#see this is why I say I’m not a collector haha

[bugeyedfreaks]

Someone on Etsy’s selling this special popcorn container that I guess was given out at the PPG movie premiere! Not something I’d buy, but maybe someone else would want it. It’s cool to see that they gave these out though. So fun!

#weird merch #powerpuff girls #ppg #the powerpuff girls movie #see this is why I say I’m not a collector haha #I like to see the rare stuff… I do not necessarily wish to OWN the rare stuff 😆 #‘cause what are you gonna do with it???? it’s neat tho so thought I’d share

[e-vay]

Evay QA Bulk Post 1

I’m working through my inbox but don’t want to drown y’all’s feed in my asks so I’m grouping as many together as I can. Q&A below:

MISC SONIC ASKS

Thank you so very much! I was trying to really combine both Amy and Sonic’s aesthetics. Amy is classy and design oriented so I wanted to keep that feel, but I wanted to show how their home would evolve once she and Sonic start living together. Sonic’s never canonically had a house, but he travels so much that I headcanon that he’s constantly collecting trinkets and souvenirs from all the places he’s visited. So I wanted to give them a very “worldly” design style. If you’re familiar with Uncharted 4, I picture Sonic and Amy’s house being very much like Nate and Elena’s beach house.

I love interior design and architecture but I’m not great at drawing it (yet). Once I improve I want to do a full layout of their house for my stories (and the future Shadora Fortress).

I really enjoyed the movies and I’m excited for the third! I hope they give Shadow a voice that’s deep and delicious and doesn’t sound like a sniveling villain. I don’t like it when they cast him with a very generic evil voice, I prefer it when he’s got depth. Honestly I’d be happy if they stuck with Ian Hanlin, he’s perfect to me. 

For the record, I absolutely love that game. Some of my favorite memories involve me and my best friend playing it. He ABSOLUTELY is an avid gun collector. I love seeing the memes of Shadow just rambling off about gun details. BUT HE KEEPS THAT CRAP LOCKED UP IN A SAFE AND UNLOADED AT ALL TIMES!!!!

At least for my stories he isn’t one to actually threaten to harm anybody for wanting to date his kids. He dealt with that enough trying to be with Aurora. But you can bet he won’t think anybody’s worthy to date his kids lol

First of all, I am ALWAYS down for Sonic singing his feelings. Like that is my #1 favorite thing in every story. Whenever he breaks out the guitar/lute I’m like “HELL YEAH LET’S DO THIS”

Secondly, that SONG omg!!! I’d never heard it before but wow 😭 I couldn’t love it more. I completely agree and thank you so much for sharing with me!

That is so funny that you say that. It was not my intention to make human Sonic look like RCS but honestly he is my favorite Sonic at this point so maybe it came out subliminally! Also I think Roger is just so damn handsome so I will take that as a compliment lol! 

SHIPPING ASKS

I do ship them but I don’t know about them having kids. I don’t really know those characters well enough to write family members for them and I wouldn’t want to do it wrong. Thank you!

I’m fine with any of your ships as long as it’s not with relatives. And as long as you keep my characters “in character” then that’s fine. 

Interesting! 🤔 I haven’t heard that pairing before but hey I’m certainly not going to tell you that you can’t ship them together. 

I loved Amy the minute I saw her so just from a superficial level I was like “These two are too cute together!” But I really fell in love with them when their story evolved and we got to see their dynamism in the games outside of just a cute little pink sprite in Sonic CD. And Sonic X really sealed the deal haha So many romantic moments between them in that show, God bless. 

Sonic and Amy were just making out, not anything more. Orbot and Cubot aren’t accustomed to seeing that so that’s why they reacted that way. 

I don’t have any plans on that at the moment. I like that universe and I especially loved how Sonic acted around her in it, but idk if I’ll make a comic about it. But I can never say never!

PERSONAL ASKS

I’m sorry to have worried you, but honestly I was okay while I was away. I went through a lot of major life events and I had lost my drawing mojo and was fighting to get it back. But now it’s back with a vengeance!

I plan on doing both. I know several amazing parents who do a wonderful job raising their kids and still follow their passion.

Thank you so much! I’m self-taught, but I’ve researched a lot of tutorials and references to help me improve over my life. The number one thing people need to study if they want to do comics or animations or anything is ANATOMY! You don’t have to take an anatomy class (I didn’t), but look up references and tutorials to learn how the spine works, how the muscles work, proportions, etc. Even if your characters don’t fall into the typical human form, you still need to understand skeletal structure and muscles. 

I’m not an avid listener but I do like some if her songs :)

I’m in the process of assembling that. There’s a lot so it’s taking time lol 

WILL YOU CONTINUE HHNF?

Yes I’m going to continue HHNF

AURORA ASKS

Thank you! Yes that’s pretty accurate. Their family is all about honesty and telling the truth, but younger Aurora doesn’t like to share all the details with Sonic because he’s so reactive with her and will quickly try to fix whatever the problem is and Aurora wants to learn to fix it herself. Amy is more willing to just listen to Aurora and offer advice if Aurora asks for it. Amy WANTS to beat up whoever is upsetting her daughter but she also knows the importance of learning how to fight for yourself so she wants Aurora to feel empowered to do that. 

Thank you! I hope you’re having a great day too! I think Amy is better at TALKING through feelings and Sonic’s better at the overall cheering up way of handling things. So as long as there’s nothing terribly awful bothering Aurora and she’s just feeling a little down, he’ll find ways to make her laugh. Sometimes that means walking in unexpectedly in a costume to shock her or dragging her out of the room to have a musical jam session together. 

Sonic’s also known to give people flowers when they’re sad in canon (he does this regularly in the games and in Sonic X), so he’ll bring her bright, colorful flowers to make her smile. 

In my AU, Eggman has already kind of peaked by the time of Boom!Baby. He’s softened a lot and isn’t interested so much in world domination as he just wants attention lol. Having Sage and becoming a father further helped me justify that with my AU. 

He's also particularly sentimental towards Aurora since he helped deliver her, so he doesn’t really fight the team anymore. He is more like a constant pain in their sides mucking things up. 

Sonic team is busy fighting other, newer foes in my AU.

Their biggest challenge is going to be the Time Travel comic that I haven’t completed yet. It’s hardest because not only will lives be put on the line, but it also touches on trust and when to let go. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more detailed answer yet but I don’t want to spoil the plot! And thank you so much! 

MISC ASKS RELATED TO MY AU

Yes I just need to draw them. There are so many dang Sonic characters hahaha

It’s VERY important to Aurora for her parents to give their blessing, so Shadow will honor that and ask them for it. I already know how and when he’s going to do it, but I can’t spoil it for you yet! 😉

They’ve had three litters. I headcanon that back in the day hedgehogs used to have litters (2 or more kids) all the time but that became less and less common in modern day. But I also headcanon that as the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow was engineered to be able to… multiply effectively. So even though they’ve only been pregnant 3 times, they keep having triplets or twins. 

I do consider the First Kiss comic canon to my AU. But it happened a while before My Gal, maybe like a year or so before. Give them time to stew on that kiss hehehe

They just wanted to make a life change. The stars just happened to align at the same time haha

All the kids’ names are supposed to be based on their personalities or powers. Most Sonic characters are named that way, so I don’t know if it’s canon for Mobian parents to sense what their kid’s powers will be or not. Aurora has dreams that sometimes give her premonitions so she had inklings to what their kids might be like so she and Shadow could brainstorm ideas based on that. Also a lot of their names are outer-space-related or at least outer-space-adjacent and that was because Shadow’s a space man lol So he had influence in that. 

Sonic wants all his descendants named Sonic II so he’s no help lol. 

Thanks, I’m happy you like it! 

There are 3 litters. The first litter has the triplets Piper, Zane and Nova. The second litter was born almost a year and a half later and has the twins Aster and Blitz. The third litter was immediately after and that has the triplets Cinder, Diamond and Boon. All this information is listed in their character reference post. 

In the beginning the family mostly just stuck to ordering online and getting home deliveries lol. But if they do have to do a grocery store run it’s a full family event. The kids all ride on Shadow (see this post). Their house has two fridges to accommodate for all the mouths to feed!

Their life certainly isn’t boring anymore 😂 It’s exhausting but they’re happy (also there are 8 kids haha!)

Thank you so much, it’s good to be back!

Aurora definitely would have asked him about this, but at least in my stories Sonic became an orphan at a young age and I don’t have him with any siblings. 

I’ve had another person ask me who I picture Sonic’s parents as and I do plan on drawing a reference of them, but they’ll be unique to my stories. They won’t be from any other Sonic media. 

I don’t draw Aleena, Manic and Sonia because of a couple reasons. I never watched Sonic Underground so I don’t have the allegiance/nostalgia that a lot of people have to that show. Also for my own preference, I don’t like the idea of Sonic being born to royalty. It doesn’t suit him, in my opinion. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect people who have that as a part of their canon and it doesn’t mean I have any bad feelings towards the Underground characters. I just don’t draw them. I grew up on the games and later Sonic X and Sonic Boom so my stories revolve around what I know. 

It’s funny that you mention that ship because I only just learned about it from Starrjoy’s P!AU comic. Again I didn’t watch Sonic Underground so I don’t know who Bernadette is, but sure I’m down for Sonic having two moms. Families come in all shapes and sizes, so as long as they’re a loving parent or parents then I support it. 

They love all their grandkids and they love spending time with them, but I think in their older age Sonic and Amy go off on more adventures again. They never stopped adventuring, but they settled down a bit while raising Aurora. Now they’re relishing a second wind and they’re frequently going on worldly explorations.  

But they always make sure to attend any events the kids are involved with and are always home on Sundays for family dinner. Sunday night is dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s! <— I have them always having dinner at their house on Sundays even before Aurora and Shadow have kids

To be honest, I never felt like they needed more. I had a comic where they discussed it hypothetically, but they’re content with just having the one kid. (Don’t worry, just because they’re not having kids does NOT mean they aren’t… active 😈 They’re very VERY much so!). I am okay with fan stories where people give Aurora siblings and there’s a fic I’m reading right now that involves Sonic and Amy having a whoopsie baby way late in life and adult Aurora is having to deal with that and I love it lol. But just for my own writing, it’s a single-child household. 

#ask me #evayQA #sonic trash #my au #headcanons #my headcanons #long post #Masterpost #masterask #bulk qa #masterqa

[on-softs]

Hiiii

I just read clothing of delight

I reallyyy did love it except I did not exactly get the ending

Was it a dream or it happened and why did max retire??

I'm not complaining I really did like it just engs not my first Lang so I was a bit a confused

And I really liked the story so I just need closure 🥺

Hello anon! No worries at all, happy to answer. So, it was not a dream, though it does definitely feel like that to Danny at times (or a nightmare lol!!).

My idea with this fic was less tied up in the technical ‘why did this happen or stop happening to max’— definitely hand waving the sci fi elements. I was mainly interested in taking a crack premise and exploring the horror of it taken seriously, basically, and then also how that might change their relationship permanently. Got really chatty about it under the cut:

With the ending, I wanted to show how cracks are starting to appear, in light of what’s happened: how Red Bull treats Danny with suspicion, the non existent relationship between Danny and Jos, the breakdown of Jos and Max’s relationship when it’s stripped down to its core (ie, kid Max choosing to stay with Danny and not Jos), the general vibe that maybe the dynasty of Red Bull is ending by this point in ~2030. And of course, Danny’s utter anxiety and sense of being aged out of the world of F1 that’s going throughout the whole thing.

So with the final article, I wanted to imply the this whole event was the catalyst for Max finally leaving this whole mess, and choosing Danny over everything. In my head, Max doesn’t remember what happened when he was in kid-mode. But he looks around him and sees the crater the event has left on the people around him, most of all on Danny, who honestly probably doesn’t have it in him to ask Max to stop racing but really really would like it if he did. So they can spend the rest of their lives playing tennis and handball and cooking in the kitchen together :) fuck Jos who will never forgive Danny for making his son love him more than he loves his father, fuck Christian, fuck the rest :)

And Max, who has talked in interviews n stuff about how he’s not some record-seeking championship collector (somebody help me on this citation I’m too tired haha), who has also had a full career by this stage, says: okay :)

TLDR yes it’s all real lol and it’s because they love each other. Glad you enjoyed the fic anon hope that answered your question!

#ask #maxiel #clothing of delight

[sepublic]

OFFICIAL VIDEO ON FOR THE FUTURE RELEASED!!!

            BRUH I WAS RIGHT. THE COLLECTOR TURNS PEOPLE INTO TOYS!!! TOYS THAT OBEY ALL THEY WANT!!!

         Omg the Coven Heads… And RAINE! RAINE GOT TURNED INTO A TOY AND EDA!!!

         This confirms what Collectors do… PLURAL. THEY COLLECT PEOPLE AS TOYS. And the Owl Beast recognizes the Collector, and the Collector possibly recognizes Eda too…

         “Collectors live long, we watch things pass. To preserve, to observe, we must amass. What flies, what swims, be it predator or prey. Seal them up so that they never fade. But should they meddle in our affairs, we’ll clean the planet and scorch the air.”

         MANY OF THEM?! Or is the Collector part of a lineage? They turn people into toys to keep them alive… Was it another Collector who captured the Owl Beast into a scroll? Is this why the Titans fought back, did they employ the Titan Trappers after all? It says WE’LL clean the planet and scorch the air, likely in response to the Titans defying the Collectors.

         So is ours just an orphan of war? Did the Titans and Collectors wipe each other out, and our Collector is so giddy and murderous because they were raised that way, and then Belos fed into it? They seem to have written in this history book that it’s more fun to play, so maybe that’s how they stuck out from the others. Maybe King’s dad spared them because of that, and it’s what will prevent the Collector from being a murderous threat! TOH getting into cosmic lore Kirby-style, just what I’d hoped…!

         GINGER LILITH GINGER LILITH!!! Her hair is short, did she do it to remove the traces of blue and just be herself! No Tide Pod Lily lol… BUT HOOTCIFER!!! He got turned into a toy too.

         We see a mural with three Collectors and another with one interacting with a Titan, but it’s cut off… King has a toy-ified Hooty with him, and Eda is there!!! His mom!!! And what’s with the Beware of Beast cage, was King inside and did Eda free him?

         Eda seems to be suffering from her curse, which makes sense, not a lot of access to potionmakers given the climate, plus the Collector’s presence could be agitating the Owl Beast. SHORT HAIR LIKE LILITH!!! And Evelyn…

         Raine was turned into a doll. Can Raeda EVER get good things???

         Belos is alive, he eats a poor butterfly and evidently has an old hideaway from when he was Philip. Is this THE cave where we saw him recuperate at the end of Elsewhere and Elsewhen? Does he have a plan yet or is he just hiding?

         Hexside’s been attacked, but we see it in the poster and Amity is present, so it’s likely the kids will try to free everyone there. Or it WAS a place of refuge, the one Mattholomule, Skara, and Barcus lead to, but we see the Collector take over in real time.

         We see Hunter protect Willow from an attack! The Collector’s? We see them and King arrive in the same area. There’s a dude in the back, were they all turned into toys, or did some obey and get to be people? Or are the toys still capable of showing fear?

         Haha Belos’ statue was replaced by… FRANCOIS??? And is Amity reacting to the twins being toys?

         We see the kids fighting, surrounded by eyes and teeth like from the poster. It looks like the Detention Pit monster… Will it actually help put the Collector in ‘detention’ or is it just a backdrop? Or is it just an underground escape route, will we see Eda’s old hallways come into play? The kids and Camila prob come across the Collector and/or their Trappers underground.

        So much to unpack here. The grander lore of the Collectors, Belos up to SOMETHING, probably to return in Watching and Dreaming as the big bad. And Eda trying to rescue Raine and King! Possibly with Lilith and Hooty’s help, which leads to Hooty being transformed… And presumably the kids reunite with her in the climax? No prosthetic arm, no chance to get one I guess. This is insane and I’m not ready!!!

#the owl house #the owl house collector #analysis #speculation

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

If DCLA characters had Tumblr 🕺🏼

🌟 supernova-number-one follow

Thanks for all the comments on my latest fic update! Chapter 140 should be up any day now <3

#continue to give me comments! #it makes me so happy! #except for that one person please stop giving comments i’m scared

5 notes

🌼 punk-not-dead follow

I am convinced I have found one of the girls in my school’s fanfiction account. I can’t confront her about it because she will never admit it, so I have left cryptic comments on her fics to leave hints that I know.

♻️ 🌟 supernova-number-one follow

So I’m obviously not her, but on my fics, someone has left a bunch of really weird comments and I am so afraid that it’s someone I know irl. I wouldn’t want anyone to know I write fanfiction, as I am paranoid it would lead to my mom finding out, and that could lead to her looking through my fics. And I swear she’d look through every single chapter of my 139 chapter long fic.

Though, it’s kinda funny that you do it to the girl from your school. Hope she gets busted haha.

♻️ 🌼 punk-not-dead follow

Oh yeah, I really get that! Let’s hope whoever it is leaving cryptic messages on your fic is someone nice, or just a troll.

I’m close to busting her… I’ll give an update >:)

10 notes

👩🏻‍🦱 dangerously-beautiful-ant follow

You ever see a girl and you’re just… yeah.

♻️🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi follow

Felt this.

♻️✌🏼 arodarmivida follow

Not sure if this is about girls being pretty or not but I choose to believe the gay view

♻️ 👩🏻‍🦱 dangerously-beautiful-ant follow

Good. That was the intention 😉

♻️😎 rapmiro follow

LOOOL not me thinking it was about someone starting to rap the second they saw a girl

33k notes

🎤 singing-is-who-i-am follow

Tfw you don’t remember if that thing you recall happening in your childhood happened when you lived in the UK, France or Congo, or if it happened in your home country at some point

♻️📸 felicityfornow follow

OP, respectfully, how many countries have you lived in, and why?

♻️ 🎤 singing-is-who-i-am follow

I have lost count.

Long story short, my dad thought moving to new countries would help him deal with his issues :-)

#he was SURPRISED when I said I needed to go to therapy

80 notes

🎨 biamakesart follow

Hi! I just wanted to say, I’m open for commissions! Check my pinned post for more information.

Everyone remember to keep cool and always be yourselves 🌈💖🫶

2k notes

🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi follow

Another day of being painfully in love with your female best friend while everyone thinks you’re in love with this annoying boy, because ”you seem so annoyed with him, thus you must care and have a crush on him”. Like shut up??

♻️ ✌🏼 arodarmivida follow

Oof yeah I hate everyone assuming you’re straight. Sadly I was in a comphet field for so long and had this mindset both about my friend and of others.

I also have a crush on my bestie. Everyone says she’s in love with a boy but she herself dismisses it. Hm. Do you think I should ask her if she likes girls?

♻️ 🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi follow

Uh!! Yeah!

Please update when/if you did!

Maybe I should confess to my friend too… hopefully it goes well.

♻️ 🎀 italys-biggest-bow-collector follow

It’s been 3 days. How did it go? Did anyone confess?

♻️ 🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi follow

So, here’s a funny story…

Turns out @arodarmivida and I know each other irl. I should have guessed by her username, that’s literally my bestie’s favorite song.

♻️ ✌🏼 arodarmivida follow

Yeah guys plot twist we are the two best friends who secretly pined after each other and anyway we’re dating now 💜

♻️ 🌼 punk-not-dead follow

Happy 2 years to this wonderful post

♻️ 😎 rapmiro follow

Am I the only one curious about the boy they thought one of them had a crush on?

22k notes

💍 queenoftherink follow

Not my ”mom” trying to shape me to be exactly like her and then becoming surprised when I have the same stubborness and willpower as her.

♻️ 🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi follow

Why do you have ”mom” in quotations?

♻️ 💍 queenoftherink follow

There are some things that are too complicated to explain, my dear lesbian on the internet.

999 notes

📸 felicityfornow follow

It’s so funny because I’ve had this blog for so long that I forget that not everyone knows that my real name is not Felicity.

♻️ 🌼 punk-not-dead follow

Lol, reminds me of people who wonders why I have this url.

What can I say, it was 2012 and I had a phase. Now I am too lazy to change it.

♻️ 👩🏻‍🦱 dangerously-beautiful-ant follow

My url’s backstory is so funny because it’s from one (1) conversation I had with a girl where she called me an ant and then it just got stuck like this

♻️ 🌟 supernova-number-one follow

That’s so funny because I called my best friend an ant once. I guess it’s a common thing to call people 😁

My url is self explanatory obviously 😚😏🤩

60 notes

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon follow

Fell out of my bed again 🤣🤣🤣🤣

♻️ 💍 queenoftherink follow

I’m so glad I decided to stare at you sleeping tonight so I could see that action.

♻️ 🧢 everythingscominguponmaxi follow

Why did you stare at her sleeping?

♻️ 💍 queenoftherink follow

We live together.

♻️ 🎤 singing-is-who-i-am follow

It still does not answer the question?

40 notes

🎸 beanie-guitarist follow

Here’s a reminder for @rollerskatingonthemoon to take her adhd meds, bestie I know you have forgotten

♻️ 🎸 beanie-guitarist follow

@ queenoftherink can you remind her if she does not see this

♻️ 🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon follow

I didn’t forget 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆😆😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

♻️ 💍 queenoftherink follow

She ran into the kitchen and said ”WHERE IS MY MEDICINE I FORGOT” and then sat on the counter kicking her feet in the air as she took it.

Needless to say she did forget. Thank you for reminding her.

♻️ 🍓 chico-fresa follow

It’s so funny following y’all, because you sound exactly like people I know irl 😃

7 notes

#tell me if you want a part 2 #ALSO IT WAS SOMEONE WITH AN ACTUAL URL CALLED ’QUEENOFTHERINK’ #thus the space #violetta #soy luna #disney bia #if dcla characters had tumblr

[yukiwrites]

Debts and Repayment

Thanks for the support as always, @authordgaster!

This is a C-A Support chain between Balthus and Seteth from Three Houses! Such a interesting duo, thanks for the opportunity to let me write about them~

Commission info HEREand HERE!

__________________________

C SUPPORT

Seteth: Balthus. A word?

Balthus: Hey there, pal. That’s three words. Done, right? See ya!

Seteth: Hold it right there.

Balthus: Wow, I wouldn’t have pegged your grip to be this strong, Seteth. Care for a match to settle things instead of whatever it is you wanna say?

Seteth: I will decline the offer, though it is as I suspected; you are aware of why I am here.

Balthus: Well, duh. You’re here to collect money, right? The debt I owe the church ain’t small so it was a matter of time until Lady Rhea sent you to me.

Seteth: You are right and wrong about that. I did not come to play a debt collector role even though I am quite aware of the dent you have made in the church’s coffers since your student days.

Balthus: No? Oh that’s a big relief. I didn’t wanna have to fight you and run away from Abyss after finally settling in for a bit.

Seteth: However, I am here to ask you the reason why you have not chosen to work as a hired hand for the church instead. You have done that in the past so you are aware of the amount you can earn.

Balthus: Sure, if I could earn all of that! You’ll take such a big cut outta the whole I end up with barely a coin to toss. I’d rather try my luck elsewhere to pay that debt, thanks.

Seteth: It would be honest work, regardless of monetary rewards, would it not? Haven’t you lived your life in the shadows enough? Now that you fight alongside law-abiding citizens, perhaps it is time to change your ways…

Balthus: Welp, what you say is true. I have been living as a vagabond for a long time.

Seteth: Excellent. I can have you outfitted—

Balthus: But that doesn’t mean I’ll enroll, pal. There’re many ways the King of Grappling can make a living, and being the church’s dog ain’t one of them. Don’t think too much about the debt, aight? I got it covered.

Seteth: *sighs* Must you behave this way? Will you truly not consider it? As you are now a classmate of my sister’s, I must make it so you do not wrongly influence her in any way.

Balthus: Ahh, so that’s what this was about. I did think it was fishy since you didn’t come at me with a weapon in hand demanding money.

Balthus: I know I’m a hard man to miss — which woman could not look twice when they see these?! Haha! — so I understand your concerns… I’m sure I left my share of heartbreak wherever I went.

Seteth: Wha—?! Flayn would never— How dare you suggest she would ever take a liking to- to you?! Preposterous! And even if she did, I would never approve of it. 

Balthus: Whoa there, overprotective much? No wonder the kid looks like such an easy prey; you haven’t let her live her own life!

Seteth: I will have you know I give her plenty of freedom! I care only for her safety and wellbeing.

Balthus: Sure, the freedom of a cage, yeah? I feel kinda sorry for her now. Don’t worry, I promise to play nice if it means you’ll give the kid some space. Are we done here?

Seteth: I—? … I suppose. I did not think you would agree so easily, so I apologize for my earlier outburst.

Balthus: No skin off my back, pal. But better keep your overprotectiveness in check or the kid’s gonna hate you for real.

Seteth: …

B SUPPORT (Unlockable after Seteth and Flayn B Support is attained)

Seteth: Balthus. I remember you said you would ‘play nice’? What part of playing nice means getting drunk at the local tavern at noon?

Balthus: Uh, in my defense, I’ve lived down in Abyss for so long I kinda lost the proper sense of time? It’s always dark down there, so any time’s a good time for a drink!

Seteth: …

Balthus: And there’s the death glare. You know I overhead something interesting a few days ago, should I share?

Seteth: By the way you are looking at me, I suppose I will not like this, will I?

Balthus: Not one bit, I’m sure.

Seteth: *sighs*

Balthus: So, does ‘Kindly keep out of my social business in the future’ ring any bells?

Seteth: !! You— What else did you hear? How long have you been eavesdropping on our conversations?!

Balthus: Whoa, easy there, Big Brother, no need to get aggressive. It’s not my way to go around listening in to people’s family meetings. I just so happened to pass by when I overheard that… Though by your reaction, it seems this runs deeper, don’t it? 

Seteth: Humph. I’ll thank you not to meddle in my family’s affairs. I hope this does not happen again, Balthus. If I catch you looming around my sister…

Balthus: See, there’s that, too, pal. What did she just tell you? Aren’t you reflecting even a bit? The kid needs some space and you ain’t giving it.

Seteth: I… do not need to hear this from you. I am reflecting well enough without you telling me. Is it too much to simply wish for her to be safe, happy and content at all times? She is my only sister.

Balthus: It kinda is, yeah. You can’t live a life without getting a bit dirty, you know? And I don’t even mean in that way.

Seteth: … Ahem. I am quite aware that it is foolish to expect to shield her from everything, but if I were to ever lose her…

Balthus: You gotta let her loose, pal. She’s your little sis so she’ll always have a spot at your side, won’t she? But if you keep holding her back like this, she’ll just hate you.

Seteth: …

Balthus: I’m not saying I’m a prime example of an older brother, seeing as I left my little bro to inherit the title and land back home, but overprotection ain’t the way.

Seteth: I do remember you hail from House Albrecht, though I know little else about it. So your younger brother is the reigning Baron? 

Balthus: Yep. You kinda look like how his mom was when we were kids, and this ain’t a compliment. Because I was born with a Crest and he wasn’t, she always thought that she had to ‘protect’ him from me, and shielded him from mostly everything else on the way. She would control who he met, what he did, where he went and what the professors would tell him in class. Sound familiar?

Seteth: … I am not so unreasonable.

Balthus: Not yet, you mean. My brother still managed to grow up well despite all that, but I figured me leaving would make her gaze turn to eliminating me instead of focusing on him too much. That worked well, hah! This scar was from the last ‘present’ she sent me a few weeks ago.

Seteth: What?! You were attacked within the Monastery’s walls? That breach in security has to be reported—

Balthus: It happened down in Abyss, don’t worry about it. Your little sis is safe here with all of ya’ll. But you’re missing the point again, pal.

Seteth: … Forgive me. I know you are trying to help, and I thank you for it. I confess I didn’t expect to find such wisdom in you.

Balthus: Harsh! Hah!

Seteth: Heh.

Balthus: Nice, now we’re loosing up. Think about it, eh, pal? If you need more ‘wisdom’, you know where to find me!

Balthus leaves.

Seteth: … Surely I won’t look for wisdom at the pub, but I thank you for the new perspective regardless.

A SUPPORT

Balthus: Hey, pal!

Seteth: Balthus.

Balthus: I noticed your grip on little Flayn’s gotten a bit loose lately, that’s good!

Seteth: … I did not have a ‘grip’ on her, but yes, I have done my share of reflecting, much of it was thanks to you.

Balthus: No prob, pal. I’m kinda in the same boat so I get where you’re coming from. Taking care of a little sister in a world filled with trash men sure is hard.

Seteth: Oh? I was not aware you had a sister as well.

Balthus: Well, not my sister, but since she’s my best friend’s sis, she might as well be! You know her — it’s Hilda.

Seteth: Ah. I did hear you and her brother were on good terms. I did not imagine you were so close as to share such a familial bond.

Balthus: Yeah, he asked me to protect her, so that’s what I’m doin’. Any guy who wants to get on with her will have to go through me first!

Seteth: *nod* I understand completely. No unfitting scoundrel will get his hands on my sister on my watch.

Balthus: You know it, pal. But in moderation, yeah? Don’t be a control freak like my step-mom…

Seteth: Ahem. Of course.

Seteth: You mentioned your stepmother, so you are not the official heir to House Albrecht?

Balthus: Nah. Kinda? It’s complicated. You know Kupala? It’s a village up Fódlan’s Throat, so hidden away people think it doesn’t actually exist.

Seteth: I’m afraid I do not recognize the name.

Balthus: Didn’t expect ya to. My mom’s from there, but she left. It didn’t go well and she was rescued by my dad. Bam! Love at first sight and they married. But he’s a noble and she wasn’t, so he had to marry another noble to continue on with the family line. Problem was, my brother wasn’t born with a Crest, so although I wasn’t the ‘official’ son, I’m the one who had the most ‘potential’ to be the heir.

Seteth: I had no idea…

Balthus: So my mom went back to Kupala ‘cause she couldn’t handle all those noble intrigues and what not, you know? I left a while later to give my brother some space and there we have it. I’m planning on going back home to protect my mom once this is over, though. My step-mom’s attacks have stopped since the war, but I’m scared she might be looking for my mom to retaliate.

Seteth: Would she do such a thing?

Balthus: I wouldn’t put it past her, to be honest. Anyway, what did you have in mind to do after the war? I just told you my plan, so be a pal and share yours, too.

Seteth: I will remain at Garreg Mach and help Byleth rebuilt what’s left of the Church and of Fódlan. I could not shirk away from such a duty after helping them play such a pivotal role in the war.

Balthus: Uh-huh. Nice. And after that?

Seteth: After… I’m afraid I don’t know. I want to take Flayn somewhere safe so we live out our lives at peace, for a change. Although she demanded me to stop fretting over her after the war ended, it’s easier said than done.

Balthus: I wanted you to say that. Say, why don’t you go to Kupala with me? It’s a village so out of the way, I don’t think people can find us there unless they try really hard. Besides, I already offered little Lysithea and her folks a spot there, so why not call you and Flyan in, too? The more the merrier, right?

Seteth: That’s… is quite a generous offer. But why would you make such a promise to Lysithea’s family, as well?

Balthus: Ah, I owe them my life. I figured I could repay their kindness the same way they showed it to me, so there you have it. Consider yourself formally invited too, pal!

Seteth, smiling: … Very well. Thank you for the invitation, Balthus. I very well may take you up on that.

Balthus: Nice!

Balthus: Does that mean my debt to the church is pardoned—

Seteth: This and that are completely different matters.

Balthus: Dang. Worth a try, at least. Haha!Seteth: Heh.

#seteth fire emblem #balthus fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #my writings #support chains

[moonstone27ls]

The Owl House Finale..

Warning spoilers....

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You’ve been warned.....

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.....Oh and warning of opinion. I ask no hate, disagree okay but I don’t want a fight. This is my opinion/my thoughts....

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Spoilers...........

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Last one............

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............ You’ve been warned....

First of all kudos to Dana Terrace and the animation team. Sooooo many amazing moments, its no wonder she had to take a break. Given the crunch time Disney put her on, she had to work SO hard to get what she wanted/or needed to make this finale great! Just everything was perfect! I was on the edge of my seat and all I wanted was for Luz and everyone to be okay (except maybe Belos... screw you Philip 8B)

Anything that surprised me... I guess that someone was right that it was a titan in that realm Luz saw. I also admit was somewhat surprised the Collector didn’t really know about what happened in regards to King’s species. Though it makes me wonder... what happened to their siblings. They mentioned them when Luz died... so ... what became of them...

Though speaking of Luz’s death... why did she die when touched by whatever that attack was by Belos? Buttt... not Raine? I mean granted he used it as an attack but the attack/fungi whatever was affecting Collector and they were genuinely worried for Eda when it spread. I mean I’m not complaining I wanted Raine to live for Eda. But I’m... “how come Raine wasn’t affected?” Raine was just put under restraint?oO

I admit Luz’s death really got me. On so many levels for her heart. And the irony, cause the Collector was only trying to do what she advised him on. (no not blaming him just saying big picture cruel irony). But also dang was somewhat impressed when Eda and King went beast mode on Belos for that.

And just random was also impressed that Amity was able to wake up/or fight that toy spell the Collector put on them. I dunno just did pointed out that Amity is stronger than she’s given credit as a witch. Luz’s ultimate titan magic/witch mode was both beautiful and AWESOME! Just fantastic design.

Loved King’s dad, lol. Feel like in another life King’s dad could had been roomies with Eda. LOVEDDDD the epilogue, just was glad to see Luz did finish school and got a writers scholarship :). Though.. seeing that Hooty photo... does that mean the human world knows about the demon realm? Or did they just do more visits now that the portal’s fixed. Also Hooty anime eyes so cute:3!

Also was happy that she and Vee graduated together. Because that meant Camila adopted Vee and loved her just like her own child. And omg they had a photo of Stringbean in a cute pet hat XD! Classic... though who was Vee playing baseball/or softball with... Masha? Loved everyone’s grown designs:). And the Flapjack tattoos so sweet:3 !

Sooo happy for Hunter that he’s got a happy ending. And I assume a family with both Darius and the Clawthorne’s. NO ONE will not convince me he’s become part of both families. And his new Palisman is a bluejay, sweet! Uhh thought it was funny/cute Lilith considered putting a disco room? (that corner was hard to read). That we also got to see her Raven harpy design? (she is a raven right?oO). 

Also loveedddd her quinceanera party they did. A very Owl House style Cinderella dress complete with that adorable mouse XD. Loved how the Bat Queen has one of her kids going emo/goth?.  Was I shocked the magic was returning/glyph wise... no. Not really magic’s not exactly nature. But it makes me think of that Jurassic Park quote “life finds a way”.

Also HUNTLOWWWWWWWWWW!! Haha sorry/not sorry.

That being said did I see anything I wanted done differently or wished could had been changed. Don’t get pissed I LOVED the finale. But I can admit it was rushed. But I’m also noting that I AM NOT blaming Dana Terrace or the crew/staff... who do I blame? YOU DISNEY! I FUCKING BLAME YOU!! AND I WILL CONTINUE TO BLAME YOU UNLESS YOU DO RIGHT BY THE CREATOR/AND STAFF.

Moving onnn... I’m just gonna say what I wish could had been done. Again I do not blame Dana Terrace. I know Disney did her an EXTREME wrong and she was not even given a PROPER third season. Unlike her other tv shows... like Big City Greens.. who got a fourth season and a movie >3>. I know she was crunched for time and was just dealing the hand that was given to her.

So to start....

I’m gonna bite the bullet and I admit the finale instantly made me wanna see ships explored/or finished.

Like Alador’s marriage... we never saw Odalia so I’m gonna assume he divorced her. And its clear the children have nothing to do with her but still wanted some clarity.

Also... was there suppose to be a hint of Darius/Alador.... I dunno. Felt like there was. I’m not against the idea. Could have gone with the flow that they were rivals/with chemistry. Plus heyyy new stepdad for Hunter.

Also... whats Steve’s relationship with Lilith? No not like ship... I think he’s too young(ages aren’t my strongest suit unless clarified better). Was he suppose to be her Luz?oO

Kinda wish The Blight twins could had been explored... would had like to had known Ed’s date who were theyyy...

Also what was Viney/Jerbo’s relationship. I don’t even care if they weren’t dating. Just was dying to know the story of why she was so pissed at him to call him traitor once oO

And hate to be the dummy but did Eda/Raine get married? oO I didn’t see a ring.. or do they do something else for Demon World?

Would Gus had found an love interest? Or Vee? Or Lilith... again I’m biting the bullet ship idea wise. Or were Gus and Lilith suppose to be asexuals? (will get to Vee later)

Wish we could had known MORE about the Coven Heads. We got a little but not much. I don’t even know why Vitmir wanted the throne? I guess I get why with Terra and Adrian dude.

We also don’t know what became of the rest of the Coven

How did Kikimora go from hating the group to putting her feelings aside and helping Lilith?

What became of the Bat Queen and the palisman during Collector’s brief reign. I never saw them turned into toys...also would Luz ever find her owner. Part of me almost wonders if it was originally the Titan(aka King’s dad)

Speaking of which wish he and King could had met.

In addition... IS NO ONE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW A HOOTY THING IS IN HIS EYE?!!Was that suppose to hint he made Hooty? Was Hooty there for him to guard King?

What became of Collector’s family? Are they the reason that Owl curse got spread.... What was that final print in Collector’s book... felt like they avoided that for a reason would it had summoned them? Or caused more harm?

Also why haven’t Eda/Lilith been free of the curse? I assume since Alador is finding a way to undo the draining spell, that means its possible for them to be free as well.

Anything else...

I admit I wanted to know more of what became of Caleb... Yes I know the rumor was Dana Terrace wanted to do a prequel going into his and Philip’s background... but Disney is a moneygrubbing little worm.... so unless they think they’ll make more money out of that.... I’m not holding my breath. Would have liked to know what became of his wife/girlfriend Evelyn? Were fans right is she the ancestor of Eda’s family. 

And I’ll address an elephant in the room... Philip himself. I do feel his ending was a bit rushed for the finale. Yes he gave us a fight but his literal end felt... sorry “Starvstheforcesofevil/ Ludo” set. Kinda mooted if you get my drift..... what would I had wanted? 

I admit I dunno... Unlike some of the fandom I have mixed feelings with Belos/Philip. On one hand he’s an amazing/ EVIL villain. On the other hand... I don’t have a lot of sympathy for him. I had more for the Collector. Now again this could had been because Terrace had more planned and that was crushed due to Disney. Its just I dunno how to explain it... I did see the possiblity of a “oh redeemable villain” it was done with Andrias from Amphibia... but Andrias had more hesitation even in his actions.... Belos didn’t really have that. We weren’t given a Darth Vader ending where he regrets or we see his “spirit”. And while I do think even if she wanted a prequel... I don’t think she was mincing words with us as fans. When she had King’s father call him out on his behavior. We can see what triggered/pushed him all we want. But at the end of the day, Philip gave up his humanity. 

He quit caring, he may have been innocent once. But he threw it away for Christian radicalism, angry that his brother wasn’t following the script, and was willing to commit MASS genocide for it. At most I think those visions of his brother and the golden guards were the closest he had to coming to terms with his past and chose to ignore it. I dunno what I would have liked for his ending... maybe see that his plans would always fail? Maybe see a spirit of Caleb call him out one more time? Or I dunno something other than a simple stomp 8B. I dunno at most all I can say... would have LOVED to see Camila hit him for hurting her child.

Also... I do wish if the series had continued Vee could have been involved more. I feel like from that tarot card reading from Masha. That it wasn’t just aimed at Luz, I feel like the story hinted she would be involved with this story/fight against Belos.

see Vee/Masha end up together. Sorry/not sorry but they felt like role reverse Amity/Luz.

Wish Luz could have made friends with more humans, feel like due to the obvious storyline she wasn’t given a chance to bond with the new kids/or Masha’s camp friends and they felt like they were important. Heck they could have helped her. I think but thats my opinion.

I WANTED A HUNTLOW KISS!!! buttt I’ve learned from anime it isn’t all about the kissing. Just acknowledging can be enough. I think thats why we didn’t see Raeda kiss... or did I miss that?oO

Hmm I think thats it. Again no hate please. Will delete if I do 8B.

I am gonna miss this show and wish we had more. //le sigh//

Again thank you Dana Terrace and the cast/staff of Owl House for making that the best show! I wish we could have had more. 

#the owl house spoilers #The Owl House

[sergeantsporks]

Full Circle

Rating: Teen, Gen

Part 17 of  Camila is Hunter's Mom Now

Chapter 5/5: No Right Answer

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

Hunter never planned to tell his friends about his past.

But since when has anything ever gone the way he planned?

Ao3

Camila balked as she reached Jade’s house. There was a car parked out front, and Jade’s father was waiting on the porch.

“Hello, Camila.”

“Oh. Hello.”

“Don’t worry, we’re not kicking you and your children out. I just want to know what’s going on.”

Camila’s arms wobbled, and she nearly dropped the suitcase. “How… much do you know about Hunter?”

How much have you seen?

“I know he’s adopted. And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the situation he was adopted from was a bad one.”

“His uncle’s shown back up,” Camila whispered, “I don’t know exactly where he is at the moment, but I know he’ll keep trying to come for Hunter. To take him away from me, to hurt him, maybe even…”

Jade’s father nodded. “I’m guessing getting any outside help isn’t an option?”

Camila shook her head. What to say…? “One of the reasons I was able to adopt him so easily was because no one could find his bio family. I don’t want to run the risk that the state will take him away and return him to his uncle,” she half lied.

“After what he’s clearly been through?”

Camila rubbed her arms. “His uncle is manipulative, he’s a smooth talker and a good liar. He kept Hunter under his control for years and made him believe he actually cared. And… I’m a single, first-generation immigrant mother. If it comes down to me or his uncle, I’m not sure anyone will believe me.”

“I see.”

“The most important thing to me right now is keeping the kids safe. Figuring out how to get rid of him comes after.”

“Of course. I’ll help however I can, I want this scumbag gone, too.” His voice trembled, and he looked away, fists clenched. “Sarah cleaned out the wound,” he murmured, “Gave him a full checkup, stitches… I understand now why you couldn’t take him to a hospital, he’d probably show up there to claim custody, but whoever did that to him—his uncle… and Thomas, too. I’ve met enough people whose injuries you can’t see to know that he’s hurt. Hunter’s uncle got him, too?”

Camila clutched at her hair. “Ay. Yeah. I know, I…”

He put his hand over hers. “You don’t have to do this alone, Camila. We’ll help. Jade loves your kids, and I can tell why. If you need help protecting them, you just have to ask.”

“Thanks,” she said in a wobbly voice, “It means a lot.”

He picked up the suitcase and steered her inside. Thomas was curled up in a sleeping bag, breathing softly, and Hunter was dozing on the couch, his head freshly bandaged. Jade’s mother beckoned from the kitchen, putting a finger to her lips.

“That’s amazing, they weren’t sleeping before!”

Dr. Lanson shook a bottle of melatonin gummies at her. “In case they have trouble sleeping again. Hunter went to sleep just after pain meds, he seems pretty worn out, but I don’t think Thomas is going to go to sleep without help. Thomas is physically fine, except for a couple of bruises and scrapes. Hunter’s head wound will heal, I stitched up the cut, but it needs to be watched for an infection, and he’s showing signs of a concussion. Aversion to bright lights, unsteadiness on his feet, dizziness… keep an eye on him, if the symptoms don’t go away, I don’t care what the situation is, take him to the hospital.”

“Okay. Yes. Of course.”

“Bruised ribs, too.”

“Yes. Okay. Yes.”

“Hey.” Dr. Lanson took Camila’s hands in her own. “Are you okay? You look beat.”

“I’ll be fine, I just…”

“Take a nap. Isaiah and I will watch over them.”

“I…”

“Go. You can’t take care of them if you’re running yourself ragged. Use the guest room, no one is in there right now.”

“Okay. Okay, thank you.”

Camila trudged up the stairs, closing the door behind her. The Collector slithered out of her purse. “Who are they? Not your kids, right?”

“Jade’s parents. And no, they’re not my kids. This is their house.”

“Haha, and you’re just going to keep Belos’ grimwalker here? Ooooo are they fodder? Like, when Belos shows up to take his grimwalker back, you’ll use them as a distraction and run away?”

“What?! No, that would be AWFUL! And Hunter isn’t Belos’ grimwalker, stop calling him that.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll be very disappointed in you.”

“Pfffffffft, like that means anything.” But Collector shrank back to their disc, pensive. “Why are they helping you?”

“Because they’re kind people. Because they care about their daughter, and their daughter cares about Hunter.” Camila pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m going to take a nap, now. Please try to stay out of sight until I wake up. You can meet the others once you’re out of there, okay?”

The Collector disappeared, and Camila lay down with a sigh.

How do I tell Hunter about the journal?

She drifted off to sleep, and by the time she woke up, it was already evening. Oh, great, good luck sleeping tonight, Noceda.

There was a knock on the door, and Hunter slowly shuffled in, finally dressed in fresh clothes. “Nothing bad happened at the house?”

How do I…

Camila sighed, tugging the journal out of her purse. Her hand brushed against the Collector’s disk as she took it out. One more thing to tell them.

Hunter’s eyes flicked from the book to her face, hands trembling. “That’s…”

“I didn’t run into him. He left behind a… present.” Camila turned the book over in her hands. “It… has information about where you came from. And I want to go over it with you, I want to show you what’s inside, but… I want to wait until we get this settled and Belos is no longer a threat.”

Hunter twisted his thumbs against each other. “I… wouldn’t leave you for my biological family. Even if I wanted to meet them, I’d still stay with you. I just… I need to know, are they…”

Camila shook her head. “From what I can tell, your only living relative is… him. It’s… it’s complicated. And I think you have enough on your plate at the moment without adding trying to figure this out, I just… want you to know that we’ll talk about it, and I’ll be here for you, no matter what Belos might say to you.”

“Okay,” he whispered, “Okay, I… okay. Yeah. We can wait.”

Camila opened up her arms, and he shuffled over, plunking his head on her shoulder. “Okay. Hey. Are you doing okay?”

“Dr. Lanson took a look. She thinks everything will heal up.”

“And…”

“I don’t know. What are we going to do if he figures out where we are?”

“By then, I hope we’ll have a plan for getting rid of him. Most of the witches think… he won’t make it too long without palisman.”

Hunter’s hand went up to his shoulder. “What if he comes after Flapjack?!”

“We’ll stop him. Hunter, I promise we will. I don’t have a plan yet, but I’ll think of something. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Camila sighed, wandering down the stairs. “Sarah’s got night shift,” Jade’s father explained from the stove, “That’s why we had to come back early. Feeling better?”

“Much. Sarah didn’t slip ME one of those gummies, did she?”

He chuckled. “Not as far as I know.”

After dinner, the kids all settled down into their sleeping bags. Jade insisted that Hunter go back to the guest room bed, and that Thomas go into her bed. Which Thomas vehemently protested, curling up in a sleeping bag and refusing to move. Camila shook her head.

He’s starting to come out of the shock of it all. Good.

She gave him another one of the gummies Jade’s mother had left, then walked around the house for a check. Doors locked. Windows locked. No one outside. She roamed the block, just in case, but nothing looked out of place, not one suspicious sign. By the time she made it back, Vee, Luz, and Jade were all firmly asleep, chests rising and falling evenly.

Thomas was awake, pawing at his nose. “Ms. Noceda?” he asked in a wavering voice, “Something smells.”

Camila sniffed the air. “What do you mean?”

He scrambled out of the sleeping bag. “It smells like decay, and rotting… like… like…”

Camila checked the sleeping bag, and found just a tiny amount of green slime at the head. Her blood chilled.

He knows where we are.

It’s a calling card.

Camila got a napkin and wiped the mud away. “Go back to sleep,” she murmured, forcing her voice to remain steady, “I’ll wake you up if there’s a problem.”

She walked up the stairs slowly, heart thumping in her chest and blood roaring in her ears, louder and louder at each step. The door to the guest room creaked open at her touch, and the air left her lungs as her eyes adjusted.

Belos was sitting at the head of Hunter’s bed, Flapjack clutched in one of his hands, his fingers wrapped around the bird’s beak. Belos put a finger to his lips with a small smile. “Shhh. You’ll wake him up.”

Camila slid inside and slowly shut the door, eyes fixed on Hunter, curled up in a ball on his bed, breathing slow and even. “If you’ve hurt him—”

“He’s merely asleep.” Belos’ free hand shifted between a blade and his regular fingers, tapping on the pillow next to Hunter’s head. “Let’s try to keep it that way, shall we? No more cars, or fire. Just a talk. You and I.”

Camila took a deep breath. “Let Flapjack go.”

“No, I don’t think I will. It’s a tiresome creature, and will likely alert the whole house.” Belos gave the bird a squeeze. “We can negotiate like civilized people, can’t we?”

“You can’t have Hunter. And you can’t have Flapjack. I won’t let you, I will keep coming for them.”

“Oh, I know. Keeping ahold of him has proved to be quite more difficult than I’d imagined. As long as you’re alive, he will want to return to you, and you will not let him go. But then, if I kill you, he’ll become unreasonable and ornery, if he doesn’t simply shut down entirely, and I’d like to avoid spilling any unnecessary human blood.”

“Then give up. Just let him go.”

“No. You don’t want to let him go. I don’t want to let him go. I don’t want to kill you, if possible, and it’s not possible for you to kill me. So it appears that we are at an impasse.”

Camila crossed her arms. “And I suppose you have some solution? A compromise? I can tell you right here, right now, I will NEVER agree to your suggestions, so stop wasting your breath.”

“Without even hearing me out?” Belos shook his head. “You intrigue me, Camila. In only a few weeks with him, you undid years and years of careful guidance, meticulous nudging and pushing to where he needed to be. And yet, at the same time, you managed to accomplish what I have failed so many times to do; to create one who wanted to stay in the human realm, who prized the company of humans over the company of his fellow witch.”

Camila shook her head. “I didn’t convince him to put humans over witches, I just convinced him he deserved better than you. But I guess it would seem that way to you. After all, you ARE more witch then human now, aren’t you, Phillip.”

Belos gave her a smile. “You say that name as if it should hurt, coming from the mouth of another human. But fine. Here are the cards that I have on the table. You have succeeded where I have failed. I can acknowledge that. He trusts you perhaps even more than he trusted me, as short a time as you’ve known him compared to I.” He brushed Hunter’s hair out of his face, and Camila resisted the urge to scream don’t touch him! “So finish the job. Do what I could not. You say he does not prize humans over witches, only your company over mine? Change that. Ensure he loathes witches with every ounce of his being. And I will keep my distance while you do. That’s what you want, isn’t it? For Hunter to be free of me? Do this for me, and he will be. If not, well, he’ll follow the fate of the others.”

The bones in the pit.

No.

“The basilisk will be your first warning if you don’t. It doesn’t belong here, but I’ll tolerate its presence so long as you uphold your end. If I think you aren’t, then you’ll know. Then the palisman. And after that? No more chances for Hunter.”

A chance to make him go away. Or at least a way to buy some time, some breathing room. Not much I can do with him hovering over Hunter like that.

“You’ll leave him alone?”

“You have my word.”

“LIAR,” came the shriek, a black shadow erupting from Camila’s bag, “He’s a LIAR, LIAR, LIAR! Don’t TRUST him!”

Belos stumbled back in surprise, his hand loosening on Flapjack. “Collector?!”

Flapjack burst free, shrieking a shrill alarm, and Hunter woke with a start. Camila dove, tackling Hunter off of the bed and away from Belos, cradling his head in her hand. “Get away,” she spat. Flapjack turned into a staff, and she snatched it out of the air, pointing the tip at Belos. Please lend me your help. “Stay back.”

He lifted his chin. “Think about my offer. I’ll give you until tomorrow to consider. You know where to find me.” He seemed to slither out the window, and the staff fell out of Camila’s hand, her whole body wobbly. She clutched Hunter tightly as she heard thumps up the stairs. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, I’ve…”

He clung to her, trembling. “What’s going on?!”

“He got in. He snuck in—it’s not safe here, we need to move again, I’m…”

Vee burst in the door. “I smell him,” she yelped, “He got in?!”

Jade, Luz, and Thomas crowded in behind her. Thomas put a hand to his mouth. “He was here?!”

“Yeah—yeah, I…” Camila pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry, Jade, we’ll go, we can’t put your family in danger any longer.”

“I’ll go too, I want to help, I—”

“No. You stay here, you and Thomas both. Protect each other. You’ve done enough and more than I could ever ask. Now I need you to stay safe. No arguments.” She turned towards her daughters. “Luz, we have until tomorrow before Belos comes after us again. I need you to go back to the demon realm. Get Eda. That purple man. Any adult who is willing to help us take him down. Adult, do you hear me, Luz?”

“Got it.”

“Okay. Thank you, mija.”

“What offer, Mom?” Hunter asked, “What did he tell you?”

Camila shook her head. “He wants you to hate witches as much as he does. He thinks I can convince you to do that. He said if I did, then… he’d leave us alone.”

“He’s lying,” Luz said automatically, “He won’t leave Hunter and Vee alone, even if he thinks Hunter has decided to hate witches, Hunter is still a witch, he won’t be satisfied.”

Camila winced. Is he willing to let Hunter live because he’s not technically a witch? Or will he want to kill him even more for what he is?

“Yeah, he really hates witches” Collector agreed. Everyone jumped, and they popped up onto the wall. “Hey, everybody!”

“What is that?!” Thomas demanded.

“That’s… Collector.”

“Mom?” Luz half thundered, “What did you do?”

“I may have taken a small trip to the demon realm to try to find something to defeat Belos,” Camila admitted, “Instead, I found… him. He needs titan’s blood to get free, but it’ll have to wait until we can safely get back and forth between the demon and human realms. Anyway, start packing up.”

Luz waved a hand at the Collector. “No! Hold on! You can’t just move on! The Collector?! His creepy cult tried to kill King!”

“King?” Collector echoed, “Cult? I have a cult? Haha, neat!”

“No!” Camila yelped, “Not neat! Very bad! You do NOT want a cult! Especially not one in the business of trying to kill eight-year-olds!”

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmm if you say so.”

Camila shook her head. “We don’t have time to discuss this. As much as I think I need to hear a little more about what you do in the demon realm that involves cults, we’re on a time limit. We can talk about Collector later, right now, we need to focus on the problem at hand. Vee, you and Hunter are going to go to the library. Oh, and take Collector with you, they don’t need to see all of this.”

Vee started. “What? Why?!”

“Yeah, HEY!” Collector protested.

“It’s a public enough space that I don’t think Belos will risk an attack and showing a lot of humans his magic, so the three of you should be safe there. Luz is going to join you after she gets some help.”

“What?! Why?!” Luz threw her arms up. “Mama, Eda already TRIED this, she TRIED keeping me out of this fight, but—”

“And now it’s my turn to try. Please, Luz. I need to know that the three of you are safe and protecting each other. Please.”

Luz sighed. “To protect Vee and Hunter. But if things start getting bad, Mom—”

“I’ll get out, I’ll come back to you. I’m coming back, Luz. I promise.”

Xxx

“I’m sorry.”

Vee jumped at Hunter’s voice—he’d been quiet the whole way to the library. “Sorry?” she echoed.

He curled his knees to his chest, his fingers clutching at the fabric of his hoodie sleeves. “All of this is my fault.”

Oh. “No it’s not, it’s Belos’.”

“Yeah, I know, I know that, but… he still wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me. He wouldn’t be trying to track us down, and Mom wouldn’t be…” tears bloomed in the corners of Hunter’s eyes, and he squeezed his eyes shut, blinking them away. “You keep having to do this for me. And I know you keep saying that it’s okay, and that you’ll keep coming from me, but I just…” his hands clenched and opened repeatedly. “I…”

“Hunter?”

“I want you to keep coming for me, I don’t WANT to be left with him, and I want to stay with you, but I don’t want to put you in danger! And I hate that you have to keep coming for me, I hate that I’m the reason you and my friends are going through so much, even if it is Belos’ fault, it’s still me he’s coming for, and… I don’t know, Vee, it’s just confusing, it’s… I don’t want to go back, but I feel like if I don’t, he’ll just keep coming, but I know if I DO go back, you’ll just come for me, which puts you in even MORE danger, so maybe I should just run away from all of it, but…”

“There’s not a right answer,” Vee said softly.

“I—huh?”

“When we were trying to figure out a way to rescue you, there weren’t any right answers. We didn’t want to involve Jade, but without her, the plan wouldn’t work, and you’d be lost, and we didn’t want to leave you with Belos, but if we moved too quickly, he’d get to you first, and if we stayed away from school to help, they might start poking into why we were all gone, but we couldn’t just leave you. There were no good options, there was no right answer.”

Hunter heaved a sigh. “Sounds about right.”

“Actually, there’s a super right answer,” the Collector’s voice muttered, muffled by the bag the disc was in, “It’s the one where I go free right now and I solve all the problems and then Camila finally teaches me how to play the going fish game she mentioned.”

Vee traced her finger in a circle on the library table. “There’s not a lot we can do except wait.”

Hunter’s fist clenched again. “She’s going in practically alone,” he whispered, “And I’m too much of a coward to do anything about it!”

“What?! Hunter—”

“I fought him to protect you all once. I can do it, I did. So why can’t I do it again?!”

“Stuff’s happened since then,” Vee said softly, “Hunter, no one expects you to face him. In fact, we’d all like for you to never have to face him again. That’s why you’re here. That’s why Camila is meeting up with Eda, and why they’re going to figure out a plan. To make sure you DON’T have to fight him again. Ever. You already did, you already had to, to protect Thomas, to protect Jade, and you’re still half concussed from that! You’re not a coward, Hunter.”

“I’m sorry, who was saying Hunter was a coward?” Luz asked, plunking down next to them, “Was it the Collector?”

“HEY!”

Luz nudged the bag with her foot. “Hey, hush, you’re supposed to be quiet in there. Point being, you’re not. You’ve come face to face with Belos too many times to count, and barely made it out each time. The fact that you’re even CONSIDERING that you should be going in there is… well, it’s either really brave, or really stupid.”

“Gee, thanks.” Hunter rubbed the fabric of his hoodie sleeves, wrinkling and smoothing it. “I just wish there was something…”

“Yeah,” Luz said softly, “Yeah, me too.”

Xxx

“Ah, hello, Camila. Since you’re here, I imagine you have a positive answer for me?”

Camila took a deep breath, closing the door of the house before facing Belos. “So, your idea of a deal is that if I go against everything I believe in, and teach my son to hate an entire race, you might, maybe leave us alone?”

“Given that your other option is for me to wipe out half of your family and ridding this realm of magic forever, I think it’s a rather fair deal.”

Camila crossed her arms. “What if I release the Collector? That evens the playing field a bit, now doesn’t it?”

Belos seemed to lean slightly further back from her. “It wouldn’t. The collector answers only to themselves. Freeing him is utter madness, you would not be able to control him.”

Camila took another step forward. “See, here’s the thing. You want to know how I got Hunter to trust me in just a few weeks? Why he abandoned you so quickly for me? It’s because I don’t see people as something I need to control. My family stays with me because they trust me. Because I love them. Because I give them the choice, not the illusion of one. That’s why I’m succeeding where you’re failing.”

Belos sighed. “Are you done yet? You won’t release the Collector, because despite your championing for trust and choice, if you gave him the choice, he’d wipe out this planet with a smile and a laugh, so you really don’t have a single bargaining chip in the balance except for the hold you have over my nephew. Do we have a deal, or not?”

Camila glowered. “Not.”

“Oh, well. That is a shame. I’d really hoped the last one would be a success.”

Camila spread her arms out. “We’re not letting you leave.”

“We?”

In a splintering of wood, Eda crashed down through the roof, her talons slashing at Belos. “Camila’s kids aren’t the only ones you’re threatening. Mess with one of them, and you’re picking a fight with me, too.”

Belos dodged to the side, only to nearly get hit by a scythe, sweeping through the air. That got his eyes to widen. “How?! You’re supposed to be…”

“Dead?” Darius asked grimly, “Seems the golden guard isn’t your only failure.”

Camila took a step forward. “Your draining spell failed. Hunter will never belong to you, and we’re not going to let you out of here to hurt him. Just give it up already.”

Belos sighed. “Do you really think I’d meet a friend of witches alone without a bargaining chip? As if I’d make a creature like him without a way to get rid of it.”

Camila’s blood chilled. “What did you do?” she growled.

“Oh, just a simple adjustment to Hunter’s coven seal. Turns out, if it’s only one witch, you don’t need a full eclipse to activate it, as I’m sure Darius knows full well from his encounter with a certain Raine Whispers.”

Camila’s eyes flicked to Darius. “What’s he talking about?!”

Darius glanced at her for only a moment. “It’s a bluff. One demon could do it, and she had to be in sight of her target. Don’t break position. Don’t let him escape.”

Belos shrugged. “If you say so. But don’t blame me if your ‘son’ spends his final moments alone, wondering why you failed to save him.”

Camila lunged towards him with a scream, grabbing for his neck.

“Ohp, guess we’re attacking,” Eda yelped, flapping into the air, “Get your slimy behind moving, Darius, it’s go time!”

Xxx

Vee nudged Hunter as he started scratching at his arm. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” Hunter scratched more furiously, then ripped his sleeve down, hissing out.

Vee yelped, then slapped a hand over her mouth, looking around the library. “Your arm!” she hissed.

Hunter clutched his arm to his chest, jaw clenching. “Why is it…?” he whispered.

Luz peered over, and her face dropped. “Oh, no,” she whispered, “Hunter…”

He managed a smile. “It’s fine! It’s fine, it barely even—ah—” he nearly fell sideways out of his chair as the glowing gold shot up his arm, squeezing his eyes shut.

Vee caught him, looping her arm around him and under one of his arms, hustling him up and away from the table. “We need to get him out of here before someone sees,” she hissed. She helped him out the door and around the back of the building, laying him down in the grass. “Hold on. You’re going to be okay.”

Flapjack fluttered out of his pocket and into his hair, warbling softly and reassuringly.

“Something’s gone wrong,” Luz said in a low voice, her hand on her mother’s bag. “Stay here with him. I’m going to help Mom.”

“But she said—”

“She could be in danger, Vee!”

Vee crossed her arms. “Then I should go. You don’t have magic here, and I have the ability to eat it. If anyone—”

A weak hand latched onto Vee’s wrist. “N-no…” Hunter murmured weakly, his eyes already unfocused as the gold veins crept up his neck and face. “Vee… no… can’t… protect…”

Vee gripped his hand. “Maybe I can… sorry about this, Hunter.” She bit the seal on his wrist, pulling on the magic. Come on. Work. Work!

The world went dizzying, and Vee felt Luz pull her away, shaking her. “Vee! Vee!”

“Unh?” Vee mumbled, putting a hand to her head, “Wha…?”

“Maybe… don’t try that again? You started transforming back, I think the draining spell took a lot of your magic stores.” Luz stood up. “I’m going to go. I can help. You two stay here, stay safe.” She ran off, back towards home.

Hunter curled up into a ball, gasping as the veins hit his right eye and his iris started burning gold. “V-Vee, it hu—it…”

Vee reached out and took his hand, squeezing it tight. No response. It was like his whole arm had gone numb, and she shuddered to think what would happen when the veins reached his heart.

Hurry, Luz. Please.

Xxx

“I can help! I can help you, just let me oooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuut, I can heeeeeeeeeeeelp!”

Luz skidded to a halt, yanking the Collector’s disc out of the purse. “Yeah? What’s the trick?”

“There isn’t a trick. If you let me out, I’ll stop Belos, which should stop the spell. I mean, I don’t really care about your brother, but I do want to get Belos, and I do want to get out, so it all works out in everyone’s favor, right?”

“Do you promise you won’t go after King?”

The Collector heaved an exasperated sigh. “I don’t even know who that is! Yeah, fine, whatever, I won’t go after King, pinky swear, happy now?”

Running out of options, here. Hunter’s sigil is working a lot faster than the other’s, and Vee’s right. I don’t have magic, I don’t even know if I’ll make it to Mom in time. Luz hopped from one foot to the other, growling.

No good options.

No right answer.

“Alright. How do I get you out?”

“HAHA, yes! You don’t happen to have a titan handy, do you? Or some blood?”

Luz slowly reached into her pocket and pulled her key out. “But… if I use this, I won’t be able to get back to the demon realm.”

“Gosh, I don’t need all of that, what, are you going to be all selfish like Phillip was, and keep all of the blood? I just need a little bit!”

Luz growled again, and pushed her thumb against the glass of the key, cracking it. Just a little bit of the blood trickled out on her fingers, and she held them up. “Now what?”

“Just… follow my lead.”

Xxx

Camila slammed into a wall, and Eda landed in front of her. “Stay back, Camila, you were only supposed to block off his escape, not attack hi—”

She was swept to the side by Belos. “Alright, human, if that’s how you want it, I hope you’re alright with your real daughter losing her whole family today because of all the demons you invited into your home!”

He raised a scythe, and Camila winced. But the blow never fell. She looked up to see a child dressed in stars holding the scythe.

“Collector?” Belos yipped.

“Heya,” the child chirped in a familiar voice—the voice of the child in the mirror. “Time out! Calling in a sub! I’ll be swapping for Camila!”

Camila felt herself floating up, and then sort of twisting, and suddenly, she was behind the library. Vee and Luz were kneeling next to Hunter, who was curled up in a miserable ball, golden veins creeping across his face. She ran to them, examining the veins emanating from his seal and grasping at them. Flapjack chirped a low, desperate chirp, staring up at her with frantic eyes that she didn’t know how to answer.

Hunter’s eyes opened just a slit, and she brushed a hand against his face as a whine came from his throat, too strangled to say anything. “Heeeey, mijo,” she murmured shakily, “Hey, I’m here. I’m here.”

His chest was rising and falling in irregular pants, and his irises were so small in his eyes that she could barely even find them. “M-mo—”

“Hey, shhhhh. Shhhhh. Save your breath.”

Vee squeezed one of his hands, and Luz took the other. “The collector showed up?”

“He did.”

“Yep!”

Camila jumped as the Collector appeared at her shoulder. “AH!”

“Huh, looks like it didn’t work.” Collector held up one hand. Floating in a hovering ball was a bit of slime. “That doesn’t make much sense. Belos doesn’t have the power at the moment, to make this spell keep going, so it must be like. A one time set off thing. I don’t know, obviously Belos switched things up a bit from my idea. Guess he’s toast. Bummer.”

Camila caught his wrist. “Can you do anything? Please?”

Collector startled at the touch, frowning down at her hand, but then shrugging. “Well…. Since you asked nicely… I guess I could try ripping his arm off, that might stop it.”

“NO!” Camila, Vee, and Luz chorused.

“Geeze, alright, alright, you’re so picky. Lemme see, lemme see.” Collector sighed, looking at the veins, and twisting Hunter’s forearm back and forth a bit. “Uhhhhh, yeah, okay, let’sssssss…” He put one finger on the seal, and it started to glow “Bye-bye, seal!”

Hunter howled, his back arching, and then the Collector stepped back. The veins faded, and Hunter slumped against Camila. His chest started to rise and fall more evenly, and Camila hugged him tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Uhhhh. Yeah. Okay.” Collector plopped down next to her. “You gonna teach me that fish game now or what?”

“I will teach you any game you want. But first…” Camila nodded to the ball. “Is that…”

The collector shook it violently, sloshing the contents. “All that’s left of our good buddy Belos. He makes a lovely musical instrument.”

Vee shuddered. “What are you going to…?”

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, oh, I have a GREAT idea of like, this prison pit at the bottom of the head of the titan where he’s forced to sludge around forever and keeps getting poked by all of the bones and broken masks down there.” Collector spun the ball again. “He’s not long, though. I give him two more hours without a palisman, tops, he used up most of his stored magic in the last few days, and there’s not much less. Why, do you want him? He’s not that fun of a toy, I guess I can share. If you ask nicely.”

Luz held her hands out. “Could I keep an eye on it? Please?”

“Yeah, okay.” The Collector tossed it to her, then hopped into the air, floating upside down. “So, what next? Not that playing witch hunter hunter wasn’t fun and all. Oh, yeah.” He held up a hand, and Luz’s key floated up, a new crack in the surface leaking blood. The Collector ran a finger over the crack, and it sealed up as he passed. “There you go, see, told you I wouldn’t take all of the blood, you’ve still got some. Cool? Cool. Okay, what next?”

“Next, we rest,” Camila said softly, “Bandage up wounds.” She gingerly touched the new burn scar on Hunter’s wrist, and he groaned, his eyes sliding slightly open. “Recover.”

“Ooooo, so, playing house? I can do that! Look, I can even blend in!” In a little puff, the Collector’s face went from blue and orange to a brown tone, and his hair shifted to match Camila’s own. His clothes were the same strange kind, but he looked like he could be Luz’s younger brother. “There we go! Ready to play!”

“No. Not playing anything.” Camila cupped Hunter’s cheek in her hand. “This… wasn’t a game. When people get hurt… it’s not a game anymore. Mijo?”

He leaned into the touch, eyes desperate. “I want… to go home…” he whispered, “Mom, I…”

“Okay. Okay, sweetheart.” Camila surveyed her kids. Vee looked wiped as well, and Luz was turning the energy ball over and over in her hands. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

Xxx

Camila helped Hunter up the steps of the house and through the door, one of his arms slung over her shoulder. “You got it?”

“Can you help me upstairs?” he whispered, face flushing red.

“Yeah. Of course.”

Moving was slow going, but they made it up, and through the door of the kid’s room. Camilla hissed in. I forgot…

Hunter stared at the mess that had been his belongings. He slipped out of Camila’s grasp wordlessly, and wobbled towards his backpack, crashing to his knees and picking up ruined notebooks, fingers poking into the gashes and tears.

Camila saw tears trickling down his cheeks, and she knelt next to him. Flapjack fluttered to perch on his shoulder, pressing against his face. “I’m sorry, mijo. I know it’s… we’ll get some new things to replace them, but… I’m sorry.”

He sniffed in, pressing his good arm to his stomach. “Can I just… have a minute?”

Camila backed up. “Yes. Of course. Take all the time you need.” She backed out of the room, and Vee wrapped her arms around her. “He can take my bed.”

“No, that’s alright, thank you, Vee. I think it’d be good if he stays in my room. So I can keep an eye on him.”

Vee hummed. “Mom?”

“Mhm?”

“Can… I stay with you, too?”

Camila’s heart twinged, and she put one arm around Vee’s shoulders. “You know what? I have a better idea.”

Xxx

“Here we go.”

The sludge inside of the ball moved slightly as Luz set it down on a rock, back at the pool with the titan’s blood leak. She clutched Hunter’s old artificial staff in her hand. Jade had raised an eyebrow at the request to borrow it, but had handed it over anyway, explaining how to use it, and what she’d figured out about aiming the blasts.

“Oh, the honor and glory of killing me circles back to you, Luz Noceda. I suppose that’s fitting, as the other human trapped in the Boiling Isles. But in the end, I suppose we both made it back home, didn’t we?”

Luz shook her head, pointing the staff towards the ball. “There’s no honor and glory in hurting people. Even if they’re as horrible as you. I know that’s not a lesson you’ll ever learn, but…” she shook her head. “I wish you had.”

“Then do it.”

“I don’t need to,” Luz said softly, “Your own bad decisions are going to do it for me. I’m just… going to make sure it happens. If I’m not here, I can’t be sure you won’t come back to hurt my family.” The staff shook in her hands. “This is just… to make sure.”

There was a rush of wind, and Eda landed next to her. “Hey, kiddo.”

Luz leaned against her, still pointing the staff. “It’s almost over,” she whispered, tears blooming in her eyes, “All of it, is… it’s almost over.”

One wing wrapped around her. “It’s not over. Not until all the damage he’s done is fixed. But it’s a start. The start of things getting better.”

The Collector had been awfully precise. Two hours later, Luz was walking home, Eda at her side. Darius was waiting at the door, arms crossed. “Is he gone?”

“Finished,” Eda answered, “I don’t think he’s going to slime his way back.”

“Good. Now could we please go back to the isles, I do not trust Eber to be running things for this long. There are probably moths in all of my clothes as we speak.”

“Okay. Yeah, okay.” Luz pushed open the door, wandering into the living room to see a huge pile of blankets and pillows. Hunter was already buried in a pile of plushies, fast asleep with Flapjack nestled on top. Vee and Camila waved from the floor, lifting up mugs. “There’s hot chocolate for you in the kitchen,” Camila whispered, “Would you two like to stay any longer?”

“No,” Darius answered shortly, grabbing the key from Luz and clicking it. He tossed it back, and marched through the portal.

Luz shook her head, and looked up at Eda. “You?”

“You know what? I think I deserve a little hot chocolate, yeah! Let me just get King first, I do NOT trust Lilith with him this long any more than Darius trusts Eber to be in charge.”

Luz wandered into the kitchen to see the Collector drinking her cocoa, and she stared for a minute. “Why are you still here?”

“Because this drink is tasty, and you can’t make me leave!” The Collector stuck out their tongue, then floated into the living room. “Hey, what are we doing next?”

“Next, you’re going to make Luz some more hot cocoa, because it was very rude of you to steal hers. And after that… we’re going to see about finding your parents.”

“My what now.”

“Your parents. I’m sure you have some somewhere. And I’m sure they’re worried about you.”

“Yeah? And what if I don’t?”

Camila shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, you can stay here.”

“Uh—I can stay anywhere I want. I don’t need you give me somewhere.”

“Okay. Well, you have my permission to stay here. If that’s what you want. With rules, though.”

“Ruuuuuuuules?!”

“Yes, Collector. Real life has rules, just like games. And you have to follow them. Like no yelling when people are sleeping.”

“Ugh. Maybe I will leave, then.” The collector fell with a whump down to the pile of blankets, just barely missing landing on top of Hunter. “But you have to teach me how to play that fish game, first.”

Luz shook her head, rubbing her temples. “Okay. That is going to take some getting used to.”

Xxx

Vee trudged towards school alone, sighing.

Back to normal, I guess.

Jade was waiting outside, sitting on a bench, and Vee plopped down next to her. “Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey,” Jade murmured, fiddling with her backpack straps.

“Hunter’s staying home for a bit. To recover. Mom called to say he’s sick.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.” Jade sighed. “Thomas is home, too. Apparently he had a full mental breakdown when his parents got back. They don’t know what happened, they just assumed the bullying amped up when he was living with Jacob, so… they’re keeping him home. And looking for a therapist. Which is nice, I guess.” She heaved another sigh.

“And you?”

Jade shrugged. “I think my dad suspects that I was involved in more than just offering a place to stay. But he hasn’t confronted me about it yet, so.” She drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. “Am I supposed to just go back to normal? After all of this? I mean…” she waved a hand in front of her. “School. Going to drama after. Volunteering at the shelter. Like all of that just never happened?!”

“It’s… hard,” Vee admitted, “But… at least now you know? Oh, sorry, that was awful. That was not good.” She sighed. “I guess… we just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep moving forward.”

“How?!”

“I don’t know. But… we’ll figure it out.”

We always do.

#toh #the owl house #hunter noceda #toh hunter #jade lanson #luz noceda #camila noceda #vee noceda #toh fanfiction #thomas hopkins #emperor belos #the collector

[karlyboyyy]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Okay first of all - thank you so much for sending me this ask! I haven't received an ask since like 2018, and I really like answering questions! (are any of y'all old enough to remember Formspring? I loved that shit lmao)

Second of all - this took me forever to think of! I suddenly forgot all pieces of media that I've ever consumed. Plus I wanted to make sure I had a mix of stuff lol

Anyway, here's what I've come up with, in no particular order :)

David Rose | Schitt’s Creek

David Rose is honestly so important to me. When I first started watching Schitt’s Creek, I was just like “oh haha sassy queer man, so funny!” But then as the show progressed, I found myself identifying so much with the character. And then I decided to rewatch the show… four more times over the next few months. Like I just kept going back to it. And eventually I thought “ya know… why do I identify so much with a queer man? I’ve never thought of myself as queer and I’m not a man… so why?” Which led me down the rabbit hole of watching other queer-centric shows and doing a bunch of internet searching of sexuality and gender identity. And I honestly learned so much. Like it’s crazy how much I just assumed about a lot of stuff without ever thinking too deeply about it. And wouldn’t you fuckin know it, I realized I was bisexual. And then the more and more I thought about how I see myself and how I wanted others to see me, I decided that yep, I’m not a man… but I’m also not really too attached to being a woman either. So here we are today, just a big ol’ bisexual nonbinary androgynous blob. All thanks to David Rose!

2. Karasuno VBC | Haikyuu!!

Is this answer cheating? I feel like it’s cheating. But I’ve tried - I’ve reeeally tried - to pick a favorite character from Haikyuu, and I just cannot. So I’ve chosen the entire ‘12-‘13 Karasuno High School Volleyball Club (coaches and managers included!). I just love them each so much for different reasons. Like, Hinata is such a sweetheart and I’m so proud of him by the end of the series! Kageyama is my baby, my sweet grumpy dumb-dumb baby. Sugawara is probably the one I relate to the most, coming off as shy and calm but in reality he’s a little insane. And Asahi! My sweet sensitive Asahi, I love him so much. I could ramble on for days, but I won’t. Just know that I would fight to the death for these fictional characters. 

3. Power | Chainsaw Man

Since I’ve decided that I’d only do one cheat answer, I can’t list the whole Hayakawa family as one character. That said, I’d have to say Power is my favorite of the trio. She’s loud and obnoxious and egotistical and powerful and silly and gross and honestly everything I wish I could be. 

4. Xie Lian | Heaven Official’s Blessing

Xie Lian is so awkward, but he’s low-key hilarious. There’s a moment in chapter 6 of the first novel, where he was worried because he didn’t have any shrines or worshippers dedicated to him in the mortal realm. But then, there’s this excerpt: “And one day, on a whim, he suddenly thought: If no one worships me, I’ll worship myself! None of the heavenly officials knew how to respond to that. Who had ever fucking heard of a god worshipping himself?! To reach such tragic heights, what was the point?! However, Xie Lian was used to receiving nothing but awkward silence the moment he spoke and thought amusing himself could be fun.” Like… that whole ‘fuck it, I’m just gonna do whatever the hell I want’ attitude gives me life. On top of all that, he’s a cheapskate scrap collector, a terrible cook, and has the worst luck. But he’s a total sweetheart, he tries his best at everything he does, he’s always trying to help people, and HELLO he’s got Hua Cheng wrapped around his finger. 

5. Uramichi Omota | Life Lessons With Uramichi-oniisan

My favorite depressy boi. Life Lessons is so freakin funny and way too goddamn relatable. I think I have four different magnets at my desk at work with images / quotes of Uramichi from the show and manga. There's not much else I can say other than he speaks to my soul.

6. Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo | Mob Psycho 100

The goodest boy!! A friend actually recommended Mob Psycho to me, and at first I was a little skeptical. But by the third episode I was hooked. And by season 3, I found myself literally sobbing. Just seeing Mob’s growth throughout the show, and how his kindness impacted so many people around him… it just fills my heart. But also the moment where he almost loses himself to the ???%… just wow. The whole message of that show is so so good and I will literally recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

7. Sasaki Shuumei | Sasaki and Miyano

The sweetest cinnamon roll!! The way he truly loves Miyano is so refreshing. Sure, he has the whole “but he’s a guy…” thought at first. But he gets over that fairly quickly. He just knows that Miyano is cute and he genuinely wants to get to know him. He actively engages with Miyano to try and learn about his interests and hobbies. He reads all the BL Miyano lends him. He gives his honest feedback about each story! He stands up for Miyano’s interests. He confesses to Miyano pretty early on, but recognizes that Miyano may not reciprocate those feelings right away. He continually reassures Miyano that his feelings are strong, but he’s not pushy about it. It’s more like he wants to make sure Miyano doesn’t see his feelings as a passing whim. And when they finally get together, he’s not shy about their relationship. He talks about it to his friends and family. When the two of them start to get more physical, Miyano voices his concern about who’s going to be the “bottom”. And Sasaki’s immediate thought was that he didn’t really care which way they went, he just knew that he wanted it to be with Miyano. And my GOD I loved seeing that. I feel like discussing your sexual preferences with your partner and figuring out what you’re comfortable with doing is SO important, but that aspect of starting a new relationship isn’t portrayed nearly enough in BL stories. It’s usually just one guy being a little nervous about being bottom and the other guy automatically assuming they’re the top, with zero communication. Anyway, I digress. Back to Sasaki. My cinnamon roll. I just love him. 

8. April Ludgate | Parks and Recreation 

Parks and Rec will always be one of my comfort shows. And I first watched it when I was about the same age as April - young enough to not really know what I wanted to do in life and also not really caring about that stuff just yet. I loved her dry sense of humor and her sarcasm. And watching her grow into someone with more confidence in her career and relationships was amazing. Also fun fact, when I interviewed for my first role at my current workplace - which happens to be an Indiana government entity - I was asked why I was interested in government work. And I straight up said that Parks & Rec made it seem interesting lmao. They must have liked that answer, because I’m still there almost 4 years later and have promoted up since then! 

9. Dorothy Zbornak | Golden Girls

I first watched Golden Girls when I was in college, when my roommate was like “I promise you’ll like it, it’s so funny” and I was like bitch… it’s an old show about old ladies. But she was RIGHT. It’s hilarious. And honestly so wholesome. And ICONIC (I mean come on. This show talked about women's sex lives, old women's sex lives at that. And LGBT+ issues. And workplace harassment. And invisible illnesses / disabilities and the struggles of getting your doctor to actually listen to you. All of this in the '80s, no less!) And I feel like most people liked Rose because, duh it’s Betty White. But Dorothy was my jam. She was sarcastic and always annoyed by something (same). But she genuinely cared about her friends. And look. I ain’t gonna lie. That deep, almost raspy voice of hers? Hot. 

10. Jake Peralta | Brooklyn 99

He’s honestly so annoying, but I love him. He gives off this “I’m gonna do the bare minimum and be silly the whole time and STILL get the fuckin’ job done” vibe, and ya know what? He does just that. He’s actually a great detective and problem solver. He just also knows how to have fun. And his relationship with Amy is one of the few straight(-passing) relationships that I honestly love so much. They’re so cute and pure and goofy and relatable. And don’t even get me started on his friendship with Rosa. I mean, he went with her when she wanted to come out as bi to her parents!! Aahhhh!! Lastly, his flannel / hoodie / leather jacket combo? Pure bisexual fashion and I am here for it.

#karly overshares #favorite characters #david rose #schitt's creek #karasuno #haikyuu!! #csm power #chainsaw man #xie lian #heaven official's blessing #uramichi oniisan #life lessons with uramichi oniisan #kageyama shigeo #mob psycho 100 #sasaki shuumei #sasaki and miyano #april ludgate #parks and rec #dorothy zbornak #golden girls #jake peralta #brooklyn 99

[radfae]

plz give us your opinions on the new toh ep queen <3

okay i apologize in advance bc i’m like almost done writing this while i add this disclaimer and i’m realizing it’s VERY ramble-y and my adhd brain keeps rapidly switching topics but i hope this makes sense HAHA

IT WAS GOOD! it wasn’t nearly as gut-wrenching as the last one but i do appreciate some good ship action (raeda and huntlow tugging on my heartstrings fr). a lot happened this episode and i feel like a big theme was character development and personal exploration, we saw that a lot with hunter, but most of all luz and willow! it makes me really happy to see luz get her palismen (palisman??) finally and string bean is so adorable! i was team snake btw so i’m happy with this outcome. a lot of people say that boscha was really annoying this ep but honestly i didn’t think so? i mean, she was a bit, but she’s clearly not a villain here; she’s just a traumatized mean girl teenager handling things badly. she’s developed some pretty bad abandonment issues from losing her grudgby team to the collector, and ended up taking those out on amity, which isn’t…great, but people are treating her worse than belos this episode lmao?? but ANYWAY i’m very happy to see hunter again <3 and i’m happy that his development is moving in a positive way. not everyone is happy about him having magic from flapjack, but i think it’s nice; it reinforces that flapjack is still with him, even if he’s not physically present, which is a nice sentiment. and like i am sorry he is going thru it or whatever but i MISSED him being an annoying angry boy,, and OH MY GOD “you mean a lot to me too” “cool, happy to help” KILL ME NOW?!?! THEY’RE SO ADORABLE.,,,, and i’m glad they focused on willow here too because it made me like her a lot more than i did previously. and ok going back to raeda the “i just like to come out and see raine” i don’t remember if that’s exactly what she says but eda literally risking being caught by the collector who still thinks she’s the owl beast just to see raine,, AND RAINE’S LOOK IN THE BEGINNING WHEN SHE GOES INTO HARPY MODE…… omg they’re in love. and i’m choosing to say raine is a lesbian bc it makes my heart happy. switching gears completely to camila,, just,,, in general,, her being a mother figure to so many of the kids and her conversation with luz to amity saying “you and luz are a lot alike”,, i love her so much i cannot believe there was a point in which she was controversial in the fandom. i’ve always been a camila defender. OKAY BUT THE ACTUAL EPISODE ANYWAY the collector is obviously being set up for a redemption arc of sorts; they’re really pushing the idea that he’s just a kid and doesn’t want to really hurt people, and it’s clear that he really did care about king (defending him from the coven head i forgot her name sorry lol, respecting his boundaries with his rabbit and not touching it, calling him his best friend, immediately not trusting belos when he said king has it out for him) and that’s why he’s taking his ‘betrayal’ so hard. i did NOT expect him to team up with belos ngl, i thought that this episode would be them defeating the collector and next ep would be belos, as like a first and final boss type of thing, but this is like. so much better lol. AND SOMEONE ON TWITTER POINTED THIS OUT BUT belos is ALWAYS looking down on people, specifically at hunter; there’s always a specific camera angle to showcase it, but in this episode, in his weakened state belos finally looks up at someone: caleb. belos has always been in a position of power in every relationship we’ve seen with him so far, EXCEPT for caleb. caleb is the only situation in which he’s been the dependent. which is really being showcased here and i liked the imagery,, and i’m curious as to why belos chose raine in particular? like obviously this is going to be used for some raeda plotline which i personally don’t mind actually but like. obvious excuse for ship angst is obvious. but i hope there’s some other reason than just “let’s make eda upset hehehehe” u know what i mean. oh and raine mullet,, pretty. if i had a nickel for every time belos possessed someone and they got a mullet i would have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice right.

i’m excited to see how things go with the collector next episode (new noceda sibling real?) and i’m excited to see king, eda and luz’s reunion! i really need eda and camila to meet like NOW. i also really hope that hunter is the one who gets the final blow on belos, like sorry to luz or whatever i know ur the protagonist and that’s your moment but he DESERVES it. and obviously luz isn’t going to stay in the human realm indefinitely but with her mom i’m wondering how they’ll work things out; maybe there will be a more stable portal and luz and camila will be able to pass through both worlds and visit as they please? or will camila just stay in the demon realm with luz? idk!!! i can’t wait for next episode but knowing we’re officially on our final hiatus and that the cast just finished recording for the last episode is also :’D a bit miserable. sad to see it go but excited at the same time

#tumblr literally cut me off bc it said my paragraph was too long. rude #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground 05: Mobodoon

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

This is episode 5: Mobodoon, which is supposedly telling you about how wonderful Mobius used to be, but is actually showcasing Manic’s emotional centre and how he Longs For A Home.

…Grown up LeDiz has so little patience for this episode, especially in a series that otherwise does a goddamn amazing display of a well thought-out post-monarchy dictatorship. It’s going to show you a perfect little commune and tell you this is how Aleena’s whole kingdom was and IT’S NONSENSE.

The plot (for want of a better word): On the search for their mother, the royal triplets uncover a magical portal that takes them to their birthplace: Mobodoon! In a peaceful sanctuary where everything is free and everyone is equal, Manic finally feels at home for the first time in his life. Will he abandon the fight against Robotnik—and his family—to stay where he feels he truly belongs?

Of course he won’t, that would require continuity. And I’m running out of wine.

Aleena… it’s episode five. Of forty. Don’t threaten me with the end of the Sonic Underground. Honestly.

Manic said something very quickly, too quickly for me to follow, but “second day of the third month” is their birthday, COMPLETELY OVERRIDING established Sonic canon on his birthday being in June. Yes I make too much of this.

Also, side note, there’s some actually not terrible animation in this opening sequence. Props where due.

Never mind, we’re at the two minute mark, the animators gave up again.

So, Mobodoon. It’s a little hidden portal to city/town/thing that connects to the normal world once every four years, where the royal children are all born. All greenery everywhere, no money, it’s a proper communist dream. Not bad world building for a magical monarchy’s private retreat, I’ll grant you.

And again, everyone knows and recognises the triplets, who I remind you, were removed from public life before they were one. (The world builder in me assumes this is because hedgehogs with their specific colouring went quickly extinct after Aleena put them into hiding. Sonia only survived because of Windemere’s protection and/or lies)(I am such a problem)

(Also, I’m doing the maths. The portal only opens once every four years. Say they were born and immediately left, because no way they were four when they were running from Robotnik. Power to Aleena for being able to make that trip right after giving birth to triplets. Anyway. Four, eight, twelve… they’re either thirteen or sixteen today and either way I’m not… asking any questions, why would I ask questions?)

Seriously, though, if you don’t just accept what she says because of the magic of Mobodoon, Mayor Winniham is creepy as hell.

Ah haha… the town is possible due to a chaos emerald Power Stone, which gives them power and life. Yes I absolutely make too much of that, too.

SERIOUSLY. If you don’t take her at her world, the MENTAL CONDITIONING THIS MAYOR IS PULLING ON MANIC.

Sonic “and his mondo world” (in his wooooooorld where one is all, in his world never fear the fall!). Not a reference, but appreciated as if it is one.

…Dingo, you’re supposed to be in love with Sonia, don’t give me this “I hate Hedgehogs” line. That’s your boss’s line. No stealing.

Seriously, this plays so much like Winniham is trying to take advantage of Manic. Animation errors even make her look super sinister in some shots. She’s not, though, she’s just creepy to an adult.

The SONG: I found my home. A rare Manic lead song. When I was a kid, I thought this was the best sound… amazing how your opinion changes, huh?

Ah, evil tax collector Sleet. As distinct from queen hunting Sleet or bounty hunter Sleet. As long as he’s Short Sighted Sleet.

Y’know Manic, in a better series, this whole realisation you have about “I finally found a place to call home and now it’s […] doomed” would lead you to realise you have to keep up the fight to protect it. Funny how you’re not actually going to come to that realisation.

Also, in a better series (though this is still sadly uncommon even in good shows), the fact this is a Manic-centred episode would allow him to take charge with how to protect the town. But no, of course Sonia has to do that, because Sonia is present.

And it’s ultimately Sonic’s plan to recharge the medallions and play roadrunner that saves the day. He's the hero and the drawcard for the Trashfire, so it's ALLOWED, but it's still frustrating. Why have the OC if you're not going to actually give them room to be used???

JEEZ, Sonia, what has Manic ever done to imply he would pawn off the magical medallions that give you all music and power? I know I give you a hard time, but that was so uncalled for! And yeah, he plays along, but jeez!

…and ultimately, Manic decides his home is with his siblings. Two seconds after he says goodbye to them. UGH. I know it’s a pacing thing, and it was common in 90s cartoons, but that does not stop it from being annoying.

Though I will say his point about how the Sonic Underground needs a drummer is legit. It’s actually a thing: rock bands need a drum to keep time and without one will need to find a different way to remain in rhythm. I make too much of this. I really wish the show did too.

Look. LOOK.

This episode is…

I mean, look, the series as a whole is bad, but as I mention when doing the plot synopses, the ideas behind the episodes themselves are pretty sound. You can see how they got through a writing pitch. But what always frustrates me when I watch these bad shows that I love is how good they COULD be with just… minor changes. Like Manic coming up with the idea to save the day, or having a change of heart because of the danger, not his siblings. Also Winniham… you’re still creepy. There’s no getting away from how much you creep me out, I’m sorry.

The counters:

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality: 2

Sonia's super-strength: 1

Sonia's in love with Bartleby: 1/37

Come back tomorrow if you want to know more!

#sonic underground #lediz fics #sonic the hedgehog #sonia hedgehog #manic hedgehog #when i was a kid #I really liked this episode #now it annoys me SO MUCH #I mean it was always bad because of the animation #but THE PLOT #UGH

[wanderinglotus7]

WHAT A YEAR….

Crazy crazy crazy. Man, I can’t believe we are 6 months deep in 2023. Where did time go? First of all happy anniversary to me lol. It’s been a full year and I’m still working for Adelante (BIDMC). No lie, I’m kind of surprised I haven’t exited out of the door haha. Last week during my supervision, I went over my One year Performance Review with my supervisor. This review involves me sharing my responses to two questions and the first question is “What are you most proud of from this year?”. I wrote down four accomplishments, but my number one answer is that I made it a year. I had my supervisor complex. I was straight up. The team is lucky that I didn’t leave already. Since I started last June, I’ve seen so many social workers, especially BIPOC SWs, leave (deuces). Seeing people come & go at a rapid pace doesn’t instill a sense of confidence or security as a new social worker in this field. Sometimes I felt like I made the wrong decision in saying “Yes”. Yet, I know deep down this is the path God called me to walk down, but again, I didn’t envision myself working in a big medical system like BIDMC.

I do my best to reframe the situation because those that have left were called towards greater. They are making moves they believe are in their best interest. I would do the same thing. I don’t want to stay somewhere I feel like instead of flourishing I feel like I’m unsupported or feeling unfulfilled. I say BURNOUT!!!!! I say MISERY!! I might even say DEFEATED! As for me, I don’t have serious plans of leaving Adelante anytime soon. In reality, if I wanted to leave I don’t have a clear picture of where I would want to go next. Second, my current position is providing me the financial stability that I need right now. Third, I want to my LICSW before I leave because that would be the next career changer I need to be able to live the comfortable life I desire for myself and my future family. I feel like I enlisted into the military hahaha. Accepting this position, I promised at least three years of my professional life to BIDMC. Or the better organization would be the Center for Violence Prevention & Recovery.

Talking about CVPR the program received a 10% budget cut. So we have enough money to maintain current staff as well as hire one person for the “Oncall/Acute Response” social worker. However, we continue to dance in circles and trying to figure out what CVPR services/program is gonna look like moving forward. I silently roll my eyes. I continue to say what I need to say…not sure if people are actually listening or not. Either way, no job is gonna kill my joy and no job ain’t gonna drain my spirit. THATS FACTS!!!! Saying all this is why I’m temporarily giving CVPR two of my work days (I’m not giving up my remote day). Plus, I can’t keep neglecting my primary role which is being a social worker-clinician for my Adelante clients. FYI; Adelante ain’t got no money (tragic), but we are still kicking. By the grace of God we are still kicking.

In the other areas of my life I feel like they are somewhat balanced. I placed a pause on the whole dating because I’m encountering nothing but trash. I’m not a garbage collector. I want the best for me. And I deserve exactly that. So far I have no ill words to say about my new therapist. I do find myself sometimes holding back a bit even though I’m a total open book. IDK. I guess I don’t want to feel like I’m getting trapped in a vicious cycle of bitterness. What my new therapist has done for me so far is confirm that in the past months I’ve been grieving. More grieving the “What Ifs” of my life along with the grief of my Grandma Shirley (R.I.P.). I really do miss my grandma. She really was my heart & soul. And it saddens me that my future children will never get to meet her and experience the same love she gave to me while she was here on Earth. That’s why we have memories right. They will get to know her because I will always keep her spirit, her light, her legacy through my memories. Me sharing her story with others.

This leads me to my true calling which is being a storyteller. Last weekend, I had the blessed opportunity to focus on my writing. I was dripping in creativity and inspiration. I didn’t quite wrote anything new necessarily, but took the time to revisit and revise a few poems I’ve already written. I could be being bias, but I noticed a growth or maturity with my writing style. Rather a growth in the messages I’m trying to convey in my poems. I’m happy that I’m listening to myself and intentionally focusing my energy towards a passion of mine that brings me peace. I’m slowly working myself towards getting Purple Hearts published (sold) on Amazon (ooof). Everything is a process and I’m not gonna rush thru the process. Also, I can’t let excuses distract me from my passion either. I might post one or two poems that I revised (not sure). Let’s see.

To be continued….

#moving forward #growth #healing #peace

[sinbrook]

This sounds stupid and ungrateful, but I don’t really care. People who are “bad gift givers” are people who don’t listen or care. There’s no such thing as someone inherently “bad” at giving presents, just lazy thoughtless people who don’t give a crap about the people around them enough to listen to them when they talk. I am super easy to buy Christmas gifts for because I’m autistic, I got those Special Interests on the go, literally just buy me something to do with that and I’m golden.

Like if I talk about Pokemon non-stop every time you see me, then the obvious thing to do is to just fucking buy literally anything with a Pokemon logo on it, that shit is everywhere.

I collect things! I have collections of Pokemon cards! I collect DnD figurines! I collect pins! Collectors are the easiest people in the world to buy for because you know what they always want!

...if you listen. Or pay attention to them at all.

But everyone insists I’m “hard to buy for” and wants me to outline what they should buy me, when literally anything to do with my interest is fine. But they wouldn’t know that because the instant I open my mouth, it’s like the light dies in their eyes and their soul floats away to some unknown place and everything I say just floats through their now-empty head, unheard and unlistened to.

I’m sick of either knowing what everything under the tree is because I sent the person a link on where to buy it, or getting disappointing things I don’t want. Meanwhile my grandma mentioned off-hand a book she had when she was young, loved to read, and lost during a house move, so I got it for her for Christmas. My mum pinned an illustration from a book she had as a child on her pinterest with a little paragraph about how this was her favourite picture as a child and she used to get the book out just to stare at it, and I found a print of the illustration that the original artist’s family was selling and framed it for her for Christmas.

My mum’s boyfriend likes camping and complained that his socks always get sweaty so I got him these special breathable hiking socks.

Why do I bother going to all this trouble to make sure the gift is something the person wants, when my presents include cheap perfume sets (I have a scent allergy), nail kits (I bite my nails as a nervous thing and don’t have any to file down), and an empty box to store cards from a card game I do not play? Bro just give me nothing haha. Then at least I won’t feel the need to go to the trouble of getting a thoughtful gift, and get disappointed once again.

Next year everyone is getting a kmart bath bomb $5 gift box. Fuck it. I’ve got three of those with my name on them under the tree right now. So they clearly love that shit.

#i know this is whiny teenager shit but cmon #where could you complain about this if not the internet #i can hardly say to my family and friend's faces that they're shit at this and it hurts my feelings haha #Like that's the main thing #i dont care about GETTING THINGS like #i dont need the presents i can buy stuff for myself #but it hurts my feelings that people clearly dont listen to me or know me at all #when they're supposed to be the people closest to me #like im seriously not on their minds when they're out and about #nobody 'saw this and thought of you's me

[another-shameless-fangirl]

12 Days of Ficmas- Wish List

Sam Manson was an infuriating person to get gifts for, mostly because she was unhelpful. “I don’t have anything on my list.”

Tucker and Danny groan as the goth shrugged at their dismay. “C’mon, Sam. Literally anything.”

“I have everything. I’m your rich friend. I should be asking you guys what you want.”

“Well I’ve been eying Dead Teacher’s collector edition for a while now and-”“What Tuck means is, we know what we want. What can we get you?”

Sam puts her finger on her chin looking at the grey sky as they walk home. “I would love a South American country.”

“Sam…”

“It’s the one thing my parents would never get me.” she sighs, melancholy and painfully sarcastic. Danny and Tucker look at each other and she smiles at them. “Really, I’m fine. Get me something small. Something you think I’d like and I’m sure I’ll love it.”

“You don’t like anything.”

“I like you just fine despite everything.” she teases and Danny grins back.

“Okay, well why don’t we agree on ten dollars and we can make something for each other.”

Tucker bobs his head side to side in thought. “Not a bad idea, but I wouldn’t say no to a Monster Truck, or the new-”

“Ten dollars and we can make it.”

“You don’t have to make anything, I'm happy to buy you guys something cool. My allowance is more than generous and Hanukkah's over so I’m loaded with extravagant gifts from my parents.” Danny wasn’t sure exactly how Hanukkah was celebrated but from Sam’s clipped tone, he imagined she didn’t approve of the gifts.

“Tucker, you want the collector’s set for Dead Teacher? You got it.”

“Woohoo! You’re the best, Sam.”

“You’re welcome. So Danny, what do you want?”

That made him slow down. Oh no.

“I didn’t make a list this year.”

The other two laugh.

“You were getting on me for not having a list and you don’t have one either?”

“I… I dunno. I’ve been so preoccupied with ghosts this year I haven’t thought about it.”

Everyone slows their walk down the streets of the town they’d vowed to protect. Ghost hunting had been something that infected all of their lives. Tucker offers a tight smile. “Well.. what’s something that you could use?”

“I don’t know.” his shoulders slouch. “It feels like all I do is fight ghosts and do homework and sleep.”

“I dunno about that. You haven’t been doing your homework.” Sam points out helpfully.

“Haha…”

“And you hardly ever sleep.” Tucker quips.

“Hilarious.”

They stop a hundred feet away from Fenton Works and Danny sighs. The levity he had before is gone, sucked into the air and dissipated.

Danny had been running himself ragged lately. Now more than ever they could see the dark circles under his eyes, the way he carried himself changed depending on how bad the fights were. Even though Phantom won just about all of his fights, they always seemed to take a lot out of him. Sam and Tucker barely had to come and help anymore as the ghost boy seemed to have everything under control. He was good, but not good enough to pretend it didn’t cost him.

They walk slow and steady toward the house and with the shorter distance came the sound of short tempers.

Screaming was common in the Fenton house every December as if it were the choir of every Fenton Family Christmas. Something crashes in the living room of Danny’s house and the boy doesn’t even flinch.

“You sure there’s nothing on your mind?” Sam offers. If Danny wanted to talk then maybe-

“I’ll figure it out. I’ll see you guys later.”

Tucker and Sam look on as Danny doesn’t even wait for them to reply and instead bounds up the steps to his house and shuts the door. The goth and the techno geek are left in the silence. In that silence, they create a pact.

Danny didn’t have to worry about a thing this year. The great thing about being a sidekick was that they sometimes knew the hero better than he knew himself. Danny may have not written a list, may not have thought of himself for who knows how long, but that’s what friends were for.

Sam and Tucker were in charge of Danny Fenton’s Wish List. They dash off to Tucker’s house where they start immediately writing down everything they could think of to make the hero’s life easier.

When they finish, they smile.

The next 12 days would lead up to the best Christmas yet.

#ASF Writes #ASF Wrote a Thing #Danny Phantom #Danny Phantom Fanfiction #ficmas2021 #ficmas21 #12daysficmas #Sam Manson #Tucker foley #Danny Fenton

[favoniuscodex]

Hurt comfort you say??? This is kind of an unoriginal idea lmao but how about reader getting into an argument w Childe about his recklessness in battle and neither of them have confessed yet so things get heated and reader blurts out "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU OKAY"

Or for Diluc, we know he gets protective of his loved ones so maybe reader took a hit for him in battle and scared the shit out of Diluc and HE'S the one who blurts out the confession 👀

a/n: wooo ok i chose childe for this hehe. a bit different of writing style as compared to usual? fluff is typically easy bc it has a straightforward structure but i never rlly know where to dive in with angst prompts like this HAHA cw: wounds, stitches, brief mention of blood. nothing in heavy detail. kinda angsty?

childe finds himself at your doorstep once more, not quite knowing who else to turn to. you open the door with an irritated expression, yet he knows that it is a result of the worry that stirs constantly in your stomach whenever he is not around. if childe arrives even a minute late, you've learned to look over him for injuries. if there is a knock at your door past eight in the evening, you've learned to expect the harbinger hunched over on your doorstep. it eats away at your mind, wondering if the man you've fallen for is dead or alive.

yet, you never expected it to end up in raised voices. the argument starts as soon as you finish a hastily done set of stitches and wash your hands. scathing words exit the both of you as you begin an abnormal conversation about him arriving at your doorstep half dead. childe insists its because he has nowhere else to go, yet you tell him that he shouldn't even be putting himself in these situations, because what is he doing it for? glory? honor? why aren't those he's trying to impress helping him instead of you? why are you the only one seemingly there for him? and yet, he can't seem to answer any of your questions. the argument is convoluted and you lose track of what you're saying, until a love confession falls out of you.

childe asks why you care so much about if he's safe or not. he's fatui, a harbinger and a debt collector while you're a civilian with a steady hand and a home that provides a guise of privacy. the words tumble out of your lips in a hurry, before even you recognize what you're saying.

"i care because i'm in love with you, ajax!" you snap and immediately bite your tongue. it's cliche yet horribly misplaced. here he is, coming to you in a time of need, yet you let personal feelings get in the way. you should've just gone to bed. in the morning, childe would've left a nice note and a bag of mora to compensate you for your troubles. instead, you're confessing your love to him, like a bumbling idiot who has read one too many romance novels.

yet before you can turn away in mortification, childe's arm reaches out to wrap his fingers around your wrist. he tugs you back over to him, looking up at you with wide eyes, ocean hues wavering as he searches your face for honestly. he attempts to sit up, but the sharp sting of his wounds forces him to lay back down. with a grunt of pain, childe lets out an exasperated sigh at his inability to move before letting out a soft laugh of disbelief.

"well, you gotta be the one to kiss me then, sweetheart, because i clearly can't make it to your face," he chuckles nervously, as if he was the one to confess and you weren't the one to make an utter fool of yourself moments prior. you let out a shaky exhale and bite back both a smile and tears of frustration.

the conversation could wait until tomorrow. for now, you bend over and place your lips on his, trying to convey everything that you cannot find the words to. maybe you are a hopeless romantic hoping to stop a reckless hellion from destroying himself in battle, only to find your efforts to be fruitless. or maybe, just maybe, childe will listen to you. if you give him something to return home to, maybe he'll pay more attention to which fights he picks with others.

but for now, all your kiss guarantees is a single night with childe. selfishly, you'll take it, hoping that in the morning, you'll see his smiling face once more and not the piece of parchment that typically lies in his place. desperation pours itself into the movement of your lips as his hands find the sides of your face, as if he's trying to pull you even closer to him.

for now, ajax's lips press themselves against yours, yet you wonder if ajax will still be here in the morning, or if tartaglia will be the one to leave you behind.

#//mail #mail.childe #childe x reader

[leo-interactive-fiction]

Something else I haven't seen before. What would the MC's parent from each background think of the ROs? Who would they approve of and who wouldn't they? I guess in the case of orphan MC, what would E's parents think? Since they kinda maybe vaguely adopted orphan MC?

Hmm, interesting! Since I did the opposite, I should have seen this one coming haha

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Storm's comments:

E: "Rose has had that expectation for some time. This is preferable to the alternative. I know you will be in good hands. Rose raised them well."

R: Your father doesn't mince his words, a clear disdain evident, "Valleford. See that you don't take after your father, or there will be less than pleasantries next time we meet."

L: "Scio. I assume your father...?" Storm's lips pull in a small frown as L gives a small nod of confirmation, "I understand if you cannot forgive me. Your father is a significant asset to the Hospian war effort. If I find him, I will kill him."

V: "You've seen enough at your age," Storm says quietly, looking into the hollow glint in V's eyes, "I'm sorry. Those were battles that should have ended with my generation, not yours."

P: Storm's brow furrows as he makes a cordial greeting, "I assume your father is well? He does not speak of his second child often, but you seem more spirited than the other. That will make the greater difference when it matters."

M: Storm's brow furrows as he makes a cordial greeting, though there's little sentimentality in his voice, "I assume your father is well? He expresses confidence in your upbringing, but I can't say I share the sentiment. You lack something fundamental. Something to drive you to achieve more than what's expected of you."

Ra: Storm's eyes lock onto Raven with a harsh intensity, "Your eyes are filled with blood and you conceal weapons. Tell me your intentions or I will kill you right now."

S: "I admit I am unfamiliar with Orden. The conflict never reached that country, but I understand there are many hardships there already," Storm says, looking the brightly grinning student up and down before his lips pull back in small contentment, "You come out better than most. You have impressive strength."

F: Storm holds a frown as he takes in the vivid green hair, "Many allowed Frenza to claim their distance due to their significant contribution to Triaina's independence, but it doesn't absolve you of everything," he says in warning, "Don't step over the boundaries you've been afforded, or the military will have no choice but to respond."

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Scurra's dialogue:

E: Scurra makes a grimace as he recognizes E, "Damnit, you've gone and done it now," he grumbles as he pulls out his wallet and hands a fold of bills to E, "Give that to your mom, will you? She's worse than a debt collector with bets..."

R: "Valleford! There's a name I haven't heard in a while. I knew they had a black sheep in the family, but I guess they couldn't take away the infamous good looks," Scurra chuckles, his eyes lightening reminiscently, "They've put me in a good bit of trouble on more than one occasion. I guess I should consider it a family curse now that MC is involved with you."

L: "Oh, I know those eyes," Scurra says wistfully, "Coming to find the world is a bigger place than you imagined, aren't you? It's even more expansive than that, too. I had that same look when I traveled overseas. I hope MC is being a good guide for you," he looks to you, and gives a knowing wink.

V: Scurra gives a meandering hum as he looks at V, "I've been all around, but I've only seen natural hair color like that a handful of times. They all had your same stare, too." He closes his eyes thoughtfully, "None as young as you though. I hope you're the last I have to see with those eyes. They're a bad omen."

P: "A fiery one, aren't you! Has no one ever told you not to say bad words in public?" Scurra laughs, "You should stop while you can. You're so transparent with your feelings that I almost mistook you for a window, so there's no point to pulling a tough act."

M: A small, genuine smile rises on Scurra's lips as he inspects M, "How interesting. You're so similar to your twin, but you're definitely the better actor. As I think about it, you remind me of MC's mother in many ways..."

Ra: "What are you doing here?" Scurra frowns, staring harshly at Raven. A silence passes and eventually he looks away, messaging his jaw, "Oops, guess I was mistaken. You looked a little like someone I know."

S: "You've got Orden written all over you, don't you?" Scurra says cheerily, "It's been a while since I've visited, but I have to say it gave me the most enjoyment. You all certainly know how to keep it lively."

F: "Your family has always been so hauty!" Scurra covers his mouth to suppress a chuckle, "But I think it would be a mistake to talk down to everyone you meet. I happen to be on great terms with your mother. If I took the opportunity, you two would have been siblings!"

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Xero's insight:

E: He smiles warmly to E, "It's good to see you again. I'm afraid there was little I could do for you: your mother has already found out about your relationship. I expect she'll make it as embarrassing for you as possible, if I know her well. I hope you're mentally prepared."

R: Xero studies R with a faint curiosity, "I'm afraid your father and I are on less than speaking terms due to some...past difficulties, but I understand you are more than simply your father's child. You may be villianized for your differing viewpoint, but aren't we all? I don't find it is so bad," Xero gives R a knowing small."

L: Xero's eyes widen upon seeing L, then falls into a soft smile, "To think history would repeat so aptly. To see you two now reminds me of my own school days," Xero closes his eyes and releases a light sigh, the smile still present, "I pray you'll also find the same happiness I did, and that it lasts longer."

V: Xero's grip tightens on an file in his hands as he sees V, his voice meticulous, "You are...Wolfe, correct? I'll admit the what I've heard and read of you is...less than appealing, but," he casts his gaze between you and the ex-Jagd member, a faint smile growing on his lips as V steps cautiously between you. "You seem to have a strong sense of duty. I hope you will be a good pillar for MC."

P: He looks disaprovingly, "In my field, words are paired with intention. To speak is to lay bare your thoughts. Why would you neglect your intent by forcing a negative connotation where it doesn't belong?"

M: He seems slightly more on edge than with P, "I don't believe I should offer my approval to someone unwilling to determine a focus. It's a testament to your negligence."

Ra: Xero crosses their arms, his face skeptical,"Marriage? Your lack of detailed forethought and hyperfixation gives me the impression of an unhealthy mind. As it stands now, I will refuse to give you my blessing."

S: "I'm afraid I'm ignorant to everything Orden related," Xero says sheepishly, "I am happy to learn all that I can, though. Perhaps you would like to bring your family at some point? I would be happy to host them here." Xero smiles warmly, clearly unknowing of the chaotic rabblerousing he's invited into his home.

F: "Ah, the royal line," Xero says in recognition of F, "Your own mother was a classmate of mine as well. To think one of her children would grow so closely with mine. Please give her my regards, would you? She has always kept herself closer than others, so I was happy when she took an interest in my friend. He's a lucky man."

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Mr. Razor's thoughts (if he was alive)

E: He bows his head gratefully, "Thank you for taking care of MC all this time. Your selflessness has saved me a lot of worry, and I doubt I'll have any more leaving them in your hands."

R: Razor's eyes bore a hole through R, "To defy your father was a considerable risk. And not knowing what the academy had planned for you, you still allowed yourself to be incarcerated for an indeterminate amount of time," Razor taps his fingers to his chin, a smile spreading over his lips, "I enjoy those that stick to their principles, but what say we work on your jailbreaking?"

L: "Your father's quite an important man. He's lucky I was never contracted to kill him," Razor says matter-of-factly. A chilling air of silence deafens the room until Razor holds up his palms, "Just kidding. I've never killed anyone. They all died mysteriously."

V: "How's Jagd doing?" Razor narrows his eyes keenly on V, "I'm surprised they were able to bounce back after what I did to them. I guess they filled the empty spaces with whoever was able...or moldable."

P: Razor smiles sadly, "It must be difficult to be given another person's expectations and do well with them. You're like a fish trying to climb a tree. But I enjoy how far up you've climbed despite that. Would you like a reward? I know, how about...your father's weakness?"

M: Razor seems disinterested, "You're not worth the words, Crater. You're nothing more than what your father made you to be: a simple shadow to live vicariously through."

Ra: Razor's eyes have an approving glint, "The one that slipped through the cracks. How very odd. MC's mother was quite odd too. It's an endearing quality, isn't it? Yes, I think you'll make a perfect companion for MC. You've already been looking over them all this time, haven't you?"

S: "Earnestness is one of the first qualities people tend to throw away when faced with hardship. It is impressive to see how you've progressed through your poverty and discrimination so aptly. Perhaps you have a hope that things will get better?" Razor's mouth spreads in a wicked smile, "I do enjoy seeing how people struggle for such a small glimmer of light. I think I'll offer my aid."

F: "Ah, it's always cute to see people play at royalty," Razor smiles at F's exasperated face, "Why do you seem so angry? Do you actually believe your position has meaning? I'll assure you it doesn't," Razor casts a darkening stare towards the royal, "To me, you're no harder to kill than a beggar on the street. The power you attempt to flaunt means nothing, because in the end it does nothing to elevate you beyond a simple street urchin."

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End

Thank ya for the ask!

#romance options #triaina academy #parents #mc background