#shes less condescending in general to just regular people

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

sorta metal

[fire-lizard-ro]

Could I request Argenti with a blind reader that asks to touch his face? Or maybe generally your thoughts on such a dynamic?

So I was finally able to get around to this one. It's so cute and I love it because of how Argenti is as a person but also because of the whole "beauty" thing. You'll see why in a minute.

This is going to be more of a headcanons format. Somewhat.

Reader gender is GN.

Disclaimer: This is all based on my thoughts as I have never personally known someone who was blind besides my grandmother before she passed so I don't really have anything to go on. Anything I say, I do not say to offend or by any way glorify being blind.

Writing under the cut (all SFW):

He's very understanding of it even upon your first meeting. While he feels a bit sorry because he understands life would be much harder for you, he's never looked down on you for it.

I doubt he's ever known anyone in a close capacity who was blind so there would be a bit of a learning curve for him.

Even with your struggles, he sees how you thrive and get by in life happily and he thinks it's beautiful. He thinks you're beautiful. To him, you shine and glitter as brightly as any star.

Contrary to what some might think- He is not perfect. I personally think that he would have some issues with being overprotective. Not only is he a knight, but he is your boyfriend! Your lover! He needs to be there for you as much as possible so you suffer no inconveniences or injury.

But you sit him down to explain to him that while you appreciate the gesture and his intentions... You don't like being treated like glass. It makes you feel less autonomous and it can feel condescending even if he didn't mean it that way.

He becomes much more knowledgable about your feelings and begins to understand how his actions can make you feel. And so he kneels in front of you where you're seated to apologize and kiss the back of your hand before bringing it to his face to lean into it after kissing your palm. Then he'd lean in to kiss you properly and whisper against your lips, asking you to teach him how to best help you. How to make things easier for you without being overbearing because all he wants is for your days to be full of joy and without hardship.

I can imagine how he guides you gently while out and about. OTL

Onto other things-

His deep understanding of beauty strikes again. He finds beauty in how, despite your struggles and limitations, you continue to live your life to the fullest. He admires that strength and thinks that you have good willpower. That strength of will is something any knight should have.

When came the day that you asked him to feel his face to get an understanding for what he looks like, he was delighted. He enjoyed when you gently took his face into your hands and ran them delicately over the planes and slopes of his face and told him he was beautiful. He somehow enjoyed your compliment more than anyone else's.

He always describes things around to you and even diligently studied to get better with words for that. He also did it befcause he'd like to show you other beautiful things since you couldn't see the sights he had through poetry. Sap. I hate him (affectionate).

Though he understood before that beauty was not just what you could see with your eyes, he finds deeper understanding the longer he is with you. It's in your every movement, sure of the world around you despite having not the sight to see it all. It's in your every word and in your every breath. It's in your very being.

It's especially in your understanding of what beauty was when one of your senses was not available to you, the one that most people use to judge beauty on. It's oddly in line with his ideals of beauty- I mean, come on. He was calling a plant, a regular degular plany with only green to color it, beautiful.

All in all, it's a beautiful (ha) relationship and the two of you are well suited to one another. Your chivalrous knight and his sweet lover.

Aaaaa~ Thank you so much for the request! It was super fun. :D

Feel free to send another on in if you wanna. I'm going to be working on the requests I haven't finished yet this weekend~

Apologies for any typos or hard to understand writing. I'll fix it tomorrey probably. >:D

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s6 ep4: Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy

This episode was supposed to be funny, but all the humor depends on finding middle-aged straight dudebro attitudes hilarious, which I don't. I'm not a huge fan of the Doctor to begin with, and stuff like this doesn't help.

This episode retreads a lot of the same ground as the Next Generation episode 'Hollow Pursuits', except with less fun and charm. In that episode, it was a character we didn't really know, Barclay, recreating our familar characters on the holodeck as an intentional way to make his new co-workers less intimidating. He didn't know them all well in real life, and most of them were his superior officers, so it was basically some guy in a new job trying to cope with a scary new boss. It turned the audience's view of the regular characters on it's head with an outsider's perspective, and as a joke, it was punching up because this guy had no power over them. Meanwhile, the Doctor does know the senior staff of Voyager very well, and (supposedly) considers them friends, as well as having a good deal of power over them as their only doctor on the ship. So his fantasies about them, rather than being funny, just come off as gross. I would absolutely be hurt if I found out someone who was supposedly my friend thought of me the way the Doctor thinks of the Voyager crew, especially the women. Wanting to be smarter and braver and better than everyone is childish, but at least somewhat understandable, but wanting all of your female friends to be romantic/sexual rivals fighting over you and constantly trying to seduce you in the middle of staff meetings is just icky.

That the Doctor can work alongside all these people for all these years and still see all the women in his life as sex objects is unbelievably offensive dudebro bs. He's not even a real person, he's a freaking computer program, and yet he's still got all this misogyny? Do the dudebros in that writer's room really think of women that way? Do they think that's normal? I guess so!

It's especially egregious with B'Elanna, since he's so rude to her all the time, and he's only ever nice to her when he needs her to fix his program. Otherwise, he's condescending and sometimes downright racist to her, and clearly doesn't like her very much for whatever reason, yet he wants her to be madly in love with him? He wants her to just forget about the actual relationship she's in and fawn over him? Eww! He has no respect for her as a person at all, and that sucks. In fact, this whole episode's plot was precipitated by him once again not respecting her authority, since she told him not to mess around with his program without consulting her in a previous episode where he did just that, and ended up assaulting her and almost killing a guy. Yet here he is, disobeying her again, despite his promise not too, and nobody gives him as much as a slap on the wrist. Janeway absolutely should have backed B'Elanna up and reprimanded him for disobeying her orders again, since she's functionally his doctor, in addition to being chief engineer.

The captain finding the Doctor's puerile adolescent boy fantasies funny isn't very believeable either. I honestly can't imagine Picard or Sisko being put in a position like that and finding it cute. Aside from the fact that she's the captain, and literally the boss of everyone, I know I'd be hurt if I found out someone I'd been friends with for years really just wanted me to be a brainless bimbo panting after him. The little tag on the end of the one scene where he has a line about wanting to be the hero all the time so he can help the people he loves rings hollow, quite honestly. It's meant to be there to excuse his obnoxious behavior, but he doesn't have to put other people down to make himself more important, and he certainly doesn't have to objectify all the women in his life either. It doesn't seem like he loves or cares about any of them very much the way he's constantly insulting everyone, and obviously doesn't respect the authority of any of the women on that ship at all. His crush on Seven is actually the least gross of them all, since he's at least reasonably courteous toward her most of the time, but he's still paternalistic and condescending, and there was absolutely no need for a scene of him painting her in the nude to illustrate how much he objectifies her, since we already know that. (And gratuitous female nudity isn't progressive. This is Star Trek, it's supposed to do better.)

Even the song the Doctor sings in this ep is full of sexism- I forget what opera it's from, but the lyrics translate to something along the lines of "women are fickle and have foolish thoughts in their heads". At first I thought, ugh, do they not know what the lyrics to this song mean? Why would they give him that to sing, of all things? But as the episode progressed, the sexism became a major theme, so I guess maybe it was intentional. Big yikes! The only things that were actually funny in this ep were when the Doctor imagined the computer sassing him and telling him to get going and save the ship, and Tom's 'WTF??' reaction face at seeing the Doctor's gross little fantasies. (Tom truly represents us all in this one.)

The real problem here is that the writer of this episode thinks that men treating women this way is normal, but it's not, he's just sexist. And so is the Doctor. So I found it very hard to have any kind of sympathy or root for him during this episode. Moreover, I think the whole premise that the Doctor is somehow being treated worse than any other crew member is ridiculous man-baby whining. They all have a job to do, and since they're alone in the Delta Quadrant, those jobs are even more crucial. Nobody on that ship would be allowed to abandon their Starfleet jobs to go do opera or whatever whenever they want, no matter if they're a hologram or flesh and blood. Nobody on that ship is getting a promotion either, and Harry Kim saved their asses more times than the Doctor did. The Doctor whining about not being assigned to go on an away mission is more privileged man-baby nonsense- nobody gets to go on every away mission just because they want to. And regular Starfleet officers aren't allowed to whine about it or be snotty to the rest of the crew over it and get away with it, they suck it up like professional adults- except for the Doctor, because he's a special boy, so he gets to be rude and snippy without getting a reprimand from anyone. (And B'Elanna was actually trying to be nice to him about it, yet he was still rude to her.) I guess the Doctor really is closer to being a real white man than he thinks, since he's got the whole sense of entitlement to special treatment down cold.

I just can't find any sympathy in my heart for rude, whiny middle aged white men, whether they're holographic or otherwise. The Doctor's disrespect is not only not funny, but once again, put Voyager in actual danger. Just because he was able to avert it in the end, it doesn't mean that the initial bad behavior was okay. I'm pretty sick of the way the Doctor's constant rudeness and disrespect of everyone around him is presented as acceptable or even cute, and he never gets any meaningful consequences for any of it.

Tl;dr: An episode that failed at being funny because it bought into sexist assumptions that all men think of the women in their lives as sex objects, and that men are oppressed when they don't get special treatment. There was so much gross dudebro stuff here that I found it impossible to sympathize or care about the Doctor at all in this ep.

[purplesurveys]

1779

What was the last upsetting thing that happened to you? I got sick, again...that's two very high fevers in the short and sweet span of 1.5 months and I can almost certainly tell you it's because of work. Bright side is it's putting everything in a much clearer perspective and it'll probably be the first thing I'll raise to Trina the next time she has a check-in with me.

What was the last thing you ordered from Starbucks? I think it was their iced brown sugar blahblah espresso (why does it have to be such a mouthful?) and my favorite off their menu, the chicken barbecue sandwich.

Do you trust your doctor? I just have natural trust for all doctors in general because they're supposed to be experts at their field. It's just a matter of whether they're an asshole/condescending or not.

Do you ever question if your mother loves you? Sometimes. Last week she and dad got into an argument but made sure the rest of the household was put through hell in the most childish way you can imagine a 50 year old throwing a fit. I will never understand that about her.

Do you ever feel scared or unsafe around your dad? Not at all.

Do you have a pastor you can trust and talk to whenever you need to? Nope.

Do you have a best friend who always has your back? Yes. Just last Wednesday I had a bit of a scare because my car wouldn't start while I was stranded in the middle of BGC, and the first two people I called were Angela and Hans because I knew they'd have my back in an instant and would know how to help me. :(

What is missing in your life? Career fulfillment. I'm making good money but ugh am I miserable and getting more and more physically unwell. Two fevers in less than two months is ridiculous and I know damn well this has little to do with the flu bug that's been going around.

What color shirt are you wearing? It's white with some pink accents.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? The delivery rider assigned to me for a work-related booking.

Who is your least favorite doctor you’ve been to? I'm not even sure if they were a doctor but it was that psychologist(?) or therapist(?) or whatever the hell she was who was doing a mental health check on me as part of my college admissions. She was just very rude and seemed very judgmental from the get-go, so I said nothing about my depression because I knew she was 100% going to make it worse and more embarrassing.

Who is your least favorite nurse? I don't think I've had encounters with bad nurses.

What is your favorite type of Lunchables? Idk what those are. I mean I have a vague idea of them, but I didn't grow up with them.

What gives you migraines? My job, and every itty bitty thing about my job.

What is the worst medication side effect you’ve ever had? Not a medication, but I've always gotten horrible fevers from all my Covid vaccines and boosters.

When was the last time you remember your life being good? My horrible day-to-day at my job notwithstanding, my life is pretty fuckin sweet right now given that CM Punk has returned to WWE. Anyone here know me since 2013/14? HAHAHAHA THAT ROBYN IS BACK AND HOPEFULLY SHE'S HERE TO STAY FOR A WHILE

What makes you forgetful? Stress or trauma, I would say.

Do you block stupid, ignorant people on Facebook? I'll sometimes block actual profiles, but most of the time if I see something I don't like I either just pettily report the thing or have the post hidden from my feed.

What is your favorite magazine to read? I have not read one in yearsss, and the only exception is if a magazine covers BTS or one of the BTS members and does a profile feature on them. Sometimes the stories come out great and sometimes they are ass.

What is your favorite thing to order at Taco Bell? I just get the first burrito I see on the menu. I've never been familiar with their items. I'm not a Taco Bell regular because there's only like 3 of them here and all of them are too far and I'd never go out of the way just for some foreign fast food hahaha.

What was the first color you dyed your hair? Ash brown. I wanted to go all-in off the bat and tried to ask for green, but the salon was super protective of my soon-to-be-bleached virgin hair hahaha and insisted I go a mild shade first, so ash brown it was. I never did get around to dyeing my hair green.

Do you trust your parents completely? No.

Do you have someone you feel completely safe around? Sure.

What church do you go to? My family attends Sunday mass at our local parish.

Have you made a lot of mistakes? Is there anyone who would actually say no to this?

Do you take risks often? Eh, not really. I don't have a lot of safety nets in the first place, so it's smarter for me to play it safe for the most part.

Who was the last person you called on the phone? The aforementioned delivery rider.

What color is your favorite whiteboard marker? I don't use markers much.

[hahanoiwont]

In some of the neutral endings, Sans has been shown to have told Papyrus that his friends simply "went on a vacation" when they've been killed by you/frisk because he doesn't have the heart to tell him what really happened, like how he omits the truth of what happened to papyrus to Toriel in order to preserve the "perfect little angel" image she has of Frisk

Papyrus "accepts" that in his presence but the second he's not in the room, he drops his cheery and naive facade to tell you how he really feels

So if anything, they're both protecting eachother from less than savory truths, but yeah, he has some streaks of lying

you're RIGHT thank you anon. i forgot about those endings entirely. those are a good bit of characterization to keep in mind in any conversation about sans and lying. thank you! let's think about this...

personally, in my characterizations of sans, i've always interpreted sans's "vacation" excuse as part of his nihilism--if you know you're stuck in a time loop, and you know you've reached the "end" of the time loop, then everyone who died is actually about to come back. Combined with some pretty heavy depression, you might think of everyone who died as just getting to skip out on the sad epilogue. especially since sans doesn't die in literally any epilogue*, I've always thought of that as less protective and more...conflict avoidant? cracks in the facade?

like, at the end of the loop, his actions no longer matter. the human is not in the underground, and they're the one with all the power. outside of that phone call, he has no further effect on them and therefore the world in general, outside of his relatively small circle. so i think the things said about sans in those phone calls reveal a different side of him. after all, no one will remember this soon, so he doesn't have to keep up the "i'm a normal guy who only knows about regular linear time and therefore believes in a future" thing. so...yeah. permanence isn't permanent. everyone is on vacation. they all get to take a little dirt nap and he's just waiting for them to come back. why break toriel's heart when this is all going to end halfway through that conversation? I think it's less about lying to deceive (after all, Toriel and Papyrus are both perfectly capable of finding the truth), and more about the interesting shapes sans twists his understanding of reality into in order to understand that people are dead without taking the time to process that grief. He's mostly telling himself that people are on vacation. They're fine, maybe even lucky, and they'll come back soon so he doesn't have to worry about it. that's what allows him to function and even help rule** in bad endings, and how he's able to avoid totally breaking down after papyrus's death in those runs. no one is dead. they're just resting.

That said, he does say that to Papyrus knowing that it's literally, factually not true. He super does lie either to impart his horrible coping skills or to avoid having a conversation he doesn't like. It's also a really bad sign for his relationship with reality that he's just saying this with no regard for how insane he sounds. And, given how he does step up to rule in the King Papyrus ending...maybe he doesn't assume a reset is coming and I'm wrong about all of that. But my interpretation is that "everyone is on vacation actually" and "haha nah my brother is fine he's just...not around...ever..." are both so transparent that they can't be genuine attempts to deceive. Frankly, Sans is just a better liar than that.

So...tl;dr: Sans does lie! I was wrong about that. but I think he lies to protect himself more than anyone else. I don't really see it as something so...altruistic? controlling? condescending?? as lying for Papyrus and Toriel's sake. he just can't handle confronting reality, and god forbid he have a conversation about it.

*Sans may or may not die in the no mercy but in any case the world ends like 3 minutes after that so...not much of an "epilogue" to live in. he survives basically as long as the timeline does.

**In the King Papyrus ending, Sans does "paperwork" and dictates policy decisions such as how humans will be judged (which, his policy there is interesting in and of itself). Papyrus says Sans is "working hard." My takeaway from this is that Sans is doing most of the logistical ruling, while Papyrus works on the absolute disaster of morale. Unclear whether Sans has a role in Alphys's ending. He seems to drift towards whoever is closest to him of the survivors, and help them with whatever they need.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Ok, so I remember Dragon coming up with a Chloe DP au, and for some reason that combined in my head with your post about Vlad and the rich kids and the S4 spoilers so... imagine Chloe at Vlad’s party during a ghost attack, feeling depressed and useless and generally just thinking about being replaced. somehow she ends up in Vlad’s lair, self reflecting in front of the portal when it gets hit by a power surge. Most of the class just sees her being carried out to the ambulance, but 2 know better

Me: “I need to work on all my other fics.”

Also me: “Time to work on several pages of Chloé half dying!!! And another bootleg version of one of Dragon’s AUs!”

Vlad and Danny are on kinda friendly terms in this mostly because I wanted to write them snarking at each other. 

Chloé was glad to get out of Paris for a while. A decision her father had made after, well. Certain incidents. Making her feel unsafe in Paris. So she was sent away to a place without Hawkmoth or Akumas.

Smoothing out the skirt of her pale yellow, nearly white, dress, she contemplated the place she ended up.

She would have been prepared for New York. But of course Audrey said she was too "Unexceptional" yet. But as Audrey had to go on a business trip to meet other rich business people at some fancy party, Chloé's dad convinced her to take her to this place. 

Not that business parties full of other rich people were something she really wanted to deal with. They were usually too condescending at best. A few of them could be creepy. Giving her looks that made her want to take a shower for a year. 

It was almost enough to make her want to stay in Paris. But the one thing that made her decide it wouldn't be too bad was who was hosting the party. 

Don't get her wrong. Vlad Masters definitely gave off some strange and downright intimidating vibes. But the few times Chloé had met him at events like this, he was one of the few adults who seemed to respect her, despite her age. And he only used his threatening vibes on any of the other men looking at her. 

That said, Chloé wasn't expecting much conversation with Vlad. They didn't usually talk much anyway, just polite conversation common at these things. And as Audrey was currently attempting to engage with him, almost as if she were blocking Chloé from getting near, it was unlikely she would.

"If you're going to commit a murder could you wait another twenty minutes? I have a bet going."

Chloé jumped, realizing someone was speaking to her. When she found who, her initial instinct was to glare. Blue eyes and black hair making her think of someone else. 

However, as she took in the rest of the context, she found someone new. And male. A boy about her age. 

"Who are you?" Chloé asked. 

"Head of security," the boy said. 

It was obviously a joke, from his tone and lopsided grin. And Chloé almost laughed at the idea of a teenager being any kind of security. 

But she noticed the way he stood, the way he analyzed her. It reminded her of Adrien, in a way. Seemingly all smiles and laid back, but far more capable than he looks. 

There was something else about him too. It actually reminded her of Vlad. The general vibes he gave off. But Vlad felt more… firey. Heat under his skin, waiting for the temper to snap. This boy felt more cold. Not emotionally, but like a snowfall that could quickly engulf you in a blizzard. 

"I think a name would be better," Chloé said. 

"Call me Danny then," the boy said, offering a hand. 

"Chloé Bourgeois," she replied, politely taking it. "So, judging by the fact that you didn't give me your last name, you don't want me guessing who you're connected to."

"You probably wouldn't know them," he said. "My family's known for their studies on the paranormal. They're scientists. And not really the kind for this kind of party."

"But you are?" She raised an eyebrow. 

"Absolutely not," he said. "But hey. Vlad's trying to buy his way to an apology by giving me money if I hang out and make sure nothing spooks the guests. Other than him, of course. Might as well put it in my college fund. So, you actually planning a murder or not?"

That almost made her laugh. A small smile on her face, Chloé's gaze drifted across the room to her mother. 

"No murder yet," Chloé said. "If I do kill someone, it'll be the local supervillain back in Paris."

"Heard something about that," Danny said. "My parents keep debating on checking it out. It's obviously paranormal and magical, but they specialize in Ghosts."

"Are they the Ghostbusters?" She did actually laugh at that one. 

"Something like that," he chuckled. 

All of a sudden, Danny stiffened up. It had to be a trick of the light, but she could've sworn a mist came out of his mouth. He frowned, looking around carefully. 

"Sorry, I have to go," Danny said. "A disturbance in the garden. See you around."

"Yeah, see you," Chloé sighed. 

As he ran off through the crowd, Chloé wondered how he knew about the "disturbance". Maybe he was actually part of the security team and had an earpiece in? 

Brushing the thought off, Chloé grabbed a drink from a passing waiter. Then she headed the opposite direction.

She wanted some time alone. It had been nice, talking to Danny. But the party was still overwhelming. She might be out of Paris, which meant less stares and whispers. But still too much interaction for her liking lately. 

Chloé headed out of the main ballroom. Few paid attention to her. Those that did were quickly dragged back to their conversations. 

As she wandered the halls, Chloé wondered if she could get lost in here. If her mother would notice. Maybe she could just. Not go home and just secretly live in Vlad's mansion. 

A tempting idea, if she could figure out how to do it. But for now, she settled for exploring. 

There was a library. Very nice. Bookshelves along every wall, except for a spot for a fireplace. Comfortable chairs and a couch to read on. 

She looked through the bookshelves. It seemed well stocked, despite the impossibility of ever reading them all. Most were nonfiction, texts on various subjects. A few seemed to be typical fiction, though Chloé didn't inspect those too close lest she judge Vlad's collection of trashy romance novels. 

What intrigued her was one large shelf, right across from the fireplace. These books actually looked well-used. Texts on the paranormal. Hadn't Danny said something about that? Between this and the familiarity with Vlad, perhaps it was a family-friend situation.

Dragging a finger along the spines of the books, she picked one at random. Pure curiosity more than actual interest. 

The book was soon dropped and forgotten when the shelf slid open to reveal a doorway. 

Now that had her curious and interested. 

A look over her shoulder at the door, and Chloé was in the new room. No, a new hall of stairs. Descending down stone steps. 

She was suddenly worried she would find some sort of kinky dungeon type place. Perhaps she should quit while she was ahead. 

It was the buzzing in her fingertips that made the decision for her. Something… familiar. 

It wasn't like the buzzing she felt near an Akuma, or near someone using a Miraculous. No, this felt more like Vlad. Like Danny. Whatever she was feeling from them, there was more of it down here. 

Eventually the stairway opened to a room. It looked like a laboratory of some kind. Weapons and tools of shiny metal and magenta accents lined the walls. There were a few that traded magenta for green, but not as if two people consistently shared a space. More like one occasionally left objects behind. 

The one thing in the room that was overwhelmingly green and not magenta was against one wall. 

It almost looked like a doorway of sorts. Or a Magic Portal, really. Swirls of green that she couldn't see into. And if she hadn't spent the last year and a half being attacked by Magical Supervillains and becoming a Hero herself, she would've assumed it was just a large tv screen embedded in the wall for aesthetics. 

The reminder of her time as a Hero brought back some bitter memories. 

She might not have been the best person, but she was a good Hero. Chloé would have gladly continued being Queen Bee, despite the risks, because she had felt like she finally found a purpose. But Ladybug told her no, she couldn't have the Miraculous anymore. For her safety of course. 

What a joke. Not only had Chloé been in more danger without it, as there was no way she could defend herself against Hawkmoth. But the other Heroes were still active, even with their identities known. 

With a sigh, Chloé attempted to distract herself. Walking around the room and investigating the weapons around the lab. They were strange. She wasn't a gun expert, but these didn't look normal. Not regular guns that shoot bullets. 

Were they alien weaponry? That didn't seem right. Chloé wasn't an expert, having never met an alien(as far as she was aware). But the weapons seemed very based on Earth designs, their sizes intended for average Human use. Maybe weapons for Humans to use on nonhumam creatures. 

Whatever it was, Chloé was now a bit curious. What did Vlad get up to when he wasn't hosting business parties like this? Did he perhaps moonlight as a superhero? With that Danny kid as the Robin to his Batman? Perhaps she should stay. Be the Jason Todd of the family. Though with less dying.

She almost laughed at the idea. But as a crack of thunder rang through the mansion, loud enough to be heard from this basement laboratory, she jumped, instinctively spinning around to look for an attack.

A second crack of thunder, and all the lights went dark.

Chloé was not afraid of the dark. She never had been, even as a child. 

But she was afraid now. Because this wasn't a normal blackout. In a mansion like this, there would be emergency generators. They didn't kick in, which meant this was likely something else. 

Amity Park was different from Paris. No Hawkmoth. No Akumas. But that didn't mean there was no danger. 

And the thing Chloé had become afraid of, after so many Akuma attacks and even Hawkmoth himself coming to her home, her room, and confronting her. The thing she was afraid of was being unable to fight back. 

Her breath began to quicken, the only noise she could hear in the dark room. Heart hammering in her chest, Chloé tried to calm herself down. This wasn't Paris. Whoever or whatever it was wasn't after her. 

But what if it was? What if this person had decided she would make a good target? What if Hawkmoth had followed her, hoping to get revenge for failing him as Miracle Queen? What if it was someone else, furious about what she had involuntarily done, knowing that if something happened here, Ladybug's Miraculous Cure would be too late?

Hands trembling, Chloé remembered the weapons on the wall. It wasn't her Miraculous, but it was something. She refused to go down without a fight. 

The only problem was that, in her panic, she had gotten turned around she couldn't remember which was she was facing. 

Blindly choosing a direction, Chloé kept a hand out in front of her, slowly moving it back and forth hoping she'd hit a wall. Her ragged breathing and the click of her heels on the floor being the only sounds. A good sign, she hoped. 

Her hand hit something. A wall, she thought. Somewhere to her left. Keeping her hand flat against it, she hoped to follow it until she found the weapon rack again. 

She kept walking, barely noting how the sound of her footsteps changed from heels-on-tile to heels-on-metal. Had the floor been metal? She couldn't remember. The stairs up had been stone so obviously she was still in the lab. 

The lights suddenly came back on, the blackout over. Yet Chloé wasn't nearly as blinded as she should have been by the sudden brightness. It was coming from behind her. Had she somehow found a different hallway out of the lab?

As she turned to head back to something familiar, a different brightness flickered on. But she was completely unaware, as all she could focus on was pain. 

Burning, crackling under her skin. Through every inch of her. Worse than anything she had ever felt, as Civilian, Hero, or Akuma. 

The pain began to subside. Not going away, but no longer the intense agony. Just an ache, but as if she had run a marathon around Paris without being transformed. Her throat still burned the worst though. Had she been screaming? She couldn't remember doing so, but it seemed likely given the pain.

Stumbling forward, she managed to find herself back in the lab. Yet her vision was blurry. So blurry, in fact, that when she looked down her white dress appeared black. 

The pain and exhaustion was too much for her. Pitching forward, everything went dark again.

--------

The next thing Chloé knew, she was somewhere soft. Everything still hurt, which made her not want to move. But she could hear two male voices arguing. 

"You should let me explain it to her."

"You will confuse and scare her with your morbid humor."

"And you'll just freak her out!"

"I have more experience in this."

"Not in explaining it!"

"I explained it to Danielle."

"And I explained it to everyone else because you had to be a fruitloop!"

"Are you still using that insult?"

"It still fits."

Registering that she should probably see what's goin on, Chloé went to get up. 

Her right arm must've slipped off whatever she was laying on, as she almost immediately slammed back down. The feeling that had her jolting upright instead of trying again to be slow, was that it felt like something hit the inside of her arm?!

Inspecting the limb, she didn't find anything wrong with it. It was there. No burns or bruises. The worst thing was a chipped manicure. 

As her gaze went further up her arm to her shoulder, she noticed something. A discoloration in her skin. It was hard to see, having to look nearly straight down and only being able to see what skin was showing. But there were thin lines across her shoulders and chest. She couldn't tell how far they went up her neck, or how much further they extended under her dress. 

The lines looked almost like lightning. It was then that she remembered the lab. The pain. But she swallowed down her fear.

"Well say goodbye to swimsuit season," Chloé muttered, her voice still a little shaky and her throat still raw. 

"Perhaps your humor will be helpful after all," one of the voices from earlier mused. 

Chloé jumped, having completely forgot that there were people in the room. One was Vlad, the other was the "head of security" kid. Danny, wasn't it? 

"What happened?" Chloé asked.

"You received quite a shock," Vlad replied. 

"Oh, and my humor is too much for her," Danny glared.

"Kind of used to puns in horrifying situations," Chloé said. "One of my best friends loves making puns to deflect dealing with things."

And okay yes she also did that. But she was not going to tell them that. Even if the looks they gave each other probably meant they guessed as much. 

"Where am I?" Chloé asked, looking around. 

"One of the guest rooms," Vlad explained. 

"Not a hospital?" She asked. 

"A hospital isn't quite equipped to handle… this," he said. 

"One of the guests was a doctor who did a general checkup," Danny said. "She was sure you probably just fainted from low blood sugar or something."

"And… and my mother?" Chloé asked. 

"She is back at her hotel," Vlad said, visibly bristling. "I may not be father of the year, but her lack of concern is appalling."

The exasperated look Danny gave him said there was a long story there. Chloé wasn't sure she wanted to hear it right now.

"So why would a hospital be bad?" Chloé asked instead. 

"That is quite a story," Vlad said. "Do you know what you were messing with in the laboratory?"

"I know it had weapons," she said. "Then the lights went out and I tried to find my way around."

"I think that makes her smarter than both of us," Danny said.

"I didn't enter an unstable device on a dare," Vlad glared. “I knew what I was doing.”

"You stuck your face right up to a prototype device not knowing if it was stable or not," he retorted. "You're lucky you only half died.".

Vlad glared at him again. Chloé could have sworn he man's eyes flashed red. It was more than just a trick of the light. 

He said a hospital wasn't a good situation for her now. He implied that he'd had something similar happen to him. And those books on the paranormal, leading to a lab… 

Vlad wasn't Human. At least not anymore. Danny wasn't either, most likely. And Chloé realized, with mounting horror, that she probably wasn't either.

Once more she focused on her hands. What… was she now? Chloé flipped through her knowledge of the paranormal. It couldn't be a Vampire or Werewolf. She didn't get bit or infected with anything. Most other creatures she could remember Humans becoming had very specific circumstances or longer processes. 

Then, she recalled something Danny had said. His family deals with Ghosts. 

As if to confirm her suspicions, her hands flickered out of existence. An involuntary whimper escaping her throat. 

"I… I'm dead, aren't I?" Chloé asked. 

"Only half way," Danny said. 

"That is nowhere as reassuring as you think it is," Vlad said. 

This time it was Danny's turn to glare. But his eyes flashed a green color instead of red. 

Meanwhile, Chloé was having a crisis. She died. She fucking died. But she was still here. 

She was vaguely aware of their voices. Both males had come closer, sitting beside her on the bed. She knew one, or maybe both of them, was telling her to breathe. To focus. 

She tried to focus on how strange it was, sitting between them. One burning, one freezing. Was that related to… This? 

It helped ground her. Remind her that she wasn't alone. 

"That's right," Danny said. "You're not alone in this. Which is already better than what we got."

"You could have had a mentor," Vlad said. 

"But you were still evil back then," he smirked.

Oh boy oh boy. This was going to get oh so complicated. 

[runolllo-fanboygirl]

A separate anon butting in for the two cents; first, yes!! Ever since I noticed the pronoun thing for Revali, it seemed to me like a big point in favour of him being younger, so I'm glad I'm not the only one! Also (main reason for the ask) re: Mipha's age/Urbosa considering her part of the younger generation: I figured that she IS actually really young, just looks closer to adult size than other young Zora because she's royalty = bigger than regular Zora? Zora are pretty confusing re: age though

Hi! The thing about Zora age is too complex so if you don’t mind I’ll make another post about that when I’m ready. But I mostly feel like people’s “confusion” stems from trying to find a formula to equate Zora age to Hylian (human) age, as if you could say 5 zora years = 1 human year of development. It doesn’t work that way between real humans and other animals and there is no reason why it should with the Zora.

But anyway, Mipha was old enough that she was about to propose marriage to Link and Dorephan was super ready for it. The way she’s so h0rny for Link in her diary is hilarious, but jokes aside, it’s an indicator of her being physically mature too. The fact that Mipha is so short might be her being a really young adult that’s still going to grow to full Zora size (some lizards and marine species never stop growing so) or she just being kinda short for a Zora, just like Sidon happens to be taller than the average instead. Ultimatedly it’s mostly character design and trying to make them stand out among the Zora NPCs by giving them these unique exaggerated traits.

And yeah about Revali’s very interesting pronouns in Japanese, I’ll elaborate more now, the other post got too long (this post, for context for other readers). Like, yes older men who mostly use “ore” might use “boku” sometimes, for instance in front of their boss or even in front of important older people to sound humble, but:

1) Revali is the less humble person in ALL of Hyrule;

2) Revali NEVER switches pronouns. He even uses “boku” in front of Link when they are alone, just the two of them... if Revali was going to switch to “ore” at any point, that would had been the time. So Revali isn’t using “boku” to sound a bit respectful or subdued in front of certain people (royalty like Zelda and Mipha, tribu chiefs like Urbosa and Daruk, etc.). 

(More under the cut)

I’ll admit though, “ore” might sound a bit strong for someone like Revali, but he could be using neutral pronouns to avoid “ore”... yet he uses “boku” and the fact remains there are many other hints pointing to him being around Zelda and Link’s age that we already explained on the other post. So the most logical simpler explanation is that he uses “boku” because he’s something of a 16-18 years old male. 

Just in case someone is interested: this works very well for those fantastic trans!Revali headcanons too. Not all guys feel comfortable using “ore” even as older adults.

And so, to end this, I want to reiterate: I’m not trying to police people’s headcanons! There is no canon for Revali’s age, just strong hints that he’s something like a late teen or just barely adult. I just like discussing meta and knowing the characters’ ages help me understand them better.

It’s very interesting how the western localizations can make the Japanese fandom and our side of the fandom see the same character so differently. Revali is very condescending in English, so I totally get that he sounds like a 20-something year old guy dismissing Link as just some silly boy with a magic sword. In Japanese, however, the pronouns and tone Revali uses immediatedly tells you that Revali is but a boy himself and he just wants Link to see him as an equal but that would be too lame to say out loud you see Revali has a REPUTATION as stronk Rito Warrior manchild (and this is why people joke that Revali is “tsundere” in Japanese. He’s nicer to Link than in English but in most cases goes very backhandedly about his appreciation for his friend lol).

(Also sorry super late reply the internet started to spoil me Pokemon Snap so I decided to avoid social media for a bit and forgot to finish this draft)

[mexcraziness-art]

Monkie Kid/JTTW OC: Xie Pingheng

Okay, so this bio is going to be pretty messy, mostly because I’m really tired these days, but also because I’m still reading Journey to the West, and still waiting on the new seasons of the show. So I can’t go into details too deeply until I find out more, this is more of a general outline of what I have in mind for her so far!

Also note: Her human disguises and personality is vastly different from her real one, there will be a whole separate reference and bio for that!

Name: Xie Pingheng (谐平衡),Chi Kaoma Hou (赤尻馬猴) Nickname: Mandy Gender: Female

Xie Pingheng, also known as the Red Bottomed Horse Monkey/Mandrill or just „Mandy”, much like Wukong, she’s one of the Four Spiritual Monkeys, see the one and only mention in Journey to the West: „The second kind is the red−rumped mandril that knows all about the Yin and the Yang and human affairs, can go into or out of anywhere, and knows how to prolong its life and avoid death.”

History:

Pingheng is the oldest out of the Spiritual Monkeys, she was born sometime during Phase II of the World, she was born from the separation of Heaven and Earth itself, representing the perfect balance of positives and negatives.

She basically grew up alongside the world coming into existence as we know it, so she soon understood the nature of existence itself, how positives and negatives make up everything in the world. Throughout her life she travelled the world, sometimes hiding, but usually disguising herself as a human. She learnt from many great and wise immortal masters, and soon mastered yin and yang herself, and gained complete immortality. She spent the next few hundred years moving between humans and celestials, she was interested in the comings and goings of her fellow celestials as much as she was in human affairs. During his time, she saw the damage rampaging demons and whimsy celestials can cause for the world. She soon grew resentful of her fellow mystical beings, and spent more and more of her time living amongst humans. She even considered completely abandoning her fellow celestials and just living as a human in disguise for the rest of eternity.

Around this time she heard of the Great Monkey King, Sun Wukong had been imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha himself after wreaking havoc in Heaven. She was intrigued by the existence of a fellow monkey celestial, but she decided to stay away. She didn’t want to be involved with such a troublesome celestial, much less one of her kind. However a few hundred years later, she stumbled upon him completely by accident while she was traveling by the Five Elements Mountain.

She took pity on him and stopped to talk to him for a while, out of curiosity if anything, they talked for a while and she almost pitied him enough to try to let him out from under the Mountain. Right until Wukong started ranting about how he’s going to take revenge against Heaven, which lead her to realise he’s no better than the other prideful and arrogant celestials and left him under the Mountain. She spent the next few hundred years living alone in a cave up in a random mountain, trying to figure out what she wants to do with herself. Until one day, a very-almost-dead Macaque literally dropped on her doorstep, who barely managed to get away after Wukong bashed his skull in with his staff after he tried to replace him on the Journey. Pingheng realised she couldn’t just let him die on her doorstep, took him in and healed him as much as she could, however even she couldn’t save his right eye. She almost felt bad for him when he woke up dazed and confused a couple of days later, however, her sympathy also quickly evaporated when he went off about how he’s going to kill Wukong the next time he sees him. She quickly realised this is going to get out of hand really fast, so she kicked him out, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire to come. After that, she moved close to the human village, but didn’t mingle with them too often, still unsure of her place. However (are you seeing the pattern here?) relatively soon after the Macaque incident, Xingti showed up on her doorstep, claiming the Jade Emperor himself invited Pingheng to join their celestial ranks in Heaven. Pingheng was distressed how did Heaven even find out about her existence, as she made sure to stay low and stay out of their sight as far as she could remember, to which Xingti revealed Wukong told them about a Mandrill, who’s just like him. Also, seeing the other monkey’s distress over the situation, Xingti became more forceful, trying to get her to come with her to Heaven, which lead to Tiengeng losing her temper, threatening Xingti and Heaven in furious rage if they don’t leave her alone, she’s going to erease they ever even existed.

Having had enough of demons, celestials and their constant meddling, Pingheng decided to permanently live with the humans, in a human disguise for the rest of eternity. She didn’t want to be associated with anyone troublesome, and SPECIALLY not with Heaven and the other 3 Spiritual Monkeys. That’s how she spent the next 600 years living amongst the humans, avoiding anyone who could inconvenience her in any way or form.

(The following is mostly relevant to the 4+1 Monkeys AU and the show)

Pingheng moved to Wan Qian Cheng sometime after Wukong sealed away DBK and lived there ever since. In the last 500 years she became a bit of a fan of humanity. Their technological and social inventions fascinated her beyond belief, especially combined with the fact, that at the end of the day, they’re just feeble mortals. In the past 500 years she made a bit of a hobby to learn and study everything humanity had to offer, which she’s still doing to this day. However, she also became very selfish during this time. Despite living amongst humans, she never worked for anything, she either ”convinced” humans to give her whatever she wanted, or just flat out stole what she needed. Also, as much as she likes humans and likes living amongst them, they also bore her very easily with their everyday troubles, so she only likes to interact with them when it’s convenient for HER.

She met MK, when the city was under attack by some demons (as always) and she got accidentally caught in the crossfire and MK saved her life. Or what actually happened, against her better judgement she got involved in celestial affairs for the first time in over 600 years, because she got curious about this human who seemed to have Sun Wukong’s powers, she got close to the conflict and let MK „save” her, just so she could see him for herself. After that she quickly grew a soft spot for him. She would never admit it to herself, but as much as she adored humans, she missed the company of other celestials, just a little. And MK was the perfect combination of both. A not-so-feeble human with the fun of celestials, without actually having the baggage of REAL celestials. Later she also became interested (read: grew concerned) about his training with the Monkey King and eventually got him to introduce her to Wukong. Thankfully Wukong didn’t see through her for quite a while, however, after she got revealed to be a fellow Spiritual Monkey, Pingheng, conflict soon blew up between them. Pingheng believed Wukong is a bad influence on MK, and Wukong accused Pingheng of only viewing MK as a special pet. In the end MK got her to try to mend her selfish ways, which resulted in her starting to work at Pigsy’s Noodles as a delivery girl.

Personality:

Fundamentally Pingheng is a curious and caring person. She likes helping others, and learning new things and skills. However, as she saw the world change around her, all the problems, hardships, and suffering, she became more and more closed off and selfish. She prefers to stay in her own little bubble and only interact with others when it’s convenient for her. She likes to go her own way and do things her own way. She wholeheartedly despises celestials, because for they basically have unimaginable powers all they still do is hurt eachother and others. Humans are nothing more than a passionate fascination for her. She loves them, loves their determination, and creativity, and she’s in awe of how they shaped the world around them, but at the end of the day she has a rather condescending opinion of them. How they’re only just feeble mortals, desperately trying to make their mark on the world before they inevitably die and start over. However, beneath all the selfishness and condescending arrogance, she still has kindness in her, and after meeting MK she doubts her selfish way of life more and more, as she does genuinely enjoy human connections and helping others.

Powers and Abilities: She has all the standard abilities of a Spiritual Monkey and Immortal, including: -Immortality (She’s constantly renewing her essence with her yin and yang magic, basically constantly prolonging her life, she can choose to stop doing this anytime and die if she wants to) -Super strength and super speed -Chi manipulation -Cloud Generation -Flight

Other Abilities: -Shapeshifting (much like Wukong, she can’t change her tail) -Clones (She creates them from her own essence, they’re all just as really her as she is) -She has full understanding of yin and yang, this makes her magic incredibly powerful, granting her the ability to control the essence of existence itself -Manipulation: She can „charmspeak” people and other celestials, she just has to use a certain tone to ask for something and they’ll give/tell her whatever she wants

Weapon: Her staff is her main weapon, besides her magic. There isn’t really anything special about it, it’s just a regular wooden staff. She uses it to channel her magic and uses chi enhanced attacks with it.

Relationships:

Sun Wukong: They mutually can’t stand each other with Wukong. Pingheng views him as a selfish, prideful, dangerous asshole, whose arrogance only got worse after he completed the Journey to the West and became a legendary hero. She generally prefers to stay as far away from him as possible. Her distaste for him only grows stronger when she becomes friends with MK, fearing Wukong is a bad influence on MK. However, after some self-reflection and understanding Wukong’s past better, she grows to understand him a little better. She’s still generally annoyed with him, but she doesn’t outright hate him anymore.

MK: She’s probably in the Top 3 members of the MK Fanclub. Initially she was only curious about him, a human with celestial powers, but after meeting him she quickly grew super fond of him and he became one of her favourite people even faster. However, her fondness for him initially was more along the lines of having a special pet, than actually liking him for who he is. For a long time she only viewed him as a human with more extras, he’s not a REAL celestial. Which hurt MK a lot when he found out that she thought of him like that. Unfortunately, by that time Pingheng had genuielly grown to like MK as a person, his snark, his creativity, his kindness, so she actually felt guilty for having hurt him that way. After that she decided to try to be better and be less self-interested and try to open up to other people, so she can be a better friend for MK. Macaque: Her relationship with Macaque is… complicated. Being opposites, both of them being born from the opposing primordial forces, she feels a familiar connection with him. She feels sympathy for him, for the life he had, but she also resents him for the choices he made, being on a bit of a high horse. Probably the clearest emotion she has towards him is pity. She also prefers to stay at a distance from him, but for reasons completely different compared to Wukong. She would never admit it, but deep down she fears if she ever looked at him too closely, if she got to know him better, she’d see a part of her reflect back from him, and she doesn’t want to think about that. However later, after Macaque’s redemption, they’ll actually bond quite a bit, and generally be on the same wavelength specially concerning familiar relationships. They’ll mostly bond over their trouble connecting with others, letting others close to them and forming relationships.

Liang Xingti: Much like Wukong, initially Pingheng didn’t have a good opinion of Xingti. For the longest time she saw her as any other arrogant, busy-body heavenly warrior, not knowing how to mind her own business. She was just Heaven’s lap dog in her eyes, who would mindlessly serve Heaven until her last breath. She just generally looked down on her for serving Heaven. However, after Xingti and Wukong captured Macaque and the 4 Monkeys started working together she had been pleasantly surprised. She found out Xingti actually has a personality outside of serving Heaven, and she’s actually a fun person to be around. She still views the human world the freshness and awe Pingheng had almost forgotten, has a raw sense of humor and is genuinely kind. They quickly became really close friends, and confidentials of eachother.

Pigsy/Tang/Sandy: When she agreed to work at the noodle shop, she didn’t think „Pigsy” would be the same Pigsy who went on the Journey with Wukong over 500 years ago. This pissed her off to put it lightly, she just agreed to open to and mingle with people more, she didn’t expect to be thrown in the deep end with the three celestials she wanted to meet the least. This threw them for a pretty rocky start, with Pingheng being generally hostile and borderline rude with everyone, however, with time, and Sandy’s eternal patience she realised they have a lot more in common with her than she initially realised. This is pretty much what I have in mind so far, I'm sure I left out a lot, I'll add them later when I remember them! And hopefully I'll draw a ref of my other OC, Mandy, the 4th Spiritual Monkey soon as well!

Art by @mexcraziness-art

Xie Pingheng belongs to @mexcraziness-art

Monkie Kig belongs to Lego

[agentofscifi]

Super Genius Marinette Ch. 1

So, I read Marinette: Iron Man Rising & Ladybug: Young Avenger by @unmaskedagain and total loved them. Then I got the idea, what if Marinette was Ironman’s kid. I know there’s been a lot of BioDad ideas for Marinette and I wanted to try this one out. Hope you guys love it!

I stare down at my classmates over the top of my iPad. They were all chatting away about random things they would be doing during the summer and their pool party celebration after final exams. There were a few pointed jabs at me by Alya and Lila, but I simply ignored them. They’d gotten worse this year after it was revealed that I supposedly forced Lila to lie about having a lying disease to get out my expulsion the year previous. I simply rolled my eyes at their naivety. Coming next fall, this entire class would crash and burn. 

My class had a lot of potential, however, they never really did anything with it. It didn’t help that this entire room ran itself off of my scheduling, reminders, and fundraising due to my class representative job. I was still kind of angry at myself for taking the job. I was already juggling a lot of work. Being Ladybug was time-consuming enough, adding on class representative duties put me behind in my real studies. That was one secret I had been harboring for years. I am a child genius and the daughter of the famous Tony Stark.

When my mother was young she had a brief one night stand with my biological father, Tony Stark, while on vacation. When my mother was just a few months pregnant, she met my Papa at baking class. They started dating and ended up opening a store together. When I was just 1, they married. Now, shortly after my birth, my Mama called my Dad to inform him that she was pregnant. A DNA test was done on the sly. My father never revealed that he had a child and my existence was kept a secret. So secret that only my Father, Mama, Papa, Aunt Pepper, Uncle Rhodes, Uncle Happy, my Papa’s parents, and my Mama’s parents knew about it. A small circle that somehow remained small. 

My father sent birthday gifts, called and video chatted, and he even attended a ceremony in Paris when I was a child. However, all three of my parents wanted me to have a normal life. It was slightly more difficult when I managed to trick-out a computer at four and fix household appliances at six. They ended up sending me to a specialized école élémentarie. I was put on a fast-tracked schedule that had a lot of self-studying and online learning. If I kept to the schedule, I would graduate from Lycée at 14 and started University at 15. A few months younger than my father. 

I, however, insisted on attending normal school to keep up with kids my age. I didn’t care as much about starting university at an unusual age. I did skip a grade, however, as I couldn’t hide all of my knowledge. So, I started at a regular école élémentarie. Classes were general alright, I enjoyed the literature classes and speed through the science and math classes. I mostly did my advanced work in class. As long as I turned in my homework and wasn’t bothering people, my teachers didn’t care. Chloe did put a bit of a damper on friendships, as no one wanted to anger the Mayor’s daughter. However, I still enjoyed regular school. 

When I started Collége Françoise Dupont, at age 10, I was already through the first year of the materials. It got easier with me being in Madame Bustier’s class. She was a nice teacher but didn’t control her classroom very well. For two years I managed to do my advanced work without her ever knowing. Frankly, her relaxed environment made it easier for me to work ahead. When I started my third year of Collége, I had done all of the materials already. A year and a ½ of studying in a year’s worth of time. 

Of course, this is when it got messy. I received the Ladybug miraculous and made some real friends, or so I thought. All of this was fun and great, but it made working ahead more difficult. Adding on Ladybug work and class representative work made it possible for me to only do a year’s worth of Lycée work in a year. 

Father called, a little worried, but I easily calmed him down. I was still three years ahead of everyone else, plus adding on all of my design work and my class representative duties would make my college application even better. Less studying gave me more time to do independent work. My pseudonym, Maria, created several green energy products, three different popular apps, and an extremely lightweight, flame-resistant, and shrapnel resistant line for firefighters. I was a success, and I would continue to be, despite all of Lila’s mechanisms. Either way, I was in the last few hours of class with these idiots. Starting next fall, I’d be attending MIT in Massachusetts. 

I had a small, personal graduation from my specialized Lycée a week ago. I sent my transcripts from both my specialized Lycée and one from Lycée Françoise Dupont. I did get Madame Mandeleiev to help me get video footage of Lila framing me for my expulsion and write a letter explaining the issue of my rescinded expulsion on my record. A brief phone call and an email containing the Ladyblog link told MIT everything they needed to know about my classroom. I did get asked why I stayed. Truthfully, I wanted to see this through. After Lila’s return in the second half of my Troisieme year, I started collecting evidence against the Collége and Lycée Françoise Dupont for enabling bullies, extreme favoritism, and incompetence. 

“Marinette?” I glance up from my iPad to see Madame Bustier looking at me. The entire class is now looking at me. Lila is smirking next to Bustier. “Can you apologize to Lila?”

I raise one eyebrow. “What am I apologizing to Lila about?”

“For your rude and threatening words earlier, before class started, in the locker room.” Madame Buster speaks to me as if I am a small child. She’d done that to me for a while because I skipped a year. She seemed to think that because I was a year younger than everyone else, I need to be treated like a child. After Lila’s arrival, she became even more condescending. 

I glance at the clock really quickly. 2 minutes until the bell and just a few hours until I would be flying first class to New York. “I didn’t go to the locker room this morning Madame Bustier.”

Mrs. Bustier sighs. Lila smirks before sobbing loudly. It sounded horrible and fake, like some cheap amateur actress. “Oh, Marinette. I didn’t want to make a big deal about this. I just wanted you to apologize for your mean words and for stealing my iPad-I mean, oops!” Lila’s shirk is back, but the entire class misses it to turn to glare at me. Then the comments started.

“Dude, stealing is not cool!”

“Stop being such a bully!”

“I thought we could trust you!”

“I can’t believe this! I used to think you were such a good person.”

“Just give Lila back the iPad, Marinette.”

I roll my eyes, putting the iPad in my hand into my bag. “File a report.”

There’s silence. “What?” Lila looks at me in confusion. 

“File a report. If I really stole this iPad from you, go to the police. Have them do an investigation.” The bell rings above us and I stand from my seat. Everyone is still in the same spots, too stunted by my declaration to do anything. 

I walk down the stairs until I’m in front of Mrs. Bustier. I pull out a file and hand it to her. “I’m unable to be Class Representative next year. This is everything I need to hand over for my successor. All of the money earned for the Graduation trip in two years is in the class savings account. I left a page detailing how much was earned at each event this year.”

I move to leave the room, but Mrs. Bustier steps in front of me. “Marinette, we talked about this. The Marinette of the world, setting an example.” 

I met Mrs. Bustier’s eyes with a flat look. “Mrs. Bustier, I have a flight to catch, please move.”

“Marinette!” She sighs, but I had already moved around her.

Chaos starts to erupt behind me in the classroom. Students yelling about me being childish, some saying Lila should press charges, and others saying that they should just enjoy me being gone. Either way, it was no longer my problem. I didn’t have time for stupid people.

Next

[unabashedrebel]

Ooc ask: do you change your written vocabulary and style based on the character you're writing? (Not just their dialog)

Idk when this came in because I am a trash blogger but this has always been a super interesting thing to me so I’m gonna answer it.

I DO, god that’s so important to me that it hurts. Writing multiple muses, early on, my thing was that they HAD to sound different. Like that was non-negotiable to me. They need to sound on brand for their character, not just me throwing out bits of dialogue in psuedo-modern terms, which I’ll be honest was kind of my go-to for Kirollis. It’s what made his dialogue easy, he was close enough to my own that I didn’t really need to think about it for him.

Enter Soriya, my next big muse and Kirollis’ daughter. I think when I made her I realized that there was speech patterns that I wanted to cash in on. There was a certain degree of me that wanted them to speak similarly because they’re related and weirdly look up to one another- then there was another half of me that wanted to put more of a wall between who they were as people. (Honestly it’s kind of blended into both ideas where Soriya will say some Kiro shit sometimes, and vice versa. IF you ever wondered why Soriya started saying fuck you can blame her dad). But the thing I guess I do keep in mind to have that small difference between them is that for Soriya I will dumb her dialogue down to reflect that she’s not a book learner. She uses smaller words, less tact, more likes and maybes and filler, less sarcasm, less know-it-all, more gentle and kind but with a little bit of spice. Whereas Kirollis is highly educated and actively will dumb himself down to lower other people’s expectations. It’s also why I call her Kiro lite, she’s a very similar character but so so very different in a lot of ways.

NOW enter Korrinth who was maybe probably the most challenging of my muses to write dialogue for. Like, she’s a very smart gal. She studied in the mecca of magic for nearly a century. She’s used to big words, knows their meaning, and will employ them in regular conversation regardless of who she’s talking to. She has this air of class about her when she speaks, and despite her saying it, a lot of her tone comes across as condescending or cold. But she’s the muse I wanted to really give the smarts to, and that was something I thought would be great to reflect in vocabulary choices and how she really just words things in general. She’s kind of rough in the sense that I have to actively police myself when I’m writing her, she doesn’t just come off the cuff like the other ones can, I actually have to think about how she talks and what that does to present her (Because frankly she’s a poor, unemployed demon hunter who still talks like she’s in line to become a magistrix and I think that’s such a cool parallel from who she was to who she is now which is arguably her biggest theme).

I’m not sorry for this word vomit.

[moved-19871997]

Like literally, my sister is 13 WHOLE YEARS older than me, and it's been a LONG time since she acted like i was a child. she did than when, yk, i was a child lol. like less than 15/14.

but somehow people like 2 years older than me used to think i'm so much of an idiot, especially when i was a teen

also, this is separate. but like, i look very young, so i'm 20 and people usually take me to be 16. and like, EVEN when i tell people i'm 20, EVEN when they're the same age, there are still some people who treat me like a child because maybe my demeanor is not as old as them. LIKE SORRY i don't act like a fucking 50 year old at 20, doesn't mean you're oh so wise and i'm a dumb child

this was way too long sorry lol

yea like at a certain age you can just treat a kid like. a regular person with some considerations ? and just. like in general condescending people bc they look younger or honestly even if they ARE young just reeks of self importance cause it’s like . someone doesn’t have to be you age or older for you to treat them with respect ? like yeah okay they haven’t lived as long as you and that does affect stuff but it doesn’t mean you have to look down on them

[nobodies-png]

HC: Xemnas and the other Xehanorts love playing Animal Crossing.

Just because ACNH has been such a fuckin BEACON OF JOY in my life since it came out (even though I have no means of playing lol) i’m adding some general animal crossing Nort headcanons 

Master Xenahort :

He’d be a snooty goat, pretty obvious. All of his letters sound vaguely threatening and pretty creepy, but he also sends super rare furniture so it’s not like you can complain that much.  Whenever he’s in your town, all of your flowers are bound to turn black for some weird fucking reason. - no one knows if this is a feature or a glitch You have more chances of getting him to show up if you have a heart shaped pond for him to lurk around.

As for Xenahort playing Animal Crossing, weLL. Good luck getting this old boomer figure out how the controls and everything else works. He seems to like Isabelle a lot because “she’s efficient and a cute dog” but he ALSO likes Apollo and his litte “PAH !” catchphrase.  Xenahort could have a pretty gothic and aesthetic world if it weren’t for the fact that he struggles with technology. Also also the guy who’d listen to all teh fun facts Blathers has.

Ansem (Heartless) :

A jock/cranky boar maybe. The kind of villager you wouldn’t really give much thought about, he looks a little funky and emo but eh, it’s not a big deal - until you get into his house and see that it’s pretty much chaos. There’s furniture you’ve never seen and are those fucking GLOWING EYES in the background ? You don’t think you wanna know. Exclusively comes out at night when there’s literally no other villager awake and he’s never present during holidays or events.

Ansem wouldn’t even play Animal Crossing, ngl. He has 0 interest in the game and would most likely drop it after 10 minutes. Also why can he only call like ONE person in the attic ? Fucking whack, that’s not how phones work. Spends the entire time complaining about little things he doesn’t understand. Like come on, man they’re just funky talking animals, let them live.

Xemnas : 

A lazy wolf. More quiet and lethargic than actually lazy. The guy is pretty quiet the first days UNTIL you start befriending them, then you’ll discover that he’s actually a fucking chatterbox. You can find Xemnas on the beach at sunset just vibing most of the time or at the museum. After having him around for a while, you notice that he’s the only fucking villager in your town that hasn’t celebrated nor told you when his birthday is. His house is pretty minimalist and monochrome.

Xemnas doesn’t exactly “play” the game - he mostly just roams around, doing absolutely nothing or just talking with people while going “Hmmm” Ohhh” “I see. . .” and other noises to himself. Couldn’t figure out how to give Isabelle a seashell on the first days so he just dropped that shit on the town hall pavement and it’s been there since then. Xemnas also never learns the real names of the villagers in his town, he just names them after people he knows and calls it a day.

Vanitas :

Definitely a jock cat, but like, the mean kind. He’s just too childish and energetic to be a cranky villager lol - his catchphrase is probably some shit like “idiot”. Not even a nickname, he just adds that at the end of sentences. Vanitas (or Catnitas :punch: :pensive) runs through the flowers but ONLY when you’re watching, orders the weirdest and most complex coffee just to see if you can make it - and then when you show him that you can, he’s impressed but also angry cause now he has to drink that shit. If you get Vanitas on your town, there’s a high chance that Ventus also moves in right next to him and viceversa.

Vanitas claims that he doesn’t give a shit about Animal Crossing, but his town is impeccable and he WILL kill for the villagers he loves - even if he’d also just try to straight up kill the ones he hates lol. The type of guy who carries around an axe 24/7 for no reason other than aesthetics and to make a Statement (tm). His house is pretty ugly though and he gets mad because he just doesn’t know how to properly decorate it to get a good grade.

Young Xenahort :

Smug goat. Smug goat. SMUG GOAT. The 100% definition of smug bastard - old Xenahort at least had the decency to SEND you rare furniture, but this guy just DISPLAYS it all on his house and MAKES SURE you know how pitiful it is that you can’t have the same things as he does. His house is chess themed and he has a picture of Eraqus somewhere. All of his letters sound condescending and he tries to use really long words to sound cooler, but we all know the truth. 

Young Xenahort shares a switch with Young Eraqus so naturally they  share islands in ACNH. Eraqus didn’t really mind but Xenahort REALLY wanted to divide the island in half so that they could have their own territory. IRONICALLY, he spends most of the time on Eraqus’ side tidying shit up - because he just can’t help getting mad whenever he sees how messy everything is, with all the fucking fish just laying around because Blathers isn’t there yet. Young Xenahort also insists on only having white roses and is very hellbent on keeping a strict aesthetic.

Terranort : 

The snooty lion she tells you not to worry about. Also a bit smug, but not as bad as the actual Xenahort - he’s actually pretty tolerable, when he’s not giving you the cold shoulder. The villager that takes you 207456 years to actually befriend and who only likes super specific and rare items as gifts. It’s really funny to bully him around because he only gets angry and just stomps around all day after that.

Another sad lad who wouldn’t play AC BUT if he DID he’d have some intense lore and one man larping sessions with the villagers. Like, those people who get WAY too into it. And sadly that’s all I got on him because I wasted all of my juice on writing for the other guys who are all technically the same guy. 

Dark Riku : 

Stereotypical jock wolf - head empty no thoughts, only muscles, sports and a deep seated inferiority complex. If you send him fruit, he’ll send you garbage in return. The only villager who wil SMACK you back with a net if you hit him, but his letters are oddly ??? Pretty nice and normal too ??? Unlike all of his regular dialogue about beating you up at every single game and sport possible in this entire world. Like, calm down, bro. Calm down and have a caprisun. Brags a lot about his “friend Kairi” from another town, which is sad cause she doesn’t. Actually know him. At all.

 Like Vanitas, e-boy Riku says he “doesn’t give a shit about some animal AI from a kids game” but he actually does. Sable is BEST girl in his eyes and getting her to open up and share her story with him was a magical moment. The game is super soothing and it calms him down, he’d even listen to those Lo-Fi AC 24/7 streams on youtube whenever he needs to c h i l l.

Xigbar : 

Peppy panther, I don’t even have to tell y’all what his catchphrase is. Constantly breaks the fourth wall with little jokes, known to “teleport” - he kinda ends up showing up on every single store and building you enter, as if nothing happened. Sends you VERY specific letters describing shit he shouldn’t knowor stupid jokes and puns. LOVES to gossip about other villagers and gives you that Extra Lore and trivia about them - but whenever you ask others about him, they just Dont Know Anything About Xigbar. Are you SURE he’s in your town, mayor ? 

Xigbar would mostly play Pocket Camp because it’s easier than carrying around a fuckin ds or a switch. It’s also less work and it’s a nice distraction from all the drama going around in the real organization. To play ACNH or ACNL he probably leeches off someone else’s console and he’d exclusively visit others’ towns just to fuck with them or annoy them to death by surrounding their houses with pitfalls.

[all1e23]

Swallow [Pt.11]

Chapter:  The Hardest Part

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Summary: Bucky chooses his path. 

Warnings:  Adulty themes. Yes, I’m a grown-up, and I said adulty themes. General foreboding. Sweet, soft, protective Bucky. (Yes, that’s a warning. That could kill you!) Protective big brother Clint. ANGSTY. 

A/N:   We are almost there. I’m sorry this is so dark, but I swear it’s not gratuitous. All of this has a purpose. Two more parts! We are almost there loves. Fingers crossed I can have the series finished by this weekend? Maybe. Send me love because I’m needy.  No beta so read at your own risk. ;-)

***My fics are not to be saved or posted on any other sites without my written permission. Reblogs are my jam though! Thanks!*

The kids were sweet. 

Quite possibly, the most adorable kids you’ve ever seen. Emma looked just like Peggy but had Steve’s eyes and soft smile. Henry? He was going to be a charmer, a regular James Buchanan Barnes -- a sweet talker with a kind heart. Morgan was smarter than you, that you were confident. She had clung to her brother at first but warmed up to you eventually. Steve was right; Tony’s sass could be cute when it was coming from that sweet face. 

You wished you could give them more of your attention but you couldn’t. Your heart hurt too badly to give more of yourself. You didn’t know what was happening, but you knew it was bad -- whatever trouble Bucky was getting himself into was not going to result in some fairytale happy ending. You sat downstairs with the kids and played for over an hour before your head and heart began to wander to a place they wouldn’t come back from on their own; you needed Bucky. Henry had become bored rather quickly and decided to follow Steve around, his little shadow Peggy had said. 

If Henry was going to look up to and aspire to be anyone, there weren’t many men better than Steve Rogers -- having a little bit of his Uncle Bucky in him wouldn’t hurt either. 

The girls took the absence of boys to talk about their favorite glitter nail polish, but Morgan didn’t seem to share Emma’s enthusiasm. Somewhere between the sparkle teal and cotton candy polish debate you snuck off, leaving the girls with their mothers and retreated to Bucky’s room -- your room according to Bucky. Or, well, maybe not now. You didn’t know if he ever wanted to see you again. You couldn't blame him if he didn’t. 

The bed sagged when you sat down on the edge, and you regarded all the bags and boxes you brought with you. Steve wasn’t judging your choices, but your boxes were -- especially a particular wooden box that held a lot more than just some old letters. You tucked your legs under you and sat the old box on your lap, running your hands along the edges. Stupid box. You had no idea why you kept it this long, it’s just a dumb box Bucky used to keep all your photos, concert tickets, and notes in. Somehow the damn thing ended up with you when you left, and you haven't dared to peek inside. 

If it's just a dumb box, then why couldn’t you look inside? You swore you could hear the case mocking you, judgemental and condescending tone firmly in place. “No one asked you, okay? I can open you if I wanted to.” You grumbled quietly to the empty room, taking a deep breath and forcing your fingers to flip the lid of the box open. 

A strangled sob fell from your lips that quickly melted into laughter at the sight of the note resting on top, ‘Meet me after English? I haven’t seen you in hours, and I don’t think I can make it another hour without kissing your lips, pretty girl.’ The paper had begun to yellow, and the edges were soft to the touch from age. 

You gently set the waned paper on the bed beside you as your fingers slowly flicked through the contents of the box -- so many concert tickets you couldn’t count them all, dried daisies you had long forgotten and piles of pictures that held your best memories. 

“Are you going to marry Uncle Bucky?” A little voice asked from the doorway, making you jump. You looked up to discover Emma and Morgan watching you with a curious glint in their eyes. Somewhere downstairs, Peggy Carter was far too happy with herself. You waved them in and set the box on Bucky’s bed so they could have a look, and the shock wore off enough for your answer. 

“Um, I don’t--I don’t really know.” 

"I think you should,” Morgan admitted. 

"Why's that?” You asked, an amused smile curling up your lips. 

"He loves you," Morgan answered with a head tilt and 'are you serious' expression on her face -- Tony's daughter. No question about it. 

“And you’ve loved him your whole life, and he's never loved anything as much as he loves you. That’s what momma says anyway,” Emma added, you quirked a brow up as you watched the girls flipping through your old pictures, you inquired, “What else did your momma say?” 

“That you both are stubborn and if you stopped running and talk to each other you could be finally together and be happy.” Emma giggled and held up a picture of you and Bucky from seven or eight years ago -- you’re not entirely sure at this point. It was a long, long time ago. 

The date didn’t matter, it was pre-breakup, before your dad and before-- back when you thought the two of you could get through anything as long as you had each other. The both of you looked so young and so full of hope for your future. That was a good day. You could see it all clearly; it was another clubhouse bonfire, and Peggy had snagged the picture while your eyes were focused on the fire and your attention was zeroed in on the salacious whispers Bucky was murmuring into your ear, and whatever he was saying had you both grinning a mile wide. 

Things were so much easier back then. If you could go back and tell yourself anything, you would tell twenty years old you,  just how easy she had it, spend less time worrying about the club and more time loving the man in front of her 

“You guys look funny.” Emma eventually continued. “Uncle Bucky looks weird with short hair and no beard, but you look funny, too.” 

You laughed and took the picture from her. “Gee, thanks. I think I have some of your momma and daddy in there, if you want to look, Emma.” The little girl’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed two handfuls of photographs to search through. 

Morgan climbed into your lap so she could look at the picture in your hand one more time, and said with a grin. “So you marry Uncle Bucky and then you can be my aunt! Can I be your flower girl? I like daisies.” 

You looked down at the bright little girl in your lap and back to the bundle of dried daisies in your box. She was too smart for her own good, “I think Uncle Bucky has to ask first, and that might be a long time away. I can still be your aunt, though.”  

“Okay, but I’ll tell him to get moving, so it’s official.” She said with beaming smile and bright eyes as if she just figured it all out because all your problems would be solved if you simply married Bucky, wouldn’t they? You couldn’t tell her the truth. She didn’t need to know that your life was far from a fairytale, and marrying Bucky would never happen. 

After all these years, at least you can finally admit it to yourself. 

--------

“I should have been expecting this I suppose.” Eddie started, strolling up to the tree Bucky was leaning against. When Bucky had called and said he wanted to meet, Eddie thought maybe a restaurant or somewhere with air conditioning. He should have seen this coming after his talk with Y/n, but he thought from everything he’s heard about their relationship she was ready to move on from all that death and destruction. 

“I didn’t think you still had that hold on Y/n. Wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong, though. I should have known she would run right to you.” 

“Don’t bring Y/n up again. I’d hate to rebreak your nose.” Bucky flicked the bud of his cigarette to the ground and leaned in as if he was inspecting Eddie’s injuries. He pursed his lips as if he was studying the damage and then, smirked as smug as can be all while he taunted him. “Looks like you still got a little purple under the eyes there. Didn’t get ice on it in time from the looks of it. You gotta move faster than that.” 

“What do you want, Barnes?” Eddie grumbled. 

As fun as it was to make Eddie squirm, he didn’t come here to ridicule him. “I want to make a deal.”

That had Eddie’s interest piqued. Getting Y/n to testify against the club was good, but having an actual club member, the former president, who knew every secret behind those big double doors and wooden gavel? That was gold. That was the deal he wanted to make from the beginning, but, he never found an in with any of them. This… This could have potential. 

“What kind of deal?” Eddied pushed doing his best to keep the excitement out of his voice. Bucky caught it instantly and grinned like a cat that got the cream. “I can get you Red Skulls, president and all. You and I both know that’s a much bigger win for you than taking bring Steve and me in.” 

Bucky wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t enough. He was tasked with bringing the Winter’s Soldiers MC down, and there was no way everyone was getting off the hook -- not this time. 

“What else?” 

“What else?” Bucky echoed. “Taking down a large crime organization that's selling guns and killing innocent people ain’t enough for ya?” 

“No, it’s not.” 

Bucky smiled, but it was bittersweet. He already knew it wasn’t going to be enough. He had hoped, but he knew. 

“I’ll take ownership of the mess that happened two years ago. Out on Lone Oak. No one else from my club was involved, and everyone walks for whatever you found out during the few times you infiltrated my club like the rat that you are.” 

“I thought it was Steve’s club?” Eddie urged, disregarding the rat comment completely. 

“It was my father’s club and passed the gavel to me, it’s my club. I give the orders and take full responsibility for anything that happened over the last decade.” 

“Lone Oak, huh?” Eddie takes a deep breath. Lone Oak was a pretty big deal, and the case was never closed. It would be a huge deal to finally put the cold case to rest and have someone to charge for the mess of illegal weapons they found under all the rubble and ash. Eddie was pretty sure the credit for Lone Oak belonged to Schmidt, and Steve and his men were simply cleaning it up, but if Bucky wanted to take the blame and Eddie could claim the takedown, then who was he to fight Bucky on it?

“You’ll get the max with your record. That’s fifteen years--” 

“Seven and no parole.” Bucky countered. 

Eddie snorted and shook his head. “Seven is a joke. How about I just arrest all of you now? You, Steve, and Clint on gun charges. Oh, and Tony and little Petey boy on hacking into how many federal databases?” 

Bucky pushed off the tree behind him and started towards Eddie. “You can’t bullshit me like you can Y/n. She’s got a soft heart, and I know men like you use that to your advantage, but I know how this works. You don’t have shit on the club. Maybe you can arrest a few of us on minor charges, but Fury will have us out before you can finish typing your damn report, which is why you haven’t made your move and why you went after Y/n.” 

“I thought she should know who she’s going to bed with,” Eddie hissed. 

Bucky eyed him for a longer than usual pause, watching the man as if he was in the middle of working him out and discovering a weakness he could use against him. Bucky didn’t like the look in his eyes when he talked about Y/n, and he didn’t like his temper. It left a traitorous pit in of bottom of his stomach -- before this went any further, he needed to be sure his girl was safe. 

“What’s your deal? I gotta say you seem a little too invested in my girlfriend.” 

“You don’t remember me do you?” Eddie asked with a broad smile, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. It was born from anger, annoyance, and maybe, a little embarrassment. 

“Can’t say that I do,” Bucky answered, not apologetic in the least. The man threatened his girlfriend so no, Bucky doesn’t have an ounce compassion for Eddie Brock. Eddie sighed and glanced up towards the clouds before he explained.

“I shouldn’t be surprised. Y/n didn’t either. We went to the same school for four years, and not one of you recognized me, but none of you paid any attention to me back then either. How do you think I was able to slip in and go unnoticed for long?” 

“So that why you’re doing all this?” Bucky needed the clarification because if this is what Bucky thought it was, he had to make sure Steve handled Eddie once this was all over and he wasn’t around anymore. “You’re mad because she fell in love with me and not you?”

“No,” Eddie laughed -- Actually laughed at Bucky as if that was the craziest thing he could have said. “No, but she did help me once. It was a silly thing. She’s always had that soft side you mentioned, but everyone knew she was yours. There was no room in her heart for anyone else, and no one was stupid enough to fall for her when you already had her. James Barnes always got what he wanted. Always.” 

Bucky was torn between the overwhelming desire to laugh in his face or knock his teeth down his throat. There hasn’t been a time in his life that Bucky has gotten what he’s wanted. He wanted to tell him how he had to watch his dad die for the sake of the club, how he lost the other half of his soul, repeatedly, and how he finally got her back only to lose her again; this time it was for good. The only thing he’s ever wanted was Y/n, and he could never hold on to her. 

So, no, James Barnes has never gotten what he wanted, and that will never change. 

But he wouldn’t give Eddie that satisfaction -- he was getting enough.  

“Fury already has the deal worked out. Seven years, no parole and I’ll help you get the Red Skulls. That’s my deal. Take it or leave it.” 

Eddie still wasn’t sold, and Bucky could see it in the way he watched him, but that’s the thing with guys like Eddie, Bucky just had to wait him out. So, Bucky crossed his arms over his chest and stared him down as he paced back and forth in the grass. He damn-near wore a brown patch in the field before he finally stopped in front of Bucky and nodded. “Alright, I have to clear it, but for now, you’ve got a deal.” 

He held out his hand, and for a moment, Bucky wanted to take it all back, but he knew that wasn’t an option. He didn’t have a choice. Bucky slowly reached out to shake his hand, clasping the shorter man's hand in a firm grip. Eddie grinned, and Bucky yanked him forward, hard. Eddie stumbled forward, but Bucky held him in place by his navy blue blazer and snarled. “I don’t care what deal we made or where I am if you go near Y/n  again I’ll make sure it’s the last fucking thing you do. She’s not part of this. She doesn’t know anything.” 

Eddie ripped his jacket free fro Bucky’s grasps, but they both knew the only reason he got away with it was that Bucky has already loosened his grip -- if Bucky had wanted him to stay right where he was he wouldn’t have moved an inch. Eddie straightened his jacket and met Bucky’s dark glare, he took a breath before he answered.

“I know she doesn’t. The only thing she’s guilty of is being stupid enough to fall in love with you before she knew the real you. She should have seen you for what you really were like I did.” 

“She’s the only one who knows the real me,” Bucky whispered just loud enough for Eddie to hear. 

It was easier if everyone thought he was the one that duped her into loving him -- he chased her until she fell for him and she simply couldn’t fight it, but that was never the case. From the moment Bucky laid eyes on her his heart was gone before he knew what was happening -- he was the one that never stood a chance. 

All he’s ever tried to do was be good enough for her; maybe this will finally make him worthy of her love. Too bad he won’t be around to see that. 

He took a step forward and tapped Eddie’s pocket with his middle finger, right where his badge was hiding. He smirked when Eddie caught the gesture and told him. “Get the deal typed up and signed or I walk. I won’t make a move till it’s approved by the D.A.”

“That’s it? You’re ready to give up everything, just like that?” 

Bucky ignored the question and turned away from him. It was a dumb fucking question, and he didn’t have the patience to entertain it. Of course, Bucky wasn’t ready to give up everything. This wasn’t his plan. His plan was simple, help Steve one last time and finally, finally get to love his girl the way she deserved -- away from this town and most importantly away from the club. He had a brief fantasy of shared vows and maybe even some blue-eyed babies; the dream was gone as quickly as his brain thought it up. He walked back to his bike where his smokes were hiding, and it gave him a second to remind himself why he has to do this. He reached into his shirt and squeezed the delicate band in his rough, calloused hand. Bucky turned his head to glare over his shoulder at Eddie and sighed.

“Once it’s approved and signed by all parties, I’ll make the call.”

“It’s going to take a few hours.” 

Bucky let go of the ring and turned back around to face Eddie. There was no going back now, and it’s not like he had anywhere else to be tonight. “I’ve got nothing but time, Eddie. Nothing, but time.” 

Previous // Next 

[copperbadge]

shirokou replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I had no idea you were still recovering, sweetie. I'm glad to see you're doing better, but keep taking it easy as you heal. Do you have someone close to check up on you to see how you're doing? Do you have a follow-up appointment with your doctor? I know Dr. Deebs and Dr. Polka-dot are taking care of you! ^^! *gentle hug*

Oh yeah, I have friends who are checking in, and also coworkers. They know if I don’t show up and don’t call in that they need to check on me.

And I didn’t want to give anyone the impression that I’m not still under a doctor’s care! I had a check-in last week where I was cleared for everything except running and heavy machinery, and tomorrow I have a check-in to get cleared for running. “Heavy Machinery” usually means driving, for most people, and since I don’t drive that’s not as much of an issue. 

bonnie131313 replied to your post “Holy shit I am dying, you guys. This morning I was reading about...”

way back (possibly still) all the higher ups had to be able to walk into any McDonalds in their country and do any job in the place. When I was in High School I saw the guy in charge of every McDonalds in the northeast USA mop the lobby because a kid spilled a soda and the rest of us were busy. It was a horrible job but I was kind of impressed by that.

I’m pretty sure it’s still in effect, but I think for corporate particularly it’s not as, uh, strenuous as it used to be. It’s like “Okay, this week you’re going to spend an hour or two each day on the floor” kind of a deal. At least that’s my impression. 

amairawrites replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I’ll be honest that I’m more curious about how the kitties have responded to your concussion than how you’ve dealt with it.

I don’t know that they’ve really changed behavior much, to be honest, perhaps because home is where I’ve changed behavior the least. When I’m at home I’m usually sitting quietly anyway. :D The first 2-3 days they were pretty clingy and concerned, like they clearly knew something was up, but after that they more or less reverted to normal behavior. We’ve spent more time on the bed, because the heating pad helped with my sore muscles from the fall, and they love the bed so they’re quite happy about that. But by and large, home life is not too altered. 

figtreeandvine replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

If you haven't already, go see a doctor again. Your word issues sound like a less severe form of my mother's aphasia--she had a stroke almost two years ago. She can speak grammatically but almost all nouns are gone--which makes actual speech...difficult. An MRI might help locate organic damage. Speech and/or physical therapy could also help.

They warned me that I might need therapy if the TBI was bad enough, but the checkup last week said that while it’s clear I’m still having issues, they’re fading about as rapidly as would be expected of someone of my age and general health. After tomorrow’s check-in I won’t have another for six-ish months unless I notice a decline or a stall in the healing, but I should be good to go. 

starkwest replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I feel you on the words issue. I've learned not to talk much in public. I get strange looks or people filling in the words. The meds I have to take make word memory so hard. Image association and deep breath back tracking helps somewhat. Your description of 'six degrees' is spot on. Good luck. I hope it improves for you soon.

What’s so interesting is that it’s only an issue when I’m talking -- when I’m writing, occasionally I’ll mistype a word (”might” for “my” or “attendee” for “attendant”) but I at least have all of them at my command. When I try to connect brain to mouth, something just goes awry. It’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue, like it’s not a NEW sensation, it’s just a much more common one than normal.

mangy-mongrel replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I would now like to put safety corners on all of your furniture

I mean, you’ve seen photos of my condo, it’s COVERED in pillows :D The doctors gave me a four page SUPER CONDESCENDING but understandably-so pamphlet about preventing tripping hazards in the home, and really “not to trip over my own goddamn feet” is what I need more than anything, sadly.

tehnakki replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

LAWL. Oh Sam. Welcome to the brain-fucked-up club! It sucks =) Personally I agree with the super blasé emotional acceptance of injury. I've made my mom and friends cry by how casual I am about my death but *shrug emoji* it just doesn't bug me.

Yeah, I would think I’m not traumatized because I don’t remember it, but the fall isn’t the scary part for people, it’s the fact that I don’t remember it. But it’s not like there’s a gap, per se, or a blank space. There’s just a seamless transition from “taking a cute picture of Polk” to “waking up and feeling dreadful”. It’s like how you don’t normally remember the moment of falling asleep, only that moment lasted an hour and a half. 

pinglederry replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

it’s weird reading about your word struggles bc that level of struggle is my regular adhd baseline. Was your concussion injury to the frontal lobe area?

I honestly don’t know. From the sound of it my brain just got bounced around my skull; they only did the CT scan, so I don’t think they could tell which part was actively bruised. But it would make sense, I clearly fell face-forward, and most of the bruising and scrapes were on my forehead, left cheekbone, left ear, and the area just above my left ear. 

junker5 replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I know you probably don’t feel “lucky” but you really are. I love how you deal with things both realistically and with your patented Sam humor. I’m so glad you are recovering, and so sorry you had such a crazy scare! In January no less!

I do feel lucky in the sense that since it happened I’ve read about a couple of people who fell over while drunk or passed out while high, bashed their head on something, and bled out before they regained consciousness. Living alone does come with that kind of peril. But I also think, you know, I was lucky to survive it and the odds of it happening again are quite low, in theory, so my guardian angel probably isn’t done with me yet :D 

yee-jun replied to your post “Holy shit I am dying, you guys. This morning I was reading about...”

Oh Boy! What A Way To Advertise A Vacancy!

I pictured this being shouted enthusiastically by a guy in a sweater vest with a pipe between his teeth, I’ll have you know :D 

[sepublic]

Once Upon a Body Swap!

At first I thought this episode would be filler, and I was honestly all for it! Sometimes, regular slice-of-life shows without overarching plot points are good (although my love for the latter still remains)! And just about every episode we’ve gotten so far has been relevant to the plot and characters in its own way!

However, THEN Luz-as-Eda got arrested, and we got Lilith! I was excited to see her and just in general I keep thinking about her and Eda’s complex relationship, and it shows! 

The last time we saw Lilith, she said that Eda’s days were ‘numbered’. At first glance this sounds like typical, ominous bad guy words. But really, if you take into account how Eda’s curse works and so forth... Really, it can be interpreted less as “I’ll get my revenge on you Eda!” and more “Eda, time is running out from this curse and if you don’t get help ASAP, things could turn out VERY wrong.”

And this episode basically proved me right! I was hoping for at least a mention of Warden Wrath when the Conformatorium was brought up, but then Lilith came in and showed us why she’s such an interesting character. She makes a big deal to Kikimora about how she’ll ‘capture’ Eda... But as soon as she has her chance, she immediately goes out of her way to grant Eda amnesty.

Obviously, it’s with a catch- She HAS to join the Emperor’s Coven. But Lilith doesn’t exactly frame it as “I do this and in return you do this”, she genuinely thinks the Emperor’s Coven is a good opportunity for Eda! And from the way she’s so excited to be with her sister, it really shows that she cares a LOT and has always been looking the other way, if not outright interfering, in order to keep Eda safe. 

That being said, she does talk about Eda “no longer being a threat to society” or something like that, which... Yikes. Lilith means well but she can also come across as harsh and condescending. I wouldn’t be surprised if these sort of casual, off-handed remarks genuinely hurt Eda back when they were younger. Eda knows Lilith means well, but there’s probably this idea that Lilith still views Eda as a ‘problem’ to be fixed. Eda just wants to be treated with respect as a person, and I wouldn’t be shocked if her getting cursed led to discrimination and her falling out with ‘society’ as a result. Alternatively, Eda’s moral sense and belief in freedom was also what led her to rejecting the Emperor’s Coven. Either way, Lilith is making an effort but she also doesn’t seem to understand what Eda’s going through as well.

On the flip-side, I know that I keep appreciating how Lilith will always look out for her sister by the end of the day... But her rant at the end indicates some growing frustration. There may come a point where Eda’s rebukes cause Lilith to just snap and decide that, NO, she’s going to forcibly bring Eda along into the Emperor’s Coven so her sister can be safe and happy and accepted, and hopefully they can cure the curse! And, if we want to consider the potential parallels between Lilith and her protege Amity... I wonder if Eda herself was cruel to Lilith when they were younger? It could be a complex relationship of Eda always making Lilith feel ashamed and embarrassed, especially after becoming cursed and a criminal. But on the other hand, Lilith is no saint with how she ultimately still ‘others’ Eda in her attempts to reach out. 

There’s this sense that the sisters both care for one another... But they’ve also got a lot of growing issues and insecurities that keep them from quite bridging the gap. They have different beliefs, different experiences, etc., and it’s possibly getting harder and harder for the two to reconcile.

(Sorry, I just... have a lot of feelings about Eda and Lilith. Lilith wants the best for Eda but she’s also a bit insensitive and willing to steamroll over what her sister has to say, dismissing Eda’s valid issues with the system and assuming the system will fix everything. Likewise, Eda may or may not be guilty of treating Lilith like a joke, pushing her away, and not taking her seriously. I just love them.)

Now, with THAT part of the episode out of the way...

I really appreciate the decisions for who switched with whose body in each scenario! Arguably, it’s like the main trio walked in the shoes of the one they sort of ‘knew the least’ in their own sense.

Take for example, Luz becoming Eda. Now, Luz already knows King, she frequently acknowledges the limitations of his stature, and has heard about his insecurities with being taken seriously, about wanting others to know more about demons, etc. The two are close. 

Luz and Eda, however... Again, they’re close. But as the show itself teases, there’s really a lot Luz doesn’t know about Eda. She’s curious about Eda’s past, she wants to know more about magic and how Eda does it, and so forth. Eda’s admittedly a bit more prickly with Luz, unlike King. 

Next, we’ve got King. King doesn’t need to walk in Eda’s shoes, he’s been with her longer than Luz and is a fellow fugitive. They’ve run from the law together, fought together, and were willing to go down together as early as episode 1. They clearly have a past and King knows what it’s like to be on the run, no questions there.

I mentioned earlier that King and Luz are definitely closer than Eda and Luz... But amidst it all, it’s important to remember that unlike Eda, he has very little understanding of growing up as a young teen, having the pressure of being bullied and ostracized, and so forth. Granted, King’s past is a bit of a mystery, but from the way he talks he’s never been in a typical school setting with other peers his age. He also doesn’t take her teenage problems seriously, because to him, Luz has had it easy and hasn’t quite lived on the run as a criminal like him and Eda. She still sort of IS one by virtue of ‘fraternizing with a criminal’, but not nearly to the wanted extent as Eda and King. To King, Luz has always had a support network from the beginning. Thus, he has more to learn from Luz, so he goes into her body.

Finally, we have Eda becoming King. I imagine she seems a bit of her younger self in Luz, being naive and impressionable and excited about magic. They’ve got parallels, she knows what it’s like to grow up as a teen and deal with other peers, etc. But while she knows King, she really doesn’t seem to get his whole ‘being small and fluffy’ deal. Luz has heard from King, first-hand, what it’s like to be small and not taken seriously. She’s heard King talk about not having others interested in what he has to say. 

But while Luz heard all of this, Eda was a monster and had no recollection (nor was she even there to hear it). She and King are good friends, but she also doesn’t grasp what it’s like to have everyone immediately label you as cute and adorable... Growing up, and even now, Eda is only used to being treated as a freak and a deviant. To her, King’s situation DOES seem ideal... That is, until she receives the condescension and violation of personhood that he regularly goes through. In this case, the experience probably resonated a little too well.

I liked the dynamics of the swaps in this episode! It really gave characters the chance to explore one another in areas they didn’t quite grasp or couldn’t really relate to!

...On another note, is anyone else a little disturbed by this repeating trend of King being treated less as a person, and more like a pet or even toy to be owned? With Eda and Luz, clearly they value him as a person. But then you have people like Tibbles, Boscha, and those two creepy ladies, who treat King as something they can just buy and own. Tibbles in particular immediately nabbed King for himself without asking, even though Eda never consented to considering King as one of the things she ‘owns’. 

I know King’s situation that Eda went through is a lot more specific and extreme than other cases. But in general, he seems to have this issue with just... Not being viewed as a person, not taken seriously and listened to as someone who has something to say. A lot of people think they can just casually override King’s free will and even just own him, just because he’s so small, cute, and ineffectual. It’s likely a very powerless and demeaning feeling that influences King to wanting more power, to desiring more agency and control over himself. He hates feeling infantilized, and while he DOES desire adoration, he wants it on his own terms. He doesn’t want to be adored because of his physical appearance, which he has no control over- King wants to be revered because of his ‘fearsome’ personality!

[arysthaeniru]

What if Clara was a midwife?

“The midwife is a relic of barbarism. In civilized countries the midwife is wrong, has always been wrong. The greatest bar to human progress has been compromise, and the midwife demands a compromise between right and wrong. All admit that the midwife is wrong.” - Dr Joseph DeLee, 1915 being completely wrong. 

Listen, I love Clara so much. She’s so weird, and everybody kind of hates her, and her weird double is so trippy, and I adore her sass. And everyone knows that Ice Pick Lodge didn’t quite have enough time/resources to shore up her route in Pathologic 1. And I just keep thinking: I do love Clara as she is, but imagine if she was a adolescent midwife, instead of a weird healer child! Imagine how much more thematically cohesive everything would be!

Clara’s story route is all about how old and new CAN coexist together, but it requires maintained, thoughtful sacrifice, to create that peace. That essence of sacrifice is what every midwife goes through all the times. What can pragmatically be sacrificed? Whose life is more important? How do you deal with the tensions and demands of the old and the new, and who bears the knowledge of that sacrifice? Clara facilitating the birth of something new in the the Town-upon-Gorkhon just becomes so much more interesting with her as a midwife, instead of a saviour figure. 

I also think it would lead better into the idea of doctors who aren’t really seen as doctors solving this plague best. Artemy’s steppe knowledge and Clara’s midwife knowledge would have equally been seen as complete nonsense by people like Daniil, who don’t understand the importance behind those kinds of cures, and the sorts of relationships that have to be maintained for it. 

And why the age-up? I think it just works so much better! Part of being an adolescent negotiating your future and the rest of your life, is that constant diplomacy and sacrifice between old and new. I think it also allows for Clara to have really interesting relationships with the rest of the town’s leadership, because of how being a teenager is such a transition phase.

So imagine with me, if you will, a new Clara and a new route. 

Clara isn’t actually an outsider to the town in this version: she’s Katerina’s bastard daughter. Everybody knows the her secret identity, but she doesn’t really live with the Saburovs anyway, she has her own place, a small but well-maintained house to do her work out of. 

Alexander still trusts Clara, but he resents her now, because she’s a reminder that the lack of children between he and Katerina is not a mutual thing, but specifically his own lack of potency. I bet that would make his ego really dented, and make him even more of an asshole. 

Clara still wakes up in a grave at the beginning of the story, but this time, it’s because she actually really died. When she walks around town, her reputation drops because the dead aren’t supposed to come back to life, and most people are horrified by your existence. 

Clara, upon initially coming back, is told by the Tragedians that she has to save people with her hands--she takes this to mean she continues doing her damn job. But to do that, she needs people to trust her again, and for that she needs Isidor’s approval. Too bad he’s dead now.

Sidenote: Clara’s midwifery job sometimes meant cutting the baby out of the mother. But she can’t legally cut flesh out of anybody, so she’d call Isidor up. She never much liked his necessity, but she and him got along fairly well.

But some of the Kin say that Artemy is a menkhu like his father, so maybe she should run after him to re-establish herself? Too bad Alexander is convinced he killed Isidor, and has already killed three people in town already. Alexander’s death warrant for him means he’s already gone into hiding. She can’t convince him to change his mind about Artemy 

Katerina doesn’t trust Clara anymore: she says her real daughter is dead, and that Clara is here as a horrible monster to lead her and the town astray. She wonders if this is the morphine addling her mind, but then she meets the Rat Prophet and everything makes sense. Also it’s implied the doppleganger is coming around whenever Clara’s not there to intimidate Katerina. 

When Clara goes to sleep, exhausted, confused, and nowhere closer to regaining her job or position in the town, she realizes she’s inherited the visions which she couldn’t see before she died. She’s a Mistress now. 

Capella, who used to be her friend, and Maria with whom she used to be amicable, are unimpressed, and don’t believe in her visions too much. They’re all arguing about the role of the Mistresses in town, and now Klara’s joining the midst, it’s becoming uncomfortable. Klara’s task is to try and convince them of her own validity and her own importance to the future of the town. Capella, especially, is easier to convince, but the weird friendship that used to exist before Clara’s death, is very tenuous, and Artemy can easily fuck it up. 

Speaking of Artemy, when Clara does eventually find him, he’s not actually a menkhu yet, so he’s completely useless on that front. But also, the Plague is happening, and he’s useful there, and he’s getting the trust of his father’s people. You get him to vouch for you, and it temporarily helps, but most people are still too freaked out by you. Clara and Artemy still don’t get along, though, Artemy’s way too condescending of Clara and they bristle against each other, uneasily. 

Daniil, on the other hand, is actually impressed by Clara when they first encounter each other. After all, beating death was the dream, and Clara did it! But Clara doesn’t like how he talks about her work, and also has no idea how she survived her brush with death, so the initial interest fades off, quickly. Daniil and Clara are still prickly with each other, but the threats of violence are less frequent, because a teenaged girl is harder to threaten to spank.  

Notkin, who Clara also used to be friends with, now thinks she’s just a half soul. He’s impressed by that, though, not scared, and all of his kids trade with her. But the Soul and a Halves generally insult Clara before doing anything.  

Khan’s Doghead clan respect Clara, because of her survival, but Khan maintains that the Polyhedron rejects her because she’s too old. Cara can prove him wrong by seeing all of the beautiful mirages of the Polyedron, but also telling him they’re all lies. This can make Khan made and lock off the Polyhedron, but the dogheads will still trade. 

Grace is probably Clara’s only real friend, and even she is being intimidated by Clara’s double. Grace is very convinced by her ability to speak to the dead, and Clara believes her, but also believes it’s dangerous. 

Clara and Andrei almost throw hands on the regular, one, because he thinks she’s presumptuous and very creepy towards her brother, but two, because she also stopped a lot of Herb Brides from coming to Andrei’s establishment, because they were all getting thrush from the twyrine. 

Clara still gets the daily missions to go and verify whether people are responsible for the plague, but this time, it’s because Alexander believes that Clara has inroads with all of them, because of previous midwifey encounters with them. This is true, but most of them don’t trust Clara anymore, so she has to do a bunch of errands around town to improve her reputation and prove she remembers her midwife skills. This can be helped by visions, or by rumours. Soon, Clara starts to build a lot of reputation amongst drunks and believers of her magical miracles (mst of the violent miracles done by her doppleganger) 

Clara’s double is still around, and is still the manifestation of the plague. At several points, people will suggest that Clara’s reincarnation is why the plague is happening and it’s uncertain if this is true or not. A lot of Clara’s missions are finding the double and asking her why she’s doing what she’s doing. 

Her relationship to Bounds, I think, would also be a way to explore their sins more. I think for a mature game, Pathologic doesn’t often discuss the relationships of sex and love to death very much, and I think there are some complex things to say about love, and children, and “sin” that could be really explored through a route with a midwife main character, who’s supposed to be investigating the sins and crimes of Anna, Yulia, Lara, Grief, Oyun, Big Vlad, Rubin and the Saburovs. I think dealing compassionately with the ideas of cheating, STDs, abortions and all the stuff around sexual health/freedom of women that nobody really wants to talk about could be an interesting way of how Clara reconciles the old and the new: by revealing secrets and letting them not be foul anymore.