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sissytobitch10seconds · 10 months

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One Hell of a Beginning

Fandom: Umbrella Academy Summary: Viktor has to go on a grand quest to tell a man he's had a crush on since his Freshman year of college that he got pregnant after they spent one night together at a party while slightly tipsy. Warnings: Pregnancy, mentions of abortion, trans male pregnancy, and anxiety attacks Word Count: 6,737 Ship(s): Five Hargreeves/Viktor Hargreeves

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A/N: So a couple people wanted to see the way that Five reacted to the baby from the first part of this series, so I wrote it! It's very unlikely that I'm going to write anything else in this series because I feel like it'd be the same thing as what I wrote in a couple other fics but with different things going on in the background. I hope that you guys can enjoy this! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

Allison was going to get suspicious the longer that they had to dance around her, Viktor knew that.

Despite that knowledge and him being an overall smart person in general, he kept moving the goalpost to try and avoid completing the plan that he and Klaus had come up with. The note stared him in the face from the homescreen of his phone, constantly reminding him of what he had to do every time he opened up one of his relax-time games or tried to flick through social media between classes.

Classes were almost finished, most professors having already given their finals and graduation nearing. Viktor had finished enough of his work that he had basically nothing to do other than catch up on sleep.

He had wondered over the past couple of weeks how much harder it would have been to keep his secret from his roommate if he didn’t have the excuse of being a college student. He knew that a lot of their hallmates had the same kind of attitude as he did, so he was able to skate under the radar. Sleeping all the time could be blamed on him catching up on the sleep that he had missed while he was studying for finals. Mood swings could be passed off on the anxiety and stress that came with graduating and having to move out into the real world. The vomiting was harder to explain since Viktor made a rule of not drinking more than a single mixed drink even when in his own dorms, but even then he could just wave it off saying that his body was unhappy with their new final-induced diet. Finals were a good excuse for cravings as well since he could say that it was a good way to get his body’s daily nutrients quickly or some other poorly worded excuse.

The only problem was that Allison was smart and had been living with Viktor for four years. She was getting suspicious and he could tell by the way that she continued to try and pry into him whenever he gave her one of those excuses. He usually tried to make sure that he ate three square meals a day even if that happened to be while walking to his next class or around a book about music theory. She knew that he slept for at least five hours a night and supplemented the missed sleep with coffee during finals. She knew that he made sure to eat a balance of junk and healthy foods, something that had been drilled into him by his parents.

The last straw was going to be a combination of the appointment Klaus had just picked him up for and him going to church last Sunday. He usually only went to church when his parents were in town and they weren’t going to be showing up until graduation in two weeks. He had gone because he had felt like it was important to try and access the spirituality that his parents had always promised was there, but he had never felt. It was the same, despite the little life that he was carrying inside of him. He was considering taking Jayme up on their offer to attend the full moon rituals she was holding with her coven just to see if that would help either.

Something about learning that he was pregnant had completely changed how he had looked at the world. The decision to go through with the pregnancy and keep the baby had been another step towards that change, but not as much as the test coming back positive. A part of him deep inside must have known that would be the answer he was going to give when he got the result before even he did. It felt more final than any other decision in his life had. He knew that he would have been able to back out of college if he needed to, or move out of the dorm that he shared with a stranger at the time. There was always something to fall back on or a way to get out of that decision, but not with this one.

Viktor was standing in front of the door to his own apartment, frozen with fear. He knew that what he was going to do next didn’t even involve having to talk about his little secret. The only thing that he had to do was ask for something, he didn’t have to explain it if he didn’t want to. Even after prompting.

Those were Klaus’ words, Viktor would never be brave enough to refuse to give information to Allison when she looked at him with that unsure expression. He always wanted to reassure her that he was okay and validate every decision that he made that she didn’t approve of. She had that kind of motherly tendency about her despite her penchent of making bad decisions herself. The voice mails from her ex-boyfriend from Freshman year were proof enough of that.

“You can do this,” he muttered to himself as he grasped the handle to the door and then walked in.

Allison was sitting on the couch with Raymond, he current boyfriend and an English major. They had a couple of books on the coffee table that they were purposefully ignoring despite the fact that Viktor knew their finals weren’t quite over yet.

“Hey, you’re home,” Allison smiled as she turned to look back at her roommate.

“That I am,” he replied as he closed the door behind him. He was trying to look casual as he shed his jacket and then dumped it on the little counter that they had in their makeshift kitchen. Their dorm was better than a lot of the other ones offered by the university, but it was still shit. He was glad he was going to be graduating and moving into a new apartment before the baby came.

Even just thinking about the fact that in a few months time he was going to have a whole child relying on him for their every need sent a shiver of anxiety up his spine. He always wished that he had kept the jacket on while traversing through his apartment after he remembered that the only remaining physical proof of his pregnancy was tucked into the pocket.

He tried to play it cool as he walked into the living room so that he was standing next to the couch. He awkwardly folded his arms over his chest and stomach, which hadn’t begun to change in a noticeable way but Viktor was still very nervous about. He cleared his throat and then shifted from foot to foot as he asked, “Do you think that you could give me Luther’s number?”

Allison had been half ignoring him the entire time that he was back in their apartment, obviously hoping that he would go to his room or pick up whatever he needed to spend time with Klaus. He was usually out of their dorm when she had her boyfriend over after the time that he had heard them being intimate through the paper thin wall that separated their rooms from each other. When she heard him ask that, her brows immediately flew into her hairline and she turned to look at him, “What?”

“Y-you still have it, right? I know that it would be totally in your right to delete it since what you guys had didn’t even really last that long and was totally weird but I know that you still talk sometimes so I was hoping that you would still have it and would feel comfortable giving it to me,” he rambled. The words were tumbling out of his mouth until they were basically overlapping and on top of each other.

She held up her hand to silence him before he could continue his ramble. While he had been talking she was untangling her legs from Ray’s so that she could stand up and face him properly. “Viktor, I don’t mean what number, I meant why did you want it? You and Luther had about one conversation and it went poorly because he’s a huge himbo. Why do you want his number?”

“I need it,” he said, which was entirely unhelpful. Viktor tried to wrack his mind for excuses that he could give her about why he wanted the number.

It had apparently been too long since her initial ask as she then said, “I know, but why?”

“I’m trying to get some information from him that I really need,” his eyes flickered over to Allison. He knew that if he told her then Ray would hear again quickly, but for some reason his brain was more okay with him hearing through his girlfriend than through his own mouth. Usually it would be the other way around since he had been the subject of several nasty gossip trains when they were in college, so he preferred that people just not talk about him as a whole. However, having to tell everyone that he was one of those people that got pregnant on a one night stand in college wasn’t really something he wanted to have to keep admitting.

“Why don’t I step out for a moment and give you two a second to talk? You can let me know when it’s okay to come back,” Ray said as he got up from the couch. He held Allison’s waist to bring her closer so that he could kiss her cheek.

“Thank you, baby,” she murmured as she brushed her hand over the side of his face.

Viktor’s heart ached as he wished that he could have that kind of relationship with Five. If he had just had the guts to go up and talk to him then he wouldn’t have ended up pregnant at twenty-two with no one to help him raise the kid other than his childhood best friend. Had things gone well, there was the slightest chance that he would have ended up pregnant at twenty-two with the man of his dreams at his side and a pleasant future smiling at them both. Then he wouldn’t have to spend the rest of his life explaining that his child wasn’t an accident, but a surprise that happened earlier in their life than they had intended.

He had spent a lot of time over the past couple of weeks daydreaming instead of continuing on with the plan that he and Klaus had made.

Once the door clicked shut and signified that they were really as alone as they could in the dorm block, Viktor took a deep breath to steady his nerves. His nausea had been playing up since his best friend had sat down next to him in the canteen to let him know that he had to get started on the plan or it was never going to happen. “I’m pregnant, Allison.”

“With Luther’s kid?” she gasped, her eyes widening big enough that they were basically consuming her entire face.

“What? NO!” he shouted immediately. She had been right about him and Luther only having one real interaction with each other. It had been when they were Freshman and Allison was still playing the will-they-won’t-they game with him like she had done with a string of men during that year. They had gotten hostile with each other, which had been the deciding factor for the relationship that it wasn’t going to be happening. Since then they had both changed and settled out so they could chat when they were in a group together in one of their shared classes and didn’t have to glare at each other in the hallways.

Given that their relationship had started off in such a bad place, it only made sense that Allison would be so flabbergasted at the idea of them putting aside their grudge to the point where they could sleep together and Viktor could conceive.

He let out a sigh as he began to pull at the ends of his fingers. “The baby is Five’s, his twin brothers. Five is really fucking antisocial so the only way that I can reach out to him is through his brother because the only person that would have his number doesn’t text people,” he groused.

This hadn’t been his original plan, to go through two different people so that he could get the number he needed. However, when he had asked Lila about it she had just laughed and showed off the conversation that she had through Instagram. Viktor had later learned, while complaining about how much she sucked, through Diego that was the only way she talked with anyone. Apparently her adoptive mother was the only person that had her number so that she could handle the notifications differently and avoid accidentally reading a message she wasn’t prepared to reply to.

Viktor felt a little bit guilty as he remmebered that Diego still wasn’t in the loop. The two of them had been closer than he was with Allison because their interests aligned more and they actually spent quality time together. Viktor considered himself to be friends with Allison, of course, but he and Diego had reached the same level that he had with Klaus. To an extent, he supposed, seeing as Klaus knew about the baby while Diego didn’t.

A couple of months ago, he thought that the most complicated part of his life was going to be the transition from college to his first job.

Allison had apparently come to her senses. She toyed with the end of one of her braids as she asked, “Is that why you’ve been acting so weird?”

“Huh?” he asked, intelligently, since he had been so trapped in his own mind that he had lost their place in the conversation.

“The baby. Is that why you and Klaus have been acting so weird?” she reiterated.

Another wave of guilt. “Yeah, I’m sorry. Originally we didn’t want to tell anyone because I wanted Five to be the first person to know other than Klaus. Klaus was there with me when I took the test which is the only reason that he knows. I was going to tell you eventually…”

“Are you keeping it?” she asked next, her eyes flickering around their tiny dorm room apartment.

“I’m not due until well after we graduate, it’s not like I’ve been keeping this from you for months and months. I found out six weeks ago and I’m barely even at the tale end of my first trimester,” he explained. “I just… I’ve been putting this off for as long as I can and now I can’t anymore. We’re graduating in two weeks and I just got my first ultrasound done so I really need to tell Five so that I can give him the chance to be involved in his kid’s life.”

“Do you think he’s going to want to be?” Allison asked. She grabbed her phone from where it had been resting on top of all the books she wasn’t using to study.

Viktor dropped his head down into one of his hands. His feet were already beginning to ache despite how early he was into his pregnancy. He wanted to pass out and ignore his problems until a much, much later date but if he did that then he would have to answer to his best friend. “I have no idea. I’ve had a crush on him since we were freshman and while he’s absolutely gorgeous and very intelligent, he keeps his personal life so guarded that I didn’t even know Luther was his twin until four months ago.”

She laughed and then handed him her phone, open to the contact that he needed. He pulled out his own phone and then copied the information he needed before he handed it back to her. “Thank you for helping me with this, Allison.”

“Of course. What kind of asshole would I be if I stopped you from getting into contact with your baby daddy?” she laughed as she dropped her phone back down onto the table.

Viktor cringed, “Don’t ever say that to me again.”

Another laugh as she pulled him into a hug. It felt nice to be in the comforting embrace of another one of his friends, confirmed that they didn’t hate him for the slip up in judgment that he had that resulted in a life changing consequence.

Allison kissed the top of his head and then said, “But I am going to be the type of asshole to kick you out of your own apartment. I want my boyfriend back here, so you have to scoot.”

---

Klaus’ dorm was very different from Viktor’s. Instead of being what was essentially a mini-apartment that his mother had helped him pay for, it was a standard cinderblock room. Klaus had managed to drive away every single roommate that he had ever had to the point where the administrators had given up trying to room him with anyone. That meant that he had pushed both of the single beds together and stretched a custom-altered queen-sized sheet over the mattresses to give himself a larger bed. His walls were cluttered with posters and overdue assignments, the ceiling stained from when he had been chain smoking cigarettes when they were sophomores (his mother had gotten so upset at him for it that he had quit almost immediately after she found out). His floor was littered with washed and unwashed laundry, more assignments, and enough baggies of weed to kill a large badger.

The weed was remaining unsmoked this time, though they had shared a joint or two every other time that they had been in his dorm. There wasn’t a lot of research about what marijuana would do to an unborn fetus since it had been criminalized for so long, but Viktor knew that smoking was bad so he assumed that he should just avoid the whole fiasco altogether.

He was spread out on top of Klaus’ bed after shoving the laundry that took up a fourth of it onto the ground. He was sitting with his legs crossed and his back propped up against the pillows with one hand pressed to where his child was steadily growing. He had his phone in the other hand, typing awkwardly with only one thumb.

“This entire thing feels so weird,” he muttered.

“That’s like the thousandth time you’ve said that since it all began. We get it, being pregnant is like totally bonkers,” Klaus teased.

He stopped when Viktor sent him a look, obviously not in the mood for that kind of thing. “Klaus, you know that this is really stressing me out. What if Luther and Five turn out to be total assholes? I know that his relationship with that theoretical physicist undergrad has changed Luther or whatever but we’ve ended up snarling at each other every time that we’ve had a long conversation other than once. Now I’m asking him for his brother’s number because I’m carrying his nibling! That’s fucking insane.”

“You’re right, it is weird. But Luther isn’t an asshole anymore. Sloane really made him change who he was and realize that the world didn’t revolve around him. Five is just weird in general,” Klaus shrugged. “Here, read me what you’ve got so far.”

“I just said: ‘Hey, this is Viktor from Mythology and History. I know we’re not super close but I need a favor and you’re the only person left that I can ask’. Which, I know, is super cryptic and not really the best way to start the conversation but I already sent it,” he grumbled.

“If you already sent it and it’s a text then there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve just gotta learn to roll with the flow, Vik! Everything is gonna turn out okay in the end, you know that. We’re gonna raise this baby together as the best village a kid could ever ask for regardless of whether or not Five wants to be involved in their life,” he soothed. He had given Viktor that speech throughout the entire process of his pregnancy so far. Every step of their plan had felt like scaling an entire mountain in one go, overwhelming and nearly impossible.

Viktor was glad that he had Klaus by his side because if he hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t have even gotten as far as he had. “I know, thanks,” he grasped his best friend’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. Klaus was laying with his back pressed to the edge of the bedframe and his head tilted backwards so that he could look at Viktor while they were talking. When they weren’t, he was facing forward and doing a rather crude sketch of their teacher for a last-minute assignment he had neglected.

The pregnant musician jumped when his phone sounded to let him know that he had gotten another text. He relayed it to Klaus as he read it, “‘Hey Viktor, Allison let me know that you got my number from her earlier. What did you need?’ Klaus, what do I even say to that? Do I explain why I need his brother’s number or do I just ask for it?”

“Just ask for it. I never give an explanation even after I’ve been prompted to do so,” he smirked.

That got a little laugh out of him, which drained some of the tension from the surrounding room. He sent off the message requesting the other man’s number. Luther sent him a question mark and then the number before asking him what it was about. Viktor tried to assuage any worry or confusion he had by promising that he would explain it later.

He set up the contact for Five with shaking hands before he sent a message eerily similar to the one that he had just sent the other twin. “Here, this is what I have so far: ‘Hey, my name is Viktor. We met at a party a couple of months ago and I need to talk to you about something very important. Do you have a time/place we could meet up?’”

“From a logical stand point that is a very good message, however, I think that it would be a lot funnier if you said that you had something of his,” Klaus grinned.

“The baby is not a possession to be owned,” Viktor bit out immediately afterwards. His own father had tried that when attempting to get custody of Viktor when he was younger, which of course had not passed in the American court of law.

He sent off the message and then collapsed down onto the bed as he waited for a reply. He got one pretty quickly afterwards, simply giving him a dorm block number and a time. “I guess I’m going to be revealing the fact that I’m carrying my long-term crushes baby to him in a week.”

Klaus flipped around and then snatched the phone back from him to look it over. “Man, he didn’t even say hi back. Do you want me to come with you or are you gonna be good?”

“I think that I should be okay to do the whole meeting with just the two of us. Having you there might be awkward. Will you walk me there?” Viktor asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Klaus easily promised.

---

A week before graduation and a week into his second trimester with a pregnancy he had never expected to carry, Viktor and Klaus were wandering down the complicated sidewalks of their college campus to try and find a specific address. The GPS that they were using was very upset that they weren’t on the road, despite the fact that they were not in a car and had to be on the sidewalk. They had been going in relative silence as Viktor rehearsed things that he could say to Five once the time actually came over and over again in his head.

They were finally told that they had arrived at their destination in front of a tall dorm block next to a frat house. It was one of the cleaner frat houses on campus, without the trash littering the yard and generally pleasant looking people milling about in the front. The dorm block itself was nearly twenty stories and painted the same gentle purple as the schools’ overall color scheme. It was well kept on the outside and completely devoid of people coming in and out of it. That wasn’t as rare as it would have been earlier in the year since everyone was so close to graduating that they either wanted to catch up on sleep, had to study, or didn’t even want to be on campus more than they absolutely had to.

Viktor paused and looked to the top floor as if that would somehow help him feel more steady with what he was going to have to do. He had barely slept the night before because he had been so anxious about what the next day would entail.

He snapped out of his thoughts again when Klaus placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder, “You sure that you’re going to be okay? You know, doing this alone?”

“I don’t think that it’s going to have the same punch if I have someone there while I explain that he knocked me up,” he muttered. He ran a hand through his bangs to try and right them. When he had gotten up earlier that morning they had refused to lay flat, the dark chocolate locks already growing thicker and wilder than they ever had before in his life. His nails had also begun to grow quicker and gotten thicker, which was apparently a symptom of pregnancy no one online bothered to talk about.

Klaus didn’t seem so convinced. He wrapped Viktor up in a hug and while kissing the top of his head said, “If anything gets weird or bad you tell me right away and I’ll force Ben to come and check on you with me.”

Viktor laughed, his troubles melting away in the safety of his best friend’s arms. “You know that I will. You’re going to be the first person after Five to know how it all went down. And if it goes bad you better be prepared to pick up the pieces because I can only manage one person at a time and right now that means baby is my responsibility.”

“I know,” he chuckled as he pressed another kiss to the top of his head. “Now go. Actually tell him or there will be Hell to pay from me!”

The smaller man laughed and waved him off as he began towards the dorm block. He walked through the front door and then to the elevator at the back of the long hallway. There was a bulletin board inside that had a myriad of different declarations, such as when the graduation party was going to be, that someone was offering guitar lessons, when quiet hours were (that one had been scribbled over with a myriad of different colors to give each person their own quiet hours), a petition to make the dorm animal-friendly, and half of an essay that had a large boot print in the middle.

The elevator ride up to the floor that he had been given was slow and wobbly, since nothing in any of the dorm blocks was ever great. The one where Five lived was a little bit cleaner and tidier in the halls than the one where Viktor lived with Allison and leagues better than Klaus’.

The anxiety that he had been fighting with since early in the evening the day before had returned with a vengeance. It was sitting like a massive pit in his stomach, eating away at his insides until all he could feel was nausea. His hands were shaky as he stepped out of the elevator, forced to release the metal bar that had been there to help people stabilize during the jerky movements. His stomach clenched around the single mini-muffin that he had been able to shove into himself for breakfast. His lungs choked on the air that he was breathing and helped spread the anxiety around his body.

He was able to force himself forward so that he was slowly stalking down the hall. He didn’t know if the queasiness roiling in the back of his throat was because of the pregnancy or his anxiety, but he was ignoring it as best he could to focus instead on his mission.

He stopped in front of the door number that he had been given and rose his hand to knock. After he did, he closed his eyes and breathed a few times to calm himself down. The silence stretched on for thirty seconds before the door finally opened, and towards the end of his wait Viktor had begun to suspect that he had been tricked and that wasn’t actually Five’s dorm.

The door opened and Luther was standing in front of him, all at once. That had confirmed that he was at least at a place that could bring him to the man he really needed to talk to. He didn’t want to have to ask Luther for that kind of help again since it would almost definitely involve him explaining the pregnancy to another person before he did it to Five, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Uh, sorry, he’s inside. I’ll just step out and give the two of you some privacy,” he said awkwardly. He shuffled past Viktor and out into the hallway. It was odd to have someone with Luther’s bulk and height act like he was the ticking time bomb when Viktor struggled to push five feet tall and had always been awkwardly gangly.

“Thanks,” he gave an uncomfortable smile of his own. Once Luther had gotten fully out of the way, he inched past the slightly-closed door and into the dorm.

The apartment was just as nice on the inside as the block had been on the outside. There was a dining space and a small kitchen that actually had some counter space and a one-burner stovetop. The floor was hardwood, or at least a lookalike, and the walls were painted white with several classy paintings hung tastefully around the space. There were three doors on the wall opposite the kitchen space, one of which was open to reveal a neat little bathroom with chipper white tile along the walls and the floor. The other two doors were shut, though one of them opened to reveal the man that Viktor had spent the last week trying to chase down.

The violinist shut the door behind him so that they had some semblance of privacy while surrounded by strangers that probably had nothing better to do than listen in on their conversation, despite the hallways of the dorm block being mostly empty when Viktor was traveling through them.

“Hey,” he said awkwardly as he walked further into the apartment. He had his hands out in front of himself and was running the edge of his thumb nail over the callouses on the tips of his fingers to try and avoid the impulse to pull out the ultrasound in his pocket to play with that instead.

“Hello,” Five greeted rather tersely. He shut the door to his bedroom behind him and then walked over to the dining table in the center of the room. It was there where couches and chairs, or even bean bags and pillows on the ground, should have been. Viktor guessed that it was more conducive to the kind of studying that a future mathematician was going to have to do.

“I know that this is, uh, awkward and you probably don’t even remember who I am, but,” he paused for a second as he tried to find the right words. In his mind it sounded like was lying because he couldn’t even get through a single sentence without tripping over himself like some kind of child.

What was said next surprised him, to the point where his entire mind lost what he was trying to figure out how to say entirely. “I know who you are,” Five smiled. It looked a little awkward on his face, like he was somehow inherently more suited to scowling, but he was so handsome that Viktor almost swooned on the spot.

“You do?” he felt his face beginning to flush.

“Of course I do,” he nodded. “But I shouldn’t have interrupted you, go on.”

They were sitting down at the dining table at that point, across from each other like what was happening was some sort of strange business transaction instead of the most life-changing news Viktor was ever going to have to tell someone. It felt like a bigger deal than when he had told his mother he was trans.

“So, we met up at a party a while ago. Um, I don’t usually go to parties so I don’t have anything to define it by but we… slept together,” Viktor explained awkwardly. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and then pulled out the ultrasound as he set it down on the table, “I’m pregnant.”

Five was silent as he reached over and picked up the singular piece of paper. He held it to his face, his brow furrowing together and his already surly eyes becoming even more intense as he scrutinized the mess of black and white blobs for something Viktor couldn’t even name.

“I see,” he replied as he sat the photo back down on the table at the half way point between them. All of the joy that he had carried upon seeing Viktor was gone, hidden behind emotions that the violinist couldn’t even dream of reading.

He took the ultrasound back and then began on a nervous spiel that had been trying to force its way out of his mouth the entire time that he was watching Five study their unborn child. “I don’t expect you to be involved at all. I wanted to let you know because you deserve to have a say if you want one, but technically part of that say is deciding that you don’t. I’m not going to get an abortion since this is my body and I get to decide what medical procedures I do and do not want done. But I also thought that you deserved to know that you had a kid running around somewhere in the world even if you don’t want anything to do with us. Which I’m not saying that you will want, because I wouldn’t really want that if I had the kind of career ideas that people say you do. Um, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I wanted you to know that our genetics are going to be running around as a kid but I’m not expecting even child support, so, uh, yeah.”

After he finished speaking, Five sat there for a moment while blinking. His face was still a unreadable mask and his eyes were still storming with thoughts. Viktor wondered, just for a moment, if that was what he always looked like when he was thinking or if it was unique to their situation because of the bomb that Viktor had just dropped on him.

“And you’re sure that the baby is mine?” Five asked, something akin to hope glimmering in the back of his tone.

“I don’t get out that much,” Viktor nodded. “The party thing was a fluke and I made a bunch of decisions I probably should have been more cautious about. So not only does the timing add up, it’s kind of impossible to get pregnant from a guy you slept with six months ago.”

“Right,” Five nodded. He sat back in his chair and then ran his hand through his hair, displacing the locks so that they hung messily down around his forehead.

He shook his head and then looked back up at Viktor, his eyes cleared but his face still contorted with stress. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything about you. I just didn’t realize that this was a thing that could happen to me.”

“I didn’t think that it was something that could happen to me either, I’m usually really careful. But it did,” he shrugged awkwardly.

“I’m not upset about this, by the way. I don’t blame you and I don’t think you’re trying to trap me. I’m willing to help you in any way that you see fit,” Five said. “I can pay you child support, co-parent, have limited custody. Whatever works best for you.”

Viktor fidgeted as he tried to get the words out in a coherent way, despite the jumble of thoughts rushing through his mind. He was still in love with Five the same way that he had been when he was a dumb teenager spotting him across the hall during their orientation. His heart still fluttered at the thought of being near him again and his stomach still flipped at the proximity from even across the table. He was having a baby with someone that he was head over heels in love with, the kind of love that made his heart ache in his chest and his skin feel red hot, but not in the way that he had hoped.

“I want you to be involved in their life, like actually involved. My dad was really absent and it fucked me up. So if you’re going to do this then you really need to do this. You can’t decide that you don’t want to halfway through and then give them abandonment issues,” Viktor said seriously. It was hard to toss away the puppy dog feelings bubbling up in his chest but he had to worry about his child over his own feelings and emotions.

Five barked out a laugh and then looked embarrassed. “I apologize, I wasn’t laughing at you. Child abandonment isn’t something that my mothers would ever allow me to do. Even if I didn’t want to be a parent, which I do, there would be a chance that they would force me into some level of it anyway. Just to make sure that you and the baby would be supported, of course. They respect my bodily autonomy and choices with my life.”

“Okay,” Viktor nodded, feeling suddenly very overwhelmed with the whole ordeal. “So we can talk more about what we want co-parenting to look like in the future, we’ve got another two trimesters to get to before we’re there. And I need a nap.”

“Would you like me to walk you back to your dorm?”

“No, thank you,” he flushed. The idea of being led back to his home was something that he had dreamed about on that fateful night of conception, but this would be a lot different than that. For one, it was the middle of the day. He was also already pregnant with Five’s child and the two of them probably weren’t going to be having any chemistry because of that. “My best friend is waiting outside because he didn’t trust me to not just turn and run. I’ll let you know when the next appointment is if you’d like to join me for that, though.”

“I would love to. And I would also like to request a copy of the ultrasound if at all possible,” Five smiled warmly. It made Viktor’s insides feel gooey and like he was going to melt on the spot.

“I can do that,” Viktor nodded confidently. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“Right, yeah,” he sprang up from the table while nodding. He walked over to the door and then opened it for Viktor, which resulted in them having another awkward set of goodbyes at the front of the dormroom where neither of them were sure what level of a relationship they were on with each other.

Finally, Viktor was back down on the ground floor and texted Klaus to come and get him so they could walk home. He refused to give any details other than the fact that it went well, but forced his best friend to cuddle with him while he napped off the stresses of the day and night before.

#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #ao3 #archive of our own #tua #the umbrella academy #fiktor #five x viktor #viktor x five #viktor hargreeves #five hargreeves #luther hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #raymond chestnut #allison hargreeves #three to start series #one hell of a beginning fic

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by-glass-and-waves · 1 year

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I like the idea of each of my three AU/fanfic ideas having a slightly different Narinder, slightly different Lamb(?)

or at least I hope they're distinct enough, Depression Quest and Courtship Lamb may be similar, but it doesn't make sense for moody trainwreck Courtship!Narinder to swap with dumbass trainwreck Restart!Narinder. Maybe he could switch with Restart!TOWW lmao

I'm gonna write some notes - which might change - on the pair/story for each AU because god knows if/when I'll actually write Depression Quest or Restart, at least we have some shitty doodles right

i promise i am working on Courtship i have done the Spongebob

THE

so far

... actually I'm nervous posting this fml sorry guys who are looking for delicious Courtship/Restart goodies

spoilers ahead for my Depression Quest AU/fic/whatever it is if spoilers for a nonexistent work matter to youwu. I'll blob a hopefully readable version of what story beats I had and link the two posts whenever it happens

ALSO CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNING SI/HI/THOUGHTS+ACTIONS OF HARMING SELF AND OTHERS/DEPRESSION

Depression Quest:

Lamb (she/they, mostly they)

poor babby beat down by the world and killed by the Bishops

gets the Red Crown and starts mowing them down with glee

they're a good leader, they're saving the Lands of the Old Faith from the Bishops, the Cult loves them

and it looks like The One Who Waits is as just as shitty as the others, can't have that, they are way better than he could ever be

so maybe they get a little too power happy and go a little too hard on the whole heroic leader thing

when he is conquered, TOWW is seen as nothing more than a trophy, a piece of property just like the Crowns surrounding his house

they act merciful, but Narinder knows it's just to make him submit, knows that they're just as power-hungry as he was

they let him run away because they'll always know where he is, and they want to see what happens/how long it takes before he crawls back to them

Narinder

finally gets revengeance on his family who threw him in jail, gets released from his prison just to get beat up and thrown into a gilded cage

he is depressed. he is angry. he has nothing left

I'm talking SI/HI, self-harm, screaming and breaking things, pushing Baal and Aym away, and crying on the floor breakdown shit

resists for a long time but eventually starts integrating into the Cult, only to get betrayed by a jealous follower

Narinder has a breakdown because he was stupid enough to think things would be better, so he runs away from the Cult

he encounters Ratoo and they bond over loss :'( but just like Ratoo, he never quite gets over things :(((((((

Ratoo might be the only person he'd call a friend/someone he trusts

addendum: narinder's third eye: he keeps it closed like in canon but technically he can open it, just really difficult and it fucking hurts to do it anyway

over time he gets a little strength to open it for short amounts of time but it still hurt

there's a few times when he gets angried or whatever when he accidentally attempts to open it and he goes OH FUCK OW and maybe it'll set his head straight

Depression Quest may have a bittersweet ending in which the Bishops return and were able to Get Over It™ in the Afterlife due to their actual support network, but I don't know tbh

I do know if they did return/if Narinder meets them again somehow, it'd just be like, sad, guarded, they'll reconcile but it's not the same kind of relationship deal

When I first came up with Depression Quest in September I was like, maybe Lamb is just protecting the baby and won't push him or anything because they love him and stuff

then as time passed I was like okay that's complete and utter bullshit and besides, Narinder is so consumed with his losses there is no way he could into a relationship in the near future. Sometimes people just can't move on :(

I also don't know how the Narinder/Ratoo friendshit even happened guys, it was just the idea of Narinder walking into Ratoo's heart pond and going "what the fuck are you doing" and things went from there

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chocoenvy · 2 years

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Some questions for something I plan to write soon, if you don't mind answering that is.

What types of personalities do you think would mesh well with each Archon? And in the case of Venti, Zhongli, Ei, and the Tsaritsa, what personality would they fall for the hardest?

How do you think the Archons would react to each of the current seven being sent a "companion" by the Creator?

Of course!! I'll try and answer as best I can.

Nahida: I think she'd mesh well with someone like Zhongli or Klee. (currently haven't finished the archon quest so take this with a grain of salt) But she isn't accustomed to the world or human emotions. She'd LOVE to hear Zhongli's stories. No matter what it is or who it's about. When she sees the sad and forlorn expression on his face she starts to understand empathy. She doesn't know what to do, nor the words to say, but Zhongli doesn't need them. He's come to terms with everything for a long time, so it's easy on Nahida. Same with Klee! Though Klee is a lot more for dragging Nahida around on her adventures instead of telling her stories, Nahida is all for it though! Meeting all the new people is a little overwhelming but Klee always seems to make it easy.

For Zhongli, perhaps someone like Hu Tao or Childe. A fun character that despite how seemingly different they are, they get along so well. Someone that doesn't mind hearing his stories but is also a little bit of a brat. Or like Guizhong! I know we don't know much about her but I imagine she had quite the quick wit to her and the brightest smile. I think he finds himself enjoying the company of these bright characters.

Venti feels like he just gets along with everyone! But I think in order to build a deeper connection with him, you'd have to find him when he's in his lowest. Venti has a showman feel about him, like he's never really off stage. If you can find him off stage, in his weakest moments, even if there are no tears, and still look at him the same, he'll build a strong connection. For example I think he'd build a strong friendship with Hu Tao but it would only be surface level. I think he'd build a deeper bond with the Traveler and/or Xiao (maybe? idk xiao too well) Because they can find him with his guard down and have the heart to understand, but also have the humanity to treat him as the same Venti. Hope that makes sense hdhahfsadf

Raiden Ei!!! Gets along with very few people. It's a very fickle process being friends with her, because she pushes everyone away but if you're persistent she'd just back away more. I think the only way she'd become friends with you is if you're a friend of one of her friends! So if you were introduced to her through Yae Miko! She'd be a bit suspicious (because Miko always has alternative motives) but she'd give you a chance. Or if it's pre-cataclysm and her friends have high praise of you she'd definitely give you a chance! Though I feel like she doesn't like leaving her comfort zone and strangers are number one on her do not approach. So she'd probably hang out with her in company of her friend(s) first. It'd be a slow process getting close to Raiden Ei but if you have the right connections and an iron will it's not.... entirely impossible!

TSARITSA!!!!!! Complete speculation bc. u know. she doesn't exist. BUT! As the goddess of love I think she has a big heart. It's dead and doesn't beat but u know it's there. Because a lot of cryo users are down on their luck, with Qiqi and Kaeya on the verge of death getting their visions. I think the Tsaritsa has an affinity for outcasts, especially considering those that she chose to be her harbingers. She's practically picking up strays from the street. So! I think that's what she has an affinity for. She relates to being in a bad place, and if she sees herself in you, down on her luck and broken beyond repair (and if she sees use in you) then she may just extend a hand out to you. An offer. It's not a good offer but it's better than being thrown out to the snow don't you think? Basically she's a shit person but if you look closely she's a lot... nicer than you would think.

As for who I think they'd fall for... def not basing this on my ships for them...

Venti would fall for a calm but bubbly type me thinks. Someone to balance his chaotic energy out. He feels like one of those dumbasses that fall for someone that shows 0 interest in him but he finds it endearing <3 But I also think he likes someone to be insane with him, but Venti's a leash kid and he needs someone responsible to hold him back.

I personally think Zhongli and Guizhong had a semi-romantic relationship. Ofc it's not canon but I definitely think there were feelings. So someone like her! Someone smart and outspoken, someone who could tell him all about all of their grand ideas and in turn he'd tell them his. Just. I think he'd want someone or something stable.

Ei... uh. Miko. HASLFJASFAS okay but definitely not to the DEGREE of. Miko. But Ei falls for someone she's known a long time. She doesn't fall for strangers or acquaintances, and she's not one for crushing from afar. She'd fall in love with her best friend because she likes the comfort of it, once again leaving her comfort zone is something she doesn't want.

Tsaritsa... Doesn't want to fall in love. So that'd be really difficult. In my headcannon of her ofc. But... the personality she'd fall for... it's difficult for me to say but I think it'd be either extremely innocent and naïve or the exact opposite. Though once again I'm not sure. I do like the thought of Tsaritsa picking up a piece of shit rat off the street and growing feelings for them. So imo probably piece of shit scumbag that she's like "goddamnit it's fucking cute."

"How do you think the Archons would react to each of the current seven being sent a "companion" by the Creator?"

Depends on what kind of companion you mean. If we're talking animal companion, something small such as the seelies or perhaps a little robot, or a human companion. My first thought was perhaps the au/brainrot where the creator is split into seven "forms" i suppose and spread across each nation of Teyvat.

However using the broad term of companion my thoughts are:

Tsaritsa tries to destroy it. Crush it like it's a spider in the shower at 2 am she's screaming "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT." presumably this companion is not too easy to destroy so she comes to terms with it. Tho she does try to like. barricade it in a room or restrain it.

Venti is like "damn guess this is my best friend now" tries to feed it, plays the lyre to it, I (and presumably the archons) don't know the level of intelligence or humanity this companion has. I think Venti would treat it as a sentient being (while tsaritsa treats it as a robot)

Zhongli is a little wary of it but ultimately lets it do what it wants. Not like it does anything weird or insane, and Zhongli has no qualms with its small requests. All of the requests have been just him helping it reach places, and its been only helpful and mostly out of his way. He's a bit wary when it follows him to his home but in the end if someone wanted to harm him they had plenty of opportunities. If someone wanted to spy on him then this was. quite a bizarre method. Not like Zhongli is completely helpless either.

Raiden Shogun tries to kill it too </3 Though I think Raiden Ei would be curious. Would definitely try tinkering with it but when it starts making distressed noises and running away before coming back she leaves it be. It's intents are a mystery to her and she does her best to get answers, but if she gets none she'll just. sit there with it ig. Like damn guess I got another kid. (she doesn't take care of this one either the most she does is try and feed it some spare dango)

Hydro archon doesn't let it close to her, just like pushes it away, runs through doors and closes it really fast hoping to lose it. It doesn't work.

Murata would love it, especially when she finds out its fire proof???? Bro they're besties going lava diving immediately.

SO SORRY FOR THE ESSAY I HOPE THIS WAS HELPFUL AND WASN'T TOO LONG I JUST... REALLY LOVE THE ARCHONS...

#choco.asks #as i get gayer the amount of exclamation marks in my speech grow #also for the record i don't necessarily ship zhongli and guizhong but I do think their relationship was somewhat romantic in nature #if that makes sense hhdhfa

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athkatla · 11 months

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So obviously I loved baldur's gate 3 and it has reinvirograted my love for the BG series and I plan on going back and playing the first two again and then replaying BG3 with the other two fresh in my mind but my god did I have so many bugs in my playthrough!! I hope they are fixed by the time I replay it in a month or so!

specifics below the cut, spoiler warning for the full game!

My Journal just having premature information in it. With Arabella's parents in Act 2, it said she ran off and then it later said she rejoined us - before she had even ran off! Lol. There were other instances of it saying things before they happened or not updating correctly but I can't remember what they were specifically

In Act 3, Barcus and Wulbren were somehow both the leader of the Ironhand Gnomes even though I encouraged Barcus to usurp Wulbren and he did it lol. They both thanked me for making them the leader after doing the Steel Watcher factory questline, they both were mentioned in my journal as being allies due to being the leaders of the gnome, and at the end right before fighting the brain they were both in the little building with all my other allies and both spoke dialogue lol

I couldn't finish Wyll's personal quest because we successfully rescued his dad from the Iron Throne but he never showed up in our camp so Wyll just kept saying "yep my dad is back in camp can't wait to speak with him" and that's it :(

Speaking of the Iron Throne - I worked my ass off to save everyone before it flooded and my journal said I KILLED EM ALL! And Orin's letter said WAY TO GO BUD YOU KILLED EM ALL! No I didn't :(

I was unable to complete the Hag Support Group quest in Act 3 because when I confronted Auntie Ethel at the Mermaid bar thing she just turned into a hag and kept on bopping around and I was unable to throw Hagsbane at her because it wouldn't let me select her, it was like she was part of the background

My romance with Gale was also bugged, I had the same conversation with him twice for some reason

I had to break up with Karlach twice because I did it once in Act 2 and thought we were good and then in Act 3 I had the option again to break up with her because she still thought we were in a romance?! OK!

Shadowheart chose to free herself and kill her parents and somehow she still would have random lines about how the mark on her hand hurt and how Shar was cruel. Like girl we killed your parents to get rid of that mark, why is it still here!!

Also Minsc was just like, not recognized as existing! I rescued him, he was at my camp, and then was just absent for the final part of the game and he had no lines and wasn't even in the cutscenes at the dock lol. Not even in the background!

After Moonrise Towers when everyone is hanging out in the Tower, Halsin is standing next to Thaniel. Whenever I went back to my camp, Halsin wasn't there! In order to make sure he didn't get left behind when I moved to Act 3, I had to ask him to join my party, go to camp, and then kick him out of my party for him to stay in camp instead of being in Moonrose Towers

Also idk if this is a bug or just a weird choice but Karlach's death was offscreen? At the end after defeating the Netherbrain, Gale was like "hey where is Karlach?" and there was a narration saying she didn't have much time and then nothing ever again lol. So I guess me saying I'd be there when she died was a lie?! Maybe it would have been different if she was in my party when we killed the Netherbrain, idk.

I was also expecting to actually be at the party post-Netherbrain. Jaheira was like "hey let's have a party after saving the world" and I was like "yeah dude" thinking it'd be like Dragon Age Origins postgame where you can just go talk to your companions one last time and see what they plan to do next but instead there was just credits after my final romance scene with Gale lol. Like idk if that is a bug or a ~feature~ but I found it sad I didn't get to talk to everyone one last time :( Even in the original 2 Baldur's Gate games they had a little epilogue saying what everyone did, I miss that closure!

Idk I still love the game, I still think it's amazing, I'm very glad they're sending out hotfixes left and right and I look forward to playing it again once it's been patched up a little bit better in Act 3

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elizabethrobertajones · 1 year

Note

can i get 7, 8, 11, and 14 for your creatures re: edgy asks, thank you,

What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

I feel like my mental image of who Frog is has never wavered, so Galvin time >:)

I did use my level 50 fanta to make his eyes bigger and wider and his lips less pursed looking, because he was giving me kiiind of creepier vibes than I ended up feeling after spending time with him. Also once he had reminded me of where all my SMN buttons were I swapped to Black Mage practice and my general playing competency drops from incredible, to free company messages about how many times Galvin has been murdered by whatever challenge I'm currently up against :')

It made me start to see his character differently as well because Summoner does sort of come with the Allag stuff and there's a kind of smarminess that Galvin was giving off about it, like, I gave him the casting glam from Labyrinth of the Ancients and my fc yelled at me for making an Allag lord reenactor or something else devastating. It was all very funny but in the end I felt like I wanted him to be a bit less weird in this specific way and there's something I felt was a bit too secretly cruel or heartless in his expressions, mixed with all the jokey Galvin Lore we were spinning up.

So he got a soft reset as a bit more cringefail and harmless, and it made his personality make a lot more sense even with a lot of the teasing we'd already spun up before I wandered off on my own to give him a more thorough inner life. Like of course he'd be wildly attracted to Urianger on sight to Thancred's horror and confusion, just because the guy talks smarter than everyone in the room and Galvin is a complete nerd who also devoured books in lieu of human company and felt like a complete outsider. Of course he'd be drawn to dark arts but only in a purely intellectual way and be a little alarmed that people think it's weird and creepy, because he doesn't mean it that way, it's just interesting. and different. And people tease him for being weird and creepy so of course he likes that sort of thing.

Would your OC ostensibly be able to get away with murder?

First of all Frog did do all the DRK stuff as canon, so while she still wonders who knows about it and whispers about that incident and believes one thing over the other about what happened there, and how much her connections in Ishgard kept her safe (having started playing it much more once I was in SB), so I do know she CAN get away with murder.

I feel like if she did have to kill someone in any scenario it'd be completely justified and barely feel different to her than doing it as necessary for a quest she's on, so she'd feel like arguing her case to prove it was justified, and on her word as WoL, would mean she could also get away with murder in any scenario. If she felt like she'd done great wrong, she's the kind of person who'd turn herself in voluntarily even if she could have got away with a perfect crime >.> And then she'd probably still get let off for being a good egg.

What is your OC's weapon of choice? Have they ever actually used it?

I think the only weapon Frog goes back to with any regularity, is that the Moggle Mog RDM rapier is her sword of choice and no other has ever matched up to the feel of it.

.... I feel like the second half of the question is aimed at OCs from elsewhere than a game with oodles of combat, but actually, the answer is no! It's always been a glam over stronger weapons, but I think it's pretty canon there's a psychological element to fighting (thanks Dynamis)... Let's say that any other sword that didn't go "Kupo!" on being drawn wouldn't inspire Frog to do the horrible bright RDM LB3 :D

aaaand answered here! :D

#ffxiv #asks #ask games #awful rabbit #bounding frog

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moonflower1605 · 1 year

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Chapter - 7

(Ella's POV)

"So I’m stuck here," Percy said. "That’s it? For the rest of my life?"

"It depends," I said. "Some campers stay for summer. If you’re a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you’re not a powerful force. The monsters ignore you, so you get by with few months of summer training & can live in the mortal world. For some, it’s dangerous to leave. We’re year-rounders, we attract monsters. They ignore us till we’re ten or so, then, the demigods come here, or get killed."

"So monsters can’t get in here?"

"Only if they're intentionally stocked in the woods or summoned by someone."

"Why would anybody summon a monster?"

"Practical fights or jokes. Anyway, the point is that the borders keep monsters out. From outside, mortals look in the valley & only see a farm."

"So...you’re a year-rounder?" he asked me.

I nodded. From under the collar of my T-shirt I pulled a leather necklace with four clay beads of different colors.

"I've been here five years, every August, on the last day of summer, you get a bead for surviving another year."

"Why did you come so young?"

"I ran away from home...." I say with a shrug.

"Ohh...so...I could walk out right now?"

"It'd be suicide, Mr. D & Chiron won't give permission until the end of summer unless..."

"Unless?" He asked.

"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time.…" I trailed off.

"Something's wrong in Olympus, something major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal." I mumbled.

"You’ve been to Olympus?"

"Some of us year-rounders-Luke, Annabeth Clarisse, me & a few others- took a field trip to Olympus during the winter solstice. That’s when the gods have their big annual council."

"But...how did you get there?" he asked.

"The Long Island Railroad. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor. You're a New Yorker, right?" I asked. He nodded.

"Right after we visited," I continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. And if it isn’t returned by the summer solstice, there will be trouble..."

"When you came, I hoped...I mean, Zeus can get along with almost anybody, except for Poseidon. Aside from that, I felt we could work together...if you knew something.." I said. He just shook his head.

"I need a quest," I muttered to myself. “I’m not too young. If they'd tell me about it…”

I smelled barbecue smoke & heard Percy's stomach growl. We laughed. I told him to go on. He promised to meet after the campfire.

{-TIMESKIP-}

After dinner, Mr. D got up with a huge sigh.

"Yes, I’d better say hello to you brats. Well, hello. Capture the flag is on Friday. Cabin five currently holds the laurels."

Cheers rose from the Ares table. "Not for long..." I muttered.

"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn’t care less, but congratulations. And, we have a new camper, Peter Johnson." I look up confused. Chiron murmured something.

"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That’s right. Hurrah, & all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

Everybody cheered & headed down toward the amphitheater.

As I was walking to a seat, Luke said, "Hey Ella! Sing us a song.." I froze. Luke never ever called me Ella but shrugged it off.

"Me?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I bet Percy wants to hear you too. Right Percy?" A series of ooo's emerged. Percy & I blushed.

"Fine, but on one condition..."

"What's that?" Connor asked.

"Luke can't have dessert for a month."

"Oooh! Nice one!" I heard someone say.

"Don't worry Luke, I can have your share of desserts for you." Connor said.

"Gee, thanks Connor." He said. I laugh & take a seat at the front with my guitar.

"Which song do you want me to sing?"

"Perfect?" Annie suggested, everyone nods.

"Okay.." I reply.

I let the soft notes of the guitar consume me completely as I began to sing.

youtube

Link to the next chapter is here.

Link to the prev chapter is here.

Comment, like & share.

Take care my lovely readers.❤

Alice signing off.

XOXO.

#percy jackson #x reader #percy jackson x reader #Youtube

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hexyz09 · 2 years

Note

Idea 4: Vanny comes back

I'm gonna be honest, this one is my personal favorite, and I am quite surprised that it hasn't been done yet.* Think of the angst potential!

*This is no longer true

Imagine it's been a few weeks since the 3 star ending and the 3 goobers are getting more acclimated to living with each other. Gregory is getting used to the fact that he has 2 adult figures that actually care about him. Vanessa’s nightmares are starting to become less severe. Freddy’s head was reattached to his body, and he now remotely controls a child-size bear doll (like a Lonely Freddy but not evil) so he can still easily be with Gregory when he isn't at the pizzaplex.

The day would start like any other: everyone wakes up, goes through their morning routines, and eats some breakfast. Gregory finishes first and gets up to go and wash off his plate in the sink. That is when it happens, Vanessa starts to feel a little off, like she is moving slower than normal. At first, she brushes it off as her still waking up. Then she hears a voice… a voice she only hears in her worst nightmares… VANNYS voice. Vanessa would then discover that she could no longer move or speak. She could only watch as she felt herself get up from her chair, and pick up a knife from off of the counter. The reason that she still has any knives at all is for Gregory to use to spread various condiments on his school sandwiches when he makes them.

Meanwhile, Gregory and Freddy are near the sink, having a conversation about Freddy's obsession with dad jokes or something (You are the Morbest superstar!) They turn around, preparing to return to Gregory's room to get ready for school, and they see Vanessa, holding a knife. Gregory would feel a sharp twinge of betrayal before looking at Vanessa's face to see that her calm green eyes, ones that had reassured him after many a nightmare, were now glowing a sickly purple. Freddy and Gregory would realize that the person in front of them was no longer Vanessa, but Vanny.

Vanny raises her arm, Gregory is looking for a way out. He is also preparing for the possibility of being killed, and he doesn't want to give Vanny the satisfaction of being scared if that happens. Through all this, Vanessa is trying desperately to retake control, all the while Vanny mocks her efforts, making sure that Vanessa won't be able to mentally look away from her worst fear, the death of her savior by her own hands. Freddy is preparing to try and jump in front of Gregory at the last second to try and cushion the blow of the knife using his plush form.

Just before Vanny is able to deliver the killing blow, she disappears. No warning at all, like a true glitch, Freddy and Gregory watch as Vanessa's eyes flicker from purple back to green, drops the knife and collapses to the floor, hugs herself and sits in complete silence for a few seconds before bursting into hysterical tears.

That is where I will leave it, what happens next is for y'all to decide!

Bah. Vanny. Just stay dead! I figured that those stupid Princess Quest games were meant to cut the connection between Vanessa and Glitchtrap!! And as interesting as it sounds, I'm personally more a fan of fluff than death. XP

Though I do find that the possibility is there, especially if something prompts a reconnection, though considering the time spent away from it, and her body healing from the...mind fuckery she suffered, I don't think it'd be as strong as before.

Body and mind getting Resistence and all that. Especially when it comes from something traumatic. XP

A spiraling slope of depression~

#fnaf security breach #fnaf gregory #fnaf #fnaf sb #gregory fnaf #glamrock freddy #five nights at freddy's #vanessa fnaf #fnaf sb vanessa #fnaf vanny #halogenrobotics ask

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lightdancer1 · 2 years

Text

While I'm no fan of the Genetic Irohny concept I actually do have an idea for what I'd do with it as a plotline:

Specifically Iroh and Ursa have hate-sex when Hino leaves Iroh, both of them out of spite to their existing marriage or their sundered one. Ursa ends up pregnant by Iroh and Ozai's not an idiot, he realizes that some things don't match up, chronology wise. So Ozai, who is entirely aware of what happened here decides to play things in a different way that showcases what can happen with my ASPD-afflicted Ozai and how he'd react to this kind of situation.

First he opts for a different kind of the narcissism-ridden 'kindness' he shows to Zuko in another one of my AUs. He notices his son is a good mirror to himself, so it boosts a kind of self-serving rationale to pull a 180 on his attitude to Zuko.

Azula, who he knows is not his?

He becomes completely cold and neglectful to her, manipulating her to a desperate quest for something, anything, from him and he denies it. Ursa, knowing the full truth, also blames her. Iroh, on the other hand, can also do math and realizes the timing of Ursa's pregnancy, delivery, and who had the opportunity to do what.

He also realizes that Ozai and Ursa are neglecting Azula. His child, and as such now within his narrow definitions of empathy, where Ursa, Ozai, and Zuko by proxy....are not. Iroh is still in his own eyes, at least, an honorable man.

So what does he do? He goes to his father, unburdens to him of the details of everything and Azulon has a great amount of fun at his second son's expense by formally ensuring that Lu Ten gets an unanticipated and to a great degree unwanted sister, the living legacy of his father's sins.

Still rolling 20s on empathy relative to the family Lu Ten is the only adult in the entire family not to make kids the proxies for his issues and has a lot of issues with Iroh, while kid!Azula is deeply confused and hurt about everything. Eventually about the age of eight Azula largely pieces together elements of the truth, and due to internalizing a lot of self hatred even by the standard of other AUs, disappears into the night two years later at the age of ten.

Four years later, the newly awakened Avatar, hiding from the remorseless Prince Lu Ten, sent to hunt the Avatar by Fire Lord Iroh, and the incompetent swaggering Commodore Zhao discovers a very strange person in a village in the Southern Earth Kingdom, a hidden child who was de facto adopted and treated as the village's collective secret.

And that would be where if I ever did turn this idea into a story it'd start. In medias res, with Aang discovering a fourteen year old Firebender with a haunting resemblance to Crown Prince Lu Ten, while in the background Prince Ozai is scheming dark dreams to usurp his brother's throne and Prince Zuko, older and wiser, wants his sister back whether or not she's his half-sister or not.

And then Fire Lord Iroh learns that the daughter who ran away because she felt unloved is alive, well, and drawn into the war at the age of fourteen, which is far too young and decides that now the Avatar done gone and made it personal and the gloves are off.

#if I did the genetic Irohny storyline it'd end up like this #azula about age eight fully realizes enough of the truth to have a picture of it #two years later after laying out her plan she vanishes into the night #she just had enough of everything and internalized a massive amount of self hate #ensue Kyoshi Island where the lost princess turned Kyoshi Warrior encounters the Avatar #and gets drawn into a battle with Zhao and Lu Ten #and then shit gets real

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tratserenoyreve · 2 years

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thinkin about genshin quests and the mixed handling of when the writers use unplayable npc's versus playable characters now (spoilery and lengthy under the cut)

unplayable npc focused quests are numerous in genshin and some are pretty long, tho most tend to be contained to optional exposition around a set piece of the world. some aren't optional tho and are required to continue on to other regions.

ones like the chasm questline with zhiqiong are really good, because here's a chain of npc's who all have fun things they add to the scenario (an ex-thief alchemist who makes knockoff explosives, a bard who is really excited to write down your stories, a commerce guild guy who is totally not telling you how to illegally break into the chasm using these exact steps)

and the story it's telling is actually better off for not having the main playable characters because it's about what it's like to -not- be a special chosen person and to still work so hard for your dream. zhiqiong is an adventurer doing cartography and desperately wants to do something memorable, even if that means people will be remembering her death.

in a world where people can get physical items that represent them and their dreams having been chosen by the divine, how must that make everyone else feel? visions, while not impossibly rare, are still uncommon. a majority of the people in teyvat do not have a vision or ties to elemental powers.

for zhiqiong to become a legend just as she is, a regular human being, would mean so much. so the Traveler following after her and getting to hear her express those thoughts from her own perspective is important and wouldn't mean the same if it'd been expressed by a playable character who we know is one of those chosen.

meanwhile, many main story quests are great because they focus on playable characters and explore what their ambitions are and how those intersect with the Traveler's journey. character questlines are the game's opportunity to explain why someone is a big deal and why the player should care about them.

zhongli's story quests for example are Really Cool and excellent dives into his past history while also showing us how he now chooses to live. his interactions with childe and us seeing him complete his deal with signora add layers to him, which the player gets to think about as they reflect on osial attacking the harbor and how everyone they met in liyue had to band together to protect the people.

but, for some reason there are many instances where story beats that could have involved a playable character just. didn't. or, quests that are about someone important wind up having the Traveler instead interacting with random npc's who we may never see again and we just get to hear about the cool stuff that happened somewhere else.

a LOT of inazuma feels like this, where some quests totally made sense being about the struggles of the general populous but ones involving the war don't actually have the Traveler actually seeing the big name characters do much on screen. kokomi and kujou sara were Doing Stuff but instead the Traveler is with the swordfish battalion who all use the same copy-pasted npc parts we've seen over and over. sayu and ayato and gorou were all doing cool stuff but instead we briefly chat with thoma who is under house arrest. we could have explored a lot more about kazuha and how he needs to lay low, heard from him more about the shogun and perhaps had an explanation on how and why he arrived in time to save the Traveler from being smote, but nope!

recent events and storylines seem to be recognizing that and doing better. shadows amidst snowstorms mixed both an npc storyline, joel's missing father, with a main character's storyline, Albedo and his messed up family. and then mixed that with some fun group hangout time with amber, eula, and bennett to keep things from being Too depressing.

and then perilous trail/fantastic compass does a full story where we get to focus on just playable characters, with only a (very pretty) flashback cutscene that shows npc's that still relates back to xiao and the other yaksha.

but it's hard to say for sure that this will continue to be the trend. genshin likely has multiple writing teams devoted to specific chunks of the game and the company has reportedly been splitting and shuffling its devs around to other projects.

one of those sturgeon's law things for sure. everything has a small percentage of bad, but when you have more of that thing you see more of the bad. 10% of 10 is just 1 but 10% of 1000 is 100, etc. an rpg having meh quests isn't unusual tho i do think genshin not leaning more into how neat all the character ties are is.

#tratser talks about stuff #genshin impact spoilers #genshin impact

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baejax-the-great · 3 years

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Listen op... What about rivalmances á lá Dragon Age 2... But it's Mass Effect instead? How'd you think it'd go?

Ohh, this is an interesting question.

So definitely some of the romantic interests favor a renegade or paragon path, right? Like, Garrus, Ash, and Miranda are arguably renegade choices, Kaidan generally argues in favor of paragon choices. But there's no approval system (beyond some ME1 stuff). Everyone is always willing to bone down if you ask.

The truth is, I didn’t love rivalmances in DA2. It’s an interesting concept, being in a toxic relationship with someone who doesn’t share any of your beliefs and possibly doesn’t believe in your humanity, but I don’t know man. Like Merrill deserves better actually. I’ve never actually seen the Isabela rivalmance but just those words together put a bad taste in my mouth.

While I find it odd sometimes that your decisions in ME don’t affect how your companions respond to you (you can say some seriously anti-alien shit in ME1 for example, with your alien companions standing behind you just shrugging), I think the context for the major decisions is pretty different.

Most of the paragon/renegade decisions early on don’t directly affect your companions. They are frequently ethical, but not political. Killing the rachni queen doesn't invalidate biotics as people or even speak of Shep’s beliefs regarding other species. Everyone agrees the rachni are a dangerous unknown who almost wiped out the other races. Kaidan might disagree with killing her, but if you go against his advice, you aren't indicating you think he should be imprisoned for his abilities (as a templar-aligned Hawke might when making their decisions).

The decisions that I think the companions would have the most emotional response to (the genophage? Rannoch?) occur in ME3, when everyone is at all-out war with the Reapers. And you can, uh, utterly destroy relationships with the people directly involved in those quests. For everyone else, Shepard is making decisions on the fly about how to defeat the Reapers, and frankly any fallout from those decisions would probably happen after the dust had settled.

And honestly, I think some of that would be great to explore. Can Shepard live with themself with the consequences of the destroy ending? With the consequences of their genophage cure? If they side with the geth on Rannoch and then choose destroy? Like... the war was won, but as Kaidan says, you have to live with how it went down. I would not be shocked to find out Shepard and their LI break up in peace time.

At some point in Mass Effect, everyone is just maxed-out emotionwise, and they aren’t in a place to judge wtf Shepard is doing. Companions and other NPCs routinely admit to Shepard they have no idea what they would do in their position. And again, I think the fact that Shepard is a (very successful) leader in a war against a specific enemy vs just some very sexy hick from Lothering fucking up Kirkwall for the hell of it changes how the companions are going to see their decisions. Doing something because it’s strategically the right call in the fate of the galaxy even if it’s fucked up is not the same as dicking around Lowtown trying to scrounge up cash.

For my own personal preference, I’m glad there isn’t a rivalmance, though I think I wouldn’t be opposed to some sort of approval system (some of these thirsty companions come on a LITTLE strong in ME1 like wow cool your jets). The ME romances are built on respect (mostly). In DA2? It's like, okay, your very actions go against my core beliefs as a person and threaten my safety/autonomy, but you're so sexy aha.

But hey that’s just me.

Okay nonnie I wrote this whole thing and then thought about your actual question-- how would it go?

So now I’m trying to imagine Liara who like, despises Shep but still wants to embrace eternity and like... how does that go? “You’re so stupid, please let me see into your mind. Goddess, it’s so empty, I have never felt such peace.”

It’s harder with Garrus because he is SO amenable to being swayed by paragon Shep. He’s practically begging to be realigned, and we know he likes it when women are a little bit mean to him. I don’t know that it’s possible to rivalmance this cricket.

Kaidan frankly seems like the one most possible to rivalmance. Like, fuck, you go against every moral value I hold, but you are so stupidly sexy and somehow everything always works out anyway and I’m angry about it. Eat this steak you absolute monster.

I have no idea how you would rivalmance Sam without just being mean to her. Hard pass.

I also think rivalmancing Tali would... be ugly. I don’t like the idea. Like getting her to face the very warped history her people taught her, sure, but siding with the Geth every time, or witholding the things she needs to succeed, or breaking her trust on her loyalty mission... idk man. That just seems toxic. And I am pretty sure if you fail Thane’s loyalty mission, you can’t romance him, so I’m guessing that’s true of Tali, too.

The ME2 companions don’t... totally give a shit what you are up to? Like Jack, Jacob and Thane come to mind as not having a very strong stance on most of what you are doing. You’d have to completely retool their characters to suddenly have very strong opinions on a lot of random shit. (and like, why *would* Jack care if you rewrite or destroy the geth hub? Also don’t rivalmance Jack????)

So... I dunno, there is potential there for sure, but I think having so many romanceable characters and a game that doesn’t revolve around a single moral issue makes it harder.

#Nadia would eat Hawke alive #I'm trying to think if there's some horrible choice I've forgotten that would directly threaten a LI who isn't Tali #Having never played as broshep I also feel like I'm missing some context for some of the male-only romances #so many of the worst outcomes can be handwaved away by like #the task was impossible in the first place #like oh you lost half your squad?#guess that's why we called it a suicide mission #now would it be funny if you made a bunch of shit choices and people stopped fawning over you?#a Shepard with fewer war assets is just less sexy #but again I think the hopelessness of the situation just cushions any true blowback #in me2 if you rival someone they just die

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theangrypokemaniac · 4 years

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Contests Part 2/2

6. Loser Jessie

Screechy harpie Jessay has even more of a raw deal than Mavis and Dawn of the Dead.

From the outset I knew she'd never be champion, but she ought to rise above the tiresome berks clogging up procedure.

Sufficient popularity at Pokémon Towers ensured the girls were allotted coverage of all their award ceremonies. They had a moment in the sun.

What has Jessie in comparison?

I can't recall Hoenn, but I don't expect it was much.

Sinnoh however carried naught but a single paltry episode.

This for a main character.

This for someone there from the beginning.

This for an ardent fan favourite.

This for a wench who, should we include all her various mutations, has featured in more installments than either of 'em.

But no, treat Jesseee as worthless, even lower than Dawn's groupies. It's not like anyone watches it for her.

Looking back, it's obvious what they were intending to do come Unova.

What's the score then?

• One paltry Contest on screen.

• A couple happen elsewhere, marked by a few seconds per mention when the script oh-so generously moves away from the thrilling main plot.

It's gotta be the small-town concerns for Jessuhleenuh, nothing major. She deserves no better.

• One won by James, so not hers. Press her inadequacy upon us!

• One obtained as a gesture of pity from Kate Middleton.

And how did that work? What's the good of allowing 'Dawn' entry again?

She'd already qualified. If winning here, that gives her six, therefore there aren't enough Co-ordinators for the culmination.

And when Jessie showed up with a Ribbon recorded as belonging to Dawn, how was she taken as fulfilling the quota?

The slapdash way these Contests are run!

God forbid Jess should be shown as excelling at anything. It must be scraping into the final undeservedly.

Bitch gotta know her place.

7. Bumpkin Jessie

...

Ain't no description I can give that don't rhyme with 'hit', or variations of the theme.

You thought the shafting Jessica got coverage wise was bad enough? Yer ain't heard the 'alf of it.

Sinnoh was a period of peak Moron Team Rocket, where the one surprise was how stupid they could be.

You may remember an early episode when James designed her clothes for the catwalk. She thought it'd complement his work by applying lipstick all across her mug.

Obviously Jessie would do that, clueless as to how make-up functions.

Come on kids, she's thick!

Even at that numskull nadir it's difficult to comprehend anyone choosing this get up without severe duress.

Picture the scene: you debut on stage, before an audience of thousands and television cameras, in an event preoccupied with superficiality.

What do you wear?

• Giant, oversized glasses out of fashion since the Seventies.

• Bootlace tie last worn in the nineteenth century Wild West by a barman serving sarsaparillas.

• Colour scheme of brown and orange, the nation's favourite hues.

• A man's old shirt fraying at the cuffs.

• Voluminous apron dress.

• Massive yellow bows last seen decorating an Easter Egg. Always a winner.

• Heavy, clod-hopping boots.

• PIGTAILS!!!

Even the name is unattractive.

Ah yes, very common for those under six. Unheard of later.

You have reached puberty haven't yer Jessie? I can't tell anymore.

They couldn't get enough of that combination in Cosmo, which is why it's no longer in print.

Not only is Jessie denied success, she's deprived of the chance to be pretty in a realm where nothing but that carries weight.

Worse, given how her face disintegrated, this is the best she's been for five generations.

Yeah, because the inbred milkmaid style is such a good look, eh?

SEXAY!!!

8. So Long, Tsundere

Remember tsunderes? What happened to 'em?

The curse of Pokémon was draining the well of inspiration too quickly, throwing away interesting characters as mere guests.

This is particularly noticeable regarding the ladies. Back then, we got Misty, Jessie, Jessibelle, Cassidy, Aya, Giselle, Tyra, Sabrina, assorted crones Brutella, Nastina and Lacy, plus Joy, Jenny and Dame Ketchum provided parental authority.

How did a series that began with ball-breaking birds like that end up with insipid, glassy-eyed dullards like Zuhreena, Banana Lana, Marsh Mallow and Lilliput?

Ooh, Zuhreena is a pwincess!

Ooh, Banana Lana bwows big bwubbles!

Ooh, Marsh Mallow wuvs phallic waddishes!

Ooh, Lilliput won't pwet wanimals bwecause of Secwet Pain!

Can you imagine such weak specimens finding any place in the anarchic atmosphere of the classics?

It's SO boring!

Where's the punch? Where's the human spirit?

Where's the entertainment gone?

This squishy attitude began in Hoenn. Misty left, Jessie's hair symbolically changed from volcanic red to pink, and Contests introduced a cuddly theme where glitter glue and sequins are top priority.

Every sharp corner, every jagged point has been filed smooth. Now its substance hasn't the hardness to even develop edges, not when it's all cushions and candyfloss, where catching Pokémon rests on them deigning to grant permission, rather than 'avin it out.

Tsunderes, exuding untamed charisma and independence, besides a soupçon of danger, simply don't fit the cardboard box we habit now.

Nor do yanderes, kuuderes, tsuntsuns, or even derederes. It's just nothing but smiley-smiley creeps.

I wouldn't mind any of these tropes as long as there was some sign of colour to be had.

9. The Sacrifice of Misty

Misty bid farewell under the feeble justification that the lack of a longterm goal made her vulnerable to sacking.

Such a line uttered as if her own choice, being beyond them as writers to invent a purpose.

This implied her replacement would have an exciting quest aiming for excellence, something just beyond Misty's capabilities.

What did we get?

Dressing up and collecting Ribbons!

Is that...is that it? Is that the great idea? Is that all the girls are worth?

I lost Misty for THIS?!

Perhaps it makes no difference. By Hoenn they'd rendered her a leaden blandness sucked dry of all that made her special.

Going by the greasy-toothed bastardisation that swanned up in Alola, Misty was simply too wild for the safe, stifling atmosphere of today.

Her departure ensued she remains frozen as a funny, beloved presence, unlike those she left behind.

Now there was a lucky escape, as once the fanny-flapping starts, the bints have it on the brain.

May had Max to beat on the side, but Dawn developed monomania.

Hardly an episode went by without some reference to Contests, or how today's plot spurred her on to the next opportunity.

Yer need help, love!

Rather than Ash's new friend being a fascinating person who so happened to enter vanity projects, the competition defined them to the exclusion of life.

It is but moths drawn to the candle flame waiting to engulf them.

Contests are this world's version of Tom Riddle's diary: they promise sympathy and validation, but they eat your soul.

Like Tumblr.

10. Completely Unoriginal

Seems to me it wasn't so much Misty had no goal, it was more that Contests were the supposedly hot concept wedged into an existing property.

If earlier aspects failed to accommodate the invader, the onus certainly wasn't on the new kid to change. Oh no, stuff it in and chop off whatever gets in the way.

In the eyes of the post-Shudo regime, Misty was too volatile to last, and so had to go.

What idiots.

She's a tsundere. The softer, more feminine side is a defining component.

Would it really have been so problematic to retain her as an entrant? If Jessie can, why not?

Even if failing to fit, so what? Since when was established characterisation a barrier?

Isn't twisting likeable folk into unrecognisable pods the modus operandi of the writers?

That canon is immaterial, and must always give in to whatever fancy they currently have?

Well then, what's the big deal in infantilising Misty to promote it rather than pensioning her off?

Viewers will be more invested in the challenges awaiting a familiar face rather than a stranger.

What reduces the above to the risible is the original Misty and Jessie both participated in the Princess Festival.

All Contests are is that very scenario on repeat and robbed of all meaning.

Think about it:

• Beauty round

• Battle round

• Jessie loses

Same bloody thing.

Not only have I got to suffer this draining spectacle, it's got the nerve to possess not one iota of fresh ideas!

Contests are a low rent rip-off. The Princess Festival had a worthy reward in the shape of one-of-a-kind Dolls.

It'd already been revealed that ordinary Princess Dolls were ruinously expensive, therefore the special Pokémon edition have to be priceless.

What d'yer get for the trouble of a Contest but a bit of plastic tat taped to bargain basement frippery?

And they demand you get five of 'em!

Contests themselves were then resurrected as Showcases, although mercifully slimmed down to only three, with the emptiness ramped up in compensation.

Perhaps ironically, Princess Versus Princess is one of my favourite episodes. I love its critique of female avarice and accurate portrayal of clothing sales as reminiscent of the zombie apocalypse.

I don't mind the Festival as a single adventure, but I may have felt less favourable had it been a constant presence.

Except it isn't the competition at stake. This is a framework to explore Jessie and Misty as people.

Through its device we learn their history and therefore how they came to develop as the girls we know.

The setting serves as an opportunity for both to confront the misery and isolation of their childhoods, with the promise of overcoming that old torment with the balm of victory.

In the final, they aren't so much battling an opponent as fighting to be free of the past.

The tragedy is only one can be granted that reprieve. The other must remain unhappy in the ruins of memory.

It matters, unlike vapid Contests, where posturing is king. What depth can they provide in comparison?

Despite identical content, they are inverse counterparts, with the Festival presented as merely a light affair concealing a rather dark tale of neglect.

Contests however are paraded as this worthy nourishment for body and mind, a major point in one's journey towards enlightenment, when all they really amount to is an organ grinder and his monkey arsing about for the slack-gobbed plebs.

Bread and circuses.

Best of all, Misty won, not some side twat, as it should be.

Note how Jessie dressed: in delicate, vivid robes and golden decoration. The boys thought her beautiful.

Not as a gormless dweeb you'd cross the street to avoid!

And why the need to disguise herself anyway?

The Twerps had no issue with Jessie of Team Rocket joining the fun back then, so what happened?

At least she received the consolation of gaining Lickitung as a friend, with James and Meowth desperate to comfort her.

What do Contests bring? Sod all!

#pokémon #team rocket #contests #misty #jessie #kanto #princess versus princess

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