#one of my uncles whos really important to me just died

[brucewaynehater101]

It really gets me so mad that in Batman: The Animated series when all Joker Junior happens they let Tim go. Just like that. WTF???

That's your boy Bruce, the one you drive in your limo, the one that gets an allowance, the one that impersonates you so good because he's your son. And the minute he goes through the worst experience of his life you just let him go.

Like, I get my boy Tim, him been there just reminds him of his trauma, and if being away helps him, then go away, no one's gonna judge you.

BUT 40 YEARS OF SILENCE

Like. Man. Wtf.

And I get the series has other problems (Bruce and Babs together- yuck )

But Tim, hurt Tim forced to go through it alone.

It hurts me so much, it haunts me.

Fuck. I need to watch that series. I was a wee bit scared cause I thought, at first, that Tim got stuck as Joker. I couldn't handle that, tbh. I heard he doesn't, though, so I'm down to try.

However, that's so fucking tragic. Just Tim handling that trauma alone when Bruce is aware of it. I've seen some cool AUs where Bruce and the others aren't aware, but somehow it's worse where Bruce just ignored Tim (or that it happened to him).

40 is fucking bonkers though.

I kind of want an AU where Tim reaches the 10 year anniversary of the JJ incident. The only person who knows is Bruce (maybe Alfred if you want to make him guilty/bad). The age Tim is can vary (from like 19-24), but it'd be hella cool to see the fallout of everyone else learning that Bruce has been a dick to Tim for that. This would be cool if Tim was RR at this point.

Counter AU:

JJ happens when Tim is Robin, and Bruce fires Tim "for his own safety" or whatever. No one else, not even Barbara, knows about this incident. All they know is that there *was* a third Robin, but now there's not.

Other people rein Bruce in until Damian comes along. Maybe Cass helps or something (for plot purposes, Steph isn't Robin. She does get vigilante-adopted by Oracle, though, and joins the Birds of Prey).

Either way, Tim is no longer Robin and basically ignored by Bruce due to Bruce's guilt/fear (not an excuse. Bruce is a huge colossal asshole for that. This is just his reasoning).

The only people who know who the third Robin was are Bruce, Babs, Dick, Alfred, Leslie, Jason, and Talia (technically Ra's too). No one but Jason and Talia know that Jason knows who the third Robin was.

Bruce, once again, is the only one who knows about JJ and why Tim stopped being Robin (maybe Alfred too, but fun drama if Alfred finds out what Bruce did to Tim).

Anyways, Jason never attacks Tim because Tim wasn't Robin by that point. Damian doesn't either. They don't have favorable opinions of Tim, but he's not really important to them in the grand scheme of things.

Dick and Babs initially kept in contact with Tim, but they slowly stopped checking up with him due to the shitshow of their lives (like Jason coming back).

Tim moves out of Gotham for a few years. He was never adopted at this point and keeps up the fake uncle thing. He's pissed at Bruce for firing him (that man can not tell Tim to stop being a vigilante. That's so fucking hypocritical and that man isn't Tim's father), but he can't do anything about it. Bruce can't stop him from being a vigilante if he isn't in Gotham, though [Tim also gets the opportunity to heal while he's not in the same shadow of Gotham].

While Tim isn't Robin, he does maintain some communication with YJ. It's more distant, but they still go on missions together (as long as word won't get back to Batman). Tim is also more of a traveling vigilante who steals money from Lex or other billionaires to fund Tim's night job (he, begrudgingly, doesn't attempt to steal from Bruce. Babs would catch him). Tim also pockets some of the cash from crimes (particularly if the cops are corrupt and the money wouldn't go towards good causes regardless). Maybe Tim remotely manages DI as well, maybe not.

Anyways, years later, the batfam is slowly starting to heal. Jason is starting to forgive Bruce. The old man is putting in the effort to heal their relationship. Damian is healing and bonding with all of the family members in his own way. Dick has a much better relationship with Bruce, and Steph feels accepted by them.

Then Bruce "dies."

Tim stumbles upon proof of Bruce through his travels. He doesn't trust the Bats (especially after at least a year of no contact with them), so he tries to tell them about his proof as a not well-known vigilante. Red Hood has worked with him when The Outlaws crossed paths with him, but they aren't at the stage where RH trusts him. Tim doesn't trust RH due to a conversation or two about the man's hatred of the third Robin.

The Bats, drowning in their grief, push Tim away and deny him.

It stings, but Tim convinces himself to just shrug. What would he expect from the Bats anyways?

Tim goes through the effort of bringing Bruce back by himself. He then tries to dip immediately afterwards. He wants nothing to do with the Bats.

The Bats become curious about why a vigilante who seems to dislike would risk and sacrifice so much to bring back Bruce. They, like the nosy shits they are, try to investigate, charm, and stalk Tim.

Tim wants nothing to do with those fuckers. He wants to be left alone, fucking hell.

This dissolves into Tim trying to stay the fuck away from the Waynes as they chase him. He also can't help the fact that he cares about them, even if they piss him off.

More secrets unravel. Tim, wanting them to just go the fuck away, admits he knew the third Robin and that's why he doesn't like them.

Tim has changed a ton (personality and looks [he's taller and changes his appearance with makeup/wings]) so they don't immediately think of him as the third Robin. Tim also maintains a spotless civilian cover.

This cues the other Bats starting to question each other and Bruce what the fuck happened to the third Robin to make someone else hold a grudge against them.

I got so distracted. Oh well. Imma have to watch that series to feel the pain you're chatting about ^^ I wanna immerse myself in it, lmao

[celaenaeiln]

i mean this in the most neutral tone, but, im genuinely confused with this eldest daughter syndrome dick thing? as far as i know, he never lives in the manor with other batsiblings and personally take care of them except damian, and just "yeets" from any possible trouble or tension within the siblings or when they have issues with bruce

No worries I totally get it! And I'm here to deliver!

First, to be fair to Dick, no one lives in the manor aside from Damian and sometimes Tim.

Dick lives in Bludhaven, Steph lives in Gotham U? She's been in and out of comics but otherwise her own house. Cass lives in Leslie's clinic, Tim alternates between the Titans and the manor, Jason lives anywhere that doesn't have Bruce, and Duke lives with his uncle.

However that doesn't mean they don't all rely on him.

I think the confusion comes from scenes like this-

Batman: Urban Legends Issue #10

Where it seems like Dick just left Tim to deal with Bruce on his own. But-

Batman: Urban Legends Issue #10

Dick called him. When Tim when to him for advice, he gave him advice but also knew it couldn't just stop there. So he called Bruce to get it through his thick head that he's allowed to be happy. If there's anyone that can change Bruce's mind on anything it's Dick.

Which brings me to my next instance of Dick acting as the mediator and emotional burden lifter of his family. When each batkid dies (or almost dies in Dick's case), Bruce grieves in a different way. With Jason he took it out on criminals, with Tim he took it out on himself, with Dick he took it out on criminals and heroes, and with Damian, he wanted to undo what happened. He torments Jason about it, goes too hard on the criminals, gets worsened by Barbara, gets helped a little by Selina but also feels a billion times worse about Damian's death so-

Batman and Robin (2011) Issue #23

He locks himself in a simulator for days trying to see and fix where he went from when Heretic killed Damian. Nothing gets through to him so Alfred pulls out the Big Guns - he calls in Dick.

Batman and Robin (2011) Issue #23

"Richard just came in from Chicago to--"

"Talk some sense into me?"

"Yes, I've implored you to shut this...thing off and join the living, but you have turned a deaf ear for days."

"This calling in the cavalry routine is getting old, Alfred."

Since the dawn of Batman and Robin, Dick has always acted as the mediator for Bruce and the family. Always.

With Dick's help, finally, after days, Damian's saved.

Batman and Robin (2011) Issue #23

And Dick finally brings Bruce back to life.

Batman and Robin (2011) Issue #23

He took a destructive, dead-man-walking and breathed life and hope back into him to stop him from taking his grief and anger out on his family and criminals.

Also-

LOOK AT THE WAY THEY'RE SEATED. DICK IS LITERALLY BRUCE'S THERAPIST.

Batman and Robin (2011) Issue #23

Calling in the cavalry always works.

Of course there's times when Dick doesn't help mediate. But the issue is not that he doesn't want to or he pushes it off, it's that he can't. What the hell are you supposed to do when the mediator who mediates all your problems is themself broken?

Dick really wants to help Tim but he can't. He can't find it in himself to barely live right now because Donna-his platonic soulmate-is dead.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files

He really can't.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files

She was his sister too. Pretty much blood.

I actually think the fact that Dick doesn't live in the manor makes the fact that he still takes care of all his siblings and their problems with Bruce even more important. To calm and rationalize down Bruce and take care of his siblings, he's constantly flying or driving back and forth between different cities, dropping his cases and work, ignoring his problems, just to be there for them.

For another example, when Dick hears that the newest Batman is causing problems in Gotham and Bruce just abandoned Tim to deal with everything and Tim nearly got hurt, he comes all the way back to Gotham to rail Bruce out for doing that to him.

Robin (1993) Issue #8

When Bruce teams with Damian their relationship so tumultuous but once again Dick steps in.

Batman: The Return

"I need a partner who can stay focused and keep up."

"Bruce, come on! I made a career out of not doing anything I was told when I was Robin. He gave up everything for this. You can't just take it away...you can't cut him out."

He keeps Robin from being fired and continues being Damian's support system.

It's not just mediating though, Dick fully steps in to take care of the batfamily whenever Bruce absconds or there's trouble.

Batman and Robin Eternal Issue #24

He's like the command center of the family.

This picture just embodies his role.

Batman (2011) Issue #15

And as Bruce once said-

Batman: Urban Legends Issue #22

He's really the eldest daughter and caretaker.

[sabine-smitten-obviously]

Good Omens - December reads part #1- fanfics recs 🤓🩷🎄

I ´ve decided to write a short summary each month about the books i read. I need this to let go of the stories, its a nice way of saying good-bye to them and to spread the love to the authors and to you. 🩷

I only read finished stories and rarely one-shots. You will find no WIPs in here, as i really like to dive deep into the plot and i keep losing track of WIPs. Also you will only find happy or at least hopeful endings here - i couldn´t handle anything else.

Thank you to @di-42 for inspiring me to do this with her own monthly review! 🤗 Check her out, she is an incredible author!

Also i try to find every author here on tumblr to link-to, but sadly some times i am out of luck. If you happen to know them, please tell them, write to me in the comments or DM me and i will update the post!

Multichapter Fanfics

Forbidden roman(ce) by WorseOmens

Sadly this story seems to have been deleted, also the author is not on AO3 at the moment. Maybe they have disabled or deleted their account. Its a pity, because it was a truly nice story.

It plays in ancient Rome. Crowley is living in a villa just outside Rome and "inherits" a slave from his uncle. For at first undisclosed reasons he tries to keep him away from his other slaves - and what other way is there than to spend time with him himself?

A nice story, only a bit angsty to me, and the last 2 chapters really cracked me to sobbing tears. I do so hope that the fic goes up again or that some of you might know the author and tell them about this. Maybe some of you have downloaded the story already (just like i had) and will still be able to enjoy it!

Lunacy by @snae-b

OMG - i have been a sucker for the whole Alien-Films for decades. If you know them (Sigourney Weaver - i mean how cool can you be stearing a hauling-robot to kill an alien?) - you know the feeling they produce.

This is exactly what this story is able to capture. Crowley is head of a mining-crew on the outer borders of the known space. Aziraphale is a geologist coming with them. The plot is an angsty pageturner which had me leave the light on at night. Just loved it and made its way to my re-read list. 👽

Love in the Garden by @tawnyontumblr

It´s the early 90ties, its UK and its gay. HIV and Aids are kind of a rumor, no one knows exactly what is going on. Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves right in the middle of it. This story is SO SO important, but please do mind the tags before you start. It will be a hard read. 🩷 To me it was very precious, this is exactly my teenager-time and i remember it all too well. Please remember i only rec stories with a happy ending! Apart from that - i am SO thankful for how far we have come concerning this disease.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Goodbye? by appleseeds

Human AU; Aziraphale is dragged to a Halloween-Haunted-Castle-"Party" by his friend Tracy. He clearly would rather curl up in bed with a book than being there, but thank Someone there is this beautiful stranger sitting across of him, who doesn´t seem to want to be here either. They go ghost-hunting through the castle - what will they find? 😅

The small ad by @theladydrgn and @sylwritesstuff

Tall, lanky ginger of arguable gender available to be your significant other ... This is the ad Crowley puts out and Aziraphale decides to call. With the family reunion ahead he doesn´t want to go there alone - again. Gabriel would be too much of a nuisance. You can imagine the rest!

I love the authors and have read more of their books in the past. They are always very easy to follow, funny and satisfyingly smutty. 🌶😁

Three two one, we go live by HazelSage

Crowley is falling in love with his secretary Aziraphale, while secretly being addicted to a camboy called "not an angel". What he doesnt know - Aziraphale has a secret side-hussle ...

The story is merely an excuse for writing lots of cam-scenes with Aziraphale having solo-sx for his fans-only-channel. Do mind the tags !! Plot-to-Smut-Ratio = 15:85 😁

Tastes by @tawnyontumblr

Aziraphale is bound to be wedded and searches Crowley´s help to become a rake so that his betrothed doesn´t want to marry him any longer. Love in regency times, gentle gender discussions in a time that no-one even knew or at least talked about it. Wonderful story that had me re-read whole pages because they were so touching. Also: very hot!

One-Shots!

Anthony J. Crowley, Retired Demon and Airbnb Superhost by @theoldaquarian

I found this story through another rec from @di-42 and it really had me laughing. Crowley rents his flat out as an Airbnb and here you can read what people say about it. Very funny! 😅 The author seems to have deleted their tumblr-account, so i couldn´t link them.

Naked and afraid: Jingle Hell by @klikandtuna

Crowley and Aziraphale don´t know each other, they participate in the same TV-Show, which is called "Naked and Afraid" and is set in the Jungle. It´s a survival show. The rest is a very funny plot exclusively consisting of banter and scene-descriptions.

Not really a One-Shot, it´s over 20k, but i stumbled in and it was just so funny that i kept on reading. Biggest laugh: "I’m about to lose a testicle to frostbite." 😅 A christmas-story you can read all year through.

Some strangeness in the proportion by @trailingoff

Set after the end of S1. Aziraphale has been punished by the "destruction of the demon" and he grieves deeply. He moves into Crowleys flat and just wants to be alone. If just this angel wouldn´t keep showing up, trying to help him overcome his feelings.

Loved this one, it was written before S2 and somehow i wonder if it doesn´t hit to the point with its message ... Also a bit longer for a one-shot with 11.500 words.

Puttin on the Ritz by @moonyinpisces

It´s New York, it´s the 1920ies and Aziraphale is on a heavenly mission, when he accidentally bumps into Crowley. As part of their arrangement Crowley decides to take over and Aziraphale gets to watch a demonic temptation for the first time. Will he be able to resist? A short, funny, fluffy smut story. 😉

Incredible Artwork by Zoe @vavoom-sorted-art 🩷

Green Light by @dragonfire42

After the second not-coming Aziraphale decides it´s time for him to finally "cum". He uses all the historical appropriate terms to tell Crowley his wish and can´t fathom why Crowley doesn´t understand. At least at first. When he does, 6000 years of pining break loose. Very funny!

All i want for christmas by @naromoreau

Oh i loved that story so much! Crowley is the single-dad to Warlock, Aziraphale the single-dad to Adam. They meet at school for the christmas-party of their kids, where Aziraphale also acts as Santa Claus and asks Crowley to help him dress up. How they end up in the janitory closet? Guess you have to find out! Very sweet and hot. 🎅🩷

So thats 13 fanfics in the first 8 days - wow. I never kept track of my readings this way and i am a bit surprised myself. thanks to all the wonderful authors for making my nights! 🤗

[sunflowergraves]

When Uncle Rick called Nico di Angelo and Will Solace soulmates, it made me think back to something written in BOO:

"Nico had once read a story from Plato, who claimed that in the ancient times all humans had been a combination of male and female. Each person had two heads, four arms, four legs. Supposedly, these combo-humans had been so powerful they made the gods uneasy, so Zeus split them in half – man and woman. Ever since, humans had felt incomplete. They spent their lives searching for their other halves.

And where does that leave me? Nico wondered.

It wasn’t his favourite story."

I think this is a really important connection. Rick didn't say what he did about Solangelo just to make shippers happy. He's answering Nico's question by saying he's worthy of love. There is someone out there for him despite what anyone says. And by doing so, he is also addressing every queer person out there who also doubts finding love and companionship in a world that so desperately wants to tear them down.

Not only did we get a book where the tragic main character gets a happy ending, but also one that validates every queer person out there. Anyway, that's my TED talk, thank you.

Edit:

Here is the quote that Rick Riordan made during an interview. I'll leave the link to the website in the comments!

[solitaryandwandering]

A Ramble: Love in the Big City Eps 1-2

I just watched episode 2 of Love in the Big City and I am... reeling. Cried when Kim Nam Gyu died, when Yeong and Mi Rae sang together at the wedding, cried at the crushing ending line. I loved the direction in these two episodes; one of the reasons I was super excited to watch this was because they're switching up the directors for each part. Such a cool way to signal transitions in Yeong's life. Now that I've seen the caliber Son Tae Gyum operated at I'm intrigued to see how direction will affect the next parts. Maybe I'll write up a thing about that in the end, but I'm hopeful others will as well! I am chomping at the bit to read the book, seriously!!

I have to mention first what a BALLSY move it was for them to open on Yeong's tryst with a man who was cheating on someone currently in the military. And he walks in the door, STILL IN UNIFORM. What a fucking slap in the face to hegemonic masculinity!!

After this first part what I am really lingering on are two things: queer loneliness and heteronormativity's relationship to misogyny. I'm just gonna put down my half-baked thoughts, I don't have the time or spoons to formulate coherent sentences haha

Though I saw Nam Gyu's death coming just based on vibes in the first episode, its impact wasn't lessened. Its significance didn't really hit me until I saw how empty his funeral was. Loneliness shaped his life - repression, liberation in meeting another gay man, falling in love with him way too fast, forming a dependent attachment, his desperation/obsessiveness in losing it so abruptly. He expressed his queerness in his photography, voyeuristic and seeking closeness with his subjects in the only way he felt was available to him. He had no friends, no relationships outside of his with Yeong. When Yeong breaks up with him and when he visits him drunk in ep 2, he says "falling in love is not a sin." To me, this shows just how removed from a loving community he has been, how nascent his queerness. He's still processing homophobia, it still influences every move he makes, everything he thinks. Clearly he has not had close relationships with other queers, where he may feel free to unburden himself. He falls back on heteronormative performance of romance, searching the best places for dates, not having anyone to ask. Knowing he's older makes this hurt more.

His story brought to mind the futility of AIDS-related deaths in the U.S., to be honest. I lost my gay uncle before I even knew him, and I know no one from his life. I know it's not a perfect parallel, but that funeral... this emptiness carries beyond one queer person's death. And Yeong's journey in these two episodes is about queer loneliness, of course. But his story is not as tragic as Nam Gyu's. He has (amazing) queer friends, and at one point had Mi Rae. He is much more connected to the queer community than Nam Gyu ever was. Despite his immaturity, Yeong is also much more familiar and comfortable with his queerness. I imagine this thread of self-actualization in the face of loneliness will continue in the rest of the show.

@twig-tea and @poetry-protest-pornography also wrote about queer loneliness in this show: here and here

And then we have Mi Rae, a vitally important relationship in Yeong's life, the love this part of the story is about. I met my best friend in college as well, so this part of the story was bringing up a lot of feelings too. To me, their friendship was as much about navigating heteronormativity as anything else, reflected in Yeong's reflection that "she learned that being a gay man sucks, and I learned that being a woman sucks just as much." Mi Rae is impacted by misogyny in every step of her character's journey: male classmates labeling her a slut and claiming her body for theirs, being groped, her challenges obtaining an abortion and mistreatment by a male doctor (where she literally claims her uterus back), her conflict with her parents (I'm assuming her mother had very rigid ideas of what a woman should be, based on her behavior at the wedding), hiding her past from her boyfriend, forced to defend herself when he questions why she lives with a man, shutting herself off from her relationship with Yeong (and thus rejecting her past) after the wedding. I looked up the status of abortion in Korea (a legal gray zone) and was reminded of how badly women there have it, which provided more context for her behavior.

Yeong must also traverse heteronormativity, which is what ultimately drives a wedge between the two and ends their friendship. In the beginning, their mutual rejection of heteronormative scriptures is what brings them together. He stands up for her against those male classmates, in an interaction steeped with assumptions of his heterosexuality. In rejecting her objectification he made himself a pariah for refusing to participate in normative masculinity. And their relationship continues thus, with her promising never to out him. She betrays him in a moment where she feels her participation in normative heterosexuality is threatened (and, indeed, it is a legitimately precarious position to be put in as a woman). Their brief reconciliation mainly consists of Yeong participating in a heterosexual ritual - he has no access to marriage in Korea. Her singing with him and letting go of her inhibitions for one last time was her goodbye to him and her ultimate acceptance of a more heteronormative life. One he can't participate in.

I hope that made any lick of sense. So looking forward to watching the next week. I am holding myself back from watching the next episodes right now. So hard.

[justmystical]

The Forgotten-2

Pairing: Lucifer X Butterfly!fem!reader

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel x Star vs the forces of evil

Warnings: this takes place before Season 1, Alternative Universe,

One| Two |Three |Navigation

A few months has passed since you met a man under a tree, now knowing his name as Lucifer Morningstar. You instantly became friends with him because of some shared interest.

You always sneak out of the Castle because of this.Loving spending time with your new friend.

Always meeting up under the Apple tree and tell stories about your day. Well sometimes there were day's he didn't show up and you never questioned it , after all he didn't say anything about his life and you didn't tell about yours. Only about neutral things.

Another days ,you just got back from the Earth Dimension and still no sign of your Beloved friend Lucifer.

You sighed

"Princess (Name) Butterfly!" You heard someone call out , you turned around to see Glossaryck and felt sweat drip down on your face.

"hey Glossaryck"you smiled awkwardly and did gunfingers to him. You didn't attend your lessons today and ran away to meet up with Lucifer unfortunately he wasn't there.

"running away are we Your Highness? learning magic is important as Princess of Mewni blah blah"he said but the end you felt your ears shut down to see your sister and you heard Glossaryck sigh

"Eclipsa!"you said running and waving hand to her as Glossaryck,She smiled when she spotted you.

"hello (Name)"You smile faltered, Your sister doesn't call you by your name,only your Nickname that was given to you by your Father.

"My Queen"Glossaryck bowed

"ahh Glossaryck can you give some privacy for a moment?"he looked at you with hesitation "Don't worry Glossaryck I won't run off somewhere " you explained and he sighed but nodded.

As Glossaryck left ,you and your sister were alone in the hallway.

"ok,tell me what got you down?"you saw a her having an inner battle in her head.

"what do you mean (Name)?"she asked faking her confusion.

"Eclipse, I'm your Little sister and one of your closest friends . infact your only friend so , i know when something upsets you" You told her and she bit her lip. You waited patiently for answer.

"well umm , it's just that..."she hesitated "as you know our family has the tradition to pass the wand down to an heir and-"

"YOUR PREGNANT?!?"You cut her off and saw her laughed.

"heaven's no! But the people were wondering when will there be introduce to another Princess in the Palace..."

"A new heir...?"you questioned

"wait with Shastacan?"you saw her face pale.

"SHASTACAN?!"

"well who else would be..."

"uhh, he's such a narcissist!" You ranted about how bad her Husband is and Eclipsa face grew paler than before.

You noticed this and stopped "Sorry Eclipse..."you felt bad for her she didn't even want to marry Shastacan but it was your mother's dying wish.

After that, you were about to go Glossaryck for your lessons but you passed a familiar room.

The Rooms of Queen Tapestry.. eh you didn't really know what this was room was called.

You walked in, seeing all of your ancestors and you uncle,your uncle became king when you mother died. Since you and Eclipsa are still very young,he took over for awhile. Next to his was...

Your Mother.. Solaria the Monster Carver.

You did miss you mother Truly, you didn't even felt Keekee transform and now she was comforting you.

"mother, hopefully you had a good reason for Eclipse to marry Shastacan,right?"you told her but no one answered.

You felt bad when you found out about this dying wish of your mother. You knew Eclipsa was inlove with someone else but didn't know who?

You wanted your sister to marry and have children with someone she loves, not someone who she was forced with. You walked around to see your sister's Tapestry about to be begin.

A Lot of people were confused of why it hasn't even begun yet when Eclipsa became Queen. You eyes widened as it as being made.

Does this mean Eclipsa's fate has been written?

Keekee followed you as you meet up with Glossaryck, you were learning some spells and read about a butterfly form.

"i thought we we're done with that mewberty butterfly form ?" You asked.

"that is , well how do i explain this to...ehh basically different from Mewberty and it's more powerful when you are in this form" Glossaryck explained.

More powerful?

Can only unlock in time of need?

You feel like this could help you defend your sister from monsters."I'll keep you safe Eclipse..."you muttered

"huh?"

"nothing!"

After another day you snuck out and went back to earth.

And finally you saw him

"Lucifer Morningstar! Where have you been?!"he heard you and flinched.

"hey n/n"he smiled awkwardly as you walked to him with arms crossed on your chest.

"okay before you kill me..."he said grabbing something from his bag and it was a...

Duck?

"i was making this for you,i made it to looked like you a little also putting some details like the marks on your cheeks-" you cut him off with a hug.

"thanks Luci"he was stunned and now very red.

"y-your w-welcome"he stutter and tried to hides his blushing face from you.

"are you blushing?"

"am not"

"yes you are~"

"stop~"

"hehe"

A/n: sorry if its short , and has little Lucifer content but don't worry in the future 🥹

[puppetwoman17]

@ace-is-undead It’s nice to meet a new fan! I hope you make lots of friendships on here❤️

For anyone who’s curious, this person asked me:

as someone taking interest in Captain Marvel because of the movies (never heard of him before :/), I'd love to know why you think the movies ruined Billy's image! Bear in mind, I recently started reading some comics about Shazam

I knew I’d be making a hella long comment, so I thought, hell, let’s make a post!

Now, as a preface, I worded what I said a little too strong. The 2019 movie isn’t the worst piece of Shazam/CM media ever. There are definitely parts of it that I liked. The humor was 10/10 for me, and I did like the costumes. There are things about the story I don’t like, but for the purpose of all of us not sitting here for the next two hours, I will stick with just Billy’s personality.

This post will probably have stated everything more eloquently than me lol:

Many Golden Age heroes were created/used to combat war trauma. To the kids who read those comics, it made them feel safe. To read about these people with fantastical abilities, who regularly fought Nazis, supervillains, and entire armies.

Captain Marvel was a little different, though. It wasn’t an adult who was doing the protecting. Or, it wasn’t JUST an adult. It was also Billy Batson. A kid, like all of the other kids reading these comics. And it was different from kid heroes like Robin because he was the hero. The main hero.

Before the New52 reboot, basically from the 40s-2000s, but I could be wrong, Billy was a homeless kid. His uncle Ebenezer threw him out after his parents died and stole his inheritance. He got a job at Whiz Radio and became a reporter, giving him enough money to get his own apartment.

In one continuity, his friend Dudley becomes his guardian. In the most famous interpretation, the Power of Shazam series from the 90s, he is, after some time, adopted by his twin sister Mary’s adoptive family the Bromfields, and Nora Bromfield happens to be their mother’s cousin.

The important thing to grasp from this is that Billy was independent. Responsible. And when he got his powers, he was also responsible with them. He has a few fumbles, but he was always able to keep them and do good with them.

His Captain Marvel persona was also like that. He led the Squadron of Justice, a team of Fawcett heroes. There are also instances of heroes like Batman and Superman praising him as a trustworthy hero, even knowing about his identity.

It’s also important to note that, while in some times the Captain character is childish, he is never stupid. He makes mistakes, is a little goofy, but he never does anything outright cringe worthy.

A prime example of a good interpretation is the JLU episode Clash. The whole JL really likes him. For some reason my tumblr is acting up today so I can’t put any videos without it not allowing me to type afterwords. But the series is on Netflix. Like holy heck, Bruce says they all like him because he’s sunny. Bruce!

There’s also comic examples, like Action comics #768, which is in the POV of Superman. I’m just gonna put everything Clark thinks as text.

“And then it happens.”

“Armed with the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Atlas, and the focus of Achilles, a teenage boy in the body of a man defends human kind to a frog goddess.”

“I can’t imagine anything more ludicrous. I can’t imagine anything more moving.”

“With unmatched eloquence, he explains humanity’s needs, our weaknesses, and our relationships with nature to a being as old as time.”

“She retorts. It’s not the act itself that enrages her, but the fact that her people are taken for granted.”

“Bred, butchered, wasted. Without appreciation for the contribution to the lifecycle.”

“He emphasizes. It is a horrible thing to be underestimated, unappreciated, forgotten.”

“His sincerity is a living thing. They speak for an eternity until Heqt has been heard and appeased.”

“Then, the war is over. Diplomacy and reason succeeds, where force…where I… simply would have failed.”

This is another example:

I mean the whole Captain Marvel-focused panel is Clark and Bruce arguing with Diana that Cap will be a great asset to the League, and how Bruce wants him on because he’s just GOOD. They all knew he was a kid, and they didn’t care because they trusted him that much!

Many 80s and 90s comic showed Cap as this beacon of hope, very akin to his Fawcett era, which is why so many of us liked it. He was still goofy at times, but it never overshadowed how much of a hero he was. Hell, the Fawcett heroes never gave a damn about him being a kid. All they saw was a person doing good, and they automatically began working with him.

He would get into friendly tussles with Superman, and him and Diana hugged one time, and she confided in him about how she might die. I can’t find the issue, but it’s drawn by Alex Ross, so that may narrow it for you.

Cap was genuinely respected. There are even some comics where Billy’s is interacting with the League as himself and they treat him like any other friend!

And Billy was chosen not because he was a last resort, but because the Wizard saw so much good and purity in him. He still made mistakes, but he was never not worthy.

Compare that with, not just the Shazam movies, but the DCAMU movies(JL War & Throne of Atlantis), and you get a whole other monster. I mean, he is just dumb, awful. He’s good when he’s Billy, a little snarky while also being a good person and comforting Cyborg(before taking his jersey, lol). But when he’s Shazam(his name in the DCAMU) every single thing that came out of his mouth was just… not it. If gets even worse in Throne of Atlantis. Literally almost everyone on the team hates him. The only reason Cyborg doesn’t is because he knows his identity.

In the 2019 Shazam movies, hes very similar. They made him a lot more jaded, which just ruined his character for me because Billy is the type of person who would rather die than talk down to other kids going through what he did. I’m cool with the rebelliousness, it’s just that that I’m worried about. It’s even worse in the 2013 shazam comic series because he’s actually way meaner there. Like jeez, why do you want me to hate this boy so much DC??

And as his Shazam self, he’s like ten times more goofy and irresponsible, which is such a backwards take it’s insane.

The character of Captain Marvel was beloved by so many children because it showed that they could be just like those other heroes. They could fight the monsters and get the job done, and no one would look down on them. They would be taken seriously. Seeing this kid bond with and interact with and be trusted by these seasoned adult heroes was EVERYTHING.

I may not have a grown up in the 40s/50s, but I did get introduced to him in JLU, and then Young Justice, and then obscure media, and then comics. And through that journey, the take I loved infinitely more was of Captain Marvel being this guy who made mistakes, but always tried to do the right thing.

Making him out to be this…immature dude who never knew what he was doing just stomped on all of us. It also really irks me because that is how some people will be introduced to him. As opposed to who he really is. And they won’t be interested because the face value is all they’ll see.

Heck, some people think he’s one of the weakest DC characters when he ranks in the top ten. He’s the Champion of Magic and guardian of the Rock of Eternity for Pete’s sake! He’s fought and almost won against the Specter himself! (Day of Vengeance comic series, it’s so good!)

It’s unclear why his character has been so diminished. Some people, including me, think DC is trying to lower his…everything in general so he can never measure up to the Man of Steel, which is so petty it’s ridiculous.

Hopefully he’ll get something in James Gunn’s new DCU, a movie or a show. Because I feel like there’s a chance to reintroduce the true Captain/Shazam to people.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my petty-fueled rant😅. Sorry for the angry spews. Anyway, there are some good reading lists for Shazam/Cap on tumblr. I really advise you to check those out. Though there are also a few articles on google listing all of his appearances, so if you wanna get detailed then those are where you should go.

We also have a Captain Marvel fan club! Go over to @im-not-buying-it-ether and ask for an invite for more content.

I hope you have a fulfilling journey!

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

Crown of Gold

cw. gn!reader, eremite!reader, pre-relationship, reader rizz

pairing. kaveh x reader

notes. this has been in my drafts for months. literal freaking months. this was supposed to be done and posted ages ago but apparently... this is what happens to a oneshot in the hands of a master procrastinator. this isn't anything too long but kaveh simps, come get your simp juice.

“You have a really fun toy, Mister!”

“Mehrak isn’t a toy! She’s my precious toolbox!”

There’s a mechanical beep and you hear gleeful shrieks and clapping following.

“A toy, a toy!”

When the man ー Kaveh, you remember ー groans in frustration, you aren’t able to stop your soft chuckles that are drowned out by the sounds of your younger sisters’ laughter. Let me help the guy out before he pulls his hair out.

“Uru, Jericho,” you step from behind the pillar, tugging your brocade off your face to give them a stern but playful look. The twins share a look of panic between them, Uru letting go of the strange, sentient box in her hands. “Are you bothering our guest?”

Aaru Village isn’t your home but it is a stable place to keep your sisters while you work.

You were born into the life of a mercenary, you seldom had a choice in what to become. Your mother was a mercenary and you grew up surrounded by them. Uncles and Aunties who would carve bowls and husk ajilenakh nuts with their swords. Stories being told around a fire as songs that have long since lost their names are sung. The scent of iron and dust blending into each other.

Your father passed away months after your birth and as for the twins’ dad, you doubt you would be able to pick the man out of a crowd even if held by blade point. You don’t know if he’s dead, nor do you know if the man simply abandoned his children in favor of life in the rainforest. Maybe he even had a new family.

You doubt you’ll ever receive an answer. Nor do you care if you ever receive one.

After your mother died on a job, you took your sisters and brought them to Aaru Village. Here your sisters can grow up with friends they can see everyday and neighbors with varying life expectancies.

You, on the other hand, continued your life as a hand-for-hire. Mercenary work is what took your family but it is what gave you the means to survive with the family you have left.

Uru and Jericho are your pride and joy. You want them to have the opportunities you couldn’t.

That doesn’t mean they can torment the architect whose visit to the village coincided with your own however. 

“He’s the one who designed the library they’re building. He’s Kaveh!” you learned quickly from little Ayten. One might find it honorable he returns to make sure his work is being followed completely to the letter, another might find it simply as the architect doing his job.

You like to believe his reasoning is a happy medium between the two.

You give Kaveh a polite smile and he smiles back in relief. It’s practically reflex that you feel a small stutter of your heart. He is very beautiful. You have seen your fair share of beautiful people in both the desert and the rainforest. 

This son of the rainforest is perhaps the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen.

It isn’t the first time you’ve seen the architect without your Eremite brocade inhibiting your sight. You’d seen him from a distance in the afternoon sun, discussing with Setaria and Badawi. Yet it is a different experience when he is standing right in front of you with locks of gold crowning his head and framing his ruby-red eyes.

“Go on and apologize to Mr. Kaveh and his Mehrak, okay?”

“Sorry, Mr. Kaveh,” Uru murmurs, hands behind her back.

“Sorry,” Jericho mumbles, fiddling with her dress.

Kaveh clears his throat and he sounds a bit too pleased at the apologetic words even if they are technically forced. “It’s fine, just make sure to treat Mehrak gently. She’s very important to me.” As if to agree with her master, the sentient box beeps. “Mehrak says she forgives you as well.” The twins brighten at this declaration. 

“Now why don’t the two of you go and play with the children your age, hmm,” you nod in the direction of some children playing enthusiastically with their small scarab warriors.

“Sorry about my sisters,” you tell the man softly when the twins make their exit. “They think you’re fascinating.” He is fascinating. The clothes you buy are built for practicality. For the heat of the desert and for the humidity of the rainforest. Kaveh’s form of dress is undoubtedly fancier than what most desert folk don. He was swathed in the colors of Sumeru from the greens of the rainforest to the pale golds of the sands. “Most rainforest folk they see in Aaru Village are... different compared to you.”

Scholars in their Akademiya robes or those who now call the Red Sand their home. Those are the types of rainforest folk you'll typically find here.

“They aren’t too much trouble,” the architect tells you smoothly like he hadn’t been softly bullied by the two only moments prior.

“Really? They’re a pair of troublemakers to me,” you laugh, scarred hands resting on your hips. “They know they’re cute too. You’ve fallen right into their trap. They’ll be begging you to make them wreaths with your Vision if you’re not careful.”

Kaveh doesn’t look upset by your guffaws. His smile is one of exasperation and self-admitted doom. “Yep, they got me good,” he sighs good-naturedly. “I owe you a ‘thank you’. For Mehrak,” the toolbox beams in what you think is a happy tone. “And you’re the additional help Badawi mentioned, right? I appreciate you helping with keeping the trade route open to help lower loss of materials.”

“No need to thank me for that,” you shake your head. You don’t deserve them. You’re only helping since this coincided with your visit. So when Badawi asked if you could assist with keeping the costs down in the way you knew best, you easily told him he had your axe. “If it weren’t for that, I probably would be who knows where right now.”

Kaveh shakes his head at you even more firmly, “regardless of the reasoning, you’re helping out and that’s worthy of an expression of gratitude.”

You decide to let the architect win this battle. “Consider it my own thanks,” at the look of confusion he gives you, you are quick to explain: “For the library. It’s something this place desperately needs.”

Kaveh's smile is a bit more warm than polite. "It's my pleasure to work on any desert revitalization efforts."

You sit on one of the stray crates close by and gesture for the architect to sit beside you. He does, setting his toolbox beside him, it's bright green glow gone. "When it comes to this library you're building, can we expect to see it decorated entirely in plants?"

"I'll have to disappoint you," the man laughs sheepishly. "The building will probably be plainer than you're thinking."

"Don't worry, I was just pulling your chain," you reassure him. "It's enough that the children here will have a place to study."

“Plants have never been my strong suit,” the architect admits with a begrudging tone. “I’m happy with the Vision I have but plants aren’t an element I have a natural affinity for. I would have expected something more fitting to my interests or maybe that has more to do with my career.” He then mutters something along the lines of ‘maybe Geo or Cryo for sample constructs’, lost completely in thought.

He really is beautiful. It’s a look you’ve seen on him before from a distance. Deep in thought in the glow of the sun that made his hair shine more bright and his red eyes a red as deep as the cloths eremites use to cover their eyes.

“I have a friend with a Dendro Vision who hails from the Amurta Darshan, he definitely is able to use his to its fullest extent,” Kaveh sighs in finality. "I'll see if there are any plants he recommends for the desert

“I think it suits you,” a blond eyebrow raises in curiosity. As if he's challenging you for such a thought. An architect with with the power of plants doesn't seem that ridiculous a notion to you.

“The rainforest is your home so I think Dendro suits you just fine." He's much like the plants of Sumeru himself with the bright colors he swaddled in. "You’ve grown into your plants quite well, son of the rainforest. Besides, flowers are beautiful. Beautiful things are best suited for beautiful people.”

Perhaps that was too honest if Kaveh’s flaming red face at your candor is anything to go off of.

“As for myself, a Vision would be nice but I don’t need one. My ambitions in life are simpleー give my sisters the life I couldn’t have," you continue on, looking at your sisters.

They have no scarabs of their own to join in their friends' game, but they are watching the present match enthusiastically.

It’s a goal that can be accomplished with or without a Vision, blessings from the gods are simply boons for that goal. “I want them to go to the Akademiya and have the best chance at a good life. Maybe meeting you will inspire them to join Kshahrewar and become architects. Whatever makes them happy.”

Your words bring Kaveh out his flustered stupor, crossing his arms with a look of indignance. “I refuse to let those two be architects,” he says too resolutely for someone who is practically a stranger to the three of you. “If they want peace, they should definitely find a different field of study.”

You snort in amusement, “Setaria was telling me about how you’re this bigshot architect in the capital and you don’t want more students to join the craft?”

Kaveh shudders as if recalling terrible, terrible memories. “I’m surprised my hair hasn’t already turned gray,” he nods to himself, even more convinced than before. “Those girls look more like Amurta researchers to me. Maybe Spantamad if they find they like field research.”

“I’ll be sure to pass on your opinions to them, Mr. Kaveh,” you say with a bemused grin. “Maybe in the future they’ll surprise us both and do none of the things we’re talking about.” But as long as it isn’t mercenary work, it doesn’t matter.

"Kaveh," the architect corrects you. "You can just call me Kaveh. No formalities needed."

"Feel free to just call me [First]," you grin. You believe you'll enjoy working this project for however long you're needed. You don't think it's too arrogant to believe the man beside you is thinking the same. "No formalities needed."

Extra:

I was heavily moved to write this because I was thinking about VADTD's Penelope and how when she first met Callisto her eyes were drawn to his golden hair. I have a weakness for 2D blonds that that have red eyes, it's such a sexy combo in manhwas

[hazelsmirrorball]

Spiderman’s Biggest Fan |  Jaime Reyes part 3

summary:  Jaime Reyes is the biggest spiderman fan. His girlfriend on the other hand is Spiderman's biggest hater. 

pairings: Jaime Reyes x Spiderman! FemReader 

a/n:  Part 3 baby! Hope you guys are enjoying this little series. There’s going to be one more part. I hope you guys enjoy it. Wrote this in my literature class. 

warning: English isn’t my main language. Angsty and kinda sad. Scenes taken out of No Way Home. Not edited

[MASTERLIST]

part one. part two  part four part five.

Timing was never right when it came to Y/n’s life. Uncle Ben’s death, getting bit by the radioactive spider in the beginning of her relationship, Attempting to protect Palmera as she was surviving her teenage years. She finally wanted to scream to the world, well her world that she was Spiderman. But maybe the odds weren’t in her favor, maybe it was better if he didn’t know she was Spiderman. What he didn’t know couldn’t kill him. It was hard sometimes to understand what was good about being Spiderman. Don’t get her wrong she didn’t hate it but recently she wasn’t the biggest fan. But there was something positive about being Spiderman and keeping it a secret. Everyone was safe. Safe from danger and all the villains Palmera had to offer, but now with Doc Ock outside of her apartment she hesitated on what was actually safe for her family. No one besides the Justice League and Milagro knew her  identity. She had made it her job to be as discreet as possible making it impossible to trace Spiderman to her and her family. Aunt Marisol was the only thing she had left of the family. She couldn’t lose her. Y/n wasn’t going to lose her. 

Y/n snapped back to reality noticing who Jaime held onto both of her hands searching for her gaze to calm her down. Before Milagro could even speak again Y/n got up from the bed taking Jaime by the hand and Milagro by the arm. She led them  both as quickly as possible into their safe room, Marisol made in case any emergency would’ve happened. Ever since Uncle Ben died due to a robbery her aunt had become paranoid with the villains in Palmera city. Spiderman eased Marisol nerves, making her grateful for her doing patrol. Y/n never really thought it was important to have that, but now she was thankful of her Aunt’s paranoia. 

Y/n rushed the Reyes siblings into the room noticing that everyone else was  sitting inside panic filling their faces. As she paced back and forth trying to think what was best for them, Y/n looked towards the door and scanned the room once again, her eyes bumping into Jaime. 

“Get inside Jaime. It’s not safe outside” She responded seriously, not wanting to be questioned right now.  Right wasn’t the time for the family to find out about her secret identity but it also wasn’t the time for Jaime to get all protective. Marisol could be dead right now for all they know. 

“Get inside? Are you insane, Y/n! A literal murderer has your aunt and you want me to go inside, While you are there doing what, talking sense into him? Are you hearing yourself right now? I’m not letting you go. This isn’t a prick from your job. It’s a guy that could kill you just by blinking. ” Jaime replied, taking her by the arm. Y/n glared at him sternly. 

“I’m not asking for your input on my decision, Jaime. Now stay inside. ” Y/n responded using her super strength to push Jaime in the room locking the door behind her.  She could hear Jaime pounding on the door, but it was useless, he wasn’t able to break it down.

“Y/n! Please open the door before you do something stupid. You are going to get yourself hurt!”  Jaime yelled, still banging on the door. Y/n slipped on her suit that was hidden behind one of the bases as she heard Jaime’s bickering. 

“I’ll be back! I can’t let anything happen to Aunt Marisol.”  she said against the door before running towards the kitchen where she could see the broken windows. She slipped her body outside of their apartment searching around in an attempt to see her. 

On the other side of the door, Jaime continued to break the security door but he wasn’t able to do a thing. His family looked around in confusion, noticing how Khaji Da was nowhere to be found. 

“Khaji, I really need you right now.” Jaime replied, resting his forehead on the door stopping his constant banging, noticing the blood dripping from his knuckles. 

Jaime, Y/n is going to be fine. Follow her orders and stay here. 

Jaime felt his body drag against the door as he hid his face in his hands desperate tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. Milagros slowly walked towards him, sitting by his side. 

 “We are safe here, don’t worry. Nothing bad is going to happen, I bet there’s a superhero on their way soon. Y/n and Marisol will be okay. ” Milagro replied, trying to ease the tension in the dark room. 

“I am the superhero Milly! I can’t wait here if I know that Marisol and Y/n are outside with a maniac.” 

Y/n climbed the tall building as fast as she could, finally reaching the top. She looked around desperately trying to find Doc Oc but  she wasn’t lucky, her view being blocked by smoke coming all around making it quite impossible for her to see. She turned around in her spot trying to discover what was going on as she felt her spider senses tingling. Before she could even process what was going to happen she felt herself being pushed towards the hard ceiling. She looked up to see the familiar pair of eyes looking at her. Y/n tried fighting back but the hold he had on her was strong. He was getting powerful. 

“Look who finally decided to show up. I thought Mister Spiderman has gotten big for Palmera City, I see. Forgot about his little friends in Palmera. I was starting to miss you terribly.” Green Goblin yelled as Y/n attempted to swing a punch but failed miserably.  Goblin laughed as she struggled under his touch. 

“I was taking a break from your bullshit. Might I add that I personally didn’t miss it at all” Y/n muttered moving side to side. Her suit scanned Goblin in an attempt to see how he had gotten so powerful the past two weeks. Her eyes wide as Karen told her the information. 

Target has upgraded his suit and he made more contributions to his DNA. Making him at least eighty percent stronger than before. I believe you should request for backup. 

Y/n rolled her eyes as she muttered a no towards Karen, noticing how she had Batman and Blue Beetle on speed dial. 

“What a pity. I wished we got a visit from the bat, to make things a little bit more interesting than having you around. It’s too easy to win a fight and now thanks to my new upgrades you can’t even fight back. What a shame. I think that your Justice league card should be revoked. They have you fighting the Joker when you aren’t even capable of getting out of my grip. Has Metropolis rubbed on you?” Green Goblin yelled at Y/n as she moved her body attempting to get out of his touch. 

“Whatever this is. You don’t have to involve that citizen. This is between the two of us.” Y/n's voice changed as the artificial intelligence from her suit made her voice sound more “masculine”. 

“Oh you mean your little aunty? Let me tell you she isn’t just a normal citizen. She is attached to you so that means it is a perfect way to get to you and might I add you are good at covering your identity couldn’t find anything aside the fact that she was your aunt. Marisol is a beaut don’t you think? What a shame she has to die. Maybe I could’ve been your new uncle Ben.” And with those words slipping out of Goblins mouth Y/n shoot her spider webs hitting a pipe in front of her while flipping the bodies making her have a hold on the villain in front of her.

 As she slammed through a few floors she could hear Green Goblin laughing as she went down floor by floor. Her anger took over, not even feeling the bricks scrapping her body. Y/n stopped looking down at the man  as she  heard her aunt yelling spiderman. She quickly looked up, noticing that Doc oc was near but Aunt Marisol was nowhere to be found. They were messing with her and it was working. 

Before she could shoot her webs to go to the other villain, Green Goblin took her by the waist throwing her against the crystal door smashing them. Y/n ran as fast trying to avoid another hit or even more damage to her neighbors apartment.  As she caught her breath, Green Goblin clapped slowly taunting her. As he stood a few steps away from her, he laughed looking at her directly. 

“Strong enough to have it all, L/n?” He asked and before he could make the next move. Y/n shoot her webs taking a piece of the door that flew off and slamming it into him. Before It could even hit him, Green Goblin broke it.

“Or too weak to take it” He continued as  Y/n got up trying to swing a punch but Green Goblin quickly caught it, throwing her to the other side of the long hallway. Y/n could feel her body start to weaken as she heard her name come out of his mouth. Green Goblin smashes Y/n  through a window but Y/n quickly  fires webs and pulls herself  back inside only to be flung  through another window, out onto the balcony. Green Goblin pounces onto Y/n. As she lets out a whimper in pain trying to hit him with hands falling miserably she webs the balcony above to flip himself on top of Green Goblin smashing him down to the balcony below. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Y/n tries to web herself away from him. Goblin grabs Y/n’s leg and throws her through a window. 

She limped towards him as she felt her mask breaking. Leaving part of her face visible. Green Goblin smirks at her excitedly as he sees her features

“Always thought you were a dude but now your shitty fighting skills make sense” He responded laughing as his laugh echoed through her ears. She ran towards him pushing him against all the floors of the apartment complex. When they reached the first floor, Y/n took her mask off, taking the man by his suit as she spit her blood on him. 

“I want you to see how well a girl beats your ass”   She responded slamming him against the floor. As every hit got stronger, he laughed harder, messing with her head. 

‘Did you forget who’s in control here? Kill me and your little miss aunt Marisol is dead. What’s it going to be, Y/n. ” He replied, smirking at her. Y/n slowly turned around hearing footsteps behind her. She felt her eyes shut in pain as she noticed Marisol’s body from afar. 

“Go! Please Marisol, run! Marisol please save yourself” As she hears her getting closer. Goblin gripped on her neck laughing maniacally. 

“Your weakness, L/n , is morality. It’s choking you! Can’t you feel it?”  Green Goblin gripped harder as she struggled to breath. 

“Marisol…Please go” Y/n replied, barely audible as she  noticed Green Goblins familiar booms coming towards her at full speed. Marisol, noticing her niece's face, froze dead in her tracks not believing what seeing but didn't notice the bomb that was coming at full speed towards her. Y/n let go of the green goblins body  running as fast as she could towards Marisol but before she could get a step closer her body flew towards the wall as the bomb exploded. 

“L/n,L/n , L/n. No good deed goes unpunished. You can thank me later” Green Goblin said as he left. Y/n tried to move her body as pain overtook her body. Pushing past the pieces of concrete Y/n slipped her body out of the blocks lipping towards Marisol. With all of  her strength she pushed the concrete off Marisol's body trying to see what conditions she was in. Y/n leaned in trying to clean the blood off her face as she noticed the small smile on her lips.  May tries to  get up slowly covered in dust, Y/n slowly caresses her face trying to get the dust out. Y/n clutched her side in pain 

“Marisol, Marisol, I’m here”  Y/n replied while sending her a pained smile. Marisol got up and pulled her into a tight hug. Y/n could feel her tears welding up. Marisol opens her mouth to talk but before a world could come out her body  slowly gave up stumbling back. Y/n quickly catches holding her body close as Marisol mumbles incoherent things as Y/n searches her eyes worriedly. 

“Marisol..it’s okay. We are okay, right? You are okay”’ Y/n replied her breathing changing drastically making her feel a wave of anxiety.

“Yeah, got knocked on my ass” Marisol replied softly letting out a light chuckle. Y/n gave her a side smile as she brushed Marisol hair out of her face.  

“Yeah, me too.” 

“That’s all,” May replied softly, dozing off a little bit. Y/n moved her softly trying to keep her awake.

“I think I broke my ribs” Y/n said trying to gain her attention. Marisol's eyes flutter open watching her wounded side. Y/n clutches to her side wincing as Marisol looks around taking in all the destruction around them. 

“I can’t believe that our nosy neighbors haven’t shown up by now. Haven’t they noticed that they don’t have an apartment anymore” Marisol responded, trying to lighten the mood. Y/n looked around noticing the mess she had made. She scrunched up her face in disgust and disappointed in herself. 

“This is all my fault, Marisol. I never wanted to get you in danger, that’s why I never told you. I wanted to keep you safe and I couldn’t even do that'' Y/n replied, warm tears falling onto her cheeks. Marisol shook her head holding her hand for comfort. 

“This isn’t your fault, Y/n. You are a hero! You did the right thing. That’s amazing.Now it makes so much sense the fact that you “outgrew” your asthma ” She said grinning. Y/n let out a teary laugh as she shook her head. Marisol was at the verge of death and she still managed to make jokes. 

“Still, Marisol. It’s not my responsibility, I should be like a normal adult working studying, not risking my family's life!” She exclaimed  as she squeezed Marisol's hand. 

“No, no, no, Y/n. You listen to me, You have a gift. You have power, and with great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Marisol replied seriously as Y/n nodded slowly, understanding her words. 

“Yeah, I know,” She said softly as she watched Marisol get up slowly. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here. We need to check on the  Reyes” Marisol said as she got up slowly. As Marisol got up she noticed the blood on her hands, she felt her body falling to the ground. Y/n quickly leans over her inspecting her body. 

“What happened? Are you okay” Y/n replied, inspecting her body all over. She knew something bad was going to happen. 

“I’m okay” Marisol replied softly trying not to worry, Y/n. Marisol closed her eyes for a few minutes before fluttering them open to look at her niece. 

“Yeah, you’re okay. What happened, Aunt Marisol?” Y/n replied  as she slowly inspected her, not wanting her to panic. 

“Just have to catch.. Just need to… catch my breath.”  Marisol replied, taking deep breaths. As she closed her eyes. 

“Okay, well catch your breath. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. We are going to take our time, you catch your breath, and then we’ll take you to a doctor okay” Y/n said as her eyes dropped noticing Marisol's side. She slowly touches it, noticing her hands covered in blood making her heart stop

“Are you okay, mi niña?” Marisol replied softly, rubbing her cheek. Y/n starts yelling loudly for help desperately. 

“Somebody help!  I need an ambulance, please! Someone help me. Please” She replied resting her hand on top of mays looking around for help. 

“What happened?” Marisol replied, already losing consciousness of what was happening. Y/n looked at her with teary eyes.She quickly rubs her tears away and looks at her. 

“Nothing happened. You’re okay..You're okay aunt Marisol” Y/n replied trying to  convince Marisol and herself. 

“I just need to catch my breath. I need a minute” May said as she closed her eyes this time longer than the last. Y/n watched quietly not wanting to let her go. 

“I’m right here. I’m right here, Aunt Marisol…We are okay, it’s just you and me.It’s always been you and me” She whispered, holding onto her hand. Y/n how Marisol smiled softly but her face fell when she noticed her hand let go of her cheek. 

“Marisol? Marisol? Will you look at me? Marisol. Please Marisol…Marisol, please wake up and talk to me! Please” Y/n said as she shook her softly every word becoming louder than the next. Her cries became sobs as she tried to get Marisol pulse. Y/n broke down falling on top of her crying into her chest. She could hear from a few blocks away the sirens coming their way. Before she could even have another minute to mourn she heard Karen speak. 

Miss L/n, I know this is hard but it’s time to go. They can’t catch you here, I already called for backup. 

Y/n let out a sigh as she cleaned her tears turning her back on Marisol not wanting to cry here, it wasn’t the time. Right now she wasn’t Y/n she was Spiderman and Spider had always agreed with the police that “he’ would leave before they got there and this sadly couldn’t be the exception. She felt herself push her body to move to  swing her body building to building. 

With great power comes great responsibility,even leaving loved ones behind. 

part 3

[MASTERLIST]

[starsfic]

Erlang Shen is Supposed to Be on Vacation

S5 theory fic: Erlang Shen is supposed to be on vacation. However, in an hour, he learns that his uncle is dead, someone is trying to do another coup, and Sun Wukong has been filleted again. The people who deliver this news, including mass criminal Master Subodhi, the duo of Ao Lie's descendant and Iron Fan's son, and the creation goddess Nuwa, make things... difficult.

Erlang Shen was on vacation.

He honestly needed one after centuries of work, both doing whatever dirty work his uncle supposedly needed and the day-to-day running of his territory. The gods of fate had been merciful, creating a summer where Jian didn’t have anything important to do until autumn. Heaven could be handled by Li Nezha or any of the hundreds of other warriors (mostly by his student because he knew how the guards could be), the training of his personal guards and army could be handled by his head guards, and any paperwork could be handled by his staff. With all that, Jian found himself luxuriously stretching in his garden, soaking up the sun. Even Xiaotian Quan stretched out, making a happy little dog noise.

His private garden was his favorite place in his palace. Most of the plants grew naturally in the Sichuan province, but the air was sweet with the smell of blossoming Flower Fruit Mountain trees. The saplings had been a gift from Sun Wukong on his birthday, and Jian found no shame in enjoying the gift.

Hm…with the thought of Wukong floating around, Jian wondered if he could invite him over. Despite their rocky beginnings, Jian enjoyed the company of his sworn brother, both platonically and in a more romantic light. He had recently heard that Wukong had also taken up a student, so maybe they could talk about that?

The summer seemed full of possibilities. 

Right now, Jian just wanted to sunbathe.

So lost in his relaxation, he didn’t notice a magpie settle on the branches of one of the peach trees, staring down at him. Xiaotian raised his head, but the magpie fluttered away before the dog could notice anything. The large hound, after a quick scan around, settled back down into the grass.

The magpie poked its head out and, deciding it was safe, flew down from the branches.

“Ahem. Prince Erlang Shen.”

He shouldn’t have tempted the gods of fate.

Jian pushed up his sunglasses.

Silver robes and a long white beard met his eyes. If he didn’t recognize that distinctive style, the feeling of the old man’s power gave his identity away. “Master Subodhi,” Jian said, sitting up. “I thought I warned you to stay away from my property unless you wanted me to fulfill my promise of bringing you in.”

Was he risking his uncle’s ire by not fulfilling the bounty on the daoist’s head for gaining immortality in an illegal way? Yes. Did he care? Eh, not really. Wukong had racked up way more charges against him in his long life and he wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of his uncle.

“Are you aware of the state of the world?”

The question came so out of left field that Erlang Shen blinked. “Uh…it’s summer?” he said, gesturing to the perfect summer day with big white fluffy clouds drifting carelessly in a blue sky. “It’s a nice day? My uncle isn’t calling to bother me?”

Subodhi raised a brow. “I can see why, considering he’s dead.”

There was a long pause.

“...excuse me?”

He…didn’t know how to process that. 

“Have you not seen the kid? Did you not see reality start to tear apart?”

Oh. That. “That happens sometimes, especially as my uncle gets older. He must’ve slipped up to have everyone see.” Erlang sighed. Honestly, the dramatics of old men. “If he died, someone would’ve told me-”

THWACK!

“OW!”

“Are you telling me that communication in Heaven has so broken down-”

“My lord!” Before Subodhi could finish his yelling or Erlang could grab and throw that stupid ruler far away, several guards marched in. “We have captured two trespassers. They insisted on talking to you.”

“YEAH!” A female voice called from the center of the huddle. “We have some questions for you.”

Erlang blinked. She sounded young and probably better than the gaping immortal, who for once looked surprised. “Allow them forward,” he called. “Let me see them.”

The guards stepped aside, revealing a girl in a green jacket- her features were familiar, although Jian couldn’t put his finger on why- and…hm. He had heard stories and seen pictures of Princess Iron Fan’s son, although he had never met him in person. He had the same dark eyes and noble bearing his former sworn sister had.

“What are you doing here?” Subodhi said, interrupting his thoughts with his baffled words. “Did you follow me?”

“Master Subodhi? What are you doing here?” the girl said. “You-”

Before she could finish, Red Son grabbed her and forced her to bow at the waist. “Remember what we talked about,” he hissed quietly to his companion. “Manners or we aren’t gonna get anything.”

“Yeah, but-”

He stomped on her foot. “Erlang Shen, Illustrious Sage and True Lord of Sichuan, we are Hong Ha-eir, son of the Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan, and Long Xiaojiao, descendant of Ao Jie-”

“Oh, that explains why you look familiar.” She looked strikingly like Ao Lie’s older sister…what had been her name again? Jian stood up with a sigh. “Rise, please, nephew.”

Red Son bristled at the address, but rose. Long Xiaojiao stepped forward. “Lord Erlang Shen, we came to plead for mercy for Sun Wukong, Liu’Er Mihou, and my best friend, Qi Xiaotian,” She got fully on her knees, pressing her forehead to the grass in a kowtow. “The charges leveled against them are false. None of them helped Azure Lion reach Heaven and kill the Jade Emperor. Any actions they did to help him were unwilling, done with manipulation-”

Several things stuck out at him. “Wait, what do you mean, kill the Jade Emperor?” Jian nodded to Subodhi, who’s shocked expression had been replaced by a strangely protective look. “He just told me my uncle died, but I have received no news about his death.”

“You…haven’t?” She rose up from her kowtow, looking confused. “But, you sent out a notice. He’s been dead for what, three weeks now?”

“A month,” Subodhi corrected. “I don’t know what you or your friends did. But it’s been over a month since the previous Jade Emperor was slain.”

“And two days since Heaven violated their agreement with me,” another female voice called. Jian felt himself stiffen, just in time for a hand to cup his face and lips to press against his cheek. “Shen, my dear.”

The pet name given by the goddess dressed in earthly tones only made his brow rise higher. While he had a few brief conversations with the ancient goddess at the few parties they both attended, she had never referred to him with fondness. Something was clearly up and Erlang Shen had a feeling he didn’t want to be part of it, but he would have to be.

“What brings you here, my lady?” he said, dipping into a deep bow. 

“Oh, I came here to help my son’s little friends and my son’s…master.” Nuwa’s pause on the last word felt mocking. Subodhi clearly noticed it as well, based on his snort. “I also came here for an explanation.”

Her smile was serene. Her aura was not. 

“An…explanation for what?”

“Wait, you’re Sun Wukong’s mother?”

“Wait, you’re XIAOTIAN’S MOTHER?!” Xiaotian raised his head at his name. “Sorry, puppy,” Long Xiaojiao cooed. “Not you.” The dog huffed and settled back down.

“It’s complicated and yes,” Nuwa said before turning to him. “And an explanation for the court’s recent actions. As you must be aware, when the Jade Emperor took the throne, he held up my agreement with his predecessors. Any issue with the stones of the universe must be handled by me directly.”

“...okay? Did something happen?”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, based on Nuwa’s darkening face. Jian was tempted to deflect, considering he just received the news of his uncle’s…unfortunate passing. But that was the coward’s way out. 

Nuwa stared at him. Then she snapped her fingers. “Girl, dearest one,” she called. “Bring him the announcement.”

Xiaojiao and Red Son exchanged looks, but she stepped forward, pulling a scroll out of her pocket. “Li Jing gave us this after he put a filet on Sun Wukong’s head and sucked my best friend into his pagoda,” she reported as he took it.

Jian was too busy studying the scroll to hear the shocked gasps from both Subodhi and Nuwa. 

Well, that was his seal.

Jian opened it.

That wasn’t his handwriting.

He scanned it over, reading it quickly. It was all very formal, claiming that the royal family, including the Queen Mother of the West, who was slated to rule until the next emperor would be chosen according to his uncle’s will last he checked, would be taking time to grieve at the sudden loss. Li Jing was to be put in charge for the next few months, supported by the ten kings of the Diyu. Someone had even put the Gold Star of Venus’s seal at the bottom, signifying it as legit.

Jian raised a brow. “Did any of you see the Gold Star of Venus?” he asked the Long girl. She stared blankly at him. He sighed. “Either a goddess in yellow with a cockscomb hat or an older man, about…” He put his hand to about his chin. “Yay high or so?”

She and Red Son exchanged looks. “No,” she finally said. “I don’t think so. Honestly, the only celestials we saw during the trial were Li Jing and Nezha and the ten kings. And I honestly expected to see a few peach maidens.”

Huh? “Why?”

She paused, as if realizing she wasn’t supposed to say that. “No reason,” she lied. “But, to answer your question, no.”

Something was afoot. Jian was tempted to ask if they were just pulling a prank on him, but Subodhi hated his guts, Nuwa was clearly furious, and he barely knew the younger two. Pranks didn’t seem to be in their skillset. Something popped out.

“Did you say that Wukong has the filet?”

“Yes! At least a filet! Li Jing said he wouldn’t take it off unless we got all the universal stones together and fixed the universe.”

“Which you cannot do without my help,” Nuwa said, crossing her arms with a hiss. “There was no quest needed in the first place. The holders would hand them over to me without a problem. Several Heavenly servants saw you attack Azure to defend the Jade Emperor. Nezha’s testimony alone should be evidence.”

Another thought popped into his mind.

“Where was Nezha when this was happening?”

Silence met him. Faintly, the girl sucked air through her teeth. The boy coughed into his fist. He could practically hear the words rise and fall.

A soft hand once again pressed against his shoulder.

“You know where,” Nuwa whispered. She sounded like she was laughing, even if it was silent.

Jian did.

“It seems someone or several someones have lied,” Erlang Shen dropped the scroll- he hadn’t even realized he was crumpling it- and turned. He was met with anger, but not at him. Good. It would fuel them all. “Now, let me go get changed and call my aunt.”

His vacation was over.

[flo-zoinks]

Pls, yap about rdr1 Javier. If possible. ^_^ I love him. So much. He is my pride and joy.

I LOVE HIM TOO !!!! Hes probably my favourite after John and Jack

Uhm this will be a long yap btw

I'm not sure what I could say that hasn't been said already but one thing I've been thinking of recently was Javiers position in rdr1

He's considered a 'hitman' for Allende, which is so surprising after seeing rdr2. For a man so proud of the crimes he committed in Mexico to carry around his own bounty poster with full pride to show it in camp, and speak with little empathy on the high power military man he murdered, (unsurprising), then to work for Allende by 1911? It doesn't seem like him.

But!👆👆🤓

In 1907, the newspaper says hes supposedly around in the 'Mountains' of Mexico. Now, my family that live in Mexico are based in one of the most rural mountain areas, which is situated in the north, and quite far from any important cities. So it's most likely Javier too was in the North then, so most probably close to his home area of Nuevo Paraíso. But, its obvious he's hiding, clearly not well enough for it to be reported in the Mexican newspapers by 1907 though. And considering our knowledge that Javier definitely lives to see 1911 as a notoriously famous man of Allende, I believe the government definitely found him before the other way, but instead of killing and trialing him, he was put to do the dirty work of Allende for survival.

But once again, whilst Javier is shown to be able to throw away his own ideals and principals to survive, I think to contribute to the corrupt government, and help Allende kill people like the ones he nearly died to protect, seems too unlikely. John describes him as a 'cynic who was desperate to appear as a romantic' (paraphrasing lol), and saying he had a 'lot of passion, but no love'. So I dont think he would pick survival over life with Allende, desperate to fulfill the idea of himself he wants to be more than anything.

So why does he ?

Well I thought about that for a while, and remembered what he said in rdr2. Javiers family were labourers for Allende's uncle. Whilst he Father was spoken as but a borracho, and probably dead by 1907, like his Mother is, he still has a sister, brother-in-law and perhaps much more family (trust I know how big Roman Catholic Mexican families get) that he cared for. Obviously Allende has a massive power advantage over them, and wouldn't feel too prideful to not use them as a leverage for Javier to do this dirty work.

So I believe he became their Lackey for his family, granting not only himself but his family protection by the biggest sacrifice he could give.

The parallel of his situation to John is so tragic though to think about if you apply this theory, that when leaving the gang they both fall into being the governments little puppies forced into a pit to kill one another. The situation that some of the biggest fighters for freedom, a life without the control of the government, ended up being the biggest puppets of the government. As John says "you just work for a different government", showing their situation as the same, no matter what route you took with Dutch or Arthur, or how you tried to better yourself.

Another point of Rdr1 Javier I was thinking of was the lines he says that stood out to me.

When injured, he shouts "Finish me coward!". This stood out to me a lot, as I think it highlights their relationship a lot by rdr1. (I'm not gonna write about this as a ship comment btw just about the canon as we know)

Javier is the only gang member we can choose to let "live", (although it doesnt really mean anything at the end), and the only one John will appear empathy for as he wipes away a tear after spitting on him. (a strong showcase of his conflicting thoughts and how he wants to hate Javier, and tries to push down and 'wipe away' any other weaker-percieved emotions over the man he knows is in the past.) Javier and John still seem to have feelings of perhaps "brotherhood" or friendship by 1911, of course mixed with hate and brewing of resentment over the years. The word "coward" I think shows that Javier thinks John won't kill him because of that left over friendship, trying to instigate him into letting the anger take over and override that 'unmanly' emotion.

But it also shows Javier's lack of will. Normally in rdr2, we see how Javier's character will still fight to survive even when the odds are 99:1, and try to live without ever giving in and losing hope. But by rdr1, whilst it's still prevalent, its clearly not nearly as strong. The second Javier is injured, he gives up, and accepts he won't make it out. With that mentality in rdr2 as a starved child who'd just immigrated to the USA, he wouldve died instantly. But it seems Javier doesn't want to die, at all, with all the begging lines, but just doesn't think it will do anything. He begs John in an act of losing all pride, simply saying just "please let me go, John", and "Please, don't let me die like this." (THAT BREAKS MY HEART BTW). He fights with his words when he can, but when hes shot and injured and his real words cone out, they are a lot more vulnerable, and suggest a strong lack of will he has left. (Another line he says is just "Tell...tell your wife it's the Lord I praise."

Going back to the point of his relationship with John by then too, something else that stuck out to me was some lines to John. As we hear previously to Bonnie, John had a daughter who died, perhaps at around a toddler age.

Javier knows this, too. He shouts "I hope you and your wife and children rot in hell!", with children plural. Another thing is when he says John should "Go back to your farm!", showing Escuela definitely knows about John's life after 1907. How exactly? Who's sure. But, I partly believe he only could've found out if he'd actively tried to find out, maybe by methods of outsourcing some of Allende's men to check under the guise of saying they are suspecting of assisting the rebels escape to the USA or something. Or, considering how he still remains in contact with Bill enough to smuggle him out the country, could've asked Bill. Either way, it shows that the gang is still a moment Javier won't let go, which could be because of the lack of pride he would have of working for the man he does now. The last moment of pride Javier would have wouldve been in 1899, before the ever described 'vain' man abandoned all pride to hide out in a mountain far from all people.

A final point I think would be that I believe Javier lost himself during the times of rdr1, and actively tries to forget his morals subconsciously. The amount of guilt he would have, including the Catholic guilt, national guilt, and guilt for his family, is too much for one man to handle. Luisa, and many other like the prostitute in Las Hermamas(?) Speak of Escuela in a strong disgust, with the lady saying she wouldnt even "spit on him if he was on fire". So we know Javier is so unliked by the revolutionists, and general public too. Luisa says bad people spoke of him, and I believe from those lines that Javier would've tried to suck out all his empathy to try and lift that sack of weights on his shoulders and mind with guilt, by forcing himself to not care. And by doing that lost himself in his bad deeds and became his own worst enemy. The previously repetitively stated man as vain and obsessed with vanity in 1899 changes to wear a scruffy hair style with dirty, cheap and boring clothes. I see this as proof that he doesnt hold himself to standards he used to, nor like himself and believe he deserved such as he does now.

Anyway I could yap some more but I got a big exam tmrw and just realised its 1am (getting up at 5 yay). THANKS FOR THE ASK I LOVE ASKS, AND U!!!❤❤

What are your opinions ???

[fuctacles]

@steddiesummerexchange for @chaosgremlinmunson | part 2/3 | beta @stevesjockstrap 💚

T | 10858 | Steddie, Buckingham, platonic Stobin and Hellcheer, Wayne&Eddie | Soulmate AU, unconventional soulmates, misunderstandings, idiot4idiot, fluff | divider & meme doodle by me | Part 1 | Part 3 | Ao3

Eddie doesn't have to wait long for Robin to call him. He's chilling on his bed, plunking on the guitar and ignoring homework, when he hears a knock on his door.

"Son? There's a call for you," his uncle says through the closed door. (He'll say it's because he values his nephew's privacy, but they both know it's for plausible deniability.) Eddie is confused at first but then remembers he did give away his number that day, for a very important cause. He puts the guitar to the side and jumps up from the bed. 

"Who is it?" he asks upon opening his door, startling his uncle. The man raises his eyebrows at him.

"A girl that's not Chrissy," he says, voice carefully blank and yet calculatingly implying. "Robin from the sex store?"

If she has introduced herself like that, to a random dude's parental figure, he knows she and Chrissy would get along great. 

"It's not like that!" He rolls his eyes, before running toward the phone.

"Should I leave?" his uncle yells back.

"No, please, stay so you know it's a civilized conversation between a tutor and her student," he answers with a glare and picks up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Bold of you to assume we're a tutor and student already," comes the snark comment from the other end of the line. 

Eddie admits to himself, and only himself, that he might have jumped a bit on this one. 

"Sorry, I just had to say something normal to my uncle about the girl from the sex shop," he says pointedly and to her credit, the sex shop girl has the decency to make an apologetic hiss. 

"Yeah, sorry about that. Blurting shit out without thinking is my cardinal sin."

He barks out a laugh. Fuck, she is perfect.

"No worries, I'm sure my uncle has heard worse."

"I have," Wayne mutters under his breath while sorting through their laundry nearby. Well, in the cramped trailer space, everything was nearby. Eddie grins at him and his uncle fips him the bird without even looking up. Eddie flips one back.

"I'm assuming your friend passed my message?" he asks, focusing back on the conversation with his soulmate's crush.

"Yeah, he did. But before I agree to anything, I must ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Are you hitting on me?" 

Eddie chokes on his tongue. 

"No?!" he reacts immediately. He hears her scoff into his ear so he tries to save it. "Not that you're not like, good looking or anything, you're just not my type and I actually really need the tutoring," he says the truth, even if it was just an afterthought in his plan to get closer to her for the wingmaning purposes. "Besides," he pauses, not sure if he should say anything. But something in the way Robin has been communicating so far makes him want to run his mouth without shame as well.

"Besides?" she prompts, slightly annoyed. It's her tone that helps him make up his mind in the end.

"I wouldn't do that to my friend," he says.

The line goes silent. Unnervingly so. Eddie gives her time to gather her thoughts and wonders if it was the wrong thing to say after all. If it was a confession too close to revealing his ulterior motives. 

"Hey—"

"Which one?" she asks abruptly, cutting him off.

"Huh?"

"I'm not into your DnD nerds."

Oh, so she did a background check on him. Well, not that there were many metalhead Eddies in Hawkins High. He presses the receiver between his shoulder and ear so he can pop his knuckles. His hands are itching for stimulation; guitar strings, a pen, a joint, anything. 

"What about nerdettes?" 

His uncle snorts somewhere in the background but Eddie is great and making up words, thank you very much and fuck you, Uncle Wayne, you're uncultured. 

"Yeah, that's..." Robin takes a loud, steadying breath. "That's more up my speed."

Eddie is not a quiet person. He finds it difficult not to voice his opinions and his favorite music has been described by some as "angry yelling". So he's very proud of himself for managing a silent little happy dance, even if he almost drops the phone in the process. He can feel his uncle's judgemental eyes on him but completely ignores them. 

"Great! I'll pass on the good news to her then." He smiles cockily against the receiver. 

"Yeah, uh, you do that." She coughs softly. "So um, am I safe to assume you are scheming to land your friend a date with me?"

"Well..."

"And the fact that I can tutor you, a super senior, while doing it, is just a cherry on top?" 

"Super super senior," Eddie corrects her. "But, uh, yeah, you'd be right." Eddie has a feeling they'll get along smoothly. Maybe there was another universe where they were platonic soulmates as well. 

"Does tomorrow work for you?"

"Uh, yeah," he says, almost forgetting what the call was supposed to be about. 

"Please do not bring your friend," she adds, a slight panic in her voice, 

"No of course." He nods furiously, even though she can't see it. "You haven't passed the soulmate's approval yet." 

"You guys are soulmates?" she asks, a bit too loud in his ear.

"Uh yeah?"

"Oh my god! Just like Steve and me!"

He blinks into the ether with a frown.

"You guys are soulmates?" 

"Duh! I've never met other platonic soulmates before. Do you think we could hang out, the four of us?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess?" He's a little bit lost, a ton ecstatic, but most of all, he wasn't prepared for all of this so he's scrambling for words to find. "I think it would be nice," he offers.

"Great. We can talk it out tomorrow, after school?" she offers and it takes him a moment to understand.

"Oh, yeah," he catches up finally, "The library?"

"Yeah, works for me. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," he parrots. He listens to her drop one last goodnight before the line goes dead.

Wayne gives him a moment to contemplate on stuff, before walking up to him. He takes the phone from his loose grip and puts it back on the cradles.

"Wanna catch me up?" he asks. It's not demanding, it never is, the way he's heard some parents talk to their kids. It's a genuine offer to get involved in his nephew's life. Eddie's eyes finally focus on him.

"Can I get a beer?"

"Can I get a joint?" Wayne shoots back, making Eddie smile.

"Deal."

They sit around their tiny coffee table, sharing a joint while Eddie catches him up on the events since he and Chris stepped into a random sex shop in the middle of a storm. When he's finished, Wayne hoards the joint with a look of concern in his eyes, despite Eddie reaching out for his turn on the weed.

"Son." His voice turns stern, letting him know it's important and he should listen.

"What?" Eddie whines instead, making one more pathetic flail for the reefer. 

"So you meet this guy twice on sheer accident, your soulmates seem to be interested in each other and he has a DnD tattoo, which is something you are very interested in."

"Yeah?" Eddie frowns, completely oblivious to where his uncle is going. He reached out again but the joint was just flying further out of his reach. 

"Son. Don't you think the DnD soulmate he's looking for, might be you?" his uncle says bluntly, clearly the weed speaking through him properly.

Eddie shakes his head.

"I don't have the tattoo to match."

"Kid, I will smack you into a different state," Wayne says flatly and seems about ready to act on his threat. "Do they teach you nothing at school?"

"I don't know, I'm not learning anything."

Wayne glares at him while Eddie gives him an innocent smile. 

"I knew a guy," he says, the patience for his nephew thin yet endless. "Whose mark complimented his wives. He had a fork and she had a knife."

"You're joking," Eddie says with a delighted smile.

"No," Wayne smiles at him. "They opened a very successful bistro. I also knew a couple who got matching marks after they met."

"That's stupid." Eddie frowns. "How is that supposed to make finding your soulmate easier?"

Wayne shrugs.

"Since when anything in life is easy? Or smart? Or making sense?" 

His uncle stares at the wall with that ancient philosopher's gaze and Eddie finally manages to pluck the joint out of his hand.

"Okay, old man, I think that's enough weed for you today."

He doesn't protest and turns to his nephew instead.

"Every relationship is unique, you know? And so are the soulmate bonds."

Eddie knows it's true, but his mind doesn't want to wrap around the possibility suggested here. 

"You know what is very unique? A teenager and his uncle indulging in illegal substances on a random afternoon."

Wayne smiles at him, gathering him into a sideways hug.

"Ain't no other family like ours," he agrees. And then promptly breaks the moment by tightening his grip to give Eddie a noogie.

"Ow, no, Wayne! My hair!"

"I didn't know I booked a double lesson." Eddie raises his eyebrows when he spots not one but two people waiting at the library entrance. 

The shrimp in a hat next to Robin snorts.

"Please," he lisps. "I don't need tutoring."

Eddie frowns at the tone of the literal freshman in front of him and watches Robin cross her arms.

"I don't know, kid, your Latin could use some work."

The kid bristles, his hackles rising like an angry cat. It looks very amusing and forces Eddie to bite his lip not to smile.

"I am working on it! Thank you very much!"

"So," Eddie reminds them of his presence. "What is the nerd doing here?" he rephrases his question.

"The nerd," the kid repeats, his tone not offended, but proud, which Eddie can totally fuck with. "Heard you're a Dungeon Master?" 

Under all his cockiness and self-confidence, he couldn't hide the excitement and hope. Eddie smiled against himself and gave a small bow.

"Indeed I am. Eddie the Banished, Son of the Moon. At your service."

"Oh my god," Robin groans, while the kid seems about ready to pee his pants from excitement. "Let's go, you nerds, you can talk on the way." She rolls her eyes and turns without looking back. Eddie follows her in the direction of study rooms and the kid trots along next to him.

"I'm Dustin, by the way. A dwarven bard," he introduces himself.

"Dustin?" It rings a bell... "Wait, Steve's freshman friend?"

The kid grins with delight.

"He said we're friends?"

Uh-oh.

"I don't remember what he said exactly," he covers up quickly. "But I do remember he mentioned a party looking for a DM. Are you guys new to DnD?"

The smile he got for that question made him lowkey want to smack the kid and highkey excited to have players he won't have to spend a whole campaign explaining the rules to. He would, if needed, but having seasoned players with their own playing styles he doesn't know yet? That's trouble at the table that he couldn't wait to witness.

Robin refuses to let Dustin pass through the door professionally labeled (with a black marker on a piece of paper) as a 'student tutoring' room. She puts a hand against his chest when he tries to follow them.

"Listen, Henderson. I promised Steve I'd give this guy a chance..."

Eddie raises his eyebrow at that piece of information.

"And you're going to ruin it if you keep bothering us. Do you want Steve to be disappointed?"

Dustin frowns at her and the arm holding him back. He swats it away but doesn't pass the threshold. 

"That's blackmail," he huffs, crossing his arms.

"That's facts," Robin corrects him. "Go bother someone else. Eddie already agreed to play with you."

"But there's so much to discuss beforehand!" the boy protests. Eddie decides to throw him a bone. Mostly because he really needs to bring that wingmanning to a satisfying end.

"Can you come to our table tomorrow? I'll introduce you to Hellfire guys and we can talk out some details then."

Dustin immediately lights up.

"Can my friends come too?"

"Of course, man. Gotta test your vibe."

"Okay! Tomorrow at lunch!" He jumps up on the balls of his feet, slowly retracing backward. 

"Yeah, bud. See you then."

"See you! I'll show you the characters I've been working on!"

"You really don't have to—"

But he was already gone. Eddie sighs as Robin slams the door shut and falls against them with a groan.

"He's so exhausting," she complains. "Smart as hell, a great kid, but so exhausting."

Eddie chuckles. 

"Yeah, I can see that. How are you guys even friends?" he asks curiously. But Robin shakes her head, pushing herself away from the door. 

"Nuh-uh. You're not getting the backstory yet. Spanish first, chit-chat later."

Right. Studying. The bane of Eddie's existence.

Robin manages only half an hour of his stupidity (foreign-language-rejecting brain, she called it, but he'll keep calling it stupidity) before announcing a break.

She rests her head against her arms, blocking out the light, while Eddie runs through the million topics on his mind that he could start. Apparently, he stares at her hair long enough for her to notice it.

"Just say what's on your mind, man," she mumbles against the textbook.

"Did Steve really ask you to help me out?" This was not what he intended to ask, and certainly not what he was there for, but it was already out.

Robin lifts her head slightly.

"Yeah. He seems weirdly fond of you," she answers with her eyes narrowed like it was somehow his fault her friend was acting weird. 

Eddie shrugs, thinking of a reasonable explanation.

"Maybe he's hoping to find his soulmate if he keeps befriending DnD nerds," he offers. 

She snorts. It feels like she's laughing at him, though. He frowns. 

"Yeah. Speaking of soulmates, though..." She straightens up, suddenly nervous. "I think. And I might be wrong. But it felt similar with Steve, so I'm like, eighty percent sure..."

"Dude, just spill it."

Robin scrunched her nose.

"I have a feeling about Chrissy."

"Okay?" Eddie frowns. "I mean, that's why I'm here, right? To help you guys out?"

She shakes her head.

"No, like... A soulmate feeling."

Eddie's eyes go wide. 

"For real?"

She nods.

"I mean, at least I think so." 

"Well, you have something to compare it to, so I will trust your judgment," he reassures her. Only then do the meaning of her words hit him, and his eyes go wide. "Holy shit! You're Chrissy's soulmate!"

"Probably," Robin rushes in to add. "She didn't say anything about it, did she?" She's adamant about not getting her hopes up. If she was the only one who felt it, maybe it was a false alarm. Maybe she had eaten something bad earlier that day.

"No," Eddie admits with a twist of his mouth. "But she's not good at picking up this stuff. We had been friends for a month before we realized we were bonded."

That does make her feel better. She was the first to pick up on her bond with Steve as well, so maybe it was simply a Robin thing.

"But she's uh, she's interested, right?" she asks to clarify. It feels awkward but still a little less intimidating to have the buffer of her crush's best friend than talking to her directly. 

"She literally wouldn't shut up about you." Eddie grins at her. "Yesterday she dragged me to your store and was very disappointed not to find you there." Which, thinking of, reminds him of Steve. He frowns. "Did you tell Steve? Because I was positive for awhile, that he was hitting on Chris."

"No, I—"

Eddie slams his hand on the table, interrupting her.

"You sent him to spy!" He points at her accusingly. "He was asking about Chrissy for you!"

She shrugs, crossing her arms to give him a deadpan stare despite her fiercely red cheeks. 

"Yeah. And what are you doing right now?"

Eddie grins. Oh, he likes her. 

"Touche," he nods his head. "So, about that date..."

They agree on a date next weekend, and in the meantime, Eddie dusts off an old campaign of his. A one-shot to make sure he'll even want to play with a bunch of kids. Betwee them and the Hellfire guys there's more than enough players, but Dustin asks if he can invite Steve too.

"I don't invite an audience into game sessions," Eddie tells him with a frown. He's gathering their character sheets to know what he'll be dealing with.

"As a player!" Dustin corrects him. "I've been trying to get him to play with us forever and since it's a one-shot maybe he'll finally cave."

Eddie makes a face.

"I'm not taking in a newbie with all seasoned players," he protests.

"But he knows everything about the game! Because of his soulmate?" Dustin reminds him like he's stupid. And he kind of is, because it should be hard to forget trivia. 

"Uh, right." He scratches his cheeks. "Fine, I guess. But I want his character sheet pronto." 

At that, Dustin digs deeper into his bag to retrieve another sheet of paper from between the pages of his math textbook. Eddie groans.

"Are you kidding me? You little shit." But he takes Steve's character sheet from him. Dustin grins widely, satisfied with himself.

"Just this once," he assures. "Well, unless he likes it."

Eddie huffs, offended. 

"He's gonna love it. I'm a great DM."

"I'm sure you are and I'm sure he will. This Friday?"

"3 PM sharp." Eddie points at him.

"Aye aye," Dustin salutes, backing away towards the school crowd and inevitably running into some kid. Not for the first time, and probably not the last one either, Eddie wonders how someone like Henderson got himself involved with Steve Harrington.

Friday comes fast and Eddie is excited to have new players at his table again. Some idiots have been spreading shitty rumors about the game lately, so the interest has been scarce. And now he has three innocent freshmen at his table. And Steve Harrington.

He looks out of place between nerdy freshmen and metalheads. In Eddie's personal opinion, he even smells too well to be there. But he won't deny someone who wants to play. So he sets the scene and lets the dice roll. 

It started in a tavern but with a twist. The party heard a couple of leads and depending on which one they chose, it would lead to the proper adventure or immediate trouble. To everyone's surprise, when one of the NPCs stops talking, Steve is the one to speak up.

"He's lying. It's a trap."

"How do you know?" Mike, one of the freshmen, bristles. 

Everyone raises their eyebrows at Steve, who shrinks in his seat. 

"Uh, a hunch?"

It's a very spot-on hunch and the party is right to listen to him. 

The game proceeds and Eddie is enjoying himself, much like everyone else around the table. Well, maybe except for Steve. The further they went into the game, the quieter he got.

"Pee break!" Eddie announces around the halfway point and everyone scatters to use the bathroom, refill on snacks, or smoke. He's about to stop Harrington from leaving, but he sees him saying something to Dustin with a smile, his ass firm on the chair. And soon, there's only two of them left.

"You okay, man?" he asks without preamble. "If you don't like it I can kill off your character and you can go home," he offers. Usually, he would be meaner about it, but he's seen how much the guy means to Dustin. And to Robin. And Robin means a lot to Chrissy and Chrissy means a lot to him, and so the circle closes. He's not going to be mean to Steve Harrington. He doesn't even want to.

Instead of taking the out, Steve asks him a question.

"Is Bernard the traitor?"

Eddie smirks. Maybe Steve was more invested than he seemed. 

"I'm not answering questions like that, man. It's DM confidential."

Bernard was, in fact, a traitor. 

"He's leading them to the monster as an offering, isn't he?"

"What?" Eddie frowns. Did he read his notes somehow?

"He's killed his father that way too."

That... That wasn't in the notes. Eddie didn't write it down, it was an irrelevant backstory only for him to know.

"Did you write the story?" Steve asks, his brown eyes piercing. 

Eddie licks his lips and nods stiffly. He looks at Steve's hand instinctively, having a hunch of his own on how this story unfolds. 

Steve stands up and Eddie's eyes follow, for the first time studying him properly, how he deserves. His stupid preppy polo, his perfect hair, and the moles on his cheek. He raises his hand, the D20 tattoo on display.

"Shake my hand?"

Eddie sighs.

"Wayne's gonna beat up my ass," he murmurs before grabbing the offered hand. 

He lets out an undignified yelp and Steve lets go immediately, shock on his face. It was just a millisecond sting, nothing else, followed by an electric sensation across his body. He looks at his palm, at the point where their bodies just touched.

There is a matching dice tattoo on his skin. 

He shakes the dice experimentally. It rolls and lands on fourteen. Then ten. He looks up to find Steve's eyes on him, sparkling.

"What happened?!" Lucas suddenly bursts in, probably alerted by Eddie's yell. Dustin crowds in behind him, pushing in, and Jeff peeks curiously over their heads. But before Eddie can even start to explain anything, Dustin starts screeching.

"Oh my god! Are you guys soulmates?! You're soulmates! Oh my god, that's so cool! Holy shit Steve! I knew you'd get along!"

"Dude," Steve scolds him softly. Dustin deflates just a bit but he's still jumping.

"Guys," Eddie speaks up, surprised to even find his voice. "Five more minutes?" He looks up for support from Jeff, who gives him a nod and pulls the rowdy freshmen out of the room. The door closes and he has to pay attention to Steve again. He looks back at him and finds his face carefully blank.

"Disappointed?" he asks, making Steve recoil.

"What? Why would I... What?"

Eddie shrugs. 

"It's fine if I'm not what you expected. You're not what I imagined either."

Chrissy was a surprise, so he assumed if there was another soulmate out there for him, they would be more like him. He usually pictured another metalhead, maybe a hot guitarist, a fantasy writer, or a hot groupie obsessed with his music. A preppy guy living a quiet life in Hawkins? Not in a million years. 

Steve shrugs back.

"Robin isn't what I imagined either, but we work. I don't even know you, so how can I be disappointed?"

"Touche." Eddie grimaces. "Let's hang out sometime so we can speed up the process." 

Steve rolls his eyes but takes a small step towards him. Eddie lets him grab his hand and compare the matching tattoos on their palms. They were nearly identical, but with closer scrutiny, he could see the lines on Steve's were softer than on his. 

"We could make this weekend a double date if the girls agree."

"Uh, I don't know..."

But before he can elaborate, Steve's eyes widen, and his grasp on Eddie's hand tightens minutely.

"Shit, I just assumed you're into guys. I did that with Robin too, I'm so sorry." He's pulling his hand away, face red with embarrassment, but Eddie catches his fingers.

"Uh, no, I am. Both girls and dudes. You just... you know."

"Don't look the type?" Steve raises his eyebrow with amusement. 

"Not exactly," Eddie admits sheepishly. "Okay." He exhales. "Double date, huh? Yeah, I can do that." He nods mostly to reassure himself. Steve smiles and squeezes his hand gently before easing away from his grip. The noise behind the door was getting louder, meaning everyone was back from the bathroom break and seconds away from stomping in.

"Great. I always thought your eyes are beautiful," Steve says just before the party reenters the room. 

It's a lot of yelling and explaining before they can resume the game. It becomes the most unhinged playthrough Eddie has ever witnessed due to everyone making the most outrageous decisions to throw off Steve's omnipotence and make Eddie come up with lore and plot on the spot. 

When they are gathering their stuff a couple of hours later, he's exhausted in the best way.

Steve lingers, almost kicking Dustin out of the door. He even throws him the keys to the car, something he never does, but Eddie doesn't know that. He helps him gather his notes and figurines, which he doesn't protest like he would with others. They would snoop but what's the point in snooping when you already know the whole plot?

"That was fun," Steve admits as he hands Eddie the character sheets. "It's a boomer I can't enjoy the story since I already know everything."

Eddie lets out a soft hum while arranging the papers in his bag in a way they won't get damaged. 

"Gareth's been wanting to DM for a while. It would be nice to take a break once for a change and you could play without getting the plot spoilered," he offers. 

"I'd like that." Steve smiles. Eddie grins at him.

"Okay! I think that's all," he says, looking around for any misplaced dice. "Thanks for helping me out. These bastards always make a run for it as soon as we're done."

"You just don't want them touching your stuff," Steve points out, following him to the door as he fishes out the keys to close behind them.

"That's true, yeah."

Steve hovers behind him while he closes up and Eddie decides to spare him the awkwardness.

"You can go, I still have to give these back to the janitor. I'm sure Henderson is itching to take your car for a spin in the parking lot."

Steve straightens up at the reminder.

"Shit, yeah. I better go to him." He runs his hand through his hair, hesitating for one last moment. "See you tomorrow?"

Eddie almost forgot their double date is this Saturday, but he nods at him. 

"Yeah, see you." He's about to turn around and go their separate ways when Steve leans in.

It's just a soft brush of his lips on his cheek, but Eddie's body immediately sets on fire. 

"See you," throws Steve softly before leaving.

Eddie tightens his grip on the strap of his bag. The keys are digging into the meat of his palm, into the new tattoo there. 

"Oh my god."

[Steve, relating the news.]

[inevitably-johnlocked]

What's Been Going On.

Hey gang.

First off, before I make a cut, I just want to thank y'all for your patience and understanding the past couple months with my... distinct lack of interesting posting. I really appreciate it. I spend so much time here that I tend to eventually burn out and then feel bad when I physically can't provide y'all with new stuff. I love this blog and the community here, and I'm grateful that y'all are so understanding.

The TL;DR for those who aren't able to read below the cut due to the content warnings: I've lost 2 relatives in the past couple weeks, and one of them hit me very hard. I am sad, but I am trying my best to carry on. It will hurt for awhile, and I'm not okay right now, but I will be... I always am.

Below the cut, cw for descriptions of deaths, cancer, depression.

So, as I mentioned, I lost two family members in two weeks, almost exactly a week apart from each other. One, my youngest aunt (dad's sister) who I wasn't close with but I saw occasionally, from a sudden heart attack. The second, a little over a week later, was my uncle (dad's brother and my godfather) after a LONG battle with various cancers but the final one was leukaemia, and he passed away this past Monday. This is the one that hit me like a freight train because I was very close with this uncle.

For context, PRIOR to all of this, I haven't been sleeping well since just before the time change for some reason – so about a month or two. I just can't sleep through a whole night anymore, and it's frustrating and leaving me exhausted for weeks on end (the insomnia is important to note and it will be relevant in a sec).

Last year I think it was, maybe the year before, my uncle was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had undergone months of radiation and it went into remission. Then about a year or so, it came back as a different cancer, but I can't remember which one it was. Half a year ago, he got leukaemia, and was undergoing chemo and blood platelet replacement therapy for a few months.

On Remembrance Day weekend (November 11), the family found out that there was nothing more they could do for my uncle's treatments. This was devastating news for all of us to hear. Of course we hoped he would be okay until after Christmas, but his prognosis was already less-than-2-months after that revelation.

A week later, my aunt passed away suddenly. No pre-conditions other than probably being overweight and a heavy smoker, but my cousin (her 17-year-old daughter) found her in her room. I am closer with the cousin than the aunt, so I was texted by one of my other aunts at 2am Friday morning to talk to my cousin, since I have gone through a traumatic sudden-death of a parent and this cousin trusts and relates to me. And the only reason I saw the text was because I was already awake due to my insomnia. I called the cousin and stayed on the phone for 6 hours with her to ensure she was going to be okay. I took the day off work to sleep.

Exactly a week later, my uncle was rushed to the hospital with a brain bleed and pneumonia. I was texted by a DIFFERENT aunt, this one being the one I am closest to and knows how close I am to my uncle, last Thursday. I found out on the Friday I took off of work that he wasn't going to get better, that the bleed was essentially killing him slowly.

This uncle, for outsider understanding, essentially became a second father to me after my dad died and I moved to be closer to his family. He became the parent my mother wasn't. This uncle ensured I was always okay, and would drop everything for me. So to say I was devastated to learn that I was losing him forever brought up a lot of core memories from when my dad died is an understatement. First, my aunt dying young, like my dad, from a sudden heart attack, like my dad. Then my father figure in my life dying shortly after? Lots of turmoil this past couple weeks for me.

On Sunday, November 24, I said my final goodbye to my uncle, and he passed away on the 25th. It hurts so badly that I want to scream non-stop. I took that Monday off to grieve, and worked from home the rest of the week to sit in my grief alone. One of the things I am so grateful for was that I was able to say goodbye to him, and to tell him how much he meant to me, how much I love him. It gave me a sense of closure that I didn't have with my dad when he died. One of my biggest regrets about my dad passing is that morning he died, I never said "I love you" like I usually did because I was running late for work.

I did not want to make that mistake again. I got to hug my uncle, and tell him I love him so, so much, and I got to thank him for always being there for me when dad died. That he helped me through my grief when I finally did break three years after he died.

I let him know he was loved; I am so grateful for that opportunity.

I miss him so much it physically hurts.

Just because his death was inevitable, it doesn't make it any easier. It feels different than my dad's death, for sure, in the sense that I lost dad too young and unexpectedly. But it still hurts to lose someone I love even if I know he's leaving us. I am just glad he's not suffering anymore; he was in immense pain when I saw him last.

So, this past week, I have been sitting in my grief, crying at mundane things because they remind me of him or things we did together. I've played video games to distract my mind, and tried my best to work on this blog, albeit at a minimum.

The surprising thing I think about this whole ordeal is the immense support I'm getting from my coworkers, and my employer's understanding about my situation. I have a job that's primarily digital, so they've let me take as much time as I need to feel up to working fully again, and I am just EXHAUSTED, but I want to try to go back to the office on Monday, to get back to the routines that make me feel comfort. Work has said that if I'm having a hard time I can go back home, which, again, is so generous. I was at a different job when my dad died, and they didn't want me gone more than a week. This has been literally 2 weeks non stop of me working / not working / working from home..... I just cannot wait until Christmas break so I can finally just REST. I am extremely lucky to have the job I have, and I am very aware of that. The fact that they're letting me have more grievance leave than normal for a non-immediate family member boggles my mind, but again, I am grateful.

So yeah, that's what's been going on with me the past couple months. It's been chaotic, I'm tired, and very very lonely. AND to top it all off, I'm feeling my seasonal depression seeping in earlier than normal because of all this stress and anxiety, and I just... ugh. I need to get back to routine.

This is also why I'm doing the Christmas cards this year... because I want to have a bit of happiness this holiday season in what will probably be even more depressing than normal. My Dad's death-iversary is on January 11, and will be 17 years since his passing. It will be harder to cope with this year more than ever now, I think. Best I can do is continue to talk to my therapist to keep me from sinking further, and not bottle everything all up like I did 17 years ago.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I haven't been "feeling it" these past couple months, and I know it shows in the lack of content I've been posting or producing. But I am so grateful to this community for understanding without the context y'all didn't have before now, and I hope you guys understand that I won't feel like myself again for awhile.

I'll try my best, though.

Love y'all. 💜

[luvrsbian]

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐄

A/N: she's finally here!!! this was initially supposed to be a one shot but has kinda turned into a draft up of a pretty plotless, sweet, fluffy mini series. it follows canon for the most part minus eddies death ofc but because im bad with canon lore and science shit, its not heavily mentioned (some minor canon lore was changed but it's not super important.) this is a fem!reader, no use of y/n, set in 1992, 4k words, and i've kept reader pretty vague for inclusivity minus some background lore. this series is not 18+ (yet) but my page is, so please do not follow if you are a minor. thank you sweet baby mona @enam3l for beta-reading for me (ily)

MASTERLIST ✿ PART TWO

Eddie Munson liked his life. He liked his friends, even if a lot of them have now dispersed across the continental United States for school, jobs, general life (minus Robin who has somehow managed to make her way to Australia doing God knows what.) He liked his home, a house on the edge of town – slightly bigger than the old trailer – which he still shared with his uncle. He liked his style and hobbies and taste in music and movies that haven’t really changed much in the last 5 years since his final senior year. 

He really liked his job. 

Which felt odd for him to admit to himself.  It wasn’t anything like what he thought he would be doing. A younger Eddie Munson would imagine himself traveling city to city, adored by fans, living creatively and free spirited.  

But a middle school janitorial gig kept him young. One could argue 26 wasn't even that old, however, compared to his friends (who he'd already been older than) with their careers, relationships and growing families, he felt like a lonely old man. So, yeah, the awkward, funny, and extremely honest pre-teens made him feel young.  

Initially he thought the job would be lonely. It’s a small town with even smaller schools. Besides him, there was only one other night janitor that he alternated weekend cleans with and only really ran into during day-to-night shift changes. Ron was nice enough, older than Wayne, with a far higher patience for children. Unsurprisingly, behaviours from high school died hard and the teachers and administrative staff all kept to their own little cliques. Resulting in Eddie keeping to himself, rarely speaking outside of his custodian duties or the occasional faculty meeting. 

He didn’t even think he’d interact with the students aside from cleaning the odd vomit or getting stuck balls out of the gymnasium rafters. He unintentionally found himself yet again the outcasted mother goose to a small hoard of pre-teen metal heads when their unofficial leader, Matty Sherman, caught site of the various posters Ed keeps hung up on his office (custodial closet) door. The seventh grader quickly forcing himself under Eddies wings and refusing to budge. Matty was a good kid. Reminded Eddie a lot of himself at that age. He was loud, abrasive, and way too confident for such a gangly frame in ill-fitting clothes. Matty had hair though which 13-year-old Eddie couldn’t relate to. 

There was also Ms. Virginia Wagner. The eccentric, nurse who has been working at Hawkins Middle since Eddie was attending. Maybe even before that, he wasn’t quite sure and whenever he asked anything close to finding out her age, she quickly shut him down. She was sweet. She was funny. She was also a mean old hag sometimes, but God did Eddie love that about her. If he was just 20 - or more realistically 40 - years older and wasn’t almost certain she swings the other way, he’d shoot his shot.  

The Summer season was extremely uneventful for Eddie. Due to the kids being out of school, his hours were cut in more than half with only the yearly repairs and deep cleaning needing to be done. He went into work about 3 days a week, spending the extra free time to do some manual labour gigs here and there around town. When he wasn’t working, he was hidden away at home watching movies, listening to music, trying to plan out ongoing and future campaigns for Hellfire meetings that have begun to be fewer and far between now that everyone has dispersed. On some rare occasions when he didn’t feel like a complete shell of a person and was able to leave the house to socialize outside of life obligations, he met up with the few friends that remained in the Hawkins area (which at this point in time was really only Steve Harrington and Gareth Emerson.) 

It was now the Monday of the week before students would return back to these fluorescent lit halls. That meant all other faculty were now gracing the school to prepare for the year ahead. Organizing and prepping and finalizing lesson plans and class rosters.  

Eddie had a slight pep in his step as he walked through the halls, scuffed up sneakers squeaking on the shiny, extra polished tiles. He whistled a silent tune that clashed with the jingles of his keys that he swung around his middle finger. Getting to the janitors closet to put on his navy coverall and put his hair into a low bun. He zips up the stiff material, covering the self-altered muscle tank top that had the logo for some local band down in Indianapolis he saw a few years back before things went to shit. A cracked and stained mirror hanging up over his work sink being used to make sure his hair looked casually messy in the bun. With a final once over, he hooks his keys to the belt loop of his coveralls and preps for the day's work. A glance at his wristwatch, the one that has somehow survived hell and back just like him, reads 7:58. Just 4 hours and 2 minutes until lunch.  

He couldn’t wait. 

Eddie used those 4 hours and 2 minutes to check each stall in all bathrooms were fully stocked with toilet paper and the likes, clean the actual toilets themselves, and make sure the water was running properly in every sink. Once that was taken care of, he began on his biggest task of the week of dragging desks and chairs out of the back storage building to be put into classrooms. Sheryl from the administrative team having left the small packet of papers indicating how many seats each room would need for the coming year.  

He could move the chairs in stacks at a time but could only really stack two - maybe three if he was careful - desks on his hand truck before it became a safety problem. Once moved into the main building, he had to wipe them down, tighten any loose screws that could make them wobble, and make sure they were still in usable condition. Eddie had completed almost 3 of the 32 classrooms before lunch finally rolled around.  

He grabbed his lunch sack from the custodial closet and whistled on his merry way to the nurse's office. He’s been eating lunch with Virginia for as long as he can remember. Of course, there was those 5 years of High School and then the year of recovery following the events of his second senior year, and the summer breaks of course, but besides all those he’s been eating with her for a good 7 years.  

This ritual beginning in his 6th grade, the first year he moved in with Wayne, all sad eyed and past aside due to events outside of his control. Kids he had grown up with suddenly not wanting anything to do with him. He wouldn’t really make any friends again until 7th grade, and his first band of misfits was created, Corroded Coffin. 6th Grade was the worst year of his life until 1986 and now it’s about tied.  

Sadly, in middle school who you ate a meal with or gave the time of day too was so integral into maintaining the hierarchal balance of the ecosystem. It was bullshit. With everything that happened that lead to his father going to jail and him burdening his uncle, the kids of Hawkins middle school decided Eddie wasn’t worth risking their own reputations. He doesn’t remember exactly how it happened, his brain kicking the memory out at some point to make room for more important stuff like D&D lore. But he does remember he went from eating lunch in the bathroom to eating it in Nurse Wagner’s office.  

Even after being integrated back into the Middle school social circle, he couldn’t just leave her to eat lunch by herself. She needed him with his alternative music education and retelling of the fantasy books he’d been reading lately and his strong headedness that could keep up with her dry and sarcastic quips many interpreted as rudeness. Although Eddie would still refuse to admit it, in actuality he probably needed her more than she needed him. 

He doesn’t knock, just moseys his tall frame into the nurse's office, wide dimpled smile on his lips as he hears rummaging coming from the actual office area that was blocked off by a wall. He looks at the two plastic-y beds covered in paper sheets, inhaling that antiseptic smell that can only seem to be found in medical settings. No fluorescent lights were on, only natural light being let it from the two big windows.  

There are curtains on them now which surprises him. Floral pinks and yellows with lace on the edge that really fit the grandma vibes Virginia has but refused to acknowledge. The windows all have blinds, but curtains were deemed a non-necessary commodity by the school board budgeting team, meaning if you wanted curtains, you’re gonna have to fork money out of pocket for them. Eddie had asked Virginia about it once, commenting about how it would help spruce up the place. Make it look a little less sterile. She told him to go to hell, that she’s a nurse not rich. Any out-of-pocket money she spent on work only going towards things that actually matter, like the allergen friendly laundry detergent and the nicer, name brand candy for the candy bowl. 

Putting his lunch on the side table of the first bed, he lays down in a relaxed position. Hands behind his head, legs crossed, eyes closed, he lets out a relaxed sigh. 

“Virginia, dear, I really love what you’ve done with the place,” he calls out to her, hearing the close of the filing cabinet and footsteps soon following, “feels all homey now, dontcha think.” 

The footsteps stop. 

“I'm glad you like them. You feelin’ comfy there?” 

That was most definitely not Virginia Wagners voice. 

Eddie jolts up, eyes wide and cheeks red. He’s not one to get embarrassed easily but since recent events he’s been a bit more reserved in how comfortable he gets around strangers. And you were most definitely a stranger. A pretty stranger. A very pretty stranger in a teddy bear patterned scrub top and an oversized cardigan with embroidered sunflowers. You’re a disorienting mess of patterns and colors but you’re also, like, really pretty and Eddie isn’t sure how to go about this. 

“You’re not Virginia,” is all he can get his voice to come out with. 

“I’m not Virginia.” You give a chuckle. A positive response, Eddie thinks. 

“Where’s Virginia?” 

Eddie is now standing away from the bed and closer to the door, ready to run from the situation if needed (something he’s learned to embrace in the last few years.) You give him a friendly smile, hands in your cardigan pockets, the sleeves bunched up. You look cozy.  

“Florida. She’ll be in the Caribbean by the end of the month,” you supply. He can tell your fingers are fidgeting in your pockets. His hands are fidgeting at his waist, pinching at the material of his coveralls.  

“Why?” 

You shrug your shoulders, “Retirement.” 

“Oh,” Eddie sighs, eyes breaking contact with yours for the first time since standing, shifting to look at your white - almost pristine - sneakers on the tile floor her spent all summer mopping and waxing and removing scuff marks from. “That sucks.” 

You snort. Teeth biting your bottom lip to stop from laughing at him further during this awkwardly endearing meeting. Your own eyes looking him over now that he isn’t completely focused on you. He’s cute. His cheeks stained your favourite shade of pink once he realized you weren’t the now retired nurse he had been so fond of. Hands covered in jewlery. His inability to stay still so natural it makes you think he doesn’t even realize he’s been shifting his body weight back and forth from his toes to his heels this whole time. Tall, lean, maybe with some extra fluff hidden under the baggy attire. He’s got some shadow of hair on his cheeks. And if you weren’t a civil person and he wasn’t a stranger, you’d be begging to kiss at the column of his throat. 

Your gaze moves to look around the waiting part of the office to avoid thinking even more things about this guy. A brown paper bag chicken scratched with the words ‘ED LUNCH’ catches your eye. Before you have a chance to speak yourself, he starts his interrogation again. 

“Who are you?” 

Your attention cuts back to him quickly. With a smile that shows all your teeth and a hand leaving your pocket, held out for him to shake, you give your full name. 

He takes it with his own reserved smile. His hands and rings are warm, but they still tingle your skin from the unfamiliarity of the metal. You enjoy it you think. Before he can introduce himself, you beat him to the punch. 

“You must be Edward, right?” 

He grimaces, “Just Eddie,” your handshake falls. His hand back to his hip and your hand back into your pocket, “Just Eddie is fine. More than fine, actually. Preferred, really.” 

Another chuckle from you. Eddie knows he’s funny when he wants to be but if it’s this easy to make you laugh, he doesn’t ever want to stop. 

“Well, just Eddie,” you smirk at his eye roll, “you can join me for lunch if you’d like. I feel like my presence may have ruined your initial plans,” you let out a huff of a laugh and gesture to the lunch sack by the window. He grimaces again at your wording and shakes his head. 

“It didn’t ruin any plans just was shocking ‘sall,” his hand moves from his hip to rub at his slightly scruffy chin, pretty brown eyes back on yours, “but um, yeah. Yes, I’d love- like to join you for lunch.” 

You smile. He smiles back. 

Eddie has sat in this chair, in this office, and eaten his lunch for years. Today it feels awkward and unfamiliar.  

It might have something to do with you sitting where Virginia used to sit. Same chair, same desk, same office, but completely different. Virginia didn’t decorate her space, leaving it functional and impersonal, if people wanted to know about her life they could ask her. She wasn’t going to flaunt it.  

You were very different. An orange, gaudy looking vase filled with fake flowers. A matching candy bowl with various sugary, little treats. A picture frame of you and what he could only assume was your family based on the similar features shared between each person. A decorated Coke can with the top cut off and trimmed with glued on lace and covered in holographic stickers of vibrant cartoon animals, sparse enough to still see the iconic red drink logo, was now holding an assortment of colorful gel pens.  

Even the chair wasn’t safe from your interior decorating, a purple knitted blanket folded over the top of the rolling seat. The seat itself now adorning a red, white, and black cushion of an ugly faced bulldog with a spiked color and cap with the letter G, the words ‘GEORGIA BULLDOGS’ splayed above him. A sports team he assumed.  

The conversation hadn’t started back up since the introduction in the sick room. Both of you taking your respective seats in the office area, opening your lunch bags and digging in.  

Eddie being a creature of habit brought his usual bag of pretzels, a can of Pepsi, and a sandwich made of whatever he could find in the kitchen. Today it was two slices of whole wheat, mayo, lettuce, the last piece of deli ham, and shredded cheese.  

Your own lunch seemed much more put together. For starters, you had an actual lunchbox, a bulky and vibrant plastic thing with Snoopy sleeping on his dog house on the front. Inside, there was your own ziploc bag of green grapes, a can of Coke, and a sandwich cut into triangles. White bread, crunchy peanut butter, and grape jelly. A Little Debbies Swiss Rolls pack sitting on the corner of your desk for dessert. 

He’s mid chew on the final bite of his sandwich, half his Pepsi left, his pretzels being the first thing devoured, when you speak up. Your own sandwich having on triangle section left, grapes gone, and Coke untouched. 

“Have you always lived in Hawkins?” 

You’re wiping your mouth with a folded paper towel, curious eyes focused on him. You’re very good at that, he’s realized. Eye contact. Focusing on your center of attention. Eddie has never been good at it, having to remind himself to look at the person talking to him. It’s polite, Wayne would say, shows people you’re listening and interested in what they have to say. Eddie gets so worked up in remembering to seem focused, he loses it and doesn’t hear what’s being said. He hasn’t had that problem with you so far. He thinks he could look at and listen to you all day if you let him. 

“Born and bred,” he swallowed his bite and shrugs his shoulders, rubbing his hands together to get the crumbs off, “you’re not though, are you. Feel like I’d remember you,” he raises an eyebrow. Feeling a little more confident in himself, especially with the obvious signs of you not being a local, and gives a playful smirk. 

“You got me,” you hold your hands up in mock surrender, moving your arms back to rest your elbows on the edge of the desk, “I’m from Georgia.” 

Eddie nods, the seat cushion making sense now. It’s your home team for… sports. A sport. Probably football. Eddie mentally pats himself on the back for guessing it was a sports team. Good on him for knowing sports. (Eddie doesn’t know sports.) 

“So,” Eddie lulls, small talk never being his forte. Much more interested in getting into the nitty gritty of conversation when interested in someone but he doesn’t know you yet. He needs to find something to relate with you on and he can’t do that with tidbits he may know from growing up in town like he could other people his age or older here. “You’re like a southern chick,” it was your turn to grimace.  

“You’re really bad at this,” you snort and shake your head, finishing up the last of your own sandwich. Tidying up your desk, throwing away the ziploc bag and sandwich wrapping and paper towels. Opening the coke can and moving the swiss rolls pack to in front of you, looking back to Eddie. With a tilt of your head and saccharine grin you ask, “Splitsies?” 

He nods at the opportunity to get a sweet little treat before addressing your initial comment, “Small talk requires talking and I just don’t really do that anymore with people who don’t already know me or just have a preconceived idea of who I am,” he shrugs his shoulders again, voice softer, slight regret in being too real. Eyes watching your fingers open the package, folding another paper towel (which he has now realized are coming from a roll kept in the lowest drawer of your desk), and setting one of the processed roll cakes on the indented paper before placing it in front of Eddie’s seated and slouched body. “Thank you,” He looks back up to you and you’re already looking at him. 

“Virginia told me a lot about you,” you smirk, lifting your own cake to take a bite. Your eyes not leaving his except for split a second to give an appreciative glance and hum to the cream filled ‘pastry.’  

“We’ve been corresponding for months,” you snicker at your own use of the word, making you feel like some sort of 18th century countess or captain, rather than a young nurse taking over the position of an older nurse.  

He looks panicked at this reveal. Which is cute considering he had a bit of white cream on his upper lip. Although he looked so pretty when his brow furrowed, it was clear he was frightened so you were quick to reassure him. 

“All good things, of course. I think she’s just worried about you. It’s cute, really, just really cute.” Another kind smile on your lips and your hand holding out the paper towel - his now eaten roll was sat on - as hint for him to clean his mouth off. 

Eddie knew Virgina wasn’t one to gossip but the prospect of a rare new person in town he’s actually interested in, being privy to all his shit-uations without him telling them himself, scared him. But Virginia did love to meddle and that may be worse. She was a big supporter of Eddie needing friends his own age.  

Letting out a sigh of relief that his tragic history had yet to be exposed, Eddie returned your smile with his own half one. You reach into your desk again, pulling out a letter instead of paper towels this time. ‘Edward’ scrawled in a familiar, loopy handwriting with blue ink on the white envelope caught his eyes. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion and intrigue.  

You hold it out for him to take like it was something precious, “This is for you.” From Virginia, is unspoken but recognized between the both of you. Who else would it have been from. Eddie flushing as he realized, Virginia never told him about you. Virginia never even told Eddie she’d be leaving. They didn’t speak much, or really at all, during the summer unless they happened to run into each other outside of these brick walls.  

Callused finger pads grazed your palm when he took the letter from you, he kept his eyes focused on examining the letter. A sad smile on his lips appreciating the loops of the E and W and curves of the D’s. Realistically he knew Virginia probably wasn’t gonna be gone from Hawkins forever, she had roots here. A son. That’s son kid or maybe kids now, he wasn’t sure, hadn’t checked in on Rick since he got out of jail in ‘88. But it still hurt that she was gone, without a word, and was happy enough to talk to her replacement about him but not to him about her. You. 

“I’m gonna read this later,” he mumbles and puts the offending but appreciated letter in his deep pocket. A quick glance at his watch read it’s been about an hour since making his way into the nurses office, lunch was over. He threw his trash out in the bin by your desk and gave you a friendly smile, standing from the seat in front of your desk. 

“Maybe we could do this again sometime,” eyes shifting around the office again, not really taking things in, just needing to not get trapped back into your gaze. “Ya know, with my lunches free now and everything,” he humorlessly chuckles. 

“Eddie,” you spoke softer than you had before, a more sympathetic smile on your lips, “I’d really like that.” 

He looks at you now. You have really shiny eyes. What a weird observation, Eddie thinks, but it’s true. With a quick wave of his hand before retreating them back into his pocket, fingers playing with the paper edges of Virginias letter. He begins his trek out the door.  

“Hey, next time though,” he stumbles in a spin to walk backwards while speaking, “We’ll speak more about you than about me. Feel’s like you know too much about me,” he huffs with a smug smile before spinning back to look forward. “See ya, Peach.” 

Your sweet laughter follows him out into the hall. You call out, “See ya, Eddie,” to his retreating back, watching the door long after he’s left.  

“Peach,” you snort and shake your head, teeth tugging on your bottom lip to stop from smiling too wide. 

the clean up crew (taglist): @avobabe87 @bakugouswh0r3

comment or ask to be added to the clean up crew!

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Assigning Names to Characters from The Underland Chronicles who's names were 'never disclosed"

written because names and their meanings interest me, as does Greek mythology, history, and plays, and I had a couple Saturdays where I had no plans and writing this was a fun way to pass the time.

Character from Luxa's Paternal Family... basically everybody except Nerissa and Henry

Luxa's father the former King of Regalia, Judith's husband. So Luxa's name means "Light", which in the underland goes hand and hand with "Life". I have heard the fan theory that, because of how closely associated the two are then it is possible that all of the first born heirs have names that mean light. So I googled male names that mean light and I picked Lucius or King Lucius because it has a Latin root just like his daughters.

King Lucius and Queen Judith's bonds. Yes I know it is never stated that either characters had bonds. But humans having bonded relationships with the bats seem more common for them than marrying other humans. Even Suzanna Collins herself admitted that you have to be close with a bat to survive long in the underland. Anyway I always assumed that the pair had bonds, who died with them during their final battle. i have also always head cannoned that the King's bond was named Zeus for obvious reasons, and that the Queens bond was named Venus, because Aurora surely cannot be the only bat in the underland to have a Roman deity name instead of a Greek one.

Luxa's paternal uncle, Nerissa & Henry's father: The younger royal brother. At first I was going to give him a name that meant light like his brother. But since Nerissa's name means "Sea Nymph" and Henry's name means "House Ruler" I do not think that "spares" have the same naming tradition as the first borns. So I considered other words that have important enough symbolic meaning to name a prince after: Darkness, Torch, sword. when I looked up names that mean sword I discovered that the name 'Owen" has two meanings. It means both "noble/ well born" and 'young warrior". So I would say Prince Owen is a very fitting name for the Prince of a military based society.

His Bond: a female bat named Styx a minor goddess/river in the underworld. My reasoning is, again, that Nerissa's name means "Sea nymph" and it does not really fit with Henry "House Ruler" and Luxa "Light" name scheme. But if one of her parents had a bond who was named after a mythical body of water then they could have lead to a touch of inspiration. I picked "Styx" because while it does not sound anything like "Nerissa" as far as pronunciation, it being the river that runs through the underworld does give it a sense of mischief and tradgety, that envelops Nerissa & Henry's branch of the royal family.

Nerissa & Henry's mother, Luxa's paternal aunt by marriage. She is an interesting one. I had to remember that, like Judith, she married into the royal family instead of being born into it. I also do not think that her and her husband's marriage was arranged at birth (Luxa, Nerissa, and Henry do not have fiances). This means that while she probably did not have a name meaning "Princess" she could theoretically be named anything. I want to name her " Cleo," later "Princess Cleo"partly after Cleopatra who was a very historical women, and also because it means 'to praise or acclaim". That is fitting for a women who married into royalty and became a princess.

Her Bond: Achilles a brave and powerful soldier, who slipped up in battle once and died tragically. Another name that fits both the power and the tragedy of this team and this family. Also feel free to imagine this character as Nerissa and Henry's goofy gay uncle.

Characters from Gregor's family

Gregors Dad. Lee Campbell. Despite being heavily explored/featured in the books he is famously never given a name. I have seen fans in posts and fanfics give him names like Andrew, Steve, and Lee. While I am partial to the name Steve, I went with Lee. The Campbell kids physical descriptions are vague at best, but when you look add up what we do get (they have brown eyes and light brown skin, Boots hair is a mess of dark curls, Lizzie wears her hair in braids) most fans agree on the interpretation that they are biracial kids. Their dad's race is never specified (his face is near identical to Gregor's , and while he used to have dark hair its been gray since his time with the rats) and Lee is a name that works with multiple races you want to imagine him as

Gregor's Grandmother: Dorothy Campbell. Her family and friends shorten her name to either Dora or Dottie. Another member of Gregor's family who is never actually given a name in the books. There is one scene in CotWB, when Gregor and his parents are getting everyone up to evacuate the apartment because the rats are in the walls, where Gregor's dad is talking to grandma and he calls her "Mama" so she is likely the kids paternal grandmother, and their dad's mama. I am really glad that the dad being missing for 2.5 years did not cause a rift between her and Grace then. You know that these two women needed each other during that time, and the kids needed both of them.

I am naming her Dorothy after Dorothy from the wizard of Oz. Both are women who grew up on a country farm, then move to a strange and wondrous land that they enjoy parts of, but ultimately they never quite take to it.

Greogr's bonus grandmother, Mrs. Cormaci. We know her last name but not her first name. According to Google Cormaci as a surname is most likely either Scottish or Irish. Awesome because Morgan is a Welsh and Irish name. It also is the name of many magicians throughout literature. While Mrs.Cormaci is not specifically mentioned to have psychic powers but she has an almost magical talent for knowing what Gregor will need in the future. So as far as I am concerned her name is Mrs. Morgan Cormaci

Names for Characters from Luxa's Maternal family.... a couple bats and her uncle's lover

Names for Bats bonded to York and Susanna

York mentioned having a bond in GatCoC, who since childhood I have headcannoned was named Hercules. York is described as being a muscular giant, and so anybody who carries him in battle has to be very strong. Since he is not bonded to Ares he can be bonded to Hercules

With Susanna I never thought about her having a bond as a kid, but I guess she would have one. She is a doctor and an older sister, so let's say she has a bond named Apollo.

Hamnet's first bond. @deliver-the-light already did a poll on what her name should have been, and Eurydice was the name that won the poll. I like that myth, so I will honor the poll and keep that name.

Hamnet's lover, Hazards mother, and the women who maybe could have been an aunt to Luxa and Howard, had she ever gotten to meet them: Well first lets talk about this women. It was from her that Hazard inherited his two overland traits: curly black hair, and lime green eyes. Black hair and green eyes are actually a rare combination. Most people with black hair have either blue or brown eyes. According to google she would most likely be Irish or Scottish. Another notable thing about her, she once lived in New York City, or at least she had parents who lived there. She also wanted to take Hazard to visit at some point, which implies that there was a chance she could get back to the overland, and chose to stay in the jungles of the underland. Now New York is a difficult place to live with its over population, high cost of living, high crime and pollution rates. But the Underland jungles are also a difficult place to live. There was something about Life in the overland vs life in the underland that led to her choosing to stay in the Underland jungles. She didn't just love Hamnet, but also this wild world he lived in. Or her life above ground was so wild that she felt more secure in the underland? Because of all of this I looked up a female scottish or Irish name that means "Wild'. Her name is Fia.

Also if you have read another post I made you will know that I am a fan of the theory that She was Mrs. Cormaci's daughter. Finding out that there are cannon reasons to suspect that the two have similar/the same heritage is adding to that. Let Mrs. Cormaci see Hazards face either in a picture from the party, that Gregor shares with her, or have him come up for a day visit, and meet her in person. Have her send/show Hazard a picture of her daughter with Fia Cormaci's name written on it and him get all excited because yes that is his mother. Then let Mrs.Cormaci and Hazard form a relationship and eventually complete the circle, by giving Hazard an actual chance to chose which world he wants to live his life in.

Last thing since I was thinking a lot about Hamnet's family I used that opportunity to look up alternate meaning to "Hazard" and try and find justification for why loving parents would name their son something that means "Danger" and "bad thing". Alternate meanings include "Venture, put forward, chance, risk" Hamnet is named "Home", I just named Fia "wild" and these definitions make Hazards name fit perfectly with his parents and their story.

[mimipuppet]

Tftgs Volume 4 thoughts and rambling

Finally, I finished volume 4. Instead of finishing it in one day like the other volumes, I had to put it off due to some things which kind of sucked cause i love binge reading but whatever.

First off all to begin with, I personally believe this volume is the best in terms of characterization. It’s the first time the author uses other character’s povs even if it’s jack experiencing their memories. It gave us more insight into Rosa and Jerry, two of my favourite characters, and it made me like kieffer more as a character especially with the portrayal of him being a naive child and Spencer as a sort of father figure to him.

My favourite has to be Jerry’s, I loved how the reveal of him being the prophet and disbelief at the cult’s mass suicide ties in to how he was a mess at first in volume 1, crying so much. It makes more sense on why he was like that because it wasn’t just the fact he considered them his family, but also the fact he was the one who started all of this and had believed that everyone wasn’t that serious about only to be faced the fact that yeah they did, and now they’re all dead. The alienation from his family, from his friends after that never have I ever game, and the repetition of “why can’t you be normal” was lovely, it really did humanize him a lot similar to the parts in volume 2 about Vanessa and the Russian radio which were some of my favourite parts about Jerry in the books.

Rosa’s pov was amazing, a close second to Jerry’s. Her being the reason why her uncle couldn’t do anything anymore, the implications of her relationships with her family and how it changed after the incidents. It’s obvious that Rosa’s mom loves her, but with the information that her grandmother was always mean to her and her uncle’s warning to Jack about her, there’s a subtle distance between Rosa and the extended family members other than her parents and brothers because of their superstitious belief and religion that contrasts Rosa’s more logical way of thinking like her being annoyed being brought to a church instead of a doctor.

I feel with this information, the dynamic between Jack, Rosa, and Jeremy just becomes even better. They already bounce off of each other well and are pretty enjoyable to read whether it’s a comedic or serious moment. All three were alienated from others in a way, always felt different from others and kind of held that belief (Rosa and Jack both being closed off to others, with Jerry it’s more so his father’s question lingering in his mind, always at the scene of the crime when something happens) yet they found each other who accept the strangeness and didn’t really care for their “freakish” traits unless it’s something that affects their mental or physical health. They’re all ride or dies, and now they’re off traveling in a van like an off-brand scooby doo.

Second, Jack and Sabine’s relationship, I loved the small flashback in volume 3 albeit it was short and said i hoped volume 4 has more of them AND IT DID.

Jack and Sabine were amazing together, Sabine’s bluntness and playfulness paired with Jack’s awkwardness and personality was enjoyable to read. They clearly love each other yet it wasn’t perfect. Sabine herself admits that it may have never worked out and I think that’s the beauty of it? Like even if Sabine lived and they broke up, it’s the fact that it happened what matters since they are so important to each other and their relationship is something that develops them, I imagine they’d still be friends after the break up too if it did happen. I think they’re pretty similar to Paul and Emma from starkid in the same way they’re inevitable in where their love ends tragically, Jack and Sabine are two people I can’t see realistically being alive and together even if I want to because of the circumstances they are in with Roger’s eye on Jack and Sabine being a sort of guardian. Maybe in another life if the two weren’t burdened with the supernatural and the gas station they’d be out of town, opened up a bookstore possibly and they’d be happy, but it’s not this life or any. They’re yuri to me.

Her screen time in general amplified a lot, her brief dynamic with Spencer (the one in Jack’s head btw) I really liked because of the contrast between the two’s relationship with Jack and their personalities. Spencer is much more willing for Jack to face the truth and everything whilst Sabine is more willing for it to drag on as a way to protect Jack. Also the whole time I imagined her looking like a green-eyed miss holloway from star kid, if I didn’t then it’d be a scene girl with many accessories on her.

Third, Jack’s history of violence and relationship with his father, Wendy, and Spencer. Volume 4 gave us official appearances and dialogue of Jack’s foster family and his father. To put it simply, it’s all shit.

Off note, one thing I’ll give is the use of names and titles in Jack’s pov, he never calls Miller by dad or pappy but instead a more formal way such as father because they never had the closeness for him to use a casual variation. He has a thing with that, especially with how he upgrades with O’brien with her name to even calling her Amy. Depending on what name it defines how close Jack is with some characters along with how well he knows of likes them.

Miller’s the worst, everyone knows this and hell even Travis thinks he’s the worst after seeing him interact with Jack. He’s a violent abusive drunkard that could have had the capability to be good but never tried to be and instead tried to make Jack be more “manly” in the way of violence and no matter how Jack or Miller sees it, he did succeed.

The violence is a way of reacting for Jack, like in the files where he beat up a kid for food and a girl for sticking her hand down his hands and Deacon. Jack’s violent tendencies and anger issues is what he got from Miller, this is from the years of resentment and fear that turned the automatic response for reacting is to beat the shit out of someone, he got his father’s worst flaws and turned out to be worse. Just as Spencer has said, Miller’s got a temper but Jack’s got something else. It’s something much more cruel and brutal because of his personality and circumstances, it’s where Spencer comes in as a gateway for all of Jack’s repression and blame shift towards him.

There’s a clear difference between the real Spencer and the one Jack sees, he’s got loose questionable morals but doesn’t seem as psychotic and violent as Jack believes. He’s even helpful in his own way. He’s the object of Jack’s hate not only for all the things he’s done like tryna kill him and beat up his friends, but also the fact that Spencer is a mirror with a reflection he despises. It’s why it’s so easy for him to put Spencer as the person for torturing bugs back when they were kid, because Spencer had a bad reputation, because Spencer is violent and brash, because he sees himself in Spencer. He’s quick to push blame to more reasonable targets whom would commit murder and violence such as Benji and Spencer cause he can’t confront his own actions and believes it, unreliable narrator at his finest.

I actually really liked Wendy, she’s the least shittiest in terms of family members for Jack and she’s got her priorities straight even though she does blackmail and pyramid schemes, she’s still getting the bag. Her interactions with Jack are more or less just average older sister behaviour with embarrassing his friends with a story from high-school, teasing and making fun of him, etc. Jack saw her as a foster sister whom he’s not close with, he distrusts her a lot and doesn’t believe her words even if she’s apologizing. But, even then he never saw her as a threat it’s a contrast to how Wendy feels about Jack.

She was terrified of Jack back then, their dynamic was completely different in her eyes because she was walking on eggshells around him the whole time. It’s what made me reconsider and think more deeply about the two’s relationship knowing that she was scared of him, which lead to wondering if their foster parents, Sid and Dianna were a bit scared of him too as they clearly didn’t like him. He didn’t have any worries attacking an adult, he attacked a teacher, he had no problem attacking his foster brothers too, whose to say they wouldn’t be next?

Fourth, O’brien and Jack. I really liked them in volume 2 and 3, it was sad to see Jack so clearly missing the O’brien he knew and trying in almost every interaction to bring back O’brien’s memories only for distance, indifference, and hostility from her because he’s suspicious, a culprit with mental issues that can’t distinguish between imagination and reality.

The new dynamic was a bit funny though, him admitting to crimes and smiling about while O’brien is squinting her eyes at him and already has her gun ready if he tries anything. I did wish to see more of O’brien and Jack in the later half, along with maybe a scene where they confront about the memory erasure thing after she got them back.

Overall, I really did like this volume although the Karen bit was a bit underwhelming and disappointing, Roger as a character and antagonist did make up for that along with everything else. This was less tales from the gas station and more about the town itself and focuses them outside of the gas station, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.