#he also took in doe after their parents just abandoned her as well when she was a baby. i imagine this to be around maybe 1993?

[syrupgirl]

Request:

Could u write a fic ab Sully family x y /n reader? Where she lives with the sully family after her parents died, she gets taken by the colonel in the forest and is set up for bate because he knows she important to the Sully family.

a/n: the way I interpreted this, reader is taken by herself rather than what happens in the film where all of the kids get taken. I did use the rough layout of the scene for inspo but it does diverge from cannon ie Neteyam is with the kids when they get discovered. I hope that’s similar enough to what you mean. also reader is na’vi and around Neteyam’s age :p

Sullys stick together -The Sully family

“Catch me if you can!” Tuk yelled. Her little feet pattering along the branch of an enormous tree, while you and the rest of the Sully children chased her for sport.

She giggled delightedly, dodging out of the way of Lo’ak’s hand.

You really weren’t supposed to be out this far. Too close to the battlefield Jake had said. To close to where the sky people had already begun laying their claim on Pandora. Not if the Na’vi had anything to say about it.

But oh, it was such a beautiful day, almost no clouds in the sky, Kenten floated around you with the unfurled fan necks slowing their descent. Who wouldn’t want to get carried away with the day?

Suddenly, little Tuk ran into the trunk of a tree and startled back, falling on her butt. Kiri rushed forward and kneeled beside her, rubbing her back.

“Oh Tuk, are you ok? Are you hurt?” Kiri asked, ever the nurturer.

Tuk rubbed her nose and sniffed, tiny little tears blooming in her eyes. “Yeah, just got a fright, that’s all.”

Kiri helped the youngest sully stand up and continued to comfort her. Tuk reassured her sister that she was ok and Kiri relented. Tuk then wandered off to continue her little adventure.

“Wait, guys! Look!” Lo’ak whisper shouted.

Everyone looked to the direction he was pointing. Spider’s eyes widened and he even gasped a little.

“Wow, bro. That’s where my dad and your dad fought, right?” He asked Neteyam.

Neteyam didn’t answer right away, looking almost sheepish. “Yeah, bro.”

Lo’ak looked like he could barely keep still, a giddy grin upon his face.

“Well c’mon! Let’s have a look inside!” He was about to spring up when you put a firm hand on his shoulder.

“No way! We have no idea what’s in there, there could be some old tech still active, or…I don’t know, some angry beast!”

Despite not being a blood member of the Sulky family, after Jake and Neytiri took you under their wing and growing up with them for so long cemented your place among them as family. You were as much Neteyam’s sister as Tuktirey was.

Despite not being a blood member of the Sully family, they listened to you and cared about what you had to say, or that’s what you thought.

“That’s why we have our knives, skxawng.” And with that Lo’ak got you to sprint to the abandoned lab. Well, he would’ve had it not been for the tussling of the bushes opposite where you were all crouching.

“Sit down!” Neteyam gritted out, he grabbed his younger brother by the back of his neck and yanked him back down beside him. Lo’ak started to protest, talking about how it was probably some harmless animal. The sound of voices shut him down. Voices speaking in, english.

You were confused. Sky people should not have gotten this far out without drawing attention of the clan. Neteyam motioned for everyone to be still and you all watched on as the voices got closer.

Neteyam turned on his comms and started speaking to Jake. You could guess what he was saying; do not engage, retreat, stay low and out of sight. All very good suggestions in your opinion.

You kept your gaze intently to the direction of the voices, just waiting for them to pop out so you could get a good look at them and hopefully get some answers to your burning questions.

For better or for worse your questions were answered sooner than you thought.

Aside from the speaking english, the only thing that gave them away for being avatar and not Na’vi was the tactical gear. They were fully decked out. A few of them had arms decorated with tattoos and…sunglasses, Jake had called them.

They slowly approached the abandoned lab with guns raised and eyes everywhere. You all ducked down further once you realised you were way out of your league. Unarmed humans you might be able to handle. Armed humans, definitely more difficult but you had done it before, but avatar who were armed to the teeth along with the strength and speed of the na’vi made for a dangerous mix. You all watched as they searched through the building, overturning the insides of it.

“Come on, dad is on his way, he told us to fall back.” Neteyam’s urged all of you, gesturing into the forest behind him.

“What? No! This is our- my chance to prove to dad that I can help! I can be an asset to the people!”

Neteyam and Lo’ak continued to bicker when you noticed Kiri looking around, looking around desperately.

“Kiri?” you asked, “what’s wrong?”

The girl looked almost brought to tears when she looked up to you.

Her voice trembled, “Where is Tuk?”

Oh god.

She had disappeared before Lo’ak had picked up on the lab.

No one had seen her since.

Kiri clasped her hands around her mouth, she looked about as scared as you felt. God, little Tuktirey.

Abruptly, the group of avatars in front of you trained their guns on clump of trees of to your right. You had heard the sound too, a snap of a small branch or twig. Whatever had stepped on it was light.

Light enough to be Tuk.

The hostiles started to walk toward the noise. It’s like you were watching them in slow motion. Off to the side you could see Kiri��s eyes widen, horror flashed across her face. Spider had a similar expression, his eyebrows upturned in the centre. Lo’ak and Neteyam had stopped their fighting and just looked scared out of their own minds. Neteyam for once didn’t have a solution for everything.

So you did the only thing you could think of. A stupid, stupid thing looking back on it, a stupid thing parading itself as bravery. You scrunched your face, said a silent prayer to Eywa to deliver Tuk to safety and to give you strength for whatever was to happen.

You lept out from behind the log and dashed out of cover.

The avatars snapped their attention to you and raised their guns, but you kept charging towards them. Unsheathing the small knife you kept on you at all times, you cried out.

An avatar with short cropped hair on the top of his hair held out his hand and caught you around the neck. He didn’t hold you tight enough to strangle you, but tight enough that you couldn’t escape. He lifted you up into the air like you were fresh prey.

You struggled and snarled, trying to get your knife in any part of him that you could reach.

“Well, well, well, lookie here…” Quaritch chuckled darkly. He motioned for his squad to lowers their guns and the obeyed, observing their colonel with obvious amusement. It made you sick, you probably outwardly grimaced.

“I’ve seen you somewhere before.” He muttered. Quaritch made a show of ‘hmmm’ing and scratching his chin in fake thought. “Ah yes, i’ve seen your runnin’ around with the Sully spawn. You’ve been causin’ a lot of trouble, you and those other brats.”

You pretended not to understand him, opting to keep snapping and thrashing at him. It was not a complete lie; while Jake had taught you some basic english, you could probably only form the sentences of a small human child.

“The thing looks feral…” A teammate muttered from behind the colonel and the squad laughed.

“Don’t be fooled, soldier. These Na’vi can be quite clever when they put their heads together.” The colonel responded.

Thinking of your family behind you, you hoped and prayed that they had retreated back with Tuktirey.

Quaritch lowered you to the ground but before you tried to make a break for it, he wove his fingers through your hair and pulled hard.

You bit your teeth to stifle a scream and reached up to attempt to pry his hand off of your head.

“I know that there’s more of you back there, in the tree line, so you behave and my team will leave them be.” Fear flooded you at that, hearing that this man knew you weren’t alone. With a snap of his fingers he could have you all held hostages. So you stilled. You rested your hands back at your sides and begrudgingly set your gaze on him.

The avatar holding you smiled.

“Children o’ Sully! You listen here,” he spoke in english before switching into what seemed to be pretty broken na’vi, “you tell your father to come here, and this girl will be returned unharmed in exchange for his compliance.”

At least he didn’t know Neteyam had already been in contact with both Jake and Neytiri. If they just pretended to leave, Jake and Neytiri would think of a plan. Like they always do.

The bushes where everyone was hiding rustled. Quaritch tensed and the avatars behind you raised their guns once more, but the bushes stilled, no other came from it.

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You hoped that they had gone back home or at least taken Tuk back.

“Alright everyone, I’m guessing we can expect Jake Sully and his mate getting here pretty soon.” He drawled, turning to face his team. “Get ready for an attack. Be on your guard and keep your new eyes and ears sharp.”

-

Jake and Neytiri quietly dismounted their Ikran and armed themselves. Neytiri looked as if she was shaking with rage, her mouth downturned and her eyes looking for a threat.

“Hey, I’m sure they’re all fine. They’re tough kids, they’re our kids which make them tougher.” Jake attempted a joke but it died out in the silence when Neytiri did not respond.

They hadn’t landed far from where Neteyam told them they were and they were almost silent as they crept forward into the thicket.

A flutter of motion from they’re left has Neytiri’s bow drawn and aimed at the spot.

“Mom! It’s just us! It’s me, Lo’ak!” Lo’ak revealed himself from his hiding spot, arms raised and Neytiri breathed a watery sigh.

She rushed forward, took her baby in her arms, and held him tightly. Lo’ak wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed. From behind him, Neteyam and spider emerged too, looking a little more embarrassed. Jake looked at his eldest and frowned.

“Where are your sisters?” He asked. Neytiri finally set Lo’ak down and gasped a little, noticing the absence of three of the Sully children.

“Kiri took Tuktirey back home and..” Neteyam looked ashamed, “yn was taken.”

His mother squeezed her eyes closed. Even if you weren’t born of her, you were her daughter. The idea of you being taken, as bait no less, had her heart in her stomach and her chest alight with anger.

Jake sighed and his face turned stony. “You all stay here, stay hidden, while we clean up your mess.” He whispered. The boys wilted and sunk back.

-

Your legs were starting to ache with how long you had been standing and your scalp with how hard the grip he had on your hair.

The man who had been holding you earlier passed you off to another one of his teammates, who seemed to take liberties in yanking your hair every once and a while.

The once clear sky had filled with clouds and rain trickled down through the canopy above you. No one had spoken in a long time, like everyone was holding their breath.

Suddenly, your ear twitched and you flicked your eyes to where you had heard…something. It could just be the sounds of the forest, an animal eating a plant or a ripe piece of fruit hitting the earth, but this sound sounded out of place, made my something not of the forest.

You caught a glimpse of something blue ducking behind the trunk of a wide tree. They had been holding what looked like a bow. Neytiri!

You shut your eyes and thanked Eywa for delivering you a mother as magnificent and brave as her.

Everything was still for a while and you wondered why Neytiri hadn’t taken a shot. Had she left? In an attempt to look like you were getting drowsy, you slumped a back into the avatar holding you. Your head hit his chin as you did so. He shoved you forward again, tugging your hair as he did so.

That’s why she hadn’t taken a shot, there was too much of a risk of hitting you. You looked up to where you had seen her before and caught her eyes. She had been staring at you intently the whole time, waiting for an opening.

So you gave her one.

You hoped she understood what you tried to say in a single look.

Saying another silent prayer to Eywa, you grabbed the arm that wasn’t gripping your hair, brought it up to your mouth, and bit down as hard as you could.

The man screamed, “You little bitch!”

Thankfully, on instinct he let go of your head and you had just enough time to duck out of the way before an arrow hit him straight between the eyes.

-

Twigs and leaves crunched beneath your feet and you made a break into the forest. You didn’t dare look back behind you. Gunshots rang through the air, some even whizzed past you.

Just as you jumped over the fallen trunk of a tree, an arm caught you from the side. You fought against it, landing a blow against whoever’s face had snatched you.

They groaned and let you go.

“Be calm! It’s just me!” Spider said as he held his now bloody nose.

You gasped and reached out to touch his face. “Oh Spider, I’m so sorry. You scared me!”

He shook his head a little before standing up, offering you a hand. “It’s fine, let’s go. Lo’ak and Neteyam already left.”

You took his hand and the two of you ran through the forest together. Never daring to look back.

-

When Jake and Neytiri returned, you knew you were all in for it.

You and your siblings listened outside of their tent, listening to them argue. You held Tuk to you, you didn’t want her to hear what they were saying but she insisted, so all you could do was let her know she wasn’t alone.

Jake stormed out of the tent and you all pretended to be looking at anything else. Smooth.

“yn, get over here.” He ordered. Lo’ak patted you on the back and walked away with the others.

“That stunt you pulled!? That’s not on, okay? It was stupi-!”

You interrupted him, “What I did was stupid, but I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t, Tuk would have been in my position and I couldn’t stand by and watch that happen, sir.” Jake was silent at that. The same stern look painted across his face and his eye twitched.

You stood your ground.

He stood his. For a while.

Until he broke.

The hard look he had softened and he just looked like a tired dad. You realised how stressed he must be, knowing that an old enemy was back and would go through his family to get him. He though he had lost Neteyam earlier this week, and now his daughter? You could have sympathy for him.

You approached him and wrapped your arms around his broad chest. “I’m sorry, dad. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

It felt as if his chest buckled at that and he returned your hug.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again. Alright, soldier?”

You smiled up at him and gave him a. mock salute.

“Yes, sir.”

[floatyflowers]

Dark Platonic Father! Tarzan x Reader

After your ship crushes, you find yourself abandoned on an island.

Of course, it's scary for a three year old child to find herself all alone, without her mother.

So, all you did was enter the jungle as you wail for your parents.

"Mama!"

Your cries attract the attention of wild like a certain leopard.

Fortunately, Tarzan was watching you from far, amazed to see a human child.

Before Sabor the Leopard could attack you, Tarzan jumps in and attacks the beast to protect you.

He ends up killing Sabor and saving you.

Tarzan picks you up and places you in his arms just like how his mother, Kala, did when he was upset.

"It's going to be alright now"

You didn't understand what he just said, but you felt safe in his arm, his embrace felt like your father's warm one.

On the other hand, Tarzan felt excited to find someone like him.

He picked up the dead leopard with his free arm and places it on his shoulder, as he returns back to the apes.

Kala is surprised when she sees you in her adoptive son's arm, hiding away shyly.

"Hey, did you have a child in secret?"

This was Terk's first question after the apes celebrate Sabor's death.

"She is not my daughter, I found her in the jungle alone"

Apparently, that didn't please Kerchak at all, but Tarzan insisted that you needed him.

Adding to that, Kerchak agreed after seeing Sabor's dead body.

Tarzan took it as a chance to finally have connection with his own species.

You didn't know how to speak his language, you just giggle when seeing him speak like the apes and other animals.

Kala also accepts you with open arms and so does Terk.

Starting to forget your language, you begin to act like him, imitating his walking and trying to speak like him.

Your adoptive father takes you in his arms and slides on tree branches just to hear your happy giggles and see your childish excitement.

For him, you are everything.

Your life was going on well with Tarzan, beginning to think that he is your father.

However, everything is ruined when Jane arrives with her father, and 'Clayton'.

You see Clayton happens to be your real father, so imagine the shock when you saw him after many months.

Tarzan feels anger and jealousy when Clayton picks you and hugs you, happy that you are alive.

Yet, the ape man won't allow anyone to take his 'daughter' away from him.

[semisolidmind]

I’m sorry if this was already asked but is MK in the twice as bad au? Since Peaches is immortal, she would probably find MK first or she finds him while her husbands are looking for her outside the palace. They find her outside playing with a little boy. Wukong didn’t think twice about adopting him, especially when he saw MK lift his staff, and Macaque loves telling him stories.

(it was, but ive been thinking about TAB mk lately so ill talk a lil more about him

so I think the last time i talked about mk in the context of this au, it was in the version where reader is killed while she and the boys are on the journey, and the boys go into a violent depression slump for the next thousand years. in that timeline, wukong finds mk as a toddler and raises him like his son (with macaque standing by for uncle duty). mk becomes an unstoppable force of nature under the monkey bros tutelage; enough so that any of the foes that posed a problem for him in the show are child's play in this au.

reader being present for mk's upbringing is one of the better timelines for him mentally. he gets to have a mom, for one. and instead of having just the brutal philosophy of the monkey warlords taught to him, he's also taught to have empathy and compassion. instead of just killing his enemies, he tries to show them mercy. it's a better outcome for everyone involved, honestly.

there's a few posts of mine that explain this modern iteration and reader's place in it, but let's talk about your scenario.)

reader goes on a morning walk. a rare occurrence, given her husband's love of sleeping in and their usual refusal to let her out of the pillow nest. but, they had an early appointment today, so reader took the opportunity to shirk her queenly duties and go visit some of the scenic mountain locals. whilst on her walk—

she finds a little monkey demon boy. just wandering the jungle, seemingly in awe at everything around him. reader isn't sure what to make of him. she takes notice of his unkempt state.

reader doesn't want to believe any of the monkeys would willingly neglect or abandon one of their children, but the boy is covered in dirt, his fur somewhat matted, and he has no clothes to speak of. perhaps he's just lost? he is very little. maybe his parents just lost track of him...regardless, reader feels the need to take him back to the cave to ask around and see if anyone can identify him.

when she calls out to him, he looks over at her, but doesn't respond. when she approaches him, he just...looks up at her, following her movements when she kneels to be closer to his height. reader asks for his name, and the boy doesn't respond. but he does step closer, his little tail twitching curiously.

reader cautiously reaches out to brush some of the matted dirt from his fur, moving the overgrown mess away from his face. he has amber-gold eyes, not dissimilar to what wukong said his looked like before the furnace. while reader ponders the similarities, the boy suddenly climbs into her arms. she instantly embraces him back, surprised but knowing that baby monkeys like to be held nigh constantly. poor lil guy, she thinks. probably missing his mama. the way his tiny hands grip her robes breaks her heart a little.

reader decides that she'll take care of him for now; he needs a bath, some food, and proper clothes, at least. reader takes off her overcoat and wraps it around the lil guy before hefting him up into her arms; he's pretty heavy for someone so small.

reader turns and heads back to water curtain cave. the little boy settles against her, tiny hands curled against her chest and his head in the crook of her neck. reader holds him close. she reassures him that they'll find his family.

after politely waving away a few embarrassing questions from some well-meaning monkeys along the way (no, he isn't her baby, she didn't leave for an hour or two just to have a baby, please stop saying that—on that note, do you know who his parents are), reader makes her way back to the cave.

she supposes she can see why they'd think that the child in her arms might be related to her; the boys' fur is a similar shade to her hair, though slightly darker (and the likelihood of her children being demons like their fathers is very high, should they ever have any).

as they get further into the cave, and closer to the palace, reader is stopped by a group of servants wondering about the child. reader explains as the monkeys (a small group comprised of aunties) look the child over, mulling over who's baby he could be. maybe this family? no, none of them have that fur color, and the face shape is different. perhaps he's from this village, on the east side of the mountain? no, none of them have had any babies yet this season, and the children they do have are all older than this one. they go back and forth like this for a while.

while reader talks, the boy suddenly perks up. he sits up and his eyes focus on something in the distance. reader turns to glance at what's gotten his attention.

ah, she sees.

her husbands have just finished their meeting, and one of them is now headed this way.

that's the king, she tells the boy. the boy says nothing, and stares at the approaching monarch.

reader understands why. the king is wearing his armor today, the gold plating glinting off refracted light coming from the waterfall. his cape and vestaments flow behind him as he makes his way toward them. he's the very picture of a noble ruler.

riiiiiight up until he notices that reader is carrying a child that looks suspiciously like her. his entire expression morphs into surprise, then gentle curiosity.

the king stops short in front of them. reader can almost see the gears turning in his head. he sees the gold eyes, the fur color...perhaps he's having a similar thought as his many subjects about the child's origins.

wukong steps into reader's space, a hand on her arm. his eyes are searching, a question on his face. where did this child come from? reader explains how she found him, and how she has yet to find any of his family or anybody who recognizes him. wukong assures her that if he has someone looking for him, they'll eventually turn up at the palace.

in the meantime, he may stay here, the king decrees. he can see that reader's gotten attached, and doesn't think separating the child from her would be a good idea. the little boy clings to reader like she really is his blood.

reader takes the child inside, getting him a bath and clean clothes, then takes him to kitchens to get him something to eat. wukong joins them, and attempts to get the boy to speak. reader feels her heart soften just a tad every time she sees her husband interact with the mountains' children.

---

no one ever claims the boy.

so, wukong and reader formally adopt the child, and give him the name xiaotian. he is soon accepted as first prince of flower fruit mountain.

wukong begins to train xiaotian to become a warrior as soon as he sees the boy lift his staff with suspicious ease. once he's old enough, he takes xioatian with him to the dragon palace. wukong won't give up his signature weapon, but he will steal another pillar for his son to weild. he trains the child to be as much of a threat as he is. despite his rigorous training regime, wukong is a very caring and playful father.

macaque becomes another guiding figure, and finds that the child loves to listen to stories. every night before xioatian settles next to reader's side to sleep, the darker-furred demon regales him with tales of his and wukong's exploits. reader chimes in occasionally, calling him out whenever he embellishes.

reader remains a comforting figure for xiaotian. he goes to her when he feels lost or upset, knowing that she could give him a gentler perspective on his problems. she's his rock whenever he's unsure. he knows that if he gets caught up in the politics of demon-dom, she'll be there to be a calming presence. he's very cuddly with her when he's small, and goes to her for hugs once he's bigger. he's very glad to have her around to help him.

xiaotian becomes a very cautious person as he grows, the ideals of his adopted sires pushing him to believe that most immortals, demons, and mortals are not to be trusted. however, reader teaches him that not every problem needs to be solved with violence.

his life is very different than what it could have been.

[whydoyoucare866]

Moonlight

PAIRINGS:

Titans!Jason todd x reader

SUMMARY:

Bruce has taken in Jason Todd as his youngest son and the new robin some months ago, Bruce’s goddaughter also came back to Gotham after being away for a year.

Some months after meeting Jason she starts a friends with benefits relationship with him, suddenly Jason has to move to the Titans tower and two weeks later Bruce sends her too, but, why is Jason ignoring her and acting like he doesn’t know her and why does it get worse when Rose Wilson arrives to the tower??

A/N: in this story Dick and Jason will not have such a big age gap as they do in the show, Dick will be 23 while Jason will be 19, but for the sake of the plot it will, also ignore that there’s already a dc character called moonlight, also the powers I made up for her make no sense at all but we’ll have to deal with it.

TWS: slow burn, angst, blood, canon violence, mentions of death, anxiety, jealousy, friends to friends with benefits to enemies to lovers?, maybe death of a main character (haven’t decided yet) change of plot

Keep in mind that English is not my first language, I also know nothing about guns, human anatomy or fighting in the language so I'm sorry if I make a lot of mistakes

Story Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Superman by Eminem was playing as the car Bruce sent to get you from the airport approached the gothic styled manor you hadn't seen in a year or so, the way everything looked the same brought you a sense of comfort, you knew Dick wasn’t Robin anymore, you were really close to Dick and he had told you all about how Bruce was a bad father and how he didn’t want to become him, you understood him, although you couldn’t help but feel bad for Bruce, you knew he was trying his best and he may not have been the best father, but he was a great godfather, it probably was because he wasn’t 100% responsible of you, he didn’t have to teach you about emotions, life, problems, or shit like that, he just had to spoil you and talk to you, so it was probably easier for him.

As you grew closer to the manor you noticed that Bruce and Alfred were already waiting for you by the door with some guy, he looked a little bit younger than you, but not too much, you couldn’t see him very well from the distance, but he seemed to be in casual clothes so you assumed he lived here, he was probably another stray that Bruce took in after Dick left so you paid it no mind. Eventually you arrived to the mansion and you could cry, it had been a year since you had last seen Bruce and Alfred, it had been a year since your dad had died, he was the only parent you ever knew, your mom wasn’t a deadbeat who abandoned you or anything like that, but she wasn’t “normal” she had special abilities (which you also have) that you didn’t know were special until you showed them to a boy in kindergarten and made him cry out of fear, at that moment you didn’t get why the boy had cried when you just tried to show him how your hands could glow, you then got a long talk from your mom about how most people don’t have the same abilities as you, therefore you have to keep them a secret, otherwise people would be scared or even worse it would put you at risk because there were bad people who wanted those abilities for themselves. You learned to take the talk seriously when your mom got killed by some scientist who wanted to have her powers and it was all thanks to not hiding them too well, leaving your dad and yourself on your own.

The sound of the car’s door opening pulled you out of your thoughts, and you immediately started getting off the car, you started walking towards the entrance of the Manor and all of the memories came flooding back making you emotional, you approached Bruce and just crashed into him with a hug, he became stiff, but he tried to comfort you as you cried in his arms, you hadn’t seen him ever since your dad had died, you had ran away from your problems and went to Europe for a year thinking it would help, but it didn’t, you were completely alone at Europe, at least here in Gotham you had Bruce and Dick and Alfred, you weren’t completely alone, but over there you were, and it just made you realize how much you missed and appreciated them.

When you calmed down, you moved on to Alfred who looked just as neat as always and also hugged him tight, after all Alfred reminded you of a loving grandfather and always gave you comfort, Alfred pulled away and excused himself to bake your favorite desserts, just like he always did whenever you were sad, it all felt so familiar that you felt comfort for the first time in a year. After hugging Bruce and Alfred and breaking down you realized there was still a boy who probably didn’t know who you were and had to witness you being a mess as his first impression of you, poor boy probably would be really uncomfortable after seeing a stranger come into his house and break down while he just stood there, the thought of it made you feel embarrassed making the atmosphere really awkward as you just stood staring at each other not knowing what to do, or say, Bruce took on the tense atmosphere and started introducing you to each other in hopes that the tension would fade away. You learned that his name was Jason Todd and he had just gotten taken in a year ago, some months after you left for Europe, Bruce also told you about how he found him and how he was now the new Robin, Jason have you a short nod as his way of saying hi and then Bruce started telling him about you, he told Jason about your abilities and how you were the vigilante known as moonlight which made Jason look excited, Bruce seeing Jason’s reaction told you how he was a fan of Robin and Moonlight and it sparked a bit of pride inside of you, but then made you feel embarrassed as you realized you had probably disappointed the boy by showing him how weak you actually were.

After the introductions finished, Alfred came out telling you all to get inside and to let you go to your room and accommodate, which you thanked him, You loved Bruce and Jason seemed nice, but you were exhausted after flying and you just wanted to get some rest, Alfred guided you to your room as if you hadn’t bern there a thousand times and insisted on carrying your luggage for you even though you said you could handle it.

“Here we are Miss (Y/N), you already know where Master Bruce’s and my rooms are in case you need anything, and if you ever need Master Jason his room is the one that’s right in front of yours in Master Dick’s old room .”

You thanked Alfred who excused himself and went to the kitchen and you decided you were too tired to unpack and that you would do it tomorrow, so you took the book you were reading and your headphones out of your bag and laid down to read a bit, you were really tired and after some pages your eyes started to get really heavy and you felt yourself drifting off to sleep.

taglist:

@fairyeoll @singitoutgirl26

[nottapossum]

Itty Bitty Sinners 1.6

Pirates and dolls 🏴‍☠️🧸

⚠️TW⚠️: Abusive parents, taking away comfort items, implied sexual abuse, losing a pet, being ignored, being abandoned, having to give up a pet.

Lmk if I should add.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

'I was never a sharp one

But I try to write even when it's dull

This night is a dark one

But sometimes I like when it gets cold

Yeah, all of my movies play in black and white

This wasn't the same old plot I thought I had in mind

Don't ask me if I'm alright, I can't decide

I'm spiraling down, don't wanna take you on a ride.' ~Tony22, Safe place.

~~~Velvette past: Age 13~~~

Velvette's favorite doll was her cabbage patch doll, her name was Nicoline katherine.

It was a gift from her grandmother when she turned five.

She was the only person in Velvette's life who actually listened to her, the only one she could tell anything to without being shot down, judged, or made fun of.

School was awful, home was worse- both of them. And she just needed one person to share her frustrations with.

On this specific day, she came home from school in need of a friend.

She wasn't exactly popular, in fact she was the very opposite.

She wore clothes the other kids found weird, she was loud and overenthusiastic, and though she was really smart, she never did well on tests so everyone of course thought she must be dumb.

It was an awful day, the worst day possible! She hated the world and hated everyone in it.

She ignored her siblings, ignored her step mother, ignored everyone who tried talking to her when she got home in favor of walking upstairs to talk to Nicoline.

But she walked into her room and saw her beloved doll gone.

“Dad? Have you seen my doll?!” She shouts.

Her father does not answer her.

What a surprise.

Velvette sighs and stomps downstairs. “Dad?!"

“Woah, hey. What's going on?” Julie, her stepmother asks, standing in her way. "What happened?"

“My doll isn't in my room.” She says.

“Oh, maybe Sasha took it." She suggests.

“What? She isn't even old enough to climb the stairs!" Velvette says, walking over to the small two year old holding her doll.

“Sasha!” Velvette shouted, she took the doll from Sasha and caused the little one to cry.

“Hey, leave her alone!" Her father snapped at her. "What is the matter with you?" He asks, taking the doll from her.

“That's my doll.” Velvette tells him. "She stole it!"

“Okay. And? You can't share it with her?" He asks.

"No!"

"Aren't you a little too old for dolls anyway?” He asks her.

“No, aren't you too old to be jobless?" She asks.

“Hey, you will treat me with respect, young lady!” He scolds. "I didn't tolerate this attitude with your mother, I won't tolerate it from you!"

"So divorce me too then!" She shouts. "I don't care!"

He doesn't respond to that, he just hands the doll to his other daughter.

“She's my doll! You can't just give her away just because you like your cheater brat more!” Velvette shouted.

She's slapped across the face.

She looks up at her father again, holding her cheek.

“Go upstairs to your room. I don't want to hear it.” He said.

So she went upstairs and slammed the door.

That was the only time her father ever struck her.

Because Velvette never gave him a reason to…

She didn't talk to him much except to answer questions.

And when she turned 14, her mother got full custody.

And no, she didn't get her doll back.

Her mother agreed she was too old for dolls, so the rest were given to charity.

She didn't complain.

A good child was a quiet one after all.

She took her frustrations elsewhere.

At school,

Then later online.

No one was safe from her opinions there.

She also vowed to buy herself a thousand dolls when she became an adult.

She didn't need her parents.

She didn't need anyone!

She could be her own parent.

~~~Angel:~~~

Angel woke up the next day, just relieved to be in the hotel, and not at Val's place.

He got up, completely ignoring his phone in case Val was going to try and convince him to work today…

He just can't today, he doesn't care what Val does.

Angel got himself ready for the day ahead.

Took a shower, brushed his hair, got a bit of makeup on…not a lot just enough to cover the black around his eye that Val so “lovingly” caused and some mascara to make him look more awake than he actually was.

It was enough to convince them that he was still worth investing in.

It's enough to make them think he's okay.

Yeah. It's good. He's good.

Angel opens the door to his bedroom to meet with everyone downstairs, he's ready to fake a smile through the next couple of hours- but he sees someone waiting at his door.

“Good morning, Angel.” An annoying smile says to him.

Angel sighs. “What do you want, Al?”

“Me? Oh nothing.” He says. “Just wanted to make sure everything was alright. You seemed so upset about Niffty taking your baby blanket yesterday.”

“It's not a baby blanket.” Angel growls.

“Oh? Then what is it?” Alastor asks.

“It's…it belongs to fat nuggets.” Angel says.

“Oh, yes of course. Silly me.”Alastor says, tilting his head to peek inside Angel's room. “So, I suppose it's safe to assume the adult sized pacifier is also his?” he asks, leaning on the doorframe.

Angel looks behind him and sees Fat Nuggets with his pacifier.

Shit! How does he keep getting a hold of that!?

He takes the pacifier from Nuggs quickly.

The pig just sat down on the floor and smiles, the piglet so proud of himself, thinking he did something good…

Angel doesn't have the heart to tell him what he's actually done.

Angel anxiously fiddled with two of his hands, one was gripping the pacifier tightly, and the last was tugging at his hair.

He was screwed.

“What's the matter, Angel?” Alastor asks. “Are you afraid?”

“Al, I think even you can understand why I don't want this getting out.” Angel says.

“Don't want what getting out?” Alastor asks.

Angel crosses two of his arms. “Stop playing dumb.”

Alastor scoffs. “Honestly, Angel. What's the big deal?” He asks. “Are you worried they'll judge you?” Alastor asks.

Angel crosses his arms. “No.”

“Worried they'll think you're too much to handle and leave you?” He asks. “You don't have to be. I'm sure Husker won't abandon your friendship once he finds out about it.” He says, still smiling.

Angel froze…

Once he finds out?

Angel takes a deep breath, he has no patience for this. “What do you mean by that?” he asks, starting to sound Angry.

Alastor simply shrugged. “Nothing.”

“What do you want? I don't have much of a soul to sell if that’s what you're after.” Angel says.

“Oh, I desire nothing from you. I simply wanted to talk, catch up.” Alastor says.

“I don't believe you.” Angel says. “You always have an angle.”

Alastor shrugs, then he disappears into a shadow.

“Al wait- ugh fuck!” Angel curses.

Angel walks back into his room and throws his pacifier against the wall.

Angel sits on the floor. “Shitshitshitshitshit! What am I going to do- honestly, of all the people to find out! Why did it have to be him?” He asks out loud.

Nuggets fetched the pacifier to give it back to Angel.

He takes the pacifier from his baby piglet, and sets it aside. He picks up Nuggets and holds him close. “Thanks Nuggs.”

What was Alastor up to?

And more importantly, how was he going to stop that strawberry fucker to keep his mouth shut?

~~~Charlie:~~~

After the group had completed their trust exercises for the day, Charlie and Pentious went to her office for their daily age regression session!

Angel hardly said a thing all day, it worried Charlie greatly….

Was he okay?

Was something wrong?

Can she help?

She shook her head. ‘No no, focus on Pentious, talk to Angel later.’ She decided.

“Okay Pentious, I thought we'd try something new today. Something a bit more vulnerable.” Charlie says.

Pentious tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I got you another gift.” She says, handing him a box.

Pentious opens it, this time without hesitation and smiles when he sees a little soft toy....Teddies he thinks they’re called! He didn't have them as a kid, but he's pretty sure that's what they are called.

In the box was also a super soft blanket with an elephant on it.

The teddy wore a hat...he liked that about it.

He stared at it for a moment...something was strangely familiar about it…

Something…nostalgic.

And…comforting?

“Pentious?” Charlie asks. “Are you okay?”

“What- what is it?” Pen asks her.

“It's a little dog plushie.” Charlie says.

“It's a dog?” Pen asks.

“Yeah, I thought it was a bunny at first but I looked it up and…”

Charlie's voice muffled underneath his thoughts.

Of course he was a dog. A very good dog.

Yes, that's what this was!

A good little puppy.

~~~Past:~~~

“Okay, baby blow out your candles.” His mother told him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and made his wish before blowing out the single candle on his cake.

“What did you wish for?” His mother asks.

He shut his mouth tightly.

“What? You won't tell me?” She asks.

Pen shakes his head.

“Can I make a guess?” His father asks.

Pen thinks about it and nods.

“Is it a…new pair of shoes?” He asks.

Pen shakes his head. "No."

“Is it a new book?” He asks.

Pen shakes his head again.

“I only have one more guess…is your wish… in this box?” His father asks, handing him a box, it wasn’t wrapped, it was just a small box with a lid that was barley placed on top of it.

Pen takes the lid off the box and a small beagle jumps up at him and licks his face.

“A puppy! How did you know?!” Pentious asks them, picking up the dog happily.

“Must be magic.” His mother says.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He says. “I love him! I'll take such good care of him! You'll see! I'll be the best puppy father ever!”

“I have no doubts.” His mother says, ruffling his hair and kisses his head. “Happy birthday, darling.”

~~~Present:~~~

“Pentious?” Charlie asks.

Pentious doesn't say anything, but he hugs Charlie close, crying into her shoulder.

“Hey, it's okay, I'm here.” Charlie says. "It's okay.” She says, patting his back. “Are you okay?” She asks him.

He let's go of her and holds the little puppy close to his chest.

“Are you okay, Pen?” Charlie asks. "What happened?"

Pentious looks down at the puppy teddy. “Yes, I'm okay.” He says. “I just- I-”

He wipes away tears. “I love it.” He says. “The teddy is wonderful, Charlie. Thank you.”

Charlie smiles. “Awe, I'm so glad you like it!" She says, relieved. "I was worried something was wrong."

"No, I'm okay...I think..."Pentious felt a fuzzy feeling in his mind. It was strange…unnatural. He felt like’ like a-

His pupils expand as he looks at his new Teddy. He wipes away his remaining tears, understanding what it must be. “Charlie?” he asks.

“Yes?”

“I do…feel smaller now.” He says.

“Wait, really!?” Charlie asks, getting excited.

Pen curles into himself, the feeling of small isn't a bad feeling, but it is rather strange and he doesn't know how to process it. “I think! I…uhm I feel like I am small and fuzzy inside.” He explains. "like I'm smaller than I actually am."

“Pen! You regressed! That's amazing!” Charlie's cheers.

“Is it?” Pen asks.

“I mean, yeah. I think so anyway. How are you feeling?” Charlie asks.

“I- uh. Good. But strange.” Pen explains as best as possible.

“That's okay. You'll get used to it.” She says. "Did the...Teddy trigger it?"

"Yes," Pen explains. He reminded me of my alive dog when I was alive!" He says.

"Oh yeah?"

Pen looks sad all of a sudden. "He was a good dog."

"I'm sure he was." Charlie says.

"I miss him." He says. "I had to abandon him because they wouldn't let me keep him."

"Who's they?" Charlie asks.

"The orphanage." Pen answers, his eyes building up with tears. “Dogs weren't allowed there, so I had to let him go.”

“Oh…pen. I'm sorry.” Charlie says. “Can I hug you?” She asks.

Pentious nods. “Uh, yes. Please." He says.

Charlie smiles and does just that. She squeezes the snake tightly. “Thank you for telling me, Pen. I'm so proud of you."

Pentious feels even smaller as he hugs her back. "You are? Really?”

"Of course I am. You're being honest about your feelings, and opening up to me, it shows just how far you've come since you first got here. You're growing."

"No, I'm shrinking but in a good way." Pen corrects.

Charlie chuckles. "That too."

Pentious rests his head against Charlie. "Thank you, Charlie."

Charlie pets his head. "You too, Pen.”

~~~Charlie and Pentious: Later~~~

Charlie and Pentious were playing with Legos when Charlie's phone went off.

“Oh, Vaggie is calling me." Charlie says to Pentious.

She answers the phone, so Pen keeps quiet. "Hello?”

“Mama?” A small voice says through tears.

Ohh no. That's little Vaggie. “Hold on a second please, sweetie?” Charlie asks.

“Uhm…Otay.”

Charlie smiles at Pentious. “I gotta take this, uhm, why don't you-” Charlie grabs a remote and turns on the TV. “Watch some cartoons. And I'll be back soon, okay?"

Pentious nods. "Oh-okay." He says. His attention turns to the screen as she walks out.

~~~Charlie and Vaggie:~~~

Charlie, with very limited options, walks out of the room. “Vaggie? Baby? You still there? Where are you? What happened?”

“I sowy.” Vaggie starts sobbing through the phone.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Are you in our room?” She asks, whispering in case anyone is listening.

Vaggie sniffles. “Mhm.”

Charlie climbs the stairs quickly as her heart pounds in her chest, anxiety rising. “Okay, babygirl. I'm on my way, just stay put.” She tells her.

Vaggie doesn't respond, so Charlie just focuses on getting to her room.

She opens the door and starts to look for her precious little one. “Vaggie? Baby? Are you okay?"

Vaggie crawls out of the closet she was hiding in. “Mama!” She cries, holding her arms up to Charlie.

“Oh, baby. Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?" She asks, picking up her little one.

Vaggie hugs Charlie. "M' otay." She says.

Charlie sighs with relief. "Oh thank goodness. Sweetheart, what happened?” Charlie asks.

“I wegwessed.” Vaggie says.

Charlie almost laughed- but kept her composure, Vaggie is obviously upset, making her feel embarrassed on top of that wouldn't exactly help the situation. “Yes, I can see that. Have you been feeling overwhelmed?” She asks.

Vaggie doesn't answer.

“Vaggie?” Charlie asks.

“I'm sorry!” She says. “I twied to big!”

Charlie hugs her. “No, it's okay, it's fine! You're fine. You didn't do anything wrong.” She tries her best to reassure her.

“I twied to stay big, I twied to be good.” Vaggie cries harder.

“You are good, you're so very good. It's okay to be little.” Charlie explains.

“But, you aweady take’ caew of Pen.” She says. “I in da way!”

Charlie kisses Vaggy's head as she holds her close. “I don't care what I'm doing, or who I'm with, I always have time for you.” She says. “You are never in the way, you're the full picture, you understand?” Charlie asks.

Vaggie nods. “Otay.”

Charlie pets Vaggie's head and holds her close.

She really needs to get back to Pentious, he's all by himself and so small! She can't just leave him alone!

She takes a deep breath. "Vaggie, sweetie. I have to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me, okay?" She asks.

Vaggie nods.

“Would it be okay if Pentious knew you were a little?” She asks.

Vaggie doesn't answer that, she just looks away from Charlie.

“Because right now, Pentious is little too, and I don't want him to feel abandoned. Can I bring you downstairs with me, so I can take care of both of you? I promise Pentious will play nicely. He's very nice.” She says.

Vaggie nods. “Otay, bu’ you ‘tay wif me.” She says.

“I won't leave you, I promise." Charlie wraps her pinkie around Vaggies’.

Vaggie wraps her finger around Charlie too.

Charlie sets Vaggie down on the ground. "Can you walk?"

Vaggie nods and takes her hand.

“Okay, sugar cube. We gotta be careful and walk downstairs together, so you can hold my hand, but I need you to be very quiet so no one else knows you're regressed. Okay?”

Vaggie nods. “Mkay, mama.”

“Good girl.” Charlie smiles and kisses her cheek.

The two of them walk downstairs quietly. The only one who saw them was Husk…and he couldn't care less what they were up to!

How lucky are they!

~~~~~Pentious, Vaggie, and Charlie! Playdate Time!!~~~

Charlie and Vaggie walk back into the office, Vaggie holding Charlie's hand tightly.

The TV was happily playing: “Can he fix it? Bob the builder-”

“YES HE SHALL!!” Pentious shouts as the two women enter the room. “Charlie! You're back! You was gone forever!” Pentious says. "Dis many minutes!" He says holding up all his fingers on one hand.

“I know, I'm so sorry, Pen.” Charlie says. “I actually have a big question for you, and I need you to be honest with me, alright?"

Pentious tilts his head. “What is it?”

“Well, Vaggie is little right now too. And she needs me to take care of her. I was wondering if it's okay that she plays with us today?"

Pentious looked at Vaggie who looked very shy…

But he smiles at her. “Of course! Does she like Legos too?” He asks.

“She's a little small for Legos right now, but I'm sure there's a bunch of games we can all play.” Charlie says. “Oooh! How about mega blocks?” She asks.

“What's that?” Pentious asks.

“They're a lot like Legos, except they're bigger.” Charlie explains, grabbing the big zippy bag of blocks from the closet of many things.

“Okay, I'll play.” Pentious says, slithering over to them.

Charlie sits on the floor and Vaggy crawls onto her lap.

“Vaggie, do you want to play mega blocks with me?” Pen asks her.

Vaggie nods. “Mhm.”

“Superb! What shall we build?” He asks her.

Vaggie thinks about it.. “Uhhm piwate ship!”

“Ooo! I like pirates.” Pentious says. "That's a great idea!"

“Piwates!” Vaggie giggles. “Mama, nee’ mah Piwates.” She says.

Charlie chuckles. “Okay, hold on. Let me get them." She says.

Charlie sets Vaggie down and walks over to the closet and gets Vaggie's pirate toys. They keep some of them here so Charlie can keep an eye of Vaggie while she does some work if needed.

She sets the toys on the table as she starts putting away the Legos.

"Don't ruin my work in progress, Charlie." Pentious says. “I want to finish it later!”

"I won't," She says. "I'll put it up here for safety." She says, setting his lego project on the desk.

"Piwate." Vaggie says, taking her little pirate cat figurine.

"Are we making a ship for them?" Pen asks her.

Vaggie nods. "Piwate!"

Pentious is very patient with Vaggie, even though she's a little young and it's hard for her to build like he does, he never complained about her doing it wrong.

“Oh, Vaggie. That goes here actually.” He says, tapping where the block she placed was supposed to go.

Vaggie picked up the block and set it where Pen said to. Then she looks up at the snake to be sure it was right this time.

"That's better!" He says. "Good job."

Vaggie smiles at him, and Charlie does too. She was a little worried about how Pentious might react to a younger little one, but he's doing so well! Like a perfect older brother! It was so cute!

He finished the pirate ship for Vaggie since she lost interest very quickly.

"There you are, your pirate ship." Pentious says, setting the ship in front of her.

Vaggie gasps and sets her little pirates on the ship. "Chawe, Piwate!" She says to her caregiver.

"Mhm it's very lovely, what do we say to Pentious who made that for you?" Charlie asks.

"Tant' oo' Pen." She says.

"You're welcome. While you're playing with that, I'm gonna build a sea monster to attack them!" He says.

"What a fun idea!” Charlie says.

Vaggie handed Charlie one of the pirates to play with and the two of them started to play out a story.

"Hello, pirate cat. Are you ready for our big pirate adventure?" Charlie's fox character asks her.

Vaggie's cat character jumps on the table. "Twesue'" She says.

"Yup, gotta find the treasure. I sure hope we don't encounter any evil sea monsters on the way." Charlie says.

"Piwate ship!" Vaggie shouts, placing her cat and Charlie's fox into the ship and moves it around the table.

Pen did a very good job building it, it didn't even break when Vaggie moved it.

"Rawr! An evil sea monster approaches!" Pentious starts to play, with his monstrous and extremely clever creation.

"Oh no, pirate cat. What are we gonna do?" Charlie asks dramatically.

Vaggie looks around and sees a single mega block. "Tannon!"

"A cannon, what a great idea. We can defeat the monster!" Charlie says.

Vaggie's character shoots the cannon and hits the beast.

Pentious's character groaned. "Nuuuu you have shot me! What a world what a world indeed! I deaded! I deaded forever!"

Vaggie laughs at Pen's dramatic characterization of the monster. "Montow no tay dat." She laughs.

"What?" Pentious asks.

"What do monsters say, Vaggie?" Charlie asks.

"Waw!" She growls.

"Ohh." Pentious understood her that time. "Rawwwwr!" Pentious played the death scene again, this time in proper monster language. "Can I be a pirate now that my monster has died?' Pen asks.

Vaggie hands him the dog pirate. "He-a-go." She says.

"Thank you." Pentious says. "Let's go find that treasure!"

“Good job sharing, Vaggie.” Charlie whispers, making her little one smiles.

The three pirates did find the treasure after a long journey across the office.

"Finally, the treasure!" Pen's figurine said.

"What if the treasure was inside of us all along? What if the real treasure was friendship?" Charlie's little fox asks.

"Uhm, no it's...it's gold." Pen's dog pirate says.

"Oh okay." Charlie says. "My bad."

They found the gold and they returned home.

“You did it, Vagitha!” Pen says.

Vaggie giggles. “Yay!”

The perfect ending to a perfect little adventure.

~~~Velvette and Vox:~~~~

Velvette worked overtime and then some.

She worked until she could forget what made her so upset in the first place.

And when she still didn't, she stopped when she became too tired to continue working anymore.

She walks to the kitchen to get some water and sees Vox at the table with a cup of coffee.

"Vox? What are you doing up this late?" Velvette asks.

"Vel...hey!” Vox says, sounding exhausted as he rubbed his screen where his eyes were. "I uh- that, up there is for you." He says, pointing at a gift that was on the counter.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, what?"

"Just- open it, please?" He asks.

She unwraps the box and...

It was a cabbage patch doll...

It wasn't Nicoline, but she was still very lovely.

She looks over to the Tv man. "Vox-?"

"You mentioned that you used to have one when you were little. I was going to give it to you on your birthday, it's probably not the one you had as a kid, but-"

"Did you seriously stay up just to give me this?" She asks him, hand on her hip.

Vox scoffs. "What? No! Of course not, I was up already, I just thought I'd do something nice since you were so upset." He says, as if it wasn't a big deal.

Velvette rolls her eyes. “Sure.”

“Look, I'm sorry you had a rough couple of days.” Vox says. “It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. But, you can if you want to, and I'll listen.” He promises. "Or you can talk to the doll if that’s easier, that's fine too."

Velvette looks up at him. "How-"

"You told me while you were regressing a few weeks ago." Vox says. "I know something happened...and I don't think it's right for you not to talk about it."

She looked down at the doll again.

He listened to her...

And took her pathetic little story about a doll seriously.

Huh.

"I know it's not really like us to talk about stressful adult stuff." Vox says. "But, it can be."

Velvette's eyes fill with tears. “Really?” She asks. "You actually want to hear me bitch about stupid shit all the time?"

"Who doesn't bitch about stupid shit?" He asks. "Me and Val do, why in the hell would it be any different with you? I don't care less just because you're not a kid. I don't hate your company, and I don't hate talking to you either. You have great ideas, it's nice to have someone to talk to who isn't an idiot."

He actually thinks she’s smart?

He actually cares?

Actually wanted to hear her? Actually want to listen?

Velvette puts the doll down and she runs to hug Vox.

"Vel?" Vox asks, this was clearly not at all what he expected.

She doesn't want the doll, for the first time in a long time she didn't want the doll.

She just wanted her caregiver.

Velvette starts sobbing into his shoulder. "M'sowy." She says, sounding small- tiny even.

Vox knows the voice, so he picks her up and hugs her. “It's okay, I'm here.” He says to her. “Get it all out, it's okay.”

She wraps her arms around his neck

"You ready to get some sleep?" He asks her once she's calmer.

She nods. "Okay. Can you stay wif me?"

Vox nods "Yeah." He takes her doll and carries both of them to her room to get some well deserved rest.

They can talk about it tomorrow.

~~~Charlie, Vaggie, and Pentious:~~~

Vaggie and Pentious had a fun time playing together, they played pirates and aliens, and Charlie even taught them patty cake!

It was a full fun day for them.

Vaggie got pretty tired after a bit and asked to take a nap and cuddle with Charlie.

So, Charlie put on Jake and the Neverland pirates for the two littles, and all three of them cuddled up on the couch to relax.

After episode two, Vaggie had fallen asleep.

Charlie turns to Pentious. “Thank you so much for being so nice to Vaggie today, Pen. You were such an amazing friend to her.” She says. “I know it's not always easy. I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate it.”

“It was very easy.” Pentious says. “Vaggie is fun.” He says. “She likes pirates, adventures, and weapons!” he says. “I haven't had so much fun in ages!”

Charlie smiles. “I'm so glad to hear you had fun.” She says.

“Could we do it again sometime?” He asks.

“Of course, if Vaggie wants to. I think she had a lot of fun too.” Charlie says.

Pentious smiles and snuggles up next to her once again.

There's nowhere else in the world Charlie would rather be right now.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

'Oh, by the way

All my stuffies wanna know if you're okay

I've been great, 'cause they put me in a safe place

Act like I'm nine when I watch Adventure Time

To cure the pain, I'll explain

That shit put me in a safe place.' ~Tony22, safe place.

Taglist: @todayimfour @trophyxtissues2 @ask-dusty-boy @dex-dawn @abby5577 @innocentlittlelambsnursery

[tossawary]

Posting about my reread like this in an attempt to help me remember some of these small details... I am quite bad at remembering things from the beginning of a book by the end of it, partially because small, easily overlooked details often become far more meaningful and therefore memorable on the reread.

Some quotes and thoughts on Binghe's birth + adoption, Tianlang-Jun, Su Xiyan, and the poor, unnamed washerwoman:

"Immediately after birth, Luo Binghe was abandoned by his parents, swaddled in white cloth, and put in a wooden basin that was lowered into the Luo River. This occurred on the coldest days of the year, and it was only thanks to fishermen pulling him out of the water that he didn't freeze to death as a baby. Because he'd been drifting along the Luo in the season when it was choked with thin ice, he was given the name Luo Binghe.

Luo Binghe spent his early years wandering the streets, hungry and cold - a dreary childhood. A washerwoman who worked for a wealthy family took pity on him, and since he had no children of her own, she adopted and raised him as her own. Mother and son were poor, and they suffered much humiliation at the hands of their rich patrons." - Chapter 1, pages 9-10

"As it turned out, Luo Binghe had been born to the Demon Realm's Saintly Ruler and a woman of the Human Realm; within his veins flowed the blood of the ancient, heaven-fallen demons as well as that of the human race. His father, Tianlang-Jun, had been sealed beneath a great mountain, trapped for all eternity. His birth mother had been a disciple from a righteous cultivation sect, but shortly following Tianlang-Jun's dealing, she had been expelled on suspicion of having secret ties to demons. She had died from a postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to Luo Binghe, but prior to her death, she had set her son adrift from the lonely ship she'd birthed him on. It was the only way she had been able to give Luo Binghe a chance to survive." - Chapter 1, page 11

I view a lot of these small details as somewhat flexible, with the different levels of unreliable narration going on. We are being told these things by Shen Yuan, who may be misremembering these details (as any reader, myself definitely included, does), and who read them as told by Airplane, who may have retconned prior details as he came up with new ideas, forgotten small details as he wrote millions of words, or was just lying in the narration for later reveals that never came to fruition. Shen Yuan may have also been reading dialogue between characters who also didn't know what they were talking about or were lying to each other.

So, I can do what I want with a lot of this, I feel! Shen Yuan doesn't necessarily know what he's talking about here. (More details will be revealed later on, I remember, and I will be looking out for them.)

Interesting things to remember here! Tianlang-Jun was apparently probably sealed during the winter, maybe late autumn at the earliest, which was probably unpleasant for snake demon Zhuzhi-Lang. I'm currently imagining Tianlang-Jun leaving his nephew to essentially hibernate somewhere to avoid the weather, promising to stay out of trouble (actually planning to meet up with Su Xiyan), and then just not coming back.

Su Xiyan apparently gave birth to Binghe on a ship! That's interesting. I had forgotten that detail if I ever took note of it.

I knew that the book implies here that Binghe was found by the washerwoman a little later into his childhood, but I'd forgotten the fishermen detail. I usually intentionally ignore this and just go with the washerwoman finding Binghe (which is what the animated show did, I think), because if Binghe was honestly "immediately" abandoned by Su Xiyan, then he would have been a newborn! Someone HAD to have been looking after him. This is one of my pet peeves in fiction: Binghe HAD to have been breastfed by someone OR this world must have an equivalent to baby formula for him to survive. (This is the main reason I conceptualized Luo Jiahui in PINTWILF as a young woman who had recently had a stillbirth, just so she could breastfeed this newborn baby.)

It's possible that Binghe had a series of caretakers who fell through before his adoption, leading to brief periods on the streets as a young child, and/or he did a lot of "wandering the streets" begging and scavenging AFTER his adoption by an extremely poor woman (and the sentences there are just a little out of order). Even if demon baby Binghe COULD survive on other food somehow, newborns can't... walk... or crawl... or lift their heads.

If I have to stick to what's written here as closely as possible, then I would go with the following interpretation: newborn Binghe being found by fishermen, who take him to town to see if anyone has lost or abandoned a child, or if anyone is willing to take one in. The only person to agree is this washerwoman. People in town possibly donate some means (baby formula equivalent, kinky plot device plant that kickstarts lactation) to feed this baby or cruelly tell the washerwoman the baby will die. Possibly, the washerwoman goes deeply into debt asking these rich patrons for the means to feed this baby. As Binghe grows up, he spends a lot of time on the streets, begging and scavenging to help his extremely poor adoptive mother. End mostly canonical interpretation.

If we wanted to get a little wild, we could also go with the interpretation that Shen Yuan is incorrect when he uses the word "immediately". Either he misinterpreted something Airplane wrote, or a character relayed information incorrectly in PIDW, or the SVSSS just formed differently to Shen Yuan's impression based on very vague information that Airplane may not have been keeping consistent.

Maybe Su Xiyan actually lived for several months on this ship after giving birth, creating the seals and somehow managing to feed her newborn child (the poison that killed her is a problem with breastfeeding here, but idk, maybe heavenly demon babies can drink blood for all we know, which is something Su Xiyan would know but the washerwoman would not), before setting Binghe adrift. Binghe would be too young to remember this time with his birth mother. I'll have to see what Wu Chen from Zhao Hua Temple says when I get to his explanation of what happened to Su Xiyan in the third book.

[lilianade-comics]

Soooooo your Cheese Melt/Kindred Spirits AU 👀

Since Dani figures out what Vlad’s original plan for her was, (which is what I presume she found down in the lab in that first fake screenshot. Rip XD), how do they end up getting close again? Obviously Vlad saves her life, but like, after that lol. Is it just a matter of Vlad routinely proving that he actually cares over the course of a while that does it? Something more dramatic?? A bit of both???

Also feel free to drop the deets on those episode rewrites you’ve got knocking around your brain, especially Living Large, because I’d love to see how that episode plays out in this AU <3

Essentially, yeah! It's just Vlad continually being really extra as a parent and making decent choices in regards to Dani. (He's selfishly selfless: He values his own happiness the most, but it just so happens that he's thoroughly convinced that Dani's happiness is what makes HIM happy. Leave it to him to twist everything to his own benefit, right?)

Dani is giving him another chance because ultimately, he did save her life and is clearly trying to make up for what was a truly horrible plan (that he actually abandoned pretty much the day after she was born. He may have convinced himself that he was just delaying the plan, but in reality the moment he decided "not today" was the moment he unknowingly doomed himself lol. It just took him a while to actually ACKNOWLEDGE that his priorities changed. He had no intention of letting Danielle die by the time she discovered the truth). Ultimately Dani wants what every child wants: a good parent. And Vlad, well. He's Vlad. But when he wants something, he throws everything into getting it. So Dani no longer believes Vlad is good like she used to, but she does still believe that he loves her.

As for this AU's version of Livin' Large, I'll drop a few details below the cut!

-The Fentons move next door to Vlad and Dani. Dani seems happy about this, Vlad is less so.

-In the original episode, Danny refuses to investigate what the Guys In White want with his family's portal, so this prompts Sam and Tucker to ask Dani for help instead.

-They get caught, as in canon, but Dani pings as critically ectocontaminated and is swiftly loaded up to be shipped off elsewhere. This coincides directly with Danny flying by after his little "maybe i should do something, actually" moment and he immediately swoops in to save her. Unfortunately, the GIW nab him too.

-hilarious hijinks ensue as Danny and Dani try various methods to escape confinement. None of them work.

-Ultimately, it's a deeply annoyed Vlad in a white suit and sunglasses who rolls up to the facility to collect his daughter. ("....What the heck are you wearing?" Danny asks with extreme derision. "It's called a disguise, Daniel, and it's the reason I haven't also been locked in a cage. Unlike you, I might add." Vlad fires back smugly. "You should see his other ones," Dani pipes up, prompting one to wonder just how many times Vlad has impersonated government agents before.)

-Vlad unceremoniously tazes an agent who asked for his ID on the way out.

-Dani turns her big Bambi eyes on Vlad to see if he'll help them save the Ghost Zone from certain destruction. Danny is like "No, that's okay, I think we're good." Vlad gives him a look and flippantly asks if they REALLY think the GIW are smart enough to destroy the Ghost Zone. Dani's like "they're idiots with a giant missile, they're gonna destroy SOMETHING, Dad."

-does this turn into reluctant halfa trio team up? yeah maybe, sue me.

[thekingofwinterblog]

The Problem With Yasopp

So like many people I was genuinely surprised by Netflix One Piece, adaption, which turned out the exact opposite of pretty much every single travesty that america has made when adapting Manga and Anime.

It certainly was not without flaws, for one thing it needed to be at least 3-5 episodes longer in order to fix it's pacing issues if it wanted to get all of East Blue into one season, and the fight scenes while very well choreographed, didn't exactly sell me on the superhuman strength of most of these characters.

However, there was one thing that genuinely pissed me off, in large part because the american adapters changed something they didn't like, in order to fit "western sensibilites" and in doing so, completely missing the point, and frankly tragedy of the original context.

That of course, is the character of Usopp's relationship with his parents Yasopp and Banchina, and the rather sad tale of plans going completely arry due to twists of fate.

In the west, the character of Yasopp has been a rather contentious one, for several reasons, but also one that has been a bit altered by the changes from Japanese to English.

Yasopp is critiqued heavily by people who don't like him for abandoning his kid, and his wife to seek adventure on the high seas. Now this is not untrue, but there is a bit of context here that's a bit lost in translation.

And you can really tell that, because the way Netflix portrays Yasopp leaving is the surface level one you might get if you just read Syrup Village arc, and you don't pay any attention at all to the timeline given.

In the neflix series, it's explicitly said that Yasopp left Usopp and his mother while Usopp was still a baby. That is such a common reading, that it's actually what the One Piece Wiki claims happened(Another example of why you should always be critical of Wiki's).

The actual Manga tells a different story.

Yasopp left Syrup village right before Banchina unexpedetly got sick with the disease that ultimatly killed her.

When Usopp is so touchy against Kuro about him badmouting his father, it's not in the context of him idolizing some father he never met, because Usopp and Yasopp knew and loved each other dearly. Usopp's wish to see his dad again isn't some wish to meet the father he only knows through stories, but to reconnect with the dad he loved so much growing up and was sad when he left.

And then of course there is the glory of mistraslation. If you've read this part of the manga, you might rightly be wondering, what sort of woman would be proud of the man who abandoned her to take care of their kid while he sought adventure.

The answer, which the english translation does not give, is a woman who was the one to convince him to go out on that journey in the first place.

Because that is what happened in the orignal manga. It was Banchina, for reasons we don't fully understand or have the context for, eho convinced her husband to go out and seek his dreams.

That's the reason why she is so certain Yasopp will NOT be coming home, but why she is also not bitter about it. She was the one who encouraged Yasopp to go out to sea, while she stayed home and took care of their kid, until he grew old enough to care for himself, and seek the seas himself if he wished.

The story of Yasopp, Usopp and his wife is a genuine tragedy, but not because Yasopp abandoned Usopp before he ever got to know him, but because Usopp's parents made plans for the future, that while not perfect by any stretch, seemed workable enough... only for the entire thing to come crumbling down after Yasopp left due to something as mundane as a random disease.

One can certainly make an argument that this was NOT the best course of action for Yasopp and Banchina to take, but it's not the complete deadbeat dad who abandons his baby trope that the Netflix series portrays it as.

Further hammering in that this was a bit more complicated than that, Yasopp seems to have been one of the very first crew members Shanks tried to recruit, having sought him out not long after Roger died... And Yasopp seems to have flat out rejected him, as he stayed with Banchina for years and years afterwards.

It adds a lot of context to the idea that Banchina was the one who ultimately convinced Yasopp to go out and chase his dreams while she took care of the kid... Because it took years and years for it to ultimately conclude at this course of action. Yasopp would continue to reject Shanks offer to join him for years to instead to take care of his wife and kid, until about a year before Shanks met Luffy, when his wife told him to go.

It's a hell of a lot more nuanced and interesting than what Netflix did, that's for damn sure.

[amarielebeau]

Gambit, Mental Health & Trauma

(Prefacing this with this is my interpretation and analysis of Gambit as a character, past and current events. I've been a fan of roguegambit for over a decade- I love them both so much!!!!!)

Gambit is a character who has canonically experienced a lot of trauma- being abandoned by his parents, growing up on the streets, sold into slavery as a child, his first marriage failing, being exiled from his hometown, etc. (I could honestly go on for days.)

Yet, this is largely ignored by comic writers. In situations where his consent is violated, for example, it's brushed off as a silly haha, and he has no reaction to it whatsoever.

I think the reason his trauma is so unexplored is firstly, because he's a man, and secondly, a lot of these events happened in solo's written by men. Examples of this are Gambit (1999), when he was sold into slavery and Etienne died, as well as the Foxx storyline in X-Men (2004)- both were written by men.

Even in Astonishing X-Men (2017), after the Foxx storyline, Mystique claims -in a throwaway line- to have slept with Gambit presenting as twin sisters. His reaction is, "Wait, what? How?" and that's it. No one else in the group reacts, and it's never acknowledged again.

Personally, if I found out that the mother of my (ex-)partner, who sexually harassed me over an extended period of time in the past, had gone on to violate my consent in such a manner, I would be upset. To say the least.

It's only in more recent years that conversations about men's mental health and consent have begun to happen, so it's not much of a surprise to me (sadly) that events were ignored or brushed over in the past.

The reason for my pointing all of this out is in response to his characterisation in Rogue and Gambit (2023).

Thus far, rather than dealing with his trauma, Gambit has ignored it.

RG23 is the point where everything has caught up with him, and he doesn't know how to cope. I can understand why it might seem like he's suddenly being written as a completely different person- for a very emotionally-driven person, somehow, his trauma has never negatively affected him in the past.

However, to understand RG23, we need to revisit Knights of X (2022)- where Gambit's depression came to the forefront. In issue 1, we see Rogue has left a note stating, "Shug- Working late. Don't wait up - Cher". We see he's unhappy about this, it's not the first time, and it's what leads him to join KOX and travel to the otherworld. He's lonely.

This panel from issue 2 tells us everything we need to know about Gambit's headspace at that point in time. He misses Rogue, he doesn't believe she misses him, and he doesn't believe she loves him anymore.

Gambit has always struck me as the kind of person who desperately wants to be loved, but does not believe he is worth loving. At the beginning of his relationship with Rogue, he wanted her to love him, but he couldn't let himself emotionally invest in her.

This could be attributed to a whole number of things, but I think it all comes down to low self-worth. We know Gambit doesn't think of himself as a good person, which leads to him willfully making bad decisions at times (self-destructive behaviour). We also know that when he loves, he loves with everything he has and more.

After his exile from New Orleans, Gambit chose to abandon Bella Donna instead of bringing her with him. I think, from his perspective, he'd done irrevocable damage to the peace between their families, not to mention killing her brother. He couldn't allow her to sacrifice everything just to be with him, so he left her. Why? Because he didn't believe he deserved her love and dedication.

I'm certain this is a mindset Gambit took to all of his relationships going forward. Flirting, flings, and one night stands are an easy way to feel important for a minute without the risk of someone truly knowing him and deciding he isn't worth their time.

I think this is why it took him so long to admit to Rogue (and himself) that he was in love with her. I think this is also why we've seen him completely give up on communicating with her between KOX and RG23.

If Gambit starts a conversation with Rogue about their relationship, he's opening himself up to rejection. We know from RG23 issue 2's Rogue interview that she would never reject him (from her perspective their marriage is fine), but he doesn't know that. To hear the one person he loves most in the world outright say she doesn't love him anymore... It would break him completely. So, Gambit avoids the conversation.

In KOX issue 3, Gambit essentially killed himself to save his team.

Now, consider his mindset: he's in the Otherworld because he thinks Rogue doesn't love him anymore.

I'm not saying that directly led to him killing himself- as I said, he did so to save his team. However, I think it's safe to say if his mental health was in a better place, he wouldn't have made such a decision, let alone have gone to the Otherworld to begin with.

This page from KOX issue 5 highlights his feelings for Rogue. She's his heart. His reason to live. Compare her statue to all of his:

Rogue's statue is surrounded by light. There's no way anyone could miss seeing it versus his statues, representing multiple versions of himself- all of them are shrouded in darkness, no visible details.

Not only does Gambit not want people to see him, he wants them to look at Rogue. To Gambit, Rogue is the best part of him.

I'm not gonna pretend that's a healthy mindset. If anything, it further emphasises to me his low self-worth.

I want to point out this page for several reasons.

Firstly, it could be said that Gambit didn't want to be saved, and that's why his Death persona manifested to kill his team. He wanted to stay dead.

Secondly, Death is the very very worst part of him, yet he says, "You ain't really changed if you ain't looked in the mirror and seen the worst parts a' yo'self. I am Death, mes amis." He's essentially telling them that this terrible, awful person is who he's always been deep inside. We know this isn't true, but this is what Gambit believes.

Thirdly, as mentioned earlier, when Gambit slips into that belief of "I'm a horrible person", he often makes bad decisions. In RG23 issue 2 (set after KOX), we see him tie an innocent civilian's hand to a gas stove, turn it on and then set it on fire. Gambit knows this is a horrible thing to do, but he's in such a horrible mental state that he doesn't think he's above this behaviour. I will come back to this point.

Gambit asks how anyone new is coming to the Otherworld because the gate between Krakoa and the Otherworld was closed, and Betsy could only take ten of them. To partake on such a dangerous mission, Gambit chose to risk leaving everything behind without knowing if he'd even make it back alive.

In a sense, he abandoned Rogue in a similar way to abandoning Bella Donna. He went somewhere neither of them could reach him. Or supposedly couldn't.

Rogue was first to greet him after his revival. Gambit couldn't believe this because a) he thought he was dead, and b) why would Rogue, who is too busy for him, be the first to see him after his resurrection?

It's easy to think that this moment resolved Gambit's worries that Rogue didn't love him, and that, going forward, their problems were fixed, but as RG23 shows, it didn't. Rogue showing up for him once isn't enough to fix their current issues because the problem lies deeper than Rogue's absence.

At a superficial level, it's easy to blame her for Gambit's mental state, but I believe this depression he's fallen into has been a long time coming. Decades of unprocessed trauma, insecurity and self-destructive behaviour- literally dying and coming back to life, have culminated in the Gambit we see in RG23. To be honest, you have to be in a very very dark place to kill yourself, self-sacrifice or otherwise.

Issue 1 of All New X-Factor (2014) shows Gambit is no stranger to drinking and barfights. The difference is his mindset. We know he can win a fight against multiple people- we've seen that happen many times. So why, in RG23 issue 1, was he suddenly unable to block a punch, let alone hold himself upright?

Because he didn't want to win.

When Rogue arrives to rescue him, we learn multiple things. It's not the first time he's disappeared somewhere without telling her; it's not the first time she's found him so drunk he's incapacitated; it's not the first time she's had to save him from a fight he's not winning.

What this tells me is that Gambit is purposefully putting himself in dangerous situations as a form of self-harm. He doesn't tell Rogue where he's going because he doesn't want her to save him. He drinks to the point he can barely stand to make sure there's no way he can win a fight, and then he starts a fight to get the shit kicked out of him.

It almost seems like, in some sense, he still wants to die, but he can't kill himself. Not while he remains in limbo with Rogue.

It works both ways- if he never asks Rogue how she feels, he never finds out that he's right and that she doesn't love him. He also never finds out he's wrong and that she does love him.

It's important to add here, that Rogue is in a very difficult position.

RG23 issue 1: we can see Gambit actively shutting Rogue out. He calls it a "misunderstanding" and his "business". Despite the fact that they're married, Gambit is basically telling Rogue to stay out of it.

Again, he's shutting her out, making light of such a dangerous situation and then outright ignoring her. In fact, Gambit's completely disregarding her feelings. We can see Rogue is exhausted. It's hard to care about someone who doesn't care about themselves.

And Rogue does care. A lot. Every time Gambit goes missing she goes out to find him, saves him and then brings him home to take care of him.

But she can't help him if he won't let her.

When someone you love hurts themselves, it hurts you too, and Gambit is indirectly hurting Rogue, but he refuses to see that because he's decided that she doesn't care. In his spiral of self-destruction, he's completely shut down communication between them.

Asking for help is never easy to do, and we know he thinks she's too busy for him. He doesn't want to burden her with his issues.

Furthermore, he doesn't want to face his issues and resolve them.

In issue 2 of RG23, after losing their powers, Rogue is freed from the burden of having to consciously control them at all times, and we see them share a moment of physical intimacy.

I find his use of "tête-à-tête" here (French for "a private conversation") ironic because we all know they weren't talking.

Returning to what I said earlier about Gambit and flings- physical intimacy is an easy way to briefly fill the void of what he's missing in emotional intimacy.

I don't believe he suddenly views his relationship with Rogue as something akin to a fling. I think the opposite.

Gambit invests in their relationship physically but not emotionally because to him, that's the safest way he can connect with Rogue right now. Touch is his love language, and when he can't find the words to speak, physical intimacy is the best he can do.

Rogue and Gambit (2018) showed us that, back then, Rogue was the one struggling to communicate her feelings, and Gambit was always very open with her about where he stood, so why the role reversal?

We can see Rogue trying to communicate, but Gambit shuts her down, pushing her away.

By doing this and holding onto the idea that Rogue doesn't love or care about him anymore, Gambit is sub-consciously trying to ruin their relationship.

Given how much he loves Rogue and wants to be with her, this tells me he's still in a very dark headspace.

Going back to the statues being parts of himself he doesn't want anyone to see, as well as becoming Death once more, and finally confessing his core belief- that he can't change, he will always be a terrible person: Gambit's trapped himself in his own insecurity.

If he opens up to Rogue, he risks her seeing him for who he truly believes he is. What comes with that? Rejection.

Here, we see Gambit drinking once again. Rogue also mentions how, on one occasion, he argued with a sommelier over wine. In both issue 1 and 2 Gambit's use of alcohol has been highlighted in a negative light. It's an unhealthy coping mechanism.

Also, it's easy to look at this scene and think Rogue is the one who can't let loose and lighten up, but I think what's actually happening is Gambit is ignoring her feelings, as he did in issue 1. She has a drink and two glasses next to her on the table, so it's not as if they haven't already spent a considerable amount of time having fun there.

When Rogue says they should leave, Gambit's more interested in continuing his escapism- until Black Panther arrives, and he starts another drunken fight he can't win. A pattern has been established.

"He'll save her. He's a hero." is a very telling line that reveals why Gambit did what he did- because he's not a hero, and he knew the woman would be saved.

To reiterate, Gambit believes he is a terrible person who is not above doing terrible things. He does not change: he will always be who he was as Death. The worst of the worst.

By risking an innocent woman's life to save himself (and Rogue), he only furthers this belief.

We see here that Gambit looked back to check if Black Panther did indeed save the woman he endangered. Without looking at Rogue and speaking quietly (evidenced by the smaller writing and bubble), he says to himself, "He saved her." Because Gambit isn't the terrible person he thinks himself to be- he couldn't leave without knowing the woman was safe.

This is how we, the reader, know that Gambit hasn't suddenly changed and become a terrible person. He's struggling with his mental health and sense of identity after a lifetime of trauma.

Honestly, there are so many more traumatic events I could talk about.

There's a long list of people Gambit's lost- as mentioned before, in his 1999 solo, it was shown he was partly responsible for the death of his cousin, Etienne.

In X-Men (1991), we found out that, after a failed heist, Gambit was forced by Sabretooth to pick between saving his brother and saving Genevieve. He chose his brother, and she was killed.

In his 2012 solo, Gambit's love interest, Joelle, killed herself in front of him. In his 2022 solo, he failed to save his love interest, Marissa, and as a result, she became visibly disfigured.

It goes without saying events like the Morlock Massacre would've had a huge impact on his mental health and sense of self-worth too.

If you've read all of the above, you might be wondering why only now are we getting to see the repercussions of all this? Why does all this trauma suddenly matter?

Rogue and Gambit (2018) opened the doorway for exploring their issues as a couple. Mr and Mrs X (2018) gave Rogue an opportunity to revisit her trauma (and finally conquer her powers in the process). Now, I think it's Gambit's turn. At this point, he's surpassed rock bottom, and the only way up is finally confronting these issues.

Will everything I've mentioned here be explored in Rogue and Gambit (2023)? I doubt it. It's very plot-driven and only five issues long.

However, I do think the first step for him is resolving his communication issues with Rogue, which I'm certain will happen in RG23. Afterwards, it wouldn't surprise me if we see him continue to fight his own demons in future issues until he finds his closure.

IN CONCLUSION: I understand the frustration with Gambit's characterisation and why it may seem like he's suddenly become an entirely different person. I don't expect everyone to agree with everything I've said!!

This is my personal interpretation of everything- I'm not trying to blame the current situation entirely on Gambit and act like Rogue can't make a bit more effort.

Their issues are a lot more complicated than simply Rogue not spending enough time with him.

I look forward to seeing this develop further in RG23 :D

tl;dr in my opinion his characterisation so far in Rogue and Gambit (2023) makes sense following the ideas established in Knights of X (2022): Gambit is depressed, has a very low self-esteem, and doesn’t believe Rogue loves him anymore

[thepublishingpress]

the fire burns so bright (until i cannot hide)

Sokka always feels like he has something to prove.

From being a worthy son, a strong warrior, to a wise leader.

But there is something else that he yearns to prove, in his heart of hearts, buried deep.

He wants to prove that he isn’t a monster.

He’s not like them.

His father tells him, again and again, I know you are not like them, I know you would never do that, never betray us.

I know, I know, I know.

But it all feels fake.

It always feels fake.

Sokka knows that in the elders’ hearts, in some of the mens’ hearts, maybe even in his parents’ hearts, they fear him.

They are terrified of what he can do.

And beside him, beside his flame that he can push to the surface and burn this place to the ground, is a blue-faced figure, standing tall, silent and watchful.

But Katara doesn’t know this.

He didn’t know this, for a time.

No one knows this, except for the elders, his parents, and some of the men.

And he was fine with that, he was fine with his powers.

Until they took his mother away.

After, he always felt stares, crawling up his body, 

The judgement, the renewed suspicion.

And so, is it really any surprise that one night, feeling alone, and bitter, and isolated, he cries?

He tries not to cry too loud, to avoid waking Katara or Gran-gran or even Dad and causing them to fly into a panic, muffling his sobs with his parka.

He stops, though, when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

He flinches, and opens his mouth, prepared to shoo away Katara or maybe even Dad, but stops, freezing when he sees its face.

A blue face, marked with intimidating snow-white fangs.

His mother had always told him he was blessed by a spirit, but Sokka had never bought it. After all, the spirits and the Avatar abandoned the world, so why should they care about him? A fire child, an ashmaker.

But here one of them was, crouching next to him.

“Who are you?” Sokka whispers, because he would really like some answers.

The spirit tilts its– his? –head and says, “I do not know. I do not remember. All know is that I am is your protector.”

“I’ll give you your name,” Sokka decides, “The Blue Spirit.” He chooses to call him.

“I like that name,” He tells Sokka, “But now, will you tell me about your pain, child of the flame?”

Sokka blinks. That subject change was very fast. But he supposed Blue was like that. Quick, to the point. Sokka scooches closer to his supposed guardian. “It’s just that I’m Water Tribe,” Sokka confesses, and spirits does it feel good to let this out. “We’re all about, um, watery stuff you know? And I’m, well, like you said, a ‘child of the flame.’”

Blue seems very thoughtful, placing his hand under his chin. “You are Water Tribe by birth, but fire flows through your veins,” He muses to himself. “Agni certainly loves to play such games.”

“I just wish Agni hadn’t picked me.” Sokka complains.

Blue chuckles, only for a bit. “No one, not even most spirits, would like to get caught it Agni’s web of odd games.” He agrees.

Sokka grins at him. “At least I have you now.”

And that was the beginning.

~

When the Fire Princess came, Sokka was terrified. 

He felt ready to run and to hide, but he felt and cold hand on his shoulder, and resolve filled him once more. 

He put on the face paint.

And was instantly knocked down.

Sokka tumbled through the snow, and there was his presence again. He’s taking this guardian role very seriously, Sokka thinks in the back of his head as Katara rushes towards him.

Then the tiny 12-year old boy came, and sacrificed himself to keep their village safe.

Katara tells him they have to find him, and that she doesn’t care if he doesn’t want to, because she’ll go anyway.

(But Sokka, being the genius he is, had the forethought to get a boat before Katara even opened her mouth.)

~

When Sokka had tried to show-off to the Kyoshi Girls, he did have his reasons.

They were dumb reasons, but reasons nonetheless. 

He was also definitely not expecting to be humiliated, the girls laughing at him, and the hot burn of shame scalding him like heated water as he leaves.

But he remains curious as to how they fought, the fluid motions interesting him.

So, later, he approaches the leader– at least, the person he assumes to be the leader– and asks her to teach him.

He humbly kneels down and says, “I’m sorry for what I said,” He apologizes. “I would be honored to be taught by you.”

Suki raises an eyebrow. “Really?” She asks, skepticism dripping off her voice. “You be willing to be taught by a girl?”

Sokka bobs his head. “Of course.”

She smirks. “And you swear to follow all of our traditions?”

“Yes.” Sokka agrees.

Her smirk grows wider, which, honestly, should have put up some red flags for Sokka. “Just so you know, I do mean all of them.”

Sokka didn’t understand until he put on the dress.

Sokka grimaced as he twirled around a little. “It’s a dress,” He complains. “I can’t fight in a dress!”

“It’s not a dress,” Suki says patiently. “It’s our armor.” When the slight pout was still on his face, she says, “Hey, listen. That silk is for bravery, and gold for honor. Wear that with pride.”

Sokka pauses. Those things were good. Maybe it wasn’t so ba—

“Hey, Sokka! Nice dress!” Aang says cheerily, and Sokka knows it’s probably meant as a good thing, but spirits does he want to strangle Aang.

Sokka pulled a face. “Let’s just get this over with,” He says glumly.

He ends up getting knocked down again and again, over and over. He gets frustrated, throwing his fan into the wooden pillar.

Suki sighs. “Sokka, you don’t use brute force in this style of fighting,” She explains. “You use the enemy’s strength against them. Now,” She tugs the fan from the pillar and hands it over. “Try again.”

-

The peace Sokka was feeling was quickly disrupted, for Fire Princess Azula arrived.

She and her crew started attacking the Kyoshi Warriors. Azula was perhaps the most vicious in her methods, flipping Kyoshi Warriors, sending them flying. Sokka felt his heart beat, faster and faster. He flew into action, jumping forward, fighting with his fans, albeit a little clumsily.

But Azula sadly is able to knock him over as well. 

“You seem to be getting better,” She says mockingly. “For a peasant, I suppose.” She raises her fist to deal the finishing blow, but an invisible presence, and Sokka knows it’s Blue, drags him faster than any normal human could.

“Sokka!” Katara cries, rushing forward. “Come on! We have to leave.”

“But–” Sokka tries to say, but then Suki is there.

“You have to leave, Sokka” Suki tells him, and maybe his heart cracks a little here.

“Wait!” Sokka says, “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry for treating you like a girl when I should’ve treated you like a warrior.”

Suki smiles. “I may be a warrior,” She says softly, leaning forward and pecking him on the cheek, “But I’m a girl too.”

He blinks, but he can’t say anything in reply because Blue has started dragging him again.

Later, Aang confirms Sokka’s theory that the bald kid is absolutely insane because he rides the Unagi, that crazy serpent thing, and extinguishes all the fire.

He tries to talk with Blue about it later, but the spirit just huffs, and like a child, crosses his arms and looks away whenever Kyoshi Island is mentioned.

~

The first time Aang meet Blue, they tell him later, is when Sokka is kidnapped by Hei Bai.

Aang finds Blue in a panic, frantically searching for his chosen. The moment he sees Aang, Blue grips his shoulders and begs him to find Sokka.

As they search, Blue explains. “When the spirit kidnapped Sokka, they somehow separated me from him. I can’t– I can’t find him in here, the spirit is hiding him somewhere, I can’t–”

Aang places a comforting hand on Blue’s shoulder. “We’ll find him, don’t worry,” He promises, and Blue relaxes.

Meanwhile, Sokka is screaming as Hei Bai drags him away, kicking and struggling.

Hei Bai seems to quickly tire of this, tossing him away into the fog. 

Sokka hits the ground a bit too hard, and passes out.

-

Blue shakes him awake. When Sokka opens his eyes, Blue sighs with relief and hugs him tightly. 

“You’re alive,” Blue murmurs, his voice muffled by Sokka’s shirt. “I thought I failed and that– that you were gone forever–”

“But I’m not,” Sokka says gently, “I’m still here and sarcastic and incredibly as strong and manly as ever, Blue.”

Blue huffs. “Sure you are.”

(Things don't stay all chummy for long. Aang has a time limit, the comet, and then...)

~

When Sokka heard the screams of his little sister, he ran. 

She was crying, and crying hard as she ran away. Aang stood a few feet away, looking horrified. 

Sokka felt anger rising in his chest, breaths puffing out quicker. 

“What happened?!” Sokka screamed. “Who did this to my sister?”

“I did!” Aang said, voice cracking. “I'm sorry, I was practising firebending and it got out of control–”

And Sokka’s brain stopped. The words circled around in his head. 

Practising firebending, got out of control, practising firebending–

It got out of control. 

Sokka’s breathing quickened as he remembered the day he tried to firebend and Blue’s face had been burnt and Sokka had cried and cried and begged for forgiveness until Blue told him he was a spirit and he was fine and now this had happened to his sister. 

“Get out,” Sokka said, voice shaking. “Get. Out!”

And Aang obliges, running away. Sokka packs up Appa, rambling to Blue. 

His hands tremble as he places all their stuff. “I could have done that to Katara, Blue. I could have done that to anyone. I already did it to you!”

Blue sighs. “Let me do the packing, Sokka.” Blue says gently. 

“Why?! I'm fine! Completely fine! Totally focused.” Sokka exclaims. 

“Sokka, you're completely rattled. You're even tying up Momo.” Blue points out. 

Sokka realized this was quite true, and begrudgingly obliged. 

~

Sokka’s heart is quaking, because he has to hurry fast. 

He has to save these people.

He’s not what Jet said he was, he’s not an ashmaker, he’s not like those people that took his mom and Jet’s parents from them!

He’s good, and he repeats that to himself over and over.

(Somehow, it feels like a lie.)

But Blue is there, and it makes him feel good.

(But only a little.)

“Please!” He begs the town, “I’m not a spy! I’m serious! The dam will break, and your town will be flooded!”

The soldiers growl, coming closer at them with their very pointy spears. “Just look at your clothes!” One of them says in disgust. “Some other nation scum, I’ll wager. The Water Tribes certainly must be weak if they sent you.”

The others grumble in agreement.

Sokka might’ve been drowned with them, trying to convince them to listen, but someone steps forward.

“Listen to the boy!” An old man says, voice shaking from age. Sokka realizes it's the elderly man Jet tried to attack. “A crazed young man tried to attack me just because I was Fire Nation, even if I did no wrong against him! I certainly wouldn’t put it past him to blow this town to smithereens if given half the chance.”

The town evacuates almost immediately.

-

When he finds Katara and Aang, Katara is beating the living daylights out of Jet, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

Sokka tells them all of the village’s survival. 

“You’re a traitor, Sokka!” Jet screams at him, “A traitor! You’re no better than the Fire Nation! You are an ashmaker!”

Katara looks murderous, but Sokka cuts in before she could say anything.

“No, Jet.” Sokka says calmly, though inside the words sting, “You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people.”

-

“Sokka,” Katara says carefully as they leave, “Why did Jet call you an ‘ashmaker?’”

And now, he cannot hide anymore. He just opens his palms, and small flame flickers.

Katara gasps. “Sokka, you–”

“I know,” Sokka says shakily, “I know. I’m an– an ashmaker.”

“Sokka,” Katara whispers, “Don’t say that.”

And Katara hugs him, and so does Aang, and then Momo joins in and Appa lets out a little roar.

And, as always, there’s Blue. And even if Sokka can’t see his face, he thinks he’s smiling.

~

The Northern Water Tribe is disgusted by him.

Really, he should’ve expected it.

More awful and hateful words are thrown at him, especially by Hahn. They push him into the snow. 

Yue is the only one who doesn’t care.

She is nice to him, and finds his fire fascinating.

“Why?” Sokka asks. “Why do you like it?”

Yue pauses. “I am a non-bender,” She says softly. “And being a firebender is always better than being a non-bender. At least people take you seriously and they respect you. Even if in their heads they think you a monster.”

Sokka thought about that a while after, and realized it was true.

He and Yue talk a little more, and he realizes he’s falling for her, fast.

(He doesn’t see the angry aura radiating off Blue in massive waves when he figures this out.)

-

Sokka cries after the Siege.

He hates this, so much.

He hates Zhao, he hates the Sun Spirit, he hates–

He hates his firebending!

The hot tears of shame and hatred and grief rush out of his eyes.

And then there’s whispering sounds, going faster and faster until it suddenly stops and Blue appears.

Blue crouches in front of him, and grabs his chin.

Sokka stares into the seemingly soulless eyes.

(But Sokka knows there’s humanity in Blue. He knows how Blue reacted when Sokka got kidnapped.)

Blue carefully wipes Sokka’s tears away with his thumb.

“I know now,” Blue says. “I am not only your guardian. I am also to be your friend.”

Sokka cups Blue’s hand, which is now resting on his cheek.

“Thank you,” He whispers, and Sokka means it. “You give me more warmth than any burning flame.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

A/N: uhhh yeah it took a while- i decided to split this into the books bc i realized how lengthy some of the episodes would get (like the boiling rock for one. theres a reason its split into multiple parts.)

(also to see if anyone would like this lmao)

@ultfreakme as promised, it is here!

[awgeezitsthetoiletnator]

your mind !!!!!!!! literally it's that its the desperate plea of them both being like this meant something to us both??? it didn't just irrevocably change my world view alone right? and now i've got to pretend to be normal about it because we are forever linked in the same circle like!?!?!?!

this is why i feel so unnormal about them both- Tracker being a crutch for Kristen when they were dating because her whole life has been her living a lie. She's moving in because she can't be with her parents but I'm sure she wonders if it's just because they are girlfriends. I wonder how Kristen feels about living in Mordred and Jawbone being one of her guardians (not even mentioning how she struggles playing like a child role- being that shield for her brothers and how we often see her square up to Sandra Lynn) now they aren't together, like does she feels out of place there? I also think that feeling of being out of place was echoed in the recent episode of oh Kristen's address hasn't been changed either- like none of the parental figures in Mordred did that for her- especially Jawbone who works at the school and would have know that was kinda important.

Similarly I think Kristen provided that role on Sophmore year (even being in a messy arc) to Tracker of being that support and the one who does listen to her. Like I wonder how Tracker felt when Adaine & then Fig joined the household- because she's no longer getting priority attention from Jawbone since he's so busy. Yes she's very independent but that's because she's had to be. Even looking after Jawbone before he got better- like they did live together she's probably seen the ins and outs of all his business. The way I see her definitely has a heavy influence from you recommending scream by beach bunny for Tracker because wow- just incredible no notes. Her just moving on to looking after Kristen- like to make herself feel useful and needed- like when she gets brought along for spring break she's like oh I thought you were going to abandon me. Like. Head in hands. My poor girl. (Tracker being an npc is so hard i need all her lore now brennan)

I think it's also why it's so like explosive with the withholding stuff about Jawbone because her and Kristen have become this codependent team because there is so much going on its like oh your my person right now and you still did this, you know all these things and yet my feelings weren't considered & were pushed aside.

Like even after this happens- Kristen then starts unravelling Tracker's religion through finding Cassandra. Which tears them apart. They are both so influential in each other's lives its so crazy.

Apologies for the ramble as this might all be so incoherent but i just have so many thoughts on them and their dynamics- but I think it's like the tragedy aspect of it all that is so aligned with this music. Like the greater the risk the higher the reward and all that- they are built up to be so life changing that the fall consistently follows them. Like we haven't spoke in months but I'm still happy that your religious uprising is going well- even in my commune with my own Goddess you still linger there too. (Not even getting into the Goddess being sisters it's just so much)

Like the Bang the Doldrums line of better off as lovers and not the other way around vs Kristen trying to be normal about calling them friends to her cleric teacher. Just rattling them in my brain for real. I also like Bros by Wolf Alice for them because it's such energy of like If i did come back would you still be there? I know it's selfish of me to ask but would you do it anyway. And definitely less emo but Renegade by Big Red Machine gives them so much. like specifically the post chorus and second verse. again sorry for the ramble but these new episodes are just making me think so intensely about them :P

please never ever apologize for sending such thoughtful asks to my inbox!! i’m sorry it took me so long to reply, but you gave me so much for think about…

- you’re so right about how layered and complicated kristen’s feelings on living at mordred must be now. they were probably a lot easier to overlook when she and tracker were together. the current status shift of “i’m living with my partner” to “i’m crashing with my friends” is wild to me. while i think sandra lynn and jawbone do their best to be good parents for the teens living in their house, there’s just so many of them that it’s probably be easier to parent the ones that usually lean on them for help (adaine) or show clear red flags (fig). (i know this is most likely because beardsley was the one who started the tremors bit during the last episode, but the way jawbone leapt up to protect adaine and fig but not kristen gave me pause. not because jawbone (or brennan for that matter) did anything wrong, but it made me wonder how many little things like that must happen every day in front of kristen and how she might feel about it). given kristen’s reluctance to their parenting and tracker’s personal, recent experience with leaving the church of sol, tracker probably seemed like the best person equipped to support kristen, even if it put her in a weird, uncomfortable corner where she is constantly caring for the person who is supposed to be her main carer as well - although it’s never as reciprocal as it should be. tracker leans heavily on her own experience to try and help kristen, which is why she works so hard to support kristen in establishing her church. she wants kristen to experience the deep, primal connection to YES!? that she experiences with galicaea, but it’s not the necessarily the same situation as kristen is the sole cleric responsible for her gods. due to how much is resting only on her shoulders, kristen’s issues always seem to eclipse tracker’s, but that doesn’t make it fair. tracker tries to help in the way she knows how and it’s still not enough. i’m so excited to learn more about why tracker wants to talk to kristen in the present day. in part, it’s probably because at some point they will be living in the same house again and they should be on good terms. but i also wonder if tracker sees the same pattern with kristen’s gods that cassandra does, and wants to offer kristen an out of her current situation by asking her to join the wolfsong revival. i don’t think there’s any universe out there where kristen would have ever chosen galicaea over cassandra when that path was first offered to her in sophomore year, but tracker could argue that lots of things have changed since that initial offer. in joining her, kristen would be one of many clerics and share the burden of responsibility for keeping a god alive. and maybe that’s a way they can actually be together again. 👀

- kristen’s aversion to being parented is so fascinating to me that it needs to be its own list item. it feels so relatable as an experience of an eldest daughter who’s been parentified for longer than she can remember. because i don’t even think it’s an aversion to being parented really - i think she’s expecting to be treated as a child in a way that’s familiar to her. when you combine kristen’s eldest daughter position with her status as the golden child due to her connection to helio, it’s not a far reach to say that the applebees treated kristen closer to another adult in the family than a child when she lived at home. i’m guessing she was privy to way more information and it was her job to shield and distract her brothers from it or filter it in a way that her parents approved. this is one of the reasons why i think she struggled so much while questioning her faith - her parents had always communicated with her in a straight and simple fashion and this suddenly shifted to unsatisfactory, emotional answers to her questions. (granted, i don’t think any answers the applebees would have given would be satisfactory based on how stuck they are in their worldview, but they jumped really quickly into just shutting kristen down instead of actually hearing her out) i think she’s seeking out that kind of straightforward parent-child relationship she used to have with her parents when she approaches sandra lynn after the tryst with garthy, like “tell me what’s going on and we’ll find the best way to share this with the rest of the kids.” i know that moment is followed by a “classic ally chaos moment” of kristen asking for whiskey, but i wonder if there’s a way to recontextualize it here. maybe she sees herself falling into an old pattern. maybe she can’t resist the temptation of actually being treated like a child instead of a pseudo-adult. maybe she’s worried that whatever answer sandra lynn could give her isn’t worth her positioning herself like this. no one wants sandra lynn and kristen to bond this season more than me i’m awake at night wishing as hard as i can believe me when i say this but i do think that she’s still trying to be a shield to the best of her ability from afar. i think the underlying question behind kristen’s decisions now when it comes to her brothers is “how do i turn the selfish action of leaving them behind into the best decision for everyone in the end without compromising my own autonomy or putting them in a situation where they get hurt?” she stays away from the applebees house so that her brothers don’t have to deal with the tension she would inevitably bring with her. she leaves them gold but without a note so her parents can’t interrogate them about their contact with her. and even in the last episode - choosing to simply confuse her parents and keep her cool instead of actively arguing with them is interestingly as calculated as it is chaotic because she probably comes off as less of a threat to bucky’s devotion to helio and more as a neutral eccentric. for now, it’s easier on everyone in that house if she is cast as someone whose head isn’t screwed on straight rather than a complete villain.

- i too would love to know more about tracker. all of your questions about how she might have felt when jawbone’s attention shifted from her to adaine and fig are right on the money. add all the codependency with kristen to the mix, it makes me wonder if tracker feels like she missed out on having deeper, possibly sisterly friendships with adaine and fig. i think trackerbees being so joined at the hip resulted in her holding fig and adaine at arm’s length as “kristen’s friends” as opposed to new family members. it’s telling that she only chose to leave mordred once she was certain that she could trust that jawbone would be safe with the people surrounding him AND that they were taking care of him as much as he was taking care of them. i don’t think she was waiting for something to go wrong per say, but the fact is that something DID go wrong and her instinct to hang around was justified. she watches sandra lynn and jawbone reconcile and that point in time happens to coincide with her decision to start the wolfsong revival and then she’s finally ready to leave with ragh at her side - the only other teen she allowed herself to get close to probably by accident bc they spent a good deal of time together when the PCs were off on bad kids only mini-missions during spring break. (also how are they going to share ragh. i’m hoping it’s all cordial in the end but how do you share a person who was a bodyguard / confidant for one of you but also was the cofounder of the lgbtq+ student union / honorary party member for the other for much longer than that. how do you do that) i’m so curious about her place in the birth order, but given that we’ve never heard about any siblings, i’m inclined to believe she’s an only child and it seems to fit. i’m an eldest daughter with a couple of only children as best friends and the dynamic of how straightforward tracker is in her actions while kristen is constantly playing 4D chess in her head to figure out the best solution for everyone rings very true for me. we know that her parents kicked her out after she was bitten, but she didn’t stray super far - not even outside the same pantheon of gods. granted, I think the lycanthropy made galicaea a natural fit for her, but i don’t think the journey to get there took as long as kristen’s journey to YES!? two sides of the same coin and all that

- ANYWAYS. the music of it all. i completely agree with your assessment of the tragedy and risk that emo music usually lends itself to, but i also like your other recs here! i was racking my brain trying to think of where i’d heard bros before - it was featured in the life is strange prequel (that also happens to center around another tragic sapphic couple). i absolutely love renegade for them and it made me think of “the 1” - another swift / dessner collab that feels very of the moment for them. i think about them a lot when i’m listening to adult mom. most songs i feel apply directly to one or the other, but i feel like “checking up” from their most recent album feels very attuned to their relationship right before they broke up when tracker was first on the road.

for anyone who has made it this far down, thank you for coming for my ted talk! i guess i have a lot more thoughts about these two than i knew. thank you again @sabrirene for sending this in!

[missycolorful]

hallo there o/

I wanted to piggyback off your last post on the 'birdbrain/abandonment' post:

I feel this particular situation was bound to happen sooner or later. It's not the first time of late(within the last month) the children have felt abandoned/left behind by qphil. During Prison Event you could see the eggs thoughts on being left behind due to possible escape or interactions with other residents and lore.

Day 3 after the interview tallulah said, "I dont like it here.." and chayanne said, "Let's stick together today..". Qphil then turned it into a joke, "...STICK together.. cause he's holding a stick.." but I do not believe these words were said for nothing. Day 3 had dark themes surrounding the residents(inmate crucifixion) and as a child paying attention I would be scared and want my parent in sight much as possible.

Now of course we give grace to the ccs because streaming and events can take a toll. Phil had stated several times during the event he felt overwhelmed/stimulated, along with others agreeing with him.

At one point the eggs eventually burried them selves in hole, in which wasn't addressed until after a guard Tubbo and Charlie noticed. On the walls chayanne signs say: we are a ghost - we will die here and bit later tallulah states: we were wondering how lo g it took u to find us, we were thinking you were leaving us here.

Qphil reassured them but I got to thinking: every where he went residents had their eggs with them. When escaping with Charlie fit and tubbo, ramon was with fit and sunny was with either parent...qphil was alone. When talking to the guard for the hat, pomme was with aypierr - rishas and pepito were with their guardians and em/dapper was with bagi and bad...qphil was alone.

Giving benifit of doubt he was trying to protect them.(the guard was a butt)

That being said: the separation was scary, anything could have happened. Yesterday situation could have went very differently as well. The eggs could have been mortal. Something more dangerous than the scorpion could have caught them along their travel back home.

And this ALL is off the talks/agreement of them sticking together as a family. Having each others back. The situation is so interesting because after concerns are said qphil does comply with not taking his sight off them rest of stream. I really enjoy this family dynamic for some reason

Sorry for long post

oh gosh don't apologize, I'm eating this whole post up. And it's given me more to say, so... sorry in turn, lol!!

honestly, a lot of the prison event felt like a blur to me (a lot happened lol), so I completely forgot about those small moments. Like a lot of other similar moments, they're jokes, yes, but there's a certain weight to them. And these jokes they've been making have had a certain weight for a while now. And.... looking back, I feel dumb for not even mentioning the one thing that's really brought this whole issue, and these "jokes" and concerns the kids have, into existence.

It's the Ender King.

q!Phil has made it clear that if the Ender King finds him and seeks to capture him and take him away from the kids, there's nothing he can do. He's not sure if he can come back, if he does get taken, even though he swears he'll do everything he can to return to his kids. But that reveal of the Ender King and Phil's concerns about his fate by his hands has affected Chayanne and Tallulah greatly. It's good that he's been honest with them, I'd rather he be. But there's no good way to handle this, in truth.

Chayanne, after Purgatory, has been more clingy with his father, but I think it's more noticeable as of recent. Tallulah has tried to distance herself a little like sleeping at her and Wilbur's house, most likely out of a need to feel independent and such, but within the last month or so, she's also been fairly clingy. I think her attempts at being independent fell to the wayside once the idea of her father just... disappearing, and possibly never coming back, came to mind. She sleeps at the sanctuary (and now their new house as of the reset) more often than not. They're both afraid of waking up and seeing that the most consistent parental figure in their lives is gone.

Like, we all know that q!Phil isn't actually abandoning them or even leaving them behind with any malicious or neglecting purpose, and I think the kids know he wouldn't do so with intention (which is why him being defensive yesterday was sort of a moot point, but anyway). Plenty of the parents will let their kids mind their business and do things without them around. This isn't new, and this has happened with Phil's kids plenty of times! For example, Phil didn't want his kids around during a lot of the prison stuff, because a lot of what he was doing was risky, and he didn't want them to get hurt. And we know that yesterday was a pure accident, and he wants to try to be more careful.

But technicalities and logic aren't really important here. What upsets the kids is simply the idea of him being gone, and the fear of him never coming back. It doesn't matter how many times he tells them that he will, because these fears are huge and real. You accidentally left the kids behind at Etoiles' house? It doesn't matter, you still left. You got kidnapped by the Ender King? It doesn't matter you're still gone.

[themainreactor]

"I don't think this was the original plan... Oh well."

In which a suicidal boy gets kidnapped by his scary yandere girl stalker. He could care less and doesn't mind dying, however she cares and it confuses her why he doesn't. So she brings him with her into the League of Villains and for once in his life, he can say that he's genuinely felt... At least okay.

"You need help, y'know that right?"

"I know I just... I don't want help."

"How do you expect to get better then?!"

"Well I'm not really excepting to get better, I wasn't even really expecting to live this long."

"Why are you like this?!"

...

Y/N was kind of... Strange to say the least.

Y/N's not even sure why he can't just be normal, he wants to be but he can't help but feel like life would be better without him being there. Even if he doesn't try to gain attention, he still somehow does.

Whether it be bullying at his school, his parents disappointment in him, his friends leaving him because of how much his mental state is hurting them, or even him bothering the police and ambulances.

So he decided after a while to just stop trying to die because it makes it so much worse when he doesn't succeed and everyone gets frustrated. He got better over time... Well at least it took him about three years to convince everyone of that. At least people felt less worried and went back to their normal lives.

Yet he still seems to attract trouble.

So that's why he's not entirely surprised when he wakes up in an abandoned house one evening after his nap with a crazy looking girl kneeling at his feet. The walls were all graffiti'd, there was no furniture and it was already clear that the girl had some sinister intentions.

"You're awake! Hi there cutie!" The girl yells, happily jumping around before kneeling right back in front of him. He's not entirely sure what's going on and what's even worse is that he's pretty sure he recognized her.

"You're... That girl... You killed that boy in my school" He states, only to get a giggle and a nod as if that didn't matter whatsoever. Already that was the worst impression someone can have about another person.

She was probably going to kill him too and honestly he didn't mind, he just had a nap so at least he would die refreshed.

"Yep! That's me! That was my first love but you're my favorite so far!" She yells, gushing before placed her knife right against his neck.

"Y'know... You'd look even cuter with your blood all over you."

He only raised his eyebrow before activating his quirk, causing her to scream and drop her knife.

His quirk was emotion, he could control, level out or amplify an emotion in a person. He amplified fear in her, so that's why she was now shaking on the floor.

But now he actually felt a bit bad for her.

She was a freak, he could understand that much and he didn't blame her. Everyone called him a freak too. Plus, It was flattering since no one had ever been a freak for him, although it was concerning. What was he doing to gain her attention? Did she know where her parents were at?

He struggled with the zip ties that were tying him only to get one to snap and let go of his wrist. He sighs, turning off his quirk and watching as she cried and choked on her own spit. But she seemed more calm even though she was still feeling the lingering fear from before.

"So what do you plan do to me?"

"No! Not anything bad! I just... I wanted some of your blood..."

"Why? Don't you have your own?" Y/N chuckled.

"...Yeah... But I want to be like you! I... I want to become like you because I love you!"

"... You don't even know me-"

"Yes I do though! Your name is Y/N, M/N, L/N! I know that you're really strong and that everyone at your school is scared of you! They think you'll take advantage of them with your quirk but I know you wouldn't do that! I also know that you used to date a girl And she left you for your best friend!"

"... And you know this all... Because?"

"Because I followed you and I like watching you at school and at home! Y'know if you want I can kill the girl and that fake friend of yours! Would you like me to do that?! It doesn't matter anyway!"

He just looks at her again, worried about what she meant. She loved him, so she was going to kill him... That made no damn sense.

"Just like the boy... Y'know we were confused, no one at school thought you'd do something like that. You were always that sweet and happy girl... Why'd you kill him?"

"I hated pretending that I was normal! But that's all anyone saw me for anyway! For example, is my home! Or it used to be my home." She mumbles and Y/N looks around the graffiti'd walls, it looks like it was once a girl's room.

He almost forgot what her house even looked like.

"I... I was born a monster, someone who couldn't live without hurting the people she loved... So... I want to become a really strong girl, someone who can make my own path and become those I love!"

"... That's why you want my blood?"

"Yep! I want your blood! You're so pretty and interesting at the same time! I want to be just like you! I love you!"

"How do you know you love me?"

"I just know I love you! You make my heart beat really fast and I want to kill anyone that hurts you!"

He remembered him and his mother bidding her family goodbye after they moved. He could recall how they came to comfort them even though most people hated them. People blamed them for not raising their daughter right but they probably tried to. He never saw them in a bad light, he always felt like they had tried.

He doesn't say anything as she tried to explain herself more, he just watched her. He knew that in this position she could still try to kill him. Now that he thinks about it though, he didn't really want to live. No one would be worried about him killing himself if someone else killed him.

He didn't have to pretend to want to live anymore... Just like she didn't have to pretend to be normal. So finally he gives in, silently handing her his wrist. She looks at it, confused before a hopeful smile came on her face.

"You... You want me to have your blood?!"

"Instead of stalking me, you should have just asked, you would have gotten it faster."

"... Really?"

"Yep."

The girl just looks at him, she's not sure what to say. With all the people she's killed and loved, never had any of them offered her something like that.

Why was there no hesitation in his voice?

He was definitely extra special, she couldn't possibly kill him now.

"... But why?"

"You'll be doing me a favor... I don't really want to live believe it or not, although I assumed you already knew that."

She did know that he dozed off a lot and that he seemed bored and sad sometimes but she doesn't like how unusually calm he was, it was unnerving how he didn't seem to care about the dire situation he was in. She wanted to kill him and he wasn't even trying to escape her.

So quickly she grabs onto his wrist, using the knife to only make a small cut. She didn't even try to drink the blood or save it, she just wanted to see if he would actually let her or if he'd even care. He didn't flinch and it made it worse so she groaned and started to cut the zip ties off of his other hand and his ankles.

"You good?"

"No... I don't want to kill you anymore."

"Damn, am I that boring?" He playfully asks, hoping to actually get her to reconsider what she said.

"You really want me to kill you?!" She yells

"Yeah, why not? In fact, please do, I wouldn't hold it against you, really." He shrugs before she almost growls at him. She had some canines that were definitely sharp, like a dog or even a vampire.

"No! I... I can fix you."

"... The hell does that mean?" He looks at her, suddenly worried that she was one of those fantasy medieval romance novel girls.

Those types of girls and women scared him because they could care less. If you even remotely resembled their book boyfriends, they would try to marry you.

"Do you know that hero killer Mr. Stainy that was on the news recently?!"

"Um... I don't think that's his name but sure, yeah the hero killer."

"I also want to be just like him! I want to be able to live in a world where I can be free."

"... Hate to break it to you, I don't think you can do that when you're killing people." He chuckled, gaining a cute giggle from the girl.

"I know that, silly! So, that's why, I'm going to join his group."

"His group? What group?"

"The League of Villains."

"... Aren't they their own group?"

"I don't know but I want to be like stainy! But I want to be like you too so why don't you come with me? I know you're bored with your life so help me with mine!" She happily jumps.

"... So... You're not going to kill me?"

"Nope! We should take you back home!"

What? What was wrong with this girl? Was she bipolar or what?

"... Okay... You still want my blood?"

"Yeah!" She smiled.

And with that she grabs his wrist before actually biting it and sucking the blood out of it.

"Ow... Y'know you still have time to kill me, how do you know I won't call the police and tell them that you're here?"

"Because you're too sweet for that!" She replies after letting her mouth pop off of his wrist. She was probably right though, he wasn't going to call anyone on her.

"Now, why don't we get some sugar cookies and you can go home? I know those are your favorite and I'll definitely get you when I find a way to continue my life plan!"

"... Alright..."

"I love you so much!"

Y/N doesn't respond, but he carefully eyes the harsh bite mark that was now on his wrist.

This was probably a bad idea. After all, how was he going to explain this to his mom?

Honestly, he didn't mind.

...

"Are you sure you're okay with being left at home?" His mother asks, placing her luggage in the van as her husband gets the car started.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Was all he said smiling at his mom as she came over to hug him.

"If you start to feel scared or depressed please call me before you do anything."

"Mom, I think I'm fine, it's been like three years since I last tried anything like that."

"I know but still, that shouldn't even be a last resort okay?"

"Alright mom, now stop worrying about me and enjoy your honeymoon!"

The mom gives him a quick hug again before entering the car. The husband just waved at the boy since they still weren't on the best of terms, but it was good enough that they were cordial with one another.

The boy waves the car away as they drive off, and as soon as the car is out of view, he walks right back into the house.

He yawns, happy that he had the house to himself. Until he didn't of course.

"HI!"

"JEEZ! WHAT THE HELL?!" Y/N jumps, dropping the bagel he grabbed from the counter onto the floor before groaning. It was the girl, Himiko Toga. It had been about a month since she had kidnapped him before taking him back home and she literally found every spare minute to invade his privacy when his mom and step dad weren't around.

"... Oh... Hello."

"How are you doing handsome?!" Toga yells, quickly hugging Y/N from behind before jumping onto the counter to sit down in front of him.

"Just fine... How'd you even get in the house?"

"I broke through your window."

"... Did you break the window?"

"No silly, I just popped the screen open and then unlocked the latch before popping the screen closed once I got in!"

Y/N groans a bit, scratching his hair before handing her a new bagel and picking up the one he dropped on the floor. He could just eat it off the floor, it's not like the floor was dirty since he helped his mom clean the entire house yesterday.

Was he still going to eat it? No, he wanted to die but he didn't want to contract a disease while he was at it.

"Guess what!?"

"What?"

"I found someone who'll help me get into the league of villains! You should come with me tonight! Oh! I also drew a picture of you and me!" Toga excitedly yells before jumping off of the countertop and rushing upstairs.

"Um... Alright." Y/N mumbled before yawning and grabbing another bagel to eat. It was only about a few seconds that she came rushing back down with her small but cute cat backpack unfortunately covered in small amounts of someone's blood.

"Here, look!"

Y/N looked at it for two good seconds as he tried to comprehend what the hell he was seeing. As surprisingly good as her drawings were, why did it have to be him like that?

He had to refrain from pushing the sketch book out of his face. First off, what type of memory did this bitch have that she could draw him from scratch. Secondly, this was the most non safe for work thing that he's ever seen, he's not used to this shit because he's only watched porn once and it was by accident.

"It's..." Y/N looked at the giddy girl, mentally applauding her courage in showing him this with a straight face, as if it wasn't basically fan art sex.

"It's nice."

"You really think so?!"

"Yeah."

Toga starts kicking her feet, content that Y/N liked the picture she drew. So she just watched him for most of the day and she doesn't even know why he keeps her around. After all, she could try to kill him when he wasn't looking... Oh wait, he wanted to die.

Toga sighs before looking up at the ceiling in boredom. She was excited to bring Y/N with her to the league but she was a bit worried that they wouldn't take him nor would he technically be a villain anyway. Would he be willing to kill someone if they made him?

"So, before we go to see if you can get into the league, we should go to the store and buy you a really cool villain outfit, something that's cute but also screams badass-"

Y/N chuckled at her as she kept rambling about clothing items. Honestly he didn't care, as long as at some point he died. Maybe that was a bit too far to think but he really was tired, he barely had the energy to get up in the morning and brush his teeth and that was every single morning.

"Alright."

"So what style of clothes do you like?"

"Um... Surprise me, I don't really mind."

"You seem indecisive."

"Well I am."

"About the whole league of villains thing?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you want to be a villain?"

"No... No, not really." He shook his head, being fully serious about it. However it wasn't like he wouldn't try it. I mean, he literally had nothing to lose besides him mom and his life, and his mom was very capable of protecting herself.

"... Well do you want to be with me?!"

"... I mean... No... You're kinda crazy."

Toga just huffed, crossing her hands in front of herself whilst pouting. Y/N walked off into the living room, noting that Toga grabbed a knife and tried to stab his shoulder before he activated his quirk.

Why was she like this? She must have actually been bipolar or something.

"I don't know why you keep wanting to stab me at the most inconvenient times." He mumbled, barely paying attention to her once again distraught figure on the floor before he just sighed and turned off his quirk.

"Hey, you're okay." Was all he said, gently patting her head before looking at the time.

This made him think of why he couldn't have just left his quirk out of a situation like this? He could have died that way, he could have been killed and missed that opportunity because of his reflexes.

Whatever, he'd die eventually.

Toga didn't say anything as she stood up, just slowly hugged Y/N again since she didn't really care about whether or not he used his quirk on her. Y/N hugged her back before letting go just to let her know that he wasn't mad at her. Sure the quirk was annoying but she knew all too well that he was too sweet to truly harm anyone.

"So... Will you come with me tonight?"

"... Sure, why not?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much Y/N-kun! I love you, I love you!"

"... Okay..."

...

"What do you mean I need a body count?" Y/N questioned the supposed villian broker named Giran, grimacing at the man in front of him. There was no way this man was actually going to let him in The League of Villains at all if he hadn't killed people yet?

Sounds biased.

"Well I guess we can forget that for now but have you killed anybody at all? What's your quirk? Abilities? You got any props to show us? Anything at all that could determine that you'll be a good addition to the league?"

He couldn't even answer the question at first, almost all of his attention was being taken by the barbequed man standing on the side. Why did he genuinely seem like he was tweaking out? He was probably not a normal human to begin with, he must have been born into this villain trade. This had to be some bloodline Taugarian stuff.

"After all, I have good business with the league and I wouldn't want to ruin it."

"... Why didn't you tell me? I would have prepared a bit better." He grumbled, glaring at Toga when he turned her direction.

"Well the union already said I was a good pick! Sorry, I didn't think about it even when I said that I'd bring you!"

Y/N just sighed when Toga hugged onto his arm, quietly eyeing the burnt guy that kinda had some sass with his stance. Clearly he was impatient and didn't want to wait for this.

"Well... I haven't actually killed anyone yet, except for my dad. I hit him with a bat when I was younger and he died of blood loss, but I don't think that really counts since it was an accident." He starts, already cringing at how strange his own voice sounded.

This was annoying and embarrassing.

"My quirk is emotion, I can control people's emotions basically... But I don't really have a prop to show-"

"Oh! Me! Me! You can use me! You wanna use me?!" Toga yells really quick, jumping in front of him all excited like.

"The hell?" The burnt guy asks, almost wanting to gag. He didn't really like this crazy lovesick girl and it would be really annoying if he had to be in a villain group with her. He didn't know much about the boy, except that he was most definitely a rookie who probably just wanted attention.

He'd just burn them later if they annoyed him too much.

"Um... How bout no?" Y/N starts, gently grabbing her by the shoulders and moving her to the side of him instead of in front.

"We gotta go soon so when you're done talking with the crazy one and attention hogging dude, can you let me know? I'm already tired of this." The burnt guy scoffs when he gets a finger pointed his way by the guy, so he just decided that he was ready to leave until he was stopped.

He may or may not have had a sudden heart attack by the alleyway door but for some reason he couldn't move and he didn't like it one damn bit.

Why did he suddenly feel like he was absolutely worthless? He felt useless in so many ways and it was one of the most painful things in the world. All his trauma just threw up at him all at once.

"That's rude y'know? You should respect the guy when you're the one taking up his time." Y/N scolded, moving his index finger up in the air which caused the guy to just start crying.

He just cried, it actually made Y/N kind of nervous since it seemed like more than just his quirk. It sounded so broken, he would rather hear someone scream than sob the way this guy was weeping.

"That is so cool Y/N! What emotion are you using now?!" Toga asks.

"Sadness." He replies, his eyes still on the grown man. He only just now noticed that him crying had actually opened up the burn wounds around his mouth and eyes.

"Basically I overwhelm the brain with the chemical that causes a particular emotion before forcing it onto the body." Y/N explains to the guy, turning off his quirk so that the burnt guy can breathe.

"... That's... Scary actually and it's perfect, Even though the union didn't pick you, you'd be a great helper for what the league of villains needs. The dude you just messed is named Dabi, You're in."

"Oh My Gosh Y/N-kun! Do you know what this means?! You and I are going to be hero killers! Just like Mr. Stainy! Oh man! I love you so much!"

"... Cool... Thanks... Hey um, Dabi right? Sorry about that-"

"Shut the hell up." Dabi growls, standing up and holding one of the burn marks closed right under his eye. He didn't even bother wiping the tears away because it wasn't gonna do him any good. He was already embarrassed, and this dumb ass kid scared him.

If he could dominate and control an emotion that quick and that effective with almost no drawback, what the hell would be able to stop him?

"Yeah... I-I kinda deserve that, I'll shut up, that's fair I guess."

...

"Shigaraki! Your league of villains has been the talk of the town this last several days." Giran comments as he opens the door to an abandoned bar. This seemed like a really terribly way to start a conversation if you ask Y/N.

"Word on the street says you're about to start something big-"

"And? Who did you bring?"

Rude. All Giran does about it is chuckle before waving the three of them inside. Toga almost squeals, hugging onto Y/N's arm before letting go and walking in. This was most likely a bad idea.

As soon as Y/N enters he knows this is an annoyingly bad idea. This dude with the hand for a mask was the leader of this whole thing? He looked like a skeleton, when was the last time this man ate?

"So it's really you huh? I've seen you in pictures but i gotta say, you're way grosser in person." Dabi starts, tilting his head to the side.

"Wow it's the weird hand guy! You're friends with my hero stain right? Cool, let us join the league, we wanna be in your group!" Toga yells, blushing as she once again grabs a hold of Y/N's arm

"... Kurogiri, get rid of these three, I can already tell their exactly the kind of trash I hate. A girly brat, some weak mute boy and a guy with no manners." The man named Shigaraki, pointing his finger at them.

"I'm not mute." Y/N chuckles, almost using his quirk on the man just because of his bluntness. It was pissing him off more than he'd like to admit.

"Now, now Tomura Shigaraki, They came all this way. The least we could do is here them out, give them a chance. Besides, this broker is respected in the underworld, they're bound to be valuable assets." The weird purple smoke guy called Kurogiri states.

He kinda reminded Y/N of that fire bartender in the Undertale game.

"Like em or not, you still owe me a finders fee in cash. I suppose I could introduce the three of them before I go." Giran mentioned.

"This one looks like an adorable high school girl right? But she's actually the suspect in a series of deaths where the victims all bled out. So far her name and face have been kept out of the media."

Danm, Y/N almost forgot just how dangerous she was and what she was guilty of.

"Toga, Himiko Toga! Life is too hard and I just want to make it easier to live in this dumb world. I want to be Mr. Stainy! I wanna kill Mr. Stainy! Oh c'mon Mr. Handy man please let me join your league of villains!" She greets herself, letting everyone in the room know just how crazy she was.

"You gotta be kidding me, is she crazy?"

"Well she can hold a conversation, for the most part at least. C'mon, she can be useful."

"Yeah, in fact I was gonna be her next victim before she asked me to come here." Y/N answers, looking at Shigaraki with a very serious expression.

"... What?" Shigiraki looked at the boy and he almost took his hand mask off in surprise. He honestly would have expected that the kid wanted to be here with how calm and blunt he was.

"It's a long story... Well not really but it's not relevant to the topic right now."

"And this guy," Giran adds, pointing his cigarette towards Dabi. " hasn't committed any flashy crimes but he's taken stains ideology to heart."

"I don't like this, is your group really dedicated to the hero killers mission? I can't imagine you are if you're going to let this little psycho join." Dabi grunts when he refers to Toga.

"Grow up, at least she can introduce herself." Y/N grumbles, already realizing that him and this Dabi were probably not gonna get along all that well.

"Yeah, I actually agree with him. She may be a psycho but she can actually talk to people." Shigiraki comments, waving his hand in the general direction of Y/N and Toga. "Don't just stare, what's your name?"

"Right now I'm going by Dabi."

"No I want to know your real name."

"I'll tell you when you need to know it, in any case, my new purpose is to carry out the hero killers will."

"That wasn't what I asked you, patchwork. Jeez why's everyone so hung up over Stain."

"Okay I'm not that smart, " Y/N starts, hoping to understand something about all of this. "but why the hell do we need to carry out the hero killers wish when he's not dead? Isn't he just in prison? We should have our own wish if it's our group right? Not live off the back of someone else's wish, or am I missing something here-"

"Shut up." Shigiraki growls as he stands up.

"It's all I ever hear about, every, damn, day. It's really pissing me off!"

"No, don't do it!" Kurogiri yells.

The hell was he doing?

"WE'LL KEEP THE BOY, THE TWO OF YOU ARE DONE!" Shigaraki yells, throwing his hands in their direction. Dabi does the same in Shigaraki's direction.

Y/N pulls Toga back before she can do anything or get hurt, but not before grabbing her knife to possibly stab the dude's hand. Y/N hasn't killed anyone but that doesn't mean that he doesn't know how to fight.

Before anybody's attacks land anywhere, Y/N watches as purple smoke engulfs their hands before they are placed somewhere else in the room. It was like a portal of sorts.

"Please calm yourself Tomura Shigaraki."

Why does this dude keep stating his first and last name like it was some title?

"If your desire is to be realized then we must increase our numbers,"

Y/N sighs, not paying anymore attention to the conversation before taking out his hand along with the knife. He hands the knife to Toga who felt it was right to suddenly Koala hold his back.

"I'm outta here."

Y/N moves himself out of the way of the pissed off leader of the league of villains. He's not sure how he feels about him, maybe it's not all that bad but he didn't really like how that ended.

"Where are you off too?"

"Shut up."

"I try to make it a point not to complain about my clients but he's too young and far too immature." Giran sighs.

"Really thought he was gonna kill us from a sec!" Toga gushes before jumping off of Y/N's back.

"Yeah, he looks like he needs to be in a psych ward like you Toga." Y/N added on, ignoring the surprisingly weak punch Toga gave to his shoulder.

"That guy makes me want to vomit."

"I've only known you for like thirty minutes and I think I can tell that everything makes you wanna throw up."

"What'd you say?"

"I said-" Y/N starts, ready to repeat himself again.

"Shut up! No one asked you anyway!"

"Okay patchwork."

"What?!"

"I said okay patchwork, I'mma keep calling you that too."

"I hope you drown!"

"I was hoping for that a long time ago dude."

...

"I can't believe we're actually in the league! Oh my gosh this is gonna be so cool! I can't wait! And it'll be even better with you Y/N-kun!" Toga yells, blushing to herself as the both of them sat on top of a building.

"How high do you think I'd have to jump to crack my skull?"

"... What?"

Y/N turns to Toga only to be graced with a small smile concealing her worried expression.

"... Oh sorry, I wasn't trying to scare you."

"No, you didn't scare me... I just... I think it's about two stores high."

That was the first time anyone had answered him a question like that before, and of course it had to be the crazy blood stealing girl.

"Alright."

"..."

"..."

"Hey... Y/N-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you call me Himiko?"

"... Why?" Y/N inquired, wondering if he was being caught in some strange trap by her again.

"Well because I love you and it's just that I don't want to see you die yet. I want to be there for you like you were there for me before and I want you to love me too."

"Um... I was never there for you though-"

"Yes you were! You were always there, someone that was always consistently in my life!"

"... Is that because you were stalking me?"

"I wouldn't call it stalking, I'd call it a romantic walk that you didn't know you were doing with me!"

"Oh... Alright." Y/N sighed slightly, letting you ye girl hug him as he looked down at the people below. Everyone was just walking around, trying to get the last of what they needed so that they didn't have to stay out too late.

None of these people would be prepared for something like the league of villains... So why was he partaking in this? He was one of these citizens, one of these people.

"Do you love me Y/N-kun?"

Y/N briefly turned to look at Toga once again, her sick and flustered smile looking right back at him.

"... No... I don't love you Himiko."

Toga nodded her head, accepting the answer for what it was before looking up at the sky. The stars were very pretty when there weren't many lights.

Y/N though for a bit more about this whole thing, not sure why he was agreeing to this. Sure he didn't value his life all that much but he had family, he had people that cared about him, and he had people he cared about.

But there was something about this that made him feel excited and energetic about it all. He can't remember the last time he felt so much thrill being near a person that could kill him.

It was always him that was trying to kill himself, not someone trying to kill him. No one had ever tried to kill him before.

It was exhilarating.

Heck, the guy wasn't even really trying to kill him, he was trying to kill Dabi and Toga and yet he had pulled her out of the way to protect her. It seemed like he'd really enjoy being a villain but at the same time, he could be a pretty good hero.

He must have been a villain or a hero in his past life because even with that sudden stress he felt so calm, like nothing had even occurred and he wasn't bored like he had nothing to do either.

If this villain thing didn't work, he would try to transfer into a hero school like UA or something like that, though that was setting the bar higher, it was something.

He actually didn't feel like killing himself right now.

"Hey.... Himiko?"

She didn't respond and when Y/N looked at her, she was asleep, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I don't love you... But I think I like you, I'd like to be a villain as long as you're there." He mumbled, gently placing his hand on top of her head.

How did he even let an evil and crazy yandere girl swoon him into joining her in a group of other evil people?

He's not sure but at the moment, he doesn't mind. He'll figure out the details later.

Wow, he's actually feeling pretty okay right now.

[the-oc-lass]

Where's Gregor been? I miss Gregor.

TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITE SUCH A SHORT LITTLE THING, BUT OH WELL.

Gregor is a fine piece of man and I miss him, so he gets baby time too. Gregor and a Baby is up on Ao3 (yes, I'm going to name them all "[Clone's Name] and a Baby"). It involves some of Gregor's cooking skills, some of the others are also there, and we have lots of fun.

This is a little fun series, so, in case you missed them:

Crosshair and a Baby

Wrecker and a Baby

More to come soon!

By the way, someone please tell me if it's obvious who Ec's dad is, because I got a comment telling me that the tags gave it away and I have, like no idea what they're talking about?

Anyway, in case you don't want to go to Ao3, the full fic is below the cut. Enjoy!

Gregor is the second best cook in their entire base of operations. He’s only second behind pseudo-General Rayona Yothia, and that makes a lot of sense considering that she was raised on actual food and learned to cook much earlier in her life than Gregor. That being said, Gregor is still a pretty damn good cook, and Rayona herself has said as much. The only one who doesn’t seem to agree with the sentiment is one Ec Yothia, who is just beginning his transition from his mom’s milk to solid foods. He’s apparently inherited both of his parents’ particular palates and that makes him very picky. The only thing he seems to like is fruit, specifically moja. The problem is, fruit is a hard thing to come by these days. Gregor will fight tooth and nail to get some fruit for the kid, but there’s only so much he can do. At the moment, he’s got a bowl of mashed tubbers in front of Ec and a spoonful of it in his hand. He holds it toward the baby, cooing at him to try and coax him into trying it. Ec whines and flails his arms around, pulling a face when Gregor holds the tubbers closer. It makes Gregor sigh, and he lowers the spoon back into the bowl. It’s not like the food goes to waste, at least. It’s pretty plain since he made it for Ec, but it’s still light years better than what they ate during the war and on Kamino. Troopers will fight over Ec’s uneaten meals if Gregor lets them. He sighs, looking away from Ec in defeat. Back to the drawing board. Nearby, Rayona and Hunter are both looking over at him and Ec, clearly abandoning whatever conversation they were having before. They glance at each other and Rayona sighs. 

“I’ll be back,” she says. Hunter nods and briefly sets a hand on her shoulder, perhaps to squeeze it, then Gregor watches as Rayona walks over to him. “It was a good try, Gregor. I’ll make sure he’s fed.” Gregor purses his lips and nods, looking back at Ec with a small frown. His spirit is lifted slightly when the General presses a kiss to his temple before picking up her son. She leaves the room to get Ec fed and Gregor sighs and stands up, glancing over at Hunter as he holds up the mashed tubbers. 

“Hungry?” 

After several more failed attempts at finding something Ec likes other than fruit, Gregor is running out of ideas. To his surprise, the solution comes from Wrecker. Gregor has just finished once again trying and failing to get Ec to eat something he made when the larger clone speaks up. 

“Do you remember that paste stuff they used to feed us on Kamino sometimes? It sort of tasted like fruit, I think…I dunno, I just remember Cross and Hunter used to like it. Tasted better than most of the stuff they gave us,” he says. It puzzles Gregor at first. Paste stuff that tastes like fruit? Since Wrecker mentions that Hunter and Crosshair enjoyed…whatever it was, Gregor asks them about it. 

“Jogansauce,” Crosshair drawls. “The Kaminoans would import crates of the stuff because it was cheap.” When Gregor thinks about it, that does sound familiar. 

“I remember that stuff. Tasted better than anything else they gave us on Kamino,” Hunter says, nodding along. He glances back at Gregor. “If you’re looking for something else to try with Ec, that might be a good place to start.” Gregor hums. He could probably make his own jogansauce, but that would probably be more expensive than just feeding Ec the fruit on its own. He nods after a moment. 

“Thanks. I’ll talk to Rex and Rayona,” he says. The two nod and Crosshair mumbles out a “Good luck” as Gregor walks away. 

Rayona hums, a finger curled around her chin. 

“Jogansauce, huh? They used to give that to us as younglings at the temple. Probably pretty cheap,” she says, before glancing at Rex. “Think Riyo could hook us up with some?” Rex sighs. 

“Senator Chuchi is busy, Rayona,” he says. Rayona raises an eyebrow and tilts her head at him. He sighs again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But I can ask in the next transmission.” Rayona grins, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek. 

“Thank you, Rex,” she all but coos. 

Alright. Moment of truth. Thanks to the kindness of Senator Riyo Chuchi, they have some small jars of jogansauce for Ec. Now, Gregor can only pray to whatever higher power there may be (the Force, maybe? That seemed to work for the Jedi) that Ec will actually eat it. The food won’t go to waste if he doesn’t, but he’s hoping it doesn’t come to that. The entire thing has even drawn a small crowd, consisting of Rayona, the Bad Batch, and Rex. Gregor sits before a hungry Ec, a spoonful of jogansauce poised on a small spoon in his hand. He takes a breath, then lifts the spoon toward Ec’s mouth. The child considers it for a moment, then opens his mouth. Gregor holds his breath and slowly feeds the spoonful to Ec. And the child makes a delighted little noise and giggles, slapping his hands against the little table in front of him. 

“Sweet grace of the Force, he likes it,” Rayona says, sounding relieved. Gregor could cry. He may not have made the food, but at least there’s finally something else they can feed Ec. He’s utterly relieved. He scoots a little closer, scooping up another spoonful and offering it to Ec. The baby eagerly devours it, making happy little gurgling noises. Gregor looks over his shoulder at the group. 

“Wrecker, you’re a genius!” he says. Wrecker blinks. 

“I am?” He looks down at Rayona, who nods, and he grins widely and laughs. “Oh yeah, I am! You hear that, Tech?” Wrecker nudges Tech’s arm, jostling the other man slightly. Tech adjusts his goggles, glancing over at Wrecker. 

“Yes, Wrecker, I heard,” he says. Rayona looks toward Gregor and her smile suddenly drops, changing to wide-eyed surprise. 

“Gregor, watch-” She’s barely finished taking a step toward him when he’s hit in the side of the face. He lifts his hand to wipe his cheek, looking back at Ec, who giggles. The child has jogansauce all over his hands and face. And, Gregor realizes, he threw some at Gregor’s face as well. Gregor blinks at the child, who simply laughs at him. Somewhere behind Gregor, someone snorts in an attempt to hide their laugh. Ec swings his hand at Gregor and a little more jogansauce hits him in the face. Rayona carefully creeps into his peripheral vision, her hands hiding her mouth, and he looks up at her. That’s all it takes for her to start giggling. “Oh, stars, I need a holo of this. Tech!” While Rayona continues to giggle, Gregor looks back at Ec. When the child smiles at him, Gregor can’t help but chuckle and smile back. 

“Little rascal,” he says, poking Ec’s cheek. Ec giggles and Gregor hears the sound of a holo being taken, but his attention is purely on the baby. It may have gotten a bit messy, but at least Ec is happy.

P.S. jogansauce is just space applesauce.

[chamberlains-ghoul]

Resident Evil AU: Leon is President Graham’s stepson and Ashley’s half-brother who causes problems on purpose.

His parents are still murdered, just not at the same time (his dad when he was small and his mother when he was around 15), so he still wants to be a police officer and hates the idea of being in politics. Graham publicly brags about Leon becoming a police officer but he’s actually pissed that Leon never went to college and ran away to the police academy instead. Especially since they had to cover up a lot of that situation because Leon basically moved cross-country without telling anyone.

Everything in RE2 basically stays the same except he doesn’t end up a government agent. He gets a lot of military training and becomes a lab rat (look, you can’t convince me that Leon doesn’t have some kind of immunity since a bite isn’t an insta-kill) for Sherry’s protection. He ends up an all-American anti-Umbrella poster boy for Graham’s campaign. He takes every loophole and opportunity to get around that, though, and ends up being Sort Of Controversial within the political sphere. He causes drama a lot, mostly as Ashley gets older so she stays out of the tabloids. Him being the only confirmed Raccoon City survivor still does a lot for Graham’s campaign, though.

He and Ashley were never close as little kids because of their age gap, but after their mom died, Leon took up a lot of the care-taker roles. She gets angry after he leaves for the academy because she feels like he abandoned her. After thinking he died in Raccoon City, then finding out he was alive, she forgives him. However, they’re mostly kept apart outside of public appearances since Graham doesn’t want Leon telling Ashley anything about what happened in Raccoon City.

In the events of RE4, Leon accompanies Ashley to her school for some kind of student government meeting. Krauser still picks them up and kidnaps them. They’re kept apart by Las Illuminados, and Leon escapes early on and is able to hide in the village. He finds Luis the same way and they’re still chained together, but in this AU Leon is obviously a civilian. He gets his little “oh god, why is this happening again” moment (like RE8 Ethan’s little mental breakdown) and Luis feels bad enough to stick around after they find the key.

Luis isn’t able to get away to meet Ada, so she eventually intervenes and reveals Luis is working for her and separates them. She tells Luis not to worry about Leon and that he could take care of himself and find Ashley. Since Leon’s well-known for being a Raccoon City survivor, Luis goes full guilt mode after finding out who he actually is.

Hunnigan isn’t there to tell Leon that Luis was Umbrella, but Leon is distrustful after finding out he’s working for Ada and still threatens him in that cabin and his interactions with him and Ada are similar to how they are in the game. However, I like this version of Leon to be a little more sheltered and naive despite RE2, so he becomes trusting of Luis and offers to take him to an American embassy with him and Ashley so he doesn’t have to work for Ada.

Leon tells Luis what Annette told him, about how Ada worked in weapons dealing and would sell Las Plagas to the highest bidder. Luis insists that he has faith in Ada, and he believes she won’t let the world burn even if her morals are gray. Luis eventually admits his history with Umbrella and Las Illuminados in the elevator, and that’s why he has so much faith in Ada. Because he was in a similar situation himself.

I like Luis and am an avid Serennedy supporter, so this is a Luis Lives AU. I also like the idea of Leon and Ashley presenting a sad Spanish war criminal to their father and begging to keep him.

So anyways do what you want with this AU. I might write something for it but idk.

[piracytheorist]

More thoughts on the adaptation choices!

There's an interesting change from manga to anime in chapter/episode 3, when the Forgers visit the opera.

In the manga, it's a female singer, and as I talked about in this post, she's singing the aria Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen from W. A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

In the anime, it's a male singer, and he's singing the poem Estuans Interius from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

There is one technical difference; Die Zauberflöte is an actual opera (= with a story and actors and roles and such), so it makes sense when they say they went to an opera. Carmina Burana is a cantata (= no specific story, no actors or roles and all that, just collected poems brought to music), you wouldn't say you'd go to the opera then listen to that work. Unless a) they just say opera to mean anything related to classical music or b) Estuans Interius is actually an aria from an opera in that universe. I don't know why they'd go to listen to an opera written in Latin, but I digress.

Now again, it was a choice to change the musical piece that was performed in this scene. I don't know whether they couldn't have a performance of Der Hölle Rache due to copyright issues (and it's one of the hardest arias in the entire Western opera repertoire; it's not like they can just hire a soprano to sing it just for a small scene, so they'd have to use an existing performance). Mozart may have been dead for 231 slutty slutty years but copyrights are a tough nut to deal with.

That said, there's also interest in seeing the meaning of the two musical pieces. Der Hölle Rache is about the Queen of the Night asking her daughter, Pamina, to go and kill her own father, Sarastro; if she doesn't, she will disown her for life. Here's a translation of the libretto:

The vengeance of hell boils in my heart, Death and despair flame about me! If Sarastro does not through you feel The pain of death, Then you will be my daughter nevermore. Disowned may you be forever, Abandoned may you be forever, Destroyed be forever All the bonds of nature, If not through you Sarastro becomes pale! (as death) Hear, Gods of Revenge, Hear a mother's oath!

That's... a little rough, when attempting to make a connection between that and what the Forgers are currently trying to build. Though I doubt Endo meant for any such subtext; it's a little too subtle and has a lot of layers for me to consider it a connection the reader was supposed to make. I think it was simply an aesthetic choice because she does look pretty badass.

You don't hear the words in the manga. It took me looking carefully at the notes and the costume, going like "Could it be...?" and finding the sheet music for that aria to realize Endo was depicting the Queen of the Night there. So he could comfortably depict a character who wants her own daughter to kill her father, otherwise she'll abandon and disown her, without the readers making any connection between that and the actual story.

But in the anime, you do hear the words. The words "Then you will be my daughter nevermore" come right after the notes shown in the first manga panel. Imagine knowing German (or knowing what this aria is about), watching this show of three randos trying to build a family, and then getting hit with that. Yeah, you'd very likely make an unfortunate connection.

So they chose a different work, one that piques my interest as a musician, both itself and its composer.

Carl Orff is one of the most well known musicians... but if you asked me, I know him better as a music educator rather than a composer. I'm like "Yeah the guy whose education theories I learned at university! Oh he also wrote Carmina Burana." Many of those theories we use up to this day. His name was one of the most used in our education classes, along with names like Montessori and Piaget. So considering how the story includes two people who are trying to learn how to be good parents, it's very interesting that they had a reference to one of the most influential music educators. I don't know. Maybe I'm seeing too much into it. I still find it interesting.

As for the work, Carmina Burana is well known among classical musicians for being... provocative. A lot of the songs are about carnal pleasures, and Estuans Interius is no exception. You can find translations of the poems used here, if you're interested. Here is a translation of what is sung in that scene specifically:

Chains cannot hold me, Keys cannot imprison me, I look for people like me and join the wretches. The heaviness of my heart seems a burden to me; it is pleasant to joke and sweeter than honeycomb;

Now that is something easier to connect to the Forgers, innit? The context of the entire poem gives a specific meaning to the lyrics, but it's the part that we hear that matters in the context of the story, and I pretty much love how that part speaks of resistance, of being deemed a "wretch" for not following the norm, of joining a community of said "wretches", and of how that can free someone of the burden of pretending in order to conform.