#so at least they’ll know what they’re getting right off the bat

[falseroar]

If I call tonight and they don’t give me jury duty, I’ll finally go see a doctor about this (probably) sinus infection.

-Me, making a deal with god or the devil or my mom, one of those three probably

[rbfclassy]

STILL IN LOVE! #5 — TOJI FUSHIGURO

SYNOPSIS...after still messing around with your ex husband, you began to wonder if you’re still in love with him after finding out about his new girlfriend…

INFO...ex husband!toji x fem!reader, reader & toji have two kids, megumi is readers bio son, jealousy, smut, angst, arguments, alcohol, drinking problem, family problems, arguing in front of kids, toxic behaviors, crying, mentions of divorce

OTHER...likes and reblogs are appreciated

It’s been an entire month since your argument with Toji. Neither of you had said a word to each other, not even when he comes to pick up or drop off the kids. He keeps his distance, not bothering to wait by the door with them, instead he waits on the sidewalk and waved goodbye to them when you open the door. It seems like the kids haven’t took notice of the hostility between you and your ex husband and you wanted to keep it that way. You didn’t want them to witness anymore than they already have. Occasionally, Naya asks if she can go over Toji’s more often, growing an attachment to her father, but you always have to explain to her that he’s busy working during the week. It breaks your heart knowing that your children aren’t growing up with a fully family. You know deep down, they question why they have to go back and forth between houses just to see their father, or wondering why their mommy and daddy aren’t together like the other kids. But knowing how young they are, they wouldn’t understand a single thing. Hopefully when they’re older, they’ll learn from the mistakes you and Toji have made.

You and Nanami have been going strong recently, finding that he makes you forget about the hardships in your life. He hasn’t met the kids yet, which you don’t plan on letting happen anytime soon. He’s a nice guy, great intentions, but you want to take things slow before overstepping your own boundaries. He has took you out on two more dates ever since the first one, and each time he impresses you more and more. It feels like you can be open with him, comfortable without getting judged. He’s also a great listener, not saying a word and just letting you vent all of your feelings out until you feel better. He puts a smile on your face when he knows you’re feeling down or thinking about something that stresses you out. And most of all, he doesn’t mention what happened that morning when Toji showed up at your house. You know he heard most of everything and it was embarrassing to say the least. Toji embarrassed you.

“Mommy, can I go see daddy?” You daughter tapped your leg as you were cutting up her and megumi some fruit to snack on.

You looked down at her with a soft smile. “Tomorrow, baby. You’re gonna see him tomorrow.” You popped a raspberry in her mouth, her favorite fruit.

“Dad’s been drinking a lot.” Megumi walked into the kitchen, stealing a piece of pineapple off of the cutting board.

“What do you mean?” You immediately question, placing the knife down.

“Beer. He gets uncle Gojo to buy it for him and drinks a whole bunch,” he explained. Your lips pursed together, inhaling deeply before you let out a frustrated sigh. You shook your head in disappointment, trying not to show the anger flowing through you right now.

“So can we go see him? I’m worried!” You daughter batted her eyelashes at you, a small frown on her face. No wonder she’s been asking to see Toji so much, it all makes sense now.

“How about you guys call him to say goodnight, mommy isn’t driving right now. Plus, it’s late.” You picked up the knife, cutting more pineapple into smaller chunks.

“Please! Please! Please, mommy!” You daughter grabbed onto the hem of your shirt, nearly ripping it off of you with the way she was begging.

“Naya, cut it out! Mom said no!” Megumi slightly raised his voice, an annoyed look on his face.

“I wasn’t asking you, dummy!” Her brows furrowed in anger, her gaze now on her brothers.

“Shut up, idiot!” Megumi shouted back.

“Aye! Cut the shit!” You warned, sharing looks between both of them. Naya huffed, stomping her little feet over to the living room. “I don’t need you guys calling each other names, alright? Naya, I said no, and that means no. And Megs, stop being mean.”

“She called me it first!” He exclaimed.

“I don’t care who did it first! I don’t need y’all fighting. Naya, come here!” You shouted from the kitchen. “Eh, stay here.” You pointed at Megumi when he tried to walk away. He let out an annoyed sigh leaning against the counter. “Naya!” She turned the corner with a frown on her face, eyes watery as she looked up at you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” As soon as you asked her that question she burst into tears. Before you could even place the knife down, Megumi picked her up and held her in his arms while she cried.

“Ny-ny, what’s wrong? I’m sorry I called you an idiot, okay? I was mad, but I shouldn’t have said that,” he said softly, rubbing her back as she cried on his shoulder. The little girl hiccuped softly, wrapping her arms around her brothers neck tightly. “Do you wanna tell mommy what’s wrong?” He asked, looking at her. He brought his hand up to her face, wiping the tears.

“Da…daddy!” She sobbed, trying to catch her breath. “I wanna see…daddy!” Tears streamed down her chubby cheeks as she laid her head back on her brothers shoulder. Megumi turned to look at you, and you could see that he was also worried about his father, even if he wasn’t as vocal as it. “Mommy!” She cried.

You reached your hands out, picking her up from Megumi and holding her to your chest. “You really wanna see daddy?” You asked, wiping off her tears with your shirt. She nodded, still whimpering and sniffling. She rubbed her puffy eyes, little fists holding onto the fabric of your shirt. “Okay, we’ll go see daddy then. Megs, put your shoes on.”

You held Naya’s hand as you walked up the steps with them. She had a little smile on her face, excited to all hell to see her father. Megumi rang the doorbell, waiting patiently with you in the cold. “You excited, huh?” You chuckled, looking down at your daughter.

“Who is it?” Toji’s deep voice spoke from the other side of the door.

“Dad, it’s us!” Megumi answered. You were a little nervous to see him, knowing that this was going to be an unexpected surprise, but you had a very valid reason for showing up here. Toji unlocked the door, confusion written all over his face when he seen you and his two kids standing outside in the cold. He barely had time to register the situation before Naya ran over to him and hugged him.

“Daddy!” She yelled followed by a giggle.

“Hey, peanut!” He picked her up like she weighed nothing, sitting her on his hip and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “What’re doing here so early, huh?” He asked with a smile.

“She’s been asking about you all day…all week actually,” you spoke. “She started crying cause she missed you so much, so I brought her over here,” you explained.

Naya fiddled with her dads lip scar, as Toji stood there and stared at you for a few minutes. It’s like he almost forgot how you sounded, it’s been so long. “Well, uh, would you like to come in or are you just dropping them off?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“Yeah, I’ll come in.” The only reason you accepted was because you wanted to speak to him about his drinking problem that Megumi suddenly brought up.

“Hi, buddy.” Toji ruffled Megumi’s hair, giving him a kiss on top of his head. He closed the door behind you, your eyes immediately taking notice of the four beer cans that sat on his coffee table. A rush of disappointment came washing over you as you continued to stare at them. “Don’t mind the mess,” he awkwardly chuckled, quickly trying to clean up as he sat Naya down on the couch.

You stuffed your hands in your coat pocket, standing in the middle of the living room as he grabbed the cans and quickly took them into the kitchen. “I told you,” Megumi whispered. Toji walked back into the living room, looking at you.

“So, uh, she was crying you said?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded, “she…she was like full on sobbing for you. Scared me shitless at first if I’m being honest.”

“Ny-ny, you can’t be scaring mommy like that.” Toji walked over, pinching her cheeks until she giggled. You watched the scene in front of you, seeing the smile on your daughter’s face when she was with Toji made your heart swell. “If you want, I can take them early, and come pick up their stuff tomorrow. You look…tired.”

You shrugged. “Just a little. It’s been a long week.” Toji nodded in agreement, standing back up right as all you stood there in silence while the two kids watched whatever was on the tv. “Toji, can I speak with you?”

“Yeah, yeah, what’s up?” He asked.

“In private.” You stared at him.

“Um, yeah. Megs, Ny, stay here, okay? Watch whatever you wanna watch.” He smiled at them.

“Megs, can we watch The Incredibles again?” Naya clung to her brothers arm as he grabbed the remote.

You followed Toji down the hallway to his bedroom. “How have you been?” You asked, shutting the door behind you.

“Me? I’ve been fine. How are you?” He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Your eyes were locked onto him as you stood there by the door. Toji had a confused expression on his face. “Something wrong?”

“How have you been, Toji?” This time you asked with more sternly, clenching your jaw.

“I don’t get…I don’t get it.” He looked around the room as if he was being pranked, awkwardly rubbing his hands on his thighs.

“Megs told me about your drinking problem. You got Gojo going out and buying beer for you all the time? Getting drunk when the kids are here?! I can smell it on your breath!” You yelled in a whisper, folding your arms across your chest.

“I only drink enough to get tipsy, okay? I wouldn’t get drunk around the kids, y/n,” he sighed, holding his head in his hands.

You scoff, “like that makes it any better. Naya keeps asking about you because she’s worried, crying her eyes out because of it, because she misses you. Megumi doesn’t say a word about how he feels, but I can tell he’s scared, Toji. You had four beers on the fucking coffee table when I walked in!” You exclaimed, eyebrows raised.

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m dealing with shit, y/n.” He rested his elbows on his knees, looking down at the floor.

“We are all dealing with shit, Toji, but you gotta be there for our kids! I’m not here to argue with you, okay? I just want to know what is going on. The kids want to know what’s going on.” You looked at him with concern as he avoided your gaze completely, head still hung low.

“I can’t say it.” Toji looked up, finally locking eyes with you.

“Why?” You asked.

“Because it won’t matter, y/n. I’ve made mistakes, and I’m dealing with them. That’s all there is to it.” He bit the inside of his cheek, closing his eyes.

Your expression softened. There was no need for Toji to explain what he was talking about because you already knew. He was talking about you guys, your relationship, your marriage, your family. “It wasn’t just you, Toji,” you spoke softly. “It was me too. We grew apart. It happens.”

He shook his head. “You were only acting that way because of how I was treating you. It’s not your fault so don’t say it was, please. I’m the one who fucked it up. Back then I fucked it up, and now I’m fucking it up. Every time I got something good going on I find a way to ruin it.”

“Toji…” Your voice was barely above a whisper.

He stood up from his spot on the bed and walked towards you, his muscular and tall frame trapping you against the door. “I’m sorry. I miss you, I miss what we had, mama. You gotta understand me.” He cupped your face in his hands.

“No, no, don’t do that.” You shook your head, removing his hands from you.

“Do what, mama?” He asked softly.

“That, Toji.” You kept shaking your head at him. “I can’t. We can’t.”

“Why not? Hm?” He tried to catch your eye.

“I’m with someone else,” you bluntly said. Your heart was beating loudly in your chest, almost deafening in your ears as you stood there against the door. There was nothing but silence from Toji. He took a step back from you.

“Is it him?” Toji asked. All you did was nod. He scoffed. “So y’all are really together?”

“Yeah, we are,” you answered. “He treats me good, makes me happy.”

“So you don’t love me anymore?” Toji questioned.

“I didn’t say that!” You looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s not what you said the last time we spoke to each other. What you said fucking hurt me. You hate me. You wish you never married me. Remember that?” Toji cocked his head to the side.

“I was upset, Toji.” You rolled your eyes.

“You just don’t say shit like that, y/n. Never once in our entire relationship together have I said some shit like that to you.” He stood there, waiting for you to say something, but you didn’t.

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say! I came here because Naya was worried about you and Megumi told me about your drinking problem. That’s all I came to talk about! I didn’t come to talk about what we had going on, okay? So just fucking drop it. I’m happier, I’m better. I’m getting treated the way I deserve to be treated for the first time in my life." You snapped.

“For the first time in your life? Are you hearing how you sound right now? I know I wasnt perfect, but I did everything I could to make you happy. Yes, there were some things I could’ve done better, but I loved you like you were supposed to be loved. Why else would I marry you?” Toji walked towards you again.

“Then you should’ve showed that love. Just know I’ll be better without you.” You opened the bedroom door, walking down the hallway.

“Y/n!” Toji shouted. He followed after you as you ignored him. “Y/n!” He shouted again.

“Stop following me, Toji! I’m leaving!” You screamed.

Megumi and Naya looked over at both of you, seeing you two yelling. “I’m not done talking to you!” Toji grabbed your wrist, pulling you back.

“Well, I am!” You snatched your arm back from him.

“Stop it!” Megumi yelled, covering his little sisters ears.

You and Toji looked over at the kids sitting on the couch, Naya’s eyes watery, lip wobbly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Megumi shared looks between both of you, concern and fear written on his face. “Come on, let’s go back home. You’ll see daddy tomorrow.”

“I wanna stay!” Naya pouted.

“Naya, please, get in the car.” You sighed in frustration, grabbing her hand.

“No! No!” She started screaming, dropping to the floor and kicking around, throwing a tantrum.

“Get up, Naya! I’m not gonna ask you again!” You lifted her off of the floor, grabbing her hand again. She pulled away from you, running over to Toji, hugging his legs.

“Fine. Fine. Stay with your father. I’ll see both of you in a few days. I love you.” You grabbed your keys from your coat pocket, walking to the front door, slamming it shut behind you.

“Come here, baby girl.” Toji picked his daughter up.

“You two always fight! I hate it!” Megumi stormed out of the living room and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, making Naya jump. Toji stood there in the living room with his daughter, a lump forming in his throat. He let out a choked sob, immediately hiding his face from his daughter.

“Daddy, don’t cry.” She wiped his tears away.

“I’m sorry, baby girl.” He sniffled. Your family was falling apart right in front of Toji’s eyes. Megumi is looking for a way out of this family at such a young age, indulging in video games and tv to drown out the real problems. Naya conflicted with her feelings, crying constantly because of the state both of you were in, affecting her. Nothing is like it was before. Toji hated this was happening. This is was last thing he ever wanted.

You sat in your car outside of his house, wiping your tears from how overwhelmed you were. You were at a loss on how to fix this. Each time you tried, it ended the same. You were fearful it was going to keep getting worse, worse until there was no way to reverse the damage done.

series masterlist

tag list (comment to be added):

@sweetpo1son @lovebittenbyevans @ryumurin @he4rts444mi @cherrypieyourface @lemonintrovert01 @ladysi0 @avanly @chilichopsticks @tananaxx @akusrider @irlbungee @my-anime-garden @hnm-mika @antiholdinghandsclub @yharnam-prophet @crankyarchives @nnnancyr @kenqki @ebiharachan @dollcest @whoreforjjkmen @yoyio90 @jaegergirl @r0seandth0rns @blankwashed @ittomain1 @3rdmonday @5seos @weird0o0 @1-800-choke-that-ho @s-j320 @viisgrave @mayajadewrites @jhiyoon @fisherman-boat

[oldhalloweentape]

🪨Venture (OW II) x (gn) reader ⛏️

(Confession Edition!)

(Picture’s not mine!!!)

(Thought I’d throw my hat into the ring once again, this time with Venture!!)

- Alright so, when it comes to confessions, I think Venture would be the first one to confess.

- This can go one of two ways, they barrel in and tell you with reckless abandon the second they realize they have feelings for you.

- Or, the other option, they become a disaster.

- The whole nine yards with this one, stuttering, shaking like one of those 16-year-old crusty white dogs that outlived its previous owner…

- Just a wide-eyed, frozen-in-place, deer caught in the headlights kind of look to them as they try (the keyword is trying) to admit to their feelings.

- Only to forget the plan they had in mind the second you look at them with those curious eyes of yours.

- Which— Without failure, leads to Venture becoming too overwhelmed and burrowing into the ground as a “tactical retreat”…

- Leaving you absolutely confused. Their actions, or lack thereof not going unnoticed.

- It’s odd naturally right off the bat, that and alongside them ceasing to hang out with you to try to wrack their brain on just how to do this.

- You either know what exactly is going on or you’re the most dense person ever.

- But if you do have brain cells that are eager to redeem themselves, you at least know something is up.

- Sorry, but you’re going to have to bite the bullet and confront them. Though, do it when their drill isn’t on their person.

- It’ll be worth it though because the second they’re confronted, they’ll blurt it out like they’re a volcano spewing out magma.

- They can’t keep things to themselves, let alone something like this. Just, scream it out and have a look of relief after finally (they found out like a week or two ago) getting it off their chest, then freeze up when they realize, they got it off their chest.

- If you reciprocate, they just stand there dumbly, blink, then ask “Really?” In a small voice

- Dumbfounded.

- That’s before they start celebrating by pumping their fists in the air and silently screaming in victory.

- They’re over the moon!

- This lasts for like 5 seconds before they collect their cool and lean against a nearby wall.

- That cheeky crooked grin of theirs written all over their face as they claim “Yeah, I knew you liked me, after all, who can resist this perfect smile?”

(I love them your honor)

[wayfayrr]

I didn't think hyrule had berlin-

had a silly thought about the links in Mario kart getting a little attached to you, so when you end up in hyrule? well of course they're gonna get close if they can :3

gotta thank @peepthatbish @tomsishere and @xxbuttercup for helping me brainstorm this <33

[masterlist]

“You think there’s a chance that the shadow could ever send us to my world? I mean, it did bring me here so there’s gotta be at least a small chance right?”

“Yeah, I hope so anyway, I’d love to go to Berlin with you. That always looked like a nice city.”

“Wait tears how-”

“Really? Athens always looked nicer to me.”

“OKAY HOW DO YOU BOTH-”

“Course you’d say that goddess boy.”

“Goddess boy?”

“HEY YOU TWO - you can bicker later, how the FUCK do you know the names of cities in my world?”

That got their attention, with them both turning to me with some clear confusion before it quickly melted away into a… look of devotion? It’s pretty clear that they both know something that I don’t, hopefully they’ll be kind enough to let me in on it soon enough, if I even want to know from the look they’re giving me that is.

“Do you not remember my dove?”

“Or did you not know that we could hear?”

“... That you could hear?” 

Hear what exactly, me when I was off of their games? Before I got to hyrule? 

Wait. 

The places they mentioned - the fact that it’s just them who seem to know - could they be talking about mario kart? If they are then… how much could they hear? Did they hear any of my friends? Did they hear when I was drunk? If they could then, how much do they know about me? There have been times when I’ve been too drunk to remember what I was even saying and if they heard that then… What don't they know about me? 

I don’t have a clue how to start processing this, do I even want to stay with them now - the others don’t seem to have a clue are they safe for me to be around. Neither of them are really touching me so, if I’m going to move now is my chance. Just got to hope they don’t notice me trying to move.

“Hey, sundelion, where are you going? We - we finally opened up about that and you - you, please don’t leave.”

There goes my chance then, he’s got a good grip on my hand and he’s not likely to let go. Even if he didn’t it’s not like I could get all that far now that he’s noticed me trying to leave, he’d just use recall on my clothes to bring me right back over. Aaaand now he’s tearing up. 

“You’re worried about what we know right? Well I’ll tell you - anything you want to know if we know, just don’t leave please.”

“Tears - what no, No you can’t decide that for the two of us, that’s not fa-”

“Sky… I just - I can’t lose them - I can’t- you know I can’t!” 

“But to just tell them everything off of the bat like that.”

“What would you suggest instead, you want their trust right?”

“You two know that I can hear everything you’re saying, you aren’t alone.” 

“Mhm, it’s still strange getting used to you being here and being able to hear us too though. Guess we still have old habits.”

Just finding out about the secrets they’ve been keeping seems to have taken a load off of their shoulders, with tears instantly sticking himself onto my side tighter than if he were to fuse our shirts together again. Sky is still a bit more distanced though, like he’s scared of letting his guard down, he’s frowning too. It’s been clear for a while though that sky is hiding something, his saccharine-sweet facade being far too kind even for a hero and with what he’s just said… there’s more to him than he’s let on. Honestly? I’m not sure I want to find out what’s being hidden away. 

“[name]? Would you be able to come over here a moment?”

Oh to think time saying that would one day not fill me with dread, it’s a good opportunity to get a bit of time to process everything. And who knows, maybe he’s got some good news about the search to find me a way home, he’s been near obsessed with the idea of getting me home since- well since sky and tears started to get more attached. Does he - is there a chance he knows more than he’s letting on? It’s not a surprise seeing how many other secrets he keeps from the others I guess he promised you the second he knew you knew his past that he wouldn’t keep any from you unless it was for your own safety. Why are you ignoring that? Tears still has his hand holding mine, Sky’s still staring too, just need to try to move; they heard time just as well as I did so I should be able to move. “Wait, do you have to go, he doesn’t sound urgent. Can’t it wait?”

“Old man should learn to wait his turn with you…”

“Knowing him it’s probably a - what was that sky?”Knowing how he was in game it shouldn’t be surprising that he’s acting like this, he was always the link with the snarkiest dialog, even being outright mean at times. It shouldn’t be surprising that the calm sleepy soft boy was a bit of a persona he put up, but it is surprising he’s starting to let it drop. Time didn’t seem to like how clingy they’re getting though, seeing as he decided to come over to get me himself instead of waiting any longer. Helping me up and getting us away from the others.

"So what is it you wanted me for so badly?"

"I think I've found a way to get you home."

[wings-of-ink]

Pls I love how you answer angst and it's all dark and gloomy and then there's this cute emoticon at the end ^_^ and suddenly it makes all the worry go by sheer power of cuteness, you are so real for that

I'm gonna pull the "chaotic neutral" on an angst galore and humbly ask for ROs reacting to MC coming to them looking all pretty (gn) and asking RO how do they look only for the RO to find out MC is going on a date.

...and what if MC after seeing ROs reaction smiled gently and said "Well... It's for our date, actually. If you would have me"

(hehe did I got ya? Thought I'd ask some irredimible angst?)

Okay, you did actually get me with that! LOL Totally turned it around at the end, and I made a very unglamorous noise.

I don’t know why, but I always gotta get my little smile in there somewhere, lol. Even if my eyes are a bit watery. ^_^

As for your adorable ask (assuming at least some feelings or romantic words have been exchanged between RO and MC of course):

Oswin: 

Big lump in his throat off the bat. MC looks wonderful, and they're going on a date with someone else? He smiles through it and nods emphatically. “You look amazing. The lucky person will be well-pleased.” Has he misread everything between them?

At the reveal:  His knees actually buckle. “Our? Our. *OUR* DATE!?” His heart is absolutely pounding. “What do you…what should I wear?” MC will need to help him out with that one.

Zahn: 

There’s some genuine enthusiasm there when they tell MC they look gorgeous - because they do. They’ve always thought that about MC. They shine inside and out. Maybe that’s why they confused the things stirring between them. But they’ll be happy for MC and cheer them on.

At the reveal:  Zahn has a smile that would make the sun jealous. They run and grab MC’s hand. “Let’s go! Let’s go right now!” They have zero idea where they’re going…

Duri: 

“Well that’s hardly fair. Are you trying to tease me? It won’t work.” *pouts* (it’s working) *Walks around MC studying the outfit. “You look delicious as ever, but is this person really deserving of such a feast? Never fear, I have just the thing. We’ll borrow Zahn’s ratty cloaks - trust me on this - you’ll still make a statement.” *If MC allows this to run its course, Duri will deck them out in the most atrocious outfit they can make with the items on hand. MC is probably wearing a basket on their head.

After the reveal:  They go quiet for a long moment. “Well, of course, I knew that. You can’t fool me - ha! …What in the stars are you wearing though?”

Rune: 

Swallowing their feelings. Checks MC out, straightens their collar (it wasn’t crooked), smooths the wrinkles (there weren’t any), and gently fixes their hair (it was fine). “You should already know how fabulous you look as well as I do. You’d be enchanting even if you wore robes of grass and leaves.” They fidget. “If…if you aren’t sure about this person - be careful…and I’d also like to take you out too, if you’ll allow it. I apologize for asking like this.”

After the reveal:  The smile takes over before they can stop it. “Well played, I’ll admit it. I suppose that’s a yes to my request then?” MC gets a nervous laugh out of them. Is that a tinge of red on their cheeks?

???: 

“Date!? Well, that isn’t fair, I’ve been flirting with you for ages and we haven’t been on a date yet.” He takes a flower from a vase and slips it into the outfit or tucks it in MC’s hair. “Here’s an idea - I go with you and you can show me how a date works. I’ll make some notes and I promise not to glower menacingly at your date.” *He’s lying* “And…yes, for the record, you are a vision. Always.”

After the reveal:  “No need to change your plans on my account, MC! Go on then, and have your fun - tell me how it went tomorrow.” He pushes MC to the door. “Don’t stay out too late, aim for the throat if they get too fresh with you.” *Door shuts, MC is made to wait a few minutes before ??? comes back out with a big stupid smile.

Thank you for the Ask, Anon! This one was a lot of fun! ^_^

[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 11/?

Prev | Next

Jason and Jazz bond, and Dick has a sort-of revelation.

Jason sat by the table after saying goodbye to Roy, Raven, and Lian and putting Danny to bed. After the revelation of Mar’i, the adults had sobered a little, and it had gotten awkward. Thankfully, the kids kept playing though Danny would side-eye Jason every once in a while. His knowing look reminded Jason that Danny was a sixteen-year-old trapped in the body of a five-year-old.

Jazz sat across from him with two cups of tea. She gave one to Jason and asked, “How are you feeling?”

Jason frowned; how was he feeling? A part of him was disappointed, but he understood.

“Jazz, when I came back, I killed people. I hurt Tim. It makes sense that Dick never told me he had a daughter. I’m doing the same thing now with Danny! Besides, nobody in their right mind would let a murderer around their child.”

“Just because you understand and can rationalize it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Jason smiled softly at her, “What are you, my psychiatrist, now?”

“I don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know this affected you more than you want to let on.”

Jason sighed, “I understand; really, I do. But what pisses me off is that Roy told me that Dick is obsessively looking for me. All of them are. How can they freeze me out of the family, not at least tell me, ‘Hey Jason, you’re an uncle,’ and then call me family and use that as an excuse to hunt me down like a rabid animal?”

Jazz sipped her tea, “I think they’re probably feeling guilty now because they managed to chase you away. From what I’ve heard, they like to be in control.”

Jason snorted, “Yeah, they’re all control freaks that have no issue invading others’ privacy. Starting with Daddy Bats.”

“Do you miss them,” she asked quietly.

“I do,” he answered in the same volume, “but I burned those bridges long ago.”

They stayed in silence for a while.

“I hope I’m not overstepping, but you have become my family. I see how you act around Danny, and I am grateful that you parent and love him the way a parent loves their child. Our parents weren’t the best, so I’m glad Danny will get a second chance at childhood, and it’s all thanks to you.”

Jason smiled, “Well, at least I’m doing right by Danny.”

“You think—you think you’ll ever talk to them again?”

“Not when there’s a chance they’ll take Danny away from me. They see me as unstable, but I won’t ever hurt Danny. I don’t know if I’m a bad parent, but Danny has helped me more than I’ve helped him, and he’s keeping me sane.”

Jazz shrugged, “I’m not precisely sane myself, and as long as you don’t verbally tell Danny he’s the only reason you feel your mental stability is better, then I see no harm in it. It’s bad when a parent puts that pressure on their child. However, I have a feeling you’re saner than you think you are.”

Jazz finished her tea.

“Besides, you can’t be judged by human standards.”

Jason rolled his eyes; he stopped explaining to Danny and Jazz that he was utterly, one hundred percent human.

“Do you really think I’m a good parent?”

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

Jason sighed, “I miss my old family sometimes.”

“You want to talk about them?”

“I can’t talk much about the newer members, but Dick, he’s my oldest brother; he’s huggy, a huge jokester. There’s always a pun or quip coming out of his mouth. He didn’t; well, when I was younger, I thought he hated me. He was always yelling at Bruce, and most of the time, he ignored me, but eventually, he came around.”

“I remember one time he took me train surfing. It was so fun! I was hanging out with my older brother, my predecessor. He also stole Bruce’s car once and took me on a joyride after Bruce had grounded me.”

“There’s also Barbie. She helped me a lot with homework when I was younger. She’s—she’s also the only one that kept contact with me after all the shi—things I did. You remind me of her. She’s kind, same as you. And you both have red hair. She’s crazy smart like you are. The things she can do with computers,” Jason shook his head in disbelief.

“There’s Alfred. He’s like a grandfather to me. He taught me how to cook; he’s the one I miss the most, to be honest. I wouldn’t be surprised if he missed me, too, but he was giving me my space.”

Jason couldn’t bring himself to talk about Bruce. The man had been his father, but he had both disappointed Jason and been disappointed by Jason.

His biggest failure, Jason thought bitterly.

“Mom and dad,” Jazz started, took a deep breath, and continued, “Mom and dad, when they weren’t obsessed with their work, showed how much they cared for us in their way. Mom would make delicious fudge that got devoured quickly. Dad, he would call me his princess.”

“We’d go camping every summer until—until the portal opened. They had always been obsessed with ghosts, but they went into overdrive after the portal. They neglected us; Danny was being hurt. Eventually, it became too much, and Danny started detaching himself from everyone, including his friends, because he didn’t want anyone hurt.”

“I miss them sometimes, but I can never forgive them for what they did. They find out about Danny, and the first thing they do is attack! How could they?!”

Jazz was breathing hard, “How could they? They told us they loved us.”

Jazz started crying. Jason was stunned for a moment, and then he got up. He let Jazz cry on his shoulder.

Two broken people held on to each other. They may have lost an old family, but slowly, they would build a new one.

____

“Daddy!”

Dick opened his arms as his daughter flew into them. Kory floated right beside him and smiled softly at their three-year-old.

“Thanks for letting her stay with me for the week,” Dick said, “I needed this.”

“My pleasure. She wanted to see her daddy, anyway.”

Dick let Mar’i down and watched as she ran to her room.

“How’s the search going,” Kory asked.

Dick’s smile fell. They still hadn’t found any trace of Jason. Alfred was telling them to leave Jason alone and that he’ll contact them when he wants to. Roy stopped talking to Dick altogether, and Bruce was losing his mind.

“It’s not going well. Why, have you found anything?”

“No, sorry, but I haven’t been paying too much attention.”

“That’s okay. Wally and Superman are looking for him. We’ll find him, eventually.”

Mar’i decided to come out at that moment.

“Daddy, daddy, can we go see Grandpa Bruce,” she lisped, “and Uncles Timmy and Damian and aunties Cassie and Steph? Will Uncle Duke be there with the pretty lights?”

Dick felt a ping in his chest. His daughter hadn’t mentioned Jason. She had never met him, and Dick couldn’t help but feel guilty.  Would Jason have stayed if the family had tried to integrate him more? Was it because of them that he left?

That bothered Dick, questions. He wanted, needed to know why Jason left instead of coming to them.

Because you shut the door, his mind supplied.

It was right.

@idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @skulld3mort-1fan @theauthorandtheartist @emergentpanda-blog @jaggedheart11 @fisticuffsatapplebees @booberrylizard @fantasticbluebirdfan @thegatorsgooseoose @cyrwrites @kjoboo91 @crystallicedart @amaramizuki666 @spekulatiusmuffin @meira-3919 @kilasmess @bubblemixer @lexdamo @wonderland-daisy @mj-arts-n-stuff @amyheart19 @dolfay @the-church-grimm @undead-essence @aph-mable @lizisipancardo @purrloin77 @writer-extraodinaire @charlietheepic7 @sinfulloccultist @nootherusernameworked @coruscateselene @chaoticchange @itsberrydreemurstuff @gmkelz11 @feral-bunny31 @paroovian @thatonegaybitch68 @d4ydr34min9 @overtherose @fandomwandererer @vipower001 @thordottir45 @blackrabbitt3t @rosecinnamonbun @bianca-hooks123 @epilepticnerd @dat1angel @consouling @flamingenchiladadragon

[autisticlancemcclain]

“Lance, if those are my socks, you’re going to meet God tonight.”

Lance pauses just outside the common room door, glancing down at his feet (that are most definitely clad in Pidge’s gigantic knitted socks), then back to Pidge.

“I’m freezing!” he defends. “This castle is always subzero, and I’m anaemic! I needed them!”

Pidge scowls. “I know they’re warm! That’s why I wanted to wear them this morning, but couldn’t, because somebody stole them!”

Lance pouts, big brown eyes getting even bigger and bottom lip stuck out. “Aw, but Pidge —”

“No buts! You made those socks for me! Make your own! Give ‘em!”

Lance huffs as he peels them off — revealing another pair of socks, only they’re normal and not fuzzy and soft — and throws them at her.

“Meanie.”

“Thief!”

Pidge is correct — Lance is the worst clothes thief in the whole castle. In the universe, probably. Hell, he’s not even wearing a stitch of his own clothing right now — he’s wearing a long, thick skirt of Allura’s over a pair of Keith’s leggings, one of Hunk’s hoodies thrown over his shoulder. Keith can’t see due to the aforementioned giant hoodie, but he would bet his knife that under the hoodie is layered at least four various sweaters and shirts from other members of the team.

“You could just wear your own clothes, you know,” Shiro says, exasperatedly fond. “Lord knows you have more hoodies than the rest of the universe combined.”

“It’s not the same,” Lance insists. He looks mournfully at Pidge, who rolls her eyes at him. “And now I’m going to freeze to death.”

“Good,” she mutters, aggressively jamming the keys on her laptop. “Karma.”

Hunk flicks her on the ear.

“Hey!”

“Be nice,” he admonishes.

“Thank you,” Lance says primly.

“If Lance dies, who is going to get so stressed about the state of your room that they’ll clean if for you?” Hunk continues, teasing grin on his face.

Lance mouth drops in indignation. “How dare — insolence! Defamation! False accusations! I am being mocked in my own home!” He turns to Coran, dramatically incensed and enraged. “Dad!” he says, which is something he only calls Coran when he wants to get his way. “Pidge and Hunk are bullying me!”

“I heard, dear,” Coran says, amused. “How rude of them.”

“Yeah!” Lance says. He gestures wildly towards the duo in question. “They should be — punished!”

“I see. Pidge? Hunk? Do you deserve to be punished?”

Pidge and Hunk look up from their projects to bat their eyelashes, expressions as innocent as possible.

Keith quickly hides a laugh as a cough. Luckily, Lance is too caught up in dramatics to notice.

“Why, of course not, dearest father,” Hunk says. “No bullying remarks ever crossed my lips.”

“Nor have they crossed mine, Papa,” Pidge agrees, putting on a silly Victorian accent. “Why, I am appalled at the very accusation!”

“I certainly heard no count of defamation,” Allura comments, looking up for the first time in what has to have been an hour. She’s been carefully painting Shiro’s prosthetic, covering it in a myriad of flowers and vines. Shiro keeps looking down at it and smiling. “Shiro? Did you hear anything?”

“Not a thing,” Shiro says. He looks over at Lance, barely suppressing a smirk. “Sorry, kiddo!”

“Betrayed!” Lance whines. “Unloved! By my very family, my comrades in arms! I have been shot, abandoned, left to rot. Unto no minds doth my very self cross, nor the hearts or sentiments of my closest loves. Instead I am left to freeze, to perish, as frost grows from my fingertips —”

“C’mere, Mercutio,” Keith teases, interrupting Lance’s soliloquy. He pats the cushion next to him, lifting up his arm so Lance knows what Keith is implying. “You can tuck your feet under my thighs, if you want.”

“Finally!” Lance cries, stumbling over to Keith. “Someone loves me, in this cold and weary hellscape of treason!”

Lance settles in with a relish, gleefully shoving his toes under Keith’s thigh — how do they feel like ice bricks, he’s wearing at least two normal pairs of socks and Keith’s sweatpants aren’t that thin — and plastering himself to Keith’s side. He rests his head on Keith’s shoulder, squiggling around until he’s comfortable and can see everyone else.

“Keith, you are the only valid person in this room,” he says, very seriously. (Well, as seriously as he can with amusement making his eyes sparkle.)

“Oh, how the turntables,” Hunk mutters.

Keith smiles. It is kind of strange, he supposes.

“Imagine trying to explain this to us three years ago,” he whispers to Lance. Lance laughs.

“I don’t think past me would even begin to take you seriously,” he agrees.

Privately, Keith thinks that past him probably wouldn’t have all that much trouble. He’d be a little shocked, sure, but Keith’s always been soft for the kind ones, and always had a thing for the cocky loudmouths. Lance is a lucky mix of exactly Keith’s type.

“Hey, Lance,” Hunk says after a while. “Genuinely asking — why do you always steal all our clothes? You never did at the Garrison. Or, well, you did, but not this much.”

Lance hums, reaching over to grab Keith’s free hand and fidgeting with his fingers. It takes him a long moment to answer — long enough that everyone else stops what their doing, looking over at him curiously.

“Hundreds of years ago,” he says finally, voice husky and quiet, “in the time of bad spirits and changelings, there lived a woman with her small child and husband. The woman loved her husband deeply, and he her, and it saddened her every time he left, but times were tight — he was a fisherman in a time of great recession, and had to leave often and for long periods of time to get enough for them to eat and sell.

“The woman was hardy, though, and fended well for herself and her baby even without her husband. She worked any job she could with the babe strapped to her back, keeping her mind busy so the loneliness wouldn’t plague her too deeply. Every morning she held for several moments her husband’s waistcoat, that he’d left behind for fear of ruining it out at sea. It did not hold the warmth of her husband, nor even the smell of him after so long, but he’d had the coat so long that she felt it carried a part of him in it, and that part was enough to carry her through the day.

“One day, while she was gathering the dried laundry from the lines, she heard a rustling inside the house. She called out, hopeful that her husband had returned early, but there was no response. Hesitantly, careful of the babe on her back, she crept in through the bedroom window, shrouding herself in shadows so as to remain hidden.

“She was smart to be so cautious, for a fairy had snuck in — and was standing gleefully in the kitchen! The wretched thing crouched by the hearth, rubbing its hands together, waiting for her and her babe to come in through the door.

“Now the woman knew she could not stay hidden forever. Eventually her back would tire, or the babe would wake, or even the fairy would grow bored of waiting and search for her — regardless, she would be found. And the woman was no witch, so she knew no spells for herself, no charms to protect herself and the child. She had only herself, her wits, and the laundry she had gathered. The woman was not ignorant to magic, either. She knew of the power that lay dusted over every single thing; the spirit that resided in living and non-living things alike.

“But the woman was young, and unpracticed. What say she of the powers that be? She did not know how to summon them. She did not know how she could outwit or out-charm a fairy. She did not know even if it was possible. In truth she was afraid, and longed for comfort as deeply as safety. She tightened her hands on her husband’s waistcoat, the softness of the wool soothing her mind, and wrapped it carefully around her and the babe. The memory of her husband and his love bolstered her spirit and cleared her mind. She could not fight the fairy, but perhaps she could reason with it. Fairies were wicked, but they were weak to games and bets.

“With her husband’s coat wrapped around her, she stepped out of the shadows, striding forward with confidence she did not feel to the kitchen, where the fairy was crouched.

“But the fairy did not stir.

“She looked at it strangely, having expected it to react immediately to the sounds of her footsteps, but it did not move. It only scowled deeply at the door, thin lips curled and porcelain-white skin purple in rage.

“‘Horrible humans!’ it screeched, banging its gnarled fists on the floor. ‘Anticipated my tricks, and fled from the house! Bah! I have waited for hours; I shall wait no longer. I will return tomorrow at the set of the sun, and descend upon them then.’ And then the fairy ran from the house, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

“The woman was shocked. She had made no effort to conceal herself, after the shadows, and yet the fairy had not noticed her. She realized clearly that her husband’s spirit, caught in the threads of his coat, had protected her and her babe, and the fairy could not see through it. She resolved to stay wrapped up in the coat until the fairy grew bored of her home and left her in peace.

“For weeks, the woman kept her and her infant wrapped in the coat. It was with her when she slept, and when she worked, and when she ate. She kept herself secure in the heaviness of the worn wool, and over time the fairy did grow bored of waiting, coming to the house less and less until it did not come at all. Still she wore the coat, as wearing it brought her strength, brought her comfort.

“When her husband finally returned from sea, she ran to him, embracing him tightly and settling in his warmth, his scent. He carried the security of the waistcoat tenfold, and she had touched him only for minutes.

“When she told him of the fairy and the waistcoat, he was glowing in his pride of her. ‘You are as bright as any of the stars,’ he told her, cupping her face gently. ‘Fairies are evil, wretched creatures, who have been blinded to love. By wearing my waistcoat you shrouded yourself in a spirit the fairy could not see, and so it could not harm you. Your faith and love outwitted the bitter heart of the fairy.’”

No one speaks for several minutes after Lance finishes, struck silent by the captivating stillness in the room, the magic present from the story.

“That’s the story my Nana would tell me when she was teaching me how to sew, how to knit,” Lance says, breaking the silence. “She told me not to make the stitches too tight or there wouldn’t be room for love to settle in the clothing. And it just — it makes me feel safer, I guess. To be wearing other people’s clothes.”

“That’s beautiful,” Shiro says, smiling softly. Lance smiles back.

“Your Nana?” Pidge questions. “I would’ve thought you’d call her Abuela.”

“Well,” Lance says, in a startlingly good Scottish accent. “The McClain half ‘a me family had to come from somewhere, eh, lass?”

“I didn’t know you were Scottish,” Keith says quietly. It does make sense — McClain is a very Scottish name, now that he thinks of it — but somehow he’d never considered it.

“His mom’s side is,” Hunk chimes in. “That’s why he’s so freckly.”

Lance chuckles. “Yep. Only my Nana was born there, though. She fled to Cuba to escape my shithead grandfather when she was pregnant with my mom. She grabbed her passport and her purse and hauled ass to the airport in the middle of the night, and chose the first and cheapest flight available, which on that particular day was to Cuba. Lucky for her it ended up working, and now I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

“She sounds awesome,” Pidge says.

“She is. She taught me how to shoot, too.”

“I’d like to meet her, when we get to Earth,” Allura declares.

“Oh, she’ll love you, ‘Llura. Badass leader of an intergalactic revolution? You’re the coolest thing she can conceptualise.”

Allura looks pleased at the compliment.

“She’ll love all of you, in fact,” Lance continues. “Almost as much as she loves me. I’m her favourite.”

“You’re everyone’s favourite,” Coran says, and no one can really disagree.

———

based on this post

[pleasedontkickme]

“Book 4 isn’t as dark as the rest of the show” Book 4 is more grounded in the real world than Book 3 is. I think that’s an important distinction to make. Coming off the tail end of the ending of Book 3, of course Book 4 is gonna seem light hearted. But I think that’s why I really like it, since it almost serves in contrast to the season before it.

Grace and Simon spend at least half their lives on the Train. More than almost any other passengers we see, they evolve to “Train culture”—hell, with the Apex, they also end up creating a sort of Train culture in the decade or so that they’re there. As the stakes of what goes on on the Train (mainly Amelia’s coup and One-One’s subsequent return as Conductor) rise, it raises their personal stakes so sharply b/c they’re intrinsically woven into this world now.

Book 4, on the other hand, starts right off the bat with the most character-establishing that we get of any protagonists, showing us their life literally from birth until the Train, with plenty of visual cues to remind us that they’re from the 80’s, a setting that viewers will retroactively be able to “relate” to to some extent. Book 4 also gives us the oldest out of the main protagonists (*correct me if I’m wrong), so Ryan and Min have literally spent the longest amount of time in the real world before getting on the Train compared to the others. In other words, their story is very grounded in the real world. They’re not kids/young teens getting their asses isekai’d to another realm going “Ah! Oh no! I’m away from home! Oh well, time to explore!” They wake up screaming, lol. They’re old enough to be fully aware of just how potentially fucked they are.

(The show tells us that too—we get to see One literally admit that it’s within the Train’s design that if Ryan and Min don’t solve their issues, they’ll die on the Train. These are the stakes for all the protagonists, but it’s interesting that the show actually explicitly tells us with them.)

So when the stakes of the Train (in this case, Amelia’s coup happening in real time) rise, it interferes with their journey, yeah, but their own personal stakes are much more rooted in their baggage they’ve brought over from the real world. I think the emotional weight of Book 4 is the implied homesickness—or, that we know they’re at risk of never being able to go back to a real world that we, the audience, can really relate to.

So yeah. Book 4’s stakes has less to do with how much the Train fucks them up, and more to do with how much they both fuck each other up (<3) (ok not like Grace and Simon don’t also do this—) and, more importantly, how much they have to loose that the audience can really, really feel.

Also, as others have pointed out on here. Ryan has a meltdown on screen and proceeds to starve himself for three days. A monster made out of the dead corpse arms of passengers tries to kill Min. I wouldn’t call Book 4 “light hearted” to begin with.

In conclusion. Book 4 is light-hearted if you’ve never been through your early twenties.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Okay so to add to this post from yesterday:

I’m writing this right after posting that one so if somebody reblogs with something similar to this I promise I did not see it before writing this. I just wanted my full on fix it and this is how I managed to forcefully make it happen:

What if, just like in the book, the tributes didn’t have a bloodbath? If you wanna be very optimistic, what if none of the tributes had died yet but had been brought closer by the… unusual events surrounding their stay, and were just a little bit less enthused about the idea of killing each other? We’re ignoring the rabies. The tributes got close enough fast enough for them to save Reaper from getting bitten or that stupid bat was knocked out by slamming into the shaking sides of the cattle car before it could bite Jessup.

We all know Gaul’s a murderous piece of never before seen insanity, and it’s pretty clear (to me at least) that she was simply looking for an excuse to release the snakes. Well, what if she was just the teensiest bit too excited about that? When nobody has died in over a day because everyone is actively avoiding conflict (maybe Treech pulled a Peeta and convinced the pack to wait with attacking Lamina or something to piss Gaul off even further) she goes on the big screen to tell people she’ll nobly make sure the districts receive their punishment no matter how hard they try to rebel and sicks the snakes on them. Joke’s on her! They’re not stupid and once one person gets to higher ground everybody else follows. The tank is placed somewhere on flat ground so Lamina gets to stay on her beam and maybe Treech joins her so they can reconcile. Some older kids grab the younger ones to get the heck out of dodge so everyone’s in a safe spot.

As in my previous post, none of the tributes can be reached. Therefore, the snakes decide to get their share of flesh from the next closest thing: the peacekeepers. They don’t even have a chance to call for help, and there are no cameras that film their deaths so nobody even realizes nobody’s guarding the arena until it’s too late. Again, the cold night kills all of the snakes and provides the time frame that ends up causing the utter embarrassment to the Capitol that is the 10th Hunger Games.

This time, it’s Circ and Teslee, even the smart cookies, who notice the snakes all on the hunt towards the same spot and investigate. They immediately run back with their findings and the tributes spread the word from person to person in minutes. All strategizing is done in the cameras’ blindspots in a soft enough tone to not be caught by the microphones. Lamina hears that the only obstacle left is the lock when she “trades” with Reaper to buy everyone time and suggests going to Treech, since he knows how to pick locks. Teslee and Circ point out the camera near the entrance, so they decide that it’s better to be safe than sorry here and come up with a plan.

After some back and forth, Lucy Gray brings up that the games are all for entertainment, which gives Coral an idea (coralbaird alarm coralbaird alarm they are chaos gremlins). What if they have a few tributes fight? That would draw attention towards the fight and away from the entrance. They’ll do it early to prevent anyone from realizing the guards are dead. A few others will signal towards the cameras to try and convince their mentors to send supplies so they have some time to find a hideout and plan before food and water become pressing issues.

Panlo volunteers to be part of the fight, since his mentor is a dickhead. The chances of Gaius sending him anything substantial are so low they’re kissing the earth’s core. Reaper also volunteers, and Treech tries to before he’s reminded that he’s supposed to be picking the lock. So he instead volunteers to stay last with Lucy Gray since they had the most donations. Clearly the audience loves them, so they’ll perform together while everyone else gets out and then slip out of sight from the cameras. Teslee and Circ will hack the cameras from the outside and move them subtly while the distractions are happening so that the blind spots are big enough for the tributes to manoeuvre past. Wovey and Bobbin leave during the night, knowing their mentors won’t send them much. Someone needs to make sure that possible replacement guards don’t foil the plan by taking them out if necessary. They have the dead guards’ guns and no peacekeeper would expect to be shot, especially not from the outside of the arena.

In the end, it’s Panlo vs Reaper vs Sabyn vs Facet. None of them had mentors great enough to be likely to send food, but they’re all strong enough for a drawn out free for all fight without casualties to be believable. Once Treech whistles out the signal that he’s picked the lock successfully, they start retreating from the fight one by one, making it look like they just narrowly dodged a lethal blow and decided to cut their losses. The tributes collect their gifts and high tail it out of the arena while Lucy Gray and Treech “get stuck” conveniently close to a microphone. This is done by Coral acting out the angry Bad Guy she’d forced herself into once they entered the arena. Treech acts the meek spineless coward and books it away from the pack, who give chase just slow enough to believably lose track of him in the tunnels and give up. He meets Lucy Gray at the agreed upon location, one on each side of a door with a microphone above it. What a coincidence! And at a time where Jessup is outside to collect gifts too!

Lucy Gray makes just enough noise to pass as accidental while still being audible for both the mic and Treech, who says hello and sardonically asks her where her partner is. She replies that he should come in and check, to which he replies he’s not ready to get his skull bashed in quite yet. Then they talk. They share stories and sing together, both showing a more human side to the tributes while also expertly stalling for time by drawing attention. They’re performers, they understand what to do without needing to discuss it.

The last person to leave aside from them, Marcus, (because he gave the camera district 2 signs so Sejanus knows what’s up and waited for his mentor to empty out as much of his funds as possible without being suspicious) taps out the agreed upon signal with his footsteps, making sure they echo loud enough for the two to overhear, before getting out too. Treech swiftly ends the conversation by stating that he should probably get a move on before someone finds him. He perfectly acts out a teenager getting everything off his mind to someone he thinks he may never talk to again, complimenting Lucy Gray and wishing her luck. She does the same, and they part ways. Treech is surprised to find that Vipsania sent him quite a bit of food and water once he made it back to the main part of the arena, but he’s not complaining. Lucy Gray follows after him with enough time between their departures to be believable for two people who are supposed to be scared of each other.

And that’s that. All of them are out, regrouping outside of the gates and escaping the scene swiftly. It’s only the next day that anyone bothers to check out the lack of action, only to find the snakes’ rainbow venom pouring out of the guards’ corpses in front of a long empty amphitheater. Surprisingly, most mentors aren’t all that upset at losing their chance to win the Plinth Prize, which is now given out like it was in previous years. Secretly, they’re glad their tribute escaped alive, though they’ll never say that out loud.

Nor will a few of them explain why they suddenly go on a trip to the districts every now and again. Or why Gaul’s lab blew up with her inside it once the horrific symptoms of her snakes’ venom was released to the public.

Guess we’ll never know how that happened :)

[jujumin-translates]

Sakuya Sakuma | [SSR] MANKAI Feature | Today’s Star: The Cheshire Cat - Part 2

Sakuya: Waah… they’re so cute!

Tsuzuru: Some of these cats are really tiny.

Sakuya: Sorry for making you come with me.

Tsuzuru: Don’t worry about it, I came because I like being with you.

Sakuya: Thank you so much…!

*Flashback*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: Of course, I’ll help with anything I can!

Tsuzuru: Okay, right off the bat I guess, but… can you tell me what comes to your mind when you think about the Cheshire Cat?

Sakuya: Umm… right.

Sakuya: It’s kinda hard, but… I guess to sum it up in one word, freedom.

Sakuya: He’s just like a cat in that sense, he does as he pleases…

Tsuzuru: Alright, then… while we’re at it, how about you let me follow you around closely on a day that you spend freely in your own way?

Sakuya: Huh!? Follow me around closely?

Sakuya: And spend my time freely… I know what those words mean, but what should I do?

Tsuzuru: Okay, maybe saying freely overcomplicates it, basically, you should just do whatever you want to do, Sakuya.

Tsuzuru: Like, go to someplace you want to go to or get something that you want to eat… and wherever that is, I’ll go along with you.

Sakuya: I see…

Sakuya: Okay, got it! I want to--.

*Flashback end*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Tsuzuru: Never thought you’d start off with a cat café, though.

Sakuya: Of course, I wanted to come here myself, but…

Sakuya: I thought it might be a good reference for my role as the Cheshire Cat.

Tsuzuru: That is true.

Tsuzuru: But anyway, even though it’s been a while since I’ve been to a cat café, it’s still just as healing as ever seeing the cats.

Sakuya: Hehe, it really is.

Cat A: Nya~.

Tsuzuru: Oh, that cat is looking at us.

Sakuya: C’mere.

Cat A: …Nya.

Sakuya: There you go. Come get pets…

Cat A: Purr.

Tsuzuru: Wow, that one’s so friendly. She looks so comfortable, and she’s purring too.

Tsuzuru: I’ll… try to interact with the cats over here, too. C’mere.

Cat B: …Mrw.

Tsuzuru: Err… I’ll take that as a no. Maybe this little guy over here will let me pet him.

Cat C: Nya!

Tsuzuru: H-He ran away…!

Cat D: …

Tsuzuru: Oh, c’mere, buddy.

Cat D: Sniff-sniff…

Cat D: Mrow.

Tsuzuru: Hey! You seemed like you were a little interested in me.

Tsuzuru: Bet they were all super friendly before I showed up…

Sakuya: I-I’m sure they’ll warm up to you eventually!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: Haaah, that was so fun…!

Sakuya: Going around the bookstore and seeing a performance by a theater company I’ve been interested in for a while after we went to the cat café…

Sakuya: It was all so interesting and really fulfilling!

Tsuzuru: Haha, it’s great, isn’t it?

Sakuya: And of course, our final stop to eat couldn’t be anywhere but here at Hanamura’s!

Shop Worker: Thank you for waiting. Here is your food.

Tsuzuru: Thank you.

Tsuzuru: Ooh, it looks as good as ever. Let’s dig in.

Sakuya: Yeah, let’s!

Tsuzuru: But like you were just saying, we sure did a lot today~.

Tsuzuru: Still can’t believe none of the cats ended up warming up to me. But I guess their I-do-what-I-want attitude is just one of the charms of cats.

Sakuya: Umm… was all of that okay?

Tsuzuru: Huh?

Sakuya: Rather than feeling like I was acting freely, I kinda just felt like I was ordering you around, Tsuzuru-kun.

Tsuzuru: Really? It didn’t feel like that at all to me.

Tsuzuru: I usually spend a fair amount hanging out with my younger brothers, so it was kinda just normal for me… at least, that’s how I felt.

Sakuya: Maybe for you that’s just an ordinary, everyday thing, but…

Sakuya: You came along with me to the places where I wanted to go, and now you’re having dinner with me.

Sakuya: So I’m really really happy and I had a lot of fun!

Tsuzuru: …

Sakuya: Tsuzuru-kun? Is something wrong?

Tsuzuru: No… I was just thinking something like that could be used for the script.

Sakuya: Really!?

Tsuzuru: Yeah. Thanks for giving me an idea, and thanks for letting me follow you around so closely.

Sakuya: I’m happy to hear that! I can’t wait to see the script.

Sakuya: Mhmmhm… Hanamura’s napolitan is truly the best.

Tsuzuru: Ah, here, you’ve got ketchup on your lip.

Sakuya: Wah, my bad…!

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[intheticklecloset]

Hello! If you’re interested in writing kunikida and dazai,, I was wondering if I could a order a peppermint mocha with lee!Dazai and ler!Kunikida? Kuni has had enough of Dazai tossing snowballs at him, so he wrecks him as soon as they’re indoors lmao

I fully understand if you feel burnt out from writing Dazai so much, though. You’re welcome to use this idea with any other characters if you like the concept :]

Remember to drink water!

❄️ Peppermint Mocha Special Order ❄️

~~~

“Dazai!”

The brunette winced, turning with a sheepish look on his face. Kunikida could see his thoughts plainly on his features – caught red-handed.

“Oh, hi, Kunikida!” he tried, twirling on his heel so his back was to the ADA’s half-sized Christmas tree. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“Cut the crap, Dazai.” Kunikida charged toward him. “You were about to swipe your gifts, weren’t you?”

“Just one of them,” Dazai said innocently, holding his hands up in surrender. “I just wanted to get a sneak peek.”

“Christmas is in less than a week. You can wait.”

“Oh, come onnnn. Don’t you ever have the urge to—?”

“No.”

Dazai pouted. “You wouldn’t, party pooper.”

Kunikida sighed heavily. He didn’t know why he bothered sometimes. Dazai was impossible, and he knew that even if he got the brunette to leave well enough alone now, he’d just come back later and try it again – likely succeeding this time.

Still, he had to at least try to get him to see reason.

“It would be rude to your gifter to open it without them present. They’ll want to see your reaction, you know.”

“What if I opened yours, Kunikida?” Dazai asked, batting his eyes in that infuriating way he did when he was trying to play favorites.

“No! Don’t open any of them!”

“Aww, pleeeeease?”

Something inside him snapped. Kunikida frowned. “All right. You’ve left me no choice.”

“What? Heeeey!” Dazai screeched as his blonde coworker dragged him over to the nearest couch, shoving him onto it face-first. “What are you dohohohohohoing?! Ah! Kunikihihihihida!”

“This will just have to be enough for now, Dazai. Understand?” Kunikida’s voice came out sounding as gruff as ever, though from this position he had the luxury of hiding his tiny smile at the way Dazai squealed and flailed beneath him as he dug his fingers into his hips.

“Buhuhuhuhuhuhut I wanna knohohohohohohow what I gohohohohohohot!”

“You’ll know in a week, you moron! Be patient!”

“Why ahahahahare you beheheheheheing so mehehehehean? AHH!! NOHOHOHOHO!!” Suddenly Dazai’s high-pitched giggles turned into panicked laughter when Kunikida went for broke and dove into his armpits, tickling relentlessly. He even went so far as to sit on his legs to keep him from kicking like a struggling animal. “NONONO PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE NOT THEHEHEHEHERE!!”

“Are you going to leave the gifts alone?”

“FIHIHIHIHINE, OKAY, YOU WIHIHIHIHIHIHIN YOU BIG JEHEHEHEHEHEHERK!!”

Kunikida was tempted to keep going for that comment, but seeing the desperate look in his friend’s eyes, he decided that was enough for now. He stopped and nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Trust me, it will be worth the wait, Dazai.”

As he climbed off his friend and went back to his work, Kunikida smirked to himself. He knew Dazai would try again, but that was all right. What the brunette didn’t know was that all of the gifts under the tree – all of them, even the ones that weren’t his – were fakes for this exact reason.

The ADA knew Dazai better than that by now.

[nowis-scales]

🔥 for whatever's been bugging you lately

🔥 For FE-related things, I think for sure one thing that’s been getting under my skin is the notion that Timerra is the least popular Engage royal because she’s “just not that interesting” and is one-note because honestly? I don’t really see it. She’s honestly probably my second favourite of them all. I think for some people, they have this misapprehension that her default state is just perky-happy all the time, which is… not that accurate, I would say.

For me, the big thing that stuck out to me about Timerra right off the bat when meeting her in game was that while she was charming and funny, she was also clearly clever and had her own sense of morality that was a bit different than what you would usually see in a leading Fire Emblem character.

The Solmic way of thinking really interests me, particularly in the way it manifests in Timerra. I think there’s a lot to be said about how the country has a sort of carefree approach, but when push comes to shove, they know how to knit themselves together to keep themselves safe. They’ll lend help to one of their own if they’re in a bind, as they’re still people and they care about the world around them… but they also know when to say when and when they need to look out for themselves. Their morality is very much about choosing when to care, and who they will care about. While Albert’s first instinct as prince of Firene was to run off to try and help other people and connect with others, Timerra and Seforia agreed that Solm’s resources would best be spent trying to deal with the problem themselves, and not worry about anyone else because… well, their hands were full already. They had to look out for their own first.

I think that says a lot about Timerra because it’s not a demonstration of a lack of kindness, but rather a dedication to her OWN people. They are her priority first and foremost. The fact that she, Seforia, and Fogado all knew about Sombron but made no indication, instead focusing on protecting themselves and being certain that they could get help from the Divine Dragon, says a lot. It speaks to the degree of thought that Timerra puts into the way she conducts her life, and how she may come across as a silly, cheery girl — but she’s actually much more clever and has a stronger sense of duty than anyone seems to give her credit for. Hell, she doesn’t even react in fear when Hortensia threatens to kill her mother.

I guess to some people that’s not terribly hypnotic, but I personally find it quite compelling that Timerra, as Solm’s princess, is able to strike that balance between being warm and caring, but also thinking with a focus most immediate to herself and her people and what they need. She’s not the type of girl who wouldn’t help a friend in need, but at the same time, she recognizes that politically it’s never that simple. She sticks to her guns, regardless of whether or not it’s comfortable — and she’s never particularly ashamed of the way she thinks, either. I think that creates a neat duality in her character, because yes she is kind and often wants to help, but won’t always do so if she thinks it will cause her and her people an undue amount of trouble. It sounds relatively minor to some I think, but we so often see characters who try to help even at the expense of themselves, so it was refreshing for Timerra to still be a nice girl and know when to say when. Granted, that doesn’t mean she would have been right to decide not to help the others with Sombron, just that she would have had her own set of priorities that weren’t as easy to sway as some others. When it benefits the people of Solm to have the allyship, that’s when she’ll go forward with it.

Even outside of this, though, Timerra is still allowed complex feelings outside of the main storyline. Her support with Fogado is really charming for this, because she makes it clear that she loves her little brother, but she also feels a bit quietly resentful of him at times because of how often his escapades left her lonely. We as players know that Fogado has dedicated so much of his life to supporting Timerra in his eventual reign as queen, but at the same time, we get to see the effect that this distance had on Timerra, too… and realistically, I think Timerra is aware of how much effort Fogado is putting in to support her as queen, but she tries to express to him that she wants her little brother around, too. There’s not an animosity there, but she still has clear and concrete feelings about it, and is open to expressing them to Fogado. It shows a tendency to not shy away from difficult conversations, and to take the opportunity to handle things as they come up.

The more I play Timerra’s supports, the more I feel like just lots of new and interesting stuff comes up, which makes it a bit tiring to me that she’s so frequently dismissed as one-note. Yeah, a lot of her character IS about being cheerful, but there’s more there than what meets the eye. I think a lot of people have trouble understanding that with FE characters it’s about actively looking for things, rather than just having them fall in your lap. The cast will always be simply too big for everyone to get a big piece of the story, so if you want to know more about a character, you tend to have to make a more conscious effort to look.

[laughingsour]

Flora and Tetra fic idea.

I’m not really sure I will ever write it. But I wanted to share some ideas I had for a fic in which Flora and Tetra meet each other.

-First the other Zeldas don’t play a big role in this adventure, at least not yet. But it could be considered the beginning of them gathering the Zeldas.

-My full name for Flora is Zelda Archaines Hyrule. From the ancient thinker and inventor Archemides, who’s supposedly the first person to shout “Eureka!”(What do you think?, could I do better or is it a good name?)

-It begins when Flora learns where Wild dissapeared to. That he’s traveling with ancient heroes across time. Being the stubborn girl she is, she decides to try to go find him.

-She eventually finds a way to open her own portals by scanning the ones the Shadow creates with technology from the Sheikah towers and using the black blood to pinpoint the places in time Wild may be in. (She doesn’t realize it yet, but her portals also work because of a combination of the technology and her time magic that she learns to use in TOTK).

-To defend herself in her travels she carries a bow and a prototype version of the Purah Pad that also allows her to open the portals. Unfortunately they are still unable to reliably recreate the runes and so they’re often faulty.

-The rune that allows her to create the portals also takes a lot out of it so she can’t use it repeatedly and has to wait a few days between uses. Any use before then could potentially damage the Pad.

-She and Tetra meet shortly after her first time jump which lands her in Legend’s time. I haven’t figured out the details but I imagine it’s something similar to the first meeting between Vanellope and Ralph in Wreck-it Ralph. With Tetra teasing the hell out of Flora while she trying to retrive her Purah Pad.

-Tetra instantly suspects this “Flora”, as she calls herself, is a Zelda based on what she knows of the situation Wind is in. And her teasing questions are also sublte attempts to get the comfirmation from her. “You’re not from here are you?”

-As for how Tetra got to this time. She decided to chase the Postman to find how he gets across time, she loses him but when she does she realizes she’s not in the Great Sea anymore.

-Tetra of course has her trusty cutlass to fight. And if that is somehow not enough she also carries a pistol.

-Right off the bat Flora and Tetra don’t like each other because of Tetra’s own ill-feelings for the “Zelda” name. And Flora doesn’t care much for Tetra’s seemingly callous and selfish attitude. But they both agree to work together so that they can reach their respective Links.

-Flora actually has a lot of admiration for the Hero of Winds, she knows the legend but not the real story with details. She looks up to him and his Zelda because acording to the legend they were able to rebuild Hyrule when it was destoyed by Ganon, even when the hero himself was not the gods’ first choice. (I go over this in the fic I wrote. For the future: A battle of wills)

-Their anger with each other comes to a head when it’s revealed to Flora that Tetra is another Zelda (and not just a Zelda, but the one from the legend of the Hero of the Winds) and Tetra furiously denies being Zelda and that she never asked to be Zelda. Flora acuses Tetra of being a selfish brat who cares about no one but herself and would never understand the burden of having to fullfill the duties that come with the name.

-They both storm-off absolutely enraged, agreeing that they’ll find a way to their friend by themselves.

-Flora tries to calm herself by sulking by a tree and then by humming to herself Zelda’s Lullaby. It works, until she realizes Tetra is now standing in front of her completly awestruck with tears rolling down her cheek. ”How-how do you know that song?”

-Tetra’s mother used to sing that song for her before she died (I headcannon that she’s the adult timeline’s version of TP’s Zelda and was called Madame Dusk in the Great Sea).

- Flora offers her comfort to Tetra and when she finishes crying she opens up that she never asked to be “Zelda the Princess” either. She confeses that she understands her resentment because she always felt like a failure as a heir to the goddess’ blood. And thoroughly apologizes for what she said to Tetra.

-From then on Tetra and Flora start to get along very well and become great friends. They still get on each other’s nerves but in a more teasing manner than before.

-Flora often has to play diplomat for Tetra and keep her from killing everyone who angers her. But Tetra often pulls them into shenaningas with Flora doing very little to disuade her, when not being a very willing participant. “Oh, why not? We’re not in my Hyrule.”

-They are the epitome of “Getting along like a house on fire, including setting a house on fire”.

- By the time the Links return from chasing the Shadow, Tetra has made peace with the name Zelda and with her heritage. Of course she doesn’t stop calling herself Tetra, but she believes that the Zeldas are awesome.

-Flora in turn calls her and Wild’s daughter in the future Sonia Tetra Hyrule. In honor of the most ferocious and bravest queen to ever sail.

- A couple of other trivia from my headcannons. The people in the great sea hardly know about the Golden Three goddesses or Hylia and instead worship smaller deities like Zelphos and Cyclos. Mainly because having wind is vital in the Great Sea.

-A headcannon I think others have proposed before. But I like to think that different regions in Botw’s Hyrule hold a particular Hero in higher regard than others. I.E- The Hylians in central Hyrule looked up to the heroes of Sky, Time and Twilight. The Rito look up to Wind (Revali was secretly a fan of the legend and the fact that Wind had to earn the right to be a hero played into some of his resentment for Wild). The Goron look up to Hyrule, etc.

[leclerced]

I CANT TAKE LANDO ANGST SO HERE IS MY HAPPY ENDING.

Bunny ends up ending things with Oscar and max because since Lando left she just feels like a piece of her is missing and she feels like it’s unfair to them that she can’t love them how they deserve.

So flash forward a few years, let’s say bunny is on a trip by herself just to get some alone time and let’s say it’s Spain. She’s eating her lunch when she hears a very familiar and unique laugh and as she looks up hey eyes find Lando walking in with Carlos.

He’s tan and his smile is bright and as their eyes meet Lando stop dead in his tracks and bunny’s hand that was hold her fork stills. They hold eye contact for a while until Carlos coughs with a smirk and goes to say hello to her.

Somehow some way they end up at bunnies table and end up sharing one to many bottles of wine and as Carlos calls it a night bunny and Lando end up staying till close where he walks her to her hotel and she invites him up(blamed it on the wine) but they don’t sleep together or anything, just cuddle and talk.

canonically she is the sun and he is the moon, they’re a matching set. they’ll never break up, lando will never leave and she will only have one extra bf if anything. could be max or oscar i haven’t decided who. oscar makes more sense.

but i like this a lot i can def see it happening and i think lando would find out and blame himself for that too, thinking maybe if he hadn’t had left all those years or months ago maybe the four of them could have found a way to work things out.

i love them talking like, all night and the conversations stay honest as they sober up, the courage from the alcohol goes away but they’re just as comfortable with each other as they always have been. i think bunny tells him after leaving max and oscar she only dated one guy before giving up when it failed, but that was like a year or two before. lando doesn’t know it she still feels the same way about him as he does her, even after all these years. once they’ve both updated each other on the last few years of their lives, i think she would suddenly tell him she wishes they weren’t even having this conversation and he asks what she means, trying not to sound heartbroken, and she tells him she wishes he never left, that he had lived every day of it with her so they wouldn’t have to play catch up. she’d tell him she lost her best friend more than anything that day and she’d do anything to have him back. then they would kind of talk about him leaving, and her leaving max and oscar, the only things they hadn’t really talked about in the hours since they cuddled up in her hotel room. i don’t think they’d just like say they’re still in love and get back together, i think there would still be a lot left unsaid but they would at least communicate and figure out if it’s even a good idea to like move forward as friends or anything more, if that’s something they both want. they’re both worried the other person has moved on or is too hurt to have the other back in their life and they’re both too scared to tell the other how they feel right off the bat.

after they agree to try being friends first, it’s like the beginning where they just hang out and don’t do anything for months, just enjoy each other’s company bc they’ve missed it. just for drama, one day goes to tell lando she’s not over him and she doesn’t want to just be friends, but sees a woman getting out of a car in his driveway and drives past his place. lo n behold carlos was there too and it was just his girlfriend getting her lipgloss out of the cup holder, but bunny thinks lando moved on and resigns herself to the rank of friend if that’s all she can get. then when they’re having their weekly hang out, he asks her if she’ll go on a date and she mentions the shiny red car and pretty woman climbing out of it, and lando’s immediately like, “you mean the one with the sainz license plate? that’s his new girlfriend. did you happen to notice she kinda looks like you? i thought that was funny.” and it’s like everything clicks together in that one moment, she gets all excited and is like yes lets go on a date Right now!!! and they’re in their pajamas but she doesn’t care she wants to be with him!! so they go to a cute diner in their pjs and lando pulls up a list of first date questions to ask each other and they play stupid games like that until the staff starts cleaning up for closing and lando tips an absurd amount to apologize for losing track of time but time doesn’t exist when they’re together, it’s just them.

[libraryofgage]

I know it's not the WIP Wednesday yet, but it is my birthday, so I'm gonna share the complete first chapter of Modern Steve in 80s Hawkins for your reading pleasure lmao:

"Now, Steve, you know we support you. Your father and I didn't bat an eye when you came out, and we look forward to meeting whichever nice young boy or girl you bring home. But, dear, violence is never the answer."

The words go in one ear and right out the other as Steve watches buildings rush by outside the window. He’d slip on the headphones around his neck, but Steve knows he at least owes his parents the courtesy of naked ears after they bailed him out. Really, he just wants to take a shower and change into clean clothes after spending a night in jail surrounded by equally sweaty and beat up parade-goers. Don’t get him wrong; the people were great, but the smell was atrocious. He lets his head fall against the window, eyes shutting as he breathes through a bruised rib, split lip, and swollen eye. 

"Steve, are you listening to your mother?"

"Yeah, violence bad," he mumbles, just loud enough to be heard in the otherwise silent car. At this point, he’d even prefer the stadium country that usually plays when his dad drives. 

He wishes he were back in the jail cell, swapping stories with the others who got arrested for fighting homophobic protestors, who started it, by the way. He knows his parents are disappointed in him for fighting (and, even worse, getting caught and potentially causing An Incident for them), but he felt genuinely happy sitting on the concerningly sticky floor in that cell. Even if he could go back to yesterday, he wouldn't change a damn thing after seeing three poor kids surrounded by people shouting the most vile things. 

They had looked terrified, tears crowding in their eyes as they clutched at each other, and Steve had seen red. It was a fucking pride parade, a place where kids should feel comfortable being themselves and seeing themselves in the smiling, laughing faces of strangers whose mere existence proves they’re not alone and they’ll survive. But they were being harassed by people with nothing better to do than let hate shrivel their hearts.

Steve, thankfully, hadn’t been the only one who’d seen red. He’d locked eyes with someone who had top surgery scars and a sash across their chest that read “Queer” in sparkling, rainbow letters. Next to them was a shorter woman with close-cropped hair and a flannel shirt (how she wasn’t dying in the heat, Steve will never know) with a white t-shirt underneath that had “Resting Butch Face" emblazoned across the front. The three of them had shared a nod and marched over to the kids.

He later learned that the person wearing the sash was named Daze (“They/them pronouns, unless it’s comedically appropriate to use something else,” they’d said in the jail cell, winking playfully at Steve). The butch went by Mar; she’d excitedly told Steve in the jail cell how her girlfriend would bust her out only to laugh her ass off when said girlfriend was shoved in by two cops not a second later.

What had followed the nod was Mar and Steve standing in front of the kids, creating an unmoving shield while Daze quickly gathered them close. They smiled at the three, quietly complimenting one’s rainbow hair ribbon while Steve tried to be the voice of reason (he shouldn’t have bothered, but he’s still got a little optimism inside).

The first punch was thrown by the ringleader of the protestors after Mar not-so-subtly implied that maybe he’d rather be partying with them and getting his tongue down some cute twink’s throat instead of holding signs and shouting. She’d taken the punch like a champ, and Steve’s grin mirrored hers when the wonderful, incredible term “self-defense” suddenly became applicable. 

Daze had gotten the kids out of there, keeping them calm even as more people joined in the fight, turning the little skirmish into an all out brawl. It had lasted five glorious minutes before cops finally broke it up, forcing protestors and pride-goers into cars together in zip ties. They had realized that was a bad idea when a drag queen headbutted a protestor for what he called her.

After a night in jail, bonding with his cellmates and writing down numbers with some femme’s spare lipstick on the back of a flier from an AT&T booth, his parents had arrived to bail him out. Steve had taken one look at them, at their business clothes and designer watches and worried, beyond confused expressions, and almost said he’d rather just stay behind bars for now. 

Instead, he convinced his parents to post bail for a few of his new friends, waved off their gratitude (they’d been through battle together, after all), and followed his parents out to the car after a few hugs and promises to make a group chat so they could hang out later. 

“You’re just lucky no charges were filed,” his father says, pulling Steve from his thoughts. 

He sighs, slumping down in his seat. A few seconds pass before Steve admits, “I’d do it again.” It’s the truth; he wouldn’t fucking hesitate to throw himself into the fray again. He doesn’t even know those kids’ names, but he knows they deserve more than being afraid of who they are and the monsters that masquerade in human skin around them. 

His parents glance at each other, a thousand words spoken in the brief moment of eye contact. “Steve, are you…okay?” his mother asks, her words hesitant. “I mean, you can tell us anything, dear, and we’ll do anything to make you feel better.”

Steve bites his tongue, refusing to ask how they’d manage that when they’re barely fucking home in the first place. They have a whole multi-million dollar company to run, so he gets it. They have to travel a lot, and they used to bring him along until just dropping him in Indianapolis sophomore year of high school (right after coming out to them, which he understood but was still hurt by) to have a “more grounded high school experience." Somehow worst of all, they try to make up for it with extravagant gifts and awkward conversations about whether he’s still gay or if he’s decided to be straight for the day.

They’ve yet to fully understand the concept of bisexuality, but this is far better than being kicked out of his home.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Steve says. Because he is. He’s just…tired. 

He’s tired of feeling alone in Indianapolis despite being surrounded by people. He had tried making friends, but everyone is so fucking awkward in 10th grade anyway, and the best Steve could do was embrace the “new rich kid” persona people created for him. He’d soon gained the nickname King Steve, which had only worked to make him feel like he’d somehow done something wrong in living up to their expectations. The closest he’s gotten to feeling like himself, to feeling accepted and embraced, was in that fucking jail cell.

Even worse, Steve is tired of this ache that tugs at the base of his spine and the pit of his heart like he’d find something that’s missing if only he’d just follow the pull. 

He doesn’t know how to explain any of that, though, so Steve just sighs again and says, “Maybe…maybe I could do with some down time. Like, a gap year before college or something. I think I just need some time to figure myself out a little more and decide what I want to do with my life before jumping right back into school. Does…does that make sense?”

“Yeah, Steve, it makes a lot of sense,” his father says, flashing him a tiny smile through the rearview mirror. “So, where do you want to go? Hawaii? Miami? Venice is nice this time of year.”

Steve can’t help a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Nah, nothing like that. I think small town vibes are more what I’m going for here.”

His father just hums quietly, sharing another one of those looks with Steve’s mom. He misses this one, but he’d probably be suspicious of them if he hadn’t. He would have known immediately that they were about to do something absolutely ridiculous but well-meaning but so clearly telling of their ignorance when it comes to how people who aren’t wealthy approach problems.

But he doesn’t see, so he doesn’t know.

And when he looks back on this moment a few months later, after the absolute ride of his fucking life, Steve will think it’s a good thing he didn’t notice. If he had, he’d have said something, and then he’d have missed out on all the fun.

[goblinbugthing]

sorry to the person that sent this ask, i deleted it on accident

anygays.

someone on anon sent an ask saying “why do you want the white lady to be stereotypical?” in reference to this post where i said i reject the canon that she doesn’t care about any of the vessels, just seeing them as tools to seal the radiance and only experiencing shame in the fact that it was her eggs that were used to produce them.

lemme elaborate on what i meant by that.

(tl;dr at the bottom of the post)

(cw: mentions of child neglect + implied child abuse)

it’s not that i want the white lady to be the general fanon stereotype that she’s actually a loving mother to all her kids, including the fallen vessels in the abyss, i simply want her to treat holly like her child because thats what they are. they’re a living being who deserves all the love and more that they never got in their childhood because their parents thought they were effectively a lifeless creature.

now, i project onto them a lot. they’re my #1 blorbo and comfort character in hollow knight, so i give them the same needs i have and write other characters as providing to those needs. that includes parental love from the white lady, their mother.

in my aus, wl isnt a motherly figure to all the vessels — in fact, she’s actually kind of scared of most of them. she only really acts as a parent to holly, because she knows they’re alive and that they literally need it to stay that way. they call her mom, she calls them her child, and she’s grown really attached to them because of that.

wl didn’t initially view holly as her child — before their escape and rescue, to her, they were just another failure. just another impure vessel. she didn’t honestly care about what happened to them, at least not too much (they’re still her spawn, and she felt some guilt in seeing them this way, but she shoved it down and continued acting like everything was fine). but after the fact, holly themself said to her that they genuinely see her as their mother and want her to treat them as her child to make up for the decades of neglect they went through. hearing this, and knowing they’re a living being that literally just wants the love they were never given, and already having an innate desire to protect her young, she agrees to call them ‘child’ despite not fully seeing them like that.

after a while, though, she did start developing a genuine motherly love and connection to them. of course, at this point in time in my main au, holly is still very much trying to impress pk to avoid getting thrown into the abyss and dying (which he wouldn’t do, but they don’t know that), so they never call wl ‘mother’ around him, and they requested that she do the same for them (which she agreed to do bc she doesn’t want them getting hurt any more than they already have been).

tl;dr, im sad and need the comfort so i gave a lore reason for it to happen canonically in my aus.

(also, in twins of void, wl just always loved diligence. she knew right off the bat that they were alive and she decided “fuck it, they’re my child and i love them, the other one is pure they’ll be fine,” despite pk’s wishes for neither of them to form any unnecessary attachments in the case that purity wasn’t pure.)

(in reign of light, she doesn’t want anything to do with moon. something to do with them fusing with radi. more angst fuel for the angst au!)

(also, here’s rol and tov’s basic info post)