#rescuing me makes him so happy. how many times do we think this happened throughout history

[fakemichaelsheen]

-1500s england-

withfinder general: any last words, witch?

aziraphale, tied to the stake: this is all a misunderstanding

witchfinder general: *lights the stake*

aziraphale, extinguishes the flames via miracle: oh, dear. won't someone come to my aid

witchfinder general: shut up witch *lights the stake again*

aziraphale, extinguishes the flames via miracle: *louder* I am in Trouble here!

witchfinder general: what is this witchcraft? *lights the stake again*

aziraphale, extinguishes the flames via miracle, bored: any moment now...

crowley, hurrying over, breathless: witchfinder general. you have to leave. you house is on fire

witchfinder, confused: who are you? what is-

crowley, snaps his fingers: you go away and not bother anymore innocent women

witchfinder general: *obediently wanders off*

crowley: *miracles aziraphale free and helps her off the stake*

aziraphale, pouting: you took your time

crowley, sighs: I got lost

aziraphale, smiles: well, it doesn't matter. you rescued me *holds his hand* my brave hero

crowley: *pleased*

[on-till-morning]

Checkov’s 1941 Apology Dance

We were very noticeably told, by a noticeably irate Azirapahle, that he did an apology dance in 1941. And then we were very noticeably not shown that apology dance throughout the Nazi Zombi minisode. I’ve seen some theories that something happens AFTER their drinks at the end of that night and I 1000% agree (as I’ll get to down below) but I also think that something happened BEFORE they meet at the church, and maybe it was the apology dance itself. I’ll now conjecture wildly:

Theory #1: Dance happened PRIOR to Nazi Church Explosion

I think something has happened between when we last saw the ineffable duo in 1862 and when we see them again in 1941. 1941 is all about is trust and intimacy and 1862 shows the opposite of that.

Crowley asks for holy water; Aziraphale accuses him of wanting to kill himself; Crowley says that’s not what he wants it for and Aziraphale does not believe him and says “do you know what kind of trouble I’d be in if (heaven) knew I was fraternizing—“ which gets a reaction from Crowley. We’ve seen him angry but rarely at Aziraphale - the other time being when the word “nice” was used. Here we see him react with what seems like genuine anger to the word ‘fraternizing.’ He throws it back at Aziraphale “I have plenty of other people to fraternize with angel.” And adds “I don’t need you.” Which is a pretty heavy sentiment from someone who will later refer to Aziraphale many times as both his best and only friend. Aziraphale tells him the feeling is mutual and storms off. Crowley scoffs after him and continues to seem upset.

(And I don’t blame him. It’s implied that hell has been punishing him for his good deed in Edinburgh for some amount of time over the past 30 odd years. Aziraphale also knows that Crowley did “a good deed” by stopping a girl from suicide, watches him disappear into a pit before his eyes, does not see him for many years after that, and yet when they do meet and Crowley asks him for holy water Aziraphale jumps to the conclusion that Crowley wants to use it on himself, which seems like a strange leap to make for someone we’re told is very smart (but obviously he is an idiot when it comes to Crowley))

That’s where things end in 1862 - distrust, disbelief, misunderstandings and genuine anger between the two of them.

Compare that parting to their behavior the night of 1941 after the church bombing - an evening brimming with mutual trust and a surprising level of competence from both our ineffable idiots as a result. Perhaps it all turned around for Aziraphale solely because Crowley saved his books (and I guess Aziraphale’s corporation too, although the angel presumably could have miracled himself out of an actual life or death situation both here and at the French guillotine, so how much is Crowley truly saving and how much is it “but rescuing me makes him so happy.”), but what would inspire Crowley to suddenly trust Aziraphale again? Later, at the end of the night when Aziraphale thanks him for coming through on stage, Crowley says “Well you said trust me.” As though it’s obvious that Crowley trusts Aziraphale. But the last we saw them there is no evidence of this kind of trust from either side.

And Aziraphale now trusts Crowley so much that he not only to initially ask him to be his confidante in the magic act but chooses to keep going without miracles and with disincorporation on the line.

I also think it’s noticeable that there’s no reference to their 1862 fight at any point as the evening unfolds. We’ve seen that they keep track of these things (“don’t I owe you lunch from…” “Paris. 1793,” And “Whatever I did I’m sorry. Work with me here, I’m apologizing.” “I did the apology dance in…”) Did the apology dance come before these events and somehow inspire this renewed friendship and deeper level of trust than we’ve yet been shown in their chronology?

Theory #2: Apology Dance happens POST magic show

Other people have speculated before me that something else happens that evening or afterwards and I agree. There’s a very noticeable change from how things end between them on this night and where they pick up in 1967 and then 2008.

In the Nazi Zombi minisode we see a new side of Aziraphale. He calls Crowley his friend not once but multiple times. Not only that, but he gives space and credibility to Crowley’s world view, for possibility the first and only time apart from the end of not-armageddan. At the end of the evening as they’re sharing wine, Aziraphale trots out the usual tired old argument of ‘you must be at least a little good’ by saying “You could have walked away if you were truly as evil as you like to paint yourself,” and Crowley corrects him, as he always does, by saying “Nah. That’s the trouble with you lot. You tend to see things in black and white. Sometimes you just gotta blur the edges.” But then something remarkable happens. Aziraphale actually acknowledges Crowley’s words and even raises a glass to them - “maybe there is something to be said for shades of gray.” - which is a HUGE departure from nearly every other time we see them interact and a major step forward in their relationship.

How do we get from there to “you go too fast for me Crowley.” How do we get from there to “We (heaven) will win (armageddon). Heaven will finally triumph over hell. It’s all going to be rather lovely.” To not wanting to help Crowley initially with the antichrist. To “I’m an angel, you’re a demon. We’re hereditary enemies.” To “We’re not friends…. I don’t even like you… There is no our side.”

If I had a word to describe how Aziraphale is when he recounts his apology dances and demands a proper apology from Crowley in s2e1 that word would be ‘bitter.’ What was he wrong about, and what did Crowley do about it? Perhaps Crowley took him being right and Aziraphale being wrong about something too far which broke down the trust and openness we see Az developing over the course of this evening. I do think something happens after this evening that we’re going to be shown in season 3, and it being the missing apology dance makes a lot of sense, but I also think something significant happened off screen between 1862 and 1941 as well, so perhaps both centuries will be revisited in season 3…

Thoughts?

[tiny-wren]

Quinn and Timm: An Analysis

*cracks knuckles*

Quinn x Timm is probably the most popular non-canon ship in the Papa Louie series. Even if you don't ship them, if you're in the fandom, you know about them. Drama, fluff, everything in-between, fanart, fanfics, these two have it all. Why is everyone bonkers bananas over these bitches? Because they are iconic. And I am here to talk about them, at length. Strap in. Please take this all with a grain of salt I like being unhinged about Papa's lore so /silly!!! Also I know I have mutuals who don't ship them romantically and that is okay LOL I just want to talk about their dynamic and drama regardless of shipping anyways.

1. When Pizzas Attack/Taco Mia!

Timm is one of the OG’s. We had to rescue his damsel-in-distress ass in Papa Louie: When Pizzas Attack, and from then on he became a loyal and iconic customer. He exists.  Quinn is a character introduced in Taco Mia!. She's Tacodale's top lawyer, and she's cool as fuck. Taco Mia! is where we first see Quinn, Timm and Associates in the form of a lovely…disgustingly garish lime green billboard that sometimes appears at the beginning of each day in the game:

Timm finally has a purpose! Good job, buddy. So, they’re partners. Law partners. They’re lawyers, and they own a law firm together. Note: Timm’s up there too, so he’s more or less equally as important as Quinn is. TLDR; They’re big fucking deals. What we can deduce from this is they’re made for each other. Okay, literally, lovey-dovey shit aside: Their names rhyme. They got the cute little double letter thing going on. Look at their peanut butter and jelly ass color scheme. Pretty solid symbolism for a food game. They go together.

2. Freezeria Freezeria is released a few months after Taco Mia. It’s iconic. It’s great. Also play Freezeria Deluxe it's out now. That’s pretty sweet. Anyways…

Hey, wait, where the fuck is Timm? Where is that lovable receding hairline bastard when you need him? Man. Come on. I wanted to make him a sundae. This sucks.

Oh, well, Quinn is here though... So, Timm is completely absent from the original Freezeria (along with a few other customers, but this isn’t about them). Apparently Timm was too busy getting his hair did or something.

IIRC there were explanations as to why they weren’t here, but I’m not even sure if it’s fanon or official, so…euhhh? "Alright, hey Flipline, you JUST got me acquainted with this duo, and now you take them away from me? " Well, get used to it, bitch. 3. Pancakeria/Flipdecks Holy SHIT Timm is back and WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE THAT?? I think it’s around this time that Flipline starts making flipdecks, and great timing, because they better explain what the hell happened to this man.

Quinn and Timm’s flipdecks are made pretty close together, with Quinn’s being the 8th and Timm’s being the 10th. We're given their lore back-to-back, which is just #tragic. Anyway:

Quinn’s flipdeck:

"Quinn is one of the top lawyers in town, and offers legal representation for Papa Louie and his many franchises. Her law firm is now called “Just Quinn and Associates” after her longtime partner Timm abruptly left. Quinn only finds time once a week to dine out, and can be extra picky with her meals."

Timm’s flipdeck: "Timm has been a loyal customer of Papa Louie since the very beginning. Always keeping up with the times, Timm has been evolving his look throughout the years. He finally quit his job at "Quinn, Timm, and Associates" to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a world champion dancer." So they split up. Timm left his stinking dead end job with no warning and Quinn is (reasonably) pretty upset by this. Okay, admittedly, not much is divulged here, so we have to do a lot of reading between the lines.

Timm’s flipdeck is entirely self-centered. It doesn’t even really mention Quinn herself at all, just the law firm and how he was happy to get the fuck out of dodge.

Also, “finally”... How long has this man been sitting on this decision? Dude’s been in court like “god I hate it here” for god knows how long. He hated his job and wanted to do something else. Okay, fair enough, dude. Be free.

Quinn’s on the other hand…

Note how Timm is described as “her longtime partner”.

“Longtime partner”--how long did these two work together? I feel like this wording is pretty emotionally charged, not to mention that “partner” is a word with several meanings. I understand that they’re lawyers, but like…come on. It doesn’t help that Quinn treats this split like a messy breakup by renaming the law firm to “JUST Quinn and Associates” "Yep. Just me! All by myself! I’m gonna put it up on my big pretentious clock tower with big bold letters."

Can you blame her, though? I mean, that was a massive dick move on Timm’s behalf. Even if you love Timm—and I do–he was...not the best here. And it’s clear by the wording of her flipdeck that Quinn didn’t know about it. SAD! So, when did they split up?

Most likely between the events of Taco Mia and Pancakeria. Considering that Timm was absent during Freezeria, we can safely assume that things were already over by then, considering he comes waltzing into the Pancakeria with his new look and all afterwards. 4. BAKERIA

It's 2016 and Timm's a chef! Wait. Okay. Timm is a chef now. Which is really funny when you think about it. He went from being a lawyer, possibly Papa’s lawyer since we know at least Quinn represents him, to being a “competitive dancer”, to…working for Papa for minimum wage.

So, Timm’s canonically a chef, which means…he has no choice but to interact with Quinn once a week. YOU WOULD THINK THAT SOMETHING WOULD COME OF THIS. AND NOTHING DOES. WHICH IS PROBABLY THE MOST FRUSTRATING SHIT EVER, SINCE WE ARE GOING ON A LITTLE OVER A DECADE LONG WITH THESE TWO. Longest slowburn ever am I right? Regardless of there being no canon evidence outside of gameplay mechanics, Timm and Quinn are interacting again. Nobody knows what this means, but I can tell you one thing: the ship was in it’s fucking renaissance and I personally was LIVING. 

YES. SERVE HER THAT PIE. OOOH THE TENSION!

Anyway, shipping aside, it would've been nice to see these two have...SOME sort of interaction, considering they were associated and all, and Quinn was hurt by his absence. But yeah, no, I guess not.

5. Mocharia

I've never played Mocharia and I probably never will, BUT WHAT I DO KNOW is that a bunch of the customers worked on the production of Mocharia Life. That's cute and all, but like... you know, I haven't seen anyone talk about this:

OKAY OKAY LISTEN LISTEN look listen to me. look. OKAY. Probably didn't interact directly. But DUDE. THEY WORKED TOGETHER. THEY WORKED TOGETHER AGAIN. Foaming at the mouth I can't handle this. There is hope besties...

So, that's about it. I really wish that Flipline would give us some actual interaction between these two, and I don't really care what kind of interaction, just something. Given their history!!! I think they're interesting, and my brain is full of these two. I hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you if you got this far!! ^_^

mutuals who aren't in this fandom, thanks for putting up with this hellpost. love u

[birinboom]

Hoshiem selfship questions for your birthday 😘✨

Happy happy birthday min skat I am flying down to you with my jetpack to smooch your face and make hoshina jealous!

If you were both a fairytale, which would it be and why? 

If a song played when you first saw each other (kinda like those scenes in kdramas) what somg would it be?

What’s life like when you both retire? Do you do anything special like travel, buy a farm, move somewhere specific?

Also you know how if you’re with someone long enough you develop habits/use the same phrases or words as the other person? What are those habits, etc. with you two?

Mari, my darling, thank you so much for all of this 💖💖💖💖💖

If you were both a fairytale, which would it be and why? I think it would either be something about forced proximity like being put on the same adventuring team (which I don’t have a good example of) or maybe that one of us gets stolen away and the other has to come to the rescue, like in The Snow Queen. 

I could also see it being something akin to Snow White and Rose Red, where one of us is cursed to look like an animal and we work together to get the curse lifted.

If a song played when you first saw each other (kinda like those scenes in kdramas) what somg would it be? For me it would be the sound of a dial-up modem as I bluescreen, stuck on ‘ohno he’s hot!’. For real though, I’m thinking something wistful like ‘I Wish You Were Mine’

Now I am in the corner and watching you smileWatching you smileAnd I can't get over youI'm losing my mind

All of the things that I wish I could tell youEvery time when you're passing me byI fall in love, there's something about youI wish you were mine

And if I only could be there to hold youIt feels like I stop breathing when you're aroundI'm in love, there's something about youI wish you were mine

What’s life like when you both retire? Do you do anything special like travel, buy a farm, move somewhere specific? We’re buying a house in the suburbs with a flower garden and space for a hammock! Though that might happen before we retire. 

I think we’d both like to travel, Hoshina can’t really take more that a couple of days off so travel outside of Japan hasn’t been possible.

I could imagine that he can’t just enjoy the peace and quiet of retired life, though, so he might end up becoming a swordplay instructor after all… 🤔

Also you know how if you’re with someone long enough you develop habits/use the same phrases or words as the other person? What are those habits, etc. with you two? I have this thing where I very quickly mimic accents/dialects and speech patterns of the people I’m around a lot. Which means that I tend to mimic Hoshina’s Kansai dialect. It usually gets me a flick to the forehead and a ‘don't do that, speak properly’ 😂 

The thing is, though, that he does the same thing! He’s taken a shine to the phrase “ik’ å?” ('right?') and I’ve heard him swear in Danish on a couple of occasions. He says it sounds better since Japanese doesn't have any proper swear words.

He’s also adopted my overuse of emojis when texting as well as having a few too many decorations. He had a bit of a militant upbringing where owning anything unnecessary just because was looked down upon and he's overcompensating just a little bit 😅

I’ve noticed that I’m stretching a lot more after we started dating, like taking breaks throughout my day to stretch for a couple of minutes. I’ve also adopted the ‘it can’t be helped’ way of looking at things, though that might just be due to living in Japan. No matter what it’s helped me stress less over things I can’t change.

[wackybuddiemewbs]

Buddie Moodboard - Service Dog Trainer AU

AKA another AU that wouldn't leave my wicked mind, after Hoover stole all of our hearts. So yeah, it had me thinking... what if Hoover's actually Buck's dog? And what if he trained service dogs? And what if that's how he meets (and falls in love with) Eddie??? And now... here we are. Cheers!

Eddie doesn't know what he got himself into. He never should have trusted Frank to hook him up with a trainer for service dogs. His psychologist said that a dog might help him deal with his panic attacks that became more and more frequent recently.

Well, what Frank forgot to mention is that the trainer is unique, to say the least. Eddie thought he'd get to work and get on with it. Instead, Buck makes him sit on the ground for hours, so dogs may lick his face as they please - if he's lucky. Or he comes up with something else that has Eddie wonder why on earth he'd spend money on that guy.

But he's doing it. He needs to get this fixed, after all. He can't scare Christopher with his panic attacks again. Not happening.

Though, in Buck's defense, Eddie greatly appreciates that Buck chooses dogs from local shelters to train to become service dogs. Or the "(under)dogs", as he referse to them occasionally.

At the very least, McGruff is not as gruffy as Eddie feared he'd be. And so, he now has a dog to train to help him deal with his anxiety, apparently. At least Christopher is thrilled about it, so that's a plus.

It is only a short time later that Eddie makes the acquaintance of Buck's own dog. Hoover, a menace on four paws trashing his owner's apartment whenever he isn't the center of attention. Oddly enough, Buck is perfectly chill about it. He finds it all kinds of endearing, whereas Eddie has to think hard whether he can still get a refund.

But against all those many odds, McGruff doesn't just grow on him. Eddie has to recognize that training with the dog, spending that much time with a being that will just sit there and listen to you, no matter what you say, no matter what you might be afraid of saying out loud... it does something for him. It really does.

But then his past comes back to haunt Eddie, when he reaches out to some of the people he served with, as part of his therapy. Because it is only then that he finds out that the people he saved... he didn't save. They are all dead. And it all comes crashing down around him.

It is Buck and McGruff who manage to snap him out of it eventually. And Eddie has to recognize that he's not fine. And that he won't be fine if he continues as he did. He can't do therapy for his son's sake, to be "fixed" for his son. He has to treat this seriously. He has to learn to live with it. And as it turns out, he has people who are happy to support him throughout.

While he knows he still has a long road ahead of him, Eddie feels like he is finally starting to make some progress. He wants to move forward again, after what he went through in the military, after Shannon died, after he found himself drowning on dry land.

Though the closer he takes a look at himself, the more Eddie begins to discover about himself. Including some rather uncomfortable truths about his growing feelings for a certain dog trainer with the goofiest smile in the world.

Then again, Eddie feels like he doesn't really know Buck as well as he'd need to, in order to know what his feelings truly are for him. Buck wears his emotions on his sleeves, alright. But there are things he won't speak about, when he only seems to be fine.

Eddie finds his suspicions confirmed when he invites Buck to a family gathering his aunt is hosting. Christopher falls into the pool by accident. Buck instantly dives in to rescue Eddie's son. But once the boy's out of the water, Eddie has to fear that Buck might drown in the pool himself as he can't seem to move.

The only thing that snaps Buck out of it is... Hoover. It is then that Eddie starts to understand that he is not the only one benefiting from Buck's natural talent at training dogs. Hoover is Buck's own service dog, even though he normally claims that he isn't.

In the aftermath, Buck confirms Eddie's suspicions. He had to stop working as a firefigher because of the trauma he suffered during the tsunami some time back. Buck was there as a civilian and tried to help people. He'd managed to get a good number of them on a ladder truck. Then he saw that boy struggling to stay afloat. He jumped right back in. But just as he was about to reach him, another wave hit, swept the boy away, and tilted over the ladder truck. Some couldn't move out of the way fast enough and were pulled under by the truck's weight.

Buck tried to get back to the job. He passed all evaluations and did fine for a while. But then he got triggered on a call, and he had a panic attack. Buck quit his job after that. He couldn't stand the thought that someone might have to suffer for him "not being good enough" at saving people. So he sought out ways to fix himself. And along the way, he found another way to help people.

And some dogs, too.

Following those revelations, Buck and Eddie feel closer than ever. As time progresses, Eddie feels more and more confident in his feelings for Buck. He is sure that he wants that man to have a place in his life, and not just at the margins. Thankfully, any ethical conflicts of a coffee date can be ruled out after a very awkward moment.

And so, the two dare to embark (pun only intended by Buck) on a new journey towards healing - by doing it together.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

I can't believe it's been a week without Little Man... When he first came home he was so happy and excited. He would play for two to three hours straight. He loved his food time but then he would go back to playing, with naps in between before his regular nighttime sleep.

Seeing him decline from that to never playing, always starving and wanting food because of his illness (the poor thing had no fat at all to keep him warm by the end...) and otherwise just sleeping really hurt. It hurt even more to see him after a deworming process want to play. He was attentive and alert, and when he heard his toys he would look with wide eyes like he wanted to play, but he was in too much pain to be able to.

During the deworming we had to keep him separated from my other cat, so he was in another room and we visited him throughout the day (and night) repeatedly and spent long periods of time with him. At night that room would get a bit cold because of its size, and sometimes I'd go in there and it was cold and I was worried he was also feeling cold... but recently I realized he really probably was because he had no fat to retain his body heat. I'm so glad I put a little blanket over him on his bed and tried my best to keep him warm. I would keep my door open so the heat could get out and keep coming back on or just stay on so it would heat up the room he was in.

His real name was Cumulus because my mom named him after that type of cloud, but I started to call him Little Man and it stuck. He knew that was what I called him, too! He started to respond after a little while!

By the end he could barely eat or even meow because it hurt to move his mouth. His jaw must have been deteriorating, and we were told his gums looked terrible. When he did eat, he could only eat wet food and even that was hard. We would hear a hard crunching sound when he ate wet food, so I'm pretty certain something was very wrong with his jaw. That was why he was always so hungry at the end - he couldn't eat enough to sustain himself.

We only had him for two months but he was so happy, sweet and precious before that illness really started to kick in. It's hard losing a cat, but it's even harder losing a five month old kitten who had so many years of life left to live. He was so sweet and playful that I can't believe how fast his illness destroyed his body from the inside out. He was bright and loving and he didn't deserve what happened to him.

Frankly, I do put some blame on the guy who sold him to us. He claims to be a rescue operation and that's fine, but he knew the mother was sick and didn't make it, yet he didn't think to check for dangerous illnesses on this cat or his sister who was adopted at the same exact day and time as he was? When we adopted him, we've now realized he was showing at least three signs of his illness already (breathing speed, heat/temperature and wobbly eyes that he often couldn't keep still). He had other issues so we didn't know what was wrong until the day the vet did an ultrasound and said he wasn't going to make it to a year old even with medication.

Imo the guy who runs that business should know the signs of illness in a cat. If you work in that profession you should know what to look out for - especially if the mother was sick before giving birth. As the shelter, it's his responsibility to know the signs and take care of health issues before adopting out. His negligence and lack of knowledge/awareness cost my family a lot of heartache and many vet bills of us just trying to find the problem. If you're working in a field with animals and adopting them out to others as a business, for the love of fuck, know all the details involved in your profession. I understand he rescues cats from kill shelters which is wonderful, but he takes in sick cats as well but then somehow doesn't notice the signs of them or their offspring being ill? It makes me think he didn't interact with them enough to notice, so again - negligence. If anyone knew what the kitten had, they might have been able to save him by medicating him before any damage could truly be done to him. Unfortunately the medication is not yet legal and is essentially on the black market and can cost thousands of dollars that we couldn't afford, but god I would've started a fundraiser to save his life if we had known. This sweetheart did not deserve the pain and suffering he went through.

I'm sad and I'm angry at this man's lack of awareness. If you're going to adopt out cats, know that you're adopting out a sick cat or potentially sick cat so you can inform and warn the adopters. "I never would've sold you a sick cat if I had known" isn't going to cut it. You should know if that's your business. That knowledge could've saved this kitten's life, or even just helped him to get on medicine to make his last months painless.

I miss you, Little Man. I love you so much. I hope we gave you the best life you could've possibly had in the time that you had. I hope all the craziness and play and love was just how you would've always lived your life. You were too sweet and you should've never had to be taken from us that young.

[moviemunchies]

Cartoon Saloon got famous off of doing movies like Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea, and so I’m always happy to see more work from them. When I found out that they have this Netflix exclusive film, My Father’s Dragon, I knew I had to check it out.

For once, this Cartoon Salon movie is NOT about Irish mythology (though neither was The Breadwinner I suppose), but an adaptation of a children’s book about a little boy who goes to a magic island of talking animals to rescue a dragon.

Elmer and his mom, after having to close their store, move to a cramped apartment in a new city. Realizing that his mom needs money, and being misunderstood in his attempts to help, he runs off. A talking cat tells him how to reach a dragon that can help him solve his problems, and he’s on an adventure to the magic island. But the dragon, Boris, is actually trapped on the sinking island, and the only way to come into his full power is to save the island. The problem? He doesn’t know how. So now Elmer and Boris have to work together to figure out how to save the island and realize Boris’s full potential, while the animals of the island are trying to recapture Boris.

There is something interesting in the way Elmer interacts with Boris. You see, Boris isn’t precisely a wise, stately dragon. He’s kind of a small child. Well he’s not precisely a small child–he definitely has closer to an adult voice, but the way he acts and talks is reminiscent of a child. And Elmer, who is very focused on accomplishing the quest, has to struggle to keep Boris on track with his short attention span and boundless curiosity.

I can’t help but think that the impression we’re supposed get is that Elmer is learning what his mother’s going through: being a parent to a child, taking responsibility, learning how to guide Boris and letting him reach his potential. The reason this felt weird for me was that Boris was significantly more annoying than Elmer ever was for his mother. Like, yeah, I get it, Elmer didn’t always cooperate the best with his mom, but he was really a helpful child–the time he acts out is an outlier. Whereas Boris is constantly distracted, popping into Elmer’s bag without permission to eat candy…

Look, if the idea was “Elmer has to learn what it’s like in his mom’s shoes” then it doesn’t work, because Boris doesn’t act like Elmer does. So maybe I misread the entire situation and that’s not how we’re meant to read it this way at all.  But then… it’s even weirder because then Boris is just obnoxious and Elmer has to take a parental role for no thematic reason and I don’t understand what we’re doing here.

Okay, I’m making it sound like Boris is really annoying to the audience throughout the movie, and he’s not–but I understand that in Elmer’s position he would be incredibly obnoxious to deal with. For that reason I imagine he will probably be grating to a lot of viewers.

Saiwa, played by Ian McShane, is a fantastic antagonist for this movie. He trapped Boris on the island and had him lift the sinking island out to try to save the other animals. He’s not malevolent–he’s actually very kind and respectful to the other animals, it’s just that this is the only way he can think of to save the island. He’s never angry or vengeful, he’s really trying his best here, and at the movie when he’s proven wrong he gracefully accepts it and tries to do better. Fantastic! Good job. Something different from a villain, instead of trying to do a twist like so many other animated movies do these days. There is a sort of feeling that Saiwa’s going to end up doing something more harmful, but he doesn’t–and I’m kind of okay with that.

But then Elmer goes home and things sort of… work themselves out? And that happens sometimes, I suppose; however, we don’t really get a ‘how’ on that, other than that they’ve accepted that they don’t have the store anymore and adapted to life in the city. It doesn’t feel as if the characters actually did anything for it, at least not that was in a part of the story we were shown.

The end result is a movie that’s good, I think, and certainly beautifully animated. I can’t help but think though that it’s not as fantastic as some of the other projects to come out of Cartoon Saloon. Movies like Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea felt like they were masterpieces, and while this is still a good film for kids, it doesn’t have the same weight to it that makes me think I can watch it over and over again.

It’s fun, especially for kids, but it’s far from a must-see. Which, with Cartoon Saloon, seems a bit disappointing.

[allisonreader]

💬

Okay, so a little bit of backstory leading into this. This is part of a piece I wrote for Lost in the Past; which was previously the AU I was calling Tales Of A Frozen Sailor: Jessica's Rescue. I was having trouble writing the main part of the story, so I went to get a different POV of what happened at a different time. I just recently reread it and realized how happy I was with it. It’s a bit long, but hopefully worth it.

🌸🌺🌹

She had to admit to herself that she was feeling old and like she wasn’t going to spring back from this loss well.

If only George were still around for her to lean on.

She found herself wandering over to her dresser vanity mirror. She had it covered with pictures of her family throughout the years. There were pictures of her, Emery and George sitting on the back steps of the house, Emery couldn’t be more than seven in it. A time when he still let others call him Emery instead of Erik, his middle name. She had a picture of Edward and Emery together at Emery's high school graduation. Edward looking so proud of his son.

There were older pictures too. Like the first time she and George got to hold their grandchildren. She had pictures of Edward growing up and baby pictures of him.

She even had a black and white picture of her wedding day to George. And right behind that wedding picture was an old envelope. One that had been given to her on said wedding day.

She had forgotten all about it when Emery had gone missing.

Tears filled her eyes as she took the envelope back to her bed. "Not To Be Opened Until After April 15 2011" It had always struck her as an odd thing that George's family friend had given them such a mysterious; what she assumed, was a letter. But neither she nor George had opened it. After George had passed, Emery decided that he would read it with her when the time had come. Which would have happened after he had gotten back from his trip on the ship.

How odd it was- that it was labeled to be read for the day they learned that Emery had gone missing, presumably by going overboard. She carefully opened the letter to read it. It went…

Dear Margaret,

Thank you for waiting for so long to read this letter. And if you’ve tried peeking, I’m afraid most of this letter won’t make much sense, not until after the read after date anyways.

Once that date has passed, this letter just might solve a mystery about what happened to your grandson.

An odd thing for a letter given to you on your wedding day to mention. As you do not even have a child yet. But you will, a son who will be middle aged if you’ve waited to read this.

Nanna, I am your grandson Emery Erik Piston. By the time you read this, I’ll have been gone for however many years. But let me start from the beginning.

It’s funny to think about how we had been talking about reading this letter together after I went to that wedding, while I’m the one who has written it.

Nanna, at the reception of that wedding, I went out onto the deck for fresh air and fell overboard somehow. The next thing I knew I was in cold water and trying not to breathe. After floundering to the surface, I found myself in a corridor of what I soon found out was the Titanic.

I was able to rescue Jessica Hudson from the room she was locked in.

If I didn’t fall overboard, she would have drowned in that room. Her letter would have been her final words.

I am so grateful that I no longer have it memorized.

Only the "Dear Ruth, I am about to die," remains. If that’s even accurate or not.

There’s so much I want to share with you Nanna, it wouldn’t all fit in a single letter. Not to mention that I would never remember everything that I would want to tell you.

Thankfully, I happened to gain a wonderful adoptive mom in this time and she suggested right at the beginning that I keep journals of everything that I want to tell you. Which I have done over the years so far. I don’t think mom or Alexa would appreciate or believe it.

There’s times yet I don’t quite believe it. And I’ve lived in a time not chronologically my own, longer than I did live chronologically.

My family will keep those journals for you as long as needed.

I hope that once you get those journals that they’ll give you and dad a bit of peace. I have lived a happy, successful and full life. Not as short as you may have thought.

I got married, had kids and have seen granddad fall in love with you. Which has lead to me getting the chance to see the two of you get married. I still get to be part of your life, even if you won’t be aware of it until reading this.

Love you Nanna

Love your Emery Erik

Emery Erik Piston-Winters

She was having trouble processing what the letter said. It didn’t seem real. But how could it be a hoax? She was given the letter in person. Handed directly to her, years before anyone could know what happened to her grandson.

Those journals would tell her the truth. She’d be able to tell if they were real upon reading them.

[beann-e]

haikyu characters reacting to you screaming back at them

sorry , I changed the characters I went with originally for this but , this is to thank everyone for 500 followers !

tsukishima

- he would only scream at you if his comments of telling you to shut up weren’t working

- then he’d just get pissed off because hey ? how else can he tell you to shut up in a nice way except

“ y/n “ you perked up as you looked at the blonde to the left of you on the bench “ look at me “

you smiled softly eyes never meeting his as he stared ahead not turning to look at you “ tsukki how can you tell me to look at you — then you don’t look at me“ your laugh rang out in the gym loud enough for him to hear and for his body to tighten reminding him why he was pissed off right now

His head turning to you smile spread across his face tightly, eyes roaming your face until he spoke voice holding a tone that rivaled the sweet look on his face “ I swear on hinata and the kings freaky quick y/n —if I hear your laugh one more time i’m going to suffocate you and pound you in the head with a volleyball “

your eyes widened as you turned away from the male “ no no no turn back around baby i’m not done yet “

you followed his words hanging on every word as he continued “ you’ve been chewing my ear off all fucking practice and i’m —look it’s pissing me off you talk talk talk and I really doubt “

he shook his head turning away from you “ if you even know what your saying at this point “ he scoffed “ cause I don’t “

The gym went quiet as everyone started to listen to the argument happening next to them him never stopping the vile words that spilled out from his mouth “ I doubt anytime you speak really if your even talking about something important or if you simply just wanna “ he shrugged his shoulders “ talk“

His mouth quirked up in smirk “ honestly would rather hear pipsquek over there talk about the little giant ten times a day than hear you speak at all “

you dropped your eyes to look at the floor him not trying to stop you only thanking god for the peace and quiet head leaning back to look up to the ceiling in thanks

tanakas voice coming out loud as his anger bounced off the wall of the gym “ you have a beautiful s/o like that and you bully them “ he scoffed mumbling under his breath in pure annoyance “ i’ll show you a bully beanstalk “

daichis hand slapped across tanakas chest like a seatbelt “ you do not need to partake in this trust me your not needed “

“ oi tanaka-san i’ve got your back bro “ nishinoyas small body stomped through the gym as he smiled wickedly at tsukishima only to be grabbed and pulled into daichis hold his small body tucked under daichis arm as he flailed around screaming out small profanities

“ there’s no need becau—- “

“ y’know if you want to hear hinata talk about how he was going to reward you tonight because, of your amazing test score then “ you smiled looking forward “ really go ahead —I don’t mind less work for me “

You giggled softly “ honestly , i’d have thought you’d rather receive your surprise from me but, I always knew you had a thing for him since you make fun of him constantly—he’s always on your mind seriously even when we were watching a movie you’ll bring up something stupid he did at practice “ tsukishimas mouth let out short breaths of air trying to find words to stop you

“hinata—I swear he’s got a boy crush on you “ you could feel the male next to you now eyeing you in disgust and holding even more anger than he had earlier

hinatas body rippled as he waved his body around excitedly thinking of your words really just happy to be included “ YOU DO” his face dropping quickly when he started thinking finally registering your words “ tsukki — TSUKII YOUR A GUY YOU HAVE A —“ he coughed regaining himself chest puffed out as he spoke clear with meaning

“well while I do appreciate the admiration i’d like to say — you have a partner and I don’t really feel very comfo— “

“ YOU DUMBASS THEIR JUST JOKING “ kageyamas voice raced through the room as he slapped hinatas head hard enough that sent him straight to the gym floor eyes rolling back in his head tears leaking out slowly

“ you may continue y/n-senpai we—we all give you“ kageyamas eyes twinkled in love before they went cold tsukishimas own eyes rolling with a small scoff “ and shittyshima our attention”

you turned to look at your boyfriend mock confusion on your face “ god tsukki you should have just told me you liked hinata better I would have let you go then “ you shook your head as he scoffed at your next words your face falling to sadness eyes searching his pure disappointment laced throughout your voice

“ and here I thought you were a big boy capable of dating someone older but I guess “ he was starting to get pissed off of course he could handle you how dare you say he couldn’t “ I guess your not capable of it “

“ I am capable “ he said softly turning to you who did exactly what he did moments ago and ignored the heartbroken look held in the eyes that drilled into your side “ i’m fully capable of listening to you y/n I swear “

you smirked never meeting his gaze “ y’know what here let’s do this “ your smile went wide as you zipped up your jacket and turned while reaching into your backpack

“ what—what are you doing “ his voice was low watching your hands gracefully open the bag and pull out a piece of strawberry cake “ wait— you—you got that for me because of my—”

“ no” you laughed “ no— of course I didn’t get this for you what would make you think of that tsukishima “

his heart dropping “ tsukishima—wha—y/n wheres tsu—“

“I got this for my boyfriend who loves to hear me talk and knows how to say things nicely “

“ but—-but that’s me so you did—you got it for me ?“

you laughed “ no this “ you pointed to the cake “ this is what that person deserved—that nice guy— but this“ your hand moved to open the container as you threw it in his face smooshing his head into it and pulling your hand back as he moved to scoop the icing from his eyes

“ this is for assholes “ you giggled “ like yourself“ you closed the container and moved your hands to set it next to him taking your finger and dipping it into the icing that covered his nose to lick it off your finger as you kissed the now ‘un-iced’ part of his nose

Head moving to whisper in his ear “ you pull some shit like that again and i’m leaving your ass you dont talk to me like that — i’m not yams do you understand me “

“ yes “ his answer was short and low but you knew he understood you as he moved to take his glasses off watching through blurry eyes as you left the gym

Daichi dropping a wide eyed nishinoya to the ground and letting go of his grip on a mouth foaming tanaka “ the reason I said you guys didn’t need to help is because — I trust that y/n knows how to handle a situation like that on their own “ he laughed “ how else would they be dating our wonderfully polite first year if they couldn’t take him “

Your head popped back in the gym as you winked over at the boy knowing he couldn’t see it. Body stopping in a halt while cleaning his glasses you were right he couldn’t see you but he could feel you were there —he could feel something evil lurking changing the air in the once breathable room silently cursing himself out in his head for talking to you the way he did earlier “ oh yeah and guys “

everyone turned to you as he muttered out a low fuck “ tsukishima — your star shit talker yeah—he wears dino undies “ you smiled brightly “ with matching socks “

You turned to hinata already knowing what he was going to ask when you left “no you can’t —he and yams already have matching pairs “ you turned to yams his face red and slowly moving away from everyone else in embarrassment “ sorry babes’—one goes down you all go down together “

the door slamming echoed throughout the gym as everyone went quiet kageyamas voice the first to come out as he tried to stifle his laughs, Coach ukai laughing softly before catching himself and screaming at tsukishima to clean himself and his bench up, the team turning away as nishinoya and tanaka defeated the rest of the boys ego in comments asking how many pairs he had while hinata asked if he ever wanted to match he and yams could go shopping for the taller male.

Yamaguchi to the boys rescue as he watched him clean off his glasses and throw them back on. Tsukishimas hand only reaching out to his side with a low sigh to eat the remaining bit of cake youd just smashed in his face “ god — so perfect “

Suna

-he would get so upset if you keep annoying him about trying. it goes with or for anything

-you would be telling him could he at least put a bit more effort into the relationship and he’d spazz

-or even you telling him the reason you had to drag him out tonight was because, there was no food at home and he would get mad assuming you just wanted to take him from the comfort of his own home

The quiet was loud and spoke for itself as you and the male before you sat across from each other in the restaurants booth. The air swirling in and out of your ear as you waited for him to say something.

Your eyebrows furrowed before you opened your mouth to speak “ bab- “

“ I didn’t want to come out tonight “

your face fell as you waited for him to continue speaking only for him to go deadly silent, uninterested gaze stuck on yours, his body relaxed and leaned down into the booth head thrown back to show off his half lidded eyes. His legs outstretched under the table god he looked so lazy.

Your mind raced thinking how was it even possible to look lazy In public

Your mouth tucked into itself before you let it go a small sigh leaving it “ suna there was no foo— “

“ I wanted to eat at home “ even though he looked relaxed you could tell his voice was tense.

You could feel your body losing itself at his behavior he was such a child when he didn’t get what he wanted and when he was forced outside. Throwing tantrums and whining any time you brung him shopping or stayed out too long and he would start to miss his houses comfort

Your weight getting pulled into the ground to a pit of anxiety. you just wanted to disappear you knew he was leading you down the trail of his attitude.

One more time that’s all it would take one more question , statement, anything spoken and he would snap.

It wasn’t often that it happened but when it did it wasn’t pretty

you heard the scoff that left his mouth as his eyes widened a bit before going back to their half lidded state causing you to shift in your chair uncomfortably

“ so you figured it out — “ he laughed softly “ so now instead of speaking your mind like usual your gonna try to stop the argument before it starts “

he smiled “ neat game “

His arms came down on the table in a huff his face showing a small smirk before it dropped “ gotcha baby —i’ll play —look who’s coming over here “

“ HI, what can I get you guys today “ the lady smiled at you as you dropped your head shaking it carefully already knowing what was going to take place

“ would you two like to start off wit-“

“ how about we start with nothin—“

“ suna “ your voice was warning

“ what “ you heard the challenge laced in his own as he spoke again“ is there something you wanted to do ? or maybe had your mind set on doing ? somewhat like myself ? “

“ maybe — maybe I should come back “ the woman moved to leave your boyfriend voice deep “ don’t move “

you snapped your face to look at him warning him to stop he was enjoying this he knew you couldn’t touch him or even come close. You wouldn’t dare not in public.

“ y’know what I do want to order “ he smirked turning to face the lady who was a bit taken back at the male her body heating up when she saw his smile you knew she had a crush

“ I just wanted to know “ here it comes “ what do you like ? is there anything you recommend “

he laughed moving to lean back against the seat “ on the menu that is— I mean I don’t think your eatable—or at least while working you aren’t so , i’ll suffice for right now “

you scoffed he’s always so cheesy “ well I uh “

“ please leave “ your voice was small “ just go please“

“ I am sorry “ she shook her head noticing your eyes holding a bit of annoyance before running off to a new table

“ who the hell gave you permission to take my fun from me”

“ suna your doing all of this because you didn’t want to leave the house “ you deadpanned “ seriously babe? “

“ don’t limit my problems like that “ he whispered looking around “ your making me look stupid “

“ because it is “

“ no it’s not “ he got louder “ the fuck if it is — your always dragging me somewhere that I don’t want to go I was fine on the couch we had food at home what more did we need ? we didn’t have to come out tonight y/n you just wanted to be extra and fancy“ his voice was raised higher than you’d ever heard it making you remember you two weren’t in the confinement of your own house

“ you just want to annoy the shit out of me yet again like you don’t do that enough. Everyday it’s constant nagging ‘ suna you’ve been in the house for 2 days , suna you never go out unless it’s volley , suna , suna , suna—god you never seem to shut the fuck up unless i’m throwing money at you like a stripper “

you laughter to yourself quietly before he huffed “ we had food at home “

your eyes darted out as you looked around you peoples bodies turning to stare at your table a bit shaken by the males screams “ look at you — wont even admit it — you just like putting on this fake face acting like staying at home is so bad “

he moved to grab his phone harshly off the table scooting out the booth “ fuck this — brought me out the house to eat this crap when I could’ve made a sandwich unnecessary money — unnecessary trip “

his body froze a shudder moving over his body as his gaze went soft at the ground. Legs jumpy but unmoving as his mind raced eyes peering down at the grip you held on his wrist

“ sit the fuck “ your eyes crisp and sharp on his own “ down“ him not even waiting for you to finish before he slid back into the booth body going slack to show the others watching the drama unfold that he didn’t care that his s/o just ripped his image to shreds with three words

“ why are you doing all this huh ? “

his voice was steady “ because I wanted to eat—eat at home I said this “ he shook his head trying to laugh away the obviously tense air that was roaming throughout the restaurant due to your cold demeanor

“ tell me suna “ his name sounded foreign on your tounge when you spit it back out at him mocking the way he said it earlier “ what were you going to eat “

“ a— a sandwich “

“ baby—with what bread ? “

his mind stalled before the gears started again except steering him backwards to think back to earlier “ I—I didn’t see any bre— no “ he spoke softly trying not to show you his obvious mistake

“ aw what was that baby speak up we can’t hear you“ you directed his gaze to everyone around as he shifted to sit up so he didn’t look like he was getting his ass handed to him like a 7 year old

“ I said um — there was “ he shook his head wanting to deny that you were right so badly “ fuck there was no bread”

“ ok and what happens to your so called planned dinner if there’s no bread “

he coughed “ no sandwich y/n “

“ awww no sandwich? “ the fake sadness on your face evident as you mocked him

“ fuck you y/n “

“ not tonight “ his body sinking when he saw the ghosts of smiles on the people’s faces that were listening in on you two

his head dropping to whisper “ I — I wasn’t even gonna try tonight maybe— maybe tomorrow so jokes on you “

you shook your head calling the waitress over as she stumbled a bit scared of your table and the negative energies it held “ ye— “

“ get me my check “

“ you — you only bought water “

you smirked thought about teasing your boyfriend yet again “ no I bought a sandwich remember “

“ wh— “

“ but no really jokes aside —can you actually bring me a “ your mouth moved fast as you asked for your favorite food and for it to be brought out and packaged in a to go box the shared table quiet between you two him never looking up until the waitress came back about 10 minutes later

Her hands stuffed full with 2 boxes and a small one containing the dessert you ordered “ thank you “ you smiled widely

Legs moving to stand as suna followed deciding to make yet again another sly comment“ so you did all this just to buy us dinner to go? real fucking classy y/—“

“ who said us ? “ you let out a small laugh as you took a glance at his face your eyebrows furrowing before they relaxed

“ suna this is for me “

“ wh—“

“ your right we are going home “

“ home but ? we— I didn’t get anything to eat “

you laughed walking off opening the door to the restaurant watching as he stayed still his body never moving from the booth you two sat at moments ago “ baby there’s nothing at home remember “

“ oh but I thought there was “ you smiled softly before your face came up in mock confusion “ your sandwich no ? “

[starshipsofstarlord]

Alpine

bucky barnes x reader / masterlist

summary; when bucky returns from a mission, he is met with the most tragic news possible / warnings; angst, death, mentions of death, crying, i’m sad so don’t hate on this, pet death

Vast pools of tears flowed out of your eyes, running a river to encompass down your body, but you accepted the flood. It was tragic, the element of death, it was cold and unforgiving, taking whomever and whatever it pleased with its morbid grip, confiscating them from life and forcing them to be another form forever entrapped in the underworld.

Death had come again, leaving you heart broken, crumbling into your shell, tissues were useless to mop up the mess. There was so much pain crafting you into it’s victim, a person that had escaped its clutches, but remained futile to its sickly affects. To say you felt prepared to vomit was an understatement, and worst of all, you had yet to inform the man that had brought that little ball of fur home.

He was on a mission, about twenty minutes away from returning home, and it would absolutely wreck his heart to know that the world had handed him a situation so cruel. The cat had been crying, his eyes ruggedly searching for his father, but the white ball of fluff was forced to be sent into his peace without seeing him one last time.

There was guilt riding on your shoulders, maybe it was because you had been coerced by the veterinarians to put him on a diet, and he was suffering from that. Though they stated, trying to give you a sentence of reassurance, that the circumstances that had made Alpine deteriorate so quickly, within the span of ten minutes, was inevitable, and it was due to genetics.

The results were going to happen sooner or later, and you had to perceive what was best for your baby. There had been no time given to consult with your husband about the matter, he was pardoned from his allowance to communicate, in case the enemy tracked him whilst he was at work. And here you were, holding one of the feline’s prized possessions, as you curled up on the couch, his favourite blanket secured around you, as you messily sobbed.

It was certain that you were a sight for sore eyes, but your appearance didn’t matter. A part of you were relieved that you had been chosen to forgo the mission, otherwise poor Rhodey would be accountable for the decision as he cat sat for you, confused by the motives that he was supposed to lean towards.

The creak of the front door opening caused you to stiffen, realising that Bucky had arrived home. It would kill him to discover the events that had taken place in his absence, he adored that cat, you even had an inkling it was more than you, not that you minded.

Originally, the two of you had chosen to purchase a cat, to fill the absence of not being able to have a child together. It wasn’t that you couldn’t physically endure a pregnancy, nor the same with Bucky being able to cause one, it was more so a risk, with your combined genetics, it was uncertain how that child would turn out.

And not to mention, it was not fair to bring a baby into the world with powers, the pair of you hardly had your own under control. People, like hydra, would be after the baby, it being a blend of two powerful avengers, and no one should have to endure being hunted at all, let alone from birth onwards.

This one day, after speaking about rescuing a small critter, Bucky had turned up from his morning job, a small, meek and dirty kitten in his grasp. It cried, obviously hungry and malnourished, desperate for food and affection. For the past five years, that had been exactly what he had received; he had even been fed somewhat too well, hence the diet he had been prescribed.

“Doll.” His voice sent shivers up your spine, making you clutch onto the items of your baby tighter. Throughout the house, there were gentle reminders of him, and you had yet to bare the consequences of getting ready of any of it, it was too soon. “You okay baby?” He asks, dropping his bag, and kneeling before you, trying to cradle your face as you sniffled.

Shaking your head, you bit your lip, reaching your hand out to grasp his shoulders with a combusting touch. He knew from that contact alone there was something wrong, definitely wrong. “Alpine took a turn for the worst bubba.”

You could see the panic in his eyes, his blue orbs darting around the room, and the entrance to the hallway, as he tried to process your statement. “What? Is he okay, where is he?” I’m his life, James had lost so many people, they were all stolen by the reapers, that watched him carefully, constantly deciding that it was not yet his time.

“Bubs...” your eyes said it all, and Bucky felt his own turn glassy. A chortled breath escaped his lips as he tried to comprehend what you weren’t saying. “He is no longer in pain, it was an easy decision, though it did and still is killing me. I couldn’t wait to let him suffer more.”

You soothed his shoulder with strokes, as tears rapidly cowered from his waterline. “Did we do something wrong, was it his weight?” He blubbered, urgent to find an answer to the madness that was torturing him.

“No baby, it wasn’t us.” Breathing in, you allowed the air to circuit in your chest, giving you a moment of relief before you answered his urgent enquiring. Seeing him like this was killing you almost as much as it did when you carried the small animal’s body out of the clinic. “They said it was genetic, and that we had to think what was best for him. So I did, and a part of me was happy you weren’t there, it would have killed you.”

“It would have.” He agreed through his calloused and torn voice. “D’you bury him?” He asked as he swiped his nose with his knuckles, watching as you sat up, and combed your fingers through his brunette locks.

“Yeah, come on.” You stood, taking your partner by his shivering vibranium hand, leading out the back door of your home, and into the garden. There was a fresh patch of dirt in the middle of the shadow of the small holly bush, it being the destination where Alpine rested.

“He always liked to try and eat those. Half the time he’d just hide in there, and I’d be worried when I couldn’t find him when I came home.” He lightly laughed through his liquid sorrow, squinting his eyes shut as he imagined just that. Your hand found refuge once more on his shoulder, as you rested your head on his side, the rest of his arm wrapping around your quivering waist.

“He is home Jamie.” You spoke softly, as your face continued to be stained with evidence of your pain. Bucky pressed a kiss to the top of your head, and you could hear his shaky breaths; this man was really killing you, the pair of you knew that this dreaded day would eventually come, but it had breached your emotions too soon.

That small kitten had showed you how to love, encouraged you both to relax on particularly hard days, and now all you and Bucky had was each other. Your baby was deep in his slumber, and you hoped he had lovely dreams, as he rested under the thriving of hollies. Alpine would be sincerely missed, it was a great presence absent from your lives.

Death held no mercy upon its victims, he simply took and took until there was no more to take. And here you were, waiting for you to be next on the cycle, though it appeared that he never was fond of you, the coil of life was strung around you strong, and that meant you would have to remain here, with all these reminders of the loved ones that you had lost.

[deadpresidents]

We Remember: When 9/11 Forged a Genuinely United States of America

Today, we remember.

We remember that the weather was perfect throughout nearly the entire country on that Tuesday morning. We remember where we were when we heard about the first plane hitting the tower. We remember what we thought as the new just began to trickle in. We remember our horror as we watched the second plane hit the South tower. We remember the evacuations -- people running out of our monuments of freedom and democracy, our centers of government and finance, and spilling out on to the streets of our nation’s capital. We remember the dust and debris chasing thousands of New Yorkers through the streets of our most iconic city. We remember the smoke rising from the Pentagon. We remember that impact site in Pennsylvania -- a smoldering hole in an empty field instead of the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building because Americans decided to fight back. We remember watching the towers fall.

We remember the fear, the chaos, the sadness, and the feeling of not knowing what was happening or when it would end. We remember a feeling that Americans were not used to experiencing up to September 11, 2001: the helpless feeling of being attacked as went about our normal lives. We no longer remember what it felt like on September 10th.

Do you remember pointing fingers? Do remember placing blame? Do you remember partisanship? I remember patriotism. Not bumper sticker and window decals. Genuine patriotism. I remember flags and candles and donating water and giving blood and having a new appreciation for first responders. I remember that, for at least one week, we weren’t Democrats or Republicans. I remember that we were Americans. I remember that we cared a little bit more about each other for at least a couple of weeks.

When Democrat Lyndon Johnson was the Senate Majority Leader and Republican Dwight Eisenhower was President of the United States, LBJ -- one of the most intense, passionate, partisan political animals in our history -- never attacked President Eisenhower. It wasn’t because LBJ agreed with Eisenhower’s policies. It wasn’t because LBJ was scared. It was because, as LBJ explained in 1953 in a comment that has an unfortunately haunting connection to 9/11, “If you’re in an airplane, and you’re flying somewhere, you don’t run up to the cockpit and attack the pilot. Mr. Eisenhower is the only President we’ve got.”

The only President we’ve got.

We all want to head in the same direction. We all want to move forward. We all want to progress and be happy and healthy and safe. But now, more than ever, our country’s prosperity is crippled by divisive partisanship. As World War I and World War II approached and the world realized that we are clearly connected on a global level, the people who seemed the most out-of-touch -- the people who were wrong -- were the isolationists. In both of those great wars, the isolationists were proven wrong. Yet, in the span of our grandparents’ lives we have regressed to the point where most Americans have become individual isolationists -- not isolationism on a national level, but on a personal level. We’ve tried to disconnect from the people in our own country -- especially if they look, love, or think differently than us. Don’t you remember how powerful it felt after 9/11 to be united? Don’t you remember how we helped each other in so many different ways?

I guess I could be cynical. I guess I could remember the look on President George W. Bush’s face when his Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, whispered news of the attacks in the President’s ear as he sat in a Florida classroom. I guess I could remember The Pet Goat, and the fact that Bush didn’t immediately get up, sprint from the room, and change out of his Clark Kent clothes into the Superman suit. I guess I could remember Air Force One zig-zagging across the country, the only plane in the air besides military escorts and combat air patrols over our major cities. I guess I could remember the surveillance videos of the well-dressed hijackers walking through airport terminals that morning before they turned our planes into weapons. I guess I could remember that the passengers of Flight 93 didn’t actually get through the cockpit door and force the plane to crash into that Pennsylvania field. I guess I could remember our government’s alphabet agencies -- the FBI, CIA, NSA, and everyone else listening in on our world -- being unable to work together and stop the attacks from happening in the first place. I guess I could choose to remember those things, but that doesn’t make me feel better. It doesn’t make 9/11 anything but a success to those who tried to frighten and frustrate and intimidate us through terrorism.

This is what I choose to remember:

I remember that the passengers of Flight 93 tried to get into that cockpit. I remember that their plane didn’t make it to Washington, D.C., and even if they never actually breached the cockpit and physically forced the plane into that meadow in Pennsylvania themselves, they certainly fought back and forced the hijackers to abort the mission that they had planned. That plane didn’t crash into the White House or the Capitol, and that’s not because the hijackers got lost.

I remember driving to the wedding rehearsal for two of my best friends on the Friday after the attacks, feeling bad for them that they were getting married in the shadow of 9/11. I remember being amazed at thousands of people in the streets of Sacramento -- neighborhood after neighborhood, thousands of miles away from any of the attack sites -- holding a candlelight vigil. I remember that it was then, as I drove through the silence of these peaceful vigils, with flags and flames and tears all around me, that I thought, “We’re going to be okay.”

I remember George W. Bush -- a President I never voted for -- who, like all of us, was a bit unsteady with his words in the hours immediately following the attacks as he processed the magnitude of what we were living through. But I remember how he found his footing and found his voice quickly and began to speak for all of us. I remember him returning to Washington, D.C. that night, against the wishes of his government and his Secret Service protection. I remember how this President -- a President I didn’t agree with, a President I never cast a supportive ballot for or whose campaign I ever donated a cent to, a President whose beliefs were diametrically opposed to almost everything that I believe in -- went to Ground Zero and met with the families of those who were dead or missing, and gave them all the time they needed with him.

I remember how that President visited the rescue workers at Ground Zero. I remember, more than anything else, how President Bush climbed on to a pile of rubble from the fallen towers of the World Trade Center, grabbed a bullhorn and began to speak, but was interrupted by the workers yelling, “We can’t hear you!”

I remember that the President -- the only President we had at the time -- shouted to these exhausted, weary, grieving, heroic rescuers, “Well, I can hear you! And the people who knocked these buildings down are gonna hear from all of us soon!” I remember that it was genuine, that there was nothing manufactured about that moment, and that, despite all of his faults and deficiencies, George W. Bush said exactly what those people -- our people -- needed to hear. As the workers chanted, “USA! USA! USA!”, I remember thinking that I didn’t vote for him and I won’t vote for him in 2004, but at that moment he was my President and I was proud of him.

As we look back, we can’t help but think about everything else that has come out of 9/11 -- the interminable war in Afghanistan, the unjust and unnecessary war in Iraq, the humiliating and annoying experience that flying in an airplane became in this country -- but I think about that stuff pretty much every day, and I feel like this should always be a day where we think differently.

So, even if it’s just for this day, I’m going to think about those flags and candles and President Bush on top of the rubble of the World Trade Center with a bullhorn. I’m going to think about being an American -- just like I was in the weeks following 9/11 -- rather than who I voted for or what team I like or any of the millions of things that divide us and can get back to tearing us apart tomorrow like they did yesterday.

I’m going to remember thinking, “That’s my President,” as President Bush spoke to the rescue workers, just as I did a few weeks later when he went to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 of the World Series, strapped on a bulky bulletproof vest under his FDNY jacket, walked to the pitcher’s mound, and with millions of Americans watching on television, with thousands of rabid New Yorkers watching in the stands, and with Derek Jeter’s words of warning (”Don’t bounce it or they’ll boo you”) rattling around in his head, threw a perfect strike.

I’ll remember thinking, “That’s my President,” about a guy I never voted for and didn’t agree with, and I’ll hope that you do that when the guy you didn’t vote for and didn’t agree with says the right words, does the right things, and throws a strike when our nation needs it -- not because you’re a Democrat or a Republican, but because you’re an American and that’s the only President we’ve got. We don’t have to disagree about everything just because we don’t agree about most things, and we don’t have to like everything about one another to understand that, sometimes, we need each other.

What do you remember?

[elidereads]

You Came For Me (NSFW Elriel Fanfic)

image source

Summary: The night after Azriel rescues Elain from Hybern Elain goes to his tent to make sure he's okay.

Word Count: 5,800

Warnings: NSFW

Notes: This is my first fanfic. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated it. 🖤

AO3

She couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she shivered remembering the things she was trying to forget, the feelings she wanted to scrub away. She couldn’t make herself trust that she was safe. She tried to focus on Nesta’s steady breathing and failed. Sounds that had once assured her of her safety now felt meaningless. Nesta had always been her safe haven, the only person who wouldn’t fail her or leave her. But the last time they had slept in this tent Elain learned that she was not safe. The cauldron could find her anywhere.

Not that it was Nesta’s fault, really she only had her own stupidity to blame. Her heart and mind warred with themselves, trying to decide what feeling made her cringe more, fear or shame. If she had allowed herself to see what everyone else saw, that Graysen now detested her, then she could not have been so easily lured. But last night she hadn’t wanted to accept that his affection could be anything but true. Even now a part of her brain defended him, reminding her that Graysen had been the one to lead her to the cauldron, is was the cauldron acting alone. She felt an internal embarrassment for continuing to defend Graysen to herself, that she allowed her stupid heart to create some hope that wasn’t there. She was pathetic.

Everyone in her village had grown up hearing terrifying stories of the Fae above the wall. She had always believed them to have godlike strength. Nothing could, or would, break them. Often she envied them. She was always the meekest of her sisters. Everyone assumed she lacked an opinion on anything, just doing whatever her sisters, mostly Nesta, wanted. In reality she lacked confidence in herself, she always told herself that letting her sisters lead made them happy, why should she push back. But she could imagine herself gaining everyone’s respect by becoming Fae or revealing some secret magic. Now, that secret dream made her feel even more pathetic. She had become Fae and had gained no one’s respect. She was still told what to do more often than she was asked her opinion. The lack of any transformation into the strong female she had imagined she truly was only added to her shame. No, even as Fae she was pathetic and boring. Perhaps Graysen had tired of her before her transformation, he just now had an easy excuse to end their engagement.

How many times did she need to suffer embarrassment in front of these people she barely knew? Starting with Graysen making the very public proclamation that he did not want her. Then, she made herself a further fool by wandering off and getting herself captured. In some ways it would’ve been easier if she had died in captivity. Then she could have been spared everyone’s pity that was so palpable she could almost see it hovering over them as they looked at her. But no, because of her stupidity she had to be rescued forcing Feyre and Azriel to risk their lives to save her.

Azriel.

Although now she thought very courageously about her death she had to acknowledge that that had been a very real fear just a few hours ago. She would swear she felt the world shift when she saw Azriel appear in the tent in Hybern’s camp. She had never felt relief like that. His presence had a way of making her feel like the person she imagined herself to be, certain, fearless. He looked at her as if he knew her. Well maybe not her, not the her that everyone saw, but the her she wanted to be, the heroine in her daydreams.

She exhaled loudly and rolled over, trying again to fall asleep. Mother, she was pathetic, creating some romantic scenario in her head where Azriel was the one person who saw her. He was probably the angriest with her. He suffered the most injuries attempting to rescue her. Would he resent the fact that he was injured before the battles had even begun? All because Elain couldn’t let go of her fiancé. What if Azriel’s injuries hindered him in the battle? What if because of Elain’s rescue he couldn’t fight as well and he …

Elain sat up quickly.

No she couldn’t think this way. She would have to speak to him, ensure he was fully healed before he could be allowed to fight. Surely the others had thought of this but if they hadn’t, she wouldn’t allow that to happen, couldn’t allow it. If there was a time for Elain to speak up it would be now. Well not now, not in the middle of the night with everyone sleeping, but now in there proverbial sense. Would he be angry with her if she was the reason he couldn’t fight? It didn’t matter. She was sure he was angry with her anyways.

Maybe that was why she couldn’t sleep.

She slowly pulled back her blankets and set her feet on the ground. Keeping her eyes on Nesta the whole time, making sure she didn’t stir. She pulled a blanket off her bed and wrapped it around herself as she moved towards the entrance of her tent. A part of her brain was warning this was a very bad idea. If she was worried about everyone being mad at her then she should definitely not make it worse by wandering the camp at night. Again. But another part of her brain, likely the sleep deprived part, was urging her on. Telling her a conversation with Azriel was the only way she would be able to calm down and get any sleep. She slowly pulled back the tent flaps and, with one more glance at Nesta, Elain slipped out.

She was almost positive Azriel’s tent was to the left of theirs and Cassian’s to the right. Too soon she and began to doubt herself. Was he sharing a tent with Cassian? Or Mor? Possibly even both. This was a bad idea. She couldn’t even knock and announce herself because how did you knock on a tent. She would just need to go right in.

She began to turn back to her own tent suddenly Azriel was there at the opening, catching her off guard and leaving her standing there speechless, like an idiot.

“Elain?” Azriel seemed to exhale her name after a few seconds of silence.

“How did you know I was here?” A perfectly appropriate greeting.

“My shadows. They patrol while I sleep. They told me you were outside my tent but I didn’t … are you okay?” Azriel’s eyes narrowed as he ran his gaze over her, looking for a source of harm.

“Yes. I’m okay. I just … I wanted to see you. To apologize.” Azriel gave her a look of surprise as a wind whipped through the camp causing Elain to pull the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

“Come in. Please.” Azriel quickly opened the tent further and stepped to the side so that Elain could get out of the cold.

At first his tent seemed smaller than hers, but she saw that was due to the amount of things he had inside. Not that he was messy, but he had a desk covered in neat piles of paperwork. Armor on a dummy in the corner and an impressive display of knives lied out on a small table top. A fire burned near the middle of the tent, immediately warming Elain as the tent flaps closed.

“Are you okay?” Azriel asked again.

Elain turned away from his things scattered throughout the tent to look at him. “Yes. I promise you I am okay. I couldn’t sleep and I wanted to … I hope I didn’t wake you. Were you asleep?”

“No I wasn’t asleep. I was reading.” He motioned to his desk of papers and Elain caught him wince as he lifted his arm.

“Please sit down. I’m sorry I made you get up. Are you okay?” Everything came out in a rush. Gods. What was she thinking coming here and bothering him in the middle of the night. She touched his arm, gently guided him to a chair and sitting herself down across from him.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.” She noticed how he slowly lowered himself into the chair.

“You’re not okay you’re hurt.” Elain reached to touch his bandage before catching herself, leaving her hand hovering between them. “Is there anything I can get you? Maybe some tea?”

“I’m fine. You don’t have to get me anything.”

“Please. I would like to help.”

Azriel paused, ready to repeat his no, before seeing that accepting the tea from Elain would help her more than himself.

“Some tea would be great. Thank you.”

Elain busied herself bringing water to a boil over the fire and, after Azriel’s shadows brought her the dried tea leaves, making a pot for the two of them.

“Cups?”

“Over there. There are drawers under the table with the knives. They should be in there.”

“Thank you.” She located the cups as the tea steeped in the pot. As she poured the tea she realized how calm her body not felt. Perhaps she shouldn’t have come here. She suddenly felt exhausted and very ready to sleep.

“Here.” She set Azriel’s cup on the table in front of him. She blew on her own and began to take a sip before thinking better of it and setting it down. Finally, with nothing else to busy herself with, she looked at Azriel. He was already looking at her.

She wasn’t sure where to start.

“I’m sorry.” She decided to lead with the phrase she couldn’t stop repeating. “My foolishness put Feyre and you in danger. I will never forget myself for that.”

Azriel closed his eyes, as if steeling himself for what he was about to say. “You have nothing to apologize for. It isn’t your fault the Cauldron tricked you.”

“If I hadn’t been such a fool about Graysen it wouldn’t have been able to trick me so easily.”

Azriel shook his head. “It is not foolish to believe the best about the person you love.”

Elain grimaced. “I don’t love him.”

“You don’t?” He responded, slightly tilting his head to the side.

“Well,” she blushed. “Perhaps a part of me does but no … not anymore. I see the situation for how it is. How everyone else sees it.”

Something in that statement made Azriel pause. He looked away from her, as if considering something. “Does it matter how everyone sees it?”

“A few weeks, even days ago I would have said no. It only matters what we, or I, felt but …” She gestured in a direction that she believed was south. “Before today I thought everyone was wrong and didn’t understand what we had. Now it appears I was the only one wrong. When the majority of the people in your life disagree with you, at some point you have to admit it’s probably you who’s wrong. Don’t you?”

Azriel didn’t say anything from a few seconds, continuing to stare at something on the ground, before responding. “That logic makes sense.”

They lapsed into a brief silence where Elain attempted to drink her tea again. This time only slightly burning her tongue before turning back to her next question for Azriel.

“How bad are your injuries?”

“They are fine.”

“I could see you grimacing as you sat down. Please Azriel, be honest with me.”

He raised his head when she said his name and met her eyes. “They are bad, but I have had worse. Rhys, however, has already implied that he doesn’t want me in the battle if it starts tomorrow.”

Elain started to apologize again but he waved her off.

“It’s fine. I don’t plan to listen to him. I will be fine.”

That caused her to gasp. “You cannot fight tomorrow. Not if it’s not safe.”

He offered her a grim smile. “I don’t think battles are ever considered safe.”

Elain did not return the smile. “You know what I mean. You are already injured from rescuing me. You’re already vulnerable. If you were to hurt yourself more, I couldn’t…” She trailed off, not being sure what it was she “couldn’t”.

“I will be fine. I have seen many battles and survived.”

She felt her anger grow, both with herself and his casualness. “You shouldn’t have rescued me. You are more valuable than me. Your life means more than mine.”

His grim smile quickly changed to something close to a glare. “My life means nothing compared to yours.”

Instinctually she reached out to touch his arm, wanting to offer him comfort in any way she could. “How could you say…” But when her arm touched his she was too overwhelmed with images to speak.

They reminded her of the dreams she had been having. Ever since she was Made every night she dreamed like she never had before. Dreams that were as vivid as Feyre’s paintings. Sometimes that how they started. She would be looking at one of Feyre’s paintings and not realize she was dream until it came to life or pulled her into it. Some of the dreams were filled with light, the warmth of the sun, the feeling of a new day. Some filled with shadows and whispers, hidden objects that she could never find clearly.

Surprisingly the dreams of the sun were the ones that preceded her worse days. Days filled with anxiety and unease that made her long to go back to sleep but also made her afraid to. These are the days she spent her time in the garden. Dedicating complete focus to her plants and flowers, working through meal times and until the night was so dark she could no longer see the roots. It wasn’t until day turned to night that her heart stopped racing.

But now she was sure she was not asleep. She could feel Azriel’s arm and hear the crackling of the fire in his tent. Smell a combination of musk and sweat that she noticed whenever he was close. But what she saw was out of place with the war time tent.

Golden, barely-there sunlight coming in through the windows. Another fire in a different hearth. Windows left open, light grey curtains blowing in the breeze. A garden could be glimpsed through the windows full of red roses. A soft moan that sounded vaguely familiar. Was it her own? She looked around to see white sheets were gripped in her hands. She felt a heat climbing through her body starting at her core. She felt something between her legs. She moved her gaze down her body. Heavy breathing moved her peaked breasts up and down as she tried to find air. Scarred hands on her hips. A head of dark hair between her legs. Another moan. She couldn’t help but move her hips in time with his tongue.

Her dreams had never felt this real.

“Elain?” She heard someone call her name, but she wasn’t sure who. She could still feel a tongue moving between her legs, bringing her to the edge of something she had never felt before. Her body began to shake at the feeling, getting closer and closer to a feeling that wasn’t familiar with but was desperate for.

Then her body was truly being shaken.

“Elain!’

Her eyes fluttered. Had she closed them? She tried to focus on why she was shaking.

“Elain? Are you okay?” The scarred hands were no longer on her hips but on her arms. Holding her firmly, shaking her gently. Azriel’s head was no longer between her legs but looking her earnestly in the eyes.

“I … yes. I think. I’m okay.”

“Did you have another vision?”

“Yes. I think so.”

“Have you been having many?”

“I’m not sure. I have dreams every night, but I’m not sure if they are visions. They aren’t like this.” She motioned to the air as Azriel lowered his hands.

“What was this one of?”

She hesitated.

“Even if it doesn’t make sense it may be important, for the war.”

“It was of us.” She couldn’t help but answer.

Azriel gave a brief pause, concentrating on keeping his face neutral. “Who do you mean by ‘us’? You and me?”

Elain nodded.

“What were we doing?”

A description of the images flowed out of her. “We were in a house, I’m not sure where. It was peaceful and beautiful. There was a garden outside. We were in bed.” She could feel a blush creeping up her chest to her cheeks. Why did she answer his question. She could have deflected. She must not be fully awake.

Azriel’s cheeks began to blush as he sat up straighter. “Oh. And what were we doing in bed?”

Was it a repercussion of the visions that they had to be spoken whether she willed it or not?

“We … your head was between my legs and you were…”

Azriel stood up suddenly, effectively cutting her off. “I got it Elain. Thank you.” He quickly walked over to the fire and angled himself away from her.

After a few moments of taut silence Elain braced herself and stood. “I don’t know why I said all that. I’m sorry I’ve made things uncomfortable for you. I will go now. I’m glad you’re okay.”

But before she could make it more than a few steps Azriel was behind her. Placing his hand gently on her arm, quickly dropping it as she turned around to face him.

“It’s okay. I know what it’s like being a seer. Some visions must be spoken.”

Elain raised her eyebrows. “Are you a …”

“No.” Azriel cut her off. “But my mother is, I know what it’s like.”

“Did all of her visions come true?” Elain asked, pink staining her cheeks again.

“I cannot remember if all of them did, but I believe most. Although, not often in the way she suspected.”

“Oh.” Elain breathed. The air filling with tension and words left unsaid, until Elain had to say something.

“I would not be upset, if this one came true.” She surprised herself speaking so boldly, but she supposed the vision of the possible future gave her courage that her feelings would be reciprocated.

“Elain.” Azriel repeated her name in a rough tone she hadn’t heard him speak before.

She wasn’t sure who moved first.

His scarred hands were on either side of her cheek, pulling her towards him.

Her hands found his shoulder blades, pulling him to her.

A few touches they had shared before. His hand on her elbow. Her hand on his shoulder. Their fingers brushing. Always they had been gentle, reverent even.

This time their lips clashed. A different kind of reverence, as if their bodies were made to worship one another’s.

The line between sin and sanctification had never been so thin.

With Graysen Elain had been always been demure, unsure of herself. She had rarely felt much pleasure of her own and had the vague impression that he didn’t expect her to have any.

With Azriel she felt uninhibited, she could be herself with him. Elain Archeron, the naive, mortal girl and Elain Archeron, the high fae, the seer. Either way Azriel knew her and accepted her. It drove her confidence now.

Her hands moved to his chest, broad and firm. She had been held against it many times when he winnowed her, but she would never forget how it felt earlier today when he rescued her from Hybern’s camp. Now she allowed herself to give into the temptation she had felt so many times before and ran her hands over it. Unbuttoning the top of his tunic.

His tongue ran across the seam of her lips, urging her to open them for him. She did so eagerly and when their tongues met they both exhaled quiet moans. His hands moved down her hips, over her ass, gently squeezing before moving further down to the backs of her thighs. He bent slightly to get a hold of them and life her up. Pulling her closer to himself, so that their bodies were perfectly aligned. Her hands moved from his chest to circle his neck, one hand threading through his hair.

She felt his pause. His uncertainty in what she wanted next. She pulled his mouth away from his only far enough to speak. “Take me to bed.” Azriel emitted a louder groan before moving his mouth back to hers as if to claim her. After a few steps he was gently lowering her to the bed before positioning himself on his elbows above her, ensuring no weight was put on her. But she didn’t want to be treated so gently. She wasn’t afraid of the weight of him, of this. She pulled his neck down towards her as she lifted her hips up to his. Her body responding on it’s own.

Azriel shifted to one elbow so that he could move a hand to her cheek, gently, down to her neck. His hand circled her neck and he squeezed, lightly. Now it was Elain’s turn the moan, the idea of being at his mercy making her come undone. He squeezed harder before releasing and moving his hand down her body, pushing down her loose nightgown until her breasts were exposed. He broke their kiss to look at them.

“Gods.” He muttered before moving his mouth to her neck. Kissing and nipping until he reached her breasts. She arched her back, begging him to take them into his mouth. He looked up at her as his mouth hovered over her right nipple. His breath causing it to tighten, nearing pain. He kept eye contact as his tongue darted out. Barely licking the peak. Elain trembled and moaned his name.

“Azriel.”

It was his undoing. His mouth covering her nipple, a hand moving to the other. He sucked and bit until she couldn’t stop writhing beneath him, then he moved to her other breast and repeated his worshipping. She felt ready to explode from the feeling on her breasts alone, not to mention the hard length she could feel through his pants when she rubbed against every time his teeth closed around her nipple and she couldn’t help but rub against him.

“Take off your clothes.” She managed between breaths. She knew she was shaking too much to manage removing them herself, not to mention she wasn’t sure how to remove them from his wings.

He removed his mouth from her breast and lifted his head up so that he could look down on her and meet her eyes. He paused, as if he wanted to capture the moment like he was afraid that when he moved to take off her clothes she would suddenly disappear. She gently placed her hand on his cheek, hoping to offer reassurance through her touch. He lowered his head to place a gentle kiss on her lips but raising himself to stand at the end of the bed.

He made quick work of his clothes and she pushed her own night gown the rest of the way off her body. The soft blues of her gown melting into the dark greys of his clothes at the end of the bed. She barely had an opportunity to take in his hard length, standing straight at attention.

Then he was on her again. Without the barrier of clothes every inch of their skin is touching. Elain had never felt so alive. Like her skinning is on fire and freezing at the same time. Every inch of her taut and screaming for more of Azriel. In any way. In all ways.

He leaned forward to leave another kiss on her lips before moving down her body, leaving a trail of kisses between her breasts, her stomach, above her sex. When he was between her legs he looked up at her. “Is this what you saw in your vision?” He didn’t wait for her reply before his mouth was on her. He wasted no time kissing her legs, her thighs. Suddenly his lips and his tongue were between her legs, her sex, exploring her, feasting on all her. “Gods Elain.” Azriel moaned into her, causing her to write more. “What do I taste like?” She had to ask, had always been curious. Her question caused Azriel to moan again, she felt the vibrations in her core. His tongue dove into her, as if he was trying to distinguish her taste. “Sugar.” She laughed gently at his general assessment. Something, anything, sweet. She wondered how he would taste.

His tongue was unrelenting. Licking her up and down. Moving between her folds. Pushing into her. There wasn’t a spot of skin between her legs that his tongue didn’t touch. Over and over. Her hands moved to his hair, gripping it hard enough that she was sure he must be in pain. But he didn’t relented. She couldn’t help as her hips began moving on his mouth, riding his tongue. He brought one of his hands to her ass, helping to lift herself onto him. She didn’t spare a thought for the fact that they were only in a tent, did not stifle her shouts with the fear of being overheard. She became overwhelmed with the feeling that she was about the explode. Her body barreled towards some kind of release, but there was some a part of her mind that seemed to hesitate, fearing there was something she wasn’t doing right, that her sounds were too loud or her writhing too much.

As if sensing her hesitation Azriel moved his hand from her ass to her clit, rubbing it while his tongue moved inside her.

She saw stars.

Her hips bucking into him as he helped her ride out her orgasm. He continued to lick and suck her until she had all but stopped moving. Once he saw that she was exhausted he left one chaste kiss on her before moving back up her body until they were eye to eye. They held their eye contact until Elain lifted herself up to kiss him on the mouth, tasting herself as she did. “You’re right, like sugar.” She offered, surprised that her own voice was deeper and scratchier than usual. Hopefully that wasn’t an indication of how much she had been screaming.

Her declaration pulled another groan from Azriel as he moved to kiss her more deeply. After a few tangles with their tongues she pulled away, bringing her palm to rest on his cheek. “I’ve never felt like that before.”

“Never?” He asked with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

She laughed softly. “No. Never.”

He kissed her again, at first gently, before she was lifting herself to deepen the kiss. To take more of him in. She wasn’t done devouring him, having him. Tension began to find it’s way back into her body, her veins. The satiated bliss she felt just moments ago being replaced with the need for more. One hand remained on the back of Azriel’s neck, gently holding his mouth to hers while her other moved down his body. Over the planes of his broad chest, down to his solid stomach, further down until she could feel course hairs and then her hand found what she had been looking for, had been so curious about. The touch of her hand caused Azriel to hiss.

“Are you okay?” She began to feel embarrassed that her inexperience had somehow hurt him. She and Graysen had had sex yes, but there was no extra touching aside from what was needed. She had been content with what it was, but the orgasm Azriel had already given shattered all illusions of satisfaction she had had with Graysen. She now knew how much she had been missing.

Azriel moved his hips so that his hard length was again touching her hand. “With you I am always okay.”

Her lips turned up in a smile as she kissed him again, capturing his moans with her mouth and she touched his length with her fingers, her hands. Running them up and down him. Marveling at how hard he was, with skin smooth as silk. She wrapped her hand around as much of him as she could and squeezed, pulling another moan out of Azriel. He bucked into her hand once, twice. “Fuck Elain. Fuck.” He moved his mouth to her neck and bit down on the skin between her neck and shoulder, causing her to gasp as the pain and squeeze him harder.

Suddenly he was pulling her hand away from him. “If you keep doing that I’m going to explode.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” She went to move her hand back to him, but he caught her wrist.

“It just depends on what you want.” Azriel didn’t make it a question, not wanting to push her in any direction she didn’t want to go. He wanted to be sure it was completely her decision, her call.

“I want this. I want you.” She had felt that draw towards him, that longing, ever since he first showed up at her father’s estate. Cassian had been the Illyrian who had caused her paused, caused her palms to sweat and her legs to tremble with fear at his presence. But upon seeing Azriel in the doorway she had felt a calm wash over her and had somehow known that if Azriel was with Cassian, then she had nothing to fear.

“Have you ever?”

“Yes. With … yes I have.” She didn’t want to ruin this by speaking Graysen’s name. She didn’t want any thoughts of him in her mind ever, much less in this moment.

Azriel nodded, understanding, before lowering himself, lining himself up with her.

“Stop me if it hurts.” She nodded but he before he moved he looked her in the eyes and repeated himself. “Ask me to stop.”

“You won’t hurt me in any way I don’t want you to.”

He kissed her as he pushed into her, slowly, only a inch but still causing her to gasp. He pulled out slightly before pushing in further. Her gasps mingling with his moans. On the next push her eyes fluttered close, a pain mixing with the pleasure. He moved his left hand to where they were joined, his right staying by her head where is elbow was propped. He moved his thumb between her legs, above where they were joined, he rubbed her until she began moving on him, arching into him, wanting more.

Then he gave her more.

He pulled out nearly all of the way before sheathing himself inside her fully. Pushing her legs wider to accompany his hips. Her hips arching up further to meet his as she let out a loud moan. When he had allowed himself to picture this with Elain he had imagined going slowly. It was an image he had tried to stop himself from thinking but one what often came to him in the time between waking and dreams, when he didn’t have full control of his consciousness. But now that he was inside her, her perfect tightness surrounding him, all rational thoughts were gone and every instinct he had took over. He kept himself from unleashing completely, but only barely.

He squeezed her breast as he moved inside her. She pulled his hair. The sounds coming from her mouth were better than anything he could have imagined. No matter how much he wanted this to last all night he knew he would not last much longer. He raised one of her legs slightly, so that he could push deeper into to her and also be closer to her. He kissed her mouth, her jaw, her neck. Grazing his teeth down to her pulse point, he bit down, claiming her in all the ways he knew how.

The sudden pain of his bite mixing with the wild pleasure she felt every time he reached a spot deeper inside her pushed her over the edge. She clenched around him, bucking wildly to ride out that final explosion of pleasure, moaning her first coherent words.

“Azriel.”

The feeling of her coming around him, the sound of her moaning his name, brought Azriel over his own the edge. He spilled himself inside her, glad for her clenching walls milking him till he was thoroughly spent.

He stayed on top of her after, catching his breath. Hearing her labored breathing in his ear, feeling her breaths gently moving his hair. He gently kissed her cheek, ending their passionate fucking with something so sweet she struggled to catch her breath.

Then he moved, pulling himself out her. She groaned at the absence of him. He got up and walked over to his wash basin. Dipping a cloth into the water before returning to her and gently wiping her between her legs. After he was finished he tossed the cloth back towards the bin. It landed on the floor near by and he didn’t bother picking it up. Instead he turned back towards her, taking her in as she lay bare in his bed, starting at her toes and ending with her eyes, as if committing her to memory. Then he brought his hand to his face, as if wiping at the shadow of hair covering his jaw. Finally he sighed, seeming to reach some internal decision, and picked up her nightgown from the floor and holding it out to her.

She frowned as she took it from him, hoping that he would lie down next to her instead.

But he caught her disappointment, as he seemed to catch all of the emotions written on her face.

“I don’t want you to leave. Never that. But if Nesta wake and you aren’t there, there would be hell to pay.”

She smiled at that truth. “Do you think I can get in without waking her?”

“I will put you in your bed with my shadows. She will never know.”

Elain pulled on her nightgown and picked up the blanket she had wrapped herself in to come to his tent before turning to face him.

For a moment they both looked at each other. Trying to read each other.

Finally Azriel broke the silence.

“Was that like your vision?”

She blushed. “Yes. Well. It was similar but we weren’t in this tent, we were somewhere else and I didn’t see us do everything.”

He offered one of his rare smiles. “Good. So we don’t have to be worried this was the last time.”

“No.” She agreed, returning his smile. “We certainly don’t need to worry about that.”

[shinranposting]

Okay I'll number then one by one. Many are mostly For Want Of A Nail since the only reasons they were prevented is sheer luck. If you can make any interesting scenarios from these that'd be a plus.

1. The Lawyer SOS case is still a sore spot for me in reasons I'd be happy to divulge at any time but right now, let's assume the Mouri's get there two late what would be the aftermath like for both Ran and Shinichi?

2. Given that the Tranq is so powerful, if Conan got him hooked on harder drugs or accidentally made him OD, what comes next?

3. Considering how many times Sonoko or the Detective Boys nearly die, what would Shinichi and Ran's response be if they do?

4. Let's say that there definitely is no hope for a antidote and Shinichi has to age normally. Do you think he'll reach a breaking and make increasingly risky self destructive decisions? Or do you think he'll bite the bullet and tell Ran the truth? If the latter how will there relationship go from there?

Hi!

Well, these are questions that would involve relatively long answers. I hope I can condense a bit, as well as have understood your questions well.

1- Let me understand, you mean Eri's kidnapping case, right? What would have happened if Kogoro, Ran and Conan arrived later to rescue Eri? Well, there might be implications for Eri's safety (although maybe not, since she only gets caught because she comes out of hiding to yell out the window at them), but for Ran and Shinichi? I can't see different consequences than what we already saw in the manga. Ran suspects throughout the case, due to Conan's behavior, that he and Shinichi are the same person, but he manages to throw her off because he recorded himself in Shinichi's voice (I have a theory about that, but I think the answer would be too long, in another opportunity I will expand).

So if they had come to rescue Eri at any time, regardless of the consequences for Eri, this scene, I think, would happen the same way. The only scenario where I think it would change anything is if the danger Eri faces was due to the BO, but that's not the case, so I don't see any different consequences for Shinichi and Ran, since that scene would have happened in the same way. I hope I have understood your question well.

2- I think there is a meme or fanart about it. In that Conan throws so many tranquilizer darts at Kogoro that he die due overdoses lol. But considering the tone of the series, these types of scenarios are ignored and I doubt something like that would happen in canon. Besides , considering how careful Shinichi is about many things, it is very unlikely that he would mess up and use stronger drugs. In any case, putting ourselves in the event that it happens, I suppose that it could have consequences on the health of the person against whom he uses the tranquilizer, which would lead Conan to be more careful, or to stop using it altogether in the event that the consequences were more serious. And if the result were death, it would be a catastrophic and paradoxical result for someone like Shinichi, who abhors all kinds of murder, which would lead him to confess his identity and all the truth about him. Keeping quiet about this would be totally ooc for him.

3- More than the reaction to the death of specific characters, it would be more about delving into the differences in the reactions that Ran and Shinichi would have regarding the death of a friend or close person. Ran is very emotional and Shinichi is more self-controlled (even Gosho claims that he never cries, which I don't like at all). In the case of the Detective Boys, who have somehow become "friends" of Conan, we get a glimpse of their reaction to this scenario in file 817 (manga), when he believed that the boys had been trapped in a fire in the forest.

He gets nervous, yells at them, and tries to go there to rescue them. Probably before a death, he would be affected for a while, and then he would remember them with a certain sadness, feeling guilty for not being able to save them. In the case of Ran with Sonoko, just like Shinichi, if she was within her reach, she would try to save her, and if she couldn't, she would cry bitterly for her friend, and she would probably continue crying and suffering in silence while trying to show herself calm/normal in public as she wouldn't want others to worry.

4- Okay, this question could be answered in a separate post, since it is one of the most recurring themes in manga, and it could perfectly be developed at length. Of course, anything that would happen in this scenario is pure speculation, since we don't really know what Conan would do, and what Ran's reaction would be, but based on file 387 (manga), in "The Sullied Masked Hero" case, Conan feels identified with the phrase with the masked fighter: "My identity will only be revealed when I lose".

And since not being able to get his body back could be considered a defeat for Shinichi, and considering how much he would hate to make Ran suffer and wait forever, I think Shinichi would tell her the truth so that, sadly for him, she stop waiting for him. You have to remember that Shinichi keeps asking Ran to wait for him, it's because he still thinks he can beat the BO and get his body back, and if he already believed it's impossible, I can't imagine Shinichi being so selfish as to leave her in the darkness and waiting for him, or to ask her to forget him without any explanation. On the other hand, self-destructive decisions I don't think so, since that, in one way or another, would mean the search for a way out of his situation through suicide, and that would be totally ooc for him.

Now, regarding Ran's reaction, I think that for a while now, Ran's attitude suggests that she would no longer want Conan and Shinichi to be the same person, since it would hurt her that he didn't trust her, lied to her and hid things. Ran is a very morally upright person, who doen't like lies, so in any other situation other than BO's, it would really be difficult for her to forget it since it would imply perceiving him in another way (morally speaking), but considering that Ran is wonderful, she would understand the dangerous situation Shinichi is in, and despite having some resentment, she would help him and cover up. Regarding their romantic relationship, it seems uncertain to me, considering that the situation of being with a child would be a bit strange, so they could put their relationship on hold for a while. I think it would be like her to wait for Shinichi to find a solution or that he grow up, while helping him to overcome her complicated situation.

I hope I have been able to understand your questions and answer your questions well, and if you wanted to delve into any point, just mention it.

[icequeenbae]

Daddy’s Struggles (m) | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Dad!Baek, domestic au, established relationship (duh), a slice of life, fluff, a lil smutty(!)

Warnings: some friskiness between mom and dad if you know what I mean, mentions of teenagers watching porn (I’m not promoting it, you guys lol), also this gets fluffin’ sweet get a bucket in advance

Word Count: ~2.2k

Summary: Baekhyun overhears your teenage daughter watching porn. You have to handle a small crisis.

Event: the BBH day @supermwritersnet​

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Author’s Note: This… came out of nowhere:D I blame my dear beta @baekshoney​​ – we'd once discussed the idea of Baek being a teenager’s parent (in relation to a different story). Don’t we all love dilf Baek though? lol Anyways, this is a tiny glimpse into his future as a cute af father and husband <3 Let’s name him puppydad!Baek 😊 I hope this lifts your mood a little on a day like this!

On that note – happy birthday to our genius idol (aka mochi-cheeked hyperactive puppy), I wish that he stays healthy and happy and on the radar throughout the next 2 years (and forever)!! Don’t be too sad, guys, he’s hopefully going to finally lead a somewhat normal life for a bit 💞 Ok, I’ll let you get to it already~

A yawn.

You rubbed your tired eyes and dictated a reminder for tomorrow morning to your AI assistant. It was pretty late and you had your hands full all day with your kids. And while family time was always great, there hadn’t been a spare moment for you to tend to your own business. But two decades of dealing with your hyperactive yet loveable children (and husband) taught you to make the most out of what you got. So you were doing just that, organizing your errands and sorting important emails after everyone had scurried off to their rooms, and your husband — to the shower.

Baekhyun was quite exhausted himself, so you realized he must’ve gotten in the common bathroom by the time you exited the one in your bedroom. He did that sometimes when you locked the door out of habit. Not that he couldn’t come in, it was just… You used to scold him pretty badly for breaking into the bathroom. Picking locks wasn’t something you wanted your juniors to acquire as a habit. They had enough of their daddy’s traits as it was.

The thought made you chuckle. Your eldest son had already outgrown his father by at least five and a half – gotta be precise here! – centimeters (which made daddy very proud, but also a teeny tiny bit jealous). Despite his height, which, you were sure, was going to break the golden 180cm in the next few months, your boy’s build was exactly the same as Baekhyun’s. His shoulders were broad, his hips wide, and his waist was naturally narrow. Legs long and lean, and eyes always mischievous. He was eighteen and already seemed more like Baekhyun’s best friend rather than his child. Being both the hyung and the oppa of the household, he was the most mature out of the bunch, and always a big help to his parents.

Your middle child, your precious daughter, resembled you a lot. Her wavy hair and her big eyes with the longest eyelashes either of you’d ever witnessed. Seriously, that was the first thing Baekhyun’s friends had commented on when they came by to meet your new baby. ‘Is this even normal? Can she see through those? That’s one pretty baby!’ She was even prettier now, at her sweet sixteen, cheeks still a bit chubby, which – just as her button nose – were definitely an homage to her dad. Not to mention her hands that were even more delicate and exquisite than his.

The youngest, your six-year-old son, was a blessing. You weren’t planning to have more children after the first two until you suddenly thought… why not? Cannot say that you weren’t a little bit under the influence at the time. It was one of those rare weekends when your kids had a sleepover at their grandparents’, so you had the whole house to yourself. Deciding to have a domestic date and enjoy shameless daytime drinking, you indulged in a whole glass of wine before both of you were tipsy and giggling, then you added one more to the mix. At that point, all kinds of crazy things were brought up.

‘We should do this more often…’ You informed your partner. ‘This is exciting! We can walk around naked the way we used to before we had teenagers in the house!’

‘I miss our naked Saturdays…’ Baekhyun whined, almost spilling his wine while trying to sip it gracefully. ‘Now I barely even see you naked with your shower locking obsession!’

Pursing your lips, you dismissed his complaint.

‘After that incident… You cannot blame me for my caution.’

The incident was, well, your son needing to use the bathroom while his sister was taking too long and heading to the one in your bedroom. He nearly walked in on… an adult scene.

‘He didn’t even see anything, Y/N-ah,’ your husband grumbled, but you waved him off, downing your drink as if it was a shot of tequila rather than a glass of wine.

‘I don’t see a problem though,’ he blinked at you, not following. ‘We’re alone. Why not… See each other naked again?’

‘Right. We can also- Y/N-ah!’

‘What?’ You eyed his suddenly enthusiastic form with nothing but suspicion.

‘We can create a distraction!’

‘Hm?’

‘A distraction for them. So that they’d be busy with something else while we’re away.’

‘Hmm?’ You still couldn’t locate the source of his excitement.

‘Lemme show you,’ he slurred, tugging on your wrist to get you up and dragging you to the bedroom.

Let’s have another baby – that was his brilliant idea. Had you both not been such poor drinkers, one of you would’ve thought this through.

Nevertheless, you were glad that you didn’t. Because your little angel, who could sometimes be more of a tiny demon, to be frank, was the single sweetest thing to ever exist on planet Earth. He had his entire family wrapped around his little finger, and you – most of all. How could anyone blame you? That troublemaker was the spitting image of his dad and had a personality to match — just as playful and affectionate.

The chill spring breeze from the window licked at the bare skin of your arm, causing you to shiver slightly, coming back from the land of reminiscing. You stretched on the bed, noticing how protruding your nipples became from the cold even while hidden by the gentle fabric of your nightgown. Pulling the covers up, you grunted under your breath, wondering what was taking Baekhyun so long.

Just as you did, the door cracked open, and your husband sauntered into the room.

‘Ah finally, I thought I needed to go rescue you again,’ you chuckled.

That had happened before. He once used the common bathroom to shower before bed and ended up captured by your daughter, who was around six or seven at the time, in the hallway. She then demanded cuddles, knowing that her father was too weak to turn his precious girl down and send her back to bed. You found them both huddled up asleep on the couch, with your husband’s head tilted dangerously to the side. Terrible sleeping postures always had consequences, so you spared him the agony of the next morning, waking him up mercifully and helping to get your little girl to her bed. This was only one of many occasions – Baekhyun was a softie.

This time, however, he was a bit stupefied.

He didn’t react to your remark and seemed like he was going on autopilot when he came closer and sat on the bed.

You lifted the covers, inviting him to join you, and he followed your lead, still staring at the wall across the room.

‘Yeobo,’ you called, getting slightly alarmed. ‘Are you okay?’

He blinked, the stupor breaking, and looked at you with astounded eyes.

‘I- I think,’ he began, making you shift to face him properly. ‘I think I just overheard our daughter watching porn!’

His voice lowered to a whisper by the end of that sentence.

‘Oh my god,’ you whispered back. ‘How do you figure?’

‘I was walking down the hallway, and I thought I heard something from her room. I didn’t fully register what it was, but now that it processed… It was definitely porn!’

The signs of distress on his face almost caused you to break down in a fit of laughter. You held it in with all you got. Fathers and daughters, the eternal struggle.

‘First of all, ew. Aren’t you even a little bit ashamed to be eavesdropping on your kids like that?’ You didn’t let him protest. ‘Also, how do you even know it was porn, you know she sometimes mumbles and whimpers in her sleep. Like someone else we know…’

Giving him a pointed look, you leaned over his chest to turn the lights to the lowest mode, leaving the room dimly lit. It was always effective when you wanted to help him relax.

‘I wasn’t ea- And you think I can’t tell what porn sounds like? There are some generic… sounds. That give it away.’

‘When was the last time you watched it?’ You murmured, eyeing him curiously.

Of all people, you knew best how short his attention span was. Sometimes it could work to your advantage. Like right now, when you needed to de-escalate this before you could reason with him.

‘I- wh- I don’t know, probably when you were pregnant,’ he recalled. ‘The third one was somehow the toughest on me. You looked way too attractive for a heavily pregnant lady, let me tell you.’

‘Heavily pregnant??’ You scoffed, softening right after. ‘Well, you have a point, he was pretty huge. I swear, if he doesn’t grow up to be taller than Chanyeol, I’d be offended. That boy’s giant head prolonged my healing by at least a month.’

Baekhyun sighed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking back to that time.

‘He was the only one who caused you to tear, right?’

‘Yeah. Which is weird, considering that he was my third one. Ah well, I guess I’m not getting any younger…’

‘Aren’t you though? I’m constantly being asked about my pretty young wife,’ Baekhyun smiled at you charmingly. ‘And you only became prettier after the third pregnancy. I say it’s the hormones.’

Your cunning little plan was working. He was incredibly easy to distract.

‘Tell me the truth, was it the boobs? Or my butt? I did gain the most weight with the little daredevil, that’s for sure.’

‘It was all of you. You always looked so sexy when pregnant, I just wanted to have you all to myself,’ he cooed at you. ‘To feed you handpicked strawberries. And smother you with kisses. My beautiful young wife.’

At some point during this conversation, you shuffled closer to each other, now cuddled up snugly on the bed. Your finger slowly traced abstract patterns on his chest, happily exploiting the access to his skin where his pajama shirt was unbuttoned.

‘Ah, you’re just saying that to get under my nightgown,’ you batted your eyelashes at him, and he shook his head.

‘Maybe a little, but that’s true. And it’s not surprising that people are noticing – you are younger than me.’

‘A couple of years is nothing at our age,’ you murmured, bending your knee and moving your leg slightly up his to get cozy.

‘Well, you know what people say… Small kids make parents younger. Wanna have another one?’ He nudged you gently and laughed at the dirty look you gave him.

‘Yeobo- please don’t make jokes like this. I’d rather look for other elixirs of youth than go through that entire ordeal again.’

You knew that he was kidding, but the thought made you shiver.

‘I know, honey, I know. Like I said, you’re not in need of any elixirs.’

At this you relaxed, melting into his shoulder, and guiding his arm to wrap around you, warming your exposed shoulders.

‘Well, Mr Byun, same to you. Still as charming as two decades ago.’

‘Hey, I’d like to think that I’m more charming now. The experience and all.’

‘Who helped you gain all that experience though?’ You poked him lightly, and a low chesty laugh escaped his lips.

‘Of course, it was my one and only, my young, and beautiful, and smart and sexy little wife,’ he punctuated each compliment with a chaste kiss to your cheeks, nose, lips, and neck.

You squirmed in his arms.

‘Ah, you make a woman go mad,’ you purred into his lips mockingly.

He snickered softly, ready to lean in, but then stopped abruptly.

‘Wait a second- What about-’

‘Baekhyun…’ You murmured as he fussed on the bed.

‘I should probably go in there, and-’

‘And what? Embarrass your daughter?’ You held him down. ‘She’s sixteen, honey, it’s just the hormones. We’ve both been there. Let her be.’ You nuzzled his neck, pressing your lips to his sensitive skin lazily.

His mind was growing cloudy again since your hand was now caressing his inner thigh foxily. He’d probably realized what you were doing by now, but you were right, so he allowed you to sway him into giving the idea of an immediate intervention up.

‘Besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t be nearly as appalled if that was our eldest,’ you scoffed and added in an exaggerated tone. ‘Never took you for a sexist.’

‘But- he’s eighteen, and she- she’s my little girl…’ He mumbled in a small voice, hazed further by your not-so-subtle seduction. ‘I can’t let her- watch that-’

‘Don’t worry, yeobo,’ you whispered soothingly in his ear, slipping your hand into his loose pants. ‘I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Without you. No need to traumatize the poor girl, that’s how daddy issues develop.’

‘You should know,’ he bit back meekly, sighing when you finally wrapped your fingers around his semi-hard length.

‘The sass! It’s almost like you still got it, Mr Byun. Care to impress that young wife of yours?’

‘I sure will, you cunning woman,’ he growled playfully, completely giving in to it and attacking your laughing mouth as he lifted the covers over your head.

A/N: Thank you for reading! As usual, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments/ asks, and if you’re new – check out my Masterlist ^^

[seyaryminamoto]

As someone, who's favourite character is Zuko, let me just say that your analysis about the Southern Raiders is spot on. Something about that episode (especially the way Zuko acted) always felt a little... off to me. And I could never figure out what it was exactly and considering the fact that discussion about this episode centered around the Kataang vs Zutara, I thought I was the only one who felt that way. So, I guess thanks for putting my thoughts into words.

Oh, I really feel ya, anon. If you actually don't look at the episode from a shipping point of view, which seems to be the focus of most the fandom, a lot of unpleasant things really start sticking out. I'm personally neutral to the Kataang vs. Zutara debate, I see good points and drawbacks to both ships, and no one's going to convince me that this episode proved the superiority of either pairing, especially when the shipping interpretations have never been important to me when analyzing this episode. People can say Aang is right in the end, they can say Zuko understands Katara's plight better (which, considering Aang has lost even more people he loved than Zuko has, he certainly should have understood Katara's suffering quite well too), but focusing on whether Zuko or Aang are the angel or the devil on Katara's shoulders practically blinds everyone to the very glaring and mindboggling flaws in this episode's writing, imo.

In general, the concept of Zuko's life-changing field trips with the three Gaang members he'd wronged the most is fine and fun for most people, but from the first time I watched the show it felt like the production team knew they were pressed for time and needed some veeeery quick and effective solution for Zuko to gain acceptance in the Gaang ASAP despite all the bad blood there. I can imagine a lot of people love these episodes, but admittedly I wouldn't rank any of them among my favorites because, as interesting as some of their concepts could be, if executed right, my immersion certainly wasn't as strong as with the rest of the show due to the nagging feeling that this was all for the sake of redeeming Zuko in the eyes of each Gaang member... and not necessarily in the eyes of the audience.

They get away with it, of course, because by this point in time, the audience is 100% conditioned to love the Gaang and Zuko, and if you see them getting along, you should be rejoicing in their team-up... but if you put some emotional distance between yourself as a viewer and the events of these episodes, their writing leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the concept of giving Zuko a quick whitewashing in the eyes of Aang, Sokka and Katara, one after the other, so they can genuinely accept him as a teammate and friend. If we'd seen similar trips frequently or occasionally in the rest of the show, with two specific members of the team taking off on an adventure by themselves, it might not be so glaringly obvious (and even... artificial? I guess?) that they're trying to quick-redeem him for each of them here, but on top of it happening thrice, it's literally happening one after the other, too. There's no episodes in-between, it's just literally a four-parter arc of "let's help Zuko become friends with these three".

The plotlines to be dealt with in these episodes are basically catered to each Gaang member, tailor-made life-changing field trips based on whatever they'll value the most, all of it conveniently possible and doable in the span of time they have between Zuko's joining of their group and the show's finale. Aang needs to learn firebending, Sokka needs to save his dad, Katara is permanently grieving for her mother's death. And so, Zuko to the rescue! If he helps them with their personal character quests, he gets 50+ approval points! :'D Honestly, I'm absolutely not against the notion of Zuko befriending them, obviously not, but the methods through which they chose to make it happen simply might not be the finest...?

Zuko loses his ability to bend because he "lost his rage", but he's still angry pretty often, the show even spoofs its own writing by showing him losing his patience at Sokka... while at the same time trying to sell that Zuko "isn't angry" anymore? Zuko helps break out random prisoners from the Boiling Rock without taking a single moment to actually learn who they are, why they were locked up, and without pondering if they deserve to be helped or if perhaps they're genuinely dangerous? Zuko gives Katara every possible tool and information she needs to take revenge on Yon Rha, because, loosely quoting his own words, he "cares what she thinks of him"...?

How about if we'd seen Zuko trying to connect with Fire Nation people, to help his fellow Fire Nation citizens, especially the ones who were living in dreadful conditions, like the ones in the Jang Hui river village? How about if we'd seen Zuko saving lives rather than threatening to take them? How about if we'd seen Zuko actually reasoning with his anger, and either working his way out of it, or repurposing it consciously, or making legitimate, personal efforts to find a new source of strength for his firebending through self-reflection, above all else?

We didn't really need sudden one-on-one field trips to teach Aang, Katara and Sokka to trust Zuko: we needed Zuko to prove himself worthy of that trust, to show how much he has changed, to literally contrast his new behavior with the old, to actually see that the guy no longer jumps into violence-mode 24/7, that he's willing to listen to other people's opinions or wisdom, that he wants to learn better when he knows he's misguided or misunderstanding something or another. Would he have become BFFs with any of them in four episodes if this had happened? Well, it definitely would have happened with Aang, the other two would have been trickier, but they definitely would have been more willing to accept him if they actually got to SEE that the changes in Zuko weren't skin-deep. Katara can be as thick-headed and stubborn as she may want to be, but I have no doubts she wouldn't have been able to hate Zuko as much as she used to if she'd seen him helping people, much like she often wants their group to do. But instead, they don't get to see the actual changes and growth... they just get their biggest goals and wishes satisfied, and that's enough to decide Zuko's trustworthy, no matter whatever sketchy behavior he displays in later episodes.

I absolutely appreciate the worldbuilding context we gain for the raids on the Water Tribe through The Southern Raiders, but I don't think this was an organic way to tell the story of how Zuko became friends with the Gaang. If pressed, I'd even say that Zuko's overt desperation to be their friend is OOC, to a degree: if this guy actually knows how dangerous his father's plans are (and he's supposed to :'D), how isn't he focusing on that side of things, when he's always been such a go-getter? It's not like he grew out of this sort of ends-justify-the-means behavior, seeing as he's absolutely obsessed with stopping his father ASAP, by any means possible, in the finale, when there was no such urgency to be found ever since he joined the Gaang. How isn't he more worried about stopping Ozai than about becoming best friends with the Gaang? Immediately sharing everything he's learned about Ozai's intentions of destroying the whole world might not make them friends instantaneously, but it would certainly get someone like Sokka to take his information seriously and immediately begin strategizing how to counter Ozai's plans. Instead, Zuko spent all those weeks, over a month, even, teaching Aang firebending, going on field trips and hanging out with his new friends in Ember Island. Once you have all the cards on deck and you actually look at all of them at once, doesn't it feel like there were so many more ways to achieve what the show was going for, far more effective ways than through the "let's be friends with Zuko" arc?

Ultimately, there's very little display of growth, in my opinion, in this small arc, on Zuko's side, despite the most obvious and reasonable way to earn the trust of the Gaang would be by outright showing them how much he's grown. I won't deny I appreciate that the writers respected his personality and didn't just warp him into the perfect good softboi the way the fandom apparently interprets him, but even if Zuko was going to be cranky and speak one-liners like "I'm never happy", it wasn't impossible to write better situations for him to connect with the Gaang's members and gain their trust. Even if the writers were set on having these episodes happen exactly as they did, they absolutely could have been written in a much better way, to create an explicit and direct contrast between Zuko's early behavior and the new Zuko's behavior when it comes to things that matter (most the parallels I've seen the fandom drawing are things like "oh look he hated tea before but now he brews it for his friends! So much growth!"... would've been nice to see the growth when it came to a lot of other things, too, if the growth really was there? Am I rite...?).

I may just be influenced by other redemption arcs that focus mainly on characters having common goals and working together to achieve them, then becoming friends in the process... but I really don't see how Zuko's character benefited from these episodes. Yes, bridges were built... but they absolutely could have been built in a more organic way that didn't make people like myself (and a few others) question if Zuko had learned or grown at all, considering the way he behaves isn't all that distant from the Zuko we've seen and known throughout the rest of the show. And the fact that he really seems to have learned nothing in The Southern Raiders once you reach the show's finale... you're basically asked to take for granted Zuko did learn a lot of lessons because he says he did, to assume he's going to put them into practice sometime in the future despite he has chances to do it during the show itself but never does, simply because they drop the ball upon every opportunity to show how much he's changed.

I really don't blame his character at all, when it comes to these shortcomings... it's seriously, genuinely, a problem with the writing department. Take a look through the fandom and you'll see thousands of people who claim Zuko's character arc is the most touching, complex and beautiful writing they ever have seen... and why? Because we're in the face of tell-don't-show :'D most people's perception of Zuko's character are based not so much on HOW Zuko displays his growth, it's strongly based on him stating he made progress, even if there's too many instances where the growth simply seems to have fallen to the wayside or gone forgotten for the sake of a plotline or another. Zuko absolutely could have been written far better than this, he could absolutely have the redemption arc his fans are sure he does have, but for me... there's way too many gaps in logic, too many missed opportunities, to truly think his growth was as extraordinary as a lot of people are hung up on saying it was.

[cynettic]

Hii,I’d like to request a fanfic about kaeya and venti(seperate) comforting a gn!reader after losing their pet

Summary - Venti and Kaeya comfort you after the loss of your pet.

Pairings - Reader x Venti / Kaeya

Warnings - Pet angst

Penpal - Sorry for getting to you late! If you did by chance lose a pet like that I’m so sorry to hear that- I tried to make it extra comforting for that case. If not and I’m just overthinking it- I hope you enjoy it either way :)

A/N - Ahhhh- I havent posted in so long ;-; sorry sorry, been stuck with 40-50 hours of work this entire week, and when I get home I just grind Inazuma. I havent even caught up to the archon quest, just exploring lol

Comfort after Losing a Pet

Venti

Venti has lived for a very long time, and even with his cheerful chatter and harmless jokes, he’s gained a strong sense of wisdom from these years. He has no doubt attached himself to people throughout these years and lost them, but instead of feeling sad for them, I feel like Venti would keep them close to his heart instead.

He’d urge you to do the same.

Things like these take time, taking in the death of someone important to you is not easy, he understands that.

Venti can be incredibly patient, even though it might be hard for him to put himself exactly in your shoes, he will wait alongside you.

Unless it’s a cat.

He’s allergic to those little fuckers- and even if he doesn’t share a particular hatred towards them…

Jk jk he’ll comfort you and mourn your pet with you either way, he just wants to see you smile again.

What Venti could best give you is words and time, he doesn’t really have much archon duties so he’ll spend the day doing things with you. He’ll even skip a few nights at the bar just to cuddle with you and make you feel safe and like you have someone to rely on.

As for words, we all know Venti is a smooth talker- who’s to say he isn’t good at soothing someone either?

He probably won’t be as touchy as Kaeya will, and will rely on the things he can do to cheer you up. Playing his lyre, telling you jokes, and just being by you.

_-_-_-_

"People and animals come and go, I know for sure that -pet name- loved you dearly Y/n. And even if they can’t be here with you," Venti pressed a loving kiss to your chest right where your heart was. "They’ll always be right here with you.”

_-_-_-_

“They’re gone.”

You slowly sank to your knees, lips pressed firmly shut as you tried to blink away the tears. Shock coursed your body as you tried to understand just what had happened. But every time you thought about it, your heart thud a bit too loudly against your chest, and suddenly you wanted to cry all over again.

Venti, who was right beside you didn’t know what to do. His hands were outstretched to bring you into his arms, but he was unsure of whether it was the contact you need at the moment.

He decided to simply rest his hand on your back.

The two of you had just been on your way back home after having to put your pet down, something you’d been trying to delay, but knew you had to with their age and actions. Venti had stood with you through it all, but you hadn’t shed a tear back then.

But the shock gradually faded away, and you were a sobbing mess.

Venti rubbed his hand on your back, whispering soft promises and loving words into your ear. It hurt him to see you like this, and even if he was close and had known your pet well, it didnt affect him nearly as much as it did you. However, when you continued to sit crouched on the floor, he knew he needed to take action.

Slowly, he lifted you to your feet, opening the door to your home and slowly helping you inside. Tears continued to trickle down your face as he walked you over to your bedroom, a firm grip on your arm so you wouldnt fall. His thumb gently brushed the skin of your arm, a contact that reminded you he was there.

He gently sat you on the bed, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Y/n,” he began gingerly, already taking off your boots and unnecessary accessories. “Take a deep breath in.”

You did just that, but another sob broke past your lips and suddenly you were wiping them away.

“No no,” he took your hands in his, your wrists encased in his gentle grip. “I’m not asking you to stop crying… I just want you to clear your head a little.” His gaze was soft as he looked up at you from his crouched position. “Being sad over this is completely normal, I’ll be with you through it all.”

He slowly brought your fingertips to his lips, pressing a featherlike kiss to each of them. So soft that by the time he’d finished, you’d stopped crying. His touch made you feel warm, a bright reminder that he was here with you, that you wouldnt be alone during this.

“(Pet Name) loved you Y/n. I want you to know that they were happy till the end, happy with you. I know you need to grieve, but don’t ever think that you’ll have to do it alone.”

Kaeya

Kaeya may not as lived as much as Venti, but he has certainly gone through enough to understand handling a loss. He’s lost a great amount of family, and has lost his relationship with his brother. He probably hasnt had a pet before, but knows the importance they hold.

He probably got to know your pet too, formed memories and came to love them as well.

It wont hit him as hard though .

Kaeya will also be patient with you, theres no rush to heal over what happened or finish your grievances. Expect him to be there with you for the majority of the time, he might ask for a couple of days just to stay with you.

But Kaeya still needs to work, hence time not being one of the main providers he can give you. Instead, he would wrap you in his arms and wouldnt let go. Physical contact and giving are what he’s gonna be doing.

You feel hungry for eggs and bacon? Chef Kaeya to the rescue-

Tbh I dont even know if he can cook.

Like Venti, he will remind you constantly that he’s there. Because he knows that its exactly what he needed back when Crepus died. He’ll remind you through his words, actions, and contact.

24/7 Cuddle buddy.

He most definitely calls you nicknames all the time, but the names before the death of your pet might have been more like, babe, doll, honey. He might’ve switched to love, dear, dearest, stuff like that for a little.

Idk- but ‘Your pet loved you doll,’ doesnt sound as nice as, ‘Your pet loved you dear.

_-_-_-_

“We made so many memories with them,” he whispered into your ear, arms around you. “You were always there with them, loved and took care of them, I know they loved and appreciated you for it.”

_-_-_-_

“I’m fine Kaeya,” you mumbled as he held the cup of tea to your lips. Your hands could easily grasp the sides, but for some odd reasons he insisted on being the one to do everything for you. You knew it was partly because he’d have to start going back to work soon, and he just wanted you to feel comfortable.

“I know,” he simply said, a smile playing at his lips. “But I want to spoil you with love, just take it.”

You felt your throat go dry and your chest thud painfully, something you’d gotten used to since yesterday. The loss of your pet struck hard, but you found it all the more bearable with Kaeya, who stood alongside you through it all.

Finishing the tea, he climbed into bed with you, hand coming to pull you close to his chest. His fingers slowly brushed the skin of your back, soothing patterns that would send you to sleep right away. But instead, you nuzzled your head deeper into his chest.

“I miss them,” you spoke softly.

Kaeya didnt stop with the motions on your back, but instead drifted his other hand to the back of your head. He brushed his fingers through your locks, lowering how own head down to press a kiss to your forehead.

“I know you do,” was what he said in a whisper. “Theres nothing wrong with it either, you will miss them for an eternity.” He spoke from experience, but was never harsh with his words as if he expected you to know. “But eventually, you will solely remember those good memories with (Pet name). Those are the only ones that matter, because you made them happy, and they made you happy.”

The deep breath you took in was painful.

But he was right, you knew well that their memories and your yearning for them would turn into a past adoration. You would never forget them, but you’d come to accept their loss and always remember them in a happy light.

“Thank you,” you mumbled softly to the boy, wrapping your hands around his waist. “You always know what to say and do… thank your for being here for me.”

“I will always be here for you,” was his answer.