#They may no longer be cannon but cannon has never stopped the fandom before

[cassandracain52]

And now some weekly TimSteph content because they are still an iconic couple that you can ship if you want to😤

A Prime Example:

(Robin (1993) issue #60)

The time Tim made a fake identity before Stephanie knew his real name just so he could take her to baby classes. For the baby that was not even his btw

(Robin (1993) Issue #64)

He also made sure to be at her side when she actually had said baby, having had The Flash run him there while he was still in full Robin gear when he found out she was in labor

[coffee-cupps]

{❄️Frozen Lips❄️}

 Toshiro Hitsugaya X GN! Reader

[In which Toshiro proves he isn’t a kid anymore…]

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Hello! It’s been about a year, sorry about that. I have seemed to have fallen into the world of Bleach and now can’t get out. I have fallen in love with this stupid little man and am now going to write for him non-stop. So, you have my permission to send in requests for him. I was watching Bleach last night and it was like-3:26 AM and my thoughts start to wonder so…have Toshiro blowing off some steam with you. (A.K.A Toshiro using his tail to hold you up while making out with you.) The bleach fandom hounded me for a while, are you all happy now? You may think I stepped into your domain…Oh how wrong you are. You’re in my domain now… Enjoy.

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Warnings: 

Pissed off Toshiro

Bankai activated Toshiro

Sir kink

Aggressive making out

Reader and Toshiro like each other but never admit it

Finger sucking

Hyorinmaru is not amused

Language

Last season Toshiro. (Not Blood War but close. The last series of the original animated series.)

Slightly OOC Toshiro

Toshiro is being a fucking brat

Chocking

(THIS STORY DOES NOT FOLLOW THE CANNON STORY OF BLEACH, DON’T GET PISSED THAT IT DOESN’T LINE UP WITH THE ORIGINAL STORY.)

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“Damn it”! Toshiro yelled loudly as the Menos Grande tore though the icy wings of his bankai. This fight has been going on for an hour now and he was starting to get pissed off. Turning around quickly to face his opponent once more, he send Hyorinmaru out from his hand and had him slam into the overgrown Hollow. The beast let out an earth shattering screech before using its hand to claw away at the ice dragon that had hit it, sending Hyorinmaru to return to it’s master. Bitch. He didn’t have time for this. He has a squad to run, and paperwork to do because god knows that Rangiku never did any of her work and was most likely drinking Saké or sleeping with some random man, once again. The captain gritted his teeth at just the thought. I have to do everything myself, He thought bitterly, his eyes filled with an icy rage. His eyes shifted once again to the large Hollow as it let out another cry before sending a large blast of energy at Toshiro, who brought up a wing to deflect the beam with ease. He let out a growl before charging up his powers once more to allow the Hollow to be take down in one strike. Once he was done charging, one strike was all he needed to- “Toshiro, stop acting like a child and finish this”! He froze for a few seconds before slowly turning to the sound of the voice. (Y/N) (Y/LN). The captain of squad 13. They were rude and inpatient and let their own impulses get the best of them, and now they dare to stand there, not even offering to help, and have the guts to call him a child? Oh the fucking nerve. 

     “W-what did you say Captain (Y/LN)”? There was a hint of hate as he spoke your formal name and you just snickered. 

     “Pay attention kid”. Before Toshiro had the chance to fire something back, he was smacked to the ground, hitting it quite hard to the point where a large whole was where his body laid. He heard the other captain let out an over-exasperated sigh before lazily jumping from the building they where perching on and strutted over to the man lying face down into the concrete. “Ya’ know Toshiro? For a captain, you sure suck ass”. Toshiro quickly stood up from his spot, his large ice wings extended and his tail slicking angrily. 

     “Shut the fuck up. I have been a captain a lot longer than you have Captain (Y/LN), and my name is Captain Hitsugaya, I have no respect for you, you may not call me Toshiro”. Said captain rolled their eyes at his words. 

     “Whatever snowflake-“. The cry of the Hollow interrupted (Y/N) before they quickly turned to the Hollow and pulling out their Zanpaktou, slicing into the air while watch the beast instantly fade away. “Don’t interrupt me”. They snarled at where the Menos Grande once way before shifting their position and looking down at the tiny Captain. “You took too long shorty, I had to take matters into my own hands”. 

     “Don’t you dare call me short, and I could handle that myself”. Toshiro yelled bitterly, pushing the other Captain with his shoulder as he began to walk away. (Y/N) scoffed, 

     “Stop acting like a child Toshiro, it’s starting to piss me off”. They glared at him before hurrying to catch up with him, but was quickly surprised when Toshiro harshly gripped their wrist. 

     “Say I’m a child one more time Captain (Y/LN), I dare you”. His grip tightened and his bright turquoise eyes darkened with anger. His wings were flattened to his back in anger and his tail violently thrashed around, making a harsh sound as it smacked into the ground. (Y/N) smirked slightly, before leaning in, close to Toshiro’s face, he could feel their breath on his face.

     “You are an insignificant child Toshiro Hitsugaya. You will forever be under me”.  They expected the man to be angry, but they didn’t expect to be grabbed by the throat by the shorter Captain and dragged into an empty alleyway. “And what do you think your doing”? They snarled out at him as they where violently shoved into the wall, Toshiro’s arms caging their body in.

     “Teaching you a lesson”, was his response before his lips where slammed roughly into theirs. (Y/N) couldn’t help be let out a grunt, bringing their hands up to roughly grip onto Toshiro’s shoulder, bringing him closer to their body. The kiss was rather rough but ended quickly as Toshiro pulled away first. 

     “W-what are you doing”? Their voice was covered in confusion as they panted harshly. Toshiro looked them in the eyes, his breathing uneven.

     “Do you wish for me to stop Captain (Y/LN)”? (Y/N) Smirked.

     “Don’t back down like a kid”. Welp. That’ll do it. What a brat. Toshiro let out an animalistic growl before slamming his lips back into the other Captain’s with force, shutting them up within an instant. His hands that once caged them in now placed themselves on the other Captain’s hips, lifting the other and moving his icy tail in between his legs to hold (Y/N) up. He brought them closer, hooking his arms around the small of their back while his tail held them up. (Y/N) used this opportunity to give an experimental grind to Toshiro’s crotch. His kisses stopped.

      “No. Your not in control here”. He snapped, sharp turquoise eyes shooting daggers into the other. “I’ve had enough of your teasing. It’s time you learned your lesson (Y/N)”. His voice carried an unknown emotion, and emotion that was close to lust, but much more…aggressive. He held the emotion well, letting it overtake his eyes and allowing it to consume him fully. (Y/N) let out a ‘humph’ before rolling there eyes at his newfound dominance. 

     “You have a lot of nerve Toshir-“. They where cut off quickly as an icy-clawed hand wrapped around their exposed throat, the sharp talons creating marks in their wake. Toshiro could feel their windpipe flex against his hand, trying to widen to allow the body to gain air, he tightened his grip at the feeling. (Y/N) let out a choked gasp before moving their hand up to grip his wrist, there eyes pleading. He leaned in close, a toothy grin plastered on his face.

     “How many times do I have to tell you”? He flexed his occupied hand, making them squirm once more. He moved closer, his breath against their ear before his tongue slipped out, licking the shell of their ear before nibbling it slightly and pulling away a little. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya”. A deep, primordial chuckle erupted from him before moving his mouth right back to their ear. “But for right now, sir will do just fine, understand”? He leaned down and gave a harsh suck to their neck. (Y/N) stayed silent. Don’t test me. “I said-“. He thrust his hips up into your crotch. “Understand”? (Y/N) let out a choked moan, his hand still around their throat before nodding their head aggressively. He loosened his claws, allowing the other Captain to breath. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to their lips. “Good. So good for me”. His clawed hand around their throat moved to cup their jaw, making his thumb to their lips. (Y/N) let out a soft moan as they opened their mouth a little to allow the smaller Captain’s entry. His thumb entered slowly, dragging his claw around their tongue to play with it as they sucked and licked around him, moaning at his taste. Toshiro dipped his thumb deeper, allowing it to move to the edge of their throat and they gagged silently, wincing in slight pain as his sharp claw scraped the sensitive walls of their throat. “Hyorinmaru”. Toshiro whispered and the tail holding them up slowly moved to undo their Captain’s robe to slip into their Shihakusho to wrap around their stomach. (Y/N)‘s muscles spasmed at the freezing feeling as a startled moan left their lips. Toshiro slipped his thumb out of their mouth and they let out a silent moan before meeting his eyes once more.

     “D-didn’t know you had it in you”. (Y/N) chucked before hesitating, seeing Toshiro’s eyes shine with danger. “I’m sorry… Sir”. Toshiro tisked at their words, using his free hand to hold their back as the tail around their stomach tightened. He slowly dragged them on his crotch, causing them to let out a low groan at the feeling of his hardened member beneath his uniform. “Please sir! I need you. I need you so badly”.  

     “Begging already”? His voice was teasing. He snorted at the other Captain’s broken composure before slipping his cold hand under their jaw and harshly kissing them, causing them to harshly buck their hips. “Soon”. He promised, his voice holding only the truth. “You’ll be mind soon Captain (Y/LN)”. He moved the hand holding them to their hair, moving their head impossibly closer and slipping his cold tongue into their warm mouth. Toshiro could feel any control list slowly begin to slip away and he pulled away quickly. “We need to go”. He slowly put them back on the ground as they lookout him with uttermost confusing.

     “W-what? What’s wrong”? Their voice wavered, their things clenched. They’re as needy as I am. 

     “Wouldn’t you prefer to do this somewhere more private”? He questioned the other Captain who thought for a moment.

     “I-I guess. But Sir, I”- Toshiro cut off the needy words from (Y/N).

     “We will go to my quarters, Come now, I don’t like to be kept waiting”.  He turned away from them and deactivate his Bankai before holding his hand out to (Y/N) who took it eagerly. “And besides. It’ll be nicer for all of the Soul Society to know who you belong too”. 

[thefabulousfab-3]

2,3,6,7,10 and 11 for Benvi ask gameeeeee please

2. What’s a future head cannon you have for them?

Okay, one of my most self indulgent head cannons for them is that they will have kids, I used to be against this idea but after talking to @lunasink I actually really like the idea of them being parents. I would guess they would have two kids. And they would be the best parents, (Ben would be a stay at home dad) and they will find themselves with weirdly athletic kids that they just don’t really understand but do their very best to support. They go to all their games and make signs and cheer super loud. Devi would get kicked out of a game for yelling at ref for making a bad call but Ben would smooth talk (aka bribe) the ref so he could prevent her from getting permanently band.

Also they would 100% go to couples therapy weekly, not because they are having problems but because they want to remain strong and together. They also go to individual therapy. They are the healthy and happiness couple ever and the envy of everyone around them.

3. What’s your favorite head cannon for them?

I’ve shared this before but it’s that Ben has always written Devi little notes the whole time they have known each other. Some sweet and some snarky. And Devi has kept every single one. She has a box under her bed full of them.

6. How do you think they will get back together?

I think it will sort of dramatic, like a “it’s always been you! You idiot!” Type of confession from Devi to Ben. Most likely during an argument.

7. Do you think they are endgame?

YES!!!! I honestly believe that they are r setting them up to be together.

10. Random head cannons you have?

Ever since the dinner at Devi’s house Ben has been slowly building up his spice tolerance so Devi can no longer make fun of him.

Even after Ben gets his license he continues to drive like a grandpa and it drives Devi nuts! Devi is a surprisingly good driver, even if she drives a little fast.

Ben may have their pact tacked to his wall but Devi has hers laminated in her binder.

Devi is better than ben at basketball and she never lets him forget it. (Keep in mind they both suck, Devi just sucks less than ben)

Ben is a huge Jane Austen fan and he had to convince Devi to read the books, Her favorite one is Emma and his is Persuasion.

11. Just anything you want to talk/ rant about?

There is so much hate towards Devi in the benvi side of the fandom and it really needs to stop. Devi doesn’t need to “pay” for what she did to Ben. He forgave her and so should you. Devi is a good person and she loves Ben and he is happy with her. So all the haters need to shut up.

[limitededitionsanderssidesblog]

What Is Deceit Really After?

 In light of the latest Sanders Sides video, Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, a part of the video that came in early on and lasted only a few seconds really stuck with me.

The moment I'm talking about is during Remus’s introductory song when Remus suddenly pulls attention away from himself and his role to tell Thomas about a conversation he had with Deceit prior to the video: 

Remus: Speaking of honesty, recently a snake offered me a morsel from the tree of knowledge. He [Deceit] said, “You’re wanting to be more honest and be direct dealing with your issues. No longer will you deceive yourself about the ugliness within you.”

While I find it strange that Remus took a little detour to mention this conversation, I found it even stranger that Deceit, someone who appears to be very selfish with his own agenda, would spend time offering Remus a chance to get what it was he wanted.

As it was said before back in Can LYING Be Good??, Deceit has the ability to hide and keep away anything that Thomas doesn’t want to know or denies about himself. Throughout the video, Thomas was trying to tell the others, and himself, that the thoughts Remus was giving him wasn’t him [Thomas] and that he didn’t want them. So, in accordance with one of Deceit’s cannon responsibilities, Remus shouldn’t even be there and should still be tucked away where Thomas would be unaware of him. But Deceit deliberately set him free.

Why?

Well first let’s look to the next, and final, time Deceit is brought up (indirectly) in the episode:

Logan: I can’t imagine how someone would fake not doing something, other than by doing something and hiding that they’re doing it.

Remus: Ooh, how fun! You know who can help us with that? *Deceit’s music plays in the background* *suggesting that Deceit has to do with the topic of conversation*

Here it is practically confirmed by Remus that Deceit is doing something secretly behind the scenes. Deceit seems to have an agenda, as said by Patton in Selfishness v. Selflessness.

Patton: You always seem to have some bigger plan, some agenda.

Deceit: Doesn’t everyone?

Patton: Well not everyone is so secretive about theirs.

Deceit: Everything has a purpose, and sometimes fulfilling your purpose requires keeping things close to the chest.

Notice Deceit’s wording here: “fulfilling your purpose.” What is Deceit’s purpose as a functioning side again? Well, let’s revisit his first episode again to how Patton described him after he was first found out and left:

Patton: Kiddo, simply put, Deceit is an inner coach that acts with the one intention of self-preservation. 

By desiring the preservation of Thomas, similar to say Logan and/or Virgil with less moral construct, Deceit’s agenda could very well be his way of trying to take control of Thomas’s life in an attempt to steer it in a way that he deems is in Thomas’s best interest. He’s already done this when he tried to convince Thomas to ditch Lee and Marily (Mary Lee?)’s wedding in favor of attending a call back for a movie under a famous director that could exponentially increase Thomas’s status in life, better his future path, and create numerous opportunities in which to sustain and secure himself.

What Deceit is after is security.

Again, during Deceit’s interrogation in SvS, after he went on a whole spiel about the dangers of an authoritative society, he said that his main concern for Thomas in regards to that society was/is:

Deceit: I don’t want Thomas to be disadvantaged in a world where you can die for not following the laws made in the name of a lie.

Deceit states his goal of protecting Thomas from getting hurt from the dangers of a society that is loosely kept in order by a fragile mutual agreement that could easily be broken by anyone. But do you know what would keep Thomas safe if that society were to suddenly break?

Climbing up the social ladder.

But what does any of this have to do with why Deceit suddenly decided to unleash the gremlin bastard child that is Remus?

Well first off Remus’s whole goal was to get Thomas to realize that he isn’t as innocent and pure as he thought and get him to realize that he, and his creative content, is capable of so much more. Similar to how Deceit tried to get Thomas to realize that he was more capable of selfish acts and had more of a tendency for lying then he let himself believe.

Thomas’s goodie goodie attitude of altruism severely limits Thomas in Deceit’s eyes. His over the top concern to care for others before himself keeps him from taking opportunities that would benefit him (at the expense of another) or do things that he’d in enjoy (but would mean putting himself before a friend). In Deceit’s mind, Thomas is never going to be well secured and safe if he won’t take care of his own needs before the needs of another.

So, in order to combat the issue, Deceit is trying to tip the scale of power in Thomas’s mind by using three different methods.

1. Unleashing more of the dark sides so that their influence away from an altruistic outlook would increase.

2. Seducing the light sides to be in their favor against altruism.

3. Making Virgil a dark side again

We saw Deceit go to Remus and convince him that the time had come that he reveals himself and no longer live in the shadow of his brother Roman and finally take his rightful place as Thomas’s creativity. While it did fail in the end, Deceit had a momentary success by disturbing Patton and Virgil so much that they consistently hounded on Thomas to the point that he couldn’t sleep and started questioning himself and the choices he had recently made.

His other method, which he did previous to his plan with Remus, was trying to gain more control by taking over the light sides. Seducing Patton is literally pointless since he’s the main source of the altruism, so Deceit tried to pull both Roman and Logan to his side. For Roman, he played on his dreams of fame and fortune and his desire to act and be on the “silver screen.” For Logan, he tried to go about it objectively, what would benefit Thomas’s well being and offer them an opportunity. This almost worked with Roman, as Roman, covertly, sided with Deceit throughout SvS, only for him to switch back to siding with the light sides even at the expense of his own dream and goal.

So bada bing bada boom, two failures already and almost no progress made, or has there?

At the end of DwIT, we have the long-awaited reveal that Virgil was a dark side in the past. While for much of the fandom that fact was obvious, but for Thomas, it wasn’t.

For Virgil, his time as a dark side is not something he is proud or fond of, and why would he be? As Virgil stated, he used to be terrified of Remus, and his resentful relationship with Deceit was clearly toxic. The others were not good friends, and he probably wasn’t one to them either, which would explain Virgil’s demeanor in the earlier episodes as cold and cruel to the light sides, because that’s how he was conditioned. 

The dark sides are also obviously not the most beneficial or helpful assents to Thomas, so this could cause Virgil to think back about he also used to be, or still is, in his mind, a hindrance to Thomas and would make him loath that time he spent with them even more and want to keep it hidden so that Thomas’s newly improved impression of Virgil, that he worked so hard for, wouldn’t be damaged.

But the dark sides keep on coming, and he isn’t able to control them or deal with them as he thought he could. These sides keep on appearing and poking at him for who he used to be so much that it cornered him to reveal his darkest secret just so Thomas wouldn’t have to hear it from them.

Look at Virgil’s face as he tells Thomas of his true nature:

His eyes are red and his lips are tight and slightly quivering. He’s scared to say anything, but he had to.

And Thomas’s reaction? Exactly what Virgil was afraid of:

He steps away and looks at Virgil with fear.

Again, what does any of this have to do with Deceit’s agenda? 

Revealing Virgil was the agenda. Or at least part of it.

Going back to the end credit scene of EMBARRASSING PHASES, when Deceit suddenly dropped in on Virgil it wasn’t just for some casual banter with an old colleague, it was to prove a point. The point that Virgil hasn’t, and can’t, change from who he once was. I discussed this before in my other theories (Virgil’s Hidden Past and Virgil Isn’t What He Seems) but what Deceit is trying to do is to get Virgil to stop denying who he really is and take off the disguise he’s been wearing as a “light” side.

But why does it matter that Virgil stop “faking” being a light side?

It’s as I said before, Deceit is trying to shift the power to the dark sides in the mind, and turning Virgil back to how he was when he was an antagonist may do just that.

Despite once being a dark side, I’ve noticed that Virgil is different than the others. Unlike with Deceit and Remus, Virgil was never kept from Thomas, he’s always been known and able to interact with him and the main sides. And, in comparison to deceitfulness and intrusive thoughts, anxiety has much more impact on the mental, physical, and emotional health. Anxiety can be so intense that it can impede on anyone’s basic well being. And while lying and horrible thoughts can also do this, it’s nothing compared to the scale of damage anxiety is capable of. Virgil’s ability to influence how Thomas thinks and acts has always been powerful, powerful enough to the point that even Deceit couldn’t contain him.  

Virgil may not be Deceit’s main or only agenda, but he’s defiantly on it.

If Deceit were to get someone that powerful back on his side, then he could do whatever was necessary to secure Thomas’s safety. And by the looks of how broken Virgil was when he finally revealed himself:

It’s working.

[consultingmadhatter]

Compilation of Doom Days Lyrics that Relate to Good Omens

I started writing this shortly after the series and the album came out, so please forgive that this is really late to the party, any inconsistencies due to working on this over a long period of time, the fact that I haven’t watched the series in over a year so some of this is written when the show isn’t fresh in my mind, and if anything in the fandom or my personal stances have changed since I started writing this.

*Most of this will be about Crowley and Aziraphale. My personal view on the two of them is that they definitely love each other, but whether they are romantically attracted to each other is entirely dependent on whether an angel and a demon (who have been around humans for 6000 years) are capable of feeling them human sensations of romance and if so whether it would be something they would have to consciously choose to feel or whether it would be automatic and involuntary like it is with humans. I can see it either way, so this analysis will probably be a mixture.

*The lyrics for each will be out of order and will instead be in the sequence that I deem easiest for presenting my analyst

*I worked on the songs out of order so there might be places where I only briefly touch upon something and act as if it is just of another example of something I don’t actually end up talking about until a later track. Apologies for any confusion that may cause.

This ended up being way longer than I thought it would so I’m going to start with the Bad Decisions analysis as a sample and put the rest under the cut. The rest are in album order; I didn’t have much for Quarter Past Midnight, so I thought Bad Decisions would be a better example. (Another Place is the most shippy one if that is what you are looking for).

Bad Decisions:

“You said that maybe this is where it ends Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made Bad decisions that we made And if we're going down in flames Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made Bad decisions that we made”

Armageddon has arrived; the world is ending. Aziraphale and Crowley have always made bad decisions both in their acts of stupidity (looking at you Azi, wandering over to France during a revolution just for some crepes dressed as conspicuously as possible) and their decisions to “fraternize” with the enemy and to question and mildly disobey heaven and hell. Arguably, they weren’t the wrong decisions, but as doomsday approaches they will have to reckon with opposing the cosmic forces at work (”take a bow”).

“So we'll make the same mistakes 'Til the morning breaks So we'll make the same mistakes 'Til the morning breaks”

But they are not going to back down. They are going to continue to make the same “mistake” of working together and trying to stop Armageddon until the very end.

“London's burning”-The M25 catches fire; London is literally burning. “If the world is ending, let's stay up all night”- They are spending every moment they can trying to stop Armageddon and when it looks like they will fail they are still being kept “up all night” by their separate crises. (Yes, I know this line is meant to be more along the lines of “let’s make the most of the time we have left by having a good time” but I’m changing it for the Good Omens context)

“Now we find ourselves lying right here Always find ourselves lying right here Can we make the same mistakes (Ooh) 'Til the morning breaks”

“Do you remember what you said to me? 'Cause we lost track of time Yeah, we lost track of time”

These lyrics remind me of how they always find themselves drawn together. Their decision to stop the ending of the world is built on 6000 years of trust and friendship and history together. (I don’t really have a more specific interpretation but I hope it’s clear what I’m saying and I’m sure a more fleshed out explanation could be made). Also, though they went through some rough patches, when it comes right down to it, they would never want to stop making the “same mistakes” of working together and being friends, and they always come back to each other.

“Love me, leave me”- Throughout their relationship there have been a lot of instances of them meeting up and then going their separate ways for years. Over time their love for each other has grown. When Crowley asks for holy water, Aziraphale cares for him to much to give him a suicide pill; they have an argument and end up not speaking to each other for decades. Then Crowley shows up at the church during WWII to get his angel out of a sticky situation, demonstrates his love by saving the books, and then he’s away again. Later, in the Bentley, Aziraphale can’t stand seeing Crowley risking his life, so he delivers the holy water himself. But Aziraphale is not yet in a place where he can give in to his feelings for Crowley and ends up leaving him again. When it looks like they won’t be able to stop Armageddon, Crowley offers for them to run away to runaway together, but still Aziraphale can’t bring himself to say yes and he leaves him again.

“You always let me down so tenderly”- Each time Aziraphale rejects Crowley, it may hurt both of them, but he’s never saying “I don’t love you;” he’s saying “I can’t let myself love you.” Even when he says he doesn’t even like Crowley, they both know it’s a lie. He’s just in a difficult position being torn between his identity as an angel and his feelings for Crowley. Decades earlier he had left it open ended with the “You go to fast for me” and the suggestion of a picnic or dining at the Ritz.

“So live fast and die young and stay forever numb”- For me this one is less about what is in the actual show but rather some of the head cannons going around. These include the ones about Crowley’s presence in the nightlife culture of the 60′s and 70′s and how that coincides with Aziraphale’s “You go to fast for me, Crowley” line. Also theories that Crowley is depressed and self destructive which is why Aziraphale is worried about Crowley using the holy water on himself. In the show you can see he is suffering when he talks about how he hadn’t meant to fall and when he pleads with God about testing humanity to destruction. It could then be argued that in his 6000 years on earth Crowley spent some time trying to distract himself from this pain by acting in the demon/angel equivalent to “living fast, dying young.”

Quarter Past Midnight:

*This is the one that I have the least for. I almost put it at the end because I didn’t think i could connect it enough to Good Omens to leave it among the other songs. Some of the other songs might also have few direct connections, but I feel the essence of the songs in those cases still match better to the series than Quarter Past Midnight does. So please bear with me here.

“Help me piece it all together, darling Before it falls apart oh”

The world itself is about to fall apart. Crowley and Aziraphale are trying to piece together what they know to find the antichrist and in general they work together to try to stop the end of the world.

“And you said we'd leave this place in dust”-Crowley asks Aziraphale to run away with him.

“And fall from heaven straight through hell”

Crowley has already fallen (or sauntered). Aziraphale, throughout, is worried about falling from heaven’s grace.

“We never know what we have We never knew what we had”

I believe Aziraphale struggled to understand what he truly had with his relationship with Crowley. Crowley was the one who recognized their bond in the beginning, and he was the one who actively pursued establishing a friendship. Even later on, in the church during WWII, Aziraphale truly believed their friendship was over; he hadn’t seen Crowley in nearly a hundred years, yet he still showed up to rescue him.

“Why are we always chasing after something Like we trying to throw our lives away”

Some general angsting about the risk of them getting punished for “fraternizing” and Aziraphale being concerned that hell would actually destroy Crowley. “Chasing after something,” perhaps chasing after their relationship.

“We keep on running Running through a red light Like we're trying to burn the night away”

Crowley’s driving. The Bentley being on fire.

The Waves:

“Staring down the barrel of a hundred tons”- They are up against very formidable opponents: all of heaven and hell, the four horsemen, and finally Satan himself.

“It might be getting older, but the night's still young”- As Armageddon approaches they are rapidly running out of time, but dooms day is still young and the whole crew pull off a lot in a very little time.

“We never, never give up on the lost boy life”- Crowley and Aziraphale never grow out of the theoretical naivety of working and being friends with someone from the other side

“So here we are, escaping from the world outside”- Crowley suggests literally escaping and running away together. They have also tended to avoid and escape the political dynamics of heaven and hell and their opposition to each other. In the end they even escape their punishments.

“Oh, what would your mother say if she could see what we're doing now? Oh, what would your mother say if she could hear what we talk about?”

In a way God is their mother wondering what she would say about Crowley and Aziraphale’s plans and actions aligns with the question of whether they were going against God’s will or whether their actions were actually part of her bigger plans.

“The waves are crashing down on you and me again, again, again The waves are crashing down on you and me I'll see you on the other side Get carried, get carried away, oh-oh-oh-oh Caught up in, caught up in the wave”

Both heaven and hell and all the events of Armageddon are crashing down on them. The get caught up in this struggle between the sides and it threatens to sweep them away. There are moments like when Crowley and Aziraphale promise to meet up in Tadfield after Crowley finds out that Aziraphale is still alive and when they are captured for their punishments that they just have to hope that they will see each other on the other side.

“So tie a ribbon 'round my arm and throw me in”

During the entire mess they are each other’s life line. Even when they get separated, they are able to find each other again and make it through the chaos.

“We sink or swim”

They are in it together and either they will succeed, stopping the apocalypse and surviving the wrath of heaven and hell, or they will fail and it is all over for them.

“Is it an apocalypse or nihilism on your lips?”

I’ve been trying to come up with something really profound and clever to say about this but I haven’t been able to come up with something. Obviously the apocalypse is in there. Crowley and eventually Aziraphale do certainly reject the institutions of heaven and hell and point out that many of the morals heaven imposes are arbitrary, but they definitely don’t go as far as saying that all morals are arbitrary/baseless or that life is meaningless or that knowledge is impossible. If I had to place this line to a specific moment in the series, I would probably associate with the scene in the first episode where Crowley is convincing Aziraphale that they should try to stop Armageddon since there is some element of accepting the apocalypse or deciding that the supposed agenda of the higher power is meaningless.

“Suddenly we're fallin' through the twilight zone”- A lot of weird stuff happens when Adam comes into his powers

“Watch the party playing out in slow motion” - they stop time during that final confrontation with Satan to give Adam a pep-talk

Divide:

“Roll the window down, let the air blow 'round you A sadness in the breeze as the night divides us”

They had several scenes in the Bentley together, but that second line brings it back to that night in 1967, saturated in sad tones, as Aziraphale leaves him again.

“In these darker days, I push the limit to the love you offer There's a riot in my head, demanding we do this forever”

Darker days can be both the the final days as Armageddon approaches and that period when their relationship was strained and Aziraphale was pushing Crowley out of his life. In both cases Aziraphale was pushing the limits of Crowley’s love. During Armageddon he rejected Crowley’s multiple offers to run away together and during that stretch 1862-1967 his responses ranged from what was essentially a “wait for me” to that heated declaration of not needing him. With the next line, Aziraphale is torn between Crowley and heaven, and he wishes that he didn’t have to chose, that they could continue toeing the line with their friendship without getting in trouble. However, he knows that Crowley wants more, and eventually Aziraphale will have to give something up.

“So roll the window down, won't let you go like this Go like this, go like this Roll the window down, won't let you go like this Go like this, go like this”

Crowley won’t give up on Aziraphale. Even after declaring he will run off with out him, he still comes back to find Aziraphale, even running into a burning bookshop for him.

“Why would we divide when we could come together? Just bodies that collide, lost and found each other So don't, don't leave me alone Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone Why would we divide when we could come together?”

In the beginning, their arrangement was defined as “Why fight each other when we could work together and still reach the same effect.” Over time their relationship evolved. Aziraphale still believes there is an inherent divide between them, saying they are on opposite sides. However, Crowley argues they are really on their own side and that they should not just work together, but runoff together. “Just bodies that collide,” again, they are like celestial bodies that have crossed paths and now they are pulled together. “Lost and found each other,” when Aziraphale gets discorporated in the book shop, Crowley truly believes he has lost his best friend, and even Aziraphale has a moment of panic that he won’t be able to return to earth. They are reunited again at the bar and in-person at the airbase. Crowley never wants to lose Aziraphale. When it looks like they won’t be able to save the world, Crowley begs Aziraphale to head to the stars with him. When he thought he lost Aziraphale, he was devastated and was having a break down. Earlier, he ran into a church to save Aziraphale from some Nazis. Crowley is desperate for Aziraphale not to leave him.

“Looking back around, glamorize the chaos Don't let summer nights destroy everything before us”

Everything is in complete chaos during those days leading up to Armageddon. Each night that passed was leading closer to the end. Everything would have been destroyed on that fateful summer day. Perhaps when it was all over, Crowley and Aziraphale reminisced about what happened because, even though it was a disaster, it led to them becoming free.

Million Pieces:

“No one is loving, it's not a drill Don't look outside, the world is ending (Faster, faster, faster, faster, fast)”

It is not a drill, Armageddon is starting. The time they have to stop it is running out. It goes from 11 years to less than a week to mere hours. And well heaven and hell never liked each other, the period where they would tolerate/look other way as two of their agents “love thy enemy” is over. It is time to cut ties with the other side.

“The king's a clown”- the leadership in Heaven and Hell are definitely clowns

“We're too far gone Nothing I say will mean anything”

That point where both Crowley and Aziraphale believe it is too late to stop it. Aziraphale realizes nothing that he can say to his side will make them change their mind. Throughout the series Aziraphale struggles with going against heaven’s wishes, but Crowley points out that if world does end that they will be stuck in their respective awful eternities as well as that they are on “our side” so in a way it doesn’t matter if they say (or do) things that go against their sides’ orders.

“Just drink, fuck, dance right through disaster” -While they don’t really “drink, fuck, dance” through disaster, Crowley does offer for them to run away together while everything else turns into a “burning puddle of goo,” which has a similar feeling of escapism.

“The echoes of that news ring loud (The echoes, the echoes) No sound can ever drown it out (The echoes)”

For Aziraphale that news was probably when God’s representative told him that they were going to go ahead with war instead of avoiding it. You can see on his face that that is the point that he lost all hope in his side doing the right thing and finally decides to abandon them completely. For Crowley it would be when the book shop burns down and he thinks he lost Aziraphale for good.

“Don't speak, 'cause it's like a bitter pill”

This goes along with the two moments I was talking about above, but it also fits with every time that Aziraphale rejected Crowley in some way. Probably also when Crowley asked for the holy water and Aziraphale thought that Crowley was thinking about killing himself.

“It breaks my heart It breaks my heart into a million pieces, oh It breaks my heart into a million pieces If it's gonna break me, won't you let me go? Leave it 'til the morning, I don't wanna know Breaks my heart Breaks my heart into a million pieces”

Again, the moments I was talking about directly above. In general, when the characters are at their bleakest, no-hope, desperate moments.  

Doom Days:

“When I watch the world burn All I think about is you When I watch the world burn All I think about is you”

As the world is ending, all Crowley and Aziraphale are thinking about is each other. After finding out that Aziraphale is still alive, Crowley is determined enough to hold his Bentley together as he drives through the inferno of the M-25.

“Cruising through the doom days”

This, in general, conjures images of anytime Crowley is driving way too fast as he tries to find a way to stop the end of the world, but the scene on the M-25 is particularly fitting.

“God knows what is real and what is fake”

Adam has been altering reality, doing and creating things that defy the logic of the real world. When it is all over and he puts everything back to the way it was, people still remember what happened and are left in a confusion of whether any of it was real.

“Last couple years have been a mad trip”

During the eleven year lead up to Armageddon, everything is a little crazy. Heaven and hell are now focused on making sure it all goes to plan and Crowley and Aziraphale are trying their hardest to stop it. After years of trying to influence Warlock, they learn that they have the wrong boy and all that effort was for nothing. From that point on everything descends into even greater chaos.

“We fucked this house up like the planet We were running riot Crazy that some people still deny it”

Climate change and humanity’s effects on the earth are touched upon in the series. It is mentioned more in the books as Adam takes action to address issues such as deforestation and the dying whales, but it shows up in the TV show too. The aliens even try to give earth a ticket for it.

“Let's pick the truth that we believe in Like a bad religion Tell me all your original sins So many questionable choices We love the sound that our voice makes Man, this echo chamber's getting loud”

This of course brings in the religious elements. Focusing on that context, these lines can relate to the questionable and morally ambiguous areas of the religious structure depicted in the show. Heaven has chosen to believe in “the truth” that violence and killing people are justified if it is part of the path to righteousness. Crowley questions Aziraphale about such choices during the flood scene, horrified that even the children would die. Many of the head angels and demons are so certain of themselves and the correctness of their actions that they seem smug about it. They appear to derive pleasure from hearing themselves speak, especially when it is to chastise others. Heaven and Hell echo each other on the matter of the war, and, no matter who Aziraphale or Crowley speak to, they say the same thing: the war is too be fought, not avoided.

From a Crowley and Aziraphale perspective, they choose for themselves what is right and what is wrong. They (mostly Crowley) question whether the “sins” others have committed are truly wrong and bad enough to warrant the punishments they received. This includes the original sin with the apple and Crowley himself falling just because he asked some questions and hung out with the wrong people. Each inhabits a grey area in their roles as a demon and an angel due to their questionable choices to bend the rules and will of their prospective sides.

In a more general interpretation, these lyrics describe the chaotic state humanity has reached, especially in the years leading up to the apocalypse. This divisive type of mindset can be used by the four horsemen to help spread the plights they represent.

“We'll be the proud remainers Here 'til the morning breaks us”

Crowley, Aziraphale, Anathema, Newton, and the Them (as well as Madame Tracy and Sergeant Shadwell to some extent) are the “proud remainers,” the ones who fight the apocalypse.

“We're gonna rabbit hole down, third act love now”

It is not until the third act, after the climax and resolution of Armageddon, that Crowley and Aziraphale can finally be together since they are finally on their own side. Their love story resolves itself on the bench as they wait for the bus and at the Ritz.

“We'll stay offline so no one gets hurt Hiding from the real world Just don't read the comments ever, ever”

“Think I'm addicted to my phone My scrolling horror show I'm live-streaming the final days of Rome One tab along, it's pornographic Everybody's at it No surprise we're so easily bored”

Technology isn’t mentioned that much in the show, and even less in the original book since it was released almost 30 years earlier. However, I do like all the fan theories and head canons about heaven and hell’s influence in the development of technology, especially Crowley’s role. Perhaps he had a hand in establishing humanity’s current cyber addiction. Maybe he orchestrated the entire thing, maybe he just helped out with a few aspects (developing certain apps, creating specific smart phone/social media features, etc), maybe he had nothing to do with it and just took credit for it, maybe he doesn’t really care about it at all. Either way, technology and social media are a major component of the current state of humanity.

Nocturnal Creatures:

“You put your arms around me Partners in crime in the dead of night”

Partners in crime definitely describes Crowley and Aziraphale, and, by the time the series ends, a gesture of intimacy such as putting their arms around each other doesn’t seem out of the question.

“We've only got ourselves to blame Again and again and again Again and again and again”

Crowley and Aziraphale are the ones to get themselves in trouble whether it is accidentally (Aziraphale in 1941, losing the antichrist) or a conscious choice (working together, trying to advert the war). They are both disobedient and incompetent.

“Let every night play out the same 'Cause I wouldn't, I wouldn't change a thing”

Another set of lyrics that describes how content they are when they are with each other and that they are happy just being together. Besides finally reaching a place where they don’t have to hide anymore, they wouldn’t change a thing.

“We're nocturnal creatures, we own the night And we don't need a reason if we want to lose our minds We're nocturnal creatures, drawn to the flame And the morning doesn't reach us Well, not until we want it to, want it to”

In the end, when Aziraphale and Crowley are a united force, they are unstoppable. This part of the song embodies the new confidence they have, especially after dealing with heaven and hell’s attempts at punishing them. They are reveling in their new found freedom which leads to the clip at the end of the song:

“We received the freedom but we were completely unaware what to do with this freedom It felt like the hungry people received the foods and we just ate everything” 

Unlike in this clip, they know what to do with their freedom. They are going to dine at the Ritz and start their new life together. They have been starved of being allowed to show each other their full level of affection for 6000 year, so if they get carried away and  “eat  everything” (*wink, wink*), who can blame them.

“No moon, no stars above us The orange sky says the night's alive This time with you's elastic We stretch these hours as far as we can make them go”

Holding on to their time together, whether it’s desperately clinging to the moments they share in secrecy during the first 6000 years, or enjoying those first days together when they don’t have to hide and that promise a beginning to hopeful future.

“It's our weekend religion A different chord but the same refrain”

Crowley has always had his own definitions of right and wrong. He asked questions and disapproved of punishing people indiscriminately, especially the children. Even in his role as a demon, he spreads evil differently, favoring free will and creating circumstances where the humans to do the bad things of their volition. Because of his relationship with Crowley, Aziraphale started questioning Heaven too. 

4AM:

“Tuesday'll be doom day, this got out of hand”

Technically doomsday occurs on Saturday in Good Omens, but this lyric has the same level of immediacy for the end of the world approaching. Things did get out of hand for Crowley and Aziraphale. They thought they might be able to advert the apocalypse if they raised the child to be normal, but, when the hell hound failed to show up, they realized they were in trouble, and things continued to spin out of control from there.

“Here, here, my family (Might be a walking disaster) You are my familiar, you are my familiar (Not much, but all I would ask for) Here, here, my friends and me (Might be a walking disaster) You are my familiar (Not much, but all I would ask for)”

Crowley and Aziraphale are friends, family, each other’s familiar, two halves of the same soul, and more. Being with each other is all they would ask for in the world. That’s why “or I’ll never speak to you again” is the greatest threat for them both. They are also both walking disasters (They spent eleven years trying to stop Armageddon and in the end they only played a minor part in what actually went down).

“Oh, there is nowhere I would rather be Never felt more comfortable, could never want for more when I'm here No, there is nowhere I would rather be, oh-oh Never felt more comfortable, could never want for more when you're near”

Again, they are happiest when they are with each other. They got their ideal ending when heaven and hell left them alone and allowed them to spend the rest of their lives together without having to hide it.

“I don't care if we're talking 'bout the same things I don't care if we're stuck in the familiar I don't care if we're going 'round in circles Again, again, again”

I feel like this describes how comfortable they are with each other that they would be content just talking about whatever and doing the same old things as long as they are with each other.

Another Place:

  *I started this one in another post, but I’m going to do the full explanation here. I’m probably just going to steal some bits directly from that post. (Also for this one to fit I’m using the full romantic interpretation of their relationship).

This song is the epitome of all those feelings Aziraphale has in his internal struggle with and conflicting feelings over loving Crowley and knowing his place as an angel. It also captures the longing they both feel.

“I am bound to you with a tie that we cannot break With a night that we can't replace I'm lost but found with you, in a bed that we'll never make It's a feeling we always chase”

Crowley and Aziraphale have had a connection for 6000 years. They are bound to each other and even if they tried to they could never truly escape that. Both Crowley and Aziraphale are lost: Crowley never meant to fall, all he did was ask questions and now Aziraphale is starting to question heaven too. When they are together, they don’t feel so lost. They have found themselves in each other, yet Crowley is the one who encouraged Aziraphale to become lost in the first place. And they can never truly be together because heaven and hell would never approve. Instead they have small moments of intimacy, chasing those feelings.

“Oh, in another place In another time, what could we have been?”

If they weren’t an angel and a demon, if they weren’t risking everything if they got caught, what could they have been.

“You go too fast for me, Crowley.” Maybe one day they could have a picnic or dine at the Ritz. Maybe one day they could be together if Aziraphale can come to terms with defying heaven and having his existence no longer being strictly defined by his role as an angel. But this is not that time.

“So lie to me tonight and pretend 'til the morning light And imagine that you are mine 'Cause when the sun will rise with the truth coming out your eyes We'll be good in another life”

When the apocalypse is averted and they no longer have a side, that’s when they can indulge those feelings. They are not in the clear yet; the wrath of heaven and hell will still be coming down upon them, but they don’t have to worry about that until the morning. Just for that one night they can pretend that everything is alright and spend the night at Crowley’s place and be together. If they survive tomorrow, they will finally be truly free. That “other life” will finally have arrived. They can dine at the Ritz and will no longer have to hide their love for each other.

“I could write a book about the things that you said to me on the pillow And the way you think, and how you make me feel You can fill my mind and move my body with the fiction, fantasies Just call this what it is, we don't pretend it's real”

The singing and the beat in this part of the song... I can’t quite describe it but it feels so intimate. It sounds like someone who is absolutely intoxicated by their feelings for the other person and being driven crazy by their need to be with them. Aziraphale and Crowley have come to know each other so well, and their connection to each other is stronger than that of any humans; they are bound to each other’s very existence. Therefore, I believe there must have been moments where they were completely overwhelmed by their love for the other, where it feels like all their thoughts and actions are being overtaken by their longing and desire to be with them. The orbit each other and gravitationally pulled together.

“Feels like something's special but it never felt like love Wonder what we could be living in another life Catch us in the mirror and it looks a lot like love Then you stop me talking as you kiss me from above”

Because Aziraphale has so much trouble coming to terms with the fact that he loves Crowley, I doubt he let himself consider for even one second that those feelings might go beyond on just loving Crowley in a fraternal way, but in a romantic way. Crowley too might have stopped short of thinking about showing his affection for Aziraphale in the traditional human ways of kissing and so on. But to many of the viewers, and maybe even the characters in the show, it does look like a romance, especially in that last scene at the Ritz when they are no longer holding back. Cue all the fanart and drabbles/fanfics of them kissing, dating, etc.

Those Nights:

“Those nights when your friends are gone When you're holding on for someone to leave with Those nights when you crave someone To be there at dawn, to wake with, 'cause aren't we all just Looking for a little bit of hope these days? Looking for somebody you can wake up with? Looking for a little bit of hope these days? We are, we are”

As the end of the world approaches, Crowley and Aziraphale both feel lost. They each have permanently cut ties to their respective side, so now all they have is each other. After the book shop burns, there is a stretch where they both believe they don’t even have each other. But they have always had each other. They found that person who would be there with them early on. It just took them awhile to realize/admit it.

When things are at their darkest, each is looking for some hope. Aziraphale goes to his higher ups, hoping they would be willing to advert the war, and, when that doesn’t work, he tries to contact God Herself; however, he receives the same answer there. Crowley too makes a plea to God to not test humanity to its destruction, but he knows that it is pointless. Crowley does, however, hope that Aziraphale will leave the planet with him, and he continues to hold out for that even after Azirphale rejects his offer.

“You'll never get to heaven on a night like this”

“You try to get to heaven on a night like this But you, you never get to heaven on a night like this”

“We'll never get to heaven”

Neither one will ever be forgiven by heaven or hell. They can never go back to what they were. However, by the end, both seem to have already happily accepted that.

“I can feel your eyes in the back of my head Burning, burning, burning Floating through the room as the hairs on my arms are Rising, rising, rising I'm chemically drawn closer to you Eyes wide, eyes wide open Will you be my future or just an escape? Love me, love me, love me”

“Pulling at my t-shirt, your hands everywhere Rising, rising, rising As you trip and fall, dragging me up the stairs What's your, what's your name, now?”

I’ll just leave these lyrics here for you all to picture since this crosses more into the world of fan fiction again.

Joy:

*This is the other one that I don’t have much for. The song describes a kind of specific moment that doesn’t really fit with the series, but the general idea of that one person who can always bring you joy does describe Crowley and Aziraphale. So again, bear with me. (Maybe this one is more of an epilogue of their life after the series ends).

“I'm your walking disaster, keep on dragging me From self-pity, poor me”

They are both walking disasters, but they are each other’s walking disaster. I’m not sure how much self-pity there is but maybe they help the other one pull themself together (or at least pull themselves from individual walking disasters into a collective walking disaster).

“Thought I'd never be waking on the kitchen floor But here I lie, not the first time Now my morning has broken, and it brings the fear My mind's falling, falling” “Take a walk through the wreckage, clearing out my head”

I feel like this would describe the morning after the world was saved. They survived the worst of it but they still are going to have to face the consequences of opposing heaven and hell.

“Then I feel my pulse quickening But regrets can't change anything”

“Then I feel my pulse quickening But I wouldn't change a thing”

Abandoning Heaven was a hard decision for Aziraphale and it probably took a little time to fully come to terms with (for example he was still thinking about what his side would think about him staying at Crowley’s place after everything was over). Of course he’s glad he made that choice, but maybe he regrets not fully joining Crowley sooner or those times in the past that he chose heaven over Crowley. But then again, everything turned out for the best and they still have their whole future together so he wouldn’t change anything even if he could.

“Oh Joy, when you call me I was giving up, oh, I was giving in Joy, set my mind free I was giving up, oh, I was giving in” “How'd you always know when I'm down?”

I feel like this is their reunion when Crowley realizes Aziraphale isn’t gone. But this could just also be their general dynamic for the rest of their lives together where they are each other’s rock and always know when the other is feeling down and how to cheer to cheer them up.

“I hear your eyes roll right down the phone” - You just know this happens often

“As the night dissolves into this final frame You're a sweet relief, you saved me from my brain”

As the series ends on that final moment of them dining at the Ritz, finally together and happy. They saved each other from a lot of inner turmoil and now they will always have each other.

*If you read all this or even just skimmed it, thank you so much! It means a lot. I did not expect this to take over a year to complete, yet here I am. I know neither the show nor the album is topical any more so some of that initial buzz/excitement/interest has died away. So it means even more to me if you still took the time to read this now!

[silver-kitsuneneko]

How to Deal with Cyberbullying as an Adult

I’m writing this because sadly, I hadn’t seen any posts or guides to help people with being bullied online, which is a shame because it’s a very important thing to know, especially when it’s no longer in the realm of teenagers but when adults are being cyberbullied. This guide is for those who are eighteen and over. Cyberbullying has become a growing problem over the years and with the whole cancel culture movement it’s gotten even worst. People are going after creators who did something someone didn’t like twenty years ago, someone was accused of something without proper evidence and of course that can’t fly and more often than not, someone disagreeing with someone over a show/media/fandom etc. and will of course make that person’s life a living hell just because. As someone was on the receiving end of cyberbullying for three years, I think I can give some insight on what to do and not do as a final chapter of this horrible incident and I can finally move on.

 Rule One: DO NOT RETALIATE. I know this is HARD like very hard but it’ll only make things worse. Seriously, don’t take this as an “I’m not going to back down!” or “How dare they?! I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!” moment, just Ignore, delete and BLOCK. Seriously, if not, you’re going to get a lot more than you bargained for:

 So yeah, just IGNORE.

 Rule Two: DeviantART is NEVER going to help you. Many of you use DA as your place to post art, especially teenagers. If you think DA is going to magically help you by banning them because let’s face it, DA is good for banning and suspending accounts but they really don’t care about the personal safety of their users. They don’t care if someone steals art, they don’t care if someone is harassing you, they don’t care if you’re being threatened. Their only “solution” is to block the person, knowing that people make multiple accounts just to harass a user. But as long as they get their money from their core users, they don’t care. However, this doesn’t mean that all sites are like this: Tumblr, Wattpad, FF.net, and a few others have excellent and better ways to deal with Cyberbullies and harassment, though with the user being anon things can be tricky.

 Rule three: Document everything! And I do mean everything! every single message geared towards you, anything that you know for a fact is suppose to be about you, anything that harassment and does not make you feel safe, DOCUMENT IT. Make sure you get the time and date stamp and make sure you get the website they posted it on. If you don’t know how to screen shot via desktop, there’s a Snipping tool that will do the dirty work for you better! Here are some examples on what I did. Please note that the following is very disturbing.

  As you can see, these edgelord postings are in fact a death threat and needed to be reported. I’m glad I got it and sent it through proper channels. Which brings me to my next point.

 Rule Four: Local law enforcement cannot help you, especially if your cyberbully is in another country. You can’t contact their police equivalent either because it’s a cybercrime not a “domestic” crime. They can’t do anything to help you.

 Rule Five: Contact the FBI cyber unit. Yes, there’s a FBI unit for cybercrimes. Harassment, death threats, cyberstalking, and cyberbullying are crimes. Get as much information as you can on your harasser. This could mean usernames, locations, and if you can, names. My cyberstalker posted her real name and location because she was an artist so things like her name, location, and email were posted everywhere and it was just easy to get what I needed to file a report. Don’t be ashamed and don’t be scared to do so. The form is simple and you can use that evidence you collected to show that you are indeed being harassed. The website can be found here: https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

 Rule Six: Don’t post your plight to your fans, on your page, or anything like that. As much as you want to vent to your Readers and Fans online, don’t. This will give your cyberbully exactly what they want, a reaction out of you. Also, many of your fans may take it upon themselves to defend you, which is honorable and an awesome thing but at the same time it’ll give them a “Reason” to send their own personal hate army after your or in my cyberbully’s case, even after I apologized, still sent her batshit crazy friends after me for days at a time. If that’s the case then shut down your page temporarily. I know it seems like you’re running but damage control at this point is the best thing you can do especially since they’re making new accounts faster than you can block and delete. If you do what to vent to your readers, use a secret language or something like that to keep everything hushed and secret so only you and your fans would know or set things to private.

 Rule Seven: Don’t post anything too personal about yourself. To many, their page or accounts are their safe places. No I don’t mean this is a SJW, special snowflake, PC culture thing but your personal spot where you can share your thoughts and feelings and post your creations. Sometimes you forget that someone with ill intentions may be using your page to get cannon fodder for later or something of that nature. My bully decided to use my relationship with my parents as a way to bash me and things of that nature and found a post several years before the fact where I told a Reader/ Fan that I didn’t like my name and went by my initials (K.C.) that I realized that she was stalking my page. She even made a journal stating that I was going after her husband, the reason why she didn’t have a job, and that if she killed herself it was my fault because I “drove her to it”. The link to that is here.

https://www.deviantart.com/justwaitforit/journal/The-Cyberbully-Incident-by-Artist-Holly-Rorke-817668170

As you can see, most of it is a very unhinged rambling of someone who really need some help. This is why you should NEVER engage a cyberbully. You don’t know if they’re right in the head or not. 

 Rule Eight: take all the time you need to take care of your mental health. When you’re being harassed at the level I was, it’s weighs on your self-worth, self esteem, mental health, and even your physical health. I felt alone in this fight, I felt like no one was listening to me, and I felt like she was never going to stop. Thanks to @pizzapupperroni, @ mischief-soul-lover, and @incubeebirb, I slowly got through it. In fact, PizzaPupper got me on One Piece as an attempt to do something new and it really helped me. I can’t thank her enough for that. Do things that’ll take your mind off of things, play your favorite video game series, take a break from your page for a little while, engage in a new hobby, block and made sure your bully cannot contact you again if you can. Meditate, take a hot bath/ shower, and just take a few days to yourself before going back to business as usual. Remember your mental health and self worth is more important than your page. Your followers will understand.

Rule Nine: If all else fails, start over. I know this is VERY hard for those who’ve been on platforms for five plus years and built you following or things like that but if the harassment continues, you may have to switch platforms and start over. This is usually a last resort. Usually by the cyber crime report happens, everything is okay again. But sometimes that may not be the case. Think of this as a last resort if this person is really bothering to the point that you can’t take it.

Whew, I was finally able to get all of this off my chest. Hopefully my experience with this cyberbully incident will help many of you approach it better with more and better resources than I did. No one deserves this type of torture and that’s exactly what it is, torture. It’s something that will weigh on your body mind until you feel like there’s nothing left for you to do and it overall makes you feel just unsafe and shitty. Please be safe out there, use you best judgment and learn to not engage. 

[miggydiaz]

for the salty ask: 3, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 for spn

I had to do this one today because I have a LOT of Supernatural feelings and so a lot of these are even longer than my CK one. But thanks for the ask @wonderwolfballoon!

UNPOPULAR SUPERNATURAL OPINIONS AHOY: INCLUDES ANTI-DESTIEL SENTIMENTS AND OTHER UNSAVORY ELEMENTS

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? 100000000% I have unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion in the SPN fandom. SPN was the fandom that taught me to make JUDICIOUS use of the blocking feature tumblr offers in order to curate my experience. I would actually encourage anyone and everyone to use the blocking feature if they disagree with people. Honestly, we don’t owe anyone our time or energy, especially on the internet! It is much healthier than sending or responding to hate, IMO. 7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* This is actually a hard one for me to answer, so let me start by saying -- I have not seen a SINGLE episode since 9x05? I think? Whichever episode was the Dr. Deanlittle one where he talks to animals. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first 5 seasons, and they are all I watch anymore and I pretend nothing else exists after that (except The French Mistake because that episode is hilarious). But uh... I guess the simple answer is when I was originally watching it, I really loved Dean. He was brash, snarky, rough around the edges... but kind of soft in a I’m too toxically masculine to deal with my softness sort of way that I love seeing characters grow out of as they mature. But when I go back and rewatch now, much older than I was in 2006 when I first started watching, I see how awful a lot of his older behavior truly was. I still love Dean, and I will be a Dean girl until I die probably, but sometimes you gotta remind yourself that your faves have been problematic in the past so you don’t put them up on fandom constructed pedestals.

10. Most disliked arc? Why? AND AS A BONUS, MY ANSWER to 11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? I could write a literal essay about all of the problems I have with the later seasons (the ones I watched, which encompasses 6, 7, 8, and a few episodes of 9). But by far and away, the thing I hated most, was the Men of Letters.

Okay, this is where I am going to recognize my love of certain characters is at FUNDAMENTAL ODDS with how that character develops later and what history and background we get later on them. I RECOGNIZE this character is problematic, and I would NEVER STAND for his shit IRL, but fiction is complicated and nuanced, and fantastic circumstances do not make for normal behaviors. That being said, with all warnings I could possibly give, and with the full understanding that what I am about to say is basically fandom blasphemy of the highest order...

I like John Winchester’s character.

I know, I know. If you wanna stop reading and block me now, you are free to do that. I will not hold it against you. I am not about to apologize for anything he has done. I just need to contextualize why I have such an issue with the MOL storyline and it starts with the simple fact that I liked John Winchester as he was originally presented.

To me, and with the full understanding that I am answering this from the perspective of someone who DOES NOT regard anything past season 5 as personal canon, John Winchester is the perfect example of a truly complicated character. Here’s a parent who, if we take the pilot and the original s2 Djinn episodes at face value, could have been a great parent, who then got shoved into a fantastically impossible situation and made terrible choices that he thought were necessary in order to keep himself and his sons safe. That does not EXCUSE the heaps of abuse that he piled onto Dean in any way. We know John and Mary didn’t have a great marriage. But we also know from the pilot that John was at least a caring and present father, mostly,  for the 4 years he got to parent in a normal world, and that if Mary had lived, John would’ve been a softball playing dad who raised his kids and had a loving marriage with his wife. (Again, I need to reiterate, I did not watch anything past the early episodes of s9. If there is later canon that negates this, I do not know about it, nor do I want to because I don’t think of anything past 5 as canon) This is all important to me because these things emphasize that John was “NORMAL”. He was a mechanic, from a family of mechanics, whose father didn’t bail on him (a man in the episode where Dean is transported back in time to Lawrence tells John to ‘say hi to your old man for me’ or something to that effect). He was just a midwestern dude. Giving John Winchester a fantastical background through this Men of Letters bullshit made me SO MAD. First of all, I hate when later canon negates previous canon. I cannon TELL you how much I hate it. And the later seasons of Supernatural are riddled with stuff that doesn’t make any damn sense in the context of original, Kripke written canon, which is exactly why I stopped watching. That’s not ~Evolution of the show.~ That’s conveniently forgetting stuff that made your show and its premise so successful to begin with in order to keep filming episodes so you can keep making money. It’s the sacrifice of art for capitalism and yes I know this is a stupid TV show but as a writer myself it PISSES ME OFF.

/rant

ALSO, the idea that this toxically masculine family was set on this path by Heaven, and inherited this curse that put them on this path from their mother was such a good plot twist in its heyday. We spent four seasons thinking of Mary Winchester as a victim of circumstance, whose fate could not have been avoided because she was the mother to Sam, who is effectively cursed. And then, we learn that its BECAUSE of Mary that this ball even got rolling in the first place. IDK if you were around for that time in the fandom but at least in my circle, this was a big fucking deal. There had been so much (rightful) discourse about John before this, and what kind of parent he was, that Mary became almost deified in the same way Dean deifies her. And then we find out that this whole story gets set in motion by a decision she made because this was the life she found herself in. This was great. It was interesting. And even though the MOL doesn’t negate any of this, it does give John this weirdly fantastical that isn’t necessary. Let this guy be just some Joe Schmoe who fell in love with a kick ass hunter and had no idea any of this even existed. Let Mary and her want to be ‘normal’ be a complicated moral choice that fundamentally altered the paths of her husband and sons. It’s good tv!

Also, I fucking hate the bunker. The best episodes are Dean and Sam having moments in the car, or while in motel rooms on their cases, or whatever. I don’t mind them having a home base. I’m fine with that. But if a building could ever be a Mary Sue character, the bunker is it. I hate all of the MOL storyline, starting with this place.

I may not even tag this as Supernatural, I don’t need angry later season stans in my inbox.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

There’s nothing good about anything that happened after season 6. It’s all a bunch of retconning bullshit. Season 6 had its moments where it was interesting, so I cut it a little bit of slack, but as far as I’m concerned, the show ended in season 5. I’m not sure that’s necessarily unpopular, but it does feel that way on tumblr, so. 

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Aside from ending it in season 5?

Oooh, I’m about to blaspheme again. I am definitely not tagging this as Supernatural.

I would never have introduced Castiel, and I would’ve given that entire storyline to Anna. Or, alternatively, I would’ve flipped their story lines.

Look, for whatever it’s worth... I agree with the idea that Dean Winchester is a repressed bisexual. His Dr. Sexy love, the entire storyline with Benny in season 8, etc. I just don’t think he feels romantically about Castiel. And like, that’s okay! Just because you’re not into someone who is into you doesn’t mean you owe them a relationship or anything, no matter what the fandom thinks.

But I also think Dean has a big problem when it comes to women. Again, obviously later on in the series, Dean shifts and Charlie happens and Claire Novak and I know all of these things from gifs okay, context is not applicable here because I have none. But early on, Dean struggles A LOT with thinking of women as A) capable and B) trustworthy. He exists in a perpetual state of identifying women along the Madonna/Whore binary. Even Jo, however you feel about her, and to be clear, I loved Jo, but he doesn’t stop thinking of her really as a kid until they’re about to shoot the devil. Up until then, he’s genuinely surprised Ellen lets her out of the damn house.

Giving him a strong, capable woman who rebels against Heaven for HIM would have fundamentally altered Dean’s perceptions of women much earlier on than we get and would have forced him to examine some of that misogyny head on.

Dean has no problems trusting men. This is why the entire Gordon fiasco happens, right? It was less work for him to trust Castiel because Castiel is the inverse of Ruby. Angel to her Demon. Angels and demons don’t really have genders, but for the sake of presentation of vessels, man to her woman. Not even getting me started on the problematic parts of having significant demons mostly symbolized by women (Meg, Ruby, Lilith) and having significant angels mostly represented by Men (Castiel, Michael, Lucifer, Zachariah, Gabriel, Raphael), and how that ties into the idea of Original Sin and yada yada, but just like it’s interesting to have Mary and her decisions be the catalyst for the story, it’s interesting to have this badass warrior angel in Anna who marches down to Hell to yank Dean out, and through her interactions with him, decide to rebel against the ultimate patriarchy, while Dean gets an equally strong female counterpart to Sam’s Ruby, a woman for all intents and purposes that he respects as a soldier and an ally and not just a potential piece of ass.

Also, Castiel fans being literally unbearable is why I left the fandom. Nothing against Misha or anything, and not even anything against Cas as a character (who I very much enjoyed in seasons 4 and 5), but his fans have always been the worst and they try to insert him into everything.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Castiel/Destiel fans, which even though I also hated the direction the show was going, drove me out of the fandom. Not like, personally or directly, but just the sheer mental hoops they had to jump through in order to make their ship work and I just got tired of seeing all of the contrived meta on my dash. Oh, and the rampant misogyny that came out of those early Castiel fans. I didn’t appreciate it from the Wincest corner, and I definitely didn’t appreciate it from the fans of the new guy. Gross.

22. Popular character you hate?

Oof. I don’t know. I don’t really hate Castiel, because again, I liked him a lot in seasons 4 and 5. Even 6 was interesting, even if I don’t regard it as my own personal show canon. I don’t think there was a popular character in those first five seasons I ever really hated. I didn’t fundamentally hate a character at all until the MOL stuff came around. Um. Yeah, I don’t really have an answer for this.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Pretty much every female character ever. Jo, Ellen, Ruby, Meg... although Meg became more popular as the series went on, Anna. Um. OH, BELA. Bela ESPECIALLY, I recently rewatched season 3 and I cannot emphasize how MUCH I love Bela. She was the best purely human foil ever. Bela is hands down the character I love most that the fandom had frothing at the mouth hatred for. It doesn’t help that I legitimately think Lauren Cohan is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. But seriously, Bela. Hands down.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? 

I have! Many of times, and ALWAYS WITH THE CAVEAT to stop at the end of season 5. Not a single one of them has listened to me and almost all of them came to me at the end of the finale and were like WHY DID I WASTE SO MUCH TIME, and I don’t want to say I told them so, but like, I explicitly in neon colored text once told them so, so like, idk what to tell them. But yes! I think if someone is interested in some classic mystery television that has an overarching theme of family and forgiveness and striking out against the boxes that life tries to put us all into, SPN is a great show. But only the first 5 seasons. Also, be prepared for some thematically problematic parts of the show because there’s a lot of cishet toxic masculinity in those early seasons, and we should examine our media critically. There’s also a lot of good though too, and IMO, the good outweighs the bad.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I would’ve ended it at season 5. I would’ve had Sam escape the pit and seen him standing under the street lamp, but then I would’ve had him walking away to leave Dean with Lisa (btw, side note, I DIDN’T like Lisa because I don’t think Dean would ever be truly happy with someone completely outside the life). Not because Sam doesn’t love his brother, but because he *does* love his brother, and because he would want Dean to be happy, even though Dean and Sam’s ideas of what makes the other happy have always been a little bit screwed up.. but that’s a different story.

27. Least shippable character?

Probably Zachariah. God, could you imagine? And... maybe Alastair, but I’m sure there are fics out there that I do not want to think about.

[fermented-writers-block]

With the recent developments in Mr. Universe and Fragments, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an old thought I came up with several months ago, back when the fandom thought that Steven’s pink mode was simply a heightened emotional state of some kind, and even though we know now that it actually is a stress response reaction, I can’t help but think it might still be applicable here to Steven’s current situation.

TLDR: Over the course of the series, Steven’s views of his mother had fallen and continued to fall very far away from its original pedestal due to the sheer barrage of harsh realities and troubling secrets constantly being upended and revealed, and the shifts in how he has felt about his mother’s legacy seems to tell a very interesting story. One of a long, rocky uphill battle against a mountain of expectations, and a sudden, sharp plunge into a ravine of self-loathing before finding one’s way out of the darkness.

When the original series first started, he looked up to Rose Quartz the protector of Earth, seeing her as the always kindhearted and perfect person whose legacy he felt like he had to live up to. He tried so very hard to be more loving and thoughtful like Greg and the Gems had told him Rose had been like thus far into the show - like he felt they expected him to be if he wanted to stay useful and thus someone they would actually keep around like In Dreams suggests - and he struggled with his constant failures to match up with such an impossible image, potentially even as early into the show as Laser Light Cannon with his desperate pleading for the titular weapon to work.

In the middle of the original series, as he heard more intimate stories about what Rose was really like in person from his family, found out about Bismuth’s bubbling, and had to be told by a stranger that his mother, someone he had been led to believe had always promoted peace, apparently shattered someone, his image of Rose the flawless hero turned into that of Rose the liar with an unknowable amount of secrets that hurt his family immensely. 

He struggled with the question of whether Rose had made him for some untold grand plan, and he felt like he had to take care of the messes that she left behind, putting such a burdensome expectation on himself even though the Gems no longer expected him to be more like his mother. This culminated in I Am My Mom with his attempt to save his family from harm by resigning himself to sacrificing himself and atoning for his mother’s sins.

For the end of the original series, Pearl’s revelation that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were the same person the entire time finally gave Steven a fuller picture of Rose the person, someone who was flawed and still had positive qualities, someone who tried very hard to become a better person. He felt like he had really found his space with the Crystal Gems, and they expected him to be himself.

And yet, with the strange and inexplicable glimpses of Pink Diamond’s memories as well as White Diamond's existential questions either inspiring or bringing such a thought to the front of his mind, Steven struggled with the fear that his mother was still alive somewhere deep within his consciousness, and that ‘Steven’ the person had just been a lie the entire time. 

Post CYM and another of his mother’s secrets coming back to haunt him with Spinel, Steven had stopped worrying about who he isn’t. He now knows for certain that he’s not his mother, that she isn’t living in some dormant part of his gem ready to take back control.

But after years of trying to live up to the ideal of Rose the protector, fixing the mistakes of Rose the liar, and doing better than Rose the person with the way he pushed himself to help others, he now worries about - if there’s no one else left to help but himself - who and what Steven Universe is like if he isn’t his mother.

We’ve seen him struggle to deal with this identity crisis in Little Homeschool and Little Graduation, pushing himself to solve problems that he either couldn’t find a working solution towards or likely projected onto others out of desperation from his anxieties over being left behind. 

He expects himself to already do better, already help better, already be better than all of this. His approach of putting other’s problems above his own has worked before, so he shouldn’t be failing if he’s still doing the same thing he’s done before, but with every inevitable misstep and every doubling down on trying to be more like he expects himself to be and failure, the more those expectations feel impossible to ever actually meet.

I’ve been a longtime follower of the Worm Theory ever since @novantinuum made the first post that really kicked things off for it, and soon after Volleyball aired, a thought had occurred to me in light of Steven’s attempt at managing Amethyst’s program.

With Steven’s expression from his cracked reflection at the Reef, I couldn’t help but wonder if Steven might develop the fear that - while he isn’t his mother - he might just be becoming like his mother, and especially in regards to her flaws and repeating her mistakes. 

Let me be clear, I didn’t and still don’t think that the stress from such a fear would be even remotely close to being a major instigator for Steven to become the creature from the intro from his pink mode stress response, but with these newest episodes - particularly the ending to Fragments - it has felt like all of this had come to a head for Steven, and that we’ll soon see one of the actual instigating fears for his transformation in the finale.

In the promo, Steven looks like he’s trying to assure himself that he isn’t a shatterer, trying to reaffirm what he knows about himself in the wake of his accident with Jasper, but with the shot of him clearly leaving Jasper and the Gems behind, I feel that Steven may be struggling with the fear that he’s become like his mother there.

Or rather, the (apparent) reality that he’s become “WORSE” than her.

Even with all the horrible secrets she kept, Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond had never shattered anyone, and yet here Steven is, having done exactly that.

Never mind the fact that it was an accident, never mind that he is still the same kind and loving person at heart, never mind that he deeply regrets what he did, Steven’s sense of identity has been crumbling for a good while now with losing what he defined his life by in his ability to help people, and the fact that he had shattered someone and that said someone immediately acknowledged him as their Diamond could disintegrate nearly all of what sense of identity he has left.

These last few episodes, Steven’s mental health has been on a nasty decline in struggling with feeling like he either can’t rely on his support structure in Greg and the Gems for advice with his problems or that his support structures in Connie and his friends are drifting away, and because of this and how he might feel about himself after what happened with Jasper, the only place he may feel like he should be is on Homeworld.

Steven has put so much weight on himself to be a good person, to be better than his mother and all the horrible things she did, that this might just feel like a confirmation that he isn’t a good person, that even Rose was a better person than him despite the stuff she failed spectacularly at. There’s no more expectations to live up to on top of him, only what he really is now.

He had abandoned his human side in Mr. Universe, and now all that’s left is his gem side - that is, his Diamond side.

Or at least, that’s how it’d likely seem to him. 

It’d feel like the only point of support and belonging he has left is with the other Diamonds, as the one thing Rose wasn’t and tried desperately not to be in the end was a Diamond herself, and he may feel like he should just embrace his place since he’s “just as bad as them.”

Not only that, but he also tried to emulate Jasper’s mentality, coping methods, and appearance in his struggle to find some kind of ‘solution’ for his ‘diamond powers,’ and as such, there’s one final place where he might just be able to get a ‘solution’ - even though there’s no such thing as a full on solution for dealing with trauma.

With that said, while they most likely won’t initially understand or be that concerned with Steven giving up on his humanity to be with them, I can’t help but feel like the Diamonds have changed enough that seeing Steven act “like a Diamond is supposed to” would shake them HARD.

Acting that way had been what hurt themselves and each other for millennia, and they’ve been able to feel happier and create a relatively healthier dynamic between the three of them under Steven’s guidance, so to see Steven turn his back on all of that could make them VERY concerned for him. 

It’d put up an unsettlingly ugly mirror in front of the Diamonds to the people they used to be, and that for as much as they may have wanted Steven to be with them, this isn’t what they had in mind at all.

Perhaps that might end in an ironic reversal of what happened at the end of CYM, where instead of denying Steven as individual from his mother and trying to force him to be his mother out of a callous and arrogant kind of love, White acts out of a fuller love and genuine concern for Steven, and in the heat of the moment, accidentally slips back into some old behavior.

“I only want you to be yourself! If you can't do that, I'll do it! For! You!”

But whatever their response may actually be, this could very well be the second to last major tipping point for Steven at the very least, as at that point, EVERY person and place he thought he could turn to for advice or just finally belong to would likely either feel to him like they let him down or that they’re scared of what he feels he’s become.

Not even the Diamonds themselves feel like he belongs with them, and with how he felt like Connie had flat out refused to marry him instead of leaving an opening for them to talk about it later, I can easily see him extrapolating from the Diamonds’ reactions that he’s become not only worse than his mother, but ALL of the Diamonds.

Of course, the stress and anguish from this fear of himself and what he’s become most probably wouldn’t be the key factor behind him turning into the worm creature, just one of several major stresses that would likely influence such a transformation. 

Like @faelapis has discussed, most of the other contributing stresses had already been unbalancing Steven for a long time towards this direction in his tightrope act, and this kind of recent fear would merely be the final gust of wind to finally push Steven off. 

As for how Steven could potentially be brought from the brink of this particular fear (since I’m withholding speculation on what the exact other stresses could be until we get there), I can see one way that could help Steven with this and his struggle with holding himself to the standard of always being able to help others.

Mainly, with a potential mixture of something clicking for him to help him fully understand his mother’s choices and the self-loathing that seems to have been behind so much of said choices, and for something to help him with feeling like he’s supposed to always be a hero and fixing things, instead changing it to feeling like he’s a person for whom it’s completely okay to make a mistake, like it’s okay for him to not live up to an impossible ideal.

Like he is a human with both the bad and the good that comes with it. 

That just because he has the power to change doesn’t mean that he should pressure himself to never screw up badly even by accident, and that just because he’s capable of screwing up badly even by accident doesn’t mean that he is incapable of learning, growing, and improving afterwards. 

Whether this is accomplished through a combination of Greg and the Gems acknowledging how, even though they love him, they’ve messed up badly while raising him, Connie relating to his struggle to push himself to be better with her studies as well as the shared experiences they’ve been through, and some help from all the other countless people he’s helped over the years, I can’t claim to know.

But even though it can feel hard to do, even though it feels like you’ll never be able to pull yourself out of the dark, even though it may feel like you just keep failing over and over and over again, you can still always pick yourself up and change for the better.

[sapphireswimming]

11?

thanks for the fanfic day ask!

11. What’s a fanfic idea you haven’t done yet? 

I posted a screenshot of my wip file here but to dig a little deeper into some of those Danny Phantom documents, I haven’t yet done:

AU where ghosts looks like humans outside of the Ghost Zone and Jazz stumbles upon a full ghost Danny trying to hide in an alleyway one night, and convinces him to come home with her since he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. He has to survive living with the Fentons and meeting the few people Jazz regularly brings over to the house - her unlikely friend Spike, Sam and her best friend Tucker, the football players she tutors, and Valerie who is honestly just there for the tech after her father loses his job because of ghosts

Fully human Dance AU that had super fleshed fleshed notes for a multi chaptered fic (and I did actually do some art for it while I was still working at the dance studio but I’m not sure all of it got uploaded to tumblr?)

Fic where the Fentons rescue a nearly-unconscious Dani from a ghost attack, bring her home, and then she has to deal with waking up with the over-enthusiastic Fentons hovering over her when waking up because sure they’re friendly now while they think she’s human but she doesn’t trust how long this will last

15 pages of 100 word drabble wips

Fic about the ramifications of people dying in Amity Park after the Accident, and the increasing number of ghosts that people recognize coming out of the GZ

10 pages of alternating scenes about the Fenton Family relationships from Jack and Vlad’s perspective in a weird sort of Father’s (and Not Father’s) Day fic

plot bunny adapted from jeanette9a: Danny runs away when he first gets his ghost powers. He and Vlad have never met. But Vlad finds Danny lurking around in the forest around his castle. When he happens to observe the boys struggles with his powers, he decides to help Danny. But after a while it's time for the reunion. And that turned out to be a sticky situation when your step dad wants you to kill your own dad. What would you do?

French Future Fic (FFF) - 20 pages of notes for what would be my long chaptered fic. Where Danny accidentally kills Sam via friendly fire in a fight with Vlad and, devastated, runs away to another continent, refusing to contact friends or family for years as he tries to put the ghost stuff behind him. But it doesn’t work because ghosts are everywhere. And Tucker, who has never given up on trying to catch up with Danny, joined a branch of the GIW and ends up developing tech and trying to train a better generation of agents. When he finally meets up with Danny, he convinces him not only to not run again, but to come see what he makes of the new recruits. Which ends up with Danny working as an unofficial all-knowing consultant for the new team while trying to repair his relationship with Tucker and stay out of the GIW’s clutches

A few more Gray Ghost Week prompts which were going to be more in the Nerves (Ghost Hunting Camp AU) and For the Sake of the Song (1920s Superphantom crossover) universes, plus a Hunger Games AU where Valerie knows she shot Danny, she knows she did, but instead of crumpling to the ground to the sound of a cannon, he turns, locks eyes with her, and starts running her way -

58 pages of ideas that haven’t gotten expanded out enough to get their own docs yet

Move-In Security of Amity Park (or MISAP), a new city program courtesy of Mayor Foley. Outside pov, Post PP.

Belated bday fic about Valerie and her fractured relationship with the A Listers (beginning of the wip posted here)

Alex Rider crossover where they become international pen pals for a school project and wonder if they can vaguely vent about some of their respective problems to each other without spilling secrets only to realize that they may both be dealing with some truly awfully ridiculous stuff (wait so you’ve been nearly killed several times by the guy who wants to adopt you as his son?? me too???)

40 pages of more ideas for Apricity, probably including enough complete sentence-stories to post more chapters (note to self...)

14 pages of ideas for “short” things that wanted to grow longer than I had capacity for at the time, apparently

Fic where Danny is battling Spectra in Fenton form, the Fentons barge in to save him, and Spectra realizes just how much misery she could feed off of if she targets them instead to the point that they’ll only get out alive if Danny outs himself by using his powers

6k worth of notes of a 1920s Swing AU superphantom crossover of epic proportions co-created with Chynna (I don’t know what your username is these days ahaha)

Fic where Danny was being held prisoner in some abandoned ghost-proofed warehouse? And gets rescued by a teenager who has absolutely no clue what is going on but has to follow the orders of a half starved kid talking about ghosts in order to get them both out of there before it’s too late

Danny in a hospital because his ghost half is killing him and no one can figure out why

AU where Maddie worries about Jazz who sounds like she’s having full blown conversations with her dead brother when she thinks no one else is around to hear

Ambitious idea I don’t feel up to writing exploring a Danny who hates the fact that after his growth spurt he starts to look and sound like Dan. To the point that he takes down the mirror in his room and stops talking unless absolutely necessary. Sam and Tucker, of course, understand, but no one else does.

Plus some oneshots I wanted to expand into full fics (Nerves, Who I am, Introuvable, etc). And the few chaptered fics that haven’t been updated in a while because I haven’t written anything in a while whoops (Teenage Ghost Punk, Footballer’s Wife, UltraViolet)

Plus the other, you know, 50 documents of superphantom and other fandom wips that I wish I wish I wish I could write haha

[lostlitany]

ANOTHER!

7: Were there any ideas you had for "Damn Straight Gay" that you couldn’t make work? What were they?

11: Which OC of yours do you think is the most similar to you? Which OC is the most different? Why?

23: What’s one piece of advice you would give to anyone who wants to start writing or posting their writing online?

Ayyyy another~!! This got pretty heckin’ long soooo

7. Damn Straight Gay ideas that couldn’t work

I’ve long since deleted my draft doc for that fic, but I remember there were a bunch of scenes I had planned out that never made it to the final cut. I had originally planned for the chapters to switch perspectives back and forth between Bakugou and Kirishima- but I wrote the first two chapters from Bakugou’s point of view and ended up deciding to keep the whole fic like that.

Obviously with the deletion of Kiri’s POV, there comes the loss of all the dates he and what’s her face were supposed to go on (what did I even name that extra? Like Yuuna or something? Idr). Either way, Kiri’s chapters we’re supposed to center around the actual relationship and the growing toxicity between the two of them. I imagined they would go places and Kirishima would keep bringing up going to those places with Bakugou, which is why we see a lot of Bakugou reminiscing throughout the story. I wanted the story to have Bakugou or Kirishima reminiscing about their past, through either Bakugou’s moping, or Kirishima’s dates, and for that to be kinda solemn and off, and then kinda re-envision those same areas with the two of them being awkward around each other and regretting the breakup.

Another big thing that got scrapped was that I had actually originally planned for Yuuna and Bakugou to meet! I wanted them to hate each other immediately- Bakugou of course would’ve played cordial because he’s a simp for Ei, but Yuuna was going to act more along the lines of “I don’t like you hanging out with him- you should stop talking to him for me”

But, without writing the dates, there really was no need for Yuuna to have an onscreen character. So I kept her separate from Bakugou and all we know about the toxic girlfriend is what Bakugou hears from other people who have met her.

I think it worked better because the story was meant to be focused on Bakugou and Kirishima’s relationship, and having Yuuna like actually around and present may have distracted from the boy’s relationship and put more spotlight on her relationship with Kirishima- So I think it’s a good thing I ended up scrapping so much. It made for a better structured story-

11. Which OC is most similar / different - Why?

So as far as my published work goes, the only OCs I think I really have- are Kirishima’s family. And I definitely haven’t really written enough of them to say much more than I’m most like Satori, the badass mom who teases Kirishima the whole time Bakugou’s over- and I’m least like Mei, the pleasant, sunshine and rainbows cutesy type who giggles warmly at her family’s antics and enjoys sitting back and watching the show.

Just to be obnoxious and not answer the question properly- I will also say this because my characterizations are based off of cannon, but are decidedly not- I am most similar to the way I write Bakugou and least similar to the way I write Kirishima. In both Damn Gay and The Exception, Bakugou and his situation have been practically directly ripped from my life. Some of the words exchanged between him and other characters are real conversations I’ve had with different friends and acquaintances. Kirishima on the other hand, is vastly different. His characterization has been a mixture of my three best friends over the years- and one very special detail that I force onto him that quite a few other authors don’t- is that I make him quite easily manipulated. In Damn Gay he gets caught up in a toxic relationship and gives up everything he actually cares about to force himself to life with this girl that he only got with once Mina accidentally convinced him to move on from Bakugou. In The Exception the same thing happens where he finds something that makes him happy, a couple things go wrong, and he easily leaves Bakugou behind when Mina suggests it. In cannon, I think despite his doubts towards himself, he’s a lot more sure of his friends. But in my portrayal of him, he’s a lot less weak willed when it comes to bumps in his relationships and friendships. I write Kirishima as an easily influenced ray of sunshine who aims to please people, and as soon as things start to go south, he shuts himself up and drowns out his own thoughts, turning to other people around him to make harder decisions for him because he doesn’t trust himself to do it. This is in contrast to Bakugou who makes stupid decisions and jumps to moronic conclusions all on his own, who when things get tough, jumps at the opportunity to push through it as fast as possible just to get over it and get past all the emotions, thoughts, and feelings that would otherwise hold him down. Kiri dwells on it much longer and drags those rough moments out inadvertently, by waiting for his problems to go away on their own.

22. Writing advice for beginners of writing or posting

New writers- Write what you want to read. As I’ve said before I have a whole plethora of OCs that I’ve created and written stories for. I made characters and relationships to fill in my own self indulgent fantasies, and that got me hooked. I wrote for myself and that was it. I wasn’t planning on posting it anywhere, I was too embarrassed to show my friends, I wasn’t aiming to please anyone. I wrote forced story plots and 2 dimensional characters that made me happy. It established writing as a fun pastime in my head. If you go into this looking for follows and kudos and comments, it’s going to get very depressing very fast, and you’re most likely going to stop before you even get started. So ignore the world. Write for you first, and when you figure out how to make you happy, then start writing for real. If you want that shot of straight serotonin that comes from constructive feedback- bug me. Text me. Email me. DM me. Idk. Find me and share with me what you’ve written. We all have to start somewhere and building a solid foundation on your own can be very difficult. If this is something that you want to really do, I’m no professional, but I want to help. Write for you, then find a beta, or a friend. Someone who can gush over your characters and such with you. Create a strong link between writing and happiness in your brain. Hack your mind to make writing fun and rewarding, so later down the line when you’re good enough to get hate, it can’t affect you.

New posters- Don’t doubt what you’ve made. There are 7 billion people on this planet. If you’ve written something really niche and small and overly self indulgent and you think nobody else is going to like it- remember the phrase one in a million. If you are one in a million, there are 700 other people out there like you. That self indulgent fic that you wrote specifically for you? Post it. Because there may be 700 other people looking for exactly that. You never know what people are looking for. You never know what people are willing to try out. 50 Shades of Grey was a fanfiction.......

Are they not part of a fandom? Are they your original characters? Cool, Steven Universe is filled of original characters. So is Avatar. Oh! And My Hero. Every fandom started off as a collection of Original Characters. I’ll read about your kids if you’ll read about mine.

[cassandracain52]

This weeks Tim/Steph content…

A friendly reminder of what these two’s first reaction to finding out the other is ok is

When Tim found out Stephanie was alive:

Robin (1993) #174 When Stephanie found out Tim was alive:

Detective comics #969

That’s all I’m gonna say about that<3 TimSteph they will never make me hate you

[lieutenantcharleslorem]

Chapters: 2/3 Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation Rating: General Audiences Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge Summary:

The Corsair ship Enterprise is not exactly a pirate ship, but they do what they have to to get by on the high seas. Without someone knowledgeable in steam mechanics that becomes even harder. Data is a gear filled robot who can be wound like a watch, and Geordi is merman who cannot see above water. But perhaps this odd friendship could solve some of their problems.

CHAPTER TWO

The next thing Data knew, there was sun.

He was laying face down on a peak of rock, jutting out of the ocean. The door to the mechanisms in his back was open, the sun beating down on them. Of course, he couldn’t feel fear, but there was something unmistakably vulnerable about the position he was in. But before there could be any worry he looked up to a face floating in the water. Geordi reached out to him, fingers catching his chin and soothing, “It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

“Geordi, what happened?

“You fell overboard. When I pulled you from the water you weren’t functioning, but a little time drying in the sun…”

“You were there… You followed us?”

“Well…” Geordi said awkwardly, “You make it sound creepy.”

“It wasn’t my intention to make it sound creepy,” said Data, missing some of the nuance of Geordi’s response.

“I’m just saying that… It was a split second decision and I wouldn’t do things like that if you asked me not to. I know there are stories about the mer-people—”

“Geordi, I do not feel threatened by your presence here. Though I have no way of knowing in absolutes, I have suspected since you first approached me that you had no ill intent. I am the one who went looking for you, despite being told I should not. And if you had not been here last night I would be dead.” Data paused. “That is to say, non-functional,” he corrected himself.

“I’m just glad I could help,” said Geordi, and he directed his eyes straight into Data’s, such that it was hard for Data to believe he couldn’t see him. And as Data looked into those pupil-less eyes he could feel recognition form. The connections of familiarity. Usually it took longer for him to properly register that someone was a “friend.” It was possible that he was damaged. There were salt and mineral deposits left on his gears. Perhaps however, it was the fact that people didn’t usually put this kind of effort into Data right away. It took humans so long to even trust him.

Data pushed off from the rock and started to sit up.

Geordi heard the sound of him rising and said, “Wait! Wait,” coming around to Data’s side as fast as he could. “I left your key sitting inside your back, so it wouldn’t slip off into the water. May I?” Data nodded, then realizing that was useless said, “Go ahead.” Geordi felt around looking for the key with touch. He picked it up and gently closed the little door. After trailing his fingers along Data’s back until he came across the little hole, he screwed the key firmly. “Alright, all back together,” he said.

Data sat up and looked around. He was wearing damp slacks but nothing else.

Now that Data wasn’t lying down, there was enough room for both of them on the rock, so Geordi hoisted himself up so he could sit next to Data, leaving just the fins of his tail beneath the water like he was soaking his feet.

“Geordi?” Data asked. “I believe when I fell from the ship I was wearing a blouse, a vest, and a coat.”

“When I was pulling you to the surface I didn’t see a coat. And once I had you here I was just trying to get things off you so I could open you up and get you dry. I wasn’t thinking about where your clothes went. I’m sorry.”

“That is okay. You cannot see. I cannot expect more from you than you are capable.”

“Are you cold?”

“I am not capable of feeling cold. I dress because it is appropriate. The coat, however, was given to me by my captain. It was quite thick, and was meant to…” Data actually smiled as he said it, “Protect me from the water. The rain and the ocean spray on the ship.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There will be other coats. Assuming I will find a way off this rock and back to my ship.”

“They probably think you’re gone.”

“I know.”

“There was cannon fire. What happened?”

“In hindsight it may have been inevitable. We were stealing from goblins. Of course, we were only taking something they had stolen in the first place.”

“If you were asked to do this, you couldn’t ask for help?”

“It was discussed to the best that time would allow. The closest people are the Cardassians. Riker, our first mate said asking for Cardassian help is a death wish. And the Captain told him the Dead Elves were too far to contact.”

“I know of the Cardassians, but Dead Elves?” asked Gerodi.

“You’ve never heard of them?”

“I’ve heard of elves and their telepathic powers… but why are these dead?”

“We see little of them, but they are supposed to be allies to the humans. I have heard that people call them that because they appear… ‘Dead inside.’ Though by comparison some might say the same of me.”

“I don’t know… I think you’re full of life.”

“Geordi?”

“Yes?”

“Can I touch your tail?”

Geordi burst out laughing and moved the tips of his fins in and out of the water. “Sure.”

Data reached out a hand and ran it along Geordi’s tail. “It is similar to small fish, but not quite as delicate.” Geordi nodded.

They sat for a while, chatting and touching, and acting like old friends. Geordi was beginning to get a bit chilly when he noticed a feeling in the water and sound on the wind.

“Is there a ship?” he asked. “A ship nearby. Maybe it could get you back to yours.”

“It might. But I think you should go.”

“What?”

“That ship has been moving closer to us for some time. Now a goblin in a rowboat is coming from it. They are not known for their generosity. It is unlikely they want to save us. More likely they want to sell us.”

“But… There’s no way for you to get away.”

“If they attempt to sell me, it will only get me closer to my ship. But if they attempt to sell you…”

Geordi nodded. “I will follow. From a distance. To make sure you’re safe.”

“You do not have to do that.”

“I want to see you again.”

“I want to see you again.”

“I won’t follow if you tell me not to.”

“It… is up to you. Please go before the boat arrives.”

The merman started to push himself off the rock when he heard Data say, “Geordi? … Thank you.”

Geordi hesitated for a moment, then leaned over and kissed Data on the eyelid. It was unclear if this was where he was aiming for. As Geordi slipped into the water and out of sight, Data’s speculated nerve endings on his eye exploded with sensation as though he had been touched much harder than he had been. There was definitely something wrong with his functioning. Someone would need to help him clean and oil his gears.

As the boat approached, Data heard the goblin call, “What happened to the other fellow?”

“He went into the water,” Data said honestly. “He is probably long gone by now.”

“O…kay. What are you? Some kind of robot?”

“Yes.”

“How much do you think you’re worth?”

“I don’t know what I would fetch among goblins, but I do know that humans consider me quite the advancement. They would surely pay, what is the expression? Through the nose.”

“I don’t know what that means,” said the goblin.

Data boarded the boat as it bumped into his little rock, and even put his hands out to let the goblin wrap ropes around his wrists. The goblin was baffled but followed suit.

“I am very expensive,” Data replied.

The goblin huffed and rowed them back to his ship.

“You know, you add a lot of extra weight to this little boat.”

“Apologies for any inconvenience.”

Once they were aboard the ship Data sat awkwardly with his hands tied as they argued about what to do.

“He could probably do the work of ten men. He’s valuable to any Ferengi,” said someone who seemed to have authority.

“But I would escape,” said Data.

“I thought he was being no trouble,” he said to the goblin who’d brought Data in.

“You think you could escape so easily?” said another.

Data slipped his hands out of the ropes and tossed them aside, but he didn’t stand. It wasn’t his intent to be overly intimidating.

“I have no desire to work for goblins, and I have no desire to work for free. So, I would escape. Or be permanently immobilized. And if I escaped, I would be loose on a goblin ship or in goblin territory, which could be very inconvenient for you. I simply think it is more logical to skip all the trouble and extra work. Sell me to a human. You will get your pay, and they will have to deal with me.”

“He’s just trying to manipulate us into getting him home!” said one of the goblins.

“But if he is willing to be a nuisance to get what he wants it’s the same trade off,” said another.

“Indeed, and we don’t know if hu-mons will come looking for him, like they did their last precious device. At least we can get some latinum out of them.”

“Alright! It is decided. Start heading for the nearest coast. No need to travel farther than we have to if we can find hu-mons closer. And get the robot a shirt!”

The goblins weren’t so bad actually. They were just looking for a quick payout, but the same could be said of anyone Data interacted with as a corsair. He had certainly met people who had less respect for his autonomy. People who wanted to own and control him just for the sake of it.

The goblins, on the other hand, talked with him and taught him to play their card games. Though they asked him for favors while he was aboard because of his strength and inability to tire, they saw no reason to be cruel when their only goal was to make money.

Data recognized the shoreline immediately as they approached what the goblins thought might only be their first stop. He’d wanted to return to this shore, but only to see Geordi, and now that he knew Geordi could follow him just about anywhere as long as he was near the sea, he wasn’t as pleased to see it.

As they drew closer however, The Enterprise lay in their sight. There was static aboard the goblin ship, but Data pressed a hand to the goblin captain’s shoulder and said, “You will make no profit attacking.”

“But I could attempt to exchange you for the device.”

“They wouldn’t. We would all suffer if we don’t return the device to the human government.”

“They would risk us keeping you?”

“They also know I could get out of your possession easily.”

“Well then, we are at a disadvantage. Perhaps we should sail on and try to sell to someone who doesn’t know so much about you.”

“That might be a long trip, do you have enough food?”

The goblin glared at Data. “Did you know this all along? Was this just a glorified delivery?”

“No, I didn’t know they would be here. …I would just ask for latinum. They will give you latinum to avoid a scuffle.”

They escorted Data down onto the shore, following smoke into the clearing. They tied Data’s arms and feet, but they knew it was just for show. As they entered the clearing hundreds of people turned to look at them.

“We’re outnumbered,” whispered one of the goblins.

“There are plenty of Ferengi on the ship.”

“Not that many… We’re not prepared for—”

“Shh!”

“Do not worry,” whispered Data. “No one wants a fight.”

“Get the captain!” shouted Riker.

Some men went off to fetch him and the rest were left staring at Data in silence.

“Rob’ut, we thought you were at the bottom of the sea,” said Riker.

“I will tell you the story when this is resolved.”

“Of course, are you… are you functional?”

Data lifted his tied hands awkwardly. “The goblins have not harmed me… yet.”

Will nodded. The captain rustled through the trees and into the clearing, with a great sigh of relief and a saddle bag in his hands.

“Data!”

“Captain!” There was a pause and then Data said, “Oh please help me, Captain.” He stuck out his bottom lip. Everyone looked at the robot incredulously, including the goblins.

Data looked to the goblins and shrugged. The Captain started laughing.

“How much do you want for him?” he asked.

“How much do you have?” the goblin captain asked.

“I asked you first.”

“Five bars.”

“Three,” replied Captain Picard.

“Captain,” whispered Riker, “We’re down to strips until we get paid for the device.”

“Four!” said the Goblin.

“3, and 2 strips, that’s my final offer.”

“I could probably get ten for a machine like him on any other shore!”

“You probably could,” Picard said with a sneer.

The goblin captain and Data looked at each other and Data stuck out his bottom lip again. The goblin rolled his eyes.

“Fine!”

Picard opened his bag and took out the agreed upon amount.

“Untie him,” said Riker.

The goblin captain looked to Data, and Data nodded. He flicked a thumb and the other goblins untied Data but held onto him gently.

Picard handed his fellow captain the latinum, and the others let go of Data.

“Goodbye,” said one of them quietly.

“Goodbye!” said Data, “Thanks for teaching me your games.”

The goblin captain was staring at the latinum in his hands. He looked a little sick. He stuffed it in his coat and turned to leave.

Troi approached Data and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. He was glad that he seemed to be returning to normal. Her kiss hadn’t produced the same malfunction Geordi’s had.

“May I go to the ship?” he asked, and the captain nodded but put a hand on his shoulder before he could go.

“We’re glad to have you back,” he said, then felt the material of the top Data was wearing, “Is this leopard print?”

“It belongs to one of the goblins,” Data replied, and then disappeared through the trees.

He didn’t keep quarters on the Enterprise in order to save space, since he need not sleep; so he kept his personal items in a drawer in the captain’s office. Nothing had been disturbed. First Data pulled a black collared shirt from the drawer and changed out of the thick fabric the goblins had given him. Inside a box in the drawer was a rather large necklace. Data retrieved it. He folded the shirt and lay the necklace on top of it, carrying it with him as he left the Enterprise to return to the goblin ship.

He skipped the clearing, instead going along the shore, and he caught the goblin captain not yet boarded, but yelling at some crewmen.

“Captain,” said Data, “I wanted to wish you a good trip.”

“Well now you’re just making fun of us, not even trying to avoid people who kidnapped you. No fear at all.”

“Do not take it personally. I am incapable of feeling fear. I wanted to return this garment.”

“Oh, that’s alright.”

“I will not be needing it,” Data pressed. “And I have brought you… a present of sorts.”

“A present?” the captain eyed him suspiciously.

Data placed the shirt and the necklace into the Captain’s hands. “I received it from a woman who was convinced I was a spirit. I tried to give it back but she refused. I am not attached to it. Perhaps you could sell it.”

The goblin immediately slipped it into his coat pocket.

“We never should’ve taken you…”

“Because I didn’t fetch very much?”

“No… because…” the captain shuffled back and forth awkwardly. “Well just because we’re in it for the latinum doesn’t mean we have no morals. Ferengi aren’t like the Cardassians, or the Troll syndicate. We don’t deal in people.”

Data’s eyes widened and he smiled. “Honest mistake,” he said.

The goblin turned to leave but not before saying, “See yah around, robot.”

[sirenasinsib]

Spider

If you Like it please don't for get to press that Reblog! its means a lot to me!

WOW I havent posted in a while, been working on my own stuff but here is some personal works. Expecet to see alot of content of Spider and Viper. Ive been playing a ton of Titanfall so im in that mood rigt now. 

Fandom: Titanfall

Relatonship: Viper/OC Character

Warnings: Very long clocking in around 3260 Words! Explict language, canon violence, mutual pinging, build to relationship, and smut at the end!

He really didn't see why the ship was built to have a limited number of dorms. It was hard to find a spot and claim it as yours when it's already six members and their Titan, but the recent addition made it just a bit harder.

Spider, he was told, was to be dorming with him. Sloane and Ash were already in one room as was Ritcher and Kane, and he preferred to not have one of the other two males to be dorming with him, he saw how messy they kept theirs. Blisk's room was of course off limits. They were just about to take off when he heard a knock on the door before it slid open. Spider was there with only 2 duffle bags. She walked in quietly looking around the room.

The "kitchen" was towards the front of the room, right beside the entrance, a couch and TV opposite of it. Towards the back were two beds in opposite corners and lockers on both sides. The left side was noticeable more used with the bed sheets being almost completely off the bed, an extra locker that was slightly open due to the amount of tech it was holding. She took to the right side. Placing her duffle bags on the bed. Viper didn't focus on her as she moved around. He would have to just get used to another person in the room.

It was actually quite easy getting used to another person in the same room as him. The first week she slept with most of her gear on. The second week he noticed she would get up very early, earlier than Ash even, he didn't know where she went at the time, too busy trying to get more sleep before the day started. Hawk, his titan, told him later where Spider went. Often she went to the Titan hanger bay and got into her own Titan, JD. 

She appears to be under stress. JD has stated that they are not used to working with others. He also stated that she fears word of her being with the Apex Predators might get out and someone from her past may try to capture her.

Hawk spoke into the link as he worked on one of her thrusters. 

Is she that valuable of a member if she needs protection?

You were only a Predator if you had the skills. Needing protection meant you were weak. 

Calculations suggest a 78% better performance in missions with the assistance of a Monarch Titan and Pilot. It is also easier to be assisted, that is a possible reason why they joined instead of remaining in hiding. They were on low ammo and power, yet we’re able to steal just enough from both Militia and IMC units without being caught. 

It was one of their first real big missions after joining. They were to defend a couple of units going in to steal information and escort them out and to extraction. Spider had JD watch the back as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop calling out as well as distracting. 

“Would be nice if I got some help! Got a Legion hiding with an Ion!”

Kane yelled over the comms. Viper was on the far side of the complex and was dealing with his own Titan, same with the others when he heard Spider speak up. 

“On the way, can you distract them?”

“I’m in a fucking Scorch you bug! What do you think?!”

He spotted JD quickly running to the back of the area, halting slightly he guessed to pick up Spider before he started to hear the faint rattle of an electric charged XO-16.

“Enemy shields down! Kane?!”

He heard Kane laughing along with the roar of a Flame core activating and the sound of a Titan exploding. 

“Enemy Legion down.” 

Kane’s Titan spoke. Spider had to back up from a placement of Anti-Rodeo smoke when the Ion charged out with a vengeance. The monarch shot a few rockets and even an energy siphon before charging against the Ion. Then the radio filled with a hatch opening and a loud Metallic BAM. 

“Systems restored. Enemy pilot down.”

JD spoke. They had executed a Titan, and stole its battery. That was smart and ballsy Viper thought.

“Both teams got the data! Time to go!”

Blisk yelled into the comms, the roar of his Predator Cannon in the background. Viper dashed to the location of his team to defend as the others followed suit. Ash, Spider, and Kane made it back to his location while Blisk, Sloane, and Ritcher made it to their spot. Viper took to the skies, circling the group as Kane to the front and the other two took to a side. They would have a long walk to evacuation as they kept the enemy off their back and made sure that the ground troops stayed together. 

It was a long walk getting to extraction. They had to stop twice to make sure that they weren't followed and to give the ground troops rest since they didn't have a Titan. It was dark when they did their second stop deciding to rest a little before getting the last few miles in and getting off the planet. 

"Spider, Viper, you're on first watch. Sloane, Ash, you’re next, one hour." 

Blisk told them before finding a spot for his Titan to hunker down and both of them rest. Spider and Viper walked a bit away from the group before they found a spot. Spider hopped out of the Titan onto its hand as it lifted her up to the top of its chassis. She had a DMR in one hand with a ration bar in the other. Viper decided it would be a good time to eat as well. 

They sat in silence save for the whir of both Titans. Occasionally Spider would grab her DMR and look into the forest, he didn't see why, the titans would pick up on anyone approaching faster than they would, unless it was cloaked units but he didn't say anything. The hour passed uneventfully and Ash and Solane soon came to take their spot. Spider got back into her Titan as Viper moved Hawk to a spot and the other pair went to their own. 

"Viper? Can I ask you a favor?"

He turned from the blueprints for Hawk. Spider had grown more easy to get use to, she talked more. Sparred with the rest a few times. She seemed unsure right now. 

He spoke "Depends."

"My arm, I need another hand or set of hands to fix the connections and make sure the rotators aren't getting any build up or are worn down."

He was surprised to find her asking for help, he seen the way she reacted to others touching it when not fighting. 

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think you were capable, and I trust you a helluva lot more than the rest of the lot."

"Really, not very smart."

She gave a snort. "I seen the work you put on your Titan, as soon as you get this you're gonna do the same, besides, why purposely mess it up when I'm the one that keeps everyone's backs cleared."

It was quiet for a moment. 

"Fine. Blueprints?"

She tossed a small flash drive to his hands as she turned her focus to getting her arm off. He saw out of the corner of his eye, she pressed a button before twisting and pulling off the arm and placed it on the desk before turning

"I'm going to get cleaned up, you know how to find me."

They were sparing. He would never admit it out loud but she was one of the hardest predators to fight against. Sloane had a pattern, Ash wasn't fluid, Kane was easy to get dizzy, Ritcher you just let him do all the hard work of runnin around, Blisk favored his right side, but Spider? She dodged another lock, ducking quickly and she slid up right beside him, their gear rubbing against each other before she backed up from another swing.

She was fast, graceful, and really fucking hard to hit. He had one more trick. He turned around and charged her, she sidestepped, just like he thought she would and quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her with and using his momentum to flip them as they landed on the ground. He placed his fist above her neck as the other held her arm.

“I won.”

She gave a quiet laugh before tapping her non trapped hand on his side, where the armor was weaker. 

“More like a stalemate. Besides. . .”

He gave a small head tilt before suddenly her legs pushed against him, flipping him above her head. He let go of her arm, trying to stop himself from flipping. She quickly rounded and got above him, trapping both hands in her metal one as she placed her weight on his thighs, keeping from him lifting his legs to do the same. 

“I won now.”

Ok so he may or may not be pinning for the skilled sniper sleeping in the same room as him, who can beat him in hand to hand combat, does not intrude into his space, while also being a helpful hand when it comes to modding Hawk, and she looks good. Viper gave a quiet groan at his thoughts as he let the water wash his sins off the wall before he turned off the water. Drying most of his hair before wrapping the towel around his shoulders and pulling on a pair of boxers. He stepped into the room he shared the person of his thoughts with. Spider was distracted, she had taken her DMR apart and cleaned it again. The jump to their next contracts always left her on edge. “How many times have you taken that apart now?” He asked as he pulled on his pilot gear. “In total or while you were in the shower?” She was being funny, noticing he was in there longer than usual. He shook his head but grinned. 

“Ha ha very funny.” 

“Huh really, am I getting better at jokes? But in reality probably not a good idea to use a lot of hot water, you know how the boss and Kane get when they cant basically melt their skin off. There are other ways to relax.” His brain short circuit, did she really mean?-No that's just his thoughts, Spider didn't seem like the type to get attached to coworkers, or offer to be a fuck buddy. He didn’t turn around to face her, rather not look at her and see if she was being serious, the mission wouldn't go right then. “Yeah I know it's called sleep.”

“Thats- “Five mins till we get to the drop, get your asses to your Titans!” Blisked yelled into the comms. Spider didn’t get a chance to finish what she was gonna say as Viper grabbed his weapons and the rest of his gear and rushed out the door, she followed suit. 

He didn’t understand why he was sent on a solo mission, but he was told to for some reason, he guessed it was the fact no one knew his face, so he had to. He was ready to get back to being on the ship and rather deal with his personal issue then do another solo mission, he missed the small comfort of being assisted should things go south. 

He walked into the room quietly, it being late on the ship, and set down his duffel bag. The room looked mostly the same, another Sniper had been added to Spider’s desk, while a few Titan parts were placed on his, most likely due to Spider, she often found bits he was needing to get. Her bed was surprisingly empty seeing how she wasn’t in the hanger and he saw no one in the training room when he passed by. 

He looked to his bed, ready to sleep in his gear and deal with the pain later when he saw something in it. Spider was under the covers, wearing one of his shirts surprisingly and hugging his pillow. He turned not sure how to deal with her and decided to change. He heard the bed creak slightly as he changed and glanced back seeing Spider sit up. 

“Sorry I didn’t know you were back and I- the room felt different- I had problems sleeping and . . .”

She rambled before stopping, looking down and fiddled with the blanket before placing her hands beside her to get up. 

“I’ll get out of your way.”

“Spider.”

She paused and slowly looked up. He was close now, having changed. 

“If you want . . . you can stay.”

He didn’t want to admit but sleeping sucked when he was alone on the mission, the room felt barren without her. He missed her presence in general. 

“Oh-ok” 

She went towards the wall of the bed, grabbing her pillow and placing his back in the process as he got in. She hugged the wall as he faced the outside and he could feel her tension and it got on his nerves. He flipped over after sometime and placed a hand on her waist and held her.

“Relax.”

She took a deep breath calming herself before the two slowly drifted to sleep. They woke up with her head tucked under his chin and her own arms wrapped around his waist. They didn't speak about sleeping together, but they didn't stop either. He didn't know what to call whatever they had, sleeping together but not actually sleeping together. 

She was on a solo mission now. They needed someone who could go in and get close to the target without drawing attention. She volunteered actually. Pointing out that she still wasn't known as a Predator, and was an assassin before joining them. She got back two weeks later and immediately went to the med bay. The mission was successful but she had taken a few bullets, thankfully not in severe locations, removing glass shards, and trying to fix her arm. 

She was in a foul mood and no one bothered her, well except him of course. He had snatched her gear, arm and helmet mainly, the visor was cracked, as he set out to fix the two as she recovered. Once released from the med bay she was to rest and given a few more weeks for the nanites to do their job. 

He bothered her by watching movies, Top Gun and Edge of Tomorrow at least twice. Once healed she immediately went back to training, prepping her body after not having done so while healing. He joined her, bored out of his mind. 

"-nd I snapped his arm in half." 

She was talking about the mission as they spared. He stayed quiet letting her sort of vent before he blocked a swing from her. 

"Taught the ass to don't even think about touching someone without asking."

She spoke of someone following her, harassing her, while on the mission. She had gotten somewhere quiet and out of view before she attacked him after he touched her. While he was pissed that someone touched her, the fact that she broke his arm made him satisfied. He gave a groan hearing what sounded like metal on metal. 

His head was pounding yet he didn't even drink that much the night before. Spider was trying to be quiet, whipping up some food their bodies could handle while being slightly hungover. Eventually the noises stopped and he could tell lights were turned off. Cracking one eye open just a bit to see Spider in the kitchen eating whatever she made quietly, lost in her thoughts.

She was wearing one of his shirts again, he could see her shorts under the edge of his shirt but just barely. He looked away in his own thoughts before his eyes flicked back to her when she started moving. Bringing a bottle of water, medicine, and some food. 

"Are you always looking out for everyone?"

She hummed a bit as he sat up before speaking. 

"Guess it's just in my nature."

He gave a soft grunt as he was pushed onto the bed. Spider was quick to straddle him. She leaned down quickly, capturing his lips with hers and kissed hard. He kissed back just as hard as his hands grabbed her waist and head. He’s not sure how the make out session started. They were sparring again when it just got a little heated. OK more than a little, Spider had gained the upper hand and straddled his waist when he let out a tiny choked moan. She halted slightly, surprised by the noise before she moved but it felt like she purposely dragged her weight onto him more. Then they were hurrying back to their room, their gear quickly stripped away.

He was brought back to the present when Spider slowly kissed down his chest, her thumb flicking over a hardening nipple before kissing above his navel. She then tugged on his briefs, getting him to lift his hips as she pulled them off. Her hands felt along his thighs as she breathed over his cock. Slowly she gave the head a tiny kiss before giving a long lick on the underside. His breath was shaky but when she enveloped him with her mouth he let out a moan, his hands covering his face as she slowly bobbed up and down. Stopping at times to flatten her tongue on his head. 

"Fuck." He groaned out. 

Spider hummed, watching his reaction through her eyelashes. She continued before he started to pant harder, his hips slowly thrusting.

"Fuck-Spider-Ah!"

She quickly pulled off, her hand squeezing the base almost painfully keeping him for cumming. Slowly did he come from that high and she started to pump again. She crawled into his lap as she kept the slow pace, her other hand going to her cilt and rubbed lightly before slowly sliding a finger in. She matched her pumps, her finger sliding in as her hand went down. She continued even as she added a second and third. Once she felt stretched did she stop. 

Viper's hands went to her waist as she held him and slowly slid down a tiny moan coming out as she bottomed out. Then she rose and slid back down, her pace slow. His hands gripping her waist tight. She leaned down quickly kissing him as a hand went into his hair as the other braced near his head, his own hands moving, one to her hair, the other to the small of her back. 

The kisses were slow and sloppy, quiet pants came out between the kisses before Spider slowly increased her pace. They broke the kiss, letting their foreheads rest together. Quiet words spoken as the pleasure rose. 

"Nnnn-Viper-ah-Viper!"

"Fu-ck-Spider!"

They came with a shout. Spider giving a few thrust before slamming down hard and stilling. Small shakes went through their bodies as they breathed. Spider made a quiet whine as she pulled off him, feeling slick dribble out onto them both. She ran her hand through his hair slowly before giving a quiet grunt. 

"We need a shower."

"Is that an offer for round 2?"

He said with a grin causing a quiet laugh to escape her.  

"Only if you promise to help clean up the mess."

"Deal."

[robininthelabyrinth]

Eyestealer - ao3 link

Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Senju Hashirama & Senju Tobirama (mostly gen, hints of other relationships later)

Summary: Hashirama really doesn't approve of the thoughtful way his father looks at his younger brother's bright red eyes. He's sure it doesn't mean anything good for anyone.

He's right.

A/N: I feel like I've at least mentioned this to @blackberreh-art, @kitsunesongs, @writhingbeneathyou and maybe @perelka-l

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"What's wrong with him?" Butsama demands, fierce and threatening, his eyes glinting in a way that made Hashirama desperately want to cower away behind his mother.

But he's a big brother now, so he can't: it's his job to protect baby Tobirama, who doesn't know enough to fear their father when he's in a mood like this, and who doesn't even have the coordination to crawl away properly even if he did. He's only just barely managed some determined scooting forward on his belly so far, and even then Hashirama may have been helping a little.

Besides, Hashirama's nearly four; he's already started training to learn to fight and he'll be ready to go out to battle in another year or two, facing the Uchiha clan - red-eyed monsters that he's been told will happily kill kids like him and even baby Tobirama, the very thought of which makes Hashirama's heart break - and surely they'll be much scarier than Senju Butsuma.

...surely.

Hashirama's always been a touch doubtful that anyone would be scarier than his father, and he suspects he doesn't mean it in the way all the adults think he means it, as hero worship and adulation.

No, Butsuma is scary not for his extensive fighting abilities, which Hashirama is duly impressed by, but for the way Hashirama's brave and powerful mother, who fears no one outside the clan compound walls, goes quiet and meek in his presence lest he raise a hand to her (or Hashirama) again. And Hashirama doesn't like that type of scariness one bit.

He doesn't much like the way Butsuma is pointing scornfully at Tobirama, currently sleeping tucked into Hashirama's shoulder, either.

"The medics say he's healthy," Hashirama's mother murmurs quietly. Too quietly; she’s such a happy person when her husband isn’t around. "Thriving-"

"I meant the fact that he looks like a drowned rat," Butsuma snaps, his chakra blazing with the bad-hurt feeling Hashirama has been told is called killing intent. "Skin like an Uchiha, hair like a Hatake...did I get the father right, you bitch, or should I keep guessing? You wrote to me at the front lines and told me I had a second son, not - this!"

"The child is yours," Hashirama's mother says, then cries out when Butsuma strikes her.

Hashirama flinches and clutches Tobirama tight enough that he wakes up, surprised and gurgling a tentative whine, little baby fists reaching out blindly.

"Lie to me again, whore, and I'll snap the brat's neck and get started on making the next one before his body's even cooled," Hashirama's father says, and Hashirama tenses, preparing to flee.

He doesn't understand why his father's so angry, but he knows enough about snapping bones - necks - to understand the meaning of the threat. He won't be able to stop his father himself, he knows that, but he's fast and he's small and there's a hole in the back wall that he could wiggle through with Tobirama if he had to, and once he's among other Senju his father usually at least pretends to keep his temper under control, which will slow him down. Out through the wall, into the compound - maybe into the forest if the rest of the clan doesn't oppose Butsuma's plan - the rest he can figure out later, but he won't let his brother get hurt if he can help it, he won’t, he's the big brother, it's his job to protect Tobirama, his mother said so -

"He's yours, I swear it!" she cries, her hands thrown up to ward off another blow. "There's no one else, and never has been!"

"Do you think I'm blind? You're as dark as me, skin and hair both, and your parents and grandparents the same -"

"Hashirama, sweet one, show your father your brother's eyes," his mother says, not taking her eyes off her husband (you keep your eyes on the enemy at all times or else you die, Hashirama's fighting instructor said, but when a wife would start to consider her husband, her clan head, an enemy, Hashirama doesn't know).

Hashirama would rather run, but he also doesn't want to leave his mother behind, so he obeys, turning Tobirama around and tilting his head up with a finger under his chin.

"Red eyes," Butsuma says, lips twisting to a sneer even more disgusted than before. "Sharingan red. Uchiha, then. Don't tell me you're pleading rape of all things -"

"He's an albino," she says. "White hair, white skin, red eyes - like the Nara's sacred deer. It just happens sometimes, an act of nature; that's all. The child is yours; I swear it on my life - on Hashirama's life."

Hashirama doesn’t really think his life is hers to swear on and all things considered he'd really rather she didn't, but if it makes Butsuma less angry, less likely to hurt them, fine.

"A rat like that, mine?" Butsuma scoffs, though the terrible killing intent is fading away. "Wonderful. You would have me be the father of a sickly, deformed runt, then, instead? Worthless!"

"It's true that albinos are sickly, my lord; eyes weak to light and skin liable to burn too easily, but that is not all that he is. All the medics say he's doing very well – they say he’s very healthy - they even say that the signs point to his having a powerful chakra -"

Butsuma snorts, crossing his arms. "It’s impossible to tell anything about chakra at all before the age of two at the earliest. Soothsayers are always predicting great power, and they’re rarely saying more than what the parents want to hear. He could have none at all!”

"Or he could turn out like Hashirama," she counters. Hashirama is unusually strong for his age, though he would very much like to be left out of this conversation. He focuses on hushing Tobirama, who appears to be considering crying, and on edging backwards towards his chosen escape route. "Another credit to the strength of your blood -"

Butsuma barks a laugh. "Don’t be ridiculous. A pathetic thing like that? There wouldn't even be any point in testing him for the Mokuton."

The Mokuton. Right.

Hashirama's shoulders ease a little in relief: the Mokuton means that his father can't kill little Tobirama even if he wants to. It's against clan law for any Senju child (and Hashirama's mother is Senju, too, from one of the more distaff branches, so there’s no question of it, even if her own mother was a Nara) to be killed before they get tested for the potential of one day having the clan's fabled but long absent bloodline ability when they ultimately come of age.

Hashirama doesn't even know what the Mokuton is - he doesn't like studying, far preferring to sneak out to the woods to make friends with the trees that sometimes like to whisper back to him - but for the first time he hopes he has it, because if he does then the clan will have no choice but to spare Tobirama even if only for the possibility that he might have it too.

"My lord -"

"Oh, stop whimpering, it doesn't suit you," he says. "I won't kill the puling brat, not yet. Bastard or not, albino or not, if he makes it to fighting age he'll at least be useful as cannon fodder, if nothing else."

"Thank you, my lord," Hashirama's mother says, bowing her head. “We thank you for your mercy.”

Hashirama’s not so sure Butsuma’s words are as merciful as all that. Doesn’t cannon fodder usually mean dead?

"You're not suckling it another day longer, though,” Butsuma continues. “I'm due back on the front lines soon, and I want to get you started on another one before I go - a proper spare, this time."

"Of course, my lord. Hashirama, take your brother to your room."

Hashirama is only too happy to go, though he lingers a moment longer, afraid for his mother even as she smiles (not the usual one, warm and happy, but the one she wears around guests she doesn’t trust) and nods at him to go.

Eventually his father notices that he's still there, though, and Hashirama flees before his glare.

"I hate it when he's mad," he complains to Tobirama, who was starting to sniffle despite having been very good about not crying so far - Hashirama's noticed that flaring his chakra in and out works very well to distract him, even though all the grownups say that chakra sensing doesn't develop until around the age Hashirama is now but what do they know they're clearly stupid, and he'd employed the technique to keep him quiet in the face of their father's danger. "When I grow up, I'm never going to get mad. I'm always going to be happy! Or sad, I guess; sometimes you have to be sad. But nothing else!"

Tobirama quiets down again when they get back to Hashirama's room and cuddle up with Spot the spotted cat, once Hashirama's favorite stuffed toy and now bestowed with great honor to Tobirama (though sometimes, on days like tonight, Hashirama still wants to hold onto him as well, a practice he justifies to himself as teaching Tobirama about sharing).

Once the familiar sounds start up from his parents' room - grunting, mostly, and the slap of flesh on flesh - Hashirama thinks it's over, that they're safe, that his father will forget about his second son (and, if Hashirama is unusually lucky, maybe be even his first as well) in favor of clan politics.

He’s wrong.

He wakes in the middle of the night, frozen by the knowledge that he and Tobirama are not alone in the room.

His father stands above him, dark as a shadow and just as indistinct.

"Red eyes," he murmurs. "Sharingan red. I wonder."

He does nothing else, just stands there for an endless few minutes more before departing, but Hashirama stays awake for a long time after, a frozen feeling in his belly and a certainty that something terrible was going to happen, though he wasn't sure what, fixed firmly in his mind.

He wasn't able to shake that feeling, not in the three weeks his father stayed at home, nor in the few months of peace they have after he leaves and before he visits again, or even the brief reprieves they have after that. Instead he made a point of being around Tobirama as much as possible, diligently practicing his vow of not getting mad (it’s hard, especially when Tobirama breaks something of his, though he perseveres by reminding himself that it’s inevitable for babies to have such accidents) and just as diligently training his fighting and running skills with a fervor he’s never had before.

He knows that he needs to get strong and fast enough to save his baby brother from the terrible thing that was coming for him.

Hashirama's mother thinks it’s cute at first, then concerning, but Hashirama persists, even taking Tobirama out with him to the forest to talk to the trees, which he'd never shared with anyone else before. He insists on sleeping in the same bedroom as his brother, and only agrees not to take him to his training if his mother promises three times over that she'd watch Tobirama carefully.

But all his precautions, all his vigilance, are still not enough to save Tobirama from their father.

"Where is he?" Hashirama screams, red in the face, having a tantrum like he hasn't had in years - arms flailing to every side, legs kicking, hands clenched into fists. "Where did he take him?"

"Baby - baby, sweet one, please, calm down -"

"I don't want to be calm!" he howls. He promised himself he wouldn't get mad anymore, doesn't want to be like his father, but for Tobirama he'll break any vow. Vows don’t matter, if only Tobirama is safe. "I want Tobirama! Where did the bastard take him?"

"Hashirama! You can't say such things about your father - your clan head - and who taught you that filthy language anyway?"

Butsuma himself had, saying it with a sneer any time he saw Tobirama, and Hashirama still isn't sure what it means but is pleased that his suspicions that it's some sort of insult have been confirmed.

Butsuma deserves all the insults under the sun, but Hashirama promises he'll never say another one ever again if only he brings back Tobirama unharmed.

He says as much to his mother, who looks suddenly older and more tired.

"Your father's trying to help," she says, but her words ring hollow in a way that suggests she doesn't believe what she's saying. "He took him away to try something....Hashirama, you know how I told you that there was a good chance that Tobirama would grow up to be blind?"

Hashirama nods, reluctantly calming enough to listen. She'd explained that the white color of Tobirama's skin and the redness of his eyes meant he was different from the other babies, much more delicate: that Hashirama needed to be vigilant about spreading the special goop the medics made just for Tobirama over his skin before taking him out into the sunlight, that they should try to stay in the shade of the trees, and, yes, even that Tobirama might not be able to see things like Hashirama does and that maybe, when he was older, he would end up not seeing things at all.

"Well, if what your father has planned works, Tobirama will see even better than you. So it's a good thing!"

"If it's a good thing, why have you been crying?" Hashirama asks accusingly. He doesn’t trust their father, who hates Tobirama, to have good things in mind for him. "Why is there only one medic involved, and why does he look so scared?"

"There's only one because this is a secret, sweet one, a secret your father is keeping even from the rest of the clan. Even you, baby, you don't get to know what exactly it is; that's why you don't get to be in there with him to keep him calm, even if that would make it easier. And -" she hesitates. "And the medic and I are only scared that it won't work right, that’s all."

"And what happens if it doesn't work right?" Hashirama demands.

His mother's silence is his only answer.

Hashirama goes back to screaming. When his throat goes hoarse - hoarse and tickly in the way that he's learned to associate with the way his cuts quickly scab over and disappear without leaving any scar - he stops, going quiet but not calm. Determined.

It breaks his heart to even think it, but he knows now that he can't trust his mother with Tobirama's safety: he left Tobirama in her care while he attended his lessons, trusted her, and she betrayed him. She gave him to Butsuma, who Hashirama is certain was hurting him even now. Maybe even killing him, and all the while Hashirama can do nothing but sit here, helpless to do anything to stop him.

Helpless.

Powerless.

He hates it.

His mother, seeing his tears and shouts come to a stop, tries to gather Hashirama into her arms, offering comfort, but he pushes her away.

He doesn’t need comfort. He needs power.

"Teach me a jutsu," he demands.

"What, now?" she asks, surprised. "You don't have to resume training until later -"

"Sensei says you were a front-liner before you married and you're in charge of the defense reserve now, which means you must know some. Teach me!"

"But -"

"Something mean," he says. "Mean and awful. Something that hurts."

"Hashirama -"

"I need to get stronger to take care of Tobirama," he says. He won't admit the possibility that his brother is dead, that he's failed in the first job he's ever been entrusted quite so badly. He can't even think that lest the Shinigami hear him and take adavantage. No, Tobirama has to live. He has to live, even if only so that Hashirama can make up for letting him down like this, can seek his forgiveness for not protecting him properly. "No one else will do it, so it had to be me."

His mother flinches like he's stabbed her. She looks at him, her eyes searching for something, but Hashirama focuses his gaze on her nose and mouth and forehead, the way he was taught to do when fighting Uchiha.

Fighting the enemy.

Her shoulders bow forward as if under some terrible weight and Hashirama wants to apologize for being so cold, wants to burst into tears and throw himself forward into her arms, but the thought of Tobirama - alone with their father, just a baby and even more helpless than Hashirama - makes him hold fast.

"Okay," she whispers. "I'll teach you."

Hashirama is what his sensei calls a natural - he's got loads of extra chakra, lots more than other kids his age, and he finds learning the right signs and chakra movements easy. So by the time his father comes back, he's already got the jutsu his mother taught him - Scorpion Sting, she calls it, and it's very nasty indeed - pretty much down and ready to go, no matter what the consequences that will fall on his head, if his father even thinks of saying anything other than that Tobirama is fine and ready to come home.

"We think it took," he says instead. "There's still a high chance of rejection until the implants settle, but things look good. The medic confirms that we won't know how much of it he actually got until he's older, though."

Hashirama doesn't know what that means, but a glance at his mother shows her relief and that means Tobirama is alive.

He doesn't yet believe that he's okay, not until he sees him with his own eyes (and does a check for genjutsu meant to hide injuries) and held him in his arms, but - alive.

"I want to see him!" he demands.

That's the sort if talk that would usually get him walloped, with a lecture about respecting his elders, but his father's in a good mood for once so he just shrugs and gestures airily at the door behind him. "Watch him for a while, will you, Hashirama?" he says, his eyes on his wife. "Your mother and I still need to work on getting you a little brother."

A real little brother, Butsuma means, because for some stupid reason he thinks Tobirama doesn't count. But Hashirama doesn't care about anything other than Tobirama right now, not even about how sick his mother was when her last pregnancy failed after only a few months or how the medics advised her against trying for another so soon.

Not that Butsuma cares what the medics say when it's contrary to what he wants.

Hashirama rushes into the other room, where the medic is holding a roll of bandages in one hand and struggling to get a crying Tobirama to calm down enough to apply them.

Hashirama ignores the medic entirely, leaping up to the blood-stained metal table and pulling Tobirama into his arms, flaring his chakra the way he knows Tobirama likes best.

Tobirama quiets immediately, screams turning into distracted whimpers, and reaches out for Hashirama's hair with his chubby little fists.

He likes Hashirama’s hair: it's his favorite toy to grab with his fingers or stick in his mouth to suck on whenever he can reach it, above even Spot, which is why Hashirama tries to keep it as long as possible. Butsuma usually chops off Hashirama's hair whenever he sees it getting what he considers to be too long for a boy his age, leaving it in a frankly awful bowl cut, but his dignity is a worthwhile sacrifice for Tobirama's gummy gap-toothed little smile.

"At last," the medic sighs. "Hold him still, will you? I want to bandage up his eyes for a little, give him the chance to rest and for his body to adjust."

Hashirama nods, remembering his mother's explanation of how sensitive Tobirama's red eyes were; he wouldn't be surprised if Tobirama's remaining whimpers are because of the bright light in the room. Darkness isn't a bad idea at all.

But even as he holds Tobirama's head still - Tobirama submits to it with ill grace and grumbles, but from the medic's expression it's still far more compliance than they'd been able to get without Hashirama’s help - Hashirama looks at Tobirama's face and frowns.

"Hey," he says. "Are his eyes supposed to have those swirly black dots in them?"

They look almost like the stylized pictures he's seen of the Uchiha, with the dojutsu unique to their bloodline: shining blood-red eyes that he's always been warned never to look into lest they kill him with their super-powered genjutsu.

"Forget about those," the medic advises, wrapping the bandage swiftly and efficiently so that Hashirama's brief glimpse is quickly covered. "Say, you're a bright boy, aren't you? Would you like to learn some iryo ninjutsu? I normally wouldn't, at your age, but you have so much chakra - and as his brother, you're probably compatible -"

"Healing?" Hashirama asks, interested. "What type of healing?"

"It strengthens the body's own resources," the medic explains. "So if your brother gets sick, you can use your own chakra to help him heal faster. I can even teach you a version to lower the possibility of host rejection - that is, something you can use to make his eyes get better quicker. Wouldn’t you like to help with that?"

"Yes! Teach me!" Hashirama exclaims.

All thoughts of the swirling black tomoe are forgotten.

[changingourdestiny]

Fictober Day 19: The Wolves and the Phoenix

Prompt number: 19. “Yes, I admit it, you were right.”

Fandom (AU if applicable): Destiny (Changing Our Destiny Fan-Series)

Rating: M (Destiny is rated PEGI 16)

Warnings/Tags: Mild language, violence

Let’s go hunt some wolves! Upon request of Petra and the Queen, Fireteam Paralight set off to hunt the ‘Kell of Kells’ while being lead by…Blaze?

—

‘Attention, Guardians. This is Petra Venj of the Awoken Royal Guard. Multiple bounties have been issued on key Fallen targets. The Reef is now open to you.’

 “Y’know, if you told me 8 months ago that the Queen would open the Reef to the Guardians of all people, I would have literally laughed in your face.”

Three jumpships soared through the stars as they entered the Reef. “By the way, Adam. We’ll be working with Petra, so don’t get distracted by making lovey-dovey eyes at her, yeah?” Blaze laughed, followed by an agitated exhale from Adam’s comm. “I can’t believe it either.” Rae added before chuckling, “Blaze, don’t hate me, but I wonder what Uldren’s reaction was to the Queen opening the Reef to all Guardians. My guess is…” Rae then began to do an Uldren impression, “‘Sister, I respect your wishes, but what am I to do with all these Guardians? I can’t possibly sass them all! I would-’”

“Guardian.”

A familiar – and slightly agitated – voice come through the comms, taking Rae by surprise. “GYAH! Prince Uldren! Uhh…I can explain?”

Rae heard Blaze burst into laughter on her comm followed by a sigh from Uldren, “See you on the ground, Blaze.”

Rae sighed, “Why me..?”

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!” Blaze snickered.

 ———————————————————————

 “Aaand we’re here!”

Rae, Adam and Blaze arrived on the Vestian Outpost. “I’m gonna go see what Uldren wanted to talk about.” Blaze spoke up, heading towards the throne room, “You guys good to go get the briefing from Petra?”

“Me, yep.” Rae began, “Not sure about Adam though.” Adam’s face went red and punched Rae in the shoulder. “Ow! Hey, I was kidding!” Rae chuckled. Blaze laughed as she left for the throne room while Rae and Adam headed to Petra’s post. Petra was staring at a screen before noticing the two Guardians approaching, “Ah! Welcome back to the Vestian Outpost, Guardians. We’re gonna hunt some Wolves together.”

“Sounds fun.” Rae smiled, “So what’s the mission?”

“Variks tracked the House of Wolves and their Kells to Venus. Let’s get to work.”

“Alright. I have a feeling we’ll be running into angry Vex – they’re still ticked about the Black Garden incident – so we’ll need-”

“Actually, the Queen told me to give you a request if you accepted the mission.” Petra interrupted, “Well, more like an order, really. She wants Blaisel Kiria to lead the mission.”

“…Blaze. The Queen wants Blaze – our Blaze, impulsive, reckless, doesn’t-like-strategies Blaze – to lead the mission?” Rae asked in disbelief.

“The Queen said she’d feel more comfortable if someone she knew and trusted was in charge.” Petra replied, “Say what you will about Blaze but from what I’ve heard, she was one of the best soldiers back in her Reef days-”

“RAEADAMPETRAGUYSHOLYLIGHTDIDYOUHEARHOLYSMOKESI’MGONNAFLIPAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

The conversation was interrupted by the loud voice of an extremely excited Hunter as Blaze came bounding into the outpost towards the group. “Let me guess.” Rae began, “Uldren told you who’s leading the mission.”

Blaze nodded excitedly, practically bouncing with excitement. Rae sighed, “Traveller, help us…”

 ———————————————————————

 “Whoo!! Yahoo!! Yeehaw!!!”

“I HATE THIS!!!”

Blaze whooped and cheered as she jumped across the appearing and disappearing platforms of the Terminus, followed by a panicking Rae and Adam. Rae, thankfully, was able to glide between platforms but Adam was having a bit of difficulty getting through, occasionally barely making it on and off platforms. “Oh, come on! This is fun!” Blaze called behind her as she landed on one of the permanent platforms, “Besides, we need to get hyped up! We’re moments away to stopping Skol-ass for good.”

“Wow, such an original joke.” Uldren chuckled through the comms. “Oh, as if you can make a better one!” Blaze rolled her eyes playfully as Rae and Adam caught up. “Hey. Save the flirting for later!” Rae lightly scolded. “Ah-ah, Guardian. Who’s the leader of this mission?” Rae could the smirk in Uldren’s voice as she sighed in frustration. “The Crow’s and I are inbound.” Petra interrupted the banter. “Roger that.” Blaze replied, “See you soon, P.”

 The three Guardians scaled the large platform when Rae let out a cry of surprise. Blaze spun around to see a group of Fallen appear out of nowhere, “What the-?! Where’d they come from?!”

“Guardians!” Petra’s slightly panicked voice rung through the comms, “There are dozens of new Wolf signatures, and the number keeps growing. It’s the Vex tech!”

“I got eyes on the target!” Rae called out, pointing to Skolas who was standing by Vex gates that were practically spewing out Fallen. “Skolas!” Petra exclaimed, “He’s pulling the entire House of Wolves through time!” Blaze cursed under her breath. “Damn…we can’t take on Skolas and all of these Eliksni at the same time…” she muttered before calling out, “Petra, get yourself and the Crows here ASAP! I don’t know if we can take down these Wolves on our own.” Blaze then turned her attention to Rae and Adam, “You two, destroy the gates immediately. The longer they’re active, the more Eliksni will show up. I’ll go after Skolas.”

“What?!” Rae exclaimed, “Blaze, I know you’re the leader for this mission, but that’s insa-!”

“Hey!” Blaze yelled, taking Rae aback, before smirking, “I may not listen to your plans every time, but I always have faith that whatever mess we end up in, you’ll find a way to bring us out victorious. That’s not just faith I have in you as a leader, but as a friend. So now I need you to have faith in me, Rae-Rae.”

That’s when Rae saw it. This wasn’t the usual ‘cocky, impulsive Blaze’ smirk. This was something different. This was the Blaze that Petra described; a strong, determined and calculated Blaze that knew what she was doing. Rae was silent before smiling, “Alright. I’ve faith in you.”

Blaze gave a nod before yelling out, “Fireteam Paralight, engage!!!”

 Rae and Adam sprinted for the gates, striking down whatever Fallen got in their way, as Blaze headed straight for Skolas, “Oi, ugly! I’m over here!” Skolas spotted the Awoken Hunter and yelled out something in Eliksni. “He just said, ‘Foolish child.” Variks began, translating Skolas’s words, “I stole the gift of Freedom. Secrets of time and space. House of Wolves will stand forever.’”

“He has nowhere left to run!” Petra added, “Take him down!”

“Gladly!” Blaze smirked. Blaze scaled up a tower before doing a backflip over Skolas, firing shots at the Kell as she flew, before landing perfectly. She ducked behind cover as she reloaded her hand cannon and called through her comm, “How’re those gates coming along?”

“Adam just finished the second-last one!” Rae replied, “I’m still working on the last one, but these Servitors won’t leave me alone!”

“Adam, go provide Rae with backup! Petra, what’s your ETA?”

“Not much longer now.” Petra responded.

“You better hurry! You’re missing the party!”

Blaze went to jump out of cover and engage Skolas when-

*WHAM!!!* “ACK!!!” “BLAZE!!!”

Blaze felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs as Skolas pinned her against the wall by the throat and crushed her hand cannon, which had fallen out of her grasp, under his foot. Blaze frantically clawed at his grip but to no avail. Rae and Adam, who had just finished taking down the last gate, tried to make their way to Rae, but the Fallen kept getting in their way. Blaze kept trying to break out of Skolas’s grip as the Kell kept choking her. Skolas chuckled darkly as Blaze began gasping for air…

 …until he felt his hands getting warm…

 …then hot…

 …then scorching…

 Skolas’s eyes went wide as he suddenly let go of the Awoken, holding his burning hand. Skolas went to glare at Blaze but took a step back in fear at what he saw. Blaze’s body slowly began to catch fire as she looked up at Skolas with a malicious grin. “You wanna play dirty…alright…

…LeT’s PlAy DiRtY!!!”

The fiery wings sprouted from her back as Blaze fully catches fire and tackles Skolas, clawing at him and leaving burn marks on him. Skolas let out ear-splitting yells of pain, as Rae, Adam, and even some of the Fallen, looked on in horror. “Is that…?” Petra gasped. “Blaze’s power.” Uldren finished, “She erupts into flames when she would become enraged…but she doesn’t seem enraged this time…maybe those Guardians were able to do some good after all.” Uldren muttered the last part.

 Skolas crumpled to the ground, Blaze standing in front of him, as the remaining Fallen retreated. “Listen here, ‘Kell of Kells’.” She growled, “If I EVER hear about you or any of your Wolf or Kell buddies betraying my home, I will personally ensure that you all burn in hellfire.”

“The House of Wolves is broken!” Petra announced, “Stand by for a transmission.”

“Transmission?” Rae raised an eyebrow before the familiar voice of Mara Sov came through the comms.

“This is Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken. Guardians, when you first came in search of the Black Garden, I thought of you as just more Motes of Light, too far from their Traveller. I see now that I was wrong. Accept my thanks, and the promise of a fitting reward. Petra, bring Skolas to me!”

As Skolas was transmatted onto a nearby ship, Petra hopped back on comms, “Capture confirmed. I almost feel sorry for Skolas here. Conversations with the Queen can be…harsh. Anyway. I'll meet you back at the Reef…with your reward.”

Suddenly, Uldren’s voice rang through the comms, “Guardians, listen closely because I will never say this again…but good work. Not just with Skolas…but when Blaze was with the Guard, I was only able to teach her how to weaponize her temper…but you were able to help her to use her powers without using her temper…and she has found a place where she can feel at home...where she’s respected for herself. If you value your Light, you best never upset or betray her or you will have me to deal with, am I clear?”

“Crystal.” Rae replied.

“Good. See you at the Reef, Paralight.”

Blaze fell onto the ground with a sigh, before letting out a chuckle, “Heh…heheh…see? Told you I’d lead us to victory!”

“Yes, I admit it, you were right.” Rae laughed as she helped the still-warm Awoken to her feet, “Now let’s get back to the Reef. We have a reward to claim.”

“Hey! The mission isn’t over YET! I’m still the leader!”

“Haha! Alright, alright. Lead the way, fearless leader!”

[thefloatingstone]

speaking of fandom favourites why do so many people get angry at me when I tell them Sans doesn't remember resets .3. I know it's just my own theory but if he could really remember then I don't think he'd be so chummy around the human after a geno run, I dunno maybe I am all alone in that one. I assume he can only remember as much as everyone else since he gets flashes of deja vu like all the other main monsters

Actually you’re not alone at all! I am absolutely behind the idea that Sans CANNOT remember the resets any more than anyone else can. I actually answered an ask about this a while ago on the Time Scar blog, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I copy past my input on this here.

This is something I’ve been convinced of since the very beginning (and many of my earliest one shot comics will show you my opinion on this) and a big part of how I shape most stories using him and Frisk as characters.

I will say people getting angry with you over it is really stupid tho :/ that seems INCREDIBLY petty and immature.

Anyway, here’s what I said originally;

(Please be patient while I try and upload the images that accompany this post with my flaky broken internet)

Ask:

Hey I read somewhere on your blog that you believe that Sans doesn't remember the resets and just figures out that it happens. Since I'm on the side of Sans remembering resets can you show me what evidence or argument you have for your opinion. I want to find out which is more likely to be cannon (cause I don't think Toby said anything about that). 

My answer:

I haven’t finished my Pacifist run through yet so I don’t know if he says anything in that playthrough, but considering most of the direct contact you have with Sans is in the Genocide run through it may not matter (Please don’t correct me if I’m wrong. I’ll get to Pacifist when I’m ready myself)

At the end of Genocide, (If you’ve played the game before obviously) Sans reveals a lot of info about how much he knows regarding the resets, and it’s very telling as to HOW he got the information.

When he confronts the human in the Hall of Judgement at the end, it’s because he’s reached the conclusion that the human will not stop and nothing can change that based on him just watching the Genocide run from a distance. He’s also come to the conclusion that the human is impossible to stop, THIS he mentions based not on what he remembers, but by what he’s discovered himself.

He mentions talks a lot about “our Reports” and stuff. (forgive me if my exact wording isn’t correct) as well as “their analysis”. He mentions how “they” have been monitoring the situation and have “noticed a lot of flux in the timespace continuum” and how timelines keep changing and altering, and through analysis “they’ve” come to the conclusion that he human is the one responsible for the changes in events, always in the human’s favour.

(That seems like a very strange question to ask if he knew for a fact, isn’t it?)

If Sans simply remembered the timelines and knew the human could reset things then why the hell would he need data and analysis to know all that?

He has residual memories, but then so does everyone else. He mentions that “He can’t help but feel that we were once friends”. He mentions this not as a memory, but as a lingering feeling (much like Toriel remembers which kind of pie you like although she’s not sure HOW she remembers or even knows that). Sans has a feeling that there was perhaps a friendship between the human and himself, but he cannot really remember it. Which is PART of the reason the whole thing has him so despondent. He realised that a reset doesn’t just take away what could have been a happy ending; it doesn’t even have the decency to let you REMEMBER the happy ending.

So he uses that residual memory as a weapon to literally backstab you. It’s another ploy to cut you down because at this point Sans is pulling out every trick he has the longer you’re able to keep up with him because he’s just fucking done with you. Later on if you KEEP coming back and fighting him he says “if we ever WERE friends, don’t come back.”

People seem to forget that Sans is a LIAR. He lies throughout most of the game. And a LOT of the things he does are deliberate ploys to misdirect or hide the truth. Most of the time it’s not malicious, most of the time it’s legit just a survival strategy, sometimes it’s just to be a bit of a jerk because Sans is a practical joker by nature, but if you start becoming a problem in a genocide run, he doesn’t magically start telling the truth all the time. He only starts mentioning a memory of being friends with the human after he starts sweating and getting tired in the fight. He realises you’re not as easy to put down. and only THEN does he even bother mentioning the possibility of being friends before. It’s another ploy using what little info he has. Even Sans’ info says he’s “the easiest enemy” which is an obvious lie. People forget that Sans is all about misdirection and blatant lying in various degrees which is part of the reason his fight is insanely frustrating. He keeps telling you things about his attacks or what’s about to do which are either misleading or just outright untrue.

So Sans has residual memories, but that doesn’t mean he remembers anything with clarity. He’s no different from the other monsters. He just happens to be insanely smart, and he’s extremely scientifically minded. I’m not sure who the “They” are that he talks about. My first instinct would be he’s talking about Alphys but he never mentions her by name so I’m unsure about that one.

But again, the point is, why the hell would Sans talk about reports and data to “figure out what’s going on” if he remembered and could just say “oh shit! The human’s resetting to get the odds in their favour!” you don’t need all this science hoo-ha for THAT! If Sans remembers the resets and decided he needed to do a bunch of science to figure out what’s going on… he’d be kinda stupid wouldn’t he? And Sans has shown through VARIOUS other situations in the game that he is ANYTHING but stupid.

People mistake Sans’ deductive reasoning for “oh he remembers!” and for the life of me I cannot understand why. If people actually listened to what he says instead of memeing about bad times maybe this wouldn’t be such a problem. But honestly, if you’re somebody who actually played Genocide (unlike me who watched it on youtube I guess) I can kinda understand missing some of this, since you’re so stressed out by the fight and trying to survive you may not be absorbing Sans’ conversation. (Much like I had people tell me they actually completely missed Papyrus leaving the Royal Guard when he calls you in Waterfall because the person playing is so busy trying to survive Undyne’s attacks that that little bit of info often goes unnoticed)

Why would Sans be such a special snowflake to remember things when literally NOBODY ELSE (besides Flowey but he’s a special case) remembers anything but residual stuff? It just doesn’t make sense.

Long story short; Sans is smart and figured it out using the tools he had available to him. He didn’t need a “special circumstance” (ie memory) to get the answers. He had exactly the same info as everyone else, but was intelligent (and distrusting) enough to look into the situation a little deeper since he had the resources to do so.

Give Sans a little credit, would ya?