#tristan writes

[good--merits-accumulated]

did someone say happy and healthy Todd and Jeff sibling relationship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shitpost-it-tristan]

Happy 13th birthday to this fandom!

Wreck-It Ralph being *the* movie with tropes like the Found Family arc/learning self-acceptance, sticking it to people who try to tell you who you can/cannot be, and putting you into a box. Tearing down how society views us and using our "flaws" to prove them wrong.

This movie is for all the underdogs, a story for anyone who ever needed a restart on life. For anyone who's ever needed a reminder to take life one game at a time.

So to all my WIR friends (who, let's be honest, we're more like our own little Found Family)

We've seen a lot of people come and go, lots of deactivated accounts that live through reblogs. We've been doing this for a long time, and hey, a steady fandom is nothing to sneeze at!

This movie has changed the lives of so many people, and we continue to contribute to it with our fanworks. To quote the great Rich Moore himself, "Wreck-It Ralph belongs to everyone."

I'd like to thank all the friends I've made in this fandom, y'all are the coolest people I know and I love you all dearly! And of course, thank the crew who gave us this lovely gem of a movie :)

Well, this post is getting mighty long now, so it's been fun but now I've gotta go - but of course, you'll see me again ;)

Wreckers For Life 🔨🔫👊🍬

~ Shitpost-It Tristan

[dustymud]

I used to believe I needed projects or two week long travels to get an experience that would define me and help my writing. So for a few months, I thought I was stagnant. Regressing even. But there are also the little moments where I reclaim my energy. Help a spirit. Help my spirit. And those aren't life changing, but that's also healing.

I think I've been discounting to many experiences.

The mundane is enough, like my advisor said.

[g0blinm0d3]

Hermes was Alexander Hamilton.

Zeus made him mortal as a punishment in the 1700s.

George Washington, son of Athena, was the demigod that claimed his service.

Angelica was a Sally Jackson type that could see thru the mist.

Eliza was a Tristan McLean type that wouldn't have been able to comprehend the truth.

Phillip was a demigod.

Hermes later adopted the pseudonym Lin Manuel Miranda, writing and starring in his own biographical musical as a "fuck you" to Apollo

When Disney announced they were going to produce Percy Jackson's biography he made sure to get himself involved with that

Hermes is also Troy Doherty and voices himself for Epic the Musical

[asexual-fandom-queen]

Okay but can we talk about the Accidental Hetero Couple as an audience surrogate for a second? The show really said, "hello traditional heterosexual monogamous guests of The Odyssey. I see you came aboard without a full understanding of what you're getting into. You're welcome to leave, but actually we'd love it if you stayed." and this couple really went "you know what, yeah! Even if this is different to what we're used to, at the end of the day, this is a boat full of people living their lives the way we're trying to live ours, and what's so incompatible about that?" Because maybe to the general public, stepping into a slowburn polyship feels a lot like accidentally booking a stay on a Gay Themed cruise. It's just not what they went into this expecting. But like our Resident Straight Couple, they can still have a good time here, and still appreciate the people they're on this boat with, even if, when their time together is up, their lives aren't likely to intersect again

[suns-shines]

begging and pleading with all of you to watch doctor odyssey i need this fandom to grow

its batshit insane and queer and wonderful, there is a (canon!) slowburn throuple and lots of shenaningans, hijinks, and angst oh my!

i implore you all to give it a try

[good--merits-accumulated]

huh

It's like - Neil looking down and Todd looking up. Todd standing up on the desk. Neil falling down under the gun. Todd, outlined by sunlight. Neil, darkened under the shadow of the cloister. Todd going into self-understanding, which is light. Neil going headlong into the helpless unknowing which is dark. This dichotomy already outlined in the paint, years before they ever cross paths. In the moment of meeting each other’s eyes there do they know - is there a flash of pre-cognisance, some canny feeling? Does the painting say to them, Come here, I also know your story. Come here. Come here and I will tell you which of you must die.

[shitpost-it-tristan]

For the longest time, I had no idea how felix didn't realise Ralph was treated so badly. Thought homie was just,,, as oblivious as a brick.

But TODAY, I took a look at the movie frame by frame

The nicelanders had been smiling. But the moment felix closes his eyes, is when thir expressions change. I'm assuming that the only time he'd actually witnessed the nicelanders being awful to Ralph, was at the 30th anniversary party.

Not to mention his reaction to them telling him to get rid of Ralph. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if felix HAD sent Ralph invitations to anniversary parties in the past, and the Nicelanders interfered so Ralph never got it. Felix probably assumed Ralph just wanted them to leave him alone-

[shitpost-it-tristan]

I love how Tamora uses her sergeant tone like she's commanding her soldiers, and Felix just FOLDS. Barely above a whisper, "Yes ma'am...!" I swear, he heard the tone and he was having flashbacks. He ain't at the dinner table no more, he was yanked back to— let's be honest here— the PREVIOUS NIGHT of her doming him. That's why he fuckin' DRINKING, goddamn. He tryna cope with it, he was going crazy yall. He wants those "LoVeAbLe sCaMpS" to get the FUCK OUTTA HIS HOME. He wanna be alone with his wife, his LaDyLoVe, and be dominated by her.

Honestly, all she had to do was nod at the seat. She didn't even need to talk cause if she did just, the snap-and-point. Y'all know that iconic snap-and-pointing down at the cruiser and he fuckin teleported next to her. He would've had the SAME RESPONSE.

Holy fuck, I meant the "Yes ma'am", but if had the same-- JUMPING ON THE SEAT LIKE HE DID ON THE CRUISER, SAME EXPRESSION OH MY GOD CAUSE

"Yes ma'am..!~"

PFT MAN I'M DEAD

Felix almost leaving to get the milk kills me istg I seriously wish the whole dinner scene actually made it into

the sequel

Honestly just in general scenes of Felix and Calhoun with the Sugar Rush kids

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hello Nicholas!

If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose the name Nicolas? Idk I just like learning why people who've picked their own names made the choice they did

(I have the incredibly silly reason of "it was given to me in a Minecraft server because it was shorter than my username and the movie Life of Pi had just come out." So now I'm Pi, and I have been for like 12 years. I didn't even like the movie that much, and the friend group all went their separate ways after high school. Fun fact, the guy who ran the Minecraft server was in my class, and he went by Link. His "real" name is Nathan. Even the teachers called him Link, and that's what was on his assignments. It was too the point where we had a substitute who did attendance, and Link almost got marked absent because he didn't realize that the sub had called his name because it said Nathan on the paper. Which is valid and honestly I'd love to reach the point where my deadname is so detached from me that I don't even realize somebody is talking about me. Also, he was Link because he loves Legend of Zelda)

Oh ho, it's Nick Lore time!

I don't internalize my own name. My inner monologue doesn't work like that. Never has. Dunno if that was from dysphoria or the autism. So, what to call myself has always been strange.

When I was a little kid, I masculinized my birth name of "Jamie Nicole" to "James Nicholas" because it was convenient. My nickname was actually "James", and this made me gender euphoric, even though the name didn't fit me.

My first real "secret boy name" was Garet, after the Weapons Master character in the Shannara book series. I just thought he was cool. I was a teenager and still into edgelord fantasy characters. It's kind of funny how in fantasy, this is a stock "rogue" name.

In college, I started toying seriously with what to call myself. It's no secret on this blog that I love the All Creatures Great & Small book series. I saw a lot of both myself at the time and who I wanted to be in the character of Siegfried Farnon, and wanted to take his name. But I also felt it might be a Bit Too Much, and tried his brother's name - Tristan - on for size. I liked it a lot. I was ready to commit.

Family and friends... did not take my coming out very well. Not with violence, but with either lukewarm reception or a desire for it all to just Go Away. Even the "supporters" at the time felt the need to tell me they didn't like my choice of name. It was devastating. I couldn't bear the thought of the name, Tristan, anymore - what should have been joy became shorthand for my rejection. I think that's a big part of why I pushed this particular piece of comfort media away for many years, despite it being so formative and literally sanity-saving to me as a kid.

So, I stuck with my gender neutral birth name (and sucked up having a feminine middle name) for ages. Until I was in my 40s. Then it become too much to bear. Hearing my birth name felt like the death of a thousand cuts.

I will admit I compromised again a bit in the end. I went back to a masculinized birth name, I just switched the order to "Nicholas James". I wanted to assert myself to my mother (who wanted me to be "James") and I did genuinely like "Nicholas". I like having a name structure where there is a formal ("Nicholas"), informal ("Nick"), and diminutive version ("Nicky") in the name. There's also a fictional Nick that I love (Nick Valentine from Fallout 4.) I won't lie, I still think it'd be fun and affirming to go back to Tristan or commit to Siegfried, but I don't want to go through the entire social and legal process again, especially because with the former I know I will get shade for being the sort of autistic that is a sponge wrt fictional character traits, and with the latter, I worry it will put me on government Lists. I do like being called Nicholas/Nick -- it is affirming and it does finally feel like my own name. And hey, "James" is the name of another character I loved in my precious book series, so I have that box checked as well.

I still don't call myself anything in my internal monologue, though. Brains are weird.

But the tldr; here, which I think you have also alluded to, is that how we name ourselves doesn't have to be seen as cringe and it's very easy to just roll with someone's choice. And god knows parents name their kids after fictional characters and random concepts all the time. Naming yourself is both affirming and vulnerable, not just along the cis/trans axis. So, don't be a dick when someone tells you they want to be called [name].

[witchmd13]

back to being insane it haunts me that arthur doesn't recognize the de bois crest on tristan's shield when he comes back as a ghost. uther truly didn't allow him to learn even one thing about ygraine. he doesn't even know what his mother's family crest looks like.

[curioussubjects]

How is there a throuple on prime time TV?And why are they the medical staff on a luxury cruise?

I'm still not sure how Doctor Odyssey is a real show that's airing every week and not some fever dream, but since it seems to be that it is a real show, here's why I think it's yet another medical procedural drama...and on a cruise!

While polyamory has become more widely acknowledged in the mainstream, it's hardly normalized or even common in both media and people's lives. Likewise, queer representation, especially that of bisexual men, is still far from being without controversy (if it's allowed to be represented at all, as Supernatural fans like myself well know).

So, again, how in the world is Doctor Odyssey, which very explicitly centers the developing sexual and romantic relationship between Max, Avery, and Tristan a thing that exists? Or, to put it another way: if we have a story that is unusual for most people and even uncomfortable for many of them, how can that story be told without alienating the audience?

The answer: tell it in a way that feels familiar, and maybe a little detached from reality. So, medical procedural drama on a cruise! Ok, let me explain:

Why a Medical Procedural Drama?

Not only has the the genre been a staple of American television since the 90s (thanks, ER), it's a type of story that is told in formulaic ways. It is, after all, a procedural. Both its familiarity and predictability allow the audience to sit back and enjoy the story unfold with its expected beats. This type of TV is meant to be fun and easy to watch. Such shows might give you some current issues beats to ponder as you watch, but they're not making you do a lot of work.

But why medical as opposed to law enforcement, which is a much more common type of procedural? Because, thanks to the legacy of shows like Grey's Anatomy and House MD., medical dramas have a lot more leeway to be dramatic AND unrealistic while somehow preserving the veneer of realism. It's this allowance for dramatics and breaches of realism that create a comfortable bubble of "sure this might as well happen" that prevents the audience from being alienate when faced with a wide variety of topics that can be as accurate or fantastical as the plot demands.

Polyamory, within this broader landscape, can be a Very Special Episode that just so happens to span every episode, and viewers can be carried through that plot by the familiar patterns and conventions of the genre.

Why on a Cruise?

Oh, aren't medical procedurals so cliché? How can we make it interesting?? I know, put them on a cruise! We haven't put doctors on a cruise yet! (totally 100% real conversation on ABC)

Sure, the cruise premise stinks of gimmick, but what if that's the point? Surely, most people would see a show like Doctor Odyssey and imagine that what makes it different is that it's set on a cruise. Yeah, that's not completely untrue, but the cruise serves a much more important purpose than being a differential on a pitch.

In fact, the cruise, like the medical procedural, is another liminal space that allows for multiple ways to engage in fantasy or reality as the plot demands. Mainly, and most crucially, though, the cruise is a bubble, an illusion, which is a point the show itself makes in the pilot episode. It is unmoored (heh) from the expectations of land, like accurate representations of healthcare, or say...monogamy as default. As such, the cruise makes not only for a dynamic choice of setting, but a very intentional one.

Reality Check:

The interplay between genre and setting is crucial. The audience, with all its expectations, of what a medical procedural drama is know what they're tuning in for, and they can easily imagine the dramatic (or ridiculous) nature of the cases that will be present in a luxury cruise. True enough, as I mentioned before, the pilot episode starts by being very honest that the cruise is an illusion: the captain shows and describes all the craft and skill that goes into creating a safe space for passengers to engage in fantasy. The genre savvy audience is then invited into aligning not with the cruise passengers, but with the crew.

Except Doctor Odyssey isn't really about the medicine, or the cruise, is it? It's about Max, Tristan, and Avery. So the audience is given a choice at the metanarrative level: be the passenger or be the crew. Be aware that the point of the story is the polyamory or tune in for medical staff...on a cruise! Win-win! What I think is fun and clever about all this is that no matter who you choose to align yourself with, you can't ever truly escape reality lurking in the wings. The polyamory is simply there no matter how resistant the audience, but the setting and the genre create a buffer around it.

Sure you can have a threesome on a cruise, it's like Vegas. No big. Nothing threatening to social conventions. It's not real. But reality has a way of reasserting itself: in the tragedies that befall the passengers on the ship, or their mishaps, or the cherished memories they'll look back on. And while the crew upkeeps the illusion, they aren't immune or completely separate from its effects (good and bad). No one can divest themselves from what they experience on the cruise and neither can the viewer.

Through genre convention and its setting, Doctor Odyssey (and I mean, look at this title alone lol) navigates the unfamiliar waters of accepting the richness of the human condition (to echo Captain Massey), and brings the audience safely to shore with a new understanding of what relationships can look like.

And this is how Doctor Odyssey managed to get produced and make it to air, and we get to be unhinged about Tristan, Max, Avery, and the YEARNING. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk etc.

[good--merits-accumulated]

!!!!!! This prompt is particularly lovely. The poem meanwhile is more of an anti-prompt; e.g. it could be subtitled, Portrait of the Poet As Men he is Not.

(You are doing brilliantly, Mona! Keep it up.)

Hello again!

I had a wonderful time reading all of your lovely poems this past week, the directions you all chose to take the prompt in left me nearly speechless.

I'm happy to announce that I have a new prompt for your writing this week; Write a poem about yourself from the perspective of someone else. There are no constraints as to who you choose to write in the POV of, enemy or loved one, stranger or close friend, it’s up to you! I’m incredibly eager to see the variety in your works.

Here is my example poem:

Flat Circle

Relief escaped my lips like the fleeting breath of a cadaver,

gone is the torture at the hand of the rebellion's vessel.

Droves of your predecessors masking the reminder of your refusal,

granting permission to be moulded in a uniform image.

Cookie-cutter children blend with their peers in a monotone gradient of my design,

society's drear bent at my will.

Yet the recognizable sight of your unbroken spirit defaces my honor as it did before,

casting a shadow undeniably similar to my own.

John Keating

As before, this assignment is entirely optional and open to all those who wish to participate, student or not.

Best of luck,

John Keating

student blog tags: @unmanned-flying-deskset @social-anxiety-and-poetry @phonecall-fromgod @knoxious-overstreet @radiofree-america @pittsie-boy @therealrichardcameron @head-of-the-dinner-table @tthe-cat-sat-on-the-mat

[demigod-shenanigans]

Thinking about the lost trio’s mortal parents

Thinking about Esperanza and Beryl both being clear-sighted (it’s said that Beryl knew who Zeus was, both times, and Esperanza specifically talked to Leo about his powers and seemed to know who Hera was).

Thinking about Beryl, who was famous and had so much and who did everything to stay in the public eye. Who would have given it all, including sacrificing her own kids, to get Zeus’ attention back. Who only ever wanted Zeus for herself and never for her children. Who named Jason to placate Juno’s anger and ultimately gave up Jason to her. Who even in death remained bitter and blamed Thalia running away for her own choices and her death, saying she left when Beryl needed her the most, despite the fact that Thalia was nine and severely neglected and thought Beryl had killed her brother and an adult’s choices should never have been her responsibility to begin with. Beryl blamed it all on Olympus and showed no regret for her actions. Who thought she could just neglect both of her children and abandon her two year old with no consequences and that Jason would still join her. Who only cared about Jason once he was a hero and a warrior, and even then only cared for him as a tool of revenge she could use against the gods.

Thinking about Esperanza, who had nothing. Who was smart and skilled and barely scraping by despite her degree. Who would have given everything to keep her son safe. Who had a son prophecied to be a hero and tried to look the Fates in the eye and say no, because he was her son first and destined for bigger things second. Who banned Hera, the queen of the gods, from their apartment because the gods couldn’t have Leo, not yet, not when he was still so young. Who still tried to prepare Leo, with everything she had, because she knew she couldn’t keep him from his fate in the long run, but also knew there were at least tools she could give him that would help. Who, despite knowing that a god had once loved her, only wanted Hephaestus as a father for Leo, never as a partner for herself. Who only ever worried about the ways she could fail Leo, never about him failing her. Who was happiest around her son and loved him more than her own life. Who, even in death, never could have blamed Leo.

Thinking about Tristan, who is in some ways a mirror to both Beryl and Esperanza. Tristan grew up with nothing and eventually, as an adult, he suddenly had everything, except the things that really mattered to him. He couldn’t keep Aphrodite and never fell in love again after her. Tristan can’t see through the Mist, but he had his heart shattered by the mythological world anyway, even without seeing. He couldn’t save his father because at the time he didn’t have the money to pay for the treatment, he only became famous after.

His relationship with his daughter is really strained. He’s probably terrified of losing Piper like he lost his dad and Piper’s mom. Tristan works and works and works because he thinks if they just have enough he can keep Piper safe (because even if he couldn’t have kept her mom that way, enough money absolutely could have saved his dad), but that makes him unable to give Piper his attention, which is what she needs the most. Hell, he thinks he’s protecting her by keeping her away from his celebrity nonsense, and in a way he sort of is, but it’s not what Piper wants.

Thinking about Tristan seeing through the Mist in TLH and breaking. Thinking about Tristan finally seeing Piper, and her having to give up the one thing she’s wanted all this time and make him look away again because it shatters him.

Esperanza and Beryl could both see their children for who they were, one for the better, the other for the worse. Tristan can never see Piper for who she truly is. We’ve seen how it would destroy him if he did.

Thinking about Tristan losing everything until the only thing he has left to give Piper is his attention—and that’s enough. (I still wish that had been a choice on his part after realizing that’s what Piper wants and needs instead of being forced on him, but I digress.)

Tristan could have been more like Beryl. Their stories are decently similar. But even though he can never fully see Piper for who she is, and even though it took him longer than it should have, when his daughter needed him most, he turned around and learned to be more like Esperanza.

[newtthetranswriter]

Hi, I hope you are having a great day/night! I was wondering if you could write a Drabble for Tristan liones x male reader reacting to a kid who claims they will marry the reader when they grow up.

If this doesn’t spark interest that’s totally okay no pressure(:

Word Count: 937

Paring: Tristan Liones x Male! Reader

A/n: Hi, thank you so much for the request, I’m having a good day, how about you? I thought this idea was really cute and I hope I did it justice. Tristan might be a little ooc but this is also my first time writing for him so I hope it’s okay. Anyways enjoy and as always remember to hydrate or diedrate.

 

  Being in a relationship with one of the Four Knights of prophecy is one thing, but when that knight also happens to be the Prince of Liones things get a little more hectic. It’s not so much because the relationship is constantly under the eyes of the public, but more so because Tristain is an interesting guy. 

   Simple dates of walking through the market quickly turn into helping an old lady with her shopping, or stopping some thugs picking on a shopkeeper. His need to help out those in need isn’t a bad thing, it just leads to some strange situations. Like the one he found himself in now. Yet another simple date in between his duties as a Holy Knight has turned into helping someone in need. 

  While the young couple was enjoying a picnic in the fields just outside of Liones, their quiet conversations were interrupted by the sound of a crying child. With neither Knight being able to ignore the sound of someone in need, they both quickly stood up and followed the sounds of distress.

   The two quickly found a young girl curled up near the base of a tree, tears running down her face. Slowly approaching the girl, Y/n kneeled down next her trying not to frighten the child more than she already seemed to be. 

  “Hey there, are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asked in a calm voice while Tristan looked around for any sign of the child's parents. The young girl only sniffled and shook her head. “Okay, what’s your name? I’m Y/n and this is Tristan, we’re Holy Knights and we want to help you get home safe.” He said with a gentle smile and motioning towards Tristan, trying to get the girl to open up so they could help.

   After a moment of silence, the girl wiped her face before looking up at Y/n. “I’m Cynthia.” She said in a small voice.

   “Nice to meet you Cynthia, do you know where your parents are? I’m sure they’re worried about you.” Tristan said as he came closer after not seeing any sign of worried parents in the distance. 

   The girl looked like she was thinking for a second before answering. “They’re at work. I was playing tag with my friends and ran too far away. When I couldn’t hear them anymore I got scared.” She explained.

  Nodding along with what the girl was saying, Y/n thought up a plan. “How about we help you get back to your friends then? I’m sure their game isn’t as fun without you there.” He said standing up and offering his hand to the little girl.

  “Are you sure?” She asked, still sounding a little nervous but still taking the offered hand.

  “Positive, games are boring if you’re missing friends.” Y/n answered with a bright smile. Tristan nodded in agreement.

  Seemingly pleased with the answer, Cynthia nodded and for the first time let a smile stretch across her face. “Okay, we were playing closer to town near the little shop run by fairies, I think.” She tried to explain as they began walking in the direction of Liones.

  As they walked, Y/n tried to get to know the young girl, hoping that his questions would help relax her after being lost even for a short time. Tristan on the other hand walked ahead of the two keeping an eye out for the girl’s group of friends but also listening closely to the conversation happening behind him.

  “You know, Mister Y/n you’re really handsome.” The girl said as a small group children slowly started to come into view.

  Startled by the sudden compliment, Y/n looked down at the child. “Thank you, but what makes you say that?” He asked curious as to why the girl was randomly complimenting him.

  Cynthia just shrugged before responding. “Because I’ve decided, I’m going to marry you when I grow up.”

  Hearing the statement caused both Y/n and Tristan to freeze for a second. “Oh look, there’s your friends. You should probably go back to them now.” Tristan said, breaking the silence.

  “Oh really, Thank you.” The girl said before letting go of Y/n’s hand which she had been holding since the beginning of the walk. “Bye Mister Tristan, and bye future Husband.” The girl said with a smile as she ran back to play with her friends.

  Once the girl was completely focused on her friends, who all seemed happy that she came back safely, Y/n turned to Tristan. “So your jealousy of a six year old.” He said with a slight smirk on his face.

   “Am not. It’s just her friends looked worried and I figured it was time for her to let them know she’s okay.” The prince responded while crossing his arms over his chest. “Plus you froze up too. Were you considering accepting her offer?” He asked, turning the teasing on his now frowning boyfriend.

   Trying to cover the slight blush creeping up his face, Y/n turned away from the nephilim. “No, I was trying to figure out how to tell her I’m planning on marrying someone else.” There was a second of silence before Tristan let out a sound of confusion, that was similar to a ‘who’ but wasn’t really a word. “You’re lucky I love you.” Was all Y/n said in response before pulling the confused prince into a quick kiss. “Now can we go back to our picnic?”

   Snapping out of his confused shock, Tristan tried to ignore the blush that took over his face. “Uh, Yeah sure.”

(dividers by @/cafekitsune)

[redgoldblue]

so assuming Avery is actually pregnant / doesn't early-trimester miscarry (which is not a given), there's two reasonable ways this can go, right. number one is she gets an abortion, the plotline is used to pull them all back together again, and they all have some collective hurt/comfort about it. number two, the one i would write - don't get me wrong, i'm all for women getting career-driven abortions, but hear me out - is the one where she does have the baby. under the cut bc it got long.

she goes to med school at first while pregnant - Max is right, it can be done, people in my cohort did it - and either gets lucky with the timing of the actual birth being during holidays, or just works her way to getting time off for a few weeks around it. And then... there's a baby. And you know what else there is? There's two dads (because we're 100% Mamma Mia-ing this bitch. they never find out who the bio dad is and they never seriously try. Baby comes out with Avery's exact skin tone so that's no clue.), and an entire cruise ship worth of backup babysitters. So Avery goes back to med school, and leaves the baby with Tristan and Max.

And, yes, raising a baby while also running an infirmary with a rotating cast of temporary substitute nurses filling Avery's role isn't the easiest thing they've ever done, but Robert loves fulfilling grandparent duties any time he's not on duty; Rosie gets one of those strap-on baby carriers and walks her (i don't know why i've decided the baby is a her but i have now) around the engine room pointing out parts and explaining concepts and hey, the baby never complains about her Michigan stories; Corey gets a cart and a bundle of clean sheets and pushes her down the corridors until the smell of laundry powder automatically makes her start laughing.

Max and Tristan make a pact to send Avery at least two photos a day - which ends up getting supplemented by everyone else who's with Baby - and FaceTime her most days, and whenever she gets a few days off she meets them in port. (The most expensive part of baby-raising ends up being her flights to wherever the Odyssey happens to be at the time, at least until Robert finds out and figures out a way to start paying her 'maternity leave', despite her insistence that the whole point of this is that she isn't maternity-leaving and he should probably be paying himself that and anyway, isn't she technically not an employee right now?)

And the thing is, during this time, Max and Tristan start... realising some things. Like how neither of them feel like they've lost their only partner, because they.. haven't. Like how the co-parenting's been working out better than either of them expected, because they fell instantly (minus a few minor bumps) into a shared rhythm. Like how sometimes they look at the other one holding Baby and feel like their heart's about to explode.

Also, they've both started sleeping in Max's bed. Because Baby's spent so much time sleeping in the corner of the infirmary that now if she wakes up at night and can't see both of them, she starts crying inconsolably. And obviously Max's suite is more suited to multiple inhabitants, and they're usually too damn exhausted to even remember the first time they were in this bed together.

(usually. most of the time. and when they're not, they don't make it the other's problem)

So at the end of the first year of this, the last two days of the year's last cruise have been packed with crisis after crisis after demanding patient after crisis, and as soon as they finally wave the last passenger off they hand Baby gratefully over to Robert and go crash out in Max's bed.

Avery was supposed to be meeting them on board tomorrow, but her last exam gets unexpectedly moved up by a day (believe me, med school loves to pull that kind of shit on you), so a couple hours after the passengers have gone, she shows up to surprise them. And finds Robert (a known ody3 shipper) first, who lets her take Baby with minimal captainly sulking about it, and while she rocks and kisses Baby, tells her (as a known ody3 shipper) that the two dads will be on the Pelican deck, but they're probably asleep.

Avery kinda frowns at him, but doesn't question it, and takes Baby up with her to Max's suite to find them. And they are both fast asleep, on either side of Max's bed with a space carefully preserved between them (because it's usually where Baby would be and they're both terrified of accidentally rolling onto her in the middle of the night). She's also exhausted after exams, so she crawls into it, lies on her back with Baby on top of her chest, and goes straight to sleep.

Tristan and Max wake up before her, and when they look across at each other, at Avery and Baby between them, they both simultaneously realise, oh. oh. oh, this - this three, two-and-half, four people, all together - this is it. this is the love, this is the children, this might even be the home - the second, third, fourth bucket list items to happen in this bed.