#most irresponsible grandpa ever

[kindykotik]

Joke drawing that got out of hand

[saiyanmazen]

Parenting styles in Dragon Ball Z (and Super)

You know, to me, the interesting thing about this scene (and the one where they could to the aforementioned park) isn't the fact that Vegeta keeps his promise.

It's the fact that he uses positive reinforcement to motivate Trunks.

Do you think Vegeta was ever rewarded for landing a good hit? Definitely not. It was expected of him.

As an expert in children's development, I find it fascinating to look at this example of Vegeta parenting Trunks and what it says about his parenting style. I've seen headcanons that go from calling 'Dadgeta' authoritarian to neglectful, but I disagree.

In the following, I will briefly describe the four styles of parenting with focus on the authoritarian and the authoritative styles. I'll also compare them to how DBZ parents appear to raise their children, but mainly focus on Vegeta.

Authoritarian:

This is the old school parenting method where restrictions and punishments go hand in hand. The parents expect the children to obey rules without a clear explanation as to why and corporal punishment is used when the children overstep.

Unsurprisingly, it seems like a lot of people believe this is how Vegeta raises his children (If he is even involved; I'll address this later on.) It was likely how he was raised.

However, the only parent we actually see using this style is Chichi. She's not entirely unreasonable, but we do see her expect things from Gohan without explanations and she has a lot of restrictions set up. This might have something to do with Goku's parenting style, but more on that later.

Piccolo also uses authoritarianism with Gohan, but he isn't trying to parent him, just train him.

What's really interesting is that children raised in a household practicing authoritarianism tend to hold a lot of anger inside. They also have low self-efficacy and high self blame. Remind you of someone?

Indulgent

Here we see nurturing, accepting parents who don't have behavioral expectations of their children. They are responsive to the children's needs and wishes, but do not expect them to be the same toward other people. The parents want to be the child's friend rather than a demanding parent.

Children of indulgent parents tend to grow up without a sense of others' boundaries and generally have less discipline than their peers. They lack impulse control and are often irresponsible.

In DBZ we do see signs of this parenting style, but only limited. It's not commonly used in Asia and therefore, Toriyama didn't add it. In GT it's obvious that both Trunks and Bulla seem have been parenting this way by Bulma. It's also why many doubt that Vegeta has been much involved.

It's also easy to argue that Goku parents this way, although it's up for discussion.

Neglectful

Although many think that the indulgent parenting style have created a generation of undisciplined young people, the neglectful parenting style has actually had a greater effect.

The parents are either more interested in themselves and their own goals than their children's. (Although sometimes it's because the parents struggle with stress or depression) Children of these parents are usually lonely and melancholic, often have very low self esteem and are needy after affection and approval. This leads them to be easily manipulated and they are at a higher risk to end up in abusive relationships.

I think many of the Vegeta antis and those claiming Goku is a bad parent would place the two Saiyans here.

However, Goku is clearly involved in Gohan's upbringing, albeit choosing a more casual approach than Chichi, and returns after being dead for seven years, ready to be involved with Goten (and Gohan if he wants it). The reason that Goku mainly focuses on training isn't just because it's his own interest. It's what he knows for sure how to do.

Most importantly: it was how Goku was raised himself. First by Grandpa Gohan and later from his other father figure, Master Roshi. It isn't just in his blood; it's in his upbringing.

And then there's Vegeta’s parenting style which was my main focus for this post. It got a little out of control, but we have finally arrived at the last parenting style:

Authoritative

This is the most modern parenting style, even though it isn't really new. It's been used for years in well functioning familes. This type of parent is both demanding and nurturing, being present and engaged in their children's lives. They explain things to their children, teach them how to regulate their feelings and therefore expect a mature behavior from them.

Children of authoritative parents tend to be more successful in their adult lives, capable of discipline and well-liked. Because they aren't constantly being restricted, they naturally develope autonomy within set boundaries and learn to respect others, regardless of authority.

So, what does this have to do with Vegeta and Trunks?

As I mentioned in the beginning, in the scene in the Gravity Chamber, Vegeta uses positive reinforcement to motive Trunks. Positive reinforcement has proven to be a healthy way to motivate children (and animals) and is a part of the authoritative style. By using it, Vegeta provides Trunks with rules that foster motivation and discipline in the child. The fact that Vegeta knows about the amusement and can use it as an incentive also shows that he is involved enough to know what may get Trunks to do his best.

But the most important thing we see is that Vegeta upholds his promise, despite hating every second of it. It shows that he respects Trunks' efforts and achievement. By honoring his word, he also teaches Trunks to do the same.

Of course, this is a small scene and we don't know how Vegeta behaves otherwise in regards to Trunks. But it's safe to say that Vegeta does take his son's wishes into account and uses it to encourage him to move beyond his limits.

I admit that I'm not a fan of GT and don't consider it canon, especially because of Toriyama's lack of involvement. So, while I dislike many aspects of DBS, I do think it's the best representation of the characters.

In Super, both Goten and Trunks are well adjusted boys who both have discipline and test the boundaries of their autonomy. They act like boys their age, albeit with incredibly strength, and it goes to show that their parents have raised them well.

Of course, it's also important to remember that both DBZ and DBS (and even GT) are a product of their time and the parenting styles reflect that. DBZ is from the 80's where the authoritarian (Chichi) and indulgent (Goku) styles were the most common. GT is from the 90's where the media started to focus on indulgent and neglectful parents - even though it wasn't a new thing - and it's shown that Trunks, Bulla and Goten have grown up as spoiled and undisciplined. DBS shows that the parents in the show have become authoritative and their children's behavior reflects that.

It's clear that the parents are doing their best and that the fathers have become more involved nowadays than before. This is the case in modern parenting as well.

Anyway, this is the end of my long rant. I think, as both an expert in children's development and as a parent myself, it's interesting to look into the relationships between the characters, especially the father-son interactions which are explored the most. There's no doubt that Toriyama knew the importance of being a father and wanted to portray it, mainly in Goku and Gohan's relationship.

I don't think Toriyama saw Goku nor Vegeta as bad fathers, but he knew that everyone has different strengths, even in parenthood.

[lightlycareless]

I saw your post about Naohime and Naobito! I completely fell in love with their little relationship and I was wondering what other things they get up to that stress out Naoya

Hello!!! afjajgkhag I'm so happy you like their relationship 🥺❤️❤️❤️!!!!! For Naobito to finally get along with Naoya's family, or part of, is... very satisfying 🥺 I'd like to think things work out in the end lol.

Now, onto your question...

warnings: naohime is your youngest daughter. naoya is a good dad. naobito gets along quite well with her granddaughter. implications of underage drinking BUT ITS MINISCULE AND INNOCENT I SWEAR.

Happy reading!!

Honestly, just about anything.

HOWEVER

The one thing Naoya hates the most about Naobito’s relationship is his apparent blindness to the danger he puts Naohime through?

Like, the old man will find it hilarious that Naohime is pestering other clan members, but to Naoya that just pure horror. He’s seen how resentful they can be, and the last thing he wants is his daughter being caught in the middle of it! More so if they have never been welcoming of most of his children (obviously they only care for the sons 🙄🙄). It’s honestly a ticking bomb when it comes to Naobito’s carelessness.

Yet, the #1 thing he would despise of Naobito is the one time he saw him giving Naohime a “sip” of sake, just for the laughs of it or something, but of course Naoya wasn’t going to wait around to find out!

“You really have no shame, do you, father?” Naoya seethes, swiftly taking the bottle from his hands and throwing it away onto the garden—the loud sound of the glass crashing against the floor makes Naohime flinch, tears soon begin to form at the unusual sight of his father’s rising anger. “What is wrong with you, giving alcohol to a child?!”

“Ahh, it was just a little bit! She wanted to see what it tasted like, so, I obliged.” Naobito excused himself, as he always did, much to Naoya’s frustration.

“Ah, I should’ve known! It’s so obvious, isn’t it?! Whatever Naohime wants, she gets, right? How careless could you be, father?” Naoya breathes. “No—don’t even answer that. I know how much; I’ve experienced first-hand, after all!”

“Cut me some slack—I’m no different from you when it comes to spoiling her.”

“Don’t ever you compare yourself to me.” Naoya threatens, and with no time to waste, he takes hold of Naohime’s arm and pulls her away from the irresponsible grandfather she had the misfortune of having.

He expected her to put up resistance, as she usually does whenever plucked from her dear grandpa’s company; but not this time, for it appeared she understood the gravity of the situation, or more like was frightened into doing so, never having seen her papa so angry before.

It soon became clear that this situation is one you’d have to mediate between the two, and not because you wanted Naobito to continue being part of Naohime’s life—if it were up to you, you’d keep them apart forever!

Rather, because the air had grown unbearable tense between Naoya and his father yet again, the estate began to be affected one way or the other.

Sure, they could never get along, it was like trying to mix water and oil, but at least they’d become amicable enough to not step on each other’s toes. Naoya was his successor, after all, they should be able to talk at least for the sake of the clan!

Well, all would eventually be solved when surprisingly Naobito was the one to close the gap between the two, offering his version of an apology for having been careless with Naohime and somewhat promising to do better…

Unfortunately, not enough for Naoya.

“And? That’s all? Do you think with that I’ll just forget what you did?” Naoya frowns, you press your lips together, seems this situation isn’t to die so easily.

“Naoya…” you murmur, gently squeezing his hand. His anger, no matter where directed, is one that always upsets you.

“No, Y/N. I’m not done yet. My father is never one to understand the consequences of his actions.”

“What do you want me to do, then? Leave the estate?!”

“That’d be a good way to start.” He smiles.

“How about I take on your responsibilities for a whole month so you can do whatever you want, hm? Is that good enough for you??”

“Barely!”

“Dear, please.” You quietly beg, wanting this situation to be over with. Considering Naobito, this was probably as best of a deal they’d be able to get out of him. And Naoya soon remembered that through the worried look on your face.

“Make it two months—and I’d also like you to keep away from my side of the estate.” Naoya eventually agrees. “I don’t want a single servant that isn’t part of my entourage near—and of course, I don’t want you close Naohime either, or any of my kids for that matter.”

“Fine, whatever makes you happy.”

Naoya’s eye twitches, Naobito really can’t accept defeat and move on, can he?

Thankfully, you’d be there to ease the situation before it got any worse, telling Naoya and Naobito that such solution would be enough to mend for his transgression before subsequently leaving the room; to ease an infuriated husband as well as tend to an upset daughter who has felt nothing but guilty for actions that were not of her responsibility.

“I’m sorry papa…” Naohime quietly murmurs upon seeing you and Naoya return, gently holding onto her father’s leg as tears began to slide down her cheeks. “Please don’t be angry at me!”

A plead that has all rage vanishing from Naoya’s mind, rushing to comfort her instead.

“It’s not your fault, peanut. He should’ve known better.” Naoya responds, wiping Naohime’s tears with his sleeve before carefully picking her up.

She then wraps her arms around his neck, resting her head against it and continuing to sob.

“I just wanted to try it! Grandpa said no at first because he said I wouldn’t like it and that I shouldn’t have it because I’m too young, but he always drinks it so I wanted to have it too!”

“He should’ve been more considerate of you, peanut, you are child after—wait, what?” Naoya blinks, quickly looking over to your direction as if to check if you’ve heard the same thing as him—you had.

“What do you mean he said no, sweetie?” You ask, believing up to that point that Naobito was the one instigating Naohime to take a sip of his drink… only to be proven otherwise.

And not only that, but to find out he actually set boundaries to her request?? Or at least tried… better than nothing…?

“He said it wasn’t good for me… and it wasn’t, it’s yucky!” Naohime scowls.

“Well, that… it is.” You sigh, patting her head as she snuggles closer to her papa.

“I’m sorry papa, mama… don’t be angry with me or grandpa!”

“That’s a bit too late for that.” Naoya whispers to you, you sigh.

“We’re not angry at you, sweetie. Just worried, as always for your well-being” You explain. “But just remember that if you’re ever curious about something come tell mama or papa and we’ll do our best to explain, ok? Sometimes grandpa does things that aren’t completely right, and might end up hurting you too—and we don’t want that, do we?”

Naohime shakes her head.

“I promise to behave, mama!”

“I know you will.” You smile.

“Now, don’t cry—pretty princesses don’t do that.” Naoya coos, cleaning the rest of her tears before kissing the top of her head. “Instead, they like to play with their siblings or help mama around the house.”

“How about play with mama and papa? Can we do that instead??” Naohime wonders.

“Well, I don’t have much to do anymore after that…” Naoya muses, you laugh.

“Then papa better hurry to hide if he doesn’t want us to find him…” you tease, with Naoya giving you a smirk before gently Naohime down and scurrying out the room, leaving behind a giggling daughter who couldn’t wait to start counting and begin searching for him—not that it would be possible for her, since Naoya was quite… sneaky when it came to it. There’s a reason why the rest of his kids had given up playing hide and seek with him.

However, Naoya wouldn’t be able to focus much on the game, for he’d still have to come to terms with the fact that Naobito indeed has a soft spot for Naohime, one much bigger than what you and Naoya anticipated, seemingly out of genuine affection and not because he wanted to get back at his son one way or the other.

…

…

…

He didn’t know what to do with this conclusion, yet a part of him couldn’t deny he felt elated to know that after all these years, his father finally found it in himself to be nice to someone—specifically, his daughter.

A notion that partially healed a wound he did not know he had, lifting some of the weight his unhappy past burdened him with…

And all thanks to the prospect of his children escaping the same fate.

I hope it wasn't too sad for your liking ahhaha :') It's just something that I wanted to explore, since you know, Naobito tends to be very fond of alcohol.

It was kind of expected that he'd give a sip to Naohime at one point; mainly because she's curious, but outside of that, I like to think that Naobito truly became protective of her and abuses the fact that he's like the leader to let her do whatever she wants lol.

Also... I'd like to think that as much as Naoya acts like he doesn't care, a part of him still wishes his father got along with his family, liked them and such, you know 🥹 the child inside him wants his approval, after all!! (I wonder what kind of relationship Tomoko would've had with her grandchildren 🥹 oh, she would've loved them all!!)

Anyways, I hope this was to your liking! Thank you so much for sending in this ask, I'm very happy Naohime's relationship with Naobito is enjoyed heheheheh I love it!!!

Take care, and hope to see you soon!!

[thebnha-auhoard]

Crack au where everything is the same but Tsukauchi, Yagi, Hisashi, and Inko are all married

They’ve been married before Izuku was born and honestly this just means that Izuku has 3 dads and a mom. He’s going to learn so much out-of-pocket things and so much things about the criminal justice system and heroics. It’s great.

Izuku is going to learn about heroics, police work, the law, and finance. He’s going to learn so much and he’s going to be such a bean.

This also means that Bakugou is going to go and know immediately that Yagi is All Might. Yeah it’s supposed to be a secret but Kacchan is Izuku’s best friend! They can both keep a secret.

Naturally, this leads to Bakugou now doubling down on becoming Number 1 with the added bonus of his second dream being to beat up the Number 1 Hero

Other things include:

-Izuku and Melissa Shield meeting each other because of Yagi taking him to visit David and the two of them becoming best friends almost immediately. It’s great and from then on they regularly video call each other and Izuku always comes to Yagi’s visits to David

-Good parents Hisashi, Inko, Naomasa, and Toshinori that’s important. That’s very important.

-Bakugou constantly talking shit about All Might and saying that he’s an average hero. He eats dinner with the Midoriya family every day.

-Actually just go and take all of Bakugou’s energy on bullying Midoriya and put that on Yagi. Bakugou’s new target is to take the spot of Izuku’s Hero Dad and make sure that he fucking retires early because Bakugou. That old man better watch his back because every time that man stops Bakugou is getting closer.

-Sir Nighteye being that weird uncle that you kind of just have around. He gets better but for a while Izuku and Katsuki told him that his vibes are terrible and to get out of their house

-Gran Torino being that Grandpa that would go and let you do all the irresponsible shit. He keeps the kids safe but boy oh boy there has been several instances of a heart attack

-Midoriya Inko being a kid of All For One, a result of a One-Night Stand. She cut contact with him a while ago don’t worry. She would go and rip out one of his glands with her Quirk if he ever contacts her again

-Now please imagine All For One finding out that the All Might, the Detective that helped All Might, and the the most Average Man in exsitance all are married to his Daughter.

-Shinsou Hitoshi also being a kid of All For One, this time on purpose. Don’t worry he runs away and meets Tsukauchi. In fact you can read a fic about it here. (Many Kudos to Mod Boreal and their Writing.)

-Izuku still getting One For All not because of the fact he’s All For One’s Grand Kid but because he display qualities of being truly heroic. He wants to be a hero and wants to save as many people as he can, no matter the cost

-No one in the class knowing who Izuku’s dads are and thinking it’s just Inko

-Naturally, Katsuki’s goes and spreads rumors that Izuku’s dads are in America for “work”. Izuku is screaming inside because that actually is correct. Hisashi is in America for work but not Naomasa and Toshinori!

-Izuku says this but he starts calling Toshinori “dad” whenever he can. The man coughs up blood every time Izuku says it

-In the corner, Todoroki Shouto starts making conspiracy theory boards.

[aksually2008]

aksel's guide to relaxing media

A lot of people have asked me to compile a list of my go-to depressing/dooming media, but I feel it would be irresponsible to give you that without an antidote.

Maybe this will be of help to you on an anxious night and instead of smoking a cigarette you'll turn to this or maybe its a nice cozy afternoon and you need something to maintain that feeling.. either way here's stuff that I consume on those days:

Film/TV

Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep

This is something I have recommended to most of my friends at this point and if you ever give me the opportunity I'll probably talk your ear off about this man. I have a very special affinity towards this video, as it randomly found me on a particularly stressful quarantine night and boy am I glad it did.

I'm not gonna talk about it too much further, but if you're feeling a little bit lost or anxious, even after my 250 watches of this, I end up feeling a little bit better. If you like it make sure to check out his show, Joe Pera Talks With You on hbomax as it's one of my favourite shows ever!! The episodes are short and easy to digest :)

How to With John Wilson

It's hard for me to exactly describe this show, it's just one of those things you have to see for yourself to fully understand the appeal of it. For the most part, this show uses street footage of New York City and interviews with average everyday New Yorkers to convey some kind of narrative, usually disguised as a tutorial(hence the "how to"). There's a lot of absurdity, laughter and sometimes it plays with your emotions a bit, but sometimes it's nice to just unwind and learn about the insane industry of scaffolding in NYC.

Come and Visit Us Again

Okay, so this is probably one of the most niche things here.. Considering that it has 205 views as of me writing this and it's in estonian with no captions available.(Maybe someday I'll translate it)

As far as I can tell, it is a documentary short made by Liis Nimik, who at the time was a film school student. It follows the day-to-day of a village grocery store cashier and her interactions with the people who visit her store everyday.

Moms, dads, scary little kids and village bums.. It has it all and serves as this kind of a sweet time capsule of one particular week in this one Estonian village. I will admit this is probably extra comforting for me as I grew up near a village similar to this that also had a store just like this one. In a small village, the people who work at the local grocery store really become apart of your everyday life and I loved to see it captured like this.

I feel like even if you don't understand Estonian, it's nice background noise.

Malcom in the Middle

Need I say more?

Youtube

If you know me, you know I'm a fiend for comforting youtube personalities. Here are some of my favorites:

Steve Wallis

Even if you aren't particularly interested in camping, you'll still probably enjoy these videos. Steve is probably one of the sweetest dudes I've found on YouTube and he really knows how to keep a conversation. All in all, just nice to throw on if you just wanna disconnect for 30 minutes

Shirley Curry

I've loved Shirley's stuff for years now. She calls her viewers her grandkids and posts vlogs & let's plays. I think that covers the gist of it.

Featureman a.k.a. Tom Willett

This is an older gentleman, who for the most part shows you different meals that he makes & tells you stories about his time as an actor in the 1980s. Every video feels like you're visiting your grandpa.

GIFGAS

I found them quite recently, but they're quickly turning into my favourite Youtube channel. Videos of trainhopping, which are so well shot and the music choices are soooooo gooooood. Every travel vlog should have a mandatory requirement of at least (1) shoegaze song.

Roger Hance

Found this guy randomly on my recommended and him only having 4k subs feels like a crime. He's a bird photographer, who vlogs his outings and talks about all the little birds he sees. super cute.

Music

Below are a couple of playlists and tracks I recommend for this occasion:

Mixture of ambient tracks and just relaxing instrumentals. There's no vocals. During the summer, I would always listen to this if I was sitting in a park or doodling.

This is just some of my favourite ambient tracks. If you've never really listened to ambient music before, check this out I guarantee you'll like it.

I have fallen asleep to this so many times that sometimes i just constantly hear it in the back of my head. Maybe thats not a comforting thought but it helps me sleep so that's a price I am willing to pay.

That's about it though.. I didn't include everything, because this is already pretty long and I have to keep some things secret, but I hope you find use in some of this. bye

[cicerenella]

Here is a new, sillier ask:

Do you think Romano likes Alfred? What do you think he thinks about him?

How hard would he throw hands if he saw what he did to pizza(I do not mean Hawaiian that's Canada's fault)?

What a lovely question!

If we're talking about modern day relationship, I would say that Romano both admires and despises the younger nation, and he has reasons for both.

On one hand, Romano admires Alfred. Today, he's one of Italy's major trading partners (yknow, being in the EU and all), not to mention the historical help that the US gave to the South during WW2 with the Husky Operation (Sbarco in Sicilia for my fellow italians). Romano probably sees Alfred as a bit naive and otherwise young fellow, but he has to admit that he's very powerful and did some pretty good things for him during the last century. He's...tolerable, to Romano's standards, when he keeps his mouth shut of course.

On the other hand however he...does not like him. Like at all. Romano is tremendously traditional, sticking to his culture like crazy. He does NOT like the whole "americanization" that Alfred seems to bring with himself wherever he goes. And he certainly does not like all the tremendous stuff Alfred seems to do to Romano's culture. He's like a grouchy grandpa in this, claiming that the young nation is irresponsible at best and should stop "butting heads where he doesn't need to".

I would also like to add that while the anime did a nice thing in portraying the hardships of the South during the industrial revolution, I do not personally think that Romano has worked for America. Yeah, okay, italian emigration to America blah blah blah. But If you studied what was happening in Southern Italy during that time, you would understand that there were SO many problems that it was unlikely for Romano not to be present during those times. Especially since a lot of peasant revolts were happening against the goverment (fucking Giolitti man). Taking this in account, I headcanon that Roma most likely went to America during the 20s only for a visit, encountering for the first time Alfred and seeing the "new world" with his eyes.

so to end this first question I would say that Romano doesn't particularly despise Alfred, but he also does not like certain aspects of his personality. and those aspects really seem to annoy him and push his buttons!

about the food discourse, the answer is very simple my friend: murder. literally, there's no throwing hands at this point but straight out homicide. for Romano, it is sacred to respect italian cuisine, and if he ever saw WHAT Alfred does to his beloved pizza (or anything relating to it at this point) back in the US...well, he would not react good. it would probably end in a broken, american nose and a loud shouting match🙃

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 58: Champagne

Now why he felt like this, he wasn’t quite exactly sure. But (unlike some people) Alex had never been one to rush to overthink, so he let himself bask in this inexplicable, bubbling cheer, enjoying the persistent warmth in his cheeks even as his mind counted down—the most impatient as it had ever been—the seconds until he could be alone. 

It was an hour of washing dishes and scouring armchair cushions for George’s TV remote before Alex could finally excuse himself for the night. Safe between the four walls of his bedroom, he allowed himself a clumsy pirouette and a half-stifled laugh before collapsing onto his bed.

Well then.

Was this what it felt like to be in love? 

He missed him already. 

Alex found himself again reaching for his nose, brushing his fingers along where Achilles’ lips had grazed him just hours before. And for just the smallest fraction of a second, he wondered what those lips feel like pressed against his own. 

There were no witnesses here but Dusty, but even so, Alex, in the cover of darkness, buried his bright red face in his pillow as his fingers curled into the sheets. 

Was this what it felt like to want to… kiss someone? 

He had thought he’d felt it before, back in the Fall, for the first time—he’d nearly drowned Achilles that day. Stupid of him—the shame was still fresh, the memory sharp and cutting even now. How irresponsible he’d been. Should’ve gotten his lifeguard certification snatched away, seriously, what had he been thinking? 

But Achilles had been fine in the end, thank goodness. And seeing him safe, seeing him laughing… the warmth of his brown eyes under the sun, eyes so unlike his own… That was the first time Alex had really felt that stir… 

It had shocked him in the moment. Of course it had—he’s never felt it before, the wanting. The desire. But he had chalked it up to the near-drowning of it all. High emotions must’ve crossed the wires of his brain. Easy to confuse his relief for… whatever that had been. And besides, the feeling had faded within hours. If he had actually wanted to kiss Achilles, if he’d actually been in love, the feeling wouldn’t have disappeared, right? Wouldn’t have been so easy to brush off? Right?

But Spirit’s Eve… well he’d been drunk, hadn’t he? And high emotions again—although, to be fair, the wanting had come before the maze. So it really just must’ve been the alcohol. And it’s not like he’d really wanted to kiss Achilles the whole time, per se, no, it wasn’t really that at all. He had just wanted to be… close. 

As for the morning after… well that hadn’t necessarily meant anything, right, dreams were often illogical… just a bunch of nonsense, he’d had plenty of strange dreams before. 

Three times. Three times he had seemingly, knowingly, wanted to kiss Achilles—but each time the feeling had faded within a day. Nothing to write home about. Not to mention Achilles was… well, he was a guy. Surely he couldn’t be feeling like that for another guy. 

Oh, but three times was three times more than he’d ever felt in the past. Surely that meant… something? Or maybe it meant nothing at all, maybe he’d wake up tomorrow morning and feel right back to normal. But did he want to feel normal? Because right now, he felt… well, he felt nice. 

Dangnabbit. Couldn’t have made a handy dandy Handbook for this, huh? 

The thought made him snort—the idea of his grandpa writing a Handbook for this… this… 

Achilles had said he liked his eyes. 

Or, had at least implied it. Right? Maybe? The whole conversation was a little fuzzy, but whatever Achilles had said while they had fake-argued over his nose, it had made him feel, well, good. But then again, Achilles had even said as much—women were always complimenting his eyes. It likely hadn’t been meant as much of a compliment. 

But hearing Achilles say it had been different. Had made him… feel different. 

Was this what it felt like to want to be with someone? 

The previous couple of times, he’d easily shoved the thought aside, the desire fading quickly away with a night’s sleep or a game of Junimo Kart. But tonight—perhaps it was just lingering giddiness from the promotion, perhaps it was the lingering scent of Achilles’ chapstick on his skin—tonight, he felt… different. 

Maybe worth figuring out some more, ya think? 

Alex drew the covers up to his chin and thought back to their various times together. Their conversations. Their non-conversations—silence had never been uncomfortable with Achilles. Swimming. Jogging. Playing video games. Watching TV. Even their little career lessons.  

He liked it. He liked reliving it. 

But that’s what it was like to just be friends, right? Close friends. Best friends? It was natural to enjoy hanging out with your best friend, to want to spend time with them, that was pretty much the whole point of having one, right? 

Well, Achilles was his best friend. But was he Achilles’? 

He hoped so. He had never quite felt as comfortable—as vulnerable—with someone so quickly as he had with Achilles. He had felt comfortable sharing things with him he’d never even shared with Haley. His mom. His dad. His doubts. His dreams. 

Yes, Achilles made him feel safe. 

The thought brought another blush to his cheeks. 

Geez Louise. Congratulations, you’ve learned that you’re friends. What are you, five? What’s wrong with you? Push the envelope a little, Alex, you can do it! 

Oh, but it felt so… wrong. Those kinds of thoughts. It was like breaking a rule. And so unnatural —did other people really actually do this? Was this what it meant to… what, fantasize? Yoba…

Come on, man. Be normal for once. Be like James the other day when he was telling you about that lady in the spin class… 

He thought of how Achilles’ nose twitched whenever he got annoyed, and how hard Achilles always tried to hide it. The way he always swirled his tea cups before drinking. How he always breathed to the left when swimming. His habit of sometimes standing with his hands held in front of him, steepled, as if in prayer. 

Oh yeah, that’s totally the same kind of thoughts James has about that spin class lady. Come on, man. Can’t you just be a normal dude? 

He thought of holding Achilles’ hand. 

God, those hands of his… he’d always thought Achilles had beautiful fingers. Was that a weird thing to think? It wasn’t in a sexual way—like it ever was—it was just… just something about the way he moved them. He’d found watching Achilles hold a pen even mesmerizing. There was a certain delicate grace to his gestures. Like a conductor. Not that Alex knew anything about conducting, but he had seen a few of Emily’s orchestra concerts in high school. He’d have to ask Achilles to play the piano for him some time… he’d mentioned knowing how to play, once. 

Stop thinking about his hands, you weirdo. 

For some reason, his thoughts then turned to Achilles’ tattoo. The first time he’d seen it, back in the Summer, it had caught him off guard. He wasn’t sure why exactly, it wasn’t surprising per se that Achilles would have one. It suited him. The deliberateness of the act, the planning that must have gone into the placement and the design. Delicate, yes. But dramatic in its own, monochrome, way.

Perhaps, looking back, he had felt something else besides surprise at the sight of it. Something that had stirred too gently, too deeply within for him to have noticed at the time, but had since risen closer to the surface—there was a little thrum now, in his chest and behind his navel, oddly, and he found his hands had strayed to rest between his legs.  

Yikes.

Despite the wave of embarrassment that crashed over him, he found himself following this thread of thought, and his mind dwelled again on Achilles’ lips. Seemed to be a more normal thing to think about, in this kind of situation. James would approve. Felt a little more… romantic. Or, what he thought romance should feel like. Even so, he found he couldn’t focus on just the thought of his lips, his mind drifting to the slight bump in Achilles’ nose. The tiny divot in his chin. The streak in his hair. Dark, deep set eyes that could cut you cleaner than any knife. 

He really was a beautiful man. 

What would it be like to touch him? Actually touch him, beneath all the buttons downs he always wore. Although he had been wearing a sweater today. Or had it been a turtleneck? It was something black, he remembered that at least. Achilles rarely ever wore dark colors. 

The thought of Achilles in the spa… he hadn’t felt anything at the time, he didn’t think. But looking back on it now… the water clinging to his bare skin, the litheness of his body. 

He found his hands straying once again but quickly stopped himself. Best put on the brakes now, Alex. Anything more seemed awfully impolite. 

Oh Lord, but he wanted it… he wanted him here, right now.

He felt his face burn red again, but this time he couldn’t help but grin into his pillow. 

Yes. Yes, this must be what it was like to be in love. 

WEDNESDAY - WINTER 10

Would Achilles want him, though? 

That was the only thing running through Alex’s mind as he vacuumed his bedroom, a single leaf of kale he’d managed to sneak from the fridge in hand. Doubt had managed to seep in with the four feet of snow that had piled outside overnight, and Orange Grove was closed through Friday due to the inclement weather, leaving him with little to do but wind his brain into tangled knots. 

His grandpa was busy watching TV, his grandma was knitting. Perfect. That left him alone in his room, alone to sort out his thoughts. 

Would Achilles want him? He hoped so.But he had replayed a year’s worth of interactions in his head last night, and outside of yesterday’s kiss, chaste and obviously playful—mocking, really, was probably how Achilles had meant it—as it was anyway, nothing had… stood out.

Then again, Achilles had always been a bit of hard man to read, that poker face of his… but even so, Alex thought he knew him well enough, and he’d never given even the slightest indication of even the slightest bit of romantic interest. No real flirting. No jealousy. Hadn’t even stared longer than a second when he’d stripped that Summer day to dive into the sea to swim—that had stood out to Alex at the time, he remembered. Because, and it had made him embarrassed to even think it, that had never happened before. For someone to be so impassive. To look away. 

It felt strange, being on the other side of all this. He knew he was good looking, it’d be a poor attempt at modesty for him to argue otherwise. He’d never had a problem attracting women—not in high school, not in college, not at work. Even in middle school, girls had always whispered amongst themselves, news of their unrequited crushes reaching him through the many-layered chains of juvenile gossip. Okay, Achilles wasn’t a girl, but surely… 

Don’t get too cocky, now. 

Perhaps it’d serve him right, if Achilles wasn’t interested. Put him in his place. 

He chuckled. 

Oh, what to do? 

He yanked the vacuum cord from the socket and collapsed back onto his bed. Stared up at the peeling glow in the dark stars on the ceiling his mom had put up half his lifetime ago. 

Perhaps he should wait. If Achilles was actually interested—interested in what? Dating? Being in an exclusive relationship? Lying together on the couch while Dylan Brisk’s latest album played in the background? Alex had decided last night he’d take it all—surely Achilles, of all people, wouldn’t hesitate to make a move. 

Unless… Achilles didn’t want to potentially ruin what they had. Their friendship. Didn’t want to make things awkward. 

Or perhaps he merely assumed Alex wouldn’t be interested. Probably figured he was straight. A fair enough assumption. And Achilles was always so calculated, so careful about his image, so mindful of his pride—he likely wouldn’t pursue something if he believed the prospects of it happening to be near zero… right? He’d be considering every possible outcome, every possible consequence. 

Don’t you go making excuses now to make yourself feel better!  

Girls had always come to him, like flies to honey. Alex had never had to do the asking in the past. He’d never wanted to do the asking, not until now. How did one even go about it? 

Hey Ash. Hope you’re having a good day. Listen, I know we’ve known each other for a year, and we’re only friends, but I think you’re the coolest person in the world and I would be so happy if you were willing to spend every day of the rest of your life with me. 

If Alex did shoot his shot… well, what was the worst that could happen? Yes, it was true, perhaps Achilles wasn’t always the nicest person around, but he was always good, and he would never be cruel, especially not over something like this. No, he would respond with the slightest hint of surprise in his brow in that melodious voice of his… 

Oh. Oh! I see. Right. I’ll admit, I… did not expect that. At all. I’m flattered, Al, but if I’m honest, I think we’d probably be better off as friends. Let’s be real, I’m too old and depressing for you anyway, man. 

Or something like that. And then he’d laugh. And Alex would laugh. And he would move on. 

God, he could listen to that voice forever, whatever words it said. 

Ah geez. What to do.

For what was not the first time that day, he reached over to his nightstand and withdrew from the top drawer the photo Haley had snapped of him and Achilles on Spirit’s Eve. 

He’d definitely been drunk at the time. But he wasn’t drunk now. And he’d do it again. God, he’d do it again… the feeling—the desire—hadn’t disappeared, though admittedly it’d only been a day, but regardless, he found that he didn’t want it to disappear. 

What has he taught you, Alex? What have you learned? 

If there’s something you know you want…

But there was one thing he knew he’d have to do first.  

*****

It’d be time for lunch soon. Alex glanced at his watch—or, rather, it was Achilles’ fancy pants digital watch that he had yet to return. He needed to get himself once of these… maybe after a few more (greatly improved) paychecks, of course… 

Focus, my dude! 

He heard the soft click of a doorknob—what he’d been waiting for. Jumping to his feet, Alex softly skittered to the door where he beckoned to Evelyn who was just emerging from her bedroom. 

“Hey, grandma.” Not quite a whisper, but his voice was still hushed and he glanced anxiously down the hall. Luckily, the TV was still blasting, and George was near deaf anyway. “Do you have a minute? Can we… talk?” 

Evelyn paused. “Talk? Of course, dear.” 

“Can you close the door? Please?” 

“My, it must be serious.” But she followed him back into his bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Alex took a seat on his bed, his left leg already bouncing at a million miles per hour. Good thing George wasn’t here to witness, he’d always hated that nervous tic of his… 

Evelyn slowly took a seat next to him, clasping his hand between hers. “What’s on your mind, dear?” 

“I, um… well. Well I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and um… I know this isn’t—I know you probably don’t…  Well, what I’m trying to say is…” 

Dang, this wasn’t going how he had planned at all. And he’d spent all afternoon practicing what he’d say. Stupid!

“Oh, dear,” Evelyn said, patting his hand. “Whatever it is, your grandfather and I support you.” 

Oof. A dagger through the heart. He swallowed.  

“Well… well there’s someone I’m interested in. A lot.” 

“Oh?” Evelyn’s eyes brightened and she clasped her hands together for just a second. “Is it Tanya? Is it getting serious between you two, now I was just telling George—” 

“No, it’s… um. Well. No, it’s not serious, in fact, I don’t… actually know if he even likes me back…” Lord, maybe he had been way too premature about this. Why even bother blowing up the family if Achilles was just going to turn him down? Stupid, stupid, stupid. He bit his lip. Well, you’re in too deep now… “And no, it’s not Tanya, it’s… Achilles.” 

It took less than a second—Evelyn turned away, jerked her hands back from him. A small motion, but it still managed to knock the wind out of him. Cold began to seep through his skull, a sickening, nauseating dread. 

After a beat that felt like a lifetime, she said slowly, “Achilles? Achilles Robinson?”

“Yeah. Yes. I’ve… done a lot of thinking, and I think… well, I think I’m going to ask him if he wants to go on a date with me. Because he’s… really important to me, and I really like him, and… I just wanted you to know, I… guess.” Idiot. 

Alex glanced at Evelyn’s hands, now held tensely together, tight in her lap. 

“Are you…” His voice was small. “Are you disappointed in me?” 

“Oh.” Evelyn was shaking her head, her neck bowed. “Oh… oh my dear, no, of course not.”

She placed her hand on his leg, then reached for his hand. 

“Of course I’m not disappointed in you, dear. I’m just… surprised, is all. You’ve always had such pretty girlfriends in the past…” 

“I know, I know, but it just… this feels different. And I—well I didn’t want to hide it from you. Both of you.” 

Evelyn nodded slowly, every movement still slow as she seemingly continued to digest his reveal. “Yes… well, thank you for sharing this with me, Alex. We support you no matter what.” She stood from the bed and turned to embrace him.  

“Will you stay with me when I tell grandpa?” He murmured into her bony shoulder. 

“Of course, dear. I’ll be right there.” 

*****

Perhaps he ought to wait. What was the point, really, if Achilles said no? And heck, why did his grandpa have to know anyways—he wasn’t a kid, he didn’t have to share everything in his life. He deserved to keep some things private, right? 

But over the years, he had grown to understand, or at least, to believe, that to seek their approval was more than just an expected courtesy; it was the debt he owed his grandparents for all they had done for him.

And more than anything, those withheld words weighed on him. As he chopped up carrots and sautéed onions and peas, all the while murmuring confessions that disappeared with the steam, it was all he could do not to turn around and drop to his knees and beg George for forgiveness. 

Not that any crime had been committed—he knew that, he knew it was not a simple difference in opinion that he was combating, but bigotry and prejudice. He knew George wouldn’t approve, wouldn’t believe. But to be honest, it wasn’t his grandpa’s blessing he was after anyway, but the unburdening of his own conscience. He’d always hated hiding things. 

Perhaps it was wrong to feel so guilty—in fact, Achilles himself would likely not have hesitated to tell him it was indeed very much wrong (he could hear him now: sometimes, it’s okay to be a little bit of a selfish bastard, man—and you’re not even being selfish, chill out), but he just couldn’t bring himself to keep anything from them. After all, his grandpa would likely only find out sooner than later, anyway… it was a small town, and people always talked. 

Perhaps what he really ought to do was wait. He didn’t need to ask Achilles out. More than likely, the feelings would fade, right? Perhaps he was just confused. It wasn’t… “romantic attraction” he was feeling, or whatever phrase or words Haley had once described it so many years ago, maybe it was… something else. Just a funky friendship. It was natural to want to be close to your friends. 

But he knew in his heart that wasn’t it. And he knew there’d be no point in waiting. 

And so once the dinner table was cleared, the plates cleaned, and the leftovers in the fridge, Alex sat his grandpa down, and with Evelyn’s hand in his, professed his intentions. 

He had prepared better this time. Had practiced under his breath, had even rehearsed with Dusty that afternoon. Make it quick, make it clean, make it easy. I like him, grandpa. I like him a lot. 

When he finished, George was stony faced. It was nearly a minute before he broke his silence, voice scraping along rocks, rough and cold. 

“Now listen to me, young man.” 

Here it comes. 

“You listen to me when I’m speaking to you, Alexander.” 

“I’m listening, sir.” 

“Look at me, please.” 

Alex forced himself to look up from his wringing hands—George had asked for it, and yet the old man couldn’t help but wince as his grandson raised his head. It was not lost on Alex, it had always been the case, and he knew why. His eyes, green just like his father’s. The eyes of a man who had cast aside their daughter and her son like nothing 13 years ago. 

“You’re confused,” George said shortly, now looking away. “It’s as simple that. This is all so sudden. You’ve been spending too much time with that boy. You have always been impressionable —”

“Grandpa—”

“This is not you. I know you.” His tone more jovial now, George slapped his knee. “What a heartbreaker in high school! Isn’t that right, Ev? Never had a problem, did you boy—always popular with the ladies. Now weren’t you just courting Tanya, not too long ago? Spend some more time with— ”

“It’s not fair to her. It’s never been fair, not to any of them. And not to me, I didn’t understand—”  

“Don’t interrupt me, boy. Have I not taught you better than that?”

“Sorry.”

“Now Achilles is a nice, young man, and I’m very glad you’ve been able to meet some boys closer to your age outside of those hooligans of Jodi and Robin’s. But I’m afraid this has gotten out of hand. You need to take some time…” 

Alex’s eyes glazed over as George’s words faded to a hum—he had expected this, of course. The lecture, the accusations, the conclusions drawn from logical fallacies. 

“—you will limit your time with him, and you will not speak to him unless needed. Do you understand me?”

Alex’s jaw tightened imperceptibly. Breathe in. Breathe out. Evelyn’s hand was gripping his shoulder now, but if she was disturbed by George’s request, she showed no further signs. 

But he had mentally prepared himself for this. Alex rose from his chair, and, looking at the ground, said in a steady voice, 

“I want this. For the first time in my life, I… I want this. And I told you this because I had hoped maybe you’d want it for me, too. I was hoping maybe I could get your support. But I don’t need your permission.” 

Ignoring George’s outraged cry of alarm, he turned to leave the kitchen. But as he retreated to his room, he heard his grandpa call down the hall. 

“What happened, Alex? What happened to you?” 

THURSDAY - WINTER 11

His grandpa didn’t want to talk to him. That was fine. He’d stay in his room. He could eat from there. He could work out from there. He could play with Dusty from there. 

But what if his grandpa was right. 

It… had been sudden, hadn’t it? Really rushed, all of this was. 

One day your best friend’s just your best friend, the next day he’s kissing your nose as a joke because he accidentally slammed into you and you’re suddenly prepared to get down on one knee. 

Well. Maybe not one knee, per se. Geez Louise, slow down, man! Marriage would be ridiculous right now…. But two knees—well, also no. Oh—well, maybe? Really, only if Achilles asked. Which, hopefully, he wouldn’t. At least, not now. Not yet?

Goddammit. 

This was just getting too confusing now. If he really did like Achilles, if he really was in love with him… well, he wouldn’t be hesitating to… “go all in,” wouldn’t he? Go all the way… 

Yoba have mercy. 

Did he have it all wrong? Was he delusional? Was he sick in the head? Was it all in his head? Really, did something happen?

No, no, no.  

He’d never felt like this before. He knew that. This… pull, this desire to actually be close to someone, to be with someone, it was all new. 

Listen to yourself. 

The more he’d thought about it—and he’d spent nearly all his time these snowbound days thinking about it—the more it felt… right. Like the click of a puzzle piece sliding safe into its spot. 

He’d always liked spending time with Achilles. Perhaps more so than he’d ever felt with anyone else, though he hadn’t realized it at the time. Perhaps it had meant something all along.  

This was a new path, for sure. One that felt… exciting. Promising. Comforting? Why not go for it? Might as well, if this was what he knew he wanted, and he knew—that’s what Achilles would have likely recommended. Full steam ahead! Give it a shot! If he was wrong, he was wrong. It wouldn’t ruin their friendship, they were both mature enough to deal with that, right? Heck, he and Haley were still great friends, even after they’d broken up. 

There were no secrets. He had told his grandparents. He’d put all his cards on the table, and he had lost, but he had expected it, and there was nothing to do but keep going. 

God, he wanted him. Wanted to be with him. 

He spent most of the rest of the day reading. Achilles had pre-downloaded his favorite books onto the e-reader—if this was the closest he could get to him right now, then so be it. 

[softgrungeprophet]

Character asks for Wyatt Wingfoot? 👀💖

13. Your favorite friendship they have, 20. A weird headcanon, 25. When do you think they acted the most ooc

13. Fave friendship: Hmmmm is it a cop-out to say Johnny? TBH Wyatt's only shown with like. Two friends. Which is Jen and Johnny—and I like both of those friendships a lot lol. He did babysit with Alicia a couple of times which seems like it could be a really fun dynamic but it was pretty brief and never explored or anything like that.

WAIT I LIED I FORGOT ABOUT BECKY I love Becky, she and Wyatt are very fun. love calm sedate wyatt and his firecracker bff with two (2) appearances ever (wiki says she has more but tbh i really don't believe that the random lady in the background of a kind of bad xmas comic published before we actually met her was becky??? lol??)

20. Weird headcanon: That the reason he was so sleepy when the gang went on a field trip to Wakanda (in his like... second appearance) was because he pulled an all-nighter studying lol

idk if that's "weird" but 😂

oh i guess i have a somewhat odd family tree setup for fic purposes but that's because his family is kind of... well, it reads to me as though claremont... maybe made up new names for existing characters (and got father vs grandfather wrong while he was at it) (except they're both dead) thus bringing into existence wynona and her father, black eagle. (not sure why wiki says will wingfoot is her dad cause i'm pretty sure he's not...? unless i am SORELY misremembering the two entire issues she's been in)

so my possibly weird family tree headcanon is that black eagle is will wingfoot's older brother and that after will died (but before she died) wyatt's mother either remarried or just got together with black eagle (thinking like, oh supporting her and helping her with the kids after his brother/her husband died ~> romance) and they had wynona. making wyatt and rain half-siblings to wynona. i guess that's more of a wynona wingfoot headcanon though. but like.

you know. i'm basically making that up because i'm 90% sure black eagle and wynona were meant to be silent fox and rain falling west.

i mean it's entirely possible giving wyatt a new sister (and uncle) we'd never met before was on purpose and not because claremont just couldn't be bothered to look up rain or silent fox's names or the fact that wyatt's parents and grandparents were all dead by 1989, but frankly i don't feel that generous about it lol

(also i'm not sure why wynona's wiki page lists scott lobdell and alan davis as her creators cause i'm fairly certain it was claremont writing f4 in 1999) (i mean. if you go to the issues she's in, it literally lists claremont and larocca as writer and artist)

25. Most OOC: when John Byrne stepped in on writing like, you know what this guy should do? Totally shrug off all his responsibilities for no reason because he thinks a girl he just met is hot! (and killing his grandpa off-panel at the same time for literally no reason—like to be honest the entire thing would have sucked less if grandpa was not killed off and wyatt was just allowed to be a regular struck-with-wanderlust 20 year old instead of being like ~ohhh he has to step in as chief~~ just kidding he's going to new york and abandoning all his responsibilities because he saw a tall green babe) So now he has a weird inconsistent reputation as this irresponsible guy depending on who's writing him, but imo I don't think it's like. that in-character? It's not like Wyatt was super complex by the mid 80s but he still never really struck me as that kind of character personally? especially since he pretty consistently puts others' needs/wants/etc. before his own including in byrne's own writing lol... so like??? For the most part though I think Wyatt is such a straightforward character that most writers get him in the right ballpark—chill, romantic, kind, and thoughtful. Strong sense of justice, very capable, adventurous, etc.

oh wait I just remembered the scene in FF vol 2 where he says he doesn't know how to pronounce a french word. I like his appearance in that comic and his and jen's date was very cute but that line was like???? cause i have read all of his pre-slott appearances and in the 70s? 80s? i forget, he literally was going on double-dates to like... the opera and shit. also I'm pretty sure he has some kind of linguistics (and/or history) degree? (never actually stated but ka-zar: guns of the savage land has some linguistics stuff) and he's definitely been to french restaurants in his life so I'm pretty sure he can pronounce french restaurant food names as well as any other random guy

[dicmondskies]

☆ & * .   ♡   I N T R O D U C T I O N  …

[          ◟  KAY. ◝           ]     ⸻     have  you  ever  heard  trust  by brent faiyaz ,  well  it  is  ERIS SHIMAKUCHI to  a  tee  .  the twenty eight year  old  mma fighter has  been  spotted  wandering  down  portobello  road  markets  just  last  sunday  ,  do  you  know  them  ?  would  you  say  they  are  more  paradoxical  or more against the grain ? anyway  ,  they  remind  me  of  pink floyd albums stacked on a record player , dark humor , lurking in the shadows  ,  maybe  you’ll  catch  them  around  yeah ?     ⸻     [          ◟  TAYLOR TAKAHASHI. ◝           ]  

eris shimakuchi owes everything to his grandmother who raised him when his mother was too irresponsible to take care of a child. he was the baby of six other siblings, and unfortunately he arrived at a time in their lives where she didn’t have the space, money, or headspace to take on a newborn but she didn’t want to give him away to a stranger. eris lived and was raised by his grandma, but his mother would visit back and forth, as well as his siblings. his father was something and someone that was never spoken about, and eris wasn’t ever curious about people who seemed to have no interest in him or his well being. 

eris was the kind of boy that was quiet until something of his interest was in front of him or the topic of discussion. he stayed to himself, always observing more than anything, but when it came to music, he was extremely passionate and wanted to know everything there was to know about the history of it. he spent most of his time alone in his room, playing old records of his grandmas that belonged to his grandpa when he was alive. he passed away before eris was born.

everything was pretty normal and calm in his life until his grandma passed away when he was only sixteen, which meant he had to go live with his mother for this first time ever in his entire life. the two had an okay relationship, but they had never been super close or on the terms of a mother and son in his eyes. she was more like an aunt, popping in when she had the time to spend. he remained close with his siblings for the most part, but he was still used to being more isolated from them, making the entire process of grieving and moving even more uncomfortable and difficult for eris to get through emotionally. 

he felt extremely out of place among his mom and all of his siblings, and adjusting to his new life was extremely hard on him. he completely withdrew and got himself into all sorts of juvenile trouble as he acted out to cope. music was another way he got through the death of his grandmother and the sudden change in custody with his mom. all of his free time was spent immersed mma....to be continued

[keneestorytimelibrary]

Rockey Chapter 20

When I was ten, I met a girl named Brittney; we sat next to each other in class. I remember trying to be very sweet to her; being new to the neighborhood didn’t guarantee that she’d be miss popular. Turned out, she would spend the next seven years bullying me. Apparently I started it by being “too nice”.

It had gotten so bad at one point, that the name “Brittney” became synonymous with pure evil. To this day, I recoil at the mere thought of her, and the things she's done to me. I’ve had my head dunked in used toilets almost everyday. I never got the chance to eat lunch at school, cause Brittney was “hungry”. My grades suffered the most, and there was one point where I didn’t think I would graduate high school.

I would sometimes hide in one of the stalls in the unused girls’ bathroom, whenever I got a chance to hide during lunch. Brittney and her crew ALWAYS found me. ALWAYS. I’ve had broken bones, busted lips, bruises, and cuts that I was forced to hide from my grandparents.

One day, my grandpa discovered a wound, and immediately sat me down. He had always figured there was something wrong; it was the sight of a particular bruise that set off every alarm in his mind. 

“Rockey, sit down.” he said firmly. His tone of voice set off a few red flags. I quickly recalled the events from the past couple of days, I couldn’t recall anything bad that I’ve done.

I sat down, and waited anxiously for whatever he was going to say or do. I’ve lived with my grandparents since I was six; my parents were deemed irresponsible to take care of me by Family Court. My grandparents, especially my grandpa, meant everything to me. 

My grandpa, Jasper, sat across from me with a serious face. After a few seconds, he reached over to the small table next to his favorite recliner. He pulled out his gun, and began loading the chamber. My heart began racing. 

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I’ve done, but I’m REALLY SORRY!” I blurted out. Though he had never raised a hand or voice at me, he was still a scary man.

He looked at me with a bewildered look. “What the hell are you talking about Rockey? I’m not going to hurt you.”

The relief on my face was clearly visible. But there was something bothering me: ‘Why was he loading his gun?’

“Rockey, I am going to ask you this once. Is that fruity-tooty, sorry ass excuse of a boyfriend putting his hands on you?” he asked as he held onto his loaded gun and his car keys. It took me a few seconds to fully understand what was going on.

“Oh God no! Danny has never done that, I promise.” I said quickly.

My grandpa looked at me for a few minutes, as if scanning my eyes to see if I was ying. As soon as he was satisfied with my answer, he dropped his keys on top of the dresser. He, however, held onto his gun.

“Then who is the one that is hurting you?” he asked, pointing to my covered arm. Earlier today, I had wrapped a massive bruise that I got recently from school.

Instinctively, I began to rub my arm, despite the slight pain. I began to mumble in response, something that my grandpa hated the most.

“Rockey, you know I don’t like that mumbling shit.” he said. “I’ve always told you to speak your mind clearly.”

“It...it’s from…” I began, but couldn’t utter a word. It wasn’t as if I was afraid of him; I was dreading his disappointment. My grandma, Cielo, told me that when my grandpa was younger, he basically ran his neighborhood. He wasn’t a thug, or anything like that, but he did not take shit from anybody. He was well respected and loved by a lot of people.

I thought he would be mad that his granddaughter was being pushed around, without defending herself. And the last thing I ever wanted to do was to make him feel disappointed. I’ve always felt like a burden to my parents, and they made sure that I knew it. I can’t imagine making my grandparents feel the same way.

He let out a pensive sigh. “Rockey, is it someone from school? A bully?” I could only nod in response. 

He put his gun away, and gently grabbed my hands. “Now, whoever this is will pay for their actions. No one, and I mean no one, touches my baby girl. But I need you to learn how to defend yourself. This is getting out of hand, and it’ll only get worse. Don’t you let anyone EVER hurt you like this ever again.” With that, he grabbed his keys again, and got up. 

“Where are you going?” I asked. 

“To raise Hell at your school.” he replied simply.

I don’t know what came over me, but I quickly got up and grabbed his arm. “No, wait. Let me handle this.”

My grandpa looked at me seriously, before saying, “I’m giving you one chance to handle this before I do.”

That was enough motivation for me to get a hold of the situation. I went straight to the principal’s office the next day, and reported the issue. Normally they wouldn’t expel a student based solely off of one incident, but the multiple injuries, and its severity, deemed Brittney too dangerous to be in school. She was expelled within a week of investigation. After that, I had never seen her again.

But as I opened the door to Principal Lindstrom’s office, a sickly familiar face greeted me.

Mr. Lindstrom’s office was enormous: a beautiful wooden desk was positioned in the center of the room. Pictures of celebrities that had either attended the school, or visited, were scattered all over the place. There was a section of the wall by the door dedicated to the school’s baseball team. There were multiple pictures of every year’s team, and at the center of it, was the school’s prized possession: a wooden bat with signatures from the 2002 winning team. The player who used that bat won a scholarship to Vanderbilt University.

A jade green rug covered the floor, and a gold curtain covered the windows. Like everything else in this school, it was unnecessarily expensive for no reason. 

There were seven chairs laid out in front of the principal. A young girl, whose face was buried in her hands, sat by herself. A young boy, with a small cut on his cheek, sat with a greedy grin. He was situated next to a well-dressed business man, who had the same identical grin as the boy. And on the other side of the boy, sat Brittney, whose psychotic grin grew wider once we made eye contact.

[alienwasagoodmovie]

My doctor told me I have a really high risk of becoming diabetic just like my grandpa and that my blood test shows.

I’m so destroyed rn I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to look at a plate of food the same way. I want to ⭐️tave until I disappear.

I’m very scared, I can’t even sleep, watching diabetes end with my grandpa’s life was the most traumatic experience ever.

I will never have kids of my own, my health is so messed up in so many ways, I don’t want to pass down more diseases like my older gen has. I think is very irresponsible…

If I was my mom I wouldn’t have had me in the first place.

I want to adopt a kid once I’m ready, and hopefully married. My biggest dream rn is to be healthy, happy and skinny. Everything else is luxury to me

[anthonybialy]

Causing Effects

Lack of consequences isn’t the same as hiding from them.  I wish good luck to anyone trying to explain the distinction to aspiring evaders.  Pursuing legal results presently aren’t trendy.  Avoiding creditors only seems easier in an era when nobody answers phones.

Printing money makes workers feel foolish.  Why clock in for some job that cuts into Candy Crush time all to deal with annoying twits when salaries arrive passively?  Getting paid without that irksome work bit is why we have a government.

A wholesale misunderstanding of motivation, economics, and humanity hasn’t yet produced welcome results.  The outcome would seem funny if it weren’t one faction’s entire plan.  Limitless free currency might sound good to a four-year-old.  Adults who can’t envision creating value disappoint the next generation.

Money needs to stop inflating itself.  It’s surely not Joe Biden’s fault that bills became worth as much as newspaper as soon as he started spinning in the Oval Office chair.  He’s been terrific at accumulating it without ever being useful, so there’s no reason he’d want those filthy piles to turn worthless.  Presuming everyone else is as useless led to someone who can’t comprehend producing value handing out cash for nothing.

The fact the item used to buy other ones became worthless as soon as the incumbent brushed against power is evidence none of this worthlessness is his fault.  An obvious conspiracy against love and joy just means this cruel world with its nefarious forces conspired to ruin the joy plotted by America’s kindly Grandpa.  

The entitlement state is borderless.  Taking money to hand it back out certainly couldn’t be the very thing preventing prosperity in the first place.  A chance to make a fortune sounds like a lot of work, anyway.  Passivity helps regulate blood pressure.  Buying votes is an expensive way of cheap whoring.

Dividing by zero is about to multiply.  The next couple trillion bucks shredded will tape together prosperity.  An entire economic philosophy based upon surreal mathematics will surely add up starting tomorrow.  Presuming not only that our dreadful and moronic government is the best at solving problems but also the sole choice leads to the sort of semipermanent stagnation we have now.  You’d almost think the country was being conditioned to accept defeat if you were sweet enough to think those in charge are capable of scheming.

Having fun without planning ahead is the only activity labeled a right by enemies of the Bill of Rights.  Aborting the unwanted embodies the ultimate circumvention of responsibility.  Those who are never born fail to get the chance to avoid the irresponsible example.  The victim can’t fight back, which is the sickest targeting of them all.

Volume offers a distraction from shamefulness.  Preening about choice lamely distracts from how the most basic frameworks of legality and decency protect others who would be harmed by others.  Modern sophisticated thinkers decide they can do whatever they please, including keeping a baby from ever getting that chance.

The loudest science fans surely aren’t compensating for churning out noise with volume.  A refusal to understand conception is unsurprising from scientific experts who thought banning haircuts would halt a virus.  But a failing grade on biology exams is more willful in this instance. Extensive research has not yet answered the eternal question of whether they’re really that ignorant or really that mendacious.

Permitting stealing at will is how our loving society expresses compassion.  Disregard sob stories from diabolically greedy merchants who want to offer products humans want in exchange for currency.

Demonizing commerce is the least surprising policy from fans of plundering in the name of fairness.  Hopping literal and figurative turnstiles only creates higher prices.  Scientists will never solve the inscrutable mystery of why cities look like zombie movies.

Accepted stealing paired with excessively generating money dramatically raised prices, which is sure an odd way to help the poor.  But liberals love inflicting surprises.  Even if they don’t, they’re incredible and coming up with exactly the opposite of what they claim.

Smugness doesn’t will nonsense into existence, which is a shame for Democrats who can’t rely on impossibilities like wise concepts.  As for some of their countless victims, employing people has become even more of a challenge when there’s less to pay.  It’s a good thing there’s a high minimum wage, or this nation would be coping with rampant idling.

Ripping off steaks in order to feed their children is 2023’s most popular hobby.  Poor pilferers can’t afford anything.  Sure, making pancake mix out of reach resulted from the enacted Democratic platform sabotaging the economy.  But stealing from struggling stores is how hateful merchants get punished for trying to sell us what we want.  Money is worthless, which makes having a civilization challenging.  But liberals need victims to help, even if they don’t technically do it.

Innate ingratitude permeates a philosophy that presumes nothing worthwhile can be created before striving to prove it.  A life spent seeking out ways to circumvent the basic fairness of providing something to trade leads to reduced production.  They could at least learn incentives from basic examples.

[skullmechaenthusiast]

the captain trio now is so funny to compare backstories for because you've got

"grew up in poverty with a strong fear of loneliness, experienced extreme classism and cruelty by the hands of the government who want people dead for being poor, lives a harsh life where basically everything tries to kill you. your beloved brother's boat is shot and sunk via canon ball because a rich asshole was uncomfortable. your father is the world's most wanted man. your brother's father was the pirate king. you spent most of the time being the weakest and after all of it you decide to become strong and free and find a lot of friends so you won't ever have to be lonely."

vs

"due to world gov irresponsability your country dies from a severe illness and if you try to leave quarantine you're shot. you escape in a cart of corpses and join a criminal gang because you've got the sickness and maybe only three years left to live so why not fuck shit up while you still can? one of the crime gang guys ends up becoming your new dad and tries to find a cure for your sickness. there is little hope but you learn that you're desperately loved. you're also a d clan member, crime boss guy's natural enemy, whatever that means and your dad wants to keep you save. he gets shot by his brother for betraying him because he turns out to be working for the marines and because he gave the life saving, super powerful devil fruit to you. you can feel him die while he helps you escape. you decide to figure out what all the d clan stuff even really means and also to get a super elaborate revenge for your dad's death. the head of the marines and then ex-head of the marines is your grandpa somehow"

vs

"on an unnamed island with no world gov affiliation at all rules a criminal gang. you're leader of a subdivision even though you're what? twelve? your girlfriend who's also your boyfriend's girlfriend is killed by the ruling gang. you unite the subdivisions to overthrow them. you set out to find the one piece because that's the next logical, thematic step to take"

[definegodliness]

Safekeeping

There is a wooden elephant in my hands, which is my grandpa; mother’s side. The carving used to stand on the TV cabinet in my family’s ur-home on a farm, where as a kid I would watch Hannah Barbera and Cartoon Network on Satellite before cable existed. I recall a living room filled with dust and cigarette smoke. The elephant stood out. Quiet. My grandpa was a giant. A family tree’s trunk and branches. The rest of us are all mere leaves, and we knew this when he departed.

I loved him.

I’ve got a silver pendant, which is my grandma; father’s side. I know I have it, but I wouldn’t be able to dig it up if my life depended on it. It was a cross, encircled, and in Latin, the description read: I suffer with Jesus on the cross. And the poor girl had suffered so much that it painfully fitted. 

I couldn’t bear having it in my closest proximity. Grandma always suffered; always giving, never taking; always sought, but never found, and in the end died excruciatingly fighting the fading of the light. You want to know what mind over matter really looks like? See the strongest mind fighting the impossible battle for the light in their darting eyes, and know the toughest suffer. 

The flesh succumbs.

With, or without... whatever gets you sleeping at night when you feel the need for more than nothingness.

I loved her.

I’ve got flaring brown eyes, deep black encircled. Which means my father looks into his father’s eyes when he sees me, and that my grandma looked into her husband’s eyes before she died. I wasn’t aware of this until my 30′s; until in a casual conversation my mom told me I didn’t have her eyes, but his. It’s such a strange thing to have the eyes of a man you never knew. But they see, and they accept, and they empower, and...

Grandpa, I just want you to be proud of them.

You ever so simply accepted your gay son in a time when being gay was ‘not done’, and countered the farizees in a time when church was everything; you kicked a pastor out of your home when he told your wife to restart breeding days after almost bleeding out having her second miscarriage. After four sons. After two girls that could fit in a matchbox. And, oh, how she wanted to have a daughter more than anything. 

I never got to love you, but you loved me to bits, I’ve heard. I can see it in the rare photographs of us together. Tales get told, and you’re my hero. You’ll be pleased to know I still have that switch-knife you nicked from a German soldier. The running gag this act of deviancy literally saved the war will live on in our family.

You are a stranger, much like me. And I wouldn’t let your or mine impact on the world wither in temporality, if I could.

I love you.

Perhaps for being me.

In this strange world where simply accepting and plainly making sense of things is dubbed the most nonsensical strategy. 

Oma. 

Grandma, mother’s side. There is not a single physical memento I have of you. But you are here when I cap beans; when I peel potatoes; when I bake pancakes and make them a tad bit too salty, and thereby nostalgically irresponsibly decadently delicious. You are here when I worry about people. When I hug. When I give annoyingly long-term advice for short-term disputes. You are so much in my heart that you are my heart. Whenever I make the world a better place, just for that one person; that —

Will be the you in me.

--- 29-9-2022, M.A. Tempels ©

[super-unpredictable98]

The Eighth Child (~TUA AU~) - Season 3

Chapter 4: East, West, Home's Best

Warning: Strong language, mild sexual content, mention of death

(The Eighth Child Masterlist)

"Okay, gather around people," Five called as soon as we entered the hotel lobby. Most of our siblings were there, with the exception of one. "Where's Luther?"

"Haven't seen him," Diego shook his head.

"Vicky, any info on Luther?" 

"Uh... ew, he's thinking about sex," I nearly gagged. "That's zoophilia, gross!"

"I don't think you can judge other people's sexual preferences, brother fucker," Diego teased.

"Ha ha, as if you didn't have a child with your sister... And you? What were you doing fighting Alphonso earlier hah? With Stanley there, you have to be the most irresponsible dad I've ever seen! Except for ours."

"Were you spying on me? This power of yours is pretty cool, but stay out of my head, pendeja!"

"Pendeja? Seu filho da puta, vê se toma jeito! (You son of a bitch, get a grip!)" I said before realizing. 

"You two stop the bickering! Look at this, these are our mothers and they're all dead," Five flipped page by page showing everyone each of our moms. "They all died on the day that used to be our birthday, but not anymore because they never gave birth to us."

"That's dumb, if we weren't born, how can we exist?" Diego asked. "Shouldn't we start fading away like in Back to The Future?"

"Exactly! When we jumped here we created the grandfather paradox."

"And what's that?" Viktor asked.

"It's an old story, mom told me about it once. It was a boy who hated his grandpa so he time-traveled to the past to kill him. Only he killed his grandfather before his own mom could be born which leads to him never existing, so how could he ever kill his grandpa? Time collapses and everything goes to shit," I looked at Five for confirmation. "That's it, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's it, doesn't sound very good, does it?" he huffed. 

"I'm so confused," Diego shook his head in disbelief.

"Shocking..." Allison sneered. She had been a royal pain in the ass ever since we arrived, I get how hard it is for her, but she wasn't the only one who lost people. Viktor had to give up Sissy, Diego lost Lila (at least he thought he did), and I had to see my friend Elliot murdered by those Swede bastards. Life is hard for everyone, not just for her.

"We shouldn't exist because our moms never had us, but we do, and the universe can't handle it, which is a problem," Viktor explained.

"Stanley, stop it! Now is not the time for karate!" Diego chastised my nephew who was very focused on his training.

"Mom said I need to practice," he countered.

"She's not wrong, you're pretty bad."

"And you're pretty bad at being a dad, quit it!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face. "You're talking like Reggie, only with a less posh vocabulary."

"So, we created a paradox, what does that mean?" Allison asked.

"I don't know exactly, but something very bad is coming, things are starting to disappear. Lobsters..." Five shrugged.

"A shit ton of cows," Klaus added. "It was so bad, Vicky's going back to being a vegetarian."

"Aren't you supposed to be retired?" Alli asked. "You know you can't keep dragging us through hell because you have an itch only an apocalypse can scratch."

"You really think Five wants this?" I finally snapped. "You think any of us wants this? I wanted to be buying wedding decorations and tasting cakes, instead I'm here on this timeline where I don't even exist trying to fix the world for the rest of you. I'm so sorry you are having a tough time, but you are not the only one, Wanda Maximoff! This is the only place we have, if we jump again that'll only mess the timeline even more, so you better accept that this is all we have!"

"Since when did you become Five's cheerleader? I thought you were only a shield to your little boyfriend. You think life is hard? Cause you can't buy your wedding dress? Well, I lost my daughter!"

"My headache won't fix your broken arm. We're both hurting and we both have our priorities, doesn't mean one thing is more important than the other or that you are hurting more than me. It's just different."

"Cut your bullshit, Victoria, you and your stupid philosophical sayings, it was childish when we were kids, imagine now."

Fortunately, the fight didn't escalate because Stan broke a vase with the pool club he was using to practice and silence reigned over the room. "It was the wind," he tried to shift the blame.

"That's it! I'm telling your mom! Where is she?" Diego punched the table angrily.

"Oooo I'm so scared," the boy mocked. "She's in the shower, I said she could stay with us."

"Lila is here? As if things couldn't get any worse," I cried, falling into Klaus' lap. "I can't take today anymore, I hate today. Can we just take a shower and go back to our room? I need a relaxing massage and some special attention."

"Behold, she's thinking of sex... Because that's the remedy for everything," Allison taunted.

"Just because you're not having any, don't rain on my parade. I escaped a mob of angry Amish bastards, I was nearly catapulted out of a car because of a ball of twine, I saw a rabbit being skinned. Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Don't listen to her, Vicky, she's in one of her moods," Klaus stroked my hair. "We can definitely do that after the meeting is- Five! Five don't leave!"

"I'm leaving," the little man announced as he rounded the corner to look for Lila.

"Hey, none of you heartless bastards care about our murdered moms?" Klausie asked. "Look at mine, I have her eyes, her name's Rachel. Look at my mother-in-law, cute little freckles like Vicky's, and the same mischievous look on her face. We need to find out who did this! This is the main thing!"

"What? It was obviously dad," I said, thinking he would've figured that out by now. "You heard him, he hated us in 63 so much he decided to unadopt us, but just to make sure we wouldn't be born he killed our moms and eliminated the scum before it could come out."

"You really think dad is capable of killing innocent people?" 

"Uh yeah! Dad kept me under a thousand pounds of metal every single day for fun, what would stop him from killing some women he didn't even know?" 

"I guess you're right."

"Look who decided to show, little late for the meeting, pal," Diego teased as Luther walked in, carrying a tote bag full of Sparrow merch and even wearing a Sparrow jacket. I was completely unimpressed, I knew he was a traitor from the moment we first learned how to talk and he decided to rattle me out for stealing a cookie.

"I was being held captive by the Sparrows. None of you noticed?" he asked, slightly offended.

"Oh yeah, we missed you so dearly," I nodded. "I was worried sick... Are you hurt?"

"No, they're excellent hosts! Quite charming, and you should see their gym, their house is amazing! I really think we've got these guys all wrong."

"Says the guy they kidnapped," Allison cocked an eyebrow.

"I was obligated to enter your dirty mind and see the filth going through your head, please never do that again, it was disgusting," I took the beer bottle from Klaus to take a sip. "Why were you even thinking those things while being held hostage?"

"What do they want?" Diego cut me off.

"They want Marcus, unharmed," Luther passed on their message.

"Well, we don't have Marcus," Viktor said.

"Oh, that sucks, I thought we could solve that one quickly and go on to problem number two... The disappearing people."

"Disappearing people?" I scoffed. "That's it, let's go, Klaus. I need a shower and all the rest."

"Oh? You still want all the rest even if I'm an Amish from Pennsylvania?" he giggled, following me to the elevator.

"You speak German, right?" I pressed the button to our floor and turned to him as the door closed.

"ohne Zweifel, (no doubt,)" he smirked.

"Then yeah, I do."

"Ich möchte Dich betteln hören," he pinned me against the wall, his lips inches away from mine and I already felt the palms of my hands tingling.

"You wanna hear me beg? I can beg once you're naked..."

—————————————————— 

So the world was ending again. People were disappearing now, we had to run and get things done before we all die. We wouldn't be able to dodge death when it keeps following us everywhere forever, it was like that movie Final Destination. We could try all we wanted to avoid our end, but it would always arrive and find us wherever we went.

"Heeey, Schnecke... Can we go somewhere today? Just us?" he rolled over to hold me after hours of me staring at the ceiling waiting for the sun to come up.

"Klaus! Not again, don't come at me with this shit!" I cried. "Do you even want to get married anymore?"

"Of course I do, what do you mean?"

"There's another apocalypse coming, we don't know how to stop this one because it doesn't seem like Viktor is the cause anymore. We can die or disappear at any given second and instead of worrying about the wedding, you're asking me once again to follow you into one of your stupid adventures! What am I supposed to think?"

"You're right, you're right... Can we maybe compromise?"

"What's the compromise?"

"You come with me to visit dad and ask him about our moms, then on the way back we can buy our outfits and I'll talk to Chet about the venue," Klaus suggested.

"Okay fine, but how do you expect to get passed security again and get into the house without being trampled on by those assholes?" I asked.

"Remember how we used to sneak out through the window?" 

"Yeah, but we can't do that, people will see us."

"There's another way inside..."

"NO! Klaus! No! I'm not doing that again, no way!"

I knew what he wanted. One time when dad shut the windows closed right after my accident falling from the second floor, we had to find another way to get out so we could get our doughnut fix. So Klaus had the brilliant idea to crawl through the sewers like we were in some Stephen King novel. 

It was one of the worst experiences of my life, and that's saying a lot! I can still remember the smell and it makes my stomach churn. I couldn't believe he wanted me to do it again, and all because we wanted to... Talk to dad? It was insane.

"Pretty please?" he pouted, batting those eyes at me. "It would mean so much to know what happened to my mother. I don't wanna do this alone, Vickynha! Please? It's not like you can get hurt or catch anything."

"Fiiiiine! But we're getting the outfits on the way back, so we better manage to take a shower at the mansion, I'm not trying on wedding dresses covered in sewage!"

"I promise, I'll take another beating just so you can take a shower. Thank you so much!"

Klaus managed to find us some diving suits, swimming caps, snorkel shit... And of course, two trenchcoats so we wouldn't go out in the street looking like a pair of lunatics. It didn't really help, but at least all eyes were not on my future husband's bulge.

As soon as he opened that lid I wanted to run back to the hotel. The smell was almost unbearable, but Klaus didn't seem bothered. He, in fact, seemed nostalgic, last time we did that we were 13 and imagined life would be different, happy, so maybe that's why the smell was comforting to him.

"That takes me back..." he said, dropping his trenchcoat and making his way down. 

"If we find a killer clown in there, I'm letting it eat you," I huffed, following him inside. "Ugh, the things you make me do."

"Oh stop it, you love me," he smirked.

I made a vow to myself to be totally honest and open when telling this story, but I really don't think I have the stomach to relive what happened in the sewers. I can tell you all I was never the same after that, the things I've seen in there will haunt me forever. I regret taking Klaus' deal several times while we swam through that shit (literally) to arrive at dad's office. 

"See? Not that bad," he said as he helped out of the pipe. 

"Oh yeah, I definitely don't wanna throw up and cry right now..." I rolled my eyes, taking off my suit to reveal the bikini underneath.

"Wow, that's what you chose to wear?" Klaus stared at me and his thoughts were so loud I could listen to them without even trying. 

"It made sense to me, a swimming suit under the diving suit. Stop thinking that, we're covered in shit!" I scolded.

"Sorry, but your ass looks really good right now, I'm only human!" he cried, getting out of his suit, he was wearing yet another skin-tight suit, but this one had his chest completely exposed and in between the two layers, he had a blue speedo on. 

"You look like Borat and Lady Gaga had a child," I tried not to laugh.

"Have at you!" Dad finally noticed us and grabbed a wooden back scratcher in the form of a little hand to use as a sword against us. I yelped, but as soon as I noticed what he was holding I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Did you do it?" Klaus asked, grabbing one of the little statues from the mantelpiece to counterattack. 

"What are you talking about? How did you get in here?" 

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to, dad..." I muttered.

"Did you kill our moms?" Klausie asked again. "Please just tell me if you killed them and we'll leave."

"After a shower," I added.

"After a shower," he nodded. "Please just tell us."

"I don't care enough about you to lie, do I look fit to murder anyone?" dad lowered his guard. 

"Not now, but I remember you, you were scary and horrible and a sadist! You'd love to make sure none of us are born!" I took the statue from my fiancé and put it back in place. 

"I remember you two better now. You're the drunk one and you're the childish one."

"No, I'm Klaus, the spiritual one," he argued. "And this is Victoria, the... Hot one."

"That's all I am to you? The hot one?" I turned to him, baffled.

"Victoria, the... Motherly one, the one who bakes, the interesting one, the caring one, the beautiful one?"

Before I could respond, we heard a knock on the door and ran to hide. We couldn't see who was there but we heard Jayme and Alphonso coming in with food and pills for dad. They insisted he took them and then forced him to sign some papers he didn't know anything about. I tried to read his mind and get any clues, but it was very confusing.

"His brain is a haze, he's totally doped," I whispered. 

"Who? Dad?" Klaus gasped quietly and I nodded.

The way they treated him made me almost sad for a second, I felt bad for him and that was a first! They threatened him and made mean comments, even after everything our father put us through, I couldn't help worrying. 

"Oh my God, dad... What happened to you?" Klaus asked when the others left and we finally came out of hiding. 

"How did we not have that idea?" I thought out loud. "They treat you like some sort of senile old man. You used to be an asshole, but you're the most respectable asshole I've ever met. Reginald Hargreeves, The Monocle, stuck in a room being drugged by his kids?"

"I sometimes wonder what happened to me as well," Reginald stared vacantly at the tv. "You kids better take a shower, you may use mine, but please leave it the same way you found it, in order."

"Thanks, dad," I dragged Klaus, who had many other questions but the smell was really starting to bother me and I couldn't handle it anymore.

That wasn't the man who raised us, that was very much clear. And though most of the changes in the timeline were concerning and disturbing, I found that one very comforting. Maybe there was a chance this father could like us. Maybe not like us, but at least not hate us.

When we came out of the shower, without saying a word to each other, we found two robes waiting, a gesture that was so small and yet nearly brought me to tears. We both got dressed and helped dry each other's hair like we did as kids. 

"That is much better, is it not?" Dad looked us up and down when we came out of the bathroom. "Now why would you think I murdered your mothers?"

"You hated us so much that you unadopted us, is it so crazy to think you wouldn't want us to even exist?" I sat by him on the couch.

"Seems I might've misjudged you, after all, you ended up saving the world in 63, so you must have done something right. I must admit I didn't even think of murdering your mothers as a solution."

"If we tell you we saved the world with the power of love will you believe us?" Klaus joined, wrapping one arm around me. 

"I find it hard to comprehend how love would stop an impending apocalypse, but anything is possible these days..." Reggie pointed at the TV where a news anchor was reporting on the rapidly growing number of missing people around the world, but before it was over, he changed channels to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame instead.

"Oh, I love this movie," Klaus chuckled. "Vicky here likes the Disney version more, don't you, Schatz?"

"I am not the least bit surprised," father said, and I could hear him thinking once again about how my face makes me look like a child.

"Hey! It had some of the most beautiful songs ever, God Help the Outcasts is a masterpiece and Hellfire? The best Disney villain song ever written!" I tried to argue, but it only made Klaus' smile widen even more.

"Never turn your back, kids," dad said totally unprompted. "Especially on your children. You do your best, give them your all, but it's too much. Then it's pills in the porridge and something extra in the tea, next thing you know you signed your life away. All your dreams have been quashed, all your plans run aground, and the worst of it? No one ever comes to visit anymore. But you wouldn't understand that."

"Wouldn't we?" I quickly rubbed my eyes to stop any tears from falling. 

"Reggie, you have no idea," Klaus murmured, laying on my shoulder. "Have you ever been to a Baskin Robbins?"

"Can't say that I have," dad looked at us intrigued.

"They're like... You know the ones, they're half a Dunkin' Donuts and they're open all night, and it's 3 a.m, and nobody's switching out those giant empty tubs of fudge ripple. That's me! I feel like scoop after scoop after scoop has been taken out of me. Brother... Lover... A whole world... And now my mom. I don't have many scoops left, I only have two."

"Two?" his brows furrowed, certainly curious.

"Two, my Victoria," Klaus looked up at me with dreamy eyes. "And my pretty face. Once I lose that, I lost everything."

This boy's devotion reminds me of how I used to be like with Abigail, I heard the old man thinking.

"Who's Abigail?" I asked without hesitation.

"I forgot you can read minds, can't you, young lady?" dad asked.

"Yes, and I'm getting better at it."

"I see that. Abigail is none of your concern, I kindly ask you to stay out of my head, please. I have no idea what you two are talking about anyhow."

"I just feel like if I could find out who killed them, I'd have closure on-" Klaus continued, but was interrupted by dad.

"Do you want some ice cream? Would that shut you up?"

"Yeah, yeah I do," he grinned, nudging my arm. 

Father got up and I couldn't help imaging how my childhood would've been like if this Reggie was my father instead of the one we had back then. He tried to grab a couple of bowls, but one of them slipped from his grasp and fell, shattering all over the place. 

"Damn pills..." he cursed, looking truly embarrassed of his own behavior.

"Don't worry," I got down on my knees to clean it up, like I've always done my entire life for everyone around me. In a literal and metaphorical way, I've spent my whole life cleaning messes. "It happens to everyone."

"I can help you with that," Klaus offered. 

"The ice cream?" father asked. 

"No, the pills. If you don't wanna take them..."

"No no no, that's against the rules, I have to take them every day."

"All you have to do is just pop to the side, right here," he opened his mouth and pointed at the spot with his fingers. "And ta-da! Old necessary rehab trick."

"Huh," Reginald looked at me as I gathered the shards with my hands, then at my fiancé. "I didn't care for you when last we met, I thought the nature of your relationship was perverted and honestly disgusting, but I must admit you kids are growing on me."

Those words immediately brought tears to my eyes again, and this time I wasn't able to hold them. I exchanged a look with Klaus, knowing he felt the exact same way I did. We had never heard an I love you, or I'm proud of you, we never had a hug or a dad joke, we never felt loved. So this little kernel of affection meant more to us than anyone could possibly imagine. 

"Are your hands all right?" dad asked after I was done cleaning, noticing I was crying. 

"I'm also super-resistant, remember? I can't get cut like that," I explained. "I'm just a little emotional, you know? PMS."

After giving us our ice cream, Reggie sat back down to watch TV. We enjoyed that moment like Charlie Bucket enjoyed his yearly Wonka bar. 

We savored dad's company, trying to save every second of it in our brains so we'd always remember what it felt like to just do something everyone does with their dads, what it felt like to be normal for once.

Eventually, Reggie fell asleep and we decided it was time to leave. We still had the second part of the deal to honor, so we cleaned up after ourselves and prepared our escape plan. Initially, I would jump through the window and then help Klaus down, but something caught our attention. 

"Oblivion," dad murmured in his sleep.

"Oblivion?" I mouthed back at Klaus and he shrugged. 

"When he's asleep like this he's not so terrible... Wait, do you hear this?" his brows furrowed at the distant sound of mom singing. I don't think I've ever heard mom singing, humming yes, but singing? I didn't even know she was programmed for that.

Without having to say anything, we both headed to the basement where her voice was coming from to see what was going on in there. The risk of bumping into one of the Sparrows and having to fight again was quite high, but we were too curious to care, even more because the song she was singing was some sort of religious chanting.

"Wow!" Klaus giggled when he saw the huge ball of light in the middle of the room, it looked like a smaller version of the sun and I could hear electricity sounds coming from it. That couldn't be good...

Mom passed us by without even acknowledging our presence, too focused on the big bright light. She stopped in front of it and started to worship like some sort of deity, which definitely gave me Destiny's Children flashbacks.

"The Lord! The Lord is upon me!" she exclaimed and started to mutter a bunch of nonsense.

"Let's go, let's get out of here before she summons a demon or something," I pushed Klaus towards the back door, I just wanted to get out of that house as fast as possible, I didn't even care if we would bump into those shitty knock-offs. "I think mom is broken."

"You think? I thought she was about to start singing the Ragatanga. What was that like? Aserehe..."

"Aserehe ra de re de hebe tu de hebere seibiunouba mahabi an de bugui an de buididipi," I said as if that exact sequence of nonsensical words were my native language. 

"That's it," he carefully closed the door behind us and we could finally breathe, even though we were both wearing only swimsuits and robes.

"You remember the Ragatanga?" I laughed, thinking of that Jayme-induced dream I had the other day. "Remember how Diego was mad every time we started singing that?"

"Yeah and you taught everyone the choreography so we could do it to piss him off," he smiled, certainly assaulted by those old memories as well. "Good times... Actually horrible times, but having you there made it not so bad. Come on, let's get our trenchcoats and go shopping."

—————————————————— 

"I don't know how I feel about this one..." I turned in front of the mirror wearing the fifth wedding dress I picked that day. "I think it's pretty, but do I feel like a princess bride in it? Do I feel like my life is a fairytale?"

"I wouldn't know..." Klaus groaned, leaning back into his seat, I wrapped the thick robe sash around his eyes so he wouldn't be able to see my dress before the actual wedding. "I usually like being blindfolded, but right now it's a pain in my ass, just let me see it!"

"No, Klausie! It's bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding, you know that!"

"You saw my suit, you even helped me choose, how is that fair?"

It was true, I did help pick the gorgeous green velvet suit that kinda looked a bit like one of those '70s jumpsuits, a little Donna and the Dynamos, but still very classy. Klaus would look so handsome in it for our big day!

"Yeah, but there are no rules about the bride seeing the suit."

"I'm the only person who can help you right now, Liebling! All our other siblings are doing boring apocalypse shit," he whined while I changed into the sixth dress of the day. "Maybe I can look as your brother, your favorite brother. That's still me, right? And there are no rules against that!"

"Ugh! Why did Ben have to go into the light? He would be perfect for this job..." I looked in the mirror and immediately hated what I saw, deciding to try on the seventh dress instead. "I can't let you see it because you might be my brother, but you are still my groom so that would ruin everything!"

You know that moment when you are talking somewhere very crowded and everyone else is being loud so you have to speak up more and more until you say something super embarrassing or incriminating and suddenly the room goes quiet and everyone hears what you just said? Well, that's what happened to me in that bridal store.

If dirty, weirded-out looks could kill, I'd be dead. Klaus certainly noticed what happened because he started uncontrollably cackling and even forgot about the stupid blindfold and his complaints about not seeing my dress.

"It's fine, we're adopted! I mean not like that..." I tried to shout, but no one seemed to care.

"I take it back, I'm loving this," he wheezed. "This is so funny, I love you so much."

"Shut up!" I finally looked in the mirror and gasped. "Oh my God, this is it... I knew I'd know when I saw it, and I do! This is my dress, this makes me feel like a princess and it's sexy, I love it, it's perfect!"

"I'm glad you found it, sis," he teased. "Can we just pick your shoes so I can take this thing off?"

"I'm gonna wear Allison's flats, those glittery ones, it'll be my something borrowed," I changed out of the dress as quickly as possible and ran to the front to pay for it and hide it inside of those big black bags where Klaus wouldn't be able to peek. I even planned to leave it with Viktor so nobody would see it. 

"Are you ready?" Klaus asked before taking the blindfold off.

"Yeah, you can look now."

"I can't wait to see it, but I'd marry you even in that swimsuit... Well, especially in that swimsuit," he smirked, stealing a kiss as we left the store. "You should wear it more often."

"Oh fuck!" I stopped, my heart jumping with terror.

"What? We forgot something?" 

"Jayme and Alphonso just died," I breathed. I could see them, I don't know whose mind I was reading, but I saw a blast taking them both out and nearly killing Christopher, Ben, Fei, and Sloane as well. 

"Who?" Klaus asked.

"That tiny one with the black venom and the big weird-looking one from Brazil," I explained, thinking about that conversation from the day of the first fight. "Hey, maybe I should be more like him, Alphonso I mean."

"What? Who would wanna be like him? He's like a human blob!" 

"First of all, that's pretty insensitive. Second of all, he told me something that day that kinda stuck with me. He said with my power if I gained more mass I could possibly absorb the impact of hits and send it back to the person hitting me."

"More mass? So you'd have to gain weight like I told you already..."

"Yeah, yeah, but maybe if I start working out I could gain more muscle, that must be amazing to absorb the impact! Look at Luther, he might be stupid, but he gets up pretty quick after a fight, he can take hit after hit after hit."

"Okay, so what I'm hearing is," Klaus squealed with joy. "Muscle mommy."

"What?" I laughed. 

"Muscle mommy! You're gonna look so sexy, oh fuck, I'll want you to crush my head with your thighs, lift me up in your strong arms! You have my full support."

"O-okay, thanks, Klausie. Now let's go see the damage with the Sparrows before you get a boner in the middle of the street."

"Might be a little late for that..."

[ask-temporal-resistance-raz]

Otto the most irresponsible grandpa ever

Listen, if you had been in our situation… it couldn’t be Otto. I’m the one who was at the camp where oleander would be, and he needed to use all his psychic energy to focus the machine. We didn’t know if I would be strong enough.