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ask-missparker · 2 months

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I remember you said don't leave me here alone / OUAT AU Series

Pairings: Amelia x Nikolai, Ethan x Liane, Rick x Liane

Friendship: Belladonna St. James & Joshua C. Nolan

Extra Characters: Erik, Cassie, Alexander and etc

-> Special appearance: Introducing Meira as Merida/The Mad Hatter, played by Billie Eilish

Summary: A dark glimmer of hope come in doses, even if it feels like everything is stuck in time. Sometimes you need a push in the right direction..

Warning: Angsty, with some fluff. Some violence here and there.

Note: Inspired by the episode Hat Tricks. And yes, Cherik is canon in every universe hush!

-----

He woke up with his hands tied behind his back.

His ears were ringing, his head hurt worse than the time he finished that English paper for Charles that weekend, and felt a gash on his forehead. He hissed sucking in his breath recognizing one of his lower lip as well. He blinked as it felt like was drugged, as the last thing he remembered was searching for clues on a small upcoming case he had about the stormy woods and the town folks who went camping up there. It was stupid really but he took the chance to clear his head and figure out the next move.

Now he’s stuck in what seems to be a basement.

He was laying on his back, flipping to the side noticing his backpack on the ground a few away from him. He tried inching over huffing and grunting, feeling he must’ve broke a bone during the fall to the floor.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

He hissed as his gaze fell onto a pair of black boots following upwards to face the mayor’s wondering grin. As if he wanted to put together a puzzle but didn’t have the right pieces yet. The boy glared in response trying to wiggle free of the ropes behind his back.

“Wh..” He muttered.

“Oh? Too shocked to speak. Don’t worry I wouldn’t drug my nephew, I mean, I could. But it wouldn’t put on a good impression, would it?” He responded.

“..wh—what do you want from me..” He muttered trying to clear his throat.

“Aw my darling nephew wants answer. See, I hope what I’m about to say finds you in good heath, and in a prosperous enough position to put wealth. In the pockets of men like me who might be down on their luck..you see, that was the darkness in this town you decide to pluck.”

“..you can’t afford to be afraid..”

“Wise words coming from a child.”

It was as if Joshua could see right into his heart. The sadness, jealously and darkness that filled within. It was black, with gushed of red. As if he was lonely and felt underrated against his brother, that his darkness was just a craving of harsh lies he puts himself to sleep with.

Joshua has learned from a long time ago, evil isn’t born. It’s made. The world was cruel, it was your choice to be a hero or a villain in their history. You pick the card and decide how to spin it over it’s head.

Maybe there was a slight bit of hope within that thick wall Alexander hides behind. His thirst for powerful, was a thirst to be seen as an equal, to be as loved and appealing as the others are. Then again, it was just wishful thinking.

“I..is this how you hurt my father?” He asked.

Alexander was pacing around the room then paused not expecting those words to come from him. He took a moment to regain himself as he replied, “You know about that?”

“I heard a thing or two..I’m not going to try and dismiss what you did—what your doing is wrong. Because it is. You have people in this town locked under your finger..but at what cost?”

“..you don’t know everything, Mr. Nolan.”

“I don’t need to..i’ve seen men like you who took care of me before..they do it for the money, for the status, to be seen as something they are not..just to fill the void..”

Alexander gaze fell onto his nephew this time. It was as if those dark blue-green pierced right into his soul, swirling around waiting for an answer. This kid was smart, he’ll give him that much. He saw nothing but kindness and heartbreak behind those eyes, yet a determination that can slice an apple he has in his backyard waiting to be used on anyone for that matter. It was nothing like his brother nor his mother, but his own self.

This child as been across some things, it was hard to tell if he was bluffing or not. As if he was telling the truth, a honest threat waiting to be fired. It was he like see a lot more, like he was sure he will be fine by the end of the day.

He scoffed, “There’s not void, child. You just stumbled into my town and think just because you fixed a few things, you did some good. Sorry to break your glass, but you are nothing. And you will rot in here til something worse happens.”

“You think I’m afraid of you..you afraid that your little town will see right through your lies and come after you? So you lock me up, cause some chaos and spin the bottle..clever..very, very clever..” He replied looking down.

“You really think you’re safe? That your precious little friends and roommate will come find you?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought. Here’s the thing Joshua, your a pathetic exsume for a son, a lousy street kid who has no right to be living in your condition and someone who will never know the truth about himself. But I can ease your thoughts.”

“Hmm..”

“You’re parents, they were nothing. One was a lousy young lady with no right for royal status and the other a weak lad on the run from everything because he was too afraid to face the true. Everyone in this town has their agendas, and your just another spec in the dust of voices here.”

He watched the young man look down, not saying a word seeing a flicker in his eyes trying to not go out and lose that hope. However all Alexander could think was the way Joshua’s eyes pierced into his soul seeing the cracks behind his very own eyes.

As if the boy’s eyes said, ‘your soul may be dark as the pitch black night but there a dose of kindness within than he ever gave credit for.’ It made him sick to his stomach that—that his face spoke more than a thousand words.

It reminded him of his mother before his brother was ever born, believing that there was good in the world and a light inside him despite that darkness that converted him into who he is today. That he had the strength yet vulnerability to stand up to him in the mists of pain made him want to congratulate him, but it was merely pathetic he believed one little thought of confidence could make him turn a leaf.

But then again, he didn’t want to kill the boy. There was no part of him thrust himself into the idea of harming in could led to death, he still wanted him alive and decently well..maybe there was a small inch within him that made him think twice before his actions…

He was brought out of his thoughts as Joshua spoke up, “..what? After me, who’s next on your agenda of victims?..I just feel sorry for you, mister mayor, thinking this will fill that void within..”

He didn’t speak, only slapped his face to keep him quiet. He didn’t need his voice ringing in his ears for the rest of the day, he had more important things to attend to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doors the station were slammed open, as the soft sounds of grunts and huffing could be heard followed by the whispers of the man in charge. He threw the man into the cell and locked it as he turned around. Nik stepped over as his hands gripped the bars of the cell he was placed into, his face showcased a mix of tiredness and worry.

“I’m telling you, I have no idea where he went! Erik you have to believe me, I haven’t seen in him 24 hours..no calls, no text..I didn’t do anything to him.” He said, banging his against the bar.

Erik stood there with his arms crossed, “Are you sure? How could I know you didn’t drive him away or worse, dragged somewhere deep within the town line, Mr. Hawkins.”

“Do you really think I would harm the kid I have been taking care of for a while now? I have done nothing but provided him a home!”

“Where was he last?”

“..last time I checked he was going to get some air, said he had a small case he wanted to solve. I advised him to stay home but he promised he would be safe.”

“And you let a teen boy go thinking he wasn’t going to lie to your face and go to some house party?”

“Oh please, Erik, he isn’t that type of kid! He went to the campsites in search of something..please, just let me go.”

Erik walked back to his desk, starting to fill out some paperwork for the man muttering, “Not until I have evidence that you didn’t do it.”

Just then, Alexander rushed in with Ethan behind trying to stop him of entering. Ethan was barking a few words at the man, two accents fighting for a place within the room. Nik rolled his eyes, glaring at both.

Then he stopped, “If you want evidence, ask my brother. He clearly has something to do with this. Isn’t that right Alex?”

Alexander placed a hand over his chest fixing his collar and said, “And why I ever do such a thing? I got a call that my brother was in jail, I had to see what’s the matter.”

“Since when do you care?! You couldn’t care less if I was hit by a bus!”

“Watch your tone, clearly you never learn anything from me about manners. What did you do to get you in this mess?”

“Nothing of the sort. What did you do to my kid?”

“You’re kid? Since when did you have the legal right to call him yours?”

“Not the time. Where is he? I know you did something, you could never keep your hands to yourself.”

“With that tone, I might as well not bail you out.”

“What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Kid?”

“Nothing, I didn’t even know about this until now. But whatever you did to your kid, must’ve driven him away or worse, he’s probably being held hostage somewhere by one of your friends.”

“Bullshit..”

Alexander put down 20 bucks on the desk before walking out, smirking at Ethan who just glared blocking him from his path.

“Why are you not letting me leave? You think I have something to do with this?” Alex asked.

“Well, you always magically show up whenever it’s often than not convenient for you. First you show up when Ms. Spencer is awaken, then you appear when I’m taking a role in this town, even when Rochelle and Rick’s children are in a small crisis at school with Cole..you always show up. Matter of time when you come around again.” Ethan explained smirking, “What’s next for you?”

“Are you trying to threaten me, Mr. Long?”

“Depends, you see it as one?”

“Not at all.”

“Good. But mark my words, mister mayor, if you try something just as bad as this, I will come for you and your home.”

“I’ll like to see you try.”

With that the mayor walked out as Ethan marched right back into the station talking to Erik about the current events, glancing over at Nik every so often hoping the man listen to this words. Ethan wanted to come start a hunt for Joshua as quickly as possible within the towns and woods. He requested Rick, Cassie and Rochelle to come along knowing that the boy could be held anywhere. Erik was hesitating to bring anyone else into this search party but he knew they would need extract hands on deck, he was getting old more help would be better.

Half an hour later, he came back with this requested people. Rick didn’t look very pleased to be here, as he refused to have any weapons on him during the hunt in the woods. Rochelle hummed deciding on a gun, taking a small area of the town to look for the kid promising to Nik he’s innocent here as the man just sighed.

Cassie was quite analyzing the whole situation, knowing that Alex has done this to prove a point to pull them apart into separate groups for whenever his biggest heavy hitters came. However he remembered seeing Alexander’s body language shifted wondering if someone beside Liane or Bella told him off, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

Erik stayed back, watching the four of them go as he stayed to question Nik for his innocence, he should be at home with his husband Charles, not here at work together. Yet, here he is. He offered the man something to eat or drink, but Nikolai couldn’t stomach anything at the moment.

He sat down on the bench of the cell at dark worse case scenario filled his head, thinking horribly of himself for letting that kid go off that afternoon when he should’ve stopped him. He was considered his guardian at this point, not just a friend. He said it himself, ‘his kid’, he never said that before put the words felt familiar.

He just hoped he wasn’t badly hurt, and he will forgive him..

~~~~~~~~~

Joshua was tired, cold and hungry. He was bleeding and bruised, but a part of him knew he had to stay awake. He tried sitting up properly against one of the walls, not even realizing that his feet were tied by some rope—oh how could this day get any worse?! His vision was slightly blurry as he looked over his shoulder to see a spec of light, crawling over to notice it was a window seeing trees, some snow and much more.

He was still in the woods, but he didn’t know for long. Alexander was planning on keeping him here, to keep his shut and guard by god know. He replayed the conversation between the two of them over and over again, he noticed a shift in the man’s tone earlier, like he hit a nerve. He didn’t know but the man just barked threats at him afterwards then slapped him across the face before leaving.

He searched around for any broken glass, sharp objects of any thing, to break himself lose and make a run for it. Then suddenly opened the door, as down the stairs walked in a women. He could hear a possible other voice coming from the room across but it faint. His eyes fell on the lady once again, short pink hair, glasses and black overalls along with some pink boots to match.

He recongized her from the record store, he barley talked to her very often but liked the vibes she gave off. He remembered hearing Riley’s tales of her father being Red Riding Hood and her mother being The Huntress, always pointing out the store’s kind lady.

According to the tales, her name was Luna, the women who was sent to harm his father but couldn’t have the heart to do so and ran away unable to finish the job, meeting Rick afterwards. Joshua bit his lip worried she was going to live up to her promise and harm him instead. Luna placed a cup of tea in front of him, shyly waiting for him to drink it.

Instead Joshua asked, “W-what are you going to do me? What’s in that?”

Luna gave him a innocent look shaking her head, “I only made you tea, you looked thirsty…I-i can make you s-something else.”

“No thank you..w-what is doing for you in exchange of keeping me held here..”

“..he-h-he is not doing anything..he, uh..”

“..let me go, please..”

“He told me he would give me a bonus upgrade on my store, allowing new shipments of video games…”

“I..”

“W-what? D-did I say something wrong? I won’t hurt you..I-i promise..”

“He is doing you a favor..but I am the one getting hurt here!”

“You will be fine, it’s only for a while..please drink up before it gets cold..I am sorry if I upset you, I um..”

Joshua looked down, a sadness and darkness filled his eyes, he didn’t know what to even respond with. It wasn’t her fault, she didn’t know any better and probably didn’t want to get hurt by the mayor, so she did the favor in efforts to save her skins. But he didn’t trust her that easily, even if he was thirsty. Josh pushed the tea away from him causing it to spill on the floor, as the small cup rolled around, Luna looked rather upset that he didn’t take her offer. She glared calling him ungrateful stepping back out the door, not before treating him a couple of threats.

The door closed behind her as he sinked back into the corner he was placed into. He looked at his backpack that seemed open. He assumed someone must’ve tried to look inside, he crawled over to the using his legs to inch the bag over searching for something to help him. He found an old textbook from Charles’s English class and smirked using whatever strength he can, even his hand tied behind his back tossed it over the cup Luna placed on the ground as he sat on top of both items crushing it. He was surprised all the hours of watching TV payed off, using the shattered piece he tried to saw his way out of the ropes slowly starting to cut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group of four searched around separating into pairs of two to cover even ground. Rochelle looked around the town’s older buildings deciding on heading to the woods next as Cassie went asking around for any sighting of the boy, tracking the area for clues. Cass knew one thing for sure, one of the advantages of being securely awake from the curse, is that there are hidden part of the town that come into bloom during the mid winter—early spring.

Certain flowers.

Meanwhile Rick and Ethan decide to split up. Rick knew he was able to cover more ground by himself, it was as if he had an act for catching people red handed with just the mere scent of their tracks. His daughter liked to say it was because he was half wolf, sometimes he liked to believe that was true.

With that knowledge, he went searching around for clues of any kind, dried blood marks on the ground, items lefts aside, anything useful for his hunt. To his surprise, a certain young Latina tagged along wanting to help out, having her clear guesses on what might’ve happened and who could’ve taken him hostage.

Ethan went lurking around the woods, driving in his car passing buses after buses, the foggy sight of the trees along the road didn’t help his vision almost knocking into someone. He stepped out to find a women with wild curls, a deep blue skirt, combat boots and a long ass coat catching her breath. He rushed over asking if she was alright, as the young women smiled with a shrug. Ethan questioned why she was in the woods as she said she going for a walk, the man just slowly nodded.

She asked him, “What are you doing here?”

“I uh..” He replied looking for an lie, “..I was searching for my dog. He’s a runner.”

“Ohh I love dogs! What’s is name?”

“Uh, Portland.”

“Portland? No offense, sounds like they were trying to run away with a name like that.”

“Yeah well, it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw him.”

“You know look like you could see a refresher, I know the woods very well. I have a map at my place, we both look for him together afterward.”

Ethan thought for a moment, seeing how kind yet familiar this young women meant to him. He thought a little help couldn’t help, technically he was looking for someone.

“Sure!” He added with a smile, “What’s your name by the way?”

“Meira.” She answered with a smile.”

“Ethan.”

“Nice to meet you, Ethan.”

The two drove off into the woods, stepping into Meira’ grand old house that was lovely decorated with flowers, nice chairs, paintings on the wall and even a beauty of a piano in the living room. She even had a couple of telescopes. She said that her parents died leaving with such a nice estate she couldn’t help but make it her own. Ethan was amazed by her little world inside the home, feeling cozy inside.

The two of them entered the kitchen as Meira pulled out a map and two cups of tea for them to drink out of. He joked if it was poison as she shook her head, pointing out the mapped sections within the woods.

Everything was going fine, the two chatted as they drank. Feeling at ease in the conversation, circling spots on the map onto where ‘Portland’ could’ve gotten. Meira kindly excused her to use the lady’s room as Ethan nodded for her to go right ahead. Once she left, he wondered around the hallways spitting his glass looking at the paintings of forests that didn’t look like any he’s seen before. He heard muffled sounds coming from the hallway as if Meira was on the phone with someone, he stepped into one of the rooms to find weapons.

Guns, bows and arrows, hats, throwing stars and much more. He slowly exit the room into the hallway, moving slowly. Suddenly, the sound of a gun cocking is heard turning around to meet Meira’s face who grinned.

“I see you found some new toys for Portland.” She said holding the gun to his face.

He raised an eyebrow, “I've already called for backup, they'll be here any second.” “You haven't called anybody... for the same reason you didn't tell me about your real plan. You don't want anybody to know you're here, which means nobody does.”

“Have you been watching me?”

“Maybe?”

“Your telescope. You've been watching me. Why?”

“I need you to do something for me…brother.”

She gently shoves him into a room, telling him to sit down in the chair in front of her desk, he does as so. As Ethan sat down, he noticed the room filled with hats on display and telescope. He even noticed a small potted plant in the corner, Meira smirked hoping his eyes darted to the small flower. She would have to thank Cassie later for it. She explained to him the situation here, along with the curse. Ethan rolled his eyes at Meira.

“Have you been reading Belladonna’s book?” Ethan asked.

Meira smirked, “Belladonna? You mean the Mal’s favorite hand maiden?"

“Belladonna’s, the Liane’s adopted kid.”

“Oh, Bella. Your Belladonna…and her book of stories, the ones that you choose to ignore. Maybe if you knew what I know, you wouldn’t.”

“Why have you been spying on me? Why did you call me ‘brother’? I don’t have a sister..”

“Yes you do. I’m your baby sister and Cole is your brother. You just don’t remember, cause you scared of the truth. Because for the last 16 years, I've been feeling stuck, day after day. Until one night, you, in your car, roll into town, and the clock ticks and things start to change. You seeI know what you refuse to acknowledge, Ethan. You're special. You brought something precious to the town—magic!”

“You’re insane.”

“You say that. But we know you seek to know that town is a little crazy. You show know, you’ve been around crazy you’re whole life! The tattoo on your arm is a small symbol of it.”

Ethan was silent, looking down at the tattoo on his arm, he was a feather. He didn’t remember getting it, alway assume it was due to a drunk night out with friends. Ever since he arrived, he felt strange around this town, the very fact that Cole decided to be nice to him surprised him, and now this. One look at Meira, he could tell she was onto something but he refused to acknowledge it like the rest of the damn town. She wanted him to look around and open his eyes, to wake up from whatever dream he has created his head.

She wanted him to take a second to remember who he was, that he had magic, skills untapped that just doesn’t want to take back. Make her a hat. Muscle memories as one would call it. He barked back that she has enough already but she responded that known of them work. However he can make some, due to their being very few magical elements in the real world.

He looked around briefly letting out a chuckle, “The hats, the tea, the bow and arrows…you’re somewhat psychotic behavior…you think you’re the Mad Hatter.”

She sighed with a smirk, “Yes, and I don’t think. I know. The name’s Merida, but some like to sweetly mistaken it as Meira.”

“You’ve clearly glommed onto my kid’s book. Well, the kid’s thing, but they are just stories. The Mad Hatter, he’s in-“

“She! She is supposed to be in Wonderland. But travels to other land that look just like this one, you should know. You’ve done it! You’re the Ace Of Hearts, The Knight of the realms..one of the plenty of Prince Charming’s around..”

“It’s all in a book! Stories that I’ve read in school, myself. I am no hero of those tales..they are hysterical stories.”

She sat down on the desk in front of her, leaning in with an almost convincing smile as she said, “Stories? Right, just stories. Tales of many kind..and where do you think they come from? History books are based on a version of history. And storybooks are based on what, imagination? Where does that come from? It has to come from somewhere.”

“Mhm..yeah..” He responded staying quite listening to her rant as his gears started to turn.

“That’s where we all come in! Every tale comes from somewhere, cue in our characters, from Nik being Prince Charming to Luna being the Huntress in his tale, simple really.”

“Simple? You want me to believe that?”

“You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic. It’s not that hard, just open your mind.”

“Yeah, right open your mind..to this one reality!”

At that, she barked back standing from her chair leaning into his face with a knowledge smile. He leaned back, a hint of fear washes over him. He heard everything she said but there was something he feared from it all.

That she was right.

“What are you so afraid of?! All of the evidence is slowly coming into light, right there in front of you! God, dad must’ve made you hit your head a little too hard when you escaped..” She exclaimed, her gaze following him sight, “What is holding you back?”

That made Ethan finally snapped as a glare reached his eyes as he snarled, “Of this! I’m afraid of this. You think I am such a worthy hero? A Knight from Wonderland? Prince Charming?! I don’t want that job back on my shoulders! I may not remember what you’re saying but you’re making hard to run back and stay in my perfectly safe mind.”

Meira smirked, “There it is!”

“You know what’s it like to be separated from your kid? It makes you lose your mind wondering if they are okay! I just got her back, I am not willing to lose her again..I can’t be this hero—your Prince Charming, I don’t want it. I ain’t hero..”

“One of the heroes..only some of us remember who we are, the others don’t. But the kids do! It’s time to wake up, Ethan. Grab your pals and break this damn curse.”

The two of them were standing at this point. Meira even showed him across the telescope the town, the homes, her brother and friends. She said that they don’t remember anything, her parents don’t remember who they are. She can’t tell them, which drives her mad. Drives everyone mad when you can’t be with the ones you love. Ethan nodded understanding her statement, how it can make you feel like you’re losing your mind sometimes.

He shrugged saying it possibly a chance he believed, that she said was true. She smiled, as she turned around to pick up the hat, he picked up the telescope and strikes her with it, knocking her out cold. He muttered that she’s crazy, making sure she was alright as his gaze fell to a tattoo of a heart on her shoulder, before taking the gun and rushing out. He took one last glance at the flower, snatching up a knife from the kitchen before he left.

As he rushed out of the house, racing across the woods he spotted a certain brunette running looking over his shoulder. He noticed it as Nik who explained he tipped Erik off while he was asleep. The clock chimed as the two men exchanged a look knowing they had something they needed to do soon before it got dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile Belladonna and Rick went scouting the woods in search of the missing person. Rick leaned into his older path, tracking the more natural way searching foe clues. Finding a piece of cloth and dark dry blood marks on the ground, gasping at the sight. As they were moving in closer, Belladonna went the more tech route linking Joshua’s phone to hers, tracking him there. There was a low signal that was rather faint, but it was there.

Both of their radars went off, exchanging a couple of looks rushing off to the place where he must’ve gone. Rick stepped up the doorstep of the home banging on the door, getting a sense of nostalgia when it came to house. As if he knows it from somewhere. Like he’s been here before, but couldn’t place his finger on it. Belladonna noticed the small half smile on his lips as it seemed like a fragment of his mind was trying to tell him something but he had no idea what it was.

Funny how the mind work, huh?

There was ruffling sounds coming from the door, a heavy breath that could be heard loud and clear. As the door opened, dark brown eyes met the very blue of the blonde man who lowered his fist from the very door she opened. A connecting twinkle sparked between them, like a swirling look of acceptance and confusion at the circumstances.

“Luna?” Muttered the blonde, nodding for Bella to follow him inside.

“I um..R-rick..wh-what are you d-doing here? Wh-who is she?” She repiled, looking worried and nervous on the two visitors, “Uh..you can’t come in..”

But it was too late.

“Who is she? More like, who are you? And don’t play coy with me..” Belladonna asked eyeing the pink haired woman who looked petty and guilty in her eyes.

“I um..don’t know what you’re talking about.” Luna respond, looking between her and Rick, “I didn’t do anything, if that’s uh-what you’re thinking…”

“Likely story. Where is he? Where were you the last 24 hours?”

“I don’t know where you’r talking about..I um..I-i-i ww-was at h-home.”

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose and scoffed, “Luna, honey, I know you’re lying. What happened?”

Luna looked scared and more than guilty looking down, “..I-he m-made me do it..I was given a favor..f-for-for I can get a g-great deal o-on my at-store..it was a n-nice uh-thought…”

Belladonna didn’t wait another second, hearing the couple talk in the room as she hurried into every room on the first and second floor of the small house. She could hear exact footsteps and voices coming their way upstairs. She assumed it was her father and the others. A couple of screams were heard.

She paused as her ears caught wind of the muffled screams coming from the basement as she let out a small gasped, opening the lock and hurried down to find her friend on the ground weakly trying to break free. She felt horrible, rushing over to step untie him starting with his hands that were tired behind his back. He dropped the glass of the class cup that sliced a corner of his hand as she heard tiny whimpers coming from him.

Joshua’s eyes were red and puffy from crying, his gaze was dark almost like they lost his light. He was quiet, almost numb but responsive which was a clear positive sign for her. She pushed some hair out of his face as his body flopped over to the ground as she shouted for him to stay awake. But he couldn’t he was tired, annoyed and hungry.

She carefully led him upstairs calling for help up the steps, as thankfully Rick was there reaching for Joshua who weakly took his arms to hold onto. Belladonna blocked out his conversation with Luna as her only thought was on Josh’s health.

As she led him out the door and into the front of the house down the steps across the woods, in a flash came her father and Nikolai turned up rushing to side. Both adults rushed to the exact child. Ethan held his daughter close, proud of her for today’s action, walking them back looking over at the others. Belladonna carried the backpack on one shoulder. Nikolai held Joshua’s close, running a hand across his face telling him to stay awake and they will be home soon enough.

~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the station, everyone was getting cleaned up. Erik talked to the adults, not pressing any charges on Nikolai for what happened, seeing a worried father take place in front of him. Rochelle was helping to gently clean Joshua’s wounds as he kept quiet. Ethan was nursing an wound that ended up on Belladonna’s body, despite her effort to tell him she was fine, he didn’t listen.

“What happened back there?” Rochelle asked dabbing a cotton ball on his forehead as the boy hissed.

Nikolai was wrapping his hand in a bandage, “..buddy, you need to tell us..”

Joshua was just silent, looking at Rick then Luna. But his gaze fell on Bella who locked eyes with him, as if to send a single signal to her onto what happened, who harmed him. She got what he meant and sighed.

He inhaled and hissed, “..I was in the woods, searching on a clue on our new case with the sighting of wolves and more campers lately, I saw something in the road..when I was knocked out cold, I woke up in the basement..my backpack away from me, tied up as Bella saw..”

Nikolai didn’t know what came over him, pushing his hair out of his face being gentle with his wound concerned with his state wondering what was going inside his head. The light in his eyes flickers out like a old used flashlight, like the sun was coming down to rest as the night took over for him. He noticed Erik questioning Luna onto what happened, as Rick backed her up. Ethan was taking notes of what happened, as the wildness of the woods still played in his head. Rochelle chimed up with her insights on the townsfolk and the accident that might’ve led up to it.

He shook his head, deciding to take him home to rest at their loft instead, ignoring Ethan’s calls saying they will talk later.

~~~~~

Once the two arrived home, Joshua lay down on the couch as Nikolai got some fruit to eat as he across from asking if he could open the backpack for him. The teen just nodded, watching him with blurry vision eating the long awaited food, humming at the taste of fresh blueberries and slices of mango entering his mouth. It felt better than expected.

Later on, after a quick shower and now in cleaner clothes he found his father in the kitchen wiping up two grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. He watched him with tense shoulder, as the man hummed in comfort clothes than the pair of jeans and hoodie he was wearing earlier.

He knew he was waiting for him to talk about anything else that happened, as the teen just sighed and muttered, “..where were you?”

The older brunette paused from flipping the two slices of bread to look over his shoulder and reply, “Umm what?”

“I was gone for almost 24 hours and you were nowhere to be found..I was hoping you’ll be the one to find me..”

“Joshua..when you didn’t come I was worried, I called you phone plenty of time and you didn’t pick up. Next thing I know I was put behind bars at the sheriff’s station because they thought I did something to you..that I had something to do with your disappearance..”

“Wh..b-but yo-you escaped..I-i saw you!”

“I couldn’t any longer for bail or to be prove innocent to go after you, so I broke out of there! That’s what I came late to find you..I am so sorry..I should’ve listen to my gut and ran to search for you..”

“I needed you and you weren’t there..”

That caused Nik to turn around and face him. That words sting like a bee. He blinked hearing this words replay in his head over and over again like a drumbeat. He saw the look on his face that almost broke his heart.

He looked down for a moment, shaking his head hating that he made him feel that way, the words sounded like it came from a different place. As if he broke the line.

“Wh..what is that supposed to mean exactly? Josh, I haven’t said anything lately, but you’ve been holding something back ever since we started this whole thing..” Nik admitted crossing his arms, giving him a certain look, “What’s going on here? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“..um..you won’t get it.” Josh repiled, looking away for a moment, “..you won’t..”

“Try me. Go ahead.”

“Alright..you want the truth.”

Joshua took a breath and scoffed, “You let me go out that door last night, without a care in the world, because you thought you could trust me and look where it got me! I’m hurt because you’re brother decided to have me kidnapped because he knows if the truth gets out on what he plans to do with the town..he will be doomed.”

“I’mma stop you right there! Alexander kidnapped you and you didn’t expect to tell me this?! This is serious matter, Joshua I don’t care what his plan is, he harmed a kid. He tricked one of the townsfolk to keep you there.” Nikolai exclaimed with an anger in his stomach growing. “That’s my point! He wants to keep everyone locked up in this town for god knows what reason, cause he knows if everyone is happy he will have no power over us..I stayed quiet about this for weeks now I am not taking it anymore!”

“Alexander kidnapped you and harmed you in a way that shouldn’t be expected at any point. No kid should go though that..did he do anything else?” “I’ve been hit before at old homes, it seems like before I was knocked out cold I was fighting someone..but Alex, he just threaten me over and over again..he..he called me an orphan, a lost boy..that I will never know who I really am..I um..”

He started to get chocked up as he recounted all the bad things Alexander said to his face and all the things he told him. He was told stuff like this before, that he was a child. He’s got nothing to prove, nothing at all. Nikolai walked around the kitchen island setting in between the stools wrapping his arms around the teen, as running his fingers across his hair to smooth out his cries. He felt like a part of his way his fault, it was. He pressed a small kiss onto his hair and hummed trying to hush him as he listen to Joshua’s comments. He made a silent promise to himself to not let him feel that way again, not feel hurt or alone.

Then he heard it.

A small whimper that came from Joshua as he let go of his arms. He watched him go to his room, then come back with a blanket. A baby blanket with his name engraved in a font, on the side was a small little monkey. He handed it to Nikolai as he noticed the way he ran his fingers crossed the letters and the patch, he let out a small chuckle he knew his style of drawing better than the back of his hand. He took one glance at Joshua, trying to piece the words together. He noticed a old stuffed bear in his hands.

He spoke, “Remember the stories I told you..the ones you would hear us talk about at the diner, how each one of us like to talk bullshit for the characters are real and how they are our parents..I believed in that because I wanted to hope there was a sign they were out there..then..”

“Then all of this happened..” He continued for him, taking it all home, “..you had theses ups and down your whole life..and I walked in. The hot chocolate, the artist in you, the fact that..your looks..I’m your..”

“Yeah..I might need an DNA test to prove it but..”

“Prince Charming..me? I have..how long have you this?”

“For a while now..I-i didn’t know how to tell you or bring it up..because I didn’t think, I couldn’t wrapped by head around it..”

He didn't know whether to believe it or not. He was sure, he wasn't from some fantasy world. But how do you react to the kid who has been staying with you, is now saying you might be their father?

Nikolai walked over placing a hand over his cheek as his thumb rubbed his cheekbone, not knowing where he got his eyes from but he does have his chin, eyebrows, and—well his face in general, for sure. A a quarter of his height for the added measure. But there part of him that he must’ve gotten from his mother..

“Who did I screw to make you?” Came out his question.

The concept of him being his son was still wild to him, he probably needed an DNA test and answers on who the mother was. He has been with a couple of women over the years, so he wonder who is was.

Why come now with the questions? But a part of him could only wonder what came next.

———-

Ahh I am so sorry if this was long! I hope you guys like it. I’ll love to see your comments and insights you might have. Any thoughts on things.

Click here to see what else was happening during all of this

Tags: @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @meiramel @gcthvile @rickb-chaos @gaminggirlsstuff @wizzzardofoz @thechoooooosenone @luna-d-marsh @rooster-84 @thecavalrywife @cherrysft and etc

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 1 year

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If S. Meyer wrote a prequel trilogy to Twilight about the tragically doomed love between Aro and Carlisle (except she wouldn't because her homoeroticism is never allowed to be text, only subtext, but let's pretend she became friends with Anne Rice who I think is maybe dead idk?)

Anyways if she wrote these books I don't think we could predict any of the plot (tho yer welcome to take a stab at it) but I DO think we could make a guess at the Shakespeare or other "famous romance" she'd claim to be influenced by?

Long ask short, S. Meyer says "Aro and Carlisle have one of the great romances for the ages, just like..."

(My gut wants to say Heathcliff and Catherine because they are very much not that but if you squint...)

God, this is a beautiful ask, anon.

The thing about Meyer though is, take out the fact that she would never ever do this, but that her literary allusions make no damn sense in canon either.

Alright, we start out with Romeo and Juliet. It's already a stretch, but everyone stretches that one. We have two star crossed lovers who face obstacles based off of who they are/where they come from, Bella is from a rival family, there's a romantic rival who isn't really a romantic rival who dies, Bella and Edward elope despite the wishes of their family, Edward murders Jacob after Jacob murders Emmett, Edward believes Bella is dead and so goes to kill himself, Bella then kills herself in despair upon waking up to his dead body.

Well, Meyer got at least some of it in there.

We at least have the suicide because mistaken belief of death in there. That's one of the big ones.

Anyways, we stay on Romeo and Juliet for a while and then we end up with Wuthering Heights. Where Bella and Edward are just like Heathcliffe and Cathy because they're both self-centered destructive people because--we never actually get a reason. We're just kind of told it. Bella likes Wuthering Heights, therefore, it's just like her love story with Edward (while Edward stands there, frowning, because he doesn't want to be like Romeo or Heathcliffe).

Now, could be Bella as a character, being seventeen, does shit like, "Oh wow, Edward, we're just like the lovers in my favorite play/book" and will just project onto different stories when she feels like it. Even though they're nothing like that.

But we're playing Doyalist for the moment which means Meyer really wants to allude to literature while putting in 0 effort.

So, honestly, whatever the fuck Meyer wants.

We're told that their love story is just like Pride and Prejudice. See, Aro's very proud and won't leave the diet, which makes Carlisle prejucdice... No, this fits too well.

We're told that their love story is just like Emma. Aro accidentally sets up Carlisle with Marcus and then hates himself because he set up the guy he actually wanted with Marcus and now he has to...

No, that's too funny to resist.

It's just like Casablanca. Because this is set in the prequels, Carlisle hasn't left yet, the pair are still in Paris and there's no hint of Esme anywhere on the horizon. There's no backdrop of Casablanca for that matter either or Rick's American Cafe. Neither have either of the characters seen a film that won't be made for centuries. It has nothing to do with Casablanca.

Meyer insists "Ah, we're just like Casablanca"

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #carlisle/aro #aro #carlisle cullen #twilight shipping #shipping #meta #headcanon #opinion #stephanie meyer

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moa-broke-me · 8 months

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honestly I have a rant locked and loaded but I don't know if this is something anyone else has noticed so I'm gonna lead with a question:

Have you noticed Rick Riordan's work has become less... Idk... Human lately? As in, leaning more into the symbolic and abstract, particularly when it comes to his characters?

Because I certainly have. I made it to, like, chapter 6 of TSATS before I had to quit because I just couldn't get into it, and even I noticed.

Like... Idk, the whole reason I'm thinking about this was that one post going around explaining that, yes Octavian is flat as a character, but when you start to view him as a symbol of neofascism, then everything clicks into place. And I think that analysis is good, don't get me wrong! It's actually a very well written piece. I wish I had the link to it at the moment so you could all go and read it for yourself.

However, the series doesn't really lend itself to that kind of symbolic, metaphorical thinking. Like there is metaphor in the series, yes, but I don't think there's ever been a human character that's treated as a straight up *symbol* for a certain concept. At least, not frequently enough that it's established as a pattern or even a possibility in the readers' minds.

Notice how I said *human* character. That's important, we're putting a pin in that.

Now, as an aside, I do think that the post could be misinterpreted as 'if you give octavian a backstory or a redemption arc in your fic then you're basically a fascist' and, no. I'm pretty certain that's not what the author of the post intended, don't get defensive and don't delete your blog.

Personally, I think his characterization could also be explained as him being someone who turns to a dangerous, destructive ideology because deep down, he's desperate for unconditional love, and he feels the only way he can get it is through force. Playground bully mentality, basically.

And if you'll notice, though both explanations tie into fascism, mine still emphasizes the humanness of Octavian. Because, well... He's human.

See, my theory is that the gods in the series are basically everything I've said the human characters aren't. Metaphors for different concepts, and how people see those concepts. It's barely even a theory, it's basically canon, but it's something that I feel needs to be pointed out for this analysis to make sense. Like, Zeus is the god of authority, so the way he acts is reflective of the way that human authority figures do. Hades is the god of the underworld, so like the underworld, he's dark and gloomy, mostly ranging between the gothic serenity of asphodel and the burning rage of punishment, though he can be kind, even nurturing at times, like Elysium.

This leaks out in more one on one interactions too. The whole reason Dionysus was so hostile to and dismissive of Percy the whole series is because his only experience with alcohol had been hostile and dismissive. Hera's nice to people at first, but makes it clear that she doesn't extend that kindness to everyone, just like a lot of 'looks good on paper' families (including Annabeth's own stepmother). Eros publicly humiliates Nico, because he sees love, his own love in particular, as humiliating.

And it seems, now, that Rick is shifting away from writing these characters as humans, and moreso how he'd write a god. Which may be why the books are starting to go downhill.

or maybe I'm fulla shit who knows?

#pjo #meta analysis

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phoenix--flying · 1 year

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For the ask game, 002 with Ethan & maybe Silena? And for 003, rank the canon TA members (Luke, Chris, Al, Ethan, and Silena)

002 for Silena :D

How I feel about this character: ethan you're such an actual loser i love you

All the people I ship romantically with this character: alabaster LMIH (also chris pine i blame you for that one)

My non-romantic OTP for this character: silena, chris or leo, the ethan/leo friendship sprouted from my fuckin nine hb au and now its one of my favourites so theres that

My unpopular opinion about this character: again, idk if this is unpopular but ethan was and could have been really powerful, he's the son of the literal revenge goddess... he had sm potential, rick had to kill him because he knew ethan could be op

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: again, he lived /j BUT i seriously wish we heard about him in TLT? or at least that he was mentioned yk? If he'd left camp prior to TLT you'd think someone would mention it. Also, sir, how the fuck did you survive the andromeda please explain

my OTP: hehrethabaster

my cross over ship: i still don't have one

a headcanon fact: he hates people fighting/standing/being near his left side, to him its like they think he couldn't hold his own even if they're literally just standing there. But it's also because he can't keep an eye on them and he's paranoid

rank the ta members fuck okay

Alabaster

Silena

Ethan

Luke

Chris

i feel so bad putting chris in fifth help me i love them all pine how could you make me do this /lh /j

#silena beauregard #chris rodriguez #luke castellan #ethan nakamura #alabaster torrington #pjo #answered ask #ask game #titan army

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riverrunscold · 2 years

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Harley Quinn for character thingy! :D

Gonna start this off with the fact that I will probably be talking about the Harley Quinn in the DCEU and Harley Quinn in the comics kinda interchangeably. Love them both!

How I feel about this character:

I love her! She's a badass, she's a psychiatrist, she's insane, she's an acrobat, she has a cute accent, she loves animals, she escaped her toxic partner in all the media she's been in now.

I love that she brings her PhD and acrobatics into fights, it really scratches my brain. Also I love her outfits in Birds of Prey and genuinely want to wear a few of them.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Poison Ivy and Harley, pretty much every iteration and that's about it. Maybe a little Gotham City Sirens ot3 too.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Her and Rick Flag (even though I think he's a little overrated shh), they're surprisingly wholesome. A friendship that just exists in my head right now is Harley and Adrian Chase from Peacemaker; I just think they'd be neat and also my bisexual ass needs them fighting together (or each other, I'm not picky).

Also her and Power Girl from the comics are a cute brotp (and Harley has a very obvious very cute crush on her).

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I think Harley can be really cool and fun in the right hands or really badly written because she's just there to be sexualized (ahem ss 2016 ahem). Also I don't like Harley's voice in her animated show very much, the show's still fun and no hate to the actress because I think she's good, but the accent is pretty much non-existent and I love Harley's accent, which is a big reason why I love Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, she nails the accent. And one more very important thing, Harley should leave the Joker in literally every media they're in because he's horrible to her and she deserves better.

Also not sure if this is an unpopular opinion but I've seen a lot of people say they don't like it. I liked Harley in The Suicide Squad! People think she's being written as dumb but I don't think so honestly. I just think that through most of the movie she's suffering through hallucinations and mania probably because of being shocked so much.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I wish that we could see DCEU Harley with Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman with a DCEU Ivy. It's kinda dumb to me that for some reason The Batman isn't connected to the DCEU so I will continue to pretend it is (also in my head it's also connected to the Gotham universe shhh). Also want to see her and Ivy's relationship in the DCEU! As well as at least some references to Harley being Jewish.

my OTP:

Harlivy, Harley and Ivy. There are no other Harley ships actually.

my cross over ship:

Back in my cringe repressed bisexual who didn't know queer people existed phase I used to ship Deadpool and Harley. But now I see them as more of a brotp. I just think they'd share jokes and brutalize some goons together and look good doing it. Also matching color schemes go brrr.

a headcanon fact:

She's bisexual (canon), she's Jewish (canon but needs to be mentioned more in the DCEU), she's trans, she has ADHD (just like me fr fr), she has BPD, she played baseball when she was young which is why she loves using a baseball bat as a weapon. She doesn't wear her glasses or contacts post Ace Chemicals because she can't fight well in them so she just goes nearsighted and doesn't give much of a shit (because I do this, she's just like- *gunshot*)

(anyways)

She wanted to be a vet growing up (being an animal lover) but then realized, like many of us, that shits wrong in her brain so she's gotta figure that out and wow this stuff is interesting! Boom psychiatrist.

She partied in college but also studied hard and knows everything there is to know about the human brain.

She has two little brothers she loves a lot and basically raised as a kid but hasn't seen them since her relationship with the Joker.

Contrary to popular belief she's very empathetic as a psychiatrist but covers a lot of that with humor and comedy which she watched a lot of growing up.

She wanted to join the circus at one point in high school which is why she got into acrobatics but cue the *I learned acrobatics and all I got was this toxic pretentious clown* shirt.

#alright there it is!! thank you for suffering through my word vomit xD #harley quinn #dceu #dc #thank you for the ask!#i love gushing about fictional characters #ask #jadedfantasies231 #the suicide squad #birds of prey #birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn #comics

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lm-tomatito · 2 years

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For the bingo how about Rick or Doctor (Trent) from Fomt. They're my two favourite bachelors so I'm interested to hear your opinions on them 😊 ❤

Sure, I'll do both of them✨

I don't usually think too much about him, but I find Rick as a very interesting character.

I feel like I'm part of an unpopular opinion because most hm fans seem to dislike him or ignore him. I even made a post asking about others opinions about him in the past lol It's nice to see more people who like him!

I think he has a deeper and much sadder reason to be the way he is. He feels or thinks he must be the responsable one of the family, which maybe makes it difficult for him to trust enough in others, and can't help but have a very strong opinion about his father, that being more negative of course, but at the same time being incapable of hating him (if I remember the stuff about the watch correctly). Sometimes I think he can be a bit afraid of abandonment, so he tries his best to take care of the closest people to him, something that can lead to bad results. I also have the impression he doesn't really have that much people to talk to about his struggles, and that's why sometimes Karen can feel overwhelmed in some of the events.

It's a bit difficult for me to express all I think about this while keeping it short right now, so I'll finish by saying I understand and even kind of feel relatable to some of his problems.

I don't have much to say about Trent, which makes me a bit sad because I do enjoy his character very much, it's just the interpretation I have of him is either canon or someone else's ideas.

Just like everyone else though, I think he must have an interesting story behind him.

Added the "not enough screentime" because I wish I could see more events of him outside the clinic, and with other characters besides Ellie. He appears in festivals and all, but I guess I just enjoy interactions between characters one wouldn't normally see. Could be I'm just not remembering enough :')

#character opinion bingo #harvest moon #story of seasons #hm fomt #sos fomt #hm rick #hm doctor #hm trent

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theloveinc · 2 years

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Catie! Do you have any self-ships? You write about a lot of different characters with us/for us, but who's your ~fave~? (Could also just be a fave, not a self-ship) Is there anyone that you wish you could talk about more with us/in general?

🐞

jfjskdhfjads ladybug PLEASE, you are so berry kind for asking❤️👉🏻👈🏻❤️

i have many self-ships, actually!! tho i'm a bit confused by what constitutes one because... i basically ship myself with everyone LOL. and i know some people have very developed backstories for their selfship worlds... i wouldn't say i have one specific "canon" for each character + i's setup... but rather i pick whatever scenario i'm enjoying at the moment and then apply it to them and do that as needed. probs cuz it changes so often and always has.

Most of the time this past year it's been bakugo (what a surprise), so i would say he's def my top self ship??? but honestly whenever i'm thinking of anything for any character, whether it's suggested by u guys or not, i'm absolutely brainrotting for them, too. i mentioned this ages ago on IHB, but for the longest time i actually liked everyone in mha pretty equally, so i lowkey still do

(its fine bc im so busy rn, but sometimes im sad that we don't have more convos about other characters)

anyway, it's kind of an inside joke with myself LOL but i always joke it's like rick + morty in my mind bc i always think of my selfships as alternate universes that are all happening at the same time... so if i'm thinking about one au of assassin bakugo and another about having kids w/ him............ they're both equally valid. or like, if im thinking about being married to kiri, that's a different caitie than the caitie married to bakugo LMAO but still me🙆🏼‍♀️

(does that even make sense?)

honestly... not so much recently bc i've really been going thru it w/ my writing, but i feel like i do a good job of talking to u guys about all the stuff i wanna! i've honestly been self inserting so long that turning my ideas into inserts is actually very easy for me, plus, since i LOVE and enjoy writing second person, i don't have any issues with stuff being relatable to me personally. it just always is (for the most part).

besides, tho there's definitely a couple things i wish i could bring up, like plans i have for longer things im too scared to start (which are absolutely author-inserts), they're so deeply personal that i really can't even figure out how to make them appealing LOL. so for now i just don't. but that doesn't bother me much tbh, cuz i get my fill as is!

(plus, sometimes they’re just dumb ideas)

anyway, long story short... bakugo is my current, MAIN selfship. it was levi from attack on titan for like, 7 years tho. and i'm sure i'll find someone else berry special to add to the pile too!!! and normally i imagine us meeting because... we're both fucking weirdos who hate everyone LOL and bond over that.

but thank u SO much for asking, i hope i answered this right!! and more importantly, wbu??? i'd love to hear <3 (and hope you're feeling better🥺)

#LOL I STILL HAVE TONS TO SAY WAHH but mostly just supporting details #and now i cant think of anything #having allergic reaction in my eyeball too #but yeah. i dont mention it much bc i just phrase everything in second pov cuz its my favorite #but im always selfshipping with bakugo <333 #anything that says you im thinking of ME!!#hence why i always write it cuz i think u should too!!! or your fave oc #but its my favorite to read so why would i write anything else #anyway uhhhhhhh #OH ABT BAKUGO i was gonna say. he used to just be on par with kiri deku and todoroki and everyone for me #but something changed and he definitely suits all my current needs in a man #and im not willing to debate abt it #u know bc like i mentioned... ppl have really been talking abt it lately #and im not like. giving up my ideas abt him LOOOOL #anyway thats vague but i typed it all out so whatever #and to change the subject one more time #i wanna do more with people selfships too #like the other day i was thinking abt making headcanons for people's f/o relationships #but i havent figured out a good way yet that would really allow for my own creativity in the situation #but its on the mind hence why i wanna hear from u abt urs too #and i love u for asking me this #all my love and hugs <33 #caitie answers #anon #selfship tw #🐞

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wexarethewalkingxdead · 6 months

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general questions - //is there any other creative writing you do outside of roleplay? //do you prefer plotting a thread or improvising? does it depend? //do you like to format your posts or do you prefer minimalistic posts? //what keeps you interested in a thread? //what causes you to lose interest in a thread? //what do you consider your strengths as a writer? //what would you like to improve on as a writer?

canon character writers - //how do you feel about writing with canon variants? (people writing the same canon character as yourself.) //are there any lesser played canon characters you’d like to see in your community? would you consider writing them? //which character have you written the longest? //what media do most of the characters you’ve written come from? (shows, movies, comics, etc.) //is there any specific interaction you’d like to write that never got to happen in canon?

questions for writers: volume i - these are some questions for the writer behind the character!

general questions -

is there any other creative writing you do outside of roleplay?

I do like to make edits and graphics using Photoshop. Sadly, I don't get to do it near as much as I'd like to, but I do enjoy it when I get to. I mostly do it for roleplay reasons so maybe that doesn't count. And I used to write fanfiction, but I've not been able to do that in a long time. Roleplay is somehow more fun with having others to bounce off of.

do you prefer plotting a thread or improvising? does it depend?

I need to plot at least a little bit. It doesn't need to be plotted down to the minute detail by any means, but I need some kind of direction. It's why I prefer plotted threads to ask memes as a starting point.

do you like to format your posts or do you prefer minimalistic posts?

I used to do all small text (with the exception of a partner with a visual need), but now I just match whatever it is that my partner does. It's minimal though. Small text or regular text. I rarely if ever use bold/italics/etc. I'm comfortable with what I do to include formatting in my posts.

what keeps you interested in a thread?

When my partners give me something to work with that propels the moment forward. It's why I don't do one-liners and request at least a decent-sized paragraph (with at least 5-6 sentences) from my partners when they reply.

what causes you to lose interest in a thread?

When my partner's reply clearly shows that they didn't read my reply or when they give me nothing to work with.

what do you consider your strengths as a writer?

The ability to describe emotions and ambiance of a scene.

what would you like to improve on as a writer?

I sometimes get stuck using the same word or phrase. It seems to happen in waves, and I wish I could stop that.

canon character writers -

how do you feel about writing with canon variants? (people writing the same canon character as yourself.)

I won't write my muse with the same muse of my partner. It's just not something I'm interested in doing as it doesn't really fit the fandom that I roleplay in. I will, however, follow and interact with multimuses that have the same muses as mine. I don't have any issues with duplicates.

are there any lesser-played canon characters you’d like to see in your community? would you consider writing them?

There could always be more characters that aren't considered the main characters. So maybe Beth, Tara, Sasha, etc. Characters like that.

which character have you written the longest?

Daryl. He was the first character from The Walking Dead that I ever roleplayed. But I've been writing both Carol and Daryl in fanfiction for longer than I've been roleplaying them.

what media do most of the characters you’ve written come from? (shows, movies, comics, etc.)

Television shows.

is there any specific interaction you’d like to write that never got to happen in canon?

Always more Carol and Rick. Always.

#.maildrop #anonymous

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lotusthewriter · 10 months

Text

What I've Done - Chapter 4

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

Rating: T

Relationships: Alphonse (Wrath) & Edward

Characters: Alphonse Elric (Wrath), Edward Elric, Sloth, Dante, Envy, Izumi Curtis, Scar, Rick, Leo; MINOR - Roy Mustang; other characters to be added

Summary: “As soon as the homunculus decides to shove these feelings down his throat and take the alchemist to Dante for once and for all, his troubled opponent finally dares to say something that stops the world from going.

“… Al?”

It paralyzes Wrath.”

A Homunculus Alphonse Elric AU.

Word count: TBA

AO3

First chapter | previous chapter

A/N: I'm aware that the chronological order of FMA 2003 is confusing in this AU, but I always enjoyed Al's interactions with the Ishbalans, and especially with Scar. I also like it because Al is questioning his existence, so I made sure to include it in this story.

I apologize if anyone is OOC here, but I want to thank everyone who has been reading the fic so far. <3

TRIGGER WARNINGS - death, grief, repressed trauma, child abuse, physical and emotional abuse, emotional neglect, canon-typical violence, self-sacrifice, suicidal thoughts, blood and injury, loss of limbs, and references to racism and genocide. (More might be added)

P/roship DNI.

“So the pipsqueak gave you a haircut?”

Rolling his eyes, Wrath instead ignores the comment, knowing that feeding Envy’s bullying only makes everything worse.

But of course, Envy knows exactly how to annoy other people.

“I wonder how the favorite must feel knowing that he failed his first mission,” he teases.

Wrath has learned better than to fight back.

“... I wonder, too,” he bites, “how pathetic you, Lust, and Gluttony are for Dante to entrust one person with a pipsqueak.”

Immediately after, he gets a punch to his gut, causing him to drop on his knees. Envy is growling like a furious animal.

“You’re just lucky because you’re an alchemist,” the older homunculus says, pulling Wrath’s now shortened hair hard.

Although it hurts like hell, something in Wrath has him smirk at the reaction, because Envy really is pathetic enough to bully people when he can’t measure up to anything himself.

Their little exchange doesn’t last longer, though, because Dante has called them all to another meeting. Usually the meetings are brief, with the exception of a few, and Dante doesn’t mention Wrath’s failure. Instead, she emphasizes on the Philosopher’s Stone, so everyone needs to try their hardest to make it happen. In the end, Dante orders Envy, Lust, and Gluttony to return to Liore, Sloth and Pride to remain in the military, and Wrath… to stay behind while everyone is dismissed.

Wrath can tell everyone is judging him as they leave, based on their looks. Envy still looks grumpy and he internally wishes he could kill Wrath over and over again. The others just ignore his existence, as usual, only this time the weight of his failure is crushing.

Still, Dante cups his face so very gently, and pushes some of his irregular bangs away from his left eye.

“Wrath, my dear,” she whispers even though nobody else is in the room. “I want you to head to Central to look for the alchemist you seek. Sloth told me he should be there tonight.”

The boy frowns. “I’m… going alone?”

Dante hums in confirmation. “You still need to prove yourself to your fellow homunculi. I know you can do it, Wrath, but they still don’t know your full potential. I want you to focus on your goal, and to keep persevering.” She rubs his cheeks with her thumbs delicately. “Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”

Wrath doesn’t hesitate to nod, though swallowing his nervous gulp, because he knows what happens when he fails.

“Good,” Dante smiles, kissing him on his forehead. “I’ll be waiting here for you. Go out there and make me proud.”

“I will.”

(Wrath’s smile doesn’t feel genuine.)

(He only smiles because Dante wants him to.)

(And that’s how it’ll always be.)

The Central is huge.

Wrath has no idea why Dante wants him to go this far. He clearly doesn’t belong out here. His first mission made sense, because it was in the forest, a place that he knew from the palm of his hand. But the Central is a whole other level that should’ve been reserved for more advanced missions.

Then again, it’s what Dante said: everyone needs to see that he’s worthy. If he couldn’t succeed in an easier task… then he should try harder to prove what he can give to them.

He should fight for himself, for the homunculi, for Dante.

That’s his whole goal.

As for his objective, however… he has no idea where to even look.

Which hotel is it? What if Ed is out in town to eat? What if the military has already called him somewhere else?

Wrath only has one way to know.

Lurking in the shadows, he manages to find a phone booth unnoticed. With great memory, he already knows what to do, and who to call. As it tries to reach the other end, he admittedly feels his gut acting out of anxiety, because… he usually stays out of the way until someone notices him.

(He only goes with Dante’s permission.)

Either way, when the other end picks up, the same coldness already speaks to him.

“You are not supposed to call this number.”

Wrath gulps, feeling like the cold has stabbed him in the chest.

“I-I… I just wanted to–”

“You’re not ready.”

This is barely lasting a minute, and he feels like he’s breaking apart with every word that comes out of Sloth’s mouth.

“B-But Dante said–”

“You’re confused, and if you really cared about our cause, you would have taken it more seriously. For starters, you wouldn’t have called me.”

Wrath’s violet eyes are blurring.

“Please, I need help,” he begs, “I need help so I can be good. I can’t fail again.”

“You need help because you only care about yourself.” Sloth doesn’t hesitate at all. “Because you are pitiful. You make no difference.”

The worst part is, she doesn’t even sound hateful. She just sounds indifferent.

And somehow, that makes Wrath cry.

He tries to swallow it back down, but Sloth likely knows.

“Don’t call this number again,” she says rather professionally, like she doesn’t know Wrath.

(Maybe that’s true, because even after three years, they only feel like strangers around each other.)

The phone dies.

Wrath involuntarily lets go as the tears burn his cheeks.

Afraid of being seen, he runs away, having not realized that it’s raining now. His clothes get the worst of it as he flees, one of his shoes flying away. He barely sees whoever is passing by, but it’s not like they would notice him or bother to worry anyway.

Sloth’s words just replay in his mind like a broken and repetitive melody, like the music Dante plays in her mansion late at night. When one is cold and brutal, the other is nostalgic and melancholic.

(Both equally haunting.)

Wrath has run so much that his legs give up and he falls in the shadows of a dark alley. There are a lot of empty wooden boxes stocked onto the other that previously served to keep food. The homunculus’ baggy, dark clothes feel too cold, and the freezing rain mixes with his hot tears. Unable to hold it in anymore, Wrath openly cries for the first time outside, not trapped in the mansion, not trapped in his room. He doesn’t have to be silent right now.

He only has his own comfort, so he hugs his knees tightly, trying to calm himself down with his own company. He was taught to do things this way.

Even if all he wants is Dante’s warm hug.

Even if all he wants is Sloth not to hate him. Or anyone in general not to hate him.

Even if…

He wants a family again.

Every time he hears Sloth’s voice now, he remembers the woman with brown hair and green eyes that always smiled at him, that always hugged him whenever he had nightmares or couldn’t sleep at night.

And he hates to admit it, but…

Wrath remembers Ed’s loyalty, his protectiveness.

And he certainly recalls the young alchemist yelling his name in the forest, because it still feels like Ed is looking for him this entire time. Especially right now in the rain.

(Does he want Ed to find him?)

Wrath is supposed to hate him.

He needs to hate him.

He does hate him.

He does.

But…

…

Maybe Sloth is right.

He is confused.

He is pitiful.

He doesn’t make a difference.

(Besides…)

(Ed would probably hate him, too.)

…

The moment Wrath hears rushing steps, he freezes in place like a statue.

Much to his bad luck, the steps are coming his way. He doesn’t dare look up, but from what his senses can tell, it seems like at least two people have come to hide in this very alley.

Somewhere near him, Wrath can tell someone is yelling angrily.

Then it’s gone.

The two strangers sigh in relief, tired out of running, probably.

“We lost him,” one of them says, satisfied. They sound… young. Like a boy. “Here, eat up.”

“I don’t want any!” The other, younger, protests. “What were you thinking?! You just picked it up out of nowhere and stole it! If Mom knew we were–”

Something… grumbles and silences the two kids.

“There, see?” The older one is soft. “You can’t be so hard on yourself.”

Wrath knows said words aren’t meant for him. He has nothing to do with those two, whoever they are.

Still…

Wrath sniffs again and sobs quietly.

“Whoa, did you hear that?” The elder boy whispers.

“It’s… a kid,” the other observes, concerned.

The homunculus doesn’t look up, afraid of what they’re going to think of him.

There’s some thoughtful silence between the three, until Wrath hears some shuffling.

“Um, hi?” The younger voice speaks up, and a hand touches the other’s shoulder, causing Wrath to flinch violently.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” the older one says. “Hey, are you hungry? We have some apples here, if you want.”

Sniffing again, Wrath considers it. At this point he has nothing left to lose. He doesn’t even have a place to go. Maybe he needs to eat something to clear his head.

The homunculus slowly lifts his head, indeed finding two boys gazing at him with sadness and curiosity. They look very similar, so maybe they’re siblings. Unlike Wrath, who’s pale and has purple eyes, the duo is brown-skinned and… red-eyed.

Ishbalans.

Wrath remembers Dante mentioning them when it came to the Philosopher’s Stone. He remembers Ishbal being devastated and its people massacred. This is Wrath’s first time seeing them.

He pushes these questions for later though, because the older one is holding out an apple for Wrath, even smiling at him. The fact that two strangers are being so kind to him, more than the people he has known his whole life, makes him want to cry miserably again.

Wrath barely raises his head, knowing the two are going to see through him and judge him, so he eats the apple in silence, slowly.

“I’m Rick,” the younger Ishbalan says with a smile, “and this is my brother Leo. What’s your name?”

Wrath doesn’t reply and looks away.

“Hey, aren’t you even gonna tell us your name?” Leo asks impatiently.

The homunculus insists on being silent.

Leo groans.

“Great, he’s just like Scar,” he curses under his breath. “But at least he’s eating something.”

Everything stops.

“... Scar?”

His first word surprises the two Ishbalans.

They also look shocked by Wrath, who instinctively exposed his pale face and violet eyes.

Regardless, Rick answers his question.

“Yeah, that’s him,” he replies. “Do you know him?”

Wrath shakes his head.

“Well… you could follow us and meet him, if you want,” Rick suggests. “He’s not bad like everyone makes him look like.”

Leo elbows his younger brother’s arm kind of aggressively.

“What are you doing?” He hisses. “What if he wants to hurt him? Or us, for that matter? Look at him!” Leo gestures at the entirety of Wrath’s pathetic form.

“What, now you’re going to judge him the same way everyone judges us?” Rick argues, firm but patient.

Wrath’s defenses seem to lower the more Rick speaks. He’s supposed to be on a mission that he can’t fail, and yet here he is, talking to two human boys, and one of them is treating Wrath, a homunculus, like a person.

“Don’t listen to him,” Rick reassures Wrath with a friendly smile. It reminds the latter of the past, of looking into a mirror. “I mean it, you can come with us! You don’t have to be alone.”

Wrath shouldn’t feel… warmth inside him. This is selfish. He knows Dante wouldn’t approve, nor would Sloth or any of the other homunculi. Wrath needs to find the Fullmetal Alchemist and bring him to justice. He can’t lose time.

But…

Scar is with them.

Wrath heard that Scar seeks State Alchemists. Maybe he’s looking for Ed, too.

Maybe Wrath and Scar could… team up.

He’ll do anything for his mission.

His mission only.

Wrath stands up and… takes off the dark hood that covers his head, exposing his whole head and wetting his messy black hair.

While Leo looks suspicious, Rick has the biggest smile on his face, completely welcoming of the stranger.

(Wrath tries his best not to smile back.)

#fullmetal alchemist #fma 03 #alphonse elric #fma wrath #fma 03 wrath #fma dante #fma sloth #fma 03 sloth #fma rick #fma leo #alternate universe #homunculus al #homunculus alphonse elric #fma au #abuse tw #bullying tw #neglect tw #fanfiction #long post

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lokissuper · 3 years

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Need To Be Safe| Carl Grimes x Reader

Summary: Carl doesn't want reader to get hurt during the bombing of Alexandria.

Request: from @hannahlovesfinnick I was wondering if you could do a Carl x my oc (Hannah) request, you don’t have to use the name, you can use y/n if you want. So maybe you can do something that takes place in season 8 where Hannah and Carl go out together and Hannah is there where Carl finds siddiq and gets bit in canon. But instead since Hannah is there because her and Carl are dating, Carl doesn’t get bit and Hannah helps Carl and siddiq fight the walkers off and no one gets majorly hurt. So, like in canon, Carl takes siddiq to the sewers along with Hannah. And while Alexanderia is evacuating, Carl and Hannah have an emotional goodbye after he convinces her to go with them after a small argument with her wanting to make sure he’s ok and him wanting to protect her. So Hannah goes with the others and the rest goes as canon. after the saviours bomb Alexandria, it can maybe end with Carl meeting them in the sewers and it can be fluffy with him holding her and trying to reassure her that everything will work out for them and that their ok

DISCLAIMER! I never really followed the timeline at the beginning of season 8, was just kinda confusing. So if there is anything wrong then I apologize, but thank you for the request. I also listened to Easy Street on repeat to write this for some reason. I didn't proof read this because I was too excited to get it out.

Living in a world full of zombies was kind of a pain sometimes. I mean you could probably guess that it would. But growing up in during an apocalypse isn’t what I though my imagined my future.

Early on, my parents and I found a group and stuck with them. I found a boy my age and he became my best friend, Carl. His dad led us through the world of the unknown and protected us, especially me when my parents got bit.

It was when we were finally settling at Hershel's farm and a herd made it’s way through the fields. I didn’t know what happened until everyone reunited after the damage and saw that they weren’t there, along with Andrea. The adults tried to put on a brave face for me but I had matured to much that I knew they were dead. But when we found Andrea again I had a little hope in me that they were still out there, until I overheard her tell Rick that she saw them get taken down by walkers.

From then on I had the whole group looking out for me, including Carl.

Carl and I had been through a lot together, being there for him when he had to put his mother down, when it was confirmed mine were dead, and when Glenn and Abraham were brutally murdered by Negan.

I wasn’t there for the line-up, but just hearing about it made me realize that I couldn’t keep holding in my feelings for Carl. Especially in a world like our where something could happen to one of us any second.

So I told him and reciprocated. We’ve been dating ever since and continued to watch out for one another.

We were always looking for people to bring back to Alexandria, people who could help us in a great deal. So when Carl came back from a run with his dad and told me he found someone I was onboard. I was a little hesitant at first because of our war with the Saviors, but if Carl was confident then I was too. We went out to find the mystery person hopefully in the same place as last time.

We did find him. But surrounded by walkers.

So we helped him, Siddiq, with these walkers because he didn’t seem to know what he was doing. I killed the first one but then saw one cornering Carl and grabbed it off of him, pushing it to the ground. I then shot it in the head.

Siddiq showed gratitude to us for coming back for him, we asked him our procedure questions and were on our way to Alexandria. We knew Negan and the Saviors were going to be coming tonight, and it wasn’t going to end well.

Carl and I snuck Saddiq into the boarded town, and to the opening in the sewers Carl found to keep people safe. Saddiq thanked us again before climbing down the ladder to the sewers in which Carl and I followed so we could get him settled. We grabbed a cot, pillows and blankets so he was comfortable and gave him food. Carl and I left him down in the Sewers for a few hours before the sun started to set, and we knew what was coming.

Carl and I were standing watching the sun set from one of the watch towers when he started to speak.

“I want you down in the sewers tonight. I need to make sure your safe.”

I turned my head to him and furrowed my eyebrows. I was confused since we always fought through these types of things together, looking out to make sure the other was covered.

“No.” I said.

“It wasn’t a question. This is going to get out of hand and I can’t have you out here.” He said frustrated.

“Where is this coming from?” I asked.

Carl shook his head before responding,”You weren’t there that night. With Glenn and Abraham, seeing what Negan is capable of. We really made him mad this time.”

“Don’t you think I know that, I know he is a threat and dangerous. I know. I also wish I was there that night too. I wish I was there so bad it hurts, I know I shouldn’t but just the idea that something could’ve happened to you-” I cut myself off. “I’m not leaving you this time.”

He looked at me sternly, I could see in his eyes he understood where I was coming from but he still was standing with his choice.

“I don’t want to lose you either. But that is why I need you to be safe, where I know you will stay alive.” He said to me.

I fully turned to him now, growing angry with him.

“Not unless you come with me.” I said crossing my arms.

“I can’t, this is my show and I need to run it. Dad’s not here so I have to be.” He said.

I scoffed,”He’s going to kill you. If not you then everyone else, I understand where your coming from but if you die, then I die. End of story.”

Carl and I started to make our way down to the ground. Shaking his head on the way down, before he could say anything I spoke up again when I set my feet on the floor.

“I can’t lose you, your the only one I have.”

He looked at me and saw tears welling up in my eyes. He knew I still mourned my parents death and that I felt incredibly lonely even though I had him. He walked closer to me and brushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

“You have so many people looking out for you, so much family here. I can’t lose you either.” He spoke softly to me.

I looked him in the eyes and started to cry. I whispered, “Okay. I will go in the sewers. But as soon as things get hectic you bring you butt down there.”

Carl reached for my waist and pulled me toward him, smiling at me,”I understand.”

We walked hand in hand to the entrance to the sewers, everyone else had already been moved down there and I was the last one left. It was pretty dark out now and we had to hurry

I turned to Carl and brought him into a kiss, a passionate and loving kiss. One we hadn’t had yet in our relationship. I couldn’t go down there without kissing him, not knowing what was going to happen later. Our lips moved together and my arms were wrapped around his neck playing with the ends of his hair. Carl was slightly shocked with the power of the kiss but quickly wrapped him arms around my waist. I realized how much I loved him, even though we hadn’t said the three words to each other yet.

I pulled away from him but Carl joined our lips together again in a long peck. He pulled away but only enough so he could whisper into my lips, “I love you so much.” I smiled.

“I love you.” I pulled away from him fully. I looked at him one last time before turning to the sewer and climbing down the ladder.

The ground was trembling and my ears were in pain because of the noise. I thought for sure there was no world anymore above us.

The bombs were going off for a little bit now, I held Judith to my chest and hushed her to make sure she didn’t make any noises that could give us away. Not like they could hear her up on the ground especially with the sound of gunshots and grumbling of grenades.

Carl still hadn’t made his way down to the sewers yet, and it was far past safe from what I was hearing. Which meant Carl was either taken, dead, or just plain stubborn. I tried not to think about it to much, because Judith needed me right now. I was cooing to her when I heard the steel trapdoor to the sewers opened. We were told to be quiet when we heard to door open because we never knew if it was one of us or an enemy. But, when I saw my boyfriends sheriff hat I quickly get up to run to him but he out his finger over his mouth then pointed up. I quickly understood that there were saviors above us. He grabbed my hand that wasn’t holding Judith and lead my away from the entrance. When he deemed it far enough away he pulled me into a gentle hug, watching for his little sister in my arms.

I gently spoke in his ear,” We’re okay. Are you?”

He nodded.

I pulled away and pecked him on the lips before giving him Judith. I was so happy he was safe.

#carl grimes #carl grimes x reader #carl grimes imagines #The Walking Dead #Rick Grimes #judith grimes #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #neagan x reader #negan imagine #rick grimes x reader #carl grimes imagine #carl grimes fluff #carl grimes angst

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artsybookworms · 3 years

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A pointless thread in which I rate the seven demigods:

Preface: These are my PERSONAL opinions! My ratings will be based on how I feel about them at the moment, not an analysis of how well they’re written (although it might play a role in some of them).

I’m not even rating him—a 10/10 would be an understatement for how I feel about Percy. I grew up with him, and he honestly feels like an old friend. It’s because of him I found friends in this fandom and felt a little less lonely when I was younger. I owe him a lot, even if he is fictional.

10/10: Man I love her. Does she have a lot of flaws? Yeah. But that doesn’t make her any less of a good character. If anything, she feels more real because of it. Also, I’m very biased because I related a lot to her as a kid.

3/10: Pleaseeee don’t hate me. Jason just never resonated with me, and he was kinda boring. I hated reading anything from his POV lmao. I feel like Rick tried to make him this stoic, rule follower with a heart of gold and accidentally made a wet sack of rocks who’s conveniently oblivious to when people need him as a friend (see: Reyna and (to a lesser extent) Percy). Idk he just rubbed me the wrong way.

5/10: I liked Piper when I was first introduced to her. She honestly felt like the main character of TLH; she definitely outshone Jason. I think she’s really cool, but I couldn’t really relate to her. We don’t have a lot in common, and that’s really the only reason I was never that interested in her character.

6/10: Remember when I said these are my personal opinions? I like Frank mainly because he’s Chinese and I’m Chinese and I’m that desperate for Chinese representation (I was especially desperate as a middle schooler in the Midwest). Is the representation necessarily good? No… some might even say it’s problematic. But he’s really sweet (if a little bland), and he has his moments. Not my favorite character and he could be improved a lot, but again, I’m biased.

6/10: I love Hazel! I think her backstory is really interesting and I just really liked reading about her. I also relate to her because we both like to make art lol. I wish Rick had made her 15 since that’s how he wrote her, but other than that I think she’s a really charming character and one of my favorite of the seven.

4/10: Um… once again… please don’t kill me. I was never a Leo fan. It really just comes down to bad writing on Rick’s hand. He felt like your regular old “joker on the outside broken on the inside” stock character. I’d seen it before and he just ended up kinda flat? He’s an overused trope, and while it can still be compelling done right, Rick didn’t do anything interesting with it. Also, I really hate arrogance, even if it’s fake. It’s one of my pet peeves.

Honestly, I think the reason I rated the HOO characters so low is because they’re extremely underdeveloped. I mean, we spent FIVE YEARS with Percy and Annabeth, getting to know who they are as people and growing to love them. It’s kind of hard to suddenly build the same kind of relationship with 5 other people, especially when their “screen time” is divided leaving us even less time to get to know them. I love the fanon version of their characters, but going off canon alone, they fell flat. Hopefully this didn’t offend anyone, I’m curious to know if you agree!!

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth #pjo #leo valdez #nico di angelo #hoo #percy jackson headcanon #piper mclean #hazel levesque

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phantaloon-books · 4 years

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Things about Tower of Nero that I want to highlight to remember them forever:

Lu being an absolute badass woman, I just love her too much

Piper McClean being canon wlw, she was actually kissing another girl, we really fell in love in october

Chaos being canonically female (just chaos being mentioned as a deity rather than what's below tartarus)

nobody DIED, like no one on the good side at least?? yes plenty of beings have died throughout TOA, but nobody died in TON?? so many died in TLO and BOO, I expected to mourn someone and I didn't have too??! it made me so happy

solangelo. that's it. solangelo makes me happy.

will being incredibly supportive of nico, and instead of stopping him, going with him on dangerous adventures because he doesn't want to leave him alone. also them treating Nico's PTSD for what it is

WILL SOLACE CANONICALLY GLOWS IN THE DARK. HE'S A GLOWSTICK BABY.

also will just appearing at the gates of the throne room, glowing in rage because someone touched his boyfriend (and tried to kill his dad), and him just marching through everyone (everyone else letting him), just to pick up his hurt precious boyfriend and take care of him.

meg McCaffrey got her happy ending. she's baby, she deserves her family and her happy ending. also Lu being the mother and the 12 children being siblings?? that's one hell of a way to tell nero to fuck off and right his mistakes. we love meg.

dionysus being the best olympian after apollo. the duo content we needed, and now will never get

nico mentioning bob and how he wants to go look for him, because he can still be in tartarus

rachel still being a Total badass and hitting people in the eye with her blue hairbrush thus being iconic

meg acting as lester's anchor and only reason why he didn't let go of the ledge, not falling into chaos, is top tier 'reasons why I cried reading', because if you think about it, Meg is the first ever friend apollo ever had, and them being best friends is everything to me

also apollo choosing to go looking as lester rather than apollo because lester feels like home is on top tier 'reasons why I cried reading' too

again, the only thing apollo did in the end (once he was god again) that could be described as 'godly' was be in several places at once, fly his chariot, and get meg her unicorn

but apollo shooting fucking fire out of his hands is crazy asf, it was so cool. he really got amazing godly powers this book.

rick being bold enough to showcase abusive parenting knowing that a huge porcentage of his readers are minors, helping many realize that they could be in abusive households, and giving them a tool to reach out for help

apollo defeating nero was so satisfactory, because you realize in the end, that nero wasn't really a monster, he was monstrous, but still very much human (if only with some godly power), and pretty useless once he couldn't hide behind props and weapons, his being wasn't powerful, he was just under layers of protection

the jackson/blofis scene was so warm and loving, they really are willing to put their family in danger, baby estelle in danger, to help 'percy's friends' even tho she knew percy didn't like apollo, but she still takes in everyone who needs help, and paul being a loving and accepting husband

sally working on her SECOND novel, she really is having her best life

none of the big heroes from other series having protagonism, besides nico and will, instead giving the other kids from camp halfblood their chance to show they're just as worthy as the "heroes of olympus"

(still I would have loved to see a scene with everyone else, like the heroes of olympus guys, fighting together one last time, just for nostalgia's sake - I legit hoped to see percy and annabeth arriving with chiron in triumvirate tower, but yeah)

the arrow of dodona may have been a dumb, cringey, and slightly ridiculous thing at first, and I personally rolled my eyes everytime it said anything, but it knew what would happen from the start, and without its sacrifice, apollo would have achieved nothing. we stan one arrow

nico wearing a white cowboy hat. idky but it makes my heart swell with joy. he a gay cowboy

y'all know I love Apollo's arch, and I just gotta point this out. his trials, his time as lester, started with him falling to earth, and ended with him getting up after purposely throwing himself off the earth, towards tartarus, almost falling to chaos. that's really clever writing.

the olympians watching over him, and some actually being concerned for him rather than his progress.

poseidon not really giving a fuck about the world or council meetings anymore because percy's not there anymore

athena being the only one apart from artemis who trusted apollo could do it makes me warm fsr

lester deciding that the best way to retell his adventures is by singing is hilarious to me, he really thinks it'll solve everything

Grover not telling percy and annabeth jason died seems so funny to me, he really said "nah it doesn't matter much, field trip, yes"

"hey man" my heart broke in twenty million pieces. like I don't know where I expected to see jason. but that wasn't it. and it hurt me as much as it hurt apollo man.

(also I kinda hoped we would see nico summon his spirit or smth, but I'm actually happy nico realized that jason went by his own choice, and he was in peace, so he decided not to summon him, because it was alright. that hurt too)

kinda love how lester passes out after literally every battle. it reminds you that even tho he's apollo, his body isn't. I'm sure we all would pass out too if we did a quarter of what lester did in the span of 4 days. his body isn't made to endure that, it doesn't even have a halfblood endurance, it's a weak mortal body

the trogs were fucking hilarious. their screeches and grrs, idk there's something ridiculous and so childish about them, it's so fun

really happy that apollo never had a /real/ love interest (reyna doesn't count), cause that wasn't what his story was about. instead he got to make so many friends, and have quality time with them and his children, it's amazing

apollo being thankful people were telling him he'd grown, and was more human, because he realized that was the best thing he could have learned from his time as a mortal

also him saying fuck you man to zeus and his speech, like "no asshole dad, I did learn, I'm not going to see this as punishment, it was a great time in which bad things happened but I enjoyed it." yes, we love apollo not letting zeus win

getting to see what everyone will do now. nico and will figuring out rachel's prophecy, probs saving bob. rachel living her best life away from her parents. leo doing what leo does, always helping those who have no one else. the hunters' open storyline about this fox, possibly hinting at content? piper settling down in a quiet life is what she deserves tbh, she's earned quiet life with a cute gf, wish her the best. Frank and hazel being the best praetors, and I bet they will continue to be so. And annabeth and percy, who chose their happiness over all, at last

kinda wish we got to see someone still really miss jason after apollo becomes god again tho lmao like apollo missed jason more than the others, nico and piper being the exception. I mean, leo is fine and dandy, hazel and frank are okay, percy and annabeth are done mourning... I just we got to see any of them really mourning, rather than reading they mourned. it would have made it feel more emotional

the last conversation and the last words in general. "the sun always comes back" and "we're friends now. call on me. I'll be there for you" that shit got me sobbing my heart out. rick really managed to do right by the books and end it like he should have, unlike BOO. he took what made TLO good and used a similar formula. it's very different from "and for once I didn't look back", but it still fills you with warmth and the feeling that even though it's over, it's okay.

I'm just really emotional, this is all I can think about, but you bet I'm gonna add more when I remember

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the-ghost-king · 3 years

Text

So I'm not going to start like an Anti-Chiron tag because I don't find that enjoyable personally, but every so often people ask why I dislike him so here's essentially a "masterpost" of my thoughts on that situation for when anyone asks, just so I have it to explain some...

This isn't nearly a full list, and there's many more "incidents" that make me less than fond of Chiron, I don't hate the old man but he leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I'm not a fan of that. He's a very twisted character.

- The Lightning Thief

This quote is literally just after Percy's mom "dies", they're all sitting on the porch of the Big House right after he's finally woken up after days of sleeping, and that's the line Chiron pulls out on him.

That's straight up emotional manipulation which was entirely unnecessary in the context of what Chiron was trying to explain. There wasn't a single reason for that, in the slightest.

Immediately following that, and Percy, who canonically has anger issues, does his best to remain calm, he is immediately threatened by Dionysus, and Chiron doesn't even tell Dionysus off for doing that; Chiron just let's it happen. It's Grover who has to speak up to tell Dionysus off...

The only reason Chiron comes out looking like a old guy in this scene is because Dionysus was so much worse in his behavior, at one point intimidating Percy with his power over madness.

- The Titan's Curse

This is the aftermath of when Nico ran away upon confirmation of Bianca's death. When Percy is telling Chiron about the situation, Chiron wishes Nico had been eaten alive rather than recruited into an army.

He'd rather a child be dead than fight against him, and he openly tells this to other children he's in charge of. If Percy went missing would he have said "I hope he was eaten <3" as well?

I don't blame Perry for not delivering the truth here, it was done in an effort to protect Nico; which wasn't something Annabeth had planned on doing... I don't blame Annabeth for that though either, she's been beneath Chiron so long that she probably doesn't realize the shady stuff he does, and to her "going to tell" probably was the "right" move because she was a child...

But the fact that Chiron believes Nico truly would be better off eaten than alive :/

- Tower of Nero

This quote from Tower of Nero shows that Chiron lied to a bunch of young children (most of them were young because the older campers are largely dead because of the war or too old for camp now). It wasn't just a little white lie that adults sometimes tell kids either; they were walking into battle and he told them it was a field trip.

Did he even begin to explain the danger he was putting these kids in? Did the children understand their situation? And how dangerous it was?

Kayla has been blindsided over the years into thinking that telling children they're going on a field trip instead of fighting a battle is something to make a joke of and not be questioned... (Again, I don't blame her she's only like 12 in the book, but still)

Apollo also agrees, which isn't on Chiron but it's a whole mother reason why I can't stand Rick's interpretation of Apollo...

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This isn't me being like "oh Chiron is the worst most evil character ever" I just think that he has numerous flaws which are largely ignored in favor of the "perfect wise teacher" narrative when in fact Chiron and Dumbledore share a lot of.. Offputting qualities.

I do think that some of the situation is simply a result of Chiron having his hands tied behind his back by the gods some. And he even goes so far as to confirm this in a scene of TLT

However many of the scenes in which he exhibits behaviors like that in my first three screenshots are not related to anything the gods require and are, in fact, of Chiron's own free will.

Some things I would blame Zeus and the council for, such as how he withholds information from Percy to an excessive amount for long periods of time even when Percy straight up asks about things. I could easily see that being Zeus trying to prevent Percy from claiming the prophecy as his own, and I could see reasoning that maybe Chiron had sworn over the River Styx or something similar.

But those things don't apply to Chiron making such an unnecessary comment about Percy's mother so close to her "death". It doesn't explain why he would say he hoped Nico had been eaten out loud, and it doesn't cover the fact that he led children into a battlefield without telling them that's what was happening.

I think the context of Chiron's choices and comments would be different if the campers were older. If they were in their late teens or early twenties for the most part, I wouldn't really have much to say about how Chiron handled the situation.

But this man is in charge of children and extremely young teenagers, Percy is only 12 in TLT, maybe if he would have been 16 or 17 then I could give Chiron a pass, but he wasn't. Within the context of the comment he made in the Titan's Curse, Percy is only 14 and Nico is 10 at the beginning of the book... You don't wish a 10 year old had been eaten alive by a monster no matter how bad you think the alternative is, and if you do wish that you don't say it out loud to a group of other children. In the battle from Tower of Nero we get a quick look at the battlefield, and although Ben's age, and the age of another girl fighting alongside him are never confirmed they are implied to be fairly young, and we know Kayla is only 12 at the time too; yet Chiron told them it was a field trip instead of a battle, limiting the time they would have to mentally prepare themselves for what was coming.

On top of that, the nods the reader gets to the fact that Chiron can't act out against the gods depletes over the course of the series. After TLT the amount of times the situation involves the gods interfering with what Chiron is allowed to say lessens, and by the time the Heroes of Olympus series comes around, these limitations on his speech is almost entirely gone. Yet as seen in Tower of Nero he still does morally questionable things in regards to how he treats the campers.

Like I said, I recognize that in many scenes Chiron's hands are tied behind his back because of the gods.. But there are undeniably things he does of his own free will that are, in the nicest manner, very :/

This also isn't a full list of comparisons just a few notable scenes. I don't think Chiron is equally as bad as Dumbledore, but I think it undeniable that Chiron has some significant flaws built into his character design.

A good character has flaws, and there's nothing wrong with having a character that doesn't always conduct themselves properly or have good intentions- it's actually good writing, and I can appreciate that, but for some reason I find myself personally rubbed the wrong way by Chiron. This doesn't make Chiron badly written, or poorly designed, in fact I would say Rick's Chiron is very well designed in lots of ways, but I just don't like how it's never acknowledged by anyone in the series.

Like I said, I'm not starting an anti-Chiron situation, I just think little events like those mentioned, the way he's built a child army, and how he doesn't even try to plead with the gods over raising the ages on campers being allowed to battle is a little sus. But it more so bothers me that there's no attention payed to this problem anywhere in the books, not even by a side character or Luke, nowhere.

I don't actually care that much and this isn't that important to me, but sometimes people ask why I don't like Chiron and this is basically just my explanation to hand off to them... It's not even so much that I dislike Chiron entirely, he's well written and has his "good" moments, I just don't like the way other characters interact with him and his actions.

It's more a personal beef with him rather than an aspect of poor writing or him "being bad"... PJO in general (and HoO/ToA to a much lesser extent) shows that there's not such an inherent good vs bad in the world, and that sometimes people are victims of circumstances in some situations, or they're horribly misguided in their actions, but the series does a good job of showing those people as human still, and I applaud that.

I don't really know how to tie this up in its entirety, but there's nothing wrong with having a morally grey character who does questionable things and in many aspects it is good writing. I think Chiron is a result of Rick not thinking through the implications what he's doing in lots of situations, and I can see a fairly consistent drop in Chiron's characterization from PJO-ToA which is consistent with most other aspects of Rick's work.

I also want to clarify that if you like Chiron and disagree with me, that's absolutely 110% okay, I just personally dislike Chiron and that's on me. Like my problem with many of Rick's other immortal characters, I think he missed important aspects of them in some manner and slightly (or entirely in some cases) mischaracterized them in comparison to their original myths.. Some of these characters he came around on and fixed their character in many aspects to their more "correct" characterization (like Hera), while others (like Chiron and Apollo) he never quite figured them out. Which is a running complaint I have with Rick so I'm just adding this to his tab.

But yeah, I don't hate Chiron I just dislike him and those are different things, and I don't think it's a bad thing to have a morally questionable character, Chiron just personally rubs me the wrong way and I just wanted to explain that more fully because I've been asked about it multiple times.

Also I apologize for not adding a [read more] to this, it's a complaint of mine often when scrolling through the tags but I'm on mobile currently and don't have immediate access to a computer so~

#pjo #Hoo #Chiron pjo #percy jackson #long post

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