Pitch for a self-indulgent fix it au that I'm too lazy to write but need for my own sake and sanity:

Because Aegon was close with Rhaenyra's boys, he gets very close to her. It's slow at first; he is still Alicent's child, and she can't help but feel some level of resentment towards him, no matter how cruel it is. But Aegon is still sweet on her and her boys; he still craves his eldest sister's praise and attention, he is still just a child, and she can't bring herself to resent him for very long. Once she comes around to Aegon, she starts to include Aemond in things around the palace grounds, and puts a stop to the bullying, because now that she's let one little brother into her heart, she can't leave the other out in the shit storm that is this family. She treats them like she treats her boys, especially after seeing how deep the trauma runs in both boys. She takes care of Aegon when he's made himself sick and lets him hold onto her after Alicent, or her father has had a go at him . she takes Aemond out on Syrax and helps him with his studies. aemond is most fluent in High Valaryian, so they can almost talk 'in code', and they do it to mess with the others quite often. She makes sure both boys have a safe place with her and her boys. Things are still rocky; they're still emotionally used, abused, and neglected by their parents, the whole kingdom is still filling their minds with poison, and they're angry. angry at the world, their family, fate. they take it out on Rhaenyra and the boys at times, but she never turns them away, she helps them. They're still struggling to keep their heads above the water, but Rhaenyra is there, she makes it easier; she holds them up the best she can as she begins to drown beside them.

Bad shit still happens, Aemond takes Vhegar and loses his eye, Luke is on the other end of the blade, and the fight in the hall still happens, but everything is easier. Because they were truly treated like kids, Rhaenyra had more to lose in that moment than Alicent could truly take from her; she doesn't allow Alicent to turn the attention away from Aemond and onto politics and petty feuds. She protected all of them. Aemond wasn't treated like a pawn and scapegoat, Aegon wasn't thrown under the bus, and Luke was forced to carry some of the blame (a healthy, child-appropriate load).

There's a rift, but it isn't as big. Aemonds doesn't grow up as angry, Aegon doesn't grow up to be as much of a cold and impulsive drunkard with the maturity level of a teenager, and they stay relatively close even as the family grows apart. The boys still grow up together, they still have their sister, and they are less susceptible to Alicent and Viserys's abuse and neglect.

When Aegon is supposed to be crowned he runs to the one safe place he's ever known, into his sister's arms, now with the additional protection of his uncle. Aemond and Luke have a confrontation, but Luke is willing to surrender whatever it takes to bring his uncle peace and Aemond can't do it. He never wanted blood, but he thought he should, as his entire life was surrounded by numb violence, his studies full of carnage, his family line had blood on their hands and were dead set on tearing one another apart. But as he looks at his nephew he just couldn't, doing it made him feel sick. Luke was still so little compared to him, still so young, yet willing to give it all up right then and there. It really just turns into a screaming match, both of them in tears, screaming at the world for putting them in this hell hole (they hug it out after). At the end of it, all of Rhaenyra's kids and siblings are safe at dragon stone (Heleana and her children included, I didn't know exactly how to tie her in, but she's here don't worry).

the 'war', though that's and over statement at best, a straight out lie at worst, is an attempt to out the 'king' back on his thrown. Rhaenyra won't give up her siblings, her supporters behind her, her husband and children both ready to fight rough and bloody for their family.

I can just imagine Aegon, who's always suppressed how caring he can be, standing in front of his pregnant sister, knowing she will fight and die for him if need be, because he won't let her lose anything else. He won't take anything else from her. He won't let someone else get hurt because he's a coward. Luke behind Aemond, Jace in front of Helaena and her kids. Deamon taking a stand next to Aegon, giving him a nod of approval. And even if this means war, this is one of the first times any of them has belonged to a true family.

how it ends I'm not 100% sure. full circle redemption, bittersweet end, something in-between. it could go in a lot of ways. I just know that I'm mentally ill thinking about it.

Prompt 293

Jason takes a deep breath. He takes a deep breath, in for ten seconds, out for eight, and just takes a minute before looking again. Nope, there’s still the strange quartet of orbs in the box of what should be stolen weapons (What, the government had enough, honestly) that gave his workers the heebie-jeebies. 

Which is not the vibe he gets from them. In fact, he’s actually kind of concerned with how much he has to beat the Pit back with how quickly it lurches to latch onto the… Well they’re not gems, and he’s a little wary about touching them at first, but the Pit does seem to settle when he does.

Alright, he can deal with this. It’s not like he has several heads in a duffel bag that needs to be delivered or a tiny assassin child back in his safehouse (Seriously Talia, why was he the preferred babysitter?) or an entire gang in Crime Alley to deal with. It’ll be fine. 

…

He would like to curse out his past self, because there’s now four babies in his safehouse that appeared to have fucking hatched from the orbs. Goddamnit. 

a little family

Can we appreciate that when Parker hears from Hardison that Tara backstabbed the team- her first instinct was to throw her off the roof?

Like this is Parker. The thief who everyone claims is crazy. The thief that can't process emotions and needs help to play pretend. This thief who hasn't really known what family is like- and her first instinct when the people she cares about is being threatened- she wants to get rid of the threat.

Parker cares. She cares about Eliot. She cares about Nate. She cares about Hardison. Nobody gets to take away her family.

Nobody.

rewatching a “kid’s” film as an adult and realizing that it’s actually Very Good and enjoyable and smart and enthralling regardless of your age is one of my favourite forms of nostalgia. realizing a movie didn’t talk down to you when you were a kid is incredibly comforting, i think.

I hate to break this to you, but mobius is actually a girl dad. You guys are just choosing to avoid the truth

Family Tradition

I don't know where I'm from. My earliest memory is arriving. I was so lucky they found me! They took me in, raised me like one of their own, and when I was ready, they made me their princess.

The parallel between Sokka and Tenzin as their fathers' sons.

Sokka, left at 13 as his father and all the other men head off to war. Hakoda tells him "being a man is knowing where he's needed the most" and he needs to protect his sister, his home.

Tenzin is the second airbender. He is also half water tribe, he's a man. When Aang dies, he will be the last airbender. He understands what he needs to do.

Untold amount of pressure and responsibility have been thrust upon them by their fathers. Though, I believe it is not all intentional, but the unfortunate circumstance of being the fathers of sons who take responsibility incredibly seriously.

In Sokka's case, "protect your sister" is a vague instruction. It was meant to give him purpose, to help him feel okay about being left behind, He is too young for war, his father does not want to bring his child to slaughter. But Sokka will die with purpose. He will train the children of his tribe so they will be protected, he will face a fire nation ship until his last breath. He cannot go to war, but Hakoda did not see that war was all around them. In trying to give Sokka purpose, Hakoda put their world on his shoulders.

We do not get to see Aang be a father (in the TV shows), but we know he had hopes for the future. All his children were air nomads, and the air acolytes brought his culture back, but Tenzin could bend. This part of their culture is one ONLY they share. I do not think Aang would hide this, he is joyous that he gets to share his culture. When he feels respected, he always is, he taught the air acolytes after all. Off handedly, he could say, "I'm hopeful for a future where there are lots more air benders," and that, which feels mostly innocuous to him, is the nail in the coffin of Tenzin's fate. He is Avatar Aang's son, and the future of the air benders. It would not matter that Aang meant a future in generations. Tenzin sees the responsibility and it's his. He is his father's only air bending child, he knows what he needs to do.

Being a parent is not understanding the way the things you say harm your children. Even those things that feel innocuous in the moment can be life altering. Especially the more the child respects the parent. Purpose and Hope for those with a broader perspective, can be death sentences to a life that could have been when expressed to those who idolize the former.

thinkin about all the ways that xenk and edgin parallel/complement each other

like. theyve both suffered terrible loss. edgin's is what drove him away from the harpers and 'doing the right thing'. xenk's is what drove him towards that very thing. edgin found a family despite his loss. every time we see xenk, he is doing his work alone. edgin and his family defeated the same evil that tore xenk from his. xenk brings to justice the man who nearly tore edgin's family apart. they are different sides of the same coin do you see

i feel like. theres designing a character with certain themes and motifs in mind, and then theres making a gijinka for the water bottle on my nightstand

nieyao being trapped in the coffin for the rest of forever (or like 100 years) is infinitely less upsetting to me than lan xichen being trapped alone in his room/life without them for the rest of forever. like nieyao were always going to end up in that coffin together, they were always going to be the end of each other, but lan xichen didn’t have to end up alone like he did and yet

something something jack and davey both thinking they were acts of service love language types because they were both so deeply insecure in themselves that they needed to feel useful to feel loved. and something something both of them finding for the first time with each other that they don't need to provide utility to be loved. and something something this spilling out into the rest of their lives as they make each other better and push each other to grow.

thinking about just how likely it is that Batman was the only person Harley told about having suicidal thoughts whilst in Arkham in Detective Comics #831

"I was seriously considering hanging sheets from the light in my cell and doing the maximum checkout when I heard this voice..."

Detective Comics #831

and how he knew when she strapped that bomb to herself in Batman (2016) #100 that he had to go after her because she was going let herself die in an attempt to end Joker's rampage for good but that she refused to physically do it because he didn't want to her Kill him and he told her that so she's found a middle ground

"We don't need to end it this way. He needs to be locked back up."

that she'd rather die than keep living with his presence in the world haunting her, haunting Them.

That if he did choose Joker, she wasn't going to disarm the bomb herself.

"Honey. You're talking to the wrong girl if you think he's not dangerous locked up in Arkham. It's like I said. That's not good enough for me. Not anymore."

the way he yells for her as she leaves.

"You're only going to get to one of us in time, Bats. Who's it going to be?"

"Harley!"

the way the two men stare at each other in the way they have so many times before, in those moments when Joker stayed or prioritized their fight over her. the way he knew Joker loved the thrill of it all and thought it was funny, thought there was No way Batman would leave him and that this game had to end as according to the rules. And that Batman would do so, he would follow the rules and save him. The way he immediately assumed Batman would choose him, choose his life and choose to stay and disarm the bomb.

And how Batman didn't do that. How Batman walked away from him, leaving him to die or escape or whatever, because He was choosing Harley and her safety and prioritizing her life over him.

The way he stared him in the eyes before choosing the woman Joker had always left to die over him. The way that it was always Him, it was never a question if he would choose Batman over her, but when faced with that type of scenario, Joker is the one that gets left behind to die.

The way she literally woke up in the hospital instead of them having a scene just outside after he removed it. because she didn't intend to live in one of the two options. the way the bomb probably did go off to some capacity because you don't just end up in the hospital knocked out for a week.

Him saying that he's glad she's okay, after everything they've been through, this war and Everything else. and the way he didn't brush off her concern

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Are you?"

"I had to bury my father again today. I did it with my family."

i just, i can't,,,,, i cant

i love how unfatherly crowley and aziraphale both are when it comes down to it. sure aziraphale is more than willing to give the young people in his life help and advice and be their friend but he and crowley spent six years (eleven in the book) practically raising a kid (you just know his parents weren't around that often) and by the end they didn't even like him. crowley even suggested they just fucking kill him. he turned three kids into lizards for annoying him right after he destroyed their house. like it was that or kill them obviously but he did NOT hesitate with the newts. that's so funny to me. they're just inherently disinclined to parenthood. we need more characters like them actually

stoic illiterate unwilling assassin deeply in love with unfailingly kind rich sad gay man almost stabs his crush's brother because the brother cares so much and so genuinely for the gay man that he searched assassin's room out of worry and found knives and a mysterious letter before being interrupted by the assassin who then does not want to show him the letter which seems incredibly suspicious, only for a later scene (after the gay man interrupts them and thus stops any escalation from happening) to quietly reveal that the very sus letter in possession of this illiterate assassin is not in fact a sign he's lying about being illiterate.... it's just two pages of him practicing the gay man's name over and over in neatly spaced lines...... a reveal which he was going to STAB a man over because he doesn't know that the gay man's brother knows the man is gay and loves him with his whole heart and would never ever do anything to hurt him........ i will never get over this, how could i ever get over this, everything else ever is going to be downhill from here