#some people want things wiped from their memories so they can experience it again. i don't have that problem with this audio. i need to che

[i-am-become-a-name]

An old man. Well, he was old in that incarnation, anyway. An old man and a child. They were no threat to anyone, they were... family [...] Someone tipped off the old man. He stole a TARDIS and escaped from Gallifrey. With his granddaughter.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Yandere Witch /// Part 2

Part 1

The great part about Rhiana the Witch’s cozy cottage outside that small town was the privacy. Not just when her most wriggly meals ran; but because it was purposefully hidden. The faerie circles just outside the town messed with maps and satellites making her little place a safe haven from the enemies and ex-lovers experiments she’d made over her many centuries of being alive. But now that she was leaving to get closer to you, she was uncomfortably exposed. 

“Hey Rhi-Rhi you okay? You’ve looked so nervous since I picked you up.”

“Oh I’m fine it’s just all these people make me so nervous.”

“I guess it is kind of overwhelming.”

“Maybe you can take me somewhere private. Like your place maybe?”

She thinks it’s worth the risk as she’s allowed to use the same excuse to cling to your side. Pretend to be distraught when she gets hit on to have you pretend to be dating to drive off desperate and confident weirdos. She eats that up. Unfortunately though, her open fawning over you leaves her unguarded from soul searches. An old technique lovers of olde used to unite over long periods. Naturally, trouble just happens to be in the 500-meter radius and is well off enough to get in close to foil her plans.

“Hello there. I’m your new neighbor. I wanted to introduce myself to everyone since I’m completely new to the area.”

“Oh hi, nice to meet you! I’m (Y/n) and this is Rhi–”

“(Y/n) you don’t have to introduce me I’m only visiting.”

“That’s such a shame Rhiana. I would’ve hoped we could…get to know each other better.”

Trouble is one of her craziest exes–Narciness. He was a nymph and she was a witch. Back then, it made sense that they were perfect for one another. Both were a gorgeous couple, immortal and with plenty of magic. Not to mention he didn’t even mind that she ate humans for her youthful appearance. But it just wasn’t right for Rhea. Just as his name would suggest there was a deep-seated and well-masked narcissism that showed its ugly head at the worst times. She ultimately took the very mature option that she’s learned over the centuries when it comes to major obstacles. She ran. 

“Nice to see you again Rhiana. It’s always nice to know my girlfriend decided to disappear from me the last few centuries!”

“Quit whining. I left you a note didn’t I?”

“A note cursed to explode with a memory-wipe spell the second I finished it. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to leave me.”

“Oh genius, you’re finally getting it!”

“That can’t be right! You and I…we’re perfect together! And you instead cheat on me with the most imperfect human!”

“Do not ever talk about my (Y/n) like that!”

She’s almost glad he’s crazy enough not to hide his intentions. Had he been cut from the same cloth as she-she would have kept silent until after she devoured her prey. But Narciness is an idiot who so clearly had it out for you that she wouldn’t let him live another day without singing your praises. Unfortunately, the thing about killing a nymph is that it wasn’t easy, a child of the old powers of nature. He’s survived a lot of things and can withstand some of Rhea’s most fatal potions. And especially when she’s far from home spending time with you, she’s a little shorthanded. So she’ll come up with another remedy. 

“Hey Narc, I didn’t know you went shopping here.”

“I think instead of solely getting the organic stuff I figured I’d swing by here every once in a while. The gallery is truly immaculate.”

“Good for you. C’mon (Y/n) we’re going to miss our movie.”

“Oh right! Well, it was nice seeing you, Narc!”

“Oh (Y/n) before you go, there's something I wanted to tell you.”

“What?”

“I just love your smile.”

“Oh, thanks !”

“Let’s go, (Y/n).”

The thing she found that sparked her attraction to him was his smile. It lit up the room like yours and in the end, it’ll be what protects you from his violent protections of ‘their relationship’. Unfortunately, now that she’s used a spell to shift his affection she’ll have to figure out some way to end his life before he turns violent against her. Too bad it’ll be hard to figure out in the span of two days. Now she can miss her plane and extend her stay a little while but it’s just not enough time. Not enough time for her to make sure ‘Narc’ doesn’t try anything, she’ll have to do something drastic. 

“Narciness I was hoping we could find some common ground.”

“With you? Babe, didn’t I tell you I was done? Your old news.”

“For you, I might be but I’m the hottest thing in (Y/n)’s world.”

“...I see. So we’re officially competing then. Would you like to fight this out now?”

“I’d like to try something new. A gesture of peace, if you will.”

“...oven mitts? You plan to make me bake? Why would I concern myself with such a lowly task?”

“Did I tell you (Y/n) has a sweet tooth?”

“...”

Rhea the Witch considers herself lucky her ex considered cooking for himself as a job for ‘someone uglier than him.’ She’s also glad she gets to stay another day due to food poisoning. Who knew nymphs gave witches so much nausea?

“Oh Rhea were you eating that bloody meat again? I keep telling you that rare steak is great but you got to make sure it’s at least cooked a little bit.”

“I know hon. I should really think about maintaining my diet better.”

“Yeah, I’m just glad this is happening now. Instead of on a plane or bus where I wouldn’t be there for you.”

“Yes…(Y/n) what do you think about me staying another week or so. So many things keep happening, it feels as though fate is telling me.”

She may have some serious indigestion but you were hers and the threat was…toast. For Rhea, her reward was being pampered by you. Finally able to rest with her love by her side. Nothing was better and nothing could bother her. Not even the distant thought of the new owner to the place next door. 

“I noticed your plants. I’m not a huge fan of nature but maybe you can show me the ropes. What do you say, neighbor?”

[sirfrogsworth]

I'm moving out of the city and I'm going to have to learn to drive. Any advice for someone (reluctantly) looking into cars for the first time?

Sorry for the late response, but I really wanted to answer this because I think I have some relevant advice.

I started driving the very day I was allowed to get my learner's permit. I took it very seriously. My dad was a mechanic, my brother literally built a car when he was 16. They were car guys and I was the goofy comedian they didn't really understand. So I wanted to be a really good driver to impress them.

I practiced every chance I got. I took driver's ed in school and got a 100% in the class. And I got a perfect score on my written driver's test and only got dinged for 1 thing on the main exam (it was bullshit, but apparently there is no way to protest a near perfect score).

But then I got sick and it didn't make sense to pay for car insurance and maintain a vehicle. So I didn't drive for roughly 15 years.

Then both my parents got sick and they became dangerous drivers and so I had to figure out how to drive again. And at first I was nervous, but after about a week of driving, I was nearly as good of a driver as when I was younger.

The reason?

Muscle memory.

Muscle memory will save your life over just about anything. The less you have to concentrate on the physical actions and habits required to drive, the more you can concentrate on situational awareness. If you don't have to think about turning the wheel, or braking, or even activating the turn signals, you can use all of that brain power to pay attention to all of the dumb fucks they let drive cars.

So my biggest piece of advice would be to break down all of the physical actions required to operate a vehicle. Even the tiny stuff like switching the station on the radio or turning down the fan on the A/C. Then find a way to practice these things over and over and over until you have that muscle memory embedded into your brain. My muscle memory was so deeply ingrained that it lasted through 15 years of not driving and a batch of mind-wiping electroshock treatments.

Find a safe place to practice and just repeat things until they feel like second nature. Especially checking your blind spots. If you can get checking blind spots to the point where you do it without even thinking about it, you will increase your safety substantially.

Other tips...

Small cheap cars are best first cars. Big cars can make you feel disconnected from the road. Almost like you are piloting the vehicle in a video game. I started on my grandma's 1987 Chevy Cavalier. It was tiny. It had no power. It was free. But I could feel everything I was doing. I could feel the turns. I could feel the road. I could feel braking and acceleration. And it really helped me understand the relationship between driver and vehicle. It was like a big go-kart but I think having that as my first car really helped me develop my driving skills.

And my last tip is to learn gradient braking and acceleration. It's mostly for the comfort of your passengers. It gives them a smoother experience but it also makes them feel safer driving with you. Basically you want to figure out how to apply pressure to the pedals in such a way that almost no G-force is felt. So you start with very light pressure and gradually transition into the max pressure you need. And you need to do it quick enough to stop and accelerate at the proper rate. If you don't transition fast enough you might not stop in time or be able to merge onto the highway. And if you transition too fast people will be lurching back and forth in their seat. But, again, practice makes perfect.

My brother is horrible at this, though mostly on purpose. He likes driving like everything is a race. And with his muscle cars, that can be fun at times. But when you are just going to the store it can make one a little nauseous. I find myself just grabbing the "oh shit" handles and never letting go.

But if you can smooth out your acceleration and braking to the point it is barely felt, all of your passengers will thank you for it.

Hopefully that helps. And maybe other folks can reply with additional advice. And if you have any more specific concerns feel free to ask. I wasn't sure if you were more worried about driving or picking out a car, so hopefully we can collectively cover both.

I wish you luck and hope you learn to love driving. It is pretty cool once you get the hang of it.

[callmerhynner]

do you do requests and if you do can you do a deaf reader x saiki where she can only hear him bc he puts his voice in her head and gets super scared about it and realizes after why she got so scared

★; I do take requests, happily so actually, it just takes a while for me to finish so...

hope you enjoy!1!1!!

𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐬...

Life's weirdness pops its eery little head in every once in a while, that's a given. All it needs is a trigger. Though, if life had a trigger, you hope that your existence was the finger pulling it.

Because, there you stood with your eyes wide, mouth slowly unhinging itself, and hairs on the back of your neck raised.

You have been deaf for years, the continuous ear-related accidents affecting your hearing greatly. You've accepted that part of yourself, after months of grieving for it, and that you'll never get to hear more than what your hearing aids could provide.

So, why is it that, the one time you take it off, a boy with pink hair and two totally normal-looking hairpins bumps into you and you hear something a clear voice for the first time.

"Sorry." you hear, your heart drops at that. Hands lifting up to check for your aide, to feel nothing, as you watched the boy walk off to the desserts aisle of the supermarket.

You can't help but eye him for a moment or two, trying to piece together some form of explanation--there's no way that your hearing had suddenly just healed itself for a moment or the bump caused yourself to get an auditory hallucination.

Meanwhile, the psychic had. just realized his mistakes after hearing your mile-a-minute thoughts go wind at his mistake. Thinking of ways to fix his mistake, straying from the methods that were...morally questioning, like batting her head in public with the memory banana. Or to let her live her life thinking that she had now suddenly developed auditory hallucinations.

"Sir?" his train of thought halt, feeling a hand poke at his sleeve. He looked back, his body still facing forwards, but you could feel the cold gaze he had on you. When you fall quiet, he tilts his head--reading through your mind, he understands that you're starting to regret trying to confront what could simply be just your imagination.

To which, you give up, you just bow your head down and point at an advertisement starring a new delectable dessert package here in the market. "Which aisle..?" you say, just above a whisper, embarrassment creeping in as you retract your shaking hand from sight.

"Aisle 5, with the snacks."

. . .

"HUH?!" you shout a gasp in shock, jumping back like a stray cat.

'Good Grief...' the psychic mutters, realizing his mistake, once again.

--

One thing about losing one sense of the human anatomy, it trains all your other senses to heighten. Maybe that was why he couldn't get rid of you now. No lie was good enough, no excuse lasted long enough, and nothing intrigued you more than how he could talk to you.

He's tried to wipe your memory, however, you've soon become so benign, so grateful, in his presence that he gave in to your desire to hear something other than the blurred sounds you could hear off your hearing aide.

All you wanted was a voice to hear.

To talk to without feeling misunderstood or slowed down, because you couldn't talk right or that others couldn't understand you signed language.

Saiki simply lets you feel into this human experience that you haven't felt for so long--at the cost of manipulating your thinking pattern into thinking that you could hear him because of some telepathic that you had, with him.

So when people may ask you why you're always talking to him as if you could hear him, all you'd reply with was (even though Saiki would prefer to not be associated with anybody, or so he says):

"We're just friends like that" you hum, with a smile on your lips.

requests are kinda fun... hopefully my first shot wasn't that bad tho--

[whatshehassaid]

“I LOVED HER.” “BUT SHE DIDN’T LOVE YOU. Not like he did. Not like I have”

That isn’t Armand saying Claudia didn’t love Louis. She did. What he’s saying is that Louis was so fucking focused on PINING for Lestats love, superimposing Lestat on Claudia AND Armand that Louis refused to accept love from them. Because he didn’t want Claudia. He didn’t want Armand. He wanted Lestat and he couldn’t have him (whether it be because Louis convinced himself Lestat was bad, or dead, or because Louis is in denial). He tries to make villains out of Armand and Claudia.

“Speaking of mistakes…”

“Vintage Lioncourt.” “I’m not Lestat, Louis.” “Okay….”

“Picked ANOTHER ONE over ME”

“It was NEVER ABOUT ME. Another chapter in the FUCKED UP ROMANCE OF YOU TWO”

“If you want to escape this cage of empathy I’ve trapped you in all you had to do was ask, Louis.”

“Imagine me without the burden of her”

Louis can’t face the fact that he was IMPLICIT in what happened to Claudia in Paris. She wants a companion in Madeline cause she’s not getting in from Louis.

I feel like we may be going the route of Armand and Claudia (probably immediately after the trial and before her death) bonding over their experiences. Not just to do with Louis and Lestat… but their childhoods… being raped… being used… being turned so young…

I’m not 100% on this but if they do include the head swap thing (which is still fucked up, I’m still upset at Armand for that) I feel like Armand will frame it or believe that he can save her if he can just give her a woman’s body to match her mind. And I feel like Claudia will jump at the chance. Again, not 100% with that and it’s STILL super fucked up.. but I think if that happens Armand (AT THE TIME) would believe he was helping her. Like how he “helps” his victims. How he was never helped as a human child and as a vampire. They relate to each other because they’ve never been someone’s first choice… and I think the moment Armand hears her say those words (“it was never about me. Another chapter in the fucked up story/romance of you two”) he’s gonna realize how much they really have in common and feel empathy for her.

It makes a lot of sense with how Armand’s character (especially in the books) is. He has a thing about consent (it’s a bit twisted because you could argue he assumes he knows what’s best for people… and acts accordingly thinking that he’s helping them) But he needs people to consent at least somehow. Even if it’s coerced.

That’s also why I believe after Paris… Louis initially agreed to have the memories of his role in Claudia’s death suppressed. He couldn’t handle the guilt that he didn’t care enough to save her. Armand just took it to the point of constantly suppressing the triggering memories. Plus on TOP of that I’m 100% sure Louis is schizophrenic and it’s causing blackouts.

Armand wasn’t really lying when he said that “I protect Louis from himself.” He WAS being honest. It’s in a fucked up way, but I believe it’s true.

And then with Daniel, that’s a whole other can of worms because I don’t think Armand wiped his memories right after San Fran. I’m starting to believe it wasn’t just Louis telling him to keep Daniel alive. The minute Daniel admits he finds Armand fascinating… and tells him “you can read minds right?” Alluding to the fact that he ISN’T LYING. Daniel is intrigued by Armand… and that immediately catches Armand’s attention. We’ve only seen up to Louis attacking Daniel from an unbiased POV (the tape recording). The rest is MOSTLY FROM LOUIS. Who had had memories taken whether by Armand or by the blackouts… and remember he has a habit of trying to make himself look good in Daniel’s eyes. He tries to convince himself constantly that he’s not a bad guy - but in reality…. He’s done some shitty things too. So it wouldn’t surprise me if some of that was also lies to Daniel. “You’re a liar Louis. Whether you know it or not.”

Something happened in those 4 days with Armand and Daniel that I’m not sure Louis realizes. He may come in and out of actual remembrance where he KNOWS Armand and Daniel fell in love… and he uses it against them both… and then goes back into not knowing what’s happening.

I have a feeling we’re getting the trial/claudia’s death/a reveal about the blackouts etc/the fire from ARMAND. Hence the “imagine me without the burden of her” line that Louis says. He would NEVER in a million years admit to saying that. Definitely not to Daniel.

The Merrick storyline plays into this here. Finding Claudia’s diaries… realizing that Louis really treated her badly and that she hates him for it. And Louis not being able to take it.

I also feel like Lestat and Armand have teamed up in Dubai without Louis or Daniel realizing it. They may be trying to help cure him with the help of Dr. Bhansali.

(Also, devils minion definitely happened in the past… you can just see it in the way Armand sometimes looks at Daniel - and in the books even though he was a stickler for rules… his only exception has ALWAYS been Daniel. He loves Louis, he wouldn’t have put up with any of this if he didn’t… but Daniel? Daniel is really the love of Armand’s life. And Lestat is Louis’. I need them boys to figure this shit out - and with the fact that Daniel wasn’t listed in the Talamasca victims folder? Even though he was attacked, held hostage and tormented… means he is probably in ANOTHER folder - *cough* ARMANDSPARAMOURS *cough* I hope they have Daniel find his name in there cause THAT is gonna be J U I C Y.)

[emzii-hi]

My little theory rant

Okay so today I got caught up in some of Tubbo's streams in specific the one on him questioning the one and only "Enjoy the island" Curcurcho. First, I want to say that boy was that highly entertaining to watch like omg Tubbo was killing it.

But from that whole thing we got really useful information on some bits of the lore and shit that goes on in the island. So here are the points that i found the most interesting

FOREVER

like firstly we know that Forever won the election and is given tasks to do in his presidential reign. I personally full on thought he worked with the Federation but he's more like a sub section in the way a towns major or representative might be in a province or state. And Cucurcho basically was like yeah, he's the pres of the island basically but so far, he doesn't have any actual big pres power. Oher than a bit that was given to him by the feds.

WALL AND FED BUILDING

Tubbo then beings to ask about the buildings such as the wall, which until know all we know it was to separate the first people who arrived at the island and that they pushed a red button which left to the destruction of a bit of said wall and the later introduction of the eggs. And the recent random build was built were all build by the qsmp feds. Who in the feds built and for what reason was classified information. (kinda saw that coming as a secret)

Eggs

Now the honestly the most intresting part of the convo was the subject of the eggs. Our dear tubbo asked so many of the right questions. Like if the eggs hatch which honestly in the long game i hope they do because of the headcannon/cannon lore on the eggs looking like the parents being more accurate after hatching. And he touch on the fact of there being more eggs which if you haven't seen Quackity's and Celbits pov we can definitely say there are more eggs.

Though on Quackity's pov it shows more of either the eggs being recreated in a lab and are trying to be replicated. (The egg we see in quackity's pov was A1 who was doing some sort of test and failed.) Or maybe each time a egg fully dies they are revived and have their memory wiped and gets tested again for other reasons. Which is possible cause ElQuackity came back with no recollection of the eggs and most events of the island. With that being said we know for sure that the qsmp febs have something weird to do with the eggs in general and that Quackity also had some to do with the qsmp feds as he was the one who invited everyone to said island.

We also know that just like the first few eggs that appeared to the first few players that arrived in the island were found in a adoption centre just like the one that cellbit found with the hidden room and the book. Could that be why after richas and pomme kinda just appeared to the other parents after awhile? was it that they learned from their mistake? Who knows all we know is that there are definitely more eggs that was first thought and possibly a more secret adoption centres. (This could also maybe tie in the fact that the codes are trying to kill eggs and now trying to be them.)

Juanaflippa is the only egg to be revied throughout the whole smp. Now when tubbo asked about this whole ordeal on getting eggs lives back, Cucurcho first was like that's classified but the was saying no which could be their way of confusing and avoiding the whole question as a whole. This obviously could just be them confused on the question but its still iffy.

Again the whole thing was super interesting.

The Federation

The Federation it self was a crazy clue in its self. Tubbo compared the whole this to the stranger thing for those who don't know Stranger things there is this lab where they experimented on children such. And Cucurcho being all the island is perfect and Tubbo was like agreeing for the most part. Leading to this.

We know that the qsmp Feds what them to enjoy the island but we aren't entirely sure why. This was super interesting to me in the sense of double meaning like yes the island is "perfect" for players and for the most part they are content but there is a whole theory that the reason that they gave them eggs was to distract them but from what? I think its like a whole simulation backroom idea. That the true enjoyers of the island is actually qsmp feds as they have ways to test and recreate certain things and certain people. Again possibly tying the blue bird theory of Jaiden being a escaped backroom project that was later brought back by Quackity's request.

Tubbo again asked a great question that i never really have thought of and I don't see most people wonder this. Do these Cucurcho's have free will. This was question bit was weird back and forth momment of yes they kinda of do have free will to a weird I am a employee of the Federation moment. I would say that for the most part they do have free will in the sense they can walk around and talk with people but have maybe a signal que of other Fed workers looking at them closely to make sure they don't step out of line and do their required tasked kinda of like it you ere told to do something at gun point. I honestly don't know.

They the whole might there be other island.

Its in the name itself. The Federation Census Bureau. The word Bureau itself means a office or department of for transacting a particular action or a government office. Obviously in the context of the book it was used in singularity and not plurality to identify more but it still slightly concerning cause a Bureau it self is a of agreed divided specialties. So it would make sense is that Quisadilla Island to not be the only one in a large network. Again Tubbo be asking the right questions. Also the fact that Cucurcho's answer to Tuboo being like on the idea of more then one island was saying classified was amazing cause it makes it even more believable that there is more island as one island in singularities existence does not need to classified

IN CONCLUSION!! Tubbo was crazy in getting the most general answers and vague questions that allowed us to get at least and idean of wtf is going on with feds and the island. And im sorry for going on this whole rant but i had to get this off my chest so yeah. That whole bit was wild and really had me being like wtf moments

HERES THE LINK TO THE VIDEO OF TUBBO'S DECTIVE MOMENT

(1) Tubbo Asks Cucurucho All The Lore Questions He Could Think OF! QSMP - YouTube

[simpforchuchu]

Regrets | Yosuke Todoroki x reader

Summary: The Todoroki faction was having a normal and sweet day. But Todoroki's past was determined to chase him.

a/n: Thanks to @tiddly-winx for this amazin idea 🥰 It will be a heartbreaking story and maybe more angst but hope you like it. There will be a second part ofc 🥰

Sorry for the grammer or spelling mistakes.English is not my main language so...

Thank you and love you 🥰

Warnings: Usual hnl fights, blood, knifes, injuries and wounds…

Part 2

There are some moments in life. The one you never expected to come, that you couldn't react to and that you couldn't erase from your memory.

Your days, years and past pass before your eyes like a film strip. In those few seconds, you try to understand what caused this moment. When you realize how your past is chasing you, you realize that it is too late for everything.

There are some moments in life. Moments that you can never take back and never fix.

When Todoroki left the house that morning, he would never have guessed that he would experience one of these moments. He couldn't.

As the blood of the girl he loved dyed his white shirt red and she was writhing in pain in his arms, Todoroki had never wanted to return to the past so much in his life.

But some things only happen in movies.

1 hour ago

After paying the bill at the cash register, Todoroki looked at the table where they were eating and saw that Tsuji and Shiba were trying to wake y/n.

Y/n was weird. That's what Todoroki thought from the first day he saw her. She was quite strong and intelligent, but she could be annoying at times. One of those moments was when she fell asleep and make them carry herself after eating.

Realizing that he was smiling unintentionally , he wiped the smile off his face and walked over to the table.

“O! Y/n ! Wake up. We're really going to leave you behind one day."

Tsuji was slowly shaking y/n to wake her up. Todoroki stood in front of the table shaking his head, and Shibaman grinned.

"This time it's your turn to carry her"

Tsuji sighed in disappointment and insisted on Shiba for a while. While the two were arguing, Todoroki watched the sleeping girl for a while.

How could she be so annoying and so cute at the same time? And how could someone like her steal his heart?

“Stop arguing now. I can carry her this time. Just help me get her on my back slowly"

Tsuji and Shiba looked at Todoroki for a while, then at each other in surprise. But they quickly agreed, before he giving up on volunteering for this.

Tsuji gently helped Todoroki take her on his back. Y/n sleepily wrapped her arms around the tall boy's neck and snuggled into him.

Todoroki unintentionally smiled once again. Hugging his neck, the young girl made him taste emotions he had never felt before. And he couldn't stop his heart from racing.

Tsuji and Shibaman were a little confused. They were with him for a long time. But sometimes he really acted differently.

Todoroki never showed his feelings. Even he himself was not aware of those feelings for a long time. But he was smart enough to understand what it was.

Todoroki was walking calmly while Tsuji and Shiba were arguing about an ridiculous matter.

"Not heavy. But she is annoying. I know she did it on purpose.”

When Shibaman complained, Todoroki grinned and shook his head.

"She's definitely doing it on purpose."

The three of them continued on their way with a smile. As much as Y/n pissed them off, they all knew she was a great friend. And what a difficult life she have lived. Therefore, they could tolerate her childish demeanor.

The peaceful walk ended a few minutes later when a large group of 15-20 people blocked their way. They all looked in surprise at the people who had crossed their path. Tsuji and Shiba didn't know who they were, but Todoroki knew one of them - their leader - very well.

He was a simple enemy from the past. He knew he wanted revenge. But he had not anticipated that the revenge would be so severe.

Y/n had awakened from her -fake- sleep as they stopped. She opened her eyes, looked around, and landed.

“It's been a long time, Todoroki! Do you remember me ?"

Todoroki looked at the person in front of him mockingly. He was one of his first hunts, but he remembered.

"What do you want? Aren't that many people too few for me?"

The others watched calmly. And they were sending bad looks to the crowd in front of them.

Todoroki's arrogant attitude angered the leader even more. The two of them argued for a while. But the fight started very suddenly.

They didn't know how much time had passed. But none of them knew that this simple fight would end horribly.

The fight seemed to have been won. The leader was on the ground and Todoroki was standing staring at him. Y/n glanced around. It was then that she saw the person who would ruin this whole day.

Someone was walking towards Todoroki with a small knife in his hand. He wasn't very close to him yet, so she moved towards him, thinking she could stop him. But the person with the knife unfortunately noticed her.

Y/n couldn't remember ever feeling so much pain in her life. Time had not stood still around her, but for her it was as if time had stopped. The blade that pierced her stomach gave her a sharp pain. Her body was in shock. She had no reaction. The boy who stabbed her was looking at the young girl with fear, as he did this with a sudden reflex. He drew the knife and ran away from there.

Y/n just stood there. Blood was dripping from her stomach. Shibaman was the first to notice her. He didn't realize what was happening at first when he noticed that Y/n was standing still.

“Y/n! Are you ok ?"

The young girl gently grabbed her stomach and squeezed her eyes in pain with the wound she had pressed. She felt her eyes darken as she pulled her hand away from her wound and looked at her bloody hand.

Todoroki was looking at y/n as Shiba shouted. His eyes widened in horror when he saw her hand. He couldn't think of anything at that moment. He rushed to y/n without thinking.

The young girl could not stand any longer. As her eyes slowly closed, her legs could no longer carry her. Before she fell to the ground, Todoroki grabbed her and laid her on his knee.

Tsuji and Shiba looked at the two of them in horror. Everyone in the fight froze.

“Y/n? Y/n!”

For the first time, Todoroki couldn't think rationally. He just stared at her unconscious face. For the first time, he couldn't stay calm.

He pulled the hair that had fallen from her face. He wanted to wake her. Then his eyes fell on the wound on her stomach. A dark color formed on her light-colored T-shirt. Her hand was painted red.

Todoroki didn't know what to do. If he had someone else in his arms, he would try to stop the bleeding. But he couldn't think right now.

As the crowd dispersed, Tsuji and Shiba rushed to them. They both stared at them in shock for a while in front of the two of them. Todoroki looked at the young girl's face in horror for a while. When she got no reaction and hugged her tightly and cried out, Tsuji realized that they had to do something. Both put aside their shock. Shibaman immediately called the ambulance, Tsuji crouched down and put his hand on Todoroki's shoulder.

Todoroki looked up from the girl he was hugging. His eyes were filled with fear. Tsuji knew he was in shock too.

First he gently asked him to let go of y/n. They had to stop the bleeding. But when he got no response, he shouted.

“Todoroki! You're shaking her! You will hurt her! Put her down gently, we need to stop the bleeding.”

Todoroki looked at the girl in his arms with Tsuji's voice. When he looked at Tsuji's face again, he saw him calmly nodding his head, and slowly laid the young girl down on his knees again.

Tsuji quickly took off the bandanna from his arm and handed it to him, Todoroki pressed it to that young girl's wound, and saw the young girl wince in pain.

She was neither awake nor unconscious. But she was breathing. This gave them some relief. A few minutes later, Shibaman came to them with the paramedics who had gotten out of the ambulance. Tsuji bent down and looked at Todoroki.

"They need to get her in the ambulance, we need to hurry."

Neither both had ever seen Todoroki in such a panic. He was always the solution, the one who helped them, the one who made more sense. But now he couldn't do anything.

When the paramedics slowly took y/n on the stretcher, Tsuji and Shibaman asked Todoroki to get into the ambulance. Because they were sure that if he stayed behind, he would go crazy.

After the two learned the name of the hospital, they quickly left to find a taxi. Todoroki, on the other hand, watched helplessly in the ambulance as the cables were tied to the young girl's body.

Her face was pale, her shirt was covered in blood. Her hair was messy. The only indications that she was alive were the noises and lines in the machine.

When Todoroki left the house that morning, he would never have guessed that he would experience one of these moments.

For the first time in his life, he prayed to the god he never knew existed. He begged. Todoroki had never felt so helpless, even for himself.

“Please wake up y/n, I beg you wake up. God…do something. I want something from you for the first time. Don't take her from me, I beg you."

Todoroki didn't know if God heard his voice, but he knew he wanted him to hear his voice for the first time.

HnL taglist : @straysugzhpe @tiddly-winx  @ninamarie1994 @thatpoindexterpixy

[a-french-coconut]

Snippet #5

He knows where to find Will after the battle. Everyone knows but they stay clear of the infirmary, even the hurt ones. 

They all saw Lee’s body being carried in the makeshift tent, all heard Will’s screams when he saw his brother’s head caved in, bits of brain and bones where the son of Apollo’s face used to be.  Travis knows those screams, the pain scraping your throat, the grief tearing you apart and wetting your eyes. 

He’s familiar with it, because in alley behind a bakery shop, he was the one yelling. And so, while Katie holds her bloodied arm but doesn’t dare disturb Will, while Sherman winces at every step but stubbornly wrap his twisted ankle alone, Travis enters the tent. 

It’s not that big, just enough for eight or ten people to be in, and some of the space is occupied by six draped bodies. All the critical cases and severely injured have been moved to the infirmary’s building, where there is more space and resources. Michael and Chiara must there, tending to them. 

“Will.” He calls softly to his boyfriend, whose seated on the ground, looking with red eyes at the golden cloth. “You shouldn’t stay here.” But Will doesn’t move, doesn’t make any indication he heard him and so, he joined him on the ground. 

Six people dead. Lee, Castor, Timothy, Arianna, Lisa and Nick. Six people to hold a funeral, two of them only thirteen years old. 

None, by a miracle, are from his cabin. 

His eyes linger on the purple shroud. He’ll need to look after Pollux too.

“It hurts.” Will says with hoarse voice, sniffling. He looks exhausted, hands caked by blood and dirt, eye bags, face red after crying too much. And he still won’t stop looking at Lee’s body. “It hurts.” 

“Sunny, look at me.” He gently turn Will’s face towards him. Those blue eyes, usually so bright, are dimmed, filled with sorrow. “It’ll be okay, I promise.” 

“How ?” His boyfriend replies, gesturing at the dead bodies. “How can this become okay ? I lost my brother, Travis, it can’t be okay.” 

“With time, the pain will soothe.” He cups Will’s face, who has started crying again, softly wiping away the tears. “It will always be there, but life goes on Will, life goes on.” 

“I- I failed everyone Travis.” Will snivels and Travis hugs entirely, resting his head on the crook on his neck. “I couldn’t save them.” He knows he’s referring to the five other bodies in the room. “They were so afraid Travis, they didn’t want to die.” Will grips him harder, his hands tightening on his back. “And I failed them.” 

“No, Will, no it’s not true.” He whispers in his ear, rubbing gently his back. “You did you best, and nobody, nobody, will blame you because you did nothing wrong. And if some idiot think about it, I’m going to prank them and destroy them at sword fighting.” He reconsiders. “Okay, maybe not sword fighting, I’m average, but I’m super good at wrestling.” 

“You’re too scrawny to be good at wrestling.” Will says, his voice muffled by the t-shirt he’s wearing. With satisfaction, Travis notices he isn’t crying anymore. 

“I am not scrawny Will, and my dad invented wrestling. I’m good at it.” 

Will snorts and he internally whoops. 

“I’m going to miss him so much, Travis.” Will whispers, pulling away a little so he can look again at Lee. “You’re so lucky you didn’t lose any siblings yet. Well, they are the ones that left to be with Luke but they’re not dead, you know ? I hope you never experience this.” 

He smiles sadly, the memory of a boy jumping from one white strip to the other as they cross the street playing in his mind. “Too late for that, I’m afraid.” 

“Remember when we met for the first time ?” He asks Will, who instantly remembers. “You just arrived at Cabin 11 and I told you that you were lying about being an only child.” 

“Yeah, and even though the others interpreted as other thing, you were right. I was lying.” 

“You came at Camp alone, though.” Will says carefully. “Is it a mortal sibling ?” 

Travis shakes his head. “No, he was my younger brother by one year, and I’m pretty sure he was a son of Hermes too.” He feels Will tenses at his words. “He died before I came to Camp.” 

Oh Hermes, he can feel his own tears coming up. It’s been years since he talked about Connor to someone. Since he arrived at Camp actually. The only person that knows of him is the satyr that brought him, but David died trying to bring another demigod, that didn’t make it either. No one knows, and he intended to keep it that way. 

“You don’t have to tell me.” Will offers but he refuses. “No, I want to.” 

“We were living on the streets, doing pretty good.” He specifies when he sees Will’s horrified face. He tells him about Laura, about what they used to do to keep themselves entertained, about the cyclops. “I think he found us because of the Apple Watch Connor stole that day. We didn’t know about demigods and electronic stuff.” 

“He sounds amazing.” Will says gently, stroking his hand with his thumb. 

“He was.” Travis replies. It feels strangely good to talk about him. “He would have loved Camp.” 

Connor would have thrived here.        

“Do you think I failed him ?” He asks Will, turning his gaze at him. “That he’s angry with me for not saving him ? It would be funny actually, to have his ghost following me around, screaming at me.” He snickers slightly but his happy mood doesn’t last. “Instead, he’s probably wandering in Asphodel, forgetting his name, forgetting me.” It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. “We were supposed to live together, always but the Fates are cruel, aren’t they ?” 

“Yes, they are.” Will answers. “Connor wouldn’t be angry at you. I think he would want for you to live your life, at the fullest.” 

Travis ponders for a moment. 

“I want to see the world with you.” Connor said, looking at him with gleaming, joyful eyes. “We’ll go everywhere !” 

“Did you know that we can’t see the stars because of pollution ?” Connor had informed one night, as they decided to sleep on the roof a building. “One day, we’ll leave the city and go somewhere where we can see all the stars.” 

“There’s so many foods !” Connor marveled at every restaurant they passed in front of, Thai, Chinese, Italian, French, Spanish. “We’ll taste them all !” 

“Yeah.” Travis replies, misty eyed. “He would want that.” 

Short resume of this : here you angst, then over there a little more ansgt and if you look more closely, you'll see even more angst !

[diabolik-art-blog]

Christmas Night

Chapter 01: [ Kino x Yui ]

Admin's note: The first chapter of 13 Christmas one-shots. I wanted to start with Shu because he is always my favorite but my boy Kino needs more attention. I'm still in shadowban so sorry I can't replay your comments. Don't forget to support my One Shots in AO3.

Christmas night is one of the most beautiful nights of the year. The city of Tokyo is very beautiful and spectacular at this time of the year. In the center of the city there is a big tree that is beautifully decorated and a golden star shines on top of it. There is a box next to the tree for people to give their gifts to the orphans.

It is the night before Christmas and tomorrow the beautiful Christmas carol will resound in the city. People are doing their last Christmas shopping. Couples hold each other's hands and walk in the city. Smiles are seen on their faces and they all look happy.

Everyone looks happy. Except for the girl who looks at the happy people from behind the window and has a bitter smile on her face. She wishes to experience this feeling of happiness with a real family just for a few moments.

While looking at happy couples and people from behind the window, Yui remembers her happy memories with her father on Christmas nights. Her father, who tried to kill her a few months ago. Remembering these bitter memories brought tears to her eyes.

Yui wiped her tears with her sleeve and got up to go to Kino's room. As she walked slowly down the corridor, she wished that Kino would not ignore her this time. Yui reached the back door of Kino's room and knocked as her body trembled with fear.

*knock knock*

Yui: Kino-kun... can we talk?

No sound could be heard from behind the door. Ever since Yui and Kino came to this city, Kino has never spoken to her even once. Kino no longer pays attention to her like before. He locks himself in his room for hours and rarely comes out.

Yui mustered up all her courage and boldly opened the door to the room. She saw Kino lying on his bed playing with his smartphone as usual.

Yui: Kino-kun... I just wanted to know how are you? can we talk together?

Kino does not answer her again. Yui doesn't know the reason for Kino's neglect, but after what happened, she blames herself for everything and can feel that Kino is angry with her because of the recent events, even if he doesn't say it.

Tears gathered in Yui's eyes. Yui walked out of the room with trembling steps and closed the door. After the door was fully closed, Yui quickly ran to her room and threw herself on the bed, buried her head in the pillow and started crying. She could feel her heart breaking into pieces. It seems that Kino hated her and this means the end of the world for her.

After Kino betrayed the ghouls, the ghouls got angry with him and attacked him. Kino didn't want them to hurt Yui, so he ran away with Yui and they came to Tokyo. But everything changed. Every day, Kino ignored Yui and did not pay attention to her at all.

After their savings ran out, Yui found a small job to make ends meet. She blamed herself for this and tried her best to make Kino happy.

Hours passed and it was midnight. Guessing that Kino was sleeping now, Yui found the courage to go out. She quickly changed her clothes and left the house. While walking in the streets, she looked at her money that she had saved for several months. She wants to make Kino happy with a big Christmas party so she can see his smile again, but before that she has to do some shopping.

Yui walked the streets for hours to buy all the things she needed. She was walking back home when she felt that someone was following her. At first, she thought that it was just her imagination, but no, it was not imagination, it was reality. Someone was following her and upon realizing this, Yui started running.

Yui didn't know what to do, she just ran with all her breath. Out of fear, she lost her way and just ran through the streets and alleys until she reached a dead end.

???: Little lady, why are you running away? I haven't done anything with you yet.

Yui: Please don't come near me. Please stay away from me.

The unknown man who had been following Yui the entire time gave a wicked grin and approached her. He tilted his head towards Yui, staring into her innocent pink eyes.

???: Do not worry. If you don't resist, I promise you it won't hurt at all.

He was staring at Yui's innocent face and white skin and put his hand on her cheek and with that Yui shivered and tried to defend herself.

???: You are very thin and skinny. What a pity. But the skin is white and soft. And you are very very beautiful. I'm sure your taste is very sweet hahaha.....

Yui pushed the unknown man with all her strength and tried to run away from him, but the man was much bigger than her and quickly grabbed Yui's neck and squeezed with all his strength, trying to scare her.

???: Little girl, if you resist any longer, I swear that your beautiful and lovely face will be filled with blood and I can no longer say that your face is beautiful.

There were tears in Yui's eyes. She could hardly breathe. The man slowly let go of her neck and imprisoned Yui between the wall and his body. He unbuttoned Yui slowly and ran his tongue over her skin. Yui was crying non-stop and her moans were spread in the alley.

The man was enjoying these moments and lust until he felt the shadow over him. When he turned back, he saw a boy with wine-red eyes and raven-black hair staring at him with dead eyes. Seeing him, Yui looked at him with a pleading look.

Yui: Kino-kun...

Kino: You stupid man.... what the hell are you doing?

Before the man could say anything, Kino punched him hard in the face, causing his teeth to break and his face to be covered in blood. Seeing Kino's extraordinary physical strength, the man panicked and ran away without resisting.

Kino was staring at Yui's confused look. Yui tried to get up on her shaky legs and walk towards Kino.

Yui: Kino-kun... I...

*slap*

Yui's speech was stopped by a hard slap on her face. Yui's eyes were wide and her cheeks were red. Kino's slap was so hard that Yui's cheek was red. Tears flowed from Yui's eyes and Yui touched her cheek.

Kino: Silly girl.... Why did you leave the house without my permission? Don't you know how big and dangerous Tokyo is?

This was the first time Kino had spoken to Yui again in a while. Yui was shocked but happy. She was happy that Kino was talking to her again. While looking at Kino with tears in her eyes, she smiled softly, which shocked Kino.

Yui walked over to Kino and hugged him. She buried her head in Kino's chest and started crying.

Yui: *Sob*.... Kino-kun..... I'm sorry.... I'm sorry that your life was ruined because of me.... I'm sorry that you left your homeland because of me..... and I'm sorry that I made you hate me...

Surprised to hear Yui's strange words, Kino started to laugh. Yui looked at him in surprise. He hadn't laughed in a long time. Kino hugged Yui tightly. He held Yui's face with both hands and caressed her red cheek and kissed her gently.

Kino: My stupid prince..... you thought I hated you? No, you were wrong. I hated myself.

Yui: What?

Kino: I hated myself for bringing you to another city, but I didn't even have a good job with a decent income. You had to work for me and I hated myself for not being able to do anything for you.

Kino kissed Yui's red cheek again.

Kino: You are always my princess. I will never hate you. You are the only person I love more than my life.

Hearing Kino's words, Yui smiled softly and sank into his arms. They stayed in each other's warm arms for a while and drowned in each other's love.

Kino helped Yui pack her things. He took her hand and they went home together.

Yui: Kino-kun... This is our first Christmas together. Let's celebrate this Christmas together and start a new life.

Kino: My life is always with you, Yui. You are never going to leave me. I will stay by your side until the end.

Kino placed his lips on Yui's and encouraged her into a warm kiss. Their tongues intertwined and this kiss warmed their hearts on a cold Christmas night. It was a new beginning for them. Starting a new life together.

[pianostarinwonderland]

Azul's Vulnerability

Happy birthday to me, and as a way to celebrate this, I'm going to be talking about my biggest gripes on how people view Azul in general 🤩🤩🤩 ok I'm not gonna attack anyone but I do want to speak about something that has been on my mind for a while

Having exposed myself to a lot of Azul content, I've seen a very common trend in the fandom when it comes to how people write about him. Much of the written content I see always has something to do with Azul being a so-called crybaby, particularly in x reader fics and headcanons. Reader would comfort Azul as he's crying, and they'd wipe his tears away while assuaging his insecurities. This also influences the NSFW content that Azul has as well. Reader would be the one to top Azul, and they would be the one in control in the bedroom.

I want to preface first that this is all valid. Write whatever you want. I don't have the right to stop any of you from writing Azul like this. NSFW especially is something that's really valid because a lot of the times, females want to experience having agency in the bedroom (let's not deny it, a majority of x readers are fem readers). In fact, fics and hcs where readers can comfort Azul stem from a desire to be the person to give him the comfort that Twisted Wonderland never gave him. We all want to be that person whom Azul can feel vulnerable to. We want to comfort him and to be close to him, and this is the best way we can do that.

But with that in mind, those fics and hcs also reflect the way people see Azul. People tend to write him as that crybaby. Whenever people talk about Azul, that's the one trait that they tend to attribute to him. I've heard people say it as an insult to him or to make fun of him as well. I'd even say that in the NSFW space, people choose to bottom Azul for that reason. And as someone who loves Azul, I really want people to see that Azul is more than just "a crybaby".

In fact, I would argue that the Azul we know now is not a crybaby. After his overblot, when everyone compliments his notes, Jade and Floyd comment on how Azul looked like he was about to cry. But pay attention to the way that they comment on it:

Floyd: What now? Azul, are you getting a little misty eyed? Jade: My my, have you gone back to being the ink-spitting crybaby? [shel_bb book 3 chapter 35]

The kind of wording in Jade's comment implies that Azul hasn't cried in a while. If he still cried often, Jade would have said something along the lines of "are you going to cry again".

And besides, if one is ashamed of crying, there would be a resolve built to stop themselves from crying. Personally speaking, I have a hard time crying unless something big happens because I had family either telling me to stop crying or laugh at me for crying over something trivial. Azul had been made fun of for the way he cries as a child—that has to have some traumatic impact on him, and it would make him hate crying and tell himself to never cry again. People who can cry easily are those who don't think it's a bad thing to cry.

There's this one anon ask that I will never forget that is related to this topic. It was one that a friend received, and it was a hc request to write Azul and Vil "being their vulnerable selves". As in, they explicitly said that the kind of confidence they exude is all a facade to hide the real emotional vulnerability underneath them, thereby saying that their vulnerable insecure selves are the real Azul and Vil and their confidence is faked.

A Vil essay can be made another day and probably by another person, but for now, we focus on Azul.

First of all, this will never be forgotten from memory because it shocks me that someone thinks Azul's confidence is wholly faked just to hide his insecurities. Now I'm not saying there's no merit to it nor that it's totally wrong. It's true that Azul's charm feels plastic. It's true that Azul does have a strong front that hides a painful past. But it doesn't mean that the Azul now who makes deals, runs a restaurant, and achieves high grades is not the real Azul.

What I want people (and most especially Azul himself but that's another post entirely) to realize is that he's grown to be so much more than the little octopus who used to be bullied and made fun of by other merfolk. The charisma and confidence he has is real. He worked hard to develop his social skills, and that hard work cannot be faked. I think if anything, the part that would feel fake is the part where he chooses to be Azul the businessman and not Azul as in Azul.

And Azul as in Azul is not just his insecurities. It's Azul with his wit and his strategical mindset. It's Azul with his joking remarks and his anger. Chapter 6 and Glorious Masquerade show Azul's real self the most in the game. When he shows his enthusiasm over City of Flowers' food culture in GloMas. When he teases Riddle during the part where the OB boys were playing video games after their experiments in ch6. When Azul roasts Deuce in response to a comment Deuce made about financier cake matching Azul in GloMas. When Azul gets mad at Riddle because he disagreed with his way of doing things in the tower chapters of ch6. There's just so much to Azul.

And lastly, I want to address the idea of Azul's vulnerability. Loads of times, when we think about vulnerability, we think about the sides we wish to not show to people, but we tend to associate those with insecurities and tears. Maybe it's just me, but Azul's vulnerabilities don't always have to manifest in the form of tears. Look at how he acts in narrating his flashback in 3-34 and in the way he reacted when Riddle in chapter 6 says that he can never be top 1 in their year because Azul runs his restaurant too. He's not bursting to tears as he's face to face with the insecurities—he's angry. He's angry about the circumstances he was placed in, angry at the people who hurt him. He's angry at Riddle for essentially saying everything he does was a waste.

It's also important to remember that to the general public, Azul keeps a certain image of himself. Capable of helping. Unable to be stepped on. So in a sense, anything that contradicts his image or even has the potential to harm it is in some way a vulnerability for him.

I think giving Azul a bunch of cuddles as he's crying is really cute. But you can also write about how Azul would open himself up to you—late night rant sessions about certain people, a secret about himself that not many people know. Something to remember as well is that he likes to be in control. Azul will have a tight hold on the kind of image he shows to people. Azul will choose carefully what people should hear and should not hear. So imagine him just letting himself be around you, with little thought about keeping that control of himself... that in itself is a sign of Azul opening up to you.

I acknowledge that this is a little bit messy, but I do want people to see that Azul is more than the breakdown that he had in chapter 3. He's got a more vibrant personality than that. And I would love to see more fics that explore his character a lot more, especially in romance fics.

[mobius-m-mobius]

Thank you for posting all those gifs of Mobius being kind and supportive together. I've seen some takes about Mobius deserving it, but logically it doesn't make sense. He's already doing everything he can to save the timelines. He doesn't want to know his past, nor does he need to know to be motivated to save the timeliness, because he's already been doing since ep 1. Even if we make the argument he has no real free will until he sees his past, this argument is disingenuous because he's using his free will NOT to see it. From a narrative and character development standpoint, he will be forced to see it for the audience's entertainment, because he is a fictional character with no free will-- the screenwriters are the gods (Time Authors, if you will).

In-narrative, you could make a case he should see his timeline if he were actively trying to keep the TVA the way it was, but that's not the case with him. Sylvie's accusations this fall flat.

Mind, I'm not against Sylvie's proposition to start from scratch. Revolutions are important and serve that function. But the TVA is the only organization with people who know how the Loom and timespace work. It's not unreasonable for them to try to stabilize the situation, save the lives of as many timeliness as they can, and consider dismantling the TVA entirely and starting from scratch later.

Since we're dealing with time paradoxes, it's possible that the collapse of the Loom is what causes Loki to recruit Mobius, B-15, and Casey (I'm not sure what kind of entity OB is?) from their timelines. If they all accept, then Loki was the original creator of the Heart of the TVA. It's possible HWR took over at some point in the future and wiped everyone's memories then. The future influenced the past, thus closing the time loop. If this is the case, then Sylvie also contributed to the creation of the TVA, because killing HWR triggered the destruction of the Loom, which will force Loki to recruit, which will create the TVA, which will monitor the multiverse, which at some point will be taken over by HWR to create the Sacred Timeline, which become the multiverse one again after Sylvie kills him, which will destroy the Loom, which will cause Loki to recruit.

Of course!!! Always a delight to and on that note we're truly seeing eye to eye on every single point you raised so thank you for such an amazing ask! Exactly the conversation I was craving after making those gifs just to get some things off my chest about how Mobius gets treated since as you said, he's already been doing everything possible to protect the timelines while clearly under incomprehensible pressure yet has never hesitated to evaluate and change his worldview accordingly to better serve the whole.

Honestly confused by those insisting he HAS to see his past and is in the wrong for not having done so because isn't that up to him?? Doesn't matter what his reasons are, he's entitled to his choices and I can honestly say without hesitation if I were in his shoes my decision would be the same. He enjoys his job, he's incredibly good at the work (people seem to forget he's facilitated the progression of basically every plot point), and has recently built more connections he appreciates and wants to grow than in the entirety of his life combined so why is he not allowed to make a single decision in his own interest when neither his approach to changing the TVA nor any other person is being impacted? But you're exactly right about how regardless he'll be made to have the experience anyway and while I'd be perfectly happy with that never happening I accept the advancement of narrative as a given and can only hope whatever cards he's dealt are ones that only bring him peace of mind about the work he's done so far and in the future.

(adding a read more here because I've got a feeling this is gonna be a long one, lol)

Have also seen many people saying Sylvie blowing up at Mobius was necessary or that he needed to hear it but that logic is completely missed on me? For example Ravonna did the same but considering the amount of history between them her reaction is fully understandable even if I don't agree with the points she made about his compassion being a weakness. Mentioned this to a friend earlier but I truly wish it had been some random character besides Sylvie who yelled at him simply because she doesn't have the kind of personal connection to make judgements and because I don't want any ship war elements at play or anything when my take is solely based around wanting Mobius to be recognized as someone who has been good and kind from the start? Watching him be put down for that as if it's fact in basically every episode is getting exhausting 😔

To that point I also agree with the importance and necessity of revolution but not sure starting from scratch is necessary when the TVA does have a solid base and plenty of people willing to stay and help the cause? In reality there's no time for anyone there to stay currently focused on anything but stabilizing the situation when the alternative is the end of every timeline, burning things to the ground only really counts if there's any ground left to build on which is yet another reason Mobius and the others switched to preservation. For example, O.B's quip about Sylvie ruining his life by killing He Who Remains was complete fact and while I don't have any hate towards her character at all and certainly don't want any mirrored scene of someone yelling at her, etc, it's driving me crazy how she refuses to admit they've actively been saving lives and scrambling to accommodate these unexpected branches while she was at a MCDONALD'S.

My ep 5-6 theory matches yours regarding about the collapse of the Loom being the cause of Mobius, B-15, and Casey ending up at the TVA because their Nexus event technically isn't one, it's them choosing to leave with Loki of their own free will and the good of existence. I'm also not sure if O.B. was ever a variant so he could possibly be the key to figuring out where Loki can find everyone's original self? Psyched to learn more about him and how he ended up in such a vital position! Hundred percent think the series is ending with Loki as the founder and probable ruler of the TVA but can't quite figure out where the switch to He Who Remains entering the picture fits in, and your point about Sylvie also contributing to the creation of the TVA in an infinite loop is a fascinating one that's going to leave me thinking for a long while so thanks for that as well and of everything I have to admit the possibility of Loki and Mobius being their own ouroboros in creating just the right person to intrigue and change themselves into who they always wanted to be has been giving me life, them as timekeepers along with B-15 has been my hope since the first episode of season 2 and is probably the most incredible place I could imagine leaving everyone if we don't get another season.

[look-at-the-stars-tonight]

I have more thoughts about Chalice of the Gods

When I was getting through the first hundred pages or so I was a little :/ prob because I’m getting back into the books over a decade later and I had Expectations that I didn’t have as a kid. You could have thrown anything at me and I would have been DELIGHTED just to hear more of Percy’s story. I think the nostalgia factor was actually kind of a negative for me because I kept getting mad at the modern references and how low the stakes seemed to be. I did see a post about how it was good that Rick kept the books at whatever time he wrote them (in terms of references) because it’s literally just like the olympians growing and modernizing. You can’t stay stuck in the past. And I think keeping that perspective in mind will make rereads a lot more fun.

The low stakes seemed to bother me just because we’re so used to seeing Percy in horrible world ending situations and we just got out of HOO. But he really did deserve a break and it was helpful with developing his characterization

I didn’t expect the books to make me feel so emotional! I’ve been out of the horrifying college admissions process for a while now. But the questions he was wrestling with were very universal. At this point he’s accepted that the gods are what they are. There’s not much he can do to change them. He has to focus on himself and his future. And I am a little disappointed that his goals all seem to be around Annabeth. Like I love them but also he’s going to new Rome JUST for her it seems. But also when I was in high school I decided to go to college because that’s what Everyone Does right. I didn’t know trade school was an option. Feeling a little bit like ur life is on a set path and your choices are controlled by other people a bit was at least part of my high school experience. But also from a story perspective it does make sense that he wants to stick with Annabeth! They’ve been through a ridiculous amount together.

Sally having a kid and the emotions that it brought up was also a good way to show that transitional period between leaving home and starting a new life. Your parents are going to move on and do their own thing and their lives won’t revolve around you anymore. Also in general the whole Paul/sally/percy/annabeth dynamic was fucking amazing. The way Paul and sally accepted Annabeth into their lives and how happy they all are is what she fucking deserves!!

I think the end is what really got me. Some of it felt really silly and I did absolutely roll my eyes when Percy told the god he loved him and hugged him. But also him ACCEPTING that he would likely get old was so cathartic. This is a boy who was supposed to die at 16. And barely escaped death again after having his memories wiped and falling into fucking Tartarus. Hes never gotten a break and hes said, in multiple books, that he expects to die very young. This is the first time he says ‘wait I might survive this. I might get old and if I do it’ll be by Annabeth and Grover’s side.’ Percy fucking Jackson who has been the subject of COUNTLESS prophecies, who is reminded time and time again that he isn’t supposed to exist, even by people that he loves, (that was a lil mean of u in the intro Poseidon) CHOOSES to accept that he might get old. Like of course this boy doesn’t have much of a plan for his life yet other than ?? Follow Annabeth?? When has he gotten a chance to think about it!

This is something I did project upon a bit because I didn’t except to live to 18! Or 20! Or 22! And it’s only now at 24 that I’m starting to Accept that I might be here a little longer than I expected and now I have to Plan Accordingly. Like I have to learn these stupid life skills and figure out what I Want from my life now. And unlike Percy, I’m a little angry about it lol because I never expected to have this problem!! But, I too, am slowly accepting that time on earth is a gift or whatever. At the very least I’m stuck here for the foreseeable future so I might as well use it to learn who I am. I GUESS. In my life, Death has always been this ever-present choice I could take if things got a little too tough and I don’t know if that door will ever fully close but I have been dragged away from it kicking and screaming so. Might as well stick around. I’m still a little bitter about it honestly but I’ll get over it. I have to learn how to COOK guys. How fucked up is that. To care about the mundane all of a sudden??

Anyways. I doubt that’s the metaphor Rick was going for, it was probably more of a ‘your childhood ends! You’re gonna get older and that’s a good thing’ instead of a ‘one day you might not have killed yourself and you’ll realize that you’re actually stuck living this life and you gotta learn to fucking deal with it.’

Ok I could go on for hours so this is the last thing. Percy’s conversation with Poseidon, about how small waves are the ones that matter the most, REALLY resonated with me. Like I think I teared up at two parts of this book, the old age part and the conversation with between them at the end. It’s really easy to convince yourself that the way you alter your life is through Sweeping All-Consuming Change where you move to a different continent and begin anew. Unfortunately, through bitter experience, I’ve learned that’s not how things fucking work. Changing your surroundings does lead to new experiences but it doesn’t make ur problems go away! I moved halfway across the state and got what I genuinely believe is the best job on earth and I. Still have the same issues?? And then I thought ok maybe I was wrong this Wasn’t the best job I just need to find one that’s Better but that’s. Not how things work.

This is getting away from me but basically what I’m trying to say is u can make grand changes and it might fix u for a little while but unfortunately you have to put in the work and do the stupid boring mundane things like go on walks and journal and exercise and do things that scare the fuck out of u to actually change and grow and it’s so goddamn annoying. I should be able to become a different person just by being somewhere else but I can’t.

Wait I’m supposed to be relating this to Percy Jackson. So Percy can go on these life altering world defining quests right. And make all the right choices. But who he is at his core is defined by the choices that he makes when the stakes aren’t that high. When it would be So Easy to walk away from Ganymede and go live his life. And I know some people didn’t like that Poseidon was like ‘this is when I knew you were a hero’ of fucking COURSE he knows Percy has been this hero his whole life. But he’s also this person when there isn’t some prophecy, when he doesn’t have to be, when it’s just a mild inconvenience. It’s easy to talk about changing the world. It’s harder to go out there and take those little baby steps that don’t feel like they matter all that much. He has actually changed the world and just not talked about it but hopefully u get what I’m saying. I just liked that thing about small waves being able to sweep you off your feet when you didn’t expect it ok!! Most change is incremental!!

Ok that’s it. Loved Chalice, will probably enjoy it more on a reread and it resonated with me in ways I didn’t expect.

[niseag-arts]

Skylax (and Seven) lore dump

a strange one, since sky is mindcleansed.

What Skylax knows: Skylax woke up less than a year ago, with a headache and no memories of note. A magos informed him that his designation is "Skylax unit Q11-20" and that he is a cyber-mastiff handler. Some memories returned once he was presented with a small metal mastiff: Seven. Seven is made with the neural network of a regular canine, that is to say, a dog, in a robottic body that has been augmented and specialised for tracking and scouting. Seven is mind-linked to Skylax and acts like an extention of Sky's own body. Albeit with its own personality and wants. Unless Skylax directly over-rides Seven's mind (which is something he can do) Seven will simply behave like a well-trained dog. But this does mean that Sky senses whatever Seven senses, smells, tastes, feelings etc. Seven remembers more than Sky does, but all of that is filtered through the experiences of a puppy, and mostly include memories of cuddles and playtime, as well as vague memories of eery places and scary people, but nothing that meant much to Skylax himself. Skylax is aware that he has likely done something heretical in his past that waranted the complete removal of all his memories, but he does not know what it was. This makes them insecure, afraid that they'll make the same mistakes again. They're also afraid they might have hurt people. They try not to think too much about the life they lost, instead focussing on the new chances they'll have and gratitude to the Omnissiah for being made anew. He has headaches regularly, though, and nightmares consisting of shards of old memories and the faces of people he used to know. Typically Seven will wake him up when this happens. the headaches are also partially because of the many inhibitors and regulators stuck in his head to keep his past contained, they flare up when he tries to remember things he is not supposed to remember. Skylax currently works for the inquisition. Oh yes, being with no memories or identity other than those belonging to a dog, he's developed some more canine characteristics, which he is insecure about. He wants pats. he has figured out that that's considered weird. Beyond this could be considered "spoilers", I suppose

What Skylax Doesn't Know Skylax was born on Repleator to a tech-priest father and a baseline human mother. He enrolled as an acolyte in the mechanicus when he turned 12, and was paired to Seven at 16. They were trained as a unit in order to serve the inquisition as a sniffer-dog trained to spot and report on heretical practices. He has seen some shit. He was not a fighting unit and was encouraged to document and report back, but in his eager to document everything he has come across things he really shouldn't have read, and oh no was he a curious young man... He's read so many things, and learnt so many things...all of which lost now, of course. He was caught and was about to executed. Seven was to be bonded to a different tech priest, which the mastiff refused at all points, even after it was disconnected from Skylax. this convinced their superiors to let Skylax live, as to not waste a perfectly good mastiff, so Seven was reconnected, and then they wiped Skylax's mind.

[icysnails]

WAHHH HI HELLO!! I just read your platonic Blade/Stellaron Hunters fic and (just like many others) absolutely adored it!! I love love LOVE platonic fics and I'm so blown away with how much love and effort you put into it!! (especially because most people enjoy romantic fics) Like- you sat down and wrote all of that and decided to share it!! For free!! Wuauauua your writing is *chef's kiss* and MAN I love how the kid reader fulfills the Stellaron Hunters' wishes in some way!! (Except for Blade because uh.. he wants to die) Like Silver Wolf's is pretty easy- she wants to make her life interesting, explore the cosmos!! Now, as a Stellaron Hunter, she can do all that- but now she has a CHEERLEADER?? Her own little hypeman that inflates her ego and makes her feel like a main character?? Someone to share her story/fun experiences with?? Wonderful!! And Kafka wants to be able to feel fear, and growing to care for the reader allows her to!! She's afraid of losing that child, afraid of the odd family she now has falling apart!! But something I do want to talk about with Blade is how interesting it is that he immediately started sparring with the reader- I dunno if you intended it, but is it a parallel to how Jingliu taught him to fight? Minus Jingliu killing Blade over and over- But if so that's so fun!! He's teaching the reader the only way he knows how, which is.. brutally! At least at first!! He knows kids are fragile and adjusts, especially since he begins to care for the kid!! Auauua I wonder if he's able to empathize with the reader bc of Yingxing's memories.. as Yingxing's family was all killed if I remember correctly? aaa many things to think abt!! But thank you so much again for writing this!! Your art is wonderful and makes me think a bunch!! (Positive)

Hello Anon!!! AAaaa oh my gosh that's so sweet I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! 😭💖 I love family/platonic fics so much and I just wanted to self-indulge with it because the stellaron hunters are such interesting characters--

I have to confess that I haven't been keeping up with the story for HSR lately so I totally missed a chunk of Blade's backstory (TvT) I honestly had no idea Jingliu mentored him until now, but thank you for mentioning it because that's super interesting and could largely influence a lot of his actions - the sparring parallel was more of a coincidence, but I'm totally going to keep the training stuff in mind for future platonic Blade fics/part 2!! I also think his memory stuff is fascinating - I thought his memories got wiped when I wrote the Family Fic but I recently read somewhere that he gets flashbacks occasionally (i think?? :0)- and if he has any kind of recollection from his past lives, that would totally help explain why he has a soft spot for the reader!!

Thank you so much for your support, your message made my day!! I hope your day is absolutely fabulous!! \(^0^)/

[erikahammerschmidt]

So here's a my hot take about "social anxiety," and "being afraid to ask others for help."

After years and years of personal growth, I still get people treating my "aversion to asking for things" as some internal problem with my brain.

But let me tell you one thing.

You might be able to conquer any nagging sense that you "don't deserve" help from others. Then you might go on to vanquish any exaggerated idea of how much harm or trouble or inconvenience your request would cause someone else. And after that, you could totally wipe out any excess of anxiety about how angry someone else might be at you for asking.

But all this WILL NOT CHANGE the fact that:

Other people have lives of their own

Your requests usually are not (and should not be!) another person's first priority

People cannot be expected to have perfect memories and keep your request in their minds all the time

And therefore, if you have any ability to do a thing for yourself-- even something far outside both your skillset and your responsibilities-- even if it's very difficult to do on your own-- it's still very often MUCH EASIER than trying to get another person to do it for you.

Example:

I mention a project I want to do. I think I can do it with just a saw and hammer and nails that I already have. But my roommate, who has more woodworking equipment and more experience than me, says he'll help.

I say thanks, and ask him when. He says "well, I can't today, maybe Saturday?" So I wait til Saturday. At which point he's forgotten and planned something else, so he can't that day. Is Wednesday afternoon okay?

Sure (I put notes all over the apartment to make sure he doesn't forget this time). And he doesn't forget-- but he has to cancel anyway because the dog unexpectedly has to go to the vet that day. We reschedule for Friday. We get started on the project… at which point he suddenly concludes that we actually need a part that we don't have right now, and he'll have to buy it. That'll take a few days at least, so we have to reschedule again.

And now his schedule's busier than he thought, and he doesn't know when's the next time he'll be available. He says he'll let me know when. But weeks and weeks go by, and he doesn't. If I remind him, either he'll reassure me that he promised to tell me if he has any free time, and he's still gonna let me know when, I just have to be patient… OR he'll apologize for forgetting, and reassure me that he'll remember to tell me NEXT time he has a free afternoon.

Maybe a couple times he does message me, with less than an hour to spare, to give me a heads up that he's free now. But of course, on such short notice, I myself can't always arrange to be free-- and if he does this enough times and gets a "no" from me each time, he'll start feeling it's no longer worth trying and he'll stop.

At this point, my entire self wishes that I'd just done the project on my own, with my own inferior skills and whatever equipment I could scrounge up myself. It wouldn't be as good, maybe. But even if I had to try a few times to make it passably okay, then at least I would have learned something-- and in any case, it would be DONE now. I wouldn't be sitting here waiting, dependent on someone who does not have my project anywhere NEAR the top of his priorities.

Same goes for asking for something back that someone's borrowed from me. (Assuming my time is worth minimum wage, it's usually cheaper just to buy a new one.)

Same goes for asking my boss for an accommodation that would really help but I can sorta get by without. (I've seen coworkers having to remind management repeatedly about accommodations they get. It's almost a whole second job.)

Same goes for the colored pencils I just ordered while staying at my mom's house, upon which she reminded me that I really should have asked her first, because there are "tons" of art supplies in the house already. (Sure-- but how soon can you be available to look for them? And once looking, how quickly could you find them? And if they aren't quite what I was looking for, but you "feel certain" that the thing I was looking for "is also around here somewhere," then how many days should I give you to remember where it is? And how many times during those days should I check in with you, just to see if you actually still remember my request and are actually still trying to find it?)

In my experience, more often than not, asking another person for something (no matter how well-meaning they are) will put them in a position of oblivious, incompetently wielded power over me, long before they even begin to grant my request.

And in my experience, more often than not, that is a fate to be avoided if at all possible-- by any means-- up to and including doing things for myself that I "shouldn't have to do."

And no amount of therapy and self-help on my own brain is gonna change that.

[iris-sistibly]

Jang Bong-hwan found himself standing in front of Daejojeon Hall. The sky was a hue of orange, yellow and blue. There were people around him, the peculiar thing was they were dressed differently, like how people in his country dressed up during the Joseon dynasty.

His eyes scanned the entire place, deep inside he felt a sense of familiarity, he knew he'd been here before but his mind wanted to make sure that he wasn't imagining things...again. “Royal physician please hurry!” he heard a woman whose voice could probably be heard within the entire area. “Court Lady Choi?” Bong-hwan instantly recognized the voice, and he was right. He knew those people well enough to identify them by just hearing their voices. The middle-aged woman was running towards the hall, behind her was the royal physician who was struggling to keep up with her speed.

Bong-hwan’s brows furrowed, "I'm for real not in modern-day Korea am I?," he thought, then gasped when it finally sank in his mind, “Oh shit!” he immediately checked on himself. His voice hasn’t changed, hair was still short, his physique which he spent so much time at the gym to perfect was still the same, and most importantly, his thing was still hanging down there...safe and sound. Bong-hwan felt relieved, it was good to know that he was still himself, but how did he end up here once more? Did he die? or did he fall into a coma again and his soul traveled back in time?

“You there!” the lady-in-waiting pointed at him which stunned Bong-hwan.

“Me…y-you can see me?”

Lady-in-waiting Choi scoffed, “What are you talking about?! Of course I can see you!”

So he wasn’t just a mere soul or a ghost [thankfully], but why was she acting like she knew him? Come to think of it, not even the guards tried to interrogate him–a man in a strange (modern) clothing who clearly doesn’t live or work in the palace. The only person who was able to confirm his identity was the late Kim Byeong-in and no one else. The queen wouldn't be so reckless to spill the tea to everyone right?

"Don’t just stand there!" Court Lady Choi snapped him out of his thoughts, "The queen is about to give birth!"

Before Bong-hwan could even ask questions or process what the lady had said, the latter suddenly dragged him along with the royal physician. Inside, the agonizing screams of Kim So-yong can be heard in every corridor, perhaps it was an exaggeration but it was loud enough to make everyone fluster.

Bong-hwan recalled the time he found out that the queen was pregnant while he was still inside her body, thankfully he didn’t stay long enough to experience the labor pains and actual childbirth. But nevertheless he felt bad, all throughout his stay the queen shared everything to him, her memories, struggles, pain, happiness…and even love for the people around her, including the king.

Speaking of which, where is Cheoljong?

He knew he survived and successfully ousted the corrupt and greedy officials of his court. But if he traveled back to the time of their child’s birth, then that means it has only been months since he left, probably the same time it has been since fully recovering from coma.

“His majesty has arrived!” someone announced in the midst of the commotion. Everyone made way for the king, with him were Prince Yeongpyeong and Special Director Hong. Poor dude came rushing to Daejojeon Hall still wearing his pj’s…uh…sleeping garments. “My queen! I am here!” His mind was too focused on his wife to notice everyone else. Cheoljong stepped inside as soon as the doors to the queen’s room opened. The royal physician, and some of the queen’s maids followed. Worried about So-yong, Bong-hwan went in to check on her, the queen was drenched in her own sweat, and writhing in pain. Hong-yeon was wiping away her sweat while trying to comfort her, "Please try to take deep breaths, it might help you calm down your majesty," she said while in-tears. She has always had a soft spot for her.

"My queen!" Cheoljong sat beside his wife and held her hand while controlling his emotions.

“My king! It hurts so much!” the queen cried.

“It hurts me to see you in pain my queen, I may never know how hard and excruciating it is to bring another life into the world, but I assure you that I will remain by your side as I have promised.”

The queen smiled in gratitude, who would have thought that they would truly fall deeply in-love with each other, considering that their marriage at first wasn’t exactly a blissful one?

“I am sorry your majesty but you have to step outside while I help the queen deliver the child,” the physician said. Upon hearing that, the queen frantically shook her head, “No! He’s staying here! He’s staying with me!”

“B-But your majesty…”

So-yong glared at him, “Listen royal physician, the king and I made this baby together, and did everything together to prepare for this moment, so we’ll be pushing this child into this world together, do you understand?! Now if you insist on NOT letting him stay, I will skewer you and fry you to a crisp!”

Bong-hwan couldn’t help but smile. Admittedly, So-yong taught him to forgive, to help whenever he can, to have faith, and most of all, he learned to care for the people around him. Meanwhile, he taught her to stand up for herself, to never let anyone dictate or control her, to be confident about herself, and just be the badass/savage queen she was born to be. They have grown so much, and he was proud of them...of her mainly.

The royal physician sighed and gave in, “Very well, Court Lady Choi and Hong-yeon will assist me, the rest of you please wait outside. They did as they were told, but before Bong-hwan stepped out of the room he glanced at the queen, the latter saw him too. Upon realizing who he was, she pointed at him, “You…I’ll deal with you later,” she said as the doors shut.

Bong-hwan kept pacing back and forth, he winced at each time he heard So-yong push as if he was also feeling her pain, and in between she would blurt out random cuss words which she probably picked up from him. “M-My queen you’re gripping my hand too tight, y-you might break my bones!” he heard Cheoljong say.

“Hey! I spent nine whole months carrying your child, and now my womanhood feels like it’s being ripped apart and you dare complain?! I might as well break your fucking bones right now!”

“Your majesty, push!” said the royal physician, So-yong pushed as hard as she could. At the same time, Cheoljong's cries can also be heard.

“Goodness your majesty, I can see the head already!” Court Lady Choi sounded delightful and excited.

“Only the head?!” the king and queen uttered in unison.

“Push!”

“I'm gonna kill you Cheoljong!”

"My baby please make haste!"

Meanwhile, the maids, Prince Yeongpyeong and Special Director Hong also waited outside the room. The prince chuckled while he listened to his little brother suffer the wrath of his wife in the birthing bed, “That’s the queen alright.”

“Good grief, if I’m going to end up like his majesty, I might as well not marry at all,” the king’s bestfriend answered.

“Has a message been sent to the queen’s father already?”

Hong Du-il nodded, “I asked Kim Hwan to personally deliver the message to Kim Mun-geun, the old man would probably bring more gifts for the royal baby.”

“He’s going to be one spoiled child.”

“I don’t think so,” Bong-hwan chimed in. Both men looked at him, “He will be very much loved by the people around him, and he will grow into a fine, intelligent, brave and kind man who will continue his father’s legacy. His parents are good people, they will raise him well.”

Du-il nodded, "Of course they will."

In history, the son of Cheoljong and Cheorin died six months after his birth. But like his father, this child is a fighter, Bong-hwan knew this because he experienced it first hand. While still in the womb, he was faced with life-threatening situations, yet despite all that, he ended up thriving. Bong-hwan had put his faith in Cheoljong once, and he has placed his bet on the right person. The king succeeded in creating his own path, and the odds turned to his favor. If Bong-hwan is to gamble once more, he would go all-in for this child.

He didn’t know how much time had already passed, but all of their anxieties turned into elation when they finally heard the loud wailing of an infant. The maids rejoiced, Bong-hwan and the two other men were relieved. Moments later, the royal physician stepped out of the queen’s room wearing a huge smile on his face, “The queen has safely delivered a healthy little prince!” he announced.

The sun rose to its full glory. On that day, a new life took its first breath into the world, and upon his arrival came a new found hope for a brighter future. And thus, the kingdom rejoiced.

***

Jang Bong-hwan walked into the queen’s room, full of happiness and excitement. Inside were the young couple with their newborn son, the little boy was sleeping peacefully in his father’s arms, while So-yong leaned against her husband’s shoulder, holding their baby’s tiny hand. It was a beautiful moment, both parents were enamored by the boy’s charm, “He’s a handsome little prince,” Cheoljong said proudly, he then faced his wife, “Thank you my queen.”

“I should be the one thanking you, my king, for always being there for me.”

“In this lifetime and in the afterlife, I will always be with you my love.”

“As am I, now and hereafter...I will never stop loving you.”

The couple moved closer to each other, their lips barely an inch apart, their hearts beating as one. But their intimate moment was interrupted when they finally noticed Bong-hwan's presence. “Hey, how long have you been standing there?” asked So-yong.

“Long enough to witness a cheesy k-drama moment,” Bong-hwan answered, "Congratulations by the way." The queen smiled in response.

“Would you like to hold him?” Cheoljong asked, just like everyone else, he didn’t seem freaked out at all. Bong-hwan looked at Queen Cheorin (Kim So-yong). As if trying to communicate through the mind, he wanted to know what the heck was going on, why do others seem so chill with him being there? He didn’t get any answer, she just let her husband place their child gently in his arms. Bong-hwan took a moment to have a good look at his face, indeed he inherited all of his parents’ best features. "I can already imagine the number of women who would swoon over him," he jested, “Hey kiddo, let me tell you something…the first lesson you need to learn about life is–” he paused, memories of him as the queen suddenly flooded his mind, from the moment he woke up in Cheorin’s body, to meeting the people whom he had grown to love as family, and most importantly, the long and crazy journey that led them to this moment. They've surely come a long way, and it was such an incredible yet humbling experience.

And it made Bong-hwan feel more...alive.

His expression softened, he has always had a fiery personality, but now he seemed to be calmer, “...Is that it's never short of battles, at times you’ll feel afraid, sad or frustrated, there will even come a point when everything seems hopeless. But believe me when I say that no matter how crappy life can be, one way or another, you will always find something or someone worth living and fighting for, so don’t ever give up okay? I’m rooting for you little prince! Fighting!”

The boy’s parents expressed their gratitude as Bong-hwan handed the baby back to his mother.

“I’m really happy to see you, both of you once more,” he said afterwards.

“I never got to say this, but I’m glad you came Jang Bong-hwan, thank you so much…for everything.”

Bong-hwan shrugged, trying to act cool, "Oh no need to thank me, although I...never got the chance to say goodbye to you the last time, sorry about that," he said, “Come to think of it, I wonder if we’ll ever meet again?”

“You will always be a part of me, just as I will always be a part of you, well…all of us actually. Whichever timeline, lifetime, or part of the world we end up in, one way or another, we are bound to meet once more, I sincerely believe in that.”

The queen gestured Hong-yeon to come forward, the maid handed a box to Bong-hwan, “What is this? A parting gift?”

So-yong chuckled, “You can say that.”

Bong-hwan opened the box and inside was a pin, he remembered it very well, it was the same pin he used to carve out that message in the stone by the lake.

“Keep it,” Cheoljong said, “And when we cross paths again, let’s have a drinking game.”

Bong-hwan smiled and nodded, “I’m looking forward to beating you Cheoljong.”

“So am I Bong-hwan, so am I.”

***

Jang Bong-hwan found himself back in his own room in modern-day Korea the moment he opened his eyes, “What a dream,” he thought. But then, he felt something in his hand, and to his surprise it was the pin the queen gave him. A smile formed on his lips, then he started giggling, and soon enough his laughter filled the entire room, “I am so gonna beat your ass your majesty,” he said. He got out of his bed and got ready for the day, after breakfast he immediately left and drove to the place where it all began. Thankfully, there weren’t many people that day. Bong-hwan knelt in front of the stone by the lake, it had been more than a century since the reign of King Cheoljong and Queen Cheorin, yet it felt good to know that this place still exists until now. He traced his fingers along the writings on the stone, and when no one was looking, Bong-hwan took out the pin, and wrote something:

I came was here for nothing and it was epic

-Jang Bong-hwan

*

Epilogue (by: Iris)

A/N: This fanfiction is solely based on the show Mr. Queen, and has nothing to do with Korea's history.

I regret not watching the show sooner, it wasn't a light rom-com like I was expecting. Bitch every episode was intense and I enjoyed the roller coaster of emotions this show gave me. This fanfic is one of those that I spent more than a day writing bc I tbh it's just that I'm in that moment when I badly want to write something but I don't fucking know what to write.

I thought about giving Bong-hwan and Cheoljong some moments together, but I wanted Bong-hwan and So-yong to have their moment too. So being the lazy bitch that I am, I just decided to put all three of them together just to make it easier for my brain cells 😜.