#we’re fixing it

[puppiesandnightlock]

LINK: Goodbye Was Not Our End (pt. 3)

Something about their meeting had been bugging him. It wasn’t the meeting itself, although the awkward air had left something to be desired. It was Damian himself, it was like Jon was now seeing him differently. It could have just been because of the time passed, something past physical appearance, but whatever it was kept a hold onto him for the rest of the day.

He picked Laurel up from the daycare center and let her watch a movie in the meantime, while he attempted to sort himself out.

There was something there and he would not be able to sort it out by himself. He went into his room after double checking Laurel’s activity, and dialed Kathy.

“How did it go?” The words were said the moment she picked up.

“ I also accept hello, how are you, and good evening.” He said, a teasing note in his voice.

“That’s bull, I helped your disastrous fashion choices and you promised me the details on your estranged famous pop star bestie.”  

“It went…okay. I can’t tell if it was more for closure than anything, but we’re going to meet up again.” Jon sighed, putting the phone on speaker and laying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. 

”Well, that’s good, right?” A rustle of papers and a pencil scratching something out on them accompanied her words. ”Even if y’all can’t get back to where ya once were, it can still be turned back into a relationship that means something again.” 

Jon exhaled, fidgeting with his hands. “There was something off about it, almost like I noticed too much and too little at the same time. It felt so good to be back together, you know?”

“Reunion euphoria.” Kathy summarized. *”What was the biggest thing you noticed about him?”

“Well, it faded, I guess, and became awkward.” Jon scratched his scalp gently. “Um, I guess it would have to be his overall physical look.”

”Hmm. Describe it to me?” Kathy sounded almost… amused? No, that couldn’t be right.

“He was taller, but still way shorter than me. Nothing’s changed there.” He chuckled fondly. “All of his features were shared now, an adult’s face. My parents would say that he looks just like his mom.”

“Wasn’t his mom, like, the most beautiful in the world, according to both your parents?” 

Jon sputtered, tips of his ears going red. “W-well, i mean-”

“And didn’t you have a crush on him early on before…I hate to disrespect the dead, but that bitch?” 

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” he glowered at the phone from his vantage point on the bed.

”Jon, I think what’s going on here is that you realized he had a glow-up.” Kathy’s voice definitely had a tinge of amusement and it caused the other boy to scowl.

“S’not like he needed one to begin with.” The mutter was still picked up from the other end and caused the girl to laugh, the sound coming a bit staticy.

”There’s your proof, bestie. Look, it doesn’t mean something has to come from it. Objectively speaking, you’re not half bad yourself, and I'm not trying to date you.” 

Jon groaned, shoving a pillow on his face. “I don’t like adulting, Kath, take me back to, like, elementary.”

She snorted. ”It’s not that bad. Look, focus on rebuilding your friendship, getting somewhere is the first step. If you need me to pick up Laurel one of these days, you know I'm always happy to be Aunt Kathy with the angel.” 

“Mkay.” He took the pillow from his face and stared at the ceiling. “I’ll let you know. Thanks, Kathy.”

“Of course. Who else would help you sort out your disastrous life?” She laughed on the other end. “Take care of yourself, talk later.”

The call ended and Jon was left with more confusion than before.

Jon_Kent

Hey  

ROBIN_Official

Hi 

Jon_Kent

It was rlly good to c u again 

Ik u said we could meet up again 

And i thought it might be easier to have my number? 

Its xxx-xxx-xxxx 

ROBIN_Official is typing… 

Unknown number 

Its damian hi 

Im free next wednesday 

Awesome same plac as last time 

Yeah, sounds good. Same time? 

Sure sounds good. Cya then ^^ 

See you then! 

Gradually, the visits became regular weekly events, the old, crumbled bond being the foundation for a new tentative relationship to be built on top, not quite what it once was, but something healing under the bandaid. Every meeting and visit, the long missed conversations lasting well into the nights was a new stitch in the gash.

Damian became D, then Damian again, before Dames, and Dame and over the few months, it became Dami again, affectionate and sweet.

The stiffness faded, and they fell into an easy new rhythm none were willing to break. The subject of their past was a dark, locked chest in the top shelf, gathering dust. Opening it would be Pandora’s box, but it was entirely necessary. 

Both were unwilling to bring the subject up again, not wanting to let the past break them again. It was costing the both of them, Damian from guilt, and Jon feeling like he was hiding a vital part of his life.

About three months had passed from their first meeting in October, and they were now in the middle of January. Laurel would be two soon, and Damian had no idea she existed. Jon kept meaning to mention her, but what do you tell your old best friend about something like this?

Oh yeah, so I didn’t tell you in the few months we’ve been meeting that I have a child! Her mom is the same person who destroyed our friendship!  

No. Absolutely not .

This was such an important part of him that he wanted to share, something that he was so proud of. Overwhelming everything else, however, was that same old feeling of fear and worry. They’d worked so hard to get where they were now, despite not having it in them to talk about the roadblocks.

It would be fine, right?

Damian stood out in front of the cafe, scanning the crowds for Jon. The lunch rush hit their quaint little meet-up spot like no other, and with how regularly they came, the wait staff was not above holding tables for them.

Their normal server, a perky high school kid with a green and pink ponytail grinned at him, two menus in her hands.

“Afternoon, Mr. Wayne! You and Mr. Kent want your normal table?”

Damian nodded, lighting up as he saw Jon’s head of curls bobbing in the sea of people. He waved his hand and Jon appeared, grinning at both of them.

“Hey, Dames! Dalia.” They followed the waitress as she led them to a table outside, known by most of the staff as their table.

“I’ll bring you two your usual drinks?” She waited for confirmation, scribbling it down on a notepad as they gave it and rushing away.

“Oh my god, Dames,” Jon blurted out as Dalia left. “You will never believe what I heard walking into the Planet this week,”

Damian grinned, leaning forward as if they were two schoolgirls in the courtyard, letting Jon blabber on about the latest gossip.

“And then after she said that, Jen got so mad, I told Kath and she says that they’ve definitely got something going on there-”

Two glasses were placed on the table in front of them, Jon pausing in the retelling to look up at the person standing there.

Another high school kid with dark red curls and brown skin, a direct contrast to their usual server, and held a notepad in one hand.

“Dalia got held up with another table, but I can go ahead and take your order.” 

“Thank you Hayden!” Jon chirped with a quick glance at the name tag, before ratting off their usual order, looking at Damian for confirmation.

He nodded quickly and Hayden scribbled it down before dashing off to a different table.

“Alright, that’s my fill of workplace gossip, you got anything for the table?” He sipped his sweet tea and waited. 

“Well, Skylar’s 3rd graders absolutely destroyed all the paints and Akira has this weird guy who shows up like every other day, hates books and tries to hit on them but gets a latte so they can't tell him anything. Dick’s been taking his gymnastics classes much too seriously and Jason sends videos of him hanging off things that he shouldn’t be with Father begging him to get off.”

Jon snorted. “Little brothers.”

“Indeed.” Damian sighed. “My older child complex is going insane, I’ve gotten the urge to drive all the way back down there to full name the both of them.”

He laughed, remembering what a mother hen Damian had been as a teen. The other man watched fondly, drinking in the sight of his joy and the song of it ringing in his ears.

Their food was dropped off by Dalia, and they continued their conversation. They had definitely gone over their normal time, and neither seemed to notice, until Jon’s phone began to ring. He ignored it, but it persisted, and looking sheepish, he answered. 

“Hello?” 

The grin dropped and a horrified expression came over his face. Damian reached over, mouthing a question. 

”Are you okay?” 

Jon shook his head near violently, standing up and shoving his phone in his pocket. “I’m so sorry, Dames, but i gotta go-”

“No, no, that’s fine, but what's going on? Are you okay?” Damian tugged on his sleeve, concerned.

“Iforgottopickupmydaughter.” He wrenched his arm from his grasp and jogged off, leaving Damian slack jawed in the back of the little cafe.

“He has a daughter ?” 

Jon bolted into the daycare, having broken several traffic laws to get there in under ten minutes. There were still some kids and parents there, Laurel sitting alone in a chair too big for her, legs swinging.

“Hey, hey Princess, I’m so sorry-” He bent to her level, cupping her face. She was surprisingly calm about it, unlike what he would have been as a child.

“It’s okay.” She said finally. “Grown-ups come back.” 

Jon was on the verge of tears, laughing weakly. “That’s right, Laurel, I’ll always come back. Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

A few minutes later, as they were driving to the apartment, his daughter’s voice spoke up, smaller than he’d ever heard it.

“Why didn’t Mama come back?”

The car nearly swerved, and Jon breathed in, steadying himself. The rest of the way was silent until he parked, and turned back.

“Mama…isn’t here anymore. She can’t come back.”

“Is she…in the stars now?”

she didn’t deserve the stars. Jon chose his next words carefully, taking a minute of silence. 

“Not exactly. She’s just…gone. She didn’t go to the stars, but she can’t come back either.”

He unlocked the car, getting out to open Laurel’s door and bring her down from her carseat that she insisted on unbuckling herself.

“Okay.” She said finally. “That’s okay.”

Something in his heart twisted painfully, and he swung her up into his arms. “How about we have some dinner now, okay?”

Admittedly, he’d forgotten all about why he’d been late to begin with. He’d just started a movie with Laurel half asleep on his side when his phone lit up, heart dropping to his stomach in dread.

Dami 💚

Would you care to explain  

why you didn’t tell me you had a daughter? 

I’m not mad  

Really 

Sorry 

I didn’t want to scare you off  

That was wrong of me  

I want to explain. 

Everything.  

Are you free this weekend? 

I can make time 

Same place? 

Yes, see you then 

“So.” Damian brought the cup to his lips. It was earlier then they would normally meet, and the chilly air had prompted them both to order warm drinks.

“So.” Jon nibbled on his bottom lip.“I owe you like, the world’s biggest explanation.” 

The other man laughed, Jon shutting his eyes and letting the familiar sound ring in his ears. He kept his hands around the cup, feeling the warmth seep through the ceramic. 

“That you do. You don’t have to tell me anything you’re uncomfortable with, but I'd like to have a general gist of what happened.”

Jon breathed in and opened his eyes, and began to talk.

“We didn’t break up when I moved to Metropolis, which I'm sure you know. After the summer, in my first year of college, she came back, and we picked up where we had left off. I knew I should have broken it off, because even though we hit our…roadblock, I could still hear your voice. You were always right to me back then, even when you were wrong.”

His laugh was awful, a small chuckle filled with bitterness.

“That was one thing I always hoped to be wrong about.” Damian whispered, long eyelashes brushing his bronze skin. Jon took a small sip from his cup and continued.

“Two years and we were twenty. It should have been enough, but something kept me there, and she always insisted that she loved me. I was so close to breaking it off, I had finally had enough. But that’s when she told me she was pregnant.  I couldn’t just leave her like that, my parents would have killed me. We eloped, cut a cake, and stayed here. We were so young, D. Too young.

“Then the baby was born. She had just turned twenty-one, and after a bit, didn’t want a baby. I didn’t understand, she’d carried the child, our child, decided to keep it, and after the novelty wore off, she was ready to give up. I was alternating between full parenting and classes because she didn’t want to parent.”

Damian was catching on slightly, still curious about the past tense. How, how had the boy he’d once known, full of sunshine and sharp edges, soft but capable, had gone through hardships like this.

“It was a Friday and I was so done. She left the baby and went out and trust me, I was absolutely pissed. There was a knock on the door, and I must have looked like the dead, answering the door with a Met U hoodie, a baby in one arm and a bottle in the other. I saw the officer and I knew. There was no way that it could have been anything else.”

He was silent, swallowing the lump in his throat. “It wasn’t love, not anymore. I wonder if it had ever been, really. But still, I held out hope. Some kind of hope that maybe we could save it, have some kind of family. She died on impact, which made me feel somewhat better. I was torn up over it for a while, but I had my parents, and Kathy. They helped with the baby a lot.”

“Car crash?” Damian whispered. He was all too familiar with those.

Jon’s face scrunched up in what seemed to be-

No, no. couldn’t be.

Slight amusement? 

“In a way.” He said slowly. Damian waited for him to go on, filled with confusion. “It was a bus.”

“The bus crashed?”

“No…no she was hit with it.”

“She was hit…with a bus ?” Damian squawked. 

“I mean, there were a bunch of other people but she was front and center. It was speeding and there was something wrong with the driver.” Jon hid his face with his cup, watching Damian gawk at him. After a few minutes, right as Damian took a sip from his own, he remarked with a raised brow,

“Ironic, isn’t it?”

Tea was spit everywhere and Jon cackled, Damian’s coughs turning into shaky laughter.

“Jonathan Samuel Kent, what would your mother say?” he sputtered.

“Oh, she agrees. She never thought she was good for me.” Jon handed him, still chuckling as Damian sopped up the mess. “Took me awhile to see it in that light, but I recognize she was hurting me in more ways than one, and though no one ever deserves death, I’m not torn up about it anymore.”

Damian smiled softly at him, hand reaching across the table to touch his. “I’m so sorry that we weren’t there for each other when these things happened. I’m here now, and so are you, and we’re friends now, I think. We’re going to build what we had back up, and I have a feeling it will be better than before. No more secrets?”

Jon moved to grip his hand like they used to when they were children

“No more secrets.”

The shorter man leaned back, lips turning up in fondness. “Now that that’s out of the way, tell me about your daughter!”

Jon brightened, immediately letting go to whip out his phone. “Oh, gosh, Dami, I've got so many pictures! Her name is Laurel, she’s almost two, and she has the fluffiest curls-”

He rambled on and on, Damian soaking it in and cooing over the pictures. Laurel, it seemed, took much more after her father, with her long dark curls and bright blue eyes, small smattering of freckles over her nose. The only trace of the child’s mother was the slightly tanned skin, a lovely mix of features creating an absolutely adorable child.

“When can I meet her?” He blurted out in the middle of one of Jon’s stories. If possible, the beam grew brighter, and Jon nearly bounced in his seat.

“Literally whenever. I can bring her here, or you could come to the apartment, or i could bring her when you meet Kathy-” 

“The apartment sounds good.” He said quietly, stopping the ongoing chatter. “Her ground, and besides, I'd like to see it.”

They both stood, the taller one bumping his shoulder with the smaller one’s. “I’ll text you the details?” 

“Sounds good.” They watched each other, before settling into a warm hug, speaking of sorrow and a small hope for renewal.

They broke apart and went their separate ways, content and peace drifting over them. They were starting again. They were starting again, and this time, they’d both make sure it would be the last time.

[funkypretty]

okay. not me running into my first love at church on mclennon day. alright

[imperatorrrrr]

all off season hockeys know is: wakeboard, golf, get married, go to other hockeys weddings, and disappear off the face of the earth.

[st-hedge]

Knees are weak hands are sweaty, 30k words and 12 chapters later, I’m at the final section of the fic for these two. I’m very excited to throw it into internet existence very soon

[salt-n-salt]

go go graying-and-aging gadget 🫵

[aspen-charminghearts]

Chloe talking to Chad in her and Red’s dorm: The thing is I drop hints like crazy! She just won’t take the stupid hints! I could paint it on a banner, point at it, say I made it for her and she still wouldn’t get it!

Chad: Surely she can’t be that bad.. Can she?

Red walking into the dorm: Hey you guys, what are you guys talking about?

Chloe staring at Red: [Flustered]

Chad: [Nudges Chloe]

Chloe regaining her senses: Oh! Right.

Chloe very bluntly: I’m in love with my roommate, I’m not even subtle about it, she’s just clueless.

Chad: [Almost spits out the water he was drinking]



Red, clearly jealous: Oh wow, lucky her, she sounds stupid.

Chad: [Has the most incredulous look ever seen on his face]

Chloe sighing in frustration: She indeed is very.. dense.

[itsdefinitely]

Corinthians 13:4-7

[serendipnpipity]

Dan the piano man 🎶

(Everything’s fine.)

[autism-alley]

hi originally posted this at the end of a long thread of back and forth, here’s the og post if you want full context but i feel like this needs to be its own post especially bc i keep seeing this argument being made—the argument that the kids (in this case it was annabeth) SHOULD just know the monsters are monsters and who they are and how to defeat them before ever encountering them, that it’s a problem if they don’t.

the problem is not if 12 year olds should recognize a trap when they see one, even if they’re smart 12 year olds, and if that’s realistic. that is entirely beside the point.

the problem is rick riordan wrote a book series whose formula is bringing myths to the modern age and he’s not sticking true to that in the show—percy jackson and the olympians’ Shtick is taking these classic, ancient threats and giving them a new face. these traps work because these kids are not walking into a cave marked with Get Out and getting ambushed by monsters—the monsters are disguised as harmless mortal human beings, in harmless mortal human being places (for the most part) and i think we—and more importantly, the show—are all forgetting the mist, the magic involved here. it’s not just that medusa is a “creepy lady with her eyes covered” it’s that there is ancient magic at work here, magic that, like the systems of abuse pjo exists to criticize, has been evolving and continuing its malevolence for millennia. it’s formulaic, that’s the point. it’s the same trap you’ve learned about all your childhood, the same trap a thousand children before you learned all their childhoods, and still, it works. you fall into the trap. because that’s how generational abuse works. it’s a trap. it isn’t enough to learn monsters exist, what they look like from a second hand story that originated thousands of years ago. if you want to escape alive, you have to adapt as quickly as they do, recognize their face, and ultimately, beyond any individual trap, the game itself has to change. real, generational change.

so. the problem is rick riordan wrote a series with a formula for action that perfectly captures the overarching, systemic conflicts he was commentating on, and then threw that formula out in the show because it was “unrealistic”. i don’t give a damn about realism when it works to the detriment of the story. this is a story about generational abuse, yes, but it’s told through ‘a tale as old as time’ and that’s why it works so fucking well. and when it comes to basic storytelling, if your characters know the threat before they even walk in and you do practically nothing to then make up for the stakes you have removed, that’s a flaw. now you’ve lost the entertainment value for your audience, on top of also lessening your themes.

something else that is so. honestly soul-crushing as a writer and a creative, is that to me this is reflective of the way we are now afraid to tell earnest stories. stories where we care not for listening to the people who want to pick apart fictional, mythical, fantasy stories for not being “realistic” instead of aligning with our target audience who acknowledges reality is not what makes a story. think of your favorite movie, show, book, comic, what have you—has the reason for your favoritism ever been because it is the most reasonable, the most grounded, the most practical out of any you’ve seen? or is it because of the emotion? the way it speaks to you, to your life and the person you are? the journey it takes you on? is the percy jackson and the olympians book series so good because it’s inherently realistic?

the secret to storytelling is, very simply, focus on your story. everything else is secondary. if it’s written well, it doesn’t matter to me that the characters walk into a trap that, to the audience, is obviously a trap. because i can understand how the characters don’t know it, and how the story falls apart if the narrative just tells the characters it’s a trap from the jump. that’s what dramatic irony is—first used in greek tragedies! this is literally a tale as old as time in every sense except for the end—where it’s happy. and it’s not earned if we don’t first see, over and over, the status quo as a tragic trap.

it’s not about if annabeth (or the other kids) is “smart enough” to not walk into a trap, or about if she’s just too prideful to not walk into what she knows is a trap (or any reason that could apply to the other characters), it’s that annabeth, at the end of the day, is a character. she is a storytelling tool for the messages of the narrative. that doesn’t make her any lesser. in fact ignoring it reduces her, because it reduces what she represents. it’s about how rick riordan, or whoever else at disney, has fumbled the storytelling bag so ridiculously hard that they can’t take the simple, effective formula outlined from start to finish (by good ol 2009 rick himself) and adapt it to the screen without answering the most unimportant, derailing, anti-story questions.

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

An aspect of Hilda the series that I feel isn’t talked about enough is the colonizer’s guilt and how it affects the main character.

What made me write this was watching the third episode of the new season, but honestly, it’s something we see throughout the whole series. Starting out with the elves in the northern counties, and moving on to trolls and now giants. Every season that came out gave us a chance to see Hilda deal with the feelings that arise from living in a society she knows is built on the occupation of another people’s native land and the oppression of those inhabitants.

She knows it’s not her fault, she knows she’s not the colonizer, but she’s well aware that she’s in the privileged side of her society. Seeing her grapple with the fact that her very existence in these spaces is only possible because someone else is getting the short end of the stick, to me at least, makes her that much more interesting of a character.

Because it’s not a matter of fixing what she’s done, but the privilege is still there and not even well hidden when she sees the day to day life of the people whose land has been occupied by humans/trolbergians. So whenever we see her rush to aid them, her borderline desperation to fix what’s been broken, it’s even more captivating because it’s not just the usual “I love helping people and having adventures” gist, there’s always this undertone of guilt for something she hasn’t personally done but still knows has to be held accountable for.

Hilda knows the type of oppression that people like her get away with. And she wants no part in it.

[jellydragons]

“That’s no ordinary mirror.”

So what do you reckon Wild, like… saw?

Individual frames:

[iceicewifey]

so um... i found a pose reference that gave me big vanishay vibes, but then i got carried away then tried to turn it into a lore moment for some reason? 😭

i don’t totally like how his arm looks plus i couldn’t get him low enough because the height difference was making it a really awkward angle, but that’s what i get for copying the anime style again... it’s janky but close enough lmao full disclosure vanilla's bangs and face are heavily referenced bc they were giving me the most grief to copy, no thanks to all those damn little LINES. reference + transparent vers. under the cut!

𝚝𝚊𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 :: @goblinselfshippr、 @over--heaven、 @spookysinner45、 @little-miss-selfships | join my tag list ᡣ𐭩

can’t find a direct link since i saw it on pinterest (💔) but it’s by mellon_soup!

[ahoyrcmanoff]

A SHORT STUDY ON KLAUS HARGREEVES. 🃏

— based on the s4 tarot cards scene.

(hi! tbh I have no idea if this has been done yet. I’m finally out from the shock of this shitty ending lmao. Only seen a thing or two about this topic, talking ‘bout the Hargreeves’ fate… but i wanted to give it a deeper thought, ‘cause I just haven’t stopped thinking on that specific scene where klaus does a reading, and what each card meant for his character specifically, so, I decided to do this for fun & because I have my good knowledge on tarot cards. enjoy.)

Okay! So, the scene starts with Klaus sitting in the van, just passing time by doing a small reading with his cards. Which, not only gave us a brief look into the future for the Hargreeves’ fate, but it also gave us a look into who Klaus Hargreeves is. It shows us how his character could’ve been developed, what they could work at as a person (if they hadn’t erased a certain couple of scenes). And it is honestly sooo on point with their personality.

• We start off with Card #1 — The Lovers.

This is the first card that comes out. A classic. And obviously, we all go to the same thought when seeing this one specific card, but if you watch closely you can see much more in it than just a couple. Klaus jokes about it, saying; “that’s obvious, I haven’t been laid in months.”

And sure it’s a fun joke. We all might think the main thing that is the talk about this card (love, couples, lovers, etc). And damn my mind also went to Dave. But it has a deeper meaning.

This card talks about self-love. Something we know Klaus struggles with. Sure, they are a very confident person in their body, they care for their appearance, but he also despises himself for their usual low points. For letting it out on his family, all the stealing he did, the times he didn’t accept help, the times he felt like he wasn’t important or that he was a disappointment. The Lovers is the card of the search for self-love, for confidence, of being your own soulmate, in a way. This person has a tendency to fall in love quickly, but they have to be careful — the mountains and the snake represent the obstacles to reach to that desired love. Which, hell, Klaus had to go through considering his true love (Dave) is from another time and couldn’t be free. Romantic love will be easier to find once you reach into that self-care/self-love. The angel does represent that not everything is lost, there is a chance for love, for a certain couple.

Yet— we don’t see that happy ending for Klaus on the screen.

• Card #2 — The Tower.

What there is to say about this that isn’t obvious? This card represents pure chaos. Klaus says it himself; “Loss of self-control.”

It is also the card of change. Ringing any bells yet? All the siblings went through a big change on those six years without powers. And Klaus’ was impressive, he spent three years sober, now lives with Allison and Claire, and had developed a germaphobia.

If we get the negative sort of change, The Tower brings a misunderstanding, the way something that shouldn’t be will be forced. (Klaus getting his powers back, then when he sees how it will be inevitable to fall into old habits again as soon as he gets home and gets into the argument with Claire). But if we get the positive side, we’ll also get strength against the adversity, some optimism. (Which, hey, he managed to escape from the building and then from a goddamn tomb, it showed huge strength of character from someone like Klaus to do that.)

Now! If we look into the future with that reading scene being the starting point — there is even more change. Watch the card, there’s two characters jumping out of the window, away from the fire and darkness of the tower (one’s mind). There’s also some doubt, but it is something inevitable, you have to escape. It represents a freeing or liberation, a crisis, a rupture of some sorts. It can be shown in the other siblings as well, as we saw during the season.

But for Klaus specifically — he got freed from the constant fear, and got his powers back after dying. Again. Which, once again, wasn’t his choice but that is where the chaos starts. Right after that, there comes the fall in his sibling relationship with Allison, and once again the liberation, where Klaus finally stood up for himself. They are in a crisis, because he thinks he will fall into old habits. Because he thinks it’s inevitable as soon as the ghosts appear.

But with change, comes an end. A realization, an escape… In the deleted scenes, we see how Klaus decides to go to A.A. after Allison and Claire help him out of the grave. There’s this loving moment, where they let the fight behind and they go back to being a family. And this also shows strength from Klaus, because after so many years, he is willing to accept the truth. He talks about his struggles with addiction, opens up, shows his development during those sober years, says how he regrets on letting it out on his family (which surely means specifically Ben because he was the one to see Klaus on each fall, and then they never got a chance to have a serious talk because even Ben’s ghost is gone). And finishes up by saying he is an alcoholic, showing that development. Despite everything, he gained psychological strength and decided to accept the help, to deal with his problems and stay sober.

• Which brings us to Card #3 — Ten of Swords.

Klaus is *very* clear when this card comes out. “The card of death.” He says, and then immediately put everything away, scared. And yes, it did show that he would die, to later come back to life — as we saw when he got shot and the siblings didn’t have any other choice but to give him the marigold. But once again, there’s always a deeper level with Tarot.

Well, there’s something about the Swords. They all talk about the mind, thoughts. The path of the swords is to learn through experience.

Klaus Hargreeves has gained plenty of experience in various topics throughout the seasons. Starting off with how much their powers developed over the years, how much they trained on season three. How emotionally developed he had always been. How each experience gave him a new thing to learn. And despite everyone’s thoughts, Klaus does learn. But he just keeps facing shit and sometimes has to hit the same wall to really learn first.

There is a certain insecurity in the swords, a lack of level, that is also shown on the other two cards that Klaus took. But before he learns, he has to hit the same wall, has to face the chaos, has to hit rock bottom.

And that is what this card means exactly, hitting rock bottom. We’ve seen Klaus hitting it a couple of times, but this was the drop that was needed to fill up the glass. When this card appears in a reading, it’s hard to advise the person, why? Because this person has auto-destructive tendencies. Sounds familiar? Klaus has had those tendencies since he was a child. We saw it. It started off with their addiction, then with hitting dangerous places, the constant dying, the way they haven’t really gotten into serious relationships, how he always chose the thing that would explode in his face. So, anything that happens could cut the stability that this person may have gained. Which is why Klaus kept falling into the same patterns over and over throughout his life.

But — with an end, there’s also a new start. With death also comes a reborn, literal death and reborn for Klaus, because of his powers. It shows that the person couldn’t escape their problems anymore, because the thoughts (the swords) they have been trying so hard to ignore, sneaked on them and killed them. (Once again, a bit literal for Klaus). One has to face their problems to come back. There is a need for transformation, like a butterfly, or like the Phoenix that comes back from their ashes.

And honestly, this would’ve been so much more clear if they actually kept the Klaus’ scenes they deleted. Where he embraced the transformation, accepted his problems and searched for a solution. Where he could get a closure, a hint of hope.

Anyway, if you can’t tell, I genuinely love this sweetheart and I think they deserved so, so, so much better than the ending they gave him. It doesn’t take much but be observant on how interesting of a character Klaus Hargreeves is but unfortunately this fell into the wrong hands, because they couldn’t give a character with so much depth a good final. (And all the Hargreeves for all the matter! Justice for my fav siblings). If anyone actually takes the time to read through this, thank you. This was for fun, out of love for the show, love for Klaus and love for tarot all combined. <3

[you-know-i-get-itt]

guys. there’s only one.

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Just a friendly reminder that I missed the last post so I’m posting part 26 and part 27 on the same day, so make sure to go back and read 26 if you haven’t already! ❤️

Part 1 | . . . | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28

Eddie doesn’t laugh the way Steve thinks he would. Instead, he frowns slightly. “Should be careful,” he mumbles. “Some dealers don’t care what they give you, long as they get their money.”

Steve hums in response. “Well, I won’t have to worry about that now, right?” He shifts on the roof, laying down to look up at the stars. Feels, more than sees, Eddie do the same. “You’re staying.”

“That I am,” Eddie replies, sighing as he looks at the stars. “Wish we could see ‘em all.”

Steve glances over, and Eddie lifts a hand, waves it lazily at the sky. “The stars. Can’t see but half of ‘em cause of all the lights. But they’re so pretty. So bright. Almost enough to make me want to brave my dad again.”

Steve hums. “He’s still alive?”

“Yeah. ‘S he not? In four years?”

“I dunno exactly. Just… the way you phrased things made it sound like he wasn’t.”

“Well, hell,” Eddie laughs, raising the blunt like it’s a glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

Steve snorts and knocks his knuckles against Eddie’s, accepting the joint again after Eddie takes a drag. “So,” Eddie says, rolling over to lay on his front, propping himself up on his elbows. “Tell me the Steve Harrington hierarchy for dates. What comes first?”

Steve chuckles. “Why?” He asks, then answers regardless. “First date is getting to know each other, y’know? If you run out of things to say twenty minutes into it, how the hell’re you supposed to make a relationship work, right? So first date is making sure you’re…” he waves a hand around, looking for the right word. “Like… making sure you match.”

“Compatible?” Eddie suggests, and Steve snaps at him.

“Compatible, that’s it, yeah. Making sure you’re compatible. Second date’s for making sure you’re serious about it, making sure there’s still more to talk about, that you’re not gonna end up staring awkwardly at each other twenty minutes into that date because maybe you’re compatible enough for one date, but not really two, right?”

“So every subsequent date is just making sure you’re compatible.”

“I guess, yeah. Except when you know you are compatible, then you show ‘em who you really are. You put away your nice shirts and start getting out the everyday ones. The dates aren’t as planned out because they don’t need to be, because you already have fun together. Maybe you go to the arcade and you don’t let ‘em win. Or not as easy, at least. I’m still terrible at bowling. I don’t think there’s any hope for me.” He shakes his head with a chuckle.

Eddie raises a brow. “You’re telling me there’s a sport in which you don’t excel? This I have to see.”

Steve laughs and nudges his shoulder. “Man, shuddup.”

“No, but seriously,” Eddie says, and he sounds serious, so Steve drops his smile and listens. “If… if I were to go on a date, on a few dates, with a guy, maybe someone like you, and it’s going well, and we get to that point… I could imagine us doing pretty much exactly this.”

“Getting high on a roof?”

“Spending time together,” Eddie says quietly. “No expectations.”

“Oh,” Steve says quietly, sure his cheeks are scarlet.

“And,” Eddie says even quieter, practically a whisper, “I maybe wouldn’t mind trying with you.”

“As excited as that makes me,” Steve says, “and trust me, I’m pretty damn excited, I can’t help but think maybe we should wait until we’re past the end of the world.”

“Sure,” Eddie says, and brushes his knuckles against Steve’s. They both watch the movement. “Figure I’ve waited this long, what’s a little bit longer, right?”

“Yeah,” Steve murmurs, pressing his thumb to one of Eddie’s knuckles. Wishes he was pressing his lips to that knuckle instead.

He suddenly sighs. “It’s not just gonna be a week or two, y’know. It’s… when this is over, we can’t stay. Robin and I, we’ve gotta go back to the future.”

“Well, sure, but there’s some version of you that’s gonna stay, right?”

“And if that version of me doesn’t know that any of this happened? ‘M still an asshole, Eddie.”

Eddie grins and rolls over until they’re face-to-face. “I don’t think you’re capable of not being bitchy,” he says, laughing when Steve good-naturedly shoves his face away. “No, but hey,” he says quieter, more serious. “The Harrington Charm might be legendary, but us Munsons got a few tricks up our sleeves too, m’kay? If I have to win you back, I’ll do it. Or could you write yourself a note, maybe? Alli’s staying, she could give it to you. You could write to ask any one of us about it, and we’d tell you.”

Steve hums. “How do you do that?”

Eddie blinks. “Do what?”

“Make me feel like everything’s gonna be alright.”

Eddie blushes, but doesn’t answer, just offers Steve the joint again.

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[artistrybyarielle]

Me watching Shah Rukh Khan films: This is therapy.

Shah Rukh Khan: I am literally an actor.