#meta human reader

[fl3shm4id3n]

Hello again! It's me the person who requested the hybrid reader! Before I go on I just wanted to say that I absolutely adored what you wrote and loved how you added ninat as the readers mom and I really appreciate your hard work! Since you wrote the reader to be omatikaya can I request a metkayena hybrid? It's the same as before scientists abandoned reader but this time ronal finds reader passed out and takes reader to heal them and see what happened to them, after that she asks reader why they're like this so reader explains everything and ronal adopts reader, after that the sully family arrives and they're really surprised to see a hybrid like that, hopefully I didn't write too much and I want you to take as much time as you need and remember to drink water and rest!!! :D, also Im gonna put this star 𖤐 so whenever I request something you know it's me, hope you have a great day!

ₐbₐₙdₒₙₑd by ₜₕₑ ₛₑₐ

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐚, 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐮𝐥𝐤𝐮𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

ᴍᴇᴛᴋᴀʏɪɴᴀ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ x ᴍᴇᴛᴀ-ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ! ʜʏʙʀɪᴅ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ! (ᴘʟᴀᴛᴏɴɪᴄ),ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʟʟʏꜱ x ᴍᴇᴛᴀ-ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ! ʜʏʙʀɪᴅ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (ᴘʟᴀᴛᴏɴɪᴄ)

Tw: child abandonment, child neglect, mentions of experimenting on a fetus, reader has a bit of PTASD and thalassophobia.

A/N: I'm glad you liked the first fic! I was actually planning on writing another one of these, but a Metkayina hybrid XD did we think of the same thing? Anyway, thanks you for your kinds words and for sending in your other request! I did know how the emoji anon works, but now I do, thank you again.♡

Have a nice day/night and have a good rest, you deserve it :)

Masterlist

The Tulkun had returned, after the small welcoming ceremony, the Tulkun had gone off to roam around the sea around the Village. Ronal had finished her duties, so she went to go see Roa and catch up with her. Ever since the birth of her children, Ronal has been talking to Roa about both Ao'nung and Tsireya, she really loved her children and she wanted to share that love with Roa.

When she arrived to where her and Roa normally med up, she noticed something laying on Roa's right eye. Ronal thought that she must have been hurt, but when she saw what it was, she was beyond shocked. "I see you sister" Ronal sighed to the Tulkun, who had also greeted her sister. "I found a child on her own out here" she said towards the Tsahik, who was now sitting on her right fin to look at the so called child.

But this child wasn't any ordinary child, she was a particular child. Ronal got a better look at her. She was a human child, or was she? Ronal noticed how her skin was marked with darker lines, similar to her wavy stripes, her little arms and ankles were a bit wider, similar to fins. Then she saw her little pointed ears, along with more dark marking on her face and cheeks, her feline like nose and for sure her eyes must be wider. Her tale was similar as well and she had a little queue coming down from her short hair.

Ronal couldn't tell because she was asleep, she also noticed a white hospital gown on the child and a small band wrapped around her left arm, it had some kind of serial number on it and a small titled 'Project Pandora 001'. "Sister, you must help this child" Roa begged Ronal who was still looking at the unconscious child. Should she really? This child was a human, but also a na'vi of her kind. She stopped to think, but finally came to a decision. "I will" Ronal signed to Roa. In which the Tulkun thanked her sister.

On the way back to the village, Ronal had you cradled close to her chest. You very small compared to a na'vi child, it would make sense due to being human but you were also a hybrid of a Metkayina. Ronal also noticed how you got closer to her warmth and shivered a bit, it must have been due to you being cold.

When she arrived, she carried you in her big arms, while she made her way back to her marui, she was greeted by some villagers, but they also couldn't help but noticed the small child in her arms. They had grown curious on why the Tsahik had a small human child. She finally made it to the small home, and was greeted by her children and her husband. Just like the other villagers, they were surprised when they saw you in Ronal arms.

Ronal had laid you down in a matt and got to work checking on you. The whole time, Tsireya and Ao'nung watched their mother do her ritual but they were also looking at you, studying your features. Tonowari didn't interrupt his wife's ritual, just like his children, he studied you. Seen how you were a human, but also had Metkayina features, he knew right away that you were the creation of humans.

Finally you were responding, they watched as you slowly opened your eyes, exposing that you had a third eyelid and the color of your eyes were similar to the Metkayina's green and blue. "Doctor?" that was all your tiny voice had manage to say. Then you saw up, and noticed how you weren't in the lab. You noticed the family that was now staring at you, you felt small due to them being bigger, even the kids that looked around your age were bigger.

Tonowari was first one to speak. "Who are you?" he asked, he sounded kind of scary since his voice was loud and a bit demanding. Then Ronal gave him a look, a little warning to show that you were obviously scared and confused. "I'm sorry about him, what is your name?" she asked, almost too sweetly. You shyly looked at the Tsahik, but responded. "I'm Experiment number 001" you said, this make Ao'nung scoff. "What kind of name is that?" Tsireya then gave him a light smack on the back of his head, causing him to glare at her.

"Where are you from?" Ronal asked again. "From the lab" you said, playing with the trim of the hospital gown. "A Human lab?" Tonowari asked, less demanding this time. You nodded. "Where are your parents?" Tsireya asked, looking at you, very tempted to go over where you were. "I don't have parents, I'm with the doctors" you said, making the couple look at each other, with concern. "You don't have a mother or father?" Ronal asked and you shock his head. "No, I was made in the lab."

"How!?" Ao'nung yelled, now very curious on how you were created, but he received a glare from his mother which made him nervous. "I don't know how to explain, but I was told that I made in a tank. A lady placed an egg in the tank and then I grew. I think the egg was me" you explained, this kind of made the couple worry. "How did you end up here?" Tsireya asked again. "I don't know, I was instructed to to swim a mile, just like every day, but when I went back to the ship, it was gone."

This made Ronal and Tonowari's stomach's drop. The same humans that had created you had abandoned you on your own, in the middle of the ocean, one of the most dangerous bodies of water. The couple then look at one another, as if they were having a silent conversation between one another. Tsireya had got closer to you, looking at your markings and other features with curiosity. You showed her your little arms, seeing that you had the same wavy marking on your skin.

After the couple had their silent conversation then turned to you. "How would you like it, if you had a family?" Tonowari asked, this made your ears perk up by the question. "Really, but who'd take me?" You asked, making Ronal respond to your question. "Us, we'll take you in" she said, this made your small tail kind of wag, lightly tapping on the wooden floor. "Promise you won't leave me?" you asked, this almost made Tonowari's heart break. He picked you up and placed you on his lap. "We promise, that we'll never leave you." You wrapped your little arms around his huge torso, hugging him tightly.

It had been announced that the Olo'eyktan and the Tsahìk had adopted a child, they village was told that they must treat you the way they treat their children, since you were now their daughter. Just like every na'vi, you received a Songcord and a First Breath Ceremony, this was to show that you were now born again as one of them, and later on in life, you'll be a Metkayina. Sure, you were already late, but it was still done.

Ronal had began to teach you how to properly swim and breath underwater, you did know how to swim and hold your breath, but you'd only last a couple minutes under the water and your swimming looked a bit odd. Since she was teaching her children you were taught the same. You learned how to dive, breathe and how to swim from side to side.

Tsireya was already caring towards you since she first met you, she'd take you everywhere and introduced you to her friends. She was also your second teacher when it came to learning how to weave, ride an ilu and so on. She really loved calling you her sister, spite being a human, she really loved you. At first Ao'nung wasn't sure on how to treat you since you were part human, the stories he had heard of those demons really stuck with him. As time passed, he grew to also care about you, he treated you like his sister. Just like Tsireya, Roxto already liked you, he treated you like one of his many sisters and female cousins.

As much as you loved the ocean, you were also scared of going further the small beaches. You, Ao'nung and Roxto were on the canoe, rowing around the village, but Ao'nung wanted to further then you guys normally did, you weren't sure at first, but Ao'nung convinced you into going. When you were getting further and further away from the village, you began to freak out and begged to head back. But Ao'nung tried to calm you down and tell you that you were okay, but you freaked out even more to the point of crying. Roxto was the one to calm you down while Ao'nung rowed you back.

When you arrived back, Tonowari saw how bad you were crying and asked what happened, while Ao'nung explained what he did, Roxto continued to calm you down and that you were safe. No one got in trouble, Tonowari explained why you reacted the way that you did. Ao'nung felt bad and promised to not do it again.

You had grown attached to one of the ilus, you liked all of them, but their was one that you had been around since she was young. She did let others ride her, but you and her were practically made for one another. She basically knew you very well, she knew how you'd get when you'd get scared if she was heading a bit further from the village, she'd quickly go back so that you don't freak out more.

Years had passed and you just like the rest of your brothers and sister were already in your teen years. You were all getting prepaired to become adults you, Ao'nung, and Roxto had become good hunters, meanwhile Tsireya was going to begin her Tsahil training, life was going great.

Then something unexpected had happened. A family from the Forest had come to the village, seeking for Uturu, it was the one and only Toruk Makto with his family. He was done with war and wanted to keep his family safe. Your father had allowed him and his family to stay, with the condition that they'll learn to adapt like them. Ao'nung, Tsireya and you were in charged in teaching the children what to do. You could tell how surprised they were when they saw a human hybrid like you living with the Metkayina.

You and your sister where kind enough to show the Sully family around the village and take them to their now home. You also noticed how you'd get glances from them here and their, but you didn't mind since you were used to getting that kind of attention when you first arrived.

When the teaching began, you'd get asked a bunch of questions on how it was possible for you to be with the reef na'vi. Was one of your parents human and the other a Metkayina Na'vi? is their more like you or are you the only one? So on. You answered their questions honestly so that they understood you more. They had seemed to like you like they liked Tsireya.

[gofancyninjaworld]

Dancing with capybara, swimming with sharks

I know that a frequent tedious gripe of some fans is that they wanted to see Amai Mask showing his stuff in front of the other heroes. You know, punching monsters and reattaching bits of himself, and that sort of thing.  Like we see below.

When it came to looking good in front of his peers, things did not go well for Amai Mask in the manga. 

Coming back to how the manga differs from the webcomic, this last chapter has made me realise why Amai Mask couldn't be centred on the field like he was on the webcomic.

His not looking good has been a huge blessing in disguise. He'd be dead or in Metal Knight's monster holding cells. The heroes in the manga are seriously on the case of monsters masquerading as humans.

It’s not that the heroes in the webcomic are more stupid or less concerned with justice. However, they are very self-absorbed units. Like capybara. If it’s not a capybara issue, why should they take notice.

The heroes in the manga are not little self-absorbed units the way they were in the webcomic -- and they compare notes. It’s like swimming with sharks... safe until they change their perception of one into food or a threat. No way jose could he have been seen to do something like this and go unchallenged.

There’s no fault in Amai Mask’s strength in the manga. The casualness with which he lifts a large piece of reinforced concrete one-handed and tosses it away attests to that.

His regenerative abilities in the manga, are if anything, far more impressive.  No clean cuts required! It just wasn’t his day for looking good.

As it is, Child Emperor might have seen him dismembered -- if he wasn’t entirely preoccupied with what happened to Zombieman -- but it looks like he's too ill at the moment to cause issues. He’ll get better though.

Amai Mask faces other threats.  From Iaian and his fellow disciples smelling a rat and looking to start digging into his background.  The destruction of the Council of Swordmasters and the consequent time Atomic will need to sort out their affairs will buy him some time, but it won’t last.

And, unbeknownst to him, Do-S is still alive... and very, very keen on blackmailing him.

The sharks are beginning to circle our shape-shifting hero. Right now, the scent of blood is very faint but the trail only leads one way.

The danger he’s in is real: we’ve seen how much stronger the S-Class heroes here are than their webcomic equivalents... and they’re on edge after the way things went down. He’s not unaware of it: he’s been looking for a hero to lead the way and he’s surely aware he needs to find that person fast.  His words to Zombieman and Child Emperor carry an entirely different weight already.

Before it’s too late for him.

[notenderhands]

Ok this is not completely thought out but I do think it’s interesting that in the first chapter of TWP, Medraut mentions that people fear his skill because he could easily poison/hurt Lleu and then he goes on to mention how he hurt Lleu but in ways no one noticed.

Also I think it is interesting how he mentions in this section that Lleu’s fear of being touched when he is unconscious is unfounded but remarks on his own SA by Morgause. I find it interesting how Lleu fears Medraut’s hands when he first meets him and also doesn’t know who he is. Medraut’s hands are the object of Morgause’s desire for Medraut. Moreover, Morgause uses his hands to touch her body. Also, There’s a similarity between Medraut’s SA by Morgause and Medraut’s first scene/healing scene with Lleu in TWP.

Also some of the same body parts involved in both scenes, i.e., the throat and the back. Morgause puts Medraut's hand against her chin and throat so he would recognize her, but he doesn't. Lleu freaks out when Medraut touches his throat and also doesn't recognize him. Morgause uses her nails/hand to tear open Medraut's back. Then Medraut rubs Lleu's back to help him breath.

Like you guys see the similarities too or am I just trying to make an ocean out of a puddle?

I am not even going to get into Morgause and Medraut’s relationship involved her poisoning him/lacing his food with drugs and what I think that means when discussing Leu's and Medraut's relationship.

[kintatsujo]

I don’t have the energy, the time, or the desire to make a whole game out of this nonsense meta disappearing up its own ass essay so have this one culminating concept scene instead

(ID in alt text)

[toddhewitt]

Todd Hewitt for the Reverse Unpopular Opinion meme 😁

my favorite of all time 😭 i have extensive notes written on why exactly that is but to sum it up it's mostly about just being human. making mistakes, feeling bad and saying you'll learn from them, then making more mistakes and that cycle repeating itself. redemption as a non-linear process, the way both todd and mayor prentiss raise complex questions about what makes a person ir/redeemable - this all weighs so heavily on todd's shoulders and he's not dealing with it like a hero, he's dealing with it like a human. more specifically, a human raised by two parents who are more moderate (and one of whom actively strays away from toxic masculinity) in a violent extremist society based on said toxic masculinity, and the contradictions that come with this kind of upbringing. he's kind, but he fails. he feels everything so much, he has so much rage and love and anguish in him. he's just a kid who's not remarkable at anything of his own making, it's just that upbringing that made him into the emotional guy he is.

and the intensity of these emotions is that power. this is made explicit by the mayor (and others) multiple times, and is shown to us specifically with everything regarding his noise. todd is undoubtedly at his weakest in the middle of the second book because he's numb, and echoes of it, a different kind of numbness, appear in the third book. both times, that numbness breaks when he's at a sudden emotional extreme - in the ask and the answer it's seeing viola again, especially when she shows him the band, and in monsters of men it's hearing ben's song. as he gets farther away from the mayor and closer to ben, his noise literally opens up. it's such a perfect way to show the power that is in todd's emotions, and i haven't even mentioned the noise battles.

but the thing is - he doesn't want to use that power, and it's not a necessarily positive or heroic statement. there's being greedy for power, and in opposition there's giving up on power and the indication that it's resisting greed and so it's valiant. but that's not the case with todd; he's actually told that his power could do the world good, that he can help bring change. viola tells him that in the tent scene in monsters of men, which is, in my opinion, the most important scene for his whole character arc. and it's because he's simply saying - no. i know i have this power and that it can help, but i've been trying to do a lot of good, and it's exhausting me. there are adults who can help handle the situation. i just want to live quietly with the people i love.

that rejection of the hero role imposed on you by others is not something that this story invented, but here it's the most powerful way i've ever seen it used, because for three books we have been inside the mind of this kid, who is full of anger and full of care, reading about his constant turmoil at the questions, "am i moral? am i forgivable? am i good?" so this is todd saying he doesn't owe anyone an answer to these questions, including himself. this is him recognizing that the world should not put him in situations where he constantly needs to ask these questions, that a society which challenges his goodness in its cruel reality is not one that he wants to keep living in, and that he wants to find an alternative. it sounds almost naive but i think it's also mature in its implications, or like, accepting his own naivete. he doesn't know he's the protagonist of a story but everyone seems to think he's special anyway, and he's rejecting the responsibility that comes with these things. sounds selfish? maybe. but it's human. maybe "i'm human" is the best answer he can give to the questions he's been asking himself... embracing the chaos of personhood, this intuitive wording feels right.

i love the way his internal voice is written. it's so genuine and so fluid, like a flowing stream of thought. i love his terminology, especially in the hebrew translation. i love his imperfections as a human being and i love that he feels so much like a human being. he's human. that's the thing i love most about him ❤

[lume-nosity]

hi! i want to make mutuals here, so for the full introduction thing or whatever it’s here (it’s slightly outdated but it sums up mostly everything!)

so mainly im just here to vibe, write some stuff, lurk, and talk about random things! im a bit shy at first but i promise you im nice!

if you want to be moots leave a comment to ask (or through askbox/dms) and introduce yourself with your name/nickname, pronouns, hobbies, fandoms you’re in, that basic stuff!

meta runner/genshin/pjsk/kny/yttd/dbh writers/enjoyers hi *leans against a wall but trips and falls on my face*

[keepingupwiththeboltons]

Why do people think characters making emotion based decisions is "stupid" or "unrealistic" bruh why do you want the characters to be worse written? Why do you not want the plot to happen?

[abyssurvived]

hi im here and thinking about ivy fresh out of the fae realm 💕

having to relearn/remember how to be human again 💕

having to remind herself that humans ( at least a majority ) don't welcome each other with syrupy comparisons of how the sunlight pours out of their friends skin 💕

having to remind herself that she can't just open portals to hop & travel about 💕

having to remember that getting into fights with people can't be solved by biting at whatever flesh is closest 💕

that you can't jokingly turn ppl into random animals or plants after they pissed you off cause they can't turn their self back 💕

[sebastianswallows]

The Little Death — 2. A dream of life

— PAIRING: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x Bene Gesserit!Reader

— SYNOPSIS: A Bene Gesserit gets left behind in the Arrakeen palace. When Feyd becomes the Planetary Governor, he finds her there in hiding. The Harkonnens don't traditionally keep them as truthsayers or concubines like other Houses do, but Feyd might have a use for her. After all, he's never had a Bene Gesserit of his own before.

— WARNINGS: a bit of voyeurism

— WORDCOUNT: 2.4k

— TAGLIST: @elf-punk

The best art imitates life in a compelling way. If it imitates a dream, it must be a dream of life. — Darwi Odrade

She confessed with regret that she did not, in fact, have one of those pain boxes. A Gom Jabbar was available in the palace and in fact was in the Harkonnen's possession as far as she knew, but that was just a poisoned needle tipped with meta-cyanide. What he was after was the… active part of the humanity test. That was only at the disposal of those sisters qualified to carry it out.

She was certain Feyd would do away with her once she explained how and why she didn’t have what he was after and prepared herself internally for death. But it never came. He paused in thought and nodded, and his cool eyes moved away from her with a shadow of sadness to them. Then he turned around, his broad shoulders clad in black exposed to her, and walked toward the table.

“You will come with me.”

He picked up a shigawire reel and shoved it in a compartment of his suit, a small pocket at the side of his chest, then walked right by her on his way out of the room. She followed obediently.

The palace was quiet, free of the usual fuss that filled it during the day — servants scrambling, scraping like traumatised automatons just trying to survive — but as they walked past the way she came she heard a violent sound from the direction where her old room was. They’re destroying my things, she realised.

Her eyes turned to Feyd-Rautha’s back once more, the smooth black of his clothes and white of his skin, and she wondered what plans he had for her. Would he be more subtle with his killing than his brother was, or… more creative? Would she be able to use the stunning word and paralyse him in time to get away? Would she have to kill him instead?

“Am I going too fast for you?” he asked over his shoulder. It was not an honest question, as she could tell from the smile in his voice.

“No?”

“Funny. I can hear you breathing.”

She bit her lip and glared at the back of his head.

They passed from the most shadowed places of the palace into the well-lit ones where snow-white lamps hung in the air. There were more guards in this area too, and she gradually realised they weren’t going to the prisons. They were going to his quarters.

“After you,” he said, stopping in front of a jaundiced pair of double doors guarded on each side by armed guards as still as statues.

She looked up at him warily as she stepped forward. He was still smiling in that cocky, boyish way, but something was incongruent. His awkward pose — not quite facing her, not quite to the side — the bent of his back as if he tried to make himself seem shorter, his arms somewhat aimless at his sides… He was trying to be polite and he didn’t know how.

She stepped inside. His room was nothing like what she imagined. The natural pale yellow of the Arrakeen stone gave it a softness that was at odds with the black linens on the massive bed. Moonlight streamed from the twin window slits on the opposite wall, and on the smooth tables lay an array of little boxes, pots, and cases left half-opened. There was a scent of ink there that cut through the modest smell of disinfectant. He’d only just moved in… He hadn’t had a chance to make the place his own yet.

As she analysed these new surroundings, Feyd stepped in and the doors closed behind them, leaving them alone. The palace seemed all the more distant now.

“My lord na-Baron?”

“Hm?” he muttered as he walked right past her, going to place something inside a drawer by the bed — the shigawire reel.

“W-what… what would you have me do?”

“You can do whatever you like.”

Her eyes slid toward the door. “Can I leave?”

She didn’t expect him to say ‘yes’, but she expected even less what he said next.

“Leave?” he chuckled, looking at her over his shoulder. “Where would you go? You’re my Bene Gesserit now.”

And he continued preparing himself for the night as if it was the most normal of circumstances. A part of her, the most human part, felt offended, but from the periphery of her mind, her training whispered to her what was really going on.

Feyd-Rautha kept his back turned and his attention on the objects in his possession — diskettes of reports he sorted for later reading, the daggers at his belt, the signet ring around his finger — and he spoke to her most dismissively and distantly. He was treating her like a stray cat he had just found and brought into his bedroom. Now he was letting her explore her new home, but he still did not dare to look at her directly, to watch her as openly as he desired. In his every move, however casual, there was nervous self-awareness. Completely opposite to how confident he’d been before he met her.

She’d served the Fenrings before, and the Atreides after them, but until now she had never quite felt owned. Still, if it was a kitten the Harkonnen wanted, that was what she would provide.

Without addressing him, she stepped sideways and turned, letting her posture loosen. Her head tilted back in a light stretch to relieve the tension of expecting death. She moved in a wide arch, slow steps, small sounds, while her fingers traced the surface of the wall for no reason in particular, just to absorb its texture.

“Why do you want me?” she asked in a low and silky voice. Seduction seldom failed with arrogant young men.

“I told you,” answered Feyd rather too quickly, his head bowed as he pretended to clean one of his blades.

“You’ve never had a Bene Gesserit of your own…”

“And it’s about time to have one.”

“Would the Baron approve?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, finally looking up at her. He smiled at the sight of her slinking across the room, dark dress trailing behind her. “Things can change, even in House Harkonnen.”

She paused mid-step to smile back at him. “Changes awaken something in us…”

He gave a noncommital hum and started walking to her, his head tilted in a thoughtful way.

“What sort of things do they teach you?” he asked. “At your… Bene Gesserit school?”

“Many things,” she said with an inviting tone. “Control of the self, the mind, the body… Understanding of history. Political strategy.”

Feyd came to a stop before her, a trepidation into his step. He walked until he cornered her in a darkened divot of the room. Standing a full head taller, he looked down into her eyes.

“What do you want to know?” she whispered.

He frowned, that strange smooth brow ridge wrinkling quite innocently, and his eyes betrayed transparent thoughts. He didn’t know what he wanted to know, but he knew he wanted something.

“What does… a Bene Gesserit do?”

“That depends on what our master wishes.”

“But what do you usually do?”

“We teach. We advise. When asked, we serve.”

“Did Paul Atreides have one?”

“Yes. His mother, Lady Jessica.”

The hints of jealousy were faint. There wasn’t much to envy in the dead… But he looked at her with that strange look in his eyes again, that speck of a little boy lost, and something in her instinctively wanted to cup his cheek, to pet him, and hold him close. She did not doubt that something inside of him wanted it too, and her body was just responding to the subconscious observation.

“Can you kill?” he asked.

“If I have to.”

“And have you?”

“Not yet.”

“In that way, I’m better than you, Bene Gesserit,” he chuckled.

And suddenly, his hand came up to grip the back of her neck. She was startled by how quick the movement was, how his body gave no tells that he would make it. A true predator. He pulled her closer, strong fingers tightening against her nape, pressing her against him. Beneath his armour, the plates of his body were strong. Every feminine part of her responded with a cascade of lust — not at the hidden hint of beauty but at the symbol of his pride. He wasn’t just a pampered princeling living through his allotted years of beauty. He brought his body to the peak of its potential. The motion pulled the veil off her head, and his eyes went to her soft mane of hair. His grip stayed firm, but his gaze traversed this new part of her as if it were a landscape, with hills and dales and quiet streams, all flowing down.

“Na-Baron,” she whispered, hand coming up to grip his wrist.

“Shut up,” he said, blue eyes still focused on her hair. “Go to sleep.” And then he let her go.

He turned from her and walked away with the energy of someone ready to run off — but there was nowhere for him to go, and his steps slowed. She watched him as she rubbed the sore back of her neck, watched how his head bowed for a moment as if he’d just woken up, how he walked toward the large square bed, how he started taking his clothes off…

He was a strange sight indeed. A broken psyche that reflected the duality present in his features — cold and frightful, soft and gentle, brutal but not so much from the absence of affection as from the presence of cruelty on top.

“Where shall I sleep?”

“Hm? Oh…” He looked around as if only just considering that fact. “Whenever you like,” he said, giving up quickly on thinking about it. “But here, in this room. You don’t get out of my sight, little witch. Not until I decide I can trust you.”

He pulled the layers of clothes off. First the armour on his back and shoulders, then the belt around his hips, and the second skin of the black suit that hugged his body.

“And… what shall I wear to bed?”

He paused and turned to look at her. His chest was as white as his face, but strong and chiselled, far less delicate. It shone with the sweat of a long day beneath the yellow light.

“Wear?” he rasped, his lips twisted in a quizzical smile. “Why should you wear anything?”

She settled for sleeping in a chair in a corner of the room. Feyd had gone to sleep completely naked, and he’d not been shy of parading his body around. She watched without fear, without shame, taking note of all the ways his muscles worked, the stretch and give of the skin, the scent of sweat, of blood.

Noting how much he seemed to like her hair, she did not cover it again, and after he fell asleep she quietly took the top layer of her clothing off. The Harkonnens were used to having their servants quite exposed, but she was not about to give him cause to think that that was what she was. If she wanted to survive, she had to walk the tightrope of perception. She had to be above him, as well as below. A knowledgeable Bene Gesserit sister, with all the guileless charm of a kitten.

She remained in her shift, a long grey piece held up by two thin straps, and used her dress as a blanket. She did now sleep but instead pretended to as she entered a state of Prajna meditation.

The secret pathways out of the room became known to her, faint currents invisible to the conscious mind. A spy hole existed in the western wall, covered on both sides by thin material. To the north, a doorway with no handle led into another room. Beyond it, sounds of restless sleeping. Three figures — feminine? Outside, the guards stood watch, but one was close to sleeping.

She was almost at the point where exhaustion caught up with her too, and like a slow receding wave her meditation ended. Her body lay relaxed and limp, head resting on her shoulder, hands folded. But with the last thread of her extended senses, she caught the taste of struggle in the room. Rapid heartbeat, frantic breathing, shifting eyes behind closed lids. Feyd-Rautha was dreaming.

Soundlessly, she slid off the chair and left her dress on it. The floor beneath her naked feet was cold as ice, it made her want to shiver, but she maintained control of every muscle as she walked toward the bed. Feyd’s body was twisted in the silken sheets, twitching, tense. Jolts disturbed his restful state as if in his mind he tried to get away from something. She could almost see the phantom trace of touches on his skin.

He slept on his front, arms thrown above his head, legs spread. His tossing made the sheets slip off his back to reveal a taut, tense expanse that ended in soft cheeks. Beneath them, the faintest hint of hairless, purpling swells and a limp length. He was so vulnerable…

As she got closer, she could hear him mutter words in a foreign language. Was that what they spoke on Giedi Prime? She could make out influences of galactic language all the way to those of the old Earth, but it was just enough to only guess what he was saying. The tone, nevertheless, was clear. He’s afraid, she thought.

She crouched at the edge of the bed where his naked foot hung off the side, her brow crested with worry. He was dangerous, she dared not touch him, and however much she wanted to wake him as a simple human kindness she wanted even more to see where his nightmares led.

With a long and frightful wail muffled by the pillows, Feyd dragged his strong beautiful body upwards, curling like a snake. He pulled his knees up to his chest and started shaking. Every now and then, his foot would kick. The sign of running in a dream. The whiteness of his body, pure and pale as chalk, the hairlessness of even his masculine parts, it made him look so fragile, so defenceless. A fascinating specimen. To think, the step just before the Kwisatz Haderach would look like that...

She let her body fall down to the floor and propped herself against the mattress, her cheek upon the bed. And she watched him, following the shadow of his dreams, for as long as the night went.

[gay-dorito-dust]

I HAVE ONE ASK!!

Jason arriving tired from patrol and just wanting love and affection. When he arrives he smiles when he sees that the reader is sleeping hugging a redhood stuffed. When he lies down on the bed, the reader throws the stuffed away and hugs Jason saying "my big teddy bear!"

Tonight has been a rough one for Jason.

Everything almost went sideways but luckily everything worked out in his favour, and now all Jason wanted to do was to melt in your embrace, and melt even further under the kisses you scatter across his face.

‘Honey I’m home.’ He called out as he entered the bedroom and smiled immeditly upon seeing you all bundled up warm under the covers with your face buried into the back of a battered and poorly made RedHood plushie. Jason -still to this day- had zero idea where you could’ve possibly gotten it and who from, but he even couldn’t deny how adorable you looked holding onto it for dear life as though you were praying for his safety through it.

It was moments like these where Jason realised that he was still wasn’t use to having someone worry about him. Or having someone to come home to after a long night of patrol, taking into consideration the length of time where he was more then well accustomed to the sight of an empty apartment never less a lively, warm one. Back then it felt cold, but now that you had entered his life Jason had been quick to notice the subtle shifts within the apartment, and he loved how much warmer you’ve made things by adding your own personal touches to the point where Jason found himself wanting to stay in with you more often then not; His apartment was finally staring to feel like home and it was all thanks to you.

You blinked through bleary eyes at him and smiling widely, ‘My big teddy bear had finally decided to come home.’ You cheered, tossing aside your RedHood plushie as though the past hour of you burying yourself into it meant absolutely nothing to you, and opening up your arms as you made grabby hands at him. ‘Yeah, yeah, your big teddy bear is right here. There’s no need to fear anything now I’m here.’ Jason cooed as he flopped onto the bed, finally feeling his exhaustion and into your arms. His face was buried deep into your chest, letting out a deep groan from the back of his throat in relief when he felt your fingers being to run through his hair. ‘I’m starting to think your fingers are secretly magic, chipmunk.’ He said with a muffled voice. ‘Are you sure you’re not a meta human?’

You chuckled, kissing his head one, twice, three times before deciding to answer. ‘No, pretty sure I’m just a regular human Jaybirdie.’

Jason hums. ‘I love it when you call me that.’

‘I think I’m the only person who calls you that.’ You replied sweetly as you continued to thread your fingers through his hair, paying particular attention to the tufts of white amidst the sea of dark hair. ‘And we’re keeping it that way.’ Jason groans, burring his face closer to your chest. ‘Don’t want nobody else calling me that but you.’ He says adamantly and you couldn’t help but smile at how unintentional cute he was being whilst half asleep.

‘Why? Would you be embarrassed if someone did?’ You inquired, feeling his arms latch at your waist and tighten their iron grip, something he always did to reassure himself that you were real. ‘No It’s a name you’ve given me and I don’t want nobody else calling me it but you.’ Jason responded. ‘because when you say it, it makes me feel all warm and shit inside.’ He adds in a murmur but you manage to catch it either way and the smile on your face widens as you kissed the top of his head a couple more times.

‘Has anyone told you that you’re adorable when you’re half asleep.’ You say softly into his head as he readjusts himself to get more comfortable. ‘No, just you, like it always should be.’ He says in response. ‘Now can we get some sleep? Patrol tonight took a lot out of me and all I’ve been thinking about all night was coming home to you and falling asleep in your arms.’

‘Of course we can Jaybirdie. All you have to do is just ask.’ You told him as you felt sleep catching up with you once more as Jason’s warmth only lulled you even further to close your heavy eyes and drift off to sleep.

[fl3shm4id3n]

I know this is kinda long and it’s okay if this looks annoying but if you can an au where neteyam doesn’t die and when the ship is sinking him and tuk are trapped in the ship instead and find y/n who has been expiramented from the moment she was born, she has never once been outside or has been told anything about what’s outside, the last thing she sees before she runs out of air is neteyam, the next day she wakes up in complete confusion not recognizing anything and doesn’t speak Navi, when Jake realizes and tries to speak to her she points outside towards the sky and ask what it is because she’s never learned about anything outside the rooms she would stay in, and him and his family are confused on how she can’t recognize anything, she then later latches on to neteyam because she knows that he saved her, and she just asked questions on things that people would normally know about like what a family or parents are

ₚᵢₙₖ Wₐₗₗₛ

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐛 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧, ��𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐧𝐚'𝐯𝐢 𝐛𝐨𝐲.

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ɪᴍᴘʟɪᴇᴅ ɴᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ ᴛᴇ ꜱᴜʟɪ ᴛꜱʏᴇʏᴋ'ɪᴛᴀɴ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ʜʏʙʀɪᴅ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Tw: experiment, sinking ship, passing out, reader is 15-16, imprinting, mentions of small spaces, fear of drowning, near death experience.

A/N: I wrote this on my phone, my back is killing me and I'm too lazy to get my computer.

Masterlist

You had been an experiment kept in isolation, they feared that something may happen to you if you ever go out, so they kept it within the base. All your life you were kept in a room, a pink room. You did learn to speak, count, walk and everything a child should learn growing up. At the same time you hated it, being cooped up in a place not being able to see the outside was the worst.

You referred to the scientist who put in your care as 'Dr.' or 'Ma'am' and 'Sir', that's what they have taught you to call them. You also felt different from everyone. You looked human, but at the same time you weren't a human. You had striped skin, wide eyes, a feline nose, a queue, big ears that move at any house, a tail, and was a bit later than everyone, you reached up to 7'7 feet. The only clothes you ever wore was a hospital gown.

This time was the first time you ever left Bridgehead, you went on a ship along with some humans, scientists, and a group known as Deja Blue, they were part of a program called 'Project Phoenix' or something. You came across a boy who was a human, he looked around your age, but then you were placed in another room, again. This time the walls were white. You really hated being alone in a room.

Everything was bad, the ship began to sink. You were still in your room, trying to find a way to get out of it, you began to panic not being able to open the door. Then you saw two people outside, you didn't know who they were but you banged on the door to get their attention. It was what seemed to be a boy and a young girl, they seemed to have hesitated at first but they managed to get the door to open.

"Thank you!" You screamed, but before he could reply, he got a hold of yours and the girls hands, getting you both to climb up, the water continued to rise up. There was a door that was half open, the boy attempted to pull it open, but the door closed due to the water. The girl screamed something, as the boy continued trying to open the door, but there was no use.

You were all silent In the dark water and small space you were in. Your freckles along with theirs were glowing. The boy held the small girl close to him, mumbling to her, trying to keep her calm. You were all scared for sure, was this how you were going to die? In a small isolated space? You began to tear up, not knowing what to do. The emotion was so tense, that you began to feel dizzy, the boy seemed to ask you something but you didn't understand. The last thing you saw was him looking at you with worry, then everything went to black.

You had been unconscious for a while, you had been placed in Sully's home once they returned back to the village. Neteyam had taken you with them when Kiri had come to rescue him and Tuk. He explained to the adults that he and Tuk found you in the ship locked in a room, and they helped you out of it. They thought it would be best to take you with them then leave you to die.

Ronal had come to help you wake you up the next day, she didn't seem found seeing someone like you in the village, it was enough that the Sully's were here and the war that happened yesterday, she was stressing at this point. She performed the same ritual she performed on Kiri, after a couple minutes, you opened your eyes.

Jake was the first to approach you after seeing you ever awaken. "Are you okay?" He asked, but you only stared at him in confusion. You then turned to look outside, seen the now blue sky along with the sounds and smell of the sea. "Hey kid, how are you feeling?" This time he spoke in English, you say up from the mat, then looked at Jake. "What's that?" You asked, pointing at the sky. Jake looked confused but answered "a sky?" He said, then your amazed expression, but he decided to ask more.

"You've never seen the sky?" He asked while you shook your head. "No, I've only seen the pink walls in the small space" you explained, now this was making sense. Once Ronal had made sure that you were okay, she left to go attend others who were injured in the battle."You've never seen outside? Ever?" Jake asked, you again shook your head. "No, just the pink walls, sometimes the walls would be white" you said shyly now, feeling embarrassed by what you were explaning to the male.

Jake gave a look to Neytiri who had been listening to everything that you have been explaining to them. She had a look of horror, hearing this made her sick to her stomach. Then Neteyam walked in to see if everything was alright, while the others were outside the Marui. As soon as you saw Neteyam, you got up from the mat and quickly went over, hugging him around the waist tightly. He didn't know what to do at first, but decided to awkwardly hug you back, after feeling you shiver a bit.

After that small altercation, Jake explained to him, Kiri, Lo'ak, Tuk, and Spider about your situation. It was decided by Jake that he'll be responsible for you. You stayed with the family, they were fluent in English so they spoke to you in English. The whole time you were basically hugging Neteyam's arm, scared that he may leave you. He didn't really seem to mind since his father was explaining about your situation. It seems as if you must have now got attached to Neteyam since he did help you get out of the room you were trapped in.

Outside the Marui, you were still latched onto Neteyam. He explained to Ao'nung, Tsireya, and Rotxo about you, they weren't fluent in English, but they learned a few words and sentences to talk to you. When it came to Jake and Neytiri, you'd refer to them as Sir and Ma'am, same with the others. They thought it was weird and would often tell you to refer to them by their names instead. Neteyam was the only one who you'd call by his name. Not only that but you often would ask questions about basic things that someone your age should know.

Since you basically imprinted on Neteyam, he thought it would be best to teach you Na'vi and the way to live in the reef. You picked up on speaking Na'vi pretty fast, but you preferred to speak in English. That was you and Neteyam were walking down the beach holding hands, you didn't let off his hand at all.

"The adults, who are they to you?" You asked Neteyam, who looked at you. "They're my mom and dad" he said seeing your confused expression. "What's a mom and dad?" You asked again, taking Neteyam by surprise and stopped to face you. "You don't know what a mom and dad are?" He asked again. You shook your head. "I've only known what Doctor is along with Sir and Ma'am, not a mom and dad." You explained. Neteyam felt his heart clench by this.

He looked into your eyes, seeing them filled with curiosity. "A mom and a dad, are people who take care of you and love you. They'd do anything to keep you from harm's way. Just like how my parents did when we were in trouble." He explained and you listened. "I understand now, the doctors are very different" you said, turning away from his gaze. "What do you mean?" Neteyam asked a bit worried. "They kept me locked away for so long, the pink walls in my room have become suffocating. The only time I ever left was when I went on the ship and now." You said shyly, you never really spoke about this.

Neteyam then pulled you into a hug, you hugged him back right away. "I promise you that you will never feel trapped again. I promise" he said while stroking your hair. You felt safe in the hug, it didn't feel suffocating at all. It felt nice.

[gofancyninjaworld]

A twist most pointless

There's some readers who love the idea of ONE betraying his premises -- really being all about 'the twist' at the expense of any coherence. Goodness knows there's many writers who love a twist to get out of exploring the story premises they set up. So I'm going to pick one of the most troublesome ones and consider what it'd mean for the story. Let's set aside our reactions as readers. What if ONE betrayed one of the core settings of the OPM story and revealed that Genos was actually a robot all this time rather than a cyborg? Yes, a robot. A very well-made, sophisticatedly-programmed machine not materially different from Dr. Bofoi's Metal Knight.

I think that from all we've seen to date, it would utterly devastate Saitama in a 'go mad' sort of way.

The sense of having been deceived that would fall on Saitama would be great indeed. The reason Genos grounded him was that he saw in him a fellow human being who was also suffering and struggling to hold onto his humanity. Yes, a weird person with an odd body who confused, exasperated, and concerned him at times, but a human being. If that's a lie, I can't think of many things that would anger and upset Saitama more. He certainly wouldn't have been blowing up Jupiter for the sake of a robot, however well made. Or racking his mind for lessons to give. Or rushing over to see if all was well with it. Once again, he'd be utterly alone in his struggles. Saitama would be gutted. It's not feeling utterly alone in his struggle that made so much difference to him, and that stopped him from going mad when he was so close to it.

this scene would be meaningless

Not to mention, how deceptive would Kuseno have to be to come to his house in person bearing presents as one does to the master of an apprentice, sounding like a grateful parent? You know how hurtful it is when someone you thought well of and trusted turns out to be someone totally different from what you believed and how that can rock peoples' belief in the world for years? Imagine someone you've never met playing a cruel deception on you, manipulating your feelings for no reason that you can discern and that does not profit them in any way?

this would be an incredibly cruel deception

Who else would feel betrayed? What about Bang and all the other people who at one time or another have reached out to help Genos? They'd feel very foolish too, for they would have made very different choices had they known. Like, Bang and Bomb would have taken Genos up on his offer of self-sacrifice, left him to Elder Centipede and gotten away with the heroes. Tomorrow, there'd be another Genos, probably using the lessons gathered from the former one.

I'm sure that knowing that he risked his life for nothing and getting burned in the process would make Bang feel better.

Not to say that you couldn't tell a good story of a human-like, and even human-feeling robot, even one that is convinced it's a person. You sure can. There are many good sci-fi stories like that.

But for it to work, the premises would have to be honest. Genos's story will no longer be that of a young man making a horrifying choice faced with the reality of an evil that would go unchecked. It's not about his struggles, how he comes to see himself, how he affects others, none of that.

Instead, there's a bored old man in hiding who has sent out an android that looks like a cyborg for reasons. Why he sent it, where he sent it, who interacts with it, why they do so, what they get out of it, whether it makes sense to see successive versions as part of a continuous AI or if they're worth considering distinct and individual, all of those would be good questions to ask and explore. But that's not where One-Punch Man has gone.

Given who Saitama is, I don't think that he'd relate as meaningfully to a machine as he does a person. Some people totally would! But Saitama doesn't seem that sort of person as he really responds to who people are at core rather than whatever they surround themselves with. That ability to see beyond the exterior is a key charm point of Saitama. If there's no person within, there's nothing there for Saitama.

the primacy of the human experience over all

Of course, the end of OPM might actually be a super-bleak one in which Saitama decides that nothing has any meaning and erases Earth, as he can't trust anyone, no matter how warmly they smile or well they appear to relate to him.

it'd have been better if Saitama had been left like this, slowly losing his humanity

But that's a very Evangelion sort of ending. Probably not ONE's bag.

Not that I'm afraid that ONE would do this. Other than ONE being historically committed to his premises on principle, he's done a lot of work exploring the idea of cyborgs. We have a lot of them in the story, getting body modification to different degrees for different reasons. He's gone so far as to show that 'impossible' cyborgs like Genos do exist. And of course, we've had a look at that little brain of Genos's. But just in case we're doubtful, we have someone like Fubuki (who has no incentive to lie), healing his biological parts, with ONE very emphatically picking the words to ensure there's no doubt that this is a living being who Fubuki healed.

A truly depressing number of people asked Vib if there wasn't some mistake about healing. No, there isn't.

The story as written doesn't make sense if both Saitama and Genos aren't real people. The story works because it's rooted in their joint struggle to keep their humanity and find a way to be that's worthwhile in a world where everything seems pointless.

every day, they struggle on

Not that anyone reading this is likely to fight me on this, but it was interesting to me to consider the role of the core premises in the story. There's so much to lose for so little gain (a bit of shock).

[downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le]

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 1

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader)Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 3631 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together. 

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

(21 years old)

'All right, team,' Y/N Prince addressed her small group of young heroes. 'Good work today. Now go hit the showers and enjoy a nice quiet night in. You've earned it.'

'So crash!' Bart cried with an energetic jump. If anyone were to guess how the team's week had been solely based on Bart's energy, they would've said it had been cruisy. Not that Y/N had led a covert task force over the past week into Bialya to take down meta-human trafficking outposts.

Y/N watched with pride as Bart and Jaime bantered on their way out, followed by Stephanie and Cassie chatting excitedly about something, all the while Tim and Cassie held hands quietly. It had surprised the team a little how, out of the blue, the two of them were dating. But if Wally's death had taught them all anything, it was that time was too precious to waste in their line of work. They'd been together ever since.

Two years, Y/N mentally noted, and suddenly the adrenaline she'd been running on for the past week died as the last of the team exited the entrance chamber of the Watchtower. Exhaustion weighed down on her spent body, but an extra weight now sat in heart. Has it really been that long already?

So much had changed in that time. Like how the Young Justice began working out of the Watchtower alongside the Justice League, having both the Hall of Justice and Mount Justice destroyed by the Reach and the Light respectively. M'gann and Connor were back together, having finally gotten over their differences and accepted their mistakes. Also, Kaldur had been offered a position in the Justice League following the retirement of his king, and so Kaldur took his place as the new Aquaman in the Justice League. M'gann was promoted to new team leader, with Connor and Y/N assisting her as senior members of the team.

Some things had remained the same, however. Like the team's energy and slight dysfunction that always made Y/N feel at home. They weren't perfect, but what family ever is?

Dick was still gone. So was Artemis. She'd, understandably, retired as Green Arrow's protégé immediately after Wally's death, assuming her undercover identity Tigress instead and going off on her own. Neither had stayed in touch with anyone on the team.

You're my best friend. Always have been, always will be...

'Yeah right,' Y/N mumbled bitterly as she made her way to the conference room. No doubt that'd be where M'gann and Connor were waiting for her to debrief the mission.

Upon entering the room with the long table, she was immediately embraced by M'gann. 'Welcome back,' she said, squeezing Y/N tighter. 'We're so glad you're okay.'

Y/N smiled softly as she embraced M'gann in return. 'You ever doubted me?'

'No,' Connor answered, 'but you can never be too cautious right?'

Y/N let go of M'gann to hug Connor as well. Since getting back together, Connor wasn't as emotionally suppressed as he'd initially been. It was nice seeing him this way, more happy and free. The same effect had happened to M'gann, who (only around the team and the Justice League) revealed her white martian self proudly instead of pretending to be something she wasn't.

'You're right,' Y/N said as she released him, then the three of them took a seat to discuss the mission.

The debrief didn't take long, there wasn't much to report on as all out-posts had been hit successfully, putting Queen Bee's meta-human trafficking at least a little behind.

'It's not much, but it's the best we could do with the little information we got,' Y/N admitted. 'I dislike Queen Bee and her minions as much as the next person, but I've got to give it to her, she knows how to keep things under wraps.'

M'gann reached across from where she sat and closed her hand over Y/N's. 'Y/N, the mission was a success,' M'gann insisted. 'And what's most important is that you brought everyone home. Alive.'

Y/N heard the underlying fear in her words, the memory she was thinking of as she spoke them. Y/N twisted her hand over to clasp M'gann's in return. 'I know,' she said softly. 'But I just... we haven't so much as put a dent into the underbelly of meta-human trafficking in the two years it's been running. Somedays... Somedays I just feel so useless.'

'I know, Y/N,' Connor reassured. 'But we've just got to trust that our hard work will pay off eventually. I know it doesn't seem like much now, but every mission counts. Don't be so hard on yourself.'

Y/N withdrew her hand at the comment, hastily standing up. 'Don't be hard on myself? My mother is Wonder Woman, is the Champion of Themyscira, a World War II hero, and had already saved the world once by my age now. My father was a fighter pilot in the Iran-Iraq war and died fighting for his country,' she said angrily. 'And what am I doing? Hiding under the protection of darkness, taking out small outposts that will just be rebuilt elsewhere just as quickly? How can I not be hard on myself?'

At M'gann's taken aback expression, Y/N felt slightly guilty for raising her voice. But they just didn't understand. All her life, she'd been training and fighting for her supposed "destiny". Surely this wasn't it.

'I'm sorry,' Y/N said, forcing herself to calm down. 'I just...'

'You don't have to a apologise,' M'gann interrupted, standing and walking over to Y/N to clasp their hands together. 'After all we've done together, I understand that what we do now doesn't seem like enough. But I can tell you were made for more.'

Y/N offered her a grateful smile and M'gann let their hands drop. 'I should go. Mother and I have patrol in Washington DC tonight.'

'Already?' M'gann asked, face dropping with disappointment. 'But you just got back. Surely she knows that.'

'Unfortunately, even in the country's capital, crime never sleeps. I'm just grateful it's nothing like Gotham,' Y/N said.

'I agree,' Connor said. 'Visited there once with-' He paused for a moment, eyes growing wary as he looked between Y/N and M'gann. But Y/N already knew what he was going to say and gave him a slight nod to continue anyway. 'With Dick. We did patrol once there together. To put it simply, they're all nutcases there.'

Y/N managed an amused half-smile. 'You're not wrong there,' she said, then made her way to the door. Before she reached the doorknob, M'gann called out.

'Maybe when you're free next, you can join us for dinner at home,' she offered, her eyes hopeful as she waited Y/N's answer.

'Yeah,' she eventually answered though it wasn't as enthusiastic as she should've been. 'Yeah, that'd be nice. I'll talk to you guys soon. Don't stay up here too late.'

It had to be close to 7pm in Washington DC at least, so there weren't many people still left in the Watchtower. Just those from the League and her team that were rostered for overnight supervision. Y/N made sure to greet each person she walked by on the way to the Zeta-tubes. But just as she was about to dial in her code to leave, a resounding voice made her pause.

'Wonderess,' Kaldur called. 'Not even a hello before you head off for another mission?'

Y/N smirked as she turned back around to face the new hero of Atlantis. 'I'm sorry, Aquaman,' she said in an exaggerated tone. 'Not all of us can sit around having team parties with our Justice League buddies.'

To anyone else, it would've been taken as an insult. But Kaldur saw her humour and smiled. 'Oh is that what this is about? You know the League do more than just chit chat.'

Y/N shook her head. 'I don't know. The mess you guys left behind in the conference room before I left tells another story.'

As Kaldur approached Y/N, the sarcastic banter dropped as they both embraced each other. Kaldur had grown into a fit, muscular man, and now stood a good head taller than Y/N. His uniform was more or less the same as it had always been, except now both his arms were covered from shoulder-to-finger in gold armour. He certainly was no longer just a young lad, but the man his predecessor saw he could become.

'It is good to see you, Y/N,' Kaldur said softly as he pulled away.

'And you, old friend,' Y/N replied, a genuine smile splitting her lips.

'I heard you went into Bialyan territory,' Kaldur continued. 'I am glad to see you and the rest of the team are unharmed.'

'Well, the team are no longer just children' Y/N said, 'but it was a simple enough mission too. Nothing too dangerous.'

Kaldur's brows furrowed together as he looked over Y/N. 'I sense you are not happy with something. Wasn't the mission successful as I have heard?'

Y/N let out a soft sigh. 'It's not that I'm not happy with the mission's success. Of course I'm happy we all got home okay. I just...' She didn't really feel like explaining herself again, but Kaldur nodded in understanding.

'You feel stuck,' he finished, to which Y/N nodded in confirmation. Kaldur turned so he could look to the giant windows of the Watchtower's entrance chamber. They framed Earth in a way that made it seem both ginormous and insignificant at the same time. 'The League is in a similar position, I am afraid to admit. Some days there is progress. Other days, it feels like I wait so much I am afraid I will freeze in one spot.'

'How do you combat that?' Y/N asked.

Kaldur turned back to Y/N, his face softened with a small smile. 'I train.'

'That's it?' Y/N asked, not quite believing her friend.

He shrugged his shoulders. 'Amongst other things, yes. I train, I go home, I see my family, I laugh with my friends. I do all these things to remind myself why I am here. Why I do what I do. It sounds to me like you need to remind yourself why you are here.'

'Because of the team,' she said without hesitation. He hadn't asked a question, but she felt she needed to justify herself. 'Because I can't just desert them, not when they're working so hard.'

'And yet you feel you are not doing enough,' Kaldur countered, his teal eyes gazing hard at her. 'Why?'

Y/N opened her mouth to answer but no answer came.

'Y/N,' Kaldur continued. 'Why do you feel the need to stay when you don't want to be there?'

'I do want to stay-'

'Don't lie to me, Y/N,' Kaldur interrupted.

Y/N swallowed thickly as she looked from Kaldur, to the conference room door where M'gann and Connor still were, and back to Kaldur. Seeing no escape from his fierce questioning, she caved.

'It's not that I don't want to stay,' she admitted quietly. 'I love the kids, I love the team. I'm just... so tired, Kaldur. Of doing the same thing week in and week out and getting nowhere. But if I leave, I don't want the team to think I'm abandoning them. Not like-'

Y/N bit her lip at the thought of him. No, she wouldn't leave. She just wouldn't.

Kaldur pressed his lips into a firm line. 'Dick needed to reforge his own path. He was grieving in his own way.'

'Well I was grieving, too,' Y/N countered, a sudden surge of anger flaring up inside her. How dare Kaldur defend Dick. 'And I had to get on with my life because the team needed me. We needed him, Kaldur. I needed him, and he just left.'

Y/N bowed her head to collect her thoughts and calm down. That's two friends she had yelled at for no reason. Before she could apologise though, Kaldur placed a hand on her shoulder, and she raised her head to find him looking directly into her eyes.

'I cannot say I am not also disappointed in our friend,' Kaldur admitted sadly. 'I did not expect him to become so closed off for so long. But you've helped rebuild this team from the grief and pain it experienced when Wally died. I think you've earned the right to decide where you go from here, Y/N, without feeling guilty or selfish if your wish is not to stay with the team. In my opinion, you were made for more than this.'

'That's funny,' Y/N said in a flat voice. 'You're the second person today to tell me that.'

'Maybe because it is true,' Kaldur said sincerely. 'You know you still have a place in the Justice League whenever you'd like to join us. I would be honoured and happy to fight alongside a warrior such as yourself again. It would be like old times.'

Y/N offered a grateful smile as she patted Kaldur's hand that still rested on her shoulder. 'Thanks Kaldur, but I'm not ready for that just yet. Besides, you don't need two Amazonians running the show. And let's be real, we would so be in charge of you boys.'

The two shared quiet laughter as Kaldur's hand retuned to his side. 'Very well, then. So what will your decision be, Wonderess?'

Y/N looked to the Earth and space beyond it once more. Her heart and head were tearing her in two. She truly loved being a part of the team, but something inside her agreed with M'gann and Kaldur. Surely she was meant for more. But what exactly that was, she had to go find out.

'I think you're right, Kaldur,' she finally said, turning back to face her friend. 'I think I need to remind myself why I am here in the first place. And that comes from knowing who I am to begin with.'

Kaldur's face pinched in slight confusion. 'I'm sorry, but I do not follow.'

Y/N didn't answer straight away. Instead, she turned to dial in her code to exit the Watchtower. 'B-00: Wonderess,' the computer announced as the Zeta-tube activated.

She then finally turned back to Kaldur. 'I need to know where I've been to then know where I will go,' she said. 'I need to go back to where it all started.'

'And where's that?' Kaldur asked.

'With my mother,' she answered, then spared him one last sweet smile. 'Tell M'gann and Connor and the team I'm sorry.'

Kaldur looked as if he wanted to say something, ask more questions. But Kaldur was always more insightful than the rest of their group. He didn't always need an explanation. He just somehow knew, and so Y/N was grateful when he accepted her words with a simple nod of his head.

'Be safe, dear friend,' he said in farewell. 'May destiny be kind to you, wherever it leads you.'

Y/N nodded her appreciation and entered the Zeta-tube. It was always a weird sensation travelling by Zeta-tube, like a million light pricks into every part of the body. Thankfully the trip was quick to the Zeta tube depot in Washington DC, with Y/N walking out of an abandoned janitor's closest in the post office down the road from her apartment.

She smiled and waved down to civilians as she flew over the busy streets, but she flew as fast as she could to the meeting point.

Her mother casually sat atop the Washington Monument as Y/N approached, floating just in front of her. 'I was starting to worry you had gotten caught in Bialya,' Diana joked as she stood to greet her daughter. 'Welcome home, my daughter.'

'Good to see you, Mother,' Y/N said, and the two briefly embraced.

'Now that you're here,' Diana said, prepping to take off for the usual patrol, 'why don't we get going.'

'Actually, Mother, there is something I wanted to talk to you about first,' Y/N interrupted.

Diana raised an eyebrow. 'Really? And what would that be?'

Y/N took a deep breath in before she spoke the words. But when she did, she had never been more sure. 'I want you to take me back to your home. To Themyscira.'

~~~

Since she was a little girl, Y/N had heard hundreds of stories from her mother about the homeland of the Amazons. How beautiful it was with its architecture, its nature, and the women who ruled the island. She'd always dreamed of someday going there, but her mother said it was impossible to find it.

Except she failed to mention that despite leaving the island and forgetting where it was located, Diana had been gifted a compass that would always lead her back home, but only if she used it. It would not work without Amazonian hands.

So after all the storytelling and all the dreaming, nothing came close to actually witnessing Themyscira in the flesh.

Y/N stood speechless on the beach, looking up at the steps that led up to the first level of the city that seemed to climb higher and higher towards the sky. It was something out of the Ancient Greek text books Diana used to make Y/N read as a child, but even more fantastical and wondrous.

It wasn't just the visuals, though. Since the Invisible Jet broke through the barrier that hid Themyscira, Y/N had felt a pull of sorts towards the island. Now that she stood on its soil, she felt a warm energy wash over her, strengthen her, pull her into its embrace as if to say, Welcome home at last.

An entourage of women in red leather slitted skirts, plated tops, and armour while holding spears followed behind a woman dressed in white and purple robes. Ebony hair billowed out behind her golden leaf crown, the grey strands in between looking more silver as they caught the midday sun.

Y/N knew immediately who she was. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Her grandmother.

As Hippolyta approached Y/N and Diana, she opened her arms to take her daughter's face into her hands. 'Diana,' she said, bringing her lips to her daughter's forehead in a simple kiss. 'Welcome home.'

'Thank you, Mother,' Diana said, and Y/N could tell by her mother's smile that she was joyous to be home. 'I'm sorry it took me so long.'

'Do not worry about that, child,' Hippolyta reassured. 'You are here now.'

She then looked over to Y/N, and for some reason Y/N straightened up, flattened out her Wonderess uniform, made sure her hair was tucked behind her headband. Y/N was briefly taken back to the time she (consciously) remembered meeting her grandparents on her father's side. All dressed up so as to make a good impression.

Y/N held her breath as Hippolyta walked slowly over to her, grey eyes scanning every inch of Y/N's figure in silence. When she'd done a cursory glance, she then stepped closer and took Y/N's face into her hands. Y/N was unable to look away from Hippolyta as the older woman caressed and poked and prodded at her features.

At last, Hippolyta stopped and her hands dropped to Y/N's shoulders. A kind, joyous smile graced the older woman's features. 'You have my daughter's eyes,' she said quietly, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'So kind and forthright. What is your name child?'

'Y/N Prince,' Y/N managed to get out once she caught her breath. 'Daughter of Steve Trevor...' Her gaze flickered to her mother, and the two shared a smile. '...and Diana Prince, Princess of Themyscira.'

Y/N looked back to see Hippolyta tearing up as realisation finally hit her. 'I have a granddaughter,' she said as she finally embraced Y/N completely, to which Y/N reciprocated and the entourage of Amazonians cheered and smashed their shields with their spears in celebration.

Hippolyta let go of Y/N to clasp one of her hands as she went to grab her daughter's hand. She then turned the three of them to face the crowd. 'My daughter and your champion, and my granddaughter have come home!'

More cheers erupted.

'Let us prepare a feast in their honour,' Hippolyta continued, and when the crowd began to disperse, she turned to Diana and Y/N to speak more quietly. 'I am sure you have both come here for a reason, and not just to say hello.'

'You are correct, Mother,' Diana said. 'It seems as though I have neglected our origins as Amazonians for too long and can no longer teach Y/N our ways.'

'I wish to learn who I am,' Y/N added. 'I wish to know where I come from, so that I may know where I must go next.'

'And how long do you believe that will take?' Hippolyta asked.

'As long as it takes,' Y/N answered, more certain than ever before. 'I don't care what I must do, Your Majesty. I will follow your guidance, as my mother once did.'

Hippolyta considered Y/N for a moment, then spared Diana an impressed smirk. 'Well, you taught her one thing, Diana.'

'What's that mother?' Diana asked.

'Your steadfast stubbornness.' Hippolyta looked back to Y/N. 'Very well, granddaughter. You will train among the other warriors. I just hope you know it won't be as easy as you might think.'

'Trust me,' Y/N replied, 'I'm hoping it isn't.'

Hippolyta's smile widened and her eyes sparkled with excitement. 'That attitude is already a good start. Come, we will talk of this later. First, let us celebrate this homecoming.'

That night Y/N ate and drank and danced among women like her, some older, some younger, some taller, some stronger. And she had never felt more at home, more recognised and celebrated. She'd had her doubts if she had made the right decision, but now she had no doubt.

She was where she belonged.

[saintsenara]

Thoughts on Ron and Hermione as a ship?

thank you very much for the ask, @thesilverstarling!

i’ll state my position straight away: book ron and hermione are the best of the canon couples.

they will have a long and extremely happy marriage made rich by great and stalwart love, lust, fun, and faithfulness, rather than held together by duty and couples’ therapy like so many readers and authors (including jkr, who seems to have decided to spend the years since the conclusion of the series failing to understand anything about her own characters) tend to think.

i will state another position straight away: lest i seem like i’m just a fan with blinkers on, i think this even though hermione is, by far, my least favourite member of the trio. if she were real i would detest her, and i dislike how she is treated by the narrative as always justified in her negative characteristics. i like fanon hermione - perfect and preternaturally good - even less.

as a result, i think that it’s ridiculous that jkr has said that she thought ron needed to ‘become worthy’ of hermione. they belong together as equals - which is what they’re set up in the narrative as being from the off - and i hate seeing that undermined.

because ronald weasley? he’s an icon. and he doesn’t get anywhere near the respect he deserves in fandom.

there are multiple reasons for this - ron’s narrative purpose is to be the everyman sidekick, and so he is able to be less special than harry or hermione (the helper-figure); the amount of aristocracy wank in this fandom means that the weasleys’ ordinariness is less appealing to writers than making harry have twenty different lordships and call himself hadrian; the narrative interrogates ron’s flaws - especially his capacity for jealousy - much more intensively than it interrogates either hermione’s (cruel, inflexible, meddling) or harry’s (reckless, self-absorbed, judgemental) - but one i feel is particularly significant is that ron is such a british character that many of his traits are not understood as intended by non-british readers.

in particular - as is outlined in this excellent meta by @whinlatter - ron’s sense of humour isn’t indicative of immaturity or a lack of seriousness, but is, in fact, evidence that he’s the most emotionally aware of the trio.

ron is shown throughout the series to understand how both harry and hermione need to have their emotions approached - and i think there is no piece of writing which says this better than crocodile heart by @floreatcastellumposts:

That was what she liked most about Ron, she thought vaguely. He was very good at being suitably outraged on your behalf. For Harry, for her, for Neville. That sort of thing mattered, when you were hurt or embarrassed or wronged in some way. You needed to have someone else on your side, to be as emotional as you felt, maybe even more so, so that you might feel a bit more normal. It was very decent of him, and she was not sure he realised he did it.

ron’s inherent emotional awareness is an enormous source of comfort to other people. he does the work which isn’t flashy or special - he makes tea and tells jokes and is just there - but which is needed in healthy human relationships far more frequently than a willingness to fight to the death for the other person.

[as an aside, this normality - even though i think it is assumed rather than justified by the text - is also what ginny provides for harry. if you believe that hinny are a good couple but romione aren’t… i can’t help you.]

but let’s look at some specific reasons why ron and hermione belong together:

their communication styles mesh perfectly. ron is the only person hermione knows who feeds her love of being challenged and debated, and who is able to engage in this way of communicating without becoming irate when she refuses to back down. ron is good at picking his battles, but he’s also good at recognising that hermione’s tendency to argue isn’t intended to be confrontational a lot of the time - it’s just the way she works through feelings and problems. he’s far more easy-going about her tendency to nag, interrupt, try to provoke arguments, or speak condescendingly than he’s given credit for - and hermione evidently respects this, since when he does tell her not to push a situation (above all, when she’s trying to needle harry into talking about sirius), she listens to him.

that ron and hermione’s tendency to bicker is taken by fans to be a bad thing is because it’s something harry - from whose perspective the narrative is written - doesn’t understand. harry is extremely conflict-avoidant - he tends to take being pushed on views and opinions he has to be insulting; and he has a tendency to assume that he is right which is just as profound as hermione’s. he and ginny communicate not by debating, but by ginny having no time for his rigidity and refusing to indulge it - but ron and hermione bickering about everything is not a negative thing within their specific emotional dynamic.

[as another aside, this glaring chasm in communication styles is why harry and hermione would be a disaster as a couple.]

they each provide validation the other needs. it’s clear - reading between the lines - that hermione is a tremendously lonely person. the friendlessness of her initial few weeks at hogwarts seems to be a continuation of her experience as a child, and - outside of ron and harry - that friendlessness endures through her schooldays. i’m always struck, for example, by the fact that, when she falls out with ron in prisoner of azkaban, she has no-one else to spend time with, and that this is only avoided in half-blood prince because harry decides not to freeze her out. i don’t think her friendship with ginny is anywhere near as close as fanon seems to imply (ginny has no interest in being nagged either), nor do i think that she’s anywhere near as close to neville (not least because she is so condescending to him) as she’s often written to be.

and this loneliness seems to stretch beyond hogwarts. the absence of hermione’s parents’ from the narrative is - in a doylist sense - clearly just a device to maximise time with the trio all together, but the watsonian reading is that she doesn’t have a particularly good relationship with them. hermione’s obviously upper-middle-class background - the name! the skiing! the holidays in the south of france! - can be presumed, i think, to come with a series of expectations from her parents which she feels constantly that she’s not entirely meeting, particularly expectations attached to academic success.

[for example, the grangers - were she a muggle child - would undoubtedly have ambitions for her to attend an elite university and then go into a prestigious career. tertiary education of the type that they’re familiar with doesn’t seem to exist in the wizarding world - most careers seem to be taught by apprenticeship - and this, alongside all the other divides between the magical and muggle worlds which contribute to the distance between them, would be one very obvious area in which she felt the need to prove herself to them.]

ron, too, has quite a difficult relationship with his position in the family - voldemort’s locket is not wrong to point out that he seems to receive considerably less of his mother’s emotional attention than ginny or the rest of his brothers - and he too is constrained by expectations which he doesn’t know how to explain he has no interest in - above all, molly’s desire for her sons to achieve top grades and go into the ministry.

he also suffers while at hogwarts from being ‘harry potter’s best friend’, something which harry never appreciates. but hermione does. she recognises ron’s jealousy and never allows harry to minimise it (and she and ron are very much aligned on having no respect for harry’s saviour and martyr complexes). she appreciates ron’s strengths - above all his kindness and his sense of humour - and makes him feel as though he’s achieved things with them. and ron does the same for her; he is hugely observant when it comes to her, and he challenges and defends her.

the two of them clearly spend a lot of time together one-on-one while harry’s involved in his various shenanigans (including outside of school - hermione has often arrived at the burrow days or even weeks before harry, and they seem to write to each other frequently when apart). they do this within a relationship which is fundamentally equal. one issue with hinny is that, post-war, harry is going to have to get used to seeing ginny as a peer, rather than as someone he has to protect. but ron and hermione never have that issue - equality is baked into their relationship from the off.

because, to be quite frank, fandom overstates the role that jealousy plays in their relationship. it’s true that ron certainly doesn’t acquit himself brilliantly when it comes to hermione’s relationship with viktor krum (it’s because he’s bi and doesn’t know it yet), and a tendency to externalise his insecurity into trying to make others also feel insecure is one of his primary negative traits (hermione does this too, via her patented lofty voice when she’s trying to condescend to people). but this is often taken as the initial red flag for how the relationship would crash and burn, and ron’s toxic jealousy is often used in fan-fiction as the trigger for emotional and physical violence towards hermione which, frequently, seems to drive her into the arms of either draco malfoy or severus snape… who are, of course, the first people we think of when we hear the words ‘not prone to jealousy’...

but i think it’s important to point out several things in defence of ron’s jealousy over krum. firstly, hermione evidently regards his jealousy as ridiculous - she’s upset by it, yes, but her upset must be understood as being caused by the fact that she wanted him to ask her out. she doesn’t think he’s being possessive, she thinks he’s being stupid. secondly, hermione is equally as jealous over ron’s crush on fleur delacour and relationship with lavender brown. she behaves just as cruelly when it comes to lavender as ron does when it comes to krum - and the narrative only treats her actions as more sympathetic or justified both because harry dislikes lavender too, and because, by that point in the series, jkr has dispensed with any inclination to ever criticise her.

but, outside of this teenage pettiness, ron is never jealous of hermione over things which matter. he is never jealous of her intelligence or competence or ambition or success (indeed, he defends her constantly from attacks designed to undermine her in these areas). for someone who struggles with being overshadowed by harry, he is never upset at being overshadowed by her. he is clearly going to be happy to support her in any of the career ambitions she can be written as having post-war.

and, on this point, i think it’s worth interrogating why so many readers still seem to feel uncomfortable with the idea of ron and hermione having a dynamic where she is the more ‘powerful’ one. [it’s always a bit trite to say ‘but what if the genders were reversed?’, but actually that’s not irrelevant here]. if hermione ends up taking the ministry by storm and ron becomes a stay-at-home father or has a job which is just to pay the bills, what, precisely, is wrong with that? why, precisely, should hermione regard ron making that choice for himself as a negative thing? hermione so often seems to leave ron in fan-fiction because of a lack of ambition - something which seems to be particularly common in dramione - but, in canon, she is shown to not particularly care if ron and harry do the bare minimum when it comes to studying etc. she nags them to do their work so they don’t get in trouble. she doesn’t nag them to do it to the same standard that she would.

and, actually, i think that ron being less ambitious than hermione is something which is key to how well they work. because ron provides not only emotional support, but emotional clarity.

hermione is shown throughout canon to - just as harry does - have a tendency to become obsessive to the detriment of her own health. she is also often - as harry is - emotionally or intellectually inflexible, and finds it hard to move on when what she feels or believes is proven to be wrong. both she and harry are micro-thinkers, who lean towards knee-jerk assumptions and stubborn convictions (and, indeed, hermione has a remarkably hagrid-ish tendency towards blind loyalty).

ron is none of these things. ron is a big-picture thinker (it’s why he’s so good at chess). he’s a pragmatist. he’s the least righteous of the three. he understands that faith and loyalty are choices, and that sometimes these choices will lead to outcomes which are bad or hard. he is the one of the three most willing to own up to having made mistakes. he is the one least likely to act on gut instinct (and, therefore, the hardest to fool - i think it’s worth emphasising that he clocks that tom riddle is tricking harry immediately, the only one of the trio to do so). he understands that things are a marathon, not a sprint. he is the least obsessive.

and these traits contribute to aspects of his character which are underappreciated. ron worries about hermione making herself ill during exams, or when she is using the time-turner, and makes an effort to get her to set healthy boundaries and redirect her anxiety. ron stands on a broken leg in front of sirius or goes into the forest to fight aragog not out of righteousness, but out of choice. ron takes over the burden of preparing buckbeak’s defence when it is clear that hermione is approaching burnout. ron is completely right that harry hasn’t done any long-term planning for the horcrux hunt, and his anger does force harry to tighten up after he leaves the trio. ron has a clear head in the middle of battle. ron makes harry and hermione laugh. ron is unafraid of human emotion. ron arrests harry’s tendency to brood over the little things by looking at the bigger picture. ron will always come back.

ron is bringing his politician wife regular cups of tea and making sure she doesn’t work all night. he is helping his lawyer wife to feel less upset over losing one case by reminding her that she’s won ten others. he is noticing stress creeping in and whirling her off for a dirty weekend, or even just a takeaway on the sofa. he is teaching his daughter to be proud of her ambition and his son to treat women as equals and both of his children that all you can do when you fuck up is apologise and try to do better. he is making hermione smile on the worst days of her life. he is helping her strategise her long-term goals when she gets stuck on the short-term ones. he is telling her straight when she needs to get it together. he is seeing a misogynistic head of department call hermione a ‘silly little girl’ and choosing to tell him exactly what he thinks of that.

ron is the ultimate wife guy. hermione is a very, very lucky lady.

[reiniesainyo]

IN BETWEEN. charlie bushnell x reader – 01

01 | SPARKS FLY previous | next | masterfile

SYNPOSIS. when a girl's co-star is good to her and now she wants it more than everything in between. (smau)

A/N. this chapter is more like world building (it's where i explain what the fuck i'm doing with the YN okay)

The "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series at Disney+ has added an unexpected pick to its growing cast.

The new live-action series is based on the hugely successful novels from author Rick Riordan of the same title. We will be seeing YN LN join the series as Rina Velasco, one of the supporting characters of the show.

LN's Rina Velasco is referred to as "the offspring of The Muses, goddesses of the sciences and the arts." Unlike most other demigods, she is born out of the artistic and scientific output of the muses. When the moral ingenuity of humans meets the divine musings of The Muses. Her character is described as a unique allrounder who becomes a mentor figure to our main cast as they embark on their journey.

This will be LN's first on-screen role of her career. LN's experience mostly lies in Broadway, she is known for playing Kim in the Miss Saigon revival on Broadway. LN was nominated for a Tony in 2022 for the same role. She is repped by Salonga/Chien Entertainment and B817 Agency.

Riordan posted on the Meta app, Threads, about this update to the casting saying: "YN was one of the actors we didn't expect to see a tape of but when we saw it, we couldn't help but fall in love with her. She embodies the spirit of Rina so well and is such a kind spirit, we can't wait for you to fall in love with her too! Welcome to the cast, YN!"

The live-action show is based on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson book series. It tells the fantastical tale of the titular 12-year-old modern demigod (Scobell), who's just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Grover (Simhadri) and Annabeth (Jeffries), Percy must embark on an adventure of a lifetime to find it and restore order to Olympus.

Production on the show is now underway in Vancouver. Riordan and Jon Steinberg are writing the pilot with James Bobin directing. Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz are overseeing the series and serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, Anders Engström, Jet Wilkinson, and Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg. 20th Television is the studio. Salke was formerly the president of Touchstone Television and originally put the show into development.

liked by percyseries, iamcharliebushnell, and 37,789 others thelnarchive the child of the muses @percyseries

percyseries OUR MUSE!

user1 this is literally perfect casting who cried i did ↳ user2 she's so rina coded! thank the gods for the casting directors

iamcharliebushnell only muse in my life ↳ thlnarchive only traveler in my life ↳ user3 the way filming hasn't started and they're already like this ↳ user4 their chemistry is chemistry-ing

user5 roman empire. she is my roman empire.

dior.n.goodjohn i LOVE LOVE LOVE women ↳ thelnarchive HELP i love you

user6 this is so fcking random but i NEED her in a taylor swift music video

A/N i truly hope you guys can forgive the horrible editing in the pictures. the article portion is based on (and has some parts that are directly pulled from) this article from variety ! here's some succint information about rina velasco, the PJO character YN LN plays (and is my childhood OC!) - rina velasco, filipino, 18 years old (year younger than luke) - she's an offspring of the muses, not directly a child or daughter, though she may be referred as such - by her being an offspring of the muses, i mean that she was born in the same way athena's children are born. - but in rina's case she's more like a weird conglomeration of each muse. her birth is a rare event, but her mothers are honored as minor goddesses so she stayed in the apollo cabin (connection to music) - rina operates as a guidance figure for the main trio, especially annabeth - she's also luke's love interest, there's a lot of tragicness and doomed romance stuff with those two - and for the sake of everyone, we pretend like the weird i love you from the books didn't happen !

[nightcolorz]

I would love to hear your thoughts on autistic Armand, if you haven’t already spoke about this! Imo he’s very autsitic coded, and it’s very precious to me as an autistic iwtv fan :]

OMG!!! RUNS AROUND. Yes lmao I talk about this a lot actually it is one of my favorite Armand things to meta about bcus I’m also autistic and he is my special interest🙏I was trying to find some of the stuff I’ve written about autistic Armand but tumblrs search engine makes it near impossible to find anything so I gave up 😭, but believe me they r out there. Even tho I talk about this a lot I would love love love to talk about it some more for u anon because I can never get enough of armandtism.

I first figured Armand was autistic when I was reading the vampire Lestat because when he is first introduced he is completely non verbal and only communicates through the mind gift. through further explanation it’s very much implied that he does this because he finds putting his thoughts into words hard and he considers just projecting them into peoples brains much easier. Armand speaks out loud for the first time like more than halfway through the book, and lestat is surprised to hear him lol. This is super autistic I feel like that’s obvious 🙏 it’s basically the vampire power equivalent of using a non verbal communication device. Armand having trouble with connecting with people, understanding how to “fit in”, and talking r prevailing parts of his character throughout the whole series (not just tvl) which solidified my headcanon into basically a canon fact in my mind lol.

When Armand is first introduced in iwtv his strangeness is chalked up to his vampirism, but it’s soon revealed throughout tvl and qotd that Armand is considered a strange outcast by other vampires. The things he struggles with r unique to him and r not representative of vampires in general. His otherness/strangeness can also not be chalked up to his trauma or his age turned because Armand was also an outcast as a young child. It’s described in the vampire Armand that Armand was not understood by his parents or his community because he was obsessed with and freakishly good at painting. His community interprets his unusualness as a sign of some divine intervention, the priests believe he is a saint or a prophet sent to earth, even at times saying things implying that he is “not human”. Unusually high quickly developing skill in childhood is an autistic trait, as is hyper fixation on an activity/topic that becomes a core identity factor and prevailing obsession. The affects of Armand’s trauma only worsen the severity of his autistic traits. C-ptsd and autism often overlap and coexist in autistic people who were traumatized in childhood, which seems to be Armand’s case.

in queen of the damned Armand is at his peak autistic lol, I feel like this is when most book readers gain that head canon. The Devils minion chapter revolves around Armand using Daniel as a guide to help him learn how to be “normal” and to blend in to the modern age. Armand can’t seem to figure out how to blend in on his own because he is unable to understand social norms of any time period enough to integrate himself into society. Armand is in love with technology and what most would consider monotonous sensory experiences. He stares at his own reflection for hours, he loves kitchen appliances and watching ingredients whir in blenders, cameras, he watches the same movie over and over again and never gets bored of it. The way Armand fixates on technology really reminds me of how a lot of autistic people played as children. He enjoys repetitive, sensory behaviors over “fun”. For Armand this means watching the same things repeatedly, which is a form of visual stimming. There r moments where Armand is trying to understand his world, but is so blind to what he is trying to understand that he goes about his discoveries wrong. Such as in qotd when he tries to interrogate strangers to gain information on societal norms but he only gets uncomfortable glances. Armand is desperate to understand and to connect but he is consistently inherently alienated, whether it be from humanity or from other vampires or from himself.

Armand also can not process his memories comprehendingly. This is part trauma part autism, but autism is def a factor. Because of his repressed trauma induced memory loss Armand finds it difficult to talk about himself to people. This is worsened by Armand being unable to comprehend the aspects of story telling that he needs to be able to tell people about his life. Armand explains to Daniel that he vividly remembers small details, such as dates and weather, but he could not tell Daniel what “things were like” because he “doesn’t know what that means”. Literal thinking, the inability to grasp vague, fiction based concepts like narratives and metaphor, and strict fixation on minor details like numbers, are all autistic traits!

Armand also struggles heavily with emotional regulation. He is described as often having intense and extreme meltdowns where he cries and screams and breaks things. Armand is easily bothered, in tva he mentions that he covers his ears when he is overwhelmed. The vampire Armand begins actually with Armand becoming overwhelmed in public and trying to escape to an attic so that he can be alone in silence. Armand copes with his intense emotions by putting on a mask of neutrality. He is often described as expressionless and blank, uncanny. But this is a mask, and when Armand can no longer mask and his disguise lapses his facial expressions r described by lestat as being so over the top and emotional that they are disturbing and weird. Over the top unnatural facial expressions as well as blank unreadable ones are both autistic traits. For Armand he is naturally overly emotive to the point of being considered horrifying, and he hides this by taking the opposite extreme. Either way, either expression Armand puts on causes him to be socially outcast.

Armand often describes feeling like there is something wrong with him that causes him to be isolated from others and he’s not sure what it is. In prince lestat he tells Gregory that he doesn’t know why it’s so hard for him to have relationships when other vampires are fully capable of doing that. In the vampire Armand he explains to David that he’s crazy because his mind isn’t built right and his senses are tripled so he shouldn’t bother trying to understand him. I rlly relate to this as someone who felt like I was from another dimension as a child bcus i didn’t know the unspoken life rules everyone else did.

Armand is often treated like a child by the other vampires and assumed to be emotionally immature and too fragile and insane to be helpful. Armand says in the vampire Armand that he doesn’t consider himself an adult because he can’t function like one. This could be due to the age he was turned, but it’s shown to us that characters like Benji and even to an extent Claudia r able to self regulate and function appropriately despite being turned even younger then Armand was.

in conclusion, book Armand is an autistic person who was never given proper support or understanding because the environment and the time period he was born in decided to alienate him further rather then work to help him socialize and learn appropriate skills, and because of the necessities he has been deprived of and the horrible trauma he endured Armand is never able to learn to function in the way he was likely capable of. this recessive quality in pair with his autism caused Armand it be unable to cope or self regulate or learn ways to understand himself since he wasn’t given a chance to in his formative years. He’s a great representative of what many autistic people who experienced intense child abuse experience.

Im rlly happy with the shows portrayal with Armand so far partly because he is omg, so autistic. Show Armand shares so many of book Armand’s autistic traits. inability to understand himself or others, fixation on small details but inability to understand the big picture, etc. even his iPad is autistic asf! My ipad is my comfort item that I carry around with me to self sooth, and this is def the vibe Armand’s iPad gives me in the show. Even assads performance is autistic! He is able to play Armand masking and Armand unmasking, the stilted expressions he gives and the blank stares, the uncomprehending earnestness. AGHHHH!! Assad stims with his fingers when Armand is nervous too which is just an amazing touch. I hope the show explores Armand’s autism, because that would literally be a dream come true. Even still, for now I’m satisfied.

thank u so so much anon for the ask this made me so happy 🙏❤️ autistic Armand means so much to me and has gotten me though some tough times. Understanding and analyzing Armand helps me understand myself better and feel more comfortable with how I am. Earlier this year I gave myself a concussion because I was harmfully stimming during a meltdown, and while I was in the emergency room I was holding the vampire Armand and imaging that he would relate to what I was going through. So yeah he is very special to me too! And once again it makes me so so happy that u got me to talk some about it. I hope this was coherent or interesting lol I felt like I was all over the place