#the existential crisis this poor kid had

[forsooth-verily]

Shout out to Davis CA where there's a flock 30+ strong that live in a cemetery, commute through town to one of the elementary schools, threatening cars and stopping traffic like them boys from Greece Lightning.

[hauntingblue]

I have connected two dots... yamato kaido and momo (and kinda shirahoshi with her top) have clouds above their shoulders... and luffy in gear fourth has them also.... I can see the signs

[bluedosjaykewon]

🥹✨Enhypen as Dads✨🥹

Fluffy, only lots and lots of suggar

Heeseung

Making everyone very sad (I know we would all like to see Heeseung being a “girl dad”, I would love it too) but I see Hee being father of two boys (about 3 or 4 years apart)

I honestly think he would be so happy with that since he grew up with his brother too so he wants to provide a childhood as cool as his children was

He is 100% the type of father "don't tell your mother"

"Don't tell your mother we drank soda at dawn"

"Don't tell your mother we stayed up playing video games until 4 in the morning"

"Don't tell your mother I took you to Burger King after school"

Etc etc

I also can see you scolding your son and he saying "hey honey but he didn't do anything wrong" and you just look at him and automatically he turns around and says “VERY BAD KID THIS IS VERY VERY BAD”

What can he do???? He's the good cop

I think Hee would be the kind of father who would be very supportive of his children, especially if they want to pursue a career in music, but I think he would be very wise to tell his children that it's a very exhausting life and full of very complicated obstacles

His oldest son is definitely his best friend (he lives to make this boy feel proud of him)

His youngest son is his baby

As Heeseung is the youngest children in his family I think he sees himself in his baby boy so is that the reason why he’s always very emotional about the youngest

He wants to be the cool and laid-back father to his youngest son while he wants to be the loyal friend of his oldest

I can really imagine him taking his oldest son for a drive at night to clear his head

Speaking of cars, these 3 always go on a fishing trip every month IT'S A TRADITION

His youngest son doesn't like fishing that much but he loves spending time with his father and brother so he goes anyway🥹

His children always come back covered in mosquito bites because Heeseung always forgets his insect repellent home, but they come back smiling and happy so it doesn't matter.

Jay

Ok, let's go

Jay is a couple father, DOES EVERYONE AGREE?????

He has an older daughter, who he raised with all the love, affection, care and protection and will always take care of her because she is his princess.

And he has a younger son that is his best bro forever (maybe 6 years between the children?)

I imagine that his daughter must have been so jealous of her brother when he was born

I can see them at 16 and 10 years old, having a Disney Chanel sibling dynamic, who live to make each other's lives hell, are fighting 100% of the time but deep down love each other deeply

He and his youngest son are quite a duo

They have a garage band together🥹🫶🏼

Jay taught him to play guitar but the boy's passion is the drums

I imagine that he is much closer to his older daughter, but he doesn't know how to deal very well with his daughter growing up and no longer depending on him.

So he spends all the time he can with his youngest because when the youngest grows up it's over for him

Jay loves to keep his kids entertained so he would be up for anything

“Daddy, are we going to the Taylor Swift concert?”

“Sure, my love.”

“Daddy, can we go to the skate park?”

“We’ll leave in a few minutes, okay? Just let daddy finish this first”

Btw, he supports everything his children want to do

I swear his children have already taken every course and private lesson that exists on the earth

Jay will enroll them in and out of anything they want

Because he wants his children to be happy and he grew up with a family that gave him so much support that I believe he will do the same

Btw, the family tradition is take the childrens to see baseball games

In fact, Jay had a huge existential crisis when his daughter started not wanting to go to the games🥹

He started remembering her when she was little with a t-shirt and a cap that was too big for her, sitting on his shoulders and watching the game🥹🥹🥹🥹

Poor man, he collapsed

Jake

I imagine him being such a calm and relaxed father, you know?

I think he would be such a relaxed father.

His relationship with his children is based on trust, affection and love 100% of the time.

I don't think he smothers his children or wants to be with them 100% of the time.

Of course he is a present father, but I think he respects his children's time a lot.

But let’s go, he has 3 children.

2 older boys and a younger girl (about 2 years apart from each child?)

Oh, how this man was in heaven when these children were born.

Jake loves being a father, I think he considers it his favorite profession.

And he is simply so delicate with his children, his tone of voice is always soft and loving, he touches them as if they were made of porcelain.

He loves taking them to the park, riding his bike with them and stopping for ice cream afterwards, or taking them to the pool, spending the whole day at the water park and then stopping at the McDonald’s🥹🥹🥹🥹

God, he loves his little 4-year-old girl, he’s an idiot for her (she gets whatever she wants, he’s her personal butler)

You see him walking around with weird hairstyles and stickers on his face quite often (he’s a regular at the 4pm tea party with his daughter and her bunny every Wednesday)

But he’s so incredibly in love with his 8 and 6-year-old boys

I can imagine them playing with lots of Hot Wheels tracks lol (and Jake taking it so seriously)

They build a lot of Lego together too, God, his kids have BOXES AND BOXES of Lego of every possible and imaginable type

He’s the kind of father who dances with his daughter dressed as a prince and gives her flowers so she gets used to receiving love early on so he doesn’t worry about future relationships

At the same time, he’s an example of such a good man for your children

Your children are so in love with your relationship🥹♥️

I imagine the 3 of you being so close, they are brothers who truly love each other unconditionally because the only reference they have is love, love and more love♥️😭

Sunghoon

OKAY LISTEN…

Two girls

NOBODY WILL PROVE ME OTHERWISE

He has two girls who are about 3 years apart from each other

His oldest is like “🎀✨💕DADDYS GIRL💕✨🎀” and his youngest is more like “💋✨⛸️DADDYS GIRL⛸️✨💋” if you can understand me

Like the oldest is more “Daddy, can I use your card??? I need a new dress” and the youngest is more “Dad, I told you! You don’t have to buy me anything”

BTW

He is absolutely in love with them to an extreme level

They are his world, after they were born nothing else matters more to him than the happiness of his two little girls

He is a REALLY OVERPROTECTIVE FATHER

like really

He can’t be able to sleep if he knows that your girls are on a party or on a date

He just CAN’T

And you’re like “babe, cmon, let’s rest a little” and he will be like “I can’t sleep, y/d must call anytime”

Something he miss when the girls are little babies…

When they were little they cried for him to put them to sleep and sing to them😭♥️

And now his princess wanna buy short skirts and dance all night😭💔

His youngest really like to skating so they do it together sometimes

These two girls are the pinnacle of what a doting and protective father can do with a girl

But like I said he is protective

The day you came to him saying he was so cute like your oldest daughter had a boyfriend in kindergarten….

He went to the school to have a serious talk with a 5-year-old boy and his parents

Even today, more than 10 years later, he still has a grudge against the poor child who just held his little girl's hand

I can imagine your daughter going to say that she has something important to talk about and him saying "did you find out you're a lesbian and are you going to get rid of that idiot?😃"

and your daughter saying "no daddy" and he would reply with "are you absolutely sure you're not a lesbian?😃"

You think Jay would spoil his children but nothing is as good for the economy as Park Sunghoon, his daughters and his black card at the mall

You know that scene from Beverly Hills where the father asks what his daughter is wearing and she answers "Calvin Clain"

They have this energy

He takes them and picks them up from everywhere because he doesn't like his princesses to walk around alone and he doesn't want boys bringing home

Nothing in the world would break his heart more than seeing his daughters cry. He always makes a point of buying their favorite foods, giving them a cuddle and leaving a kiss on their heads when they are crying.

Now if it is because of some boy... God have mercy and may he not find out the address of that boy

Sunoo

He has two girls too, but they are twins.

He is over the moon with them.

Do you agree with me that they would wear matching outfits????😭😭😭😭

He knows ALL the Disney princess songs

ALL OF THEM.

He would be his daughters' best friend 100%. He gives his daughters a lot of space to talk to him about absolutely anything and everything, he is always very present and aware of everything that happens in the lives of his little gems.

One of them is really extroverted and shining just like him and the other is like “omg you two are making me feel embarrassed please stop”

But he is also very protective of them.

Not like Sunghoon, of course.

Dad Sunoo is like a mother lioness, he protects his children tooth and nail no matter what.

(Like the “PELA CRIANÇA EU DOU A MINHA VIDA GRAÇAS A DEUS!!!” meme)

If this man finds out that one of his daughters is being bullied at school... I feel so sorry for the principal of that institution because he will DESTROY her.

He also watches a lot of movies with his daughters, when he gets home from work and his girls have already come home from school, it's always the perfect time to order food and watch Korean dramas together

He would always be available for serious, intimate, or everyday conversations

I think he would be such an attentive father🥹🥹🥹 but at the same time he would have no patience at all

He seems to me like the kind of father who when his kid makes a fuss he leaves the child on the floor of the store crying, walks away and pretends he doesn't know her

I imagine him being very truly with his daughters too, like "are you going out like that? With those clothes???? No, you can't change that, it's not good, you're dressing like Sponge Bob"

He would be their safe place too

I can see him comforting them when they were crying about something, like them lying on his lap while he caresses them and says "it's okay, love, it'll pass, I already have your age too, it'll pass"

Jungwon

He has a son, a little boy

You are thinking about having another one, but he is always analyzing how you have such a comfortable life with only one child and that a second child would require you to give up some privileges, etc.

Obviously he would be up for more children if you wanted, he catches himself thinking about another baby often, but he always brings up this conversation at some point

But anyway, your little boy is around 5/6 years old????

I feel like Won is in a limbo between “being the cool dad” and “being the example of a responsible man that his son needs”

He demands a lot of himself as a father

whenever he gets home and sees that his son is already in bed sleeping and he didn't get him “good night kisses” he feels terrible😔😔😔 (I think you will have to reassure him several times a day that he is doing an excellent job)

I can imagine him like this:

“What's up, son? Boys' day today, huh? Let's go to the park, the movies, and then have ribs for dinner, what do you think????”

“What's up, buddy? How was school today?”

And your son LOOOOOOOVES HIM

Like that type of kids that say “MY DAD IS MY SUPERHERO” is really cute

Doesn’t help the fact that this kid has his father kitty bubble tea eyes😭✨

But he’s really shy when he’s not with you or Jungwon, like, your two are his best friends.

Jungwon is such a fun father🥹

Even if he comes home feeling sad, limping, anemic, fragile and inconsistent, he will take time to play with your son and this will charge his energy 100%.

Just like Jake, Won is the kind of father who lets his son do whatever he wants with him.

His son will stick stickers on his face, draw a mustache and a goatee with a marker, etc., etc., and he will stand there laughing at how cute his son is.

He loves taking naps with your son (he even went through a difficult time when your son stopped being afraid of sleeping alone and asked to sleep with you every night).

I think he would be such a responsible father. He would know how to say no to his child when necessary and would teach that there is a time and place for everything and that we should be polite and patient. 🥹♥️

Riki

Just like Won, I imagine that Kiki has 2 father skins: the fun-child father with a 4-year-old mentality and the extremely mature father who is aware of his activities as a father.

He fluctuates a lot between these two.

He is extremely responsible when it comes to his children, he can handle any situation on his own without any problems.

Btw, I can see him having a family just like his own (two girls and a middle boy🥹). They are like 10, 8 and 5 years old. 🥹🥹🥹

He and the older ones do so much messy together that I swear to God I don't know how your house is still standing.

They play a lot of running games until Kiki stops and says "Aaaaaah daddy's back isn't the same anymore."

Like I said, his older ones brought out his fun and agitated side, but his youngest is so calm and sweet that he can't be the childish father with her, he just wants to protect her from everything

(he also joins the team of daddys who let their little daughter do whatever she wants with him) this girl is almost always riding on her father's shoulders😭♥️

He is the biggest fan of his children, he is there for everything his children want to do

I can see his children so interested in his “idol” career and always with stars in their eyes when they see videos of enhypen's performances

But unlike Heeseung, I think Riki would be reluctant to let his children enter the world of stardom, especially young ones like him, I think he wouldn't want his children to go through as much as he did and he would be far away and imposing to do something...

His favorite pastime is taking his children to Disney, I swear to God they are at Tokyo Disney almost every weekend

I like to think he likes to hold his two oldest ones by the feet while his youngest is on his back and playing mechanical bull AJAKAKAKAKAKA

His kids feel so comfortable talking to him (he's not a very jealous dad either)

I also think that there’s moments that Riki just stops, look at his kids and says “wow” like “they’re real, I made them”

And I think he’s the “what your mom thinks about that?” Type of dad, like “bro, you know that mommy is the leader of this family go ask her”

[akanemnon]

wait, didn't you say your frisk wasn't aware they even had a player? oh, poor thing... i sense an existential + identity crisis combo event on the horizon.

Frisk was never aware that there was something controlling them. The reason as to why will come up in the next comic. But you can also chalk it up to them being a kid and not having the kind of self-awareness a teenager like Kris has for example. That's the thing about puberty. You kinda discover yourself and who exactly you are. And this is why Kris is far more aware that there is something else taking over their body. But yes, these two are gonna trauma bond for sure.

[interstellarlyinlove]

Folklore (October 5th)

word count: 819

@wolfstarmicrofic

“This is so unlike her!” Harry says, rubbing his eyes. His hair is a mess and he looks incredibly stressed. Harry, Sirius, and Remus are sitting around the Potters’ kitchen table.  

“That is the joy of being fifteen, isn’t it?” Sirius asks. “Trying to figure out who you are and being unbelievably stupid in the process?”

“I don’t remember that part really well.”

“We do,” Remus says, grinning. Sirius grins as well. “I remember you being fifteen and stupid so well.”

“Not reporting a scum teacher or even just telling us about it, for example,” Sirius says. “While Remus worked at the very same school. What were you thinking, babe?”

“Creating an army as an after school club.”

“Let’s not even get into the ‘everyone hates me and I hate everyone’ winter phase because that was–”

“Okay, okay,” Harry says, thumping his head on the table. “I get it,” he mumbles. 

Remus looks at Sirius and laughs. He clears his throat. “This isn’t such a big deal, Harry, love. You’re a good dad. And Lily’s a lovely kid.”

Harry groans. “Well, she doesn’t like me all that much right now. She’s grounded.”

Sirius whistles. “You had the heart to ground Lily?”

“You horrendous human being,” Remus comments. 

Harry’s head hits the kitchen table once again. “I feel horrible about it, but she did run away from Hogwarts.” His voice is muffled. He raises his head. “Do you think I’m being too harsh with her?”

Remus just smiles. Sirius says, “Oh, yes. You’re horrible. How could you–”

“We’ll go talk to her, okay?” Remus says, cutting Sirius off. 

“Please,” Harry says. “Thank you guys. Love you.”

“Boohoo, Harry.” 

“Do they tell you everything?” Lily Luna says when she opens her bedroom door. 

Sirius flicks her forehead. “Hello to you too, Lily, love.” He enters her room, Remus closely behind. 

“Hi, Remus,” Lily says. She slams the door behind them. 

“Ouch. What did the poor door do to you?”

“Remus gets a ‘hi’ and I don’t? I see how it is, Flora.”

Lily sighs, all melodramatic and angsty, and sits on top of her desk. Sirius sits on the edge of the bed and Remus on the desk chair. 

“I know what I did was irresponsible and I won’t do it again, okay?” Lily talks as she does something on her computer.

“And you sound so sincere,” Sirius says. 

Lily rolls her eyes. She looks at Remus then at Sirius. “I missed you guys. Do you want to listen to music with me?”

Sirius smiles despite himself. “Awe, Lavender, love, we’ve missed you too.”

“What are you listening to?” Remus asks.

“Sad music, mostly” Lily says, grinning. “I’m sulking.”

“You’re sulking?” Sirius asks. “You ran away from Hogwarts and skipped classes and got a tattoo. Poor Harry’s having an existential crisis. He should be sulking.”

“I didn’t get a tattoo,” Lily says. 

“I know.” Sirius winks. “I just wanted to make you sound cooler than you actually are, Daisy.”

Lily sighs. “I just walked around muggle London for a little while. Had coffee. And also, there was this fairy circle in someone’s front porch that I just had to sit in.” Lily pauses. “Even though now I remember Trelawney telling us not to do that when we were going over different Folklore stories. What do you think happens to people who sit in fairy circles?”

 “I guess you’ll find out, won’t you?” Remus says lightly. “And we’re not saying that the things you did after sneaking out were wrong. Though the trespassing and angering fairies is a little questionable I think. We’re more worried about the sneaking out part itself.”

“Your dad went nuts. Ginny nearly brought Hogwarts to the ground looking for you.”

“We were worried, too,” Remus says. “We didn’t know if you just ran off or if something had happened to you.”

Lily bites her lips and looks down. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to– I mean, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I just wanted to get away for a little while.”

“And that’s okay, Jasmine, babe,” Sirius says. “Hell, just floo to our house next time. Or at least tell someone where you’re going. Albus or James or whoever.”

“So we know that you’re safe,” Remus adds. “Also– so that Harry doesn’t go gray so soon.”

“He’s already going gray,” Lily mumbles. 

Sirius chuckles. “I can’t argue with you there, Hydrangea.”

“That’s not even a name,” Lily says. “And– I am sorry. I’ll talk to dad before I go back to Hogwarts tonight.”

Remus looks at Sirius then at Lily, and he smiles. “Thank you, Flower.”

“Oh, Merlin, not you too, Remus.”

Sirius laughs. “Go talk to your dad now, Marigold.”

“Will you take me to get a tattoo when I decide that I want one?” Lily asks as she gets off the desk.

“We’ll think about it, Dahlia. Now go away.”

[gothamite-rambler]

Damian meets Swamp Thing

Context: This is based on one of the canon's but I do like this one the most. Absorbing the memories of the dead person you think you are has always been a fascinating trope. Plus Damian wanting to help out villains he finds interesting is just heroic and sweet thing for him to do.

Alec (Swamp Thing): Hey, little dude. Awesome to meet a new Robin! I really love the representation. We need more diversity in the Bat League.

Batman: I have heroes of other races—wait, I’m going to stop there before I say something inappropriate.

Damian, dressed in his Robin suit, chuckled at his father's embarrassment.

Alec: It’s cool, Batman. I get you. You’re a cool hero, and you seem to take care of these kids. Ivy really likes one of them a lot.

Batman: I’m painfully aware of that.

Alec: I was thrown off by it too. Back to the little dude—Robin, I love this suit. Rock on, little dude!

Damian smiled, his head down. Batman cleared his throat to remind the young Robin to focus on why they were there. Robin nodded, preparing to speak.

Damian: Mr. Swamp Thing—

Alec (in a chill tone): You can call me Alec. Swamp Thing is what my enemies call me.

Damian (slightly surprised): Oh, so we're not enemies?

Alec: Nah, you’re friends with Ivy's girlfriend, and she’s pretty chill. Ivy seriously needed that kind of positive vibe.

Damian nodded with a prideful smile, then glanced at his father, subtly rubbing in that another villain liked him. Batman rolled his eyes and waved a hand for his son to hurry up.

Damian (to Alec): I agree, sir. This conversation is going well, and I hope not to offend you, but I was curious about one thing: Are you a former human turned into a swamp creature, or a sentient plant that has absorbed all of Alec's memories?

Damian placed his hands behind his back, waiting for an answer, while Batman heaved a heavy sigh, too embarrassed to speak.

Batman (to himself): I would've gotten to the point already.

Alec (surprised): Oh… wow. I haven’t been asked that in a long, long time.

Damian: Is it okay if I ask? Batman said it was wildly inappropriate and you'd "go berserk" if I asked that, and then I wouldn’t be able to ask any further questions. Right, Batman?!

Damian looked up at his father, who remained silent, covering his eyes in frustration and holding his head down.

Damian: I think that means yes. My apologies, Alec, I’m a curious child. I love to learn about criminals or former criminals such as yourself. I'm not going to judge you or anything.

Alec: You're okay, little Robin. I accepted what I am a long time ago. I couldn’t deal with humans, though; that’s why I live here, surrounded by the swampy foliage—meditating and stuff like that. My 'birth' is odd, to say the least. I’m a hundred percent plant, but I absorbed most of the original Alec's memories. The poor guy died in the explosion that created me, and his body sank deep into a swampy marsh. After going through an existential crisis, I searched for him and buried his body in a better spot.

Damian: Oh... that's quite the bittersweet origin story. It’s reassuring to see you’ve had good personal growth since then.

Batman (chiming in, exasperated tone): Robin, he killed so many people and almost created plant zombies.

Damian: And you invite Red Hood over for Thanksgiving; you have no room to talk.

Alec laughed, then sighed with a smile.

Alec: Yeah, don’t worry; I’m not doing anything evil anymore. I did some goon work for a few years and worked with Ivy, but I’m retired now. I enjoy spending my days chillaxing here, keeping my zen in check. Gotta make sure to avoid toxic outlets, you know?

Damian: I do. I'm not giving up my iPhone, but I get it. I'm glad you've reached that level of enlightenment; you can reject my offer. Thing is, I helped out Mr. Freeze and was wondering if you needed any assistance?

Alec smiled and shook his head.

Alec: While I appreciate you wanting to help, I'm good.

Damian: Hm, are you sure? I can do a lot, especially with my dad's money. Batman knows my dad; he can help, right, Batman?!

Batman (deadpan): Trust me, when I talk to your father, you’re going to be so grounded.

Damian (chuckling): Worth it.

Alec (crossing his arms): How about this? If I do need something from you guys, you'll be the first I contact.

Damian: That works. Here’s a phone to make it easier to reach me. It’s solar-powered, so there’s no need to charge it like a regular cell phone. It’s waterproof and gets reception in this bayou. My number is on there, along with Ivy's, Harley's, and Batman's.

Batman (angry): I told you not to involve me in this!

Damian (gritting his teeth): You know my rich father, so you're helping!

Batman: Okay, fine. I’m going to the car, and we’re having a talk when we drive home.

Batman walked off as Damian handed the phone to Alec. Alec took it with a genuine smile, surprised.

Alec: I have to say, I’m not too into these cell phones. They’re bad for the environment and the mind. But this seems like a pretty simple touchscreen. Thanks, kid.

Damian gave a thumbs up.

Damian: It’s what heroes do. All right, Batman is ready to go. See you around, Alec.

Damian put up the hood on his suit and walked off as Alec opened a music app on the phone.

Alec (smiling): Huh, the kid's not that bad.

[maxdibert]

i want to know what do you think about Remus since you already talk about James and Sirius i really need to know :3

When someone puts a big topic on the table, in Spain we say: sujétame la cerveza lol So yeah, Lupin is one of THAT topics. Here we go:

Look, I can deal with Remus Lupin having literally zero self-esteem and a massive inferiority complex, and for that reason using Sirius and James as his safety net at Hogwarts, not stopping them when they were complete jerks because he was afraid they'd reject him and he’d end up alone. I can deal with that, I can excuse being an accomplice to bullying just like I can excuse Severus for getting involved with the Death Eaters because he saw himself as vulnerable. I forgive him, seriously. I can even forgive him for being an absolutely irresponsible adult and not taking his potion—Merlin knows why. I can let that slide too. But there are two things I can’t let slide.

The first, and less important one, is that he justified James’ actions to Harry. I mean, it's the least important because I can understand not wanting to tarnish the kid’s image of his father, but when the same kid is telling you that his father and his friends (including you) were assholes, maybe you should admit that you were a total jerk. Or that at least your friends were, and you did nothing. I get why Sirius denied his guilt because, well, Sirius Black. Like, what are you going to expect from him? To him, there was nothing wrong with it. But Remus was aware that it was wrong, and as an adult, he can admit it. You don’t have to make up some story about Snape envying James over Quidditch (lolololol like Severus Snape would remotely care about that gym-bro crap). But anyway, I see this as almost the least serious thing.

What I will never, ever forgive him for in my entire fucking life is that at 36/37 years old, with gray hair already down there, HE WAS ALMOST FORTY YEARS OLD, PEOPLE, he got a woman in her twenties pregnant, had an existential crisis, and was considering leaving her WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD. WHAT IS HE DOING?? Like, I don’t even know how to express this in English because my language is Spanish, and I swear I have a ton of adjectives in that language to insult this man, but in English, it’s harder—but hello?? He was ALMOST FORTY YEARS OLD, HIS WIFE WAS TWENTY-FIVE, HE SLEPT WITH HER, GOT HER PREGNANT, AND LEFT??? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE, REMUS LUPIN?? WHAT’S IN YOUR HEAD?? Like, if he was so terrified of passing on lycanthropy to the child, why didn’t he use a condom?? Or, I don’t know, the magical equivalent—HAVE YOU HEARD OF A VASECTOMY?? And if he really, truly felt so bad about impregnating A WOMAN IN HER TWENTIES—LIKE SERIOUSLY, LET'S PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE: SOMEONE THIRTEEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN HIM. THIRTEEN. DAMN. YEARS. Why didn’t he just NOT DO IT? Like, as the adult in the relationship, he could’ve genuinely said no. No, this is unacceptable. No. No, sorry. So many years of gender studies and feminist readings for this. SCREW THE NICE GUYS. Like, his whole “woe is me, I’m poor, I’m old, I’m ugly, I’m dangerous” schtick? Well, you should have gone off to Timbuktu then, but don’t get her pregnant only to then abandon her. A TEENAGER HAD TO GO. A TEEN-AGER had to tell him he was being a piece of shit. This is why I say Rowling doesn’t respect her female characters because if she really did, she would have had Tonks dump him and raise the child on her own because, seriously, what was she thinking?

Just talking about this makes me genuinely angry. It's just that Lupin is THAT KIND OF GUY, you know? The one who acts all nice and soft and like he’s never broken a plate in his life, and he’s all poor me, and I’m super nice and super sweet, but then he turns out to be a huge jerk, like a giant piece of work. He’s the textbook nice guy, and one of the worst, the kind who goes after young women. Look, I’m just saying that if Harry Potter were written today and the topic of Lupin came up, and Rowling didn’t condemn him to the stake in her books, she would have been canceled a long time ago. Seriously. There’s no way that in today’s fiction a man nearly 40 years old gets a twenty-something pregnant and threatens to leave her, and that this guy is seen positively by the narrative. Simply no. Canceled. I’m canceling you, Remus Lupin, not for myself, but for feminism. Thanks.

[bestworstcase]

@cryptidblues tumblr ate this one too, maybe drop tumblr support a line to check if you’ve been erroneously shadowbanned 

Oscar is dying! He’s dying! We’re getting the full weight and crisis of the merge in volume 10 I NEED IT. The image of him collapsed on the sand as the sunrises with his back to the long memory OOUGH just like Ruby and crescent rose after she drank the tea, before the tree took her. The reversal on “I don’t want to be me anymore” / please let me stay myself. The lad is being eaten alive! From the inside out! By an unstoppable brain parasite that will kill him! And Replace Him! I Need the slow build up of horror from Oscar and everyone involved. “And Oscar…just isn’t himself” they’re place setting. Getting the table ready. Ooh yknow he’s hiding those merge episodes/attacks from his friends. I NEED the existential terror and dread! BUT I NEED THE CATHARSIS OF OSCAR BEING KNOWN, SEEN & SAVED TOO ;-;

NOT to make a post oscar about ozma instead but the thing that is really, really pulling the hinges off for me is the implication that this is happening because oz started actively fighting the merge. as long as oscar resisted and oz kept up the drumbeat of “this is inevitable, there is nothing either of us can do,” the curse kept on quietly eroding oscar as the boundary became thinner and thinner between them. it was, for lack of a better term, stable. 

the moment oz tries to resist, the curse starts trying to rip him forward. to force him to take over, inflicting what seems to be torturous amounts of pain on both of them. the subtle, silent, invisible violence that was inflicted on oscar before explodes outward to attack both of them. 

how many times have i said this curse is specifically designed to make it impossible for ozma to change? that the whole point is to prevent ozma from ever changing his mind or defying the god of light? never doubt me. the literal fucking instant ozma tries to break free, the curse becomes YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. 

the curse had a failsafe the whole time.

/ozma tangent

oscar though. this poor kid. like the greatest burden on his shoulders in the last four volumes has always been that no one wants to openly acknowledge what’s happening to him and the nature of the merge’s violence being so completely internal means that no one has to look at it except him. and he’s been so isolated in that existential dread but he’s also grown so accustomed to being treated like just. the next ozpin. that when the violence abruptly becomes externalized in reaction to oz’s resistance, oscar… hides it. keeps it to himself. somewhere deep down the idea that it doesn’t matter to anyone what happens to him got lodged in his brain so deeply that he keeps it hidden!!

and i’m obsessed with the emotional complexity the layers of what he’s feeling with regard to ruby, because it’s not as simple as that he misses her and aspires to her optimism; there’s also some underlying resentment there (“you were always so sure that everything would work out…right up until the moment it didn’t” <- paraphrasing) because she was wrong and he wishes he could borrow her certainty but she was wrong. she fell. she was wrong. 

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, everyone else believes that they’re gone forever. that they’re dead. oscar doesn’t. he’s thinking about it in terms of where they might have gone, what might have happened to them, he’s doing research because deep down, there’s a teeny tiny spark of hope that hasn’t been extinguished yet. so there’s this subtext of i wish i had your certainty. even though you were wrong. i’m still trying to find you. we’re still fighting this. you always saw me for who i really was. i don’t know who i am anymore.—there’s this tension throughout the monologue between bitterness and hope, and i don’t know if oscar is even capable of seeing that he is still hopeful or that he does have, if not ruby’s kind of certainty, something of his own that rhymes. he’s feeling this bleak about everything and still trying to figure out where they are because he doesn’t believe they’re dead. 

it was oscar’s idea to put the memorial where the portal had been. it’s taller than a person and shaped like a door. it’s a memorial but it’s also a symbol; the portal is gone, but they were inside it still, we should build our own door so they can find their way home. and then they do, according to the context given. the blacksmith gave them a doorway that went right through their memorial.  ETA: never mind, misremembered

ruby confronting and facing his mortality after running away from it for three volumes to galvanize her to really try to save him vs oscar doing whatever he can think of to somehow save her while roiling in all these complicated painful feelings about how no one cares to know how he’s suffering because it isn’t like there’s any real hope for him. tasty!

[kingsleywrites]

If I'm Taking Care Of Your Ass Then I Sure As Hell Ain't Doing It Sober.

Revivebur x Las Navadas!Male Reader (Romantic)

Fluff, slight suggestive stuff, no smut

Prompt: Reveivebur comes to Las Navadas hurt, he's already here so why not take pity on the poor man and help him out, not without a couple of drinks first though.

CW/TW: Drinking, mentions of blood, mentions of stitching, smoking, cursing

M/N is also a bartender for Quackity

M/N is used (meaning male name)

S/C is used (meaning skin color)

M/N was sitting in his living room, bored out of his goddamn mind. Normally when he was this bored, he'd break into his liquor cabinet, open a bottle of some kind of liquor or cheap wine, and drink till he was shit faced. And he would, unless he wanted to go to work with the worst hangover known to man. You see, Quackity was oh so kind enough to stick M/N on one of the earlier shifts (early being 12) which didn't sit well with the man who stays up till 3 am and sleeps till 3 pm to go to his more normal shifts at 5 pm.

So he was stuck, he could go for a walk, but that would mean he had to leave his house. He could read a book except that it wasn't good enough. Living in Las Navadas was great, he had a great boss and a nice house and a good paying job but that doesn't mean that the slowly growing city had more to do than gamble and drink, which was fun until it got repetitive.

M/N was on the verge of entering the existential crisis talk until a knock came from his door. Which was definitely new. It probably wouldn't be Quackity, that man just spams your communicator with calls and messages till you reply, and Slime had no reason to be at your house at this hour. So who the hell was bothering your mental turmoil? M/N reluctantly got up to answer the door.

"Okay who are you and why the hell- " M/N looked up at the man standing at his doorstep.

"Wilbur fucking Soot." M/N said through his teeth, he crossed his arms and leaned against his door frame.

"In the flesh, literally considering I'm revived, courtesy of Dream may I add." Wilbur had an shit eating grin on his face as he stared at the male in front of him.

M/N did a small face laugh, "Why the hell are you here?" his demeanor quickly changed back to serious.

"What? Can I not come back and see an old friend?"

"You have to be friends in the first place to do that Wilbur, now tell me what you want or I'll just leave you here."

Wilbur straightened his posture and M/N finally noticed that he was holding his arm. His eye traveled down to his hand, where he saw blood start to drip.

M/N quickly grabbed Wilbur's hand, his eyes widening at the sight of the dripping blood. "Asshole, you're gonna get blood on my front porch!" M/N pulled Wilbur inside, closing the door.

"My, my, M/N if you wanted to hold my hand you should've just asked I would've said yes." Wilbur smirked while M/N rolled his eyes.

"Go sit on the couch and don't get blood anywhere, if you do I'll behead you." M/N let go of his hand and walked into his bathroom to find a first aid kit.

After he grabbed one he set it on the coffee table before walking over to his liquor cabinet.

Wilbur laughed lightly as he watched the male rummage through the various bottles, who turned around with an annoyed glare on his face.

"What are laughing about smart ass?"

"Does Quackity not pay you enough to afford proper rubbing alcohol?"

"No, he pays me plenty." The male grabbed a glass and filled it with a couple cubes of ice. "This is for me."

M/N slowly sipped the liquor as he walked back to the couch, sitting next to Wilbur.

"Take off your jacket so I can see what you did." M/N set the cup down and opened the first aid kid while Wilbur took off his jack and folded it neatly behind him.

M/N looked at his arm, slowly pulling the torn fabric away from the wound. "It doesn't look terrible, maybe a few stitches, but you'll live. Now take off your shirt."

"Don't you think you should ask me out first? It's a little rude to ask me to undress seeing as we haven't spoken in so long." That same smirk dawned Wilbur's face.

"Not like that idiot! I meant it as in, let me see the wound better."

Wilbur chuckled to himself, seemingly pleased with getting a rise out of him and removed his shirt placing it on top of his jacket.

M/N grabbed a few rubbing alcohol pads and started slowly cleaning the wound on Wilbur's arm, taking a "small sip" from the glass on the coffee table. After a few times of getting up to throw away blooded gaze pads and rubbing alcohol pads and filling up his glass on the way, he decided to grab the whole bottle of liquor, as well as a bottle of wine and two glasses. M/N filled up the two glasses handing one to Wilbur.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of being granted the pleasure of drinking with you?"

"Stop speaking so poshly, I get it you're fancy, now shut up while I finish wrapping your arm."

Wilbur backed off the male but kept a smile on his face as he watched him wrap his arm in bandages.

When he was done, M/N snipped off the extra and put it back in the first aid kit. He quickly downed the rest of his wine and went to put the first aid kit away.

When he got back, his body was facing forward and his head was tilted upwards toward the ceiling. "I hate you." M/N mumbled.

"How come? All I did was ask for your help, which you could've denied, might I add." Wilbur's tone was somewhat mocking and he put an arm around M/N, playing with the hair on his head.

"I told myself I wasn't going to drink tonight and look where I'm at."

"Well, it's not like I told you to drink."

"If I'm taking care of your ass I'm sure as hell not doing it sober." M/N turned his head to look at the male beside him, he brought a hand up to his face and began to trace down his jawline, stopping at the corner of his lips. M/N slowly climbed over to Wilbur's lap, neither of them breaking eye contact. Wilbur's arms rested at M/N's waist while M/N's other hand rested in Wilbur's crest feeling the soft skin on his fingertips.

M/N leaned in closer to Wilbur, lips slightly parted as they each waited for the other to make a move.

"You do realize the consequences that this can have if you go through with this." Wilbur's voice was barely above a whisper.

"And what's 'this'" M/N giggled as one of his hands slowly moved to the base of Wilbur's hair, lightly playing with the strands.

"I don't think Quackity will like it very much if you kiss his enemy."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

The two got even closer, lips brushing against each other.

"You willing to make that bet?" Wilbur's lips curled into a small smile.

"I'll bet everything I got, pretty boy."

Wilbur laughed lightly before pulling M/N in by his waist, kissing his lips. M/N's hands further tangled themselves in Wilbur's hair while Wilbur's hands were untucking M/N's neat dress shirt, almost desperate to feel his S/C skin.

The two broke apart for air, breathing heavily for a moment before Wilbur began kissing down his jaw and neck.

"God I hate you so much." M/N said, half out of breath

Wilbur hummed on his skin, lightly nipping at it before answering the male.

"If you hate me so much then tell me to stop and I will." Wil looked at M/N, still leaving a trail of kisses on his neck, none of them deep enough to create a hickey though, Wilbur was smarter than that.

M/N let out an airy chuckle, pulling at Wilbur's hair. "No, you're too hot to stop."

Wilbur kissed his cheek, looking M/N in the eyes. "And You're too drunk for me to continue."

M/N groaned, tilting head back. "Why must you do this to me?"

Wilbur chuckled, "Maybe another time darling."

M/N got off his lap, stumbling before regaining his balance, but he was still swaying back and forth.

Wilbur went to grab his jumper before M/N put a hand on Wilbur's cheek making him look back at him.

"Please don't leave." He looked at him with pleading eyes that not even Wilbur could say no to.

"Alright, I'll stay." He stood up and gave M/N a quick kiss before picking him up bridal style and then walked down the hall, M/N's arm was stretched out to one of the doors and Wilbur assumed it was his room.

Once Wilbur sat him down on the bed, M/N quickly began to take off the uncomfortable suspenders and dress shirt before laying down and making grabby hands at Wilbur, who laid next to him.

After a few minutes of cuddling, M/N spoke up.

"I hate you so much." He said holding on tighter to Wilbur and burying his face in his chest.

"I love you too darling."

********

Another one in the bags. I got this idea from reading another story on Wattpad, it's called MidNight Walks by mannequins_inafeild, despite only having two chapters I really liked it so I would consider checking it out!

Also who knew writing kissing scenes was so hard? I literally took a break to work on another story (the one that came out before this one actually) because I didn't know where to go or how to do it. I hope it wasn't too awkward. I don't know how many more scenes I'm gonna do like that in the future but give me some feedback, I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Word Count: 1557

[desultory-novice]

Since Adeleine likes fairies, did she believe in the tooth fairy when she was little? I bet the poor girl had her first existential crisis after finding out she wasn't real.

“I asked dad about the 'tooth fairy' once and he was appalled to hear she took kids' teeth in the middle of the night! He said he's never heard of ANY species of fairy that does that!"

"He wondered if she could be a shape-shifter trying to damage the reputation fairies had on Earth and if so, who she was working for?! Or if she was a fairy that had been corrupted by the forces of darkness! That could be dangerous for everyone everywhere!"

"I didn't know all that but I told him it was okay, that she left treats for the kids and didn't hurt anyone and he seemed relieved! Then he told me cavities are ALSO dangerous for everyone everywhere and to always remember to brush my teeth!"

-

“Now, Noir thought she was a 'myth to give little kids trust issues toward their parents' and that I shouldn't believe in her but that's silly because dad's the reason I believe in fairies in the first place!"

"...I kinda wish he believed too but I know he doesn't like to talk about mom and dad that much so I didn't bring it up a whole lot."

"Still, I wish he at least got the chance to meet Ribbon and Her Majesty the Queen... Ripple Star was such a nice place once we chased Dark Matter off! I like it just as much as Popstar, to be honest! It's like a second...or third (?) home to me!"

-

Noir's Field Trip Masterpost

@kirbyoctournament

[sitp-recs]

Hey Liv,

My friend had the most chaotic day today. She left on holiday and ended up packing at the last minute. Cue bags overflowing in every room, a dog to get into the car, a kid to pick up at daycare and no time to spare.

THEN her husband’s car broke down so she had to go pick him up almost two hours away with both dog and baby in the backseat….

All this so say: she might need a pick me up.

Do you have a Drarry rec where either of them (or both) are absolute chaos/ are under a bad luck spell /…?

Love love love ❤️

Omg your poor friend! 😱 I’m sorry things have been wild for her, that sounds super stressful and overwhelming! I hope everything was okay in the end. This story actually led to a really interesting ask, I did a mix of curses, pranks and bad luck with a touch of angst at the end - hope they work for what you’re looking for!

Humor/Fluff:

Bad Luck, Red Pants, and Broken Washing Machines by @the-starryknight (T, 2k)

After his five year sentence of magical suppression, Draco Malfoy got used to working without his wand. It's just days like today when nothing seems to be going right that he regrets his life in the Muggle world.

Special Affinity by @skeptiquewrites (E, 4k)

Auror partners Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy seem to have a special affinity for getting into convoluted accidental bonds. Once is a mistake, twice is bad luck, and five times...well five times seems like carelessness, doesn’t it?

Bubbles, Baths, and Bad Luck by manixzen (E, 5k)

A poisonous potion covering Professor Potter nearly head-to-toe would normally be a pretty big deal. It should be as bad as his day gets. But that’s before he’s informed that the cure involves a steamy, hot bath with an unrequited crush.

Then Comes a Mist and a Weeping Rain by Faith Wood (E, 21k)

It always rains for Draco Malfoy. Metaphorically. And literally. Ever since he had accidentally Conjured a cloud. A cloud that's ever so cross.

At the Crossroads There We’ll Meet by firethesound (E, 24k)

Potter keeps dying; Draco keeps saving him.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple by birdsofshore (E, 28k)

Harry never thought taking a job as Draco Malfoy's bodyguard was going to be easy. Add in a curse that makes Malfoy even more of an obnoxious git than usual, and Harry's got serious problems.

The Four Ds of Apparition (or: Destination, Determination, Deliberation, and Dicks) by @eidheann, @firethesound (E, 36k)

After transferring to the Apparition Department, Harry's life becomes one big dick joke. And all his friends are arseholes. So is Malfoy, but what else is new? AKA Harry Potter and the eighteen twenty dicks.

Draco Malfoy, It's Your Lucky Day by Faith Wood (E, 38k)

Even though he's unarmed, injured, lost in the Forbidden Forest, and facing a possible murder charge, Draco Malfoy gets lucky.

Skybound by @xanthippe74 (T, 61k)

No matter how much Harry Potter wanted to believe he’d left danger behind when the war ended, it found him again anyway. All he had to do was step out his own front door on a Tuesday morning. A Drarry re-imagining of Howl’s Moving Castle.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop (E, 70k)

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always.

Angst:

Super Rich Kids by @thusspoketrish (E, 81k)

Draco Malfoy has become disillusioned by the glitz and glamour of the scandalous lives of the Post-Second Wizarding War Pureblood Elite. Enter: one existential crisis, one group of thieving cynical friends, and several terrible, terrible decisions.

Nor All That Glisters by @sweet-s0rr0w (E, 110k)

Lonely and frustrated on house arrest, with no prospects for the future, Draco begins brewing Felix Felicis in an attempt to improve his lot. Just in the short term, of course. He isn’t a total idiot.

[miniherodesktales]

Day 9: Music

It was a quiet Tuesday evening and Lister was choosing to spend it in bed watching old episodes of the Clangers. Since the children's program was about musical space mice who lived on their own, little planet, it naturally meant that the Cat was watching with him.

"This is the Earth, our planet, our home..." said the narrator. "It sails serenely through the vast emptiness of space, through the silent nothingness between the stars. But how silent is it? Silent to our ears perhaps but if we had ears that could hear the sound of radio waves then the space between the stars would be far from silent, for all the radio waves in all the worlds are buzzing about in space waiting to be heard..."

'He was dead good, wasn't he, Oliver Postgate?' said Lister. 'It's like having Father Christmas read a bedtime story to you.'

'Yeah,' the Cat agreed. 'It's not half making me hungry, though.'

'He and Peter Firmin, they spent ages, you know, making each set and models and everything. All the planets, all the aliens, all their little space crafts - it's all handmade.'

'Sure it looks plastic,' said the Cat, 'but I prefer it to CGI.'

'And some people said it was too depressing for a kid's show. That the tone and mood was too lonely, too melancholy, for those poor mice all alone on their planet. That they only occasionally came across space rubbish, but I like it. It's weirdly comforting. Until the reboot when they had William Shatner narrating. That was a mistake.'

Of course, Rimmer had to interrupt them.

'Why are you slobbing around in bed this early? Why is the halfwit in my bed? Why are you watching that depressing British kids show from the 1970s? And why can't you hear that annoying whiny noise?'

'Keep telling you: stop talking and it'll go away.'

'But it's driving me crazy!'

'Then shut up, sit down, and watch TV with us.'

Rimmer tried, sitting up on Lister's bunk (the Cat refused to budge) and fixing his gaze on the television screen. But he kept twitching his head and bouncing his leg.

'Will you keep still?' Lister demanded.

'Can't help it, that strange noise will not go away! It's getting louder. How can you not hear?'

Lister held up a hand. 'Ok, Ok, we'll figure it out. Holly! What's going on?'

Holly appeared on the TV screen.

'Alright, dudes? What's happening?'

'Rimmer's hearing things. A strange whiny noise.'

'Oh, that,' said Holly blandly. 'That's Radio 3.'

'What?'

'Yeah, that's right. Don't you like, Arn? You probably still need a little more time to fully tune in, but I'm loving Question Time right now. Nothing like the old "are Jaffa Cakes a biscuit or cake?" debate to keep your mind sharp."

'I'm hearing Radio 3...?' Rimmer asked slowly. 'But how?'

'Well, you're a hologram, Arnold.'

'Yes and?'

'Holograms are made of light. Part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio waves are also a form of electromagnetic radiation. It just makes sense that you can pick up on radio waves. Still though, it's early days for you, isn't it? Give your mind time to adjust and it'll soon make better sense of all that buzzing and whining. You'll be grooving out to the funky music playing in your head in no time.'

Rimmer stared blankly at Holly for a moment. Then he chewed his knuckles. Then he held his head in his hands and made a moaning noise.

'Not happy?' asked Holly.

'I hate being a hologram!' Rimmer growled.

'But it's so cool, dead-bud!' the Cat insisted. 'If we pull your nose can we tune into Channel 27?'

'Cat,' said Lister in a warning tone.

'It's not cool!' Rimmer insisted. He jumped down from the bunk. 'I can hear radio waves? I'm not human, am I? None of you understand how I feel, it's so unfair!'

He dashed out through the wall.

'Let's not tell him that he can also remotely control the microwave,' said Holly. 'Don't worry, lads, he'll be ok.'

'Are you sure?' Lister asked, worriedly. 'He's really upset.'

'It's ok, Dave. He's a young hologram. They all go through their existential crisis phase. However, if he gets a tattoo and starts hanging out with those vending machines in the south hold, then I think we should start worrying.'

Rimmer went to his favourite spot in the observation dome. Up there the signal from the hologram suite could patchy at the best of times and that evening Rimmer could see through his own hands.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and concentrated. The static in his mind buzzed and crackled and whined...but then it softened. It transformed into a perfect sympathy of human voices - the Io Philharmonic Choir - performing the Loki Patera Lament for Radio 3, three million years ago.

Rimmer wept.

Their voices, their music, were over three million years old, and yet they still existed in space - and he could hear them.

"We can imagine these serene stars as any shape or colour we like, but of course, we can't hear them. This star for instance, this serene orb, forever drifting through the night sky, does it ring with the music of the spheres or is it always silent?"

Note: Loki Patera is a volcanic depression on Io with a large larva lake. The Clangers was a beautiful, strange, poetic children's show about a race of mice called The Clangers. When I need inspiration I listen to Oliver Postgate narrating one of his shows.

[justatalkingface]

what's your opinion on the big 3? When I was hyperfoxed on this series they were the thing I care Abt the most (I enjoyed season 4, obv I'd change some stuff now but I still remember it being atleast ok)

I hate how dirty they did my girl nejire, as far as I'm aware they didn't even do anything with her after the whole pagent thing she just got a small backstory about how she was sad (don't know all of it I haven't been keeping up that well w the manga)

mirios not having a quirky and having to save eri (a girl who I can't imagine would be that skilled at the age she is and has been training on lizards to give his quirk back all together, I'd imagine it taking a few more months but bnhas time is shit so) and coming back in the war arc to punch one person and then basically do noting iicr

The only decently written one was amajiki, I wish they had more going on I think they have a fun dynamic (w them helping taking care of eri and me rlly liking idk what it's called but I love the fluff it brings) :(

Lots of mixed feelings, in all honesty. Lots of mixed feelings.

I'll admit, a big part of my mixed feelings about them is they showed up as the latest, 'Stomp on Izuku's everything' at the point in the story where it was becoming obvious that there was always something stomping on Izuku, and that gave me a bad first impression on them I've never been able to shake... which isn't helped by how they're connected to the clusterfuck of Nighteye, of all people, which is kind of my whole thing with Mirio (warning; I am biased):

As a person, he's obviously nice, but as a character, basiclly his entire reason for existing was, 'give Izuku an existential crisis' and I don't think I've ever forgiven him for that, really. His entire character is just bigger, stronger, older, happier, more capable, more confident, more successful, more loved Izuku, who had a Quirk his whole life and only had to dig deep to find out how strong it, and he, was all along.

Unironically. It's....

It's a really bad look, to be blunt; he feels kind of like a bad fanfiction character written by a bad writer who wanted to put their super special OC in the story, except he's canon.

Since we've never seen him even think something unheroic, there's really nothing that distinguishes him from that impression factual statement, which, again, makes it hard for me to give a shit about him, or even remember him... which is a problem Hori seems to share, lol. It doesn't help that I loathe Sir Nighteye and that most of his development time is spent admiring him, to boot, and that his parts of the story are either empty or focused on a living plot device I can't quite like no matter how hard I try because of how blatant the emotional manipulation is about the biggest story breaking, SOD shattering plot device until Stars and Stripes showed up.

If he ever got any kind of development to flesh him out a human being rather than being either Izuku and/or a heroic archetype, it'd help, but beyond all of that his biggest personality trait is liking jokes, and that barely even comes up. Or, rather, considering both the Final Arc and his response to Bakugou's name, along with Nighteye's own tendencies, 'jokes', maybe.

He doesn't deserve it, I admit it, it's not his fault, but I just can't get past that. He also doesn't deserve to just be forgotten until his big moment of a butt joke, but... MHA, everyone. In all honesty, I'd just like him better if his entire story arc didn't exist in and as some of the worst parts of the Overhaul arc, but he's tainted by that fact.

I freely admit that I am unfairly biased against him, so take all of that with a mountain of salt.

As a side note though, god, the story doesn't seem to realize how badly Nighteye is using the poor kid; Mirio thinks Nighteye is training him because he's worthy, while Nighteye mainly seems to be doing it because he's the closest thing to an All Might clone he can get, bar him actually cloning All Might, even if he grew to like him for who he is. I'm not sure Nighteye ever thought of Mirio with just his Quirk as anything more than a temporary situation; even at the start of canon, when on his own merits he's rising to fame with how successful he is, Nighteye's overall focus is still about getting AFO into the kid.

I almost wish I could see Nighteye explaining how all of his training came down to getting All Might's Quirk, just to see MIrio react and tear Nighteye down a peg about it, except Hori's history of handling these kinds of things means he'd never be allowed to be properly offended on his own behalf, the poor bastard.

Moving on, Tamaki. Out of all of them, he's had the biggest of an on-screen story arc, and in a intellectual way his Quirk is easily the most interesting. Unfortunately, while he has a personality, it feels so bland at times that he's far easier to remember for his Quirk than who he is.

I liked his story, really, but at the time it was overshadowed by Mirio and his everything, and by the time he showed back up it was clear how irrelevant it and he was, so it was more about how (admittedly, very) cool he get his Quirk to be than it was about him, and with some brutal honesty, it's probably because his Quirk is so interesting that he even got that much focus beyond that initial arc by Hori.

And... Nejirie.

In a combat sense she's easily the best of them, really; Mirio is almost purely defensive, which limits him (especially if he's not surprising someone with it) while Tamaki's Quirk, while flexible, is so conditional in ways that can easily hold him back (we only ever see him fight with full preparation; if he's not gearing for a fight he'd be easy to ambush), and like a lot of things in the Final Arc, his big laser canon thing is.... questionable.

Nejirie, though, is just simply powerful. In a setting where everyone has one power and one main application of that power, where you either fly or blast things, but not both, she's the closest I've seen to a 'traditional' super hero, like you'd see in Marvel or DC.

At the same time, though, out of the three of them she least has a story, for obvious reasons, and it's a disgrace, really. If Hori had just spent some time on her, on the her backstory that apparently exists (yeah, I'm not sure where that is either), she could have been so interesting... but really, all she is is the Girl Teammate. Her personality traits are The Girl Teammate's personality traits. She's just The Girl Teammate stamped over all of the interesting stuff, and it's such a waste, it really is.

And finally, as a unit? The Big Three is a shiny toy that Hori forgot in the corner somewhere as soon as he got bored with it. He spent a few minutes oohing and aahing over them, focusing really hard on developing interesting powers, how they could be used, and how strong they were, only to start to lose interest as soon as those powers were established, and he was writing the three of them off before their introductory arc was even over.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

FOP: A New Wish e16?, 18-22

well would you lookit that, new episodes. thanks internet for telling me...since i don't watch cable live...but man, we are starting the wonky releasing aren't we? e17 was e16, but now e16 is 2 episodes after e17?? the more things change, the more they stay the same eh? lol

Episode 16: Lost and Founder's Day

yeah like i said, wonky episode ordering. i know they sometimes air out of production order, but this? this is also a full 22 min episode?? nice. i guess that's why it's so out of order...wouldn't have that problem if you didn't split 22 min eps into 11 min ones, just saying...

huh, and description is saying that Dale is the new Crocker...yeah, i can easily see that...it's the plot of s2 of the Santa Clauses

so story time proper now

oh right the Dimmadome hat, because Doug founded the town, du how'd i forget that.

aww Dev is still glasses-less. but lol smart watch that can't tell time, classic

pfffft the mentioning of Poof and Cosmo's slip of the tongue, that's great. nice that they acknowledge that Cosmo had him. but wait, did they just admit that they left him alone for 10,000 years while on vacation? it hasn't been 10,000 years...but still, you left your son at boarding school this entire time??? guys

oh hey recurring wish characters, just chilling in the wild, not drawing any attention for weirdness...why'd Mark have to hide in the past again

pfft Dimm n' Out Burgers

Doug got gold in 1953...the original series was like mid 90s...???

oh Hazel's gonna wish for others, now we're pulling Live Action plots...but also Wishmas...but also standard, and was that the standard kid hurray that FNaF uses??

dawww Dev :( i mean i know we knew the statute wasn't gonna be good, but poor Dev. and wow laying on the Poof referencing heavy; if i hadn't been spoiled that he's returning it wouldn't be a surprise because that is not foreshadowing, that's a neon sign

and hat montage...ok...at least it's not a musical number i guess...and it is a nice commercial break spot, because *double length episode*

heh snarky Dev. but also daww protecting Hazel

and dawww 3rd act breakup?? Dev hunny

but now we have terminator founders' day statues. this is getting crazy again, and i love it

ha! callback to the "oh great the wand not working noise". also callback to Cosmo was right

pfft "Dill Pickle Dimmadome". just a dumb joke, or Rugrats shoutout, you decide!

huh just now realizing that the non-Roman Dimmadome was French, very obviously a French trapper, so...are the Dimmadomes also Canadian?

dawwww Hazel be nice to Dev! he did save you

HEY! Poof is back! yes, yes, he's Peri now; very grown up, not a questionable foreign slur, i know. and he's Dev's fairy????? ok i did not see that how he came back; i expected him in an episode or two. but how interesting that the spoiled rich kid who's parents don't love him gets the purple fairy...again...

well, i guess i can see why this was produced as e16, but aired after e18 since that's sort of a big plot point

Episode 18: Work Her Magic

so chronologically this should be before Lost and Founder's Day...lets see is that matters. because this series does have some ongoing continuity to it...

synopsis has the standard plot of kid thinks parent is overworking so wants to spend time with them. doesn't sound like Add-a-Dad, so that's good

adult Hazel design? huh

heh the puppet replacement is back...and having an existential crisis??? O.o this show man...i love it

hey design for Antony

interesting montage

wait what was the name of the building??? E-Lidder+Acey Publishing. oh, ok, it went by so fast i thought it was E-Leddy, as in similar to Mr Turner's boss at the pencil pushed factory office thing. idt there's a connection, carry on

there's no Un-Wish Island for Hazel, but instead a cosmic void...filled with neon glitter...Mad Muse Mythos??? O.o

ah well, the ending was good enough. this was a low magic, personal growth episode, which is always grade a good. but you know...i feel like there could be a wish uprising in the future, just like Un-Wish Island...oh and no, idt this being aired out of order in comparison to Lost and Founders Day matters at all

Episode 19: Crock to the Future

so many pun titles, i am loving it. but Crocker is back??? did he get demoted to janitor after his affair with Vicky (heh yes i will never forget the worst part of Odder, and neither will any of you so it will never happen again)(also this is NOT the Odder timeline so i know there's no correlation...other than the cosmic multiverse deciding to punish him for eth actions in an alternate reality lol). but...since the internet spoiled that there's an adult AJ, this is sort of a missed opportunity to have it be adult Kevin...not that i want Kev to be a carbon copy of Crocker, but still. would help narrow the timeline more (gimme adult Chloe! gimme proof there's no Sparky!!), seeing as Poof is grown and present, so we know it's not a Channel Chasers timeline...

anywhos, actual episode!

AJ!!! Anthony James Junior is AJ's full name??? and he's into Paranormal Science/ uh...that doesn't really track, but AJ!?

but also, claiming that the experts said a ghost containment unit was impossible...so this is not the same universe as DP, since that is confirmed as possible. i know it wasn't really a connected universe before, but confirmation that they are separate is nice...though i say that and watch as Jack and Maddie end up in a background shot coming up lol

wow their paranormal detector works

AJ!! "remember him from the original series?" lol but yeah this has got to be 20 years in the future minimum...

hey there's Mark and his ship on that mural!

IT'S CROCKER!!!!!! and he looks so OLD! zomr i love it, he looks so much like Dolores and Albert. and he still has the FaIrYgOdPaReNtS!!

huh we acknowledge that Crocker was their godkid, nice

Wanda, why would you think Crocker covering eth building in a net is impossible? he afforded to do that back on a teacher's salary, he can certainly do that on a janitor's

Timmy name drop!

so Crocker does this every year...AJ knows his old teacher works for him. neat!

well this was actually a very fun cameo episode! i highly approve!! shame Kev didn't show up to pick Crocker up at the end, and it'd mimic how Denzel was with Dolores, but better since Kev isn't fairy crazy...i liked Kev lol

Episode 20: Battle of the Dimmsonian

description says Dev and Hazel magic battle. so...it's Remy Rides Again

oooo Dev's the wishy-washy wisher, that's neat. it goes to show that even he doesn't know what eh wants or needs

waitwiatwait "remember episode 13 when i was horse and you were a cowboy hat" e13 of NW was Stany Danky and was there cowboy wear in that? e13 of the original series was Christmas Everyday and...no i think it was only Maria that was a cowboy there. hm.....

oh are they going to follow the "fairy godparents can't out other fairy godkids" rule??

Brindle Folk people lived in Dimmadelphia before settlement huh? ad they have a lot of antlers...and a spirit named Viozalia...and that looks like a portal....otter-deer fae nice (i see what you meant saying i had a lot to work with in these new episodes lol)

hey that looks like a ghost portal...fae spirit...yeah that tracks...heh called her a demi-god wow. wrath of the underworld? what is this show?? i love it!!

hehe Viozalia tricking Dev into giving her the staff; classic fae.

"what to do if your kid tries to start the ghost apocalypse" that is actually a thing that they though could happen/has happened before?? also ghost apocalypse, and child possession, this is amazing

the family reveal was fun lol

dawww Dev not knowing how friendships work

hehe Ghostbusters references all around

that was actually a really good episode. very enjoyable, plot progressive, character progressive, very spoopy. A+ team

Episode 21: Patty Possum's Party Playground

is that a FNaF reference??? and did they forget that they already have Mikey Mozzarella's?? and description says Hazel wishes eth animatronics to life...it is FNaF holy crap!!!

Patty Possum looks like a female Mikey Mozzarella...

and if Winn watched her show in daycare, it's at least a 5 year old franchise

man i love Ski-Ball

Patty invited the children onto the stage to be her new posse...she's gonna try to keep them isn't she...

ah another instance of Cosmo and Wanda being idiots and loosing their wands the most stupid way because if they didn't there'd be no plot

haha yup there it is, she's keeping those children. time to survive until 6 am kids

wait what was the tunnel graffiti?? Miss you Mom...with 25 tick marks and a skeleton, oh...i thought it was something cooler. carry on

ok i am so into this musical number. the background music is actually going good this ep

dawww lesson of the week time; friends are friends even when they are apart

oh no the possum is stealing not-Timmy to stuff him into a suit to be the new turtle or something! lol

ok, so this was fun. didn't go as dark as the other spoopy episodes, but it was still fun, and filled with fodder.

Episode 22: A Date to Remember

this one's description sounds like a Lovestruck light...but hey more returning characters!

oh actually it seems like it's got some Apartnership mixed in too actually...huh...neat

hey, Cosmo's referencing their first date from "Floating with You" from School's Out: The Musical. you guys did your homework a bunch

wait she made that wish...oh geeze Hazel Marty McFlyed herself...oh wait no, not time traveling, but basically yeah

heehee 2d versions of stuff that happened, love it

what happened to Cupid?? O.o this character is like, 100% different than the original. are we saying that Cupid isn't a person but an office/title now? so this isn't the same Cupid?? redoing Father Time was since since he wasn't a highly established character, but Cupid was, and since we had April Fool reffs it's not like you guys never saw OG Cupid

all the sports jokes are going over my head. i don't sport ball.

but you know, the message that love isn't just a point game, and that Angela still had free will to choose despite the game saying otherwise, that's great.

so other than the confusing character...it was ok

Episode 23: Lost in Fairy World

the kids get lost and fairies have to find them before Jorgen finds out? is it now illegal to bring your godkids to Fairy World?? i mean, tat should've been a rule from the start, but why now?

heehee family brunch of candy. and Dev's first Fairy World exposure, nice. but you know what, this is actually really cute and clever setup giving Peri to Dev. Dev's an only child with an absent father (and no mother in sight), so he gets a single godparent. BUT he also happens to also get 2 grand-godparents and a godsister/aunt in the form of Hazel. Dev gets the big loving family he wants so badly. meanwhile, Hazel started this by loosing her brother's friendship when he moved away, and feeling distant from her parents; well she got herself 2 more godparents for the attention, and now has a godbrother and godnefew/goduncle and godcousin/brother (i know technically it works one way but the dynamics of the personal interactions feel the other so just role with it). she's gotten back her family she thought she lost. this was really good story telling here.

anywhos, Fairy World!! oooo map...with several locations....ooooooooooooo

Cosmo and Wanda being over bearing parents to Peri is great. and Peri saying Dev's his first godkid...eh...i guess he's technically right since we only saw him assigned to Dolores in Fairly Old Parent before...

ok we're going on a world tour! first stop: Star Dome. it's...a wand garden? i feel like we established wand production in the past but i can't recall when... second stop: Rainbow Highway. not much to it third stop: Dollfins. it's...dolphins, but dolls...wut? this seems silly fourth stop: Wings n' Thangs. it's a factory...mk...well since Norm did have wings stapled onto his back i guess wing manufacturing is a thing

Jorgen seems stupider than he used to be...i blame the sweater vest

the kids unwished themselves? wait what?? THAT'S the Hocus Poconos?? Wish storage...Unwish Island...the glitter void where the puppet went...is that this place??? I...hu...and there is an Un-wish dragon. i...hm...

pfft ok i'll give the dragon the meta joke, that was funny

and i guess this new system does make sense, seeing as Timmy got Un-Wish Island because his Wish Storage was over willed, so dumping the unwishes in a designated area with something to destroy them does make sense. now i'm hoping there's a rebel Gary here and we go Mad Max with a smattering of other unwishes lol

pffft Fredanator head, nice. i guess it's cameo time....holy crap that was a skeletal snake!Vicky in a milkshake glass O.o show!! i love you

wait ate a godkid again?? O.o!!!!

lol Dev learning no lessons. he's trying guys, he's learning...slowly lol

ok not a bad episode. very much a cameo game. still loving this show, looking forward to next week's crop.

[padfootagain]

Something Good (XIV)

Chapter 14 : The Meerkats

Hello! Here is a new chapter for my Ben Barnes series!

Today we have: an existential crisis, some Sally cuteness and a realisation!

Hope you like this chapter! Tell me what you think!

****

Pairing: Ben Barnes x Reader

Warnings: none for this chapter! Slow burn, professor AU.

Summary: Coming out of a divorce and trying to get used to being a single mom, while teaching your classes at University, you thought your life could not get more complicated than it already is. But when you are asked to take care of the theatre club with the colleague that you really can’t get along with, you realize that everything can still get ten times more complicated in your life. And when you start actually liking Professor Barnes, the troubles only grow exponentially…

Word Count: 3344

Masterlist for the series – Ben Barnes’ Masterlist – Main Masterlist

That night, Ben drove to Miles’s house without calling to ask if he could. He didn’t go home, he drove straight to Miles’s place. And his friend was more than surprised to find Ben on his threshold on this Sunday evening; even though it was, by all means, a pleasant surprise.

“Ben! What are you doing here? Come in!”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Ben whispered.

Miles frowned, finally noticing how much his young friend seemed in disarray.

He was dishevelled, with eyes looking around in a blank gaze, voice shaky…

“Ben, come in. What happened? What’s wrong?”

He ushered Ben inside, guiding him to his leaving room, and helping him take off his coat, because the poor man seemed too shaken to even realise that he ought to take it off…

“Ben! How lovely to see you!” George’s cavernous voice rang through the room, warm and welcoming.

But he frowned too at the sight of his friend looking completely panicked, standing motionless in his living room.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, the question aimed at both Ben and his husband.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” Miles guided Ben to his couch.

“I’m sorry to bother you like this…”

“Don’t be silly now! You’re not bothering us at all! Now, come on. Tell us what’s bothering you so much. You don’t seem well.”

Finally, Ben struggled to swallow and looked up at his former colleague.

His dark eyes were drowning with tears.

“I… I don’t know what to do. Miles, I’m… I don’t know what to do…”

Miles and George exchanged a worried glance, before they sat down on the couch too, on each side of their friend.

“What did you do? What happened?” Miles pressed him on.

“I… I didn’t mean to… I just… I thought that it was nothing but I…”

Ben let out a shaky breath, looking up at the ceiling to hold back his tears.

He sniffed, struggling to swallow the lump in his throat.

“I think… I think I’m in love with her.”

George’s and Miles’s expressions changed from worried to surprised.

“Miles… I think I’m in love with Y/N.”

And Miles was smiling now, and he was about to show his happiness when Ben closed his eyes, letting a tear roll down his cheek in the process. He buried his face in his hands.

“What am I going to do? What should I do? I have no fucking clue, Miles…”

“Now, Ben, calm down! There’s no need to be so upset!”

“Of course, there is!” Ben looked up at his friend as if he were mad. “I’ve fallen in love. And with Y/N, of all people!”

“She’s a wonderful woman.”

“Yes, she is! She truly is.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“I… Miles, I’m a mess.”

Ben shook his head, tears back in his eyes.

“I’m such a mess. And I… I’m not sure I’m ready for that. And… and she has a kid and…”

He tightly closed his eyes, trying to calm down, taking deeper breaths.

“My life is complicated enough as it is, Miles…”

“But… Y/N… Alright, let’s calm down, first. And then, you’ll tell us what happened, alright?”

Ben nodded, took a couple of minutes to collect himself, and then told the couple about what had happened in London. The way you had gotten much closer, the way he had realised he was falling for you, even though, at the time, he thought it was but a mere crush.

And he told them about this week, about the way he couldn’t stay away from you, about the way you were always in his thoughts, the way he could barely eat, the way he dreamt of you.

And he told them about this afternoon, spent with you and your daughter, about how happy he was, about the realization that struck him with full force.

And now… now he was panicking.

“Alright, alright, calm down. Now is time to take a deep breath, and calm down,” George decided, but Ben glowered at him.

“If you tell me one more time to calm down, I swear, I’ll kick your arse…”

“Alright, alright…”

“The important question is: are you certain that you love her?” asked Miles.

But Ben nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure. I love her.”

“Then… why not ask her out for dinner? Or a movie?”

But Ben frowned.

“Have you even listened to what I said?”

“I did.”

“I’m a mess, Miles. I’m… completely, utterly… terrified. And I can’t drag her into my mess, she has enough of that to deal with, with her husband, her job, her daughter… and there’s Sally. This kid is amazing and I… It’s not just about Y/N, it’s about her daughter as well. And I… What if I… What if I start loving them, and they leave, like Julia did?”

He heaved a sigh, letting himself fall back into the couch.

“What am I gonna do? Why did I get myself into this mess in the first place…”

“You can’t control who you love, Ben.”

“I know.”

“Just… take a few days to think about all this. Because right now, you’re panicking because you’ve just understood what your feelings mean. You need to take a few days. No decisions to be taken tonight, alright?”

“I’ll get the guest room ready for you,” George added. “You’ll stay over for tonight.”

“No, no, I don’t want to bother you like that,” Ben shook his head, but George was already standing up, brushing his protest away with a mere gesture of the hand.

“Come on, Ben. It’ll be alright. You’re just afraid to be vulnerable again. You need time to process it all. In a few days, you’ll feel better. You’ll see.”

Ben heaved a sigh, but gave his friend a sad smile all the same.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for ruining your evening.”

“You’re not ruining anything, don’t worry about that.”

“I’m just… having kind of an existential crisis…”

“Yeah, I had noticed that,” Miles chuckled.

“Please, don’t tell anyone. No one can know about this. Give me your word you won’t tell anyone…”

“Of course not. Don’t worry, I promise you, I won’t tell.”

“I just… I just feel so lost…”

“You need time to process all this and to think about it.”

When Ben spoke again, his voice was so fragile, it was barely more than a shaky whisper.

“Miles, do you think… do you think that she could ever love me?”

His friend frowned.

“Why wouldn’t she?”

And Ben didn’t answer. He knew why, he had a long list of reasons why, but… he wanted to believe, even if for a mere moment, that perhaps, you could love him, one day.

“Ben, you’re a wonderful man. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re kind… There’s no reason for her not to fall in love with you.”

Slowly, Ben nodded, but Miles was not fooled, and now more than ever, he wished he could see Julia again and kick her arse for hurting his friend so badly that now… now he thought that he would never be loved. Now, he thought he would never be enough for anyone, simply because she made him believe he was not enough for her.

Miles was right. Ben needed time to get used to the way he felt for you, to think about what to do, to decide what to do next.

He tried again to stay away, but he failed miserably once more, and so, he had to accept that he liked you too much to keep his distance…

…loved you too much, actually. Love, that was the right term.

So, he leaned into his feelings instead. He embraced your presence every time he could, worked hard to make you smile as much as possible, listened carefully to your voice so he could remember it later, repeat every intonation in his head.

Meanwhile, you were trying to push your feelings away, but it wasn’t much of a success. You longed to spend more and more time with him, to listen to his laughter, and look into his eyes, and laugh at his silly jokes. And the truth was, you missed the kind of moments you had shared in London, just the two of you, outside of work, going on long walks and talking for hours…

The first invitation was a little clumsy. Even you felt uncomfortable as you walked inside Ben’s office on a Thursday afternoon. But you made your offer anyway, a warm smile on your lips.

“I was just wondering… Sally’s with Liam this weekend so I thought… maybe we could… do something together. Do you have plans already?”

He did, actually. But his friends would have to go bowling without him because there was no way Ben was going to miss an opportunity to spend time with you.

“No, I haven’t. Huh… sure! Yeah, let’s do that! What would you like to do?”

“We could… go for a walk or… go see a movie?”

Ben’s grin doubled in size.

“A movie sounds fun!”

“I haven’t been to a cinema in ages!”

“Then, one more reason to go there. Saturday night? What about some dinner before that?”

“Sure! Indian?”

“Perfect.”

Perfect.

That was how the evening turned out to be. It wasn’t a date, and both Ben and you were well aware of it. Still, you hadn’t laughed that much since London, and Ben had not felt like himself that much in a long time. And if it had been a date, you would have considered it like the best date you had ever had, only, you didn’t kiss at the end when Ben walked you to your front door. And if it had been a date, Ben would have considered it like the best date he had ever had, only, he didn’t hold your hand in the dark room of the cinema.

You didn’t want him to leave when he bid you goodnight. He didn’t want to walk away when you leaned closer, hesitated, and kissed his cheek, the way you had that Sunday afternoon at the park.

He was the one to ask if you would like to go to the Leeds Art Gallery the next day, and you accepted without thinking. So, the second invitation was a little unexpected.

But Ben loved it. How smart you were as you talked about the paintings you admired together. How funny you were as you made silly jokes. How soft your lips seemed to be as he admired them instead of the paintings on the walls…

And you loved it too. The way Ben kept on goofing around and making you laugh so much your sides were painful and a few visitors glowered at you. The way he talked about the paintings you admired together. The way his hands flexed every now and then, long fingers that seemed agile and smooth, palms that seemed so warm, when you admired them instead of the paintings on the walls…

But the third invitation was a little weird. You talked about your weekend with Sally after picking her up from Liam’s place. And when you mentioned Ben, you were surprised that your daughter seemed eager to see him again.

“He’s nice,” she answered in a frown when you asked her why she wanted to see Ben again. “It was a lot of fun to play with him at the park. Can we go back to the park with him on Sunday, mummy?”

But you shook your head.

“I don’t know, angel. He’s probably busy, you know. Besides… it’s a little complicated.”

Because it was one thing to spend time with Ben, it was another to spend time with Ben when you were with Sally.

Did you want her to get attached? After all, Ben was a colleague. He had become a friend and… you couldn’t deny that you felt something more for him but… he was still a colleague. What if he left, and broke Sally’s heart?

But when you came back on Monday with no answer, Sally was so disappointed, you couldn’t act as if nothing was happening.

Besides… you were falling for Ben. You could feel it. It was a slow, steady slope down which you were drifting, slowly but steadily.

For the first time since your husband, you were beginning to wonder if you could find love again. Proper, real love.

And if your feelings made you hope that you could, that Ben could be this person to show you how to love and feel loved all over again then… then he and Sally needed to get along. Because you would have broken your own heart rather than your daughter’s. Before letting yourself acknowledge the depth of your feelings for him, you needed to be certain that Ben could be good for Sally.

And so, on Tuesday, at lunch, after Ben had handed you a knife and a fork without a word, you looked up at him with discomfort and something shy, hesitant.

He frowned at the sight.

“You’re alright?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What’s going on? Did you have a bad morning? Is it Sally?”

“No… or… actually, kind of… Sally…”

But you fell silent, and Ben grew visibly worried.

“Is she alright?”

“Yes! She’s splendid, but she… she asked if you would like to go to the park with us on Sunday.”

Ben raised a surprised eyebrow, clearly taken aback.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“But… why?”

“She had fun with you that afternoon at the park. And… I talk about you sometimes, and… I don’t know, she wants to see you.”

Ben’s throat tightened, but he wasn’t sure why. Because he was touched? Because he was scared?

“Would you like that?” you went on. “Would you like to come with us, on Sunday?”

“I… I don’t know,” Ben answered truthfully.

And he noticed the way you nodded, the way you smiled, the way you looked down at your meal. You seemed sad, disappointed, but also… as if you were expecting it.

Because you were. Expecting it. You were a mother, what were you thinking? Why would Ben want to sign up for a five year-old? Just to be with you?

You reminded yourself that you were not worth it.

But your head snapped up at him again.

“I mean… I’d love to but… is it okay? I mean… We’re friends, but Sally is your daughter. I don’t want to overstep. I don’t want to do something that’s… out of line. And having your daughter with us… is that alright for you? Do you feel comfortable with that?”

“Do you?”

Ben chuckled.

“Your daughter is amazing. Of course, I do. I spent a lovely afternoon with the two of you.”

“You don’t think that it’s… too much?”

Ben considered the question for a second. But then, slowly, he shook his head.

“Sally is a part of you. A very important one, too. I feel… honoured, really. I feel lucky that you could even consider opening that piece of your life to me. I’m just… worried that you might think that I’m taking too much space. That I’m… I’m not enough for that kind of thing.”

He didn’t really understand why you had tears in your eyes, but when you smiled at him again, you weren’t so hesitant anymore.

“I’d love for you to come with us, Ben. If you would like to, I’d love that.”

He smiled, the last doubts in his mind slowly dissipating.

“Alright. I’ll come then.”

The adventure to the park turned into an exploration of the zoo.

You went with Ben and Sally to Tropical World, the small zoo hosted by Roundhay Park. And Sally was overexcited, especially because she adored…

“MEERKATS!”

She ran to the enclosure, leaving you to hurry after her, chuckling fondly.

“Look!”

She pointed at the animals, her eyes filled with amazement.

“He’s on sentry! Look!” she exclaimed as one of the meerkats stood up on his back legs, looking around.

Sally turned to Ben.

“Did you know that there is always a Meerkat keeping watch for their group?”

“Yeah, they’re protecting their family.”

“Yes! And not just the family, but their whole group! And they eat insects! Which is kind of… not-yummy.”

You and Ben chuckled at her choice of words.

“It is quite disgusting…” Ben admitted. “I would not like to try that very much. Would you?”

“No… I want to be a meerkat though! Or a pirate…” she seemed to ponder the question, undecisive.

“You could be a pirate meerkat,” Ben proposed.

“Of course not! Meerkats don’t have pirates!”

“What if a meerkat had an eye-patch?”

“You need a sword too! And meerkats can’t have swords. Can they, mummy?”

“I don’t think they can, angel,” you shook your head. “But you would make a very scary pirate meerkat.”

Sally grinned up at you.

“Thank you, mummy!”

She turned to Ben again.

“Could you be a meerkat?”

“Of course! Look!”

Ben stood very straight, raising an eyebrow and looking around, giving his best imitation of a meerkat. Both you and Sally exploded in laughter.

“Hey! Don’t laugh at the meerkat in me!” Ben joked, faking outrage, which made both of you double with laughter.

He grumpily mumbled something unintelligible, crossing his arms before his chest, but he wasn’t very convincing.

You spent a long time watching the meerkats, and you indulged Sally as long as she wanted to watch the animals. You then moved on to the snake part of the zoo, which your daughter also adored. Ben’s meerkat joke actually turned into a game, and every time one of you said ‘meerkat’, the others had to mimic the animal.

You managed to snap a picture of Ben and Sally during their imitation, and they were way too cute for your poor heart.

You watched as Ben picked up your daughter so she could see the green snake hiding in the leaves. You stood a few steps away, close enough to hear their conversation, but far enough to let them be.

“Oh! I see it!” Sally cried, focusing hard on the snake.

“It has the same colour as the leaves. It’s hiding very well.”

“LOOOK! It’s opening its mouth! Wooooowww…”

She looked at Ben with a small frown after the snake had stopped yawning.

“Can you open your mouth that big too?”

“No,” Ben shook his head. “Snakes can open their mouth very wide. Their jaw is different from ours.”

“I can open my mouth that much!”

She opened her mouth as wide as she could.

“You too! Do it, Ben!”

He chuckled, but opened his mouth wide all the same.

He didn’t notice when you took a picture. He didn’t notice when you smiled so fondly at him, it looked like something beyond tenderness. He didn’t notice when your eyes filled with tears and you had to brush them away.

Because your heart had expanded, as if it longed to escape the restraints of your ribs. It seemed to glow, from a warmth that had settled inside of it. It’s beating was faster, harsher, a little more raw and desperate and true, too.

And you knew what it was. You had felt that way before, for someone else.

But then, it wasn’t surprising at all.

Because you had fallen. It was simply the end of the slope, or, rather, another section of it. After all, the chasm seemed bottomless. You were pretty sure that if you kept on seeing Ben, you would keep on falling.

You had fallen. It had been easy. And you thought you would be terrified, and you were, for a part; but then again, you were mostly happy, and giddy, and excited.

You knew then, how far your feelings for him ran. You had no way to push them away anymore.

It was easy, then, to realize what your feelings meant, to put a name on them. And you were happy about it.

When the realization struck you, full and raw and complete, your eyes grew a little round in surprise, and you smiled, too.

Oh…

Oh, yes…

***************************************

Taglist : @reg-arcturus-black @sergeantbuckybarnes @wolfmoonmusic @idek-what-to-put @kpicard @rhapsodyonthethames

[aprillikesthings]

s5 ep8 Shot in the dark

woohooo

Off topic but while looking for fan art of Catra from the portal (ugh I need to try different tags) I instead saw a bunch of anti-Catra and anti-Catradora and anti-spop blogs and jfc people need to get a life and touch some grass and if I'm saying that--

(I mean, I did leave the house today with Saer and their mom, we went to Powell's books where I spent too much money but I got a couple of wlw manga and a Judith Butler book among a few other things, and also we went to a vintage clothing store that seemed to have NO END but I bought one thing there, a lavender satin bathrobe, the short kind; the only thing wrong with it was that it's a bit faded in some places and it's a little small on me but it's a bathrobe, and it was like $26 AND 100% SILK)

a question many astronauts have surely asked as well!

these two squabbling but not actually fighting always sounds like flirting, it doesn't help that a split second after that screenshot, Catra actually smiles for a second

Look. I love them.

Bow: "Adora, Catra's right" Everyone's eyes: go wide Bow: "...that felt weird to say"

the startled noise they all make when he starts talking lolol

but Catra has some flashes (from when she was in the hive mind) and says Krytis is a planet, nice. There's something there Horde Prime doesn't want them to know--so they head for Krytis, roll intro theme

:O

oh man they really did start changing this up every episode. Look at poor Perfuma's face.

Anyway on Krytis they find an old Horde ship and everyone else is trying to figure out what happened but poor Catra is remembering what it was like to be chipped :(

there's a cute moment when she notices her tail is all fluffy from fear and smooths it out before joining the others

there's a "crack" video where Entrapta's little walk here is dubbed with a clip from an ancient Spiderman show's theme song

ahaha

LOOK AT HER the way Bow says this is so great

POOR CATRA

Adora laughs longer than anyone else after Catra gets the helmet off and Catra blushes and smiles and everyone stands around not wanting the ruin the moment--and then Entrapta finds something and squeals and startles the shit out of everyone and it's SO GREAT

Catra: "So, wait, the plan is to barge ahead into the structurally unsound building to find some mystery person that we know nothing about, in hopes that they somehow know how to defeat Horde Prime?"

Bow: "You know, we were just gonna recklessly blast our way through that blockade until you stopped us. So this whole thing is basically your idea."

Catra's starting to realize what DORKS they all are and that good-natured teasing is just part of the deal

the GLEE with which they are including her

I didn't mean to get a screenshot that makes it look like Adora is staring at Catra's butt, but(t) I'm not mad about it

Meanwhile, on Etheria:

yikes

"and yet we're still stuck with you?"

HAH

Back on Krytis Wrong Hordak is having an existential crisis as he realizes Horde Prime is not perfect

Catra fuckin' slices a door into the wall

Bow: dunno if that's safe Glimmer: yeah I'm not sure about this either Adora: MY GIRLFRIEND IS STRONK and has v sharp claws isn't she perfect

seriously tho Adora is BLUSHING

Catra's face

Glimmer's too, actually

oh god it's the bit where Catra keeps sneezing at the spore things in the air and Bow is just like 🥺

Adora's reaction to this conversation is also priceless

Anyway a second later, Catra leans on the wall and sinks into it, she shrieks and Adora yells "CATRA!!" and when they pull her out the wall starts sending out HUGE MURDER SPIKES

Back on Etheria:

Castaspella: "You said you had a plan. The only reason I'm following you is because if anyone would know about mind control, it's you." Shadow Weaver: "Mind control? Is that what they told you? No. My gifts were always far subtler."

I dunno, I think torturing kids is hardly "subtle." But abuse is often hard to spot while it's happening to you.

y'know, like this shit

Okay in fairness she says she was less powerful as well and now he's chipped he's under control by the enemy and they're not strong enough to fight him

On Krytis, the Squad realizes they've gotten confused/turned around in the abandoned ship--"Isn't this where we started?!" There's a growling noise. The hallway somehow gets longer while they're walking in it. Creepy as fuck.

Oh and also it turns out Horde Prime and the First Ones fought over Krytis ages ago and Prime won but then abandoned the place anyway.

Entrapta: also there's someone right behind you

yay i know who this is lol

ALSO Catra insisting on protecting everyone is v cute

also it took me three times to get this screenshot ahahaha

and when she tackles it they both disappear

the audible PANIC

OH HEY i hit the image limit okay hold on