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#I can’t write I’m so sorry
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So I have theory about Luo Binghe’s fake jade pendant.
(Major spoilers if you haven’t finished the book btw)
I was just reading a fic and author pointed out something about Luo Binghe’s pendant and how it’s a metaphor for Shen Yuan.
Looking back at the book, there are a lot of parallels between Shen Yuan and the necklace.
The pendant is a counterfeit jade carving of the god Guanyin.
Shen Yuan is a counterfeit of Shen Qingqiu, a powerful Peak Lord who dresses in jade colored robes.
Guanyin is noted to be associated with compassion, and Shen Yuan changes the entire fate of the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way by being compassionate.
Luo Bingmei ends his story with his one fake jade pendant while the extras specifically note that Luo Bingge has several real jade necklaces in his possession. Those necklaces are even called out to be fine grade and best money can buy.
Obviously the real jades are a metaphor for Bingge’s harem of peerlessly beautiful women while the fake jade, which has infinitely more value to him, represents Shen Yuan, aka Luo Bingmei’s one and only true love.
However I think there’s more to it than that.
If you track the pendant throughout the book, you’ll notice that Luo Binghe is only ever in possession of the pendant when Shen Yuan isn’t there. In fact, he actually loses the pendant shortly after Shen Yuan transmigrates into Shen Qingqiu. For the rest of the book, the pendant is in Shen Yuan’s possession, only returning to Luo Binghe at the climax.
But here’s the thing that’s strange about that scene: for whatever reason the System could not load the pendant when SQQ tried to summon it. At no other point in the book has the System have a problem loading things in.
So why is it when it does load in, it’s right as Shen Yuan dies for the third time?
My theory is that Shen Yuan is the pendant itself.
Now obviously Shen Yuan comes back and Binghe still has the pendant, but in the last couple scenes of the book, Shen Yuan is always right by Luo Binghe’s side.
Now I know that Shen Yuan was an actual person before dying and becoming Shen Qingqiu, so therefore he isn’t the necklace given human form. So how can Shen Yuan and the pendant be one and the same?
Well let’s go back to the aforementioned climax scene where the System cannot physically summon the pendant until Shen Yuan dies.
Seeing as how the System is essentially an AI and/or a computer program, this kind of issue reminds me of how a computer cannot open a file if another of the exact same file is already running.
I think, that when inserting Shen Yuan into PIDW, the System needed a way to tie his soul into its program and Shen Yuan’s fate to the protagonist. The System needed a physical entity to tie him down so it linked his code/soul to the fake jade pendant. That’s why Luo Binghe loses the pendant so soon after Shen Yuan transmigrates and why the System couldn’t load it in until Shen Yuan’s soul left his body because they’re part of the same file.
This is also evidenced by how when Shen Yuan dies the second time, out of all of his items, only the Jade pendant is kept in his inventory when he wakes up in the Sun and Dew Mushroom body.
Not to mention that Shen Yuan and the pendant have the same effect on Luo Binghe! The pendant has the ability to essientially shock Luo Binghe out of a qi deviation, but is only a one time use. But during Luo Binghe’s first qi deviation, Shen Yuan is able to do the exact same thing but doing so kills him. The pendant reduces Luo Binghe’s anger, and Shen Yuan is the only person in the world Luo Binghe will ever be soft and submittable to.
Tl’dr; The System tied Shen Yuan’s soul to the fake Guanyin pendant.
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ironunderstands · 5 days
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Yapping about why I love Aventio and what I feel makes it a great ship 
(If you hate it I urge you to read this, because you don’t have to agree with me, but I want you to get where Aventio shippers are coming from at least)
I’ve just really wanted to talk about why I love Aventio because the people do not get it like I do and GODDD ITS SO GOOD WHEN DONE CORRECTLY UGHHHHH
Also this is gonna be VERY stream of consciousness I do not have a plan besides dragging you through my brain so enjoy the ride.
I guess the best place to start is the fact that Aventurine and Ratio are my two favorite characters in the game. Like even if they have no interactions with each other ever and might as well be from different pieces of media I would ship them, because I like seeing characters I like interact and the fun police cannot catch me. That’s a really shallow personal reason though and I feel like the rest I have will be able to be appreciated by others.
GOD THE DYNAMIC IS SO GOOD RAAAAAA
Two emotional constipated dumbasses circling around each other like black holes trying desperately to deny and run from their feelings when they have both fallen hard. The lack of acknowledgement of feelings on both ends is TRAGIC and it makes me want to rip my eyes out in a good way, let’s start with Ratio.
Unfortunately my glorious king Ratio has been mischaracterized to hell and back but we will get to that (and the Incorrect Reasons Why People Hate Aventio) later. Instead I will go over his actual character; a deeply insecure, intelligent man who desperately wants the rest of the galaxy to come to the realizations he has long since stumbled upon, but has been so isolated from his peers from such a young age that he’s doomed to fail in literally every social interaction he has and be misunderstood by both the audience in universe and irl (the autistic coding isn’t helping him either).
Ratio is tragically misunderstood again, both in universe and by the audience, which is why it means so much that Aventurine Gets Him. Aventurine pushes his buttons, tears down that literal cold marble facade masking the deeply silly and caring man beneath (this man bathes with rubber duckies in the privacy of his own home 😭), and that scares the shit out of Ratio. People aren’t meant to see through him, Ratio acts rude not just because he believes it’s the best way to help people, and because he believes he himself is mundane and the conclusions they come to should be their own, not his.
No, it’s also because on some level Ratio is afraid to be vulnerable around people. As much as he pretends like it doesn’t affect him, Nous’s rejection has hurt and haunted Ratio for his entire life. And I do mean his entire life, even in high school he had already set up a strict routine for himself, something commented on by his teacher, Ratio has quite literally always been striving for some sort of perfection and the fact that he cannot achieve it kills him.
Moreover, the guy just grew up way too fast, he didn’t have time to develop social skills. We see it in that afformentioned relationship with his teacher, in which they recommend Ratio (who is again in high school) to be moved up to college level stuff and transferred due to his success. He has quite literally never been able to just relax in a environment of his peers, Ratio for some reason we don’t yet know has always been dedicated to constant improvement and that leaves no room for dealing with failure.
On some level, he knows this too, that he can never be perfect. Ratio is part of the Mundanites in the Intelligenica Guild for a reason, he doesn’t just see himself as mediocre because he believes everyone is and that’s ok, but also because he looks down on himself for being too mediocre for the Genius Society, being too mediocre for Nous’s acknowledgement, being too mediocre for anything.
Which is tragic because Ratio is very accomplished and he is very smart, and his character stories aren’t even told from his pov, but rather in the style of documentaries and letters (his professor) and other works on his well acclaimed life. We don’t ever get to see how Ratio really sees himself, just the tiny cracks in his marble facade that let the real man behind the character shine through.
Because that’s what he’s playing 90% of the time, a character. Whether it be at the Herta Space Station in which his real goal was to uproot the researchers blind worship of the Genius Society, or in Penacony in which he plays up the arrogant, narcissistic scholar both people in universe and irl make him out to be, both to serve a goal bigger than himself. 
Sincere moments from Ratio are RARE but god are they beautiful, his conversation from Screwllum in 1.6 and his note to Aventurine in 2.1 will forever haunt me in the best way possible. If you want to understand Ratio as a character, yes read his character stories, but just watch that damn scene with Screwllum it is phenomenal. He cares so much and is so, so bad at expressing it, he drives me nuts, Veritas Ratio the man you are. 
And the thing is, it seems like he’s always been playing a character and doesn’t know where the real him ends anymore so he just sticks to the way people perceive him a lot of the time. Like as a kid he was constantly striving to be the best so he missed a lot of necessary developmental shit, and as an adult he’s a celebrity so it’s hard for him to attach himself to others anyways because society and his students will hound him for it.
And then you throw Aventurine into the mix, and oh boy does shit get interesting.
Veritas Ratio, perfect “unfeeling” Veritas Ratio and the one person who gets him well enough to push all his buttons and expose the vulnerable underbelly he thought he hid so well. On a fundamental level, Ratio understands this, which is why he doesn’t bother with the alabaster head, as pretending the real him is just as unfeeling and uncaring is easier.
So he brushes off Aventurine’s jests as if they are an insult to his very existence, he can’t look in Aventurine’s eyes when he “betrays” him because his poker face would break, he leaves as soon as he’s done talking because lingering would allow the weight of their conversations to sink in. Part of it is because for pretty much all of Penacony, up until the note Ratio gives him, Ratio is acting, trying to play up the role of the arrogant, unfeeling scholar to make Sunday buy the betrayal plan, because to Sunday this behavior is signs of a bad relationship between the two (honestly the fact that the audience also interpreted it this way makes me mad like did yall seriously not pay attention, but also happy because if even the players were fooled that means Sunday buying it is believable). 
However, even if it feeds into his insecurities, Aventurine knows that false facade and loves tearing it down. It’s very telling that the second time we see Ratio really freak out (the first being at Herta Space Station) is at the suggestion that he came to narrate Aventurine’s demo not because of knowledge or respect for the show or whatever, but because he genuinely likes the guy. What makes it even better is that Aventurine is the one who suggested it, and already figured out the excuses Ratio was going to use to deny it. Ratio can fool everyone else in the galaxy, but he cannot fool Aventurine, and on a fundamental level that is what makes their dynamic work, because Ratio knows Aventurine in the exact same way.
Aventurine can shove away people who care about him, out of distrust and fear that they will leave him like his family did. He can believe he’s unloveable and a person so detestable that even the actions he performs in order to stay alive condemn him to hate himself as much as the rest of the galaxy hates him. But, Ratio doesn’t see him that way.
Aventurine doubts his intelligence, if he has really earned anything he’s done and in his voiceline about Ratio, doubting if Ratio even sees him as smart or worthy. However, Ratios voiceline about Aventurine is about how he believes Aventurine is smart and worthy, and that his doubt will be his downfall if he doesn’t come to the realization that he isn’t worthless. 
Ratio knows Aventurine’s one weakness, the one thing that could stop him; himself. That’s why he gives him the note urging him to stay alive and keep on living because ultimately Aventurine will only ever fail if he gives up. And The Note Is Enough, Aventurine walks into the event horizon of a black hole, confident he can return alive on the other side because someone cares about him, BECAUSE RATIO CARES ABOUT HIM, and wants him to live on even if Aventurine doesn’t feel that way towards himself.
In the metaphorical and literal manifestation of the meaningless of the universe, in the face of overwhelming nihility, Aventurine survives because someone loves him, and with that love he’s strong enough to brave even that. 
Even if they can’t admit it out loud, these two deeply, deeply care for one another and trust each other perhaps more than anyone else in the narrative. The betrayal plan would have never worked if there was not mutual trust, Ratio wouldn’t have gone to Penacony in the first place if he didn’t trust Aventurine, and Aventurine wouldn’t have asked him to come if he did not trust him. We don’t just see this trust between Aventurine and Ratio either, and Jade and Topaz both trust him with their cornerstones, but ultimately it’s Ratio who’s physically with him the whole time, risking his life alongside him for the sake of their plan. 
As much as people like to ignore it, lying to the Family members, to Sunday, is extremely dangerous and puts Ratio’s life in danger as much as it does Aventurine’s. Ratio is not an irrational person, he wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t have faith Aventurine would succeed, he would not have done if he didn’t think he would return. They have absolutely faith in one another and it’s beautiful. 
Aventurine’s first constellation is named “Prisoner’s Dilemma” for a reason. A social experiment in which two prisoners are captured and separated, if they sell the other one out and remain silent, they go free but the other remains in jail for 20 years. If they both sell each other out, they get a sentence of 5 years. 
But if they both remain silent, trust the other, they even if they physically can’t communicate and don’t know what the other says, they get the best possible outcome, only one year in jail each. It requires a sacrifice on both ends, they both still have to go to jail, but only for a year, and only if they trust each other completely, as if the other sells them out they will be in jail for 20.
The prisoners dilemma relies completely on trust, and it’s the exact situation Aventurine and Ratio face in the Penacony quests. Aventurines doubts if Ratio’s betrayal was real or not, even if he set it up himself, and Ratio worries about Aventurines survival, if continuing this plan will end well. “You can’t expect a featherless bird to take flight” isn’t just Ratio chastising Sunday, he’s genuinely worried that this plan will put Aventurine at too much of a disadvantage to continue on. 
But they both trust each other, and if just like in the Dilemma neither come out completely unscathed (although it’s much worse on Aventurine’s end), they ultimately achieve their goal. 
God is it sweet and corny in the best way possible 
I want to kill this fandoms perception of stoic, emotionless Ratio because once people realize he’s actually the corniest mf ever is the day I sleep easy. He makes statues of himself doing Jojo poses, he plays chess versus himself, he named himself Veritas (truth), he loves rubber duckies, he literally sits in a bathtub couch, and Aventurine breaths and he gets flustered.
Ratio so deeply silly, chronically corny, it’s a crime he needs to be locked up someone stop him. 
And Aven brings that out of him. His teasing reveals the goofball trying so desperately to disguise himself as a serious scholar. Ratio is very smart of course, but that only makes his silliness better, as you watch this absolute genius of a man behave like a tsundere schoolgirl. 
It’s not like Aventurine is some paragon of seriousness either, he’s the one teasing Ratio, fucking around even in a serious mission. Yeah it’s partly because he wants Sunday to think he’s incompetent, but it’s also because Aventurine genuinely is having fun, enjoying himself before the serious part of the plan kicks in, and the meantime he does that by messing with Ratio.
Their dynamic of Aventurine messing with Ratio, and Ratio trying desperately to pretend like it doesn’t affect him is as hilarious and heartwarming as it is tragic, and that dichotomy is why I love them so much. It’s fun and it hurts so so much because their interactions being this flavor of silly leaves almost no room for the sincerity they both desperately need from one another. 
AND GOD I NEED IT TO HAPPEN. RATIO MENTAL BREAKDOWN SCENE PLEAASEEE LET HIS WALLS CRUMBLE PLEEEEAASEE PLEASE PELADE PLEASEEEE EPLES DOLS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 
They’ve gotten closer and closer and closer and soon something’s gonna snap because they are so close yet so distant and if something doesn’t change the tension is just gonna boil over AND I NEED IT TO HAPPEN. I need more Ratio scenes I need more interactions with him I need him with his guard down I need him to profess out loud that he cares about Aventurine I need him to break please he needs it, it would be so good for him. It doesn’t even have to be from Aventurine, just Ratio snapping and revealing the fucking mess he is under his facade and not being rejected by the people he cares about for it is enough.
I honestly doubt it will happen in the story though, as much as I want it to. Although Aventurine’s character demo somewhat changed my mind against this, I feel like hoyo is like “ok they get the vibe between these two we can move on” and the shippers are left to extrapolate how this relationship would go beyond what it is now. As much as I want a breakdown scene for Ratio in general, it probably wouldn’t happen in a while but devs if you are reading this PLEASEEEE. 
The only time Ratio ever gets slightly out of his element is with Aventurine but I need it to go further because god it would be interesting.
Well I’ve deemed that enough yapping about why I love Aventio (for now 😈) so let’s talk about why people hate the ship and why most of the reasons behind it a fucking stupid. (Massive disclaimer of course you can dislike it it’s just a lot of the “oh it’s a horrible ship and anyone who likes it sucks” shit isn’t grounded in reality in the slightest and I’m tired of the slander)
“Ratio was racist to Aventurine”
Now this is a spicy one because if this post was made in 2.0 I would 100% agree with you (during that time I shipped a non canon version of them in which that did not happen because how dare u do my boy like that hoyo). However 2.1 changed a lot and I mean a lot, and basically reframed the 2.0 quests for everyone.
Essentially, Ratio and Aventurine were both acting in that argument scene, making the things Ratio said to Aventurine not how he really sees him, and actively something Aventurine wanted him to say, so you cannot blame him for what he said. I’m not even joking or exaggerating, retrospectively it quite literally does not make sense if you view it in any other way, and honestly even with just the knowledge of 2.0 the scene doesn’t make sense if played straight, so let’s get to why.
a) Ratio and Racism do not mix fundamentally. Ratio is a person who believes that everyone deserves and education regardless of background, that it is a scholars duty to help others achieve that, and no matter who you are, you are capable of intelligence, learning and becoming the best version of yourself, and that those qualities are just limited to geniuses.
THIS AND RACISM DO NOT MIX. “Oh yeah education and improvement is possible for everyone except this specific group of people for some fucking reason!!” Like not only would this scene being serious contradict Ratios entire character, the man who believes people should not be judged for their educational background judging Aventurine for his educational background (that’s actually what the Sigonian upbringing line meant, it was mistranslated in the EN version)??!?!! Make it make sense.
Moreover, half this perception also come from the fact that hoyo made the incredible writing decision of naming Aventurines planet after a slur for Romani people, so unfortunately literally anytime its name, Sigonia, is brought up you’re essentially saying a slur. It’s much worse in the CN version, in EN it’s not obvious at all, because our version of the slur (it starts with a g and ends with a y that’s all the hints you’re getting), doesn’t look like the version of the slur that the name for Sigonia was derived from, which is partly the source of this misconception as I’m pretty certain most people assumed Ratio (and by extension Sparkle) said a slur elsewhere in the conversation when in reality them referring to Avens ethnicity/background/planet IS the slur.
Anyways terrible writing decisions aside, Ratio supposedly being racist doesn’t just contradict his core motivation, it contradicts his job. He’s a scholar, for fucks sake, and racism is inherently illogical. Mmm yes I’m gonna base my identity around finding truth for myself and I will believe government and social propaganda about specific groups of people! Very logical, very scholarly, we all clapped. 
So yeah, doesn’t make sense on a character level, to the point that in 2.0 I concluded that they must be using Ratio as a plot device in that scene to deliver some of Aven’s backstory to the audience due to how OOC it was for him 😭. However I wasn’t necessarily wrong, Ratio was delivering some of Aventurines backstory to AN audience (not just us), and he was behaving OOC in the 2.0 scene, but it was on purpose.
b) The betrayal plan 
Aventurine forms a plan in which him and Ratio pretend to betray one another in order to sneak the Aventurine cornerstone into the dreamscape by replacing it with the Topaz stone (red herring + black hole scene dialogue implies she and Jade are there for other reasons) and the Jade stone (perfect dupe). 
Now this betrayal hinges on Sunday, their main antagonist buying it, actually believing that Ratio would betray Aventurine on a mission as important as Penacony, and it requires Sunday also buying that he is winning the whole time, that the loss of the cornerstones was somehow a fumble on Aventurine’s end rather than something he planned all along. 
So, they stage the 2.0 conversation. Ratio yells at Aventurine for losing the cornerstones, something which was part of their plan the whole time. He then insults Aventurine’s background allowing Aventurine to reveal key details of his past that Sunday would not have learned otherwise, which he uses in the trial against Aventurine. Seriously, Aventurine only found out he was the last Avgin when he became a Stoneheart, do y’all think Sunday summoned that info with his mind or something during the trial (like do you guys genuinely think Sunday read his wiki or something)
Moreover, Ratio not only insults him, but portrays Aventurine as useless, disposable to the IPC because he is apparently already sentenced to death. Why does he do this? Well, so Sunday feels confident enough to do the same to Aventurine. Seriously, sentencing an IPC member, especially a high ranking one to death is a risky move, even for someone as convicted as Sunday, he would need the confidence to do so and learning Aven might already die would give him that ability. 
Because well, it doesn’t matter that much if he’s already going to get disposed of in the near future. I also think the IPC plans to use Aventurine’s “death” as leverage against the family because they were pleased to hear of his death sentence according to Dr. Ratio, meaning a) he likely did not have one from them at the time, although in the past he was sentenced to death and b) even if Aventurine succeeded in getting the cornerstone his seeming loss in the rest of the conversation wasn’t actually a loss at all, getting sentenced to death/“dying” at the very least was part of the plan all along as the IPC could still use it as leverage if things went south.
Continually, Ratio treating Aventurine in the exact same sh1tty way the rest of the galaxy does perfectly slots him into the arrogant, uncaring scholar role, which Sunday knows are some of the most easily manipulated people in the galaxy, considering he tries to bribe Ratio with knowledge about Stellarons it seems he bought this idea hook line and sinker. Sunday isn’t even subtle about it either “I heard you and your companion haven’t been getting along lately” where did he hear that from? Ratio didn’t tell him, and even though we know Sunday was 100% watching the two of them on their little adventure pre-meeting him (the bird and hound statues) that scene hasn’t happened yet so where did he get that from?
Some other interesting proof for it is that the Final Victor lightcone likely depicts Aventurine trying to convince Ratio of this plan of his, the events of which must occur  pre-Penacony for several reasons, the least of which being that we just never see it happen on Penacony which if you think it did we would see it. Moreover lightcones are canonically condensed memories and the Final Victor lightcone released in 2.0, meaning it’s the memory of something that happened before then. 
All signs point to the 2.0 scene, the one people use to paint Aventio as toxic being staged. And I have so much more evidence for this, (Ratio would never agree to go without a plan, Aven clearly formed his pre-Penaocny, so much of the plan like Ratio opening the cornerstone box, which he can’t do up until the betrayal as it’s in Sundays possession, rely on him arriving knowing how to do so, the time discrepancies, the complete 180 in personality Ratio would have to do to go from distrusting Aventurine to putting his whole faith in him, etc), but I will reupload one of my old slideshows to elaborate more on it. Basically the one thing that people use to say it’s toxic is not true and is in fact a greater show of the trust between those two. 
“The shippers are all weird and racist” 
Now this one actually has some truth to it because yes there are some incredibly fucking weird Aventio shippers and I do not blame yall for disliking them.
HOWEVER, most Aventio shippers are normal and hate that shit just as much as you guys do. Like do you realize most shippers also really like these characters and have something insane called morals so they don’t automatically excuse racist fujoshi goobers just because they are making content for their favorite ship. Trust me someone doing that pisses me (and most other Aventio shippers) off significantly more than people who hate the ship. Also free Ratio from this shit man poor guy is getting mischaracterized as a slaveowner by his fans and haters 😭
And like guys, have you ever been in a fandom before, like ever? Weirdos are always gonna be weird and it’s not Aventio’s fault they are this months victims. For a fun little example of how gross other fanbases can be, one of the most popular Overwatch ships on ao3 is Genji Shimada X Hanzo Shimada WHO ARE BLOOD RELATED BROTHERS. THERES LIKE 300+ FICS OF IT, SHIMADACEST IS LITERALLY A TAG ON THERE. I WAS IN THE TRENCHES SEARCHING FOR GENJI HANZO ANGST FICS (Hanzo killed Genji it’s complicated doomed siblings will always get me) AND HAVING TO COMB THROUGH THOSE ABOMINATIONS IN THE PROCESS.
Like please I’m relatively new to fandom culture but yall cannot be acting like this is weird for fans to do, it’s weirdo behavior but it is not unique to the HSR fandom or even Aventio. And even if understandably this makes you not like the ship, don’t paint the people who enjoy it as being the people who do this kinda sh1t. It’s not our fault peak gets tainted by miserable creatures ok, let normal ppl have their harmless fun and stop lumping people together into a monolith. 
?????
Well that’s it that’s all the “valid” reasons people have for hating Aventio, at least the ones I can remember. Everything else is just personal opinion and not at all an objective reason.
“They’re so sibling coded!”
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Anyways again obviously you can still dislike it not everything is for everyone, I really just wanted to make this post to demonstrate why I and many others like it, and why the reasons people use to say it’s problematic are incorrect. Feel free to call it mid, block it whatever I don’t care, just don’t harass shippers for having some harmless fun, because the characters aren’t real but the people who like them are and in doing so you are really just being a jerk for no reason. If you somehow hate Aventio and read this the whole way through I congratulate you on your ability to actually listen to other people, and regardless of whether you changed your mind or not I respect you for doing so anyways. Thanks for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts. 
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pizzaqueen · 4 months
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A snippet from a future fic I'll probably never write, where Steve is a widower with two teenage kids, and he and Eddie randomly meet up, rekindling their old flame. This is when they've been together a while:
“Thank you,” Steve says, coming up behind Eddie at the bathroom sink.
Eddie pauses, catching Steve's eye in the mirror. “What for?” he asks, mouth foamy with toothpaste.
Steve slips his hands along Eddie's hips, hooks his chin over Eddie's shoulder. “For loving my kids.”
“You don't—” Toothpaste dribbles down Eddie's chin and he stoops to spit what's left in his mouth into the sink, gathering his hair to one side. He rinses his mouth out, wipes his face with a towel, then turns to Steve. “You don't have to thank me for that. Of course I love them.”
“Not everyone I've dated has.”
“They're idiots.” Eddie grabs the hem of Steve's shirt, pulling him close. “I mean, first of all, they're part of you, and I don't think I could love you and not love them. But...” He trails off, a small smile tilting his lips. “They're amazing kids.”
Pride swells in Steve's chest; he slides his arms around Eddie's waist and says, “They are.”
“And I'm pretty damn honored I get to be part of their lives,” Eddie says, “so thank you,” and he butts his head gently against Steve's.
Steve huffs and slides his hands up Eddie's back, pulling him into a tight embrace. “I love you.” He presses a kiss to Eddie's neck.
“I love you too.”
“And they both love you as well.”
Eddie lets out a shuddering breath. Steve knows how nervous Eddie was, when they started dating, that he wouldn't be welcomed, but it's almost like he's always been part of their family now. “Good to know,"”Eddie says.
Steve holds Eddie a little tighter. All those years ago, back in Hawkins, when they ended things, Steve thought he'd never see Eddie again. But here they are, together—a family—and Steve's never letting him go this time.
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turtleblogatlast · 8 days
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[ cw: dismemberment / ]
I think a lot about how Leo’s rescue could have easily ended in him losing a leg as the portal snaps shut on the Krang still clutching the limb, or, alternatively, only having Leo’s right arm make it out, still held dearly in his brother’s hand as the rest of Leo is left behind. (The latter hits even harder, as it directly parallels his future self in the worst of ways.)
I think a lot about how so many things could have gone wrong during the course of the movie with even a little bit of a change, but it really is harrowing how much of a coin-flip the entirety of the Prison Dimension rescue was.
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt leo#rottmnt headcanons#rise leo#dismemberment /#if literally any part of the prison dimension rescue was different it would have ended Very Badly#mikey came in clutch for doing the impossible in the first place#raph grabbing leo and not once letting go was vital#and donnie directly hitting the krang was essential#hell leo having the ability to reach out at all in the state he was in was a miracle#listen I think about the prison dimension a lot if you couldn’t tell#for the next tags:#strangulation mention /#physical trauma induced mutism /#potential death mention /#potential sibling death mention /#barely it mainly focuses on if he lives but /#I also think about how Leo’s trachea could have easilyyy given out as Raph (krangified) was choking him#can you imagine the last words raph hearing from his little brother being I’m sorry?#he’d likely live as the hamato bros are built different but imagine if he straight up can’t talk again after#the bros having no idea what Leo’s plan is but they suddenly feel him disappear with the portal#or also#imagine all he gets out in his hoarse voice is to beg Casey to close the portal before his family HEARS the sudden silence like a knife#even if he gets saved his voice may be wrecked or even gone for good#what am I writing wait-#also for my point on leo losing his arm paralleling his future self#imagine fate being a thing in this world but a VERY situational thing#imagine it makes it so that leo has to lose a limb#but not just that - it also ties his presence directly with the Krang’s - so if the Krang’s somewhere else…so is he
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peachdues · 5 months
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I’ll probably delete this later, because I genuinely not trying to start anything. I just want to drop a gentle reminder that authors put a lot of time and effort into their works — from plot, to dialogue, to themes, it takes a lot of brain power and planning and dedication to create and put your work out into the ethos.
I have more to say on this but tbh it’s all based on a series of anons and comments I’ve received over the last few weeks, and I’m not going to subject you all to my whining. But please remember to be patient — whether it’s for waiting for the next installment or getting confirmation whether certain things will/wont happen — the wait is half the experience. I know instant gratification is the norm, but it’s really disheartening to see people write off your hard work before it’s even out because they’re convinced something is going to happen one way or another.
In other words, please recognize the time and effort it takes creators to put out content.
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paimonial-rage · 3 days
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procedural - alhaitham
[random writing event] | requested by @crane1000
Being known as one of those more free-spirited sort, you were never one for schedules. It wasn’t that you had anything against them. You just found it difficult to devote yourself to doing things at a set time on a set day was rather constricting. So when you were hired to work as the Akademiya’s scribe’s assistant, you were in for a whirlwind of change. Alhaitham was scheduled. Procedural, even. And he made sure you were too.
With Alhaitham, work started at 9am sharp. After half an hour of reviewing his intray, he would start on drafting proposals, copying documents, and creating lists. It was your job to maintain and organize the many papers that passed through his hands. Lunch was taken at noon on the dot. After, you would be out and about passing correspondence, picking up new books from the House of Daena, and communicating with the other departments. Once 5pm hit, you were finally released.
Through everything, Alhaitham prized efficiency and efficacy above all else. And though it took time to get used to his spartan ways, you could see the value in following his work style. Everything made sense. That is, mostly everything. When you sat down and really thought about everything, though, you couldn’t help but feel that there was something… odd about the way he did a few things.
Ever since you started, Alhaitham began eating out for lunch almost everyday, always inviting you along. Which was weird because you heard he usually brought lunch made by his roommate. You didn’t think it was too strange at first. You were friends with Alhaitham during your student years, after all. He probably wanted to catch up. But to continue on for a few months…?
It didn’t help that you did much of the talking at lunch. Sure, you were extremely talkative, but you thought he’d surely get tired of listening to you ramble on by now. But no, no matter how much you babbled about, he’d always respond with some intelligent response showing he was listening to you all along. That wasn’t even considering the way he opted to sit next to instead of across from you. Were you that interesting to listen to?
Then there was the way he’d actually listen to and take the random advice you’d give. The new fountain pens upon his desk were suggested by you, as were the coffee beans he now used at home. He let you drag him to new restaurants at lunch and borrowed the books you raved about in the House of Daena. You never heard of him doing this for anyone else.
And lastly…
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yep! Just finished packing up,” you replied, standing up from your desk. “Let’s go.”
As that classes were finally finished for the day, the Akademiya was abuzz with students. In the back of your mind, you had no doubt that the streets of Sumeru City would only be busier seeing that most people were finally leaving work.
“You don’t need to walk me home,” you began with an apologetic laugh. “It’s probably going to take a while.”
“It’s fine,” he replied. “Besides, weren’t you the one that insisted on finishing your story earlier?”
“Oh, you’re right!” You exclaimed. “So what happened next was…”
As you chatted about the happenings and various gossip that managed to find their way into your nosy ears, at some point your hand found its way into his. It often happened seeing that the busy roads often pushed and shoved you about. And as kind as he was to help you, you couldn’t help but feel that it was, like all the other things, unnecessary.
“Why are you so nice to me?” You found yourself asking when you finally reached your home.
Though his eyes widened for a moment, they soon narrowed as he crossed his arms as if observing you.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
You paused in thought.
“Because you see me as a friend?” You asked curiously.
You were met with a long exasperated sigh.
“Sure, let’s say that,” he finally said as he turned to leave. “Rest well.”
As you waved him goodbye, you couldn’t help but let out a sigh to yourself. Oh well. You’ll figure out his secrets some other time.
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finntheehumaneater · 8 months
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@strangersteddierthings this is for you. (There will be more, but I have stuff to do for Environmental Science homework, and need to post something about it, so that I can’t decide to give up abandon this—so I guess this is part 1/???)
Honestly, Eddie wasn’t sure where he went wrong. One minute, he was sitting with Steve, watching some movie that Steve had been far too excited to show him, and then next minute he was walking home. Alone.
It had been his fault, really, and he knew it.
He had kissed Steve Harrington. He had kissed Steve Harrington. What the actual fuck had he done?
There was something in him that jumped at the chance to make a real move once Steve had said he also liked men, and something in him that wanted to curl up and die on the spot because that just made this whole situation worse. Because he liked guys, but he didn’t like Eddie, and that was all too apparent when Steve’s face went from nervous to startled, frozen in place as Eddie instantly regretted everything.
“Is this a joke to you?” Steve had whispered, his voice sounding broken, tears in his eyes as he stood up and looked over at Eddie, arms crossed over chest like he was trying to hide himself—slumped over like he wanted to disappear.
“Steve—“ 
“I—I’m being serious! I mean it, Eddie…do—do you know how hard this is to say? How much it hurts to admit?” Steve shook his head slightly, his eyebrows pinched together, and Eddie wanted to explain everything, but he couldn’t. He was stuck, frozen in place on the couch, wanting so badly to tell Steve what he meant—what he wanted.
But he was walking home alone. The air was cold, and it felt even colder since he had left in a hurry, excusing himself before Steve would’ve started crying, because it hurt to see him like that, so scared and devastated—like he thought Eddie was going to tell everyone. And he wasn’t. Of course he wasn’t! He would never do that—but Steve didn’t know that.
So he had left his coat, only in a t-shirt and jeans. 
He was going to have to go back and get it eventually. He knew that. But he didn’t want to face Steve—to have to admit why he did what he had, and how it wasn’t a joke to him—it was never a joke. It was just easier to ignore him than to face the truth and have to tell him.
The one thing nobody ever talked about enough was how painful feelings could be.
EDIT: there are more parts, and it is finished (maybe I don’t know if I’ll expand on this in the future)! part 2, part 3, part 4
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imsilay · 6 months
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why this is so true lmao
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(the pic is not mine i found it on pinterest)
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i have 50 drafts 🫢🫡
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punkrockgrantaire · 1 year
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Trent: ok, so I know Colin is interested in men, and as a footballer that’s a big deal. I’m uniquely situated to help him navigate the homophobic world of football, AND the homophobic world of football journalism if ever he decides to come out or, god forbid, is outed by someone
Trent: however he doesn’t know I know and doesn’t know to reach to me if he wants advice
Trent pulling out his rainbow mug, mentally casting psychic beams across the locker room: *im gay im gay im gay im gay*
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ravenssilver · 7 months
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I would adore if you could make an Aeon angst where he feels abandoned or like he’s not worth being in the ministry, and one of the ghouls (any of your choice) finds him and comforts him? You don’t have to if you don’t want too I’m just in love with your writing!!
ahh anon !! i will happily throw out some aeon/swiss hurt/comfort. you feed into my muse🫶🫶
here is me indulging in my favorite thing—aka 2.2k words of aeon feeling abandoned and swiss loving on him anyway🤍
cw: aeon being anxious, aeon has minor abandonment issues, minor panic attack
under the cut, if you please<3
Aeon was giddy after a particularly good ritual. He and Swiss seemed to have developed a pre-show ritual of practically being attached to each other’s hips and walking on stage together. He had hit every note perfectly and gotten to every cue, bouncing happily to the beat of the songs all the while. The audience had been fantastic and he had gotten at least five bat plushes thrown at him before bows, and he was sure some of the crew had picked up the rest.
Though, as Aeon took a quick shower to get all his sweat off, he thought about the other ghouls during the ritual.
Cirrus and Cumulus didn’t pay him any mind whenever he went over to them, Dewdrop seemed annoyed when Aeon was all over him during Absolution, Rain didn’t seem all that amused by the slides in Watcher, and Papa seemed actually upset when he had cut in front of him for his part in Year Zero.
Aeon frowned when he remembered how he had subconsciously given up on interacting with the band after Mary On a Cross when Papa didn’t even look at him when the song quieted down for a few measures.
And during Square Hammer, his final chance to maybe get an interaction, Aurora was play flirting with Swiss from across the stage when Aeon was meant to be on her platform.
Aeon hissed when he accidentally got soap in his eye, a frown etched on his face as he felt his heart aching with doubt in himself.
Did his packmates think he was annoying? Did Papa think he was annoying?
Maybe they’re just tired… Yeah, that had to be it. He didn’t remember doing anything wrong, much less annoying.
Aeon quickly finished up with his shower and changed into some clothes he had stolen from Swiss, grinning when he saw the slight bagginess of his pack mate’s clothes on him.
With a pep in his step due to his shower and how he now felt clean, Aeon happily left the dressing room and went to the parking lot where the buses were.
Though, as soon as he got outside he froze in his tracks.
The buses were gone.
A distressed sound left Aeon and be spun around in a circle as if the building behind him would’ve somehow turned into the tour buses. Aeon chuffed worriedly when he just saw the door he had come out of and went back inside, some of his glamor starting to slip as his thoughts spiraled.
They left him. They got on the busses and left him alone. He was stuck—trapped.
Abandoned.
A distressed whine left Aeon and he picked up the pace of his footsteps, desperate to find his pack or his Papa. Aeon felt like his throat was closing up, his ears pinned and twitching at every single noise he heard as his hands started to shake.
Much to his dismay, instead of someone he knew, Aeon ran into a member of the venue staff and he had hurt himself by quickly throwing up his glamor.
Aeon’s head pulsed with an intense ache as his eyes darted around, his glamoured nails clicking as he picked at them.
“Hey, are you alright?” The woman asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she placed her hand on Aeon’s shoulder. Aeon wanted to say yes, try to reassure her that he was fine when he so clearly wasn’t. But when his throat closed up even tighter, tears welled in his eyes and his shaking became a lot more obvious.
“Woah, it’s okay, breathe. Why aren’t you with everyone else out back? They’re leaving for the hotel in about five minutes,” The woman said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get Aeon to calm down.
A tear fell from Aeon’s lash line when she told him that. He nodded and turned on his heel, rushing away from her as he went to the back of the venue.
Nobody had told him that there was a rest day after that nights ritual. Nobody had told him that they would be going to a hotel that night instead of getting back on the buses.
Aeon rushed outside, signing in relief when he saw Papa and the rest of his pack standing outside of a van. He wiped his eyes and face of tears, trying to cover up the panic in his scent that he knew was there.
“Ah, there you are,” Copia sighed when Aeon silently walked up next to Rain, huddled in on himself. “We’ve been waiting for you. Where have you been?” Copia asked, his eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t-“ Aeon went to respond, only for Copia to throw his hands up in the air and mumble annoyed Italian to himself as he went to make sure all their bags were ready to go to the hotel.
Another distressed sound left Aeon as he felt a pit form in his stomach. He looked down and pulled the hood of Swiss’ hoodie up over his head, hiding his face from his pack who weren’t paying attention anyway.
Aeon’s shoulders shook as he messed with the end of his sleeves, his body trembling with anxiety as his thoughts continued to spiral.
Look what you did, you made Papa mad. You held everyone up and now they’re all mad at you. You’re cutting off their resting time like a total idiot. How dumb do you have to be to not remember a schedule?
Aeon clambered into the van first as soon as the doors opened, wanting the front row seat closest to the window on the drivers side so nobody would see his tears.
He heard a low growl from Dew, as that was usually the fire ghoul’s spot, the annoyed sound only adding fuel to the dumpster fire that was Aeon’s brain.
He buckled and curled into himself, burying his face in his knees as his thoughts just went further and further down the spiral of self doubt and insecurity.
The next twenty minutes went by in a blur. One moment Aeon was curled up into himself on an uncomfortable seat—the next, Aeon was curled up on an uncomfortable hotel couch as he stared at the wall, tears slowly trailing down his face.
Aeon had fully unglamoured, his tail wrapped tightly around his ankle as his claws dragged along the discolored part of his face around his right eye. Waves and waves of distress rolled off of him as he whimpered every now and then.
They all hate you. You’re just a replacement for someone they all loved. A penny in the crater sized hole in their hearts where the prior quintessence ghoul was.
The better quintessence ghoul.
Aeon sobbed, closing his eyes and burying his face into the hoodie he had stolen from his favorite multi-ghoul.
He wasn’t Swiss’ favorite, though.
Aeon whined and immediately tore off Swiss’ hoodie and sweatpants, chucking the clothes across the hotel room, leaving him in his boxers.
Aeon snuffled and laid back down, curling up into himself even tighter as to fight off the chill of the unreasonably cold hotel room.
He wanted Swiss. Dewdrop, even.
He wanted to be warm. He wanted to be loved. Appreciated by the creatures he had around him everyday. Aeon loved the crowd’s praise, but he wanted his pack now. Even just one of them would suffice.
He wanted to know that they saw how hard he was trying. He wanted to know that they appreciated him for stepping into shoes that were far too big and running the miles anyway.
He just wanted to be seen.
“Stardust..?”
Aeon picked up his head and looked over at the door to his hotel room, his ear twitching as he heard Swiss’ voice.
“Hey… Aeon, you awake? C’mon, your scent changed, I know you hear me..” Swiss said, knocking on the door again.
Aeon looked over at the digital clock that was across the room, taking a moment to remember everything Mountain taught him about reading a clock.
It had been two hours since they got to the hotel.
“Bug? Can you come to the door?” Swiss spoke again, regaining Aeon’s attention.
Aeon scrambled up, not wanting to annoy Swiss even more than he thought he had. Aeon snatched the duvet on his bed and struggled to get it off the mattress due to the unnecessarily tight tucking of the bedding.
As soon as Aeon managed to get the duvet off the bed, he fell to the floor with a yelp due to how suddenly the tension released. The little quint scrambled back up to his feet and wrapped the duvet around his mostly bare body, ignoring the pain in his hip from the fall.
Aeon opened the door and peaked through, his lilac eyes staring up into Swiss’. The multi-ghoul quickly moved closer when he saw Aeon wasn’t glamoured.
And to Aeon’s dismay, that allowed Swiss to see the tear streaks on his face.
“Stardust, what’s wrong?” Swiss frowned, gently cupping Aeon’s cheek with his big hand. Aeon snuffled, choking back a sob as he leaned into Swiss’ hand.
Swiss frowned and crowded Aeon back into his room, closing the hotel door and locking it before he brought Aeon over to his bed and sat him down, pulling the duvet around tighter around the smaller ghoul’s body when he felt how cold it was in the room.
“Talk to me, Tommy, what’s wrong?” Swiss spoke softly, his eyebrows creased with worry as he brushed his thumb over the little quint’s cheekbone. Aeon’s bloodshot eyes hesitantly looked into Swiss’ as he sniffled again, wiping the snot away from his face with his wrist.
It was gross, but Swiss was far too concerned about Aeon’s tears to even notice his actions.
“I… I feel like you don’t like me. Like-“ Aeon sobbed softly and covered his face. “Like you’ve all been lying to me and that you don’t want me here…”
Swiss’ heart shattered.
“Oh, bug…” Swiss whispered as he swept Aeon up into his arms. It was all he could say at the moment, his own devastation rushing through him.
Swiss didn’t know what he or the pack had done to make Aeon feel this way, but he would kick himself for eternity because of it.
“You will always, always be wanted, Stardust. I know that if the others were here, they’d be all over you telling you the exact same thing.” Swiss whispered, holding Aeon close to his chest as the smaller ghoul sobbed out all his sudden and overwhelming emotions.
Swiss let Aeon cry, not once shushing him or trying to get him to stop crying. He didn’t want Aeon to feel like he was being a burden, so Swiss let him cry until he felt better.
“Swiss…?” Aeon whispered after about 10 or so minutes, seemingly shy. Swiss hummed and looked down at Aeon, staring into his lilac eyes with as much love and affection that he could muster. “I… can you get my clothes..? I threw them over there…” Aeon mumbled, pointing across the room.
“Of course, babybat, one second,” Swiss said immediately, gently setting Aeon back on the mattress and pressing a kiss to his forehead before rushing over to where Aeon had pointed.
Swiss picked up the dark gray hoodie and sweatpants, his eyebrows furrowing when he recognized the feel of the fabric.
“Are these mine?” Swiss asked, wondering if they were his favorite set that he had lost. Aeon shrunk into himself and nodded as Swiss walked over. “I took them a few months ago.. I’m sorry..” Aeon apologized, looking sad.
“Don’t be sorry,” Swiss smiled, shaking his head as he gently guided Aeon to unwrap himself of the duvet. Swiss mumbled a quiet: “watch your horns…” as he slipped the hoodie over Aeon’s head, smiling when he saw just how adorable the smaller ghoul looked in his clothes.
“The gray matches your skin better anyway,” Swiss shrugged with a grin, ruffling Aeon’s shaggy black hair and helping him into the sweatpants. Aeon chirruped softly and leaned into Swiss’ touch, a quiet little purr starting up in his chest as Swiss swept him off his feet.
Aeon laughed happily, a grin on his face as Swiss laid him down, his head resting on the pillows. Swiss re-situated the bedding and laid down next to Aeon after flicking off all the lights, nuzzling Aeon’s nose as they settled into the bed together.
“Feeling better…?” Swiss asked softly, brushing his thumb over Aeon’s cheekbone, his eyes taking in Aeon’s appearance in the darkness. Aeon thought for a moment before nodding slightly, only to shake his head.
Swiss frowned, cupping Aeon’s jaw with his big hand.
“Talk to me?”
Aeon sighed a bit before starting to explain.
“You made me feel better than I did.. but I.. I guess I’m still thinking about the others. You can only promise so much, y’know?” Aeon mumbled, sounding sad. Swiss’ frown deepened but Aeon was right.
From the quint’s point of view, Swiss’ words about the others were just as good as the lies his brain was feeding him.
“Do you want me to talk to them? Have them talk to you?” Swiss asked, wanting Aeon to feel at home in the pack. “Can I… um.. can I try to talk to them first?” Aeon asked, sounding nervous.
Swiss’ heart swelled and he nodded immediately.
“Of course you can, Stardust. I’ll let you go about this however you please….” Swiss whispered, kissing Aeon’s forehead between his horns.
Aeon purred and leaned into the kiss, cuddling up closer to Swiss.
“Thank you, Swiss.”
“Anytime, Stardust.”
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m1d-45 · 1 year
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You know, I've been thinking. The stars in our world often look quite dim, especially in areas where there is light pollution. Suddenly, I'm imagining that in the Imposter!AU, the Creator looks at the stars at night, captivated by their brilliance. Perhaps Scaramouche or Mona (Whichever you prefer, you may also just write another character you think fits this scenario :D) find them. The Creator looks at them, then back at the stars.
"They're very lovely, you know? The stars never shine this brightly back home. It's a lovely sight..."
They smile. "I'm happy that I'm able to see them, even if it's in another world. I appreciate you letting me look at them before I die."
Perhaps the character takes pause... And sits next to them.
It's a lovely night.
in the stars
word count: ~1k
-> warnings: violence, blood, both of those in your future so technically you’re not hurt yet, not written for mona mains, sorry, didn’t work with the plot :/ also diona/klee/qiqi/nahida/sayu mains are on thin ice with this one. questionable plot. barely edited.
-> lowercase intended
taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie
< masterlist >
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the stars never lie.
mona clutches her catalyst to her chest, wide eyes turned to the sky. she whispers to them, hoping they’ll change, shift into something she’ll understand, anything.
they don’t.
her head lowers, inspecting the book. thrilling tales, the spine reads, the cover a simplified dragon with a sword through it. she tries to read into it, to try and pick apart the motives behind the weapon, but all it returns is a simple needlepoint.
a compass. one she’d followed ever since she caved into the pull on her catalyst, one she’d followed out of the city at dusk and into the plains, hiking up starsnatch cliff at its behest. her twin tails had lost some of their curl on the journey, her hat flopping sadly. it was late, later than she’d normally be awake, and she stumbled once on a rock before quickly catching herself, checking to make sure you hadn’t moved.
you, sat at the peak of the cliff. you, surrounded by cecelias, face turned to the stars. you, who turned at her short cry.
“are you alright?”
she couldn’t bring her hands to shift her catalyst into its attack position. her hands, free from their usual gloves, dug into the cover of the book, shaking both with the chill of night and with… she couldn’t tell, couldn’t pin whether it was fear or nervousness, or something else that blurred the line between panic and excitement.
“just fine, thank you.”
her voice was harsher than it should have been. she could tell you were being genuine, the way the water in the air shaped around you like it wanted to cling made that clear enough, the stars shining down on you as if you were the only being on the planet.
the stars never lie. so why were they saying you meant no harm?
you turned back to the stars, your hands shifting back to weave into the grass between the cecelias.
"they’re very lovely tonight. the stars, i mean. they never shine this brightly back home….” against her better judgement, mona glanced up. the sky was particularly clear, constellations shining down unhindered. “it’s a beautiful sight.”
orders from the knights echoed in mona’s head, orders extended from a god she’d never met. she knew the knights wholeheartedly meant what they said, truly believing the words they were told, but you…
hesitantly, she brought her hand in a circle in front of her, scrying for your constellation. you didn’t have one, unsurprisingly, and she relaxed slightly in the knowledge that you didn’t have a vision.. still, there was something strange about the empty space where yours would have been. swapping the sigils and rotating the outer edge, mona decided to read your future.
all the air was sucked from her lungs, the images depicted in the water making her mouth dry. the water warped and bubbled a dark color, as if it itself hated to show what it did.
you were on your knees, tight steel chains wrapped around you and latched onto hooks in whatever you were sitting on. in front of you stood the favored, the creator’s most prized, their weapon drawn. their form was taught with anger, nearly seething. it was strange, so uncharacteristic that it froze the astrologist in place for a moment.
no matter how fiery the disposition, vessels of yours were calmer after being wished upon, heart stiller for being by your side. they, the most prominent on your team of them all, should be at most handling such a severe situation with a tick in their jaw and quiet fury in their eyes, not…
she watched with sick horror as the favored attacks once, your chest caving once, twice with hitched attempts at breathing before you slumped over, blood trickling from your neck. the favored stepped back, weapon dismissed, and mona closed the illusion before it played any further. she hadn’t meant to look all the way to your death, only a few-
…only a few hours.
her hands shake where they’re still clasped in front of her, the remains of her scrying circle swirling in her palms. you didn’t even have a day.
she let the water fall, sending it towards the cecelias around you, willing them to stand brighter as she approached. she couldn’t bring herself to summon her catalyst, not now that she knew what your fate held.
the grass was damp beneath her, seeping slightly into her nightclothes. you didn’t say anything, simply passing her a flower that you had been twirling in your palms. she willed it to heal, restored the color to its petals and the strength to its stem, then passed it back. she had no use for it, not when you…
you chuckled as you took it, staring down at it for a moment before turning skyward once more. mona followed your eyes up, spotting a well known constellation directly above you. nearly perfectly straight up, glowing like a beacon, was the constellation of the favored, six stars making themselves prominent against the dotted sea of night.
“beautiful, isn’t it?”
she swallowed, eyes flicking down to you. you were still watching the stars, probably tracing the shape of the constellation above you. unknowing of what it spelled for your fate, unknowing of the warning written above you.
mona settled into the grass a little more, taking her hat off her head so it wouldn’t fall when she looked up again.
“indeed, it is.”
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riality-check · 2 years
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The first time Eddie needs an ambulance, he’s just trying to make his brain quiet.
It’s so loud, all the time, and between his memories and vivid nightmares of the Upside Down, he misses silence more than anything. Music isn’t enough to drown it out, no matter how much he cranks up his stereo or his amp. People work fine. As long as he’s talking to or listening to someone, it’s fine. The whole party has been a big help. Dustin, Wayne, and especially Steve help the most.
But they’re not always there. They grow up, move away, and have their own lives. And even though Steve is his boyfriend, and they live together, it’s unrealistic to always expect him to be there, too.
He’s got his own shit going on. He doesn’t need Eddie’s on top of that. Eddie ignores the fact that he will always help Steve.
So, because music doesn’t work and people aren’t there, alcohol is a wonderful thing.
Eddie usually tracks his drinks. He does. But it’s the anniversary of the whole shitshow, and the nightmares are worse and he had a fucking flashback this morning because of the lights. He hasn’t had those for months.
He just needs some goddamn quiet.
He remembers throwing up on the kitchen floor, too sick to make it to the bathroom.
And then he wakes up in a hospital bed, feeling like death reheated.
(He knows, intimately, what that feels like.)
Steve is crying beside him, and Eddie just thinks back to his ten year old self, the little stringbean kid who had to make the call and tried to clean up the vomit before the EMTs got there, and he swears to himself, Never again.
The second time Eddie needs an ambulance, he just got carried away.
It’s too easy, with the clubs he plays in. It’s too easy to lose track of the drinks audience members offer him. It’s even easier to do a line because what the hell, it’s just one.
It’s easy because he and Steve have been fighting. A lot. Steve started drinking more than usual, and Eddie’s been trying to get him to stop. Steve says he’s hypocritical, that Eddie didn’t take rehab seriously because he still keeps beer in the house.
He didn’t think he needed to quit completely; he just needed to get it under control.
He’s aware of the fact that he’s been out of control all night. He’s crossed to hell and back, but he takes another shot.
Steve stayed home because he was sick. Eddie stumbles inside and can’t even close the front door before he’s on the ground.
He hates that he knows what charcoal tastes like now.
The third time Eddie needs an ambulance, he’s scared shitless.
Steve keeps talking about family. About having kids. Eddie looks at the chip on the kitchen counter and can’t help but think, How old would the kid be before I had to explain that to them?
Every answer he comes up with is too young.
Eddie is scared shitless because he knows, he knows that he’ll be just like his parents. He knows that he’ll end up a deadbeat, a drag on both Steve and that kid, and he won’t do that to them.
He thinks about being six years old and being left alone for days at a time. After the first time, he always made sure the cereal was in a spot where he could reach it.
He thinks about being eight years old and cooking for his parents, not the other way around. He had to use a step stool to reach the stove.
He thinks about being ten years old and calling the ambulance because his mama was on the ground again, and this time his pa was out, too.
Eddie will not do that to this kid, and he won’t do it to Steve.
He thinks about an article he read a few months ago. Some new study came out, saying that addiction is genetic.
Figures that’s the part of them I carry with me, he thinks right before his mind slips into nothing.
He wakes up in the hospital again. He’s starting to wish he wouldn’t wake up at all.
The fourth time Eddie needs an ambulance is the first time he’s alone.
After the third time, Steve and him fought like hell. They almost lost each other, and that’s when Eddie realizes he would rather die than have that happen.
He took rehab seriously, and Steve joined AA, too, despite not being as bad. Eddie doesn’t play in clubs anymore. There’s no alcohol in the house, hasn’t been for years. He cut off all contact with his old dealers.
He misses it.
He doesn’t miss the high, not really. Not when he can have something better by being with his family. Not when he gets the same rush from listening to his favorite albums or turning his amp up to max. Not when he’s with Steve because everything is better when he’s with Steve.
Eddie misses the low because he’s still hurting. Bad days still happen and they’re a bitch to deal with. He still can’t sleep right, after all these years, and he still doesn’t always believe that he deserves a life this good.
He’s hurting, and nobody notices because he looks fine. He’s healthy.
He’s healthy, and that’s the problem, because Eddie misses being sick.
So he crashes, and he crashes hard, and he doesn’t know what he’s thinking when he finally goes out.
He wakes up in the hospital alone.
Alone.
No sign of Steve.
And that’s when Eddie realizes he fucked up the last good thing in his life.
His voice is shredded, but he asks the nurse where he is. She says she’ll call and find out.
Maybe he went to get food. Maybe he went home to sleep. Maybe-
She comes back in and tells him that Steve says he’s glad Eddie is okay, but that he’s not coming back.
Eddie doesn’t bother going back to their apartment before he goes to rehab.
He takes it seriously again. He knows the goddamn script by heart, knows what to do and what not to do, what to say to get out.
It’s the fastest he’s ever gone through the program.
He goes back to their apartment. It looks like Steve never lived there in the first place.
Eddie cleans it up. Calls a few people. Calls Dustin, who lets him know that Steve is alive but doesn’t say anything else.
It’s quiet. Eddie just barely keeps himself from going to the liquor store.
Instead, he gets a fish.
It’s a stupid looking fish. A goldfish that isn’t supposed to last long, maybe a few months. He names it Bagagoth and buys it a tank and makes sure to feed it regularly. If he takes care of himself, he doesn’t kill the fish.
Bagagoth lasts two years before he dies of natural causes. It’s sad, but Eddie doesn’t take it personally. By that time, he’s got a hognose snake named Lancelot and a cat named Ozzie depending on him, too.
If he dies of an overdose, they’ll eat his face. Eddie wants an open casket funeral.
He doesn’t play in bars anymore. He puts down the electric guitar and all its dim-lit, drug addled memories.
He picks up the acoustic and starts playing the music he grew up with. Stuff he heard on the radio as a kid, songs he learned for Wayne when he was first starting out.
Eddie told himself that he wouldn’t play any more hick shit once he learned electric. Hick shit brings him a comfort like no other.
He expands it to some pop, some softer rock. He starts writing his own stuff, much tamer stuff. He stays solo. He plays in cafes in the middle of the afternoon.
It’s boring as shit. It’s better than the headache of a hangover or the bill that comes after a hospital stay.
He actually goes to meetings. He makes new friends and hangs out in parks and at people’s apartments and at comic book shops. He joins a new D&D group as a player, not as a Dungeon Master. His character is a chaotic half-elf bard running from his past.
He makes enough to actually afford a therapist. She’s nice, about his age. She’s got experience with addicts and children of neglect. It takes Eddie a year’s worth of sessions to realize that he is not his parents, and a few more for him to realize that he still deserves good things even after all his fuck ups.
Eddie calls Wayne every Friday night, when two years ago he’d be at a bar. He keeps in touch with the kids and the rest of the party. Dustin tells him Steve got accepted into some master’s program in Chicago, and Eddie tries not to let that hurt so much.
He’s become a regular at a coffee shop a few blocks away. They’ve got an open mic, and while it’s not a paying gig, it gives him the opportunity to play new stuff instead of the acoustic Journey covers a lot of other places want from him.
The best thing about recovering from addiction is that it gave him a lot of new song material.
He sings about darkness, and fear, and pushes and pulls. But he always follows it with light and love and the hope of being battered but not broken.
That’s what he is. He’s got scars that never quite faded, but that chip is still on his counter, and there’s still breath in his fucked up lungs.
He’s almost at the end of his set when he spots Steve in the crowd.
Steve, dressed in a cozy looking blue sweater. Steve, with round frame glasses. Steve, with the tiniest streak of gray in his hair. Steve, whose eyes are alert and shining. Steve, who looks as handsome as ever.
Steve, who’s staring right back at him.
He stammers out an intro to his last song before he just plays, letting the music take over. He sings the first song he wrote after that last rehab stint, when he came home to an empty apartment and instead of cleaning up right away, grabbed his notebook.
It’s the only one he’s ever written that never changed from the first draft.
Steve comes up to him, after, and tells him he doesn’t hate him. Eddie says he doesn’t hate himself anymore. It’s mostly true.
They got their asses in gear. It sticks, this time.
Eddie moves into the apartment Steve has. He takes Lancelot and Ozzie, who are both confused and pleased about their new surroundings. He decorates it with posters and enough plants to constitute a garden because while a lot of things have changed, Steve’s lack of design skills haven’t.
They have a kid. The moment Eddie has her in his arms, he realizes that she will alway be his top priority. Always.
And he knows Steve thinks the same way.
They don’t drink; they dance in the kitchen. They still fight; they have a rule about not going to bed angry.
They love each other, and it sticks this time because they’re not young and self-destructive and plain fucking stupid anymore.
They’ve got years and pain behind them, and they’ve got a lot more years and a lot more love ahead.
(Click here to read Steve’s POV by my wonderful enabler, @hexmionegranger )
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ao3screenshotss · 2 months
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i gave up on buying the official tgcf books and i’m just reading a fan translation online so i don’t know if it’s just that but why is the novel SO HILARIOUS just the delivery of some lines makes me wheeze
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crybaby-bkg · 9 months
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“Are you ever angry?” You ask quietly, head resting in Bakugou’s lap. His thumb pauses where it strokes your cheeks, the far away gaze in his eyes suddenly snapping into focus as he looks down at you. He looks…different than you remembered, before you both were cast out of the pearly gates.
His hair doesn’t shine as bright as it used to, and it falls a little flatter without the halo pulling it up, soft. His eyes still hold that hardened gaze as a battle angel, but they’re deeper now. More sunken in and hollow, the flickering ichor now a stained crimson. His face is scarred and his hands are rough after the fall but he’s just—different.
“About what?” He asks, his lips pursed in confusion. You reach a hand up, stroking over his bottom lip, smooth a hand through his hair. You can almost feel the throbbing light radiating from him, can almost see how broad and ivory his wings would spread and hold you tight to him.
“It all. Everything. The fall.” You whisper, try not to shrink into yourself with the way Bakugou’s lip curls back in disgust. He pulls away from you and you sit up, resting on your knees, looking at him in such a way that his heart pangs in his chest.
His heart, something he’s never had a reason for when he still had his fists bathed in heavenly fire and no ounce of rebellion hidden under sinless skin. It aches in his chest at the mention of life after being kicked out with the only thing he could hold onto—you.
“Why would I miss my thoughtlessness? My inability to make a decision for myself? Why would I miss being a pawn?” Bakugou is all snarls, all snapping teeth and jowls, but it doesn’t scare you. He’s never scared you, even when his gait was limp from the impact of hard soil, and his hands grew rough, and his back grew jagged from ripped feathers.
“I miss it.” You whisper so carefully into the humid night, hands reaching for his own trembling ones. “I want to be holy again, Katsuki.”
He hisses at you, snatching away like you’ve burned him, like you’ve seized his halo and ripped it into two until it split into horns. Looks at you with such heavenly fire burning in his gaze that you want to shrink beneath him.
“Well—well I don’t. Find someone else who will, cause it sure as hell ain’t me.” You wonder who he’s trying to convince here, with his shaky voice and fluttering eyes and trembling mouth. You stare at him for a long while, lips wobbling at the gravity of it all. Your head hangs low, gathering yourself in your arms, head bowed to him—it’s the only thing you’ve ever known.
“Just hold me for now.” You murmur, eyes low as you settle yourself in his arms, forcing your way into his hold. “Please?” You tack on, unafraid of his bite, his snarl, his growl. Bakugou sits there stiffly for what feels like a century, but you’re used to waiting.
He gathers you in his arms slowly, pulling you into his chest, his body covering yours completely. And if you let yourself relax enough, you can almost feel the warmth of his wings surrounding you again.
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shywhumpauthor · 4 months
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stealingyourbones · 2 years
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Superboy meets Danny
Ok. Let me explain my points here. First of all, Things these boys got in common:
Was cloned by a crazy billionaire (Match & Dani)
Has a father who doesn’t understand or is actively trying to stop/kill them
Trying their best to not be related to said crazy billionaire who cloned them
The crazy billionaire is also a villain
Rebellious teen
Has a trio friend group that (is partially) comprised of a tech geek and rich friend.
That’s all I can think of just at the moment! There’s so much more. These bitches would be a force to be reckoned with if they ever met.
Danny goes to Metropolis on a school trip. You know how some American schools will have a weekend trip to DC? Every year the Juniors in the school have the opportunity to go to Metropolis.
Danny’s parents happily give Danny the money and permission to go.
With the only drawback that you have to write a paper on the history of how superheroes changed america, Danny was ecstatic to go.
Danny, Dash, Sam, and Tucker are all put in a team to explore Metropolis and collect information for their paper. Their first stop: An impressive viewing deck on the top of a 30 story building that has a good view on the city's skyline that was streamlined so Superman could have easy access to rooftops and all building entrances.
The four are on the viewing deck and taking photos of the view and informational plaques when Intergang attacks the building they’re in with Apoklyptian tech.
One of their gizmos is like a flamethrower on steroids that’s able to shoot a stream of fire dozens of stories high. Within minutes the first 10 stories are completely engulfed in flame. Danny, not wanting to expose his secret identity to Dash, tells everyone to shout for Superman because he supposedly helped people in distress who shouted his name.
Superboy shows up a minute later. Not who they expected but they weren’t picky with who was saving them with over half the building engulfed in flame and no escape in sight.
Danny is super casually talking to Superboy and flirting back and forth as they’re flown down to the street. Dash is confused because Danny Fenton, the kid who he beats the shit out of on the daily and has no bitches, is chatting up Superboy like they’ve known each other for years, and Dash knows damn well that they’ve never met before. Danny can’t make friends with a superhero before him so Dash tries to do his cool guy act on Superboy.
Dash probably shouldn’t have tried to insult someone who was a superpowered teen and flying him hundreds of feet above solid ground because Superboy did NOT like that. He shot down Dash with insults so scathing that Dash is pretty sure the rest of his entire bloodline won’t be able to recover.
After that Dash knew to simply shut up as Superboy brought the rest of the crew to the ground. Just before he was about to leave, Superboy slipped Danny a piece of paper, winked, and mimed “call me” before flying off.
…Did Danny just score a date with THE Superboy?!
Well, not a date per se, but Danny DID get Superboy’s number. They met up as much as they could over the weekend that Danny was in Metropolis and quickly became fast friends.
These two are an incredibly tight duo who are some of the most mischievous motherfuckers ever when left to their own devices.
One of those times is when they convinced Tucker to hack into the Batcomputer. Superboy told him what he knew and Tucker went to work.
Twenty or so minutes later, Barbara and Tim are freaking the fuck out because they were both on monitor duty and someone hacked into the batcomputer. After panicking and tracing back the hack, they take over the hackers computer camera and see Superboy and another black haired teen triumphantly cheering while the boy who apparently infiltrated the batcaves computers, was holding his head in his hands mockingly at the two superpowered kids' actions.
Tim and Babs realize that this wasn’t a malicious attack and instead just a couple of insanely competent idiots having fun. If these guys can have fun why can’t they?
Babs infiltrates the computer that has shockingly insanely well crafted cyber security. She changes the lockscreen and every tab open to an image of Red Robin getting fucking beaned in the skull with a jug of juice. Tucker responds 15 minutes later on the batcomputer with a low angle photo of himself and Superboy flipping off the camera. At the far top of the image is Danny crawling upside down on the ceiling, feet and fingers embedded into the bumpy surface. His eyes glowing a bright green and looking like an eldritch abomination.
This starts one of the strangest friendships that Tucker has ever had. Actively hacking into eachothers computers to send back and forth increasingly elaborate shitposts and enhancing their firewalls with each breach of security. Danny actively repairs ghost nations, ghost politics, ghost relations, and completes a BUNCH of ghost king related activities he normally would have hated for the sole purpose of getting specific ghosts together to create the new shitpost of the week that they would send to Oracle and Red Robin.
Batman finds out only because Superboy let it slip. “Got through to your stupid batcomputer three times this week! You’re slacking Gordon.”
In all honesty, Batman thinks it’s fucking halarious. His kids managed to find the nerdiest possible way to make friends and they’re making massive improvements on the Batcomputer and Watchtower’s security. If these kids ever DO become a threat… Batman knows exactly where they lived and has an armed satellite at the ready.
Now that Batman knows, Superboy gets Red Robin and Impulse together to meet the Phantom trio. I need you guys to picture this: It’s a cozy family owned diner. Warm oranges, reds, and tans cover the inside of the building. A very sweet looking mid 40s lady with her hair in a bun and an apron around her waist, walks over to a corner booth and asks the customers what they would want to eat.
At this table: Danny, Sam, and Tucker all are wearing their casual everyday clothes sit at one side of the table while talking animatedly to the trio on the other side of the table: Red Robin, Impulse, and Superboy, all in their full superhero uniforms, are talking just as excitedly right back at the Phantom Gang on what to order.
So Sam. Sam would be amazing with Tim. Imagine the amount of eco-friendly ideas she could propose to Tim to better the public's view of WayneTech. With Sam’s help, Tim launches a campaign to fix infrastructure and do a HUGE plant based rehabilitation plan to help reduce smog and add greenery to Gotham. Tim hires Poison Ivy to help with the enhanced growth of trees and gardens around Gotham and it goes extremely well. Poison Ivy commits bioterrorism for the betterment of the environment after all, they remove the terrorism bit and just keep the bio, she isn’t that bad. It’s amazing because that means there’s one less villain on their asses all the times tearing up Gotham.
Sam also absolutely gives everyone makeup lessons and fashion tips to embrace their own personal aesthetic better.
Tucker is super good friends with Tim and Impulse. He somehow can keep up with Impulses talking and the pair will spend hours excitedly infodumping each other. Tucker chatting with Tim about tech and some improvements that they could send to the engineering division of WayneTech. The amount of chaotic bullshittery Tucker will do with the two is unparalleled.
Danny is extremely good friends with Impulse and Superboy. Superboy and him bond over their experiences and powers. They go on bi weekly night flights to brainstorm pranks and insults to throw at their respective villains. Danny is able to also keep up with Impulse's excited speech and they give each other tips on how to control powers granted to them by all powerful other dimensions.
idk this ends my rambling but I just… Danny would be such good friends with Superboy. If you want to go romantic, they would be an incredible couple. The flirting and nonstop jabs could absolutely be simply bros being bros but I genuinely think these two could have a very solid romantic connection with each other if you want to go in that direction. Their backgrounds are so very similar, their personalities would mesh together extremely well, they’re vigilantes so no worries about endangering a weak civilian, and you cannot tell me that Danny wouldn’t steal Connor’s jackets even if he wasn’t in a relationship with him.
In the far future I truly believe they would stay friends. When Danny reveals to Impulse and Robin that he’s actually a ghost and the photos they were sending to the batcave were honest to god images of another dimension, it certainly causes momentary panic and chaos but it quickly settles into acceptance. How on earth Robin or Impulse would react to the Ghost Zone I am completely unsure. If someone else wants to add onto this with that concept you can surely go for it. All I do know is that their awe and wonder of this brilliantly strange and odd dimension that their friend (who’s apparently the ruler of?! What?!?!) lives in. They all use the GZ as a sort of hideaway when things get complicated and too much in the mortal plane. They all have little rooms in Danny’s lair that they are free to crash in at any time.
This offer may spread to everyone else too. Connor invites Danny and the rest of Young Just Us over to the Kent’s farm to enjoy some incredible homemade meals and to take their mind off things to focus on chores around the farm. Tim invites the group over to Wayne Manor for their assistance on difficult cases (if the research session turns into a Mario Kart tournament or movie marathon, that’s between them and Alfred)
I am very much so unsure how to end this so I’ll just say this: Danny’s life changed for the better and no matter what he does, he can never escape “are you an angel?” jokes.
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