#kind of horrified by the fact that the other one wasn't actually giving us any medication when we tried to take it

[thethingything]

oh yeah we figured out our last rescue inhaler wasn't actually spraying any medication even though it should have had like 50 doses still left in it, so like, that's kinda fucked and we have no idea when it stopped working.

but anyway we have a new one now and I had to use it like 2 hours ago and wow I forgot just how bad the side effects get. I have not stopped shaking this entire time. it's like a panic attack in a can and unfortunately thanks to our amnesia I keep forgetting I took the meds and therefore forgetting why I feel like this. also it gives us migraines but hey at least I can breathe

[sapphic-agent]

Here my new ask. Its about Shiggy!

I always will love the dream sequence and I do think it was better in the manga but is odd how Shig is saying "I forgive you Hana" and wake up to destroy everything and everyone.

I know people can feel more than one emotion. "I love Susan but I fear her" sure sure but Shig's only time ever saying those words of forgiviness ...should mean smth.

Yet...it doesn't.

Also...when in the dream sequel Shig kills his dad again...I dont see him happy about, he seems shocked and sad.

1) is Shig an unreliable narrator? To me, yes. But Hori wont explore this.

2) if afo was forcing those memories...for what reason? It was crucial for Shig to suffer and be mad forever? Does afo feed on hate? Bc I swear the amount of things Afo has done in canon towards Shig should have made Shig resent the fuck out of him

3) the ghost of his family try to save him(kotaro, who fandom sees as a monster while still cheering for Endy tries to do smth) and failed....what Izu can do here? Ge barely knows Shig.

4)Shig wake up serve cunt (that scene was cool. I give him that) and....as you said before is shallow. The dream sequence meant nothing, his family meant nothing to him. Actually his emotions meant nothing for the damn story.

5) afo made bold assumptions that Shig would still be his brainless pawn...and only works bc Hori says so. In true, Shig should have dessert him a long time ago (shig got shoot on the ua invasion. Shig got the hands of his parents and afo laughs)

It was such a cool sequence...it seems it would go somewhere but is hollow. Ita just a waste. Even more as he says he wont forgive anyone (while I get Izu saying "I wont forgive you" this line works way better for bk or aizawa. Feels strangely personal for a man Izu interacted 2 times only and shig canonically has Izu on his mind, knows he is quirkless and likes quirkless stuff never try to contact Izu)

1. Shigaraki is indeed an unreliable narrator! I forgot which user brought it up, but his narration and the actions taken by his younger self don't align. He says that he wanted to and reveled in killing his family, but the expression on his face through it all is broken. He doesn't look happy or gleeful, he looks horrified and desperate. Even with his awful father, he's shown reaching out for him and only changes when his father hits him. AFO's conditioning affected him in ways he doesn't understand, he's trapped by the undisputable (to him) fact that he's a villain who craves destruction

2. AFO is a master manipulator. He doesn't feed on hate, he feeds on how vulnerable and usable Shigaraki becomes when fueled by that hate. You'll notice he never scolds Shigaraki for his temper. He knows if Shigaraki stays petulant and full of anger, AFO can use it against him later. Shigaraki has started to realize that he's being manipulated, but it's overshadowed by the box AFO's forced him into

3. See, this is why we needed more interaction between Izuku and Shigaraki than we got. Other than the mall scene they barely interacted before the war. I've always said that Shigaraki was Izuku's parallel. They're two sides of the same coin. Izuku doesn't understand Shigaraki, he said so himself at the mall. You can't save someone you don't understand long-term. There should have been a scene- any kind of scene- where they're stuck together, can't attack one another, and forced to talk. Even if they can't (and shouldn't) come to an agreement, they still would have a better understanding of one another

4. Hori is too focused on making Shigaraki narrow minded and hellbent on destruction to give him any other emotion

5. Yeah... The lack of agency Hori forced on Shigaraki after just giving him agency wasn't the best. He isn't someone who's weak-willed. He's insanely stubborn and resilient

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: The Marathon Continues (20x06)

Alright, let's dive in!

Cons:

A recurring and somewhat befuddling theme of more recent seasons of Grey's Anatomy is the attempt to address the completely horrifying way the medical education system operates. The fact that interns work eighty hour weeks and don't have time to eat or sleep has been part of the show from the beginning. But I struggle to understand what the show's... thesis is, here, if that makes sense. Is it a "back in my day we didn't complain about a little hard work" thing? Because I don't think so, that would be pretty out of character for this show. But then you've got Bailey giving everyone wellness bags that are full of band-aid solutions, and then later she sends Simone and Kwan home for griping about their low pay and long hours? But then I guess it's about how Bailey also needs a break or whatever. She says a thing about how the system is designed poorly and there's not a lot that can be done in the individual level. So is that the point? I don't know. It's just a little muddy.

Richard having a moment of fuzziness where he hesitates to step in... I really do feel like I'm on a merry-go-round with Richard as a character at this point. This one was kind of a fake-out, where it looked like Richard was going to choke up at the finish line but then he stepped in and was fine and saved a life. Are we going to keep dragging this out where he's unsure if he should still be actively practicing, so he takes an admin role? Have I not seen him go through that process more than once already? This man was talking about retirement towards the beginning of this show's runtime!

Catherine continues to suck, I hated that this episode featured her giving a family special treatment for being big hospital donors, with no seeming awareness of how this is a structural, systemic issue and an active interference in the patient's medical care? Like, I know it ultimately worked out and the young woman got the surgery that's going to help her moving forward with her amputation, but I was really frustrated with Catherine through all of this. As I frequently am.

The little subplot thing about Schmitt not being passionate enough for pediatrics felt a little... phoned in, I guess. I knew the second he said casually "oh, Webber suggested it and the position is in high demand" that this new doctor lady was going to tell him he didn't want it enough or something. The idea that he needs to put on some song and dance about how it's his one true calling in life just seems so unnecessary and lazy. He wants to go into a specialty, just let him do it. Yeesh.

Pros:

I really like Simone and Kwan, honestly? I hate to say this, but the Simone/Kwan energy might actually be more interesting than Kwan/Jules and Simone/Lucas, just from this one brief episode. They had a really natural rhythm to their scenes and seemed to bolster each other emotionally and have a similar way of looking at the world. The fact that Blue was able to open up to Simone a little, reassure her that he's going through a rough moment but that he's handling it, that was so big coming from him! And Simone has been going through a rough period, and seemed to have an actually relaxing, productive day with Kwan. I want more of that for both of them. And I don't really feel bad for Lucas coming home to see Kwan taking over his room in the intern house. Serves you right, my dude.

I liked the little bit of parenting drama between Link and Amelia, over Scout having his own tablet. Too much screentime isn't good for any of us, especially young children! I like that it wasn't some big drama, that it's more a little thing of all these blended families with various custody arrangements having to negotiate the boundaries and the rules. And it also seems we're making room for the potential developing bond between Amelia and new pediatric doctor Monica, as they touch base briefly about Amelia having a kid, then sit together on a bench to play games on Monica's phone. I can dig the vibe here, waiting to see where it goes!

Yasuda continues to be a highlight. This week, she's working with a patient who's been sent from prison for treatment. She has a really hard time with the idea of sending him back and not giving him the highest level of care possible. This is a plot thread that really underlines systemic issues and also speaks to Yasuda's compassion as a young doctor trying to figure out the level of investment she's able to pour into each of her patients. I love that we never learn much about the prisoner's past, because that's not really the point. Why he's in prison is unimportant to the truth, which is that he's a human being deserving of compassion. Yasuda manages to track down a dessert he's been thinking about for years while locked up, and as he goes back to the prison with meds to help with the pain but no further treatment for his cancer, at least she's able to give him a final comfort.

We didn't get a ton of Helm this week but I like seeing some attention put on the Yasuda/Helm situation. I hope we can get a proper arc focused on them. It still feels like this show doesn't know quite what to do with Helm, and I'd love to give her more of a spotlight soon!

Ultimately, upon reflecting on all of the plot threads this week, a lot were mediocre or irritating to me. I thought Simone and Kwan were the real highlight, and I'm still interested in where a lot of these elements will go from here. With the truncated season length, we're already staring down the barrel of the end of this season of Grey's Anatomy. It's all happening too fast!

6.5/10

[narashikari]

A random Kari ramble

I've seen some clips from the Netflix AtLA, but none of them really resonated with me the way the original series did... until the scene of Lu Ten's funeral

I've seen a lot of comments about how the scene demonstrates even this early on the kind of person Zuko is inside, and that's a good thing I think. But I've also seen the complaints that it seems to humanize Ozai by his mere presence there, and I honestly don't think that's the case at all.

In fact, I think it just makes him look worse in comparison.

First off, in the original series, Ozai tried using Iroh's lack of an heir as a pretense to have Azulon disinherit Iroh in favor of himself. If this still holds true in the Netflix series, his presence at the funeral makes this even more horrifying.

Way I see it, Ozai may have been genuinely bereaved by the death of Lu Ten, but later on he still used it to justify getting the throne. We know he isn't above manipulating and using his own children for his ambitions, why would Lu Ten be any different, especially in death?

Or, more likely, he didn't ever give a damn about Lu Ten and Iroh and just showed up for appearances' sake. There was nothing heartwarming about it, no genuine sympathy for his brother who just lost a son. He was there to be seen as an uncle mourning his honored nephew and as a younger brother supporting the older, but it was all just an empty gesture on his part.

Either way, it doesn't really humanize him. It makes him more of a monster.

So... yeah, I don't think Netflix AtLA really made Ozai look good in this regard.

For even more added horror... several keen-eyed observers noted that there were three chairs along with Iroh's at the funeral, and many assumed that these seats were for Ozai, Zuko and Azula. Zuko, however, was the only one who stayed with Iroh during the funeral.

Thing is, I don't think that was meant for Azula. Azula may have been too young to attend the funeral as a mourner, despite being Lu Ten's cousin. And for all we know women may have not been allowed to participate in such a manner- note how Ursa wasn't there either, and Lu Ten died prior to her banishment so her presence would've been expected as well.

I think it's more likely that the other mourner would've been Fire Lord Azulon, who was still reigning when Lu Ten died. Lu Ten was second in line to the throne behind Iroh. And Lu Ten died a war hero in the eyes of the Fire Nation, a soldier on the front lines despite being a royal prince. Meaning that the Fire Lord didn't even go to his own war hero grandson's funeral.

It's just weird he wasn't there as well, unless he was incapacitated in some way. Sure, he may have been too old and infirm (according to the Avatar Wiki he was 95 when he died, and Lu Ten died just some time before) but still... it's not really a good look for him.

It should also be remembered that Azulon did not take kindly to Ozai's proposal of passing over Iroh. And his reaction wasn't just to berate Ozai for it, but to order Ozai to kill Zuko- his other grandson- so he would know Iroh's pain.

(Of course, this famously lead to the conspiracy where Ursa murdered Azulon in order to secure Zuko's safety and allow Ozai to usurp the throne and her subsequent banishment from the royal family.)

It makes me wonder what Azulon actually felt about Lu Ten's death. Him ordering Ozai to murder his son doesn't give me the impression that he was a caring grandparent. Perhaps he didn't really care about Lu Ten either, except maybe that Lu Ten theoretically secured the succession as Iroh's heir. And I would chalk up him being mad about Ozai's suggestion to pass over Iroh as less being sympathetic for Iroh losing his son, and more pissed off that Ozai challenged his authority by questioning his judgement on who should be his heir.

tldr: the Fire Nation royal family is still fucked up as all get out

[nikibogwater]

Edelgard is just as nice in CF than in SB, just look at her support. Look at the way she deeply care for the BE, how she tries to genuinely help them : how she tries her best for Petra, how she tries to help Bernadetta, how she listens to Ferdinand/Caspar/Linhardt critism, how both her and Dorothea are here for each other, how she fear she's dragging down Hubert, ...

When it comes to the war, she has the flower quest where she put flower on the soldier grave, she mind the population as showed in her battle against the Alliance, she rather remove her ennemies from power than kill them as she lost support point when suggesting trapping Rhea to kill her and she put Aegir in jail, she let enemy soldier flee to save their life as showed in the battle on the bridge.

Her war is not something she want, but rather something she see as the only solution to stop the countless suffering of Fodlan. But I don't want to go into discourse so I'll stop here.

You made a post about "failed heartless bastard"... Hubert and Edelgard would have fitted right here too. Please give her a chance, she has already so much hate towards her :( Sorry for bothering you with all that.

Hey, Non, so it sounds like maybe you've had the misfortune of encountering the Bad Discourse side of the Three Houses fandom, but rest assured I don't hate Edelgard, or anyone who really likes her. I think she's a really great character, and a lot of her appeal comes from the fact that she's a very tragic one. Like you point out above, in her Supports with her fellow students, Edelgard is very loving and concerned for them, as any good friend would be. Her choice to instigate the war in Fodlan is the result of the horrifying abuse and manipulation she suffered at the hands of the Agarthans, and with the possibility of her two Crests shortening her lifespan, I absolutely understand why she feels driven to such an extreme. To see her actually force herself to bury her feelings and ignore the suffering that her war causes is heartbreaking. But I don't think understanding her motivations and character means everyone has to agree that all her choices were morally acceptable, and I also think you can say a character did something wrong without that meaning that you hate that character. I think the whole point of Three Houses is to make you think about these kinds of things, to confront you with how complex human nature really is, to get you to really contemplate morally confusing situations that maybe don't actually have a good solution. In short, if you were to ask me if I think Edelgard is evil, obviously my answer would be an emphatic No. She does a lot of things that I believe are wrong, but she herself is not a bad person in my eyes. She's desperate, broken, and angry, but not full-on malicious. And from what I've seen of the more relaxed, mature side of the fandom, this seems to be a fairly common opinion.

As for the Failed Heartless Bastards post, that was literally just me joking around. I can assure you that leaving any names out of that post wasn't the result of me intentionally excluding certain characters, I just typed up the first four that came to mind.

And one more thing, I would recommend using the block feature to filter out accounts that are stressing you out. Personally, I think it's really stupid for people to actually fight with each other over fictional characters, and if someone's being a little too nasty for you, you don't have any obligation to listen or reply. Just block and move on. Fandoms are supposed to help us relax and have fun, respectful conversations, not just add to the massive piles of stress that we already have to carry in the real world. ✨

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

So this is less kicking a hornet's nest and more flinging a dynamite stick to it, but... The Baby Ludi case from the Star Wars EU is fascinating.

And not fascinating in the story itself (earthquake destroys town, mom is presumed dead, baby is found and adopted by the Jedi, mom wasn't dead, battle for custody ensues because the baby's mind has already been opened to the Force), but actually fascinating with how effective it is, and how it perfectly exemplifies how polarizing issues work.

It was specifically written to show how the divided the Galaxy was, especially over the Jedi, just as the Clone Wars were about to break out:

Pablo Hidalgo wrote it, though idk if Lucas approved it - or even knew about it at all - since it was promotional material for AotC but still was never featured or hinted at in any capacity in the main canon.

The only thing we have on Baby Ludi are 9 holonet articles (available on archive.org, see the wookiepedia page for a list of all of them) with absolutely no indications of how objective they're even supposed to be. They are media pieces. They make us feel emotions - they sensationalize, they stir up outrage, they make us completely irrational. Just look at what's under the first holo-report:

It's just so meta - so clearly reflecting on itself as it presents us with a certain (incomplete) narrative while simultaneously exploring how incomplete narratives make people react.

I used to see people (admittedly a while ago) brandishing this one obscure-ish story that only appears in one piece of EU media as the end-all, definite proof that the Jedi were meant to be understood as kidnappers - but in doing so, those people were actually playing into the story's very purpose: showing how manipulation is done. Showing how media and news outlets work.

If the story's goal was to end the debate on whether or not the Jedi are baby thieves, then it wouldn't have been given to us in the most vague, subjective way. There are no reliable sources in the articles, only second hand retellings of nebulous events.

The people who like the Jedi (like me) will probably jump on the information that Ludi's mother was too busy reviewing the script of an upcoming movie relating her tragedy to comment on people trying to storm the Temple on her child's behalf, and later being too busy with the movie's casting to comment on Ludi being transferred to an off-planet Temple. Or that Thrynka Padaunete, the leader of a Jedi 'watchgroup' who first protested the situation, then went on to be Jovana's agent in a production that was expected to be very profitable.

The people who don't like the Jedi will focus on them moving Ludi off Coruscant, or Plo turning an entire crowd of protestors away with a powerful mind trick (by the way, not something that's actually been shown to be possible in canon, but that's not the point).

At first I tried to analyze the story like I usually approach things, by trying to understand the perspective of each party involved. While I personally couldn't see the Jedi from Lucas' story keeping the child after only one month of training (since there even is EU precedent for Mace giving a kid back to the parents because they'd changed their mind), that wasn't what this story said, so I tried to understand. Maybe it really was too dangerous. Maybe they would have let Ludi see her Mom again if not for one particular reason we weren't aware of. Maybe they knew something that I wasn't being told.

And then I flipped my perspective, and I tried to put myself in the mother's shoes, and it was really horrifying. It was gut-wrenching, and there had to be more to her than making money off a tragedy. Maybe her conspiracist agent manipulated her, playing on her grief. Maybe her saying she wanted the money to go to charity was genuine. Maybe she was actually too distraught to keep fighting, because she felt the battle was already lost, hence why she stopped commenting on the developments.

And that's when it hit me. I was trying - when I was missing basically all of the information and all of the context - to pick a side to see who felt more right.

But we don't know. We can't know. We don't have any first hand account, any actual interview of any party involved given to us. There really is next to nothing more to the story than the summary I gave. Technically - since the story is entirely fictional - the 'right' answer doesn't even exist - there is no objective truth to base an opinion on. We don't see the reasoning behind each decision, who could have influenced who and why, what could have been political and what was in good faith.

Even when we do have those things, like with the actual movies, it's still possible to endlessly debate intentions, responsibility and failings. Here, we don't have any context, any ground to build upon. So to try to create that context based on our assumptions, whether they are more favorable to one group or the other is - in a very meta way - playing into the media's polarizing effect as though we were citizens of the Republic blind to the looming war, and trying to pass judgment on issues we're badly informed on.

That's the point of the Ludi story, not whether or not the Jedi are right or wrong, or whether the mom is actually opportunistic or simply heartbroken and human.

The point of that story (which is only 'canon' because it's referenced in the current continuity's book on propaganda) is to show how people jump to assumptions, and then try to create context around this kind of stories because they're either trying to support said assumptions, or because they're aware they can't pass judgment with so little to go on from, but since they want to pass judgment they have to give themselves something to work with.

And you know why I didn't include that much info on the story itself? (Apart from the fact that making this into a proper, impeccable meta would be a hassle and this is me already procrastinating on my homework?) Because many people who read this probably had their opinion on the case set by the time they were done with the second paragraph. Because I didn't give you any context, but it hardly mattered - just like it hardly matters to us that we often read a headline and think we've got it figured out.

So again, the Ludi story is fascinating, and super effective. I was ready to make a big fool of myself by trying to analyze the facts, when I didn't have them, when they didn't even exist.

Damn, that's the kind of reflection on perspectives and narratives and politics that Star Wars can do right!

ps: Lucas' Jedi were not child thieves in the movies or TCW, that's a hill I will die on. Here though? It is not the point. If anyone tries to use this post to argue that the Jedi were child kidnappers OR that they were right in the Ludi case - you missed the point.

[givemethatgold]

Fix’er Upper Pt. 5

Pairing: Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of past abusive relationship, swearing, past drug use, alcohol

Word Count: 1.8k

Notes:

Parts ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR

Your injury, and consequential recovery time, couldn’t have come at a better time. The harvest was done and the apples had to rest before being pressed, which meant Frankie was now free to start working on your home. The work didn’t often require more than two hands so the days found you doing menial tasks being his gopher.

“You know,” Frankie had had to explain to you, “Go’fer this, go’fer that.”

This mainly consisted of you passing him tools while he was swearing under his breath in the attic, or groaning after rapping his knuckles under the sink, or white-faced and clinging to the weathervane on the roof. 

You had discovered Frankie’s sweet tooth on the first day of renovations, not noticing until after he’d left for the day that more than half the cookies you’d baked that morning were already gone. Making sure he was kept happy, you had a new treat ready for when he walked in the door. 

He was a coffee drinker though, and while you owned a coffee press you had never actually used it yourself, preferring tea leaves for your dose of caffeine. You’d tried, the first morning, to make a cup for him. You even googled How to Make a Cup of Coffee? to make sure you didn’t fuck it up. 

You could laugh about it now, but the look on Frankie’s face after he’d taken his first sip made you worry you had poisoned him. He had spat the black sludge out and handed you back the mug with a look of bewildered disgust. Apparently, you needed to grind the beans first, who knew?

An efficient, if not quite comfortable, rhythm had been forged between the two of you over the past week and a half. Frankie would arrive at nine in the morning, scarf down half a dozen treats while discussing the day’s projects. You would run to town in his truck (yours was still at the autobody shop awaiting parts) and buy any supplies that would be needed while he set up the worksites and organized the tools that would be required.

You had added popping into the local café for a large coffee for Frankie and a red rooibos latte with almond milk for yourself. The first couple of days you had bought him a brownie too but stopped after he’d only half-finished the first one and mumbled through the crumbs in his mouth that yours were better. It only took you three days before the owner had your order ready for you before you even walked in the door, five days before you noticed the sidelong glances the little old ladies were giving each other as you walked out.

Small towns, you thought to yourself, rolling your eyes, had the unique benefit and downfall of everyone knowing everyone else’s business. They’d quit with the hardly-concealed smirks if they knew how awkward working with Frankie was becoming.

You had been sure, in the immediate aftermath of waking up in Frankie’s arms while his truck sat in your driveway, that he was never going to speak to you again. The two of you and hopped out and began explaining away whatever conclusions Jacquie and Mark had made. Then Frankie, without even looking in your general direction, told Jacquie to get you inside and have your wrist looked at. 

To his credit, he had taken care of everything regarding your truck for you. The tow truck came and hauled it to the yard, Frankie had commandeered the inspection report and, after calling them out on trying to swindle you into buying unnecessary parts, had ordered what was needed and paid. 

You had, naturally, argued against this but you both knew you weren’t in a position to afford it. Frankie shut down your arguments gracefully, and broke his apparent vow of silence, with a gruff “I’m just doing it so I can drive my damn truck without you changing the radio station.” The absolute charmer.

It was your damn house, though, so you decided you'd talk as much as you wanted and it would be up to him to interact. Either that or you had music blaring from the radio, never playing his favourite country station purely out of spite. 

Never quite sure if he was listening or not, you rambled on about anything and everything. You explained your vision for the house and the plans you had for a greenhouse in the yard. Memories from your childhood were described in great detail, as were embarrassing stories from your year in college. Baking tips, waxing poetic about your love for sunflowers, interesting animal facts, you'd even downloaded a Word of the Day App and made a game of fitting the words into your daily uninterrupted monologues.

It took three days for Frankie to break.

You had been reminiscing about your trip to Disneyland as a child when he abruptly cut in, voice muffled due to the nails being held between his lips.

"You never talk about it."

You assumed he was referring to the little all-day nap you’d shared in his truck, as it had yet to be spoken of, but were taken aback by the slight accusatory tone.

"Talk about what?"

He took so long to reply, you started to think that he had interrupted purely to shut you up. The silence demanded an explanation though, so you kept your mouth shut and waited.

Clambering down from the attic, where he had been strengthening the trusses throughout the sagging section of roof, Frankie pinned you with his gaze and softly repeated himself.

"You never talk about it. The time in your life when you were married." He must have seen your hackles rise because he quickly set down the hammer and held his hands up in a placating wave.

"You still haven't answered my question about being in the army," was your quick response, finished with an ever-so-mature, "so there."

With a resigned sigh, Frankie twisted his hat around backward and scrubbed his hands across his face. "Come on" -waving you towards the patio doors- "these kinds of conversations require fresh air and a drink."

Reluctantly you followed him outside but rather than sinking down onto the porch swing you opted to lean against the post facing it. Opening two ciders, which you now had free access to, you handed one to Frankie and watched him over the top of the bottle.

Half of your drink was gone and your mind had wandered to greenhouse and flower garden placement before Frankie spoke again. His voice low and quiet catching you by surprise.

"Yeah," he broke the silence with another ragged sigh, "I, uh, I served. Started in the Air Force, worked my way up to Special Tactics Squadron. Made enough noise there to get recruited to Delta Force."

"Oh, fuck," your exclamation was soft with shock "you've seen some shit then." Blast your runaway mouth and its inability to wait for your brain to catch up before blurting out your inner thoughts. "I'm sorry!-"

"No, it's okay" Frankie interrupted, trying to reassure you and remove the horrified look that had come across your face. 

"No, no, that was totally uncalled for. Brad, my um, my husband, he was a Marine. He hated talking about it, said no one liked talking about it. I should have known."

"It's not that," Frankie reassured you again, "You were the first person to ever ask me about it, in all the time I've lived here. Just took me by surprise."

Leaning over in the swing, Frankie pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and handed you a photo from inside it. Five men beamed up at you. You could recognize them from a few of the photos that had rested on Frankie's mantle, they looked older in this one.

"Tell me about them?" you asked, knowing that most of the request was due to curiosity but a small part of you hoped that if you kept him talking you could avoid the subject of your marriage.

The sun was beginning to set and you'd long moved inside to eat dinner by the time Frankie was done sharing. It must have been cathartic, you mused, for him to bare this much about himself. He had never looked more relaxed in all the time you'd known him, which wasn't saying much and it could just as easily been due to the amount of alcohol thrumming through his system.

The room fell into a companionable silence, each of you digesting the information that had been revealed. You were in awe of the fact that, despite the life of violence he had witnessed, Frankie still maintained his humanity. Even after a messy divorce and lost custody battle, Frankie continued to choose the path of healing. He was clean, was fighting for shared custody of his daughter again, running his own business, and still had found time to endear himself into the town's hearts.

Frankie was, for all his sharp edges and gruff words, a sweetheart.

It put into stark comparison how Brad had reacted to the lemons life had served him. Born into an upper-middle-class home, the only son, doted on by his parents, Brad had been raised into a life where every door was open to him. Despite this, or maybe because of it, he had grown hateful of those weaker than him. He was controlling but had just the right amount of charm to pass it off as caring.

"I've met men like that," 

You nearly jumped out of your skin from surprise. Looking at Frankie with wide-eyed shock you wondered again what the hell was in the cider. This was the second time you'd poured your heart out to a virtual stranger, but this time you hadn't even realized you'd started speaking your thoughts aloud. 

Squaring your shoulders and holding Frankie's gaze you continued, almost challenging him to find someone worse than Brad had been.

"He made me quit college because he said he wanted to start a family. Then berated me and acted like it was all my fault every time the pregnancy test came back negative. You know what that asshole did?" Tears were threatening to fall but you held on to Frankie's gaze, "He had gotten a vasectomy months earlier. I didn't find out about it until after he died; going through paperwork that had been stored in his desk."

Frankie was up on his feet now, pacing around the kitchen island, too distraught to keep still. How could anyone be so cruel? Let alone be so cruel to someone as sweet and pure as you. He hated seeing you cry but knowing you weren't receptive to people being in your personal space, wasn't sure how to comfort you. 

Acting on pure instinct he grabbed the kettle and started preparing you some tea, not allowing himself to ruminate how he knew which flavour you preferred. Setting your favourite pottery mug in front of you, along with the little honey pot, he also decided to grab the fluffy throw blanket off your couch. 

"I get it now," he thought to himself offhandedly, "why women have so many fuckin' blankets and pillows in every room."

Placing the throw around your shoulders he was preparing to say goodnight and let you have some peace but was stilled by your hand reaching up and covering his.

"Please. Stay."

Part SIX

If you want to be tagged please send an ask! Replies get lost

TAGS:  @rebelliouscat @pedro4ever @speakerforthedead0 @yespolkadotkitty @ilikechocolatemilkh @weirdowithnobeardo @pedro-pastel @disgruntledspacedad @a-skov @trash-dino-5000 @reader-s-cantina @pascal-rascal424 @alberta-sunrise @pascal-rascal424 @bts17army @sarahjkl82-blog @grogusmum @radiowallet @vonschweetz @greeneyedblondie44 @diaryofkali @cassandras-nest @silverstarsandsuns @haapeaness

[one-piece-aus]

La Seine

Law x Skypiean!Reader | Music 100 Milestone Event

Law + Classical Music + Slow Burn + Love Connection | Requested by: @chocolate-n-cheese

2 weeks have passed since Law had escaped White Town. The boy had visited every hospital he could find, not one had a cure for his amber lead disease, and what made it worse had been the very fact he was treated like a monster. Cast out, chased down by authorities, and terrified everyone that crossed his path. Law couldn't even find a decent place for shelter, he didn't have cash but even if did it's not as if any inns would welcome him.

So there he sat in an alley, wrapping himself in rags that were scattered around near the trash. The place he rested was damp from the specks of snow that managed to fall in the narrow area, and the temperature was low enough for him to be able to see his breath. Shaking like a leaf, he pulled the fabric closer to his body when laughter and music began to play from inside one of the buildings.

The sound almost made Law cry, it had been a long time since he listened to music and it reminded him of the festivals that White Town once held. He missed his home, his family-

"[Y/n] where do you think you're going?"

"I'm just taking out the trash."

A door to the back alley opened, a soft light shade poured into the outside and you stepped out, tugging a black trash bag behind you. Law sucked in a breath and slowly back-crawled, not wanting to be discovered. The boy was already out of energy from escaping the marines that hunted him earlier that day, he didn't want to run again. However, it's as if the world hated him because of a bag of bottles that chined against each other when he back into them.

You heard the noise and glanced over to where it came from. You were met with wide eyes staring into your, Law flinched and ducked down. Concerned, you placed a stone in front of the door so it wouldn't close, you cautiously crept towards the boy.

"Are you okay?" You asked, your voice softer than a pillow as to show you meant no harm.

"Go... go away." Law barked, burying his face into his arms so you wouldn't see the white spots on his face.

"Why?" You innocently inquired.

"Because... because I'm a monster, people like you are scared of me! You'll just scream and call for help."

Small giggles were heard, causing Law to look up with an irritated expression. Was this girl laughing at him? Before he could ask what was amusing, you spoke.

"If you're a monster then what does that make me?"

Law lifted his head to see what you were talking about when he thought an angel was standing in front of him. Easy mistake because you had white feathery wings on your back, at first Law concluded they might have been a fake prop but he scraped that when he witnessed the wings shake off the snow that collected on them. You smiled at him and one of your wings gave him a wave. Law stared at you in awe, having not seen anything like this before.

You held out a hand for Law, he glanced at it and back at you nervously. Hesitantly, he reached out and grabbed your hand. Quickly, he wiped his head to the side, not wanting to see the scared expression you'd give once you saw the little white spots on his hand.

Seconds passed and he didn't hear any gasp or horrified cry. Puzzled, Law looked at you wondering why you didn't say anything. He frowned his brows and pointed at one of the small white spots, he thought you might've not seen it because they were so small. Was it stupid to do that? Probably but he didn't want you to realize later and be given false hope.

"Don't worry, I have marks too," you reassured him and lifted the side of your shirt to show a bruised spot on your ribs. Law winced, seeing the discoloured spot on your skin. "Rocks hit hard, I think it's better when they're tomatoes." You looked back at Law, unfazed by what you showed him and kept your smile. "Come on, let's get out of the snow."

The boy took your hand a propped himself onto his feet. Carefully, you glanced around to make sure no one was around before taking Law under your small wing and leading him inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Law, psst, Law!"

The said boy blinked his eyes opened to see a little girl waving a hand in front of his face. Rubbing his eye to wake up, Law recollected what happened earlier in the night. You had snuck him inside to the attic where you stayed, a nice gesture though he was still worried he'd be found. Fortunately, you, and only you, discovered there had been a little hidden room in the attic behind a small door. That's was your secret hideout and now it's being used as Law's home.

"I managed to grab some food for you," you exclaimed in a hushed tone and held up a pouch. "I don't know about you, but I know I was hungry back when I was sleeping in alleys, so I figured you might be too."

"Yeah-uh... yeah, thank- thank you, [Y/n]-ya." Law didn't want to admit it but he was starving. A smile grew on his face when he opened it to see cheese and grapes.

It had become a routine the next few days; you left during the day and came back later in the evening with food you managed to snag for Law. Neither of you had to worry about water because you had a stash of bottled water in the attic. The evening would then be small talk between the two of you until one yawned and call it a night, you'd go back to your part of the attic and he'd snuggled in the makeshift fort of blankets & pillows. However, almost every night Law would wake up from a nightmare of his old town, he never told you about it... then one night-

Law jolted up, breath racing and tears falling from his eyes. He pulled his hat over his eyes and hugged his knees, sniffling and cursing the marines under his breath. The night slowly grew still as Law calmed down, yet he could catch the faint sound of something when he did.

Curious, Law crawled over and pressed an ear against the small door. He concentrated on the sound he had heard, but it wasn't a sound. It was a voice...

"She's resplendent, so confident~"

A voice of an angel.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

The singing was soft and soothing.

"I realize, I'm hypnotized~"

The voice intrigued Law, and slowly he opened the door.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

He peaked out, searching for the source.

"I hear the moon singing a tune~"

That's when his eyes landed on you, engulfed in the moon as she sat on the ledge of the attic window.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

Your gaze rested on the view outside the window, unaware of Law.

"Is she divine, Is it the wine~"

A small warmth filled in Law's chest and his cheeks became dusted with red.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

He watches in awe as he listened to the most beautiful thing he ever heard.

"I don't know, don't know, so don't ask me why

That's how we are~ La Seine and I

I don't know, don't know, so don't ask me why

That's how we are~ La Seine and I..."

The stinging memories of the past were now no longer on Law's mind, replaced by the angel he saw before him.

"Wow..." Law muttered unconsciously out loud, which caught your attention. You turned your head towards him, a blush erupted on Law's cheeks and he glanced away. "Sorry, sorry-"

"Uh- no I'm sorry," you apologized waving your hands in front of you. "I just sing when I... when I can't sleep. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry, you didn't wake me. I just... couldn't sleep."

"Oh..."

The room grew quiet, silence walking by the two who both averted their eyes from each other. Once it passed, you spoke up.

"Would you like to sing with me?"

"I don't know if I'll be as good as you," Law said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Heh, singing isn't about being good, it's about what you feel in your heart."

When Law look back at you, you were now in front of him, a gentle smile on your face. Delicately, you grabbed his hands and lead him to sit by the window sill. From there you taught him the song you were singing moments ago. Law fell asleep on your shoulder that night, and for the first time in a while, Law was able to rest easy.

~~~~~~~ 11 Years Later ~~~~~~~

Arriving at Saboody, the Heart pirates had decided to visit a restaurant for something to eat. Entering the place, Law couldn't help but notice the stage and currents in the dining area. He turned to the waiter escorting him and his crew to their table.

"What kind of performances does this place have?" Law inquired as he sat down at the table.

"Mostly travelling singers," the waiter answered, handing out the menus. "Though we do have a few who perform regularly. Our most popular attraction is the infamous Angel [Y/n]."

Wait a minute, could it be? The same- no, it was impossible after what happened. Yet as Law became distracted by his thoughts and tuned the waiter out, his eyes drifted to a familiar set of white feathered wings going behind an employee-only door.

"I'll be right back," Law stated to his crew, abruptly getting up from the table and made his way to the door. Glancing around, he stealthy slipped in and found himself in a hallway. He didn't know what he was doing but, he felt as if a red string of fate tied around his hand and pulled him towards the direction of where the winged figure went off to.

Searching for the needle in the haystack, Law began to lose hope that you were actually here, though just as he passed by a door he heard a faint voice. Retracing his steps, Law pressed his ear to the door, listening carefully.

"She's resplendent, so confident~"

There it was, the singing angel he had been searching for.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

No other person could ever hold a candle to your soothing melody.

"I realize, I'm hypnotized~"

Law leaned back on the door, not ready to face you just yet.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

But his lips tugged up as he remembered the song.

"I hear the moon singing a tune~"

And he couldn't help but try to sing with her.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

He carefully wrapped his hand around the doorknob.

"Is she divine, Is it the wine~"

Mentally he braced himself.

"La Seine, La Seine, La Seine~"

Slowly opening the door, he noticed you stopped singing to see who it was but that didn't stop him from continuing.

"I don't know, don't know, so don't ask me why

That's how we are~ La Seine and I

I don't know, don't know, so don't ask me why

That's how we are~ La Seine and I..."

"Law..?" you breathe, feeling as if this was a dream.

"It's been a while [Y/n]-ya," he replies, gazing into your beautiful eyes that stared at him in awe.

"This is real, right?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Law chuckles.

"I see you have tattoos instead of spots now," you comment, gently taking his hand and peering carefully at the ink design.

Law's cheeks become coloured with red as your delicate hands held his. Even after all this time away, the feelings he had for you still stir in his winter heart. You were one of the few people left in this world he was able to connect with and love, however, with you, the love he felt had been more than what he felt with family.

"But you're still someone with few words," you tease, glancing back into his silver eyes.

"And I still mistake you for an angel with those wings."

You giggle but a blush dusts your cheeks, feeling flattered by the tall man in front of you. He has certainly grown into a handsome fellow. You both smile, feeling content with the presence of each other, but that goes when he frowns.

"You don't have your marks, do you?" His voice was cautious, not wishing to remind you of any unpleasant memories.

"Um... there's still one left but I can't really do anything about it..." You subconsciously rub the back of your neck where the celestial symbol was burned into your back just below.

"Unless it gets cover..." Law tells you and takes your hand in his. "By a tattoo... or another mark."

"What would I even get?" You smile at him, wanting his opinion.

"My jolly roger," Law answers. "Join my crew [Y/n]."

This took way longer than I thought it would to make this, and most of the time it was spent on finding the song xD

Anyway, that side, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for your request and follow

[giorno-plays-piano]

Superstitions and Curses

Pairing: mummy!Bucky Barnes x archaeologist!Reader

Warnings: slight dubcon, obsessive and soft!dark!Bucky, mentions of torture and being buried alive.

Words: 2163.

Summary: It wasn't your first expedition, but pretty much the first time when you had helped to bring an ancient being back from the dead.

P.S. Huge thanks to dear @navegandoaciegas who helped me get inspired again <3

_______________

"Please, let me in."

You clenched the amulet in your hands, nervously staring at the door of a hotel room and hoping he wouldn't enter. Despite the fact that you were an archeologist, a woman who believed in nothing but science, you were ready to pray to all the gods if it would help to keep this creature away.

"I mean no harm to you." His husky, dangerously low voice made you lick your lips as you thought of all the things he whispered in your ear the other night. "Didn't you like the way I treat you, love?"

"It was a spell you put on me!" You furrowed your brows, making a step away from the door and bumping into a nightstand with a loud thud - the bottle of water in top of it fell down to the floor.

"A spell?" The man behind the door chuckled, and you could hear him breathing out loudly as he peered through the crack in the door, his hands pressed against the dark wood. "You know I haven't done anything of this kind. What you felt was the chemistry between us, don't deny it."

It was true. That night when all you wanted was to forget the events of the last couple of days, forget all about the whole reason why you came to this ancient country, you rushed to a bar to get drunk like a fish, hoping the next morning once you'd wake up, it would all be a bad dream and nothing more. That's where you met him, the man who you had seen laying in his grave just a couple of hours before. Of course, you didn't know it was him - he looked like any other man, enough flesh on his bones not to cause any suspicion.

Oh, but it was him. He had followed you in that bar, pretending to be a stranger eager to know you; fooling you, he soon slipped into your room where he made love to you, completely drunk and fallen under his charms. How stupid you were, trusting a complete stranger after what had happened that day.

It was several hours after when you woke up in the night, and the moonlight coming from the window lit the room a little: as you stared at the man sleeping soundly next to you, you saw the ancient symbols on his chest.

The next minute you were out of your room, hoping he wouldn't wake up in the next hour. It would give you enough time to reach the railway station.

Why was he following you? You could understand his reasons since you had pretty much broken his tomb and opened his grave, but why on Earth did he sleep with you? Why didn't he kill you? Was it some kind of a ritual? Despite the fact that you were specializing on local customs and traditions, you have never heard of anything of that kind.

"You can't get rid of me." He murmured behind the door, and you sensed something wicked, resentful in his voice.

"Why can't I? What do you want from me?" You asked on the verge of tears, your arms trembling - you very much doubted the amulet you were holding was of any use to you.

"Shhhh." He cooed softly, feeling you fear and somewhat content with it. "I promise I won't hurt you. Let me in, love. Let me in."

For a couple of seconds you froze, listening to the man breathing softly behind the door. Strangely, you could almost hear his heart beating in his chest as if he really were human, not a rotten corpse you saw in the coffin a couple of days ago. The night you spent together you felt like he was the most tender and affectionate man you had ever met. Why did he do it? What was his purpose? Why were you opening the door for him when he ordered you to do it with that hypnotic voice of his?

You realized he had entered your room once he touched your cheek with his hand, rough fingers brushing against your wet skin. Oh, apparently, you were crying.

"I know it is beyond your comprehension, but please trust me, My Immortal Beloved." He made a step forward as you shriveled and slinked back, staring at his perfectly blue eyes adorned with black kohl. "Do not be scared. Even though it seems horrifyingly wrong to you, things are exactly as they were meant to be."

Despite the fact you had a thousand questions inside your head, the words were stuck in your throat. You couldn't even scream, asking for help. Besides, it would be pretty worthless, wouldn't it? No one could protect you from someone who rose from the dead.

"You were meant to open my tomb and set me free. You were meant to resurrect my body and let my soul return to it."

When you reached the wall, your back pressed to it as if you wanted to slip through the stone, the man had inched closer to you and lowered his hand on your chest, the other one right in front of your face as he moved his hand, drawing a circle in the air with his palm. I see you. You are important to me, a sign of both trust and affection - you had seen it so many times on ancient drawings it was imprinted on your brain.

What? Why was he doing it? Why it was you who set him free? You were just one of a whole team of archaeologists and wage earners. You did nothing special, nothing that differentiated you from others - you weren't the one who physically opened it nor did you read any ancient spells locals were so superstitious about. You were as much in shock as all others when the mummy had suddenly disappeared from the tomb.

At first, even though most of you were people of science, all of you thought of ancient curses and all those archaeologists who had supposedly died from it. Then, when you came to your senses, you thought of the thieves who might had taken the mummy. But then again, although it were the remains of someone very, very important, no treasures were buried with him - apparently, this person had done something terrible when he was alive, especially remembering the curses written on the walls. So why steal just the corpse, then? Without decent care, the bones would crack within minutes of carrying them. Why would thieves want the mummy?

"I want to come back home." You whispered, shivering and averting your eyes.

"I will bring you whenever you want once you swear loyalty to me, love."

You blinked as you stared at his tanned face, symbols painted with gold shining on his temples. It was getting more and more insane with every passing minute.

"Why would I swear loyalty to you?"

"Because I am your Sun, Moon and the Stars in between."

The silence felt heavy, suffocating as you kept looking at the man, not knowing what to say. He was right - you didn't understand a thing. You didn't even know who he was and why you swearing loyalty to him seemed so important so this stranger. The only thing you knew for sure was that he was dangerous, far more dangerous than any other human being - you felt it in your bones.

"Before I d-do that, may I know your name?" You wanted to add something like "Your Majesty", but you had no idea what kind of title the man once had - that is, if he had any at all.

He chuckled, "It would be hard for you to pronounce. But you can call me James, it is the closest you can get."

A part of you was offended - for heaven's sake, you were specializing on this exact area and surely knew how to pronounce ancient names - but the other part of you now wondered how come this being knew a real English name and could actually speak modern language. Surely, he was at least a thousand years old. How come?..

"Why were you buried so disrespectfully?" You started questioning him out loud, furrowing your brows. "This is not my first expedition, but I have never seen a tomb like yours before. No treasures, no name, nothing that could identify you at all."

"The Witch-king, that's how they called me." His handsome face darkened, and the man took a step away, turning his back to you. "The one who had surpassed his high priest and could read the Book of the Dead. Once my chancellors learnt about me practicing the magic of the ancient, they made my priests spread the word to my people, and I have been overthrown. They have tortured me, blinded me, cut off my limbs, and then sealed me away in the tomb when I was still alive. Because of their fear of me and my powers, they condemned me to the worst of fates, and broke the line of kings."

As he kept speaking, his dark long robe fell down to the floor, opening his half-naked tan body to you: you saw two deep scars on his shoulders that still looked raw, horrifying you - the man was telling you the truth. He had been dismembered.

"They have cursed me to stay neither truly dead nor alive till one day somebody would open my tomb and set me free. They have kept the location of my grave a secret, thinking no one would ever discover it in the sand, but they all were wrong. I will suffer no more in that place where not a single ray of light had shone over two thousands of years."

Your head was spinning from all this, and you quietly slid to the floor, your hands in your hair as you tugged on the roots in frustration and fear. For the love of God, was it all true? Did you help resurrect the ancient being that could use some scary black magic and probably kill lots of innocent people? Did he want to drag you along with him once you swear loyalty to him? If you didn't, would he actually murder you?

"But this is of no importance now." The man turned back to you and, suddenly seeing you on the floor, hurried to gently pick you up and place you on a spacious bed, watching you with worry. "I am sorry for I have frightened you, love. I swear this was not my intention."

You had troubles understanding what his intention was, but you kept silent, too scaried to say something to him. You had a dozen thoughts what a creature like him would want to do to people for all his suffering.

You should have left that damn tomb alone when your team found twice more death traps than in any other grave. You read the curses left on the walls, but they only fueled your interest. Of course, you had never been superstitious in your entire life, so you simply disregarded all the signs that now seemed so clear you were ready to slap yourself.

"Why am I important?" You asked in a shaky voice, your eyes trailing down his chest with ancient symbols tattooed on it. "Why spending a night with me? I am just a woman. I have opened the tomb, but I was one of many."

"No, you are special. You won't understand now, not yet, but think of it as your destiny. Your fate is bound to mine."

As he inched closer to you, you finally realized you were almost in bed with a half-naked handsome man resurrected from the dead. Immediately crawling back, your stared at him wide-eyed. No, no, no, whoever he was and whatever he thought your fate was, you didn't want him in your bed the second time! Well, almost. Maybe you wanted a little bit. Just a little.

"S-so, are you going to destroy the country and claim your kingdom again?"

Your words made him laugh as he bared his perfectly white teeth while touching the side of your face.

"Two thousand years were enough to change my priorities. Ruling the world of humans who know nothing of magic isn't interesting to me anymore."

"I see. That's a relief." You murmured, still very uncomfortable with him being so close to you. "Please, can I just leave? There are millions of women, I'm sure you'll find someone more attractive to be your... your concubine."

_____________

"Concubine? I did not have a concubine, and neither did my ancestors." The man tilted his head to the side, looking at you surprised as you were ready to bite yourself for your own stupidity: of course, the rulers of these lands only started having concubines in the fourth dynasty and onwards, James was definitely either from the first or second one. "I can't let you leave, love. You will have to come with me."

Part 2

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherubwrites @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny @soleil-dor @stargazingfangirl18 @dillybuggg @literate-lamb @cosicas-cuquis @sarge-barnes-sir @iheartsebastianstan @ninefuckingoneone

[sagefzy]

PART FOUR: POPCORN AND GREEN TEA

perfectionism | prev | next

You tapped your foot on the pavement, anxious to finally meet the eyes of your old friend. The feeling of excitement was almost overwhelming all your senses, the only thing you could focus on was the plain, faded brown door in front of you. Quickly, you sent Suna a text to let him know of your arrival, however in the corner of your eye, you suddenly noticed two figures approaching. You shrugged it off, thinking that it was just two guys passing by on a walk, but rather than walking past the house, they stepped up the driveway slowly drawing near you.

Hearing Ennoshita's words in your mind about being aware of your surroundings, you discreetly glanced back observing the two. But, much to your surprise, it was the exact two guys who bombarded you at the supermarket yesterday. Well, actually, more like the one blond who smashed a shopping cart into your heel, blubbering apologies and looking away, while the other one stood there and watched the whole incident play out.

You watched them for what seemed like forever. Could they possibly be Suna's friends? No, the whole thing seemed too coincidental, surely that couldn't be the case. Not willing to take the chance, you took out your phone once more in hopes to get Suna to clarify that those were, indeed, not his friends. Unfortunately for you, it appeared that the universe had decided to make you a pawn in its game because the two of them were, indeed, his friends.

You let out a heavy sigh, you could already tell that the next few hours would be nothing but awkward stares and embarrassing conversations. Not wanting to ruin your one day of freedom- the one day where you didn't have to listen to your dad's constant yells, telling you how much of a disappointment you are- the one day where you didn't have to sit in front of the piano all day just to feel some sort of gratification. It was then that you decided to just ignore the situation, and pretend as if the blond wasn't the reason that the back of your foot was wrapped in a bandage. For all Suna knew, this was you guys' first encounter, so be it.

Right as the door opened, your eyes were drawn to the tall green-eyed boy who you used to spend every day with as a young kid. "Y/N, so glad you're here!" Suna smiled, as he went in for a quick hug. "Those two behind you are Atsumu and Osamu." He introduced, pointing to the two that were now directly behind you. The blond looked absolutely horrified, stealing brief glimpses at the bandage that hugged your heel, the other one, however, stared back with a nonchalant smile. "They may have almost the same face, but the one with the ugly piss-colored hair is Atsumu, and the normal looking one is Osamu."

You grinned back at the two, showcasing your brightest smile, hoping that they'd get the message to not bring up the fact that this was not your first encounter. You were going to introduce yourself to the two, but the blond seemed to beat you to cut. "How come Samu is the normal one?" He whined.

Suna snickered, "Because Osamu doesn't act like a dramatic brat who needs his hand held every damn second of the day."

Suna's blunt words made you softly chuckle, there was something in friendly banter that just made it so pure and innocent. You looked up at the two, noticing that the blond's expression had softened after hearing your giggles. With the brief moment of silence at hand, you decided to take this as the moment to introduce yourself. "I'm Y/N, it's nice to meet you Atsumu and Osamu."

"Well now that we got introductions out of the way, why don't we go inside and find something to do," Suna suggested.

"Rinny, can we watch a movie?" You asked excitedly. The last time you had watched a movie was when you hung out with Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Ennoshita before leaving Miyagi, and your dad hardly ever let you engage in anything other than school work or piano, making it a rare treasure.

Suna nodded, "Watching a movie it is."

As all of you entered the house, you couldn't help but hear the blond, Atsumu mutter to his brother, "If I called 'm Rinny I think he'd punch me on the spot."

A smile quickly reappeared on your face as you heard his brother respond, "I don't know, I'll give ya one thousand yen to put it to the test."

"No, I think I'll choose life," He giggled.

You found your way to the couch and swiftly pulled out your phone, eager to let your friends know your current situation. The whole scene sounded like something straight out of a book.

You clicked your phone off and turned your attention to the aroma that seemed to be emerging from the kitchen. The familiar scent, caramel popcorn and green tea, jogged an almost forgotten memory of your childhood. An unlikely duo, yet even as a child you couldn't get enough of the weird combination. No one would've ever thought to put the two together, but it just worked.

You almost laughed at the sight. Suna walked out of the kitchen juggling three bowls of caramel popcorn, three bottles of energy drinks, and, of course, your mug of green tea. Since he had such little grace, you got up and lent a helping hand. "No, no you're my guest and you're injured go sit back down," Suna scolded.

"Well it's too late, I'm already here, so I'll just take some of that off your hand," You said while grabbing the mug of tea and the three energy drinks. You walked over to the twins and handed them each their bottle.

"Say what happened to yer foot over there?" Osamu asked with a smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah you never told me what you did to your foot, Y/N," Suna added as he placed the remaining bowls on the side table.

"It's not a big deal I just scraped myself with glass while unpacking," You blurted. You hoped that the lie was convincing enough, but to be honest, scraping yourself with glass sounded way more believable than being run over with a shopping cart.

"I see, sorry to hear that," Osamu responded in an almost surprise-like manner. You thought that maybe he expected you to call out his brother, however you decided to stick with your initial decision of ignoring the situation to save your night from awkwardness. His expression only got more surprised as he realized the unusual food combination you were eating. For only eating caramel popcorn with green tea, he looked as if you were committing a crime against food.

"Green tea with caramel popcorn?" He asked.

With no shame you nodded your head. "Don't knock it until you try it, it's my favorite combo in the world. I can never get enough of it."

Suna sighed, "Yeah, it's no use to convince her otherwise it's been more than a solid seven years since i last saw her and she still likes it."

The night ended almost as quickly as it started. Although you were initially worried about it being awkward, your worries were soon rested once Osamu started explaining his love of cooking. You both talked endlessly about all sorts of sweets and savory foods you both enjoyed indulging in. However, his twin, on the other hand, barely talked as he aimlessly played around with his phone.

Your eyes noticed the time on the nearby clock, the numbers displaying that it was near midnight. Your stomach instantly knotted, if your dad wasn't asleep, you for sure were going to get an ear full when you arrived home. You picked up your phone, and smiled at Suna and Osamu who's chest softly rose up and down as they slept.

You stood up quietly, getting Atsumu's attention. You didn't expect him to do or say anything since he'd been quite dull the entire night, but it seemed like this was a night of surprises. "Yer not planning to go all the way to the bus stop by yerself now are ya?" He asked.

"Well I'm not waking either of them so they can escort me if that's what you're asking," you responded "But, you're more than welcome to join me if it'll put your mind at ease." You fully expected him to not care, however he grabbed his jacket next to him and stood up, walking over to where you stood by the front door.

He quietly opened the door, careful to not make a creaking noise. "After you," He said as he directed you out of the house. The crisp winter air hit your face, your whole body jolted from the sudden change of temperatures. "Don't suppose yer cold now?" He asked, probably noticing your shivering. You replied by shaking your head and continued on the trail to the bus stop.

The rest of the walk was mostly silent, neither one of you knowing what to say. This was definitely uncharacteristically of Atsumu, anyone who'd even slightly know him would expect him to be chatting your ear off with overdramatized commentary. However, things seemed to be different in this situation, there was an eerie feeling about you that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Of course, it didn't help that your first encounter with him was him, in fact, running a shopping cart into you, but it wasn't just that. Maybe it was the way you presented yourself, in an almost sickening sweet-like manner. It all felt artificial, like a facade.

"Well this is it," you said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Just in time for the last bus, thanks for walking with me." You turned around to enter the vehicle but before you could, a hand made its way to your arm. You immediately flinched at the contact, pulling away at the light hold he had on you.

"I'm sorry I just- i um," He started, trying to find a way to word what he wanted to say. "I wanted to say that 'm sorry for yesterday, it was kind of a shitty thing to do, and 'm also sorry for not really talking all that much today, ya seem really nice and I'm usually not this bad when it comes to meeting new people. And, I totally ruined the night by ignoring you I-"

You lightly laughed, "It's alright, plus any friend of Rin's, is a friend of mine, and you didn't ruin tonight at all, I thought it was perfect." You both smiled back at each other, not saying anything for a moment. You cleared your throat, "Um, I'll see you around, have a good night, Atsumu."

He watched as you entered the bus. A small smile made it on his face as he watched you wave goodbye from the bus window. He waved back and muttered under his breath, "Good night, Y/N."

The bus ride was only about ten minutes. Anxiously, you opened the door to your house, hoping that by some miracle your dad would be sound asleep. The old door slightly creaked, you peaked inside and all your worries flushed away as you saw your dad passed out on the couch. Granted he was passed out drunk, at least that's what you gathered by the four bottles of empty beer that laid at his feet.

Even for you, life wasn't as perfect as it seemed. As much as you wanted it to be, as much as you led people on to think that it was, it just wasn't. The worst part of it was that deep down, you felt accountable for it all. Maybe if you would've been just a little better at piano, you could've achieved your perfect life.

You reached your bedroom and exhaustedly plopped down on your bed. You glanced at the picture of your mother on your bedside table. Her long hair glided down her lavender dress, her face gleaming with a smile. In one hand she held her violin and the other held an award deeming her the best violinist in the nation. She was talented, beautiful, intelligent, and made your dad happy. She was absolutely everything you weren't, and your dad made sure to remind you everyday.

Life before she died was perfect. You could never recall a memory of you being sad around her. Before you closed your eyes, you whispered, "I wish I was perfect like you."

fun facts !

Whenever Atsumu doesn't know how to address a situation, he just goes on his phone and plays angry birds.

If you're ever bored, Osamu will talk forever about all the different ways you can cook the same recipe.

Suna can never stay awake during a movie night, he always falls asleep somehow.

Before getting into volleyball, the twins' mother tried to get them into violin, however that quickly failed once Atsumu broke his bow on the second day of lessons.

perfectionism ©

smau written by @sagefzy

tagist: open just send an ask :)

[altheterrible]

Spent a few days in the psych hospital. It was definitely the nicest psych unit I've ever been on in terms of cleanliness and attempts to give patients privacy. For the first two days I had a private room and bathroom, which was nice, but I got kicked out because another patient threw a fit about having to share a room with someone else. After that I had to share a room with another woman, but each room had its own bathroom and shower and it wasn't so bad sharing with one other person. Anything is better than the place I stayed where toilets were shared between 6 patients and showers were shared with the whole unit. I hate communal showers, they're always so gross.

I started a new medication and stopped most of my old ones. I'm off Latuda, Seroquel, and Cymbalta, and I started Elavil. It's a tricyclic, and I'm surprised that they gave it to me given my history of trying to kill myself by overdosing on my psych meds. Tricyclics are much more harmful in overdoses than the SSRIs, which are pretty benign in large doses. The psychiatrist on the unit was horrified that I was taking 2 antipsychotics when I'm not suffering from psychosis and the dose of Cymbalta I was taking was too low to help depression or neuropathy. He was pretty unimpressed with my outpatient psych, as am I, so we were in agreement there. The Elavil will supposedly help depression, neuropathy, and insomnia with one pill, and it works well enough for insomnia that I'm willing to wait to see if it works for the depression and neuropathy as well.

Group therapy was a bit of a joke, so I didn't go to most of it. I spent a lot of time sleeping. I re-read the 3rd Harry Potter book cover to cover. The food wasn't bad, except there was never enough of it. I was hungry after every meal and my blood sugar kept going low because I wasn't getting enough carbs. Everyone complained about the portion sizes. Also, the only things to drink were plain water, milk, and juice, but the water had ice in it and they gave out juice whenever you wanted some, so it's not like it was torture. All in all, better than most psych wards.

They were really on top of my physical health, too. I've stayed in psych wards where it was a fight to get my non-psych meds taken care of, but this place had orders in for all my usual meds, psych and non-psych alike, before I went to bed the first night--impressive because I was assigned to a unit at 7:00 PM and went to bed at 8:45 PM. Usually it takes a few days to get all my meds sorted and I usually miss some of them, but I didn't miss a single dose of any maintenance meds.

I saw the psychiatrist every day, another improvement over previous psych hospitals. He was open to my suggestions and actually respected the fact I have a doctorate in pharmacy and know as much about meds as he does, if not more. The last place I stayed, the psychiatrist resented that I had input and ignored me when I raised concerns about the meds he was prescribing. Then, when I was irritable about him speaking over me, he used my irritation as evidence that I had severe bipolar disorder. Which was all kinds of bullshit.

So all in all, it was a better experience than my previous admissions. It may have helped that I wasn't admitted from an emergency room but rather from the hospital's own psych urgent care clinic, which smoothed a lot of bumps. I also wasn't being admitted involuntarily after a suicide attempt, so that probably helped shape my experience. I feel a lot less overwhelmed and exhausted than I did before, though I'm thinking it wasn't the group therapy or meds that helped but rather it was putting the exhausting burden of keeping myself alive on someone else for a few days.

I'm off work until Thursday, though I might go in Sunday. I'm off Monday-Wednesday next week, so I think I could handle working one day if I had the next 3 days off. Hopefully the new meds will need leveled out by then. I hope the Elavil works, because being on a single medication for depression, insomnia, and neuropathy instead of 3 separate medications would be a relief.

[sagewritesmore]

PART FOUR: POPCORN AND GREEN TEA

perfectionism | prev | next

wc: 2108

You tapped your foot on the pavement, anxious to finally meet the eyes of your old friend. The feeling of excitement was almost overwhelming all your senses, the only thing you could focus on was the plain, faded brown door in front of you. Quickly, you sent Suna a text to let him know of your arrival, however in the corner of your eye, you suddenly noticed two figures approaching. You shrugged it off, thinking that it was just two guys passing by on a walk, but rather than walking past the house, they stepped up the driveway slowly drawing near you.

Hearing Ennoshita's words in your mind about being aware of your surroundings, you discreetly glanced back observing the two. But, much to your surprise, it was the exact two guys who bombarded you at the supermarket yesterday. Well, actually, more like the one blond who smashed a shopping cart into your heel, blubbering apologies and looking away, while the other one stood there and watched the whole incident play out.

You watched them for what seemed like forever. Could they possibly be Suna's friends? No, the whole thing seemed too coincidental, surely that couldn't be the case. Not willing to take the chance, you took out your phone once more in hopes to get Suna to clarify that those were, indeed, not his friends. Unfortunately for you, it appeared that the universe had decided to make you a pawn in its game because the two of them were, indeed, his friends.

You let out a heavy sigh, you could already tell that the next few hours would be nothing but awkward stares and embarrassing conversations. Not wanting to ruin your one day of freedom- the one day where you didn't have to listen to your dad's constant yells, telling you how much of a disappointment you are- the one day where you didn't have to sit in front of the piano all day just to feel some sort of gratification. It was then that you decided to just ignore the situation, and pretend as if the blond wasn't the reason that the back of your foot was wrapped in a bandage. For all Suna knew, this was you guys' first encounter, so be it.

Right as the door opened, your eyes were drawn to the tall green-eyed boy who you used to spend every day with as a young kid. "Y/N, so glad you're here!" Suna smiled, as he went in for a quick hug. "Those two behind you are Atsumu and Osamu." He introduced, pointing to the two that were now directly behind you. The blond looked absolutely horrified, stealing brief glimpses at the bandage that hugged your heel, the other one, however, stared back with a nonchalant smile. "They may have almost the same face, but the one with the ugly piss-colored hair is Atsumu, and the normal looking one is Osamu."

You grinned back at the two, showcasing your brightest smile, hoping that they'd get the message to not bring up the fact that this was not your first encounter. You were going to introduce yourself to the two, but the blond seemed to beat you to cut. "How come Samu is the normal one?" He whined.

Suna snickered, "Because Osamu doesn't act like a dramatic brat who needs his hand held every damn second of the day."

Suna's blunt words made you softly chuckle, there was something in friendly banter that just made it so pure and innocent. You looked up at the two, noticing that the blond's expression had softened after hearing your giggles. With the brief moment of silence at hand, you decided to take this as the moment to introduce yourself. "I'm Y/N, it's nice to meet you Atsumu and Osamu."

"Well now that we got introductions out of the way, why don't we go inside and find something to do," Suna suggested.

"Rinny, can we watch a movie?" You asked excitedly. The last time you had watched a movie was when you hung out with Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Ennoshita before leaving Miyagi, and your dad hardly ever let you engage in anything other than school work or piano, making it a rare treasure.

Suna nodded, "Watching a movie it is."

As all of you entered the house, you couldn't help but hear the blond, Atsumu mutter to his brother, "If I called 'm Rinny I think he'd punch me on the spot."

A smile quickly reappeared on your face as you heard his brother respond, "I don't know, I'll give ya one thousand yen to put it to the test."

"No, I think I'll choose life," He giggled.

You found your way to the couch and swiftly pulled out your phone, eager to let your friends know your current situation. The whole scene sounded like something straight out of a book.

You clicked your phone off and turned your attention to the aroma that seemed to be emerging from the kitchen. The familiar scent, caramel popcorn and green tea, jogged an almost forgotten memory of your childhood. An unlikely duo, yet even as a child you couldn't get enough of the weird combination. No one would've ever thought to put the two together, but it just worked.

You almost laughed at the sight. Suna walked out of the kitchen juggling three bowls of caramel popcorn, three bottles of energy drinks, and, of course, your mug of green tea. Since he had such little grace, you got up and lent a helping hand. "No, no you're my guest and you're injured go sit back down," Suna scolded.

"Well it's too late, I'm already here, so I'll just take some of that off your hand," You said while grabbing the mug of tea and the three energy drinks. You walked over to the twins and handed them each their bottle.

"Say what happened to yer foot over there?" Osamu asked with a smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah you never told me what you did to your foot, Y/N," Suna added as he placed the remaining bowls on the side table.

"It's not a big deal I just scraped myself with glass while unpacking," You blurted. You hoped that the lie was convincing enough, but to be honest, scraping yourself with glass sounded way more believable than being run over with a shopping cart.

"I see, sorry to hear that," Osamu responded in an almost surprise-like manner. You thought that maybe he expected you to call out his brother, however you decided to stick with your initial decision of ignoring the situation to save your night from awkwardness. His expression only got more surprised as he realized the unusual food combination you were eating. For only eating caramel popcorn with green tea, he looked as if you were committing a crime against food.

"Green tea with caramel popcorn?" He asked.

With no shame you nodded your head. "Don't knock it until you try it, it's my favorite combo in the world. I can never get enough of it."

Suna sighed, "Yeah, it's no use to convince her otherwise it's been more than a solid seven years since i last saw her and she still likes it."

The night ended almost as quickly as it started. Although you were initially worried about it being awkward, your worries were soon rested once Osamu started explaining his love of cooking. You both talked endlessly about all sorts of sweets and savory foods you both enjoyed indulging in. However, his twin, on the other hand, barely talked as he aimlessly played around with his phone.

Your eyes noticed the time on the nearby clock, the numbers displaying that it was near midnight. Your stomach instantly knotted, if your dad wasn't asleep, you for sure were going to get an ear full when you arrived home. You picked up your phone, and smiled at Suna and Osamu who's chest softly rose up and down as they slept.

You stood up quietly, getting Atsumu's attention. You didn't expect him to do or say anything since he'd been quite dull the entire night, but it seemed like this was a night of surprises. "Yer not planning to go all the way to the bus stop by yerself now are ya?" He asked.

"Well I'm not waking either of them so they can escort me if that's what you're asking," you responded "But, you're more than welcome to join me if it'll put your mind at ease." You fully expected him to not care, however he grabbed his jacket next to him and stood up, walking over to where you stood by the front door.

He quietly opened the door, careful to not make a creaking noise. "After you," He said as he directed you out of the house. The crisp winter air hit your face, your whole body jolted from the sudden change of temperatures. "Don't suppose yer cold now?" He asked, probably noticing your shivering. You replied by shaking your head and continued on the trail to the bus stop.

The rest of the walk was mostly silent, neither one of you knowing what to say. This was definitely uncharacteristically of Atsumu, anyone who'd even slightly know him would expect him to be chatting your ear off with overdramatized commentary. However, things seemed to be different in this situation, there was an eerie feeling about you that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Of course, it didn't help that your first encounter with him was him, in fact, running a shopping cart into you, but it wasn't just that. Maybe it was the way you presented yourself, in an almost sickening sweet-like manner. It all felt artificial, like a facade.

"Well this is it," you said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Just in time for the last bus, thanks for walking with me." You turned around to enter the vehicle but before you could, a hand made its way to your arm. You immediately flinched at the contact, pulling away at the light hold he had on you.

"I'm sorry I just- i um," He started, trying to find a way to word what he wanted to say. "I wanted to say that 'm sorry for yesterday, it was kind of a shitty thing to do, and 'm also sorry for not really talking all that much today, ya seem really nice and I'm usually not this bad when it comes to meeting new people. And, I totally ruined the night by ignoring you I-"

You lightly laughed, "It's alright, plus any friend of Rin's, is a friend of mine, and you didn't ruin tonight at all, I thought it was perfect." You both smiled back at each other, not saying anything for a moment. You cleared your throat, "Um, I'll see you around, have a good night, Atsumu."

He watched as you entered the bus. A small smile made it on his face as he watched you wave goodbye from the bus window. He waved back and muttered under his breath, "Good night, Y/N."

The bus ride was only about ten minutes. Anxiously, you opened the door to your house, hoping that by some miracle your dad would be sound asleep. The old door slightly creaked, you peaked inside and all your worries flushed away as you saw your dad passed out on the couch. Granted he was passed out drunk, at least that's what you gathered by the four bottles of empty beer that laid at his feet.

Even for you, life wasn't as perfect as it seemed. As much as you wanted it to be, as much as you led people on to think that it was, it just wasn't. The worst part of it was that deep down, you felt accountable for it all. Maybe if you would've been just a little better at piano, you could've achieved your perfect life.

You reached your bedroom and exhaustedly plopped down on your bed. You glanced at the picture of your mother on your bedside table. Her long hair glided down her lavender dress, her face gleaming with a smile. In one hand she held her violin and the other held an award deeming her the best violinist in the nation. She was talented, beautiful, intelligent, and made your dad happy. She was absolutely everything you weren't, and your dad made sure to remind you everyday.

Life before she died was perfect. You could never recall a memory of you being sad around her. Before you closed your eyes, you whispered, "I wish I was perfect like you."

fun facts !

Whenever Atsumu doesn't know how to address a situation, he just goes on his phone and plays angry birds.

If you're ever bored, Osamu will talk forever about all the different ways you can cook the same recipe.

Suna can never stay awake during a movie night, he always falls asleep somehow.

Before getting into volleyball, the twins' mother tried to get them into violin, however that quickly failed once Atsumu broke his bow on the second day of lessons.

perfectionism ©

smau written by @sagefzy

taglist: open just send an ask :)

@shephard17895 @art-junkie-13 @vhsryuu @qualitygiantshoepsychic @everytimeswift @kritiiiii

[l-egionaire]

Owl House Fanfiction: I love The Found Family Trope!

Posted on Ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417493

Eda had gotten used to a lot of different ways of waking up after her getting her curse.

The first few times it happened, she'd unfortunately routinely woken up to find herself naked. (Titan, was she grateful when she'd finally found a spell that made her clothes change with her and didn't have to keep dumpster diving or "borrowing" clothes)

Once that was taken care of, her post transformation wake ups were slightly more comfortable, if predictable. She'd come too laying on the ground, her body's usual aches, pains, and stiffness seemingly doubled to the point where she could barely move. If she was in someone's house she'd likely be surrounded by overturned furniture and fixtures all covered in claw and bite marks. If she was lucky any people that might've been there would've already run and hid. If she wasn't….well, she knew a good amount of healing magic and potions.  No matter how much damage she might have caused, most people wouldn't turn down having their injuries taken care of.

And after that, things changed. Even if the person she was living with didn't kick her out, she could still see how they acted differently. They avoided eye contact with her, didn't stay in the same room with her for longer than two seconds, and she couldn't help but notice how they always seemed to lock their doors at night, nevermind whether she'd taken her elixir or not. Needless to say, when that happened she was gone before a week even passed. Someone being afraid of her or thinking she was a freak she could handle. But she preferred that to them tiptoeing around it and pretending to be okay with her when they were secretly scared. 

Considering all of that, waking up safely in her nest with a bottle of elixir in her mouth was a new experience.

She wasn't that shocked once she'd gotten the whole story. She'd never explained what her elixir did to King, and Luz thinking it was some special magic boosting potion sounded just like her. But what really surprised her were their reactions. 

After making sure Hooty was put back up and okay, they'd come by to check on her. Luz, having worried she might not be feeling well, had brought her a bowl of some strange human concoction called "chicken soup" that she'd gotten from a can in her junk collection. ("It's no magic potion but my mom. always made me chicken soup when I wasn't feeling well.) She'd also gotten her a person sized pillow that had the image of some male human character with spiky hair on it and with a little work slid it beneath Eda in her nest. The thing may have looked weird but it was comfy as heck and felt great for her sore back. Meanwhile King, still looking regretful about snatching her elixir, had fixed her a mug of apple blood as a peace offering.

While the mixture of alcohol and salty human bird water helped soothe some of her pain, Eda couldn't help but notice her apprentice and her housemate still standing off to the side of her nest. Both of them simply stood and watched as she ate and drank, staying oddly silent and staring at her as if she might disappear mid slurp.

It was almost a little unnerving. She hadn't expected either of them to be this quiet after discovering her curse. She figured Luz would've had her usual million questions about anything magical while King would be demanding to know why she hadn't told him before now. 

Then again, it wouldn't surprise her if they were still too in shock. After all, while she had never been able to witness it herself, she knew her cursed form could be pretty terrifying to see. One person she'd lived with had been so freaked out by it, he hadn't been able to make any noise except terrified squeaks for 3 days.

Plus, the way they found out was pretty sudden. Sure, King shouldn't have stolen her elixir but it wasn't like he knew what it was for or why she took it. In fact, a part of her hoped he'd never find out.

But the cat was off the staff now. She knew that the two of them must still be curious, otherwise they wouldn't still be there. So it was time to witch up and deal with it.

Eda drank the last few dregs of soup from her bowl and drained the rest of her apple blood for a little courage before turning to King and Luz.

"Alright you two. I know you probably want to know more about all this. So, let's have it."

Luz and King took a moment to look at each other, almost seeming to have a full conversation in two seconds before turning back to her.

"No thanks." Luz said.

"Yeah, we're good." King agreed.

Eda blinked in confusion. "What? What do you mean?"

"We don't need to know anymore." Luz explained. "This whole curse thing seems kind of personal and besides you already told us all the important parts. So we don't need to know anything else."

Eda stared at her in stunned silence. She looked to King and was even more surprised to see him nod in agreement.

To say this was not what she'd been expecting would be an understatement.  Where was the yelling at her for putting them in danger? The demanding answers? The blaming her for not telling them about her curse before all this? Heck, the two of them didn't even look that upset. They just still had those weirdly concerned looks on their faces. Maybe they just worried she'd still be mad about them stealing her elixir and were too scared to bring it up.

But that brought another issue to mind. And while she might have become pretty fond of those two, she knew it would only be a matter of time until it came up.

Ignoring the tight feeling in her chest, Eda said slowly. "Listen…..if you guys want to find somewhere else to stay, I understand."

They both became bug eyed.

"What?!" Luz cried.

"What are you talking about?!" King asked.

Eda looked away from them, doing everything she could to keep the wetness in her eyes from turning into full blown tears.

Suck it up. She thought. It's not like you haven't done this before.

"Luz, you could probably see if one of those Hexside kids might be willing to let you stay with them, and King I-."

"You're kicking us out?!" Luz yelled.

"No!" King scrambled into the nest, got onto his knees  and clasped his paws together. "Please Eda, don't!  I'll never be able to find anyone else willing to  let me live with them without paying! If this is about stealing the elixir, I'm sorry! I swear I won't steal anything you don't tell me to!" 

Eda frowned in confusion and turned back to them. "What? No. I mean, yes King, if you steal from me again I'll turn you into a tiny fur rug, but I just meant….you guys really don't want to move out?"

They both looked shocked at her question. "No." "Why would we?"

"Why would- how about  because I could have killed you two last night?" She felt bile begin to build in her throat and not the magical kind. "I could have eaten one of you like I did the snaggleback!"

"Oh come on Eda, it wasn't that-."

"Luz." Eda said, her voice hard. She didn't have it in her right now to deal with Luz sunshine attitude.

Luz must have noticed because she sighed and said. "Okay, look Eda. I'm not going to lie and say that today wasn't terrifying or that I wasn't afraid but….Eda, once I realized that the monster that was chasing after us was you? All I could think about was how I could help or what I could do to get you back. I didn't want to lose you."

Eda stared at her apprentice in complete shock. In her past talks with her living mates after they discovered her curse, they always talked about them . Their safety, their terror at her transformation, their discomfort at having Eda stay around after what happened. But Luz was thinking about her and whether she was okay.

It felt….weird. But in a good way. Kind of like a lot of things Luz did come to think of it.

Eda looked down to where King was still sitting in her nest. "And what about you King? You aren't freaked out by my little secret?"

King shrugged. "Eh, at first it was horrifying but after thinking about, its actually pretty cool. You're a demon just like me! Which technically makes you one of my subjects!"

Eda rolled her eyes. Typical King.

"And, since you are one of my subjects…."

"King, I swear to Titan, if you-."

".....than, that also means you fall under my protection." King finished. He walked over to Eda, climbed into her lap where he curled up into a ball. "If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll first have to go through me!"

Eda couldn't hide the amazement on her face as she gazed down at King. Then she felt something softly touch her shoulder. She looked over and saw Luz had placed a hand on her and was giving her a loving look.

"We're not going anywhere Eda. Us weirdos have to stick together, remember?"

Eda couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even after they both spent the night being terrorized by her and knew about her curse, they still insisted on sticking around.

They weren't going to leave her.

Luz suddenly frowned and looked at her worriedly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

It took Eda a moment to realize that there was a tear streaming down her face. She quickly wiped it away.

"Uh, no Luz, I just, uh, really loved that soup you brought me. There any chance there's some more?"

"I'll go dig through trash for another can!" Luz excitedly sprinted out the door.

Eda looked down at King. "Would my so-called "King" be willing to fix his new subject another apple blood?"

King stood up from her lap and stretched. "I suppose its what any humble ruler would do for his wounded subject." King took her mug and scrambled out of her nest and out the door.

Eda sighed fondly and layed back on her spiky hair human pillow, taking in the sight of the many light orbs that now dotted her ceiling thanks to her apprentice.

We're not going anywhere Eda.

If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll first have to go through me

Eda chuckled. "Thanks you two

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon, im gonna start combing the two separate submissions again cause its getting too short to have them separate I think?

1: His possession messed with memories Ranbob had before, so memories of school friends or playing with Ran were distant to erased. Though after Dreams possession it was also harder to make and keep memories. But thankfully as Ranbob was recovering from Dream and got futher away making memories came eaiser to him, though he'll never get back the memories he lost. 

3: Oh he would very quickly grow to regret his decision, but it would be funny. And Benjamin would later admit that while it was annoying and stressful, it was also fun and he was very happy to have his two families meet and generally get along. 

8: Everyone is just in shocked silence before Cletus just goes "YEAHHHHHHHHHH!" Oddly happy that Ranboo committed so much arson. Oh definitely, after all the outcasts of society where put there. Of course people would make such negative rumors about Mizu and treat the people as the scum of the earth. Though this also means, people don't know what happened in Mizu, and anyone who knows, view it in a more happy and a "Their finally gone" type of way, then viewing it as the tragedy it was. 

Spoons is a card game technically. A group of people sit in a group and everyone gets 4 cards, and you keep discarding at least 1 card of yours to the person on your left, who then does the same to their person on their left, the last person in the group puts a card into a discard pile. The goal is to get 4 of the same cards, and once someone gets 4 of the same cards, that person goes and grabs a spoon in a pile in front of them (let's say there's 5 players, theres only going to be 4 spoons cause there's always a spoon less than the people playing), once they grab one anyone can grab a spoon. And the person who doesn't get a spoon gets a S added to them, once Spoons is spelled the person gets out of the game, and a spoon gets removed to continue the game. Basically for flowers its played the exact same way but with flowers in the middle expect for spoons.

11: I just imagine Dream sulking in a corner as you yell at him and him going like "well I didn't know…" as he kicks a stone. And he wasnt sure what it was, but quickly jumped on the idea that maybe it was the fact that Ran was still alive somewhere, and that that's causing Ranbob to willingly let himself become weak and defy him. Causing Dream to become angrier at Ran and punish Ranbob harder. 

----

3: During the brothers fight in the storm, and after everyone runs off to find Ranbob, Ran is left alone. And he decides to just wander off into the storm, not protecting himself from the rain so he does get burnt. The whole time he's lost deep in thought and isn't really paying attention. He continues to wander for a whole day unfollowed (because after the Gladiators and Fishermen came back to the cave after finding Ranbob they are in no rush to find Ran and decide to look for him after the storm passes, which takes a full day) and at some point Raq finds him wandering. Which Raq then uses Rans distraction to his advantage and attacks him. At first only really the gladiators where concerned when they found Ran gone. But once they found him blinded and terrified everyone felt awful and a looming sense of guilt. And everyone continued to feel that way, even after they got the antidote and Ran started to see again.

4: They would just leave Ranbob alone and check in on him every now and again. But generally let him deal with it himself. They'd feel guilty leaving him alone, but they also know that they can't really do anything for him as their not prepared or briefed on how to help him in this situation. 

10: Oh definitely, even with Ran blinded they would've been kicked out immediately for fighting, without even a second glance. Dont forget, Ran still cares for his brother. And maybe, losing his sight made him face the side of him that wanted to become family again with Ranbob, maybe it brought enough to light that he just can't ignore it anymore. Mostly only negative potions can be permanent, like posion, blinding, wither, and nausea (I know the last like 3/2 are effects but they've also found a way to make effects into potions.). You already know what a antidote for blindness would be. A antidote for wither would be, a ghast tear (actually a basic ingredient for almost every antidote), blaze powder, and glistening melon to make a overpowered healing potion. Antidote for posion would be ghast tear, swiftness (so it acts fast to get rid of the posion), and the 3rd ingredient depends on what kind of posion it  was (posion that has a side effect of constricting or filling the lungs with water? Pufferfish and Turtle shell for last ingredients. Posion that has weakness? Blaze powder, and glistening melon) And antidote for nausea would be ghast tear, and potion of slowness to allow the person to slowly feel better, so their nausea doesn't hit them all at once before disappearing, which can cause them to throw up or have side effects. 

13: Thats exactly what they did. 

14: Jackie will 100% attempt to fight God and no one can stop him. :) (to be honest im not sure yet, I know I want to do more with Raq and have the idea that maybe he could be the person that finds Dream and gets him out of Mizu, but that's pretty often used in stories and I want to try to think of something more unique. Maybe I'll have it so Raq actually manages to capture the brothers or at least one of them and uses them as blackmail?)

15: When Ranbob was a child and Ran was just a baby Ranbob would often take Ran out of his crib and take him to go watch the fish swim by. When Ran was old enough he'd follow Ranbob everywhere, even a few times he managed to sneak into Ranbobs class room and almost wasn't caught. Ran got extremely clingy one day and managed to gather his haunting all up into his arms and carried them around, even though he was obviously struggling. And Ranbob used to complain about his teachers and idiotic classmates whenever he got home, which is funny when you consider Ran was very impressiable at the time and Ran started mimicking Ranbob, leading to him cursing, much to Ranbobs dismay. 

And im curious, do you have any questions that I havent answered? Or do you have any ideas for anything? I'd love to hear whatever you have to say about anything honestly!

Course! I dont have much lore wise other than they go to Kelalen and when they hear Dream is still around they decide to stay back to help fight him. But the idea I have is that Karl is just kinda hanging with everyone I listed, talking about allies or treaties when his time traveling clock/watch starts to go off, and he panics, but sadly in his haste to stop it he makes it worse and it grabs everyone, where they end up in the future. After hours of confusion and explaining they calm down. When 2 days later they find the Gladiator and Fishermen group, at first Karl is strongly against going to then for help, but everyone basically ignores him and go to ask for help. Hours of explanation and proof giving later the GF (Gladiator and Fishermen, got tired of writing it out) group sadly tells them that they cant really help. Until Ran (who was previously gone searching the surrounding area and making sure it was safe) appears high up on a tree (cause I just can't get the image of Ran on a tree and looking comfortable and confident as hell out of my head), and says that maybe Kelalen can help, if not going to Foolish may be a good alternative. Isaac, and Grievous are extremely against going back (at this time a 2 months have past since they left Kelalen)n saying it could be dangerous but Ran just aboustely shoots them down, along with Watson and Jackie agreeing with Ran, and Karls group agreeing to it. They head off to Kelalen. And Jackie is extremely excited at the potential of going to see Foolish finally. And it'd probably be like a sub au where the brothers au is the main backbone for it but at a certain point it separates from the au and becomes its own.

1: Okay, ouch. Can you imagine if Ran brought one of those memories up, and just had Ranbob look confused, or horrified, depending on how quick he realizes what happened? How would Ran react to that realization, both before and after he forgives Ranbob?

3: If nothing else, everyone got some laughs from it-even Benjamin, once his friends were far, far away from his family and not able to teach them more chaos. 

8: Cletus, why are you so happy? Do you just enjoy knowing chaos existed back then? Are you an arsonist? What’s up with you? 

Also, wow. Not cool, other city people, that’s very mean.

Spoons sounds like it’s interesting, I might try it sometime. Did the group just have those cards on them? What other games did they have?

11: Good, put Dream back in the corner, I’m gonna be yelling more. Because, seriously dude? I know you probably exist solely out of spite, but c’mon. Admittedly, from a certain point of view, it could be considered amusing that your first thought was that Ranbob was making himself weaker out of defiance/spite but like. From a more responsible and mature viewpoint, that’s incredibly stupid, and I-just. Buddy, hate to tell you, but I’m pretty sure that’d just be a you thing. Besides you were in Ranbob’s head, didn’t he think Ran was dead? It doesn’t even make sense. Good lord, I’m half-tempted to get the broom and chase you around like you’re a particularly unruly barn cat. 

------

3: First of all, that sounds really scary for Ran. Second of all, are we getting an overprotective arc?

4: Kind of sad, but understandable, they’re dealing with the situation as best they can.

10: Even if the group was provoked by the townspeople? Potions sound really cool, wish I could make those in real life, tbh.

13: W-what do you mean ‘that’s exactly what they did’? Anon, is your friend, like, a legit gremlin? I’m spooked. 

14: Foolish takes one look at Jackie, wearing a smile that exactly matched Tubbo’s when he was about to cause chaos, and immediately nopes out of that. He knows that face, and he will not be getting tangled into a fight with a goblin child today, no sir. I’m sure Jackie tries regardless though. (Also, that sounds like that goes horribly, do we get an overprotective ender-sibling, for whoever gets captured or used as blackmail, if that’s what you do?)

15: I love all of these so much, oh my gosh. Baby Ran seeing the fishes and following his big brother around. Poor Ranbob’s face when his baby brother cursed one day, Ran trying to carry all of his haunting. I’m in tears, honestly. 

Umm...I can’t think of anything right now, to be honest. If I ever do have a question or idea though, I’ll through it on the Brothers AU tag for you to check out, I guess. 

Oh, this sounds really cool. The part about them just ignoring their local time traveler when they’ve just time traveled particularly amuses me, as does Jackie wanting to see Foolish-I feel like Foolish may be a little more than terrified to see both Tubbo and Jackie back, honestly. Why was Ran willing to help them so much? What did they do to offer proof? How did Ranbob react once they proved who they were? How does all the group get along? Are they Ranboo’s haunting, and if so, if Ranboo gets close with his descendants, does he merge his hauntings with theirs? How does the time group feel about the Brothers fighting, and Ranbob’s possession?

[adragonhoardingstories]

Of Blood and Bonds - Chapter 4

@mystery-5-5 @synnesstra @thesunanditsangel

@abrx2002 @clumsy-owl-4178 @daminett4life @zalladane

@heaven428 @unmaskedagain

@dawnwave16 @kris-pines04 @emeraldpuffguide @hypnosharkrebeldreamer

@weird-pale-blonde-person

@ravennightingaleandavatempus

@persephonebutkore

@be-happy-every-day-please @blue-peach14 @annabellabrookes

@jaynintodd @st0rmy-w1th1n @bluerosette23 @ladysblackcat @18-fandoms-unite-08

@vixen-uchiha @novicevoice @jessigurl-design @tinyterror333

@rebecarojas07 @sparkle9510 @magicalfirebird

@mewwitch @shamefullove

@ravennightingaleandavatempus

@sassydepression @caffeinetheory

@reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo

@krispydefendorpolice @mermaidofthelost @zalladane @drarryismylife101 @ladybug-182 @northernbluetongue @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @iloontjeboontje @mjisntme

@dorkus-minimus @firesong323 @chocolatecatsthero @wargraymon0709 @bamagirlkrista

@moonlightstar64 @captain-lostkid @angelicbookfangirl @lunar-wolf-warrior @roseunivers999 @dur55 @emeraldpuffguide @evil-elf16 @crazylittlemunchkin @moonlightstar64 @semaalcocer-blog @skyel0ve

On that note, this book will contain swearing, mentions of rape and torture. I will try not be explicit but that's really relative. Read at your own risk. There will be warning before if I make a explicit scene so that you can skip it.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and don't hunt me down for this.

___________________________________

"Colin this is Marinette, my sister, Marinette this is Colin." Damian introduced the redhead who seemed a bit bewildered but he recovered quickly. 

"Pleased to meet you ma'am. I didn't know that Damian had another sibling."

"Well neither did he before yesterday." Marinette laughed good-naturedly. "So you're his best friend." 

"Yep!" Damian didn't refute the statement. 

"So Miss Marinette where are you from?" 

"Just Marinette is fine Colin." 

"Bu-"

"Miss makes me feel old, you don't want that now, do you?" The boy looked scandalised. "I'm only about two years older than Damian anyways so if you want to call me by a nickname, that's fine too."

The boy grinned shyly. "Okay Marinette."

Damian looked distinctly surprised. "Well done, he still calls the others Mr, they are going to be annoyed by this development."

"Oh Damian." Marinette turned on her heels and winked at them, eyes full of mischief. "This is nothing. I got Alfred to  call me by just my first name?" 

Now, both boys looked very impressed but still disbelieving. "I'll believe it when I see it." The redhead claimed. Marinette laughed but said nothing more on the matter.

"So where are you bringing me?" 

"The Gotham's Botanical Garden. I think you'll enjoy it. However, I must warn you to stay clear of anything that may anger Poison Ivy. "

She took it in stride. "Of course, I'll ask before I do anything." 

"It'll be so fun. People don't talk about it because of Ivy but the gardens are so beautiful." Colin started ranting and Marinette hid a smile at the fond expression on her little brother's face. If one didn't know what to be looking for, they would miss it but Marinette had become very very attuned to emotions, especially after she gained the Miraculous and became Guardian. 

"-attract so many different kinds of butterflies."

"Huh." Marinette mused. "It'll be nice seeing some actual butterflies and not akumas for once."

"You mentioned akumas before too." Damian interrupted. "What are they?"

She seemed a little surprised. "Do you - do you really have no idea of what's going on in Paris?" 

Both of the boys shook their head. Even Colin looked curious now. 

"It's pretty surreal but, when I was twelve, this guy surfaced. He calls himself Hawkmoth. He sends out these magic butterflies called akumas to anyone who's experiencing any negative emotion to possess them. He makes a deal with the victims to give them powers for them to be able to take revenge upon whatever wrong happened to them and return he asks for the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"Who?" Colin interrupted and Marinette blinked. She had sounded so...old, so burdened as she spoke - so different from the bubbly macaroon making girl that Damian had learnt to know. 

"Right, context. After his first akuma, two heroes surfaced in Paris too. They're powered by the Miraculous too. Hawkmoth wants Ladybug's earrings and Chat Noir's ring. No one knows why exactly and well we're not interested to find out. More power in that madman's hands can only cause harm." 

"You mean to say." Damian's voice was flat. "That there has been a sociopathic terrorist in Paris for five years and no one knows of it. Why didn't the mayor call for the Justice League?"

Marinette's face darkened. It almost made both if the boys shudder and take a step back. 

"Oh but we did. More than once, more than ten times in fact. We only stopped whenthe Leaguers asked us to stop wasting their time with pranks."

"What?" Damian exploded. "They just disregarded all the damage that must have been caused, all the phone calls. They didn't even look into it."

Marinette placed a hand in his shoulder, urging her aura to seek his and calm him down. "The thing is one of Ladybug's powers is the Miraculous Cure. It fixes all the damage caused in the midst of battle."

"All the damage?" Even Damian didn't seem to believe it at that point. 

"I know it seems too good to be true." She fished out her phone and tried to look for a video. "And we understood that but everyone in Paris is pissed that they didn't even bother come verify our so called claims. I mean for God's sake, they have aliens, shapeshifters, magicians and even guys who are themselves powered by magical jewelry if I'm not wrong." 

Marinette huffed as she found a video. It was one of the first ones from the Ladyblog, when Alya was still a reliable reporter. She played the video. It was of The Mime and it showed how he cut the Eiffel Tower in two as well as the Miraculous Cure taking effect. 

The boys especially Damian seemed horrified and Marinette felt a little of guilt for subjecting them to that. 

But then Damian looked up at her and his lazarus green eyes of reminded her that he probably had seen worse. 

"That's…" He didn't seemed to know what to say. 

"Terrifying." Colin said. "Are they all really that strong?" Marinette winced, debating whether to tell them the truth of not. 

Damian seemed to sense that. "You can tell us." He prompted and she sighed, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

"That's actually one of the tamer villians." She admitted. "The Mime appeared during the first year of Hawkmoth's reign of terror. One of the worst akumas back then that come to mind is Syren. She flooded the entirety of Paris, about three quarter of the population died and were brought back by the cure." She took another look at them and decided that she wasn't going to be the cause of their further trauma. 

"Hey, this is it, right?" She promptly changed the subject, knowing very well that she hadn't been subtle at all. "Gotham Botanical Gardens." She beamed down at them. 

"Wow, it's beautiful." She took a moment to appreciate the sight. "Hey you're right, there's a lot of butterflies. Can we go there first?" She was basically bouncing as she turned to look at her brother and his best friend. 

Colin looked gleeful while Damian seemed just amused. "You act like a child." Her brother informed her. She stuck out her tongue at him. "And you speak like an old man but you don't see me complaining." 

"Fair enough." He chuckled. "What are you waiting for? Let's go then."

He couldn't help the full-blown smile appearing on his face as both his sister and his best friend literally ran to the butterflies and started gushing together. 

He started to make his way to them when someone appeared in front of him blocking his view. His usual scowl and glare were back on his face when he looked up. The boy seemed to recoil slightly at his look but it didn't deter him more that that. 

"I don't know who you are." His tone clearly gave away that he felt like he was the one in power here. Damian cursed the time when he used to act like that. He had learnt that lesson the hard way - had learnt not to underestimate an enemy. "But you're gonna stay away from my princess. She doesn't need children like you around." 

Damian took a second to analyze him. Blond Hair. Green eyes. He remembered  reading those as Marinette's triggers during his research. He had to clench his fists to stop himself from reaching out to his weapons.

"She can decide that for himself." He said instead and went to walk around him but the boy grabbed his shoulder. 

The next thing he knew he was standing behind his sister. "Adrien." She cut in smoothly. "I didn't expect to see you here, especially not without your bodyguard." Damian could see that she was tense, her back muscles were coiled as if she was ready for a fight. 

"Princess." He was beaming. "I snuck out." He said almost proudly. "We need to talk."

"Gotham isn't Paris." Her words seemed more like a warning rather than the facts they were which the blond idiot obviously didn't catch on. "And I want nothing to do with you, haven't for  three years. I owe you nothing. Give up."

That was a clear dismissal if Damian knew one. "Princess you need to listen to me-" He reached out to grab her hand but was cut off.

The younger boy had seen her lurking but she hadn't seemed a threat so he didn't know whether he was thankful or not that she had jumped in. 

Ivy spoke "The girl asked you to go away." Thankful, he finally decided.

The boy looked a little nervous - so he did have some braincells. "Ma'am, respectfully, this does not concern you." Well not enough it seemed. 

"Oh well, respectfully." Her plants towered behind them. "I don't give a damn. Stay away from them."

The plants grabbed him and threw him just outside the park boundaries. It seemed a little tame for the likes of Ivy but then again she always did go softer for children even if they were brats.

Damian watched as the boy scrambled back to his feet and glared in their direction before he stomped off. 

"Damian." His sister was clearly fretting over him, he would never admit it but it felt good, he felt loved. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm alright, I'm alright. I told you, I can take care of myself." 

She smiled, soft and relieved. "I don't doubt it but promise me if you see either him or Lila from yesterday, you need go the other way."

"Why?" He frowned. He had a doubt on blondie but what about that Lila girl? 

"And by Lila, do you mean the sausage haired girl?"

His sister cracked a grin at that thought she was still serious. "Yeah her."

"Why?" He repeated and she became grim at once. "Because he's sick in the head and she's a psychopath so please, promise me." She met his eyes and really, faced to that did Damian have any other choice but to accept?

She beamed at him as Colin approached them. "That was so cool. Are you okay Dames?" He turned to talk to his best friend and gave him a once over before nodding. 

"Thank you for stepping in." He heard his sister and turned around. Ivy may be one of the villains-turned-anti-hero but it didn't mean that people didn't need to be wary around her. What was Marinette thinking?

"Boys like him need to be taught a lesson before it's too late." Damian's mind immediately went to Harley's and Joker's relationship. 

"I don't think a lesson would do him any kind of good at this point but thank you." 

It was very apparent that her words made Ivy re-evaluate her. 

The woman gave a nod. "Don't mention it." She said nothing else but didn't move away. 

Marinette smiled. "By the way, I love that flower in your hair. That's a lily right?" 

"Yes." She said slowly but the spark in her eye showed that she was now interested. "You know flowers?" 

"I have a garden of my own." Marinette revealed. "I tried growing some lilies but they're no where as beautiful as this one." Marinette fished for her phone again and started showing her images. The older woman didn't say anything but Damian could see that she was interested and she seemed almost pleased.

Deeming it safe for now, he slowly turned to Colin who was staring at the scene with amazement. 

"Colin." His friend turned to him wide-eyed, "Your sister is amazing." 

He couldn't help but feel smug at the words. "Obviously." He said but then lowered his voice. "Tell me, how did she get to me so fast when she was watching butterflies with you." 

Colin sobered up at that. "She was talking to me when suddenly she just snapped her head up to look at you. I think that's when the boy came. She told me to stay there and started walking towards you. The thing is when the guy touched you, she was about half-way there, I didn't register but the next thing I knew she was standing between you and the blond." He shook his head. "There's something about her…it's not necessarily bad but she's just...different…special."

"I know what you mean." Damian agreed.

~

"-and then she spoke with Poison Ivy for one hour straight about plants and gardening. Ivy even gave us a personal tour of the botanical gardens." 

"Seriously? She usually takes forever to warm up to someone especially if the other sirens aren't with her."

"Marinette seems to be the exception." The youngest Wayne said as he but into another macaroon. Once again, he had been ambushed on his return home - this time however, it was only his brothers and that had demanded he tell them all about her. 

His felt his phone vibrate and knew it was the message he was awaiting. "She's busy during the day." He informed his brothers. "But she invited us for dinner."

His brothers looked at each other and grinned. Tommorow looked promising.

[spicycreativity]

Fanfic Appreciation Week Day 7: A Place Where I Can Breathe

Yes, folks, I'm appreciating my own darn fanfic for the final day of Fanfic Appreciation Week because I worked really hard on it and it was a labor of love for/with one of my QPPs, my roommate, the man who got me into Sanders Sides: @\cadeorade-powercade (That's him in the aesthetic board)

Allow me to present the director's commentary for A Place Where I Can Breathe:

Content Warnings: All content warnings mentioned in the fic apply.

Chapter 1: I actually wrote this fairly late in the game. It's meant to serve as a prologue and orient the viewer in the universe, s opposed to staring on Chapter 2, which just throws the viewer in without context. I think it was a good choice, as it also allowed me to introduce the concept of the Sides having power focuses early on.

The Premise: Cade is a Virgil stan and he was getting frustrated looking for Virgil fic. He was finding a lot of stuff written without nuance by young authors, a sort of "by teenagers for teenagers" type deal. We are not teenagers, so we both have a hard time relating to that kind of teen angst fic, as we're not the target audience. So he asked me to write him a Virgil fic and we worked together to identify what plot he wanted, what the Mindscape looked like, and what quirks the Sides have. So a lot of this fic is quite gratuitous and self-indulgent

The Title: Lizzie McAlpine has a song called "Apple Pie" which includes the lyric "I've been running around trying to find a place where I can breathe." Apple Pie SCREAMS Moceit to me, and I had taken notice of the lyric and wanted to use it as the title for a Moceit fic. I didn't really have an idea beyond that, and when Cade asked me to write this fic, I realized it was actually perfect and summed up Virgil's inner struggle quite nicely. So cheers to "A Place Where I Can Breathe," the Moceit Fic That Wasn't

-Cade asked me specifically to include Virgil having a spider and I wrote nearly the whole fic without doing so, then had to go back and sprinkle some references in. I think I managed 2 total.

Chapter 2:

"Uh, how about I hold off on that until I actually see my room?" Virgil stared expectantly at Roman, who bounced on his toes. "Lead on, Macduff."

"That's not the line and you know it," Roman complained, but he turned to lead Virgil to his room. "It's ' lay on, Macduff,' and--"

-This fic was originally supposed to reach a climax with a confrontation between Remus and Roman, and "lay on, Macduff" would come back as a brick joke. Unfortunately, the original ending was a result of me getting tired and lazy, so I had to go back and fix it, and we lost the Roman-Remus confrontation.

It was hard for Virgil to not shudder at the sudden heat and weight on him. With his senses already open and taking in more information than his brain seemed to want to process, touch was an added stressor, more unwanted sensory input.

-Virgil being touch-averse is a direct shoutout to Cade, who is also touch-averse.

Roman had already transformed the living room: metallic streamers of purple and black stretched across the corners of the ceiling, and shiny balloons spelling out A-N-X-E-I-T-Y hovered above the TV.

-Upon first writing, Virgil had already given the upstairs crew his name, so the banner spelled out "VIRIGL" which is way funnier than "ANXEITY." But then his name reveal became a plot point so I had to go back and change it.

-Let! Virgil! Be! Mean!

-Virgil's line about hearing refrigerator noise when Roman talks is another shout-out to Cade, who has leveled that accusation at me

A small, cruel part of him protested at the idea that he would need special treatment and desperately wanted to throw it back in Patton's face. He wasn't a sweetheart, he wasn't a baby. He didn't need to crawl into a blanket fort with Dad just because he was a little stressed.

-Remus calls Janus "Janus Geminus" because I was tired and couldn't come up with a pun. "Geminus" is one of the Roman god Janus' epithets; another is "Pater" meaning "Father." That led to a conversation about Remus deliberately confusing Patton by calling Janus "Daddy," but I couldn't think of a clean way to fit the explanation into the narrative, so I stuck with "Geminus."

Chapter 3:

"There's nothing normal about that! " Roman stared in horror at the coffee massacre Virgil had orchestrated. What had once been a respectable (if not very tasty) cup of black coffee was now part of a 1:1 coffee to milk suspension, the liquid a tasteful shade of tan suitable for business casual trousers or a show-ready chihuahua.

-Cade is a certified Nightmare Man and came up with Virgil's horrifying coffee order after I asked him about it. Keep an eye out for Janus' equally horrifying coffee order later in the fic.

1) Shouts out the fact that Janus is canonically a Dostoevsky fan

Chapter 4:

Janus smiled at him. "Where reason fails, the Devil helps." He fussed with his gloves and straightened his capelet. "It's showtime."

-I fucking love Crime and Punishment. Look at me. Look at me. I fucking love Crime and Punishment. Janus' quoting Raskolnikov serves multiple purposes:

2) Lampshades the fact that Roman just conveniently happened to be alone in the living room, because I didn't want to waste time getting him there. That makes me, the author, the Devil

3) Foreshadows the impending disaster. When Raskolnikov says this line it is because he had planned to commit axe murder. The axe he was planning to steal had been moved, but he finds another, different axe to use. Raskolnikov messes up the murder and ends up killing an innocent witness in addition to his intended target. Janus messes up his manipulation attempt and ends up murdering Roman's self esteem

-I was going to include a reference to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Remus' line "debauchery and vomit" was originally going to be "blood, love, and rhetoric") but I didn't because... Uh... Hm. Why didn't I do that. Maybe I just forgot about it???

-Roman is too stubborn to manipulate for long and that is a fact.

"I was pretty much done anyway," Remus said. "There's only so much debauchery and vomit you can fit into one story."

-Cade specifically ask me that nobody cry in this fic, but after I had Janus eviscerate Roman I knew he couldn't not cry a little. I kept it to a minimum because there's already a billion fucking fics about [literally any Side] crying on the shoulder of [literally any other Side] and it's really just not interesting to either of us.

-It didn't come up because it doesn't matter, but Thomas dreamed he was participating in the exact Dionysian orgy that took place in The Secret History because it's my fic and I said so.

Chapter 5:

He just sat back and watched and tugged at his hair while Janus spooned mound after mound of crisp white sugar into his mug and Virgil poured his customary eight fluid ounces of milk into his own mug.

-Cade strikes again. Virgil's coffee order is equal amounts milk to coffee; Janus' is equal parts sugar to coffee. He had asked me to include a scene where Roman catches Janus massacring his coffee and is appropriately horrified, but I uhh... Didn't write it. I still might include it as an omake someday.

-I imagine that Roman feels really strongly about dragons vs wyverns, and Remus just pretends to give a shit because he thinks it's funny to wind Roman up. Fortunately for me but unfortunately for my sense of realism in writing, I can't relate because I adore my sister and we get along perfectly almost 100% of the time.

"You shut us down every chance you get!" Remus said, baring his teeth. "How would you like it if your pens never wrote, hm? What would you do with all those thoughts in your head?"

-I do wish I had developed the concept of power focuses a bit more, established rules and such. Basically, Patton is always on the prowl for wrongthink and actively represses it, which in turn breaks or sabotages the Dark Sides' power focus.

Chapter 6: This chapter really should have been Janus and Roman but I was really tired and didn't want to bother with it. Plus, you know, Moceit. This chapter was meant to demonstrate how the characters would get along without Virgil nannying them. There's friction, but everyone is making a conscious, deliberate effort to get along because they love Virgil, and love is a series of choices you make.

I chose "Leo" as the answer for the answer to the crossword clue instead of "Virgo," because my other QPP is a Leo. She'll never read this fic, but I did it anyway because I love her. (Trivia: My sign is Virgo, so it was really a choice between shouting her out and shouting me out, and the last chapter is self-indulgent enough, thank you).

Chapter 7: I was gonna write a fic where all the Sides watched Cats the Musical because I was going through a phase. Then Cade requested this so I combined the two ideas. By this point I was fucking exhausted, and that's the only thing that saved you and the rest of the world from me writing the Sides riffing on the movie scene-by-scene. I could come up with snarky commentary for almost every, if not every single song from the movie.

Most notably, I cut a Patton-Remus interaction where Remus declares his love for Grizabella and Patton gets all staryy-eyed about Remus connecting with the idea of rising above rejection and being loved and accepted only for Remus to shoot him down and explain that he just likes that she got to die in a tire fire.

Other cut scenes include Janus quietly pretending not to go feral over Mister Mistoffelees, Patton full-on fucking sobbing over Grizabella and the kittens, and Logan experiencing a deep, soulful kinship with Munkustrap during Of The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollices (and henceforth introducing the phrase "like herding cats" into his regular vocabulary