#the psuedo siblings ever

[krankenmaus]

(NOT SHIP) drawing based on a roleplay i did with a friend, i think it’s interesting how lea and ienzo went through similar things (being indoctrinated into a cult as children) but through very different perspectives (ienzo is kinda brainwashed and sheltered due to his upbringing with the apprentices)

the two end up clashing and upsetting each-other a lot due to their differences and how their trauma has shaped them, but underneath it all they are both just scared children. even if they never really interacted back then, they can bond over it now and heal those scared inner kids.

[quitealotofsodapop]

What Wukong hadn't anticipated... was the way PIF and Ao Yi would both turn on him. Because if those two are besties, it'll be hard for Wukong to keep the fact he's pregnant a secret from the Demon Bull Family. Ao Yi knows and likes to talk about Ao Li and how he had protected Wukong throughout the journey, something DBK can respect her ancestor for. What Ao Yi neglected to mention is that the current pregnancy is the same egg, so they misunderstand and think MK is the Egg in question until Wukong sets them straight that MK is adopted/psuedo created in his image from Nuwa.

At the time it comes out, nobody knows exactly how close it was or dangerous the current pregnancy is to Wukong, who hadn't felt the need to tell anyone because he has plenty of support on all sides and hadn't been completely isolated on Slow Boiled.

prev.

Oh yes, the two royal ladies are a deadly team when it comes to making Wukong (and later Macaque) explain the truth to them.

Ao Yi mentions the "Stone Egg" in passing to PIF, and immediately notices the woman's face drop with horror. It doesn't take a genius to realise that PIF (and by extension her husband) never knew.

Wukong gets ambushed by the two royals during tea time. An intervention called to order.

PIF: "Wukong, we know that you're hiding your pregnancy from me and Bull." Wukong, nervous: "What!? Me? Pfff! Nah!" Ao Yi, curtly: "Please do not lie Mr Qi, my great-grandfather burned to keep you and your child safe. You could at least explain to Tieshan just how long you've been carrying your child for." Wukong, realising that he's trapped: "I... ever since I exited my prison on Five Elements Mountain." PIF, hand covering her mouth: "Buddha's grace... and you put yourself in danger to help my baby..." Ao Yi: "Why didn't you warn Tieshan or Bull before the ritual?" Wukong, frowning: "We needed people strong enough to tame the fire... I'm as strong as they can get, and I didn't want to disappoint you guys." PIF: "That can't just be it. You went into that circle knowing that you or your child could have lost your lives. Why?" Wukong, eyes wet: "I... I thought I could have done some good to our family since we had just lost..." (*goes quiet*) PIF, shares a look with Ao Yi: "Macaque's death was a tragic loss. But he should have known better than to try to harm you or your master. Not to mention, knowing what we know now, he certainly shouldn't have attacked a pregnant-" Wukong, crying: "He didn't know!" PIF & Ao Yi: (*teacups rattle from surprise*) PIF: "Excuse me?" Ao Yi: "He didn't know?" Wukong, tears running: "If he did, he didn't acknowledge it! We had been fighting, and he was deaf to all I shouted at him, and his cudgel just came so close to..." (*trails off, hands resting protectively over stomach*) Ao Yi: "No one blames you for acting in self-defence, Wukong." PIF: "If anything we applaud your instincts. Mother demons have shredded entire armies apart for far less threats." Wukong: "But he... I just never got the chance to tell him. If he had known, maybe we could have calmed things down and I wouldn't have been alone for so long..." Ao Yi, placing hand on Wukong's shoulder: "The past has passed. You need not be along anymore." (*Wukong and the ladies share a sappy hug*)

The ex-celestial and dragon become Wukong's adoptive sisters in a way. They are extremely protective and doting of him, even before Wukong worked up the strength to tell DBK (note; still happened on New Years XD) and the others. They make sure to check that he's been eating well and how well he's been managing MK. Wukong appreciates the help, its been a long time since he's been so doted upon outside his Stalwart siblings. Its cute, if not terrifying to see the short monkey demon flanked by the two queen-like women, their teeth bared to anyone who may give their little brother a rough time.

[neverchecking]

So, I may have gotten a little to passionate over this… but I’m kinda going rabid over the you are/are not the father scenarios (thanks a lot the Maury show). The drama is absolutely delicious 🤤.

So I was just thinking…what if the kid had purple or red eyes (using the assumption that each of the colors has their colored eyes; Red has red eyes, Violet has purple eyes, Blue with blue eyes, and Green with green eyes). Assuming that none of the Chain know of Four and his abilities (and sleeping with Four got her knocked up with the persona in charge at the time). What does the Chain think happened? That she found her way out of their sight and hooked up with someone random (yandere tendencies intensify and are going cause a RIOT. Reader is not allowed out their sight EVER. They will have a watch rotation just for her)? That shadow (red eyes) snuck in to camp and went after her? Maybe the chain will work together (until the truth comes out)?

Then there’s just Four, quietly in the background trying keep his secret from slipping while comforting, consoling and explaining to reader, who has no idea what happened. He also of course defends her against the Chain if they get accusatory, to the point that if they get too aggressive he’ll split to defend her (and prove to the Chain what happened).

For some reason, I also have a headcanon that the four sword kinda made Four like a quadruplet leading to a higher chance of multiples (twins, triplets, quadruplets), which also causes fucking pandemonium with the chain. They went from being a group of hero warriors to a group of handsome warriors raising babies (because who know if the blue eyed kid is really Fours… could be theirs…maybe 🤷‍♀️ shrug?).

On the bright side, Wind now has a small legion of siblings to cause chaos with. Captain of the sea and over his tiny gremlin siblings with which he terrorizes all older members of the Chain.

I think Legend also has violet eyes, so that could also lead to him being a dad! If it gets really out of hand, Four would for sure split to protect his baby momma. One thousand percent because in no world is his secret more important than his Goddess, and his baby. Especially if we go with the idea that the four sword leads to multiples. Those are his babies. No one elses.

A group of heroes raising children though makes me so smiley like hhfifnfh THEY WOULD ALL BE SUCH GOOD DADS

I NEED TO TALK ABOUT WIND AS A YANDERE SIBLING FOR HIS PSUEDO MOM AND NEW SIBLINGS SO BAD-

Like he is the best big brother. No ifs and or buts about it. The baby(ies?) all love him, to absolute bits. He gets into an argument with someone? He's unleashing one of the kids on the man like that one scene from the Croods. AND WALKING AWAY LIKE HE DIDN'T JUST TRAUMATIZE A MAN-

[ask-the-raichu]

Eri, how do you feel about Solbee and Poriva's relationship? Do you ever worry that she's too young or immature for him? Is it weird that your psuedo sibling and employee is dating your mate? Her preferred form can be summed up as "generic girl!Eridan," do you ever feel like there's any sort of competition for Solbee's attention or affection because of that?

its an interestin relationship thats for sure

i do think that shes young for him and immature but shes a good girl sol aint exactly the ripest tomato on the vvine himself but its not exactly wweird their relationship together came before my relationship wwith her so i just accepted that thats howw it is ivve nevver considered her a "generic" vversion a myself though shes got ampora in her blood it makes sense she looks like me i dont feel competativve at all no sol makes time and reschedules wwhen he doesnt havve it

[turboacek-blog]

I do like XY #xy10thanniversary

Saw it was the 10th anniversary today (or yesterday by the time I posted this) and saw people decided to talk nicely about it so figured I should as well lol

I do genuinely like the series despite the discourse online about it being one of the most annoying things to me

XY I think unlike a majority of the series as I think about it had one of the strongest openings in the anime, as the whole Lumiose City-Garchomp-Froakie stuff was genuinely captivating and I feel that you will always have people hooked on XY just because of that as it’s to me on par with the first episode of the whole series with Ash and Pikachu which is also generally seen as one of the best episodes

And on a similar note, as I have issues with the team flare finale it also has one of the stronger ends to a series as well

So you have a series with a strong opening and, relatively strong ending, then you sprinkle in other generally accepted great moments in between like Ash vs Clemont it’s no surprise people love this series

And I think that’s the success of the XY, when it hits those highs it’s some of the best the anime ever has given us

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Other thoughts

I think of the six formulaic series (OS-XY) I think I like XY’s pacing the best, and that’s part of the reduced number of episodes compared to earlier series but also didn’t have the random side island adventure like BW, for the most part, the gap between gym badges and princess keys were not bad at all and I think we did spend a decent amount of time with characters that would end up recurring such as the rivals, the family members, mentors, etc

I already made a post about it but I think Clemont is my favorite male companion of Ash’s as I think he fills that sweet spot of being a smarter intelligent member of the group to explain things not only for the audience but the rest of the group but he’s also not so smart that Ash Serena and Bonnie can’t give their intelligence about subjects, and also the balance of since Clemont is close in age to Ash we get to see a Psuedo brotherly bond, rivalry and friendship between them where other companions lack at least one of those aspects, and I think he’s also a nice balance between each two members as he’s not as fit and adventurous as Serena which plays off of Ash and Bonnie, but he’s also more battle-ready like Ash contrasting Serena and Bonnie, yet has the sibling dynamic with Bonnie that Ash and Serena don’t relate to

Serena is this weird mix of I definitely see why people like her and she’s not my fav girl companion but I’m not going to say that her story wasn’t handled well at all, as any non super positive feelings about her is my personal feelings and nothing with her, I think tiring her and Ash together via camp was a That brilliant move without it being too soul-cross lovers, the crush added a unique aspect to the show that hasn’t really been touched on since maybe OS, I enjoyed each of her three Pokémon, and the sister's bond with Bonnie was adorable as we never really got something like that excluding maybe the SM girls

Bonnie grew on me a lot, when I was first watching it it’s hard to relate to the kid character but over time I appreciate the nice story work they did for her while also not shoving her to the front until kinda the Team Flare finale stuff, I think while I did like Max Bonnie was able to be a lot more likable as a character and it’s interesting because I think in a lot of ways she’s like the little girl Ash

Ash is the controversial one I noticed and while I see where both sides are coming from I am neutral on this Ash but he’s not the boring Ash but he’s also not the badass Ash I think he’s the Ash that was finally able to relax, early on we see that fire in him to get stronger and go things head first and through XY we see him slow down and be more at peace with what’s going on around him which is why I think people say he’s the most mature Ash, which he’s definitely more mature than OS Ash for sure but I think the maturity gets confused with lack of childishness, Ash while having his moments wasn’t as goofy here which I think is what I missed here as I think a “core” part of Ash is his fun side which was nonexistent was less here it felt like which obviously has the pros of viewers getting what seems to be a more grown-up Ash also I think loses a crucial part of him

Side characters

While not my favorite batch of side characters I think to say they were bad would be a disservice as they all played their role well, I think the standouts are Tierno Shauna and Korinna

Battles

I know there’s discourse about the animation and art style and just general battle decisions but I do think that the battles looked great and I think visually wise they peaked gym battle-wise here, each battle felt like each person had some experience to them as even the more rookie trainers were using moves that you never see from a previous series early on or even later in that journey

As I can (I’m not) be in the camp that thinks Pikachu losing to Surskit was stupid but I think the battle did show that Surskit was a problem and to be taken seriously despite it being a Surskit

Pokémon

Despite some personal feelings, I do think this was maybe the most solid cast of Pokémon (as in Ash and companions) only behind a few like maybe an OS and SM

I think despite some losses that you can argue about this is one of the most consistent Pikachu’s as no electric “reset”, I think Ash’s other five had distinct personalities and traits, same with Serena’s and Clemont's and Dedenne

And should point out that you can’t convince me Ash-Greninja isn’t the most fanfiction thing the show has done, but it is admittedly very cool, I even used one for my Pokémon Moon play-through as I just thought it would be cool to use

Mega Evolution Specials

I never got the same attachment to these specials as I watched them much later but they were very good specials and I’m glad they did the thing of making them in the same universe and tiring them into Ash and the gang's storylines

As I’m not an Alain fan I do like him as a second protagonist and of the few that probably think that him being the one to beat Ash in the league was acceptable (more thoughts on that in a separate post maybe lol)

Marron and Chespy were cute, Steven was cool, Team Flare was a big upgrade over their game counterparts, etc

Overall not my favorite series definitely one of the series where I can just put a gym battle on or see certain things over without it feeling dated

[justablah56]

Have a character rant about Terry Jr, featuring Ron and some random headcanons about the relationship between TJ, Nicky, and Cassandra! Because nothing bad has happened to any of them at all, what are you talking about (oops, this ended up being long)

Terry Jr absolutely despises the scent of anything "For Men", which makes the soccer changing rooms in hs sensory hell. As a result, all his toiletries are technically marketed at women, but he is willing to pay the pink tax for floral-smelling stuff instead of... That.

(Ron notices how much his stepson hates it, and so also switched to quote-unquote for women products. In his enthusiasm to be supportive, he somehow ends up buying scented sanitary pads)

He still plays soccer, even as an adult. It's just at his local pub's team (which might not actually be a thing in America, oops) but he kept it up fairly consistently throughout his life.

Since being called away for DADDIES missions can really fuck up your work schedule, he works part time as an assistant coach/teacher at a dance studio with surprisingly flexible hours and a very understanding boss. Admittedly, she's seen him break down crying more than once over DADDIES-related shit that he had to explain with half-lies, so that may explain some of her patience with his unruly hours

Mostly he does community theatre though

He actually meet Cassandra before Nicky did! They were on the same drama course at college, got assigned together, and really hit it off. They ended up bonding so much that they considered each other their psuedo-sibling. Since, in this headcanon universe of blurredness, Cassandra doesn't talk to her parents at all, Ron and Samantha basically adopted her when Terry Jr brought her home during the school holidays, which only deepened their sibling bond

Terry's nickname for her is Star, because she shines bright and he was convinced she would make it big time in the acting biz. She has a little custom bracelet that he got her as a wedding present with that on.

He religiously drinks hot chocolate before soccer games, because Ron thought that a "warm up" was a drink to warm you up before a game. He put marshmallows in it and everything, so Terry Jr just happily accepted the bizzare brand of affection and support that so often comes from Ron. The one time he didn't drink it, they lost the game, and ever since that game the Doodlers make sure everyone has a hot chocolate before the game. They never lost since

(Additional headcanon that Grant accidently passed that pre-game ritual to Lincoln)

Since Ron can no longer wear pants, he took to wearing skirts when needed so as to not get arrested. However, due to a lot of the internalised toxic masculinity Willy installed in him, he felt uncomfortable doing so. Terry Jr dragged all the other kiddads thrift shopping for cool skirts and they suprised Ron at the next Oak-Garcia-Wilson-Stampler-Close-Foster-Freeman family BBQ by wearing them. Ron was so happy about them supporting him, he almost cried. Terry Jr ended up keeping skirts and dresses as part of his fashion rotation, and would even wear sports skirts (which have built-in-shorts) on the soccer field sometimes. When Ron disappeared, he stopped wearing them. He still has a gorgeous, corseted, galaxy dress in his side of the wardrobe at the Stampler-Marlowe residence that he hasn't been able to bring himself to wear, but also hasn't been able to bring himself to part with. Scary's seen him taking it out and looking at it longingly, and is definitely not devising a secret plan to get him to wear skirts by making him take her prom dress shopping and making him try on some himself. (She doesn't know why he looks so sad and longing, or why he doesn't wear them when he clearly wants to, but deep down she thinks he should. Terry Jr would start wearing skirts again for her)

Terry Jr and Cassandra both used some theories from Samantha's psychology books to train themselves so they have better coordination and clearer speech whilst drunk than sober (basically, you can remember things better in the condition you learned them in. That includes memorising a list of words whilst drunk. Idk if this actually applies to muscle memory, but for the purposes of this, it does)

Nicky and Cassandra have conspired to test all of Terry Jr's romantic partners, because they are both of the opinion that he only deserves the best and shouldn't put time and effort into people who won't stick around. This includes, but is not limited to, Nicky full on making out with Terry Jr in front of them, and Cassandra walking out into the living room of her and Terry's shared apartment in only a bra and sweatpants. She then proceeds to introduce herself as Terry Jr's roommate, rather than his sister like she usually does, in such a way that she's not outright implying that they have a fwb relationship, just enough to test if they'll get jealous or properly talk to him about why he seemed so completely unphased about her walking around topless (the answer being that she does it often, and it's only a problem when he has friends over who are attempting to be respectful. Grant covered his eyes and dove under the covers the first time it happened, because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, despite the fact that she knows he's gay as fuck)

Terry Jr and Nicky have a very odd romantic friendship that everyone around them (which is admittedly just the other kiddads, Marco, Cassandra, and Rebecca) act like is completely normal, so occasionally Terry Jr just... Forgets? To tell his new partners about the fact that yeah, he and Nicky occasionally kiss and go on dates and by occasionally he means pretty much every week. Like, genuinely completely forgets that that's something he should mention because they might not be cool with essentially being in a polycule

Honestly, the entirety of the kiddads and spouses is like a QPR polycule

It is a frequent joke that Cassandra's initials can just as easily stand for Cassandra Stampler as Cassandra Swift. It is also a frequent joke that Terry Jr nicknamed Taylor angel, specifically for the irony of him being part demon. As a result, whilst legally Taylor's name is Taylor Alexander Swift, if you ask Terry what his initials stand for, he will without fail say Taylor Angel Stampler. Nicky is not impressed (he secretly finds it hysterical)

Terry Jr wants nothing more than for his friends/family to be happy.

Nicky and Cassandra's relationship was one that would have made a wonderful summer fling that ended naturally, but they both pushed it further than it was meant to live to try and show Terry that they were happy, so he wouldn't worry about them. The fact that Nicky whisked Terry Jr away during the wedding to make out with him should have been a big sign that this wasn't going to work out.

They were starting to file for a divorce, having mutually agreed that the type of relationship they were forcing themselves into wasn't working out for them, when they found out that Cassandra was pregnant. They halted the legal divorce and Nicky moving out, with the agreement to raise Taylor together for the first two years, and then have a 50/50 split of custody. Nicky was going to move back into Terry Jr's apartment when that happened (the betrayal happened before that could occur)

Cassandra often jokes that Terry Jr is more Nicky's husband than she is, since he was with him before, during, and after her

Terry Jr's preferred method of drinking water is not water with some ice cubes in it, but an entire glass of ice cubes with some water in it to stop them from sticking together due to the cold. Outside of sports, he's not good at remembering to hydrate, so he just crunches on ice instead

saw the notification for this , looked at , saw how much I needed to scroll , and immediately let out an absolutely delighted squeal hoLY SHIT ANON AHSJJWKDJND !!!!!! /pos

the terry/nick/cass polycule is something I never knew I needed but now refuse to live without, thanks <3333 truly the definition of this is my boyfriend and this is my boyfriends wife <33 Nick and Cass testing out all of Terry's partners is so fucking funny I love it , ALSO TERRY JUST . FORGETTING TO TELL PEOPLE HES BASICALLY DATING NICK EBJDJSKSKKSS they're just so silly and I will be Thinking™ abt them <333 but Terry meeting Cass before Nick did is actually so interesting to me , they are SIBLINGS your honor !! and the star nicknameee whahdjd 🥺🥺 I love them dearly <33 also the whole thing abt the skirts 🥺 Terry convincing the rest of his friends to wear skirts to support his stepdad 🥺🥺 and then him continuing to wear them ! AND THEN STOPPING ONCE RON DISAPPEARED WOSIHSJSJS 🥺😭😭🥺 plus the bit abt scary deciding that she wants to help Terry be comfortable wearing his skirts/dresses againnnn 🥺🥺 she cares abt him !!!! I just love all of this v much , ty anon I love you dearly<333

[iiruwu]

Fandom: Succession

Relationship: Roman Roy/Gerri Kellman

Characters: Roman Roy, Gerri Kellman, Kendall Roy, Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, Connor Roy, Stewy Hosseini, Tom Wambsgans

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s04e03 Connor's Wedding, Character Study, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, the roy siblings being the roy siblings, connor being the best psuedo-dad ever as per usual

Words: 2263

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

[cabeswaterdrowned]

ask game:

tsc (i’m sorry i always ask about them, my brainrot is strong and i love hearing your thoughts)

and community

don’t apologize pls lol I also am brain rotting hard and have few people to talk about it with so it’s appreciated :)

The Shadowhunter Chronicles

M/F OTP: there are others I really like or love in a more normal way, but Emma/Julian Will/Tessa and Jem/Tessa are the ones that hit on another level for me emotionally, I’m clinically insane about them. Also it’s a bit hilarious to think about, since this was formative media for me (I first read TID in late elementary/middle school and TDA as they were coming out in high school) how my taste in ships generally speaking was shaped… like if you look at pairings I gravitate towards in other fandoms since there are def patterns xd. The impact!

Other M/F ships I have love for (including this category because ik i don’t talk about them as much and in another fandom where I had less dynamics I’m super fond of to choose from I could have placed them in that first category think of them as like second tier Otp’s for me ): Mark/Cristina, James/Cordelia, Simon/Isabelle (last one also was formative they were thee hot girl/soft boy nerd ship to me in middle school. But it has been a while so unsure if they’d hit the same on reread, they are the tmi couple I would most like to see in the better in black collection though!)

M/M OTP: Jem/Will! And then follow up Kit/Ty Surefire ways to get me invested in a ship: they do necromancy together, meet cute with a knife to the throat, they break up without ever dating. Triple check.

F/F OTP: along those lines it’s Lucie x Grace literally the main reason I want to reread TLH (well I do also just want to see how it reads back to back and not broken up and I have other reasons but like. Those are less important) is to be able to properly write fic about them, like it genuinely pisses me off this fandom is so boring and tasteless I can’t believe I actually miss the legacies fandom they were annoying as hell but at least they understood that when women do dark magic together it’s polite to write detailed analysis of how gay they are 😭. The way I know cc has seen Buffy too like flop. Also it just fits archetypes of antagonistic femslash I tend to love in general see: Julia/Marina Aria/Alison Elena/Rebekah and more

OT3: Herongraystairs and then Kierarktina

Friendship OTP: Tessa & Magnus + Will & Magnus! And for familial relationships I adore all The Blackthorn siblings in TDA and their dynamics but especially Julian and Mark’s relationship is v compelling to me and I also love Cordelia and Alastair’s relationship v much it was my favorite overall development in TLH. And then for psuedo familial dynamics I Love Charlotte’s relationships with Tessa Jem Will and Jessamine. her relationship with Jem might be my softest spot overall especially because they have moments in CP2 that make me go 🥺 but as a documented Tessa lover I adore how having Charlotte as a mentor figure effects her arc. So those are my favorites Ik I failed at picking just one. Oh I also adore Emma and Cristina’s friendship although I also sometimes ship them romantically

Canon OTP: Blackstairs Wessa Jessa like I said

Crackship OTP: what even counts as crackship? I will admit that during my CP reread I did look up how many Will/Magnus fics there are on ao3 although I did not read them (there are 12 for inquiring minds).

Anti-OTP: The worst ship to me is Jordan/Maia but it’s been a long time so the vitriol has worn off and I don’t have another solid notp besides them but the other canon pairings I’m #unimpressed with are Clace Ghostwriter and Gracetopher … Lucie/Jesse probably irks me the most these days because I actually want to like them because the concept is so good but the execution falls flat for me and I really like Lucie and want someone more interesting for her (like Grace lol.)

Community

M/F OTP: ultimately when I’m actually watching the show it’s Jeff/Britta love their emmaxknightleycore vibes. But I did get really into Abed x Annie at one point and even wrote some fic about it over quarantine (when I first got into Comm) so I have a soft spot for that concept too

M/M OTP: Troy/Abed. They of course are The otp of the show.

F/F OTP: not really otp status but well I did write this Annie x Britta Carmilla Au: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27728689?view_adult=true

(I orphaned that account post quarantine)

OT3: Troy/Abed/Annie

Friendship OTP: I mean all the study group dynamics but I especially have soft spots for Annie and Troy + Abed and Britta moments

Canon OTP: Jeff/Britta

Crackship OTP: what even counts as crack …

Anti-OTP: I just don’t like Jeff/Annie I used to viscerally hate it these days I’m just like. It’s not for me lol.

[heartofasoldier]

welcome to marina, isabella marino ( cis female, she/her) ! they are a twenty-six year old who has lived on the island for five years. word on the street is they’re currently living in hyland park and works as a paramedic. everyone also says they look a lot like lili reinhart. what do you think?

BIOGRAPHY

The youngest of three, Isabella was born into a very loving and stable household that prided themselves on helping their community in any and every way they could. Often to the point where they gave more of themselves away to their projects than they did themselves. Though this in itself was a blessing in disguise for Isabella and her siblings; it brought them closer together for a time, taught them to put duty first and most important of all, the value of family.

While some may have detested growing up in the shadow of their siblings, Isabella was quite the opposite. She used it to her advantage. While her parents were too busy dealing with her older siblings and their shenanigans, she was burying her head in her studies and sneaking out to college parties at night. And while she never resented her parents for their parenting, she did long for parents that saw her for the intelligent, determined, and ambitious young woman she was very quickly becoming.

With an older sister that was practically a best friend and a brother she idolized, life as she knew it would change at the age of fourteen. It was supposed to be just another party. While her parents thought she was sleeping sounding in her bedroom, she had snuck out with a group of friends to attend a party. Before she knew it she too many drinks deep and the world was spinning. The rest of the night was a haze, a blur of chaos and confusion. But what she would remember was the sound of her brother's voice telling her it was going to be okay. It wasn't.

It was the last time she would see her brother. Despite her own attempts to visit him in prison, of which were easily thwarted by the head of the Marino household, she never stopped trying. That was until her father broke the news, that the man she had idolized for so long had reoffended and been moved upstate.

Bella didn’t seem to have any trouble making friends throughout her high school years. Her warm, inquisitive nature in hand with her quick witted remarks, something she picked up off her siblings, meant she slipped right in. Effortlessly maintaining high grades and diving into as many extra-curricular activities, it was evident that she held a bright future ahead of her.

Unlike her siblings she knew what she wanted from a young age and that was to simply help people. Attending university was but an opportunity to leave the family nest and step out of her comfort zone. College gave her purpose and was but another step on the pathway to chasing her dream of working on the ambulance. All the while she kept in touch with sister and parents, heading home for dinner every Sunday when her study schedule allowed it. Her studies offered an escape, and she very quickly immersed herself in the college lifestyle.

Before she knew it she was three years deep into her study and preparing to graduate. Graduating and getting the first role she had applied for were two moments she didn’t ever think she could possibly beat. That was until she started working on the ambulance after all those years of volunteering while at college. It could really only be explained as a feeling like coming home. Moving into her own loft had been a leap of faith, but one that ended up paying off nevertheless, it was never a dull moment, especially for a young ambitious paramedic.  

CONNECTIONS

sister —

brother — jesse marino

psuedo big brother — jake oliver

man she can't stand — zekai arslan

paramedic partner —

best friend —

friends —

hookup —

exs —

[queenofthursday6599-blog]

You know something I find pretty interesting that I don't see in a lot of MCU Iron-dad fics is that Harley is a year younger than Peter. Or at least he was before the blip and Peter lost 5 years of his age as a result of just not existing for those years.

The vast majority of Iron-dad fics that I've read though just default to Harley being older than Peter, even when it's set pre-blip.

Though Harley could still be a year younger than Peter if he also died in the snap and returned after the blip.

Anyways canonically Peter was born August 10 2001, while Harley was born sometime in 2002 (which I find hilarious because Harley's actor Ty Simpkins was born August 6 2001).

I can only assume Harley is made the older brother in these kinds of fics because he's already an older brother in canon. He has a little sister who is the one the digital dora the explorer watch belongs to.

Or that it's because Harley's first on screen appearance is older than Peter's first on screen appearance. Even though Peter being the little boy in the iron-man mask in Iron-man 2 is 100% a retcon.

With us being introduced to Harley at age 10 in Iron Man 3 (which is set in 2012). While we're introduced to the boy in the iron-man mask (who's said to be Peter) at age 9 during the Stark Expo scene in Iron-man 2 (which is set in 2010).

Or maybe it's due to how they act. Harley is extremely independent even at age 10, with him assisting Tony with various things and even giving him advice and encouragement that he takes.

Peter's story when we're first introduced to him is very much "I'm a child in need of guidance and reassurance" and that's a big part of his story line.

The only fics I've found where Harley is written to be younger than Peter tends to have him more than just a year younger than Peter. Like with a Peter is 15-16 while Harley is around 11-12 kind of age gap a pretty good chunk of the time.

I dunno where I'm going with this, it was just a weird thing I'd noticed after reading a bunch of Iron-dad fics.

A whole other thing is that I've only ever found a handful of Iron-dad fics that have Peter, Harley and Riri all as Tony's kids. I've read fics where Peter and Riri are Tony's kids/mentees at the same time.

I've read fics where Peter and Harley end up as psuedo siblings plenty of times, but most fics that throw Riri into the mix tend to keep her off screen and be only mentioned by various characters.

I don't know of a single fic where Riri and Harley bond. Which I think is sad because I think they would either get along like a house on fire or be bitter rivals and result in the house catching on fire due to shenanigans.

Harley shot a fire breathing super soldier with a potato gun at age 10, and Riri tried building a bootleg version of the Iron-man armor at age 16 in secret using materials she was stealing from her collage. They would be partners in crime or bitter enemies and there is no in between.

[gravelilyaufgehoben]

The notion of sexual differences in Shinkun-sensei's work is highly contemporary — emblematic even. As a rule, the female characters are mature, managerial, sexless; while the men are juvenile, oafish and hyper-sexual.

It is certainly strange how this structuring binary expresses itself in works which are, at the level of their content, firmly in the domain of "free love", or non-traditional family structures and relationships. In With a Lady Who Likes My Sister there is no yuri love story: the one likes the other's sister (in only a psuedo-erotic way), and the other is mostly confused, ultimately ending up as a sister or platonic live-in partner. In Too Blue to Call Love, the other is chronically cheated on by her boyfriend — who, after a breakup, is characterised as having always been more of a brother to her than ever really a lover.

I am sure these stories are considered mature, maybe even progressive, giving representation to more realistic adult and unorthodox relationships. However, there is in these stories no Love (I mean eros, erotic love). Is it because of the notion of sexual difference underlying the narrative? Why is it that the only relationship possible in these works is familial? — an incestuous polyamory. Indeed, the only sex present is incestuous. This expresses itself most plainly in Too Blue to Call Love: the unfaithful boyfriend, who was, after all, "more of a little brother" (juvenile), pours his broken heart out to the (biological) brother of our protagonist about his failed relationship — and, in an attempt to comfort the cheat, the brother reassures him that nothing has really changed — he always had and so still will have her (his ex-girlfriend) as a "sister" — they just happened to have had sex a few time: which, the brother says, he has also done with his (biological) sister, so what's the big deal? — this he then reveals is a mere joke — but we, the keen-minded reader, see it for what it really is: the moment of truth.

Love does not exist. The men, juvenile, sex-crazed, are merely attended to by the mature, managerial women in the same way they would file away some papers or put up with their annoying kid brother. Surely, there is an obvious way out of this? What genre are we in after all? But no: the women are sexless — and pointedly, the couple in With a Lady Who Likes My Sister literally do not know how. The couple in Too Blue to Call Love is also doomed, I suspect: you do not systematically fail to formulate a relation outside some variant of a sibling tie (with or without sex appended) if you have a sense of what passion is.

Give me smut over this sterility.

---

I did not address the problematic implication of these works that only heterosexual couples are capable of sexuality (horrific as it is), whereas lesbians are relegated to playing house — but certainly, that is the performative effect and logical consequence. Hopefully, this deadlock is overcome at some point.

Footnote: no, I do not mean sex is necessary for love.

[frankingsteinery]

i’d noticed in the past the almost-parasocial relationships the creature and victor had developed with each other before they ever even met properly, and that bizarrely they both essentially met these pre-conceived notions and fulfilled their expectations despite their speculations being entirely unfounded at the time. i remember a line during the creatures narrative that said he knew victor turned from him in disgust, not because of memory, but from reading his pocket journal—which victor never wrote in after his reaction to the creature’s awakening. previously i just assumed this was a plot hole or something, but i’d never made the connection that all assumptions in the book seem to operate like this. that’s a very interesting point and it puts a lot of things in a very different light!

i’m still chewing on the william-as-victor’s biological son interpretation (at least, if i’m interpreting what you’re saying here correctly). it’s definitely got potential but while shelley does disguise her themes frequently, for a variety of reasons, it almost seems too subtle; to me, it seems more likely that victor and caroline’s relationship was only psuedo/covertly-incestuous (with deliberately creating elizabeth as an extension of herself and dictating their marriage and having elizabeth take her role and whatnot) and that victor and elizabeth’s raising of their younger siblings was more along the lines of parentification and/or grooming them into their roles of husband/wife. the fact that caroline made elizabeth into an extension of herself, and then goes on to have elizabeth marry victor, does certainly carry implications… but if like you suggest desire is there for victor, i would say caroline attempts to act on it through elizabeth as a medium, since she cannot do so physically.

however, i do agree that the creation process can still definitely be interpreted as (subconsciously) sexual in nature, and that victor’s disgust during the creature’s awakening could very well be disgust that he is repeating the cycle of abuse—i think, because the victor-as-creature’s father interpretation is so favored, people tend to overlook the eroticism you pointed out in the creation process, even though frankenstein build-a-gf adaptations are all over the place (and despite the theme of incest being clear throughout the novel), but i’d never been able to articulate it as eloquently as you put it here. i’d be interested in how you interpret victor’s dream at ingolstadt as well, since it occurs right after the creatures birth—as oedipal in nature? victors subconscious knowledge of the jocasta complex at play? or just furthering the conflation of sister/mother?

i’d also suggest that alphonse and elizabeth’s relationship may be incestuous in a similar vein to caroline and victor’s. because caroline has elizabeth supply her role to the family, she is not only operating as a maternal substitute but also as a wife substitute to alphonse. victor’s “more than sister” line in regard to elizabeth and the possessive way he refers to her as “his” is cited often to prove that their relationship was incestuous (and typically to demonize victor but i digress), but people fail to notice that alphonse also refers to elizabeth in the same way, i.e. as his “more than daughter” (thank you to the lovely @rosaniruby for first pointing this line out to me)! the full quote is this: “…his eyes wandered in vacancy, for they had lost their charm and their delight—his niece, his more than daughter, whom he doated on with all that affection which a man feels, who, in the decline of life, having few affections, clings more earnestly to those that remain” (1818). so not only does he describe her as his more than daughter, but also acknowledges their blood relation as his more than niece, and in doing so rules out all potential familial relations: she is not just a niece, not just a daughter, but more than that. he feels “all the affection which a man feels” towards her—as in all the types of affection, familial, platonic, romantic… specifically because he has “few affections,” that is, his wife died, so he clings more earnestly to elizabeth who is operating as his wife-replacement. significantly it is also elizabeth’s death that pushes alphonse over the edge of grief and leads to his passing.

i’d love to hear your thoughts!

for my 100th post (!) i thought i would, at long last, make a catch-all analysis on victor and elizabeth’s relationship, their marriage, and why specifically it was incestuous. throughout i may mention my interpretations of caroline’s past and her pseudo-incestuous relationship with alphonse, which you can read here. it’s not necessary to understand this post, but you’ll miss some of the nuance of the relationships between the frankensteins without it

in the 1818 version of the novel, elizabeth is the paternal first cousin of victor. she is, like caroline, similarly upper-class but falls into misfortune when her mother dies and she is left under the care of her father. these parallels become important later. after elizabeth’s mother dies, her father writes to alphonse “….requesting [Alphonse] to take charge of the infant Elizabeth” and that it was his wish “…that [Alphonse] should consider her as [his] own daughter, and educate her thus” (1818). that is, it was explicitly intended for elizabeth to be reared as a daughter to the frankensteins (and thus victor’s sister). 

in the 1831 edition, caroline specifically has an interest in elizabeth because she sees herself and her own situation in her, a background that mirrors her own. i’ll directly quote a post of mine instead of reiterating the same point. essentially: from the beginning caroline deliberately sets up parallels between herself and elizabeth. she wants a daughter, and adopts elizabeth specifically because elizabeth reminds her of herself, but grander: like she was, elizabeth is also a beggar and an orphan and homeless, but her story is more tragic, she is more beautiful, her debt to her caretakers more extreme, and her romantic relationship will go on to be more explicitly incestuous. through elizabeth and victor, caroline will perpetuate her own abuse. the difference is, unlike her own, this is a situation caroline can control.

from the beginning, at six years old, victor and elizabeth are raised with the expectation that they are going to be wed when they are older. as an adult, elizabeth reflects “that our union had been the favourite plan of [their] parents ever since our infancy” and that “we were told this when young, and taught to look forward to it as an event that would certainly take place” (1831). this is because of caroline’s “desire to bind as closely as possible the ties of domestic love” (1818), and so she is raised as victor’s “more than sister” (1831). they are encouraged to play at the role of mother and father/husband and wife together via raising and educating their younger siblings, particularly ernest. ernest is described as being victor’s “principal pupil” and, during his illness in infancy, elizabeth and victor were “his constant nurses” despite caroline, alphonse and maids/servants/caretakers being available

simultaneously, caroline grooms elizabeth into being a mini-me, calling her her “favorite” and encouraging her to embody the same values as her. caroline does all she can to have elizabeth be what is, essentially, a second version of her, while all the while dictating a marriage to her son

this becomes even more significant, when, on her deathbed, caroline reinforces her wish for victor and elizabeth to marry: “My children... my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union. This expectation will now be the consolation of your father. Elizabeth, my love you must supply my place” (1831). by attempting to replace herself with elizabeth via telling her to “supply her place” (of mother/wife) to the rest of the family, caroline is not only dictating a marriage between brother and sister but now mother and son, as elizabeth shifts from a sister-figure to victor into a maternal substitute, and simultaneously is his bride-to-be. as a result the roles of mother, sister and wife become conflated in victor’s mind—to some degree, there is no one without the other.

there’s deeper things at play here too, namely that it creates victor’s later emotional obligation in honoring his mother’s dying wish to go through with the marriage (furthered because it is the “consolation” of his father… alphonse also says something to this effect after victor gets out of prison), but i have enough to say on how victor is relied on as a pillar of emotional support by all of his family that it warrants its own post

this subconscious shift between the role of sister figure to mother figure is further emphasized when, during his dream at ingolstadt after the creation of the creature, elizabeth morphs into caroline in victors arms: “I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth…Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms” (1831). that is, she literally changes from sister into mother. this is also the only kiss in the entire book, and the only instance victor and elizabeth display any affection for each other that is explicitly non-platonic (and elizabeth’s affections towards victor generally feel more motherly then amorous, particularly in contrast to the romance of felix and safie), and during it, she turns into victor’s mother and decays in his arms.

but why make the creature in the first place? well, as the common misconception goes, it wasn’t about reanimation (which was only mentioned once in a throwaway line) it was about creating new life. what victor wound up doing what was not reversing death, but what was, essentially, an alternate method of childbirth. this is a significant detail when considered in the context of victor and elizabeth’s relationship: victor’s goal was to create life, and he, at great lengths, intentionally circumvented women (elizabeth) in this process. why? so that he could dodge an act of incest—marrying elizabeth and providing the frankenstein heirs and carrying on the family legacy, which is what his family expected him to do.

there’s evidence to suggest elizabeth views victor as a brother. elizabeth indirectly acknowledges this relationship during justine’s trial, when she stands up for her defense: "I am," said she, "the cousin of the unhappy child who was murdered, or rather his sister, for I was educated by, and have lived with his parents ever since and even long before, his birth…” (1831). here, elizabeth calls herself the cousin of william (which is notably what she refers to victor as, both when they are literally cousins and when they have no blood relation—either way, a familial term) and then corrects herself, that she is actually william’s sister. her reasoning for this? she was raised and educated by the frankensteins alongside him ever since she was young. if you follow this logic, by extension she also considers herself ernest’s—and more relevantly—victor’s sister.

there is an egregious amount of subtext that suggests victor also views elizabeth as a sibling as well. before victor leaves for his vacation with henry, alphonse tells him that he has “always looked forward to [victor’s] marriage with [his] cousin as the tie of our domestic comfort” because they were “attached to each other from earliest infancy” and “entirely suited to one another in dispositions and tastes.” however, he acknowledges that because of this, victor may, perhaps, “regard [elizabeth] as his sister, without any wish that she might become your wife. Nay, you may have met with another whom you may love; and, considering yourself bound in honour to your cousin, this struggle may occasion the poignant misery which you appear to feel” to which victor replies: “My dear father, re-assure yourself. I love my cousin tenderly and sincerely. I never saw any woman who excited, as Elizabeth does, my warmest admiration and affection. My future hopes and prospects are entirely bound up in the expectation of our union” (1831). that is, he answers, no, he has not met any other woman he would rather marry, yet skirts around the former half of alphonse’s question and doesn’t acknowledge whether or not he views her as a sister or not.

this occurs again after victor is released from prison in ireland when, elizabeth, in a letter, does eventually ask him if he wants to back down from the marriage (this same letter features elizabeth literally hitting the nail on the head when asking if victor was going through with the marriage because he felt honor-bound to their parents). however, she poses this by asking: “But as brother and sister often entertain a lively affection towards each other, without desiring a more intimate union, may not such also be our case?...Do you not love another?” to which victor honestly answers no, he has not met any other woman. however, it’s not addressed whether he’s in love with elizabeth herself, nor does he address whether or not their affection towards each other is akin to that of siblings–again he entirely ignores it.

when victor and alphonse return to geneva after his release from prison, alphonse proposes victor’s immediate marriage to elizabeth, to which victor remains silent. alphonse then confronts victor once more: “Have you, then, some other attachment?” victor responds: “None on earth. I love Elizabeth, and look forward to our union with delight. Let the day therefore be fixed; and on it I will consecrate myself, in life or death, to the happiness of my cousin" (1831). yet the “hopes and prospects” that victor saw bound in their marriage earlier was, in fact, his own death–which was “no evil to [him]...and I therefore, with a contented and even cheerful countenance, agreed with my father, that if my cousin would consent, the ceremony should take place in ten days, and thus put, as I imagined, the seal to my fate” (1831). victor sees going through with a marriage to elizabeth as suicide, and embraces this.

they are both mutually hesitant and describe feelings of dread and melancholy on their wedding day itself. at the very least this indicates a lack of romantic interest in each other. after the ceremony, when they row out on the boat together, victor has a thought that is perhaps the most blatant example of his romantic disinterest in elizabeth: “Then gazing on the beloved face of Elizabeth, on her graceful form and languid eyes, instead of feeling the exultation of a—lover—a husband—a sudden gush of tears blinded my sight, & as I turned away to hide the involuntary emotion fast drops fell in the wave below. Reason again awoke, and shaking off all unmanly—or more properly all natural thoughts of mischance, I smiled” (Frankenstein 1823). victor also makes it clear to the narrator (walton) that they did not consummate their marriage before elizabeth’s death, which suggests there was hesitance or disgust around the concept. 

this is a neat little aside and more circumstantial evidence then anything else, but it is pretty well known that mary shelley's works tend to be somewhat autobiographical, and that her characters are influenced by people in her own life. this is most obvious in the last man, but its also present to a lesser extent in frankenstein, wherein victor's character is inspired by (among others) percy shelley. percy wrote under the pseudonym victor, which is believed to be where victor's name may have come from—and elizabeth was the name of percy shelley's sister.

[sonlightning]

i’m gonna flesh this out more when it’s not 3 am but ! santiago’s first big quest happens after he’s been training at camp half-blood for a few years when he’s 17ish -- again, i don’t have all the details for the quest, but i know it involves santiago and two other campers, and one of the campers ( probably the youngest one ) dies along the way, in a manner where it seems that if santiago had been more vigilant / careful he could have prevented the loss. 

the fate’s purpose of the quest was to force santiago to mature from his flippant, easy-going nature and to experience first-hand the consequences of his actions, or more likely the consequences of his inactions, as i can see santi not wanting to take on a strict leadership role in demigod duties just because people expect it from him bc of his father, and thus him not acting led to tragedy.

after the quest santiago asks his step-mom ( idk santi’s mom and felice aren’t actually married but it’s boring just calling her by name all the time ) to write him a recommendation letter for camp jupiter, where he spends the next two years training and learning to take his responsibilities and powers more seriously. 

when he returns to chb he’s learned a lot, matured a lot, hardened a lot, but he knows this is the place where he belongs, teaching other half-bloods and helping them, doing his best to make sure what happened on his quest doesn’t have to happen to another camper again

[sobsicles]

claire's not expecting them to be at the door. she blinks at the sight of four men all huddled on the stoop with flowers and what appears to be bags of food flowing from their arms. jack is peeking above a bouquet, beaming at her.

"who's at the door?!" jody calls from the kitchen, her voice muffled by the sound of grease popping and the clanking of pans and spatulas meeting over and over.

"god," claire calls back, because she likes to think she's funny.

there's a beat of silence, and then jody's sticking her head out the kitchen. the moment she sees them, she breaks out into a grin and saunters over, shoving the spatula in claire's hand as she chatters away.

"what's going on out there?" donna asks as claire escapes back to the kitchen to poke at food jody is apparently willing to burn just because the winchesters decided to show their faces today of all days.

"judgement day," claire says dryly.

donna shares a look with patience. "haven't we dealt with that already a few times?"

"only by association," claire admits, "but i wouldn't put it past them to bring it along with 'em now. the boys are here."

"oh, isn't that nice?" donna chirps, already popping up from her chair. "i didn't know they were stopping by today."

"wonder how sam's doing," patience agrees, wandering out the kitchen right along with donna. claire can hear everyone cracking up and talking in the living room.

trust the winchesters to shake things up just by showing up. can't have one goddamn day, can they? well, that's not true. in their case, as far as claire is concerned, they're shitty for showing up and shitty for not. someone has to knock 'em all down a peg or two, so she might as well be the one.

"what did that chicken ever do to you?" kaia asks teasingly as she sidles into the kitchen and stops by the stove, hip-checking claire out of the way to take over.

"the boys are here," claire informs her.

kaia raises her eyebrows. "like, the boys as in the winchesters, or is this a milkshake pun?"

"i can only be so gay, sweetheart," claire says, shooting her a flat look.

"raise the bar a little. could be gayer. you can always be gayer," kaia teases, reaching out to sneak her hand around claire's hip, her eyes bright with amusement.

"you know what? you're right," claire agrees and immediately tries to cop a feel while kaia laughs and dances out of range.

jack appears in the doorway. "hello," he says, whispering for some reason. "claire, i need your help."

"no," claire says, not even glancing at him. she continues to try and put her hand up kaia's shirt, just to see her laugh.

"can i borrow twenty dollars?" jack asks.

"no. aren't you god?"

"yes, but i don't get paid to be."

"well, sucks for you. borrow money from cas," claire mutters, settling in behind kaia as she focuses on the food on the stove, swatting lazily at claire's roaming hands.

"he'll just borrow money from dean."

"borrow from sam."

"he'll just borrow money from dean."

"borrow from—wait, why does it matter if it's from dean? just borrow from him."

jack huffs. "i can't. i need the money for dean. i have a card, and i read online it's customary to give money with a card. also, will you sign it?"

"you got dean a card?" claire asks, craning her head around to stare at jack skeptically.

"yes."

"don't tell me it's for what i think it is."

"mother's day," jack confirms unironically.

claire wheezes out a laugh. "oh my god."

"there's a pen in the catty on the fridge," kaia says, clearly amused.

"yeah. yeah, this is—yeah." claire chokes on more laughter and stumbles towards the group of pens in the magnet container on the fridge. she waggles her fingers at jack, clearing her throat, lips twitching. "hand it over, beanstalk. you're a fucking genius."

"oh! thank you," jack declares cheerfully, passing over the card. "so, can i borrow twenty dollars?"

"hell no," claire says. she braces the card against the fridge and swallows down a laugh. sam has already signed it. this just gets better and better. happy mother's day, old man, aka the secondary source of my mommy and daddy issues. you're going for gold with this double-whammy, she writes.

"but i need it," jack insists, staring at her with wide eyes.

claire shrugs. "tough break, kid. what, cas doesn't give you an allowance? is it just me, or are dads getting stricter these days?"

"i didn't think about it in advance," jack admits sadly. "i want to do it right for the holiday. it's mother's day, claire."

"i'm well aware. sorry to break it to you, kid, but last I checked, your mom's as dead as mine," claire tells him, her voice flat. he frowns and she forces herself not to feel bad. everything that sucks for him sucked for her first, so her sympathy levels are a little drained. "father's day will roll around eventually, and you've got a long line of those, so wait your turn."

"i've already done something for my mother today," jack says slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. "i visited her in heaven."

claire snorts derisively and passes the card back over. "must be nice."

"it was," jack agrees, completely missing the point. "i really can't borrow twenty dollars? i'll pay you back."

"nah," claire says. "who cares anyway? wait, why is dean the mom?"

"well, castiel is my father."

"ah, so it's about them having the hots for each other, then? really, kid, you coulda just made dean your step-dad."

jack blinks. "they have the...hots for each other? you mean sex. they have sex?"

"you know what?" claire points at him with her free hand. "i'm not gonna burst your bubble on that one. you've got enough issues on your own without wondering if mommy and daddy still have a spark, so I'm gonna leave that alone. i've got five dollars. take it or leave it."

"deal," jack says immediately.

money is exchanged, and jack looks like he's on cloud nine. claire's just stoked to see the expression on dean's face when he gets the card. it's a homemade card and everything, nothing like the two claire, kaia, patience, and alex got for jody and donna.

claire helps kaia finish up the chicken, which promptly gets set aside to wait on the rest of the food in the oven. sam wanders in at some point to drop off the food they brought. dessert, by the looks of it. pies and cakes that go in the fridge. it's kind of them, but claire would shoot herself in the foot before she ever admits it.

she lets kaia tug her into the living room where everyone is already at, rolling her eyes at how cheered everyone seems just because the winchesters happened to grace their doorstep. really, they all suck.

but also—and claire will never admit this, not even to save her own life—it's nice to see 'em again. it's nice that they've come to celebrate the day in jody and donna's name, giving them flowers and such. it's nice that they hang around for a bit and don't bring the world crashing down on everyone for the duration of their stay.

and, well, it's nice to see cas, too.

he perches up next to the couch that claire is squeezed on with alex, donna, kaia, and jack. kaia is practically in her lap, but claire is secretly glad for the excuse. while everyone talks and has conversations across one another, cas focuses entirely on her.

another thing claire will never admit is how reluctantly pleased by that she is. it warms her. stupidly, it turns soft and gooey in her chest that he automatically gives her his undivided attention over everyone else, even jack. but, then again, it's not cas' day, so she doesn't have to look too close to that feeling. it's mother's day, so it's not about him.

when the food is ready, they reconvene in the kitchen, and that's when they crack out the cards and gifts. claire is practically vibrating with laughter before jack has even brought his card out. before that, though, she smiles softly and strokes kaia's thigh under the table as jody and donna read their cards and chuckle at the messages, their gazes warm and their smiles sweet. they look happy. they deserve to be.

"okay, last one," claire announces, grinning at jack. she's starting to think she likes this kid if he's an agent of chaos like this.

and okay, maybe she hates him a little in abstract, but in detail, she finds that she does actually like him. you kinda just wanna put him in your pocket without meaning to, she's learned. there's too much to explore with the whole psuedo sibling thing and parents that aren't parents, as well as parents that are but didn't choose to be, only he did choose one of them, and it wasn't her. it's complicated, but underneath it all, there's a vibrant love there that she can't look directly at. sometimes, she despises that she's included in it; yet, just the same, she's thankful that she is.

"oh hell," dean mutters, swinging his gaze between alex and patience. "one of you...ya know? did we miss something?"

claire snorts.

"what? no," alex replies, grimacing. "i have no idea what claire's talking about. claire, what the hell are you talking about?"

"jack?" claire prompts in a wheeze.

"here you go," jack chirps, holding out the card to dean, beaming. "happy mother's day."

the expression on dean's face is somehow even better than claire imagined. she howls with laughter while sam buries his face in his hands, his shoulders jerking. cas squints at jack, and jody's eyebrows fly up at the same exact time that donna grins.

"is this a joke?" dean sputters.

"no, no, nope," claire chokes out, nearly fucking crying with laughter. "happy mother's day, dean."

"you gotta take it, man," sam agrees, clearing his throat and biting back a smile as he bobs his head dutifully towards the card.

dean fixes sam with a flat look and snatches the card. "you're all so fucking—sam, you signed it?!"

"happy mother's day," sam says, his mouth pinched, visibly trying not to laugh.

"do you like it?" jack asks earnestly. "i made the card, sam signed it first, and claire provided the money."

"i—" dean stares down at the card, then heaves a sigh and looks up at jack. it's clear to him that—out of everyone—jack is clearly taking this very seriously. he offers him a weak smile, then swallows. "yeah, s'great, kid. thank you. sam, you are dead to me. claire, i will be spending this on something you hate. cas, this is somehow your fault."

"yup, sounds like a mother to me," jody declares, holding up her beer with a smile.

"welcome to the club," donna agrees, holding hers up as well. "everyone else annoys the shit out of you, but you love 'em anyway."

dean sighs and clinks his beer to theirs.

[klonoadreams]

I'm so beyond excited for when Akari gets to meet rei! Does her poke family ever warm up to him? Especially wonder how the zorua (and maybe eventually riolu) are gonna handle Akari getting a human psuedo sibling xD

Papa Lucario definitely warms up to him, since Rei isn't wrapped up in clan scuffles, like Adaman and Irida. More than that, Rei gets along pretty well with the kids and Punch Baby Akari.

Zorua sibs might be a bit HMMMM at first, but once Rei starts bouncing off of them, they'll get along swimmingly.

Mama H-Zoroark might give him the most issues though, since she doesn't take to strangers so easily. And is just OMINOUS GROWLING.

Might take her the longest to open up to Rei, but eventually, Rei is just sitting down and, "is this normal???"

because Mama H-Zoroark is grooming his hair.

Answer: Yes. Welcome to the fam.

[finitevoid]

WEIRD WRITING GAME, LET'S GOOOO... 1, 3, 10, 18, 35, 40 💖

YESSS LETS GET IT

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

okay so for like... longer form stuff i almost always choose A Font for that project. it is that projects ONLY font and changing it is a big decision. like, my current WIP novel is being written in cambria 11 pt font, but my last big project was written in times new roman 12 pt, etc.

for stuff thats short + spur of the moment i just leave it as default (dont usually think about it). poetry is a whole affair. i will scroll through the entire font list until i find the one that adequately fits the VIBE

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

my writing ritual is cursed because i dont really have one, i just chill until im gripped by the throat by an idea and god will not stop me until its on the page. i will write inordinate amounts in one sitting. when inspiration strikes i will wake up, write until i have to go to work, go to work, write until o'dark thirty and then go to bed, rinse and repeat. the catch is that if im not inspired absolutely nothing gets written

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

the best answer I have i think is the Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K Le Guin. its a story about being lost in the dark and trying to find your way out. it's a story about what it means to be alive. it "haunts" me in the sense that i think it taught me something about being human, and how we chase the light at the end of the tunnel. i think about it all the time.

my own writing definitely haunts me, both good and bad. my writing is always, unintentionally, deeply personal, and so sometimes when its emblematic of a part of my life that ive moved on from, i will dislike it. sometimes i love it for the same reason. its a Thing.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

this is one of my favorite moments from the early part of my WIP novel. essentially, the protagonist (star) is listening to her best friend (zenith) describe his last interaction with her sibling (mercuriel) before he ran away from their hometown and cut off all contact with their family. they're from a small town on the coast, in this sort of psuedo-victorian fantasy setting. star had been away at magic school when mercuriel ran away. merc didn't go to magic school because she struggles with magic.

the town has a "druid" who is entrusted to heal the sick and do other things for the community with magic. star and mercuriel are twins, and so were chosen to both be druid, together. i wanted this scene to really communicate both how attached star and merc were and how that attachment made them distant. they think of each other as their “other half”, and as a result they dont really know each other as people, not really.

it's just that merc came to understand that, and star never really did. not at this point in the story, anyway. i came up with this scene because i thought of the jacket as a symbolism thing in merc’s story, and thought it would be good to setup here. everything else kind of followed after that

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

I LOVE THE WORD "SAID" AND I WILL SAY IT WITH MY WHOLE CHEST. said/says get SUCH shit. you will NEVER find a better, more versatile word for your dialogue. its SNAPPY it doesnt CLUTTER anything and it can communicate so much because of what you couch around it. the dialogue can speak tonality for itself. said is your best friend.

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

for you, my friend, here is one of my poems from a few months ago. a snippet was in one of my monthly compilations, but here's the full thing, called chesire grin: