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#bro has a weakness for children
mmaeiarts · 5 months
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manifesting for S3 🤍🤍
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scrambledslut · 1 year
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men saying “fatherless behavior” as an insult is so funny to me like yes babe keep pointing out the way men fail as parents🤭
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whatsnewalycat · 2 months
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Designated Person | 9
Pairing: Francisco “Catfish” Morales x F!Reader
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Chapter 9: Where The Wild Things Are
Rating: Explicit (18+ only)
Word Count: 8.6k+
Tags / Warnings: alternating pov, infidelity, past romantic & sexual relationship, angst, food mention, jealousy, alcohol & alcoholism, lying, conflict avoidance, crying, internal conflict, birthday party, a low-key dudes rule moment (bros! bros! bros!), tried my hardest hardest with Spanish but I am a white girl I’m sorry if its wrong pls let me know, a lot of dialogue like so much dialogue fuck, children, toxic relationships just bad all around
Notes: WELL HI, long time no see! I know it’s been over 6 months since I’ve updated. I went on a warpath with another series (Psychomanteum—it’s finished if you wanna check it out). But I’m back to force these two dummies to walk through hellfire 💘
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Nothing seems right. 
For what has to be the hundredth time, you sift through the sparse collection of t-shirts and dresses hanging in your closet. Each time you push a hanger aside to consider a potential outfit, your brain falls into the same pattern. 
First, you wonder if Frankie would like it. Granted, if you showed up wearing a cardboard box he’d still want to fuck you. 
You want him to like it more than that, though. 
You want him to see you and get all weak in the knees. You want him to look at you in that way he does sometimes. That soft, magnetic look that tugs at every part of you. The one that argues against logic and speaks to intuition instead. That can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over-the-fence, World Series kind of look. 
After considering this entirely reasonable and attainable goal, you picture yourself wearing the clothes through Angie’s eyes. 
You dissect each potential outfit as she would. This dress too low cut, that one too frumpy, the other too short. A critical chorus of slut slut slut plays in the back of your head, accented by the memory of her manicured hands wrapped around your throat, the growl she let out when she squeezed around your windpipe. 
“You little slut, I will fucking kill you.”
Throughout this whirlwind of turmoil, snippets from this morning rise to the surface and drown out everything else. 
Frankie’s lips on yours, hungry and certain. His strong hands on your body, digging into your skin. The way he talked to you, voice low and strained—Whose pussy is this?
Every time these words repeat, your heart hammers in your chest. Tingles trickle out from between your legs and work up your spine.
The time before this, right after he moved in, when you fucked on the couch… you felt dirty afterwards. It sent you into a spiral of self-guilt that gnawed away at you for days. It reminded you of how sex was towards the end last time. Like you could have been anyone. Like he needed something to make him feel alive, and you were just the most ready and willing participant. 
But it felt different this time. 
Intimate in a way it hasn’t been in so long. It felt like an act of something bigger and stronger, like he needed you specifically. Not the rush of endorphins. Not just the heat of another person. Not a substitute for the love his wife wouldn’t give him. It felt like he needed you and nothing else would sate him. 
“I won’t do that to you again, mariposa, I promise. I’ll fix it, I promise I’ll fix it, ok?” 
Right about here is when indecision ties your brain off in a knot that seizes the production of valuable output. 
Then you return to yourself, staring into the closet like it’s fucking Narnia, and slide the hanger aside to do it all over again. 
Frankie collapses into a patio chair with a groan, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair before replacing his cap, then tilts his head up towards the blazing sun and closes his eyes. 
When he trekked through the Andes with his team, there were nights where he felt the cold so deep in his bones, he wondered if he would ever be able to get warm again. 
Right now is the opposite of that. 
Right now he would give up fistfuls of cash to feel that bone-deep freeze. 
He casts a longing glance at the cooler and fantasizes about drinking a cold beer. That psssch-ahsound it would make when he opened the tab. He imagines the condensation cooling his heated skin and the alcohol calming his fried nerves. 
Fuck, that sounds perfect. 
Through the open window to the dining room, he can hear Angie and her sister Marta gossiping to each other, talking about how so-and-so is dating what’s his face again and blah blah blah. His ears perk up when Marta segues into their personal life. 
“Speaking of people getting back together… How are things with you and Frankie?” 
Angie doesn’t say anything, but must make a face at her sister because she follows the question up by giggling, “What, can I not ask?” 
“Ay, Marta. No seas metiche.” 
A beat of silence passes. Marta must non-verbally pry, because Angie speaks again, quieter this time. 
“We’ll see.” Then quickly, almost defensively, she adds, “He’s getting his act together, you know. He quit drinking, and he’s doing this parole program. It seems like… it seems like he’s trying.” 
“Mmm. Is he still living with that girl? Su amante?”
Frankie knows Angie well enough to know she rolls her eyes in response. 
Marta tsks, but any further conversation is cut off by a sudden commotion of squealing and bickering.
He looks down at his watch, reading 1240, and guesses that Angie’s friend Carmen arrived with her five children. 
His eyes clamp shut and he fantasizes about drinking a beer. Maybe three. Hell, make it ten. Ten would do just fine. Ten would anesthetize him just enough to let him clear his head and make this whole ordeal manageable. 
“Just get through today,” he tells himself, “Just one more goddamn day, then you can be done with this fucking charade.” 
The backdoor opens, releasing a burst of chaotic noise. Angie and Carmen step out, and he stands at attention. 
“Oh wow, look at all this,” Carmen tells Angie, “Damn girl, you really went all out, didn’t you?” 
“We don’t really know what the situation will be next year, with Frankie and everything,” Angie’s eyes flick to him, and she shrugs, “So I figured, make it memorable. For all of us.” 
“Sure,” Carmen nods, concern creasing her brow, then she acknowledges Frankie with a quick head-to-toe scan, “Francisco, how’re you doing?” 
“Better than I deserve,” he smirks, and gestures to the gift bag hanging off her wrist, “Let me take that for you. Want anything to drink?”
She hands off the present and glances at Angie, then back to Frankie, “Can I get a beer?” 
“Sure,” he nods to Angie, “How about you, amor?”
“I’ll take a beer, too.” 
“Two beers coming up,” Frankie calls behind him while descending the stairs. 
As he walks to the 10’ x 20’ white canopy tent, he tries to eavesdrop, but the two women talk to each other in hushed tones. He has no doubt it’s about him, though, because he hears Carmen exclaim, “Oh shit, really?” then, quieter but still distinguishable, “Good for you, mamá.” 
After dropping the gift bag on the designated table, Frankie goes to the cooler to grab two cans of beer and a bottle of water, then returns to the deck, where Angie and Carmen both lean against the railing. They both murmur a thanks when he hands them their drinks. 
He rubs between her shoulder blades, “Need anything else?”
“A fucking Xanax,” she jokes while cracking her beer open. He watches foam bubble up from the mouth of the can and his pulse surges green with envy. She takes a long sip, then sighs, “Mmm let’s see. Food is done, Mamá and Marta are bringing everything out. Your mom should be here with the cake any minute. You got everything set up in the tent?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Alright, well,” she takes another swig and shrugs, “Wanna get the slip ‘n’ slide going? We can get the kiddos changed into their suits.” 
“You got it.”
He starts away, but she grabs his shirt to stop him.
When he turns back to her, eyebrows raised in question, her golden brown eyes meet his, then drop to his lips, “Thank you.”
His hand finds her waist and he nods, “Not a problem.”
She kisses him, and he kisses her back, thinking of you—always fucking thinking of you— as he tells himself: One more day.
Leah picks up on the second ring. 
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Tell me I shouldn’t go to this party.” 
She releases a big sigh that makes you grimace, then says, “Tell me you’re not actually thinking of going.” 
You glance up at the Morales residence through your windshield, sinking down into your seat when you spot Benny, Will, and Dani making their way up the driveway. 
“I’m outside in my car.” 
Leah is quiet for a moment before she asks, “Do you want to go?” 
“Yes and no,” you watch the Millers open the door and go inside the house, “I want to see Sarah, and I wanna be there for Frankie, just because… I don’t know, everything, but…” 
“But Angie?”
You nod, casting your eyes down to your hands to pick at the frayed cuticles, “I’m afraid she’s going to say something or do something to retaliate against me.” 
“You did have an affair with her husband—”
“I’m well aware,” you snip. 
The silence that follows wrings guilt from your stomach. A burning sensation works up your throat behind your eyes, so you pinch them shut and hang your head. 
“Fuck, sorry. You’re right. She has every right to despise me. I deserve it. I shouldn’t go, it’s stupid.” 
Your words come out all pathetic and warbled by tears, but you continue anyway. 
“I feel so torn. I care about them a lot and I wanna be there. I want it to be better so that… fuck. I don’t know. Nevermind.” 
“Why do you want it to be better?” 
“It’s stupid.” 
“No, I want you to tell me.” 
You take a deep, shaky breath, tilting your head up towards the drooping ceiling of your car. The answer pulses through your body and tingles on the tip of your tongue. If you speak it you might shatter to dust. 
Instead, you offer up a consolation prize to distract her. 
“I did something I shouldn’t have,” you whisper, then swing your head down to stare at your steering wheel, “I… had sex with him.” 
Leah snorts, “I fucking knew it.” 
“Shut up, you did not,” you scoff, “It just happened this morning.” 
“Rach owes me $10.” 
“You bet that—God, you are the worst.” 
You hang up on her, then stare at your phone for a few seconds before sending a text to Frankie. 
< ME:  < Are you sure I should come? I feel nervous
A few unresponsive seconds go by before you flip the visor down to inspect your reflection in the mirror. Not terrible. Some black smudges around your eyes. Could use some lipstick. 
You remedy these problems while trying not to think too hard about what you’re about to do, lying to yourself in hopes that you can somehow warp the truth. 
This will be fine.
By the time Frankie gets the hose hooked up to the slip ‘n’ slide, his mother- and sister-in-law are setting the last few food items out on the long folding table under the tent. 
Two of Carmen’s sons dash across the deck in their swimsuits. As he passes them on the stairs, he ruffles the older one’s scraggly dark brown hair, calling after them, “Soda and water in the cooler if you boys are thirsty.” 
They holler an acknowledgment as Frankie makes his way inside. 
The relief of stepping into cool, conditioned air quickly dissipates as the commotion hits him. 
At least a dozen conversations meld together in this wall of indistinguishable sound. He can’t quite focus on any of the vaguely familiar faces or isolate one single voice from the warble of people talking. 
A heavy, frantic pounding starts in his chest. His hands start to tingle. Noises disappear completely for a second, replaced by a high-pitched ringing in his ears. 
Jesus fucking Christ, I’m losing it.
He pulls a chair out from the dining room table and sits down, praying nobody notices him clench his eyes closed to inhale a deep, wide breath. 
Then another. 
Then another. 
Everything starts to come back into focus, and he tunes into someone asking, “Fish, you ok?” 
He startles when a broad palm settles between his shoulder blades. Looking towards the source, he finds Will’s dusty blue eyes studying him with concern. 
“Shit,” Frankie mutters, running a hand over his face before he clearing his throat and standing, “Sorry, yeah. Think I got too much heat or something.” He gives his friend a quick, one-armed hug, “Good to see you, man.” 
When Will parts ways with Frankie, he gives him a look that says he doesn’t buy it for a second, but doesn’t push the subject. 
His wife, Dani, approaches with a cautious smile, “Frankie, good to see you.” 
“Good to see you, too” Frankie gives her a hug, “Thanks for coming.” They separate and he asks Will, “Benny here yet?” 
“Yeah,” he smirks, jerking his head towards the living room, “Shooting the shit with your mom.” 
“Figures,” Frankie chuckles and shakes his head, “I gotta go make my rounds, but, uhh,” he gestures from the gift box in the crook of Will’s arm to the back door, “There’s a gift table outside. Food and drinks and all that, help yourselves.” 
“Catch up later, yeah?” Will nods. 
Frankie mirrors the action as a few waist-high kids race past, budging in front of them when Will opens the door. 
He notices a cluster of aimless partygoers lingering between the dining and living room, and starts directing the halted human traffic out to the backyard. It prods them into action, thinning out the crowded common area as he makes his way to the couch, where he finds his mom sitting with Sarah in her lap and Benny at her side. Benny says something to Sarah that makes her and her grandmother giggle. 
“Is this guy bothering you?” Frankie asks, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. 
“Francisco!”  
She passes Sarah to Benny and struggles to get to her feet. 
“Christ, mamá, let me help you” he mutters while taking her well-worn hands in his to pull her upright. 
She’s always been a woman of small stature, barely measuring up to his shoulders once the growth spurts petered out and left him as tall as he’d always be. But each time he sees her, she seems to have shrunk a little bit more. 
As soon as she steadies herself, she kisses his cheek, then pulls him down into a surprisingly tight embrace, telling him, “I missed you so much, mijo.”
“Missed you too, Ma.”
She pulls back from the hug, but holds onto his arms to look him over, “How have you been?” 
“Fine,” he nods, looking away when her keen dark eyes narrow, “What about you, hmm? How was the drive?”
“Bien bien,” she waves off his questions and takes a step back to smile at the birthday girl, “She’s getting so big, Pancho. Such a pretty dress.” 
Sarah grabs at the puffy hem of her skirt and giggles at the attention. 
Frankie snorts in admiration at his daughter, then asks her, “You wanna go see your party, princesa?” 
“Yes!” 
He looks at Benny, “I gotta see if Ang needs me to do anything, do you wanna…?”
“Escort these lovey ladies?” Benny winks at Julieta, “Shit, I’d love to.”
“Jesus Christ,” Frankie mutters, then tells Sarah, “Go with Uncle Benny, I’ll be there in a minute, ok?” 
She jumps off Benny’s lap and runs to the back door, leveraging her weight against the knob. It swings open and she escapes, sending Benny chasing after her, laughing, “Hey, wait up!”
Julieta starts after them just as Sarah’s bedroom door opens, and two little girls come charging towards the back door. Carmen and Angie trail behind, the former carrying a baby tucked into her side, the latter looking around with a puzzled expression pasted to her face. 
“Everyone outside?” Angie asks her husband, slowing to a stop a few feet away from him while Carmen continues outside. 
“Yeah. I, uhh, got the slip ‘n’ slide set up, all the food is out—anything else you need me to do?” 
“Is your girl here?” 
She smirks and tilts her head at him, like she’s joking or teasing, but the humor doesn’t reach her eyes. 
His skittish heart skips in his chest. 
Sensing a trap, Frankie searches her face and shakes his head like he doesn’t understand. 
Angie raises an eyebrow at him, “Don’t act like you don’t know who I’m talking about.”
So fucking sick of this. 
“Whatever,” he blinks, “No. I haven’t seen her yet. Anything else?”
The forced amusement immediately drops from her face and she stomps outside, slamming the door closed behind her. 
He takes a deep breath, pulling his hat up to run a hand through his hair, then glances at his watch. 
1308
He shakes some of the nervous energy from his fingertips and starts to pace the living room. 
What if you decided not to come?
Honestly, it would make today much easier. He could just go out there and play his role. Put on his mask and blame his disposition on the ongoing legal battle. His mother, wife, and friends, they’d be none the wiser. 
Something inside him lurches at the thought. 
Suddenly and very clearly, he understands that if you don’t show, nothing will change. He will drive this ship into the ground. 
As if on cue, the doorbell rings. 
He jogs down the steps, swings the door open, and there you are, wearing a pretty floral sundress and a nervous smile. 
“Hey,” he backs up to allow you entry.  
“Hi,” your smile grows wider, and you step past him as you enter the house, “Long time no see.”At the foot of the stairs, you turn to face him, “Where’s the party?” 
“Backyard.”
“Oh.” 
When you glance down at his mouth, one hundred butterflies start chittering away at his stomach. He licks his lips and notices himself gravitating towards you. It doesn’t help that you’re doing it, too. The subtle way your body bows in his direction, inching so close he can smell the bright burst of your perfume and the damp musk of your sweat. 
“Is everyone out there?”
“Pretty sure,” his eyes flick to the vacant upstairs, then back to you, “Why?” 
Just an inch away, you clamp a grin closed and shrug, “No reason.”
“Uh huh,” he raises an eyebrow, daring to rest his hand on your waist. The contact floods his body with a hot, thudding pulse he can taste. 
Searching his face, you slide your palm over his heart. Beneath your touch, the muscle pounds at its seams. 
Against his better judgment, he leans in to capture your lips in his. Warmth spreads out from his chest through his limbs. You hook a hand behind his neck and pull him closer, your body curving flush against his. 
Only hours have gone by since he last saw you, but it feels like months. It’s like that with you. Timeless when you’re together and an eternity when you’re apart. 
Pulling back, you look at the floor and shake your head, “Sorry.”
“For what?” 
“We shouldn’t, umm,” you swallow hard, shaking your head again as you glance upstairs, “Here, now, you know…” 
He glances at the back door, “You’re right. We should get to the party.“
“Yeah,” you take a big step back and clear your lungs with a deep breath, then hold up your gift bag, “Where should I put this?” 
“Right this way—” 
“Wait, look at me,” you chuckle, tugging at his hand. 
He faces you, asking, “What?” 
You cup his cheek and lick the pad of your thumb, bringing it to his bottom lip, “Lipstick.”
Your brow furrows in concentration, tongue poking out the corner of your mouth as you scrub off the evidence. 
It’s kind of adorable, the way in which you do this. Doting, almost. Reminds him of the times Mamá would catch him with a dirty face in public and try to make him more presentable. 
Briefly, he pictures you as the matriarch of a rowdy crew of children. Driving a minivan to school drop-offs and extracurricular activities and family outings. It suits you. 
He can’t stop his lips from curving into a smile. 
“What?” you grin, eyes flicking to his. 
“Nothing,” he murmurs as you tilt his face around and inspect him. “Better?” 
“Better,” you nod, “How about me?” 
He pinches your chin and looks you over, correcting a smudge before telling you, “All clear. You ready?” 
You give a half-hearted shrug, looking around at the ground, then ask, “Your wife isn’t gonna like… yell at me in front of everyone or pelt me with produce, right? This isn’t an elaborate revenge prank?” 
“Is that what all the tomatoes are for? Shit,” he teases, earning a chuckle and an eye roll from you. “No, but really. She agreed to be nice.” 
“Ok,” you nod, “So I’m like allowed to talk to you and everything without worrying she’ll try to murder me?” 
Frankie snorts, “She wouldn’t murder you—” 
“She has literally told me ‘I will fucking kill you.’”
“That was—” he shakes his head, then brings his hands to your shoulders and stares into your eyes, “It’s gonna be fine, mariposa. We’re gonna go bullshit with people and eat some food, and then we’re gonna home and watch a stupid fucking movie. Ok?” 
You laugh, dropping your gaze for a moment before returning with a bashful smile, “Ok.” 
As you make your way down the food table, piling tamales and Spanish rice and fresh fruit on a flimsy paper plate, you feel eyes on the back of your head. Whether it’s just one set or ten, you don’t care to know, but the feeling sends a shiver up your spine. 
When you reach the end of the line, you take a deep breath before turning to find a place to sit. 
Like every other party, the crowd is mostly separated into cliques. 
Parents from around the neighborhood stick together at a few long tables, bribing their children to eat and drink water before returning to the slip-n-slide. At another table sits Angie’s family, including the queen herself, whose pointed stare you gloss over, ignoring her and Frankie at her side. You find some familiar faces at a table near the edge of the big party tent: Benny, Will, and Dani. With them is a small, elderly woman who must be Frankie’s mom or an aunt or something, due to the striking resemblance. 
The whole thing reminds you of choosing a place to sit in your high school cafeteria. Much like you did in those days, you gravitate towards an empty table nearby, but halt when some calls your name. 
 Frowning, you look around to find Benny waving at you. 
“Over here,” he pulls out the chair beside him. 
You approach with a smile, the tension held in your shoulders dissolving just a little as you take the open seat and greet everyone. 
“Thanks. I didn’t know if, umm… it was ok,” you chuckle nervously and drop your eyes to your plate, shaking your head. 
“Oh, come on now, you’re always welcome with us,” Benny grins, leaning back in his chair to reveal the tiny graying woman on the other side of him, “Have you met Frankie’s mom, Julieta?” 
“I have not,” you reach across Benny to shake her hand, “Good to meet you, I’m—” 
She waves you off and pushes her chair out behind her. You half-expect her to furiously walk away at your presence, but instead she wobbles over to you and holds her arms open. 
“I know who you are. Come here, mija.” 
You stand to accept the invitation, stammering out, “Oh—ok—” 
Emotion wells up in your chest when her bony arms squeeze tight around you and she tells you, “Thank you for taking care of my boy.” 
Not sure what to say, you just hug her back for a few long seconds. The embrace says it all. It feels maternal and earnest and brings a few tears to your eyes. When she pulls away and smiles at you, you notice she’s a little misty-eyed, too, and you smile back at her. She gives your cheek a few pats before you both return to your seats. 
“How’ve you been?” Dani asks. 
You contemplate the question long enough for Benny to interject. 
“Well, she’s keeping Fish out of trouble so I’m sure she’s having a hell of a time.” 
You shrug, “It’s nothing compared to some of the toddlers I’ve had to deal with.” 
Your audience chuckles, then awaits a follow up. 
“No, I, umm… I’m doing ok. Going through a breakup, so that’s tough, but… mostly I’m good.”  
Why did I say that?
“A breakup?” Benny leans back and drapes an arm over the back of your chair, “What happened?” 
“Oh, we don’t have to—” you laugh at your plate, stabbing a chunk of watermelon. 
“Come on, give us the dirt,” Benny prods. 
You shove the watermelon in your mouth and wrinkle your nose at him, shaking your head. 
“Let the girl have some privacy,” Dani scolds, “If she doesn’t wanna talk about it, she doesn’t wanna talk about it.” 
“If she didn’t wanna talk about it she wouldn’t’ve mentioned it,” he counters. 
“It’s fine, it wasn’t even a big deal. We were only dating for a few weeks and it wasn’t a good match,” you explain, glancing around the table, “I don’t know why I said it, sorry, I’m just, umm… nervous.” 
You notice Will studying you and hold his meticulous gaze for a moment before dropping your eyes to your plate. He speaks up then, drawing the fire away from you. 
“Hey, that’s alright. Not like Benny has room to criticize,” he gives his brother a lopsided grin, “Remember that girl that tried to stab you?” 
“Not this again,” Benny groans.
“Ok well now you have to tell me,” you say, flashing a grateful smile to Will before nudging Benny, “Come on, give me the dirt.” 
“Well, if you’re gonna twist my arm about it.” He visibly shifts into storytelling mode, sitting up straighter as a glint of mischief sparks in his eyes, “First of all, I had no business dating her to begin with. She had a PT Cruiser with whiskey plates. If that’s not a red flag, I don’t know what is.”
Trying to be a halfway decent host, Frankie makes his way around the party checking in with people, introducing himself to all the unfamiliar faces and making small talk, recycling the same lines. 
Drinks are in the cooler if you’re thirsty. Thanks for coming. I’m doing great, how about you? 
Meanwhile, Ang seems to have taken on his former role as the champion beer drinker of the party. Every time he glances at her she’s either guzzling it down or popping open a new aluminum can. 
When she and Carmen start directing slip ‘n’ slide traffic and seem sufficiently distracted, he walks up to the table where some of his favorite people are seated and takes the open chair next to Will. 
“Look who it is,” Will smirks at him, “We were just talking about you.” 
“Christ, do I wanna know?” he leans forward to rest his elbows on the table. 
“Probably not, I was talking mad shit about you,” you tease, looking at him with a grin that makes his heart swell. 
“Figures you would be,” he shoots back. 
You chuckle and shake your head, “No, actually I was just telling them about how I’m teaching you to cook.” 
“Oh yeah,” he looks around the table, “Did you tell them about the stir-fry?” 
“Ok, you tried with the stir-fry and it was almost edible—” 
“Almost edible?” Benny laughs 
“Somehow the rice was both undercooked and burnt, and the veggies were mush,” you share, sitting up taller when you meet his eyes, “But it could’ve been worse. You’re learning!” 
“I’m just impressed you could get him in the kitchen in the first place,” Benny says, then turns his attention to Julieta, “Mamá, you didn’t make him cook anything growing up?” 
She tsks and waves him off, then explains, “His father wouldn’t let me. He was very traditional, you know, said it was women’s work.“ 
“It’s ok, Ma,” Frankie assures her. 
“I am glad you’re learning now.” A smile stretches across her face, “You must be grateful to have such a good teacher.” 
“I am, really,” he nods and glances at you before admitting, “I’d be a fucking mess without her.” 
Everyone at the table seems to sit with this information in silence for a moment before Will clears his throat and asks, “Are you still working on that car?” 
Frankie leans back in his chair and crosses his arms, “Here and there. Lately it’s just been collecting dust.” 
“Mind if I check it out?” Will inquires, “It’s been, what, a year and a half since I’ve seen it?” 
“Sure,” he frowns, looking over at you and your creased brow as if seeking permission, at which point you give a shrug, then he squints up across the yard and spots Angie talking to her mom and dad. “Let me just tell Ang so she doesn’t lose her shit if she can’t find me.” 
The three men stand from the table. Frankie gives you one more glance before starting off towards his wife. With each step he takes across the grass, he wishes more and more that he could kiss you again. Give you reassurance that you’re doing great in this precarious situation. 
Angie’s father glares at him as he approaches, which isn’t abnormal. Angie follows his line of sight, wobbling a bit as she lays eyes on him. Surprisingly, she smiles, “Hey!” 
“Hey—” 
She throws her arms around his neck and kisses him, the action so unexpected he stumbles back a step. Her lips taste of beer and poor judgment. When he pulls away, he plasters on a fake grin and says, “The guys wanna look at the car, is it ok if I slip away for a few?” 
“You boys and your toys,” she rolls her eyes, “Fine, just be back for presents in a couple minutes, yeah?” 
“Alright,” he searches over her shoulder, “How’s Sarah doing?” 
“Good, good,” she nods, “She’s playing with Carm’s kids in the sandbox.” 
“Make sure she gets some water, I don’t think she drank any with—” 
“She’s fine, Francisco. I’ve got it,” she insists, patting his chest. 
He studies her for a moment, then says, “Ok, I’ll be back in a minute. We’ll be in the garage if you need me.” 
“Give me a kiss,” Angie demands, her long nails scraping at the nape of his neck. He leans in and presses his lips to hers, feeling nothing but irritation and disgust. 
When Frankie and the Miller brothers disappear into the house, so does your social armor, leaving you exposed. 
For a while you make scattered small talk with Julieta and Dani, discussing Sarah and the party and the weather. You watch Sarah play with her friends from a distance, not wanting to disrupt their sand castle building by approaching. Every once in a while, your eyes cheat to Angie. 
A vile, familiar sensation sits heavy in your stomach. 
He warned you that it might be difficult seeing them together, but you forgot how bad it hurts to witness. 
The way she kissed him doesn’t help. Hanging off him, looking at him with bedroom eyes.
It’s not the same this time. He’s different now. 
The foul thing in your belly goes dead weight, making you lurch. 
What if he’s not? 
Before you can spiral too much, you hear, “Chacha!” and realize Sarah is running towards you
“Hi, pumpkin!” you smile and outstretch your arms to catch her as she slams into you. 
“I’m not a pumpkin, I’m just a girl,” she giggles. 
“Are you having fun at your party?” 
She grunts out an “mhmm” while you pull her up onto your lap. Her face is flushed, skin all heated and damp with sweat. 
“You look like you’re hot, do you want some water?” 
“Um. Ok!” she smiles. 
“Ok let me get you—” 
“I got it,” Dani stands and starts towards the cooler. 
You murmur a thanks and return your attention to Sarah, “Thank you for letting me come to your party. I’m having so much fun.” 
She giggles in response, leaning into you. 
“How are you liking daycare? Do you get to play with your friends?” 
She nods. 
Dani returns with a cold water bottle, twisting the cap open before handing it to you. 
“Here you go, sweetie,” you bring the bottle to her lips and slowly tip it back as she takes big gulps of water. Periodically, you pull it away and let her catch her breath, then start again until she pushes it away. 
“Better?” 
“Much better,” she nods. 
“Maybe she should go inside and cool down for a minute?” Dani suggests. 
Julieta leans over to feel her forehead, “Too much sun, hija.” 
“Do you wanna go inside for a minute?” You ask, tucking her hair behind her ears. 
“Chacha will you go with me?” 
“You want me to—oh, um… should we ask your mom…?” You frown at Dani, who grimaces, then Julieta. 
“Just take her,” Julieta insists, “I’ll tell Angelica if she comes looking.” 
“Ok. Ok sure. Let’s go, sweetie.” 
You rise from the chair, sliding Sarah to your hip, then carry her up the stairs into the house. Once inside, you sit on the couch with her for a few seconds before she wriggles away and scampers off down the hallway. 
“Chacha come see my room!” 
“Oh my fucking god,” you whisper under your breath, glancing nervously up at the back door before following her, “Ok, but just for a minute, then we should go back out to the party.” 
“Are you seriously calling him?” Frankie blinks, leaning back against the workbench. 
Will shoots him a look while raising the phone to his ear. 
“Unbelievable. It’s like six o’clock in the morning there, you’re gonna wake—” 
“Hey Pope, I’m gonna put you on speaker.” Will presses a button and sets the phone down next to Frankie, “Now I want Fish to tell you what he just told me and Benny.” 
Gnashing his jaw back and forth, he stares at Will, then Benny. They both watch him expectantly while Santi speaks up, his voice groggy from sleep. 
“Alright, let’s hear it.” 
Frankie clears his throat and rubs his mouth before saying, “I’m gonna ask Ang for a divorce.” 
“Oh shit, ok.”
Will prods Frankie further, “Tell him the other part.” 
“Will you just—Fuck, ok. I’m… seeing someone.” 
On the other line, Santi chuckles a little, “Uh-huh.“ 
“Any guesses on who that might be?” Benny asks. 
“Oh, I have one—” 
“Wait wait wait, let me give you a hint,” Benny grins while scrolling through his phone, pushing off the hood of the car to grandstand, “On June 10–only seven weeks ago, mind you—Fish said about her, and I quote: It’s not like that, we’re only friends. To which you said—” 
“—I said bull-fucking-shit!” Santi finishes, then howls, “That is fucking delicious, thank you.” 
Frankie crosses his arms and shakes his head at Will, “See, this is why I didn’t wanna tell him.” 
“How long?” Santi asks. 
“How long what?”
“How long have you been sleeping with her?”
“It’s… complicated, ok?”
Benny giggles and repeats, “Oh, it’s complicated.”
Santi questions further, “Sure, well, let me ask you this: How long have you been in love with her?” 
“Why does it matter?”
“You do, though, right? You love her?” 
Frankie crosses his arms and glares at the phone, “Yeah.” 
“When did that happen?” 
Heat flares through his veins. He wrings his neck and mutters, “That’s a stupid question.”
“Why’s it stupid?”
“Cuz, Pope, that’s like… that’s like asking how long ago mankind came to exist. Or asking what point a chrysalis becomes a butterfly. I don’t fucking know, man, it just does. I just know that I do, I love her, and I have for… a while.” 
The two men before him are silent, along with the voice on the phone. Frankie, on the other hand, finds momentum in his confession. He continues. 
“And Ang… Jesus Christ, I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt like this with her. And the longer I think about it, the more I convince myself I never did. Not this way, like I can’t live without her, you know?” He taps his fingers against his lips, then shrugs, “Maybe I could have at one point, if I tried. But even then… I don’t like who I am when I’m with her. It doesn’t feel right. It’s like I’m wearing someone else’s skin and it doesn’t fit me.” 
He glances up at Benny, then Will. Their faces are somber, but understanding. Benny approaches, leaning on the workbench beside him to rope an arm around his shoulders and give him a supportive squeeze. 
“When are you gonna tell her?” Will asks. 
“Soon. Not today, but this week probably.“
Benny withdraws his touch and crosses his arms in front of his chest, “She’ll go right for the jugular. You know that, right?” 
“I know.” Frankie takes off his cap to run a hand through his hair, then puts it back, “She’s gonna try to take Sarah. Fuck, I’m gonna need another goddamn lawyer, aren’t I?” 
“Can you afford that right now?” Will furrows his brow, studying him, “Be honest.” 
“Probably. Well, maybe. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.” 
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but is now the right time? You’re on parole and looking to add felony charges to your wrap sheet. Not to mention the infidelity. On paper, your custody case is shit.” 
Frankie shakes his head, “If I have to keep living like this… all this lying and pretending… I don’t know, man. I can’t do it anymore. Something inside me is about to break. I can feel it.” 
The Millers exchange a look. 
“I don’t think I’m speaking out of line by saying we all just want what’s best for you, Fish,” the voice over the phone tells him, “We want you to be happy. If you need to get out, get out.” 
Frankie glances up at Will, who nods in confirmation. 
“Thanks. It-it means a lot to me,” he shifts his weight to one leg, looking down at his wristwatch, “We better get back to the party. Talk soon, yeah?” 
“Yeah,” Santi says, “Hang in there, buddy.”
After hanging up the phone, Will gives Frankie a pat on the shoulder, “We’ve got your back.”
As they file out of the garage into the entryway, Angie walks out from the bathroom. When she notices them climbing the steps, she calls, “Hi boys.”
To his credit, Benny puts on a convincing smile and greets her with a high five, “What’s up, Angie?” 
She steps aside to let him pass, then fixes her glassy eyes on Will, “How’s the carcocha looking?” 
“Better than the last time we saw it,” Will shrugs, glancing over his shoulder at Frankie, “Just needs a little TLC.” 
“Needs to go to the scrapyard if you ask me,” she snorts and tilts her head at her husband as he reaches the top of the stairs, “Hey handsome.” 
He gives her a half-hearted smirk, then frowns, “Where’s Sarah?” 
“She’s fine, still playing. Francisco,” she tugs on his shirt, so he comes to a stop. 
Jesus Christ, her breath smells like a brewery.
His eyes flick to the Millers stalled at the back door. After waving at them to clear out, he raises his eyebrows at Angie, “What?” 
“I need your help with something.” 
“Sure, what?” 
Instead of answering him outright, she takes his hand and leads him down the hallway. His stomach twists with understanding when she pulls him through the doorway towards the bed. 
“If you wanna lay down for a bit, I can take care of every—” 
She turns to face him, placing her palms on his chest and sliding them up to his shoulders, “I want you to fuck me, Francisco.” 
“Ang,” he chuckles with exasperation, shaking his head, “We have a backyard full of guests here, come on.” 
“They’re all having fun, no one will notice.” She takes his hand and guides it to her face, gently folding down all his finger but the index and pouts, “Please, Frankie.” 
He swallows a groan when she wraps her full lips around his digit and sucks. The wet hot plush of her mouth makes his eyelids flutter and weakens his resolve. 
“I don’t think—” 
She pulls his finger from her mouth like a lollipop and bats her eyelashes at him, cooing, “Don’t you wanna fuck me like you did the other night? Didn’t that feel good?” 
“Well, yeah—” 
“We can be quick.” 
As she reaches for his belt, something moves at the edge of his vision. 
“Mommy, Daddy!” 
He looks at the doorway to find Sarah in the hall, holding one penguin toy in each of her pudgy toddler fists. A big, toothy grin spreads across her face and she giggles, galloping into the room. 
Thankful for the diversion, Frankie smiles and takes a big step away from his wife, crouching down to ask Sarah, “Hey sweetheart, what’re you doing in here?” 
“Showing Chacha my penguins,” she tells him, holding up her toys, “This one is an emperor penguin, and this one is a macaroni penguin!” 
“Chacha?”
Something inside him drops to the floor. He looks up and sees you emerge from Sarah’s room. You pause briefly in the hallway, glancing at Angie before meeting his gaze. The pained look on your face rips his heart in two. 
“I, umm…” you stammer, dropping your eyes to the floor and shaking your head, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude, I was just—leaving. There’s a thing and-and I have to go.” 
With this, you flee down the hall, then the stairs, your footsteps still echoing heavy in his head while the front door slams shut. 
“Whiskey coke?” 
You look up from the bar top’s glossy wood finish to give Bubba a nod. 
“Ain’t seen you around here in a while,” he comments while scooping ice into a glass. 
“Yeah.” 
It surprises you a little, how hoarse your voice sounds. A self-awareness passes over you and you straighten your spine, glancing around the bar before digging a compact mirror from your purse. By the time you finish rubbing the bleeding mascara from your swollen eyes, Bubba is placing your drink in front of you. 
You exchange the mirror for your wallet, but when you fish out your card and hold it out to Bubba, he shakes his head. 
“On the house.” 
“What, do I get the sad sap discount?” 
He chuckles a little at this, then shrugs, “If that’s what you wanna call it.” 
“Thanks.”
Leaning forward onto the bar, you pull the glass closer, then stab the ice with your straw a few times. Little bubbles of carbonation fizzle up to the surface and release the gassy scent of rail whiskey. Nostalgia sours your stomach. 
“Everything alright?” 
A deep ache branches out from the weight beneath your sternum and curls around your shoulders. Every cell in your body feels heavy and burdensome. 
Staring at the glass, you shake your head. 
“I’m all ears if you wanna talk about it.” 
“It’s a long, messy story.” 
“I got time.” 
You glance up at him, studying his concerned expression, and sigh, “You know that guy who meets me here sometimes? Brown hair, usually wearing a hat? Started a fight that one time?” 
“The vet?” 
“Yeah,” you nod and swallow down the thickness in your throat, then tell him, “We’ve been off and on for years. He’s, umm… he’s married. I was their nanny when it started. I fell in love with him. He made it clear he didn’t feel the same and he wouldn’t leave his wife, but I kept seeing him because I’m an idiot.” 
“Sounds like you kept seeing him because you loved him, not because you’re an idiot,” Bubba observes. 
“Same difference,” you shrug and tilt your head at your drink, “He’s an alcoholic. After his wife caught us fucking, he went off the rails completely. Still kept seeing him even though he kept me at an arm’s length and drank himself dumb every night. The thing is… I never believed him when he said he couldn’t love me like I loved him. I felt it, and I thought…” 
Tingles work up your throat behind your eyes, and everything becomes blurry as you choke out a sob. 
“I’m sorry—” 
“It’s ok.” 
You shake your head and wipe away your tears, but they keep coming. 
“I thought if I kept loving him he would see how good it could be and come around. I thought he would admit to himself that he does love me like I love him. I wanted that with him so bad, I just couldn’t fucking let go. Then, umm…” 
You clear your throat and take a deep, shaky breath. 
“I had to give him an ultimatum. Her or me. He picked her. I cut it off and tried to move on with my life. He called me a few months ago from jail and asked me to bail him out. I got roped into being his custodian while he’s on parole, so he’s been living with me. We agreed not to get involved in, umm, that way again. 
“He’s been sober and opening up emotionally while working through this shit. It’s been really hard. But it’s also been good, you know, because we’ve had to hash out all these problems that we’ve ignored for years. I’ve been able to see the real him, and… I love him more than I ever have.” 
“Uh-huh,” Bubba raises an eyebrow at you, crossing his arms above his beer belly, “So what happened that’s got you in a fuss? He still doesn’t love you back?” 
The question pierces your heart. 
Your voice balances a tightrope as you confess, “I thought he did. I really did this time, I was so fucking certain. He promised he would fix it, that we could be together—and I fucking believed him—” 
Waves of emotion swell in your chest and flood your eyes with hot tears. You fold forward, burying your face in your hands, releasing sob after sob as you replay the last two months in your head and wonder how you could be so fucking stupid to think it was real. 
The world around you melts away until it’s just you and that dense, pulsing pain. Like it’s always been. Like it always will be. 
It doesn’t matter how hard you try to help him. It doesn’t matter that you love him more than anything else in this world. It doesn’t matter. 
Nothing matters, because he doesn’t love you and he never will. 
A hand rests on your shoulder blades and pulls you back to reality. So lost in your self-pity, you didn’t notice Bubba come around the bar to console you. You sit up and wipe your eyes, mumbling out an apology. 
“It’s fine, darlin’. Can I do anything to help?” 
Sniffling, you shake your head, “I’ll be ok.” 
“You sure?” 
You inhale a shattered breath and give him a weak smile, “Fifty-fifty.” 
He furrows his brow and studies you for a moment before nodding, then taking a step back. 
As he makes his way back to his side of the bar, you stare at your drink. A fat droplet of moisture rolls down the thick condensation lining the glass and gets swallowed up by the cardboard coaster beneath. 
You wish you could forget about him. 
You wish you could feel nothing. 
You wish you could hurt him the way he’s hurt you. 
So, you pluck out the straw, raise the cup to your lips, and start drinking. 
The setting sun paints the wispy clouded sky above a brilliant shade of orange. Beneath his feet, the soles of Frankie’s shoes scuff against the driveway. He glances down at his mom, with her arm hooked in his, and says, “Thanks for coming out, Mamá. I hope you had a good time.” 
“It was a very nice party, mijo.” 
She gives him this stifled polite smile like she’s holding something back. So he prods her. 
“What?” 
She waves him off, “Nada nada.” 
“Come on, Ma.” 
They come to a stop at the driver’s side door of her car and turn to face each other. She studies him a moment, then gives in with a huff, “You have been like this all afternoon. Why?” 
“Like what?”
“So stormy.” 
He deflates, “Don’t worry about it.” 
Her lips purse as she tilts her head at him. The ‘don’t make me smack you’ look. 
“It’s messy, mom. How I’m feeling,” he wrings a hand behind his neck and shrugs, “I don’t know. Everything is a mess and it’s all my fault.” 
“All your fault how? Did something happen?” 
“No—well,” he catches himself, swallows, then corrects, “Yeah. I did something bad. And I lied about it. Then I got caught in the lie, and, you know…” 
She nods slowly, waiting for more. 
“I think I might be a bad person.” 
Her expression softens when Frankie says it. She cups his cheeks and stares straight into his soul. Suddenly, he’s five years old all over again, Mamá comforting his bruised heart. 
“There is a good man inside you. I know him well because he’s my son. Let him be brave.” 
He absorbs this for a moment, then croaks, “Ok.”
“Give me a hug.” 
He hunches over to hug her, burying his face in her neck, “Quiero mucho, mamá.” 
“Yo a ti,” she squeezes him, then pulls back and asks, “Will you call me tomorrow?” 
“Sure.” 
He waits for her to get in her car and drive away before returning to the house. Inside, he finds Sarah and Benny reading a book on the couch, while the siren song of the party still roaring out back rubs at his nerves. 
Frankie pulls out his phone to confirm you, predictably and rightfully, did not respond to his messages or calls. Reconciling with you will be a fucking nightmare. Going home to face the consequences seems less appealing with each passing second. 
He starts to consider other options. 
He could stay and drink. Join the party. Doubtful that Angie or any of her people would give a shit. Hell, they would probably encourage him.
Better yet, he could stay and drink by himself in the garage. There’s enough booze laying around, nobody would notice if he drained a bottle or two in order to reach that blissful numb. 
He plops down on the couch next to Sarah and brings his attention to Benny’s reading. 
“—‘Now stop!’ Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are. 
But the wild things cried, ‘Oh please don’t go—we’ll eat you up—we love you so!’ And Max said, ‘No!’ The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye… and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day… and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him… and it was still hot.” 
Benny flips the paperback closed and looks down at Sarah, who yawns and rubs her eyes, then to her father. 
“Still want that ride home?”
Frankie considers this for a moment before nodding, “Yeah. Let me put her to bed and talk to Ang, then we can take off.”
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bomber-grl · 3 months
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Leo Valdez x Child of Hecate ☾
Pairing(s): Leo Valdez x Gn!Reader
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Leo was most definitely intimidated by you at first sight 😭
I mean all attractive people are, not to mention how mysterious and cool you seemed
Leo knows a baddie when he sees one
Well anyway, the only way the two of you could have possibly crossed paths was by someone else or you orchestrating the whole thing
Ofc again, it’s my girl Annabeth
She’s been at camp the longest and has a reputation so ofc she’s the one who always introduces reader and love interest
Well, it was only after annabeth needed help from the Hecate cabin and Leo was involved because he was the problem
An invention of his went rogue (luckily not because he built it wrong) but yk
Well once you do annabeth thanks you in her own way and when Leo has the chance to speak he just..can’t?!!
I mean not only do you seem cool but gah damn u look like a goth baddie
Home boy is stunned and can only manage a stupid as joke/ pick up line which even he asks himself, why???
Well while hes internally committing he heard the least expected thing
Which was you of all people laughing
You’re usually quiet and kept to yourself so seeing you like this was like when the clouds move and lets the sun shine in-
Cringe ahh mf , really this generations Shakespeare
Well he’s so shocked then the two of you just stand there like 🕴️🕴️
And if he manages to have his inventions go rogue every other day and needs your help specifically, well let’s just say it’s a coincidence
The two of you inevitably get close and the more he hangs out with you the more he falls in love
On surface level you’re dark, mysterious and most of all, intimidating
But now? You’re so easy going, it’s like the two of you have known each other since fetus days
Eventually you two get together because of an adventure that ended with you two getting closer and more open.
Once Leo is your boyfriend- he’s insufferable
I mean he’s his usual goofy, flirty(?) self and he’s so cringe but you love it all the same
Best believe Leo is head over heels for you and when it comes to your magic and stuff he’s particularly keen
especially when you randomly give him a crystal necklace for whatever reason and suddenly you hear Leo going around camp casually mentioning that his witchy s/o got him something
Which, yk endearing but still a lil embarrassing
Leo is always there to help you when you’re making potions, spells, it doesn’t matter
I mean at times he’s a bit spooked at what you can do but he’s still by your side regardless
Now, when it comes to your family on your Greek side- he’s scared
I’m mean, you’re probably scared too depending on if you’re a guy considering how basically every daughter/ female family of Hecate hates men
(You’re probs exempt cuz ur mom Hecate but still)
Bro is spooked, he does NOT want to be a guinea pig
And speaking of your mom, Leos timbers and shivered at the thought of meeting her and her not liking him
I mean it’s not all that important but depending if you’re especially fond of your mom then he’s shivering and timbering
Anyway, Leo is so lucky to have you by his side especially since sometimes he can forget how strong you are
(Also ik hecate is a minor goddess in the books and her children are shown to be weak but i refuse to acknowledge that as child of Hecate)
If you ever try and read his palm or do his birth chart he’ll probably just nod along and not know what you’re talking about 💀
Gotta love Leo
And if any animals that are sacred to Hecate approach you two he’s scared shitless (looking at you snakes)
Not to mention how crows can literally speak, no thank you
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issacballsac · 8 months
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“Being Fujin’s Son„
He’s so father and I love him for that ! Masc/Male Reader
Wind Deity | MK
Bro was like sealed away for majority of the prime events for MK11 💀
So you guys would obviously meet earlier
In one of his lines for MK11 when talking of children he said ‘it’s a joy I will never know’ so you’re gonna be adopted🫶
It’s mortal kombat so ur gonna have some sort of power
I’m seeing you as a strong ass kid who can’t control his powers cuz of sick of seeing weak mfs🤞
He’d meet you on one of his many trips/adventures through the realms
Seeing you absolutely lose ur shit he’d stop you ofc
Y’know bc it’s kinda his job to keep the peace😭
He doesn’t want you thrown in jail for destroying shit so he takes on the responsibility of your new father
“Do not worry, I am Fujin, I will take care of you.”
Daily Scenarios | MK
Have you seen his hair?
Trust me your hair will improve in condition when under his care
Dw he’s pretty experienced so he would know what to do for all hair types
You’d prob end up growing your hair out like him but if your insecure abt having long hair he would understand
A lot of meditation.
He would often train/spar with you to keep your power in check
Can’t have you destroyin shit all the time 🫶
You guys would often travel different places
Seeing different cultures, trying new foods, dressing in different styles, etc.
It would honestly be rlly fun
He’d def take you on wind turbine rides if you aren’t afraid of heights ofc
He’s makes sure you live a healthy lifestyle and get enough exercise daily even if ur lazy like me and hate exercising
He would never want to put you in danger
BUT,
In the events of MKX when the sky temple is attacked he wouldn’t stop you from helping defend it
Along with this he might seek you out for MK11 AfterMath if you don’t take part in the major battle
I think he’d be a good cook with all his knowledge of different kinds of food he can def make smth good
Would make you cook with him so you can learn to cook for yourself
Despite being a good cook you guys would def go out and eat most of the time
Night markets too!
He probably wouldn’t have any pets
You’d probably meet Raiden during the attack on the Sky Temple
“Brother, this is my son.”
“Your what.”
He wouldn’t have much of an opinion on you rather than the fact that you’re kinda dangerous and a distraction from Fujin’s duties
Not like he already didn’t get distracted even without you 💀
Raiden wouldn’t HATE you though he’s just cautious
You guys wouldn’t have a set home aside from the Sky Temple as you’re constantly on the move
He doesn’t necessarily age so he has no reason to slow down and why would you!
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teymars · 7 months
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Imagine reader giving birth to twins boys
they become 14YO, and they are famous in the clan as troublemakers and Neteyam and reader have to deal with them ..
Ah isn’t that CUTE!!!
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THIS IS SUCH A CUTESIE IDEA !!
-no warnings, just some fluff, family dynamics & sweet Dad(dy)!Neteyam (also mentions of bullying + fights if that counts??)
Loud caterwauling blasted throughout the camp, reaching you and Neteyam from within your family-hut. You glanced at your mate, resisting the incredible urge to roll your eyes, there were only two possible candidates for the source of that noise.
“Pshh, I’ll go sort it out, again.” Neteyam sighed, chucking his hands up in defeat. He quickly rose from his spot next to you and hightailed it to the awaiting ‘crime’ scene. For the past few weeks, your twin 14 year-old sons had been causing fights consistently amongst the clan’s young trainees.
You crouched for a moment, subconsciously counting down the moments before your lover’s deep, authoritative voice boomed over the ruckus outside. “BOYS, GET OVER HERE!!” The scolding your two son’s were now receiving increased in volume as Neteyam dragged them both by the neck, back into your hut.
“Ma ‘Teyam-” he cut you off swiftly “How many times do I have to repeat myself to you two?? You can’t just go around fighting people!” Neteyam bellowed, his tail thrashing angrily behind him.
“Sorry, Sir. It was my fault.” Tsyalu, the youngest twin, piped up bashfully. He tried hard to avoid his fathers menacing gaze. “That’s bullsh- ugf’ come on bro, you and I both know Rahaylo deserved it!” The eldest, Myerìn, blurted without shame, barely managing to dodge using ‘foul language’ infront of both his parents.
“Enough, I don’t care wether it was ‘deserved’. Tsy, you have to stop taking the heat for this skxawng! And YOU-” Neteyam gestured to a smirking Myerìn “-need to quit causing trouble, you read me??” Both boys nodded silently before stalking off to different parts of the hut.
You had observed the scolding, originally aiming to hold back a chuckle of amusement, until something in Tsy’s gaze and the way he spoke left you irked. You sat quietly beside him, assisting in preparing the fruits for dinner. Thankfully neither him nor his brother had been injured in the skirmish, you noted.
“What is the matter, sweet child?” You cooed, stroking the side of his cheek as slight tears swelled in his defeated eyes. “It’s nothing, mama..” the boy assured you, trying to hide his face. “Don’t be silly Tsyalu, you can tell me what’s wrong.” You encouraged, faintly aware of your husband’s ears flicking in interest at your conversation, as he watched from his place by the fire-pit.
“Well, we only keep fighting-” he broke off in a quiet sob “-be-because Rahaylo has been bullying me..” Both you and Neteyam fell stock-still at his words, feeling an onslaught of guilt overcome you. “Yea, and Dad told us to stick up for ourselves, so we did.” Myerìn informed, rather nonchalantly. Neteyam looked almost shell-shocked, having realised the poor communication that led to all this.
He moved closer to where you and both your sons were now crouched, reaching down to rest a hand on each boy’s shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sorry, boy. I had no idea.. why didn’t you say anything about this though? Violence is not a good way to solve these issues.” Neteyam offered, sounding solemn. “I- we didn’t want you to think we are weak, we thought you’d be proud of us, because we are brave like you.”
“Oh, Tsy..” you whispered, feeling ashamed that your children ever had to feel that way. “I am proud of you, both of you. So is your mother.. we just don’t want to see you both fighting all the time.” Your mate assured them, providing both with a warm embrace. “It is okay to come to us when somebody causes you trouble, we will help you, I promise.” He continued, allowing you to curl up at his side, joining the family hug. They both hummed in understanding.
“We are pretty brave though, right Dad?” Tsyalu whispered. “Just like you?” Myerìn added, hopefully. “Of course you are! You’re the bravest little warriors this clan has ever seen.” You and Neteyam chirped, nuzzling both boy’s foreheads affectionately. The twins smiled contentedly, feeling relieved as they relished within their father’s hard-earned approval.
“Sooo, who won?” Neteyam mused, smirking at his sons pridefully. “Neteyam!” You chided, smacking the back of his head playfully.
“Oel ngati kameie, my sons.”
Sorry this is a little short, I hope it lives up to what you had in mind! 🤍
Neteyam be getting some insane flashbacks 😭
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dotster001 · 1 year
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Diasomnia request: Reader was born in Titan time (before the gods. When the earth was still very fresh) reader's father had committed a terrible crime, which is why he was cursed to never die, to be punished forever for his crime. However, he managed to get the curse passed to Reader. How do the Diasomnia people react to the fact that Reader can never die? And that they have experienced everything that has happened so far (wars,etc) (you can do later the other dorms too if you want)
(thank you for your patience boo! I hope you like it! It's a lil angsty, and I definitely have never had existential crises like these 😅 still haven't fixed the silver pic, not sorry)
CW: angst, little to no comfort, discussions of death
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At first he's happy. You are like him! You've lived a long time, and seen so many things! No wonder he was drawn to you!
Then he thinks of the loneliness he has dealt with. Sure he has Lilia, and he has Sebek and Silver now, but he remembers people who are long gone, people he has outlived. He doesn't want anyone to feel like him, and now he realizes that you are like him, he wants to help fill the void.
If you want to talk about your experiences, he'll listen quietly and just be a firm presence for you. If you don't want to talk about it, he'll make new memories with you.
Technically, you are older than him. And you know what? He's okay with that. Give him a new perspective. It's the only way to be a well rounded king.
Is he thinking about how you being an old immortal soul will make you a good co-ruler…maybe.
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Same bro.
A truth that Lilia has had to learn over the years is that existence is a burden, and humans are not meant to carry it for eternity. Humans are meant to die. To rest. To move on.  You must be so tired.
Like Malleus, if you want to talk about it he will listen. He'll also share his own experiences, as a general, a father, a servant, any part of his life to make you feel less alone.
He also gives you his tips for "staying young". Pranking young impressionable children is his favorite tip, but ask him about his diet plans. He promises you won't die 😊 only because you can't.
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Ah, like his father. He can't really comprehend what that's like. But he has seen the exhaustion pass his father's eyes before, so he knows it must be a lot to handle. 
He tries to imagine what it would be like if his own father passed his immortality on to him. How much would his heart break? How would he feel being all alone? 
He doesn't really feel comfortable bringing it up himself. Knowing that he is human and will die one day, he tries not to think about his immortal family and friends who will be sad when he's gone. But if you want to talk about it yourself, he'll try to stay awake. It's not his fault and he's very sorry.
He'll make the most of the time he has with you. He'll give you lots of happy memories of him, so that when the time comes, letting go will be easier. 
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He is young, but he is fae. He sees his future in you.
He has also gained a lot of respect for you for living the life you've lived. Taking on a punishment that wasn't yours, living through wars, recessions, traumas, losses, and everything in between. You will never be a weak human in his mind ever again.
SHARE YOUR WISDOM, OH WISE HUMAN! TELL HIM TALES OF YOUR ADVENTURES SO THAT HE TOO MAY BE A GREAT ADVENTURER!
Sebek, they're not deaf. 
He has people in his life that will fade with time.  Can you give him advice? Can you be a hand to hold?
....
Tag list-@lleoll @shytastemakerthing @stygianoir @leonia0
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dollya-robinprotector · 6 months
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Whitney and Lya relationship are just so ✨complicated✨
I simply think a redeemed bully can never find true peace. Whitney is no exception.
He will live the rest of his life constantly reminded that he was once a scum, and because of it, he has to try even harder every day to not only make up for his mistakes in the past but also to prevent any similar thing that could ever happen to his children and family in the future.
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LOL, no honey. Whit had those tattoos wayyy before he met Lya and they have nothing to do with Lya and her Chobies. His constant bullying and molestation DID contribute a huge part to Lya's weak mentality from the early game, but he doesn't hold all responsibilities. The whole fucking town took their pieces.
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Whit's memories of Lya stopped at the end of her first phase a.k.a when she just spat the first Chobi out. Whitney's dismissal event marked the beginning of her second phase. The moment Lya made her choice and watched his sorry ass shoved into the van, the second Chobi started to take shape.
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That's why Whit took his time and struggled to recognize Lya when he woke up at the farm. Bro missed all her character development lol.
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sei-rq · 10 months
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Shameless, big brother (NSFW)
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synopsis: step bro childe has a teeny tiny crush on his step sister
warnings: stepcest, size kink (if you squint), power kink, non-con/dub con, dark content, fem!bimbo!reader, ajax is mean but sweet
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He is breathing heavy.. you can even feel his heart beating rapidly at this point.. Ajax your step-brother is currently buried deep inside you, how did you end up like this exactly? to be honest, you don’t really remember and you don’t really seem to care, neither does he..
He came to visit his family and siblings in Snezhnaya, only having to realize that his father and mother were no longer together, what a pleasant surprise.. turns out his father had moved on and married your mother literally after a month , at the time Ajax didn’t even know you were in the picture, he just assumed that a wretched woman had seduced his father and was living off his money.
At first he was very cold towards you and your mother, soon realizing it wasn’t really either of you guys’ fault, it was that his mother and father failed at love even after so many years of vowed marriage, he had expected your mother to be rude and annoying but it was far from it, she had treated his siblings and him as her own children and loved them all dearly..
That was until he had met you that he felt his first tick, you were annoying, you were so fucking annoying.. he hated you, he hated how nice you were to him, how you always had a sweet smile on your face, how your face always lit up when he came home, he hated all of it, and most importantly he hated how you so innocently called him “ni-ni” almost as though you were poking fun at him, the nickname annoyed him the most.. mainly because it’d make his blood run to his cock instantly after having heard it.
Hahah.. fuck, The Childe Tartaglia, eleventh of the fatui.. had a massive crush on his step sister, fucking disgusting.. but that’s why he loved it.. it felt so fucking taboo and that’s why it felt so fucking good.. oh how poor Ajax has fucked his fist countless times thinking of you, fucking you so so good, “ah- angh ahh.. fuck” curses after curses would fall from his mouth as he imagined the most erotic scenes he’d like to recreate with you
so when one night he visited Snezhnaya as a surprise, he had snuck into your room, seeing you in nothing but a lousy white tank-top and a pair of cute pink panties, okay.. now you were just asking for this 
Your lovely “ni-ni” had wasted no time in locking the bedroom door and tying your hands with a little handkerchief he keeps in his left pocket, you were so dumb and clueless, sleeping so soundly unaware of what was going to happen to you 
The red head had ripped off the panties and had stuck a finger inside of you effortlessly, don’t mind him, he has lots and lots of experience when it comes to things like this.. for some reason though you had felt too tight to stretch out, was this seemingly your first time...?
You jolted awake, looking around aimlessly but surely afraid of what was going on.. “n-ni- mMhp-” before you could let another sound out, Ajax clasped his free hand over your mouth.. “Shh.. it’s fine, big brother will take good care of you” he was already so fucking hard and turned on by this.. he knows this is wrong and he shouldn’t be doing this, and definitely not to his step-sister, yet seeing how easily he is overpowering someone so weak and small turned something on within him, he is really shameless isn’t he?
“MMm!! Ugnh!!” helpless and desperate.. god you were so pathetic right now,but don’t you worry!! big brother Ajax will surely take very good care of you, maybe even spoil you after this session with him, with all the luxury one could possibly want.. all you have to do is be a good girl and let him do whatever he wants with you..
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paimonial-rage · 9 months
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why he rejected you (pt 2)
characters: itto, kaeya, kaveh, kazuha, mika, razor, thoma, tighnari, venti, wanderer, xiao, xingqiu, zhongli
synopsis: you finally gathered up the bravery to confess your feelings, but much to your dismay, they turned you down. but you deserve to know the reason, right?
notes: this group is more nuanced than part 1, so i was not able to capture the whole reason within a single paragraph. please keep that in mind when you read.
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Itto - Bros Before Hoes
It’s not that he doesn’t like you. He may tell himself he doesn’t, but he likes you. A lot. It’s not like he can admit to that, though. Could you imagine how the boys would react if they found out? He’s the great Arataki “The One and Oni” Itto! What would they think if they found out the head honcho of the Arataki Gang turned into a stuttering mess over a little crush! No way, he’d never live it down. I mean, besides, the bros come first, you know? 
Kaeya - (Self) Protection
It’s easy to fall for the silver-tongued Calvary Captain. Kind, exciting, and adored by everyone, everyone has had a crush on him at some point in time. Oddly enough, though, you’ve never heard stories of anyone confessing their feelings. Eventually, you found out why. With quick wit and an even quicker tongue, he doesn’t give you the chance. He dances circles around you with ease. And there in his eyes, you can catch glimpses of it. Amusement, yes, but something more. Fear? Self-loathing? Or perhaps something else.
Kaveh - Weighty Expectations
His roommate would tell you that Kaveh is nothing if not morally driven. He takes his sense of duty to an extreme degree. Some say it’s his best trait; others, his worst. It’s why he rejected you, his roommate states plainly. Kaveh knows what he is. He’s broke, temperamental, living with Alhaitham, depressed, troubled, living with Alhaitham… As he is right now, he is not in the right place to give you everything you deserve. You deserve better. 
Kazuha - Self-pursuit
It’s often said that Kazuha floats from place to place like a leaf upon a summer breeze. Not even the popular Traveler can keep him inside their peaceful teapot for long. Stagnancy dulls the mind and the sword, after all. It’s why he keeps the wall he has built before you. How will he be led by the whims of the wind with a weight holding him down? As strong as his feelings may be for you, his heart will always know where it belongs. It will never be yours.
Mika - Overwhelming
You don’t need to know him well to know that Mika does not like attention. Even having worked with Varka of all people has not given him the confidence to converse easily. As much as you may wish not to, you are not exempt from this. For someone that plans and prepares meticulously as him, you represent an unknown. No amount of observation could ever prepare him to interact with someone that stands out as much as you. Sad to say, you're just too much for him.
Razor - Confusion
Though having spent most of his life around his lupical, a mate was always a simple concept to understand. A mate is a lupical you have a strong bond with. You take care of your mate and your mate takes care of you. You are bound to them for life. The human concept of mates though… Strange complex rituals bind it. It’s frivolous and random. It’s weak and can easily be broken. It can easily wear down over time. Really, Razor can’t wrap his mind around it at all.
Thoma - Higher Loyalties
It’s safe to say that Thoma is an oddity in Inazuma. Ignoring his appearance, he’s helpful and friendly. He treats everyone with the same amount of kindness. He’s gentle with children, not bound by pride. After meeting him personally, it’s hard not to like him. So it’s not much of a surprise that many mothers wish to welcome him into their family. But don’t be fooled. Thoma is a man of duty. His loyalties will always lay with something far greater than you.
Tighnari - Fantastical Expectations
Tighnari is nothing if not a realist. This is not something he exactly hides either. If he has something to say, he will make sure that it is heard. You can’t exactly blame him. He deals with delusional travelers on a near-daily basis that adore touting fantastical dreams of befriending dangerous creatures, after all. If he has to deal with you piling expectations on him of being treated like a princess with sickeningly sweet words of love and infantilizing care, he will go insane. 
Venti - Guiding Wind
Though he has his faults, it’s easy to fall for a person like Venti. When he drops nearly everything to listen to and help you with kind words and a gentle smile, how can you not? It’s so easy to feel like he cares for you, that you truly matter to him. It’s such a wonderful feeling that it becomes easy to forget that trust is a two-way street. Has he ever relied on you for the same amount of support? When the wind is always forging ahead to lead the way, the only place it will never remain is at your side.
Wanderer - Safe
This traumatized boy would probably fall for anyone persistent and resilient enough to put up with his attitude. 
Xiao - Kindness
He’s never hid his reason for rejecting you. Really, he warned you of it when you first met. So even though your smiles pique his curiosity and your laugh makes him long for more, even though the warmth of your eyes beckons him close and the sound of your voice calms him like the melody of a flute, he will never open his heart. It’s the kindest thing he can do for you.
Xingqiu - Interest
As a writer, there’s nothing that calls out to Xingqiu more than potential, story potential. This spark of inspiration can be found in many things—people, situations, places. Every new discovery is like unearthing a gem, drawing him close and pushing him to work his magic to make it shine. You, however? His eyes pass over you as if there’s nothing there. You might as well be a faceless extra in a large crowd. There’s no potential to be found. 
Zhongli - Divine Perspective
Trying to get Zhongli to fall may frustrate you. You wouldn’t be the first. Though his amber eyes may reflect warmth upon seeing you, they never reflect that of a potential lover. Rather, it’s a look that brings you back to your younger years in a way you can’t exactly explain. Only his long-time friends would know why. Really, being thousands of years older, how can he not see you like anything other than a child?
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fours-writings · 9 months
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cw a little suggestive. maybe
but i had to. explain this idea for a moment.
so everyone’s scared of moon. it’s common sense in the plex bc bro he is scary and evil looking. a little gremlin that would pounce on you without hesitation.
now. everyone is scared of him. and that is because he will attack you. he is fully capable of murder, being security for a reason. he is all bite and no bark. silent but murderous yk
but what if. everyone’s scared of him. but only because he’s scary.
they avoid him at all costs because they think he’s this super strong bastard that will eat them.
however, because of this, no one know he is not actually strong at all.
yes sun and moon look after children and they’re big massive hunks of metal. but what if the lankiness is true lankiness.
sun is able to pick up kids bc, well, they’re kids. lightweight. weak. moon has never actually had to attack an intruder bc they always run at the mere sight of him, and the glamrocks usually take care of any truly dangerous intruders before he even gets to them bc the glamrocks are usually the targets in the first place (want some high tech parts? let’s go attack the big animatronics with teeth and claws like total idiots!!)
now. if you couldn’t tell by now, i just love to hc moon with a thing for being absolutely manhandled. get pinned evil clown man.
now imagine just. human night guard y/n. is scared of him. obviously.
but then they make friends with sun, so of course they should make friends with moon, right? sun even convinces moon to take it easy on the human bc “they’re not like the others” (moon calls total bull on that but begrudgingly tries to tolerate them)
sun’s super touchy. attention starved and stuff. he hugs you a lot, and he’s strong enough to pick you up.
then. you find out he’s also light enough for you to pick him up. (or maybe you’re just strong enough. buff y/n time)
of course, you realize this means you can also do the same with moon.
and yet, it takes you a long time to build up the courage to even attempt anything of the sorts bc. yk. claws.
by that time you get a little closer. totally on friend grounds. they definitely aren’t blatantly pining for you. (at least, moon isn’t.)
one day, you end up getting super excited for whatever reason while with moon (you get some good news like a game coming out finally or a big creator liked one of your posts. maybe moon admits he’s your friend. whatever)
you instinctively pull him into a bear hug, and before he can protest you’re picking him right up off the floor and spinning him around in your excitement.
it takes you a moment to realize you did this, and you immediately drop him again, apologizing profusely, while he just. stands there. it’s like he’s completely blue screened.
then you hear his fans turn on.
whoops. you usually only heard that when you starting randomly praising sun. (bc he deserves it. bestest boy)
“Um… wanna pretend this never happened?”
“Mhm.”
you start picking him up and carrying him around more often after that. every time it sounds like he’s about two seconds away from combusting. but he never tells you to stop, and whenever you ask if he’s okay with you doing it it’s always a resounding “yes im fine” so you don’t stop.
just.
unknowingly weak moon <3 He thinks he’s strong. he’s not.
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antianakin · 8 months
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I don’t know if you’re actually watching the Ahsoka series or not, but I was very curious on your thoughts on the newest episode, and the confrontation between Anakin and Ahsoka.
Bro traumatized her again. Lol. 😒🙃
I’m actually kind of satisfied that she showed a little resentment, but I still don’t like that she didn’t cuss him out or something.
Anakin not apologizing is infuriating at first glance, but I also think it fits his character.
It’s funny, if I think about it in a certain way: I wonder if Anakin himself views his “redemption” kind of the same way his fans do. He’s just like, “Why are you still pissed at me? I died stopping the Emperor, didn’t I?” 🙄
The only one I think he’d actually feel sad about is Leia, because of course he’d want his daughter to like him, but she never will now, because he fucking tortured her and blew up her planet.
You know… I don’t really view Anakin’s final moments as a true “redemption” in the eyes of the galaxy. George Lucas has a quote where he says parents are redeemed in the eyes of their children. I guess you could argue that Anakin redeemed himself in Luke’s eyes, but not the galaxy’s own.
And then there’s Leia, who will never forgive him or think of him as her father.
In a way, it’s almost fitting for Anakin, that each of his children represent something for him.
Luke represents forgiveness, and how it’s never too late to do the right thing.
Leia represents his mistakes and sins. As long as she lives, he’ll always look at her and remember the damage he’s done. She’d never let him forget it.
Which is funny, when going back to the recent Ahsoka episode, and how he was acting like a dick to Ahsoka.
Personally, I think he was purposely trying to piss her off to make her fight to not die.
Still though: he’s such a jackass. 😒
Anyways, I guess my main point is that I don’t view Anakin being a Force Ghost shows that he was “redeemed.” I view it more as a type of salvation. Like the Bible story where Jesus is on the cross with two other men next to him. And then one man decides to “believe in him” or whatever, and his soul is saved by the skin of his teeth.
This is kind of how I view Anakin’s act of saving Luke. His soul was saved, because he did a heel face turn at the last second. So The Force was like, “Good enough, I guess.” *Throws up hands*
Anyways, sorry for the long rambling. I hope you don’t mind the message. Haha. 😅 I just have found your blog really therapeutic, because while I like Anakin as the fascinating character that he is, it still just kills me how fandom woobifies him and blames the Jedi for their own genocide.
I don't mind this message at all, thanks so much for sending so many of your thoughts, this was great! It's going to be a long reply back, though, since there's so much to respond to and if you've been going through my blog, this probably won't surprise you.
I AM watching the Ahsoka show, I'm just putting my thoughts about it on a different blog to this one (this blog was created for me to be negative so I usually only review things on here if I KNOW I'm going to be negative about it, but I was hopeful I'd have positive things to say about the Ahsoka show lol).
I think I'm feeling RELATIVELY mediocre about the show. Like I don't hate the whole thing, I can see why it appeals to people, but it's not really hitting at what I would've wanted from a narrative perspective. It seems to be relying on fan service and pretty visuals rather than genuinely good writing to get them through. If you happen to be the fan being serviced, you probably like it fine. But if you are someone more like me, then you might be noticing that there aren't a lot of stakes, the character motivations are weak or missing, the two storylines aren't being spliced together very well, and the dialogue's just not that great. There's also several more nitpicky things that are really pissing me off about the show (the way they're treating Force sensitivity, Sabine being a Jedi at all for no good reason and how her character is being butchered, the very distant and aloof acting I feel like we're getting from everybody, and of course the requisite anti-Jedi bullshit that we can all expect from Filoni at this point).
But as for how I felt about Anakin and Ahsoka's scenes in the latest episode this week, I am personally of the opinion that it WASN'T Anakin at all. I know it's left ambiguous, so if people feel like it was truly Anakin in some way shape or form, that's fine, but I think it makes more sense to me personally that it wasn't. This is Ahsoka's manifestation of Anakin in a moment where she's literally drowning and emotionally at something of a low point and has to decide if she's going to live or not and that conflict plays out in her head the way we see it. I'm also open to the idea that this is one of those things where the Force "tests" the Jedi not unlike what we see happen on Ilum and Mortis and the Force is just utilizing Anakin's visage to bring Ahsoka's deepest fears out into the open.
What makes it interesting to me is that then we can look at the interactions as THIS IS HOW AHSOKA SEES HIM. Whether she thinks about it that deeply or not, THIS personality is how she remembers him. The immediate choice to be violent with her and test her fighting skills rather than talk to her more gently, the dismissive attitude he has towards her, the flickering back and forth between Anakin and Vader because she doesn't truly know which one he was most. He wasn't necessarily a great teacher and his way of teaching wasn't very Jedi-like, it's ruthless and merciless and unkind, and we see that reflected in their interactions in this episode, which could be a really interesting look at how Ahsoka still remembers him even if she didn't see it negatively at the time.
So him not apologizing isn't like... an indication of how Anakin might actually handle this interaction if it were truly him so much as just... Ahsoka being unsure sure if he WOULD apologize because she has no idea how much of him was Vader the entire time and Vader would clearly never apologize. I think the Anakin we see by the end of ROTJ probably would apologize at SOME point, especially if we're supposed to see him as redeemed and acknowledging/accepting of his sins, etc. But Ahsoka doesn't know that. Ahsoka probably kind-of knows through Luke that he turned back in his last moments, but she wasn't there for that, she didn't get to see it, and she obviously still has no idea what caused him to turn on the Jedi and become a Sith to begin with. Why did he come back for Luke and not her? Was it because she abandoned him? Did he just not care about her the way she thought? Was there something intrinsically wrong with her that he recognized from the beginning?
There's just too much uncertainty perhaps for Ahsoka to know if he'd actually apologize and she doesn't even necessarily need or want an apology so much as she just wants to UNDERSTAND. Because of course it leads into her doubts about HERSELF and whether being his apprentice (even for as short of a time as it was) has somehow influenced her to be more like him and if she should be worried that she'll go dark or cause a student of hers to go dark. If she doesn't know why HE made that choice, how can she trust herself? It's not entirely dissimilar to the statement she made at the end of the Wrong Jedi arc where she claims she's leaving the Jedi because if the Council couldn't trust her then she isn't sure she can trust herself, either. And now with Anakin going dark, she has to wonder if the Council saw something of that in her when no one else did, saw a future for her that she hadn't been able to see for herself yet.
I think personally I'd just rather look at this episode as the closest we're going to get to a "deep dive" into Ahsoka's psyche and character rather than try to analyze it as like "what does this say about Anakin." It's not Anakin's story anymore, it's Ahsoka's. Or it's supposed to be, anyway.
That all being said, I don't think it went far enough and I do dislike that we didn't get to dive into OTHER aspects of Ahsoka via other relationships in order to round out who she actually is. I don't think we know any more about her at the end of the episode than we did at the beginning. I don't think she really grows or changes through the episode at all. I don't know what the whole "choose to live" thing was about or how it connects to her overall arc because while, yes, she's obviously literally drowning in the moment, "choosing to live" is not something they've been exploring as an issue for Ahsoka throughout this season so far, so it didn't feel like this cool end to her character journey so much as just a really shallow one-liner made to sound badass without anything particularly profound behind it.
I think gffa said that one of the things you can tell about this show is that it's been percolating in Filoni's mind for so long that there's things he's leaving out because they're just totally obvious to him now and he's forgotten that the audience won't know some of it without being told or shown. If Ahsoka was depressed or suicidal or something like that, it never came across in the first four episodes. She barely seems to be struggling at all to me, personally. So maybe that's what Filoni wanted us to understand about her, maybe that was the intention, but it just didn't quite make it from his head into the writing or onto the screen.
And I keep going back to the Obi-Wan Kenobi show and the way they handled his character arc. They started him at a really low point where he's so CLEARLY depressed and just moving through life without actually living or finding any way to be happy. They spend so much time showing us how OUT of character Obi-Wan is in order for the pay off by the end and the slow growth of his character throughout the six episode story to feel satisfying. And while he's out of character in his depression, it's done in such a way that that's the POINT. We all know WHY he's out of character, we know what's causing him to be that way, it doesn't need to be explained because it didn't happen off-screen, it's literally the plot of an entire trilogy of films. It felt like a pretty natural extension of the state we last saw him in and it allows him the ability to actually have a journey that makes sense.
We've gotten NONE OF THAT for Ahsoka. Her relationship with Sabine is nonsensical and comes out of nowhere with zero explanation. Her weird thing about Padawans comes out of nowhere with zero explanation. Her aloof attitude is coming out of nowhere and does nothing to help us understand the state of mind she's in. She never seems to be acting SO out of character that it tells the audience how much she's struggling, but she's also SO flat that she no longer feels much like the Ahsoka everyone knew and loved from The Clone Wars. They're inventing new problems for her to have that make no sense instead of giving her a journey to actually deal with the problems she already had and hadn't gotten any resolution for. And they're unable to actually connect her problems from before into the Rebels storyline in a way that makes any real sense or feels genuine and meaningful for either Ahsoka or Sabine, so both storylines are getting half-assed and butchered in the attempt.
Personally, I think Ahsoka should've had a season set closer to ROTJ or even before it, just after she gets off of Malachor and 2-3 years prior to ANH, to explore her immediate reaction to Anakin's betrayal and have her overcome that on her own. Use original characters primarily, throw in Bail Organa or something if needed just to give her a quick plot, but let it be about AHSOKA. And only once her journey to finding herself is complete do we then move on to the Search for Ezra, which should be focusing WAY more on the Rebels characters than we're actually getting and should not involve any of the Rebels characters (except maybe Jacen) learning to be Jedi. Ahsoka would be a side character in this story because she has now had her story told and we can let Sabine and Ezra and Jacen and Hera be at the forefront of the story. (I also think we could've done something with Sabine that wasn't being a Jedi or her entire family being murdered off screen so she has an excuse to do a characterization 180 and act like a bratty teenager all over again.)
If I had to just change THIS episode a little, I have a few alternatives I've been thinking about. For one, I do just think we should've gotten to explore OTHER relationships beyond Anakin to emphasize the other things that Ahsoka is that aren't just "Anakin's Padawan." Rex, Barriss, Plo Koon, even Kanan or Ezra to try to make that connection to Rebels. She's been a friend, a commander, a rebel, a student, a mentor, an ally, a Jedi. She's been so many things that have nothing at all to do with Anakin and I think that might've been nice to explore as well. Yes, Anakin was important. Yes, she's fucked up about it. But that's not ALL THAT SHE IS. So I think starting off with her fears about Anakin is great, but then have her move on and sort-of go through it a little like Charles Dickens' A Christmas Story to show that she's more than this, too. This probably would've worked better if it had been a two parter thing rather than one 30-40 minute episode, depending on how many characters you wanted to throw in.
I also would've appreciated seeing her break and shatter at seeing Anakin. I wanted her to be ANGRY, to refuse to forgive him, to throw his betrayal in face. And then by the end of the episode, she lets it go. She's seen that she doesn't need to hold onto that anymore and it doesn't matter what choices Anakin did or didn't make, she's her own person and can make HER own choices. And so Anakin comes back at the end, and she's no longer angry. She can forgive him. I also would've wanted her to have been more snappy and frustrated and angry earlier in the season, as well, so we can TELL there's something simmering underneath that she's trying to keep repressed until it finally boils over in this episode.
The other alternative I came up with was the OPPOSITE idea where Ahsoka is basically just kind-of... in denial about it. She isn't acknowledging her own anger and pain and betrayal at all and she just wants to spend this time with Anakin the way they used to and Anakin is sitting there provoking her and trying to get her to break so she can let it all out. Eventually he gets her to admit it and get angry and yell at him and acknowledge her own pain finally so she can see how it's impacting her relationships in the present day. She's been trying up until now, but as Yoda's always said, sometimes trying isn't enough, and you just have to do or do not. She doesn't reject him at the end of this, but she can at least acknowledge what he did to her and how it's made her feel. You could even include some of her anti-Jedi bullshit in this and have her justifying Anakin's betrayal by saying the Jedi failed him the way they failed her and Anakin pushing back on that idea so that by the end of the episode, she can recognize that she's been blaming the Jedi because she's been uncomfortable with her inability to understand Anakin's choices and it was easier to blame the Jedi than live with that uncertainty.
I've discussed my feelings on Anakin's redemption a lot and they're definitely not in the majority. Personally, I just don't think he's redeemed at all. My definition of redemption is along the lines of "you can fix/undo the thing you broke/damaged" rather than just... "you decided to stop breaking things even if there's no way to fix it." It doesn't mean Anakin can't keep being a better person if he'd lived, or that he can't find redemption in more specific places (like Luke forgiving him for chopping off his hand), but that there is no redemption for what he did to the Jedi, to the clones, and to the galaxy at large. None. It doesn't matter what he does, it doesn't matter that he stopped himself and Palpatine, it doesn't MATTER. The Jedi and the Republic are still gone, the clones were still enslaved, the galaxy is still in shambles and traumatized from 25 years under the Empire.
You aren't the only one who's chosen to separate your definition of "redemption" from something else to make it make more sense. Someone else went for redemption being different from an absolution wherein you are just immediately forgiven of all of your sins because of one act or whatever, while redemption is the process of doing better. If that works for you, go for it. Personally, I just think Anakin isn't redeemed. He cheat coded his way into being a Ghost and the Ghosts don't make any sense anyway. I think it's definitely intended to represent his redemption IN THE NARRATIVE, like that's the point of the visual, but it just doesn't work for me, so I choose not to see it that way. It's ambiguous enough and the Force Ghost lore confusing enough that it's not that hard.
Your interpretation of Luke and Leia as the two sides of forgiveness is intriguing. I do think Leia could get to the point of forgiveness that basically looks like letting go of her anger because the man's dead anyway so there's no real point staying angry and understanding the history that may have led him to become the monster she knew, but that doesn't mean she has to LIKE him or ever consider him a father.
I think you could kind-of throw Ahsoka and Obi-Wan in there as different reactions to Anakin, too. With Ahsoka as someone who sort-of clings to who Anakin used to be and can't truly reconcile the two versions of him that she knew, and Obi-Wan as someone who rises above. Unlike Leia, he did know and love Anakin, but he is also able to let go of his anger and betrayal and accept Anakin for what he is now rather than pining for someone who no longer exists. And Ahsoka is the opposite of Luke as someone who also knew Anakin and loved him, but struggles a lot MORE with the revelation of who he was and his impact on her life. Everyone approaches Anakin and his relationship to them and his choices in a different way.
I wish the Ahsoka show wanted to explore any of that at all lol.
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buckybarnesss · 4 months
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Where did this idea that Chris Argent is the one Argent who cares about the code come from? He's just as bad as his wife, who wants to murder Scott for existing.
I feel like I have a completely different understanding of this that everyone else does. I like him BECAUSE he's a weak-willed jellyfish of a man. He follows orders, there's not much kindness left in him and it's only directed at his daughter. He's a liar who enjoys tormenting teenagers - he was willing to kill Derek and Scott even though he knew they hadn't killed anyone.
The entire point of the Argents is this corrupt family structure. "Women are leaders" they say, as they lie and gaslight Allison. "We don't kill innocents" they say, while shooting Derek and Scott for being outside at night.
How many times did they get it wrong and kill humans? We'll never know because of course they would just cover up the evidence. They were taking potshots at Scott and Derek and didn't even know WHO they were shooting at.
Literally none of them follow the code. They manipulated Allison into setting it aside. The code is bullshit.
"Chris would never torture innocents" bro what show were you watching, you think he didn't know Kate was sexually assaulting and electrocuting Derek?? He didn't seem that fucking surprised to see Erica and Boyd in his goddamn murder basement.
I feel like I am going crazy!!
you are so right.
what do i think of chris argent?
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chris argent is compelling to me because he's not really that good of a person. he has deluded himself into thinking he is.
the indoctrination amongst hunters runs very, very deep. especially with the argents. he never fully becomes deprogrammed. gerard argent deeply damaged both of his children and that is the point. there is no happy ending for the argent family.
kate was gerard's golden child because kate was full tilt sociopathic and enjoyed killing. chris was the lesser of the two in gerard's eyes. we know that while chris did gerard's biding he hadn't been in contact with allison since she was three years old at the time of kate's "death". that tells you chris knew his father's influence was dangerous and corrupting. yet he still let it happen and watched allison be manipulated by his father and become like kate.
three children ended up in his murder and torture basement and the only one i can see him not fully knowing about is stiles because that was gerard's little game. he knew about erica and boyd, he knew what was being done to them and he allowed it. they hadn't done anything to anyone and again they were children. the same age as his daughter. her own classmates. trussed up in his basement.
his intimidates stiles, scott, jackson and derek more than once. people who hadn't done anything wrong. scott, jackson and stiles are all children.
chris also knew full well who and what kate was. he was in denial about it and ignored it. chris isn't a stupid man and i thought it was pretty clear throughout season 1 he had suspicions about kate so he's not even surprised when confronted about it code breaker. he's just disappointed.
he clings to the code because it gives him cover. it gives him a convenient excuse. he can wrap himself up in the code and declare himself a good hunter, not like the others, not like his father and sister when he is. the code is his self-delusion.
he changes because allison died and his code becomes the memory of his daughter. his shitty family and his lack of backbone led down a path that eventually led to her death.
yes allison's decision that night was her own but it was also reckless. why was the archer on the ground? why wasn't she high up like she'd been wise enough to do in frayed or in alpha pact? allison was desperate not only to save lydia but also to prove herself good and make up for her mistakes.
and even when he begins to change it's often conditional.
chris is an interesting character. i like him a lot actually but he's a fucked up person who makes many questionable decisions thought-out the series. he only looks good because gerard and kate are more terrible.
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cranberryjuice-posts · 3 months
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My take abt ares in Percy Jackson vrs myth
Spoilers for the Percy Jackson series
Tw- minor topics of SA (mentioning a myth that has that topic)
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I hate how badly Rick did ares.. I mean this as ares wouldn’t of hit or abused his kids. Ik he needed a god to be like an asshole but ares bro…
In mythology Ares is a protector of women and mistreated women, he was the patron of the Amazonian’s and even in wars through out myths he never included women or children not because he viewed them as weak or inferior but because he was literally their protector. He never SA’d women and was like one of the only gods to do this
A son of Poseidon had r worded a daughter of ares and in response ares killed him. It was so bad that Poseidon took ares to Olympian court and tried to get him punished and removed from the council or whatever they were called. And all the female Olympians were on ares side saying that he did the correct thing in response and killed r-wordist.
Ares would of never hit his kids. He would of been harsh on his sons yes and would of been upset at his children if they hurt kids weaker then them (if it was undeserved) and hurt women/female campers, but he would of never hit them.
He would of been so fucking proud of clarisse. Clarisse is the best Warrior at camp, got her own quest, is compassionate (seen with silena and coach hedges wife among other people) and more. Ares would of supported clarisse and his other kids. It’s actually so sad bc of how misrepresented Ares is in media 😭
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quitealotofsodapop · 8 months
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OOOHOOO!!! Cómo va a reaccionar Azure a que no solo el sucesor del amor de su vida no solo es su sucesor si no que es su hijo. Y como van a reaccionar el Camel Rigde que ahora el "eslabón débil" es capas de hacerlos tapetes con la mirada y que se quedó con su traidor líder, y no solo eso sí no que tienen tres adorable hijitos que es capaz de partir montañas, usuario del caos y una medio demonio gato que posiblemente puede hacer una era del hielo
Translated via google:
"OOOHOOO!!! How is Azure going to react to the fact that not only is the successor of the love of her life not only her successor but also her son. And how are Camel Rigde going to react that now the "weak link" is capable of making them look at each other and that he stayed with his traitor leader, and not only that but that they have three adorable little children who are capable of breaking mountains, chaos user and a cat half-demon who can possibly make an ice age"
I can imagine Azure is a little... shocked.
The release of the Scroll of Memory happens at the same time as Shadowpeach's wedding reception on Flower Fruit Mountain, meaning that most of the guests are dragged into it. Azure showed up "just at the right time" to stop the Curse from spreading.
His plans are a lot more calculated this time round, gaining support and endearing himself more to the gang before dropping the bombshell that he intends on keeping SWK and Mac in the scroll until the Brotherhood's plans are completed.
Azure: "It's surprising to me that Sun Wukong has appointed a successor after all this time. He wasn't exactly a mentor type in our Brotherhood days. Then again he was always parental towards his fellow monkey yao." MK: "Probably helps that I'm his kid too so..." Azure: "Kid??" Bai He (cat demon) & Chenxiang (human?): "Us too!" Azure: "Excuse me???" Mei (dragon) & Nezha (diguised demon): "He's kinda our dad too." Azure, finally noticing the destroyed wedding reception: "...Was there a wedding going on?"
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It takes Azure Lion a while to ask about the kids' other parent, he just assumes SWK slept around during the last 1000 years. Eventually he pokes around Flower Fruit Mountain enough to find some baby photos of all the kids together (you know Wukong is the type to hoard his kids drawings and photos) with SWK + a monkey yao he isn't sure if he recognises.
Azure, astral projecting during the kids' mission through the scroll: "I would like to ask a personal question; has Sun Wukong ever... settled down before? With a life partner, I mean." MK: "Yeah! With our mom!" Azure, disappointed: "Oh. Are they a monkey yao like you? Or are they something else?" Bai He, proudly: "Our mom is The Six Eared Macaque! That wedding we were at was theres!" Azure, astral form glitching: "WHAT?" *so shocked he stops projecting* Chenxiang, the most paranoid of the situation: "...guys I think he had a crush on dad." MK, in denial: "Nah! He said they were just bros back in the day! He was probably just caught off guard by mom and dad being together after so long!" Mei: "MK, he def had the hots for Monkey King." Chenxiang: "And he did not seem happy about who mom is..." MK, desperately: "No... thats so gross..." Nezha: "I agree with Mei and Chen. Although the Azure Lion has been on good behavior for the bodhisattvas since the Camel Ridge incident, he has turned his back on the Celestial Realm before. His appearance at the wedding was no mere concidence. I would keep our wits about us until we find and release the others."
*Later, after Azure releases them and the reincarnation gang, but refuses to release SWK and Mac*
Chenxiang: "...Told you he had the hots for dad." MK: "Leave me alone, I'm still grossed out about it." Nezha: "That's what you're upset about?! There's a group of former rebels running around, trying to restart their cause, and forming a whole coup, Mr Tang is gravelly injured, and that's what you're upset about!?" MK: "Mom and dad just got married ok! I didn't want today to go wrong for them!" Bai He: "But now mom and dad are stuck in that magic scroll Uncle Lion has." :'( Mei: "Oh man... Momcaque is gonna kill that fake-uncle Lion when we get him out!" Chenxiang, shuffling nervously and muttering: "I mean... whats so wrong about getting back at the Celestial Realm? I've done it before."
The Brotherhood's coup certainly doesn't go as planned... but not failed per say...
Especially since the kids find out that someone important on the Celestial side has been holding a candle for Azure for all these years, in the same way Azure has been for Sun Wukong.
And love fixes everything right?
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gecemi09 · 3 months
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I saw the previous anon's post and omg yes! I have a feeling I'm gonna be returning to your blog often to rant about Tim- tell me now if you don't want that 😭
But omg I read a fic about Alfred not letting Jason back into the manor after attacking Tim and the author replied back to someone's comment being like "Alfred loves Jason but he would never let him back in after assaulting a minor." WHAT????
The rage that overtook me was insane because Alfred literally is Enabler #1. Bro has beeeeeeennn letting 11 year old children fight violent crime on the streets of Horrid Gotham. Also Jason was like what 19 during that incident? Don't people realize they're also doing a disservice to Tim's character by making him this weak dude who could barely fight against Jason and boohoo he's soooo traumatized that he flinches around Jason :(((((((
GOD STFUUUUUU it makes me livid PLEASE
Do people think the Robins are twinks or something? They're all like canonically super tall and muscular. They fight incredibly well. Tim was fighting Jason too.
ALSO also. I see wayyyy too many fics where Tim has horrible parents and grew up poor/was never fed. Please be real. The kid grew up rich and has never experienced poverty or anything close to it. Comparing trauma is horrible, always, but God sometimes I just wanna be a horrible person and scream about how Jason has BEEN having it soooo much worse than everyone in the batfam
I am so sorry for this long rant, please tell me if you don't want anymore asks like this 😭
I always welcome Tim rants! (and asks in general)
But yeah that fic you mentioned sounds horrid and AGREE SOOO HARD ON ALFRED. No offense, but guy has practically zero spine considering he was fine with Bruce letting a NINE YEARD OLD being a vigilante and then CONTINUE doing it w other kids. Like I know it's a genre convention but NINE??? Alsoalso tim and jason are 3 years apart MAX without accounting for jason's time spent dead+ comatose+ catatonic. "jason assaulting a minor" my ASS when I guarantee you tim was probably hurt worse during patrol before. And exaggerating tim's parents is..ew. I legit read fanfic where 16 yo tim was apparently smaller than robin jason, which ,, no chance in hell. Also, I'm pretty sure they were away on work a lot, not neglect levels? but i have never read abt tim so idk.
Thanks for the ask!
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