#I'm not explaining futher

[catthethird]

There are two types of things I never want to relate to.

1. Dostoevsky's writing

2. Freud's theory

[cosmicluvcore]

To be human part 2

Rottmnt Leo x reader, gender neutral, friends to lovers, himbo Leo (?), one sided pining

Part 1 here, Part 3

Summary: Leo has the biggest crush on you but he's afraid that you'd never date a mutant, so with the help of a clooking broach he plans to become your perfect human boyfriend!

☆

Idk if you can tell but this is kinda Aladdin inspired

Also I wasn't sure abt posting this since it has no Y/N interactions umm so sorry if you're dissapointed

I promise the next one will have fluffy moments between Y/N and Leo!! Sorry this is short

Tag list!!

@lunaflyer @wings-of-sapphire @ssak-i @nessarolla-in-constant-flux @envyjmoney

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

"¿Qué hice para merecer esto?" Is what the disgruntled Señor Hueso muttered under his breath, as he watched Leo come crashing into his restaurant.

Of all the times that mutant decides to show up, it had to be on a good day. A loud sigh left the skeleton's mouth as he watched the turtle bump into one of his waiters, knocking all the dishes out of her hand.

"Señor! Señor!" Leo called out eagerly as he approached, "I have a really, really important request and you have to-"

He was interrupted by Hueso placing his hand up, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

"Instead of disturbing my guests, Pepino, let's talk in the staff room."

~

Leo was still wiping spilled spaghetti off himself as he spoke. Amazingly, that didn't stop his excited flow.

"Señor, bone head, buddy! Long time no see, right?" Leo asked in an overly friendly manner, offering Hueso a hand.

Hueso glanced at his hand, which had marinara sauce on it, before glancing back at Leo with an unimpressed expression.

"Uf hijo, did you just come here to cause trouble?" He asked rather bluntly.

Leo chuckled to himself, "Of course not! I just came here for a little... help."

"Help?" Hueso repeated, tilting his head as he watched Leo's over excited behavior.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me get my hands on a cloaking brooch." He explained briefly while wiping away the bit of sauce that was on his shoulder.

"A cloaking brooch?" Hueso repeated raising his brow, "Why would you need one of those? I've seen you walk among humans like it's nothing."

"It's not for that."

Leo bit his lip unsure whether he should let the truth spill, no one knew of his little crush and he was afriad if he started talking about them he wouldn't know when to stop. So he took the easier route.

"It's for uh- You know... science." He lied, smiling awkwardly as if that made his reply more believable.

Señor Hueso simply shot him an unconvinced expression.

"Este idiota..." The skeleton muttered under his breath, "Why don't you just say why you really want it? It would save you from the embarrassment of lying to my face."

Yeah, Hueso wasn't buying it. Figures.

"Okay okay, I'll admit that wasn't my best performance," Leo said with a grin, although his trade mark smirk faded into a small frown as Hueso stared back at him with narrowed eyes.

"Truth is I'm trying to impress someone..." He admitted quietly, his gaze darting to the ground, while he fidgeted with his hands sheepishly.

Hueso blinked in surprise at the turtles sudden shyness, "Trying to impress someone?" He repeated curiously, looking back to the blushing turtle for futher confimration.

Leo bit his lip, his heart fluttering at the thought of them, "A human." He confessed softly.

"I've never felt this way about anyone before, they're just perfect in every way!" He explained brightly, though his happy expression faultered, "But, I don't think they'd be interested in, this whole situation." He frowned, gesturing to himself.

Hueso nodded slowly as he listened, "I see," He hummed in reply, looking thoughtful as he considered Leo's situation for a moment, "So you want to pretend to be human and lie to them?"

Leo frowned at the skeletons blutness, "It's not a lie! I'm just... bending... the truth," He said, his brow furrowing as he spoke.

Even he didn't believe himself this time.

"Alright it's kinda a lie, but what other chance do I have?"

"I don't know, tell them the truth?" Hueso retorted, Leo couldn't help but roll his eyes as he was lectured on the obvious answer, "If you really think this person is worth it, then you should be honest with them."

"The last thing I need to be is honest." The turtle insisted stubbornly, his expression souring at the idea of even attemping to tell his crush how he felt.

Leo hated to picture it, he hated that he knew his voice would tremble as he would try his best to convey to them how deeply he felt.

He hated how he knew he would stammer over his words as he scrambled to find the best way to express his feelings.

And then he would have to wait impatiently for their reply, fearing the worst, after this new discovery.

Not like he could blame Y/N.

Who wouldn't turn down a nervous idiot? And why would anyone ever be interested in someone who looks like him?

"I don't want to risk losing them." Leo finally said, sighing before meeting Hueso gaze again with a serious expression.

"Look, all I need is a brooch. I just want a chance to be with them and make them happy. Please, Señor?"

As Hueso watched Leo's sad expression he was still unsure how to reply, he knew this was an awful idea yet Leo seemed so attached to it. The puppy dog eyes that the blue masked turtle was giving him eventually casused a defeated sigh escape Hueso's mouth.

"Fine, I have a spare somewhere around here," Hueso muttered reluctantly, too tired to keep pushing, turning to his desk and opening a drawer, "Just don't blame me when things go terribly wrong."

Leo's expression immediately brightened.

"Really?!" He leaned over Señor Hueso's shoulder, eagerly watching as the skeleton searched.

Eventually, Hueso found it, a gold gemstone-adorned brooch.

As Leo looked at the badazzled brooch, excitement began to bubble in his chest, the glamorous item really did make this whole situation seem a lot cooler. This was his key to being Y/N's perfect romantic partner, something he'd dreamed of for far too long that was now finally a possibility. His heart soared at the thought.

"Here," Hueso said, handing him the brooch, "Try not to get spaghetti on it, Pepino."

Leo was practically vibrating with excitement as the brooch was placed into his hands. He nodded at Hueso's words despite not really hearing them.

"Thanks Señor! I can keep this right?" He asked.

"Just don't damage it." Hueso warned in reply, "If you do, it could stop-"

But before he got the chance to finish his words, Leo had disappeared into another blue portal.

"-working..."

[jpitha]

The Dreams of Hyacinth (redux) Preview

This is a preview of a future chapter of my redo of Dreams of Hyacinth. Long time readers will remember this as the serial I started right after Just a Little Futher ended. I liked a lot of it, but I didn't like the direction it took. It felt too much like a redo of the same basical story of JaLF. I'm going to start it over - posting it here and to Reddit - with a lot of the original intact, but changes keeping it to High Mars Hyacinth, more of a cyberpunky feel I was going for originally and less Nanite/Galaxy Domination Stuff. This is a preview somewhere in the middle. Nicholas North is separated from Eastern Standard his partner and is trying to escape... something :)

****

Nick made his way up the stairs, out of the transit station, trying to look inconspicuous. Just another commuter going to work right? Nothing strange about that. He tried to ignore his headache. It wasn't working.

Out in public, the scars on the back of his neck, hidden under his collar itched. All of his implants were colored to look like skin, and the blending was admirable, but he still felt exposed walking around. He seemed to have lost Houndstooth forces for now, but who knows how long before he'd be noticed again. For the fifth time he checked his camera hacks. It looked like the code Queenie copied for him worke; when he peered in on the camera lines, he didn't see himself. He couldn't be invisible, that would have been too obvious. Instead he had replaced himself with a composite based off of a bunch of media he had downloaded two nights ago. He looked generically male shaped, generically handsome and generically dressed.

The very illegal submachine gun strapped to his back under his coat, and the very very illegal crystal memory cube in his belt pack weighed heavily and reminded him that he was not very generic at all.

He went to a coffee cart and got a flat white. He wasn't really thirsty, but a coffee would give his hands something to do while he walked, so he didn't fidget. Cradling the hot coffee in both hands to warm them - Hyacinth was a controlled environment, but it was also old enough that they adjusted the temperature for Earth based seasons. It was 'winter' and while nobody would die of exposure on Hyacinth, it was still colder than Nick preferred. It never got this cold on Parvati.

As Nick walked around Congregation Square trying to look inconspicuous and hide from Houndstooth, he sat down on a bench - leaning forward a little so the gun didn't hit the back of the bench - across from a merchant. They sold beverages of all different kinds, human, k'laxi, Sef, and others. People were walking in and out carrying small paper bags. Maybe he'd gotten away with it. Maybe he'd actually lost them.

Far in the distance a siren started. It had a piercing, long wail. It was mechanical, or made to sound mechanical. As soon as it started, others joined in, making a massive minor chord wall of sound. It was loud, it was worrying. It was meant to be. Nick wasn't the only one who didn't know what it meant, but he was probably one of the only people in Congregation who could query a KB real-time and ask what it was.

Spin Alarm, was what came back. Details, he thought.

The KB began to rattle of a canned explanation. When Hyacinth was so old that it was built before gravity manipulation. To get around that small detail, originally the Orbital spun, so that centripetal force made ersatz gravity. It wasn't gravity, and didn't feel like it, but it was better than nothing. There was a link to a raft of very old welcome articles that explained how to deal with centripetal force and what to do about nausea and how most people got over it within the first week of arrival. As soon as humans learned how to manipulate gravity, Hyacinth was spun down and remained stationary.

That didn't mean the spin engines were removed however.

They could pivot and move in nearly every direction. On the rare occasions that Hyacinth needed to change position or orbit, they could be repurposed. Plus, it was expensive to remove them, and Houndstooth wouldn't spend that kind of money unless they had a good reason.

Just as they were designed to do nearly a thousand years ago, the spin engines on High Mars Hyacinth fired. Being a cylinder sixty miles by twenty meant that - at first - other than a low rumble and a jolt, there was no change. After a minute or two though, Nick looked up and saw the stars start to move. The ever present crescent of Mars below started to move out of the current glass panel and into the next.

Human balance is sensitive. K'laxi is more, but he wasn't around any at the time. As soon as the spin started, Nick felt weird. It was like that carnival ride he rode when he visited that fair on Parvati with his parents when he was small. His inner ear began to argue with his eyes about where 'up' was. He looked down at his coffee, and the liquid in the cup began to slosh oddly, and very slightly start to lean to one side. If it was happening this fast, then the spin engines were thrusting hard. As hard as a Starjumper maybe. Nick queried the KB again and it helpfully mentioned that they could thrust at up to ten gees on when set to Emergency Stop. Nick didn't think there was an Emergency Start, but who knows. The KB wasn't sure either.

In the time it took Nick to query the KB, things got worse. People started to stagger, and some fell to their knees. A K'laxi wearing an embassy uniform fell to their knees and vomited. After, they began a keening wail that Nick had never come out of a K'laxi's mouth before. They were clearly in distress. Nick stood to try and help them, but was overcome with waves of dizziness and his own nausea. He sat down hard on the ground and laid on his back. That made it better.

"Nick! Nick!" His comm chirruped. "Nick, I got it!" It was Eastern.

"Eastern? Where are you? I thought Jameson had you."

"He did. I talked my way out."

Even this uncomfortable, Nick felt incredulous. "Tell me later. Someone is spinning Hyacinth up, are you safe?"

"Safe? Sure I'm safe. I'm in the Basement."

The illegal moving bazaar in the underground maintenance tunnels? "How are you able to reach me on comm? The Basement usually has a comm block."

"Well for one, I'm using your implant line instead of your comm line." She said "And for two, I have root, so I was able to go around the block."

Root? How did she... No, another thing for later. "Well, can you tell who turned on the spin engines? Everyone down here in Congregation is doing poorly. Most everyone is laying on the ground, waiting for the world to stop moving." Nick also didn't mention that they were all starting to feel heavier too. The spin engines were designed to spin Hyacinth up to one gee equivalent, but the gravity generators had already had everything up to a gee. If the engines continued, everyone would feel two gees, and while that's survivable by k'laxi, it won't be without injury if they fall wrong. For the humans it will be mightily unpleasant.

"Millisec, I'll see." A pause. "Nick, it looks like the command was sent from the Houndstooth Command Center. They turned it on themselves!"

What? It was their station, of course they had access to "Why?" Nick said aloud.

"The orders don't say, but I'll give you two guesses."

As soon as Eastern had finished transmitting, Nick heard a rhythmic clanking. He turned his head, and fighting waves of nausea he saw three Houndstooth 'customer protection technicians' in powered armor clomp around the square. They had blackened visors, and their rifles were in their hands. As they walked they looked over everyone as a mini drone hovered behind. Nick could feel it scanning, but it hadn't reached him yet. They turned on the spin to make everyone stop moving, so they could find someone! Talk about overkill. The gun on Nick's back itched. If they scanned and caught it, he was dead - and that was one of the more positive outcomes. Nick had to be somewhere else, now. If he got to his feet though, he'd give himself away to the CPTs. "Eastern! I've got CPTs nearby. They have a drone and it's scanning people." he thought over the comm.

"Already? Fuck. Nick, they must have knew where you were and were just trying to hold you. Talk about overkill though."

"Later, Eastern! What do I do?"

"You have your sub right? You could shoot your way out." She could feel Nick's expression over the comm and quickly said "kidding, kidding. Hold please." While Nick waited, he dared not look at the CPTs clomping around, but he could hear the whine of their servos and the thump of their boots as they moved and stopped, and moved and stopped. It seemed like they were checking everyone. If they knew he was here, why didn't they just come towards him?

Because his hack had worked, he realized. He'll have to thank Queenie later - if he survives. He heard more of that odd keening wail from k'laxi further away from him, and that caught the attention of the CPTs. They walked over to check them out. Nick couldn't believe they were checking out of concern, but that did mean he was right to not make his image on the cameras to be k'laxi.

There was a commotion from the k'laxi, and a odd shout, and then the CPTs yelled and started chattering among themselves. Before Nick could figure out what was going on, there was a deep thump, and he felt a shockwave. Had one of the k'laxi thrown a grenade? Nick knew that their civil war was ongoing, and that there were reports on the news of it being very brutal, but he had no idea that the war had come to Hyacinth. By the alarmed sounds of the CPTs, they hadn't realized it either. One of them had triggered their assistance siren, and the other's suit was yelling 'medic! medic! medic!' over and over again.

"psst!" Nick turned his head, pushed down the wave of dizziness that accompanied it, and saw a gardening robot peer out from underneath a large potted tree. "Get over here!" It was speaking in Eastern's voice.

Without checking to see if the CPTs were busy, Nick half rolled, half undulated towards the opening under the tree. Without grace, he felt down the hatch and landed on his back a couple meters down, knocking the breath out of him. Now, he was dizzy from the centripetal force and the fall. Coughing, he tried to sit up and push past the dizziness. Next to him was a gardening cart, and the little bot was waving a small spade from the front. "Taxi's here Nick! Get your rear in gear!"

He pushed himself to his hands and knees and flopped onto the cart. With an electric whine and a strong smell of ozone, it started to move away - slower because of the high gravity.

Nick kept his eyes shut. It was easier that way. "Eastern, one, thank you for the rescue. Two, where are we going?"

"You're welcome Nicholas North, and I'm taking you to the Basement. I've got some friends down here and they can help."

"Were these the same "friends" that let you get into Houndstooth CIC? How did you know what they were doing?" Nick's voice warbled as the car raced over bumps and gaps in the paneling.

"I told you Nick, I had root. Don't worry about it. You'll be here soon and we can work out next steps. You have the memory crystal?" Eastern sounded distracted.

She was deflecting. "Yes, I have it." Nick didn't say anything else, but a knot grew in his stomach. Eastern was doing things she shouldn't be able to do, and none of her answers about why she could do that were satisfying.

[scummy-writes]

I'm beginning the process of showcasing W.I.P.s that I've been wanting to finish forever, however time has passed by to where these have gathered dust for a year or more, ensuring they'll never be finished. But I still love the ideas and the varying levels of effort that went into them, so I've decided to show what has been written coupled with author notes to explain the idea futher and the thought process alongside it.

Rating: General

Ship: Isaac/Arthur. It's there but you can squint it away.

Document Title: 'Isaac arthur beta'

『• • • ✎ • • •』

Settled on Arthur's lounge, legs thrown over the writer's, Isaac read over the latest manuscript Arthur had completed. 

While the writer's thumbs drumming on his knees wasn't enough to break his immersion, beginning a new page and meeting Arthur's gaze briefly was. 

Isaac honestly had no idea why Arthur wanted his opinion so badly. He wasn't one to casually read fiction, mind too preoccupied with whatever he was researching at the moment, but once the two of them became entangled and slowly opening up, Isaac became one of Arthur's few early readers.

Once he finished the new short story, he folded the papers in his lap, fiddling with the corners.

"Well?" Arthur's tapping on his knees stopped, his tone breezy as he gave Isaac a smile.

This was another reason Isaac was so unsure why Arthur asked him to do this: compliments from Isaac were always so awkward, and often sounded…poorly. No matter the intentions he had.

"It was...Good. The quality hasn't gone down."

"Well, I sure hope it hasn't!" Arthur laughed, using Isaac's knees to prop an elbow on, "Go on, then."

"Go on?"

"Were you able to visualize everything?"

"I don't understand why you ask me that every time-"

"Humor me?"Isaac sighed, meeting his boyfriend's playful grin with a frown, "yes, I was able to visualize everything."

『• • • ✎ • • •』

Notes:

Back in 2020, I ended up writing a lot of Isaac/Arthur, or a lot of Isaac/Mc/Arthur. So much so that I have an abandoned series centered around the three of them getting together. And back then my primary writing was, usually, smut unlike nowadays. But I liked imagining a lot of the quiet moments they could have, or just friendly moments that weren't entirely focused on shipping or sex or anything similar. Just pretty mundane.

This resulted in me wanting to write a good chunk about how Isaac, and others, did in fact enjoy Arthur's writing - then this later got confirmed by Cybird in a later event or route.

I lost steam on this piece, but it was going to highlight how Isaac rarely showcases his thoughts regarding creative works. He has a history of being unable to share his research, or struggling to do so, due to past experiences, so i ran to the conclusion that for his personal takes on creative pieces, especially onces he himself had no part in, he would struggle to find the words.

Arthur is already famous as a writer, but I think he'd give peeks of early versions to those interested in the mansion. Most of his escapism attitudes result in drinking or sleeping around, but I think he would cave towards sharing his work early as another - healthier - way to tap into the old joys of creating again; to see how people reacted when reading it. (We do get hints of this in various events or routes, but this is just a headcanon to me).

This was going to roll into Isaac being grumbly over why his opinion was so important, but Arthur just wanted an excuse to spend time with someone else - while also enjoying watching someone read his work favorably. Plus, I think he'd have a fun time forcin Isaac to use his 'words'.

It ties into another scrapped piece I have about Arthur having writers block, and lamenting it Loudly to the point of other mansion residents raising complaints or trying to annoyingly help him out - before kicking him out of their rooms and leaving him for Theo to deal with.

[flashymoa]

No More Please- Sick Soobin (ft BTS Jin)

Part 2

Link to Part 1->

Sickie: Soobin

Content: fever, vomit/emeto, fever hallucinations, ignorance, hospitals, lots of angst and fluff, a little bit of BTS caring mainly Jin (this is after summing up all the parts)

A little recap of previous part and let's continue~

"What is your problem seriously, why are you so careless?! Does our time or schedule have no value to you?!! This is not expected from a leader."

Soobin tried so hard to hold back his tears. Nothing was going well. First he didn't feel well, his ears were ringing and now everyone was angry at him. Could it be any worse?

Soobin held back his tears, as he tried to explain. "I'm so sorry, hyung. I felt so sick-" before he could go any futher Yeonjun rolled his eyes and said, "Such a drama queen. Now that you can't do anything properly, you're pretending to be sick. What more stories are you gonna tell? You have fever, you threw up etc etc? Huh?!"

Soobin felt betrayed. Even Taehyun was taken aback at this point. He saw Soobin hanging his head low, shoulders tense the whole time Yeonjun was giving him a lecture. Taehyun couldn't just stand and watch. He turned to Yeonjun, "hyung, please stop. I think you're crossing the limits. Soobin hyung isn't like that."

Of course Yeonjun wasn't buying that. He glared at Taehyun and Taehyun gulped in fear. No one dared to speak over Yeonjun, the eldest. Moreover, Beomgyu was on Yeonjun's side. Kai wasn't present and only Taehyun wanted to argue to defend the leader; and Soobin, well he was just trying to find ways to make the situation better.

Finally, Soobin cut off the silence, "Let's start the practice." No one said anything and the dance practice started. Soobin felt exhausted when the practice hadn't even fully started yet. It was just doing warm-ups. But he felt miserable. His stomach was cramping and he felt heavy. Not to mention he was sweating bullets without even doing much workout. But he pushed himself. Because no one was ready to even listen to him.

____________________________

1 hour passed. As much as Soobin wanted, he couldn't ask for a break because he knew exactly what would happen if he did. Everyone would get angry at him again.

Soobin tried, he really tried hard to go on with the flow. But no matter what he did, he kept messing things up. The dance instructor had warned him a few times already. Not to mention Yeonjun and Beomgyu's constant flares. Taehyun didn't glare, his expression was something Soobin couldn't quite make out.

"Soobin what's wrong with you today? I've lost count of how many times you've made mistakes!" their dance instructor yelled.

"I'm sorry, I'll try more." Soobin muttered in a low voice. Yeonjun became even more annoyed at this. "Yah! Can't you even speak properly?!"

"I'm sorry, I'll do better," Soobin repeated himself, speaking clearly this time. Soobin was getting frustrated at himself. Why couldn't he get things right? He felt like crying but he couldn't cry; he could only look at his members like a pathetic, trying to find a little comfort which he couldn't find. His members didn't have any sympathetic or loving gazes towards him at that moment. He felt miserable.

Another few hours passed. Soobin was barely surviving. The music was playing, and he was dancing totally relying on muscle memory. He felt so hot, sticky and heavy. His stomach was aching more than he could withstand without groaning. At one point he felt like passing out, he wanted to at least sit down.

Soobin knew neither his members nor the dance instructor would let him take a break. But his body couldn't take it anymore as he sat down in the middle of the choreo, breathing heavily with eyes closed. He felt like throwing up.

Before anyone could utter a word or yell at him, he spoke up, "I n-need a break. J-just 5 minutes please." He trying his best not to stutter. He didn't want to be labelled again as a drama queen.

"You can't be serious right now Soobin, we just had a break an hour ago!" Yeonjun yelled.

Soobin didn't say anything, he got up and said, "I'll be back." He walked normally while exiting the practice room because he had to act like he was fine. Because everytime he wanted to say he wasn't feeling okay, or showed any signs of weakness, he'd be yelled at. He had no choice but to act normal in front of them.

They were 5 people who trusted each other like family, yet Soobin didn't know why he felt so lonely right now, when he needed their comfort the most. He felt like he was alone, struggling to do things properly.

As soon as he exited the practice room he was limping, clutching his stomach. As he made his way to the bathroom, at one point he didn't know if he could make it to the bathroom anymore. His stomach was churning painfully, his body felt so heavy he thought either he'd throw up on the floor right then or pass out. He took deep breaths to calm down, nothing was working. His world was swirling, even walking straight felt like an extremely hard task.

Soobin finally reached the washroom which he thought he wouldn't be able to make it. As soon as he got himself into a stall, he collapsed in front of the toilet, retching and vomiting violently. He squeezed his eyes and clutched his stomach in pain. He gagged and choked as his eyes widened. He coughed, and heaved again and again. Everything hurt. He started crying at some point.

When he finally finished, he slumped against the wall, closing his eyes, his breathing unstable and shaky. He had no energy left. He was sure he had a fever now, the weird stickiness and chills definitely indicated fever.

Soobin needed help, he wanted to call someone to help him but who? Everyone was mad at him, no one cared. Not a single one of his members cared. He felt so lonely. He thought of calling Kai once but immediately thought against it as the maknae was already sick and resting at home. That's when Soobin heard his phone ringing, 'Yeonjun Hyung' it read.

Should he pick it up?

After arguing with himself a thousand times, he picked it up. Soobin was so weak he didn't even have the energy to say hello or hold the phone to his ears. He put it on speaker and let it fall onto his lap.

Yelling was the first thing he heard. "CHOI SOOBIN! WHERE ARE YOU?! DO YOU KNOW AFTER SAYING 5 MINUTES HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPENT?!! HUH?!" it was Yeonjun. Much expected.

But Soobin didn't expect Beomgyu, who was younger than him, to yell at him too. "HYUNG WHY ARE YOU SO CARELESS? DO YOU EVEN HAVE ANY SHAMNE THAT THE WHOLE GROUP IS LAGGING BEHIND BECAUSE OF YOU?" As bad as Soobin felt because of sickness, he felt even worse to be treated like this by his own members. Endless tears were streaming down his face.

Taehyun was speaking now. They probably put the phone on speaker and now everyone was taking turns in scolding him.

"Hyung are you oka-" Soobin hung up. He didn't want to hear it anymore. He was so sick of being scolded. He didn't even know he was sobbing loudly until someone knocked on the door. He didn't answer, he knew it was Yeonjun. He hugged his knees and buried his head over it. He didn't want to be yelled at again.

Someone pushed open the door as it wasn't locked. Soobin thought it would be one of his angry members. He heard someone gasp. "Omg Soobin! Is that you?"

He felt someone placing their hand on his shoulder but he slapped it right away, sobbing even harder, "N-no m-more Please. No m-more- s-scolds."

He took a shaky breath. He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder again, "Soobin! Listen to me," Soobin slapped it away with all the energy he had, "NO!" He was stuttering badly. "Pl-please s-stop- scolding. I-I c-can't take it an-anymore." He was hyperventilating at this point. All of a sudden, his stomach turned as he lurched forward with gag, vomit pouring on his lap as he couldn't make it to the toilet bowl. He heaved again as Jin held him to keep him away from his own mess which didn't help much since Soobin had already vomited on his pants. "I-I'm s-sorry. I'm so sorry p-please d-don't yell." He was a crying, sobbing mess, traumatized in one word.

Soobin didn't know who the person was but that person didn't scold him, rather handed him with such gentle hands, rubbing his back and telling him it's going to be okay. He wanted warmth and this person's warmth pulled him close, making him relax as he was felt like he was freezing.

It was Jin from BTS. He was shocked to see Soobin like that. But before anything, he needed to help the younger out. He cradled Soobin in his arms, gently stroking his sweaty hair and giving back rubs. He could feel the intense heat rading from the younger, indicating the poor boy had a pretty high fever.

After Jin coaxing Soobin for a while, he had stopped crying but still violently shivering and slurring in a feverish delirium. Jin was so sure Soobin was mistreated either by his members, or the manager and whoever had done this to Soobin, he wasn't going to let them go so easily.

____________________________

1688 words.

Karma waiting in the next part🤧

[the-life-of-a-herm]

Could you explain how someone with PCOS AFAB could be transfem based on your views of the ATIB model? /Gen

Hey anon! So happy to get ATIB questions, I have a few in the ask box but I got really overwhelmed on this account so I took a break.

I will answer your question based on what I think you're trying to say, which is an intersex person with PCOS being transfem because they have PCOS.

This definitely is a more "atypically trans" experience, as some might call it, so I'm going to try my best to respond to this with a lot of care.

Transfems with PCOS could be:

• People who had hyperandrogenism and feel forced into the "Other" category by society, much like a lot of other intersex people

• Have CAH instead, since it's often misdiagnosed as PCOS, and have a whole slew of genderqueer experiences relating to that

• Have been reassigned as male when seemingly going through the "wrong" puberty due to hyperandrogenism

etc

.

As to how this fits into ATIB, I think it fits in just like anything else. The fact some of the community would view them as not "transcending" the gender barrier enough, despite how they absolutely could have trans experiences, means these types of people would be harmed by it.

Transfems with PCOS can go through the same experiences as any other intersex person who has a "weird" transfem experience that are 'more accepted' by perisex induviduals, the only difference is people tend to view pwPCOS as intersex-lite and offen erase their experiences.

I view being trans as an experience that everyone will experience differently and on different levels. I cannot speak for every transfem with PCOS ever, but the way I see it is they could have a bajillion different genderqueer experiences from being intersex that they feel innately relate to their gender and that they choose to label as trans, and to anyone who does I support them fully.

I am unsure on how to futher elaborate on my point here, because to me I really don't wanna push hypotheticals because I don't want people thinking people who aren't mentioned aren't valid or that they deserve an explanation from every atypical transfem out there.

I think we should let these people live freely without need for explaination unless they want to delve further into it, otherwise ATIB will simply just evolve into faux inclusion of intersex people.

Anyways, yea. I think there could be many reasons for somebody to be an intersex transfem because of their PCOS, & I think it ties into ATIB the same as any other intersex identity.

[levwrites]

love your writing! i have a prompt but feel free to ignore if u want :)) a villain finds an incapacitated hero in an alleyway and decides to use their weakened state to their advantage (also want to clarify that this isn’t noncon!!) thank u so much for your amazing writing <3

"There you are, my dear."

Hero shivers at the voice, recognition shaking them out of the light daze they've fallen into. They try to crawl futher into the shadows, their limbs trembling, but their body refuses to respond to the simpler commands. They can only watch as Villain approaches, his head slightly tilted to the side, an intrigued smile curving his lips.

He halts just a step from them, and crouches to take a better look. "Still drugged, are we?" He reaches out to brush a lock of hair away from Hero's forehead. His touch is pleasantly warm against their chilly skin. "You were never any good at fighting off toxins."

Swallowing, Hero looks up at him and wills their tongue and lips to move: "What... do you want?" The effort of talking leaves them breathing hard. But they know Villain wasn't involved in this butched operation, so what does he want now? He shouldn't even be here.

"Don't strain yourself," Villain immediately chides. His hands move to Hero's shoulders and carefully turn them on their side. Nimble fingers slide down to their wrists and start restraining them behind their back. "I'll do the talking, mh? I'm taking you."

Another shiver goes down Hero's spine. They don't know if it's the toxins or something different. "Why?" Struggling is useless, they can barely move on their own - why is Villain even restraining them? Still, they try.

A firm hand on their nape immediately halts those attempts. Villain clicks his tongue and pulls them into a sitting position, dark eyes narrowing in displeasure. "I told you to relax." He reaches into a pocket and takes out a small darkened vial. "Antitoxin," he explains, unscrewing it and bringing it up to Hero's lips. "Come on."

Hero searches his expression, what little of it they can see, and slowly breathes out. "Why?" they ask again, voice firmer this time. They don't have such a tight relationship with Villain that he'd go out of his way to help - they bedded each other only once, and they doubt Villain got attached. It doesn't sound like him.

With a slight huff, Villain taps the vial against Hero's bottom lip. "I'm taking you to your lover," he explains, rolling his eyes in the face of Hero's stark surprise. "Yes, of course I know. They're going to put you back on your feet, and they will owe me." A smile, a flash of teeth. "Everyone wins, mh?"

Oh. Hero... relaxes. Alright then. They drink down the contents of the vial. Immedialy their whole body starts to tingle as the toxins are banished from their blood. With a relieved sigh they curl their fingers and toes, testing how quickly the antitoxin is working. Now they understand why Villain has restrained them.

Instead of trying to fight and get free, they go almost limp against Villain's body. He is much warmer than he has any right to be, and it eases some more tension out of their body. "Thank you," they murmur, looking up at him with a glint in their eyes. "Now take me home, please."

Thank you for reading and thank you for the prompt!

If you have requests or prompts don't hesitate to send in an ask, I've been posting more sparsely but I'm planning to get back to once a day (or so) soon.

[cillianmurphysdimples]

I am the parent of two autistic children. Neither has an EHCP at this time and they both attened a local mainstream school, the same school they have been attended since pre-school nursery.

With my eldest child, the school has been a phenomenal place of support. As his mother, and from the outside looking in as a stranger, with my oldest you will see supportive practices, honouring of his difficulties and differences, and adaptations such as communication cards to ask for things due to selective mutism. They provided an emotional support course, involving a dog, which worked on building up his ability to confidently use his voice around others and authoritatively. They have been supportive and communicated well with me during a recent 10 day absence and couldn't have been more willing to do whatever he needed to return to school.

For my youngest, though, who's behaviours are sometimes a little more difficult to manage than his brothers, this school fails at some many hurdles. From his first day at nursery, where he was shouted at by a staff member and was observed cowering and crying, to the time our SENCo caused so much home upset with a lie she told that he refused to attend school for an entire week because he was led to believe that 'everybody says I'm bad'. I requested, before the summer, that either I, or the SEN budget allocations, provided a Dizzy Fish spinner for him for school as a regulation tool. We use this at home and he spends a lot of time getting the vestibular input he needs from this tool. The SENCo was all for this, and when I said I would pay she made references herself to looking at it along the SEN budget. I received no futher communication from her at all regarding this and since school has started, she has spoken to an advocate (still not me) where she has apparently told them that the school cannot provide a "SEN provision for just one child".

Why not? There's a *£6,000 SEN budget per child with identified SEN needs each year to each school in England. I'm asking for £100 of that for a fucking spinning chair. I even said I'd pay for it myself and provide it. So why can't that be done? What's £100 in a budget of *£6,000 per child (they have AT LEAST 30 children identified with SEN requirements and so they that budget at least 30 times)?!

Outside looking in? He's a handful and he's just "naughty" and they don't see a point. As his mum? They've taken a dislike to me and it's a punishment being handed down on my more "difficult" child just to piss me off.

Can someone explain this to me, like I'm a five year old, because I fail to see what the fucking problem is?!

(*£6,000 according to my last awareness of the budget allocations)

[zenphiaaa]

Vulnerable (Ushijma Wakatoshi)

Friends to Lovers Arc Gen!Reader

You found yourself staring blankly at the man standing in front of you. You watched as his face slowly started to turn red before he ducked his head down. You suppose that was your cue to respond but, you just didn't know how to. You never once suspected that one of your close friends had feelings for you, much less expected them to confess to your face.

You never once thought of him that way and you were sure he felt the same. But as you stared at the male in front of you, who was acting bashful, you knew you didn't want to hurt him. But did you even feel the same way? You couldn't tell in the moment.

"You don't feel the same." Ushijma stated as a few more seconds had past and you continued to stare at him like some sort of alien. "You don't have to. Our friendship means the world to me, I just wnated to let you know that someone loves you like that. I wanted to tell you, but I'm not expecting anything from you." Ushijma spoke in a soft tone. "Nothing has to chnage. I didn't confess for things to be awkward."

You bit your lip as thoughts flooded your head. You knew what Ushijma was saying was ture. He wouldn't put you in a situtation where you would be uncomforable. You wondered how long he has felt this way.

"it's not awkard I just," You finally found your voice as you struggled to speak your thoughts. "Feelings change so fast, are you sure?" As soon as those words left your mouth you wanted to slap yourself. "I didn't mean to question your feelings! I just um..." You wanted to die in a hole.

"It's okay." Ushjima says, taking your hand into his as he gently rubs your knuckles as a source of comfort. "I understand why your anxious. Let's just forget about it, I didn't mean to send you panicking."

You quickly shake your head and grasp his hand into yours futher. "I'm not sure how I feel about romance itself so I never gave it a second thought. I'm not evens ure if its something I want." You quietly shared.

A few beats of silence past before Ushijima spoke up, "Then how do you feel right now? Knowing I have these feeling for you?" The male questioned, eyes on how your hands were still clutching each other tightly.

"I..I'm not sure, but I don't feel uncomforable. Just nervous."

Ushijma hummed, "Do you remember that manga you showed me a few days ago? Where the characters come up with that plan?" The male's face srunched in thought as he tried to better verbalize his words.

"You mean, fake dating?" You asked confused.

Ushijma shook his head, "Not quite, if your really not sure about this, why don't we have a trial run of sorts? I am confient in my feelings for you. And if you would let me, I would be honored to treat you how you should. Even if it doesn't end up with us together. At the end of the day, I only wish you happiness."

Your heart thumped in your chest as you carefully took in his words. You knew Ushijima would never hurt or force you to do something you didn't. He was giving you an out as well as a chance to explore your feelings. Was it really okay though? It felt like your were playing with his feelings if you both went down this path and turned up empty handed.

You just didn't want to hurt him. He didn't deseve it.

"Let's go on a date after classes. I don't have to be a practice until much later. We could have lunch, just a trial date." Ushijma explained, now lacing your hands together.

Your face heated up as you noticed yourself playing with his hand. With a deep breathe you slowly nodded your head watching as Ushijma's eyes lit up in happiness. "Sure." You replied, you hoped that your feelings would soon come clear to you.

Your heart just had to catch up.

[ask-the-tf2-mercs]

Engineer! Fords or Chevrolets. What side are you on. I'm an open book.

Engineer: Fords. Ain't no one gonna change my mind, and I'm not gonna explain futher.

[trojanprinceaeneas]

Transing your gender in DnD

Most of this rambling comes from thinking about how trans people exist in Baldur's Gate and in DnD logistically speaking. Like yeah you can use disguise self but I'm all about the aesthetics baby! HRT can easily be explained via alchemy. If there's a potion that makes you invisible, there's a potion that definitly acts as HRT. Hell, estrogen and mtf hrt is usually taken by mouth. There is testosterone gels you rub into your skin. Potion of Masculinity/Femininity/Androgeny. It's so easy.

Surgery was something I thought about a little futher. Again, yeah, I'm sure you can use magic to poof your unwanted body parts into the astral plane but personally! I love top surgry scars. I love my top surgery scars and I wouldn't be me without them. I'm sure theres some wizard doctor out there that probably does crazy body mod surgeries for fun. I may or may not be making a DnD OC that reflects this. But if we got people who can LITERALLY RAISE THE DEAD, I'm sure there's SOME wizard out there who's willing to do some wizard bottom surgery. Anyways! Be transgender!

[bthump]

How much do you think authorial intent matters in analyzing Berserk? Because I've seen your post on Charlotte and how you interpret her sex with Griffith as consensual because Miura usually does a good job portraying sexual trauma, and sex scene tropes in media are usually dodgy while being intended to be consensual. I always have a hard time with this way of thinking because it doesn't change what objectively happened in the scene.

I actually differentiate between authorial intent and narrative intent to an extent. To me narrative framing matters the most. What Miura may have intended can be important inasmuch as he successfully conveyed it in the story, but I don't think his word is the final word on the story itself. If he gave an interview where he said he intended X, but I think the story conveyed Y, then Y is more important to my interpretation of the story.

So to use the Charlotte sex scene as an example, the biggest reason I read it as consensual (if psychologically fucked up to an extent) is because that's the narrative function of the sex. A rape scene would have a different impact on the story. The sex scene furthers Charlotte's love for Griffith, to her it's a contrast to her father's subsequent attempted assault, Charlotte has no misgivings about it, and the king doesn't accuse Griffith of rape but of theft from him. If it was intended to be a rape scene, it would be essentially nonsensical as a story beat and a bigger failure of writing imo.

And yeah, in addition to that there's the greater media context where a lot of sex that should be rape is treated as consensual.

But yeah I get what you mean about having a hard time viewing things that way. I find the terms watsonian and doylist helpful when discussing stuff like this in fandom, where watsonian refers to discussing characters and events as though they really exist, as though characters have agency and lives and make decisions, and doylist refers to taking account of the fiction of the universe, the knowledge that it's written by someone who has a point to convey and might have biases and make mistakes.

So on a watsonian level you can't really argue that it isn't rape because Charlotte says no. If it happened in real life, it would be rape, the end.

But on a doylist level it doesn't fit the story, and there are better ways to interpret that scene to suit the overall narrative better, which we can understand based on the various context clues I mentioned above.

When I discuss stuff I'm usually doing it on a doylist level because that's just how I roll lol, I enjoy analysing media as a construct created by people attempting to convey a meaning. To me, characters/setting/plot/etc are first and foremost tools to futher that meaning. But a lot of fandom is really into the watsonian level, which makes sense because that's where headcanons and fanfiction thrives, and it's a lot of fun to explore and speculate about the characters as though they're real people with real psychologies, to explain away plot holes and bad writing with in-universe explanations, etc.

It's totally cool to prefer one over the other imo! But yeah I think it's always good to differentiate between those different types of analysis, because they're trying to accomplish very different things, and to be aware of what level you're interpreting the story on. I find that it's really easy to get into discussions where people just talk past each other because one person is discussing the story as a fictional construct and the other is discussing it as if it's a real event that happened. It's how you get arguments like ''the depiction of this character is sexist because she's naked for no reason except to titilate the het male audience' 'there's totally a reason though, it's because she breathes through her skin!' or whatever lol.

Thanks for the ask! I like getting the opportunity to explain where I'm coming from when it comes to meta.

[astrunaria]

Throdia

"The Kingdom of Fools."

OH MY GOD. WE'RE HERE. FINALLY. THE THRODIA POST. This is my only rlly worldbuilt area in Arphene rn so thought might as well talk about it + literally most of my OCs come from here and their lore also ties in a little with Throdia's worldbuilding soo without futher ado...

Throdia on the map + Some screenshots from Howl's Moving Castle bc they're how I mentally visualise the landscape

Background Info

Demonym: Throdian/Throdiana

Throdia is well - known mainly for being rich in ores and mining resources; the country takes pride in that, knowing it's jewels are unlike any other in the world. Due to this prioritisation of riches, however, especially among higher class Throdians, it has earned the country the nickname of "The Kingdom of Fools".

History

Has heavily to do with The Burning and it houses the Tomb of Alexandria. For the full story, link below! (Don't forget to use code ASTRUNARIA for 50% discount)

Factions

Monarchy

The current King of Throdia is Astrophel the 3rd (29th ruler of Throdia). Queen Bedelia has already passed however, due to heavy bleeding after having given birth to the youngest princess.

Speaking of the princesses, there are 2.

Katheryne: The eldest and heir to the throne.

Cordelia: The youngest.

(Tbhh tempted to change this in the future)

Cornerstone Committee

Due to how the mining industry is the biggest one in Throdia, the economy is also rather defined around it, and so, Dacian the 2nd (7th ruler of Throdia) founded the Cornerstone Committee, a group of Throdia’s most notorious nobles heavily involved in this industry. The Cornerstone Committee, as suggested, mainly handles the economic affairs of Throdia, in association with the royal family.

The five current families that are members are:

The Antonescu Family: A new name that’s recently taken the old position of the Chavanne family, having quickly made a name for itself in the past few years.

The Gosselin Family: Another one of the more recent families that joined the Cornerstone Committee, having only been prominent for about 3 generations.

The Fontana Family

The Marini Family: The family that’s stuck around since the very start of the committee, that’s also the wealthiest family in Throdia. Their business tactics, that’ve been developed for centuries, are rather sought after by their enemies… but those tactics remain as mysterious as the family itself.

The Archambeau Family: The family that founded the Chevaliers.

Chevaliers

Tbh I'm lazy to repeat what I've already said so here's the link where I already explained the Chevaliers:

Capital City + Other Areas/Regions

Throdia City

The towering capital/main city of Throdia, built upon a mountain.

Amerton

One of the most prominent mining towns of Throdia, heavily “owned” by the Antonescu family. Also where the Antonescu family does most of it's business if it's not directly in Throdia City, due to it being next to Throdia city itself.

(Around a decade ago Kallen Antonescu brought out most of the mining resources so she basically owns the place now.)

Sonnelar

Located in a rather flat area of Throdia (tho with occasional hills), Sonnelar is a large-ish town wherein mostly middle class and higher middle class Throdians reside.

Also misc fun fact but I like to think that mfs from Sonnelar have posh british accents.

Misc Areas

Bulborn - Mining Town

Milder - Mining Town

Quanton

Creten

Beudelle Harbour

Carret (ignore how it says Cannes on the map, placholder name)

Misc Points of Interest

Winthrop

📍Throdia City, Throdia

The recently founded, well-renowned jewelry brand, currently only operating from one shop.

St. Briar’s Cathedral

📍Throdia City, Throdia

A cathedral dedicated to Aurelia, located around the middle class area of Throdia City. Named after a legend from the Burning (which I’ll write one day).

Coral Opera House

📍Throdia City, Throdia

A famous opera house near the upper class area of Throdia City, it’s architectural beauty being one of the highlights. One notable feature is it’s glass ceiling in the theatre area, natural lighting occasionally being used within a few performances (I like to think performances are set at oddly specific times because of how the lighting is at certain times of the day so it hits JUSSTT right for a specific scene).

Rapture

📍Amerton, Throdia

A disco venue located around the heart of Amerton.

Religion

Tbh maybe not the most important info but currently the majority of Throdians are Aurelia worshippers. Why? That leads to another lore post...

Festivals, Traditions and Holidays

Spring Soirée (Original name was Dégel Printanier Fête)

March 27 - April 3

A week-long celebration marking the beginning of the spring season, typically marked with parties (tbh haven't went too in depth on this one so I might in the future).

Native Species

Humans

Dragons

Beatuses (ALSO a topic to touch on in the future they're a fictional half human half dragon species I created)

Clothing

Still trying to improve my character designs so everyone can look more cunty but I was mostly inspired by the rococo period... then the Genshin Fontaine update dropped so guess which inspo also took over

honestly this isn't everything from my pinterest inspo board it got a bit chaotic over time 💀

Landscapes

I haven't worked too much on Throdia's landscapes actually (I'm not good at drawing them) but my main inspo for wildlife is just stills from Howl's Moving Castle because there's a lot of gorgeous looking mountains in that movie and for buildings it's a bit more messy

For a bit of an idea thought, here are a few of my picturs from Pinterest:

Honestly Barcelona could be main inspo it has some amazing building design

AAANNND I think that's everything! I'll prolly update this one over time too, to show how Throdia's developing but tysm for reading this entire time 😍😍

[honorarysimp]

Well, so in Uncanny Distortion, you turn Ghostface in this type of folklore, ya know (which I loved very much). Here in Brazil, we have a very rich folklore too, my favorites are Saci Perere, Curupira and Corpo Seco, I can explain each more futher if you want!

I really love this type of storyline, and it was so creative of you to make Ghostface like this, I could never think of something like this! So I think that's definitely one of the main reasons why I'm almost caving in and creating something, but I'm taking a break😭

-🐢

I am so curious to look it up but honestly I’d rather hear it from the source!! Tell me everything.

I grew up hearing about American folklore like Mothman, Chupacabra, Bigfoot, it was so cheesy but I ate it up as a kid!

Absolutely cave, you won’t regret it. Breaks are a necessity, but creativity will flow😌🙏

[dirtytransmasc]

The threat you are referring in alicent protect rhaenyra's post is a lie?

I think your talking about this post, specifically this - "until she made herself a threat to her children" - line, which, I will now explain, cause it isn't a lie.

I'm gonna tackle this in two parts, one where I give Rhaenyra and TB the benefit of the doubt and focus solely on the perspective Alicent had, as she's not an omniscient being like we as the viewer are (which honestly more than TB deserves but I digress). the second part is gonna be my hoenst opinion of Rhaanyra and TB and their actions.

firstly, Alicent's perspective; Alicent was in a tough position. she is the wife of a king who did not love her or her children, they went ignored by him, no matter what happened. she was also being manipulated by her father (and also larys, to a certain point, we don't see a lot of the two until later on, but you can't tell me he didn't have his own goals as well), who was feeding her the "lies" (debatable, I don't think they were, but I do think he told her to further himself, so like... exaggerated truths? misconstrued truths? truths with more to gain than just the truth? call them what you want) about the safety of her children, especially when it came to Rhaenyra.

now, Alicent denied these statements, she never saw Rhaenyra as a true threat to her children despite it all, despite her being favorited by Viserys, despite what her father said, despite how Rhaenyra treated her (lying to her face, using her forgiveness and optimism against her, etc.), she never believed it. sure she was pissed that Rhaenyra had 3 bastards, but even then, she didn't see her as a threat.

but when her child was maimed and was then the one who was sought to face punishment instead of Luke over an insult (Rhaenyra calling for him to sharply questioned, Viserys pointing his anger towards Aemond and then Aegon, etc.) and Viserys backing this, then calling for the situation to be essentially ignored, while Aemond was given a life altering, potentially mortal if not fatal wound (cause any wound back then was no joke, especially an eye wound, the chance of him dying to infection can't be ignored).

the way they (Alicent and her children) where treated that night made all those claims from her father seem way more true, it brought them to life. Rhaenyra and her children could seemingly do whatever they wanted and Viserys would protect her. Rhaenyra lived on a high horse and would most likely not hold back once it came to her taking the throne after her fathers death.

this is only futhered by the suspicious/odd deaths of Laena and Laenor (Laena being denied her home, Laenor's "death" being shrouded in conspiracy, followed directly by Rhaenyra and Daemon being married and rushing off to dragonstone in less than a months time. it rightfully smelled fishy as all hell) and the murder of Ser Vaemond at the petition. it just didn't help Rhaenyra and TB's image.

this is all Alicent can see, she isn't like us viewers, she only knows what Rhaenyra showed her, and she never showed herself to be caring for her siblings, that she could be true to her word, that she could be anything other than self serving.

is this objectively true, no, sorta, if I'm to be as unbiased as possible. maybe she would have spared them, maybe she would find ways to keep them from endangering her claim. but Alicent was never shown that, not once, she had every right to worry for her children's safety after everything she saw and went through at Rhaenyra's hands.

now in my opinion, I think all of the above is justification enough for her distrust, but I think my distrust in Alicent's children being safe when Rhaenyra ascends comes much less from Rhaenyra herself, but in her inability to keep Daemon on a leash. now, is this less rhaenyra's fault, yes, though she's not completely off the hook in my mind, but again, from Alicent's perspective, she can't know that what Daemon is and isn't ordered to do, she has no idea how the inner workings of TB works.

I think Rhaenyra herself was a threat to those kids, she could never ascend with other male heirs alive (this has nothing to do with my belief as to whether or not she deserved to sit the throne, thats just a fact of the world they lived in), those heirs being Aegon, Aemond, Jaehaerys, and Maelor (not in that order, but succession politics make my head hurt, so I'm not gonna bother trying to put them in line order). for her to successfully ascend, they would have to be dealt with, in one way or another, and I can't see any of them taking the knee after how they were treated by her and their father (they are angry at her, like any neglected child, for being the favorite. Aegon might have, prior to B&C, but only if Aemond took it as well, and their was no chance in hell he would after having his eye taken by her child and then receiving no compensation for it. Aegon would have stayed loyal to his brother and Helaena would follow).

whether she killed them or not is another thing, I don't think Rhaenyra is entirely cold blooded enough to do that, I do think she would potentially ask Daemon to handle it, and whether she meant to have them killed or not, he would take pleasure in killing the Hightower kids, out of pure hatred for them. but I doubt he'd have to be told, hell, I think he would go against a direct order not to.

so whether or not Rhaenyra was a threat or not, if TB was the threat or not, etc. Alicent had no way to see them as anything but. Rhaenyra made an image and impression of herself to the kingdoms, to the court, and to Alicent herself, and she had to protect her children. like any mother, she would rather label Rhaenyra a threat and be over cautious, then be wrong and have harm come to her children.

[rose-of-oz]

"books mean more to me than people anyway" for Enola Holmes

Thank you so much for this!! (And I'm also gonna tag @auxiliarydetective since she's Enola's biggest fan. <3)

— ❥ —

"Ah, Miss Holmes, here you are."

At the sudden sound of a voice, Enola's head snapped up, her eyes darting to where the source of the sound seemed to be coming from. She found Captain Nemo standing in the doorway of the Nautilus's library, watching her where she sat with a thick book in her lap, an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Captain," Enola greeted, then looked around her, attempting to locate any clocks that might be nearby. "I apologize if you were looking for me."

"Not to worry, Miss Holmes," the captain replied, stepping futher into the library with his hands behind his back. "There was no pressing matter you were needed for. It was only that young Mister Sawyer became rather anxious when you did not make yourself known for three hours."

"Three hours?" Enola exclaimed with surprise, her eyes widening. She quickly closed the book in her lap, setting it on a nearby desk made of polished wood. "I am terribly sorry if I worried anyone, Captain, it's only that..." She smiled sheepishly. "Well, your library is just so lovely."

And it truly was, especially for a library in a submersible. The room itself was not terribly large, but it was very elegant, made up of the same polished and pale stone and metal as the rest of the ship. Thick, dark carpets with intricately woven silver patterns lay underfoot, a reading corner with overstuffed white and grey armchairs, one of which Enola currently sat in, a few writing desks made of pale wood scattered throughout, and most importantly, the three rows of white-painted shelves absolutely stuffed with books of all kinds. Many of them where written in either Hindi, Tamil, or Urdu, none of which Enola spoke, but the selections she had found in English had all proven to be amazing reading - which she supposed was the reason she'd lost so much time in this room.

"It is completely alright, child," Nemo assured her, smiling gently as he came to sit in the armchair across from her. He folded his hands in his lap and regarded her with his usual calm, kind gaze. "I confess, I have often spent many an hour here myself, forgetting the rest of the world." The captain's smile grew more amused. "Though I greatly enjoy spending time with my crew, I admit I have often found books to be better companions than people."

Enola let out a small laugh. "I am much the same, Captain. It... may be a mark against my character to say so, but I find that books mean more to me than people, anyway."

"Oh?" Nemo replied, tilting his head to the side slightly. Enola felt a bit of a blush working its way up her neck for a moment, but it quickly receded once she realized that Nemo looked genuinely curious rather than judgmental. "And why is that, may I ask?"

"You may," Enola answered on pure mannerly instinct, before pausing and taking a moment to think about how to phrase her answer. She knew her own mind and reasons, of course, but it wasn't as if anyone had ever asked her to explain her devoted attachment to books, and she suspected it was because no one had ever quite cared to know the answer. Even Sherlock and Mycroft, as much as they had always attempted to connect with her, had never bothered to ask why she so loved to sit for hours with her nose in a book on the ancient Grecian militaries or a tomb containing old Irish folktales.

It made her incredibly happy, that she was know around people who cared about her enough to ask things like this. Which was why she wanted to give Captain Nemo the best answer she could.

"I believe... I believe it's because books are much easier to read than people," Enola said after she thought she had properly formatted her response. "People are rather easy for me to read, of course, but there are still layers of body language and facial movements and the state of one's clothes to sift through before I have a hope of knowing about someone. Books are so much more open - even in a novel, where there is often some element of surprise to be had, whatever secrets and meaning are there to be found are printed plainly on the page. There is no analyzing when it comes to books; you need only open their covers, and any secrets they might have are offered up to you directly."

A faint flush on her cheeks, and knowing she was about to reveal something very vulnerable to the man sitting across from her, Enola met Captain Nemo's eyes. "I suppose... I suppose I've always enjoyed that. Getting to experience the same amount of information as anyone else reading a book. To feel normal, if even just a little bit."

Finished her confession, Enola bit her lip and stared down at the clasped hands in her lap, and for a moment, silence settled over the library - not an uncomfortable one, but one of processing and understanding. When eventually she looked back up, Captain Nemo was looking directly at her, his eyes warm and kind.

"Miss Holmes," he said. "If you would allow, I would very much like to stay and read alongside you for a while. Perhaps we may learn some openly-offered secrets together."

Warmth rising in her chest, Enola beamed. "I would like that very much, Captain. Very much."

But, she thought to herself as the captain rose and wandered into the shelves, she liked people wanting to understand her the way she and her brothers understood everyone else much better.