#ofc but they are FAR FAR FAR OFF bc that's one case where any weight from anything but muscle makes them

[kringelorde]

wholeheartedly endorsing doing steroids for strength gains I don’t even give a shit man trans or cis

if I wasn’t on the Man Juice for gender reasons and I was even remotely aware of how much faster the results come, I’d be crawling in through windows to get my hands on this shit, swear to god

[stargazing-enby]

I had a dream that harry and draco were both aurors and they were married to ginny and astoria and then got sent to a mission and they had to do a steak out????? But ofc there was tension so they were like uuuuhhhhh we should bring our wives bc uuuuhhh we cant be away from them too long ya know and they all spend a month or two in a house and shit and ginny and astoria fall in love and bc theyre badass ladies they are upfront about it and then harry and draco are like.... Guess we should a dress

our thing too huh?? And then albus and scorpious have 2 moms and 2 dads (ginny and astoria were both pregnant btw, dont know if i already said that) and it was weirdly amazing and i didnt know who else to tell so yea

***

Anon, your mind. First of all, thanks so much for sharing your dream with me because it's honestly amazing. Second of all, I was re-reading your asks the other day wondering if I should try to write this, and soon after that I took the (ill-advised) decision to take a nap and started dreaming about your prompt. Now I feel like I share a special, oneiric connection with you! Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)

Thanks @april-thelightfury115 for betaing!

Drarry | 2.3k | Teen and Up | Falling in Love, Break Up, Getting Together, Kid Fic, Pregnancy | Read on AO3

At first, Ginny had been mad. Offended, even, that her husband had thought it a great idea to make her share a house with Astoria Malfoy for Merlin knew how long while he and Draco ran off to chase some suspect.

“The only thing that woman and I have in common is that we're pregnant,” Ginny had argued, “and that we're both married to bloody idiots!” 

Three weeks into the stakeout, however, Ginny had to admit she’d been wrong. Although wrong wasn't perhaps the most accurate of word choices, since she and Astoria were, like she’d suspected, completely different kinds of people. Where Ginny was passionate and intense, Astoria was quiet, an aura of serenity always surrounding her. Where Ginny bickered and joked and threw jibes around with her husband whenever she had the chance, Astoria was all subtle touches; a small caress to Draco's shoulder before they left home in the morning, a careful take care whispered in his ear. 

Where Ginny was fire, Astoria was water: cleansing and soothing and calm. 

But she had been utterly, dangerously wrong in that she couldn’t help but find Astoria Malfoy intoxicating. 

“Darling.” Astoria had recently taken to calling her that when they were on their own, in a tone that Ginny could not bring herself to believe to be purely neutral. “Are you sure you're not tired? I sincerely doubt they'll arrive before dawn this morning—we don't have to stay awake if you don't want to.”

“No, no—” Ginny couldn’t help but shiver as the small realisation washed over her for seemingly the hundredth time that night: the realisation that Harry, as much as she adored him, could not have had any less to do with her wanting to stay awake. “I don't want to give up the chance to beat you one more time.” 

Astoria smiled at her, cheeky.

“Very well,” she said, and, after a moment, moved one of her knights on the board. She didn't take her eyes off Ginny as the Knight destroyed one of Ginny's pawns; her eyes sparkled with naughty mirth, and Ginny's breath caught. 

A moment later, a wave of guilt drowned the butterflies in her stomach, and Ginny looked down at the chess board and told herself that she was in love with her husband. Utterly, helplessly in love. 

Except you aren't, a little voice said. You love him. You love him more than anything. You’ve loved him since forever; you'll love him for forever, because he'll always be the person who gave you your son. But you are not in love with him anymore. You haven't been for a while now. 

“Ginny.” 

She raised her head. 

“You're not thinking about the game.” 

It wasn't a question. 

Astoria knew. She wasn't stupid. She knew she wasn't meant to be calling Ginny darling, knew of the emotions—deep, fierce, raging—that ran under Ginny's skin whenever they shared a smile, a look; whenever one's fingertips found the other's knuckles and their knees brushed and bumped almost on their own accord in the middle of their nightly conversations. 

“I'm not,” Ginny said. “I'm thinking about us.” 

Astoria let out a breath, shoulders sagging. She looked down, but Ginny waited, gaze steady, for Astoria to look back up at her. 

“It's late,” Astoria said after a moment. 

“I think I'm falling in love with you.”

Astoria closed her eyes, a slow frown twisting her sharp features. 

“I know.” It was barely a murmur. 

“I know you know,” Ginny said, a challenge. 

Astoria met her gaze, then, and Ginny's resolve wavered when she realised just how terrified Astoria was.

“Hey,” Ginny murmured, standing up. Astoria, lips trembling, buckled over to make room for her in the settee. “Hey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry—” 

“It's not your fault.” Even though her head was turned away from Ginny, Astoria leaned into her touch. “None of this is your fault. Draco is—” Her voice broke, and Ginny held her hand with both of hers, aching, yearning to hold Astoria in her arms and take the pain away. But she couldn't. “Draco is a wonderful man. He's attentive, and loving, and he's funny, and…”

A tear fell into Astoria's shirt over her tummy. 

“And he's my best friend. But he and I are not in love. We never have been.”

That caught Ginny off-guard. 

“Never?” 

Astoria laughed, a broken, pathetic sound. 

“Never. Our parents planned our union soon after I left Hogwarts. I was horrified at first, but after getting to know him, there was a time when I really thought I would fall in love with him in time. That he'd fall in love with me. And we did end up loving each other, mind you: he will always be my closest friend. It's just not…”

“Yeah,” Ginny said softly. “I understand.”

Astoria turned to look at her, then. Seeing her teared up made something inside Ginny snap, and she reached out, held Astoria's cheeks in her hands, thumbing at her messy tears. 

“Harry and I were in love for a long time, but… I think he knows just as well as I do that the love we feel now is purely platonic.” She smiled—chuckled. “In fact, a small part of me suspects whatever he feels for Draco right now is more intense than what he ever felt for me.” 

That tore a laugh out of Astoria. 

“I would not be surprised if that was the case. Those two…” She shook her head. “They're incorrigible.”

Ginny groaned in agreement. A moment later, though, her smile faded away and she was left with Astoria's face cradled in her hands. Their legs pressed together, their eyes searching the other's face. Scared, but hopeful. 

Sliding her hands down Astoria's neck and shoulders, and then squeezing her arms, Ginny let out a slow, deep breath. 

“I think we need to have a conversation with our husbands.”

***

“You… What?” 

To Harry's credit, he looked more baffled than anything else. 

“We're in love,” Astoria repeated, voice steady, but gaze pleading with Draco to understand. 

“I… Okay. Okay. Give me one second.” Harry turned around and sat down on the nearest chair. 

Draco remained still. As far as Ginny was aware, he’d barely even blinked since they'd started explaining the situation to them.

“Are you going to say anything?” Harry asked after a moment, turning to Draco. When Draco shook his head, gaze still fixed in some distant point in space, Harry stood again, leaning his weight against the table. “Okay, so first of all, this is all extremely awkward.” 

“We were aware of that much, thank you,” Astoria said. 

“I mean, both of you are pregnant. With our babies.” He gestured between him and Draco. “Not to mention that we're married, although that's slightly less permanent…” 

Draco huffed, and the three of them turned to him. When he didn't say anything, Harry continued. 

“But I guess it… makes sense? I mean—you two are sort of like… the perfect opposites, you know. I always knew you would get on well. I didn't suspect you'd get on this well, but, hey—” 

“Have you—” Draco's head seemed to be stuck mid-shake, eyes scrunched closed. “Have you done anything? With one another?” 

“No, darling.” The word sounded different, Ginny thought, when Astoria used it for Draco. “We were waiting to tell you.” 

He nodded, but didn't say anything else. When Astoria approached him, Ginny took a step back to give them some space and leaned into the table with Harry. 

“I love you,” she told him. 

“And I you,” Harry said, eyes low. Gulping, he took Ginny's hand in his. “But… I mean, I think both of us had noticed that something was… that something wasn't…” 

“I know.” She squeezed his hand. “I know.” 

He looked up at her, and Merlin, he looked so, so vulnerable in that moment that Ginny wished more than ever that she could love him the way he deserved to be loved. But that simply wasn’t for her to do.

“I still would like for us to raise our son together,” he murmured. 

“We will. Harry, I don't care what happens from now on. You're still my best friend, and you're still the father of my kid. Nothing is going to change that. Okay?” 

Harry nodded, and, biting his lip, turned his gaze to Draco and Astoria. After a moment, Ginny did too. 

Draco was crying. 

“Come on, let's give them some space,” she said, pushing herself off the table. Harry followed her out of the room. 

***

“Draco…”

No reply came. Harry looked at him, but Draco's gaze was fixed somewhere outside the car window. 

They'd spent countless hours inside that car, in that very watch post. Hours chatting, and bickering, and taking turns to sleep while the other watched the house for any signs of activity. 

It had never been awkward before now. 

“Look, we need to talk,” Harry said. Draco huffed, unamused. “We need to talk because we both know our wives are not the only ones who’d noticed something wasn’t right before yesterday’s conversation. They were just the only ones brave enough to be upfront about it.” 

In the moment it took Draco to turn around, Harry thought of Draco's head on his shoulder; of the way it had felt when Draco had fallen asleep there, of the way he'd been so careful not to let it fall so Draco wouldn't wake up. He thought of the way their arms brushed whenever they walked, wands in hand, toward a dangerous location. Thought of the very reason they'd been so adamant that their wives should come with them on this mission: a truth they'd refused to confront, and that had gone and slapped them in the face anyway. 

“Do you understand how terrifying this is for me?” Draco finally said, body turned to Harry, but gaze fixed on his knees. “To know that my life as I know it, as I always expected it to be, is over? Do you think”—he looked up at Harry, and Merlin, he looked so scared Harry had to hold back from reaching out to him—“that I haven't noticed that I'm in love with Harry Potter, and not with the woman I'm about to have a baby with?” 

Harry held his breath. Searched in Malfoy's eyes, desperately, for any hint that he was about to take back his words. Then, almost out of breath:

“I'm in love with you too.”

Draco let out a desperate laugh. 

“I know that, you bloody idiot,” he choked out. “Fuck, I know.”

Harry bit his lip. Reached out, rested a hand over Draco's trembling, fisted own. 

For a few moments, neither spoke. 

“I'm sorry,” Harry murmured eventually. “I'm sorry things can't be different.” 

Draco started playing with Harry's fingers, and Harry closed his eyes—marvelled in how warm Draco's hands felt. How careful they were even as he fidgeted. 

“I'm glad they told us,” Draco said. “I want Astoria to be happy, and I know she'd never be completely happy with me.” A sigh. “I wouldn't, either. Not with her. I just… I need some time to come to terms with it.” 

Harry's fingers turned and turned between Draco's nervous own. 

“That's okay. I don't mind waiting for you.”

Their eyes met. 

“Okay,” Draco said. 

Harry squeezed his hand. Smiled. 

“Okay.”

***

The whoosh of the hearth letting someone through was quickly followed by two high-pitched squeals. By two very excited cries of, “Daddy!” 

Harry smiled to himself when he heard Draco's laughter coming from the living room as he—presumably—was tackled to the floor by Albus and Scorpius. 

“Boooys,” Harry called after a moment. “Come grab some cookies from the kitchen!” 

A few seconds later, the two five-year-old tornadoes were rushing toward the tray, barely sparing Harry a glance. Harry shook his head, grinning. 

“Where's my hug?” 

“Daddy!” Albus, face already full of crumbs, ran toward Harry's arms. “Your cookies are the best!” 

“Mmh!” Scorpius agreed. 

“I'm glad you like them.” Harry ruffled Al's hair. “Do save some for later, though!” 

Draco walked in, grabbed a cookie. “How are your mums?” he asked while he gave Harry a sonorous kiss on the cheek, the crumbs on Draco’s mouth scratching against his stubble. 

Harry was about to complain when Albus stretched his arms out, asking to be picked up. 

“They have a date today,” he—quite loudly—whispered in Harry's ear. 

“Do they, now!” 

“A date in a restawant with candles and a lot of different forks,” Albus explained. “And—and they were wearing really pretty dresses!” 

“Really? What colour?” Draco asked, picking Scorpius up too. 

“Mum's was red,” Scorpius said. “And mummy's was, uh, it was really pretty, and—” 

“And sparkly!” Albus squealed. “Black and sparkly!” 

“Wow! I don’t think Draco and I own anything so pretty!” Harry turned to Draco. “What do you think?” 

“Hmmm…” Draco dragged the sound out, sharing a mischievous look with Scorpius. “I’m not sure… I think we might have some sparkly garments hidden in the back of our wardrobe, but I’m sure Al and Scorp won’t be interested in—”

“We want to see!” Scorpius screamed, wiggling in his father’s arms. 

“We want to see, we want to see!” Albus chanted.

Harry and Draco shared a smile. 

“Very well, then,” Draco said solemnly, setting Scorpius down. “Let’s see which of you can find the prettiest clothes in our bedroom for us to wear today.” 

The kids darted upstairs, and, before following them, Harry took Draco’s hand in his and kissed his husband’s cheek in return.

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

what more can you do?

WOO! this week’s episode was sad and weird and badly paced and startlingly, unevenly mature in true titans fashion. i loved it (with reservations)! let’s talk about it in excruciating detail:

SPOILERS ahead.

1. i can’t say that i’m awfully thrilled about the show following up on a character’s literal suicide attempt by... not addressing said suicide attempt at all. maybe it’s the awkward way an entire episode’s worth of flashback was shoehorned in between the end of 2.07--where dick literally talked jason off the ledge while in the throes of a psychotic break of his own--and the beginning of this one, but it’s honestly not just bad storytelling, but irresponsible storytelling. 

1.5. in a general sense, tho, the tableau at the beginning of the episode is so egregiously unfair--so shockingly, plainly one-sided, with a slump shouldered dick facing the world, only kory on his side, that it’s quite apparent that it’s the lowest these heroes can go. and i do think their individual reactions to dick’s confession provide an interesting insight into their characters. hank and dawn have been operating alone for so long, each a reminder of their traumas and losses and very human frailty to the other, without even the resources that dick and the batman enjoy. it’s been them v the world for so goddamn long; is it any wonder that they were looking for the first excuse to bail out of there, to not Deal with the idea that what they were doing to deal with their traumas and guilt was clearly not working, and dick was--and has been always--so willing to be the scapegoat? hank punching dick was utterly unwarranted--but i can accept that as part of the unaddressed emotional outbursts arising out of years of accumulated head injuries from both college football and vigilantism. (this isn’t to excuse what he did but to contextualise it within hank’s history and personality.) their instinct when facing ugly truths is to retreat to what they think is familiar and what they need--except, as hank realises later in the episode, that’s exactly what’s fucking them up further.

rose is understandably upset at being lied to about her brother’s death and the titans being complicit in the same--but i’m curious that her reaction was to merely leave and not try and fight them. maybe after being defeated by dick while sparring and nearly being killed by rachel she was sensible enough to realise that she couldn’t take them on all at once? i don’t know--she’s curiously been a bit of a cipher this season. jason leaving with her made sense tho--unburdened of the weight of being the team’s scapegoat, understandably miffed at dick for keeping a secret that nearly cost him his life and left him with a great deal of trauma, just Angry at the world in general, he gravitates towards rose, the only other outsider/rebel who tried to reach out to him when everybody else shunned him or looked at him like an impostor. i think the decision was more impulsive than anything--they still look confused and uncertain in the taxi as they leave the tower behind. but--i don’t know. theirs is the storyline that i’m the most perplexed about. we just don’t have a lot of information about either of them, rose especially. 

(a part of me still thinks she’s slade’s mole in the tower. but why would she leave if she is? to keep up appearances bc to react in any other way to the news of her brother’s death would be suspicious? maybe she left because her job is done and the titans were splitting up? maybe she was part of the long game to seduce jason over to slade’s side--seeking revenge for dick swaying jericho over to the titans’? am i going to stop asking myself questions in this post? am i ever going to write a review that’s not just stream-of-consciousness nonsense? only time will tell.)

DONNA. oh, donna. her decision to leave seems to me a logical continuation of her s2 arc that i’d talked about in a previous review--paranoid, insecure, retraumatised, and taking out her frustrations on jason and dick. it’s also very interesting to me that she complained to rachel about dick treating them like “soldiers” and only told them things that he deemed that they “need[ed] to know.”  it was because of jillian and whatever mysterious business that themyscira was conducting in sf that she and garth and slade ever landed up in that airport at all; even worse, jillian deemed it was something that donna didn’t need to know until it was too late. donna lost so much in that fiasco--the man she loved, her friends, several members of her amazon family, and her sense of purpose, her belief in her strength and her destiny and her faith that other people trusted her as a warrior and as a leader. she’s projecting all that pain onto dick--who again, doesn’t deserve all this shit but takes it anyway because of his own issues.

1.8. and, like. as much as jericho’s death became the Traumatic Event that overshadowed almost everything else in dick’s life for the last five years and helps explain a lot of his hang-ups right from s1, it just doesn’t have the same significance for the others. don’t get me wrong--i’m sure hank, donna and dawn are devastated and guilty about the part that they had to play in manipulating jericho and his eventual death. but their issues with each other, with the titans tower and with their past run deeper and in different directions, and i think all of that came into play when they each decided to go their separate ways.

1.95. idek what the fuck is going on with rachel. i felt every ounce of dick’s heartbreak and devastation when she got up to leave with donna. for all that she saved dick in the first episode of this season, she still hasn’t reached the point where she’s willing to unburden her emotions and issues on him. it must be frustrating and sad for her to realise just how much dick didn’t trust her either. but there’s something else going on as well: maybe she’s realised she has no real control over her re-emerging powers, and, carrying on with the fatalistic attitude she had at the end of 2.05, she wants to spare the titans the chaos and darkness that she carries around with her. (she’s used to running away at this point, after all.) she goes with donna bc donna knows her the least: it would therefore be easy to fool her and escape. 

2. more faddei! and kory backstory! \o/ 

it’s curious that they never once bring up trigon, because s1 gave the impression that she’d come to earth with a specific mission to seek his portal out and destroy it before he could, y’know, Fuck The Universe Up. faddei makes it sound like kory just went on this fun little sabbatical before taking up royal duties, which kiiinda undercuts a lot of what was cool about her s1 arc. i realise you aren’t entirely happy with your freshman season, titans, and s2 looks like it might be a soft reboot, but you don’t have to mutilate it like this!

but seriously. the stakes just got upped exponentially for kory, and it would be really interesting to see where she goes from here. apart from a promise to rachel, she doesn’t really owe the rest of the titans anything--not that i think she views relationships in such transactional terms, of course. on the other hand, abandoning her responsibilities on tamaran has led to its takeover by an unfit leader and the deaths of several of her family and friends. the choice shouldn’t be a choice at all. she should go back home. and yet--she waited too long, and the choice has been taken away from her. faddei is dead, both of their ships are destroyed, and she is stuck on earth, grieving and frustrated and furious. kory is usually very clear headed about exactly where she stands emotionally, but after such a big event, she must be feeling so much pain, guilt, sorrow, anger, even resentment. it’s so easy to look at kory’s level-headedness and open, empathetic personality and use her to prop up other characters, but i hope that this isn’t always the case, and that she’ll be allowed to really work through these emotions while somebody else looks out for her. 

2.35. (the little snippets of faddei and kory just enjoying the shit out of the Little Things that humanity has to offer is just... it filled me with so much warmth. i wouldn’t mind an entire episode of them just chilling and exploring and annoying each other with badly-applied out-of-context pop culture references)

2.5. blackfire! i don’t know much about comics!blackfire beyond “she was starfire’s sister, Evil, and possibly sold her sister into slavery??? yikes” so i’m just going purely off what the show has revealed about her so far. it was honestly disconcerting to see so many references to her possible disability (?) and to see both that and the efforts to accommodate her spoken about in... i want to say mocking way? i don’t know. i just saw a murder mystery/thriller movie today where the serial killer was revealed to have been both disabled from birth and mentally ill, and maybe i’m just feeling extra sensitive to the truly disturbing and pervasive trope of having disabled characters be Evil--and tying their Evil to their disability. 

2.8. anyhow, blackfire appears to have accumulated a fair bit of power in the time that kory’s been gone: not only can she remotely possess other tamaraneans but she can blow up their ships too. (and didn’t faddei say that she had goons on the ground, looking for starfire?)

2.9. it’s a Lot to deal with this late in the season. maybe kory will leave for tamaran to deal with blackfire once and for all at the end of the season. and if titans ends up cancelled, wouldn’t that be a bittersweet ending.

(wherein ‘bittersweet’ translates to ‘devastating’ ofc)

3. oh where do i even start with dick

his worst fears came true. after his confession, not only did his old friends up and leave, but so did rachel and jason, which he found more heartbreaking than anything else. utterly consumed by guilt and convinced more than ever before of his culpability, he actively seeks out ways to self-flagellate, first by going to adeline to apologise, then by banishing himself, then by making sure he is punished (tho i have my doubts on that last one; will elaborate a little later). after watching him have an extended psychotic break and dash into not one but two suicide missions, watching dick grayson do this to himself feels like watching an extended feature on human suffering. it’s not fun, or pretty, and i can feel it reaching its nadir so that dick can bounce back up again, but i hope it happens soon.

(dick’s natural tendency to internalise guilt and responsibility into a hard little diamond core at his centre and his long training with batman with all the emphasis on secrets and subterfuge with a healthy underpinning of paranoia ironically means that he does so much goddamn emotional labour for this team. he’s the glue that keeps them together, that gives them purpose. he’s trying so hard to do good by everybody that he isn’t really able to achieve it with any of them, which leads to another self-flagellating spiral and him determining to try harder and the cycle just keeps going on. only kory seems to have ever broken this cycle, because she’s never demanded anything of him, nor he of her. it’s really sad to think how bereft dick feels right now, and more than that, how it’s stopping him from being there for the people who really do need him and trust him, like gar and rachel.)

3.25. adeline makes a very good point about how merely apologising doesn’t mean you’re owed forgiveness, and that seeking it out after all these years is a self-serving exercise in itself. but i can see dick taking it hard, especially after discovering that she’s letting slade--the man who actually killed her son--recuperate at her home. (and let’s be clear: however good her intentions, she participated in lying to her child about the truth of what his father actually does. wow, jericho was really just fucked over by pretty much every one he loved, wasn’t he?)

but i am glad to see dick isn’t so far gone that he takes the blame for jericho’s death in front of slade. he’s very aware that slade has permanently broken the team and very aware of the threat slade poses if they ever try to get back together again, but he’s not going to completely surrender every last shred of his self-worth and dignity to this man, and that was refreshing to see.

3.5. so he banishes himself to the farthest place he can think of with nothing more than the shirt on his back and a single duffel bag. it’s so over-the-top yet so... dick grayson.

3.8. BUT WAIT! ~PLOT TWIST~

ok so here’s what’s happening, all right? strap in:

a) jericho is one hundred percent inside slade. i have no doubts about this. adeline knows this too. it’s why she was so even-keeled while talking to dick, why she confidently said that jericho loved dick, and why she said “they” might be willing to forgive him. i’m thinking when slade crawled back home, jericho took advantage of his father’s momentary weakness to tell what was happening to his mother. 

b) jericho tried to communicate to dick. i saw something somewhere which said that slade had gestured something very specific in asl while conversing with dick? i’m willing to believe that was intentional.

c) when dick was turning to leave and slade called him one last time and gave his “banishment sentence” jericho likely jumped bodies from slade to dick

d) so why did dick get himself arrested at the airport?

- dick was going through, as others have speculated, a dissociative episode. given how he’s exhibited signs of mental illness throughout this season this isn’t that far out of the realm of possibility, but it’s a weak and redundant narrative bridge and wasn’t shot in a way that suggested that it was a mental break. so i’m ruling this out.

- jericho took over. maybe he felt that this was the only way he could force dick to stay in sf. maybe some of his father’s anger/resentment leeched into him and he wanted to dick to experience some actual punishment instead of scarpering again. maybe he was overwhelmed by dick’s own self-flagellating tendencies and chose the shortest route to maximum pain. maybe it’s a combination of all three.

- dick finally got his brain into gear and realised at the last minute that jericho had possessed slade and was trying to tell him something. why he then proceeded to get himself arrested instead of running out of the airport is a mystery.

personally, i’m leaning towards the ‘jericho possessed dick’ possibility.

4. gar is such a sweetheart and i am so glad that he took centrestage this episode, even though, like always, it was to support another character and ended up with him crying and begging for help from an unresponsive dick. *sighs*

4.5. much like dick himself, he’s trying to do good by everybody, only to end up badly misjudging a situation, and all alone. 

5. oof. this has gone on for far too long and i am Tired. more thoughts to come later, because right now my brain is as disorganised as... as disorganised as a titans episode. hah! self-burn!!!

[thechocoboos]

Could you do the chocobros (+Ardyn and Ravus) taking care of their significant other while she's on her period?

These hcs have been sitting in my google docs for a week now--but hey, they’re ready!!! I ended up with eight pages of headcanons so brace yourself lol; wrote these while i was suffering from the very thing i was writing about. what a life.

HC: The Bros + Ardyn and Ravus taking care of their SO on their period!

Noctis

Noct knew that periods existed, he swore that he did, but he just kinda… forgets.

So when he came home to see you dying on your couch, he was just… ??? “Uh, babe? You okay?”

“NO, Noct, I’m not o-fucking-kay--”

“Uh.”

It was only when he called Ignis that he figured out what was going on, with Ignis exasperatedly having to remind Noct that hey, people get periods!

It was a short phonecall, luckily

And it didn’t take Noct too long to get with the program

Softness increases to 110%

Mutual laziness increases to 70%

Caring for his SO increases to 2000%

He does his best--but he also kinda. Just. I dont wanna say it but he doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal until he sees you crying over cramps, then he realizes that periods suck and that you just need your stupid boyfriend to give you the love and support that you deserve

After that, he gets better!!!

“NoCT, can you please go get me my meds? And some water--”

“Can’t you do it yourself--” He always freezes, remembering how bad it can be, “Shit, sorry, babe--” He already started getting up, bringing out a bit of your favorite snack as an apology, “You know I’m an idiot.” He said when he handed you your meds and your fave candy bar

You know, and for whatever reason, you still loved him

He kinda has to learn what to do and what not to do just because he feels too unsure to ask anyone

Unfortunately, it was also through trial and error that he realized how sensitive you can sometimes be when your period is knockin’ at the front door

He found out through multiple crying sessions--and yes, it was usually his fault, but he was always insanely good about making it up to you with food, cuddles, and movie marathons

He’s the boyfriend who goes to the store for tampons and pads for you, sees the giant aisle of them, and while he isn’t embarrassed to be seen buying shit for his SO, he has absolutely no idea what to get and literally grabs the first shit he sees

And of course, you send him right back with a picture of the brand you actually like and a pad in his hand just so he can get it right the second time

Cue the mental image of Noctis comparing the pad in his hand to the color of pad packaging in stores

“They’re both green so it’s gotta be right… right???”

In summary: Noctis is a dumbass and can be a bit insensitive about periods simply because he’s really not around women or anyone who gets periods, but he really does try to remedy his ignorance and any mistakes he makes

Prompto

Prompto, too, has never really had much experience with girls or periods or people with periods and he just. He tries so hard--he really does

He gets you a new teddy bear every single time (at some point, you know you’re gonna have to tell him that he can’t keep buying you new bears, but it’s so cute that you don’t want him to stop)

He’s the one who gets sympathy pain

I promise, the second he catches wind that you’re on your period, he’s out the door trying to find your favorite of everything

If you send him to the store for pads, he comes back with one of everything and lots of tears in his eyes, “Babe--I didn’t know what you wanted so I just bought everything im sorry oh gods”

He’s the pitiful soul who blushes as he buys all the pads and tampons and looks like he’s gonna cry

He’s the one who pulls a cart full of sanitary products to the first register he sees and is crying as he looks in the clerk’s eyes and cries, “My SO is on their period i dont know what they like help me please”

Christ, he’s a mess but he’s your mess and you love him

He comes back with every single snack he knows you so much as look at

Cravings? He’s got your back.

Like, you mention this shit you want half heartedly and then he disappears for three hours and comes back with a weighted blanket, heating pad, and three bags of those weird chips you were craving

He’s always blushing and frantic, but he blushes the hardest when you ask him to lay with you and cuddle

Ofc he does it--he loves it, but the bold, straightforward way you ask has him blushing head to toes

He once caught himself wishing people got periods more often just so he could hold you like this more often--he accidentally said it out loud, and you only snuggled into his chest more and told him to shut up and hold you tighter

Prompto is a mess but he tries so, so hard just to make you comfortable and content

He once drove for twenty minutes to find your favorite candy bar (and he would do it again, no question)

When you cry bc emotions, he starts to tear up, too

He always says, “Babe, if you cry, I’ll start crying and then we’ll both be crying and I don't think either of us can handle that on an emotional level” and then you both cry anyways

He likes to sing to you when you guys cuddle, his voice is soft but husky in the perfect way that lulls you to sleep

If you fall asleep in his arms, he falls asleep, too

He’s the extra bf who goes above and beyond unnecessarily, merely because he doesn’t know how else to help you

Gladdy

Holy Behemoth Batman! One of these idiots is properly aware of periods!!!

And it’s this one. Bravo, Gladdy, bravo. Fans everywhere are cheering your name.

In all seriousness, he is aware and actually knows how to handle someone who is on their period

Iris used to get some pretty bad periods, and with their mom not around and their dad always busy, it was Gladio who had to help her out and actually explain them to her in the first place (he’s never gonna forget when Iris ran up to him one morning while crying and shouting about bloody underwear)

So, needless to say, he ain’t shy during that time of the month. In fact, he knows more tips and tricks than you do, simply because he was one hell of a big bro for Iris

Heating pads? Blankets? Snacks? Damn good brands of sanitary products? He’s got it all and you didn’t even have to ask, like holy shit

Back when you guys were just starting out your relationship, you had actually gotten your period once while at his place and when you told him you’d have to go home because you forgot your products, he was like, “Oh--hang on. You prefer pads or tampons???” and pulls out a giant basket with a lobster on it, labelled ‘Menstruation Crustacean’

He said that he liked to be prepared in case Iris was over

What an absolute legend of a bf. Like, after that, you knew you weren’t letting this fucker go.

He rubs your stomach if you’re having really bad cramps and doesn’t even have to be asked to go grab you some pain meds--it’s like he has a sixth sense or some shit

Really, really chill about periods as a whole like he’s not scared to go to the store for you and he gets the right products!!!

Sometimes, when you get so sore and crampy that you can’t move, he’ll carry you around in his arms and doesn’t complain once

Will change your bloody sheets and isn’t the slightest bit grossed out--doesn’t mind emptying the bathroom trashcan either

Similar to Prompto, he loves to hold you and hum to you. He won’t sing, but even his absent minded humming while he holds you to his chest under one arm and reads some random book lulls you to sleep with ease

Quite frankly, probably the best of the bros when it comes to periods

He’s not scared of them. He doesn’t care if it gets messy, he knows what to do, like. Shit. Fuckin’ winner over here.

Ignis

Ignis, much like everyone else, does not have that much experience with periods. Didn’t really have many folks with periods around and he’s never had a SO before

So you would think he’s a hot mess--but nO! He would nEvER

He googled and he googled and he googled and he asked coworkers (always respectfully ofc) and he googled some more

He has an arsenal of tips and tricks and guides and everything--but he does lack the hands on experience

He will help you and he will buy you everything you need and more--but there will always be the hesitation of someone who doesn’t really know what they’re doing

One time, Ignis tried to rub your belly to help with cramps, but he only succeeded in tickling you and embarrassingly had to admit he doesn’t really know where his hand should be

Ugh what a cutie pie

He’s patient and sweet and he does all these small things for you without even telling you, and when you do notice, you feel like your heart is just gonna burst and vomit affection everywhere

He’s still a little embarrassed and shy when you boldly demand cuddles, but he does it nonetheless (he fucking loves it though he will never admit to it)

He’s the SO who cleans up bloody sheets and quietly gets blood stains out of your clothes while you’re vomiting from cramps, but never, ever makes a big deal out of it and does it with the caring affection of a kind man in love

Bumps his pun game to 110% to try and make you laugh

Knows which subjects and what phrases and words to avoid to prevent your emotions from blowing up

Even if they do, he never takes rude words to heart and he always comforts you lovingly, giving you a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek

He keeps an eye on you

If you shift uncomfortably, he’s there with a heating pad

If you’re meds are wearing off, he already has more in hand

Sometimes, if you want to cuddle, you only have to look at him a certain way before he’s sighing and climbing into bed next to you, reminding you that if you were anyone else he wouldn’t go this far

He just dotes on you in the quietest ways possible

Ravus

Insensitive Dumbass Part 2

Yes, he knows people get periods. Does he care? No.

Not until he falls in love with you, at least.

Cramps? Can’t be that bad. Migraines? Just mere headaches. Aches and pains? Probably nothing. He dismisses each symptom right up until you come into his life

Because when you guys get together--he gets to see firsthand just how bad everything can get

Oh gods you’re crying from it all?? VOmitting??? HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO KNOW--

He felt like a right dick (and he should)

But he was also quick to change his tune, because the love of his life can’t suffer like this

Not while he’s around!!!

He’s quick to ask Luna what to do, and thank god at least one sibling in their family is sympathetic and not a mess and a fucking half otherwise he’d be doing things through trial and error (not that he didn’t, even with the help)

He does everything by the written list Luna had given him (she knew he wasn’t gonna remember everything), even years after you two got together (he likes to use it as a benchmark of sorts to know when he’s doing everything you need)

The first few times you had sent him to the store because you ran out of supplies, he had absolutely no idea what to get and any poor employees who tried to help him earned the most aggressive, hostile glare he could muster

He ends up calling Luna, too, because how is he supposed to call you and tell you that he doesn’t know what to get??? And have you think he’s incapable??? NO! He was gonna be the best bf and get exactly what you fucking needed or so help him--

He’s just very aggressively in love. Little bit of a dick but he changes and grows as a person into the kinda man we can all love and support and who will love and support us right back!!!

He does his best but he doesn’t want to seem incapable of being helpful

Likes to remind you when your medicine is supposed to wear out so he can show that he’s some use

Anytime he gives you a massage or rubs your back or smth, he’s always giving you nervous, uncertain glances just to make sure you’re content or that he’s helping

Always giving you nervous glances just to check that you’re okay (he really loves you, he’s just not sure how to show it)

Lots of hugs and kisses but he’s embarrassed about all the skinship when you want cuddles (don’t get him wrong, he really, really loves it; he’s just… not sure what to do with all these feelings)

He learns how to be a supportive, wonderful SO when you’re on your period and maybe one day he might actually remember your favorite brand (but don’t get your hopes up too much at that)

Ardyn

Back in Ardyn’s day, periods weren’t exactly talked about, so the first few times you mentioned them, he was absolutely flabbergasted that you would blatantly talk about something that was considered so private

If he hadn’t been a healer, he wouldn’t have known near as much about them as he did

But even as a healer, periods were still something considered a woman’s subject and were usually left for women healers and mothers to handle so he could rarely do much

But then--Ardyn had to get pretty fuckin’ used to periods because you were pretty much out of commission when your “aunt irma” came to visit

First couple times you got your period while with Ardyn, they weren’t so bad, but then they went right back to their normal symptoms

When Ardyn came home to see you curled up in a ball, clutching your abdomen and trying to just keep your eyes shut to block out the light, he had thought you were terribly, terribly sick

“Darling--what’s wrong? What happened--” He was genuinely concerned and worried, his brow furrowed and mouth drawn in a worried frown. He hadn’t realized that your periods were so debilitating, so to see you like this, he had thought something even worse had happened

You only managed a groan when you tried to talk, and that only made him rush over even more, trying to lift your arms to see where you were injured, “Darling, please--”

“‘M fine,” you tried to say, “It’s just--fuck,” You hissed as a particularly bad cramp came your way, “--fine, jus’, that time of the month.” You wheezed, laying your head back down on your pillow

And that was when Ardyn realized just how terrible the symptoms could be

He was a worried man. Absurdly worried actually, and sometimes it made you want to laugh if everything didn’t hurt so badly

Ardyn was the kind of man to do absolutely anything and everything for his love, so that’s what he did

You never had to leave the bed for anything unless you really wanted to

Ardyn would deliver your pain meds on the clock, always accompanied by the most ridiculously jeweled goblet he could find (he was always one to be amusingly over the top and treat you like a queen, but his dramatics always cheered you up)

He was usually by your side unless you requested some alone time, and then he would respectfully kiss your forehead, say “Of course, darling. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call--I am always at your disposal,” and close the door quietly as he left

Otherwise, he would be laying in bed with you, one arm wrapped around your shoulder and the other holding some old book or resting across his stomach as he took a nap beside you

He would give you massages wherever you ached and he would provide herbal remedies from back in his day that were pretty good at relieving aches and pains

Ardyn’s innuendos and teasings would go on the back burner during this time--unless you instigated it

If you didn’t, he might tease you here and there, but always the tiniest, most light hearted things and it was always said in the softest teasing tones

All your feelings are valid to him, hormonal or otherwise, and he will listen to every word you say as though they were your last

Yes, you were usually treated like royalty by him, but it somehow increased exponentially when that time of the month arrived

[sonofasymbol]

what james is up to during/after endgame ; 

( E.NDGAME S.POILERS UNDER THE CUT ) 

[ this is pretty much an abridged version of where he’s at during the main events of the film, i may go into more detail with things later B) ] 

( his m.cu verse closely follows the main verse, instead of the kids getting sent to the 6.16, they’re sent to the m.cu & are around for the events of the movies. )  so james is the only one out of team that doesn’t get dusted ( that can be changed depending on the thread of course ! )  the first week, the only way anyone can find him is by following the carnage he leaves in his wake ( broken windows, dents in the walls, etc. ) By the second week, he’s holed himself up in his room and won’t come out under any circumstances. He’s always been one to sleep a lot, but that;s all he’s doing anymore. he’ll speak a few words to steve and natasha if they stand outside his door, but they’re the only ones that can have anything resembling a conversation with him. he’s letting himself rot & nothing seems to be helping.  the day tony & nebula get dropped off on earth by carol is the first day james emerges from his room since he’d put himself in self imposed exile. he hears the commotion outside and everyone running around, so he assumes there’s going to be a fight. once he realizes that’s not the case, he awkwardly hovers around the compound listening to the yelling & witnessing tony’s eventual collapse. he shyly says a few words to carol, only bc he’s curious and he’s never seen the cool glowing lady around before. the first few days after that event, james periodically checks in on tony, if only to make sure he hasn’t passed and no one felt like telling him. the others quickly realize that james having someone/something to check up on gets him to leave his room.  the stray dog showing up at the avengers compound a month later is a blessing. the poor thing’s emaciated, filthy, and doesn’t really trust people. it likely belonged to someone that was no longer around after the snap. james immediately takes over its care. by the second month he has the canine back to a healthy weight, he’s named it rocky & it follows james wherever he goes. while james is still very much in the grieving process and barely speaks to anyone, he doesn’t spend the entire day in his room bc he needs to make sure his new pet gets taken out for walks regularly. over the course of the next five years, he starts to finally have conversations with people again, even if he’s still so withdrawn. and when tony & pepper announce they’re having a child, he casually mentions how good of a babysitter he is. and if visiting tony, pepper, and baby morgan a couple times a week to help out with the yard work and babysit little morgan makes him crack a smile for the first time in years, he doesn’t realize it. at this point, he hasn’t donned a superhero costume or anything of the sort since the snap, which is why he’s out in the city at the dog park with rocky when the a.vengers decide to go through with their time travel plan. he doesn’t find out about natasha & the s.oul stone until way after the fact, and he reacts badly. he takes a swing at clint because he doesn’t know who else to take his anger out on. it’s made worse by the fact that they didn’t let him go with, because he screams at everyone that he would have gladly take the dive off the cliff in her place. at the time of the battle against thanos, it’s the first time he’s put a costume back on since the day he lost his team, but he fights more viciously than he’d ever fought before. once everyone starts arriving from dr. strange’s portals, he nearly gets stabbed bc he just drops his shield and starts sprinting to where he sees his team.  it’s crazy seeing them just as they were ( since he’s now 23 after the 5 year time skip ) the battle ensues as it does in the movie, but the kids are too far away from where tony is to get there in time before he dies ( something they’ll no doubt feel guilty about for years to come ) they attend the funeral along with everyone else, but stay more on the outskirts of it. this wasn’t the tony that raised them, but it still hurts something fierce knowing they couldn’t help this version of him either. james has the team help him construct some little memorial for natasha after they leave tony’s funeral, nothing overly flashy; but something with lots of bright flowers. something he hopes she would have liked. he stops to congratulate sam on being the new cap, bids a teary and reluctant farewell to a now aged steve, and takes the team and disappears. the only one that knows how to reach them is bucky, but he promises to return with the rest of the n.ext avengers if there’s ever some serious crisis again. ( plus, he leaves rocky with bucky bc he trusts his cool uncle to take care of his pup ofc. ) months down the line, a new superhero is spotted leading the n.ext a.vengers. all they know is that he goes by nomad & his bleach blond hair is starting to turn red. eerily similar to the shade of b.lack w.idow’s the last time anyone had ever seen her. 

[eunangel-blog]

h-hewwo.... it’s tea  ( from nikolaism )  back with a more light-hearted, fun muse named ANGEL EUN.  + stats page.  + wanted connections.  please give this post a like if you’d like to plot !!  now, without further ado ---------

TL;DR !

he started showing magical ability  &  his family thought he was possessed, so they tried exorcism. when that didn’t work, they sent him west to get rid of him in hopes that he’d be cured. once he graduates, he intends to use the memory charm on himself.

PERSONALITY !

loosely inspired by hxh’s hisoka and npc’s lin yanjun flirting with ghosts. basically the worst combo ever, but ya know

his personality is the embodiment of this emoji ⤑ :3c  /  also vibes with this video  &  basically “talks a lil like this ~ ♥”  u can legit feel the heart irl

suuuper playful ! everything is a practical joke to him, including a lot of his relationships. defense mechanism. he doesn’t like overly serious people bc they’re no fun ! but he loves teasing that type the most

uses terms of endearment excessively. it’s rare for him to call anyone by their given names, so better get used to him calling you darling / love / dear / babe, etc.

don’t... expect deep, heartfelt conversations tho - if he says anything super serious, he’s probably lying. like even with his closest friend ( wc! ), he's still ~ aha jokes ~

BACKGROUND !

a native from jeju, south korea. born eun sungkeun.

he loves his family ! except his family doesn’t feel the same... at all. ofc it didn’t start out this way---he’s the first son born under his grandfather’s name, so needless to say, the family was ecstatic. they treated him like royalty, and boy did he love the attention

but unfortunately all good things must come to an end  &  for him, the end came early. at a young age, he began showing strange abilities that couldn’t be explained. heavy toys being light in weight? levitating ever so slightly before he hits the ground? hM

his parents were mortified and thought he was possessed by a demon ! this led them to consult a spiritual doctor who confirmed their suspicions. by the end of the day, everyone in the family knew - and thus would start “the cure”

and by “the cure,” we mean exorcism. the family flew a priest in from seoul to perform the exorcism  &  for some reason, 10yo sungkeun thought it would be hilarious to screech the few words he knew in german and throw stuff ( which... pretty much flew out of his hand due to magic ). and yeah, after the priest was done, sungkeun went back to normal and was like ~ just kidding ~ it was a joke ~ see, i’m okay !!

but no one believed him. and the priest was like shit dude, idk what else we can do, lemme make some phone calls  &  after some time, they finally got a hold of someone that knew about these “”possessions””

so the family flew this lil old lady in, and after spending 1.5 minutes talking to sungkeun, she was like “you’re a wizard, sungkeun” and sungkeun’s no harry potter. he didn’t go i’m a wot? instead, he was like “coolio”

they decided against telling his parents ‘cause... being a wizard wasn’t that far off from being possessed by a demonic entity. so the lil old lady suggested sending sungkeun out west, where there’s a church ( it’s hogwarts ) that specifically deals with cases like his. the family agreed immediately bc... they seriously didn’t want him here ))):

yeah so basically they paid a one-way ticket to ship sungkeun out west  &  legit told him "don’t come back until you’re cured”

he stayed with the lil old lady’s daughter, but eventually found his current adopted family ( wc! ) by going around town  &  asking people “want to see a magic trick?”

eventually adopted the nickname “angel” bc he thought it was so ironic and funny

NOWADAYS !

speaks highly and fondly of his family, even though none of them have bothered reaching out to him in any way - no letters, no calls, nothing.  &  he’ll also openly share his backstory bc it’s hilarious?? him?? possessed????? his entire life is a prank

it’s his last year at hogwarts  &  he’s had his fun. beneath all his shit-eating grins and practical jokes, he intends to use the memory charm on himself once he graduates so he wouldn’t have any memory of the magical world or its inhabitants. this is the only way he can go back home. ( ofc he’d eventually show signs of magical ability again, but until then, he’d be “cured.” )

on that, this has been his plan since the very beginning  &  is the primary reason he’s always joking around and not thinking about consequences. it’s also the reason why he doesn’t have many super close friends - he’s going to forget them anyway, so what’s the point y’know?

( in the event that he can’t cast the memory charm on himself, he’s going to ask that one close friend -  wc! - to cast it for him )

[theskoomacat]

Ngfl I miss Crimea to death. My parents used to send me there with grandma every summer when i was a kid and I remember the latest trips with endless tenderness, but after the annexion everything sucks and mom says she’ll disown me if go there and i believe her. (i’ll still sneak in someday if I ever have the money and an opportunity.)

Me waxing a little poetic, #animal death mention and lots of screenshots hidden under the cut

My best memories are about two places and a handful of years. I might have talked about it already but anyway. One year I went with a school group organized by my school’s history teacher (not the one who taught our class, but a more clownish one) to a Scythian archeological dig site in Crimea (pic 1, green circle). (i’m going to use mostly yandex maps screens bc google has worse photos.) Funnily, it turned out to be right next to where I’ve been vacationing with grandma a week prior.

Pic 2 - aerial view of the dig site. The green area is where they’ve dug out a lil Scythian settlement and then built sandstone huts in the leftover pit, the red arrow points to the museum where they put some of the dug out stuff and the light blue area ~is where they were digging out a keep when I was there.

It was fantastic bc it was basically my first getaway from parents - there were still adults around but it wasn’t the same, I felt free and rolled up high my tight black jeans bc I thought it was cool and no one could stop me. It was kind of hilarious that I had expected that we’d be allowed to do Real Archeological Stuff (tm) but instead we, whose parents paid for this trip, were forced to go and dig up coarse turf every day instead (it was hot but ngl i loved shoveling away anyway). Only once we’ve managed to get to the WW2 layer and found some empty shells before the digging spot was taken from us, meanwhile I’ve stolen a vertebra with an artificial hole that after a trip to the museum turned out to be a weight for a loom (although totally out of its age layer so apparently not dateable and not valuable).

So we lived in a hole, I routinely had to carry out large spiders out of our hut, we went to historical tours around Crimea and had to suffer through boring films the history teacher made us watch - although after one we went out and the night skies were clearer than ever and me and some other kids laid down on some benches and talked while dozens of shooting stars burned above us, it was absolutely magical.

Pic 3 - red arrow is how far we had to walk to the beach (very hot, pretty unpleasant 1 km), green - me and grandma have lived not far in that direction. The beach and the water there kinda sucked but the teacher couldn’t stop us from frolicking in high waves and there was also a magical occurrence when suddenly the entire beach was overtaken by a myriad of ladybugs! They were everywhere for like 5 minutes and then fled off. I saved some of them that got stuck in the water.

Next year I also went to the same camp, I’m not sure which of the things I’ve mentioned happened the first or the second time around but I can surely say that Each year we had to go to Chersonesus (pic 4, left; behold, Greek Rocks) and it was a Horrible. Hot. Hell. rendered useless by the fact that I’ve been to it a year before with my parents.

BUT! After it each time we went to the Balaklava bay (pic 4, right; yes, that Balaklava) and swam in its crystal clear blue water. The only reason I agreed to go to Chersonesus for the 3d time.

~

So around this time (a year later? or the same year i went to the camp for the 2d time?) we vacationed in a pretty nearby place with grandma. I was sure it was Very close to the dig site until I did this “research” but it was not that close - pic 1, red circle. Same shoreline but kilometers to the south. We stayed in one sanatorium one year and then in a neighbouring one next year.

Pic 5 - we resided around here. Many Many other sanatoriums and hotels around and a village to the north.

There are only two things I remember about this place. Idk how but grandma let me walk anywhere I wanted alone (well, didn’t manage to stop me, I just didn’t tell her where I really went but she always could reach me on my phone) but I’ve explored the entire neughbouring area (where I could physically go, in many places you need a paper that you live in that sanatorium to access its territory) and in one park in the dark found a quite big hedgehog. I couldn’t interact with it as it’s just kinda curled up but it was cute nonetheless.

The other thing was Big. I walked along the shore every day while grandma was sleeping after the midday meal. Not that far at first but further and further every day, right along the edge of the sea. I started doing this during year 1 and was absolutely ecstatic to learn that we were going to the same place next year and I could continue Forrest Gumping.

So initially I went south (pic 6, red arrow). After the sanatoriums end it’s just you, kinda sharp rocks under your feet (I told myself this was free hours-long massage, idk if it really did me any good but I am used to almost any terrain now), a high sand cliff on your left, the sea on your right and a handful of nudists. Check out this pic (7) of how visible the spots where you can climb/go down the cliff are. I did that only once bc that cliff sucked a lot but it let me steal some grain from the field, it was very tasty.

So I could be mistaken but I think I’ve managed to reach the red ? (pic 6) once during year 2 in all my travels here - ~5,5 kilometers away from home (11 with the way back). The coastline looks pretty straight from above but from the perspective of the home point and even the midway point it looked like a sharp arc in this direction so every day I had to tell myself that I would never reach its end and look around that corner with the time I had and that that was okay.

Also at some point during year 2 I started going north, too, along the village (pic 6, green arrow). Those were heavily populated areas ofc, but it was still pleasant despite the drunks. Some shore parts were inaccessible so I had to turn to the village and I’ve definitely reached the green ! (pic 6). There was magic moment #??? - I was standing in the middle of some dry wild field and suddenly everything got covered by a dense fog cloud. I couldn’t see around me, I could barely see the sky. It passed pretty fast but it was still awesome.

I can’t pinpoint how far I’ve gone this way - I remember reaching some kind of a dam/water lock-looking inaccessible area with a big gate but I can’t recognize it on the map and that makes me think I might have met it somewhere else. I also remember meeting people along the way mourning over a little dolphin that got stuck and died in the rocks next to a pier during a storm, but I also am not sure this memory belongs to this place. In any case, I surely didn’t go farther than this coastline nub 2 kms away from home.

I treasure these memories a lot, moreover that with the kind of life you have during such grandma vacations it’s ususally the only thing worth remembering aside from the sea and the warmth of the sun. Thanks for reading.

[here-there-be-nerds]

can i request that you write the rules convo you mentioned in the latest chapter? it doesn’t have to be long just. that insight into their life makes me so happy bc taako is chaotic good for a REASON and caring enough abt this kid to realize that despite his personal dislike of rules kids need them is... 😭👌👌💕 i love ur writing!! dont feel obligated to do this ofc and i appreciate u giving us ur blessed work

Thank you so much! ♥️♥️♥️

I was happy to do it, honestly more content for this series is baller as hell!

I present Single Dad Taako ch 1.5

( 0 ) ( 1 ) ( 1.5 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 ) ___________________________Taako shifted on the seat of the arm chair he was sitting as, moving his weight from one side to the other. He watched the little boy sitting on the couch across from him watch him with calculating eyes.

“So…you’re a detective.” Taako said matter of factly.

They both looked at each other for several moments, so long in fact that Taako wasn’t entirely sure he had actually said it aloud. Angus regarded the elf as if trying to figure something out, a look Taako was getting familiar with.

“Uh…yes?” Angus finally said unsure how to say what he would next. “You…are you saying that because you just realized or…” Angus asked nervously.

“What! No! I know that! Look, look. I’m just trying to start a conversation I dun wanna have.” Taako said as he sat up straighter.

Angus tilted his head curious and his detective mode started showing.

“Look…I don’t want…to keep ya from doing your…your detective thing.” Taako said in verbal italics. “I wanna let you keep true to little Anges, but like you gotta understand where I’m coming from on this.”

Angus’ brows rose slightly as it dawned upon him what Taako was trying to explain to him.

“Oh!” Taako sighed relieved as the kid understood. “You really…are gonna let me keep sleuthing?” Angus asked excited.

“Yea, little man.” Taako said as he leaned back into the arm chairs cushions. “But we are gonna have to have…er…ground rules?” Taako said unsure if that’s the term he wanted to use.

At first, when it came up after adopting Angus, it was legit whatever to ole Taako. But then Angus was just not home one night and didn’t show up till the next morning with no warning or explanation what so ever. Angus was clearly not used to having to inform someone of his where about so he didn’t cause any panic attacks. He didn’t need to know but about that last part, but there had to be something better than that.

“I really am sorry about that, sir.” Angus ducked his head guiltily.

“I know, bubbleh, but that’s what I’m talkin about.” Taako said. “I need to know where and where your cases are gonna be.”

“Yes sir!” Angus perked up straighter and nodded firmly.

“You got…like a pretty decent rep so I get you might get some cases away from home.” Taako said, his voice straining as he was still unsure what to do with that.

“Am I…not allowed to take those?” Angus asked.

Allowed. The word hit Taako like a Gust of Wind. He wasn’t great at doing what he was and wasn’t allowed to do, how was he supposed to impose that kind of shit on the kid? Like those shitty parents that say dumb crap like: ‘Do as I say not as I do’? That kind of stuff pissed Taako off, the hypocrites.

“Uh, well…I mean, I guess it’s fine, like I can go with or whatever.” Taako suggested.

“Are you sure? It can get kind of boring when I’m doing research. Plus what if you get work from, uh, Aunt…? Lucretia.” Angus said unsure, still adjusting to this odd collection of family.

“Riiiight…” Taako considered. “Would you be chill going off like that?”

“Well it’s what I always did before, it’s not that different.” Angus shrugged. The casualness of that didn’t sit right with Taako.

“Uh huh, well, cool, cool.” Taako said as he tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair, attempting to not come off anxious. “Well as long as I know what you’re up to, it’s all chill with cha'boy over here. Just making sure you don’t like beef it or anything.” Taako cringed at his own wording and how aloof that came out.

Taako leaned forward so he could stare Angus in the eye and let him know how serious he actually was about all this.

“Look, baby boy, I got your like best interests at heart and you staying healthy and happy is all ol'Taako is going for here, you got that?” Taako asked.

Angus reeled back slightly as if surprised or shocked by something. He took a few moments before he answered, not had to stop that it got Taako thinking he was imagining talking out loud.

“I…I think I understand, sir. I’ll try to check in when I’m on a case and let you know what I’m up to and where I am.” Angus said.

“Awesome, awesome, that’s all I’m looking for my little dude.” Taako grinned as he flopped back in his chair.

Man this parenting shit was going great so far, he was gonna be fine if it kept going this smooth. This kid was already pretty great so it was a good combo, natch. Totally gonna be fine.

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[elddansurin]

so i there’s a pretty good OC meme floating around, and i took the liberties of filling out the entire thing myself because let’s be real here, i’d like to see any of you try and stop me. i filled it out for serras bc that greasy boy could use more love

Personal

1)      Age? I've never pinned down an exact age for him. Early- to mid-30s, is the vibe I'm feeling. 2)      Gender? Male 3)      Romantic/Sexual Orientation? There's a safe bet that if it's a character I've made, he's gay. It applies here. 4)      Height? I want to say at or around 6 foot even. 5)      Race? Dunmer 6)      What do they look like? Black sclera, some self-applied scars over his brows, and a lot of haphazard piercings he also did in front of a mirror. Serras is tall and sorta lanky, but moreso in an underfed way, as opposed to someone like Gavriil who is Just Like That. When he's living more stable-like, Serras can actually put on some healthy weight, but he's never been too shredded. I feel like if he ever really settled down, he might start going a bit flabby around the midsection. 7)      Any disabilities? Nothing physical. 8)      Is there a meaning to their name? In canon, no. His dad thought it sounded nice. I, on the other hand, borrowed his name from a neopet. 9)      What makes them, them? Interestingly enough, it's in how much of himself is borrowed from other people. He's never really learned how to be just Serras. Most of his opinions are other peoples' opinions, the bulk majority ofc being his father's, but a few of his old friends have also impacted him (mostly in the way he currently talks). And, naturally, he picks up some of Gavriil's mannerisms with time. If you asked him to boil down who he really was, outside influences aside, he'd probably have some kind of crisis. 10)   What do they want to be when they grow up/what do they want to do with their lives? He genuinely has no idea, and it's a source of constant background anxiety for him. He doesn't really know what his talents or ambitions are aside from petty crime and living day to day. He does his absolute best to just... not think about it.

Family

11)   Do they have parents? What are they like and how do they act with their child(ren)? His mom's been out of the picture since he was a newborn, but he has a super tight relationship with his father. And by that, I mean ridiculously codependent. They love each other and get along very well, but their relationship is not healthy, and Serras has only recently become aware of that. 12)   Do they have siblings? How do they interact with them? If not, do they wish they had siblings? He has a few half-siblings whom he has never met and is unaware of (via his mother, who is absolutely still kickin).  13)   Extended family? Do they see them often? Plenty, but the only one he has ever met is his maternal aunt. They keep in touch and are on good terms, and she was the one who gently suggested he should try and learn to live on his own. 14)   Do they like where they live? (Is it a safe place?) He doesn't really know any better. He's spent his entire life on the move and has rarely lived in a single place for more than a few years at a time. He and his father were constantly moving around western Morrowind and eastern Skyrim with no real rhyme or reason, and now for SOME reason, Serras has a hard time setting down roots. 15)   Where do they live? Are they wealthy? Poor? Middle-Class? In theory, his home is outside of Mournhold, where his dad lives in a small hovel. In practice, he lives out of a tent. But it works for him. By which I mean he's used to it. 16)   Do they have a lot of expectations/pressure on them from family to do great? His dad put absolutely no pressure on him and barely disciplined him at all. Serras will bend over backward to make his dad happy because he loves and respects the man, but he has a serious, serious issue with any other authority figure (or anyone he perceives as an authority figure). He's either very afraid or outright contemptuous of anyone with power over him. 17)   Do they have pets? He's had a ton of pets, from cats to nix puppies to pony guar. They tend to either get left behind during hasty moves, or "run away" when his dad gets tired of having them around. 18)   Who do they look up to the most/are the closest to in their family? Undoubtedly, his father.  19)   This there anything special about their family? His family has (or had) strong ties to House Indoril and the Tribunal Temple, back when that was the sort of thing that mattered. But his father was outcasted and went so far as to drop their family name entirely out of sheer spite, and Serras has only the vaguest understanding of his family history. 20)   Do they wish they lived in a different family/household? He just wishes things were more stable.

Friends

21)   Best Friend(s)? Gavriil, who also holds the title of being His Only Friend. In Serras's eyes, Gav's this hypercompetant dude with an intimidating level of education and experience, nevermind that he's also an emotionally damaged drifter. Serras has a habit of downplaying the negative attributes of the people he admires, see. 22)   Who was their first friend? A little Argonian boy from back when he and his dad were living in Windhelm for a year or two. He'd have been 10 or so. 23)   What is their friend group like? Sparse! 24)   Do they have a love/hate relationship with any of them? Learning far more toward the former than the latter 25)   Do they consider any of their friends to be like siblings? I'm going to say no, for two reasons. One is that Serras is painfully very much an only child and has no concept of what having siblings would be like, and for two, he has a very hard time keeping things platonic when he finds someone who will put up with him for more than a few hours. 26)   Have they ever hurt a friend or lost one? He never sets out to intentionally hurt the people he loves, but it happens. And he's lost quite a few friends, for a number of reasons. 27)   Do they have a crush on any of their friends? Take a good guess. 28)   Do they share classes with good friends? I'm going to be a smart ass and say he's more of a rogue while Gavriil is clearly a mage. So no. 29)   Whom do they go to the most when they need a shoulder to cry on? His immediate gut reaction is to cry to dad, but he's conscious of that and trying to reel it in. His next reaction is to bottle it up, because that never backfires horribly. Or if it's just something small and petty, he'll complain to Gav. 30)   What would this person do without their friends in their lives? Serras Does Not Do Well on his lonesome. That's the nicest way of putting it.

School

31)   What grade are they in? If they aren’t in school, how come? Dude's never spent a single day in any sort of classroom. 32)   Do/Did they like their teachers? Was there a good one? Bad one? His one and only teacher was his father, who, best efforts aside, was not very good at being a teacher. Case in point: Serras is functionally illiterate and I doubt he'd be able to read much beyond a third grade level. 33)   Do/Did they listen to their teachers or are/where they goofing off a lot? As a kid, he had no interest in learning from books and was way more interested in working with his hands (which is how he got so good at general outdoorsman skills). Now that he knows how uneducated he is, he desperately wants to learn and be taught but is too embarrassed to figure out how to start. 34)   Are/Where they a good student grade wise? I feel like he'd be a solid B-C student. 35)   Do/Did they need extra help? All things being equal, he'd have been a pretty average student. Now, well, he has a lot of catching up to do. 36)   What is/was their school like? Slapdash and improvised. 37)   Do/Did they have bullies in school? That would imply a lot more social interaction than he actually had as a kid. For a significant part of his childhood he was very sheltered in the most literal sense of the word. Even when he did start being socialized a bit more freely, his dad would have fucking immediately shut that shit down if he thought his baby was getting made fun of. 38)   Have they ever gotten into a fight at school? He fucking absolutely would have, given the opportunity. He's too scrappy for his own good. 39)   Have they ever done something stupid/embarrassing at school? Well, he was pretty socially maladjusted for the first... what, two-thirds of his life? It's inevitable. 40)   How far do they plan to go with school? If they dropped out, do they want to go back? He absolutely does want to further his education by some means. If nothing else, he wants to learn how to read gooder.

Other

41)   Are they dating anyone? Do they want to date? Are the married? Divorced? He's in a constant state of getting crushes on anyone who's nice to him. However, his track record with relationships is uhhhh not great. That said, yes he does want to date. 42)   What is their favorite hobby? Do they keep it a secret? He loves- absolutely loves- pickpocketing and other petty crime. It's just his thing. 43)   If they could have one thing in life, what would it be? Emotional stability. 44)   Do they work? If so, what is it? If not, are they looking for one or even want one? He's never been able to hold down a stable job in his life, and he certainly doesn't know what he wants to do. He's had a few laborer-type jobs, and none of them lasted for more than a few weeks. Dude just couldn’t cut it in that kind of environment. 45)   Do they use social media? He lives out of a fucking tent. 46)   Have they ever been in the hospital? Dude gets beat up a lot, so yeah. 47)   Do they believe in the supernatural, that there is more than the eye can see? For someone who lives in a world with literal gods and actual ghosts, his beliefs are unspecified and undecided. His father stopped worshipping before he was born, and so Serras doesn't know what to do with himself, spiritually speaking. At this point, it doesn't bother him and he doesn't care. 48)   What do they do when they get angry, stressed, or upset? When upset, he fidgets, talks too much, engages in a lot of self-touch gestures, etc. When that ramps up, he shuts down and starts bottling up. When that stops working, Bad Times Ahoy. 49)   Would they consider themselves as a good person, bad person, or morally grey? He views the world in pretty black and white terms, morally speaking. He's killed before, so he considers himself to be a bad person. Though the only lives he's taken were in 100% self defence, he sees that as being as bad as regular murder, so he tells himself he would be alright with unprovoked killing. He's never done it, but he tells himself this. On the flip side, anyone he's arbitrarily deemed as Morally Good will almost always stay that way, regardless of their actual motives or actions. Like I said, he's very good at excusing the negatives of the people he likes/cares about/idolizes. 50)   Does this OC have any part of you in them? (I.e, personality traits, similar background, etc). I've based a lot of younger-me in him. The maladjusted weirdo who doesn't know who he's supposed to be, who doesn't know how to be his own person. It's a weird, awkward stage to be in, and that's how I've envisioned Serras. Drifting, alone, in a transitional period of his life between a stunted beginning and potential character growth. Will he get there? That remains to be seen. Also, some other stuff, but you know. Spoilers. Ask me this again after I post chapter 13 and I’ll get more specific.