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#But you know it's that good angst maybe?
ooachilliaoo · 8 months
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In All But Name - Loss
It felt like having an arm cut off. Or like there was a gaping hole in the world. An awful absence that pervaded her every move and thought. The space where he should be.
She wondered if they all felt it, or if it was particular to her.
Would it always be like this?
Or would it get easier over time?
She hoped for the latter, but maybe the price for all the happy moments they’d had while the land suffered under the blight was to live with this awful emptiness forevermore.
They should have been happy. She should have been happy. They’d done the impossible. United the kingdom under one strong ruler and defeated the blight. They deserved a reward, not a punishment.
Except that ruler was him. And two Grey Wardens couldn’t have children. So he couldn’t marry her. Couldn’t make her queen.
She’d tried to think of an alternative solution, but – like the problem of who should rule the kingdom in the first place – she hadn’t, in the end, been able to find anything other than the obvious.
So, she’d left.
Ceded her place in his arms on the floor of that beautiful ballroom to Lady Lyra and… left.
The only indication that she’d been able to give him of her intentions was the briefest shake of her head. Maker only knew how he’d react when he realised what the gesture meant.
But he’d be okay. They’d both be okay.
He, with his gentle heart and sharp mind, would lead Ferelden into a new, prosperous age. His past would ensure that the poor and hungry wouldn’t be left behind or forgotten, while his optimism dreamed up the image of a brighter, fairer future for him to work towards.
And she – her two previous lives left in ruin behind her – would walk into her next life. Older, stronger, and prepared to dedicate her life to the Order that had, for one shining year, brought her such joy. She knew how to run an Arling, and how to train an order of warriors, and she would make sure that his kingdom remained protected.
She’d watch his back, instead of him watching hers.
And they’d both be okay.
She’d seen it all on that balcony, the one that she’d fled to after leaving his arms simply because it was the nearest exit and she hadn’t wanted anyone to see just how much she hurt. The night air had been a balm to her battered heart. As long as she ignored the faint remnants of the music on the edge of her hearing – as long as she didn’t picture what might or might not have been happening on the dance floor with a man she still considered hers – she thought that she might have been able to regain control of herself.
But her thoughts had been racing and she’d worried that if she went back into that ballroom – even just to cross it in order to leave – he’d find her and convince her to stay. Or worse, she’d see him dancing with someone else, and actually enjoying himself.
She’d suffered a lot in the past year, seen any number of horrors…
But she didn’t think she could have survived seeing that.
And so, the newly minted Warden Commander of Ferelden, Arlessa of Amaranthine, had found herself climbing over the balcony, down the castle wall and escaping into the gardens.
Read the rest on AO3
Read the full series here
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thejadecount · 2 months
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To anyone who wants to talk shit about bad story/character development in Deadpool & Wolverine CAN SHUT THE FUCK UP! I CAME TO SEE 2 HOURS OF DEADPOOL MAKING META & SEX JOKES AND HAVING HOMOEROTIC TENSION WITH WOLVERINE AND MARVEL DELIVERED EXACTLY THAT
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thatskindarough · 2 months
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I’m not sure about anyone else but I personally have a pretty hard time finding Aziraphale centric fics. Crowley centric fics are really easy to find, stuff that splits C/A evenly is also pretty easy to find.
So I think we should start a thread of Aziraphale centric fics (or at least ones where he gets to take a major role in.)
I’ll go first:
These are the Soul by Mikripetra—This is my comfort fic I love it with my entire being.
Starmaker and Starlight by Nohaljiachi—This one just made me very happy then very sad. It focuses on Aziraphale before the beginning, coming to be friends with the starmaker (angel Crowley)
Prax In Terris —by Oatmeal Addiction I love this one because it captures the spirit of good omens perfectly. Genuinely if s3 was a fanfiction this (and the other fic in this series) is what I’d want it to be. Now it is not exactly Aziraphale centric, it does split time pretty evenly with Crowley and Muriel, but I love Aziraphale’s role in this, and he gets to be really interesting and stubborn. (Maybe not for all readers who dislike face value interpretations of the FF though.) It’s a wip about the second coming and I’m very curious where the author is gonna take it.
If you want, please feel free to add any Aziraphale centric fics to this post and also please shamelessly self-rec your own fics
(Edited to add the author names and also to say thank you for everyone recommending things, it makes me and I’m sure other Aziraphale fans very happy!)
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mintypsii · 4 months
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guys i love them i promise i just have the urge to put them through the grinder sometimes
umm on the bright side here's the alternate good ending version lol!!!!!
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magicpiano · 2 months
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I have seen a few DCxMarvel dimension travel fics, and quite a few of them are of them are Peter Parker post-blip. Which gives me a crack fic idea: everyone who got snapped ended up in the DC universe. Yes, all of them.
The current world population is around eight billion, so half of that would be 4 billion... Yeah that would cause so so so many problems. But the DC universe is used to crazy shit.
Obviously there would be a sudden influx of "new" heroes and villains but with absolutely no context it is hard to figure out who is who.
Batman immediately trying to make contingency plans for all these new heroes and villains as well as figure out their civilian identities but this is very difficult because literally no records exist yet.
Magic users from both worlds team up, but I think they were still unable to fix it, the infinity stones were just too powerful. Also I think Dr. Strange and Constantine can't stand each other.
While I am at it, Wonder Woman and Loki would probably hate each other too. DC is more Greek but it has had their own version of Norse mythology, so maybe they are the same and have beef?
They would struggle to feed and house that many new people, but getting them jobs and integrating them into society would be hard too. And good luck proving anything anyone says. "You swear you have a law degree from Harvard? Okay I guess."
Do doubles exist? Yeah a lot of people probably don't have an alternate universe double, but it stands to reason some do. How do you deal with having a new kind-of twin? Or a dead friend or relative coming back, but different? Or even someone you never knew/doesn't exist in this world insisting they are family.
Some au double ideas I have seen people toss around are: Dick Grayson as Richard Parker, Kara Danvers as Carol Danvers, Steve Trevor as Steve Rogers, and Slade Wilson as/being somehow related to Wade Wilson, but I am sure there are other fun ideas out there too.
The snap didn't just affect humans/earth! So other planets are having the same problems.
Then randomly, five years later, just when people were getting used to the change, they all disappear again without warning. This causes as many problems as the original appearance did.
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myokk · 24 days
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💘
#this might be the most scribble thing I post here yet bahahahahahahahahahahaaha#I still like how the hands turned out even though I didn’t finish them😇#but it’s pretty messy and the hands might be the only part I like🥲#but since this blog is my art journey documentation here you are#I was pretty busy today so no good art but maybe tomorrow we’ll see#I am preparing things to FINALLY answer my asks🥹#& if you tagged me in anything I actually have been meaning to respond!!!!!!!! my notifications are the WORST and so confusing on here😵‍💫#and I’m technology grandma…#hope u all have had an amazing day !!!! 🫶#my brother in law has been fishing and catching SO MANY sargo#(sargo = sea bream for the animal crossing playing English speakers😙)#AND ITS LITERALLY SOOOOOOOOO DELICIOUS !!!!!#i cook it in the weirdest way possible#you just have to gut the fish and cut off its fins etc#then you put it in a wet salt bed and cover it up…cook it for 30 min…AND VOILA ITS DONE !!!!!#I don’t add any spices…NOTHING…and this fish literally has the taste and texture of crab covered in butter#LIKE…😳 it might be my favorite food/fav thing to cook these days bc it’s so easy and fresh caught fish is just delicious😫#well that was my grandma cooking show of the day👩‍🍳#now you know how to cook sargo a la sal 👩‍🍳#also going back to the drawing🥹 I just love these two so much…#I love thinking of sweet moments…most of my angst is confined to writinc😆#the chapter I’m writing right now is SO ANGST DEPRESSING (sorry Eloise)#it will get better…I promise…#hogwarts legacy#hogwarts legacy fanart#hogwarts legacy oc#hogwarts legacy mc#eloise babbit#sebastian sallow#sebastian sallow x mc
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silverwhittlingknife · 5 months
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OKAY SO i have been rereading dustorange's wonderful post here about Dick in an UtRH-esque scenario where he dies & then comes back to life
AND I HAVE INCOHERENT BRAINSTORMING THOUGHTS:
so first, i think Robin!Dick would be just as hurt by the discovery that Bruce has a new Robin, and brood about it - but i think the shame of having died would stop him from confronting Bruce about it the way Nightwing!Dick does in canon.
and I do NOT think that he would expect Bruce to kill anyone for him (or even be upset that he doesn't? I just don't think this would be a consideration for Dick. he's gonna be fixated on "I failed." so he'll be upset about being replaced but not about the lack of revenge. and if Bruce did take revenge, i think he'd actually feel angry and betrayed about that because it'd feel like the choice was taken away from him, a la how upset he gets when he thinks Bruce has arranged to have Zucco killed - even if he intellectually knows that Bruce wasn't deliberately undermining himbecause he didn't know Dick was gonna come back to life.)
anyway so what WOULD he do??
what comes to mind is something along the lines of "Dick obsessively keeps an eye on Batman & Robin even while telling himself that he's not"
and then - say - if it's Robin!Tim (i feel like this has to be Tim because in the world where Dick dies there is no way that Bruce is voluntarily picking a new Robin), then maybe the moment when Dick steps in is when Bruce is in danger & he's furious / critical of Tim for not protecting Bruce well enough
and i feel like that's how he'd channel the hurt feelings - it'd all be deflected under shame and obligation, and then translated into the anger of "you replaced me & yet you're failing to do the job that you're supposed to do" (which is actually about projection/self-hatred because Dick would actually be mad at himself for having died & not doing that job anymore)
and Dick wouldn't want to see Bruce at all because of the shame over dying & subconscious fear that Bruce doesn't want him back, plus every little thing that Tim does differently would drive him NUTS because it implies that maybe the way Dick did things wasn't good enough for Bruce
i'm actually kind of fascinated by this now. because i am me and i have (1) obsession i am mostly invested in the dick & tim side of it sdfsdfds
so i'm picturing Tim very stung by whatever critical things Dick said to him & tracking this mysterious vigilante down, and then Dick doesn't want to spend ANY time with him BUT he's also subconsciously desperate for news of Bruce!!! so then something something Dick starts sorta training him a la Tim's various contacts with edgy non-batman-aligned vigilantes, and Tim's very defensive about how he IS a good robin so THERE but of course he's also defensive because he's secretly worried he's not good enough.
normally i would have tim Recognize dick since recognizing dick is tim's most basic skill HOWEVER i think it would be much more fun if tim doesn't recognize him so he can give dick a speech about legacy & the first robin: "i do x and such because that's how the first robin did it so it is Objectively Correct." which Dick will find incredibly infuriating but will be unable to counter since he cannot counter with 'the 1st robin was ME'
…hmmm i do think Dick ought to be angry about SOMETHING about batman's methods/attitude just because that's more dynamic? I feel like in order to make the adaptation work, there ought to be SOME kind of argument with Bruce right before he dies that he can still be mad about, a la the garzonas fight for Jason and Bruce. unsure what though?
okay let's see: I feel like Dick's main arguments with Bruce aren't about vigilante issues per se so much as they're about working in a team - so e.g.
1) Bruce being controlling/demanding, and 2) Bruce being secretive and doing stuff behind Dick's back, and 3) Bruce not allowing Dick enough autonomy, 4) just generally a perceived lack of trust.
SO maybe whatever The Frustrating Thing that bruce was doing when dick died is a thing he's STILL doing with this new robin, and dick is getting frustrated all over again sorta on tim's behalf but mostly on his own behalf because he never got to resolve this with bruce
but anyway that way when Bruce finally spots disguised!Dick, then they can have the fight again before Bruce realizes who he is <3
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tio-trile · 1 year
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If I had a nickel for every time there's a book co-authored by two authors about two rival agents working for opposing forces which are starting a war when they come to the realization that the organizations they belong to aren't worth fighting for by talking with each other and also finding out that they're in love I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice
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merakiui · 7 months
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Okay speaking of magical girls.... Evil villain tako that has a crush on the cute magical girl at NRC but he doesnt know shes the magical girl that's trying to thwart his evil plan of taking over sage's island mwhaha
YES YES YES. And every week he gets his ass handed to him. You're determined to keep Sage's Island safe!!!! He's trying to get to know you through the fights. The (one-sided) sexual/romantic tension is too much. Tako who flirts at every chance during your fights... you genuinely want to take him out (defeat him), but he wants to take you out (on a date). And it's so obvious he's down bad for you, but you have no idea he's Azul Ashengrotto (your fellow classmate) and he has no idea of your identity either. Azul's trying to balance his love for the magical girl he fights on weekends and his darling classmate who he sees during the week hehe. How fortuitous that they are the same person.
Please imagine that trope where the villain ensnares the hero in tentacles, but it ends up looking more erotic than threatening....... orz evil villain tako whose tentacle is holding you upside down by the ankle and he's monologuing about how he'll take over the island and you'll get to watch, powerless against him. But then he looks at you and your skirt has flipped up and he's granted a gratuitous panty shot!!!!!!! Tako who gets a nosebleed on the spot. He's such a loser pervert. <3
Omg omg or you're squirming in the tentacles and ranting about how you'll get him for this, but Azul's trying so hard not to give into the horny thoughts because the way the tentacles are looped around you and squeezing is so attractive to him.
Like that one scene where Stocking's fighting the octopus ghost LOL.
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nelkcats · 2 years
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Little shock
Every time Danny transforms into Phantom he relives a part of his death, his scars glowing a toxic green while he goes into small spasms; the first time it happened he held back tears to face Lunch Lady.
This caused him to try to stay more permanently in one form or another, usually changing only when he felt safe and out of sight; His friends told him that it wasn't healthy but they weren't the ones who suffered two to three electrocutions per day, Danny wondered if the transformations would ruin his nerve functions or sense of touch in the long run.
When he finally decides to move out after securing Amity and ends up in Gotham he begins to question which way he should stay, after all he's not too rushed to get a title yet. In the end he stayed as Phantom for over a week before deciding to go back being Fenton, unfortunately that transformation happened right in front of Red Hood.
Jason was calmly patrolling his territory when he saw the shiny meta that had settled in Crime Alley that week looking around, he followed him out of curiosity but before he knew it the meta had disappeared and a boy was left trembling and cursing while some Lazarus green scars glowed on his body.
As any sensible person would in such a situation, Jason took one of his pistols and bashed the supposed meta in the head with it; Danny shot him an offended look before trailing off, it was extremely weird waking up to Red Hood offering him some eggs a couple of hours later.
Because yeah, Jason wasn't going to let that obviously sore bat bait stay where B could see him, or where the League of Assassins got a peek so he just took the boy with him, having an excuse to cook was just a bonus.
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gothic-mothic · 1 year
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I feel like that stanley had suffered through a lot...
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No big deal !
Narrator’s arrival to the human world was a bit delayed. Just enough time for Stanley to start his new life, get a job and apartment, make friends, give up searching for his Narrator and convince himself that The Parable wasn’t real in the first place
And of course, it’s no big deal that he can’t talk to anyone about this because they’ll think he’s insane. Just gotta bottle it all up, easier said than done
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overleftdown · 9 months
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deranged post-canon farleigh speculation
so. archie madekwe said something that makes me question a lot of the other post-canon speculation (often quickstart dynamic post-canon fics, speculation, etc.). Basically, he was talking about how tired Farleigh was getting, in the point in time that the movie is set. This is depicted through his confrontation with Felix, which Archie confirmed was the first conversation Farleigh has had with the cattons about the issue of bias.
a review by hilton als briefly touched on farleigh's possible future, as well. it was a very negative and... honestly understandable idea of what farleigh would grow up to become. aka, someone who exploited and tokenized their race for "brownie points," pun not intended. i see a lot of people crafting stories of farleigh finding different ways to rejoin the ultra-rich class. and i kinda wanna say that i... don't like that. here's an anecdote: my cousin and i had a conversation about his experience moving from a white-dominated, suburban environment. he argues that although racism is still prevalent where he now lives, the racism he experienced in his hometown was so painfully, covertly delivered. it's this sort of "could you just call me a slur or something" mentality.
although farleigh is terrified of change, although farleigh is terrified of losing what he believes is an accommodation for his marginalization (it isn't; you can't buy your way out of racism), although farleigh learned to be materialistic through the ways in which he was raised, although farleigh is constantly running away from something--i think he was reaching a point of genuine hatred for the ways in which racism is delivered to him in this environment. i would also go insane. so freakishly insane. i think his conversation with felix made him understand that maybe the cattons will never even try to change. that the cattons couldn't even acknowledge the problem in the first place. that you can't really win, with people like the cattons. it's always a game of when, and never if. when will they finally, politely discard me?
this leaves a couple options. the first, farleigh learns to be financially independent and very much successful. he would never rely on other people again, especially not white people. this leaves room for hilton als' interpretation, but the fact that farleigh was cognizant of and willing to mention racial bias to felix is evidence for me to assume that farleigh is beyond belittling himself like that. farleigh already experienced so much shame from catering towards the cattons and their whiteness... i don't think he'd keep going with that. not with the way it ended. not after he had the horrible wake-up call that was both his cousins dying. so, maybe farleigh does find his way back to wealth. maybe through fashion, through modeling like his mother, through another form of art, through business, whatever.
the other option is that farleigh just... doesn't acquire that level or even close to that level of wealth again. i kinda like this idea. i kinda like imagining farleigh in a city flat or smaller suburban house, finding a significant other and probably never ever having kids. that, of course, still leaves room for farleigh to go and brutalize oliver out of saltburn. but i'd like to think he wouldn't take saltburn back. as i've said before, farleigh was never greedy. he never wanted to replace or succeed the cattons, nor did he want any form of dominance over them. to be their equal, yes. to be seen and heard and given attention, yes. but never did he play his games to knock felix or venetia down. i feel like farleigh would be the "eat the rich" that saltburn didn't have. not in the corny way, because farleigh is no robin hood, nor is he an innocent and selfless person.
my ideal "sequel" type situation would be farleigh returning to saltburn after living comfortably and humbly for the last 20 years. he's not here out of moral obligation. he's not here to steal back the catton wealth. he's here selfishly, and out of burning hatred. he's here because oliver stole any sense of closure farleigh could've ever had. he's here because oliver never gave farleigh the opportunity to forgive his family, nor to mourn them, nor to visit those memories, nor to make new ones. farleigh is here to wreck oliver's shit. it's not healthy, it's not pretty, it's not clean. i'd imagine 40-year-old farleigh, having matured, returning to saltburn and regressing to the same games he always used to play. lying, people pleasing, pretending, sex, drugs, sass, etc. ahhh. my ideal sequel. a man who found peace without closure and finds closure through a significant lack of peace. and, also, oliver dead as hell.
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theaxolotlkween · 2 months
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lol au where Rex and Noah were friends during the Nanite Project.
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aerialworms-art · 6 months
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O Captain, my Captain!
Happy -209th birthday to my favourite Jimbo <3
Please click for quality!
(ID under cut)
[ID: A bust portrait of Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series. He is wearing his green v-neck off duty shirt and is tilting his head slightly to the left and up, smiling. He is haloed by a dark blue and purple swathe of space, dotted with stars.
The piece has been made to look like an old comic. The background looks like aged paper and the colours are rendered with tiny dots. The yellow and cyan layers of colour have been moved slightly so they don't match up with the lineart exactly.
The artist has signed it "aerialworms". /End ID]
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wikiangela · 8 months
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tease tidbit tuesday💀
tagged by @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @daffi-990 @fortheloveofbuddie @disasterbuckdiaz @hoodie-buck 💖
hi! so, yesterday I randomly opened the doc with the buddie death cast au - which is a fic I started writing last summer on vacation and never got back to it but then made progress lol it's gonna be MCD, which i know is not everyone's thing so feel free to ignore this 🤣 it's basically buddie in the universe of the "they both die at the end"/"the first to die at the end" books so it's gonna be sad, sorry lol (I never even read mcd, idk why i'm writing this but this idea just wants to be written i guess haha) gotta put this weird mood I've been in lately to good use and finally write this 🤣 not sure if I'm happy with this snippet, but it all needs editing, the first two snippets were written on my phone and haven't been edited yet lol
I posted two snippets so far, gonna link them both snippet 1 | snippet 2
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“Is all of this clear, Eddie?” she asks in the end.
“Yeah, sure, whatever.” he says shortly. He should've just hung up immediately. Or cancel this stupid subscription after Shannon died. Sometimes he wonders if maybe people who get the calls and coincidentally get into accidents, for example, just give up and refuse to fight because they think it’s their time. Not like Shannon could do much, her injuries were too severe when they got there, but the point stands. Maybe they get more reckless, thinking it doesn’t matter anyway. 
There’s a short pause on the line, but then Jane speaks up again, her tone softer, more sympathy seeping through.
“I know it’s not easy to accept, if you’d like some help with that, on out website you can find therapists and grief counselors specializing in-”
“Listen.” Eddie interrupts. He’s spent enough time in therapy. He’s not doing it on his supposedly last day. “I know it’s all bullshit. I don’t care. You said what you had to say, I listened, for whatever reason.” he rolls his eyes. He really should’ve hung up, or not answered at all. “Is this conversation over yet?” he asks and is met with another moment of silence. She’s probably wondering what everyone else always is: why is he even spending money on this if he doesn’t believe. He has an answer ready to go, but that’s not what she asks.
“Can I ask you a question?” she says quieter, whispering, probably not allowed to go too much off-script. 
“Sure, why not.” he shrugs. He’s wide awake now, anyway, he’s not in a hurry. Not like he’s dying anytime soon.
“If it was your last day, how would you spend it? You don’t have to answer, just think about it.” she adds quickly, her tone much softer and gentler now. Eddie’s mind immediately supplies a picture of Christopher and Buck, just a casual hang-out, like usual, maybe going to the movies, or the aquarium, or the planetarium, something fun for his kid. And later a gathering with the rest of their family, maybe a barbecue at Bobby and Athena’s, with Maddie and Chim, and Hen and Karen, all their kids, just everyone having fun together. Yeah, that’d be a perfect day. “There’s no harm in spending today just like this, if possible. Just in case.” Jane adds, still whispering. He doesn’t tell her that’s more or less his plan, anyway, for the evening after his 12-hour shift. During which nothing will happen to him, because Death-Cast doesn’t know shit. “Well, lastly, Eddie,” Jane’s voice is back at normal-volume, tone strictly professional but sympathetic, as she recites the end of her script, “on behalf of everyone here at Death-Cast, we’re so sorry to lose you. Live this day to the fullest.”
Eddie hangs up without a word.
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no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @911onabc @housewifebuck @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @underwater-ninja-13 @eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @wildlife4life @nmcggg @diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @king-buckley @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @puppyboybuckley @weewootruck @buckaroosheart @spagheddiediaz @steadfastsaturnsrings @exhuastedpigeon @jesuisici33 @theotherbuckley @rainbow-nerdss @malewifediaz @giddyupbuck @diazsdimples @jeeyuns @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @honestlydarkprincess @hippolotamus @spotsandsocks
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Shuji and you having your first baby and in the middle of the night you both fall into bed, no sleep for days, he's full of drool and red marks from the baby pinching him and you weren't able to wash your dirty hair nor change your wet clothes from bathing and when you look at each other he goes like "I want another one"
this was gonna be cute and playful and a tad spicy but it ended up full of feelings and for that i will never apologize. i will apologize for it being kinda rushed and unproofread tho. i just got SO EXCITED
You can't help but break into laughter that doesn't quell easily and you know that if you could see through your laughter tears shuji is pouting at you. He tsks and snakes his arms around your waist to pull you close. Braving the dampness of your hair, he nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck and then Hanma Shuji, ex Yakuza, the infamous Ikebukuro reaper all but whines your name, "M'not kidding."
"No! No-i know I just-" you struggle to contain your laughter. You match you husband's embrace and let the pads of your fingers crawl up his neck into the too-long hair at his nape. He smiles into the juncture of your neck and shoulder and shushes you even though your laughter and the gentle bounce of his head from your giggle fit fills him with more love than he could hope to express. And, well, of course he shushes you because neither of you can risk another sleepless night by waking the little newborn Shuji finally got to go down. "Shu," you finally manage to get out, "Don't be in such a rush! We hardy know what we're doing with him!"
"We'll figure it out." He says but catches himself. "We are figuring it out!" Your heart stops at how earnest he sounds. You hold him a little tighter. "Besides, there's nothing that you can't do while I look pretty on the sidelines." His tone is teasing and you swat his back playfully. You hope it's a joke. He's nothing if not an extraordinarily attentive father and husband.
You place a kiss to his forehead and trace your words with your lips along his temple. "Sidelines? More like frontline. You know I couldn't do this without you, Shuji."
You can't be sure, but you think you feel his breath pause on your neck before he starts peppering your neck and collar bone in sugary sweet kisses. "And I can't give my son a sister without you." He fires back once he recovers his emotional footing.
He earns another huff of laughter, "Shuji-"
"C'mon, he needs someone to figure life out with. He needs someone to play with and tease. Ideally someone who'll give it right back too - that'll be her mommy's influence of course." Shuji's words all mix together and his ideas flow into the most wholesome speech you swear you'd ever heard. He shifts up and leans on elbow to hover inches from your face giving you the perfect vantage point to see his gold irises alight with every tender emotion.
"And...and he needs someone to always have in his corner. Someone who can be there for him when we can't. You know, we won't be able to be there all the time! He needs someone he can rely on and learn to be reliable for. He needs to learn how to protect and be protected." His eyes, you realize are shiny with misty tears. "He needs someone he can be his full self around. Someone who won't look down on him for feeling...anything."
He goes silent and you mutter a little "c'mere," and pull him into your arms. The dampness on your chest is fresh, not from your hair, but from the love of your life blinking sudden emotion into your skin.
After a moment of holding your husband you feel his deep voice whispers into your chest "Wanna braid her hair too."
You giggle as you pull Shuji's face to yours to kiss him and mumble an "Of course, baby. Let's give him a sibling, but giving him a sister is kind of on you."
A few exited kisses later, you were falling asleep on his chest, promises to start preparing for a second kid soon. As soon as possible (read: as soon as you both could recover a bit of sleep, maybe). You lay there, fingers trailing up and down the column of Shuji's throat absently, ready to do anything to give your son everything that Shuji never had. Love. Stability. Safety. And now, even a little sister to take on the world with.
Well, a sibling, at any rate.
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