#and that’s not even considering times when he never even experienced consequences

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippets: Free Day Friday

Aka "you've ruined a perfectly good Damas is what you did. Look at him, he's got anxiety"

(For context, I gave Damas a backstory of being last in line for Haven's throne, but also Last Man Standing. This had something to do with Praxis hating "the default king". Long post warning, it's a whole one-shot again)

At some point in his life, the Precursors had decided that Damas was their least favorite Maridius. Any time something went well for him, it had to be immediately balanced by something awful.

He found acceptance and camaraderie that he never had from his elder brothers among the Forward Guard in the war.

And then Menelaus and Nicostratus died stupid, pointless deaths trying to seize glory, leaving Damas the sole focus of his parents' hopes.

He found an escape from the pressures in running the numbers, working out which districts needed food more than soldiers, and which districts needed more protection than most.

And then Father died and Mother shut herself in a convent, no longer interested in anything to do with her disappointing youngest son.

He actually had support from people for focusing on them and not the nest-

And his eldest brother's childhood friend literally stabbed him in the back and left him to die in the desert.

For a time, he'd assumed things would never get better. That the Precursors were tired of reeling him in and out like a fish on the line. But the hook pulled once more and he found himself using the skills he'd learned from the guards who raised him, joining a rebellion against a tyrant and defeating him against the odds.

And then the Precursors let him have ten good years. They let him find love, and family. They let him become a father. And then they ripped it all away in the cruelest way possible.

Damas knew it was foolish to hope that Mar was alive. He knew Phobos had been right to move on from him -- from them -- and throw herself into operating the orphan barracks of the Cliffside district. But he couldn't let go yet.

So he'd endured. Two bitter years he'd endured. And when he found that scrap of a boy in the desert, only to watch him outdo warriors twice his age, he'd thought maybe things were getting better.

Jak was...hard to define. The kid had seen more combat than some of his most experienced scouts. He carried scars on par with the surviving child-soldiers of Atys's reign. And while he shared their distrust of authority in general, he had none of their understanding of ranks and rulers. He just...treated everyone like they were his equal.

And after the kinds of things he must have experienced in his short life, Jak probably had every right to consider himself the equal of any senior Wastelander.

And for a moment, Damas had foolishly let himself hope that the Precursors could leave well enough alone. That they'd just...let him have this-!

Annnnd then Jak had to go and break the one rule. The one law Damas had given him.

Do not compromise the Arena.

Six other candidates had been doing their third trial against the Leucas Freebooters in that Arena. Six other candidates whose results had to be thrown out, who had to wait for full citizenship, because Jak refused to fight, and Sig had decided to waltz into a trial without checking to see what the purpose of the trial was!

Damas was either going to lose his mind, or go fully rogue and declare war on the Precursors. He couldn't discount either option yet.

Deep breaths, Damas. Deep breaths.

Jak knew not to mess with the purity of the Arena. He knew that, didn't he? He couldn't have gotten this far without understanding how important it was to keep the trial balanced for all candidates! He had to have known the consequences for not only compromising the others' trials and putting them at risk of the Freebooters getting the upper hand on them, but open mutiny-!

He wanted to shake sense into the boy. Maybe smack him upside the head and hope it jarred his common sense loose. But he wasn't likely to get that chance.

Even if Sig had caused this, he had all three amulets. Jak only had two. Those two protected him from a lot, but not public mutiny. A challenge in private Damas could have handled.

He knew Jak -- he thought he knew Jak -- enough to make him understand whatever instruction or decision he had a problem with. He knew how to phrase things to make it sound like all Jak had done was ask for clarification.

He couldn't cover this one up. Not with this many witnesses.

Damas knew the name of the creature thrashing beneath his ribs. Terror.

It clawed at his lungs, coiled around them until he couldn't breathe. Kicked at his heart until he felt every beat like a hammer.

I can't lose him too. I won't lose him too!

He didn't know when, exactly, things had changed between them. Was it before he'd admitted that he'd never had a father to teach him- well, anything? Was it before his second trial, when Phobos had pointedly compared the boy to her own students? Was it her less than subtle hinting that he find his closure in helping the boy he'd dragged out of the mouth of death?

Did it even matter?

You've taken enough from me! You can't have him, too!

It was depressingly easy to mask fear with anger. He had been doing it all his life.

In hindsight, so had Jak.

Damas wondered later if that was why the boy didn't seem afraid. He glared at Damas the whole time, but in those eyes was a challenge: I see through you. You don't fool me.

Damas hoped no one else saw through him.

"What have you done?" he demanded, slamming the butt of his staff onto the stone with a ringing clang.

"One of those Freebooters could have shot you in the head -- shot your comrades -- because you threw down your gun! You placed yourself and them in danger!"

I stopped the trial because of you! Do you not grasp how serious this is?!

"Freebooters?!" Sig exclaimed in surprise before cutting himself off.

"And you, you're a veteran of the Arena! You have no excuse for this!" Damas snarled.

He knew he was going to have to set a punishment. If he didn't, the legislative council would. And he knew which of the two offenders they would favor.

"I shouldn't have to tell you the penalty for sabotaging citizenship trials!"

Sig risked a glance at Jak, then set his jaw.

"You're right," he said in a voice as artificially calm as Damas’s was artificially angry. "I don't have an excuse. I take full responsibility. Don't put this on Jak. He didn't know I'd be there."

Interesting. Sig was trying to protect Jak.

But in doing so, he was trying to force Damas into an impossible decision. One that would haunt him the rest of his life if he carried out the known sentence. After everything Sig had done for him, exile felt like blasphemy.

Damas clearly wasn't the only Spargan who thought so.

"Sire, think about this!" One of the Arena guards set foot on the pathway as if he intended to join the offenders.

"It can't end this way, it can't! Sig is one of us!"

One of his comrades, emboldened by his courage, joined him.

"He just came home from assignment!"

"Stop," Sig warned them, but was ignored.

"Lord Damas, Sig’s served faithfully as your spy in Haven two years! Surely it's not that surprising that he might forget to check a roster!"

"Char is right!" The first guard cried, "It's the newcomer who deserves no mercy!"

You'd better shut your mouth-

Damas knew they were just standing up for a fellow Spargan. He knew that if Jak had all three amulets, they'd be rallying on his behalf, too. But it rankled to see them turn on the boy so quickly.

"Sire, if anyone must be cast into the desert, it's him!" Rikard pointed a shaking finger at Jak.

The words were out before Damas had time to plan his next move.

"Absolutely not! I'm not letting him off that easy!"

Oh rot. He had to follow that up with something.

Think, Damas! Use your shiny, spiny, head for once and think like Obed taught you!

He thought of the old captain of the Krimzon Guard -- when that had meant something, when only the king’s honor guard wore those tattoos -- the man who had raised him when his own family hadn't been interested in such a weak channeler.

There's always another way, whelp."

Then you tell me, Obed! I don't know what to do!

He reached for that memory desperately.

*Sometimes, you face your enemy head-on. And sometimes, you wait until you see a weakness. A loophole."

"You're talking about my brothers again."

"Now, did I say that? Clean the gunpowder out of your ears, whelp, before you get me in trouble!"

A loophole. I can do that. I can still save them-!

Damas sucked in a calming breath through his teeth.

"You do make a point about Sig’s record of service. I would not be king if I did not try to keep you all alive."

Let this work, please, Obed, if you're still watching over me, let this work.

"This once, I will give you the opportunity to salvage this. In your absence, metalpedes have settled in Turquoise Canyon and begun harassing our artificact carriers."

He leaned on his staff and hoped no one saw the tension in his jaw for what it really was: fear.

"I want you to drive into the heart of the nest and take out anything that moves."

He turned on his heel to send a hard stare Jak's way.

"Unlike Sig, you get a choice right now: stay here and forfeit your second amulet, or go with Sig and repay the damage you did today with something that benefits your community."

He prayed Jak could hear the emptiness of his threat. That he would know what Damas needed him to do.

Jak was not technology-friendly. Anything that required precision or aiming was more likely to be used as a blunt force weapon. But put him on a turret gun and the boy was a prodigy. If he went with Sig, the odds of them both surviving skyrocketed.

Jak's glare melted into something uncertain, even a little fearful. He was weighing his options. Good. That would sell the act more to the guards -- who were, like all watchmen, incurable gossips.

Damas saw the moment the light clicked on for Jak. He knew that glint.

Jak nudged Daxter, almost too quickly to be seen, and Daxter nodded. To anyone else, it would seem he was responding to Jak.

Damas knew that Daxter was answering him on Jak’s behalf.

Message received.

"I'm not gonna let you send Sig in there alone."

Damas almost smiled. Defiant to the last. Never change, Jak. Unless it's to learn some common sense-!

"Then perhaps something good can come of this debacle. But understand this, boy: coming back from destroying that nest does not mean this discussion is over. I expect you to turn over your gate pass when you return. You're off scouting for three weeks."

"You're grounding us?!" Daxter shrieked.

"Keep talking, I'll make it a full month."

That one wasn't an empty threat. If he'd thought it would keep Jak out of harm's way, he'd keep him off missions indefinitely!

"We're going," Sig said quickly, and grabbed Jak by the arm before he could protest.

"I'd say good luck," Damas said dryly, "But then, luck won't help you."

which is why I'm sending Jak.

The second the elevator was out of sight, Damas dropped into his throne with the most long-suffering, exasperated groan he'd ever made.

"Someone tell me this is a dream and I'm actually dying of boredom in a financial meeting right now," he said sarcastically.

When no such reassurance arrived from the guards, he dropped his head into his hands with another irritated sound.

In the silence that followed, even over the water wheel they both heard him mutter,

"What am I going to do with that boy?"

Rikard was...not a bad guard. He did his job, and he stuck by his comrades. But he had a big mouth sometimes.

"You...favor the newcomer then? Is it his age?"

Damas aimed a tired glare at him over his fingers.

"Boy, if I told you some of the things I did at his age...."

He groaned again.

"This is boundary-testing. I've seen worse. Rot, I've been worse!"

Silence enveloped them again as the two guards stared at Damas, and Damas stared back. He hadn't meant it to come out like that. After several seconds of owlish blinking back and forth, he said simply,

"Crap. I think I adopted him."

Char turned her head quickly to hide the fact that she was trying very hard not to laugh at the king’s slightly stunned expression.

"Do you...think this will be an adequate lesson?"

Rikard winced. At least he knew he was questioning Damas’s choices in parenting. Er, ruling.

"The nest? Perhaps. It's the confinement that's going to get him." Damas snorted. "You know how Wastelanders are about adrenaline. You ground a kid like that? End of the world."

Mar was exactly the same. Gods, if he's as stubborn as Jak at that age, I'm done for. Might as well write the epitaph now: "died of a heart-attack from idiot sons doing idiot stunts".

"As long as he doesn't set anything on fire in the Arena, sounds good to me," said Char, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Are we clear to return to our posts?"

"Can't set things on fire if I don't let him get two yards away from me, right?" Damas grumbled, but he waved a hand in dismissal.

Once alone, Damas dragged his fingers down his face and muffled a scream in his palm. He was going to get Sig for this. Babysitting. Indefinitely. Or maybe make him handle Arena trials for a while, let him feel that stress! And Jak? Jak was grounded. So, so very grounded. If he had to make Jak sit through meetings with him in the throne room to get it through his head, then so be it. No stunts, no racing, no "the Precursors made me do it" nonsense.

Briefly, he glanced up at the statue of the Oracle in his throne room. Gaudy thing, but it did house a lot of parts of the water wheel.

Damas flipped it off.

#writing prompts #fic prompts #free day friday #Damas’s full name in this branch of aus is Xenodamas. named for one of Menelaus sons along with Nicostratus #he was the Daxter of his family #jak and daxter #dadmas #king damas #alternate version of a scene #jak 3 #brain said write something funny and instead i gave Damas so much stress #but in my defense *I* thought it was funny even if he very much did not #jnd ocs #wastelander ocs #if Captain Obed had survived the metalhead war he'd smack Damas upside the head and tell him to go get his kid #luckily for Obed Phobos is perfectly willing to do that in his stead #Jak knows Damas is covering for him. He does *not* know how grounded he's about to be #good luck getting him back to Haven Ashelin. His dad won't sign the permission slip.

[miraculous-fatigue]

Lies had issues, sure, but I respect it for being one of the few episodes where Adrien had to experience the consequences of his actions, and he couldn’t push the blame on someone else or ignore it after the fact. Last time that happened was… oh, I can’t remember a time that happened before! Haha! Bad!

Also before anyone says anything I know it’s the writers pushing the blame onto other people, not Adrien himself, he’s just a character they’re writing

#copycat? blame ladybug for not showing up #prime queen? blame ladybug for being rude owo #chat blanc? blame ladybug for unknowingly revealing her civilian identity #etc etc #and that’s not even considering times when he never even experienced consequences #like throwing a hissy fit in glaciator and frozer and kuro neko (where he basically got rewarded) and sentibubbler and hack-san and #fatigued rants #miraculous ladybug #adrien salt #ml salt

[risuola]

ENTRY #2 ♡ F. READER X GOJO SATORU

As if the pleads could never be heard, You turned away the cerulean blue, And while the lines began to get blurred, I struggled to bask in the might of you.

contents: arranged marriage!au, brief mention of blood I guess — 1,2k words

series masterlist

It didn’t take long until you realized that there’s something no one considered when arranging the marriage between you and the honored one. An aspect of life that got heavily overlooked, painfully ignored. When the main objective was to secure the bloodline of your clan and make sure the precious genes of the strongest won’t end with the demise of the man himself, not even one person thought of the consequences you will have to face. Maybe no one expected that to happen, maybe no one was bright enough to realize that the moment your hand was adorned with a golden band, and the vows that echoed in between the walls silenced down, all of Satoru’s enemies will automatically become your enemies.

You were a warrior – strong and fearless. A sorcerer of true blood and bones, you were proud of what you represented while entering the battlefield, proud of your abilities and power. Before you became Gojo, not much was able to surprise you. Before your name was changed, nothing ever threatened you enough to make you feel uneasy. Nothing until now.

It didn’t really surprise you anymore, it wasn’t the first time. It was logical in a way, attacking your husband was bound to be futile – infinity made him invincible, untouchable, and those characteristics you lacked severely. You were an obvious target, a person that’s closest to the real target and in times like this, when facing few curses that you were certain were special grade, you wondered if their approach would be different if they knew how little you meant to your husband. Would they retreat if they knew that attacking a mere assistant like Ijichi would cause more emotions in Satoru Gojo than the death of his own wife?

You fought, making the most out of your abilities to stand against the force whose main objective was to brutalize you as much as possible. You saw it as a chance to learn more, to develop more resistance, to grow stronger. There was a rush of adrenaline coursing through your veins, a thrill of excitement as the battle unraveled with an air of dread and death surrounding the desolate area. The metallic taste of blood was distinctive on your tongue once your body failed to protect you from a series of attacks. You moved despite the sharp pain that slowly but surely was making its way throughout your entire system. For a moment you felt giddy, almost euphoric as the idea of going all in settled in your mind and then you realized that it might end up bad.

Equipped in a blade that’s made fully from your own cursed energy and sharp enough to cut through the hardest of stone, you moved forward, ready to collide with the cursed spirits that caught you in the middle of nowhere. But then you stopped and your eyes closed tightly as the bright, red light blinded you. A strong arm held you around the ribcage and a large frame of a man was pressed to your back.

“Can you please fucking tell me, is running away against your beliefs?” You heard the familiar, sharp tone of your husband, a groan of annoyance and something else that you couldn’t decipher carrying his words. You tilted your head to look at his unamused face. His eyes, now unobscured, weren’t even directed at you, but his jaw was clenched and his hold on you was tight. “I’m sure you’re smart enough to tell that it’s way above your level of jujutsu.”

You couldn’t tell how much of his words was care and how much was pure insult, but either way it put you at ease to know he’s there. There was a sense of safety that you never experienced before, the calm embrace of infinity that wrapped around your frame, the subtle taste of what it’s like to be untouchable. And it lingered, crawled softly across your skin along with the foreign warmth of your husband’s body.

“If you look around you might realize that there’s literally no way to run away,” you replied with just enough of venom to mask how grateful you were for his appearance. The spiteful tone felt natural on your tongue, a default of when you spoke to him and yet, this time you had to remember to use it.

“Yeah, right, so next best thing is to face something that will fucking kill you head on.” He groaned, annoyed, nervous. You felt his fingers digging between your ribs, he kept you closer than he needed to. “Such a wise and well thought through decision.”

“I’m not as weak as you thi–“

“I know,” he cut you off, bothered and harsh. “But you are too weak for this.”

He was right and you knew that. You were far from your best shape, the job you finished just few hours prior ate most of your cursed energy and even with full power you’d most likely struggle against the threat of those curses. But then, you were not given a choice. It was rather fight or die without a fight and the decision was easy.

“Good thing my husband is so strong.”

A sharp tsk left Satoru’s lips and then, the cursed creatures vanished, seemingly aware of how much the power scale tilted to their detriment. Next time you blinked, you were at home and your husband’s touch was gone. The subtle pressure of his fingers against your ribcage now only a ghost of what it was seconds ago.

“It wasn’t the first time now, was it?” He questioned and you struggled to tell if what you heard below the detachment and coldness was care or annoyance.

“It wasn’t. But I’m usually able to deal with it myself.”

Gojo sighed. A long and deep exhale of air left his lungs and he seemed to think, to weigh his next words and actions carefully.

“You should’ve told me. I’ll take care of it,” he said finally, bluntly, matter-of-factly. “You’re not strong enough to face my enemies.”

“I held them long enough for you to come, didn’t I?”

“And what if I didn’t show up?!” He snapped and growled, loud and angry. His fingers wrapped around your jaw, forcefully tilting your head back, to look at him fully. His face was closer, your noses almost touching and the piercing blue of his eyes fixed on you, as the tone of his speech got low and quiet, almost whisper-like. ”What if I didn’t come?”

“Then I’d be dead,” you replied, surprised by how small your own voice sounded. There was no right answer you could’ve given him.

“Yeah, you’d be dead,” he nodded, panted. You watched the spectacle of emotions playing across his handsome features. His brows furrowed and the narrowed eyes seemed to look straight through your very soul. For a second or two, his jaw clenched and lips pressed together forming a line and you were stunned to realize that even his beautiful face creased when angered. And then, his lids dropped, the muscles relaxed. He breathed out, you felt it on your lips and skin, a subtle sweetness and mint of his breath. The tight hold of his fingers loosened up as he looked at you again, allowing his eyes to run down your features, to linger on your lips before they got back to stare back at you. “I don’t want you dead.”

taglist: @kinny-away, @anan-baban

#𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐲 ♡ #jjk x y/n #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x you #jujutsu kaisen fanfiction #jjk fanfiction #gojo #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #satoru #jujutsu kaisen x y/n #gojo x you #gojo satoru x you #satoru x you #gojo x reader #gojo satoru x reader #satoru x reader #gojo x y/n #gojo satoru x y/n #satoru x y/n #gojo angst #gojo satoru angst #satoru angst #gojo arranged marriage #jjk arranged marriage #gojo fluff #gojo fanfiction

[elvensorceress]

In all the excitement about bi!Buck, (which— yay! Amazing! Very exciting! No notes!) I think there’s a part of this story we’re missing. I haven’t seen anyone talk about it, so have some rambling.

 It wasn’t just Buck who looked at this experienced, older, queer man and wanted to know him. It was also Eddie. 

We have never seen Eddie go so hard, so immediately for anyone. To the point his best friend of years felt like he was being ignored by him. Yes, Buck wanted Tommy’s attention for obvious reasons. But he was also slighted by the perceived lack of attention from Eddie. 

Suddenly, Eddie is spending multiple times a week going out with this man. Going to Vegas with this man. Working out with him, working on his car with him, doing karaoke and trivia night with him? Asking his alleged girlfriend to babysit more than once so that he can go out with Tommy? Obviously, it was from jealous!Buck’s point of view, but seriously. If Buck felt ignored, what is Marisol even thinking? Did Eddie bother to make time for his new girlfriend? What spare time would he even have if they work several 24 hour shifts and he’s also gone out with Tommy at least three times in one week? And is probably planning more?

Not that I think Eddie’s feelings for Tommy are necessarily in the same vein as Buck’s feelings for Tommy. But my gosh, Eddie giggly and kicking his feet and twirling his hair while on the phone with Tommy was so very loud. And actually a pretty neat contrast to being distracted and trying to text Marisol “hey mari it me eddie” to ask her out. Eddie’s sudden infatuation with Tommy was a thousand times more than anything we’ve seen from him for anyone. Considering that what he stated he wanted was the magical chemistry he’d found when he and Shannon got together, like… is that not what he just found with Tommy? 

Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean Eddie has any explicit romantic or sexual attraction toward Tommy. I suppose he could? But the point is more that wow, there is some kind of intense draw pulling Eddie to him even if we interpret it as platonic. 

Buck says at the end of the ep that they met this guy and he was so cool and Buck wanted to get to know him. Which makes sense given that Buck is canonically crushing on him and going to be dating him. But Eddie was actually the one who got there first. Eddie also had a reaction somewhere along those lines of “he’s really cool, I need to know him” to the point where he’s all of a sudden spending most if not all of his free time with him. 

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this person Eddie wants to spend time with is an experienced, out queer man who is comfortable in his own sexuality and his own masculinity. (He has so much in common with Eddie! They have so many similar interests! They have a magical click together that makes Eddie want to be around him all the time! There’s so much they can do together!) 

Eddie might not have even known it, maybe in the same way Buck also didn’t know it, but Eddie definitely latched onto that, too. Which is very interesting, no? Very— queers finding each other and bonding over shared experiences even before they know that’s what they’re doing. 

It can easily be someone who is likely confused about their own feelings but knows they are having certain feelings just not the names to put to those feelings, and consequently seeking guidance and reassurance that there are other people who are just like them who have these feelings as well. It’s realizing how they can be themselves, that they can be queer in a way that fits who they are instead of what they might conceptualize as queer because of stereotypes and preconceived notions. It’s learning you can be you and also be queer. That there are people like you out there. 

Eddie found something with Tommy that he hasn’t been shown to have found anywhere else. It’s a new and different thing for him, too. And if it were just about excitement over a new friend, why is it so much so quickly all at once? Eddie’s a social person. He’s a friendly, charming, charismatic person. He has friends. But it feels like this is a very different sort of friendship for him. 

And the fact that this is the same man who just gave Buck his bisexual awakening is verrrry inch resting. 

Also regardless of what kind of feelings Eddie and Tommy might have been having for each other, they were so going on dates. Flying someone to Vegas because you have tickets that have been sold out for weeks to something they enjoy? Like damn Eddie. You pulled a sugar daddy. 

Anyway. Eddie is queer, too. Double sexuality awakenings, ready go!

That is all! 💕

#911 #Eddie Diaz #911 on abc #911 abc #911 meta #yes I'm an Eddie girlie(gn) through and through

[flowerandblood]

A Wife's Only Duty

Halloween Request Oneshots Series

[ Aemond • Targaryen x wife • female ]

[ warnings: sex content, smut, angst, toxic relation, violence, marital rape, choking, character death ]

[ description: The war changes Aemond beyond recognition, and his wife becomes the target of his eternal abuse, also in bed. One day, however, he crosses the limits and has to face the consequences. Angst, violence, marital rape, very dark!Aemond. ]

This oneshot is an Anon Request and is created with Halloween in mind, so unlike what I usually write, these oneshots will be very dark and uncomfortable. Keep this in mind before you start reading.

*English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy!*

My others works: Masterlist

____

At the beginning of their marriage he was terrified. He had no idea how to handle this young, gentle girl who, by his parents' decision, became his wife. Her presence embarrassed him, he hid his feelings behind a mask of indifference and hostility, he deliberately did not allow her to get close to him even when she tried.

He had had a few one-off adventures with servants before marrying her, but at the time he cared less for their fulfilment than for his own, treating them like vessels in which he drained his seed.

During their wedding night, he didn't know how to act, her face pale and frightened, he guessed her mother had warned her that the act would only be pleasurable for him.

He ordered her to lie on her stomach and she did so without a word. He told her to lift her hips and spread her thighs, and she did. He liked how meek and obedient she was and thought he would try to be gentle, that way he would reward her.

He heard her breathing hard and stifling sounds of discomfort as he entered her, as he began to move slowly inside her, panting hard, her hands clenched on the pillow. She was tighter than he had expected, her walls squeezing him from all sides, giving him pleasure he had never experienced before.

Unwittingly, he began to slide faster into her, panting louder and louder, her sounds of discomfort becoming more pronounced, he heard her cry out softly.

"− quiet −" He exhaled coolly, for she tightened her lips and fell silent, taking what he was giving her, cuddling her face into the pillow, obediently waiting for the end, which came soon after.

He cum inside her with a loud sound of relief and found to his surprise that he was satisfied.

"− you did well, wife −" He praised her with a low murmur, sliding out her slowly, and she breathed a sigh of relief, her whole body quivering.

He let her stay with him that night, she moved away from him to the other end of the bed and did not speak to him. The next day at breakfast, he saw that she sat up in pain, a look of discomfort painted on her face that she tried to hide by adopting at least a partially satisfied expression. She tried to start a light discussion about nothing, but he was not interested in that and remained silent.

After several of their close-ups, something changed, since she directed his hand between her thighs as he slid into her with deep, sure movements, since he discovered the point between her folds, her insides became exceptionally moist and sticky, no more gasps of exertion came from her lips, only moans, her insides clenched against him.

"− please, husband − touch me like this −" She mumbled, and he felt his manhood throbbing hard at her words, some kind of pride and satisfaction filled his chest, so he did as she asked.

That night was the first time he had seen female fulfilment.

Since then she had sought the closeness of his body herself, unable to bond with him outside of bed, approaching him in this way, and he had not spurned her. He could consider that at this point their marital life was quite successful, approaching what might be called a bond, even if only carnal, still close.

And then Luke died because of his stupidity.

He saw a change in her, her face, her eyes no longer lit up with desire at the sight of him, he saw pain and horror in her, she blamed him for starting the war, for making them no longer safe.

"What is the meaning of that look, sweet wife?" He asked, staring at her watchfully, his fingers rubbing against each other in a gesture of frustration that she knew all too well. She swallowed loudly, apparently wondering strenuously how to ease his anger.

"Forgive me. I'm terrified." She whispered, and he, without knowing why, burst into laughter. He approached her and she took a step back, her eyes wide.

He didn't like that.

"Come here. Come here, I say." He hissed, furious as she tried to pull away from him, his hand clamped tightly on her shoulder. He turned her around with her back to him and forced her to bend over, but she still tried to break free.

"− no − please − please, husband, I don't want to −" She mumbled out with difficulty, her voice and body trembling, her tiny fingers clenched helplessly on his skin. He pressed his lips to her ear.

"− you don't want to? − are you disgusted with your kinslayer husband? hm? − you swore to me, you fucking whore −" He growled furiously, struggling against her, pulling up her skirt in a violent motion, grabbing her head by her hair and pressing her cheek against the table.

She cried out loudly as he entered her suddenly and violently, panting hard, sliding into her hard and fast.

"− that's it − fucking take it −" He growled out, pumping his length into her so fast and aggressively that he felt like he was going to pierce through her stomach, her sobs mixed with her moans.

He slipped his hand between her thighs, teasing her pearl in circular, slow motions, her lips parted, horror and indecision on her face, her walls throbbing on him suddenly. He licked his lips feeling it.

"− just like that − that's my good wife − it's okay now, I forgive you −" He breathed out, fucking her with all his strength, the sticky, loud slapping of flesh against flesh echoing through his chamber. He chuckled under his breath as he felt her come suddenly, moaning and whimpering, her legs trembling all over as waves of pleasure ran through her body.

"− fucking knew it − greedy little whore −"

From then on, their rapprochements became more and more violent and aggressive because of him, because of what had happened to Aegon, because of what had happened to Helaena, because of Alys, whom he fucked every time he appeared in Harrenhal, because she was expecting his bastard child and his wife still hadn't given him an heir.

"− you drink Moon Tea, don't you? − say it, or I'll strangle you −" He growled, his cock slamming against her back wall again and again, pushing her walls to their limits, his two hands clenched on her neck. She cried out, all pale, shaking her head.

"− no − no −" She mumbled wearily, and he pressed his lips together, looking at her with rage.

"− fucking whore − you think I'm an idiot? − that I don't know? − that I don't know that you hate me, that you abhor the thought that you could bear my child? −" He wailed in despair, feeling like he was about to burst into sobs for some reason, her eyes rolled back, her breath caught in her throat.

If he had let her go then, she would have been able to tell him that she was expecting his offspring.

His hands held her neck in an iron grip until he finally reached his peak inside her with a growl of pain and relief. He looked at her face, panting heavily, her eyes empty, her body lying still.

She was not breathing.

He let go of her suddenly, looking at her with wide eyes, his hands trembling in the air. He touched her cheek and patted her lightly, as if he wanted to wake her from her slumber.

"My love? My love, wake up. I didn't really mean it, I would never hurt you." He babbled out with difficulty, his throat tighten, his heart pounding like mad, he felt like his head was spinning.

She didn't react, her absent gaze fixed somewhere far away, into nothingness, her lips slightly parted, her body soft and relaxed.

He whined like an animal, pressing his face to her cheek, holding her still warm body close, the tears he hadn't let fall for years dripping down his face.

"− I'm sorry − I'm sorry − I'm so sorry − please, forgive me −" He cried out in despair, cradling her in his arms like a small child, stroking her hair. He lowered her onto his bed again, stroking her cheek, kissing her nose, her forehead, her lips as tenderly and gently as ever.

"− please, wake up − please, I promise I'll change −" He mumbled, but it was too late, all that remained was her empty body, her heart no longer beating, on her neck bruises from the grip of his hands.

She ran away from him where he could no longer hurt her.

_____

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess @sweethoneyblossom1 @watercolorskyy @astral-blossoms @randomdragonfires @apollonshootafar @padfooteyes @darylandbethfanforever9 @fudge13 @snh96 @rwdkarla @echos-muses @ipostwhtifeel @letmeloveyouuuu @yentroucnagol @valeskafics @verena-targaryen-writes @travelingmypassion @cryingforlife

#dark aemond smut #dark aemond #dark aemond targaryen #hotd smut #aemond smut #aemond targaryen smut #ewan mitchell smut #ewan mitchell fanfic #hotd angst #hotd aemond #hotd fanfic #hotd fanfiction #aemond oneshot #aemond one eye #aemond kinslayer #prince aemond #aemond #aemond targaryen #aemond fanfiction #aemond fanfic #aemond the kinslayer #aemond fic #aemond x oc #aemond x fem!reader #ewan mitchell #dark aemond angst #aemond targeryen angst #aemond targaryen angst #aemond angst #hotd fandom

[oh-stars]

On a Limb

Love is saying "I love you" even when you're scared

a @steddielovemonth prompt | 2047 words | CW: N/A | Rating: T

--

“You don’t even know if she likes girls,” Robin says, stacking the tapes with a little more force than necessary. 

Steve swipes his hand along the counter, smearing the cleaner across the plastic-like surface. “It’s a gut instinct! And the boobies–”

“Don’t even start with the boobies,” Robin huffs. She turns completely away from him then, pushing the cart toward the stacks. Steve can’t see well enough with the lights dimmed, and thanks to corporate controlling the lights now, they turn off half at exactly closing time. Which means Robin reshelves and straightens up the stacks while Steve counts the tills (thanks to the counter having the most light left) and cleans the remainder of the store. It’s a win-win. It also means it’s easier for Robin to ignore him. 

“C’mon,” Steve says, spraying the counter aggressively over a melted lollipop. “It’s a good theory!”

“A theory!” She practically shouts, turning on her heel to look at him. The tapes she’s holding knock into the shelves as she waves them about with her words. “It’s just a theory, Steve! I’m not about to become the town pariah over a theory!” 

“Eddie says it’s not so bad being a pariah,” Steve adds. “People leave him alone and he can do whatever he wants–” 

“You and I both know that’s a load of horse shit, Steve,” Robin says, and while he can’t see it clearly he knows the face she’s making at him. The one that tells him she’s had enough of the teasing and the games, that she knows Steve’s being an idiot on purpose right now. “He’s purposely hiding all the threats on his life from you, dingus.”

Steve pauses. Threats? He abandons the rag and pushes himself away from the counter to lean against the one closest to her, draping himself along the freshly cleaned surface. “He’s getting threats?” 

He can hear the eyeroll. “Steve,” she says with the rest of her patience, “he’s been accused of murdering some of Hawkins’ brightest and starting a cult from the drama room in the high school. Do you really think that these ignorant assholes think he’s allowed to just walk around and coexist with their children? That they aren’t clutching their pearls and pointing their little witch fingers at him?” 

Robin walks back up to the counter and mirrors him, faces too close. “He knows how much you want to protect him, so he’s keeping it from you so you don’t worry.” 

“But I always worry,” he counters. 

“I know this,” Robin says, “but I don’t think Eddie’s allowed himself to consider that he is, in fact, in your ‘inner circle’ as he put it.” She sighs and bumps their heads together like a cat. “You mean well, I know you do, but I can’t risk dealing with the consequences of people finding out on a hunch,” she whispers. 

Steve presses his temple against hers. “It’s more than a hunch,” he promises. “I see the way she looks at you. Vickie turns into a completely different–” 

Robin covers his hand with hers. “Stop. I love you, but I have to make this decision. This isn’t like you asking out a girl, it’s just not the same no matter how much you want it to be. And that’s not… It’s not something you can really understand until you’re experiencing it. I love how much you’re trying, it means a lot, but I need to do this on my own and until I find out she actually likes girls, I’m not doing anything.” 

He listens, because of course he does, but he doesn’t stop thinking about it. As Robin goes back to the cart, shuffling the crinkling VHS boxes into alphabetical order, Steve finishes up at the counter. He can barely see her when he moves on to vacuuming, but it’s for the best. He doesn’t want to see her sad, accepting smile right now. 

It just… it sucks watching her accept that she’ll never find love because Vickie had a boyfriend – who she dumped three months ago, mind you – and she can’t see how much Vickie is trying to catch her eye. Steve knows how to tell when someone is attracted to you, when they’re trying to get you to notice them or make a move and she’s doing all of it. 

Just like Steve is with Eddie. 

He hasn’t talked to Robin about… that development yet. It’s been something he’s been working through since spring break, the warm and fuzzies Eddie gives him. At first, he thought it was something to do with saving Eddie’s life, of almost losing him all together, but when those feelings only grew with each smoke session and long car rides… He had to come clean with himself. 

It’s been months and Steve’s a mess trying to figure Eddie out, though. 

Eddie’s as clingy as Steve is, they spend nearly all of their free time together, with Robin and Dustin mixed in there too. Eddie makes an effort to learn about Steve’s interests, whether it be learning the lyrics to his favorite albums, listening to the gossip Steve spouts (both local and from pop culture), or going as far as watching and, dare Steve say, playing the occasional game of basketball. And Steve is doing the same, mind you, listening to Eddie’s mixtapes and learning what different terminology means for music and D&D. They watch artsy horror movies and Steve’s reading more, even if it feels impossible, just so they have more to talk about. 

At a certain point, it goes above and beyond normal friendship sacrifices. 

Steve sees the way Eddie holds himself around Steve versus Robin, too. With Robin, he’ll touch and hang all over her with reckless abandon, while still being respectful, but with Steve, there’s always a little hesitation and tension with his movements. Like he’s waiting for Steve to react negatively. 

There’s just… a wall between them, no matter how much Steve tries to tear it down. 

And he has a feeling that the wall Eddie’s put up is a lot like his own, that blocks anyone from seeing how deep his feelings for Eddie really goes. 

Steve looks over to where Robin’s made her way around most of the store. She looks sad, even as she bobs her head to something he can’t hear and her hands move deftly along the tapes. She’s lost in her head over Vickie, something she probably didn’t want to talk about and Steve had needled his way into the conversation. He just wants her to be happy, is all. 

But how can he expect her to take a risk and put herself out there if he’s being a coward too? 

He wraps the cord of the vacuum up as tightly as he can, tucking the machine back into the closet. There’s still more to clean but they’re opening tomorrow anyway, who cares if they didn’t dust the shelves for one night. “Robbie,” Steve calls softly.

She hums, not looking up from the foreign language movies she’s reorganizing. 

Steve moves to sit beside her, knees overlapping. He can’t read the titles, wouldn’t be much help even with the lights, but he can keep her company until she’s done. “I think I know how you feel,” he says slowly, “because I feel that too. With, um.” He clears his throat. 

Robin turns fully to him and in the dim light, Steve can see the way her eyes are bright with curiosity and her brow knits in confusion. “With?” she prompts softly. 

“I love Eddie.” There’s no ‘I think’ or ‘maybe’ about it. He knows he loves him, and would do anything for him. No matter the risk. Steve just wants Eddie in his life and he has a feeling that Eddie, even if Steve’s totally wrong about sharing the same romantic feelings, would never hate him for having said feelings. But he’ll never know unless he does something about it. 

“I love him, too–”

“No,” Steve says, taking Robin’s hand, “I’m in love with Eddie.” 

He hears the little gasp she tries to conceal. “But he’s so muppety.” 

“Like you have room to talk.” 

“Yeah, but Tammy’s a Miss Piggy while Eddie’s a Fozzie Bear–” 

“He’s not Fozzie!” 

“Oh no, my apologies,” Robin says, sitting up as she puts a hand to her chest. “He’s like you stuffed Animal into Fozzie–” 

Steve laughs, pushing at her shoulder. “Will you stop?” 

Robin shrugs, but she’s just as giggly. “How long have you known?” 

“I think for a while,” he admits, “but I wasn’t sure until a few weeks ago.” 

She hums again as she takes his hand. “Thank you for telling me.” 

“I’m scared,” he whispers, “but I also know I can’t… I can’t stand to live without him, but I need to tell him how I feel. I don’t want to harbor these feelings until I die.”

“Are you just saying this so I ask out Vickie?” 

“Sort of.” He shrugs. “But I want this, too.” 

Robin smiles at him. 

They gather their things and head out of Family Video, with Robin locking the door behind them. “When are you telling him?” Robin asks as they climb into the Beemer. 

“Tonight– Ow!” Steve rubs at his arm where Robin’s hand slapped at his bare skin. “The hell was that for?” 

“You just came out to me, admitted you’re in love with Eddie Munson, and now you’re just going to walk over there and confess your feelings?” 

Well. Yeah? 

It must say it on his face since she throws her hands up and mumbles, “Unbelievable.” 

“What?” 

“Nothing!” she huffs. “I love you, Steve, but god, the unwavering confidence of a man is unfathomable.” Robin crosses her arms and slouches in her seat. She pouts until he turns on her street, then she pops up and turns to him. “You will report to me immediately tomorrow morning over pancakes with extra strawberries and whipped cream every single detail of how it goes down. Understood?” 

“I could just call you tonight–” 

“No,” she says, unbuckling, “you’ll be too busy swapping spit with Munson and I’m not staying up until you come up for air. We have to work in the morning and if we’re getting breakfast before, we have to be up extra early. And unlike you, I won’t have the lovey dovey high you’ll have tomorrow to get me through the slog.” 

Steve can only laugh. “Yeah, okay.” 

She pauses once she’s outside of the car and motions for him to roll down her window. He does, only for her to hug him through the space. “Call if it doesn’t go well, though. I’ll keep my window unlocked.” 

“Love you, Rob.” 

“Love you too, dingus.” 

They say their goodbyes and then Steve’s off, driving to Forest Hills to do exactly that. It hits him as he parks outside of the trailer, watching Eddie’s shadow in the curtains, what he’s about to do. But Robin’s waiting on an answer and Steve wasn’t lying when he said he couldn’t keep on like this. 

He turns the ignition off and climbs out of the Beemer on shaky legs. He can do this. 

Steve doesn’t get a chance to knock before Eddie’s popping his head out, grinning as he takes in Steve. Even though his stomach feels like it’s reached Vecna’s corpse in the Upside Down, his heart’s racing faster than a hummingbird as he meets Eddie’s eyes. This could go horribly, he could lose Eddie forever and he’ll be destined to live alone with only Robin as they escape from town to town like the FBI’s Most Wanted, never allowed to settle. 

He takes in a deep breath and holds it. 

“What are you doing here?” Eddie asks, opening the door wider. 

“I’m in love with you,” he says on his exhale. “I don’t need you to love me back, but I need you to know,” he adds just as breathless. 

Eddie’s face falls for all of two seconds before his grin comes back twice as strong. He reaches out and grabs Steve by the shirt collar, dragging him in swiftly just to slam him against the door. Steve doesn’t get a chance to question if he’s about to be hit when Eddie’s lips are on his.

--

Thank you @lady-lostmind!

Ao3 Link

#ohstars fic #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #stranger things #eddie munson #steddielovemonth #ohstars posting challenge #platonic stobin #robin buckley

[zahri-melitor]

Dick isn't Damian's Parent

Thinking again about the push to see Dick as parental towards Damian and the reasons it does not land for me (and is not my reading of the Dick!Bats era):

There’re a few points I want to establish up front:

Not every person who cares for or supervises a child is their parent or guardian.

Having the ability to set boundaries and consequences for a child is more persuasive of parenting but not determinative.

My fundamental determination is the ability to make decisions on behalf of the child and about the child, including in respect to boundaries and consequences, is what places a person in a parental position to a child.

If you have ever spent any time around parenting groups or online parenting forums, you have heard the debate over “the dad is not ‘babysitting his kids’ he’s parenting”. (My apologies for everyone who just experienced immediate war flashbacks) But while this traditional devaluing of what is expected from fathers in relation to active parenting of their children, it’s a discussion that at its core has an important kernel of truth: when is the person supervising a child parenting the kid, and when are they a carer? And in traditional divisions of childrearing, fathers did not do a lot of the hands-on parenting, leading to the ‘babysitting the kids for the wife’ joke. Because the guts of parenting: setting boundaries; setting and enforcing consequences; the day to day ‘keeping a kid alive’ work of food and clothing and medical appointments; of supervising children; of teaching rules and emotional regulation; of making care decisions on their behalf? A lot of that fell on the mother. (Even in that awful dynamic of the consequence of bad behaviour being ‘wait til your father gets home (as he’ll belt you)’ from a mother, she’s still the one establishing the boundary that was broken, and setting the consequence – seeing the father for discipline).  

Fundamentally, the relationship between a superhero and their sidekick is not a necessarily parental one. It’s better framed as mentoring, particularly when there’s an adult-child dynamic in the relationship. Is Dick!Bats and Tim!Robin a parent-child relationship? No, even though Dick actually spends a chunk of their time teaching Tim skills and mentoring him (including housework! Actually a lot of housework! Dick cooks for Tim and gets him to help sweep and shows him how to do laundry).

‘Is Dick parenting Damian’ comes accompanied by a second question: is Alfred parenting Damian? Because I will happily argue that Alfred is doing the lion’s share of day to day childcare of Damian outside of costume.

If we define the period that Dick has effective custody of Damian as Battle for the Cowl to Flashpoint (given Bruce is only intermittently home between his return and Flashpoint), then we have a number on panel moments outside of things that are pure vigilante field decisions that should be considered in regards to ‘who is Damian’s parent’.

We have Alfred declaring that someone needs to take responsibility for Damian (as he won’t, step up Dick). However. Once Alfred has arranged the situation to his liking (aka he is not the Official Person In Charge of Damian), he…proceeds to act exactly like he always does in regards to anyone living in the Wayne household: he cooks their food, cleans their clothes, supervises underage members of the household during the day when other people aren’t around, tends their injuries, may send them to bed, is arguably educating Damian during this period if Damian is in fact receiving any formal education (Damian is not in school during Reborn), etc. This is actually a massive chunk of the day to day responsibilities of parenting. Now, that doesn’t make Alfred Damian’s parent: first of all there’s the ‘Alfred is paid to do this’ aspect of Alfred’s relationship with all the Waynes, which can never be overlooked, just like another family might hire a babysitter or an au pair or a nanny or a servant/’help’ to do a lot of the basic labour associated with raising a kid. Or that child might be in daycare or school where they are again under paid adult supervision. Secondly, Alfred very clearly is disclaiming his responsibility for making decisions on behalf of Damian. He is saying it is not his job to arrange education for Damian or to financially support him, or to set boundaries and consequences for Damian’s actions. He can and will enforce rules and boundaries others set, but he won’t decide what they should be.

Setting Boundaries and Consequences This is something I do agree Dick does somewhat, in regards to Damian. However I will point out he is…not great at it.

This is a major issue, as Damian is in desperate need of boundaries given his upbringing, even more than an average child his age, and his testing those boundaries is rarely reacted to in an adequate manner to make Damian feel safe while still enforcing consequences for bad behaviour. (This is a recurring problem for Damian as a character ever since his introduction, up to the present, actually).

There are a lot of children who have parents who are bad at setting boundaries and consequences. Ask any teacher or coach (or any parent about That Kid at playgroup). But it’s also a sign of someone who’s not actually parenting a child, particularly when there isn’t a more convincing argument for why that person is the ‘parent’ (such as legal responsibility as parent/guardian).

There are three prominent moments I can pick out around the early Dick and Damian relationship over Dick enforcing boundaries and consequences with Damian: the Red Robin #1 fight Dick breaks up between Tim and Damian; the Hit List fight in Red Robin #14 between Tim and Damian; and the War of the Robins situation in Batman & Robin (2011), particularly Dick’s reaction in #12.

In short: Dick is trying what’s commonly considered ‘gentle’ parenting, but fails to enforce any consequences for Damian’s actions. Let’s go through this.

Red Robin #1: this is the least parental and most big brother and ‘overwhelmed and just reacting’ of all three situations. In terms of what Dick does towards Damian’s actions: he tells Damian to ‘shut up’ after insulting Tim, twice; and grabs Tim to stop him punching Damian again. We don’t ever see whether Dick talks to Damian about his language or attitude (because it’s not a comic focused on Damian), but honestly this shouldn’t be considered parenting; Dick’s a frustrated older brother here breaking up a fight between two of his siblings. His focus is to the stop the fight and then attempt to continue the conversation he was having with Tim about the support Dick’s looking to get from Tim. The consequence of Damian’s behaviour is being told to shut up, which…eh. Unlikely to be effective in any way.

Red Robin #14: Again focusing on the situation that Dick walked into – he gets the story of what happened from Tim and Damian (we the readers know it wasn’t a full story, but Dick’s working with what they said). Dick then validates Damian’s feelings and sends him out of the room to recover while saying he’ll talk to Tim about this, and proceeds to work with Tim to stop the situation happening again (by talking through what Damian’s feeling with Tim, and then working with Tim to upgrade his password). Notably, while Damian has his hurt emotions recognised, Dick never points out to Damian that Tim should be able to expect for Damian not to snoop through a password protected computer file and it’s Damian’s own fault for looking and getting hurt. There are no shown consequences from Dick to Damian over ‘this is the result of you breaking a boundary (hacking Tim’s files)’. I again note this is in Red Robin, but that conversation does not say that Dick will come and talk to Damian once Damian’s cooled off. Dick’s actually managing to parent Tim better here on page than he does Damian.

The reason I’m not convinced there was any follow through from Dick to Damian in Red Robin #14? Batman & Robin #12 (2011).

Batman & Robin #12 (2011): in this issue we again see Dick stepping in to acknowledge Damian’s feelings, after Damian’s just declared ‘war’ on Dick, Jason and Tim to ‘defeat’ them and show his superiority as Robin (and take a trophy). They’ve just finished a boss fight and Damian offers to drive the other three back in the Batmobile. Tim and Jason extract themselves from this with the minimum level of politeness possible. Dick takes up the offer and at that point says to Damian: “you don’t need to try so hard, Damian. If you hadn’t noticed, kid, you’re already wearing the ‘R’ on your chest” and proceeds to hand Damian one of his escrima sticks as a ‘trophy’. This is again an example of Dick validating Damian’s emotions about a situation (feeling he needs to compete to be the best), but fails to provide Damian any boundary over his actions here. Damian gets to keep the ‘trophies’ he took from attacking his siblings without warning. He doesn’t get explained to him that this behaviour is unacceptable and why Jason and Tim have refused his offer to drive them home and left precipitously.  Dick doesn’t talk out the situation with Damian and work through what he should do next time when he feels hurt or overlooked, and about how he should respect Tim and Jason’s boundaries and spaces.

This is a common failure point seen in parents pursuing gentle parenting options in the modern era. They acknowledge the child’s emotions over the situation (good!) but provide no follow through on why the situation arose in the first place and how to avoid it happening again (and in the case of bad behaviour, some level of consequence/discipline, even if it is ‘and that’s why your friend doesn’t want to play with you’ or a time out or an apology).

Really, Dick’s not setting adequate boundaries for Damian’s behaviour, particularly in terms of family/civilian behaviour not vigilante behaviour. And he’s definitely not holding Damian to consequences (outside of outraged yells of ‘Damian!’ or ‘Robin!’ at bad behaviour in the field) for his actions.

Decision Making Power

The main evidence of Dick asserting the power to make decisions on behalf of Damian during this period is over Damian being Robin. He ‘gives’ the mantle to Damian and sanctions taking him out as Robin. He tells the Teen Titans to take Damian on the team. Dick also chooses that they will live at Wayne Tower not the Manor. He does not really make any other decisions on panel on behalf of Damian during this period, as an individual outside the mantle (and within the mantle Dick can choose these things anyway, as Batman, as the original Robin, and as someone with a lot of authority over what a Titans team is). He states or jokes to Damian that the position of Robin is conditional (“I can still offer Tim Drake his old job back”). He accepts responsibility for being a carer for Damian when Alfred pushes it on him, but is frequently reactive rather than active in terms of making decisions.

And he does not exercise decision making power, he actively defers to two people he sees as having more authority to make decisions on behalf of Damian: Bruce and Talia.

Dick doesn’t question Talia’s right to walk in and arrange medical treatment for Damian after he’s been shot and his back broken. He also accepts Bruce’s decision to leave Damian in Dick’s custody after his return and not initially take over care as a decision Bruce has the right to make on both their behalf.

I’m aware of the panels far later on when Dick tells Damian he considered fighting to adopt Damian, but alongside being writer metacommentary later on rather than textual back in 2010-2011, it’s simply not something that would have been possible; for Dick to adopt Damian would have been a fight given that he had two living parents who legally were still considered fit parents for Damian. A custody dispute resulting in “actually the 10 year old is going to live full time with his older brother, who will have legal guardianship” would be something that required legal sign off from a judge, who in that circumstance would have concluded that both Talia and Bruce were unfit to have custody of their child. Now whether or not Talia is a fit parent for Damian is obviously up in the air (if you know about the LOA), but at this point publicly, Bruce has cared for Damian adequately: he took Damian in in being informed of his existence, he provides and pays for all of Damian’s needs, he pays for home supervision of Damian when he’s away (Alfred), Damian’s living in one of Bruce’s houses (the Penthouse)… the family law system is probably only going to have an issue with Damian’s education situation, and that can be clarified by either on page confirmation he’s either enrolled at a school or is being homeschooled, but there is no evidence of any abuse or neglect that would have a judge decide to remove parental responsibility from Bruce, or make it supervised only.

Conclusion:

Dick caring for Damian does not make him Damian’s parent. There’s the possibility inherent in that if Bruce had never returned and Dick had eventually made the moves to have Bruce declared dead, he would have taken over legal guardianship of Damian and learned to act more as his parent, but in the circumstances we see on the page during Reborn and up to Damian’s death, particularly with Dick’s immediate deferral to Damian’s biological parents, he’s better described as a carer for Damian, or part of the village it takes to raise a child. He has a lot more responsibility than your average older sibling does, or even a mentor, but he’s not acting in a way that suggests Dick believes he has the right to make all the decisions about Damian’s care and on behalf of Damian.

#dc meta #dick grayson #damian wayne

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

you once said that the ZK do not allow the canonical Zuko to show real, sometimes ugly signs of trauma. can you write more about this? because that's what I always felt when I came across their terrible takes, but I couldn't express it.

Gladly! But first, I need to mention the sign of trauma that Zuko usually lacks - and that, for some reason, the fandom insists defines his character:

Fear

Don't get wrong, I'm not saying Zuko never experienced fear. We all saw that poor boy on his knees, crying, begging his father not to hurt him.

But in "Zuko Alone" we also see 10-year-old Zuko get bitter that only his younger sister was expected to show off her firebending skills, and deciding that he would go against his father and demonstrate his own skills to the Fire Lord - that despite the fact that he knew Azula was better at it than he was. Even when it goes wrong, he is upset, but doesn't look afraid of the consequences.

That same episode shows Azula mocking him for playing with knives despite not even being good at it, and even though the fandom insists she was his worst fear ever since he was a child, Zuko responds with a "Put an apple on your head and we'll see how good I am." That little guy has exactly zero chill.

Let's not forget why he was banished either: Despite being considered too young to be in that war meeting, Zuko demanded to be there, eventually got his way, and despite having been told not to say anything, the second he hears a general suggest using their own men as "fresh meat" to lure the enemy, Zuko speaks out against it. And at the start of the Agni Kai, he looked 100% ready to fight a grown ass man with battle experience - until he saw it was his father/Fire Lord.

Let's not forget his Agni Kai with Zhao, which was his idea and that he actually won - and before that, he openly calls Ozai a fool, to which Zhao points out that banishment clearly not teach Zuko to watch his mouth. Or the time he openly challenged Azula in Ba Sing Se and they only didn't fight then and there because Azula knew she'd have the advantage by using the Dai Li. Hell, at the start of that very season, after she tried to lure him to a trap, Zuko's first reaction is to charge at her, fire-daggers in hand. That boy is the definition of "Fuck around and find out."

He has also done things like choosing to save his uncle from earthbenders instead of chasing Aang, crossing a blockade and going into actual Fire Nation territory even though he legally is no longer allowed to do that, and helped rescue Aang from Zhao as the Blue Spirit. It shows us that Zuko doesn't have an issue with temporarely deviating from his mission because of something HE deems important even though his father doesn't, openly disregarding Ozai's orders, and even basically saying "My father will have the Avatar as a prisoner only if I'm the one to capture him"

And, of course, on the day of the eclipse, Zuko grabs his swords and directly threatens Ozai, telling that bastard to sit the fuck down, shut up, and listen to his list of reasons why he sucks as a parent, ruler and person.

Zuko is brave. Unbelievably so. He is fierce, proud, and impulsive to the point of getting himself in situations that he should have known would not go his way (like fighting a waterbender in the snow, in the full moon) because he is very much a "act first, think later" kind of guy. So the fandom's insistence that he is constantly paralyzed by fear is a gross over-simplification of how his trauma affects him.

We only see him genuinely afraid of Ozai twice. During the Agni Kai itself, and then again when he WANTS to speak out against his father's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, but can't bring himself to because he remembers what happened last time he spoke out against that kind of horrible thing during a war meeting, at that very room. It took something THAT triggering to make him cower before a challenge.

However, fear wasn't the only reason why didn't speak out during that moment, and that takes us to the first "ugly" sign of trauma that the fandom as a whole likes to pretend Zuko wasn't repeatedly shown to experience:

"My father is right about me, actually"

Zuko doesn't think Ozai was wrong to disfigure and banish him. How could he? Nobody in that entire room stood up to at least try to support him, not even his uncle - who also once said "Why would your father have banished you if he didn't care about you?" because, surprise surprise, nobody in that family knows how to help someone through trauma because they're all dealing with their own shit. Even his crew, who WAS sympathetic to him after finding out how he got that scar, were still 100% willing to not only support Ozai, but risk their lives for him.

Zuko isn't just trying to heal from abuse, he is trying to heal from victim-blaming, and to go against YEARS of indoctrination that say the Fire Lord can do no wrong. That's part of why it was so difficult for Iroh and others to help him: Zuko didn't believe that he needed or deserved help.

And that is also one of his three major unhealthy coping mechanisms. Claiming that HE needs to prove himself to Ozai, that HE needs to make up for HIS mistakes, not the other way around.

It might seem strange that this could be a way to cope, but look at it this way: If it WAS his fault instead of Ozai's, then that means his dad is not an unfair, abusive piece of shit that is unbelievably cruel and impossible to please. Zuko just needs to accomplish this mission of capturing the Avatar and everything will be fine, they'll be a normal family again, and he won't have to be afraid of someone he thought he could trust.

It was like Iroh said: Things are never going to be the same ever agin, but the Avatar gives Zuko HOPE. And that hope that his abuser will one day have a change of heart and be a loving father to him again is both what allows Zuko not to give into despair - and what keeps him trapped in that awful situation.

Misplaced Anger

Another "unpleasant" sign of trauma that Zuko has is how he clearly has an anger problem. Sure, he's a moody teenager with a short fuse, but we see over and over again that he tends to blow things way out of proportion, and that when faced a fact or opinion he doesn't like, he is quick to lash out at someone with VERY cruel words (see him calling Iroh a lazy, shallow, jealous old man in "Avatar State", or calling him crazy and saying if he wasn't in prison, he'd be sleeping in a gutter in "The Headband").

Through the entire show, many people faced Zuko's wrath - Iroh, Aang and friends, his crew, Azula, innocent people of the Earth Kingdom, Mai, Ty Lee, that one rando that talked to Mai, and even Zuko himself.

The one person that usually escapes said wrath is, ironically, Ozai. In "Zuko Alone" he refuses to believe his father would ever be capable of harming him, in "Avatar State" he snaps at Iroh for doubting that Ozai really changed his mind about the whole banishment thing.

He is mad at Aang for being too difficult to capture, and at Zhao for stealing his one chance to come home. He never stops to question if it's fair that his father had him chase someone that was presumed dead, aka an impossible task, as the condition to bring him home. He also never addresses how he feels about the reason WHY said banishment happened until the Day Of Black Sun.

He is mad at Azula for lying to him and trying to take him home as a prisoner. He never gets mad at his father for not only wanting to lock him away forever because ZHAO screwed up at the North Pole, nor how messed up it was that he put Azula in charge of said mission.

For fuck's sake, in the day of the eclipse, we find out that Zuko legit believed his mother was DEAD - and the entire circumstance was shady as hell and put Ozai in a very bad light. Yet Zuko still wanted his love, still wanted to be a "worthy" son.

He HAS to direct his anger at other people, otherwise he'll realize that no, his father, the adult that was meant to care for him, is a complete monster.

Everytime Zuko lashes out at other people before confronting Ozai, he's basically acting like someone who is drowning and, in a panic, is trying to pull the nearest person under so he can try to breathe. It is one of the most accurate and honest representations of trauma and abuse, and it makes me SO mad when people erase it in their fics because "poor, innocent, helpless turtleduck that can do no wrong" makes Zuko look like less of a dick - and also completely strips him of his agency.

And that isn't even the thing that fans ignore the most. That "honor" goes to the simple fact that Zuko, as expected of a child raised to believe the Fire Lord can do no wrong, decided that Azula had the right idea and that the best way to avoid being a victim again was...

Copying His Abuser

Zuko has REPEATEDLY let his "inner Ozai" out through the show.

He is all manipulative by not letting the pirates know he was chasing the Avatar who was worth A LOT more than the scrowl they'd get as a reward for helping him, and by using Katara's necklace as a way to try and get her to say where Aang was.

He repeatedly steals stuff from innocent people (including some who helped him, like Song) because, in his own words "These people should just be giving stuff to us" - aka he's very much an entitled prince.

He betrays his uncle by joining Azula in Ba Sing Se, leading to Iroh being thrown in prison. He also doesn't give a shit when Katara says "I thought you had changed!" and he sends a freaking assassin after the Gaang. Even him refusing to tell Azula that there was a chance Aang could still be alive works both as a "Zuko doesn't trust Azula to not use that against him, and for good reason" and "Zuko did not even stop to think that, since Azula was the one who killed Aang, him coming back also puts HER in danger, because he's too focused on his own problems to notice anybody else's."

More importantly, he rejected a chance of a ceasefire with the Gaang three times (The Blue Spirit, The Chase, Crossroads of Destiny), much like Ozai refused his shot at ending the war in the finale before his battle with Aang, and not only did he challenge Zhao to an Agni Kai and seriously consider burning him, he also threatened one of his crewmen by saying he'd "teach him respect" - which we found out later that episode was what Ozai right before disfiguring poor Zuko.

For fuck's sake, Ozai was literally designed to look like an older Zuko. One without a scar, one that was never banished, one that never had to see first-hand all the death and suffering war brings and reflect on the role he plays in it.

Finally, we have the war meetings in "Nightmares And Daydreams", in which Zuko doesn't speak out against his father's completely inhumane plans to deal with the Earth Kingdom. When talking about it with Mai, he says "I was the perfect prince, the son my father wanted. But I wasn't me."

That is the turning point for Zuko for a reason. It's him finally being forced to acknowledge that, to become Ozai's ideal son, to earn his (conditional) love, to not be his victim he has to be just as bad as he is, just as cruel, just as unfair - and we see in Azula's breakdown how Zuko likely would have ended up if he accepted that path.

But he didn't, and that was not easy because even though it was the morally correct choice, it'd require him to sacrifice everything - his title as a prince, his right to be in the Fire Nation, his relationship with Mai, his (extremelly complicated, sometimes good, often awful) bond with Azula, the "easy" way to get literally anything he wanted at everyone else's expense, and, of course, accept that his father was never going to love him, was never going to change, and was never going to feel sorry for abusing him.

Erasing such a central conflict of his character for the sake of denying he ever did anything wrong is, ironically, removing one of Zuko's most noble character traits: his inability to just live with himself after doing something horrible. There's a reason he is in deep conflict even after getting everything he wanted after the fall of Ba Sing Se - he knows he doesn't deserve it after what he's done.

If you ignore his mistakes and the horrible consequences it had for other people, you also ignore Zuko's growth. This puts him more in the position of a good guy being held hostage by the evil villain, not of a troubled child that redeems himself as he matures.

No flaws, no mistakes, no growth, no arc.

Trauma Doesn't Just Go Away

This one is, by far, the bad trope regarding Zuko's trauma that Zutarians are the most guilt of: assuming that if he just gets enough comforting hugs (mainly from Katara), all of his inner turmoil will suddenly be healed. No more sadness, no more fear, no more of the ugly traits they never acknowledge in the first place. Just a happy, fully recovered Zuko.

But that's just not how these things work. Having the support of a loved one helps victims feel better, but it won't magically make everything okay. Trauma is a really difficult thing to handle. There's good days, bad days, relapses, bad habits that are difficult to move past from. And not only are there cases in which people take YEARS to recover, there are also cases in which they never fully heal, and instead just learn to live with that burden that is still very much present.

I understand the desire to show in fics and headcanons that Zuko will eventually be fully healed and happy, but the way Zutarians make Katara act as not just his girlfriend, but as basically his therapist that needs to find miracle solutions for every single one of his problems, comfort him whenever any minor inconvenience happens until he's gotten enough hugs to be magically okay doesn't just reveal how hypocritical they are, since they insist Kataang is about Katara being Aang's girlfriend/mom/baby-sitter, but also that they legit do not understand a damn thing about trauma and how it works.

Which takes me to:

How Mai Actually Did Right By Zuko

Poor, poor Mai. She gets blamed for "bring out the worst in Zuko", for not being "supportive", for being too cold and unemotional, for not "seeing the real him" - yet she's one of the characters that CONSISTENLY help put Zuko back on his track.

She offers him emotional support and lots of signs of affection over and over again - telling him not worry when they're arriving at the Fire Nation, pointing out she doesn't hate him when she says she's beautiful when she hates the world, explicitly saying she cares about him in The Beach, being incredibly sweet and loving to him during all of Nightmares and Daydreams, and then again in the finale by helping him get dressed up and acting all cute as they get back together.

But she also holds him accountable when he screws up. She doesn't let him use his difficult life as an excuse to be a jerk and calls him out when he's being unreasonable, or when she feels mistreated/like he's making a mistake (see The Beach and Boiling Rock Part 2).

But since the fandom loves to completely erase Zuko's mistakes AND to not let go of a stupid ship war, this completely changes the context, making Mai out to be this awful, bitchy girlfriend, when in reality, she did a great job handling Zuko - sometimes even better than the fan favorite and mentor figure Zuko had through most of his arc.

Uncle Iroh Fucked Up

Before all of you try to kill me, let me make one thing clear here: I love Uncle Iroh. He is one of the most awesome characters in the show, and I fully believe he was trying his best to help Zuko.

But he is still a human being that makes mistakes, and he was raised in the same dysfunctional family Zuko was, meaning he often had NO IDEA how to handle his deeply traumatized teenage nephew/son.

Him spending all of book 1 trying to help Zuko capture Aang so he could go back to living with the guy that disfigured him is already bad enough, but we also have the episode "Avatar State" in which Iroh asks "Why would your father banish you if he didn't care about you?"

Obviously he only did these things because he didn't want Zuko give into despair and depression - but he is still, at best, ignoring the issue, and at worst actively making excuses for Ozai's abuse of his own son. This backfires on him spectacularly, as Zuko sides with Azula over him both in the first and last episode of the season specifically because he believes that appeasing Ozai is the right thing to do, as he was only banished "for his own good."

But THE biggest mistake Iroh made when it came to helping Zuko was his refusal to accept that no, Zuko was never going to be happy by living a quiet, simple life in Ba Sing Se - even after Zuko explicitly said as much to his face.

Obviously, to some extent, Iroh HAS to make Zuko accept that he won't ever be able to come back home after Ozai literally ordered Azula to capture him, but he could have tried to find some kind of middle ground with Zuko, since being a waiter clearly wasn't making him happy.

"Oh, but what about how Zuko started acting after his metamorphosis? He was so happy about working on the tea-shop with his uncle, and that was supposed to reveal his true self!"

Yes, it was supposed to do that. But we saw how Zuko acted after actually dealing with his trauma and redeeming himself. He was obviously in a much healthier place, both mentally and spiritually, but he was still moody, still sarcastic, still as proud as ever, and even Iroh recognized that he was meant to be Fire Lord.

Zuko's arc has a lot to do with identity, with how he sees himself. At that point, the only thing he still had in life was his uncle - so he was acting like him, because there seemed to be no other role model, no other path. Seeing that weird, cheery, relaxed, always-seeing-the-good-side-of-things version of Zuko was honestly unnerving.

And Iroh thought that Zuko basically giving himself the Lake Laogai treatment was okay because he following in his footsteps, doing what helped IROH heal and change - he didn't realize it was never gonna be able to do the same for Zuko.

The very second Azula shows up, even when she's being hostile, Zuko drops the facade, because she's a reminder of both his old life and what he thought his future would be. And when she offers him "redemption" Iroh tried to advice Zuko against joining her by saying "The redemption she offers is not for you" (as in not for someone who is doing better and doesn't need to return to the Fire Nation) and "It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good." How is it a choice if Iroh is explicitly saying which option Zuko cannot pick, essentially making the decision for him?

Iroh didn't just get the way to help Zuko wrong - he didn't realize his nephew didn't believe he needed help. They were not on the same page at all, and that contribuited to Zuko betraying him.

Though, thankfully, it ended up being for the best, as Zuko found his own way to redemption by himself.

Conclusion

This fandom as a whole tends to not understand Zuko at all and just eat up a bunch of fanon while pretending to be so intellectual, which I very much resent it for.

#anti zutara #pro maiko #pro mai #zuko is not an awkward turtleduck

[blushweddinggowns]

Contrary to popular belief Eddie was no blushing virgin. Sure, the whole metal head mixed with nerd thing wasn't a cheerleader's cup of tea, but there was a certain type of Hawkins girl who dug the whole bad boy aesthetic, and even a few boys. He'd managed to get into the pants of more than one closeted jock over the years to know his way around the block, for men and women alike. 

So no, Eddie was no stranger to relationships, he had his fair share of partners over the years, and had even managed to be an alright boyfriend to a few of them. But even with all that, he had still been woefully unprepared for dating Steve Harrington. 

Maybe it was because he got to bear witness to him being a sexy badass who bit the head off of demons, or maybe it was because Steve turned out to be the sweetest guy on the face of the earth and saved him from literal hell, or maybe Eddie had just never expected to even get this far, but whatever the reason Eddie was obsessed with the guy, in a way he just wasn’t used to. He had been since Steve kissed him for the first time, or if he was being honest with himself, since he had that bottle to his throat. 

Besides the shallow fact that Eddie had never been this attracted to another person before, Steve was just so...fun. And he made such an effort to get to know all of Eddie’s nerd shit. Even if he was a snarky bitch more than half the time in their DnD sessions, Eddie didn’t miss how much he was paying attention to the plot, even if it was just to make fun of the kids' bad party decisions from the sidelines. And that wasn’t even mentioning how much he tolerated his music. Despite the fact that Eddie had fallen in love with a pop princess, Steve still let him blare his metal tapes in his car, and when he got Eddie Metillica tickets for his birthday, Eddie had nearly passed out. Steve just made him feel so…free. Free to be himself, in any way he wanted, with no worries that he would ever be too much for him. 

He liked to think that Steve felt the same way around him. The guy had Eddie doing shit he never would have even considered before he met. If Steve wanted to go on a hike, then Eddie was more than willing to risk experiencing the horrible, great outdoors, especially since Steve always gave him a piggyback ride at the last leg of the journey. If Steve wanted to be at one of Lucas’ games, then suddenly postponing Hellfire was no longer a big issue. If Steve was having the kind of bad day that only corny ABBA songs could fix, then Eddie would happily blare Dancing Queen in the van, his image be damned. 

It’s not like he had had low expectations in terms of dating Steve, he just…hadn’t expected to be so whipped so soon. He had known he was Steve's first boyfriend (and planned on being the last, if he had anything to say about it) so he kinda figured he would have had the edge here. But no, of course, Steve had him wrapped around his finger by the end of the first week and there was really nowhere else Eddie would rather be. 

But as wonderful as all of that was, loving Steve so fully led to some unexpected consequences. Like the fact that Eddie had become a possessive freak overnight. He was jealous, plain and simple, and it was constant.  He was jealous of every girl that made star eyes at his Steve at the checkout counter of Family Video, he was jealous of the way every Hawkins housewife shamelessly flirted with him at any of the kid's events, christ, he was even jealous of how easy Robin had it when it came to being affectionate with him in public. 

Kissing his cheek, holding his hand, their weird platonic soulmate relationship didn’t bother him, but he wanted to be able to do all of that too. If he could just start making out with Steve everytime someone even looked at him the wrong way, he wouldn’t have a problem, but their options were so limited in shitty Hawkins. Everything had to wait until they were alone and behind closed doors and Eddie hated it. He was lucky when they managed to even link pinkies in public, when in reality all he wanted to do was stamp a giant Property of Eddie Munson across Steve’s forehead. 

He was lucky that Steve hadn’t caught on yet, just how much Eddie wanted him all to himself. And Eddie wanted to keep it that way. The last thing he wanted was for Steve to think he didn’t trust him, not with how hard the guy worked to be sure Eddie was fully aware he was loved.

It wasn’t an issue of What if Steve finds someone better than me and leaves? But more of, If that bitch doesn’t stop touching my future husband I’m going to flip a table. But Eddie wasn’t going to risk even the chance of hurting Steve’s feelings over something so dumb.

Somehow Eddie Munson, the exonerated, drug dealer who lived in a trailer park, managed to bag the best man in the state of Indiana, and he was not going to ruin that over some stupid jealousy. Even if all he wanted to do right now was beat the shit out of the jackass who wouldnt stop trying to dance with his boyfriend.

They were on an overnight trip to Indianapolis for Robin’s birthday, which of course meant they had to go to a gay bar at her insistenace, “This could be my only chance to kiss a girl before college, we have to do it!”

And from the looks of Robin making out with random girl #2 at a booth, at least they accomplished that mission, but that didn’t stop the fact that Eddie was about five seconds away from being a wanted killer all over again. Steve, his perfect, lovely Steve was too captivating for his own good because no one would stop hitting on him in this place. They saw one look at his pastel sweater and soft hair and swarmed and Eddie felt like he’d been beating them away with a stick ever since. 

Though Eddie would be lying if he said he didn’t like the feeling of chasing them away, because at least here, he could be all over his boyfriend, in anyway he wanted. And he didn’t hesitate to use it. Someone tries to chat Steve up at the bar? Eddie’s there with a hand around his waist and his lips on his temple. Someone tries to slip him their number at their booth? Eddie's in his lap and tosses it away. Someone's asking Steve dance? Eddie will pull him onto the floor before the words are even out of their mouth. And sure, maybe he’s going a little overboard, but Steve was tipsy enough to let it all slide, or if anything encourage it. 

It worked well enough to keep them all away, all but one. Eddie wasn’t sure what the dude’s problem was, but he had had his eyes on Steve the second they walked in the place. Very fratboy-esque, and not the type Eddie expected to see here, more like someone he’d expect to see on the cover of Erica’s teen magazines. 

The type that obviously wasn’t used to the word no. 

Eddie had been in the bathroom for less than five minutes, but that had been plenty enough time for that asshole to crowd Steve on the dancefloor. He watched as Steve pushed him away again. Robin was with him now at least, drunk and pissy enough to stick her tongue out at the guy as she draped herself over Steve’s shoulders. 

It was enough to make him retreat back to the bar, alone. Eddie followed, taking a seat next to him at the counter. The guy barely glanced at him, eyes still fixed on Steve.

“Got your eye on someone?” Eddie asked, casual as he ordered a beer. He reconginzed the song playing, and knew that the crescendo was deafening enough to be of use. 

He nodded in Steve’s direction, “You could say that.”

He wasn’t paying any attention to Eddie, not even as he snaked his hand closer to his, already getting the perfect angle, “Pretty sure that one’s taken.”

The guy scoffed, “A few more drinks in him and he won’t be able to tell the difference. That’s all I need.” 

Eddie’s eye twitched, all of his rationality flying out the window. The music was finally swelling, perfect timing for Eddie to do what he came for. He jerked the guy’s little finger back, the loud snap and surprised cry completely covered by the music. 

Eddie leaned in, hissing in his ear, “Y’know, you should really learn to watch your mouth in front of strangers.” 

He let his finger go, taking a sip of his beer as the guy sputtered at him, “Are you crazy?!”

“Yep,” Eddie shrugged, “And if you touch him again and I’ll break your fucking hand.” Honestly, if he so much as looked at Steve again he was going to smash his teeth in, the fucking creep. Eddie wasn’t sure what his face looked like with when he let that threat out, but it was enough to make the guy turn tale, speed-walking for the front door.

Eddie turned around, fully intent on joining Steve back on the dancefloor, when he was met face to face with the man himself. Steve stared at him mouth slack, probably because Eddie just went full psycho on a stranger. 

Eddie froze, mind racing as he tried to think of what to say here, but Steve was already grabbing his hand and dragging Eddie out through the back door. He stopped when they were outside, crowding Eddie against the wall.

Eddie swallowed, trying to say something, “Stevie-” 

Eddie barely got a word out before Steve was kissing him, pressing him against the wall with a moan. Eddie’s brain short-circuited for half a second before he was pulling Steve closer. So not mad then. 

“God, that was hot,” Steve panted against his lips, “Love it when you get all jealous.”

Eddie pulled away to blink at him, not quite sure if he heard that right, “You do?”

Steve nodded, moving to start kissing at Eddie’s neck, “Mmhm, even at home, when you get all touchy and pissy over girls. You’re too fucking cute man, it kills me.”

Eddie grinned, heart full as Steve attacked his neck. All that worrying, for absolutely nothing. Because of course Steve just got it, “I’m so fucking glad you’re mine baby.”

Steve giggled against his throat,“Good, because there’s nothing I love more than being yours.”

Eddie groaned, chasing back after Steve’s mouth. 

Maybe jealousy wasn’t such a bad thing afterall. 

#steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #I know jealous beating people up aint it but this aint reality so we good #I've tried to post this twice before and it broke the whole ass app for me idk how technology works #last time I'm trying! #the chad eddie being destoryed by boy virgin steve #that sounded funnier in my head #steddie ficlet #steddie fic #you'll pry my insanely long posts out of my cold dead hands

[fleurriee]

— love and life ; neteyam sully

pairing ; neteyam sully x fem!reader

synopsis ; yourself and neteyam had managed to keep your relationship a secret for a short while by your request. but there was always going to be a time when the truth had to come out.

word count ; 7.1k

themes ; fluff, slight angst

warnings ; kissing, overprotective father, use of y/n...

author’s note ; god i have no idea how i feel about this chapter. it’s kinda choppy & a little all over the place, but i did enjoy writing it & i love my little loves so much <33 tysmmm for reading this series,, kinda sad that it’s over, but, i will but posting little tid bits of them every now and again, so make sure to look out for them!!

previous part

day and night series masterlist main masterlist request a fic!

That particular moment had been playing in the back of your head like a home movie for weeks now, on a continuous loop until you were sure you could memorise every small detail about it. Because, from that moment on, you and Neteyam had… something going on.

When he’d asked you about trying something out together, going at a slow and comfortable pace for your benefit, but allowing the two of you to experience some sort of relationship together - it was all so surreal.

Sometimes, you catch yourself thinking back to the time when they’d first arrived in your home, and your eyes couldn’t help but gravitate towards him. He was like a magnet, one you were drawn towards, his ethereal energy catching on to each of your senses and never letting go. Maybe you should’ve realised from that day that you had felt something for the outsider, even if it was just a little crush.

Even now, you couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was that you felt for him - all you knew was that it was completely loving, nerve-wracking and all-encompassing… and, you couldn’t ask for anything more. Not when it came to Neteyam Sully.

Of course, with such a big change to your routine of life, came the obvious consequences. When you both feared such a loving feeling, and sought it out at the same time, there was truly no way to hide how you were feeling. Maybe it was because you wear your emotions more on your sleeve than you’d realised, or maybe certain people just know you a little too well.

Suffice to say, Tsireya was the first one to notice.

Sure, you’d been acting a little funnier or weirder than normal, but you didn’t think anyone would take too much notice in that. After all, no one really considered you to act in the ‘normal’ sense for a typical Na’vi anyway.

Alas, when Tsireya had cornered you one evening, coming to her senses after watching over you and picking out subtle things over the past few days, she’d questioned you - she’d asked you if anything was wrong, what was going on with the way you were acting.

At first, you were ready to deny everything, but she hadn’t exactly accused you of anything, had she? And, when you attempted to respond some form of normality to her, the only thing that left your mouth was stumbled words and incoherent mumbles. Even if you weren’t going to attempt to lie to her just for your own piece of mind, you didn't know what the truth was, still slightly unsure yourself.

But, Tsireya being Tsireya, someone who had grown up with you practically since day one, side to side and hip to hip, through every up and down that you experienced together, noticed the blush coating your cheeks and the way you couldn’t get a proper word out, and she knew instantly.

“Is it him?” Her question had come out with a slight tease to it, a subtle smirk upon her lips, but still, her words were gentle and soothing, not wanting to scare you off for thinking anything else.

Your rambling had stopped instantaneously, head shooting up to her in shock, mouth hung slightly agape as you were at a lost for words. Maybe you had an idea how you were easy to read… but, you didn’t think you were that easy!

“You two disappeared the other night…” she started, and the blush on your cheeks only went darker, looking down at your lap. “Was he good to you - was he nice?”

Slight confusion grew within you at her seemingly random questions, unsure as to why she was asking you these specific ones. Nevertheless, with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, trying to will the blush to disappear from your cheeks, you nodded in response.

She sighed. “Then let yourself fall in love with him, y/n…”

In an instant, everything blows wide - your eyes, your mouth, your mind. You could feel your ears perking up astonishingly at her words, repeating them within your brain in order to properly have a grasp on them and understand them. But, despite your shocked and intimidated expression, the one thing that truly gave you away was something you couldn’t control - your tail. It flickers back and forth in excitement the moment you comprehend Tsireya’s words, and you couldn’t get it to stop.

Still, you’re adamant. “No,” you deny, shaking your head, “no, ‘reya, it’s not-”

“It is,” she cut you off, a gentle hand placing itself down upon one of your crossed legs and gently rubbing her thumb along the skin there. She’d always been good at calming you down and bringing you back to the ground. “I can see it from here, and Neteyam’s not even near us right now…” Despite the loving gestures and gentle words, she sighs when she notices the unfortunate forlorn expression upon your features, nerves on show and not leaving anytime soon. At the sight, she shuffles herself closer to your figure, embracing you warmly like she knows always works, her arm snug around you. “You said it yourself - he’s nice. From what I’ve seen, he’s a gentleman - he won’t hurt you. And, I know it can be scary, but it can also be exciting and beautiful and magical.” With one last soft squeeze against her, she speaks with the upmost seriousness you’ve seen within her. “Let yourself fall in love with him, y/n.”

And, you did.

For the rest of that day, and practically the entire night, you’d thought of nothing but the words your best friend had spoken to you. They replayed themselves over and over for you, continuously causing yourself to question everything you’d ever known. But, in the end, you knew she was right, and you knew you were practically already there anyway. Thankfully, you hadn’t seen Neteyam, which allowed you to attempt to sort your thoughts and feelings out, preparing what you were going to say to him whenever you saw him next without any distractions.

Eventually, when you’d gone back home to your marui that night, you’re parents had picked up on the clouded expression you were holding, too; the way your eyes were slightly glazed over and your mind was clearly too far away to be present with the rest of you. But, they knew better than to question you on it.

There were times when your parents knew it was better to leave you alone and let you deal with it yourself rather than coddle you to open up about whatever was bothering you. They knew you liked to keep your feelings to yourself every now and again - that way, they don’t feel as real as they actually are - and, even though they know it’s not exactly the healthiest for you, sometimes it can end up with bigger consequences if they try and push you.

So, neither of them say anything, rather just sharing a slightly worried look between the two of them as they let you bask in your lingering and overbearing thoughts. Not much else is said that night, the three of you having dinner together, but it’s clear you’re still not entirely there. Maybe you just needed to sleep it off…

Except, the next day, you truly believed you were going to be sick any moment.

Even though you’d spend the entire night thinking this whole thing over, you somehow still felt unprepared, like your next moves were going to cause the end of the world and that would be it for you… even though you’d technically had this conversation with him beforehand. Still, you just wanted to be clear on some things. You couldn’t blame yourself.

When you found him a short distance away, looking out at the water as he watched over his youngest sister, Tuk, splashing about and making tiny waves, your nerves completed skyrocketed. But, these nerves felt both bad and good, and you weren’t entirely sure what to do with that information, because, for the longest time, your nerves had only ever felt like the worst. And, now, here comes Neteyam, strolling into your life, gently grasping a hold on your heart and not wanting to give it back.

You still couldn’t entirely wrap your head around how much had truly changed since the Sully family arrived, and you were sure it was only going to continue to change.

With a deep breath, trying to collect your nerves as the waves tumbled clumsily across the sand, you tried desperately to ignore the nagging thoughts that told you this whole thing was stupid, that he was going to think you were weird and wanted nothing to do with you afterwards, even after all he things beautiful things he’d said that night.

The only thing allowing your mind to drift away from those pessimistic thoughts was the sight of him alone - the way the sun rays shined down upon him, basking him in an ethereal glow; his back carved out like some sort of god as he clapped his hands; his arms flexing with such an exuberant smile upon his lips-

You’d been staring a little too long, and he must’ve felt something upon his back, because the next thing you knew, he was looking straight back at you. Somehow, his smile got even wider, gesturing you over with his head and calling out your name in pure happiness.

Collecting yourself, you gave in to the invisible pull that was attaching itself to the two of you, making your way over. When you got to his side, watching as he cheered for Tuk before turning his attention to you, the flutters in your stomach increased massively, smiling down at you as he continued to tower over you. “You okay?” he questioned, eyes flickering between each of your own as he took in your nervous expression, and the way you wrung your hands out together.

Your brows furrowed, sealing deeply to somehow attempt to compose yourself, your eyes flickered continuously this way and that, trying to find a way out - a reprieve - but nothing happened, one didn’t expose itself to you. You were stuck in this situation - and part of you was glad that you were, because this was something you needed to do, that you wanted to do.

But, before you can even get some sort of word out, you feel the softest, most gentlest finger tap against your clasped hands in front of you. Looking down at the sensation, you spot Neteyam’s outstretched before you, so close to encircling your own.

When your eyes shift back up to his face, you find him already looking deep within your eyes, smiling sweetly at you. “May I?”

You nod, already knowing what he’s asking you - but, even if you didn’t, you were sure you’d still have said yes - and feel as he unclasps your hands to take them smoothly within his own. His hands feel slightly rough and calloused again, like last time, but still, they somehow emit such warmth and beauty.

You want him to hold you forever.

“Take your time,” he assures you, which turns out to be the conformation you needed that allows you to continue with a little more confidence in your systems, allowing you to say what you came here for.

“I know we already spoke about… it,” you start, nodding to yourself slowly, “but, I want to tell you that I am comfortable with… this… trying it out…?” You don’t bother looking at him once, fear beginning to overtake you gradually.

Somehow, you words managed to end in a question, despite it not being one to begin with. You were just unsure yourself, waiting for the moment the beautiful man before you told you what you were saying to him was stupid, because you’d already spoken about this and there was no need to seek him out just to say the same thing again. You couldn’t help it - this was something that was eating away at you, and you needed Neteyam to know that despite your shyness and introverted tendencies, you wanted this as much as he did. It was so important to you for him to truly know this.

But, none of those things you expected to happen did. Because when you looked back up to him, eyes locking into his pooling ones that spoke more than words ever could, he held the same expression as when you’d first seen him that day - sweet, comforting, welcoming.

“I just…” you continued after another deep breath, finding comfort in the way he looked down upon you and mustering up whatever little confidence you held within yourself, “I felt like last time, I hadn’t really said much back to you… it was just nods and nervous smiles and…” you finish by evenly cutting yourself off, cringing at the words that were tumbling out of your mouth before you had a proper chance to fully know what you were saying, and chuckled to yourself, shaking your head as it hung low. The only warmth you felt in that moment was the beautiful feeling of basking in the sensation of Neteyam’s fingers rubbing gently against your hands.

You hear him chuckling above you, too, head shooting up and catching his beautiful smile being targeted solely upon you. It has you feeling weak at the knees, wanting nothing more than to see such a sight for the rest of your life, especially when you were somehow the cause of such an ethereal view.

Neteyam’s quick to reassure you. “That’s okay. I can somehow already tell what you’re feeling without you needing to say anything.” He shrugs at his admittance, the thought of such an idea coating your cheeks a darker shade. Smiling bashfully, he continues. “Maybe it’s because I spend too much of my time admiring you…”

Without even realising such a thing was possible, you blush more harshly once the words tumble from his lips. Instinctively, your head shoots to the ground in an attempt to hide yourself away from him, but it’s obvious he’d already noticed when he laughs softly down at you. Nothing malicious in that sound - just pure love.

“I’m glad you came to tell me again, though,” he begins, his words somehow even softer than they were before, except this time, there isn’t as much teasing involved. “It reassures me that I’m not the only one feeling this way.”

Making sure to keep your gaze focused upon the ground, you nod to him, fangs biting your bottom lip as a smile crawls its way onto your features. You can feel your eyes beginning to crinkle, too, too happy and elevated at the situation you had managed to find yourself in to want to ignore your emotions.

For just a few seconds, there’s nothing around the two of you but soft silence, the crashing of the waves as they cascaded against one another, and faint chattering of those in your clan in the near distance. Maybe you’re the only one out of the two of you that thinks it’s just a tiny bit uncomfortable (because, it’s you, and when is anything not uncomfortable for you?), but you know the both of you are also feeling the comfort provided within it. You know yours is from Neteyam’s presence alone, and you find yourself hoping that he’s feeling the same for you.

After that, you finally decide to hold your head up high again, standing with your back a little straighter as you wish to not come across so sheepish to someone you’ve just bared your heart to. Your lips quirk up subconsciously, one that’s unfortunately a little shaky and small, but it’s full of meaning, all the same.

Ewya, does Neteyam Sully love that smile.

“I’ll, um,” you start, “get going then…” Before you can unclasp your hands from his own, moving further away from him and hiding away to calm your racing heart, he pats them gently like he had beforehand. It’s something you’ve learnt is his subtle way of showing you his feelings for you - he knows you don’t exactly find it comfortable in certain situations where you're put on the spot and feeling vulnerable in front of too many people, and he’d hate himself if he ever made you feel such a way - and, this was exactly his best way to make you feel… like home… appreciated.

“I’ll see you tonight, tahni (star).” His words are so unbelievably soft and gentle, you were sure you heard them wrong. But, when you looked back over at him, noticing the warm and loving expression he held towards you, you knew you couldn’t have been wrong.

The blush comes back to your cheeks full force - although you’re sure it never really left to begin with - and you struggle to fight the huge smile plastered against your lips. Ewya, this boy was doing wonders to your once-shielded heart.

Carefully walking backwards, secretly not wanting to depart from him, your giddy smile helps his focus linger on you, too, and the butterfly sensation you feel ringing within your system every time he’s near doesn’t dissipate - no, it only intensifies.

Whilst the last few days had passed since that particular conversation that had your whole routinely life changing for the better, to say that your heart had never sped so fast in its entirety would be the biggest understatement of the century.

You found yourself spending more time than ever with him, Neteyam always being gentle and just a smidge hesitant with you. He was constantly nervous that he would subconsciously force you to overstep the boundaries you’d set up for yourself, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. You meant the world to him, and he’d protect you at all costs, even from himself.

And, like the true gentleman was, and just like Tsireya had promised you from the very beginning she started to notice something different with you, Neteyam took his time with you, giving you all the space you might’ve needed whenever necessary and allowing you to fall gracefully into step beside him.

He’d decided early on that he’d wait however long you needed for you. He didn’t care if it was weeks, months or years, so long as you were comfortable and his plans were still in place, he’d wait forever.

But, you also found out early on that even the barest things he did towards you still managed to cause your heart to race at a speed that should be worrying, and your cheeks to darken to a shade so unlike your natural colour.

It had originally just started off with looks - whenever the two of you were in a bigger group of friends (something you were slowly getting used to, also, much to your glee and pride), Neteyam’s eyes were seeking you out until they found your own. He’d give you a subtle nod and a reassuring smile, like he was checking in on you and making sure you were okay. It always managed to speak more than words simply ever could.

He’d take cautious steps to move closer to your figure until he standing right beside you, your arms barely brushing against one another with only the faintest of touches, and yet, it still caused your skin to warm up all the same. Neteyam would love the way you reacted to just being near him each and every time, a small chuckle flowing from his lips, looking down at your innocent expression and basking in it entirely, loving the way he could so easily make you blush.

It constantly gave him an incentive to do it more.

After a few doses of those types of interactions, there came the firmer touches - at first, it started off with his usual routine of tapping gently against your hands or your arms to garner your full attention without truly crossing any of your boundaries, before he would hold out his own in front of you.

You adored when he did this, and he knew it, too. Something about it made you feel so much more at ease, considering words were more difficult for you, and if he asked anything with his voice rather than his actions, you truly believed you’d struggle a little more at accepting such a new part of you.

So, whenever he gestured for the two of you to hold hands, to join together as one in a way that was so intimate for you, it made it all the more easier to step forward like this. Comfortably slipping your own into his hold, enveloping together and embracing the warmth that radiated within him - it was awe-inducing for you.

Neteyam would keep his hold loose against your hand, ready to let go just in case you got scared and wanted to retrieve back inside your shell… but, you never did. No, you stuck your ground, wanting to be bold and embrace something that was so beautiful and somehow only for you, enjoying these feelings for once rather than running from them, terrified.

Then, the night before now, the two of you took your relationship one step further, hand in hand as you experienced this beauty together.

Previously, Neteyam had invited you to hang out with him to watch the sun set, when no one else was around, everyone back in their marui’s to sleep off the day’s work. Rather, it was just the two of you, sitting side by side right at the edge of the sand, tips of the waves cascading cooly against your feet, no voices shared between the two of you. It was only the ethereal sounds of nature around you, and your breathing, shared and somehow calmer than you’d anticipated, especially when sitting next to someone new.

But, he wasn’t someone new anymore, was he? No, he was Neteyam Sully - your Neteyam Sully.

For a second, you hadn’t realised just how quiet it had become, though - Neteyam’s breathing had slowed down so completely, you couldn’t even hear it anymore. Beforehand, you were listening out for it, finding solace in the sound that reassures his presence was so close to you - you’d clearly gotten distracted when it’d slipped from your mind.

Turning your head over in his direction, you looked at him with furrowed brows, already being able to tell that something was off with him. But, when you came to face to face with him already gazing solely at you, paired with one of the softest expressions you’d ever witnessed, your heart leaped within its place and up to your throat, careful not to show how much it really affected you.

Still, your features slacken just slightly, partly from nerves and partly from the way he gazes at you. “What is it?”

A smile makes its way automatically upon his face when your soft voice graces his ears, shaking his head and clearly lost within his own thoughts. “Nothing…” he speaks, voice hazy and eyes glazed over, somewhere else completely. “It’s just - you’re so beautiful…”

Heart picking up speed once more - as per usual - you swallow your nerves that had suddenly built up down and smile back him, all giddy and sheepish. You hang your head low subconsciously, basking in his compliment.

Giving you away, your tail started to tap against the sand in excitement, something you knew he picked up on. In your embarrassment, you tried your absolute best to will it to stop and not so obviously give your feelings away, but if anything, in your haste, it only seemed to increase in speed.

Stupid tail.

“Can I-” neteyam cut himself off suddenly, and when you automatically looked back over to him, you noticed nerves were clear in his expression now. Before, you could’ve strongly said that Neteyam didn’t get nervous - simply because he was Neteyam - but he was good at hiding certain emotions like this. You didn’t like that look, either, because if he was nervous, you surely needed to be absolutely terrified.

His eyes gazed over you once again, and they somehow managed to notice every little thing about you - your doe-eyed expression, innocence radiating off of you in blissful waves, expectant of whatever he was going to say next. Even with so much life emanating around him from a new setting by the ocean, the sun setting and the waves crashing - and, still, you were the most beautiful sight there.

Neteyam found his confidence in your beauty, soaking in it and imprinting it to memory. “Would you be okay if I… if I kissed you?”

The question took you aback completely, feeling stumped for words, but that wasn’t exactly anything new. You knew then that the nerves he’d been feeling hadn’t been from wanting to kiss you, but from asking you such a thing - you knew he cared about your boundaries, and asking you had been a big deal to the both of you. If you’d said no, that could’ve changed things between you - shrinking back into your shell and not coming back out for a very long time. He didn’t want to do that to you.

But, he didn’t have anything to worry about. Sure, your breath stuttered for a second, feeling your palms beginning to sweat… but, a much stronger part of you wanted nothing more - you wanted to kiss him, too.

This was so completely new and different to you, you weren’t entirely sure what to do next. How had you gone from someone who had no desire to meet anyone new and interact more than you believed to be necessary… to falling for someone completely different from you and wanting to kiss him?

So much had changed since that day… and, you found yourself loving it.

With a deep breath and a shaky smile, trying to will what you were truly feeling onto your features for once in your life, not wanting to leave him hanging in negative thoughts for much too long, you nodded at him, so slowly he was almost unaware of it. And, he would’ve been, had he not been watching you so intently for any small sign.

Oh, did Neteyam love to admire you.

And, when you agreed to him, your feelings shown to be the same as he felt, it seemed like the whole world glowed brighter around him. Like, Ewya herself was painting you in an ethereal glow and showing Neteyam that you were made completely for him.

He slowly scooted himself closer to you, legs now touching as he faced you direct. The heat of him was scorching you in the best possible way, so close to you now that his breathing was mingling with your own as it stuttered nervously, but neither of you backed away.

You both wanted this as much as the other, and instead, you stayed exactly where you were, allowing Neteyam to take control. You’d never felt safer in someone else’s hands.

Eyes boring into your own, there was another question lingering behind them, waiting for your answer. You could tell what he was asking you - are you definitely sure? - and you knew you’d never been more sure of anything in your life, giving him another a nod, needing him to know everything going on in your mind. And, that was all the confirmation he needed.

Closer and closer, Neteyam brought his face nearer to your own, lips barely an inch apart as you felt them tingle against your own. You closed your eyes as anticipation filtered through you, and the next thing you knew, he was pressing his lips upon yours. It was one of the softest sensations you had ever experienced in any way, shape or form, and you loved it more than anything else.

It wasn’t a quick kiss - it was one he prolonged, wishing to stay in that position until the moment he was taken from this world, the feel of your lips against his so ethereal-feeling. This was your first kiss for each of you, and the both of you were so undeniably glad that nothing else had come in the way of denying you this feeling for the first time.

Eventually, you did have to part, but you automatically kept your eyes closed for another couple of seconds, forgetting about anything else that was solely Neteyam. He was all that was playing on in your mind, the way he felt against you and how you wished to do it more and more and more.

There was a gentle touch against your cheek that brought you out of your reverie, opening your eyes to find Neteyam caressing you lovingly. His eyes were imploring into your own, gazing upon you like he’d never loved anything more… and, he hadn’t.

“I know I said it before…” he began, mind still reeling from the feeling of you against him, “but, you really are so incredibly beautiful, yawne (beloved)…”

Somehow, that kiss had seemingly brought you a little more confidence than you’d ever felt, because the giddy smile upon your lips was also accompanied by a small laugh, one that was albeit slightly louder than your usual soft one.

Both the sight and the sound of you altogether filled Neteyam’s heart whole until it was full to burst, moments away from wearing it on his sleeve and letting you do whatever you wanted to it - because it was yours.

When your laugh trailed off, you looked back over to him, one side of your mouth curled up into a sheepish smile. “I think you are very beautiful, too, ma’teyam.”

Ewya, the way you said his name… It’d be the death of him, he was sure of it.

All of that had occurred a few days ago now, and you had never felt more complete, more safe than when you were with him. So much so, you had even briefly discussed the idea that Neteyam wished to court you, and asked your parents for their permission.

When he’d told first told you such a thing was bouncing around in every corner of his mind, everything else within you had shut down. You were sure you had to have been dreaming, because, whilst you had slowly come to terms with the idea of Neteyam liking someone like yourself, this was a whole other level. This was spending the rest of your lives together, starting a family together, becoming one until there was nothing else but each other. How could he want something so special with you?

But, Neteyam insisted that he was in it for the long run, which was obvious even from where you were standing. When it came to how much he wanted you all for himself and no one else, he knew he had to do this right, in a way you found loving, sentimental and comfortable. And, that meant starting with your parents.

Such an idea started your heart on fire, terrified of coming clean to what had been occupying your mind for a short while now, along with their reactions to you having changed perspectives seemingly so quickly. But, this was you being one step closer to feeling truly happy, to getting what you’d secretly always been looking for - Neteyam. Surely, they’d come to terms with it the way you had.

So, albeit a little begrudgingly, you agreed, Neteyam reassuring you that everything was going to be okay. He told you to leave most of the talking to him, seeing as he’s better with words than you are, and that he’ll handle anything that comes your guys’ way. It seemed as though Neteyam had been secretly preparing for the worst of it all, too.

Even though you reminded yourself of all the assurances Neteyam spoke to you the night before and that very morning, repeating them in your head on a loop and telling yourself to not think so pessimistic when it comes to such a beautiful situation… everything felt as though it’d dissipated completely. The two of you had gathered both of your parents in a marui, and you could only feel as though this was the beginning of the end of the world, bile rising up to the top of your throat and threatening to escape. The only way that worked to calm your heart was by consistently looking back at Neteyam’s somewhat composed figure, standing right beside you and just a step in front, almost like he was shielding you of anything bad coming your way.

How he knew such a thing was on its way, you didn’t know. Neteyam clearly had a better read on people than you did.

“You want to what?” Your father asked, piercing through the now-tense atmosphere after silence lingered between the group of you.

It truly felt like the two of you against the world as each pair of eyes implored into you, digging into your systems until they knew every little secret you held dear to your heart. You subconsciously started to fidget from one foot to the other, fingers thrashing and heart beating relentlessly. This, by far, felt like the worst situation you’d ever been in.

Maybe you should’ve expected something a little like this, but, for once, you wanted your pessimistic thoughts to turn even just slightly optimistic. You knew your parents had no idea about that had been occupying your mind all this time, as you’d been too scared to actually admit anything to them, but you hoped they’d somehow managed to garner some sort of idea. Clearly, they hadn’t.

You wondered if Neteyam’s parents were able to guess this, or whether they’d been told previously. Before you could look over at the two of them, Neteyam’s strong voice spoke up once more. “I wish to court your daughter, sir… to become my mate…” he repeated what’d he said originally, this time a little firmer to ensure each of them understood the seriousness of the request. Still, the words he spoke were a little uncoordinated, but he made sure to stand his ground.

Once the words left his mouth for a second time now, you finally looked over at his own parents, and felt yourself feel all the more reassured at their demeanour. Both of them were relaxed as they watched the two of you ask for something so special, eyes full of love, watching their son fight for everything he wanted.

Subtle smiles graced their features, eyes locked on their eldest son as he showed who he truly was, that he was a man and he was ready for the next chapter in his life. They allowed him to take control of the situation like he clearly wanted to, like he was supposed to do, but, they were ready for the moment when he might’ve needed their help.

As far as you were aware, just from the way they looked down at their son, eyes flickering over to you with a similar look every now and again, they were okay with such a match - happy.

It brought you a little bit more ease… and, then your father spoke up again.

“But, you are…” he started, somewhat hesitantly, like he didn’t want to say what he was about to because it wasn’t in his nature. Yet, when it came to his only daughter, your father would do anything for what was best for you. He sighed in defeat, shaking his head before his eyes moved over to your figure, speaking solely to you, now. “Y/n, he is not Metkayina. When I said I wanted you to meet new people - a mate - I was hoping you would choose one of us.”

Brows furrowed, heart dropping in your stomach at his words, you couldn’t quite believe what you were hearing from him. This wasn’t like your father at all. Yes, all he’d ever wanted was for you to get out there a little more, talk to more people in the clan and make more friends than mainly just Tsireya, and eventually even a mate. And, for the longest time, you’d always pictured that person being Metkayina, and he had, too, clearly… but, everything changed the moment outsiders turned up on your shores seeking help.

What you didn’t understand was that, despite whatever hypocrisy he was thinking at that moment, your father had been the one to urge you into talking to the newcomers, to the Sully’s. He’d reassured you that this was an opportunity you simply couldn’t pass up, to help them learn your ways and become one of you. Now, he was suddenly going back on every he’d said? Now, they could never be considered one of us all because one had taken a liking to his daughter?

It didn’t make sense to you, and you supposed it never would, not until you had your own children. Even then, maybe it still wouldn’t, because you’d be a mother, not a father.

And, your thoughts were clear when your mother spoke up in your defence. “Munxta (mate),” she soothes, voice calming as she places a hand against your father’s chest, “this is her decision - if she wishes to-”

“She doesn’t know what she wishes,” your father cut her off, voice just a little harsher than he’d probably intended, “if he was Metkayina-”

“He’s learning,” Jake interrupted, Neytiri biting back a hiss at the insult of her son, “he will become one of the people-”

“When? When will he become one of the people? I cannot allow my daughter to-”

You’d had enough of this. This was supposed to be a moment remembered as one of purity and happiness shared between two families becoming one through their children. And, yet, here you all were, arguing with one another because their children had managed to fall in love and whilst some were happy with it, others weren’t, simply because they were different than what they’d been expecting.

You’d had enough.

“Father, I’m of age,” you speak up for the first time in that moment. Your voice was firmer and louder than your parents had ever heard it, needing to get your point across - this seemed like the only way. It wasn’t like you wanted to snap at them, but, if they couldn’t see what you felt for Neteyam and how much he meant to you, they left you with no other choice. “I want this…” your eyes subconsciously trail over to Neteyam, noticing how his once dejected expression from your father’s words brightened at your own. “I want him…”

Silence was palpable around the six of you, each and every one of them watching the way your features softened so gracefully whenever your eyes landed on Neteyam, and how he felt much more at ease with you around when defending what he loved the most. None of them could deny that this match was something Ewya had crafted herself, not even your father…

He sighed loudly, everyone else listening in and waiting for what he was going to say next. After all, he was the only one who didn’t immediately seem to approve. But, he was your father, and no one would ever be good enough for his little girl. “Do you truly want this?” He questioned, holding up his hand when you went to respond and reaffirming his words. “I don’t want you saying this just because I told you to make friends with them, and you feel as though you need to-”

“I do, sempu (father),” you implore, smiling at him with all the love you’ve ever held for him, for everything he’s ever done for you, helping you out and shaping you into the woman you are today. “I’ve… I’ve never been more sure in my life.”

Clearly, he could see everything you weren’t saying out loud in your very gaze, the way this meant the world to you, and would mean so much more with his approval.

He had to remind himself that you’d always be his little girl, that no matter how old you got, how big your family became, how much you fell in love with Neteyam, he was always the first man in your life, and he’d always be the one you went back to should you need someone to rest against.

Even if that meant your mate wouldn’t be Metkayina.

“Fine,” he sighed, nodding with purse lips, before settling on Neteyam. “You have my permission.”

A collective breath of relief fell from everyone’s shoulders at his decision, knowing that his last word was clearly the most authoritative one here. Your smile grew brighter, elevated by what had just transpired around you, that you were now officially being courted by someone you could’ve only imagined meeting in your dreams. And, when your father watched you looked blissfully over to Neteyam, hearts in both of your eyes, he was seeing someone who he’d been dying to meet for so long now; a woman who’d grown up so beautifully in such a short space of time - and, he knew he had Neteyam to thank for that.

From your other side, steps were heard next to you, turning away from Neteyam and meeting his mother directly in front of you. She briefly placed her hand against your shoulder, before placing her other one against your cheek. Neytiri gazed lovingly at you like your mother always did, the sight making your heart full. Bringing the hand that was once on your shoulder away, she brought it up to her head and signed an I see you greeting. “I see you, ma’eveng (my daughter),” she spoke, every action and word full of motherly love. It made you feel so utterly accepted.

Her words (more so, what she’d called you) caused a blush to rise against your cheeks, the firm and seriousness of the situation finally beginning to settle into you. But, as you looked around at the people near you, your family - Jake, standing a little behind Neytiri as he nodded proudly at his son; your father, a begrudging tilt of his lips sent your way; your mother, beaming as bright as the sun as she felt the happiest she’d ever been to see her daughter become a woman with a future mate; and, Neteyam, looking down at you like you were a star in the night sky, like you were the most beautiful, most brightest thing he’d ever lay his eyes upon, never wanting to look at anything else ever again, because nothing else could compare to you - you knew you’d made the right decision to listen to Tsireya all that time ago, forcing you into the Sully’s company.

You supposed you’d have to go and thank her for everything at some point.

taglist ;

@monahiiii @bakugouswaif @teyamsatan @sulieykte @teyums @neteyamslovrr @tinkerbelle05 @netesanrr @lanasblood @camilo-uwu @queen190 @adrianarose7 @ttkttt @ayoungforeveruniverse-blog @lucialobelia @littlepisceanpixie @gyuventure @afro-hispwriter @thexplosivegirl @bellstwd @tahni-04 @eclipseatsea @6422btw @badbussylol @ellabellabus07 @slutforjake

#𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐑’s work ── ✎ #day and night series <3 #neteyam #neteyam sully #avatar #avatar 2 #neteyam fluff #neteyam smut #neteyam sully fluff #neteyam sully smut #neteyam x reader #neteyam sully x reader #neteyam x fem reader #neteyam x female reader #neteyam x pregnant reader #dad neteyam

[marinareads25]

THOUGHTS ON WHY JACKS IS THE WAY HE IS…

(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD) So I’ve been thinking a lot about Jacks and how well-written he is as a character. I mean on the surface, his backstory looks simple, but when you really think about it, it is actually so tragic and really puts his attitudes and behaviors into context. The man has truly been going THROUGH IT for CENTURIES and it’s so sad. ALSO, this is just MY interpretation😆😆, I could be 100% wrong LMAO. I apologize, doing this is just my coping mechanism for the Evajacks drought we are currently experiencing. Here are a few things I considered;

The curse is supposed to be IMPOSSIBLE to break.

So we know that his curse is that his kiss is lethal and there is only one girl in the whole world that is immune to it, his one true love. Essentially, Jacks is robbed of ever kissing anyone without consequences. He can do anything he wants, but kissing, which is one of the most intimate and sentimental acts between lovers, is basically corrupted because it inevitably leads to the undoing of the objects of his affection. I mean, sure he can do it, but as long as he actually loves that person (Eva), he holds himself back. The curse is the way it is FOR A REASON. There is only ONE person who he can have a happily ever after with. It is meant to take away CHOICE. It condemns and punishes him with an eternity of loneliness. It is meant to tempt him with attraction and the idea of love, but never allows him to fully embrace it because of its consequences. The curse restrains him. He is meant to get close to love and pleasure, but never too close. In other words, there is only ONE person in the world immune to his kiss because he is NOT supposed to ever find that one person. I mean, what are the odds that you find your one true love in such a vast universe? At the right place and at the right time? And that she loves you back?

The curse irrevocably affects his notions and ideals of love.

I think that after a few lifetimes of being so close enough to touch but never hold, he basically convinces himself that his curse is his destiny. That there really is only one pathway to happily ever after. The lines become blurred and he forgets that his curse is a curse, and instead, simply perceives it as something that is set in stone, and established and completely unwavering. He genuinely believes that he has to make the best out of his situation instead of changing it. So he closes himself off, he refuses to be tempted with love ever again, or hope for something to break his curse. To him, those things are not only unrealistic but a waste of time. Jacks does NOT hope. He hates hope. Because where has that ever gotten him? Absolutely nowhere. He is still cursed. In fact, he is always laughing at Evangeline for being so hopeful about love and happily ever afters and infinite endings (I think by the end of TBONA, he admires her for it, but he does not see the value in her philosophy immediately). In his eyes, there are no infinite endings. If there were, there would be one feasible way to make it work, to find a happily ever after. But no, to him, there is one simple ending for him and he sees it so clearly and vividly and fixed that he cannot ignore it. And so he turns his pain and resentment and hurt into drive. He decides to play into the game of destiny and laugh in its face. He is determined to do the impossible; find his one true love. As we know, Fates are obsessive. So he becomes obsessed with the idea of fulfilling what he now sees as his destiny and not a curse; finding his one true love. In fact, he becomes so obsessive that he starts not giving a fuck about the consequences and will do whatever it takes; kiss as many girls as it takes, play with as many humans as it takes, hurt people, scheme, etc. He does not see himself being capable of having a happily ever after beyond what he thinks is his destiny, which is why he is so determined to go back to Donatella. Even if she doesn't love him. He does not care about that, all he knows is that she is the only person that he will ever be able to have a happily ever after with.

The constant failure in his efforts to break the curse convinces him he is unworthy/incapable of love.

He also starts seeing himself as incapable of love. Not only because he is a Fate or because he is cursed, but he does not believe it’s in his control, he has concluded that his destiny has already been decided. But it’s not only that. The events in the Caraval series are extremely significant. He finally finds his one true love. The ONE person that he can have a happily ever after with and not only does she NOT love him back but also not even a curse/magic can make her love him. This further feeds into his perception of being incapable of love. If not even a curse can make the ONE person that he is supposed to be with, love him, then who will ever love him WILLINGLY and NATURALLY? (Music break: Who could ever leave me darling? But who could stay?🎵🎵🕺)

Which is why he is deeply hurt when Evangeline tells him in The Hollow that they are only feeling that way because of the Mirth stone. He says something along the lines of, so you think you would only ever feel that way about me because of the stone? This brings back his fear of being incapable of experiencing love, not because of the curse, not because of being a fate, but because no one ever will do it out of their own initiative. So he closes off again and that’s why he goes cold again after the incident with the mirth stone. He allowed himself to get lost and entertain the idea of experiencing love with Evangeline for a few days. He allowed himself to imagine and hope that there was another ending, to “pretend” as he said. And it felt so real, it was terrifying to him. Terrifying because it was love but also terrifying because he got a taste of it knowing in his heart he was doomed to never have it or experience it again.

He sabotages himself.

Jacks once said that he was a villain even in his own story, and he really is because he consistently sabotages himself. We know that there is a loophole to every curse and yet he never even entertains the idea of finding it (When Evangeline suggests there might be something for him in the Valory Arch, he says “That’s not how it works.”). He never tries to break his curse, only fulfill it. He never dreams, hopes. He yields to the curse. Every. Single. Time. He refuses to see that he has a degree of free will, no matter how limited. That he does not have to settle for what he thinks destiny has already planned for him. I am NOT saying that he has given up or anything, because WE know the passion and desperation and DRIVE that he has. And he DOES fight against FATE in a way, but I just think all that energy is being channeled in the wrong direction. I think he knows that he COULD dream and hope, but he KNOWS that it takes courage and vulnerability. He KNOWS that to hope and dream is to drop your guard and shield being fully aware that it could end badly, that you could still bleed. He KNOWS that allowing himself to believe in infinite endings HURTS. Because another failure would END him. So he refuses to put himself in a position where he will get hurt. (Music break: I see right through me, I see right through me🎵🎵✨✨✨)

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, he is so babygirl AHAHHA, I love him sm. Anyways, I have an unhealthy attachment to this character and I hope he gets to love and kiss and just be happy with Eva. I really just want him to find peace.

#ouabh #a curse for true love #acftl #the ballad of the archer and the fox #evajacks #jacks the prince of hearts #evangeline fox #the ballad of never after #fantasy romance #stephanie garber

[kadextra]

having many thoughts about “you have only seen me when I’m crazy” because. yeah

q!Bagi doesn’t have the frame of reference everyone else does. she never knew q!Bad when he was red colored, and the responsible calm egg babysitter. she isn’t aware of how drastic this shift in him is. yet this new island arrival is SUPER worried for him, even more than the islanders who knew him before and got to watch his descent into madness in real-time. there can be multiple reasons for that

all the islanders have a prior perspective of q!Bad being the person who they rely on to help with anything. even if they see him going kinda crazy exploding mines & the changes of his appearance, this is q!Bad we’re talking about! the resident capable & put together guy, he always helps so they may think he knows how to handle it.

and you bet they have so much faith he will recover from… whatever is happening to him, as he always does from any difficult situation. this faith is why they have always trusted q!Bad with the lives of their kids. just gotta give it some time, because everything will be okay once the eggs return, right? (nobody knows the extent of the damage and the lines he crossed. he will have severe consequences)

the majority don’t continue prodding q!Bad with questions when he puts on the denial mask and starts lying to their faces, because they are also doing the same thing. everyone is going through their own unique sorrow, pain & self-isolation arc rn, so the focus/energy in worrying for others is kinda dulled… it’s understandable. the entire island is experiencing grief, so they accept q!Bad is too and don’t bug him much. however, even if they aren’t in the trenches always pushing him for answers, there’s still many people (like forever, baghera, etoiles) who are keeping a watchful eye on his declining condition. <3

q!Bagi is a very different situation though. “you have only seen me when I’m crazy” he’s right. Bagi is the only person on the island to have this unique perspective & understanding of q!Bad. she lacks all of the points above: doesn’t see him as the reliable guy, has no reason to put extreme faith in him, and isn’t emotionally damaged from grief. arriving with nothing, she sees the facts presented in front of her- a kind person she has spent lots of time with and considers her best friend, who is spiraling out of control and needs help.

it’s amazing how quick she adapted to his behavior and doesn’t accept his lies. Bagi is an investigator at heart and puts hard pressure on him to open up, the only other person doing that is q!Foolish. she doesn’t believe Bad is in a state that can be easily recovered from, rather that he is getting worse, and is scared that one day it’ll become too late and he will literally fade away if no action is taken. so she has been running around with urgency, catching onto any piece of relevant info about the eggs, his condition, anything she can use to help him ASAP.

…I want to really stress again how she has never known a version of q!Bad that isn’t flawed and broken. but she still sincerely says “I care about you and will do everything in my power to help you.” and that’s just. ough :(

of course q!Bagi would be the only person who he openly admits not being okay to <3

#i am brainrotting so hard about this duo i Love them #qsmp #qsmp bagi #qsmp badboyhalo #qsmp character analysis #long post #text post #q!bagi you are so dear to me #dang this post is lots of words but ig that’s how it happens sometimes #madrugaduo

[lightlycareless]

I’d love to know how Naoya would handle sleepless nights with a crying baby. I can imagine he’d naturally get frustrated if it’s been ongoing for a while and the frustration would most likely manifest in how he handles his feelings of helplessness in his ability to soothe his baby. Idk, Naoya trying really hard to take care of his baby but struggling is just so cute to me.

Hello anon! agjhajkhajkgaggaha aaaa thank you so much for sending in this ask!!! It was the perfect excuse to develop something I think Naoya would feel/develop when having a family with you :>

I won't say much, just let you read the whole thing hehe.

anyways, here are the warnings: none. a bit of fluff. naoya is a frustrated, insecure father. but he's a good man now so. (also we're back with baby Naomi ❤️❤️)

happy reading!

Naoya is frustrated.

And not just with the baby crying or being woken up by it—but with everything.

He knew that having a child was not going to be an easy feat, no one told him it would be, even expecting this to become the most difficult endeavor of his life, even bigger than what his career as a sorcerer entailed.

Yet, no amount of research, advice, even classes could’ve prepared him for the real deal.

Naoya considered himself very lucky to have a wife and mother as loving and attentive as you to support him in this new stage of his life, but even when you were willing to stay home and take care of Naomi while he went out to work, he still wanted to be there, spend time with you, the baby, feed her, change her, take her out for walks, spoil her—be the father he never had.

But life wasn’t to be that giving to him, and he’d soon face the consequences of his extended absence, the main reason of his current frustration: starting from Naomi’s occasional unfamiliarity towards him, to his inexperience dealing with her sleepless night.

He could’ve let you handle it, let you get up from the futon as he continued sleeping, but he’d seen it in your eyes—the exhaustion, the continuous commitment you had to your daughter and what little it allowed you to rest or do anything for yourself, really.

Naoya was eternally grateful for all you’ve done for this newfound family, and for him, so and wanting to show his appreciation, he’s decided to get off futon the moment Naomi started crying, stop you on your tracks, in favor of him tending to her.

Only to find himself regretful, useless, and upset, that he didn’t know how to ease her cries.

“Naomi, pumpkin…” Naoya would coo, gently taking her into his arms and resting her small head against his shoulders. He never gets used to this sensation, how small and delicate she was against him. “Don’t cry, papa is here.”

The baby continues to cry, still irked by something he has yet to figure out—clearly unsettled by the man who proclaimed to be her father.

He didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to say it out loud and make his shame even bigger, but he couldn’t cower in fear anymore.

To see Naomi openly deny him, highlighting his lacking presence as a father, alongside his ignorance in these affairs, was the greatest pain he’d ever experienced.

It wasn’t fair that his responsibilities often pulled him away from the two; even when he did his best to earn a small “leave” to be able to support you after childbirth, it was very limited, almost inexistent, and from what he overheard from your staff, very, very difficult for you too.

Naoya felt ashamed to be called your husband, preach how much he loves you, and now Naomi, yet rarely be there alongside you.

But even then, you never reproached him. Not as harshly as he thought deserving. Instead, you’d reassure him that though you missed him, understood how invasive his job could be—having been raised in a similar setting— and how you knew what you were getting into when marrying him.

And most importantly: that Naomi loved him as her father and would grow to appreciate his sacrifices in due time.

Yet… his doubts remain; unsure if your words could be taken as truth, or if he’ll be able to swallow his anguish until then, because seeing her like, putting up a fight when he was trying to put her back to sleep…

Makes him feel like a failure of a father, the last thing he wanted to be in his family.

“Naomi, please—don’t cry, mama is trying to sleep.” Naoya would insist, as if she’d understood his words, or perhaps hoped she would. Naomi, of course, didn’t. “What do you want? Do you want to eat?”

She cries.

“Maybe a change of diapers?”

He checks—no. Nothing. Naomi simply continues wailing.

“I don’t know what you want.” Naoya laments, dissatisfaction in his voice. “In fact, I don’t know anything about you—or what you like. I don’t know your favorite color, your favorite plushie, if you prefer to go on walks or stay home with your mom…

But I know you’d prefer her to me right now, don’t you? Because you don’t know me either. I may be your father, but given how much I’m away, I could be a total stranger and it would make no difference to you.”

“Yet, you’re not—you are her father.” You suddenly appear, Naoya’s eyes swiftly dart over to you, confused, and perhaps bit annoyed.

“Why are you here? I told you I’d take—”

“Because I just remembered this is your first time putting Naomi to sleep when she can’t” you respond, walking over to him. “And I thought I’d be nice to tell you what I do.”

“…I’m supposed to know what to do.”

“Maybe, but there’s nothing wrong in asking for help.”

“That’s all I’ve asking from you, Y/N. Help.” He frowns. “I ought to know how to do something about this.”

“While the help is always appreciated, I never expected you to know everything… Not even I know it, and this is all I’ve been focused on!” you say, trying to cheer him up, but his remorseful eyes let you know he isn’t, not even close. “You’re great father, Naoya. Doing your best—that’s all that matters.”

“What good of a father can I be if my own daughter is like because of me?”

“I’ve heard her cry when she doesn’t like something—this is not one of those times.” You respond.

“Then what is it?” he asks. “Why is Naomi crying?”

“There’s really a lot of reasons, but according to what Junko-san has told me, and the doctor, she could be hungry, have a leaky diaper, or… a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?” Naoya repeats. “She can have nightmares?”

“I don’t know, I suppose so, if it isn’t anything else.” You shrug, and a sudden wave of protectiveness washes over Naoya.

“How do I comfort her?”

You smile.

“I sometimes like to hum her a lullaby or tell her a story.” You begin. “Sway a bit too, Naomi really likes when you do that. She often falls asleep after that.”

“How do you do it?” Naoya asks quickly.

“Here, let me show you.”

Naoya is nothing but attentive to your explanations, the way you’d hold Naomi against your chest, how you’d softly hum her a nursery rhyme while gently patting her back—things that while didn’t seem to work, given the way she kept crying, didn’t sway you from continuing; in turn making him grow a bit nervous, doubt his own capabilities…

But he’d push through them either way, and once he thought himself well prepared (although very nervous) Naoya takes Naomi onto her arms, accommodating her against his chest, hand on her back, as he begins to hum a song he suddenly remembered from his childhood—one he thought long forgotten, but worked to soothe him eitherway.

Your husband didn’t think it would work, didn’t have faith that he’d be able to do as good as a job as you’d done until now, but he still tried, he kept moving forward even when Naomi’s cries echoed in the room and his insecurities prickled at the back of his mind…

Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about what he needs.

It’s about what Naomi deserves.

A present father, a trying father. Not one that would discard him onto the nannies or the mother, and only appear when it was suitable for him, perhaps even less…

He’s experienced that pain, that solitude, which clung to him well into his adulthood and barely managed to free himself of it thanks to your care—and it’s something he never wishes his daughter to live through.

No matter the obstacles, Naoya has long decided, from the moment you announced your pregnancy—no, when he realized he loved you, that he will do everything in his power to be there for the two. Even if his duties keep pushing him away for long periods of times, even if Naomi sometimes doesn’t like being with him… this is the least he could do.

“Look, Naoya!” you whisper excitedly. “She’s falling asleep already!”

He blinks, carefully looking down to her chubby face, quickly realizing she was indeed starting to feel drowsy, cries slowly quieting down as he lets out a squeaky yawn, a sound that makes both your and his heart clench with adoration, grinning at the sight. “Y/N, she is!”

“I told you you’d be able to do it.” You cheer silently. “Naomi loves her papa very much, after all.”

“She does…?” Naoya hesitantly asks, looking up to you. You nod.

“Of course, she does, you should see…” you suddenly yawn, perhaps inspired by your daughter. “You should see how happy she gets when you videocall us!”

“Really?” He beams, perhaps a bit too loud for the baby’s liking, Naomi whines. “Oh, sorry pumpkin.”

You chuckle.

“You should start putting her on the crib, so she doesn’t wake up when you move her.” You suggest, and Naoya nods before heading over to the crib, carefully peeling her away from him, laying her down on the soft mattress—thankful that she doesn’t begin to cry again while doing so—eventually covering her with the blankets, keeping her warm and safe from the harshness of the night.

At the sight of his adorable baby resting, chest slowly rising and falling, indications that she’s finally fallen asleep, Naoya can’t help but smile and gently caress her cheeks, before leaning down to kiss her on the top of her head.

“Goodnight, Naomi.” He whispers, Naomi gurgles. “Papa loves you very much.”

And the silence of the night, while lovingly admiring his daughter, a question crosses Naoya’s mind.

“… Does she really love me?” Your husband asks, going back to the previous subject.

“Yes, there’s no denying it.” you slowly say. “She… loves you…”

Naoya smiles.

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get her back to sleep.” He adds. “But… I guess she isn’t as afraid of me, or at all.”

“Hmm…”

“Thank you so much for everything, Y/N. You’ve done so much for our family; I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for it.” Naoya adds, cooing at the adorable way Naomi gently frowns, before turning back to you and heading back to the bedroom. “Anything you want, whatever you need, I’ll do it—just say the word and I’ll—"

Only to find you were already asleep, leaning back on the nearby rocking chair, exhaustion completely taking over your senses.

He chuckles.

You were exhausted too, that much he could see underneath the dim light of the moon, and while he feels a bit ashamed you still had to come to aid him, it is nothing compared to the love and appreciation he feels for you, as well as the reassuring words you gave him towards his doubts.

Naoya quickly heads over to you, carefully picking you up from the chair and carrying you all the way back to the bedroom, where he’d place you over the futon, underneath the blankets before cuddling up against you; taking in your warmth and scent that doesn’t take long to lull him into sleep, but not without sighing, giving your head one last kiss, before expressing the only sentiment he’s ever felt for you the moment his eyes laid on you.

“Goodnight, Y/N. I love you.”

him feeling useless because he's somewhat of an absent (although not voluntarily) father and hating how sometimes naomi doesn't feel that familiar/comfortable with him is 😭😭😭 ugh I'm out here humanizing naoya.

anyways, I hope you liked my take on it 🥺 this was really sweet and a bit sad to write, but enjoyable nonetheless!!

Thank you so much for sending in this ask, ajhgagjkakajgagjjak keep feeding my domestic needs... i dare you....

take care, and hope to see you soon!!!

#naoya zenin #naoya zen'in #naoya x reader #naoya zenin x reader #naoya zenin x you #jjk naoya #naoya zen'in x reader #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk x you #prompt series: jujutsu kaisen #ask

[beargyufairy]

Just My Thoughts Pt. 7

Natsu’s Growth

I’ve been disappointed a few times at how Hiro Mashima writes his characters and plot. But never have I ever been as disappointed as I was when I read this panel in the 100 YQ.

For reference, Natsu made a joke about disinfecting Lucy’s burns. It was not even a funny joke. I don’t think anyone laughed. Lucy was burned after trying to calm Natsu who consumed Ignia’s flames to battle against the water dragon god. While he did succeed in the fight, he lost control of himself and was stumped by the flames.

This is such a disappointing situation when it comes to Natsu and his development as a character. Everything he experienced in the original manga/anime is put to shame. It’s like his growth as a person disappeared into thin air. I mean come on!! Is Mashima being serious right now?! Because am I supposed to believe this is the same Natsu who wouldn’t let Gray use Ice Shell on more than one occasion?! Natsu knows the consequences of Ice Shell and refuses to let that happen to Gray no matter how dire the circumstances are. Even though Gray and Natsu would never admit it, their relationship is unique and filled with love. They may be rivals and opposite (considering the ice/fire, demon/devil slayer attributes) but their friendship has grown so much since the start of Fairy Tail. Doesn’t this show how considerate Natsu is?! How important the lives of his friends is to him?

If that isnt enough here’s another example. When Erza was sacrificing herself in the Tower of Heaven arc, Natsu refused to let her go and eventually saved her. Erza is important to him and Fairy Tail. He wants her to live on. Doesn’t this show how much Natsu cares about everyone?! Is he making a joke about Erza?! No he isn’t.

Okay fine those examples aren’t about Lucy right, so why does it matter?! Because Natsu would never joke about burning his friends, accident or not. And if it’s about Lucy, then most definitely not. Lucy is probably the member of Fairy Tail he cares about the most (aside from Happy). When Future Lucy died, Natsu almost went completely rogue (pun intended, if you know what I mean). He even stated that something precious was taken from him. Furthermore, when Lucy was “dead” during the Alverez arc, Natsu lost it. Literally, he became END, the demon everyone fears, the strongest creation of Zeref, the black wizard. Lucy’s life was so important to him that without it, there was nothing holding him back. He even stated that he can’t be stopped after having flashbacks about her supposed death.

Natsu couldn’t care less about the world ending. He wanted to fight the people that made Lucy cry. That’s what he was focused on. And so after all this, Mashima wants me to believe that Natsu would joke about burning Lucy?! Yeah, I don’t think so. After everything Natsu went through, he would’ve at least felt guilty. Considering that it was Lucy of all people he burned, he would’ve apologized over and over again. Why?! Because she’s so important to him. He literally became a demon when he thought she died!! Isn’t that proof enough?! I also think that he would feel so grateful to her. This isn’t the first time Lucy helped Natsu control himself. She’s always there for him. But Natsu has never lost control like this before. Did Natsu ever properly thank Lucy for saving by rewriting the book of END?! He’s literally only alive because of her. She tampered with a demonic force and black magic yet Lucy is so damn under appreciated that it pains me!!

If the goal was to lighten the situation considering the intensity of the battle against the water dragon god and Ignia’s involvement, a joke that doesn’t make Lucy’s burn seem pathetic would’ve been better. A joke about anything else would’ve been better. Seriously, Lucy knew the consequences of trying to stop Natsu, especially when noting that she was scared of his flames for the very first time. She did anyway because she cares about Natsu and knows that she can help him, even if it means she will get burned. I would also like to note that Lucy never actually saw Natsu as END. She arrived after he gained some sense of control. Considering everything, if Hiro Mashima doesn’t make up to me by having her fear of Natsu’s flame and her lack of experience with END play into the story I’m gonna be so mad. Since he already disappointed me with how he’s treating Lucy’s injury/burn, I really hope he plays the rest of the story properly.

I’m very disappointed in how not only Natsu’s character is being portrayed and downgraded, but also how Lucy is yet again the butt of the joke. She does so much for her team and friends but is always ignored (I’m still upset about Aquarius’ sacrifice that’s not talked about enough).

Thank you for listening.

#female rage #fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #natsu x lucy #artists on tumblr #writers on tumblr #lucy x natsu #illustration #lucy deserves better #fairy tail 100 yq #thank you for coming to my ted talk #just me and my thoughts #i hate this #rant post #nalu headcanon #home is where you are #lucy star dress

[pinchinschlimbah]

On "Coming Out" and Noel Fielding

I mentioned forever ago that I had this post in mind and then never got around to it, but now with the new interview quote I was yelling about recently it feels like a particularly good time to get it out of my brain and onto the page! tl;dr: musings on the concept of "coming out" as it has evolved over time, whether it's something that should continue to be necessary or expected of queer people, and why Noel is particularly inspirational to me in that regard since this is, after all, my brainrot blog. This may be extremely long and a bit disjointed but I hope some of y'all will enjoy it!

So a while ago myself and several friends were discussing the concept of coming out. All of us are some flavor of queer both in gender and orientation, but each is in a different place along their self discovery and identity journey, with some being long since out and proud, and others just starting to dip their toes into exploration past the expected cishet.

This discussion actually was prompted by a different discussion about Noel, spurred by comments we'd come across slamming him as being homophobic/transphobic on Bakeoff for making comments suggesting he has romantic or sexual attraction towards Paul, referring to himself with female-centric terms, playing female characters in the skits, and a particular moment where he brings up Old Gregg while talking to KimJoy and says "he was a sea transsexual....quite a demanding role for me" while laughing to indicate that that last part was said in jest. Hey fellas, is it homophobic/transphobic to be a little bit gay and trans? This got us talking about how the current culture of queer identity has evolved to the point where "coming out" feels more like something the public feels they're owed in order for them to view one's expression as valid, rather than its original purpose as something one does for themself in order to live most authentically. I don't think I need to go into detail about how many artists have been harassed by their "fans" into coming out before they were ready because people wouldn't accept the validity of that person's work without knowing exactly how that person identified, there've been plenty of articles and video essays and better written tumblr posts about that, but it's definitely a concerning trend. It can be particularly dangerous when it comes to people who aren't feeling confident or safe enough to come out, who end up being criticized and shunned by the queer community as being somehow problematic for not being able to fully articulate to a group of strangers the ways in which they're experiencing their identity. In this situation, the people who are struggling the most end up with the least support. Forcing people to either declare an identity or get out just leads to more people staying closeted out of fear of doing it "wrong" and never getting the chance to explore the most authentic and joyful versions of themselves, or even worse, feeling the need to out themselves before they're in a safe place to do so and suffering the resulting consequences. Questioning or cautious people deserve space in the community to experiment even if they haven't yet or maybe never will come out! My high school's Gay Straight Alliance was comprised entirely of "straight allies" when I was there. There was not a single "out" person in the school at the time. Nearly all of us in the GSA ended up being some flavor of queer or trans years later after graduation. But whether it was intentional closeting or just feeling an innate affinity towards something we couldn't quite pinpoint at the time, we all knew we belonged there and made that space for ourselves and others like us. Back when "coming out" first became a concept in the public consciousness, it was during a time where cishet identity was not just considered the default, but the only option. By coming out, queer people were giving genuinely revolutionary representation for themselves and others like them by telling the world that, as the old saying goes, we're here, we're queer, get used to it! Nowadays, we're lucky to live in a culture that is much more cognizant of queer identities being a thing, so in many cases coming out has become less about having to explain to those around you the basic concept of queerness existing, and moreso about which specific identity you fall under, and that's where things get messy.

My friends and I shared our own thoughts and experiences. One is currently identifying as "unlabeled" because they haven't found a term that feels correct yet, and therefore hasn't come out because they wouldn't know what to say. One spoke about how when they first came out they were much more insistent on what terms or pronouns people used for them but as time has gone on they've grown to find joy in being inscrutable and letting others wonder what they're perceiving. One expressed that given the state of the world they've been retreating somewhat back into the closet for safety reasons rather than being super outward with their queerness like they used to and is working on learning to embrace those parts of themself again. One said they felt like they'd already been existing as queer and expressing that queerness "before I even had the terms to come out to myself" and is now working on catching up on the conscious end of figuring out what's what. I myself never really had an official "coming out", I just became increasingly visually/socially/vocally queer as I became more and more confident in who I was and what I wanted to be and who I had on some level always been, and decided if people didn't get the hint that's their own problem. I came into consciousness of my queerness during the early 2010s original tumblr MOGAI microlabel boom, where there was a ton of focus on figuring out the hyper specific identity labels that exactly described what you were experiencing. I did a lot of digging and soul searching and experienced a lot of unnecessary stress trying and failing to find my perfect labels and landed on clumsy terms like "full time drag queen" because it was the closest I could get to what I was feeling about my gender, only to be told it was problematic for me to call myself that as an AFAB person because drag "belongs to cis gay men" (don't get me started on that statement, that's a whole other essay lol) It was a real wake up call once I distanced from these aggressively labeled and segmented online spaces and made my way into real world queer communities where I was relieved to find that in fact no one there asks to check your membership card before letting you in, if you feel like you belong there you're welcome no questions asked.

I had other people in these communities referring to me as "queer" and "fag" and "gay" and "queen" before I felt comfortable doing so myself based on online Discourse I'd experienced over who is Allowed to use certain terms, and having these community leaders I respected recognizing those things in me and welcoming me in like that gave me the confidence to really find my own footing in ways that attempting to find my exact correct identity label so that I could officially proclaim it never did. Once I could answer the question of what I was with a shrug and "queer I guess!" things became so much easier. Microlabels can be incredibly helpful and liberating for some, don't get me wrong if it works for you that's great, but let's not pretend that everyone is going to have the same experiences.

So anyway, back to Noel. Noel has never, to my knowledge, ever had any sort of official “coming out” or explicitly referred to himself as queer. So I know there are people out there who will disagree with me considering him to be queer. But so much of what he’s said and done throughout his several decades long career has indicated to me that this is clearly someone of queer experience navigating the world as such, and just as the queers in my local community welcomed me as one of them before I knew to do it myself, I extend that welcome forward. 

Let’s take a look at some of the facts. In the public span of his career, Noel has.....(in no particular order, also if anyone wants to add additional instances of note in the reblogs or comments please feel free, this is by no means a fully comprehensive list) -repeatedly called himself "the woman of the Boosh" or Julian's/Howard's "wife" in ways that suggest that's how he actually felt about it rather than it just being a punchline that he was mistaken for female in the show [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] -referred to himself at the GQ "Man of the Year" awards as "never been a man" and "a sort of girl, he/she" -been referred to by Sandi Toksvig as being "on the cusp" in regards to gender, to which he reacts with amusement and acceptance -consistently expressed excitement and appreciation when others refer to him with feminine terms or say he looks like a girl [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] -said "I love being a man-woman, it's much more interesting than being one or the other" and expressed that the loved shooting the Boosh Electro episode for this reason -referred to Vince Noir (a character who he's been pretty open about being based on himself) as "wasn't seemingly one gender or the other" -expressed that he felt most free and happy when presenting femininely [2] -had Julian, one of the people closest to him, express that Noel and Sandi (an out lesbian) may have "real sexual chemistry" because Noel is "all over the shop, he's a different sex" -used the "Confuser" line of "Is it a boy? Is it a girl? I'm not sure I mind" to refer to himself rather than Vince, and express that he's had to work to find new ways to feel as androgynous as he'd like now that he's older -referred to himself as a lesbian [2] -said that he "sometimes looks in the mirror and sees a woman", in the same interview that Julian implies that Noel is in fact a girl -referred to himself as a "girl/boy" -consistently referred to himself with feminine terms on panel shows and bakeoff -made a joke on bakeoff about not being a testosterone-based person -responded positively when asked about the ways Boosh had influenced queer and nonbinary youth -has said he's "quite obsessed with the man/woman mixup thing" -has said if he was an animal he'd want to be a seahorse because the males get pregnant -Had Lee Mack, who Noel used to live with, refer to him as "the little transsexual one, yeah I think she's fantastic" in a Boosh documentary and "a young lady who came out here happy to be herself" in response to Noel's Wuthering Heights drag performance -had his own mother refer to him as "the daughter I always wanted" -described his own appearance as that of a "transsexual witch" and when an interviewer attempted to make fun of him for calling himself "a transgender witch" by showing Noel a drawing the interviewer clearly found repulsive, Noel responded that the interviewer was "holding up a mirror" and called the image his passport photo

And I'm not even going to bother citing sources on the countless times he's made comments suggesting romantic or sexual attraction towards men. Literally just watch any non-character appearance he's ever done, it's kind of his whole thing??? Not to mention his penchant for picking up explicitly queer and gnc character roles, and also just [gestures vaguely to everything Noel and Julian have said about each other suggesting romantic and sexual tension between them and how they used their characters as an excuse to explore those feelings in a less scary way, again that could be a whole other essay on its own but ooh boy] I also think there's something interesting to explore in the idea of Noel repeatedly referring to his appearance as transgender or transsexual rather than identifying himself as such- at what point does the appearance of something become reality?

It all begs the question- is it even a joke anymore if it's that consistent? Either it's not a joke and it's an authentic expression of his real feelings and experiences, or he for some reason really really wants everyone to believe that he's queer when he's not, with this behavior spanning back to a time before the concept of queerbaiting was on anyone's minds and when being publicly queer could mean the end of your career. Which scenario do you think is more likely? And, does someone who’s been conducting themself like this for their entire career really NEED to come out? Honestly, I find this level of simultaneous authenticity and inscrutability aspirational.

In this Velvet Onion interview from 2012, Noel compares his penchant for dresses to both Grayson Perry and Eddie Izzard. This is interesting because those two people represent pretty opposite intentions behind their presentation- Grayson identifies solidly as cis male, and for him the shock value of crossdressing is the point, saying “I signed up for a gender and I want them to be very clearly delineated so I know I’m dressing up in the wrong clothes.” This doesn't seem particularly in line with where Noel is coming from given him famously referring to himself as "the Confuser" and stating in that same Velvet Onion interview that he "never even bothered giving it a label, I never went oh I'm a transvestite, I just went yeah if I fancy wearing a dress I do, never really thought about it really" Eddie on the other hand has famously said "They're not women's clothes. They're my clothes, I bought them." indicating that they were a genuine part of her authentic expression rather than a crossdressing costume, and has subsequently over the years identified more and more solidly as transfemme. I find Eddie's trajectory particularly fascinating because it's been so non-linear. In the 90s when the language for transness was much less public knowledge, she referred to herself consistently as a transvestite- a cishet man who enjoyed dressing as a woman, as well as using terms like "male tomboy" and "male lesbian" and "a full boy plus extra girl". Despite doing most of her standup shows in femme looks, most of her acting jobs were male-presenting, and there was a period of time in the 2010s where she dropped the femme presentation entirely in an attempt to be taken more seriously as the "crossdressing" was seen by many as a gimmick. Swinging back around more recently, Eddie has been explicitly identifying as genderfluid and transfemme, and in recent years has made the decision to "be based in girl mode from now on", and use primarily she/her pronouns. Since this announcement, in her trans advocacy work Eddie has described herself as being "out" as trans since the 1980s despite all of the above. She always knew who she was, it's just she's gotten access to more accurate terms over time to describe what she was experiencing, as well as feeling more safe to do so the more that transness became a known and accepted concept in the public eye.

The interview I mentioned at the very start of this post isn't really a coming out from Noel. And I don't think we'll ever really get one from him. In my opinion Noel has spent the past several decades conducting himself as someone who is in fact already out- it’s pretty clear Noel knows and is proud of who he is regardless of how he chooses to describe that identity. At this point, making some sort of official statement would just be for the benefit of others looking for clarification on their own perception of him and people who want to be able to put him in one box or another, and that’s not what coming out should be. The statement in the new interview is not "I am genderfluid", its "I've always been genderfluid", simply putting an accurate name to what's always been publicly visibly true now that he's got the terms to do so.

#noel fielding #gender files #gender files masterpost #gay yelling #the mighty boosh #shouts into void #a lot of this could also apply to my other wife #but that discussion is way more of a minefield so I'm not touching that for now plus many more people already have

[kpc-usagisan]

Our little psycho is born in a bloody shower 🚿

I think a lot of people misunderstand Obito and why he chose this path. All the pain and hatred he felt throughout his life.

He didn't lose his faith in humanity just because of Rin's death. I thought that too the day the chapter where Naruto breaks his mask came out (the day this chapter came out was monumental).

But then I studied and try too learn more about the character.

First, he grew up in a world during war where children are sent to the battlefield without problem... 👍🏻

He is an orphan, never known the love of his parents (well, because dead) nor the love of a family. He was rejected and treated as useless by his own clan because he hasn't yet awaken his sharingan at his age (shame on you, you little shitty brat), because for the Uchiha it's normal to experience suffering, trauma of experiencing such horrible emotions and death to acquire a power that destroys them in order to be recognized as an Uchiha (best depressive clan ever).

Despite that, Obito always seems positive, carefree, clumsy, cheerful, but inside he is not stupid nor an ignorant, he knows perfectly what is wrong with the Ninja system but tries to be positive, to have dreams, having hope and convince himself that everything is gonna be fine.

On a mission during war, Minato will reveal to him that the father of his best friend and rival, committed suicide because he was considered shit for having preferred to save his teammates than accomplish his mission... (Kakashi depression mode on)

Not long after that, he and his teammates, Kakashi and Rin, were left alone, without their master, without an adult, an experienced ninja (even if it is not his fault because war sucks) to accomplish a very important mission. Three pre-teens, alone, against experienced ninjas who will have no mercy in killing them.

Obviously, it went wrong and failed... Rin is kidnapped and probably going to be killed. Obito sees Kakashi getting injured, losing an eye and when he was about to be killed, Obito awakens his sharingan. They saved Rin together, accomplish their mission but unfortunately with the sacrifice and "death" of Obito. (Kakashi depression level 2 is awakened)

Of course as we know, he survived and spent several months alongside Madara, an Uchiha, mentally tired of the world, of years of war, of the loss of his loved one, of the Ninja system and who feels hatred towards everything (best positive company ever).

Even if Obito doesn't care or agree with his stories about how the world is horrible, full of pain and hatred, he's gonna listened to all of this for months. With hopes, the only thing that motivated Obito all this time locked up in Madara's underground, was seeing these two companions again... And what happened when he got out, well, basically he sees Kakashi in tears, killing Rin. 🥳

Boum, destruction of the last positive thing in Obito's life. And in addition of that, the awakening of the mangekyou Sharingan even though he hadn't even a 3 tomoe Sharingan. Let's not forget an important thing, Tobirama explains it himself, the Sharingan screws up the Uchiha's brain, the more it gains power due to suffering, the more the person fell into hatred and despair, and endless circle starts. Madara is an good exemple.

After that, Obito will always be surrounded by ninja like him, who have experienced war, suffering, betrayal, despair. Ninjas that this world has created, they are the consequences of a failed system. 👍🏻 Positive vibes you know...

Obito is a very good antagonist. He was just like Naruto, but unfortunately, unlike him, he fell into despair, due to the war, due to the loss of Rin, knowing that Kakashi had to kill her and next seeing him break down crying at their grave (Kakashi's depression level hardcore mode one) and obviously Obito is born with the fate of being an Uchiha and having crossed paths with Madara who only accentuated his hatred against the world.

But ironically, it's Obito who's gonna "create" Naruto, a child just like he was, who experienced sadness and loneliness with hope and dreams. And at the end, destiny will put Naruto on his path, "defeated" him and give him hope again.

⚠️⚠️ I'm not saying that any of this justifies what Obito did and all the people he killed. No, I'm just explaining that you shouldn't think that he went crazy and chose this path just because of Rin's death. He said it himself to Kakashi during their confrontation in his dimension.

#Obito uchiha #obito #young obito #uchiha #sharingan #i'm in hell #bloody rain #naruto #naruto shippuuden #naruto fanart #obito fanart #digital art #clip studio #kpcusagisan #made in wonderland #artworks