#claiming that he doesn't root for one side or the other and that he's just here for the entertainment

[toasteaa]

Can't talk, thinking about accidentally triggering claiming and mating behaviors in Zhongli -

There's just something about it, you know? Seeing Zhongli, a god - a former Archon- who has placed himself above his base desires and draconic instincts, struggle to hold those very same instincts back when it comes to you.

Perhaps you stayed out just a bit too long for his liking. A surprise rainstorm swept through the harbor, and once you returned to your shared home, you were absolutely soaked. Ah, but you were offered a spare coat from a coworker of yours to keep even just a bit dry - and Zhongli is quietly simmering with displeasure as that scent drowns out yours. Drowns out what should be his scent on you. That which marks you as his. It shouldn't bother him like this; he knows it wasn't intentional. He knows that you merely misjudged the forecasted rain (as you often do, despite him being overly familiar with the weather patterns of the region and reminding you of this constantly) and then accepted help from a man - a coworker, he tries to remind himself . Yet he's barely listening to you as he tugs you out of the offending article and -

Oh...it isn't enough.

There's a cloying, wretched stench stuck to your clothes, and Zhongli's patience is running even thinner as he strips you of these as well. But even after he's kicked those soiled clothes to the side and secured his own coat around you, it still isn't enough. It's as if that offending scent has permeated your skin, sunken in with the rain - and there's a deep seated, rarely seen possessiveness that takes root in his mind. One he hasnt felt since...Archons, since he last took up his former name. It's as though a white hot brand has pierced him and coiled around his senses.

Everything that is logical about this no longer matters; the only thing that makes sense to him is the sudden way he gathers you into his arms and makes haste to the bedroom. Your scent is there, as is his. And this will be a well needed reminder that he doesn't appreciate other claiming his treasure as their own.

#toast talks #genshin impacted #heehoo clearing out old drafts and saw this one and :9 #Throwback to when I first started genshin and saw Zhongli and was reminded that I have a type #I just like when they get possessive okay? I like when they feel that they need to claim and scent and breed - #ANYWAYYYY #genshin x reader #genshin x you #zhongli x reader #zhongli x you #uhhhh I haven't written for Zhongli in awhile idk what other tags to use for him BYE #this is also probably really messy and not really all that great but its cause I'm editing the draft on my phone and not a pc RIP

[0daylighthours0]

A Deep Dive into Milkvan and Byler's Development: If Milkvan Was Endgame All Along, Why Was it Written Like This???

SO. I've been rewatching st with my mother, who's never seen it before. And she was a fan of milkvan throughout seasons 1 and 2. Viewing those seasons again I could see why, they're cute. However, come season 3 and INSTANT distaste. And, listen, my mother is not the consciously shipping gal. She simply routes for main character pairings as writers intend, doesn't read between the lines, doesn't nothing. And she does NOT know my own opinions on the pairing. In other words, completely unbiased, uninternet drama influenced eyes. We've now reached season 3 and, after getting through a chunk of it, I asked her,

"so what do you think of Mike and El?"

and she expressed to me that they seem to be, quote:

"not very good together."

She said El's character doesn't suit the way she's acting now (in the first few episodes, concerning Mike), that Mike is more likeable and interesting when he's away from her. She doesn't like the way they ditched the party, and when it comes to their 'making out' the scenes are seen by her from Hopper's perspective (in other words, distasteful). She claimed that they'd be much better characters as friends.

And ya know what, she's right. And I mean like - duh, that's what we've been saying all this time, I'm not stating anything new here. But guys, wouldn't it be strange if the central couple of the show, pivotal that it is liked by audiences and is rooted for by them as they are THE pair, would be so dislikable like this? So uninteresting, so cliche.

I mean, okay, let's do a little mental experiment I like to do to test if I'm not just acting delulu. Let's play a game. In this game, milkvan ARE meant to be endgame. They are in love, they were all along, and they're here to draw in viewers and appease all El stans. Now, seasons 1 and 2 their relationship is honestly fine. Surface level, yeah, people will watch and appreciate them. They perfectly blend in with all the other neat pairings of the seasons, and have their own unique character traits to stand out as a main couple.

Just pretending our mate Will doesn't exist, we now get into season 3. Now, writers have nothing to lose here. If you've finished season 2, you probably like milkvan already. The issue is that they're already together now, so what's the conflict going to be? The arc? And every central couple needs that conflict to stay juicy.

Just take a look:

Jancy: quarrels, struggle to understand one another

Jopper: not yet together, one sided? will they won't they

Lumax: ...

Lumax? Lumax. Huh, guess they were simply together. Some loveable bickering, maintained a friendly dynamic while clearly in closer proximity. Well then, writers can do the same for milkvan right? Well, yes easily. But one might argue that since they are supposed to be THE pairing they need more going on between them than that. So what'll it be? Well, it seems that writers thought,

"hey, why not break them up?"

ok so.. that's a bit risky. I mean you want people to like this ship, if you break them up then that threats: 1. there being a disliking to one or both characters, 2. coming off generic if done incorrectly, 3. the break up might make no sense considering how in love they came off as just a season ago. But hey.. it could work, if done right. Some kind of misunderstanding, similar to Jancy. Maybe an argument leading to a sudden parting. I mean, yeah, Yeah! I can see that. Perhaps Mike is being too overprotective whilst El's trying to sacrifice herself for something, so she NEEDS to separate herself from him attempting to hurt him less. Or, I dunno, something akin. What's crucial is that us, AS THE AUDIENCE, still know them to be deeply in love. I mean, we have to still want them to be together. And we've seen couple trouble before. Just take a look at Lumax season 4 - did you or did you not want the best for both of them as a pair? You most likely did. See, it's doable. So did people like milkvan season 3 the same way, even after a separation plot? No.

Okay well, there are obviously those who'll always love milkvan no matter but, see, season 3 tainted it. "We need to write them like this cause it's more realistic to teenager behavior" my ars. You can make it messy without making it icky. Not only did it sour their unique dynamic, it flabbergastingly stomped on Mike as a character.

Honestly, I feel Mike has always been a mild struggle to write. Season 1 his motivations were 'find Will' (who still doesn't exist in our mind game yet shh) and 'protect El'. This worked well for him. Afterwards though, El and Will became more separate plots to him. But as a main character it remained integral that he be closely linked to them somehow. This sets him apart from Lucas and Dustin, who can easily be given any arc any season as their plots have the flexibility of a side quest nature. Since what Mike does is meant to matter more - with there probably being a better way of phrasing that but you know what I mean - it's harder knowing what he'll do when El and Will (who we'll GET to sh.) are their own separate people. And Mike is just a boy, he doesn't have super powers and he isn't a cop, which leaves there even less for him to do which is of significance. Season 2 writers decided upon having him support Will's arc, making himself of enough relevance by being able to take credit for some Will development in the story, and the plots that surrounded that, and then Mike was thrown a little bone by being the one to come up with the idea of burning those vines in the finale.

Truthfully, you don't really remember Mike's deeds much when reminiscing the series. It isn't like Dustin who's bond with Dart sticks to everyone, or Nancy and Jonathan responsible for kicking out Hawkins Lab. This is due to them, again, being able to traverse all sorts of adventures without limits. But my guy Mike can't do dat. Sadly, this kind of leads to him coming of as a little.. well... insignificant. And I know I know, the Mike truthers are gonna come at my throat. And hey! I love him too. I only want the best for my boy.

This makes season 3 a unique case cause it seems that, for the plot they decided they wanted, writers actually had to almost entirely change his character. I mean mate s2 Mike and s3 Mike are two different peoples, don't even. And I don't believe that the Duffers had their story and character turnouts completely drawn out from the very start at all. If I was to guess, I'd assume they have vague ideas of little plots they plan to include in future, but there is definitely a lot that has come unpredicted or changed throughout st's runtime. And one of those phenomenons are Michael Wheeler. So they decided to make this guy a di-

So they decided to make him more douchy, more movie typical teenage guy. It's not as if he wholly sucked, he didn't, but he didn't really do much. Whined about his girlfriend, separated the party. I mean what even was his arc? (UnLESS–)

You see, if milkvan is written to be loved, then season 3 was strike one. All of its charm was stripped away. It seems they had some cute scenes after their reconciliation, but it's not enough. It's just sort of

"oh, ok, so they're happy with eachother now. yayy."

and Stranger Things should want to be anything but boring. Sure they often enjoy indulging in tropes, but they always do something different with them. Something standoutish. And from this point on milkvan just got dull. Either writers ran out of ideas or lost interest, honestly (still with our mind game of telling ourselves they're meant to be).

But it's okay. Look, so season 3 was a bit rocky, maybe lost a couple of fans for the guys, but it is salvageable. Easily, easily. Looks like we want a plot of Mike struggling to tell El he loves her. Great! Much to work with.

So let's get into it. Season 4! Choices were... made. And, okay, now we can't go any further without bringing in our boy Will.

Mike is intrinsically tied to Will and El and has been from the start. Maybe Will was more of an accident. Maybe s1 Will was just a plot device for Mike, then s2 Will was a plot device again and Mike needed to be there as the main boy character. Come season 3 and it seems their relationship still matters. Will was sidelined - hard - so most of Mike's moments revolved around El. But as his bond with Mike is the only that's been properly built up, that's the only friend we'll get him interacting with in a way that matters. So the Mike and Will tie continues!

But that does not have to be the case for season 4. Now the writers have a chance.

They made Will gay.

Ok so.. ok so yeah that's fine. Yeah! I mean they didn't have to do that, might put them in hot water with the bylers since milkvan is their golden beauty but.. you know what no no that's okay. He's been hinted at being queer since episode 1, why not make it canon! Cool that works. Explore that, especially since we now have Vecna who can easily target Will for this. Give him a boyfriend! Or a guy crush. He's at a new school now? That's cool. Maybe we can explore some new male character Will's taken interest in. Hey maybe he meets someone who interests him which rises to surface his whole sexuality plot and-

he's in love with Mike.

Ok. No. No. What are you doing? What do you mean?? You didn't have to do that. Strike- strike EFING TWO mates! Strike. 👏 efing. 👏 2!

This was part 1. I am tired and gots to get my ars in bed. But ohohoh, do not worry. I am just getting started.

#anti milkvan #anti mileven #byler #byeler #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #byler is real #byler is endgame #byler analysis #byler nation #byler proof #byler is canon #byler endgame #byler tumblr #stranger things 4

[finalgirllx]

Mattheo Riddle Headcanons

From someone who only recently got into him. I could be wrong, since I can't trace back his roots much. Some of these are inspired by other writings, Marcus Lopez in Deadly Class, and my own bot usage.

I wrote this in about 5 minutes. Just a warning.

Mattheo is, of course, reserved around those he isn't close to. He tends to act cold, and will go as far to make himself seem threatening if he feels like it (whether that's actually true or not is your interpretation).

If he does something kind for someone without being asked, he prefers to let it go unmentioned. "Thanks for getting that for me." "Yeah, yeah, If you tell anyone, I'll kill you."

Scorpio, Scorpio, Scorpio! This is the one time I'll assign my star sign to a character because it fits him so well, along with his face claim being a Scorpio as well.

Mattheo loves The Smiths. There is no arguing there. This is definitely Marcus inspired, but it is just so nice.

He wears black almost exclusively. It is just his go-to and fits his general vibe. If he must, he'll go for a neutral-toned checkered flannel or jean jacket when it gets cold.

Mattheo has immaculate handwriting. Like, people look at his work and can't help but stare because they're surprised at the quality of it.

He drinks black coffee in the mornings, and that's it.

Does get into a lot of fights. And he wins all of them. However, unlike what others may think, he tries to give someone a chance to out themselves from a potential fight before he goes in.

Loves the horror genre. He talks up paranormal horror as the superior subgenre but will sit down and enjoy just about any kind.

He is a Resident Evil fan (Resident Evil 1 came out in 1996, so this is for slightly more modern au's).

His closest friends are Theo and Blaise, but he gets along well with Enzo and has an okay relationship with Draco.

He is knowledgeable and a strong critical thinker but doesn't care much about academics. Besides Defense Against The Dark Arts, he is really talented at Potions.

'Claims' people. His icy demeanor is rather tough to break; once he lets you in, it's like a switch is flipped, and he's more possessive and protective than anyone could've anticipated.

Has a mean jealous streak. This has been known, lol.

I think he prefers cats - but honestly, I see him being hesitant towards pets. He is still sweet toward them and would be a love bug with a pet of his own, but I can see a pet approaching him, and he wouldn't know what to do at first, haha. 

Mattheo is sarcastic to his core. Shows his affection through teasing. But he can be quite serious and good at knowing the right words to support someone when needed.

Slight NSFW implications - incredibly dominant, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind that's not his preferred mode 99% of the time.

To see Mattheo's sweet side is a real treat, but he keeps that part for whom he adores the most.

His love language is physical touch and its not even close. If he falls for you, he'll always make sure to be touching you in any way that is possible at that instance.

#mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle headcanon #slytherin boys #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #benjamin wadsworth

[ystrike1]

Sute Akuyaku Reijou wa Kaibutsu ni Otogibanashi wo Kataru - By Ede Akizawa (9/10)

A good king and a bad king can be the same man. It all depends on which side you take. Are you with him, or are you against him? Will you entertain him, or will you dare to defy him? What is the right answer? Be careful. The wrong one comes at a cost.

Sylph is the villainess. That's what Kanna says. In reality she is a quiet ducal daughter, who is not allowed to indulge in the few hobbies she enjoys. Kanna took advantage of her immense loneliness. Deep down Lady Sylph isn't very ladylike despite her noble roots. Her deepest desire is to be a civil servant who works in a library. She sneaks into one, under a fake name. Just to enjoy stories. Unrealistic fables. Young ladies are supposed to be concerned with power, motherhood and their husband. Sylph is meant for the prince too, so her immature desire to read fairytales makes her....imperfect.

Kanna shared fairy tales with Sylph. Classics she had never read before. Kanna became her best and only friend. The only person that would have fun with her. Everyone else expected her to act as the perfect Ducal daughter. With Kanna she was allowed to enjoy fantasy. Fable, and stories of love and revenge.

Kanna, the daughter of a Baron, spreads lies to ruin Sylph. Sylph was perfect on the outside, but she has always been quiet. She has no real friends. Even her fiance always seemed to know they were not a love match. Sylph was being suffocated by the princess position. By her loveless and political life. Kanna uses this. A rumor spreads. Sylph is lacking off. She is ignoring her duties and bullying other ladies. Sylph cannot defend herself, because she has been sneaking out to read at the library. Way too long. Way too often. Under a different name. Kanna encouraged her to do it. To play fantasy games with her. Kanna used her naive desires against her. Witnesses agree with Kanna. Sylph dissappears for long periods, which is highly inappropriate for a princess. Kanna's wild abuse story explains the disappearances. Kanna kept appearing wounded when Sylph disappeared. What a monster. A demon that hurts others as soon as eyes are off her...

The Prince was, of course, cheating on her already. Kanna's story worked with what the heir of the kingdom wanted. Kanna was the opposite of Sylph. A bubbly, cute girl full of compliments. She was popular too, and Sylph was too cold. No one stood up for Sylph, but Kanna had a hundred friends to stand up for her side of the story.

The royal family throws Sylph into a cursed area, where a monster roams according to legend.

Sylph writes a note, in case she passes out, begging someone merciful to unlock her cage and take her with them. Anywhere.

Anywhere but "home"

She tells the monster, King Faber the 28th, her wish. He is technically not human. He's technically the monster, but he lets his captives live if they entertain him. He knows Sylph isn't lying. Her deepest wish is to be a librarian, which is so trite that it's cute. She doesn't just want to live, like all the rest.

She wants the impossible dream, that she has cried for since she was a girl.

Faber is kind to her. Sylph shares stories with him. He likes to see her happy. He visits her daily for a month. She gets a title. She is The Kings Favorite. He gives her a dreamy life. She becomes a librarian with his blessing, and he visits each and every day. He behaves like a man in love, but Sylph is no longer naive. King Faber is extremely powerful. He is no puppet king or weak prince.

Her life is in his hands.

Strange whispers come into King Faber's isolated nation. They are loud. He, and the citizens, cannot ignore the blaze of lies. Sylph's country is claiming she has been kidnapped. Suddenly, they want her back. Why? Who? The Prince left her side long ago and Sylph had little to no relationship with her parents.

Why would they want her, when they have Princess Kanna now? Only a few months have gone by.

Sylph panics, and she does a terrible thing. She uses her status as The King's Favorite to stay in his nation. She wants to be a librarian, not the daughter of a Duke.

She will have her freedom.

Even if that means letting Faber execute people she used to know.

She knows what she is doing. She knows the kings favor is fleeting. If she makes the wrong choice he could turn on her. Her only choice is honesty. Faber is like that. He can feel lies. Cowardice. Fear. She has to kinda...be villainous to survive by his side.

Faber interrogates everyone who turned against Sylph. He kills all of them, except Kanna. Kanna has lost it all. After she took the princess seat the royal family quickly realized how useless she was. When Faber arrives she is already shut away in the dungeon. He kills everyone else for their stupidity. Their weakness. The Prince claims Kanna cursed him, and he finally noticed there was nothing special about her after her Story ended. Right after the Happy Ending her magic wore off, but Faber doesn't listen. The Prince is stupid and boring. So is the King. He makes them hold severed heads. He dumps blood on the royals. They beg him. They blame Kanna, but they die anyway.

Sylph does not kill Kanna. Killing Kanna will not entertain the king. Faber is angry because Kanna dared to discredit his Favorite. Sylph must now concoct a fitting fairytale punishment for the true villain. By the way she doesn't actually care about Kanna. She just wants to move onto her free live. What Faber is doing is cruel...to Sylph. He doesn't want her to move on yet. He did her a huge favor. He used his power to get rid of her problems, and now she must drag out the pain. The suffering, until Faber believes she has achieved true vengeance.

Sylph decides to punish Kanna with entertainment. She must make up a story every day for an entire year, in a dirty cell. If even one isn't entertaining Faber will end her life.

It's cruel.

All Sylph wants is life as a librarian, but she had to use the great strength of the monster King to get it.

Now she has to pay for his favor.

His love comes with a price.

He behaves like a classic fairytale monster, and those ancient tales are never happy.

#Sute Akuyaku Reijou wa Kaibutsu ni Otogibanashi wo Kataru #yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended

[mikaela-the-slut-expert]

right, dont know if this makes sense but lets say reader (any gender really idm) was a god who had seen the ups and downs of hualian and had always been there for them but despite the mutual feelings between the 3, none of them confessed.

the thing is that, jun wu (ew…) had become obsessed with reader (since they stuck so much by xie lians and hua chengs side, they got noticed by jun wu) and left his obsession for xie lian behind and one day after planning so for many years, jun wu captures reader and theres no word of reader for days, weeks even yet jun wu acts as normal.

would hualian tear up the whole place, get revenge, rescue reader then make sweet love to them? up to you! you dont have to write ab this request btw:)

Rescue Mission

HuaLian x gn!reader

Ignore grammar mistakes

Slight OOC

Slight misinformation

You, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian have spent centuries together

But despite this you've never told them your feelings

And unknown to you, they've never told you their feelings either.

So you're all single but like, everyone else knows you guys are sort of together.

Other people know not to fuck with you when Hua Cheng has obviously staked his claim on you and Xie Lian

Except for Jun Wu, he doesn't care one bit.

Hua Cheng can't have the both of you so Jun Wu decides to obsess over you instead🤷

While Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are deep-rooted in their past, you're a little newer.

You definitely haven't spent 8 centuries with them

Plus how can he not notice you when you're stuck by the strongest martial god, and the strongest ghost king.

It's hard not to put a light on you

Jun Wu's obsession starts there. A small prick of intrigue

None of you would have guessed that he would've gone so far

After years of planning, and years of getting closer and closer to you his intrigue and obsession grows

So he finally takes you

Hua Cheng is on alert within the first 2 hours you're missing.

Maybe he's overreacting, maybe he's not.

You've always stayed by Xie Lian's or his side

And if you leave by yourself you would've told them.

When A whole day passed Xie Lian tries to assure Hua Cheng that you can take care of yourself and you're probably just on a mission

He's trying to make himself feel better too.

When three days pass Hua Cheng and Xie Lian think you've gone missing.

You would never do this to them, you would never make them worry

Hua Cheng has the ghost city on high alert and the ghost realm is already looking for you.

Xie Lian does what he can't in the mortal realm, giving people your description and hanging up drawings of you.

He also does what he can in the heavenly realm, after all a god going missing is very important

Especially when it's a god of the upper court like you

The upper court is in a slight panic. No one knows where you are and a lot of people in the upper court are your friends. So of course everyone's a bit in disarray when none of them have heard from you in three days

Not Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Pei Ming, Ling Wen, nor Shi Qingxuan.

You have so many friends, so many people that love you and yet you're not with a single one of them have you

So where are you?

A majority of the upper court brings it to attention to Jun Wu only for him... To act like nothing's wrong

He says gods are frivolous and curious, you may have just gone out alone.

There's no cause for worry he says

But everyone is still wary, especially Xie Lian

When he tells Hua Cheng what happened it doesn't go well.

With you gone missing and Jun Wu playing it off it doesn't take long for Hua Cheng to be blaming the emperor of your disappearance. Whether it's out of spite or genuine thought he doesn't know.

When a week passes Hua Cheng gives up on searching through the ghost realm

Not as in he gave up on you but as in he's breaking into the heavens to search for you instead.

You think Hua Cheng can't find you?

You'd be silly.

Xie Lian doesn't encourage it but he doesn't stop Hua Cheng either.

And maybe he slips some details about the emperor's palace. On accident of course.

Hua Cheng doesn't care to tear through the heavens as he did before for Xie Lian.

He tears through lower court gods and upper court gods who refuse to give details about your whereabouts, and who won't help him.

It doesn't take long at all for Hua Cheng to get into the main palace.

Especially when most of the upper court gods have gone missing...

Coincidentally enough all your friends aren't in the heavens to protect it

Feng Xin and Mu Qing on a mission, Shi Qingxuan out with the earth master. And the security of the heavens, Pei Ming? Apparently he's gone too.

So Hua Cheng can basically walk through the heavens to get to Jun Wu.

Hua Cheng doesn't feel bad for ripping the palace apart to find you.

And he does find you

Locked away in one of the far rooms, puzzles beyond puzzles. He just broke through them though.

When he finds you he's relieved you have no wounds, and that you're relatively okay despite being taken away for a week

Shaken up from being taken away from the people you care for most.

Hua Cheng would kill the emperor right there if Xie Lian didn't make a clear emphasis on just getting you home.

That doesn't stop Hua Cheng from setting fire to the heavens though

Once you're brought home, it's a lot of hugging, tears, and a lot of questions about what happened.

You cry and tell them that you were scared simply for the fact you would never get the chance to tell them you loved them.

They most literally freeze in their spots and are like "??? For real?"

Once all the I love you's pass Xie Lian and Hua Cheng cling to you

Taking you into bed and worshipping you on the sheets.

You've had a busy week, you deserve to be taken care of and that's exactly what they do.

After that they'll never let you be alone again

One of them is always at your side.

Especially Hua Cheng

The silver butterflies become a common sight in the heavens anytime you or Xie Lian are around

#tgcf #tgcf headcanon #hualian #hualian x reader #hua cheng x reader #tgcf x male reader #tgcf hua cheng #tgcf hualian #tgcf xie lian #xie lian x reader

[riddles-fiddles]

Can we get the dorm leaders reaction to s/o telling them that Twisted wonderland is a game in her world? She gave them plenty of proof and even showed them the game on her phone.

Riddle's confused and extremely intrigued from this piece of information

Though he's more on the confused side of things. He's not so acquainted with technology so it's a hard time for him to discern what's true or fake

And honestly, your claims are so absurd it easily slips on his side as a prank. He'll be polite and look interested the whole time, but his brain is racing against time to make reason of it all

"Cater always tells me about this 'effects' things you can add to photos and there are plenty apps for image manipulation"

Dismisses all the proof you show him as a very dedicated prank of yours, because how could he be merely an AI when he very much feels very alive? Bullshit.

He lays down on his bed for a few nights with a deep sense of dread, being unable to sleep from all the doubt that creeps on his mind. He wants to believe that it's all just a lie, but what if it isn't?

Sleeps through half your essay about how everything he knows is a lie, growing in boredom as you stubbornly shove evidence, talking like some scientist presenting a thesis

Honestly half your argument has already gone through his head at some point so he's not truly impressed

Plays it cool saying you're gone nuts and that all this magic stuff fried your brain

"Geez easy now herbivore, nothing you're blabbering about makes sense", and he looks absolutely unnafected, shrugging it off

He can't help but dwell on it for some time though, but he'll never show it on your face or hesitate for even a moment in front of anyone

No, you are the crazy one, he's very much real. His pain is real, or else all the things he feels deeply rooted on his heart wouldn't hurt this much... right?

At first he's skeptical and scoffs off at your attempts at making his mind around your little antics

He's got the mind of a businessman, he's not falling for such childish pranks, no matter how well made that photoshopped image looks. Oh, wait, it's an app? Well, you're probably just teaming up with Idia to piss him off

His interest is piqued the moment he sees the cards with his face, and as you tell him it's a gacha game, his features light up for a fraction of a second - but then he remembers that you're trying to shove some absurd nonsense down his throat. No, it's not the time for profit thinking

Though you sure did gave him an idea, and he'll be sure to talk it out to Idia some other time

Azul keeps on a composed and rational feeling to him, one he pridefully shows to everyone around him, but he's got his insecurities and doubts, and now you just sparkled something inside his heart

He can't quite grasp it, but it always leaves him choking and uncomfortable, something alike to fear and anxiety, something he used to feel when he was the pathetic little octopus with too much time alone

For the first time after many years, he finds himself pondering about life, questioning everything he knows, a sense of dread tugging at the confines of his mind. He didn't like to think that maybe you were right, that everything he might have experienced was nothing but a cruel lie

Kalim can't quite grasp the concept of his existence being literally a video game, but he's the first one to not treat it like a joke

He's very interested on everything you says naturally, but he's very impressed to know that there's a game where he is a character!

"But... y/n, how could I be a literal game character when I'm right in front of you? Doesn't that mean that you are ficitional as well?"

He laughs light-hearted, taking things surprisingly well - because he can't understand he's not truly real. No matter how many screenshots you show, his wiki page, his cards, not even playing through the whole Scarabia arch will suffice to convince him

He just thinks you're a very talented person who made the game as some kind of diary or something, being inspired by everything that happened in Night Raven College

Eventually Kalim just convinces you to brush your point off, seeing how happy and entertained he looked. Maybe it's for the best to just allow him to eat up that lie

You wouldn't want to make Kalim sad now, would you?

Vil looks at you like you have just insulted his whole bloodline and then threw all his makeup on his face

Stands there in awkward silence, processing all the information and carefully picked proof, snatching your phone to look through it

By the end of this tense moment, he shakes his head, laughing out as if finally understanding that everything was merely a joke.

But you don't laugh back, instead looking him dead in the face

Vil's unsettled by everything, from the way you look at him and the new, hard to swallow information

He asks you to go to therapy and says that he'll be more than happy to accompany you, sincerely worried about you

He doesn't want to believe the things you showed him, so just like the others, he'll just settle on the idea of you playing a prank on him for the sake of his own mental health.

Idia.exe has stopped working

"I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouts out once he snaps out of his paralyzed processation so loudly you're sure everyone at NRC could hear him

He looks mortified and equally thrilled as he goes on blabbering about some underground government bullshit

Red and blue pill kinda shit, you know? Talks about simulations and how he dreamed saw the walls around his room glitch for a moment while gaming (he's sleep deprived)

Shut him up or else he'll be wailing in his fake existence and talking to you about some conspirational theories he formulated with the source of his own brain

Malleus is eerily silent as you present him with all the information you have, a perfect display of your confidence and everything that just fell right like puzzle pieces

When you're done and looks up at him, expecting an answer, he stares back, his emerald eyes deep and piercing, silently rummaging through your features though his gaze made you feel like he was reaching directly for your soul

"I know," he responds simply, an amused smile creeping between his lips

With a nod of farewell, he turns on his heels and simply leaves, unbothered to give any kind of explanation

Malleus leaves you with an existential crisis, hanging where you stood without understanding a thing

He knows? How can he know? Is he programmed to say that? Is he truly an IA?

You're not sure and will never be, because Malleus never gives you an answer eveytime you poke at the matter, simply smiling warmly before resuming to his tasks

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twst imagines #twst scenarios #twst x reader #diasomnia #pomefiore #heartslabyul #ignihyde #savanaclaw #scarabia #octavinelle #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim #idia shroud #vil schoenheit #malleus draconia #twst malleus #twst idia #twst riddle #twst kalim #twst azul #twst vil #riddle rosehearts x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader

[thedarkdisgrace]

This is my thread from twitter on Dazai’s promise to Oda, how I believe Dazai tries to keep that promise & Dazai’s interactions with the PM + why Oda last words were what they were. I kinda had written this in response to some particular claims over there. Mostly around Dazai returning to the mafia.

Not gonna lie, this might be long for some, I actually cut out alot lol I kinda got carried away. These are just my interpretations, take them as you will. I also didn’t edit this from twitter so, sorry if there are spelling mistakes lol

I want to start out by saying that if you are viewing BSD in a “everything is either black or white” lens, I feel you are missing the entire point of BSD & a major theme. This story is entirely morally gray & every character is a different shade of gray.

There is no pure good or pure evil within BSD, even if some characters might get close to the extreme of one side or the other. Now, going into the rest of this with that mindset let’s start with EXACTLY what Oda said to Dazai.

“Be on the side that saves people. If both sides are the same, then choose to become a good person. Save the weak, protect the orphaned. You might not see a great difference between right & wrong but… saving others is just a bit more wonderful.” The Dark Era.

Oda is essentially saying that “sides” don’t matter, what matters is him choosing to be a good person. THAT is what Dazai promises to Oda. His promise is to become a good person. That is the goal he works towards everyday. Oda didn’t make him promise to leave the mafia.

It makes no difference what /side/ Dazai is on or who he interacts with. No matter where Dazai is or who he is with it doesn't change HOW he chooses to approach the world. As long as Dazai continues to do whatever good he can, to work towards being a better person, he is keeping

his promise to Oda. His interactions with the mafia or the people within it don’t affect the fact he is still choosing to try to be better everyday (which again, is keeping his promise). Whatever the mafia does is separate from Dazai even if he is interacting with the members.

Hell, even if Dazai ends up in the PM again with the upcoming trade, it doesn’t negate all the progress he made NOR does it break his promise. Dazai isn’t /completely/ different BUT he /is/ different than he was back then. His perceptions have changed, whether he admits it or not

That won’t change if he goes back. He will continue to be different if he had to rejoin the mafia. He’s fully capable of keeping his promise even then. There are all different levels & types of “doing good”. Dazai is still capable of doing good in the mafia, just not in the same-

exact ways he can in the ADA but all the organization's play important roles in protecting the city. People seem to forget that even the mafia members are mostly morally gray, they still have the capacity to do good, even if they also do bad. Chuuya is a good example as he has-

saved the entire city a minimum of twice, he loves his city & would give his life to protect it. On a smaller scale, Kouyou agreed to assist Dazai in getting Kyoka free from the PM & the government. Plus don’t forget Oda himself was a mafia member & ex assassin yet many describe-

him as a good person. Besides, the ADA has needed the PMs help countless times at this point, the ADA would’ve been screwed without them. Point is, Dazai can continue to chose to be a better person no matter what organization he’s with or whom he chooses to interact with.

His individual journey is up to him, but if he continues doing better that’s all that matters. But since I know people will disagree about what that promise means, let’s get to the root of WHY Dazai’s promise to Oda was to choose to become a good person.

So, why were Oda’s last words what they were? As we all know Oda was similar to Dazai in some ways when he was younger. As a child assassin, he was pretty much disconnected from the world around him emotionally & just going through the motions until Natsume came along.

Natsume gave Oda the book he had been looking for, the last installment of his favorite series. Reading that book is the key moment that altered Oda’s path. In Oda’s own words, “the world I’d known before completely changed. Before that all I had was killing.” The Dark Era.

But the copy Natsume provided was missing specific pages around why the assassin character in the book stopped killing, Natsume obviously did this on purpose. Before providing Oda with the last book, Natsume had told him “Then you write what happens next”.

Oda decides to take those words to heart later on & write about why the assassin stopped killing himself. This is where one of the most important lines is.

Oda says “I decided to write it myself. I would become a novelist & write a story about why the man stopped killing. But to become a novelist, I needed to sincerely know what it meant to live. So I stopped killing.” The Dark Era.

Oda admits here that he hadn’t really lived, hadn’t known what it /meant/ to live. To experience life in the way most people do. This is where he & Dazai connect. Neither of them had really lived & they couldn’t see a reason to do so.

Oda even says in the Untold Origins light novel, “I don’t need forgiveness. There is no forgiveness in this world. There is only retaliation- revenge against those who betray you.”

That was Oda’s mentality before but then Oda makes his choice to stop killing.

It’s only then that he starts to actually truly interact with the world around him & the people in it. /Especially/ the people. He starts to help people & through doing so he begins to understand living. Oda says he continued to think about one particular line from the novel-

“People live to save themselves. It’s something they realize right before they die.”

Oda believes Natsume knew he was an assassin. That he gave him the book with the torn out pages & that singular line left untouched to tell Oda to save himself. I believe Oda is right.

Natsume wanted Oda to save himself. As for exactly why Natsume did so, I couldn’t say as of right now.

But why is all that important?

Well, because that’s what Oda ends up telling Dazai with his last words.

Yes, Oda tells Dazai to become a good person, those are the words he uses & that is Dazai’s promise to him. But the message beneath the words themselves? /Save yourself./ Oda is telling Dazai the same thing Natsume told him. /Save yourself./

Oda wanted Dazai to save himself. He tells Dazai to become a good person, to save people, because that’s how he, himself, found an understanding of living. It’s how he experienced living for the first time & how he was trying to save himself a well.

He encourages Dazai to follow the path he did because they are similar & saving others was the only thing Oda could see that worked. & Dazai listens /because/ he knows Oda actually walked that path himself.

Oda would not care who Dazai associates with or where he goes as long as Dazai continues to try to save himself. To keep trying to be a better person for his own sake as well as others. Again, I repeat the line Oda kept coming back to. “People live to save themselves”.

So, if Dazai was hanging out with Chuuya (or anyone else in the PM or in the dark) or even started dating Chuuya, as long as Dazai continues working to save himself & saving others, Oda would be happy for him.

Dazai is also pretty clear with how he feels about Chuuya, given he never calls him ‘ex partner’ he only ever calls him his partner. I think what he says at the end of the lovecraft fight is an accurate description, “we’re enemies of the bad guys.”

Regardless of sides, their relationship hasn’t changed, they’ve proven that 3 times over already, & I doubt it will. Sides don’t matter because they’ve always only been themselves with each other. Dazai has still kept up trying to be better since reuniting with Chuuya,

That’s not going to change if he spends more time with Chuuya. Dazai is his own person & is more than capable of continuing to keep his promise no matter where he ends up or who he’s with.

Not to mention every single time Dazai & Chuuya have worked together again, it was for a good purpose. To save Kyu & prevent another Guild attack, Chuuya fought a dragon to save the city (without even talking about the plan beforehand) & with no guarantee Dazai would be alive

(aside their soulmate thing where they always know) & now they worked together to defeat Fyodor to save the world (hopefully saved it). So, obviously being close to Chuuya again hasn’t changed Dazai’s goals & he is still keeping his promise.

But tbh, at this point, I don’t think his promise is the /only/ thing keeping Dazai in the light & trying to become a better person anymore. Dazai in DA says “You were right, Odasaku. It’s certainly wonderful to be on the side that saves others. If you plan on living, that is.”

While Oda was right when he told Dazai being on the side of light wouldn’t be able to fix his loneliness, it’s clear by now Dazai sees the value in being there & he understands why Oda told him what he did. I think through the ADA, he has found more & more reasons to keep going.

In conclusion, Oda simply wanted Dazai to save himself by choosing to become a better person. Dazai is his own person & is more than capable of keeping his promise to Oda no matter where he is & who he’s interacting with.

BSD is a morally gray story & all the characters are various levels of gray, pretending the mafia is /all/ bad is just objectively incorrect given all they’ve done for the city.

Chuuya & Dazai’s relationship is one built on unyielding trust & his presence in Dazai’s life isn’t gonna affect Dazai choosing to be better everyday. It already hasn’t changed anything since they’ve ben working together again. I doubt his presence would ever change it.

Reminder to everyone, these are my interpretations & opinions. Take what you want from it, if you made it this far thank you for reading. i hope you guys liked it.

#bsd spoilers #bsd analysis #bsd manga #bungou stray dogs #dazai osamu #chuuya nakahara #oda sakunosuke #bsd #soukoku

[railingsofsorrow]

summary: in which spencer doesn't know why there's a large amount of students auditing in his class. but you do. or... small drabble based on the following dialogue prompt: “... or maybe the fact that half of your students were auditing in your class?”

“What does that... they were interested in it.”

“I'd be interested in it, too, honey. If the teacher was you.”

pairing: s.reid x gn!reader

warnings/content: none; jealous!reader x oblivious!spencer (although they are in an established relationship).

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“... or maybe the fact that half of your students were auditing in your class?” You mumbled to yourself but it ended up being loud enough for whoever was close to you to hear it.

That would be Derek and Spencer, but only the latter picked up on what you said. And your tone, too. That part made him confused.

“Uh—” He stammered, suddenly feeling in uncharted territories. “What does that... they were interested in it.” He croaked out, adjusting his suit unconsciously.

Derek pulled one of his earpieces away when he noticed Spencer's shoulders tensing. His interesting spiking up when he saw your rapid scribbling on a casefile. That could only mean one thing.

“I'd be interested in it, too, honey.” Your mouth twisted as you bit your tongue, annoyance dripping in your voice. “If the teacher was you.”

Derek chocked up on his own saliva, attracting others attention but he didn't care, he just started laughing without control. Hotch gave him an unamused gaze.

JJ's curious eyes followed to the bickering couple.

“Thank you?” Spencer's frown deepened as he searched the answers to all that sarcasm in your features, but you wouldn't look at him, you attention was solely on your paperwork and that was starting to leave him on edge. Could you just be clear with what you intended to say? “Does that mean that you like my teaching method—”

Derek whistled as if they were on a tennis match and the player he was rooting for had just missed a ball. “Oh, pretty boy...”

Spencer turned to glare at him.

A little while later, everyone's attention drifted to their own world and Spencer stayed inevitably anxious at your side.

“Of course,” you said, locking eyes at him. You finally stopped the antsy scribbling. He blinked in surprise at your sudden reply. He thought you would just accept silence for the rest of the journey. “You're a great teacher, I've seen one of your classes, remember, love? I was there, paying attention, to the topic. And to you, obviously. Which, I'm certain, people were only doing the later.” You said as if you never stopped talking about it.

Spencer tilted his head. The action reminding you a lot of years ago, when you met him at his twenties. He used to do the exact same thing when he was trying to work out his ideas. It never stopped being endearing.“You mean paying attention to me? Shouldn't they do that? I'm the teacher.”

“Spencer.” You leaned forward, pulling a curl behind his ear. “Let me tell you a little secret,” you squeezed his shoulder softly so he could lean down closer to your mouth. He kept eyeing your lips and you had to hold back the inevitable smirk. “Half of your class has a crush on you. If not everybody. C'mon, love. Have you seen yourself?” He gaped at you and you knew his mind was trying to come up with a scientific explanation to revoke what you said. You didn't let him. “I don't blame them, if I was in college and you were teaching, I don't know, quantum physics? I would be happily auditing in your class. A pretty teacher and a boring subject? Count me in. It's just an added bonus, baby.”

Spencer was staring at you in complete bewilderment. Of all the things he expected you to say, that was not one of them. He didn't even have the braincells to disagree with you the quantum physics slander.

You pat his chest, gifting him a tight-lipped smile before standing up to grab some coffee claiming that you need something to keep you up on these two hours. He just stared in daze as you walked away.

When someone nudged his shoulder, he flinched, eyes moving from your figure in the galley to the handkerchief being offered to him.

He gave Rossi a questioned gaze.

“You have a...” the older man mentioned for the side of his mouth and Spencer touched the spot, looking for whatever he meant. “I think it's drooling. Yes.” Spencer lowered this hand with a blank look and then rolled his eyes. “Close your mouth, son.” Rossi shook his head with the corner of his lips lifting in amusement. “You'll catch flies.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A/N: hey so i just thought about this after that scene where reid asks who is auditing in his class and most of the people raise their hand (yk which one right?) I'm a simp for it. anyways, hope y'all have a great week. I'm sleepy bye <3

#spencer reid drabble #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid x gn!reader #reader insert

[la-pheacienne]

There is something that has always rubbed the wrong way about the terms of the hotd/fire and blood discourse and particularly how political it always is. Misogyny accusations are super popular and they are being thrown by both sides because they are faster, they are catchy and it's a lot easier to do that than sit down and talk about themes, narrative and consistency under a neutral light. The problem is they often get in the way of a more in depth analysis of media and I say that to myself first and foremost because I do it too. When I say misogyny accusations, I am not only talking about literal accusations (aka if you support team green/black you are a misogynist), I also include all the takes that resemble the following: "my take is better/more accurate than yours because it is more politically progressive/radical/revolutionary/healthy/enlightened/yadayada than yours". Both sides use this, and they use this A LOT. It is almost impossible to take part in discourse over fire and blood/hotd/asoiaf without including this perspective. I'm not saying we should abolish this perspective and never talk about it again, it is always interesting to take this into account. But let's pause for a second and just try to put this on the side just for a little bit. What are we left with? Oh yeah. We are left with the raw materials of the story. Let's talk about that, and only that, just for a little while.

Yes, fire and blood includes a dichotomy between a good woman and a bad woman (although it doesn't exactly do that and this is a very simplistic way of looking at the story). Yes this dichotomy is an old concept. Yes the wicked stepmother is an old concept as well, rooted in ancient patriarcal societal norms and dynamics we are all more or less familiar with, some less than others.

Is this dynamic, which is at the core of fire and blood, politically progressive/radical/subversive? Probably not (huge objection there but I said I will not talk about politics in this post).

Is it a better story than hotd? Yes. It is.

Does it make more sense than hotd? Yes. It does.

I am sorry. There is absolutely no way hotd has more sense than fire and blood. Even if one qualifies it as a more inspired, progressive, unexpected, intresting retelling/revisiting of the original, this will never, ever make it a good story in an organic way.

There is absolutely no way to seriously, unironically argue that going from "we play an ugly game. i see you have the determination to win it" to Alicent usurping Rhaenyra because of a misunderstanding in the span of one episode is a better narrative and makes more sense than whatever happened in fire and blood. It makes Alicent a victim of circumstances, it breaks the dichotomy or the wicked stepmother trope or whatever you want it to break, and all that is cool, but it doesn't make a better story than the one we got in fire and blood.

There is absolutely no way to seriously claim that Alicent being sexually harassed by her servant makes a better story than her controlling her servant. It is not something that would actually happen in real life under any circumstances whatsoever. It is extremely forced, weird and overall nonsensical (not to mention politically problematic for 100 reasons because again, I will not talk politics in this post). The average viewer that does not wish to write essays about how politically enlightened it is to "break the dichotomy" will look at this scene and say "what the fuck is that". Would showing Alicent owning her role as QUEEN and playing the game be reminiscent of Cersei and thus "repetitive"? Yes. Would it make a better story? Yes. I'm sorry, but it is the truth.

There is absolutely no fucking way to make the page scene make sense. It will never make sense. A ruler that has just been usurped has the chance to execute the traitor and doesn't do it because the traitor shows her a page of a book. Right. She has just lost her baby because of them, she has lost her father, she has lost her throne, she has lost everything that was important to the life she has been sharing for ages with a man and their 20 children but a page would matter to her more than all of these things put together. Right. You can call this an uber sophisticated/inspired lesbian drama/women being caught in the crossfire of men's wars or whatever you want it to call it but it will never, ever be a better moment than "Tell my half-brother I'll have my throne or I'll have his head". It will never be a better story, not because it is more or less politically conservative/progessive, but for the simple reason that it is nonsensical. Whether a story makes sense or not has absolutely nothing to do with ideology. This particular moment does not resonate with basic human experience, it does not resonate with how female rulers behaved in history. It is bad, very bad writing. Daemon's "the fuck is this" is the only logical reaction to this and it is the reaction shared by the average viewer. Indeed, the fuck is this.

Thing is, you might wanna twist the raw materials of a story you consider boring/conservative/repetitive but that will never make for a better story, because there is no truth in it. """Wicked stepmothers""" existed and still exist. Good women vs bad women exist because good people vs bad people exist and women are people. Their honest confrontation rings true to the viewer in a way hotd's narrative never will. Because it makes sense. It is organic. It has a truth hotd doesn't have. And again I use this supposed dichotomy of fire and blood with a huge asterisk because Rhaenyra is not that pure perfect unfallible character. Alicent being Alicent would perhaps be a repetitive Cersei copy but she would still make a better character than whatever we got. She would perhaps have less importance in the narrative but it's okay because the story doesn't need Alicent to have that much of an importance. It is a good story regardless.

You can preach about how inspired/progressive it is to have women be forcefully carried in the middle of a men's war that they never wanted but that will never make it a better story than a Targaryen woman fighting with her half-brothers for her throne, her life and the life of her children and her husband she has spent a lifetime with.

I got this from David Mamet, On directing film, p. 60 and I think it applies well.

#house of the dragon #fire and blood #aspa rambles #rhaenyra targaryen #dance of the dragons #hotd

[crepesuzette2023]

Do you have an opinion on what actually happened in Barcelona and John's motivations?

No strong, line-in-the-sand, until-here-and-no-further opinion, and not prepared to die on any hills, but here is a blurry snapshot of my current thoughts on the quote unquote matter. (And thank you for asking!)

I think the question of "what happened in Barcelona" has too long been mixed up with speculations along the lines of "was John gay" or "did they have sex." While I relate to the curiosity, I think these questions, due to the bigotry of the times, led to simplistic, un-gay alternative theories (alternative to 'it was a Lennon-Epstein sex vacation', that is), which further confused the matter.

I do not think going to Barcelona was a power move on John's part to vet Brian and establish himself as the leader of the group. By the time of the trip (April '63), Brian had been the Beatles' manager for a while. He'd changed their act, found them a recording contract, had a separate contract with John and Paul as songwriters. He was in. Similarly, at this point, Brian would have been familiar with the power structure within the band, including John's leader/founder status and the equality that was the basis of the group and Lennon—McCartney. They were not a front man and a backing band, and Paul and John were not competing for the status of leader/main decision maker. It was them, together. There was no motive at the time for John to get alone-time with Brian to defend or regain his leadership status.

In addition to that, I don't think it's likely the vacation was related to the order of the Lennon-McCartney writing credit. Did John go to Barcelona with Brian to gain leverage that would allow him to demand his name would always go first, going against his previous agreement with Paul and Brian (which stated the main songwriter's name would come first, and all royalties would be shared 50/50)? Hmm. To me, this doesn't fit with Lennon-McCartney presenting themselves as a team of equal partners during the Beatle years, and with John emphasizing the roots of the partnership as reaching back to their romantic teenage pact. Neither of them tried to hide that writing was something they shared. There was no overt struggle for dominance, or even a clear division of tasks (as in, you do the lyrics, I do the music; or: you do the ballads, I do the rockers). And they planned to keep writing after the Beatles were done. Given all this, I feel it's unlikely John would scheme and try to get Brian alone in order to get his name put first, with Paul then just accepting it, because Brian and John forced him to.

It's so important to remember that much of the Beatles story is told in retrospect, after a bitter break-up, and in response to sometimes deliberately dumb or salacious questions. Yes, Paul framed Barcelona as a power-play on John's part, but that was after he and John had been through their own history of struggles of a decade or more, all of it amplified by the press and biographers of all stripes. And yes, John claimed Paul overpowered his artistic vision and fucked with his songs, but that, too, was in a later, more bitter time. In April '63, though? Were Paul and John really fighting for dominance? For leadership? For being the star?

I'm not denying that power played a role in John going to Barcelona with Brian, but I think it was something subtle—something related to being different...to John being the one to spend time with Brian, John separating himself from the band; John being the one Brian wanted to take along. And John agreeing to go.

{side bar on how every Beatle splitting from the main Beatle blob to travel down his own path with someone or something else functioned like a battle cry or warning signal to the others cut for brevity reasons!!!}

And yes, I think sex played a role in that decision. John made the choice to spend time alone—not a weekend, but twelve days—with a gay man who openly fancied him, and had tried to take him on solo trips before. Now, after refusing earlier, John agreed to go along. Trying to put myself in John's place, I have to believe that he knew the issue of sex and attraction would surface and have to be dealt with in some way, and that it must have felt exciting, and a little scary, but also: that it was time to do it, instead of always wondering what if.

But, judging from the events at Paul's (and Ivan Vaughan's!) 21st birthday party, I think it's fair to say John felt conflicted about it as well.

What actually happened in Barcelona? I'd be surprised if they didn't have sex. Judging from Brian's apparent blushing and walking-on-air happiness after the trip, I hope it was good.

Where this all fits with John and Paul, God—I've no idea.

The truth is rarely pure, and never simple. — Oscar Wilde.

Here is a lovely picture of John and Brian.

photo: Harry Benson

#John Lennon #Brian Epstein #lennon mccartney #what happened in Barcelona? #asks #The Beatles

[princess-nobody]

I hate Quaritch but I also really adore him but I also want to bash his head open with a rock

So I have a lot of thoughts on Quaritch as a character as well as what he represents in the greater message of Avatar; I want to clarify that I admit that I have many biases, due to my very strong connection to my ethnic background, many of the themes of Avatar affect me on a more personal level. Though I usually try to put my own reactionary feelings to the side and stay objective, when it comes to this character I simply cannot do so, and therefore this will probably be my most emotionally charged Avatar take 😭

So I hate Quaritch, like deeply, as in my biggest dream is for his story to end with him being shot in the chest 2384884933 times by na'vi arrows, preferably Neytiri's arrows. Now, I've tried to unpack why he of all villains gets to me so much, because despite all of his infractions, he's not as bad as other villains that don't nearly get as much visceral hatred from me. Quaritch is far from the only unempathetic, xenophobic maniac that jumps with glee at the chance to kill some natives if it benefits his side in media, yet he's the one I want to strangle with my bare hands the most. After some deep reflection I've finally realized why.

It's because he's so real.

It's a simple answer, but it really opened my eyes to how and why so many of Avatar's themes hit such a personal cord with me; it's all so real. I remember being told by an old history professor of mine that many people have the capability to be Hitler, but few have the power to do so. He said that there are many diet Hitlers walking around, people with the same ideology, people with the same thirst for power, people with the same hatred and bigotry. It could be your barista, it could be the lady sitting beside you on the train. Hitler is not a rare individual, he was simply a politically powerful version of an individual we encounter everyday. That is to say, these evil people in history are not really uniquely evil nor are they these one dimensional beings, they are in fact what you get if you give some ordinary people more power than they need.

Now what does any of that have to do with Quaritch and how "real" I claim he is? Well, it all makes me understand that the reason my dislike for Quaritch is so much more deep-rooted than most villains is because he represents a very real, very common person. He is the overly patriotic military fanboy that treats indigenous lives as disposable, he is the America first guy that defends any and all invasions into other (often times less powerful) countries if he feels it benefits the nation. He is the anti-indigenous racist who thinks modern natives are larpers and believes historical natives were savages and that they deserved what they got. He is the terrifyingly ignorant guy who's views are so outdated that you wonder how he functions in modern society.

Now, Quaritch himself isn't really all of those things and doesn't outwardly ascribe to all of those things in either film, but his personality, position in the military and his role in the narrative of Avatar seem to – at least to me – represent what happens when you give this archetype of person the power he has. With that, as much as I hate him, I also love him for this.

Quaritch isn't unrealistic, he isn't this cartoonishly evil bad guy who only feels rage and hatred and wants to destroy Pandora just because, in fact he doesn't even want to destroy Pandora. James Cameron could have easily went with making both him and the RDA out to be these soulless evil entities that destroy and kill everything just for the fuck of it. Instead, he went with the more realistic approach, the RDA represents real life corporate greed that destroys the planet and seeks to devour anything that can make it a quick buck, and Quaritch represents the sort of bigoted, ignorant and VIOLENT man you may encounter at least once or twice a week depending.

The only difference is the one you think of when you read those words is just some guy, whilst Miles Quaritch has the power to actually act on those things. I genuinely adore this type of writing, because I feel it's very easy to detach ourselves from stories like Avatar because the antagonists are always so one dimensional and evil just because. You can't do that with Avatar, because most of what you are watching is based on and inspired by reality; there are many Quaritch-like people walking around, they just don't have the power and backing he does.

So yeah, TLDR: I hate Quaritch because of how evil he is but I also love him because of how evil he is. He's a really good villain that makes my blood boil and I actually don't mind him being the antagonist in the coming films.

#long post #tw: hitler mention #avatar #atwow #avatar the way of water #avatar: the way of water #miles quaritch #jake sully #neytiri #lo'ak #neteyam #tsireya #na'vi #na'vi avatar #aonung #avatar recoms #spider socorro #miles spider socorro #pandora avatar #avatar pandora #resource development administration #avatar rda #the rda #recom quaritch #avatar quaritch #Nobody's Avatar Analysis #<- gave myself a tag for my takes lol

[actual-changeling]

silly little fluff post before i pop off to bed <3 nothing but joy and happiness and Joel and Ellie being soft with each other, i hope you enjoy it!!!

-

It's not like anyone ever directly asks her about it, but it is an unspoken question that follows them around, follows her around.

Family relations in the apocalypse are a lot looser and offer a lot more choices to everyone involved, but people like tradition, and so most family dynamics are pretty much exactly the way they were before, with some more (technically) adopted family members.

It also means that once Joel and Ellie start trying to properly integrate themselves into the community, but only because Maria hasn't stopped insisting for weeks now, they will be surrounded by a choir of mom and dad and a variety of pet names wherever they go.

At first, it doesn't bother them at all, why would it? People are naturally curious, though, and when they sit down for lunch on their second day of actually eating at the dining hall, a small group (family?) of five joins them, eager to start a conversation. Unfortunately for them, Joel and Ellie are the least conversational people they could have chosen, and lunch goes accordingly.

Ellie stays pressed against his side the entire time, giving monosyllabic answers to any questions directed at her that Joel doesn't catch, while he takes the brunt of it, one hand soothingly rubbing her lower back. Most of them ask about their time outside, how they got here, and what they saw, and she zones out rather quickly, letting the unfamiliar voices turn into white noise, until a specific question makes her snap back.

"So, how old is your daughter?"

Her gaze is locked on Joel's face, expecting him to turn toward her, but he doesn't. He simply keeps tracing circles along her spine and responds to the woman's question.

"Ellie is fifteen now, and-"

"Oh, they grow up so quick, don't they?" She interrupts, the smile genuine but way too sweet for Ellie to be comfortable with it.

"They sure do," and he does look at her now, eyes softened by the crinkling smile spreading across his face, and all Ellie can do in her stupor is smile back, caught in the tumbling rotation of daughter and father, cargo, not your dad, family, home. It wasn't time that did it.

Maybe, she decides, on their way back from lunch so they can stretch out across their living room couch, that was his way of saying it. Of apologizing and explaining. But maybe isn't enough, not for her, and the next time she gets asked, she wants to be sure of whatever she says.

"Sooo," she drawls, plopping her head into his lap and straightening her legs, "you gonna say anything?"

Joel threads his fingers through her hair, softly massaging her scalp and brushing out the strands until they're a silky curtain hanging down his thigh. Her eyes flutter close on their own accord, and she adjusts herself to be more comfortable.

"Gonna say anything about what?"

"You know what I mean."

With his palm cupping her cheek, it is incredibly hard to stay focused, the urge to nap is still strong after weeks of doing nothing but, and the heat seeping into her skin relaxes her enough to free all the tension she usually holds in a deep sigh.

"I do. You're wondering why I didn't correct her."

"Something like that. I just- I don't know. What to say."

His movements are slow and gentle, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone, his pinky tracing the line of her jaw, and Ellie could live in the safety of his cupped hands forever, crawl inside of his chest, and never come out again.

"There is nothing you need to say, you can call- us whatever you want."

While Joel tries to keep his voice light, she can taste the anxiety hidden within, and it isn't hard to tell that while he didn't falter earlier, it's still an important topic for him. They had a conversation about it that did not end well months ago, the first time she claimed her room as her own, and his words have grown roots in the back of her mind.

Not your daughter, not your dad, but those happened in the Before, and they were both in the After now, not ground zero but several memories and connections heavier.

"I don't- I don't mind. People thinking that I'm your- calling me your daughter. Unless you mind. because-"

"I don't mind," Joel interrupts, and the insistence his words carry makes her look up at him, meeting a brown that she knows isn't hers but might as well be.

"I don't mind, and I- it's still early, and I don't know what you are comfortable with, but I care about you, Ellie."

The pressure of his palm against her face wanders down, tucking back a few strands of hair, and she gently curls her fingers around his wrist to keep his hand where it is.

"I care about you, too. And I know I'm not her, and I never could be, but I thought maybe we could just be Ellie and Joel, whatever that ends up meaning."

Joel carefully pulls her upright, and she can't help but giggle when he pokes her sides, and she scrambles to turn around so she can tuck herself away against his chest. With his cheek resting on top of her head and his arms tightly around her, it seems almost silly to think that Joel wouldn't want her like this, that he would ever make her leave because she isn't what he needs.

"Whatever it ends up meaning," Joel agrees, and the kiss he presses to her temple is not only a promise, it's also an anchor to hold onto, to keep her steady when doubt tries to wash her away.

The next time someone asks Ellie about him, the answer she gives is the one she will always give.

My Joel.

Labels, she realizes, aren't as important as people make them seem. In the end, it is always better to just be, to belong with someone, to have someone to call yours.

"My world," Joel whispers one night, curled around her, "my blessing."

And being his, Ellie realizes, is the best of all.

#alex writes tlou #the last of us #tlou #joel and ellie #ellie williams #joel miller #fanfic

[fastcardotmp3]

I don't read a lot of soulmate aus just because it's not a genre that appeals to me much personally, but I kinda want one where the main love interests are very much not soulmates.

A world where finding your soulmate is actually as rare as it statistically would be, a world where your soulmate probably speaks a different language and lives in a different country and will likely never cross paths with you that makes the whole thing all the more newsworthy when someone actually does find their soulmate.

And what this means is that most romantic relationships? They're not between soulmates, they're just between people who love each other and choose to keep doing the work of loving each other (or don't! because just like in the real world sometimes it just doesn't work out like that)

There are (mostly scam) services to try and take advantage of desperate people who want to find their soulmates; there are people trying to get famous just so there will be more eyes on their [author's choice soulmark] and it might be recognized (and subsequent famous people who always cover up their soulmark to keep people from faking a matching/ complementary one)

There are rom-coms about the ideal soulmate meet-cute and dramas about a relationship split apart when one of them actually meets their soulmate and it's this ingrained part of culture while still being something SO DAMN RARE.

So here's the thing, right, is that Steve and Eddie aren't soulmates.

They're not born to fall in love, they're not meant to be, the universe actually does its level best to drag them away from each other in the form of near-apocalypses and regular old human conflict alike, but even still.

Even still, they see one another at the start of the world all over again, scarred and changed and new; they see each other as they reform themselves from scraps and they hold each other up as they learn to walk away from the wreckage of what they've lost in the process of winning.

And they do what so many have done before them, they choose.

Squabbles and complexities and incompatible natures made to fit with work and effort and a boatload of pure and simple love, even if none of the rest is pure or simple.

Years of it, onwards out of Hawkins and maybe even back again; years of it through further changes and versions of selves, always together in one way or another, even during the hard bits.

They are not meant to be.

They have marks that do not match and it doesn't matter because why chase after something like that when they have this right in front of them.

Because maybe here's the thing, right, is that there's something just as rare as finding your soulmate.

Creating one.

Choosing so much and so often with all the determination at the goddamn root of your person that the mark on your body actually changes to match the choice you've made. The love you have built rather than found.

Because the universe is a fickle thing, she finds the lives of humans short and is fondly exasperated with their impermanence, their altogether restlessness in the face of finding something never promised to them, but she's never claimed to always get it right.

The universe is in charge of a lot of things, but human choice is not one of them, and so when two boys stumble into each other's lives in the face of unspeakable violence and terror and blood, when they stay in each other's lives even after they are no longer fighting in the same war, well.

She's an ever-changing thing, and she has done this before and will do it again, not the removal of one soulmate but the addition of a second, because if someone is willing to create space within themselves for someone they're not intrinsically linked to, stubborn enough even, maybe she can honor that.

And if Eddie Munson wakes up one morning, catches sight of himself in the mirror after a shower and sees something new that he did not put their of his own volition; if Steve is still asleep in the bed on the other side of the hall, not yet aware of the way the universe has shifted to accommodate the work they have put into tying themselves together on the fucking journey of a life they're stumbling through...

It's all still just a choice they already made, isn't it?

#dot post #dot fic #steddie #steve x eddie #steddie stranger things #stranger things fic #steddie soulmate au #i just think if there are two bastards stubborn enough it's them right

[wordsandrobots]

I just don't get it.

I've been dwelling all day on the times I've seen someone claim/state that the characterisation in Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 2 is inconsistent with Season 1 and I still can't understand how people get to that conclusion. Clearly they do. But everything about S2 reads to me as a really straightforward acceleration of the flaws established in S1, and we know from the writing side, the intention was always to have this end in tragedy, even if the timescale changed. (Which, to be clear, is something I think was entirely to the show's benefit, allowing for a midway 'hope spot' where everything works out by the skin of its teeth, driving everyone to greater levels of reckless confidence.)

Most of the major personality rug-pulls happen by the time we hit the build-up to the climax of S1. We go from seeing Orga in his element -- the charismatic, clever military leader taking control of a miserable situation for the sake of his comrades -- to seeing what he's like in the wider world -- winging it, latching on to new ideas like a limpet, chasing the biggest rewards as fast as he can -- to seeing what's underneath it -- his awe/fear of Mika, his inability to do what's smart in the face of what his friends want, and the way he crumbles under the weight of casualties before stubbornly keeping onwards in an effort to turn the loss into a meaningful sacrifice. There is a straight line from the Dort Colonies where Orga gets pressured into becoming involved, to the point everyone insists on going after Jasley, to what happens in the middle of the battle with the Arianrhod Fleet. It's practically the same scene three times over with the desperation on Orga's face dialled up each time.

Same for the others. Despite his light-hearted presentation, Shino is deeply affected by his friends' deaths and commits himself to fighting so they don't have to, ego driving him to do reckless shit that doesn't quite work. Gaelio is a prideful dick who, while he has various good instincts, ultimately acts based on his emotional reactions alone. Hell, Mikazuki is literally introduced firing a gun that knocks him clean off his feet, his body too frail to withstand the violence he's committing on behalf of Orga, who watches with a mix of terror and amazement, that morphs into a teeth-clenched determination to keep going -- because what else do you do when faced with *that* level of devotion at your command?

McGillis is the only one where I can kind of grasp why it would seem inconsistent, because the reveals about the exact shape of his past are left to the back half of S2, and the twist that he was rooting his entire world-view in childish mythology is (deliberately) dissonant with his ruthless manipulation of the rest of the cast. But, like -- he treats Tekkadan as this amazing, miraculous event from the word go. He is heavily invested in imagery (around them, around Kudelia, around the Gundams) and waffles on endlessly about the Calamity War. His wearing of a mask is explicitly framed as playing dress-up, in which he takes a giddy delight. The revelations set all this in a new light, sure. They're hardly inconsistent with it. Not in a show chock full of people caught up in their own ideas about other people and what a better world would mean.

My point is, Iron-Blooded Orphans is about messed-up people in shitty situations making actively terrible life choices because they're trapped inside the event horizons of their own trauma. It is about everyone crushed by indifferent systems of power, shouting loud and proud that they are human beings with hopes and dreams and loves and fears, and smashing them to pieces regardless because that is what *happens* in an unjust world. It runs on its characters' flaws, like any good tragedy, on their flawed reactions to the very real problems they struggle against. Season 2 is an escalating series of runaway trains, each crisis shaping the reaction to the next in worse and worse ways. I could spend ages breaking down how it goes from Tekkadan at the peak of its ability to brazen through problems on sheer guts, to their strength actively working against them even when they are saving the world with it, to where it ends, a tragic, bittersweet peace that, as cynically as it could be read, still contains small triumphs.

At no point does it seem to me to be anything less than extremely clear and consistent about what it is saying. I've had people comment on my fic saying I've fixed the characterisation for them, and I have to state openly, that is not what I thought I was doing! I'm just taking what I saw in the series and extrapolating from it. There *are* parts where I've added stuff, to fill in the gaps you need to when you're making secondary characters into leads. But I know which bits I made up whole-cloth and, well, maybe I'm fooling myself but I don't think I ever had to introduce something to explain anyone's actions in the series itself.

Anyway, sorry for waffling on so long. Please don't take this as me calling anyone daft for where they landed on IBO, it's just that these reactions always make me twitch and wonder if I've hallucinated something over a gap somewhere. Then I go back to all the times Orga rides rough-shod over Biscuit's good advice and -- no! No, the text very firmly set up why this all goes horribly wrong and pays off each and every point like the world's most appalling check-list! You are 100% free to not enjoy that, but it's clearly working as intended

#gundam ibo #gundam iron blooded orphans #g tekketsu #tekketsu no orphans #I am the furthest thing from an unbiased source on this show #I love it so much #but I have also spent two and a half years picking it to component parts #it really is an incredibly solid piece of #*here's why X is doing Y even though Z is right there* #and I admire that a lot on a technical level #spoilers #more rambling

[ystrike1]

I Was Summoned to Be the Saint, but I Was Robbed of the Position, Apparently - By Yoshitaka Hana (8/10)

Hear me out. I think the vibe of a story is really important. Yandere or possessive behavior doesn't always have to be explicitly bloody or very obvious. I really do appreciate possessiveness that is integrated into the plot.

Anise is the Saintess, but sadly her bully followed her to the fantasy world she was destined to save. People from our world who enter that world get magic that suits their personality. Anise isn't a saintly person. She just likes to help others, and she's pretty tolerant. Hime, the bully, is treated like a nuisance by her. A normal person would have snapped at Hime by now. Anise has alot of patience, and she only uses violence to protect herself. So, because of her good qualities she received special Saint magic.

Hime received ultra powerful charm magic. She uses it to convince the fantasy characters to rape and kill Anise, who has no choice but to run. Hime is a superfan. She adores otome games about saints. She played a stereotypical one endlessly to get the secret character. Her favorite character. General Lector. A man with high charm....Hmm...how odd the love interest also uses charm. It's well known in this world that usually people who are messed up in the head use charm magic. It's a power rooted in either narcissism or the desperate need to be a leader. It's a selfish power. It's very interesting that Hime and the sexy otome man she loves so much have the same power.

Anise runs away with Lec, who found her when she started selling potions to make quick cash. Lec lies about his identity. He tries to use his magic to seduce her into serving him...and then liking him...over and over. Thankfully, her high level healing magic stops that. Hmm. Odd though. The man Hime adores as her true love seems off. Kinda awful actually.

Here's the backstory for the secret route. Lec doesn't trust anyone. He is the only heir with charm magic. People have been trying to use him and marry him and manipulate him since he was a child. He has always, always wanted to marry a Saintess. Saints must be truly kind to get their special magic, so if he marries a saint he will gain a wife that genuinely loves him. How sweet...but wait that's kinda super fucked up isn't it???

There's alot of subtle dialog in this. Lec convinces Anise to stay by his side. He says that if she marries him she can immigrate to his country, far away from Hime and her rabid servants. He claims he doesn't need her love, BUT he only reveals that he's a prince when it's too late. After the reveal it's way too late for Anise to turn back.

Anise gets bullied when she arrives in her new home. Her personal maid only cares about money. Everybody else is jealous, because Lec is the best bachelor in the land. Anise is also, apparently, not very pretty. She doesn't know courtly manners like the previous Saints. She's not a sweet talker like Hime. She puts in effort and the staff eventually accepts that she's a real Saint, but it's a long process.

Lec slowly proves that he is a good husband, but he is jealous. Divorce is not an option. He would rather start a war to keep Anise. All of these nuggets of weirdness are buried in fast paced chapters. Anise is the main character all alone for the first 8 chapters or so too. Lec just kind of appears. He tests her, and he quickly becomes enamored. Anise, from the beginning, doesn't want love and she doesn't like his type. He kinda wears her down and they start to get along when he's more open emotionally.

Hime gets worse. She claims her husband is abusive to get a meeting with Lec. She's shocked when Lec doesn't give a shit. Hime is an amazing villain. Her lies are so deep that she believes them. Her obsession with Lec makes her behave like a literal monster. Lec is terrifying when he's around her....because he's used to women like Hime. He deals with them all the time, because everyone wants the magically charming prince.

Hime doesn't save Lec as revenge. Lec is destined to die unless certain plot conditions are met. Hime knew how to save him from his fate the whole time, but she wasn't willing to help unless he loved her back. Anise kindly saved a tiny cat demon at the beginning of the story, and it's big enough to ride. That kind coincidence is what saves Lec in this timeline. The magic cat flies Anise back fast to heal him, and that's basically it. Main story done. There's alot of messed up toxic love in this.

Hime was obsessed with marrying Lec.

Lec was obsessed with marrying someone pure and trustworthy.

I was fascinated by how different Lec and Hime are, even though they possess similar magic.

I was also really disturbed when Lec did not stop trying to magically charm Anise into loving him. If she didn't have stronger magic she would have become his brain dead love interest. All because he couldn't resist the urge to use his magic and make her want him, because he really wanted her. The messed up stuff is kinda pushed under the rug though. Anise and Lec have a good relationship. I may be reading into this too much, but the vibe...

The vibe...

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #otome isekai #isekai #I Was Summoned to Be the Saint #but I Was Robbed of the Position #Apparently #shojo

[thebookreader12345]

Gender Reveal

Pairing: Will Halstead x reader

Summary: Will and Y/n are more than ready to be parents, and at Y/n's next doctors appointment, she gets to find out the gender of their baby

Requested: Yes, by anonymous

Warnings: mentions of pregnancy

Word Count: 1,333 Words

"Mmm. Stop moving," I mutter sleepily.

"I'm not," Will announced from the other side of the bed.

"I wasn't talking to you," I say and turn around to face him. "The baby is kicking like every five minutes, and I can't get any sleep. Could you talk to them? Please. They love hearing your voice."

Will smiled. "I would love too." Will scooted closer to me and placed his hand on the top of my stomach, bringing his mouth closer to my 6 month pregnant belly. "Hey, peanut. Your mom and I are so excited to meet you in a few months. I've got all the nursery stuff ready to set up, and right now all I've gotta do is paint before I put everything else in there. So tomorrow is a big day. As for now, you're keeping your mother from getting sleep, and she gets grumpy when she gets no rest, so if you could get some sleep too, that'd be nice."

"Will!" I yelp and slap him softly on the back of the head.

"What? It's true," Will defended and placed a kiss on my belly. "Goodnight, peanut."

"Thank you," I murmur.

"No problem," Will returned and leaned up to kiss my forehead. "Goodnight."

The next morning, we went out our day as usual. The two of us got up, got dressed, ate some breakfast, and then headed into work. Both of us worked as ED docs at Chicago Med. It's actually how we met. I entered the ED and dropped my stuff off in the doctors' lounge before making my way to the nurses' station. My favorite charge nurse and best friend was typing away on her pager, but she looked up when she noticed me.

"Hey mama," Maggie greeted. "Where's Big Red?"

"Oh, you know him. He saw the coffee cart outside and just had to stop," I tell her.

"If he's making you give up coffee, he should be abstaining from it too," Maggie pointed out.

"Sure, but I'm not gonna take coffee away from that man. He needs it more than I ever have," I explain. "And you know how he gets without his caffeine. I'm the same way when I don't get enough sleep."

"Fair point. So, big day today," Maggie reminded me. "You excited?"

"Not as excited as you and Will and literally everyone else," I respond.

"How are you not excited? I can hardly contain myself," Maggie claimed.

"Because I'm fine with waiting, Mags. Honestly, boy or girl, it doesn't matter to me," I confess.

Maggie scoffed. "Oh come on, Y/n. You're rooting for it to be a girl. I know you."

"Well, yeah, but Will's side of the family has a lot of boys. So chances are that's what it'll be," I put forth.

"Have hope, Y/n. If you and Will both want it to be a girl then-"

I cut Maggie off. "Wait. Will wants it to be a girl?"

"You didn't know? That's all he ever talks about," Maggie mentioned. "He wants to have tea parties and learn how to braid her hair and tell bedtime stories about princesses."

"I just thought...." I trailed off. "Never mind. So, you got any cases for me?"

"I do," Maggie replied and handed me a tablet. "Have fun. And don't forget to tell me the gender later!"

"How could I ever forget?" I tease and walk away.

..................................................

"There you are," Will breathed out when he saw me relaxing in the lounge. "I've been looking for you."

"We needed a break," I declare and rub my stomach.

"Backache?" Will guessed.

"All day everyday," I joke and glance at my watch. "But I guess the break is over. I've got to get to my appointment."

"That I can't come with to," Will asserted.

"Correct," I confirm. "Because you're gonna freak out, just like you do at every appointment. And if you start to cry, I'm going to cry, and I don't want to do that in front of the doctor."

"But-"

"No buts," I interrupt and stand up. "You'll live, Will. You're not gonna die because you didn't come to this one appointment."

"I might!" Will protested playfully.

"Except you won't. I'll see you in a bit!" I call out to him as I exited the lounge.

1 Hour Later.....

I had the ultrasound picture tucked away in my coat pocket, my finger skimming the edge of it as I walked back to the ED. I knew Will was probably bursting with excitement to find out if we were having a girl or a boy, so I wanted to get back to him. However, when I got back down to the ED, I couldn't seem to find him anywhere. So, I approached the nurses' station where Maggie was standing, as usual.

"Hey, Mags. Have you seen Will?" I ask. "I can't find him."

"Yeah. I sent him up to CT to keep him under control," Maggie told me. "He kept bugging me about when you'd get back, so I had to get rid of him for a bit."

"Makes sense. Well, could you page him down here please? I have some important news to tell him," I explain.

Maggie gasped. "Your appointment! How was it?"

"Good. Great," I clarify. "The baby is healthy."

"So? Boy or girl?" Maggie implored.

I laughed. "Sorry, Mags. As much as I'd like to tell you, I have to tell Will first. But you're second on my list. Promise."

"Okay. I'll page him down here and direct him to the lounge. It'll be about five minutes," Maggie informed me.

Five minutes later, Will entered the lounge, and while he was trying to keep his cool, I could tell he was excited. He had been nothing short of thrilled since I found out I was pregnant.

"How was the appointment? Everything go okay?" Will questioned.

"Yeah. Everything's great," I answer. "Our little peanut is happy and healthy. Here's the ultrasound, if you want to look at it."

"I would love to see it," Will spoke and took a hold of the paper. "God, can you believe we've only got three more months until we're actually parents?"

"I know. These last six months have flown by so fast," I disclose. "So, you notice anything missing from the ultrasound?"

Will frowned. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You don't notice anything missing? No body parts, especially near the bottom half of the baby? It's pretty obvious to me," I state.

"Y/n, what the hell are you talking about? I don't see anything miss-" Will stopped mid-sentence, a smile growing on his face. "Are you serious? Please tell me you're serious."

"I'm serious," I comply.

"I can't believe it! We're having a girl!" Will cheered and kissed me before pulling me in for a hug.

"We're having a girl," I repeat and squeeze him tightly. "So, what's this I hear about tea parties, hair braiding, and princess stories?"

Will laughed. "Maggie told you?"

"Yeah. Just this morning," I say. "It's cute. Adorable, really. You're gonna be an amazing father to her, Will."

"And you're gonna be an amazing mother," Will returned. "God, this is so exciting! I need to call Jay and tell him! He's been asking for updates all day."

"Of course he has. What am I gonna do with the two of you? Go ahead," I urge. "While you do that, I've got to tell a very impatient charge nurse. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

Will nodded. "Okay. Ooh, tomorrow, can we go to the store and pick out some paint? Jay's got the day off and can come over to help me paint."

"Sure. Sounds like a plan," I comment and give his hand a small squeeze. "Now go ahead and call Jay. You look like you're gonna explode. I'm going to talk to Maggie for a second, and then I'll be right back. Then the two of us can start discussing the nursery."

____________________________

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#one chicago #one chicago x reader #one chicago imagine #one chicago imagines #chicago med #chicago med x reader #chicago med imagines #chicago med imagine #will halstead #will halstead x reader #will halstead imagines #will halstead imagine #x reader #imagine #imagines