#my dad/mom are mostly watching to make fun of it. to my knowledge.

[thesupernaturalhouse]

My father has put on twilight this is an sos

[mellowyellow236]

TWST Boys General HC’s!

Just some HCs for the TWST boys. No real theme to them or anything, and it’s mostly self-indulgent. Some characters will have much more than others, but I made sure everyone has at least one (You can clearly see what my favorite dorm and characters are lol-). Mostly fluff, but I’ll state before the headcanon if it’s angst, or if there’s a trigger warning, in red. Requests are open if anyone wants :) All writing under the cut!

Heartslabyul:  

Riddle Rosehearts - 

Gets very tense about things being dirty because he grew up in a really sterile environment with his mom. Sometimes, he gets worked up over something and cleans to calm down, it’s probably one of his healthier behaviors even if he has to work on not getting tense when it isn’t perfect. 

His favorite sweets are obviously strawberry tarts, but in second place is red velvet cake or cupcakes. He likes the color and thinks it tastes like chocolate. 

He likes trying all of the sweets Trey makes, and sometimes does taste tests like he’s judging them in a bake show. He lines them up, tries each of them, and thinks about what he likes and dislikes about each. 

Also, he got a hedgehog plushie from Trey, and since his overblot, he has slept with it every night as a form of comfort. 

Angst, Trigger Warning for EDs - Yeah, this one is pretty self-explanatory. Considering his devil of an almond mom and how thin he looks, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had one. 

Trey Clover - 

He’s a huge stress baker. He panics about the Prefect and Aduece duo being in trouble and suddenly the fridge is full of various baked goods. 

All of the Heartslabyul first years call him dad, but only a few to his face. Those few are Ace and Deuce, who started it. 

Trey loves trying out new recipes, and he wants to publish his own recipe book one day. 

Cater Diamond - 

Cater loves spicy food, which is canon, but my headcanon is that he makes his own spice blends to use on his food. 

Cater and Trey used to have weekly cooking/baking nights when they were roommates. Cater would cook something, and then Trey would bake something. They’d eat together and watch a movie in their dorm room. 

Angst - I subscribe to the theory that Cater was the housewarden before Riddle. Headcanon that now he thinks that Riddle’s overblot was his fault. Cater wasn’t able to help out his underclassmen when this started, since he was too weak to be able to win, and after he lost Riddle spiraled even harder down the road of a tyrant.

Ace Trapolla - 

Ace genuinely loves the hedgehogs but hates taking care of them because he can’t say no to giving them treats, and then Riddle gets mad. He’s gotten much better at hiding it when he does, though. (Riddle’s just gotten better at not getting mad about) 

He loves reading those really bad romance novels where you have to pause every few pages to figure out what just happened and why. He has a secret account he used to write fanfiction on but stopped after his brother found out and teased him over it. 

Deuce Spade - 

He calls his mom every day at the same time. He does not let anything stop him and Ace likes to stand next to him and make fake moaning sounds to annoy him. 

Angst, trigger warning for recovering addiction - Deuce used to be a delinquent, and so he did some bad stuff. He’s currently recovering from some kind of addiction, although he’s doing much better now. He has weekly meetings with Riddle about it, who uses the knowledge his mother made him learn about it to help him. They bond over not wanting to disappoint their mothers and how they want to get good grades to make them proud, even if it’s healthy for Duece but unhealthy for Riddle. 

Savanaclaw: 

Leona Kingscholar - 

His favorite place to nap is the botanical gardens because it’s warm and sunny, like a cat. 

Back when they were kids, Falena/Farena(Eng. Vs Jap. name) used to braid his hair. They used to put in little beads and things for fun. 

Agnst - When they were kids they were super close, but then Farena and Leona grew apart because Leona didn’t want to ‘hold his brother back’ after getting to know what everyone thought of him. Farena still calls him every week to try and talk, even back when Checka was a baby/toddler. Leona would never admit it but he listens to every voicemail that gets sent. 

Ruggie Bucchi - 

His favorite kind of donuts are the lemon-flavored ones. He likes that they're tangy and not as blindingly sweet. In second place is blueberry, and third is jelly-filled. 

Ruggie had been pushed to babysit Checka for Leona, and they went to a fast food place together. Ruggie taught Checka how to dine and dash. (And then came back with Leona who paid for their meals)

Jack Howl - 

He does a morning run every day and then has a big breakfast. He sees it as the most important meal of the day and never skips it, no matter what. He started doing it with the Prefect so that way he could make sure they were eating well/enough, and now all the first years meet up for breakfast on the weekends. Grim+Prefect bring tuna, Epel brings apple juice or pie, the ADuece Duo brings whatever Trey has left over, Sebek brings some fae dish made with normal ingredients so they can try it, Ortho brings various ingredients and Jack cooks whatever Ortho brings. 

Octavinelle: 

Azul Ashengrotto - 

Angst, Trigger Warning for EDs - Azul has really bad eating disorder tendencies. Like, ‘Well, I had a singular chocolate so now I can’t eat dinner’ bad. He’s working on stopping it, but right now he can’t do much about it. However, the one thing that often works is Jade’s mushroom dishes. Jade started looking for them and told Azul that they were healthy, so now they’re his safe food. Floyd wishes it was anything else at this point, he's so sick of mushrooms, but he'll let Jade cook them for Azul even if Floyd doesn't touch them. 

Jade Leech - 

Jade doesn’t have a favorite mushroom because he feels like if he picks one that makes the others less special. He had one for like a week when he first came to NRC, but felt so guilty he stopped liking it more than the others. (It was Amanita phalloides/the death cap mushroom)

Floyd Leech - 

Floyd thinks really hard about what nicknames to give people. He tries to get something that matches them, and who they are based on what he knows (Ex; Ace is often ‘crabby’, Kalim has a ‘fluffy’ personality like a sea otter, etc.) The exceptions are the Prefect and Riddle, who he just saw and went “Yeah. Shrimpy and Goldfishie. Shrimp posture and red hair. That’s what they are.” He doesn’t give nicknames to Azul and Jade because he believes that they’re both so interesting they could never be categorized as anything but their name. 

Scarabia: 

Kalim Al-Asim - 

Kalim loves jewelry and wearing it. He often gives it as gifts to Jamil, and it’s why he has so many golden accessories all over. Kalim proves the gold, but Jamil is often the one who picks out the design. 

Since Jamil’s overblot, Kalim’s started learning how to do stuff on his own. So far, he can (mostly) clean a window and (kind of) cook! Specifically, he’s learned how to cook pasta and add seasonings to soup. Not the best, but he’s trying. 

Jamil Viper - 

Jamil has so many snake things because of his last name and he hates it just because he's so sick of them at this point. He often trades gifts with Najma, so he ends up with a bunch of star-themed things as well. On his bedframe back home, he’s got little glowing star stickers. 

Pomefiore: 

Vil Schoenheit - 

He used to buy up a bunch of these Neige necklaces that were super breakable, and whenever he got mad, he would throw them at the wall until he calmed down. Then he cleans up and thinks about what happened and how he feels. Although, it’s a surprisingly healthy way of getting his anger out, especially considering the more violent nature of throwing the necklaces.

Rook Hunt - 

Rook has a ‘secret’ fanfiction account that he uses to write fanfics of Vil and Neige, sometimes together as friends and sometimes. Everything is oddly on point and both fandoms hotly debate what it means when he has a certain character bring up an event he never expanded upon and they never mentioned. His fics even have their fics written about them, including his “OCs” who are actually just his other classmates who aren’t as well known. 

Epel Felmeir - 

Epel secretly loves to bake but never did it pre-NRC because it wasn’t “manly enough” of a hobby. Now that Vil’s worried about excess sugar causing breakouts and stuff, though, he does it much more often out of spite. (Ironically, Vil thinks it’s great because Epel’s expressing himself naturally and not trying to conform to being manly or not)

Ignihyde: 

Idia Shroud - 

He likes to play the TWST version of the Sims and Stardew Valley and gets really into modding them. He likes to make characters of all of his favorite people and then talk to them. They’re hyper-realistic to how they act and look too, to the point where it’s either really creepy or romantic depending on how you look at it. 

Ortho Shroud - 

Angst - Ortho likes to listen to music and look at art because they’re the only things that he can’t automatically compute. He can do a math problem in seconds, but he’ll never be able to have the human ability to connect to art on an emotional level, so he consumes as much as he can in hopes of finding a way to experience it. 

Diasonia: 

Malleus Dracona - 

He has a dragon horde, but instead of gold, which he already has a tone of and doesn’t care for, it’s full of grotesques, pictures of gargoyles, and various gifts from his friends and father. He tried to go to sleep on it back when he was little, but nearly crushed some stuff, so Lilia decided to knit him a big blanket to use instead. Later on, Silver and Sebek also pitched in, then the Prefect, and so now Malleus has a horde and a pile of snuggly things to sleep on. 

Lilia Vanrouge - 

He calls the prefect ‘beastie’, which I am unsure of if this is canon or not. It could just be a very popular headcanon I’ve seen. 

I think it’s canon but not explicitly stated so I’ll state it as a headcanon; Lilia was in a polyamorous relationship with both Raverne and Meleanor. I ship it very hard and I need to say it. 

Silver “Vanrouge” - 

My main headcanon is that he listed Lilia as his father on all school documents. Not legal guardian, but father. He did tell Lilia, but Malleus saw and did the same thing afterward. 

Sebek Zigvolt - 

Sebek has a diary that he often writes in, and by often I mean almost every night. Surprisingly, most of it isn’t about Malleus, but rather his everyday life and school. He talks about his friends, and how classes are going, and even occasionally praises his various classmates for small things. It might seem out of character, but it’s just a place for him to vent the feelings that he has that he doesn’t want to talk about to others. 

Ramshackle:

Grim - 

Grim loves tuna, which is canon, but it’s not his actual favorite fish in terms of taste. It’s just that tuna was the only thing that the Prefect ever got for him ever since he first requested it because he was in the mood. The fact that they cared so much to get him his “favorite” after he requested it turned tuna into his favorite. 

RSA+NBC: 

Che’nya - 

Che’nya always makes sure to take really good care of his teeth and is very proud of his smile. He thinks it makes him look adorable, and it does. 

Neige Leblanche - 

Neige loves sewing and knitting, he thinks that it’s so much fun to make cute things. He’s worn them out, and often posts about them online. He doesn’t have enough free time to make his own patterns, but he hopes to be able to get good enough to do so one day. 

Neige likes acting, but he loves singing and dancing. He doesn’t get to do it as often because he mostly acts, but it’s his favorite thing to do. SDC was so much fun for him, he really wanted to get to perform and meet all of the performers from different schools. 

Because Snow White��s voice is so high-pitched, I HC him as a tenor by nature, although he taught himself to sing much higher notes, maybe even those of a normal soprano. (A tenor is the higher, often male voice in most choirs and a soprano is the higher, often female voice- It’s a bad explanation but it basically means he’s got a higher vocal range/voice than some of the other characters when he sings.)

Bittersweet - Neige is just as much of a cinnamon roll offline as he is online. He donates a bunch to charity, and considering his backstory, I think that most of it goes to orphaned or helpless children like him, who don’t have an adult around to take care of them. He hopes to make sure that no children have to go into the workforce young like he did to support the dwarves and himself, even if he knows that it’s not realistic. 

Angst - Neige never wanted to go into acting but had to because he was good at it and he couldn’t find any other well-paying jobs for children, so he could support himself and his seven friends. He loves his job, yes, but sometimes he wishes that he could’ve been a normal teen doing his school’s plays or community theater rather than worrying about having to stay on top of trends and stuff. 

Rollo Flamme - 

Already mentioned this in a previous post, but Rollo is an all-or-nothing kind of guy when it comes to crushes, but it’s a bit more than that. In almost everything, he puts either all of his time and energy into it or he just doesn’t care. Friendships, schoolwork, relationships, even little things like chores, he does it all or he doesn’t do it. 

Other Event/Side Characters: 

Checka Kingscholar - 

Checka loves visiting his uncle, so much so that he spends at least a weekend at NRC a month. It’s his favorite part of the month, and he loves that Leona will give him treats and find some time to play with him. (Leona clears his entire schedule for the weekends Checka comes out even though he’d never admit it) 

Najma Viper - 

I think Kalim has a canonic cousin based on Jasmine, so I HC Najma as being her handmaiden. Kind of like Dalia to Jasmine in the live-action Aladin. 

[lostaroace]

Volunteer | Aaron Hotchner x Reader

My Fanfic Masterlist | Multifandom

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

Reader: no use of YN, reader is a doctor, no precise description of gender or physique of reader.

Summary: You were a volunteer for the soccer team Aaron Hotchner coaches. When you decide to bite the bullet and ask the man out, he rejects you in what you felt was a humiliating manner. As you're trying to get used to your new life without seeing Hotch every week, you get called to help with a hostage situation as they need a doctor on site. The BAU is there.

NOTE: The summary is awful but I had no idea what to say without making spoilers.

Content Warning: hurt/comfort, hostage situation, inaccurate medical procedures, inaccurate baby delivery situation, explicit labor, medical complications, and lots of blood. Again, highly inaccurate, don't come at me with your medical degrees, I'm a historian, not a doctor.

Words: 6695

Rating: Explicit (Look CW)

Volunteer | Oneshot

Soccer had always been an easy sport to introduce to children in the US, that's why Haley Hotchner played with her son at any given time since he was three. Spending his fourth birthday in hiding was tough for them and Aaron could see that. When Jack kept watching the same tape repeatedly, Aaron decided to sign his son into a soccer team.

Belonging to a team gave Jack another social group away from school and an understanding of teamwork and camaraderie. It was also the perfect excuse for Aaron to keep his phone away and focus solely on his son on the weekends. Naming it an excuse might seem inappropriate, but for Aaron, having a semi-structured schedule to drive his free time helped him to push the work aside, avoiding hyper-focusing on the paperwork he took from the bureau. His implication with the team drove the other parents to ask him to coach the team, a proposition that he accepted with the assistance of his best friend, David Rossi.

Things were fine overall.

Then you showed up one weekend with Jessica who introduced you as the volunteer who was going to take care of the children's health. Aaron did his best to control his microexpressions but the sparkling look Jessica gave him behind your back spoke volumes to him.

When Jessica Brooks told you about the infant soccer league you looked at her with an arched eyebrow. You've finally graduated from med school and work as a doctor in the ER of a hospital. After three years there, it felt like your own home and the staff you worked with were your family. Jessica had become a new addition to the hospital's cafeteria, and she was so approachable and extroverted that it was easy for her to bond with the other members of the personnel.

Of course, you knew about the tragedy that hit her family when her sister was murdered leaving a child behind, and you've met Jack on several occasions. Yet, you were unable to pin down the moment, the insinuation, or the interaction that made Jessica corner you at the end of your shift to ask you if you'd be interested in volunteering your medical abilities for her nephew's soccer team.

"It's mostly scratches or sprained ankles at its worse," she insisted. "A little bird had told me you ought to socialize away from the hospital. It will be great for you!"

"Jessica…"

"Listen, Jack's dad has accepted to be the team's coach, and although I know that it has been a ruse of the soccer moms to ogle him every Sunday morning, he's going to take it seriously. Not like, he's going to be focused on winning every single match. They don't even keep scores for that age group. What I mean is that Aaron is going to concentrate on making it fun for the children, but also safe, and his medical knowledge is limited."

"You just said it's mostly scratches and sprained ankles. You don't need a doctor for that."

"Come on!! It'll be fun!!"

"Are you trying to set me up with him or something?"

Jessica scoffed, "He's way too old for you. I highly doubt you find him anything else than stern and intimidating. However, there are younger single parents. All I'm saying is that you should spend time with people away from these walls."

You cave in, as might be expected.

Aaron Hotcher was stern and pretty much intimidating, but he was also an absolutely cute little thing with the kids, sexy, and interesting. His assistant, David Rossi, was approachable and found a way to involve you in his conversations with Hotchner.

You were eager to please as a volunteer. You were very nice to the children, who seemed to attach to you almost immediately, and the parents soon rooted for you when they knew you were a medical doctor. Your awkward smile when one of the parents told you about the weird rash that had appeared on his rear made Aaron giggle inside.

From the point of view of a profiler, he could tell you had terrible social skills that you tried very hard to overcome and improve. You were more comfortable with children than with adults, maybe because you've been hurt in the past, you may have some trust issues and second guess yourself often in social situations but never in your work. He was unable to see the classic narcissism noticeable in surgeons, instead, you had a compulsive professionalism while being warm and caring. Aaron also saw some nerdiness and geekiness in you that made his heart melt without permission.

"To think that I brushed her off when she asked me if I was trying to set her up…" Jessica's voice pulled him out of his analysis.

"Is this a setup?"

"God, no. Not an intentional one, at least. I was not expecting you two to check each other out like that."

"I did not check her out."

"Aaron, it's me. I may not be a profiler, but I know your looks. You like her already and I know that as you get to know her better, you're going to like her more and more."

"It won't happen."

"Tell yourself that."

And he did. He told himself that along with other things but when he caught your eyes lingering on him when you thought he wasn't looking he felt a boost of self-esteem. Talking to you was a treat he rarely indulged himself with. The worst thing he thought he could do was to lead you on to think he felt the same because then he would lose the restraint that prevented him from falling in love again. It was too soon. You were too young. The 'what if' list got longer and longer as months passed.

That's how, after a few months you ended up crushing hard on that man that Jessica assured you was too old for you. Oh, boy, you didn't care. After the practices and matches, you stayed with Hotch to clear the place of the things you'd used with Jack's playful help, and that's what drew you closer. You found his deadpan jokes hilarious. You lived for his small smirks or full-on laughs, the tiny movements his eyebrows made when he found something amusing, the light in his dark eyes when he looked at his son laughing about what you'd said or done. Being of assistance was your main goal for the weekends and your supervisor in the ER was more than glad to fix your schedule so you could have those moments for the soccer team.

At some point, you inevitably thought of yourself as a needy puppy when you found yourself being always the first to comply with any of Hotch's requests. Due to the lack of major injuries (or injuries in any way or form), you didn't have much to do with the team, therefore you ran errands like buying snacks, or bringing gallons of water… To be honest you would've driven all the way to San Francisco if Hotch and Dave had asked you to. It was embarrassing.

Now that you were facing a pissed-off Aaron Hotchner, you were regretting accepting Jessica's push six months ago.

Mulling over your feelings for the past few weeks, you've decided to approach him and ask him out on a date. Just some coffee, really, nothing fancy. He frowned; his eyes ran through you seeing things you were fighting to hide. Little did you know that Aaron felt at the edge of an abyss.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Aaron tersely told you, and when your eyes wandered between his looking for a longer explanation, his panic clouded his mind, and he must admit was gratuitously rude to you. "With my work consisting in profiling people, do you actually believe that your behavior had been unnoticed? I've tried to put some distance between us to avoid confusing you and apparently, it hadn't worked. I don't intend to be mean, but if your sole motivation to volunteer here is to spend time with me or look at me, I think it'll be better for all of us if you stopped coming here. We don't need a doctor, anyway. The most you've done has been cleaning Travis' wound when he fell on top of a tiny rock and his hand started bleeding.

"I am sure that you are great in your work," he slowly assured you, "but we don't need your skills here. I'm doing this to spend quality time with my son, and I cannot enjoy it if my attention is on your stalking behavior."

"Stalking?" You whispered confused.

"It's not the appropriate word. I'm sorry. Just… This is a safe space for the kids to have fun, and we, parents, are here because of that. You have no connection with any of them, not the children and not the adults."

You press your lips to avoid pouting. The last thing you wanted was to break in front of him after that awful humiliation. Handing him the cones you'd collected, you had nothing else to do there, and knowing just how unwanted your presence was prevented you from saying goodbye to Rossi and Jack as you usually did.

Aaron's grip on the cones hurt his hands as he followed you with his eyes, a storm breaking in his chest. When instead of going towards Dave and Jack you kept walking out of the field, the old profiler looked at him across the field with concerned eyes. He bowed his head in shame.

Hiding from Jessica at work was easy for you, at least for the first few days after the humiliation, but on Wednesday, you decided to bite the bullet and face her. After sharing some pleasantries, you smiled sadly at her before telling her what you actually wanted to say.

"I don't know if Hotch has told you, but I asked him out for a coffee. He rejected me, of course," you laughed self-depreciatingly. "Um… I'm going to quit volunteering on the soccer team. Could you make sure he understands it is because I cannot face him after how he did it, and not because I'm unable to stop stalking him?"

"He said you were stalking him?"

"Not exactly. He said I had stalking behavior, apparently. I didn't notice. I– I've been fighting very hard to act normal around him. I promise that if he had just rejected my advances I would've kept my volunteering. I mean, it would've been awkward but I really do enjoy being out there. He made it pretty clear that I've been making him uncomfortable, and that's something I can't gut. Um… So, yeah, that's that."

Hotchner did not have it that easy to hide from his sister-in-law. Jessica narrowed her eyes at him when he came back home from a long work trip in Texas. As he asked about Jack, worried that her sour mood had to do with something regarding his son, she sighed crossing her arms.

"You told her you felt stalked? Really?"

Understanding washed over him.

"I might've misused the word," Aaron took accountability for his mistake.

"I cannot believe you can be so dumb! Aaron, she likes you! And you like her too, don't try to lie to me."

"She's too young and–"

"You're scared. That is normal, but listen to me, you deserve to be happy again. I'm pretty sure that a doctor will understand your crazy schedule better than anyone else. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"It's done. Forget about it."

Pressing her hands against her eyes, Jess tried to calm down her anger. "Fine. I'm going to leave you alone, just one thing, Aaron, you've hurt her pretty badly and if you don't fix your mistake soon, you're going to miss your opportunity. She's a nice person, and she deserves better than to be humiliated that way."

"It wasn't my intention."

"Just because there was no ill intention in your behavior, does not mean that you're innocent of the damage you've caused." Gathering her things, she headed out the door. "Oh, and by the way, she asked me to tell you that she won't be volunteering for the team anymore. Not because she's unable to stop stalking you, but because the way you're rejected her made her believe that her presence is unwelcome and makes you uncomfortable, so… Well done."

Aaron did not give much thought to that until the weekend rolled over and you weren't there. While the parents and guardians were concerned about your well-being, the children stubbornly refused to start without you on the field because in their minds you were an essential part of the team, just as the coach was. Dave caught him lost in his mind more than once, but he never said anything out loud.

Three weeks after leaving the soccer team you were still surprised at how much you missed it. Weaver gave you all the hours you asked for to work on the weekends in order to fill your mind with work instead of daydreaming about how much fun the kids must've been having. Jessica told you once that Travis had scratched his knees but refused treatment even from his dad as he cried calling for you. That touched your broken heart; knowing that the little ones appreciated your presence even if it was irrelevant meant so much to you.

That Sunday you'd been working since Saturday morning treating everything from mild intoxication to hardcore injuries. Adrenaline was still pumping in your veins as you tore the yellow gown off to deposit it in the bin with the gloves you just used on the car-crash patient that Coleen was taking to the OR. Cracking your neck, you grabbed your white coat from where you'd dropped it to attend to the emergency. Slipping it on top of your scrubs (a patient had vomited on you during the night which forced you to change clothes) you approached the admission desk.

"Got something for me, Jerry?"

"Take your pick," he pointed to the row of histories.

"That's not fair! How is it I cannot pick?" said a petulant voice next to you.

"Because you're a student, Natalie. Here, take this. Seems the patient needs sutures."

"That's all I'm doing. Sutures, sutures, sutures," she mumbled as she went to gather the patient.

That's when a known figure caught your eye in the waiting room. Frowning, you looked at the histories, finding two familiar names. With the documents in your arms, you cross the waiting room towards them.

David Rossi was nursing his injured arm against his chest, standing next to Aaron and Jack, who were seating in the waiting room. He saw you at the admissions desk looking through the histories before taking two of them and walking straight towards him. That's when he knew it had been a good idea to make Aaron drive them to this concrete hospital. Aaron's eyes were locked on his son's injury, therefore he tensed slightly when he heard your voice after so long.

"Why, good morning, Jack," you cheerfully greet the young child that's sitting in his father's lap, who was pressing a towel against his son's head. "Didn't you have a match today?"

"I got hurt," the boy pouted although you could see he was enduring the pain.

"Why won't you come with me? Come with us, Dave," the man nodded with a glint in his eyes.

You haven't even glanced at Aaron's face, afraid that you may compromise your patient's needs by remembering the humiliating rejection you've suffered.

When he gathered the courage to look at you, his heart clenched in need as, for the first time since he'd known you, your beautiful eyes never landed on him. Not even once.

With Jack seated on a bed in the ER, you removed the towel finding a small wound surrounded by dry blood. It was puffy and bluish. Rossi explained that Jack had passed out while on the field and he had launched to get him, failing, and hurting his wrist on the landing.

"Very well, Jack, I'm going to ask you to do something for me," you said putting your penlight away after looking at the response in his eyes. "I want you to touch your nose with your fingertips, then pull the arms as far away as you can, and touch your nose again," you demonstrated what you wanted and the boy did it without trouble. "Well done. Now follow my finger without moving your head. That's right… Very good, Jack. Give me your hands. Grab mine as hard as you can. Good. Now," you put your hands on top of his feet, "try to push my hands up. As hard as you can. There you go. Okay.

"I'll listen to your heart now." After that and checking his reflexes, you sat on a small stool by the bed and asked him a few questions to evaluate his mental state. He was shy at first, but then he started babbling coherently, which was a good sign. "Jack, did you feel bad before the match?"

The boy looked at his dad and at Rossi, "No."

"I might not be a profiler, but that seems like a lie to me. Do you want to try again?"

"I– I had a tummyache."

"When you went to the bathroom, was your poop very liquid?"

"Yeah…"

"You didn't tell your dad?" Jack shook his head, regretting it immediately. "Why not, sweetheart?"

"I want to spend time with him, but if he's the coach and I can't play, then I have to go with Aunt Jess or look from the sidelines. That's not fun."

"Perfectly understandable. Does your tummy hurt still? No? When was the last time you ate something?"

Opening the history, you scrabble and check several squares before facing Aaron Hotchner for the first time, pulling your most professional façade on. He was waiting, observing every single move with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't see any symptoms of concussion. Jack doesn't even react badly to the light when pointed directly at his eyes. I believe that he's caught the stomach bug that's been running among children for the last few weeks and he's dehydrated due to the diarrhea.

"I'm going to run some blood tests, just to be certain. Although the headwound is superficial I'm aware that you'll feel better if we take some X-rays. I'll give him some fluids, clean the wound, and he'll be free to go if the tests come back clear.

"Once at home, lots of liquids. Water, Gatorade… Bland food, the usual. Keep him awake at least until his bedtime, that way you'll be aware of something bad happening. It's not going to happen anything bad, though."

He nodded, unable to find his voice after feeling the way your eyes stabbed him. Aaron Hotchner made a life out of analyzing people and he could see how hard you were trying to stand composed in front of him, to hide how strongly he had hurt you.

"Now you, Dave," you palped his wrist and scrunched your nose. "It's not broken. I think it's dislocated. I'm going to send you to X-rays with Jack, that way you keep each other company, and we'll see what's the situation with your wrist before trying to put it in place. Any questions? None? Good. Haleh," you called the nurse, "blood tests and fluids for the little man. A round of X-rays for both of them."

"On it."

"Need some help!!" Carter yelled while running towards the entrance of the emergency where an ambulance was dropping an injured and bloody patient.

"I'll be back when the X-rays are done," you promised the three men before running for the second ambulance. "What do we have?"

As the paramedic was explaining the patient's situation, she started to code which made you copy one of Carter's most dramatic moves and jump on top of the gurney to start compressions as the paramedics kept pushing it toward box two.

"That's really cool," Jack whispered mesmerized by the display of action. Aaron caressed his son's head with love.

Time went by, busy as always in the ER so your hands were full with both complicated and easy cases. Rossi, Aaron, and Jack spent the time waiting for the X-rays before waiting in the ER again; it didn't annoy them much, and they understood how it worked. Overall, they were all aware that they would still be waiting for their turn if you hadn't been working that day and saw them in the waiting room.

You were exhausted when you saw the three men again. Haleh handed you the X-ray complaining about how rude the technicians were when overloaded with work. Greeting them again, you put Jack's rays on a light panel close by.

"Look, Jack. This is your head. Can you see these circles? Those are your eyes. Now, this is the side where you had hit your head. There's no trace of damage in the bone," you looked at Hotch to make your message clear. "I can see that the fluids bag is almost empty. That's a good sign. Blood tests came back clear as well. Jack is fine. As I said before, liquids and bland food until the stomach bug is over.

"Let's see Dave's hand now…" You changed the rays. Rossi's wrist had been dislocated, as you thought.

Getting ready the needed stuff for the cast before placing the wrist in place, you explained everything to Jack who watched your moves like a hawk. Using Rossi's distraction, you pull his hand, putting his bones in place. It hurt him, and he cursed under his breath so you gifted him with your most innocent smile.

"You need the cast to avoid hurting your wrist more. Be more careful, David."

"As you say, Doc."

Carter's voice calling for you prevented you from pointing out his age. You turned to see him pointing to the board. Right, your shift must've been over three hours ago. Thumbs up you wink at him before turning your attention to your patients once again.

"I'm going to put you in the cast while Jack's bag completely empties, and then you guys can leave. Sounds good?"

"Who is that?" Jack asked.

"Doctor Carter," you simply say, focusing on the cast.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the child insisted. Aaron tensed with his son's boldness.

"Nope."

"Jack, it's not nice to ask those questions," Hotch reprimanded, making him pout.

"I just want to understand why she's not coming anymore." That admission stabbed him right in the heart.

"I'm not coming because you don't need me, Jack," you smiled at him. Another stab clenched Hotch's chest, he'd told you that.

"But we want you there!! It's not the same without you."

"That's very sweet, but it doesn't change the situation. This is done. Haleh will take that out of you, Jack. Be good," you pointed to both of your patients, ignoring Aaron once again.

Leaving them behind, you approached the admission counter to fix the paperwork when Carter cornered you with his cheeky expression and half smile. You rolled your eyes, putting your arms up in surrender.

"Fine. Fine. I'm leaving. See? This is me leaving."

"You better get out of my ER before another ambulance comes by."

"Meany."

"Out."

Rossi hummed watching the interaction just as Aaron's jaw set in distaste. "Is that jealousy or envy?"

"Not now, Dave."

It didn't take you too long to get ready to leave the hospital, and just at the moment you were crossing the doors you saw an ambulance come to a halt. Standing on the tip of your toes, you try to take a good look at the patient but Carter gave you 'the look' and you gave up. You just wanted to keep yourself busy. It was lunchtime and although you wanted to eat, you didn't want to do it all alone in your small apartment.

Walking towards the bus stop, you pulled out your phone thinking about ordering from the Indian restaurant close to your place and picked it up on your way. With a sigh, you decided you were not that hungry anyway.

Once in their home after that long morning in the ER, Aaron tried to pry the real feelings from his son, who openly told him that yes, he missed you and that he thought that you two were going to date in the future.

"You smile way more when she's on the team, Daddy," he had told him.

His resolution was clear, he was going to confront you, take accountability for his mistake, and beg you for a chance. Work prevented him from doing it right away.

You didn't hear from the Hotchner men or David Rossi for the next few days, which you anticipated, but when Saturday rolled up you found yourself in an ambulance next to Doctor Carter and Nurse Patton running to attend a hostage situation.

The place is a grocery store. Hostages are pressed against its windows to prevent the shooters from having a visual of the suspect. There's a control area with local agents and the FBI, and as you're led there by an officer, you locked eyes with Aaron Hotchner. He seemed composed and focused, but the moment he saw you his frown deepened and his skin ashen.

The three of you were introduced to the agents and you let Carter take control of the situation. He's older than you, your superior, and he had proved his leadership countless times in the hospital.

"The unsub is desperate. He is a father who's seen his world crumbling in the last few months as social services threatened to take his children from him," Rossi explained to all of you.

"He's compassionate with other people but he won't hesitate to kill in order to keep the custody of his children. He has asked for a medical team as there's a wounded hostage and a pregnant woman in terrible pain," the agent introduced as Emily Prentiss continued.

"He is reckless. He's cornered and that makes him dangerous. Under no circumstance try to approach him, antagonize him, or contradict him. Understand? He's volatile at this point and if he believes that you are the enemy, he will kill you on the spot." Although Hotchner's words were meant for the three of you, his eyes never left you for too long.

"Is there any plan?" Carter asked.

"He'll be distracted with you there. You just have to focus on doing your job. There's a CCTV system with video and audio that still work. We have eyes and ears on you."

"Fair enough. Patton, when we get in, you and I will attend to the wounded. You," Carter pointed at you, "go to the pregnant and check on the baby."

"Understood."

"Let's get you inside."

Following Agent Morgan to the end of the perimeter your heart quickened its beating rate pumping your blood faster through your veins boosted by the adrenaline raising in your system. The unsub, as the FBI called him, ordered the bunch of you to show that you weren't armed before allowing you to enter.

The man, in his late fifties but athletic, was sweating profusely. His eyes never focused on a spot for too long. His hands were running through his hair, drying his face, fidgeting anxiously. Saying that he was unstable was a huge misunderstanding. When Carter asked for his name, the man mumbled Eli almost unconsciously before cursing and aiming at the doctor with his gun claiming that they weren't there to talk to him.

Carter calmly explained his plan of action to Eli before proceeding. Patton and Carter found the wounded victim bleeding in abundance from a bullet wound in his thigh. As they worked fast and efficiently on it, Eli hovered over them with guilt written all over his face. The man kept promising that it had been an accident, that the gun had shot itself because the victim kept talking and talking. Carter deemed the wound not life-threatening itself as it hadn't pierced the artery; however, Eli wasn't sure how long it had been since the man was bleeding, which made the situation delicate still.

Meanwhile, you've approached the pregnant woman asking for her name with a soft calming smile on your face. Patty was focused enough to tell you that this was her first pregnancy, that she had gone to the grocery store craving pickles and peanut butter, and that she was in huge pain that had increased in the last few minutes. Putting on some gloves, you informed her that she needed a pelvic exam to see if everything was alright, but you started the exploration by touching her belly and auscultating both her chest and her belly in order to find a trace of the baby's heartbeat if possible. After that, you pulled up her dress finding a concerning hemorrhage.

"Alright, Patty. Can you tell me how often it hurts?" You removed her bloody underwear before proceeding to the exam and… "You're in labor."

"No. No. No. There's no way. It's early still. It's early."

"That makes your baby a bit impatient," you joked kindly.

The most important thing was that Patty remained as calm as possible, which wasn't much. After noticing how dilated she was, you found the baby's head ready to start its journey into the world. Then you palpated it. The umbilical cord was surrounding the baby's neck. As Patty started to scream you could feel the baby moving forward as she was pushing.

"No, Patty. Don't push."

"It hurts!"

"I know it does, but you can't push just yet. Mister Eli," you called for the unsub, "this woman is in labor and she needs a hospital."

"She's not leaving!!"

"I'm not making a suggestion, I'm stating a fact," you sternly answered piercing him with your determination. You weren't scared of him. "If this woman and her baby die here, it would be your fault."

Eli ran towards you pushing his gun to your forehead, you didn't even blink refusing to show weakness. "Then do your job."

"Oh, I'm going to. I'm not a miracle worker, though. And I need help."

Outside, in the control center, Aaron was losing his cool. On the inside, of course, he rarely broadcasts his emotions. Dave knew him well enough to put his castless hand on top of his friend's crossed arms to give him support.

"She's strong," whether it was a statement or a reminder, they didn't know.

The fact that you weren't cowering under Eli's aggressive behavior broke his resolve allowing two of the hostages on the windows to help you. One of them volunteered because she was a med student; she had been helping the wounded man before the arrival of the ambulance. You asked her to monitor Patty as the other volunteer helped you handing you whatever you needed at the moment.

Trying to calm down Patty, you winked at her as if saying that her condition wasn't as grave as you'd told the unsub. Focusing your senses on your hands, you tried to remove the umbilical cord from the baby's neck without hurting it or the mother. It took some time and deep breaths but in the end, you were able to move it around freeing the neck. Patty was close to collapse, sweaty and exhausted. You asked her to push with every contraction. Head out. Another push and there came the shoulders. Another big one and the baby was limp between your hands, blue and unresponsive. Clamping the cord, you cut it before depositing the infant on top of a bunch of towels the volunteer had gathered from the end of the store for you. You start the baby's reanimation.

"She's passed out," the med student told you anxiously.

Without stopping your compressions you saw Patty unconscious, bleeding way too much.

"Carter!!"

"I'm not done yet," he shot you a look across the place.

"Fuck… She hasn't expulsed the placenta yet, Carter."

"She has to go to a hospital," Carter spat to Eli.

"No one is leaving until they gave me my children back!!"

The newborn made a complaining sound before starting to cry. Taking a deep breath, you auscultated her to make sure that everything was fine. You wrapped her on the towels and handled her to the volunteer with the order of keeping her warm and to make sure that if she stopped breathing at any moment, you were called.

Turning your attention to Patty there wasn't much you could do at the moment. Her heart rate was decreasing, and she kept losing blood. There was a hospital a mile away, she could make it and they would be able to help her before it was too late.

"Under no circumstance try to approach him, antagonize him, or contradict him," Hotchner's words danced in your head as you got up from the floor peeling the damp gloves.

Fuck it.

"Are you happy now?" You spat at Eli. Carter's patient was receiving CPR uselessly.

"Don't move," Eli pointed his gun at you.

"You know? The officers out there told us that you were a compassionate man. That you just wanted your children back. I thought I could understand you then, you were just a father loving his children and wanting to be with them."

"Exactly!! I'm–"

"You're not," you calmly cut his outburst shocking him. "You're a disgusting piece of garbage. Did social services take your children? Well, if you behave out there just as half as you did here I'm surprised they didn't take them sooner."

"Shut up!!"

There was a commotion outside when Aaron grabbed his gun and headed towards the perimeter, Morgan and Rossi caught him before he could even take a step away from them. Dave took the gun out of his grip.

"What's wrong with you?" Morgan demanded.

"She's going to get herself killed!"

"I know this is tricky for you, but you can't just break protocol, Aaron."

"Dave, she's inside and–"

"She's giving us an opening," Reid's absent voice ran through them. "Look, he's so focused on her and their argument that we can approach the store and take him without him noticing."

After a moment of studying the situation, Hotch took his gun again and nodded. "Let's get ready."

They put on the earpieces that kept reproducing the conversation that was taking place inside the store in order to give them the correct tempo.

"Look at what you've done," you pressed. Your voice was low and stern, completely calm as you kept approaching him cornering him against the counter of the store without him noticing. "A woman that still had time to become a mother, is now dying on the floor because of you. A man is dead because of you."

"It was an accident. I– The gun–"

"They could've lived if you had left them to leave to a hospital. Compassionate, they said," you snorted in mockery. "You're just a selfish bastard that would kill his own children if they disobeyed."

"That's not true!! Not true. I never touched them. I– I'm a good man."

"You're a murderer. Funny thing how you assumed your children aren't here yet because the police won't take them, but you know the truth, don't you? They don't want to have anything to do with you."

"No!"

"They know what you are and they don't want to be with you."

It was fast. One second Eli was an anxious and sweaty mess moving from side to side with unfocussed attention, and the next he was ready to shoot you between the eyes. However, your change was just as fast. One second you were approaching him slowly, and the next you hit him in the face with your elbow in a perfect move. Eli lost his balance falling face-first to the floor. You kicked the gun away before he grabbed you, pulling you underneath him. He punched you in the face before Carter hooked his head with his arm tearing him away from you. The door burst open and the FBI took Eli away.

In the mess that was taking the unsub away from the store, checking on all the hostages, and guiding the EMT to the injured, Aaron was unable to take a proper look at you which made him feel antsy.

With Patty and her baby in an ambulance and all the hostages safe, except for the wounded man that had perished, Hotchner approached you. His stern demeanor hardened his set jaw and frowning brow.

"We had video and audio from the inside. What you did was reckless. What were you thinking? Did you not pay any attention to what I had to say before you got in? Eli Marsh could've–"

"I did my job, Agent Hotchner. I'm a doctor and my job is to help people in need. My patient was losing blood and she needed a hospital, so I got her out of there. I'd do it again if needed."

Before he could say something else, Rossi called for you to make your statement.

Aaron saw you leaving with steady feet and felt his chest puff with pride at how brave you'd been. Dave's look in the distance made him take a deep breath and handle the situation as the Unit Chief he was; he needed to clear his mind.

Back at the office, the team dispersed to complete their paperwork. He had no idea how long he'd been surrounded by papers to fulfill, but as he was writing his statement, his mind wandered away, and the images of you confronting and insulting a volatile unsub with such a strong stance and calm tone assaulted him.

A soft know in his office door pulled him away from that helpless memory. David Rossi observed him with those profiler eyes.

"Yes?"

"Stop being this stupid, Aaron. Go to her."

"I'm not done."

"There's no rush. Plus, Morgan and I will take care of all the paperwork that doesn't need your direct participation."

Looking out of his window to the bullpen he saw his whole team looking back at him. They all knew.

"Go." His friend insisted.

Despite the dangerous situation and nerve-wracking job, you had to perform that day, you went back to your hospital to check in with your bosses. Weaver gave you, Carter, and Patton the rest of the day off as well as the day after that. Patton left immediately, but Carter and you procrastinated for almost two hours in the staff room talking about the day.

When Carter decided he had energy enough to go home, he offered you a ride and you gratefully accepted. Heading out of the ER door, it took you a couple of glances to acknowledge that the silhouette you were seeing was actually there and not a side effect of the stressful day you'd had.

"Go ahead," you told Carter. He looked between the man and you as the distance shortened. He didn't seem pleased with leaving you alone but did it nonetheless. "Agent Hotchner," you greeted him. "Is there anything else I had to do with the case today?"

Shying away, Hotch fixed his tie, "This isn't an official visit. I just– Are you hungry?"

"That depends. Why are you asking?"

"I want to buy you dinner."

"Why?"

You weren't going to make it easy for him and when he noticed he smiled slightly. "Because I like you and I've been an asshole lately and today I– I was terrified when I saw you come down from the ambulance. I'm not ready to have you out of my sight."

"That sounds concerning."

"I'm sorry about what I said when you asked me out. I– I pushed you away because I wasn't sure about how long I could keep my distance. I wasn't fair and I know it. This doesn't have to lead to anything, but…"

"Nothing fancy, though."

Smiling more broadly, Aaron nodded. "Nothing fancy," he promised making a gesture towards his car.

The end.

[ashenquill]

It's time to info dump about my character headcanons some moreeeee I love spreading my agenda on the internet hehe

Mumbo Killsalot Jumbo is one of those ambiguous types where you can't tell if he's actually a hybrid or not? Like, there's something a little bit... off about him. Something distinctly non-human. Also he's a really weird guy, which makes even less sense, because at this point hybrids are like 60% of the population, and nobody bats(ha) an eye at them anymore, so it's not like he needs to hide it. But he is, in fact, secretly a vampire. Or at least, he's 1/16th vampire or something like that. He just remembers this one guy named Vlad who he refused to believe was actually his great-grandpa because he's literally, like thirty? How on Earth would he have been old enough to father children with children with children? Mumbo started believing it when he saw him again ten years later and he hadn't changed in the slightest. Suddenly, the strict nobody open the curtains rule made a lot more sense.

Now, even though Mumbo is technically a vampire, his family is primarily human. The only reason they even have vampiric origins is because Great-grandpa Vlad got turned at the ripe age of 27, and wasn't about to abandon his wife over his new and very serious garlic allergy. She thought it was all one big prank he was pulling to get out of working on the farm, but after twenty years and seven kids, she realized that being a stay-at-home dad was definitely not taking the toll it should.

Mumbo and his immediate family have retained a few of the traits they inherited from Vlad, but it manifests in very mild coincidences. His mom is allergic to garlic and his dad has a strange Scarland-Princess-like affiliation with bats. Mumbo, meanwhile, really got the short end of the stick, as he can't expose his shoulders to sunlight without them miraculously burning (he's gone through more bottles of M-77 brand sunscreen than he'd care to quantify). Not to mention the insomnia! He'd be lucky to get two hours of sleep on an average night, and the fact that the only affect it really has on him is making his eyes look baggy is truly an injustice. Wasn't insomnia supposed to cause other serious health problems? How could he even complain about it if he wasn't constantly overtired? Rather inconvenient, that.

Don't ask my why I have so much lore for this guy when I don't even write him that often. It's just the Mumbo Jumbo allure, I guess

Here's some other fun facts:

Smells like iron/copper (metallic)

Book smart - special knowledge of redstone

Likes: cloud gazing, embroidery, old westerns/duels/guns, rubix cubes (only to look at though, bro can’t solve them for shit)

Dislikes: designing floor plans, social interaction, eye contact

Passions: philanthropy, travel

Habits/other details: Super fidgety like holy shit he never stops moving, picks at his nails and has lots of scabs & hangnails bc of it, he is littered with cuts and bruises of unknown origin, also usually covered in redstone & he mistakes his blood for it half the time, can’t tell if he’s ADHD, ASD, or both (deffo both)

Reactive to their environment - does not like to be around danger most of the time, would rather watch from afar, would rather not even watch tyvm, too bad he’s always a victim, #easytarget, your honor he’s just a wet cat

Special, plot-relevant skills: good w/ redstone, rich asf

Insomniac, also has RLS, always tired but it’s not very obvious, mostly just has dumb blonde moments, his intelligence would be 10% more if he actually slept, what the heck Vlad why'd you have to get bit by a vampire

[cowboythighs]

When Wayne took Eddie in, his biggest worry was that he was going to screw the poor kid up even more than his parents already had. After all, what did he know about taking care of a kid? How would he know what his nephew didn’t know- what Wayne needed to teach him? And how was he going to manage raising a whole little human and provide for them both? But to his surprise, Wayne soon found out that Eddie was shockingly self-sufficient. That he’d had to learn how to cook and clean and do laundry for himself, because his parents were too caught up in themselves and their own issues to take care of him.

Wayne’s momentary relief that he wasn’t starting from ground zero was soon replaced by a level of resentment towards Eddie’s parents. It wasn’t fair that Eddie had been forced to rely on himself so much. It hurt Wayne to see someone so young worrying the way he did about not using too much water; hurt watching Eddie silently going behind Wayne to turn off unused lights because he worried about the bills being too high to pay.

When he figured out Eddie's lemonade stand wasn’t set up to fund a new comic or toy, but rather to try and pay his share for room and board, Wayne took Eddie to the local thrift store and headed straight for the toys section. He was stern when he told Eddie to keep his money, and that they were not leaving until Eddie had an armful of his own toys because Wayne was determined to make sure Eddie had the chance to be a kid.

He watched as Eddie slowly pursued through the selection of toys- inspecting them carefully. When Wayne caught on that Eddie was looking at the price tags he gently admonished him; told him these are used toys; they’re cheap enough and that Eddie didn’t have to worry about money with him.

Eddie tried to argue, insisted that he knows how this goes and appreciates the thought, he really does think it’s nice that Uncle Wayne wants him to have fun stuff to play with, but he knew that just because they have money now it didn’t mean they won’t somehow come up short later, and how he’d much rather have heat than a GI Joe.

Wayne tried to be patient, to not to be as gruff as was his nature as he told Eddie “I may not be your daddy, but you're my boy and I’m gonna take care of you”. Wayne told him it was time to stop fussing and enjoy being a kid. Wayne allowed himself a smile when Eddie relented and picked out a handful of toys.

When they passed the book display as they walked towards the register Wayne stopped. “You like readin’?'' he asks. Eddie looks longingly at the books but only shrugs.

“Don’t know, never had any books to read”. Eddie says it like it doesn’t matter, but his face betrays him.

“They had books in school, didn’t they?” Wayne asked. Eddie just gave another shrug.

“Guess so. I didn't get to go to school very often. Mom and dad were almost always too tired or too sick in the mornings to take me. and we moved around a lot. When we lived close I could walk to school by myself as long as I had clean clothes. If you go to school dirty, teachers get too nosey," Eddie stated like it was common knowledge, “and then they call your parents and you get in trouble and have to move again. But mostly it was too far to walk so I couldn’t go anyways.”

Wayne’s heart felt like it was breaking anew with each detail of casual neglect his nephew had to endure. It wasn’t right for a kid so young to have gone through so much and be so nonchalant about it. Making up his mind he directed Eddie over to the books and told him he can have whatever he wants. There's a slim selection of children’s books to choose from, but it's a place to start.

Wayne watched Eddie's eyes as they kept wandering back to a boxed set with dragons and wizards on the spine. Wayne picked up the set of the Lord of the Rings books without a word and took the set up to the register with Eddie trailing behind. They were far too advanced for a kid his age, especially one as far behind as Eddie, but Wayne decided he would read to him every night. would read aloud the stories of Bilbo and Frodo and Middle Earth and watch Eddie's love for learning grow.

Wayne was proud when time passed and Eddie started leaving dirty dishes in the sink and letting his room get messy. He didn’t mind when Eddie took a long shower or stayed up late writing his own stories. Wasn’t disappointed when he got held back in school, or spent his free time playing games of make believe with his friends. Because he knew better than anyone that Eddie had a rough start in life and had been playing catch up for a long while. And besides, it gave him a chance to be a kid just a little longer, and there was nothing Wayne wanted more than that.

[mothmags]

More Nashi headcannons

This time, her relationships with her family!

part 2 - part 4

Natsu

I said it before and I'll say it again she is a daddys girl

Her and her dad were super close when she was little, and they are still very close now

Natsu is so proud of his little girl.

This mf will brag to everyone about how strong and brave she is

very much like how guildarts acts about cana vibes

she tries to seem humble about it, but it's very obvious that she likes the praise

these two team up to prank people. April fools day is dreded in the dragneel household for this reason alone

he has since learned to knock when entering her apartment after accidentally catching her and maree in the mid romantic moment (they were not having sex THANK GOD)

"their not dating my ass," but he mostly keeps it to himself. they will tell everyone when their ready (totally not connecting that he and lucy had that same kinda relationship when they were younger)

be buys her and her brother a gift if he's gone on a long mission

yall KNOW. He's going to be a great dad

Lucy

when she was a teen, her and her mom had BEEF

nashi would not listen to a word she said even if it was for the best

nashi was just sick of having her tell her what to do

she grew out of it by her late teens' early 20s, tho

they were super close when she was a kid and are becoming closer now that shes out her teenage angst era

even though they had a rocky couple of years, they would still do magic lessons on wednesdays

before they go for their weekly lessons, they get coffee or tea at the local cafe that opened up down the street

Lucy gets a mocha latte and Nashi gets a boba tea

they talk about books and how their week has been and general catch up since sometimes their schedules dont sync up

these two, even in nashis' teen years, they gossip to each other about stuff happening in the guildhall while the other was away

nashi also tells her mom everything shes been working on in her studies at FSI

lucy is always ecstatic since some of it is stuff that isnt public knowledge yet

luxy tries really hard to be a good mother to her kids and now that nashi isnt a kid anymore she sees how much work and love her mom gives to make their family happy

Neil

She low key thinks he's a babied brat

They "fight" a lot. mostly about trivial things, but it never gets serious. its mostly teasing

they dont throw hands often with eachother its mostly verbal

Lucy would ground them for fighting, and they would both be like "moooom >:( we were just having a little fun"

he breaks into her apartment several times a week to steal snack on the way to the guild

when he tries to set up a prank in her apartment maree catches him like 75% of the time

she just kinda backs away and doesn't snitch because she thinks it'll be funny

sometimes hed just break in to knock a drink off her counter and turn the lights off or just generally be a nuisance for a hot second then just leave

nashi never gave him a key. This guy just breaks in through her window.

sometimes loke lets him in tho

he stays with them when his parents are on a long mission

not because he needs someone to watch him but because he gets bored in an empty house

they very much have the "only I'm allowed to be mean to my sibling" dynamic and will fight anyone who tries to break that

when they both were living under the same roof, it was incredibly chaotic but once she moved out he missed her a lot

hed never tell her that tho

Happy

besties for the resties

he joins her on smaller jobs when she can just go by herself

he joins in because "a lady shouldn't travel alone!" but he just wants to hang out with her

when she was younger and more rowdy, he would try to keep her out of trouble but would get wrapped up in whatever prank she was doing at the time

he would join her for mostly every job for this reason, but since neil goes out on jobs alone now, he mostly joins him (and ofc he joins natsu and lucy on theirs aswell when they do big ones)

he steals food from her apartment with neil

he teases her like how he teases lucy but ofc its all light hearted

[cringekind]

hannibal ep 3 rewatch with my sibling except the post is liveblogging style

this show has a such a strong artistic vision like just endless amounts of beautiful shots, the yellow of the leaves all around abigail and her father is everything...

also her dad kissing her for killing the deer yeah exactly I can't explain why that makes me feel insane but it does

eating her is honoring her, otherwise it's just murder!!!!! and then kissing her again, reaffirming love after making her commit acts of violence ohhhhhh its so good

Will in his tiny boxers I'm blushing

Alana saying "I don't want to get in the middle of you two" as she constantly puts herself between Will and Jack. girl have some self awareness I beg

ik abigail IS guilty but the way Alana looks at her!!! saying abigail needs a safe space and then looking at her like she's already been caught!!!

hannibal watching Will teach about one of his murders always makes me giggle. you know internally Hannibal is twirling his hair and giggling over Wills ability to Know Him

"sounds like somwthing a liar would say" GAGGED

they lowkey gave abigail dead anime mom hair

hannibal and Will kinda match, very complimentary colors to meet abigail. a united front

girl Will ur so crazy how did you think that threat was gonna go over well

will never not be funny how much Will looks like a kid getting sent to the principles office

I love how dedicated Freddie Lounds is to being messy

"and you be the man on the phone" yeah YEAJ tell his ass girl !!!!! his face is priceless

PET PEEVE ALERT!!! adhd sibling can't just sit and watch TV and is thus missing hannibals reactions !!! they didn't even notice him not liking when Marissa called her mom a bitch !!!!!!!!;

hannibal catching when abigail is hiding something is forever iconic cannibal to cannibal communication

Will having his first moment of Noticing is so insane. like it's not specific suspicion, just noticing. and he's choosing to look away because he already trusts Hannibal

I love that even though abigail was the lure and knew her dad would honor every part, things like the hair in the pillows is still a surprise to her. that even to abigail her father hid things

gutting him being an instinct yes girl yes

hannibal seeing blood on her hands and immediately going to cover for her !!!!!!!!!!! ik he's manipulating her but idc his split second decision to "protect" her in this way makes me feel crazy.

he's practically giggling as he encourages her to hide the body like he's not doing anything to help her but he's having fun what a guy

hannibal being the person the hospital called, like how did he become her guardian?????? just some rando whose not even her doctor

CALLING HIM OUT!! yes Hannibal is glad you killed him he will always be pro murder and pro anything that makes you rely on him

she knows he's lyingggggg

their dynamic is so interesting because there's all this emphasis on how Will is the only person who Understands and Knows Hannibal, and I think this is mostly true! but Abigail and Hannibal have an instinctual understanding of each other that has nothing to be with being fucked up soulmates or empathy disorders. Abigail being raised by a cannibal and Hannibal having been a child surrounded by violence, they simply know each other. on Abigails side its not an extremely deep knowledge and she's still far too trusting, but I think she knows the ways he's using her trauma to weasel his way into being the only person she trusts, and she let's it happen anyways because at least he's familiar.

anyways slay episode I love you nbc hannibal

[junebugwriter]

I guess I never had much of a chance.

I just started watching Jessie Gender on Youtube's essay about masculinity and... it hit like a goddamn truck. So much of what she talks about in her past so closely mirrors my own, it's downright eerie. Down to the fact that I was an Eagle Scout. Although, to be fair, it sounds like she had a much better time in it than I did, considering I never really made many friends in my boy scout troop, and I never worked any of the camps.

But to the point... I really did echo a lot of her experience. I tried my hardest to be a man. To live up to the ideals of masculinity that society enforces. But I was never going to be anything close to that. I was always too fat, too sensitive, too emotional, and too unathletic to ever be anything close to Western Masculinity (tm).

I did try though. I was desperate to be seen as something close to approaching masculine, but it came out in such strange ways.

For those who don't know me in person, I grew up in the United Methodist Church, quite literally. My dad was a pastor all his life, and that's the only life I knew growing up. As such, we lived life "in a fishbowl," as we'd call it. That means we were supposed to be the Model Family. Above all reproach, under all scrutiny. If any of us stepped out of line, we were going to be reprimanded for it. Do you folks on here have any idea what that does to a kid? My parents loved me, to be sure, and I bear them little ill will. They did their best under the circumstances. But we were a religious family in Texas. There's very little non-conformity afforded to us. My mother, God bless her, she already bucked tradition. She wasn't exactly feminine, mostly. Sure, she wore dresses, wore makeup, even went square dancing with my dad. But she had little time for the trappings of femininity, and only wore them under obligation. She did not enjoy being a pastor's spouse, for the most part. She endured it, for my Dad's sake, but she made no secret that she wasn't going to pretend to be some Stepford Wife bizarro Tammy Faye Bakker. Not her.

So I grew up with my dad, a uniquely anxious person, stressed about how me and my brother were going to make it. My dad was a pretty old-school guy, but at heart he was a bleeding heart liberal, as much as one could be in Texas in the 80's and 90's in religious circles. There's not a single Democratic president he didn't vote for. He was Democrat til he dies. Yet... that could never be public knowledge. Not in the church. Not in Texas. So already, we became bearers of secrets. Mom isn't a pastor's wife. Dad isn't a Republican. And so we were taught to bear our own secrets.

I'm neurodivergent. I have ADHD. And I am almost entirely incapable of telling a lie. (Ask my partner, she knows!) But little secrets... that was a matter of survival. Little secrets, for the benefit of the Image. Everyone has them, I learned. But God help you if your secrets ever got out.

So I learned, and learned, and learned some more. I'd ask questions, and to their credit my parents answered most of them truthfully, if they could. But there were some things you do not question.

One of them was gender. But I did not know that word.

How could I?

Not in that environment. Not in the fishbowl. Not in Texas. Not in the church.

Girls did x, boys did y, and that's that. Girls were x, boys were y, and that's it. End of discussion. Black and white.

There were signs I did not conform. I loved the show Barney and Friends... until I overheard kids at school call it a show for girls and little babies. Not a show for boys.

Overnight I stopped watching.

I used to sleep with a blanket every night. I loved, adored that little blanket. I found solace in Linus from Peanuts, and his little blue blanket. But my father chafed at its ever-presence. He never said anything against it, but he didn't have to. I could tell. So my mother, God bless her, she stitched me and my brother some pillows with fun animal designs on them. They substituted for the blanket. Father approved, as they had things like tigers and killer whales on them, which were Boy Approved (tm) things to like.

But then there was the ladybug puppet. It was a cute little stuffed ladybug that fit on my hand, and it even had an extra leg so as to be anatomically accurate. I slept with that every night.

Until my mother told me that dad didn't want me to do it anymore. He was worried it was too "feminine." And she said it in a very sing-song voice, a teasing tone I grew all too familiar with.

So into the closet the puppet went. And me with it.

I became hyper-vigilant about what could be perceived as "feminine" from there on out. I watched what I did like a hawk, trying never to ever raise the annoyance or ire of my dad or my peers. But it was never enough. As anyone who has ever had to play that game of gender chess, there was never going to be any chance for someone who is a trans girl to ever be anything but, even if they didn't know that was what they were.

I didn't hear the word "transgender" until I was in grad school. By then, I had already felt a call to ministry. By then, I had long ago locked up all gender nonconformity in a closet back when I was in grade school. I had lost an entire childhood, teenhood, early young adulthood. And by then, I felt like they described what being trans was like, as if it was for someone else. Glad I didn't deal with that issue!

But I did. I simply did not allow myself to question things. Did not allow myself to break the box I was put in as a child. Because I was a white guy, going to be a pastor. I figured I would just be that all my life.

Life has changed about three times since then. I only allowed myself to ask myself the hard gender questions in October of last year. I was 35. I'm turning 36 this next month.

I'm starting my life over again, a fourth time. But I'm actually looking forward to the future, for the first time in my entire life.

Because now it actually exists.

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

Character: Kujo Takamasa

First impression

since i first saw him in rikus fucking. 1st beat flashback. i knew that man was sus as hell amen! i was super curious since we got that bit of knowledge that tenn left with a random guy and basically had this prediction that he was AWFUL and the cause of all of tenns problems. in the first actual scene with him i was mostly like 'what a cool scene!' but as soon as we learn he's tenn AND AYA'S dad i was like. oh i bet he's why tenn works himself into the ground and has all these weird complexes and won't talk to riku i bet kujo’s this horrible abusive guy. i even wrote this little tenn&aya angst fic back in october when i was watching 2nd beat that holds up decently well (it was basically a sickfic where tenn was like ik im sick but I Have To Go To Work bc otherwise kujo’ll be pissed and aya was like My Mom Died Of Illness) but definitely has some inaccuracies and missed how interesting tenn and aya's characters and complexes are. anyway i hated that man!

Impression now

I LOVE THIS MAN!! he has every disease <3 <3 <3 i love his hair. i love his vibes. i love when he fails at life. he's still an awful parent who did/does definitely traumatize tenn but it's in a fun funky way. i love a man who goes insane with longing. i also just really like the little snippets we get of him existing. being himself. his personality entertains me. i like his dramatic monologues and i like that he’s goth

Favorite moment

oh my god. when the high school trio corner him in a hallway and he’s like “when did i start running a children’s counseling hotline” my friend. perhaps when you started using them as raw material for idols??? its so funny hes like. whats up with these kids ❓

Idea for a story

THIS IS SURPRISINGLY HARD bc i give him a lot of screentime in my stuff that ISNT centered around him but then with just him all im thinking of is easy little character studies where i wax poetic about zero. OH!! actually i’m always dreaming up dumb kujo family crackfic. they go to the grocery store. (i actually have snippets of this one thought up.) they go to a diner. they go on an overly long drive and hate it. haruka is always there causing drama. its a beautiful world

Unpopular opinion

ONE TIME I SAW A FIC MAKING HIM HOMOPHOBIC nah. hes gay. hes homophobic against haruki specifically. but in general taking an antagonist and making them do allllll the bad stuff is never my jam. also w that the idea/theory that he fucked over zero, like pressured him too much as a producer? i could see him being the reason zero disappeared, but i don’t think he could or did Manage zero— if he overwhelmed zero, it was probably with excessive love and devotion— like i bring up in the favorite relationship section he’s the guy who says “this song is the most amazing thing in the world” and gets so excited about it he breaks your stuff!

Favorite relationship

i thought about this for a little but i think i gotta say him and haruki! apart from them being the choice with the most history, their dynamic is just fun— harukis a jokester. a free spirit. a silly guy if you will. and generally laid-back/unattached- while kujous very serious and singleminded. add in Beef and that they used to be really close and it’s so fun; i also think a lot about the flashback scene where haruki’s having kujo listen to his new song and kujo’s like THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER MADE!!!!!! what a hypeman :> and harukis like don’t break More of my glasses so that’s another fun touch of contrast in their dynamic

(and god. i’ll make this last forever kujou vs here for a good time not a long time haruki. what a pair to trap in endless grief)

i also actually really like his and gaku’s dynamic? all their scenes together are really strong, it’s really satisfying seeing gaku tell it like it is— with all this care for tenn and knowledge of tenn’s issues embedded— and having gaku play kujo in the zero musical also brings out ALLLL the similarities in the two characters (that are really quite different) and makes every kujo-gaku scene during that period extremely fun bc gakus doing CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Favorite headcanon

ough… ive talked about this before but i think aya buys him best dad merch, haruka buys him stuff that says “worst dad” and he ignores what all of it says and just like. wears/uses it.

also i like the idea of him being consciously goth/alt but in different styles since before zero disappeared

[4lexnilsen]

“are you aware of this very special talent of yours?   how you make everything way more fun than it really is?”   alex coos with a sweet,  boyish smile,  watching as poppy’s lips close around the still warm cinnamon roll.   he laughs as crumbs fall onto the floor between them,  the pad of his thumb dusting off her chin.   he’s loved baking ever since he can remember.   at first,  it was something that brought him closer to his mom or rather the memory of her.   then,  it became an effective way of keeping all his brothers occupied —   baking cookies for santa,  pumpkin pies for thanksgiving,  cherry pies as a sweet summer treat.   now it’s mostly a hobby,  and his love language.   after all,  nothing says i love you quite as homemade sweets.   and having poppy around,  either perched on the counter or hugging him from behind or adding some secret ingredients to his recipes,  never fails to make his heart soar.   “yeah,  no…   if you spell it out for me,  it’ll be the only thing on my mind until we get back home.   you don’t want to torture me like this.   i’ve got an idea.”   he beams at her,  feeding him and letting out these little moans of approval that always make his cheeks heat up.   those cinnamon rolls are really good,  though.   “oh,  we’ll do that.”   his nieces and nephews don’t know the difference between homemade goods and those store-bought.   they’ll be content as long as the sugar index is high enough to put a grown man in a diabetic coma.   

the nilsen’s family reunions are usually highly entertaining events.   their brothers turn into five year olds the second they cross the threshold of their childhood home,  their spouses attempt to keep them under control up until that third glass of wine and then dissolve into giggles and gossip,  the actual children are like chimpanzees on the loose,  and his father tends to get emotional every time the festivities come to an end,  but alex wouldn’t want to have it any other way.   being the self-proclaimed favorite uncle,  he is immediately swarmed by all the snot-covered gremlins,  sticky hands dragging him away to assist in the annual pumpkin painting / carving contest,  little voices ringing in his ears,  demanding his full,  undivided attention.    he has to,  once or twice,  explain to his six year old niece that poppy isn’t dressed as a female version of pennywise   (yes,  the hair is the same color.   yes,  it might be confusing.   no,  not all redheads are evil clowns.   yes,  some orange-haired politician are evil clowns,  but that’s beyond the point.)   and he’s not a victorian orphan,  but other than that it’s a fairly peaceful evening.   he ends up with glitter and bows in his hair,  lipstick on his eyelids,  but that’s nothing new.   they love turning him into a princess,  and he’s just glad to be included.   after all,  one day,  all these kids will be grown up and think he’s anything but cool.

“baby,”   he calls out from across the room,  seeing that she’s been chatting up with his dad and deciding to throw her a life raft in case she needs it,   “would you like to join us?   i don’t think i have the skill to help lily bring her vision to life,  but you’re real good with makeup.   i think you’re also good at painting pumpkins.”   his little niece beams at that,  her bleach blonde wig barely hanging onto her scalp,  that blue elsa gown all wrinkled after hours of playing with her cousins.   there’s paint on her cheeks and hands,  but she still jumps up to her feet and races to where poppy’s seated,  hoping to drag her to the floor so she can help her turn that big pumpkin into olaf.   “alex doesn’t know who olaf is,”   she explains with a sigh and a dramatic roll of her eyes,  hands on her hips as she judges her uncle for that embarrassing lack of knowledge.  

@sparelove

"of course i want to try it." as alex dips the knife into the icing, she's careful to place a hand beneath it as he lays it carefully across her tongue. "yeah, no. we can't bring that. i have to eat one right now." she smiles when she notices the pink of alex's cheeks. "you know what i mean, alex nilsen. don't be coy." she takes the knife from his hand and continues to ice the rest of the cinnamon rolls, teasing him all the while. "work it off meaning something akin to what we did this morning, and last night. would you like me to spell it out for you?" she scoops a roll onto a plate that sat close by, grabbing alex a fork so they could both try it. "i make no promises that we won't be late though, if we start…" poppy cuts a piece, waiting for him to open his mouth before pulling away. a moan of pleasure passes her lips when she tries a bite of her own. these may have been the best cinnamon rolls she's ever had. "we should just pick up those festive frosted sugar cookies on the way."

which is exactly what they did; and despite the looks of judgement from bryce when they arrive without what had been promised, poppy quickly shuts the second nilsen brother down. "i'm sorry, bryce, what was it you made for this party?" she asks as she sets down their container of cookies. when his eyes narrow on her, poppy pushes again, "it's my fault, not his. they were just too good to be wasted on the youth." byrce rolls his eyes with a laugh, "i'm not disappointed my children aren't getting to have any. i'm disappointed." she nods, "now that i understand."

after explaining to a few of alex's neices and nephews what their costumes were, and therefore also explaining that they weren't old enough to watch the film, poppy found herself sitting with mr. nilsen while everyone else carved pumpkins. "you know, i didn't used to let the boys even celebrate this holiday," he began, prompting a chuckle from poppy. "i do know as a matter of fact. your son and i had a fight about it earlier." the confession prompts a look of concern from alex's father but the blonde is quick to settle his worries. "about religion, more specifically. it worked itself out." there's a heavy sigh as mr. nilsen crosses his hands in his lap, looking across the room to his children and grandchildren were. "i didn't know any better." poppy nods before she settles an arm across his shoulders. "but now you do, and that's all that matters." the only point that meant something was that four well-rounded men were out in the world. they had families and lovers, great friends and careers that kept a roof over their heads. by all means, mr. nilsen was successful. no parent was perfect. but the love poppy felt from alex and the rest of his family was a job well done in her opinion. complicated relationship with religion or not, she was happier when she was around them.

[high-dragon-bait]

Dreadwolf is Ragnarok: Why It Makes Sense Thematically For Fenris To Return

Hello.

If you speak to me about Dragon Age for more than five minutes you'll learn that I really like Fenris. Like. REALLY like Fenris. Then you'll learn that I really, really want him to be in the next game.

I really want him to be in the next game

And I'm going to explain to you in a comically long post explaining a super crackpot theory about why I think it makes thematic sense for him to be in the next game.

So, let's talk about Norse mythology! More specifically, let's talk about Fenrir!

Fenrir is Fenris' namesake. With Fenris being a slightly less common/alternative translation of the name (Fenris Wolf being the full translation) Fenrir's role in Norse mythology is essentially that he's a huge fuckoff wolf who breaks from his bonds and kills Odin, the god of knowledge and king of the gods, which causes Ragnarok, the end of the world

If you don't know, Fenrir was bound by Odin, and the really really abridged reason for doing so was basically that Fenrir was getting too big and scary for Odin to handle. So he bound him up, which caused Fenrir's hate for Odin, and in turn caused him to kill him and caused him to start Ragnarok.

Does this matter to Dreadwolf? Probably not all of it! I doubt Solas is directly responsible for Fenris being enslaved, but anything is possible, the important part here is really: Fenrir breaks free and kills Odin

I have seen people argue that Solas is not a good Odin parallel, because the Dread Wolf as a character and Solas' betrayal/trickery of you is more Loki, but I think Odin has been a bit mischaraterized by Marvel in pop culture. Odin is not a wise, ancient father of the gods. Odin is a trickster, Odin is a betrayer. Odin will do whatever it takes to gain all the knowledge he can. And this is often a fatal flaw in the legends

Norse mythology is too long to summarize here so you're just gonna have to trust me, Odin does a lot of shitty things mostly in the name of gaining more knowledge. Which is an extremely Solas thing to do and would make Solas a good Odin figure

But, Loki is still a connection, because in the legends, Fenrir is Loki's son

Now... do I expect Fenris to be Solas' son? No! That's cursed! And makes my FenHawke fankid possibly getting with one of my Solavellan fankids really uncomfortable! But I do think there could be some interesting parallels there. Maybe not "son" in a literal sense, but you could do a lot with an inherent connection between them. Maybe the lyrium markings connect them somehow, maybe Fenris has some Magic Elf Blood in his veins that connect him to Solas, maybe just BEING an elf is enough. I don't know! I'm just saying that this could also be a connection and would be fun to watch.

(Loki also has... a lot of kids. Many of whom are animals. We've got Fenrir (a wolf), Jormungandr (really big snake), and Sleipnir (eight legged horse). Fenrir and the snake have a mom that's basically Just A Woman but Sleipnir's dad is straight up a horse and Loki is the mom. No I will not explain I just need you to know that)

BioWare could also combine Odin and Loki and give Solas parallels to both. It's important to mention that I don't expect any of these parallels to be 1:1, this is not a retelling, this is a parallel, and sometimes parallels aren't exact.

All that's important is this:

Solas/The Dread Wolf is a god of wisdom, pride, and trickery. Three things that are very important to Odin's character

Fenris is named after Fenrir. A huge wolf, who hates Odin for what he did to him and kills him, initiating Ragnarok

Now, like I said, we don't know if Solas had anything to do with what Fenris went through. That is honestly not important, because regardless, Fenris would HATE Solas' plan.

Fenris would not want the veil to come down! He would not want the world to be filled with inheret magic! That would HORRIFY him! And yes, perhaps if Hawke is in the Fade, his feelings may change. But I have a sneaking suspicion that any promise Solas make to bring Hawke back would be a hollow one. Remember, Odin, and Solas, will do ANYTHING to get what he wants

And if he lied to Fenris about getting Hawke back... I can't imagine Fenris would be happy

(Disclaimer: Character choices would matter, I'm not saying all of this will be unchangeable narratives, just possibilities. Though I do think Dreadwolf will have a lot of hard character-death based choices, I'll elaborate on why later)

Just to cover my bases, it is important to note that Solas already has some connections to being Fenrir himself. Mainly, also being a huge fuckoff wolf and the whole "ending the world" thing. But there is another one that I'm kind of surprised I've never seen mentioned before.

A very important bit in Fenrir's lore is that he bites off another god's hand

This god is Tyr. Tyr is the god of war and bloodshed but also of order and justice.

And well. Solas kinda bit off the hand of someone who could be representative of war and bloodshed, as well as order and justice didn't he?

But... this might not be a connection, at least, not yet. Two reasons for that

Tyr placed his hand in Fenrir's mouth as a bargaining chip. Fenrir was not easy to bind, the gods tried multiple times disguising it as a game, Fenrir "winning" each time by breaking from those binds. But when someone keeps trying to tie you up you get suspicious. The last time he was bound, he asked a god to put their hand in his mouth, and if he were unable to break free and the gods didn't free him instead, he would bite off their hand. Tyr volunteered, and Fenrir bit off his hand. There are no parallels to this story and how the Inquisitor lost their hand.

If Solas is thematically Fenrir and not the guy literally named after him I will be annoyed

But it is something to keep an eye on, because it could be important in the game. This leads me perfectly into the next section of this post which is: Doesn't mean anything now but COULD mean something in the game

It's really just one point. There's a post floating around rn joking about how maybe Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is called DA:D because Solas is, in fact, a dad!

This is where we get really crackpot

See, thing is, Fenrir doesn't survive Ragnarok. He's fated not to from the beginning, maybe he knows this, maybe he doesn't, it's kind of hard to say. But, after he kills Odin, he is killed by Odin's son Vithar

If the theory that Solas has children trapped behind the veil and if one of them chooses to avenge their father should you kill him, then we may be looking at a possible bad ending for the game, or perhaps not even a bad ending, maybe just an ending or even THE ending of the game.

Now you might be kind of freaking out reading this, because optional or not, this looks like A LOT of character death. I want to bring up a point with you that my friend reminded me of: Dragon Age is looking at a serious case of character bloat.

Without counting anyone twice (and giving me room for error cause I'm bad at basic math), Dragon Age has 27 companions, it has 29 if you count the Inquisition advisors, and it has 33 if you count the Awakening companions.

That is JUST the companions, that is not counting major/prominent characters that are not companions (Scout Harding, Sandal and Bodan, Arl Teagan), and it is CERTAINLY not counting anyone from the books and comics yet to be seen in the game (Vaea, Maevaris, Rys and Evangeline), and, obviously, not counting the soon to be four player protagonists

Because while the point of "Some of these characters could be dead" it is equally true that "All of these characters could be alive," nearly all, anyway, which can be very hard to juggle.

The point is: That's a lot of characters. You will notice that in most series that have large casts (The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, ???, Warrior Cats) also have a large percentage of those characters that die. So what I'm saying is: Brace yourself, Dreadwolf might be part character cull.

There has been a lot of time between Inquisition and Dreadwolf, there's going to be more time, it might well be a ten year gap. Dreadwolf is going to be a soft reset of the Dragon Age franchise at the very least. To draw in new players and to show the old players something new. Regardless of your feelings on that, if that is indeed the case, a reset is a good time to cull characters

Now... how much do I actually believe my own post here? To be honest with you, not much, I'd be surprised if even 5%, maybe even 1% of this post is correct, but I do think there are some things here. Specifically the Ragnarok parallels

Another point to remember about Ragnarok is it's not actually the end, there's a lot of death and destruction, but a new world is created out of it. Like I said, Dreadwolf is likely going to be a soft reset of the franchise, and if they do choose to have Ragnarok parallels, then it ends with the perfect way to do that: A new world. Reborn out of all that chaos, and ready to be explored anew.

So that's why Fenris should be in Dreadwolf

[seventeenlovesthree]

How Byler reminds me of Taishirou

I actually didn't ship any ship in Stranger Things prior to season 4, as all the couple related drama in season 3 was definitely not for me and I also hadn't been aware of all the subtext. Upon watching season 4 and falling down several meta rabbit holes, the cute Byler AMV I had watched a year ago or so suddenly made a whole lot of sense - and, looking at my shipping preferences, it does surprise me that I hadn't fallen for it sooner.

Long story short, in their essence, they remind me of Taishirou - I know, I know, please don’t throw rocks at me yet, I do compare them to a lot of other ships, but hear me out. Obviously, they are NOT the exact same characters, but the way they became friends, adore and admire each other and grow up to have severe communication issues are somewhat interesting parallels. At least to me, so I'm gonna try to explain it a bit.

Things Mike and Taichi have in common:

The first thing that comes to mind is how they start their respective stories with (perceived) main character status, driving things forward, showing courage and ambition while doing so (finding Will vs. leading the Chosen Children). 

Interestingly enough, their associated worn colour is "blue". Also: Layered clothing.

One of my favourite comparisons is their abilty to turn into grumpy cats when things don't go their way - especially when they struggle to reach certain people on the phone. 

Having very caring moms (even if they can’t really open up to them about their “secrets”), a little sister and a dad who’s more in the back (though Taichi obviously doesn’t have a big sister). 

Both of them have a talent in getting girls mad at them (El vs. Sora), mostly due to poor word choices. They’re actually both hopeless nuts in that regard with 02!Taichi being the only exception.

Lots and lots of hair. 

Growing self esteem issues for various reasons, as Mike considers himself just “lucky” to have found El and not being good enough for her. Additionally, he’s seen afraid of losing her just as much as fearing to lose Will in season 1 and 2; whereas Taichi struggles with his sense of recklessness, fearing to hurt and (also!) lose the ones he loves; both of them are pretty much unable to face these things for quite a while, causing a drift towards their best friends...

Things they don't have in common:

While Taichi is not your typical "nerd", he can still be quite a dork, despite being very sporty - whereas Mike struggles to even run in a straight line.

Taichi trying hard to pursue a girlfriend is mainly a thing that happens in fanon, but not in canon.

Things Will and Koushirou have in common:

They are (at least starting off as) being quite short - which has some impact on Mike and Taichi respectively being protective of them.

Their associated colours may not be the same, but “yellow” and “orange” are quite close after all. Additionally, "Will the Wise" (= knowledgable) has a “purple” colour scheme (which is Koushirou’s signature colour). Also: Collar shirts!

Both are being bullied at school early on for being “different” (which is only implied for Koushirou in the novel, as his classmates are making fun of his laptop or considering him “hard to get along with”). 

While their family situations are very different, it does have impact on their self esteem in some ways (having an abusive dad vs. being adopted and not knowing his whereabouts). Despite that, they are dearly loved by their closest ones (mom and brother vs. adoptive parents), even if they can't fully open up to them (yet). 

Humble ("Are you okay?" after waking up from being possessed towards his big brother’s injured hand vs. "I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill your expectations" after having figured out how to get the group back into their own world), but can be snarky if necessary (”Friends, what friends?” vs. “How did you ever guess?”). 

Also surprisingly emotional about things/people who matter to them (especially when they feel rejected by them)...

Questionable haircut choices. 

Can get very focused on/invested in their special interests (art vs. computers/problem solving) while not noticing their surroundings.

Both are getting panicky over girls - in somewhat different contexts though.

Quite perceptive towards certain things ("feeling" Vecna vs. feeling that something about the Digital World is "off"), even if that definitely isn’t their strongest comparison, see below.

Things they don't have in common:

They're different kinds of "nerds", artistic (+ D’n’D) nerd/genius vs. computer/science nerd/genius.

Unless we’re talking about Reboot!Koushirou, despite both of them having underlying self-esteem issues, Koushirou’s “otherness” doesn’t seem to bother him too much (as his self-esteem issues are rather resulting from him not not knowing where he comes from at first and then later whenever he is unable to function without his “knowledge”).

The whole deal about Will “getting possessed” and being “perceptive of some otherworldly (and/or dark) being” would actually be more fitting for Hikari, but for comparison’s sake... Let’s stick with what we have, shall we. Koushirou DOES have a strong intuition when something’s up after all.

How Byler reminds me of Taishirou:

The way they became friends is not exactly the same, but has similar implications - Mike saw Will on a swing in kindergarden and asked him to become his friend, which, in his own words, was “the best thing I ever did”. Whereas Koushirou joined the football club at their shared school, Taichi immediately took him under his wing as an upperclassman, making him “one of the few exceptions”, according to the novel. And without Taichi, Koushirou would “never have gone to Summer Camp”. The rest is history.

Hands on shoulders. Lots and lots of hands on shoulders. Also the (decreasing) height difference, of course.

My favourite comparison about them is their deep-rooted loyalty towards one another - even if Byler is definitely more vocal about it (”Crazy together?” - “Crazy together”, as Mike’s entire objective in the first season was to find Will), Taishirou are definitely devoted to one another as well (”I have believed in Taichi-san from the very beginning”).

The thing that actually sold me on the comparison was their growing communication issues though; Season 3!Byler is shown to be on bad terms, as Mike is trying very hard to outgrow his nerdy tendencies to impress El, whereas Will is craving for the old D’n’D days with his best friend - the most common fan theory here is that Mike is trying very hard to cover up his true feelings. Season 4 makes that even more apparent by having them “fight” over not having been in touch for 6 months. Taishirou are not explicitly drifting apart, but Taichi is pretty much implied to be drifting away from everyone and, according to the stageplay, lost sight of himself, without being able to confide in his best friend (and Koushirou has been vocal about being mad at Taichi for dealing with things by himself very early on).

Despite that, the devotion is still there - as mentioned above, Koushirou always believed in Taichi being “their leader” and Will always believed in Mike to be “the heart”. Will giving Mike his painting (which he specifically made for him) in season 4, reassuring him in his strengths, is basically synonymous with Stageplay!Koushirou giving Taichi his goggles (which he specifically made for him), and thus giving him his courage back as well. And in the end... They’ll always have each others backs if they manage to open up to one another.

Long story short, if Byler becomes canon in season 5, I will cherish this even more. One could also say... There’d be stranger things than that.

[xanadontit]

You can block the “holiday movie fun” tag if these are annoying, btw.

@legendofthehiddenbbc Suggested 12 Dates of Christmas and Mistletoe and Menorahs so I watched them on Hulu with commercials because that is my dedication to the cause! Also I lead a sad life.

12 Dates of Christmas stars Amy Smart with Mark-Paul Gosselaar as her love interest. Spoiler: he’s widowed. Seriously guys what the fuck. Anyway, Amy is hung up on her ex but agrees to a date with MPG after being set up by her stepmom (oh yeah, HER mom is also dead). On the way, she’s dosed by an over-zealous perfume counter girl, passes out, comes to, and goes about her day. The date sucks. Her ex has moved on. She falls asleep in her childhood bedroom but at the stroke of midnight she reawakens on the floor of the department store and is destined to keep re-living the day. Like Bill Murray, she takes advantage of the knowledge she has about the day to have some fun and unleash some frustrations. Somewhere in there she sorts out her issues with her ex, makes peace with her family, acts as a matchmaker for people around her, and gets with MPG. 

This was super predictable which is what we need in these unprecedented times, but with the added bonus of taking place in a city! What? 5/5 Winter Coats for the comfort and the 2010s fashion realness.

Mistletoe and Menorahs might be an actual hate crime. The plot centers on Christy, a self-proclaimed Christmas fanatic and marketing/business lady with a douchebag bro boyfriend, who is asked to give a big pitch at her client’s holiday party on December 24th. Christy agrees happily, thinking she’s going to nail it. Her coworker/friend breaks the news that the client is Jewish - it’s a Hanukkah party! OH NO. Christy doesn’t know jack shit about Hanukkah or that Jewish people even exist! Don’t worry: coworker/friend has a solution in the form of her son’s Jewish teacher, Jonathan, who will be her Hanukkah tutor. In exchange, Christy will teach him about Christmas before he meets his goyfriend’s dad. 

OK so this could be cute but mostly it feels like everyone in this movie has a TBI. Christy and the goyfriend (don’t get too attached to her) keep referring to the food and traditions as “random” (YIKES) and Jonathan acts like he has never seen a Christmas tree, nor has he ever wrapped a gift of any sort. Given how pervasive Christmas is I find it hard to believe he’s completely oblivious? If he is, then honestly good for him. Seriously. 

The obvious happens when they ditch their crappy partners and Jonathan accompanies Christy to the big pitch/party which is basically a black-tie gala and not only does she nail the pitch (with a toy line of maccabee action figures no I am not joking) but she is asked to light the menorah and lead the group in prayer, which she does perfectly, of course. Side note: how pissed would you be if your spouse was like “hey I’m inviting a bunch of business associates to come to our family party and I’m letting some random lady take part in our cultural traditions and oh yeah we’re having a business meeting too” because I’d be outta there so fast.

Big twist though: in another room we find a Christmas Wonderland. The client’s wife is Christian! Their home includes all traditions! Again: nice sentiment but why is Christmas always the default? (I know why.)

0/5 Winter Coats for doing the whole “Hanukkah is Jewish Christmas” thing and terrible acting and pretending like loving Christmas is a personality.

[revenge-of-the-shit]

Writing Chinese characters set within Western worlds

If you don’t want to read it on tumblr, go check this out on medium or go follow me on instagram at @annessarose_writes!

Alright. You know what. I’ve seen plenty of stereotypes in fiction (and in social media) that are so incredibly pervasive I’ve seen many Chinese people within the western world internalize it themselves. So here’s a rough guide on writing Chinese characters in an English-speaking Western setting, written by me, a Chinese Canadian woman.

If you’re here to say something racist fuck off. Otherwise, welcome! This is not a comprehensive guide by any means. This is merely a brief overview based on my own experiences. My experience (as someone in North America) will differ from someone living in, say, Europe or South America. I’m not representative of every Chinese person because everyone’s experience is unique. So here were are.

1. Our names

Chinese names are usually written as follows: [family name] [name]. Let’s take a Canadian historical figure as an example: 黃寬先. In Chinese, it’s pronounced “Wong Foon Sien.” On Canadian documents — which are written [First name] [Last name], he’d be called “Foon Sien Wong.” He went by “Foon Sien” for most of his life. That’s his full “first name.” Nobody would call him Foon because that’s just half of his name (unless given permission). It’d be like meeting a stranger called Alex and calling them “Al” right off the bat. Sure, they could go by Al, but you don’t know that.

For those of us living in the Western world, some of us have both a Chinese name and an English name. In these cases, our Chinese name becomes our middle name in English (e.g. a character could be called John Heen-Gwong Lee).

For some people who immigrated to the Western world but were born in China, their legal name would be their Chinese name. Some choose to keep that name. Some choose an English name as their “preferred” name but keep their Chinese name on legal documents. It varies.

2. Parents & Stereotypes

There’s two stereotypes which are so pervasive I see it being used over and over in jokes even within Chinese (and, to a larger extent, asian) communities:

The [abusive] tiger mom and the meek/absent dad

Both parents are unreasonably strict/abusive and they suck

I have yet to see any fiction stories with Chinese parents where they’re depicted as kind/loving/supportive/understanding (if you have recommendations — please do send them my way). Not all Chinese parents are tiger parents. Chinese parents — like all parents — are human. Good god. YES, they’re human! YES, they have flaws! YES, they are influenced by the culture they grew up in!

That isn’t to say there aren’t parents like those tropes. There are. I know this because I grew up in a predominantly Chinese community where I had many a friend’s parent who was like this. Parents who compare their kids to the best kid in class. Parents who force kids into private lessons and competitions that the kid despises because the parents think it’s for the best. Parents who have literally called their kid a disappointment because they didn’t get 100%.

But please, also consider: there’s parents who support their child’s goals and who listen. Not all parents force their kid into the stereotypical trifecta of lawyer/doctor/engineer — I know of a good number who support their child in choosing the path they want. There’s parents who make mistakes and learn and try their best to support their child. So please, for the love of god, if you write a Chinese character, don’t reduce their parents to stereotypes.

3. Language & Learning

When I first read The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, I was so excited to see a Chinese Canadian character in Frank Zhang. Finally, there was someone like me. Finally, there was representation in well-known western media.

While I do appreciate that RR added in Frank Zhang, it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t really know how to write a Chinese Canadian character. One of the most glaring examples: in The Son of Neptune, Frank reveals he can’t really read Chinese. In like, the next book (I think — it’s been a while since I read it), Frank is suddenly able to read Chinese because he “learned” it in two week’s time.

Nope. Nuh-uh. Learning Chinese is a pain, let me tell you. There’s thousands of different characters and it is something you need to devote a lot of time to learning (especially if you’re progressed past the best childhood years for learning a language). So if you’re writing about a Chinese character living in the western world, here’s what you need to know:

A character who was born and raised in the western world does not necessarily know how to read/write in Chinese.

If they were raised by their own family, the character would very likely know how to speak their own dialect. They’d be able to understand the language used in movies/TV and they sound like a native speaker, but they may not know how to use language outside of certain contexts (the term for this is heritage speaker).

They probably went to Chinese school. They probably hated it. Chinese school is usually universally hated and does not teach you jack shit other than a hatred for the place and a vague memory of learning how to read the language without actually retaining knowledge of what you learned.

Most of my friends who know how to read/write in Chinese learned from tutors, parents, or were born in China.

There’s two main types of written Chinese: Traditional (used by Cantonese speakers) and Simplified (used by Mandarin speakers).

There are MANY other dialects (which I don’t know much about). The most common ones are Mandarin (usually spoken by people from the mainland), then Cantonese (usually spoken by people from Hong Kong).

4. Fitting into the community

Usually, the story is one of two things: they’re the only Asian kid in the entire school, or they grew up in a predominantly East Asian community. Things to consider for both of these when you’re writing:

Growing up the only Asian kid

They’re “that Asian kid.” They’re different. They walk into a class and feel weird and out of place.

They bring food from home (usually ethnic cuisine) to school. Other classmates stare at it, make fun of it, demand what that strange food is.

“Where are you from?” ��Here.” “No, like, where are you really from?”

“Your name is funny.”

People literally never getting the character’s name right.

And that horrible, horrible feeling: wishing that they were white so they could avoid all of this.

Growing up in a predominantly East Asian community

It’s not uncommon for Chinese cuisine to mix with other east Asian cuisines. For special occasions (or just for a casual night out), your character could very well go out to get some sushi, or go for some KBBQ, or get some Vietnamese noodles.

Screaming “AIYAA” at/with their friends unironically if they’re annoyed (I’ve done this a lot with Cantonese friends. Less so with Mandarin friends).

Slipping into Chinese for like, two words, during a mostly-English conversation to talk about food or some other topic that can’t be adequately conveyed in English.

Reading books by white authors and learning about white history and growing up thinking white names, white books, and white history is the norm and standard even though the community is surrounded by East Asian people.

When the character leaves this community, there’s a brief culture shock when they realize how sheltered they’ve been.

Things in common for both of these:

The character has grown up on ethnic cuisine. Yes, Chinese people do eat rice with many of our meals. Yes, boba (bubble) tea is extremely popular. No, rice isn’t the only thing we eat. No, not all Chinese people love boba (though as a Chinese person I admit this sounds sacrilegious to say…)

The character likely grew up watching film/TVthat originates from East Asia. It’s not uncommon to watch Studio Ghibli films. It’s not uncommon to watch Japanese or Korean shows with canto/mando dub (examples: Ultraman, Kamen Rider). If you want to see a classic Chinese film from Hong Kong that’s fucking hilarious, watch Kung Fu Hustle.

The character has felt or been told that they’re “too westernized to be Chinese, but too Chinese to fit into the western world.” They’re torn between the two.

5. General portrayal

It’s quite simple, really. We’re human. We’re regular people. We have regular hobbies like all people do. We’re good at some subjects and bad at others. We have likes and dislikes like all people do. So here’s a list of stereotypes you can avoid.

STEREOTYPES TO AVOID BECAUSE WE’RE REGULAR HUMANS AND WE DON’T FIT INTO A SINGLE COOKIE CUTTER SHAPE, DAMMIT.

The character is a maths whiz and perfect at all things STEM.

The character is a straight-A+ gifted/IB/AP student.

The character is the next coming of Mozart and is amazing at piano/violin.

The character’s free time is spent only studying.

The character is insanely good at martial arts.

The character is either meek and submissive or an explosive, dangerous force.

I’m not going to mention the other stereotypes. You know, those ones. The really obvious ones that make fun of and demonize (sometimes through multiple untruths) how we look and how we live our lives. You should know.

Of course, there are people who fit into one or more of these. That’s not the point. The point is: molding all Chinese characters to these stereotypes (which white media tends to do) is harmful and reductionist. We’re more than stereotypes.

—

6. Conclusion

We need more diversity in portrayal of Chinese characters. Reducing us into one-dimensional caricatures has done nothing but harm us — look at what’s happening now. This guide is by no means comprehensive, but I hope it has helped you by providing a quick overview.

If you want to accurately portray Chinese characters, do your research. Read Chinese fiction. Watch Chinese films/TV. Initiate a conversation with the community. Portray us accurately. Quit turning us into caricatures.

[mystic-monkey-express]

👨‍👩‍👦-Hyousuke, Yoshino

🤔-Minori

🎲-Jun

(/◕ヮ◕)/:･ﾟ☆✧

This is a week late but in my defense 1. It wasn't friday 2. Brain full of pudding RIP

Hyousuke Fujimura

👪 - What’s their relationship with their parents like?

Hahahahahahaa what a question to ask for Hyousuke this is a great ask. So him and his mother are on okay grounds with each other. While he does dislike some of the choices she did in the past, he does understand why she was strict. Its not easy being a single mother of a demi-god of war and lust. Hyousuke inherently has a short, borderline violent, temper as well as an aura that attracts demons who wants to consume his demi-god power and life-force to reach a longer lifespan. Having a child as a single parent is already a lot for anybody, but a demi-god child would be too much for anybody. So Hyousuke's mother, to try to protect them both, went the strict "when school is over you immediately come back home" parent rant. But at least she explains to her son why it has to be this way. Anyways he runs away from home when he was a teenager and got way too use to fighting demons before he had to come crawling back to his mom for help with Mitsuko, his daughter, while he has to go to court because he was being framed for murder.

So they're on good terms now, but it was a rocky relationship at the beginning. Hyousuke's mom loves Mitsuko though. Her and Minori compete with trying to spoil her.

NOW LETS TALK ABOUT HYOUSUKE AND HIS BASTARD OF A FATHER!

Hyousuke's dad is Kyou, the major god of war and lust. Hyousuke absolutely despises his dad for multiple reasons and always has. Kyou knocked up his mom as a one night stand knowing damn well he was going to do so because of his curse and then deciding to ditch his mom and monitor from the heavens. Kyou didn't monitor Hyousuke to protect him or out of love, Kyou purely monitor him as a potential successor and/or as a favorite chosen human as well as for his own entertainment. The other main reason as to why Hyousuke despises his father is because Kyou killed his wife.

So whenever Hyousuke catches just a glimpse of Kyou, he goes into a mostly blind violent rage. He has ripped out poles from the ground to throw them at the god as an attempt to kill him. Kyou just see's all of this as a fun game to taunt Hyousuke even more.

Yoshino Iwasaki

👪 - What’s their relationship with their parents like?

Yoshino has an average relationship with her parents. She's not super close with them but she does love and care for them both. She does visit and invite them to festivals. She is more close to her missing grandma though.

Minori Løgner

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?

Minori is a dishonored god of knowledge, use to being the major god of knowledge so there's not a lot that she won't ever understand. She struggles a bit with modern concepts like cars but if she's curious enough and you leave her alone with a mechanic book and a car she can figure it out.

However, she will never understand anime and the culture that follows it. Yoshino can and has explained it time and time again, but it all goes over her head. It's not even a spite thing, Minori's brain just won't wrap itself around the concept of it. She still lets Yoshino show her anime and lets her talk about it whenever she wants.

She likes the passion and knowledge Yoshino has so its pleasant noise for her even if she just doesn't get it.

Jun Masipag

🎲 - Pick a random question to answer from this list

Cool I'm going to pick "💀 - How do they feel about horror movies?"

Jun is fine with horror movies, he watches them from time to time. However he's always jumpy afterwards and will make Yoshino dump the trash before he follows along with a light cuz he scared himself that he sent his friend to her death. Absolutely has the mind set of throwing whatever he has in his hands at the source of a spooky sound before sprinting away.

His phone has a lot of cracks on its screen and his phone protector is absolutely chipped. He's also spooked stray cats and dogs.

[hexogenic]

Headcanons for Wanda playing video games?

a/n: wasn't sure exactly what to do for this one but here's a lil somethin that got a bit off track. my knowledge is limited to animal crossing, cars 3: driven to win, tony hawk pro skater, bioshock, and various lego games, so that's where we're at.

gamer wanda headcanons.

RATED G FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES.

i do take requests but please give this a read before making one!

It’s Tony’s fault, really, as most things involving technology are. “Killer time waster,” he told her when he dropped by with the giant television and the game system. “Maybe it’ll sharpen up your reflexes, too.” Wanda’s reflexes did not and do not need sharpening, they’re fine, more than fine, but Tony never misses an opportunity to poke fun at his people. It is his love language, after all. But she did need a distraction, and a good one at that, what with the Avengers on hiatus and Tony keeping her on the compound “for her own safety.” If gifting her with fancy technology and leaving her alone was his way of apologizing for the circumstances, well, fine.

Wanda doesn’t like shooters (okay—she does, but she doesn’t like that they’re called shooters, and she doesn’t like the idea of killing people in excess even when it’s a game) but hell if she isn’t good at them. She swears she doesn’t use her magic as an extra trigger finger but she’s gotten so good at little magic that doesn’t leave a trace of red in the air that nobody can be sure.

She talks—never yells—at the television while she plays. Mostly to reply to in-game dialogue that doesn't need a response at all.

“Why does the man on the phone keep asking me ’would you kindly?’” They’re technically in a meeting. Technically. Meetings never feel quite right to Wanda when the whole squad isn’t assembled. It’s just Tony, Nat, and Scott around the table with her. Tony’s trying to brief them on something that may or may not be happening a year from now, Nat’s listening, Scott isn’t, and Wanda’s talking to whoever will listen. “The same phrase was on the little note on the plane,” she says, “and I don't think it's a coincidence.” Tony stops, frowns, and, “What?” he asks. “On the gift box from mom and dad,” she adds, as if it helps. The, “What?” comes from Natasha next. “BioShock,” Scott offers, “which is a sweet game. Super twisty—great if you want to have your morals messed with while you’re stuck in an underwater city.” They don’t end up finishing the meeting. They end up arguing across the table about whether or not video games are still fun when they employ manipulative psychological tactics. Scott says yes, Wanda says only sometimes, Natasha just observes, and Tony swears they'd have all been dead years ago if this was the entire team.

She doesn’t like when people watch her play unless they’re playing with her. Or unless it’s Natasha. Nat’s unobtrusive and familiar enough that Wanda doesn’t mind if the redhead slumps onto the couch with her and watches in silence until one or both of them doze off hours later.

Wanda’s Animal Crossing island is mostly trees, mostly unorganized, and rich with flowers. No Lilly of the Valley yet, but she’ll get there. It took her a while to figure out she could time travel to progress faster and once she did? No turning back. She plays the stalk market when she remembers to, which isn’t often, but she plays it well enough. She likes the duck villagers the best, and the cubs—all of the teeny tiny ones have a special place in her heart, in fact, and she tends to call them friends instead of villagers.

When Scott tries to get her into GTA it backfires. She gets him hooked on Mario Kart instead. They sit criss-cross, side by side on the floor in front of the couch, slinging banana peels and shells at each other until long after the sun’s gone down. “You remind me of my daughter,” he says in the middle of a race, and, “Sorry, that was weird,” when she doesn’t say anything back. “Wasn’t it?” Wanda pauses the game and considers. “No,” she says after a moment, “it’s not weird. I don’t have as many memories of my father as I would like, so these ones will be nice to have.”

Tony was right. Killer time waster, but not in a bad way. Time she would’ve spent worrying, regretting, wishing she could rewrite her past actions is better spent this way. She supposes it’s healthier for her to wait until she actually has someone to talk to about those things (usually Natasha, sometimes Scott) than to try and work them over when it’s late and she’s alone and there’s nowhere to go but down. She doesn’t like how good she is as demonizing herself when she’s alone with her thoughts, but she does like how it feels to work through things like that with someone she trusts. She only wishes there were more of those people.