#full-on ''oh so it's not that he doesn't like kids. I'm just not worthy of his love and attention. there's something wrong with me''

[multishipper-baby]

Thinking more about Brooklyn and Raymond... Because if they did live in the same universe, it would be SUCH a mess. Especially since I don't think Owynn would want them to know each other at first, given that he doesn't like being called out for his fuck ups- so I'm imagining Ray first finding out that he has a younger sibling once he's like 13 years old and Brooks is already around 8 years old. Not to mention the extreme awkwardness of Eak and Loon trying to talk to each other about the whole thing.

Not to mention that, while Ray does want younger siblings, he always imagined having siblings from Eak- knowing that his absent father had another child he likes more than him would make his abandonment issues way, way worse. He'd grow to like Brooklyn, but I imagine the first time they met he'd be so distressed by the situation he'd go fully nonverbal. Not a great first impression.

Brooks would be more cool about it; ae is much more prone to just going with the flow than thinking things deeply, not to mention ae would still be fairly young and thus too immature to deeply introspect on the situation. And while Owynn is still not a very involved father with Brooklynn either, ae is waaaay more in denial about that than Ray is, seeing him more as a Disney dad than an outright deadbeat. That could probably lead to a sibling fight in the future but!!! Let's not think about that!!!

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPxDC prompt: Danny is Chronos' first child.

Well, not his first child biologically, to be completely honest.

It just so happened that the Phantom very often helped/helps/will help Clockwork at different times and his presence next to the titan required an explanation.

And the opportunity to call Zeus a little brother is worth a lot, right? So when the Ancient came up with this idea Phantom did not resist just to have such a pleasant bonus from their cooperation.

However, in the time of the gods and heroes, such a solution was not a problem. But in modern times, when Phantom tries to attract as little attention as possible in order to graduate from university, such relatives are more likely to cause a lot of problems.

~~~~~

Wonder Woman: Uncle Danny?

Superman, who wanted to chase away a teenager serenely strolling through still smoking battlefield, turns to Wonder Woman, who is waving affably at excactly this guy.

Well, Fenton honestly happened to be in Fawcett City by accident, and it just so happened that by chance it was on this sunny and cloudless day that the villains decided to cause riots worthy of the attention of the founders of the Justice League.

Danny: Diana! My dear, it seems like we really haven't seen each other not for a long time! In what century was it? Ah, I honestly, I barely remember it... The speed at which children grow up defies the laws of time. I mean, look at you! Your mother must be so proud. How's Dad? Still not paying child support, arrogant bastard?

Wonder Woman: Oh, uncle, please. I'm all grown up now, don't worry about me.

Danny: Hm, well, let's get back to this question later. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends. Anyway, would you like to introduce them, little princess?

Wonder Woman: Of course, meet Kal El, Batman, and Shazam. The rest of the guys have already returned to our base. Would you like to...

Danny: Ooh, you're talking about, um... What do you young people call it? The Justice League, right? During my youth, the heroes rarely united and mostly performed all the feats alone. It's good that you help each other, kids.

Danny flies up a little to pat Superman and Batman on the head.

Under the Diana's gaze full of hope that they will get along with her uncle, the men do not move.

In the background:

Red Hood and Robin who used to hang out with Danny near the Lazarus pits: *sounds of seagulls dying of laughter*

~~~~~

Flash: So you're Diana's uncle?

Danny: Yes, call me Danny.

Flash: Cool, cool...

Danny: What does the temperature have to do with it? Do you need ice? Let me make some for you.

Flash: No, it's like,um, I didn't know that Zeus has a younger brother with that name. So, it's good to know?

Danny: Hmm, thanks. Many people tell me that I look quite young, hah. But actually I'm his older brother, so...

Flash: Older? Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect.

Danny: No, it's all right. It's "cool". I rarely appear on the pages of your human myths and legends, I know it. After all this business about Chronos devours his own children, my father punished me for a long time. So, yeah...It's a funny story.

Flash: Punished for what? How?

Danny: Uh, sitting in a room at a time when there is no Internet or electricity is not fun at all. You see, I just didn't want a younger brother or sister because I was afraid that my parents would pay less attention to me. So, I made up this stupid prophecy and persuaded Gaea to tell it in order to remain the only child in the family. My father would never have thought that I would decide to kill him, that's why...Phah, it's just a bad family story. In 10 thousand years, we'll all laugh about it.

Flash: Yeah, that's... funny.

~~~~

Danny *is woken up by an emergency call from the League at three in the morning, although he fell asleep at two o'clock* (he gave his contact so as not to upset his niece): I knew this would happen! I knew it!

~~~~

Billy Batson *stands in his human form in front of the Justice League and doesn't know what to say*,*sweating nervous*.

Danny *enters the hall*: What's up, mortals, Diana and...Batman? My father said that there is something that I have to be here for. Oh! Well, at least someone in this family is also a shapeshifter. Have you decided to make a younger form so that your uncle doesn't feel lonely? What a good boy! Usually everyone is so afraid to seem like children, once they turn a couple of centuries old. Ah, youth~

Billy: Yeah, I decided to..experiment? and it seems I got stuck by accident.

Danny: It's okay, Uncle Danny will help you. Come on, let's go...

~~~~

Danny *teleports them to the Fawcett City*.

Billy: ....

Danny:

Billy: Hey, I'm still stuck!

A new portal opens and a man in a purple cape hands Billy a note. "Go to Constantine. P.S., my son always completes all assignments only by half, sorry." written on it.

Billy: Oh... OoOhHh!!!

~~~~

Meanwhile, Constantine, who is forced to do additional work: Son of a bi... beloved and respected Master of Time.

Danny: Yeap, that's me.

Constantine: Damn it. Couldn't you just let Batman adopt him like in other timelines?

Danny: And where's the fun in that?

[johnslittlespoon]

leaving bikeriders anon here again i’m going crazy over the back and forth constant neither of them saying anything out of nervousness of it all like of COURSE it would take them forever to actually get together there would have to be an honest to god crisis a completely off-kilter situation for them to get together they’re so bad at communicating. also have not been able to get the thought of them running into each other by chance at a bar across town and even though bucky showed up with people he just ends up at a table in the corner with gale the whole night. gale jokingly asks if john is even old enough to drink which turns into a whole thing where john suddenly has to prove to gale that he CAN drink and he IS old enough and is Definitely Worthy of gale’s attention. anyways!

HIII i'm still ON one about this too dw

exactly my goddd the back and forth would be physically painful to write/read honestly lol the flirtation and the sexual tension!!

ur so right smth absolutely wild would have to happen, or one of them would have to slip up, or there'd have to be an argument where feelings are blurted out in anger/hurt, orrrr, in relation to your idea at the end which i'm going clinically insane over bee tee dubs:

john is so offended by the insinuation that he's too young to drink even if gale's joking, made worse probably by gale throwing in a kid– "you old enough to be in here, kid?" with the corner of his mouth quirking up a bit.

john puffs his chest out and tries not to let the one beer he's had slur his words, goes "'course i am" all huffy, rolls his eyes, reaches for gale's full shot glass while holding determined eye contact and tips it back without a second thought, really has to clench his fist in his lap for a second when it threatens to come right back up, not used to anything quite so harsh.

it's not gale's intention to egg him on like that, john's just bristly, a messy college kid used to bulldozing his way through life, never turning down a bet or challenge, has maybe been watching a pretty girl hang off gale's other side on top of everything and wants to prove that he can be exciting and mature too.

john ends up drinking too much, taking whatever shots the others in gale's group pass him for their entertainment until gale shuts the next person who tries down with a pointed glare, slides the shot glass away before john can reach for it, says "alright, we're cutting you off" when john whines out a complaint, leaning heavily against gale's side.

the night ends with gale helping john out of the bar because john's friends leave long before he does. he gets john out to the parking lot out front, gets him situated on the back of his motorcycle, keeps a hand on his shoulder and asks where home is, and john's like, "oh, no, can't go home like this buck, dad'll gimme a shiner" and gale's jaw clenches hard, but it's not the time to get angry.

he's at a loss, because he's not gonna bring john home to an environment he's had a faint suspicion isn't the greatest since they met (however that might have been, that's shit for me to plot out later lol) but bringing him to his house seems like a bad idea, but he's also not sure what to do and john's friends don't seem the greatest to just leave him with a borderline stranger. so what else is there to do?

"am i gonna have to tie you to me, or are you gonna hold on tight?" he asks as he climbs on the bike in front of john, and john giggles out a "y'can tie me to wh'tever y'want," filter completely gone from how sloshed he is, and gale looks to the sky and says a silent prayer because jesus fucking christ. what.

i'm like 99% certain that alcohol would be involved in a feelings confession, probably that night when it slips out from john's lips, so drunk he doesn't even realize it. nothing would happen that night, because gale's trying to be a responsible adult and he wants to make sure john's not just saying shit, but he's also quite forward, so he'd bring it up in the morning after he's brought john a water and some painkillers, and john would go so red and he'd drop his head into his hands and whisper an "oh my god" because he can't believe he's slipped up so bad.

and then yk. feelings–talk ensues. john is so mortified, he wants to die. gale is so enamoured but trying to be realistic about things. etc etc i'll flesh it all out eventually when it's time to start writing it >:)

[rainofthetwilight]

LEVI LEVI

In addition to Evil Arin, another thing that is potentially the saddest of all is if you compare his situation with the rest of the kids.

He always wanted to be a ninja, Sora and Wyldfyre didn't, and yet they're still "better" than him. They manage to contribute to the team more easily because they have powers while he has to work twice as hard to feel useful with a skill that he hasn't even mastered yet.

Sora finally found a real family on the team, Wyldfyre still has Heatwave (and she has begun to get closer to the team), but Arin can't allow himself to feel happy there because his parents are STILL missing.

The others can allow themselves to be happy with their new family, but for him, the guilt is overwhelming because his other family is still missing and he feels like he is failing to find them and be useful to both sides. And it's unfair because the one thing everyone keeps telling him that makes him a valuable member of the team (being a spinjitzu prodigy) is no longer enough to keep up with everyone else.

I want you to know that all your posts has inspired me to make a short comic of the poor boy because I love the potential angst of this so much

USGKRKKWJDJSKRJSWSHHSJAWJ YOU ALL REALLY WANNA KILL ME W/ ALL THIS ANGST HUH

UGHBBFBDBDFBJF THIS??? ALL OF THIS????

HE ALWAYS SO BADLY WANTED TO BE AN NINJA IT WAS HIS DREAM...AND WHEN BE DID HE FEELS UNWORTHY AND FEELS LIKE HE CAN'T CONTRIBUTE, WHILE SORA AND WYLDFYRE EASILY DO BC THEY HAVE POWERS...AND THE ONLY SKILL HE HAS WASN'T ENOUGH...

UGDHHDJE HE'S SO FULL OF GRIEF AND TRAUMA AND WHILE HIS CLOSEST FRIEND HAD MOVED ON AND ADJUSTED TO HER NEW LIFE, HE WAS STILL GRIEVING AND MOURNING WHAT HE LOST...

like. Oh my gosh. do you see how much happier and playful sora is in s2? she's so more animated, more cheerful, more like herself, as she finally let go of the past. so when you compare her to arin this season, who's grief has been attacking him in every waking moment, who everytime he speaks he's full of nothing but hopelessness and denial, still having his past haunt him more than it ever did. he still cannot find his other family, he still can't adjust, while sora already did, letting go of the other...

and wyldfyre, she still has her own family while adjusting to the new one, and she's happy! she's so happy, she has good dynamics with them (especially with kai), and is even told by rontu how much potential she has!!!

while arin, who's whole dream was to be a ninja, to be useful and worthy, was immediately crushed. the skill he was once praised for is now suddenly not enough, it's suddenly too weak and sloppy and unmastered. while sora and wyldfyre easily fit in, despite them not wanting to do anything w/ the ninja at first, he's still off in the corner, the jealousy consuming him even tho he doesn't want it to

they easily adjusted to their new families, while he still can't, because just like you said the guilt is overwhelming him so so much because he still can't find his other family and it hurts. he feels useless to both families, literally the first thing he said when he thought he saw his parents was that he wasn't good enough dude...

and all of these? these are all motives for him to snap, to crack his facade and become someone no one knew before, his self doubt absolutely eating him up and he succumbs to ras's words about the ninja holding him back....

oh my god I'm actually INSANE for him bro SHDHSKDJJAJS....POOR ARIN DUDE THIS SEASON HAS PUT HIM THROUGH THE WRINGER 😭

ALSO I'M GLAD I INSPIRED YOU!! :D you better thank everyone that sent the asks for that, you are all feeding me with all this angst bro 😭 also would you mind tagging me when you finish that comic? 👉👈 👀 I need more arin angst despite the fact I'm about to explode rn OUDHDHS

[haveihitanerve]

Avengers: Age of Ultron is my favorite movie, and I am not going to attempt to explain it because I really don't think i can, but here are some of the best quotes from Ultron that I feel the need to share

“Language” “I know, just slipped out” “for gosh sake watch your language” “thats not going anywhere anytime soon”

“Oh look theyre all lining up” “yeah well, theyre excited” fucking obliterates them

“Somebody wanna deal with that bunker?” *destroys it* “thank you.”

“Guys, stop we gotta talk this through.” *shoots all of them* “it was a good talk.” “no it wasn't.”

“Please be a secret door please be a secret door please be a secret-.... Yay!”

“Thor report on the hulk.” “the halls of val halla are filled with the screams of his victims.” *bruce, buries face in hands, steve looks at the roof like lord give me strength, nat looks at thor like what the hell, thor anxiously scrambling to save it and does not succeed*

“Boss?” “Oh no hes the boss, I just design for everything and pay for everything and make everyone look cooler.”

“Hes fast and shes weird.” 

“How is he?” “Unfortunately hes still barton.” “Oh how terrible.” 

“I don't have a girlfriend.” “that i can’t fix.” 

“I've seen her flirting. Up close.” *walks away* *wait a min-*“w-what do you mean up close?” 

“No more renovating.” *in the middle of battle* “you know i think ill make the dining room a little space for laura.” Nat: no one eats in a dining room

“That the best you can do?” “you had to ask.”

“The city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow.” 

“Steve, he said a bad language word.” “You tell everyone about that?” 

“Very very interesting theories. I have a simpler one, you're all not worthy.” *groans, clint sticks tongue out at him*

“Cap doesn't like that kind of talk.” “you know what romanoff..”

“Aw junior. You're gonna break your old mans heart.” “Clearly you've never made an omelet.” “he beat me by one second.” 

“Go to sleep go to sleep go to sleep.” *hulk: roars* “...sorry.”

*steves face when clint greets his kids*

“We would have called ahead but we were busy having no idea that you existed.” 

“Do me a favor. Try not to bring it to life.” *tony: this bitch again? Why are you around every fucking corner you overprotective stalker*

*tony throwing darts* *clint throws a bullseye while hes taking his darts out*

“They're a mess.” “yeah. But they're my mess.” 

“Don't take from my pile.” 

“Just an old man who cares very much about you” tony being the only one to call fury Nick. (and maria hill but in a different movie so wtv)

“What were you napping?”

“Cap you got incoming.” *cut to steve trying to breathe on a car* “incoming already came in.”

“You get hurt, hurt ‘em back. You get killed… walk it off.”

“Evacuate the city.” *no ones moves* “get off your lazy asses.” *fires gun*

“🎶Ooooooh i'm decrypting nuclear codes and you don't want me to.🎶” (tony drop the full album im waiting)

“You're not a match for him cap.” …. “Thanks barton.” 

“Cap can you keep him occupied?” “What do you think i've been doing???”

“Beep beep.” 

“Stark is right.” “oooh its definitely the end times.” 

*everyone's faces when vision lifts the hammer*

“Iron man the ones hes waiting for.” “thats true, he hates you the most.”

“You cant save them all. You'll never-” *gets yeeted off city* “Ill never what? You didn't finish!!!”

“Keep up old man” *lifts bow* “nobody would know. Nobody. Oh last i saw him and ultron was sitting on him. Yeah he’ll be missed. That little bastard. I miss him already.” 

“Fury you son of a bitch.” “Whoo! You kiss your mother with that mouth?” 

“Its terribly well balanced.” “Well if theres too much weight you lose power on the swing so..” 

“Romanoff. You and banner better not be playing hide the zucchini.” 

“I was born yesterday.” 

Thor: says something serious and meaningful. Steve:...But if you put the hammer in an elevator..” Tony: itd still go up. Steve: elevators not worthy

“Im gonna miss these little chats.” “then don't go.” 😭

“Besides this one” *smacks tony* “theres nothing that cant be explained”

“That man has no regard for lawn maintenance.” 

“I will miss you tony.” 😭

“You wanna keep staring at the wall or do you wanna go to work? I mean, it is a nice wall.” “thought you and tony were still gazing into each others eyes.” 

Just them having casual conversations mid battle. I love. 

Its just that they are able, allowed to be a team, to be friends, we get to see them bond, not hate each other, we get to see serene team moments, we get the original six, its just them having a lot of fluff even with all the angst

[multi-fandom-agereg]

Heya! do you have agere headcanons for teru minamoto? i hc him as a flip :D

🐈 Teru minanoto Flip! Headcanons

🚀 ; I'd like to think he's also a flip! But since I think he'd be a little bit on the little side, there may be a few Headcanons of him as a Regressor than a caregiver (only by 2-3)

👾 ; HC count , Little (12) , CG (9)

⚠️ ; slight angst (feeling the need to be mature and/or perfect for the sake of family and peers), Regressing due to stress and anxiety, exorcising (mentioning a few times) + some stuff may not be canon as I'm not too far into the manga myself. Such as his relationship with hanako-kun. (Which i headcanon them as friends just because)

🐈 ; he regresses quite often than not. Mainly due to his family pressuring him about his exorcist 'job' he does. Growing up quickly to pursue his families plan to be the top, and best exorcists known to man.

🐈 ; as the oldest he always was more the father figure of Kou, than a big brother to him. He doesn't mind really. But he still wishes he remembered more of his childhood outside of being the babysitter for his absent parents

🐈 ; his little age is 1-4. Sometimes he could be 6-8 if he's not too deep into his regression state.

🐈 ; when he's little he loves anything paranormal. And is absolutely obsessed with ghost busters. He will dress up into anything that would be themed "ghost hunter" worthy and go capture ghosts with his broom.

🐈 ; despite his differences with hanako when it comes to the big kid stuff, he quite enjoys his company when regressed. Heck, hanako will even play along if he felt like it

🐈 ; has no interest in having a caregiver. However a babysitter is probably something he'd budge on. It's not that he wouldn't want a CG, but he always says; "I just need to figure out my own problems first"

🐈 ; Kou is his babysitter/sibby/playmate! They trust eachother to death. So of course they both trust eachother with their Regression. (I headcanon kou as an age regressor—)

🐈 ; love the attention. He craves it, he wants it. Call him Prince and he'll be the happiest baby there is. Just praise him for literally anything, he'd end up being one clingy kiddo

🐈 ; has a cat onsie because he loves cats too much. He also probably watches bluey and Garfield outside of watching anything with ghosts in them

🐈 ; he is good at masking when he's regressed. After an incident in school when he overhears his popular friend's opinion on "childish" things he felt too embarrassed to openly regress. Being the class president and all. But call this man "bud" or "kid" OR even "prince" he'll softens up and feels less guilty about it

🐈 ; his favorite song to listen to when regressed is "Sweet dreams (sky like dreams)" by Ferdinand fka Left Boy And "Mama's boy" by Dominic Fike. Because he relates to them in some ways. Especially after he became the school president and school popular

🐈 ; owns too much agere gear for one person. But then again, there's no such thing as "too many"!

🐈 ; when he isn't an age regressor he's a 24/7 caregiver. And an amazing one at that. Despite him being power hungry to succeed at his job, he would do anything for his little one.

🐈 ; sometimes full of himself, but he's not doing it on purpose. He wants to be the best caregiver for you, and since he grew up to be, well, perfect. he wants to be a perfect caregiver as well

🐈 ; "mm.." "oh yeah? Go on.." "mhm?" Whenever you rant/ramble/talk about your interest to him

🐈 ; doesn't seem to realize he's a spoiler. (Daily shopping, getting you too many toys, getting you everything you ask for, etc). Though he doesn't seem to mind if asked

🐈 ; he's not a good comforter.. but that doesn't mean he doesn't try. He always listens to what you have to say, and tries to understand your feelings. If that doesn't work he usually turns on your favorite show/movie/etc in attempt to help you feel better

🐈 ; outside of being a total spoiler, he can also be a babier. He doesn't try to do it as much if you don't like the idea of his babying— but when he does he will do it in a more protective-over-your-physical-being way. (Ex; ,"hey! Watch their head!" Saying this while hanako and Nene toss books at one another for.. some reason

🐈 ; absolutely refuses to exorcist anything or anyone when his little is regressing. For obvious reasons, he doesn't want to get all serious when he's on the job and babysitting his little

🐈 ; doesn't understand gifts. Give him stuff like buttons, rocks, pile of dirt, a stick, anything random, he wouldn't get it. He'll accept them, but most of the time he doesn't understand it. Once when you gave him a stick (maybe for a game you were playin, or something) and he ended up just throwing it for you to catch it. He doesn't understand but.. he has spirit I guess

🐈 ; calls you things like "sunshine" and "honey" if you don't mind petnames +of course any petnames you wanna be called as well

[princess-of-the-corner]

Is Marinette a bad person in Forged because I'm getting mixed signals

To clarify because yeah that reaction image was made for both Forged and Lady Luck:

Marinette is a good kid trying her best, but she is making many mistakes due to her experiences. She has a very black and white mentality and a good helping of niaveté, which leads to her making some bad calls.

It's hard for her to imagine a mother who doesn't love her children, and it's very hard to see that someone like Chloé who has been a bully for years could also be a victim of abuse. So her attempts to get Chloé and Audrey to reconcile are mostly based on the idea of 'surely her mother does love her! They just need to find a way to bond!' that kind of resulted in 'I'm sure your abuser will love you if you continue to strive to meet their unreachable expectations!'

She's so used to Chloé being a jerk without really thinking about the reasons she acts that way. So when Chloé does something bad despite making progress, she doesn't think 'oh no what's wrong to make her slip??' and goes right to 'Guess she's being a jerk and was only acting nice to get what she wants!'

When it comes to the Ladybug stuff, she doesn't think past it. She knows that there is danger, of course. But she thinks the danger of knowing their Identities is more that Hawkmoth could track /her/ down and get /her/ Miraculous. He wants the Ladybug and Black Cat why would he care about the others? Why would he want to go after them otherwise? Surely he's not such a petty bitch that he'd harm Heroes for just doing their job?

She genuinely thought benching Chloé would have kept her safe because she's only in danger while /in the field/. Hawkmoth can only manipulate her if she's actively in the fight. Surely he'll leave her alone if she's not there?

She later looked at the situation and decided to take the risk on bringing them in despite knowing their identities because she needed the Heroes she couldn't just bench all of them. But not Chloé because, to her, Chloé 'betrayed' them and 'proved she wasn't worthy of being a Hero'. Completely not realizing that this decision would effect her.

And it's understandable that Marinette thinks this way! She comes from a very loving family that taught her about how love always prevails. She was bullied by Chloé for years. She logically knows there is danger but cannot immediately fathom how much danger because she can't imagine someone going out of their way to cause harm like that.

There are a few times where she does make a genuinely 'I know this is bad but fuck it' call like with choosing Kagami for the Heart Hunter fight to get her away from Adrien, but those are snap-decisions she regrets later.

She does learn! And she is suitably horrified when this stuff is pointed out to her! Like Ivan pointing out the whole Chloé and Audrey situation! But she hasn't hit all the points yet.

However!

Forged takes place from Chloé's POV. She is someone who is not innocent or naive. She's someone who has been abused and manipulated and used before.

So she feels like Ladybug was just another person like that. Saw her as 'useful' and then dropped her when she wasn't. Sees the others as tools. Assumes that Ladybug's actions are all intentional choices made with full understanding of the situation at hand.

[antihibikase2]

Grimsley was running late- and frankly, he did not care, but this wasn't one of those instances where he could chalk it up to his easygoing nature, or his reliance on lady luck.

This tournament was something he and his peers had prepared for extensively; it was a chance to showcase the skills they've honed, to prove themselves worthy of the title Ace Trainer, and to secure a spot in the professional world of battling.

Yet..

"Thinking about it now," Grimsley mumbles, parking his bike just outside Clay's place. "I think becoming a gym leader is too much work, don't you think?"

The child in his basket, initially pre-occupied by suckling on the Lava Cookie between their hands, makes a noise.

"Uhn."

Grimsley chooses to believe that Little Cheri was agreeing with him.

"Yeah, I'm probably not cut out for it. Plus, one of the open spots is at Castelia," He shudders. "Don't think I'd do too well in that place. Too.. bourgeoisie."

"Borger?"

"No, no. It's nothing, little one," He helps Little Cheri out of the basket of his bicycle, settling nicely into the pair of outdoor shoes he had brought. "Grown up stuff."

"McDewoww?"

"No, we're not going to McDewott's. Sorry, kid."

Little Cheri loses interest instantly.

Grimsley chuckles, taking their small hand into his and leads them along.

Though he wouldn't be lying if he excused his tardiness due to having to babysit his sibling at the last minute, it was a stroke of luck (or misfortune, for everyone else) that such a thing occurred on the day he was expected to shape up, to live up to the title he worked so hard to achieve.

To make his mother- and he supposed, father, proud.

Such thoughts were almost nothing compared to the freedom that came with being a big brother; the ability to use his sibling and duties to the family as an excuse to escape almost any situation.

"Perhaps you really are my little good luck charm."

"Cham."

The child stares down at their own feet, making sure to avoid stepping on the lines of the floor.

He laughs a little.

"Now, the tournament is just near the Cold Storage- it's going to be a little chilly, so wear your kuya's scarf, okay?"

Not that he needed the extra warmth- Little Cheri had a big red scarf that matched his, lovingly crafted with the yarn of a ball of Destiny Knot.

But Little Cheri was fickle, and Grimsley knew from a few visits that Little Cheri did not like the cold, nor did they like playing in the snow.

"And sit with ate Shauntal and kuya Marshal when it's my turn to battle- and watch closely! You might pick up a tip or two from me."

And wouldn't that be adorable, for Little Cheri to pick up after Grimsley, as if he was worthy of admiration?

"Much better than dad, that's for sure,"

"Da?"

"..no, nothing, don't mind that."

Little Cheri starts singing to themselves with each step.

As far as Little Cheri was concerned, Noland was just some strange man that visited sometimes and pecked his bedridden wife on the cheek.

It was a cause for concern when Little Cheri cried when they were lifted into his arms, and couldn't even recall what to call him.

"Well, that's his bed, and if he chose to make it that way, whatever-" He scoffs. "We'll be just fine, okay? You, me, and mom."

Even if breathing was harder on some days, and she couldn't take Little Cheri out even for a walk on the outskirts of Nuvema, Lillith would be fine- she would make a recovery.

She had to.

They pass by the market, a little more busy and bustling than usual- Little Cheri stops in their tracks, eyes lit up at the sight of toys and trinkets displayed on the stalls, watching as workers roll in with their carts full of goods.

"Oh, you want something?"

Little Cheri doesn't wait- they start tugging his arm, eyes focused on the plushies hanging on by their threads, enchanted by the way they swayed.

Little Cheri usually doesn't ask for much. They were quiet, polite, content with whatever was given to them- but Grimsley supposed that, no matter how much of a well-behaved angel Little Cheri was, they were just like other children.

He feels slight relief at the realization, that Little Cheri isn't too different from the other kids.

Still, Noland got on his case for spoiling Little Cheri with every visit; so he might as well attach a condition.

"Kuya Grimsley will get it for you, but promise to behave later, okay? Pokemon battles may be fun- but they're dangerous, especially for little kids like you."

Hearing the word "promise", Little Cheri raises a pinky up to him, a habit he's picked up from their neighbor's daughter- oh so he was told. "Pin. Pinpin prammy."

"Prammy-? Yes, I suppose that's what it's called," He links their pinkies together with a grin. "Okay, good kid. Pick what you like."

The shopkeeper is old, but patient, watching as Little Cheri scans through the assortment of plushies. Each Pokedoll had a playful wink, posed into a hug, and had little tags attached on the tabs by their tails.

The other stalls in the market were different from the usual; instead of produce from Mistralton or imports from other regions, cheerful decorations hung on the ceiling as some of the usual shopkeepers of fruits and vegetables made way for others selling toys and small accessories.

Today's turnout weren't just the regulars- they brought their children as well, and a few foreign faces popped up amidst the crowd, mesmerized by the sights.

A fuzzy memory makes its way into Grimsley's mind- he recalls Lillith taking him to one of these shops when he was younger, but it had been slightly bigger with an assortment of fairgrounds activities.

"A fair is what it's called in Unova,"

Lillith had explained, her gentle features illuminated by the dazzling lights of the stalls.

"But in Hoenn, your father and his brothers call it a 'peryahan'- they used to work in these kinds of places during Christmas, you know. For a little extra money. Perhaps this is why he has a knack for playing games- and so do you."

If such a thing ever stood here in Driftveil, Grimsley wondered if it would dazzle children the way the amusement park does in Nimbasa, a sight that shines throughout the seasons.

But perhaps a fleeting experience, one available only a few times throughout the year, was something that could be appreciated by many.

"I didn't know they were selling stuff like these in Driftveil," Grimsley muses, taking out his wallet. "Isn't this usually just, um, a wet market?"

"It's always like this during the holidays, son," The shopkeeper says. "Driftveil and Nimbasa are perfect for us- they're the spots where tourists often go to after a long flight at Mistralton, and it's not too far from Castelia's port. Might as well take advantage of that."

"For your livelihoods, yeah, I get it- but I'm guessing you don't have a permanent shop? I mean, I don't think its ideal to trek through the western routes with your goods."

"No, of course not-" They chuckle. "Renting a spot is too expensive. This is just a way for us to earn extra income during these times; the travel could be better, but,"

They sigh in a way that Grimsley knows all too well.

"Anything for your family, you know?"

"I know."

He understands.

Lillith used to knit scarves to sell at Nacrene City during the holidays, back when she could pick up her knitting needles.

There was a moment in time where he spotted children wearing the same red scarves as him. They've long since outgrown their scarves, but Grimsley still wears his with pride.

Maybe once Lillith got better, he could help her sell her scarves- and with the income he was making as an Ace Trainer, perhaps she could have her own established shop.

And maybe Noland would be home more often, not all the way back at Hoenn, and Grimsley wouldn't have to worry so much if his sibling was being taken care of, or making friends in daycare.

"I've seen you around," The shopkeeper changes the subject. "You're one of those trainers about to make it big, right?"

"About to?" He wished it was that secure. "I- I guess? You could say that, but-"

He remembers why he was here- the tournament was soon to start, yet, he was dawdling in the market.

"You're so young," They laugh. "To pour all your time into Pokemon- my, I used to be a trainer myself, but the battle scene frightened me, and here I am."

"Yeah, it's not for everyone- the competitive scene gets toxic."

"Surely, it has its perks. I heard there are plenty of you this year who challenged the champion."

True; with the talk of Elite Four members and Gym Leaders stepping down, shoes had to be filled- and unlike Drayden or Lenora, many of the league's members had acknowledged that it was time for the youth to step in and take charge.

Many challengers stepped up to Alder this year for that sole purpose.

But Grimsley?

"It's easier for us to get scouted in the professional scene- especially in the league, but,"

This was usually the time a bit of shame pinched Grimsley's chest- but with Little Cheri by his side, it felt less like a shameful confession.

"Really, I'm just in it for the money."

Not for the joy of battling, or even for a shot at making it big.

"It's- yeah, it's not the best motivator, but,"

Little Cheri points at a plushie at last; one of a Buneary.

"Anything for the family, you know?"

Rarely does anyone look at Grimsley the same way after that.

But the shopkeeper's face doesn't contort into that of disappointment, or even disgust- its a melancholic sense of understanding, one that Grimsley had a hard time finding in even his mentor, who empathized with his struggles.

"It's not shameful."

"It's- it's not seen that way,"

"They don't get it," The shopkeeper says. "But not everyone has a good hand in life, huh?"

Those exact sentiments were shared by Lillith- and reluctantly, Noland, awhile back.

"Giima," Little Cheri babbles. "Fuh, fuwa fuwa. Fuwa fuwa. Want."

"Fluffy? You want the fluffy, Cheri?"

"Faffy."

"We'll take the fluffy Buneary then," Grimsley laughs. "How much?"

The shopkeeper takes the plush, eyes the price tag- before not so discretely removing it, crumbling it into a ball in their fist.

"Ah, one-and-five-hundred, son," They smile up at him. "Consider it a discount."

He would argue.

But he would also like to buy flowers for his mother later, and the ones sold at Mistralton's market cost a pretty penny.

He takes the plush with a smile of his own, handing it down to the eager child by his side. Little Cheri squeals, hugging the Buneary close to their face and nuzzling it against their cheek.

He gives the shop keeper the payment, and waves his hand dismissively when they offer him his change. "It's fine, sir. We both, uh, have duties to do, don't we? I hope it isn't too big of a discount,"

"It's alright, son- I'm sure my wife won't mind. Just promise to drop by when you do make it big- and buy all these plush dolls for your cute little sibling there,"

Both men laugh as Little Cheri holds their new plush with both hands, eyes sparkling and cooing.

Grimsley would gladly take his sibling out for more shopping, perhaps even sightseeing in Driftveil- but the shopkeeper's words remind him of why he's worked so hard in the first place, despite his resentment for the image he was meant to uphold.

The title he's earned and all that it took to get where he was,

"Giima, tenkyu."

It was all for Little Cheri, wasn't it?

"You're welcome, kid."

Grimsley takes them by the hand again- though they weren't expressive in either expression or tone, Little Cheri seems to have lightened up a bit.

"Let's go, or Shauntal is gonna yap my ear off."

...

As the two boys make their way out of the market, the shopkeeper is approached by a man around his age; it seemed they were planning on selling used books.

"Oh, you're- Godfrey Rood, yes?"

Godfrey looks away from his stock of plush dolls. "Yes. And you're-"

"Zinzolin Ryder," They offer a gloved hand. "One of the sages."

"Yes, I recall- Lord Ghetsis put you in charge of-"

"Researching the legends, as well as gathering the relics."

"Oh, I suppose such a task makes it difficult to do your regular job nowadays?"

"Tell me about it," The other sighs. "The Order has its volunteers- but I need to pull my own weight as well."

Godfrey nods.

He sees Zinzolin is not alone- several people carry his stock to his stall, greeting the pair with a silent nod as they head in and out of the market.

"And I assume those are your followers?"

"Oh, no no no. Not mine-"

Though he was a mere spectator, Zinzolin's eyes did not fail him when he caught a glimpse at those pair of siblings by Godfrey's stall; particularly the smaller of the two, wide-eyed and innocent.

"-The Heart's."

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon

Wow...somehow this one just completely fell off my radar, otherwise I would have watched it a long time ago lol. I seriously thought I was all caught up with pre-Tamers anime until I saw this on the 02 TV Tropes and was like "oop..." It was a good surprise though, I can never get enough of these Mamoru Hosoda style shorts! (Looks like he didn't actually work on this one though).

I watched this dubbed first to take screenshots and then subbed. It's hard to find a non-crunchy version of the subbed short. The OG Japanese was a lot stronger imo because, as usual, the dub ruined some stuff with it's jokey tone and music choices. Still decently faithful though. Full thoughts below.

Notes:

So this is like a midquel, I guess. I don't know if there's an exact place within 02 I was supposed to watch this, but I didn't feel like my immersion was wrecked or anything haha.

While the aesthetic of the short was great, I felt the story was pretty redundant and eye-roll worthy. "Oh Omegamon/Omnimon is back for some contrived reason and the OG chosen children's digimon can't defeat him like they did last time...for some contrived reason. This looks like a job for the 02 protagonists!" Whatever, it doesn't have to be deep to be fun.

The early 2000s CG looked pretty good actually. I thought it added a fun otherworldliness to the Kuramon.

Kuramon look a lot like Takodachi (Hololive fans know what's up). I wonder if there was some inspiration there on a subliminal level.

I wonder if Daisuke's character designer intended him to be from a southern part of Japan. His tan skin sticks out more in this art style.

I feel like Diaboromon got uglier somehow compared to Our War Game lol. Armagemon's design was deliciously creepy though. He looked like something out of an Alien movie. His entrance was epic and probably would have freaked me out a lot as a kid. Weirdly, they never actually said Armagemon's name so I just assumed it was Diaboromon until I googled it just now lol

Sora and Mimi were like two sides of the same coin in this. Mimi was useless, but in a delightful way. Sora was useless, but in a boring way lol. Seriously, she didn't need to come all the way home from her tennis club trip to just go "I'm here!" and then do nothing. I'm not saying there was much she could do anyway, but I get really pissed that they never gave her character a real point aside from "bland love interest" in any Digimon show/movie.

Loved Mimi's interactions with Koushiro. Their awkward "we're in the same friend group but have nothing in common" chemistry is so fun.

Yamato seemed extra cool with his rings and stoicism. I do kind of wish he and Taichi got a little more dialogue though.

Really didn't like the direction of the fights inside the internet. They were either animated too up close or too distant so I felt like I couldn't really follow what was going on half the time. Also, the choreography wasn't that inspired. The IRL fight at least had a cool Evangelion vibe going for it. The harbor was a really aesthetic setting for a final fight.

I've started shipping DaiKen for funsies (there's some really cute fanart) so it was nice seeing them together in the elevated art style hehe.

Daisuke has a Yamato phone strap! So cute and supportive

It's funny how the digimon sizing suddenly changes when we're in movie-mode. Angemon and Angewomon were huge in this! I was excited to see the 02 digimon, but they mostly looked the same as they looked in the show tbh.

The Shibuya vibes, complete with Hachiko statue, were fun. Was 02 set in Tokyo? I honestly don't remember...

Seeing all those children running around at night without any worries about safety...must be nice, Japan.

When Omegamon "ran out of energy," I had the thought of like "can a jogress digimon die in the real world or would they always just de-digivolve??" I guess they'd never go that far for plot reasons anyways

Imperialdramon gets a new mode! Paladin mode, according to Google. Were these names in the credits or did they just decide things later for the TCG or something...?

We got the 02 theme inserted towards the end and even the OG show's theme as a ring tone. Really cute touch. (I was a little triggered to hear Bolero again for the millionth time though).

All in all I'm glad the 02 kids got their due in this style. Was it groundbreaking? No. Was it worth 30 minutes of my time? Absolutely!

[mathlann]

hey! has been seeing your rogue trader posts for a while, and can't help but ask, who is the mysterious ym? I pieced together that he's mara/rt kid (???) or maybe i'm completely misenturpreted. also I'm very new to 40k to know if it's even possible between the species.

anyway pls take this ask as an opportunity to ramble about him, and/or your rt's relationship with the murderous stick bug, i'm very curious <3

Oh! Omg yeah I can tell you about him!

You didn't misinterpret, YM is absolutely those two's Warpspawn, to the misfortune of everyone around him. Originally he started out as goofing with @poetikat because decent sense says Cas and Marazhai should not be parents (together) but he got too fun as his own thing so just exists now, although he's still semi-canonical until I finish my second run. (As to whether half-Aeldari exist in canon: it's very complicated, but its one of those things, to me, where personal HC is king because its 40k, rules don't matter that much if its not battle related.)

The rest under the cut because this got kind of long lol.

I’ll go backwards and talk about his parents first, and then YM.

So, to start, I always kind of see Casimira/Marazhai more as kindred spirits rather than a full corruption thing. They both are heavily shaped by growing up with high-status backgrounds within very harsh “prove yourself worthy or die” societies, and despite being proud members of their respective cultures end up exiled from their homes and stuck somewhere entirely unfamiliar to them. And as much as I find romanced!Mercenary ending a little funny (why should I pay you? Your wife has Profit Factor tf?) I do like that it establishes that they still maintain a lot of independence from each other. Like sure, Marazhai is Casimira's [romantically] and he sees her as his equal but he doesn't want to actually be her xenos pet and does want to build something for himself outside of her.

Personally, I see their relationship as being on pause while he goes off to found his mercenary group (RIP Astartia Werserian). The Kasballica being the ascendant faction of the Expanse by the endgame proper and the Corsair!Yrliet "Alaitoc war" ending half a century later certainly gives Marazhai plenty of opportunity to find work. His mercenary group is one of the best in the Expanse by the end half of the war and only then does he come back to Casimira. Of course when they are back together they're never apart for more than a few years at most, in part because one of the convenient things about him being a famous mercenary captain and her being a Rogue Trader is that they always have a plausible excuse to be around each other whenever they want. Their relationship is never public knowledge, but it's not necessarily a heavily guarded secret either. Those outside their immediate circle who do know are (usually) smart enough to keep their mouths shut about it.

“The Young Master von Valancius” (YM) is born roughly a century or so post-game, after the war with Alaitoc. He was an unexpected solution to a long-standing problem, ie, “Casimira not having an heir” and “it being difficult to find suitors willing to compete with a Drukhari.” YM is officially Cas' son only, although anyone close enough to her and/or Marazhai could put 2 and 2 together relatively easily, he's an even mix of both of them. However, as far as polite society is concerned, YM is a Genetor baby with an unstable genetic code that led to some mutations, but is otherwise, fully human. It also helps that Cas' features were more dominant when he was an infant, thus any official Public Space Christenings and the like could go off without much trouble (so long as a cap stayed on his head). For the most part, the mutant facade holds into adulthood, although when among the Aeldari he can be taken for a short Asuryani, but only at a distance, his eyes give him away (too human, too hungry looking).

As he grows up, YM does develop a love-hate relationship with being Casimira's heir, given that he is half-xenos and being set to rule over a giant population of humans. Firstly, he deals with this by holding a very idealized view of his parents, i.e., they are exceptional, therefore he is too, and as follows, anyone who doesn't see that he's special must be stupid and not worth his consideration. This inflated sense of himself and his place in the Expanse is helped along by the fact that he identifies himself as Drukhari first, and internalizes quite a bit of Marazhai’s “True Aeldari” bullshit (can YM call himself Trueborn though? debate of the century: 17k dead, 563k injured). Of course, as the child of a former Dracon and a Rogue Trader, he also sits at that unfortunate intersection between “incredibly spoiled” and “weighed down by immense expectations'' that tends to make him a very difficult person to be around to put it kindly. Marazhai is usually the easier parent to please, given that he and YM enjoy much of the same violent pastimes. Cas is the parent he tends to come into conflict with more, and much of his acting out specifically manifests as avoidance, especially towards complicated or tedious tasks he feels should be beneath him. Unfortunately for YM, his mother is very strict about him actually being a competent Rogue Trader, and thus the Most Special Heir does, in fact, have to come down off his pedestal and learn how to file his own administratum paperwork and the like.

Other YM Tidbits that I'll List for Speed

(Mostly canon for him so far/Stuff I haven't previously mentioned)

Soul quality-wise YM isn't two feet from Slaanesh's jaws the way most Aeldari are. But his soul is stained in a similar but stronger way as his mother's. He doesn't need it to live, but a general appetite for suffering is just a part of his being and something he has to deal with. Also, realspace doesn't affect him, but Warp incursions definitely do. Although the effect isn't as strong as Marazhai or Yrliet would feel, it's still enough to be a problem that keeps him from being fully "present" during frequent/consecutive Warp travel without some kind of coping mechanism (usually murder).

There are four Werserians that he's raised alongside as a child. They are all close as siblings and he is loyal to them secondary only to his loyalty to his parents. He will occasionally even take their advice before anyone else’s, which is good because they're a lot more sensible and levelheaded than he is. But also, that Werserian strong moral fiber tends to come into conflict with the fact that YM is very much a product of his parents and thus can be very reckless with other people and hard to accept fault when his pride is hurt. This may or may not get one of them killed at some point.

Despite the fact that YM considers himself to be Drukhari, Commorite culture doesn't interest him that much, mostly because he understands he would not be welcome there. However, he does hold an intense fascination for Casimira’s home planet and Ashleen culture. Iocanthos sits in his head as Human!Commorragh, and therefore is probably one of the best human worlds by his limited estimate. The fact that Iocanthos is a place he will never see, with relatives he'll never meet, and only exists in his mom’s (rose colored) stories about it also adds to the romanticism of the place with very little opportunity for it to disappoint him. Unlike the human planets and populations of the Koronus Expanse, who he encounters every day, and who largely suck (Foulstone and Kiava Gamma especially).

Inasmuch as YM does develop a lot of unearned self-importance because of who he is, he does find himself privately frustrated by the fact that he doesn't actually have many ways to prove/validate himself in the ways his parents would've had to. There eventually gets to be a period of time in his young adulthood where he is much less invested in his education as the “Rogue Trader’s Heir” and starts getting himself into dangerous trouble mostly just to see if he can. Eventually Cas does agree to let him (discreetly) travel across the Expanse and the Webway with Marazhai for a few years so he can get his taste for adventure sated. This is absolutely throwing him off the deep end so far as gaining experience goes, and Marazhai is a lot less forgiving of YM’s fuck ups, but he does survive the ordeal in mostly one piece.

[ladyseidr]

vanessa headcanons / portrayal notes but i'm too lazy to make her headcanon banner or even write coherent thoughts so you just get a bullet point list:

definitely a reluctant follower but as things progress she gets more. . . attached might be a strong word, but she stops hating glitch so much. this does not last once she escapes him obv

like it's literally: oh funny rabbit guy but this is a glitch i need to figure out -> okay i hate his vibe -> get out of my head i hate you -> i might as well learn to live with you -> i've completely isolated myself from all friends except you so i guess that makes you. . . almost a friend -> post-game deeply traumatizing by the violating of like. literally having her autonomy taken away from her

still carries deep guilt and resentment for the murders during moments where she's fighting back / he's not in control at all

vanessa is the only fucking character in fn.af who would genuinely seek therapy after every thing and i think she should get an award for that

researches the franchise + william af.ton in a lot of detail when The Hell Begins and is horrified but also has to deal with glitch being very fond of his very dead creator

basically, not in the suit: glitch is like an annoying little voice in her head who she has to stop herself from arguing out loud with in the supermarket

in the suit: he's like. not Literally in control but heavily, heavily, heavily influences her thoughts and actions. can make her think almost anything is the right decision

( okay it's not as simple as "in the suit" and "out of the suit," but you catch my drift. she can absolutely "come out of it" while wearing the suit, and she can def be under his control while not )

i said it before but: scene girl in high school. like, she has rainbow extensions when not under glitch's control, of course she was a scene girl

genuinely loves the glamr.ocks, despite everything

generally i don't want to go with her owning / being in complete charge of the pizza.plex because that's silly to me, but i don't have an alternative, esp because like who would it be??? i just shrug.

genuinely concerned abt gregory or any other kid who gets in, esp because she Knows What's Going On. she literally knows that she's a threat herself.

favorite animals? cats and horses

took the help wa.nted job because, like. she needed the money + she's absolutely a gamer so it seemed fun. especially because she had never played VR before

doesn't have a favorite color and will argue if you try to get her to pick. definitely enjoys bright colors, though

absolutely thought fazb.ear entertainment was full of shit from the start, but she wasn't actually that familiar with the history, so

literally will adopt gregory post-game. tries to act kind of like a big sister but never had any siblings so she's incredibly lost fdhskfashfjdlsah

introvert, but enjoys having a small, close group of friends. she ghosts them during the glitch stuff, but the ones that matter are there for her when she gets back ( and def understand when she. . . kinda explains what was going on )

although "i adopted a kid" "you w h a t " FDHFKDSHJFHS

has absolutely nothing to do with her parents, for valid reasons

completely traumatized post-game to the point that she questions whether her own thoughts are "really" hers. she seriously doubts her own sanity at times, is often scared she didn't "actually" get rid of glitch, and questions her ability ( and worthiness, given her actions under brainwashing ) to take care of herself, much less gregory

like i mention on her page, i'm open to writing any ending and don't treat one as canon on this blog. however, it should be noted that i'm not a fan of the burnt.rap ending ( fully biased by the fact that i don't like burnt.rap's existence ). that's not to say i'm not willing to write it, but i'm prob not interested in writing directly with burnt.rap himself

as also mentioned on her page, she's a lesbian, so there won't be any shipping with her and glitch or william ( or any man lmao ). if glitch still wants to be weird, that's on him, but she won't be receptive period.

loves creative stuff!! is an artist ( esp with pencils or digital, but can paint a bit ), enjoys decorating her apartment, and adores dressing up in pretty clothes!

also genuinely enjoys programming. yes, it is soured for her post-game.

will self-sabotage herself even pre-game ( eating nothing but takeout, not getting outside enough, isolating, etc ). therapy helps post-game.

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

songs for the cycle-breaker

i also think i've taken a different approach to this playlist in that i've focused on just late s3 zuko breaking free from his family. this playlist has much less of an arc than he does.

the thing about putting together a zuko playlist for me is that i am not emo and i don't believe in putting showtunes on character playlists bc they are already About characters. so this playlist is not super reflective of what i think zuko would listen to and is also pretty different from most of the zuko playlists out there which ARE full of emo bands/popular tiktok music. nothing wrong with that but it's not me.

1. dynasty - rina sawayama

i'm a dynasty / the pain in my veins is hereditary / and if that's all i'm gonna be /would you break the chain with me?

perfect song for the cycle-breaker of a royal family. i've seen this song on azula playlists and like. what chain do you think she's breaking exactly. the whole tragedy of her character is that she doesn't get free.

2. walk this way - mø

there is a light for you, burning for you / oh my mama said "it is burning for you"

zuko is, of course, a mama's boy.

3. take the journey - molly tuttle

take the journey / someday you'll make it back home again

pretty straightforward tbh. i like to imagine the lines "take the hand of the one beside you / let the fire guide you" as being about him & aang meeting the dragons.

4. relay - fiona apple

evil is a relay sport when the one who's burned turns to pass the torch

if this lyric were shorter i'd have made it the title. if this song had a more conventional song structure i'd have made a full fanvid instead just a little snippet. there is no better summary of zuko than this line.

5. altar wine - david keenan

there was once a man who loved me / he was older, he left this scar / and a book about an angel / that made her way back home to god / i still think about him sometimes / running my finger up its spine / may he fall into a well / he left me old before my time

yeah this song is heavily christian, but the characters in this song - the sighing mother the narrator identifies with, the older man who left a scar, the girl who sets fire to the curtains - feel very fire nation royal family. the fact that the older man gives him a book about an angel who made her way back home to god also feels similar to how zuko was expected to redeem himself and find his way home.

also, the singer just sounds fucking anguished, and literally screams near the end, which is pretty zuko imo.

6. black sun - irma

hold back, hold back, can't you see / how harmful all this can be / this ain't no place to call a home

amazingly, a perfect song for zuko's speech to ozai on the day of black sun.

7. shivers - JOSEPH

i strike my own light / even if it's not quite as bright

zuko decides to leave and strike out on his own.

8. grave digger - matt maeson

goddammit, i cannot bend / i'm all shriveled inside

a recommendation from the write-in question on this uquiz i made, one that i got a LOT, and okay yeah sometimes the majority opinion is correct. it's about deciding to leave behind your toxic family, and it's also easy to read "bend" in this line to refer to firebending. you win this one, zuko fans.

9. fear and loathing - marina

don't wanna live in fear and loathing / i want to feel like i'm floating / instead of constantly exploding

about how he had to find a new drive for his bending after he left, find something besides anger and fear to fuel him.

10. white teeth teens - lorde

and everything works out so good / i wear the robe like no one could

zuko being crowned fire lord at the end despite never thinking he was one of the cool kids worthy of status and power.

12. heirloom - sleeping at last

you are so much more than your father's son / you are so much more than what i've become

iroh to zuko <3

13. a burning hill - mitski

the title track. like all our angsty firebenders, he's been a perpetrator of the fire nation's brutality, its victim, and a witness to it. zuko 🤝 azula 🤝 jeong jeong - this song.

[lazyscience]

Full disclosure, I haven't read the Nimona comic so this could be an artifact of the Netflix adaptation/having to cut a lot of content to fit into a standard animated movie runtime. But while I'm super happy to see not only MLM representation in a kids' movie but treated as normal in its world, so that it can be a story about a relationship and not an Afterschool Special about Homophobia, I don't love Ballister and Goldenloin as a couple.

I don't like that Ballister is back with Goldenloin at the end of the movie like nothing happened. It's not that I want a bury-your-gays ending or that Ballister doesn't deserve a happy ending - but where is Goldenloin's character development? What has Goldenloin done to earn Ballister's trust back and demonstrate he's sorry - he maimed him and got his child killed (as far as either of them knew)?

The Director isn't the only one responsible for the sickness of their society; it's well-meaning but unquestioning privileged like Goldenloin who shore up the rot of the structure. Goldenloin, who saw the shock and horror on Ballister's face at the death of the queen but still maimed him, worked to arrest him and didn't push to see him and get his side of the story in custody, unthinkingly trusting in the fairness of a system they both already knew didn't treat commoners like Ballister the same way. Goldenloin who although he saw Ballister's swapped sword in the Director's office still wanted so badly to believe in the rightness of his system that he fought for the Director's point of view even as he saw with his own eyes how willing she was to lie and manipulate. Goldenloin, who in the epilogue smiles and points out particularly poignant drawings as if it wasn't him working as hard as he could to poison Ballister against Nimona that set off the final confrontation. that wasn't the Director, buddy. That was all you.

We get to see ONE internal freakout of his, one that he clearly hadn't resolved because he still did what the Director wanted him to do, not questioning at all the need to split people up into monsters and protectors against monsters (and JEALOUS, of a child? Of his lover universally reviled and hunted, having ONE person who was still supporting him?) He had to see the Director getting ready for a whole-ass mass murder out of SPITE to finally say "oh, yeah, you're NOT actually well-meaning but misguided, are you" - soooo much more benefit of the doubt than he gave the man he said he loved?

And after events HE helped to set in motion, when Ballister is in shock and mourning for his presumed-dead child he just ...gets to be there? I mean, even asshole Thodd got a more lasting injury and appears to be more aware of the role he played and how much thinking and work he has to do at the end (at least he looks ashamed of himself). but Goldenloin we're just supposed to be fine with, because when he's not being asked to put his career and life actually on the line he talks a good game about commoners being able to be heroes and "maybe we were wrong!" We only see him actually stand up for that once, with significantly fewer permanent consequences!

When we see Ballister backsliding on his ability to see the corruption in the system and lash out at Nimona, we ALSO see him realizing he was wrong and fighting to make amends. Ready to put Nimona before anyone else to make things right. Nimona fights, to put right the fact that her lashing out in her own rage and pain caught the people in the city between her and the Director, even though they're not innocents, considered her a monster worthy of death long before she did anything to threaten them. Do we ever see Goldenloin do anything to help Ballister that doesn't also help himself keep his own status and self-image intact?

No. No, we do not.

Goldenloin must be accurate, that must be some pretty fine D to get that much amnesia. I would have been much happier with them being together if I had seen any evidence at all that Goldenloin realized any of his culpability in events. As it stands, I feel like he's the epitome of Nice Liberal who thinks the problems are the people who are frothing bigots and doesn't realize the part he plays in allowing bigotry to continue.

I'm with Nimona. Arm-chopping is not a love language. team #GetBallisterABetterBoyfriend2K23

[augment-techs]

Six Word Starter Prompts (part 2)

Ran away with circus; never returned

Buxom songstress loves love and chocolate

Blades cuts, blood runs, scars remain

Did I miss a deadline again?

Walking the green mile: Finally free

Dreamy visions during extended daytime hours

Love drama, just not my own

I wouldn't change it a bit

Saw the world; now where's home?

Nose broken, beauty queen changes profession

Blinked! Winked! I am halfway through!

Arms: Full. Life: Not so much

Many risky mistakes, very few regrets

Six kids; life is stranger than fiction!

He left me for good eventually

would you like fries with that?

Legs spread, I withheld my intelligence

Traversing Earth together, chasing elusive answers

hockey is not just for boys

never liked the taste of beets

underachieving pleasure punk seeks constant gratification

risked it all; never quite enough

I write because I can't sleep

sperm too potent, now have triplets

Never fear. Truffle season is near.

started small, grew, PEAKED, shrunk, vanished

Mom blames musical theater. I disagree.

and I never did sober up

world backpacking decade ends with minivan

asked and answered, asshole, next question

Really, doing fine, thanks for asking

Oh shit! No way? Yeah dude.

Mistook streetlight for the moon. Climbed.

Boyfriend in bed, still a lesbian?

wanted to live forever, died trying

happy child, wild teenager, adult anarchist

to make a long story short...

My second grade teacher was right.

someone had to pay the bills

Didn't fit in then; still don't.

I love my lady...and bacon.

Revenge is living well, without you.

Outcast. Picked last. Surprised them all.

Became my mother. Please shoot me.

If there's more, I want it.

it's like forever, only much shorter

Cancer for sure. Still no cure.

born lucky, striving to die worthy

tequila made their clothes fall off

I told you I was crazy.

Topless dancer. Circus clown. Spy. Writer.

I play dress-up for a living.

Where the hell are my keys?

They always wore socks to bed.

Well, I thought it was funny.

I died at an early age.

I couldn't possibly fuck him again.

Same mistakes. Over and over again.

Me: fully reformed and halfway happy!

the day just kept getting better

born in city that doesn't exist

shot my penis in photo booth

after which he was never sane

almost nothing was under my control

let me in, you narrative whore

cheese is the essence of life

I waste time looking for love.

straight jacket on the gentle cycle

I secretly read wedding magazines.

my ancestors were accented cow herders

Gin joints. Love affairs. No relation.

slightly flabby, slightly fabulous, trying hard

Thank fuck the suicide attempt failed!

Secretly, I dream of my ex-boyfriend.

unfortunately, there was no other way

My wife made me do it.

Like an angel. The fallen kind.

drew on walls, creative for life

When all else fails, start running.

still waiting for you to ask

My penultimate act is to imbibe.

ordering soup for two, for one

Sometimes at night I lay lonely.

I didn't walk off the roof.

will draw for food and coffee

I fell out of the nest.

I don't nibble. I bite. Hard.

He knew the bruises would fade.

we were married in the snow

lonely, frothy kisses, then only spite

we were each other's favorite person

learned to live with great loss

I'm not afraid of anything anymore.

most successful accomplishments based on spite

He wore dresses. This caused messes.

I will never be quite finished.

I tried. It was not enough.

There will be no beautiful corpse.

Found a demon to love forever.

These words are yours to keep.

[sonnygirl99]

One shot - worthy of a man ( hytham ×female eivor)

📍hi there, a note before you start :

English is not my first language & this was written for fun. SOOOOOoo, I'd appreciate ignoring any mistakes.

"Am I not worthy of being a man?"

Hytham confronts all of sudden, eyes as sharp as a hidden blade.

" Huh? By Odin's beard hytham, Who would say such things?.."

Eivor replies in her usual smooth voice, not understanding what the man meant

A moment of silence passes between the two, the hidden one's bureau was quiet in the early morning hours, so quiet that one was able to hear the birds tweeting's peacefully outside .

A Lott of warriors babbled with laughter while heading to the river's shore, a scent of fresh baked bread spread in the air, announcing the start of a new day for the raven clan .

Eivor here had just returned from lundon last night full of valuable resources about the order of ancients, so technically when she awoke this morning, first thing she had in mind was to visit hytham. she knew this was supposed to be his own mission yet depending on his condition, he couldn't have gone to lundon.

Before the day eivor departed , she saw the sorrow gleaming in his eyes as if he was a lad being told that he wasn't able to use his own dagger anymore, hytham was so much of an innocent sweetling if she would say so, he sure can be selfish sometimes or even a big headed fool like that time when he was showing her how to do the leap of faith, how did he think that he can just do it carelessly with such injury? Foolish, he was, but with a good heart.

she couldn't help but to be gentle towards the man, whenever she saw him she would smile joyfully , tease him . Oh, how she loved teasing him! He would just smile at her even if it annoys him at Times ,she even makes herself comfortable enough to beat him on the shoulder or to pat on his head gently as some any other kid in her clan, they were really good friends.

______________________________

Here she is, standing...tall&proud as ever. her icy orbs looking at his ...smiling & joking with joy, He admired every bit of her, a strong woman she was,one who cares about her people as much as she cares about herself.

when they first met, he did not understand what basim saw in her that made her worthy of a hidden blade.

a selfish Dane , he thought her to be.

This impression increased as she boldly refused to wear their sacred weapon correctly. However, when he betrayed her and tried to kill her long-lasting enemy, the killer of her parents. she should've been angry, furious... but yet she looked him deep in the eye and said, " I forgive you,hytham. "It was only then that he realised that all this time, he was the only selfish being.

And yet, the way he saw her look at other men,how she took care when speaking to them, even his mentor Basim. , but when it comes to him for some reason, he finds that she smiles softly , touches him .. as if he wasn't an assassin....a murderer! as if he wasn't a grown man who was capable of many things , she treated him as some child, and it did hurt , for he always showed her how much capability he had , he was clever! No, really! His former mentors always told him that! Doesn't she like clever men? And so it was today that after her return from Lundun , he stole the chance to speak about his feelings.

"Well," he took a deep breath. " it seems like you think of me as a child, eivor.."

with a raised brow and a tilted head , she looked as if she's solving a puzzle of some kind ,eivor Wolf kissed was perplexed

." I'm afraid that I do not follow ?"

" What I mean is to stop patting my head like that , I am really am a grown man, you know." He spoke very calmly compared to his inner mind.

"Oh,"

It finally seemed to click.

" So our young eagle here desperately wants to be an adult?"

Or not.She immediately starts joking about his words , a smile on her lips.

Haytham sighed helplessly , putting whatever scroll he's currently carrying down on a table.

"Oi ! What's wrong, my friend? Did anything bad happen ? You seem a bit out of place today."

Eivor wondered, yet she decided it was better for her to go on joking .

"Am I required to prove it ?, perhaps for you to understand me? because I can show you."

He said , stepping a bit closer so he could reach her arm, a sober look on his face.

"Fine then . go on and show me, young eagle."She replied, chin as high as ever

It happened so fast ,the man suddenly sweeps her by the waist, pulling her closer to him.

her  body bumped into his , which obviously did put her off guard only to make her hold into hytham's nick like there was no tomorrow. Eivor gasped softly, He was too close, so close that she clearly saw her own self reflected in those crystal eyes, she can even smell his unique scent of clean jasmine stemming from his own skin

Hytham's breathing grows heavy along with his cheeks getting redder & redder, yet he shows no sense of hesitation, but keeps his gaze focused on her instead, Seeing her face expression, his lips twitched slowly. the smile of Loki ,she thought.

Eivor didn't feel like letting go, there was something about him,something that made her feel as if everyone else didn't matter at that moment, nothing mattered at all as long as she stayed between his arms .

Adjusting his grip, hytham lowers his head, reaching her right side . Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his own breath tickling her right ear before he uttered gently, " You see ? I am a man capable of many things, wolf-kissed~"

Chills ran through her spines, is he going to take things further?

But no , for he scans her face for the last time, before Letting go, his hands drifting away slowly.

leaving her, stunned.

"...."

" I.., I think that I have to go. "

______________

How was his heart still pounding in place? He had no idea. ,but He can not be the only one getting his heart to scream loudly whenever she's around anymore . She's bond to know. She has to.

You know, perhaps this was a bad idea...

Hytham thought as seeing her face being that close.

I..I have to let go ,that's enough , she may hate me for that.

But look, Her eyes are of beauty....her skin so soft...

Enough.

" I.., I think that I have to go ..."

She backs away slowly towards the door behind her , still holding his gaze though , with the same stunned expression,

her ears a reddish flame.

Seeming to be sick of it all, the woman turns her back on him as to leave , silent.

Goodness have I sinned to be looked at with such face?

You Foolish man , foolish hytham .

" w..wait!"

Oh He's the one trembling now

Her boots stopped on the wooden floor , her back still turned , the sound of singing birds still tweeting from the outside.

"forgive me eivor, forget that it even happened, I did not intend to—"

But then , He swore of catching a glimpse of somewhat a smile forming down her cheeks.

"No, for you just proved to me that you are a man of many things , hytham,"

"And that young eagles become eagles after all."

And with that she takes leave, not only leaving the bureau but also leaving the hidden one amazed.

_______________________________________

Later on that day when the sun sank deep into the horizon , announcing its farewell for the day.

eivor wolf kissed layed on her huge bed in the darkness , it's feather tickling her face.

keen to take a warrior's rest, but full of thoughts skimming into her head, the soft touch of hytham flashed through Eivor's memory ,along with those warm eyes of his, the sweet tone of gilt that reached her ears, "forgive me " he had said.

Again, she couldn't help but feel a smile forcing its way into her lips .

You surprised me today , young eagle.

& strangely I find myself looking  forward for somewhat other surprises of yours, so be sure to let that eagle rise inside of you to become one yourself, young one.

Ending

[x3kristax3]

Is This The End?

Chapter 10

Jake is waiting for me outside his car. He opens the door and closes it once I'm in. I watch him get in the car and he backs up once he's in drive he grabs my hand.

"Mc, I know I messed up three years ago. I let my demons get the best of me and messed up the best thing in my life."

"Jake, I feel like as much as…." I start to say as he cuts me off.

"Just listen to me please" he says looking at me as his hand moves from my hand to my thigh and squeezes.

I bite my lip and keep quiet. He always knew that when I wouldn't shut up, squeezing that spot on my thigh would do exactly that.

He smirks as he turns back to the road "I see that spot has the same effect".

"Only with you. Others tried and totally didn't shut me up," I say, staring at him.

"After I drove away that day I realized I needed to face my demons correctly." He sighs as his hand doesn't move. "I went and got help. It was a long process and I'm still working on it. However, they thought reaching out to my mom and you would be the best thing to start healing all of it together." I look at him with tears in my eyes.

"Jake, until after you left and I talked with your mom…." I say as I wipe the tears away. "I hadn't realized how bad those demons were. Not going to lie, it's why I still kept going around to see her and checking in on her. We had made a promise to each other that whoever heard from you first would tell the other one." I say as i3 look away to stop the tears.

He pulls over into a parking lot and grabs my face. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you continued being there for her these last three years. Along with Hannah and Lilly" he says as he leans towards me.

I feel a force pulling me towards him and I lean in and we kiss this time deep and messy. I pull myself away to stop myself from climbing in his lap. 

"Jake, can you take me home?" I say looking into his eyes and I see the lust.

"I can't promise I'll be able to control myself if there isn't space between us." He states looking at me and I know what he's thinking.

"Let's finish talking and see where things lead. Because even though I don't trust you like I did, I still love you."  I say looking into his blue eyes as he grabs my thigh again.

The drive back to my place is quiet but we feel the need to talk but don't want to. As we pull into the parking garage I have him park near where I normally park and my car isn't there yet.

I pull out my phone and pull up the chat with Jessy.

MC: Hey heads up Jake is at the apartment with me. We just got here with no idea what is going to happen.

Jessy online

Jessy: thanks. By the way you left a sad little boy here. He's still looking for you.

MC: Oh my god! I totally slipped with the whole thing going on. Tell him when I come by in two weeks I'll make it up to him.

Jessy: Okay I will and you better.

I look up and see Jake on his phone texting someone and my heart sinks as I thought this was going to be different and I get out of his car. As my phone goes off I look at it.

Jake: I couldn't put this into actual words. After years of dealing with those demons you're still the one that I want. You bring sunshine to my darkness and a feeling of home. I know I'll never deserve I am worthy of your love or be the man you truly deserve. Your still breathtaking. Your smile, your laugh, those brown eyes staring into my soul, and today seeing you with the kids I know you will be an amazing mother one day. MC I might feel I don't deserve you but you bring the best of me out and make me want to deserve your love.

I lean against his car as the tears fall as he's still sitting inside.

MC: Come here please.

I put my phone in my purse and take a sigh while I wait. It feels like a lifetime till he's standing in front of me looking at me with those blue eyes so full of love and I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Jake Miller.. you are everything I want. You add so much to my life. You make me see things I didn't see before. You were so closed off when we met and opened up to me in ways I didnt imagine. You showed me i was worthy of forever love." I see a smile on his face and I know he's about to get sad.

"Three years ago you broke my heart pushing me away and I didn't know why. I tried everything to fix that, including trying to date other hackers" I say with tears in my eyes. "None of them even came close to you. You are my one in a lifetime kind of love. I'm glad you got help but I wish you could have done it with me by your side. I didn't tell you that I was coming out then because I was also doing job interviews and looking at apartments,” I say looking down.

"Wait, you were looking to move out here then?" He asks, as he grabs my face to lift up so he can look in my eyes

"Yes, I knew you weren’t watching me closely because you would have seen the emails, the phone calls, the texts, the searchs in my web history. I had a sinking feeling you were fighting your demons but I never imagined knocking on your door and someone else would answer. " I say as the tears start streaming down again.

He pulls me away from his car and into his chest "lets go inside and talk okay?" He says rubbing his hand on my back as his other arm squeezes me close.

Once the tears stop he grabs a bag from his trunk and we head up the elevator. I unlock the door and turn off the alarm.

"I'll be right back I want to get out of this dress" as I take off my heels. I lose my balance while taking them off and Jake grabs my waist to steady me. Once they are both off I turn towards him again. I look up at him and bite my lip. His hand reachs for the back of my neck but I move away.  "Ugh we shouldn't" I say walking away with my heels in my hands.

I walk into my room and lock the door. I lean against my dresser and my mind wonders. 

Why does he still have this hold on me after everything? Dan is right I shouldn't allow him back into my heart this easily but I can't control myself.

I grab a pair of jean shorts and a comfortable tshirt as I get changed. I go into a box I have under my dresser of photos of him and I together and find a photo of the two of us. 

He's standing behind me and his arms are wrapped around me. This was the day after he became a free man.  I can't help but smile at the thought of that day. There's a knock on my door and I jump. "Shit, sorry '' I get up leaving the box on my dresser snd unlock it, opening it and he's right outside.

"Everything okay?" He was concerned because it took so long. I see a black shirt and jeans in his hands.

"Yeah, you can get changed in my bathroom" I say as I let him walk in. 

He sees the box and asks "what is that?"  As he grabs the photo on top that I was just looking at it.

"Photos of us and a letter I wrote to you after everything but never sent you." I say as I stand next to him and grab another photo. This one you can't see his face because it was before he was free but he's kissing my cheek and I have the biggest smile on my face. He looks at it and smiles.

"You pulled up the camera to check your makeup and I leaned against you. I could tell you wanted a picture of us together so badly so I reached forward and hit the button." He says with a sad tone.

"This was our first photo together. Even though I couldn't see your face in this photo until we got you free and took others it was my favorite." I say wiping a tear away.

"Why?" He looks at me and wipes another tear away.

"Because when I had tried to take others you always deleted them or got out of frame until this one. We were running for a bit and that night you got us a hotel room and ordered us Chinese. You had me laughing so much I was crying and when we needed to go somewhere. I checked myself not wanting to leave your side. You snapped it and it was so pure and innocent and melted my heart because I realized in that moment we could last through anything. Well I thought we could." I say as I grab the photos from both of us and put the box away.

"MC…" I hear him say as I have my back towards him.

I open the bathroom door "here you go" I say trying not to let myself fall head over heels for him again.

He doesn't say anything and heads in there.