital bed. A cold hand reaches up to stroke her face. Angry, red bumps litter the sides of neck, her cheeks are puffier than usual, and the perimeter of her mouth seems a bit irritated, but Levi is relieved. She’s okay, his baby girl is okay.

“’M fine, daddy,” Holden assures him. She’s almost overly-perceptive for her age, able to pick up on her father’s out of character antics, and does her best to console him. “Eren ran with me all the way here when I started coughing and itchin.’”

Levi nods, the dark grey splotches in Holden’s eyes bringing him comfort, ensuring him that she was okay. “They gave me a shot, and I don’t like needles, but I didn’t even cry at all. Ask, Armin and Eren, they saw! Captain, too.”

“Brave girl,” Levi smiles, reaching his hand up to push her hair out of her face then leans over to press a kiss to her forehead.

Levi had almost forgotten that Eren and Armin were in the room until he hears a blundering cough from behind him. The younger boys look petrified, Eren practically shaking in his shoes, while Armin doesn’t even have the confidence to look him in the eye.

“We’re really sorry, Levi,” Eren apologizes, voice scratchy and wobbly, like he’d been the one to just get a shot, “We didn’t know—and when she started coughing and saying she couldn’t breathe, I swear, I ran here as fast as I could—”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s… fine?”

Levi sighs. Maybe he’d been a little harsh with them on the phone, letting his emotions get the best of him. He’d already been pissed off enough to not have the time to spend with Holden this weekend; hearing that she’d been hurt was just the final push over the edge for him, but it wasn’t necessarily Armin or Eren’s fault.

“I didn’t know either,” Levi exhales, reaching at hand out to pet the top of Holden’s head again, the young girl now distracted once again by the phone in her hand, “She’s never had a reaction to anything before, and neither (Y/N) or I have any strong allergies.”

Armin shuffles where he’s standing. “The doctor said she might be allergic to tree nuts. We, uh, we gave her pistachio ice cream after lunch.”

If there’s anything concerning Levi, it’s that they gave Holden ice cream before dinner, but he supposes he can let it go for now.

“Eren told me to try it, and it tasted good, daddy,” Holden interjects, “Before I started coughing, it was good.”

“Ah, well, you can’t—you shouldn’t eat things that make you feel sick!” Eren stutters loudly.

“But it was good,” Holden pouts, “And you said to try new things, Eri. I won’t know if it makes me sick if I don’t try them.”

Levi holds back his laughter. He knows that Holden definitely wouldn’t want to try the same same flavor again knowing now that she was allergic to it; she was just pulling at Eren’s leg. Levi would have to keep an eye out for the stuff anyway, especially if her oh-so-precious Eren has expressed any former love for it. 

“Um, Levi, sir,” Armin calls, pulling Levi’s attention towards the blonde, “We didn’t know if (Y/N) would have landed already, but do you think you should call her, to, um, let her know?”

Levi’s face pales three shades when he realizes that none of them had already informed you that your daughter was currently hospitalized with a new found allergy.

“You can call her,” Levi says, a shudder in his spine at the thought of relaying this information to you, “That’s your death sentence, not mine.”

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

hey ! How do you think Peeta would have fared if they told him Katniss died after she got shot in 2 ? Maybe that would have made recovery easy cuz the threat is neutralized right.....

I actually don’t think it’s work like that. Not with all the survivors guilt going around in these books, especially in conjunction with wartime ptsd. Which you know is one of the big things SC based her books around.

Peeta (and Katniss) are already chock full of it after two arenas. Rue, Thresh, Cinna, Mags, Wiress… the list goes on. Removing Katniss from the equation doesn’t automatically make Peeta’s recovery from the hijacking any easier. There is still going to be some level of survivors guilt, if not immediately then eventually.

If we look at where Peeta is in his recovery from the hijacking, we get two significant developments from Haymitch while Katniss is in district 2. The first is that Prim comes up with the idea to hijack him back by giving him a massive dose of sedative to inhibit the fear response and then recalling memories the Capitol would have distorted. They try this with the tape of Katniss telling Peeta the story of how they got Lady the goat. It’s a tape do the two of them when they were in the cave in the first arena. Now, Katniss and Haymitch are pessimists. They don’t see Peeta being confused by the tape as an improvement. But the thing is… that is an improvement over total fear to the point of murderous rage. While it might not be the most effective technique, it is a smart technique. What Prim’s suggestion does is give Peeta’s mind the chance to remain calm and to insert doubt about what he thinks the memory is based on what the Capitol did to him. So yes, it caused complete confusion. But that means now he begins to be in a position to ask that “what is real” question that is so crucial to his ultimate recovery.

The next development is after they bomb The Nut, sealing the exits and the ventilation, except for the train tunnel. Katniss is waiting and Haymitch tells her they showed Peeta the tape of her singing “The Hanging Tree,” which in book world, Peeta had never seen before. And Peeta responds to it with a memory of his own of that song — Katniss’s father singing it outside of the bakery when Peeta was about six or seven years old. But again, the point is that he’s making positive connections to memories that involve Katniss, not just fear and belief that she’s a threat.

So. Your question. Let’s say Peeta’s initial reaction to being told Katniss died in 2 is “good riddance,” which is possible because of where he is in the recovery at that time. This is before the wedding. Before “I must’ve loved you a lot” and “you’re a real piece of work.” This is before the cafeteria scene. So there is a definite possibility that part of his reaction would be satisfaction. There is also a definite possibility that his first reaction is mixed with grief. It would be grief that he can’t really explain because of the hijacking, but it could be there. I wrote in a post a couple weeks ago that I classify hijacked Peeta’s feelings towards Katniss as ambivalence, which is simultaneous disgust/hatred along with an intense attraction/love bordering on obsession. This ambivalence is a direct result of mixing the love he felt for Katniss beforehand with the fear and hatred invoked by the hijacking, which also plays upon Peeta’s latent fears from even before the hijacking about his relationship with Katniss, and his own insecurities.

HOWEVER. Fear conditioning is far more complicated than flipping a simple switch: she’s dead I’m cured!!! Thats just not realistic. And while yes it is fiction, the stories we really cling to have some element of what we view as a human truth to ground us in them. So tossing all of what we know about ptsd, psychology, etc and suggesting that removing or neutralizing the threat would cure him, to me, would represent a fundamental misunderstanding about how our brains work.

Do I think her death would’ve helped Peeta recover faster? Fake or real? Actually no, I don’t. I actually think the opposite. I think it would’ve prolonged and complicated his recovery.

Even if/when they manage to unhijack Peeta enough for him to really remember how he felt about Katniss, now he’s also dealing with grief over losing her. That’s just one more trauma on the pile. More trauma = more complicated recovery. Even during the time he’s still strongly ambivalent towards her, that mixture of love/hate will complicate any recovery steps he makes.

Add to that the fact that Peeta’s hijacking was primarily based around the fear of one person. Yes it also impacted how he responded to others who were close to her — like Finnick for example — but primarily his confusion centered around Katniss. The rest of the confusion is ancillary. Katniss herself even admits that in Mockingjay. She admits that there are things that only she is going to be able to untangle in Peeta’s mind. Killing her in district 2, either in truth or as a tactic to “snap Peeta out of it” leaves him still confused and in the dark about those aspects of their relationship and Katniss that only Katniss herself can set to rights.

It really just… undoing a fear conditioning just doesn’t work like that. Removing the threat doesn’t automatically remove the fear. And it sure as shit isn’t gonna magically remove the trauma caused by literal torture. Like… I think I get where you’re coming from. It would be nice to believe that he’d be so overcome by grief that he almost forgets to be afraid of her, or thinking she’s dead somehow makes him feel safe enough to recover faster, but to me… that wouldn’t feel real.

Thanks for asking. Hope I answered what you were asking in a clear enough manner!

<3 kdnfb