#she'd let herself be hurt by him and not really be able to hate him even if she is mad

[acaciapines]

writing rain world fic so fun i love coming up w all the background iterator dynamics <3 we arent gonna see any of them but i WILL keep leaving hints about their relationships <3

[shinxeysartgallery]

J is kind of an asshole and I think we all realize that especially after what she did in Episode 8. Still think she's being hated on a bit too hard though.

She knowingly sided with Cyn, despite knowing what she was responsible for, and that's obviously not a good thing. However, do keep in mind that all of the affected Elliot Manor drones are just traumatized children at the end of the day. Cyn put all of them through immeasurable horrors. Even without Cyn's influence, the drones were treated horribly by the humans (other than Tessa). And based off the scratched-off armbands that we saw N, V, and J have that also match Cyn's armband, there's strong implications that all three of them are also "zombie drones" much like Cyn is herself. We don't know what they were subjected to before being tossed into the dump and later being found by Tessa.

As J and V are fighting, J makes an interesting comment that sheds some light on her motivations. "...It tricked me, too." Obviously, that was never elaborated on, but it strongly implies that she had made some sort of a deal with Cyn for an unknown reason. We got confirmation that V also had made a deal with Cyn, which was basically that she'd do whatever Cyn wanted as long as she wouldn't hurt N (and then would leave them both alone). Don't know if N also made a deal, but he's likely there as a part of V's deal.

So it makes me wonder, what exactly did Cyn promise J? Did she tell her that she could bring back Tessa? Promise to not let her die again? Something else entirely? Based on her comment to V, SOMETHING was definitely promised that ended up being a lie. Everyone reacts to trauma differently. Saw a post a while back (will hyperlink it later if I can find it again) by another user doing a very good breakdown of how they perceived the drones' personalities changed as a result of their trauma. N became a doormat because he kept getting hurt or hurting others every time he stood up for himself or someone else. (They also add that V's coldness towards him contributed to it and made him lose a lot of self-confidence.) V became rather cold because she was basically forced to turn off her emotions to cope with what she was doing. And she was purposefully mean to N to chase him away as an attempt to protect him from Cyn. J became a corporate bootlicker because she was terrified of being discarded again, so now she feels like she has to prove that she's useful.

And I think those theories all definitely hold some water here and help to explain why J still chose to side with Cyn, even after realizing that whatever their deal was was a lie. It's likely that she realized that if she decided to side against Cyn, Cyn would've just killed her straight-up. And that's really not out of the question, considering what she did to N and V once she realized that those two had asked too many questions and realized that she was the bad guy they wanted nothing to do with. If J had also gone against her, she'd just be replaced with either a clone that had its memories wiped (as evident by Cyn's comment to N in Episode 7: "your clones will forgive me") or a personality shift, or just flat-out a completely different drone altogether. There's also her comment towards V during their fight. "I promise it's better on the winning team.", which implies that J had full belief that Uzi wouldn't have been able to stop Cyn and Cyn was going to get her way no matter what. That paired up with the personality shift might imply that she felt trapped. Cyn preyed on her vulnerability and fears of being discarded and weaponized them against her. She believed that Cyn was going to win no matter what, and if she went against Cyn, she was going to be discarded again. Despite knowing she was tricked, she probably stays loyal to Cyn because she's terrified of that outcome. She doesn't want to die, she doesn't want to be thrown away again. But the only person she feels she can get that security from is the same one that basically caused all of her problems. That same person is practically the equivalent of a god in the universe and seemingly NOTHING can stop it. What choice does she have in that perspective?

I still feel like she's an incredibly tragic character. Horribly mistreated by humans, forced to watch (or participate in) her best friend's death at the hands of the one she despises the most, sees the same bestie be horribly mutilated and disfigured, be forced to commit horrible atrocities herself, and be manipulated and lied to. She deserves a redemption arc.

You're obviously allowed to still hate/dislike her, but that's just my thoughts on it!

[angstflayer-council]

July Drabble #4- Girl Talk

“I like Nancy.” 

Her voice cracked and she curled in on herself, afraid of the response that would eventually come. She didn’t know what she would do if Steve hated her for something she had tried to ignore for so long. Robin knew it was wrong to have a crush on her best friend’s ex and she knew there was a chance that Steve could react negatively, but she couldn’t keep it to herself any longer.  

She told Steve everything. She needed to tell him this.  

His silence scared her. They hadn’t turned the lights on when they climbed into the bed so she couldn’t see his face; couldn’t see his reaction.  

Robin reached out with a shaky hand and breathed a sigh of relief when Steve entwined their fingers together, their socked feet were already touching as they lay facing each other in Robin’s bed. “Are you mad at me?” The question broke the silence in the room and caused Steve to squeeze her hand in reassurance.  

“I’m not mad, Robs.” He sighed softly and held her hand against his heart. “I’m worried you’ll get hurt. I don’t know if Nancy is... ya’know.” He trailed off and if the light was on, Robin would be able to see the sad smile that no doubt pulled at his lips. 

“And for that exact reason I tried not to like her, Steve, I really did. She’s just so - “ Beautiful, smart, caring, brave.  

“Perfect.” Steve said with a soft laugh.  

Robin sighed and rolled onto her back; Steve kept her hand held tight in his own. “Perfect.” The word was both right and wrong. Robin felt she needed a whole new alphabet to find the right words to describe Nancy. 

“Are you going to tell her?”  

“Tell her that I like her? God, no. That’s between us and whatever god is listening.” Robin's not stupid. She knew she was never going to be anything more than Nancy’s friend, she’s cried and journaled about it already. It’s completely fine with her. Sort of. Not really.  

Steve moved closer, his big head now squished onto the same pillow as her. He waited a beat before saying softly, “No, are you going to tell her you’re a lesbian?” 

Steve’s words settled on top of Robin like a weighted blanket that’s just slightly too heavy. She knew that in order to confess to Nancy she'd have to come out to her but the thought made Robin’s stomach flip and flop like a fish out of water.  

“Do I have to?” She was scared, terrified actually. 

“No, but maybe telling her could help. Maybe Nancy broke up with me because she's secretly a lesbian.” Robin could hear the smile in his voice. He had a point but it was still so nerve wracking.  

What if it went badly? What if the one person Robin really wanted to know the truth didn’t accept her?  

Robin let out a sad noise, somewhere between a groan and a sob, and Steve, sensing her distress, pulled the covers over their heads so that they were shielded from the world. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Robs. There’s no rush. You’ll get there one day and when that day comes, I’ll be by your side.”  

“Oh my god, that was so cheesy.” 

“You love my cheese.”  

Robin snorted and shoved him lightly. “No, I don’t. I’m lactose intolerant.” 

[eleni-cherie]

a thief's origin✨ || bts • kth - epilogue

"you're afraid I won't wait."

"I'm afraid you will."

a criminal and a doctor should be as different as the sun and the moon - but unexpected things happened every day. like him finding his safe haven in her.

© 2024 | eleni_cherie

»»»

masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburn, mutual pining, strangers to friends to lovers s2f2l

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

»»»

age 30 // attending physician

6th June

Havana, Cuba

The day Taehyung walked away, Cassandra didn't only lose the only man she'd ever loved but also her best friend.

A lifetime without him seemed empty and pointless and she was still mad at him for putting her through this misery.

However, she couldn't hate him, even if she wanted to. He hadn't done anything wrong after all, neither one of them had. What he'd done, he'd done out of love, to keep her far away from the danger lurking around every corner he took.

No. She'd never be able hating him because in the end, he'd never broken her heart. He had just stolen and run away with it.

And it still hurt.

The first first days, weeks, months after the break-up were characterised by denial. She was used to extended periods between seeing him again after all. Even the fact texts and calls had stopped, couldn't change that. Only when postcards had stopped coming as well, it'd finally downed to her.

Of course, in reality she'd already known it long before that, from the very first moment he'd left. She could see it in his eyes. He'd meant it back then, every single word. He wouldn't come back.

And yet, denial kept her from accepting it earlier. Kept her from even admitting or acknowledging it. Denial had her bargaining, believing that, even if he'd meant it, he'd surely change his mind eventually. That he'd certainly regret it. Denial gave her false hope.

When months passed without any new postcard, however, that was when she'd finally let herself admit defeat. When the denial couldn't hold up anymore. When the bargaining ended up in vain.

And instead, a phase of upsetness and depression, in constant pendulation, entered. A permanent restlessness accompanying her from that day on, knowing she'd never be able finding what they'd shared with someone else.

Until she'd finally accepted it and got accustomed to never seeing him again.

The tiny hope she'd once held, long stored back in a box and buried by then. Only the necklaces remained as a remnant of the past, not ready to give them away. One day maybe, but not yet.

However, just because she had managed accepting it, it didn't mean everything was back to normal for her.

Passing by their old places, she couldn't help but always see the ghost of them together there, everything turning dull. Unable to pass by Casa Batlló anymore without aching at the memory of their sunsets, the beach without remembering New Year's Eve, without seeing the 'magic fountain' and remembering his birthday present or the art museum above it where he'd clumsily confessed to her later.

Not even being able staying too long in her own apartment, constantly getting reminded of their first kiss or the countless nights they had spent there laughing, crying, fooling around and loving each other.

Her once dream city had turned blue and gray.

She simply couldn't bear staying in Barcelona anymore after completing her medical training last year, deciding to realise her once silly idea of revisiting the place of her childhood memories for her specialisation training instead.

A place with no attachment to him. Far away from everything and everyone.

She was essentially running away - or at least tried to. Although she knew she'd never be able to fully run away from it all, carrying him with her anywhere she went.

Perhaps there was also an underlying irony in the fact she'd chosen emergency medicine as her specialisation out of all medical fields. Perhaps it was evidence for the residual hold the artful marksman with the cheeky grin and the warm eyes still had on her and probably always would.

Over a year had already passed by now ever since Taehyung had left and interpol showing up hours later, questioning her about the boatyard. Over a year and she still caught herself falling into her memories every once in a while. Still couldn't stop becoming sorrowful whenever she did and plunging into work or her films for distraction.

She felt like a fool, considering a year should've been enough time to get over someone, something she'd used to do in a day or two.

At least she had stopped looking for him in other men a long time ago. Unintentionally comparing anyone she'd crossed paths with him at first, a fatuous and unhealthy habit which thankfully had subdued by now. Not that she even wanted or tried to find anyone to replace him. It'd be impossible, but also the mere thought of any men made her shudder.

No, she didn't even feel like glancing at anyone, much less date anyone. Her busy work schedules and introverted personality were a true blessing after all, making avoiding them easier.

So there she was now in Havana, the capital of Cuba and place of one of her earliest childhood memories.

It was the beginning of summer, although high temperatures had been constant for weeks. But it was nothing she couldn't handle and otherwise she enjoyed her life there so far. She wouldn't have the right to complain anyway, Havana being her chosen getaway after all.

Cassandra opened the door to her apartment in the first floor, the coolness inside a much needed contrast to the warm afternoon outside. Her aparatment was a bit bigger than her old one, but still decorated in a similar fashion. She couldn't get rid of her beloved posters, plants or plushies after all.

Her backpack sliding from her arms to the floor with a thud as soon as she pressed the door shut behind her.

A five-hour-long seminar sounded more painful than it really was, but perhaps she'd simply got used to this, who knew. Numbness to certain things was one of the requirements for this kind of profession, which she had almost mastered by now - finally.

With a dragged sigh, she slipped out of her disgustingly warm sneakers, although she was accustomed to such temperatures, they still took a tall on her. First she poured herself a much needed glass of water. Gulping it down in one go before changing into more comfortable clothes and preparing something to eat.

When the food was ready, she settled in front of her tv to continue watching a crime comedy she'd started awhile ago.

Old habits died hard after all.

The second half of the episode was reached when Cassandra noticed her eyes growing heavy, the tiredness of the day and the food making her drowsy. Eventually fluttering shut, causing her to almost miss the anxious knocking on her front door.

First she dismissed it as a neighbour's hammering, but when she paused the episode to figure out which one it was, she realised the noise was coming from her door. And she tensed up, staring at it with wide eyes.

Wonder mixed with an odd feeling of déjà-vu crept up on her as she slowly went to answer it. Assuming it was just irritation causing her trembling hands as she grabbed the door handle, her knuckles turning white when pressing it down and opening the door.

It felt like a sick joke of the universe first. Then she feared her mind was only playing tricks on her, projecting a memory of him. But it couldn't be a memory. He looked different.

Not because of the beaten up posture and the torn clothes - she had seen him way worse. It wasn't even the shorter mop of waves, tousled and sticking out at some ends, or his broader frame.

No. It was the distress written all over his gentle features, a mild sunburn tainting them in a pinkish shade, that told her something had to be severely wrong for him to stand again in front of her door, more than one year later.

And her initial excitement sunk.

"Cas -" Taehyung tried catching his breath and propped a toned arm against the doorframe. It was evident that he had been running. "I know I have no right, but Jimin - he - he needs you."

At the mention of his friend's name and the way he choked it out, she sensed her initial fear being correct. Something was terribly wrong.

Any lingering feelings and unsolved regrets got swept aside in that moment. Her ego and tiredness long forgotten, instead instincts from years of medical training kicked in. And she immediatelly rushed to the bathroom.

Perplexed at her sudden move, he wanted to call after her when she returned seconds later with a familiar object in her hands. The blue medical kit. She held it firmly in one hand while slipping back into her sneakers with the help of the other.

"Take me to him."

Taehyung smiled softly, not even surprised by the determination in her voice. She hadn't changed at all, she was still the same.

He nodded then, wordlessly grasping her free hand in his and Cassandra let him pull her downstairs to his waiting car.

THE END

»»»

if you wanna know how Tae x Cas's story continues, make sure to read the main story "among thieves" and the sequel "a thief's end" ;)

hope you enjoyed this prequel! it got longer than expected haha

i plan to edit "among thieves" and add more details to make it equally as long as the other stories + i plan to write one-shots for jungkook and jin, perhaps namjoon and hobi, too, if i come up w smth good for them. so stay tuned!

Don't forget to like, comment & leave feedback!♡ It motivates me to keep writing :)

taglist: @lilanyxta @naoolammao345 @memna234 @tetehion @myblacklilame

[talkfantasytome]

Glasses

A teeny, tiny drabble so that I could participate and do something for @nestaarcheronweek despite my crazy, hectic life. I've always imagined that Nesta wears glasses for work or reading or something, and that it drives Cassian absolutely nuts. I wish I had more time to make this more, maybe some day, but for now, I give you Cassian appreciating Nesta in glasses. 💕

Am I still good to swing by to bring your key back?

Yep! Working from home and have no more meetings today. Come by whenever you want, no need to knock.

Cassian smiled at the words flashing across his screen as he reached the windowed door that revealed the doors to the two apartments in Nesta's converted townhouse. Nesta had already told him twice that he could come by any time after noon today, but he let his nerves get the better of him and he had to check just one last time. Even if he was already on her street.

"How are you already here?" the silky sharp voice of his girlfriend asked, carrying easily down the stairs as he opened the door to her apartment.

Cassian chuckled, closing the door and locking it behind him. "Couldn't get to you fast enough, sweetheart," he called up as he began to climb. It was a steep staircase. And dark. He hated it. Nesta could really hurt herself on it, and that was something he wouldn't be able to handle. Cassian dreaded the day he got a call telling him she'd fallen down these damn stairs.

Reaching the main floor, he set the keys down on the tall table in front of him just as a large, cream furball let out a loud hiss.

"Even after feeding you for a week, you still hate me?" he muttered, bending down to see if Ataraxia would sniff at his fingers. The furry little beast lifted his nose up and sauntered away from Cassian like a little prince. "Your cat is a spoiled brat," he said, walking down the small hall toward where he knew Nesta would be working in her large living room.

"As he should be," she replied.

Cassian walked into the room and suddenly the world felt lighter as he laid his eyes on his girlfriend for the first time in a week. Staring intently at the computer screens in front of her, all he could really see was her delicate frame and the golden brown hair tied back in her typical coronet style.

He took a step toward her, going to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then paused in his tracks as Nesta turned in her chair to look at him.

There, resting on top of her perfect nose, was a pair of rounded-square glasses in a dark frame. They weren't exactly hipster glasses - too small for that - but they were a similar shape that sat perfectly in Nesta's face.

Nesta was always the most beautiful woman in the room, always sharp and stunning and obviously intelligent. So Casssian wasn't sure exactly what it was about these glasses, but they took his breath away. Perhaps he was more attracted to librarians than he realized. Or maybe it was just Nesta, looking absolutely stunning in everything, and adding new fantasies about glasses Cassian never thought he'd desire.

"Wh…what are those?" he asked like an idiot, pointing to her face.

Nesta let out a small laugh. "My glasses? I wear them for work. They're just blue-light lenses, they keep me from getting a headache when staring at a screen for a long time."

"They're-"

"A necessary nuisance."

"-phenomenal." Nesta blushed at Cassian's last word, turning back to the computer screen.

Cassian wanted to riot, just as he always did when Nesta looked away from him. It should be illegal, for him not to be able to look upon her face. But especially now. Who knew wen he'd get to see her in glasses again? He needed to find a way to save himself from this withdrawal, and he knew just the thing. "Don't you get a lunch hour?" he asked softly, stepping closer to Nesta and leaning his chin on her shoulder.

"Yes…" she answered slowly, turning her face to look at him.

He grinned. "Great. So why don't you log off but keep those glasses on and join me in the bedroom?"

Before Nesta could answer, Cassian left a kiss on her neck and sauntered to the back of the apartment, smirking as her heard soft footsteps following him.

If you'd like to be added to my taglist, let me know!

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[bingeeaterblog]

// small warning big re touken hate it's a post on why I hate it and how I think it could've been done better BUT I encourage you to keep reading if you do like them and to give me your thoughts whether to tell me why you like them or why you think im wrong in some regards i love a good debate its why i joined Tumblr

I'm gonna start this off by talking about why I loved the original mangas touken.

They start off as strangers, them only having a REAL meeting when she saves his ass from nishio. Initially she was cold and rude, for every reason he was very disrespectful(also for good reason he was scared and all he knew about ghouls is that they are monsters who hurt people, one literally just had him in a choke hold) but I digress. Kaneki starts working at anteiku and he's shadowing touka much to her dismay she feels he can't do anything right and is just a know it all human.

Right off the bat they have a very interesting dynamic, touka learning to care for kaneki him starting to see her(and ghouls as a whole) as a person and not something he should be afraid of.

As time goes on, touka falls for him, it's what makes everything so hard when he abandons her. She feels betrayed he left just like ayato and her dad did no one ever stays for her? How could they? She makes herself so hard to love shutting everyone out. She blames herself partly, not being able to protect him from whatever happened at the aoigiri base.

When she does see him again she's angry! How dare he come back after all this! Why can't he just make up his mind! So she lashes out, she misses him so dearly but she can't tell him that? Let him know she cares? She hits him and tells him to never come back to anteiku (to her).

You can see why it's so appealing!! The angst!! The drama!!! They have it all! Toukas longing and kanekis isolation are what makes them so GOOD.

To explain why I don't like re touken we have to talk about why I don't like re touka.

Touka before was a very well rounded character, she was brash and a little impulsive, she loves the people around her even if its hard for her to show it in a healthy way. She'll do whatever it takes even if it means risking her own life.

Re touka, doesn't really have that. She's very... Water downed. I like to call it house house wife-ification. She's lost any semblance of her old personality. While I do like the idea of touka calming down and becoming more docile it's not done right, we meet her again and she's just... Like that? There's no character development of her changing it just happens! She's shaved down so she can be the perfect love interest for kaneki, it's even shown in her design! Her eyes are softer and she doesn't hold any of the same energy as old touka(this happens with a lot of female characters ishida just ended up giving them all the same face besides eto).

Kaneki is? Fine? I loved haise as a character and him and touka were sorta cute if u kinda ignore that fact touka isn't touka. Kaneki was fine and re and that's it, he's just okay. His Savior complex is removed and it's just "I wanna save people!!" The whole reason his savior complex is important is BECAUSE it ends up hurting more people he should've been developed to learn how to manage that and be the hero he could be.

Now for their actual relationship.

It's very.... Rushed? There's no tension no build up just "are you a virgin?" Which in my opinion is something touka would never say she'd stumble around it. they made her bold at the wrong times she's an awkward lil freak. And then boom! Sex yeah! And it's? Okay? It's not my favorite I felt like a sex scene between them should've been more desperate!! That's when the marriage bite should've happened! It should've bites and messy kisses and promises to never leave again! There was no passion! There was the "why are you crying" but that didn't really do anything for me!!

I do like the end scene where she was petting his hair that was very soft which is what he needs.

Then toukas pregnant!(Which is something I'll get into good another time) And it kinda feels like they only rush into the marriage because she is... Like I feel like they should've atleast had a dating stage y'know!! Everything just felt so fast with them and nothing like the original:(

The end credits scene feels nothing like touka, she looks dead that's not the character I used to know :( kaneki too only the scene with hide felt real

And yeah! I like ichika! But how cool would it have been if touka got pregnant AFTER re and in the end credit thing she was revealed! Another natural born one eyed ghoul!! Idk...

This is very messy sorry I had to get this out. if you like them? That's fine!! That's super duper cool its just not my favorite. Tell me why you think I'm wrong! Id love to hear your opinions

[balanceoflightanddark]

The fire nation's defeat was technically Azula's fault.

Zuko and Iroh were branded traitors and failures. Azula was given specific instructions to capture them, dead or alive. Azula had them both red-handed in Ba Sing Se. Instead of doing what she was told, she asks for Zuko's help and she clears his name in return.

Now, it could be argued that without Zuko's help, she would've been pummeled into submission by Aang and Azula. Well, then after his usefulness was used up, she had a chance to pull yet another fast one and apprehend him without having to lie to Ozai.

Zuko acted suspiciously. He made Azula doubt that Aang really died and she began to think that Zuko may have had something to do with his survival. Instead of searching for proof of Aang's survival and informing her suspicions to Ozai, she puts unnecessary risk on herself and sets up a gambit that was ultimately pointless in more ways than one.

If Azula did what she was supposed to do, Zuko and Iroh would be dead or put in prison which leads to Zuko never finding out about the plans with the comet, Aang never finds a firebending sifu, the FN gains victory unopposed, and Azula can reign as Fire Lord.

In short, by choosing to lend Zuko a hand more than once, she indirectly did Team Avatar a huge favor.

Boom: Butterfly Effect.

The FN's MVP was also Team Avatar's MVP. I do enjoy the irony.

I wonder though, what would the Gaang's, Azula's Zuko's, Iroh's, Ozai's, and all of FN's reactions when realizing this epiphany?

It would break Azula.

...no seriously. It would break her.

While I think it would be a bit of a stretch to say that the defeat of the Fire Nation was her fault (cause there's no way in hell she could've seen bringing Zuko home would end up with his betrayal of Ozai), I do think she was hurting already with Zuko betraying her. If she was torn up about Mai and Ty Lee turning on her, I have no doubt she'd feel the same about Zuko regardless of what her relationship with him is right now. Add on to the fact that this is a girl that is hoisted with way too much responsibility than she is able to handle (being driven to become perfect at any cost), a revelation like this would destroy her.

And the fallout wouldn't be pretty. At all. It would probably rival her breakdown at Sozin's Comet, if not be worse. Hell, I think Zuko and Iroh would be a bit concerned for her. Zuko did seem somewhat regretful at her state after the Last Agni Kai and Iroh (while not Azula's biggest fan) probably wouldn't be that callous to brush her off.

Ozai would hate her though. Hate hate HATE her though. He puts on so much pressure for her to be perfect. What do you think the abusive piece of shit is going to do when he puts two and two together. Might even disown her on the spot, which will cause her to spiral even more. And she'd probably lose a lot of support in the Fire Nation for indirectly letting an unpopular successor on the throne, which would cause her to spiral even further.

...kind of why I don't really want to put the blame on the Fire Nation's defeat on her since the poor kid doesn't need that on top of her failures already. Besides, I think the defeat of the Fire Nation can better be laid on Ozai's feet. I mean, he was the one who banished Zuko and mistreated both him and Azula. If we want to go indirect, he set up a domino effect. And directly, he wasn't able to consolidate the Fire Nation's gains at the end of the war which led to a huge rebellion movement. And he certainly didn't seem to want to get involved with fighting Aang during the Day of the Black Sun which could've stacked the odds further against him when the firebending was turned back on. Mind you, this was before Zuko showed up. Like he was sipping tea while Azula was holding the Gaang off.

That being said, I could see him pass the buck off on Azula for the Fire Nation's defeat. Which would lead into the scenario I just outlined above.

[queenimmadolla]

could we have a baby blurb from the pennyverse?

i know youre writing for it in your big updates so thats fine if not!!

penny hurting herself and eddie either freaking out or trying to comfort reader?

pregnant reader?

Uhhhhhhh, YES YOU CAN! Except it is so not a baby blurb because I got carried away, lol. I can’t help it, i love them so much. Hope you like it!

warnings: a little bit of angst bc penny hurts herself :( but reader and Eddie come to the rescue, pregnancy :), no use of ‘y/n’.

(Dad!eddie munson x mom!reader, and also pregnant!reader)

more pennyverse here :)

“Penny, I’m serious. Get down from there.”

His toddler pouted, plump lower lip stuck out as her eyebrows furrowed to convey her sadness at being scolded.

“But Daddy—.”

“No ‘buts’,” Eddie added, raising an eyebrow down at her, oh? You’re really not gonna listen?

Penny slumped under the look and let out a long whine.

Reluctantly, the flats of Penny’s feet met the ground as she carefully lowered her foot from the shelf of the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. With her lack of patience and growing curiosity, she’d recently begun to test whether or not she’d be able to use the drawers to climb her way up the counter and get whatever it is she wanted instead of waiting for either Eddie or you to get it for her. She was testing Eddie, too.

He hated having to scold her, she was such a reactive baby, she’d usually immediately get upset on her own once she’d realized she’d done something wrong, eyes always welling up with guilty tears. Lately, she’d taken to breaking the rules more often and while he could still tell she felt guilty, it was clear she’d continue until she'd get hurt.

Or worse.

You weren’t exactly in the state to discipline—usually, you were quite on top of making sure she couldn’t be a brat, time outs so Penny would be able to cool off without her feeling like you were smothering her and cuddles to talk out the reason why she did what she did and why she can’t do it again—but since you were in the nesting phase of your pregnancy, all Penny would get is a ‘Penny, we don’t do that’, which did absolutely nothing since Penny clearly liked to ‘do that’.

As soon as she began to sniffle intensely, fat tears already rolling down her round cheeks while she stared up at her dad with her hands clutched together, Eddie softened and sighed, crouching down to be closer to eye level with her so he could cup the side of her face in his hand, thumb stroking over the soft skin to wipe the wet trails away.

“Hey, hey. Don’t be sad, little bitty pretty one. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Yet. He’d caught her just before she could. “Daddy just doesn’t want you to get hurt. The counter isn’t safe for you to climb on and what do we say about climbing on things that aren’t safe?”

“I-I-I coo’ fall.” She stuttered out, sniffles continuing, less intense due to Eddie’s coddling.

“Mhm,” Eddie didn’t even like to think about her injuring herself.

He was all soft smiles and even softer brown eyes as he stared into her own, absolutely positive the love he had for the tiny little girl, who looked like the perfect combination of you and him, was unconditional and the source behind his strength. From the moment he first held her, Eddie knew he would do anything and everything to protect her, “I love you so much, I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, sweet pea. Can I have a hug?”

Penny nodded frantically, reaching a closed fist up to rub at her other eye before she let out another whine and held her arms out wide, wrapping them around his shoulders as she buried her face in one of them.

“Luh you,” she cried, fisting the material of his hoodie. Eddie stood up after he’d gathered her in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back as he kissed her curly little head.

“It’s okay, sweet pea. I love you, too. Always.”

It took a few minutes but once Penny had calmed down, she sniffled and rubbed her snotty little nose off against his hoodie.

“What did you want, anyways?” His eyes scanned the small counter space for whatever it was that could have caught her attention.

“I want the ‘nana.” She pointed lazily in the direction of the bananas, displayed in a bowl. Taunting her.

Eddie used his free arm to rip one from the bunch, biting into the stem at the top of it to keep it still while he unpeeled it for her.

Her lack of patience was once more apparent when she couldn’t wait for him to unpeel the entire thing, reaching out and squishing the part of the fruit that was exposed, ripping it messily away from the rest of it so she could cram it into her mouth.

Eddie chuckled as he carried her out into the living room, plopping down onto the couch with her. Penny quickly devoured the fruit, fingers no doubt messy and sticky until she’d used his legs to climb down from the couch, wiping her stubby little hands on the material of his sweats as she went.

“Am I nothing but a human napkin to you?” He asked with a chuckle, Penny ignored him in favor of digging through her toy box.

“I’d say human furnace, too.” You answered as you returned from the bathroom, fully aware he hadn’t been speaking to you, you just couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Explains why you assault me with those icicles you call feet at night.” He offered you the other half of the banana Penny hadn’t eaten and you took it, only sparing the fucked up top of it a glance before shrugging and taking a bite.

“I can’t help my poor blood circulation, Edward. I can’t prove it right now, but I’m pretty sure it’s your fault.”

He laughed as you settled into the farthest cushion, tapping his thighs as a sign for you to settle your legs over them. You loved him so much.

“My fault? Do explain, babe, I gotta hear it.”

“Probably a side effect of this,” you placed a hand over your swollen belly. No current movement inside, your baby was probably sleeping in there, “Just like my high blood pressure.”

You were still bitter about that one, you’d had quite a few red flags with this pregnancy, had more doctor’s appointments scheduled than when you’d been pregnant with Penny.

“You had ice cubes for toes long before I put a baby in you.” He smirked, a hand reaching out to cover yours.

“You know what?”

He raised an eyebrow to challenge you, much like he did with Penny, what?

“You,” you pointed a finger in his direction, grinning, “be quiet.”

Eddie threw his head back and laughed, it was your version of telling each other to shut the fuck up in the presence of your child. He was still chuckling as he scanned the room for his little girl, immediately tensing when he didn’t spot her.

“Penny?” He called out in alarm, triggering your own concern as you stood up in search of your daughter.

You heard the sound of a gasp followed by something breaking and your daughter’s loud cries. You both bolted over, greeted by the sight of your toddler lying on the ground next to the bananas and surrounded by shards of the ceramic bowl which had housed them.

You were pretty sure your heart stopped and Eddie went pale.

As Penny shrieked, face red, Eddie carefully lifted her from the ground and you immediately noticed the odd angle of her little hand as you assessed her for injuries.

“Eddie,” you inhaled a sharp breath and he clocked the same thing you did, “I’ll get the keys.”

You ran to the bedroom to retrieve a blanket for Penny and met Eddie at the door.

The car ride to the hospital was horrible. You held Penny in the backseat as she cried and cried, feeling absolutely useless and like a terrible mother for being unable to heal her on your own.

Penny had been seen right away, thanks to her young age and injury. Eddie had been a nervous wreck, pacing the waiting area for a good fifteen minutes before he stopped, stood still and then went to wrap his arms around you when he noticed how upset you were, beating yourself up for not having a closer eye on her.

“I’ve told her to not climb the counter, she knows it’s a rule!”

Eddie kissed your forehead, arms secure around you as you tried to bury yourself in his chest to hide from your failure. “I caught her doing it a couple of minutes before she fell, she’s a baby with a lack of impulse control, honey. That’s all. Better believe I won’t be letting her out of my sight after this.”

You’d wiped each other’s tears away and held each other until the doctor came back to take you to the room Penny was in, confirming what you had thought. She’d broken her wrist, most likely having tried to stop her fall with her hands. The doctor said it was the most common type of broken bone injury amongst toddlers she’d seen.

Much to your relief, Penny wasn’t hooked up to anything. She had a little hospital nightgown over her top half but her little overall bottoms were still visible and there was a little pink cast decorating the arm she’d injured. Penny looked miserable until the moment she saw you.

“MAMA!” She shrieked, and you were at her side in an instant, fingers stroking over her curls while Eddie spoke to the doctor.

“Are you okay, baby?” Of course she wasn’t okay, your baby was sporting a cast!

“I hurt my han’, mommy.” She sounded so sad when she said it, you just wanted to scoop her up and hold her forever.

“It’ll get better, I promise.” You swore, happy she still seemed to be preening under your attention. “Baby, why were you on the counter?”

She looked guilty and even more sad, you made sure to plant a couple of kisses on her face to keep her from crying again.

“For anotha ‘nana.”

“Why didn’t you ask me or daddy to get it for you?”

“‘’Cuz—uhm, cuz-cuz-cuz you gotta finish.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion, “Finish what?”

“Making your nes’ for my baby brudder.”

You were full on squinting, mom brain trying to decipher what the heck she was talking about and eventually it clicked.

Nesting.

Penny must have heard you talking about it, which didn’t surprise you since you weren’t as careful as you should be with what you said around her. It was still hard for you to come to terms with Penny having a bit more of a conscience now. While you knew she heard what you’d say (and repeat it like a parrot if it was a curse word) she didn’t understand what she was saying. Or, she hadn’t. Now, she was beginning to think about things and apparently worry.

She’d heard you, all in a tizzy about preparing the trailer for your new addition and she’d gotten worried about distracting you.

“Baby, you’re more important than my nest.” You assured her, though the worry still on her face didn’t go anywhere.

“But brudder─”

“But Penny,” you interrupted with a goofy voice, gently pinching and wiggling her nose to get her to break her serious demeanor. It worked, she giggled, little nose crinkling up, “Penny is just as important as brother. He’s not even here yet and you are still in my nest.”

You reached out to take her smaller hand in yours, thumb stroking over her tiny fingers. She was so little and breakable, it scared you to think about.

“You could have gotten really, really hurt climbing on the counter, baby. Then, mommy would have an empty nest and that would make me and daddy very sad, Penny.” You were positive neither of you would recover.

“Yeah.” Penny agreed, solemnly.

“So, whenever you need something, you have to come to me and daddy, okay?”

“Okay, mommy!” She nodded her head dramatically, “Luh you, mommy. Can I has a hug?”

“I love you, too, and you never have to ask,” She sat up on the bed, very mindful of her pink cast and wrapped her little uninjured arm around your shoulders as you pulled her to your chest. You let out an amused snort when your hand went to cradle the back of her head and found the curls there smashed flat from laying down.

“Oh, baby, that is some bad bedhead.”

“Yeah,” she said again, solemnly, but this time the seriousness of her voice and the topic made you laugh.

Eddie laughed, too, and the sound almost surprised you. You were so focused on your injured baby, you had forgotten he was watching you.

When you turned to look at him, he took that as his cue for his turn. Only, he’d already lectured her about the counters and figured she’d learned her lesson. He’d also, obviously, heard you talk to her about it so he went straight to drowning her with affection, pulling her right into his arms.

“My poor baby!” He cooed, pressing a kiss to her temple and nuzzling his face into her short curls.

“Yeah,” Penny agreed with a sigh that had you and Eddie exchanging glances as you bit your lips to keep from smiling.

Oh, she was gonna milk this broken wrist for all it was worth and you were both more than happy to indulge her and nurse her back to health.

[kalims]

Fairytale anon part 3 haha

Don’t worry about it <3 it’s completely fine , it’s understandable and all on why you wouldn’t be able to do it, but I really appreciate your patience

I’d like to request dorm leaders again, with a trope like “falls first, falls harder”. I just think it would be cute too read,

ofc if you can’t do my request at all it’s all good!

also thank you for giving me a second time to request. It’s really appreciated so much since I love your writing and your literally so kind,😭💞 sorry for putting you through so much trouble

‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "let's play a game. say, if we fell in love who do you think would fall first or harder? ha! it's definitely you."

falling first, and falling harder,

today, we are unaware. tonight, you've realized. tomorrow, we're already smitten.

characters. dorm leaders.

includes. gn!reader.

wc. 5.1k for some reason.

cw. crack, actually mc on crack too, fire accidents, angst to comfort (giving), death (not major)

note. ong hi fairytale anon! honestly you're the patient one here t-t so thank you!! <3 I admit this is one of the favorite mc's I've written haha... why the heck is this so long

—ㅤriddle rosehearts ・falls first

"two plus two is equals to six because there is an additional two." you state without any ounce of doubt at all, blankly—yet so confidently.

riddle is stupefied at the relevation that he knows such a stupid person. so he recoils with a weird look on his face. "that's not how it works. there is no deeper meaning." he sighs.

if he had a penny for everytime you'd made his head hurt riddle would be rich.

he hates your sass.

"but what if it does though."

"(name)."

contrary to belief riddle is a pretty perfect guy but among the category of boyfriend material he's in the middle. like, hardstuck. if it was a competition his mother would be rolling in her bed because he won't stand a chance to win.

it's not because of his face or anything. in fact, he's gorgeous. it's about the sensitive attitude he has. seemingly blunt, harsh, and direct words but you know riddle best besides from his friends.

so it's only natural his real self would be slipping off, with you he has the chance to enjoy his life as a normal school boy. without the clutches of his mother who's fully intent on carving his path herself.

his mother would probably drag him by the ear if she hears that he's falling for one of the most stupid people she'd ever meet instead of one of the 'candidates' she reccomends.

it was during a messy time, when he realized.

messes were something riddle didn't exactly like.

and there's a whole lot right in the kitchen of his dorm.

the silence is prominent when he gets hit by a patch of dough that was probably still in the process of getting kneaded and he's sure whoever made the mess was sweating in their boots when he exhaled shortly.

"I have such good aim." you compliment yourself, laughing quietly and the traces of dough in your hands is full evidence that you are the culprit.

for some reason riddle can't bring himself to be angry by your smile.

he puts a palm over his head. "you. (name) it's five in the morning." without much regard to his words you shrug and casually pick up a new set of flour. "so?"

"so? why are you.." he eyes the items on the counter top. "..baking at five am? it's five am."

"who doesn't? hey don't you not know how to bake? I'll finally beat you in something." you joke.

for once riddle is forcefully dragging himself in the middle of something he hates.

he huffs. flicking his hand so that there's an apron magically on his waist. you make an amazed sound at your own apron tying itself around you.

"don't you know one of the basics for safety is an apron? just you wait, I'll be one of the best at this soon enough." riddle huffs. sure there's a routine he strictly follows everyday but it's a rest day, why not spend it timely? with someone he likes.

you're one mess be wouldn't mind getting caught in.

and you, this time you're the one that would fall harder.

you admit it's hard to like riddle first so early with his old, snappy self but given how much he's improved its starting to feel like you're some quarreling married couple at times.

so it just hits you hard.

I'm in love with him.

ㅤ

—ㅤleona kingscholar ・falls harder

(@ravynous girl, ravy... this for you 🥰)

"leona your little snookie pookie is too broke and is need for some madol to buy food for their pet cat." at some point grim admitted he didn't like to get referred as a cat so you just started doing it just to annoy him.

well he was built like a cat, save for the fact that he can stand on two feet. the rest of the people who were used to the norm of twisted wonderland did think otherwise.

their normal was a monster.

besides the concerning nickname you came up for yourself leona peeks an eye open from his sleep and stares at you blankly. "you don't have a cat."

you grin at him. "you wanna be my kitty then?"

"call me that again and I'll make sure you won't step a foot inside of savanaclaw ever again."

"oh! the horror!" for extra drama points you fall down and clutch your chest, rook would be so proud. "wherever will my grim poop in if not the haven of savanaclaw."

leona makes a disturbed look.

from the start before all the 'disgusting' love started it was friendship and leona can fully vouch the fact that the friendship was not consentual on his end.

you were like a stupid little roach on his fur, unable to shake you off since you're so intent on sticking up to him. and at some point leona didn't even bother to shoo you away when you totally not forcefully forced yourself into his schedule.

his schedule in question is just naps and you actually questioned it.

even ruggie is suprised he hasn't thrown you out of savanaclaw yet when leona has fully the power to do so without being questioned at all so how the hell were you still unscathed after practically insulting leona's whole existence? (which is honestly just being.. honest)

the answer to that is because he's secretly enjoying your presence that's what!

"do you not tend your hair? it looks like an overgrown bush that rolls around in deserts." you squint and poke the mess of strings that leona calls hair.

the man in question pretends not to feel your poke and merely grunts. "quit it. I'm trying to sleep here." he buries his face into the pillow deeper.

"when are you not?" you turn to face the ceiling. not pondering much of the fact that leona let you lay on his bed, with him. despite knowing full well you're probably just gonna disturb his sleep.

there's no answer.

you turn your head, only being able to see the back of leona's head. and the occasional movement alongside his breathing, it convinced you that he was sleeping soundly.

leave it to leona to sleep under five seconds..

"I'm really glad you're with me."

perhaps too drunk in your drowsiness to care about the words you're spouting there isn't much regard you put into thought when your mouth ran off.

and for once leona has never lost the will to sleep so fast.

or perhaps he's actually just distracted by the second flip his heart did.

what a pain. he turns over. hopefully you're true to your words, if you really are then he'd wake up beside you.

unlike riddle you're probably gonna be the one to fall first.

most people would think that leona's whole personality is a blank, boring canvas. just one color but it just seemed so interesting to you that you couldn't help but reach out.

maybe he'd never glance at you, or maybe he wouldn't even care but he's here, like straight out of your dreams you don't know since when you started catching the disease (feels) but imagine your suprise when you wake up and he's practically using you as a humanoid pillow.

oh. you should tease him about this once you wake up again because the sleep is really tempting you from how comfortable you are.

ㅤ

—ㅤazul ashengrotto ・falls first

if current azul told his past self 'you're gonna be in love' he probably would've started laughing quietly because the idea just seems impossible for him.

but he thinks it's you. "I don't think this looks good." azul sighs for the nth' time, clumsily pulling off the tie and coat you had dragged him to try.

you pout. "why not?" a little iffed by the fact that he doesn't like it or that you pretty much spent your whole allowance. azul however, remains blissfully ignorant.

he squints at you. "it's supposed to be a formal event. my clients would not take me seriously in such—" azul grimaced as he gestures at his reflection in the mirror. "—colorful, and clearly unprofessional attire."

you make a sad face.

"you just have no taste. and I want my thousand madol back."

by the look on his face it's a mixture of horrified and feeling bad. "it's not that I don't like it.."

"whatever. stay in your boring old tie, boomer. might as well do a cosplay of a mafia lord."

"what—"

in the spectrum of 'I hate you' but 'you're dear to me' azul would be on the verge of falling off in the middle. given how many situations he's lost plenty of braincells because of your shenanigans he isn't enjoying the tweels clear amusement of this.

but.

you're one of the people azul keeps very close in his inner circle. as much as he despises the twins antics he can admit he'll do the same for them as they did for him in his... overblot moment.

and as for you, he'll do it a thousand times.

between practically losing his mind when he'd get distracted during work because his brain just wants to make him suffer by thinking of you and all his decisions including your personal gain... azul can tell he's pretty fucked.

in the end azul didn't have the heart to not wear your gift.

"you look breathtaking." azul flushes. I picked the right color (aka his favorite). he thinks to himself. secretly glad that you decided to agree to his proposition.

you beam. "why thank you handsome man. it's only natural I wear the clothing you picked out for me graciously."

there's not a lot of times where azul has felt beautiful. in fact, he could count the times he did with one hand. but this time, it feels wholly different.

he feels pretty when you smile at him.

your eyes flicker to his collarbone area, glinting pleasantly at your own very pick sitting atop it. "I see you've chosen to listen to my good advice after all."

it is kind of embarrassing since he's standing out of a crowd with such a bright tie but if azul does say so himself, it's worth it if it meant seeing you look so proud.

azul covers a cough behind his hand. "it would be rude to leave it unworn."

maybe it would be strange but I find it fitting if the two of you fell at just the same time, just as hard cause who wouldn't? the scene itself is straight out of a dream.

and, it's hard to not notice azul's stare when you awkwardly realize that the other is wearing the gift both had given. a better word for it could be enchanted.

after you wouldn't know but just maybe, azul will keep the tie you'd given him tucked in the corner of his safe. away from the eyes of the twins who are probably dying to tease him about it.

ㅤ

—ㅤkalim al asim ・falls harder

"how in the hell do you set water on fire?!" you scream. frantically patting away the portion of your shirt that had literally got burnt off by the fire, before. you'd hyped yourself up to react well in a situation like this but it's like you're completely stupid now.

perhaps you should've declined when kalim invited you to make curry for jamil.

but he was so cute I couldn't deny. you think in regret.

one thing led to another and you underestimated how horrible kalim was at cooking, you just left to collect a few ingredients you forgot and somehow the boy in question was just in the process of setting his whole dorm on fire.

kalim; since he was the one who had set the fire aflame from the first place, is much in a worse state than you. "ah! my butt is on fire again!"

oh he was panicking like you.

"quick! stop, drop, and roll!"

kalim freezes, drops to the ground but rolls the wrong way.

"THATS THE WRONG WAY—DONT ROLL TO THE CURTAIN ITS GONNA CATCH ON—"

"fire?"

simultaneously,, both you and kalim freeze at an eerily calm voice.

jamil crosses his arms. "what are you doing? and what is going on here?" he sighs, massaging his temple like it's gonna lessen the two headaches he just got.

you answer blankly. "fire."

like a mother duckling scolding their two babies crossing the road without permission jamil ate you both out, listing possibilities that made the situation far more dangerous than it was (which is actually true). the whole time, kalim has this embarrassed, ashamed look on his face as he looks down.

surprisingly enough you had liked kalim immediately after your first meeting, whether it's platonic at first or romantic is entirely up to you. who could you even blame? his demeanor is like a sweet escape from all the evil-ness.

it's like.. being with kalim gives you a chance to feel human again because out of all the problems you've dealt with it's refreshing to have someone genuinely care and give for you when everyone's been taking it all from you.

for kalim, it's just natural for him to take care of everyone he knows. but somehow, he doesn't know why it's different this time. like he'd pick out a diamond out of a deep cave instead to go out his way for you to see how special it is.. (bad comparison?)

you mentally pray for kalim's cooking to succeed.

since mid terms were coming up, you were behind quite a few lessons since you were being taught.. elemental level knowledge, as embarrassing as it is.. well... everyone started there, (or so you try and convince yourself)

you weren't able to help kalim out with his ongoing attempt at making a curry.

so you're confused,,, he isn't carrying a curry right now and he's handing it to the wrong person.

"do you wanna try?"

"...what?"

it's probably idiotic of you to freeze up and stare but midst your confusion it was the only natural response. from what you remember, the food he made was supposed to be for jamil.

not you..

kalim tilts his head. as if asking you why you're so lost. "you don't like it? I thought it was your favorite."

yes.. right, that is your favorite. kalim is holding your favorite dish.

you sweat nervously and ask yourself if he's mistaken something, actually. you do. "no... it is but... I thought you were making curry for jamil?" the inner glutton of you grabs at you childishly. but for your sake, you shove it in a closet or something.

the troubled look on his face clears up. "oh! well.." kalim scratches his head with a nervous laugh, all looking lighthearted. "jamil didn't eat it cause he said it was ominous and somehow bubbling... so I asked him to help make your favorite dish instead."

you bite your lip to keep in the shit eating grin threatening to embarass your whole existence.

you had never felt the urge to bang your head into a wall, crawl into it, close the whole and start squealing on the other side (oddly descriptive) because what the actual hell? that was adorable!!

honestly after all that you can't blame yourself for falling first.

and maybe you'd notice that instead of expensive gifts you just started receiving priceless ones, memories, acts of service. love. who wouldn't love a guy who can buy a whole division but go out his way to learn cooking for you? (technically jamil made your favorite dish but eh... he's learning)

and who wouldn't love, you? nearly everyone in nrc disliked his sunny demeanor cause.. school of villians, pushed him away because of it and you, welcomed it. this time, he won't take something for granted.

ㅤ

—ㅤvil schoenheit ・falls harder but knew you fell first.

"that—" you screech shrilly, feeling even more pain at the watery prick at your eyes. "—HURTS."

vil sighs but narrows his eyes to focus on your eyebrows which he said to be 'uneven', going as far as fixing it himself. or so he says, 'he's doing you a favor' which he technically is but you had no idea it was this painful!

every strand that was getting picked away felt like a decrease of ten years to your lifespan.

unconsciously and certainly without your consent. your fingers grasp at vil's wrist and he lets you, only actually blinking at the warmth enveloping it but doing nothing else.

he shrugs away the warmth in his chest too.

"the beauty isn't worth the pain." you cry comically, gritting your teeth because.. people do this willingly? actually. does this mean vil does this on a daily basis? does he have high pain tolerance or something?

at your words vil smiles faintly, eyes flashing in nostalgia. "I thought of that before as well, you'll get used to it." he says lightly. pulling away and brushing a thumb over your eyebrow.

there's more?! "no way I'm gonna do this again.."

"beauty doesn't come without a price."

"good thing I'm broke."

vil despises your casual neglect to your appearance. if he isn't around, it's rook that got told to watch over you. in a way you're like a second epel but on a more intense degree since epel already knows how to take care of himself. this time, vil is taking care of you.

which he doesn't know why he's even doing in the first place. he guesses he wants everyone to see their best in themselves, or he's just making excuses to touch or; 'inspect' your face. but he isn't stupid. your crush on him was apparent, the wobbly smile when he gets too close is something he sees a lot.

you never acted on your feelings. stuck around, but never too much. did your constant presence direct such a huge influence in his life that he's starting to notice how he forgets he's not talking to anyone when he reminds you the air about hygiene importance.

vil is beauty.

in terms of words to describe him it's out of this world.

to see him without the usual front he bores; bare, naked. the persona he was afraid everyone would hate is all but standing in front of you. vulnerable, sensitive and lost. much unlike his confident self.

he knows.

the villian of the story will never lose and in the eyes of the world neige is the hero.

vil stills at the creak of his door, ultimately unable to move or wipe away the frustration down his cheeks. as far as he knew, no one dared to enter his room without his consent other than—

"vil?" you call out in a sing-song voice, he always scolded you to not do so lest you reveal much in public. fearing for your safety in denial. you pause at his obviously sad face, and sag your shoulders.

the joking in your face disappears immediately. "you okay?" you thin your lips and hesitantly step forwards until you silently urge vil to move to the side then sit next to him when he does.

you nudge his shoulder then dry his cheeks. later you’ll help him with his routine, you glance at the table. it seems like he was too disheartened to start, for now you'll comfort him.

maybe that's what vil likes about you.

you don’t give him pity, you're still yourself in situations like this.

and, you don't offer any words. knowing full well the most he needs is just your presence beside you.

truth to be told someone as ordinary as you could never afford to get the greatest beauty.

you didn't look at him like a doll in display, nothing greater than genuine appreciation for his beauty.

perhaps what vil needs is to get a taste of sought for someone instead of being sought for.

being appreciative is something vil rarely stumbles upon but there is a slight change to his attitude after the night. he was always the one helping everyone else with the routines and stuff so he stayed silent the whole time you did the routine for him instead.

like a child cluelessly receiving affection for the first time.

that was the first time he ever let someone other than a makeup artist touch his face, and the first time he dreamt of a happy ending.

ㅤ

—ㅤidia shroud ・falls first

idia hates co-op mode.

this applies to every game that has multi-player mode. most say it makes everything more easier but to him it's just,,, annoying.

this game in particular features direct join and people would start joining his world and taking rewards without permission at all. and he hates thieves! idia wishes that PVP was an option because no one could ever win against him.

the familiar ping of another player joining his realm makes him groan from behind the screen. whoever that was, their character loaded after a long time and when they started moving its like they were on mcdonalds wifi.

idia snickers. L bozo. maybe it was wrong for him to start slandering someone he never met but eh...

he expects an immediate exploration without his permission but the person very, very slowly makes their way towards him. freezing in the air midst their jumping around because of their wifi occasionally till they stop to his face and start jumping crazily.

the secret language... a jump means happiness and you need to jump back.

what is the intentions of this normie.. idia narrows his eyes.

yuurname: hi! can I take something?

no. idia thinks blankly but then again it's rare to have someone come in and ask.

hercules666: k. what do u need?? don't take the mushrooms.

yuurname: I was gonna get the mushrooms but I dont wanna leave empty handed so can I have u instead

the team has been changed.

idia doesn't know whether to combust or cringe.

through online, technically that is where idia first met you. that was wayyy before the two of you found out that you were attending the same school and you were literally online friends (self-proclaimed or whatever idia said) with the shut in dorm leader of ignihyde. joking around and throwing around playful flirting!

idia never intended to friend you in the first place. in fact, he rejected the first friend request then the next ones. your record was sending him about ten requests one day but the daily average was only once a day. other than ortho, idia doesn't have another friend since his old friend pranked him all the time and couldn't even get the ingredients right... in. a. game.

(guess who haha)

since then you always joined him whenever you're on. neglecting your tasks to help him decorate his house, and somehow adding your own touch to some corners of the place. idia doesn't know why he gave you owner permissions to edit his house but he tries to deny that he doesn't like the cute silly little things.

plus you actually have a pet cat like him in the game!

hercules666: how come u started friending a random (idia) obsessively?? yandere behavior tbh

it was true. it was really random of you to start being intent on being his friend after like what? three minutes of being in his realm?

yuurname: Lol I thought ur realm was rlly pretty and u looked rich

you just downright admitted that you were out for his cash but idia can't bring himself to be angry. he fights away the growing flush on his face, no one had ever complimented his builds before!

there's a giddy feeling in idia's chest.

your character teleports to idia's house, and the man in question actually added a bed next to him after you totally did not blackmail him. trudging past your lovely cat, and idia's cat who somehow kept following the other.

despite standing still he can still see you run to him jumping until your avatar is standing in front of him.

you jump frantically in excitement, joy.

cute. idia thinks.

what? he slaps himself and wills his hair to stay blue.

this time he responds with a jump back. unlike the first time you met.

yuurname: also ur avatar looked like sum1 I thought looked cool irl

you may not know hercules666 is idia shroud but he knows you are... you. so hearing that,,, no matter how many times he tries to convince himself that many people have blue hair he can't deny the resemblance to his avatar and himself.

it's him. you think he's cool.

idia excuses himself to scream in his pillow.

idia, is too anxious to even think of meeting up with you in real life. (plus.. he just developed massive feelings overnight and he'll start malfunctioning if he's a radius within you) but what he does like is looking through the school camera during your classes to see your various moods, from anger, annoyance and sadness.

when it's sadness he wants to comfort you but doesn't exactly know how.

during the time he grew balls to tell you through in game chat. you replied casually; yuurname: oh ik that haha I knew u the whole time it was obvious lolol that's why I stayed :)

did you just tell him that idia is cool knowing full well he's idia?!

ㅤ

—ㅤmalleus draconia ・falls first but just as hard

love is like a fleeting feeling.

people come and go. malleus knows this fact very well, it's only both a curse and blessing that he's exempted from this. no matter how much he wishes, malleus can only witness the ups and downs of his life.

sure. human lives are fleeting but his love will always stay eternal. in a way throughout the years he's learned to let go of lives that are bound to go sooner of later. lilia had taught him it was better to be prepared anyways.

malleus never questioned how many loses it took for lilia to get used to it.

for some reason it's like he forgot how to let go this moment. like his child-like self just came back to cling on a life he can't steer away from death.

"tsunotaro what is your home like?" malleus knows that you're far from home, maybe you just want to reminisce about your loss. but he masks the concern on his face with ease.

malleus smiles in nostalgia. when was he last asked such a question? no person was ever too brave to strike a conversation. "it's beautiful. there is quite a variety of fae. perhaps you'd like to meet them one day?"

you look excited. "wow. very descriptive." you joke. clearly teasing him about the one word he described his home. though malleus doesn't look particularly bothered, instead. he smiles even more.

"why thank you. you always flatter me, child of man."

you deadpan. "totally."

technically in the canon game it's very clear malleus has taken a liking to mc and aside from malleus being blissfully ignorant towards jokes, he's quite lovable. you don't know how everyone else managed the heart to practically ignore his existence but.. he is quite scary so you don't partially blame them. (well this is a school for villians so)

what malleus likes about you is, well. of course the fact that you aren't scared of him. you're quite fascinating to him given how far he's managed to stick to you multiple times and there's no doubt he'll come swooping in to save you from wherever and be the one to care for you when no one bothers to.

to everyone it's like you're already clearly in love with each other because let's face it. who the hell wouldn't if they saw how you're both acting like a literal couple? malleus scares away someone when he's jealous but somehow you thought it was just dragon nature. (which it actually is but come on! he looks like he's willing to lock you up in a tower..)

crowley had granted you permission to leave on a special occasion for some reason.

so of course it came as a suprise. since... it's crowley.

to this day you wonder what the hell possessed him but eh... a break is a break and you're certainly not missing this chance. still, it's curious on why he even gave you one in the first place.. you were certain crowley was gonna work you to the bone.

though you're a little nervous when you took up malleus' offer to travel to briar valley, his home. full of fae who's ancestors probably died because of a human.

yes this is perfectly fine.

other than the wary glances. malleus and the rest of diasomnia that came were very kind to you, patient in explaining their culture (except for sebek but you deemed his derogatory speaking his love languange).

it was very fun. from meeting the little fairies, traversing through various shops, resting at the natural scenery. it was a really nice new experience for you. the food sure was a little strange but it tasted all the way better.

time passed by so fast when you were enjoying yourself and apparently malleus wanted you to meet someone.

but he should've told you that you were gonna meet the queen! if you knew you would've made the effort to look more organized!

"um.. hi."

so you feel kind of shy in front of such a prominent figure. you wave quietly at the beautiful lady who still maintains a certain grace at her golden age. she smiles lightly at your behavior, seemingly amused.

wait aren't you supposed to bow? you think awkwardly, bending forward to showcase your respect.

malleus is beside you, staying silent but quite happy at your interaction with his grandmother.

her voice sends shivers down your spine. it's quiet, yet so booming. she couldn't probably silence a whole room with a single word. "hello, it's not a common sight to see my grandson bringing someone in." she looks happy, bringing her eyes to malleus then to you again.

her eyes crinkle. "more or so a human.. how interesting hehe.." you sweatdrop. were all fae so..? mischievous. she seems not that alike with malleus save for their matching green, emerald eyes.

"what's your name. child of man?"

is this where he got it from?

"(name) your highness."

she looks pleasantly suprised. "oh. I knew you were the one my grandson always talked about.. you should see the letters he's written about you." what. you can't hide the awkward laugh you emit. then realizing you're in the presence of royalty and probably shouldn't be laughing.

you shut up a second later.

malleus doesn't look fazed at all. has he never experienced having his grandparents revealing embarrassing secrets because if you were him you'd crawl into a hole immediately.

calmly, she says; "you must really be dear to him."

"they are."

malleus doesn't even hesitate.

this time. he feels like clinging onto a life again, he'll be with you for as long as he can.

[thewanderersminuet]

Dear lover this is the last time

Rating: T

Relationship:Toxigriffe/Marigriffe

Tags: Paris Special, reverse crush, light angst, rated T for cursing

Summary:

Try as she might, Marinette hasn't been able to get Griffe Noire out of her head. That's why it's such a shock when he turns up on her balcony.

I wrote the first work in this series in a daze of inspiration and had originally planned to just leave it at that. A lot of people wanted more, and when I saw that day 1 of @marinettemarch was Shadybug I realized I had to write this as a follow up. (Even if she's not Toxinelle through most of this.) This is a sequel, while I would reccomend reading the first work in this series, if you haven't the main takeaway is that Toxigriffe got their own umbrella moment and now Marinette is down bad.

Thank you so much to @ladyofthenoodle for looking this over for me. The title is from the same song as the first work.

[Previous work]

[Read on AO3]

The noise of spray paint filled Toxinelle's ears. Another boring day of looking for leads to the hole Hesperia crawled into. Another boring day of coming up empty handed. Toxinelle found it hard to complain however; she was too busy being transfixed on Griffe's goofy grin as he spray painted a cat on the wall. 

She was only a split second too late to look away when he turned back to her. 

“Admiring the view?” He waggled his eyebrows at her and struck an exaggerated pose. 

Her heart beat hard in her chest. This time it wasn't her embarrassingly huge crush, but fear. She had to remind herself that the feeling of bugs crawling up and down her arms was just in her head.

Deny, deny deny. 

“I was just thinking about how stupid you looked with paint on your face.” Somehow her voice managed to come out even despite her panic. 

His face twisted comically into shock. He pulled out his baton to use as a mirror to see his face. The paint was on the cheek that had been faced away from her, she didn't see it until he turned to her. She hoped he didn't notice. 

He grinned as he placed his hand at his chin and examined himself. It was so goofy and Toxinelle wanted to scream when she realized she found it cute. 

“I don't know,” He said, putting his baton away and shooting her a shit-eating grin. “I think I look awfully char-meow-ing myself. Maybe you're just projecting, Cockroach.” 

“Whatever.” She wrapped her arms protectively around herself and turned away from him. 

It was fine. She'd been called worse. Besides, she'd been the one to start the insults. 

Still, she couldn't help but wish he wouldn't take to their back and forth with such glee. 

She let out a frustrated sigh and pulled her yo-yo out. 

“Leaving so soon?” He said. 

She couldn't decide if she wanted to punch that grin off his face or kiss it. 

“Sorry, watching you paint cats that look like they need to be put down is not exactly my idea of fun.” She turned her burning face away from him before he could accuse her of being the liar that she was.

“Suit yourself.” He said. 

The sound of spray paint filled her ears once more. Somehow, that hurt more than any of his insults. 

*******************************************************

Marinette dropped from her skylight and onto her bed. As soon as she dropped her transformation she buried her face in her pillow. She couldn't bear to see the pity she knew would be in Tikki's eyes. The supreme had told her that the kwami was nothing more than a means to an end. An object to allow her to transform. Despite this, sometimes Marinette swore she could see Tikki looking at her with genuine care.

She hated it .

It made her feel too raw, too vulnerable. It was too close to everything she really wanted. The fact that Tikki, by all rights, should hate her only made it worse.

Marinette rolled over onto her side and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Her thoughts drifted to Griffe Noire and that day they’d eaten snacks under his umbrella.

The Supreme had made it clear, although they were to work together, only one of them would be spared once the missing Miraculous were retrieved. Griffe had no reason to show her the kindness he did that day.

...but that stupid cat did, and now she couldn't get him out of her head.

It drove her crazy. It was stupid that she was secretly excited to drop everything to fight one of Hesperia's champions just because it meant she would get to see him. It was annoying that she could hear his stupid jokes playing in her head when he wasn't around. She hated the hours she wasted fantasizing about another life, with hamsters, cats, and a boy who's name she didn't know.

Marinette clutched a pillow to her chest. It hurt. It hurt that she would never know what he was like outside of the mask. What his normal life was like. That her fantasy would only ever be a fantasy. Even without their Miraculous slowly killing them, she knew Griffe would never see her that way.

There were some days that she caught glimpses of the Griffe she saw in that alley. On patrols where everything would melt away and they could just laugh and enjoy each others company. She would eat up every crumb as if it was the only thing keeping her from starving.

...but most days weren't like that. Most days they argued and bickered. Most days she couldn't help but pick at her stitches.

Griffe was an easy target. Especially when he gave it right back.

A small weight settled on her arm. Marinette turned to find Tikki, her blue eyes wide and filled with exactly what she didn't want to see. Her eyes burned.

She was not going to cry.

Marinette sat up, pointedly avoiding Tikki's gaze.

Air. Air would be good.

Climbing onto her balcony, Marinette felt nothing but relief when she felt the cool night air hit her face. She leaned against the railing and let out a sigh.

Only to be interrupted by the sound of a flower pot falling over and shattering.

“Fuck.”

Marinette recognized that voice long before she whipped around to see who her intruder was. Griffe was frozen next to her murdered pothos.

“Please don't freak out.” Griffe lifted his hands placatingly.

Marinette didn't say anything. She had no idea how to react in this situation. Maybe she should have acted scared to protect her identity, but she was stuck between being pissed at him for breaking her plants, and being giddy at the sight of him on /her/ balcony.

Instead, she crossed her arms and stared back at him.

“Wow.” Griffe said breathlessly. “Most people freak out when they see us.”

“I'm not most people.” Marinette said flatly.

“You're not are you?” Griffe had a look on his face that Marinette had never seen before.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Marinette desperately tried to keep her voice even despite her nerves.

Griffe perked up and instantly started looking around for something at his feet. Upon finding what he was looking for, he bent to grab it before presenting it to her.

A single red rose.

...That was slightly crushed. The stem was slightly bent and a petal fell off as they both stared at it.

“Uh... sorry about that-” He scratched the back of his neck.

“What's this?” Marinette could barely hear her own words over the way her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.

“It's for you!” A goofy grin spread across his face until he seemed to catch himself. He coughed and straightened up before holding the rose out to her again.

Briefly, Marinette wondered if she was dreaming. It made no sense for Griffe to be bringing Marinette a flower. He didn't even know her. She hesitantly reached out to take it. As if everything might dissolve away the second she made contact.

To her surprise, the world stayed intact as she brought the rose up to her face to sniff it. With nothing else to do with it, she tucked the stem behind her ear. Looking back at Griffe, she was surprised to see a soft smile splitting across his features.

“You don't even know me.” She whispered.

“Well..” Griffe rubbed the back of his neck. “I know you're too cool to be afraid of The Griffe Noire. I think that's enough to merit a flower, don't you?”

“I wouldn't know.” Marinette wrapped her arms around herself and avoided his gaze. Silence fell between them. It seemed even Griffe was left with nothing to say for once. 

“Hey, uh…” Griffe spoke up. “How do you feel about ice cream?” 

“Ice cream?” Marinette swung her head back towards him. 

“Yeah, we could go get some. My treat.” Griffe grinned and held a hand out for her. “I bet you've never traveled by stick before.” 

Marinette eyed the baton on his back warily. He was right, and she wondered how strange it would feel to travel his way for once. 

She turned her attention to his outstretched hand. Part of her screamed to run back inside. Pretend this never happened. He had no reason to be inviting her out, what if it was a trap? Or some elaborate prank? 

Her eyes drifted back up to meet his own. As soon as they did he averted his gaze and Marinette swore she could see a tinge of pink stain his cheeks. 

It was too hard to say no.

A smile spread across her face as she took his hand. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies as she watched his face mirror her own. He pulled her closer and wrapped one arm around her waist. Every point where their bodies made contact felt like it was on fire, and Marinette never wanted it to stop.

“Hold on tight.” He whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

She was right. It was a completely different feeling to travel over the city in Griffe's arms then via yo-yo. For a moment, she wondered if things had been different if this would be more common. Griffe helping her when there was nothing for her yo-yo to grab onto. Her swooping in to grab Griffe and pull him out of danger at the last moment. 

Griffe sat her on his lap and extended his baton high above the city. From here she could see the city lights stretching for what seemed like forever. She took a moment to drink it all in. Despite having seen such sights as Toxinelle before, she was certain she'd never get used to it. 

Marinette turned back to Griffe, but whatever she had planned to say died in her throat when she noticed him looking at her. His eyes widened comically. Her own cheeks burned and she quickly looked back down to the streets below them. 

“Ice cream?” She squeaked out. 

“O-of course. Uh…” She more felt then saw his head swiveling around, looking for his destination.  “There!” 

He tightened his grip on her and took off fast enough to make her head spin. When they eventually landed, Griffe gently let her down. Marinette quickly realized where they were when she saw the ice cream cart. 

“Andre?” Marinette turned to look at Griffe in surprise. This wasn't just any ice cream. 

Griffe jumped and averted his gaze. He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Shall we?” He gave her a nervous smile and once again, Marinette was struck by seeing this side of him. 

She took his hand and lead the way. He squeezed her hand as she pulled them to the end of the line. For a moment, everything was strangely normal. Just another couple in line for sweethearts ice cream. 

Until the couple in front of them looked back. 

They screamed. Soon everyone else in line was screaming and running. Griffe and Marinette looked at each other and shrugged. 

“Looks like they're letting us go first.” Griffe flashed her a grin.

“How kind of them.” Marinette couldn't help but return his grin. 

Andre was rushing to try to pack up his own cart. Marinette found it absurd that he could be that scared of Griffe and still take his time to try and save his cart. 

“Hey! Where are you going?” Griffe put a hand on the cart to keep him from fleeing. “All we want is some ice cream.” 

“B-b-b-b-b-b-but- My ice cream is for-” Andre glanced at Marinette and she found herself wondering what he thought was going on. “-for lovers!” 

“And? What's the problem?” Griffe asked. 

Andre didn't answer. He just looked between them as if that'd tell him what to do. 

Marinette caught a familiar grin spreading across Griffe's face. She crossed her arms and took a step back. 

Griffe called on his cataclysm and hovered it over the cart. 

“One ice cream cone and nothing has to be broken tonight.” 

A few minutes later and they were walking down the bank of the Seine, looking for a private place to stop and eat. Griffe carried their cone in one hand. It was raspberry and mint. Marinette was pretty sure the raspberry had to be for her, but the mint confused her. Sure, Griffe had green hair, but it was a lot darker then the color of mint. She wondered if he was just as confused about where the red came from. 

“Have you ever had this ice cream before?” He asked. 

“No.” 

“I'm surprised.” He said. “You seem like the kind of girl to have everyone clamoring to buy her ice cream.” 

Marinette scoffed. What kind of impression did he have of her? “Not really, no.” 

Another uncomfortable silence fell between them. Marinette pretended the billboards were suddenly very interesting. 

At least a Gabriel ad caught her eye. 

She let out a groan. Of course it had Adrien Agreste on it. Did they even have any other models? 

Griffe stopped and followed her line of sight. Once he caught sight of what she was groaning at he froze. 

“Wh-what's the problem?” 

“It’s-” Marinette hesitated, unsure if she wanted to get into it. “It’s the model in that ad.” 

“Not a fan?” Griffe's tail lashed behind him. 

“It's a long story.” 

“I have time.” 

Marinette looked at him, but he refused to meet her gaze, instead focusing on the ice cream. She sighed. 

“Chloé Bourgeois was in the bakery the other day. She had a friend with her.” She gestured over her shoulder to the billboard. “She was bragging about being friends with super famous, super handsome model Adrien Agreste. They were being rude to our other customers so I had to kick them out.” 

Griffe quickly turned to look at her. “Both of them?” 

Marinette blinked, unsure where he was going with this. 

“I mean, they were together.” 

“But—” Griffe tapped his foot. “What makes you so sure he was acting like that too?”

“I—” She was thoroughly confused now. It's not like Griffe had been there. Why did he care anyway? “Yeah, sure. I guess technically Chloe was the only one causing problems but… he's her friend. I have no reason to believe he's any different.”

Griffe went silent again. He wouldn't even look at her. Marinette started to wonder if she did something wrong, but she couldn't figure out what. 

Maybe coming out was a mistake. 

“I— I should go.” She started to step away, only for him to reach out and grab her wrist. 

“Wait. don't go— uh…” He frowned and suddenly it hit her. 

“You don't know my name do you?” She asked. 

“I-” He let go of her and used that hand to rub the back of his neck. “You never gave it to me.” 

“How many times have you had sweethearts’ ice cream before?” She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. 

Maybe she wasn't being very fair. But it hurt. It hurt to know that he would bring a stranger out to get ice cream with him, but never Toxinelle. 

“N-never!” He said quickly. “Maybe we should start over!” He struck a goofy pose. “My name is Griffe Noire! What's yours?” 

She considered telling him. Telling him and pretending this conversation never happened. Pretend he actually cared about her. 

Instead, she shook her head. 

“Goodbye, Kitty.” 

She shoved her hands in her pockets and took off. Leaving him alone with their untouched ice cream. 

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

Hcs of the remaining characters dying (nash, xan, etc.)

people's reaction to xander's death

of course! i'll do xander for this one, and nash next (i'm also planning on doing libby and a short one for max). hope you like them!

avery: this is obvious but she would be absolutely devastated. she would definitely spend a lot of time in his old lab playing with his gadgets or just sitting there. she would make sure to visit his grave a lot bc she knows xander gets lonely and bored easily and doesn't want him to suffer in the afterlife. she would not want to get out of bed, but alisa would force her to for interviews and stuff. her grief would be too much for her to hide. her fans would notice and start getting worried for her so they'd send her little gifts to make her feel better. whenever she visits his grave, she brings scones with her to 'share' with xander.

jameson: jameson would start drinking profusely again (just like after emily died). he would leave xander little riddles he wrote near his grave for him to solve in the after life to keep him entertained. he learned how to bake just to make scones to leave at xander's grave. he'd sleep in his room a lot to feel closer to him. he has this really cool glass xander made him (it's up to you what it looks like/what special thing it does), and he makes sure to drink from it whenever he he has alcohol. his grief would keep him from getting any sleep. it got so bad he got prescribed pills to get him to fall asleep bc his body was shutting down.

grayson: grayson and xander used to talk a lot about their dreams and things they wanted to accomplish later on in life. gray would make sure to fulfill all of his dreams for him knowing it would make him happy. he would spend hours studying on robotics and stuff to be able to accomplish his dreams, and he'd make sure everything he did was perfect. i didn't add this in any of my other hc posts, but i think that, if one of his brothers died, he could potentially start drinking or taking drugs. i think that he'd want to find a way to suppress his grief so that he would be able to work and distract himself.

nash: nash would be wrecked (obviously). he'd eat scones even though he hates them just because xander loves them. i mentioned in my sad nash hc post that i think he takes weed when he's anxious and stuff, and i think xander (or any of his brothers really) dying would make him start smoking weed excessively. libby would notice him taking it quite often and would get him help to make sure he didn't get addicted. he's also the type of person to overwork himself when he's nervous, sad, angry, etc. he would be bartending 24/7. i can also see him getting so mad he starts throwing glasses around and stuff at the bar he works at.

libby: i wanted to include her even though i don't really know what to say. i think, over the years, her and xander (and all of the other brothers) would get really close. they would definietly bond over baking, making it impossible to bake after his death without crying. at the same time, baking is libby's coping mechanism so she wouldn't be able to stop. she'd bake scones with grayson and accompany him to leave them at xander's grave. nash's grief would also make things worse for her. she'd be trying to find ways to help him whilst at the same time grieving herself (i mentioned that nash would start throwing things like glasses around to let his anger out, and, although he'd NEVER hurt libby, i think it would scare her enough to convince him to get help)

max: max would be ruined over his death. she'd lose interest in everything because everything would remind her of xander. for example, she'd start to hate reading bc she'd remember all of the time he bought her books. her life without him would become so lackluster that she'd consider offing herself. xander would definitely have made her life more entertaining and worth living, so, losing him would make her go back to her life the way it was before meeting him (we know she has strict parents and is really isolated so the change would really affect her). she'd spend days in bed 'talking' to him, and would have to convince herself he faked his death to be able to keep going. i think she'd also spend a lot of time sleeping in his bed or with avery.

[derekgoffard]

Colin's older sister is a very small part of his background, however Ive had some characterization down for a while now so I thought I'd make a little post about her 🤲.

Her name is Claire Midland! She has virtually no relationship with Colin and probably does not ever wish to see him again yayyay 👐. She also has those mother issues that make you a bit mean and desperate for comfort all the time but that's okay 👍.

Some extra trivia under the cut 🕊️

( THESE ARE ALL WRITTEN VERY MESSY + INCOHERENT. IM SORRY IF U ATCUALLY TRY READING THIS 😭😭😭😭😭 )

- she went into nursing because she wanted to give others the kind of care and attention she herself craved - however she eventually realized that was not at all the reality of nursing. She kind of hates her job 👹.

- her life revolves around this funny little cycle of her feeling this constant sense that she is unloved, which leads her to constantly be seeking comfort ( physical and emotional ). However she never feels comforted for long, hence the cycle continuessss la la la🤸.

- her favorite thing ever is being coddled, she's a hard worker but she wishes she wasn't.

- She loves flowersss, but she can never keep them alive. Despite this she continues to buy them, only to have them die in days. Her favorite flowers are sun flowers 😊.

- her necklace has her and her mother's birthstones ( emerald and topaz ).

- she's never held a steady relationship for over a year but she has alot of positive one night stands. Not necessarily sex either - usually she just wants to be cuddled and coddled over for a night, y'know how it is ☹️..... Let me tell you what tho her aftercare game is unbeatable LOLLLLLLLL.

- she was a very clingy and emotionally demanding child. ( example; Claire would absolutely NOT enter school without her mother, and so her mom had to sit next to her desk in school for most of her early education ). This was okay for a little while, but when Colin was born, their parents got a divorce, and their already mentally ill mother could not really cope with two children.

- Since Claire was the oldest ( still very very little, like 7 years old )- it fell on her to help her mother, while Colin would bounce between their father and mother. Claire has never had a relationship with Colin, but she secretly blames and resents him for their parents divorce, and their mothers declining mental health. While ofc Colin resents her for basically gatekeeping his own mom LOL.

- Her relationship with her mother is surface level and distant. No matter how hard she may want to- she just can't connect to her mother. Claire is too emotionally taxing and her mother is pretty much unwilling to deal with it at this point. Claire reminds her of the lowest times in her life, and she sees Claire's attachment to her as a failure in how she raised her. She thinks Claire needs to grow out of it by herself. I think her mother does feel guilty about how Claire's childhood turned out- and so she really does think trying to let Claire find her own way is what's best for her.

- oh and also Claire is pretty much the reason Colin received so little attention from her as a child LOL- she would get HIDEOUSLY jealous of baby Colin taking attention from her mother and throw really intense fits about it 👤 I'm thinking she even went as far as trying to hurt Colin in some way. Sorry Colin, no healthy relationship with mom for you. your sister is too emotionally demanding.

- I think she's doing okay now. She's a little unhinged but I'm thinking she has a steady job and nice girlfriend now. I kinda want her to be happy y'know. 🕊️

- unrelated but Claire has not seen Colin since they were young teenagers so she has no idea about his dyed hair or fashion sense. I don't think she'd be able to recognize him to be honest LOL.

[englishstrawbie]

Station 19 7x07

If you've known me for a while, you'll know how much I've wanted the show to pick up the Maya/Mason relationship again. Especially since season 3 and Maya's acknowledgement of their father's abuse. I never expected it to go like this, to see Mason so full of hate and prejudice. It hurts my heart, but jeez those scenes were so good. Danielle's acting choices - her movements, her jumpiness, her voice intonation. All of it was so good.

It's interesting how Maya thinks she knows Mason, yet he didn't know about her bisexuality. I feel like there's always been a belief (or wish?) that Mason and Maya were close, that he knew things about her that she kept secret from her parents.

All that trauma we've seen Maya process, all that fear that she is or will turn into her father - and it's happened to Mason. Ugh. 💔 The writers did such a great job with their dialogue.

"I can agree to disagree about everything except my humanity, Mason. I am just trying to exist and your brothers hate me for it." ... how much have we all felt that at times? 😭

"Because you are poisoning this country and you shouldn't be allowed to do that, you shouldn't be allowed to have kids." ... f*ck you, Mason. 🤬

That moment when Maya allows herself to see him for who he is and realise that she can't save him broke my heart, but I'm also glad that she finally is able to let go of the burden that she's been carrying for all these years.

"You're not allowed to touch the beautiful life that I've created, because you'll ruin it. I have love that we never knew existed as kids and I wanted you to have that too, but you don't want it. And I won't risk losing it." ... That last goodbye, it felt like it could be forever, and you could feel all of Maya's sadness as she walked away.

It seems that Maya didn't tell Carina about her plan to see Mason before, but she'd obviously spoken to Carina afterwards, since she already knew about it when Maya got home. I wish we'd had more of a conversation between them. The conversation with Beckett was much needed for her - not with Beckett, but her need to process and hear someone to tell her that she did the right thing. It's not new that we see Maya and Carina processing life stuff with other people, and not each other. But the fact that it was with Beckett, of all people? That he's the one who saw her sadness and vulnerability? When there's never been any accountability for what happened last season? Don't get me started. 🤦🏼‍♀️

The 10pm time slot is really working out for the wlw couple, huh? I actually thought the scene was lovely, but I totally understand the frustration about why it was so vanilla compared to the straight couples. Was this the scene they called "spicy"? The less people pay attention to that David guy, the better IMO.

I'm glad they picked up on Carina's lawsuit. I love how we saw Carina empathetic and realistic about what happened, but also compassionate towards the mom who is so clearly struggling. It goes to the heart of who she is to still want to help her and the child, despite everything. I wish there was the time (and desire) for the writers to continue this storyline, to see the outcome - I'm doubtful, but who knows.

Also, I loved the double dose of seeing Carina on Grey's too! She was kick ass in that surgery scene and I love to see it. 😍

On another note, what's with all the Amazon Prime advertisements this season?

[wheretheharekissesthefox]

Why do you make me feel this way? - Chapter 1: Campfire

Astarion frowned in irritation as he shot daggers at the bunch of weirdos sitting around the campfire. Gale had cooked up a root vegetable stew that smell incredible and the others shovelled it into their mouths as if they were starving. Halsin blathered on about "nature's gifts that keep giving" and Lae'zel expressed her disgust regarding the beets' earthy flavour while Karlach exclaimed to finally be able to "go for a good meal".

Astarion's gaze fell on Tav again. Good-natured, big-hearted Tav. The vampire spawn wasn't able to figure her out. Everything about her seemed contrary; her strong frame even though she was a bard, her honesty even though she could spin the most believable lies when she wanted to, her down-to-earthness despite being an artist, and her gentleness even though she fought with a ferocity that was impressive even to him.

Who are you really? What are your true intentions? Astarion mused. How long until you'll show your true colours?

He stared at their androgynous not-really-but-still-kinda leader.

He had accidentally caught her bathing in the river and had stared at her broad shoulders, muscular arms and thick thighs. He was sure she could pick him up with ease despite being shorter than him. He'd looked at the freckles on her shoulders and back, looked at that awful, short, shaggy hair style that she'd accomplished all by herself with a pair of scissors and a razor. He'd listened to her sweet voice that was so soothing as she hummed to herself.

There was something unnerving about her kind eyes when she looked at him – as if she could see right through his flirtatious facade and into his battered heart. Astarion hated it as much as he craved it. Deep down, he wanted to trust her, to be his true self again after all these years of terror caused by Cazador.

Why do you make me feel this way? Astarion asked silently, and, with a heavy heart, he watched as Tav laughed at one of Gale's lame jokes. The vampire spawn closed his eyes for a moment. The worst part was that he trusted Tav. He didn't know why, he just did. Astarion felt safe around her and he was terrified of been hurt.

Scratch and the owlbear cup seemed to sense his emotional turmoil since they scuttled over and pressed themselves against the vampire spawn's legs.

"Hey, Astarion! Come join us!" Tav shouted smiling, waving her spoon above her head.

The addressed forced a nonchalant smile onto his face and sauntered towards the fire. He sat down next to Tav and let himself be patted on the knee. Sighing silently, Astarion threw another glance at the fascinating human next to him.

Please, don't judge me for what I'd been forced to do. Please, accept me just the way I am. Love me, please.

[thepalmofyourfreezinghand]

tbh you're losing me just made me feel sorry for both but also very empathetic toward joe. and this is coming from someone whose last relationship ended a lot like this and someone who was taylor in that relationship. back then i was just so hurt but over time i learned i also played a part in it ending and did things i shouldn't have. it sucks but truth is that they just weren't suited for each other anymore. and ik people will try and make this about how joe sucks and couldn't put in the effort but it's so much more complicated than that. from the lyrics taylor did what i did in my relationship and didn't really communicate. she sent signals, and kept waiting for him to see was "dying" and then was upset when he didn't see and didn't do anything to stop it. but at the same time this means joe actually didn't know she was hurting. he didn't notice and she didn't tell him and if at one point she did it ended up being a "i don't understand / i know you don't " type of conversation and if he just doesn't understand then there's not much to be done even if he wanted to do something. he can't pretend to understand to please her. seems like he genuinely thought they were okay where they were (maybe even because of taylor's people pleasing tendencies) and she just couldn't take it anymore and he didn't understand what was wrong or why she felt that way. i think that first break up news said everything it had to say. they worked when they were in a bubble but not outside of it. joe never really knew her and thought they were okay the way they were and taylor couldn't see a future together. again it sucks because it seems their very foundation is what tore them apart. taylor Trying all the time while pretending that's not the case and joe not wanting anything for her other than to just be together. the difference is back then he saw through her and they were able to make it work through miscommunication but apparently not anymore. and this could be for so many reasons. maybe his own anxiety/depression got in the way, maybe they both just changed and grew apart. maybe he did grow tired of some of her antics when he's a lot more chill and just didn't understand why she had to try so hard all the time and wanted everyone to do the same. i'm not trying to say taylor is hard to love bc that's not true at all but we all know how much she wants someone to choose her and look only at her and we have proof of the ways she'd make sure to get that (telling you to leave me just to try and scare you / im a mirroball / picking fights in afterglow and the great war).... maybe it got tiring and he just stopped keeping an eye out for The Signs and didn't even realize it... i don't thing either of them are the bad guy here. that said i hate how everyone is already like "she was there for him through everything and he couldn't even be there for her" when we know he WAS there for her a lot in the past. plus yeah "ik my pain is an imposition" hurts but we also have taylor saying "is it insensitive to say get your shit together so i can love you" and "if I would have known how sharp the pieces were you'd crumble into i might have let them lay".... like neither of them is perfect. just feels like they were both thought the other one would change and eventually be okay with things happening *their way* and ofc that just didn't happen. there was no cure.

Thank you so much for sending this thoughtful message, anon! The bottom line is really what you said: their foundation killed then. What worked so well in 2016-2017, what helped Taylor save herself, what made her think that he was the one… that was the same thing that tore them apart in the end.

[aetherialpiplup108]

How the Alchemy of Souls Season 1 Ending Perfectly Demonstrates Yeong's Guilt, Uk's Persistence, and the Beauty of their Bond

I should hate the ending of Alchemy of Souls season 1. Jin Mu's random contrived bells showing up and being used as a pivotal series-defining plot-point in the same episode drives me just as insane as it did Mu-deok. And it kills me to watch two characters who are defined by their ability to challenge the world and resist fate succumb to its pressures (note: I don't think this is a flaw in the series since it's simply a fraction of the overarching theme the story is trying to convey but boy did it hurt). I should have been so massively disappointed and yet the climax itself runs rent-free in my head a full year after I saw it for the first time.

First of all, we finally get sword-fighting Yeong again and in the absolute worst way possible. It creates this wonderful cognitive dissonance in your head where you're simultaneously crying in angst while cheering on Jung So-min as she puts on the performance we've been longing for the entire show.

Next, there's the behemoth stabbing scene itself. When Mu-deok regains consciousness in Uk's arms, there's a brief look of confusion in her eyes likely due to the gaps in her memory, the heaving of his voice, the desperate way his arms are wrapped around her, or maybe even the blood seeping between them. But the first thing she says even before processing everything is: "Jang Uk? ...Did I do this?"

Despite embracing the ruthless assassin lifestyle (a hard path she undertook due to the love she felt for her family and the immense grief felt in their loss), Yeong does care about other people. We know this through the way she slyly sneaks in affection towards Uk, helps Yul heal and let go of the guilt he's held onto since running into her as children, and offers Go-won an esoteric companionship they both come to value greatly. In season 2, through amnesiac!Yeong, we're given an even clearer glimpse at her intrinsic compassion through the unhidden empathy she shows to practically everyone she meets.

But the real Cho-Yeong spent years of isolation in Danhyanggok's cruel winters training, breathing, and living for revenge. Knowing only how to kill and draw blood, of course Yeong believed she'd end up hurting anyone stupid enough to come too close. It's why her first instinct is to shear off every potential bond she could make: to protect herself from any more loss and to protect others from her. When it became impossible to deny the love she and Uk shared, Yeong chose to wield it callously to avoid getting attached, to remind him and her that she wasn't round-faced Mu-deok who was free to earn and give affection. She was Naksu. Undeserving, dangerous, poisonous Naksu. We see this thought process and self-denial make a reoccurrence in season 2 when Yeong immediately distances herself from Uk the second she gets her memories back, even if it agonizes her, because she can't bear to hurt him again.

Rather than assigning blame to Jin Mu, she takes her sword through Uk's chest as mere confirmation of what she always believed: how could the ruthless shadow assassin that lives off revenge be allowed to love and be loved?

Yeong's guilt is especially ironic when paired with Jang Uk having no doubt in his mind that she's innocent. He gets stabbed and just pulls her close before he's even able to process what's going on because they'd been there before at Jeojingak when he had her hold a sword to his neck.

Jang Uk is the first and only person, really, to hold complete confidence not in Yeong's prowess as a mage but in her character and ability to care. And it means more because as her pupil, he's the person (aside from herself) that Yeong's been the harshest with. She continually put his life in danger whether through poison or overtraining or by inciting death matches, and hurts him again and again with words and actions (gambling the jade egg) meant to prod right at his insecurities. Yeong had thought this would be enough to keep him at bay, to force him into a transactional relationship where she wasn't afraid he'd run away too soon and yet wouldn't let herself build up hope that he'd actually stay when the terms of their initial agreement were met.

Except.

Uk had already seen glimpses of that lonely girl Yeong buried inside and actually tried to understand her, failing at times but doing his best to make sense of the way she thinks without judgement. In the process, he realized just how much Yeong values the people she loves, how much she wants to protect those who've shown her even the ounce of kindness she doesn't think she deserves. That's how he knows, instinctively, that she couldn't have stabbed him. It's how he knows she wouldn't even fight Dang-gu (although, I'm not sure if he was aware that she killed Cho-yeon's father before arriving in the forest). Because how could someone who's so grateful for the love they deem themselves undeserving of cast it aside so easily?

And finally, because somewhere along the way this post devolved from a loosely structured rant over one scene to a frantic gush over these two ridiculously endearing characters, the beauty of the climax is shown in the way Uk just watches helplessly as Yeong struggles and breaks down in a way so uncharacteristic of the stoic, emotion-swallowing woman who could only say "I like you" under copious amounts of alcohol. It's so unbelievably soft (idk, maybe I'm just a lunatic) when he slowly searches for her hand, using the last pieces of his strength and then some to lace their wounded fingers together, somehow managing to use his entire blood-soaked body in the last 2 minutes to show her that she has his entire heart, whether she deserved it or not, and there wasn't anything she could do that would make him leave.

of course, these are just my interpretations of the characters. Maybe I'm completely off or reading way too much into it.

tl;dr: I have a lot of criticism for certain aspects of Alchemy of Souls, but the relationship Jang Uk and Cho Yeong share is so powerful. Though tragic and shockingly reliant on plot-convenience, the finale of season 1 depicts their relationship beautifully by illustrating the depth of their trust and reliance on the other. Also, UkYeong has rooted itself thoroughly in my head. I've never been so invested in a ship, someone send help!!!!!