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youboredright · 7 months

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Fate Cannot Be Changed

What happens if the strongest mafia known to be the coldest man alive gets arranged married with a sweet hearted woman? Can the innocent Yn change Gojo Satoru, biggest mafia in Yakuta? Maybe or maybe not..-

Mafia Gojo Satoru X Yn

(Chapter 1)

Guns. Blood. Dead bodies. Begging. Crying. Asking for forgiveness.

Gojo Satoru has seen all of these before it's nothing new.

Love. Family. Home. Comforting. Affection. Peace. Resting.

These were never Gojo Satoru's way of living.

Right now it is midnight and he is seeing the same thing. Dead bodies..Gojo shots the last person ignoring his last begging to spare his life. "Please let me live I have a son." Bang. To a mafia, to Gojo it's nothing and specifically when he is angry. When Gojo Satoru is angry no one can stop him. People doubt if he has the emotion sympathy or not. Gojo Satoru is angry. "Satoru you have to calm down. You cannot just simply kill anyone in front of you just because you are angry." Geto tried to stop Gojo. Geto being Gojo only close friend there are moments when Gojo does listens to him. But right now.."Fuck off, Suguru do you know how it feels to be arranged married to someone. And then you get to know that you are getting married just the day before your own wedding. All this time my parents arranged me in this wedding that I didn't know. What else do I need? I am rich, strong, successful and I did everything my parents asked for. But no, now they had to marry me to this weakling that I don't even know. All women are the same." There was pure pain, angrier and traces of betrayal in Gojo's eyes. All Geto could do is sigh. "But please do calm down and take some rest". Gojo was angry because he was arranged married.

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Wedding Morning

Gojo didn't get a proper sleep that night. But looking at his soon-to-be wife, Yn, he saw, Yn was excited."Why are you happy? Do you even know me?" Gojo thought looking at Yn. Yn on the other side felt sharp stare towards her. Turning she saw Gojo is looking at her, lost in something. He looks confused..? Slowly Yn approached Gojo. "Um- hey you must be Gojo Satoru, right?" Yn tried to start a conversation. "Yeah. And you are..Yn?" Gojo was unexpectedly soft. But to Yn he was rough. "Yeah. It's nice to meet you" Yn smiles. "Whatever. Remember maybe we would be married but don't expect me to treat you like a princess. You do what I ask you to. If I ask you to kill people, you will kill people." Gojo completely changed, he was more cold. Yn flinched. "'Kill' and "dying"were strong words, why would Gojo use it like that. Well is that what I have to expect from my future husband just because he is a the strongest mafia" Yn thought. Yn just nodded and left Gojo alone.

After wedding, Yn's dad hugged her. "Dad are you happy after forcing me to marry a mafia, who likes to kill?" Yn voice cracked. "Oh shut it Yn. You are married already to Gojo. Oh you don't know how damn rich is he..." "Dad why do you only care about money?! Personality also matters. It's my wedding, you could have asked me before making a vital decision. And you made me marry a mafia, the strongest mafia. Who is always dealing with blood hurting others and worst killing people." Yn slightly raises her voice. "Sorry to interrupt, but Yn we have to go because I have business to deal with. So rather than wasting my time, stop being childish." Gojo interrupts without any emotion in his voice. Yn gets hurt 'childish, huh?'. Yn didn't even want to bid the last goodbye to her dad. So she just simply left with Gojo without sparing her dad, one last look.

The drive to Gojo's mansion was quite. "Gojo is it very normal for you to use the word 'kill'..?" "It is easier to kill than to say." Gojo said emotionlessly. Gojo's mansion is hug like literally huge.. "You- do you live here alone..?" Yn asked, as it was hard to believe he own the place all by himself. "Yeah. You coming or do you want to be outside tonight." Gojo said walking past Yn.

"Your room is that one in the left. Don't make noise because I am a sensitive sleeper." Gojo says and leaves Yn in middle of the hallway.

Next morning (Yn's POV)

I don't know how I will live with..gojo. We have nothing in common. Well he likes no, love killing. But I hate when someone is hurted. Why is he being to cold. Cannot he just be a little bit more softer?-. But anyway waking up, first thing I need is a morning coffee. And mom said I gotta be the best wife to be accepted by Gojo. So everyday at 7 I have to wake up make breakfast. That's a hassle. But if it makes relationship between us better I do rather do that. I almost got lost searching for the kitchen. Like how can a person not get lost. After making a coffee I went to the back yard. It's so pretty, the way the grass were cutten . The pool was quite big too. Did Gojo even get time to swim or relax? It felt nice the morning breeze was a bit cold but felt soothing. Going out, the cold breeze pass through me. As I took my second gulp, there was a loud siren sound. And soon three men with guns in their hands came up to me. "Who are you. Hands in air, right now." One of them shouted. I hate loud sound, so as fast I heard them shout I was too scared and I dropped my glass. Raised my hands I was shaking in fear. One of the broken glass piece made a scratch on my leg but I could not care less. If the situation continued just a few seconds more I would start tearing up. Just in time Gojo came and shouted "what is going on here? She is my wife, why are you all pointing gun at her?" Hearing that they putted their gun down quickly. They became quite, maybe embarrassed? I dropped my arms and saw three of them.. Well looking at my nipples that got erected because of the cold wind. Thanks to me for not wearing a bra today. As a covered my chest Gojo seemed to notice it, "All of you go. NOW! And I don't want this kind of accidents ever again." Gojo said. Did he mean the gun accident or them looking at my nipples? But the fact is, did Gojo Satoru, the mafia leader of Yakuta just stand up for me?

As I was cleaning my wound, Gojo came up to me and said "Yn I forgot to mention yesterday. We are the happy loving couple outside but inside we are strangers. Do you understand? And I don't want to hear my wife suddenly got pregnant with another man." That's the second time Gojo said something like this to me. So this is my life from now onwards... I just nodded and hardly whispered a 'yes'. Did he not see the blood coming from my wound. Maybe he is just used to seeing blood. Why did I even expect him to comfort me. What did I expect, The Gojo Satoru might be a kind person deep inside? I am proved wrong for the second time. So this is how .y is going to be, huh?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

To be continued...

#jjk gojo #anime #anime fandom #anime fanfic #gojo satoru #jjk #gojo saturo #gojo x reader #gojou satoru x reader #jjk satoru #mafia au #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu kaisen satoru #saturo gojo x reader #saturo gojo #jujutsu kaisen

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faiseuse-d-histoires · 2 years

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Alright, I've slipped. After a long time without being here, I've watched house of the dragon when I thought I wouldn't. I got caught again. Shame. And anger comes again. It may come as caricatural, but I need to vent.

It just makes GoT even worse! For me, it talks of a system repeating oneself, and patting itself in the back for preventing change and opening of views.

What is worse? Supposed immorality (morality being defined by a misogynist society) or hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness? Because that's what the fight between Rhaenyra and Alicent seems to be. Rhaenyra, who's trying to make her own way to be happy and prepare to rule in that society, and Alicent, who conforms, is embittered by that role she has to play, and can't bear to think anyone can choose to do differently. Rhaenyra who talks of intervening to settle quarrels between clans (the part during the council), and Alicent who says "well, let the liege lord settle it on his own, that's not our problem". Rhaenyra, who tries to compromise, and Alicent, who grits her teeth and seethes.

What would have been better? For Rhaenyra and Laenor to force themselves over and over for the sake of an heir? For Rhaenyra (or Laenor, for that matter) to just "lay back and think of England"? For them to be miserable just like Alicent, so she could feel sympathy for them? That's petty, and as absurd as when some said Sansa deserved to be queen because she suffered so and has always acted like a proper lady.

Alicent is an extremist. That's a fact. For her, it is either black or white, either bad or good. She lives in fear, drowns in it. Rhaenyra did not tell her about Criston? She goes full hate, mistrust and fear, and full green. Rhaenyra has children with a man that is not her husband? She makes sneaky comments, and if she is too prude to say the word "whore", her words mean the same, which is all the more ridiculous.

She can't bear Rhaenyra's life, it's literally nagging her, to the point of demanding to see her children just as soon as they are born.

I think then because it means "her sacrifice" was for nothing. She never said no, never tried. She complied, like what was expected of her. Just as her father wished. But instead of resenting the father who pushed her into the king's bed, the fault is "the other woman" who "does as she wishes and spoils it all." There comes the terrible lack of awareness. And now, she is pushing her own children, praising the fact that they are "true-born", as opposed to Rhaenyra's "bastards".

Yet, what is the most important thing? Birth or quality? We see Aegon and Aemond lie, act arrogantly, not even being solidary with one another. Aemond attacks Baela and Rhaena just because they were angry that he took their mother's dragon, then proceeded when Rhaenerys' sons came to insult them, threaten them with mention of Harwin Strong, and prepare a rock to fulfill that threat. Luke and Jake, though there is less focus, are shown trying to bring comfort, then defending their cousins. They are not perfect, even partaking in a joke with Aegon, and then with Baela and Rhaena beating up Aemond. But at least there is a bit of nuance, feelings.

(Lets be clear. Aemond should never have lost an eye. But he shouldn't have acted as he did as well. )

The children are the mirrors of their mothers, that's part of why they can't get along. It is all amplified for them.

Alicent is a victim, but the true tragedy is that she ends up defending the system that made her a victim. She's literally decorating that system with pretty words like honor, decency and justice, when in fact it is narrow-mindedness, misogyny and revenge (even petty ones). A system where only the men are allowed to choose and aren't blamed if they cheat, rape, or other things.

It just seems terrible to me that people who declare to stan Alicent for "her common sense and decency" praise her and hails her, when it is shown her own way will never make her happy, even if her enemies are gone, and she brings division, not unity. She will always be eating her nails in that way. Seems to me she's more the illustration of why that system is terrible for women, and there is a dire need for change.

#hotd spoilers #house of the dragon #anti alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen

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therealvikingstrash · 1 year

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Spoiler-y Vikings: Valhalla musings/ramble - Godwin and Emma

Under the cut will be some ramble about them, that is just my personal opinion and how it played out to me. Practically word vomit.

When Godwin plead Ælfwynn to tell Emma it was him, he knew she would never do that. In fact, she was determined to tell the truth- which was that she was innocent- not knowing that Godwin already gave her the true answer on a silver platter. To her, the Queen was acting without reason, because Godwin didn't do anything wrong, right? And when she is innocent, nothing bad could happen. The queen just needed to understand.

But Godwin had ensured Ælfwynn looked guilty. He obviously did a background check on Ælfwynn and found out she had an estranged step-brother. With the help of his former guardian Bear, he hired said step-brother to kill Emma. (He never actually wanted to kill her then, Godwin needed her to believe her life was in danger. He'd hinted at her safety previously, to make sure the paranoia would settle in.) Ælfwynn obviously had an emotional reaction to her step-brother being executed- Who wouldn't?- and with the seeds of mistrust planted by Godwin, Emma assumed there was more behind Ælfwynn's reaction. (Just like Godwin wanted her to)

What hurts me to know is that Godwin never loved Ælfwynn. He didn't and couldn't- too busy making sure everything would play out perfectly. She was just a pawn he shifted around the chessboard until he let the Queen take her. Quite literally. His true agenda is revealed really early on when he tells Ælfwynn he wants his son to be king one day. And they both knew Ælwynn would not be able to make her husband's dream come true.

I can only imagine the amount of work Godwin would have to put into pretending to be an upstanding and innocent; loving man who've been wronged in the past. Although, he only had one person as audience, which makes it a lot easier- so it wasn't that impressive in the end. He managed to fool Ælfwynn and knew she would rave about him to Gytha who was already not looking forward to being married off to some stranger. Gytha, her friend and who is a princess (and not just ANY princess, she's part of Canute's family, his niece!). She was the woman he was actually after and who would ensure a deeper bond to the king, but who he would never be able to marry, unless the king and queen suggested such a union out of guilt.

Godwin sure is cunning, but also proved to do anything to get what he wants. Sacrificing a young, doe-eyed woman who truly loved him until the end, without even blinking. And by the Gods, his theatre act of crying for his lost love was chef's kiss. He even used her grave as meet-up point to get closer to Gytha. (Who now viewed him as the poor widower who needs someone who loves him.)

And managed to make Emma feel guilty.

I'm quite positive that Emma hated the most that she did exactly what Godwin planned her to do. And through this whole scheme Emma lost both her loyal ladies/handmaiden/confidante, which surely will weaken her in the future, one way or another. While, yes, it was probably hard for her to have a hand in killing Ælfwynn, it might be even harder to realize it wasn't even her own choice to do so. How dirty and angry she must've felt to know she too was a pawn in Godwin's ploy and take an innocent life...

Then again, Emma always knew Godwin was at fault, but couldn't prove it, until she found Bear. Someone Godwin most likely had killed by another's hand, to make sure Emma would never be able to question him.

What I personally loved was Emma's move to gift the ring Bear had worn to Gytha and to ask her to wear it at all times. (Who is to refuse their queen? 😏) The beauty in tormenting Godwin with a simple piece of jewelry around his new wives neck though! Brilliant. Not only a reminder of what he'd done, but also that Emma knew exactly what he truly did.

Personally, I saw it as a promise that she will destroy him, if given the chance. And I think Godwin realized that as well and finally understood that Emma of Normandy indeed created nightmares. And now he was living in one of them.

#vikings valhalla #vikings: valhalla #vikings: valhalla spoiler #vikings valhalla spoilers #emma of normandy #godwin #if you read this gibberish you earned yourself a gold star ⭐

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theshelbyclan · 3 years

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Welcome to the chaos, little one

Summary: Giving birth is never easy, especially when it’s a Shelby x Solomons baby…

A/N I’m so slow with requests but a while back the lovely @fandom-puffrequested: Omg sorry to be a pain but I’m a sucker for Shelby chaos 😭😭😭 can I request something linked to A Very Shelby Christmas where the labour of baby Solomons is just as chaotic? But it could also be sweet like the bros finally accepting Alfie bc they all care about YN so much and can’t stand to hear her in pain, all while YN is screaming that she’ll cut off more of Alfie’s dick than his rabbi would even dare to if he ever tried to bed her again 😭😭😭 omg the chaos 👉👈 ily 💓💓 Here we go! This is part 2 to the story A Very Shelby Christmas

Words: 1638

***

“Not now, Y/N,” Arthur groaned. Ada rolled her eyes, remembering keenly when her brother had spoken those iconic words before. “It’s not like I can help it, Arthur,” you spit.

Polly grabbed you by your arm as you doubled over again, “Alright, sweetheart, it’s time. Come with me…” “Not yet, Aunt Pol,” you panted, “It’s too early.” “The baby doesn’t have it’s own pocket watch yet,” Ada commented matter-of-factly, as she took your other arm. “Fuck!” you called out again as another contraction set in, “Fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck!” “Nice.” “Oh, piss off John, you want to try this?” “Not really…” “Tommy!” you turned to the one family member who hadn’t said a word yet, “Get him.” “And who would that be, eh?” he replied in a low voice. “Thomas…” Aunt Polly warned softly. He raised his eyebrows, “Finn? You want Finn at the birth?” “WHY WOULD I WANT MY FUCKING BABY BROTHER HERE?!” Tommy waved a vague hand, “General comfort?” Now Aunt Polly’s eyes flashed with anger, “Thomas! Go get her husband, right now!” Tommy sighed deeply, still trying to ignore the fact that his little sister was now Mrs. Solomons, and said, “Come on boys, let’s get them all together and wet this baby’s head! Leave the women to it.” And you groaned, “Thank you…” Once Alfie would be here, everything would be easier.

*** “Solomons!” “No need to shout, mate, I’m right here, ain’t I?”

Slowly Tommy lit a cigarette and started smoking it, “It concerns my sister.” “You mean the glorious creature that made me the luckiest man on earth by marrying me? My wife? Mrs. Alfie Solomons?” A small twinkle appeared in Alfie’s eyes as he saw Tommy’s jaw tense up just a little at his words. “Yes.” “How is the old lady doing?” Alfie asked conversationally. “In pain,” Tommy replied, “She’s in labour, more to the point.” “You fucking what?” “She’s with her aunt Alfie, she’ll be fine.” Alfie blinked a few times, “Tommy I swear to God if you’re playing some fucking game with me I will shoot you between the eyes right here and now. You’re telling me my wife is in labour and you’re standing there casually smoking a cigarette, waiting for some fucking woman to tell you it’s done?” “Yes,” he nodded, “Well, I was about to go the Garrison. Thought we might bury the hatchet and you could join us.” “Have you lost your fucking mind…” Alfie said slowly, while rubbing his chin. Tommy cleared is throat and with a slight hint of uncertainty in his voice said, “It’s tradition.” “Well, if you’ll pardon my French, fuck your fucking heathen traditions, I’m going to my fucking wife and you are fucking coming with me. And bring your fucking family while you’re at it!”

*** “Why are we here?” John leaned in to Arthur slightly while asking the question in a hushed voice. “Alfie insisted.” “Why?” Arthur raised his voice, “Ask Tommy, alright? I don’t bloody know! I’m guessing it’s another Jewish thing…” On the other side of the door, you were most definitely in labour now. The pain was worse than anything you’d experienced before and you were seriously questioning your sanity at this point. “Aunt Pol?” Ada asked carefully after about an hour. Polly moved over from your side down to your legs and said, “What is it?” “Something’s wrong.” “THOMAS!” Polly bellowed as soon as she had taken a look, “Get me some more towels.”

“What’s happening?” A panicked Alfie asked from the hallway. But Polly pushed him aside and started ordering Finn to boil more water. “Woman!” he demanded, “You fucking tell me.” “She’s bleeding,” she answered quickly, “and I can’t see why.” “What can we do, Pol,” Arthur asked, wild-eyed. “Get a doctor. One we can trust.” Arthur dragged John with him, even before Polly had finished her sentence. “What about Sabini’s men?” John asked, “We were supposed to deal with them tonight. What if they come here?” “Shoot them,” Tommy said simply, as he lit another cigarette in a nervous manner. Inside the room, you were now screaming your head off. Of course you had realised giving birth would be painful, but not like this. The sight of Ada going slightly pale didn’t help either and panic had started mixing in with the general anxiety of the process, so your screams got louder and louder. “Pol…” Ada called out again, “What do I do?” In that moment, Alfie pushed passed her and fell down by your side, “I’m here,” he said softly. “I can see that,” you panted between shouts, “but why? You’re not supposed to be here.” “Out,” Aunt Polly said strictly, “This is no place for men.” And then Tommy walked in as well, averting his eyes and grabbing your hand at the same time. “What?” he said when Polly send him a death-glare, “If Alfie gets to stay, so can I!” “Fucking children…” “Alright, sweetheart,” Polly focused on you again, “This baby needs to come now.” Your eyes grew wide, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Alfie replied for her, “You’ll be fine. You’re doing brilliant, babes.” “How the fuck would you know!” you shouted out. He shrugged, “Educated guess?” “Had a lot of experience with this, eh?” Tommy grumbled sarcastically. “This,” Ada pointed at the both of them, “This is why men shouldn’t be in here.” “I’m not fucking going anywhere, especially if my wife is in danger.” Tommy just shook his head in reply. “Danger?” you asked suddenly, “What does he mean in danger?” “No danger, love,” Ada soothed you, “if you just push.” And so you pushed, with every bit of strength you had in you. But then a gunshot sounded outside, followed rapidly by another two. Everyone looked up. “John,” Tommy clarified with a single word. “You’re being awfully cavalier about baby brother John getting shot there, Tommy…” Alfie commented. Tommy looked at Alfie with a frown that spoke volumes, “John just shot Sabini’s men. I told him to.” “Oh, good. Saves me the bloody trip.” “I can see some hair!” Ada called out suddenly. “What colour?” Alfie replied at once. And John stuck his head around the corner of the door, “Took care of them.” “We heard,” Aunt Polly grumbled. He hopped from one foot onto the other uncertainly, “Anything else I can do?” “Yeah, you can fuck off mate!” “Alright, I’ll stay, since you asked so nicely.” “John, just get the fuck out!” your sister shouted. The birth was chaos enough as it was and now all these boys were only adding to it instead of helping. And on top of it all, Finn stumbled in practically falling over his own feet with a bucket of water, splashing Aunt Polly in the process. This was more like a madhouse than a family occasion. But John pointed at Alfie indignantly, “He gets to stay!” “Push, Y/N,” Polly urged again, and so you did. “Nice one,” John laughed at Finn, “you literally had one job, mate.” “Mrs. Gray?” Alfie asked carefully, “Sorry to interrupt you there, alright, but I just wanted to quickly check, because you mentioned the hair, yeah? What colour? Because I’m sure I’ll love my son all the same if he’s blond, but I might just need to mentally prepare myself…” And then you finally burst out in anger, “Can you all just shut the fuck up for a second! I’m actually trying to have a fucking baby here!!” “Right, sorry about that love,” Alfie moved closer to you and grabbed your hand again, “Please continue. You’re doing brilliantly, even if he is blond…” Tommy chuckled lightly in the background, which made you even more angry somehow, “Alfie, I swear to God or Adonai or whatever you want to call him, do nottouch me again because remember how you said you couldn’t remember your circumcision?”

“Yes,” Alfie mumbled in mortal fear.

“You will remember when I do it. Remember how you told me of your rabbi doing it when boys are eight days old, because then it heals faster?”

“Yes...” he gulped.

“I’ll make it slow sweetheart. Really fucking slow.”

“Right,” he said with big eyes, “What exactly would you have me do then except for just standing here like some great big bloody useless piece of shit?”

“Shut up!”

“Noted.” *** You weren’t sure what had happened exactly in that last hour. Apparently you’d lost a lot of blood and things had gotten hazy very quickly. Ada and Aunt Polly had stopped talking altogether and they had managed to save you, despite the bickering men in the background. You did remember that Alfie and Arthur had gotten into a fight at one point, but apparently they managed to resolve it quickly when the doctor arrived and they took turns in beating him up because he was no longer needed. Anger really does bring people together.

Of course, none of that really mattered now, because you were now holding a perfect baby right there, in your arms. Finn just stared at the baby, completely in awe. “Not blond…” John sounded a little disappointed. Arthur grinned, “But bloody perfect.” “Gorgeous, just like the mother,” Polly hugged you carefully. “Shelby good looks.” Tommy nodded slowly, with a sense of pride in his voice. “Any names yet?” Ada asked, “I bet you’ve picked them out ages ago, haven’t you?” “I have,” you smiled, “but couldn’t say them out loud yet, so we didn’t really discuss it. It’s bad luck.”

Uncharacteristically, Alfie hadn’t said a word yet.

“Mr. Solomons?” you said, gazing up from your one love to the other, “I believe you have a daughter.” And finally he smiled, deeply and incredibly in love as he held her tight with both hands. And in the most tender way possible he looked at you, grinned and said, “Fucking hell!”

***

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gunterfan1992 · 3 years

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Episode Review: ‘Together Again’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 3)

Airdate: May 20, 2021

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, Christina Catucci, Jesse Moynihan, Adam Muto

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Maya Petersen, Serena Wu

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Across Adventure Time’s ten season run, the show explored a bevy of “mature” themes and story ideas—topics, like love, sexuality, depression, and grieving. The show also touched upon death, but the emphasis was usually placed on the emotional toll of a loved one dying, not really what happens when you die. We knew there were Dead Worlds and Death. We knew that there was reincarnation. But how does it all fit together? What does it mean? How does it work?

With “Together Again,” we finally have many of the answers.

This special opens with a marvelous fake-out episode simply called “Finn & Jake,” that sees the two steal a magical cartoon of 50-flavor ice cream before rescuing Turtle Princess and LSP from the clutches of the villainous Ice King. This is all deliberately anachronistic and over the top. Ice King is back to his season one ways, Finn has both arms, and he is still wielding his golden sword that he lost in season two’s “The Real You.” There’s lolrandom dialogue and silly monsters; it’s like a parody of seasons 1-2. But then, this adventure starts to get all wonky, and in time Finn realizes that he is in a some sort of trance or illusion: one that ends with Jake being buried in the ground. Suddenly, Finn awakens from his reverie. He’s an old man. And he’s dead. We’re then presented with a new title card that lets us know the episode is actually called “Finn & Jake Are Dead.”

Holy Glob! They actually went there.

Turns out Jake died years before Finn, so naturally Finn is super excited to see his best bud. But something’s wrong—he cannot find Jake!! They planned to spend eternity together. But all that Finn can find is his very own psychopomp, Mr. Fox (voiced by Tom Herpich, whose purposefully stilted line readings are the epitome of delightful). Finn rightfully assumes that Jake is in a different Dead World, and so, being the ball of spunk and energy that he is, he demands to meet with Death, only to discover that there’s a New Death in town (voiced by Chris Fleming). The episode eventually explains that New Death was the son of Death and Life, and after New Death killed his father, he became the sovereign of the afterlife. New Death hates his job and decides to just blow up all the Dead Worlds so he doesn’t have to deal with it all. (I won’t get too much into the details here, because there would be a lot of story to parse out.)

Finn soon learns that Jake has reached nirvana in the 50th Dead World, where there is nothing but peace and serenity. Finn nevertheless tracks down Jake, pulls him from paradise, but in doing so, accidentally lets New Death in, who promptly obliterates Elysium, sending all the enlightened souls—including those from different levels of the afterlife—to the 1st Dead World. This gronks up the afterlife, temporarily halting the reincarnation process.

Well, Finn and Jake are rightfully ticked, and so they haunt the material plane looking for Princess Bubblegum. She’s not home (more on that later), but Peppermint Butler is! After Ghost Finn and Ghost Jake explain the situation, Peppermint Butler tells them what to do: They need to find Life and explain the situation. The duo manage just that, and Life is rightfully angry that her kid has stopped the transmigration of souls. After Life gives Finn a McGuffin sword that can hurt Death, Finn and Jake return to his abode. A brawl ensues wherein we learn that New Death has been possessed… by none other than that spirit of the Lich.

That’s right, it’s the Lich! He’s back, and boy is he evil.

The Lich explains that by possessing Death, he can destroy the afterlife, thereby destroying a key aspect of reality. Naturally, Finn and Jake are not cool with this, and they engage in combat. After Mr. Fox grabs the McGuffin sword and uses it to annihilate the Lich and New Death, he is proclaimed the New New Death and sets everything right. Finn is slated to be reincarnated, and Jake is slated to return to the 50th Dead World where he and Finn will one day be reunited. As Finn is pulled into the wheel of souls, Jake suddenly decides to go back with Finn, too, “Just for fun.” The episode ends with a card letting us know that the episode is neither called “Finn & Jake” nor “Finn & Jake Are Dead.” Instead, it is “Finn and Jake Are Together Again.”

As they say, “And there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

If you were to tell me several years ago that the last episode to star Finn and Jake would revolve around them dying, I think I would’ve been upset. Not simply sad, but rather frustrated because “they all died” can feel like a cheap ending. But with “Together Again,” it all works. And a large reason that it works is because the show goes all in with their ideas. Finn and Jake don’t magically leap back into their old life (no, no, they very much do bite the dust). Instead, the special emphasizes the cyclical nature of life through the transmigration of souls. The episode ends with a beautiful scene of Finn and Jake, bound together as soul-brothers, being reborn into a new, mysterious (possibly Ooo 1000+?) world. It’s both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing; it doesn’t feel off the way over finales might. This is right. This is the way life works. “Round and round as nature goes,” and all that jazz.

I loved the series explanation of how death works. It seems that souls land in a specific Dead World, where they ‘marinate’ for a bit, presumably being rewarded or punished based on their life in our meat reality. After a time, they are then reborn. This process repeats, with each soul reaching higher and higher levels of enlightenment until they hit nirvana, which is the 50th Dead World. So in a sense, Adventure Time has a roughly Buddhist cosmology with a dash of Greco-Roman mythos thrown in for flavor. (As to what happens after a soul stays in the 50th Dead World for a long period is anyone’s guess, but I’d speculate that when all the souls in the multiverse have been purified and land in the 50th Dead World, they will all collapse into one another and form one perfect Monad. Perhaps this is the sphere of perfection that the beings who merged into Matthew thought they were connecting to? Who knows! It’s anyone’s guess!) I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see who Death, Prismo, Life, etc.’s boss was, but perhaps that’s a mystery better left up to the imagination!

One minor thing that I loved about this special was the number of characters who made cameos as well as all the callbacks that were made to previous episodes. Regarding the former: Finn and Jake’s canine family show up (including the oft-forgotten Jermaine!), as do Tree Trunks and her myriad husbands. Tiffany plays a major role in all these shenanigans as a “death cop” of all things. There is a delightful rogues gallery stuck in the 1st Dead World (including, among others, Maja, Sharon from “The Gut Grinder,” and Wyatt). In the 50th we find Ghost Princess and Clarence happily at peace next to Booshy, the weird spirit mentioned in the Pen Ward classic “High Strangeness.” As far as callbacks go, perhaps my favorite is the clap (from “James Baxter the Horse”) that Jake taught to Finn in case they ever do get separated in the afterlife. And of course, there are myriad references made to “Death in Bloom,” the episode that planted the seed for what this would grow into.

Going into the special suspecting that it would involve Death, I was curious how they were going to handle Miguel Ferrer’s character. (In case a reader is not aware, Ferrer played Death in episodes like “Death in Bloom” and “Betty,” but he sadly passed away a few years ago). The producers’ choice to feature him in a non-speaking cameo—despite playing a relatively significant role in the story—was wise; I’m not sure if I can articulate the exact reasons, but something about his role felt appropriate and not gross, as some post-mortem memorials can be. Speaking of which, the wonderful, lovely Polly Lou Livingston was featured for the last time in this episode as Tree Trunks, happily in heaven with her literal harem of husbands. It was funny, it really was, and I’m sure that Polly Lou would’ve gotten a kick out of seeing it on screen. (Also, this is a pro-Tree Trunks safe space. Any Tree Trunks haters will be chucked into the 1st Dead World with Wyatt.)

The biggest mystery in this whole thing, for me at least, is the question of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Several years ago, I wrote an essay about what could’ve happened to them in the Ooo 1000+ universe. I speculated that they peaced out and left Ooo behind. In this special, neither Bubblegum nor Marceline are to be found in the Candy Kingdom—Peppermint Butler seems to be the one in charge, given that he is now wearing Bubblegum’s crown. Likewise, the duo aren’t anywhere in the Dead Worlds either. Maybe the two of them skipped town and got a duplex in the Nightosphere? Who knows… I just want my favorite gals to be OK!

All things considered, “Together Again” was a marvel: An episode that managed to feel like a series finale even more than “Come Along with Me” already did without taking away from the series itself. An episode that managed to make the idea of dying funny. An episode that brought back the Lich in a way that wasn’t forced. An episode that made Mr. Fox the New New Death. An episode that gave us a beautiful ending to Finn and Jake’s story… as well as the beautiful beginning to a new one. I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it again here: “Together Again” was the end of a sentence in a book with infinite pages. Truly, the fun will never end.

Mushroom War evidence: Everything takes place in the Dead Worlds, so not really. Perhaps a more eagle-eyed viewer can inform us...

Final Grade: That’s right, I’m gonna do it...

Post-script, I actually messaged Jesse Moynihan to ask about his writing credit. He told me that it was for an unused story idea that he had developed. I’m not certain, but I’ll bet it was a part of the cancelled TV movie they were trying to make during season 5, since that would’ve seen Finn and Orgalorg journey to the various Dead Worlds.

#adventure time #adventuretime #atimers #at #atdl #distant lands #adventure time distant lands #finn the human #jake the dog #together again #togetheragain #dead worlds #hanna k. nyström #Hanna K #adam muto #jack pendarvis

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lubdubsworld · 3 years

Text

Better Man.

~~~~We might still be in love, if you were a better man. ~~~~

Taehyung x OC

Rating 18 +

Angst.

Implied Infidelity in the past.

Chapter 1 ~ Walk out the first time.

"Are you okay?" My mother's soft voice came from behind me and i panicked, hurriedly swiping at the tears that were streaking down my face. Heart pounding, I grabbed a bunch of tissues from the dresser, patting my face down hurriedly , making sure to keep my back to her.

"I'm fine, Mom." I said , voice surprisingly steady as I turned around to smile weakly at her. She stood near the doorway, a petite woman of fifty with greying hair and too many wrinkles.

I thought she looked older than she was and i knew I had a part to play in that. Sighing, I tried not to cry more, moving to gently take my son out of her arms.

He was four years old, fast asleep and smiling sweetly in his slumber. He had downy black hair, feather soft and warm brown eyes. He looked incredibly like his father, the resemblance stunning even though he was so young. I stared at him some more, laying him down on the bed and brushing the hair off his face.

"Are you sure there is no mistake? Taehyung ssi wouldn't hurt us like this..." My mother said, sounding broken and I felt a pang of sympathy. But also annoyance.

Us.

Us....like she had an equal share in the hurt I was feeling.

I was the one getting a divorce but my mother made it sound like it was personal to her as well. Like somehow, the fact that she now had to meet her friends and tell them that her daughter was divorced could compare to the pain I was feeling. To the sheer anguish that was filling me.

To be fair though, my mother had loved Taehyung very much. Her favorite son-in-law . My sister's husband had been a mean drunkard who had brought a lot of misery to our family. Taehyung by contrast had been a loving, filial son in law. He had cared deeply for my parents, paid for my father's funeral ( even though the man itself was nothing more than a drunk , cheating fool who had abandoned us ) and he had been the most kind man .

I swallowed.

Maybe , you should have forgiven him. Maybe , you shouldn't have divorced him . So, he slept with another woman. Fine. It was one night... just one night. you should have gotten over it! Was it worth it to spend all these countless nights alone? To break your mother's heart a thousand times over?

The funny thing was, i had forgiven him. Maybe right after I had found out. He had stood there, looking shell-shocked and horrified and his eyes had begged me for forgiveness and my heart had cracked , the way it always did whenever I saw him in distress. And when he had looked me in the eye and said, " I’m sorry, Jang mi..." I had forgiven him right then and there.

But it was the forgetting that was hard. The fear that it would happen again. The fear that somehow, I was the reason he strayed. And that kind of fear can be debilitating. For the first three weeks, I'd tried to pretend it hadn't happened. I had tried hard to see him the way I had always seen him but it had been impossible. everytime I saw him, my heart had broken anew. It had been hard but I had to accept that things would never be the same. That I would forever look at him and remember what he’d done. That I would forever wonder if he would do it again.

So we had done the wise thing.

At first a break.

A few days apart to get our head on straight. Then I’d found a job and I had to move closer to the office to make the commute easy. And then suddenly, I wasn’t seeing him even during the weekends , to spend time as family for our son’s sake. And just like that , a whole year had passed and we were separated. Only meeting to hand Hoshi over to each other.

"I'm sorry mother." I said softly. I knew that she blamed me, a whole lot for the separation.

People with children didn't leave each other over infidelity in my country. You hit your husband, denied him from your bed maybe but you didn't break up a family over one night of bad decisions. You just didn't .

But for me, it was beyond the act. It was the broken trust, the shock of knowing that some other woman had given him something I couldn't, the fact that he had even wanted it from another woman had been enough for me to crumble on the inside.

But, none of it mattered now.

He wanted a divorce. Officially. Wanted to end it for real.

It was jarring, how badly it shook me. I felt unaccountably lost and confused and disoriented. I couldn't imagine not being Taehyung’s wife , i realized with a stunning sense of self realization.

Call me irrational, but apparently, I couldn't stop thinking of him as my husband , even after two years. Soon he wouldn't be my husband.

He would be my ex -husband.

i hated that word.

It had such a plethora of negative connotations to it. When you hear it , you just brace yourself for unpleasantness.

Because it is unpleasant. A marriage ending, a family breaking, feelings hurt , hearts shattered, angry words tossed...its all a very unpleasant experience for everyone involved.

An ex husband was seldom a harbinger of happiness, more often a reminder of choices gone wrong, regrets and wasted time. and I didn’t want to associate Taehyung with a word like that.

Taehyung who was still the kindest, warmest human being I knew. The best father in the world.

I felt like someone had sucked all the strength out of me.

I didn’t really want to think about the call I’d gotten from Taehyung last night. An appointment with a divorce lawyer. It had been followed by an apology because apparently, someone in the law firm had let the info leak. And now it was all over the sleazy tabloids that fed on people’s misery.

It was impossible to escape it too, Taehyung was famous. An idol. And actor. The country's sweetheart. And he was the epitome of perfection. The beautiful, talented actor with an impeccable record of well behavior.

I knew that literally everyone on the planet thought he was a literal angel.

I remembered how much , by contrast, I had been hated when I'd married him.

I could just imagine how much more it would all be this time around. And i wondered if it bothered Taehyung too. Did he perhaps wish he’d never met me

It had been sheer luck that we had met....

In fact, if Jimin's car hadn't broken down right outside our home on that cold December night, I wouldn't have even met Taehyung. A great cosmic shift, somewhere some butterfly flapped its wing a certain way and suddenly, Jimin’s car ran over a thumbtack and his phone was dead so while he tried to fix the damage , Taehyung just had to knock on our home and I had been the one to open it.

Boom. That was it. Love at first sight.

I had been a high school kid and he had been barely nineteen. Fresh faced and cheerful , the struggling idol from a small company. He hadn't been surrounded by fans or chased by saesangs. He hadn't had security tailing him. No daesangs, BBMAs, or acting awards. No blockbuster movies to his credit , no chart-bursting songs either .

And I had fallen in love with that version of him.

The hardworking, talented young man who worked twice as hard as anyone around him.

That's right. You've loved him for fifteen years. So it's understandable that you're upset. Now, maybe you can move on too. Go on a few of those blind dates that Jiyoung is always setting you up on. Go live your life instead of being a zombie. Get a hair cut. Dye your hair red. Do something to get your life in order.

"I still find it hard to believe that he would want a divorce. Jangmi yah... did you tell him you forgave him? Tell him you wanted to try again..." My mother said again and the distress in her voice was equal parts heartbreaking and exasperating.

"Mother, I don't want to try again . We aren't married anymore. It's over, whatever it was between us. "

Whatever it was.

How cruel, to have all that love, all that affection reduced to a phrase like that.

What a pity.

"But what about Hoshi? He needs his father..." My mother cried out and I willed myself not to snap. She means well, I thought miserably.

"He has a father. Taehyung is an excellent father and you know that. Don’t start that again.”

My mother sighed.

"I still feel that this wouldn’t happen if you tried a little bit. He’s a good boy. Such a good boy and you could never do anyone better. Why are you so full of pride, Jangmi... so prideful...you should be a little humble. Think of the kind of man he is...where would you find a man like that ? And moreover .... Taehyung loves you. i know he does." My mother said stubbornly.

I sighed, feeling my fingers shake from the effort not to scream. I wasn’t strong enough to have this conversation with her. Not now. Possibly never. Taehyung did love me. Had never made any effort to hide it. But sometimes, love wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t.

And I wanted to yell at my mother she was at least partially to blame for me walking out on Taehyung.

My father had left us for another woman , when I was twelve. I had seen the toll it had taken on my mother and I just knew that I would never let a man do that to me. My mother had later confided in me that it wasn’t the first time. He had done it before. A lot of times. And my mother had always forgiven him. Let him back into our lives.

And one night, drunk on soju she had confided between hiccups, ‘ I wish I’d walked out the first time.”

And that had stuck with me.

Walk out the first time.

If he cheats on you , walk out the first time. Don’t stick around waiting for him to do it to you again. Walk out the first time.

And so I had.

“ Should I talk to him? Tell him you’ve changed your mind? “ My mother began and I felt my patience snap.

“No!! Could you just, for the love of God, stay out of this, ma? It’s over. Our marriage is over and it has been over for a long time. A piece of paper doesn’t really change that, does it? Its not my fault you can’t get over it but that’s a you problem. And you need to fix it yourself. “ I shouted.

My mother immediately recoiled, eyes shuttering down.

“Of course. You know the best. Who cares how anyone else feels, right, Jang Mi? You always know best.” She said softly, and I exhaled, shaken. There it was. The guilt trip. It was never ending.

Please... I just need to go now.” I moved to grab my bag, :” I need to go get ready for the meeting with the lawyers tomorrow. You can keep Hoshi with you tonight. I’ll come pick him up after I’m done and then I’ll drop him off at his father’s place.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Taehyung and I, our break up hadn’t been terrible.

It hadn’t been terrible because our own penchant for being terrible had always been very minimal. We didn’t do swearing or fights or threats and it always annoyed our friends that we got along so well. That it was so easy for us to forgive and move on with each other . That we were the one couple who didn’t hold grudges or bring up past mistakes.

Which is why, when we did break up, none of our friends had tried to change our minds over it. They had accepted it rather calmly, shocked at first because it was so out of the blue but not opposed to the idea itself . They just trusted us to know the right thing to do because we were easily the most mature , the most level headed couple in the entire group. We were usually the sounding boards , the voice of reason in whatever petty conflict our friends were involved in .

So when it was us, needling a little advice, a little guidance, our friends had been woefully ill equipped to help. They had merely hummed and nodded and empathized. Maybe that was another reason I’d left. I hadn’t considered the alternative. No one had asked me to consider the alternative.

Our friends had watched us drift apart watched us break up, but they hadn’t really asked us why.

Because if something had caused Kim Taehyung and Jang Mi to break up, man, that must’ve been a really huge issue.

So the break up had been amicable. Gradual and slow but mostly amicable, eased by our mutual love for our son. We wanted him happy and he was happy when we were happy. So we put on a front, laughed and joked in front of him and let him have some semblance of normalcy in his life.

It wasn’t easy.

From him, it had been nothing but a mess of heated glances, touches laced with intent and eyes begging forgiveness . every gaze of his was a silent scream for a second chance that I was not at all ready to give.

Because for me, the raw hurt and anger and frustration that bubbled up every time I saw him , it had nowhere to go. It stayed churning in my gut, made everything bitter and unpalatable and I wanted to hurt him for hurting me. How could I think of a second chance when the hurt from the first, was still so fresh, an open wound festering.

Self esteem in tatters, I had hated him fiercely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The meeting was at his company, and I arrived at nine in the morning, with a few more minutes to spare. I knew the place like the back of my hand, was here at least once a week either to pick or drop Hoshi off and I knew that the conference room in the third floor was sound proof and cut off from the rest of the building for extra privacy.

Which was a little too late because I’d found two tabloid newspapers waiting outside my apartment this morning.

I opened the door carefully, surprised to see Taehyung sitting in one of the chairs, bent over a sheaf of paper on the table and next to him a leggy girl in a small skirt hovered, fingers resting lightly on his shoulder, bent at the optimum angle to show him her curves.

I sighed, looking away.

It was way too early for this.

“Mia!” Taehyung’s voice made me look up, and I watched as he stood up, pushing the chair away and moving to me . He was easily the most good looking man in the country. And he looked so good at thirty five that it was impossible to look away from him.

He was dressed in a pale blue shirt and black slacks and it never amazed me, how good clothes fit him.

I took in the broad shoulders, thick arms and the lean waist, the carefully styled hair and the breathtakingly beautiful face and sighed when he kept coming closer, hands held out. .

Of course, the customary hug.

i let him wrap his arms around me, my face buried in the comforting warmth of his body, the scent of his cologne filling my brain . He always smelled so good it made my heart hurt. I tried not to let myself get carried away. Tried to remind myself that this wasn’t anything more than a.....

A facade ? Or was it? Was his affection genuine?

Was I just too cynical?

I shook my head, pulling away and smiling a little at the genuine venom in the leggy girl’s face.

“Are you okay? Where’s Hoshi?” Taehyung brushed the hair off my face, eyes warm and I wondered if he’d forgotten we were here to get a divorce.

Whenever we met, Taehyung acted like we were still together.

No, that wasn’t it.

He just didn’t act like we had broken up. He was affectionate and open and cooperative. It always left me in a sort of limbo, unable to navigate our relationship with clear boundaries. There were no line to stop myself from crossing, because he just didn’t draw them.

“ Ms. Lee says we just have to go over the details like the alimony and the custody and the division of assets and then we can just proceed. Get it all finalized. “ He said casually, when I moved away and sat on the chair opposite him.

“Okay .” I said casually.

He smiled and turned back to the girl next to him.

“I’ll join you after the meeting Lisa.” he gave her a nice wide smile and the girl practically bloomed under the attention before bowing curtly in my direction. I watched her walk away, slightly amused.

“Bit younger than your usual type.” I commented , glancing at him. He gave me a look.

“I’m not dating her.” He shrugged.

“Does she know that?” I retorted.

It was dumb. Uncalled for. I was being a bitch, really but the urge to evoke some kind of reaction from Taehyung was something I’d never really out grown. I liked getting under his skin.

Taehyung sighed and gave me a little smirk.

“Are you jealous, Mia mine?” He teased.

It felt a little like someone had dug a nine inch dagger straight into my heart.

That stupid nickname.

God I couldn’t bear it.

Swallowing i looked away.

“Sorry. “ he said quietly, a few seconds later.

I nodded curtly.

“Don’t do it again.” I said hoarsely.

“Why not?” He whispered gently.

I groaned.

“Taehyung... “

“it’s just a name...why does it bother you so much?” He whispered.

“The same reason you’re asking me for a divorce.” I said softly.

He blinked.

“Mia...”

“Because we both know its time to stop.” I said quietly. “ Stop dancing around each other , stop doing...whatever it is we’ve been doing these past two years and give our relationship a name. “

“I’m not very fond of labels.” He shrugged. I glared at him.

“Well tough luck. Labels are good. Labels are great. They let you draw boundaries. “ I retorted.

“You sound like you’ve had enough of me.”

“Well, haven’t you had enough of me?” I snapped.

“Not even close.” He leaned forward gently, eyes pinning me to the table with a gaze so strong he may as well have used his body. And it didn’t help that two years wasn’t enough time to forget how it would feel if he had used his body. How it would feel to be stretched out on that table, him on top of me, hands working my clothes open, lips kissing their way down my jaw.

I could almost taste him, taste the minty freshness of his breath, feel his tongue in my mouth, the hardness of him inside me. My thighs clenched because I hadn’t gotten laid in two fucking years and even if i did, no one would ever compare to the man in front of me.

“Mr. Kim? Mrs. Kim? “

The lawyer’s voice broke the spell and i straightened, swallowing. Ms. Lee had walked in , and I watched her close the conference door behind her before locking it gently.

She was young, dressed in a business suit , a no nonsense bun and had small round framed glasses. She gave me a nice smile, shook hands with us both and placed her briefcase on the table before glancing between us.

“Shall we begin?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : its gonna be a bumpy ride.

#taehyung angst #taehyung smut #taehyung fics #bts fics #taehyung fanfic #bts smut #bts fic #bts fanfic

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ghosttrolls · 3 years

Text

My Ghost, My Son

After taking literally forever to write this, it’s done!! A few people have asked me to tag them when I finished it so here @horrendoushag @narwhalsarefalling @amabsis @imdeadtiredtm

This is posted to AO3 and FFN! I’ll post the first part here under a readmore but please follow the links to read the full thing! Thank you

One

Maddie thought he looked so familiar.

She hunted ghosts for a living, her inventions paying for her work - her and her husband Jack’s work - and she made a point of keeping her town safe. Jack was never the best at it, but that was okay. For you to love someone, they don’t have to be good at anything except loving you back. Loving meant working together, to her. And so they worked together. They were the Fentons, after all.

There’d been this ghost that they’d been hunting - Jack called him the “Ghost Kid” - just a young boy, with white hair and a black jumpsuit. When he got angry, his eyes flashed green, and you knew you were in for trouble. He’d caused so much damage and distress over fights he’d pick with other, always larger ghosts. Maddie and Jack had both assessed it as just petty ghost squabbles. The kid was very argumentative. Jack wanted to study the ghost, take it apart. Maddie wasn’t sure exactly why. She meant to ask, but didn’t want to know.

The thing about ghosts is that no matter how much time passes, they don’t age the same way that humans do. Most of the ghosts they’d come across that appeared to be children had crossed over decades ago, sometimes longer. And they were stronger for it. Any ghost was a threat. Too many times, they’d let their guard down around a child ghost, and came away sorry.

But in this moment, Maddie questioned their assessment of the Ghost Boy for the first time. Maddie had responded to a ghost fight - the ecto-signatures were off the charts, the little screens beeping nonstop. A ghost that called himself Plasmius had started a battle with the Ghost Boy, or maybe it was the other way around. They were yelling at each other in front of the Nasty Burger restaurant, throwing punches and mostly just arguing, with more than a little showing off. Maddie got out of the car, watching the battle, waiting for a moment to act. It seemed like a fistfight now, but at any moment it could escalate... And just like that, almost on cue, Plasmius shot an ecto-blast at the Ghost Boy - and missed. The shot continued on, hitting the Fenton family car, and bouncing off, heading right towards Maddie.

In a split second, Maddie heard the Ghost Boy yell “NO!!” and suddenly, there he was, in front of her. She watched the blast head towards him. She watched him throw his hands into the air, trying to cover as much as possible. His head was twisted towards her to make sure she was alright as he fell, and a realization struck her. His face up close was so familiar...

The Ghost Boy hit the ground, groaning. “Plasmius, you idiot!” shouted the kid, voice strained by pain and anger. He was curled up - it was safe to bet he was hit somewhere in the stomach. Shocked, Maddie stood there, unsure of what to do. If this were a normal human kid, she’d know how to act - she was properly certified in the appropriate emergency procedures. But she’d never thought to help an injured ghost before.

She looked up to the sky, to see what the ghost Plasmius was doing. But she couldn’t see him anywhere. “What a jerk,” she mumbled. Shooting and running.

“Coward, more like it,” groaned the Ghost Boy. He coughed. “Hope you’re okay.” She nodded, searching for words. Before she could say anything, he said, “Bye,” and with that, he phased into the ground, disappearing.

Maddie stood there, wondering how to process this. It all happened so fast. She got in the car, ready to head back to the house. Jack was still at home. They’d already started making dinner and it couldn’t go unsupervised, so he’d stayed behind. She wondered if she should even tell him what happened.

Maddie walked through her front door, opening directly into the living room. Against the far wall was the couch, which her son Danny was lying on, holding his stomach. He was facing the wall, back to Maddie. In the kitchen, she heard Jack and their daughter Jazz laughing about something.

Maddie went and knelt next to the couch, trying to examine Danny. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Got hit in the stomach,” he said, strained.

“You got into another fight at school? How many times-”

“I wasn’t fighting any kids!” interrupted Danny, rolling over to face Maddie. His face was full of anger, with a sharp glint in his eyes. They reminded Maddie of someone…

Danny sighed. “It was a stupid move, but I jumped in front of someone else that was going to get hurt.” Maddie was surprised - her son was angry, everyone knew that, and he got into fights often. But she’d never heard of him breaking one up before. “I couldn’t stand to see… someone else get hurt,” he said. He rolled back over.

“Well… I suppose that’s okay, then.” She leaned forward and kissed the back of his head. “Don’t tell your father.” She got up to get him an ice pack.

After dinner she and Jack were cleaning up, alone in the kitchen. Lost in thought, she scrubbed a plate in the sink, for a little too long. “He reminds me of Danny…” she said, quietly. The anger, the short fuse - but actions that show a good heart, deep inside. She looked up at Jack, who hadn't heard her.

Maddie thought of the ice pack she’d given her son. She thought about the ghost who'd helped her that night, and how he would most likely be alone in recovering. Why would he risk himself like that for her? After all, she'd spent months already hunting the ghost. Why would he protect her after fighting for so long? She wondered if he was playing some kind of game.

She realized the risk must have been huge, for him. She'd only ever seen him alone, fighting someone or some ghost. Never with anyone else.

“Do you think he has parents?” she asked. Jack looked up from packaging leftovers. “The ghost boy, I mean.”

Jack spoke without thinking, screwing a lid onto some Tupperware. “No, he's a ghost, of course not.” But as Maddie continued to scrub, he pondered the question a little longer. Maddie wondered what he was thinking - of course his initial reaction was no, he'd been hunting this ghost alongside her. But after a moment of pause… “I guess I’ve never really thought about a question like that before,” he said. “Maybe… but he's a ghost that wrecks havoc, Maddie! Why would that even matter?”

“I don't know,” she said. “I guess… sometimes, there's moments when he reminds me of Danny. The way his eyes get so angry. But there's kindness, too…” she trailed off. “Does he have parents to go home to when he's hurt? Is there anyone caring for him, at all?” She kept imagining that ghost, alone, floating around the Ghost Zone… healing from his fights on his own.

Jack put down the Tupperware. “What happened at the ghost fight tonight? You said it was routine,” he said, and then sighed. “But, I guess… no ghost is ‘routine,’ is it?” He sat back down at the table, looking at his wife expectantly. “Tell me.”

Maddie didn't turn away from her dishes. “It's just -- he saved me, Jack. Plasmius shot at me with a blast, and the Ghost Boy just jumped in front of me without thinking. He took the hit. I worry that he's alone out there… but why did he do it, Jack? What could he possibly gain from all this?” Maddie dropped her sponge and plate into the sink with a splash. “Why am I here scrubbing dishes instead of investigating?”

“And why didn't you tell me sooner?” asked Jack with a pointed eyebrow. “Listen, honey, maybe it doesn't mean anything…”

“That just doesn't feel like the right answer, though,” sighed Maddie, sitting at the table across from her husband. She rested her face in her palms. “Maybe there isn't a right answer. But I want to learn the truth. We've never bothered to learn about the Ghost Boy as a person, really. Who is he? Why does he fight all these ghosts anyway? Where does he go to rest at night?”

“That's a lot of questions,” said Jack. “We can't answer all of them right away.” He paused, thinking. Maddie knew he'd be resistant to research like this. “But we can take some time to study… see what he's really about.” It was a middle ground argument, on unsure footing. But she decided she’d take it.

“Great,” said Maddie. “Let's start tomorrow night.”

#ghostly posts #my writing #danny phantom #fanfic #phanfic #danny fenton #maddie fenton #jack fenton #jazz fenton #vlad masters #vlad plasmius

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andyuris · 3 years

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finished midnight mass last night and i have a lot of thoughts:

pruitt believing that the being that he saw in the cave was angel and that everything that he was doing was a calling by god and something that he needed to share with his people . believing that the ‘ big things ‘ are the miracles vs the small things . ( honestly when he talked about walking on water and all that stuff blah blah but a second chance ? what’s more than a miracle than that ? literally broke me )

the theme surrounding forgiveness was also something that got me . leeza going through her whole thing with joe . telling him that despite everything that she had previously said , along with what he had done to her , that she forgave him and watching joe break at the very words of her saying that she forgave him . sturge talking to one of the altar boys towards the end . telling him that he had done some things that night and asking the boy if he forgives him . pruitt asking mildred to forgive him at the end .

AND THEN FUCKING BEV . i think what’s the most interesting about bev is that most people will hate bev and not realize they are a bev especially in the religious sense . this woman , throughout the entire show , acted as if she knew better . acted as if she was the one with the most faith . took anyone that remotely challenged her as a threat . at the end of the day , she had to feel important and had to be in a position of power . AND THEN ANNIE . annie telling bev that she wasn’t a good person . asking her why knowing that god loves everyone else just as MUCH as he loves bev made her so angry . bev perceiving pruitt as a false priest and him being her last test of faith . her telling sturge to burn everything down because of relevations only for that to turn around and not work in her favor . and at the end , while everyone accepted their fate , she attempted to buy herself more time . attempted to dig herself a whole in the dirt .

AND HOWARD ? the man in the group who was crying over what he did to his wife and kids ? bev cruelly telling him that he could have saved them if he had enough faith ? how bev said there was no room for him ? how sturge wanted to argue because he saved howard because he was one of the few people in town that was nice to him ? the sturge wanted to break at the idea that he was leading howard to his death to watch the sunrise ?

and again with pruitt . saying that one of the biggest problems was that all of this became about him when it was never supposed to be about him but god ? saying that anyone was welcome at st . patrick’s because if not then it isn’t a house of god ?

sheriff hassan also spoke some real truths throughout the series regarding religion even if he was also flawed when it came to his own son exploring what religion and god meant to him . hassan talking about how passing out his religious texts wouldn’t go so well in this town and they would rightfully chase him out . that passing out bibles in a public school would rightfully make other parents uncomfortable . ali , despite ending up like the rest of the town , coming to the rescue in the final hour . praying with his father before they both died .

a lot about the end of this show really got me . when everything was burning , how easy it was for everyone to turn away from bev . how a lot of them seemed to revert back to their own selves , to their basic sense of being religious in some way . annie began singing one of the songs from church , her husband , and then the rest of the town joined in and when i say that I LOST IT during this part ?? i definitely did . it was gut wrenching . i think there’s a lot of conversation that could surround this because what ultimately became their down fall brought them together as a community but it wasn’t necessarily needed . they could have been a community that loved and cherished each other regardless of religious affiliation and it took all of that to get them there .

i didn’t know what to think about this show when it got started but i really do think its one of those shows where you can have several different conversations about it . religion , death , what it means to be alive , what god means to certain people , what being non-religious means , what it means to be a community , how belief can be beautiful but also turn into this really ugly thing .

midnight mass is a 10/10 for me .

#midnight mass spoiler #midnight mass spoilers #i had a lot of thoughts okay

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bloededhoine · 3 years

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world building cause twn doesn't part 12: the hen ichaer

i realize i've been mentioning the hen ichaer without really explaining it, and for that i apologize. but without further ado, let's go

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

series masterpost

general

the hen ichaer is basically a magical gene that originated with the elven sorceress, scholar, and princess, lara dorren aep shiadhal

it can lie dormant or inactive for generations, but when someone is an activated carrier of the gene, they are called a source

sources have an insane capability for magic, it's so intense that without instruction they are a huge danger to themselves and/or others. remember pavetta's betrothal feast? hurricanes should not happen indoors

same thing with ciri's sonic scream.

obviously, the hen ichaer is highly weaponize-able, but it's difficult to put this into theory since the magic is so strong that it can easily kill the person who carries it

most important is that the hen ichaer can open ard gaeth, the gates between worlds. you may remember that the witcher is a multiverse, and the continent is just one of countless worlds

aen elle

the aen elle, elves who live in another world called tir ná lia, controlled at least one gate that they used to get slaves from other worlds

however, this was before the hen ichaer was seriously studied. unicorns are also capable of opening ard gaeth, and were present in tir ná lia, so the aen elle would kidnap them to be used as their world-hopping-genocide key. yeah, the aen elle are seriously fucked

the king of the aen elle was named auberon muircetach, and he was very well known for his wars with the unicorns, who weren't too keen on being enslaved for the purpose of conquering other worlds

the hen ichaer came into play when auberon noticed that his daughter, lara dorren, had pretty intense magical abilities. like, ard gaeth opening abilities.

auberon, lara, and a few other elves began studying the gene and trying to figure out how it works and how to use it.

through this study is how we got the title aen saevherne, which is used to distinguish an elven mage with extensive knowledge of history, science, magic, and, most importantly, the elder blood.

both lara and auberon were aen saevherne, as was lara's husband-to-be, avallac'h, and avallac'h's foster son, caranthir ar-feiniel

ithlinne's prophecy

ithlinne aegli aep aevenien was an elven prophet known for her incredibly dark prophecies that she delivered at totally random times. how dark were they? ithlinne's prophecies were almost exclusively about the death of all humanity and/or the end of the world. she was fun at parties.

anyway, when we talk about ithlinne we really only mean one specific prophecy, aen ithlinnespeath. to be confusing it's usually referred to as ithlinne's prophecy

here's the prophecy itself:

Verily I say unto you, the era of the sword and axe is nigh, the era of the wolf's blizzard. The Time of the White Chill and the White Light is nigh, the Time of Madness and the Time of Contempt: Tedd Deireádh, the Time of End. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn with the new sun. It will be reborn of Elder Blood, of Hen Ichaer, of the seed that has been sown. A seed which will not sprout but burst into flame. Ess'tuath esse! Thus it shall be! Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves...

what does that mean? well, the white chill (aka the white frost) is a massive ice age that has been approaching the continent for years. don't believe me? the white frost has destroyed countless worlds in the past, and it literally cannot be stopped. the only way to save the world is by the power of the hen ichaer.

here's a perfectly frightening visual of the white frost

ithlinne didn't elaborate on the how, but we now know that the only to survive the white frost is by finding a new world and massively evacuating the continent through ard gaeth, which can only be opened by the power of the hen ichaer.

genetics

clearly, the hen ichaer is important enough to literally save, or end, the world, but the aen elle did a famously terrible job of studying it. like, you'd think they'd be good at that, but no. to their credit, it is a bit complicated

first, there are multiple types of elder blood genes, the main gene, the latent gene, and the activator gene. to actually show the powers of the hen ichaer, someone would need to either have one latent and one activator, or the main gene.

let's go back to secondary school biology for a second, remember punnet squares? these fuckers

the letters in a punnet square represent a genotype, or the two alleles that are inherited from the parents. phenotypes, on the other hand, are what you see on the outside. for example, a genotype would be Aa but a phenotype would be brown eyes.

while the main gene is a simple dominant allele (shown by a capital letter on a punnet square), both the latent and activator genes are semi-dominant, meaning that when they meet they create a new phenotype: the innate magical ability that makes you a source.

it gets a little less scientific here so bear with me; this new phenotype is so powerful that it sometimes creates a whole new genotype. so instead of having one activator gene and one latent gene, the two would merge and you'd be left with only one (very powerful) main gene. this is the only single gene that actually has magic and it's a dominant gene, so you only need to have one to have the power.

but, the latent and activator genes don't always combine. you still have the full powers when they stay separate, but it is then less likely to pass the hen ichaer your children.

complicated? very much so. but in practice it's a lot easier.

for simplicity's sake i'll call the activator gene g/a, latent gene g/L, main gene g/m and a regular nonmutated gene g/r. to be a source, the genes you inherit would be g/a g/L, but they may combine to be just g/m. your average person would be g/r g/r and a carrier would be either g/a g/r or g/L g/r.

clearly, this makes tracking it pretty messy, since generations of people can be carriers without having a single source

tracking the hen ichaer

for now, let's do what those elven sages couldn't and track then hen ichaer, starting with lara dorren

eventually, lara met an exceptionally talented human mage, cregennan of lod, and they were lab partners (oh my god they were lab partners) in the study of the hen ichaer.

for all the studying, lara and cregennan's own genes have always been something of a mystery. elven mages don't tend to have any issues with using themselves as lab rats, so it's entirely possible that lara and cregennan, knowingly or not, mutated their own genes in their research.

ultimately, it doesn't matter what lara and cregennan's genes originally were. by some happy little accident, the two eventually ended up with at least one activator gene and at least one latent gene between them.

later, when lara and cregennan made their own happy little accident, riannon, she inherited one of each gene (g/a g/L), making her a source. however, riannon's genes did not combine as the elves expected, which made her a little harder to study.

riannon eventually met king goidemar of temeria (g/r g/r), and they had two children named fiona and amavet. i'll start with fiona, who the aen elle managed to figure out had the latent gene, making her g/L r

fiona ended up having a baby with king coram II of cintra (g/r g/r), they named him corbett, and he inherited fiona's g/L and one of coram's g/r.

the aen elle lost track of the hen ichaer when they studied riannon's other kid amavet. see, amavet was kind of a whore. he had twins, muriel and crispin, with the married countess anna kameny. obviously, these children weren't legitimate, and when the angry count kameny murdered amavet a few months later, he was officially childless

the elves did, however, manage to figure out that amavet had riannon's g/a gene and goidemar's g/r gene. anna kameny was just g/r g/r, and crispin ended up being g/r g/r as well. destiny does favour the hen ichaer, but sometimes it's just not meant to be. muriel, on the other hand, did inherit her father's activator gene and was g/a g/r.

let's hop back to corbett, fiona and coram's g/L g/r son. he and princess elen of kaedwen (g/r g/r) had a son, dagorad, who got corbett's latent gene and one of elen's regular ones, meaning he was g/L g/r

muriel married robert of garramore (g/r g/r), and their daughter adalia, the dramatically posed lady right there, had the same genetic combination as her mother, g/a g/r

this is where it gets even weirder

the lovely adalia married dagorad. her second cousin. they shared riannon as their great grandmother. feel better in the fact that it was not intentional, adalia's mother, muriel, was not officially riannon's granddaughter. no one would have even known, but adalia's g/a met up with dagorad's g/L in their daughter, calanthe

for the first time since riannon, the hen ichaer was back, and calanthe's parents genes combined to give her g/m g/r

while it took generations of destiny and accidental incest to make the hen ichaer happen again, now that calanthe had the main gene there was a 50% chance she would pass it to her child, which, of course, she did

calanthe and her husband roegner (g/r g/r) had pavetta, who inherited the g/m from her mother. no one knew about this until pavetta literally created a source hurricane, and was already pregnant

pavetta and duny's (g/r g/r) daughter, ciri, inherited the main gene from her mother and was a source.

sources

it's important to note that a source is not necessarily an incredibly powerful sorcerer, merely a person who has the genetic predisposition required to channel very intense magic

sources, like anyone else, can be bad students, allergic to potions, or just generally averse to magic on all levels except heredity. there is also no way to guarantee that even the most willing source will be good at using magic, in fact it's far more common that they will be really really bad at it. sources are extra susceptible to the chaotic state of magic in the world, and many end up pretty seriously harmed by it.

magical talent tends to make itself known in very emotional situations, like the death of a parent or a war. the same applies for sources, but they have an extra rule: their full powers are off limits until they lose their virginities

now, netflix has not mentioned that rule to be true or false, but i'm going to think of it as strictly book/game/etc canon, because ciri is 10 years old when netflix shows her using her source powers for the first time

the virginity rule makes things even more complicated, as customs about premarital sex are pretty strict in the witcher world (well, among nobility), and the dudes didn't seem to have fast reflexes. what i'm saying is that getting pregnant the first time you had sex was not uncommon. sources couldn't even use, and likely weren't aware of, their powers until they were already passing them on to another generation.

and even still, there is no guarantee that someone who is a source will ever actually show their powers. calanthe had the genetics, but she wasn't a mage. what happened? we don't really know. after calanthe married, cintra was pretty peaceful; there were no invasions or massive upheavals that could put enough stress on her to show her powers. plus, her parents didn't know she had any magical powers, so they didn't give her the training that would develop them, and she was a very level headed person who would likely be unaffected by many of the things that would make another source lose their shit.

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thisisjustmefangirling · 3 years

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I have just finished watching the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and I really liked it. It takes the time to establish things, to let Sam do his thing, have action and also be with his family. We really see Bucky in his daily life, trying to adapt, trying to make amends, trying to connect to people. Hell, he got a date when Steve never could. But he’s also so lonely. We really see the fallbacks from “Steve” ’s decision to go live in the past and... It made me so sad and so freaking angry. Steve abandoned Bucky. It’s pure and simple.

I might ship Stucky, but it doesn’t mean I don’t value friendship. Actually, friendship is one of the most important things for me. Steve and Bucky were childhood friends, then brother of arms. Steve planned to walk from Italy to Austria, with almost no training except basics, no bulletproof gear, no real shield, no real helmet, on the off chance that Bucky would still be alive and could be saved. Steve went from “I don’t want to kill anyone” to “I won’t stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured” when Bucky fell from that cliff. He mourned him. He crashed the Valkyrie while still being inside when Peggy was right there asking for his coordinates and he could have jumped. Steve was clearly suicidal, not trying to survive. He could have tried to have this life with Peggy after the war, and he didn’t try. He chose death. When he was defrosted, he couldn’t move on. He still acted recklessly, with little regard for his own safety. He couldn’t follow Natasha’s suggestions to find someone to date. He tried a bit with Sharon in Captain America : the Winter Soldier, but the deleted scenes and that kiss with her felt very forced and awkward and I died from second-hand embarrassment. He grieved Bucky until the Winter Soldier’s mask came off and Steve recognised him. Sam told him “He’s not the kind you save, he’s the kind you stop”. But Steve never gave up on Bucky. He fought him on the helicarrier, but always tried to bring him back, and never tried to kill him. He believed Bucky could return to him. He believed Bucky could recognise him, get his mind back, get his life back, be freed from Hydra and be with him again. Steve was defrosted in 2011. He spent three years in the present, without Bucky. After being saved from drowning in the Potomac, he looked for Bucky for more than two years. Then Civil war happened and Steve still believed in Bucky, he fought for Bucky. Steve lost half of the family the Avengers were, he opposed and fought half of his friends FOR BUCKY. He brought Bucky to Wakanda and they were surely happy there. Then there was the snap and Bucky was gone for five years (and Sam too !!!!) and Steve told everyone to move on but he couldn’t. Though he had evidently moved on from Peggy’s death. She had been dead and buried for years before Thanos appeared.

And you want me to believe that Steve, who loves Bucky so much he did everything I wrote above, is going to go back in the past, fuck up a timeline or two, to marry someone who had had a full and happy life, with a husband and children, an amazing woman who had the time and strength to grieve Steve and move on from him ? That he is going to marry a woman literally living in the past ? A woman he saw in her last years and he buried ?

When Bucky has just returned, HE IS RIGHT THERE ? Bucky, unlike Peggy, didn’t get to live his life. He was brainwashed, tortured, turned into a killing machine. Bucky was given a second chance. Bucky can live the life he never got. Steve can be with someone he has deep affection for, someone with shared life experience, he can be with his best friend from childhood. The writers wanted to keep it heterosexual ? FINE. (No). Steve could have perfectly returned to the present and found someone new to date. He would have been with his friends. He would have been with Wanda, with Sam, with Bucky. But that’s not the choice the writers made.

They made Steve abandon Bucky, his childhood friend, (one of) the person(s) he loves the most in the world, someone who was essential to his development as a human being but also as Captain America.

I saw Bucky waking up from his nightmares, alone in a flat. There was no one there to comfort him. The entire time Bucky has scenes, I imagined how different it would be if Steve had been there. They would have been flatmates in Brooklyn. There would have been a bed, the appartment would have been decorated. There would have been pancakes on the kitchen counter. Steve could have helped Bucky. But no. Bucky is lonely. Trying to recover on his own. His therapist said she’s the only person he called in a week. You think he made a real friend but he’s trying to make amends because he killed his son. Guilt is eating him. He hasn’t replied to Sam (and I am so glad Sam is trying to take care of Bucky, at least check on him, since they were both Steve’s friends).

Steve abandoned Bucky. Bucky is lonely. And I am angry.

Friendship is so important. I met my best friend when I was 12. We became good friends when we were 14. We’re 26 now, going on 27. The age these two were when they went to war. If my best friend died, I would be devastated. If she abandoned me, I would be devastated and FURIOUS, I would be so angry at her.

I can’t imagine how Bucky feels about Steve leaving him alone in this new and surprising world, to fight off his own demons and nightmares. They said “til the end of the line”. Well mayyyyybe toxic masculinity and heteronormativity created the end of the line and ended the relationship for us.

Friendship is a kind of love. Amour. Amitié. I say “I love you” to my friends. In french, in english.

They made Steve abandon his friends, abandon Bucky, I am NEVER getting over it, and while I loved this episode, Steve’s absence is so obvious and heartbreaking. WHAT KIND OF DOUCHEBAG DOES THAT TO THE PEOPLE HE LOVES ?

We’ve all read the fanfics, since 2014. We know what it could have been like. Even without the queerness. But we’re not getting it on screen.

So, thank you, fanfiction writers. You are doing an amazing, necessary job. We love you. We are grateful for you. Every word you write is a gift.

#tfatws #spoilers #tfatws episode 1 spoilers #anti endgame #tfatws commentary #my opinion #steve rogers #bucky barnes #sam wilson #thank you fanfic writers #Bucky is alive and in the present #Bucky could have been and should have been Steve's future #gay or not #bi or not #Bucky is alone #oh look I wrote an entire rant #stucky

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immacaria · 3 years

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Eternity

Here comes the Day 3 with the prompt ‘Eternity’ from Beetober 2021 from @bloody-bee-tea! I took inspiration from this prompt of @mingcheng-prompts too and I kind od made myself cry a little but okay! Tears are mostly good, according to my sib and my mom. Anyways this is one is actually Mingcheng and it’s a reincarnation AU. The word count is 2504 words. This being said, I hope you guys enjoy this and stay safe and healthy!

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When it happened the first time, it was confusing and he was called crazy by some and a dreamer by others. Whispers that the gods had cursed him with the memories of the past went behind his back, ones that were sure that he had been too bad in his previous life and that death was a too easy escape for him. Not that Jiang Cheng didn’t agree with it all, he did, but he was angry at the gods nonetheless.

Because he had suffered in his previous life too, he had lost so many things already and now he had to live with the same memories as before. His siblings’ laugh and his nephew’s radiant smile, his best friend’s dramatic acts and his husband’s sleepy faces everyday in the morning right after he woke up. Now he had to live not only with the memories of his crimes, but with the memories of what could never be again. Maybe he had been too bad before and he did deserve all of it now.

But, as the lives passed, the memories built up, not fading or mixing as he expected them to. Jiang Cheng still remembered Wei Wuxian’s corny jokes that didn’t make sense anymore and Nie Mingjue’s little screams every time one of the younger disciples appeared out of nowhere and scared him. But, now, he remembered his mother in his second life, Liu Xiaotong, and her loud laugh and big hugs and the way his younger brother in his fourth life, Shen Yuan, had the bad habit of climbing trees to the highest branches and scaring the passersby with his screams too and he was happy did.

Every one of them had its happy moments and laughs, but they had hardships too, some more than others. He starved and suffered from the cold in some of them, always trying to give a more comfortable life to his younger siblings and cousins, and in others he was killed even before he could reach the adult age, sometimes for being rich and others as a punishment for his parents. All of them left memories behind, good or bad, and Jiang Cheng still prayed in every one of them that he would forget at least some of them.

He never did, though. So he tried to ignore them and more on with his life - or lives - until whatever sadistic and bastard god above tired out of playing with him and let him actually die. Or, at least, forget some of the memories. But, at some point,trying to ignore didn’t have any more effects and he was forced to face all that stayed behind, all the pain, all the despair and traumas.

But sometimes that countless memories came in hand, let it be as an instinct from a previous life or a memory from a historical moment he lived - because, yes, he ended up in some really fucked up moments - through and needed the knowledge. Even if he lost count of how many lives he had lived and the memories sometimes got mixed up, Still, every now and then, it was good to have the memories and Jiang Cheng almost thanked whatever sadistic god above for them.

Only, almost but if it was for him to thank anything it was the few times where he saw familiar faces around. Most of the time it was only one or two faces and he generally wasn’t connected at all to them. But, sometimes, he would reincarnate as a family member of one of them and his heart would always ache with the past memories and the hope of them remembering anything from the past. There was a time where he was born as Jiang Yanli’s older brother, Jin Zixuan was their neighbour and the whole time he was waiting for Wei Wuxian to appear too with his corny jokes and loud laugh but he never did.

It happened other times too, sometimes with both his siblings or just one of them, sometimes their dynamics changed way too much and others not so much. Everybody had appeared in his life one more time, from Yu Ziyuan to Jiang Yanli and Lan Xichen to Nie Huaisang, everybody minus Nie Mingjue. No matter how many times he searched, looked around and hoped, his husband would never be where he thought or even pass by him in the street just for him to see him one more time. But it never happened and, with his luck, it never would.

For example, this new life of his had everybody from his first life, but he was still to find Nie Mingjue. He was born as Jiang Yanli’s twin brother, Wei Wuxian’s older cousin - though the boy was raised as their brother - and the “second'' son of Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian because Yanli was born two minutes before him. Funny enough, at least for him, it was actually Jin Zixuan who had a crush on his sister first and acted like a fool.

Meng Yao was still Jin Zixuan’s brother, though he was raised as his cousin, and was the one to take his siblings out of their father’s reach. He and Lan Xichen were dating since high school and it was their fault that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji met and Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng were suffering now. Still, there were only two things that managed to surprise him in this new life: 1. After his parents divorced and his mother married Wen Zhuliu, of all people she could choose, she actually changed from that bitter and angered woman to someone happier and easier to deal with, someone that actually tried to understand others, and 2. There was something strange in the air, something off that he really couldn’t see, but if he had to guess, it would be the fact that literally everyone from his first life was there.

He discovered it soon enough, though. It was Saturday and they were making barbecue in his mother’s backyard - an activity he never thought he would see Yu Ziyuan participating in - when he discovered what it was. Unfortunately, it was hope. Hope that Nie Mingjue was among them and well, even if he didn’t remember anything, hope that this time he would at least see his husband dimples again. After all, this was too the first time that everyone from his first life was alive at the same time.

“Cheng-ge! Cheng-ge!” Wei Wuxian screamed from the other side of the backyard, waving his arms excitedly. He was near the pool Wen Zhuliu had built for Yu Ziyuan and was wearing a black swimming shorts with white little ghosts all over it with tattoo sleeves running down his arms. “Look at this!” He smiled and fear ran down Jiang Cheng’s spine as he realized that he was going to jump.

“Wei Wuxian, don’t you da-...” He said, getting up from the wood bench he was laying down on and going to the pool as his idiot brother did a black flip and almost hit his head on the pool edge. “Shit.” He took a deep breath, squeezing the tip of his nose.

“Did you see it, Cheng-ge?” He appeared near him, smiling widely and looking like a wet rat, a very cute one, but a wet rat nonetheless.

“You are looking like a wet rat and of course I saw it. It was rad.” He sighed, rolling his eyes and squatting near him. “Who taught you that though?”

“Lan Zhan!” He chirped, before disappearing under the water again and swimming again. Jiang Cheng looked over his shoulder to where Lan Wangji was helping his brother and Jin Zixuan on the grill with his ears reddening as Lan Xichen giggled beside him. Maybe another murder will make me finally die for real and the gods will be tired of me., he thought as he got up and started walking up to where the psychopath that Wei Wuxian called boyfriend was.

Fortunately for Wangji, his death was delayed as Nie Huaisang appeared from inside the house with a big and red thermal box in hands and screaming his name like he was being murdered. “Jiang-xiong! I’m so sorry I’m late, really, really sorry! But, look! I made moon cakes and baozi!”

“If you think you can make me forget and forgive your delay with food, you are…” He started before his sister interrupted him, coming from absolutely nowhere and taking the thermal box from Huaisang’s hands.

“Absolutely right! Thank you for them, A-Sang!” Jiang Yanli smiled, before elbowing him in the ribs and angrily muttering. “Shut up, don’t be rude. Or I’ll kill you if you make him go away with these buns.” He only scrunched his nose back at her, putting his tongue out as she walked to where her boyfriend was, with her face all scrunched up and tongue out too.

“Why are you late, anyways?” He said, rolling his eyes as Yanli’s giggles reached his ears and Huaisang smiled at him knowingly. The little bastard knew way too well that his twin would kill him if he was rude to him.

“I went to get my brother at the airport. Hope that you don’t mind that he came too. His apartment isn’t ready yet and I think it will be good for him to meet some new people.” He shrugged, pointing over his shoulder and completely ignorant to the way that Jiang Cheng’s heart missed a beat and hope threatened to grab his neck and suffocate him as he waited - No, prayed - for Mingjue to appear at the same at the same path his brother did with all his glory and hellish dimples that rendered him stupid whenever he smiled.

“You have a brother?” He whispered, hand fisting at his shorts as he tried to swallow down the knot on his throat.

“Yeah, his name is Nie Mingjue, he is my older brother. He was out to the United States these last years but he’s back now and doesn’t plan to leave any time soon again.” He said happily, lightening up at the thought of his brother staying and Jiang Cheng felt his head light as his vision went white.

When he could see again, the first thing he saw was Wei Wuxian's wet face staring down at him with wide and fearful eyes and dripping water on his face. If he was still able to, he would have scared himself, but instantly he just groaned and tried to move just to notice that he was leaning in the ground. He felt his face heat up as he noticed that everybody on the barbecue was around him and looking at him with worried eyes.

"What the hell, Jiang-xiong?" He heard Nie Huaisang say as he covered his face with a hand and got up. That's when he felt strong and oh, so familiar hands wrap up against waist.

"I don't remember you fading so easily, my heart." Nie Mingjue joked when he turned around quickly, both their eyes shiny with unshed tears and Jiang Cheng let out a laugh as he launched himself at him.

"You asshole! This is your fault!" His arms hugged his neck and he hid his face on his neck, taking deep breaths and relaxing against him. "Do you know how much I missed you? How much I waited for you?"

"I don't, but if it's half as I did, I can tell you that you didn't deserve to suffer all of this hurt alone." Nie Mingjue said against his hair, kissing his head. "But I think that first we have to explain to your family why you are crying and clinging to me."

"Oh! Right." Jiang Cheng sniffed, turning around to meet his sister's amused look, his brother's angry glare, his stepfather's inquisitive gaze and his mother's unimpressed face. "Well, shit."

"Well, shit, indeed, Jiang-xiong!" Nie Huaisang said, throwing his hands in the air before pointing at Mingjue's face. "Did you fuck my best friend, Da-ge? When did you fuck my best friend, Da-ge?!" Behind him, Wei Wuxian's glare turned downright murderous and Yanli's got a lot less amused and a lot more angry.

"What the hell, Nie-xiong? Shouldn't you be saying that to Jiang Cheng?" Mo Xuanyu said, looking over Jin Zixuan's shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"No! Because I'm stuck with Da-ge, but I can still lose Jiang-xiong and I will not risk it because my brother fucked him." He waved his finger at him again. "Now, answer me, did you fuck my best friend?"

"Did you?" Wei Wuxian growled, making Jiang Cheng facepalm as Nie Mingjue leaned in his ear and whispered.

"I fear my life now."

"As you should." Jiang Yanli said and Jiang Cheng started to laugh loudly, hiding his face on his husband's neck.

♡

"So your mother is now married to Wen Zhuliu? The one that used to melt golden cores back in the day?" Nie Mingjue said, hugging his waist and leaning back on the headboard of his bed. After the barbecue, many explanations and threats to Nie Mingjue's life, they decided to go back to Nie Mingjue's apartment and just relax the rest of the day. And catch up with each other too. "And your father is still an asshole?"

"Yes, yes and yes. And I'm Yanli's twin brother. Fraternal. And Wei Wuxian's older cousin, though we were raised like siblings." Jiang Cheng said, putting his head back on his shoulder. "Meng Yao and Zixuan have only seven months of difference between them and Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji are identical twins, I think."

"And A-Sang is only three years younger than me. And my parents are alive, the three of them." He added, putting his own head on his. "How many lives have you lived, my heart?"

"Too many to count and too little to actually forget." He answered, closing his eyes and intertwining his fingers. "But I estimate something along twenty or twenty-two. What about you?"

"Same answer, but I could say that I had only fourteen or eighteen." He shrugged and Jiang Cheng squeezed his hands. "I guess that dying from qi deviation holds the reincarnation for some time."

"Oh, my soul." He turned around, sitting on Mingjue's thighs and holding his face. Slowly, he kissed the corner of his mouth, his cheek, the tip of his nose, his eyes and finally his mouth. "We are together again. That's what matters." He whispered against his mouth, caressing his cheeks with his thumbs.

"Yes, we're going to be fine now." Nie Mingjue whispered back, hugging him tight and pulling him down to the bed. He was right, they were together now and they were going to be fine because even if he kept reincarnating and keeping all his memories, they would still have each other's memories to keep them going until they were together again. Because they would be together for as many lives as they could and, if possible, for all eternity.

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cyllaeth · 3 years

Text

when i’m at home

“... And she just came by the station and brought us coffee!”, Eddie grimaces, trying not to grit his teeth.

“Isn't it a nice gesture?”, Adriana asks; there's hint of amusement in her voice and she's not even trying to hide it. It's late evening; her kids are already in bed and so is Christopher which allows her to talk with her brother for a while. It's kinda their tradition—every few days they call each other—mostly via Skype—to catch up and check if everything's alright. She really enjoys it; the Diaz siblings has always been pretty close no matter how far away they have lived.

“It is. It's just... Why was she even at the station? I thought there's nothing between them. Not after that disaster of a date”, Eddie sighs. Seeing Buck chatting and laughing with Taylor Kelly at the end of their shift really put him in a bad mood. He still doesn't trust her especially around his best friend. He just knows that redhead reporter isn't the right person for Buck. Who repeatedly said he wants a serious relationship, not just a meaningless hookup.

And yet, he's still seeing her. It bothers Eddie so much he spilled out about it when Adriana asked what's up. He thought that it might help him calm down but he feels like he's just more angry than he has been earlier.

“Maybe they're just friends.”, Adriana suggests after a few moments of silence between them. She eyes him suspiciously. “Isn't it what Buck said anyway? That they're better off being friends?”

“Then why was she flirting with him for the whole she was there? Why did she bring him his favourite coffee?”. It's very clear that Eddie's annoyed that his sister isn't throwing insults at Buckley's not-so-new female friend.

“You flirt with him all the time and nobody says anything.”

Eddie freezes.

After what it feels like hours, he looks up at his sister. She has that odd, annoying smug on her face like she knows she's absolutely right and he has sudden urge to wipe it off. She just waits patiently for him to catch up what she said.

“I... What now?”

“You flirt with him all the time. And everyone is fine with it.”, she repeats very loud and clear.

“I don't”, Eddie scoffs. Has she gone mad and he hasn't noticed? He doesn't flirt with Buck, they're just best friends. They joke and bicker quite often but that's it. There's only friendly, platonic banter.

“Have you ever considered you might be in love with Buck?”, Adriana asks. Her question is serious even though Eddie sees the mischief in her eyes.

“Don't you think I would've noticed that I'm in love with my best friend?”, he answers with another question.

He really believes in that. He's been in love once in his life and it was Shannon. And he was definitely aware of his feelings. He still remembers first nervous glances, shy smiles and stuttering. He remembers first touches and kisses and how he had felt butterflies in his stomach. He also recalls their arguments, make-up sex and tears when they'd been hurting each other. Even when Shannon had re-appeared in his life, he was fully aware he still loved her. So if he did love Evan, he'd know. He thinks. He's so lost in thoughts, he doesn't hear his sister's rambling.

“Edmundo!”, she practically yells at him to bring back his attention. It seems to be working so she decides to share her honest opinion. “Eddie, we've been talking for almost an hour now, you had a date with Ana—like yesterday—and you didn't say a word about it. We're only talking about Buck. You're so pissed off because you saw him again with the girl he'd hooked up with in the past. And for me it's pretty telling. You're jealous.”

There's a silence on Eddie's side of the screen. In fact, he's utterly speechless. Adriana's words are ringing in his ears like a fucking bell. Jealous. Is is really jealousy what's been eating him since his friend had reconnected with Taylor?

“Look”, his sister bites her lip as if she's not sure if she should go on. Eventually, she does. “I'm not laughing or mocking you. I love you and I want everything what's best for you. I know you've had a rough couple of years dealing with all that shit with our parents, Shannon dying, tsunami and pandemic and yet, I've never seen you happier. You literally light up when you talk about Chris and Buck. You mention him all the time. You've never trusted Shannon the way you trust Buck with Chris and she was his mother. You two practically live together—last time we talked he was tucking Chris in after he spend the whole afternoon cooking dinner and watching movies with you two. It's something I do with my husband, not with my friends even if I love them. I've only seen glimpses of your life and I'm pretty sure you two love each other.”

Eddie listens. He pays attention to every word that coming out from Addie's mouth. It's hard to admit it but she's right. Buck has stopped being only a guest in his house a long time ago. Lately he's here almost all the time—either babysitting Chris while Eddie's on a date with Ana or just hanging out with the two of them because he doesn't feel comfortable in his own apartment. The thing is, Eddie likes having him around. He enjoys lazy mornings that smell like Buck's famous pancakes and coffee made by Hildy (Buck still teases him about it); he's also very fond of all evenings filled with laughter when they accidentally fall asleep on the couch and wake up in the middle of the night tangled up together. Being this close has never been awkward to them. At this point—Eddie realises—it's more awkward when there's an actual space between them. And, of course, he notices how attractive his friend is. He must've been blind not to see it. It's not like he's the only one who knows that Buck's eyes look like the cloudless sky in the middle of the summer when he's happy and get so dark they look like an stormy ocean, right?

He freezes again for a moment.

“Addie, I'm a little too old to have a sexuality crisis, don't you think?”, he asks but Adriana only laughs. He's not even offended by it because it's kinda hilarious. He would've laughed if somebody told him that he's gonna question his sexuality because of something his sister had said. “What if... What about our family? Parents?”

“You mean if you two get together?” Eddie nods. “I don't think you need to worry about it”, Adriana smiles brightly. “Our mom's wondering—and I quote—when will Edmundo bring back to El Paso that charming friend of his?”

“And so are we!”, Sophia chimes in, appearing suddenly behind Adriana.

“Dios Mío, have you been here the whole time?” Eddie groans when he sees both of his sisters grinning. He's royally fucked now. He knows them well and he's sure they won't forget about anything he has said tonight and will tease him mercilessly. There's a reason why Buck instantly hit it off when he met Diaz sisters. Sophia only nods and winks at him before she disappears again.

“Aunt Pepa loves him and don't even get me started with Abuela. Buck's her favourite grandchild, she gave him half of her secret recipes and he's not even officially Diaz yet!”, Adriana exclaims, pretending to be offended. Then, she adds. “And you certainly don't have to worry about Christopher. The kid loves Buck more than anyone. I'm not even sure if you're still his favourite adult.”

Eddie glares at her but there's a smile on his lips. He's not even slightly surprised that his son adores Buck so much. Honestly, Evan Buckley is his favourite adult too.

—☾—

Adriana's words are still stuck in his head days later when he's at home after another long, exhausting shift. Christopher is already here, doing his homework and Buck—Buck is here too. They're in the kitchen, preparing dinner together. Or it's rather Buck cooking and Eddie trying to steal food.

“Hey, quit snacking and cut the vegetables”, Buck orders and Eddie can't help but smile.

“I love you”, he blurts out. He didn't even think about it, it just escaped from his mouth.

It's Buck's turn to freeze.

Eddie looks at him and realises what he said. He's not panicking; he just feels happy, perfectly comfortable. At peace.

“I love you”, he says it again and suddenly he's in Buck's space. He just leans in and kisses him. Buck's definitely surprised but he only needs a moment to catch up what's going on. He responds very eagerly and kisses him back.

Eddie thinks it's a wonderful feeling. Now he knows that sometimes love doesn't hit like a wave, rapidly and intensively. Sometimes it just sneaks up quietly and patiently, like a river, taking piece by piece. He doesn't mind it.

“You're still cutting vegetables”, Buck says when they break apart. His eyes are full of joy and he's grinning—and Eddie wants to see him like this everyday. “And for the record, I love you too, Diaz.”

Eddie sends Adriana you were right hours later when he's already in bed, Buck curled up next to him. She responds almost immediately I know and he just smiles again.

—☾—

Link to ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30453828

(Title stolen shamelessly from band called The Maine, I highly recommend listen to that song, it fits Buddie so much ✨

#911 #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #buck x eddie #911 fic #buddie fic #lucy writes #lucy's attempt to write #no beta we die like doug #in this house we stan diaz sisters #adriana and sophia are national treasure #just like christopher #it's shitty #i know i know #buddie drabble

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inkweaver22-blr · 3 years

Text

Four for four baby! This is perhaps the last of my daily updates as I’ll be busy the next few days. Here’s another little filler chapter but it’s a good one as it’s the first one where we directly see references to other creators’ Monkie Kid works! There’s three references here, two subtle and one explicit. I’ll make sure to have links to each work in the notes at the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy!

AO3 Link

Scattered Cicadas - Chapter Four: Childish Behavior

Tang often feels like the only adult surrounded by children. Literally sometimes.

----------

If there was one thing Tang had learned about these timelines he kept jumping between was that they were consistently inconsistent.

The minor details that changed randomly but never really affected the outcome of the events from his original time were still abundant and rarely phased him much anymore.

(Although that one time he had platinum blonde hair had been interesting.)

It was when entirely unique situations arose that the scholar was caught off guard.

New events sprung up every now and then and inserted themselves between the original ones. As with the smaller changes, these new scenarios were unpredictable and varied wildly in scope.

A surprisingly durable MK clone that somehow managed to escape being dispelled, gaining independence, and becoming Macaque’s apprentice.

An ocean demon sinking ships just outside the bay and Sandy getting to go on that water adventure he wanted.

MK’s birth parents trying to reinsert themselves back into his life after seeing his achievements on the news.

(Tang was so incredibly proud of his kid for standing up for himself and refusing their empty platitudes. The pranks that he, Mei, and the Monkey King had pulled on them in retaliation were great stress relievers.)

Since Tang could still do his best to help out in each new event without horrible consequences, it seemed the rule of “No Interference” did not apply to them. He supposed that made sense as he had no way to predict when or if they might occur and thus couldn’t change an outcome he didn’t know about.

He was grateful for that small mercy at least.

Still, with how these cycles seemed to be endless so far, a few of these events would happen over multiple timelines.

Getting de-aged by a mischievous trickster demon or spirit was a strangely common occurrence.

MK seemed to be the most popular target for this particular curse. The brightness of his personality seemed to shine even stronger whenever he was reverted into a child, which simply made Tang love the kid even more.

(He wished he could have helped the Monkey King tear Macaque apart for kidnapping their precious little one in that cycle.)

They all had their own turns of having their biological clocks reversed of course. Mei was a little trouble maker, Pigsy was a shy and timid toddler, and Sandy liked to have things he could break apart. Tang couldn’t clearly remember the times he had been de-aged but was pleased when an exhausted Mei and Mk had said he was the easiest of the adults-turned-kids to take care of.

Then there was the Monkey King.

Having to corral a rambunctious young monkey with the strength to crush boulders and the ability to duplicate or shapeshift was not easy.

(He still had no idea how MK had managed to do it alone once.)

With the amount of times they had all been subjected to this specific curse, Tang only really had himself to blame for not seeing it coming.

Tang poured over the scroll in front of him, trying to find the counter for this timeline’s version of the curse. Behind him, Mei distracted a de-aged Red Son, or Red Boy as that’s what the small fire demon was calling himself.

Getting kidnapped by a somewhat feral child with the ability to freely toss around the True Fire of Samadhi hadn’t been the most pleasant start to his day. While being mistaken as the monk Tang Sanzang was a little flattering, the threat of being roasted over the sacred blume flames and eaten had quickly dampened those feelings.

Luckily the young demon had fallen asleep, the fires dissipating as he lost consciousness. If only Tang knew how to cast the Monkey King’s fire ward...

“Ahem.”

Tang glanced up and paled at the sight of a displeased looking Demon Bull King.

“Little thief,” the demon addressed an equally freaked-out MK. “I believe you have something of mine.”

“Father! You’re here,” Red Boy called out as he jumped from Mei’s arms. “I have wonderful news! I’ve found a husband!” He quickly ran over to a petrified MK and leaned against him like he was presenting some great treasure. “Look! Look! Isn’t he pretty?”

Tang had almost forgotten about that particular detail. If they got out of this alive he was never going to let MK live this down for the rest of the cycle. Prerogative of being a dad and all.

“What do you think father,” Red Boy continued, ignoring MK’s desperate plea for him to stop. “I can marry him, right?”

DBK’s expression was frankly unimpressed as he stared down into the hopeful one Red Boy wore. Tang had a bad feeling about what was going to happen and slowly made his way around the room to hide behind MK and Mei who were also backing away.

“No.”

Tang winced a bit at the bluntness of the answer and braced himself for the explosion that was sure to follow.

“What? But… why? WHY NOT?!”

The genuine hurt and confusion in the young demon’s voice would have made Tang feel a bit sympathetic, if Red Boy hadn’t tried to eat him of course.

“Because I said so,” DBK growled as he knelt to be closer to his de-aged son. “Now, enough of this. Time to stop being a child.”

Tang frowned. That was... not how to calmly explain to one’s child about why you were refusing their request. Not if you wanted to avoid a full-on meltdown. He should know, having to take care of a young MK multiple times.

Looking into the Demon Bull King’s scowling visage, he wasn’t sure if the older demon simply didn’t know how, or just didn’t care.

“That’s… NOT FAIR!” Red Boy’s disbelief predictably turned into anger as his hair once again burst into blue flames.

“THAT’S NOT FAIR! I am not a child!” The True Fire of Samadhi burst out around the boy, seeming to startle DBK who took a step back. Tang was just thankful that it wasn’t aimed at him this time.

“I… I’m not-” Red Boy’s anger quickly melted away, as did the fire around him. The young demon sniffed a few times before dropping onto the ground and beginning to cry.

Loudly.

“You’re recording this, right?” MK whispered to Mei.

“Obviously.”

Tang sighed at their antics and looked over at DBK. The demon still looked angry but the scholar could see the uncertainty in his eyes. He seemed completely out of his depth and unsure on what to do.

Tang took a steadying breath before mustering his courage and stepping out from behind MK. If Demon Bull King didn’t know how to act like a good father then perhaps he could show him.

If he survived this he was going to need a vacation to fight back against the grey hairs this was going to give him.

The other adults all looked at him as if he had sprouted another head as he approached the sobbing child and knelt next to him.

“Red Boy?”

“H-huh?” The young demon looked up in confusion at being addressed.

“I know that right now everything seems pretty unfair and that can be upsetting,” Tang soothed, keeping his voice steady and reassuring. “But I promise you that your father has a good reason for not letting you marry MK. Would it help if he were to calmly explain that reason without getting angry at you?” He aimed that last sentence more at DBK than Red Boy, who’s sobs had slowed.

“M-maybe…” the young demon finally admitted.

Tang turned to stare expectantly at the Demon Bull King. The demon glared down at the scholar.

“Why are you treating him like a child?”

The harshness of his tone made Red Boy start to tear up again. Tang glared right back at DBK.

“Because right now, until we can reverse this, he is a child,” the scholar snapped, his fear replaced with righteous anger. “And like every child, he deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. He deserves to be comforted by a parent whom he obviously adores and be told that it’s okay to cry. He deserves to feel safe and loved.”

The room was silent save for the hiccups and sniffles from Red Boy as they all stared at Tang. DBK’s mouth hung open as he gazed incredulously down at the human, seemingly struck speechless.

“F-father?”

The small and unsure voice of Red Boy snapped the Demon Bull King out of his thoughts, and something seemed to loosen within him.

Tang stood and retreated back to MK and Mei to give the demon some privacy as he knelt next to his son and began speaking in a hushed tone with him.

“What the hell Mr. Tang,” MK hissed into his ear as he stared wide eyed at the pair of demons on the ground.

“Language MK,” Tang hissed right back before leaning over to Mei. “I know you aren’t recording two incredibly powerful demons having a moment of vulnerability who would stop at nothing to destroy us if they discovered the existence of such a video, right?”

“Eep!” Mei nearly dropped her phone as she rushed to stop her recording and then delete the last few minutes of the resulting video.

There were a few minutes of tense silence as the three humans did their best to pretend that there weren’t two demons having an emotional moment together just a few feet away. They gave a sigh of relief when Red Boy launched himself at his father, wrapping his arms around his neck. DBK seemed panicked at first before slowly wrapping his own arms around the young demon.

Tang adjusted his glasses and gave a nervous smile to the Demon Bull King who was scrutinizing him like a particularly confusing puzzle.

At least he didn’t seem angry any more.

Perhaps they would escape this fiasco unscathed after all.

----------

I was not expecting this chapter to turn into another Dad Tang story. It just kind of happened that way. So onto the references!

First is Durability by TaintTheUnstoppable which is beginning to shape up into something really interesting.

Second is Little One by @its-kall-the-clown which is just a huge fluff fest capped off with some nice angst. Highly recommended.

Finally we have the Red Boy comic by @purble-turble! Now obviously the Tang in their comic probably won’t do what this one did, by this Tang is too much of a Dad to let a little kid cry for too long.

Next chapter won’t be up until sometime next week! See ya then!

#Ink Writes #Monkie Kid #Scattered Cicadas #Tang #Tang Monkie Kid #MK #Mei #Red Son #Red Boy #Demon Bull King #DBK #Lego Monkie Kid #Durability #TaintTheUnstoppable #Little One #KALL #purble-turble #its-kall-the-clown

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sluttbuttsstuff · 3 years

Text

LA SQUADRA BACKSTORY HEADCANONS PART 2

Here’s everyone else’s backstory, part one with Melone and Ghiacchio is here

https://sluttbuttsstuff.tumblr.com/post/652486890343268352/la-squadra-backstory-headcanons-part-1-ghiacchio

WARNINGS: dark themes, SFW

None of this is Canon of course, just speculation

PROSCUITTO AND PESCI:

I’m combining theirs because they’re so intertwined.

Prosciutto is a few years older than pesci, and they grew up in the same neighborhood.

By the time Prosciutto was in high school, Pesci was in 2-3rd grade, basically

Prosciutto was the younger of two children from an old school mafia family.

Pesci was the only child of a teen mom, and mostly raised by his grandmother.

To be honest, Prosciutto was kind of annoyed by Pesci when he first met him. He was a weird looking kid who was annoyingly clingy and kind of a crybaby

Pesci wasn't well liked by the other kids his age, and when they did hang or they usually either teased to poor kid or used him

Prosciutto was liked well enough by his peers, but he spent most of his time with people older than him- his father’s “associates” and new mafioso initiates.

There was one that Prosciutto became particularly close to- his uncle.

He was younger than most of the other mafiosos, and a lot less uptight than Prosciutto’s father.

He made Prosciutto feel like he was already apart of the gang, trusting him with family secrets, teaching him how to shoot and care for a gun, even bought Prosciutto his first pack of cigarettes

Prosciutto’s uncle made him feel like he was the capable adult and badass gangster he so desperately wanted to be.

Prosciutto’s father, of course, loved his Brother and wanted him to have a good relationship with Prosciutto, but he didn’t approve of his son’s involvement in the family business, at least not so young.

In truth, turns out Prosciutto’s uncle was a scumbag with a lot of gambling debts, and ended up getting himself into a lot of trouble

He was always bad at money, and thought he could get some from his brother, but he refused

Angry, Prosciutto’s uncle killed his brother, Prosciutto’s father, hoping to get some inheritance or at least steal some off of him

Prosciutto happened to hear and see everything, and in a rage, killed his uncle and mentor

Angry and betrayed, Prosciutto decided not to join his family’s gang, but to make a name and life for himself, and ended up settling with passione.

He had a difficult time, struggling to survive and make a name for himself, especially when he first got his stand.

Initially, he thought it was a useless stand; he didn’t see any potential in a stand that just makes someone get older

But then he realized he could disguise himself, age others into dust, and was promoted to hitman

Prosciutto learned a lot from his experience, and realized something very important

He and Pesci, the small boy who lived in his neighborhood, were one and the same

Used by their peers, potential ignored, betrayed by their family- the next time he saw Pesci playing by himself on the street Prosciutto treated him VERY differently

Pesci was surprised but nonetheless happy; his grandmother was nice to him, and his mother worked hard to support him, but he didn’t really have anyone to teach him how to be a man.

Prosciutto didn’t encourage Pesci to become a mafioso, but he never discouraged him either. He let Pesci decide for himself

Prosciutto tried to be a mentor that was the perfect mix of his father and uncle-strict with high expectations, but also caring and gentle when necessary

Pesci was able to stand up to his bullies thanks to Prosciutto, and Pesci idolized him for helping him so much

So naturally he wanted to be just like his mentor Prosciutto, hence joining Passione

In truth, Pesci is naturally gentle and kind, but at the same time, he knows there are lots of people being bullied and hurt like he was as a child

Its Pesci’s dream to not only live up to Prosciutto’s expectations, but to make sure he’s never weak and taken advantage of again like he was as a child

And also? He's never told anyone, but he secretly dreams of being able to protect and mentor others like Prosciutto did for him

It’s true that he can be cowardly and has issues with self-esteem, but he wants to make prosciutto proud, and I think he could have become a very capable, firm but fair mafioso like he wanted to

ILLUSIO:

Illusio is the oldest of two children from an average middle class Italian family.

From a young age, Illusio was very aware that both of his parents preferred his younger brother.

He was smarter, prettier, stronger, more charming etc and His parents didn’t bother hiding their preference

Illusio would work hard to earn their approval, helping around the house with chores and trying his best to do things that would make them happy, but his brother did it better

It aggravated Illusio to no end

To make things worse, his brother noticed the preference as well, and instead of sympathizing with illusio, or even just ignoring his effect, he was very cruel to Illusio

He would complain to his parents that Illusio’s room was bigger, and he would get illusio’s old room.

Illusio had a girlfriend? His brother would steal her away, just to spite Illusio.

Obviously, this gave Illusio a GIANT inferiority complex, and he grew to hate his brother more and more everyday

Finally, one day Illusio snapped, it was something insignificant, to this day Illusio can’t remember what it was that set him off

But he ended up strangling his brother to death.

It wasn’t planned, but he didn’t regret it. He quickly packed up what few things he had and ran away from home

Illusio hasn’t made any contact with his family, and they haven’t made any with him to this day. It’s probably better this way

He joined Passione soon after for protection against the law, and manifested Man in the Mirror

Man in the Mirror was obviously influenced with his fears of inadequacy, as well as manifesting a safe space from him from others

He would isolate himself when he was having issues with his family as a child, and that manifested into the mirror world when he received his stand

He’s become obsessed with himself and his self-appearance to overcompensate for his lack of support and care as a child, which is why it’s mirrors

Because he was so often gaslit as a child, he is able to physically control who comes or goes into his “World” as a means of protection and self preservation

FORMAGGIO:

Formaggio’s mom was a single parent, trying her best to raise him

She kept trying to find a husband, but she had a bad habit of picking awful dudes

Best case, Formaggio got ignored, worst case, he got hit a few times by his mom’s partner

Eventually, Formaggio’s mom landed a man who was willing to marry her and adopt Formaggio

He was nice enough to his mother, but he really wasn't interested in raising Formaggio at all

It didn’t help Formaggio was a hyperactive annoying child- he couldn’t help it, he was left to raise himself

Formaggio’s stepfather was fairly wealthy, and did regularly spoil him and his mom with presents and money

But he still mistreated Formaggio- purposefully ignoring him, beating him if he acted up

He and Formaggio fought a lot, and unfortunately Fomaggio’s mom sided with her new husband

She still worked most of the day, and had lost several boyfriends due to Formaggio’s behavior, so she thought that was the case here

Even if she wanted to, she literally couldn’t afford divorce- she needed his money

So Formaggio’s relationship with his stepfather got worse and worse

It wasn’t until Formaggio was a teenager, however, that Formaggio found a solution

He hung around a lot of bad kids,and got involved with Passione.

He found out that his stepfather had pissed off some higher ups in Passione

He ended up killing his stepfather to gain the favor of the gang, and that was how he got into la squadra

Also, He ended up leaving home, and never actually finished high school

Little Feet is a way for Formaggio to feel the control that he never had as a child, and to put his enemies into the same position he was in for years with his mother and stepfather

Like his mother and father, he still has to deal with monetary issues- he has problems saving money and wants to live it up while he has it.

Just another reason he was so eager to kill the boss and take over Passione

RISOTTO:

Risotto was the only child of his two parents, who died tragically in a car crash. Despite just being a baby, he was able to survive with minor injury, but his stand was awakened as a result

He was adopted by His Mother’s sister, and lived with his Aunt uncle and their own child.

Their family was HEAVILY religious, Roman Catholic of course, and very strict with Risotto and his cousin

His cousin, a few years older than Risotto, was the only one openly warm with him

His Aunt and Uncle were cold and distant, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that Risotto seemed to be “Cursed”

Accidents, though relatively small, followed Risotto like the plague

Kids who teased Risotto’s bizarre eyes would end up stepping on a nail at the playground

People who yelled at Risotto and his cousin on the street would get unexplained nosebleeds

Risotto’s aunt was starting to believe he was possessed by a demon, or being punished for some unknown sin

They started disciplining him whenever anything bizarre happened, and taking him to church

They even tried having an exorcist perform on him, but it continued

Risotto’s cousin didn’t believe it though, he knew Risotto wasn’t evil and wouldn’t hurt anyone

Without him, Risotto didn’t have a friend in the world

His eyes were odd, he prematurely greyed, and he grew very tall and large from a young age.

So he got a lot of weird looks, followed by random accidents and bloody injuries which got worse and worse

It started to become too much for Risotto, and his cousin realized this

He knew he and Risotto had to get away from his parents, so he got a driver’s license, saved up money, and made a plan with Risotto to escape

On the day they planned to leave, their Parents caught them, and got into a big fight

There was lots of yelling, even some violence, but Risotto and his cousin managed to escape

As they were leaving, Risotto’s aunt called out that they were disowned, and that Risotto was an evil monster

In the car, Risotto’s cousin tried to comfort him, who was visibly upset, but he just couldn’t stay calm.

As if possessed, His cousins arms moved the steering wheel, screaming in pain

Nails and Razor blades were poking out of his skin, and he lost control of the car

They ended up crashing the car, and Risotto’s cousin was dying

Risotto’s cousin looked at Risotto like he never had before: Afraid.

He called him a monster, that he must have really hurt all those other people, and now he had killed him

His cousin died in Risotto’s arms, and Risotto lost everything

He destroyed the car he and his cousin had been in, and everyone assumed he had died in the wreckage

Eventually, his talents were noticed by Passione, and he worked his way up to head Capo of La Squadra Execuzione

Risotto never fully recovered from losing his cousin, and became obsessed with controlling his powers and emotions

As a result, he became a cold and ruthless leader his men respected

However, he can’t help caring for his squad, they’re all he has left at this point

His job, his teammates, they’re all his life consists of at this point.

Why is his stand like that? Who knows, he was just a child when he manifested it

It wasn’t his choice to have this power, but he’ll make the best of it, for his team’s sake

SORBET AND GELATO:

Sorbet grew up in a poor family, and spent most of his time on the streets trying to earn a living. He dropped out of school early to join the workforce as soon as possible, and joined the military to leave his family.

He doesn’t hate his family or anything, they tried their best, but there’s just too many painful memories of starving and helplessness.

He met Gelato in the Military, he came from a long family line of soldiers

Gelato learned from an early age how to fight and defend himself, and had to deal with a lot of toxic masculinity and violent older siblings

Sorbet and Gelato ended up bonding, just friends at first but after a time they figured out their feelings

Tired of Military BS, they decided to desert, and ended up joining Passione

They don’t do a job without the other, and either share a room or their own apartment

They’ve dealt with a lot of discrimination because of their sexuality, but Passione doesn’t judge them for it, even if they don’t pay as much as they should

Besides, killing is their specialty, what else would they do?

#sluttbuttsstuff #headcanons #fic #imagines #la squadra #vento aureo #jjba #no shipping #risotto #pesci #prosciutto #formaggio #illusio #sorbet and gelato

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ignitification · 3 years

Text

Cold Flame

A brief explanation of how Rei and Shouto's evolution have to do with the return of Touya Todoroki.

tw: mentions of violence, mentions of suicide, mental illness

1.) I think these two panels tell a whole story of its own.Touya mentions how “The only thing he taught me was how to turn up the heat” referring to Endeavour. This sentence blatantly refers to the accident where Touya’s flames could not be stopped, because his strive to show his father that he is indeed someone to be proud of, has been ignited and then never shut down. Endeavour took Touya, lighted up the flames in Touya (both metaphorically, in his drive and strive to be a hero, and be his father’s hero - and literally, to bring out his fire quirk out while training), and then tossed Touya aside. Rei, on the other hand was not capable to stop him: whether this references to his training regimen, or to him chasing Endeavour, or even his dream is highly unclear - but the sole fact that Touya blames them both (because he feels like he has been bred for this goal, and Rei agreed to it, and then had not enough power to actually put an end to this nightmare) and he is partly right, because this has hurt more people than it was supposed to and that it was necessary. Rei does not know how to stop his kid from getting hurt, which is getting her hurt in return. In this panel, she looks frightened, offended, desperate to grab at Touya (who is silently and slowly slipping further away from her and her grasp) but she cannot. Now, I am not going to go further in this, because Rei not saving Touya is a partially incorrect statement, as yes, she could have done something if herself was not in a very bad place in the first place and if actually everything that happened between Endeavour and Touya did not hinder not only the relationship between Touya and Enji, but as well the one between Rei and Touya (as he see him rejecting her, because Touya knows why he had been born and probably has been influenced into thinking that his mother is weak, as she cannot fend for herself and just blindly accepted whatever Endeavour put in front of her, and not because she did not know any better, but because she did not know how).

2.) The jealousy an older sibling feels towards the newborn is completely normal, because the span of attention given to older siblings usually decreases. But here we are talking about two kids, breaded and raised to be vessels of their’s father dreams. This is an extreme scenario, where the competition between sibling is not about skills or quirk, but instead Touya sees it as a way to regain the lost affections/attention, which since Shouto has been born have never been sent towards him. And the fact that the birth of Shouto triggers in Touya’s the abysmal feeling of being a mistake, tells us that the parents did nothing to let him feel better, or to understand that it was not that way (even if arguably, Endeavour had other kids just because he wanted a perfect kid, which means that at the end of the day, he did consider Touya a mistake). And the fact that Touya was been willing to go this far, as far as to injure himself, as to emotionally condition himself into turning his flames from red to blue, is not only a sign of the mental pressure he put on himself and his emotions (always fuelled by that grating feeling of feeling less, worse, not right), but as well of the constant disappointment he felt when his father paid attention to him while scolding him, being angry at him, scowling and not making any effort. This angry, dark face is what shapes Dabi’s memories of Endeavour - an expression he wants to wipe out of his mind because it reminds him of not being the victim of shitty parenting, but of being considered a failure, worthy to burn to death, alone.

And these two.

2.5.) The ‘If only..’ hurts. Because this means not only that there was a chance that Touya did think about it, but he considered it then and there - because it was too much. Because even now, it is too much for him. Rethinking about all this moments is crucial for both Endeavour (who’s memory is definitely triggered into remembering gruelling details of his behaviour towards his children of when he was younger) and Dabi, who instead wonders whether the path he took, the decision he made all those years ago and that brought him there, was actually worth it. Because when Touya died, and Dabi was born on that hill when he was 13, he made the decision to take revenge and actually prove to his father that he is not a failure. He instead, is such a big mistake that Endeavour cannot cancel him anymore. Touya wanted desperately to be noticed for being right. Dabi wants desperately to be noticed because he is wrong, and a big mistake (which is also the result of Endeavour being his father and whatnot).

2.6.) And this. It’s the realisation that Endeavour is sowing the grief and pain of his oldest son, but it is also a realisation for Dabi: he took a decision, which he is sowing now (along with all the murders and the pain he himself inflicted). Memories which are more painful, and the fact that Dabi’s only comments on the accident is actually that it was scorching hot and that he couldn’t stop is very alarming and sad. He says nothing about how he felt. He just admits to the consequences of that gesture. He is not thinking of how much pain it was, or how sad he was, or anything else but just that this event was what made him into the person he is now, and there is no going back. He maybe thinks that things might have come out better if he actually had died that day. But he never talks of what is happening inside himself, because Dabi cannot allow himself such a weakness. And so, he feels nothing.

2.7.) These two panels (below) give me chills.They are so similar in the feeling they give up: desperation, realisation, hope, terrifying anger and sadness, elatedness in knowing that there is something to hang off, that maybe now the right moment has come. And it’s a sort of revival, a feeling brewing for so long and finally exploding in the hate, and the will to drag his father down in the mud with him.

3.) Rei's involvement, in Touya’s upbringing is a problematic topic for two reasons: she feels guilty about it, and her mental state which has been deteriorated by her family and her husband, does not allow her to even look for an excuse, as Endeavour did. Instead, Rei has been driven to a point where she just wants to let go.

I think that here, Rei, plays a very big role: she is stuck between a husband she cannot take on by herself, and a child who wants nothing to do with her because of her actions (which are inherently caused by Endeavour). And her mental health further deteriorates. Rei looks distraught. I would say even fatigued, and weighted down by everything that is happening, and how she cannot and does not want to deal with it.

In the hospital room, in Chapter 300, when she comes back and tells Endeavour that he is not the only to have suffered, she is not only referring to Touya, but to herself as well. I think it is important to note how the change happened. For both Shouto and Rei, Touya is a central button: after the accident, things escalated so much for Rei that she ended up in the hospital, Endeavour instead got the full time he wanted with Shouto (reversing his negative feelings, guilt, remorse and strive for his broken dream) into training.

And the fact that in this moment, she chooses to let Touya go (metaphorically) is not only heartbreaking, but also reflects the anger in Endeavour’’s eyes who’s thinking line has to go along the lines of: ffs, I have to do everything around here (which I do not want to sound rude, comes off as misogynist, but as well disrespectful and just right arrogant). However, the fact that Rei here is weak, does not define her character and instead Touya coming back is exactly what she needs to step on her feet again, and transform this

into ‘I’m here now’ and I’m going to solve this situation. Because Rei is tired of the situation, of Endeavour and wallowing in Endeavour’s shadow. It is time for her to actually intervene like she should have done years ago, and save her kid (or at least, give Touya a forgiveness sort of goodbye, and maybe tell him that notwithstanding their mistakes, and the fact that he was born because of a Quirk Marriage, Touya was still loved).

4.) But then, Shouto's has always been aware of how bad the situation in his own home is. Him protecting his mom is greatly telling in this sense: Shouto, despite being as traumatised by his father’s behaviour as Natsuo and Fuyumi (who are older than him, and are also crying in this panel - because Endeavour is a very tall, and build man and he is the Head of the family, which is also probably why they know what is going on, and no matter how many times this happened, if one or twenty but there is no excuse for Endeavour scaring his children so much they feel the need to retract in themselves (as shown by Fuyumi’s position on the floor, and Natsuo trying to be shielded by his bigger sister) and to cry as silently as possible with the hope that the angry person does not notice them. Shouto, on the other hand, while also crying actually stands up to his father (as he continued doing til today) and despite the shouts, angry stare and all the burden that comes with parent’s argument, he still tries to protect his mother, because he knows that the dominance of Endeavour’ character is too much for Rei to take. Because Rei is tired. Look at her face. Look at her eyes and her general exhaustion. The panel of point 3 stands to identify that she cannot take anymore. And instead, Shouto plays the bigger person. Notwithstanding all the obstacles he has overcome (the hellish training manu, his father’s expectations, the burden left by Touya’s disappearance, his father’s ego and anger, his mum burning him, Rei’s hospitalisation, the scattered relationship with his siblings, his empty childhood), Shouto stands tall and proud, knowing what he has to do.

I think that Shouto’s being the Hero of his own family, is a very important ‘part’ of not only the story, but as well for Shouto, who is evolving in character and setting the foundations for an individual whose past prejudices his future, and he has to resolve the plethora of things that he carries involuntarily with him, before possibly saying that he has achieved something, and that he became a Hero. I like how Horikoshi pointed slightly out that this whole drama, even if the protagonists are Touya and Endeavour, is not only the shaping path of Shouto, but as well his stepping stone for being a real hero (through the pits of fire which once again he has to do, in order to let go of the past, and instead his future, depicted in fire and ice).

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