#that one scene on the beach where says “my son and the mother of my child”

[tentotea]

what if you were a catholic girl from texas and got pregnant by your high school boyfriend? what if you only got married because that's what you're supposed to do? what if your husband enlisted in the army immediately after your son's birth? weren't you young and scared too? what if he left you alone with his parents who hated you? what if your husband reenlisted without you telling you? what if he refused to relocate so you could care for your dying mother? what if when you tried to be a part of your son's life again your husband refused to let you see him? what if he only agreed to make things work because he thought you were pregnant? what if you wanted a divorce? what if you were hit by a car and your life was unceremoniously cut short? what if your memory was defined by you being a wife and mother? what if your name was shannon diaz and your grave is a thousand miles away from home?

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Oct 30th

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1. So I suddenly forgot to bookmark this fic and now I am desperate to find it.

This is how it goes, it was a modern au and wei ying and lan wangji is in an arranged marriage due to the lan elders forcing it because wei ying was baoshan sanren grandson. Lan wangji and wei wuxian co exists with each other without getting in a way of each other, lan wangji first interest or crush is nie huisang but he rejected him because he likes Jiang Cheng and I don't know the rest of it. It was mpreg and wei ying adopted a-yuan. @lanwuxian0725

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2. Hi, I'm desperately trying to find A) a fic where WWX dies and then LWJ plays the guqin until his fingers bleed and brings WWX back to life and Lan Huan is horrified but doesn't interfere and when WWX comes back to life, he asks LWJ to promise not to do that again but LWJ silently doesn't promise. Please do you know what fic this is

B) Also second fic im trying to find: one in which WangXian keep getting remarried to each other as WWX ages and then after he dies he comes back as a ghost and says, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, let's get married again @boneshriker

2A)

FOUND? a song you've never heard by arahir (G, 4k, WangXian, Canon Compliant, Presumed Dead, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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3. Hi I’m looking for a fic were Lan Qiren goes to the Wen indoctrination in lan Zhan place were he ends up fighting the murder turtle with Wen Ruhan they defeat it together. Ruhan also ask Wen Cho how is he so stupid his mother wasn’t . @cfox96

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4. Good Evening! I'm in desperate need of some help finding a particular story. I don't remember a whole lot but: •wei ying & wens make a deal to live in gusu lan land•wei ying must be cleansed & returned to sward path•they almost kill him...which he thought that's what they wanted•they didn't...they didn't "mean" to hurt him even though they where told otherwise.• I believe wangxian is endgame

I hope this is helpful enough, thank you!

-Beth @carey-roza

FOUND! 🧡 decay by antebunny (G, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, the fluffiest ending, Hurt/Comfort)

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5. hii i would like to find a fic and its been driving me crazy! i remember it was like the 'only one bed' trope except it was wwx who kept on trying to make it happen but when they finally got to their accomodations there were two beds and his plans to seduce lwj kept getting foiled. i think at one point he purposefully spilled wine on the bed? @f1sh1ng4gl0ry

FOUND! Wei Ying's Very Good And Not At All Likely To Fail Plan Of Ultimate Seduction by craftyTrickster (luoxiaobai) (M, 6k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, Implied Sexual Content)

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6. Hello! Could you all help me find a thread fic? I think wangxian were exes in this one. I think they both have tattoos that are supposed to be for each other. They're on vacation at a resort or something and wwx is by the pool or by the beach and lwj keeps trying to see if he can sneak a look at the tattoo. I think the end has a beach scene where they confess to still liking each other and lwj reveals that he got the tattoo a day after the break up. I can't remember what the reason for the break up was.

FOUND? Twitter fic by anaphoricae

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7. Hey its me again! thanks for the help last time. A) there is a fic that randomly crossed my head where WWX grew up with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan, maybe after he defected from YunmengJianng or something i am not sure, but he gets similar title as XXC & SL. Thank you very much in advance φ(*￣0￣)

B) Hey! Nice to meet you again, there is a fic i am searching for long time, I remember only one scene i hope it works, there is a change in yunmengjiang and JFM YZY were thrown off from sect leader seat? not quite sure about that, and Lotus Pier was searched thoroughly and they found pheonix type creature that YZY imprisoned in Lotus Pier so that it obeys her and her son. idk for sure what was other content. thanks in advance @vbhardwaj-reads

7A)

FOUND? Frost moon’s sun by RenaFair (T, 116k, WangXian, XXC/SL, Slow Build, Childhood Sweethearts, Angst and Feels, Fluff, Family Feels, Canon Divergence, Mentions of Smut, Attempt at Humor)

7B)

FOUND? Hua Xianle by Tiffany_Guinne (Not rated, 260k, hualian, wangxian, TGCF, canon divergence, not Jiang friendly, madam lan lives, WWX adopted by hualian, WWX with different name, overprotective hualian, hurt WWX, WIP) Canon divergence + TGCF crossover, Hualian raise WWX as their little prince, Not Jiang friendly at all, the phoenix is found tortured at Lotus Pier bc YZY is a massive b*tch in this

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8. Hello dear mods, I am looking for a fic that for what I remember go's like this madam yu find wei ying playing dresses up with Jiang yanli and thinks to punish him with the constriction of the female of the time but he Excelles at it then comes the time to study at cloud recess and he decides to catch him shelf a husband that is a second son that second son is Lan Zhan @androgynousbelievergarden

FOUND! 🔒 Aunt Knows Best by retired (misbehavingvigilante) (M, 10k, WWX & YZY, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Character Study, Crossdressing, Dysfunctional Family, Gender Identity, Fix-It, Sexism, Trans WWX, Good Parent YZY)

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9. Hello! For fic finder please: I am looking for a fic which heavily featured the Xuanwu of Slaughter scene/cave. WWX wasn’t there for the fight, but he did go and help rescue the trapped heirs after. I think WWX might have been a rogue cultivator, and he made a name for himself by helping: he was known as the Savior Of Muxi Cave or something similar. The fic went into graphic/gory detail about how the disciples died in the cave, and there was a sequel about WWX and the survivors going back to the cave to collect the body parts and swords of their fallen clan disciples. @gloriousclotpole

FOUND! Just go forward like you mean it by tawaen (M, 101k, WangXian, WWX & WN &WQ, WWX & JYL, NHS & WWX, Canon Divergence, WWx does not attend the Wen indoctrination, WWX saves Lotus Pier, Inventor WWX, No Golden Core Transfer, Sect Leader JYL, JC Has No Golden Core, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not JC Friendly, but he gets a happier ending than canon so don’t look here for bashing)

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10. Hi! First off thank you for all that you do! Can you please help me find a fic? This is a hard ask because I don’t remember a lot of particulars.

One of the main components of this fic focuses on the fact that Wei Wuxian really likes and prefers Lan Wangji. This fic observes how many people compare Lan Wangji to Lan Xichen and find him lacking because Xichen is much more sociable. I think Wei Wuxian even mistakes Xichen for Lan Wangji at some point and then is disappointed when he gets closer and sees Lan Xichen.

I think at least part of it is in Lan Xichen’s pov where he is pleased to see someone so devoted to his brother. I also think this fic mentions how most people consider Lan Xichen the prettier Twin Jade but Wei Wuxian absolutely thinks Lan Wangji is prettier. If I remember correctly this fic was complete when I read it. Thank you for your help! @kjwaikiki

It’s not this one (although it is a good fic). The one I’m talking about took place in Gusu and I think they were still cultivators.

NOT FOUND! The Twin Jade Problem by bonyenne (T, 23k, wangxian, LXC&LWJ, modern, college/university, humor, miscommunication) sounds like the fic where wwx thought that lz and lwj were the "twin jades of lan" and lxc was the older brother but mixes them up completely. I cannot for the life of me remember the fic title, but let me go have a look!

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11. Hello fellow mods!! I don't know if you guys can also help with thread-fics on twitter(X😐) but i will still ask just in case. So it was starting with wei ying and his friends making a bet like "text lan zhan from a fake account to see if he would cheat" and when wy did that lz started to like that person too (bc he was similiar to wy) and felt guilty. I remember him crying and talking with wy, getting really mad and dissapointed when wy says that he was just testing him, that it was just a bet. Them having a break up(?) bc of that and making up. I don't have much hope but i would be really happy if someone could find it, thank you in advance!! @for13years-i-play-inquiry-foryou

FOUND? Twitter fic by cheerywhiskey And the extended version on AO3: hundred and one by cherrywhiskey (T, 20k, WangXian, College/University, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Modern AU, Happy Ending)

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12. Weird ask, but I am hoping for closure to mourn. I see in my bookmarks a fic was deleted. I had written in the notes "rating due to WWX alone time in the tub ;)" I assume that means it was rated Mature and they didn't have sex but WWX was thinking ab it! It was also tagged Wei Ying POV. It it was bookmarked 5/14/2021 so it was published before that. I'm pretty sure it was canon era, tho I couldn't say why.

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13. Hi! I think this is count as a fic. I’ve been searching for the fan story art about wwx de-aged then Lwj took back his husband to Cloud Recessess. I remember LQR thought Wwx and Lwj had a child together (as the de-aged wwx looks like wwx 😂).

I hope you can help me find it. Thank you!

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14. Hello! I’m looking for a 3zun fic that I fear has been deleted. (TW Sexual Assault) It was a gender bent cnc fic where Xichen was dealing with extreme purity culture and asked her girls to just force her, all worked out beforehand, and they pretended to break in and hold her at knifepoint? It was so good and sweet at the end but I can’t for the life of me find it! Thanks in advance!!

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15. Hello! Back in search of another fic. It was canon divergence where Wei Wuxian was a disciple of Baoshan Sanren and he and Lan Wangji were friends due to him traveling before the lectures started in Gusu? I think Wei Wuxian had some sort of run in with Jiang Fengmian or Jiang Cheng in the end, but I can’t remember anything other than that pls help

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16. Im looking for a fic where wei yong and the wen leave the cultivation world and settle somewhere like Thailand and after some years sects are looking for his help @theladylily

FOUND? 💖 Echo, Murmur, Dream, Here by bluerainmist (M, 51k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Universe Alteration, the yiling patriarch survives, Angst with a Happy Ending, Catharsis, Slow Burn, Drama, Getting Together, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Melancholy, Love, Mutual Pining, Reunions, Love Confessions, Eventual Smut, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Switching, Grief/Mourning, fucking while pining, Implied/Referenced Torture, Self-Harm, golden core transfer, Playing fast and loose with worldbuilding, Battle Scenes, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, implied / Referenced suicide attempt, Sect Leader WWX, YLLZ WWX, Yílíng Wèi Sect) Wei Ying & the Wens don't head to Thailand but they travel to the "Undying Lands" and come back to help the cultivation world

FOUND? After All I Drifted Ashore by lingering_song (T, 4k, WangXian, WIP, Canon Divergence - Ambush at Qiongqi Path, Historical, Mutual Pining, Cultivation Sect Politics, JGS Wins, Meeting Again, Wen Remnants Live, The Cultivation World gets exactly what they wanted, But oh nooo they're not having a good time about it :), POV Alternating)

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17. Fic finder: I’m looking for a modern au that had a funny scene where wei ying used a dildo to take a dent out of his car and got caught by lan zhan. I don’t remember anything else about it but that scene

FOUND? Elevator Pitch by relenafanel (M, 6k, WangXian, Modern AU, Elevators, meet ugly, Crack, Romantic Comedy, Demisexuality, one-sided banter, Mutual Attraction, inappropriate use of a dildo in a PG way, somewhere in North America probably, Hand Kink)

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18. Hi, i'm looking for a wangxian fic where they get togeter during the war and eventually live together at Cloud recess, and Lan Xichen is like what good friends, and just think they are sworn brothers or somehing and eventually Lan Wangji has to tell him that he and Wei Wuxian are like married.

Please help, i've been looking for days. @herebedragons02

FOUND! happy not knowing by plonk (Not Rated, 16k, WangXian, Canon Era, Canon Divergence, Established Relationship)

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19. hi!! i hope you guys are well!! i don't know exactly how this blog work (i read the pinned but I'm afraid i misunderstood smth 🥹) but i hope i got it right and didn't clown myself 😭😭 sooo I've been searching for a fic for the past two days and i can't find it for some reasons? and i thought you guys may be my heros and help me 😭🙏 if I'm not mistaken i think it was inspired by tangled/rapunzel, wwx was locked in koi tower i believe? and he had long magical hair if I'm not mistaken and he had a crow as a pet, i can't remember exactly how lwj found him but i do remember that lwj took him to an inn afterwards and people gave him weird looks and i think later lwj got injured becs someone tried attacking wwx i think and wwx healed him (?) and they had the journey of going go the village that had a festival (where they light lanterns but i can't for the life of me remember what the author called it 😭) and I'm not sure of this part but either they both ride the boat and have a cute moment or lwj tells wwx to ride it w/o him and he investigates smth in a nearby temple and i think jgy was there 😭? the ending is the part that goes very foggy to me and i genuinely can't remember it's name or the author's name but i believe it was yllz wwx and i think it was rated M? I'm literally blending my brain in the blender but there ain't any more juices coming out I'm gonna tear the walls 😭😭😭 i have a feeling it got taken down or deleted but i don't wanna lose hope :(( thank you in advance and I'm SO sorry for the HUGE rant/explanation forgive me gusy I'm near my breaking point 😭😭😭

FOUND? may have been the rivers start to sing by fruitys but, if so, I believe it's been deleted from AO3.

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20. Hello, I'm looking for a MDZS fix-it/watching the future fic. Lan Sizhui is LW and WWX bio child, Lan Jingyi is JC and LXC Bio child through duel cultivation. Juniors are showing the future. No one believes they are parent child until they pull their parents swords. JC and LXC relationship was kept secret in the future due to the political climate I don't think it was explained. I think Madam Yu and Fengmain was being bashed or bad parents. Please help me! @megdbrew

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[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#30: The Story of the Brave Man (1.04)

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

While Rick’s kids were telling stories of their dad’s brave acts, Rick was, unfortunately, being fed a story of what he needed to give his life to by Okafor. And that really complicates things in these following moments between Rick and Michonne... 

After they fade to black from Richonne's compelling marital fight, they cut back to the thermostat system's voice chiming in with another fitting assessment of Richonne’s situation as it says, “Temperature control malfunction.” And again, Rick refusing to go home is most definitely an indicator of a malfunction. 

Michonne looks out the window while Rick can be seen in the reflection facing away from her. And I like the way it’s filmed where we’re seeing Richonne from the outside looking in. It hammers home some of the distance they feel between them as we too watch them from a distance.

gif cred: @perryabbott

Michonne speaks and is clearly in a very reflective space as she quotes Nat and says, “'I know how it ends.'” Then it feels like a punch in my stomach every time I hear her say, “You know your son - the one you haven’t asked anything about - he calls you the Brave Man.” 🥺

That ‘the one you haven’t asked anything about’ hurts to hear every time. The first time I watched it I was still in shock that Rick hadn’t more directly addressed or asked questions regarding his son and so it was sorta surreal to hear Michonne even have to say this.

And I get Rick has a whole lot of PTSD making him scared to address it but I was still like 'Rick, I need you to stop breaking your wife’s heart ASAP.' You know that has to be so hurtful that she finally got to tell Rick about the baby they had and he hasn’t asked anything about him.

gif cred: @nat111love

That line always makes me think about one of the few things I remember from season 10 which is that beach day scene with Michonne, Judith, and RJ when RJ is asking questions about the Brave Man.

When Michonne says she’d do anything for them RJ is so adorably like “and for my dad?” Without even knowing Rick, RJ made sure his dad was still included and acknowledged, and so I was like -Rick, we can't have RJ asking more questions about you than you ask about him. 🥺

Rick does at least turn around when he hears Michonne say that their son calls him The Brave Man and it’s great finally getting to see him learn this.

Michonne has this sort of weary smile as she shares, “He and Judith tell each other the story of what you did.” And in this moment I really see a mother who loves and misses her kids and who is exhausted. 😢

She’s been through so much for her family for years but especially in the last year and now she’s going through so much since reuniting with Rick too. Like my girl is tired from trying to be strong for everyone, including Rick who is insistent on this story ending with her going home without him after fighting like hell to find him.

I think Michonne's tone here has a lot to do with the fact that she’s finally getting to tell Rick these things about their kids but she never thought it would be under these circumstances with Rick in the room but still so far away and still refusing to go home. 

Then I absolutely adore the moment Michonne turns away from the window and says, “He started calling himself 'Little Brave Man'… I loved that.” It’s the cutest thing to see her have a moment of joy recalling her baby boy and the adorable nickname RJ gave himself during the last time she talked to him. 🥰

gif cred: @nat111love

And we get a quick flash of Real Rick when he has a subtle genuine smile hearing this. I love it. 🥹 It's a layered smile, both touched and pained because the news of their son is bittersweet. Their baby is such a gift and also a reminder of how much he's missed.

I feel like in this moment, despite all the walls he has up rn, hearing both that his son has this nickname that shows he wants to be like his dad and most of all seeing Michonne as a mom smile about their son actually hits Rick and makes him happy for a second.

There’s gotta be something comforting knowing that all this time Michonne really wasn’t entirely without Rick because she was out there raising his mini-me and his daughter.

I love how it feels like seeing the mother of his child smile about that and share something she loves about their son is what makes Rick not be able to help but smile about it too. And every time Rick smiles like this it reminds me of RJ. 🥹

gif cred: @nat111love

And that little smile moment was very needed...because Real Rick disappears for the rest of this conversation. 😑

So Rick sits down and it’s definitely symbolic that he has yet to change out of his CRM gear. It still has a hold on him.

Michonne again quotes Nat saying, “'I know how it ends.' Nat my friend who your people killed…” And Rick interjects to say “They’re not my damn people.” Lol. I love that. 😋

Especially cuz when I first watched I didn’t even catch how Michonne’s wording could be subtle shade but of course, as her husband, Rick immediately caught it and had to clarify. Like...

When Rick says they aren't his damn people, Michonne is like tell your actions that babe because you sure are trying to stay with those people…or at least that’s what I was thinking lol. 🙂 She brushes right past Rick’s comment and continues saying, “He said that to me once when I said I had to keep looking for you.”

Once again I was hoping this line would be something that opens Rick's eyes to the fact that Michonne was fighting to get back to him just like he was trying to get back to her. Like anything that helps him see they are equally valued in this relationship which is why asking her to leave him behind isn’t right because with the roles reversed he’d never leave her like this. 

Continuing to speak on Nat, Michonne says, “He knew how it ended but he still had my back” And the way Nat supported Michonne is a big reason why we celebrate Nat always and forever over here.😇 One of the franchise’s truest friends. ��🏽

Michonne says, “I was so sure he was wrong. But he wasn’t.” It’s interesting she’s reflecting on Nat right now and the way he thought this would end. I think this is coming up for her at this moment because she knows if she can’t convince Rick to leave with her then she’s gonna have to know when to go because, no matter what, she has to make it home to her babies either with him or devastatingly without him.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

So I think she’s just really confronted with how likely that ‘without him’ scenario could be despite previously so badly wanting to believe that now that she’s 'found' Rick going home together would be inevitable. 

Then it’s another gut punch when Michonne says, “Cuz here I am. I found you. But I didn’t.” It’s really the best way to put it and heartbreaking to hear. 💔

And it’s interesting seeing Rick be silent hearing this. It’s sad because the very first thing Michonne said when reuniting with Rick was a joyous “I found you” in episode 1, but it’s been hitting her just how much her Rick is still buried under all the things he’s been through so she hasn’t found him yet.

Like I think every time they kiss she finds him for a fleeting moment but then the fear goes right back to consuming him and taking her Rick away. 

gif cred: @richardgrimes

Michonne says, “This is not what I had in my head at all.” And me either because again when I tell you I imagined 1000 scenarios of the RJ reveal and none of them went this way. It had me all the way shook. 🫢 But this is why Danai is the best because she knew the perfect conflict-driven way for this to all play out. 👏🏽

Michonne then collects herself and tries to get some understanding of Rick’s dodgy logic when she says, “OK so just - just to get this straight - we just got a way out. They think we’re dead and you want to stay…stay with an army that kept you against your will for years?”

I was right there with Michonne because I was looking at Rick like...

I like how throughout this episode Michonne knows the importance of spelling things out in words. It’s helpful to hear things out loud, especially when you can hear how crazy something sounds like Rick's explanation for not going home. 

Rick responds saying, “I have to make sure you’re protected.” And it is nice to hear him be so adamant about protecting her even tho of course there’s more to the story.

And Michonne knows there’s more and something else keeping him stuck when she says, “Oh that’s not it.” Rick really had me and Michonne listening to his words like...

Rick has to realize he might have been able to put on a mask with other people but Michonne knows who he is inside and out so she can fully tell that there’s so much more behind his reasoning that he's not saying. Michonne knows Rick is a protector but she also knows that he would never pass up the chance to be with his family unless something was very wrong inside.

And I really think another part of the issue is Rick has been in ‘protect them’ mode for literal years since he’s been away and so it’s like all he knows is protect and sacrifice and he’s out of practice when it comes to remembering there’s a lot more to a relationship. Like your wife and kids need you with them, not just fighting for them from afar. 

Rick says, “I have to keep them from coming for our home.” And Michonne says, “They’re coming for it? You know that?” Rick replies, “They could. One day?” And Michonne is sorta flabbergasted that Rick is indefinitely refusing to come home over something that could hypothetically happen so she repeats, “One day?” 🙃

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

And then Rick tries to double down saying, “I’ve been looking the other way. And you said it, they kill innocent people. Isn’t that what you wanted? I’m in. I stay and make sure Judith and our son are protected from them.” Not Rick trying to spin this like this was somehow Michonne’s idea too. 🤔🙃

But I do love hearing him say 'Judith and our son.' I’m telling you the second he learned of RJ he became every bit a part of the family Rick fights for. 💯

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

I love the way Michonne responds truly like Rick’s wife and best friend who knows him too well when she calls BS about that. And she knows it’s BS because in what world would Rick be cool with just never seeing his kids? 

You can feel how Rick lying to Michonne is hurtful to her because they are interconnected in every way. And while they normally get access to every part of each other, Rick is now trying to shut her out of what’s really going on with him all the while she can literally feel his pain because they're one.

She might not know exactly what is causing the pain yet but whatever deep pain Rick is in, which we learn is rooted in the devastation of losing his son’s memory, is pain she can see, sense, and most of all feel. So to see him give all these other reasons for his actions when she knows and can feel there’s something deeper is frustrating for her.

Also, this got me thinking about how Mike failed to protect Michonne and Andre, and he ended up almost protecting her more when he was dead as a walker shielding her from other walkers. And now, Rick too is convinced he can better protect Michonne while being 'dead.'

Rick has convinced himself that this dead version of him pushing her away is what will keep her safe, when really Michonne needs him alive and with her so much more.

Rick says, “Listen to me. The first man you and Nat killed his name was Okafor, and he’s who saved my life.” That line is always another indicator to me that Rick has changed a lot since TOWL ep 1 because before he didn’t want to give anybody in the CRM credit for saving his life but now he’s been led to believe (or more trying to force himself to believe) that Okafor showed him the light or something.

Rick goes on to say, “He wanted me to become part of the CRM, move up, help him change it. I didn’t have anything left so I gave myself to his mission.” And y’all, the way Michonne is looking at him and trying to understand how the heck this explains why he won’t go home. 🤭 And I get it, cuz I too was looking at Rick like...

Whenever I see Michonne looking at him here, I’m like Rick, buddy, Michonne loves you a lot because if anyone else was presenting their iffy points like this she might be a lot less inclined to try to make things work. 

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Michonne reminds Rick that all that stuff he gave himself to was Okafor’s mission not his own and then she asks some questions I was wondering about too because she says, “Do you remember the life we built? What we had?” I love that she says this and the way she says it. You can tell Michonne loved the life they were building and it makes sense cuz they were in such a beautiful place in season 9. 😢

Also, the wording stands out because Rick tried to say everything they had is broken but here Michonne’s trying to remind Rick of just how good and unbreakable what they had was. 

She approaches him and says, “What we were building - it’s kept people alive.” And y’all already know I adore the way she gently puts her hand on his face and lifts up his head. 😍 She’s so tender with him even after he’s been so hot and cold with her.

gif cred: @perryabbott

And Rick’s elevator eyes make another appearance because the way he’s looking at her as she gets close to him...Michonne almost had to lift up his face or the man was gonna get distracted lol. Also, it's sad to remember this type of tenderness has been nonexistent in Rick’s life for years. 😢

Then Michonne shares how she was observing Rick at the CRM saying, “I saw you, standing there behind her. A solider at attention for this army and I thought…‘He’s a prisoner here and we have to break out.’”

Ok first of all; I love the soft tone she’s using saying this. Like as upset as she is she’s still so empathetic. And I also love the wording of this because she saw him being a prisoner which you know hurt her heart but then she says ‘We have to break out.’ Once again she’s never thinking Rick has to do anything alone and so even seeing he’s a prisoner, her thought was what will we do about it together.

Then I always love the irony of this next line when Michonne says, “You don’t choose to stay in prison. When the doors open you leave.” She’s absolutely right and in this context, it makes perfect sense. But the irony I love comes from the fact that Rick and Michonne literally met at a prison and called it home for a long while. 😊

And even when Michonne could have ditched the prison after Merle nearly gave her to the Governor she chose to come right back to the prison because deep down she knew she belonged with these people and specifically the Grimes (and cuz magnets. I gotta mention that every time. 👌🏽😋🧲)

Rick says, “We’ve been crawling around in the dirt so long, Michonne. Losing people we love. This felt like a way or a chance to stop that.” I remember first hearing that and being like crawling around in the dirt?? I get ASZ isn’t as evolved as the CRM but team family’s crawling-around-in-the-dirt days were like season 4B-5B territory. They’ve come a long way since then.

Rick goes on to say this felt like a chance to fight for everyone instead of surrender, which is interesting because in ep 1 when Okafor said everyone is Rick’s people he was not trying to hear all that and was adamant this isn’t his city or his people. But now with Michonne, he’s trying to spew the same Okafor rhetoric that he has to sacrifice himself for everyone. - But he knows and she knows and we know that none of this is the real reason why he won’t go home.

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

And then Michonne gives Rick a much-needed reminder when she passionately says, “That place is not your responsibility. You have a family.” Exactly. 👏🏽 Like the fact that she even had to tell Rick that makes me upset. ☹️ But I love that she says it in plain letters because no matter how long it’s been she’s like we are still your family.

I wanted to shake Rick tbh and be like you have a wife and kids and they need you so please for all that is good and holy snap out of it. 🙏🏽 

But Rick is stuck on his CRM defense mechanisms as he says, “Okafor’s gone. Thorne’s one of them now. I’m the only one left.” Stopping the CRM’s crimes against humanity is a noble cause but I have to admit when I heard Rick say this I was like...this all sounds more like reasons why he can drop Okafor’s plan and go home now. 😅 

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Michonne is trying her hardest to be nice and understanding despite thinking this is all ridiculous when she says, “So you’re trying to keep us safe by *maybe* changing the CRM one day, who *might* come after our home and put it in danger. That’s it?” I love how she spells the whole thing out again and I know she wants to be like sir are you hearing yourself because this sounds crazy.

And Rick looks like he kinda knows it sounds crazy so he just has this silent nod like yeah...

Then Michonne again makes my heart hurt when she says, “You won’t come home with me, to your life? Your kids?” The emotional emphasis on kids gets me. 🥺 I know that really makes her feel like she’s not talking to her Rick because the man she knew would never refuse to come home to her and their children.

I also really like that she says come home to 'your life' because she’s again reminding him that his life is not here but with her and their family like it’s always been.

And once again I gotta applaud the wording. Because what does Michonne say he won’t come home to? His wife, his kids, his life. And what did Rick say was his choice in episode 1? His wife, his kid, his life.

And they’re still his choice now but he’s choosing the wrong thing for them and him. It just goes to show how much being the walking dead has affected him that now he won’t come home to the very people he loves most and is most devoted to. 

Defeated but stubborn, Rick looks at Michonne and says, “I don’t want to do this. I have to.” And while on first watch you’re meant to think he has to because he thinks it’s for the greater good, I love how we later learn he thinks he has to because if he goes home and loses Michonne he’s terrified of not knowing how to die again. 🥺 But I’m getting ahead of myself again lol.

Rick concludes by saying, “So no” and y’all something about the way he says those two words makes me so mad lol. I feel for him, and it's clear this destroys him inside, but he’s also played in Michonne’s face one too many times in the last few hours.

And the way he’s saying it trying to sound so ‘resolved’ as if this is just the final verdict. And something about the tone, it's like a tone one would use when saying 'no I won’t run that errand' when really he’s saying 'so no I won’t come home and be a father to our kids.' 😑 Idk, I just stay wanting to fight when I see this moment. 😅

When I first watched I was like alright Michonne we love him but let’s pack it up it’s time to go. And after trying her best to reason with him and him telling her over and over this is the way it’s gonna be, she sadly knows it’s time to head out as well.

She raises a finger and says, “That’s not it. You’re lying.” And I just love that whole motion. And Rick is lucky once again that Michonne knows him so well that even still after he continues with this disappointing stance she knows that’s not really the reason for his choices. Rick, this is your other half so you really think she can’t tell when you’re lying? Michonne has a good read on everybody she comes across but especially Rick Grimes. She always has, but he must’ve forgotten. 

We’re really watching two halves of one soul, so while Rick and Michonne are at odds rn, there’s still no denying their oneness. They know each other so well that they simply can’t successfully lie to each other about what’s really going on. It's like Rick has forgot what it feels like to be so seen and so he doesn’t realize all this hiding and lying won’t work on Michonne.

Rick lying in this convo is a lie too many for Michonne so she says, “But you know what? Your wish is granted. I’m out.” Lol I love that she says 'your wish is granted.' Our little genie. 🧞‍♀️😋 Despite Rick continually trying to reiterate he doesn’t want this, Michonne is like you sure are acting as though this is your wish so no magic lamps needed, she’s out.✌🏽

Michonne heading out was a tough decision that I’m glad she got to make. And this is when Rick realizes he's not just in this apartment with Michonne Grimes the wife but Michonne Grimes the mother.

Getting back to her kids was always a vital part of this mission. Like finding Rick was the crucial part one of the mission. Going home to their kids was the crucial part two and Michonne was never going to feel like she fully succeeded at this Find Rick operation if it didn’t end with her kids back in their arms. (That’s why I was so confident there would be a reunion with their children because that was always a huge part of this mission she was on)

And then, despite repeatedly acting like Michonne leaving is the only way, Rick sure does look shook when she actually starts leaving. The way that man springs up from the couch immediately with Pikachu-shock etched on his face. Makes me giggle every time. 🤭

Same energy.

Michonne walks away saying, “Back to my kids. Who I left to find you.” And I always note when she uses the terms 'my kids,' 'your kids,' or 'our kids' in their talks. And naturally, at this moment she uses 'my kids' because at this rate Rick is refusing to come home to these kids so she has to go home to her kids.

Michonne is kind enough to give Rick and us a recap of everything she’s done thus far to try and get this man to come home when she says “Well I found you. I fought for you. I tried to reason with you. I pleaded with you. And now I have to go.” She ain’t wrong.

And I like the movement that coincides with this as Michonne packs things up and grabs the book for her daughter because even upset she’s still a thoughtful mother. She also grabs a large kitchen knife cuz that’s all she really needs to take down whatever comes her way out there.

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

Also, I always note the way she says 'pleaded with you' because I know in that moment she knows that is not even like her. Like Michonne very rarely pleads with people. But Rick has her being someone she doesn’t recognize because she had been so willing to try everything to reach him. 

She did her best but now she’s got to go even tho it breaks her heart. Again, I’m glad that Danai wrote this where Michonne makes a decision that’s not just rooted in aiding Rick along his journey of trauma but rather knowing she can’t just put up with his back and forth forever because it’s unfair to her and it’s keeping her from her kids. So she basically stops Rick’s back-and-forth games right in their tracks.

Also, I love how quickly Michonne turns this swanky apartment into survival resources as she breaks the lamp for another weapon. It shows she may have been a city girl before but Michonne's also a seasoned apocalyptic survivor now.

And since I said I was gonna talk about every detail that I notice even if it's just minuscule, I have to say I always like - what I’m sure is unintentional - but how Michonne stomps on that one lamp leg only to grab a different one that was already detached. Seeing that, I was like those cute little stomps were just to let out some frustration lol. 😋

gif cred: @taiturner

Michonne reiterates that she knows Rick isn’t being honest with her when she points the lamp stick at him and says, “You’re lying, and you’ll see it and it’ll be too late.” Imagine if that was the last thing they ever said to each other. 😥 Rick would be distraught and done in.

Rick stands there staring at her silent and likely knowing she’s right deep down. It’s interesting how often Rick is just rendered speechless in these moments. It’s almost like so much is going through his head and yet so few of it can make it out into audible words.

Michonne gives one last quick look before swiftly walking out of the apartment and leaving. And now you know I always hate to see my magnetic babies part ways. 😢 But at the same time, I was honestly really proud of Michonne for not putting up with this hurtful treatment any longer.

Idk who Rick thought his wife was but she is not the one to just sit there and be tried time and time again. Especially when it means more time away from her children. But while to Rick she hasn’t yet shown how deeply this all tears her up inside, the second she leaves the apartment those tears start coming and we soon see just how much pain they’re both in over this. 🥺👌🏽

[justabigassnerd]

You're Home

Pairing - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell x sister!reader

Word count - 3,330

Warnings - inaccurate court scenes, angst, mentions of death, abandonment, fluff

Summary - Maverick ends up fighting his mother for custody of his baby sister after her sudden reappearance

A/N - wow it's been a hot minute hasn't it?? I'm so sorry for the delay I'm fighting for my life out here but I'm almost done with my dissertation which is super exciting! this was an anon request so I hope I did the idea justice and I'm so sorry it took me so long to get to it. as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

When Pete Mitchell turned eighteen, his mum gave birth to a little girl who very quickly became his favourite person in the world. Not even half a year had passed before his dad died, leaving the family in ruins.

Not long after Pete sent in his application to the naval academy along with his best friend, his mum took off, leaving his little sister in his care. He was petrified at having to look after a child but because it was you, he took it in his stride. He got official custody of you and raised you with love and affection and Goose was more than happy to help his best friend along the way.

When you turned four, Maverick and Goose were given spots at Top Gun, and so both men packed up their belongings and moved to San Diego. You were left in the care of Carole who graciously took charge of both you and her son while Maverick and Goose were training at Top Gun.

When it reached the last leg of training at Top Gun, families were permitted to fly out to see their loved ones, so Carole packed a bag with her stuff, yours, and Bradley’s and flew on the first plane out to San Diego to see Maverick and Goose. When you disembarked the plane, you spotted your big brother and immediately barrelled towards him, giggling when he scooped you up in his arms and pressed a kiss on your temple.

“Was the flight okay, kiddo?” Maverick asks with a grin as you cuddle close to your brother, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face in his shoulder.

“Yeah.” You reply, nodding against his shirt as you speak. It was clear that you were tired from the journey so Maverick exchanged one look with Goose, and both men instantly knew that tomorrow could be the day they go to the beach.

“Alright, y/n/n. Let’s grab something to eat and then we’ll get you settled at my place. I think that sounds like a plan. Do you?” He asks, receiving a nod in response to his question. The group of five make their way to a small diner and get something to eat. Maverick and Goose fill Carole in on what training at Top Gun had been like while you and Bradley were happy to entertain yourself by colouring on the colouring page the waitresses gave you. When you finished your food and Maverick and Goose had split the bill, you all left the diner with you holding your brother’s hand and giggling as he twirled you effortlessly. When Maverick looked up from where you were walking alongside him to check where he was going, he locked eyes with someone he didn’t think he’d ever see again.

“Hey y/n/n, why don’t you hang out with Goose for a minute. I have something I need to do really quick.” Maverick asks, glancing from you to Goose who instantly picked up on his best friend’s tense frame and nervous expression and crouched down to be at your height.

“I think I saw an ice cream place nearby when I was walking around the other day. I think we should get some ice cream, don’t you?” Goose says with a smile. The idea of ice cream has you instantly leaping into Goose’s arms as he scoops you up and sits you on his hip.

“Ice cream!” You cheer, clapping your hands happily.

“I want ice cream too, dad!” Bradley clamours, tugging on his dad’s Hawaiian shirt.

“We’ll get you some ice cream too my sweet boy. Just remember to say please, okay?” Carole says, stroking her son’s hair away from his face before taking his hand in hers to begin the walk to the ice cream shop.

“Bye, Pete!” You wave over Goose’s shoulder to Maverick who waves back, making sure to blow you a quick kiss as well. The moment you were out of his line of sight he turned to face Shannon Mitchell, the woman who abandoned her children.

“Pete, it’s so good to see you.” His mother gushes, instantly reaching out to cup his face but faltering when Maverick takes a step back, keeping the distance between them.

“What do you want?” He questions, grateful his aviators are hiding the daggers he is shooting towards the woman standing in front of him.

“A mother can’t come and see her own kids? Especially when her son got into Top Gun. That’s a big deal, Pete we should be celebrating as a family!” She tries, this time reaching for Maverick’s hand, and he snatches his hand away from her like she’d burn him if she made contact with him before folding his arms across his chest.

“I’ve already celebrated with my family, thanks.” Maverick says, thinking back to the dinner Carole had made to celebrate the pilot and RIO duo gaining a spot in Top Gun and how the five of you had sat around the dinner table eating the delicious meal.

“They’re not a proper family. I’m talking about me, you, and little y/n. Where’d that man take her to? I want to see my little girl.” Shannon argues, making Maverick grit his teeth at her words.

“Goose and Carole have been more than a family to me and y/n than you ever have. So leave us alone.” Maverick spits angrily before turning on his heels and leaving Shannon stunned and silent. As he walked away, Maverick assumed that was the last he’d see of her and that his warning was enough of a deterrent.

However, not even a week later, Maverick opened the door to his quarters as you sat colouring in your colouring book to see a man in a sharp suit on the other side of his door.

“Pete Mitchell? You’ve been served. Your mother wants to regain custody over your sister, y/n Mitchell.” The man said, holding out an envelope towards Maverick who takes it hesitantly, holding the envelope loosely in his hand as the man explains a few more things before bidding Maverick goodbye. Maverick closes the front door and rips the envelope open, eyes skimming the piece of paper in hand before he lets out a sigh.

“Pete?” Your small voice shakes Maverick out of his thoughts as he moves the paper from his eye line to see you standing in front of him with a worried expression as you clutched your soft toy in your hand. Maverick quickly folded the paper up and put it on the counter behind him so you wouldn’t see it.

“What’s that?” You question innocently, pointing at where Maverick had just put the piece of paper.

“It’s just grown-up stuff, squirt. Really boring if you ask me.” Maverick replies as he crouches down to be at your height, plastering a fake smile on his face for your sake. Instead of responding vocally, you wrap your arms around Maverick’s neck and nuzzle close to him as he reciprocates the hug, straightening up to stand at his full height before he carried you back to the sofa so you could have the cuddles you clearly wanted from your big brother.

When it came time for the court date, Maverick had recruited Goose and Carole to help him maintain custody. His lawyer had told him that he was probably in for a tough case because even though Shannon had left you in Maverick’s care, she was still your birth mother and while Maverick technically had custody, Shannon could make a strong sympathy case.

Maverick’s knee was bouncing anxiously as everyone filed into the courtroom for the trial. You were sat with Carole and Goose who reassured you that you’d be able to see Maverick again soon, you just needed to get through the boring stuff first. When the judge began the proceedings, Maverick could only hope and pray that the judge and the jury would see that you were better with him. Goose and Carole took the stand one at a time, both of them saying that Maverick was the best guardian for you. They explained that while they had been a support system for Maverick, he had been doing a great job raising you on his own and you were happy and loved.

Shannon took to the stand and tore Maverick’s whole case apart in mere seconds.

“He travels all the time for work. He could be killed and then there’d be no one to look after my sweet girl.” Shannon says, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue as she speaks. At her words, the jury exchange a look and Maverick feels his chances of keeping you slipping away. After listening to all the testimonies and reviewing the evidence, the judge calls a recess so they, along with the jury can come up with a verdict. Maverick looked over his shoulder to see you sat on Goose’s lap, waving at your brother once you made eye contact with him. Maverick waved back at you with a soft smile, hoping that when the judge walked back in, he’d get the verdict he wanted.

When the judge and jury return, Maverick watches them carefully. He watches as they take their seats, and the judge clears his throat before surveying the gathered people.

“After carefully reviewing the details of this case we have come to a conclusion. We have determined that y/n Mitchell would be much better suited to live with her mother Shannon Mitchell. Bailiff, if you could please bring y/n forward.” The judge says, and Maverick feels his world fall apart around him. He looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Goose who was wearing a horrified expression as the bailiff took you away from him. Carole’s eyes had filled to the brim with tears as she watched you get handed over to your mother, who grabbed you by the wrist and gently guided you to follow her as the judge dismissed everyone after stating that Shannon would be permitted to pick up your stuff from Maverick’s the next day.

“I wanna go with Pete.” You whine, tugging against your mother's hold and glancing over at Maverick who could do nothing more than watch with teary eyes as you were dragged away from him as you cried and shouted for your big brother to come and save you from her. The second the doors closed behind you and Shannon, Goose and Carole came rushing over to Maverick, neither one daring to ask if he was okay.

“Hey Mav, let’s head back to ours. You can spend a few nights there.” Goose says softly, wrapping an arm around his best friend’s shoulders and escorting him out to Goose’s Bronco. When Goose got in the driver’s seat, Carole took over taking care of Maverick, sitting in the backseat with him, holding his hand gently and watching him carefully to see if he’d crumble. Maverick remained deadly silent the whole way back to Goose’s quarters, not responding to anything Goose or Carole said to him. When the three arrived at Goose’s quarters, Goose paid the babysitter as he entered the house while Carole guided Maverick into the living room, easing him down on the sofa and making sure he was comfortable.

“I’m going to get you some tea, okay, sweetie?” Carole says gently, before heading into the kitchen to make some tea for Maverick. As she leaves, Goose enters with Bradley hot on his heels.

“Uncle Mav!” Bradley shouts happily, scrambling to sit on Maverick’s lap, dodging Goose trying to stop him from doing so. Bradley settles himself on Maverick’s lap, curling into him as he looks up at his godfather with all the love and adoration in the world.

“Hey, kiddo.” Maverick forces himself to say, trying not to let his voice break.

“Where’s y/n?” Bradley enquires, looking from Maverick to Goose who exchange a nervous look with each other.

“Hey buddy, we’ll see y/n soon. She’s just gone away for a little bit.” Goose lies, kneeling down by the sofa to look Bradley in the eye. He felt awful for lying to his son about how long you’d be gone, but he didn’t want to break Bradley’s heart, not yet. Bradley’s face shifted as he thought about what he could do.

“Could I make her a card?” He asks, making Goose smile softly before he looked up at Maverick.

“I’m sure she’d love that, Bradley.” Maverick said, finding his voice and ruffling Bradley’s hair lightly. Maverick’s words had Bradley instantly scrambling off Maverick’s lap so he could dart off in search of paper and pens so he could make you a card. As Bradley left, Carole re-emerged from the kitchen with a tray with three mugs of hot tea. She places the tray down on the coffee table and hands a mug to Maverick who offers a weak smile in response before taking a sip of the warm drink. Carole and Goose move to sit alongside Maverick as Bradley came barrelling into the room with paper and pens in his arms before he dropped everything on the coffee table, being mindful of the mugs of tea. He asks Carole to fold the paper into a card, waiting patiently for her to do so before he begins to draw on the front cover, humming happily to himself as he doodles. When he’s finished drawing on the front of the card, he turns around to the adults.

“Daddy, can you help me write in the card?” Bradley asks, holding a pen out to Goose who nods lightly before easing himself to sit on the floor alongside Bradley.

“Alright buddy, what do we want to write?” Goose asks, guiding Bradley as he writes in the card, helping him spell certain words and helping him sign his name at the end.

Maverick makes it through the rest of the afternoon without breaking down. He struggled with keeping himself upbeat enough for Bradley’s sake, but he held it together somehow. However, once Bradley was in bed, Maverick broke down. Goose and Carole came downstairs to find Maverick sobbing with his head in his hands. The couple immediately trapped Maverick in a hug, both of them exchanging sad looks with each other as they comfort Maverick.

“I can’t believe I lost her.” Maverick manages to say through his sobs, lifting his head to reveal his bloodshot eyes as he glances at his best friend.

“Maybe if we talk to your mum, she’ll let you visit sometime.” Goose says softly as Carole rubs Maverick’s shoulder comfortingly. Maverick wanted to believe Goose’s words, but he knew that after the battle they had in court would lead his mother to not want Maverick within a hundred-mile radius of you. Goose and Carole continue to comfort Maverick until his tears slow. Carole then excuses herself to grab Maverick some water while Goose picks up the mugs and carries them into the kitchen behind his wife. Carole fills up a glass while Goose places the mugs in the dishwasher. When the two make their way back into the living room, they find Maverick curled up on the sofa, fast asleep. Exhaustion had clearly taken hold of him after the day he had. Carole placed the glass down on the coffee table while Goose grabbed a blanket and draped it carefully over Maverick. They then whispered a goodnight to him and made their way upstairs.

“I’m worried about him. This is going to mess with him even when he’s up in the air. He can’t fly while he’s like this.” Goose confesses to Carole as the couple climbs into their bed, wrapping his arms around his wife and tugging her close to his chest.

“I’m worried too. Maybe you could speak to your instructor? I know the trophy is important to you two, but I’d like my boys to make it home safe.” Carole agrees, making Goose’s heart soften for a moment. She’d known Maverick for as long as she knew him and for her to consider both of them ‘her boys’ showed how big her love was for not only him but his best friend as well.

“We need to be his support system. He needs us now more than ever.” Goose says as his hand finds its way into Carole’s hair, running through it absentmindedly.

“We will be. Let’s get some sleep. Mav will need us tomorrow.” Carole says as her eyes slip shut and Goose follows suit, sleep claiming the couple.

The next day, Maverick returns to his quarters, waiting anxiously with Goose and Carole for Shannon’s arrival after he showered and changed before they packed up your belongings. It took a mere twenty minutes for her to arrive after they started packing and they were soon loading your belongings into Shannon’s car.

“Is there any way I could visit sometime?” Maverick asks awkwardly, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as he talks, glancing over at Shannon.

“I don’t think so. You stole my daughter from me and then you gave me hell in that courtroom.” Shannon fires back, making Maverick shrink from her glare and harsh words. Goose watched the exchange from afar, eyebrows furrowing at seeing Maverick shy away from someone.

“Well, then could you at least give her this card? It’s from Goose’s kid, Bradley. I thought y/n would appreciate a letter from her friend.” Maverick then says, extracting the card from his pocket and holding it out towards his mother who rolls her eyes but takes it anyway, barely promising to give it to you.

Maverick watched Shannon drive away with all your belongings in her car with teary eyes as Goose and Carole comforted him once more. He couldn’t believe that she had denied him any form of visitation. He had only lived one day without you since you were born, and it was already the worst day of his life, and he didn’t know how he could keep going without you.

However, a couple of days later, Maverick received a knock on the door to his quarters. He didn’t want to answer the door, Goose would’ve called through to him if it was him but when the knocking refused to cease, Maverick dragged himself off the sofa and tugged the door open.

“Pete!” You hugged your brothers’ legs as he stared at you in shock before looking up at the smartly dressed woman who offered him a kind smile.

“After what happened in the court, the judge and jury felt they made an incorrect choice in their verdict-”

“You’re telling me.” Maverick interjected, leaning down to scoop you up so he could hug you close.

“As I was saying. The judge and jury reconvened the next day to discuss overturning their verdict. They realised that their verdict was made in error and that while Shannon was y/n’s mother, the two had no relationship and she evidently felt much safer with you than she did with her mother.” The woman explains. Maverick was barely paying her any attention; he was too focused on the fact that you were back with him.

“Well, here’s her belongings. We’ll be in contact shortly to get you custody again.” The woman continues, handing Maverick a suitcase.

“Thank you.” Maverick says sincerely to the woman, nodding lightly before he dragged the suitcase inside and closed the door behind him. The second the door closed he hugged you tight, peppering kisses all over your face as you giggled, pushing his face away.

“Yucky kisses!” You giggle, wiping at your face as Maverick chuckles lightly.

“I’m just so happy you’re home.” Maverick says, carrying you over to the sofa and flopping onto it, keeping you lying on his chest so he can feel your weight so his brain knew you were home.

“Stay with you?” You ask, innocent eyes looking up at Maverick who nods confidently.

“You’re home kiddo. I’m not going to let anyone take you away from me again.”

[pterodactylterrace]

Why exactly did they decide to make Aegon SA the maid? In the books he never assaults anyone. He is known to have a “large carnal appetite” but it’s never mentioned that these women were forced in anyway. The closest we get is when we hear that he won the virginities of two maidens at an auction in flea bottom. Which, by my understanding, means he paid extra to be a whore’s first customer. It wasn’t some sweet innocent girl like we see in the show. The girls already worked in the brothel learning their trade. They don’t just yoink girls off the street and out their virginity up for sale.

So why include it in the show? Was it because they realized Aegon wasn’t nearly as horrible as Rhaenyra, so they had to do something?

Rhaenyra has 3 bastards that everyone knows about, but can’t say anything. Just committing open treason and no one is allowed to point it out.

She had beef with a literal 2 year old. She had multiple tantrums at her little brothers second name day hunt. Also looked right at him and compared the death squeals of a boar to the crying to children.

Suspected of killing her first husband. In the show, she shows Laenor mercy, but has no problem killing off one of his servants because they needed a body. You don’t understand! She reconnected with her uncle by fucking him on the beach at his late wife’s funeral! She just HAD to marry Daemon instead! Who cares that Laenor was in the process of recommitting himself to their marriage when she sprung this idea on him? He gets to live penniless with his boyfriend in Pentos or something! All he had to do was give up his family, his inheritance, his power, his place at court and all his wealth, along with the life of one of his father’s servants. Sure, he could have kept all those things, but then Daemon would get all broody about how he can’t openly fuck his niece!

Her second eldest is adamant he doesn’t want the Driftwood throne. She forces him to fight for it anyway rather than just quietly sending word that Luke is willing to allow Vaemond to inherit in his place.

Suggesting Aemond be tortured to learn where he heard her sons being called bastards after Luke just slashed out his eye. Not to mention that snobby “Thank you, father” that was totally inappropriate, unnecessary and sent Alicent over the edge.

In comparison, Aegon is a teenage boy who… likes drinking and jerking it. The worst thing he has done was mock his brother with a pig. Alicent corrects this behavior, and from what I can tell, the two boys were friendly towards each other after the time jump. Aemond and Aegon are chatting before dinner. Aemond stands to defend Aegon when Jace acts like he may try something. When Aemond gets punched by Jace and then pushes him to the ground, Aegon grabs Luke before he can do anythjng. Clearly they have grown close.

We see the twins at the fighting pit where Aegon allegedly goes often. How can they know that, though? Earlier in that episode Otto asks his personal guard (either Erryk or Arryk. Their names sound the same and they have the same face, I don’t know who is who) where he is and his guard admits that Aegon exploits his authority to order him away and then evades him. He admits he doesn’t have a clue what he gets up to. Then, later we see a boy with blonde hair and purple eyes, and it’s Aegon’s. No doubt in anyone’s mind. Clearly Aegon is knowingly breeding child fighters for the pit. Weird how he wasn’t there, though.

Matter of fact, the white worm just found him drunk off his ass and stashed him in the sept. That’s what he was getting up to. Getting drunk and likely paying for sex.

Now let’s analyze the scene where Alicent confronts Aegon.

Alicent is IRATE and Aegon is half asleep. Looks like he hasn’t moved in a while, tbh. Aegon asks if something happened. Don’t you think he would know if he did something? His mother reminds him about Dyana, and he seems very nonchalant about it. Not the kind of reaction you would expect from someone that just forced himself on a struggling servants. He saw it as just a bit of fun. His reaction just seems… off.

Now, we know GRRM likes to repeat plot points. One in the original series was Cersei only laying with Robert when he was drunk so she could finish him off some other way, and he wouldn’t remember. Aegon is a known drunk. There were no witnesses. Who’s to say Dyana isn’t a spy or a mole sent to fuck shit up?

She is in season 2. Why bring back an SA victim in season 2 if she doesn’t have more to add to the story? Sure, there could be a revenge arc, but from my understanding, Dyana is at a brothel in season 2. Now, did she wind up there after the Aegon incident (hard to believe considering she was given a pouch of coin to start a new life and she only made it to the end of the palace driveway) OR she went back to where she came from. Back to her mistress, the White Worm. We see she employs young women in her service. Who’s to say they didn’t make the whole thing up to try and sway more people towards Rhaenyra’s cause? Nothing makes a man look worse than SA.

So all the horrible things Aegon has done so far, has been hearsay. We don’t see anything other than him bullying Aemond when they were kids. So either the writers had to do something totally awful with his character, or it wouldn’t be such a landslide siding for Rhaenyra.

You know if they hadn’t decided to assassinate his character, it would be much closer to a 50/50 split. They also had to whitewash the hell out of Rhaenyra to make her more likable. In the books, SHE orders Vaemond’s death and feeds him to her dragon. So in the same episode they blackwashed Aegon and whitewashed Rhaenyra so the audience would root for her. Then they had the balls to say WITH THEIR WHOLE CHEST that they aren’t biased in their writing.

[literaryfandomangel]

The Lost Boys The Promise

Chapter One

Moving to Santa Carla, California, had been too stressful for Mom. Following the curtails of her divorce, where Dad took everything, Mom had to uproot us back to her old home. Dad didn't want us; he had shouted when the divorce papers had been served. He didn't want to have to deal with a crazy, ill daughter or a son who read comics all day long. I remember feeling as if my heart had just stopped beating after being stabbed with a knife. 

My dad had some choice words for my mother, too. By the time my father had read through the divorce paperwork, my Mom had dissolved into tears. Sam had crept into my room, trying to appear older and rougher than breaking into his own tears. I had welcomed my brother into bed, flipping down the light coverlet for him to crawl under. 

Sam had hugged my stuffed animal, face buried in the soft fur until the screaming stopped. Usually, I would have sung to my little brother to help him sleep, but with the divorce, the fighting, and my own personal issues, I'd start withdrawing. Which meant not even speaking. 

The school had ended by the time the paperwork had been signed and settled. Sam gave Mom grief about moving to her hometown, but I said nothing. There wasn't anything left for me in Phoenix - my toxic relationship had ended badly. I touched the lightening bruise on the side of my face in memory. I didn't have any friends, and now Mom had divorced Dad. 

I felt hopeful that Santa Carla would be a better place. Something deep inside me yearned for the sandy beach, the hot summer sun, and the scent of saltwater in the air. I could faintly remember the summers spent in the town; Dad always griped about coming to Mom's hometown. Our summers spent in Santa Carla were few. 

Sam grumbled for most of the ride. I was content to let my brother sit in the front seat while my Mom tried to ease the growing tension rising with every mile closer to Santa Carla. I didn't bother to protest - not wanting to spend one more minute in Phoenix. I didn't want to be any closer to my paternal figure than I had to be. Sam was popular. He wore designer clothing and had a lot of friends in Phoenix, even though he was a comic nerd. 

"Honey, you need to eat something," My Mom's eyes found mine in the rearview mirror. I sighed granola bar in hand. I had picked each piece of oats off the bar for two hours. "Please just eat the granola bar."

"I'll eat it!" Sam reached back and snatched the granola bar from my hand. Before Mom could protest or reprimand my brother for taking my food, he had it half-crammed into his mouth. My stomach turned with disgust at seeing his bulging cheeks and flecks of chewed food on his lips. "Mmm!" 

I just sighed and returned to gazing out onto the landscape. I could hear the seagulls becoming louder, indicating we were closer to Santa Carla and the sea. Mom wanted to say something else about my food situation but turned her attention to my brother as they messed with the radio. 

For the past three years, my parents have struggled with my eating disorder. I didn't want to eat anything at all. My dad tried to ship me off to an inpatient facility, but they released me after I didn't gain any of the much-needed weight back. 

Nanook, my brother's husky, set her head on my lap, offering warmth and protection. I reached down and pulled a copy of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina out of my bag. I knew it would be at least another hour before we reached Grandpa's place in Santa Carla. 

"We are stopping!" Mom announced loudly, startling me. I was engrossed in the pages of Russian literature, the illicit affair between Anna and Vronsky. I jumped, the sharp tone of my mother's voice cutting through the scenes playing out in my head as I read. 

I grabbed the discarded ribbon across my thin thigh and pressed it between the book's pages. I always needed to find my bookmarks; therefore, I would use any material to track my progress. Mom pulled into a gas station parking lot, needing to fill the car's tank. 

"I'm taking Nanook to potty!" Sam yelled, jumping out of the front seat. He grabbed his dog's leash and then took her across the lot. I watched as my brother had no qualms about walking past all the people. 

I blinked as I took in the people milling about us. My Mom was busy putting gas in the tank, so I just gazed at those passing by. All the individuals were bright - and colorful. It differed from what I was used to in Phoenix, but it made sense with my Mom's aesthetic. She loved colorful clothing and gauzy skirts. 

Looking around, I saw that everyone was different but fit together. There were women clad in bikinis, roller skating down the sidewalks, and goth kids covered from head to toe in black. Homeless kids in worn layers, alongside surfer guys in wetsuits, carting around surfboards. It was astonishing to see all these individuals walking beside one another. 

They wouldn't be in the same vicinity as their counterparts in any other town. People of the same cliques and gangs would stick together, not daring to break into another group. 

However, as I stood there, gazing around at the people, I felt a seed of jealousy take root deep within my soul. It might have been the heat of the sun, but the hot feeling radiated from within my body as I looked around. These people felt comfortable enough to express themselves through their outfits and appearance. They weren't afraid to show their originality - some had numerous piercings, colored hair, and weird hairstyles. Even their tattoos and clothing - or lack thereof - demonstrated that they weren't shying away from their individuality. 

"Honey," my Mom's soft voice brought me out of my musing as I leaned against the back of the Range Rover. "Can you go give those two this money?" I looked to where my Mom was indicating, pulling my cardigan closer. I saw two teenagers around a dumpster, looking for food scraps in the trash bags. I took the proffered money from my mother's hand and walked towards them. The two gave me a slight, grateful grin before snatching the money and disappearing. 

Sam had finished letting Nanook stretch her legs and came across the parking lot towards us. I slid into the backseat, not bothering to fight Sam about the passenger seat. There was no use - I wouldn't argue or talk with him. Sam let Nanook climb in with me, unclipping the leash before shutting the back door. 

"Mom!" Sam was excited about something he had seen on his travels. "Did you know there's an amusement park on the beach?"

"That's called the boardwalk, sweetheart," Mom educated the both of us. I just raised an eyebrow in question. My Mom seemed to be more excited about the boardwalk than Sam. "We will go to the boardwalk tonight. Unless, Aria, do you want to go look?"

"That's not fair!" Sam crowed, spinning around to glare at me. "Why does she get to go?"

"Because she's older, Sam," Mom tried to allay his upset. I just shook my head, knowing Mom saw it in the rearview mirror. "Okay. Then we'll all go tonight."

I thought that Grandpa's house would be closer to town, but it was a few miles outside of the main attraction in Santa Carla. I didn't bother to pull out Anna Karenina again; I just gazed out the window. Mom eventually pulled off the city streets onto an unmarked and unpaved road. A cloud of dust, comprised of the dirt making the lane, billowed behind the car. Mom pulled into the driveway, which was lined with wood chips. Sam was looking in horror at the house. 

The decor and house were attractive. It looked like an old log cabin converted into a modern-sized dwelling. Grandpa obviously had a knack and talent for wood carving, as many of his projects littered the yard. There were several small trailers, and wind chimes around the lawn. I actually liked the feel of the house. 

Exiting the car, I noticed the paddock with at least three horses. They were grazing on the lush, green grass growing, tails lazily swishing in the wind. I could smell the scent of sharp manure and the salty breeze from the sea. 

"Grandpa has horses?" I asked, breaking my silent streak. My voice was husky from misuse. My Mom and brother looked at me, amazed that I had spoken. 

"Yes," my Mom smiled, happy I had spoken for the first time in several days. I nodded, not saying another word. I looked towards the house entrance that we would call home, noticing the figure of a man lying on the porch. 

My face paled, immediately assuming the worst. Sam and my Mom went to investigate the situation, but I stayed by the car. I didn't want to walk onto the scene to find my grandfather dead of a heart attack. 

"Honey, he's just a deep sleeper!" My Mom tried to settle my nerves with a gentle smile. She waved her hand to make me come over and join the trio on the porch. I sucked in a deep lungful of the salty air before walking across the yard towards the porch. 

"If he's dead, can we move back to Phoenix?" Sam asked, causing my Mom and I to glare at him. He shrunk back as Grandpa opened his eyes and moved. 

"Playin' dead!" Grandpa's innate masculine voice filled the air. It was a relief to hear his voice, knowing that he wasn't dead. I turned to look down at the man with whom we would live for the unforeseeable future. "And from what I heard, doin' a damn good job of it."

My Mom chuckled as she leaned down to hug her father. I can imagine it would be a relief to be comforted by one's parents, especially as Grandma had died when Mom was just a preteen. Her dad was her rock, someone Mom could depend upon in life. 

Sam looked weirded out by the situation, but I wordlessly motioned we should return to the car. We had little to move since Dad got everything in the settlement. Mom had wanted the divorce over and done with, so she took the lowest agreement with Dad. Even though Mom could have won more in the divorce since she was taking care of Dad’s two kids, she just signed the paperwork.  Chapter Two

[saltywinteradult]

Jace and Luke are perfect?? They were 8 and 10 year old bullies. So what if Aegon was the ringleader, they were bullies too. Aegon didn’t threaten them, they did it of their own will and they had fun doing it. They weren’t remorseful about it, there’s no scene where we see them have a moment of reflection like “hey this isn’t right”, they don’t look over their shoulder at a sad Aemond, there no reluctance about it. They just laugh.

Aemond when we first met him wasn’t a bad kid, out of all 4 boys- Aemond was the sensitive kid. The bookish, well behaved, dutiful and respectful one. Driftmark was the first time he stood up for himself, the first time he insulted them to their faces. The first time we see him have unkind words for anyone and still there’s no excuse to assault someone over words. Aemond was the one who was physically attacked there first. He wouldn’t have laid a finger on them if they didn’t touch him first and it was 4 to 1. He grabbed a rock to defend himself after being kicked and punched by 4 other kids. He raised his hand and dropped it a few times while Jace was swinging the knife wildly in Aemond’s direction intending to mortally wound him.

Everything after Driftmark, his personality- the anger, vengeance, calculated coldness all of that is a direct result of what happened to him. Being the target of bullying because he was dragonless and a deeply sensitive boy. Having Rhaenyra’s son maim him and seeing that nobody, not even his father cared except for his mother, Criston, sister and brother. Despite that he still was the dutiful, respectful son he just hated Rhaenyra’s spawn and rightfully so. They took his eye and got off Scott free. Then Lucerys came and laughed in his face about a cruel joke and he paid for it with his life. You can’t say that Aemond deserved to lose his eye because he insulted the Blacks kids with WORDS, then accuse him of being evil for killing Luke who took his eye. Maimed > Insults. Also even though Aemond had reason to kill Luke, it was Vhagar who ultimately did it. Arrax’s human attacked Vhagar’s humans and Vhagar never forgot that. Vhagar felt Aemond’s pain that night and felt his anger and injustice afterwards.

Jace is soo far from perfect, Rhaenyra is an unreliable narrator about her sons. Especially Jacaerys.

Jace was an a-s-s-h-o-l-e.

He thought less of and bullied Aemond for not having a Dragon. He has an elitest mindset that nothing matters or can oppose him because he’s a Targaryen. He’s not even an amazing brother like people make him out to be. He is dismissive of Luke’s feelings and his depression over his life and the position he was born into. Then there’s the scene of him beating him and throwing him around on the beach, insulting and yelling at him. In Darksvister’s release of the expanded scene there’s this exchange:

Steffon: “You might go easier on him, my prince. So he can learn what you're trying to teach.”

JACE: “He needs to be ready if he ever means to be respected by his enemies.”

*Jace directs this at Luke, brow-beating him. The younger boy's shoulders sag. He is having a tough day already.*

STEFFON: “Respected? Or feared?”

JACE: “Better to be feared than mocked.”

*Steffon frowns at Jace, not as convinced.*

He is literally bullying his brother, it would definitely be seen that way if it was the Green brothers.

Jace was an elitist and was on his way to being a tyrant.

“Dragons will win the lords over quicker than ravens.”

Meaning he meant to threaten Houses with Dragonfire if they didn’t join Rhaenyra.

These are all things that team black would hate Team Green for but somehow they’re excused and misconstrued as noble when it’s Rhaenyra’s sons.

I agree with all of this. All of Jace's and Luke's nastiness is erased by the fandom in the name of propping up Rhaenyra, because acknowledging that they're assholes would inevitably reflect badly on Rhaenyra and we can't have that, now can we? After all, it certainly would not make any sense for Rhaenyra, who's been enabled and told her whole life that she's special and better than everyone else for being a Targaryen, a dragonrider, and the heir to the throne would herself become a toxic, enabling parent who raises her kids to believe they're better than everyone else...

I've been accused by TB stans of hating Rhaenyra because I'm willing to criticise her for her mistakes, which feels really unfair because I think there's a lot to like about her character - I just prefer my characters to have flaws. Erasing those flaws does the characters no favours. That is especially true with regard to Jace, who has so little personality to begin with. Like you said, what little we do see of him does show that he's not a good person. I don't know how Team Black managed to forget that this is not Heroes vs Villains, this is War Criminals vs War Criminals and we're simply meant to choose which war criminals we like the most. The characters themselves might deny that they're bad people, but the audience sure as hell isn't supposed to do that. That's missing the point.

This is largely the reason why I think Luke's death is ultimately Aemond's fault, even if it wasn't his intention. (Whether that was a good choice by the writers is another matter.) It's understandable, and considerably less bad than if he'd killed Luke intentionally, but it's still not excusable to me. I lean toward the opinion that revenge does more harm than good, but I do not blame Aemond at all for wanting it. I'd want it too if I were him. Considering that formative trauma he experienced as a child it's no wonder he would become pretty messed up as an adult. Of course he's become resentful and obsessed with getting revenge on Luke. Of course his obsession with revenge would make him reckless and not consider the potential consequences. Does that make him a bad person? Maybe, but it sure as hell doesn't make him any worse than Luke is for mutilating him to begin with. Luke absolutely deserved to be punished for what he did; I don't want to get bogged down by arguments over whether he truly deserved to be killed. YMMV.

As you say, Vhagar felt Aemond's pain and rage and acted on those feelings despite him not actually wanting her to, but at the end of the day it was Aemond who got reckless and forgot that dragons have a will of their own. If he didn't actually want Luke dead, he could've chosen to not fly after Luke to toy with him in the first place. As understandable as his actions are, in my opinion it was a very stupid thing to do, especially considering that the family is already on the brink of war and killing Rhaenyra's beloved son isn't gonna help them avoid war, is it? (Though I guess good on him for taking one for the people by kickstarting the war that spelled the beginning of the end for the royal family... we stan a communist icon) None of this makes me like or sympathise with Aemond less, though. Again, unlike the Team Black stans, I prefer my characters to have flaws and make mistakes.

[sloshed-cinema]

The Summer with Carmen [Το καλοκαίρι της Κάρμεν] (2023)

Well, I'll take this over some Deadpool-ass try-hard anti-comedy nonsense excuse for ‘meta’, at least. Deadpool and Wolverine will be sure to serve up meta-movie realness certain to become the favorite movie of the year for the most exhausting person you know, but what Zacharias Mavroeides’ fun gay summer movie is gunning for is Sebastián Silva’s razor-sharp Rotting in the Sun. This does make up for some of that Mexican feature’s disappointing lack of nudity in spades. This film serves up a meaty platter of D&A from almost frame one, with everything from swarthy bears to perky old dudes to willowy sarong twinks up on offer. Be free, go as you please, there isn’t some pearl-clutches with Bruce Harrell on speed-dial ready to donate a playground to try and shut down the nude beach. Throughout the film we witness Desmothenes’ dalliances as he struggles to get over (or not) a break-up after four years in a relationship. But sorry, gays, this isn’t Backdoor Sluts 9: Athens. It’s about making a gay movies. And this is where the film itself falters on its feet. Making a movie about movies is always a tightrope walk: do you want to make a clever piece of metafiction that justifies its existence, or just point out that you too have read Save the Cat? Pointing out that you know the rules doesn’t count as subversion. I don’t feel clever by pointing out that it’s clear the pooch Carmen is going to become a proxy battle between Desmothenes and his ex Panos, a sort of vessel into which he pours all of his unresolved emotions over their relationships. The pointed irony that Desmothenes’ distant mother Kati dotes on Carmen with all of the affection that she never gave her son isn’t lost. Pointing out structural elements, mulling flaws, trying to “critic proof” a story for the sake of doing it doesn’t make a film more clever or engaging, it simply liberalizes and broadcasts the exact process that every writer goes through when creating a script or piece. Where Rotting in the Sun adopts a bold, surrealist strategy and drop-kicks its initial premise into the Sun, The Summer with Garment is more content to point out that it’s on training wheels. It works occasionally: the deleted scene bit is worthy of a snicker, for instance. Desmothenes and Nikitas peeing at the end of the movie as so many of us queue up to do the same after a film is done, is perhaps the only way to end this irreverent flick. But really, I’ve seen this all before.

Shoutout to my watching buddy at SIFF 2024 who leaned over and whispered to me each and every moment when he knew what meta beat the movie was reminding us of. Yep.

THE RULES

SIP

Someone says 'Carmen'.

Writing the movie script is brought up.

Yorgos Tsiantoulas is simply irresistible.

BIG DRINK

An act/part intertitle appears onscreen.

Cut back to the nude beach.

[darklinaforever]

What do you think about the fact that Aegon was shown to be a rather loving father and kind king in the first episode?

From what little I've seen, he just seems interested in his son because... well he's a son. Nothing more. Not to mention being his heir.

He seems to not care enough about his daughter.

And this even if fans of Aegon II try to exaggerate his gesture like "oh it's so cute he checks his daughter without touching her so as not to disturb her, and probably also because she doesn't like touching him like his mother", whereas... he just checked if it was his son because he can't tell the difference seeing his daughter from behind (although she has a pretty specific hairstyle that might help his guess...).

Also I've seen a lot of defender Aegon II in mode, no one can be sure whose back child is, but the fact is that he didn't pay any attention to the girl when he saw that it was a girl (and also... believe me, I have seen mothers with their children among other children who looked like theirs and even from behind they could generally recognize them... even if they are girl and a boy twins).

And others actually say that "oh it's adorable Aegon II is able to tell the difference between his children !!!" Once he saw the kid face to face ? Because once again, he quickly checked which of the two children it was ? So how is he capable of making a real difference between his son and his daughter if he has to see them face to face to do that ? You know, most parents know how to differentiate their children from the front, even if they are twins... What it so like it's some kind of feat for some people ? WTF ?

Then like I said, once he saw that it wasn't his son, he didn't really seem care about this kid.

(And people still try to say that this scene and the one with the boy is proof of Aegon II being a real good father to Daemon... Daemon who at least showed interest in his daughters by learning the high Valyrian to Baela, saying that Pentos was his and his /children - so his daughters' - home, and that he collapsed on the beach when baby Visenya died, not to mention that he was visibly excited by the birth of his children, whether with Laena or Rhaenyra. That he actively defends his step sons alongside Rhaenyra. And that in addition to seeming proud to present Aegon III and Viserys II, he had a real gesture of affection for Viserys II, running his hand through his hair and trying to console him when he cried, but hey... I guess it's all worth absolutely nothing !)

And besides, he doesn't even know where his son is now. Like his son is having lessons and he doesn't even know it ? WTF ?

Not to mention the looks the servants give each other when Aegon II is there ? They are clearly afraid of him ?

So basically what this scene shows is that Aegon II can't tell the difference between his son and daughter from behind, even though they have relatively different hairstyles.

That once he realizes that it is not his son once he has seen her face he shows no interest in his daughter and is only interested in his son, of whom he ultimately does not even know not only the latter has lessons, things that are nevertheless elementary.

(Besides, people who think it's a great sign of love that Aegon II can tell the difference between twins may simply not think it's because he's so much more interested by the boy that he can actually tell him apart from the girl from the front ?)

He doesn't understand Helaena, and the maids are obviously afraid of him !

Oh yes, what a wonderful father, brother / husband (I also remember that he said Helaena was an idiot in season 1) and individual !

So sorry, but the whole nonsense that Aegon II is a loving father will still be bullshit to me.

He's clearly still the same disgusting person in my eyes and that won't change.

As a reminder that Alicent has plenty of moments where she seems / or try to be tender with her children, and that doesn't stop her from being a horrible and hypocritical mother to them. (While for Daemon, I remind you that we have no canonical proof in the show that he is really a bad father. On the contrary he seems completely correct, despite Rhaena's words, and all the cut scenes or the script original supports this, and so the word of Laena about Daemon trying to do his best. Aegon II and Alicent, on the other hand, in addition to their canonically horrible behavior towards their children unlike Daemon who does not have this kind of behavior, well they have nothing positive in relation to the relationship they have with their children add in the scrips to counterbalance all this for example...)

Sorry not sorry.

And as for being a kind king, I haven't seen the whole episode yet, just parts for now. I'm waiting to finally see it in full before giving a real opinion on it (if I have the courage... because normally I had planned to wait until the end of season 2 to watch the episodes in full). But I'm willing to bet I won't feel that way either.

[differenteagletragedy]

Cove isn't the stepdad, he's the dad who stepped up: Part 4

A fourth part to my series in which Baxter gets MC pregnant before ghosting, MC gets with Cove and they get engaged but Baxter is the wedding planner and chaos ensues.

In this one, Baxter finally meets his Cove and MC's son.

The most recent part of this fic is here, with links to the previous stories. Also it will never not be ridiculous to me that I hate titling things so much that now I have a whole series titled "Cove isn't the stepdad, he's the dad who stepped up."

"CAKE DAY, CAKE DAY, CAKE DAY!"

Cove had Dylan riding on his back, his little arms wrapped around his neck. They were zooming around the house, screaming about cake, and Cove took him on a little lap around you as you were getting ready in the bedroom.

"Is that all this wedding is to you, an excuse to have cake?" you teased.

"No," Cove said quickly, a tender look on his face as he stopped beside you. Meanwhile, Dylan let out a big "Yep!"

You smiled, cupping Cove's cheek in your hand before reaching up to tousle your son's hair.

"Remember, tomorrow's the big cake," you told him as Cove carefully lowered him to the floor. "Today's the rehearsal, so just a little cake."

"Enough for me!" he said happily, bounding out of the room to find something else to get into.

"My boy," Cove said proudly, clutching a hand to his chest.

"Through and through," you agreed.

"I'm going to go ahead and get him in the car," he said as you gave yourself a final look in the mirror. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Cove pulled up to the beach, you saw there were quite a few cars there already for the rehearsal. Your wedding party was going to be there -- your soon-to-be husband had chosen his father as his best man, with his mother, Terry and Miranda rounding out his side. For you, you wanted your moms and Liz to stand beside you, and you'd chosen Derek to be your man of honor. The plan was for Dylan to stand with Cliff.

The justice of the peace Baxter had arranged for would be there too, as well as Baxter himself.

As your little family walked down to the beach, Dylan was struggling to get out of Cove's arms so he could start playing -- Cove really wasn't kidding when he called him his boy. Cliff, who had been talking to Kyra and your moms closer to the water, jogged up to him, a big smile on his face.

"Hey, kiddo!" he greeted happily. "Want to come play with Grandpa so Daddy and Mommy can do the boring stuff?"

Dylan almost dove out of Cove's arms to get to Cliff, who gladly caught him. He shot you a smile, clapped Cove on the back and then went off to play.

"I guess we should tell Baxter we're here?" Cove asked, lacing his fingers through yours now that his hands were free. You squeezed his hand and nodded

You looked around -- the wedding party was all there, the parents in one group and your friends and Liz close by in another. Baxter was further off, talking to the justice of the peace. Even at this distance, you thought you could tell that he was rather pointedly not looking around.

At this point, everyone had known that Baxter was your wedding planner. It had been an interesting series of conversations, to say the least, since everyone also knew that he was Dylan's biological father. You'd had to beg Liz to play nice, and your moms weren't thrilled either, but no one was going to ruin your wedding by making a scene.

When you approached your wedding planner, he greeted you with a nod and a tight smile. You were introduced to your officiant, then Baxter gave you a quick rundown of how the ceremony would go -- where you would stand, where you would walk, exactly where everything would be. He was very thorough, and when you heard Dylan squeal with laughter close by, he stayed focused.

But when it was time to actually rehearse, he couldn't politely ignore everyone anymore.

He gathered everyone together, and even as Cliff came over hand-in-hand with Dylan, he still wouldn't look his way. He didn't acknowledge that he'd met nearly everyone present five years ago, just explained how the rehearsal worked as professionally as possible.

Then, after he was done and everyone had started getting to position for the beginning of the ceremony, Dylan pulled free from Cliff's grip and approached Baxter.

"Who are you?"

You watched the exchange intently, ready to jump in if needed. Cove placed a steadying hand on the small of your back.

"My name is Baxter," he answered, putting a smile over the complicated mix of emotions that crossed his expression. "I'm in charge of planning your parents' wedding. What's your name?"

"You look like me," Dylan told him instead of answering his question.

Baxter froze.

If your son had been a little older, this might have been a situation, but he was 4. He didn't understand genetics or how babies were made or anything that would have been interesting about this other than the fact that this guy he saw shared some of his features.

"I have those too," your son continued, pointing up to the mole on Baxter's neck. He lifted his shirt a bit to show him one on his belly.

You waited a moment longer, but Baxter had barely blinked, so you stepped forward.

"Hey baby, let's get you where you need to be, ok?" you said, grabbing Dylan's hand and then passing it off to Cove. He happily went along, oblivious to what he'd done to Baxter.

Cove shot you a smile and walked away with him, leaving you alone to unthaw your wedding planner.

"So ... that's him."

He finally met your eyes, then began shaking his head. You'd never seen him less composed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to say," he told you, stopping and starting a few more sentences before helplessly raising a hand and gesturing off to your son. "I do look like him though, don't I?"

"Well, he looks like you," you corrected. "You came first. Are you going to be able to handle this?"

He ran a shaky hand through his hair tried to nod. "I can. I can do better."

"Well, you can't do much worse."

It was meant as a joke, but he looked wounded. You almost said something, but decided to let it lie.

For the rest of the evening, Baxter was back in professional mode. Everyone learned what they needed to know about how the ceremony would go, and while you and Cove had fun with your friends and family, your planner never let his guard down.

But then the youngest member of your wedding party decided to make his voice heard again.

"I'm going to have the rings," Dylan told Baxter, interrupting him as he spoke to you and Cove about your vows.

You watched him swallow, but eventually, he looked down with the best smile he could muster and said, "I know, I've heard. Do you know what you need to do?"

He shook his head. "No. I thought I was going to be a bear but Mommy said I heard wrong."

A real smile broke through Baxter's pained expression.

"Ring bearer," he told him softly, putting emphasis on the last syllable. "It is a bit of a confusing term if you were expecting to be a bear."

Your son shot you a smirk as if to say "See, this guy gets it," and at that Baxter let out a genuine laugh. Cove caught your eye, and you shared a grin.

Baxter led Dylan back to where the beginning of the aisle would be, and he showed him how to walk slowly up towards everyone before ending up standing by Cliff. You couldn't hear what they were saying for a bit, but you did see that they were both smiling.

When the sun was getting low in the sky, the group decided they had a good handle on things -- besides, it was time for the dinner down at the tropical place. Everyone was gathering their things and Baxter was going over some final details about the actual wedding with you and Cove when your son decided to speak to his new friend again.

"Are you coming too?"

"I'm afraid not," Baxter told him. "The dinner is just for friends and family."

Dylan was too young to understand the break in Baxter's voice when he said that last word, but you caught it. So did Cove. You had a moment of wordless communication, then you let out a little sigh.

"You can come if you want," you told him. "There's plenty of room."

Baxter immediately launched into a polite refusal, but when Dylan cut in with "You should come, we're going to have cake," it appeared that he couldn't exactly tell him no.

"Perhaps I could stop by for a moment," he said, looking to you for approval. You nodded at him, and he smiled back.

After a nod, he walked off his car. Cove gave you a quick kiss, then started towards the car with Dylan.

Liz walked up beside you and nudged you with her elbow.

"Hope the Victorian emo man doesn't catch the vapors by actually spending some time with his son," she said quietly.

"Liz."

[rosewaterandivy]

give you my wild

Summary: our coming of age has come and gone

Pairing: eventual s.h. x f!oc Sloane Schuyler

W.C.: 1.1K

Themes: WASPs, silver spoon Steve, Harrington parents mention & POV, weddings, and the like.

A/N: oh, y’know, thinking about rich people and their houses on the Vineyard.

Richard Thomas Harrington didn’t hold much stock in the trivialities of faith— prayer, destiny, whatever you call it, and they did not deter him along life’s path.

Unfortunately, on this fine autumn day as they closed up the summer house on the Vineyard, the Harrington patriarch knew one thing with absolute certainty. And it was simply this:

Karma was a bitch.

It wasn’t an uncommon sight to see various families on the beach, it was Martha’s Vineyard after all, and the Harringtons just so happened to be hosting a wedding this weekend.

The house was positively swarming with people— caterers, bartenders, florists, not to mention the event planner and her staff. So, like any sane person, he’d poured himself a glass of scotch and headed outside to avoid his wife’s frenetic energy.

In fact, the Harrington patriarch had just gotten himself settled in an adirondack chair out in the dunes when a high-pitched screech rends the air. A jubilant laugh followed, soaring above the crashing waves of the eventide.

He leans back in the creaking chair, and takes a solitary sip from his glass watching the scene unfold.

A small child accompanied by a woman, mother or nanny who’s to say, runs and stumbles in equal measure as the tide comes in. Tiny feet skittering along the water’s edge, tittering and giggling in gleeful abandon.

Thomas didn’t allow himself saccharine indulgences that often, but maybe the occasion had him feeling sentimental. Everything was running too well, certainly there had to be a catch. The other shoe, as it were.

While he hadn’t been the most present father in his son’s life, weekends at the Vineyard were a non negotiable as per his wife, and, over the years, he had come to readily agree.

The scene before him now wasn’t unlike his own memories of Steve at that age, maybe two or three give or take, tearing off like a hellion down the coastline and giving his mother a near heart-attack.

“Tom,” She’d say in thinly veiled aggregation, gesturing toward the waning image of their toddler with a cigarette in hand, “Would you see to it that he doesn’t drown, please?”

And so it fell to him to wrangle young Steve, sandy feet, riotous hair and all. Back when he was still at an age to revel in his father’s attention, staring at him in fascination as Tom picked him up with ease and set him atop his shoulders.

Tiny fingers would wind their way into his hair, free of its gel and product in the briney summer air. His son’s laughter would float on the wind as it whipped where it pleased, his own hair taking to the summer sun with ease and growing long.

Charlotte insisted that during the school year the boy’s hair be kept short, both for propriety’s sake as well as for practicality. Apparently, she had the hardest time taming it and had visited every hairstylist in her Rolodex in an effort to wrangle it.

Eventually, she’d worn her husband down and Tom diligently brought Steve to his own barber, who had cut the hair and shaved the faces of at least two generations of Harrington men by now.

“He’s got a bit of a wave back here,” Maurice had said, combing through the boy’s hair. “Only comes out when it’s this long or when it’s wet, I’d imagine. See how it kinda curls here? And there?” His fingers prized a lock of hair for Tom’s perusal. “Kinda like how yours did back in the day.”

“Well, whaddya know.”

Steve squirmed slightly in his chair, having been as quiet and still as a toddler could be for the better part of twenty minutes.

Tom knew his son took more after Lottie than him, you could see it in the eyes and face mostly, but there were a few Harrington genes, if you knew where to look. And the hair was a dead giveaway.

Clapping Maurice on the back, he said, “Let’s shape it up then, and leave it a little longer.”

He smiled, lips pulling taut as the boy met his son’s eyes in the mirror. He winked, causing Steve to giggle and kick his feet, swaying slightly in his booster seat on the barber’s chair.

“It’ll be our secret, right bud?”

But now, Tom only shakes his head and takes a deep sip from his scotch. That may very well have been the first secret he’d had Steve keep, but unfortunately it wasn’t the last.

Too lost in his own recollection, he doesn’t notice the blur of arms and legs careening toward him. And a toddler, pulled from the depths of his memory, plops to the sand at his feet. He finds himself blinking and fumbling for his glasses because this is all too—

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

A young woman, no older than Steve, makes her way across the dunes, hair coming loose from her ponytail and whipping about her face.

“She normally doesn’t tear off like that—” She raises her face in apology, eyes blowing wide as they clearly recognize the man before her.

“Not at all,” Tom replies with a good natured chuckle, “They’re a lot at this age, from what I remember.”

The woman nods meekly, swallowing audibly, her eyes never meeting his. She crouches down toward the toddler, arms open wide, hands opening and closing in a beckoning gesture.

“C’mon sweetie, time to go!”

Her voice has taken on that higher pitch reserved for babies and pets, and he’s shocked to not find it annoying. He remembers Lottie baby talking Steve driving him up a wall.

The little girl with her handful of sand, slowly looks from Tom to her mother and back again.

There’s an approaching sound of footsteps from behind them, the house, he can only assume. Which can only mean one thing—

“Tom, you need to shower before the rehearsal dinner. I’ve already laid your suit out on the—”

Charlotte Harrington is, for all intents and purposes, an unflappable woman.

She had to be in order to bag and marry the most eligible bachelor of WASP high society. Always poised with never a hair out of place, nevermind when Tom stayed later at the office. Mitigated any future dalliances by accompanying him on work trips, no matter how long. And learned to keep her composure and bite her tongue until behind closed doors.

But now?

“Absolutely not.”

Tom glanced behind him at his wife’s surely accidental slip-up. It was dawning on him that they may know these people, and her rudeness wasn’t warranted.

“Lottie,” He scolded, before turning back to the woman in front of him. “I apologize for my wife Miss—“

“Mom! Dad! What’re you still doing out here?”

Tom didn’t fail to notice how the color drained from each woman’s face. How the younger scrambled to pick-up her charge while the elder turned about-face to intercept her son.

“Steve!” She greeted, tone bordering on simpering. “Où est Camille?”

He rests a hand against the back of his father’s chair, artfully dodging his mother’s evasive maneuver. Seeing the half-drunk scotch, he plucks it from his dad’s hand and downs it in one go.

“Thanks, old man,” He says, dropping the glass back into his palm.

Tom doesn’t even bat an eye, too busy discerning the tension between his wife and this oddly familiar young woman. Lottie worries her lip between her teeth, eyes carefully avoiding the toddler perched on her mother’s hip, her face now buried in her dark hair.

Steve, thankfully, is rather oblivious to the whole thing. His father’s creeping calculations, his mother’s artful avoidance.

“Hey Sloane,” He greets with a nod and a smile. “Did you get settled in the cottage?”

“Hi Steve,” She replies with a smile, “And yes, we did.” Her daughter mumbles something into her ear prompting her to glance back and drop a kiss to her forehead. “Just waiting for Ed to arrive.”

Steve’s about to reply with something to the effect of ‘taking his sweet time, no doubt,’ when he’s interrupted by his father.

“Sloane,” He ponders aloud, “As in Schuyler? Your Tess and James’ daughter?”

“That’s me,” She confirms, “Hi, Mr. Harrington, congratulations on the wedding.”

“I haven’t seen you since…”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. White House Correspondents’ dinner—”

“Three years ago.”

Oh, there it is. The other shoe.

Tom was wondering when it would drop.

“We go way back,” Steve unhelpfully adds, “She’s Eddie’s—”

“Co-parent.”

Tom slowly removes his glasses and massages his temples. “So,” He says, “That makes this…”

“My daughter, Blair.”

“Steve, dear, can you please check on Tommy? I sent him to get ice an hour and a half ago.”

“Uh, sure.” He says, only slightly suspicious. His mother knew better than to send Hagan out on an errand. He dips his head toward Sloane, “Nice to see you, thanks for coming out.”

“Oh, of course. Wouldn’t miss it!”

An uncomfortable silence follows as the three assembled adults watch the groom make his way back into the house. Lottie clears her throat loudly, causing Tom to wince.

He turns to his wife, only to find her flush with embarrassment and lip nearly bloody. He deeply regrets letting his son polish off his scotch in this moment.

“Charlotte.” His voice is measured and precise, his eyes stare past her at a point on the horizon. “Please tell me this isn’t your doing.”

Sloane tenses briefly, readjusting her hold on Blair who’s nodded off on her shoulder.

Her silence said it all really.

Tom was a businessman, and a good one at that. The Harrington’s had made their mark in publishing long ago, and he’d cemented it by ushering them into media. Newspapers around the country ran under their tutelage, nothing escaped the notice of their Pulitzer winning reporters.

Problem-solving was never an issue for the Harrington patriarch, nor was the ability to count past nine.

This Eddie may very well be the “co-parent” of this child before him now, but it was clear as day that he wasn’t the father.

Sloane’s hand came up to brush a few errant locks from her daughter’s sleeping face, and sure enough, there was something in her that hinted toward those Harrington genes.

“Tom, I—”

He shushed his wife with a raised hand and rose from the chair, proffering the empty glass onto her.

“Go back to the house, make sure everything is running smoothly.”

Sloane watched the scene unfold in front of her, the elder Harrington handling his wife, giving her some menial task to occupy her time. He takes a step toward her with a nod toward the cottage, the request clear.

“Miss Schuyler and I have some things to discuss, I’m sure you understand dear.”

Ever the gentleman, Richard Thomas Harrington guides her down the dunes and to the cottage, a polite hand hovering at her waist. But he finds himself preoccupied with the sleeping toddler in her arms, her riot of hair curling and waving in the sea breeze.

Karma, it would seem, most certainly was a wiley sonovabitch.

[brynnmclean]

in the core of everything drums a beat - snippets round up post

Actually, not a bad idea to have some kind of post with all the Hellblade fic fragments I've posted so far. In vague order of how they should fit together chronologically in the fic:

Chapter one

Rough draft of chapter one where Thórgestr is having a lot of fever dreams (there was an earlier post with a small section that I think is still my favorite in the chapter)

Also from chapter one, but I think @eisoj5 asking me for "and" as a word in that WIP meme remains hilarious, so here's that post

Chapter two

Part of chapter two and the introduction of my Irish healer OC Iseult

Thórgestr awake and making a very bad joke about getting stabbed, my beloved

First Senua Giantsbane name drop!

"Is my father dead?" "He's alive. He's an exile."

I'm really fond of Fargrímr and I do think he cares about Thórgestr, so this is a nice little moment for that

Chapter three

Intro to the chapter where half-asleep Thórgestr eavesdrops on a conversation between Senua and Fargrímr

There is so much in the game about Thórgestr's dad so why not feature a dream of his mother, here's her introduction

I gave her some very specific spirit vibes :)

You know, lot of emphasis on being your father's child, but Thórgestr is also his mother's son and I think that's important. Also I know surnames are patronymic, but there was that whole thing in the game about the importance of names, chosen names included, and so I really dig the idea of Thórgestr privately thinking of himself as Eindridson. (Also I like prophecies and love the idea of Eindrid as ghostly fate-spirit predicting how Áleifr will die... Honestly, chapter three is a fave!)

Thórgestr probably forgot what his mother's face looked like, so of course he's afraid to look away from her when she appears in his dreams

You ever write a bunch of fun images and then have a friend brainstorm plot developments with you later when you're at a loss on what kind of object you might need characters to go find, so of course your friend is like, "hey, you already wrote what you need." Just me? (thanks @allatariel <3)

Chapter four (current one I'm working on)

The beginning of the chapter

Part of a midnight conversation between Senua and Thórgestr, early in the chapter

A moment I think is cute at the end of that scene

The beginning of an important conversation between Ástríðr and Thórgestr.

"Your father is gone. So is mine. But I’ll have what I’m owed. Tell me, Thórgestr," Ástríðr says, "what is your regret worth? What of your word?"

UPDATED: This is now Chapter six because I have lost control of my outline again!!!

A funny part of a conversation with another OC, this one a Bjarg skáld who pitches a marriage of convenience between Senua and Thórgestr to his utter bewilderment

Chapter... uh, current outline says eight... JUST KIDDING it's Chapter ten now

One of my favorite parts I've written for the whole damn thing even now -- Thórgestr doing sword drills alone on a beach near Bárðarvik

Thórgestr and Fargrímr conversation snippets one and two that are actually part of a larger scene

Other posts:

My fanmix / fic playlist post

Others Narration transcription posts (6 total)

My video games screenshots tag

The overall tag for this fic is hertan writing tag

Feel free to author subscribe on AO3 if you want to catch the fic drop whenever that happens in the future

[avelera]

June 28, 2023 - The Sandman S2 Set Leaks

Tagging @orionsangel86

So I've been wondering since the "Calliope" episode whether Dream and Calliope's canonical son, Orpheus, was going to be alive, dead, or suffering his Sandman comic-accurate fate in the Netflix show version of the story.

I went into greater detail on my speculation here.

But, as of today, we have some set photos of what looks like a scene between Dream and Orpheus, and I've been asked for my speculation, so here goes.

Everything below the cut is gonna be heavy in both comic and set leak spoilers, y'all. Be warned.

Let's start off with the relevant images!

We've got Dream and Orpheus on a beach. We've got one scene where Dream is hidden behind a whole big stage piece too. What could it all mean??

In no particular order, my thoughts:

This is probably the scene in the comics where Orpheus disowns his father. In the comic, they do it at Dream's palace, but that's probably expensive AND they could poetically be going for that farewell also taking place in the same location that Dream finds Orpheus's severed head later. I wouldn't blame them if they went that route.

Which would make it this scene. One of the shots if of Orpheus walking away from Dream, so that would make sense.

Lines up pretty nicely.

However, it does reverse things a bit. Instead of Orpheus coming to Dream for help, it implies that Dream goes looking for Orpheus while he's mourning on the beach.

The other alternative is that this is after Orpheus tried and failed to save Eurydice. And in the narrow possibility that that's the case, this could be a replacement for the scene where Calliope urges Orpheus to run because the Maenads are bearing down on him.

I kind of hope not. If they replace the scene of Orpheus mourning his failure and his mother coming to warn him about the Maenads and Orpheus ignoring that advice, in favor of having Dream have that scene with Orpheus, it in my mind lends to the possibility that Calliope thinks Orpheus died in the Underworld or some other sequence of it events that culminates in her not knowing her son is a living severed head.

I really, really hope we're not heading to a TV show AU where Orpheus is the living severed head like in the comics, but Calliope doesn't know about it. Because while Calliope in the comics also, like in the show, says that their son is dead the comic also has her visiting Orpheus's severed head throughout his thousands of years of hellish living-death.

Personally, just speaking for myself, I find the entire living-severed-head plotline deeply uncomfortable. I've said before I think it accidentally smacks of ableism to hear over and over again Dream's insistence that Orpheus is "dead" even though he's clearly conscious and able to sleep and dream and talk and have desires about the world, but just isn't able to move on his own anymore. That's not death, that's being a paraplegic. The comic makes it further ambiguous because it seems like Dream is lying to himself when he says his son died long ago. It's also confusing because Calliope, on the whole, seems kinda chill about her son being dead all the times we see her. She and Dream seem like very distant parents if they can bear the pain of their sons literal active torment for thousands of years.

The thought of Dream in the show denying Orpheus even the comfort of his mother is actually completely irredeemably worse in my mind. And the way Calliope discusses mourning their son and Dream's silence in the face of that makes me deeply fear that possibility.

Which is one reason I hope there's no severed head plotline at all. However,

The fact that we've already had Dream reference, in 1.06, that Lady Johanna completed a task for him which, in the comics, was rescuing Orpheus's living severed head, makes me very worried we're sticking to comic canon.

2. The fact that in these set leaks, we see a sort of mini-sound stage where conceivably, Dream could be finding Orpheus's severed head, thus making the disownment scene and the discovery of his head scene take place on the same beach (which would make a ton of sense from a poetic and from a production economy standpoint) make a lot of sense.

Maybe we'll get a variation where Dream finds Orpheus's totally dead severed head on that beach. Maybe Lady Johanna will only be rescuing the skull or the body of Orpheus and they'll make it much, much clearer that Orpheus is just sort of haunting the head, like he can be summoned to it but he's not living in a hellish state of undeath the whole time...?

I could see Dream, by the way, giving that little smirk he does in 1889 about having Lady Johanna do a task for him and succeeding admirably if she was sent to rescue his son's very dead remains and not his actual living severed head. Dream's impishness does not jive at all for me in that scene with the seriousness of the task Johanna does for him in the comic of rescuing Orpheus's helpless severed head. It's very jarring if that's what they go with. It makes me think this plotline is going to be altered somehow. Like having the severed head be dead but just being like a summoning point for Orpheus's oracular powers, perhaps?

In any case, lots of questions raised and answered by these set photos. After all, we still don't have confirmed:

That the severed head plot will be there at all

That we're not just getting a flashback to Orpheus's total perma-death, not the beginning of his severed-head living death

That this is more than just a brief flashback or the introduction of who Orpheus is and we're getting a totally different storyline, like for example that Orpheus is dead on this day, but the severed head can be used to speak to his ghost (infinitely preferable, in my mind, but there's no evidence in any which way for this except Vibes)

We really just don't know yet.

Though, I will say, I hope they get Orpheus some robes where the top and the bottom match, and Dream some shoes that aren't modern dress shoes (oh, and find his ruby??) before any of that happens ;P

[demons-and-demigods]

Demons and Demigods Part Five: Written Scene #3: Hercules

Alright, so this scene stars more hand-wavey transition bs than proper writing, but it's so short it doesn't warrant its own post. Now, as mentioned in my pinned post, I love me some dark!percy. This is where it begins. Justice for Zoë 😈

They reach the Mare Nostrum, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pillars of Hercules.

The seven debate who should go talk to him, Jason and Piper insisting it should be them since Jason is a fellow son of Jupiter/Zeus and Piper has her charmspeak.  

Percy says that he and Annabeth will be the ones to go but offers no reasoning as to why it should be them. When Leo asks for said reasoning, Percy just glares him down. Frank and Hazel agree that it should be Percy and Annabeth, and Leo, cowed, does too. Piper decides she really does Not want to deal with this nonsense and doesn’t actually care. So Percy and Annabeth end up going.  

Percy torpedoes him and Annabeth through the water and deposits them on the beach.  

And there he is, the Dickwad, the Douchebag, the Motherfucker himself: Hercules.  

“Who are you?” Hercules demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at them as they stepped out of the water. Percy glared right back.  

“My name is Annabeth. I’m a daughter of Athena. This is my boyfriend, Percy, a son of Poseidon.” Annabeth said, laying her hand on Percy’s arm to keep from flying at Hercules immediately. “We came to request passage to the Mare Nostrum.”  

Hercules snorted and rolled his eyes. Percy bit back a snarl. Annabeth tightened her grip on Percy’s arm. She knew why Percy was so angry; he’d told her about Zoë and what Hercules had done to her, about his time with her on the quest to rescue Artemis. And she was angry too. Part of her wanted to let Percy at him right here and now, part of her wanted to join in. But she also knew that they should at least gain passage to the Mediterranean first before she let Percy unleash himself on Hercules. So she held him back and waited for the right moment.  

“And just why should I let you through, hm?” Hercules said, sounding unbothered. Percy opened his mouth, no doubt with a smartass retort on the tip of his tongue, but Annabeth spoke first.  

“The Earth Mother is waking. Her children, the Giants, congregate in Athens, preparing to raise her on the Feast of Fortuna. It’s unsafe to travel over land, so in order to stop her we must travel by sea. This is the fastest route to where we need to go.” Annabeth explained, even though she was sure that Hercules already knew what was going on, there was no way he couldn’t.

Hercules scoffed and shook his head. “I’m well aware of what Gaea and the Giants are up to. I asked why you think I should let you through. Not why you wanted me to.”  

Alright. Annabeth was going to give him one last chance to do this the easy way. And then no more playing nice.  

“Either you let us through, or we make you.” She let go of Percy and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at the cocky son of Zeus. She felt Percy tense beside her and struggled to bite back a smirk.

Hercules just threw his head back and laughed. “I thought Athena’s spawn were supposed to be smart,” he said, leering at them. “Even with the sea brat, you can’t hope to ‘make’ me do anything. Maybe if you ask very, very nicely, I’ll send you two on a quest and consider letting you and your ship pass if you succeed.”  

Annabeth sighed. She thought he’d say something like that. She looked at Percy and he met her gaze with a shark-like grin. Oh, this was going to be good.  

Before Hercules could ask what was going on, Percy was on him.  

It was sad, almost, how Hercules didn’t put up much of a fight.  

Percy took them both to the ground, slamming his fists into Hercules’ not-so-smug face. Hercules threw him off with an angry roar and stood, stumbling, before Percy was on him again. Hercules threw a punch, but Percy ducked under his arm and buried a fist in his sternum.  

Hercules doubled over, gasping, as his breath left him in a whoosh. Percy brought his knee up in a swift jab that broke the god’s nose with a resounding crack. Hercules howled and stumbled back, finally drawing his sword as he glared at the son of Poseidon.  

“You’re going to regret that, you little brat,” he hissed.  

Percy met his eyes with a feral grin as he uncapped Riptide, twirling his blade once, twice, at his side before brandishing it in front of him. Hercules’ eyes widened as recognition dawned. Percy’s grin grew sharper.  

“Recognize it?” he taunted. “I’ll bet you do. I met her, you know. Zoë. I know what you did to her. Just before she died, she gave me her blessing to wield this sword, told me she was honored that I carried it.” Percy let out a low, menacing growl from the back of his throat that made even Annabeth’s hair stand on end. “And now, with this sword, Zoë will fight alongside me as I finally give her the revenge she deserved.” 

Now, Hercules may have been good with a sword back when he was a demigod, but his time as a god had either dulled his skill or revealed that their standards for ‘good with a sword’ used to be very loose.  

Hercules never stood a chance. Really, he hadn’t had much of one when it was just a fist fight, but as soon as he drew his sword, it was over.  

It was clear to Annabeth that Percy was just playing with him, drawing out the fight to appease his own whims. Hercules, however, didn’t seem to realize this. Not that Annabeth could blame him for that, per say; he didn’t know Percy at all, let alone as well as she did. Also, he was never exactly portrayed to be the sharpest sword in the armory. So.  

Still, Annabeth stood back and watched with a fond smile as her boyfriend goaded and tricked one of history’s greatest demigods into thinking he was winning their little fight. Now, she always found Percy attractive, but watching him fight never failed to make her go a little weak in the knees. Every movement was smooth and sure, his sword acting as an extension of him. His attacks graceful as they were deadly. He somehow managed to turn a bloody fight into a dance, each flawless move looked choreographed rather than spur of the moment. It was mesmerizing.  

Percy twisted and turned, weaving in and around Hercules as he lured the god further down the beach, closer to the water. Percy swung his sword in a slow-moving, clumsy arc, easily parried and leaving an obvious opening for Hercules to attack his wide-open right side. Hercules took the bait, a triumphant grin spread across his face as he lunged forward. Annabeth almost laughed as he fell right into Percy’s trap.  

Percy sidestepped Hercules’ rather uncoordinated swing, moving faster than he’d let on he was capable of up to that point, and brought his blade down in a swift, brutal strike.  

Hercules’ sword hit the wet sand with a dull thud, his hand still wrapped around the hilt.  

Hercules roared, dropping to his knees and cradling his weeping wrist to his chest. Golden ichor soaked into the sand and dripped off the edge of Percy’s sword as he brought the tip up under Hercules’ chin. The god glared up at him, lightning crackling just behind his eyes as thunder boomed despite the cloudless sky. Percy’s sharp, feral grin spread unnervingly wide as he leaned in close, meeting the god’s eyes unwaveringly.

“Pray that I never see you again,” Percy whispered, voice as deep and dark as any trench yawning along the ocean floor. The ruthless, savage rage of the storms of the open sea, relentless and unforgiving in their violence, swirled in his eyes. “Gods can’t die, but they can still feel pain.”  

The waves crashed, roaring up the beach to slam against Percy’s back. He stood in the surf, unmoving against the water’s unrelenting force. The silence stretched as the two stared each other down. Annabeth waited patiently, curious as to what Hercules would do next.  

“Now,” Percy said, the smile dropping from his lips. “I’m going to put my sword away, and you are going to let my friends and I pass through into the Mediterranean. Okay?” Percy raised an eyebrow.  

Hercules said nothing, but he dropped his gaze to the sand.  

“Good.” Percy grinned and nodded once, pulling out the pen cap, touching it the tip of his sword, and then returning Riptide to his pocket.  

Annabeth walked over and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s waist from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder and kissing his cheek. “I love you, Seaweed Brain,” she said, lips still pressed against his skin. He hummed and leaned into her slightly, bringing a hand up to gently run his fingers through her hair.  

“I love you, too, Wise Girl,” he muttered, and turned his head to capture her lips with his own in a soft kiss.  

“Mm, good,” she hummed, pulling back to smile at him with hooded eyes. “Because you are never getting rid of me.”  

He laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”  

“Now, take us back to the ship, would you?” she asked, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.  

Percy twisted in her hold until they were facing each other, then slipped his arms around her waist as she moved to clasp her hands behind his neck. He smiled, and fell backwards into the water as Annabeth laughed.  

Moments later, a spout of water deposited them safely back on the deck of the Argo II. The others, who’d been lounging around the deck while they waited, all jumped when they appeared. Leo, who’d been in the splash zone, squawked indignantly when he got soaked during their entrance.  

“Oops, sorry,” Percy grinned mischievously, not sounding very sorry at all, and dried Leo off with a flick of his wrist.  

“What happened?” Hazel asked curiously. “Is he going to let us through?”  

“Yeah, it looked like something was going down over there.” Piper hopped down from where she had been sitting on a crate and walked over.  

Percy shrugged. “Eh, nothing to worry about. He didn’t want to let us through at first, but we came to an understanding.”  

Frank whistled. “Nice. How’d you manage that?” he asked.  

Jason squinted suspiciously at them for a moment before his eyes widened almost comically. “Dude, is that—is that ichor?” he asked incredulously and pointed.  

Percy glanced down at his left hand, then stretched out the bottom of his shirt to inspect it before dropping his gaze to his pants leg. “Huh. Yeah.” he said and shrugged again.  

“H-how did you get ichor on you? And why?” Leo asked nervously, taking a step back.  

Once more, Percy just shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. “He's a dick. Broke his nose, that’s how it got on my knee. I also cut off his hand and I guess it splattered. It’s not a big deal, it’ll wash off.” 

“YOU CUT OFF HIS HAND?” Jason screeched, all the color draining from his face and looking about to faint.  

“Whoa, dude, do you need to sit down?” Percy asked, startled, and stepped forward, reaching out to steady Jason as he wobbled.  

Hazel and Piper leaned in to get a closer look at the golden ichor splashed along his sword hand and shirt.  

Frank wheezed like all the breath had been stolen from his lungs. “Percy, why the hell did you cut off his hand?” he said.  

Percy gave him a confused look. “Because he’s a dick,” he said slowly.  

“So you cut off his hand?” Leo cried.  

“I mean, yeah? He deserved it. Honestly, he deserves worse if you ask me,” Percy said nonchalantly, and jumped when Leo let out a shriek and started muttering in rapid-fire Spanish. Jason squeaked and dropped to the deck, burying his face in his hands. Percy shot Annabeth a bewildered look.  

At that, Annabeth finally lost it. She started laughing, which just confused Percy more and made the others look at her like she was crazy. She waved them off, clutching her stomach as she doubled over.  

“Percy,” she gasped as she tried to get herself back under control. “Most demigods aren’t gonna choose to go toe-to-toe with a god just because they were being rude.” She rolled her eyes fondly at his baffled expression. “And they’re definitely not going to chop off their hand! Also, babe, most people think Hercules is like, the golden standard of heroes, the greatest demigod to ever live.” She shook her head as she laughed again. “You’re kinda the weird one here, Perce. I mean, one of your favorite hobbies is mouthing off to random gods, including the entire Olympian council. Shit, you’ve had beef with Ares since we were twelve, Seaweed Brain. That’s not normal demigod behavior.”  

“Hey, the Ares shit is not my fault. He started it! He’s the immortal god of war, why the fuck did he decide to pick a fight with a twelve-year-old?” Percy huffed, crossing his arms. “He started it, and it’s not my fault that I finished it.  If he didn’t want to get his shit rocked by a twiggy pre-teen, he shouldn't have picked a fight with one!”  

Annabeth snorted. “I guess you have a point, but mine still stands. You’re the outlier, Percy. Not many demigods would turn down immortality to instead tell the gods to be better parents.”  

The others’ heads whipped back and forth between Percy and Annabeth like they were watching a tennis match, all with gob smacked expressions on their faces.  

“Okay, I’m pretty sure anyone would have done the same thing in my position,” Percy protested.  

Annabeth shook her head. “History literally says otherwise. Also, back to the point, may I remind you that your thing against Hack-ules is personal? These guys are going off the impression that you and I went over there, Hercules was being a typical arrogant, egotistical god, and you just decided to cut off his hand.” Annabeth raised an eyebrow as Percy’s eyes widened in realization and his mouth formed a little ‘o.’  

He turned to their friends and held his hands out placatingly. “Okay, so I definitely see why you guys were a little freaked out, now, but I promise my actions were justified. Annabeth is right, my beef with Dick-ules comes from some, uh, rather traumatic personal history that I kinda don’t wanna get into right now?” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and dropped his eyes to the deck. “If you want to know, just ask Annabeth, I guess. She knows the story. I’m just gonna, uh, yeah.” He gestured vaguely and turned to head below decks, then paused and faced them again. “Oh, and we should be good to sail through the Pillars, now. If we want to get moving,” he said quickly, and spun back around to disappear down the stairs.  

Everyone watched him go then turned to stare at Annabeth with wide eyes. Annabeth laughed and shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not doing this right now. Right now, I’m going to go kiss my boyfriend stupid because watching him beat the shit out of a god was really fucking hot.” She spun on her heel to follow Percy, waving over her shoulder.  

She bounced down the stairs to the sound of Piper’s uproarious laughter and everyone else’s startled sputtering.  

(She does, in fact, go kiss Percy stupid.) 

[nilrilie]

Too late.

You desperately try to save Neteyam from the bullet wound.

My heart had been broken from the movie, so why not break it again.

Characters: Neteyam x Na'vi!reader

Warnings: death of a character

Masterlist

Time slowed down as you look him in the eye. Eyes that was once full of life, laughter, and love for his family, the world, and for you was now slowly dimming and losing strength.

You can't save him. No matter how hard you press on the wound on his chest to try and stop the bleeding, it was no use.

You wanted to cry—to scream at the world on how cruel fate could be to someone so loving and kind. But you stayed still as you hold him, clutching his arms as if the water would wash him away if you let go.

The waves that crash around the area where Neteyam lay, the others surrounding the scene with their crys, and Neytiri pleading to the Great Mother to save her son, were nothing but static in your ears.

Your focus was only on him, on Neteyam. On the boy that made your heartbeat sound like thunder when he smiles, on the boy that showed you that loving you was worth every second of each new day. The boy who accepted you for who you are, no matter your differences, and imperfections.

You desperately pray to the Great Mother, to Eywa, to hear your plea because it's the only thing you could do now. You beg her to save him—for Neteyam to live through this and give him a happy ending. Even when you know his wounds were too great, you still have hope that she'll listen and be merciful.

Whipping your tears that fell on his cheeks, you gently cupped his face in your hands and brought yours closely to his. Forehead to forehead, you didn't blink away from his golden sunset eyes that looked at you with sadness.

"y/n." He started, but you shushed him to talk no more. To keep his energy to stay awake. "I-I see you, y/n."

"T-Teyam, I see you too. I See You, Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan—"

Hands slowly losing strength, he took one last look at you with full of love, so happy that he had finally said the words he wanted to say to you ever since he saw you that day on the beach.

"—And I Love You."

And as soon as you finished your words. He let go.

"Neteyam? Teyam? No...no-Oh Great Mother, NO! Please stay with me Ma' Teyam! P-Please hold on. Please don't leave me. Please..."

No matter how loud you call to him, and how you beg for Eywa to bring him back. It's already too late.

@ciphree

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

I would love to see more of The Buddy System thing, where bakugou thinks he has to basically babysit izuku; meanwhile, all he's doing is just talking over him and taking credit for everything.

Previous post: https://aconstantstateofbladerunner.tumblr.com/post/710108569392054272/if-youre-still-doing-the-ask-game-an-au-where#notes

My mind naturally drifted to a very Cain-like scenario so forgive me.

Izuku’s pre-ua training ends up very similar to Cain, with Katsuki tagging along and cleaning the beach alongside him. Difference is that he spends most of his time ‘babysitting’ Izuku, trying to cut him off when he tries to move something he doesn’t think he can handle, or generally trying to talk him out of the whole operation. He also has no idea that the weird skeleton man overseeing them is All Might so Katsuki isn’t trying to prove anything other than that Izuku is wasting his time. A quirkless person can’t be a hero, no matter how hard they train.

Katsuki does also try to separate izuku and all might via Inko, telling her some weirdo is making her son pick up trash. Yagi’s cover story is that he’s an old quirkless personal trainer that believes in Izuku’s ambition, but Bakugou assumes he’s a creep trying to take advantage of weak, gullible Izuku. She assumed Katsuki was Izuku’s only friend and that his quiet demeanor was a result of everyone else bullying him for being quirkless, Katsuki’s words of course. Words Izuku never refuted. However, Katsuki’s constant trying to insert himself into Midoriya business as if he has authority over him, not to mention how much more Izuku perks up when it’s just Yagi there, gets some gears turning in Inko’s head about what’s really been going on all these years.

Katsuki almost makes a scene at the entrance exams. He finds Aizawa looking over orientation and warns him that weakling Izuku will die if they let him try out. Katsuki also strong-armed Izuku into applying for gen-ed so he could still keep an eye on him at UA. He makes a scene for real when he doesn’t find Izuku waiting for him outside the front gates like he told him to after. He goes straight to the Midoriya apartment and demands to be let in, ranting at Inko about how stupid Deku ditched him and could have gotten attacked by a villain again without Katsuki to protect him. But Izuku isn’t there. He stayed at UA a little longer to get treatment for his injuries. Inko calmly but firmly asks him to leave, telling him that she plans to call him mother to make sure he goes home.

That doesn’t stop him from chewing a numb Izuku out when they go back to school. Double so when they get their acceptance letters. Katsuki runs the gambit of emotions, from rage that Izuku has been faking being quirkless all this time just to waste his time, to betrayal that he did the exam behind his back when Katsuki told him not to. Izuku finally asks for one good reason he should do what he says. Katsuki tries to argue that Izuku doesn’t know what’s good for him, to which Izuku counters that quirklessness isn’t tied to intelligence. But what about everything Katsuki has done for him? Like isolate him? Manipulate him? Call him worthless every day of the week like he’s doing him a favor? Izuku declares that he has someone who believes in him for real now, and that he doesn’t need Katsuki anymore. Not that he ever did. And Katsuki uses his quirk on Izuku for the first time since they were children, blasting him in the side of the head. Then he runs away.

In an unprecedented power move, Izuku, sporting a new haircut to get rid of the singed ends, pretends not to know Katsuki on the first day of class. It’s not a particularly convincing act, but it’s enough to set everyone else on edge about Katsuki’s attempts to reestablish their dynamic. When the other kids try and step in, he accuses him of replacing him. That shifts to yelling about how he could have gotten in to UA without a quirk. Everyone else that was in Izuku’s exam group act like Katsuki is that much crazier. When he finally sees Izuku’s new quirk for himself, he again shouts about being lied to for ten years. Izuku whispers that maybe he did.