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#I don’t really remember anything about it and was never into the fandom anyway
cha1cedony · 1 month
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Idk what it is that makes me fixate so hard on one specific thing for years at a time, but I need it to chill out 😭 DnDads has been my only long-term media interest for like 1 and 1/2 years now, and it’s BORING to only like one thing ever lol I’m BORED!!! I need other things to be interested in, but I struggle with getting into new stuff (other than video games) sooo bad :(
That said, if you have DnD podcast recs that have interesting characters……… GIMME 👀 Also where the early episodes aren’t a nightmare to listen to 🙏 I have never listened to any other DnD podcasts, and I think it’s mostly bc the earlier seasons are always poor audio quality or like 3 hours long 😭 I’m also good with any type of narrative podcast. I just want compelling characters and platonic/familial dynamics pls. Stuff I can write sad shit about!! But also not TOO sad the whole time… maybe a little bit silly idk
So far, ones I’ve written down to listen to are Cast Party and Friends at the Table? I don’t know anything about either of them, though so? Also I keep seeing my mutuals posting Oxventure and Woe.Begone (although the latter isn’t a DnD podcast.. I think?) sooooo let me know your thoughts. And recommendations! Send me your propaganda! Tell me about your blorbos
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mrburnsnuclearpussy · 6 months
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#all you have to create is something about skinny white men in love and everyone will care about you and them#anything else is just nothing to you ppl lol#what’s the point of trying to be an artist I swear I just wanna give up coz I can’t create enough finished art in general#WHY CANT I DRAW LIKE I DID WHEN I WAS A KID. it felt so easy and now I’m scared to do it for no reason ugh!!#i wish I was interested in the same things as everyone else coz at least then the quality wouldn’t matter and people would care anyway#sorry I know this comes across as really childish and mean and yeh it is I’m just venting#coz sometimes I look at certain popular profiles and stuff and it makes me ache coz I’ll never be a part of the big club where you can feel#love and I’ll never be able to coz I’m just a robot thing with no humanity!!!#even the LITERAL ROBOT is still reduced in the fandom to being shipped like just fuck off all of you#one of my bigger recent passion Roberts is a story and even when I have some motivation and energy I just remember that literally not a sing#single person on earth has any reason to care about it and why should they! so I just feel like crawling into a hole and sulking like a piss#pissbaby which is what I’m doing lol#just because it’s not about young skinny men and the ‘purity/beauty/divinity/superiority of romantic love </3’ and#and YUMMY SQUISHY ORGANIC RED PASSIONATE things because illl never be a part of all of that anyway#I’m not amazing I don’t have the inherent drama and meaningfulness of romantic love in me as a potential so I’m basically nothing#my life means nothing because i can’t feel the one thing that matters#-(one thing that matters according to the world and like all communities and societies and any place to feel like you’re a part of somethin#)#and if your broken (empty of romantic love) like me you’re told to go play by yourself in the corner and not complain that#everyone else gets to be in the group#‘just do your own thing it doesn’t matter what society thinks’ is well meaning and <3 but for me I just hear ‘don’t be a part of us’#what if I want to be a part of something? what if I want society to know and understand me?
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katnissgirlsmakedo · 7 months
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you know i don’t want to be insane and start like. caring about “shipping” characters in the middle grade book series but like frankly if call and tamara don’t kiss by the end of this series i don’t even know what it was all for. to be honest.
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oreosmama · 7 months
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Voicemails After the Breakup (Haikyuu!! Headcanons)
*GIFs not mine*
A/N: I pity the fools who ignore this a/n bc WARNING, these are hcs without those stupid bullet points bc I have suddenly emotionally decided that they fucking suck. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy the light angst, for all those survivors who are still vibing in this fandom. Enjoy!
Word count: 1968
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Tooru Oikawa:
“I’m totally and completely over you.”
That’s how the message starts. 
Part of you wonders if you missed something, or accidentally skipped ahead. It’s so immediate, like Oikawa could barely wait for the beep before tearing into you. Like he needed to spit poison the second he had the chance. 
And it’s one of those biting remarks that he wants to let fester—for a while, evidently; he doesn’t say anything else for another five minutes. 
All that follows is a loud thud, like he’s thrown the phone away from him. And then footsteps, like he’s pacing, pacing, pacing back and forth, trying to think of more scathing words by burning holes into his carpet. 
You hit a point where you think you should delete the message, maybe try and not care about whatever else he may or may not say after waiting for so long. You nibble on your nails and tug at the snarls in your hair. You pick four pieces of lint off your sweatshirt and seventeen more off the blanket draped over your lap, and you know how many there are because you line them up and count them afterwards as you wait, anxious, listening to your ex-boyfriend’s panting. 
But a small rustle stirs at that five-minute mark, right against your ear. And a sniffle. 
“Fine.” Oikawa’s voice cracks. “You win.” 
You suck in a breath. 
“What do you wanna hear? That I miss you?” He sniffles again, then scoffs bitterly. “That I miss you so fucking much I can’t sleep at night? That my bed is so fucking cold now I can’t even stomach sleeping in it? That every girl I see I automatically compare to you because I have to—I just fucking have to, all because she’s not you. And it makes me sick.”
His chuckle is sour and crackles harshly into your eardrum. “Am I stroking your ego enough, sweetheart? Because you win. You fucking win.
“I want you back.” 
He sighs, and it sounds like he’s rubbing his forehead. 
“I need you back.” 
More beats pass in the silence. More sniffles, too, but stretched out, like he’s trying to steady his breathing. 
You don’t think it’s helping him any. As you wipe the cuffs of your sweatshirt underneath your eyes, his voice returns, thoroughly raw and wounded. It squeaks out of him, barely above a whisper. His voice is so loud and tender, like he’s cradling the phone against his cheek. 
Your hand against his warm cheek, curled over that pink skin, fingertips inches away from brushing through those soft strands, wiping tears. That’s what you wish it was. 
“I didn’t know…” 
A shaky breath. You hold yours in return. 
“I didn’t know anything could hurt this bad.”
He swallows thickly. 
“Those last few moments after you left—I thought that would be the worst of it. When you just walked out. And I keep seeing you do it, over and over and over, in my head like I can’t help but torture myself with it.
“I never knew it would get so much fucking worse.”
He whimpers a little, and your heart constricts unbearably. You tear at the damn thing buried underneath your sweatshirt, massaging the skin like it can soothe that phantom ache. 
Oikawa must hate you. Maybe he hates you like you hate him: not because of the breakup, but because you can go for weeks without seeing him, holding him, kissing him, and everything still hurts like that last time. 
“Thing is, I could’ve sworn you weren’t always in my life. It’s been two years. Only two years. And yet I can’t remember a damn thing before us. It feels like it was always us. Some fog, and then you, and then everything afterwards. Everything that was us.”
“And I hate that we had it so good, YN. I really do. Because missing you has been the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The frustration in his voice is familiar, a sickening sense of deja vu around it, and you latch a hand over your mouth at how vividly the image comes to you: Oikawa tearing his fingers through his hair, teeth gritted, cheeks flushed and shiny. Like when he lost a game, but different somehow. 
Like this was something he didn’t even know he could lose.
He’s crumbling in a way he doesn’t know how to stop. That ugly part about having something wonderful and new—the moment it’s gone, what the hell are you supposed to do then?
“I just—Goddamnit, I can’t stand how badly it hurts anymore. I can’t,” he cries, desperate and aching, like his hand is fisting at his heart. You can hear the breath hitching in his throat, the hiccuping breaths after his sobs. You can hear every tear, feel it against your own cheeks, a soreness building at the front of your skull. 
Too many tears. Your body is screaming at you, too many fucking tears. 
But it’s him and he was yours and you were his. 
Were. 
You were his. 
You had no idea how much that single thought could make your entire chest throb. 
Oikawa inhales, and it makes your heart race against the thick wall caging it in, squeezing against it. 
“I need to see you.” 
He says the thought like it’s just slapped him across the face. 
“I need to go see you, I—I have to.” 
He mumbles to himself unsteadily, like he’s rocking back and forth. Debating, really, what he’s supposed to do, if he should do it at all, if it’s right after everything.
You should probably think he’s wrong.
You probably shouldn’t be curled over your phone, eyes wide, mouth open, not making a fucking peep. Waiting to hear what he’s going to do. 
Maybe—just maybe—you shouldn’t be telling yourself that as the voicemail counts down to its final seconds, if he decides he’s not going to go to you, that you’ll definitely be going to him.
“I can’t just sit here. I can’t stay in here, without you. This isn’t right, I—”
Your breath hitches when you hear the frantic jingle of keys. 
Then the sound of a door slamming. 
His footsteps racing down his apartment’s stairwell.
A car engine revving. 
“I need to see you.” 
And the voicemail ends. 
_________________________
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Satori Tendou: 
The message begins with a scoff of utter disbelief. 
“Is that what we’re doing now?”
He pauses, almost like he thinks you’re going to respond. 
“Heard from someone that I suddenly have syphilis. Yesterday, I had herpes though, so I guess I’m gonna have a tough week.”
A rustle like he’d shaking his head, like he can’t fucking believe it. 
“And sure, okay, I figured that’s fine. You can say all that shit, and it won’t really stick because everyone knows it was us and that it’s you and you’re hurt.”
He sighs. 
“But I saw it, sweetheart. I saw it.” The phone whines like he’s adjusting it against his face, and his voice is suddenly lower, darker. 
“You don’t get to have it both ways, you know. You can’t spread all that shit—all those rumors about how shitty everything was and how we didn’t have anything going for us—and then turn around two days later wearing my sweatshirt. And you don’t get to wear that necklace I gave you for our anniversary and then run away from me the second you see me. That’s just not fair—you’re not playing fair anymore.”
Something swishes around like loose clothing, and a large huff greets your ear from what must be Tendou collapsing into a seat. When his little sounds become quieter, that relentless humming and the excitable clicks of his tongue against his teeth, you figure he must have put the phone on speaker and balanced it on his knee like he always did. Mid-conversation with Ushiwaka, he always used to spin his phone with those long fingers, or bounce the damn thing up and down against his frantic leg. 
And the voicemail came through late last night, one of those dead hours where the only ones awake were Tendou, his scrambling thoughts, and the moths flitting back and forth outside his glowing window. He was always awake, always thinking, always doing something. 
When you’d first broken up, after one long, wrenching fight where you’d both lost your voices and the frustration welled so high you just couldn’t breathe anymore, you’d been thankful for the idea of sleeping soundly for the first time in months. 
You’d been wrong. You weren’t even sleeping anymore; just long, slow blinks where your phone screen would magically turn from 3:45 a.m. to 7:25 a.m., and in five minutes you’d have to get up and slug your way through another day. 
Tendou had been the same. Those naturally wide eyes sagged under the pressure, and the curve of his spine had deepened like he’d been hauling the lack of sleep everywhere he went. 
He must be sitting at his window now, at this moment in his message, pale skin aglow with wispy tendrils of moon. And he’s calling you. And he saw everything you’d done. 
“Not fair. Not fair at all,” he whines, teasing. Always, always teasing, and if you hadn’t heard the slight cripple in his voice on the last word, you’d have gone on thinking he viewed it as one big joke. 
You’re sure he heard the same thing you had—that he couldn’t keep acting like it was all fun and games. His usual, cat-like smile surely fell into a pert little frown, pale lips twisting like he’d sucked on a lemon. 
No fun, no fun, no fun, he must have been thinking. 
“Ya see, I thought we had a little deal,” Tendou drawls. “You’d talk smack and start dressing all pretty just to spite me, and then–and then I’d go ahead and delete all your pictures and put your name as ‘Bitch’ in my phone. And in, like, two weeks, we’d just be two ships, whoosh, whoosh, passing each other on the high seas of life, ya know?”
He breathes a ghost of a laugh. 
“But, sweetheart, you look like shit.” He chuckles for real this time, and it’s disgustingly hollow. “I’m not even kidding. Like someone ran you over three times every morning—it’s horrible, really.”
You curl into yourself even further, and you’re smiling, grinning, lips peeling with how much you’ve cried and how little water you’ve drank after. You hate him; God, you hate how he can make you laugh and cry at the same time. 
“But that’s okay, I’ll give you a pass just this once. I haven’t deleted your pictures yet, so I botched my end of the deal, too.” Tendou tsks his tongue. 
“I won’t go easy on you, though. Here–here, how’s about this: for every day you stop wearing my clothes—because they look horrible on you, sweetheart; really, you’re painful to watch—I’ll delete one of your pictures, eh? That means, in about–uhhdivideby365daysinayearignoringleapyearbullshit–ah, seven years, I’ll have held up my end. S’that good with you?”
You lean your head back, letting the tears flood your hair as he chuckles to himself. 
“Fuck it,” he says after a pause. Hopeless. Breathless. “Fuck it.” He must be gnawing on that pale lower lip, biting and nibbling until it bleeds. Because he lets something go to sigh again, and he must have smacked his head against the wall, and then you think he sniffled. 
“I still want you. I’ve always wanted you. And I’m tired of missing you and wanting you. Doing both hurts too much.”
Tendou soughs.
“So I’m still your Chicken Tendy, baby. Always. And I’ll be here when you're ready, syphilis and all.”
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sleepyhutcherson · 2 months
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wish i wasn’t so tired
on your way back home an argument between you and mike gets heavy when the words “this isn’t love, is it?” slips from one of you.
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pairing: mike schmidt x gn!reader
word count: 1.2k
contains: argument, use of y/n, miscommunication, angst, reference to marriage, not a happy ending? boygenius lyrics being referenced </3
a/n: tired of writing fluff (jk i love fluff) but i come from a miserable fandom (before i entered the jhutch one) aaand im so used to writing heavy angst. anyway, i should be working on my request not this but :p
What a perfect scenery to go with the intense argument. the rain angrily hits against the window drowning out any sound with the harshness of it. Unfortunately, not enough to drown your voice nor Mike’s, the rain mimicking the aggression and anger of your voices.
“I don’t remember,” Mike repeats, his hands gripping the steering wheel tight enough his knuckles turned white. He was speeding, trying to get home.
“I just want to know what happened! You came home with your knuckles busted, blood everywhere and you’re suddenly unemployed, and you won’t even tell me what happened?!” You're facing him but his focus is on the road (as it should) and there’s this dull, emotionless expression on his face that makes you feel alone.
He doesn’t say anything and for a moment you think maybe he won’t say anything at all. He continues driving, his gaze fixated on the road while you stare at him feeling so stupid. You close your eyes, wishing you could disappear from this moment. Wishing you could just apologise to him, but you knew better, you had no reason to apologise to him. You were just concerned about him, you just wanted to know why his knuckles were bloody.
You blink when you realise Mike is pulling to the side of the road, putting the car in park.
“This isn’t love, is it?” Mike asks, meeting your eyes now. There’s a sadness to them that you’re familiar with, you see those sad brown eyes whenever he’s overwhelmed, stressed, tired of work, when his aunt calls, when abby ignores him after an argument but never towards you.
And those words. the question. The genuine curiosity to his tone when he asked it.
“W-What?” You stammer, hoping that maybe you misheard him. But you knew you didn’t.
“I mean, all we do is argue.” You sit up straight, turning away from Mike. You stare straight forward, you wish the road wasn’t so empty maybe you could distract yourself by looking for different licences plates.
You swallow, your throat dry suddenly. “Then what is it?” If it’s not love then what it is?
None of you have a response which only makes it worse. You loved mike, you really did, you never doubted that. There was a moment a few months ago where the two of you referenced getting married soon, Mike giddy about proposing, and you were over the moon about the idea.
And now?
Mike loves you, he’s never felt so in love with someone until he met you, never felt more loved by anyone else but you. But recently, his job has been killing him and he’s only worked at it for three days. his sleeping schedule is fucked, he isn’t ever really sleeping like most people do, not in the way that one falls asleep to get rest but in the way that he’s going back to the same dream every night looking for something—or, someone, in his case. His aunt is trying to take custody of Abby and he can’t let that happen but God he’s so fucking scared.
But he won’t say any of this to you. Not about how stressed he’s been, how tired, how scared and sad. Fuck’s sake you don’t even know that he could lose custody of Abby.
“Maybe it isn’t,” You say, not daring to turn to look at Mike. “But can…can I at least pretend that you love me?” Your voice is small, ready to break.
Mike’s brows furrow, he can hear the hurt in your voice. He hates hurting you. He can never just shut the fuck up can he? He didn’t mean to say what he did, he really didn’t. “Y/n, I… I do love you, so, so much.” Mike reaches for you, cupping your face, forcing you to look at him. Your eyes are watery, full of tears that are ready to spill.
“You do love me?” You ask, looking up, your eyes locked with Mike’s. He frowns at your words.
“I’ll always love you. I hate hurting you. I’m so sorry.” He says through a clenched jaw, his words a little sharp layered with a desperation to get you to believe him. He pulls you in, peppering kisses on your face. it’s not enough, he thinks, you deserve so much more than this—than him.
“Then why do you?” You whisper, bringing Mike to halt. He pulls from you, staring at you with the most hurt expression you think you’ve ever seen. “I just…just want to know you—to help you, but you’re always pushing me away.”
He looks down at his bruised knuckles with shame, falling quiet suddenly. You know about his brother, about the entire incident, and about his parents but he never told you just how much it all affected him. how it still affects him.
You place your hand over his, gently rubbing over the healing bruise. They looked nasty even after days, too vicious for Mike. He loves how you touch him, he doesn’t care that his knuckles sting at the touch because he longs for your touch, desperate for it. He becomes more needy for it while you two are arguing, he wishes he could just pull you in while you were biting at each other, wanting nothing more but to be held by you. He would allow you to continue to bite, he wouldn’t mind if you continued to sink your teeth into him; he would take the pain, endure it even…if you just held him.
“I’m sorry,” he manages to say, “I wish I wasn’t so tired...” he exhales, trying to keep his voice steady. “But I’m tired.” It comes out weaker than he hoped, his words falling and breaking.
“oh, Mike,” you sigh, reaching up and now it’s your turn: you cup his face, your other hand reaching up to run it through his curls. “Talk to me. you know that’s what i’m here for.” You keep your tone gentle, stroking his cheek softly with your thumb.
Mike knows this. he knows that if he could talk to anyone that it would definitely be you. He just can’t. he doesn’t understand it either, doesn’t know why he can’t just open up.
He doesn’t want to talk, not really. He doesn’t want you to think he’s broken. he doesn’t want you to know how much of a mess he is, how he thinks his life is slowly falling apart right now. How he might lose custody of his little sister. How he’s looking for his brother in his dreams that are turning into nightmares. How he thinks he may be losing you, too.
“Can we just go home?” He croaks, his eyes welling up with tears. He doesn’t want to cry. He doesn’t want you to see him cry either.
You frown. You just wanted to be there for him, you wish he would let you help him, if that’s too much for him then you’ll sit there and listen. You just wanted to know what was hurting him, who hurt him. God, you just wish you could read his mind.
You frown when he pulls away from you starting up the car. You just wanted to help. You wanted to take whatever struggles he had, most of all you wanted to know what he was struggling with. What was bothering him? If only he talked to you. But clearly he wasn’t going to open up anytime soon.
You force an “okay,” accepting your loss.
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plutoslvr · 1 year
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Okay so in my last Kevin post, I mentioned I have analysis' on how Kevin isn't a coward and how his trauma still affects him and you guys wanted to read it so here!
Why Kevin Day Isn’t a Coward: 
Essentially this comes down to 3 specific points in the fandom and even in the books since people are very adamant about the whole coward thing. The two things that people (in book and fandom-wise) use to argue that Kevin is a coward are: 
Kevin is still afraid/ doesn’t stand up to Riko 
That he left Jean behind in the nest.
Starting off with the first point. Kevin is still afraid and doesn’t stand up to Riko for the majority of the books. Firstly, we need to understand that Kevin has been abused from an extremely young age in the Nest and was conditioned into thinking that kind of behaviour was normal. And by that I mean specifically Riko’s abuse but before that, it was Coach Moriyama that abused both of them. 
He was stuck in the Nest for over a decade where his only role was “property” the entire time. That was all he would ever be to them and additionally to that, he wasn’t even allowed to be better than Riko. His entire life from the very start has been about exy but it was only after his mothers death where it became life or death. 
During tfc when Neil finds out how Kevin’s hand really broke Wymack says “But the day Kevin stops playing forever is the day he dies. He has nothing else. He wasn't raised to have anything else. Do you understand? We cannot lose to the Ravens this year. Kevin won't survive it."
He wasn’t raised to have anything else, exy is quite literally his everything, and without it, he has nothing and nobody. In this same scene, Wymack says, “Kevin doesn't talk about his time at Evermore, but I could tell it wasn't the first time Riko or Moriyama laid a hand on him. It was just the first time Kevin was smart enough to pack his bags and walk away.”
We never find out in detail what exactly happened to Kevin in the Nest but in TRK when Neil goes there we can see how deluded and obsessed Riko is with Kevin.
Neil moved up alongside him and regretted it almost immediately. Postcards of faraway cities both foreign and domestic were taped to the walls. Beneath each one were scraps of paper. Kevin's now-familiar scrawl listed dates and explanations for the travels. Most of them were games. Some indicated photo shoots and interviews. Books lined the shelves built into the headboard and Neil knew from skimming the spines they were Kevin's. Kevin was majoring in history for reasons Neil couldn't understand; these dry titles were the sorts of things he would find fascinating. It gave Neil chills to see his space preserved like this. It was like Kevin had gone out on an errand, not that he'd transferred to another team entirely.
Riko is so sure that Kevin is going to come back to him because he’s instituted such fear into him, he doesn’t think Kevin has the strength to stand up to him. Which he does, but people don’t seem to realise you can’t undo over a decade's worth of trauma overnight. 
Anyway, during Neil’s time in the Nest, he’s treated very similarly to how Kevin would be considering he was in his place but also not as harsh because they had to send Neil back to the Foxes inevitably.
"I am going to love hurting you," Riko said, "like I loved hurting Kevin."
What follows this is Riko tying Neil down and torturing him with a switchblade. By the time Neil leaves the Nest he doesn’t remember anything from the experience- he was so traumatised by it that he doesn’t remember it at all. (It also kinda sucks how Neil gets more sympathy for being in the nest for 2 weeks than Kev did for being there for over a decade.)
Putting this into perspective, Kevin went through that for so much longer and doesn’t get nearly enough of the same sympathy Neil did. Neil returned and Kevin got punched for letting him go even though he tried persuading Neil not to. Kevin has always had Neil’s best interest at heart. 
Kevin shook his head and bulled on when Neil started to argue. "The master wants to salvage you. He's going to sign you to the Raven lineup in spring. So long as you keep quiet and keep your head down he won't tell the main family he's found you." "I'm not a Raven," Neil said. "I never will be." "Then run," Kevin insisted, low and frantic. "It's the only way you'll survive."
Kevin was willing to sacrifice the only chance he had to prove his autonomy to the Moriyamas if it meant Neil would be safe. Without Neil, they wouldn’t have enough players to qualify and they wouldn’t be able to play at all. (Again: “But the day Kevin stops playing forever is the day he dies. He has nothing else. He wasn't raised to have anything else. Do you understand? We cannot lose to the Ravens this year. Kevin won't survive it.")
Not to mention the whole “Kevin was silent for an endless minute, then said, "You should be Court." It was barely a whisper, but it cut Neil to the bone. It was a resentful goodbye to the bright future Kevin had wanted for Neil. Kevin recruited Neil because he believed in Neil's potential. He brought him to the Foxes intending to make a star athlete out of him. Despite his condescending attitude and his dismissals of Neil's best efforts Kevin honestly expected Neil to make the national team after graduation.
And even after that, he promised to teach Neil, because at the end of the day, Neil was still Neil and he never gave up on him once.
And Neil understood that being on the run for 8 years was more preferable to the Nest. 
“But all Neil had to do was look at Kevin to know he would have hated that life 
too.”
Sorry I kinda went off track there anyway we can also see how much Riko’s presence still affects Kevin especially in scenes like the Kathy Ferdinand show. 
“Any animosity Neil felt toward Kevin for forcing him onto this show evaporated. He couldn't be angry when Riko was here, not when Riko was to Kevin what Neil's father was to him. Petty anger had nothing on this full-fledged terror.”
Obviously, we all know what a dickhead Neil’s dad was to him so Neil comparing the fear of his father being similar to Kevin’s fear of Riko is so important because it just puts into perspective how afraid Kevin is here face-to-face with his abuser the first time since said abuser permanently disabled him.
But what I don’t think is that Kevin has been standing upto Riko since the start because right after this when they were backstage, Kevin physically stopped Riko from hurting Neil even if it meant getting hurt by Riko again.
A black look twisted Riko's expression into something ugly and unrecognizable. He reached for Neil, but Kevin caught his arm to stop him. Riko slammed his elbow back into Kevin's face without missing a beat.
This scene is probably the best to describe how downright afraid Kevin is of Riko but there are others when Kevin has multiple panic attacks at just the thought of Riko or being in the same vicinity as him and rightfully so! Riko abused him, manipulated him and then took away the only thing he had. And Kevin was just forced to think this was okay. 
And a lot of characters and fans see his fear as cowardice instead of a normal trauma response. This is also because Neil tends to speak out more against Riko than Kevin (You know I get it…) but unlike Neil, Kevin has had direct repercussions towards him for the “mistake” of talking back to Riko which of course makes him hesitant. 
He knows the Moriyamas could drag him back at any moment and he's terrified of that happening.
Which leads to the second bit of “Kevin doesn’t stand up to Riko.” when many times, he has.
The most prominent example is in TRK, just after the foxes lost their first match to the ravens.
“You have fallen so far, Kevin. You should have stayed down and saved us the trouble of forcing you back to your knees." "I'm satisfied," Kevin said. It was the last response any of the Foxes expected from him. They forgot about Riko in favor of gaping at Kevin. "Not with their score or performance, but with their spirit. I was right. There's more than enough here for me to work with."
Kevin chose the foxes over the ravens- over Riko. He doesn’t allow their loss to become something Riko can use against him but instead something to affirm his current standing with them. This is also the first game Andrew played without his meds meaning he’s crashed by the end of it.
Kevin distracted the Ravens from Andrew's unsteadiness by facing them.
Kevin willingly turned to talk to his ex-abuser and his team if it meant Andrew wouldn’t be under fire. Most people only see Kevin and Andrew as Andrew protecting Kevin but Kevin protected Andrew just as much.
And of course we have the whole tattoo removal and the last exy match against the foxes but I need everyone to understand that those are so so so important. Kevin spent the entire series save the last quarter of the last book viewing himself as Riko’s property. Riko refers to him as such and even without Riko near him, his control is still strong over Kevin.
So Kevin removing his tattoo and replacing it with something with a higher hierarchical structure than Riko’s status as king is so detrimental, it’s a turning point for him because he’s viewing himself as his own person now. And Kevin scoring the winning goal brings us full circle because the last time he did that with Riko, he ended up disabled and shunned.
This brings me to my second point about Kevin running away from the nest. Alot of people see Kevin escpaing from the nest and leaving behind Jean as an act of cowardice. This bit gets a bit complicated because in no way shape or form am I trying to compare trauma’s or anything like that.
But to continue on. The ravens had a very strict policy that we got to see during Neil's experience one of which being that no matter how injured they were, they were still expected to show up to practice. The more mistakes they made the more punishment they'd find themselves in. Not showing was practically a death wish.
Now Kevin having his hand fucking broken would mean thay either he doesn't practise and get punished or practise with his fucked up hand and further damage it. If he stayed I wholeheartedly believe he would've died.
He ran away to save his life and that will never be cowardice not once. He didn't go to Wymack immediately when he found out because he knew what kind of target he'd paint on Wymacks back.
"He was trying to protect him," Neil said. "If Coach knew Kevin was his son, he'd have tried to take him from Edgar Allan." Nicky grimaced. "They'd have never let Kevin go." 
He only left when he had no other option. He had nothing left, the one thing he did have was taken away from him, he had no purpose and for once Riko didn't care enough about him to pay attention. And he used that to run.
Leaving Jean behind was something he always regretted, but it was a game of survival. Jean was a gift to the Moriyamas, he was also property to them and couldn't leave. And if the roles were reversed I strongly believe Jean would've done the same thing.
Also Kevin finds a place for him layer with the trojans because he knew that being a fox wouldn't be good for him.
"He isn't safe with us," Kevin said. "I won't give him false hope."
Staying in the nest would've been suicide for Kevin. He's one of the biggest victims in the series but nobody talks about it enough I fear and there's so much to learn about him via context clues etc.
And the saddest thing in my opinion is that Kevin knew was it was like to be loved, he was raised by his mother for a few years before going to the Moriyamas. 
ANYWAY to conclude, I suck at essays and I hope I've worded everything well and what I'm trying to say gets across. Kevin is not a coward, never has been a coward and never will be. He's survived through such a damaging and abusive environment only to get moved to a separate environment where everyone just ridicules his defense tactics and he has no real sense of support. 
His reasons for what he does always stems from the fact the he doesn't want to go back to being under Riko and Coach Moriyamas "care" and that he's afraid. And most of the time it's things he can't shake from the nest.
Like when he pushes the foxes its so they're always at their best and so none of them get hurt or punished for mistakes. He pushed himself the hardest because he doesn't want to directly affect his teammates. 
Or the celebrity persona he was forced to develop.
Or how he makes sure everyone is staying healthy and that they don't force themselves to play when sick or injured because he knows what it's like to be forced to play like that day after day. 
AND IVE GONE OFF COURSE AGAIN yeah I kinda mashed together both analysis' of how Kevin's trauma from the nest affects him and how he's not a coward into one thing AND THIS IS SUPER LONG so if ur still here thank you very much for reading I really hope this makes sense
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bad268 · 3 months
Text
Publicly in Love (Frog Boys X Reader)
[Blank] in Love Pt 4
Fandom: RPF/Miscellaneous
Requested: Technically no, but I incorporated two requests from @youngcreatorlady and @goldenstarofthunderclan. I hope yall don't mind <3 Side note, I’m gonna start taking requests for Pezzy! I’ve been in a Pezzy mood and found out I really like writing for him lol
Warnings: none.
Pronouns: First person (I/me/they/them)
W.C. approx 220 each
Summary: Going public with the Frog Boys
As always, my requests are OPEN
MASTERLIST // HITLIST
~~
<-Part 3
Puffer
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“Are you sure this is the best way to go about this?” I asked, looking back at Puffer from my spot on his lap. We were looking at the screen where he was logged into his Instagram with a drafted post of the two of us. He thought the best idea was to hard launch on Instagram and hope for the best. “You barely post as it is. This will give everyone a heart attack.”
“Would you rather join a live stream?” He asked back rhetorically, knowing I would not do well under the live scrutiny. “This is just easier.”
“Easier for who? You, me, or your fans?” I laughed back as I leaned my head onto his shoulder.
“You and me,” he whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. “If we did a live stream, it would be an hour or two of straight questions. If we post something, I can log off and we can completely forget about it.”
“You are devious. I love it,” I chuckled, looking back at the caption. “What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know yet,” He admitted, “What do you think?”
“Fuck it, we ball,” I replied, straightfaced before turning back to make eye contact, “Hard launch edition.”
“That’s so bad!” He laughed, leaning in to hide his face in my shoulder.
“You never said it had to be good!”
~~
Pezzy
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Drunk Q&As were fun. Especially when it had been going on for a couple of hours at this point. Ever since I came back from visiting my family, my mentions have been blowing up with clips from the stream where I called Pezzy my favorite simp. It was while drunk that I remembered that Pezzy and I never confirmed or outed our relationship.
“Are yall roommates or what cuz damn I wish my roommate looked at me like that,” one of the comments read.
“Yeah, if his roommate also gets to go out with him,” I laughed, downing the last shot of soju. “I also get to kiss him, so that’s fun.”
“Fun?!” he laughed, almost falling off his chair. “Kissing me is fun?”
“What would you rather me talk about?” I quipped back. “I can talk about how mindblowing you are-”
“And that’s enough from you,” He slapped his hand over my mouth to stop me from talking. “You’re cut off. Don’t continue that thought.”
“I was going to talk about your bike but okay,” I groaned after I pulled his hand away from my mouth, but kept his hand in mine. “Anyways, chat. He’s mine, so back the fuck up.”
“So possessive, damn,” he laughed, pulling our intertwined hands up to place a kiss on my knuckles. “It's hot.”
“Nah, just jealous.”
~~
Droid
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“Guys, I swear to god,” I groaned into my pillow. I agreed to do a sleep stream with Droid weeks ago, but now, it was honestly hell. Not only was I so drained from the day in general, I was not feeling at all social to put up a facade for the viewers. My social battery was dead, and I just seemed pissed, probably. “Can we not play the Buzz Lightyear commercial nine times in a fucking row?!”
“That’s what that noise was?” Droid asked as he came back into the room with snacks and drinks. “Did yall make them insane or what?”
“Shut the fuck up,” I wined as I covered my ears. Droid set the drinks and snacks to the side as he laid down on his side of the mattress we set up. He also leaned over to the speakers to turn them down a couple of notches before leaning back. Once he was situated, I moved his arm, so I could lay into his side. “Chat, don’t. Just don’t fucking say anything.”
“Yeah, they’re allowed to do this,” He said into the microphone as he pulled up the chat on his phone, reading through some of the comments. “We get it, they’re cute and tired. Shut it.” 
Despite the noise, it did not take long to fall asleep. And it certainly did not take long for the chat to notice either. However, it was not until chat started spamming at Droid did he noticed. “Guys leave my s/o alone. Be lucky they even agreed to this.”
~~
Grizzy
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Being on a panel at PAX AUS was a highlight of any creator. To have been invited was unimaginable. I was invited to be on a panel with the Misfits along with Grizzy and Smitty. We had flown in a few days prior (with a load of delays, might I add), and now, it was finally the day.
Sitting on the stage was surreal. With Grizzy on my left and Tobi on my right, we started answering questions down the line.
“Next question is for Y/n and Grizzy, technically,” the fan started. Immediately, I knew where it was going, so I lifted my hand that was already holding Grizzy’s onto the table. The fan began stuttering as they gestured to our hands. “Um, I think that answers my question.”
“If the question was if Girizzy and I are together,” I said just to confirm, and I was met with a timid nod from them, “the answer is yes. We have been together for a couple of months now.”
“And before anyone asks, technically, they made the first move,” Grizzy added.
“I thought you were asleep!” I objected, turning to face him while still keeping the microphone in my hand.
“That does not make it sound any better!” Grizzy and the rest of the group laughed.
“Trust me,” Fitz interjected, “that does not make it sound any less creepy. And I even know the whole story!”
“Oh my god, shut the fuck up, all of you!”
~~
Part 5 ->
~~~~~
© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.
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critical-twenty · 1 year
Note
I'm kinda new to the cr fandom so i only know c1 stuff... could you write something with the prompt "is it okay to hug you?" from the part 2 list! Maybe something with the party having a s/o who struggles with touch and being vulnerable who has been having a very stressful day? Cries easily when they are frustrated or upset? 😢 If thats too much maybe just something with Vax or Percy cause i love them the most. 💖
sorry this is so late! it’s been sitting in my notes for ages, i’ve just been too busy to post it!
S/O who struggles with touch has a stressful day!
Vax
Vax never really has an issue with the lack of touch in your relationship
Sure, he likes to hold your hand, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t want to
He’s able to fluster you with just his words anyway
But when you come home one day with tears in your eyes and tension in your back, Vax is unsure of what to do
His first instinct is to reach out to you. It’s what he does for Vex and the others, so why wouldn’t he?
He stops himself when he remembers how much you dislike being touched without express permission
Even when you start crying, Vax doesn’t want to make things worse, so he just stares at you as he tries to ask what’s wrong
You look up at him through tearful eyes and ask ‘Can I hug you?’
Vax is immediately scooping you into his arms, letting his warmth invade your senses and comfort you
He tentatively begins to rub a hand up and down your back, continuing when you don’t tell him to stop
He’s relieved, in all honesty. He’s relieved he can help you and he’s honored that you let him hug you in such a moment of need
When you finally calm down enough to talk, he draws away to give you some space
His fingers stay connected with yours though, as you won’t let him go
He smiles at this, before pressing a kiss to your head
‘I’m sorry you had such a hard day, sweetheart. I’ll be here as long as you need me to be’
And he is 🖤
Grog
It took Grog a while to understand your reluctance in touch
It wasn’t that he thought it was weird, he just couldn’t read the signals as to how uncomfortable you were with his physical affection and you didn’t want to say anything
Finally, though, you told him about how you weren’t the biggest fan of touching
He nods, but it doesn’t fully register
Still he tries his best to remember, but he forget sometimes
He apologizes when he forgets and you can’t really get mad at him when he’s so genuine
When you come back home from a really rough day, Grog can instantly tell that something is up
He’s not the smartest, but when it comes to your happiness, he’s learned to become more attentive
He also knows that you don’t always want to be touched when you’re like this
(Pike had reminded him enough that it stuck with him)
So he watches you until he really can’t stand the sight of it anymore
‘Can I hug you?’
You look up at him with tears ready to fall and nod
Grog gives the best comforting hugs. He’s gentle but firm and he won’t let go until you ask him to
He’s not perfect, but he’s trying
Percy
Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III was never a man who thrived in touch
He rarely initiated physical contact with you and whenever he did, he asked for your permission first
It was like he already knew about your dislike for touch without you even telling him
(He definitely did. He’s observant enough to see your subtle emotions and tells)
You were perfectly content with a dynamic mostly built on quality time and acts of service, rather than physical affection
This wasn’t always the case though
You had had a particularly hard day at work. There was so much to do and you felt like not enough time to do it all
So, when you walked into Percy’s Tinker Room, he instantly noticed your tense demeanor
He is the king of stress himself, he knows the signs
However he doesn’t know what to do. He knows that he likes to be alone when stressed, but by seeking him out you seem to want to be around him
He contemplates in his head for a moment as you tell him about your day, waiting for you to finish before he stands up and comes over to you
‘May I hug you, darling?’
You immediately look at him, before barreling into his arms
He’s quick to wrap them around you, pressing a light kiss to the crown of your head as he tries to ground you
He’ll hold you as long as you want. He’ll even offer cuddles
Needless to say, he’s done working for the day. You need him and that’s 10x more important than anything else
Scanlan
It took Scanlan awhile to adapt to your feelings on touch
He’s a naturally extroverted person and he’s usually the first to initiate physical contact with anyone, so it’s an adjustment for him
However, once he finds out that it’s even more fun to fluster you with his shitty pick-up lines and love songs, the physical touch thing becomes easier
He slips up every once in a while, but he tries to make it up to you (he is a secret romantic underneath that… sexual persona)
You go find him, sitting with his lute, after an awful day
You were tired, and stressed, and part of you just wanted to go to sleep and wake up when this project you were working on was over
Scanlan knew the minute you walked over to him that something was up
Not wanting to be obvious in his effort to comfort you, and not wanting to touch you when you were clearly already tense, he decided to do what he does best: talk
He began to make small talk, talking about his songs and his day and whatever was going on with his friends
He thought it was working, until you said his name and looked up at him with tired eyes
‘Can I have a hug?’
He was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting it, but he got over it quickly
He lightly wrapped himself around you, holding you close and just letting it be
It was rare that Scanlan was so silent but, for once, the only sound was breathing
It was a small moment, but it was more than enough for you
Keyleth
Keyleth was awkward at first
Not because she had a hard time without physical affection, but more because she didn’t know what to do in general
Romance was still foreign to her
Still, she read your body language with perfection
You didn’t even need to tell her that you didn’t like physical touch… she just knew
You were thankful for that
It had been a stressful day and you were really just looking forward to hanging out with Keyleth
Sitting in the forest and listening to her talk to the plants always calmed you down
But even as you sat there, the stress didn’t go away
Keyleth noticed immediately, of course
She’s not great at words but she is more than adept at movement
‘…Is it okay if I hug you?’
You looked up with wide eyes and Keyleth immediately backtracks
‘We don’t have to, of course! You just seemed a bit tense and I thought maybe a hug might help be we don’t have to do that if you don’t-‘
She’s cut off by your arms gently wrapping around her waist
She freezes for a moment, before embracing you
It’s warm and comforting and Keyleth suddenly understands why people like doing this so much
She’ll hold you as long as you need. After all, she’s enjoying herself just as much as you are
Vex
Vex’ahlia is the queen of subtle touches
She loved resting a hand on the shoulders of her friends, or bumping into them playfully as they walked
It took a bit of self-control to not do those things with you
It wasn’t hard, per say. It just required a bit more focus and awareness of her movements
But, Vex would do anything for you, so she learned (quickly, as expected)
It was after a fight, while everyone was setting up camp, that Vex noticed the look on your face
It was the same look she saw when you were stuck on a particular puzzle, or when everything seemed to be piling on your shoulders
‘My dear, are you alright?’
You shrug half heartedly
‘Would you like to accompany Trinket and I on a walk? I think it will be quite relaxing and the moon is especially gorgeous tonight.’
Vex waits for your reply when finally you look up
‘Vex, will you hold me?’
Vex doesn’t even falter
Sure, she’s surprised, but the urge to comfort you overrides everything else
She hold you as close as she can without it being uncomfortable, rubbing circles on your back and whispering sweet encouragements into your ear
When you part, she tells you to take your time joining the rest of the party, before turning around and giving hushed threats to anyone who dares make a comment
You hear them, but it’s endearing. It shows that she care.
Pike
Pike is a very affectionate person
Not in the same flirty way as Vax or Scanlan, nor in the subtle way as Vex
Pike was just a very loving woman. Physical affection (including hugs) were just commonplace to her
Which is why she was a little stunned when you told her that you weren’t too fond of physical touch
It was hard for her, at first, because she had to find new ways to express all the love that she had for you, but your comfort came before everything
She always asked before initiating anything and you were always so thankful for that
One day, you came back to find Pike kneeling in the garden, mumbling under her breath
You assumed she was praying (for what, you weren’t sure) but you really needed her
Today had been hell and Pike had always known how to make you feel better
Sitting behind her, you gently rested your head on her shoulder
She tensed, knowing it was you, but confused by the display of touch
Still, she didn’t saying anything
‘Pike…’
She knew with that one call of her name what you needed
‘Do you want me to hug you?’
A small nod was all it took for Pike to spin around and gather you in her arms
Her hugs were like sunshine embodied
You felt all your stress and tension slip away as she held you close
Maybe she was a God herself, with the way she made you feel so safe in her embrace
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autisticlancemcclain · 11 months
Note
Jackie supports the lion swap? How dare you!
Okay SO. This is not the first time I’ve gotten an ask or a comment like this, and I’m fully aware it’s a joke (or at least I think), but I also know that it is kind of a controversial topic on here! And I’ve already written an essay in the topic, but I have some more thoughts I’d like to dive into.
I used to be team Blue Paladin Lance, and hardcore on that team, too. If you look at some of my old fics, you’ll see that. However since I am a contrary person by nature, I started to notice that Red Paladin Lance was way less liked, and so I started to like it more. I really grew fond of the dynamic Keith and Lance got to have as co-leaders, both because it was homoerotic as hell and because the symbolism was fun to explore, but klance is not the main reason I started to care so deeply for the lion change — it was actually Shiro and Allura.
I’m going to start with Shiro, because he’s one of the most fascinating characters in VLD, if not underdeveloped. Part of that fascination for me is that he probably has the most arcs and opportunities for character growth and development in the show, and yet somehow he’s the flattest. He’s portrayed as very one-dimensional in a lot of fic — he tends to be less of a character and more of a role. He’s the Space Dad, or the older brother, or the cool teacher, or the kind and wise friend, or even the stoic Black Paladin. He is loved, I think, but the role he plays is loved, not quite the person he is. And that makes sense, because that is exactly how he’s portrayed in canon.
To Keith, Shiro is “like a brother to [him]”, but what do we see of that dynamic? The show has a clear sense of how a brother acts, that’s a good chunk of Pidge’s character. We barely even know Matt, but Pidge carries herself in such a way that it’s clear when her brother shines through her. And yet even though Shiro also goes missing, twice even, Shiro does not shine through his brother. Keith’s impulses are his own, developed from general abandonment issues rather than Shiro’s specific absence. Shiro’s absence becomes less of Shiro’s absence and more of an absence of a beloved leader figure, kind of a martyr, a “Shiro would have wanted you to carry on”. It is really hard for us as a fandom to use Shiro’s disappearance as anything but a plot device, because that’s all it felt like! We have occasional moments with Shiro, enough to care about him in some way, but as a figure, not as a person. Someone pointed it out on one of my fics and I agree wholeheartedly — Shiro is not shown with any flaws, and that makes it really hard to love him, because you don’t really get the pleasure of defending him, of seeing his motivations, his reasons. Not until the very end, at least.
This is, in all honesty, likely just poor writing. Shiro’s character was honestly just sidelined to a role, because he is really not that present in the show. But I am going to work with the benefit of the doubt, and see if I can use the lion change to explain why we all kind of love Shiro anyway, despite the fact that he’s flat as hell.
Shiro isn’t the Black Paladin. He never was. He flew the Black Lion, yes, and he flew her well — but he was never her Chosen. He couldn’t have been. From the very beginning, the Black Lion was in mourning; she was in no space to choose a new paladin. She accepted Shiro, and she loved him, but he did not fall into her as much as he fell into the role she provided for him. He piloted the Black Lion, but he was not her Paladin. This is made obvious in two ways: in that he never got her bayard, and that from the very beginning, he set up a replacement for himself.
Doesn’t that strike anyone else as odd? I haven’t seen the show in five years, and I don’t plan on rewatching, but I do remember that every moment with Shiro almost had this underlying tension. The closest thing I have to canon off the top of my head is the Handbook (which I had to stop reading because they did everyone SO dirty there, even though some of it was honestly pretty funny), which was released in S2, and even that incredibly early canon talked about Keith replacing Shiro!
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From the very beginning, Shiro was planning an out to his role. He knew it was not meant for him. He did the role well, but it was not his to do.
Aside from those two reasons, Shiro also…can’t be the Black Paladin. He can’t be that and himself, I mean. This part is a little more complicated, so I’m going to borrow some of my own tags from some awesome fanart I saw:
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I really do think Shiro is defined by his humanity (as is heavily implied by his illness — this is a character who is completely and totally bound to his mortality. Of all the other characters, he is the one most familiar with death, so he is the one who is most intimate with the raw fear of being human. But more on that later), but it’s my last comment that I want to focus on — “he is DEFINED by his his humanity…even as his greatest asset is the part of him that is not human”.
Every second that Shiro is leader of Voltron, he is the Champion. That can literally be his only goal — he is the head of the fight against Zarkon and the Empire. Either Shiro comes out the Champion, or Zarkon does. Either Shiro has to grit his teeth and fight off the flashbacks and the fear and the pain and use the one thing that forces him to reconcile with the fact that he had his entire personhood stripped away (his arm, his Galra arm, one of their biggest advantages as a team; his connection to Zarkon through Black, something that can only help the war effort at a direct cost to him; everything he does in this war is shoving him right back into that Arena again and again and again), or Zarkon wins. Every second Shiro pilots Black, every time he plays her paladin, he has to be who the Empire made him to be. He has to be the Champion. Once again he is not Takashi Shirogane, the person, the astronaut, the man, he is the Role. He is the Space Dad he is the Pilot of the Black Lion he is the Champion. For every second he is in that lion he is stripping away himself.
Obviously, that is something that was never sustainable. On this argument alone, Shiro was going to waste away eventually. There was always going to be a point where Shiro was not going to be able to be the Champion anymore. There was always, from the very way the dynamic was set up, going to have to be a lion switch. Now, interestingly enough, there could have been a really easy fix to this: Black Paladin Allura. She’s already a born and raised leader, already shown her immense competence, already someone the rest of the paladins follow. With her at the helm, nothing else would have to change, right?
Well, maybe. We’ll never know. One part of that is absolutely true — Allura should have been a paladin from the very beginning. Her quintessence is canonically closest to the entirety of Voltron (something that bears its own essay,; the relationship between all six of the paladins and Voltron is wrought with heavy symbolism), she is the most highly trained, she is smart, and she actually wants to be out on the field. She should have been in that armour from day one.
But Allura cannot be the Black Paladin. Allura cannot handle other’s sacrifice.
Of course this is a complicated subject. Should a leader sit back and let her crew sacrifice themselves instead of her? Must she hold herself in higher regard, convince herself she’s more important? Of course not! Teams, especially Voltron, are built with assets. While not everyone might be ‘equal’ in the traditional sense, they are all integral, and expecting sacrifices is not the stance I am trying to take here. But the point of a team, especially a team so small and vital as Voltron, is that everyone is willing to be the sacrifice, as they have to be, and Allura simply can’t handle that. She shows us this from the beginning, when she disguises herself as Galra and is taken in place of anyone on the team she barely knows, and again in Oriande with the White Lion, and finally in the piece of shit canon ending. Allura has to be the sacrifice. Every time.
And how could she not be? The last time she spared herself of sacrifice, she lost her entire people. The last time she let others sacrifice themselves for her, she was left alone, to shoulder a war bigger and greater than she could ever handle. Allura is painfully familiar with the agony of being the survivor, and she cannot do that again. She cannot and will not put herself through that again. As the Black Paladin, she would have to let her team make sacrifices — she would have to let them have their own agency, their own decisions; she would have to let them choose to get hurt and choose to do risky things and analyse and react and act. As leader she would have to trust her team to put themselves in harm’s way, and not only that, but she would have to authorize them to do so.
Like Shiro cannot last as the Champion, Allura cannot last as the Survivor. Shiro cannot even last in Voltron, and it is foolish to keep Allura out of it. A lion change is absolutely necessary for the show to move forward, for the war to move forward. The initial team was doomed to fail.
How would it change, then? What would fit? I know I’ve said my piece. I know who I think would fit where. But since I’ve been comparing character arcs to their roles as paladins, I’d like to keep doing that — what about Keith makes me so sure that he’s the true Black Paladin?
I’ll show you with process of elimination. I know Black Paladin Lance is a favourite, and I can see why. Lance has many leadership qualities, is a good tactician, and cares deeply. However, aside from his desire for power making him less suitable for the role, Lance functions best as support, despite how much he hates it. He is the one who knows how to pick up the pieces of a broken situation. He is an excellent guide, which makes him an unbelievably valuable second. He is adaptable, so he can fill in for many different roles. He can step in for leader when necessary, but putting him in Black would encourage a more active role for him; would force him to anticipate and plan for specific outcomes rather than his strength as one who analyses any outcome as it arises and works within it then. Lance could be the Black Paladin, yes, but taking him from the body and placing him in the head would be a fool’s choice. It would be crippling to Voltron, to put the jack of all trades as a master of one. Lance’s arc is all about learning to love and trust himself as he is, as the seventh wheel. Not to put him in charge of the vehicle.
Well, what about Hunk? Hunk is incredibly intelligent and analytical. He probably could lead Voltron, and did in several occasions. But Hunk’s arc is interesting because it was handled so early in the show. Unlike the rest of the team, Hunk’s arcs were solved largely in the first season. His biggest flaws were his distrust of people and, literally, his inability to fly. He could not take his feet off the ground. He was so untrusting that he could not manage to take a step forward. However his bonding with Yellow and trust with the team and their subsequent and returned trust resolved these issues, more or less, which is probably why Hunk was treated more and more like a side character the longer VLD went on. Hunk didn’t need the role of Black Paladin because he had settled into the Yellow Paladin in a way that was sustainable.
Pidge is in a similar boat. Her arc, primarily, has been about finding her family. Voltron was almost second priority for her, or at least not her only first priority. And understandably so! As the youngest she was afforded with that lenience. Her growth was about growing into her own pain, about becoming her own person alongside what she had become in the absence of her brother. As the Black Paladin, she would no longer have the space to prioritize her search for her family alongside Voltron, so her position as Black Paladin would be unstable. She is best suited in Green, where she can focus on several things at once.
That really only leaves Keith. In many ways it comes full circle — the Black Lion healing from her grief by choosing the man who ran from his Galran heritage and his power as a leader, rather than the man who chose nationalism and power over anything else. Keith is Zarkon’s direct opposite, and as such is the other side of the same coin, the one who is truly Black’s Chosen. We know this because Keith is the one who wields the Black Bayard, and Keith is, from the very beginning, the one the rest of the team chooses to follow — I ask you whether it was for Shiro that the three other humans ran off to chase in the desert, or Keith? Who was it that Lance could not leave alone? Who was it that piqued Hunk’s curiousity? Who was it that challenged Pidge to choose Voltron, rather than the search for her family?
That covers Black Paladin Keith. But what about Red Paladin Lance? I’ve established already why he cannot be the Black Paladin, but why did he have to move from Blue? For that, I bring you another few slices from early, S2 and previous canon:
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“I thought what we had was special!” “Seventh wheel, if you count the Alteans.” More than once, Lance laments over being forgotten. He struggles with feeling like anything but the extra, the unnecessary. Whether or not Blue Chose him is irrelevant — he does not feel Chosen by her. The Pilot of the Blue Lion position for Lance is as unsustainable as the Pilot of the Black Lion position for Shiro — Lance does not trust it. He doesn’t trust himself in the role, and doesn’t trust Blue in having chosen it for him. Obviously, this is not the role for him.
But Red? Keith’s Red Paladin, at least? Yes, he struggles with feeling like Keith’s second, but that is literally his arc. Lance’s development is about becoming his own person despite his own misgivings about being second-best. His role as the Red Paladin is the fulfilling of his arc, and is thus the best Lion for him, the Chosen. And Red did Choose him, mind you. There was an adjustment period, of course there was, but Red did more than let Lance pilot her. She opened up new possibilities for Lance — think the broadsword — that he could not see. Red saw his potential and revelled in it. She Chose him.
Lastly — and this turned out to be less relevant to the essay than I expected, but I do want to go over it a tad — is Shiro’s tie to humanity. I mentioned two important points: Shiro’s connection to mortality makes him the most intimate with his humanity out of all the characters, and he is undoubtedly the flattest character of them all. That is, if you don’t consider his clone to be part of his character.
But I’m begging you to reconsider. Reconsider, perhaps, who the clone is — Haggar had pure access to Shiro for a year, you remember. His thoughts, his dreams, his mannerisms, his priorities, his body. Even him at his most human, his most deranged, his most scared. She had Shiro then. She had Shiro when he had nothing to look forward to. She had Shiro when he hurt his crew to make sure they would live, at direct cost to himself.
She stripped him of his humanity — his connection to his own mortality. She took his illness from him. And who, then, did she return to the team? Who was clone? Shiro, mostly. The clone was happy to play with the team. The clone was clever. The clone believed, fully, that he was Shiro, only he was angrier and meaner, a little, and less capable of shoving down his own pain. Shiro, stripped of his tie to humanity and mortality, stripped of his compulsive need to be strained and stressed and the one everyone else can rely on, the Role rather than the Person, is emotional. He has flaws and outbursts. He can’t manage his own pain. He is is cruelest to the one person on the team — Lance — who canonically reminds him closest of himself.
Shiro, in the purest form that Haggar can make him, is flawed and self-hating. That is where our love for him comes. Not the man who pushes himself down at the same time as he sacrifices his personality to be someone for others, but the man who is struggling and can’t keep it locked down. That’s where it comes from.
Anyways. Like with my other essay, I’ll admit that this analysis is probably reading into this. The writing of VLD was flawed, at best, but regardless, I think the lion change is a rich amalgamation of the characters and who they really are.
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confessionsofkotlc · 20 days
Note
To the person who asked why Keefe is complex, I thought I’d try to give my two cents on the matter.
Also it’s totally fine if you dislike Keefe! He’s just complex, is all. You can dislike him anyway, this is soley about why I think he is a complex character. Not an attempt to sway you to like him or anything!
He’s introduced pretty early as though he’s going to be a silly, funny, flirty side character, and a lot of that falls away as the series goes on. He’s always had avoidant defense mechanisms, which used to look like deflecting with humor and as his trauma worsens turns into a lot of literal running away. We learn in book one that he has really bad parents and it’s like oh, okay, so he has a hard childhood and covers for it with humor. Pretty classic way to round a character out, but it works. Sure. But he wasn’t too complex THEN.
I think the way finding out his mother was with the neverseen impacted him was far worse than the fandom gives it credit for. It was a huge turning point in his life. He breaks down more. He can’t keep up his defenses as much.
Did you hear that? He can’t keep up his defenses as much. Deflecting isn’t working.
And then, at the end of Neverseen, he literally runs away.
Direct correlation.
He goes to be a “double agent” and hopefully be able to help his friends from the inside. But really… he wants to do something useful without having to face his friends. He’s avoiding. He’s running.
The reveal of his mother being with the neverseen was also more than figuring out his parent was a villain, which is bad enough. He also learned that the parent who had always been slightly better, slightly kinder, slightly more caring was actually the evil one. It isn’t talked about nearly enough the amount of trust issues he must have gotten from that. It also adds an extra layer to every time he’s betrayed a friend’s trust or told a lie. He doesn’t think it’s right, but a part of him is still processing what happened with his mother.
He searches through his memories like crazy. He wondered how he, an empath, managed to miss that his mother was evil. He questions everything the knows. How does he know if someone is lying? He doesn’t. He doesn’t know if someone is lying. He lies. He lies and lies and lies.
He holds on to every scrap of paper with every detail he’s ever remembered about his childhood and his mother and questions everything. This is actually a huge part of what makes his character complex, since that’s the question—the way he clings to every. Single. Detail. Because he’s NOT just avoidant, he’s also unable to let go, and somehow he is absolutely both at the same time.
Constantly running from the painful things he clutches close to his chest.
That sentence alone might actually explain what makes him complex, but I’m going to go further.
I think his execution of research and ideas and reckless plans without telling his friends, betraying them and lying to them, is both a product of the fact that he’s never considered himself someone who gets listened to seriously and the fact that he’s still processing his mother’s betrayal. (Let’s not gloss over that. He’s still grieving from that.)
“Are you afraid of me, Foster?” It isn’t a question. It’s a realization. In this moment he realizes what he’s really done. He has flashbacks to the mountain, to finding out about his mother, and he wonders if too much of her is in his blood. Of course he rushes to explain his double agent scheme, but he’s in pretty deep and this isn’t going to be his last betrayal. The scene where he steals the alluveterre crystal and Alvar might be his worst betrayal. But there’s so much behind it.
So many complexities.
So many underlying thoughts, some of which I don’t think he’s even aware of.
He’s trying and he knows he’s wrong but he does it anyway and focuses on everything right about the wrong.
Being literally, physically changed by his mother so that he has new abilities that could actually hurt people is another huge turning point. Now it isn’t, “are you afraid of me, Foster?” It’s “you should be afraid of me, Foster.” All pretense of laughter and humor and jokes is gone. The Leo Valdez side has evaporated.
If he was worried that too much of his mother was in his blood before, well, he’s definitely worried about it now. Because she changed him and he hates it and he’s afraid of himself.
He’s afraid of himself and he’s afraid for his friends (because even amongst all of this he cares, he loves his friends and he specifically loves Sophie) and his deflection is once again entirely gone and he does the thing we should have all seen coming.
He runs away.
But I think unraveled will show us that once again, even in running away, he can’t let go of the things he wants to leave behind. They stick to him and he takes them everywhere he goes.
In unlocked he writes in his journal that Sophie deserves someone like Fitz. He hates himself for having betrayed her and having made her lose faith in the good of the world. He loves her enough that even when he wants her to be with him, when he believes she’ll be happier with his friend, he wants that for her.
(He can hardly believe it when Sophie chooses him. “I don’t want to mess this up,” he says. “Please don’t let me mess this up.” He knows he’s a mess. He’s worried he’s too much of a mess to preserve the one thing he’s always wanted.)
And even in the end of Stellarlune, he takes the knife from Sophie to attack his mother, without telling her. In that moment I wonder if he was even thinking about his own stupid bad patterns, or if he was so determined to end things with his mother that he didn’t even consider that in some small way, he was sort of doing just the sort of thing he swore to himself he’d stop doing.
So what makes Keefe a complex character?
The way he cares so impossibly deeply for his friends while also doing things he knows will hurt them and feeling in his mind like maybe he can’t even stop it, maybe he’s just a mess that can’t be fixed and the best thing he can do for his friends is never see them again—
The way he runs, avoids, escapes, NEVER confronts his issues, but also is never able to leave them behind, dragging them with him wherever he runs, every single detail running through his head—
The way he’ll never say it out loud, but some part of him is worried he’s too much like his mother, wishing she’d get her hands off his life and stop changing him before he can’t deny it anymore—
The way his bad habits mirror each other even as he changes and develops as a character—
It’s not just his trauma and his coping mechanisms, or his feelings for Sophie and his friends. It’s the layers upon layers in his character, thick as shadowflux and so buried that even Keefe doesn’t know about some of them. (Even I can’t articulate them all. I’m able to really get into a state of feeling his character but these are the only things I’m able to get into words.)
This is about as much of his complexities as I can explain using actual words in the English language and not just transferring emotions. To the anon who was wondering how he’s complex, I hope this helps!
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look-at-the-soul · 6 months
Text
The choice
Tommy Shelby x reader
An evening at Arrow House (2K followers celebration) my dear Lee @zablife I love the theme you choose for this celebration and congratulations once more for reaching 2K followers! That’s a bunch and you deserve each one of them and even more! THANK YOU for sharing your incredible talent and kindness in this fandom, I’m so grateful to have met you on here ✨
Request: From anon, darling I don’t know a lot about the super hero world, but this idea kind of sounds similar (?) I hope so! Please let me know what you think and feel free to send another request if you don’t feel pleased with this
Summary: Tommy is losing Ruby from consumption, so he rushes to ask for help to a woman he had heard owns some kind of special power. But changing the course of things around has consequences.
⚠️ Mentions of people passing away, spirits, Gypsy curses, witchcraft.
Word count: 2,118
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This had to be a mistake.
God, no please no… anyone but his little Ruby.
His hands were shaking, his stomach in a tight knot.
“I want another opinion.” His statement was adamant.
“Mr. Shelby I wish I could give you a different diagnose, unfortunately-”
“Nevertheless I want another opinion.” Tommy stated firmly and left the Doctor’s office without another word.
He’d pay anything to make Ruby feel better.
Torn between the common sense and this need to get answers, he suddenly remembered of a woman Polly was always going to, she had told him a couple of times she owned a special power but he was skeptical about it.
Stopping his car at the modest neighborhood, Tommy’s hand wrapped around the steering wheel tightly. Knuckles white from the force, he was fighting the tears back.
“Go inside Tommy.” Polly’s voice took him by surprise, moving his head up, he found his aunt sitting in the backseat.
“Pol.”
“You’re running out of time, Thomas.”
In a blink she was gone and Tommy felt his chest heavy.
Clearing his throat, Tommy knocked on the door and took a step back, but no one opened so he waited a few more seconds until he noticed the small curtain moving abruptly.
“I don’t owe the Peaky Blinders anything.” A female voice shouted from the other side of the door.
“I need to talk to Y/N Y/L/N.”
“You’ll led me to trouble, Mr. Shelby.”
Tommy started banging on the door desperately, forcing her to open up before the entire block could notice.
“My aunt, Polly Gray talked to me about you.”
“I only helped her sew a few buttons.” She covered her face under the hood of her cape.
“No… you helped her to see Anna one more time, you helped her to say goodbye to her daughter.” He pointed out firmly, breathing heavy, heartbeat drumming against his ribcage.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She was shaking her head profusely, and in a hurried attempt, she tried to close the door, but Tommy’s hand made it impossible then he squeezed his shoulder in the small gap between the door and the doorframe. “Mr. Shelby!”
“I need your help… please.” He struggled with his voice, shoulders tense. “My daughter is sick.”
He never asked for help, never begged for anything.
But a lot of things were different lately.
“My daughter, Ruby s-she is sick, the doctor said it’s consumption.” He looked away as his eyes filed with tears. “And I think she’s cursed.”
“I’m really sorry to hear this, Mr. Shelby… unfortunately there’s nothing I can do, I’m just a seamstress.”
Tommy tried to look at her, but she was hiding her features behind the shadows. The small hopes he had been holding were shattered in mere seconds. He was lost for words, felt helpless, powerless.
“My aunt said you have some kind of power, guess she was wrong… anyways sorry for bothering you.”
She reached out her hand for him as he turned around, noticing the worry in his voice, his request seemed genuine and it was so so hard to watch him leave defeated.
Even though she had the best intentions to help people in need, sometimes she got in troubles for that same reason. Just like everything, there was good and bad in witchcraft, it wasn’t something to take slightly or as a joke, you don’t want to mess up with a spirit. Having the power to change the course of life was something she had taken seriously and used her gift with caution. But she needed to be careful. Loads of witches had been hanged or burned alive for this exact same reason.
To keep her mind busy, she started working on the jacket resting by the chair, it was from her neighbor, the poor man lost his wife weeks ago and when she heard the news and rushed to the house next door, Beth demanded to let her rest in peace, she had already dealt with enough problems all her life to make her come back from the death. But before Beth left, she pointed at the jacket and showed her a hole in the pocket, so here she was hunted down by her restless soul for almost a week for not sewing it yet.
“There you go Beth, you can now rest in peace.” She exhaled loudly and left the jacket by the door, to give it to Harry in the morning.
Turning around, she gasped as another restless soul took her by surprise. “Fuck.” She covered her heart with the palm of her hand as the soul approached her.
“I need to ask you for another favor, Y/N.”
“Polly you shouldn’t be here.”
She was used by now to seeing the souls of people who passed away already, they were everywhere, looking for the chance to communicate with those who they used to love, she was just an instrument, a bridge for them and those who were still alive.
“I know darling, but you really need to help my nephew… little Ruby she’s been feeling poorly.”
“Polly I can’t change the course of life and death, you know that.”
“Are you sure? She’s just a girl, a great kid… she has big dreams, a bright future in Hollywood.”
“If I promise to check, will you let me sleep?”
“Thank you.” Polly smiled and disappeared in a blink.
But of course, Y/N wasn’t able to rest for a minute, all night tossing and turning in bed, hunted by the sadness she found in Mr. Shelby’s eyes as he asked for her help. So it was still early when she left her home and headed to the hospital, rushing past the empty corridors, packed with all the souls stuck there, trying to reach for her to make contact with their loved ones, asking for mercy, some of them didn’t even understand they didn’t belong to this world anymore.
But soon she found the room she had been looking for, a beautiful girl with dark long hair resting with an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, battling with some cough. Sensing someone approaching, she rushed to hide around the corner of the hall, catching the fabric of a black coat, she observed the man who visited her last night, getting rid of the gloves and taking a deep breath he closed his fits tightly as if he was trying to collect all the strength from the world before entering his daughter’s hospital room.
Tiptoeing, Y/N got closer to the door and her heart broke into a million pieces as she heard his words.
“My little girl, I’d give anything I own to see you well and healthy, you know that?” He was holding of her small hands, not wearing anything for protection. “Anything, this life… it doesn’t makes sense without you. I’m so sorry for getting you involved in this bloody curse, my little love hang in there for me, will ya? I’m going to look for Esme, she’ll now what to do.”
And as she saw that imposing and relentless man break down and cry by the feet of his daughter’s hospital bed she knew right there she had to do something.
Or at least try to.
Y/N hid in the corner again as Mr. Shelby stormed out of the room.
It took her a good part of the day to get to the girl, since a couple of nurses walked into the room after Mr. Shelby left, then a slim, tall woman entered wearing a mask, her eyes were teary and she was holding a handkerchief. She brushed the girl’s hair and held her when she started coughing badly. It was until the Doctor called her to her office that she left, giving her the opportunity to step in.
Eventually, as she reached the bed, Ruby opened her eyes.
“Are you here to take me to heaven?”
“No, Ruby I’m here to cure you.” She smiled as the girl nodded.
*****
“Where the fuck have you been?!” Lizzie exploded, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Tommy stopped, rain pouring down heavily. His heart stopped beating, blood ran down to his body, he felt dizzy and angry.
The nightmare finally became a reality, he had been dreaming of this for so many nights, Ruby was gone. His daughter was gone.
Lizzie hit him in the chest. “Ruby, Ruby she’s so sick and you left us alone!” She charged against him again.
At least she was still alive.
Leaning against the closest wall, Tommy felt like he didn’t have anymore strength left in his body, legs giving up and he slid down to sit on the step. Noticing Lizzie’s breakdown he could only wrap an arm around her shoulders in some kind of comfort.
Looking up, his eyes found a shadow at the other side of the street, someone with a long cape with a hood stared at them. He had to blink a couple of times to register what was happening, but she walked away before he had time to react.
“Mr. Shelby? Can we have a word in my office please?”
“What happened?” Demanded Lizzie standing up.
“It’s about your daughter, sh-she’s cured I don’t understand how this happened, there’s no medical evidence of her illness anymore.” The Doctor took off his glasses and wiped his chin.
Tommy couldn’t believe what he just heard, there was no medical evidence of the damage the consumption could’ve left in Ruby’s lungs, she was sitting on her bed with a wide smile on her face trying to hide the fact that she wanted to jump on the hospital bed and leave already to go home, Tommy rushed to her side and cupped her face between his shaky hands. Was he dreaming of this moment?
He looked from the Doctor to his daughter again in disbelief.
“I’d suggest a couple of days to run more tests.”
“Ruby, Ruby.” He chanted, feeling like his heart could come out of his chest any minute now. “Yes of course, Doctor.”
As Lizzie proposed she should stay for the night with her daughter, Tommy agreed and left the hospital but instead of heading home, he drove somewhere else.
Almost an hour later, he was knocking on the door, the place was only illuminated by a small lamp. His hands were shaking, he wanted to kick the door already.
“Mr. Shelby it’s so late.” Y/N stated but moved to the side to let him come in.
And for the first time, he realized of her features consuming a few seconds to fully take in her. Beautiful and delicate features. It was like getting a sharp hit in the gut. Her beauty was out of this world, he took a step back as he wasn’t prepared to find such rare and unique beauty in one person. Lavender pupils staring back at him, he had never seen another pair of eyes like those guarded by thick eyelashes a deep contrast to the pale skin but in complete harmony with the curly dark locks around her shoulders.
“I’m just here to give you this.” He took a small sack from his pocket, he opened and showed her gold.
“I can’t take it.”
But he pressed one more time. “Please, it’s the least I can do.”
Y/N shook her head folding her arms. “Mr. Shelby I’m not supposed to change the course of things. It’s a delicate thing to do to take a soul from the death and now I’ve to ask you one thing.”
“Anything.”
“You have two more sons…” he just heard about Duke thanks to Esme, but immediately he knew he had his blood. “Which one of them will you give me?”
Tommy looked at her in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“I stopped Ruby from dying, it’s a life for a life. Which one of your sons will you give me in exchange for your daughter’s life?”
It was one of the hardest things to do, but she had to in order to keep the spirits at bay.
Swallowing hard, Tommy felt a vein pulsing on his forehead.
Y/N looked at her hands for an instant.
There was no way he could choose between Charlie and Duke, they were opposite in so many ways but they were both his sons, and he loved them more than he could express.
“Can you take mine instead?”
“Yes… but what about your wife?”
Tommy shook his head, still too startled by her to form anything coherent. Her cold palm came to rest on his cheekbone, in a tender motion.
“I’ve been waiting all my life for you.”
****
Master list
A/N: I’ve always wanted to write something like this! The idea felt so easy, I tried to create a mix between a good witch and a medium (if you don’t believe it’s just fine) but I’ve always found so intriguing those people who have the gift to communicate with people who passed away… if you liked it and you have a couple of minutes don’t forget to leave your valuable feedback ♥️
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andreawritesit · 29 days
Text
The Red Storm - Part III
Fandom - One Piece
Pair - Shanks x Reader
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You walk carefully back to Dadan’s house with a few wine bottles in your hands. Makino’s shipment was late so she couldn’t spare any more liquor. Benn walks slightly ahead of you, making sure the path is safe. You’re dreading the goodbye you’ll have to say to the kids. Luffy’s tearful face comes to your mind immediately and a shiver runs down your spine. “Hurry up, I must be back at Captain’s side.” You nod and speed up your walk. You can see light coming from the windows of the old house and anxiety takes over you. Sailing the seas with Shanks is all you’ve wanted but these past years you have grown fond of Ace, Sabo, and mostly Luffy. You can still remember his cries after Shanks left. Poor guy had tried to stay strong in front of Shanks but broke into tears as soon as Shanks sailed away. Now you were going to do the same. 
“We’re here. I’ll see you tomorrow at the bar,” Beckman says with his hand on your shoulder. He senses your nervousness and squeezes your shoulder lightly. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. He’s a strong boy. Just don’t tell him that we’re back in the village.” 
“I won’t. But I don’t want to break his little heart again…”
“We all have to make difficult choices in our life. But think of it like this, if you don’t leave now, he’ll grow over-attached to you and it will make it tough for him to sail away from you too.”
“I guess so,” you say with uncertainty. “Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow! Thank you for accompanying me.”
“Anytime! See ya.” Beckman leaves and you knock on the door. Dadan opens it with a scowl on her face. “Look who showed up! Did you go to the Grand Line to get me some liquor?” You place the bottles in her hand and rush inside to go see the boys. You hear the door being closed with a loud smack and roll your eyes. Dadan and her anger issues…
 You enter their room to see them sitting in a blanket fortress they had built. On hearing the door open, Sabo peeks through the blanket and as soon as he sees you, he jumps out and into your arms. You catch him quickly and squeeze him tighter. “What are my favorite gremlins doing?” Ace comes out of the fortress which collapses on top of Luffy whose laughter reverberates throughout the room. He walks over to you and puffs his cheeks up. “Why do you always come at the wrong time? We were doing something important.” You ruffle his hair which earns you a death glare from the boy. Luffy finally manages to untangle himself from the sheets and runs to you. “Oi! Dadan said you went to Makino’s bar! Did you bring something to eat?” Ace punches him on the head and sends him flying to the other corner of the room. “I was talking!” Luffy gets up and rubs his head. You set Sabo down and beckon Luffy over to you to which he complies immediately. 
“Listen, boys, I have to tell you something.”
The three of them look at each other and then at you. “I…I’m leaving tomorrow.” You pause to see if they would say anything but they just look at you with blank faces. 
Sabo speaks up first. “Leave? Where? And for how long?”
“For a very long time.”
“Where?” Ace asks grumpily.
“Don’t know that yet.”
“Why? Is it because I annoy you about food?” Luffy’s question breaks your heart and you quickly shake your head.
“No sweetie, never because of you, any of you! I’m leaving because I want to sail the seas, see different places…”
“So you want to be a pirate?” Ace asks, his eyes suddenly shining. “Really? That’s so cool!” Sabo adds on. You let out a chuckle and reply, “I guess you can say so.”
Luffy climbs onto your lap and grins at you. “I’ll be a pirate too and I’ll have the best crew ever! And then I’ll become-“
“King of the Pirates,” the three brothers say in unison. You glance at Sabo and Ace both of whom have a stupid grin on their faces.
“Yes Luffy, you will. And when you do, will you share your treasure with me and your brothers?”
“Of course! We’ll always be together and I’ll protect you all!”
Ace gets up to deliver yet another punch to the boy but Sabo beats him to it and pinches Luffy’s cheeks. “Oi! We’re your older brothers! We’ll protect you!”
Luffy just laughs and both the brothers scowl at him. You can’t help the tears that escape your eyes. Oh, how you’ll miss them!
Ace sits back down and asks you, “At what time are you leaving? Can we see you off?”
“Oh no no. I’ll leave early. You’ll all be asleep at that time. That’s why I came to say goodbye right now. I won’t be able to say it tomorrow.”
Ace nods and looks down, perhaps to hide the tears that fall from his eyes but you see them and pat his head lovingly. “It’ll be ok. You’ll have to look after Luffy, both of you.”
He wipes his tears quickly and with an arrogant tone replies, “Obviously. He’s our baby brother after all!” You nod and open your arms wider to hug all three of them. Luffy, who’s already sitting in your lap, hugs you quickly. Sabo also jumps on your lap and hugs you. You look at Ace whose cheeks are pink and raise your eyebrow at him. He sighs and hugs you too. You snuggle them closer, probably for the last time. You want to see them again, of course, you do, but with Shanks, you don’t know if that’s possible at all. And so you pour all your love in that hug. They’re all crying and soaking your shirt in their tears but you don’t say anything, you just keep them close. You only leave their room after they’ve fallen asleep. 
“Goodbye, boys. Be good.”
------- at dawn -------
After having said goodbye to the mountain bandits, you walk back to the bar where Shanks will be waiting for you. You can’t help but feel excited to finally sail away with him. You finally reach the bar and quietly enter. The bar is quiet, the early morning light filtering through the windows, casting a warm glow over the room. Shanks is sitting in his usual seat, sipping wine. Alcohol this early in the morning. You shake your head and make your way to him. Shanks looks up, a smile spreading across his face as he sees you. “You’re on time, for once,” he says with a smug grin on his face. You roll your eyes and sit down next to him. “Can you not drink this early in the morning?” You try to take his glass away but he dodges your hand and laughs. “Sweetheart, don’t worry, this isn’t too strong. I need something to function on. I don’t usually wake up this early.”
“Where’s the crew?”
“They went to the ship early. They’re waiting for us.” He stands up and offers you his hand. “Shall we begin our adventure then?” You stand up and take his hand. “Aye Captain!” You both make your way out of the bar and start walking to where his ship is docked. “Did you say goodbye to them?” You nod weakly. “Wasn’t easy at all. Even though they took it quite well, especially Luffy. I thought he would be a lot more devastated than he was.” Shanks glances at you and tugs you closer to him by your waist. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.” 
You finally reach the docks and look at his ship. It was massive with his jolly roger flying proudly in the wind. He boards first and then helps you get on the ship. As you board the ship, the crew greet you both warmly, happy to see their captain in good spirits. Lucky Roux comes over and drapes his arm over your shoulder. “Welcome aboard the Red Force!” You laugh as Shanks removes his arm and replaces it with his own instead. 
As they set sail, you stand at the bow of the ship, the wind in your hair and the salty air filling your lungs. You feel free, truly free, for the first time in your life. Shanks walks over and stands beside you, his presence comforting and reassuring. You lean your head over his shoulder, smiling up at him, a smile that is returned in kind. He kisses the top of your head and you wrap your arms around his waist.
And so, as the sun rises higher in the sky, you and Shanks sail off, ready to face whatever adventures lay ahead, together.
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hamyilton · 3 months
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Thinking about that Verstappen post I reblogged earlier, it’s interesting to me that on a site that’s very liberal and left-leaning, where racist or other bigoted beliefs are typically shut down right away, that so many people here are fans of MV. I’ve done some thinking on it and I believe his fans fall into these types of groups:
1.Max fans who were fans well before 2020 and formed strong emotional attachments (as he had never said anything outright offensive before this time, and ignoring the incident with Ocon). I believe that having to admit you liked Max before he did and said these shitty things and thus having to craft a whole new blog is simply too much of a task for people, and these are likely people that are big proponents of the fandom characterizations of Max that ignore his real personality and actions. So, these people are aware of his shitty actions but ignore it for the purposes of fandom.
2. People who were fans of his before 2020 and know about his actions but just don’t care, I guess to them racism and ableism are excusable if you really like someone/think they’re hot.
3. Fans that do not know the shitty things that Max has done and are truly ignorant. These are most likely people who started watching F1 after 2022 as I feel like it would be hard to watch the 2021 season without being aware of the controversies lol. They think people only dislike Max because of his domination and are also riding on the back of the popularity of lestappen which was (at least how it seems on Tiktok) a lot of peoples introduction to F1 fandom.
This has been sitting with me for a while, trying to reconcile how people could support someone who’s said racist things (including that he did not believe in BLM when Lewis approached him about support, disrespected Lewis’ father, refused to name him in interviews, drove recklessly like Monza 2021, and the use of slurs etc.) with the larger liberal and social justice oriented Tumblr community. Like, I do genuinely feel bad for people that liked Max in the time before he actively said and did more shitty things, but like, if you can really support someone who behaves so awfully and can be a real danger on track, I don’t believe you can call yourself a true advocate for equality and fairness. And I haven’t even mentioned Abu Dhabi 2021 yet but the fact that it’s remembered now as “drama” instead of one of the most egregious examples of a championship being manipulated against the sport’s only Black driver…like it makes me fucking sick to my stomach. So many people quit watching F1 because of that and I really don’t blame them because it showed the complete lack of integrity of the sport itself.
Anyway, this is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now considering I’ve had to block what feels like a hundred MV fans because it’s so upsetting to see. And to see people write Lewis/Max fanfiction it feels like I’m living in an alternate reality because how can people not know??
Anyway rant over.
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mayaree-darling · 10 months
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Kissing Bleeding Mouths// Blade
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Pairing: Blade x StellaronHunter!Reader Synopsis: He’d call you his associate, but you’re way past the formalities. That’s not the right word for the both of you, anyway, he doesn’t want that to be you and him. You really don’t know what you do to him, do you? Warnings: OOC Blade because I know almost nothing about him and his lore except that I want him to come home (he’s gonna come home I know it it’s a canon event); Can’t do full spicy because I don’t do that stuff so I did a “different” kinda spicy. Not exactly fluffy (I’d say borderline obsessive, if anything, this relationship is toxic y’all) Fic Length:  2.1k~ (Unedited (because I’m tired)) From Aree: Hey, everyone, it’s been a while! Happy to be back. Always wanted to write for gaming fandoms, too, so we’re starting with Honkai Star Rail (I have a Genshin SAGAU fic that’s been in the works for so long now and it’s still a work in progress). I got inspired by a POV playlist I came across on YouTube by greatdain, and this is just a POV under that song that I ended up extending lmao. Anyways, enjoy!
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A part of him wishes you knew what you did to him.
Soft smiles and softer laughter only he witnessed in peaceful moments spared during a mission. A joke here and there he thought annoying at first, but found himself thinking about the longer he’s in your absence (he plans on taking it to his grave that he found them all well crafted. Hell would have to freeze over before he let you know it helped him sleep to think of how you made each joke at the spur of the moment). Even gone, you’d still annoy him. So stupid. Stupid and naive you. How did you end up in their group, anyway, so sweet and innocent as you were? How did he end up wrapped around your little finger? A part of him wishes you knew what you did to him. But the logical side of him - the one that only knew the taste of blood and the draw of a sword - it forced him into silence.
Because he didn’t know what you would do with that kind of information.
What would you do had you seen him battle with himself for hours after returning to HQ if he should go and see you? How he all but paced around his room, thinking of a reason to enter yours? And now, here he was, his best effort of holding himself back was trying to walk slower (he wasn’t one for holding himself back in the first place, but the effort is there all the same). But surely you knew, right? Surely you felt his eyes on you as you made your way around a party or sat across him at a meeting, almost desperately trying to catch your eyes and… and what? What was he hoping for? What was he hoping for you to do?
“What do you think you’re doing, Blade?” the question is a whisper, almost a breath you don’t want others to hear, but there was no one to listen but the man himself, and Blade would cut down anything that dared interrupt now.
“Figure it out yourself.” If he had any ounce of honesty and softness in him, he’d admit he wasn’t quite sure himself, but that was just what effect you had on him. Blade remembered looking for you after you left the ballroom to get some air, finding you in a deserted hallway. He doesn’t quite remember how he ended up pinning your wrists to the nearest wall, lips ghosting over the spot where your shoulder meets your neck, waiting. For what specifically, he’s not sure either. You keep making him second-guess himself. He knows he can take you in a fight - your wrists feel so fragile under his fingers - he knows he can take you - you haven’t exactly been trying to fight him off all this time - but still, he hesitates. If he lets himself press his mouth to exposed skin, have a taste of what he’d been denied of for so long in your presence, well, it felt like crossing a line he could never come back from.
“Hmm, if I was going to take a guess, it almost feels like you’re about to eat me.” You’re trying to make light of the situation, as you’ve always done. Yet he does not scoff, or ignore you, or move on from the conversation. Instead, he feels your laughter come to a stop when he sighs into your skin. He agreed, it certainly did feel like he was going to eat you. What would happen if he sunk his teeth into you, nipped at your skin - what else would he break between the two of you besides your flesh?
“What would you do if I did?” He closes his eyes, trying to reel himself in. Maybe he can still control himself. Breathe in, breathe out. He curses silently through gritted teeth. Blade should have known better than to do that. Now he’s enveloped in your scent, the only thing he can feel under his touch is your warmth, it was all you, you, you.
Blades feel you shift in position and instinctively tightens his hold on your wrists. It must’ve hurt - he’s barely aware of how much strength he’s using - but you don’t make a peep. He can’t risk letting you walk out now, even if he still doesn’t know what he’s doing - what happens after you leave him in this hallway? Will he enter HQ tomorrow to find out you’d requested another partner without so much as another word to him? Not that he’d just let things end there - he’d probably make sure you end up his partner again. But he would still prefer to see this conversation through.
He’s pulled back when he feels your breath on his ear. You let out a puff of air - a small laugh - that has him more aware of the situation you’re in. You’re so, so close - and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It wouldn’t be fun if I just answered that, now, won’t it? So let me ask, since you’re the one in control right now, yeah?” Blade’s not sure if you meant to brush your lips to the shell of his ear, but you’re speaking again before he can think of a proper reaction. “What do you want me to do?”
Why would he know what you’d do? All he’s been able to think about is what he’d do to you. A part of him wants to strangle you until you hated him. What have you done to him? Wants to crush you in an embrace so tight he’d permanently feel you in his arms long after you’re gone. Kiss you until he could drown in your bleeding mouth. What did you do? Why is he like this, all because of you?
And all too soon the answer comes to him clearly.Blade’s hands leave your wrists in an instant, instead coming to grab your face, forcing you to meet his eyes. He doesn’t have to see his own expression to know he looks beyond deranged - he can feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth upward into a lopsided grin, eyes blown wide. His thumbs try to gently caress your cheeks, and yet you can both feel him tremble with barely restrained excitement.
“I want you to break,” he ghosts his lips over yours. Where should he bite first? “But I want to be the one to break you.”
 It would be so easy to do, too. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. To make you submit to his every beck and call, have you running to do his very bidding, his words more than gospel the moment they reached you. By the end of this little game of sorts, he’d have you kneeling.
And yet, and yet, and yet.
The automatic doors slide open to let him in and Blade locks it behind him without much thought, like it was second nature, as he has already done time and time before.
You sit on the edge of your bed with your back facing him, one leg spread to the floor and your other knee pulled to your chest, phone in hand, softly humming a tune as you scroll through your messages (was it those damned crew members of the train again?) He can’t help but be aware of every little thing you do, every little thing related to you. He knows that song you’re singing.
He’s heard it played on the streets of Belobog the first time you sang along and he hears it again as you lay next to him the first night you spent together. You may have thought him asleep with his eyes closed and even breathing, but that was your mistake. He listened to you sing that song in the dark, so very aware of your proximity, each small breath you took, an intake of air longer than the rest as you hummed, and every time you made the slightest alteration to your position under the sheets, trying not to “wake” him.
To him, to Blade, it felt like he never truly left that moment in time. Each time he lays down for the night, if he can fool himself enough, he can hear you humming. You’re in bed with him, surely. Just an inch away from touching the tips of your fingers or the edge of your face. He’d kill to even graze at your skin, but he’s not dumb enough to try - he knows the moment he does, the illusion would end, the spell would break, and you and your voice with it.
Blade relishes the sound of your singing now, in the flesh, unhindered by his own imagination. He’s so close now. A few steps and you’re in arms reach. He can just hold his hands out and then… and then…
You raise your head the longer he doesn’t say anything, most likely wondering why he hadn’t made his presence known. Normally he’d stand in your line of sight and stare at you until you finally decide to give him your full attention, be it to go over the mission plans or just to provide him entertainment. The Blade in front of you right now, however… He doesn’t know what face he’s making. Is it carefully blank, or do you see the desperation he’s trying so hard to keep in check?
“Blade? What can I do for you?” you maneuver your body so you’re facing him, but you don’t stand and come closer. You don’t try to close the distance in any way. You stay where you are, on the bed, with him by the door.
And that was the problem.
In few quick and agitated strides, he reaches for your wrist.
“That’s something I don’t hear very often, especially when it’s directed at me,” you laugh like there was nothing wrong with your predicament. Like he didn’t just say he’d rather have you broken than hopelessly in love like he really wanted, like he really craved. “However, you don’t expect me to just accept that without a fight, yes?”
“Of course not,” his thumb grazes at your lip, imagining a cut right straight in the middle. Imagining swiping the blood across your face. Imagining the clean-up afterward. “The process is more than half the fun. I look forward to it already. Do you?”
“I suppose, to an extent, but that’s not what I meant,” you smile tenderly, eyes soft, gently caressing his cheeks. Blade can’t help the feeling that you’re treating him like he’s the only one who’s not in on the joke, the one who just can’t seem to get it. “What makes you think you won’t break first?”
“Blade?”
He looks at your wrist in his hand. So easy to break. Just a quick twist of his own wrist and he’d hear it snap under his fingers, have you crying in his arms. Would he try to soften your crying with murmurs of assurance, or would he tell you to scream louder? He doesn’t get to know the answer.
He holds your wrist like a feather, you must have noticed how lenient he’s being. Tight enough to know its unmistakable presence, but not enough to crush. When was the last time he was aware of how fragile something was?
“Blade? What’s wrong?”
He raises his eyes to meet yours. You don’t flinch, or try to move away. You stare at him, watching his face for anything that might give way to what was going on. Instead of letting you find out anything for yourself, he slowly kneels down until he’s eye level with you.
He all but barks out a laugh. He puts pressure on the tips of his fingers, almost trying to crack into your skull. “Do you really think I’d let myself break first? You’re out of your mind, darling.”
His throat burns at the very idea, bile rising up from his stomach, but he either said it now or lived in secret for the rest of your time together. He thought of marking you in other ways, but this would have to suffice for now.
“I yield.”
He watches as your eyes widen ever so slightly before you smile, ever so slightly, eyes ever so soft. You cup his cheek with your free hand and he all but melts into the attention you’re so willingly giving him. When you lean in, he’s already meeting you halfway, but just before your lips touch, you hold him in place with your hand on his face, mouths just barely grazing the other. He finds himself staring at your eyes which seem to gleam something dark.
He feels your hand slowly creep from his cheek to his hair, softly brushing at strands before tugging - once, twice - at the ends. “Oh, I don’t just think so, Blade.”
You smile like you know a secret he doesn’t, a joke he can’t quite get.
“I know.”
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✨ Masterlist ✨ 
Taglist: 💛@anime-allover  💛@faeriessky  💛 @prksolon 💛 @dai-tsukki-desu
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and belong to their respective creators. Their portrayal is merely my own interpretation of them and may not be accurate to their intended characterization. I stake no claim to the original works, only to the ideas and plot of the fictitious stories I’ve written them into.
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ivy-and-ivory · 9 months
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I absolutely adore your Batman and Jason Todd fics!!! I was wondering if you had any fic recs? ♥️
Thank you Anon!! I’m so glad you enjoy my writing :D
There’s so much incredible Jason & Bruce fic out there and I’m more than happy to share some recs! I’m unfortunately not the best about remembering to keep track of fics I enjoy, so this is by no means a definitive/comprehensive list of my favorites, but I scrolled through my bookmarks and found a few fics that will hopefully satisfy your Jason & Bruce cravings :)
Stargazer by LemonadeGarden @lemonadegarden (47,656 words, Multi-chap, Complete)
Author’s Summary:
“Jason Todd is seriously injured during patrol one night, and is forced to stay at the manor to recuperate until his injuries are healed. To pass the time, he makes a list of things he never got to do before he died. Except there's one small problem: most of them involve Bruce, and Jason doesn't really think Bruce cares all that much about him anymore. This is a story about how wrong he is, but I made it sad anyway.”
Truly what can I even say about this fic. This is the story that made me fall in love with Jason Todd, and Bruce & Jason reconciliation fics, and Bruce & Jason destination/road trip fics, and basically everything I care most about in this fandom. I’d been a Superbat fan for a while before I started getting into the Batfam side of things, and around the time I read this I was only just starting to read stories about the Robins. This was the gateway fic. This was the one that caught me and made it stick. Formative, definitive, one of my all time faves.
this kind of weather by r_astra @heyy-its-skip (46,456 words, Multi-chap, WIP)
Author’s Summary:
“Jason’s at school when his mom dies, and that’s the only reason any of it happens. If he’d been home, if he’d been with her, he would’ve been in the wind before anyone else even knew. Even if they looked, no one ever would’ve found him. He’d have taken to the sewers if that’s what it took, man-eating crocodile guy and all.”
Ohhhhh this fic. Bio-parent Bruce AUs don’t always do it for me, but the fics that get it right get it RIGHT, and this is one of them. Possibly my favorite Jason joins the batfam late fic ever. I’m obsessed with the Jason characterization in this one. Like actually obsessed. Like he is rotating in my brain like a rotisserie chicken at all times constantly 24/7 obsessed. Cannot recommend enough.
Growing Like A Breeze by whaleofatime @cetaceans-pls (6,114 words, Oneshot, Complete)
Author’s Summary:
“April 27th isn't anyone's favourite date, but it's somehow worse than usual today when Bruce gets his car stolen. It's nice of Red Hood to come to his rescue. Nicer even that Jason keeps him company afterwards.”
If you’ve read my fics I think it should be a given that any Jason & Bruce fic tagged “Inexplicable Road Trip” is absolutely going to do it for me. But god, Bruce’s psyche in this one. The man has twisted himself up in more tangles than the Gordian knot. Really fantastic exploration of Bruce & Jason’s relationship and trying to move forward past the destructiveness of grief and blame. I will be thinking about the bumper stickers on Bruce's Hyundai Elantra forever.
through space and time by sparkycap @sparkysomething (6,334 words, Oneshot, Complete)
Author's Summary:
"When an Outlaws mission gets Jason sent back twelve years in the past, he finds himself in a familiar position: stealing something stupid and getting caught by a Batman who wants to give him a second chance. It’s a refreshing change from how encounters with his present-day Batman usually go."
I am a simple woman. Give me a fic where Bruce interacts with Jason without really knowing the significance of who he's interacting with and I will go feral, every time. Absolutely brutal interaction between a well-meaning Bruce and a hurting Jason in this one. Don't want to spoil anything, but there's one line of dialogue in particular that just. Ugh. Fuck me all the way up.
Clearly Calm and Keeping Terrorized by Batbirdies @batbirdies (258,290 words, Multi-Chap, Complete)
Author's Summary:
"Jason made a deal with Bruce, no killing, and there would be no more conflict between them. At least on patrol. Jason reasoned it would be easier to accomplish his goals without constantly fighting Batman along the way. It didn’t change anything, not really. Not until he found an old gift he never knew about and Bruce asked him to dogsit Titus while he and Damian were out of town. Not until the Lazarus Pit started bothering him again. AKA: My take on a Jason rejoins the family fic."
I am once again reccing a Bruce & Jason reconciliation fic (are you perhaps noticing a trend?) This one will break your heart and put it back together again. It's part of a series but can stand alone (though I've read the two works that precede it and highly recommend them as well). 250k+ words about a father and son and the rest of their family trying to figure out how to heal. Genuinely there is so much love in this fic. And trauma! Can't forget the trauma. But also so much love.
Code of Silence by JHSC @jhscdood (9,376 words, Multi-Chap, Complete)
Author's Summary:
"Willis Todd doesn’t die in prison. That doesn’t change much, until it does."
This one is less Jason & Bruce-centric than the others on this list (though Bruce still features, especially in the other works in the series) but it absolutely fits the bill for Jason & his dad content so I'm reccing it anyway. This fic utterly transformed the way I view Willis Todd. Incredibly thoughtful, emotional exploration of trauma and recovery and trying to heal. The whole series is gold.
Good Intentions and the Highest Hopes by rotasha (16,863 words, Multi-Chap, Complete)
Author's Summary:
"Bruce offers each of his children the chance to go on vacation with him, and they get to choose the destination. Jason chooses the one place he thinks Bruce will enjoy the least, out of spite. That’s how the two of them end up going to Disney World."
Another one that perfectly checks all my favorite Bruce & Jason fic boxes. Reconciliation fic? Check. Set in highly specific non-Gotham destination? Check. Bruce not quite knowing how to connect to Jason but trying his best anyway and Jason finally deciding to let him? Check, check, check. Jason's kind of an asshole in this one; I adore him eternally. And I love Bruce so so much in this.
There are so many more I could add but I'm going to leave it at that for now! Hope some of these are new to you & that you enjoy them! And thanks again for reading my work :D
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oreosmilkshakes · 1 year
Text
Eternally Mine
Pairing: Namor/K’uk’ulkan x reader
Fandom: Marvel- Black Panther Wakanda Forever
Word Count: 1,843
Warning(s): Dark Namor, !!there is spoilers!!, fluff, a little talk about injury
A/N: Honestly, Namor’s real name has me getting crossed eyed. The amount of times I had to check and cross-check to ensure I got his name right is crazy. Anyway, here is the sequel and final story to Forever Mine. I hope this isn’t cringy too ;-; I will push out more writing! Enjoy reading!
Part 1: Forever Mine 
Taglist: NIL
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[Name] didn’t know exactly how long it has been since Namor whisked her away. The caves of the King’s home were lonely, despite the presence of the guards that protected the premises. The walls were cold but the bed was even colder. She missed the seaside breeze, the heat on her skin and the food. She missed it all. [Name] sat atop the makeshift bed, one made with the most comfortable furs and a really sturdy frame. The occasional drops of water break the silence from time to time. The woman pulled the blanket over her body. It was too cold and a part of her sought the comfort of the King.
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[Name] remembered the morning after she was taken. She recalled fighting the King, thrashing against his hold, crying and begging for him to take him back. Namor simply ignored her, throwing her on the bed with a threatening finger.
“Try anything and I will retaliate. Understand?” And all she could do was nod, tears flowing freely. Namor caught a tear, rubbing it between his fore and thumb. “Don’t fear me, mi amor. I don’t want to hurt you but if I have to, I will,” His words were more of a promise than a threat. All the woman did was swallow and nodded, fear covered her heart.
Eventually, [Name] lost track of time. Each time Namor returned home, her voice would soften, refusing to meet his eyes but still acknowledge his presence. On his travels to the outside world, he would return with so many gifts ranging from clothes to exotic jewellery. Her heart melted at his sweet actions and slowly, she began opening up to him. She wore the clothes when he wasn’t around, twirling around to see herself. Her hands rubbed her own arms, smiling softly. As days passed, she realised that perhaps Namor isn’t that much of a threat she may have perceived him to be.
But she never forgot her misery.
Namor entered their shared home, dressed in his elaborate but beautiful cloak. [Name] was laying on their shared bed, turned away from the King.
“In yakunaj,” He called out, moving around the bed. He sat on the edge, a strong hand gently laid on her arm. She didn’t acknowledge him, burying her face in the pillow to ignore him. The bracelet around her wrist caught his eyes and a proud smile spread across his lips. “You wear the bracelet. It brings out your beauty even more,” He tried, in an attempt to get the woman to react but all she did was grumble into the soft pillow.
“Look at me, in yakunaj,” Namor instructed, hand gently squeezing her arm for a reaction. However, she didn’t give him anything.
Namor growled. Her disobedience was getting on his nerves. His large hand ripped the pillow away from her face, grabbing her chin to force her to look at him. Upon laying his eyes on her redden eyes and tear stained cheeks, his anger melted. Furrowed brows relaxed and his jaw muscles eased.
“Mi amor-,”
“Namor, please,” [Name] sniffled, her hands on his broad shoulders now, leaning close to the King.
“Please, just let me see land once more. I-I miss it, Namor,” She hiccuped, chest heaving to hold back more tears from flowing.
“I c-can’t stand it here anymore. I miss the sun, I miss my home, I miss my family. I miss everything up there! Do you understand my predicament? I am suffering here, Namor..Do you understand?” She hiccuped again, slumping her forehead against his shoulder. [Name] had to admit, though, that for a man who spent a majority of his time in saltwater, he did smell good.
“Please, Namor..Please, I am begging you, my King. I will do whatever you want. I will be your wife, I will bear your children but please..let me see the outside world once more. Please, K’uk’ulkan,” She sniffled.
Namor eased up. While he enjoyed her begging and listening to his true name rolling off her tongue like butter, he understood her pain. But he cannot grant her wishes. Not right now, at least.
Unfortunately, Namor had bigger issues at hand. The Wakandans. A new threat had begun to surface and this threat had something to do with his beloved empire and his people. The surface dwellers were meddling with the wrong people and he needed the scientist whose intention was to jeopardise their very secret existence. He had gone to Wakanda with a demand- that they bring the scientist to him or else, when his patience runs out, he will be forced to do things his way. Namor intends to wait for two days before he will take action.
His hands were soft as he brought [Name]’s face off his shoulders. It cupped her chin, eyes soft. “I will grant your wishes,” At that sentence, her eyes widened and lit up, lips parted. She was surprised at the sudden change.
“But..,” The King began again and her expression shifted, anticipating the ever coming disappointment.
“But, there are matters that I have to take care of first before I can do so,”
“W-What sort of matters?”
Namor shook his head slightly. “Nothing you should be concerned with, my love. I will have my soldiers to protect you. Do not leave our home, understand? Can you do this for me?”
[Name] sniffled, wiping her eyes and wore a small smile. “Thank you, my King. I can never repay such generosity,” She leaned back into him and this time, his arms snaked around her waist.
“Being my Queen is enough repayment,”
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Days passed and [Name] did her best to entertain herself with whatever items Namor left for her. There were guards standing outside the doors of the hut and around it. She was confused with why the excessive amount of protection but she refused to question it.
These empty days gave her time to think about Namor.
And she thought deeply.
Namor was a King of a whole underwater empire. He was like a God to them, even inheriting these powers he had. So why her? What made her so special? What made her so special enough that he wanted her, a human with the inability to breathe underwater, to be the queen of a whole empire?
Then, she remembered.
“K’uk’ulkan is his true name. But the only reason why he chose Namor, was from the words belonging to a surface dweller. El Niño sin Amor. A child without love,” said one of her maidens, who cared for her daily needs.
[Name]’s heart ached for the King. No one deserved to live without love. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint how old he is but to live a life without love? She would rather die than to do so. Her eyes looked down to her arm, where among the bracelet gifted by her King, was a bracelet that belonged to his mother. Her own heart ached to see her mother once more. She missed her and looked forward to seeing her again. The woman had long days to piece the stories together. His mother was the last person to ever love K’uk’ulkan and ever since then, he didn’t love again.
She could love him.
She knew she could.
All the things he did for her was for her best interest and she knew it. His true intention was never to hurt her but to love her. And she will love him.
It had been two weeks or so since K’uk’ulkan had left to attend to his personal affairs and she missed him greatly. [Name] asked the guards everyday on when her love would return but they too couldn’t give her an answer.
A heavy sigh left her lips, K’uk’ulkan’s cloak rested on her shoulders. His scent was wearing off and she frowned deeply.
The sound of rustling pulled the woman out of her thoughts and she found her King stepping through the doors of their shared hut. She gasped, immediately getting to her feet.
“In yakunaj,”
“K’uk’ulkan!”
Both said at the same time. [Name] wore a big smile on her lips and so did he as she rushed to him. His arms wrapped around her waist, face buried into her neck and breathed deeply. “You look magnificent with my cloak on, mi amor,” And just like that, her face reddened. Her hands moved to his back, tightening the hug but he hissed in pain.
[Name] pushed the King away, moving around to his back. Her eyes widened. While most of his back had smooth skin due to his fast healing, there were some deep burnt wounds taking their time to mend and heal.
“What happened?” Her fingers hovered over the wounds, moving down to his lower back where her eyes stopped to his ankle. “Your wing..”
K’uk’ulkan turned to face his queen.
“A battle I shared with another. There is nothing to worry about, my lov-,” “No. Nope. Sit down. I will tend to your wounds,” “Mi amor-,” The King tried to protest but she glared at him.
“Sit down. I mean it,” [Name] moved to the medicinal table, readying the herbs and leaves for his wounds. She returned with a bowl of crushed medicinal herbs, kneeling on the bed behind the King with her hands moving around his back to cover the wounds.
“Two weeks, K’uk’ulkan. You didn’t come back and I got worried,” The woman confessed, her own heart skipping a beat at her own words. She could feel his muscles tense under her touch. She did take her time to admire the broad spread of his back, cheeks reddening once more at her own ogling. Her fingers spread the medicinal herb on the last wound before placing a healing leaf on it. It was time like this that she did miss modern medicine but this herb apparently works wonders.
“Done..” She muttered, leaving to clean her fingers up. K’uk’ulkan stood, eyes watching her every movement, even when she returned to him.
He offered a hand to her and she looked at it. She took it, lacing their fingers together. He didn’t waste any more time, pulling the woman in to capture her lips with his own. Her entire body eased into his touch, melting into the hot kiss. She tilted her head, giving the King more space to deepen the kiss.
[Name] pulled away first, chest heaving slightly.
K’uk’ulkan rested his forehead against hers, a small smile on his furry lips.
“Why the change, my love?”
“I heard your stories from the maidens, K’uk’ulkan,” [Name] moved her hand to cup the King’s cheek, thumb caressing the beard with a smile on her lips.
“You may think that you don’t deserve love, especially after the life you lived and the things you have seen. But..,”
The woman tiptoed a little, planting a soft kiss to his cheek, thumb caressing his cheekbone now.
“Even a God needs love,”
The King smiled widely, pulling his queen in for another deep kiss.
[Name] vowed that she would belong to K’uk’ulkan...eternally.
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