#god I freaking love drawing echoes

[mewguca]

OC AU doodle I had too much fun with... she's fine btw; a bit of possession never hurt anyone!

- the glyph font is taken from crystaluranium in the RW Official Discord, which references a tumblr post by ikayblythe

+ textless under the cut

since ur here I'll also explain it a bit more...

obviously SLS is echorator in this AU. Her close connection with the Void Sea due to this makes her a frequent target for channeling various entities, willingly or not

some sort of entity? force of nature? will? idk. it's called The Will Of The Void, I guess

and it wants to enforce that cycles remain perpetuated even as timelines are reset or branch out or etc. More specifically in this case it is trying to enforce that specific individuals who became echoes in another timeline shall become echoes once again in this one

and thus SLS can either help willingly or be puppeted against her will, yay! 👍

the idea sprang into my head last night in the shower lol

[vaugarde]

also my mom swears we dont live in a religious community but i get just enough comments online abt my schools that make me think there were at least several extremely puritan religious parents with a ton of influence on the schools bc literally some of the stuff ive had to hear have got to be related to that

[traveler-at-heart]

Secrets

Summary: You try to keep your relationship a secret!

Natasha Romanoff x Fem!R

It was fun at first.

The thrill of sneaking around, secret glances, hidden touches. It had been quite a ride to get to where you were with Natasha, and knowing how the team could be, you both wanted to keep your relationship to yourselves, at least for a little while.

One of your secret spots were the stairs. With a building so big, it was natural that everyone took the elevator. It was the perfect place to meet the redhead and more often than not, the conversation progressed into an intense make out session that left you breathless.

“Is the elevator broken?” Steve asks as you come back from one of your little escapades. You jump at his presence, your mind still thinking about the feeling of Natasha’s lips on yours.

“Uh… no. It’s working just fine. I like to take the stairs to… exercise”

“That’s a nice idea. Maybe I’ll try it one of these days” he nods.

Cap and his obliviousness, sweet old man. He has no idea you’re all flushed for reasons that have nothing to do with coming up the steps.

Still, you think nothing of it. He was probably trying to be nice when he said it was a good idea. The next day, when you’re lost in Natasha, intoxicated by her supple lips and the way they move against your own, you miss the sound of heavy footsteps and an off key whistle.

“Crap” Natasha is the first to react, breaking apart. You turn to look down, Steve taking the steps two at a time.

Fit bastard.

“Morning!” he says, too happy for your liking.

“Oh, hi, we were just…”

“We?” he echoes, and you look around. No trace of Natasha.

“I mean, me. I was just taking a break. I think I’ll go back to taking the elevator”

“You sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, just a bit agitated. Nothing to worry, Cap”

Steve nods and smiles.

“I told everyone about your great idea. I think people will start using the stairs more”

“Oh, that’s just peachy”

Once again, he is oblivious to your actual feelings. After he’s gone, Natasha jumps from behind the staircase.

“Jesus, how did you manage to do that so quickly”

“Well, you always have to be ready for a quick escape, detka”

Natasha leans forward and pecks your lips, but before she can do anything else, you drag her back to the hallway.

“You heard Cap. Our secret spot is no longer secret”

—

So far, you haven’t found a decent replacement for the stairs, except for a supply closet. And by God, you are not that desperate.

As you cook dinner, Natasha comes up behind you, and you relax against her.

“I’ve missed you” she says against your shoulder, placing small kisses that tickle you.

“I missed you too, love”

A hand goes around your middle and she toys with the hem of your shirt, lips kissing your neck, and that sweet spot behind your earlobe that makes you shiver.

“Nat” you moan, and you don’t know if you want her to stop or keep going.

Yelena answers that for you as she steps inside, eyes widening. You draw blank, because honestly, how can you explain this?

Natasha takes matters into her own hands, literally, as she hugs you and pretends to do the Heimlich maneuver.

“She’s choking” Natasha says and Yelena scrambles around.

“Oh, my God, Y/N, please don’t die”

The redhead pretends to help you, squeezing your middle and you cough.

“I think I’m…”

Unfortunately, the blonde is too freaked out and pushes Natasha away, thinking she’s helping you.

As she presses against your sternum, you are suddenly out of breath and you swear you can feel your ribs cracking.

“Ok, I’m fine, Yelena, thanks” you break free of her hold, sure that your sides will be bruised next morning.

Yelena doesn’t let you cook anymore, so you end up with a dinner of mac and cheese, and Natasha’s sister sitting in the middle while you three watch tv.

“I’m sorry” Natasha says when her sister gets up to grab another soda.

“Just for the record, this isn’t the type of choking I had in mind”

—

“They’re gonna be here any minute” you say against Natasha’s shoulder.

“I know” she bites your neck and you sink further into her lap.

The Quinjet, out of all places is where you find some privacy. The rest of the team will join shortly, as you have a recon mission.

But you can’t keep your hands to yourself and you end up naked, straddling Natasha’s lap as she moves her fingers inside of you.

“God, you look so pretty like this” she says against your chest.

“Nat, more” you plead. It’s too much and too little at the same time. She listens, moving her hand faster and your hips match her pace.

“God. Yes” you collapse in her arms.

“Request to open gate” FRIDAY informs and you curse, because you want more than a second to catch your breath.

Sneaking around is getting old now.

“Come on, let’s get cleaned up” Natasha says, helping you up. She looks proud when your legs shake.

“Shut up” you say, which only makes her smile wider.

While the team enters the Quinjet, you go back to the bathroom with Nat as you hurriedly put your suits on.

“Red? Y/N?” Tony calls for you.

“Here” you raise your arm, feeling a bit tense. Maybe you pulled a muscle.

Stark nods your way and starts the Quinjet, while Steve goes over the plan with everyone else. You stay seated, vaguely aware that something feels different but you can’t tell what it is.

“Be careful” Natasha says when you part ways, squeezing your hand.

Your job is to keep an eye on the guards at the south gate and stop them if they are called to attack the intel team.

Which unfortunately does happen, so you run to shoot, kick and punch at every one of them.

There are two guards left, and as you reach for your gun, something incredibly unexpected happens.

Your suit opens right in the front, revealing your red lacy bra.

“What the fuck” you shout, looking down.

The guard in front of you opens his mouth, completely enthranced by your cleavage.

“New strategy?” Tony flies over, knocking him down. He sends the last man standing across the room.

“No! I don’t know what happened!”

You try to cover but the leather is not giving in.

“Ok, well. We’re done here so you can put all that” he gestures to your chest. “Back in the Quinjet”

Rolling your eyes, and with your arms crossed in front of you, you walk back to the jet.

As you lock eyes with Natasha, you finally notice how her own suit is loose on the shoulders.

You switched when you were getting dressed.

“I like this new look” Sam wiggles his eyebrows and Natasha sends a widow bite straight to his ass.

“Oops” she shrugs her shoulders as he glares.

Feeling a little better after that, you go inside and find a t-shirt to cover up.

When you leave the bathroom, everyone is silent.

“Ok, it’s not like you all haven’t seen boobs before. So get over yourselves. Except Steve, he gets a pass” you bark at them.

“I’ve seen boobs before” he tries to say but no one pays attention.

Natasha stays silent and you think she might be upset or reconsidering this whole thing.

You expect the worse as you land and she leads you back to your room.

“Nat…”

The redhead holds her finger up, taking your shirt off and sinking her face in your breasts.

“Really?”

“Mine” she grumbles, her hands squeezing possessively.

Well, at least some good came out of it.

—

The atmosphere is tense.

Clint, Wanda, Peter and you are playing Jenga.

Honestly, you are the one at a disadvantage here. With Clint’s aim and the enhanced individuals, you don’t stand a chance.

The way Natasha looks at you from across the room doesn’t help either.

It’s been a few days since you were together. Fury called her for an urgent mission and you had to resist the urge to sneak into the Quinjet and beg her to fuck you against the console.

And now, she’s back and you can’t wait for the night to wrap up so you can wrap your legs around her while she eats your…

“Gah!” Wanda screeches, knocking over the tower. “My mind, my eyes”

Crap.

“Wanda, a word?” you plead, dragging her out of the living room while Clint and Peter stare.

“You” she slaps your arm. “And you” she glares at Natasha as she approaches, pushing you both to her room.

“Sorry, we are keeping it a secret for now”

“But your thoughts are so loud” she massages her temples, clearly distraught. “I was so focused on the game and still I could hear everything, see everything”

“Sorry” you grimace. “Do you think you could… not tell anyone? For a bit”

“Oh, trust me, I’m very eager to pretend none of this happened”

“Thanks, Wanda” Natasha says and the girl nods.

“It’s nice to see you both happy. Just try to keep your thoughts to yourselves”

“We’ll try”

Wanda nods, walking out. Natasha’s quick to push you against the wall, eyes darkened by lust.

“Wanna tell me what was on your mind?”

“Can you at least wait for me to leave the hallway?!” Wanda screams from outside.

“You have ten seconds, Maximoff”

“Thanks, I hate you”

—

You figure a little distance from everyone will do you good.

So, you get tickets to a Yankees game and spend the day in the city with Natasha.

Even if you are only a half hour away from the Compound, among the sea of people, no one looks at you when you hold her hand, or share a kiss in the middle of your walk.

“This is nice” you smile, bringing her hand to your lips.

The first half of the game is slow, but you enjoy the time eating popcorn and making comments with Natasha about the score.

During the break, several people in the audience are featured in the screens. A girl chugs an entire beer while the crowd goes wild.

“Damn” you laugh, but the next image you see is you, next to Natasha.

The kiss cam.

“No, we’re fine” you wave your arms and the crowd boos. “Ok, not nice!”

“Don’t be such a baby” she smiles, pulling you closer.

“Pretty sure Steve and Bucky are watching the game back home”

“You jump, I jump” she leans forward, allowing you to decide if you wanna do this or not. As your lips meet in a short kiss, everyone starts clapping and cheering you on.

“Are you sure about what we just did?”

“Very. I’m tired of hiding. You make me happy. What’s wrong with that?” Natasha says and you smile against her lips.

“You are so getting lucky tonight”

But before you can kiss her again, both of your phones go crazy with texts from everyone on the team.

Tony: Is this why Wanda asked me for a way to erase her memory?

Sam: Now I know why you electrocuted my ass, Red!

Wanda: DONT COME NEAR ME

“Still think we made the right call?” you roll your eyes as the texts keep coming.

“Absolutely, detka” she says before kissing you softly.

Yeah. It’s gonna be ok.

[romeavecryst]

Crush Culture˖ ࣪⊹

VII. Warmth

sum: him being patient as he waited till he could feel her touch again.

warnings: fluff, long distance,not proofread, dramatic reunion.

.˚₊‧ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ‧₊˚.

Laying on his back as he stare up at the ceiling, they had been texting for days. Constant calls, as they talked about any this even sitting in silences as they did their own thing the phone propped up. His eyes scanning the picture he’s collect if her through face time, may it be her sitting down doing her make up, washing her face, eating or drawing. How when she sat in her bed her legs crossed and she leaned over her iPad then complained that her back always hurt. How she’d answer the phone at any hour he called her, her sleepy voice echoing through his ears.

She learned that maybe he was a bit more clingy then he showed himself, him softly saying he missed her voice or wanted to see her face. How he asked over and over when she’d finally be down so he could see her.

Yamaguchi loved asking Kei about her asking how she was, watching as his best friend would grin softly giving him vague answer that soon turn into a small story, his smile never leaving his face. This didn’t go unnoticed by his family either how kei would walk down to the kitchen his face in his phone, a small giddy grin on his face that when mentioned he’d always say it was nothing. How he’d have his phone sitting on the table watching a messages she would send, god he missed her.

But he never voiced it maybe in subtle ways, how he’d ask when she’d come down finally getting a date out if you. That shed be coming up 4th of July weekend, he just had to wait a few more days. He wanted to tell her that he missed her but he couldn’t, he couldn’t wait till his stomach filled with butterflies when she kissed him. He couldn’t wait to hold her hand and touchher face again.

The ding of his phone made him sit up quickly grabbing his phone from the table next to the couch.

shit.. she talked about him a lot, why did he like. Why he said was bullshit. He did talk about you, to his dad.. wierd maybe but he knew he wouldn’t make a big deal out if it and constantly be in his business. As much as he loved his mother… he just couldn’t go to her but not he really didn’t have any other choice.

“Mom..” he hummed leaning on the arm looking at his mother who sat next to him curled up in a blanket as they watched a movie together.

“What’s up Kei?” She asked smile over at him.

“I need to tell you something, promise you won’t like freak out.” He muttered playing with his hands.

She shifted her position her back leaning against the arm, “what’s wrong honey?” She asked her tone a bit worried now.

He took a deep breath, “I’m talking to someone..”

“You have a girlfriend!” She spoke coving her mouth quickly after watching his face. “Sorry oh my gosh sorry! It exciting news when can I meet her when-“

“She’s gonna be up visiting from Tokyo tomorrow, she’s the reason I’ve been all in my phone.” He muttered pulling at the lose skin on his fingers.

She smiled “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before just nervous I guess, but I really do like her. She’s.. she’s really nice to be around and I like her attitude, I think you’ll like her a lot. She’s very family oriented, outgoing, pretty, smart and I could go on. But umm, she’s from Nekoma which is why she visiting, her and her family are coming up for the festival and staying with some family friends.” He spoke, he could feel his mother’s happiness radiating off of her as he did.

She knew her son’s perspective on relationships and girls and then hearing this made her happy. That he wasn’t afraid to let someone in, that he was willing to open himself to something new to a new person. That he really did like her, how his face flushed as he spoke about her. “Can I see some pictures?” She asked. Kei looked up, nodding as he grabbed his phone.

Showing pictures of her that he’d taken those ones either of her eating or some showing of an outfit, she was pretty. Her smile big in every photo he showed her, how her shoulder lifted when she had her hands on her hips. Others some she had sent him, her dark complexion so radiant, her eyes wide and a gorgeous smile plastered on her pretty features, her hair almost always styled. Her confidence in her own body and looks were so strong through a simple picture. Then in the other few her face was relaxed as she did whatever she was doing, Kei taking so pictures while she drew or baked her natural hair framing her face perfectly.

“She’s gorgeous Kei..”

“I know..” he said looking at the photos before looking back at her.

“Stop, mom don’t cry!” He panicked watching his mom’s lip quiver.

She waved her hands whipping her face “I can’t wait to meet her Baby.”

A subtle ding ring through her ears making her turn her body, picking up her phone she read

“My mom thinks you’re gorgeous by the way.”

A smile crept on her lips, ‘am I a girlfriend or someone you’re talking to.’

She watched as her phone began to ring picking it up his voice spoke up “You’re my Girlfriend.”

“Oh am I?” She giggled.

“Yes, and don’t be to disappointed, but I will ask you probably but I hate saying your someone I’m taking to because you are much more than that. Best fix. You’re my girlfriend.” He said.

“I’m perfectly fine with that..” she hummed pausing, “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Tomorrow evening right?”

“Yes we’re riding the train up.” He could hear her smile.

“So I’ll meet you at the train station?”

“I would love that..” she said “I would like that a lot..”

“Good, you better get to sleep..”

“Goodnight kei.” She muttered.

“I’m sorry who?” He sassed, earning a laugh from her.

“Goodnight Stalker.” She scoffed.

“Mm goodnight brat..” he said. The line dying once she hung up, a big sigh leaving his lips as he fell back onto his bed.

He would get to see her tomorrow, all he had to do was wait. And god would waiting be worth it, worth watching her face light up once she saw him dropping her luggage before running over to him. Him smiling as she ran over to him his smile like a frown smile. The feeling of her weight on him as she latched onto him her arms wrapping around his back as he lifted her off the ground a bit. His hind on her becoming tighter as his head fell into her neck taking in her sent. God he missed her smell, the warmth of her body. She pulled back smiling kissing his face, as he hands held him gently.

“Ugh I’ve missed your grouchy face!” She smiled.

“ I’ve missed you too..” he muttered his eyes meeting hers, he watched her eyes look down to the flowers in his hand.

“They’re for you!” He spoke nervously handing her the flowers, a pretty bouquet all of her favorite flowers.

“They’re gorgeous,” she smiled taking them, her eyes meeting his. “So this is yo lil Boyfriend!” A women said from behind her.

“Kei this is my older sister Vanessa,” she sighed.

“You ready to meet everyone else?” She asked grabbing his hand.

He gulped nodding.

Shaking hands with her dad was the scariest part, he was by no means a small man he was well over 6’3 big and burly, his arms decorated in tattoos, his head bald. But even when her father gave him a smile he still wanted to shit his pants. Her mother was also a bit nerve racking, but she was kind offering him a kind smile from the beginning. Her older brothers trying to be intimidated but came off as dicks only to apologize after. Her two older sisters smiling teasing poor kei, then her younger siblings, Caleb being rhetorical only one who glared at him for a minute shaking his hand he watched as he gave you a side glace causing you to punch him. The two youngest were just polite having manners they new they needed with new people.

“Not that bad hm?”

“Your dad definitely made me piss my pants same with Michael..” he muttered.

“Please Micky is harmless!”

She laughed watching the blond sigh he head falling a bit, as he grabbed her bag. Her hands grabbing his face kissing his lips softly, before they began to walk. God it was so easy to make his heart flutter.

“Do you have a friend Kei?” She asked suddenly looking up from her phone.

“Why..?”

“Well the family friend I’m staying with is my best friend butttt I wanna hang out with you, but she also wants to kind hangout with me so she asked if you had a friend so she wasn’t third wheeling.?” She smiled.

A double date, hmm. Doesn’t sound bad plus he’d get to spend the evening with her and he just had to drag Tadashi along.. “I’ll ask. But I could make it work what time do you wanna meet up? I know you’re close to me.”

He nodded “yeah we could head down to the night market I know the have some carnival stuff going on for the festival. Rides, games hella food!” She spoke happily.

“Yeah I’ll get him on borde.” He spoke the feeling of her fingers linking with his making him stutter.

“Perfect then! It’s a Two Man!”

[fallenlightsif]

ROs theme songs????

Not exactly in reference to their romance routes, more their past and character arcs.

Florian: Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons

The mirror shows not, your values are all shot; but oh, my heart was flawed, I knew my weakness

Marcella: Eight by Sleeping at Last

And I'll give all I have, I'll give my blood, give my sweat, an ocean of tears will spill for what is broken; I'm shattered porcelain, glued back together again

E: Last Words of a Shooting Star by Mitsuki

And I am relieved that I'd left my room tidy, they'll think of me kindly when they come for my things; they'll never know how I'd stared at the dark in that room with no thoughts

Ari: This Will End by The Oh Hellos

I will wait for this to end, the back and forth, the battery; for you, at last, to comprehend the kind of love of which I speak

Dimitri: Spirits by The Strumbellas

And I don't want a never-ending life, I just want to be alive while I'm here; and I don't want to see another night, lost inside of lonely life while I'm here

Julian: Angel on Fire by Halsey

‘Cause nobody seems to ask about me anymore and nobody ever cares about anything I think, and nobody seems to recognize me in the crowd, in the background screaming

Orion: Saints by Echos

Why don't you throw me to the wolves? I thought you were one; you were standing there like an angry god, counting out my sins just to cross them off

Rowan: Are You Satisfied? by MARINA

High achiever, don't you see? Baby, nothing comes for free; they say I'm a control freak driven by a greed to succeed

Kira: Gold by EDEN

And if you want you can breathe on your own, this isn't what I thought but it's beautiful; make peace with your mistakes and they'll turn to gold

Cier: Our Way by Canyon City

Look at my face, time's drawing a line, I crossed and I lost where the road divides; but I think I'm gone where I'm going tonight, I still don't know but I hope you'll find me there

Ilaria: Daylight by David Kushner

Tryna wash away all the blood I've spilt, this lust is a burden that we both share; two sinners can't atone from a lone prayer; our souls tied, intertwined by our pride and guilt

[constellationofaries]

hi, i'm aries. i'm exhausted. all of the time.

pandorasprisoner -> constellationofaries. used to be a DSMP blog. maybe i'll go back to it someday!

↳ they/it. also i write and draw stuff. sometimes. arospec / acespec / agender menace.

↳ a word of warning: i speak openly about noncon, abuse, incest and other taboo topics, all fictional. all will be tagged properly, of course

↳ if you like what i write and draw, consider reblogging! i am currently not taking ko-fi or paypal tips/commissions.

↳ you can find me on other places & more info on me here! no sideblog links yet. eventually they'll be there.

↳ if you need something tagged please do ask! if i am unable to fulfill your request i apologize in advance.

↳ no dni, utilize your block button like an adult. i'm not your babysitter, if you're a minor and you're on here, you're on your own if you do not have a responsible guardian overseeing your internet space

↳ too many sideblogs for my own good. far too many sideblogs for my own good.

↳ i am shameless. WILL reblog nsfw/suggestive content. not sorry.

tag system below the cut. banner/divider credit.

active tags:

↳ #aries writes shit ↦ likely updates on whatever the hell i'm doing on ao3. wips, scraps, previews, full works, whatever the hell i've concocted goes here before a publish.

↳ #aries draws shit ↦ art. real.

↳ #aries answers shit ↦ you got it. i answer asks.

↳ #aries has shit answered ↦ i have MY asks answered! self-indulgence tag, really. i love revisiting answers to my asks!

↳ #aries rambles about shit ↦ for looooooong posts. bit of a vague tag. might not be used for long posts at all, just if i generally reblog about something a lot in one go.

↳ #that one time aries went to superhell ↦ chronicles of me relearning how to be a tumblrina.

↳ #aries subtweets its health problems ↦ what it says on the tin. i use this to subtweet at my chronic fatigue and short attention span lol.

↳ #aries has horns ↦ what it says on the tin. part two. horny and suggestive posts are tagged with this.

↳ #aries is in fact going insane ↦ ... uh, consider this the "lost and found" box. i have no idea what to say for this tag. it's like a gift that keeps on giving.

OC tags

↳ #everything has a price ↦ fucked up people run a black market. what could go wrong?

↳ #a pursuit of knowledge ↦ world's best LobCorp spinoff. trust.

↳ #the vast seas ↦ throw horrible people at a dragonborne-worshipping cult, why don't you? —↦ #atthanli veryn ↦ he's horrible - enough said.

↳ #the curse of blood ↦ i'd describe this if i wasn't at risk of spoilering my PCs on accident —↦ #merihem lycoris ↦ my player's PC. extremely hot. extremely oblivious. see above. —↦ #praxiveryn kyatyushka ↦ merihem's soon-to-be wife. see image above the read more. —↦ #iraferyka vyzannyx ↦ an already tortured soul, forced to endure far more. see below.

inactive tags

note: i am keeping these tags here despite me no longer posting anything concerning these DSMP AUs, for the sake of archiving. 30% of the posts were deleted - and about 90% of the posts are private now.

↳ #god's morningstars ↦ h!pandora & h!nightmare. my blorbos. my scrimblos. my little scrunglies.

↳ #every night's a heartbreak ↦ modern au. no magical powers, just these freaks the way they're built. —↦ #fissure ending ↦ a what-if of athena falling into deep depression after they adopt echo. —↦ #gehenna ending ↦ ??? —↦ #eternity ending ↦ ???

↳ #all is fair in love ↦ alt modern au. how m!au would've turned out if m!dxd took in Nightmare and Dream.

i'll add more as i go.

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

OFMD 2.05 - "The Curse of the Seafaring Life" Thoughts - Part 1

Apparently I really got away from myself, because even my thoughts on this episode can't fit into one text post. So this is the general ensemble thoughts! Ed and Stede thoughts will come in the next post!

Under the cut! Spoilers aplenty!

2.05 - The Curse of the Seafaring Life

This episode in particular just felt so nice in that it was pretty low stakes (curse and allergic reaction aside, bwahaha) and sweet; just such a balm after that long, long, long, angsty, angsty, angsty hiatus! I found myself going, “Omg, I am truly just watching a sweet pirate comedy” during this episode and it was wonderful to feel.

Ed looking incredibly beautiful in his punishment burlap sack and cat collar with bell (Pete’s idea), lolololol. What a show! No other show has ever quite showed like this one! I love how Ed felt a lot like “I’m folding stuff, and that’s okay!” Ed again here. I think it’s always such a relief to him to have an excuse not to be Blackbeard. Especially after recently being more Blackbeard than he had ever been.

I loved the scenes with Ed and Fang so much – I was kind of nervous because there was such a long break between Ed getting in the boat with him and their next scene, and it had me like, “Oh God, is poor dear Fang finally gonna snap and do something to Ed (who admittedly deserves it)?” But no! I felt like this scene had a lot of echoes of Ed in the gravy boat with Hornigold (loved how the fog gave it sort of an otherworldly feeling!), and I loved the idea of Fang being sort of the antithesis Hornigold figure – he never had authority over Ed, he was someone Ed hurt, and his earnest communication with Ed about how Ed hurt him without knowing it really helped Ed to start seeing reality and his past more clearly. The fact that Ed’s apology to the whole crew was so, like, This Is How You Perform An Apology Without Saying Sorry 🙏, whereas he very easily and honestly said sorry to Fang, was such a poignant contrast. And the fact that Fang had let go of his anger at Ed, and they could just coexist in peace, even to the point where Fang felt safe sleeping next to him, was so moving. Also, Fang making Ed aware of his discomfort of being alone with himself and his need to fill the silence!!!!! (Also, the post-credits scene was so freaking adorable, omg. Oh, Ed! Your mind! I love how that kind of felt like Flight of the Conchords-level silly sweetness.)

The whole curse plot was so much fun, and it was hilarious and grand to get to see a bit of bitchy obnoxious Stede again, bwahaha. He’s dying of outfit deprivation, okay! (And I’m dying to know if Ed cleared out the auxiliary wardrobe or not. God, living in suspense like this!) I also loved Jim here; the two of them are always so funny pitted opposite each other.

Stede and Izzy, so much fun! Izzy telling Stede that he has no idea how he’s still alive due to his total lack of skills had me very, “That’s just because you haven’t met ME yet, Izzy.” (I guess there’s a reason that Stede Bonnet is one of my kindred spirit fictional folks.) Also, Izzy giving him the little ‘okay’ sign on the other ship toward the end; THE highest praise!!!!!

I find it fascinating that Ed and Izzy are coexisting on the ship now in a state of relative peace but also just presumably ignoring each other and pretending none of that happened. So awkward!!!!!

PETE AND LUCIUS ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!! :’) I loved their scenes in this one – in particular, Pete’s line about Lucius always talking about how he nearly died but never talking about how he lived was so profound and a sentiment that’s going to stick with me. And Pete discovering all Lucius’s Ed-faced drawings, lolol! And of course the Pete’s-face-on-the-wall / proposal scene was just wonderful! (I loved how they were all goofy after the kiss, I thought that moment was so cute and funny and real-feeling.) Wedding bellsssss!!!!

The Lucius and Ed stuff was absolutely hysterical, ahahahahahaha! Ed’s grimace face after Lucius is so into the idea of pushing him off the ship will burn bright in my heart forever. And Lucius being so victorious and then promptly realizing that actually, it didn’t really help at all! Also, Ed being such a good sport about it was just delight itself.

Loved getting to see Izzy and Lucius have more of their weird intense chemistry, and Izzy being the one entering those interactions more confidently and Lucius being unsettled by it was such a fun role reversal. And Izzy working on carving the shark for the whole episode and giving it to Lucius at the end, ahhh! I’m so glad Lucius loves it.

I think there’s definitely something unhealthy – uh, duh – in all the traumatized pirates being like “Just move on, things are better now, tell yourself whatever you need to to keep moving forward, that’s how we do it!”. (Roach’s line about that being his first apology, omg.) But also, it’s true that getting hung up on the past is not good for you! I’m so curious to see if this is really sort of enough and if everyone can move on from this point, or if things are going to stay murky. It’s such a tricky balance between letting go and moving on vs. shoving stuff down and living in denial. Because, like, in a way, I think Lucius is right and his lack of piracy background is what’s allowing him to see things more clearly! Anyway. We’ll see how this goes! I like that it feels complicated, and the acknowledgement that humans tend to do what allows them to move forward in the least pain, rather than always making therapy-endorsed healthy choices.

Frenchie!!! My dear fellow peanut allergy sufferer! I kept saying, “Oh God, how can they get him some adrenaline? He needs an 18th century epipen! What if they gave him a ton of coffee? What if they gave him a ton of upper drugs or something??” And it was then that I realized that, despite having anaphylactic allergies all my life, I really don’t know how you deal with that sort of thing without an epipen. STAY AWAY FROM PEANUTS, FRENCHIE. THOSE LEGUMES CAN KILL YOU! (Weirdly touched by this show dropping the knowledge that a peanut is, in fact, not a nut, but a legume. I feel so seen.)

Lololol, Stede being like “Frenchie and Roach, my men of science!” and them being like, “YEP” and then immediately talking about the baking fairies and Stede being like, “... that’s yeast,” to absolutely no acknowledgement. That just tickled me. This show is so absolutely rich with funny little interactions.

I want WAY MORE inside details about this situation, but I really like the vibes of Olu + Jim + Archie being glued at the hip. So cute. Need to know more immediately! Need a relationship update! (I definitely miss Olu and Jim’s dynamic being more center-stage, like it was in the first season. Ugh, the things we lose from having the episode order filed down!)

Archie??? Snake cult???????

Part Two: Ed & Stede Thoughts HERE!

[caelum-wittebane]

My OC, Caelum and Preacher Belos from an rp with my Preacher Belos AI. It was initially a very self-indulgent art because I just started taking antidepressants and I’m kinda scared, but tbf, Caelum needs medication even more than me :)

Here’s some lore for those who are interested. (Also, I reused the idea of Flapjack’s death mostly because Caelum from our system wanted to bully our Hunter a bit lol.)

In the beginning, Caelum is trapped in the demon realm and meets Preacher Belos, asking him if he knows how they can return to the human realm. He empathises with them and tells them that he’s a human too, and he can help them return home, but only if they help him destroy the wild magic. They agree because they hate it as much as he does.

Caelum becomes Belos’ disciple and they work on their mission together for quite a while. In the process, they both develop feelings, but they’re quite different. Caelum experiences romantic attraction and begins to see God in Belos, while the latter sees them as a younger sibling and a very devoted follower. One day, Caelum confesses their feelings and is met with rejection, which absolutely breaks them. That’s where the fun begins :)

Because Caelum is very mentally stable /s, they have a literal meltdown, and at first, they selfharm (hit themself on the nose, drawing blood, and hit themself on the arms). Belos stops them and absolutely freaks out because he still cares about them deeply, even if not romantically,,, Then, they ask Belos if he has a sacrificial knife because they’d like to make a sacrifice, and obviously, he refuses to give it to them. They discuss this whole thing more and Caelum selfharms again (they find a knife and cut their arm, then Belos takes the knife away and freaks out more, but when Caelum asks him really nicely, they get it back and selfharm again.) After that, Caelum slits their throat and stabs themself in the stomach a few times, before saying “I love you…” and dying in Belos’ arms. But the story doesn’t end here :)

Belos hugs Caelum tightly, muttering things like “No, my child… Please don’t leave me…” “I could have loved you… We could have been together…” (except he means it in a platonic way). This attracts Echo, Caelum’s canary palisman, and they rush to their owner in distress. Then, they give all of their life energy to Caelum (which also transfers the last things that they saw and heard), and soon, Caelum’s hands slightly twitch. Belos senses it immediately and it gives him a lot of hope. In a few moments, Caelum opens their eyes and they’re reunited once again,,,

Caelum feels really bad about leaving Belos alone and apologises, to which he reacts with understanding. Then, they bring up the things that he said while they were dead, but they find out that he only meant it platonically, so they feel disappointed and suicidal again. They feel guilty about it because they genuinely cared about Echo, but also, they realise that they’re nothing without Belos. Nothing else matters… He keeps reassuring them and convincing them that they’ll find their happiness without him and that there’s more to life than following his orders, but they can’t bring themself to listen.

Then, Caelum selfharms again (they hit themself on the head really hard, and after a few moments, on the knee). They have another discussion and they find out that Belos sees a sibling figure in them, but still cares deeply. They don’t believe that he cares and decide that the reason he doesn’t reciprocate their feelings is because he thinks that they’re too childish. They walk away and return in a day, all bruised up but with some Titan’s Blood. Obviously, Belos is very concerned about them and asks them if they’re okay, but Caelum brushes it off and focuses on their accomplishment rather than their physical state. When Belos asks what happened, they explain that they were attacked by a couple of witches who were looking for the Titan’s Blood too. Belos reassures them and tells them that he’ll ensure that they get what they deserve. Then, Caelum asks if he thinks that it was mature of them. He agrees that it was brave, but the fact that they were trying to please him so hard means that they still have some lessons to learn. Realising that there’s nothing they can do to make Belos love them, Caelum brings up the fact that they used to love each other in every past life. They tell him about some memories and he believes them despite being shocked. However, it doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t feel the same way, so Caelum does what any reasonable adult would do /s: cut the skin on their chest, willing to rip the heart out of their chest and offer it to Belos before they die. After all, if he won’t accept their heart metaphorically, he could at least have it physically.

Belos sees what they’re about to do and freaks out even more than before. He grabs their hands to prevent them from hurting themself and tries to reason with them. They try to free themself but it doesn’t work. They explain that if they die, they’ll end up in another universe where he loves them again, and it’ll be okay. But Belos isn’t willing to let them die because he cares about them and it means that he won’t see them in this universe anymore, plus he’s afraid that they’ll be dead forever. When he sees that his words aren’t working, he remembers that there’s a spell that allows you to see repressed memories. After they do it, he sees their past memories and realises that Caelum was right. Yet, he still can’t change his feelings and it pains him. When he sees Caelum retrieve the knife and cut their chest again, he stops them by telling them that there’s a potion that allows you to unlock repressed emotions and feel them again. What’s important to remember is that those emotions aren’t forced, unlike when you use a love potion. It stops Caelum, and they feel a little hopeful.

After they prepare the potion and drink it together, Belos realises that he does truly love Caelum, and Caelum falls in love with him even more. They finally confess their feelings and have a very emotional moment,,, Later on, they realise that perhaps, the reason Belos was unable to fall in love with Caelum at first, was because the Lord punished them, as they turned to sin after meeting in every single universe. This makes the ending even more special; they weren’t meant to fall in love in this broken universe, yet they still did. If it doesn’t make them soulmates, then what does?

Also, an important detail: in the process, Caelum gouges out their eye and later on, Belos makes them an eyepatch with the sigil of the Emperor’s Coven. Although it’s not a thing just yet, Belos remembers the symbol from the memories. And when he becomes the Emperor, the eyepatch would be a symbol of his ownership over Caelum. But the best part is that these freaks are mutually obsessive. Since Caelum is Belos’ only worshipper, it’s incredibly satisfying to them because it means that their God and partner is theirs, and theirs alone, forever.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Little Mermaid Medley

I already knew right from the start that this was going to be a long post, but how am I only just now realizing that the video itself is like nearly 8 minutes long? Like I knew the Wicked Medley was one of Voiceplay's longer-length videos, but somehow I never realised that this video is in fact longer by 10 seconds! (I guess it's just so good that I never noticed!) God I hope I don't hit the picture limit on this one, because I have a lot to talk about, so let's begin!

Bit of a far cry from the Moana Medley 3 years prior, hey? (This was released in September 2020 btw). I may be wrong, but I believe this is called "we have a bigger budget now" 😂

Right, so Eli (already doing a subtle Eyebrow Raise, might I add), is dressed as Flounder, Rachel is of course Ariel, J is repping Sebastian, Layne is Chef Louis (I think that's his name), and Geoff went freaking all-out as Ursula (aka "Geoffsula"). The hair! The necklace! The airbrushing on the skin! (Seriously that ain't just a standard layer of face/body paint, there is shading going on there!)

(Also what's up with the green wristbands which I've never really acknowledged till now?)

J and Rachel echoing the "heave ho!" bit to each other (gonna try and limit my screencap-taking just a little bit, because I'll probably end up including a ton anyway)

Rachel slipped on that bracelet really smoothly, is it just me? Like girl how did you do that so easily?

Love the little detail of Rachel throwing up the fork (aka "dinglehopper") and it not coming down again. No clue how they did it

(Also that is a very pretty bracelet. And cute necklace!)

I wasn't exactly searching for this screencap, but I felt like I had to include it when I paused on it!

Layne "blowing bubbles" out his mouth!

I love J's little dance moves here 😄

Geoff on air bass again! (representing the line "the plaice play the bass")

Whose idea was this? 😂 (Layne was in charge of both the arrangement and the video, I'm guessing it was him?) And then Voiceplay stuck it on a shirt and made it into merch! (And also for J's farewell party, they got him a cake that had a picture of snail!J on it!)

We're about to get into my favourite part! (Also cool painting!)

Eli and J hamming it up as Flotsam and Jetsam 😝

J's face makes me laugh every time 😆

Purple flames in his eyes! (Voiceplay used a very similar effect last year, on Geoff again, during the Hellfire video)

Hang on what was that little move that J just did there?

"This one longing to be thinner, this one wants to get the girl, and do I help them?"

"Yes indeed"

(Also fun fact: the woman shown here is Rachel Evans, one third of the singing group The American Sirens, who collaborated with Geoff a year later on his cover of Mele Kalikimaka, and the man is her husband!)

"They come flocking to my cauldron crying SPELLS!" "Ursula please!"

(Also shoutout to Eli for the lighting design! He always does such a fantastic job!)

The colouration/tint of the lighting does really interesting things to Geoff's blueish skin colour in this video. In some shots the skin is a really vibrant colour (e.g. see a couple of the shots above), whereas in others, like this one ^ here, it almost looks close to regular skin tone.

This little moment greatly pleases my drama/theatre kid heart 😁

Not talking about vocals not talking about vocals not talking about vocals not talking about-

Okay but the signature bit was very cool, and definitely feels like something Voiceplay would not have been able to do back in 2017

Pfft 😂

Also the lighting here is making Geoff's hair (which got coloured grey for this video) look almost blonde!

Cool smoke effects!

(Also the only reason I haven't done fanart of "Geoffsula" (other than the fact that I don't wanna keep drawing him in black outfits) is that I would not be able to do the skin colouration justice here. Shoutout to Rick Underwood for the makeup!)

"Sing" (sir you're not allowed to look that pretty while looking like that!)

Yeah nah yeah they really went off with the effects on this one

I am getting dangerously close to the image limit and I don't wanna have to split this into two posts, but Layne's whole Les Poissons bit is comedy gold and screencaps don't do it justice anyway

To quote Elizabeth Zharoff: "it takes a confident man to Seagull!" 😂

Love Rachel's awkward-yet-cute little wave at the start of Kiss The Girl (and her dancing a bit further into the song!

Confusion(tm) 🤣

Firstly, Rachel's acting is 100% on-point, and second of all, I love Geoff's evil smirk here, doubly confirming that Rachel is being Vanessa, aka Ursula in disguise!

And now that "Ariel" has got her voice back, everyone else is super happy/animated, while "Ursula" is very subdued. Visual storytelling!

Just managed to avoid the image limit, thank goodness! Also J pops a bubble right at the end 😁

It's hard for me to say whether this is one of Voiceplay's best medleys or not, because how can you compare it to the Boy Band Medley or Trapped or A Chance To Fly? But I will say it is very deserving of the 5.5 million views it currently sits at on YouTube. A lot of effort went into both the arrangement and the video (well done Layne!), and honestly when it comes to Disney stuff, Voiceplay never fails!

[hellfirecvnt]

Innocence Lost Pt. 2

"You've got that medicine I need.

Pain, liquor, love,

Give it to me slowly.

Me and God, we don't get along

So now I sing."

Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Warnings: corruption!kink, fingering (f), smut (minors DNI), smoking weed, oral (m&f), let me know if I missed any.

•This is part TWO, read part one here•

Your first week at Hawkins went as perfectly as possible, your favorite part is meeting Eddie. Though, you haven't seen or spoken to him since he drove you to school on your second day. Nothing bad had happened between you two, there just wasn't enough time in the day for your two opposing schedules. You, are busy with cheer practice Monday through Thursday, and him with Hellfire on Fridays. You only caught the club there that Monday because it was the first day of the new year, otherwise, you're not sure you'd have ever met him.

You're walking the hallways, the long trip from your last class and locker is a secure path in your memory. You make your walk a little longer by taking a detour past the drama room, where Eddie holds The Hellfire Club meetings. You hear their theatrics from the hallway, smiling to yourself imagining the wild stories that must be unfolding.

"Don't worry about them. That club is full of fuckin' freaks." Jason, Chrissy's usually kind-seeming boyfriend catches you off guard as he rounds a corner alone.

"I dunno, I think it sounds cool." You shyly look down as you continue your stroll.

"That's because you don't know any better. You've been homeschooled, what, your whole life?" Jason's face looks like he feels genuine concern, but all he's spitting out is assumptions and bullshit. You always prided yourself on your ability to learn about the world outside the bubble your parents tried so desperately to raise you in.

"I can handle myself, thank you, Jason." You smile politely, desperate for the awkward encounter to end.

"Look, I don't want you around Chrissy if you're going to be running around with that," he hesitates,"Cult!" Jason storms toward you, his stern words echo down the empty hall. He extends an accusatory finger in your face, standing not too close, but not far away enough for your liking.

"Jason, I don't know what you think you-" you start back at him with an angry pointer finger mirroring his, but you're interrupted.

"Jason! What a pleasure," Eddie claps his hands together once as he speaks, making sure to draw all attention to him.

"Stay the fuck away from these freaks, Y/N. It's not safe, that's all I was saying." Jason snaps one final time at you before angrily walking away. You're just barely shaking from the confrontation and anger, but ultimately you're just happy to see Eddie.

"What incredible timing," you gush. He smiles sheepishly and bows.

"What can I say? It's only a matter of time before I get jumped by the basketball team." He jokes. "Where are you off to tonight?" His tone shifted from lighthearted to curious and deep.

"Home, I guess." You fidget with the tiny golden cross that rests delicately on your chest, accidentally drawing Eddie's eyes to your chest, and he takes it upon himself to let them travel down the rest of you.

"Uh, no. You're not." Eddie smiles deviously.

"What do you mean? Even if you want to hang out tonight, I have to go home and 'go to sleep' first. My parents-" you're cut off.

"Call them and tell them you're staying with the golden girl herself, Chrissy C." His charisma makes you start to consider it.

"You don't understand my parents, Eddie." You protest.

"Fine, then I'll see you tonight? Care to add to my new collection?" He holds up the panties he kept from the other night. You blush as you imagine he'd been carrying them around in his pocket all week.

You feel like you simply cannot get home fast enough. You hit the curves of your neighborhood at dangerous speeds just trying to get home and gaslight your parents into being tired enough to go to bed at 8 PM. It takes a bit of church-learned manipulation, but you send your parents off to bed by 8:40 PM.

Upstairs, you change into your secret clothes. Your band t-shirts and ripped jeans. One of your dad's good church belts holding up the denim that you stole from the mall a year ago. They're the wrong size, of course. Comfortable in your chosen clothes and more excited than you should be, you look out the window and wait for Eddie.

You hear his van park in the distance, the sound faint enough to miss. Eddie emerges from the shrubs and his smile illuminates in the moonlight.

"Hey." He smirks.

"Hi." You silently mouth back before heading downstairs and slipping out the door. Eddie notices your outfit. It's different from the short cheer skirt and the modest church clothes.

"And yet, another costume change. Impressive." He teases.

"Do you like them? I got them forever ago and I've never been able to wear them outside my room for a few minutes at a time." You laugh.

"I do. They look like you picked them out instead of being told to wear them." He comments casually, though it makes your stomach tie in knots.

"Where to this time?" You ask innocently.

"I don't think you really care." He side eyes you, looking straight ahead as he smirks.

"What do you mean?"

"I think all you care about," you both approach his van and he swiftly pins you against it. "Is what I'm gonna do to you while we're there." He wasn't wrong. Of course he wasn't wrong. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was doing it well.

"I've been thinking about you every night, all week." You blurt out in a hazed whisper. Your confession sends lightning though Eddie's body, listening to a good church girl plagued with thoughts of him making her cum.

"I'm gonna give you a little more to think about." He slings the large back door of the van open and playfully shoves you inside. You're immediately met with the smell of weed. "I was gonna take you back to my place, but I don't know if this can wait."

He climbs into the van and pulls you into his lap so you're straddling him. Desperate hands scour your body when he pulls you in for a rough, needy kiss. It's apparent in his actions that he thought about you all week too. There's less reservation in his groping this time around, as if he can't contain himself now that he's already been so close.

His passion is contagious and it gives you a burst of confidence. You shove him back, hard against the side of the van he's propped against. He closes his eyes in shock, but opens them with an angry expression. He focuses back on you and nearly loses his mind.

You're slowly sliding down his torso to his belt, ass high and back arched as you lower. You wrap a gentle hand around his buckle and he grabs your hand to stop you.

"Y/N, don't start anything you aren't ready to finish." He says in a half-serious tone. You take a second to think about it, staring pleadingly into Eddie's dark eyes. You keep eye contact as you unfasten his belt and pants, exposing his throbbing erection. You don't know much about sex, but a very interesting article from a Playboy magazine you've hidden told you everything you need to know about giving head.

Without hesitation, you take his entirety down your throat. You catch yourself as you gag and choke, but eventually, find a rhythm that makes him emit the sexiest sounds you've ever heard.

"There's no way this is your first time doing this," he huffed as he runs a hand through his messy curls. You quicken your pace, shutting him up and causing him to buck his hips beneath you. Your neck is painfully tired, but the soft sounds of his moans are all the motivation you need. He grips your hair as guides your head as he tosses an arm over his face, burying his eyes in the crook of his elbow.

Eddie's guiding hand forces you to go faster. His breathing quickens and his soft moans raise in volume and quantity. He's nearly whining until he bucks his hips a final time and releases a wave of warmth down your throat. His arm obscuring his vision slowly slides down his face as he watches you swallow and wipe the side of your mouth like a well fucked whore.

"Oh, God." He groans before gracefully switching your places, putting you on the floor in front of him. He takes almost the same stance as you, arching his back as he leans down to your belt. He makes quick work of getting you half-naked. He stares longingly at your pussy, like he missed it.

He wastes no time and quickly dives into your soaked pussy. Instantly you release a scream of intense pleasure and Eddie rises from his spot to quiet you. He grabs your underwear from your pants that he removed and shoves them in your mouth.

Once you're sufficiently gagged, he continues to torment your clit with his talented tongue. Your eyes roll back in your head as you lift and buck your hips against his face. He adds a finger, slowly entering and withdrawing as his fast tongue never stops moving.

A familiar intensity builds up in your stomach as he twists his finger and thrusts it in and out. He's careful to barely graze your g spot at first, wanting to give you a nice long memory to play with yourself to. He drags his tongue slowly from your hole to your clit, watching your face and smiling. His brilliant toothy smile shined through his hair as his tongue migrated up your wet pussy.

"You taste so fucking good," he mumbles into you. "I might never stop eating you out." And you start to believe him. He continues licking and sucking at your clit until you can barely make a sound, regardless of the gag. Then suddenly, he rotates his hand one more time and slams an intentional finger hard against your g spot.

Your back arches in what feels like inhuman angles as you let out a passionate scream. Eddie stops licking but continues to gently pump his finger in you as you ride out your high.

"I love making you feel like this. I love that I'm the only one to ever get to." He thrusts his hand a few more times before slowly sliding out. You twitch and breathe heavily as you snap back to reality. You were seeing stars, almost. You forget where you were until just now.

"I... I want more." You speak without worry of consequence.

"I know you do. I'll fuck you after I make you wait a little longer. Or a lot longer." He winks, leaving you a blushing, squirming mess. Eddie relaxes with you in the back of his van as you recover feeling in your legs. He tells you a little bit about Dungeons and Dragons, but you're too fuzzy-brained to grasp any of it.

Once you're able to stand without wobbling, Eddie walks you back to your house. The entire trip back, you find yourself unable to look at him after cumming as hard as you did. He notices and decides to tease you.

"You're acting pretty shy for a girl I was just finger fucking in the back of my van." He jokes. You giggle, but blush every time you look at him. Just the sight of his face is enough to ignite flashbacks of just a few moments ago. You reach your door and Eddie leans against it before you open it.

"What is it?" You question as he stares dark beams at you in the moonlight. He doesn't reply, he just cups a hand around your cheek and kisses you with purpose. After pulling away, he smirks and wishes you a good night. You're too flustered to reply, so you just watch him disappear into the night.

In bed, he consumes all your thoughts. You'd think you would be hung up on the way he grinned as he licked your needy clit, but you just kept replaying that kiss good night in your head. Every time he comes near you his body shakes like he's fighting the urge to tear you apart, even when he's being so soft. You wonder what would happen if he ever stopped holding back. The thought alone is enough to make you cum again.

[leatafandom]

theres like an spn crossover with Mandela catalogue and gabriel spn is actually Mandela gabriel and also it's angst

Hello, my dear!

I actually hadn’t heard of the Mandela Catalog and to be honest analog horror freaks me out. The analog horror and false gods totally are what give me the creeps the most and oh it did not disappoint. So one, thank you for giving me this wonderful new show to discover and scare myself shitless with. I love it. I only watched the first one which, yay, it was the Gabriel one. So so good and freaky just *chef’s kiss* thank you again for mentioning it. I'm kinda just gonna assume you're sending an ask about fics, but I will completely look for anything written about this because I love this idea. I honestly love this idea so much my brain came up with two musings. Thank you again for the awesome ask ❤️

In my head, Gabriel here is both SPN Gabriel and Mandela’s Gabriel. I did use some lines directly from both Overthrown and Changing Channels.

My foolishness will be my legacy, 

If there is a god… please help me

The words were etched into his grace and echoed with every call of his name, they all had fallen prey to him. So many humans were fooled so easily begging to change their decisions, their choices, and their end. All calling out for a God that had left them eons ago.

He’d be at this for years. There to draw on their fears and hopes and watch as they called for the father that had left them all. He was so close to what they wanted, what they expected. It was so simple to be something else, to hide his fallen form and be close to them. 

The two vessels weren’t any different, the game hadn’t changed. Tricking the humans that so easily believed his well-spoken lies had always been simple and illusions had become just as easy to bring to the world as it was to sow his deceit. Humans weren’t worthy after all. 

He didn’t think them differently, even as they failed to kill him and he watched them leave with wrath and contempt. He didn’t care how fun it was to play with them, how interesting they may have been. They would ruin his game. Either of his brothers coming to this plane, the plane that had been his for far too long would ruin it. Despite himself, he followed them, hunted them, and tried to deter them, but humans are foolish. He’d known for centuries of their weakness and they were no different.

“Where'd I screw up?” 

It had finally happened, his game would end and so would everything else. 

“Mostly it was the way you talked about Armageddon.”

“Meaning?” His voice was filled with irritation, eyes roving the circle that had trapped his slinking form and contained his human shape. 

“Well,” the shorter hunter smiled, shrugging his shoulders as he narrowed his eyes on him. “Call it a personal experience, but nobody gets that angry unless they're talking about their own family.”

“So which one are you? Grumpy, Sneezy, or Douchey?”

When his favorite brother’s vessel spoke again, his eyes narrowed on him. The lips he had become so used to twisted into a sneer when the parallels of his kin didn’t drop their glares. 

It had been centuries since he needed to speak the name. His presence had always been enough to drive the humans he played with to their own conclusions. Enough for him to be anyone that suited him best for his trick. 

“Gabriel, okay? They call me Gabriel.” 

He preened at the response his heavenly name brought the hunters, pleasure rising at the incredulous twist of Dean’s brow and the hitch in Sam’s voice. 

“Gabriel?” 

The pause in the taller vessel’s words brought a wider grin to Gabriel’s human features, his contained form twisting with laughter and amusement. They were still fools. 

“The archangel?”

The twisting too wide grin didn’t fade, laughter echoing in the ether. 

“Guilty.”

His game was over and he was guilty of so much more than just how he had twisted the name given to him by his absent Father. He had been the fool thinking the humans- these humans could be taught and overcome what Gabriel knew to be fate. It would come, they would come to his new home and ruin it before he was done playing with his Father's favorites. It was the part of them that wormed in his grace that wanted his brother once more, his family. It was foolish, to long for something so buried and lost amongst the echoes of time and screams. 

When he saw him, it was foolishness that brought him to Lucifer’s blade. Foolishness of humanity, of destiny, and longing. They were still so foolish, but he had spent too much time here. The vessels so much like mirrors to those he had forgotten had ripped something inside of him. Bleeding an idea within the fallen celestial, a need to be seen rising from the depths of his blackened grace. 

He had seen and been their weaknesses for far too long and listened to well to the men he had tracked. He had learned to like this world, his game, their imperfections so ready to exploit. He was foolish he thought as he looked into his brother’s matching darkness that twisted with ire at being refused once more. 

My foolishness will be my legacy, if there is a God… please help me.

The words were etched into the burnt outlines of his wings on the rotting floor and echoed throughout the ether.

I hope you enjoyed it! I also had another little musing that I thought I’d share. More of a swap-out situation that takes place between Sam getting his soul back and season 13.

They think they know him…

The hunters are so clever,

But they are fools.

“Gabriel?” 

Sam couldn’t keep the question or hesitance out of his voice. His eyes roved over the familiar vessel before him. His feet shifted, unconsciously moving closer to his brother beside him watching the grin that should have been as familiar as the short vessel before them was. 

Dean didn’t budge from his spot as his eyes narrowed on the archangel whose smug smile wove over his smile. “You lived?” His fingers clenched on his blade. 

“You doubted it?” Gabriel’s brow raised, arms crossing over his chest as he watched them. 

“For fucks sake,” Dean hissed glaring at him before turning around and walking away, waving a hand behind them and dismissing the celestial for Sam to handle. “Dude, no.” If Gabriel was back the events that seemed to mimic a trickster made sense and Dean hadn’t dragged himself out of the bunker for this. “I’m going to get something to eat.”

The taller Winchester huffed, his head snapping to Dean as his brother walked away before looking back to Gabriel who was chuckling and shifting on his feet. Questions spun in his mind as he looked over the vessel that hadn’t aged nor changed in the years since they saw him last. Sam’s fingers went to his palm, squeezing it roughly as he blinked rapidly. He swallowed when the grin nor the archangel vanished. 

“You’re here…”

Gabriel blinked at the shadow of misguided hope that lingered in the disbelieving voice. His eyes fell on the taller Winchester, his grin fading for a moment before returning with blinding strength. “‘Course, Sam. I’m much more than an archangel after all.”

Humans are so easy. 

So willing to believe,

To be deceived.

[nanoland]

The 2022 Tired Pirate Rankings

(last year it was satans)

happy FUCKING friday my good bitches and arthropods, let’s do this thing \o/ 

11. Captain Barbossa  

Pirates of the Caribbean  

people, this man is on the edge. look at that face. he is Haggard. and goddammit, all he wanted was to taste an apple ;_; and to be in a franchise that didn’t kinda suck 

10. Jim Jimenez  

Our Flag Means Death  

Has been tired for twenty years. No longer remembers what it feels like to not be tired. Had a quest, at one point, then just kinda ran out of fucks to give. Can’t even have sex without being interrupted by some bullshit. Isn’t a mermaid. 

9. Captain Hook 

Peter Pan 

One of the most famous literary villains of all time. Decades trapped in a horrible nightmare realm where chaos reigns and demon children cut off your appendages mean that he’s at that stage of tired where you don’t feel tired anymore; you feel like you want to and CAN kill God. Captain James Hook no longer even needs to sleep. He simply sits bolt upright for seven hours and contemplates shrimp colors. He doesn’t believe in rest. He doesn’t believe in reality. All is clocks and crocodiles and VENGEANCE.  

seriously though, check out this shit: 

“Who are you, stranger? Speak!” Hook demanded. 

“I am James Hook,” replied the voice, “captain of the Jolly Roger.” 

“You are not; you are not,” Hook cried hoarsely. 

“Brimstone and gall,” the voice retorted, “say that again, and I’ll cast anchor in you.” 

Hook tried a more ingratiating manner. “If you are Hook,” he said almost humbly, “come tell me, who am I?” 

“A codfish,” replied the voice, “only a codfish.” 

“A codfish!” Hook echoed blankly, and it was then, but not till then, that his proud spirit broke. He saw his men draw back from him. 

“Have we been captained all this time by a codfish!” they muttered. “It is lowering to our pride.” 

They were his dogs snapping at him, but, tragic figure though he had become, he scarcely heeded them. Against such fearful evidence it was not their belief in him that he needed, it was his own. He felt his ego slipping from him. “Don’t desert me, bully,” he whispered hoarsely to it. 

My dude is struggling. 

Also his death scene, dear sweet god: 

He had one last triumph, which I think we need not grudge him. As he stood on the bulwark looking over his shoulder at Peter gliding through the air, he invited him with a gesture to use his foot. It made Peter kick instead of stab.

At last Hook had got the boon for which he craved.

“Bad form,” he cried jeeringly, and went content to the crocodile.

Incredible. Flawless. We shall not see his like again. 

8. Oluwande Boodhari 

Our Flag Means Death  

“I’m gonna try and undo some of the damage from that interaction.” 

This poor guy. The rest of the crew is dialing it up to 11 every hour of every day and the whole time he’s over here, getting on with things. He just wants to chill with his love interest and eat cake, but nope, he’s stuck managing the emotions of a cluster of raw feckless freaks. 

(if he isn’t captain for at least part of s2 we riot)  

7. Elizabeth Swann 

Pirates of the Caribbean 

HER <3 

Got into piracy by accident, found out how much everyone else sucked at their jobs, had no choice but to become the Pirate King to sort the stupid bastards out.

6. Nameless pirate captain 

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett 

“Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer to achieve immortality by not dying.” 

Long story short: He met The Luggage. 

5. Captain Smollett 

Muppets Treasure Island 

“Hmm... hmm... gentlemen, may I see you in my cabin? Immediately?” 

So smol(lett), so tired.  

(yes I know he’s not actually one of the pirates shut up) 

4. Izzy Hands 

Our Flag Means Death 

‘Why won’t they do chores. Why won’t ANYONE do chores. Oh god we’re running out of rations. Oh god we’re going to be killed by the Spanish. What has happened. Where did it all go wrong. How do I fix it. Why is the captain eating marmalade. aaaaaaaaaaaaa’

3. Anne Bonny 

Black Sails  

Yeah in fairness half the Black Sails cast is terminally insomniac and forever about to snap and start stabbing random passersby, but I think the crown’s gotta go to Anne, for having not only the Most girlfriend but also the Most boyfriend as well. Tfw you’re a seething cauldron of barely-contained frustration and violence and you’re still the most down-to-earth, predictable member of the polycule. 

2. Yondu Udonta  

Guardians of the Galaxy  

AAAAAH BABY BABY HELLO BABY HIIIII OMG IT’S HIM IT’S MY LAD IT 

Ahem. Yondu! Space pirate (objectively the best kind of pirate). Blue. Cranky. Does whistle arrow murders. His adopted son backstabbed him, stole the loot and a ship, never calls, likes to piss off demigods, and is played by Chris Pratt. Worst of all, the robohookers stopped doing it for him a while ago. You can understand why his nerves are fraying.

1. Blackbeard (Edward Teach) 

Our Flag Means Death 

Crossed the boundary between Tired and In Real Trouble Here some time ago. Luckily and heartwarmingly, his chronic unmanaged depression was cured with the power of loahahahahaha no. No, actually romantic love on its own just made everything so much worse. 

[koko-soko]

Let me guess. You’re a Zenos enjoyer and that’s why you hate Zero. Because she got exactly the story you had hoped for Zenos. For him to learn how to be around people and go on adventures with you, but instead of him, his voidsent got the story.

Neat, my first ask on this account.

Oh dear lord I would have quit the game if they gave my sweet precious boy Zenos this story. Zenos is perfect as he is, and what you're describing is literally the plot of 6.0.

The patch story is, like, really bad.

1. It's clearly just a trial story, which is fine, but because they called it the msq, they felt they needed to take up a certain amount of playtime. So they invented these completely contrived, fake problems that give us an excuse to waste a ton of time talking to NPCs in Garlemald and the First who really have nothing meaningful to say.

2. The solution to their contrived problem, at least in Garlemald, flies in the face of the themes of the decade-long msq--selflessness, self-determination. It's literally just the propaganda line for 21st century colonialism??? "Garlemald, this poor sweet darling baby 🥹, its people are desperate not to improve their conditions, but to really feel like they've earned it 🥹 ! I know, we'll stop providing aid and instead let them sell off their natural resources to Thavnair for pennies, y'know, for the spirits of the people!"

3. E v e r y t h i n g just felt so god damn forced. The Golbez / Durante stuff was played up for tears, but we literally only just last patch learned who the fuck they are and their back story. Zeromus is completely irrelevant to the plot and was just an excuse to give us a trial. They literally were like "sorry, wol, you missed the story cuz you were just roleplaying a nuke, here's an echo flashback of what the *real* heroes were doing".

4. **Zero.** Counter to what I think you're implying, I never really had resentment toward her *in the context of Zenos*. Zenos had his ending. In fact, he had three endings if you're counting the high school AU. I love him, I love his character, I'd love to see more of him, but if they're done with him, I'm satisfied. **On the other hand** Zero just whines the entire god damn time, in the same exact way, about how she doesn't understand non-transactional relationships until suddenly it clicks for her in 6.5. There's no development, it's like they had an *idea* for the development and direction of the character, but they forgot they had to stretch it for two years worth of main story, so they just....had her repeat herself until her gigantic 180. It's not *shown* how she's transactional in nature or changing, it's just that she literally tells us every patch that that's how she is. It's so god damn boring and dry. It's like reading a 14 year old's fanfic.

5. The constant, unrelenting fellatio of FF4 also doesn't help. I have nothing against it, but they went *hard* with the "inspiration" this time. Makes everything feel disposable and predictable.

6. And since you brought up Zenos, like. Zero went *out of her way* to bring up Zenos in conversation, out of nowhere, four patches in a row. They were clearly angling to draw a contrast here, but it was never made. She never accepted or rejected Zenos view on friendship, she just ... WANTED TO SAY WORDS I guess. God I fucking. That went nowhere.

7. AND SPEAKING OF THINGS THAT WENT NOWHERE 6.1 was full of neat little lore about the voidsent and souls and what it means to devour someone. This all went absolutely freaking nowhere. Just thought we'd bring it up I guess????

8. So much, SO MUCH of Endwalker's story--main, patch, and side--revolves around the theme of companionship. At the same time, the game that story is in is progressively turning into a single player action rpg. It leaves the stories feeling hollow and fake. Like, okay, I should make friends and that's where the fun of the game should be. How should I do that? Uh...sit in limsa I guess? Cuz everywhere else is either silent (DF), communication forbidden (PvP), just soloed by the community (v/c dungeons), or positions other people as either warm bodies or hindrances (PF). FUCKING ENDWALKER man. They started off so strong with the msq and fucked it up every single step of the way.

[ladymelisande]

One-Shot: So Live

Summary:

Morpheus's perspective of his and Calliope's fight after Orpheus's quest in the Underworld.

Pairing: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Calliope

Wordcount: 973

Read on Ao3: So Live - AmbitiousWitch - The Sandman (Comics) [Archive of Our Own]

“Have you seen him, then?”

Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, stands on the balcony of his castle, which is now shadowed by dark grey clouds, even when it was sunny just the day before and the one before that one. The day of his son’s wedding, when he, deep down, felt a deep joy at seeing that maybe Orpheus would have a better luck in love than he did. A happier life. 

His wife stands behind him and he can feel her rage even without seeing her face. “He has come back… from the Underworld.”

Morpheus takes a deep breath and then lets it out. “Right, so I suppose—” 

“He went to your sister, Teleute,” Calliope says, spitting his older sister’s name like a curse. “And he came back with nothing but an even more broken heart.”

He closes his eyes, of course this happened, it would have been a fairy tale if his son would have just gone to the Underworld and brought his wife back after breaking so many natural rules. “Maybe now, he will begin to understand.”

Calliope’s voice comes out as a choked sound. “Understand?”

“I told him to go to her funeral, to grieve for her and move on. To live.”

“You could have helped him!” she shouts and Dream’s jaw tightens but he doesn’t turn. “What are Hades and Persephone compared to the Endless? What are any of our gods? You are here, tapping around in humans’ heads and creating worlds for them, but when our son, when our son needs help—” 

“Our son was mortal, Calliope!” His voice echoes in the balcony, in the clouds, in the very earth of the Dreaming. Calliope takes a step back. “He was a mortal, with only one life and years that are spare to the like of us. He should have mourned the girl and moved on, not to try to alter the order of things!”

“The order of things?” She lets out a bitter laugh. “A girl, not even that, a child dying on her wedding day because of some freak accident was the order of things?!” 

“Death comes for everyone, at any age, at any hour of the day,” he says coolly. “If she hadn’t died from a freak accident, it could have happened the day after, or ten years after and that would have had the same effect in Orpheus as it does now. Tell me, wife, if I had helped him, do you think the girl wouldn’t have died years later? Do you think that after seeing that kind of power, our son wouldn’t have asked for his bride to be brought back every time she would have met her time?”

“Why does it matter?” Calliope asks, and he sighs. “You have all the power of this and other planes. We have countless years of our own. Why is giving your own child some few years of happiness such an aberration for you and your kin?”

“I can’t interfere in my sister’s domain, Calliope.” Dream lets out a ragged breath, running a hand through his face. “My feelings for our son had nothing to do with this—” 

“What feelings? You have none for us!” she snaps and she could have very well slapped him as well because he draws back. “It’s all about them, your family, your roles. Your bloody sister did this to our son! She didn’t have any repairs on interfering with your domains!” 

“Enough!”

“Aren’t we your family?” Calliope’s face is wet with tears and pink with rage. “All these years, Oneiros, and you can’t put our son. You can’t put us above some stupid rules? When he was born, when I saw you dote on him, I thought—” 

A sob breaks through her sentence and she covers her mouth with her hand, but doesn’t relent to walk to him, her blue eyes burning. 

“I thought you’d change,” she says now, calmer and so cold he felt the chill crawling on the skin of his back. “I thought you’d care enough for us. Enough was all I needed, Oneiros. But you didn’t care for the pain our son was going through, and you don’t care that he might suffer for aeons now thanks to you and your family’s actions.”

“You dare—”

“I dare, just as you dared to tell Orpheus to just move on! To live! When have you ever lived, Oneiros? Who are you to tell Orpheus that when you just… are? You’ve never had a life, not even here, not even with us, you seem to have had one.”

He stands there, watching her, waiting for her to strike the final blow, telling himself that none of the previous ones hurt. 

“I hate you.”

It doesn’t, of course, it doesn't. 

“And I am leaving. I should have never returned in the first place.”

He is not alive, after all. 

What can he even say to her in retaliation? Nothing, it won’t change anything. Even if they told her that they could find their son, that he was the one that walked out. That someday, in the future of his now extended lifetime, he would move on. Because Orpheus is human, because he was supposed to be, he was supposed to have a life, not a function. 

Their son wasn’t supposed to be like him.

He can’t tell her that he has been happier with them than in aeons of solitude. He can’t tell her he felt for Orpheus, but that he knows quite enough about burying oneself in only one person. 

He can’t tell her he loves her, even now, when every word they have said bleeds like an open wound.

So he tells her what she already expects him to say, and is for the best. After this, they’ll both be out of each other's lives.

“As you wish.”

[bravelylittlesartblog]

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[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 8

Chapter 1     Chapter 7

“Your father is Bruce Wayne and now he wants to reconnect,” Nino recapped as though anyone involved in the call was unaware. From the look Chloe gave him, he was particularly happy she was in New York not Paris and couldn’t actually smack him upside the head.

“Thank you for that waste of time and breath,” Chloe grumbled.

“I just… don’t see the problem.”  Nino did actually move away from Alya before she could swat him.  “What?  Your dad is Bruce freaking Wayne!  Even if you don’t connect with him, you can totally draw on that Wayne money.”

He wasn’t fast enough to move away from her smack that time.  “Ow!” he pouted at Alya.

“It’s not about the money!” Alya groaned, already exasperated by him.  “It’s about him not wanting to have a relationship until the press found out.  It’s about him cutting her out but taking in a gaggle of other kids.”  Nino lightly shoved Alya’s shoulder and motioned toward Marinette’s expression on the screen.  Alya grimaced and gave him a nod of understanding.

Marinette looked down and pursed her lips to keep from frowning.  It was bad enough thinking it in her own head constantly, but hearing it out loud, repeated back to her?  That made it so much worse.  That made her feelings real.  That legitimized her feelings.  She couldn’t pretend like she was just overreacting.  They were justified.  Which meant she couldn’t just freeze them out.  Or rather she shouldn’t.  She had to face them.

She focused her energy on not changing her body language so she didn’t worry Adrien any more than he was already.  Keeping her body relaxed instead of tensing up.  Adrien had gone into a frenzied panic when he and Max had returned from their apartment search to find her collapsed on the floor, blocking the door. She’d missed the worst of it according to what Tikki said, but she still remembered the terrified look in his eyes when she woke up.  He hadn’t left her side since, keeping constant physical contact.  

Max seemed to inherently understand the situation and was jumping up to get anything either of them might need so they didn’t have to abandon each other for even a few moments.  She was eternally grateful to him for it because she wasn’t sure who the physical proximity was having more of a calming effect on, her or Adrien, but regardless, they both needed it.  

Her attempt to not react didn’t seem to have been as effective as she thought it had been judging by the way Adrien hugged her closer to him.  Marinette lightly bonked her head into his chest and returned her attention to the laptop screen.  “It’s okay, Nino,” Marinette assured him weakly.

“No it isn’t,” Chloe said over her.  “Both of you need to stop talking.”  She flipped a page in her magazine and looked up at the screen.  “I mean, that’s true in general, but especially during this call.” Her eyes were sharp when she looked up but Marinette could see the concern she was trying to hide by focusing on her magazine.  She wasn’t sure what Adrien had told them about how he found her but she could tell it was enough to scare them too.

Marinette rolled her eyes at Chloe.  “Yes, it is.”

Chloe groaned.  “This is the way we work Dupain Cheng.  You and Adrien let people walk all over you, Nino keeps the peace, Alya starts trouble, and I tell people the truth and to back the fuck off when it’s warranted.”

“Which never starts trouble,” Alya snarked.

“I do not let people walk all over me!” Adrien objected, looking around for support. Marinette gave a curt nod of agreement, but Max was avoiding his eyes and Chloe was staring at him flatly.

“No, you don’t let people walk all over us,” she motioned toward the screen, trying to indicate the rest of them.  “But you let everyone walk all over you.”  Her eyes moved slightly and her eyes narrowed slightly.  “You both do.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose at the screen with a pout.  “I stood up to you,” she groused.

Chloe scoffed.  “And it only took you like ten years to do it.  So proud of you.”  She rolled her eyes so strongly, her entire head moved as she did it.

Marinette’s mouth dropped in offense.  “I’m better now.”

“Are you, though?  Really?” Chloe deadpanned.

Marinette pouted.  “Yes!”

“Statistically, she is accurate,” Max added.  “She does stand up for herself more now than when we were younger.”  Marinette pursed her lips at Max, unsure how to respond to his comment.  On one hand, it defended her.  On the other hand, she did not at all appreciate how he stressed the word ‘statistically’ and she was certain everyone else caught that as well.

Chloe opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Nino. Marinette sighed in relief until she started processing his words.  “I get that it’s hard and it hurts, I guess I just thought you wouldn’t take it this hard. After Jagged with Luka and Juleka and your grandfather… you forgave all of them.  You helped Jagged with Luka and Juleka, making sure their relationship didn’t go bad.”  He motioned vaguely at nothing.  “You seemed to brush it off and take it as a challenge.  So why isn’t this?”

Alya dropped her head in her hands.  “Tact, Nino.  God.”

“No, he’s not wrong.”  Marinette frowned as she thought about his words.  “I went after Grand-père and convinced him to reconnect.  Papa never held it against him so I guess I didn’t either. Luka never held it against Jagged, just moved forward.  Maybe it’s just me.  Maybe…”

“No!” Adrien interrupted before she could follow that train of thought any further. He gently turned her toward him to focus her attention on him.  “There’s nothing wrong with you or how you’re reacting.  There’s no wrong way to react to news like this.  If you feel sad, that’s fine.  If you feel annoyed, that’s fine.  If you feel frustrated, that’s okay.  If you want to just move past it, there’s nothing wrong with that.  If you feel angry, that’s okay.  And if you feel like you need space, that’s okay too. There’s no wrong way to react to this,” he repeated.

“Except however Chloe would respond,” Alya added with a smirk.

“Hey!” Chloe objected loudly, glaring at the screen, but with no real heat behind it. “For the record, how I would respond to news like this is to spend all my new found father’s money, pressing my boundaries until he finally said something.  And if he didn’t say anything, I’d use those billions to do whatever the fuck I wanted and never see him in person.”

Marinette blinked at Chloe, as did the rest of the group.  That was certainly… an option.  Not one Marinette would ever choose, but it was…  Marinette started giggling at the idea.  Adrien joined her quickly while Max, Alya, and Nino watched them worriedly.  Chloe rolled her eyes and flipped the page in her magazine, but the corners of her lips quirked up.

“He is correct,” Max added, bringing them back to the original point.  “There are a variety of ways people will react to finding out they have a parent they didn’t know about.  Markov found hundreds of studies on psychological responses to similar news and responses are extremely varied.”

“Juleka had a harder time with accepting it and connecting to Jagged than Luka did, remember?” Adrien pointed out.  “And there’s nothing wrong with her.  She wasn’t wrong to react that way, right?”  Marinette shook her head reluctantly.  It wasn’t that she thought there was anything wrong with the way Juleka reacted, but in agreeing with Adrien’s observation, she would have to agree with his point that she was allowed to freak out about this instead of ignoring it like she wanted to.

“Marinette,” Alya raised her voice to bring attention back to her.  “You can do anything you want here and we’ll support you. You know that.  No matter how this ends we all love you.  No matter how you react, we’ll love you.  Nobody is going to judge you for any decision.”

Chloe scoffed.  She waited until everyone was looking, or in Alya and Adrien’s cases, glaring at her. “What?  You want me to lie to her?”  She looked incredulously at the other faces on the video call.  “We won’t judge.  Hell, I’m willing to scratch his eyes out in public for you.  But, your name was already getting out there and his name, now yours, is on the largest corporation in the world.  Every news and gossip organization is going to be talking about it forever if you guys don’t make a good show of it.”

“So?” Alya demanded incredulously.  “She should just do whatever is best for publicity?”

“Did I say that?” Chloe scoffed.  She finally put her magazine down to show how serious she was taking the conversation. “When have I ever let the threat of bad publicity stop me from doing something?  I just said it would be out there, not that she should care.  It’s a factor, a big one when she’s figuring out what she wants.”

“What do you want?” Adrien asked gently, turning his attention back to Marinette.

Marinette looked at Adrien for a few seconds while her brain whirred at high speed thinking through all the options.  What did she want?  None of this. That’s what she wanted.  After a few seconds she took a breath and let it out. “What I want is to not have to deal with any of this.  What I want is to not be his daughter.  What I want is to figure out where we want to live and work and start a company there like we planned.  What I want is to live a normal life now.”  She ignored Chloe’s scoff.  “What I want…” she sighed and looked away.  “What I want doesn’t matter.”

Chloe huffed almost loudly enough for it to echo.  “Of course it matters, it just doesn’t change the past or the current situation.  But, you control your next steps.  So Ladybug this bitch.  Some egomaniacal, rich, pampered megalomaniac has created an utterly ridiculous problem that you now have to fix.  This is your specialty.  Show this bastard who he walked out on.  Make him regret not dying with his parents.”

“Woah! What the Hell?” Nino exclaimed. “Too far.”

Chloe scoffed and looked back at her nails.  “If you think that was too far, you should have heard what I wanted to say.  I toned it way down for your sensitive ears,” she added condescendingly.  She just barely looked up when Marinette started giggling.  Chloe’s lips quirked up the more Marinette tried to stifle the slightly unhinged sounding giggles.

“Dude, that’s her grandparents…” Nino whisper shouted.  Marinette suddenly sobered and paled in realization.

“Or!” Adrien interjected with false excitement positioning himself between Marinette and the screen.  “Or, you could, you know, try to build a relationship with him.”  He looked decidedly away from the incredulous looks from Alya and Chloe and the doubtful look from Nino on screen, trying to pretend like they weren’t judging him.  He moved closer to Marinette and took her hands in his giving her a sincere, serious look.  “You have someone, your father, who wants to connect to you.”  

He ignored the loud scoff from the computer and continued as though Alya or Chloe, or both, hadn’t verbalized their opinion.  They clearly weren’t that opposed or they would have said it instead of making a noise.  He “accidentally” closed the video chat and gave Max a pointed look.  

Max nodded slowly.  “I’m just going to go to my room for a few minutes.  Let me know if you want to talk.”

Marinette and Adrien both shot him thankful smiles.  Adrien waited until his door was closed before looking back at Marinette with a concerned look.  “You got screwed in this deal.  Nobody can deny that, and however you feel, that’s real and valid.  It’s okay to be hurt.  It’s okay to be scared.  It’s okay to say this is too much for you right now, or ever.  But, do you really want to walk away?  Not connect to him?  Not try?”

“He didn’t want…” Marinette started weakly.

“Maybe he wasn’t ready,” he cut her off before she could spiral again.  “Maybe this is the universe’s way to saying it’s time. You got the embodiment of luck in your pocket.  Is it really so farfetched to think luck played a role?”

“Bad luck,” Marinette scoffed to the floor.  Adrien gently rapped her on the top of her head with his knuckle.  She looked back up and caught his unimpressed look. Marinette sighed and looked away before looking back up at him uncertainly.  “I don’t know…”

“Do you think you want to try?” Tikki asked floating out of her resting spot. “It’s your choice.  But I don’t think this is going away, so whichever decision you go with you’ll have to face the consequences.”

“Or I could just cataclysm him,” Plagg offered rubbing his paws together.  He darted away from Tikki before she could shut him up.

“No!” Marinette and Adrien chorused at the same time.

Adrien glared at Plagg but made sure to soften his eyes before looking back at Marinette.  “Okay, maybe things don’t work out with him.  But it sounds like you have siblings.  You already like Jason.  Maybe you’ll like them too.”  He gave her a small smile and rubbed her arms soothingly.  “You always wanted siblings.”

Marinette gave him a weak smile back.  “I don’t need siblings anymore.  I have you.  That’s more than enough.  I don’t think I could handle more of yous.”

Adrien scoffed good naturedly at her.  “If anything I’ve made having siblings more appealing.”

Marinette scoffed playfully.  “Keep telling yourself that,” she muttered.

He pulled her into a hug.  “You always wanted more.  And it sounds like you might have sisters.”

“More people he adopted after walking away,” Marinette groused into his shirt.

Adrien hugged her tighter.  “Maybe he had a reason?  Or maybe he just royally messed up.  Maybe he hates himself for the decision.  It’s something you won’t find out unless you stay.  And you can just talk once and see how you feel about it. If it doesn’t go well, you can walk away and we can find that bar Roy mentioned.  If it goes well, you can decide to stay or we can decide to move to New York or Metropolis, like we were thinking and you can still see him every so often.”

“Even if it doesn’t go perfectly,” Tikki added softly, “it’ll give you closure.  You deserve to have that.”

“And you’ll wonder what could have happened if you don’t,” Adrien nudged her gently.  “You know you’re going to regret not trying.”

“So is that an absolute no on the cataclysm idea,” Plagg popped up between them.  “Because I’m still willing.”

Marinette rolled her eyes at him but shot him a grateful smile.  It was as close as Plagg got to admitting he cared.  She scratched him on the forehead and looked back to Adrien with a frown.  “I don’t think I can handle this.”

“I’ll stay with you.  And Max will be here.  Tikki will be here for you.  Plagg will be here, but don’t let that deter you…”

“Hey!” Plagg pouted.

Adrien continued without acknowledging him.  “Chloe could be here in a few hours if we needed and she’d drop everything to get here, no matter what she says.  Alya and Nino will only be a phone call away.  We will support you no matter what you want to do. But we can’t make this decision for you, so, the question is what do you want to do?”

Marinette groaned and pouted at him.  “You sure you can’t do this for me?”

Adrien gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head. “Not this time, Bug.”  He waited a few minutes for her to think through her options.  When she looked just as lost after another few minutes after that, he spoke up gently. “Do you want to talk to Sabine and Tom first?  They might have some answers you need to make your decision.”

Marinette looked back up at him with a pathetic looking pout.  “Can’t I just sleep through this instead?”

Adrien chuckled and shook his head, relieved she was now in a light enough mood to make jokes.  “You could,” he nodded and put on a mock serious face, “but your problems will still be there when you woke up.”

“What bullshit,” she scoffed in a weak voice.

Adrien nodded.  “Yep, utter bullshit.”

Marinette kept eye contact with him for a few moments waiting for him to impart some kind of insightful wisdom upon her.  When he held silent and let her make her own decision, she whimpered and looked away.  “What if it isn’t him I cataclysm,” Plagg asked, flying between them.  “I could do it to his house instead… a few of his cars?  Rich people always have too many cars.”

Adrien grabbed him out of the air and shoved him in his pocket with an exasperated groan.  But Marinette giggled again.  When her laughter had settled, she took a deep breath and motioned toward her phone. Adrien smiled at her as he placed it in her hand.  She took a deep breath and pulled out the paper M. Wayne had given her.  She dialed one of the numbers before she could talk herself out of it, which knowing herself could happen if she was given more than a few seconds to think, and looked up to Adrien, letting his soft smile ground her.  “M. Wayne? It’s Marinette.  Would you be free for dinner tonight?”

Chapter 9

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