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soft-october-night · 3 years

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The Love Interests in the Works of Jane Austen: An Assessment

This is an "extremely scientific" and "thoroughly researched" ranking based on personality, money, family and connections, and is a bit of a blend between the book characterizations and the film characterizations (and is in no way only based on my own opinions). Here we go, grouped by book but not much else.

Edmund Bertram: absolute trash. His family has treated you unbelievably shitty since day one and not only has he BARELY noticed, he ALSO has treated you shitty. Will fall in love with someone beautiful and fun and when she dumps him will come crawling to you for a rebound. His passion for you is so lackluster that even the esteemed author who wrote about it barely spared a paragraph on your relationship. Has a job but only because his dad owns the land the church is built on. You’ll gain no connections or family by marrying him, since he’s literally your cousin. 0/10

Henry Crawford: There IS such thing as too much fun, and that is never clearer than in this man, who will try to seduce you as a game, freak out when his middling overtures don’t work and then try and seduce you “for really real” this time. You will definitely move up in the world if you marry him, and if you play your cards right it seems like his sister is also just REALLY into you, so see how that goes. Life will be pretty okay until you find him in bed with one (or more, who knows) of your relations. 3/10, 8/10 if you’re into that

John Willoughby: Will be like something out of a romance novel, you’re thinking he’s going to propose and then he just fucking ghosts you and embarrasses the fuck out of you at a party by acting like he doesn’t know you. Somehow marry him (congrats on the inheritance you must have, btw) and get ready to take a backseat to the whims of his aunt for as long as she lives. 1/10, at least you get to live in a nice house.

Edward Ferrars: Oh Edward. He’s a bit of a mess, isn’t he? Super kind, your family loves him, he made a bunch of stupid decisions in his youth that are coming back to bite him in the ass. He is loyal to an absolute fault, but you luck out when his fiance turns out to be a bit of a gold digger and dumps him when his mom disowns him. He doesn’t have a job and neither do you, but his family doesn’t wanna speak to him (lucky you!) and you’ll be happy and poor together if you two can work on your communication skills. 7/10.

Colonel Brandon: He’s got a nice house, the respect of his friends and the community, and he has a LOT of passion. He’ll give your sister’s penniless husband a job, dramatically rescue you from a rainstorm, make sure his dead girlfriend’s daughter is happy and taken care of even after your ex fucks HER over too, and is all around a pretty decent guy. Just. Uh. Maybe, kinda, sorta, needs to go after women his own age and is probably with you because you remind him of his dead girlfriend. 5/10 with the wildly inappropriate age gap, 9/10 without it.

Mr. Wickham: Please don’t. He’s a thirsty bitch who lives for drama and you think he’s fun until you find out he tried to sleep with one teenage girl and is making eyes at your fifteen year old sister behind your back. Marry him (through the grace of mysterious benefactors, cause he ain’t marrying anyone unless he’s paid the right price) and get ready for a life of being surrounded by military men in the north of England while your husband tries to fuck everything that moves. Work that out somehow with him and you might actually be happy. 0/10.

Mr. Bingley: He is a softboi who will do literally anything his friends tell him to do. He is SUPER rich, and marrying him will throw your sister’s into the path of other rich men and he is REALLY into you, but get ready to be sucking up to his sisters for literally the rest of your life. Unless he can ship Miss Bingley off to live with Mrs. Hurst, have fun trying to wage a war of barely concealed insults over the breakfast table every morning, and if you’re marrying Bingley I’m sorry but that is a war you just cannot win. He doesn’t have a job but he does have five thousand a year, and neither of you can manage money. You’ll love simply and deeply and be happy as any two can be. 8/10.

Mr. Collins: Last resort to rescue yourself from a life of being a burden to your parents until they die and then having to become a governess or something. Has a job but never shuts up about his boss. You will have to rearrange everything in your house according to his boss’ will. 2/10

Mr. Darcy: Is a anxious disaster who doesn’t know how to talk to girls at parties and needs to learn how say no to going out when he’s just not feeling it. He doesn’t have a job because he’s a landlord; he owns half of Derbyshire and has ten thousand a year, but turns out that all of that money and land can’t buy tact or charisma. Doesn’t know how to flirt and thinks he’s doing a great job (he’s not). He’ll propose to you out of the fucking blue one day by insulting literally everything about you, but don’t worry! Reading his letter unlocks Darcy 2.0. This patched version gives him humility, a personality, and he WILL gain the ability to rescue your family from utter ruin. Marry him and enjoy a life of luxury and witty ripostes, but beware! You ARE going to have to deal with Lady Catherine until the day she dies, not to mention Caroline Bingley’s barely concealed contempt every time you meet in polite company. Darcy 1.0 3/10, Darcy 2.0 8/10.

Captain Wentworth: Absolutely top tier. Has a job, has earned everything he has, including a fortune and the respect of his peers, superiors, and subordinates. His sister and her husband are practically the only happily older married couple you know, his friends are super fun and nice (even the dour one with all the poetry knows how to have a polite conversation). If you dumped him ten years ago on the advice of your almost comically shitty family yeah, he’s going to hold a grudge, but he WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU and the MOMENT he gets over his pride will do everything and anything in his power (including leaping the bounds of propriety!) to win you back. Based on his love, money, and connections you should RUN, not walk, into his arms TODAY and allow him to rescue you from your family and whisk you off to see the world on his ship, at least until Napoleon busts out of Elba. 12/10

Mr. Eliot: Will lose all your old schoolfriend’s husband’s money in a bad deal, has debts out the ass, might be trying to get with either you or the woman your dad has been flirting with for the last few years, you’re not sure. Is totally ruining the rekindling relationship you’re trying to get going with your far superior ex. He wants the land and title your dad has and will stop at nothing to get it. Marry him and you can move back into your old house (maybe? it’s a little unclear what with all the debts) but have every single cent your mother left you immediately put into some dumbass scheme. 1/10

Henry Tilney: another softboi who just wants to act in the school play while his dad and brother plan to ship him off to military school and berate him for not joining the football team. Bring him shopping with you to pick out dresses, spend long nights over tea chatting about books. Has a job, but again, only because his dad owns the land the church is on. Loves you even though you have some very strange ideas about his house, and will forgive you when he realizes you thought his dad either murdered or imprisoned his mom. If he can find the courage to tell his dad to fuck off and let him live his own life, expect a long, happy marriage of snuggling together in a window seat somewhere, sipping tea and reading. 9/10

John Thorpe: Trash bastard man. Peaked in whatever equivalent of high school he had. Shitty and rude to everyone, would post racist memes on facebook and start fights if he could, all while being shitty and manipulative and CREEPILY possessive of you. -2/10

Robert Martin: A sweet himbo farmer who just wants to love and worship you. He has a job, is pretty rich, and while his connections may not be above his class, he’s an earnest boy who wants to take care of you and be taken care of in turn. Marry him the first time, absolutely do NOT let your friend influence you against him, because who KNOWS if you will get a second proposal! (You will, he likes you THAT much.) Marry him and enjoy a sweet, simple life of exactly zero drama (unless your friend is around). 7/10

Mr. Elton: Trifling gold digging trash who doesn’t know what the word no means. Do not marry, unless you want to be censured by decent, hardworking people -1/10

Frank Churchill: Knows how to have fun, but you know there’s something more going on. He won’t let you see his letters, he sends out secret notes, then he smiles and tells you that everything is totally a okay. Another boy with ANOTHER overbearing aunt, only this one doesn’t know how to say no. Marry him if you’ve got the money, but he will always be longing after the poor girl next door that auntie wouldn’t let him married, and would have cheated on you already if she was into it. 3/10

Mr. Knightly: He’s your brother in law and you’ve known him almost your whole life, so that’s a little sus, but he is also the ONLY person in your entire life who knows how to tell you no (and you really, REALLY need to be told no sometimes.) He is extremely wealthy, but more importantly he’s kind and caring about people who are considered “beneath” him. He will break his weird no dancing rule to dance with your shy friend, he will ream you out for being shitty to unwed spinsters who value your opinion, and somehow has the correct read on everyone all the time. You will gain no connections by marrying him, since the two of you already have the exact same connections anyway, but the two of you should be content in a test of wills that will last a lifetime. You’ll be very happy as long as he doesn’t get super pedantic and start correcting you about everything. 7/10

#jane austen #pride and prejudice #persuasion #sense and sensibility #emma #mansfield park #northanger abbey #mr darcy #captain wentworth

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janetbrown711 · 3 years

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“I can’t do this on my own.” Yakko

The royal family had been on the edge of their seats in anxiety ever since the day Angelina I locked Wakko up in the tower.

Well- that wasn’t entirely correct. Dot seemed blissfully unaware of the tension surrounding her, and Wakko was trying his best to just enjoy the fact he didn’t have to stay in that tower any longer than he already had anymore. His and Dot’s spirits were admirable, but the rest of the family simply couldn’t share the same feelings.

Lena had been practically pacing 24/7 ever since her conversation with her mother, of which she refused to give the kids details about, but from how easily her worry spread to their father, and the massive bruise on her face she tried so very very hard to cover with makeup, it was safe to say it went very poorly. She was constantly checking up them, making sure to keep a special eye out for Wakko, of whom Yakko was pretty sure she never let out of her sight anymore.

William had been nervous too. He was off at the training stations at night far more often than he used to, practicing his sword fighting. This effort failed him, however, when he sprained his arm from overworking it. Without his main source of stress relief, it became very clear something was eating him alive, and Yakko wished his parents trusted him enough to tell so he could help. He was the eldest brother, after all, he was supposed to help watch over his sibs too.

Yakko was anxious because of his parent’s anxieties, the fact they wouldn’t tell him what was going on, and a mysterious letter he had caught a glimpse of at his last lesson.

He had arrived early to his grandmother’s study, and she must’ve been writing to someone right before he came because she left a letter to dry there. Yakko only caught a glimpse, but he recalled it saying:

“...they are the priority. However, if the younger were to be lost in the chaos, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest-” and his grandmother snatched it from his hands before he could read further.

Yakko wished he hadn’t started reading it from the middle, because he simply couldn’t make sense of it. It sounded ominous, but not wanting to stress out his parents any more than they clearly were, he kept it to himself, figuring he was smart enough that he’d decode it eventually.

He was pretty sure his parents could tell how tense he was, because they kept patting and rubbing his back and assuring him things would be fine, but the bruise on his mother’s face refused to let him believe that.

“Alright you two, it’s well past bedtime now, clean up the toys,” Lena chuckled softly as Dot and Wakko pouted in the playroom.

“C’mon, you heard her you two,” Yakko rolled his eyes and assisted his younger siblings in cleaning up. Slowly but surely the warner siblings successfully cleaned up and put everything back in it’s place, before tiredly dragging themselves to their bedroom.

Wakko went straight to his and Yakko’s room, and Yakko was pretty sure he was out cold once he hit his bed.

Yakko however, lingered by Dot’s bedroom, cracking open the door just a little so he could listen in on the conversation the two were having.

“Mommy, are you okay?” Dot asked.

“Of course, dear, whatever would make you think that,” his mother said as she tucked in his little sister. Dot reached up, and her hand hovered over her bruise.

“I’m fine, Dottie, it’s okay. You don’t need to worry about me, you need to get to bed,” Lena booped her nose.

“I want a lullaby,” Dot said, sitting upright in the bed.

“Ah ah, what do we say?” Lena scolded lightly.

“May I have a lullaby... please?” Dot said. Lena nodded.

“Let’s see now...” His mother thought to herself, tapping a finger on her chin.

“When I look into your eyes,” She began, slowly tucking Dot back in again. “It’s like watching the night sky.”

“Or a beautiful sunrise. There’s so much they hold,” She sang softly, and for a moment, Yakko thought she saw him, but she didn’t stop singing.

“And just like the old stars,” she continued. “I see that you’ve come far, to be where you are.

“How old is your soul?” she sang that line softer, and Yakko felt a chill go down his spine.

“Well, I won’t give up, on us. Even if the skies get rough. I’m giving you all my love. I’m still looking up,” Lena put a soft hand on Dot’s cheek, and she smiled.

“And even you’re needing your space, to do some navigating, I’ll be here patiently waiting, to see what you’ll find,” Dot was practically asleep at that point, but neither Yakko nor his mother moved from where they were.

“Cause even the star, they burn. Some even fall to the earth. You’ve got a lot to learn. God knows you’re worth it.” She then kissed Dot on the forehead, slowly standing up.

“No, I won’t give up,” Lena said, more than sang. She paused a moment.

“Goodnight, Dot. I love you very much,” She said, pausing for a response, but Dot was fast asleep, as was the plan. Lena smiled softly before taking her candle and heading toward the door. Yakko panicked and started to run back to his room.

“Yakko, I know you were listening,” Lena said as she closed the door to Dot’s room.

“Sorry- I’ll go to bed now,” He apologized and continued on his way.

“Stop right there mister,” Lena ordered, and Yakko stopped dead in his tracks. his mother approached him slowly.

“You’ve been so anxious as of late, Yakko. I’m worried about you,” she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Well- so have you,” Yakko shrugged.

“Yakko, you’re so much younger than you realize... you’re twelve, for crying out loud. Our burdens should not be your burdens as well,” she stroked his cheek.

“But I wanna help,” he frowned.

“You help out in many meaningful ways, Yakko, but worrying yourself to death isn’t going to do any of us any good,” Lena said. “We need you to take care of yourself, alright?”

Yakko thought long and hard about that.

“But I want to help,” he said. Lena sighed softly.

“I know honey... but for now, the best way to help is to take care of yourself. Try to get some sleep, alright?” She gave him a weak smile. Yakko bit his lip.

“I can try,” was all he promised, which was good enough for the tired princess. Lena gave Yakko a soft kiss on the head.

“Goodnight honey,” She said.

“Goodnight, mom,” He replied, and before he knew it, she was gone.

Yakko frowned at his bedroom door. He knew for a fact he was likely to be unable to sleep, so instead, he headed to the family study, which was quite a bit away from him and his sibs room, or any of the bedrooms really, but he didn’t mind the walk. Once there, he pulled out one of his favorite books, lit a few of the candles, and got to reading.

However, as his eyes scanned the pages, the words from the letter rang in his mind over and over again.

The younger of who? A priority of what? Why wouldn’t she mind? What ‘chaos’? There were simply too many questions in his head.

Perhaps he should have shared them with his mom... that might’ve helped.

Then again, it could also just make her more nervous, which was the last thing he wanted.

He made the right decision, of that he was sure.

Yakko wasn’t sure how long he was reading or attempting to do so, but somehow he had managed to fall asleep against the table. However, a loud crash, sent him straight up, as his mind scrambled to wake up with his body.

What was that? Where did it come from?

Another crashing noise.

It came from the opposite direction of him and his sibs rooms, which meant-

His parent’s room.

Yakko heard shouting, swearing, and fighting of all sorts. He ran to the door to open it, but realized that might not be the best of ideas. To both his panic and relief, the voices seemed to continue going away from his and his sibs rooms, but that meant they were going for his parents.

Once the voices got far enough away, Yakko didn’t hesitate to swing the door open and run. He had to find his mom and dad- he had to make sure they were okay.

It wasn’t hard to follow the mob, as they left a path of destruction behind. Shattered glass, torn down curtains, mud, and other filth on the carpets. Yakko tried not to dwell, as he instead took a short cut to his parent’s room.

Yakko dashed around corners, around furniture, and under a few tables when he thought he might be caught.

However, he was moving so fast, he could hardly stop himself when he dashed around a corner and one of the men saw him, and grabbed him before Yakko could even think to turn around.

“You the little princey we’re lookin’ for?” He laughed, spitting in his face.

“Let me go!” Yakko demanded, but the man didn’t. Instead, he kicked him down, and dragged him down to the end of the hall where he saw-

“Mom!” Yakko gasped.

He honestly hadn’t thought much time had passed, but his mother looked like 50 brutal years had passed on her. Her hair and fur were disheveled, her nightgown was torn. She had more bruises on her face and a gash in her shoulder that was bleeding. Her wrists were tied in rope. . Her face grew mortified when she saw him.

“Let him go! It’s me you want, not him,” Lena pleaded, not looking at Yakko.

“H-huh?” Yakko sniffled.

“Not so fast, your highness,” one said in a mocking tone. “We were told one of ‘em could be collected as a bonus.”

“Please. I’ll do anything- just let him go,” she pleaded.

“No, mom! I wanna stay with you!” Yakko began to cry.

“No Yakko, your siblings need you,” Lena looked at him.

“I need you,” Yakko pleaded.

“Yakko? Aren’t we supposed to be lookin’ for a Wakko?” One man said. Yakko’s eyes widened.

The younger. Priority. Chaos.

They were going to come for Wakko.

“We were told to leave the crown prince alone, and get the middle one,” The tallest one smacked the one holding Yakko over the head. The man holding Yakko let him go, and he ran to his mother.

“Other way, stupid,” One of the men snarled at him.

“Mom, I-i’m not leaving you,” Yakko said.

“You have to. You have to protect Wakko,” Lena put her forehead against his and whispered.

“I-i can’t...” He cried.

“Scram or we’ll make you regret it!” The tallest shouted at him. Yakko gave his mother one last look, before running back with all his might, before he felt something hit him against the back of his head, hard and everything went black.

.o0o.

When Yakko finally opened his eyes again, it was morning. He was surrounded by shattered glass, mud, the smell of torches and firewood, and a throbbing headache in the back of his head.

His parents.

Where were they???

Yakko shot up, ignoring the increase in the throb, and immediately began his search, checking every room he went by.

No, not their bedroom... not the bathroom... not the parlor... not the painting room, not the dining hall, not the kitchen, not the lounge room, not the playroom, not the nursery, not the family study, not this bedroom, not the next, not the next, not the-

“Yakko?” Wakko groggily rubbed his eyes.

“Wakko, you’re okay,” Yakko sighed a breath of relief to find out his brother was still in his bed.

“What’s matter?” he asked, sitting up.

Yakko didn’t have it in him to tell him, so he just turned and left.

“Hey-! Wait! I wanna help!” Wakko protested his leave, and followed him. Yakko still didn’t say anything, checking Dot’s room quietly.

She was still there too.

“What’s the matter Yakko? I wanna help,” Wakko said just a tad too loudly, and Dot was awoken.

“Yakko?” She asked, rubbing her eyes too. Yakko still couldn’t get himself to speak, so he continued his search. Wakko shrugged at his little sister, and Dot decided to join her brother in following Yakko.

Yakko didn’t care that they were following, or that they were confused or worried by his silence. He didn’t care they were asking question after question about the state of the castle, and why so many things were destroyed. He needed to find them. His parents had to be okay. They had to be.

Not in his room, not in Dot’s room, not in the laundry room, not in the tailoring room, not in the dressmaker room, not in the storage room, not in the supply room, not in this bedroom, not-

Angelina I’s private study.

Maybe she’d have some answers.

Yakko didn’t even knock before bursting in.

The queen was already wearing all black, her face covered by a thick veil, though it hardly mattered because she wasn’t facing them anyway, staring out into the window instead.

“Where are they?!” Yakko demanded.

“They’re long gone, Yakko,” she didn’t even turn to look at him.

“Y-y... you’re lying!” He couldn’t accept that. Not now.

“Believe what you will, but you won’t find them here,” She said coldly, clutching her handkerchief tightly.

“C’mon, let’s go,” Yakko commanded his younger siblings as he went out of the room.

“Yakko, who are you talking about? Who are we looking for?” Wakko wasn’t understanding the situation.

Yakko still couldn’t answer.

not in the meeting room, not in the food storage, not in the tower, not in the ballroom, not in the dance lesson room, not in the theater room, not in the foyer-

Wait.

Yakko saw something shining on the floor. Quickly he bolted down the stairs as fast as he could before he realized-

It was his mother’s crown. It would never just be lying on the ground like this. They had to be close. Yakko looked around desperately.

They had to be here.

“Mommy’s crown...” Dot frowned and went to it, but Yakko held his arm out, not daring to disturb it.

“Yakko, why is mum’s crown here? Where is she?” Wakko asked him.

“Yeah, where’s mommy and daddy? I’m scared...” Dot looked up at him.

“they have to be here,” Yakko whispered to himself.

“I can’t do this alone.”

He looked around the room, but his eyes were becoming clouded by tears rapidly filling his eyes. He called out for his parents again, but only a painful echo replied. A sharp wave of pain and numbness washed over him.

Yakko collapsed onto his knees and sobbed.

His parents were gone.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

#my fics #angelina 1 lives au #yakko warner #yakko wakko and dot parents #animaniacs #wakko warner #dot warner #yakko wakko and dot #angst #tw blood #hurt no comfort #tw mentions of death #anxiety

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theseerasures · 3 years

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For the meta thing, how about big sisters with absent mothers: Winter and Yang? Like, how they dealt with things differently and what a friendship between them would look like

anon i just want you to know that as soon as received this ask i barged into my girlfriend’s room to be like “is this you???” because this ask is so EXQUISITELY tailored to my personal interests that i was like “literally who else would cater to me like this” and it was not her, apparently!!! so thank you very much for this ask.

of course i have SO MANY thoughts about this topic that it took me a complete month to marshal them into something faintly coherent, if staggeringly long, so. i hope it’s worth the wait.

S(chnee)-side: how to lose brothers and alienate sisters

let’s start from some well-trodden ground: the season 5 character shorts, and their subsequent caricaturization via Chibi, which posit the Yang vs. Winter dichotomy as something like “Yang loves Ruby by diving into a monster’s mouth for her, and telling her she always has her back, and Winter does the same for Weiss by...siccing monsters on her, and telling her that she won’t always be around to save her from them.” much hay has already been made about the reasons why the two of them would act in the ways they did, so for the purposes of my own meta i’m going to skip over those, and concentrate on how content since season 5 has updated these conceptions.

and on Winter’s end of things, these conceptions have been updated by showing that she’s, uh.

...full of shit.

we’ve now had TWO instances of Winter going above and beyond to protect someone vulnerable. the first time was for Penny, with whom she has a sisterly bond, and the second time was for Ren, with whom she has...exchanged a few lines of dialogue. if she’s so ready and willing to hurl herself bodily into the path of an aggressor for someone who is basically a stranger, then why all the pageantry with Weiss about how she can’t (or won’t) save her? did she carve some kind of blood relative exemption into her saving people thing? does it only apply to people who wear a lot of green?¹

to properly address this question--and to bring in the Willow of it all--i think we should step back and ask: how does Winter actually feel about the Schnee name?

not Jacques’ name, mind. nor anything he did to besmirch it. Willow’s name, and Winter’s birthright.

because what has always been interesting to me is that while Weiss has talked about reclaiming or rehabilitating the Schnee name from their father’s meddling and still clearly wants to reconcile herself with it, even after being disinherited, Winter has only ever talked about distancing. it’s entirely possible that she had similar aspirations when she was around Weiss’ age and was just more thoroughly disabused of them, but my point stands: Winter shows a discomfort with the Schnee name overall in a way that Weiss has yet to. you don’t have to look any further than Winter’s combat style to see how this discomfort is telegraphed, as she barely uses any Dust, or Glyphs, and the one aspect of her Semblance that she does use and tout are Summons, which just so happens to be the part that emphasizes her own individual ability to conquer foes. something about the Schnee name feels irreconcilably tainted for Winter,² and while i’m sure a large part of it has to do with her father, who can make her explode into emotion confetti by just being in the same room as her for thirty seconds, a not-insignificant part can probably be chalked up to the fact that...

Willow Schnee was probably never all that good a mother.

granted: we’ve have exactly one scene (two if you count the 8.2 sneak peek) with her, so i’m fully ready to be called Boo Boo the Fool if we get a flashback and Willow was some kind of crusading super-mom prior to her descent into alcoholism, but. the idea that she hasn’t ALWAYS had to compromise herself and her children just to get by feels facile. this is not to victim blame, but to say that Willow is an imperfect person (in that she is. a person) placed into a horrific situation, which means that she could not always deal with the situation perfectly. it’s important to remember her agency--both before and after she became an alcoholic--but it’s just as important not to idealize it into something it’s not. Willow was by no means a co-abuser to her children, but she was probably always inconsistent, because living with your abuser for years on end does that to you. personally, i’ve always envisioned pre-alcoholism Willow as...well-meaning and much more perceptive and intelligent than people give her credit for, but beset with her own flaws that grew in proportion to her hurt and bitterness. she was capable of shielding her children from her husband’s worst excesses, and often did; but she was just as capable of retreating when she might have fought, of excusing Jacques’ actions to try to keep the peace, even of lashing out at those who shouldn’t have to handle her negative emotions.

her descent into alcoholism exacerbated these tendencies, but Willow has always been a complicated woman, and the idea that there was a prelapsarian time when Willow was an unmitigated good, before...idk, her Good battery ran out and she became Drunk Victim Non-Mom, is...well, it’s definitely something that a ten-year-old who had an ENORMOUSLY traumatic birthday would believe (and blame herself for), but Winter might disagree. i don’t think her view would be any more objective, if only because the day Winter Schnee has an un-myopic thought is the day i pass gracefully into the West, but her view is probably more complicated and less flattering, because Winter knew her mother more as a person, and that’s something we’re gonna talk about more with Yang and Ruby, later.

the point i want to make now, with Winter, is that her determined inconstancy, where she’ll readily jump into the jaws of a monster for her siblings in one breath and berate them and caution them against needing her in the next--that comes from her experience with Willow. the lesson she wants her siblings to learn is not just “the people who are supposed to love you are cruel, so get a helmet,” but “the people who are supposed to love you disappoint you, which is worse, so it’s better to not rely on them at all.”³ better for them to learn it from her than firsthand, but also--better for herself, because when she does disappoint them (and she did. she left.) at least she can take comfort in the fact that surely it doesn’t hurt as much; she warned them, after all.

in Winter’s mind, this kind of disappointment is an inevitability, so what’s paramount is to make sure that when it does happen her siblings are at least prepared for it. in the face of that the fact that she would actually risk life and limb to help them if they ever need it falls to the wayside; i don’t think it was a mindful decision that Winter consciously made--like, i don’t think she ever thought “i’m going to withhold the fact that i would die for them because that would contradict the whole social Darwinism thing i’m trying to drill into their heads,” because Winter’s just...not that kind of deliberate rational actor, in any arena. rather--and maybe even more damning--i think she just assumes that Weiss and Whitley already KNOW, that it’s a given for them the sacrifices she’d make for them in the same way it’s a given for her. but they don’t! because you have to say these things, and Winter has been force-feeding them the precise opposite.

ultimately all of these contradictory impulses stem from Winter’s deep-seated need for control--both of herself, and of the environments around her, and those in turn come from the fact that she was a) repeatedly wounded as a child and b) had to shoulder responsibilities far beyond her own ability as that same child, which...continues to this day. from this perspective, what matters is less keeping her siblings safe, and more her own ability to save them. she knows that’s imperfect, so she compensates by enforcing what worked for her onto them, and also by keeping them away from anything that could harm them, without their input. i never thought much of the contrast in environments for the character shorts--like of course Weiss would spar with Winter’s Summons at home like the untested shut-in she was--but what did take me aback was that in season 7, after Weiss has waltzed across an entire continent and been promoted to a full Huntress, Winter...still exclusively trains Weiss with her Summons up in Atlas, while Ruby and Yang are traipsing across Mantle killing ACTUAL Grimm. i have no doubt that this was for foreshadowing reasons, but still: it points to the fact that for all Winter loves Weiss and would fight giant monsters for her, there’s a part of her that...doesn’t trust Weiss, and wants to maintain control over her.⁴

this, i think, is part of the reason why Whitley treats her basically like an un-person: it’s not just that she left when he was too young and Jacques filled in all the gaps with lies and slander, it’s also that even when Winter was around the bigger age gap made it much easier for her to reconcile keeping him out of the loop, for his own good. she can’t ever be vulnerable around either of her siblings, but especially not Whitley, because he’s too young; he might let something slip when they’re around Jacques, and she shouldn’t be putting that kind of burden on him anyway. if he resents her when she’s just trying to protect him--except you said that you wouldn’t, Winter you absolute moron--then that’s his prerogative. it doesn’t change her own responsibilities. they can be miserable and Byronic in their own separate cubby holes and it’s fine.

(it’s not fine.)

R(ose)⁵-side: tonight, the role of Replacement Goldfish will be played by...everyone

let’s get one thing out of the way: Yang is a GOOD big sister, and some of the ways that she is good can be chalked up to the fact that she had a better home life, but only some. her character short ends with her promising Ruby that she’ll always have her back after spending the short proving it, and she has--until recently, and we’ll get to that--lived up to it. people get caught up on how much time Yang spends with Blake nowadays, but it’s important to remember that the entire impetus for Yang reuniting with anyone during the Mistral arc was about Ruby. so is the thing that separates a Yang from a Winter is that a Yang preaches what she practices, and isn’t firing a million zillion mixed signals at all times?

well--yeah, basically, but we’re gonna make a big thing out of it anyway.

what made Yang and Ruby different from the Schnees--even before the character shorts--was a sense of parity. in contrast to Winter insisting on maintaining a) the most unapproachable facade in the world, and b) a death-grip on every situation at all times, Yang was characterized from the outset as...chill (ironically). despite her Semblance being LITERALLY hotheadedness, Yang’s passionate energy never manifested in any real desire to take charge. the fact that she was fine (even happy!) with Ruby being bumped up to her year and then becoming leader speaks volumes to how much Yang trusts and respects Ruby’s judgement. rather than try to mask her flaws, she exudes this kind of...radiant fallibility and lets Ruby take care of her, or keep her in line. they complement each other: Yang takes care of more grounded concerns like individual fights and making friends, while Ruby--again, until recently--set more abstract goals and gave them moral direction.

a lot of this can be attributed to the smaller age gap, but i think it also comes from growing up as two motherless free-range children on an island--and the motherlessness is obviously a huge deal for both of them. when i started writing this i honestly thought i’d talk more about Raven, since she’s the mom who’s actually a character already, and her absence plays a huge role in how Yang deals with her abandonment issues in the present, but to be honest: the loss that cut the deepest for Ruby AND Yang is Summer, because Summer was actually around enough to be lost. despite the show frequently dividing custody of Team STRQ right down the middle between Ruby and Yang, where Ruby “gets” Summer and Qrow and Yang “gets” Tai and Raven, it’s the admixture of Rose and Branwen that makes the two of them who they are.⁶ Yang spent more time with Summer, but Ruby spends more time with Qrow, who is Yang’s blood uncle, so the dichotomy between nature and nurture is fascinatingly blurred.

i know this is an unpopular opinion, but i hope Summer really is dead, because the ways that her daughters interpellate their own identities from her absence drives so much of the story. that SUMMER was the first mother Yang lost--not Raven, because Yang didn’t even know about Raven until Summer died--is what shapes her relationship with Ruby, but also her relationship with Raven. what’s always simmering just below the surface of any Yang-Raven confrontation is that the person Yang actually wanted to find the whole time she was looking for Raven was Summer, because she wanted a mom, and a mom looked like Summer. Raven’s not stupid--it might be her one redeeming quality--so it’s likely that she’s always known and resented this. it’s not an accident that the moment Yang stopped looking for Raven for Raven and started looking for her for an easy conduit to her real family was the moment she actually found Raven.⁷ it was the first step to Yang outgrowing her old habits, of waiting for a mother to return--a classic “she needed a hero so that’s what she hurdy blah”

in a way that’s what she’s been doing this whole time. in contrast to Winter, who compensated for her mother’s flaws by ratifying them into universal law, Yang did the same by defying their supposed truth: people might leave her, but she won’t leave Ruby, and Ruby won’t leave her. it’s telling that whenever Yang leaves--even as a literal child--she always took Ruby with her, even if she planned on coming back. (it’s just as telling that when Winter left she didn’t.) she’ll always be there for Ruby, to give her the boost she needs to become the Summer they all want her to be, which means being a little of Summer herself--the part of Summer that baked cookies and slew monsters. and in return Ruby gave her...a sense of certainty, i think: that Ruby needs her and therefore won’t leave, but also that Ruby has the parts of Summer that Yang can’t muster herself--the grand heroic ideal, the moral certitude, etc.

...and now we’re finally gonna talk about the Schism, which i honestly think is the best thing that has happened to their relationship, development-wise. by the end of the Mistral arc Yang has arrived at a healthier perspective with respect to her relationships with everyone: now it’s not about indiscriminately giving herself away to people in the hopes that they might not leave her, but about choosing to give herself away to the people she loves and trusts. on one level this should not conflict with her relationship with Ruby at all, because Yang loves Ruby, but on another...the fact that Yang no longer feels obligated to perform unending support, to be the grounded complement, to fill in the parts of Summer that Ruby can’t--of COURSE that’s going to bring about conflict. because it turns out Yang never needed Ruby to give her direction or discipline. she’s now had time to think of the things she herself values, and those...don’t exactly match up with Ruby’s--or Summer’s.⁸ Yang, having known Summer as a mother, having been confronted repeatedly with the fallibility of mothers, is starting to outgrow Summer, and grow separately from Ruby.

but growing separately doesn’t have to mean growing apart, and i think Yang, at least, knows this. she clearly feels Some Kinda Way about their disagreement (and Blake’s implicit alignment with Ruby), but she’s also confident enough in her own beliefs by this point to commit to them. Yang’s taking charge instead of deferring to Ruby, and it turns out that...she’s actually not a bad leader herself, since she and Jaune have pretty much split a lot of those responsibilities. for her it’s not a question of losing faith or love in Ruby as a person, but about discovering what she herself fights for.

Ruby...sees it differently, because Ruby sees Summer differently. if Yang has always defined herself against Summer by deciding that she can NEVER fully be Summer, so she’ll make do with what she can, then Ruby’s always defined herself against Summer by marking Summer as the endpoint of her personal trajectory. what Ruby knows of Summer--that she was a person who enjoyed life and did not believe in original sin, that had a magical special destiny that was totally fine and awesome and didn’t drive her to her death, that she was a baker of cookies and slayer of monsters--is what Tai and Qrow--and Yang--told her about Summer, because Ruby was too young to remember the real Summer. so Summer for her is this abstract paragon to live up to, and no more. she can’t possibly exceed Summer, because the Summer Ruby knows encompasses literally all that is good.

when Yang tells Ruby “i’ve always got your back” in the short, a lot of it is about Yang, and the ways Yang needed to be there for other people so they’ll be there for her in return. but it’s also something Ruby really needed to hear, because Ruby needed the security and comfort of knowing that even if she screws up there are people around her who can help shoulder the burden. that security already took a serious hit after Yang lost her arm, but Ruby, kind and generous person that she is, was able to reconcile with that, because YANG HAD JUST LOST HER ARM. it would be ridiculous to expect Yang to have her back the way she used to, and besides--it was time she grew up, and growing up means becoming more like Summer, all of Summer, by herself.

and...she gets pretty far, is the thing, because Ruby IS a lot like Summer, and is incredible and amazing all by herself to boot, but the point is that no one should feel this much pressure to be All That Is Good, especially when you’re a teen. Ruby’s not ready to recognize that, partly because at this point so many people are looking to her for leadership, but also because being Summer’s heir is the only real link she has to her mom.⁹ so she hunkers down and does the best she can, in a situation that has far spiraled beyond anybody’s control...and then Yang tells her that it’s not working out, that this time it’s not that she can’t have Ruby’s back, but that she won’t. in Ruby’s mind, this could only mean one of two things: either Yang no longer believes what Ruby believes--what Summer believed, or...Yang no longer believes in Ruby, because she wasn’t good enough.

and well. it’s Ruby. it’s not hard to guess which reason she’s picking right now, especially since she pretty conspicuously refused to call the shots during the Amity heist.

but this is of course a false dichotomy. it’s not about which one of them is right, or even more right, and the show does a very good job with the framing to show that both of them have a point. similarly, what Ruby needs right now is neither confirmation that her long-held beliefs are objectively the best ones, nor that she is good enough to become Summer after all. no; what she needs instead is the knowledge that she’s allowed to fuck up, to deviate from what people have told her about Summer, to become what Summer never was. that’s something Yang can--and will--help her work out.

oh no this analogy is breaking apart: how they’d get along

...oi.

look, even beyond the fact that Winter doesn’t get along with ANYONE over much, i don’t think there’s any universe where she wouldn’t immediately rub Yang the wrong way. not only because Winter’d initially treat Ruby with the same cold tyranny that she (up until very recently) treats Weiss, but also because Yang’s partner is Blake, and--to say nothing of Atlas/Schnee-on-Faunus oppression--she was personally made collateral during the fallout with Blake’s abuser.¹⁰ i myself wouldn’t say that Winter abused Weiss, but to Yang’s protective and skewed view...

well, can you imagine Weiss trying to explain the way Winter ~~~trained her to the Bees? “oh, she sent a pack of Beowolves to hunt me! it was a meant-to-lose fight and when i started doing well she just moved the goalposts. one of her wolves almost ate me before i begged her to stop but it...probably...wouldn’t have...it was fine! my Aura didn’t dip THAT much. Winter’s the best!!” Yang’s hair would have been on fire after the first sentence, is all i’m saying. this coupled with the fact that Yang would very likely view Winter leaving Weiss and Whitley through the lens of Raven doing the same thing to her, and i think it would take a pretty long time for the two of them to see eye to eye on anything.

which is not to say that they have nowhere to go but antagonism, because at their cores Winter and Yang both have a) no hesitation whatsoever when it comes to protecting the people they care about and b) a tendency to define protection literally, often bodily. the difference is that Yang’s Semblance weaponizes these protective instincts for her, and she learned the limits of taking that too far. Winter...doesn’t, and hasn’t.¹¹ that COULD lead to some interesting conversations, but i don’t think Yang has quite the emotional clarity and generosity to reckon with that yet, and they’re not about to talk about it inside the Giant Whale.

a necessary part of Winter’s development is learning to respect the people around her instead of instantly categorizing them into boxes labeled “to fight” and “to protect and order around.” her friction with Yang could be an intriguing way to explore that; i have no doubt, for example, that Winter would have hurled herself between Elm and Yang just as readily as she had between Elm and Ren. similarly, i think if Winter ever were in the same room with both Raven and Yang she’d last about ten seconds before trying to rip Raven’s hair out with her teeth, because Raven is neglectful and casually demeaning in ways that are instantly recognizable to Winter (in the same way they were to Weiss).¹² the issue is that her doing any of these things for Yang--y’know, the same Yang who IMMEDIATELY gave Blake the cold shoulder when she tried to pull the whole “i’ll protect you” crap--is that she would only find it confusing and frustrating, and likely wouldn’t mince words expressing that.

Yang’s a big sister herself, and therefore knows all the big sister tricks, and Yang has a consistent pattern of not wanting to rely on other people, particularly people she sees as adults. so the best path toward a Winter and Yang friendship is probably not the head-on approach, but obliquely through someone else. that someone else can’t be Weiss, because Yang would be already hypervigilant about the way Winter treats Weiss--but it could be Ruby. even putting aside the fact that she is now one of the most important people in the world for BOTH her sisters, Ruby herself is very easy to love, and Winter loves very easily, despite herself. what they have in common--idealism and a martyr complex--would also engender some cool interactions, and Ruby would let Winter take care of her, if only to make Winter feel better.

i could see that being the impetus for Yang tentatively, grudgingly forming her own friendship with Winter, because there ARE things that Winter can give Yang, even if Yang can’t (or won’t) admit she wants them. it’s nice to try out being the kid sister, once in a while.

still, even if they get that far: i can’t imagine their relationship as anything friendlier than this.

¹ tbh neither would actually surprise me; what Winter does and doesn’t let herself do is only knowable to the Gods Who Have Forsaken This Land, and they’re certainly unknowable to Winter herself.

² maybe she knows that the whole “the Schnees were up-from-bootstraps-good-capitalists until that guy Jacques came along” thing is stupid!! i don’t care that he’s Santa Nicholas Schnee ain’t shit

³ this i think is why the current thing with Ironwood is such a bitter pill to swallow, because...she thought she’d been so careful. not in thinking that she’d chosen a man who couldn’t disappoint her, but in caring so deeply about him and investing so much of herself into him, despite the fact she’s only ever let herself call him “sir,” or “General.”

⁴ though i will say, to give Winter some credit: she actually accepts the fact that her sister is totally her own person now with a lot more aplomb than i’d expected, both in the “you stole an airship” scene and during all of Sparks. i wouldn’t be so generous as to read subtle treason into her disclosure of Ironwood’s Winter Maiden plans, but it does point to Winter’s desire for control being much more easily unlearned than that of her boss.

⁵ geddit? it’s a joke about handed-ness because now they both have the Hand Tremor

⁶ Tai is, as always and on purpose, the stabilizing agent. “appropriately underwhelming,” as Winter might put it, but absolutely essential.

⁷ of course then Raven had the gall to resent THAT too, because she’s the worst, and...see above, about Winter Schnee’s self-unknowing.

⁸ curiously, the values that Yang most espouses now--the importance of knowing what you’re getting into, protecting what is tangible, what is within your ability--are a) hard-won from years of taking care of Ruby and b) ones that she shares with Raven. the only difference is that Yang’s circle of protection extends far beyond Raven’s, which only includes herself.

⁹ weirdly enough the best person to talk to Ruby about this might be Raven, who has a very skewed perception of Summer herself (because Raven’s perception of EVERYONE is generally fucked up), but probably won’t hold back when talking about Summer’s flaws. Ruby won’t want to hear any of it, but i think she needs to.

¹⁰ i do think Blake and Winter would have some interesting conversations, if Blake ever...was generous enough to deal with *gestures at all of Winter.* it’s easier to compare Blake to Willow given the shared nature of their interpersonal abuse, but Winter on the other hand knows what it’s like to be hand-picked and groomed by a charismatic man with a singular vision who ended up wholly compromising that vision for the sake of their personal ego. that the White Fang are a good force perverted while the Atlesian Military is rotten to the core would...make the conversation more lively? it’s probably fine?

¹¹ “i’m Winter Schnee and i have maladaptive coping mechanisms that i am currently clinging to, as a maladaptive coping mechanism”

¹² though there...probably IS a world where Raven and Winter end up getting along after the initial skirmish, and it disturbs Yang and Qrow to no end

#Anonymous #yang xiao long #winter schnee #rwby #tl;dr they both play vanguard when they play mass effect #helen writes meta

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battlinghurricanes · 3 years

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LITYERSES HEADCANONS!!!!!!!

I saw some other headcanon posts for him, so I felt inspired to throw my own ideas out there! I think some of my headcanons are pretty different from the ones a lot of people have of him, but I always like reading other people’s ideas so hopefully people will like this too!

(also theres a lot, this is long *cough* my bad)

- After the incident in The Lost Hero, after Midas dies, Lityerses is homeless. His father’s mansion is destroyed and it’s not like he has anyone to turn to.

- They mention in The Lost Hero that the Hunters of Artemis came across Midas and Lityerses earlier. When they did, Lityerses heard in passing about Camp Half-Blood. It’s the only place meant for demigods that he has even the slightest knowledge on, so he sets his sights on making it there.

- It takes eight grim months to reach New York. It’s half a miracle, slowly taking busses, hitchhiking, and sometimes just walking to the next city. Monsters attack him the entire way and he adds plenty of new scars to his collection.

- There’s no reliable way for him to get money. He gets much, much better at using his powers as a son of Demeter. He uses it to grow fruits, vegetables, and any sort of edible plant so he can at least have food of some kind.

- He goes to New York City because he doesn’t know what else to do. He doesn’t even know if the Hunters were talking about the city or the state but he figures he has to start somewhere. Unfortunately, the Triumvirate notices his presence before anyone from Camp Half-Blood does.

- He follows some demigods to Nero, who sent them to collect him. He offers a position working for the Triumvirate in exchange for food, lodging, and other basic support. Lityerses is tired and he wants to sleep in a bed and have proper meals he doesn’t have to worry about acquiring.

- He accepts, not caring if what the Triumvirate is doing is shitty or not. Nero sends him to Indianapolis to work for Commodus.

- Apollo’s decision to give him another chance was very affecting. Especially coming from ancient times when the stories of the gods on earth were far more real and immediate, he knows very well how the gods could treat mortals as simply disposable.

- He had never questioned his belief that any mortal who got wrapped up in business with a god suffered a horrible fate because of it, whether the god intended it or not.

- But then Apollo saved his life and defended him at the Waystation and told him he trusted him and Lityerses’s mind keeps drifting back to him over and over and over.

- His mind wants to reconcile what Apollo did for him with what he knows about the gods. He can’t, and that makes him feel a great many things that he can’t pin down. Apollo decided to care about him when he had no reason to, and he doesn’t know what that means for him.

- He feels a twinge of gratitude whenever he steps into the sunlight and pulse of anxiety whenever he wonders if he’s okay on his quest.

- He thinks about Meg, his little sister, and hopes they’re keeping each other safe.

- Lityerses can occasionally seem really dull, indifferent, or unresponsive because he gives super minimal reactions to things sometimes, but that’s really not the case.

- Being in the modern world for him is sort of like a slight, but near constant sensory overload. Sometimes, his brain is too busy processing other stuff to fully load up an emotional response. He’ll react to something in his mind but he won’t express it outwardly at all.

- Leo, running up: Wanna help me strap a firework to a crossbow bolt and try to shoot it into the office building across the street to see if it’ll blow up in there?!!!!! Lityerses, with a completely flat voice and blank expression: I think that’s a very bad idea.

- It’s definitely not all the time, but it does happen.

- (Me? Projecting sensory issues onto every character I like? It’s more likely than you think.)

- He has a very “go with the flow” attitude, to the point of being a character flaw sometimes. It can make him easy to manipulate.

- (Commodus: hey lityerses go put this barbed wire and war helmets and metal teeth on these ostriches Liyerses, in his head: uhuh uhuh uhuh uhuh yeah cool got it i hope i still have some fingers left tomorrow)

- He’s working on it though. He’s working on it.

- One side effect of this is that whenever Leo makes some pop culture or meme reference, Lityerses will just nod and agree. It takes Leo forever to realise that he was just lying going along with it.

- *mid conversation* Lityerses: I’d go get some food, but I don’t have any money Leo: dude, you’re literally just the 69 cents vine, not enough for chicken nuggets Lityerses: oh, for sure Calypso, overhearing: wait, you understood that?? Lityerses: no, I’ve never understood a single word that’s left leo’s mouth Leo: what?!!!! but you said you understood my reference to that dril tweet the other day, right?! Lityerses: yeah, of course Calypso: what’s a dril tweet?? Lityerses: I don’t know. Leo: YOU TRAITOR

- Another side effect: he’s a complete pushover for Georgie.

- At one point, when some of the Waystation crew are walking out in the city, she complains that she’s tired and wants to be carried. When her moms gently refuse, she immediately goes over to Lityerses and holds her arms out and says that she’s tired. He doesn’t even stop walking, he just swoops her up and puts her on his shoulder right away.

- Hemithia and Jo glare at him but he just avoids eye contact. “She’s already up there, too much effort to put her down now.”

- He was in the Fields of Punishment in the Underworld and wow was it incredibly traumatizing.

- His memories of death are sickeningly agonizing, but they also usually feel distant and unreal. Sometimes, though, they’ll worm their way into his dreams with horrific clarity. He’ll wake up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating, with full body tremors he can’t control.

- One morning after waking up like that, while sitting on the floor regaining his composure, Hemithea comes in to see why he wasn’t up yet. He pulls himself together in due time. He doesn’t answer any of her questions.

- He never talks about it, but he’s truly terrified of dying. He never was before, but now that he knows what’s waiting for him...

- It doesn’t help that he knows that, no matter how careful he is or how well he defends himself, he could die at any moment if Thanatos decides to bring him back to the Underworld.

- It weighs on the back of his mind that, at least on a technical level, he has no right to be alive. Sometimes he can’t help but think that the things he does now don’t matter in the end, because there’s no reason he would get a second judgement when he does eventually return to the Underworld.

- He does his best to shut that down and remind himself that trying to do the right thing helps the people around him, no matter what happens after his death, but the thought exists and it is painful.

- He really never voices these fears because he feels like all he can really do is try not to think about it, and when he does, he tries to forget as soon as he can. It’s a burden he shoulders as quietly as he can.

- He isn’t used to owning a lot of material possessions, both from how he lived in ancient times and then from being homeless for a while. He’s only ever described wearing that Cornhuskers shirt because it’s the only one he owned for a while.

- Not long after joining the Waystation, the first time he was going out somewhere them, Jo snapped that it just made him look stupid, trying to look tough by going without a coat when it was so cold outside. Earnestly confused and defensive, he tells her that he just doesn’t own one.

- After that, she insists on filling his wardrobe until he has enough clothes.

- (Speaking of the Cornhuskers shirt, he just picked it out on a whim, sort of thinking of Demeter (They grow corn here like we used to grow wheat, right?) and sort of just thinking it looked cool. Olujime once tried to talk to him about how some college teams were doing and Lityerses just goes “What’s football?”)

- He doesn’t really get modern fashion trends. Leo offers to catch him up, but he declines very quickly.

- In ancient times, dyes and patterns available for clothes were much more limited and much more expensive. He’s fascinated by all the colors and prints people can wear just all the time now. Lityerses wears a lot of bright colors because he thinks they’re cool and fun. He likes red, blue, and purple the most but he’ll wear a lot of stuff.

- Along with not really following any trends, he also hasn’t picked up on a lot of unspoken gender connotations that come with modern clothing.

- When the Waystation are first trying to get him some clothes, he picks out a pink jacket and Leo snorts at him like “You’re going for pink?” Lityerses just stares at him like “Yeah. It’s just pink.” Leo sort of realizes and goes, “Oh, it’s just, you know...” to Calypso. But Calypso is also just staring blankly and says, “No I don’t. I don’t get it. Is there something about pink?” And Leo notices Hemithea glaring daggers at him and he laughs nervously and goes, “Nevermind, it was a stupid joke anyway.”

- Hemithia: Leave the ancient demigod and ex-titan blissfully unaware of our complex, modern gender stereotypes. Leo, sweating: gotcha.

- He pretty much just wears what he finds comfortable. Generally it’s just t-shirts with jeans or basketball shorts.

- Lityerses is a super clingy sleeper and will reflexively grab on to anything within arms reach while he’s asleep. (He’s a big spoon by nature.)

- Leo discovers this and now, whenever Lityerses falls asleep on one of the couches, he’ll entertain himself by slowly pushing a pillow up to him until he inevitably grabs it and pulls it against his chest.

- No one gets those pillows back until Lityerses wakes up.

- He’s very buff. His muscles aren’t super defined, nothing at all like a bodybuilder, no six pack abs or anything. But he’s built. Thick arms.

- He’s very limber and flexible too. He has great balance, which lets him move as fast as he does in combat. He’s quite physically fit in general.

- He’ll never admit it, but he ended up getting attached to the highlights in his hair he got when Apollo revealed his godly form. He thought they were fun and different and he sort of missed it when his hair grew out.

#trials of apollo #toa #lityerses #pjo #litpollo #well none of its super litpollo but #you know you know #long post #also sorry for giving you super cute georgie and lityerses headcanons #and then punching you in the gut with the trauma of death and revival with no warning #not that sorry tho #god its been a long time since ive done headcanons like this #this better go in the tags #edit- it did for a min then disappeared :^)

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multifandom-girlie · 3 years

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𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞

Imagine: "Can you do one where Daniel Gillies and the reader have an interview but they are divorced and have kids together *name doesn't matter*but the interviewer ask them why they divorce since it was unknown to why they did."

Pairing: Daniel Gillies x Wife!Reader

Warning: RPF, minorly angsty.

Words: 1813

A/N: I hope you like it anon, I will be honest it's not my best imagine but I really did try and make it the best I could. I hope you Enjoy!

The un-consensual ringing of my alarm tone triggered me to open my eyes. I glanced over to my phone and quickly made sure i didn't have any notifications before sitting up and wiping the crustiness of the sleep from my eyes. I decided to not wake the kids up yet, as it would be easier to get ready without two screaming children bouncing of the walls and begging for food. I chuckled the covers off and walked into my bathroom and heading straight for the sink to brush my teeth and wash my face. After I had, I heard two feet slapping against the hardwood flooring and I shut my eyes hoping for just two more minutes. I stepped out of the bathroom, guess we won't have a shower this morning then. Peeking my head out of the door, I saw two big brown eyes looking around my room. I put on a smile and walked over to them. It was my son, Tyler. I picked him up and sitting on my bed with him resting on my lap. I brushed his soft brown hairs out of his face and kissed him on the forehead as we hugged, like every morning.

"Good morning, baby. Are you ok ?"

He muttered a yes but still buried his head into my neck, I frowned. Of course I knew he was lying to me when he said yes but I thought it was just because he was tired from having just woken up. He's usually running around and screaming so loud you'd think he was getting murdered. The look on his face though wasn't just tiredness, it was a look he used to give me very rarely; when he was upset.

"I miss daddy, when can we see him ? Uncle Joe said that he wasn't sure if we gonna see him today."

I closed my eyes lightly. Damn you Joseph, making my job as a mom way harder than it already was.

"Don't listen to Uncle Joe, he's just playing around. I will make sure you see daddy today, I promise."

He made a big grin on his face, very similar to his father's and I couldn't help but smile back. God I missed that man, like crazy but I got two wonderful children and one on the way as a product of it. So, I will always have a part of him.

"Now, go and get your best clothes on to impress daddy when you seem him and tell your sister as well, okay ?"

He nodded running out my room and screaming to his sister, there it is...the screaming and running.

20 minutes later...

I was taking my first two aspirin of the day already and I had only been awake half and hour. Today was going to be a long day. I was sipping on the water when I heard the door knock and a bowl smash. I ran into the dining room to see that Lily's breakfast bowl was smashed into little pieces on the floor. She knelt down the pick it up until I spoke.

"Lily! Do not pick that glass up, I will do it. Go and put your shoes on baby and help your brother please. I need to go answer the door, hurry up."

I walked out of the dining room and over to the front door. Opening it I came face to face with Joseph, Paul and more importantly Daniel. I let them all in and as I was hugging Paul to say hi. I hear a bang followed by some crying in Lily's room. I widened my eyes and raced upstairs to her room. As I arrived, I saw Tyler standing in the doorway with a sheepish smile on her face.

"What happened ?"

"I haven't done anything, mommy."

"What was that bang then ?"

I moved him out the way and walked over to Lily, who was sat on the rubbing her bleeding knee. She started crying more as I went over to pick her up.

"Oh, baby what happened ?"

"T-t-tyler pus-sh-shed m-m-me o-o-ov-v-ver."

I hated seeing my kids cry it broke my heart. However, I managed to pick her up and take her downstairs whilst grabbing Tyler's wrist with my free hand. As we were walking downstairs, I asked Tyler what happened.

"She was trying to help me put my shoes on and being a bossy pants."

"Tyler, I asked her to help you. She wasn't doing anything wrong. Was that really want a good enough reason to push your sister over ? Look at her knee."

"I'm sorry, mama."

"Your saying it to the wrong person, baby."

As we walked into the kitchen and he saw everyone he screamed and ran into Daniel's arms. I would be lying if I said the sight didn't make my heart swell a million times but he had been naughty.

"Tyler James Gillies!"

Daniel looked up confused. Most likely thinking that I was trying to make sure Tyler didn't hug him.

"What did I just say ?"

I sat Lily down on the island and went to the medicine cabinet to get the band-aids, he trudged towards his sister and put his head down.

"I'm sorry I pushed you over."

She smiled at him in acceptance as I cleaned her knee and put on a band-aid. I lifted her down and I finished saying hi to everyone and walked out the door and then realised I didn't clean the glass up. I'll do it later.

At the comic con, 40 minutes later...

When we arrived, we were screamed at by millions of fans that had come from everywhere.However, if my kids weren't here covering their ears because of loud noise, I would've stopped and greeted a few of them. Not only that but since we were late, we didn't have much time but we did have a tight schedule.

5 minutes later...

Most of 'The Originals' cast had finished their interviews for a day but me and Daniel had been roped into to doing one more, just us. So, I let the kids spend time with all their 'aunts' and 'uncles' and we headed off. Wasn't looking forward to this.

"Hi Guys, I'm here with the lovely Y/N and Daniel Gillies. Who portray the sexiest vampires on 'The Originals' and we are going to be answering your questions that you've sent in on twitter."

I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward as he said 'Y/N and Daniel Gillies'. I thought everyone had been told now but it's okay.

"Okay so our first question comes in from @vampirefiction333 who says 'I really love Elijah and Aviana but will they ever have a relationship with each other because I NEED it.'"

"Um, I'm not entirely sure. We have certainly pushed in the past but I feel as though it just wouldn't end well."

"Yeah, I think what Y/N said was absolutely right. Considering her past relationship with Klaus I don't think it would end well for Elijah let alone Aviana."

“Okay, next question come from @y/n.y/l/n_ishot. Creative username, um so their question is ‘I know that Daniel and Y/N aren’t together anymore but I really want to know where they had their honeymoon because have you seen the pictures😍!!”

We both laughed despite the user making a spectacle of the mutual split.

“We had our honeymoon at ‘The Samaya Bali’ hotel in Bali and we loved it. We stayed in the one bedroom royal courtyard villa, which was just incredible.”

��Yeah it was wonderful because it’s quite a small and private hotel by it is beautiful and it was definitely worth every penny.”

“That sounds great. Okay, last question is from @Y/NandDanielGilliesShipper. Very long name but uh their question was ‘I really wish Y/N and Daniel stayed together and it hurts that I don’t know the reason why they got a divorce. Someone please tell me😭.”

We both looked at each other and smiled slightly before he nodded for me to go first.

“Um okay. So, it was a mutual decision, we just realised that it wasn’t working anymore. I think that first initial spark that we had kind of disappeared and due to that the relationship just felt like a burden almost. The last kinda months we were together we just spent constantly having small disagreements which would then lead to a much bigger argument. I don’t think either of us deserved that and so we had a talk and we decided it was just better off.”

He looked at me kinda sadly as we knew the main reason behind those arguments but for the sake of privacy we decided to keep it to ourselves.

“Yeah what Y/N said. I believe that there is always going to be a deep and passionate love between us, there always will be. I think that’s due to how young and naive we were when we even started dating and then not long after we met; we married and had kids so yeah there will always be some love there, no matter what. I just feel as though because of being each other’s first every thing it led us to believe that there was nothing else.”

“Do you believe there is something else ? Not to make you feel uncomfortable or pressure you into answering.”

We all chuckled.

“No honestly it’s fine. I do believe there isn’t something else out there even if I haven’t fallen out of love with Y/N. There always is something else out there.”

“I think there is a lot of truth in what Daniel’s saying but we both definitely need to let ourselves heal and let our children heal before even entertaining the idea of new people.”

“Talking of your children, how’d you tell them ? How did they handle it ?”

“They handled it quite maturely, I have to say. Which was quite shocking as they are both very upbeat all the time and they are never serious or truly upset. So, to see them so quiet was kind of worrying actually. I think they were in a state of shock for just a moment and then they had a little cry and they accepted it. It was quite sudden though, which I do regret. They literally woke up 20 minutes prior, I was drinking coffee, Daniel was making breakfast and it was normal but then we just sprung it on them whilst they were eating breakfast. So, if we could change that I would but I think the sooner they knew, the smoother and quicker the healing would be.”

He smiled at us. I looked at Daniel and we smiled at each other once again. I was happy for him whether he was moving on with someone else or not. Even if we weren’t together there was still and us and that was some hope and I love that.

I loved him.

No.

I love him.

Children:

Tyler James Gillies- 7 years old

Lily Aviana Gillies-5 years old

MASTERLIST

#daniel gillies x reader #daniel gillies #y/n #daniel gillies x y/n #to imagine #tvd imagine #the originals #the vampire diaries #elijahmikaelson #celebrity #imagines

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juniorgman187 · 3 years

Text

The Bones (Reid Series) Part 2

Summary: After doing an even deeper dive on Valerie’s past, Spencer finally meets her, but his invasiveness isn’t the worst part ... the worst part is he might actually like her.

Playlist: “The Bones” by Maren Morris & Hozier (BONUS: song includes major foreshadowing) Category: Series, Fluff, Soft Angst, Eventual smut and *NSFW content Pairing: Spencer Reid POV x Fem!OC - Valerie Content Warning: invasion of privacy, allusions to Maeve’s death, arrhythmia Word Count: 3.4k

Part 1 |

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

After firmly deciding not to weave Penelope into my tangled web, I was met with the arduous burden of conducting my own research.

Firstly, I would need a computer - yeah ... a computer. That’s how far I was willing to go for this pursuit. I once vowed never to fall victim to modern technology’s clutches, and yet here I was, doing my research on a public library’s computer. To my credit, I hadn’t gone out and bought one, I was merely using my resources.

With the need for a device out of the way, all that was left was the knowledge of what to look for. But that didn’t pose a problem either.

Funny enough, with as many rules and restrictions as there are regarding patient privacy and confidentiality, all it took was matching dates of news stories with hospital records to complete my research. I was fairly certain I was only scratching the surface of information about Valerie as opposed to the sea of things I could’ve uncovered if I asked for Garcia’s help, but there are only so many lines a person can cross in one week.

This was my limit.

Call me naive, but I was actually quite surprised with just how expansive the internet is. To an almost relentless degree, I would open an article and it would lead me to ten more about the same topic. It was this never ending rabbit hole that seemed to spiral on forever. I kept digging deeper and deeper until I could no longer dig.

I’d officially hit rock bottom.

It took me a grand total of just two hours to unearth all the ‘dirt’ I could on a young Valerie Bishop.

Local 16-year-old Wins Nevada’s Statewide Art Contest! Published by Henderson Press.

Valerie, just a sophomore in high school at the time, was donning what any experimental teen girl would’ve worn in the early 2000s - bootcut jeans and a sequin blouse over top of a plain camisole. And if I zoomed in close enough, I could spot the evidence of a sparkly blue shadow coating her eyelids. Surprisingly, though, that wasn’t the first thing I noticed.

It was that smile. That tooth-achingly sweet smile.

Though I never got the chance to see Maeve truly smile, that’s what I imagined it would look like.

The photographer must’ve caught her midway through a laugh, at least that’s what the image of her slightly open-mouthed grin told me. Meanwhile, her two tiny hands were clenching her overbearingly large trophy while her artwork stood behind her as the background.

It didn’t take me long to figure out why her painting won. Simply put, there was no need to see anyone else’s art to know that they couldn’t possibly compete with hers.

Hers was an abstract rendition of what I believe to be a forest of some sort. The detail is what I was most drawn to. It would’ve been unbelievable on its own but the fact that she was 16 when she painted it? That’s what was unbelievable to me.

If that’s how talented she was at that age, I could only imagine how much more talented she became with time. However, I lost the chance to investigate the current state of her skill before a related article from The Cleveland Gazette about Valerie succeeded this one.

From Award-Winning Artist to Henderson’s Hero

Read my interview with 17-year-old Valerie Bishop to find out more about her struggle with arrhythmia and how she turned her pain into a project!

By Kelli Gallagher from the Cleveland Gazette.

Gallagher: Thank you so much for letting me interview you, Valerie.

Bishop: Of course! I’m happy to.

Gallagher: You’ve become somewhat of a hero in Henderson, Nevada, haven’t you?

Bishop: I wouldn’t call myself a hero ... but if everyone else wants to - I’m fine with that. (laughs)

Gallagher: Don’t be so modest! I mean, what you’ve done is so incredible, and you’re only what? Seventeen?

Bishop: Yes, ma’am. I just turned seventeen this past August.

Gallagher: Wow, I can’t believe how young you are and yet you’ve already accomplished so much. I saw that you won a statewide art contest last year. Tell me more about that.

Bishop: That’s a funny story actually. My Grandma Sheila was the one who entered me in that contest. I didn’t even know about it until I won it. She’s always surprising me, though. In fact, she’s the one that surprised me with my first ever art supplies, when I was about eight or so. They were these super expensive oil paints, and I knew she couldn’t afford them, so I told her we should return them and get something cheaper, but she said, “Nonsense. When the bones are good the rest don’t matter. A house don’t fall when the bones are good.” That was kind of her saying.

A house don’t fall when the bones are good.

The bones.

Gallagher: I’m interested to know more about your relationship with your grandma. If I’m remembering correctly, she was also diagnosed with arrhythmia a while back too, right?

Bishop: Yes, she was, but that’s never slowed her down. And as for our relationship, my grandma and I have always been close, but arrhythmia, in a weird way, has brought us even closer. She has always been my biggest supporter and the fact that we’re both on this journey together makes her my biggest supporter even more so.

Gallagher: Absolutely. Now, I also heard that you’ve started a fundraising program to possibly start a gallery and studio in Virginia Beach. If you don’t mind me asking, why Virginia Beach? Is there any special significance?

Bishop: Actually, that’s where my grandma met my grandpa, and they got married and started a family there, too. So if Grandma Sheila hadn’t been there to meet him, she wouldn’t have had my mom, and that would mean I wouldn’t have been here either. I like to think Virginia Beach is where it all started. In a way, it’s where my bones are. That solid foundation in Virginia gave me everything I have today.

Gallagher: That is just incredible. I’m so glad to see your fundraising project is thriving, but I can’t imagine any of this has been particularly easy for you. You were diagnosed right around the time your senior year was starting right?

Bishop: Yes ma’am.

Gallagher: So what brought you from Henderson to Cleveland?

Bishop: Well, actually, I didn’t want to move, especially not before I graduated, but Cleveland has the best cardiovascular hospital in the country and my health is far more important than graduating in the same state I grew up in. So when my parents were willing to move me and my sister out here, I saw it as a privilege rather than something to be sad about.

Gallagher: I am so inspired by you, Valerie.

Bishop: (laughs) Really, why?

Gallagher: Despite everything that’d been thrown at you, you are still so grateful. I hope you never lose that.

Bishop: I promise you I won’t.

Gallagher: So one last thing before I go, what is one hope you have for your future self?

Bishop: I hope, future self, that your ‘bones’ are still strong.

Gallagher: Beautiful. Thank you so much again for doing this, Valerie. I sincerely hope you reach your goal and you get to open up that gallery and studio in Virginia Beach.

At the bottom of the article, there was a footnote from Kelli Gallagher.

Exactly 10 years later, Bishop was able to move to Virginia Beach and open up her gallery and studio.

By the end of the article, I felt a genuine sense of pride for Valerie, and I know I had virtually no right to know these things about her, but I could still be proud of her for them right?

I would never fully get my answer to this question before I crossed the final boundary.

After exhausting all that I could gather from the internet without Penelope’s assistance, the only thing left for me to do was actually meet her in person. However, this would prove to be a bigger obstacle that it seemed. I decided to delay the daunting task until the next day. A decision partially influenced by the phrase, ‘sleep on it.’ I prayed I’d gain clarity on what to do when I woke up the next morning, but even with a night’s rest, I was still undecided as I drove to Virginia Beach once more.

To sit in my car that was conveniently parked right in front of the gallery was a poor choice. Because with every passing second, the temptation to walk in grew, but the fear of regret dampened those impulses. The more I thought about it, the more I psyched myself out. Between my two choices, to freeze or to fight, I should’ve taken the third - to flee. But I was here now and I couldn’t leave empty-handed for a second time.

After a moment’s indecision, adrenaline coursed through my veins to give me the courage to get out of my car. When I felt an outdoor breeze blow over me, I knew there was no going back now. Right when I walked in, the little bell above the door rang, solidifying that I was officially crossing the threshold, and whether I liked it or not, she was going to see me after hearing me walk in.

“I’ll be right with you!” A small voice called out from somewhere in the back. She was hidden from my immediate sight, and somehow that made it so much worse. It was now I that was waiting for her, instead of her unknowingly waiting for me.

As though I were prey getting ready to escape a predator, I stayed put by the door. It gave me a full view of the entire place anyway.

Scoping out my surroundings, I spotted the paintings that were carefully measured and placed on the walls, almost to perfection. I had no time to notice anything more before the person in the back walked out.

Immediately when I saw her, I knew.

“You’re … not Valerie.” I couldn’t help sounding so disappointed but luckily, the woman that came out took no offense to my observation.

“No, I’m not,” She laughed. “But I can get her for you-”

“No wait!” I uselessly leapt forward to stop her from saying, “Vee! There’s someone out here to see you!” But that’s precisely what she did anyway. Evidently oblivious of my previous protests, she politely smiled back at me. “She’ll be right out.”

For the second time that day, I waited with bated breath, anxiously anticipating the arrival of Valerie. And I was almost too focused on subduing the pounding of my heart to realize that she was actually walking out of the back right now.

“Hi, sorry about that!” A new voice chirped.

Valerie.

The moment I laid eyes on her, it became clear to me that the pictures in her files hardly did her justice. Nothing could compare to the real sight of her. I was only able to catch the profile of her face when I saw her in the cafe, but in her entirety, I began to wax nostalgic. Though her face and hair and body had transformed into that of a grown woman’s features, I could still identify the same tooth-achingly sweet smile that a younger Valerie once wore on the front page of the Henderson Press. She was no beast to conquer, she was just a girl, smiling at me in that same gentle way.

Her expression just as well showed no indication of recognition, not that she would recognize me, considering my letter was anonymous and unless she pulled the same stunt I did, she wouldn’t ever recognize who I was.

“I’m Val,” She made her greeting to me while untying her dirtied waist apron, and it was merely the action that caused my gaze to fall to her hips, but when she shed the apron, I was still staring. There was something sort of mesmerizing about the way they swayed as she approached. It wasn’t until they stopped swaying completely that I realized they did so because there was no more distance to advance - she was already right there in front of me, patiently watching me stare.

“Val?” I blinked hard to revert my gaze while also playing into the part that I had no idea who she was.

“Mhm. Short for Valerie,” She confirmed happily. “Like the Amy Winehouse song.”

This time, I genuinely didn’t know what she was referring to, and my confused countenance prompted her to clarify, “You don’t know that song?”

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she began to playfully sing, “Well, sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water ...”

While she watched my face and waited for the recitation of the song to jog my memory, I was just as much studying her face. I could tell she was only kidding when she sang, evidenced by the laugh that followed her rendition, but it sounded so unironically good that I had to question what other talents she possessed.

“Um, I was actually thinking more like Valerie, the martyred medieval saint, whose name stood for strength and health.” No sooner than the words spilled from my mouth did I recognize the freudian slip - the simultaneous coincidence and confession. The coincidence was that, now, with Maeve’s heart beating in her chest, she lived up to her name - she was newly strong and healthy. But I worried, she would see the correlation I drew between her name and her successful transplant and would realize that I knew more about her than I let on. Did I just give away too much?

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier. What was it?” Her casual dismissiveness of my previous statement did nothing to ease my worries. Was she beginning to piece everything together?

“Oh, right!” I said dumbly. “S-Spencer. I’m Spencer.” I was such a blubbering bundle of nerves that I actually reached out to shake her hand - a stranger’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, Spencer,” She softly laughed, which was hopefully not out of the enjoyment of seeing me squirm. “What can I do for you?”

A loaded question, don’t you think? What can you do for me, Valerie? Well, for one thing, you could’ve answered my letter, but to say something as bold as that would require me to admit the real reason I was here, and how could I do that without mentioning how I found you in the first place?

“Um ...” Whose birthday is the soonest? “My friend Emily’s birthday is coming up and I was wondering if I could possibly buy a painting from you as a birthday present.”

There was the faintest perceptible skepticism in her expression, but that could’ve just been my paranoia talking because in the next breath, she didn’t suggest a proclivity to my deceit. “Yeah, of course! Do you know what her favorite medium is? Or her favorite artist? Or her favorite style of art?”

For every addition to the question, I wordlessly shook my head no. Was my lie already unraveling? Could she see right through me?

“No worries. If you want, you can walk around the gallery and tell me if you see anything you think she’d like.” She made her offer to me sweetly, then disappeared into the back room again. I tried to follow her with my eyes for as long as I could, but from where I was standing, I couldn’t see very far into it. I wandered a little further into the center of the gallery to possibly catch a glimpse of what was occupying her time back there, but when I heard the chattering of two voices, Valerie and the other woman, coming from the same general direction, I realized I was completely alone in this part of the studio.

With no one around to bear witness but these portraits, I could’ve easily slipped out and made my escape, and I might’ve even done it had it not been for the unmistakable gravitational pull forcing me to stay here and walk about the room.

Making my way throughout the gallery, I would pause every now and then when a painting would stand out to me, which was often, considering each picture was impressive.

But there was one painting in particular that piqued my interest. It made me feel something I’d never felt before.

It wasn’t special by any means. By rights, I shouldn’t have even noticed it, for it wasn’t the largest painting, nor the smallest one - it wasn’t even the most average painting. But it felt exceptionally ... Valerie. I had no doubt in my mind that she painted this one - in fact, I had a good bet that she painted most of these portraits, if not all of them - but this one. There was just something about it that I couldn’t put my finger on.

“So,” A draft was created from where Valerie swiftly and unexpectedly joined me at my side. “What do you think?”

“Um, there’s definitely something,” I struggled to find the word. “appealing about this one.” Almost as soon as the word came out of my mouth, I knew it was only a matter of time before she called out the inadequacy of my answer.

“Appealing?” She repeated in mockery. “That’s the best you got? Come on, you’ve been standing here for like ten minutes. There must be something about it you like.”

“I’m not sure.” I honestly admitted with a shrug.

“There’s no wrong answer.” She assured me, but I found that hard to believe.

“So if I said I see a grizzly bear attacking a UFO, that wouldn’t be wrong?”

“Nope,” She popped the p. “If that’s how you interpret it then that’s how you interpret it. Just because someone else sees it differently, doesn’t mean you’re wrong.” It would’ve sounded like complete bullshit or nauseatingly cheesy coming out of someone else’s mouth, but her delivery felt so genuine. It actually moved me.

As she said this, she turned her head in my direction to look up at me, causing her shoulder to brush my upper arm, sending a wave of goosebumps all over my body.

She was so close.

But I was so unbothered by her proximity that I didn’t even notice exactly how close she really was. If someone else had invaded my personal space like that, I would’ve moved in the opposite direction just on instinct, but I didn’t even think to do that with Valerie. I was so comfortable with her being there.

But was that just because a part of her was once Maeve’s? Was the entire foundation of my likening to Valerie built upon that single attribute?

Was that my bones?

“Um,” I began fidgeting with my hands to self-soothe. “I like it. I don’t know why. But I like it. How’s that for an answer?”

There was a pause before her response that compelled me to look at her, but when I did so, she was already looking at me. “I’ll take it,” She nodded. “It’s the biggest compliment to me if my art can make you feel something.”

Was it the art that made me feel something ... or you?

“I’ll tell you what,” She walked over to grab something from the front desk. She came back with a small piece of cardstock. “I’m going to an art exhibition next weekend. Why don’t you come with me and see if you can’t find something for Emily there?”

She handed me the paper, which was actually her business card. “You don’t have to have an answer for me today, but call me when you do.” She seemed to think that was the end of the conversation, but I still had more questions.

“You’re inviting me?” was the first question that came to mind, albeit the dumbest one.

“Yeah, you can be my plus one.”

I gulped to dislodge the lump in my throat. “Like-like your date?”

She furrowed her brows with mild confusion. “Um ... sure, if that’s what you wanna call it,” which was the last thing she said to me before vanishing within the back room again.

I peered back down at the card and tapped it gently on the palm on my hand as though to register its presence really being there.

For all intents and purposes, this card was meaningless. But to me, it was the formal consenting - nay, invitation - to reach out to her again. She was willingly extending this line of contact to me.

No more public library computers. No more files. No more ‘research.’ Just her number - a way to reach her without veering off my moral compass.

Despite this, I still had no clue whether or not I was going to accept her offer.

All that I did know was that I wanted to see her again.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

PART 3 COMING SOON!

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#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #the bones pt 2 #the bones #juniorgman187 #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds series #spencer reid series

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ruzek-halstead · 3 years

Text

relight that spark ✨

prologue

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

a modern day adaptation of the classic ‘cinderella’ tale.

high school au based off ‘a cinderella story’.

series masterlist || masterlist || ao3

warnings: fluffery, swearing

join my taglist here (or leave a comment to be tagged for this story only :)

i want you all to bear with me because this chapter isn't very exciting (with the exception of juke's text messages) but i think it's very necessary for background information. especially if you haven't watched the original movie!!

as you all know, this story is based off the 2004 classic 'a cinderella story' featuring hilary duff and chad michael murray. this is one of my favourite films, so i do urge you all to give it a watch! this fic is obviously not going to be exact to the movie, but it will follow generally the same storyline, but in a more modern sense.

✨

Julie Molina was a simple girl. All she really wanted was to get accepted into the Berklee College of Music, graduate high school and make enough money to move out and afford tuition. It wasn't an easy feat, but it's what she had been working for since her father passed away eight years ago. Her life used to be fantastic. Julie was still young when her mom passed away from cancer, and the memories she did have of her were slightly clouded and slowly fading away. But she remembered that she was one of the most gentle souls ever. She remembered her soft voice when she sang her to sleep every night, but one night, she wasn't there anymore. Julie never heard her mom's voice again. But her dad never let her forget anything. The memory of Rose Molina was alive and well in the Molina household, and at the family diner Ray owned, Mel's. He had inherited it from his father, and every day, he worked tirelessly to turn it into a feel-good family diner where everyone felt welcome and at home. After Rose passed, it was where Julie spent most of her time. Her dad was always busy with work, so she tagged along, but she never minded because the staff was her family. Her Tia Victoria worked there as the boss behind the boss, and she always made time to help Julie with her homework. Julie did everything at the diner. Holidays, birthdays, you name it. It was her home away from home; a place where she felt utterly safe and accepted. Until one day, she didn't. Mel's provided her the warmth and familiarity she lacked in her true home ever since her mom passed away. But the day Karen Fields walked through the door, slipped on a puddle and fell into Ray Molina's arms, that feeling was stripped away and never returned. Her father and Karen dated for a few months, and before Julie knew it, they were booking venues, cake tasting and dress shopping. Her father was getting married. Julie had never gotten the warmest of vibes from Karen, only when her father was around. But she was young, and she didn't know any better, and she couldn't tell her father that this was a terrible decision. She saw him happy, she saw him smiling, and she couldn't take that away from him. So, they got married, and shortly thereafter, Karen and her two twin daughters were moving into their Los Angeles home. Karen's daughters, Jade and Sophia, were not friendly in the slightest. They never went out of their way to include Julie in any activities, and completely ignored her at school, even though they were in the same grade. Julie didn't care much about that. She couldn't be bothered with mean girls like them, and plus, she already had the only friend she'd ever need. Julie met Flynn Anderson on the first day of kindergarten. It was quite hard to not notice the five-year-old yelling at another five-year-old because he had stepped on her brand new white sneakers. Even though her screaming was driving everyone away, Julie thought it was funny, so she went to join her at the sandbox. Ever since that day, the two had been inseparable. It also wasn't the last time Flynn yelled at obnoxious boys who unnerved her. Flynn kept Julie sane throughout the death of her mom, the transition with Karen and her family, and the worst event of all; the unexpected death of her father. She didn't see it coming, none of them did. One night Julie's dad was tucking her in and reading her a bedtime story, but then the ground started shaking and everything fell off the shelves. Her dad pulled her into the corner for safety, but Karen's screaming caught his attention and he had to leave her. She still had nightmares of their last few moments together, when he squeezed her hand before running out of the room. That was the last time she ever saw her father. Her young life only went downhill from there. According to the lawyers, there was no will left behind. This meant everything her father ever owned was left to Karen; that included his house, his money, his diner and Julie. If Julie thought Karen didn't like her before, she knew with one-hundred percent certainty that her presence was more like a burden now. Tia Victoria tried to fight for custody, because she never believed her brother-in-law would leave Julie in the hands of anyone else, but the courts disagreed and there was nothing else she could do about it. Julie was banished to the attic, and all house-duties were dumped on her. She was in charge of dishes, laundry, cleaning the entire house. On top of that, as soon as she was of legal age to work, Karen demanded she work at the diner to cover her expenses. Julie really had no other option, and although she hated it at the beginning, she realized the silver lining. Working at the diner meant she would spend time with her Tia Victoria and the rest of the staff that she loved, and she could also make her own money so she could move out, pay tuition and leave this life behind. That was what her life consisted of for now. She had her mind set on the music school of her dreams and she was working day and night so she could afford it. She went to school throughout the day, worked at the diner after school, and finished household chores after her shift. It didn't leave her much time to focus on her music, which at the end of the day was okay, because she didn't like to work on her music around her step-mother and step-sisters. They didn't understand, and they were cruel, so the less they knew about it, the better. It was also okay because Julie hadn't been able to publicly perform since her father passed away. When her mom passed, she left dozens of songs for Julie so she wouldn't give up music; it was her father that encouraged her to keep going, even at a young age. But with him gone, a piece of her went with him and she couldn't find it in herself to sing in front of others when he wasn't here to watch her. She kept her musical talents on the down low; only her Mel's family and Flynn truly knew what she was capable of with a piano and a microphone. That was until one day she received a text message from an unknown number. It started out innocent, crossed wires based on a flyer she put up three years ago to make some extra money. She didn't think any of those flyers were still around; they were unbelievably basic, with just her phone number and rate for piano lessons. Even though she didn't know this stranger and their first conversation was a tad bit rocky, for some reason, she felt comfortable talking to them. One day they started, and it just didn't stop.

That was how they met. She was expecting the conversation to end after she told them she wasn’t offering lessons anymore (she can’t even begin to explain how they found one of her flyers in the first place), but whoever they were, they were incredibly persistent. They were slightly charming, and for some reason, Julie found herself opening up and revealing things about herself only a limited number of people knew about her. She couldn’t explain the instant connection. She would honestly sound crazy if she tried. And even after she spilled her guts out, and it was well into the night, she was surprised to see another message the following morning. So, they kept talking; night and day, they talked about anything and everything. Julie never asked who they were; she never asked for their identity because the mystery was intriguing, and she really didn’t want to reveal her own. All she knew is that they were a senior at her high school and identified as male; she knew he was in a band and he played many instruments and sang a bit. Julie only told him the same amount of information; that she was also a senior and identified as female. Throughout their constant virtual interactions, they started revealing more and more about themselves. From their first conversation, Julie told him all about the death of her mom, and how that influenced her music career. She decided not to tell him about her father's death right away, because she did remember he was a total stranger and who knew if she could even trust him? She revealed that something traumatic had happened and her music was temporarily put on hold as she worked on herself. But through time, he opened up to her as well, and eventually, she let him into to all the details. He revealed to her that his parents were dead set on him pursuing other endeavours, including a full scholarship to Stanford University. However, that wasn't what he wanted to do. He wanted to purse his music and his band, and when he mentioned Berklee College of Music, Julie knew there was no forgetting they had ever met. She was locked in. Their conversations started simple, more like venting sessions. But overtime, they became random, about anything and everything. And to a certain extent, they became a tad flirty. Julie was no expert in the romance department, by any means. With all the tragic events in her life, romantic partners had been the furthest thing from her mind. But sometimes she got a real flirty vibe that she couldn't deny. And even when she wasn't sure, she'd show the messages to Flynn, who, with an eye roll, assured her he was definitely trying to flirt. It made her extremely nervous at first, but then she realized, she had nothing to lose. This was all virtual, they didn't know each other's identities; he couldn't hurt her. But Julie didn't like to refer to him as some random number in her contacts. As much as she didn't necessarily want to put a face to the number, she needed at least a name, or even a pseudonym. When he asked for an example, Julie suggested he refer to her as 'Dahlia' as that was her mother's favourite flower and she had an emotional attachment to it. He had made a lame joke about being able to top that but ultimately he chose 'Charming'. Julie had made the mistake of telling him he was charming once, and he still hadn't let it go. This was the ultimate power move to make sure she never forgot it; but secretly, she loved it.

And so, that's how it went. Sometimes they talked about serious things, like their future at university, and sometimes it was simpler things. Julie liked to argue because her sassiness would have it no other way; Charming could give it right back to her, ensuring it was never a dull conversation.

When Julie wasn't working, studying, or working on her music, she was talking to Charming. It was enough for her, for now. She was just trying to get through senior year quietly, by doing what was expected of her and making as much money as she could to get the hell out of there. But she should have expected that things wouldn't go that smoothly; they never had for her before. This is the story of Julie Molina and her Prince Charming, and everything in between.

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i was super unsure about this chapter because it wasn't that exciting and then i realized i could probably just use it as an prologue or something for some background information, so i hope it was enough.

i'm really excited to get into the nitty gritty of this story, so i really hope you all enjoyed this enough to follow along! i'm not sure how many chapters this will be yet, i'm thinking at least four/five with everything i have planned???

stay safe, thanks for reading!!

tagging: @grootsgillespie || @jayhalsteadcpd || @moreflowersthanweeds || @well-hes-just-too-cute || @echocharm17618 || @leopard-print-slippers || @jandthephantoms || @scribblingfangirl || @n0wornever || @simpformolina || @only-trust-fictional-characters || @snowmione18 || @tellurphantoms || @knitsessed || @carriewilsons || @elitharavenclaw || @wakeupfantoms || @uselessnerdnherblahg || @anotheronechicagobog || @katie-navarro

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 51 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Courtney arrived at Bianca’s penthouse and Violet met Sutan’s mother and neither of them burst into flames.

This Chapter: We dine. (Thanksgiving Chronicles 2 of ???)

***

“I thought,” Raja reached out, taking an empty chocolate wrapper from Raven’s hand. “That you didn’t like Beng-Bengs, Princess?”

They were sitting in the living room, three couches carefully arranged around a round coffee table, the sweet scent of incense in Raja’s nose. All the walls were filled with photos, the window stills overflowing with plants and flowers. She could hear her mom in the kitchen, Murni waving her away when she had tried to lend a hand, the fact that she was pushing 70 apparently not an issue.

“Shut up.”

Raja chuckled, leaning even further back on the couch, her arm around Raven’s shoulder. Raven had gone directly for the candy dish as soon as they had entered the house. The Beng-Bengs were a chocolate treat from Raja’s childhood, either her mom or dad always asking their family back in Indonesia to send some along whenever they received care packages.

Raven swallowed the last bite, reaching for the bowl to grab a kopiko, her girlfriend eating like she was possessed.

“Mmmh,” Raven moaned, closing her eyes as she bit into the chewy coffee candy.

“You know,” Raja turned her head, putting her lips against Raven’s temple. “Maybe, it’s time to consider if you want to continue doing swimwear.”

“Why?” Raven looked up at her, an annoyed expression on her face. “You think I can’t do it?”

“No.” Raja ran her fingers through Raven’s hair, the strands silky smooth as always. Raja didn’t want to make decisions on Raven’s career, those choices up to her brother. Sure, she always gave her opinion when Raven asked, and was always ready to guide her and help her, but at the end of the day, Raja prefered to have those lines in their relationship. “I just don’t know if it’s really worth it for you.”

“Raj-”

“All I’m saying,” Raja smiled, lowering her voice to make sure her mom couldn’t hear her, “is that it usually takes a good 45 minutes to make you moan like that.”

“Maybe the chocolate is just better than you?” Raven huffed, and Raja couldn’t help but laugh as she leaned in, stealing coffee flavored chocolate kisses from her fiancée.

***

“Hey munchkins,” Katya smiled as she reentered the kitchen, a box of decorations in her arms. “How is everyone doing?”

Katya had just spent the last 35 minutes setting up the living room, hanging a garland of Fall leaves, arranging her most impressive ever cornucopia, and putting out the special Thanksgiving tablecloth with little turkeys all around the edge that Trixie had made her for their first Thanksgiving together.

“You do realize,” Max looked up from where he was rolling out the puffed pastries, his back bent slightly so he could use the kitchen counter, “that we’re not actually children, right?”

“Speak for yourself-“ Pearl pointed at him with the potato peeler, yellow rubber gloves on her hands. “It’s so unfair I always have to peel the potatoes. I don’t even like them.”

“That’s because it’s the one job you can’t fuck up,” Trixie grinned, and Katya smiled at him, her fiancé standing at the stove with his ‘kiss the cook’ apron on, caramalizing the onions, a pumpkin ale next to him.

“I could stir onions.”

“You could,” Katya opened their pantry, where boxes filled with decorations for every holiday (except Christmas, which had its own basement storage unit all to itself) took up half the shelves. “But we don’t want another house fire.”

“It’s not a fire if it doesn’t leave the pan!”

Max snorted, and Katya laughed. “Sure baby, sure.”

“Is that Pearl whining again?” asked a voice in the doorway, and Katya turned to see Kim. She’d generously agreed to cook the turkey in her oven, since that would free up Katya and Trixie’s for the rest of the food, and had left to baste.

“Of course. How’s the turkey?”

“Your bird is looking moist and delicious,” Kim answered, and Max visibly shuddered.

“Must you use that word?” he asked, and Kim stepped up to him.

“What word?” she inquired, leaning right up to his ear, cooing a teasing, “You mean mmmoist?” directly into his ear.

“Gah!” Max cringed again, all of them giggling at his overreaction.

“Kimmy, can you start the pumpkin pie filling?” Katya asked, getting down the cans from the shelf and laying a recipe card on the table.

“Of course!” Kim picked up the card and looked it over while Katya bustled around the kitchen, pulling out the various spices and ingredients she would need.

“Ugh, she gets pumpkin pie?” Pearl whined.

“You want a piece of me, potato bitch?” Kim asked, and Trixie burst out laughing, repeating ‘potato bitch,’ softly to himself.

“Kids!” Katya clapped her hands and the whole group looked at her. “You’re all marvelous and essential, and I love you.”

“Gross,” Pearl said, but the smile on her face betrayed her words.

***

“Ha!” Sutan smiled triumphantly, the metal lid on the bird feeder finally popping open. “There we go!”

Sutan and Violet were out in the backyard, Violet sitting on the deck in a lawn chair, while Sutan had braved the moist Autumn grass to make his way to the big pear tree in the corner.

“Throw me the seeds, would you?” Sutan looked over his shoulder, Violet wrapped up in his jacket so she wouldn’t be cold since had forgotten her own in the car.

“The seeds?” Violet raised an eyebrow, but she still patted his jacket down, her eyes widening when she found a packet in the right pocket. “... Did you bring bird seeds with you from Manhattan?”

“Maybe?” Sutan grinned, catching the seeds in the air when Violet threw them. He hadn’t expected her to follow him into the garden, had figured he could slip away without anyone noticing, but while Raven had absolutely warmed up to VIolet, and his twin seemed to genuinely like her, he wasn’t exactly sure if Violet felt the same way about his sister and her fiancée.

“Is this a normal occurrence?” Violet was smiling, watching him with her brow eyes.

“That I fill the bird feeders?” Sutan got up on his toes, tipping the packet to fill it up about half way. “Or being in the garden?”

“Both?”

“My mom isn’t as young as she used to be,” Sutan shrugged, moving from one feeder to the next. “And she’s not very good at asking for help, so I always try to do something in the garden whenever I’m here.”

Murnis age was something he tried not to think about, something he tried to push away, the idea that his mom wouldn’t be there one day one of the few things that genuinely terrified him.

“It’s a very beautiful garden.”

“You should tell her that,” Sutan smiled, the complement sounding completely genuine. “She’s very proud of her marigolds.”

“She should be.”

Neither of them said anything for a little while, Sutan getting some of the last pears from the tree. He knew they had to go back inside, that his mom was probably putting the finishing touches on their Thanksgiving dinner, but he figured he’d maybe have time to take a look at the greenhouse too, Violet thankfully not the type of person who kicked up a fuss when he took his time.

“Did you grow up here?” Sutan turned around, Violet practically swallowed up by his jacket as she was cuddled up.

“No. When we got to America, my family lived in Iowa. This house is actually the first thing Raja and I ever bought, when we started making money. Our first piece of real estate.” Sutan smiled at the memory of when Raja had finally, finally, finally gotten the pay check that pushed them over the edge. “We still lived in a shitty one bedroom apartment in Manhattan, but we knew we wanted to do something for our parents. Wanted to make sure Ayah and Bunda had a good place to stay and for them to be closer.”

“Ayah?”

“It means dad. In Indonesian.”

“Oh…” Violet paused, looking at his face, and Sutan really hoped it wasn’t obvious how much it hurt to think about his dad. “He isn’t here, is he-”

“He died when I was 32.” It was weird that Violet didn’t already know, weird that she hadn’t stumbled on it yet since the gossip sites and magazines had certainly covered how it had wrecked both him and Raja, a simple google search enough to know his entire life story, but Sutan appreciated that she wanted to hear it from him too. “Cancer.”

“I’m sorry.” Violet looked genuinely upset, empathy clear on her features.

“It’s okay,” Sutan forced a smile. “It was a long time ago.”

It didn’t feel like it, but that wasn’t Violet’s burden to bear, Sutan’s regrets of how he’d never get the chance to talk to his dad again and apologize his and his alone.

***

Once Courtney had a couple of drinks in her, she found herself forgetting to be nervous or uncomfortable about being in the fanciest apartment she’d ever seen, and just began having a good time with her bestie, enjoying Bianca’s generous hospitality and the attention that still made her heart go a little fluttery when their eyes met.

By the time Bianca appeared in the den again to tell them that dinner was ready, they’d abandoned the karaoke machine and were curled up on the couch, watching the parade, Adore’s head in Courtney’s lap.

“You guys ready for dinner?”

“Ugh, vegan Thanksgiving. I am not looking forward to this,” Adore grumbled, poking Courtney in the arm. “Did you know she was gonna do that? Get everything vegan?”

Courtney’s eyes widened--she wasn’t expecting that, not at all. She’d been surprised that the appetizers were vegan, but the whole meal? She looked at Bianca with gratitude and shock, asking, “Really?”

“Most of it. Adore whined so much about the stuffing that I made her some the good old-fashioned Cuban chock-full-of-meat way.”

“You did?!” Adore jumped up excitedly, clapping her hands.

“I did. I used Abuelita’s recipe.” Bianca cuffed her playfully on the ear. “Happy?”

“I take back everything I said, you’re still my favorite sister.” Adore slung an arm around Bianca’s shoulders as they walked down the hall. “You didn’t forget my Hillshire Farms, did you?”

“No, bitch, I didn’t forget your Hillshire Farms. I even put it out all nice on a plate so you don’t have to eat straight out of the package like you do at home.”

“Yaaas, sounds classy as fuck.”

Courtney was completely unprepared for the sight that met her when they stepped into the dining room. The table was laden with beautiful, vibrantly colorful Autumnal dishes - enough for at least ten people.

“Oh my god.”

Bianca looked over at her. “Something wrong?”

“No! No, it’s absolutely...just so much, I wasn’t expecting this. Are more people coming?”

“Courtney. You live in America now. And you know what Thanksgiving is all about?”

“Gratitude?” Courtney guessed, still overwhelmed at the spread.

“No, baby. No. It’s about coming together, and, whether you are hungry or not, eating until you can’t possibly take another bite. And then having dessert.”

Courtney laughed, taking her seat. “I guess I’m not fully assimilated, huh?”

“You’ll learn.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Try this. It’s the vegan version of Adore’s favorite relleno de pavo,” Bianca said, spooning some onto her plate, along with about five other things, Courtney quickly losing track.

She’d been to a family Thanksgiving dinner once before, during a short-lived college relationship with a guy who Adore had nicknamed “Wonder Bread,” and it was nothing like this: a meal of dry turkey, bland mashed potatoes, overcooked green beans in some kind of hideous mushroom sauce, and candied yams straight from a can. This meal was like something she’d get at a 5-star farm to table restaurant, fresh and delicious, somehow reminding her of her mother’s vegetable garden, something she didn’t realize she was missing so badly until she was tasting it. It was so good, she forgot to say anything, soon greedily gobbling up everything she could get her hands on.

“So...what do we think? Can I put the chef on a repeat list?” Bianca asked, and Courtney nodded vigorously, mouth full.

“I’m actually shocked how good this corn pudding is,” Adore said, mouth full. “Who knew vegan butter would be so good?”

“Well, vegan butter is margarine. And you’re garbage, so you love margarine.”

“I really do, man.”

Bianca laughed, chuckling slightly, finishing her wine.

“Anyone want another drink?”

“I’ll get it!” Adore said, rising from her seat.

“Thanks.”

Once she’d left the room, Bianca turned to Courtney, who was still gorging herself on all of the delicious dishes before her. She touched Courtney on the wrist, sending little tingles up her arm as she tried to quickly swallow the persimmon and kale salad in her mouth.

“Listen, I want to thank you for being so sweet with her, and looking out, you know? I know she pretends she’s a tough girl, but-she really needs TLC right now.”

Courtney wiped her mouth and answered, “Of course. She’d do the same for me. She has done the same for me.”

“Good. I mean, not that you...uh, needed, y’know-”

Courtney smiled, wondering if there was anything cuter than someone with Bianca’s self assuredness getting flustered and tongue-tied. “I know what you mean.”

“I’m just glad that someone gentler than me is there for her. You know, I’m not so great with the touchy-feely stuff.”

“I think you do okay,” Courtney said, unable to tear her eyes from Bianca’s. And then Courtney’s chest flooded with guilt at the next thought. A fleeting second where she imagined Bianca taking care of her, too. Fortunately, Adore came back into the room at that exact moment, two bottles of wine in hand, letting her shake the thought right from her head, reaching for a whole grain dinner roll to distract herself from it all.

“Bitch, I have never seen you eat like this,” Adore commented, laughing.

“Well, you’ve never seen me with food this good. Who was this chef, anyway? Can I marry them?”

“I’ll pass along the proposal. Although I’m not sure her wife will be too pleased,” Bianca said.

“I can share,” Courtney suggested sweetly, batting her lashes, making Bianca laugh.

“Or, you know...you can just marry someone with the resources to hire her whenever you want.” Bianca swirled the wine in her glass.

“Hmm...I don’t know anyone like that,” Courtney told her. “I run with a pretty low-rent crowd.”

“Pity.”

Courtney giggled into her plate, wondering if she should ease up on the alcohol, since that warm, light-headed feeling was taking over.

***

“Come on, come on,” Juju muttered to herself, digging through her bag, everyone's jackets piled high on her aunt's bed. She was looking for her daughter’s toy monkey, Julia falling outside and hitting her knee while playing with her cousins. She was okay, but she had asked for her toy, if only Juju could find it.

“Juju?” The door opened, and Juju looked over her shoulder to see her husband stand there, thankfully without one of their children on his arm.

“Give me a second-”

Detox closed the door, and Juju paused, her eyes narrowing. “What are you doing?”

“Me?” Detox grinned, his eyes sparkling with an almost predatory glee. “Oh, nothing.” He reached behind him, flicking the lock. “Nothing at all.”

“De-” Juju almost wanted to get upset, her entire family just outside, and she still hadn’t seen Julia’s knee for herself. “I have to get-”

“Your dad put a bandaid on her,” Detox smiled, walking over to her, and Juju couldn’t help but notice how good he looked, “and she’s watching TV with Kelly.”

“Ah.” Juju chuckled, her oldest an absolute sweetheart when her siblings needed her, even though she often tried to act too cool for school. “Well then-”

“Well then,” Detox walked into her space, “I think we have more than enough time.” He put his hands on her waist, pulling her in, her belly bumping against his hips.

“Time for what?”

“Time for this.” Detox leaned down, their lips meeting in a heated kiss, Detox lips tasting faintly like the Beerloa the Laotian part of her family loved.

“De-” Juju broke the kiss, trying to pull back. “We have to-”

“Come on,” Detox smiled. “Live a little. Not like you can get pregnant right now.”

“I hate you so much-” Detox gave her a peck, and Juju could feel her knees buckle, her hands going to his hips, her fingers grabbing the belt loops on his pants as she allowed herself to fall back on the bed.

***

“Okay well...vegan Thanksgiving was less gross than I thought,” Adore said, putting her head on the table.

“We’re glad you didn’t suffer too much,” said Bianca.

“I think it was fucking perfection,” Courtney said, a happy grin on her face as she scraped the last of the cranberry mousse from her plate.

“I mean, I’m not complaining,” Adore added, reaching for another apple hand pie, and after a pause, a second.

“Oh no? That’s a first,” Bianca chuckled.

“Well to be fair, most vegan food is crap. This was an exception,” Adore said, slathering her pies with what was probably quinoa-based whipped cream and taking another pumpkin blondie square for good measure.

“Mmhmm…” Bianca said, judgment dripping from her pursed lips, laughing when Adore stuck her tongue out. She then turned to Courtney, who had gently tapped her on the arm.

“Where’s your restroom?”

“There’s one right through there.” Bianca pointed, and Courtney smiled.

“Thanks! Be right back!”

Adore eyed her sister, watching her face, eyes glued to Courtney as she left the room. It took Bianca about ten full seconds before she realized that she was being watched herself. She turned to Adore, took in her smirk, and scowled.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just fun to see you bark up the wrong tree. Not used to you being rejected.” Adore rested her chin on her hand, popping a bite of blondie into her mouth.

“Shut up.”

Adore laughed. “No, it’s cool. Very humanizing.”

“First of all, I’m not barking anywhere, so you can put your little smug face away. And second...what makes you so sure I’d even be rejected?”

“Please.” Adore rolled her eyes. “I know my girl, Bianca. She’s straight.”

“Okay.” Bianca set down her coffee cup.

“I mean, if you got another seven or so drinks in her, maybe she’d let you-”

“Alright, enough. Now you’re being gross,” Bianca said testily.

“Sorry. But can I just give you one tip?”

“What?” Bianca asked, face stern.

“Tequila shots.”

Bianca tried valiantly to keep the cross look, but after a few seconds, she broke, dimples deep in her cheeks. She balled up a linen napkin and chucked it at Adore’s face.

Outside, the rain had let up, a few rays of evening sun breaking through the clouds.

“Hey, do you mind taking the dogs out for a walk before it starts raining again? Just a little one, they’ve been out to the terrace.” Bianca rose from her seat and began clearing some dishes from the table.

“Yeah, no problem.” Adore headed for the door, intercepting Courtney on her way back from the bathroom. “Come with me, we’re walking the dogs.”

“Oh...but doesn’t Bianca need help with the-”

“Nope!” Adore pulled her by the hand towards the door, grabbing their coats and strapping the dogs into their harnesses.

It wasn’t until they were safely outside when she finally felt comfortable giving her friend...well, not a warning exactly.

“So listen,” she began, and Courtney turned to her, head cocked. “I’m sure you already know this, but my sister is kind of a player.”

“Uhhh…”

“Come on. You must have heard stories.”

“I guess I have, but I–”

“It’s my fault. I should have…I dunno, I should have warned you about B’s weakness for pretty blondes. And I know it’s just your personality to be sweet and friendly and a bit of a flirt. But you’re totally gonna give her the wrong idea.”

Courtney bit her lip and turned away, and Adore felt bad.

“Don’t be embarrassed! I’m not saying that you’re doing anything wrong. It’s just...she’s not really used to people turning her down, so...”

“Right.”

Courtney didn’t seem to have much more to say, and Adore worried that maybe she’d offended her.

“I’m sorry, boo, but this is just something you have to consider when you’re the most charming, beautiful, kind, funny, smart…”

Courtney started laughing, cutting her off with a hug.

“I get what you’re saying. You can stop laying it on so thick.”

Adore smiled, then realized that her phone was ringing. She handed the leashes over to Courtney and looked at it, surprised at the name on the display.

The last one she thought she’d see, especially today.

Pearl.

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kqbluemoon-moved · 3 years

Text

PRACTICE ROOM SECRETS !

SUMMARY :: In which Maisie tries to get Jinhwan to talk. CHARACTERS :: Maisie Park, Jang Jinhwan WORDS :: 1.3K WARNINGS :: implied infidelity, family problems ( if i missed anything let me know ! )

Maisie would be lying if she said that she thought it was a good idea to visit Jinhwan while he practiced the new choreography he was learning while she had an essay due soon. Though, there was nothing much that she could do about it now as she sat on the floor of one of the practice rooms at Banana Culture, while music blasted in the background there her boyfriend was very invested in.

She stared at her boyfriend's perfect body movements, suddenly far more interested in watching the show in front of her rather than the paper that sat unfinished on her computer. Though, she was never really interested in the paper in front of her, even if that’s what she told Jinhwan to get him to focus on practicing. The song ends soon enough and Jinhwan looks at her through the mirror, laughing brightly when he notices her staring.

“I thought you had a paper to write?”

Maisie just hummed in response, looking back at her laptop while Jinhwan took a seat in front of her. She stared at the words for a long while, trying to figure out what her thought was when she stopped, but eventually she gave up with a sigh, closing the laptop. She knew she wasn’t going to get any work done.

“I guess I don’t have as much willpower as I thought,” she shrugged, smiling when she noticed a faint blush rise on her boyfriend’s cheek.

“When am I going to be able to sit on you practicing for a comeback,” the younger questioned, changing the subject since he knew there would be nothing but teasing if he didn’t.

“Never,” she laughed, watching her boyfriend pout as he sat down. “Because unlike you, I can actually keep a secret.”

“I can keep a secret!” Maisie let out a loud laugh at the protest, knowing for a fact that her boyfriend ran off and told Donghan everything.

“So, where’s Hannie?” she questioned, her mind suddenly falling on the other younger boy that she had grown accustomed to seeing. “You guys always practice for comebacks together.”

It was strange to not see the two boys together at all points in time, but Maisie wasn’t the most heart broken if that meant she could get her boyfriend to herself for once. She’s almost surprised that none of the other boys had come in and ruined their little ‘date’, which isn’t something that they get to do often as it is.

Jinhwan’s face scrunched up a bit. “He’s with Felix,” he said after a moment. His tone teasing. “I love them, but those two are still in the honeymoon phase and simply can’t do that to myself.”

“You make it sound like they’re gonna start going at it while you’re in the room,” Maisie laughed, only to be shot a horrified face by her boyfriend.

“You haven’t been in the same room when they interact,” he started, thinking of something that was probably a distant memory. “They’re so lovey-dovey I wouldn’t put it past them.”

Maisie rolled her eyes, bringing her hand up to fix the pieces of his overgrown hair that had fallen in his face. She thinks back to their last serious conversation they had and she can’t get the words that Jinhwan told her out of her mind. She knew it wasn’t her palace to push, but she knew that she couldn’t keep this from Della for much longer. She let out a small sigh, moving her hands away from Jinhwan’s hair, but staying close to the younger man. He looked up at her, question evident in his eyes.

“You know,” she started, making sure her voice was sweet and soft. “I think you should talk with Della.”

Jinhwan rolled his eyes, leaning away from the older girl. “You know when I told you that I didn’t mean for you to meddle with it.” His voice was cold, but Maisie knew it wasn’t her, it was just the situation.

“I know,” she sighed. “But, she’s my best friend and I hate lying to her like this.”

He rolled his eyes, “It’s not lying if you don’t tell her anything.”

“Jinhwan, she’s your sister-” Maisie stated, but she was cut off by a cold glare from her boyfriend.

“Half.” he replied simply, his voice dark and cold. “She’s my half-sister, she’s not like Jinhee, just because we share a father doesn’t mean I owe her anything.”

“I know, you don’t owe her anything, but I just worry about how much it’s going to devistse her the longer you wait to tell her.” Maisie shrugged. It wasn’t her business and she knew she couldn’t push Jinhwan to tell Della anything, it was just hard for her to be in the middle of this and not try to fix anything, it was in her nature.

They stayed quiet for a moment, both not wanting to say anything. Maisie tried to hold her tongue, but she wasn’t one to keep the things on her mind underwraps.

“Besides,” she started, treading carefully, she didn’t want Jinhwan to close off to her. “You not telling anyone isn’t just keeping it from Della. You’re keeping it from Jinhee, your mom. Even if you don’t tell Della, I think it might be good for you to tell them instead of keeping it all bottled up.”

“I can’t tell Jinhee, you know how she is,”

Maisie raised an eyebrow at the younger boy, waiting for him to continue. He stared off for a moment before letting out a deep sigh, running a hand over his face.

“She idolizes Dad, even if he’s never around and only talks to us a few times a year.” he rolled his eyes at his own words, but didn’t stop. “It would break her heart. But once she got over that she’s want to tell Della and she stop to think if Della would be mad at us or didn’t want to get to know us and if Della told us to fuck off it would break her heart even more.”

Maisie hummed and let the words hang in the air. “It sounds like you’re making the decision for her,” she said after a moment, watching as Jinhwan looked at her with confused eyes. “I know you want to protect her and everything, but how do you think she would feel if she found out some other way and found out that you knew the entire time?”

Jinhwan just continued to stare at her, but she could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought over her words.

“I can’t make a decision for you,” she shrugged. “But, if you tell someone, you might not feel like you’re carrying this burden all by yourself anymore.”

He looked away from her, his eyes roaming the room while the words settled in his mind. He sighed, starting to get up from his seated spot. “I should get back to practicing,” he said, his voice quiet as he moved across the room.

Maisie wanted to say more, but she knew he wasn’t in the right headspace to hear it right now. She hated seeing Jinhwan like this and ever since he brought up the situation with his father a few weeks ago, she noticed just how much the secret had started to wear on him. It hurt her heart to see him pushing this stuff away, but she knew pushing him would do him no good. She let out a small sigh, not loud enough for Jinhwan to hear, before picking her laptop back up and opening back up to her essay.

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orangecrane · 4 years

Note

Could I get some Sprace hurt/comfort with angst on Race’s end? Like, something big happens (a family member dies, he ranked an interview/audition, etc)

and i’m there

Race see's something at Sheepshead that kind of shakes the foundations of his world, but Spot's there for him to lean on.

A/N: Thanks for the request! I hope it’s still in line w/ what you were looking for, but if not, let me know! I’m not sure if I’m set on having this as part of Race’s background but this was kinda interesting to write. Cross-posted on Ao3.

Race was crying. That was the first thing that registered in Spot’s mind. Well, second thing. To be exact the first thing was ‘What the hell is Race doing at the Brooklyn lodging house at this hour?’ and the second was ‘Oh shit he’s crying’. Race was just standing there silently, tears running down his face and for once looking like the scrawny impoverished orphan boy he was, and Spot… he had no clue what he was supposed to do. Was there some kind of protocol for when your kinda sorta boyfriend shows up at your door in tears?

They stood there staring at each other for a minute, Spot frozen in the doorway and Race still just standing there, crying. Finally Spot broke from his confusion and asked, “What are you doing here Race?”

Race started fidgeting, cracked his knuckles, fiddled with his cigar and looked at his feet, but didn't respond. Oh man, Spot really didn’t want to do this, especially with how bad Race looked, but he couldn’t be too soft on him with an audience, too many people knowing about them would put them in danger and that would end poorly for everyone. “Either tell me why you’re here or get off my turf ‘hattan.”

Race glanced up and met Spot’s eyes just long enough to answer before looking back down, “Can- can I come in?”

Good, that was all that Spot needed to hear, “C’mon, we’ll talk in my room.” Spot led the other boy through the lodging house and up the stairs, pausing only to instruct Hotshot that they shouldn’t be disturbed, then carefully shut the door behind them. Race didn’t look up from the ground the entire time.

“Racer,” Spot began softly, “what’s wrong?”

Race sat on the edge of Spot’s bed, staring at the wall. He didn’t respond. Spot, not knowing how to proceed and not quite willing to push him yet, simply sat at his side. He wrapped an arm around the blonde’s shoulders and let the boy tuck his head into the crook of his neck as he tried to gather himself.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably closer to half an hour, Race spoke, “Do you think there are people on other planets just like us? Just going about their lives like they’re the only ones out there just like we are?”

“Race, tell me what’s wrong,” Spot tries to be gentle, but comes off a little more harsh than he intended. He knew Race was trying to avoid talking about whatever brought him here. Well Spot wasn’t going to waste his time beating around the bush, he wasn’t that kind of person. Race had only gotten away with it for this long because Spot was soft for him, no one else got this kind of treatment. Except maybe the Brooklyn littles, but that was a different situation.

“No, really, just think abo-”

Spot’s, admittedly limited, patience snapped. “Cut the crap, Higgins.”

“I saw my mom earlier today,” Race said in such a small voice. He curled into himself and Spot felt his throat tighten at the sight. He’d never seen Race look so vulnerable.

Spot knew that Race wasn’t in contact with his mother. But that was about all he knew, Race rarely spoke about his life before becoming a newsie and Spot hadn’t felt the need to press, someone else’s past wasn’t really his business. It was a stance he took with all of his newsies. He was starting to regret that decision at the moment, if only a little bit.

“I- Uhh… she was down at the races with… with my little sister, they was just passin' through.”

Well that was news to Spot. He still wasn’t sure why Racer was so upset, though. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Yeah, neither did I.”

The bitterness in his tone was impossible to hide. And oh. Oh. Spot repositioned himself so he could rub Race’s back. Race took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing, “Looked like she was about five years old.”

“Racer, talk to me. It sounds like there’s more to it than that.”

“It’s just that-” he paused, carefully choosing his words, “when I left home, it was because my ma wanted me gone. She wouldn’ta said it back then but it was true. She wasn’t married and we had no other family so she had to work to support us both. Havin’ a kid basically destroyed her prospects for finding a husband and for the most part I was too young to work. I was nothin’ but a burden to her. I couldn’t stand bein’ there knowin’ she didn’t want me.”

Ouch. Spot understood the feeling, being somewhere you clearly weren’t wanted hurt. A lot.

“So I left, and that eventually led me to becomin’ a newsie. But she has a family now, a husband and enough money to have another kid. So I guess… I guess I thought that she didn’t want me because I stopped her from having that, but now she does and she still doesn’t like me. It just hurt more than I thought it would, knowing that my own mother doesn’t want me, well cause I'm me, I guess.”

Race was crying properly, again. Head buried in Spot’s shirt, the blonde clutched at him as tight as he could, trying to calm his shaking.

“And I’m glad she’s got a family and is happy, she’s my mom. But- but if I'm not part- part of her family, then I just don't got one, do I?” Race’s anguish was palpable and Spot had no idea how to help, so he simply continued to hold and comfort him as best he could. “Guess it doesn’t matter all that much,” Race continued, “she didn’t even recognize me, not really. Or maybe she did and just pretended not to, honestly I’m not sure which one is worse.”

Those were the words that broke Spot’s heart. Seeing the boy he loved hurt so deeply, he would do just about anything to soothe him right now.

“Hey pretty boy, you stupid or what? You got a family.” Spot gently cards his fingers through Race’s hair. “You got Jack n’ Albert and all a’ your Manhattan boys. N’ you also got me. You don’t need a ma to have a family and if she doesn’t see how great you are then it’s her loss. She’s gonna be the one who never gets to laugh at your stupid jokes or watch you become everything I know you can be.”

The corner of Race’s lips twitch up in the ghost of a smile, the happiest he’s been since Spot’s laid eyes on him today. And it’s right about that moment that Spot decides that he’s always going to be there for Race.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Race calming under his ministrations, until Spot broke the quiet atmosphere. He usually wasn’t one to indulge Race like this, that was Albert’s job, but he could make an exception. “What if they’re purple?”

“Huh?”

“The people living on the other planet, what if they’re exactly like us, but purple? Or what if they have two heads?”

Race giggled. And that’s what Spot was looking for. He grinned and tightened his grip around Race just the slightest bit.

“Well why would they be purple, that’s ridiculous Spot! But you may be onto something with the two heads bit.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!” Race launched into a long explanation of his theories about the lives of the not-quite-people on other planets. He was still a little shaky, eyes red, drying tear tracks down his cheeks, and clinging to Spot more closely than would be appropriate should someone manage to catch sight of them, but he was bouncing back. Race was strong like that. Spot smiled and leaned back, Race moving with him, and listened to his boyfriend ramble about the most pointless things, just being there with Race when he needed him most. Yeah, Spot thought, for Race, he would always be there.

#newsies #newsies live #racetrack higgins #spot conlon #sprace #newsies fanfic #newsies writing #orange writes #racetrackmylove #word count: 1.3k #requests

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imagining-supernatural · 4 years

Text

The Backstory

Part 15 of Seventy Percent

Series Summary: When you left on your trip to Vegas, you’d planned on letting loose for one last weekend before heading back to reality and getting your affairs in order so your best friend wouldn’t be left cleaning up your mess when your cancer finally ended your life. What you hadn’t counted on was waking up married to a celebrity who has a knight-in-shining-armor complex, connections with an oncologist, and amazing insurance…

Chapter Summary: You and Sebastian sit down and you finally tell him about your past

Word Count: 1,757

HGTV was playing in the background, but neither you nor Seb were paying attention. You were curled together in the recliner with a heavy blanket over your legs. He still had a few hours before he had to head out to his interview with Jimmy Fallon, so this was the best time to tell him about your past. Enough time that he could process everything and not be too burdened during his interview, but not enough time that the two of you would drag out every damn detail. There were parts that you wouldn’t tell him, but most of it, you wanted him to know.

You just had to figure out how to start.

“You grew up in Wyoming, right?” He prompted, as if sensing that you were stuck before you had even begun.

“Yeah.” You sighed heavily, shoring up your courage. “It was just me, my sister, and my parents. If I have any cousins or aunts, I don’t know about them. My, uh, my dad was… you know what? I’m just gonna say everything really quick to get it all out there. I think that’ll be easier.”

He nodded, rubbing his hand along your spine. You tucked your head into his neck, hoping that the lack of eye contact would make it even easier.

“Alright. Ever since I can remember, my dad has been an alcoholic. Abusive too, but I didn’t realize until later. He took out most of it on my mom and sister, since she was older. But then, uh, my sister, Eliza, moved out when she turned sixteen and it was just me and my mom.”

“How old were you?” he asked in a pained whisper.

“Eight. She’s eight years older than me. He died when our house caught fire when I was sixteen. Cigarette left burning. His fault.” Your voice broke on the last two words, but you powered through. “Luckily mom was in lockup for the night for drunk and disorderly or something and I was staying with Jaz. That was… it’s fucked up to say, but that was the best day of my life.”

His hand moved up your back and settled on the back of your head, holding you closer. That simple action drew a wave of tears to your eyes that had you blinking quickly, trying to hold them back. God, you didn’t deserve him.

Remembering the truth of that day… you really didn’t deserve him.

“Um, so that left me and my mom. She… She was an alcoholic too, but more of a neglectful alcoholic. Thank god for Jasmin and her family. I don’t know what I would have done without them. They kept me alive and sane until I was old enough to get a job and basically support myself a few months after my dad died. I thought it was over, then. Up until then, my family was just that trash family that other people in town gossiped about to feel better about themselves. I got some pitying looks, and that was it.

“Then my sister went and got arrested. Everyone expected me to take in her two sons when she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.”

“What did she do?”

A bitter laugh escaped your throat. “Fucking murdered her boyfriend. Abused her kids. Assaulted a police officer. She… she didn’t have a friend like Jaz. Or a support system like Jaz’s family. But that’s still no excuse. None at all. They’re her kids. She knew what it was like to grow up being a punching bag. She…” In an effort to control your budding anger, you took a deep breath and turned your face into Seb’s neck for a second, letting his familiar scent calm you.

“So when she was sentenced to twenty-five to life, the entire town assumed I would adopt the kids. I mean, they were my nephews and all, but everyone was acting like it was my responsibility to raise them. But… But I was barely eighteen. I couldn’t even take care of myself and I didn’t want to put them in a position where I—where I might snap like she did. It wasn’t fair to them. And they were young enough that they were adopted fairly quickly and now they’re with some family down in Georgia growing up with cute little Southern accents. Their parents send me letters sometimes. Pictures too. The boys are happy. And I know I made the right decision, but if you listen to what everyone else said, then you’d start thinking I was a selfish bitch who didn’t respect family values as if they’d all forgotten the kind of values my family taught me. I-I-I know I made the right choice. They’re happy. So fuck what everyone else thought.”

“People make far too many judgments based on far too few facts,” Sebastian whispered against your hair.

“And far too many assumptions,” you mumbled.

He held you in silence for a few minutes, just stroking your hair.

“You know what the worst thing someone said to me was?” You asked a bit later, after your heartbeat had calmed down from its angry beating. “When word got out that I had cancer, someone from my hometown told me that God gave me cancer as punishment for not adopting my nephews. For thinking someone else could raise them better than their own blood. Years later and they still couldn’t let it go.”

Not that they were entirely wrong. Your cancer might have been punishment from God, but not because you didn’t adopt your nephews. There were far worse things you’d done.

“That’s—” He couldn’t even find a word to describe how that made him felt. And you completely understood.

“Rude? Horribly offensive? Fucking ignorant? Welcome to small town Wyoming where the bible rules and if you say you’ve never shot a gun you’ll be shunned until you do.”

“Fuckin’ hell, sweetie, that’s… God that’s horrible.”

“People suck,” you said simply. “I just… I wanted you to know. You know, in case this shit hits the news or whatever. And also… Also, I just wanted you to know. I wanted to tell you. Regardless.”

He slid his hand to your chin and tilted your head up until you were falling into his blue eyes. “Thank you, Y/N. Thank for telling me; trusting me.”

“Thank you for being someone who doesn’t suck,” you responded in a weak effort to lighten the mood.

You only had a second to register his soft smile before he leaned forward and brushed his lips against your cheek. “I always knew you were strong. I mean, to go through cancer treatment like this… but now?” His thumb rubbed against your cheek, nearly touching your lips. Your eyes closed at his touch, face leaning into his palm. “Sweetheart, I think you’re the strongest person I think I’ve ever met.”

Just as you were about to argue his statement, he leaned forward again. This time his lips brushed just at the corner of your mouth and lingered, wiping away every single word you’d ever known. He finally pulled away a hairsbreadth and the air between you two was super-charged. All it would take was a tilt of your head and you’d be kissing him properly.

But you couldn’t do it. You just couldn’t.

After a moment more, he drew back, pausing only to press his lips to your forehead briefly. “So, your sister and mom are still alive?”

“No.” Your voice was surprisingly strong. Barely wavering. “My sister’s still in prison, but my mom died a few months after I turned sixteen. Another reason the town seems to hate me. They think if I’d stuck around more, she wouldn’t have killed herself but that wasn’t my job. I was a kid. It wasn’t my job to keep my parent alive.”

“Killed herself?”

“Drunk herself to death, I guess.” It was an explanation you’d said many times before. One that wasn’t entirely accurate, but the closest to the truth you could get. “Suicide wasn’t the official cause of death, but I knew. She drunk too much. I think she was shooting up with something, too. They called it an accidental overdose. Said if I’d been there, I might have been able to call 911 and save her. But they didn’t know us. They didn’t know what happened in that house. I… I don’t blame her. She didn’t want to be saved. She let him break her. My sister became him.”

“And you? What do you think you did?”

“I think… I think… I don’t know. I made a lot of bad decisions in college, but that’s just college. I think I would have turned out differently if I hadn’t spent so much time with Jaz’s family. But even then… I don’t know, Seb. I just know that I never wanted to make anyone feel like I did. It took me my entire college career with campus therapists to work through shit. And there’s some things I haven’t told anyone. And I’m going to be working through everything for the rest of my life. I know that. I think I just became more aware. Aware what kind of affect my words might have on someone else. I’m cautious about everything. Maybe that’s why I went into data security. I didn’t have anyone, really, to protect me.” By this point you’d practically forgotten you weren’t alone. You were just musing aloud. Putting together parts of your therapy sessions with your own emotions.

It was something you’d never done.

Even in therapy, you hadn’t opened up all the way.

But here? With someone you’d met a month ago?

Here, you felt safe. Loved, even.

“What about Jasmin?”

“She tried. But her family was amazing. She just couldn’t understand my family. She was always sympathetic, but never really knew how to help. And, honestly, I wouldn’t ever want her to know how to help. I never want her to be in the position to understand.”

“I guess I get that.”

“’Sides, this way I had her to pull me out. She pushed me to move on. Helped me figure out how to… not become them.”

Silence, once again, fell. Even telling the barest bones of your past had exhausted you and you couldn’t move from Seb’s lap even if you wanted to.

It was nearly a half hour later when he spoke in a soft voice, his words drawing a soft laugh from you. “At least I don’t have to go through the meet the parents shtick.”

Think that’s all of it? The worst of it?

CHAPTER 16: THE FIRST PAPARAZZI AMBUSH

#sebastianxreader #sebastian x reader #sebastian x reader angst #sebastian stan x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #mcu #marvel fanfic

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sylphidstella · 3 years

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* CHRISTMAS 2020 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Spending Thanksgiving at Gallagher wasn’t an inconvenience for Stella. There were no ties to family traditions or memories of holiday dinner with her sisters; she didn’t feel like she was missing out on anything. Christmas, on the other hand, was entirely different.

Spoiled rotten her entire life, both from having a rich family in a risky business and from being indubitably her father’s favorite growing up, the magic of this time of year played like a movie for the Manchesi family. Generous home with enough bedrooms for her four siblings, guests, and herself were laced in decorations and the tint of sparkling bright lighting throughout. Their Christmas tree, which they decorated as a family however reluctantly by Stella in the past, interchanged themes every year save for the select generational ornaments passed down by grandparents and uncles and family friends. Though too much of a princess in the past to appreciate it, Stella often found herself daydreaming about what the tree looked like this year.

She imagined the ugly, whitehaired Nutcracker on the kitchen island, and putting her finger in his mouth while Graziella pushed the wooden bar for him to bite. Sabina, meticulously wrapping gifts and refusing any assistance only to complain that no one was assisting her, was now burdened with being the eldest. Lucrece, waking up early to start cooking the entire dinner on her own, and Stella sliding sluggishly into the kitchen, sleepy eyed and hair sparked, to give her a kiss on the cheek just before sneaking a smidge of whatever the older girl was chopping. Marcelo would carry in the firewood, talking miles with her father stomping his boots by the front door. Nowadays, her father carried in the firewood alone. Reminiscing always started off sweet, only to be saddened that the exact sound of her sister’s laughter was no longer something she could conjure up in her head. These traditions had become more prominent after her brother died, and the guilt that she’d left her sisters with one less sibling this year haunted her with all the other ghosts that followed her this semester.

She couldn’t go abroad with a friend even if it had been an option, instructed by Gallagher upon their recruitment of her that using her passport when her parents might be looking for her wasn’t advised. There was the prospect of spending it alone, the weeks leading up filled with distraction shopping on websites where she’d picked out gifts for all of her family members and purchased none of them. Blair inviting Stella to spend Christmas dinner with their family had softened her; surely she couldn’t feel lonely being around that many people

The night started magically, Stella expected no less from something with the Sutton name. The sound of so many happy people chatting and laughing at jokes she couldn’t hear created an artificial warmth in her belly, temporary and aided only by the slight anxiety of not knowing where to put her eyes, or her hands, or her body. Everywhere she stood felt forced, like trying to push a key into a lock that wasn’t made to hold it.

Thirty five minutes. She lasted thirty five minutes before resting her hand on Blair’s upper arm, a light nod and a forced smile as an unspoken I think I’m gonna head out. Seeing other people be happy with their families left her woozy, drunk and scatterbrained off of the realities of the past few months all coming into fruition. Her boiling point manifested in the loud laughter and hug of someone she didn’t recognize. Suddenly there wasn’t a single person in the room she did recognize, herself included.

Crying managed to wait until she’d fully left the dinner, but once the crisp air of December hit her cheeks it came all at once. Piano fingers, as her father used to describe them, wiped frantically across her face, tears meeting the back of her wrist, the balls of her knuckles, the cushion of her palm. She shook her arms out, a hop in her step, “Rilassati, Stella.” Just Relax, Stella. She spoke aloud to herself. If she looked crazy to anyone in the distance it wouldn’t be a far off assumption. Falling to sit on a step, she pulled a knee to her chest, thumb gliding over her phone to switch the view of application icons mindlessly. And when she made the phone call, you have to understand, she wasn’t thinking. It must be true what they say, that in desperate moments even as an adult, the first person you call is always your mother.

The phone barely rang before the click, a few seconds of silence, and little did she know her mother hadn’t skipped an unknown call in months. “Pronto?”

She swallowed, sniffling nose and tears only intensified by the sound of her mom’s voice. They had never been close until their conversation in the kitchen the night she ran away.

“Tesoro, sei tu?” Honey, is that you?

Her mother’s voice speaking Italian had always sounded so beautiful to her, but now it only made her cry harder, and they continued the conversation in a tongue she constantly craved. “I’m so sorry.”

“Estella?”

“Mamma, I’m so so sorry. You must be so angry with me. I know papà hates me, I feel so sick. I feel so sick all the time. I know that you knew I was leaving, but I-” Rambling with rapid, harsh breaths, she couldn’t find the right words to say.

“Nobody hates you. Estella, please calm down. It’s so good to hear your voice. Are you safe?” Speaking with urgency, a break in her voice, her mother had never been affectionate. She’d been hardened by the experiences in her youth that made them so similar.

Hesitation in faint breaths, Stella shook her head, phone pressed against her face, “Yes.” She wasn’t sure if that was the truth. She could hear her mother exhale.

“Will you come home? Everyone is thinking of you.” This is her out, and for a moment it feels simple, but it wasn’t like she ended up at Gallagher for no reason. The thought of going back to her old life, which wasn’t terrible but felt entirely not her own, and to a husband she didn’t love, and a father she couldn’t look in the eye, felt wrong. To leave Gallagher didn’t seem impossible, but she thought about what Martina had said to her weeks prior, that the universe is so small. The people she’d met, the classes she’d been taking, and to see her dead lover again after years in a place she would have never ended up at had she not disappeared. So many things felt unfinished, and going home without a promise that things would be different was a decision she couldn’t make in her state.

“I miss you so much.” She inhaled and held it, “But I’m not ready to come home.”

A lull fell over the conversation. Stella could hear the faint chatter in the background from her family in another room, a panic falling over her chest before her mother’s voice came back in a serious, deliberate hush. “Okay.”

“Okay?” She hadn’t asked for permission, but suddenly felt like she needed it.

“Will you stay in contact with me, so that I know you’re okay?” Her mother had enough secrets and had seen enough things to understand that this wasn’t her decision to make.

The thought alone warmed her. “Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I love you so much, mamma.”

“Merry Christmas, my little bird.”

A faint laugh left her, hand wiping across her cheek, a weight fluttering off her chest and whipping through her hair like a cool wind. “Merry Christmas, mamma.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Basically:

Stella finally calls her mother after running away over the summer and not speaking to her family. She’s now in contact with her mom! This is wonderful for her mental health! It also requires an insane amount of trust that her mom won’t tell her family where she is, and that is a bit stressful for her. Going forward, she talks to her mother at least once a week, which is crazy but really exciting for her. (:

#this was long for NO reason but acted an both a family vignette and a self para soooo two in one for me #also shes so pretty what the fuck #also fun fact: stella is the daughter of a 1x1 character i made like 6 years ago (:#okie thank u i am shy <3 #estella #m*#cd*#there is a typo in the first tag of this post and its too late for me to go back and fix it sigh

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thatwasntlikeridingabikeuasshole · 3 years

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I’m gonna infodump about my crush and sound like an utter hopeless romantic possibly even on less intelligent Disney princess level so I’m shoving all this under the cut scroll past unless you wanna hear a kind of pointless love story

Wow, you actually decided to keep reading...okay lol, suit yourself.

Our story begins on the night of Halloween in the New England suburbs. The ground is disgustingly snowy; I say disgustingly because it’s not the pretty white fluffy snow like right after a good blizzard, it’s half-melted, dirt-spattered, muddy snow that is sometimes puddles and sometime big gray banks on the sides of the road. It’s freezing out, but I’m wearing two very warm sweatshirts one on top of the other, so it doesn’t bother me.

I’m standing at the bottom of the porch steps to my best friend’s house. We would’ve had one of her usual big Halloween parties this year if not for the coronavirus. These usually involved her entire extended family, our entire friend group, her mom frantically passing out water bottles before we left trick-or-treating, and a gigantic group picture before someone yelled “THREE! TWO! ONE! TRICK OR TREAT!” and we shot off through the neighborhood. Unfortunately, for our health we had to minimize it, and only I was coming over, to trick or treat with her, her two younger sisters, and masks. We were going as Among Us crewmates, and we were going to make the best use of the situation by using our masks as the visors on the crewmates. So here I was bundled up all in purple with a light blue mask, making my way carefully up the icy porch steps to the front door. I didn’t even have to ring the doorbell, because the youngest sister (we’ll call her Zu and resign to naming all people involved after Darkest Minds characters) saw me through the glass and let me in.

That’s when I saw him. The stairs to the second floor pretty much go straight down to the front door in my best friend’s house (we’ll call her Vida) and as I was walking in, he was coming down. Even though I’d never met him or seen pictures, I immediately placed him based on the fact that he immediately said, “Oh my God, you’re the hologram.” I knew it had to be Vida’s cousin (we’ll call him Liam.) She had told me about him claiming jokingly that I must be a hologram because how could she have a best friend who was a real person? So I said, “Yep, that’s me, and you must be Liam then?” He nodded, and then conversely told me I must be Ruby, which I confirmed to be true. We immediately got to talking. It was like we had known each other before. Usually I expect some degree of awkwardness when I meet members of friends’ families, even if I’ve met them before, even if they’re my age. But with Liam, it felt normal. As Vida and her sisters were being summoned by their mom to help put some groceries away, Liam and I just sat in the living room and chatted for a while.

When Vida’s mom finally let her come and say hi to me, she walked in on Liam and I deep in conversation. “Oh, well, I’m glad you two like each other,” was the first thing she said. Then she turned completely red. “I mean, you know, despise each other...less.” Liam and I both kind of chuckled, and said we did despise each other less. I don’t think I was in love with him yet, but I definitely knew I was going to be, it was only a matter of time.

Anyway, the rest of the day happened. Trick or treating was uneventful. Liam and I mostly stuck together, usually joined by Vida, sometimes by her sisters, but sometimes by nobody. The more we talked, the more I liked him, in such an incredibly natural-feeling way.

Shortly before we finished our circuit around the town, we ran into the third best friend in our small group, Vida’s and mine. She had just set out and she had nobody to go with. Vida was freezing and ready to go inside, and Liam didn’t know this friend at all (we’ll call her Chubs because why not) so he went inside with Vida. I decided to accompany Chubs on her trip and then rejoin the others afterwards.

So me and Chubs set out and had a good time. Then I walked her back to her house, which wasn’t that far from Vida’s, if you used the “secret passages” that consisted of narrow alleys between backyard fences that twisted and turned from Chubs’s street to Vida’s. Chubs offered to have her mom give me a ride home, since it was late and she doubted the safety of me walking home alone.

But I didn’t want to go home, so I made a really stupid decision. Disclaimer: please don’t do this. Since I didn’t want to burden Chubs’s mom with driving me back to Vida’s house, and I didn’t want the added Covid risk of being in the car with her, I decided to venture back to Vida’s house alone. I took the secret passages and was there in five minutes. Cate, Vida’s mom, told me I shouldn’t have walked there all alone in the dark, but what I mostly cared about at that moment was that in the cozy living room in front of me Vida and Liam were counting their candy on the coffee table. I found a seat and joined them.

The night wore on and I only fell harder for Liam. We got into some really deep conversations, the three of us. I was one hundred percent sure I was in love with him by the time he asked me whether I thought not meeting in a romantic enough way to tell your kids was grounds for breaking up with someone. I know because the only thing going through my head was “Halloween is a plenty romantic way to meet so we’ll be good probably”.

Anyway I wanted to stay and talk all night, but at 8:29 I realized that my dad was picking me up at 8:30 and he wanted me to be out on the porch when he came so he didn’t have to come inside with everyone. I practically leaped up out of my seat and declared I had to go, that I would love to see Liam again (surprisingly I had the opportunity to do this in a non-romantic-seeming way, we had an unfinished conversation) and Happy Halloween.

I felt pretty elated when I left, because I did kind of fabulously at being inconspicuous and chill even when I knew I definitely liked him. Usually I am very awkward and somewhat obvious when I have a crush, but I did so well that when I told Vida a month later about the crush, she was genuinely surprised. But I was also incredibly disappointed in myself for leaving. I felt like Cinderella when the clock struck midnight.

So ever since Vida has been trying to come up with a way for me to see Liam again. She told his older sister, too, we’ll call her Cole, and she highly approves (for some reason, we’ve never met) and really wants us to get together. So I have Vida and Cole on my side, but there’s only so much they can do. I’m just waiting on everything getting back to normal, so that Vida can start up with her big friends-and-family parties again and I’ll have a stronger chance of being able to see Liam.

Yeah that’s all. I’m surprised you read this. Peace.

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ghostmartyr · 4 years

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SnK 124 Thoughts

Have some faith, Reiner.

As if we’d ever forget Han Solo.

The only nice thing about what’s happening now is that it’s forced the right priorities on people. Despite Eren saying, way back in Trost, that people all uniting to face one enemy is too rosy an idea to have a place in reality, for this one island, in these final, traumatic moments, no one wants all these people to die.

With various faces painted on it, most of our main cast on either side has always been focused on one thing: survival. Now Eren rejects that entire concept for the protection of one group. In the barest of bones, that is what every single villain of this manga has always done. Of course the only option is to reject him.

And of course Gabi, who has always been compared to Eren, who has had the most traumatic series of experiences of her young life, stands up and starts fighting.

(One in shadows, one in light. Winning all the high school book reports here.)

This is the best of Eren, in a child who has been ruined by this world just as thoroughly. Gabi will bring back her friends.

Eren chases after slavers to save a girl he doesn’t know.

Gabi runs into streets full of monsters and saves someone who hates her.

I’ve always enjoyed Eren as a protagonist (his dip into antagonist, not so much). In Trost, he takes on the burden of being a symbol of humanity’s hope, but I’ve always felt that his true symbolic nature is that he’s the one who lays claim to humanity’s outrage.

There are things in this world that are simply wrong. Righteous fury without limits is a satisfying reaction to that, and at the start of the manga, it’s something that all of Paradis has basically lost. They’ve grown complacent with their lot in life. Even when the titans invade, they don’t dream beyond reclaiming the territory that they’ve always known.

Eren’s status as a rage monster is very much a meme, and he’s very much more than that, but it has always been fitting that the main character is a bonfire that lights the sparks of the rest of the cast. Eren inspires motion. Before he has any touch of competence and plot magic, he talks and his comrades find themselves listening.

Gabi takes up that torch here.

Reiner is done (again. sorry, Reiner). The world is probably done. Gabi has spent this whole arc being some kind of done.

Gabi gets up, and goes to look for her friend. Falco follows her onto an airship; she follows him into hell.

Gabi gets up, and protects the girl who wants her dead. She faces down a titan with a weapon not meant for the job, and she wins.

Just like the young woman she murdered.

Sasha joins the Survey Corps after Trost. She comes face to face with a titan, and she falters. She fails to kill it, and it comes after her, and she’s scared. She wants to leave. She considers leaving.

Dot Pixis’ speech reignites her will.

Sasha stays, and a month later she saves her little sister.

Her little sister protects a pair of enemy child soldiers.

One of those child soldiers saves her life.

Paradis begins without a spark. Even the people who are signing up to be soldiers are mostly doing it so they won’t be seen as cowards, or so they can go further into the walls as Military Police. People who want to go outside and kill the titans are nuts. The Survey Corps is nuts. They’re a waste of taxes, and anyone who wants to join them is a suicidal idiot.

Enter Eren. Enter enough fury and impact that the fire can’t be contained in one person, and the sparks start spreading. The people who have been left to tend their own fires for years are given kindling. The people who don’t know what it’s like to not be freezing cold are given a taste of warmth.

For a series that begins in stagnation, a protagonist devoted to movement is going to inspire the most change.

Then he decides to commit genocide and ruin everything, but hey, look at how much that’s inspiring people to get along!

Eren, you’re a fucking disaster.

Niccolo basically hands us the series’ thesis on a silver platter, so I’ll refrain from trying to fit his quotes into anything resembling a paragraph.

Niccolo is not Eldian.

Eldians are the one with the ability to literally transform into monsters. A physical manifestation of the horrors all humans are capable of if you take away their reason. That’s why the world calls them devils. They’re all a bunch of ticking time bombs just waiting to go off; why wouldn’t the world condemn, hate, and fear that?

Those ticking time bombs always take at least one more person willing to start the timer for them.

In the current era, Marley has been the force happily strapping bombs to children’s chests.

Niccolo hits on the truest point. From someone who is not Eldian, who cannot physically manifest the horrors all around them that could not exist without certain genetics--

Niccolo has a devil inside of him, too. He’s given in to it. He has been a monster, so lost in his despair that he’s willing to kill children.

The true enemy of this world is not titans. It’s falling prey to the demons every human carries inside. That is the universal human experience, and everywhere people fall in that fight, evil follows.

Titans exist because a man rapes a slave and has her children eat her.

That evil is a fault of human nature, not blood.

Niccolo and Gabi have been the monsters.

Unlike most titans, they have the option of coming back. They’ve had the fortune to live long enough that they can come back. Hell, it might be because she hits the bargaining phase, but even this chapter Gabi goes from suggesting killing Eren to talking to him and using his power for something actually useful.

-pats Gabi on the head-

Not bad, kiddo.

To the left, we have Jean and Connie.

Hell.

Connie’s simplest (as well as the most exciting, because he’s running off to Wall Rose territory with Falco, who has Ymir’s memories), and rather devastating. For four years, his mother has been a titan. Unable to move. She’s his only remaining family. Everyone else in his village, Connie spent their last night alive praying that they would die. He’s one of the three people left who remember Utgard.

Being trapped on a tower in the middle of the night, being hunted for sport by people he’s known all his life.

On Zeke’s command.

The man Paradis is forced to consider an ally. The man Connie is not allowed to touch. The man who is still, years later, turning people into titans. The man one of his closest friends ostensibly betrays them for.

After all that, his friends have someone who can save his mom, and they try to tell him no. Because that might hurt the feelings of their enemies. People like Reiner, for instance. The guy Connie still cries for in Return to Shiganshina.

Don’t worry about your mother, Connie. Worry about the feelings of everyone else.

Also Sasha is dead and this kid’s bestie pulled the trigger.

But seriously Connie, chill.

[chill not found]

Connie has, frankly, done a fantastic job holding everything together. The fact that he’s only snapping now speaks greatly to his character, and leaves me not too concerned about Falco. Connie ranks as one of the lowest on who’s left of people who would be willing to kill a child. Even if it’s for his mother, if Falco’s awake, I don’t think Connie can do it.

...If he can, the manga will have actually found a way to get even darker, which, if we’re being honest, I sort of thought we were beyond at this point, so flip a coin I guess.

Jean likewise has some of my favorite material in this chapter. He’s grown into a far better commander than he was at Trost, and having the terrain duplicated so well only emphasizes it.

But as ever, the true entertainment comes from Marco.

Who is also dead.

Yes, still.

“You’re not a strong person... so you can really understand how weak people feel.”

Jean is not wrong that destroying the rest of the world sort of fixes Paradis’ main problems. The issue is that it’s horrifically immoral, not that it wouldn’t be effective (until a civil war breaks out).

Because everyone spent all their time hating them, their only protection was murdering them all. And it’s all on one person’s decisions. They’re hardly involved, aren’t they? If they sit back and do nothing, it’s just karma, right? What could they possibly do at this point?

“But you’re also good at recognizing what’s going on at any given moment. You know exactly what needs to be done. I mean... most humans are weak, including me... But if I got an order from someone who saw things like I do... no matter how tough it was, I’d do my damnedest to carry it out.”

Jean’s right. They do reap the benefits of this horrible choice. No more complicated politics. Just a blank slate to do better on. Everyone on Paradis gets to live. Without putting too fine a point on it, that’s an argument we’re probably all familiar with, and here a character is, pointing it all out.

This fixes all their problems. Good, right?

No.

Because standing back and doing nothing while genocide is committed is fucking wrong.

That’s a question this series has grappled with from the beginning; which is more important, survival or doing what’s right?

In the start, we have a protagonist who is fully comfortable throwing his own life away in the name of doing what’s right. At the moment, he’s giving every appearance of being fully comfortable throwing away everyone else’s life in the name of keeping the people he cares about alive.

This chapter, we have Connie arguing for his mom’s life over someone more politically relevant’s.

Bringing back another fandom favorite, Serum Bowl pretty much locks these arguments in a cage and pokes them gently with an assault rifle.

Survival says Erwin. Armin doesn’t matter, except to Eren and Mikasa. Erwin matters to Levi in a way he doesn’t to them. What’s right falls to the floor except to be brandished like a machete against the other side’s wants. Hange has to swoop in and pick it up, and by then Floch’s involved and clubbing everyone over the head with his newfound fanaticism.

Once it’s gotten to that point, humanity’s continued survival still says Erwin.

It’s still saving a man’s life.

A man who will die without this intervention.

For the reason of bringing him back to life to suffer in everyone’s place.

It’s pragmatic, and it truly is best for humanity’s survival beyond the walls.

It is also deeply unkind.

Send these thousands of people to their deaths so the rest can live. Eat each other. Die, die, and die until someone can live. Anything that promotes survival is, in fact, the right choice.

In the Female Titan arc, when Armin and Jean are watching the full extent of Erwin’s plan in front of their eyes, Armin says that Erwin might very well be evil for it, but given where they are, that’s a good thing. That someone strong enough to be that measured with their few remaining lives is in control--even if he’s committing a moral evil, he’s protecting something more important.

It is the preliminary version of Floch’s eventual conclusion.

They need a devil to ensure their survival.

Levi ultimately rejects that.

He doesn’t bring a man back to life so that he can bear their burdens.

It’s one of the smaller goods of the series. After a life of suffering through what is necessary, Levi chooses to release Erwin from it, even though he’s still tactically essential. Again and again people have discussed how much it would help if one more strategist was out Paradis’ table in these times. Levi’s decision is what prevents the most experienced from taking a seat.

Levi picks to be kind over making the choice that more properly secures survival.

Because the survival of what? More choices leading down the exact same road? The endless cycle of sacrifice that’s turned human bodies into resources instead of recognizing them as people?

Titanization at its core?

In the Serum Bowl, Levi doesn’t choose who he wants to survive. He chooses what. He chooses to recognize a man as human instead of a commodity. Something the two brats screaming at him couldn’t let go of. Something he couldn’t let go of.

Do you want to survive, or create a world worth surviving in?

Eren’s actions will destroy the world beyond the walls he always wanted to see. Indiscriminately. Some of it deserves destruction and worse. The parts that don’t will be swept away all the same.

This plan creates the world the First King told them they all lived in; there is Paradis, and nothing beyond it. The rest of humanity is dead.

Thanks to forfeiting all humanity.

And I guess if anyone on the island has a problem with it, kill them too. Also anyone who encourages anyone to have a problem with it. Just set up your secret task force, give the names, and keep those named living in terror for a century until one of them becoming a serial killer in response seems perfectly reasonable.

For those in need of the reminder, Karl is a douche.

Karl thought genocide was such a bad thing that he committed genocide over it, but it’s okay because his genocide was smaller.

Eren thinks genocide is such a bad thing he’s set up to commit genocide over it, but it’s okay because his genocide is going to be so big it’s going to end all genocides. Until Floch remembers he has a gun, probably. Which seems to be always. In which case this genocide will lead to a series of smaller genocides, eventually leading to not enough people being alive for genocide to be committed.

Curing the world of genocide once and for all.

Yay.

What I’m saying is that genocide is bad.

Full stop.

Genocide is bad.

-draws underlines-

-draws angry grrr face-

Bad.

Perhaps maybe these people should stop doing it.

For all the moral reasons, sure, but since we’re clearly beyond that point, maybe someone could just quietly suggest with the force of the world ending that maybe imitating the exact behavior that led to literally all of our cast’s problems is not the best move.

Also, Floch shouldn’t get to point a gun at Yelena’s head. Only Yelena gets to hold guns to people’s heads. She makes it cool. Floch makes everyone wonder why Floch still hasn’t died, only to remember that ah, yes, of course people like Floch don’t die.

BUT HEY, AT LEAST THEY KILLED ALL THE TITANS THAT USED TO BE THEIR COMMANDING OFFICERS. I’M SURE THAT’S NOT RELATED TO FLOCH’S GOOD MOOD AT ALL.

You know, it’s not that things are continuing to get worse. They are simply following the roadmap of horror we were handed in the brochure for this arc. None of this is new, it’s just now in play. So it’s not getting worse, it always was worse.

...Yelena, just take the gun and shoot Floch before you die. I feel like that’s the fastest path to something good happening.

Let’s see... points to all our kidlets being a dominant force against titans now. Them Trost Redux feels. Points to Jean realizing that Eren has power of friendshipped himself into villain status (allegedly). Points to Armin remembering how Pixis gave the humans of Paradis their first victory. Points to all of Sasha’s family because I like them.

Then that’s the chapter.

HOW YOU FEELING, ANNIE FANS?

#Shingeki no Kyojin #SnK 124 #Gabi Braun #Connie Springer #shingeki no spoilers #SnK spoilers #spoilers #tl;dr #chapter post

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sacredslaycdd · 3 years

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Hi, I have a lot of Dawn introspection tonight because I feel like a lot of people give her a hard time. I’ve seen a lot of comments about Dawn recently and we’re ABSOLUTELY all entitled to our own opinions so i’m going to post alot of the thoughts I have, I’m not saying it’s going to ELEQUENT because hey, when am I ever? Putting it under a read more because it’ll likely be long, I’ll try to put it into points so you can actually take a breath lol.

Where shall we start? Her childhood. - Buffy and Dawn have a fairly big age gap, which means, in a sense, while the love is CERTAINLY there, I’d bet things were always strained. Buffy was always older and so much cooler, naturally outshone her. - And then the slayer thing kick in, Buffy’s always in trouble so she’s still the centre of attention. - Her parents begin to argue more, and if I remember rightly, Buffy distinctly remembers holding Dawn one time (possibly when their father left?) because she was distraught. The fighting alone can be detramental, it’s not a fun enviroment and I imagine Dawn is still pretty young at the time. - Her dad leaves and he’s pretty absentee after that. - They move to sunnydale, because of Buffy, away from all of the friends she has and the school she’s familiar with. She has to fit in somewhere new and make new friends. - Weird occurances are ALWAYS happening, pretty scary for a kid. - Going to jump ahead to S5, excuse if this isn’t in chronological order. - Her mom get’s sick, which is terrifying for both fo the summers girls - Just as they think she’s going to be okay, she dies. It could be argued this was more traumatic for Buffy since she found her and yeah, I’ll give you that, and Buffy had to step up and become caretaker to Dawn. She was now sister and guardian. - Their dad is still absentee. She’s grieving her mothers death and likely wants to grieve with her sister who’s saving the world all the time. Probably feels incredibly alone, feels like a burden on Buffy and the scoobies, and to be fair, she’s probably been made to feel like this a fair few times. - and THEN she finds out she’s not real. Can you imagine how traumatic and difficult that is for a child to wrap their head around? Because yeah, 14 is still a frigging kid. - so if anybody wants to argue about her reaction to that... i will fight you. (i’m kidding I swear xDDD) - A god wants to kill her. - BUFFY DIES TO SAVE HER LIFE. - Her sister sacrifices herself for her, she’s lost the only family she had left but constantly has to see her sisters face around and hear her voice with buffy bot but it’s not HER. Still, her grief stares her in the face everyday. The scoobies step up and they are like family and she loves and appreciates them but it’s not the same. - and HAH not like GILES sticks around to help. He’d have just sacrified her and I’m sorry but Giles was a monumental figure in BOTH of the summers girls. Granted, they were never going to be like Buffy and him, but still, he watched Dawn grow up and was the only male authority figure in her life, because you can bet Dawn saw ALOT of him. You’d think he’d care a little more. Not to mention he’s almost a direct link to Buffy, a little care from Giles would have gone a long way. Instead he left Willow and Tara and Xander who are barely adults themselves to take care of her and goes to England. S6&7: - again sketchy timeline wise - Buffy comes back and Dawn DOES care, she does want to help her and be there for her and love her and Buffy doesn’t want / can’t deal with that, which is absolutely 1000% understanable but equally, as time goes on, Dawn is still living with that guilt and her sister is there but she’s not. - She almost loses her sister again to the black hole she’s sunk into, or at-least that’s what it feels like. - they deal with things differently. Buffy Internalises, Dawn externalises. - Not only does she have survivors guilt, she thinks her sister resents her, resents the choice she made. She wants to be there, she wants to help, she loves her sister but she’s extremely conscious of this. Buffy sacrificed herself for Dawn and she worries her sister refrets that and perhaps even resents her for it, for having to make that decision. - In a lot of ways, I promise you that’s exactly how Dawn feels about herself, because she got her sister killed? everyone around her dies. - Willow goes all evil and almost gets her killed until Buffy saves her. - Later, she walks in on Tara’s body. Tara was a surrogate mother and sister figure and Dawn adored her so much. That relationship was incredibly precious to Dawn. - The feeling like buffy resents her? directly correlates with what the first says to her. Buffy won’t be there when she needs her. and she’s not entirely wrong about that feeling. Buffy says to Giles if she had to do it again, she’d sacrifice Dawn. So yes, Dawn wants Buffy’s attention? Does she externalise how she feels sometimes into anger? and generally being upset which most people describe as her being a ‘brat’ - que eyeroll here - Dawn isn’t a brat, she’s reacting to circumstances that for the one thousandth time, are beyond her control. Even Xander acknowledges that it’s tough just being normal but acknowledges she’s extroardinary. Any kind of acknowledgement along such lines from Buffy, would have gone a long way to solving a lot of problems. Nobody can say Dawn didn’t communicate, and sure, it was over the top sometimes, but she’s learnt that if she isn’t, nobody cares. She is constantly treated as a child and brushed off throughout the entire 3 seasons she’s in, you can’t then call her out on acting like it. - le shrug. - Also, Dawn telling Buffy to leave in S7 is a joke and in my opinion, out of character for her. She threatened SPIKE, you really think she’s going to send her sister off to god knows where when she just got her back and there’s a big evil out there? PUH-LEASE. Dawn would have fought for Buffy and in my portrayal she does.

ANYWAY, THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK. I am sorry in advance if this comes off ranty- this isn’t hate on anyone (WELL, maybe a little giles...), ESPECIALLY Buffy. I stan Buffy, none of this is her fault either, it’s all circumstances and dealing with things differently.

#˚・` . out of slayer / ooc #long post #contraversial opinion warning #SLIGHT giles bashing

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