#so if you agree with the point I'm making here about Ben

[wqlfstqr]

◟𖥻 the way i loved you : percy jackson

▰▰ pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader

but i miss screaming and fighting, and kissing in the rain.

warnings: use of y/n (one time), no cabin mentioned for reader.

She keeps telling herself: this is just the way life goes, this is how it was supposed to be, it is the right thing to do. Because loving someone should never feel difficult, it should never feel like a task.

Right?

At least she and Percy had agreed on that. After so many fights and numerous cries, they had finally let each other go. Because it is the right thing to do, because they were not right for each other. Right?

They couldn't be, Percy was always so busy with everything going on in his life that he slowly forgot how to make time for her, and she couldn't blame him. Really, she couldn't. He was always getting roped into something new. But that didn’t mean she didn’t feel neglected, forgotten.

He had tried to mend it the first time they talked about it. Of course he did, Percy would never break her heart intentionally. But something always got in the way.

And the fights started, the crying started. They couldn't find a way to understand each other and so, they finally decided the best way was to simply let each other go.

But if that was the right thing to do, why does it feel so... wrong?

If it was the right thing, why does it break her heart every time they cross paths around camp, every time she sees his smile and knows it isn't directed to her anymore? why does it hurt every time she hears his voice nearby? why is it so hard to let go when it had been so difficult to hold on in the first place?

She's glad when summer ends and it's time for her to go home, maybe that's what she needs. A fresh break. Away from camp. Away from his charming smile and shining sea-green eyes.

Back home, back to school, she can pretend she's just another girl. No broken heart. No demigod duties. Just her trying to understand her classes and have her homework ready on time. She doesn't even bother trying to make friends, that never ends good well demigods.

That is, of course, until he comes into her life.

She had been struggling with math, her adhd definitely didn’t make it any easier. So after a failed test and many homework assignments graded poorly, she gets assigned a tutor.

And she goes along with it, even if she thinks it's going be a lost cause, because no way someone can help her understand all those numbers and letters.

But Ben is sweet and willing even from the first time they met.

She arrived like two minutes later and was ready to mutter apologies, but he only smiles at her and gestures to the empty chair beside him. "You must be... y/n? sorry, I'm not good with names, but I'm good at math and that's what i'm here to help you with. So, not all hope is lost."

That makes her smile, the tension in her shoulders slowly easing up as she takes a seat beside him.

"Oh, i'm Ben, by the way."

And from then on, the sessions become part of her routine. Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, she automatically makes her way to the library to meet Ben, who's always waiting for her with a smile. Slowly, she stops dreading math and understanding it.

Or at least she tries to.

"I just don't understand, if there’s already x why do I need a y too?" She raises her eyebrow at the homework as if the piece of paper has offended her in some way.

Ben, as always, remains patient and smiles. He's always so patient, so gentle and sweet. "You just have to stop overthinking it" he says before launching into full explanation.

And she understands, which is mind-blowing the first few times because she had never once understood the explanations the teachers gave her. But with Ben it's easy, he goes over everything with patience, he points things out in a way that make sense in her brain.

And he trusts her, so she figures that maybe she should trust herself too. For the next test, she can only repeat his words to herself: just stop overthinking.

The next thursday, when she gets the test back, she can barely wait until the end of the school day to go running to the library, holding the paper to his face so he can see the score.

"You passed!" He beams, taking the paper from her hands. "I knew you could do it."

He holds his hand up for a high-five, and the gesture makes her pause for a second, her thoughts circling back to Percy. She can remember how he was always the first one cheering whenever she got something right in training, and he would always come running to her, holding his hand for a high-five— except every time she tried to reach it, he would instead swoop her in his arms.

His arms. Sometimes, she misses his arms. The comfort and security of being held by him.

"Barely." She replies, trying to shake her thoughts away. "But I did! I could hang that in my room, pass it down to generations so they see I passed a math test."

"I knew you were a secret genius." Ben teases, playfully tugging on her braid when she sits down beside him.

"Oh, you're such a flatterer" She rolls her eyes playfully. "So, what are we learning today, tut?"

And they easily go back to their math lessons, joking and discussing their days in between equations. Easy. So easy, she can almost pretend to forget about Percy as the hours pass in that small spot in the library.

It comes a few days after that, it's simply a tuesday afternoon and everything is going as smoothly as always, when he suddenly put his pencil down to turn towards her.

"Sooo... did you hear about this new superhero movie?" He asks, and it's such a sudden change of topic that she needs a second to realize what he's doing.

She doesn't like superhero movies too much, but she hums. "Yep, heard about it." from Percy, who had been super excited to see it.

"I'm going to see it this weekend, maybe you'd like to tag along?" He asks, and she finally notices how nervous he looks.

Ben is asking her out. And she should say yes. She should. He's easy to be with, kind, sweet. Yet— "Oh I just don't like superhero movies that much" she mumbles, shrugging softly.

But that's not the truth. She knows it's not. If Percy was asking, she wouldn't mind watching it with him. She would enjoy it, even. But doing it with someone else— it somehow feels like cheating, which is ridiculous since they've been broken up for at least three months now.

Ben looks disappointed when she finally looks at him, and she feels the weird need to fix it. "But if there’s any other movie you're interested in seeing, I'm available." And he smiles. And it's so easy. So easy.

Why does it feel wrong?

"How about we go and see which other movies they have?" He offers and when she nods, his smile only widens. "consider it a date then— unless that's weird. In which case, no, consider it a uh, platonic equation. Totally normal stuff."

And she laughs again. Easy.

"It's a date."

So they go on a date, they end up agreeing on a comedy movie. And they laugh, share popcorn and snacks. After that, he gets ice cream for her and they go for a walk. Simple. He's nice. He's sweet. Easy.

So why is she still thinking about Percy?

It gets worse as the days tick closer to her return to camp, because as much as she enjoys the math lessons and the nice dates, why is she still thinking about sea-green eyes and sarcastic grins?

"What are your plans for summer?" Ben asks one day, they're going over everything they need for the last math test.

"Summer camp." She replies, and her heart almost jumps out of her chest. Almost as if the traitor knew that the word camp was associated with Percy.

He nods, seeming almost... disappointed? No, it can't be, because he quickly smiles at her. "That sounds fun, will you be gone all summer?"

"Yeah." She replies, scribbling a silly sea lion in the margins of her notes. "There’s no phone signal either. Kinda... isolated. But mostly fun." and home.

"Sounds mysterious, should I be worried?" He teases with a chuckle. "Are you a spy?"

She laughs, but she's just glad he drops the topic after a few more questions because she runs out of ways to hide what camp really is, what it really means to her.

And she doesn't know if it's because she's dreading it or because she's secretly excited, but the next weeks pass by flying and the start of summer comes quickly.

She manages to pass all her tests. Packs her bag. Puts on her jacket. Says her goodbyes to her family. Everything ready.

Saying goodbye to Ben should feel difficult. It should be harder. After all the dates, the tutoring sessions, the laughs and the quiet understandings— saying goodbye should feel like something.

But her heart doesn’t break, instead it's almost jumping with excitement at the opportunity to go back. And she knows it has nothing to do with camp itself.

That's why, when Ben comes to see her just before she has to leave, she already knows.

He stands awkwardly at her porch, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a to-go coffee cup with her name misspelled. "I thought you might need one for the way."

He's so sweet. So painfully sweet. That it's hard for her to even smile as she takes the cup from him. "Thanks."

There’s a pause. Silence hangs between them as she finally decides it's time to finally give him the truth— or at least, part of it. He deserves that.

"I- you know, I've been thinking about this." she awkwardly gestures between them. "us." and he nods as she takes a deep breath. "You're great, Ben. I like being with you. But I don't think I could see you as more than a friend. I just can't—" be with someone else.

When she falls silent, he nods, in such an understanding way that she hates herself for hurting him, for not being able to give him what he wants.

Why can't she? why can't she simply be with him? if it feels so easy. Why?

"It's okay." he replies softly. "I kinda figured."

She's distracted by her own thoughts, trying to make sense of them. But her gaze immediately snaps towards him. "You did?"

"When you talked about camp, you tried to make it sound like it meant nothing, but you smiled when you talked about it. And it didn’t look like you were smiling for a place... But rather for a person."

Her gaze drifts down to her shoes, frustrated. Why does she still smile when she thinks of Percy? they were difficult, they agreed they didn’t work.

Ben offers her a smile when she looks up again. "I think you should stop being scared of your feelings. If there’s a chance that person wants to be with you... you should take it."

"Why are you telling me this? shouldn't you be mad at me? for hurting you?" She tilts her head, confused. And she knows she's just trying to change the topic, because she doesn't want to think about her real feelings, she'd rather focus on him.

Ben seems to notice what she's doing, his smile softens. "That time we spent together wasn't a waste of time for me, I made a new friend, didn’t I? and as your friend, I think you deserve to love someone that makes you feel everything. Not just someone who's easy to be with."

When they finally say their goodbyes, she realizes that maybe she does feel sad about it. It isn't heartbreak, not even close. But it's the kind of sadness that tugs on her chest, the kind that comes from parting ways with someone who you consider a friend, someone who made a hard moment a little gentler.

"Don't be a stranger." He hugs her, and for the first time she allows herself to feel. Grateful. Happy that she got to know him.

"I won't." She says, and she means it.

Because he mattered. Maybe not in the way they both wanted it to matter, but he did.

The ride to camp is quiet, as peaceful as it can be with her head filled with thoughts, with her feelings screaming and begging to be heard. She listens to music, stares out the window and tries to ignore the ache in her chest.

It's suprising to arrive and find that it's raining at camp. But she ignores it, probably Zeus throwing a tantrum. She tightens her grip on her backpack and pulls her hoodie over her head as she walks.

There’s demigods scattering towards their cabins, running to greet each other when they arrive. She feels empty as her eyes scan the crowd to try and find him. But Percy's nowhere to be seen, he's probably arriving later. And it shouldn't mean anything to her.

She forces herself to stop looking for him and instead walk towards her cabin when the rain starts getting harder, soaking through her hoodie.

But her feet stop just before she can reach her cabin.

Because standing there, just in front of her cabin, also completely soaked, is Percy.

The rain keeps falling. The wind picks up. And they look at each other, both frozen in their spots. And when their gazes find their way together, time stops.

He's takes the first step towards her, then a second one, hesitant, as if waiting for her to say or do something. And she can't. She doesn't know how to. Until she does. It's simply a step towards him, then a second one. As if they're dancing together, towards each other.

And suddenly, they're in each other's arms and he's kissing her. His lips melt oh so perfectly against hers. And it's like coming home all at once.

He pulls away first— well, he barely pulls away. His lips still brush hers as he rests his forehead against hers, their breaths mixing in the small space between them.

"I tried. I swear I tried." Percy whispers, raindrops falling down his hair. "I tried to walk away and pretend it was the right thing to do, but I can't do it anymore. Nothing feels the same without you."

His hands cup her face, his nose brushes hers, and he exhales shakily before continuing. "I got so caught up in everything, in all those quests and responsibilities, trying to help everyone. And I forgot that the most important part of it all, the one that always deserved my time, was you."

Her hands tighten softly against the fabric of his drenched shirt, grounding herself in him.

"And I won't let that happen again, I swear I won't ever let that happen again." his sea-green eyes find hers, and Gods, how much has she missed those eyes. "And I'll work through it every day. And maybe it'll be difficult. But I swear that I won't ever again risk losing you. I just can't. I won't."

And that's when she understands. She had been so hell bent into walking away because loving someone should never feel difficult, she had tried to convince herself that it was the right thing to do. And now, now she sees it shouldn't be that way.

Because maybe love isn't supposed to be about how easy or how difficult it is. Maybe love it's about choosing each other over and over, maybe it's about working hard through the difficulties instead of giving up.

"I want that too." She whispers against his lips. "Even if it's difficult, we'll work through it."

And when he kisses her again, it feels like a vow, the promises lingering in between them. They'll get through anything, even if it's hard. Especially if it's hard.

[deadtoes666]

Can we talk about Laura Lee? Like, REALLY talk?

(This is super long and not perfect)

I'm going to start with the Summer camp scene here. The scene itself is a sweltering day at a pool, busy with kids at play. We see a sign above the pool reading ‘Mary Magdalene Summer Camp’ and a faint ‘bible study’ poster behind Laura Lee, both insisting that this is run by a christian organisation. We then pan to a younger Laura, at least a year before the plane crash, sitting by the pool with her legs in the water. She then gets up and hovers over the edge of the pool for a moment, before diving in head first. Once she hits the water, she outstretches her palms, grazing them against the bottom of the pool, but making no attempt to stop herself from hurling into a concussion. As a result, she passes out from the impact of bashing her head against the bottom of the pool, floating at the stop with blood flowing from her forehead. In the lingering moment before she dives, I think she's hesitating. She’s thinking ‘should I really do this?’ because she's about to take her own life. After the jump, she is so unafraid to die, that I think it proves that she is really trying to hurt herself, because she doesn't seem to get a last rush of fear. I think she knew very well where she was and what would happen to her.

But, why would Laura Lee want to attempt suicide? Well, let’s see: Laura Lee was raised into religion, implied to have the ‘big christian poster family’; she is hinted to have mental health problems in the second episode where she says “This is all my fault”, blaming herself for the plane crash; and she could very well be feeling disconnected to her religion or even God itself. This disconnect is interesting when you look at Laura Lee’s not-so-goody-two-shoes acts like: going to parties, playing defence in sport, and having a close relationship with both Lottie and Van. Although it was scrapped, Laura Lee and Van were best friends in the original Yellowjackets script, and this is a very interesting choice, because we know that Van is lesbian. Sadly, we never get to learn if Laura Lee knows this, but we do get some implications of what both Van and Tai assumed of her. The very episode after Laura’s death, Van and Taissa stop hiding their relationship from the other girls, and kiss at the ‘dooms-coming’ party. Earlier in the show, Van says that ‘we can’t hide it forever’ and Tai responds with ‘I just don’t want to deal with the drama’. It’s possible that the ‘drama’ Tai refers to could be Laura Lee’s reaction, fuelled by her bible worship. However, considering that the original script was going to make Van and Laura very close friends, I tend to doubt that Laura was really as homophobic as Tai (rightfully) assumes. She played on a girl’s football team, for christ’ sake– Laura knew damn well about the queer connotations of that, it was the 90s. And this isn’t the only thing Laura Lee could be going against her religion with. Referring back: she attends high school parties in the woods; Even though she preaches about god, she’s in a woman’s soccer team– which isn’t condemnable, but very unusual for an aspiring christian housewife; She also has quite the temper, even if she doesn't show it most of the time. We do get to see this in her scene with Ben in episode ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, when she asks “What are you going to do to stop me?” after he tries to stop her from leaving. In this scene, she’s not afraid to curse and admit reality. She says she has to go, “Or else we’re all going to fucking starve.” She's ambitious and determined - which are well or ill qualities in their own right, but may be not what's expected from a ‘good Christian girl’.

All to say, Laura Lee feeling disconnected from her religion because she doesn't agree with major preaching points is very much plausible. The summer camp scene itself is there to show how and why Laura Lee is so devout in the current day, and this could hint that Laura wasn’t nearly as nun-like before her suicide attempt. Perhaps she tries to take her own life as a way to test her dwindling faith. She's young and developing, and her close relationship with Lottie can definitely be read as something more than a simple friendship, meaning she could very well be read as queer herself. This could also explain her friendship and kinship with Van. Maybe because Laura Lee was growing apart from many christian beliefs, she was desperate to be proved wrong, because she loved her family and knew that she wouldn’t be accepted if she lived her truth. 

I take Laura’s act of jumping into the pool as a dare. A test to God. ‘If I live, I've been saved. if I die, God is false.’ It’s a very risky bet, but not one that Laura Lee isn't scared to try. If God is false, she doesn’t see herself having anything to live for. No community, no family. She is so ingrained into christianity that she would die if it wasn’t true. She was yearning for a close connection to god. She can’t consider anything else; it’s her way of following religion. If God ‘allows’ Laura Lee to keep living, it means she has a purpose to fill. A mission, something, anything – she's not lost. It allows her to ignore (or deny) other parts of her identity. After she is saved by the lifeguard, she tries to thank him, but even he refuses to take any credit, and tells Laura Lee to thank God. This is why she is so incredibly devout. Even in her last moment of clarity, the person who saved her redirected her back to God.

This scene creates such a strong impression because of the amount of small details and little things that allude to Laura Lee’s mental illness, and why she repeatedly tries to hurt herself. This young girl has been forced into an incredibly restrictive and toxic environment, and she struggles to find herself amongst priests who tell her right from wrong. And it isn’t just when she tries to kill herself in the pool that’s impactful, but also when she tries to fly a plane that has been abandoned in the woods upwards of decades. She's completely untrained, and would be flying through a complex area filled with mountains and valleys, where even highly experienced pilots have struggled. She had no idea how far she had to fly, and in what direction, let alone how to land, or what conditions would be like. Not only is this incredibly insane, but it’s just dumb. Yes, Laura says it’s for the good of the group. Yes, she says it’s to save Van and Shauna– but it’s impossible. Her grandfather was a pilot, so it’s not like she was uneducated. She does it for god. She tests him yet again. Laura Lee uses her faith as an excuse to put herself in harm's way again. 

Expanding on her “This is all my fault” comment, we also know that Laura Lee can’t imagine God wanting to punish the other yellowjackets. She knows all too well that none of them are saints: getting drunk, having physical relations before marriage, and being queer (If we assume that Laura knows). She thinks so lowly of herself that she immediately takes the blame for an uncontrollable plane crash, blaming herself just because she called her piano teacher ‘a cunt’ in her own mind, sobbing “But god heard me. And now he's punishing all of us (because of her actions).” While this is also meant to serve as a comedic scene, with all the characters laughing at Laura Lee, it has some deeper implications into Laura Lee’s harmful mindset. This really shows how her upbringing negatively impacts her, with this ‘it’s all my fault’ mindset linking back to divine punishment. 

Despite her low self-worth, Laura Lee still manages to be a good character with strong morals. She is continuously understanding of Lottie and so sweet and gentle with her when she shows interest in Laura’s religion. Not only that, but she isn’t incredibly pushy about God, despite being so pious. She doesn't bring up God especially often in the wilderness, where everyone is scared and vulnerable. She keeps her religion mostly to herself. This contrasts most preachers, as so many major (mainly christian) religions rely on preying on the needy to collect followers. Preachers often see moments of vulnerability as an opportunity for people to ‘let god into their heart’, but Laura Lee doesn't do such things. In fact, I'd say she discusses God less now that she's in the wilderness. Before the crash, it seemed like every line of dialogue linked back to God. When considering Laura Lee’s own moment of ‘saviour’ (being resuscitated from a suicide attempt), one may dare to say that she was one of the vulnerable people who the church trapped herself. Despite being raised into christianity, I don’t think she truly believed when she was old enough to know that Santa Claus wasn’t real either. Maybe she had a tweenage rebellion, but we know painfully little about Laura Lee’s past.

All of these things have such an impact because it directly tackles the power that ‘God’, as an idea, can give to mentally ill people. Laura Lee puts herself in harm's way ‘for the sake of god’ when she really just wants to die. This is why she doesn't get the help she needs. Everyone sees her acts as devotion, when they are harmful. Flying the plane follows the same path as the pool scene: God lets Laura Lee live, and she saves the day; or God isn't here, and Laura Lee dies. She's provoking both God and the Wilderness, if they exist. If they do not, Laura Lee is just following her suicidal tendencies by risking her life with an excuse: potentially saving the others. And, as we know, nothing can save Laura Lee from her violent plane explosion. In the moments before her death, she is so glad to have the chance to save everyone, and panics when the fire lights. She looks around frantically, repeating “No, no…”, but knows that she can’t stop the inevitable. Laura Lee doesn't even look particularly afraid after realising that she is about to die, and there’s nothing she can do. There's a fire lit beside her, but she just keeps looking forward, inhaling the smoke. She clutches her necklace, calm and serene, and the plane implodes. It’s a bittersweet feeling to see the death of a character who was trying to die, but, as Lottie had written on her chalkboard in Shana, Van, and Akilah’s hallucination in episode three of season three: ‘Of all the ways to lose a person, death is the kindest.’ It was a mercy to Laura Lee, so that she didn't need to endure the horrors of winter and thereafter.

It's fascinating to compare Laura Lee with Jackie on their shared suicidal ideologies, because they're both trying to kill themselves in their own way. Laura Lee hides it (to others, but I think also to herself) behind her faith and her desire to save everyone, whereas Jackie stops eating and begins to self-isolate. They're both trying to be subtle about it, but they both want to die.

One of the few characters that respond to Laura’s small signs of instability is Lottie. When everyone laughs at Laura for her piano teacher confession, Lottie jumps in to reveal her own plane-crashing secret: She steals from T.J. Max, only to return the clothes and collect ‘T.J. bucks’ in the hundreds. So, in a way, it was Lottie who started the round of team confessions to show that Laura Lee wasn't alone, helping to turn a silly moment into team bonding. It’s fascinating because this is the first time we get to see Lottie's observation skills and empathy as leadership qualities, even if she still has the quiet girl status at the time. Throughout Lottie’s metamorphosis into who she is in season two, Laura Lee is there to encourage her into speaking up, and giving Lottie the confidence she needed to be able to grow into herself. When Lottie is unmedicated, Laura Lee is one of her few pillars of support and understanding. Even though it may not be good for Lott, Laura listens to and considers the things that Lottie is seeing in an honest and slightly delusional manner. Laura Lee sees Lottie as a prophet of God. During their time in the wilderness, Laura Lee and Lottie grow much closer. Laura Lee supports Lottie and believes in her visions even when there is no reason to. She believed Lottie was a prophet and her visions were messages from god, and this may not have been the best for either of them, but it made them happy, at least. Laura takes these dark parts of Lottie that have been repressed for years as a blessing. Laura Lee embraces Lottie for who she is, and that’s something not even Lott’s parents could do. 

And Lottie helps Laura Lee believe in God, despite the setting of the wilderness and the lack of societal barriers that Laura grew up with. Lottie upholds the divinity of a priest for Laura Lee, resulting in her throwing herself deeper into christianity instead of allowing herself to start doubting her faith again. Laura Lee and Lottie both build up off of each other: Laura shrouds herself in her faith like a shield or suit of armour because Lottie reinforces her beliefs; and Lottie begins to be more and more outspoken as Laura Lee brings her out of her shell, resulting in her eventual leadership. Laura is such a major part of Lottie’s ascent to the throne that it’s hard to talk about one without talking about the other. Their relationship isn’t crystal clear before the crash, but we know that they chose to sit close to each other (Lottie behind Laura) on the plane. When it began its descent, they reached out to each other for support, gripping one another’s hand. They may not have been best friends ever before the crash, but there's an undeniable sense of familiarity between the two of them. They’ve definitely known each other a while, with being on the same sports team. And they seem to like each other’s company too, especially since we know that Laura Lee and Van were meant to be best friends in the pilot, and still Laura chose to sit with Lottie. 

In episode 6 ‘Saints’, Laura Lee takes it upon herself to baptize Lottie in the lake. There's a lot of symbo- lism in this scene, specifically in Lottie’s vision where she is transported to a basement where she sees a male deer. The stag can represent many things here, but on the surface, the stag can simply symbolize the spiritual cleanse (baptism). But, in christianity, a stag represents Christ's crucifixion as well as a spiritual guide. So, Lottie follows the stag into a passageway in the basement, and there’s several candles burning. She lights one of the unlit candles. In terms of religious symbolism, the candlelight often represents the light of christ. Because of this scene, i think that While underwater, Lottie opens her eyes back up only to see Laura Lee’s face above, with a halo around her head akin to the ones seen around saint’s heads in religious paintings. Due to the similarly named episode, the symbolism of Laura Lee being like a saint is highlighted, and this could absolutely allude to Laura Lee’s tragic end, much like the saints of catholicism. This scene is so impactful to me because it creates such a strong impression on the viewer. We see two characters who are shown to be mentally ill feeding into each other's delusions, while simultaneously building up their characters and setting up Lottie’s character arc as the leader. We can see the way that the story is going, especially with the knowledge that everyone will devolve into cannibal cultists hunting each other for survival from the pilot episode. 

[fuctacles]

<< sixteen | 😺 | eighteen >>

Wayne, while being the best uncle he's ever had, was also the worst. And not because he’s the only one Eddie knows; he'd beat any uncle Ben or Sam in a landslide. 

(Actually, if you do count Uncle Sam, Wayne might not be the worst.)

"She's a sad lady, isn't she?" he asks out of nowhere during their drive to the hospital. "Still here while everyone she knows move away."

Eddie frowns at the yellow light in front of him. 

"You're the one who told me to talk to her," he points out. He slows to a break at the intersection, the light now red, and turns towards his uncle. "Is this a ploy to keep me in Hawkins? You want me to marry and settle down?" He raises his eyebrows. As if the same fantasy didn't run through his mind at least once a day since meeting Steph. 

"Hell naw." Wayne grins at him. "I want you to live a life of your own. I know you hate this place." 

"It hated me first," Eddie reminds him.

"It's not for a wild thing like you," he agrees with a nod. "Hawkins is for old farts like me. The thing is—Green."

Eddie quickly shifts back into gear before the cars behind him start honking. 

"Stephanie seems to think she's an old fart too," Wayne finishes his thought. 

"Yeah, I've noticed," Eddie grumbles. "And what do you want me to do? Steal her away into the big city?" he jokes. 

Wayne's answering silence grows heavy in the van.

"She's a grown woman, I'm not going to uproot her life," Eddie argues a point his uncle didn't make. It's not that he doesn't want to, more like he doesn't think he has the power to do it. Besides, they just got off together once, it's way too early to make plans like that. He has been daydreaming about them, yes, but he's painfully aware of the difference between fantasy and reality. 

"You know, Jim got really into gardening recently," Wayne says apropos of nothing. 

"Okay, go on…" Eddie nods slowly, patiently.

"He told me some plants have to be uprooted to grow properly. You know, when the pot is too small? Because the roots grow too, and they need space."

The van has finally reached the hospital, so Eddie waits until they're parked to turn towards his uncle. 

"Did you just use a plant metaphor on me?" he asks, baffled. 

"I simply shared some gardening wisdom from a friend," Wayne shrugs.

"Which you just though of."

"You're the one who used the word 'uprooting'," he fires back. 

Eddie pulls the key out of the ignition with a tired sigh.

"You know, I kind of miss the fishing metaphors. They were less convincing." 

Wayne raises his eyebrows. 

"This is the rudest thing you've said to me since you told me the trout was disgusting."

"It's a terrible, stinky fish and you know it!" Eddie protests as they exit the van. 

"How is Wayne's leg?" Steph asks later that day.

"Surprisingly well. The doctor said it healed better than expected and he'll probably be cleared for work the next week."

"I'm guessing he's happy to hear that?"

"Oh, yeah," Eddie snorts. He angles his head so Steph's scratches get where he wants them. "He's been walking up the walls for the past few days, and he hated all the movies the employee at video rental recommended to him. If he doesn't go back to work soon, he'll make it everyone's problem."

Steph hums thoughtfully.

"I get it. Don't you feel restless, too? Here in Hawkins, I mean."

"Huh?" Eddie blinks his eyes open. He hasn't realized when he even closed them. "The opposite, actually. I don't have to rush anywhere, there are no midterms; I can kick back and relax, forget the responsibilities and just be Wayne's favorite nephew again." He smiles. "It's like I'm putting my life on pause for a few days. And it's kind of terrifying how easy it is."

Steph remains silent, so he takes a cautious glance towards her. She's not looking at him or the television; her eyes are distant, focused on her thoughts. 

"Everything is slow and old here, isn't it?" she muses.

"I swear to all that's unholy, if it's another opening to remind me how 'ancient' you are..."

Steph rolls her eyes and dips down to shut him up with a kiss. Unfortunately, it works perfectly in her favor. There's probably no argument against him that she couldn't win. All she has to do is press her hand against Eddie's chest, pinning him to the couch, and he can be easily persuaded into anything. 

He kisses and licks back, trying to keep up with her, but with the last remains of a logical thought, grasps at her hand to slow her down. They separate with a wet smack, but don't move more than an inch away.

"Do you want—?"

"I'm taking you—"

They both smile and shuffle away to properly look at each other. 

"Ladies first," Eddie gestures with a nod of his head. 

"Do you want to stay the night?" she blurts out quickly, with little hesitance. 

His jaw drops open and his heart stops in his chest. 

"Like... on the couch?" he asks to clarify. The other option to good to be true.

Steph rolls her eyes, and it should be embarrassing how much he likes when she does it, even at his own expense. 

"In my bed, idiot. Just to sleep, of course."

"Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming." He pinches his arm, and Steph does too, much harder. He yelps, making Arwen look at him with distaste. "Hey!"

"Do you want to?" she presses. 

"Of course I do!" he bristles. "With you, I'd take celibacy vows," he says reverently, grabbing her hand in his. 

She raises her eyebrows, and then pointedly looks him up and down.

"With you, I'd rather not."

Eddie grins despite his blush.

"What did you want to say?" she asks, pulling him back from his salacious thoughts. 

It takes him a second to reel his thoughts back on track.

"Oh. I'm taking you on a date tomorrow." He takes a glance at the clock above the TV. "Yeah, tomorrow." 

"You're taking me?" She raises an eyebrow. 

At that, Eddie quickly slides off the couch and onto his knees, her hand still clasped between his palms.

"Oh, pardon me, princess. Would you do me the honor of going out on a date with me tomorrow?" he asks, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. 

Her eyes are wide and startled, and the first thing she can even manage out of her mouth is a laugh.

"You're such a dork," she murmurs. "Yeah, it's fine, I guess." She shrugs nonchalantly. 

"Fine?" Eddie bristles, frowning. "What do you mean, fine?"

"I mean yes, you can take me on a date," she says, straightening her back to give herself a more regal posture. "I'll allow it."

He grins, and proceeds to press kisses up the length of her arm, slowly crawling back up onto the couch. 

"Thank you for giving me this privilege, your majesty. A peasant like me, ha!" He throws his head back, briefly startling Steph into another laugh. "The town folk will not believe their eyes, a simple man like me, allowed by the side of a queen." Eddie presses a final kiss to her shoulder, and sits back. As Steph stares at him, he realizes his own outburst. 

"Too much?" he asks with a sheepish smile, fierce flush taking over his cheeks. 

"Just a little," Steph admits, pinching her fingers close together. Her face is tinted pink as well. "You know..." she trails off, falling against the back of the couch, their fingers still entwined. "I hated being called a king in high school, but... Queen sounds so much better." She lets her mouth curl into a small smile. 

 "Like something precious," Eddie catches on, leaning sideways so they can face each other. "Powerful yet feminine."

"Yeah." She nods absentmindedly. 

"How about princess?" he asks next. 

Guessing from how red Steph's face has gotten, she must have liked it. Eddie grins. 

"Well then, princess, I truly hope a humble bard like me can at least make you laugh. I may not know swordsmanship, but I know my way around a lute." He waggles his eyebrows. 

Steph pushes him away with a hand to his face and he falls backwards, cackling. 

"Didn't you say you were bisexual?" she asks, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Uh... Yeah?"

"So you should know both the lute and swordsmanship.... you know?" Steph extends both her index fingers and crosses them, miming a battle as if they were tiny swords. 

Eddie stares at her blankly. 

"Are those supposed to be penises?" he asks, flabbergasted. 

"Yes." She nods confidently, putting her hands back in her lap. 

"You're perfect, holy shit." Eddie scrambles to sit back up. "You compared dick to a sword and I'm supposed to not marry you?"

She scoffs. 

"Keep at it and you'll be sleeping on the couch." 

Eddie clutches at his chest.

"Already feeling like a married man. Be still, my heart!"

"Yep, it's couch for you." She stands up with finality. 

But when he holds her wrist, she goes back down easily, sinking into a kiss. Maybe the power to win arguments went both ways.

"Fine," she folds. "But we're sharing with Garfield."

"Well, where else would he sleep?"

ko-fi | Steddie masterpost

tags: @wheneverfeasible @steddieinthesun @hattsy-likes-pretty-stuff @bumblebeecuttlefishes @phantomcat94 @tartarusknight  @tinyplanet95 @steddiefication @estrellami-1 @disrespectedgoatman @madigoround @tartarusknight @blasvemous @cryptid-system @hiei-harringtonmunson @hellowhatthehellisgoingonhere @dreamercec @manliest-of-muppets @bookbinderbitch @marklee-blackmore  @icecat @rootbeerandmusic @mollymawkwrites @milojames16 @ellietheasexylibrarian @sadiea20

[inkspiredwriting]

Bachelor Party

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves had never been one for grand celebrations, but his brothers insisted on throwing him a bachelor party. It was a tradition, they said, a rite of passage before he tied the knot with Y/N. So, reluctantly, he agreed.

The evening started off innocently enough. Luther, Diego, Klaus, Ben, and Viktor gathered at a swanky downtown bar. Drinks flowed freely, laughter echoed, and the Hargreeves brothers enjoyed a rare moment of camaraderie.

"To Five!" Klaus shouted, raising his glass. "The smartest, most annoying brother we have!"

Five rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. "Thanks, Klaus. I think."

The night quickly escalated. Klaus, ever the instigator, suggested they visit a karaoke bar. Despite Five's protests, he soon found himself on stage, microphone in hand, belting out an off-key rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" with Klaus as his backup singer. Diego tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably, laughing so hard he nearly fell off his chair.

Ben and Viktor, meanwhile, engaged in a heated competition at the pool table.

Luther, the ever-responsible brother, attempted to keep everyone in line, but even he couldn't resist the chaos. By the time they left the karaoke bar, everyone was in high spirits—and thoroughly drunk.

Their next stop was a nightclub, where Klaus somehow managed to charm his way into the VIP section. The brothers danced, drank, and caused a general ruckus. Five, trying to maintain some semblance of control, found himself pulled into the madness despite his best efforts.

As the night wore on, things began to spiral further out of control. Diego ended up in a dance-off with a stranger, Ben and Viktor got into a debate about the merits of classic rock versus modern pop, and Klaus disappeared for a suspiciously long time, only to return with a group of new "friends" in tow.

Five, feeling overwhelmed and more than a little tipsy, finally reached his breaking point. He pulled out his phone and called Y/N.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said, trying to sound casual despite the chaos around him. "I was wondering if I could come home now."

Y/N laughed on the other end of the line. "Five, it's your bachelor party! You're supposed to have fun. Enjoy it, okay?"

Five sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. "I miss you. This isn't really my scene."

"I know," Y/N replied gently. "But you're only going to do this once. Make some memories with your brothers. I'll be here when you get back."

Encouraged by her words, Five hung up and rejoined his brothers. As the night continued, he let go of his reservations and embraced the chaos. He danced with Klaus, cheered on Diego, and even challenged Ben and Viktor to a game of darts.

By the time the sun began to rise, the Hargreeves brothers were a disheveled, exhausted mess, but they were also closer than ever. Stumbling out of the nightclub, they laughed and recounted the night's events, supporting each other as they made their way home.

When Five finally returned to the mansion, he found Y/N waiting for him, a knowing smile on her face. "Have fun?" she asked.

Five nodded, pulling her into a hug. "It was insane. But yeah, I did."

"I'm glad," Y/N said, kissing his cheek. "Now let's get you some sleep, future husband."

As they walked up to their room, Five reflected on the night. It had been chaotic, overwhelming, and completely out of his comfort zone. But it had also been a night of bonding and laughter, a celebration of family and love. And as he drifted off to sleep, Five knew that he was grateful for each and every one of his brothers.

[rosieyart]

What did you think about v3 ending? Personally I like it but there is a clear division in the fandom about it, so I'm curious about your thoughts

hmm for me this is somewhat a tough question. when i first completed the game, i was admittedly slightly disappointed and felt unsatisfied. i felt like the twist at the end came out of nowhere and the whole “no one is real,” to me, felt like it invalidated the characters from the other two (three, technically) games. as someone who has a soft spot for the d2 cast, it hurt a bit knowing their struggle and fight for survival — esp the efforts hinata and the others went through to wake everyone up from the neo world program — were invalidated. it didn’t matter anymore. which, granted, these are fictional characters and technically none of their struggles were real to begin with, but i think the whole “yeah these characters don’t even exist canonically within their own game universe” was so weird and hard to wrap my head around.

however, i have since changed my mind. if i’m being so fr, coming to understand ousai/saiou has honestly helped me understand v3 as a whole a bit more. that, on top of also just sitting with my feelings for a couple of months now.

i genuinely don’t mind the v3 ending, for more reasons that one. it’s not a perfect masterpiece, but deserves kudos. firstly, it’s a nice commentary imo on the concept of violence being used as entertainment. here we are, players and audiences to a game about students — children, really — killing themselves. there’s this sick fascination we as society have had towards media like that, whether it be via books, tv/movies, or video games. we are confronted with how sick and twisted it really is when saihara and gang realize the truth. people are watching them. and it’s not us, granted, but fictional people within the dr universe, but the point still stands. we are watching people kill and be killed. and we enjoy it.

this is why i don’t think there will ever be another danganronpa game. i love those games dearly — they’re so ass and so peak at the same time. but the message for v3 was clear: we’re putting an end to danganronpa. which is both sad (no dr4 ☹️) but also it’s waving in your face “hey, hey, pay attention! violence shouldn’t be glorified like this!!!”

but back to what i was saying about saiou helping me determine my feelings on the ending. if you’ve read my saiou analysis, then you know i really enjoy the whole truths vs lies theme for v3. it not only serves as a fun dynamic between saihara and ouma (and also just saihara and the game in general) but also engages the audience to think about truths and lies. in chap. 6, saihara, harukawa, and yumeno all have a mental breakdown over the fact nothing of what they knew was real to begin with — not their memories, not their personalities, not their characters. but… you can’t really fake your emotions. sure, maybe maki was written to fall in love with kaito, but does that really invalidate her feelings? she felt something, didn’t she? she cared, didn’t she? yeah, it’s sick and twisted to think someone manipulated her to feel that way, but the fact she felt such a strong emotion nonetheless doesn’t make her emotions and feelings unreal. at least, i don’t think so. and the creators of v3 agree. their message, as far as i’ve deduced, is that no matter what’s real and what’s fake, you ultimately choose your own truth to live by. shuichi’s past was overwritten by his new personality that was horrified at learning what danganronpa truly was. but he took this, despite the pain and horror, and claimed it as his own. despite everything, he is still saihara shuichi. there are lies sprinkled in there, but there are also truths.

if everyone agrees that the sky is blue, that is a universal truth. the same logic can be applied to lies. so, if everyone universally agrees the sky is green, that is also a truth. except — the sky is not green. not unless we want it to be. we as a society mold and bend truths and lies to make our reality clearer to ourselves. to help us understand the world we live in. but how do we know for sure what is real and what isn’t? is the sky really blue, just because everyone says so? perhaps we have been lying to ourselves the entire time.

tldr: this is why i think i’m satisfied, in the end, with the v3 conclusion. it not only confronts the audience with the sick and twisted reality of violence being used as entertainment, but additionally leaves us to dwell on themes of lies and truths. of choosing our own reality to live by and choosing what kind of person we want to be. because in the end, who truly decides whats real and what’s fake? you may not have the power to change the public’s opinion on what color the sky is, but you can certainly decide who you want to be and build the most truthful, honest version of yourself.

[wileys-russo]

I'm not sure if you listened, if not you should it's so funny!

but could you do the reader on Jill's scotts coffee club podcast with georgia, leah and keira when leah whips out the cake? x

decided to make this a lowkey stanners x williamson!reader cause i love gee and she's underrated

colin the caterpillar II g.stanway

"-williamson i see you loitering about! get in here!" you looked up as you heard the ever familiar booming voice of one jill scott gesture you over. you caught georgia's eye as her and keira swiveled their heads, furiously waving you over to join them on the sofa, the set for jills podcast randomly plonked in the middle of the indoor training pitch.

"have you still got media duties babe?" your girlfriend asked, moving the microphone away from her mouth and you shook your head. "right in you come then!" keira moved over and patted the space in between her and georgia.

"is this live?" you asked as you took a seat, flashing a grin at jill and ben as you settled yourself on the sofa, your girlfriends spare arm coming to settle on your shoulders. "-and now we are joined by one of the worlds greatest strikers!" jill started, doing a drum roll on her knees.

"-but unfortunately alessia russo has been dodging my calls so we've had to settle for y/n williamson, round of applause please!" jill joked as you playfully rolled your eyes at the dig, showered in claps from the small crowd around you.

"you know you've never asked me on this show jilly, what happened to being your favourite williamson?" you tutted, one of the production assistants hurrying over to give you a mic.

"i had to keep that under wraps, had to suck up to the captain you know!" jill winked as you grinned, leaning a little more into georgia and crossing your legs. "jill might be the best suck up with the worst success rate we've ever met." keira announced as you and georgia hummed in agreement, ben egging you on to continue.

"she sucked up to sarina and the training team so much during the euros man. she'd be getting drinks, recounting plays, grabbing everyone gels-" you laughed at the memory. "-but then georgia could be on her death bed with cramp and jill would still stay on the bench." keira finished, jill agreeing as you all laughed along.

"oh no sorry interruption cause leah's just bought a colin the caterpillar!" keira gasped as she spotted your sister wandering close by with her birthday cake in hand. "go on birthday girl in you come!" you called out as she came closer, jill eagerly agreeing she sit down.

"cmere love." georgias hands found your waist, tugging you up to sit sideways on her lap as keira shuffled across and leah plonked herself down on the end, your legs half draped over keira as georgias hands wound themselves round your waist protectively and she softly kissed the back of your neck.

you were aware parts of the podcast were filmed but neither of you were bothered, it had hardly been the worlds best kept secret the two of you were seeing one another.

georgias instagram was almost like a shrine to you at this point. the two of you both playing for bayern, much to your north london blooded sisters disgust, you spent everyday together and only fell more and more in love as time passed.

"can we eat it?" georgia asked with a gasp as leah nodded, cracking open the box and gently sliding out the childhood favourite. "i think surely i win best sister for gettin her that?" you clapped for yourself, everyone joining in but leah who rolled her eyes.

"no cause you gave it to me after you smashed a cupcake in my literal eye at breakfast!" leah huffed, handing over the cake to keira after she took a large. "it was your forehead leah honestly! you win most dramatic." you countered, the blonde leaning over to smack your leg for the comment as you grinned.

"now now girls play nice play nice!" jill laughed, re-directing the conversation as keira snapped you off a section of cake which you accepted, happily smashing a large portion into your mouth before holding it over your shoulder for your girlfriend to do the same.

"ah i've never been so happy." georgia sighed contently as the two of you took turns munching away at the chocolate cake. "babe thats my finger!" you smacked her with a yelp as the girl got a little too eager and bit your finger among the cake.

"sorry love, no one's safe when there's a colin round." georgia kissed your cheek in apology, happily accepting more of the cake from keira as your sister offered you her piece, grinning as you snapped off the ears with your teeth just like you'd both been brought up to.

"well this is definitely a highlight of the season. four of englands finest just sat here eating a caterpillar like an apple." ben sighed jokingly as the four of you giggled to yourselves, you leaning back into georgia and clutching your stomach as keira took a large bite right from the middle without a care in the world.

"lee five second rule!" you pointed, voice muffled by the large mouthful of cake shoved in it as your sister scrambled to pick up the piece which fell on the floor, blowing on it and popping it into her mouth with a grin.

"now i know this is audio but for the listeners at home they are literally just picking this cake up and shoving it in their mouth!" jill recounted, shaking her head at the sight. "they're eating it like its a hotdog or something!" ben added on as georgia fed you one of the legs with a giggle.

"that foot was incredible." you mumbled out with a happy sigh, still chewing on it as keira smacked your leg in agreement, opening her mouth to show you she also had one in her mouth as your head fell onto georgias shoulder, again clutching your stomach in laughter.

"imagine if sarina see's this that would be so good. we're over here talking about elite performance-" "-elite performance and now we're just picking up a caterpillar without a care-" "-yeah thats it girls, just shove it in your mush!"

"i eat a kitkat before every game anyway." you shrugged, bending down and snapping off another foot from the half in keiras hands. "do you really?" ben asked in surprise.

"she does! she's done it since she was little, used to throw tantrums like you wouldn't believe when our mum tried to stop her." leah smirked at the memory. "i really did. i'd just find out where she hid them and steal one, i'm too fast to catch anyway once she realised." you grinned once you'd swallowed your mouthful of cake.

"i always leave one in her boots for her to find when she's getting ready now at bayern. you should have seen how much crap she copped her first game, no one could believe she was eating a kitkat before her debut." georgia laughed as you fondly patted her knee.

"i run faster when i've had chocolate!" you shrugged, shovelling another mouthful of cake in as everyone laughed. "i mean the proofs in the pudding there wasn't a euros match i didn't see you not have one and you scored about ten goals!" jill laughed.

"could probablys run a 10K marathon right now, light work!" you teased with cake mushed in your mouth and a cheeky grin, georgia kissing your cheek with a smile as you used your thumb to wipe away some loose chocolate from the corner of her mouth before licking it off your finger with a wink.

"right i'm off!" leah announced a short moment later, standing to her feet and brushing the crumbs off her knee's. "am i taking it?" she gestured to the few small pieces left, packing it up at her friends nods.

"well. he were bloody lovely weren't he!"

[ilaurabhdh]

| My dove | Ben 10 x reader | Chapter 2|

Masterlist

Warnings : none

Word count : 5.5k

A/N : English is not my 1st language

Credits : @cafekitsune for the dividers

Chapter 1

"Still not working right, Blukic. Set it on stun, we get blast ! Set it on blast, we get low battery warning !" A Galvan complains.

"The knob is upside down, Driba." Blukic points at the knob on the blaster.

"And WHOSE jobs was that ?" Driba glared at Blukic who only hummed and pointed at him.

"Yours."

"Was not."

"Was too."

The two Galvans continued arguing as Ben who transformed into a crystalsapien or what he calls diamond head. Was used as a practice target for their new blaster. The brunette only yawns before transforming back into his human form. You mainly came here to inspect the base and its security, but decided on staying to see what the two galvans had created.

Ben sighs . "Come on guys, are we done here ? I thought galvans were supposed to be the smartest beings in the universe." Even if he was tired, Ben took every opportunity to be sassy and sarcastic. "Smart as in figure stuff out quickly so that Ben Tennyson could go home smart."

You click your tongue. "Didn't you agree to this Tennyson ? You should then see it through with no complaints." Your eyes never leaving your tablet, you were finishing up some reports. You enjoy doing paperwork, keeping everything well and organized. You are competent enough to manage your time with paperwork's, deadlines, meetings and missions. Work was somewhat of your hobby, so doing nothing productive makes you feel extremely uncomfortable. That's why you sometimes do the paperwork of other people to pass time, with their consent of course.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would last so long. I've been here for at least three hours !" Ben complained. "Why are you even still here ?"

"I was interested in what these two galvans were working on. Plus, my studies aren't ready yet and working in the comfort of my room makes me feel too sleepy." You just finished proofreading for the fourth time what you had written on your tablet and pressed the sent button.

"Geez, do all magisters have to do so much paperwork ? Everywhere you go, you always write something on that tablet of yours. Doesn't it get annoying or exhausting ?" Ben quickly transformed into another aliens as the two galvans started to shoot him again. "Ow, ow !"

"Its actually relaxing, you should try doing some, Tennyson." You said his last name coldly.

"Why does everyone get to be called mister and I don't ?" Ben questions you "Also, why did we hire you guys again ?" Another question but turned to the two arguing galvans.

"Mainly to not get confused with your grandfather, maybe because I thought you were underserving of such title. But after our first mission, I can tell you're not a bad guy. Just a bit annoying at times." You received a notification from Rook, he had sent you some book recommendations about humans and their culture. You and Rook had a pretty good affinity. Two plumbers sent to work on earth, not knowing anything about its inhabitants, culture and surroundings. Even better, Rook was also very organized and a kind gentleman. Rook was almost everything Ben was not.

"What do you mean, was I some kind of bad guy in your head before ?"

"No, I just thought you acted a bit like the people back on my home planet." You answer vaguely.

"And what were people like on your home planet ? Wait, actually, where do you even come from ? Like what alien are you ? I don't mean to be rude but like I've never seen aliens like you." Ben had gotten used to the multiple beams blasting him, he was now more focused on you and your mysterious like aura.

You stopped in the middle of your writing and put your pen down for a second. "I'm an Ornix, we resemble humans but have features from an animal on earth you call 'bird'. Almost all Ornix went instinct." You paused for a moment. "I'm most likely, the last remaining of my kind. And if you ask me, it's better that way." You pick your pen back up and continued writing.

Ben wanted to ask you more questions and why you would say such a thing about your own people. But the familiar beeping sound of his omnitrix went off. He transforms back into a human but the galvans couldn't stop their firearm in time and so had lit up his pants. Ben starts screaming, startling you as you finally look his way. You almost burst out laughing seeing his predicament but held it in and went up to help him put out the flame.

After the whole ordeal, you all agreed that it was enough testing for today and walked out of the room to the corridor.

"Seriously, I'm done being your lab rat !" Ben says firmly.

"Blukic is the one who crossed the polarities !" The shorter Galvan blamed.

"You set his pants on fire." Blukic responded.

"Liar, liar !" Even so, Driba laughed a bit. You couldn't help but join in. "I don't know if it was an accident or not. But seeing Tennyson in such predicament really was one of the most funniest things I've seen. Keep up your work."

"Seriously, you guys are worst than Azmuth. Also [name], don't ever mention this again." The last part of Ben's sentences sounded a bit desperate.

"Of course, we are. Everyone is."

"That Galvan's a genius !" Druba finished off Blukic sentence.

"You don't always get the opportunity to see the oh so legendary savior of the universe, get his pants set on fire. I don't think I'll be forgetting that." You continued laughing, to Ben's displeasure. The hero was embarrassed, the only thing he could hope was for you to soon forget it and never mention it to anyone else. You could see the worry on his face. A little smile etched on your face but vanished as fast as it appeared. "Don't worry Tennyson, I won't tell anyone about it. I'm just going to tease you about it."

"I don't know if that's better but I'll take it." Ben's happiness was crushed by your last sentence but at least you weren't going to snitch on him. "Oh, also, you can just call me by my name. I think that's easier to differentiate between me and my grandpa."

You stay silent, you never really acted familiarly with any of your partners or in short your coworkers. It felt unfamiliar calling someone by their name with no titles. Sure people called you daily by your name because well, you don't have a last name. But they would always start with some kind of formal title. It's the first time you've been on a team where you could call your partners by their first names. In fact, it's the first time you've been on an actual team that didn't last less than three days.

"Okay, Ben. But that's only because I don't want to hear you bugging me about it longer." This was the best response you made up to protect your honor and the rising heat on your face.

"Am I that anoying ?"

"Yes" All three of you say in unison.

"I'm never doing this again." Ben grumbled.

Unbeknownst, two figures roam around until finding the exit. A dog growls. Its owner, a tall figure with bones as armor holds him back. "We have everything we need now, boy. No secrets are safe."

====

The next few days passed by, not much happened since then. You mostly stayed behind at the HQ, making renovations to your offices. Today, Rook had proposed to stay behind while you go patrolling with Ben in Undertown. You were pretty reluctant but agreed.

This is how you ended up fighting off some mercenary after the Omnitrix. A crowd had formed, watching you and Ben fight this 'Sunder' off. Ben had many encounters with him in the past.

"Get him ! Come on ! Hit him harder ! Smash him good !" The crowd shouted.

You easily dodge the hoverboard coming at your way. "Why is there so many aliens gathered here ? Shouldn't they evacuate ?" You questioned everyone's favorite hero, Ben transformed into a gimlinopithecus. Shocksquatch in his words. You had just accepted the ridiculous name he gave to his aliens. You were tired of always correcting him.

Ben dodged the hoverboard and was about to punch Sunder but got hit by the same board. He landed next to you and coughed a bit. "It means they trust us. After all, I saved the universe so I can definitely kick butt and save them."

You gave him a skeptical look. "That just sounds danger incoming. I'll trust you on this one Tennyson. But if anybody gets hurt...you are very much done for." Ben didn't know what he should be scared of, the hoverboard and axe swinging at him or his partner, you.

The large grey alien hopped onto his hoverboard. "Give me your new omnitrix, Ben Tennyson, and this could all be over."

"Sure since you ask so nicely." Ben's sarcastic comment didn't amuse the grey mercenary who threw his axe at his way. You activated your wing engine, leaving Ben to fend for himself. The axe chased Ben down, on his way was a child, he quickly shielded away from the axe and let him off to the kid's father. "Geez, don't mention it." The father only gave him a thumbs up. You tried approaching Sunder but he would skillfully dodge you and continue to rope Ben.

You sent out one of your halos to try capture Sunder who let go of Ben and deflected your halo. You smirked as a second one was sent from behind to capture him. The one he had deflected came in front of Ben's. He smirked, held on the halo and electro shocked it, sending it to you then the halo that captured Sunder. Breaking the villain's hoverboard, sending him flying far away.

"This isn't over !" Sunder screamed before disappearing. Ben transformed back into a Human and screamed back at the direction of his enemy. "Looks to me like it is !"

You landed next to your green shirt partner. Ben smiled at you and raised his hand, showing you his palm. You title your head on the side and continued looking at him weirdly.

What human message is this ? I don't get it..? Am I supposed to read something ?

Ben realizing you probably didn't know what a high-five is, held your wrist and slammed each other's palm. "What was that ?" You ask, still not getting it. "It's a high five. Like you high five with somebody after winning or when you're just happy to see them." You thought about it for a second. "How is us slapping each other palms symbolizes joy or victory ?" Ben looked at you a bit exasperated, you and Rook really like to question everything. "It's just a thing we humans have been doing for like a super long time. Just don't question." You looked at your almost fully coved palm for a brief moment and closed it. "Noted."

At the moment, a tall, green alien with ginger hair and mustache, dressed like a magician walked in front of you and Ben.

"Congratulations my dears ! I saw what you did. Wonderful ! Wonderful, yes, indeed. Absolutely superlative." The green magicians attention was now on Ben. "But, my boy, if you want to prevent that run of elixir down feeling after transformation from beat to boy. What you need is a bottle of professors Hokestar's miracle elixir !" The shady alien shows off a small blue bottle with a star on the centre.

"The who with the what now ?"

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime ! Professor Blarney T. Hokestar's miracle elixir will change everything !" Ben gave him a side eye, the omnitrix user was about to make some kind of snarky remarks but you cut him off. "Is that so ? I've never heard of such products, was it registered ? Did it get verified by the safety department ? Is there a list of ingredients written somewhere ?" You ask curiously, you've never meet a salesman's like him before.

Professor Hokestar's was baffled by your comment. Ben giggled a bit before pushing you behind me. "What she meant to say was thanks but no thanks." Ben dragged you back into the crowd. You observe the professor T. Hokestar demonstrating his elixir on a 'stranger' named Solid Plug. You watch Solid Plug grow floral like hair with one drop of this elixir. You've never seen a product grow floral hair, just by the looks of it, the elixir had no ingredients listed. This was going against many laws. Most of the crowd had left, leaving only three other aliens, Ben and you.

"Now, who will be the next among you to partake of my miracle elixir. Two taydens a bottle." The three aliens still here all bought a bottle or two. You and Ben watched him on the sidelines. After finishing his business, professor Hokestar turned to you and Ben, he was more laser focused on Ben.

"As you can see, business is booming."

Ben gave him an unimpressed look. You were wondering how 8 tayden could be profitable, when including the craftmenship of the bottle and the possible ingredients that were used for this magic elixir. "Doesn't prove a thing. Like they say, there's one born every minute"

"And may i add, you've only earned 8 taydens. That is barely enough for a semi decent meal." Ben tried to hide his laughter again.

The professor only let out a nervous laugh. "No need to worry young lady ! I make decent profit, maybe even more than the average if lucky !" You raised your eyebrow at the statement. Professor Hokestar put an arm around you and Ben shoulders. "But my boy, it is my time to waste."

The professor started to lead the two of you somewhere. You were ready to knock him out unconscious if he dared to do anything. Ben shared the same sentiment, not only because the professor was very suspicious but also because he was very annoying.

You stopped In front of a giant cylinder home.

It looks pretty good. He must make some kind of profit to afford it.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to Professor Blarney T. Hokestar's Extraterrestrial Emporium, lad!" He laughed. "If you cannot find it here, it probably doesn't exist!" The professor takes out some kind of remote, pushing the button. The front of the home opens to display a multitude of toys and plushies. You were extremely confused, this was a waste of time.

"Seems like it's just a bunch of old second-rate-" Before you could ask Ben to leave, he gasped at the sight of what looked like an obese almost human plushy and picks it up. " Where did you get this Sumo Slammers action figure ? I've never seen one like it before." You looked from behind Ben, what was so special about it ?

Professor Hokestar approaches Ben and take the plushy in his hands. "Special limited edition, only available from the concessionaires of Budokan. Fewer than 100 ever made. If you like it, it's yours, my boy, with my compliments." You put your hand on Ben's shoulder and shakes your head when he glanced at you. Ben looked at Hokestar with a distrustful look. "Why so generous?"

"Oh, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the universe to have a one-man superhero team as a spokesman for my elixir, now, would it?" Professor Hokestar then glanced at you. "And witch such pretty lady as you sidekick, we could make fortunes-"

"No." you responded flatly.

Ben still frowned a bit. "I guess you and your stuff may look kinda weird, but... it all seems harmless enough. Let me think about it." You gave Ben an unimpressed stare and pinched the bridge of your nose. At least he was being a bit suspicious of the merchant.

"That's all I ask, my lad." Professor Hokestar confidently responded, ignoring your remark. But you and Ben had already left before her could finish his sentence.

As you both walked off, Ben was playing with the new toy he had gotten with glee. You couldn't understand how such insignificant thing can make people happy sometimes. You've heard of the human culture of collecting these toys and leaving them to collect dust on their shelves. You weren't aware that Ben was also looking at you funny as you judged his toy.

"Is there anything wrong ?" The brunette inquired. "Nothing, I was just...curious of this thing..." You pointed at the round plushie in Ben's hand.

"Oh you mean this limited sumo smasher plush ? I've never seen one of these before but now I can keep this treasure in my collection !" You gave him another weird look. "I don't understand why you humans collects such random objects just to leave them collecting dust. What even is this 'Sumo slammers' thing ?"

Ben gasped as if you just insulted his whole lineage. "You don't know SUMO SLAMMERS ?? Wait when I actually think about it, it's probably an earthling thing...I also dust and take care of my collections, for your information !" Ben proudly proclaims. "But still I need to show you some of its games, movies and stories ! They're like the most awesome things ever ! They've practically defined my childhood !" You froze, your breath hitched and the world seemed to go slower for a moment.

Childhood..?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Is this really what childhood about ? Attachment to non existant beings and inanimate objects ?

That sounds really stupid, yet, it is able to bring such joys to everyone. These little attachments formed, define a person.

Something you'll probably never experience.

But it's okay.

As long as others were able to experience it, it didn't matter. It's one loss for the life of a thousand more.

Right ?

"You good ?" Ben moved his hand in front of your face repeatedly. You pushed his hand to the side, nodding and preceded to walk forward. Ben shrugged it off and followed you.

Not long after, Ben receives a call from your third partner, Rook. "Hello Ben and [name], how did it go with Sunder ?"

"Quick. He had to catch a flight. Hey, can you look up a "Professor Blarney T. Hokestar" on the Extranet ?"

"Oh, [name] had already sent a message about it."

Ben glanced at you, you were reading some information on your tablet from Rook. And he thought you had warmed up to him...

"I'll just tell you what I found. Professor T.Hokestar is an intergalactic flimflam man. Is he a threat ?"

"No." Ben scratched his head. "Long story. Me and [name] ran into him...okay, maybe not that long."

"Well, should you need backup-" Ben cuts him off. "I'll promise I'll call you." Ben ends the call.

You continued patrolling the area with Ben, he was playing with his plushie while you did most of the work. During the inspection of an alleyway, you had received a message from the plumber's HQ on your tablet for an emergency meeting so needed to leave. Since you were now one of Ben's partner, you were supposed to not attend meetings or manage intergalactic relationships as much and prioritize protecting the universe. So it had to be urgent if they had called you.

"Ben, I have duties to attend to. I'll leave the rest up to you."

"What duties ?"

"Diplomatic. If you need any help please call Rook. I won't be able to help you until an agreement is settled which could take a few days, weeks or more."

Before Ben could make any snarky remarks, you had already taken off. Ben stands unmoving for a second and sighs. Continuing the patrol he did not expect someone waiting for your leave to talk to him and drag him into his schemes...

====

"So we all agree that every party will not engage in any fights or wars and trading agreements will resume with no problems ?"

The two parties grumbled a bit, and one of them raised their hands.

"No, you cannot try and negotiate about eating babies. You know what happened to Jarett, he still hasn't recovered from it. I personally know the perpetrator behind it so I won't be afraid to send them at your door."

The alien lowered his hands and let out a sad grumble. After everyone signed the agreement the meeting was dismissed. You sat down letting a huge sigh of relief, you had done it a million times but this meeting you only had 5 minutes to understand the situation and resolve it. It felt really draining, hence why you were very proud of yourself for accomplishing it, nothing more fun than work...

Uncle Max, enters the room. Everyone had left except you. Normally you could handle about a week or two of no sleep, but these days you feel a bit more tired out...

"I don't know how you manage to pull it off. That was incredible. Sorry for the late notice, the original diplomat had an accident last minute, you were the only one free and of close proximity." He complimented with a smile.

"I've dealt with many more before, it's only my job to make sure that the universe stays at peace." You rubbed your temple, you really need to sleep...Maybe after you finish the next set of papers sent yesterday...

"You look pretty tired, kiddo. Have you been sleeping lately ?" Uncle Max patted your head affectionately. You wanted to pushed his hands away, you weren't a child. But you couldn't bring yourself. "I'll sleep tonight. After finishing my work."

Uncle Max's face shifted to concern. "You really need to take more care of yourself."

"I do, I always make sure to take a shower, make myself look presentable-"

"Not in that way, I meant your health and life style. Even if you try so hard to act like an adult, you're just a kid." You were offended before you could say anything uncle Max sat down and let out a huge sigh, it conveyed some kind of sadness. Your first were clenched, you tried to control your body from shaking. You didn't need his sympathy, you didn't need anyone's sympathy. Why can't they see that you are...

"Stop always trying to protect others by yourself." Your eyes widened, your clenched hands had lessen. "I know that you never want anyone to experience what you've lived through. But you need to stop carrying such a heavy burden. A 16 year old girl shouldn't be settling a potential war between two planets. She should be enjoying her youth. I'm not saying to stop working overall but to find a balance. Take this old man's advice, have fun, go make life long friends and even meet your love, make many mistakes, it's okay as long as you learn from them. Don't be afraid of the unknown."

You remained silent and pondered over his words. As long as everyone was safe it was all fine. Maybe you should ask HQ to lighten your workload..? A little smiled tugged up your lips. Mister Tennyson was truly a good person.

"Okay, I'll try mister Tennyson." Uncle Max returned your smile. In that moment when you thought you were shaking, your halo had been vibrating for a while,  your made it move in front of you. Putting your hand in it to take out your plumber's badge, you had received 17 missed calls from Rook and 29 missed calls from Ben. You tried calling back Ben but he didn't respond. You then called Rook, he responded immediately.

"Hello,[name] ? How did the meeting go ?"

"It went well, explain why I've receive so many missed calls from you and Ben. What chaos did he cause again ?"

"Well...A Screegit was let loose-"

"WHAT ?!" You shouted. Rook covered his ears. "How did a SCREEGIT end up on earth ?!" Rook took a minute to recover from your shout. "Ben's taking care of it. He's got the situation under control-"

"Send me his location, I'll be on my way." You ended the call. The immediate moment the location was sent. You quickly bid farewell to uncle Max and flew to your destination.

Meanwhile. Ben, transformed into Bloxx was trying his best to contain the screegit. He didn't know how long he could contain it until professor T.Hokestar finally did his thing. "Now, professor ! Now !"

"On my way, my boy !" The professor tried to climb out as fast as he could out of the building through a window but fell. Before he could reach the ground. A pair of arms catch him.

"Hurry up ! I can't keep this up !" Ben grunts in pain, the screegit was letting out more acide and trying to break free. The professor clumsily tried to get his machine but you just took it from his hands and shoved it through Bloxx. The screegit had shrunk back to its little adorable form.

"Professor ?" Ben calls out. "It's over my lad" responds Hokestar's.

"And I better get an explanation on how a screegit ended up on earth."

"Okay, before we start, I'd like to say it's all his fault." Ben pointed at professor T.Hokestar, putting the screegit back in its bubble container. "There you are, precious. Back to your rightful form."

"No !" A Florauna pushed the professor, taking the screegit and running away. "The screegit must run free ! Free the screegit !"

"Does this guy ever quit ?" Ben was about to starts chasing him but, you put your arm in front of Ben. Stopping him from pursuing the activist, that was almost immediately captured by Rook.

"Nice one Rook."

"Always my pleasure." He responded immediately with a smile.

The crystal the screegit was contained rolled to Rook's feet. "We will take possession of the creature now, thank you very much."

"Go ahead ! Lock me away ! Then I'll get to experience how my caged alien brethren and sistren feel." You respected activist but some just go too far. You felt like you've had a hundred migraines today. For once Ben notices. Rook passed Ben the screegit.

"So it's a happy ending for everyone."

"Indeed !" The troublesome professor intervenes, trying to take back the screegit. "And now, with your kind permission, gentlemen, I shall take my Screegit and be-"

"Handcuffed to that nut job for a year if you so much as think about touching that Screegit." Ben hands back the screegit to Rook. "And about 5 years of jail, 70 000 taydens owed." You said unconcerned, starting to already report the situation. Hokestar's only stares blankly. He nervously rubs his hands together and smiled. "Screegit ? W-W-W-What Screegit ? Never heard of the thing before in my life. Heh. No, indeed. Now, if you'll forgive my hasty departure, pleasure to make your acquaintance, looking forward to your endorsement of my products, Ben Tennyson ! Hahaha."

As soon as he was finished, the conman ran away. "Yeah... Like that'll happen." Ben looked at the running professor. Ignoring his assistant trying to run away from multiple plumbers trying to capture him. "Even if it did, we'd probably tax him more." The two boys exchanged concerned looks.

"The professor's motives, I can understand. That Pax fellow, not so much."

" He means well. Which makes him even more dangerous." Rook nods at Ben's statement.

Ben glanced at you for a second. "Rook, buddy. How about we do the next patrols together this week ?"

"But isn't-" Ben shoot Rook a stare and repeatedly glanced at you. Trying to hint something.

"Oh, yes indeed. I think it will be a good way for me to discover more human traditions."

"Are you guys excluding me ?"

"No ! It's just that recently, Rook and I wanted to know each other more ! So we wanted to hang out as bros ! Ain't it, Rook ?" Rook quickly nodded, giving you an awkward smile.

You blink at both of them. "Ok, then. It's good that we all get along as a team." You continued to write in your tablet. The boys both left to go patrolling the area, leaving much more time to manage the damage done.

====

It was late at night, Ben just finished his night patrol and had just gotten back in the plumbers quarters. He didn't even get a moment of rest when grandpa Max instructed him to deliver some documents to someone.

Ben groans. "Why me ? Couldn't grandpa just ask another plumber. I just got back..."

The brunette quickly spotted the room he was supposed to deliver the documents. He knocked on the door once, twice, thrice. No answers. Ben was impatient so just forced the door open. He was surprised to see the familiar [hair color] girl, sleeping on her desk under many documents. On the side, piles of what looked like an unending waves of documents.

How did you manage this ? Ben thought to himself. God, that's why you looked like you were about to fall anytime. Ben was hesitant to put more documents down. He had just realized how much work you handled and the pressure you had to carry everyday.

Ben glanced at the door and back at you repeatedly. He sighed, taking some of the documents that looked easy enough, he sat down at a nearby couch and tried to fill up the papers . It wasn't his strong point but he tried his best, only filling up the documents he was confident wouldn't cause an outbreak. He was only able to finish one pile out of the dozens you had, he had to brainstorm hard on the many meanings of these documents and recheck them on multiple occasions.

By the time the Omnitrix user got up, it was already past 4am. He had arrived at about 11pm, so he spent more than 5 hours only being able to fill up one pile. Ben's respect for you had just skyrocketed, you really managed this in a daily basis. He felt bad, he once did get overwhelmed by schoolwork before. It wasn't as bad as what you had but he could understand to some the degree the pressure.

I really need to ask Rook to teach me a bit about alien diplomacy...

Before leaving and going to bed. Ben tried to carry you to the couch, but you momentarily woke up.

"What...Who are you..?" You asked, feeling drowsy.

"I'm, Ben Tennyson, hero of the universe." Ben confidently affirmed.

You were barely able to keep your eyes open and only snuggled up to him. He put you down on the couch, with a blanket over you. As he was about to leave he could hear you mumbling something in your sleep.

"Bye Mr Ben Tennyson, savior of the universe. Promise me you'll save us all."

Ben turned towards you. "Save who ?"

"My family, we're so close...we'll finally be free soon..." Some tears were forming at the corner of your eyes. Ben approached you once again. Taking a seat on a nearby chair.

"Be free of what ?"

"Will you promise if I tell you ?"

"I promise."

You gave him a warm smile. He had never seen you like that until now, but you looked like an ethereal beauty.

"I'm happy, you'll finally save us from ourselves."

"What do you mean-" You already feel back to the embrace of sleep. Ben was left with more questions than answers. He could try and look up more about your origins but if not even Rook knows what happened on your planet. Then how could he ?

Ben got up again, this time, leaving the room for good and going back home. He had already texted his parents about how he'll come home late. Maybe not this late but they understood his duty as savior of the universe. Back in his room, he lays on his bed and pondered. He shouldn't have asked you all of that when you were barely conscious, he'd just have to wait for you to open up to him. Until then, he'll try the help as best as he can.

When he finally closed his eyes, his omnitrix rang. He quickly picked it up.

"Good morning Ben ! Are you ready for our patrol today ?" Rook energetically says.

"What do you mean ? We're only... 9am ?!" Ben was shocked, he didn't even get a blink of sleep, he spent to much time thinking that he forgot to sleep !

"Yes ? Are you ready for a whole day of patrol ? You did take all of [name]'s shift for the next week, remember ?" Ben laughs in pain. This was going to be a long week.

====

Bonus scene :

You woke up later than usual. It was a first for you, but that meant you'd have to spend more time on paperwork, that you didn't mind much. But it would mess up your schedule and routine. Thank the skies that Ben had taken your patrol.

Shortly after finishing your morning routine. Making sure you looked presentable. Applying a bit of lipgloss. You came back to your office and realized out of the 15 piles of paper you've had, one of them was completed. As you reviewed them, you didn't recognize your writing or anyone for that matter. It did have some clumsy writing yet it looked like they put effort into it. It reminded you of your first times and how you had to work really hard to perfect this skill.

You smiled and continued working pleasantly, wondering who it could be.

Chapter 3

Taglist : @supernerdycookietrashblrr @zomqiez

[talkdutchtome]

Glitch- chapter two

pairing . . . max verstappen x reader / mason mount x reader )

summary . . . when mason mount finds out that his assistant has been harbouring feelings for him for years, he makes it clear he doesn't feel the same way. but once he sees her become closer with formula 1 world champion max verstappen, he realises he may have underestimated his feelings towards the girl he has now pushed into the arms of another )

genre . . . angst )

song . . . glitch- taylor swift )

warning . . . tbd )

series masterlist . . . available here )

a/n . . .i'm incredably sorry for the wait but here's chapter two. let me know what you think )

Radio silence. That’s all Y/N had received from Mason in the days after that night in the club. By this point it had been five days and she hadn’t heard a peak from him the entire time. The season was done so there wasn’t much work to do and after how he reacted in the club, she didn’t go out of her way to talk to him, and he certainly didn’t either. The loneliness that followed was something that came entirely unexpected to Y/N, sure Mason was one of her best friends, but she had never experienced missing someone so intently after such a short time. With that considered, she should have been jumping for joy when the day to travel to Spain; she would get to see him again. But instead, she was absolutely dreading it. Her and Mason had never had anything even remotely resembling an argument before, so she had no idea how he was going to be with her. Would he pretend it didn’t even happen? Would he apologize? Would he hate her? The questions swirled through her head in such rapid succession it made her dizzy. “It’s not too late to cancel” she spoke to herself, repeating the words like a mantra as she was packing her suitcase. Reece had texted her to inform her A- that she would in fact be coming, she didn’t have a choice in the matter, And B- that they would be picking her up in two hours.  

After that night at the club where Reece sat and comforted her, the pair had become closer, with Reece messaging her every day to check up on her and see how she was doing. He knew that the pain and anxiety she was feeling surrounding her friendship with Mason would be hard to deal with and he wanted her to know that no matter what happened between her and Mason, she had a friend in him. 

That’s why he was true to his word and insisted that she still came on the trip. And despite the fact that she didn’t really think going was a very good idea, she finally relented to his persistence and agreed to come. To say she didn’t feel good about her decision was putting it lightly, and that feeling was only amplified when Mason’s car pulled up outside her house. She wanted to run and hide; pretend she wasn’t in when they knocked at her door, make up some excuse- any excuse; but for some reason when the doorbell rang, she found herself walking towards the door and opening it up. On the other side of the door stood Mason; he had his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on the ground, not able to look his best friend in the eyes.  

“Hi Mase, thanks for coming to get me. When is the flight? Do we have a bit of time to talk?” she looked at him hopeful that they could try and put the other night behind them, but Mason’s expression only hardened at her words.  

“No we don’t have time we need to leave now” he said bluntly before reaching for her packed suitcase that stood next to her and turning to walk back towards the parked car. 

“Okay then” she said to herself more than anything else as Mason was now already out of earshot, placing her suitcase in the boot of the car.  

“Y/N hey how have you been” Reece immediately asked as she climbed into the back seat of the car, he was looking back from the passenger seat smiling at her.  

“Hey yeah I’ve be-” she started to answer the question but was quickly interrupted by Mason. 

“Ben is meeting us in Spain so we’re heading straight to the airport” he said his eyes not leaving the steering wheel as he started the car.  

The drive and then subsequent flight were extremely uncomfortable for all involved. Mason said almost nothing to anyone, Recce tried his best to engage Y/N in conversation as much as he could, cracking jokes to make her laugh as he could sense that she was not coping well with the situation, but she didn’t exactly feel like having a conversation, she instead opted to sit in silence thinking about how badly she messed up this whole situation and ruined her relationship with her best friend. Reece’s behavior confused Mason, as far as he was aware they had never engaged much before, and now not only did he beg Mason not to tell her not to come but he was speaking to her like they had been best friends for years. When they had boarded the private jet Reece opted to sit next to Y/N rather than Mason and spent the entire time whispering in her ear and making jokes. Mason couldn’t help but watch when she laughed, the way that her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue when Reece told her a joke, she found particularly funny, the way her eyes crinkled at the corners and she tipped her head back when she laughed, as if in surrender to the sheer humility of the comment Reece had said. It was clear today that Y/N wasn’t her usual self, she was quiet and more withdrawn, very obviously struggling with the situation but in that moment her laughter flowed freely, unburdened by self-consciousness and sadness. To put it plainly, she looked beautiful. It pained Mason that it was Recce she was laughing with, that it was Reece's shoulder she rested her head after laughing so hard it made her tired. It’s not that Mason was concerned that Reece liked her, he knew that everything between them was strictly platonic, but he still couldn’t help but feel jealous. These confused him even more, not only did he not see her as anything more than a friend, but he also didn’t like that she did like him as more than a friend so why should he care if she was flirting with someone else.  

“Okay so the plan is, we have a meeting with Red Bull in about two hours, they’re just going to go over the schedule for the weekend, then we’re going to go to dinner with a few of the drivers after the last free practice session. I’ve got a meeting with the FIA now as they’ve asked me to present the pole position award tomorrow. For hotel rooms, Y/N you’ve got your own and Recce and Ben you’re sharing with me.” Mason explained to the group after they had finished eating lunch, everything he said make sense until he started talking about the hotel rooms, Y/N couldn’t understand why they would share a hotel room between the three of them, it’s not like any of them were short on money. Once Mason had left the restaurant to go to his meeting and the rest of the group were walking to the hotel, Y/N took the opportunity to ask Ben and Reece about it.  

“Oh, I think the original plan was you and Mase were going to share a room and then we were going to” Ben said earning himself a glare from Reece who thought it would have been best to not tell Y/N that piece of information. 

“Oh, I see” Y/N spoke her voice no more than a whisper, really hurt by the knowledge that Mason would rather bundle in a room with two other people than share with her. “Maybe I should just go home.” she told the boys, really regretting ever getting on the plane. Ben opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Reece. 

“No Y/N, I’ve told you this a million times. Ignore Mason. You love F1 and it’s your first Grand Prix why should you miss out just because he’s being a cunt.” Ben gawked at his friend, not knowing him to ever really use such abrasive language. Truth be told Mason was actually really annoying Recce, he didn’t blame him for not having feelings for her but the way he had treated her since finding out she liked him had been really unfair. He knew Mason wasn’t a horrible person so he really couldn’t understand why he was acting like this.  

The meeting with Red Bull lasted only 15 minutes, they had explained the plan for the weekend and the rules for the paddock. During the meeting, however Y/N could barely pay attention, the nerves and excitement only increasing as it got closer and closer to the race. She had grown up watching Formula One with her dad and had always dreamed of actually getting to see a race, and now she was finally here. She sat next to Reece during both free practice one and two, only really speaking to him as well with Mason mostly just speaking to Ben. The pain of not being able to speak to her best friend during one of the most exciting moments of her life tried its best to ruin the moment but Y/N did everything she could to ignore the niggling feeling in her stomach.  

As soon as the free practice sessions finished, the group made their way back to their hotels to get ready for the dinner that was planned for tonight. Aware that she would be in the presence of many of the drivers on the grid, Y/N took extra care to look as good as possible. She wore a black leather mini dress that clung to her body perfectly, accompanied by a pair of black knee-high boots. It was a pretty nerve-wracking experience, getting ready to meet a bunch of people that you have spent years watching on TV, and Y/N only became more nervous when she met the guys in the hotel lobby and all three of their jaws hit the floor. 

“Do I look okay? I can quickly go and change” she asked them, unsure of herself after their reactions. All three men stood in front of her in silence, transfixed by her beauty. 

“No don’t change you look great Y/N” Ben said after a moment. His comment was quickly followed up by Reece agreeing, however Mason remained silent, intently looking at the girl in front of him. The group stood in silence for a moment longer, Mason watching Y/N, Y/N watching Mason and Reece and Ben stood to the side waiting for this awkward moment to be over.  

“We should get going” Mason said abruptly, taking his eyes off his best friend immediately. 

Mason had told her that some drivers were going to be at the dinner, he did not tell her who exactly was going to be there, so imagine her surprise when she walked into the hired-out restaurant and came face to face with the reigning world champion Max Verstappen. Although she grew up as a Mercades fan, in recent years she had really came to admire the Dutchmen, finding his dominance in the sport fascinating. There were a handful of other drivers there, but Y/N couldn’t take her eyes off Max; he looked incredibly handsome, wearing a light blue button-down shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. Thinking back, she couldn’t actually remember seeing him in anything other than a race suit or his red bull polo on TV before and she couldn’t help but think that he looked very good in smart attire. Across the room Max’s eyes found Y/N and was shocked by the unknown girl’s beauty. . Her long, flowing hair cascaded like silk down her back, catching the light with every subtle movement. Her eyes, like pools of the clearest water, held a mysterious depth that drew him in. Her smile, delicate yet captivating, seemed to radiate warmth, making Max's heart race. He couldn't help but stare, frozen in his tracks. It was as though time had stopped, and the entire room faded into the background, leaving only her and Max in their own little universe. Max's heart pounded in his chest, and he felt a rush of emotions he couldn't quite comprehend. Every step he took towards her seemed like an eternity, and he couldn't shake the feeling of being starstruck. He had never seen anyone so effortlessly enchanting, so mesmerizingly beautiful. As he got closer, his palms began to sweat, and his words felt tangled in his throat. Nervousness was not something that came often to the driver, he was usually able to keep a clear and level head no matter the circumstances, but something about his girl had every rational thought in his head out the window, he needed to know who she was.  

Y/N had found a seat at the table that was placed in the room, she began speaking to Reece who was sat next to her. She was midway through her sentence when she felt someone pull the chair next to her out and sit down, she looked around expecting to find Mason or Ben but instead she saw Max Verstappen smiling at her. 

“Hi, I’m Max” he said with a smile, sticking his hand out to shake. Y/N felt her breath hitch, not only was Max Verstappen sitting next to her, but he was talking to her too.  

“Hi yeah, I know who you are, I’m Y/N. It’s lovely to meet you.” 

“Y/N. That’s a very beautiful name. What brings you here?” 

“Oh, I've come with Mason” She gestured to the footballer sitting opposite them. Upon hearing his name, Mason’s eyes were drawn to his best friend and her conversation with the driver. He noticed almost immediately the look that Max had in his eyes as he spoke to Y/N and a pang of jealousy hit his stomach. He had met Max a handful of times before and was aware of his status as a bit of a womanizer. His mind raced when he noticed the blush on Y/N’s face as she spoke to the man. It was one thing if Max was flirting with her, but did she like it? Why would she want to flirt with Max if she liked him? All of these thoughts ran through Mason’s mind a million miles a minute as he watched the pair converse. 

“So, what do you do for a living Y/N?” Max asked her and she felt a pang of insecurity. She did love her job, but it wasn’t exactly the most impressive. When she moved to London, she had dreams of eventually making it as a model, only taking the job as Mason’s personal assistant as a temporary way to make money. But as time went on and she and Mason became closer, her modelling dreams seemed to get left behind. 

“Oh, I’m a personal assistant, I work for Mason” Max’s eyes lit up, not at all deterred by her job like Y/N thought he would be but encouraged by the fact that she worked for Mason, before that he assumed she was here as his date. 

“I would ask what you do, but I'm already pretty sure.” she joked earing a laugh from the man sat beside of her. 

“So do you watch F1 or are you just here on a work capacity?” 

“I’ve watched F1 for as long as I can remember”  

“Oh, that’s cool then, do you have a favorite team?”  

“Well, I grew up a Mercades fan” she told him and watched his smile falter slightly. “But recently there’s been something about Red Bull, that’s drawn me to them” she continued, placing a hand on his arm. The Dutchman could feel himself blush at her flirtatious comment, the heat coming from his cheeks surprised him, he was not usually one to blush when talking to a girl. 

The dinner went by in a flash, Y/N spent most of the night talking away with Max and Mason spent most of his night watching them. Just as they were about to leave, Max pulled her aside and asked for her number, which she happily gave over. It was clear that nothing was ever going to happen between her, and Mason and Max had been really nice to her, so she didn’t see the harm in giving him her number, it’s not like anything would come of it anyway.  

“So, Y/N, it looked like you were getting on with Max” Reece said when the pair of them were stood outside waiting for Mason to finish up his goodbyes and join them. 

“Yeah he was actually really nice. He asked for my number.” she told him with a blush creeping up on her face once more. Reece’s smile lit up, happy to see her happy after such a hard week. 

“Ohhh did you give it to him?” 

“Uh yeah I did” she told him suddenly feeling very nervous. 

“You gave him your number?” she heard a familiar voice come from behind them. She turned around to come face to face with Mason who stood there with an unreadable expression on his face. Panic set in for Y/N, Mason was clearly not happy, and she didn’t exactly know what to say.  

“You gave him your number?” 

Tag list-

@nightlockcornucopia @jaydensluv @girlytots19 @formula1mount @alwaysclassyeagle @aundercover @sofifiia @dessxoxsworld @lpab @lorarri @thelovehypothesis @torrie421 @ironmaiden1313 @celesteblack08 @glow-ish @urfavouritef1girly @alwaysclassyeagle @barnestatic @simxican @formula1mount @charli123456789 @mac-daddy-210 @lazybot @imguce @azxulaa @mehrmonga @sunny44 @skepvids @drunkinthemiddleoftheday @chimchimjiminie16 @tyna-19 @hoely-maria @stevesworld9 @f1lov3r @elliegrey2803 @heyyhelloohii @landosgirlxoxo

[coraniaid]

I'm imagining an alternate take on Becoming where Jenny Calendar survived Passion -- let's say that Kendra came back to Sunnydale much earlier than in canon and managed to save her, perhaps -- and so she gets to be involved in the big group argument about whether or not restore Angel's soul (which now happens a lot sooner, of course).

I think the other Scoobies fall into much the same camp as in canon. Xander, Cordelia and Kendra are still against doing it while Buffy and Willow are drawn to the idea that Angel might somehow be saved (and if Oz has an opinion that isn't in complete agreement with Willow he doesn't offer it). The only character I think who might change sides here is Giles. In canon he's in favor of the plan, at least in part because "curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish". But in a world where Jenny didn't die (but Angel still tried his best to kill her), I think he's probably a lot less forgiving.

Not wanting to risk giving Angel another opportunity to hurt the people Giles cares about -- and thinking that Buffy herself has a tendency to be too willing to give people second chances, especially when said people are attractive and occasionally soulless vampires -- just seems a lot closer to the way Giles is written in most of his appearances.

Giles has always, up to this point, been one of the biggest advocates for the idea that vampires are nothing like people ("a vampire isn't a person at all ... it's still a demon at the core"). He knows more than anyone (except possibly Jenny) the details of what Angelus has done, and (from his own youthful experiments) how magic can go wrong if improperly used. He murdered Ben behind Buffy's back, and tried to have Spike killed against Buffy's express wishes, because he thought both of them were dangerous and didn't think Buffy was right to show them mercy.

Of course you can make the argument that the Giles we see on the show post-Passion acts the way he does precisely because he's lost Jenny, and that he wouldn't possibly have done any of that if she'd been alive. But, well, the version on screen is the only version of Giles we actually get to see: anything else is just speculation. And it really feels to me that, without that sense of honoring Jenny's dying wish, Giles is probably a lot more willing to agree with Kendra when she makes the case that "Angel is a vampire ... he should die".

In this AU I imagine, Jenny herself is the one to bring the idea of restoring Angel's soul to the group, and she's mostly quiet during the ensuing arguments. Maybe she looks a bit nonplussed when Buffy talks about "curing" Angel, but I think she only speaks up when Xander tries to directly appeal to her instead of shouting at Buffy and Willow. Maybe he says something about being surprised she'd take Angel's side after he tried to kill her. Giles shoots an apologetic look at Buffy and starts to say something about it not being so simple as taking sides.

Then Jenny interrupts and says matter-of-factly "oh, of course it's about taking sides, Rupert. I'm on the side that wants Angel to pay for what he's done. My family sent me to Sunnydale to make sure he was still in pain, and maybe if I'd done a better job none of this would have happened. I felt sorry for Angel once, and I'm glad he saved my life last year, but I'll never forgive him for what he did to my uncle and I don't think he should ever stop feeling bad about it either. That's why I'm going to curse him again. I want him to suffer."

And then when there's a slightly uncomfortable pause she looks around the room and says "... you do all remember how he murdered my uncle last month, right? Why did you think I was doing this?"

[anything-pov]

Reader is Hotches little sibling and they come out to the BAU team as Trans (ftm)

The Team throws a belated Gender reveal for him

tears all around :))

Gender Reveal 💙

The BAU was never short on surprises, but this one wasn't about a case. Garcia was practically vibrating in her chair, fingers clicking like lightning across her keyboard as she sentone final mass email.

"Mandatory Attendance: Surprise Lunch for Someone Special" read the subject line. Hotch glanced at the email on his screen and sighed, "Garcia..."

"Don't be cranky, boss man," she chirped from the doorway, beaming behind oversized cat-eye glasses, "It's your family after all, we're just making sure they feel loved. Deal with it."

Hotch rubbed his forehead, exhaling with the weight of someone who knew better than to try and stop Garcia once she had momentum. "He agreed to this?"

Garcia softened slightly, "Yeah. He wants it. He really does."

- - -

The BAU's bullpen had been transformed with blue balloons, streamers, and a cake that read, "Welcome to the world, handsome!" in curly frosting. A small banner hung overhead.

"It's a BOY!"

The elevator dinged. Hotch's younger sibling stepped out, jeans cuffed at the ankle, a fitted gray shirt and sneakers. His hair shorter now, cropped neat at the sides, and the quiet nervousness on his face disappeared the moment he saw the sign.

Then the team standing just beneath it.

JJ was the first to move, wrapping him in a warm hug, "You look so good," she whispered. "You mean he looks good," Garcia corrected brightly, bouncing over.

"Because he is finally here, and we are so ready to celebrate!" Rossi grinned and offered a handshake instead of a hug, reading the room like the professional he was.

"Congratulations, son. You've got some guts."

"I... I don't even know what to say," he stammered, cheeks burning pink. Reid handed him a small card, "I made you a guidebook," he said, awkwardly but with a proud smile.

"It's mostly articles and resources from online and firsthand accounts, but also there's a chapter called 'Things Spencer Reid Wishes Someone Told Him When He Was Seventeen.'"

The young man blinked at the kindness, "Thanks, Spence..."

Tara handed him a piece of cake, as Garcia started gathering the team for a toast. Emily stood beside the table, drink in hand, eyes on him.

She looked him up and down once, then raised her brow with an approving smile. "So..." Garcia said, lifting her glass, "He's come a long way, with a brother like Hotch, who probably made it all worse before he made it better."

Everyone laughed, including Hotch. "But the point is... he's brave, he's bold, and he's telling us who he is. So... who are you?" All eyes turned. The young man cleared his throat, a hand reaching to scratch his the back of his neck.

"I'm not really used to doing this in front of so many people..." He started, Hotch smiled and muttered, "You've faced worse," he said softly to his brother, a rare smirk on his face.

He swallowed, then stepped forward. "My name is Ben Hotchner," he said, voice shaking just a little, "My pronouns are he/him. I'm a guy/ And I finally... finally feel like I'm living as me."

A pause.

Garcia burst into tears. JJ hugged him again. Reid gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. Rossi blinked more than usual. Tara squeezed his shoulder.

But Emily stepped forward and offered her hand, "Nice to meet you, Ben," she said with a teasing tilt of her lips, "I gotta say, Hotch didn't warn us his little brother would be this cute."

Ben flushed scarlet, laughing nervously, "You're not what I expected either." He mumbled. "Oh?" She asked, eyes narrowing in amusement. "Yeah," he said, still smiling.

"I figured you'd be intimidating. But you're... just the right amount of terrifying." Emily grinned, nudging his shoulder with her own, "You'll do just fine, Ben."

Hotch groaned somewhere behind them. But for the first time in his life, Ben felt weightless. Seen. Celebrated. And maybe ready to flirt with danger.

Or at least with Emily Prentiss.

[softantlers]

why do you ship lottienat when nat said "maybe lottie dying wouldn't be the worst thing" on 2x08? gen question bc i just wouldnt want to ship two characters where one of them says the other dying isnt a bad idea

kay, i'll bite.

i think a thing to consider here is that no one really is suggesting that they're canonically together and making out in the shadows during season 2 -- what people enjoy about this ship is the possibility between the character's, the tension, and all of the thematic parallels. it's an enemies to lovers kind of vibe.

so following shauna beating the shit out of lottie & lottie recovering, natalie says something about maybe it not being a bad thing if lottie dies to coach. i'll point out here that season 2 for me kind of represents an evolution in how natalie views lottie, like their relationship is pretty core & they get a lot of moments together as foils over the episodes. tbh not to diminish your point, but when natalie said that, my first thought was "that's so high school of her." it tracks with her frustration/resentment over lottie's influence on the girls. natalie also follows it up by talking about how everyone has changed because of lottie & coach asks if she's jealous. again, the jealousy thing? so high school to me.

personally, i don't think natalie is the type to actually wish ill or death on anybody. she's having a moment of frustration after witnessing extreme violence & not able to understand how they got to this point. tbh i can almost see echoes of the victim blaming she likely directs toward herself wrt her own dad in the way she says that. like in that moment, she's feeling that lottie let this get out of hand -- likely in the same way that she probably blames herself for her dad's death... i think it presents an interesting insight into natalie's character tbh. when shauna points out in season 1 that she has all this guilt & she's dragging other people down? i mean... she's not wrong.

okay going further though. another thing i would touch on is that season 2 is when natalie carries jackie's bones back to the plane. she has a moment with jackie (although they didn't particularly get along before she died) where she sends her off, so to speak, and mentions that she's made everyone jealous one last time. here you can see a bit of natalie's suicidal ideation come into play. honestly, i'm not sure that she thinks dying is the worst thing, in general, at least not that deep in the winter. (i won't make this too long by going into it, but i think that fundamentally changes when she finds purpose as the leader in the spring, re: the way she tells ben that the suicidal feelings will pass.)

another thing: if natalie actually wanted lottie to die, why wouldn't she have suggested they eat her? natalie was fully participating in the queen draw just like everyone else. at that point, everyone pretty much agreed that lottie was off the table. it's telling that there's no scenes where she argues that they should eat lottie. in fact, when she draws the queen, she's fundamentally moving toward dying in lottie's place. by the end of the season, it's my impression (and it's so delicious) that her feelings toward lottie start to change a bit. when lottie gives her the leadership, there's a switch there & for the first time in the winter, natalie feels seen for all her efforts (instead of passively ignored by the other girls). i think it's extremely meaningful to her that lottie did this for her, even if she doesn't have the words to explain it.

anyways, i hope that answers the question? (i know you said /gen but with the state of things i'm always worried they aren't in good faith.) anyways, i don't think that line really needs to be taken so seriously tbh.

[otogariado]

mentioning LOST's church ending got me riled up about the racism in LOST again lol. i obviously am aware that some actors just did not return to production for possibly other reasons, but also especially in the case of harrold perrineau (michael dawson) he felt like his character (and walt, his son) was treated like shit by the writing. and he was absolutely right. i've already made posts about this (will try to dig them up later), but michael was treated absolutely bullshit and unfairly wrt the story. michael betrayed them and killed two people, yes, but what did he do it for but to protect his son? he felt like nobody gave enough fucks about walt and there was some truth to that claim. his whole character arc is about being a dad to walt and their improving relationship over the course of being stuck on the island, so of course he would do that. it just makes sense.

which is why i don't think it's all that fair to punish him for it immensely in the narrative. harrold perrineau said it himself that he didn't want michael and walt to be another case of the absent black father stereotype [citation needed, i'll look for it but he said it in an interview] yet that's what he ended up being anyway. after his and walt's escape from the island, apparently walt cast him away because he doesn't agree with what his father did—which i actually think its interesting to explore: walt disagreeing with michael's actions and trying to grapple with it, but i don't think separating him from his dad was the best writing choice to make. walt is being punished for caring about his son by making his son be the one to cast him away. you can argue it's supposed to be tragic, michael is supposed to be a tragic character, but with the context surrounding michael's character? there's better ways to make his character be tragic than this.

which brings me to his next punishment. i was happy to see michael again on the kahana (just happy to see him in general), but it didn't last long when he gets killed, sacrificing himself to prevent/prolong the kahana's explosion from happening. (put a 📌 on this bc it's similar to how sayid dies and we'll come back to that later.) michael dies here and walt doesn't know about this. and then michael joins as part of the whispers, his soul trapped on the island (presumably forever) and that's why he's not in the church ending.

i'm gonna be frank. michael being trapped on the island because of his guilt or remorse or perhaps repenting for his sins is just bullshit to me. a lot of characters seen in the flash sideways and in the church ending are characters who've done "bad things". it's bullshit to have michael be the only one doomed to pay for his misdeeds forever. his misdeeds for... killing two people. not that killing two people is Nothing, but moreso if you examine the circumstances it's hardly anything to be damned eternally for.

remember the 📌 we had wrt sayid and michael? both of them died trying to prevent an explosion from reaching everybody else. which makes this more egregious imo. i can say 1000 things about sayid's arc (points to url), but this is about michael and not him, so i'll just focus on this: sayid was grappling with "being a bad person" for torturing and killing so many people. he worked as an assassin for ben. and yet, somehow, you're telling me sayid is not being damned eternally for his misdeeds but michael is? if you don't see the BS in that i don't know what to tell you.

i'm also aware why some characters don't appear any more re:conflicts with their actors (or just availabilities or other reasons for declining to come back), but even then arguably any conflicts with harrold perrineau stemmed from a justified place because of how michael was treated.

i think mr eko had a more dignified arc (he's one of my fav characters, thematically speaking) and honestly he had some of the rawest shit i've ever heard:

I ask for no forgiveness father for I have not sinned, I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man, if I could answer him now I would tell him, that when I was a young boy I killed a man to save my brothers life. I am not sorry for this, I am proud of this. I did not ask for the life that I was given but it was given none the less, and with it I did my best.

but despite this it doesn't change the fact that his absence in the church ending is very noticeable. he had meaningful connections with charlie, with locke, and interestingly like michael he kind of parallels sayid but this time thematically through their arcs. sayid is constantly burdened with feeling like he's a bad person and resigning to it as some sort of self-fulfilled prophecy, but mr eko is very firm about how he sees himself as not necessarily a bad man, just a man whose hands were forced because of the cards he was dealt. i wish we could have seen a more direct parallel between them, because it would've been interesting. back to the main point: i think it's such a missed opportunity for mr eko to not be here. especially since even after his death, hurley was able to communicate with his ghost, showing that he still had connections with his fellow losties even long after his death.

ana lucia being "not ready to move on" is interesting. but ultimately you can't help but raise a few eyebrows at it anyway. you can argue that, unlike mr eko she died an unresolved death, but most of the LOST characters died with an unresolved death. (she was killed early.) that's the whole point of the sideways segments. so what makes ana lucia so different from the others? yeah she killed shannon, but that was completely a freak accident. her people (the tailies) were being picked off one by one by the other so she was understandably on edge. she was kind of a hated character but i think a lot of it is just racism and misogyny combined tbh. (LOST is...notorious for a lot of misogynistic character writing decisions.) ana lucia was just as complex and morally "ambiguous" as the rest of them. i find the decision to make her corrupt in the sideways segments interesting (negative). cz like, there was never any indication she was like this in real life. what does that corruption symbolize? because obviously that corruption is a key to why she "can't move on yet". what exactly is she supposed to be repenting for? they hinted at a possible direction her arc is going towards before killing her off, ie. her ultimately choosing not to kill "henry gale" because she no longer wants blood on her hands. again, in a way, she's just like sayid! someone who decided they'd turn away from ceaseless violence. only right afterwards she got killed. so what does she need repenting for so much that she's left out of the church ending? much to think about.

i don't really know how to conclude this post. but my main point is that the lack of these characters during the church ending is and has racist implications. (again, i understand the casting issues, but it's still a writing decision you can critique as a viewer at the end of the day). i'll try to find the old posts i made last year abt michael and mr eko and their parallels to sayid and link them here (and self reblog).

edit: go read/look up "burn it down". it details a lot of the behind the scenes mistreatment of the staff (including racism and sexism), including actors and writers. the quote from an interview from harold perrineau that i mentioned was also linked in a reblog. (post link)

[the-broken-truth]

Yuu - Child of the Great Seven [1]: The Great Seven

Broken: Here are some critical points to remember - if there is anything I forgot o mention or you are confused, please ask me and I shall explain:

Yuu is the biological child of the Great Seven. Their creation involved the combination of the seven powerful magics into a single vessel made of flesh. To ensure a remotely normal life, Yuu was sent to live in a human realm. However, Yuu's parents would occasionally visit the mortal world, and as such, Yuu has knowledge of their true origin.

Yuu has magic, very powerful magic, however they refuse to use it in order to keep their identity hidden and protect the ones they value. In order to suppress their vast magic, Yuu wears a Sealing Stone in a ring they constantly wear; making it seem as if they are magicless. This is why Leona couldn't smell Yuu's Magic; the ring was blocking it.

Yuu has 4 Mothers (The Queen of Hearts, The Sea Witch, The Fairiest Queen, and The Thorn Fairy) & 3 Fathers (The King of Beasts, The Sorcerer of the Sands, and the King of the Underworld).

All of Yuu's Parents are loving & doting but they tend to be very overprotective of their one and only child; the King of Beasts & The Thorn Fairy are the most protective. They also have Human Forms to prevent tearing the fabric of reality by their mere presence.

Yuu shall be referred to by the [They/Them/Their] Pronouns; use your imagination to make the perfect Yuu for this situation.

In this AU - Malleus is related to the Thorn Fairy. The Thorn Fairy is Malleus' Grandmother, thus making Yuu - as the Thorn Fairy's [Son/Daughter] - Malleus' [Aunt/Uncle]. Yeah. I'm going there.

[Night Raven College - Lunchtime - Cafeteria]

[Dorm Wardens: Azul, Riddle, Leona, Malleus, Jamil (Hes a Vice -Dorm Warden & More Familiar with Yuu), and Vil]

[Everything seems to be going smoothly for the Dorm Wardens of Night Raven College, however, everyone seems to notice that the Prefect of The Ramshackle Dorm, Yuu, seems to be on edge and rather nervous about something. The Dorm Wardens decide to speak to Yuu during Lunch and try to get something out of them. While Yuu is looking at their phone while sitting at their favorite table after eating their lunch while Grim munches on Tuna when they find themselves surrounded by the Dorm Wardens.]

Yuu (Locks their phone and places it in their pocket while looking at the Dorm Wardens surrounding their table): Hmmm... Hello.

Malleus (Folding his arms): Child of Man, we have gathered together in order to question you as to why you appear to be so nervous these past few days.

Yuu (Swallows nervously): Nervous? I don't know what you are talking about...

Leona (Points at Yuu with one hand whole the other hand rests on his hip - like the sassy prince he is): Don't even try to spout that crap, Herbivore. You've been zoning out during coverstations, not focusing in class, while neglecting your sleep and eating; two of those things are things people expect from me, but from the Prefect of Ramshackle.

Riddle: As much as I hate to, I agree with Kingscholar. You have ben acting strange and this is very unbecoming of you. As Dorm Warden of Heartslabyul & your friend, I am calling upon the Card of Friendship to force you to spill your guts about what you are hiding or you shall be placed on trial.

Yuu (Exhales): You guys are not going to let this go, are you?

Dorm Wardens + Jamil (In Unison): No, now spill your guts!

Yuu (Inhales through their nose then exhales through their mouth): Alright, I'll tell the truth. The truth is... My Parents are coing to visit me today.

[The Dorm Wardens (+ Jami) look rather confused by Yuu's Words as the Prefect ran their hand through their shot black hair with a deep exhale.]

Malleus: Child of Man, you are aware that your human parents would not be able to travel to our world, correct? How would they come to visit you? Even if it were possible, why would you be so on edge about their visit?

Yuu: Well... I wasn't completely honest about my lineage and where I came from; I am from the Human World, that's where I grew up, however hat is not where I was bor. As for my parents, I' normally happy to see them, but I didn't want them to come here beacuse I didn't want you guys to look at me differenty by knowing who my parents really are.

Vil (Waving his hand dismissively): First Potato, you are worried about nothing. We do not judge people based on their lineage. Besides, you have done so much for Night raen College, what would make you think we would treat you any differently by learning who your parents are?

Yuu: You see, My Parents are really...

[Yuu is cut off by a lightning stike crashes into the ground outside the front of Night rane College and was soon followed by a Lion's Roar so loud that it shook the entire foundation of the college, making the students cower in fear while Yuu hung their head low.]

Malleus (Looks around with shock as the building stops shaking): What in the name of the Thorn Fairy was that?!

Leona: I don't know! Whatever that roar was, it shook the how fucking school; it's stronger than the Kings Roar!

Riddle: It came from in front of the school! We need to investigate! Yuu, remain here where it is safe!

[The Dorm Wardens (+Jamil) run out of the cafeteria to investiagte teh sound of this noise while Yuu slowly gets out of their chair and follows after them at a much slower pace while Grim rides their shoulder.]

Yuu (Thinking): 'Damn it, Guys...'

[The Dorm Wardens (+Jamil) arrived at the front of Night Raen College and their eyes widen at the sight of the strangers standing before them as they instanlty fall to htier hands and kneels, inflicted by the Magic Pressure of the Aura of the Stangers. Standing before them were the Great Seven in Human Form. The Dorm Wardens (+Jamil) are too fearful to speak outright but they are all wondering the same thing: Why are the Great Seven here and what could they want?]

King of Beasts (Standing there with folded arms while glaring at the students before him with a displeased look on his face): They did not answer my call. Just who are these children before us?

Queen of Hearts: They would happen to be the Dorm Wardens of this college - The Leaders of their Respected Houses.

Socerer of the Sands (Points his staff at Jamil): He hails from the House of Scarabia but he doesn't hold the title of House Warden, he is mere a Vice Dorm Warden.

King of Beasts: I care not about them, I came here for one person and they are not here; I'm going to call them again.

Thorn Fairy: King of Beasts, your roar shook the very foundation of this school; what if your second roar were to distablize something and they were to get injured?

King of Beasts (Scoffs): You underestimate and coddle them too much, Thorn Fairy; mere rubble with not injure them. I am calling them again. (Inhales to roar again)

Yuu: No need. (Walking out of the building with on hand on their pocket and a shaking Grim on their shoulder) I heard you the first time and I was on my way here.

Leona (Pushing through his shaking fear): H... Herbivore , what are you doing here?! Get back in the school! It's not safe for you here!

King of Beasts (Looks at Yuu as a smirk appears across his face): There you are... Judgement has come for you! Challenge begins now!

[The Dorm Wardens (+Jamil) watch in horror as the King of Beasts jumps over them and charges at Yuu with his fists reeled back; he was going to attack them!]

Leona: HERBIVORE!

Malleus: CHILD OF MAN!

Riddle: YUU!!!

[The King of Beasts reach Yuu and throws his fist out towards there face, but everyone is shocked to see Yuu dodge his attack. The King of Beast and Yuu seem to dance around each other attacking and doging each others' attack but the Dorm Wardens (+Jamil) are utterly confused; how can a Magicless Student stand up and holding their own against One of the Great Seven?!]

[The bout comes to an end when Yuu manages to punch the King of Beasts in his stomach with great strength, knocking the wind out of his lungs before jumping in air to reach his head.]

Yuu: What did I say about subltety?! (Roundhouse kicks the King of Beasts in his head)

[Everyone watches as the King of Beasts goes flying across the field before crashing into the fountain, shattering it into pieces.]

Thorn Fairy (Walks over to Yuu as they look at the King of Beasts in the destroyed fountain): Well done, My Dear. It's good to see that you have not nelgected your training.

Yuu (Dusting off their clothes): Thank you, Mother.

Dorm Wardens (+Jamil): MOTHER?!

King of the Underworld (Smiles): Yuu, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends? It would seem that you haven't told them about us and they looked rather confused as to what just happened.

Yuu (Sctaching the back of their head with a nervous blush on their face): I guess I have no choice in the matter now. (Looks at the Dorm Wardens while gesturing to the Great Seven): Friends, I would like for you to meet my parents: The Great Seven.

Dorm Wardens (+Jamil): WHAT?!

[END]

[onlymurdersintheafterparty]

OMITB S4:E6 “Blow Up”

YOU GUYS I AM SHOOK. THIS EPISODE WAS A WHOLE ROLLERCOASTER AND SINCE THE EPISODE ENDED MENTALLY I FEEL LIKE I’VE STEPPED OFF THE RIDE WITH MY LEGS FEELING LIKE JELLY

There are so many things to unpack that I’m just going to focus on the top 2 moments that had me shook and then a new theory after the reveal in the last few minutes of the episode.

Spoilers Ahead (I’m serious watch the episode first because of all the episodes to get spoiled this one will really have you messed up)

“I’m Watching You” / Double Murders

This is what had me mentally screaming because what do you mean Dudenoff has been dead this entire time and Sazz was right about there being another murderer in the building?! And the handwriting in the texted pic is the same as the one in the first season that appeared before Winnie was poisoned. Now before this episode a LOT of people theorized this very plot about a unsolved murder or cold case so I’m sure they feel vindicated after this episode. Many people think that it’s Lester who is the mastermind and I’m sure are even more suspicious now because he used to be an actor while others think it’s Uma. I agree with the first group and think it's Lester and I think his accomplice is Marshall P. Pope the writer.

Evidence Against Lester

He was homeless and out of work when he started working at The Arconia; After being hired he could have met Dudenoff in the lobby at some point and while talking film/acting, he could have mentioned being homeless and was brought into the $200 rent scheme and temporarily lived in the West Wing; It would also give him free reign of The Arconia after hours

As doorman, he has access to the different units; delivering the wrong mail gives him a chance to snoop or bug apartments because anyone passing him in the halls will just assume he's doing his job

As an actor, he could have worked with or was taught by Dudenoff

His son is an actor and Lester paid for the classes so where did the extra money come from?

He could be resentful of Charles because he's a successful actor living in a fancy building meanwhile he's stuck as a doorman; Charles being awkward could have been read as rudeness adding to that resentment (Vince thought Charles hated him because of their awkward window encounters)

People constantly bring up Lester returning Charles' hat in season one and it makes me wonder if he's ever impersonated Charles. They both have white hair, I'm not sure about the similarity in physical builds and height because of Lester's uniform and hat, but I've always had a sneaking suspicion someone has been posing as Charles here and there; Plus Charles doesn't really interact with his neighbors like that so if Lester disguised himself as Charles and wore a hat and hid his face no one would know or be shocked at him not saying hi back. And because Charles is friends with Oliver and Mabel, that would allow him to bug their apartments as well because they'd expect Charles to randomly visit his friends

In the 70s after the brothel got shut down, I'm sure the rent prices dropped drastically making it affordable for Dudenoff to purchase the entire floor

Lester killing Dudenoff would give him access to all those apartments and with the money from his side hustle, he can afford to pay off the police or whoever else he needs to keep the trio off his trail

Being homeless would have allowed him to meet some interesting people and if the alcoholism ever led to him serving any period of jail time he could have met criminals that became friends and allies to help do footwork behind the scenes over the past few seasons

This could also be how he got access to the poison in the attempt to kill Winnie

He could have killed Dudenoff out of revenge because he was promised a role that was rescinded or in a parallel to Ben and Charles, he was unfairly fired and held a grudge

Evidence Against Marshall

The biggest theory is that Marshall stole someone's script. I do agree with this theory but I don't think it was Sazz he stole it from, I think it was Lester

Marshall is a fan of the podcast so maybe at some point between seasons he went to go see the Arconia for himself; To get inside he'd have to go through Lester; If they got to talking about the podcast and films/screenwriting in general, Lester who was already spying on the trio could have by then written a film script in hopes of making a comeback; Lester has no connections from being out of work so he and Marshall come up with some sort of deal where Marshall will pitch the script and get Lester cast in the film;

Was Marshall a student of Dudenoff as well? That could be another connection between the two and instead of visiting The Arconia for the podcast he could have been in town to visit Dudenoff and bonded with Lester over that

Marshall knows how to do disguises but who could he impersonate that would actually be believable? I have no clue

If Marshall and Lester are accomplices there's a chance Marshall will be killed off before the season is over in an attempt to keep him from telling the truth

Dudenoff's Students:

Trina and Tawny

Vince Fish

Rudy Thurber

Sauce Family (unconfirmed)

Helga (unconfirmed)

Lester (unconfirmed)

Marshall (unconfirmed)

Other Observations:

I think Jan knows who the killer is and that’s why she went into hiding after escaping prison. As long as she’s lived in the Arconia I’m sure she’s seen some stuff plus game recognizes game so if she encountered another killer I’m sure she’d suspect it.

If Oliver is the second one targeted I wonder if Mabel is next; Jan did say that the killer would keep trying until they get it right

I don't think Howard is the Moriarty anymore and that it's definitely Lester

The Right Westie = Weird, Struggling Actors; The Westies pride themselves on being weird, outcasts and 2/5 are confirmed actors; Helga may have been run off or been paid off to leave and threatened to stay silent because she discovered Lester was impersonating Dudenoff and witnessed him cashing the checks

My attempt at an outline of what all went down with Lester & Dudenoff:

???? Lester becomes homeless and loses acting jobs because of alcoholism

???? Lester gets a job at The Arconia

???? Dudenoff teaches Rudy & Vince at some point

2011 Trina and Tawny meet Dudenoff in his film class; Notice that at first they're only filmed from the back and when we see through Dudenoff's lens, we only see what's within the lens so if the killer was in attendance they weren't seen onscreen

2012 Dudenoff gives the twins his cameras

2018* Dudenoff is killed (three years prior to pilot)

*the twins say the last time they spoke to him was three years ago and that he cut off communication because they moved to LA; Just because they didn't hear from him doesn't mean he actually died 3 years ago; No body = no way of checking the time of death

2021-2022 The trio's apartments are bugged at some point

Remaining Questions:

Who is the person in the Westie group pic with the scratched out face?

How long have the apartments been bugged?

If Dudenoff is dead, who has been impersonating him when addressing new tenants?

Does Dudenoff having replacement joints mean he was a stuntman as well? That would be yet another example of double identities this season

How long was the incinerator broken?

How long has Lester worked at The Arconia?

If Vince's pink eye is so contagious how did Eugene and Charles not get it despite being in close proximity?

If I missed anything from the first 2 seasons or got something wrong please let me know because I need my info as accurate as possible to figure this all out lol

[butternutt613]

Here is a little snippet (actually the first chapter) of my WIP

When the Sun Found Me

It's focuses on a Modern!Ominis Gaunt with a really cute guide dog and is just over all really sweet and fluffy!! ~ 1,300 words

Here you go @bookie-bookdust and @ravenwind-75 I hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~

Science has always been Ominis’s least favorite subject. Not only were the practical labs difficult for a plethora of reasons, he also found the concepts hard to grasp.

Usually, Sebastian would be right there beside him, but the boy decided to move on to the more advanced courses their private school offered. Ominis couldn’t blame him. He wanted to get into biochemistry after high school, so he was in advanced physics this year.

Which is how Ominis found himself tucked into the far left table of Mr. Sharp's chemistry class at eight in the morning. Mari was curled up under his stool, her warm, pointed ear caught between his right forefinger and thumb. The soft fur felt familiar and comforting, grounding him in the room. The German shepherd had been with him for the past five years, diligently guiding him through life. She was his best friend aside from Sebastian and Anne.

Ominis had arrived in class far earlier than necessary. He wanted to get situated before class started. His laptop was set up in front of him, ready to dictate the lecture onto a document for him to review later.

He had his headphones in, listening to Fleetwood Mac, his chin resting on the heel of his left hand. His eyes were closed (not that it made any difference with his vision) but the music helped him relax before the long class. He was about to doze off when the hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

Someone was watching him.

He sat up straighter, the familiar flutter of unease settling in his chest. He fiddled with the cord of his headphones, pausing the song, and listened. Footsteps shuffled into the classroom, chatter filling the space. He could make out about five distinct footfalls. Four of them eventually settled into tables ahead of him, but the fifth kept approaching. Mari lifted her head toward the newcomer, sniffing curiously.

“Hi,” a voice rang out, light and unexpectedly cheerful. Ominis didn’t recognize the boy’s voice. “Can I sit here?”

Ominis tipped his head in the boy's direction, instinctively moving his hand to the top of Mari’s head. Her ears perked forward, attentive but relaxed, as if she didn’t sense any threat. He hesitated, then shrugged. “I suppose. It is a free country.”

The response was intentionally neutral, open for interpretation. He would never flat-out refuse someone, but he wasn’t about to openly agree to sit next to a stranger.

The boy took it as an invitation, and seconds later, Ominis heard the dull thud of a heavy book bag on the ground, followed by the scraping of the stool to his right as the boy settled down.

Mari huffed and shifted closer to Ominis, her muzzle resting on the toe of his shoe propped on the stool’s bar. He went back to resting his head on his hand, intending to ignore the boy as he turned his music back on. Fleetwood Mac had switched to “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin.

“What are you listening to?” The boy asked, leaning in closer than Ominis expected. The sudden proximity startled him, and he instinctively shifted back, tightening his hold on Mari’s ear.

Instead of responding, he flipped his phone screen toward the boy, displaying the song title.

“Oh, I love them! I'm more of an AC/DC and Nirvana guy myself, but Led Zeppelin is a classic. You can't go wrong with them. I love the riffs; you can literally feel it in your bones,” the boy rambled, unbothered by Ominis’s silence.

Ominis’s brow furrowed slightly at the boy’s enthusiasm. People rarely spoke to him this openly, let alone with such eagerness. The boy’s energy reminded him of Sebastian’s, the same kind of restless liveliness he’d grown used to.

“I'm Ben, by the way.” The boy, Ben, introduced himself, his movement indicating he’d extended his hand.

“I’m Ominis, and this is Mari,” he replied politely, letting his guard drop a fraction. He reached out, but his hand missed slightly, brushing Ben’s wrist instead.

Ben didn’t falter, smoothly taking Ominis’s hand in his own in a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you both. She’s lovely. I have a goldendoodle at home, but I’ve always wanted a shepherd. Mom says they’re too hairy, plus Baba’s allergic to most animals. But he can never say no to Mom, which is why we have a cat he can't stand…”

Ben rambled on, bouncing from topic to topic, somehow managing to cover his family, his pets and even started on how his two younger sisters had started to be absolute terrors, now that they were three, in the few minutes before the bell.

Only when Mr. Sharp cleared his throat, did Ben fall silent. Ominis let out a quiet breath of relief, starting the dictation app on his laptop as Sharp launched into the syllabus and expectations for the year.

“The seat you have chosen is the one you will stay in for the semester,” Sharp announced, his voice sharp and no-nonsense. “I won't stand for any complaining or griping. You should have chosen better.”

Ominis felt his stomach drop slightly. The thought of sitting next to this talkative boy for an entire semester was daunting. He’d hoped to get through the year in silence. Still, he couldn’t deny a faint curiosity about Ben. His seemingly endless chatter was oddly comforting, a bit like background noise.

Mr. Sharp was probably the strictest of the teachers at their school. He did not tolerate any talking outside of the curriculum or misbehavior of any kind. It was safe to say that Sebastian got himself in quite a bit of trouble with him, landing a detention at least twice a month. Not as much as the idiotic Garreth Weasley but still. However, both had moved on to the advanced classes so this year should be relatively quiet.

“Psst.”

Ominis spoke too soon.

“Hey, Ominis,” Ben whispered, rather loudly, nudging his arm. “Can I borrow a pen?”

Ominis frowned, confused. Why was he asking the blind guy for a pen? Ominis didn’t use them, hence the laptop. But, of course, he did carry pens in his bag, Sebastian always forgot his. Not that Ben needed to know that.

“Don’t you have one?” Ominis whispered back, keeping his voice quieter than Ben’s.

“Yeah, but I can’t find it. I think it's-” Ben started.

“Excuse me, boys. Is there something you would like to share with the class?” Mr. Sharp’s stern voice cut him off, and Ominis felt his cheeks heat up as soft laughter rippled through the classroom. He was about to stammer an apology when Ben jumped in.

“No, sir. I’m very sorry; I was just asking Ominis here for a pen. I seemed to have misplaced mine.” Ben’s tone was polite, but Ominis caught a hint of playfulness in his voice.

“You are the new student, yes?” Sharp asked, and Ominis heard Ben nod beside him. “Hmm. See that you bring your own supplies tomorrow… and no more talking.”

“Of course, sir! It won’t happen again,” Ben replied cheerfully.

As Mr. Sharp continued discussing the year’s projects, Ominis felt Ben leaning toward him again, the slight shift in the air beside him signaling his approach.

Ominis turned his head in Ben’s direction, sighing.

“So, about that pen?”

Ominis rolled his eyes, letting out a huff in annoyance.

Ben was just like Sebastian.

He reached into his bag and handed the boy a pencil.

~~~~~~

Let me know your thoughts!! <3

[the-mpreg-guy]

random miscellaneous thoughts (during the pregnancy edition, numbered for convenience):

1.not sure exactly when in s6 to put the jack time travel conversation and subsequent impregnating, very open to your thoughts here. I do think it should be before 6x11 when sam gets his soul back, because I want dean to have to deal with pregnancy hormones and soulless!sam at the same time (and he can’t even drink to cope because that’s Bad For The Baby!)

2. every interaction with Samuel Campbell is even more of a nightmare for dean in this au (if they can’t keep the pregnancy under wraps, which they maybe could?). he was already calling dean gay and a woman for living up the heterosexual suburban dream with lisa in canon lmao

3. crowley inevitably would find out about the pregnancy and the comments he would make would be stellar. someone’s gotta make the “you’re not just cheating you’re cheating on your heavily pregnant wife” innuendos and it’s gonna be crowley

4. In addition to keeping his dealings with crowley under wraps Cas is also trying desperately to keep the nephil baby he’s making a secret from all the other angels both on his side and against him so there’s even more secret keeping

5. I really cannot get over how good dean being 3rd trimester pregnant with Cas’s baby during tmwwbk is. The drama!!! I think if I were making this as an episode of tv I’d adapt the watching dean rake leaves scene to include Dean having a bonding moment with Ben or something for parallels. but like! dean can invoke the baby during his “you’re the closest thing i’ve got to family” plea in bobby’s living room! (replace the “you’re like a brother to me” line with something along the lines of “I’m having your baby”). also I think some of dean’s romantic feelings would bleed through a bit more and be more heavily implied

6. When exactly is Jack born? Maybe dean goes into labor at the end of 7x02 and has jack at the start of 7x03? Like just replace the broken leg bit with him breaking out of leviathan controlled Sioux Falls general hospital with his newborn baby. This also works nicely because there’s the 3 week hiding out in Rufus’s cabin time skip to let them adjust

My inbox unate this ask finally so I get to answer it! Yay!

I agree that Dean should get thrown into the baby adventures during the worst possible time that it could happen. Him and Cas also being at odds bc Cas doesn't want to put Sam's soul back, but Dean does WHILE the whole baby shit is going on? YEEEAAAH. I am curious how s6 Castiel specifically would react to a) the presence of a nephilim and b) that nephilim being his.

I don't remember if we're transing Dean's gender, omegaversing it, or future Cas and/or Jack is like LETS GIVE THAT CIS MAN A UTERUS, but any version of it is a nightmare for Dean being around Samuel because like. Yeah. Yeah they microaggresed that man for leading Thee Most heterosexual life he possible could have. Samuel "is it gay to fuck a woman" Campbell would be AWFUL about pregnant Dean.

Oh god yeah, this would be pre-Winchester Derangement Crowley too, so he'd ALSO be insane to Castiel about it (in our s10 of this au he's actively throwing up bc HE wants to be the baby daddy but thats another post)

Cas at this point is playing Heaven, Hell, and the Winchesters and its SO SPICY. All the more reason now to keep Dean out of the loop on things bc he doesn't want to endanger him or the baby. All the more reason for him to make concessions and compromises to his morals.

The Destiel Divorce in the living room would be actually insane. Canon version of this scene goes crazy, because to me atp Destiel is very clearly not entirely aware that their feelings are romantic (I think they're both aware of the sexual tension and have been since s4 however). Add a baby to the mix? I'm not saying that there's minor babytrap vibes, but Dean does invoke You Are This Child's Parent So Sit Down And Level With Me. And yes the entire scene is romantic as fuck.

Yeah I'd have Jack be born right before s7, because it would be SOOO INSANE to have Dean with a newborn right after Cas dies (s13 parallels) and Sam is going Literally Insane AND IT'S CAS'S FAULT.