#to fighting with my mom on a major level.

[ninthprime]

now that hxh is officially coming back here's my attempt to count how many plots are going on at once right now

a plot: the kakin royal family, joined by beyond netero, has chartered an expedition to the forbidden dark continent on a huge whale ship with thousands of civilians. the hunter association signed on to join with the plan of actually sending the ship to a fake “new continent”, dropping off the family and civilians there, and then continuing to the real continent. the problem is the king of kakin is also using this expedition to force his fourteen (legitimate) children into a death match, with the survivor as heir

b plot: kurapika has discovered that kakin’s fourth prince tserriednich is in possession of the remaining scarlet eyes and, in order to get close to him, has signed on as a bodyguard to the fourteenth prince, baby woble, and her mom queen oito. as it turns out all the princes have autonomous nen beasts so this is a more complicated job than it looks. by which i mean at one point he gave up a substantial part of his life to possess a cockroach

c plot: to get more specific, kurapika has been trying to keep the peace by inviting the servants and bodyguards of the other princes to come to nen classes taught by him (read: he and fellow bodyguard bill are just forcibly opening their nen abilities), but a mysterious nen construct called “silent majority” killed most of woble’s other servants and now keeps killing people in the classes. there are apparently multiple people who can use nen in the classes already and who are mostly not telling him.

d plot: the three big mafia families of kakin (the hei-ly, xi-yu and cha-r) have been invited onto the ship mostly because their leaders are all illegitimately related to the king and been told to not cause any trouble…but the king’s illegitimate daughter morena, the new leader of the hei-ly and certified #gamergirl, actively wants to the destroy the world and is breaking the peace by spreading nen to her followers using her ability and letting them gain “levels” by killing people on the ship.

e plot: the phantom troupe has shown up knowing that hisoka will have followed them here and are trying to track him down and kill him. they’ve split into groups and the only group we’ve followed- phinks, feitan and nobunaga- have teamed up with the xi-yu and cha-r to deal with both hisoka and morena. during this we get an extended flashback about how the phantom troupe used to be tween anime dubbers and originally became criminals to track down those who killed their friend.

f plot: unbeknownst to the phantom troupe, the xi-yu’s underboss hinrigh has already met with hisoka (or at least someone who looks a lot like him) and given him a passage to the top level, where the royal family is, because the mafia knows a fight against hisoka will be more trouble than it’s worth while also trying to stop morena. in other words: hisoka is going to where kurapika is

g plot: tserriednich, the previously mentioned guy with the eyes, is also a misogynist serial killer and has gotten interested in nen, so his bodyguard theta has decided to teach him nen herself in order to slow him down and potentially stop him. unfortunately he’s a nen genius and has already developed an ability that lets him see into the future and overwrite reality by reacting accordingly, which he used to get out of theta shooting him. his nen beast has now marked theta for lying to him twice and will make her “no longer human” if she lies a third time.

h plot: melody, hired to be here by kurapika, attempted to sneak the teenage twin tenth and eleven princes off the ship only for the tenth prince (and the other hunter she was working with) to be killed, revealing the princes cannot leave the ship. thankfully the tenth prince kacho’s nen beast is basically her ghost. melody is now likely going to have to deal with an investigation into her actions and has also noticed that eleventh prince fugetsu is rapidly having her nen depleted. kaiser, a member of the justice bureau, claims to have fallen in love with melody after she performed her music for the ship and intends to help her, but melody doesn’t trust him and thinks he’s using manipulation nen on himself. oh and a large amount of the princes have invited her to perform for them, including tserriednich.

i plot: first prince benjamin, a nen user, has control of the military and has used his customary status as firstborn to send one of his guards to each of his younger siblings, which in at least one case led to a successful kill (the eighth prince). he’s in lockdown currently however because second prince camilla, also a nen user with an extremely powerful ability that seems to prevent her from being killed, attempted to kill him herself, and the justice bureau on the ship is trying to figure out who started what.

j plot: camilla has a group of ultra-loyal guards from the lower caste who have developed nen curses to kill her siblings in exchange for their own deaths. their captain, sarahell, has been developing a curse on woble and intends to attend kurapika’s class to deploy it.

k plot: ninth prince halkenburg, a baby marxist who progressive civilians and the younger princes both see as a potential savior, tried to kill his father and then himself after the first death in the succession battle and got stopped by nen beasts both times. he has responded to this by going apeshit and developing an ability that appears to allow him to put the souls of his guards into other people. his testing of this involved having one of his men shoot himself while in the body of one of benjamin’s men, so benjamin has him arrested now too.

l plot: third prince zhang-li’s nen beast is dispensing mysterious coins and zhang-li is dispensing said coins amongst his guards as well as to melody, whose performance he liked. zhang-li also appears to be hiding that he’s actually the son of the king’s illegitimate half-brother onior, the head of the xi-yu, who he’s asked to look into the last succession battle.

m plot: hanzo and bisky, also hired to be here by kurapika, were working as bodyguards for the twelfth and thirteenth princes until the twelfth prince was the first death of the war. the kindergarten-aged thirteenth prince’s stress in response to his sister dying now appears to have led his nen beast to trap their group in some sort of reality bubble. bisky had to reveal her battle form to head servant vergei to explain nen and what was happening, which has mostly just led to vergei getting a mad crush on her.

n plot: izunavi and basho are also here on kurapika’s behest guarding the sixth and seventh princes, who both have not done much yet; sixth prince tyson has a mysterious religious creed that izunavi has convinced her to pass onto her father and seventh prince luzurus mostly likes to smoke weed everyday but seems surprisingly perceptive and, more importantly, apparently funds the cha-r.

o plot: despite being a deranged maniac, tserriednich has a group of childhood friends working fairly standard military guard positions on the lower floors; they’re trying to find out more about nen after picking up that the hei-ly, which tserriednich was allied with before morena took over, are using it.

p plot: fifth prince tubeppa, aware she has few allies and little knowledge of nen, has been trying to meet with kurapika for a while. the literal last thing teased before this hiatus was her bodyguard longhi revealing to kurapika that she knows nen and kurapika agreeing to meet with tubeppa.

q plot: the rest of the phantom troupe has split off: machi and franklin are both on their own (but nobunaga wants to go get franklin), chrollo is making a plan with shizuku and bonolenov that appears to involve a disguise ability bono has, and illumi joined the troupe on hisoka’s request so they could have a yaoi death battle and is with kalluto. speaking of which:

r plot: mizai ran into illumi and kalluto and has them staying in a room in the quarters the zodiacs are using. he’s currently trying to figure out whether he should be telling kurapika the troupe is on the ship or not, knowing it could risk the well-being of both woble and kurapika himself. (he also secretly gave melody clearance to try to save the twins.)

s plot: beyond netero is still in lock up and being watched by members of the zodiacs. he hasn’t done anything yet, but it has been implied he’ll try to escape at the fake “dark continent.”

t plot: ging and pariston have a group allied with beyond who are going to the dark continent themselves; ging joined because he knows pariston must be up to something. it remains ambiguous whether they have their own boat or are on the whale somewhere.

u plot: leorio and cheadle are working at an understaffed clinic near the zodiac headquarters, meaning that once again Leorio Is Just Offscreen

v plot: a random member of the cha-r is trying to get the autographs of the phantom troupe members. this has been used to dispense plot info about how far we are from being out of contact with land. pray for his success

TOTAL PLOTS COUNT: 22

[butterflyscribbles]

Freenoodle Headcanons (Part 1) - bc there’s no way I’ll have time to draw them all out fast enough and I need to get them out of my brain:

Hidden underneath bc it’s loooong…

- Tang and Pigsy met in a college-level business class. Pigsy was going for a general business major with a minor in culinary arts. Tang was pursuing Chinese Literature and Lingustics in order to eventually be a librarian or museum archivist as well as an author on the side. They started interacting more bc Tang threatened to call Pigsy out for cheating on an exam and Pigsy “bought” his silence with a bowl of homemade noodles.

- It started with “blackmail” that Tang was gonna tell if Pigsy ever stopped making food for him but gradually they just started hanging out. Pigsy began to realize that if it weren’t for him, Tang would have most likely wasted away considering he was not only a picky eater but would also completely forget meals while being so focused on his studies. Tang in return started helping Pigsy with study before big exams as well. It became routine until they both finished the class. That was one of the only classes they had together being on pretty separate tracks but by then they were close enough friends to continue hanging out semester after semester.

- Tang’s family was not too fond of him hanging out with Pigsy and eventually Sandy who had a bit of a rebellious (and somewhat criminal) hot streak. Lots of being kicked out of bars for fighting, loud music and band parties that somehow would force them to migrate into Tang’s apartment after they trashed their own.

- Tang used to have pierced ears that were Pigsy’s own handiwork but his mom made him take them out the minute he visited home. He wants to get them pierced again even now because he loved how it looked but is lowkey too chicken to act on it bc ouchieeee needles it was hard enough the first time

- They never really defined themselves as dating out loud in college but they were definitely “more than friends” after a while. Pigsy crushed on him first but Tang fell harder once he finally caught on that Pigsy liked him. They were both too emotionally constipated scared to slap an official label on it though.

- Tang is almost always freezing and wrapped up in sweaters, scarves and mittens. Pigsy is always hot. Equilibrium achieved.

- Speaking of scarves, Tang’s trademark red scarf and most precious comfort item he owns, was a gift from Pigsy’s mother when Pigsy introduced him to his parents. He is almost never without it and takes very good care of it because it is hand-made and one of a kind.

- Tang was NOT a fan of the Pigsy mustache era™️ but that did not stop the pig man from burrowing his face onto him and teasing him near to death with prickly kisses

- Pigsy’s affectionate nickname for Tang became “truffles” for a hot second after this^^ Tang secretly and begrudgingly loved it. The nickname is still stashed away for special occasions and ONLY when its the two of them.

- The mirror to that is Tang found out Pigsy’s weak spots were his ears and under his chin. Loves scritches and sometimes Tang would just reach out and idly play with his ears if they were within reach. That’s also something that occurs in present time.

- On rare occasions, Tang would convince Pigsy to sing for him and most of those moments ended in tears both of sadness or laughter on both ends. Mostly because Pigsy would either sing songs his mom taught him or ones he could only half remember the lyrics to.

- They stayed in contact for a while even after Pigsy graduated (Tang was pursuing a PHD so he stayed in school longer). Tang and Sandy were both there when the restaraunt was passed down to Pigsy and they were the first customers at Pigsy’s Noodles.

Things got a bit more complicated after that…

- For about 5 months before MK came into their lives, Tang and Pigsy were actually having a huge fight and were not on speaking terms. Sandy’s anger and violence issues were at an all time high and he dropped out of college just before graduating, Pigsy and Tang struggled to define their relationship after they Tang’s family was insistent he finally cut them out of his life and it lead to a big fight where Sandy ended up leaving the trio and there was a huge and bitter rift between the three of them.

- Three weeks after Pigsy’s mom passed, little MK showed up on his doorstep. He was already running the shop alone for the first time and now he suddenly had a child who desperately needed him. While MK brought some much needed light back into his life, he struggled to properly care for the little ball of energy and still make end’s meet. His quick temper and the passing of his mom had seriously impacted business and chased off a lot of regulars as it was. So, he called the only person he trusted to help. The minute Pigsy explained his situation…Tang didn’t hesitate to come back, even as he continued classes. Things were awkward and messy for sure and there was a lot of baggage to sort through…but they made it work for their little monkey kid.

Okay that’s it ta ta for now part two is going to be Freenoodle Family focused I wanted this one to be more on the early days before MK to set it all up.

[a-998h]

Hey! It’s 🍉-Anon! I’ve been gone for a while, so I was wondering if I could request a SAGAU?? If I’ve already requested that’s fine, I can wait 🙂

Basically Teen!Reader was hanging out with whichever character, and in the spur of the moment they call the character Mom/Uncle/Dad/Auntie/Cuz(short of cousin) instead of by their name

Like for example, with Itto they were cheering for his bug, and in this case he won, so they yelled while hugging “You always win Uncle!” And after realizing they called him that, they pause before trying to escape- but Itto’s already put them in a bone-crushing hug

another Example, Reader is training with Ei when they say “Mom I’m so exhausted, can we stop yet?”

And a last example is Reader hanging out with Wanderer when they insult him, but call him Cuz in the same sentence

And like a bunch of other characters, and you can pick what title Reader accidentally calls them 🫠

Anyways, I hope you can do my request, take your time, and thank you!

-🍉 ANON

Author's note: sorry I've been inactive for a bit. Life has been busy. This fic does connect with Teen God! Reader.

Characters: Ei, Itto, Wanderer, Neuvillette, Ningguang

______________________ Ei

The archons had shared custody of you, and they each taught you different things that would be useful as a god. Venti taught you the arts, Zhongli taught you history , Nahida taught you science, and Ei taught you about weapons and battle tatics. It was her turn for custody, and she had started you on polearm training. She, of course, was a tough trainer. Your routine with her had you training for hours, and you didn't like it at all. You have to use a weapon you've never used before, this training lasts hours, you are sort of lazy, and wanted to explore Inazuma all day, damn it! But, Ei doesn't relent Ei "Today, will be a sparring match between you and I." Reader *sarcasm* "That's totally a fair fight." Ei "Child, I do not appreciate your sarcasm."

*hours of sparring later*

Reader *heavy breathing and sweaty* “Mom I’m so exhausted, can we stop yet?”

Ei freezes. She has been called many titles over her long life, sister, Baal,Beelzebub, Raiden,Kagemusha, but never mom. It made her feel warm, and fuzzy... so naturally this emotional closed off woman doesn't know what to do. After Yae explain Ei is not dying, and gives advice, Ei has a better grasp of the situation.

Meanwhile, you're embarrassed as all hell. She takes her new role seriously, and gets stricter, somewhat. Training is toned down, limiting the number of desserts, no hanging out with that werido Itto, stick by her or Sara in public, etc. While you want to be swallowed by the ground, she is trying to be a good mom. She will now only respond to mom, unless she has to look like the strong archon she is for the public. She will ignore you if you call her Ei, and she will be unintentionally petty about it.

____________________________________________________

Neuvillette

Yeah, Furina only has archon custody rights, on a technical level. She's more fun sister than responsible guardian, that's what Neuvillette is for. Most of the draw, you're hanging out with the Melusine, drawing, reading, walking tea times, or whatever keeps you busy while he's working. Today, Furina forced him to take a day off. His eye bags were darker than Collei's backstory, sleepier than Sayu, and Furina thought he really needed to see the sun and fees air again. Now, he's taking you on a day trip around the city. You two spent the day in a botanical garden, eating a nice lunch, and exploring the city, and now you're both stargazing.

Neuvillette *sitting on the blanket and pointing to a constatation* "That is Leo Minor, the sister to Leo Major." Reader *looking in awe*

Neuvillette *pointing to another constatation* "That is Lepus, the rabbit."

Reader *still looking at the stars* Neuvillette *smiling* Reader"Thanks for spending today with me, dad."

Neuvillette freezes. He is not good with emotions, but Furina has helped a bit. The feeling of being called dad is nice, he thought you would call him grandpa due to him being centuries old. Now, he tries to be a good dad for you, being a good mix of strict and fun. Furina helps him with the emotional stuff, and he smiles as you two interact, feeling warm agian. Like Ei, he will now only respond to dad in private, it's still Monsieur Neuvillette. He does notice how embarrassed you were, but it still makes him feel warm on the inside.

____________________________________________________

Ningguang

She has rich auntie vibes, like the stereotypical rich auntie, minus the shit talk and comparisons. How you ended up in her care, you have no idea. You just want to hang out with Xingqiu & Chongyun, but instead your being taken around Liyue Harbor on a shopping spree. She is going to take you to the Liyue Opera, but you need a nice outfit to wear. You're being taken around to different shops, and you're getting tired. Ningguang "This fabric is nice, but the colors don't compliment your skin tone." Reader *Tired and staring into the middle distance out of boredom*

Ningguang *going on a fashion tangent while looking for the best outfits for you*

Reader "Auntie, I'm tired and bored. Cab we just pick an outfit and go?"

Ningguang finds the perfect outfit, and buys it. She pretends not to hear you, but she does smirk at your bright red face. She has been called many thing, but never auntie. She knowns you're probably blushing, and worried you just embarrassed her. She leads you out of the shop, and gives you reassurance that you didn't embarrass her in public. From now on, she will fill her role as rich auntie. Buying you gifts, trying to match make you, slipping you some mora, and stuff like that. She will respond to her name, but she will incourage you to call her auntie. She shares good advice with you, and is making sure you find a good partner. Her current choices are Xingqiu, Yun Jin, Gaming, and Xianging.

____________________________________________________

Itto

You had escaped Sara and ran to Itto so you could have so real fun. It was a wonderful sunny day, and you two were being menaces. It started off with you two buying and eating snacks, playing with Ushi and other kids, trading card games, and avoiding being caught by Sara or Thoma. As you both ran away from the blonde housekeeper of the Kamisato estate, with you on Itto's back of course, you somehow ended up in a beetle fighting tournement with a bunch of 10 years.

Itto is battling a 10 year old girl, while you cheer for him. Normally, he loses his beetle fights. But, your cheering and platoic love fuels him, and he wins. He cheers and brags, happy he finally won. Itto "Oh yeah! I won! I am the onikabuto tournemeant king!" Reader “You always win Uncle!” And after realizing you called him that, you took pause, then your face goes red. You both know what just happened, and you're now trying to escape from Itto's reach. But, you still get stuck in a bone crushing bear hug. Now, he demands to be called Uncle Itto in eeyr context. He takes his role as fun uncle seriously. Remeber when grunkle Stan said, "this seems like the kind of thing a responsible parent wouldn't want you doing, good thing I'm an uncle!" Yeah, that is uncle Itto's motto now and forever so long as you're his nibling. You get to eat and do many things that Ei, Thoma, and Sara woul say no to. Stuff like, eating sweets in the morning, playing games and no tiring training. You get to wild and free, until one of the people you're both avoiding finds you and drags you back. ____________________________________________________

Wanderer

Oh god, you two are meneces to each other. Nahida loves you both as family, yet she is 🤏 close to having Cyno murder the pair of you. When Nahida and Alhaitham leave you two in a room for a short as 2 minutes, you'll both somehow look like you wrestled a hilichurl. It drives every authority figure nuts, be cause you two have no care for social settings. Now, at this point you're left alone with each other to try and become more civil. Only because you both had an insult battle in the streets of Sumeru City.

Wanderer *Glares at Reader*

Reader *Glares at Wanderer*

Wanderer "Cry baby!" Reader "Goblin man!"

Wanderer "Deranged god!"

Reader "Tiny choas man!" Wanderer "At least my fashion makes sense!" Reader "Aww, tiny goblin mad, Cuz?" You both pause, realize what happened and both want to be swallowed by the ground. Then, you both start cackling like a pair of lunatics. Now, you two get along like a house fire. You both now call each other "Cuz" when playfully insulting each other. The adults in your lives are happy you get along, but they're now mad you two act even more menece like. You both only do it when you're alone, having Alhaitham scold you both was not fun. All an all, you two cause problems are love it.

[teaboot]

Hi! (just a personal ask. Sorry if it's not okay to ask for advice out of nowhere but I wanted to see an outer perspective and didn't wanna ask my friends. No pressure to answer of course but I would love to hear your thoughts!)

Is it normal for me to feel overwhelmed about something I want? I am just starting med school and it's a lot but I am fighting. And in my culture, parents buy their daughters their like things?? (like towels and bed sheets and a fridge. Anything they can buy except the apartment basically) for marriage from a young age. But my mom just started recently. And when she first bought me something. The idea of getting married & being a doctor (both things I want) felt like too much I teared up. My mom said I was being spoilers I guess?? Like I was ruining a good moment? Of course it is not that serious since I wasn't outright crying, and I just laughed afterwards as I felt silly lol ,but It got me thinking if I was being that dramatic.

This honestly felt like the moment in the movie where the mom hugs her daughter and says something like "oh how much you've grown" . Her retort felt like it was out of the script.

If you find time to answer, please be extremely blunt. Because I know for a fact I have a tendency to exaggerate things.

You are not overreacting. You are not exagerrating things. And I'm going to tell you this, because I experience this, the tendency to downplay your own feelings and recollections of events very often comes from having other people do it to you first. People tell you your feelings are wrong, or stupid, or irrational, and you learn to listen to them instead of yourself.

It makes complete sense that coming up on a major cultural milestone would make you feel excited, or scared, or overwhelmed. It sounds like you came upon the first step of a very big change and the reality of it all hit you at once, which sounds completely normal and expected!

Fuck, *I* used to get that about moving houses, and YOU'RE expecting shit like marriage? Holy fuck! I'd be a complete mess! The fact that you're level-headed enough to ask questions and process your feelings and talk things through is impressive, because I think I'd be losing my mind.

Personal story, but when I turned 17, my mom asked me if I wanted to go to a restaurant to celebrate. When I told her that it sounded nice, but I'd rather have dinner at home with the family, she told me I was a selfish narcissist, and that I was so busy thinking of myself that I didn't consider that other people might have been excited to go out.

At the time, I thought she'd been harsh but ultimately correct.

Now, I see that she had decided what kind of perfect evening she had wanted, and had expected me to play the part in the movie she had written herself. It had never been about what I wanted at all- it had been about her personal desires and expectations.

And it's normal to feel frustrated about things that don't go the way we want or expect, but lashing out at others is not an appropriate way to handle those emotions.

The way we feel cannot be controlled like a machine. The way we feel is usually not a problem. The problem is what we do, and the choices we make based on those feelings.

Children throw tantrums and sat mean things because they haven't learned better yet. They don't have the practice or experience. Adults like your mother and mine should have that on lock, but often don't, especially if culture or tradition or social expectations tell them their actions are justified.

If I had to take take guess, I'd say it sounds like your mom gave you this gift with an idea in mind of how she wanted you to react. She probably wanted you to be grateful and praising and sweet, so she could fulfill the role she envisioned for herself, and when you deviated from that picture, she was disappointed. From that perspective, it would seem that she felt slighted, and that she was owed your gratitude, and you were at fault for withholding it.

This perspective makes sense, in an emotionally immature sort of way, but would completely overlook your feelings, which are just as important.

Your exact situation is not one I've been in before, but if I'm correct in my assumptions (which I may not be) then I'd suggest keeping an eye out for other instances of your perspective and feelings being minimized.

Are you often told you are behaving irrationally? That you're over-emotional? That you're self-centered or greedy or entitled? Are you told that you don't remember things or do things as you're told? That you see problems where there aren't any? That you male trouble where there is none? That certain conversations aren't worth having, or that "you're always like this"?

It sounds like you know that something is off. I'd encourage you to keep asking questions and follow your instincts. At the end of the day, your life is your own, no matter where it came from.

[shyshitter]

holy shit watching the pjo movie for shits and giggles and i forgot how TERRIBLE it is as an adaptation. it is. However. herculeanly CAMP. the joss wheden level shallow interpretation of Percy Jackson ever. i don’t have the brain power to explain so i will just dump. percy and grover are canonically in high school. percy lives with his mom. they BLACK SIDEKICKED GROVER. percy’s boy band emo fringe. WEARING HEADPHONES IN THE MUSEUM WHILE BRUNNER WAS TALKING. “leaving you was the hardest thing he ever did” speech. pierce brosnan is chiron. alexandra daddario. the high school lock eyes across the field “she’ll eat you alive” shot. leather harnesses instead of camp shirts. the hogwartsification of camp half blood. “my father is poseidon. yup, we’ve known all along. here’s a quest that i forbid you from going on.” no clarise. annabeth and percy fight at the end of capture the flag. luke’s private cabin with an entire video game system. “i broke into my dads house and stole these shoes and shield hope they help you on your quest to find fUCKING PEARLS i guess also here’s a glowing map that tells you exactly where to go.” the complete misinterpretation of the major plot points/locations/relationships/characters in general. annabeth is a 90s bridewife heroine who makes snarky does she like him does she hate him comments the entire time. percy is a 16 yo dweebjock who makes incel turned hero comments the entire time. grover is a polyamorous slut who makes black sidekick comments the entire time. percabeth’s h2o just add water pool scene. “our parents speak to us in our minds and give us advice” THEY DRIVE MOST OF THE TIME. percy uses the flying shoes multiple times. they get high in a las vegas casino. the entirety of the casino scene. GROVER TRIES TO PAY CHARON, GUARDIAN OF THE UNDERWORLD, WITH $170 AMERICAN DOLLARS CASH. rosario dawson persephone hits on grover IMMEDIATELY. gay roman soldier miniature as hades. the bolt was in the shield luke gave them. persephone’s kissem and stab ‘em move to take the bolt. “you can’t take your mom because you only have three pearls :(“ grover volunteers to stay and percy like doesn’t fight it at all and persephone immediately has offscreen sex with him. luke’s “im the lightning thief” speech. the sky battle with the flying shoes. “maybe they were wrong. maybe you’re not a son of poseidon.” *immediately drowns in electrically charged water* “idk. maybe i am i the son of poseidon.” *makes a water trident and throws it at luke, careening him across nyc into the hudson river* the way the movie takes away all agency or criticism from poseidon’s/the gods’ shitting parenting by inventing a law by zeus forbidding gods from making PHYSICAL contact with their children. grover getting horns and elevating him to “senior protector” bc i guess they had to rate his protection skills for some reason. percabeth’s almost kiss turned “never let your enemy distract you” ya novel vomit. PERCY PUTTING MEDUSAS UNCOVERED HEAD IN HIS KITCHEN FRIDGE WITH A “NEVER OPEN THE FRIDGE EVER LOVE PERCY” NOTE, PROMPTING A PETTY GABE TO OPEN IT AND GET ROCKED BY MEDUSA. truly the rick and morty parody of a 2010 YA fantasy novel turned franchise movie. it’s defining redeeming factor: annabeth is taller than percy.

[lacrimosathedark]

THAT'S IT! This is a Janet Drake Defense Post

As may be obvious, I spend a lot of time reading fanfic. And there's this trend that drives me nuts, and it's villainizing Janet Drake.

I'm not gonna say she's an A+ mother. She's not. She chose her career and adventures over spending time with her child much of the time. But fandom portrays her as some rich pompous ice queen, which is never shown.

Janet Drake mostly appears in the story Tim's introduced, and in the story she dies.

So, let's start from the top: Haly's Circus.

This event is the only time we see her really interacting with Tim before her death, but it shows that at least when he was young, she was an active part of his life. She was worried about bringing Tim because it might scare him. And then rightfully scolds her husband for being sexist because Jack Drake actually IS a jerk.

...I don't like the art in this comic. Or that the writer doesn't know how kids speak.

But Janet is being supportive of Tim's clear interest in Dick's performance.

And then tragedy strikes and she acts like, y'know, a mother.

Her priority is getting her son and herself out of there.

Also worth noting that the Drakes sent a copy of that final photo of the Graysons TO Dick, which is how he has it at all. If both of them were stuck up pricks, would they even bother sending a photo to a grieving child performer they hardly know? I can't imagine Jack really bothering, but I don't see why Janet wouldn't.

And then, by the time she's dying, we know that Tim's parents have been away for a very long time, he never knows where they are, but they've communicated enough that he knows that they've been fighting.

They're passive aggressive to say the least. This marriage is clearly not working anymore.

EDIT CUZ I REMEMBERED A THING:

It's worth noting that this is a time before smartphones. This comic was released in 1990, which was when pre-paid mobile phones had just started existing. Coverage isn't universal NOW, so back then it was even less, and Jack and Janet are archeologists (or archeologist adjacent?) so they're going to be in less developed and populated areas most of the time. It's unlikely they'd have consistent access to a functional phone that could call the states to talk to Tim regularly.

This isn't to defend their absence, because fuck that, but it's to give it some context. I don't think they were trying to ignore or abandon Tim. Communication was just not readily available and Janet seems to get wrapped up in work...and Jack's an asshole.

Also for note, Janet is probably the one sending Tim postcards in the first place. It being signed "Mom and Dad" is what makes me think that. Jack would have put himself first if he wrote it, it woulda said "Dad and Mom". That's admittedly pure speculation, BUT IT FITS SOOOOOO

My thought is if this were made modern, Janet would be sending extremely scattered texts and Tim would get next to nothing from Jack unless Janet prompted him.

END EDIT

(Fair warning, this story is a few levels of Yikes, but I'm gonna stay on topic)

Bad guy Obeah Man does...something? to the pilot, and they crash, and he has a group of people kidnap the Drakes and their assistant Jeremy.

Danger really puts some things in perspective, for Janet, at least. And that continues for her. Jack is a bit delusional and in denial, thinking he has any control of the situation.

They are tied up and filmed for ransom, their assistant killed right in front of them.

Jack just keeps raging, but Janet is having regrets. Notice how she doesn't cry until Tim is brought up. Could be nothing, could be something.

And then she dies.

Her only other major appearance is when Tim is having a fever dream from the Clench and everything is kind of okay for a minute.

Tim very clearly loves his mom. And we may not get a lot of characterization for her, but she's not cold or callous like people write her constantly.

And now, we finally have a little more about her as of Batman 134.

I haven't really been keeping up since the Gotham War stuff because What The Fuck Was That My Guy, but I recently saw this specific comic.

The multiverse is fucked up again, some way some how, and Bruce is lost (again) and Tim has to get him back (again). This time, Tim is going in after him. But he doesn't end up going straight to Bruce.

He goes to see an alt of his mom.

Tim missed her so much that he ended up going to her before Bruce.

And her immediate reaction is to run up and hug him. Does that look like a mother who doesn't love her son?

"Do you have anyone to take care of you?"

"I don't know how this happened, this miracle...but I just know, in my heart of hearts, it was to show me...that every version of my son is a good one."

Tell me again that this woman is heartless and didn't want her son, I fucking dare you.

And we get more meaning to the name "Robin" and a little crumb about Tim's grandmother. As a treat.

This is all to say, please stop writing Janet Drake as a cold, heartless bitch.

Small final note though: Jack Drake is, in fact, a shitty person and a shitty father. He does still love Tim and Tim loves him AND THAT IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE, but the relationship is a mess. If either parent is actively abusive, it's 1000% Jack "smashed a TV because my son wasn't listening to me and threatened Bruce Wayne at gunpoint" Drake. Probably part of why the marriage was falling apart.

Anyway, yeah, let's retire the "Jack and Janet Drake are Bad Parents" tag and replace it with "Jack Drake is a Bad Parent" and "Janet Drake's C+ Parenting" or something.

[thanakite]

I'm watching Witch from Mercury on YouTube (before I was watching them on a pirating site) to help show how amazingly good and popular it is, but it also means that I can see people's comments on each episode, and man these people...

Like the biggest thing to me that I've see from them so far is that they are calling the scene where Miorine chases down Suletta at Plant Quetta the "you don't have the right to feel this way" fight, and I just find that so disingenuous

Miorine isn't saying that Suletta doesn't have a right to feel the way she does, she's not even mad at Suletta for feeling that way, what she is mad about is that Suletta not only didn't communicate that with her, but with literally no one else (except a little to her mom), she's upset, because she can't change how she acts unless someone lets her know that it was wrong first, and that is totally understandable

Honestly, I've run into issues with this in my own life, where someone expressed issue with something I did or said, but they did it WAY after the fact, so not only did it make it difficult for me to have known that a change was needed beforehand, but then I also struggled to know if ANYTHING I was doing was okay, because now I knew they wouldn't tell me right away

Communication is big with any relationship, and while both Miorine and Suletta are bad at communication, Miorine is at least aware that it is important and something that needs to be worked on and that is what she is pissed about and trying to get through to Suletta in this scene

It is NOT "You have no right to feel this way" it is "You need to take action and communicate these things to me because I can't know there is a problem, nor can I help you with it or fix it if I don't know there is a problem in the first place"

This is a conversation that (on some level, not necessarily this level of drama) all couples that want to last need to have at some point, because if you don't communicate these things the relationship WILL crumble

This is a major milestone in their relationship and really starts to solidify for Suletta her feelings for Miorine, and that wouldn't be the case if it was as simple as "You have no right to feel this way" as even someone as kind as Suletta wouldn't fall for someone who invalidated her feelings so completely as to say or imply something like that

[jnnul]

five questions

a/n: and here is the first of the wips! i know this was supposed to come out on friday and now it's almost wednesday but it's out and that's worth something, right? i hope you love this little fluff piece + mark as much as i do!

word count: 5.1k

tags: finance bro mark and y/n, slice of life, mostly fluff, kinda your typical suburban modern day couple, idk they’re just good ppl who experience a slow and sweet romance, oh! and mark sucks at beer pong

sorry, is this seat taken?

you pride yourself on not being a very superficial person. you always look deeper into a person of interest and in the past, your friends have made fun of you because you never seemed to find the people they thought were attractive very hot at all.

he seems like he swears at his mom. they give off the impression that they are rude to waitstaff. i don’t care how hot she is, she’s literally fighting with a customer service worker for no reason.

did it mean that your ability to look past superficial identity led to you giving some pretty sketchy people second chances? maybe. but usually, it did more good than harm.

but for all of your in depth thinking, you realize that you’re just as superficial as every last one of your friends when the man of your dreams asks you to marry him.

what he really says is, “is this seat taken?” but it all sounds the same when you’re half in love.

with dark eyes that are bright and shine with innocent curiosity, slender lips with a slight pout, and tousled black hair that falls into his eyes, you realize this man looks like nothing short of an angel.

you stutter out a squeaky, "no, go ahead!" before moving your laptop a little closer to you so that the hot stranger could have space to put his things down. he offers you a sweet smile before sliding into the seat next to you.

"my name is mark, by the way," he says once he's settled into his seat. he's about to ask your name but he nods to the keychain that's attached to your lanyard. "i'm guessing your name is y/n? that's a cute keychain."

"yeah," you say, flipping the keychain so that mark could see it properly. "one of the kids i teach made me it a couple years ago and i've carried it around ever since."

mark's eyebrows furrow at that as he checks his calendar to make sure that he's in the right class. "you're an education major? what's an education major doing in a business statistics class? this class is an upper level business class i thought?"

you nod and close your laptop so that mark could see the sticker on the backside of your laptop. you point out the biggest one that has 'ucla - anderson school of management' written in bright yellow letters. mark's eyebrows knit as he reads it and you can't help but laugh softly at how utterly confused he looks.

"i'm a finance major. i just really like kids so i spent last summer juggling between an internship at apple and volunteering at a learning summer camp for kids who are underprivileged in education," you explain, watching as mark's confusion turns to awe, his dark eyes glinting as you explain.

"damn. that's so cool of you, y/n. i'm sorry i assumed you were an education major. turns out you're just an angel instead," mark says, almost offhandedly. you freeze at the last sentence and immediately, mark's ears turn bright red as he realizes what he had said.

you to turn to face forward as mark rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and if you weren't so damn flustered, you would take a picture of how incredibly cute he looks.

mark had pretty privilege, as far as you were concerned. if any other person said that, you would probably just laugh it off and thank them but a single comment from mark had you blushing and internally combusting. the worst part? you didn't even mind it.

the two of you are silent for another couple minutes before you turn to him once more, a corner of your lips tilted upwards, a teasing look in your eyes.

"you know i definitely don't mind being called angel by a pretty boy," you say casually. you try not to let your voice give away how nervous mark actually makes you but there's still a little shake when you say the word 'pretty'. because really, mark was so pretty. just...too pretty to be good for your heart.

it doesn't really matter though because mark looks at you like you've personally put the stars in the sky.

"you think i'm pretty?" mark says, his voice soft and tentative. you look at him strangely. surely he had heard that many times over the course of his life? why did he sound so surprised?

"i think you're very pretty, mark," you say matter-of-factly. mark wants to say something else but everyone has filed in and it seems as though the professor is starting the lecture soon as the lights begin to dim in the hall.

mark has heard that he was attractive many times before. in fact, he'd probably become synonymous with the word handsome, as his superlative in high school was 'most likely to become a famous singer' and 'most likely to win prom king'.

so why did his heart flutter so much when you called him pretty?

can you help me with this one?

turns out, mark is shit at statistics. he's great at the business part, as you have learned over the past three weeks of sitting next to each other and working on the practice problems together. but the actual statistics? you might as well be working with a victorian child.

"i still don't understand why you can't just assume that this condition applies in all scenarios," mark says as he reads through the question once more. the two of you had grown pretty close over the past month or so, and often, you would go to the library after class to work on the assigned homework or projects together.

mark was a good study buddy (he always brought good snacks) and he had a great work ethic that made you feel guilty about not studying when he was. not to mention that he was gorgeous eye candy to look at whenever you needed to take a break from your work.

which was pretty much all the time if it meant looking at mark lee a little while longer.

your friends had teased you when you described your encounters with mark thus far. although they never really crossed the line between platonic and romantic relationships, just the fact that you were practically dying of anticipation was enough to rile your friends up.

you had had a few partners in the past but most of them ended at the situationship stage - very few of them become actual relationships. so, you had put a pause on dating for good (much to the dismay of your gossip mongering best friends) and had been happily single for the past year or so. unfortunately, that was when you met mark lee and your heart decided to rebel against all sense of logic.

besides his pretty face (your friends were very surprised to hear that you had developed a crush on a good looking man for once; you had a seriously incriminating track record), mark lee had a pretty heart. he was so incredibly humble and kind to everyone he knew - which was a lot of people, as you came to learn. he was super friendly and great at remembering little details about people that made them feel as though he truly cared about them.

which he really did. it seemed like mark truly cared a lot about every single one of his seemingly thousands of friends and went out of his way to make them feel loved. for you, however, it seemed like he went above and beyond.

it seemed as though after mark (and you, really) had gotten over the initial shyness and awkwardness, the two of you were rarely seen apart. you weren't sure if the two of you were toeing the line of romantic relationship yet, but it just felt like you guys were having fun. even without a label or anything, you and mark tended to gravitate towards each other in social situations and even made consistent efforts to see each other outside of your respective friend groups.

for example, you really didn't belong in the frat scene. you had expended all of the energy and patience you had for frat house parties during your freshman year and quite frankly, as a junior in college, it felt kind of embarrassing to go to them without having any real connections to brothers themselves.

but mark was a brother in nu chi theta so within the first month of your friendship, you found yourself at the NCT house with a red solo cup and an uncomfortable top on.

"hey y/n! i'm losing over here! can you help me with this one?" mark calls out from behind you. you turn around to see him extending a ping-pong ball (that smelled like it was coated in beer, vodka, and...laundry detergent?) in your direction. you look to see if your friends, who you had dragged along to the party, were going to save you from death by beer pong but you're on your own when you see two of your friends making out with the same boy.

you would stop them but the image was far too gruesome and downright hilarious. and in their drunken state, you doubted you could really separate the lovebirds (?) anyway.

"alright, but it's gonna cost you, lee," you sigh dramatically, setting your cup down on the counter before accepting the ping-pong ball, your fingers brushing over mark's.

"name your price," mark says confidently as you line up your shot, ignoring the heat that radiates off of mark's body as you realize that mark was a lot closer than you had previously anticipated. his words sink into your skin and you involuntarily shiver when you feel his breath on your neck.

"hmm...i'll have to think about it..." you trail off, finally throwing the little ping-pong ball into the cup. you turn so that your chest was pressed against mark's front and all your thoughts have been replaced by the look of his eyes in the dim lighting. the words tumble out of your mouth before you even realize what you're saying.

"go on a date with me?"

your heart drops as you see mark's face turn from confusion to shock and then back to confusion. he rubs his neck awkwardly (a habit, you had noticed, that tended to present himself when he felt particularly confused) as he licks his lips nervously.

"was...was us hanging out everyday not...dating? i kinda thought we were already going on dates," mark mumbles, his cheeks flushed. you stare at him and a strange gurgling laughter rips out of your mouth before you clamp your hand over your mouth, your eyes wide in horror at the sound that came out of your mouth.

"does this mean you like me?" you ask, and once again, you're graced with the sight of mark lee looking just all too angelic under the strobe lighting as he nods before tentatively making eye contact with you.

"uh...if you asked me on a date, am i safe to assume that you like me too?" mark proposes and the way that he says it, almost like he was presenting a business pitch to a potential investor, makes you laugh once more as you lean a little closer to mark, your lips barely brushing against his.

"more than you realize, mark."

can i come inside?

the first time mark came with you to help out with the kids at the school, it was completely unexpected. another one of the student teachers had suddenly fallen ill (you found out a few months later that at his girlfriend's baby shower that he was not, in fact, sick) and no one else was available to help out.

your supervisor was a sweet old lady who was dedicated to helping as much as she could before 'her joints gave up on her' - which meant that oftentimes, she tried to take on more responsibility than she really could. and then that meant that she often didn't hire enough staff to keep the place running, hoping that she could do all of the administrative things herself so that all of the people who did come in could focus on working with the kids. needless to say, as one of the only volunteers who had been with the organization for more than four years, you knew more than well that the sweet old lady needed more people to help her out.

so, you forced your boyfriend of three years to help you out. well, not really forced. mark had the day off from work because it was the day before july 4th and really didn't have any plans for the day. so when mrs. varghese calls you frantically at nine o'clock the previous night, mark offered to come with you.

"we've been together for the past three years and we've been living together for the past one and a half. i lose my girlfriend every monday and thursday evening to kids. i gotta meet the little suckers who've been monopolizing my girlfriend." which was mark's stupid way of saying i love you. let me help you out a little bit. let me be part of your world. maybe in the disney princess way.

and you're a sucker for kids and your boyfriend, even after dating for three years, so you agree and the next day, you're piling into the passenger seat at seven in the morning to teach young children addition and subtraction.

not really how the two of you (mostly mark) were planning on spending on of your rare days off but you could never deny mrs. varghese of anything. especially if it meant more time with the kids.

mark always joked about how you should've become a teacher but as much as you loved the children and the interactions with them, you were not a fan of the underpaying salaries. so you made it a point to become successful in your career and dedicate a percentage of your paycheck to donate to the school you volunteered at instead.

which had caused some struggles when you first moved in with mark, given that it was only the two of you rather than you living with three of your friends and your share of the rent went higher. but you figured it out and mark definitely wasn't the type of person to hold it over your head that you weren't able to pay your full share of rent for the first two months.

because that's just who he was. he would cover for you, covering up all of the little parts of yourself that you didn't like. and you would help him see that those blemishes he thought he had were just things that made him more lovable to you.

so when mark steps into the little school and immediately, kids are swarming to the two of you, trying to find out who the attractive boyfriend was, you're not even surprised. mark had a natural, comforting air about him (not to mention the fact that the kids were overly invested in your personal life) that made people want to draw to him like moths to a flame.

in fact, he's so overwhelmed by the love that the kids are showing him, he's still hovering around the door awkwardly, semi-bowing to mrs. varghese, who's watching him with amusement.

"can i come inside?" mark asks, trying to take a step forward while not hurting any little kids. you snort at his awkward shuffle before clapping your hands together, taking it upon yourself to relieve your poor boyfriend from the possibility of death by enthusiastic children.

"can you or may you?" mrs. varghese says with a humorous smile and mark's eyebrows furrow as he contemplates the question. the kids are slowly making their way over to you, where you're starting to distribute fruit pouches as a morning snack and mark finally feels as though he's only carrying his own body weight - as opposed to ten other children's.

"it was 'can i' at first but now i think it's more of a 'may i'. mrs. varghese, i presume?" mark says, extending his hand for the old lady to shake. she just looks at it strangely before gathering mark in a tight, bone-crushing hug.

for such a frail old lady, she had a lot of strength.

"get out of here with those manners. y/n's told me a lot about. and anyone in y/n's corner is family here, alright?" mrs. varghese says, and mark has to blink furiously to push back the tears, although he can't really tell why her words are hitting him so hard.

"thanks."

you mean that?

mark was really easy to love. that's just the type of person he was. in everyone else's eyes, he was a good guy who just always tried to be better at the things he was already incredibly good at. he was always polite with strangers, babies cooed at him, and was the type to be the person to start a 'pay-it-forward' queue whenever he could afford to do so.

and for all of his perfectness, mark was a very flawed man. he was a little bit of a miser - he hated to spend money on himself, even if he would splurge a little more on you. he was a little bit on the insecure side, and no matter how many times you told him that you loved him all the more for his quirks, he still got down about it. mark was also really bad at communication when things made him upset. he was just so easy-going that he would let the smaller things accumulate and build until he's practically bursting.

and mark was kinda mean when he got angry.

he would never hurt you, of course. mark didn't think he could ever live with himself if he knew that he had laid a hand on anyone - but you in particular. and he really, really was trying to work on his communication skills so that he wouldn't let it build and then get so angry.

but when mark got angry, he seemed to just turn into a different person. it had only happened once in your relationship before, almost right after you had moved in together

it was about something incredibly stupid but the tension had been building for a while prior to that. technically, before you moved in, the apartment had been mark and one of his friend's, johnny seo from school, before johnny had moved out to move in with his own girlfriend. and mark and johnny weren't exactly...the cleanest people. you didn't really mind the mess but soon it turned into an unhealthy balance of mark leaving things around the house and you having to clean up after him.

not to mention that a lot changes when a couple moves in together. naturally, tensions were running a little high. for all your cleanliness, you had a really bad habit of leaving unfinished meals in the fridge until they went bad and started to smell, which made mark upset because that was a waste of a valuable meal. and so on and so forth.

one day, the tensions just burst and the two of you ended up in a screaming match going back and forth and back and forth about cleanliness and not eating properly and soon, it escalated from a conversation about living together to being together in the first place.

mark regretted it almost immediately, cursing himself out when he saw you just completely shut down in front of his eyes. he knew his anger got the best of him sometimes, and when he was in the moment, all he could think about was winning the argument, no matter what he needed to say to win.

that had been the worst fight you've ever had. after that fight, you got a lot better about portioning your food to eliminate leftovers and mark made a more conscious effort to clean up. you also started talking more to each other about what things did or didn't make you happy.

but even as mark was getting better at communicating with you, he still didn't know how to raise up issues with you. usually, you would tell mark what you were up to and then you would naturally ask him yourself if he was comfortable with what you were doing. he would then reply with a simple yes or no with an explanation and that would be the end of that. he always hesitated to raise up an issue with you though. he didn't want you to think that he was trying to control your life or be one of those possessive boyfriends.

one day, though, you were out clubbing with your friends (your friend had recently broken up with her fiancé and she really needed her girlfriends) and you had come home pretty late. mark had stayed up, watching a movie (barely), worried about you making it home safely because he knew that your friends were prone to trying to get you as wasted as possible.

mark never told you explicitly but you had a feeling that's how he felt. it frustrated you though that he never said anything to you and wait for you to bring it up to him instead. so that night, you decided to drink a little more than usual (but not as much as they tried to make you drink) so that you could finally, finally get mark to talk to you about his issues.

really, for your behavior, you were expecting to have a round two of what had happened when you first moved in with him. you were imagining a screaming match like no other but instead, mark just looks at you, sighs, and pulls you into a hug when you come stumbling through the door. confused, you begin to pull away, but mark just continues to hold you tight.

"i was so worried that you might not get home safe. and i promise we'll have a proper conversation about this when you're sober in the morning but i love you so much and...let's just talk about this in the morning, okay?" mark mumbles into your hair. you let mark just rock you gently side to side as he clings onto you, completely opposite from the reaction you were expecting.

"mark, i'm not drunk. i just...i'm tired of always being the one to bring up issues. i know that you don't like it when i get drunk outside because you're worried for me but i'd rather you tell me that than me having to guess that by myself. i can make my own decisions and i'm a big independent girl but you're the singular most important person in my life. i would never consciously do something to make you uncomfortable but i make mistakes sometimes. i need you to be open and honest with me when something makes you uncomfortable - because i know it takes a lot to get that far in the first place."

mark steps back to look you in the eyes, his eyes glittering in the shitty lighting of the apartment. "you really mean that?"

"i mean it with my whole heart."

do you promise to love me for the rest of our lives?

mark tries not to trip. he tries really hard to hold in his sneezes, tears, and any other bodily fluids that are inappropriate for the situation. but the nearly fifteen feet from the entrance to the where the officiant is standing is enough to make mark want to puke all over the very expensive carpet you bought for the wedding.

when you first proposed having a backyard wedding, mark was extremely opposed.

a wedding was a once in a lifetime day where you could celebrate your union together with your partner and start the journey to the rest of your lives together. in fact, it was mark, not you, who had the pinterest board (although, to be fair, it wasn't actually a pinterest board and was rather just a folder on his phone of screenshots from pretty tiktoks). he had a vision for the wedding - one that included all members of your friend circle, your families, and your family friends as well.

and well, that wasn't really in the budget. rather than spend 100k on a one day event, you proposed having a backyard wedding that would be significantly more economical and using that 100k to buy a starter home.

"you still get your expensive venue and we have a place to move into. a real home that we can start a family in, mark," you had argued as mark paced back and forth in the small, almost cramped apartment the two of you shared. mark stops when he realizes that it only takes fourteen steps to make it from one side of the room to the other side and back.

and that was the biggest room.

so mark agrees on one condition: there are no lacking traditional elements of the wedding. the both of you worked together on the pain-staking process of planning a wedding that included portions of your culture and his culture to put on the wedding of a lifetime. hopefully the only wedding of your lifetimes.

well, the only wedding for you and mark, at least. but that was about the future and in the present, mark can barely keep from keeling over right there at the beautifully decorated altar that you and your mother had spent hours on.

after so long of being together, mark can't help but feel just so incredibly lucky and overwhelmed to be finally marrying you. you. the person of his dreams. the person who taught him that love isn't always fireworks and euphoric thrills; that love can be huddling together when gas bills were too high to pay and wanting nothing more than to see your significant other when it's been a long day.

love was you and mark really, really can't wait to finally show the world how much he truly loved you.

unsurprisingly, mark almost cries when you finally enter, the picture of the stunning bride as you clutch your father's arm for the last time as y/n l/n instead of y/n lee. mark isn't sure the last time he saw you this nervous but when you meet his eyes, he can feel the rest of the world melt away.

just normal people with enough love to fill the world, is what you say in your vows. just a guy and a girl in the same business class who never travel business class because the two of you are such money minders - something that my soon to be husband has rubbed off on me.

"i will never forget the moment that i knew i was so irrevocably love with mark. it was two days after we fought for the first time. i remember that i was so incredibly angry and scared that that fight would be the end of y/n and mark. that i would have to move out and redownload tinder and just be miserable again for losing one of the best things in my life over a little sock in the wrong place and leftover pizza."

"but two days after we fought, mark came up to me, hugged me and just said, 'we're gonna get through this. i love you too much to not get through this.' and even though everything just seemed so uncertain, the moment mark said that, i knew instantly that we really were going to get through it. because mark had faith in us. and i have faith in us. i love you, mark lee. from the moment you sat down in that ucla business class. i have loved you for so long and i will continue to love you forever."

there isn't a single dry eye in the house (quite literally) after your vow. mark has to clear his throat four or five times before he can start his vows, too afraid that his voice would give out on him in the middle due to how much emotion he was feeling.

"y/n, you asked me one day when we were binging american horror story and pigging out with a family sized bag of chips when i started falling in love with you. and i couldn't answer then so i just said that for as long as i can remember. and that's true - i still don't know when i fell in love with you. i just remember that one day i woke up alone in bed (don't worry mr. l/n, i have never slept in a ten mile radius of your daughter...please don't make her divorce me) and thinking that i would rather wake up next to you instead for the rest of my life."

"but i do know when i realized you were my soulmate. five moments when i knew i found the one. when i asked you if i could sit down next to you in business class. when i asked you to help me with statistics because for being a business major, i'm horrible at math - go figure. when i volunteered with you for the first time with mrs. varghese. mrs. varghese! - where are you - mrs. varghese! may i marry y/n? then i'll be real family."

mrs. varghese blows into a handkerchief unceremoniously, waving mark off through her tears, making the crowd and you laugh a little. mark's smile grows when he sees you laugh and continues on nervously.

"and the fourth moment was the time when you gave me a reality check. when you reminded me that love doesn't work without communication. you've changed me so much for the better, y/n, and i truly could not thank you enough for it. so, i have one last question for you. one last moment for me to know that we're soulmates."

mark takes a deep breath, holding one of your hands in both of his as he looks at you with soft eyes, so filled with love that your breath catches in your throat. "i promise to love you and stand by you for as long as i breathe. can you - can you promise...do you promise to love me for the rest of our lives?"

it seems as though everyone in the venue is holding their breath before you press a sweet kiss to mark's cheek and say the words that everyone has been waiting for.

"i do."

and with those five questions, mark lee had found his soulmate.

[twinsarekeepers]

I’m curious as to your honest thoughts on the show? Like I love pjo and all but the show was a bit of a let down writing wise. There’s always the point of “it’s an adaptation, not a carbon copy” like yes but this new writing isn’t exemplary better than the book just because it’s rewritten by the author himself

I think the show is well-written not because Rick is attached to it, but because I actually like the way the writers are approaching adapting the source material. I have a lot of issues with the original books in terms of writing quality because frankly speaking, I don’t think Rick is a very good writer. He has a lot of interesting things in those books that he never explores or drops within the first two and this fandom gives him and the books too much credit imo.

This is why I’m not very moved when people try to ascribe meaning to a certain scene or choice he made in the books to get mad at the show for changing. As an example, one of the main things people were upset about was the kids “knowing everything” in the show when they were getting tricked left and right in the book. Many posts were dedicated to how the book version is superior because it illustrates how they’re just twelve years old kids so of course they’ll make mistakes and get tricked by monsters.

That’s a perfectly fine interpretation but I was twelve years old when I first read tlt and I was able to anticipate almost every single trap, despite being pretty gullible and naive at that age. My knowledge of Greek mythology consisted of Disney’s Hercules, maybe two Google searches, and my second grade teacher’s reading of the kid friendly version of the Odyssey. No where near the level of Percy who’d been learning for a whole year in an established class on the topic with Chiron or Grover who was literally a satry born into the world or Annabeth, who spent the majority of her life dedicated to studying specifically quests and Greek mythology and was also on the run fighting monsters for a good portion of her childhood. Like twelve year olds can be dumb but those three stumbling into every trap was asking me to suspend my disbelief too far. I remember being upset that they weren’t able to figure it out because it was obvious that Rick wasn’t making that choice to show any personality flaws or character dynamics (because he would’ve had them learn and grow but they never did they just kept being not smart), he just wasn’t able to figure out a way for them to fall into those traps organically so he had to dumb them down.

I think the show was able to get across the characters’ childishness without compromising their established backstories. Yes, Annabeth knew it was Medusa right away because that makes sense for a kid who has experience with running into monsters. But, she still acted very much like a child in her interactions with her (and throughout the episode and season). She lashed out and called her a liar and wouldn’t listen to her side of the story because it painted her mother in a bad light. That’s peak twelve year old behavior.

Yes, Percy figured out Kronos was behind everything, but it makes sense because Percy knows Greek mythology and where Kronos resides. He still very much acts like a child when he asks Hades to give him back his mom in exchange for nothing because it’s the right thing to do.

There are dozens of examples like this for a lot of complaints of the show. And this is not me saying that the show is perfect: every single show has flaws. For me, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dialogue or the exposition dumping. It didn’t hinder my enjoyment though because I don’t think it was egregious (and wrt the exposition dumping, I expected it because the book did it and there’s really no way to “show not tell” Greek myths). I also didn’t like that we didn’t get to really see the huge clashes between Zeus and Poseidon in the weather (we got references to it through news reports but I would’ve liked something more). I was able to look past it because I really liked the storytelling and the themes the show was pulling out of the original source material.

I loved Medusa-Sally parallels and Medusa-Annabeth parallels. I loved the juxtaposition of Pan’s quest to manifest density. I loved Percy and Annabeth’s opposite trajectory in respect to their relationships with their godly parents. I loved exploring Sally’s choice to send Percy to school instead of camp. I loved explicitly coding Annabeth as autistic. I loved Luke’s backstory being brought earlier into the story. I loved the deadline passing and Poseidon surrendering to save Percy. I loved Persues-Andromeda and percabeth parallels. I loved fleshing Grover out. I loved glory vs home seeking being the central theme of the show.

And lastly, I was able to understand that with a limited number of episodes and run time (due to the nature of child labor laws!), they did the best they could and I feel like they did a pretty good job for a first season.

These are not ALL of my thoughts on the show because that would be a very long post. I gave one detailed example of why I think the show succeeded in something the fandom tries to ascribe the books and it was like three paragraphs lol. Anyway this is not the post to try and convince me that the show is bad for whatever reason you have cooked up. I’m not going to change my mind and I doubt I’ll change yours. Here’s to a season 2 that builds on a solid season 1!

[lodeddiperactivate]

Falling out (timeskip with you and Rodrick)

A/N: Found this in my draft. Started writing it a while back with the intention of turning it into angst with you and Rodrick fighting over what happened but got lazy! Just gonna post this as a blurb/drabble, not planning to turn it into a full fic series anymore :/

You and Rodrick have been friends since highschool, and at some point, yeah it felt as if there was something between the two of you. However, neither one of you did anything about it for the sake of not ruining the friendship. Eventually, after graduation, you two went your separate ways. He became more focused with his music career, and you moved to New York to become a journalist. You thought that was the end of it until one day you got a call from your mom asking you to help Rodrick find an apartment in New York.

It had been 5 years since the last time you've seen each other at your highschool graduation, and you honestly believed that moving to another state will ensure that you won't ever get to see him again. The thing is you two started having a fallout when you heard rumors that he was dating Heather.

Your mom instructed you to meet Rodrick at a cafe near your apartment so that he can also tour any vacant units in your building. You protested at first but there's nothing you can really do as both your families remained close throughout the years. And now Rodrick is moving to New York because he got accepted as a Financial Analyst at some corporation, which is another surprise as you thought he had pursued music full-time.

~

As soon as you entered the cafe, you started looking for a table since you assumed he'd be late but to your surprise, he was already sat at a table by the window. He wore a light blue button down and some beige corduroy pants. His expression was vacant, as if the 5 years that went by had sucked his soul out of his body. He saw you and waved, and feigned a small smile as you walked towards him.

"Hey"

"Hey there, thank you for agreeing to meet with me," he said. He sounded so formal, you weren't really used to this new Rodrick.

"Not a problem, how have you been?"

"Fine, great. I got a job at this company and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to move here as well," he paused. "You look good."

"You too," you replied as both of you sat down. You were both testing the waters as to what topics should you talk about and which ones are off the table. After some silence, you decided to suggest that you both order.

"Oh I already ordered some chocolate chip pancakes for the table, and some orange juice," he smiled. Oh that smile! You missed it so much.

"I love chocolate chip pancakes,"

"I know," he looked at his hands in front of him, clasped together. "I remember."

"Uhm so my mom told me you were looking for an apartment?"

"Yes, I am!" He said as if snapping out of a trance. "I have all my documents with me." You smiled at him, and he smiled back and for some time, the two of you started to relax.

The pancakes arrived and you both ate for awhile until you decided to simply rip off the bandaid.

"So how are you and Heather?" He seemed surprise with the question but felt like he already had prepared an answer.

"We broke up actually. Second year in college. She said that I was holding her back," he trailed off.

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that."

"No, it's fine, she was right. Loded Diper wasn't going anywhere and I was basically flunking every one of my major subjects."

"Loded Diper's no longer playing?"

"Well, we're on a hiatus, at least until I figure things out and I will figure it out," he beamed at you with a certain level of reassurance, much like his old self, you thought. You smiled back and proceeded to finish the rest of the food.

"We can start touring some units that are available in my building," you started as both of you walked back to your apartment building. "When will you be starting at your new company?"

"Err, tomorrow actually."

"What?! You won't be able to find an apartment and sign a lease in New York in less than 24 hours, you know!"

"Yes yes I know."

"Thank you," Rodrick looked at you and you looked at him. You missed him so much and you hoped that this will be your chance to get back to what you two were like before. He held your gaze as if he's searching yours for some sign that everything will be alright between you and him. You leaned closer and before you know it, he had let his forehead touch yours.

After some time, you lifted your head, "Okay okay, here's to hoping that the unit is still available in my building. I can guarantee the landlord that you're a good tenant and maybe that will speed up the process."

It didn't. In fact, even after touring some other apartments, you two were left with zero to nothing chances of signing a lease within the week. You were both exhausted so you've settled with him staying your apartment at least until he finds a place of his own.

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, I haven’t seen the London Special, just seen the reactions, but it is really hammering home to me how much of the plot could be … not “fixed��, but at least “untangled” if Mari had literally ANY CONNECTION to Gabriel that didn’t involve Adrien. Like, her mentor, an old family friend, her godfather, her dad’s old college buddy, just … ANYTHING that made Marinette connected to Gabe on a personal level. It still wouldn’t make her lying to Adrien ok, but it at least would make it more sympathetic. Cause then she isn’t just lying to Adrien, she’s lying to HERSELF, because if she tells Adrien, then she has to acknowledge that actually, Gabe kind of sucked. Like, “cool motive, still murder” - yeah, you tried to revive your wife, and you loved your kid, but you were a dick, man. Marinette having ANY connection to Gabriel that is more personal than “my crush’s dad” would make the entire thing at least a little easier to understand. As it is, it comes across as Marinette, I’m not sure this is the right word, but almost “infantilizing” Adrien. She’s making decisions for him, denying him agency in his own life, because she’s decided she knows what’s best for him.

And like, Mari’s a kid who had a hell of a lot heaped on her shoulders, I get where the mindset probably came from, but Marinette’s only major connection to Gabriel in canon is that he’s Hawk Moth and she’s Ladybug. And while yes, that is a big connection, it also isn’t personal? Like. Gabe’s relationship with Marinette is basically nothing, if you take out the Miraculous stuff. Marinette is just some girl who goes to the same school as his son, is a rather promising designer, and … that’s kind of the extent of their interaction. Without the Miraculous, they barely qualify as acquaintances. If Marinette isn’t Ladybug, or Gabriel wasn’t Hawk Moth, there would be basically nothing there. And while I can make an argument that Ladybug absolutely has a say in what to tell the PUBLIC, that keeping up the ruse with them MIGHT be … not GOOD, but the lesser of two evils, I don’t think Ladybug/Marinette has any right in denying that info to Adrien. It’s his damn dad, he has a right to know what happened. Hell, even just about his mom! He has a right to know what happened to her!

And on a quick swerve, it actually annoys me that Ladybug hasn’t told Chat Noir. Like, the guy is your partner, you’ve been fighting this thing since day one together, on the superhero side of things, he ALSO deserves to know who the hell the pair of them have been duking it out with. Like, I’m aware identity shenanigans are afoot, but if Ladybug has the right to make this kind of call, then Chat should also get that right, which means LADYBUG SHOULD TELL HIM.

(… I will admit, this might all be bothering me less if my dad hadn’t been playing Hallmark movies all day, and I hadn’t been forced to sit through at least 12 separate scenarios where literally TALKING TO A PERSON would solve all the problems. But like … 8 times out of 10, when someone says, “don’t tell anyone I did this thing”, it is A) something you should PROBABLY tell someone, or B) something that is going to blow up later if you keep it a secret.)

-

Yeah no like!

On top of wanting some acknowledgement that this is well-intentioned but fucked up to do

the whole thing about Mari having no investment in the identity reveal past ‘ah that’s my bf’s dad’ has bothered me for a while because REALLY she should have some connection and they already set it up but never did anything with it.

But Marinette lying to herself and trying to convince herself that her mentor/friend is a Good Person despite the fucked up things he did would be a lot better than ‘uwu I don’t want to tell Adrien that his father fucking sucked despite the fact that Adrien is already VERY aware that his father fucking sucks’.

[maul-of-shame]

Elrondriel/Galrond Theory time Again:

Okay hear me out-

*Puts on Clown wig and makeup*

I'm kinda sure they won't bring back Celeborn and Celebrian. Sure this pseud meta may be far-fetched, like Mordor level of far-fetched but hey-

Nothing in LOTR is accidental.

You don't have to read my post to see that some baby steps (and giant ones) towards the Elrond/Galadriel storyline/ship (proposal shots, the white dress, the kiss, everything) have been made but I found something interesting.

Elrond gets his scar following a fight, because of who, generally speaking? Sauron's mess.

I give you the dad:

Gal gets her scar following what? Fight with Sauron again. I give you the mom:

Arwen gets her scars how? Bringing Frodo to her dad and escaping Nazgûls aka Sauron's forces. And I give you the daughter:

I have this theory about Rings of Power and the absence of Celeborn and Celebrian that’s been brewing in my head for a while, and it’s not something I think is a random choice.

In fact, I think it’s a deliberate creative decision by the showrunners that legit shows the direction they’re taking with the series.

I mean come on, have you watched the series????

And those are just a FRACTION of what happens in the series.

For one, the timeline has been so heavily built on in the show that it would be a huge stretch to change or introduce Celeborn and Celebrian in a way that would feel natural. TROP showrunners could’ve easily included these characters, but instead, they chose to introduce original characters in place of them.

And honestly, that says everything to me.

They could have stayed strictly faithful to the established timeline, but instead, they’ve taken a more fluid approach—one where certain details from the books, like Celeborn’s involvement or Celebrian’s story, can be set aside or reimagined.

Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I actually think it’s a smart move.

By not including Celeborn and Celebrian, the show has the chance to give Galadriel and Elrond more space to evolve as characters.

I genuinely thing, they could become parents to Arwen. There’s something about the bond between Galadriel and Elrond that just makes more sense at the center of this narrative. They’re both so tied to the ancient history of Middle-earth, but by not introducing Celeborn, the focus can remain squarely on them. Their relationship, their shared history, their struggles—they can be explored in a way that feels organic without getting bogged down by a third, potentially distracting character.

We know how important Celeborn and Celebrian are in Tolkien’s canon, especially with the tragic story of Celebrian’s capture and her eventual departure. But in Rings of Power, it feels like the timeline has already been set up in a way where they can’t be fully integrated without changing so much. The show is choosing to prioritize Galadriel and Elrond’s relationship instead of trying to fit them in, and I think that makes total sense. It’s not that they won’t ever be mentioned or referenced, but bringing them in as major players would complicate things. And if you ask me, that would take away from the deeper exploration of Galadriel’s fierce independence and Elrond’s more reserved wisdom.

This isn’t just a random decision—ROP has crafted a version of Middle-earth where the focus shifts to these two characters. They’ve clearly built the story around their dynamic, and I think it's intentional that the show has chosen to lean into that rather than risk complicating it with other characters.

Plus, by making this choice, they give themselves more creative freedom to explore the themes and relationships in their own way, without having to tie everything strictly to the old timeline.

In the end, I don’t think Celeborn and Celebrian’s absence in the story is a missed opportunity or an oversight—it’s part of the larger plan. The timeline’s already been altered, and the show is taking that as a chance to dive deeper into the complexities of Galadriel and Elrond, leaving a lot of space for new stories to emerge.

So while it may seem like a bold move, I believe it’s one that makes perfect sense for the world they’re building.

Galadriel and Elrond just make sense.

Now onto the "Galadriel + Elrond = Arwen":

Imagine, for a moment, the beauty of Rings of Power choosing to make Arwen the daughter of both Galadriel and Elrond.

At first glance, it might seem like a bold move, a break from the established canon of LOTR, but when you really think about it, the possibilities here are deeply poetic and rich with layers of meaning.

We know that Arwen, in the books/movies, is a powerful and tragic figure—torn between her immortal elven heritage and her love for Aragorn, a mortal man. Her choice to give up her immortality for love is one of the defining moments in Tolkien's work. But what if her story is shaped not just by the love of Aragorn, but by the very essence of both her parents—Galadriel and Elrond?

In many ways, these two characters embody the full spectrum of Elven experience. Galadriel represents the fierce independence, the history, the wisdom of a queen who’s seen the rise and fall of ages. Elrond, on the other hand, represents the more measured, diplomatic, and deeply compassionate side of Elvenkind—he is a steward, a guide, a father. Together, they bring a balance of strength, grace, and wisdom, each with their own scars and stories.

Now, if Arwen were their daughter, it would be the ultimate blend of these traits.

From Galadriel, Arwen would inherit that unyielding strength—the drive to protect what she loves, the resilience forged in centuries of hardship. Galadriel’s scars—her battles, her moments of weakness, her journey—would echo in Arwen, giving her a wisdom that stretches far beyond her years, an understanding of the world and the sacrifices it demands. But more than that, Arwen would also inherit Galadriel’s haunting beauty, her ethereal presence, that glimmer of starlight that draws others in. Galadriel’s magic, her connection to the light of the Two Trees, could pass to Arwen as well—imbuing her with a quiet, serene power that could light up even the darkest of places.

Elrond, as her father, would provide her with a different kind of inheritance. He is a figure of compassion and wisdom, a man who has witnessed loss and war, but who chooses the path of healing. His scars—both physical and emotional— brought a depth of understanding that comes only through great sacrifice. Arwen’s relationship with Elrond could be one of profound tenderness, where she sees in him a kindred spirit: someone who understands the burden of responsibility, the weight of having to choose between duty and love but also that both can be linked without having it be a "bad thing".

It would then be no surprise that Arwen’s love for Aragorn mirrors, in some ways, her parents’ own sacrifices and choices, her parents' love.

But it would also show us a more grounded Arwen, one who has inherited not just beauty, but an understanding of the deeper, quieter moments of life.

But beyond their individual traits, think of the dynamic between Galadriel and Elrond as parents—what it would mean for Arwen to be raised by these two. Galadriel, for all her power, is still a figure of mystery and distance in the movies but TROP brought a new version of her. Fierce, protective and compassionate. While Elrond is the steady hand, the one who keeps things together, the fighter, the one who doesn't hide when choices have to be made and so much more.

Together, they would raise a daughter who is both fierce and compassionate, wise and empathetic, someone who carries the weight of two worlds on her shoulders.

There’s a beauty in this new interpretation of Arwen that is more than just a daughter caught between two powerful legacies. Arwen as the daughter of both Galadriel and Elrond could be the perfect synthesis of their traits. She would carry the fire of Galadriel’s unyielding spirit, but also the quiet wisdom of Elrond’s patient heart.

This Arwen would be someone who embodies both strength and vulnerability, a child of two worlds that are changing, just as she is.

And I think that’s what makes the idea so compelling—because in Rings of Power, the showrunners have this unique opportunity to reshape Arwen’s story too, giving her a deeper connection to the lore and the characters we already love, while still honoring what she represents in Tolkien’s world. By making her the daughter of Galadriel and Elrond, they can give Arwen a more profound and intimate backstory, showing us not just the "princess" of Rivendell, but a daughter forged from the union of two of the most important Elves in Middle-earth.

This would make Arwen’s eventual choice to be with Aragorn not just a personal sacrifice, but a truly heroic act—a continuation of the legacy of her parents, who, in their own ways, also had to choose love over duty, kindness and compassion over rage and vengeance. It would be a nod to the greater themes of Lord of the Rings: love, sacrifice, and the passing of time.

It’s not just about the power of Arwen’s love for Aragorn, but about her understanding that sometimes, you must give up the light of immortality/risk your life to protect what you love, just as her parents have done in their own lives.

Oh, and I know I'm just over here joking around like, “Oh, Elrond, Galadriel, and Arwen all have the same scars? They’re definitely related, right?”XD I mean, it’s a funny thought, but also—nothing in Rings of Power is done by pure accident, and I can’t help but think that these details are purposeful. It’s probably just me reading too much into things, but I can’t shake the feeling that the showrunners are laying some groundwork here.

So yeah, just my theory, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to it than meets the eye.

[utilitycaster]

Bells Hells Level 11!

As always: are there errors or major omissions? Let me know! Your preferred feat or spell isn't listed? That's because it's not my preferred feat or spell, and you should make your own post for your own preferences! Additionally, because level-ups are no longer done at the end of sessions but are rather their own separate videos, I now include speculation for the next level(s) since there's often very little time to speculate on the current level.

Chetney: Level 10 in Blood Hunter means Dark Augmentation and a 3rd blood curse. Dark Augmentation increases his speed by 5 feet/round and grants him a +3 (his Int modifier) to all physical saves. As for blood curses...they're fighting mages, so Muddled Mind is looking pretty nice, but Eyeless is also useful and Binding is very versatile. Looking forward: if he continues to level in Blood Hunter, his hemocraft die goes up to a d8, his strikes in his wolf form go up to a d8 and get +2 instead of +1 and he can use his wolf form twice between rests and he regenerates a small amount when he's below half-health. 11 Blood Hunter: It's a big level up, folks.

Laudna: She leveled up in sorcerer and took her ASI to max out charisma, which I support as someone who always respects a main stat boost. She gets a new spell and I would advise leaning into utility and taking Dimension Door, personally. Looking forward: I think I've made my feelings on the concept/multiclass clear in the past, but practically speaking, if you're progressing in sorcerer, it's probably wiser mechanically to keep doing so. Level 9 grants 5th level spells.

FCG: Begone Thot Destroy Undead improvement, and 6th level spells! I mentioned before that I'm really looking forward to Heroes' Feast. He also gets some big utility spells, notably Heal, True Seeing, and Word of Recall. Looking forward: 12 is an ASI and oh buddy please up your WIS score. A feat that does +1 to WIS is a valid choice, just...bring it to +4, please? For me? Observant would be fun if not super necessary since Orym's got that covered; skill expert could also be fun. But as stated with Laudna, straight ASI in your main stat is always a solid choice.

Fearne: Fearne took a second level in rogue, which grants her cunning action (dash, hide, or disengage as a bonus action) which is quite useful if she ends up in combat, especially since, despite a good HP roll this level, she's a touch squishier following her time with Novos. I actually support this, both because Ashley has a strong vision for Fearne and also because I think keeping the party dependent on the Staff of Dark Odyssey is good for the story - let's wait a bit longer until we get Transport via Plants! Let's take the scenic route! Looking forward: L10 druid is a good level - the Cauterizing Flames feature, which is a bit niche but extremely cool, is one I'm looking forward to. I'm not opposed to her moving forward with rogue, per se; I think if she does, Thief is the obvious (and correct) choice. However, Cauterizing Flames is really very good and I would like to see it.

Imogen: I mentioned Chain Lightning and True Seeing as some fun options for her. She also gets access to Disintegrate, which would be very fun to cast on, say, Otohan. Or Ludinus. Or her mom. Fuck them Vanguard. Looking forward: sorry got distracted by the idea of disintegrating the Vanguard members...12 is an ASI and honestly I'd just take the +1 to INT and WIS. Imogen's got so many feats, and I really think having better mental stats would be a great sign of growth, she's done the character work to deserve it, and it never hurts to roll a little better on a wisdom save (I say as a known dumper of WIS).

Orym: He can attack 3 times per round. This is why fighters are great. If you do not think fighters are great you can catch three attacks in six seconds from these hands. Looking forward: yes! it's yet another ASI/Feat. And once again, I think a stats boost is best. Tank better with a +3 to con, and then he can either get smarter, or get more charismatic if he's considering paladin (note: I like the idea of Orym remaining a pure fighter more, but I do not control the Liam, and he's a reliably thoughtful player mechanically so I'm interested in what he does. As always this is me saying opinions and not being prescriptive). He gets another ASI at 14 (fighters! best pure battle class!) while everyone else is getting class features so that's when I'd take a feat.

Ashton: Relentless rage - keep raging while unconscious! Very punk rock. Looking forward: Level 12 is an ASI and yes not to sound like a broken record, but max out that strength. It's up to you and Chetney, and who knows how much longer he'll be around.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 55 (Major Mom Guilt)

Heather waited to tell Malcolm about Ash's accident until they returned from the hospital the next morning. She usually texted, but this time she phoned.

She fidgeted through several anxious rings before he picked up. "You never call. What's going on?"

Her heart jumped into her throat. "It's Ash," she choked out. "He's okay, but he...he had an accident."

"What kind of accident?" Malcolm surprised himself with how quickly he lost track of his surroundings, toppling a stack of papers he'd been meaning to ask someone to file for over a week. "Where is he?"

"He's at home. He was playing at daycare yesterday and hit his head, but doctors cleared and discharged him this morning."

Malcolm was quiet. "Why didn't you call me last night?"

"It wasn't on purpose. I couldn't think straight about anything. It was late when the doctor said he'd be fine, so Conrad and I stayed at the hospital all night and we got back five minutes ago."

"I...I had an interview but I'll get one of the other reporters to cover it. I want to come see him."

Heather didn't expect Nancy and Malcolm to drop everything and drive all the way from San Myshuno, but later that day they came to see for themselves that Ash was okay.

He'd been cheerful and talkative before they arrived. But in front of his father and grandmother he whined about his head and said he was hungry, even though he'd just eaten.

Nancy chastised Heather while she and Conrad tried to make dinner. "He doesn't eat. He spends all day at a cut-rate daycare in this half-baked town that almost left us planning a funeral, and you work all day, every day, at the clinic you love so much. Maybe if you cut the asparagus spears smaller, Ash could eat them."

"He eats," Heather insisted. "He's testing boundaries and he knows you and Malcolm will both give him what he wants if he whines."

"My son and I discussed transferring him to a private preschool in the city on the way here. They're much more exclusive and have better childhood educators than the glorified nannies at his little daycare."

"They need the same qualifications in Brindleton Bay as they do in San Myshuno," interjected Conrad, continuing the meal as Heather's stress level forced her to temporarily step away from her knives. "It was an accident."

Nancy ignored him. She liked Conrad a lot less now that he was with Heather, but she didn't have it in her heart to hate him outright. "We started the application but we can't submit it without your signature," she said, placing the coiled booklet on the kitchen table in front of Heather. "We think it would be good for his education."

Heather said nothing, getting up to check the food Conrad had placed on the stove while he tidied the kitchen.

Malcolm could feel the tension when he came down the stairs. "Ash went down a lot easier than he does at the penthouse."

"Thanks for helping get him back to sleep. The hospital bed wasn't the most comfortable for him," said Heather. She braced herself, glancing at the onions she was chopping to add to the meal. "Did you and Nancy want to stay for dinner?"

Malcolm shook his head. "I'm glad to know he's okay, but we should head back. My mother can still make her corporate ski trip in Mount Komorebi if we get on the Simmerloop before rush hour."

He glanced at the table and spotted the half-completed preschool application. He looked up again to find Heather studying his expression.

"What are you thinking, Malcolm?"

He glanced between his mother and his ex, both headstrong in their own ways. "I want what's best for my son."

Heather waited until he left with his mother before she tossed out the application with the trash.

"I swear I could fight her, but I feel horrible enough already."

"I know she's...intense. But I think she's as shocked as you are," said Conrad.

"Nancy has a right to be upset? I have a right to be upset!"

"Of course you do! I just mean, don't pick a fight with her over the application. It's gone now, right? Hopefully she'll calm down and won't bring it up again."

Heather scowled. "Private preschool! The second Nancy gets her hands on my son's education, she'll ship him off to boarding school in Champs les Sims, just like his father. I'll never allow it!"

"I love you, and I'm only saying this because I love you, but maybe Ash needs to go back to his old daycare. It was a freak accident, no one's fault."

"They weren't watching him!"

"They were, but they looked away for one second. Do you know how many cases I've dealt with where something happened in the blink of an eye that changed everything? Ash is lucky, but you can't dwell on what might have been."

"I'll take him to work with me for a while, until I know Dr. Serra was right and he's okay. He loves the animals."

Conrad shook his head. "It's not going to be stimulating enough for him and you know that. And you can't do your best work watching him over your shoulder all day."

"I have to keep him safe!"

"You do keep him safe. No one keeps him safer than you, but if you hold on too tight now you'll end up holding on too tight forever. Like Nancy."

That was all she needed to hear to force her to swallow her pride. Despite her fears after his accident, she knew he needed to spend his days with kids his own age and made plans to send him back to daycare.

Heather's busy work life would continue to compete with the needs of her family, but she was determined to find a way to manage both. ->

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[trappedinafantasy37]

I guess I'll start my Daedra questions with one I've been curious since the beginning (since I think about this stuff way too much). What build was Daedra originally? Like class level division, notable feats or fun things you did/memorable moments that never made it into the story? Did it change for the story?

Also, which Tav voice? I have big feelings about all of them :3

Lots of good questions @alicelufenia! This will be a bit of a long one.

I'll do the easiest question first, Voice 4.

Before I get into it, since many people don't know what Daedra looks like, here's some Daedra spam:

Daedra's build

Her split was 5/3/4 Gloomstalker Ranger / Assassin Rogue / War Cleric of Lolth. I picked this build because Gortash describes Durge as an assassin so I wanted to go a full stealth build which is where the Gloomstalker Assassin came in. I also knew from the beginning that I was going to have her be a cleric of Lolth, but it was more for roleplay rather than any mechanic. I picked war domain because war actually is one of Lolth's domains (with the other one being Trickery. And we know from Shadowheart just how absolutely atrocious Trickery domain is). I started Daedra as a Ranger and then took the cleric dip at level 2. Afterwards, I focused getting ranger and rogue to their desired levels before finishing off with cleric in Act 3.

Like I said, I picked cleric more for the roleplay aspect rather than the mechanics. So, I did not anticipate how much synergy there would be with war domain. With War Domain you get a war priest charge in which you get an extra attack for the turn. So, you can start the game off being able to do two attacks. And then once you get 3 Ranger, you get Dread Ambusher which gives you an extra attack at the beginning of the turn. So for the very first turn, you can attack three times. Once you get to 5 ranger, you get the Extra Attack like with the other martial classes. So on the very first turn, you can attack four times.

Daedra also had all the brain worms (there actually are enough worms in the game in which you can max out two characters). For feats, she had Sharpshooter and Ability improvement for Dex (with Auntie Ethel's boon she has max Dex at 20).

Gear: Frayed Drow Hood, Deathstalker Mantle, Spidersilk Armor, Craterflesh Gloves (I forgot to give her in the story), Disintegrating Night Walkers

Jewelry: Amulet of Bhaal (gave to Minthara in the story), Shifting Corpus Ring (gave to Shadowheart in the story), Eversight Ring (gave to Minthara in the story)

Weapons: Justiciar's Scimitar, Knife of the Undermountain King (gave to Minthara in the story), and the Deadshot

Lemme tell ya, this build is nasty. It got to the point where it felt like Daedra was soloing the game. There were some times where Daedra would kill everyone in the first turn (so Minthara and Shadowheart never even got a hit off) and this was in Tactician! If Daedra didn't end the fight, then Shadowheart and Minthara would. The only time things were really tricky was during the major boss fights. But, even on the major bosses, if I had Daedra focus on the boss alone, she could get them very low on HP in the first turn. Daedra absolutely humiliated Orin.

Story Cuts

Now, onto the things that never made it into the story. First, Wyll and Karlach. Yes, I did initially have it so that Wyll and Karlach were in the story. But, I realized when I actually starting writing that Wyll and Karlach would not let the grove raid stand, so they died in the grove raid which was really hard for me to do. I also thought it was just beautifully tragic that Minthara was the one to kill Karlach in just the worst and most painful way possible.

Second change, I had initially planned a chapter were the elves met Ethel and Araj in Act 3. The reason why I wanted to do it was to kind of show how Daedra is starting to indulge on her urges as she would have chosen to kill Lora (the mom) completely on her own without discussing it with Shadowheart and Minthara. I also wanted to have Minthara interact with Araj as House Baenre was the one responsible for the destruction of House Oblodra and I wanted to have this interaction in which Araj would ask Minthara if she was here to finish the job her house didn't. But, when it came time to actually write the chapter, I really didn't want to do it, so I didn't.

Third change, I had two chapters planned in which the elves would destroy the Foundry and then go kill Gortash. Later that night, Daedra and Minthara would sneak back into Wyrm's Rock so Minthara can sit on a dead man's throne and then fuck Daedra on it. But when I was thinking about it, I couldn't find any logical reason to do so other than "just because". Minthara had made an alliance with Gortash and wanted to keep it until it proved inconvenient. But, it never proved inconvenient so there was no reason for Minthara to turn on Gortash and destroy the Foundry.

Fourth change was Mizora. I actually did have three chapters in which Mizora would just randomly show up just to be a pain in the ass. Because Mizora is a little upset that she lost her "favorite little pet" and she knows Minthara is the reason why. So, Mizora shows up and basically tells Minthara, "if I can't play with my pet anymore, I will play with yours" and Mizora just starts tormenting Daedra. There was a moment where Mizora stole Daedra's old bow and snapped it in half (which was the reason why Daedra bought the Dead Shot in Chapter 38), another moment where Mizora actually threw Daedra off the bridge between Wyrm's Rock and the Lower City, and another moment in which Mizora not only revealed the locations of the elves and broke their stealth in the fight with Dolor in Chapter 39 but she was also the one who snitched to the Fist Guards and prompted the chase. I cut Mizora from the story because I really could not find a reason as to why she would be there without Wyll other than "just because".

Another thing that didn't make it into the story was Withers! But, this was not actually intentional. I just forgot to write him in there and when I realized he was missing I didn't feel like going back and writing him. You see, I already knew from the get-go that Bhaal was gonna murk Daedra (that was a very hard in stone decision I made very early on as I was always going to have it so that Minthara killed Orin). So the question of resurrection became very tricky for me to answer, and I almost didn't resurrect Daedra. And then I remembered, Lolth is right there. The next tricky question was determining whether or not Lolth is actually willing to resurrect someone, at least with their soul intact and not as puppets. But, from the lore I've read, Lolth would resurrect a drow if she had really good reason to.

I also had a One Shot planned called "Dread Ambusher" that was meant to take place during the events of Chapter 38: Old Acquaintances. At the end of that chapter, Daedra sneaks back into the mansion in the middle of the night and Minthara questions if Daedra killed someone. "Dread Ambusher" was meant to go over those events. In this one shot, Daedra actually does sneak out of the mansion with the intent to kill someone and she runs into Orin. And the two of them hunt together, and they both enjoy their time together. Daedra even begins to feel somewhat of a sibling bond with Orin and how nice it is to have someone around that doesn't look down on her for her urges or treat her like a child. And Daedra ends up killing someone that Minthara told her not to (the victim was a patriar and someone who most certainly would be noticed if they went missing) and Orin almost convinces Daedra to kill children. But, Daedra reigns back some self control and spares the kids, but she injures herself as a means of control. This is why she is limping when she returns to the mansion and its because she has a massive stab wound in her leg. The reason this was cut was because I had ended up finishing the entire fic before I got around to writing the one shot. So, when the publications in AO3 caught up to Chapter 38, I had lost the steam to write this one shot and could not find the willpower to do so. But, I do want to be clear, just because I did not write it does not mean it doesn't happen. The events that I had planned for this one shot all actually do happen that night and are canon to the story.

There were also a few more one shots that I had wanted to do but also ran out of steam. There was gonna be a one shot that took place immediately after Chapter 44: Parting Wisdom in which Jaheira would get all the elves high, because they needed that good self medication to help them get through their damn problems and stop all this "woe is me" nonsense. I thought it would have been really funny to write Minthara completely zooted out of her mind. Another one shot meant to take place after Chapter 44 that I called the "One Eyed Paladin" in which Minthara is training and learning how to fight again now that she only has one eye and her depth perception was off. During the training, Minthara gets extremely frustrated with herself and starts beating herself up in which Daedra actually calms her down and helps her.

This post probably had more detail than you were probably expecting, but I did want to talk about all the things that I almost did, but didn't do. Really good questions! Keep 'em coming folks!

[mochi-munchies]

AU/Fic Idea: Ragnarok *Title Still in the Works*

This one has been in my brain for a while and I thought I'd just spew it out on my board just to get it out and not forget it. But anyway-

An AU where Ink and Error were the original menaces to the multiverse. As the two most powerful entities with the personalities of toddlers, they were fucking destroying everything, leveling entire AUs in their clashes and tantrums and impulses. Until the other deities finally had enough.

Core Frisk, Reaper, Life, Fresh and Gaster all get together and are like, "Yeah. We can't keep letting them do this, the multiverse is gonna break." So they devise a plot to get them to fight, and then when their balance of Destruction/Creation was at a sweet spot, took them by surprise and sealed them away. Error in the anti-void, and Ink in the Doodlesphere, where they are promptly put into a deep slumber as long as their balance is not disturbed. *1

Fast forward to present day with Nightmare and Dream having their little war. All the other entities aren't pleased with it, but are neutral to the conflict as they see it more as a childish spat.

Until it wasn't.

One day Nightmare takes it too far and his scheme threatens to actually destroy an AU, which immediately has Reaper, Frisk and Fresh flying in there like, "Nightmare stop. You have no idea what you're doing." But they're too late, the damage is done and the AU is destroyed.

So the outcodes are absolutely freaking out, and Dream and Nightmare are super confused like, "you guys have been watching us from the sidelines for hundreds of years?? Why tf do you suddenly care??"

"You morons! Do you have any idea what you've done??!? You disturbed the balance! They're gonna wake up..!"

Then cue Error air-dropping in and absolutely making a fool of everybody and their moms. Making Dream and Nightmare realize that, oh. They were not. In fact. Among the top of the food chain.

The rest of the story then going on about the brothers being forced to finally put their shit to an end and reconnect under duress while also dealing with two overpowered children. *2

*1 - Was also considering the idea of the whole 'putting them to sleep' part failing, unknowingly to the other gods. Leaving Ink and Error completely awake in their isolation- however, due to the connection of their balance, they can speak to each other not unlike with the Creators. Over the thousands of years of only having each other, in their loneliness they come to have a codependency and low-key errink feelings coming in.

When their balance is finally disturbed and their seals are unleashed, of course the first thing on their minds are mayhem and vengeance. But after letting out some steam, the next thing is to obviously find their other half. Something that the other gods are hellbent on preventing, fearing the return of the days when they ravaged the AUs endlessly in their feud.

So Nightmare and Dream are spending the majority of the fic learning to reconnect with each other as they try to reseal the two and prevent them from meeting. However, they also notice how their behavior seems to be incredibly strange compared to what the others described. And eventually, trusting their instincts as the guardians of feelings, they let Error and Ink meet, only to discover that the two were in love and not in fact looking to settle their ancient death match. Error and Ink vow to behave as long as the others dared not to interfere with them, etc. Cue happy ending.

*2 - another alternative version for the story is for Dream to teach Ink empathy (and low-key domesticate him) as he tries to reason with him, and at the same time learn to let the past go and accept his brother as he was, instead of hanging onto who he envisioned him to be before their fallout. And for Nightmare to learn to trust with Error (as well as rehabilitating him) after failing repeatedly at overpowering the other, and at the same time coming to accept vulnerability in his life again.

At first Dream fears Ink as a soulless being and subconsciously sees him as something inherently evil (just how he sees his brother's corrupted form as evil) however, as he peeks behind the curtain of Ink's behaviors, he comes to realize that is not the case, and starts to help Ink with his memory issues, his lack of empathy, his impulsiveness, etc. Also learning along the way that just because someone's nature (soullessness/corruption) was different didn't mean they were bad.

They get close, and Ink starts to cling to Dream. Connecting the emotional growth within him with the first person to actually have the patience to guide him and understand him like this, he starts to prioritize also being there to help Dream more so than having art binges and harassing Error. Oh, and they also end up falling in love BTW.

Meanwhile, Nightmare is getting his shit rocked by Error, struggling to compete with such a powerhouse and is honestly feeling fucked up bc this is the first time he's been so powerless after his corruption. He continues to use more and more low blows and playing on any and every weakness the glitch has- desperately trying to regain his dominance (which he has been using all this time as a feeling of protection).

Nightmare is low-key tweaking at this point, until he finally discovers a way into Error's hidey-hole. So of course he sneaks in with the intention of catching the maniac with his pants down. Only to peek in during one of Error's low moments.

And then Nightmare suddenly realizes how similar the two of them really were. This whole time he was picturing Error as this larger than life, unstoppable and ruthless pinnacle of violence. When in fact.. he was just another monster, just like he was. So, he starts changing tactics after that. Reaching out to Error in the way he wished someone reached out to him back then, and they come to slowly open up together and eventually just.. tumbling into a situationship.

In the end the other gods are really uncertain about just leaving the two to the apple twins- especially with the fear they might use them in their little war. But the twins have none of it, and even have a realtalk then and there to prove no grudges remained.