#she doesn't have to concern herself with him because he was dead the moment he chose the path of world destruction

[wereh0gz]

It's oc posting time

Rue has vivid revenge fantasies. Extremely violent ones about the many ways they'd kill Nox if they ever got their paws on him. Crushing his exoskeleton under their bare paws, tearing him apart limb for limb, ripping his guts out and eating his heart while he's still alive- you name it, they've probably thought about it

These thoughts *terrify* her. It proves what Nox has always told her right, that she is a hopeless, violent, uncontrollable *monster*. That the reason she became a beast in the first place is because she is truly evil at heart, just like him

(In actuality, it's just a symptom of their PTSD, but going to therapy and actually unpacking all of that isn't an option to them. They'd rather die than actually talk abt their struggles)

So the thoughts fester in her mind for years. She thinks about it daily. It becomes like an obsession. An impulse. A need. And she begins to think that the only way to free herself from that torment is to do it. To kill him. Even if it proves Nox right

Even if it proves *her* right

So they hunt him down, trying to kill him every time they encounter each other. And every time, Nox gets away, and he taunts them. And the thoughts, the want, the *hunger* for vengeance grows stronger

The cycle continues. The thoughts never cease. She never finds peace

(At least, she *thinks* she will never find peace, but she does. Eventually. After Nox dies from his own hubris lol)

[venxomi]

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun Chapter 122 Analysis - Humanization, Determination & Growth

This chapter may have been short, but it is a very important and well written, character-focused chapter that is integral for setting up future content.

It begins where we left off in 121. Nene finally reaches the school in desperation, with the expectations that her friends would be right behind her. But that doesn't happen. Nene realizes, just as we have, that she is now by herself.

This is the first time Nene is truly by herself. Up until now, she always had someone to rely on and support her, whether it was Hanako, Kou, Akane or Teru. But not anymore. Realizing she's all alone, she still calls for Hanako in her mind, the one who would provide her safety and comfort. But he isn't there. No one is. They're dead. As a result, she feels despaired and powerless.

When she meets Tsuchigomori, multiple contrasts and similarities occur, both paralleling Amane/Hanako. Specifically, parallels with Amane in chapter 14, and parallels with Hanako in chapter 111.

The one who lost hope, and the one who regained it

Her traumatic experiences caught up to her, and she can't speak up on them, a completely normal and valid reaction. Though Tsuchigomori of the original timeline offered her to talk to him when she needs to, Tsuchigomori of the new timeline doesn't know her.

Both the original timeline's 1969 Amane and Nene are isolated and despaired, without anyone to confide in or support them. They're put in the same position. However, this is where the differences start.

Tsuchigomori knows everything about Amane, as he is his homeroom teacher and has also read his book. However, he had only pretended to show concern and not a single word of comfort. He only tried to pry into his problems, which didn't have any results. This being likely the last conversation he had with Amane before he ended his own life, which filled Tsuchigomori with regrets over not being able to help him. He did not know how to comfort others, only to show worry.

New timeline Tsuchigomori is different. He doesn't know Nene at all, tried asking her once, but once she saw that she cannot speak up about her experiences, he did not attempt to pry, but provided comfort instead.

This is later revealed to be Amane's influence on Tsuchigomori. When Nene asked him for a morale boost, he performed what Amane had done to cheer up his own students. Comfort is brought through small actions, whether it's through listening, brewing hot chocolate or making them smile with a couple of tricks. It's about being there for them. In a way, Amane succeeded in being a comfort for Nene, even if he wasn't physically there for her.

Would have a few words of comfort changed Amane's path? Who knows. But Amane and Nene are quite the opposite. Amane is someone who is very quick to accept reality and adapt to it, no matter how bleak it is. It's why he thought that, after the Severance, Nene would eventually forget about everything and live her life. He thought that, like him, she would accept reality and move on.

But Nene is not like that. She doesn't want to settle for happiness built on other people's suffering and sacrifices... Because that isn't true happiness. That is not the kind of world she wants to live in. It's one of the things Hanako loves about her, because she's different from him, able to take paths he could've never taken.

So, while Amane made up his mind to "not go anywhere" and gave up on trying, taking his own life, Nene gathered her strength to save everyone from this bleak, miserable present. It's something only Nene is capable of because of her formidable inner strength. The strength to go through the bleakest of moments, to stand up against great difficulties and to retain her kind, selfless self. She is a special, irreplaceable character. She knows her road will be lonesome and incredibly tough, but she gathered the courage and determination to tread it anyway.

Dissociation, Acceptance and Humanization

After her horrible experiences in the Red House, Nene found it hard to admit the Hanako she knows and loves is the same person of the Yugi Amane who murdered all of her friends and several other innocent people. Even if Hanako also did bad things, they were always backed up by his intense love and dedication to Nene. The Hanako she knows may not be innocent, but his love and kindness were always genuine.

This holds true the same to Hanako in chapter 111. He found it hard to believe that Tsukasa, the brother he loved so much, would be capable of such horrifying actions. It's easier to convince yourself into thinking that they're separate entities, that it's just a horrible being masquerading as the person you love.

But Nene soon learns that separating the Hanako she knows from the new timeline iteration of Amane isn't the answer. Because, no matter what one might think, they are still the same person.

Yugi Amane, before his death, was the same caring, understanding and kind person she knew Hanako she loved to be. Learning magic tricks just to make his students smile, letting them freely hang out in the science prep room and listening to them when they have something to take off their heart while offering them a seat and a cup of coffee. He was human.

She knows that Hanako needs to be saved. Yugi Amane needs to be saved from being caught in the Red House's clutches and stripped of all of his love and kindness, leaving him to be nothing but a curse that only exists to kill for "It". This is also visible in the cover page- Yugi Amane isn't represented by the red camellias Hanako is represented by, symbols of his passionate love and dedication. He isn't represented by any flower whatsoever, replaced by the tentacles he uses to kill instead.

Tsukasa is somewhat in the same position in the original timeline. Tsukasa is still the Tsukasa Hanako holds so dear, only possessed by "It", sort of like a parasite. Will Hanako eventually learn from Nene and see the truth aswell?

Her selfless personality shines once again, putting herself through a treacherous path just to save everyone. A path she will walk by herself from now on. Hanako is the one who saved her so many times up until now, but this time, she will be the one who will bring him the salvation he needs.

Conclusions

With this chapter, we're heading into the 2nd half of this arc, or another arc, depending on how you look at it. Nene doesn't know what to change exactly and she knows that, so she will likely keep turning back time until she finds what went wrong. It will be an arduous, long and painful road, but her inner strength will overcome every difficulty. I have faith in Nene.

She may not be strong physically, but no matter what anyone says, no matter how many times she has to fall, she's undefeatable. Until her last breath, she will keep standing and fighting for what she loves. That is Yashiro Nene, the protagonist of Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun and the true most powerful character in the series.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

(Full HC)

We've had the M6 bodyswapping with their familiars, we've had the M6 bodyswapping with each other… But what kind of antics would ensue if the M6 had a bodyswapping incident with MC?

The Arcana HCs: When M6 bodyswap with MC

~ anon, you spectacular genius ~

-- to set the scene --

You know you're in a magic-infused dream as soon as you open your eyes. Off to your right, you can see your beloved standing in the open air, staring at the glowing ball of light that hovers in front of them. You're about to remind them of the cardinal magic rule - don't touch the mystery orb - but by the time you call their name, it's too late. Imagine your surprise when you wake up to your own face staring back at you from your pillow!

Julian

He's staring at you in horror because he knew his eyebags were bad but he didn't know they were that bad

You, on the other hand, are experiencing all the physical ailments of a 6'4 human that never remembers to eat and the headache of needing a daily dose of six shots of espresso to function

He's immediately concerned about physical wellbeing and checking both of you over for any signs of injury. Yeah, he doesn't hate magic anymore, but he's still not comfortable with it

Coaches you on how to speak more like him in his voice. His voice is made for DRAMA, MC, you must PROJECT! ENUNCIATE! The people at the back can't hear you!

He's also going to encourage you to wear all of his normal getup. Enjoy wearing multiple layers of leather in a Mediterranean climate, MC, it's all for the *aesthetic*

You, however, have a secret weapon, and that is basic self care

You are going to eat so much nutritious food and drink so much clean water and get so much sleep and sunlight and exercise ...

It's also payback for how much you're sweating right now, because you won't be the one dealing with all the sore muscles later

He gets unbearably flustered when he changes clothes/bathes in your body and won't stop talking about it

Asra

They know exactly what's happened as soon as they wake up and they know it's their fault and they have 0 regrets. none.

Quick to suggest taking a lazy day so you won't have to juggle the shop with this. And then suggests sleeping in immediately after

He's very curious about what it's like to enjoy all kinds of experiences in your body, but he doesn't do anything until he knows you're comfortable with it (including changing)

Gets distracted/sidetracked every time they pass a mirror/window/shiny pot/remotely reflective surface because they like your face and it keeps surprising them to see it reflected back at them

You're about to watch yourself make the weirdest faces into the mirror as they try to document what your face looks like with different expressions

Has the time of his life picking out his outfit (to wear on your body) and watching you pick out yours (to wear on his body)

Pulls out every food item in your kitchen because they want to know if you taste things differently than they do. You're going to wake up with heartburn tomorrow

Might suggest pranking a few friends, but he's generally so averse to conflict that he won't be dead set on the idea

Occasionally taps into your bond, just to ground themself

Nadia

She's going to keep lying still for a moment or two to finish processing what's just happened and decide what she's going to do about it

And then she's going to teasingly tell you that you're welcome to help yourself to her body, and ask if she can help herself to yours

Tells a trusted Palace servant that she is indisposed and that neither of you will be available today (because there's no way she's going to try to swap jobs with you)

You might be tempted to set yourself up in front of a mirror and see if there's any pose or outfit in the world that Nadia can't look elegant in. She'll have a very amusing time watching you

Portia will inevitably hear about her absence and stop by at some point, which will only ramp up the hilarity

Nadia does suggest sneaking out at some point, your body makes for a great disguise and a day on the town sounds fun!

(You still haven't figured out how to tell her that what sets her apart more than her appearance is her bearing. You've never seen your own posture look that good)

Speaking of posture, welcome to life in a body that's excellently cared for! You can stretch in every direction and nothing hurts!

Though this much thick hair is heavy and hot

Muriel

Oh, he knows before he opens his eyes that something's off, because the furs feel unusually heavy over him and he's never shared a bed with anything bigger than he is

Speaking of, he had no idea that his body radiated that much heat. It's like lying next to a furnace (and it's more comforting than he expected. maybe you're onto something with all the snuggling)

He's violently uncomfortable with being in your body, mostly because he's assuming you'd like it back, and he doesn't want to do anything with it that you don't want him to

You, on the other hand, spend a day as the pilot of a body with unusual size and strength. You're going to have to be reeeeally careful not accidentally bump your head/break and tear stuff

What you choose to do with that is entirely up to you (and up to your body's capacity to contain Muriel's embarrassed blush)

Have fun flexing and watching yourself turn beet red

He is going to request that the two of you stay in the woods and out of sight, which certainly makes things easier

He's also going to apologize to you because he knows this was his fault (you'll have to convince him that being in his body is not a miserable experience, which he may have a hard time believing)

Inanna will be wolf-laughing at both of you the whole time

Portia

She woke up first and put two and two together. By the time you open your eyes, your face is staring back at you with this specific expression: >:3

Also, your body is buzzing (and I mean, buzzing) with energy. You feel like you could climb a mountain and still have the capacity to chop down at least 20 trees. Oh, and your hands are tiny

It's going to take a second for her to get used to your body, if only because she keeps stopping at every new movement/sensation to comment on it/experiment with it/tease you about it

As soon as you've had breakfast, she's taking the day off and dragging you into town for some good old-fashioned mischief

Because yeah, she just woke up in one of the most powerful magician's bodies in the world, she fully plans on taking advantage of that. Who wouldn't??

Long story short, your day is going to consist of running after her while she comments on your "low energy levels" (they're not low, they're human) and wreaks havoc with your magical capacity

The fountain in the town square spouts glowing orange water for a week after she passes through. Even she isn't sure how she did it, so you just have to wait it out and hope it won't poison anyone

Mazelinka saw you two at one point and cried laughing

Lucio

It takes him a while to figure out what's happened

Don't misread this as him assuming that things are normal. He knows things are not normal, because he's getting human sensations from his left arm

But his first assumption is that this is because his arm magically grew back in the night, and his second assumption when he sees his own body next to him is that he's been cloned

You wake up because he's frantically calling your name, asking why his voice sounds so weird and if you had to clone him as part of getting his human arm back and where you've disappeared to

Shrieks and falls backwards off the bed when his clone's eyes open and you tell him what's happened from his own body

You, on the other hand, are going to spend all day figuring out how to function with a metal arm. It's nowhere near as easy as he makes it look, plus it makes that whole side of your body cold

Lucio insists on doing your eyeliner (on his face) because yes, he loves you, and yes, he trusts you, but that's his signature look and he needs it to be perfect

And then you're going to accidentally ruin his face anyways when you go to scratch an itch, forgetting about the claws on his hand

It's nothing compared to his attempts to use your magic

[zonezyo]

glinda and fiyero, both being for all intents and purposes on the same footing socially, are two sides of the same coin on what happens to those who come from privilege if they choose to forsake their standing in the face of adversity. they come from the same place, they have essentially the same thing to lose, but they end UP losing insanely different thing based on the way they choose to live their lives. however, glinda and fiyero have the same thing to lose, but they do NOT have the same thing to gain.*

fiyero is of course actually very smart, no matter how carefree he plays himself, but before elphaba, before the catalyst, he WAS truly content with dancing through life-- he probably would have skated through on his looks and his charm, living a blessed but ultimately unfulfilling, unhappy life, with no real direction. but when given a cause he wakes up and begins to actually want. he wants change, wants elphaba, wants something different than what he's had. though it comes at obvious sacrifice for him, it is natural for him to follow elphaba. there is no personal risk of straying off his path because there is no real path ahead of him anyway. yes, he's captain of the guard, he's engaged to glinda-- but his heart is not truly with them. he has already mentally strayed towards elphaba.

glinda, though, is not like fiyero. she can play herself as charming as she wants to match him and everyone that expects anything from her, but she's at shiz to learn sorcery-- from the moment she's introduced we know that she's dead set on that goal. she WANTS something. she, like elphaba, marvels at the emerald city, imagining her life there one day. so when faced with this fatal decision between choosing what might be good but what is risky, she panics-- it's right there in the lyric!! to grovel in submission to feed her own ambition!! though part of it is certainly her backing into what is safe, she can't let go of her own dream for what would effectively kill every future she ever dreamed of. glinda is WILLING to forfeit her SOCIAL status for elphaba-- it's just that she's smart enough to understand that this is not simply forfeiting social status. this is forfeiting any and all power she ever could have, gain, or use to her/elphaba's advantage.

however: glinda's choice may seem entirely based in self preservation but she's also just as much trying to preserve elphaba's, maybe not safety, but status, because that's what she thinks of as safety. though it's unfair, glinda is right-- maybe not in this instance, but at least in the broad strokes of the song. elphaba HAS hurt her cause forever, she IS having delusions of grandeur, and this is going to make it that much harder for elphaba to ever truly make change regarding animals in oz because as a villain all she can do is drive people away (though ofc this doesn't mean she shouldn't have done what she did). glinda is desperately bargaining-- she knows elphaba cares about the animals, but she doesn't truly understand why, so there is nothing she could have said or done to level with elphaba. glinda ultimately still thinks that change is manageable under the people responsible for cruelty. she's misguided, unaware of the weight of what's happening. it's why she calls it ELPHABA'S cause, not the animals' cause, because she's not really concerned with the greater good at the moment, she's focused on saving her and her best friend. she's smart enough to understand power play, but not aware enough to understand what all that power means, really, at least not in the moment of act 1.

we can speculate what the "good" choice would have been for glinda but the real truth of the show is that the choice she made was the only one she was ever going to, though it might not be just or right or the one she should have.

[ilions-end]

so euripides' hecuba (david kovacs translation) was wilder than i thought it'd be

immediate thoughtssss:

i'm pretty familiar with the sacrifice of polyxena through other sources by now, although this is the first time i've seen her, you know, speak and try to wield whatever small amount of agency she is allowed in her own death. VERY strong iphigenia in aulis parallels. really chewing on the "the trojan war begins and ends with the ritual sacrifice of a young girl" concept

this IS the first time i've gotten to polydorus' whole deal beyond very brief summaries (and similar but different fate in the aeneid). i'll admit i'm a dumbass so i got really confused about the timeframes and the geography. the entirety of the greek army is (somewhere!) in THRACE but not at TROY anymore, but achilles' TOMB is within walking distance? and i assumed polymestor was supposed to be further away but he's right there in this temporary camp and... idk, confusion.

also i rarely mix up greek names but the fact that polydorus was murdered by polymestor. i keep tripping up, sorry

it's interesting that we learn agamemnon argued NOT to kill polyxena, and odysseus got everyone convinced anyway. between this and aulis and trojan women: odysseus just LOVES lobbying for the murder of women and children

SPEAKING OF odysseus, his interactions with hecuba in this were so different than what i'd imagined! for one, there is no clear indicator that hecuba is HIS slave. i for sure thought that'd be a major thing in this.

secondly, in this version HECUBA SAVED HIM THAT TIME HE CAME TO SPY IN TROY AS A BEGGAR? he supplicated her, she got him safely out of troy... ooh you're a WILY one euripides!

ESPECIALLY WHEN odysseus, Mister Hiketeia himself, PHYSICALLY BLOCKS polyxena from supplicating him so he won't be obligated to help her. CHRIST, man!!!

augh athenian odysseus, you are such a genuinely awful man and i need to dissect you with pins and study your insides

when hecuba begs to be sacrificed in polyxena's stead (because she's right! the greeks actually have a REASON to want her dead, as hector and paris' mother), and odysseus argues like, well WHAT would it look like if they'd treated achilles with respect in life but not in death? and i could FEEL ajax reaching out ghostly fingers to odysseus in that moment because he experienced the opposite (odysseus' enemy in life, then respected in death) and WHERE did that get him? just. mm. thoughts.

hecuba knows odysseus is also a parent........ it still doesn't help

RETURN OF TALTHYBIUS! a weeping, sympathetic agent of violence and outrage. he's so interesting to me. is he largely an invention of euripides i wonder? i should look more into talthybius

i understand the need to make polyxena's death as noble as possible, but it did weird me out when talthybius assured hecuba that even as polyxena fell to the ground with a slit throat, she carefully minded her skirt so she wouldn't expose herself in her death throes

POSSIBLY the most sympathetic-acting agamemnon i've come across in these plays? even if all his sympathies and concern for hecuba is implied to be because she is a kind of pseudo-mother-in-law now that he "cares about" cassandra so much... which is, you know, it's own kind of fucked up. euripides absolutely downplays the non-consensuality of that relationship so agamemnon can serve as an agent of justice

okay, it is kind of delicious when agamemnon is like "a WOMAN kill a MAN??? PSSH as if that could ever happen". sir. sir.

how old are polymestor's children meant to be? they're young enough to be "passed between" the enslaved women but polymestor brings them to a soldier camp

if i had a nickel for every time someone had their eyes stabbed out with brooch pins in ancient greek tragedy i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but--

i like the visual of polymestor "crawling like a beast" though. fuck you polymestor

and then there's the FAKEST trial because agamemnon pretends to be impartial? THAT was a twist

i couldn't supress a disbelieving chuckle when polymestor's like "oh by the way i have these incredibly specific prophecies given to me by dionysus at an unspecified earlier time. yeah so hecuba you're gonna turn into a dog in just a little while. and agamemnon, just so you know, clytemnestra's gonna kill you and cassandra as soon as you get home"

and of course agamemnon doesn't believe him but i have to wonder as he's getting chopped up later he's like "huh. why does this seem so familiar"

i don't know, man. this play was no trojan women.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Hello! may I request any prompt of your choosing from the hurt/comfort list if I specifically ask for tlovm vaxleth? thank you!

10. "Don't worry about anything now."

It's cold in Whitestone, especially at night, but Keyleth doesn't feel it. Her body is warm, hot even, pressed back against Vax like this. His arm is draped over her, his chin hooked over her shoulder. Her naked shoulder. Because she's naked. They both are. Because they had sex.

Vax's breathing is slow and even, and Keyleth is working overtime to keep hers the same way. It's not that she's freaking out—she's not. Not really. Except her body is sore, pleasantly so, dully tingling in the memory of his hands on her, in her—oh, and while that was happening, the people of Whitestone were burying their dead. And Thordak was still burning Emon. And Raishan was probably plotting her inevitable betrayal. And Percy was lying in a tomb, surrounded by generations of deceased de Rolos. But oh gods, the things Vax's tongue can do.

She's a bad person. That has to be it. She gets together with Vax in their dead friend's home? While Vex is in mourning? Who does that? Sure, she was waiting for Vax to pull his head out of his ass long before Percy died, but still, she could have waited, should have waited, found a better moment, done everything differently—

"You're thinking so loud." Vax's voice is a sleepy rumble in her ear as his arm tightens around her.

She laughs nervously. "Sorry. Just, um. A lot to think about."

His nose trails lazily up the back of her neck. "Care to share?"

Now she's in a pickle. She can't tell him what she was really thinking about, because then he'll think she regrets sleeping with him, which she doesn't—at least, not like that. And she's always been so bad at lying. And if she says she's thinking about Percy, will he think she wishes he were here instead? Because wow, no. She has to lie. But say what—

"Kiki, seriously. If you think any louder you're going to wake up the whole castle."

"Was this a mistake?" She feels his body stiffen, and his arm starts to retract. Fully panicking now, she grabs his hand, uses it to tug herself around so she's on her back, where she can see his face. It's shell-shocked, hurt. "That is not what I meant. I don't—I don't regret this. I don't regret you. I promise, Vax."

His face softens a bit, but he's still regarding her skeptically. "I'm really struggling to find another interpretation here, Kiki."

"No, I know, I just meant—" She throws her forearm over her eyes so she doesn't have to look at him. "Percy is dead and Vex is heartbroken and Whitestone is in ruins again and we have to fight Thordak and Raishan is such a bitch and gods I am so behind on my Aramenté and really what right do I have to be happy with you when everything is terrible—"

He shuts her up by kissing her. His hand pulls her face closer to his, and her arm falls away from her eyes as she melts against his lips. For a moment, everything is quiet.

"Keyleth," he murmurs against her mouth. "You are beautiful and powerful and wise and so very, very silly."

"I'm not—"

"You are. There is no 'deserving' happiness. There is just...finding it. With our friends. With our families." His thumb traces little circles where his hand cups her jaw. "Here, in this bed, with you. You know, a very wise woman once pointed out to me how foolish it was to forgo current happiness for fear of future pain." He smirks at her. "I'd hate to see her forgo current happiness because she's guilty about the suffering of others."

Keyleth chews her lip. "But there are things we could be doing. People we could be helping."

"We can't help anyone if we're too exhausted to stand. C'mere." He gently spins her around again so that he's spooning her, her hand cupped in his, and yeah, the feeling of him behind her, warm and solid, does make the brain chatter quiet a bit. "Don't worry about anything now. We have so much time to worry, I promise you. All of the things you're concerned about will be there in the morning, and so will I." He kisses the nape of her neck. "I don't know what the future holds, but I can't imagine thinking about that when I have my favorite person in the world in my arms."

He squeezes her close, and Keyleth breathes in the arm, woodsy scent of him. Alright. Maybe he's right. Maybe the horrors will still be waiting come daylight. Maybe they can share this night, and the happiness it has brought them. She closes her eyes, and soon, she is dreaming of hundreds more nights, just like this.

[thefandomenchantress]

I know I predicted radio silence from me...But I had what I think is a cool idea and wanted to share it before anything gets disproven in the next episode (Brief, singular mention of the Eden!Culprit theory).

So, I saw a lot of people talking about the Arei-Eden parallels, and the Ace-Arei parallels (and differences), and the Min-Eden parallels in the hug scene...Because of that, I started thinking about how Eden and Ace relate to all the others. And then I remembered the very obvious Teruko-Ace parallels.

Ace and Teruko both trusted someone who betrayed them in one way or another. Teruko with...Well, everyone, and especially Min, and Ace with Levi. In chapter two, they're both pretty similar, being closed-off and trying to not care about others with varying degrees of success. And, of course, Ace almost dies just like Teruko did, in an attempted murder.

All those things are fairly obvious, especially them being the only participants to be almost-victims. And I'd always noticed that, but it got me thinking...

In chapter one, Teruko was the victim of an attempted murder, surviving on the pure luck of the knife just-so-happening to miss anything vital in her abdomen. Then, instead of sympathy for her life almost being taken, people are upset with/suspicious of her because they think she was the one who killed Xander. And that fact is no fault of Teruko's, she just had the misfortune of being at the scene of the crime (and Min moving the evidence to further incriminate her). Barely anyone asks if she's okay or shows much concern other than Min, who betrays her, and Eden. She is then forced to defend herself in the trial almost completely alone until finally some others start to come to her defense.

In chapter two, Ace has been put in the position of being the victim of a murder attempt but surviving through the pure luck of Eden and Teruko just-so-happening to come to the second floor late at night. If Teruko hadn't happened to forget her clothes on the second floor, chances are that Ace would be dead. No one feels sorry for what Ace went through, because he was a total asshole to Nico and along with no one taking him seriously to begin with, they think he, in a way, had it coming, trauma and injuries be damned. Now, he is forced to defend himself, presumably alone unless Levi decides he wants to help and be the Eden equivalent. And Ace has been blamed for Arei's death not through any fault of his own, but because he had the misfortune of being at the scene of the crime, where someone else tried to murder him.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would honestly be pretty cool if Ace finished this chapter going through rather similar events to the ones Teruko experienced last chapter. Some people say that Ace being her parallel will show her during this chapter that distrusting isn't the right way to go, but he doesn't have to die to show her that at this very moment. Hell, it might hit even harder if he manages to go through everything she did, since it would make them even more similar.

Plus, if Eden is the Min parallel, and Ace is the Teruko parallel, that's pretty dang cool! Of course, if Ace does all the Teruko stuff during the trial, it makes sense for Eden to have done all the Min stuff...And I mean, the episode seems to be saying that's depressingly possible, so maybe.

So yeah, I just thought Ace and Teruko's similarities continuing into the trial would be fun. After all, he's been pretty consistent about following in her footsteps so far, so you never know. Like imagine if he says a protag line or something it'd be hilarious. Especially if all his points during his defense are like Teruko's, but with an Ace-y twist that makes them more funny or stupid or whatever. Fun!

Or who knows, maybe Ace will just hire David as his defense attorney, since he's the only one to have successfully defended Ace so far. /j

[iamhereinthebg]

Seeing Akane reacts so strongly seeing Kako being destroyed was already a big shot at my heart but Mirai and Akane protecting each other absolutely annihilated me in the last chapter.

Akane is a character who is really blunt about his opinion and stands his ground, he said right away in his introduction chapter how strongly he hates the clock keepers, and insists on how much he isn't like them.

In this new arc, he is forced to face this part of him he doesn't want to acknowledge since the beginning, he has been forced to do it a lot since the grim reaper arc (and I think it's really starting to get to him but this is for another day)

Aoi Akane, the human forced to be a supernatural who hates his contract and the clock keepers so much he wants nothing to do with them. But what does he do when fighting Tsukasa? He keeps the latter's attention on him so the threat can't get to Mirai.

Akane is mortal and human. The only mortal clock keepers and supernatural, and he still risks his life to protect Mirai. The yorishiro of the clock keepers yes, but mostly Mirai.

He shifts his attention from Tsukasa to her because he knows what she represents for the clock keepers and he waits for the moment to let her free, even if it results in him getting hurt.

Akane is the character of the cast who shows the most how he loves life, he definitely doesn't want to die. We can see it in how he defends himself, his last movement in this fight being one of protection (and fear). Something he has been doing more since coming back a second time from the far shore. Even if he doesn't want to die, he is still at his core a nice person. He is distressed at the idea of death, disappearing for good, no matter who it may concern in the end. Finding a way to protect Mirai (and the yorishiro) goes before his own safety.

And then Mirai gets the blow for him. She knows it means Tsukasa will get the yorishiro. Kako has been the mystery the most alarmed about the yorishiros being destroyed by Hanako. But Mirai, n°1, who knows how dangerous it is for another yorishiro to be destroyed for the land, sacrifices their seat number, herself and what is supposely the most important thing to them, for Akane.

Akane is a proactive character who rarely stops in his actions. Even when Aoi was "dead" he was activaly searching for a way to bring her back and when he learned she was gone he was quick to try to find a way to go where she was. When he stops, it's because he is physically unable to move. But here, even if he is still concsious and has Time's power he doesn't do anything, like he is the one being stopped in time, unable to move on from Mirai's body.

Mirai may be made of gears but it's been clear since the beginning that she has a real attachement to Akane. Wearing the name he gave her like a medal, jumping on him whenever she can, having a personality where she clearly has fun when he is present, and actually being the one noticing him on his first day at school.

And what does it mean after all for a yorishiro to be sacrified to protect something else? That maybe Akane is in the end more important than what the yorishiro represents for the clock keepers.

If this follows the pattern of a lot of mysteries it may mean that Mirai and Kako have strong regrets/resentment towards the story/person behind their yorishiro.

It's kind of beautiful in the end to see Mirai sacrifiying their past and future to focus on the one representing the present.

[dykedvonte]

you have a really good grip on the themes of Mouthwashing, so maybe you can help me with something I haven't been able to make sense of.

it's pretty clear that Jimmy doesn't care about Anya, he doesn't have a grief hallucination after she dies, and when she locks herself in medical his only verbalized concern is that she might hurt Curly.

so I'm a bit confused as to why initially when they break into medical, her dead body is included in the big blurred out area Jimmy can'tbear to acknowledge. is it just because she died so close to Curly?

I like it think it represents his sense of losing complete control over the siatuion.

Jimmy used Anya and Curly as sort of a buffer for his actions and in that moment neither of them could be used to fix this. Anya couldn't be blamed since she was dead and this is an action all his own, can't use Curly as an out, this can't be directly or indirectly linked to him. Them being blurred is sort of him not being able to see their current use.

Another interpretation I have is Jimmy not being able to confront actual guilt about Anya. It's sort of the oppisite of the cockpit scene with her and Curly. Curly was likely only invisoning Anya's pain which is why she was the only thing on the screen. He is concerned she will hurt herself, not anyone else (this goes both ways). Jimmy only thinks she would be as selfish and bitter as himself and hurt Curly, whether to spite him or vegence for crashing the ship is up in the air in his mind. Realizing and subconsciously admitting his actions have consequences that affect people when she sees she killed herself.

It's mostly brought on by concern for himself, admitting he did this to Curly and what's happening with Daisuke. He's trying to block out his worse actions in that moment and can't focus on his two biggest ones.

[viisator]

The Corpse's Bride -- PART TWO

Tittle : The Corpse’s Bride

Pairing : Nishimura Riki x F!Redear x Yang Jungwon

Genre : Fantasy, Tragedy, Fiction, (angst, fluff)

Warning : Death, skeleton, Corpses.

Summary: Y/n is the daughter of the famous dressing merchant, and she is to marry the son of the Baron in the west. But one event ruined it all when Y/n found herself wandering in the land of the dead and accidentally marrying a dead boy on the side of the river.

Inspired by the movie ‘Corpse Bride’

Not Proofread

(This fanfic I wrote is inspired and I made it so like the movie 'Corpse Bride’. I just love that movie so much, so I think It’ll be fun making an en- fic abt it … So yeah. I wrote this. And I wrote this 'cuz it’s kinda sad letting go of the things, and people we love so much, and I hate letting go of stuff/someone, so I just wrote this.)

• • • • •

"Can you tell me what is it you were running away from?" Jungwon gently asked, tilting his head a little trying to match her height.

"Marriage." He was shocked when he heard what the girl said.

"May I know who's the man you were to marry?"

"You might be shocked, but they say that the L/n's daughter runs away from marrying Baron Yang's son, so lady Yang sent a letter this morning and requested the marriage my parents and the Baron were talking about those past few years" Jungwon was shocked, and his body was frozen when he heard what the girl said.

'It can't be.'

The girl looks at him, knitting her eyebrows, wondering what was wrong, and why was he looking at her with wide-open eyes that seem like he cannot believe it.

"Are you telling me you were to marry Yang Jungwon?"

"Yes?" The girl looks at him bewildered, still hasn't realized that she was found by what she was running away from.

They stared at each other for almost 7 seconds, until Jungwon pulls the girl out of the woods bringing her to the dimly lighted streets near the Yang Manor, but before they could take a step inside the manor's gate, the girl's feet turn ice cold, when Jungwon turned around and saw how her face was paralyzed with fear and took noticed how she tightly gripped his arms, he looks at her in the eyes with concern.

"Are you afraid of going inside?" His soft voice rang into the girl's ear making her shoulders swiftly go down.

"I'm afraid to meet him, I'm afraid that my parents will look at me, and their eyes will show how disappointed they were because of me, I'm afraid that he'll be displeased, I'm afraid they'll look at me differently, I'm afraid I'll mess up, what if I mess up?" It was like wildfire, her thoughts are sprouting like wildfire lost in a forest, that do not know what to do, she was afraid.

"Don't you wanna marry the Baron's son?"

"The Baron's son?... No. No, I do not."

"Then, do you wanna help me find L/n Y/n, so you'll stay as you were before, and then the Baron's son will continue to marry Y/n, you'll never have to deal with marriage at the moment, does that sounds nice?" The offer sounds like music to the girl's ear, and her eyes once again reflect light, hope was formed in her heart.

"I would love to!"

Y/n and Riki are walking down a field. Y/n could only think of how the field looked so...so dead. It was a field of flowers, it was a field of daffodils, daffodils that has no life, the flowers, and the grasses around are brown, dehydrated, and dry.

"This is the only romantic place that I know... well, maybe not, it doesn't look so colorful, and there is no sun that would set nor rise any sooner." Riki sighed after saying those disappointedly.

"It looks lovely." Her voice, for the first time, sounds so easy, it made Riki's mood cheer up a little after hearing it.

Riki cheekily smiled, looking everywhere but her eyes, but quickly turned around when he heard small giggles come from his side. He can feel it, He can feel the fluttery butterfly across his stomach, and the warmness of his face, he feels it again, it's been a long while since that feeling was there.

"What is it? Why have you been staring at me for so long?" Y/n laughed out while Riki's eyes stayed on her way.

"Are you getting deja vu?" Her question was odd, He was taken aback, the question rang over and over again in his head until her eyes locked with his, they could feel it now, but they know they've felt this before. They've felt this before somewhere else.

______

It has been a while since Jungwon and the girl have been looking around for a grave, they have followed the river, but there still was no grave to be found.

"Kind Sir, we have been walking together for quite some time now, may you tell me what is your name?" After hours of walking side by side with each other, that question was already been expected by Jungwon, it was quite long before it was said and he was close to believing that the question -- his name -- will not be brought up. Until now.

"It's Fred--... Jespersen" His mind went blank for a second, and hastily spat out a random name he can think of.

The girl then nod, looking straight up ahead of her, and another question popped up.

"Which house are you from? As long as I've known, Jespersen's mostly are common people." The girl then looks at him, and he stops in his tracks, thinking of an answer while his mouth is hardly shut.

"Oh..." The girl then realized her mistake. "It wasn't my intention to offend nor judge common people, it was only that the Jespersen surname was mostly used by commoners. I apologize." The girl frustratedly explains while Jungwon is thankful that her explanation brought him more time to think of an answer to her question.

"It was because I am just a lowly merchant's son, whose business is hardly recognized, and only a few know about." The girl looks at him amused, and he sensed that the girl is interested in the topic he had made up. And so he continued;

"Yes, our family sells women's dresses, though I could be honest and say the L/n's dresses are more extravagant and more beautiful than ours, though I know it is affordable by those 'lowly commoner'." He made that up once again, and the girl believed it also.

"Oh don't be silly Mr. Jespersen! Calling your family 'lowly merchant' is an offense, if you merchants don't exist, then where should we buy products? We have to make it ourselves then, and I could barely hold a needle for sewing! And also, merchants are rich." Jungwon laughed after hearing those, he could only smile at the thought of him manipulating her quite well.

They walk deeper into the woods following the flowing river beside them, while they entertain themselves by talking, and asking each other's questions until they saw rocks across the said river, like a trail for them to cross it. And so they did.

Jumping there and then, Jungwon finally crossed the river, but when he looks at his back, the girl was struggling, she could barely jump, for she's not so good with these kinds of activities, and she is now stuck in the middle of the river, standing in one of those rocks across the water.

Jungwon hopped into the rocks once more, holding the girl's hand and guiding her slowly as they cross the flowing river. She could feel the warmness of his palms, he was holding her hands and the other her waist, it felt weird to her, and his face is so close, she never realized his eyes are these beautiful, she never had taken note of his long eyelashes, she also has never seen how his jawlines are wavy until now, and oh, his lips, it's gorgeously parted, she hitched a breath.

They were so close to each other, it made the girl's heart beat quite faster than usual.

Oh, what could might this be? Has she fallen in love with a merchant's son? If so, then they really should find L/n Y/n.

The girl hasn't realized the truth, but it might be dangerous for both of them if ever it was revealed.

_______

"Do you want to go back?" The log Y/n and Riki are sitting at is cold, the air in the land of the dead is no colder than the hands that are holding Y/n tight, as if afraid her hands will slip away.

"Go back to where? To your room?" She asks because inside of her, she's already half accepted that she'll be staying in the land where people who are no longer in the world are, but of course, she still misses the warmth of the day up there.

"No," Riki said as silence followed him as he stared deeply into her eyes searching for the answer to the things he was feeling. Is he making the right decision? Because in the depths of his throat, he can't seem to find his voice.

"Y/n..." As silent as a whisper, he calls out.

"Yes?" And you answered, trying to sound as warm as your breath, and hoped that he could feel that you were also trying, trying to fix the things that were messed up.

"Do you want to go back; go back to your parents-- go back to him?" It breaks your heart. You don't know, but if you were honest, the idea relieves and excites you. But the tone of his voice, the crack that his throat made, and the look on his face. His face is hard, his forehead is frowned and his lips are down.

You were silent. You could only pay him back the same look that he has. How could you ever tell him that you wanted to go back-- and how could you, if you're already up there and missed him?

"....I--"

"I know a way Y/n, I know a way to go up there, you could meet your parents again, see their faces again, and --"

"And leave you here? Alone?" It was melancholy, and your tone mirrored the melancholic swirls in your stomach and the ache in your chest. Because how could you? How could you ever crush his dreams? He only wanted to love and be loved again, but the thing is, do you love Riki?

"It's all fine. For these past years, I stayed here." He squeezes your hand.

"But all those years, were you happy?" Then his lips trembled.

"Y/n...do you think if we--" He stopped and swallowed the lump in his throat. "--if you stayed here with me--for all of those eternities, never leaving this place. Do you think you'll be happy?" It's your turn to swallow the lumps.

"Do you think we-- both of us will be happy?" A single tear threatened to fall on your cheeks, but you stared at him never blinking, never looking anywhere else but those expressive eyes of his.

"Let's try." You whispered out. "Let's go up there, I'll tell my goodbyes to my Mother, and I'll give my last hug to my Father, then let's try to live happily in eternity."

He led the way up to the tower of the "old as time"--as he called him. You've decided, you'll do the farewells and go back in here in the land of the dead once you've said your goodbyes to your parents.

You both found yourself standing in front of a long old set of stairs and up there stands an old house.

There, he said that the longest dead is in there, and they all called him Elder Gutknecht.

He guided you up the wooded stairs, it lets out a squeak whenever you take a step. His cold hands never left yours, and once you're finally up the last step, an old door greets your face. In the door, there's a sign hanging up, and it dances whenever the wind hits it.

"Old as time," says the sign. Then Y/n's eyes went down and noticed another one that said:

"FOR HEAVENS RIKI! KNOCK FIRST!" quite amusing, she thought.

Distracted by the sign, a loud bang startled her concentration when Riki harshly opened the door with the absence of mercy of knocking.

"I'm here again!" Greeted Riki at the old skeleton walking down the stairs.

"How many times, Young Man!" Elder Gutknecht started. "How many times will I have to tell you to knock, or just casually open the door without banging it!" Riki let out an apologetic laugh.

"Um, well, I guess that's my bad, forgetting about that--so, I'm here to ask for help." Says Riki.

"I am guessing that involves your living bride?" Says the old man.

"Well, yes."

Elder Gutknecht sighed and proceeded to get a book, dust covered the book like plastic wrap. Then turned to look at Riki, then shifted his gaze to Y/n. His nonexistent eyes stayed on her for a second.

"What is it, young man?" Finally, he looked at his book with disappointment--or perhaps sadness in his voice.

"We want to go up there. My wife wanted to see her parents." Warmth spread through Y/n's chest after hearing him say those. But Elder Gutknecht felt the opposite.

"You do know that it'll be dangerous for you, for all of us when you go up there and disturb the balance between the living and the dead. Don't you?" He looked at Riki with threatening eyes.

"Quite--I guess..." And Riki answered with nervous laughter.

"Alright...just say "Hopscotch" if you've decided to go back here." Says Elder Gutknecht. But in the pit of his non-existent belly, down to his non-existent stomach, he felt very wrong. Something will turn out the wrong way once he sends them up there.

_______

Y/n didn't have to say the joy she felt when they stepped foot in the dark forest as the cool wind blew her hair out of her face.

Riki could see her eyes shine with the moon. Then it hits him suddenly, realizing that she looks happier up in here than when she was down there. It must've been hard on her the most...what is he supposed to do? Can he let her go? Why would he want to let her go? He finally has someone to spend all of his eternity--

Usually, cold air doesn't bother Riki so much, because his own body is cold--literally--but whenever her touch leaves him, the cold of the wind makes him shiver; so when Y/n pulled him out of trans, he could only hope she'd not let go.

Note: not exactly like the movie , huh? Forgive me. This from my Wattpad btw, so it's kinda my draft too...

PART ONE | PART THREE

[silentcrowsilentravens]

Apologies to whoever requested this. I deleted your ask by accident and don't remember your @ :'|

Nica Pierce, Tiffany Valentine, and Charles Lee Ray comforting their s/o after a nightmare/being comforted after a nightmare.

(Gender ambiguous).

Warnings: Implied murder

Masterlist here!

Nica Pierce

You try to keep quiet. You don't want to wake Nica.

You try to calm yourself down. You feel like you're overreacting.

You try to scrub the dream from your brain. You have little success.

Nica begins to stir beside you. "Hey... you alright?" she murmurs, her brows pressing together in concern.

You're quiet for a moment and in the end, simply shake your head no.

"Bad dream?" Nica gives your forearm a comforting squeeze.

"Yeah... Really bad."

Her other arm slowly reaches for you, giving you enough time to pull away if you want space. If you don't, you'll find yourself in her hold, your face nestled in the crook of her neck.

She rubs your back soothingly. "...Do you want to talk about it?"

"No..."

A kiss is pressed against your head. Nica simply continues to hold you.

She often doesn't remember her own dreams after she wakes up. And if she does, it's usually one of the shitty ones.

Her eyes are wet. It takes her a moment to process where she is and what's going on, that you're beside her.

Nica spends a solid minute silently debating whether she wants to wake you up and bother you.

Finally, she calls your name.

She very bluntly tells you what she just dreamt about the moment you're awake. That's all the talking she does before she's grabbing for you.

You wipe the tears from her face.

She rests her chin on your shoulder and takes in your scent.

Please run your fingers through her curls.

Please hold her really, really tightly.

Tiffany Valentine

It's the dead of night when you jolt upright in bed, breathing hard.

In her half-awake state, the first two thoughts that immediately enter Tiffany's head are "What's got you so upset?" and "Who's throat does she need to slit?"

It's only once her nail file is at the ready and the light is on that she realizes what's going on.

Tiffany returns the same energy she gets from others. If you'd comfort her, she's gonna comfort you.

"Oh, sweetface..." She frowns.

God, seeing you upset is making her upset too! This won't do.

Tiffany peppers your face in kisses.

Then, she practically squeezes the life out of you. She will not be letting go anytime soon. You are officially melded together.

When Tiff wakes up in tears, she immediately shakes you awake, frantically calling your name.

"Huh... What's wrong...?" You sit up and try to rub the sleep out of your eyes, giving her your full attention.

Tiffany deeply appreciates an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on.

Rather incoherently, she describes the dream to you while waving her hands around animatedly.

You try your best to offer soothing words.

You're still mid-sentence when Tiff launches herself at you. She cries onto your top, her tears having slowed down now.

She just wants to be held.

And listen to your voice some more.

Maybe you could make her a nice snack too?

Charles "Chucky" Lee Ray

You'll need to reach over and physically shake this man awake since he sleeps like a rock.

"Chucky?" you question softly. "Chucky, can you wake up?" You shake him by his shoulder a bit.

"Huh...?" he utters groggily. His eyes are still closed.

"...I had a nightmare..."

Perhaps it isn't much of a surprise, but comforting others is not exactly one of his strong suits.

"None of that shit was real," he tells you. "Don't get so worked up."

In Chucky's eyes, you're dating the Lakeshore Strangler, so you've got no reason to be getting scared. Especially because of things that didn't actually happen. Go back to sleep. You're fine.

He rolls back over. A few minutes pass. You continue to sniffle.

With a sigh, Chucky turns to face you. He pulls you closer, cradling your head against his chest. "Stop your cryin'," he mutters gruffly. "I've gotcha."

Chucky himself hardly ever has nightmares. His dreams are usually rather mundane... Well, mundane for him, anyway. The sort of stuff he might find himself thinking actually happened after he wakes.

"Hey, what the hell happened to that asshole I left to drain out in the bathroom?"

"...You... didn't leave a body in the bathroom?"

"Oh."

That being said, you're a bit confused when you're woken up in the middle of the night by Chucky jolting awake beside you.

He slowly lets out a shuddery breath.

"What's wrong?" you ask.

"Nothin'. I'm fine." It's a lie and you know it.

You cuddle up against Chucky in an attempt to comfort him. His immediate response is to try and get out of your grasp. "I said I'm fine!"

After a moment, though, he gives up, grumbling like he still doesn't want your touch (he does).

The tension slowly leaves his shoulders as you pet his hair.

He wraps his arms around you, gripping the fabric of your top until he dozes off again.

[harocat]

The way Lost You Forever says, 'the trauma never fully goes away, but we find happiness and live anyway.'

For me this is best exemplified in two physical manners:

Xiaoyao's (assumedly quite high) cultivation and power was severely damaged by the thirty years she spent being tortured by the fox. Over and over when I read people talking about the series, people wondered when she'd get her power back.

And I get it. It would have been an amazing moment to see her powers return, to see her bursting with what must have been so much strength as the daughter of two extremely famous warriors.

But instead of that, Xiaoyao makes do with what she has. She learns how to defend herself with archery. She makes poisons. She fights in her own ways. Even in this xianxia world, she can't regain what she lost, but she does her best to make up for it.

One thing I was worried about when hearing about Tushan Jing's death is that I thought he might come back unblemished by scars, totally able bodied again. Often in xianxia when someone comes back to life, they reappear somehow, cultivated from an object or just in a flurry of sparkles and flower petals. There's not usually a dead body, so the body isn't revived; the spirit is. And this isn't a criticism of that trope.

I was just concerned that if applied to Tushan Jing, it would be done in a way that made him 'whole' again. Because a lot of pieces of media can and have done this. Magical healing and rebirth? Time to remove disabilities.

And that would have frustrated me, from a narrative perspective. But the show didn't do that! It's hard to overstate the mark trauma has left on his body; 90% of it is damaged and scarred. He is handicapped in his leg. His cultivation is also damaged. And that's still there. All of it is remains.

But despite that, despite everything, they not only move on, but they find a happy ending. They will never stop carrying that with them, but for both Xiaoyao and Tushan Jing, it doesn't matter. I like this a lot.

[luxheroica]

under your tree (1/3)

Anyways Ekko/Jinx has made me insane and I'm not stopping. So here have fanfic about Ekko, Jinx, and the tree that I wrote in a fugue state last night. Planned part 1 of 3, the first is alternate-Powder and alternate-Ekko.

Also on AO3

----

She drags him up out of her lab, not entirely sure where to go but too jumbled up to stay. Powder’s heart is racing as she twines her fingers in Ekko’s, and she has never been happier to feel his grip strong and vital in her own. That breathless moment when he wasn't moving when she thought– she had held VI's body in the same way. 

“Where are we going?” he asks, bewildered, stumbling along behind her. 

“Just come on.”

Her feet know the path and she trusts them. While she does her mind races, all of the strangeness of the past few weeks slotting into place like a puzzle in her mind. 

His fear on seeing her, his confusion at Milo and Claggor, the way his whole face changed when he saw Benzo… the way he hadn’t known Vi was dead. She thought he was just messing with her, in a particularly cruel way, or maybe he’d lost his mind after a particularly weird dream. 

The way he’d kissed her tonight, like he was so desperate to hold on to her. 

Now it all makes sense. Something that she was beginning to suspect but didn’t think was quite possible. 

Her feet take her to the tree. Where Ekko painted his portraits of Vi. 

Vi who lives. Vi who is from some other place and time entirely. 

“What… is this?” Ekko– her Ekko– crosses to the portraits alongside her, wonderment in his eyes. “Is that Vi?”

Powder smiles. “A present,” she says. “From another you.” 

Ekko scoffs disbelieving. “Seriously, you can stop messing with me.” 

“Did you know that the competition is tomorrow?” 

Ekko whirls around. “What? No– it's weeks away!” He waits for the punchline that he knows is coming, and then scratches at his head. “Seriously? What do you mean it’s tomorrow, I thought–” 

“You had plenty of time?” 

Ekko nods. He swallows and she watches his Adams apple bob, as he takes this in. “Powder, why did I wake up on the floor of your lab?” 

“Because an alternate universe version of you took over your body for a few weeks, built a time machine that created a space anomaly, and then went back to his universe.” 

She expects him to laugh. She expects him to accuse her of making it up. Even as she says it, it sounds a little crazy. 

Ekko flops to the ground. “Huh.” 

“Yeah,” she says. She doesn't approach, doesn't touch him. Gives him time to process. 

“That is about the wildest shit I've ever heard.” 

Powder snorts. “Don't I know it. Imagine three weeks of my boyfriend acting like a lunatic, and I only now figure out why.” 

“Imagine losing three weeks of your life to an another version of you!” He scratches at his head in that way he does when he's frustrated. “I can't believe the content is tomorrow and I haven’t prepared anything!” 

Powder laughs. The Innovators Competition seems like the least of her concerns right now, but of course for him he was just thinking about it. It consumed his every thought “To be fair, while making his time travel device he maaaaybe finished your battery. It works great, by the way!” 

Ekko sits up, offense playing across his face. “He finished my designs??” Then he shakes his head. “Is it weird to be jealous of another version of myself?” 

Powder considers. And yeah she's gonna push it because she likes pushing his buttons. “Would now be a bad time to tell you he kissed me?” 

Ekko nearly chokes. 

“In my defense I thought he was you!” 

The fight goes out of Ekko, and he sighs. Lays down in the grass and looks up at the wall where Vi’s eyes from another universe look down on the both of them. “You think she’s alive, in his world?” 

Powder nods. She curls herself next to him, intertwining her fingers with his. “Yeah,” she says. “He told me about her, a bit– said it was a dream he had. Said she was the strongest fighter in all Zaun.” 

There under that tree she tells him all about the dream the other Ekko told her about, that strange world where Vi lived and was in love with a Piltover heiress of all people and she went by a different name and she and Ekko hadn't really talked in years and Zaun was still just like it used to be and maybe even worse. 

“It’s weird,” Ekko says while she talks. He rubs his forehead, his brow creasing in concentration. “It's like I can remember it, a little– while you're talking. Flashes of memory… I don't know if they're real.” 

Powder curls their fingers together. “I think alternate universes are uncharted territory for anyone.” 

Ekko snorts. “You're telling me.” He squeezes her hand reassuringly. “It’s strange. Everything I'm feeling, it all feels so sad and awful and scary… even if VI's alive so many people were dead, and we hadn't talked in forever…” he trails off, and Powder imagines it– really imagines it– that universe that other-Ekko came from and it makes her sad. “And don't get me wrong, I'm glad he left and I get to be me and not have my life hijacked by some alternate me, but…” 

Powder levers herself up. “But?” she prompts. 

“But why'd he do it?” He turns to look at her, and there's something anxious in his brown eyes. “I don't know if I could leave to a world where we never talked.” 

Powder smiles. Rolls over and kisses the bridge of his nose. They haven't said it yet but she loves him–whichever version. “Because he's you. And because they needed him, the people on the other side.” 

Ekko turns this over in his mind. “What was he like, the other me?” 

Powder scrunches her nose as she tries to think. “Like you but weird. Like, he was really jumpy at first and then he got all sentimental over weird stuff. But, he was you– just as smart, just as idealistic. Always had his head in the clouds and his nose in an equation.” 

Ekko laughs. Flicks her nose. “That doesn't sound like me at all.” 

“Oh doesn't it, Mr. Free-Energy-For-All?” 

“I still can't believe he finished my designs.” 

Powder rolls back laughing, because he sounds so indignant. He continues to glare, annoyed. And then after a minute joins her in laughter. 

“I think I saw him for a minute, at the end there.” Powder says once she's caught her breath. 

“Oh? What was he, uh…?” 

“Really hot,” she says, because she knows it's going to make him jealous but she’s also calling him hot and he can't say anything about it, and it’s such a delicious conundrum. “Kind of rugged, too– big baggy clothes and wearing war paint. Not at all a buttoned up nerd.”

Ekko rolls over, pins her to the ground like she's been goading him to do. “I'll show you buttoned up nerd,” he says, and he kisses her breathless. 

And it’s different from the way he kissed her earlier tonight. For one he knows how she likes to be kissed, knows how to tease her. But there's nothing of that delicate way he held her like she was this precious thing that could break, and she wants that intensity again. 

They stay like that awhile. Just kissing, just enjoying each other. And they don't think of other worlds where they haven't talked in years and maybe never will again. 

At last they stop, because Ekko looks at his watch and says, “Oh shit, I should get you back home!” 

Powder tickles his knee with hers, hoping to tempt him into giving in again. “We’ve got time. I said I was going to the dance.” 

“It’s almost 2am, I'm pretty sure your dads are gonna kill me.”

Powder snorts disbelieving. “Nah, they wouldn't.” 

“No, I know Silco quit being a crime boss but I'm pretty sure he still knows how to hide a body like, super good.” 

Powder kisses him again– with a little bit of tongue, for good measure– and then when she's sure he's about to give in she jumps to her feet. Ekko looks at her exasperated but fond. “Alright, genius. Let's get you home– you've got a presentation to give tomorrow.” 

Ekko groans. 

[adventuringblind]

With Me Forever [Remastered]

Reader/Lando/Max/Charles/Oscar/Logan AND Reader/Eventual Ex!Original Female Character AND Sebastian/Lewis

Chapter Summary: Something about how a picture is worth a thousand words...

WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES: Underage Sex (both consensual and not consensual, NOT BETWEEN READER AND DRIVERS), Mentioned past abuse (sexual, child neglect, child abandonment, physicaly, mental, verbal), medical malpractice & medical inaccuracies, Violence and gore, stalking, cults and witches (Reader is a witch with super cool powers tho-), Kidnapping at some point, some pretty hefty age gaps

Author's Note: I didn't realize how varied in word count the chapters are until deciding to also post the fic here-

Series Masterlist

Chapter Four

Max sits across from her at the dinner table, recounting tales of his summer break that mostly included his new teammate, Daniel. The Australian seems like he would do insane things, like skydiving, and Max would follow him wherever. 

Seb had called it puppy love. Then promptly told her never to repeat that. 

Seb and Lewis are looking at them, but not with the fond eyes she is used to. No, Seb is staring her down like she’s just committed a heinous crime of some kind. “Alright-” he folds his hands on the table and Lewis rolls his eyes at it. “-You are going to tell us about this future seeing thing.” 

Panic seems to be the only emotion she can come up with at this moment. Her lip wobbles, stomach twisting in knots. She’d done so good to avoid anything having to do with the subject only to get cornered. 

She tries to look like it doesn’t matter, shrugging it off. Seb narrows his eyes, unconvinced. “The nosebleeds are worse and you are already predicting this season.” 

“Not much of a prediction given Lewis-” 

“Not the point!” 

She flinches. The tense air and anxiety creeping in threaten to overwhelm her. She looks at Max who is somewhere between angry at Seb and concerned for her. “It’s… it’s hard to explain.” 

Seb reaches his hand across the table, offering it up for her to take without pushing. “We are worried for you, schatz. You are tired and pale, your nose bleeds so much I’m running out of dish rags… Help me out here, please?” 

“I’m different.” Admitting it is scary, but what else is she going to do? The worst they can do is send her back to her father. She’d probably just kill herself if that was the case. “Mom was a witch, and so am I, I guess.” She’s not sure she can elaborate more, her head is pounding and hiding under her blankets sounds nice right now. 

Everyone blinks at her, almost unbelieving, if it weren't for the fact she has no reason to lie and there isn't any other explanation. 

Max looks at her and smiles wide. “Well, I think that's awesome! Is there, like, a way to control it?” his Dutch accent comes out thicker now, excitement bleeding through. “Will you be able to do other things? Can you bring people back from the dead-” 

That question has her zoning out. If only Max knew the half of it. Bringing someone back would've solved her problems back at her fathers warehouse. 

He's still asking even if she's not listening and part of her is endeared by it. 

~~~~~

There is a shift around the garage that she doesn't know how to react to yet. Nico retired, Max gets to start with Redbull this Season instead of halfway through it. She should feel Excited! 

Except for the part where she is being replaced–because Daniel is cooler and older and- 

Is it normal to feel this distraught over something so trivial? She went thirteen years with no friends for fucks sake, how is this any different?! 

She pokes at her dinner plate while Seb and Lewis gossip about paddock drama. Her doctor says she's not on the verge of collapse now, but that doesn't mean food isn't hard. It's the easiest way to punish herself.  

“Dove? Something on your mind?” Lewis has always been gentle with her, slowly teaching jeer things about the world that she didn't understand before. Like how his and Seb's relationship isn't public because it's frowned upon in most parts of the world and in places they travel to. 

She shakes her head no and goes back to pushing food around her plate. They don't try and get anything more from her, based on doctors instructions, and she can't help but feel grateful for it. 

~~~~~

Seb and Lewis go back and forth on the prospect of therapy for a couple of months before finally asking her. She says no, obviously, because the idea of speaking to a complete stranger terrifies her. 

It feels like an argument without the amount of yelling there normally is. Something about it feels inherently wrong, like she should have said yes even if she didn’t want to. Because apparently Kimi doesn’t count as a friend and Max is too busy with his own career and Daniel to pay any attention to her. 

It’s weird, having someone close only to lose them again. Even if he’s still right there, a five minute walk down the paddock and she could be sitting in his garage instead of trying to do math with Seb’s engineers. 

She prefers math over reading. Her father didn’t care much for teaching her that part, only the things that mattered to him, but she has a suspicion there was more purpose to it then that. She can do basic English sight words. Even German is easier than that since that’s the language Seb knows best. 

Kimi comes around the corner and spots her staring at Seb and Lewis, making a valiant attempt at reading their lips. “You know you can’t avoid them forever?” 

“Worried about me.” Her lips twitch downwards into a frown. She had been naive thinking leaving her fathers house would make everything better. Sometimes she wonders if all she did was make life worse for someone else. 

~~~~~

She wouldn’t say she’s lonely. She knows that feeling well and this isn’t it… but it also isn’t a happy feeling. Putting it into words is difficult; it’s almost as if she’s watching life happen around her and she has no part in it. 

Dove withdraws herself from any interaction possible. She leaves Kimi alone, tries her best to only bother Seb when it’s absolutely necessary and goes back to limiting her use of words. It’s not like they need to hear her talk. It’s probably annoying anyway, that’s what her dad used to say at least. 

She tries to wave hello to Max again, but that’s the extent of their interactions until Seb forces him over for dinner. His dad has been getting more violent and everyone can see it. Last time she tried to ask him about if he told her to fuck off about it. 

She didn’t cry about it. At least not until she was alone again. 

~~~~~

“Dove, why are you asleep on the couch?” Lewis comes around the corner rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He’s an early riser, likes to get a jump on his day where Seb likes to sleep in the extra hour. 

She just shrugs her shoulders, because telling him she wet the bed because of nightmares doesn’t sound appealing. Normally, she would strip everything right there so they would never know it happened. They’ve been under the impression that she’s getting better and she’d like to keep it that way. She just didn’t have the energy after whatever the hell her mind had subjected her to last night. 

It’s fine, she’ll fix it when they are gone-

Lewis comes to join her on the couch and hands her a glass of water. He opens his arms so she can put her head in his lap and then the exhaustion of everything seems to hit at once. 

It’s still weird, crying over trivial things. She used to never cry about anything because it’s not like it ever got her anywhere–merely a waste of time and energy. 

But she sobs until her throat goes dry, her eyes numb, the hitching of her breathe becomes suffocating, and even then it doesn’t stop. 

~~~~~

Okay, so she might have been more tired than expected, but Lewis makes for a comfortable pillow and she hadn't really slept in a week. She cannot be blamed for drooling all over him and making him miss his workout given the time on the nearest clock now reads that it's the afternoon. 

She yawns and tries to scramble off him when she hears him and Seb clear their throats. “Taube, we need to talk, please.” Seb hands over her notebook and pen and panic begins to register somewhere in the back of her mind. 

There is a letter on the table in a yellow envelope. She has a stack of those letters sitting under one of the loose floorboards in her room. She’s received one everyday since January first and has refused to talk about them. 

She makes sure that she is the one to get the mail everyday and has managed to convince everyone that she’s the same as a dog going to get the daily paper at the end of the driveway. It took a while, but she managed and nobody suspected a thing. 

The worst part is that the letter is opened. Probably because it’s addressed to her in scary looking handwriting and in a manilla envelope–all reasons a normal person should be concerned.

Leave it to summer break to ruin everything-

“This letter came for you today, do you know anything about it?” Seb is using his dumb gentle parenting voice that she knows all too well now. The same one he uses when he has to scold her. “Our delivery man says he’s been bringing the same letter to you for a while now-” 

Well, there is no avoiding it now she supposes. She was going to tell Max when the first ones started coming, but he was too busy really integrating himself with redBull and she didn’t want to bother him. 

She runs up to her room and can hear Seb and Lewis trailing behind her. She reaches the door and sees her bed made and the smell is of freshly done laundry and not of urine and–She’s going to cry, actually. 

“Darling, you don’t have to hide things from us. It’s okay, really-” She turns around and throws herself into Seb’s arms. 

“I can’t sleep… because he’s watching.” 

He strokes her hair and hugs her tight. It’s the same way she does when she has a meltdown because her senses are in overdrive. It lessened after she discovered noise cancelling headphones, but then it was all the little things to-

She pulls away to move the floorboards she’d so carefully loosened and pulls out the stacks of letters from the unknown sender. 

Seb and Lewis exchange glances as she pulls out a little over seven months of daily letters. All of them written in the same messy scrawl. 

They don’t talk about it much for the rest of the day. Instead they watch movies on the couch and Seb makes hot chocolate 

~~~~~

They move the following weekend to an apartment in Monaco with good security. It’s one of Lewis’ and also in the same building as Daniel… And also Max. 

She tells Seb that Max is too busy for her, but still ends up dragging her to go and knock on his door to see if he’s home. 

He doesn’t answer, as she expected–probably up a couple of floors spending time with Daniel. Whatever, she’s not jealous-

~~~~~

Lewis hands her a small box on her birthday, away from where Seb and Max can see. They are out grabbing something to eat. Probably not trainer approved for them, but approved for her since she’s stopped eating all together since the visions have gotten worse. The anxiety has been making her vomit recently and the insane amount of blood loss with each one isn’t helping. 

She opens it and finds a really nice camera inside, it makes her insides feel fuzzy, but she doesn’t really know why yet. “I want you to start documenting things, anything you want. Think of it like a diary, but you don’t have to write anything because it’s all pictures.”

The first picture she takes is of her and Lewis together, smiling. 

~~~~~

In the early months of 2018, Dove spends majority of her time with Seb in Maranello. She always has her camera around her neck and most of the team expect to end up in her pictures. 

Lewis says she has a good eye for catching the moments others might miss. He also prints them out for her and buys her journals and Seb takes her to go pick out things like colored pens and stickers. 

They say her stories don’t require words. It makes her feel seen.

She’s working on some online reading and writing lessons that Seb and Lewis have her doing to at least help the skill. Math comes easy and she’s fallen in love with statistics, but that doesn’t help her know what the hell anything says. It’s hard to determine how to interpret data if she doesn’t know what the data is for. 

The new social media admin and her daughter are also sitting in the cafeteria. She looks about Dove’s age, maybe a little older if anything, with blonde hair and brown eyes. She’s a bit pretty, actually- 

The girl makes her way to where Dove is sitting surrounded by Seb’s laptop, her camera, a journal and pens, and the whiteboard she’s been using to communicate because words are too damn hard. 

She sits down across from Dove and smiles. Her soft features have an elegance to them and Dove almost feels a bit intimidated by it–femininity is hard to achieve since she’s been surrounded by males her entire life. 

“Hello, I’m Cassandra but nobody calls me that. I prefer to go by Cassie!” She chirps, incredibly cheery for it being eight in the morning. 

She writes down ‘Dove’ and then flips it around for Cassie to see. “Dove, that’s a pretty name!” She points to a woman who looks similar to her, the new social media admin. “That over there is my mom. It’s just me and her, so I’ll be around alot. Maybe we can be friends? I’ve seen you around while we were getting introduced and stuff and Sebastian says you’re also American, technically. Kind of nice to know I’m not alone.” 

And while her instincts scream to run in the other direction, the allure of having a friend is too good of an opportunity to pass up. She’s getting kind of lonely now, admittedly, without Max. 

She nods her head yes and watches Cassie beam. 

~~~~~

She shouldn’t google her biological dad. She shouldn’t read the headline articles that pop up when she presses enter on the search bar. But she’s going to because she can make out some of the bigger words now. 

And Cassie had talked her into it–which doesn’t help because apparently she’s an impressionable young teen just like Seb said and fuck this is such a bad idea. 

She’s not here right now but she’s put the idea out there and now Dove can’t stop thinking about it. ‘Have you ever googled yourself?’ she’d asked, ‘It’s kind of fun to see who else shares your name and stuff!’

It was funny when Cassie did it, but now she’s googled her dad and the first words on her screen are: Major Cult Leader Arrested. Good to know that apparently she was religious without ever realizing it. 

Had that been what all those men were over for? Was she the thing they were worshipping? Is that why they wanted her blood all the time? Most importantly, is that the reason she has these weird healing abilities she doesn’t know how to use and can see the future?

Her head hurts. 

Seb rounds the corner and comes into his driver room to find her crying over his laptop. “Taube-” 

She turns the computer around to him, tears brimming her eyes, and waits for him to read them. “Love-” He crouches down onto the ground, closes the laptop and pulls her into a hug. “Whatever he was, isn’t what you are, if that’s what you’re worried about-” 

“No! Nothing makes sense!” She tugs on her hair to self-soothe while Seb settles them into a comfier position. “All the–the memories!” 

Seb rocks them and waits for her sobs to quiet down before he tries to talk to her again. Which, good on him, because it’s hard to hear over the sound of her own sobbing. “I had a feeling that whatever happened wasn’t good, and whatever you’re ready to talk about, remember that I’m always going to be here. I won’t hurt you, and neither will Lewis, okay? You can scream and cry and throw things if you want, if that’s what you need. Just know I will always be here for you, when you’re ready.” 

Maybe not yet, because sometimes crying is easier to do than talking, but soon.

[wandixx]

Dani gives people heart attacks and brings down a lot of trafficking rings, making friends along the way. Everything by accident, really

Dani traveled around world, hadn't she? While doing it, she had to meet a lot of interesting people.

Like heroes or villains.

In civies or not or both who knows.

But to actually learn things about someplace you have to spend more than one night there. Like, idk? Month? Probably more but I doubt she would be able to sit in one place for any longer. In many places she is shorter.

Month is long enough to create some connections though.

Enough to get someone to realize when you disappear...

Yeah, Dani on her way of gremlin and self discovery ghosted bunch of people without second thought. They'll probably forget her in few months anyway. And she was everywhere in USA. She didn't left American soil only because she didn't want to be too far from Danny in case of emergency. Before anyone tells me he was in space so he could fly to her wherever on Earth she would be, Earth's atmosphere ends about 100 km above sea level and officially this is border of space. Telecommunication satellites are between 8000 to 12000 km up. It's about how wide Atlantic Ocean is.

Plus y'know, time. If she needs help, she probably can't quite wait until he flies all the way to Hong Kong, Wladywostok, Rio de Janeiro or wherever she is.

So America it is. For now at least. When they're 100% sure she is stable she'll fly elsewhere.

Anyway people who she ghosted are used to batshit crazy stuff but "this tween is alone on her road to self discovery and just left for new city" isn't first thing anyone thought about. Maybe outside of Martians. They know. Everyone else? No idea what happened to this tiny, chaotic, snarky, probably meta child.

First thought though?

She got kidnapped.

So now 3/4 of Justice League, some individual heroes and bunch of less intense rogues are scrambling around their cities tracking every trafficking ring they found glimpses of, trying to find Dani.

Flashes work with Captain Cold on this and seem to slowly descend into madness. At the same time, Dani eats ice cream with nice museum lady from Washington who introduced herself as Diana. Then she helps at animal shelter with kind stuck up boy called Damian. Oh, Danny likes aliens, let's visit Martian Manhunter. Maybe she'll manage to get autograph for her template. Wait Space Cops? Kinda sucks but Danny would probably like their signatures too. Let's go. Oh, Superboys are fun mess with and older one is like her! This Nightwing guy puns like Danny but she always feels like he looks at her weirdly. Billy should eat more, magic or not, fighting is tiring. Good thing she has Sam's money to buy him burgers.

She has time of her life while people she met are slowly dying.

She probably doesn't even hide that she is traveling but for whatever reason they don't think she actually left.

They don't bring it up on any meeting because no matter how concerned they are, it's not really whole league type of business. And Martians just discreetly enjoy chaos.

There is a lot of ways it can get resolved (or not) but I kinda thought about Jon introducing his old buddy Damian to his new buddy Dani because he thinks they would get along and they just stare at each other for long moment before:

"Dani..."

"Dami!"

"WHY DID YOU LEFT WITHOUT A WORD! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE KIDNAPPED OR DEAD!"

Some screaming and revelation that Killer Croc was looking for her too, Dani hits moment of realisation.

"Wait, is this what people think when you just up and go?"

"Honestly? Yeah"

"Oh, Ancients I did this to so many people. So many..."

Idk, just Dani traveling and leaving people behind.

Do with it what you will

[elasticitymudflap]

you think your boy Simon is gonna come back for season 2 or is he all arced out?

LISTEN *GRIPS U* SORRY IM ALL CAPS IM JUST BEING VERY NORMAL RN

SEASON 1 WAS BASICALLY ABOUT GETTING HIM TO THE POINT WHERE HE WAS SIMPLY NO LONGER LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO THROW HIS LIFE AWAY, AND RECOGNIZING/NOT ROMANTICIZING THE CONCEPT OF SACRIFICE IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BETTY BECAUSE OF HOW DISPROPORTIONALLY SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF FOR HIM IN WAYS HE WASN'T COGNIZANT OF.

IMHO:

SEASON 1 BARELY TOUCHED UPON ADDRESSING OR WORKING THROUGH HIS ICE KING TRAUMA. THIS IS MY FIRST MAIN THING I NEED THEM TO TOUCH UPON.

IT CONCERNS ME THAT SIMON DIDN'T EVEN COMPLETELY CONNECT THE DOTS IN THAT ALL THE CRAP WORLDS THEY WENT TO WERE HINGING ON WHO HE IS AND THE IMPACT HIS LOVE AND SACRIFICE (OR THE LACK THEREOF) HAD ON THE WORLD (DID SORT OF FOR A MOMENT IN THE STAR BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH IMO)

HE'S OBVIOUSLY STILL PROCESSING HIS YEARS TAKING CARE OF MARCY IN THE APOCALYPSE???? THERE WAS NO FOLLOW-UP WITH HER PHONECALL EVEN IN THE FINAL MONTAGE???? WHAT HAPPENED IN OOO WHEN HE DISAPPEARED??? THESE TWO NEED TO FUCKING TALK FOR REAL

WHAT DOES SIMON'S LIFE LOOK LIKE WHEN HE'S NO LONGER AN EXHIBIT?? HOW THE HELL DID HE BECOME/CONSENT TO BECOMING AN EXHIBIT IN THE FIRST PLACE I MEAN WHAT THE FUCK?? HOW DID HIS LIFE CHANGE SO DRASTICALLY (OR DID IT NOT) FROM OBSIDIAN??

THE MORAL OF "MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE GONE ON THAT TRIP TO AUSTRALIA INSTEAD / WHO KNOWS WHAT LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE" IS SO BAD FOR HIM TO END CONCLUSIVELY ON AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE SEEN BECAUSE THE WORLD STILL FUCKING ENDED??? MAYBE HE FOUND THE CROWN, MAYBE HE DIDN'T, BUT EITHER WAY FROM WHAT WE SAW IN THE ALT WORLDS IT WAS ALL GOING TO END IN TRAGEDY AND MAYBE THIS IS THE ONLY WORLD WHERE WE GET A BITTERSWEET END INSTEAD OF A HELL WORLD THANKS TO THEIR DESICIONS??? IDK!!!!!! I'D LIKE TO EXPLORE THAT CONCEPT I THINK

THE UNIVERSE IS OUT OF HIS NOODLE, BUT DOES SIMON'S HEAD-PORTAL STILL WORK?? CAN HE CONNECT TO FIONNA WORLD IF HE'S IN HIGHLY CHARGED MAGICAL ENVIRONMENTS??? ACTUALLY, WHAT THE HELL ARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF A HUMAN HAVING A UNIVERSE IN HIS DANG HEAD

HE'S CONNECTING WITH ASTRID NOW AND SEEMS TO BE ON MUCH BETTER TERMS, IS SHE GOING TO INSPIRE HIM TO START WRITING FIONNA AND CAKE STORIES AGAIN TO COPE IN A HEALTHY WAY WITH HIS PAST THIS TIME??

SIMON'S RELATIONSHIP WITH ICE THING???

SIMON'S HUMAN PAST IN GENERAL: WHY IS THIS DUDE THE WAY HE IS??? WHY DID HE BELIEVE THE THINGS HE DID, STUDY THEM, MAKE THEM THE THINGS HE HINGED HIS LIFE AND CAREER ON???

ON THAT NOTE: FLASHBACKS. MOTHER FUCKING FLASHBACKS. MORE OF HIS ADVENTURES WITH BETTY. WE ACTUALLY SEE SO LITTLE OF WHAT THEY WERE LIKE TOGETHER WHEN ACTUALLY HAPPY, HUMAN, AND IN A RELATIONSHIP TOGETHER, IN THEIR ELEMENT, AND NOT STRICKEN WITH LIFE-OR-DEATH DESICION MAKING EXCEPT FOR HIS DUMB ASS GETTING BRAINED BY A CHERRY JAR

HIS YEARNING TO FIND BETTY AND APOLOGIZE TO HER WAS "TECHNICALLY" HANDLED IN THE SHOW, BUT YOU CAN NOT TELL ME THIS DUDE DOESN'T HAVE LASTING ISSUES AND TRAUMA AROUND THAT. ABOUT THE FIRST TIME HE PUT ON THE CROWN AND BETTY DISAPPEARING FOREVER. ABOUT THE GUILT AND FEAR ABOUT HER BEING DEAD DURING THE WAR. ABOUT LIVING NINE FUCKING HUMAN LIFETIMES IN A HAZE WHERE ALL HE KNEW WAS HE HURT THE PERSON HE LOVED MOST AND HE JUST NEEDED TO FIND HER. IT BECAME AN INTEGRAL PART OF ICE KING'S CHARACTER, HIS MOST DEFINING TRAIT STRIPPED TO THE STUDS. HE HELD ONTO THAT LAST PIECE OF SIMON PETRIKOV SOME HOW UNTIL SO MUCH TIME HAD PASSED HIS ONLY HOPE TO EVER FIND HER AGAIN WAS TO USE TIME TRAVEL. I'D LIKE SOME MORE OF THAT, IF YOU PLEASE.

HOW IS HE ACTUALLY COPING POST-SEASON 1? WHAT ARE HIS THOUGHTS ON ALL THE WORLDS THEY VISITED, THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO HIM, THE IMPLICATIONS, HIS INTERPRETATIONS? HE MAY BE IN THERAPY BUT HE'S STILL DRINKING.

ANYWAY